Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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The Marlboro* Democra "DO THOU LIBERTY GREAT. INSPIRE OUR SOULS AND MA KL OUR LIVES IN THY POSSESSION HAPPY. OR OUR DEATHS GLORIOUS IN THY CAUSE. BENNETTS VILLE, S. C., FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 1904. _[jg?_ NO. 12, . ' " -..Vir AN OHIO MOB Shot a Negro to Death, Thon Hanged Him and Shot Again. NEGRO KILLED A POLICEMAN. Tho Jail Was stormod by the Mob, Who Took Their Victim Out and Shot Him to Dentil. Richard Dixon, a neuro, waa shot to deaob at .Springfield Ohio, Monday night by a mob, for the killing of Policeman Ciarles Collis, who died Monday trom wound j received at the bauds Df Dixon on Sunday. Collis bad ::one to Dixon's room on the negro's request. Dixon nald his mistress had als clothes in her posses sion. Cillis accompanied Dixon to the room and tu ;. short time the man and woman engaged in a quarrel which resulted in Dixion shooting Uie wo man, who is variously known as Anua or Marnie Ci rbin, in the left breast, just over tin heart. She fell uncon scious at ti c first shot and Cjllis jumpe.l towards the negro to prevent his escape from the room. Dixon then tired four bails into Collis, the last ol which penetrated his abdo men. Dixon went immediately to po lice headquarters and gave himself up. Ile was taken to jail. As Moon as Collis' de? th became known talk of lynching the negro was beard and Monday night a crowd be gan to gather about the jail. THE NKOKU SHOT TO DEATH. At 11 o'clock the negro was taken from tuc jail and shot to death lu tho jail yard and the body was taken from there to the corner of Main street and Fountain avenue aud hung to a tele graph pole where the mob spent the next half hour riddling the body with bullets from several hundred revol vers. The mob forced au entrauce to the jail by butting in the east doors with a railroad iron. At 10,30 o'clock the mob melted rapidly and it was the general opinion that no more at tempts would be made to force an en trance. Small groups of men, how ever, could be seen in the shadows of the court house, two adjacent livery stables and several dwelling bouses. At 10.45 o'clock the police were sat isfied that there was nothing more to fear and they, with other officials and newspaper men, passed freely in and out of the jail. Shortly before 11 o'clock a diversion was made by a small crowd moving from thc east doors around to the south entrance. iinfl f, nowed o^a ^ bi ?se mxu made at' jostling them oil the steps leading up to the sonth entrance. The crowd at this point kept growing, while yells of "hold the police," "smash the doors," "lynch the nig ger" were made, interspersed with re volver shots. All this tune the patty with the heavy railroad iron was beating at the east door winch soon yeilded to the battering rani as did thc inner lattice iron cast door, and overpowered the sheritr,Lurnke>and handful of deputies and began toe assault on the iron turnstile leading to the cells. Thc police from Ll e south door were called inside to keep thc mob from the celts and in live ninutc. the south door had shared tl e fate or the cast one. MOU OK TWENTY-FIVE IIUNDKED. In an im.ru llblc short time the jail e?s.tyi >d vs ?i i a mob or 250 men witt; au thc* |cn trances and yard gates blocked b>V "u ly 2,."HM men, thus mak ing ii lin; Wi -.iiile for the militia to have prevent ?(1 access to thc negro, had il K tu o : the scene. The heavj iron partit"'"!) leading to the cells re sisted th '*"-ob effectually until cold chisels and S edge hammers arrived, which vc -e only two or tiree minutes later in a -riv fig. Thc padlock to the turnstile was irokei and the mob scon tilled the corridi rs liding Lo the cells. Seeing that further r?sistance was use less ai d to a"0ld tl' ? killing of inno cent prisoner.-. bh< ji .i i mri ties consent ed to'?he deioan ?ol'the mob for the right man. Ile v..i^ dragged from his cell to thc ia 1 door and thence down tile stone Bt< ps to court in lie jail yard. Fearing an Attempt on part of the police ti rescitt* bim oho leaders formed a boll >w squye. NIXE SHOTS i% HIS r.ouv. Some one knocke:l]&e nrgro to the ground and Lliose nt agio him ell back four of five feat. Ni?*SboCS .vere tir ed into his p?strate betty, ant. saltsh ed Unit he was dead,'J? d</.en men grabbed the li felt si bi?- and with a triumphant cheer th?niv.h surged into Columbi i sirene aXl marched to Fountain avenue one ofljtl e irinciple streets of the town. \ Kroni herc they marched south to the Intersects in of Mali/ street, and a rope was tied around DiV" i's neck. Two men climbed t he pol . and threw thc rope over thc topmost cross-arm and drew the body about, ix feet above the street. They then rh sir-ended and their work was greeted with a cheer. Tho fusillade then begun and for 30 minutes Hie body was kept swaying back aid forth from thc force of the rain of bull?is which has poured in on it. Frequently Hie arms would Hy up convulsively when a muscle was struck, anti thc mob went fairly wild witli delight. Throughout it all perfect order was maintained and every one seemed in the best of humor, joking with Iiis nearest neighbor while reloading his revolver. Want? ?I to Ijynch Him. A special from Murpheysboro, III., says that seventy-five Carbondale cit - l/.oiis attempted Thursday morning to take a negro from jail to lynch him. Tlie sheriff frustrated their plan, and arrested four prominent citizen?. .Shcritr Thorpe was apprised of the mob's departure for Carbondale, aud, with a deputy, waited on thc second door of Hie jail. When thc mob ap proached th; jail they were covered with guns libra thc windows above, and hurried) dispersed. Vaughan is charged witt criminal assault, his vlc*j tim being a Carbondale school teach er, AN INDEPENDENT ACT la Helero n ce to tho 1* ur ch nae of Com mercial Fertilizers. To remind purchasers of commer cial fertilizer of their privileges under the law we reproduce an aot of the Legislature, approved February 19, 1900. If there has been any acts, amending or abrogating these statutes we have failed to see them. An Act, To Provide a means whereby any purchaser, in This State, of any commercial fertilizes or Ma nures, may have tho same analyz ed by Clemson Agricultural and Mechanical College, free of costs, and to provide a penalty for deliv ering fertilizers or manures short in ingredients appearing on Back or : vessel holding same. Section 1. Ile it enaotcd by thc General Assembly of the State of South Carolina-: That from and after the passage of thia Act, any citlzeu of this State who shall purchase any commercial fertilizers or manures, shall have the Bame anal) zed by Clem son Agricultural and Mechanical Col lege by taking a sample of sime with in ten days of receipt thereof from at least ten per cent, of such fertilizers in the presence of at least two disin terested witnesses. One to bc chosen by the purchaser and one hy thc seller who shall certify that such sample was taken from such fertilizers or ma nures, which certificate, with the sample, shall be scaled by a third dis interested party in the presence of said witnesses, and directed to Clem son Agricultural and Mechanical Col lege. Section 2. The said college shall bave the said nana plc analyzed free cf oust, and within three months after receiving the sample, supply the pur chasers or such fertilizers or manures with a certiticate giving the per cent, of thc dillerent fertilizing Ingredients of same, signed by the Chemist of Clemson Agricultural and Mechanical College, which certllicates shall be ad missible as evioence in all suits rela tive to such fertilizers or manures whether the same be instituted by vendor or purchaser of same. Section 3. That any vendor of com mercial fertilizers or manures whose goods or wares fall short to the ex tent of ten per cent, iii any fertilizing ingredient guaranteed by the analysis appearing on the sack or vessel hold ing same, when delivered to the pur chaser, shall forfeit one-half the sale price thereof, to be recovered by suit or set up as a counter-claim to an ac tion for the purchase price of such fertilizers or manures. Section 4. Be it further enacted: That if any seller or vendor of ferti lizers or commercial manures shall re fuse, decline or neglect to chose a wit ness, as provided in Section 1, after having been notified or requested by the purchaser so to do, then he or tiicy ./oail ha>c forfeited" their rights so to do, and the purchaser shall select two witnesses, who shall select the third witness, who shall proceed to take samples as hereinbefore provid ed. All samples of fertilizers drawn under the provision of this Act shall be subject to such other rules as may be prescribed by the Board of Trus tees of Clemson College not Inconsis tent with the provisions of this Act. Section 5. All Acts inconsistent with this act be, and the same are hereby repealed. Approved the 19th day of February A. D. 1900. A Berlin Tragedy. A dispatch from Berlin, Germany, says Lieut Carl Beseke, (retired,) after a long and steady decay of for tune Wednesday took his last money and gave a splendid dinner in honor j of his nineteen-year-old daughter's i birthday. Beseke then poisoned his j wife, daughter, two sons, respectively i 12 and lt> years old, cadets at a mili I tary academy, and himself, withsyan > ide of potassium, which he seemingly i inserted in the mouth of each, in the j form of a pill, after they bad gone into a drunken sleep. After a brilliant career and mar riage with an heiress, Beseke had readied thc end of his fortune and his goods were to be sold by thc sher- , Iff. He won the iron cross during the war of 1870-71 with France, married ? the daughter of a rich hotel-keeper, hereby having to leave tbe service, as be married out of his castle, and ' started a newspaper. The lieutenant wrote well, Imo the paper was not suc cessful, and he became sales agent for a manufacturer and then manager of i a map-making enterprise He lived beyond Iiis means for thirty years. Last night thc Beseke family had a box at the Iroquois. At io o'clock dinner was ordered in from a caterer, i Beseke was especially gay and tender, and pressed his wife and his three children to drink lots of champagne. He died holding his wife's hand tight ly. A Horrible Death. At Atlanta, (ia., from the effects of ? burbs Mifs Fannie Alexander died a horrible death. Miss Alexander was lifting a coffee pot from a stove in the j cooking room, when her clothing ! ignited. She ran, screaming and praying, into a sleeping apartment and fell in a charred mass at the bed side of her sick motlier. She was picked up by neighbors, who were at tracted by her scream;:, and medical assistance summoned, but af 1er suffer ing agonies for twelve hours she died Thursday morning. Mis. Alexander is in a critical condition, as a result j of tile shock at the time of the burn ing, and the news of the death of her daughter. Tim Koreans. The people of Korea arc neither .1 ap??ese nor Chinese. They arc Mon golian and have a polysyllabic lan guage, with a phonetic alphabet. They have a recorded history, bf dis puted authenticity, which claims fur them a continuous existence as a Ko rean people of about 5,000 years, tho earlier part of which, of course, is shrouded in the mists of tradition and fable._ A Fatal Fight. In a light near Valden, Miss., Aaron Stewart and his son on one side and W. W. Hill and two sons on the other, on Wednesday, Hill and one son were killed and his other son waa seriously wounded. They fought with pistols about a boundar^rfie. A WILD MOB. The Homoa of Negroes Burnt ia Ohio by "White Men. ANOTHER NIGHT OF TURMOIL. Governor Herrick Was Very Blow in Ordering Troops to Tho Rescue of the Colored People. A dispatch from Springfield, O., says intense excitement prevails hero afc an early hour Wednesday morning which nofc ever the presence of seven compaules of national guard can allay. This excifcemeiiL is shared by all the business men a.id property owners of the city, the "jar that some negroes will attempt to avenge the burning of the levee districts by tiring the down town business houses or their homes m the residence district. So far the negroes have nofc tried to make good their threats U dynamite the county jail to "even up" with Sherill Rout zahn for permitting the negro mur derer Dickson t3 be taken by the mob Monday night without the shedding of blood to save him. Nota fourth of the business d strict of the city is under patrol by either militia or police and it looks as if a close guard would have to be kept for several days to prevent further incendiarism. Ifc is thought, however, that, the troops now on hand will be able to save the western levee district in West Washington street, which the leaders openly dec'ared they would set lire to as soon as the work in the eastern half of the street was completed. There is little or no disorder, the mob of 2,OOO men standing quietly watching tho spread of the Hames in thc neighbor hood of Spring and Gallagher st ree ts, and apparently ready to help if ifc should shev? signs of spreading beyond the confines they originally set for lt.. "When the leaders of the mob passed down off of East High street early hist evening to begin the work of burning tho levee residences, Father John Cogan, assistant, pastor of St. Rap hael's church, got down on his knees on tho sidewalk and implored them to desist in their work as they might start a lire they would not be able to control. The incendiarists paused only a moment, a few of them cursed him and then went quickly on to be gin their task. So far the lire loss does not exceed $30,000. DKTAILSOF NIOIIT OF TRIAL. Threats throughout, the day and Thursday evening to burn the levee, the negro district of the city, contirm ed Mayor G. J. Bowl us in his behalf that more trouble was brewing Thurs day night and he asked Governor Her rick for troops. Two companies from Dayton-nmi V""T"*-'zsm Mlamls burg, Urbana and Columbus, have been .promised to reinforce the two local companies. Many of the negroes of the city were surely and moody Thursday night, and it was realized t hat only a spark was needed to set off the magazine of a race war. At !':.'I0 o'clock Thursday night, the crowd gathered in the levee district numbered 1,500 and one or two revolver shots had been Hied at random. By D:30 o'clock a crowd of 2,000 men had assembled along the Rig Pour railroad tracks almost, blockading Washington .street which is known as the levee from Fountain avenue. Two hundred negroes were clustered together just west, of Fountain avenue, in the levee district near the place called Honky tonk. The negroes .vere unusually quiet and seemed to be waiting for a start to be made, by he white men. The other crowd was boisterous and there were frequent yells and several pistol shots heard, alt tough no one has been reported injured so far. Al 11:20 the hreat of the mob, fre quently made brough the day and evening, was Iii ally made good and a volume of Hame was seen to shoot, up from the rear ot' aplace occupied by "Les" Thomas, a saloon keeper. Pre ceding the tirim; of the hui ding, the. mob at a distal ce of a hundred feet, shot at the fron' of the building for a half hour, but it is not known whether any of thc occupants bad remained in the building and if they did whether ?lily fatalities resulted from the shoot ing. Thc lire s iread hut h ways from Thomas' place. lt is understood that the negro population is highly incensed at Sher iff Roiitznhn for not using greater force in protecting Dixon. Sherill' Rotit/abi) had been warned that the instant the torch was applied in Washington street he had better re move his family from the jail as that institution was to be immediately dynamited. Throughout thc day there 1 as been a vague unrest in every quarter of the city. The body of thc lynched negro was taken from thc telegraph pole at ll o'clock Thursday morning and placed in a little undertaking shop. Through the forenoon fully 15,000 people saw the body and stood about the city in groups. The police and officiais were worried, but did not seem to know what was best to do. At noon t he undertaking office was closed. The crowds did not disperse, and nobody seemed to be working. Al nightfall there were reports of threat ened trouble (lying thick and fast and the crowds in the st reets grew larger. lt, was rumored that t he negroes would at tempi to burn the city and the in surance men appealed to Mayor Bow lus lo protect them. Thc police were in a stale bordering on panic after their horrible experience at the jail the night before. The company of militia from Xenia arrived at 1 :'M (Wednesday morning) and were immediately sent, towards the levee by a circuitous route. Company M. of t he Fourt h regiment, of Xenia, abd Company D. of the Third regiment, of Urbana, are now picketed along the Dig Four railway tracks facing the burning district along East Washington street. There are 22? enlisted men In-each. At 12:46 o'clock three cars attached to the eastbound Pig Four train brought Companies G and K, of Day ton, and Comp;.ny II, of Miamisburg. Thoy were stationed at various points to prevent ingress of either negroes or whites and so far as their scanty hum bera would permit, will forestall any efforts to buru the immediate business district. At that, however, there is grave danger of the lire starting in the great outlying districts, among the factories or dwelling houses and ten times the number of troops now on hand would be entirely insufliolent to prevent incendiarism. The tire in East "Washington street has burned out exactly the district] the mob should go, and there is now no danger of it spreading either fur ther east or west or to the north where the fashionable East High street district, including St. Raphael's Catholic church was for. a while in imminent danger from the spread of the Hames. Charles Jackson, aged 10, a negro, flourished a big revolver In the pre sence of a small crowd ol' whites in Primrose alley and within two minutes a mob of seveial hundred surrou ided him and he was hidden bj the p dice to save his life. Ile was held at headquarters all night, the p illee fearing to remove him to *.he county jail. DISPENSARY APPOINTMENT. A liUrKC Number Heit! Over and Pow Changer, Arc Mario. The new state liquor commissioner, W. O. Tatum, of Orangeburg, Tues day announced his appointment for ! tho term. There are a number of I changes and transfers, tut several men are retained, and the result will be somewhat of a surprise to those who thought, that the ne* commis sioner, would make a ch an sweep. Mr. Ot, 1 . Charles is retainee as clerk of tlie board of director. Mr charles bas serv>d in this oftice a long time and is fully up to its duties. The book keepers, Messrs. M. ll. Mubley, B. A. Hawkins and W. M. Bider, all remain, as does Mr. T. W. Collins as invoice bookkeeper in the eummissionser's office. Mr. C. J. Lynch, former .ship ping clerk, is displaced hy Mr. L. L. Baker, and Mr. J. II. ClalTy, of Or angebirg, is marie superintendent. Both of these men have been dispen sers, the former in Batcsburg. Mr. T. E. Dickson, former superinten dent, lias been made contrabant clerk, displacing Mr. W. W. Harris. Mr. Dickson has been in the dispensary a number of years Mr. W. J. Powers continues in oftjee as shipping clerk, hut Mr. Tliom:is Reasoner ls displaced by Mr. W. LI. Sondley, a new appoint ment. Mr. J. E. Ehrhardt retains his po sition as assistant superintendent, as does Miss li. P. Harrigan as steno grapher to tho commissioner. The inspectors, Messrs. W. J. McCartha, A. H. D.'an and C. L. Brown have been retained, but J. C. Richards, of Kershaw, formerly a member of Mm legislature Jp ^ppolateoTin puco ol H. Stausei*-??o appointment has been made yet for the Inspectorship now occupied by Z. T. Searson. A new otlicc bas been created by Commissioner Tatum, that of stock bookkeeper, and this place is to be tilled hy J. T. Parks, of Orangeburg, the editor of the Orangeburg Patriot. This elli ice ls made because of the enormous amount of stock handled. A Good Mau Gone. The Columbia State says "it was but a week ago t hat immy friends were called upon to mourn the death of Mrs. < ). A. Darby, and now conies the announcement of the death of that faithful servant of the South Carolina conference, Kev. O. A. Darby , of Sumter county, lt, was feared that I the blow caused by the death of bis wife had affected him very greatly, and while the news of Dr. Darby's death was not expected it, did not create such a shock as it would other wise. The St tte Wednesday night received a telegram from Mr. E. D. Smith <>r Lynchburg stat! i lg: "Kev. < ). A. Darby died .suddenly Wednes day afternoon nt 7 o'clock. His Wife died suddenly inst ten days ago. He was in apparently good health u > to the time of Ids death. Eimern at Washington Street church at noon Friday. " Senator Tillman sick. A dispatch from Washington .'ays Senator Tillman of South Carolin! is very iii with a serious tlirott trouble. His friereis are much concerned au it is impossible for bim to sw allow and a little liquid nourishment is all Hutt bc can take. A thorough examina Jon was made of tho Senator's throat Wednesday and disclosed tte fact that an abscess bad formed tn the left tonsil, lt is slid to be a .'erv small one. and be physicians behove it can | I bc relieved wit hout great riitliculty. An operaoion will be performed Thurs day morning. After that sj ve ral days of complete rest will be necessary by which timo Hie phsicians hope the ?throat a,'ain will be in ts normal i condition. The statement was nade lat the tcnator's house Wed net day ! night tl) it bis condition is not dung ! erous an 1 that lie has only a very slight fever. Kari i it m Gm H I ;>. L. D. Gardner, importer of radium, With i thees in the Temple Court building, gives out the startling news that the price of radium bas increased ; $4,200,000 a pound in two days. Thc commercial rate last week was $3,100,- j ooo, now lt ls $12,000,000. Mr. (Jard ncr bell ves thc rate ?viii be even higher. "Hy April i," he says, it will bc almost impossible to buy ra dium at any figure. We now get all radium from Europe, this country having been unable to extract it so far. The increase In price will stim ulate American prospectors. In Utah Colorado, Texas and other Western States, pitch-blended, carnotile, fer guROnite and oran i tc have been dis covered, but I have not heard that radium bas been extracted from these ! articles." Don't ninnie flor. At New York, Mrs. Eva Abernathy, wbo, according to her husband, ls only 20 years old, was put In the psy chopathic ward at Bellevue Hospital last night. She lives at 120 West Thirty-first street. Her husband, a porter, said that she bad been made Insane by the care of their tbirteon children, all of whom arc alive. She bas mane threats, be said, to kill her self. I POSTOFFICES OWNED By Senators and Representatives Who Are Involved in Scandal. MONEY VALUE OF "INFLUENCE." Another Chapter in Last Summer's Post?nico Investigation. Dif ferent Forms ol' Crooked IJUHIIICSS LictOnt. .' Another chapter In the postofflce Investigation of last summer was re vealed Thursday when Chairman Qverstreet of thc house committee on postoffices and post roads 1;? d befo-e the house of representatives a closely printed document of 218 uages r2 c?unting tbe Instances on tl e. In the ppstofilee department in wi ch men betB of the senate and house of repre sentatives have used their."iitlucnce'1 with officials of thc postoflli ? depart ment, wltb more or less suet' ss, to 82 ciire increases in ti.e salaries of post masters, additional clerk hir: and a 1 vaptagcous leases for buildings fori PQStoffice purposes. Thc rcpo-t was made hy the unani mous vote of thc members of Mr. Overstreet'i committee, in response i to a resolution calling for thc informa I Mod; introduced by Repr?sentatif i Hay of Virginia. As the Information accompanier thc report, the comm! > Ice recommended that the resolution lay on the table. Three cases are st t forth In w heh members of congres own buildings which are leased to tl c government for pistolllce purpose;. The members involved are J. V. Wadsworth of New York: J. I). Bov cfBbOCrC, of cvansas, and Ceo. L. Lilley of Connect icut. The histcry of Hil cases is given in the report wherein members of coi - gress ligure in getting authorization for clerk hire in excess of thc amout.t thC-Offivic in question was entitled tu. I Minv of these increasts were only I temporary, and have been diseontiu- ; ued; . i Among those whos2 "influence" I seemed good with thc post?nico de partment are Senator Clay and Rep resentative Griggs of Georgia; Sena tor Pltehard secured an increase for clerk hire of Greenville, N. C.. from $70 to S150 per annum, whidion Dec. 1, 199H, was discontinued altogether. He ajso secured an hicreaso from S40 to SI J0 for Wake Forest, N. C., which was reduced to the former amount Oct. J, 190:t. Senator McLaurin appears for an increase in South Carolina. Repre sentatives Brownlow and Gibson se cured Jscvcral Increases in Tennessee whl?itjhave been reduced since. Six ?out ~*'J I cases In Virginia are down to 'edit of Representative Swan Ism, ''ark Agnew's name also ^.??.uers" Th %'c accounts of 177 instances in the report where members of con gress have made recommendations in connection with leases of buildings for post?nico purp ses. Senator ( )yerman is thc owner of the building in which the postotllce at Salisbury, N. C., is located. Thc re port says that on taking his sc:it as a United St?'es senator he offered to surrender toe lease, but thc oller was declined by the government, it beim: held t hat th.- lease was not invalidat ed by his eic Lion as senator. Tin: report liles in the p< st office de partment indicate that the office at Tuskagce, Ala., is owned by t.be Rep resentative Thompson of Alabama. The report gives Lite correspondence between Beavers and Representative Thompson at bis successful ellorts to \ have the rentj allowance increased from $2!0 to ?.'100 annually. The following names of senators j and membcis appear in the leport tis having made representations to the postoillee department concerning the leases of promises for postottlces and for allowances for rent, fuel ;. ul light. Alabama Rcprescntatlvec.'i Bank head and Cl vyton, Senator 1* Hus. Connectic it -Repr?sent?t! es Her - ry Hill and Lilly. Georgia- Representative 0 riggs. Illinois- tepresentatives G. W. Smith, Mai sh, Graff, Mann, Se?an r Cullom, ex-Senator Mason, Speaker Cannon. Indiana- Representatives Watsor, neracuway, Cromer, < ivcrstrt ?t, Brie* and C. B. L mdis. Iowa-Representatives Connor. Hep burn, Hull, Cousins, Thomas, Hat - ghen and Senator Dolli ver. Kansas- tepresentatives Cable - head, Curti> and Bowersack. Loulsiani a Representatives Brc? - ^/.eale, Ransdell and Senator McEnerv. Maine-representatives burleigh and Allen. Maryland -RepresentativesJackson and I'earrie. Massachutetts - Rep rcscntativis; Lovering ai d Greene. Michigan representatives Gard ner, Smith, Fordncy, Hamilton,] Bishop, Wm. A. Smith and Darragl . Minnesota- -Representatives Mo Cleary and Tawney. Nebraska -Repr?sentative Burkett New Jersey Representative Howell and Gardner. New York Representatives Alex ander, Brccland, Ketella ra, Sherman, Wadsworth, Payne and Littauer. North Carolina Senator Overman. North Dakota -- R e p r e slcututivc Spalding. Dliio- Representatives Van Yoor his, Slides and Grosvenor. Pennsylvania - Represe ntatlvt s Wagner, Bates, Ii vans, Acheson, Sib ley, Dalzell and Butler. South Carolina Representatives Findley. South Dakota - lt ep r es en tat! ve Burke. Tennessee Representatives Brown low. Texas- Representative Ruileson. Vermont Representatives Foster and Haskins. Virginia Representative Swanson. Washington -Representative Cush man. West Virginia - Re presentatlves Hughes and Dayton. Wisconsin Representatives Minor, Jenkins, Cooper, Davidson, Babcock, Esch and Brown. A supplemental list ls appended to the report including thc names of Re picsentatlves .Burnett and Thompson of Alabama and Representatives W. W. Kitchen and Small of North Caro Una. DAMAGE BY FLOODS. Many Families uro Ilcnilcrcd Home iens Much Moncv I-iosr. The city of Wilkesbarre and the Wyoming valley In Pennsylvania, was lo a turmoil Wednesday. The mighty How of water spread out north and south west, making the north branch of the Susquehanna river a vast, mad dened, coursing lake, sweeping in its path whatever there was to invade, and the scene was more terrifying than on Tuesday. At Plymouth tho 9ntire business section of the town ls under water. Only a few business houses escap ed the Hood, and as a result the merchants have lost thousands of dui lars worth of goods. The ice is gorged there and the .water hacked up so rapidly Wednesday afternoon to leave their homes, and are now ll/'ng on Hie upper floors. Over a million dollars worth of prop erty has been destroyed in the Wyom ing valley and over two thousand fam ilies rendered homeless. Tho igh the river is falling at Wilkesbarre Wed nesday night, towns in the vicinity of Bloomsburg are experiencing the worst Hood in their history. Three spans of the great steel bridge erected by thc state ?.t Catawissa were swept from their piers early in the afternoon and carri 3d four hun dred yards by the ice and Wednes day evening thc two remaining spans collapsed. Mill street, at Danville, the busi ness thoroughfare of I hat city, was under water Wednesday night for Its whole legth more than i, mile. The Ice moved at Danville ?arly in the afternoon and carried tl e great cov ered river hrlgde from it.:; pliers. The water works of Danville are under water and the city is without electric light and gas. Two hundred families have been forced to leave their homes. CoiiercKHiuun Croit Dead. A dispatch from Washington dated March 0, say:;: "Representative George W. Cruft ot the Second con gressional district of South Carolina is critically ill at his home here and hope or his recovery has been aban doned. Ile is suffering from blood poisoning with complications of storm ach trouble and heart failure due to protracted illness. Heart stimulants and saline solution are being admin istered, but they are giving only In different relief, and his death is be lieved to be but a question of a few hours. Mr. Croft's brother, a physi cian of Aiken, S. C., is with him. Mr. Croft's illness dates back about eight weeks when he suffered an inllamma tion of the right hand, due, lt is be lieved, primarily to a splinter which was removed from the palm after he had been sick several days. For a time tuj} inliiimmation decreased and . tater, however, it again Deeame acute and spread with greater virulence than before, the whole right forearm being.affected. Mr. Croft ls 57 years of age, ls a well knowu lawyer of South Carolina and was leading coun sel for the defense in the Tillman trial last year." He died Thursday. IiiHiti c MHO'S Freak. At Valdost l, Ga., a negro named .lohn Wesley Stevens was adjudged in sane and will be sent, to the asylum. He had been terrorizing the negroes around Clayatteville and Olympia and was arrested Saturday and started to the city on the train. When some distance this side of Olympia he jumped heath foremost through the car window anti took to the woods, lie was found Sunday in a lake, wad ing around in water up to his neck. He was Dually arrested again and brought here for trial. The negro has .some lucid moments, though he sn Ile rs periodic spells, caused by hav ing his head crushed under a wagon wheel some time ago. A Iii? Plant. Thc Secretary of State Tuesday issued a commission to the Pepe Clay Product Company of Aiken which will have a capitalization )f $'.00,000. The corporators are J. C. Mosser and J. C. Murphy of Harrisburg, Da. Thlsl concern is backed by Andrew Carnegie and will manufacture aluminum from the kaolin with which Aiken a >ounds. The manufacture of pottery glass and lire brick also will bo con 1 neted. The clay of South Carolina is attract ing great att ention now, a **.00,000 concern having been chartered recent ly to make paint out of thc inexhaust ible ochre beds near Columbia. A Railway Massacre. The southbound limited express, on the Alabama Great Southern, run ning sixty miles an hour, collided head-on, with a north-bo ind Southern Railway freight near Kt wanee, Miss, early Tuts lay. Accord! lg to reports received there, no passengers were killed, but Ave railway employees lost their lives, several were injured and parts of both trains were burned. The dead are: Engineer P. P. Larkin, Fireman Henry Manics, colored; Robinson Higgs, mail <derk; D. D. Nicholson, mall clerk; Express Messen ger.!. II. Hinds. Doth roads use the same track near Kewanee. Thc ex press train was three hours late. Population ol'Cliina. United Slates Commercial Agent lt. T. Greener, at Vladivostock, has! transmitted to thc department of j commerce and labor the following from a Chinese publication on thc census of China: "According to the last census taken in China, by impe rial order, In view reassessing taxes, thc total number of inhabitants amounted to 420,447,32/> souls. The 18 Chinese provinces proper had 407, 737,305; Manchuria, 8,500,000; Mon golia, 3,354,000; Tibet. 0,430,000 and Chinese Turkestan, 420,000 inhabi tants." _,_ Poisoned by Mail. A dispatch from Des Moines, Iowa, says sending poisoned candy to Rena Nelson of Pierre, South Dakota, re sulted in lier death. Governor Cum mi?s has announced that under the! Iowa laws, (-.eliding poison through the mall is au cxtradlble offense. He says no pcni.lty is provided in Iowa fur the offense, and he knows of no way in willoh Mrs. Sherman Die, under ar ri st at Doone, charged with murdering Miss Nelson, can be prose cuted. She probably will be released. Site was jeal JUS of husband's' atten tions to victim. \ COTTO? PRODUCTION. Some ThouKlitful Itemarks on the .Subject from Southern Field. The Southern Field says the South in times past has grown too much cot ton, grown it unadvisedly, as well, in the case of hundreds aud thousands of Individual farmers and planters, with out intelligent cultivation. Always the great money crop aud the one easiest to market, as well as the one about which so many, especially the negro farmers, know most, men have been kept raising it to their own detriment. The trouble was not that the world's production of cotton was too large, but that the whole atten tion was given to cotton, season in season out, while the farmer had to spend money for hay and other feed for bis stock and for all that bis family used, instead of raising on a portion of bis farm the farm produce and forage which he needed, thus making thc cotton crop cost much more than it ought, wltile the land was being im poverished by the non-rotation of crops. With cotton his only crop, and a cash outlay necessary for all pro visions and forage, Ute smaller farmer had to market as soon as the crop was made, with the result that tho lowest prices resulted. Disaster necessarily often followed, especially in the years of general panic and depression, when the demand for cotton declined. The past few years, however, have been better for cotton growers. Two years have been rich ones for him, and all the Indications are that they must continue so. Tito time bas arrived when more cotton must be grown to supply the world's demands. The yield of cotton has not increased of late in ratio to the increased demand and consump tion. Two years of short crops have made this especially evident, and peo ple are beard speculating as to the supply of the future. Several things have co-operated in bringing about this change. One of the influences is the great development of the textile industry in the Southern States, which bas made a home demand for raw cot ton, at the same time the manufac t u reis have been extend i ng the ma rkets for their products, thus diminishing tho amount available for export, lessening tho supply of foreign mills, which hare not been able to lind one elsewhere. Undoubtedly, too, recent advances in textile manufacturing, by which new uses have been found for cotton, have had much influence upon tho demand for the staple. The continued non-rotation of crops has destroyed for a time a good deal of cotton land and thus cut down the yield. Tlie awakening of Southern farmers to the value of'a diversity of crops has reduced-the cotton acreage. The scarcity of labor, caused in great.. measure by tho loaylr? of ! he.,farjns i>?Mi, -, . > >...-?v?^v^ ??_- ior "Vt'tts . towns, the factories, the mills, mines and other work, bas helped to lessen the acreage anti decrease the yield. The result of all this has been to put the price of raw cotton where it be longs and make the cultivation of it one of the most profitable of all kind? of agriculture, and also to cause wide spread discussion as to the future sup ply of cotton, as well as regards the ability of the South to greatly increase its yield. The poorest crop of cotton the South bas bad for years, that of lOO.'l, from the iiigh prices, meant at least $500,000,000 to her people, mak ing it the most important of all agricultural crops. The question as to the ability of the South to produce the cotton of the world, or the most of it, bears directly upon tlie question of the value of the crop to the producer. The South will increase tlie acreage in colton this year very materially. This will natur ally follow the great prolits from the crop of last year. Much land which has been devoted to other crops will again be put. in cotton, but this will not. make such ? great difference as at tirst may lie thought. Many farmers who have learned to diversify erops have seen tho profit in tho practice and will not abntulon it. Many have left the cotton fields for good. To in crease tho cotton crop to its proper size two things there must be,a great er care in cultivation and an inllux of cotton growers, small cotton fanners, or of cotton liehl laborers. The pre sent situation nuikes a tine opening for the intelligent farmer from the North or Europe. It adds greatly to tho opportunity in the South for good farmers. These should he farmers who will not make cotton their whole crop, depending entirely upon it and sending their money out of the coun try for their food, their forage and even for their stock, but farmers who will diversify their labors and make cotton simply one of their many pro ducts. There is no (leith of good cotton lands in the South, nor of lands for general farming purposes. Some cot I ton lands have rundown until often I they fail to yield profitably, just as ! Dakota wheat fields have run down j from con' Inuouscrops of wheat. The South is nota one-crop country; on the contrary, it is the best country in thc world for diversified crops. Tho ?old cotton lands in most cases simply need a rotation of crops and the right kind of farming to make them yield, instead of 200 lbs., from "uio to 800 or moro pounds per acre. There are millions of "acres too which have never had a plow on them. When it is remembered that farm lands in tho South are cheaper than in any other sect ion of the country, it will be seen what an opportunity is open to thc immigrant from other States. Thc Northern man can raise cotton successfully; and while he is doing it he can sell his extra produce to other cotton planters who follow the one crop._ Commencing Carly. The Ts'cw York American says spec tators in Justice Truax's part of thc Supreme Court were amazed yester day when Mrs. Hertha Mccallum testi fied in her suit for the annulment of her marriage last summer to l'ercy Mccallum. Thc Justice drew a long breath as he looked at her-a child in appearance. Sie testified that niter living with her husband for three weeks she returned to her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Max Weiss, because he could not support her. Mr. and Mrs. Weiss testified that their daughter would not be sixteen until April 0. Justice Truax reserved decision. MARES GOOD START. New Russian Commander at Port Arthur Uses New Tactics. ATTACKS THE JAPANE8S FLEET And Sinks One Torpedo Boat and Loses One Torpedo Boat Des t roy PI-. The Japs Were Surprised. The Russian torpedo boat flotilla left Fort Arthur at broad day light Thurday morning and attacked the Japanese fleet. One Japanese torpedo boat was sunk and one Russian tor pedo boat destroyer, the Bezposht chadni, was sunk. Admiral Maka ron* inaugurated his assumption of the command of the Russian fleet at Port Arthur by a complete change of tac tics. As soon as he appeared he or dered the removal of tho battleship Retvizan, which was stranded at tho mouth of the harbor and barred the channel at certain stages of the tide, making tho egress of battleships im possible. Thursday morning he di rected a sortie of tl ie torpedo boat flotilla, supported by parc of the Rus sian squadron, against the Japanese. WHAT A1.EXIEFK SAYS. Viceroy Alexiell has sent the follow ing message to the emperor: "In the light between our torpedo boats and the Japanese cruisers on March 10 Capt. Mattoussevich, Ensign Alexandros and Mechanical Engineer Blinoil received slight wounds, and Ensign /noir was severely wounded in the head, losing his right eye. The commandant at Port Arthur report the following details of the bombard ment of the fortress on March 10: 'As soon as the enemy opened lire our bat teries replied. Six of the enemy's ships remained behind the LiaoTishin promontory and opened lire on the fortress over thu I siteiler. They ceased bombarding at ll. 15 .p. m. The enemy Hied about 200 projectiles. One shell from battery Ko. 15, on Electric CHIT, damaged a Japanese cruiser seriously. ''The results of the bombardment were insignificant; six soldiers were wounded. Three inhab itants of the town were killed and ono was seriously wounded. Accord ing to Cen. Stoessel's report the offi cers and soldiers in the shore batteries displayed exemplary courage and fired their guns in perfect order." A MORE IM: LA 11.Ki) KKFORT. "Admiral Makaroff, commanding the tleet, reports from Port Arthur, under date of March 10, as follows: "Six torpedo boats which went out to sea the-night i f ..Vinxel. }$^ '~ n^&s&s maud of OaptffR, .^(S?p^?^I^H?^!^ countered tho enemy's torpedo boats followed by cruisers. A hot action ensued in which the torpedo boat destroyer Vlastini discharged a white head torpedo and sunk one of the enemy's torpedo boats. O a the wt.y back the torpedo boat destroyer Steregusehtehi, commanded by Lieut. Sjrgueleff, sustained damages; h jr engine was dlsibled and she began i.o founder. By 8 o'clock in the mornir g live of our torpedo boat destroyers had returned. When the critlcil position of the Stereguschtchl became evident, I hoisted my fl ig on tho cruiser Novik and sent the cruiser Boyar?n to the rescue. But as Ave of the enemy's cruisers surrounded our destroyer and as their battleship squadron was approaching, I did* not succeed in saving the Steregusehtehi, which foundered. Part of the crew was made prisjners and part was drowned. "On the ships which participated in tlie night attack, one officer was seriously and three others were slight ly wounded; two soldiers were killed and 18 were wounded. At 9 o'clock ii of the enemy's ships ?ssembled before I'ort Arthur and a bombardment was begun with the heavy guns of their battleship squadron at long range. This tlisted until 1 o'clock in thc afternoon, lt is es ;i mated that the enemy tired 15-1 12-ineb shells. The damage to our vessels was insignifi cant, und they are agaiu ready for battle. Oiir losses were oue officer slightly wounded and one soldier kill ed and four soldier!? wounded. Tho Illumination of the sea at night hy the srarchlishts momted at our bat teries .vas most satisfactory and sev eral times isolated shots from our batteries forced the enemy's torpedo boats to retire. "With tho announce ment of the bombardment at dawn the guns of thc fortress replied to tho enemy's tire. "The crew on board all the ships engaged ,'ave proof of re markable coolness i i action. Below decks the work of the day followed Its ordinary course in spite of l he shells falling between thc ,'esscls and cover ing thom with fragments. "A bom bardment at such a distance must be considered ineffective; but vhe Japan ese cruisers Takasigo is reported to have been seen to si (fer serious dam age, tho extent of which, however, lt was Impossible to ascertain at a dis tance of live miles. Many shells were fired at a range of 7 1-2 miles." Section HiimlB Killed. At Harrisburg, Pa., four unidenti fied men were burned to death In a box car containing gasoline, which caught fire near Harrisburg Wednes day. Two others barely escaped with their lives. The men were employed as section hands. One man lighted his pipe near the eask of gasollno which exploded. She Must Work. A court at Coshocton, O., has en joined a woman who ts suing her hus band for divorce from abandoning her household duties, ordering that she must make his bed and cook Iiis meals during the pendency of the action. This would seem to be carrying gov ernment by injunction to tho limit. Murder ami Htilcble. At Trenchtown, N. J., Miss Mary Wyker, pretty young school teacher, is dying, and Paul Weaver, eighteen years old ls dead, as the result of lils insane jealousy which led him Wednes day night to make a murderous attack I on the gir, with a pistol, ami v.h.-u I pursued by a posse of bis neighbors I he took his own life.