The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, May 13, 1897, Image 1
/
VOL. XL
LARRY GANTT SPRINGS A SENSATION.
ALLEGED CROOKEDNESS AT THE
fTATE DISPENSARY.
A I.rtter Without Signature Which
tint 1 nvmci) i irciuainl -viUllll
Acknowlcilgcs JIo Wrote it ami
Threatens to Kxpoxe Corruption?
Clerk HeruKtc* Tells Why He
Wanted the Matter Kept t^ulet.
The Columbia Register contained a
I few days ago the following letter,
which purported to have been written
to Clark llowt ll, of tho Atlanta Constitution,
and has been exhibited for
the past month in a private way
among officials in Columbia, with the
understanding that it was written by
the editor of the 1'iedmont Headlight.
Tho story was told that tho letter had
been brought to Columbia by Mr.
Blckart, of Atlanta, whoso name is
mentioned in it, and who belongs to a
liquor tirm in that city. Mr. Howell
is said to have transferred it to Hick
art. and he used it to promote his busiIness
before the State board of control in
the sale of liquor. Gantt w as working
in the interests of Setii W. Scruggs,
tho elork of tho board, who was a candidate
for re-electiou, and his principal
opponent was 1). A. C. Ou/.ts, the
shipping clerk, who is charged in tho
letter w th accepting a bribe from
Blckurt. With this explanation the
reader will be able to understand tho
correspondence which follows:
Bpautaniiuko, S. C., l-'eb. 14, 1897.
Dear Cla-k?This will bo handed
you by my friend, Mr. I. O. J. Wood,
and who will explain to you just what
I want. 1 am anxious t09control the
Stato Board of Dispensary Commissioners,
so that 1 can help out my
friends, and also your friends, Blumenthai
and Bickart. of Atlanta, flu.
Now, Clark, to bo plain with you, in
ordor to accomplish this we must down
u man name Ou/ts, and keep our mutual
friend, Seth Scruggs. in control.
Wo can down Ou/ts if 1 can got Mr.
Bickart to give mo a statement of the
transactions between himself and
Ou/ts, and can show, as I believe is the
case, tbat Ou/ts agreed to push his
liquors if he (Bickart) would pay him
25 cents per case.
1 want you to see Mr. Bickart and
get a statement from him of bis proposition
to Ou/ts, and how it was iirst received.
i do not wish it for publication,
but simply to bulldoze him out of
the race against Scruggs. Hon. IX M.
Miles, elected member of board for five
years, is my personal friend and from
Spartanburg County. Col. Wilie Jones,
chairman of the board, is one of my
warnlest friends, and will visit blm next
Friday and talk over matters. I want
to get Ou/ts' condemnation by that
time. Jones is a strong Scruggs man.
I want you to say to Bickart to embody
in bis statement that after bis
lirst conference with the board he tried
to get a second audionce, so us to tell
I the wholo truth, but was gagged and
not. n.llnurr>d f.n flu t.lwi Inolluoll ...
of Ouzta.
If 1 can keep Scruggs in, it means
that our friends will bo taken oaro of,
but if Ouzts succeeds he will not order
a pint from II. & 11., and ho is opposed
to Mr. Blokart, because of that interview
with the board.
1 also want you and your father, if
Mr. 13. gives .this statement, to certify
to his high character.
I have other tilings behind, but want
this certificate as an opening shot. As
stated, it is not for publication, but
simply to use to kill any support that
Ouzts aright get.
Mr. Wood will give you the full story
of that matter.
Truly your friend,
P.S.?Why have you cut mo off from
your exchange list? I liavo not seen
a copy of the Constitution since Christmas.
Also send me a sample copy of
your evening daily. Of course this letter
is strictly confidential.
The publication of the foregoing letter
hail theelYeet of bringing out other
correspondence on this subject, which
reveals the fact that the "Dear Clark"
letter was written by T. Larry Cantt,
editor of the Piedmont Headlight.
The rumors to which allusion was
made had been tho subject of a brief
note a few days before to Mr. Soth W.
Scruggs, an intimate friend of Gantt's,
and which is as follows:
SPAnTANHTllirs Si P. foh in 1S(17
Dear Scruggs?I hour that an Atlanta
liquor man has olTered a bribe
to a certain dispensary odicial, and to
pay him 25 cents on each box of this
man's liquor that said ollicial shipped
out. Hut afterwards the liquor man
stated that ho had made a mistake and
could only give him 10 cents,, and becauso
bo fell in bis price this ollicial
then stated that the lirm bad tried to
bribe him. It has, also, come to rny
cars that a certain liquor man bad a
member of the board as his guest at
tho hotel; that they slept together in
tho same room, and that this liquor
man always got the beat of tho orders
from tho board. There are other
rumors of a serious nature. I tell you,
Scruggs, as your true friend, that this
condition of atTairs will disrupt tho
Reform movement. The people are
already restless and suspicious, and,'
groaning as they are, under increased
I taxation, they are. prepared to believe
any scandal they nmv hear.
I am making fur thor investigations
into these rumors and shall expose tin
whole matter. Truly, your friend,
T. L. OA NTT.
Mr. Scruggs heard of the lettor to
Clark Howell being circulated in Co
lumbia privatoly, and believing that
his name was connected with tho alleged
crookedness, ho woto and askod
Mr. Cantt about it. roeoivinir tho fol
, - D "~w "
lowing reply:
SPARTANHURO, S. C., April J), 181)7.
Dear Scruggs?Your letter of the 7th
in which you state that you hear that
there is a lettor In circulation in Columbia,
purporting to have been written
by myself, and in which your name
is connected, etc., has been received.
You ask mo to let you know the suhBtance
of this letter. You remember
that somo time in February I wrote
|>v; you that I had heard a report in circulation
that a certain ofhoial in the
Btato disponsary had boon offered a
tori bo of 2 o cents a box for every box
Of a certain brand of whiskey ho
MMBMNMaaKJStUMKMMMMMMMHMI
shipped out; that tins bribe had been
o lie rod by at Atlanta lirm, but afterwards
that the lirm stated to said of
iioial that they could only pay 10 cents
a box, and after lie foil in tiis price
thon tho otliclal reported tho rep re*
sontatlvo of tins firm are trying to
bribo bim.
I also stated in said letter other reports
connected with tho dispensary
management and tho purchase of
liquors that smacked strongly of corruption.
I stated to you that I intended
to publish thoso reports, that
the people might know them aud demand
an Investigation of the whole
business A few days after the receipt
of this letter you came to Spartanburg
and asked mo to suppress the publication.
Vou know at tho time that I
warned you against the suppression of
auything crooked In tho dispensary
that catne to your knowledge, and told
you thut you could not alTord to cover
up tho rottenness of anyono connected
with tho dispensary because of your
friendship for him. You replied that
you did not wish to hide any corruption,
and the otliclal in question you
bt lieved to he your enemy and was
working in conjunction with others to
secure your defeat. I stated to you
4 I. .. 4 f 1 1 4 l .. _ .. .. 4 t -- . / 4t. t
i i nitb i uenru mo representative 01 mis
firm would ti ll much more, hut that he
was coerced or bulldozed, and was also
afraid of publicity, fearing that it
might destroy his chances for future
business with the dispeusary. I told
you further that l was not satisfied,
and that I believed if they woro assured
that by telling the truth and all
they knew would not injuro their prospects
for business, that thoy would
make a full statement of all the facts.
With this view I wrote a private lutter
to my friend, lion. Clark Howell,
editor of the Atlanta Constitution (not
the liquor firm), an assuring letter,
which was personal uud private, and
sealed up. This letter was writteu to
Mr. Howell, who was a friend to said
firm, with the hope of stilTening the
backbone of this liquor man, and thereby
securing all the facts. I don't remember
what I did write, but I can
tell you that 1 am a free and independent
American citizen, and can stand
hy anything that 1 do or say. I wear
no man's collar and my hands are not
soil witli any corruption, and what 1
is rote was with a view to discovering
corruption that 1 might expose it
through the Headlight, and not to
wink at rascality. The mistake I made
was in not publishing at the time the
rumors I heard, but you know your
personal appeal to me not to do so is
what deterred mo. if necessary I will
call on you to publish the letter 1
wrote to you some time in February.
But to show you that 1 was not bushwhacking
any man, upon learning that
the Atlanta tirin stated that the olTet
fchcy made said olll dal had been rejected,
1 came to Columbia, saw the
accused party and stated to him the
report 1 had heard, told him just what,
1 had done, and that he seemed exonerated.
The Howell lottcr I sent by Mr. I. O.
J. Wood, but that gentleman, iustead
of delivering it as addrossed, turned
the letter over to said liquor firm, when
one of its members broke the seal and
read the contents. Ho stated to Mr.
Wood that it was not necessary to doliver
the letter, as lie could give him
no information about thn pnnnrtnd unr
ruptlon. Mr. Wood left the letter In
the hands of said lirm. How it came
to be turned over to parties in Columbia
I do not know.
If you will see that letter you will
find that I was simply working to unearth
reported corruption in the dissary
management and to assist Mr.
Wood in securing a position. I am not
mixed up in any rebate or other business
connected with the dispensary,
for my hands arc clean and I defy any
one to prove otherwise.
1 remember in that letter telling Mr.
Howell that Col. Wilio Jones and Hon.
1). M. Miles wore personal friends and
would stand by mo. My reason for
writing this was that 1 intended that
Mr. Howell could use it to get the desired
information from that Atlanta
liquor house, for could 1 convince them
that their business would not suffer by
telling all they knew they would more
likely g'vo the desired information.
1 also told two members of the State
board tho report that had reached iny
ears. Come up Saturday and seo me.
Truly, your friend,
T. L. Gantt.
a statement from scruggs.
Mr. Scruggs acknowledges that ho
did go to seo Mr. Gantt and pleaded
with him not to publish the reports he.
had heard about Shipping Clerk Ouzts,
for tho board had investigated thorn
and had exonerated Mr. Ouzts. Mr.
Scruggs said he did this because the
dispensary had already just passed
through one period of great travail
(ine rooau) acanuaijanu no didn't want
it to have to pass through another.
Hosaid ho simply wanted to keep down
trouble, for the board had air* ady settled
tho matter and the dispensary
could not stand these constant scandals
in tho newspapers, even though they
were proven to be without foundation,
lie said ho didn't want to hide corruption,
Lut simply urged Gantt not to
stir u, this thing in the interest of
peaeo.
THK SHIPPING CLEKK.
Shipping Clerk Ouzts was asked what
he had to say concerning the charges
made in tho "Dear Clerk" letter. He
referred tho reporter to tho board of
control for furthur in ormation. It
was learned that Mr Ouzts reported
the oeeurr? nc * to tho board and that
both lie and Mr. B ekart., of Atlanta,
made statements. Tho board exonerated
Mr. Ouzts, for they afterwards
re-elected him. Mr. Gantt seems, too,
to have come to the conclusion that
nothing was wrong here, as ho states
in his letter, aftor having made an investigation.
It seems to ho admitted
that a proposition was ma le, else tho
shipping clerk would have no occasion
to maKo a report to tbo board.
TIIE CHAIRMAN OF THE HOARD.
Col. Wilie Jones, In speaking of tho
letter, said he could not holp what Mr.
Gantt might write?ho could do as he
pleased about that, but that ho had
never spoken to him (Jonos) about
Blumentbal & Bickart or any other
whiskey flrin. The only man who had
ever talked to him on that lino was
Mr. Bickart himsolf. As far as Mr.
Scruggs is concerned, Colonel Jones
said he voted for him and supported
.him beoauao ho was the most corapoI
. ( '\
f%ffO
OONWAV
tent man for the place lie know of.
leisi year tnoro wart a business or over
$1,000,000, and In all that only a slight
mistake of 50 cents hud been discovered
in Mr. Scruggs' books. The stub
wus all right, but iu transcribing it to
the books the error occurred, He said
thut bo knew of no man who could
take the books of so vast a business
and keep them as correctly and plainly
as thoy are now. Because of his ability
to conduct the businoss Colonel Jones
says be "sticks" to hltn and lie cannot
help what some people may think
about it.
WOOD MAKES A STATEMENT.
Mr. I. O. J. Wood, who was the
bearer of the "Dear Clark" letter to
Atlanta, lias made the following statement
:
Oa too Sunday before 1 went to Atlanta,
S. W. Scruggs and T Larry
Uantt drove up in front of Trimuiier's
bookstore in Spartanburg and asked
for me. I went out and went up at
their invitation to the I'iedmont Headlight
ollice, and while in the ollioo
they wrote two letters, ouo addressed
to Clark Howell, Atlanta, which thoy
gave to me sealed. 1 did not known
what were the contents. One other
letter written with pencil by Scruggs,
which was copied by Gantton the typewriter.
I don't know whothisone was
addressed to. They know I was going
to Atlanta on the following Tuesday,
i iiad also iu my possession an envelope
which was written on the back
with pencil by S. W. Scruggs, certain
questions for me to usk Blumcntha! ?V
Blckart, of Atlanta. They deeired
Hlumcuthul A Hickurt to acknowledge
that Ouzts had made a preposition to
them to the ctl'cct that lie would ship
out tuoir liquors provided that they,
Blumenthul ?V Blckart, would pay him
so much per case. Mr. Bickart said
that ''1 am too honest a man to do
such a thin^, and 1 can't do it. Mr
Ouzts never made mo any such a proposition.
I am the man who made the
proposition."
I am in no way responsible for the
"Dear Clark" conlid' ntial letter reaching
South Carolina, nor for it being in
the. hands of the press.
1 m iko this statement in justico to
Mr. Ouzts since I have been used in an
attempt to injure him.
1. O. J. Wood.
LA Kit Y OA NTT WROTE IT.
The publication of the unsigned letter
brought forth very promptly the
following communication to The Register.
in which Mr. Gantt makes a full
statement of his connection with the
matter:
Spartanhuko, S. C., May 1.
Editor Register . In your Charleston
correspondence of to-day you publish a
letter that I wrote to Hon. Clark Howell,
the editor of the Atlanta Constitution.
After the last meeting of the
State Board I heard that this letter
was made public. A friend in Columbia
having notified me of the fact, and
asking its contents, and to which I replied
by giving the substance of the
letter. 1 also saw a reference to the
same in a daily paper, and wrote at
once to the Columbia correspondent to
call on the gentlemun in Columbia, to
whom I had written, and got my reply
for publication. If that party ever received
my letter ho did not respond.
My letter was certainly mailed and
stum ped.
Now, in regard to the Howell letter :
I penned every word of it, and have
nolh [ng to retract or apologise for. It
was my intention, so soon us the Board
had held its present meeting, to try
and get a copy and have it published.
Information has reached my ears
that Mr. Blokart, of the liquor house
..f I > I iU?l I ? : .1 * A . .
ui hi 11 uiuuniui ot iiicuin'i, uaiiui, MiKl
boon blacklisted by the State Hoard of
Control for olTering Shipping Clerk
Outzs '25 cents por case for sending out
bis goods in preference to tho liquors
sold by other linns, and which had boon
ordered by tho County Dispensers : |
that Mr. Outzs had first consented to
this proposition, but afterwards Hick- j
art cutuu to him and stated that he
could only pay but 10 cents per case, as
he found tho profits too close. It was
then that Mr. Outzs went to Mr. L. J.
Williams and complained that Hickart
was trying to bribe him. Mr. Hickart
was summoned before the Hoard and
stated that he hud made the proposition
to pay Outzs. Whereupon his firm
was blacklisted. My informant then
went on to say that Mr. Hickart, after
he found out that his house could not
sell tho State any more goods, stated
that ho wanted to supplement his first
testimony, and insinuated that Outzs
consented to receive tho bribe of 25
cents, but had only "blowed on him"
when ho reduced the proposition to 10
eonts.
Mr. Hickart came to appear before
tho Hoard, but ono of tho members (a
friend to Mr. Outzs) objected to his being
heard. Now tho inference drawn
was that had not Mr. Outzs first
consented to tike, the 25cents per case,
why did Mr. Hickart come a second
time to make a 1 iwer oiler ? As perhaps
every County Dispenser in tho
Svate will testify, it is, or has been,
tho hardest work to get their orders
for whiskey filled, as sent in, for
other brands are shipped in place of
those wanted. I believe that perhaps
this Hickart matter would unravel the
m/stery, and so determined to try and
un/i(\unr it.
Just at, that time 1 wan trying to get
Mr I.O. J. Wood, of this city, and who
had always been one of my warmest
friends, a position, lie had lost his
place in the Dispensary in Spartanburg,
and 1 knew ho needed work and
had a family to suppoi t. It occurred
to mo that I could secure Mr. Wood a
position with Blumenlhal & Bickart,
and, also, unravel that report about the
Ou'zs matter.
Mr. Wood had written to Blumenlhal
Jr. Bickart and they had promised him
a place, I thought, If they could get reinstated
with the Board. I knew that
Hon. Clark , Howell was an intimate
friond of Mr. Bickart, and could not
only holp out Mr. Wood, but might also
got that evidence about Mr. Outzs, and
which had been suppressed. So I wroto
the Howell letter. I knew that in order
to get Mr. Bickart to tell all that
he knew it would bo necessary to show
him that he ran uo risk in having his
business hurt by letting facts be known.
My roferenco to Messrs. Jones and
Miles was simply the truth. They were
my friends ; I had worked for the po
I litlcnl euccesH of boih tfentlomon, and
I I bislievod that they would help my
friends whenever they could do so hon
??MMHtinr i r?
S. O. THURSDAY,
orabiy unci wit '?t prejudice to the
States iuto'*' bt. would not iok them
to do nlhcrw isc, and they would not
wore 1 10 so r q bt.
i In writing to Mr. Howell 1 had nothi
lug lo gain pi mally, mul no axe to
grind save to help my friends, nnd, us
1 so stated tbor? n, 1 have never made
uuy secret 01 ."'in llntr t>y and working
for my friends and lighting my enemies.
I have n< vor received, and never
tried to get, and neither would I
receive, under any circumstances, one
cent's robato. lint 1 brought the Dispensary
law tot is State, and determined
to weed out rascality if discovered,
and it was in my oower to do ho.
My reference to the explanation to bo
made by Mr Wood in the letter was
that he might explain to Mr. Howell
the position be wanted was as agent in
our State for Bluiuonthal A Bickart.
Mr. Wood wt nl to Atlanta and returned
to Spartanburg in a day or ho.
Lie came into my ollice and in reply to
an inquiry stated that ho did not see
M r. I Lowell, but had left the letter with
Mr. Dickai t, and who said that there
was no necessity for delivering it, as
he had nothing to say iu thoOutzs matter,
and that gentlemen had refused
his offer to receive pay for shipping out
liis liquors lirtt.
1 thought no more of the letter, 10
there was nothing ;
the public 1 ~ii. ij-o. during the last,
meeting of the State Hoard a friend
from Colin da wrote me that a certain
letter, purporting to have boo written
by myself to Mr. Clark Howell, was
being priv itoly circulated and shown
around, and asking mo what were its
contents. I replied as stated*ahovo I
then wrote to Lion. Clark Howell, slat
ing tho oheumstancos, and in reply received
a It tter from Mr. Bickurt, say
ing that Mr. Wood had never shown
him tho Howell letter, and lie would
not have boon guilty of such an outrage
as to break the seal of a private lott>-r
directed to other than himself. Mr.
Wood ttftrrivui-iU Kiiiil ilmi !>..
luivo boon mistaken about giving the
letter tt? Mr. Bickart, that lie could not
rctnombor just what bo did with it, but
that bo bad nover turned itovor toany
one iti Columbia.
A few days after Mr. Wood's return
from Atlanta 1 wuh in Columbia, and
wont into Mr. Ouf/.s' ollico and told him
just what 1 bud board and what I bad
done toward investigation, and tbo report
was found to bo unfounded. I tbon
told bim that I was hands otT in bis
r?co, and was bunds olT. 1 have nolh
ing to eonceul about that letter, and
what I did I did openly and not through
any bushwhacking methods. I have
always helped my friends, and intend
to continue to do until thoy prove
treacherous and unworthy of tru t. N'.>
one lias over acsused mo, or will ovor
accuse mo of handling a dirty shilling,
for my bauds are clean. If it bo a
crime to use ov< i > honorable i nd to
ferret out report) public venulitand
to work for your friends, then 1 am
guilty, and will r min guilty.
liut, Mr. Editor, lot mo ask you, as
likewise every h nest and honorable
man, what do you link of any man, or
sot of iik u who w?o.id thus secure possession
of a privai letter writti n to a
stranger whom ti y did not know and
marked "persona and then deliberately
break the seal and use the contents?
Why, I ouldn't trust them
with either public or private money
as far us I could throw a locomotive
by tho cow-cateh' r. They will boar
watching, andclor- watching too.
Were 1 so inclin <1, I eouid have do
nied the authorship of that letter, for
my name was not - igned to it with pen
and ink, but print d with a typewriter
But I wrote every word therein, am
not ashamed to own it, and if occasion
ever arises will do the same thing over
again. Respectfully,
T. L. Gantt.
1*. S.? i do not believe Lnat MrAVuml
betrayed my conlidunco and gave away
the letter, but that it was lust by him
or stolen by those who arc using it. I
am also convinced that neither did Mr.
Howell or Mr. iiickart ever wee that
letter. Any one who has a letter from
me is at liberty to publish the same
to the world, as I have nothing to cover
up or conceal. As before stated, 1
always work for and btand by my
friends.
? tm
1HE BECKROGE TRUNK AND IIS (MINIS
FKHK hlQUOK, GIGA IIS AM)
PICAC11HS
A Duplicate Key lo the Contraband
Doom ? Dispensary officials Appropriate
Goods Under Seizure to
1 Their Own Use?Custom Makes
the Uaw in tins Case,
I The testimony in the matter of Bockroge's
trunk and its contents, which
had been seized by the dispensary authorities,
Is quite voluminous and Interesting
so far as it haw appeared.
The affidavits were taken by Judge 0.
P. Townsend, the assistant attorney
general, tind wore signed in Ills presence.
The ovid -nee to show what bocatno
of the contents of the trunk is
somewhat conflicting, but it is evident
that people in the dispensary got the
contents of the trunk. Mr. Scruggs
acknowledges taking some of the cigars
and peaches, hut pleads that he
had no idea of doing anything wrong,
as it had been a custom for the officials
to appropriate such tilings to their own
use evor since ho had boon connected
with tho dispensary. Hut the ovidenco
can best speak for ithrlf, and the public
may form Its own conclusions.
CLERK SCRUGGS TESTIFIES
Mr. Seth VV. Scruggs, chief clerk of
the dispensary, alt being sworn.said :
That to the bei-t of his rccolh ctlon
Mr. C. W. GarrU old him there was a
trunk In tbeconti ihand room ho wanted
to buy. Lh>pOn it told him lie did
not think the trn k could ho used as
the lock was brol i and thoro was no
key to the trunk vt ho know of, Mr.
Gam-is then <tcd that he could
have anothor look i uton, and deponent
told him if ho wo I go up town and
son Mr. nnrhnna hn onnl I
put a new look on <t., which hi did;
that during the M -ch moe'.ing of the
Hoard of Con*'<? ilr, Garrls cat no for
the trunk, un 0 omissloner < Huston
and deponent w ri in the cent- "hand
room and let him nave it. Mr. Garrh
insisted upon pa> . * for the tr.rnk at
| thai time, hut del tent told hir t thai
ho did not know what price to placo on
\
MAY 13, 1
the trunk nod he would havo to obtain
tlu> price of trunks from some dealer
lu Columbia before a price could ho
fixed. Mr. Harris still insisted upon
an agreement as to price so that lie
could pay f <r it. Deponent replied that
ho. hud no intelligent idea of the worth
of the trunk, and hail no time then to
ascertain the worth of the trunk, us the
Hoard was at that moment in session
and lie hau to get hack to the meeting
to attend to business; that lie tolil Mr.
(Jarrla that lie would seild him the Dill
for the trio, c uj u<wm 1i><?
- ? .. . . >?u HO U I I V.' |M IUO "fin
fixed or tuut lie could pay for it ou his
next visit to Columbia, lie replied : "1
will cull in the next time 1 come to Columbia
and pay for it;" that ho reported
tho sale of the trunk to the Statu
Board of Control. That the day up >n
which Commissioner Caston, Mr. Garris
and deponent went to tho contrahand
room to ih liver tho trunk was the
first time lie had any knowledge of thu
contents of tho trunk to the host of his
recollection; but one tiling ho is positive
about?that up to that time he had
never taken any part of tho contents of
tho trunk, and a', that time all he saw
in the trunk wore a few partially tilled
boxes of cigars and two or throe cans
of peaches, hut scattered on tho floor
were six or eight empty cigar boxes ;
t hat on that day in tho presence of
S -iton and Garris tho deponent took a
handful of these cigars. Garris took a
handful and Gaston took a handful and
ho jokingly twitted Judge Gaston with
the remark that lie could now account
for the cigars which he (Gaston) and
Harry had boon smoking for se'wal
weeks; thai cigars which deponent
took he carried into tho State Board
room and gave Mr. Williams and Mr.
Douthit some of them, and told thorn
ho had gotten them out of the contraband
room and would got them some
more, which he intended to do before
tho adj mrnmont of tho Board and hofore
they left the city, but in the multiplicity
of his duties it escaped his utter.
lion.
That a few days after this he went
into the hoard room, and trot the Uev I
of tho co nt nihil ml room which belonged
to the Statu board of control, and
which was in the custody of deponent
as clerk of thu hoard, and with Charles
Lynch, a clerk iu I)is ollloe, and got
four boxes of cigars partially tilled, as
ho remembers, and four cans of peaches,
and instructed Lynch to take thorn in?o
the ollloe, and the hoys in tho oil'oo
could eat the peaches, and he would
divide tho ei ars with them; that these
four boxes of cigars and cans of poaches
svere utterly valueless to tho Slate, as
the cigars were very cheap cigars, and
he does not believe they could have
been disposed of for any consideration;
that deponent also discovered several
bottles of domestic wine the day ho
took Lynch in for cigars and peaches
and humorously remarked ; "We will
get that wine, too, before some one
takes it." bu as a matter of faet. did
not mean to ako it at the time of muk
ing the remark, as it was not seriously
made, and ho did not take the wine,
and Com mis donor Gaston told him lie
had taken charge of the wine; that he
seldom entered the contraband room,
and never unless upon urgent business.
As Coloue Jones and tho Attorney
General's ollico will boar mo out, there
was a groat ileal of trouble with contraband
seizures made by the eonstables,
as many threatening letters
were received from parties about
liquors shipped to them for personal
use; that Colonel Gaston did not attend
to these matters as promptly as Chairman
Jones It.ought he should and Col.
Jones told hun he and deponent would
nave to take this matter in hand, and
with the Attorney General, would have
to look after the return of contraband
liquors, and the only occasions on
which he went into tho contraband was
to refer to the records supposed to bo
coiltaini'il ill the mnnivlntr iw inf >-u V<<. ...I
book; that on sovcrul occasions, with
the consent of Chairman Jones, ho purchased
demijohns of corn whiskey
which hud been seized and forfeited to
the State, and paid therefor at the rate
of $1.50 per gallon, which the records
in his ollleo will show, whilst the price
tiie State hoard paid for some goods
was from $1,110 to $1.35 per gallon; that
further than herein stated, he has
never taken a single article from the
contraband room ; that in taking these
four boxes of cigars and cans of peaches
lie was only following out a custom
which has teen in vogue ever since his
connection with the State dispensary;
that on divers occasions such articles
as brandy peaches, brandy cherries,
cigars and other articles othor than
wines and whiskies have been placed
in cos ody of the commissioner and lie
has often given him some of such
articles and also given them to others;
and to show that deponent did not suppose
lie was committing an act which
would mukc him liable to censure, he
gave to two members of tho board
some of these vory cigUrsand told them
whore he had gotten them; that he did
say to Lynch to say nothing to lilakch-y,
because Blakoley was h's mortal
enemy, for some reason lie knows not
wtiy, and he did not wish any distortion
of the facts, and this was the reason he
L-ld him to ^ay nothing to Blakoley
about cigars or peaches; that he had
no objection to Mr. Blakoley knowing
ho took the cigars and peaches to the
elerks in his ollloo, provided a friendly
and legitimate construction upon what
lie did was placed thereon ; that when
F. M Mixson was commissioner in 181)5,
Mr. Blakoley checked up all contrahand,
and ho as well as deponent on |
uivcra occasions nus oeen the recipient
of those lltMo courtesies through tho
good oilicess of Commissioner Mixson.
s. w. Scruggs.
? Prices wt Johannesburg, South
Africa: Potatoes, $1 per bushel ; flour,
$5 75, all sacks of 08 pounds ; boof, 25
cents por pound ; cabbagos, 25 cents
por head ; onions, 3 cents apiece; carrots,
2 cent^ each; sugar, 8 conts por
j pound ; eggs, 50 conts a dozen ; butter,
50 cents a pound ; chickens, 75 cents
each; turkeys, $1.75 eacii ; coffeo, 50
conts per p< ind ; kerosene, 50 conts a
gallon ; ham. 35 cents por pound.
? A rubber company with a capital
of $3,000.00O has purchased a rubber
farm of 40 quare miles in Mexico,
upon whleh r iadv for tapping are 350,
WU l.rj'Ofl, W fi.'?30 JUIOO* rniiKO, It 18 HHld,
a Rubatltuto 'or rubber llttlo inferior
to I'orn, which tho cornp?n> propone*
to gather and prepare on aclontiflo
princip'ca, estimating tlio groaa rovenuo
for 1807 at about $500,000.
i -J
j{lOY43
&aki
POWDER
Absolutely Pure.
Celebrated for its irrout leavening
strength and health fulness. Assuroti
iho food against alum and all forms of
adulteration common to tliu cheap
brands.
HOYAL MAKING l'OWDKH CO.,
Now York
ltlI.l< AItl* IN CAItOIANA.
lie In I'IohnimI Willi a VIhH lo the
Palmetto 8lato--Tlio Towhh Show
a Wonderful Improvement and the
People Appear ProaperouH.
"Kent on, embalmed mul saluted (lend,
Pear as tli? blood you gave;
No iuiniouB footsteps here shall tread.
The herbage of your grave,"
This is one of the Vernon on a beautiful
monument I looked upon with tearful
reverence while walking through
Rosemont cemetery, at Newberry.
Calvin Crozior was a Texas Confederate
soldier, who, shortly after the
close of the war, was going home and
had some ladies in his charge. When
I the train arrived at Newberry some
lawless negro soldiers who were In
camp near by went Into the ear and
grossly insulted the ladies. Crozior
and some others defended the ladies
and in the mclcoonoof the negroes was
slightly wounded. Before the train
left Col. Trowbridgo sent some of the
negroes to arrest the man who did it.
They mado a mistake and seized Mr.
Jacob Bowers, a railroad employee,
and hurried him away to the colonel's
quarters. Without trial ho was summarily
ordered to bo shot. It was near
midnight when Crozior was told of
Bowers's arrest and condemnation ; he
promptly went forward and declared
that ho himself was the man who
wounded the negro. Bowers was released
and at sunrise next morning
Crozior was shot to death, notwithstanding
his demand for a trial and
the protest of Prince Rivers, an olllcor
in Trowbridge's command, The negro
soldiers danced with liendish delight
upon and around the shallow grave
where they had laid him. Long after
the war his bones were removed and
this monument was erected by the
good people of Newberry to his memory
.
Docs history record any nobler sacrifice
?
Damon was the friend of Pythias, but
this man Bowers was a stranger to
Crozior.
Much more of this pathetic story is
I'l'i'.ni-diwl In llin 'A hiuiIj ?/ "
... w..w VI tlV" Ut IIJTf
hi) interesting vohiiuo written by John
Helton O'Noull, LL.D.
[ was pleased to lourn that other
counties in Carolina wore having their
annuls written and published in book
form. How elso can wo band down to
posterity the good deeds of our ancestors
? State histories cannot do it for
it would make many ponderous vol
nines, but oven now it is not too late
for someone of literary taste and lidolity
in every county to confer with the
old men and compile such a history.
Such publications could be cheaply
done and would be of inestimable valuo
to the citizens. Mr. Chapman, a wellpreserved
veteran, a cultured scholar,
a gentleman of the olden times, Is now
writing the annals of Hugefiold. 1 was
informed on good authority that this
Mr. Chapman was the real author of
the school history of the United States
that was published in Columbia, S. C.,
as the work of Alex. H. Stephens. Mr.
Chapman submitted his manuscript to
Mr. Stephens and for the use and prestige
of his name gave hi in r n Interest
in the royalty. There was scarcely a
change made in it from beginning to
end.
Newberry is a gem of a city and its
population is perhaps more cultured
ami refined than any city of South Carolina.
The professors of her eollego
and high school, her lawyers and doctors
and preachers and editors are all
gentlemen, not only in manners but at
heart. The standard of good citizenship
is high and tho influence of her
leading men pervades the entire community.
Mr. Aull, tho editor of The
News-Herald, in perhaps tho best allround
man for his work to ho found, for
ho is not only a man of high culturo,
but is eminently a practical nowspapor
man and is devoted to his calling, llo
lias written tho history of tho State,
and it is tho standard in tho schools.
Two of his boys, aged ten and twelve,
are at work in tho printing room, and
do good scrvico. Mr. Aui 1 is not at a 1
reconciled to tho modern system of
grading iho schools, so that it takes
eight years to go through tho; r courses.
If four years more are added for a
college course there is no time loft,
for a boy to acquiro knowledge of work
or habits of work. From eight to twenty
ho Is a non-producer, and whon ho
graduates is lit only for tho learned
professions, if tit for anything. Hut
his hoys have to mingle study with labor
and alternate tho years of each.
Mr. Aull is the president of tho State
Press Association.
Of courso Nowborry has a largo cotton
mill. Almost ovory Carolina town
has ono or more. As you travel from
place to place thoy aro in sight, and
I give employment to the poor. Five
i years ago Union had only 1,800 Inhabitants,
but during all these distressing
years has continued to grow and prosper
until now there are 5,000. One little
mill, aH they call It, started tho
boom and encouraged them to build
i another?a very largo one, whoso four
tloors cover a space equal to six acres.
. Next came an oil mill and a knitting
1 mill and other Industries, and now they
i
I
NO. IO
uro lwriny for artesian water to supply
a system of waterworks. Neither In
the city nor near it are any pcoplo bogging
for work, for employment la ut
hand.
Thon go to Spartanburg and be ama
auu. vYin-n i was mere a Tow years
ago there was nothing to mako note of
uivo a col lego, but now thoro are cotton
mills near by that manufacture
1 lu.ooo hales annually, and it is claimed
that no one county in the United States
consumes as much. Not an acre of suburban
land can he bought for less titan
WO. Everything prospers and everybody
seems happy. The taxable property
bus increased four-fold within
eight years, and the population lias
more than doubled.
Where did all the money come from,
1 inquired.
From a small beginning ? front ono
little mill and it did so well that others
soon followed. Northern manufacturers
of machinery were attracted thoro
and took one-third of the stock and
l>aid for it in spindles ar.d looms?and
have made good money and are content.
Homo Charleston money Is thero,
too. Theso mills have made from 10 to
20 per cent, for several years and keep
on making it. and these machinory men
up North will do the same thing for
the people of Cartersvillo or any other
Southern town that is healthy and well
situated. They only wait to ho invited.
The Piedmont region of South Carolina
'h now the New England of the South.
Even the young men and young ladies
of good families in their towns are not
too proud to take positions in the factories.
They are book-keepers, typewriters,
correspondents and superintend
in some of the departments and
earn good honest money. Just think
of it, what a revolution. For tnuny
years wo have supposed that the tato
was nearly worn out anil her young men ?
would have to accept Greoloyjs maxim :
"Co west, young man, go west," but
not so. Northern South Carolina Is
rlohor to-day and more prosperous than
any nortion of Georgia. Anderson has
nearly doubled her population during
the last live years. Now stores, now
dwellings, new churches, parsonages
and a brio public school building have
gone 111>, ii now courtnouso is projected
and all this comes from the cotton
mills. It does seem as though the cotton
we grow should ho spun and woven
at homo.
My last visit was to the old historic
town of lOdgoflold?a town almost retired
from the public ga/.e,but one that
has always felt proud of its prestige as
the domicil of more great men than
any in the State. McUullle lived hero
and Governor Pickens and the Sutlers
and Ithotts and Garys and many others.
The Tillmans live here and 1 was the
honored guest of one of them. Tho
nobility bavo no hotter manners tlian
mine host and hostess and it is rare to
lino a handsomer couple.
131 li, A hp.
?? Piles!
1*1 oh!. Itching Piles.
Symptoms?Moisture; Intense itching
and stinging ; most at night; worse
hy scratching. If allowed to continue
tumors form, which often bleed
and ulcerate, becoming very aero.
swaynk's olntmknt sto|?s the itching
and bleeding, heals ulceration, and
in most cases removes the tumors. At
druggists, or by mail for 50 conts. Dr'
S way no & Son Philadelphia.
?Tho Kquitablo Aid Union, a fraternal
beneliciai concern of Western Pennsylvania,
lias been put into the hands
of a roceivor. It atTcots over .'1U,U00
policy holders In Ohio, Pennsylvania
und Now Vnt-Lr
Wonderful South American lilocd
Cure
Quickly dissipates all scrofulous taints
in the system, euros pimples, blotches
and sores on tiio face, thoroughly
cleanses tiio iilood of boila' carbuncles,
abscesses and eruptions, renders tho
skin clear, young and beautiful. If
you would escupe blood poison witli all
its train of horrors, do not fuil to uso i
this masterly blood purifier, which has
performed such stupendous cures in all
cases of shattered constution and
depravity of tho blood. Bad health
slgnilics bad blood. Sold by E. Norton
Druggist, Conway, S. C.
?Throughout Uormany and IIol- ?
land whenever girls can bo employed
to advantage they are taken in preference
to young men. At Munich tho
clerks and bookkeepers in tho banks
are nearly all young and pretty girls.
Children's Nightly Habits.
Dr. E. Deohon's Anti Diuretic may be
worth to you more then $100 if you have
a child who soils bedding from incontenI
euco of water during sloop. Cures old
' and young alike. It arrest tho trouble
at once. $1. Sold by E. Norton Druggist,
Conway, S. C,
Tur nroT
SPRING MEDICINE
is Sim,mons Liver Regulator. Don't
forget to take it. Now is the time yoO
need it most to wake up your Liver. ^
sluggish Liver brings on Malaria, Fever
and Ague, Rheumatism, and many other
ills which shatter the constitution and
wreck health. Don't forget the worn
Regulator, it is Simmons Livur
regulator you want. The word regulator
distinguishes it from all oifter
remedies. And, besides this, SlMMCXNS
Liver regulator is a Regulator of tfee
Liver, keens it properly at work, that vaur
syslem may be kept in good condition.
LOR THli BLOOD take SiM MOWS
LlVKR REGULATOR. It is the best blood
purifier and corrector. Try it and aote
the difference. Look for the RED Z - r
on every package. You wont find it on
any other medicine, and these is no oUmt
Liver remedy like SIMMONS LlVBfc
REGULATOR?the Kingof Liver Remedies. \
Uf sure you get it. C
? J. If. Z<*ilhi Afc Oo., VhllAdclphlft, Vtu
r ^
- /.v'A 'H v' is ,/** .