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I HOW DID HE DIE?" A Ra3rtt(l Presideot Shot to Death Mysteriously io His Hone. SUICIDE OR MURDER Family Claim Hurglar Did Shoot- ^ ing.?1'os.sible Fraud Implicatioi ' t and Fear of Disgrace Advanced as s Theory for Suicide.?Dead Man's ( Associate Not Surprised.. i ( Ira G. Rawn, president of the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville C Railroad (the Monoa Route,) died a of a bullet wound, at his summer 0 c residence in Winnetka, fifteen miles ; north of Chicago, early Wednesday s morning. 1 Members of Mr. Rawn's family * say he was killed by a burglar. The police are working on a theory that r Mr. Rawn killed himself. As a bas- c is of their suicide theory, the police * advance the following reasons: j They point to the fact that Mr. Rawn was operating vice president . of the Illinois Central Railroad at , the time fraudulent car repair con- ( tracts were put through and that j recently he was drawn into the 11- | linois Central graft investigation as , a chief witness. { They saw that the action of Mr. ( Rawn's relatives in refusing to aid , the Chicago detective department to , search for the alleged murderer is suspicious. I They declare that there exists a j lack of convincing evidence that an intruder had actually been in the Rawni residence. Mrs. Rawn, wife of the dead man; R. G. Coburn, his son-in-law; Mrs. Cohurn and two children, and three maids were in the house when the tragedy occurred. Mrs. Rawn says that her husband was aroused from sleep at half past one o'clock in the morning by a noise on the first floor of the residence. She says Mr. Rawn picked up a revolver in his room on me second floor and started down-stairs and was down in the hall when two shots were fired. A minutes search of the front hall and adjoining rooms of the residence, however, show but one bullet, that fired from the revolver of Mr. Rawn and which apparently had passed through Mr. Hawn's body just below the heart. Coroner Peter Hoffman took personal charge of the investigation into the death. He refused to say whether he thought the case was one of murder or suicide. He stated, hjowever, that powder marks had been found on Mr. Rown's night J gown, indicating that the bullet which killed Mr. Rawn was fired at close range. ' Friends and business associates of the dead man say that he has been looking badly for several weeks c Some attributed Mr. Rawn's worried 1 expression to the investigation of the conspiracy by which the Illinois- ( Central claims it was mulched out a of hundreds of thousands of dollars. ; This is now going on in court. On two successive days last week 11 Mr. Rawn begged for and secured a 11 postponement of his examination as 8 a witness on Uie plea that his wife v was ill. His examination was scheduled to be taken up again next Tuesday. Mr. Rawr left the Illinois Central f Railroad 111 iNovemoer, nua, ami uu- i came president of the Monon. Early 1 this Spring the Illinois Central fraud t came to light. Though the investi- i gation is not in such shape that any 1 criminal responsibility for the frauds \ is fixed, it is declared that the rep- c utation of some persons involved c would lie ruined and their future ( practically blotted out. At the first hearing before Master ( in Chancery Thomas J. Taylor, Jr., I Mr. Rawn testified that t.he car re- i pair contracts all came under his i supervision. Ho admitted that he i was responsible for farming out the ' cars to the various repair committees. ? 2t)c Cotton Says Hudson. Twenty cent cotton this fall was predicted Tuesday by State Commissioner of Agriculture Thos. G. Hudson, who addressed the Farmer's Union at Union City. Ga. He prer dictod that there would he only half a crop, and that this, combined with business conditions and a holding Tjjb movement by farmers throughout the South, would reduce the high price. ? ? ? Killed by Lightning. Geo. G. Wilson, a prominent young man of Mayodan, N. C., was struck by lightning on Friday afternoon and instantly killed. Mr. Wilson was standing near the chimney flue in the store of his brother, where he worked. A hoit from a passing thun 1. M.I. ?..? ?.wl In dor storm sinii'H mih iiuu auu m some way was communicated to Mr Wilson. ? ? The State of South Carolina has 2029 automobiles. And the News and Courier suggests that she would have so mo air ships if Charleston was not so near heaven. il. * | TAXES WILL BE LOWER ITATE BOARD RKDUCKS MILL ASSBSSM KN TS. ?r?ni a Sixty Per Cent. Basis to a Fifty Per Cent. Basis by Big Majority. As its meeting in Columbia on Vednesday the State board of equalzation decided by a vote to 33 to 8 0 assess cotton mills, cotton oil mills md fertilizer plants on- a fifty per ent. basis, instead of GO per cent as formerly. This action was taken ipon motion of Mr. John Shuler, of Jrangeburg, following the argument jarlier in the day of Mr. F. Helton Jrier, and several speeches in the iftermoon on the matter. There was 1 proposition to make the assessment in a 40 per cent, basis, but tnis was vithdrawn as was the proposition to issess the corporations on the same msis as heretofore with the underl itanding that on improvements the jasis should be 50 per cent. Mr. Grier represented the cotton nills of the State, through the Asso;iation, which the mills are not fully latisfied with the 50 per cent basis, t is realized that this was the best hat could be had. The most vigorous argument igainst the action taken by the board vas that of Mr. Jeremiah Smith, ! )f Horry, who said that the coastal ' ands are assessed enough now; that ;here is much real estate that is val-| neless to the farmer on account of: jwamp lands and other property that' toes not produce anything, and that ' J the farmer is now bearing suflicieut taxes. Mr. Smith, who made a proposition at a former meeting that 100 per rent be the basis and over whose protest the 6 0 per cent basis was adopted, declaring that although the land values have been increased the same has not been true of the property under discussion. He made an impassioned plea that the motion of 50 per cent basis be killed. The vote on the Shuler motion resulted. Yeas?Ivomax, Courtney, Clinkscales, Johnson, Verdier, Turner, Hafner, Godfrey, Davis, Von Lehe, T ? *? n ? ^ n /I ^ r* T V* ni nenr> tt i trli f VJCtUOUCH, IHIUIU^UVJl! miin.. Cochran, Spence, McKensie, Goodwin, Alton, Dekay, McLeod, Edwards, Pegus, Floyd, Shuler, llollin, Coleman, Vernon, McLaurin, H. K. Smith, Funk, T. L. Johnson, Evans ? 33. Nays?Guess, Reaves, Rend, Kittles, Jeremiah, Smith, Zimmerman, O'Dell, Adair.?8. WILL BE IN THE RACE. An Emphatic Statement Made by Speaker Cannon. Joseph G. Cannon will not take himself out of the race for the Speakership, of the next House of Representatives. This he made plain lear the conclusion of his speech at Bmporia, Kan., Monday afternoon, le said he wouJd abide by the will >f the Republican caucus if the Reniblicans control the next Congress, >ut that no "muckraking magazine" ould make him say he would not be , candidate. In other words, he aid, he would not make an effort to /in the Speakership; yet the emhasis with which he spoke made it lain that if the Republican caucus hould nominate him he would be 'illinsr SPrVfi. There Is Much to Learn. Prom all accounts tho average armor in this country does not more han half farm his land. That is, ie does not get from the land more han one half of what he would get f the land were properly cultivated, t is said that the yield per acre of vheats, oats and other crops is not me half of what the European farm;r gets. Some may say that this is lue to difference of climate and soil. But that does not account for it considering that in almost any district in this land experience shows that a farm systematically and thoroughly cultivated will produce often twice as much as the adjoining farm. The one remedy, apparently, is to get hack to the land, have smaller farms and go in for intensive farming. This plan is being adopted by many fnrmers wjith profitable results. Made Fast Tine. With contract requirements calling for a speed of only 2 8 knots an hour, the torpedo boat destroyer. Roe made 21 j knots in standardization [tests off tho Delaware breakwater course according to a report received at the navy department from tho hoard of inspection. She burns oil as fuel. Saved by Trees. An aeronaut named Andrews fell 100 feet when his balloon burst at j Lake Manawa, five miles south of Council Pluffs, Io., but was saved from deat.h by falling into the branches of a large tree. Aside from scratches and bruises he was unhurt. Twentieth Child. The twentieth baby has been born into t.he family of Mr. and Mrs. Maxim Marconiller, of Menominee, Wis. The father is 50 and the mother 4(?, and both are healthy and prosperous. FIGURES CAUSE ALARM. Among Republicans Because They Help (he South. The Washington correspondent of i The News and Courier says because the population figures of a few of the Southern towns, taken under the pew census, have shown big increases over the figures of 1900, leading men in the Republican party have become thoroughly alarmed, and have begun a movement to keep the representation from the Southern , States in the 63d Congress from being increased. Two places in Virginia, Lynchburg and Christiansburg, have shown big increases and the same it tine or two ueorgia towns, nu<gerald and Hawkinsville. In Texas nearly all of the fifteen or twenty counties, which have had their population figures made public, show big gains. The same is true of Oklahoma and Tennessee. It is said that these, being widely scattered, indicate that the general growth all over the South has been large; in fact, much greater than any one expected, and that if the same ratio is kept up representation from that section must of necessity be increased. To forestall such an increase in membership U is proposed to begin the downward movement now. Efforts made to ascertain whether or not President Taft was interested ir the movement failed to disclose anything tending to show that he was cognizant of it, but it is understood that Congressman Bennett, of New York, and others, who are leading in the proposed cut, made him acquainted with their plans before he went to Beverly. That the movement is on in earnest is not denied SENATOR TILLMAN DECLINES. 1 ^ Unable to Accept the Invitation at the Present. Senator Tillman is unable now to accept the invitation of the board cf commissioners or suinvan s island to spend some time at the seashore as the guest of the township board, and Mrs. Tillman and members of the family, who were also invited, will, of course, not come alone. In aletter to Mr. Wilbur chairman of the board, Senator Tillman writes that later in the season he may be able to spend a week at the island. Private business he gives as the cause of his inability to accept the invitation at present. Senator Tillman also expresses his thanks for the invitation'. BUN DOWN BY TRAIN. North Carolinian's Body Is Found Horribly Mangled. T.he remains of a white man supposed to have been those of W. M George, of Charlotte, were found on the Southern railway Tuesday by a section foreman a mile and a quarter south of Lexington, N C. it is thought that the man was beating his way on a train and fe 11. The head was battered off and portions of the body scattered for more than 100 yards up the track. On the clothes cf t'u man were found a , gold watch, smashed flat, a post card signed by W. M. George, a prescription whitten for Mrs. W. M. George by Dr. J. W. Summers of Charlotte. 1 HAVIO NAKKOW KSCAPK. Family Just Vacated I'orcli When Lightning Struck. A peculiar freak of lightning is { reported from Belvedere, in Aiken , county. At the home of Walter Harris, a well-known citizen at that place, the family were sitting on the front porch, when a small thunder storm came up. As the storm approached, the family got up from the porch and went into the house. Just as they were closing the door the lightning struck a tree in the front yard. The bolt ran from the tree to the porch, and knocked over the chairs, which had been vacated only a moment before. Had the lighting been a moment earlier, they would have been struck. The escape was a very narrow one. Mother mid Babe Burned. Trapped in bed with her week-old baby, Mrs. Grade Wilson, of Granu ltapids, Mich., was burned to death Thursday afternoon when fire destroyed tlie old Ledyard block at the corner of South Division street and Fourth avenue. A nurse, Mrs. Amelia Heeney, who tried to rescue the mother and babe, received burns i whw-h nmvmt fntnl nn hour later, and the babe is dying in the hospital. < ?? ? The Cotton Tare Case. In fewer words perhaps than li i has taken the Supreme Court to tcl of much less important eases, that tribunal Thursday evening in an j opinion being banded down by Justice lOugene H. Cray dismisses the appeal of YV. Q. Mullins in the now famous cotton tare case involving nearly two million lollara. John T. Duncan ought to get some votes in Spartanburg, lie aided n.a-j I torially in the immigration move- j moot to this city.?Spartanburg Journal. i / DUG UP BONES " i ^ 4 i \o OM Cemetarj is Dog Into by Ditch j Diggers in Charleston. ^ i SKELETONS ARE FOUND ' 'i ? j The Hones of a Man of Huge Stat- 1 tire Discovered in One of Several i GottLns that Were Found.?In Another Place Several Old Can- i non Halls Were Dug l'p. i No one would suppose that there was mystery or any tinge of romance in the work of the hardv ditch-diggers who are laying the sewerage pines in various st/eels in the city of Charleston, says the News and Courier, but mystery and romance have a way of turning up where they are least expected, and only the other day one of the gangs ran into something that made the negroes who wield the pick and shov- , el feel nervous and apprehensive of J what might follow as the result of I interfering with the long sleep of those who .had passed from earth many years ago. The News and Courier then goes on to relate the following: On Queen street, between Franklin and Logan, just opposite the Medical College, the pickmen found a grave yard about four feet beneath the surface, and being compelled to stick to their work, for the sewer pipes must be laid, grave yard or no grave yard, and in spite of the danger of rousing the wrath of ghosts, they unearthed before long seven coflins. All these were badly decayed and fell apart as soon as an attempt was made to lift them to the surface. Of the bodies that they had once contained only the skeletons were left, and these quickly decomposed 011 coming in contact with the air. yi of tho skeletons were those UV ? V? W~ v _ of children or iinel! wom.^n, bti* there was one especially that filled the laborers with wonder as they looked upon it. It was the skeleton of a man, and such a man! More than six feet four inches tall, with shoulders of wonderful breadth and big bones that made up a frame of remarkable streagth, iie must have been well-nigh a giant. The negroes looked at the white bones and wondered; and white men who saw the crumbling 'vestiges of what must have been one of the finest specimens of physical manhood in the South, were curious to know w.hether some record of this Hercules who had been laid to rest in this forgotten cemetery long ago, might not be found somewhere and the history of the man brought back to mind. On Ashe street the diggers came across cannon balls that had evidentaJly been fired during the Revolutionary war. They were of a kind unknown during t.he War Retween the States, and were evidently much more ancient, each of them weighing not more than four or five pounds. In addition to these several smaller grape-shot were unearthed DltlG l SKI) I'PON iiliili. I ? ,1 lly An I'liknown Intruder Into Iler Home at Night. Fnnny May Pryor, the fourteenrear-o!d daughter of Owen \V. Pryoi, i prominent resident of Mobile, Ala., lied early Wednesday from the efforts of chloroform administered to the child Tuesday night by an unknown intruder who succeeded in making his escape. The girl was found in an unconscious condition by her mother in a room that was almost stilling from the effects of the drug. A man wearing a black shirt and black trousers was seen to jump t.ho fence about 1.45 o'clock by Mrs. Pyor, but his color could not be distinguished. The entrance was made through a roar window. Examination by physicia: s who were summoned showed that the girl had not been assaulted, and why she was chloroformed can not be explained. The gir! was sleeping with her little baby brother. MI ST QUT COI NTHY. That's the ficrinnii Belief and Merman's Not Allowed, Ilerr Dalwitz, Prussian minister of the interior, upon recommendation of the political police, says a Berlin dispatch, has signed orders for the expulsion of twenty-one Mormon missionaries, fost of \\ hom aro *1 11 ... - ,1 Americans or imikiisiikmi <t.iu 11117 1 will 1)0 conducted to the frontier. The missionaries had assembled from various parts of Germany at the Mormon .headquarters 011 the Fast Side to meet Superintendent, McKay, an American usually resident in Switzerland. They were holding a service when an agent of the political lice who was seated in the audI ience, rose and declaied the gathering dissolved. * .? All vagrants, white or black, loaf'^k about the streets should be made to move on. fFIRST NATIC ? CONWA1 P CAPITAL STOCK 1> SURPLUS PROFITS TOTAL ASSESTS IK DIRECT] J. A. McDermott, John C Mw B. G. Collins, H. L. B & M. Burroughs, C. P. Qua Successor to the Bank of ? Horry County, and a pioneer ly allied with the recent dev* M Republic. Backed by the C bfahm uoiwIr W0 hl'e i) Mt u ? . turners any reasonable acoonui |k H. A. SPIVEY, $ Cashier. BAiNK OF Con wa 4 Has largest capital and surplus of a than the combined capital and surp! CAPITAL STOCK SURPLUS LIABILITIES OK STOCK SECURITY OK DEPOSIT* DIREC Robert B. S (arborough, H. L. Buck, George J. Holiday, We offer our customers every aco will just fy, and we i ROBERT B. SCARBOROUGH, D Br FS II)K NT. We continue to pay 5 pe PROFESSIONAL CARDS. "I H. H. W'OOUWAKD Attorney and Councilor At La* CONWAY, tf. O. R. B. HCARBKOUOU OONWAY, S. C. Attorney at Law. i tf. H. BUHROUOU8 Physician and Hirgooa CX>NWAY. ft. O. B. WOFFORD WAIT. Attorney at Va Rank of Horry IluiltJiiig. CON WAV, 8. O. fH? WORLDS 6REATESTSEWIN6 MACHINE fcJ-Kam KUNNINO ^ NjjBgK Ifyou want either a Vibrating Shuttle. Rotary Shuttle or a Single Thread [Chain 8titch\ Sewing Machine write to THE NEW HOME 8EWINQ MACHINE COMPANY Orange, Mass. Many sewing machines are made to sell regardless qf quality, but the New Home is made to wear. Our guaranty never runs out Id by authorised dealers oalr* FOR SAL* BY BURROUGHS & COLLINS CO., Conway, S. O. Every decent, law abiding person, ud that means the great majority, must ardently hope that the nation has endured the last disgrace of a prize fight. Apparently the days of the prize ring are numbered. One cannot conceive of a more disgusting and brutal spectacle than that of two men pommeling each other black and blue, for the sake of the money that is in it. When two men fight because of some quarrel, then, however much we may deplore the act, some palliation may be made for it. Hut there Is none for a prize fight or prize fighters. It. Is simply a brutal exhibition for money and tc 1 )NALBANK! f, 8. C. ? * $25,000.00 2,500.00 /IS 125,000.00 A TORS: jP !. Splvey, D. T. McNeil), uck, W. R. Lewis, 1). jk ttlebaum, D. A. Spivey. Conway, t.he oldest Hank in ML , in Eastern Carolina. Closeelopnient of the Independent nlj rovernment and secured ?by yg^ repared to extend to onr cus- jUL nodatioiiB. It. G. COLLINS, it mi President. f ' HOUltY, y. S, C. ny bank in Horry county. More lus of all other banks in the county. ir?o.ooo i2,r.ot HOLDERS . . . . 50.000 3RS J 12.500 ;iors D. V. Richardson, W. A. JoiiiiBon, W ill A. i rteman ommodation which their accounts solicit your business. . V. Richardson, will a. frkkm/k Vice President. Cashiee r cent, on yearly deposits. Who Is H m?m(HTHt? The New York Tribune, President Taft's chief organ says: "Champ Clark says he wants to see the Democrats win. If be is in earnest, he can assure the party's success by going abroad and keeping his mouth shut for about four months." This hit at Mr. Clark calls forth, the following comment from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, a Republican paper that hasn't the courage of its convictions: "Mr. *Clark can hardly be exacted to welcome party success If it is to be achieved only at the cost of such self-suppression. The Constitution itself deprecates the lnlliction of cruel and unusual punishments, even on politicians." The Columbia State says "the Democrats in the lower house of Congress elected Mr. Clark leader and they represent the tremendous mainritv nf tlu> ni-mruTnfu In I hu United States. If the Richmond Times-Dispatch has been endowed either by nature or training with wisdom to advise the Democrats of this Republic, signs of its gift have been strangely lacking. Nevertheless it is one of those wearing the Democratic insignia on the lapel of Its coat and therefore is of constant .hand in ess to Republican newspapers. Were Mr. Clark and Democrats whom he represents to withdraw from active participation in party affairs and deliver the party to The Times-Dispatch and the coterie who think with it. the arrangement would be promptly ratified by the New _ . York Tribune and approved by old v Taft." The Probable Result. How much good, if any, insults from the Pan-American conference being held at Buenos Aires remains to be seen. The prospect for any practical outcome is not very encouraging. Doubtless there will be some sentimental resolutions passed and some eloquent after dinner speeches made, but that will probably he the sum total of results. The fact is, and it car,not be disguised, that some t of the Central American states are avowedly hostile to this country, and ^ that several others are jealous and suspicious of its motives. Greatly as this is to he deplored such a feeling is not unnatural. Small powers U r A HCjlinllv cnanlnimio f " vr v?? \?M?* j uuwj/IViVHD \J L rt ^ I fl L power, especially if that power over shadows in every respect the total of the smaller powers. Then, too, differences of race. speech and cus torn accenuate this feeling. Hecause of these and other causes it ^ is not reasonable to expect that the /? Conference will have muc.h practical value. Doubtless in time the present aloofness will disappear, hut no nation can force it. To attempt it would work untold mischief. It is only by a better understanding resulting from a freer and fuller intercourse with each other that suspicions are allayed and confidence promoted. Hy and by the Latin-American states will realize that this nation has no sinister motives in seekinstance. In the last few years great improvement has been made along flint 1 f tl/? llna l? 1 ?... xxv, it ii iv it iitm 1111 i c:cir*uii i ill? yield more than double. Not long ago an old and very succcssfful farmer told uh t.hat he had just begun to farm, although he had been farmin r f >r forty years. This was true, and he has yet much to learn.