The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, February 22, 1912, Image 3
A SERIOUS CHARGE
LETTER WAS CHANGED IN GOVERNOR
BLEASE'S OFFICE.
SAYS FINANCIAL AGENT
J. P. Matthews in a Letter to Governor
HI ease-?Letter as Changed
From Original Holster Up Illease's
Claim for Credit for Getting State
Ijoan?The Letters Given.
Correspondence relative to the famous
State loan dispute was given
r?ut Tnf?sflav niirht. Stato Treasurer
It. H. Jennings asks Mr. J. P. Matthews.
cashier, three questions:
First. "Was it necessary for the
Governor to go to New York to effect
the loan?" Second. "Was it intended
to lend the money at a lower
rate than was offered in the bid?"
Third. "What was the agreement
as to interest?"
Replying, Cashier Matthews said:
"I will say that it was not necessary
for the Governor or any other oflleor
to go to New York" for the money
offered at 3 per cent, under the bid
of Apr!' 17. It was the custom of a
State official'to go to New York "for
the protection that such olllcer could
give to the State." Second. "It was
not intended to get or offer cheaper
money than was bid for." Third.
"There was no agreement as to interest."
Here is the whole correspondence:
Responsibility Shifted.
The following message was sent
to the general assembly on February
8 by the governor of South Carolina:
' 11 - ?' 1 ~ 9
"To tllO HOnoraDl?, me raeumcrs Ui
the Genera] Assembly of the State
of South Carolina:
"Gentlemen: In my general mos- j
sago to the general assembly for
1012, under the head of 'Finance,*
I made certain statements; and I
herewith transmit to you statements
from Mr. J. Pope Matthews, cashier
of the Palmetto National bank of Columbia,
and the Hon. George Bell
Timmerman, solicitor of the Eleventh
judicial circuit, in reply to a statement
recently filed with you ,by the
) State treasurer.
"The statements of Messrs. Matthews
and Timmerman clearly show
that the arrangements for borrowing
the money, and the signing of the
notes by myself, had not been completed
until after we reached New
York.
"I have stated my part of this
transaction just as it happened; and,
whatever differences may have taken
\ place between Mr. Matthews, as
agent of the State, and tho State
treasurer as to the amounts drawing
interest, is of no concern of mine,
and if the amounts did not draw
interest as was agreed with me they
should do, Mr. Matthews' letter
clearly shows the reason. T could
only make the agreement that it
p should draw interest; it was the duty
of the State treasurer to see that the
agreement was complied with.
"Very respectfully,
"Cole L. Blease,
"Governor.
Kxplnnation Asked.
The following letter was addressed
by It. 11. Jennings, tbe State troas^
urer, to J. Pope Matthews, the flnan
cinl agent of the State:
"The statements in your letter of
the 7th instant to Gov. Please aro
not in accord with the statements
made in your letter of the 6th to me.
I "In order that tho matter in controversy
may he perfectly clear, I respectfully
submit the following questions
for your answer:
"Was it. necessary for the governor,
or other State officer, to go with
you to New York to enable you to
furnish the money borrowed at 3 per
cent., which you had contracted to
do, as evidenced by your bid of April
17, and as shown ,by your receipt of
April 20th?
"In requesting that a State officer
^should accompany you to New York,
was it, or not, your purpose to furnish
the money needed at a lower
rate, if possible, than you had offered
in your bid?
"What was the agreement between
& yourself and Gov. Please, as to the
borrowed money on deposit in your
bank drawing interest?
"Very truly yours,
"R. H. Jennings,
"State Treasurer."
Record Sot. Straight.
The following letter was sent to
t? it. Jennings, the Stat.o treasurer,
by J. Popo Matthews, financial agent
of the State:
"Your letter of the 12t.h in reference
to the State loan just received,
and I regret to say that there wero
errors in my letter of the 7th to Gov.
Please.
"These errors were caused by the
| rewriting of the letter after I had
read the original draft.
I did not read the second copy before
signing, as explaned in a letter
to the governor, a copy of which I
am enclosing herewith.
"Replying to your first question, I
will say that it was not necessary for
the governor or other State officer to
go to New York with me to enable
H|W|BBP|BBWWPPWf'^W'w|'' V* t v \ * i pqf,i?ijl{yp. , iy, .mp .
me to tamtah tbe moae/ borrowed o
at 3 per cent., a* we contracted to c
do, aa evidenced by my bid of April fl
17, and as shown by the receipt of ti
the bank dated April 20. It has been n
the custom In the past for some I
officer of the State of South Carolina
to go to New York with me on h
account of the size of the transac- s!
tlon, and for the protection that such a
officer could give to the State. b
"Answering your second question, f<
which reads as follows: 'In request- 1<
lug that a State officer should accom- a
pany you to New York, was It, or h
not, your purpose to furnish the
money needed at a lower rate if pos- 1<
Bible than you had offered in your
bid? I will say that it was my in- "
tcntion to give the State the very
best rate that I could |K>ssihly secure
for them, und it was my intention to y
lower the rate If possible. My pur- n
poso in requesting a State officer to S
accompany mo to New York was to u
safeguard the interests of both par- fi
ties, and to havo presont, when tile ii
contract was finally completed, an r<
officer of the State as a witness to
the transaction in case any question c
should arise in the future, and also p
that ho might furnish any informa- T
tion in regard to the State's affairs if e<
dosirod. 11
"In reply to your third question, S
which is as follows:' 'What was the 11
agreement between yourself and s;
Gov. Bleaso as to the borrowed mon- r<
ey on deposit in your bank drawing t<
interest?' I beg to state that there a
was 110 agreement. tl
"Yours vory truly, o
(Signed) "J. P. Matthews, h
"Cashier." g
o
Composes the Letters.
The following letter was addressed '
on February 9 to Gov. IMease by J.
Pope Matthews, financial agent of
the State:
"At your request I called on you (]
In your office day before yesterday,
and dictated to your stenographer a
statement relating to the loan made
fho State last summer through the 4.
Palmetto National Bank. This statement
as firat written out by your
stenographer and submitted to me
read as follows: '
" 'Columbia, S. C., Feb. 7th, '12. J"
" 'Hon. Cole L. Blease, Governor of ,
?i
South Carolina, Columbia, S. C.
" 'My Dear Sir: Complying with t(
your written request, in reference to 4
the loan made through me to the
| State of South Carolina, I beg to aay
that w? submitted a proposition to
tho flnancial board just as we have "
done in tho past. I invited, in my ''
bid, a representative of the State to j}1
go to New York with me to finally ^
conclude tho matter, his expenses to (
bo paid by the State of South Caro- c
lina. The representative to repre- 1
sent the State of South Carolina was
delegated to the governor by the j
commission. I had, of course, noticed
considerable comment in the ( '
papers in refercnco to tho ability of u
the Stato to borrow money if you 1,1
were elected, and I thought it noth- |,(
ing but proper that tho owner of )l
$500,000 worth of paper of South u
Carolina should have occasion to dis- u
cuss with the governor tho affairs
of tho State, in order that they %(
might, for themselves, get some idea fo
of who they were doing business ('
with.
" 'Tho paper was accepted readily V(
and there was not the slightest hesitatation
in tho acceptance of the
paj>cr.
" 'In reference to your other question,
in regard to 20 per cent, being
left on deposit with this blank, I bog
to say that there was no request as
made. sl
" 'It would have been our pleas- U}
uro to have paid interest on the ,T
State's balance, as agreed with you, (,(1
if the treasurer had been in the po- (<>
sition to have left any stated amount Wi
with us for any definite time. It has <M
been tho custom in the past for the
State to havo to pay quite a sum of
money for pensions some time dur- cc
ing tho first of the year, and as a 1?
rule something like $250,000 to ar
$2 75,000 are paid out for such purpose.
Shortly aftor that the interest 2^
on tho State debt is obliged to he 111
met, and this, with tho pensions, T1
practically takes up all of the $500,- th
000. If any unexpended balances in
wero left in tho bank wo would bare
gladly paid interest thereon; and if xvi
we had had any definite understanding
as to tho amount and time, as
stated to you, we would have gladly 1?'
paid interest thereon. We have regular
interest-bearing accounts with
tho Fftato for which wo pay 4 per ca
cent.
" 'It has been customary with the
banks throughout the country to re- ar
quire 20 per cent, of the money bor- 0,1
rowed to bo left on deposit without i-e
interest. This, I .believe, was cov- ov
ored in your message, along with
other matters, which are the true in
facts in tho case. m
"I believe the above covered all 80
of your written requests. wl
" 'Yours very truly, Pi
"J. Pope Matthews, mi
" 'Cashier Palmetto National Bank pa
cf Columbia, S. C.
tic
liotter Was Rewritten, m;
"Yesterday when the letter was en
presented to me to bo signed, my at- 1?
tention was called to the fact that a8
there had been some repetition in w<
tho wording of tho original draft and m<
to tho fact that the letter had been w<
rewritten. es
"I was very busy at the time, and fu
on being assured that the letter was re
in all respects substantially the wi
same, I signed the letter without
\
OMjMuiBf I* wMh lb* orlfbul draft
xcopt for the flnt iMtfAgrapk I now
nd that la copying the let tar earaln
rhiutgw had haea wid> which
inkea tha mum different from what
intended and somewhat misleading.
"I did not gat an opportunity to
50k over tha copy of tha letter
Igned till lata yaatarday afternoon,
s 1 was not only vary busy at tha
ank, but had to ba out of my office
jr two hours In the afternoon. I
earned later, however, that you had
lready sent in your massage to tha
)gislature.
"The following Is a copy of the
jtter signed by me:
" 'Columbia, S. C? Feb. 7th, '12.
'Hon. Cole L. Blease, Governor of
South Carolina, Columbia, S. C.
" 'My Dear Sir: Complying with
our request, In reference to the loan
* * ~ c>n?. r\t
mue mruuKu uio iv mo umco vi.
outh Carolina, I beg to say that
:e submitted a proposition to tho
nancia'i board, just as we have done
1 the past. I Invited, In my bid, a
epresentatlve of the State to go to
lew York with mo to dually conludo
the matter, his oxpenses to bo
aid by the State of South Carolina,
'ho governor was delegated by tho
iniiptroiler general and State treasrer
as tho representative of the
tate of South Carolina to accompay
mo. I had, of courso, noticed conIderable
comment in the papors in
eferenco to the ability of the State
d borrow money If you were eloctod,
nd I thought it nothing but proper
:iat the owners of $500,000 worth
f paper of South Carolina should
ave occasion to discuss with the
overnor the affairs of tho State, in
rder that they might, for themclves.
get bomo idea of who they
ere doing business with. The transection
was not concluded, neitherere
the notes signed until after we
Pitched New York. Tho paper was
cotpted readily and tliere was not
allchfoaf hna1?taHr>n in tho ar
eptance of tho notes and the bor)wing
of the money.
" 'In reference to your other queson,
in regard to 20 per cent, being
ft on deposit with this bank, I beg
) nay that there was not such reuest
made, as heretofore. It ha?
con customary with the hanks
iroiighout the country to require
() per cent, of the money borrowed
> bo left on deposit, without inter->t;
but in this loan, as stated by
du, no such request was made.
" 'If the treasurer had loft any
ated amount with us for any deflito
time, it would have been our
leasure to have paid interest therein,
as agreed with you. It has been
le custom in tlio past for the State
> have to pay quite a sum of money
>r pensions some time during the
rst of the year, and as a rule someling
like $250,000 to $275,000 are
lid out for such purposes. Shortly
fter that tho interest on the State
abt is obliged to bo met, and this,
ith tho pensions, practically takes
[> all of the $500,000. If any unex3nded
balances had been loft In the
ink we would have gladly paid inrest
thereon, as stated to you; and
e would have paid interest thereon.
" 'This, I believe, was covered in
)ur message, along with other matrs,
which are the true facts in the
ise, just as stated in your message.
" 'I believe tho above covers all of
iur wiltten requests.
" 'Yours very truly,
" 'J. P. Matthews.
'Cashier Palmetto National Bank
of Columbia, S. C.'
Matter Not Discussed.
"One could judge from my letter
i above that you an<l I had made a
ecial agreement in reference to unsed
balance of the $500,000 bor>\ved
in New York, while you, of
uirs^, know <iuite well that the matr
of paying interest on balances
as not referred to at all during our
itire trip.
"My letter was also made to say
at this bank had required 20 per
nt. .balance 'heretofore' on State
ans, but did not require such a bailee
in this particular instance. My
atement to you in reference to the
) per cent, balance referred to comereial
accounts only of individuals,
le word 'heretofore* was added in
o copy signed and did not appear
the original.
"In rending the letters over you
ill notice thai other mistakes have
>cn made. In other words, In atmpting
to revise the wording of the
iter in lias heen very confused and
0 meaning completely twisted.
"I think It nothing hut proper to
11 your attention to these changes,
liieh I did not notice when I signed.
"I will add that if I had made an
rangement with you to pay interest '
1 the State's deposits then my let- j
r might be taken to imply that we
ire the State interest.
"You will recall that while discuss- 1
g the letter with you, and while
dating in your office, you made "
veral suggestions, asking me i
tiether, if the State had had sur- i
us money and if a positive arrange- I
ent had been made, we would have
id interest on the surplus money. 1
dictating I referred to this ques- f
^t\. hut the letter as sisrned has <
iido me say something very differ- <
t from what I intended. In the 1
iter tho expression was used 'as
reed with you.' In dictating these I
>rds I certainly intended them to I
can that I agreed with you* that I <
juld have been willing to pay inter- i
t in case there had been surplus i
nds, and I did not intend them to i
fer to any supposed agreement had
th you heretofore.
"If we had made any snch ar
BLACKBURN'S VERSION
BLKASB'S STENCHi RAP HUB ON j
CHANGES IN LETTKtt.
?
Says Cashier Mattliaws Was Shows
and He Head the Letter as Used
by the Governor.
Mr. W. F. Blackburn, stenographer
to Governor Rlease. handei to
reporter copies of a letter which lie
had addressed to Mr. J. P. Matthews,
as follows:
Mr. J. P. Matthews, Cashier, Palmetto
National Bank, Columbia, 8. C.
Dear Sir: My attention has been
called to a letter from you bearing
- A ' ? U l-U 4. .
date February ?, in wuu-u juu niaio.
"Yesterday when the letter was
presented to me to be signed my attention
was called to the fact that
there had been some repetition In the
wording of the original draft and to
the fact that the letter had been rewritten.
"I was Tory busy at the time, and
on boing assured that the letter was
In all respects substantially the sane,
I signed the letter without oemparing
it with the original draft except for
the first paragraph. I now find that
in copying the letter certain changes
had been made which makes the
sense differeut from what I intended,
and eomewhat misleading."
And In which you further state:
"In reading the letters over yon
will notice that other mistakes hare
been made. In other words, In attempting
to revise the wording of the
letter It has been very much confused
and th# meaning completely
twisted."
In reply thereto I beg leave to
state that your letter of February 7
Is Just as you dictated it In the governor's
office to me, with the exceptions
which were called to your attention,
when I presented to you letter
No. 2. Letter no 2, a? I designate
It here to Identify it, was written
out by me; carried to the Palmetto
National bank and handed you
by me at your desk; I showed you
both letters, the one you signed In 1
the governor's office, No. 1, and let
ter No. 2, pointing out the changes '
which had been mad? and compared
the first paragraph with you. You
continued reading letter No. 2, and
after you finished reading the entire
letter, you signed it and tero up your !
copy of letter No. 1 and threw it in
the waste basket under your desk; 1
handed the original letter, No. 2, '
back to me and asked me for a copy '
(hereof, which I gave you. I then '
left the bank. 1
An examination of the original let- 1
ter will show two pencil marks made
on the margin thereof, indicating the 1
places where tho changes were made.
A further examination of the original '
letter, No. 2, will show that you init- '
ialed page one on the margin, sign- (
ing, "J. P. M.," clearly showing that. I
you did read tho letter and in order '
to protect yourself from any chances. '
as a business man, you initialed the '
first page, and on the bottom of tho (
letter (the second page) signed "J. i
P. Matthews, Cashier, Palmetto National
Bank of Columbia, S. C."
Your statement that the letter was
twisted by me is absolutely misleading
and really amusing. The idea of
a man, the cashier of a bank with a
capital stock of $250,000, a surplus
and profit of $ 100,000 and deposits
of $2,500,000 (approximately) sign- i
ing a paper Involving a $500,000 r
transaction without reading it over, t
and without knowing what ho was s
signing, simply doing so at the re- c
quest of an humble stenographer, t
working for a small salary, is absurd. '
if this be true, Mr. Matthews, it is i
time for your board of directors and \
the depositors of your bank to begin i
to investigate what othor papers or I
transactions might have taken place \
with your signature, without consid- ^
eration or without reading. To be c
frank, Mr. Matthews, I have no oh- J
jectlon to you playing "twlttle dum f
and twlttle dee" with the governor \
and the State treasurer, trying to \
hold the friendship and influence of a
both for your bank, making one _
statement when you are in the pros- ^
enc? of one and another when you
are in the presence of the other;
neither do I object to your playing
with the State treasurer that little '
game of "tickle me, Robert, tickle .
me do; you tickle me, Robert, and
I'll tickle you," In order to hold the
deposits of the State for your bank- (
ing Institution; but I do seriously j
object, my friend, Mr. Matthews, to r
you endeavoring to make me appear j
that I twisted your letter or that, i
made a false statement to you in or- ^
dor to get you to sign a letter when u
it is not true; but, in order to save t.
o
rnngoment it would have, of course, il
materially affected (lie rate mode to p
[fie State on the $.">00,000 loan.
"This statement is made to protect n
the bank and to avoid any misoon- fi
struc.tfon which might be placed up- t.
sn the letter signed by me yo^ter- y
lay. i am sure ui.u you wouiu 1101 w
have rue make a misstatement. t<
"You, of course, as an officer of It
he State, can use this letter as you t<
hink best. Tint. I will ask that you e
3o me the favor of correcting the p
Impression Riven in the coinmnntcn- t:
tion of yesterday, fly so doing you c
Evlll certainly oblige. >
"Yours very truly, f<
"J. Pope Matthews,
"Cashier."
FATAL TRAIN WRECK
THREE DEAD AND SIXTY-SEVEN
MORE OR LESS HURT
NINE CARS JUMP TRACK
All But Two Cur* of Train (join# at (
High Speed Thrown From H?ih, <
l'ltinginK Down Embankment to ;
River's When tojunlizing {
<
liar Drops From Locomotive.
Three persons were killed and sixty-seven
injured Thursday, when the
Pennsylvania Limited, No. 2, eastbound,
jumped the track at Warrior's
i
Ridge, a short distance west of Huntington,
Pa., and nine ot' th# eleven J
cars rolled down an embankment to
the edge of the Juanita River.
The dead are: Harry A. Mass,
New York; Mrs. J. E. Tavenner,
Washington, D. C.; negro maid *
named Hall, New York. On? body
is supposed to be under the wreck- (
age.
The train, consisting of t? n passenger
cars and a postal coach, left
Altoona, thirty miles wast of the
scene of the accident, more than an 1
hour late. At the time of the disas
ter, It is stated, the limited v as go- *
lng at the rate of fifty miles an nour. *
As the heavy train, which was draw 1 1
by two locomotives, neared Warrior's
Ridge, the equalizing bar on the *
second locomotive dropped to (lie
rails. This bar is over ttie trailer
wheel, and holds up the spring of the '
locomotive.
The first car passed over the obstruction,
but nine succeeding cars '
jumped the tracks and dropped down
the embankment to the brink of the !
i
river.
As the ponderous steel cars, with '
their human freight, dashed down
the bank, the telegraph poles were
snapped off like pipe stems. Two re- 1
lief trains, one from here and another
from Altoona, were rushed to
tho scene of the wreck. All of those 1
killed were in the first, dining car.
This is said to be the first time on ,
record that a train composed of allsieel
cars has been wrecked on the
Pennsylvania. Nothing shor* of a t
miracle could have saved frail wood- c
en cars from crumbling and going c
into the Juanita River. Even the big i 1
steel cars were badly twisted, but 1
there were no splinters or fire to add j
o the horror of the wreck.
Conductor H. R. Patterson, of Harrisburg,
who was in charge of the'j
wrecked train, said there were 102
persons on the train. It is said that
some of the cars turned completely c
over and that three of them are *
practically hanging on the bank of
the river. The water at this point is I ^
oetween fifteen and twenty feet deep
mil had the cars toppled into the riv?r
nothing could have saved the occu- c
pants.
r
COME OUT IX THE OI'EV. t
, c
redely's Supporters Bitterly Assail T
r
President Tuft. * c
A statement issued Wednesday .
light at "The Washington oflices of
ho Roosevelt national committee" In
c
he interest of Col. Roosevelt, and N
dgned by Medill McCormick, declar-j
Ml that President Taft's administra- j!
li '1.1 nmhnrlfofl nnnti ?l nnlipv O f I
""" V",,J ' " ' * - c
'political suicide and murder. ' Presdent
Taft's New York Speech, in ^
vliich he referred to "political neu- J.
'otics," is criticized, as in Secretary
tfcVeagh'a speech at Lansing, in
vhich he declared that Mr. Roose- ?
relt would not and could not he a ,
andidate for the presidency. Mr.
dcCormlck, who recently withdrew .(
rom Senator La Follette's campaign, tlas
opened oflicos in a down town N
Washington ollice building. The J(
itatement was issued from there.
'ourself in a transaction, which from
rour two letters, one is forced to
udge that you have been playing
louble. No, Mr. Matthews, you read
he h'tter over very caiefully, you ^
nitialed it, in order to show you
aution, as all good business men do,
nd now, Mr. Matthews, don't play
he baby act and try to throw the
ilame off on a poor humble stenogapher
who has to work hard fojr his n
ittle salary and who has nothing to 11
nake his living out of except his a
rain and his good name for faithful- r<
ess and honesty, while you are en- '
renchod with your many thousands ^
f dollars in a handsome paying pos- ^
Lion, wealthy, influential anl inde- "
en dent. 11
I assure you that you have done sl
le a grave injustice and I am satis- *
ed that when you take the second lt
nought your manliness will prompt i'
ov to apologize for the insinuations *
thich you have made in endeavoring
j make the world believe that your n
rter was "twisted to bolster claims
^ ^rodit." and that von wore not so
areless or so reckless as to sign a
a per of this magnitude and Imporfince
without having read it very ii
arefully. Don't plead guilty, Mr. D
Tatthews, to such folly; it looks bad lc
:>r such a great financier. tl
Yours Very truly, F
(Signed) W. P. Blackburn. w
REFUSE TO FAY CLAIM 1
If ATS AND MEAN'S COMMITTED
AGAINST I*A VMENT, |
Aay* tht Contract flutcrwl Into Was
Illegal aiikI Without Warrant of
I>arr of Slate.
On the grounds that the contract
entered into between W. W. Dixon
and F. M. Bryan and Todd & Benson
was illegal, the ways and means committee
of the House reported unfavorably
Tuesday night on the question
of paying $13,550 to the Charleston
architects as the hrtt installment on
the plaas they drew for remodeling
the State house under an agreement,
iniered into last September iti tho
fcorernor's office, by the firm and tho
oihcoinmittee from the committee on
State house and grounds. Hero is
the report:
'To the Honorable, the House of
Representatives of the State of
South Carolina.
"Gentlemen: We, your committee
9t wars and means, to whom was referred
the report of the committeo
->n the State house and grounds published
in the jp lrnal of Thursday,
Krbruarr 1, 19 12, beg leave to report
we hare gone into the matter as
thoroughly as possible an 1 submit
he following report:
"We desire to call your attention
to message No. 5, i age 251, of the
journal of last year, which called tho
attention of the general assembly to
the approaches of the ground floor
jf the enpitol, in tho following words:
" 'I think some arrangement
should he made by which carriages
:nn he driven to the side entrance,
and that the entrance he so arranged
that persons can might from their
carriages and enter the State houso
with convenience, either in bad or
e,ood weather. 1 have heard many
Grangers remark about having to
pass through water closets in order
to enter our State cilices, and I hope
that you gentlemen will take some
steps to relieve the situation.'
"We also desire to call your attention
to the concurrent resolution in
*e?f>onse to said message, which resolution
is as follows: 'He it resolved
oy the house of representatives, with
die senate concurring, that hip exceleney,
the governor, is hereby audiorized
and requested to appoint a
jonimittee or authorize a committee
of State house and grounds to employ
the services of an architect to
nake such estimates of costs and to
nake such plans as may be desired
o carry out the recommendations of
lis excellency, the governor, in regard
to the State bouse as suggested
n said message.'
"Hy construing the resolution in
onnection with tho message, we are
if the opinion that tho committee on
state house and grounds nas far exseeded
its authority in entering into
he contract with the architect, and
hat the plans submitted wore never
:onteinplated by, and are useless and
inavailable for the purposes of the
esolution.
"The improvement of tho entrance
o the present building and redress
>f the publicity of the closers affords
to sufficient pretext for the enornous
pro.'ect. of enlargement of tho
apitol and dome, the plans for which
he committee has seen lit to conract.
"With the report was submitted a
laini by Todd & Ilenson, architects,
or the sum of $13,550 for the plans
hove referred t:>, which were contacted
for by a subcommittee of tho
onimittee on State house and
rounds, which original claim is hereon/1
ty.o/Io ii nnW nf
eport.
"Since we have concluded that the
on tract was entered into without
warrant of law, we recommend that
he claim bo disallowed.
"We herewith submit legal opin)ns
by the attorney general, G. R.
Lembert, T. J. Klrkland and W. if.
licholson, furnished to the commit?e
upon its request, and upon which
has based its legal conclusions.
"L/Owndes J. Browning,
"Chairman."
COTTON IMCKINti MACHINES.
0,
'hey May Be Manufactured in tho
City of Spartanburg.
The Journal says a conference was
eld Wednesday morning between
lembers of the new industries comjit
tee of the chamber of commerce
ml C. NT. Goodwin and V. T. Cooley,
^presenting the Southern Cotton
larvester Copany, which, it Is
nought, will result in tins company
uniting in Spartanburg. A machijio
ke those which the now company
roposes to manufacture was demontratod
in the chamber of commerce
liis morning and it will do the work,
is said. Cotton is extracted from
tie bolls by suction. Inductmenta
ro being offered and it would not
e surprising to see this company
lake its permanent home in Sparin
burg.
They llad a Close Call,
After fifteen hours' imprisonment
i the Fairmount coal shaft near
anvllle, 111., fifty miners were reused
hy men who chopped ice from
10 shaft. The men were entombed
riday by the breaking off of tho
heel of the controlling cage.