Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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% FALLS TO DEATH A NAVAL OFFICER KILLED WHEN BIPLANE FELL HIS COMRADE ESCAPES Fusion ltiUinKslcy and Iiicut. Towera, United States Naval Officers, Meet With Accident in An Aerooplane, When the Former is Kill4ind the Latter Has Narrow Escape. The naval Academy added its iirst victim to the death roll of the air Friday when Ensign William I). Hillingslcy was hurled front a disabled biplane 1,000 feet in the air and fell, straight as a plummet, into the depth of Chesapeake Hay. Lieut. John A. Towers, chief of the navy aviators, clung to the hurling wreck that followed his comrade's course from skj to water and escaped death, almost miraculously. Ensign Hillingsley, in a biplane had been converted into a hydroaeroplane by the addition of pontoons, with Lieut. Towers as a passenger loft the aviation grounds at the Naval academy at Anapolis Friday morning to fly to Claiborne, some eighteen miles across the bay. About ten miles down the bay a gust of wind struck them. Ensign Hillingsley was thrown forward across the steering gear, which was disabled. The craft dropped like a dead bird towards the water. As it fell the pilot was catapulted out, and turning over and over his body outsped the disabled inachino toward the water. Deep in the bay the body sank and late Friday night all the available boats in the neiglborliood were out seeking it. When the aeroplane started on Its dive for the bay, Lieut. Towers clung desperately to one of the uprights between the planes. After falling about 900 feet, the biplane turned a complete somersault and for a moment the force- of the fall was broken. Striking the bay, it carried Lieut. Towers beneath the water, hut rose to the surface almost immediately. The aviator, suffering excruiating pain, feared that he would lose consciousness before he v could be rescued and tearing loose the lashings of one of the planes bound himself fast to a pontoon. Within a few minutes, however, he was taken off by It. L. Hronson and S. Kellar, who had watched the aeroplane's movements from a motor boat kept on the bay for use in just such emergencies. At the Naval academy hospital, Ideut. Towers, almost in a state of nervous collapse, his head wagging piteously, told the tragic story of his fall from the sky. "Just before the accident," he said, *'I looked at the altitude dial and it showed we were running at a height of about 1,625 feet. Just then a gust of wind seemed to come up from below. "The machine lurched violently and took an uncertain dive forward. This threw Ilillingsley across the steering gear and the lateral ruder planes went out of business. "With another forward lunge the binlnne droped down at express uuiu ?pe?u. il an nappeneo in a minute. Rillingsley went out of his seat and clear of tho plane. "When the ship started to fall, I had one hand around the upright, betwene the planes, and I locked it there. I knew that was my only hope. I was torn loose from my seat hut held on to the upright. I swung Hear of the planes, and the gearing. The strain on my arms and fingers was awful, hut I clenched my teeth a" ' ' ^'d on. I tried to kick the steering gear back into working order. but I could not make it go. I looked down, and saw Rilingsley turning over and over in the air." The trembling officer halted his story to wipe the sweat from his ashy face, hut went on immediately: "When the aeroplane had dropped about 900 feet the front planes went down and under, until the ship had been turned completely over. When it was half way over it steadied for a minute and tho force of the fall was broken a little, but it gathered momentum again and when it hit the water there was a terrific crash. Rut I kept clear of the engine and the planes and managed to come to the surface safely." At the hospital Friday night, L?leut Towers was listed as "slightly injured internally," but tho surgeons were in doubt as to the exact extent of his injuries. He suffered terribly from shock. iCapt. John II. Gibbons, in charge j of the naval academy. Fridav nlcit appointed a naval board of inquiry to investigate the accident, Commander W. W. Phelps, Lieut. E. J. King and Ensign Victor L. Herhster making up the hoard. The tug Standish was sent down the hay to bring in the wreck of the aeroplano and the torpedo boat Stringham and all other available craft were sent out to search for the ^ body of Ensign Billtngsley. I ? Senator La Folleto seems to have deserted the Progressives with the hope that the Republicans will nominate him for President. THAT CURRENCY BILL MEASUItE DESIGNED TO HE Li1 III'SI NESS MEN. ! It Will Tak? tli? Control of th? Money Market Out of th? Hands of 1 Wall Street. Congress turned from th? tariff 1 * * ... cuuaj ttuu ecruunizea me aaminis- ; trntion's currency bill, to be introduced in both houses next week. The tentative draft of the bill, announced Friday night, brought informal dsuicssion which the president and Democratic leaders hope will develop complete harmony. Interest centered in the supervisory powers to be exercised by the federal re- i servo board of nine members over the reserve banks. Originally it was planned to give the banks representation on the federal reserve board, but it was argued i that the banks practically have the management of the reserve banks, 1 and by placing the board entirely < under government control, a check on the reserve banks' operation will be assured. The framers of the bill desired an easy, unem.barrassing change from the present banking system by using existing machinery. The bill is expected to he liberally amended. A problem was presented in the provision to retire two per cent, bonds, now securing seven hundred million national bank notes, so as to prevent depreciation. The administration hopes the note issue provision will bo unchanged. tinder the plan state and national banks may obtain currency from roservo banks by depositing adequate security. Reserve hanks must hold 3 0 per cent, in gold of the amount of notes advanced. The interest charge will be levied on the note issue, regional reserve banks may discount notes and banks may discount notes and bills of exchange arising from commercial transactions. It is believed this will cileviato the money stringency in times of stress. The Glass bill proposes that tho new now currency law become effective ninety days after passage, but that thirty-eight months he allowed for shifting present reserves to new federal reserve banks. KILLS SELF AT 1IOMT3. Member of tho State legislature Takes llis Own Life. Fred Williams, a member of tho House of Representatives from IMckens county, committed suicide Friday afternoon about 5:30 o'clock at his home two miles west of Easley. A member of the family heard tho report of a pistol and, rushing into a shed room adjoining the front porch, found the body 011 the floor with a pistol hole in the centre of the forehead. A physician was summoned but death took place before his arrival. A note was found 011 the bureau, stating that I10 was sane but considered this the best step. It said that he owed no man and had dene no injustice to any one. He was known throughout the county and had accumulated a con siderable amount of property. He was fifty-five years of age and is survived by a wife and six children. 1 ? 4? WKNT TO HIS OWN WAKE. Supposed Dead Man Walks in Room Full of Mourners. At Kearney, N. J., James Kiely still is suffering from the shock of witnessing what his relatives and friends believed to be his own "wake". When ho returned to his home last night after a few days' abl sence he found his sister, Mrs. Catherine O'Brien, his two brothers and a score of neighbors sitting in the front parlor weeping over a coffin. The mourners spied him as he stood on the threshold and his sister fainted at the shock of seeing him. During his absence the newspapers had told of the death of James Kelley from sunstroke in .Newark. When Mrs. O'Brien read the item she feared that the victim was her brother and that the paper had misspelled the name. She viewed the body. The features wore so singularly the double of those of her .brother that she believed it to be his body. MUST DIK IN CHAIR ? Garrett is Convicted of Murdering the Campbells M. L. Garrett was convicted last week at Bishopville of murdering two men and sentenced to die in the electric chair on July 11. The crimo for which Garrett was convicted stir-] red the State. On May 18 ho shot to death his son-in-law, Aaron Camphell, and John IT. Campbell, his father. Only three days before Aaron Campbell had married Garrett's daughter. The tragedy took place at the homo of the Campbells, 13 miles from Bishopville. After firing the fatal shots Garrett fled to the nearby swamps, dragging his daughter with him. That cotton platform should bo rebuilt by some means before the cotton season opens tho latter part of next August LETTERS ARE READ SHOWING HOW LOBBY DID IT'S WORK WORKED THE SENATORS ? Several Letters thut Passed Between Oxnard and Palmer Containing References to the Handling of Senators to Suit the Sugar Trust Made Public. The Senate Lobby Committee gave to the public Wednesday over the protests of a lawyer representing Henry T. Oxnard and Truman G. Palmer, a series of letters written by those two beet sugar representatives, showing a long continued effort to influence legislation in Washington ; to control Congressional committees; and to direct national political affairs in support of the continuance of a protective sugar tariff. The Onxard-Palmer letters, produced at the close of the committee's morning session, were the chief features of an exciting day. They covered a period from 190(1, when Phlllipine free trade came up, through the balance of the Roosevelt administration, the political campaign of 1908 and into the Taft administration. Assurances that certain senators would be on the Senate Phillipine committee; that "no stone was being left unturned to get real protectionists" on the House ways and means committee; and that strong pressure could bo and was being brought to bear upon members ot both houses to accomplish various ends, appeared frequently in the series of letters. Chairman Overman's first effort to read one of the Oxnard letters, when the committee began its sessions, brought a protest from John T. Yor kes, an attorney representing Oxnard and Palmer. He declared the POTll III it t *>?> liaH Tir? i-5.rU* " r? I ? ? ...... nu i I^IH iu f;u r.uu "private correspondence" dated before the present session of congress. In a long executive session the committee decided that the letters bore directly upon the attempts of Oxnard and Palmer to influence legislation and they were at once made public. A letter from Oxnard to Palmer August 1, 1907, in part slid*. "Regarding the vacancies on the | Phillippine committee, it is true that nothing can he done until next winter, hut I spoke to Foster and Newlands, (ho told mo ho was (). K.) and asked them to apply for the vacancies mado by the Tennessee and Idaho Senators. They tol l me they would." Another letter from O-cnard to Painter: "I see no harm in having Newlands try for the committee, too. I am committed to him already. I saw Foster's political manager in Washington yesterday and impressed on hint the importance of Foster's getting Carntack's place." An unsigned letter to Oxnard dated Chicago, July 29, 1 907, was in part as follows: "Major Cove wrote to me some time since in regard to the formation of the Senate Phillippine committee in the 60th Congress and I wrote him that that matter was fixed last winter. Gove writes that Teller will take it himself, rather than to have it in uncertain hands. Any friendly Democrats seen during the winter will count." A letter August 27, 1907, from Oxnard to Palmer: "I am of the opinion that you had better not even try to get any resolution through regarding Cuba, as that might start our enemies going. Of course, we want a strong Anti-Phillimdno res olution put through." July 1 8, 1907, Oxnard wrote from New York to Palmer: "I prefer that you leave the Cuban question alone for the present. If we begin talking it will start them raising money and talking back. Regarding the trusts I would neither attack nor defend them. We don't want a tight with them if we can help it." Oxnard wrote to Palmer on July 1, 1 908: "After going over the situation with our friends here mopt carefully it was deemed best that I should not put in an appeaVance at the Denver Convention and I feel that it might be better if you also stayed away. It is alright for Morey and Gove to be there." "Another written from Chicago on October 7, 1907, to Oxnard said: "Wakeman was with Uncle Joe for four hours pnd feels that he accomplished something, though he did not feet at liberty to tell mo much In detail. From hero he went to Cincinnati at Foraker's request to meet him. "lie is leaving no stone unturned in his efforts to get real protectionists put on the committee on ways and means to fill the live vacancies." To Palmer. October 15. 1 907. Ov nard wrote from Upperville, Va: "I had been trying to find out what chances we had on the ways and moans, and am glad to get the information you givo on that line. Will bring all pressure I can on Cannon." A letter to Oxnard, dated October 1, 1907, and apparently from Palmer, said in part: "In Denver I saw both Senators Teller and Patter PAY OUT COTTON TAX SENATOR SMITH HAS A BILL FOR THAT 1'ITU'OSK. Measure Would Provide That Money lie Entrusted to Hunks of the Cotton States for Ixmns. The State's Washington correspondent says if a bill which Senator E. 1 L). Sutith of Soutli Carolina has Just introduced becomes law, millions now held in the federal treasury, and which has been there since the War Between tlie Sections, being held as a result of the cotton seizure for federal taxes, will at once ho distributed throughout the cotton growing states to be loaned by the banks. Many bills have from time to time been introduced in both houses of congress looking to distribute n of this fund, but up to the present time no practical method has ever been found for getting the money from the treasury to pay the persons or their heirs or those from whom the cotton was seized. The bill just offered by Senator Smith, which would appear to solve the mater in a most satisfactory manner, is in part as fonows: "That the secretary of the treasury be directed to deposit in the several banks of the cotton growing states the amount of money now held in the treasury accruing from the sale of cotton seized under orders of that department after the close of the Civil war, for the specitic purpose of aiding the growers of cotton in financing the cron. "That said money bo distributed among tho banks of the said States according to the amount oc the proceeds of the cotton seized within said State, provided that such banks as receive the deposit shal' furnish such security as may be required by the secretary of the treassry. . "That any part of said money may be recalled at any time by tlie secretary of the treasury upon proper notice to liquidate any property adjudicated claim for seized cotton." Senator Smith said Friday that he would make every possible effort to have this bill passed. THIRTY MHXK'.WS EXEtTTEI). Mexican Insurgents T'ndcr Francisco Villa Seek Revenge. Thirty Federal soldiers were exuted by the insurgents under (Jen. Francisco Villa, according to American refugees arriving at El Passo, Texas, Thursday by hand car from the interior of Chihuahua State. They related that this was done as revenge of a ruse of the Federals at Bustillos, Chihuahua, last Friday. The Federals had asked permission to send two trains with women and children through tho rebel lines. Villa agreed, but on seeing the train approach laden with soldiers he ordered an attack. Besides the capture of 3 0 prisoners, many of the Government troops were killed and the remainded of the 4 00 Federals forced to return toward IM&dera son. Patterson told me that Lodge stated to him that wo had those islands for the purpose of exploiting them with American capital, and that we were going to do it. "Teller told mo that Aldrich told him that ho and his crowd would stand by us, but that if the bill got on to tho floor of the Senate they would have to stay with their party and vote for the passage of the bill." "My idea has always been," the Palmer letter continued, "to starve tho thing off until general tariff reduction comes, when wo could trade with the other fellows." A letter from Oxnard to Palmer July 1 6, 1908, said in part: "I spent a day with Mr. Thomas recently on Ills yacht and he seems to think we had better stand iu with Mr. Taft if possible." A letter from Palmer to Oxnard, July 8, 1908, in part: "When Taft was nominated I sent him a congratulatory telegram and this morning received his thanks. On the 29th I sent him a letter recalling my last interview with him and enclose copy herewith. I hope that he will not convey a verbal reply through some third party." Oxnard wrote from Washington, December 26, 1 907, to Palmer, then in Chicago: "I have seen Col. Edwards and got him to agree with mo that it is poor policies for Taft to push this measure this winter and no in KoinK 10 try ana nring him to that way of thinking. I also saw Loeb, who agreed with me that the wholo Bubejct had hotter bo postponed and will talk with the President. Wliilo I have little hopo of success I shall keep at it on those lines." Oxnard at ITpperville, Va., received another letter from Chicago, dated October 29, 1 907. Here is part of it: "I was glad to hear that you are keeping that matter in mind for of course, if we could hold the ways and means committee, it would save a lot of work and avoid a heap of danger. O-ove says further," tho letter continues, "that Colcock further informs him that if ho succeeds he will not need but three Republicans on that committee to hold any matter up that may some." \ THE CURRENCY BILL I WILL BE INTRODUCED IN HOUSE NEXT MONDAY IS OUTLINED BY GLASS To Provide* M??nr?<4 for 11*?< 11#!???? Specified Typos of (Ymiinercial l*aper, a Basis for Klustic Notes Properly Safeguarded, and Machinery for Doing Foreign Bunking Business. Tho Administration curronov bill was made public by Representative (Jlass, chairman of tho Mouse committee on banking and currency. It will be introduced in the House and Senate after President Wilson has delivered in person his address to Congress on Monday. An outline of tho measure prepared by Mr. (Jlass describing it as " a basis for legislative action", states that it will be gone over in detail for alterations, and sets out that its purpose is to accomplish three principal objects: Provision of a means for rediscounting commercial paper of specified types. A basis for elastic notes properly safeguarded. Machinery for doing foreign hanking business. Tho measure's essentials remain as they have been outlined from time to timo since the President began a study of tho subject with House and Senate leaders, Secretary McAdoo and other advisers, provided twelve or more Federal reserve banks, which will rediscount paper deal in government securities, exchange and conduct government fiscal operations. National banks and such State banks and trust companies as confirm to standards would bo stockholders of mo reserve nanus. The government .vould hold no stock. The government would control the Federal reserve banks entirely thru a Federal reserve board of seven members in which the hanks would have no representation. The hoard would he composed of the Secretary'' of the Treasury, Secretary of Agriculture, the comptroller of the currency, as members ex officio; four other members would ,be chosen by tho President and continued by the Senate. The national bank note circulation would remain undisturbed and no proposal is made in tho bill for retiring approximately $700,000,000 2 per cent, bonds, upon which that note issue now rests. An amendment or separate bill to refund these bonds into 3 per cent, bonds may be introduced later. In addition to the $700,000,000 existing national bank notes, not more than $500,000,000 in what are to bo known as Federal reserve treasury notes might be issued at tho discretion of the Federal reserve board solely for the purpose of making advances to tho Federal reserve banks, which would do no business with the public, deal only with their member banks and receive deposits only from the United States. While tho notes would on their face, purport to bo the obligations of the United States, they would be required to be secured by a gold reserve of 33 1-3 per cent., provided by the Federal reserve bank, would bo a first and paramount lien on all the assets of these hanks and would bo redeemable in gold on demand at the treasury department at Washington or any Federal reserve bank. Stringent provisions are made against counting any of these notes as a part of bank reserves, and the system is guarded against inflation by lodging power with the Federal reserve board to exact an interest charge upon the treasury notes in order to secure their prompt redemption. The notes are not made legal tender, but would bo receivable by the government and every bank of the system at par without exchange. No chango would be made in the protection of other existing notes. The Federal reservo board would require one Federal reserve bank to rediscount not necessarily uniform for all reserve banks, but made with a view to accommodating the commerce of the country and promoting a stable price level. For recasting the present bank reservo system the bill proposes to transfer the reserves from national banks in the present reservo and central reserve cities to Federal reserve banks, carrying the process of trans for over thirty-eight months to avoid shock to market conditions. The bill proposes, according to Mr. Glass's statement, "ultimately the establishment of a reserve system in which country banks will havo 1 5 per cent, of reserve (namely, 15 per cent, of total demand liabilities) such 15 per cent, to be held 5 per cent, in the banks' vaults, 5 per cent, with the National Reservo Bank and 5 per cent, either at home or with tho reservo bank, while reservo and central reserve city banks havo reserves of 20 per cent, of demand liabilities of which 10 per cent, will bo at home, 5 per cent, with the reserve bank of the district and 5 por cent, either at homo or with the reservo POSSE FIGHT BANDITS 1 WHO HAD HELD VP A PA88ENwitovua TI? ? nr uuif !<?( i?r<r?n I iv.ll.li __ The Ilandits Capture and Disarm Two Members of Posse and Then Karaix* on Knglne. M Two bandits who held up the Diamond Special of the Illinois Central In a spectacular manner Wednesday morning, cowed the passengers, fought off a hastily organized posse ji and applied at least six charges of dynamite to the "through" safe, were ill-paid for their daring at- d tempt. The explosive failed to break tr the heavy safe containing $25,000. is Soon after midnight, as the train d bound from Chicago to St . Louis >f neared (Jlenarm, III., a masked man lclimbed over the tender and ordered it) the engineer to "stop her". He did. As curious trainmen and passengers .V peered out of the cars to seo what ^ was tho trouble, they heard bullets whizzing past their heads and were 9 ordered by one of the bandits to stay in the cars. 1 The other meanwhile was cutting ' off the express car. After taking his partner aboard, they ordered the engineer to pull the express car down the track. The first charge of dynamite aroused some farmers and after the second charge had been fired they ^ telephoned to Springfield. Several ofllcers Jumped into automobiles and nurneu 10 inn scene. The robbers were at work whon the posse arrived. 3 The robbers not only started to I fight the posse, but captured and disarmed two members of It, one a po- . liceman and the other a newspaper reporter. When the battle became j too hot they boarded the engine, which had been cut off from tho express car, and ran it rapidly toward that city. When near the city limits they jumped from the engine and tied. Tho agent of the Wells-Fargo & Co. said that the safe, which was blown open, contained about $f>00 and that this amount would cover the loss. VOTK TO ItNITSK CI1T. J I Methodist Ilishops Kxposo < 'iirnegie's Shrewd Scheme. At a called meeting of the Methodist Fpiscopal church, South, attended by nine members of the college of bishops, a veto message was drawn up, setting forth tho following objections to the action of tho board of trustees in accepting the recent gift from Andrew Carneigie to tho Vanderbilt Medical college: "That tho action of the board of trust of Vanderbilt, in accepting the gift, is a breach of trust vested in it under and by virtuo of the roeoltttions of tho Memphis convention, constitute tho foundation of Vanderbilt university; that said action is beyond tho powers of the board and that it constitutes a diversion of a large portion of the funds and property of tho university from tho trnota upon which Bald property is held, is contrary to tho terms of the other gifts to the university, and is illegal, null and void." A copy of this action will he duly certified and forwarded to tho secretary of tho board of trust of tho university. Those attending the the meeting were: Bishops Collins Denny, E. K. Hendrix, W. R. Larahuth, E. D. Mouzon, J. C. Kllgore, J. H. McCoy, E. E. Hobs, II. C. Morrison and W. A. Candler. Eight Legs for Ten Men. The burial of Charles E. Moore, of Chicago, 111., one-legged manager of an artificial limb manufacturing concern was attended by ton men who had but eight legs between them. Tho four pallbearers had a leg each. Two men attended who had no legs, except of the artificial kind, and four others had four legs. ? Week of Heavy Rain. Roawell, N. M., is menaced by a huge volume of water pouring down tho Rio Hondo river from the White Mountains. Cloudbursts after a week of continuous rain caused tho flood. bank," the statement says. "Tho presumed effect of this Dlan will be to end the placing of reserves with central reserve city banks for use in stock market operations, to keep reserves in some measure at homo and to require speulators to get the funds they need in their operations, either by directly borrowing them from persons who hold them and want to lend the cash for that purpose or elso by borrowing from the banks in the places where the operations aro to be carried on "In tho belief that the present reserve system is antiquated and unsatisfactory, that to tho massing of funds in New York and other finan eial centres, of which so much has been said in recent years, is largely lue to tho presont reserve requirements of national banks, and that in order to get tho real benefit from the system of rediscount which has been oroposed as a remedy for many existing evils, it is necessary to base such system upon an actual control of reserves, provision has been made for recasting tho present bank reserve systom.