The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, January 11, 1923, Image 1
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ft
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yoiioniti xxxvu
HIDES BABY 1
UNDER STRAW
Nettie Graham Young Moral
Derelict, is Taken'to
Prtli imki r?
VrVIUJIIUId
HUMAN INTlREST STORY
Great Work Being Done by
Board of Public Welfare
in This State
The taking of Nettie Graham and
her baby to the public welfare instil
tution in Columbia recently, by J. S.
Vaught, Judge of Probate for Horry
County, ends a human interest story
involving moral turpitude in young
people as well as in older ones, and
a possible reform which may in time
produce more useful members of some
community.
The facts of the case have not been
prenerally known. They are being
published for the first time now. It
all shows the great work that is being
done by the State Board of Public
Welfare, through and by means also
of the better class of our people
and their officers of sroverament.
It dates back to about July 1922,
when citizens of a section of Dog
Bluff township came to the Judge of
Probate and made complaint that a
young woman, about twenty years of
age, a daughter of George Graham,
was off in the woods with a young infant
which she was managing to take
caof in some way, and without the
aid of family or friends, and without
the usual comforts of raising the
young, and probably with scanty food
and clothing that she was able to pick
up or that may have been thrown at
her by those who had cast her out.
The Judge of Probate looked into
it and found that the facts had been
correctly reported to him.
He then summoned to a hearing, the
girl herself, with the baby, the father
of the young woman, and a number of
members of the community to testify.
He arranged to have it vcei^ain
jf possible that those whom he summoned
would be apt to attend.
At the hearing: it was brought out.
that th* baby had been bom while
Fhe lived at the home of her father;
that the father had sought to have
her take legal steps against another
? who appears to be a relative by blood
or marriage, and failing in this, he
cast her out. She went off with the
I habv. Later the father got sorry and
WAtl 1/1 fwr f A rMtf ll OT
nt^IVlCU tHUt IIC nrvuiu VI J VV
to let him take the baby and raise it.
By another person, used by him as a
messenger. he pot possession of the
child. Still later he found it too hard
a job, as he was a "widower, and not
anxious to marry again, so he pave
the baby to Fred Lewis to have rtnd to
hold.
Some time after this baby had been
given to Fred Lewis, the mother, having
worried her heart sore'over its
absence, slipped up to the Lewis place
and stole the baby back again, so that
at the time the complaints were made
before Judge Vaught, she was'hiding
off in the woods, keeping it
amid piles of pine straw, and sheltered
from the rain by a little house
made of pine bark and branches picked
up by Jier mothe'rin the pine
groves.
Fred Lewis appeared at the hearing
and laidjelaim *? the bnhy. He
employed anattorney to fight his
cause and he was thoroughly interested
In gettincr back what he claimed
wps his own by right of gift from the
mother herself. But what legal right
did he have to the child? It had not
been bound to him in the way provided
by the laws of South Carolina. A
doren lawyers, of the smartest sort
could not establish any legal claim
for him. 1
An important witness, that the
eo^rt needed was not at the hearing,
although such care had been used in
frammoninc the parties. The case
was continued.
Then the court decided to put the
potter in the hands of the bo*rd of
fuihHc welfare. He vt',*o %nd told
tne board the facts. The board promised
to look after the case.
The board was rather slow *n taking
it up further with Judge Vaught,
and hy this means the hearing vns
not held for another session. Several
months passed and the matter had almost
been forgotten. Then one day
citizens c.Hrrip a rain xo me court 10
make complaint. The woman was in
the woods still, living there and taking
care of the helpless infant as she
had heen doing before; and the report
was that mor? hahies, twins, had been
/born in the meantime.
' Another letter was hastily sent off
to Columbia and in a few days the
board sent Mrs. Wooten, of Columbia,
to investigate. Coming to Conway an
appointment was made for her to go
with Judge Vaught into the country
to look for the mother and her off
mi A- 9 7mm
FDnmr. inev wem in a car most of
the way. Arriving in the neighborhood
of the nlnrp whore reports said
the rirl was hidden, thev took to the
woods and commenced looking for her.
They found her with the baby in a
bed of leaves and straw; the aforesaid
renort as to other babies being
in a way untrue; but the prirl was not
In mod hpalth. neither was the baby.
, They decided to use arguments and
try to get the girl to come with them
without resistance. After talking
wHh her for some time she agreed to
I
Wkt
L. D. MAGRATH
FINISHES TANK
Also the System Which Refines
Conway Water
Supply
L. D. MaffTath is about to complete
for the town of Conway the addition
to the public water system, consisting
of an efficient Alteration and K#?t>
tling plant for the water, which comes
from the big artesian well.
Until this new work had been finished
so that it could be used some time
last week, the water from the well
was pumped directly from the flow as
it came from the grround into the
elevated supply tank and from thence
furnished through the mains to all of
the hydrants and other water fixtures
of the town. This was accomplished
by means of a feed pipe inserted
inside of the large casing of the
well so that the artesian flow always
furnish the supply at the end of this
feed pipe. Coming up with All of this
artesian water there is always more
or less sand and gravel from the strata
of earth/from which the artesian
flow is taken down at the end of the
casing. This accumulation of sand
and gravel can be found near the out'ets
of nearly all wells put down in
*Jiis section of the country. With
these things in the water, it could
not be taken through the pipes for a
long time without the danger of accumulations
in the pipes that would
obstruct and corrode them in time.
This fact was also one thing against
the water as not being clear and
pure as it might have been. Another
thing was the natural gases formed
by the action of chemical forces found
in the soil and the rocksj of the upcountry
where this artesian water
originates and soaks down between
different strata of rocks to be taken
up by the pipes of these .artesian
wells. This ga scould be seen in the
water after it was drawn from the
cocks at the water fixtures, the bath
tubs, basins and the like.
The purpose of the new plant., now
completed except the housings, was to
eliminate the sandfand the gravel, also
the natural gas formed in the water
imprisoned under the ground. The
work has been successful and the system
is now delivering the pure artesian
water without any trace of anv
sand and without any sign of this
gas. which in itself did no harm except
to detract from the appearance
A f tKn uifltaf n I f imnr ll.U/in /lon.itn
vta viiv ?? 4i/v* ui/ hhit;o vtiicii ill avv u,
The now plant consists of a larp-e
concrete basin which measures 23
feet by CO feet, from which the clear
water is pumped into the elevated
mpplv tank; two smaller basins at
the side of this through which the
water flows on its way from the artesian
flow, entering through a pipe at
the bottom of the first; thence passing
over through a cross pipe from
whe surface of this first basin into the
second basin, entering this also
through the pipe near the bottom;
thence passing, cool and clear over
the concrete wall of the second rettling
basin into the large basin above
described and from thence lifted 'Into
the supply tank as above mentioned.
The sand is left in the two compartments
through which the water first
passes and only a small quantity will
ever pass from these into the larger
b?Mn. The system has in addition a
very ingenious and efficient way of
draining off .the sand from the basins
just as often as this may accumulate
so as to give trouble in the working
of the flow of water. By mean^ of
cocks and a large drain pine the whole
force of the water can be turned into
a drainage system and the sand washed
out into the waste in ;he twinkling
of the eye.
When looked over, the middle of
last week, all of this work had been
completed except the building of the
house over the basins. The material
for this was on the ground ready for
tne workmen awaiting better weather
for this work to be done. It will
be made tight so that nothing can get
accompany them. They brought her
and her baby to Conway and arranged
}odging for them at a boarding
house.
On the following day the Judge of
Probate took the girl and her baby to
Columbia. He had been instructed to
leave her at the Door of Hope. When
he feot there" the office was closed and
he could not get her in there, and he
was informed that the Door of Hope
did not,take babies.
Judge' Vaught then went back to
the board and !eft the two in charge
of the board. He has not hetird from
tl;e matter since he closed the traiisaction
recently, he feels sure that the
board has placed the baby in some
good family through the Child Placing
Bureau, where it will be legally
? MA?kA. -1 A 1 *
wiujitcu an a iiicmucr ui a k<juu mmily,
and if this has not been done yet,
it is sure to be done before they are
through with it; while there is, too,
a better outlook for the mother of the
infant.
This girl, according to reports, had
a common school education, could
speak and write Intelligently. That
she has be^n mislead by some one who
should answer for it, is the opinion of
all who have heard the story.
Such aid as this which the board i*
able to do in this sad case and in
many similar cases all over this statr
proves that it is one of the best institutions
we have.
j
?
jpp|
OONWAY, S. 0., THURSDAY,
| AUDITOR HOLDS
;? o
l\ The matter of turning o
; tor's office of Horry County
;I A. Calhoun, was somewhat r
! item published in a recent iss
I; The Herald stated that 1
! charge of the office', or word*
JI error. Mr. Calhoun was at t
j! there to aid County Treasure
IJ the taxes. He did not know
I j be expected to take charge o;!
office. Later a letter was rec
J showed that Mr. Adams' tii
J his commission, until April 1
Ij the new Auditor will take cli
The management of N.
out with much labor owing
I; the school districts, and th<
I* has been eminently efficient
J stituents.
jl The newly elected Count
; experience in clerical work ai
I* the affairs of this importanl
himself.
WWWUW.YAWAWWi%VW
BOND ISSUE
ROAD SYSTEM
Columbia.?South Carolina is on the
threshold of what may be the greatest
era of road progress ever known
in the state, according to members of
the "committee of eight," .appointed
by the recent conference called by
Governor Harvey, and at its meeting
in Columbia Thursday the committee
outlined an ambitious program, which
if the state puts into effect, will put
South Carolina on an equal footing '
with other progressive states and ,
ahead of many in the South, with a
county seat hard-surfaced road system.
The road program will be finally
acted upon by the second sitting of
Ihe governor's conference here today,
January 11th, which prominent peoTll#?
frnni pwrv rnnnfv nro ovnAofo^
f.w V. N. * J VVMII VJ Mi V/ V/ Apw l/V#U
to attend. The action of the gathering
will he reported to the legislature,
.^s the people's program for a
^tate highway system of hard-surfaced
roads connecting county seats.
The main features of the proposed
nlan are as follows:
1. A bond issue for $50,000,000.
2. A 100 per cent increase in motor
vehicle license fees (exceDt trucks.)
3. A three per cent tax on gasoline,
in lieu of the present two cents
tax, and also a tax on lubricating oils
when used in automobiles.
4. The proceeds of the gasoline
tax and the increased licenses to be
used for maintenance and sinking
fund, but prior to the issue of the
bonus, which would nrobably be about
two years, hence, allowing time for
the necessary legislation the vote of
the people, flnd the details connects- <
with the issue of the paner, the proceeds
of these special taxes to bo
usod for maintenance of roads already
built and construction of ne$ road:?.
The committee declined to accept
the report of the subcommittee for a
$25,000,000 bond issue and a hardsurface
program combined with top 1
soil and sand clay roads, the hard- 1
surface highways to be built according
to the traffic density. In lieu of
this recommendation of its own sub- ;
committee it was decided to .recom
mend a county seat to county seat
program. v
It was the general opinion that no
vote could he taken until the regular
election in 1924, hut no definite answer
could be given. The same subcommittee
was asked to make up the
report to be submitted to the concontinued
On Editorial Page.)
into the system to contaminate the
water. '
White making the new plant, Mr.
Magrath remodeled the piping from
the well with all of its attachments
so that this is in good condition and
laid below the frost line to prevent
freezing. With the old construction
the pipe had to be packed to avoid
a repetition of the bursting which oc-'
curred on one occasion during a cold
winter and the town was without
water for several*days.
The new plant is built on another
lot of land sixty by twenty feet donated
by the Rurroughs & Collins
Company, t6 the town for so long, as ,
tne land is used for this water system. 1
Before that time they had donated ,
the main lot of land on which the
large tank with its steel tower was i
erected.
i\fv Morrnth has completed this 1
improvement during the last year of i
his administration as mayor of Con- 1
way. He was the engineer who plan- 1
nod it. He not} only planned it in a '
way that was efficient and adequate '
for all time to come, hut he gave his 1
personal time' and attention to the
work of construction, employing- only
sttch Vthor and skill as he could fret i
in Conwav. The work is a monument
to his) training and skill, and to the ;
Wholehearted service which he rendered
in hi* office and which he was more 1
than willing to do. ]
Trie cost of the work has been t*o !
thousand and two hundred dollars, j
using the round numbers. i
gr pw
JANUARY 11, 1923
UNTIl.APRTl Ifttk 5
? - ' m m mm m ? - ? -* v v/ % ^
ver the affairs of the Audi- !;
to the new Aduitor, Mr. J. !;
nuddlcd according to a news
me of the Herald. ;I
;he new Auditor had taken ?
3 to that effect. This was an <
he court house but he was ;
r, C. E. Barker in collecting
at first just when he would ;
f the affairs of the auditor's I;
eived from Columbia which ;
ne would not be out, under %
8th, 1923; and on that date jl ;
targe. I;
, C. Adams, though carried Ij
to the frequent changes in ^
a addition of more districts, J '
and satisfactory to his con- 5 I
y' Auditor has had a long I
id he will no doubt manage 4 !
t office with much credit to S
J
U
COOPERATION
IN MARKETING
Editor Herald:
Having read so manv articles re
ferring to the Tobacco Marketing Association,
I want to say a few words.
I am now simply convinced that the
association is the salvation for tobac- ,
co growers, and that every one who
fights the association is just tr>l ng to
cut his own throat. I have studied
and watched the marketing of fruits
here by the associaions and through
the chamber of commerce and personal
interview with old settlers here. I
find the following to be facts: Prior
to the organization of fruit growers'
associaion apricots were selling for
3 and 4 cents per pound. Peaches were
selling around and 5 cents per pound,
and 10 cents was top market for almonds,
figs brought 2 and 3 cents per
pound. Hundreds of tons of fruit was
never gathered for it would not pay
exposes of gathering and -drying.
Here are present prices today from
my own personal observations:
Apricots sold this year for 25 cents
per pound: peaches 12 to 15 cents;
almonds, 21 cents, figs 10 cents.
These are association prices, delivered
at the several warehouses owned by
them and of course independent buyers'
prices were the same. The association
sets prices on all fruits rvnd
independent buyers are governed ac?
cordingly. Another thing 1 wish to call
attention to is the dairy product
trices previous to the entry of the
Northern California Milk Producers'
Vssociation in the field. The fanner ,
w.as getting 2R cents to 30 cents per
oound for butterfat and today to my
own knowledge, the farmer is
tinpr 57 to 58 cents per pound for it. ]
and pure creamery butter is retailing !
today for 60 cents per pound which *
only leaves a margin of 2 to 3 cents 1
between producer and consumer, so j
you can readily see that the farmer ^
is getting every thing possible for his
cream. You see this is only a n\nv/rir *
of 3 cents between the raw product 1
and the retail price on manufactured .
goods. Why can't other industries
operate on a margin similar to this.
Who gets the difference between the
price say of 20 cents per pound the
farmer receives for his tobacco and
the 60 to 80 cents he has to pay for |
the manufactured product. Another
big industry of this state is raisin
growing, which is all practically
handled through the association. There
is only about 4 cents per pounH dif- .
ference between what the grower gets '
for his raisins here than what you
ray for them in your grocery store. ]
Last summer when your canteloupes,
*nd watermelons were rotting on you
K t 1. - < - I -J ' * - " ? -
ror iacK or a marKet tne iarmer nere
was getting 12 1-2 cents each for
eanteloupes and 25 to 50 cents each
fov watermelons. Cabbage selling for
5 cents per pound. All the year sweet J
potatoes are $3.50 per bushel. I have
balked to several farmers who state |
that if it were not for the association ]
they would cut out their orchards. |
Land is selling- here for $300 to $1,D00
per acre, according to improve- J(
ments, but let me say that Horry j
County lands are far superior to any (
land in this country with exception of ;
delta lands around Sacramento. All t
the crops here are grown by irrigation (
as we have no rains from about the
first of April to first of November, (
and water is an expensive part of ,
farming. Wells have to be sunk 200 (
to 300 feet deep and it takes around ,
a 25 horsepower motor to lift this T
water with a centrifugal or turbine j
pumps, and the power company does ,
not forget to charge for the current j
whether used or not. And T fully believe
today that Horry County would
be one of the richest sections in the
United States if they only b?rl :
marketing systems for a*l produ*#- \
California has. Horrv Count" hn* <
as fine lands as I have seen .any "*Vr#? <
I don't know of any other state j
has five seasons except South Caro- .
lina. Suppose it cost the farmers of |
Horry three dollars per acre to water
his crop every time during the year 1
that this was necessary, you can see 1
0
mU.
i
W. R. BRITT
PASSES AWAY
III. _ ISM U t ? ?
iimess wmcn Lingered Dated
From About Eighteen
Months Ago
Many were saddened last Thursday
evening when they heard that W x,\
Britt had passed away at about the
hour of 3 o'clock on that day; following
an illness which had lingered for
about eighteen months. He is survived
by his wife and children, the
latter feeing all about cf age. He is
survived by two daughters who are
married. Two of his .-ens, V\alrer and
Percy, are both printers.
He was a prominent member of
several fraternal organizations. He
was a skillful carpenter and worked
at this trade for many years. At
one time he was engaged in the mercantile
business as a groceryman in
Conway. After closing out his store,
which was located on the eastward
side of Main Street, near where the
brick building of the Gents Furnishing
Company now stands, he became
more devoted to the trade, which he
had learned in his youth. His work
on many buildings in Conway will attest
to his efficiency and skill as a
worker of wood and metal.
His death was doubtless result of
the effects of an accident which happened
to him in Hopewell, Va., in the
early days of January A. D. 1916. He
had gone to that town, with a number
of others from Horry County, to engage
in his trade.
There was very little or no work of
that kind going on in Conway at that
time. Everything had fallen flat, owing
to the low prices of cotton and
other farm products. In Virginia the
DuPonts established a big factory for
the manufacture of gun cotton under |
D tllVAA.XfftflV fAnf I'nnt fViol " "
? ... 'wv tT v.* vuiivuivi i/iK' v me company
had with England. A town
sprung up at the place almost over
night. The new to>vn was known as
Hopewell, and it was the place where
thousands of workmen from all over
the South went to work for the high
wages of sixty-two and one-half cents
per hour offered by the DuPont Company
for operators.
W. R. Britt went there with a number
of others. One morning he was
passing along a crowded street. The
weather had been wet and the new
streets were all in the rough. They
had been cut up deep by the wheels of
heavily laden vehicles carrying ihe
traffic of a new city. A negro boy riding
a horse was passing around a corner
just as Mr. Britt was trying to
get by. The negro reared his horse
and trampled Mr. Britt into tho mud.
the heavy shod feet of the horse striking
him in the head and painfully
bruising his body in many places.
He was taken to a hospital and lint>e>ed
for a long time between life
and death. Finally he was able to
set up and go back to work? but he
was never the same man again.
The negro was run down and finally
caught, a time was fixed for his
trial, but in one wjy, or another he
went unpunished for his act. One
reason for a continuance of the case
against the negro at Hopwell on occasion,
as reported here, Mr. Britt
was still sick and could not appear to
testify. The officers finally dismissed
the case.
The scene at Hopewell at the present
time is said to be quite different
Fl'ftm wlinf if Wfie
t * win a v n un iiiv>il?
BANKERSTATES
HIS TESTIMONY
Hearing Commences in Farmers
and Merchants Bank
Case ,
BIG EXPENSE~FIRST YEAR
Pacts of Failure of Defunct
Bank Comes Back to
Memory
The trial of the case brought by W.
Freeman, as receiver of the Farm?rs
& Merchants Rank under order
>f the court, against the administvoters
of the personal estate of W. U.
Lewis, L. D. Mn?rratn, Georpe Officer,
J. J. Williams, W. B. Huck~,
Debbie Stalvey and W. B. Chestnut as
lefendants, commenced at the court
louse on last Wednesday before O. P.
^uattlebaum, appoin vd bv the <o'.irt
is special master to hei r ?!.* care
and report his decision t': M:e r??urt
>n both the law anrl t>e
This suit is evidently in *he nature
if a claim which mipfht have been ad
/anced by the stockholders of the now
defunct bank. The action which is
iow maintained by Mr. Freeman as
receiver under the iaw is for the beneit
of the people who invested their
inoney in the capital stock of the
aank that failed.
There was some delay in bringing:
(Continued On Back Page.)
this would be a bipr item which they
ould not afford. WeM, fhis is what it
wsts the California farmer for water.
\nd he could not afford it until the
-<^rvintions says: "I will get you a
profitable market for your product.
M. D. MISHOE,
Kirkwood, Calif.,
Dec. 30th, 1922.
"N1 % . r ; /
l: > --'5 . I*' * 4 <? .
HO . sT
BANK HISTORY
BROUGHT BACK
Hearing Set in,Action by Receiver
Against Directors
W. PERCY HARDWICK
Formed 'Bank at Aynor Which
Failed and Injured the
Oonway Institution
The hearing that was set for last
Wednesday in the case of W. A. Freeman,
as reciever of the Farmers A
Merchants Bank against the estate of
W. R. Lewis, one of the directors awl
against a number of others, Kobbio
Stalvev, W. Percy Hardwick, J. J.
Williams, W. B. Hucks, George Officer,
L. D. Magrath and W. B. Chestnut,
all of whom were at one time the
directors of the hank; brought back to
mind the establishment of the instituition,
and its career which lasted
about two years.
Some of the matters of interest connected
with it will follow in this article.
The Farmers & Merchants Bank, of
Conway, S. C. .opened its doors on
December 13th, 1913.
Among the names of the defendants
now being sued appears the name of
W. Percy Hardwick.
So far as this establishment of the
bank went, especially the procuring of
subscriptions to its capital stock, and
the details of its organization and methods
of doing business, its policy in
regard to making loans, at least in
the beginning; these were all the *
product of the activity of Mr. Hardwick.
It is true that he may have
been encouraged by others in his efforts
to establish this bank a*o a new
financial institution at that time; but
his was the ide.i and 1 i?: was the work
of carrying it out.
Hardwick had been connected here
with one of the first banks ever established
in Conway. He held the
position for several years which placed
him in the front office of the institution
fn rionl uriMi tVio danftoitnm
ww viiv \ivpv/oivvijjj mm
the people who applied there for
financiaal assistance or to cash their
checks. Whether it was cashier, or
assistant cashier, the writer of this
article cannot now* rfccnlT, but it is
well to remember that he was placed
in direct contac^ with the people who
patronized the bank.
In those days he became extremely
popular. He was the most obliging",
attentive, and accommodating banker
that the town possessed. He did not
treat his customers there with either
coolness or indifference. When a
farmer called in it was, "Hello John,
how is your crop fretting- on this
time? How did you leave the folks?*'
If it was a merchant the question
would likely be, "You have a prood
business now, what will be the amount
of voui* business this year over that
which you had last year?" No matter
what kind of man came into that
bank. Percv IT^rdwick hnd a prood
word for him. He was liked by every
customer of the hruik and he had
suclH a popularity that he soon was
apparentlv to establish anv kind of
business that mip-ht strike his fancy.
If friends had money they would deposit
it with him.
He conceived an idea of establish-,
inr* another bank in Conway. He
talked it to others on the quiet and
interested many people in the new
enterprise.
But the Farmers Sr. Merchants Bank
of Conway was not hi^ first, venture.
It was in May or June 1913 thai he
conceived the idea_ of ^>stahlishinpr a
nanK at Avnor. The Farmers State
Bnnk of .that town was the result.
Of that bank he was the president
and he found no trouble in getting
plenty of money for the huving of the
stock. Depositors also followed to
make the bank .apparently a success.
After establishing- the Farmers
State Bank of Aynor, he soon got to
work on his main idea which was the
making of a bank at Conway. He beoran
the organization of the Bank of
Conwav about September or October,
101S
When his connection with the older
bank with which he had worked for
so long, was severed, the old institution
suffered in the matter of customers.
Many of those who had been
regular depositors in the older bank
at once changed their accounts to the
new bank.
A building was secured on Third
Avenue, near the Conway Bargain
House building, and which is the same
place now occupied by the jewelery
store of J. E. Dawsey.
The two new banks ran through the
year of 1914. The Farmers State
Bank of Aynor went under before the
end of 1915. About the close ol^ihe
same year the Farmers & Merchants
Bank of Conway closed its doors.
rm n ? . ? ? m ?
ine rarmers suite Man* ot Ayner
went under and was closed up first.
This caused a run, to be made on the
Conway institution. Hardwick had
been connected with the bank at Aynor
and it had failed. This caused a
ornd"^! dropping ofT of deposits at
the Ponwav institution and a rathe*
~np*d withdrawal of accounts that had
*>een enjoyed by the Conway bank up
'o *hat time.
This is believed by many, and not
without reason, to have been the real
cause of the failure of th* F*rme?s
(Continued on Editorial Fige.)