Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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« \ THK f WimFU* GAFFNEY, 8. C., FEBRUAT?Y 2, 1«?*9. I Xnic iwisnoicK. $1.00 per Year. rnBUBHSD EVERY THURSDAY BY Ed. H. DeCamp. THE LIEN LAW. A^ain the lien law has been at tacked in the Legislature, and again the bill to repeal it has been over whelmingly defeated. For twenty- five years it has bobbed up serenely at every session of the legislature as a target for the shafts of ridicule, the thunder bolts of eloquence, and the sledge-hammer blows of logic, and still its vital powers are unimparred— still it holds its own against all comers. The lien law is a tough customer. It is tough all round and all through —tough for the farmer and tough for the merchant, tough for the legisla ture and tough for the country at large, so tough that we are afraid no man will ever be able to stick a knife into it. It, however, is not afflicted with obesity. It is not plethoric, fat. nor asthmatic. The spelling of the name is meaningless and indirectly misleading. In the nomenclature of chemistry which attempts to indicate tbe ingredients and qualities of a compound by its name, this law would be called the lean law. For in our humble opinion no law has contributed more to produce lean corn cribs, and bence lean mules and horses, and hence further, lean farm ers, and hence ultimately, a lean country. Ily all means, let’s give tbe name a spelling that will indicate the chief characteristic of the law. It is claimed that this law operates in the interest of the poor man—that the poor man could not get credit without it—and hence it has always presented a fine and easy opportunity for the gush of maudlin sentiment, which it is the glory of little fourth- rate, slobbering politicians to dis play. It is true that in its operations the law does give the poor tenant a kind of spurious credit; but it is a credit that works for him a greater hardship than tbe deprivation of all credit could work—a credit that crushes him by slow pressure, whereas the ■worst that could happen from de privation would bo a quick death. The preference between these two iv- aults. in a literal sense, would he ea sily determined by common instinct. How can a poor man who has to work for his daily bread pay from ten to fifty per cent, for money, or its equivalent, when the demands of safe and legitimate business exact less than six per cent? Yet on general principles the mer chant or the factor is not to he cen sured and viiified because he demands a big per cent, on his advances. No daubt there are some merchants who do not hesitate to take unwarranted ad vantage of the poor man’s necessi ties, but the majority of merchants are as honest and generous as the majority of farmers. They are men trying to make a living and to im prove their condition by a legitimate business, just as farmers are doing; and they must recognize and conform to the principles and laws of trade or they, too, will go to the wall. Now when the merchant advances supplies on the average lien there are several conditions which he cannot safely ignore: In the first place, time is every where recognized as a valid consid eration in the use of money or its equivalent. Our State law fixes seven per cent, us a fair equivalent for the use of money one year, but at the same time recognizes eight per cent, us not being exorbitant or un reasonable. Secondly, when the merchant makes these advances he often virtu ally insures the man's life and health to the full amount of his bill, un i this, too, without receiving any pre- inium in cash ns the regular insur ance companies do. Here is another consideration recognized everywhere as valid, and the amount it repre sents must be added to the tenant’s bill. Lastly, be takes the risk of the of no real advantage either to the merchant or to the farmer. , [ There is a basis of credit which the | law does not recognize hut which is | stronger than any the law can estab lish. It is Honor, hacked by indus try and high character. The man who stands squarely on this basis can get credit for all he needs and get it on favorable terms. We some times seriously doubt that any law that has ever been passed in the in terest of either debtor or creditor has done any real good, and we won der if the country would not be in better condition today if every debt were purely and exclusively a debt of honor. COUNTY COURTS. The County-Court bill passed tbe Senate by a large majority and will no doubt become a law. The bill provides that the question be sub mitted to each county for adoption or rejection, whenever as many as one-fifth of the qualified voters of the county petition for an election. If a majority vote for it then a county court will be established in that county. The details of the bill are lengthy, but its salient features are about as follows: The judge to be elected by the general assembly shall be a resident attorney of the county, and his salary is fixed at $1,000 per annum. The solicitor must also be a resident law yer and his salary is $300. Both are debarred from practicing in any cases coming within the jurisdiction of the county court. A court stenographer is also to be employed at a salary of $300 a year. Only eighteen jurors are to be drawn, six of whom will constitute the acting jury, and shall receive one dollar per day and five cents mileage for their services. The sheriff and clerk of the circuit court will be ex-officio officers of the county court and shall serve without extra pay. The jurisdiction of the court is not to extend beyond cases the pun ishment for which is more than $100 fine and thirty days imprisonment, nor to civil coses involving more than $1,000. The court is to hold a session every two months. We hardly think that this cumber some piece of machinery in its pres ent shape is needed for Cherokee or any other county. We thought that ttie demand for county courts grew out of tho general exasperation caused by the law’s delays in met- ins: out justice for flagrant crimes and thereby provoking the people to take tho law into their own hands. But it seems these courts will not be allowed to try rape, arson, murder, nor any of the heinous crimes that so often arouse indignation and demand swift and sure punishment. The petty offenses that fall within the jurisdiction of the county court are not the ones that the people are so concerned about, but those very ones that the court will not be allowed to try. We fail to see then how such a court as the bill provides will allay the spirit of lynching, quicken any of the processes of justice, or strengthen the peoples’s confidence in the exe cution of t he law. it even hud character that Merrll ruled. iu the days NOTES AND COMMENTS. It is now said that the treaty of peace with Spain will be ratified by the Senate, and it is thought that President McKinley has made some important concessions in regards to his policy with the Philippine Islands in order to get the Senate to ratify the treaty. We shall probably know more hereafter. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Just as our dispensary system is falling to pieces the Alabama senate passes a mild sort of dispensary bill, which gives counties and cities in which liquor is not now prohibited, the right to establish dispensaries, the profits of which are to go the counties and state. Twenty-one of the sixty-six counties are exempt. Ex-Attorney General Garland, of President Cleveland's cabinet, drop- pi d dead last Thursday while in the act of beginning a speech before the was atone tine governor of Arkan sas. became United States 8 initur, ai. I was one of the strongest mem bers of Cleveland’s cabinet. seasons; lie insures the crop against United St tes Supreme Court. He i fmsts, droughts, storms, and every contingency to which the crop and Ifie seasons may he subjected Hen isHUOther consideration as valid as that of life insurance. Adding them all together we find th.it the mer chant, in order to do a s no bud'i to say nothing of big proi! s mu-t pui a price on lus goods Alncii no poor Ilian can well afford to pay. We believe that tbe lien law ought i creation of the county and we charge to be abolished, sml that I he country j full rules now. We know nothing of We tender the thanks of 1 lie Led ger to Senator McLaurin for a copy of his speech in the Senate on Jan., 3rd against the expansion policy of the government. We have read the speech carefully, and we do not hesi tate to pronounce it masterly and unanswerable. The Senator shows conclusively, so far as arguments can show, that the whole policy is at variance with the spirit, prestige and institutions of our government. But arguments have never yet been pow erful enough to check the spirit of greed and fanaticism either In indi viduals or nations. Representative Patton’s redistrlct- ing bill passed the house by a safe majority, and will very probably be come a law. It ought to pass the senate without debate. Whatever necessity may have once existed for the “Shoestring” districts, that ne cessity has passed, and there is no sense in retaining them solely in or der that some men may keep their seats in congress. According to this bill Cherokee county is grouped with Spartanburg, Union, York, Chester and Lancaster under the name of the Catawba District. This arrangement is according to geography and com mon sense. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The citizens of Abbeville held a mass meeting and resolved to inform Mr. R. R. Tolbert, Jr., that In view of his recent conduct in the Phoenix trouble and for the peace and good order of the community it was very desirable that he make his abode be yond the limits of the county. Three prominent citizens were appointed to convey this mild information to Mr. Tolbert, it being added that he would be allowed time enough to transact necessary business. The sense of the meeting was that this is a white man’s country and white men must rule it.’ How long will it take rene- grudo white men to learn this palpa ble and wholesome truth? The fact seems never to have dawned on the darkened mind of the Yorkville Enquirer that there are in all the counties Boards of Equaliza tion whose business it is to raise the assessment on property which they think has been returned too low, and that under their authority a man frequently finds that he bus to pay more tax on the same property he has heretofore, though the levy may be no higher. If the Enquirer will devote a small proportion of its prec ious time to examine the tax receipts of those gentlemen who profess to have made an unwilling tribute to the new county and compare them with previous receipts, it may make a discovery that will astonish it. We have allowed the Enquirer enough rope to strangle itself. This we propose to demonstrate, not by mere assertions but by facts. The rise in the taxes of Cherokee town ship was in no wise due to the crea tion of Cherokee county. Some years ago the people of that township voted a large amount of bonds to assist in building the JThreo C’s Railroad. The increase in tuxes is due to the fact that it was necessary to pay the interest on and create a sinking fund to pay these bonds. The people would have had to pay this tax if they had remained in York county and all the evading and insinuation under the sun would not have changed it. Can our perfect contemporary see into this? ♦ ♦ The shaky condition of the At lanta National Building and Loan Association is another warning to our people against investing their money away from home in companies than they know nothing about. There are some good features belonging to the building and loan plan, and, under honest management, we can see no reason why any association of the kind should ever break. Still the man who borrows money from the best of them has a long and stumpy road before him. Those who are so situated that long time ami monthly payments are desirable, will find the building and loan plan adapted to world would be glutted with cotton all tbe same. The wise thing for a f irmer to do is to plant as if he thought every other man in tho South was going in for a big crop. If he would do this he will sow the land which he proposed to sow in wheat, in oats, and plant at least one half of the land intended for cotton, in corn. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The tax leavy for Cherokee county for all purposes for last year was 13 mills, in addition to this the differ ent townships hud special taxes to pay ranging from 1 to 2 mills. Chero kee township, which was cut off from York county, paid for all purposes 16 mills, 2 mills of this being for interest on railroad bonds issued be fore It was incorporated in the new county. Tbe whole tax levy for York county was 12 mills with spe cial levien on the townships ranging from 2 to 4.J mills. York township paid HU mills for all purposes. Where is that man whom the York ville Enquirer pathetically portrayed as being oppressed with tuxes inci dent to his being placed in the new county? We shall wait to see if the Enquirer can discover “a little lying” in these figures which are taken from official documents. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦• The Yorkville Enquirer in attempt ing to apologize for using the phrase “a little lying,” in reference to The Ledger, neutralizes its own apology and falls into the crooked paths of invaracity itself, by intimating that it proved “the lying” and therefore ought not to have given it a name. We have only to say that the En quirer had better stick to the plan of giving names, else tow will its read ers ever know what It is driving at? When it asserts that The Ledger helped to hoodwink the people; that tho town of Gaffney did not nay the $15,000 bond; and other things de noting a general state of depraved morals in this county, how are the people to know that it is “proving” things uuiess it says so? The people on this side of the river have heard assertions before, but they have not been occustomed to hearing them called proofs. Stick to your name, contemporary. Senator Marion Butler, of North Carolina, withdrew his amendment to the pension bill providing that Confederate soldiers be pensioned along with the Union soldiers, but before he did so he gave utterance to some old but very wholesome truths for the benefit of the northern mind. His amendment could not have been expected to accomplish more than an occasion for the repetition of these oft-told truths, and in doing that it has served a useful purpose. Senator McLaurin, too, in his anti expansion speech, got some very in teresting and appropriate illustra tions growing out of the enfranchise ment of the negroes of the South by the republican party, which he press ed for all they were worth. The civil war of course is over, hut we like to see our representatives keep some f ids before the northern peo ple, unpalatable ih they must he. and wo don’t care if ti e/ rub tl ein in occasionally. Wifi the Yorkville Enquirer tell u> in plain English exactly what it means by “character” as used in its editorial columns last Saturday in referring to The Ledger. We want no quibbling or evading. As to its assertions concerning circulation we maka this proposition: We will se lect a man who resides in Yorkville, and a man of “character” at that, let the Enquirer select a man from Yorkville—and he may bo a man of “character” or “no character,” just as that self-conceited journal may choose—md let these two select a third man, and we will show our paper hills, mailing list and allow the three in our press-room during the printing and mailing of the paper, and also submit any other evidence necessary or requested, and then let the Enquirer do the same thing, and agree that the paper having the smallest circulation shall donate $25 00 to any charitable institution ttie other may select and pay the i peiises of the commit tee making the Royal ^ ^BSOLUTEIV'PURE Baking Powder Makes the food more delicious and wholesome NOvn BA WHO POWPfN CO., NEW YORK. elfins of IOOO’n Yell. The pharmacy juniors don’t seem to know their class yell. I give it again for the benefit of those who don’t know it, and now “let’s get a move on ns’’ and let the seniors bear our yell once apyhow: Ph.v*otitlRma vensnomun! Philouarpus nodulosom! Btaphixagrin, bergamot! Pharmacy, pharmacy) Naughty naught I —Purdue University Exponent. Turning the Stock. A writer in The Dry Goods Chronicle says: “A good point for the retail mer chant to remember is that it is not bow large a business he does, but how many times bis stock is turned in the course of the year, that really indicates the successful merchant” A Fleshy Consumptive Did you ever see one? Did you ever hear of one ? Most certainly not. Con sumption is a disease that invariably causes loss of flesh. If you are light in weight, even if your cough is only a slight one, you should certainly take Scott’s Emuslion of cod liver oil vuiih hypo- phosphites, No remedy is such a perfect prevent ive to consumption. Just the moment your throat begins to weaken and you find you are losing flesh, you should begin to take it. And no other remedy iias cured so many cases of consumption. Unless you are far advanced with this disease, Scott’s Emul sion will hold every in ducement to you for a perfect cure. All Druggists, toe. and $i. Scott & Howne, Chemists. N. Y. Small Wreck. [Tlnrokco Investigate r.l Last .Monday night at about 7 o’elock the cast bound train on the ! Gaffney branch of the S. C. «fc G. R. R ; ran over and killed a cow just this ‘ side of Cherokee Falls station. 1 The engine and tender were derailed, and had it not been for the prompt action of the crew a very serious wreck would have resulted. The proper au thorities at this place were notified. Within an hour the engine and tender were righted and the passengers were brought on to Blacksburg. Women’s Complexions depend for beauty upon Digestion. Dr. M. A. Simmons Liver Medicine Regulates the Stomach, Liver and Kidneys and secun s the blessings of good Digestion Piedmont Saving and Investment Ge. Greenville, S. C. The loan plan of this company will b* found far more deslreuble in every way than the plans of lluildlnit Si Loans Association*. Our plan is a ddinite contract at reasonable rates. Loans made an approved property. J. C. .1KFFKR1KS, Local Attorney, Gaffney. 8. C. A. N. WOOD. a BANKER, does a general Banking and Exchange. I business. Well secured with Burglar- Proof safe and Automatic Time Lock. j Safety Deposit Boxes at moderate rent. Buys and sells Stocks andBonds. j | Buys County and School Claims. Your business solicited. STRONG AS THE STRONGEST I ’ Tbe Prudential Insurance Company of America. HOME OFFICE, NEWARK, N. J. JNO. F. DRY DEN, President. Iheir wants, hut they should, by all | inquiry. Now, mo*t holy of holies, 1 come to the scratch nr shut up Vour turtle box. means, patronize their home compa nies which are managed by men they know. The reason why Tito Ledger does | The Sumter papers say that the not give individuals the rate it gives cotton acreage in Sumter county wiil Ifie county is because it, had no good } be reduced twenty-five per cent, this today would be in far better condi tion if it hud never been ct.acted. It is a standing temptation to extrara- pence, to fraud and to extortion, t nd State ok Ohio, n rv ok 1 oi.kdo, i LCCAH l ’OCNTY. l "' Thank J. i'henky natkesuutlirliut hots ti| ( > te*nlor partner of Uu* tirn* of K. J. Thenev .t Co., <lotn;r iiicUiir.,, in tin- City of Toledo. Comity and State ufnreMial. and lltal slid firm will pay the sum of ONl. iil'NDKKI) ; Ml.LA US lor each and every ease of Ca i . , „ . . I TAiiuii that cannot be cured »y the use of reasun to do so. We charged full j year, and that of oats and tobacco | tiAi.h’sCATAitioi cche. rates for legal advertising In fore 11 e J increased in the same proportion. Sworn to tK-fore me !uid‘suhserlVKM^iu'riiy prcseti 'e, tliis M h day of December, A. D. tssii. A. W. GI.BASON. Notary Puhlle. lIulTsCHtarrhf'nre tstaken Internally and acts directly on the blood mid inueouk sur face* of tho system. Send for testimonials free. F. J. CHENEY & CO., Toledo, O. Hold by Drujorlsth, 75c. UttlTs Family Fills are the best. the Enquirer’s ri tes but have been told that the rate we charge now is less than their’s—but then we forgot the Enquirer is a paper of character— But let no funner in Cherokee county be encouraged by this report to in crease his acreage of cotton. If Sumter county, or the state of South Carolina as for that, should fail to plant a single seed of ootlou the The Prudential has forged its way aheaj until it now stands in the front rank of thegre; life insurance companies of the world. Itoffei all that is good in life insurance, and under tl best conditions. The Prudential’s policies are the most liber] and modern contracts now issued. No n striction on occupation or travel. JAS. O. WYNN, Manager So. Department, ATLANTA, Gi C.T. RAWLS, Gen. Agt„ ASHEVILLE, N. WOOI > & l€.etsiclcnt .Agents.