Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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ivw tt tills tr lao' ESTABJANUARY 109 1889. PRICE $1.50 A YEAR "M SOUTE V SITUATION." A Letter Of rA.A mWI ans to Harper's GREENVILLEjOUTH CABOLINA. To the Editor ( Harper's Weekly: You recently prized a letter I had the honor to receive m President-elect - Harrison, and e-briefly of the in -p dications that le r gave of the policy likely tobe used i the Southern States by the next Adrnistration. I ask of you the opportujty to put before the thoughtful and conservative people among whom yir journal goes some facts which areraleflY unknown or forgotten. There is a "Sithern situation," an abnormal, unu$al political condition, demanding frin wise statesmanship political methds different from those used in othezparts of the country where the coriitions are natural and wholesome. 'ie South was the scene of one of the rust sudden and violent revolutions it history. Within five years a rich ad arrogant people was made- poor an; beaten, and millions of men who hacbeen held by these peo ple as'slaves fere made freemen and voters and tb political rulers of their forme t . The statement of the event ust arry with it conviction that it c$tortions on the surface and da ers{eneath it, as surely as a volcani exosion must leave earth cracks vend heat below. More by -the of instinct and the guid i ure than by definite plan purpoe, the Southern people h a degree restored the condition *iolently reversed. The whites, o of the soil and property, descen f generations of freedom and civi on, again rule, and the negroes, n freed slaves, represent ing only Jar labor, and descend ants of ge tions of barbarism and slavery, n ruled. Heredity has asserted ith Swer. These twtces areon the same ter ritory, nomIy the same people, with legal rights a positions in all respects equ?al, with e color line dividing them politica .and socially. The mass ofthenegron ain the South is com posed of farm day laborers, whose intelligence over a scale nrom that of the av4 w Rie mechanic' to a barely pecelmove from actual barbarism. Toslieve the Repub lican party mahem free; they know the little leaseolitical power tat they had ws r the patronage of party is their hope of return to power. They now that the white men who fou, to keep them in slavery, and have taken their power from tl are called Demo crate. They i 4thing of political creeds, principle' platforms, or of \the character or mes of candidates, adbarsm tijeve They reau socn bywart mthem free; thi nw theitl owneaseGoltal~n frome thir poiny had viwj ten paroerl and wisely.tMchifo!ttranin-t powlect rainngThey hae ie requre who indo to aep thei blehtpower are ca Demo tortsposr. The tintelpliet,ia cted, ndipl p natforms reo \telo thcer ore maf thdies,or biterl hae notee. The rea-S srions what the. know thin dahe han oseie- ndhrothi piof i erir the prpel whit ~ wis eMc mees merh andei- t t electa trainingetey av~ edi cieuire losinducegai;.tohaccep the beleftrhat powe hisomes a cre I etouhtsosssort Thim inte~llet 1J Hisduca life islc-tfinedgroes are natually iceo syptei races. Asie rce that, tel aboighly de a peowe the impuoreda the more a bitterly encys crated the re strictonsep t o his the en deopng cendn ofu o the~ da ay oeliethat thoRuht j ofa nitricbyptes yt iwhie vo maniheamets.cMetc ande-s -penden manufactubr,ican pmedin t eatrsnaartoofhandown rairanel Hi noca life scalfined ta,e hren isstob beth uneaig, gora hoall cirdirect thatracteor r the rac uning isl andove le kep on wh il pren iie p pow te theyulse t ail udency vcrente byu c-t ~t san with lis ~ adf nto thnig RepublicaAt vrinuog pop rtaeIi ort with here wie r?.e tc,all this impltrses i may beth Soth publin itsinciples thet i he vd blca tiet d boom est of ther eubiasno payn t1 nLf, thelcl bukadaeg is th'eiunreasn, igorath 4ibe nego voe. Hef nn< hbyil adect tha 'otegorpr nersi municp St e < i.1 tc, but heQI lot tl 4cunnS ingand r&tlen ren ae heyu fare at4 eti a iln eau a carVihhnot tions with the Southern white man. They involve his business, his tax rates, the development of his country, and the peace and safety of his family. They not only keep him away from the Republican party; they -keep him inside the Democratic organization as the power between his State and black rule, and make-him as much the ser vant of that organization, and as prompt and zealous in action with it, as utterly debarred from freedom of thought and-act, as if he was a soldier of an army marching through a hostile country. The white people and the Democrats of the Sonth are as eager as any for the relief of the situation and for freedom. from the strain of keeping the negro vote down, and the fear of having it regain control and force blight and ruin on the country. Our condition is not wholesome for the Republic or for us as States and individuals. A large Southern vote is represented in the Electoral College and the House of Representatives, but never cast; it is here, repressed, gathering strength, perhaps, from its repression, threaten ing always. Suppose the white men stay away from the Federal boxes and allow the black half of the population to send the Representatives now sent by the white half, will that improve the position? No power can give as surance that the black vote would be confined to the Federal boxes. If there could be such assurance I believe two thirds of the whites would be glad to barter their rights of representation in the Federal Government for undisputed control of their States, counties and cities, for the power other people have to divide among themselves on ques tions of local policy. The educational qualification is pre scribed for our troubles. Its first prac tical effect is to add to the mass of sul len, resentful, disfranchised negroes a smaller but more active and aggressive mass of sullen, resentful, disfranchised e white men, the two together making a majority of the men of each State, and 1 offering a standing inducement to po liticians and parties to obtain perma nent power by bringing about the res toration of the manhood franchise. Without that consideration would it be wise or humane to establish by law t what would be practically a race difler mnce, to leave the negro, at this late c lay, entirely powerless, at the mercy )f the white man, without his former n alue asproperty or-his present strength . is a-political factor? He would be as >rey inviting aggression, and the ut nost efforts of the vast number of white southern Democrats who wish to see :im have fair play could not secure it or him when the interests or sentiment c )f the time opposed it. He wonld re !eive the same fair play the all-master ng, eager: white man, unrelenting in ei e(qui:on, has giveu the Indian and r he Chinaman. If what I say is accepted as truth, he failure of the plan for dealing with e be South indicated by Gen. Harrison s sure. The Southern white people do Lot ask to be either petted or driven, st ecause the two policies are equally it owerle-ss in releasing thenm fromt the ard political obligations to which they re hound by necessity. They will not ivide on the tariff question. 'They are' Iready divided on that andl other is aes in sentiment, but they 'lare not ivide in action. To leave the situation undisturbed Ja rill not be statesmanship, good morals, w] r good polities. If every Democratie sei fiee-holder in the South should be of' ~ft unmolested during the coming a >ur years, the end of that time would hi: nad the relations and membership of ha me parties unchanged. Every negro a 'ould be a Republican, and not a Jc -hite man would have become one. G he difference and lines .between the hir irties in the South are deeper than spi Jy questions of policy or. principle or .Jo itronage. They are the difference ste id lines betwveen Anglo-Saxon and cle thiopian, between former master and rmer slave, between aggregated capi- H< l and aggregated labor, between a for ce kept down by sentimnant, custom, Hi heritance, andl necessity, and a race vol reed by sentiment, custom, inherit ice and necessity to keep it down. to 1e evils will increase wvitha time. As vo e two races increase they will crowd ch other within their territory, and let e struggle for place and foothold will m come stronger and hard~er; as the on becated class increases among the ne- he le,its pressure against the confining, h tr.essive forces above will be more yo n~ms, and the friction will be more rej mting to both sid'-s. ho r y scheme wvhich contemplates the * ejamation of the race may be re nstantly. It isan impossibility, e it is abhorrent to every nerve for )&timent of white mn. Thiose of t, .ho can bring themselves to cool GI - tlt upon thbat subject are convince.d la Sth&i practical result of amalgamna- th~ tiOluld be the mnerging of both r rae\ ruiongrel, useless to itself, andi( Mr an isin weight upon the coun-an try. 9ainis toltd here as it ap pearse whIo is par of it andl in it r>has tried to gieiotlie tl thoug4.ts realities, stripping away the preS. with wvhich it is co)Wered by the 1cians and political writers te nal~t poitin of the writer que Imay give i!gn o thse who tlbi:ik s o1 the emil a is ime protitd, I hav~ I vnture to t. be inormation that in am thee o iot h Carolin~a one newspape ah Deocrat, believing cut wit the. ~ .ey h pr:inlel a'kte)iry, ad loving it, nw hoping to v'L. - :-. futue, s f always in the past, a straight Demo cratic ballot. As I love and believe in the Demo cratic party, I love and believe in th( Republic and its people, and in my heart there is an earnest, enduring faith that the American people, at the right time and in the right way, will find and use the solution of the problem presented to them here, as they have solved the many dangerous and puz zling questions which they have had to consider in the past, and will dispose of these troubles wisely and justly. I have written with the hope of humbly helping to that end by directing public thought to the two facts that (1) there is a distinctive Southern situation, and (2) that it is not to be dealt with or dis posed of by a single expedient or plan devised and executed off-hand, and will demand careful study, mature thought, patience and mutual forbear ance, that right may be done on all sides. A. 13. WI.LIAMs. COMMENT WHICH ANSWERS. [From Harper's Weekly.] The letter from South Carolina printed elsewhere in these columns is rom Mr. A. B. Williams. an editor in ,rcenville, to whom Gen. Harrison ad Iressed his recent ietter upon the proper policy to be pursued in the southern States. The letter is a very :andid and strong statement of the ituation as it appears to a Southern Democrat, and in excellent temper it )resents undoubtedly the view of the reat part of the intelligent and earnest >eople of the Southern States. It is )lain that there is no simple and suni nary solution of the problem. Mr. Williams frankly states his party ympathies. But he would doubtless gree that party spirit greatly aggra ates the difficulty of wise action. The 'itizens of South Carolina who would id such action effectively must not egin by devotion to a party, because hat will necessarily prevent his candid onsideration upon its merits of any aeasure or policy of relief. He must, :>r instance, judge the course of Gen. farrison when he becomes President, ot as that of a Ripublicau, but of a tatesman and a patriot. The antipa hy for the Republican party felt by fr. Williams and his friends is due to he fact that that party in its tone and :urse upon the Southern question has :nsidered its own advantage as a par 7, and not the public welfare. But othing would be gained by substitut ig Dengocraticparty spirit for Repub caih party spirit. If Gen. Harrison should show by his ppointments in South Carolina, for istance, that he seeks honest and tpable men rather than party politi ans, Mr. Williams and his friends ight wisely conclude that Republi L 4S as such need not be regarded as rieniies. Gen. Harrison as President, deed, could perform no greater public rvice than by demonstrating that his trty comprehends the exceptional| aracter of the Southern situation hich is so graphically sketched by *r. Williams. That would he the first ep toward an intelligent treatment of| FROM SLAVERY TO HONOR. ff~ Davis' Former Servant, Now an .:rder man, Writes to his Old Master. [From the New York Herald.] i RA LEmuI, N. C., D)ecember :31.-] rnes H. Jones, colored, of this city,] ao was Mr. Jefferson Datvis' body ~vant while the latter was Presidenti the Sou thern Confederacy, wrote him < etter some weeks ago expressive of . high regard. Jones-stated that hec d not seen his formner miaster since th were-taken to F'ortress Monroe. C nes was captured with Mr. D)avis in orgia and made great efforts to secure 4 master's escape. Mr. Davis makes t cial mention of him in his history. s nes has made particular denial of thet ry that D)avis was attired in woman's l thing when captured. s< since the war Jones has lived here. v is a Republi tan in p)olities, and has ( eighteen' years been an alderman. v s love for Mr. Davis amounts to deC- I< .ion. 1: l'he following autograph letter came n day from Mr. Davis, dated at Beau- tj r, Miss., December 26: '1. was very glad to receive yourt ter, with its assurance of kind re mbrance, and it gave pleasure not y to me but also to my daughter, o was an infant when you last saw .Mrs. Davis, yo know, was always r particular friend. We have allt >icedi when we have heard of your morable prosperity, and have felt that a vas what was due to your integrity I fidelity. The many years which re come anid gone since we parteda e in nowise diminished my. regard t vou anId interest in your welfare.d Christmias Day I mailed to you the photograph taken (of me in orderP t you might see me as I am now. With the best wishes of myse:f .Davis and( all miy hiousehiold. I truly your friend, A Clever schemne. 'he Town Council of Floren~ce the er day fixed the wvhiskey license at ). The whiskey dealers had a meet- e arnd appointed a committee to meet a (Council to ask that they either re- p e or :albe the license from that C Iu nt. Counu cil thleu. on that re-:t s;, fixed the license at $1.00'. That ry suited the lignor de.alers, and they kt e nowv formed theumse:ves into a p' t stoc*k compan):iy and wil open only &( bar room iin the town. This will th: the town out of about 5150 as or -e would have beeni three or four ai -ba rs opened tli ere about ihe first in, le year. ' A New School Districts. An Act to Establish two New School Districts in a Portion of No. 11 and No. 2 Townships and in No. 11 Township in the County of New berry, and to authorize the Levy and Collection of a School Tax therein. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of South Carolina, now met and sit ting in General Assembly, and by the authority of the same : Section 1. That for the purpose of maintaining a public school in a por tion of Number 11 and Number 2 Townships in the County of Newberry, in this State, the area embraced in the following lines and boundaries, to wit : Beginning at the Blair place on the Henderson Ferry Road, and running thence in a direct line to the Dave Crosson place on the Calmes road ; thence in a straight line to a point be tween the residences of H. H. Cdunts and Mary Counts, to the road leading from the Bunconb Road : thence in a straight line on the intersection of the Pomaria Road with Second Creek ; and thence in a straight line to the beginning point at the Blair place, be, and the same is hereby declared to be,. a new school district,to be known as the Rutherford School District. Section 2. That Jos. L. Keitt, T. W. Hutchison, F. W. Higgins, John A. Cromer and T. W. Keitt, be, and they are hereby, appointed the Board of Trustees for said school district, and their successors shall be elected by said Board of Trustees and appointed by the Superintendent of Education of South Carolina. Section 3. That the said Board of Trustees shall have the following pow ers and duties: 1st. To select suitable sites for the schools in said district, and they shall possess all the rights and privileges of School Trustees that are now possessed, or that shall hereafter be given to School Trustees. 2d. To elect and dismiss the teachers and fix their salaries, to prescribe their duties and term of office, and make the rules for the government of the schools and make an annual report to the State Superintendent of Education on or le fore the first day of October in each year, to be forwarded through the School Commissioner of Newberry County. 3d. To take in charge and keep in order all buildings and other property belonging to or used for car rying on the schools herein created. Section 4. That the Board of Trustees at their first meeting shall elect from its members a Chairman and Secretary. Section 5. That the Chairman of said Board of Trustees shall call meetings of the Board whenever, in his judg ment, it is necessary, or whenever three ri) nemers of the Board shall in writing, request hini so to do. Section 6. That the School Coin missioner of Newberry County shall bav'e jurisdiction over such schools in Newberry County not comprised in thre school district herein established. Section 7. That said school district s .siso hereby authorized and empow yredl to levy on all real and personal property returned in said school dis :riets a local tax, not exceeding three t :3 nills on the dollar in any one year, ~o sulplement the general tax for the 1 mplport of schools by the persons anda node followinrg, to wit : That thbe saidi Board of Trustees shall oni or before the s 5th (day of January, 1889, and on or 0 >efore the same (lay in each succeed- r ng year, call a mheetinrg in said school s list rict of all thbe legal voters living in a aid school district and returning real e r piersonal property therein :Provided, hat public notice shall be given of I uch mecetinrg, specifying time, object i nd place of meeting, at least ten (10) g ays before such meeting, by posting i: be same in three conispicuouis places in t ~id school district and by publishing ft be same in one of the newspapers pub- t shedI in Newberry County. The per- j mns answering the above designation ii then thus assembled shall appoint a 5 hairman and Secretary and decide 'hat additional tax, if any, shall be " wvied. The Chairman of said meet- 'V ig shall within one week thereafter ti otify thre Chairman of said Board of E 'rustees andl the County Audito~r of few berry County respectively of ie amount of tax levied, and the it 'ounty Auditor shall at o.nce assess a: .ichi tax on all real and personal prop- ti rty returned in said school district, rnd the County Treasurer of said ni ounty shall collect said tax with other VW txes for the same year, and( such tax >a1l be lia ble to like process and pen ities as are County and State taxes. Section 8. The County Treasurer of ~ ew berry Coun ty shall hold all moneys ising from tihe constitutional school x and poll tax to which said school strict shaldl be entitled under the gen- ar al provisions o)f law and under the 4 roiin of this Act subject to thec arrant of the Chiairnman of the Board 'Frutee of said school district. x Sectionr 9. This Act shall be dleemned puiblic Act and sball take dreect fromi ie daiite of its approval. w iReappointm,enst of Certain Trial .Juin 5e tices. Thne recent Trial .Just ice Acet, approv- re: I December 24, 1888, mnakes it neces- ne ry rer the Governor to make reap- de uin:mrent eif Trial Justices in the Iofi >unities affctedl by the Act. Among v em~ are Abbeville, Colleton, Newber- ml , Lurens, lleaufort, York and Ber-!In: Icy. 'rhe Trini Justices whose ap- au inrtnwnts hive been approved by the th, nate will have to be reapp)ointed as in e Act went. into eflect immunediately fes its approval, thereby making the fix poianments confirmred of no account on the Counties p)rovide.d for in the tic HARRISON READS HISTORY. His Policy to be Outlined to an Ext Session of Congress-The Southern Question Thoroughly Studied Reduction of Tariff Taxes to be Stoutly Opposed. [-New York World. INDIANAPOLIS, IND., Dec. 27.-Gel Harrison has stuck close to business tc day, and the brief fashion in which h dismissed the West Virginia delegatio is plain enough proof that he does nc propose to let the week that he has se aside for prayer and Cabinet medita tion be invaded or broken in upon b; random visitors who have this or tha political interest. The World corres pondent called at the Harrison hous this afternoon and found Secretar Halford monarch of all he surveyed Gen. Harrison had gon e out for a wall in the snapping cold weather to res his head after a long and hard day' work. "What is the General doing?" wa asked of Secretary Halford. The conseience which the privat( secretary. good Methodist that he is presumably possasses, must prick hir now and then. His apparent utter lack of knowledge about the occupations of the President-elect makes even himsell laugh. Visitors wholhave had occasion to interrogate him have noticed his bland condition of non-committed evasiveness. 'They say one would suppose 'Lige and the President-elect were busy upon matters entire separate and remote. He has a guileless, ingenu ous, faraway fashion of saying: "I really don't know, but it might be so and-so." To-day, therefore, when asked how Harrison was spending his week of seclusion, the secretary answered: "I realiy don't know; but I should," "Is it on his inaugural?" "Well, I am not certain. I know he is reading a good deal." By persistence The World correspond ent managed to find out a thing or two about what actually had been going on in the back library. The long and short of it is this: Gen. Harrison is getting up a historical inaugural. He has given the Cabinet less thought than is gene rally believed, but has decided the attitudes he will assume upon the great ssues. He has heard the presentation )f all sides of the Southern question vith which he has for years kept pace. Upon Senatorial admission his record s well known. Regarding tariff revi lion he is rooted and grounded in Protection, and is quoted as not fully tatisfied even. with the Senate bill. The unendments that Senator Spooner >redicted last night will be, it is believ d, the suggestions of the President lect. In reality, he is probably not in avor of a tariff bill at all as an econo nical measure, but rather is apt to -ome out flat-footed for the expendi ure of the surplus in internal improve nents, wvhich would go further than mny other step towards smashing the olid South. The great task which Harrison has et before himself; the best observers gree here is to get the tariff lost sight f in the ado about Southern recogni ion. It is more than likely that Gen. Inrrison let fall the actual truth when ie told the Brooklyn visitors two weeks go that Congress would probably be 0 session on Memorial Day. At that ession he would launch the message, utlining his policies, but the inaugu al address will, as Secretary Halford's canit talk this afternoon indicated, be historical study, written from the entennial standpoint. It' will be a areful review of the nation's d'evelop lent since the first inauguration of Vashington, makinig the birth and rowth of great movemeu ts and great sues. It will trace the influences con ribu tory to the present status and set >rth the'"Conditions thaticon front us," h us leaving the field ready for the pro etion of the Pesldent-elect's solutions his message to Congress in its extra ~ssion. "You know," said Mr. Halford to-day the year 1889 is the hundredth anni ersary of the Washington inaugura on, and in view of that General ?arrison's reading is in that line." "What does that reading consist of"" "To-day he has been I-ending Wash gton Irving's 'Life of Washington' id one or two other books treating of te same era." The way he has begun at the begin .ng.speaks well for the thoroughness ith which the job is to be done. TIRED OF BEING FED ON HUSKS. xe Negro Voters Demand Adequate Re cognition from the Republicans. (iFrom the New York World.] INI>IA NA PoLls, December 30.--There e 25,000 negro voters in Indiana 0 in Indianapolis alone-and they rry the State in their pockets, and, bat's nmore, they know it. They ant something from the Republican iministration and. are going to say so ry loudly. In the first place, they want Ex-] nator Blanche K. Bruce, who mar ~d his wife here and was formerly aj sident of this city, put into the Cabi-] t, and will make a row if it isn'ti ne. Then they want a lot of other ices proportionate in number and1 lue to the weight of tile colored ele eut in the party. The nlegroesl in diana have long been grumbling I dibly that their faithful following of a Republican standard bore no fruit Federal favor. Their ollices were v and far between--not more thanj e ill this city, and merely menial es at that ; and they had the addi nal torment of ei e oeo plumped into a good fat office. Now they are going to have a fair share of a the spoils or kick. The leading race. newspaper of the 'West, the Freeman, published here by Edward E. Cooper, one of the most prominent colored men 1 in the country, asserts this very plai4ly, It says in yesterday's issue : . "At no one time since the negro be - came a citizen has his vote been held e so important as it is to-day. Upon the u actions of the incoming Administra t tion will depend the condition of the t negro vote in 1892. If the Republicans face the country four years hence with a record of broken promises and un t fulfilled obligations it will not be so - easy to explain away the neglect as it a has been in the past, and it will be im- I possible to prevent an irreparable break 1 - in the ranks. "The colored man expects great t things of this new regime, and it will t not be well to disappoint him. His in- b creased knowledge has taught him his e strength, and he is not disposed to con tinue sowing benefits, without pros- s pect of reaping some for himself. The f negro vote saved the Republican party ; in the recent contest and because of s this fact the colored people will and e rightly demand greater honors than " have previously been conferred upon them. Democrats have expressed a be- it lief that the negro will be given the si cold shoulder in the distribution of it offices. The Republicans cannot af ford to have this prediction verified. p We maintain that it would be but is just andappropriate recognition of the E negro's importance as a political factor d to place a colored man in the Cabi- E net." Alfred Banks, one of the foremost S of the colored men here, said to-night : d "There is no nonsense about this U matter. The colored people appre- si ciate the importance of theirservices d to the party. Through their vote w nearly every Northern State was car- T ried for Harrison, and without it hard- at ly one in the Union could have been. e3 The colored people will not be satisfied de with service appointment. They expect sc all through the North, to be given re- U cognition in some degree equal to their m importance to the party. Gen. Harri- in son will be compelled to recognize them ye by the appointment of a colored man on to the Cabinet. Nothing less will give ec them satisfaction. Mr. Bruce's fitness for the position no one can call in ques- w tion." th~ THE IIAMIE PLANT. ea an A Secret that Solves a Difficulty Problem tir and that will Prove a Mine of Wealth to the South. \ qu [News and Courier 3d..] tei A discovery which promises to be of m the utmost importanee to the Southern Pe States has been made by Dr. C. F. tu Panknin, of Charleston. It is not prac- ur ticable or proper.at this time to give the A details, but sufficient can be said to ex show the nature of the discovery and co its value. su At different times many experiments ca looking to the cultivation of ramie A nave been made in the South and the jui plant, it has been found, can be grown W without difficulty. It will grow any where that cotton grows at no expense whatever for cultivation. It grows like ye a weed and is not subject to the ray-P ages of worms, nor is it liable to bei anly of the other maladies to which the an more tender cotton is subject. Ramie ha then can be grown without difficulty. tre The trouble hitherto has been to find a an quick and inexpensive way in which mt the bark of the ramie plant could be to prepared for manufacftxre without in- ti jury to the peculiar quality and value an of the fibre. It is such a process as that am which has been so long sought which P Dr. Pankn in has discovered. Dr Without any mechanical process of consequence and by simple chemical b' treatment, occupying in all from forty- me eight to sixty hours, the bark of the sa3 ramie is brought into condition to be Ofl carded and spun, so that in this condi tion it is available for all the various uses for the different textile materials, such as the finest cotton and silk. Dr. Panknin has been engaged on his experiment for a considerable time, C and has now brought it to a satisfactory wil conclusion. har The process, as has been said, is of son the simplest possible character, the all only difficulty being to find out the he: process. Ramie is cultivated and is to I manufactured for use in fine domestic wil goods, linens and similar cloths, but Pet the process is kept secret and the right ArE to make use of it is not sold. che DR. PANKNIN'S PLAN FOR PREPARING 'a bi THE FIBRE. He A reporter called on Dr. C. F. Pank- no, nin whose discovery of a plan for de- tigl :orticising the ramie plant has at- frox tracted very geneaal interest. hui Dr. Panknin had very little to say fall, >thler than what had been already of c published. He said, however, that pur Lfter a careful study and much experi- rool rnentation for three months he had dis- and :overed a cheap, simple and effective hay process for preparing tbe ramie for que nanufacturing purposes without in of d uring the silky fibre. He did not mnow that he ever would patent the >rocess, but the matter was now under tdvisement with one of the most promi irms dealing in fibrous goods in New Eork, and to give any information to [Fri he press would be premature and un air to his New York correspondents. P. ['he process was perfect in all its de-. Job ails, as Dr. Panknin proved by a! plac pecimen which he drew from his pock- han *t, of wvhich he will leave a sample at nrote 'ha News and Courier office next week. pror From the fact that ramiie, even when his I ultivated, grows as luxuriously as he c 1lab i 1e than he s cotton to damage from drought, rai and rust, and, un: ke the cotton plat and planter, is not food for worms, D: Panknin has great hopes that it will3 come one of our great, staples, and i great measure take the place of the fickle tyrant of the South, King Col ton. Dr. Panknin thinks :that with th establishment in New York of work for treating the ramie bark by his prc ess that the cultivation of the plan will be started and spread over Soutl .arolina with a quickness and afford ng a money profit never equaled in h< south since the introduction of cottor :ulture. The cultivation of the ramie plani ias attracted attention for years. It he annual report of the United State. ommissioner of agriculture for 186, he ramie plant is mentioned as among he subjects which had at that time egun to attract the attention of the nlightened agricultnrist. The Angora oat and the ramie plant were placed ide by side, the former as producing a eece of unsurpassed fineness and the ttter a fibre coming in between the ilk and linen, and partaking to some stent of the characteristicts of both. Of this fibre," the commissioner said, the Chinese have made, from time nmemorial, their unique and cool immer dresses, equalling in many istances the finest linen productions." The botanical name of the ramie [ant is Balkmeria 2enacissima, ard it also known as "the nettle' of the ast," or China grass. It was intro ced in the Southern States by M. oezl, in the spring of 1876, though it as first introduced into the United ates in 18.55, from the botanical gar m of Jamaica, and cultivated in the nited States botanical garden and bsequently in the experimental gar mn of the department of agriculture, here it was grown from the seed. ere is no doubt of its rampant growth id great thriftiness in the South, the periments that have been made fully monstrating the adaptability of the il and cllmate of this part of the nited States to its cultivation. It ultiplies very.iapidly from root plant g, one hundred roots having in one ar produced plants enough for over te hundred and fifty acres, as report from Louisiana. Of perennial growth, the stems die in nter, but new growths shoot up in e spring, producing strong vigorous rlks in so short a time that it is an sy matter to secure four crops a year, d the plants are better for the cut ig. Ihe value of the ramie fibre is un estioned; its use could be largely ex ided if it were properly prepared for irket, and its ultimate necessities de nd, not upon the facility of its cul re, or the suitableness of climate, but on the economy of its manufacture. prominent English manufacturer presses the opinion that it will be -ne a staple fibre, and in some degree pply the place of cotton or wool, if it i be procured for ten cents a pound. nerican planters are said to have in ed their interests by the manner in iich they have prepared the fibre. effective reachine for stripping the re and taking off the outer bark-has been discovered. It has been im ssible by the methods which -have m employed to discharge the gum, I most samples that have been seen vre been rendered atnder by their atment and dar'naged in strength I color. An invention that will ke it possible to treat the plant so as reserve the fibre and at the same te prepare it for the carding machine i spindle will place the ramie plant ong the valuable and permanent ducts of our agricultural industry. Panknin's discovery, he believes, 1 solve all the difficulties that have n in the way of the largest develop nt of the ramie plant which, as he s, is destined some day to become of the staple crops of the South. Where to Begin. [Farm Journal.] Id Peter Tumbledown thinks he i fix up a little about his place, but dly knows where to begin. There is .ething out of joint or in disorder iround the buildings; everywhere< nay go. Suppose we tell him where egin this month and thereafter we give him further points. WVell, er, where do your house slops go? they thrown just outside the kit-. n door, or do they run out through >ttomless gutter right over the well? e is the place to begin: Throw out nore slops, but make a drain, water Lt at the bottomn, from the sink and a the pump; let it be at least a dred feet long, with considerable and at the lower end have a-pile irt to mix with the drainings, to fy them. Turn the spout from the into it, so that -it will be flushed cleansed at every rain. Do not e it covered, but scrub it out fre 2tly so that no.bad odor nor germs sease can arise from it. This is the job. The Quick or the Deed.b >mn the New Orleans Times-Demo crat.]~ ris.czrox, December 28.--Miles 2son, a wealthy widower of this I e, who married Christmas Day, h ged himself last night. He left a h saying that he had broken his 12 -ise not to marry again, given to n irst wife on her deathbed, and that ci auld~not endure the reproaches of d onscience. ti ts THE COUNTRY EDITOR. r. His Influence Strong and Constant for Town's Good-A Man Whose Mind Never at Rest, Whose Work is Never Done. Who can adequately describe the labor of the country editor who is de e voted to his profession? His work is s never done. His mind is never at rest. - He is censtantly on the alert for ma terial for his paper. He wears his L nerves on the surface, sensitive to every move about him. He works where other people play, and the lux ury of absolute rest, with freedom from worry, is, alas ! all too rarely expe rienced by him. Do you think it an easy matter to collect seven or eight columns of local news and to put it in readable shape within a week? Do you realize that for almost every one of the hundreds of different statements of facts the editor has had to walk a con siderable distance and to make personal inquiry? Do you realize that the mat ter thus laboriously collected, bit by bit, when written out; makes more lines in type than the sermons of any minister in the community? Do you realize that the editor's writings would make a score-or more- of good- sized volumes every year? But all the work thus imperfectly described is the least of the labors of the average country editor. How easily, how joyfully would he do all this if it were all he had to do ! Ab, friends, the real work, the real anxiety of the country editor are to the world an unwritten book, but to him anr torturing actuality. Some parts~of this hidden work we cannot willingly write about, for they are too painful ; but let us glance at some of the things referred to. The country editor has to manage his. business. He solicits advertise ments, and spends hours in the work of convincing men against their wills that it is to their interest to keep their names and wares before the public ; he spends days and days talking with men to induce them to become subscribers and slowly builds up a list of names for his paper ; he doubles this work when. , it comes to collecting the money for his advertisements and his subscrip-. tions, tramping miles and miles and wasting many precious hours trying to get hold of a few dollars with which to meet obligations that are pressing him, wolf like, and racking his mind with perplexity and fear. That is the work which makes the: country editor old before his time, that oftentimes .puts him in- a humilating attitude before business men and fills his heart with the bitterness of des pair. HIS HELPFUL INFLUEYCE. And the influence of the country editor-who can estimate it? It is the greatest force in any community. The work of all the ministers cannot equal the influence of the country editor. The spoken word will never equal the written one in effectiveness'and permaN nent value ; and all the congregations in a town cannot equal, in number, the auditors of the editor. He speaks ' weekly to thousands of people where the ministers talk to hundreds. We bring the ministers into this discus sion, not to belittle their work. but te make a comparison that will be gen erally understood. The influence of the country editor - is nearly always helpful ; a good news paper will do more for a town than any other one influence. Is there a hospit al to be built ? The editor presents the necessity for it, kindling in every mind a desire to see the institution estab lished; points out the way for accom- - plishing the object desired and helps along every scheme for furthering the eause. Are selfish men planning to line their pockets with a scheme that will inijure instead of benefit the town? ? The editor exposes the plot and awak- - ans the opposition of tbe people. Is ~here a fair in progress for the benefit f a church or a town librarvy? The aditoz booms it, gets everyb<ody inte *ested and in sympathy with the mat ~er and turns the golden tide in the - >roper direction. He helps along the ocal charities and all Worthy institu ions; he keeps the people informed shout each other and alive to the in erests of their town ; his influence is trong, constant and for the well being f his town. [From the Chicago Tribu~ The number of legal executions dir- - oig the year has increased over last ear, when it was much smaller thanx or many' years previous. The total iumber was 87, as compared with. 79 ii 1887, 83 in 1886,and 108 in 1885. The xecutions in the several states were a follows: Alabama, 5; Arkansas, 5; alaifornia, 5; Connecticut, 1; Delaware, ;Georgia, 3; Illinois, 2; Indiana, I; owa. 1; Kansas, 2; Kentucky, I; Lou siana, 3; Maryland, 1; Massahusetts~ ;Minnesota, 1; Mississippi, 4; Missouri, New York, 9; New Jersey, 4; North arolina, 2; Ohio, 3; Oregon, 1; Penn ylvania, 5; South Carolina, 5;~Tennes se, 2; Texas, 6; Arizona, 1; Idaho, 2; [ontana, 2; Washington, 1; Wyoming, ;Indian Territory, 2. Of this mn..-. er all were males but one, 57we. rhites. 29 negroes, and I Chinaman. The Liberty of the Press. DANvILLE, January 3.-A. C. Lewi ~nited States Commissioner, recently ad several judges of election before im, charged with violating-lectionj tws. The Danville Daily ]Ngster ade a full report of the trial and'aits sed the Commissioner's action. To my Lewis brought a libel suit against ie Register for $5,000 damages