University of South Carolina Libraries
1 "Vol. II. ORANGEBTJRG, S. C, FttlDAY, APRIL 2, 1880. !N"o. 14. SHERIDAN & SIMS, Proprietors. Su.nscniirriON. One Ycnr.81 GO Six Months.1.00 Ministers of tho Gospel.1.00 Adveutisehents. First Instertlon.81.00 Each Subsequent Insertion.50 Liberal contracts made for U month and over. JOB OFFICE IS rUSrAUK? TO DO ALL KIM DSC* JoTb Fainting The Fence Law in the South. Editor Orangsburg Democrat: As you have opened your columns for the discussion of the Fence Law, I enclose an article from the -Home and Farm, which I think commends itself to every intelligent farmer in the county, and ask its insertion. St. Matthe-WS. There is considerable interest mani fested over the effort now being made, in some sections of tbc South, to abolish the old unjust law whereby each farmer is compelled to fence bis fields; and to compel instead, the owners of stock to coufino them. Wherever intelligence becomes wide ly disseminated, the injustice and folly of the present law is recognized, and the oppression of an enactment by which a ^farmer is compelled to build and keep expensive fences to prevent the depredation of others cattle, becomes realized. In no civilized portion of the world is the farmer required to protect his fields against slock ; , and it is a sad evidence of old fogyism, general igno rance and backwardness of agricul ture in the South, that such a law as that now in force can exist. When the country was very sparsely settled, farms few, and timber very abundant, the present law was enacted, and, like many laws and customs, it has out lived its usefulness ; and from being for the greatest benefit to the greatest number, it has become operative for their greatest injury. A few facts regarding the expense of the fences will demonstrate the wastefulness of the system. The av erage size of farms throughout the seven Southeastern States is about 200 acres, and the yearly tendency is to further reduce the average size. Now, the actual first cost of a rail fence around such a farm, where good pine limber is abundant, is about ?250, or $1.25 per acre ; but where pine is scarce, and oak is uBed, the cost m?re frequently rises as high as $2 per acre. Theactual statistics obtained from every country and published by the government ut Washington, show that the number of acres in farms in the Southeastern Slates is about 03, 028,000, and the actual first cost of the fencing for these farms was 8177, 200,000?an average of over 81.90 per acre ; anil the value of all cattle, sheep and hogs is about 857,000,000. From these figures it appears that, for every dollar's worth of stock, about 83 are expended to keep them out of the fields. Many of us have heard of the fool ish boy who invested ten cents in a candle to look for a three-cent piece he had dropped. The annual cost of repairs to a rail fence is known by all fanners to be about one-leulh of the fence ; thus the amount spent eve ry year by the farmers of the seven Southeastern Slates must approach $17,000,000. Now, upon my own farm, which is situated iu one of the heaviest timber ed sections of the South, I find that the annual cost of repairs to my fencing is about fourteen cents per acre; in other sections, where pine is scarce and oak is used, the annual expense is doubtless much greater. Moreover, the extent of land wasted under a rail fence amounts to two acres on a farm of 200 or one per cent.: equal in value to about ten cents per acre annually. A farmer'owning a farm of 200 acres grumbles loudly at being com pelled to pay a State tax of about nine cents per acre, but without any disquietude submits to an annual im position, under the present fence law, of an unjust tax equal to not less than twenty-four cents per acre. The small farmers pay a propor tionately heavier tax to the fence law imposition than the large, for it re quires more rails per acre to inclose a small farm than a large one, as is readily demonstrated by the fact that whilo one acre requires 840 feet of fencing, four acres require, not four times ns much, but only twice as much, say 1,680 feet. Thus, the poorer the farmer, and the smaller his planting operations, the heavier is the rate of his tax ; while the richer the farmer, and the more extended his undertakings, the lighter is hia rate of taxation. , Even If the present system of fen- 1 cing is considered with regard to 1 common honesty, its gross injustice is equally mauifest. The land outside , of th? farm is as much the property of lue farmer as that he may cultivate, and truly in essential justice no stock of others' has any right thereon, with out his expresB permission. With just as much equity may the law give all the world a legal permission to steal n farmer's corn out of his barn, unless it is lociccd, as it does now to give permission to other*/ cattle to destroy his crop, unless he fences it in. In addition to the oppressive injus tice of the feneo system, the experi rience of the civilized world has clearly demonstrated it to be a use less and wasteful one. Wherever farming has been brought up to the high condition it deserves, and to which it must be brought to be profit able, the law regarding fences is di rectly contrary to that in force throughout most of the South. When farm stock is restrained, and tho responsibility for their depreda tions is thrown on their owners, capi tal is released from tho very unprofit able investment of fencing, nnd made available for farm improvements. One of the very first effects is the im provement of tho stock ; and only the good ones arc kept, and the inferior are killed or sold off. All the ma nure, instead of being wasted, Is saved and the way prepared for the steady improvement of the soil. None of the land is wasted, and the fields arc cultivated down to the edges of the road 8. The best proof of the advantages of the abolition of fences is found in the fact that no section of the country thai bus abolished fences for crops is willing again to return to the antiqua ted system, now oppressing the agri cultural industries of Ihe South ; and if tho farmers of the South would think mure carefully of this matter, discuss it with the lights of actual ex perience, instead of stubbornly clos ing their eyes to facts, and hugging their antiquated prejudices, they would sood see where their own in terest lay. A. P. Fokd. Bjjxnwell County, S. C. "The Mug of the Kid." Two years and two months ago, says the Albany Journal, Peter Mc Dermott wub employed upon the new Capitol as a stone-cutter. He be came acquainted with a handsome little blonde named Maggie Moran. Being a likely-looking fellow, she yielded to his importunities, and they were married. Three months later he abscodded, and she heard nothing of him until recently. In the mean time she had borne him i child. The first intimation she received of his whereabouts was from a letter which he wrote last week to a friend still employed on the Capitol, in which he rcquestod the latter to get "the mug of the kid." (photograph of the child), and forward it to an address in New York which he gave. The friend gave tho letter to Mrs. McDer mott, who in turn handed it to Chief Maloy. The result was that Juutioe Clule issued a warrant, and yester day, Court Oflicei Byrne went down and suprised McDermott. The offi cer returned with him las', night, and this morning, after an examination, he was sent up for a year. As he was leaving the court-room, the wife said : "You wanted to see the mug of the kid, did you? Well, look at it now, Tor it's the last opportvnity you'll have in a year." Peter, with a mut tered curse, continued on big way. Going for Congress. Old Miss Susan goes for Congress igain in this wise: To the Honorable Senate and [louse of Representatives: Susan B. Anthony, a citizen of the United States, a resident of the State of New York, County of Monroe, City of Rochester, hereby respectfully peti tions your honorable body for the re moval of her political disabilities, and a specific declaration by Congress that she is invested with full pow er to exercise her United States citi zen's right of self government at the ballot-box, all State Constitutions and statute laws to the contrary not wilhslnnding. Fraternal Delegates, Wo lenrn that Dr. Atticus Iluy good, President of Emory College and Editor of the Wesleyau Advo cate, and Dr. J. H, Carl is Is, Presi dent of Wofford Colloge, have been lppoinlcd fraternal delegates from .he Southern Methodist Church to the Sencral Conference of the Northern Church, which meets in Cincinnati in May. A Romance of Two States. The story of Miss Amila Linkhaw, of Lumberton, who shot and killed Ed. Hartman iu the parlor of the ho* tel iu that town, was tried for her life and acquitted on the plea of tem porary insanity, is still fresh in the minds of the readers of the Observer. But the romance of her life does not ^eud here, another and a pleasantcr incident having been added to a career which began in love and ended in tragrdy. During the period of her confinement in the jail at Lumberton, when the only companion she had was her child, which was born after the enactment of the tragedy, she re ceived many letters from sympathet ic persons in all parts of the country. Among her correspondents was a man named Lytie, who is represented as a custom bouse officer stationed at Sullivan's Island near Charleston. He became deeply interested in her and wrote to herrepcatdly while she was in prison. On the night the trial was expected to close, he was on the island, and in attemptidg to reach Charleston during the prevalence of a severe storm, that he might hear at the earliest possible moment whether she was to live or die, he barely es caped being lost by the capsizing of the boat. Alter the acquittal of Miss Linkhaw, the correspondence wae kept up, photographs were exchanged, and a proposul of marriage was made and accepted. A weeek ago Miss Linkhaw, accompanied by her child and one of her Bisters, left Lumberton and proceeded to Florence, S. C, where she was met by Mr. Lytle and the marriage ceremony was quietly performed. The three, mother, child und husband, then left for Mr. Lit tle's home and here the story for the presents, stopB.? Chariotte. Observer, March 24. I_i - I Found. The lone woman who always looks for a villainous mun under the bed, has found him again. It ia always pleasing to know that people get whotj they search for, and in this instance! the pleasure is doubled. Two women have discovered tho objects of their search on two distinct and separate occasions, and in two separate and distinct places. One lady lived in Essex County, New York, and the other in Ballston Center, in the same Statt?. The young women were in the State of New York just before they made the discovery, but were trans ported into the slate of terror imme diately after. This seems to show that the acquisition of a long looked for object does not always bring hap piness. These ladies of this district who look for the man under the bed ouce in every twenty-four hours should take courage at tho success of the New York ladies and continue the .search. A Brazil Newspaper. A Phenomenon in journalism has i just made its appearance in Rio Jano- | iro. It is a newspaper published in two languages, and its editor announces | that "to serve bettor our country and those who have in it their intorcsts, we will publish in Portuguese and English language tho articles that will be convenient to the nationals andforeigners." its Portugese may be good enough, hut the quality of its English may be sampled by the sentence in the prospectus which de ciares that the paper proposes "to trace himself his line of conduct in the press, and in the analyze of fucts and events he will have the reflected calm of the imparciality." Its notion of business methods may be under stood from the statement that "we will consider our subscribers all per sons to whom our paper will be sent, if not retnrned it."?Boston Journal. Ohb happy result of the upheaval in Russia is said to be a reconcilia tion between the Czar and Czarina. The gratitude of the former at his es cape from death was so great that he addesscd a communication to his wife expressing regret at past misconduct, and promising that in the future there would be no occasion for scandals. Tho Czarina's health is reported much improved in consequence, and the reconciled royal pair are preparing for a season of retirement in the moun tains of the Austrian Tyrol. Eleven of tho seventeen daily newspapers in Philadelphia are op posed to Grant; and twelve of tho thirteen weeklies arc on the same string. Constitution ot the Edisto Brass Band, Article 1. \ Sectiok I.?The namtfof this asso ciation shall be tho Edisto Band, and its officers shall be a Teacher, a Sec retary and a Treasurer, j Seo. 2.? The Teacher shall have full control of the Band in every res pect, and If unable to attend Band, meetings from any causei shall desig nate a member to act as Leader pro tern., who shall have like authority for the time being. Sec. 3.?The Secretary shall keep a roll of the Band?keep snch minutes as may be ordered by the Band, and conduct its correspondence. He shall also watch all members and report all violations of this Constitution and the rule of the Band, to the Teacher of the Band. Sec. 4.?The Treasurer shall re ceive and disburse the moneys of the Band under is direction. Article 2. Sec. 1.?The regular meetings of the Band for practice will be held On every Tuesday and Thursday nights, when every officer and member of the Band will be required to attend, and any one absent without a good excuse will be fined, if an officer, fifty cents, if a private member twenty-five cents. Sec. 2.?No cursing, swearing or drinking shall be allowed in the Band room, or whem members are on duty, and for violation of this section a fine of one dollar shall be imposed for the first offence, two dollars for the sec ond oflcncc, and suspension or expul sion for the third. Sec. 3.?Any member with his.in slrument in hand shall be considered on duly if in Ihe Band room, or in any public place or on a serenade, and on all such occasions every mem ber shall conduct himself with gentle manly propriety, and shall entirely abstain from any spirituous or intoxi cating liquors on penalty of a fine of one dollar for each and every' viola | tion of Ibis section. ;' Sec. 4.?Whenever the Band is as sembled under the Teacher or leader pro lern., no member shall h^are with out permission of the Tendier or lead er as the case may he. Sec. 5.?Every member shall be re quired to keep his own instrument in perfect order, and whenever it sh:.ll become damaged, unless by unavoid able accident, it shall be repaired at such member's expeuse. Aim cm: 3. Sec. 1.?The initiation fee shall be two dollars for each member now be longing to the Band, and each mem ber hereafter elected shall pay an ini tiation fee of three dollars, which shall accompany the letter of applica tion. Sec. 2.?All applicants shall be recommended by three members, and shall be elected to membership by a majortiy vote of all members present, at a regular praclico meeting. I Sec. 3.?Tbc members shall pay fifteen cents per month to the Trcasu i rer to meet the current expenses of ' the Band, and said sum shall be paid wilhin ten days of the closo of each month. Article 4. I This Constitution may be altered or amended at any regular practice meeting by a vote equal to a majority of the entire Band. We, Ihn undersigned, adopt the' foregoing Constitution and pledge ourselves to observe the provisions and regulations of the same. B. B. Owen. P. A. Lefvekdahl, P. W. Bull, Joseph Eros, A. D. Cannon, Joseph Strauss, T. L. Wannamaker, A. Creutzfeldt, G. J. Dexter, C. P. Brunson, S. E. Owen, Clifford Oliverob. Whiskey and Votes. There is one abominable practice tint should be discountenanced by all good citizens in our country during the pending election, and lhat is, the use of whiskey for eleclioneeriug purpos es. Especially should our people set their faces against Ihe practice of carrying whiskey to the polls to be used in influencing votes on the day of the election. Men whose vote can be thus influenced do not deserve the name of free men; and we hope every good citizen will regard each and every candidate who will, either themselves or through their friends at the. polls, attempt to buy votes wilh whiskey, as only fit to represent men whose vote can thus bo bought. It is a most degrading practice, a disgrace to civilization, and should not be tolerated in a Christian laud. Johnson Montier. Mr. Stephens' Lov? Romance. Amnog bis pupils, when he kept tho high school at Madison, Ga., in 1838, was a girl of great bcanty and ! gentleness. With all the siucerity and earnestness of a passionate and refined nature, he loved that girl. But he was poor almost to ponury. The curse of ill health, which had fol lowed him from his birth, clnag to him still. He was assured by medi cal advisers, and ho believed that death might come to him at any mo ment, lie loved with an earnestness, a loyalty, and an unselfish devotion which few men know?loved with a love which, in its lender intensity, was almost womanish. But for more than a score of years he kept his se cret to himself. No human belog knew the cause of his ever-present melancholy. Day by day and night by night duriug that time at Madison he pondeicd over the affection which he knew could bring him nothing buk. sorrow, and at last he determined to resign his position and leave the place. Yeara afterwards, in writing to his brother, he half drew the cur tain that had concealed bis sorrow, and telling something of these days at Madison, said further: "I am tempted to tell you a secret. It is the secret of my life, and I have nev er told it to any one, but I will tell it to you, and I fear you will not believe it, but it is true, and if you have never suspected it, that shows how true I havo been to myself in keeping it." A Touohing Picture. While I was lecturing at Washing Ion I saw a lady with an intelligent, pretty face and bright eloquent eyes that were rarely lifled toward the speaker, and then for only a flash of time. They were bent upon her husband's bands almost constantly. Brilliant and accomplished, a few years ago, she hud gone down into tho world of voiceless silence, and now all the music and all the speech thai comes into her life cornea through the tender devotion of her husband ; and as I talked' I watched him telling oif the lecture on his nimble fingers, while her eager eyes glanced from them to his sympathelic face. It was a pretty picture of devotion. They were so young to have this cloud shadow the morning skies of their lives, but as I glanced from the voiceless wife to her husband I thought how beautiful the sunlight of his devotion was, breaking through tbase clouds and tinting even their aflliction with a tender radiance. This discipline of attending upon suf fering is a good thing fot a man. It rounds out his life ; it develops his manlier, nobler qualities ; it makes his heart brave aud tender and strong as a woman's.?Hubert J. Bur dette, in Hawkeye, A Hurtful Swindle. A man professing to sell ''Arnold's Nickle Plating," for plating Brass, Coppef, Brittania, German Silver and other metals, is traveling through our country and imposing upon our people. We desire to call attention to this fellow, not for the reason that be is taking money under false pre tenses, but for the hurtful etlccts from the spurious stuff he is hawking over the country for sale. It is "warranted not to corrode or tar nish." He should havo loft the word not out of his label, for if that was a recommendation of his stuff it could not do its work mere effectually. Yesterday we saw sornc of its work on some show cases In a storo on Main street, and they have been ruined by the applications of this so called "Arnold's Nickle Plating." The damago done is great and the swindler ought to be arrested. Anderson, Abbeville, Newbeiry and all points dowu the Greeuville and Columbia Railroad are cautioned against him. Let the press pass him around.?Greenville News. Self Respect. Always remember no one can de base you but yourself. Slander, sa tire, falsehood, injustice?these can never rob you of your manhood. Men may lie about you, they may de nounce you, they may cherish suspi cions manifold, they may make your failing the target of their wit and cruelty; never be alarmed?never sworve an inch from tho lino your judgment and conscience have mark ed out for you. They cannot, by all their efTorts, take away j*our knowledge of yourself, and purity of your nature. While these are left, you are, in point of fact, unharmed. Social Life in Washington. Mary Clcmmer aays that in no oth er American city is visiting carried to such an extent as in Washington. Every lady *'iu society" has her day for receiving calls, and the distribu tion of cards is enormous. But calls may be made extensively without in vitation. "When strangers visit Washington," she adds, (,and take up their abode at'a hotel, they have only to discover the days of public recep tion, hire n hack, and proceed to vis it. On Monday they can go to the homes of the Judges of the Supreme Court and other courts; on Wednesday they can call on the Cabinett ladies; on Thursday visit I all the Senatorial families; and on Saturday go to the White House to seo Mrs. Hayes. In every drawing room the visitors will find standing in its centre from one to a dozen la dies, richly attired, receiving all with politeness, few with that gracious charm which makes the loneliest stranger feel nt home. This is not strange. These Indies are compelled so constantly to greet so many whom they do not know that the task becomes not only monoto nous but irksome. These culls in volve no personal recognition. The lady who received you on Wednesday in her own parlor, on Thursday may meet you on the street without a glance of recognition." Too Sharp. One may po3sibly be so very sharp that he becomes dull, and so fearful ly shrewd at a bargain that he suc ceeds only in cheating himself. A young man belonging to the Teutonic race fell in love, or at least thought he did, with the daughter of a ban ker. When, however, he seriously thought of the subject of matrimony he concluded that love, though very beautiful in ils way, needs a little i money behind it to make it perman ent?a conclusion to which other than Teutonic youths sometimes ar rive. He wanted to marry the beautiful girl, but he wanted also to have the marriage certificate cover at least a small portion of the old gen tleman's substance. A proper com bination of affection and cash makes a delightful bouse. He went, there fore, to the paternal parent to talk the matter over, and, as though he I were bestowing an everlasting favor on the family by bestowing his con ceited self, he said, "I can't possibly marry you daughter, my dear sir, unless she has a dowry of 10,000 gulden." The old gentleman, with great dignity, replied, * Then, sir, you can't marry her at all, for she happens to have a dowry of 50,000 gulden. I wish you good morning." Propositions to Advertise. We had intended to write an arti cle on this subject, but find the fol lowing in the Edgfield Monitor, and as it is veey nicely said, we appropri ate it as our own, and endorse every word of it. That paper says: 44 We wish we could be spared the annoy ance of advertising agents sending their circulars to this office with propositions to advertise. The ab surdity of some of these propositions is sufficient, it seems to us, to place the senders of them in jeopardy of the fool killer. For instnnce, an agent sends a proposition to adver tise for a Cincinnatti baggy manufac tory, payment to be made in buggies. That is, if we will advertise to the amount of $83.50 and then send them seventy-two dollars in cash, they will send a buggy which thuy price at 9155?the same kind of a buggy that was hawked through our streets a year ago for 855. It must be under stood too, that the freight from Cin cinnatti to this point is to be added to the $72 required in cash. Could impudence go further?" A terribly fatal mistake was that made by Mr. F. G. Noonan, of Kan sas City, Mo. Mr. N. and his wife were awakened from a sound sleep by a noise, at an early hour in the morn ing. Supposing burglars to be in the house, Noonan took a revolver and went into the front room in the dark, followed by his wife. She became frightened, and threw her arms around her husband's neck; he, sup posing himself assailed by a burglar, fired, killing her instantly. The Noo nan's are well-to do people who mov ed to Kansas City from Milwaukee a few years ago, where Noonan was a prominent merchant. He is a gradu ate of Yalo College. it Neighbors' Academy. Editor Orangeburg Democrat: No doubt, few are aware of tho origin of its name and locality. It was built and owned by neighbors ro siding near the school, hence the name. It is situated iu South Poplar Township, on the Monck's Corner Road. It has been open for five and a half months, with that experienced / and successful teacher at its head, ' Mrs. J. S. Thompson, youthful wi dow of the late, lamented Dr. Chas. R. Thompson. The day was cloudy and the ground saturated by a very heavy full of rain the night before, but quite a number left the busy cares of life to attend the closing exercises, which took place on the 1'Jlh instant. Students were examined on English composition, grammar, geography and arithmetic. Problems in interest, present worth, discount, per ventage, &c, were solved in such a manner that reflected credit upon the teacher] and caused the audience to say and repeat, what a success! The oratory ; department was finely represented by ' students, who had never spoken be-? fore. I will os4y mention a few t Longfellow's Immortal ??Psalm of ' Life," was well delivered by Master Tilley Livingston ; "Try, Try Again" was splendinly said by Julian Felder, also, a piece of prose about boys, was spoken in a very praiseworthy man- . ner by Eustace Felder. There were others?but no more on that subject. Speeches on education were called for by the principal, but only one was delivered, by Mr. C. C. Felder. He spoke about the indifference of par* ents about education, and said that .. the present occasion reminded him of a family garhering. They, as paliona had met to see the progress their chil- , dreu had made, and to thank the teacher for the success. He urged the parents to be careful in future who they selected as teachers, and to assist their children at home. I think '.he cause of education has received a new impetus in this neighborhood-. After a good and bountiful dwuer-, the crowd dispersed, to think more favorably of education. Your in in- '* terest, Lvnton. Speaker Randall. The Washington correspondent of the Chicago Timies draws this pict ure Speaker Randall: "Sam, Ran dall would attract interest in almost any crowd. He is tall, broadkshould ered and individual in his personal bearing. His face is a dead sallow, white and stands out in market! con trast with his intensely jet-black eyes and coal-black hair. He almost always wears steel-bowed glasses. The lower part of his face, which ia always clean shaved, indicates bull dog firmness and tenacity, lie almost invariably dresses in black. He lives in a very quiet, unpreten tious way in a very inexpensive house on Capitol Hill. He is never seen in a carriage, but walks about town. He used to be a great drinker several years ago, when he first enter ed Congress. The temptation of Washington life were for a time too strong for him, and a weaker man would have been absolutely ruined. He brought that bull-dog tenacity of his to bear, and absolute ly foreswore the use of liquor some four years ago, aud since that time no one has ever seen him taste a drop. So far as private life goes, ho is u model. He is devoted to his family and his children." Step to the Rear. If a correspondent of the New York World is to be believed, the Tilden iuilucnce in the National Democratic Executive Committe is exceedingly weak. A trial of its strength was made at the last meeting of the Committee on three proposi tions, each of which was promptly re jected by a decided majority* of the Committee. One was the choice of St. Louis as the place for holding the National Convention; another was the adoption of the "fraud issue" as the heading question for the comiug campaign, and the third was the ap pointment of a sub committee o ar bitrate between the Tilden and auU Tilden Democrats of New York. The rejection of all these propositions ought to show Mr. Tilden that his day in politics is over. A senior, after vainly trying to ex plain some scientific theory to his lair inamorata, said: "The question is difficult, and 1 don't see what 1 cau do to make it clearer." "Suppose you pop it I" whispered the blushing dam | sei.