The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, January 12, 1905, Image 3
R SERMON I OR SUNDAY
^OQUE'NT DISCOURSE ENTITLED.
HE TRAGEDY OF A QUEEN."
\
iTfc? K?v. F. F. Shanron Draw* ? Tlinely
"tirfaon From the Storv of Vanhti?
t .Trwe Are Few Finer Exhibitions o!
Sacrifice in the Hititory of Womanhood
Brooklyn. X. Y.?For Ins Sunday
morning sennon, in Grace M. E. Church,
the pastor, the Kev. Frederick F. Shannon,
had for his theme "The Tragedy of a
-Queen." The text war. from Esther i: 11-12:
"Bring Vashti the queen before the king
iwith the crown royal, to show the people
find the princes her beauty: for she was
. fair to look on. But the Queen Vashti
^ refused to come at the king's command_
xnent by his chamberlains." Mr. Shannon
said:
"-i - ?i c .v- t?l. ?r ;a
lut .VUilSULTUS Ol l!IC IWA Ul j.Auid
the Xerxes of profane history. By com.jnoa
consent 01 historians he was one of
the most i>owerfu! nionarchs that ever
lived. The pages of Herodotus are filled
: .with his exploits, and Grote and Kollin,
also, dwell upon his power and achievements
in an interesting manner. But his
.tawdry greatness is worth while onlv as it
serves to set forth the heroism of Vashti.
'Already the centuries have tarnished the
brilliance of his court, but not the beauty
of his queen. Sihushan. the palace, exists
only in mime. The hundred and four
score days during which he showed the
riches 01 his glorious kingdom and the
feonor of his excellent majesty are less
than a shadow on the dial. The white,
green and blue hangings, tied with cords
of purple and fine linen to silver rings in
pillars of marble perished long ago. The
gold and silver beds, which sat upon a
Iiavemcnt of red and blue and white and
Ilack marble, have had no occupants for
more than 2400 years. The golden vessels,
from which princes quaffed the royal wine,
are all one with the golden sand grains of
. the desert. Time is no respecter of persons.
If i: buries the common things in
V \ "oblivion, that shadow of darkness." it
4a *?1 i<-?T- Ko antntrlpa from
UVTB UUt iv piuvn v.<v ?rM..e<
the robes of kings, tossing them into the
night also. But time cannot dull the beauty
of a great soul. Time cannot quench
the llame of a white life. Time cannot
Btain the snow of a pure heart. And that
is why Queen Vashti and the tragedy of
fcer life forever hold our admiration and
^^^ etears.
^^Mhtfhaps we shall be more capable of
"t|j4p^Bkfang the unfortunate queen by glanci11'
monarch she opposed. Ahasueru^>ossessed
the almost unlimited power
of an Oriental despot. His will was supreme
in everything. We find him here
S'viny a least to h s lords and princes,
aving conceived the idea of making war
on Greece, this feast to his subjects is a
tep looking to that end. Whatever he
__ undertook usually came to pass. He could
p a cana' through the Isthmus of Mount
' . Athos. He could build a bridge of ships
cross the Hellespont. He could scourge
the sea for its tempestuousness. He could
bedeck the branches of a tree with jewelry
?= a rourarit for its f-uitfulness. He Could
raise an army of more than 2,250,000 men.
He could even shed tears when he reflected
that in less than a century not one
of these men would survive. Hut we have
in our text one thirg this monarch could
t sot do. He could not compel a helpless
woman to permit Km and his drunken
f . courtiers to make a toy of her beauty. He
could not drag a hijh-souled queen down
from the pedestal of her stainless puritv!
| > Consider, in tiie fi.st place, that thelife*
?tory of V ishti reeal.s the fact that palaces
bave furnished tlie actors in some of the
darkest, deepest tragedies in history.
When Shtkspeare wanted material from
which to create his immortal dramas, with
onerring vision the i.ighty master began
to probe the life history of kings and
queens. From their laughter and tears,
from their splendor and shame, from their
rise and fall, he wove a literary tapestry
which is the growing wonder of men. Indeed,
as we watch Shak.*!>care move his
royal players over his mental chess-board,
we have to exclaim, with Aeschylus,''What
* shadow of a shade is human royalty!"
Rising in brilliance, these royal stars set
in darkness; and, usually, their darkness
is made more terrible by the ominous
flashings of red lightnings of remorse.
After a palace an i its occupants have
" passed under Sbakspeare's pen, this is
the conclusion of the whole matter:
TThrones are painte1 bubbles, and kings
nd queens are bubble chasers! This is
not saying there are no good kings and
queens, because there are. It is. rather,
emphasizing the fact that the happiest
people arc those who are fortunate enough
not to have been born under the star of
Toyalty.
We all know how the historian loves to
? - ? . ' , T>
oweii upon me cnaracier 01 uieopaira. x>e__
_ jWfidnueHtion, she was one of the most
c^ai^virtin; women of paganism. Ilescendr
?d from a long line of kings, royal blood
flowed in her veins, beauty adorned her
person and briDiapce sparkled in her
t>r&in. When Nature called for an Egyptian
queen, this fascinating Greek princess
was the answer. At fourteen she was an
* accomplished Unguis':, a student of history
* and a skilled musician. At- nineteen she
conquered that Caesar who had conquered
the world. Forty-six years before the
Christian era she accompanied hira to
Home, where she lived in pomp and luxury
until Caesar's .assassination, when she
returned to Egypt. She met Mark Antony
-at twenty-eight?"a period of life," according
to Plutarch, "when woman's beauty is
most splendid and her intellect is in full
maturity." Antony summoned her to appear
before him in Cilicia, charged with
having assisted Cassius before tne battle
--of Philipoi. Upon this imperious summons
hung the destiny of that gifted Roman,
and he knew it not. You know
how she answered the summons?not as a
craven culprit, but as the peerless queen
of the south. As sh? went up the Cydnus
in her royal barge, the like of which was
never beheld before or since, the scene
enthralled the fancy of both Plutarch and
ODBKtSpeare. X1C mill wuiu mane nuiug
^ say what no other man could, had to confess,
"For her own person, it beggared all
description." Like a burnished throne,
lier barge burned on the water: the poop
was beaten gold; the purple sails were so
perfumed that the winds were love-sick
with them; the silver oars kept stroke to
the tune of flutes; she was couched in a
gold pavilion like Venus, "where we see
the fancy outwork nature;" dimpled boys,
like smiling Cupids, were standing on
each side fanning her; gentlewomen, like
Nereides, tended h?r. When she arrived
at the city the people rushed out to see
ber, leaving Antony alone in the marketi
place.
Like the incomparable Julius, she came,
-she saw, she conquered? Antony was
dazzled, bewitched, enslaved by this siren
-queen. liver afterward, with the possible
exception of three years, he was her slave.
Not satisfied with lavishing silver and
gold and precious stones and silks and
woxks of art upon her, he threw whole
kingdoms at her feet, as if they were so
m&nv Reman forget-me-nots. He was as
helpless in her power as & bird under the
hypnotic spell of a snake. All the world
knows how, at a critical moment in the
battle oi Actium, Cleopatra, for some
| unknown reason, was seen leaving with
hw vessels for Egypt. This was a signal
'^ febrjrAntcny to abandon the battle and
^^^TOOow h;s sorceress. For strength, she
gave him weakness. For infatuation, she
gave him deceit. For the sweets of love, she
gave him the eggs of scorpions. For idolmtry,
she gave him death. The Egyptian
Delilah had clipped t?e locks of tnis Roman
Samson and he wist not that bis
strength was departed from him.
So far this bewildering woman has only
toyed with strong men. This child of the
(aiace h.is held the golden bit of destiny
* *
I "
IL
*
Uetween her teeth of peurl and her gok
have not reined her in. But her end it
coming. After betraying Antonv, she re
tired within a castle, which had teen built
for just such an emergency. She then sent
her paramour word that she had killed
herself and his grief was such that he fell
upon his own sword. But he lived loni
enough to discover that she had deceived
him again. Dying and soaked in his own
blood, he ordered his servants to carry
him to her mausoleum. As the only entrance
to her retreat left unbarred was a
window, he was drawn up by ropes into
her presence and died. And what became
of her?this actor from the palace? You
know the story. How she tried her charms
upon Octavius Caesar and failed. How the
Krospect of being carried a prisoner to
otne stared her in the face and how,
rather than be "led a captive princess up
tli<? fanitoline Hill." she died bv her own
hand. Lacking moral sense, she wore a
face of brass to the end of the tragedy.
Unlike the sweet-souled Vashti, Cleopatra
had no veil of modesty for her face, and
she asked none for her soul. Darker than
Egyptian night, she has left a dark stain
unon the brow of universal womanhood!
Whiter than the whiteness of the dawn,
Vashti, like Shelley's heroine, "clothed in
virtue's adamantine eloquence, paves her
path with human hearts!"
Consider, also, that in studying the tragedy
of Vashti, we have to reckon with
her beauty, "for she was fair to look on."
When some genius equal to the task of
writing a history of beauty appears, men
and women will find a perpetual charm in
its glowing pages. It will contain a page
of joy, a page of sorrow, a page of peace,
a page of war. a page of love, a page of
hate, a page of poetry and a page of art.
But it will contain many pages developing
this thought?the tragedy of beauty.
But along with her beauty, Vashti possessed
that other quality which lends
beauty an enduring freshness and charm?
modesty. Vashti owes her place in history
rot so jnuch to her beauty as to her modesty.
If beauty made her a queen, modestv
made her a woman, which is far better.
As queen, Xerxes could banish her; as
woman, he was defied by her. As queen,
he could arfd did dethrone; as woman,
she sits upon a throne that has hearts for
its cushions and centuries for its pillars.
The Dubarrys, the Pompadours, the Montespans
have their day and ceas' to be;
but the Vashtis go on forever. The Clytemnestres,
the Aspasias, the Cleopatras
are meteors flashing through the darkness
of eternal night; the Vashtis are golden
suns burning through womanhood's endless
day!
Indeed, modesty is so inherent an element
in the great essentials making genuine
beauty that without modesty beauty
is impossible. We are indebted to no human
law for this truth?God has woven
it into the fabric of our natures. Art
critics tell us that the eighteenth century
was pre-eminently the century of women,
Then, we are told: "Her grace possessed
the most prestige, her coquetry the most
disquieting elegance and her beauty the
most triumphant authority." It was the
age in whicn Mme. de Pomnodour reigned
in the court of Louis XV. The brushes oi
Latour and Boucher have pleaded with all
the eloquence of their genius and art to
deifv this daring woman. She appointed
ministers, she exiled those who incurred
her ill will, she sentenced to the Bastile
those who ran counter to her imperious
wish. She was the patroness of philoso
phy. art and song. Through her magic
wand Versailles was touched into a dream
of splendor, which has not yet vanished,
Her collection of pictures, crystals, cam
eos, antiques and gems was unparalleled in
the kingdom. She squandered fortuues on
her palaces, fetes and ball; and ther
other fortunes on her tci'.et. For twenty
years this butcher's daughter held her imperial
sway, which was broken only by
death. But when the historian tells us
that it was the dream of her girlhood tc
seduce the king; that her shameless prodi
gality makes the cheek oi decency burn;
that modesty found no hospitalitv amon.c
her sensual charms, we mav^ well repeal
the question of another, "Was La Pom
padour beautiful, or merely pjytUy?" In
stinetively drawing back as w?""tvould ir
the presence of a snake, we answer. "She
was neither. She was a royal harlot, pa
raded in gilded shame, lacking most of al
that jewel of modesty which sparkles ir
the crown of true beauty." Alas for thai
land whose women forsake their veils oi
modesty to show the people and prince!
their beauty!
Consider, finally, the price Vashti paic
for her modesty. For her refusal to come
' at the king's command was the immediate
cause of her dethronement. Surely there
are few finer exhibitions of sacrifice in the
history of womenhood. We love to reac
" wKa nnifa/1 nnnrorrp iritK til#
vi icicauia, n uy vn>n\,u wu4...... ....
gift of song, and saved Argos; of Octavia
shielding the children of Cleopatra, hei
i shameless rival; of Sulpicia, renouncing
the pleasures of Rome to go into ex;l<
with her husband; of Lucretia, who killec
herself rather than live in dishonor; ol
Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, urg
ing them to deeds of patriotism; of Paula,
leaving her palace on Mount Aventine, tc
walk as an angel of charity through tii<
slums of Rome, but not one of them cut
shines Vashti.
Nor has history given this lovely queer
her dues. We read much of Lais, whc
lived in the same century as Vashti, and
who was a notorious courtesan; of the
immoral Aspasia, who counted Socrates
anfl^Pericles amcng her .ong list of ad'
mirers; of the treacherous Lucilla, who
ruled the eourt of Marcus Aurelius; of
Agrippina, the infamous mother of still
more infamous son?Nero. All of these
names have been emblazoned high up in
the hall of fame. But. sadly enough, the
events of Vashti's life, like Sappho's songs,
have been lost. And yet these few
glimpses we have of her in the first and
second chapters of the Book of Esther
will cause people to look at her forever.
She was beautiful in Shushan the palace,
and 6he will be beautiful for all time.
She was fair to look on five centuries before
Christ, and she will be i& to look
on to the last day of the wo#. It was
Vashti's beauty of soul tharjiroclaimed
her the forerunner of that renaissance for
which the world is suffering to-dav, viz.:
A genuine revival of the old-fashioned,
homespun, immortal virtue of modesty!
While the Bible says nothinr of the sacrifice
she made, be assured that it was big
^ ??? * T to nf OArrATT
vviiu jjaiii. uuiijj uiguvo vi pvi 1 vi? 0uu<
'her in. She knew the bitterness of friendless
days. Like Dante, she experienced
how l^asd it was to eat other's bread. But
she to <4 no counsel of her expediency.
Let the king's anger burn within him, let
the godless court make her a laughingstock,
still Vashti never faltered. She
knew that beyond her Gethsemane, Ascension
Mount was robed in glory. She
knew, with all queenly women of like spirit,
that gates of pearl would swing back to
let her m. and that she would march to
another coronation on high.
The Mnnjr Mansions.
One thing I have lesired, that will I
seek after; that I, in my study; I, in my
shop; I, in my parlor, kitchen or nursery;
I, in my studio; I. in my lecture
hall, "may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days.of my life." In our "Father's
house are many mansions." The room
that we spend most of our lives in, each
of us at our tasks or our work tables, may
be in our Father's house, too, and it is
only we that can secure that it shall be.?
Alexander Maclaren.
Be Harable,
I charge ray thoughts be humble still.
And all my conduct mild:
Content, my Father, with Thy will.
And quiet as a child.
Unite, my roving thoughts, unite
In silence soft and sweet;
And thou, my sou), sit gently down
At thy great Sovereign's feet.
-Doddridge.
* " ' t
! WEST STORM SWEPT
| Heavy Snows and High Winds Cause
Loss of Life and Properly
HALF THE CONTINENT INVOLVED
1 Most Widespread Atmospheric Disturbance
in 15 Years Extends From
Winnipeg, Canada, to New Orleans,
and From the Rocky Mountains to
New York?Gale and Snow in the
Northwest, Electric Storms in the
South and Fog in the East.
Chicago, Special.?One of the most
severe storms of recent years has been
raging through the territory lying be:we?
the Rocky Mountains and the
; Sreat Lakes since early Tuesday morning
and has caused much trouble to
' street car companies, railroads and telegraphic
companies.
In its extent the storm was the most
; widespread of any during the last fifteen
years. Counting the fog as a com,
ponent part of the storm, it stretched
clear from the Rocky Mountains to
New York and from Winnipeg to New
Orleans. The fatalities reported here as
due to the storm are three men killed.
They were:
Alexander Steiner, a teamster, killed
while unloading eoal. A coal chute was
blown from its fastenings and struck
him on the head, killing him Instantly.
Thomas Walsh, a laborer, was struck
' by a heavy board while quartering a
1 j new building. The board cut his head
nearly off.
Frank Kavanaugh was killed at Muncie,
Ind., by an oil derrick falling on
him.
At 10 o'clock Tuesday night the
storm was reported as subsiding at
Kansas City and at other points on a
; north and South line from that city. In
Chicago and east of here the storm was.
[ still raging with great viloclty, and was
; expected to continue through the night,
i the center of the storm being between
> Chicago and Cleveland.
I Reports from Kansas City were that
the storm extended from Missouri as
1 far south as Indian Territory and was
| accompanied throughout its entire
[ length by high winds and snow.
? In the Northwest the storm was even
i more violent. In St. Paul the snow
commenced to fall early Monday night
and grew heavier all through the night,
1 while the wind increased until it was
; blowing fifty miles an hour. The heavy
L I sr.ow and the gale worked havoc with
i I the wires, and some passenger trains
i ; from the Pacific coast were reported
' , as twenty-four hours over due. The
! storm reached westward from St. Paul
r I until it covered almost the entire
1 Northwest.
[ In the South, conditions were somewhat
better, the snow in many places
, being changed to a heavy rainfall,
i which was preceded by thunder and
lightning and followed by high winds.
Nashville, Louisville, New Orleans,
J Montgomery and Memphis all reported
; exceedingly heavy rains, a rapidly
[ falling thermometer and terrific winds.
t In the Ohio river valley the first
t heavy rain in five months commenced
! falling early in the day and continued
i throughout the night. The storm was
appreciated by the boatmen along the
' Ohio and its tributaries, for the stage
\ of water in these streams has of late
, been very low.
5 The storm struck Chicago shortly af1
ter noon and increased with great
i rapidity until it had assumed hurri.
cane violence at 5:30 o'clock, when the
r wind tore through the downtown
streets at the rate of 72 miles an hour.
[ It fell away after that and by 7
I o'clock had dropped to 50 miles an
. hour, where It remained 'throughout
, the night. In the evening the mercury
dropped from 34 to 11. The late reports
? from Wisconsin are that the storm was
the most severe experienced in that
section of the country. Damage in the
, city of Madison is estimated at $100,1
000. In Indiana the damage done by the
. storm was especially heavy in the oil
i fields, where fully five hundred derricks
were blown down and all operations
> suspended. Loss on derricks alone In
| the neighborhood of Muncie, is placed
at $200,OOf, and at $50,000 around Port;
a?*.
; Company Asks Position.
I Washington, Special.?General Wilson,
chairman of the inaugural com|
mittee, received a request from Lieut.
C. B. Ballard, in command of Company
K., Birminghar, Ala., Rifles, for a place
i in the inaugural parade. His company
desires to attend the ceremonies as the
representative of the Third Regiment
of the Alabama National Guard.
Peculiar Pistol Accident.
Atlanta, Special.?Max Silverman,
traveling salesman for a New York
house, ls^VJs^the Grady Hospital here
in a serious conC?,!~*' with the paper
wadding from a blan* ' cartridge
* *?? ? or a o a re. a ii i? *
Ill 1119 1151a IUII51 uo u ivwuiv ?. -o
been accidentally shot by Sol Gn.
zinsky. The accident is one of the
most peculiar the -ospital authorities
have had to deal with for some time.
The pistol was flred at a close range,
and so great was the force of the shot
that the wadding from the shell went
entirely through Silverman's thick
clothing tore through the body and
penetrated the right lung. Physicians
are not yet able to tell whether the
wound will prove fatal.
"Tom Watson's Magaz ne."
Albany, N. Y., Special.?Thomas E.
Watson, of Thompson, Ga., the candidate
of the People's party for President
at the last election, incorporated
with the Secretary of State a stock
company called Tom Watson's Magazine,
for the purpose of publishing and
circulating a monthly literary periodical
of that name. The corporation is
capitalized \t $125,000, divided into
J 12,500 shares.
r r : 1
4
PARAGRAPHIC PERSONALS.
The late George G. Vest left an estate
of $150,000.
Bryant B. Brooks, Governor-elect of
Wyoming, was born in Massachusetts.
Emperor William states that he spent
$1,000,000 on theatres and operas last
year.
Manuel Garcia, at one time a noted
singer, is living in London. He is 100
years old.
A son of Cyrus W. Field was in the
Tombs prison, in New York, as a common
vagrant.
President Hadley, of Yale University.
had a hand-to-hand struggle with
an alleged beggar.
Vowfnn T. "Pnnn coWl *r\ hn tliA Inst
lineal descendant of William Penn, has
jost died at Hartford, Conn.
John Barrett, who, fifteen years ago,
was a reporter in San Francisco. Cal?
is now; United States Minister to Panama.
The African explorer. Shillings, has
brought to Berlin an extraordinarily in-,
teresting series of photographs of wild
animals taken by themselves.
Mason Trowbridge, for several years
official head coach of the Yale intercollegiate
debating teams, is to retire from
the university at the end of the year.
He is instructor in rhetoric.
Don Carlos. King of Portugal, who
has been visiting his royal brother,
King Edward, has life insurance
amounting to about $3,000,000 American
money.
A. De Lacey Wood, of Duluth, Wis.,
has started on an average of one newspaper
a year for the last thirty-one
years. Most of these papers are located
in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
General Jacob S. Coxey, of Mt. Vernon.
celebrated as the leader of the
"Commonwealth" army, tiled a personal
petition in bankruptcy in the Unit.d
States Court at Columbus, O., the other
day,
Odds and Eends.
Queen Margherita, of Italy, has had a
most magnificent railway carriage constructed
for herself, which has aroused
great curiosity among her son's subjects,
who. It must be confessed, are
not accustomed to royal luxury. Tne
King is most simple in all his ways and
appointments; his carriages and horses,
although of the best, are always of the
least conspicuous description, and the
same may be said of his motors,
clothes, private apartments, etc., and
the Queen, of course, follows suit.
Odds and Er.ds.
Thoughtfulness doubles the value of
a gift and often halves its cost
There is nothing harder on the
nerves or worse for the clothes than
packing water on both shoulders.
When God has buried your sins it is
a sin to dig them up again, even though
it be only to show them to your friends.
The man who made the biggest fool
of himself at election will be the first
to denounce the excitement of a revival.
Army Officer Found Dead.
Washington, Special. ? Quartermaster
Humphrey has received a telegram
from the superintendent of construction
at Chattanoga saying that Capt.
Howard W. French, quartermaster in
charge of construction at Chickamauga
was found Tuesday evening near the
border of the army post reservation.
A subsequent telegram read: "French
accldent*.!y killed himself Monday."
The accounts of Capt. French are
said to be in first-class shape and
"r-o?i H""" hrey spoke of him in the
highest terms.
Cornell Experiment Station.
Cornell University experiment station
has issued two important bulletins
on grape pests, which have been
received by vineyardists in Chautuaqua
County grape district. One is by
Prof. Mark Vernon Slingerland and
treats of grape berry moth, while the
other, by Prof. Fred Johnson, discusses
the grape root worm and the grape
blossom buu gnat. The last named
is a new enemy of grapes and was discovered
by Prof. Johnston last year.
For three years these two men have
been studying grape pests in Chatutauqua
County
Dutch Wont Lend Naval Base.
The Hague, By Cable.?The report
that Holland will place Sabang in the
Straits Settlement, 20 miles north of
Malacca, at the disposition of the Russian
second Pacific squadron, as reported
from Tokio, In a dispatch to The
London Times, is devoid of foundation.
It is learned in official quarters that
Holland will observe the same strict
neutrality in her colonies as at home,
and that neither Sabang nor any other
points in the Dutch Indies will be
placed either directly or Indirectly at
the disposal of the belligerents.
, Mothers in Doubt About Babies.
The identity of two babies which*
have been born in a forest near Cabeion,
a small town in Santander prov
- hoo tn ho cottlrvl hv a council c
iu "of both. +\
Wh7?\. -.^.-^aQ^ers were taking a
R*alk In therores'N the children were
born?both being boys. A number of
women from a neighboring village
who arrived on the scene took mothers
and babies home on stretchers.
Unfortunately the excited women
handed the infants from one to another,
and in the #onfusion that followed
it became impossible to distinguish
one child from the other.
By way of temporary arrangement
each of the two mothers accepted a
baby without troubling herself as to
whether it was her own or not.
The families of the two women
have decided to hold a Joint meeting,
at which efforts will be made to identify
the babies by some distinguishing
family characteristic.
?i
A tree grows out the Court House
tower at Greenwich, Ind.
wonrnH^HB
Some Measure* That Will Engage tha
Attention of the Lawmakers.
The most important problems the
new legislature, wnicn couveuea ua
Tuesday of this week, will have to
solve will be compulsory education and
the matter of raising more revenue by
taxes, though of course the dispensary
situation will bob up in an entirely
new light and about its head already
the clouds are gathering for a fine old
storm. There are many other matters of
minor importance, but concerning
which there is more or less feeling, and
altogether the session promises to be
an unusually interesting and entertaining
one. Two-thirds of this Legislature
is entirely new blood, and is therefore
largely very fresh from the people. The
unexpected then is to be expected, and
the end of the session may see some
very important and far-reaching changes
in the statute law of the State.
This is not what is known as an election
session, but this Legislature will
nevertheless have several important
positions to fill by ballot. A new
Speaker is to be chosen, but so far as
is known Mr. M. L. Smith, of Camden,
has no opposition for re-election to this
position. T. C. Hamer will also be reelected
clerk of the House without opposition,
it is thought. Mr. R. R.
Hemphill will be opposed for clerk of
the Senate by Dr. T. T. Sturkle, of
Orangeburg. A new superintendent of
the penitentiary is to be elected. D. J.
""Griffin will likely be re-elected without
opposition, though it has been suggested
that he will be opposed by Dr. Eug.
ae Jarnigan, of Marion. Two new
jui ges are to be elected by this legislatuv,
the terms of Judge D. A. Townsend,
of the seventh circuit, and Judge
now tha ronlt pvnlr
ing this year. Both will be candidates
for re-election. Judge Townsend will
have rivals in the persons of Senater D.
E. Hydrick, of Spartanburg, and Senator
F. P. McGowan, of Laurens. Judge
Gary's opponents will be Senator Hay,
of Kershaw, and J. W. Vere, of Edgefield.
Several college trustees and mem
bers of the penitentiary board are to
be elected.
COMPULSORY EDUCATION.
A strong sentiment in favor of compulsory
education as a complement to
the child labor law has been rapidly
crystalizing throughout the State the
past several months. The State press
generally has expressed itself in favor
of such a law, and that those who are
the closest to the school problem want
it is shown by the resolution recently
adopted here by the Joint association
of county and city school superintendents.
Governor Heyward, who has zealously
interested himself in the. educational
problems of the State, favors a
compulsory education law.
Some effort may be made to carry out
State Superintendent of Education Martin's
reeommendati n to bring the
Citidel here and c nbine it with the
South Carolina Col -ge as a basis of a
j State university, bi. it is not thought
' that this scheme has much chance of
I i.uAess. Though the South Carolina
. Coriege will likely be started out on a
j university career, by the Legislature
i granting the trustees' recent request for
an additional appropriation of $10,000
for that purpose.
AS TO TAXES.
The State is face to face with a serious
probblem with regard to taxes.
Nearly a million and a quarter is required
to meet the present needs of the
State government, but though there is
now about $204,000,000 worth of property
on the books, a five mills levy does
not seem to be sufficient. The State Is
running behind, the great bulk of the
taxes not being collectible until the
spring, The State has so far borrowed
$&60,o00, and there will have to be
greater revenue by about $200,000 if the
State is to have any hope pf-getting
1 back to casa Dasis. me quauicumci
assessment of real estate will be made
next year, and If this class of property
cin oe switch oii a uiCrC equitable
basis there Is some hope of getting ay
the additional revenue from this
source. In this connection an effort
will be made to get a law passed requiring
market value returns instead of
returns on a 60 per cent basis. By the
present valuation there is in round
numbers $100,000,000 worth of this
class of property in the State. Of course
it. Is argued that a market value return
of this property would be unjust because
of the ease with which personal
property dodges the tax collector, and
the fact that the constitution fixes 3
mills as a levy for school purposes Is
also used against the advocates of a
greater valuation of real estate. But
it is pointed out that the greater valuation
will provide enough additional
school money to allow the doing away
with the special school levies, which
prevall'in almost every school district
and that after all the real estate owners
will pay out no more than they are now
paying to maintain the schools.
THE DISPENSARY.
What will be done with the dispensary
is altogether problematical. The feeling
is growing steadily stronger that
the system in its present condition is.
a menace to good ana nonest government
and has a corrupting influence
on politics in all departments of the
State government, but not only does
the constitution forbid a return to the
,old bar system, but there Is no general
desire to go back to this, the prohibition
sentiment having steadily gained
ground. In case the present dispensary
system is wiped out it is difficult to
predict whether local option?each
* nnntv controlling its own whiskey
traffic under dispensary regulations?
or high license, with dispensary regulations,
would take Its place. Another
change that Is possible Is the passage
of the original Brlce bill, which allows
a county to vote out Its dispensary
without tax to maintain prohibition
and without forefeitlng Its share in the
general dispensary school fund. When
Cherokee county voted out Its dispensaries
by such a decisive majority tncre
was trembling among the dispensary
coherts, but the predictions that other
counties would be quick to follow suit,
seem to have come from false prophets
The State board has indicated a willingness
to allow a community to do
away with its dispensary, but this matter
is tied up in an injunction and the
decision week after next may
State board's authority to a
thing. The suggestion fron^Seimtor
Tillman is that the sale of wiskey be
farmed out to some respoiBble concern.
but this is not likelmto prove
popular. %
> Many Newsy Items Gathered FrtNH
all Sections.
General Cotton Market
Middling.
Galveston, steady 6%
New Orleans, easy
Mobile, firm 6?4
Savannah, quiet Vk
Charleston, quiet 6M?
Baltimore, nominal 7.60
New York, quiet 6.85
Rrvctnn nnlot ft MS
Philadelphia, quiet 7J?
* Charlotte Cotton Market.
These figures represent prices paid to
wagons:
Middling 7JG
Tinges 6V4 to 1
Stains 6>6 to 6 7-l?
City School Superintendents.
Columbia, Special.?The second sad
last session of the Association of the
City School Superintendents was heldl
in the parlors of Hotel Jerome Wednesday
morning and the reading of
papers and their discussions was reEumed
at 9:30.
The first topic considered was "Compulsory
Education." The disciuplan
was op?ed by Mr. T. C. Walton of
Anderwi, who made an earnest plea
for compulsory education.
Interesting discussions followed, the
sentiment being in favor of compuW
sory education.
Mr. Nathan Toms of Darlington then,
read a thoughtful paper on "High
School and College Coordination."
The discussion that followed this
paper brought out many valuable suggestions
with reference to this great
and important question.
"The Necessity of Drill Work in
Latin," was the next subject on thn
programme. The discussion was
opened by Mr. A. R. Banks of Lancaster,
who argued forcibly in favor of
Latin in the High school and of thor
ougn ami wonc in mis suDjeci.
"Religious Instructions in Publie
Schools," was the next subject on th?
programmem and was opened by Mr.
E. S. Dreher in a timely discussion.
A great deal of interest was manifested
in statistics prepared by Mr.
Drher to show the sad fact that th?
children of the secular schools are not
familiar with the Bible.
Twenty questions were submitted to
one section of the eighth grade of th?
Columbia High school, consisting of 23
girls and 17 boys. The results wer?
such as make manifest the need of a
more definite and comprehensive study
of the Sacred Scriptures. The answers
given in many instances were startling
and pathetic on account of their absurdity.
The answers were all marked
and graded; the average for the class
being but little more than 50 per cent,
out of a possible 100. Following kr?
the questions which the graded school *
children found so difficult:
1. Name the mountain on which th?
ark rested.
2. Why were the Egyptians afflicted
with plagues?
3. Name five of the. plagues?
4. What was the Passover?
5. State the circumstauccs under
which the ten commandments wer?
given to man.
6. How was Jericho captured?
7: How did Absalom meet his death?
8. What remarkable thing happened
at Belshazza's feast? ' ^
9. Who wrote aost of the Psalma?
lv. Who wrote the Book of Proverbs?
11. Who went to heaven without dying?
,
12. Name the last Book of the Old
Testament?
13. Is the Rook of Hebrews In th?
Old or tbe New Testament?
14. Name five miracles recorded I?
Old Testament?
15. Five in the New Testament.
16. What was Herod's greateat,
crime?
17. How was Saul of Tarsus converted.?
IS. Who presided at tbe trial of
Christ?
19. What was the transfiguration?
20. Have you read through the New
Testament?
Elected BUhop.
The Rev. William T. Manning, vicar
of St. Anne's Church. Trinity Parisb^
New York City, has been elected Blab*
op nf the new Protestant Episcopal
Diocese of Harrisburg. Pa. He is fortr
years of age. is a native of England, a
graduate of the University of tba
South, Sewance, Tcnn., and was formerly
in charge of a Church In Nashville.
Tragedy at Cheraw..
Cheraw. Specia^?Cheraw bad a fatal
accident as its quota of Christmas
casualties. Saturday night a number
of persons were in the store of Montgomery
& Croxton. A party was standI
ing in the rear of the store discussing
the danger of pistol carrying. mr, ju.
B.. Croxton in a spirit of levity, it is
said, to scare the crowd, pointed his
pistol behind him and fired. A negro
man named Ben Perry, who was aitting
on a sack back of the group and
who had not been noticed, began to
complain. On examination it was
found that he was shot through the
stomach. Every attention was given
to him, but he died on Sunday morning.
Capt. French's Death Accidental.
Chattanooga. Tenn., Special.?An Investigating
board of the seventh cavalry
appointed by Colonel Pearson
concluded the investigation of the cause
of death of Capt. Howard W. French,
who was found dead with a bullet
through his heart on Tuesday. While
the board refused to give out its findings
until it is sent to the War Department,
it is understood that accidental,
killing was the verdict.
h ; . , Y \y "