Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

wP - v? Some Questions m^^BH^Dunded to HHhbe A GENERAL OVERHAULING |^^HH of Law Shows His Position and of Sins Which Make People Oppose an open letter to Francis W. HigK Kins. of Newberry, Senator Tillman HKKomes out squarely against the moveKF Jlfaiftst the dispensary and declares that the several counties should not accept prohibition until the Legislature has been given a chance to reform the institution. It is as follows: Trenton. S. C.. July 1. 1903. Mr. Francis W. Higgins. Newberry, S. Cy Dear Sir: I have your letter of June 27, propounding certain inquiries in regard to the anti-dispensary movement la Newberry, and to the dispensary and liquor question in general, and to my own attitude towards it. The question you ask relate to the Er' most imccrtant subject now agitating W the minds of the people of the State. I and in order to cover the ground at all I satisfactorily it will require me to an" swer at some length and to discuss the jk Subject in its various phases, and this r becomes the more necessary as you notify me in advance that you desire my answer for publication. I shall preface what I write by layp ihg down certain general principles which will be disputed only by those who are fanatical and unwilling to f consider any subject from any other standpoint than that of bigotry and prejudice. Most men will agree to the | following: L All men love stimulants and are "uscally slaves to some one kind, as /Witness the strong appetite which prevails for coffee, tea. tobacco, beer, r: wine, brandy, whiskey, morphine, quinine. cocaine, etc. With the exception of some of the drugs mentioned there are no injurious effects immediately perceptible and none of them intoxicate except those containing alcohol. Alcoholic beverages in moderation are no 'more harmful than tea or coffee, probably less so. 2. The abuse of liquor by men drinking to excess has caused as much or more crime and misery than any other one thing. ? TW. mam, nniirinc and control O. 1 lie pi U|/v 1 Kv..v.MO of the liquor traffic so as to minimize Its abuses is one of the most perplexing and troublesome questions with which, any government has to deal. t Men have never agreed as to any one method being best and never will, and there is a constant agitation of the subject in some form going on all the while in almost every State in the Union. 4. Experience shows that some men will have liquor as a beverage and that no law has ever yet been devised which will prevent them obtaining it. Wise men are therefore content to reduce the evils of liquor selling and liquor drinking to the minimum, and the question at issue in South Carolina now as it has been these fifteen or twenty years past, is how to do this. 4 There is no need for any heat or passion in discussing the subject and we should divest ourselves of all prejudices in its consideration. Three policies have at one time or another been adopted in dealing with the question. License, high or low. prohibition and the dispensary system. Since 1893 the last named has been the method followed In this State, but all along there have been staunch advocates of the other two systems embracing within their ranks many of the most intelligent and best people we have. It is, W fcerefore. eminently proper that we 7 jft^gnize these earnest, honest advocates as having just what we claim for ourselves, no other purpose than that of the public welfare. And those of us who have been the supporters of the dispensary system must meet them in anrnmpnt and show from the experi ence through which the people of the State have passed as well as with force and logic that the advocates of both prohibition and high license are in error. You ask, "Have you lost faith ? i the dispensary system and do you cousidei it so inherently defective that it cannot purged of corruption and made tc * serve its original purpose?" I answei most emphatically, no. I believe the principle of the State control and the sale of liquor through bonded officers to be the best that was ever devised; that it comes nearer to the ideal idee of teaching me to use liquor insteac of abusing it. and throwing around it safeguards which will be the best foi the cause of temperance. There is nc inherent defect in the scheme, and ii there be corruption and mal-adminisA * tration in the enforcing of the dispen sary law it is directly traceable to the W Legislature and to those who have beet y placed in charge of its execution. In the absence of any positive proof of corruption we must await with deep interest the investigation which is now undei way and hrge those in charge of tbat important work to earnest, thorough and speedy action. The people believe there is corruption and a great deal oi it. Very many things go to show that ",,n Ko,iof h!?c enod foundation in fact 1U10 wv.ivi uwo D We ought to know as soon as possible just what and how far men have beer guilty cf uhlawful behavior. * The suspicion which now hangs ove; the dispensary like a pall will cause many to hastily vote for itse destruction. who are still or have been strong believers in the dispensary system as a means of controlling the sale of whis key. So I would say to the gen-.lerr.er who are in charge of the investigatior that they can do the people of the Stat< |a great service by le tting in the ligh and probing to the bottom. We wan to know what is wrong and we cat tfcen determine how to provide a rem ifdy, while the criminal courts will, o ought to provide punishment for th< wrongdoers. The dispensary law has been unde fire in the courts and on the husting ever since the system was inaugurated There has been only one general elec ' tion in the State, the last in which i / was not an issue. It won victory afte .victory for it was the main issue in th< ^^election of 1894, in the election for thi constitutional convention in 1885, an< In the State elections of 1896, 1898, 190 and 1902. Those candidates for publi office who carried its banners were al ;ways victorious. What then has caused the presen upheaval? Why are petitions circulat ing in a dozen or more counties ask Ing for an election to vote it out unde the Brice law, and that too in coun ties which, in the past its known ad yocates have always had large major e&7 TiavewRe people any greater ! faith in prombition than they have had all these past years? I do not think so. Are the advocates of high license ' any stronger than they have been? I do not hink so. I am bound to believe j that the existing dissatisfaction and ' desire to destroy the dispensary conies ' from the well-night universal belief of the people that there is corruption in its administration and because the last Legislature failed to take any action other than that to appoint a com; mittee to investigate. . There were charges, with how much truth they were made I dont know, that the disnensarv influence in the Legislature f ? was paramount. Anyhow, the friends of the dispensary and its enemies joined forces at the last session to prevent any action, and nothing was done, and unless public opinion shall drive i the Legislature at its next session to some reform action which will purify the atmosphere there is no possible doubt that all elements of opposition to the dispensary, aided by many of i its old friends, will combine in the next election and kill the system. I do not hesitate to tell you frankly that if it has become, and is to remain a corrupt political machine as is charged. I cannot defend it and will not do so, but will join the ranks of those who seek to kill it. I believe it can be reorganized and purged of corruption, with safegurads thrown around it to prevent the recurrence of the present I unfortunate and disgraceful condition of affairs. I cannot now go at length into the details and give reasons, but I will state briefly the causes as I sre them which have produced the present situation. 1 The purchase of liquor by any board ex-officio or otherwise, should be stopped. The original scheme which was hastily gotten up made the Governor, attorney general and the comptroller general ex-officio the State Board of Control. This was changed very soon ! after I left the Governor's office and the Legislature assumed control by the election of the board; and in no instance since has my advice and opinion had any weight in shaping its management though I have tried t8 prevent i some things being done and have urged others without success. It stands to reason that men who have to depend uflon the suffrage of the whole people to get high office are or ought to be of a higher type with better characters and in every way better fitted for reasponsible positions involving the handling of public money than those who with petty salaries are elected by the Legislature. Politics always enters into a legislative flection. People who vote for Governor vote for him because of other qualifications than that he would make a good dispensary direc; tor. and for this very reason the Governor is the best possible man to place in such a responsible position. But the law is fatally defective in regard to the purchase of whiskey in not specifically defining in the most minut: and binding manner just what kinds of liquor shall be bought and how it shall be bought without leaving it tc the discretion of any board. Every detail should be worked out and then the law would execute itself as far as that feature is concerned. The board would then need only to supervise the conduct of State and county dispensaries, the same as the asylum and penitentiary are run. i - roirorfio thr> nronosed elec : r i^lUW uo iVgUiVi^ V~ J f tion to vote out the dispensary. If the dispen. ary is to be voted out it should and must be voted out of the State, not out by individual counties. Of course I recognize the deep seated love or our people for local self government and I would not compel any county to retain the dispensary or have one established therein if a majority of the citizens want prohibition with its acknowleged failure to prohibit. But judging simply by the facts in the numerous elections that have been held on the subject 1 1 believe that a large majority of th people of the State are as strong believers in the dispensary system as I am: and that they are only casting about now for a method of relieving themselves of the corrupt machine which is said to be in charge in Columbia. Many States in the Union havt had corruption in their State govern' ments and their State treasurers hav( , defaulted?have sometimes stolen hun i' dreds of thousands of dollars?but nt man has ever thought of abolishing the machinery of taxation because o this. We have got to deal with liquoi i i in some form and provide for its le ( gitimate sale or we know it will fine i illegitimate sale. Shall we have high license? I saj t No. That gives the monopoly to th< ! wealthy man as against the poor mai i and we know from experience witl bar-rooms that it will be impossible t< give any man the right to All his stor< ?, with liquor to sell and then have hin comply with the constitutional require I ments and not sell it at night and no i have it drunk on the premises. If th< dispensary is abolished I will stumj ; the State for prohibition rather thai > see high license. I have said this ant 5 it is the reason probably that the stor; is going the rounds about my stumpinj ? for prohibition. But before we havi 1 prohibition or high license either I ex t pect if my health continues good, t< r give a very earnest discussion to th< ) subject of how to reform the dispen f sary instead of destroying it and t< - j showing the true inwardness of tht - present movement. ? Let us suppose that the present cam i paign against the dispensary by count] > ' elections, shall progress victoriously ai . i it has thus far and that the majorit] t ! of the counties in the State vote it out Will the question be settled? By nc t means. The alliance of prohibitionists ! high license people and blind tiger: ? which is now waging successful wai ' will have to continue the war betweei ; themselves after the dispensary is de . j funct. Sensible men will not lend theii . aid to any crusade which only gives in t "confusion worse confounded" and pro duces a chaotic condition with no com pensation. > Under the decision of the Unitec . States Supreme Court, prohibition anc , no other State regulation can preven ; i liquor from being shipped in by ex ' i press for personal use of individuals ! and the jug country traffic from Wil ( i niington to Charlotte. Atlanta, Angus , j to and Savannah will be immense un ' t der prohibition, and the money whicl now goes into the dispensary for th' use of the towns and counties of th' State and the school fund will be sen " I out of the State to enrich the dealer ^: and distillers of other States. Still L will be run in every swamp and wag ons will peddle liquor all over th r country. The only fight worth enlist S ing J# South Carolina is between pro hibi^on as rigidly enforced as it ca; - be and the dispensary as honestly en t j forced as it ought to be. High licens r j is not to be thought of for a moment e Yet the prohibitionists say they prefe s the dispensary to license and th ^ license people say they prefer prohi 3 biticn to the dispensary while th c blind tiger; want prohibition becaus - they know it means free liquor. The elections now being held in th t counties to vote the dispensary ou - are very different to the Democrati - primary elections which will settle th r question finally. In the first place th - vote in these counties where election - have been held against the di3pensar - has been very small as compared wit] cate of registration to vote at such a election while in the primary the clu rolls of the Democratic clubs goveri Then men are indifferent as they wer in the prohibition election in 1892 whe only sixty thousand out of ninety-tw thousand voted :rt that box. Titer are probably thirty thousand or mor good Democrats in the State who frci one cause or another are not able t vote in the elections held under th Bricc act. That law was shrewdl drawn and for the express purpose c killing the dispensary I have been tol? These thirty thousand will determin the question in the future as they hav in the past because they will elect th Legislature and the State officers 1 the State Democratic primary in spit ui auj L'uiu uiaJhii\jh sum as jo uv?? ?* ing us prohibition by a negative pre cess. Voting out the dispensary no because the people want prohibitio but giving us prohibition because som people want free liquor, some peopl prefer to buy illicit liquor and a retur j to the old barroom system, while man people will do anything to kill the dis j. pensary with the hope of profiting b its destruction. I would advise every advocate c the dispensary who is in doubt to vot against putting the dispensary out c his county until we see what the repot of the investigating committee is an then whether or not the Legislature a its next session will purge the corrup tion out of the dispensary system, an put safeguards around i: for the futur< I say unhesitatingly it can be don successfully. The dispensary system ha shown its strength in past election I because people thought it was honestl I administered. All that is necessary is t j have thein understand as they will un ! derstand by ll'Oti that they must kil the law in order to get rid of the cor ruption and they will make short wor of it. It must be made clean or it mus go. At present the campaign to vof it out county by county only bring about contusion, encourages blind tl gers and causes the counties and Stat to lose money, and settles nothing, an it is impossible to settle the questio in this way. I repeat It can only b settled at the general Democratic jiri mary when all the people have hear all sides and have made up their mind , i intelligently. I desire to add in conclusion thi practically I am a prohibitionist Dt cause I very rarely arinK any nqut of any kind. If I believed that prohibl tion could be enforced, understandin as I do most thoroughly the great ev: attending the abuse of liquor I woul be a- prohibitionist but knowing fro: the most searching investigation an from the official record of the Unite States government that in Maine an i Kansas where prohibition prevails tha there has been a most dismal failure t enforce the la-r I prefer to the dispell sary as the lesser evil, and as I hav i ; often said in the past I believe tha i State control comes nearer to the idea management of this troublesome ques i tion than any other. I have no personal interest in vie1 i and am only actuated by a sense ( i public duty in taking the position [ have occupied in the past and whic I shall continue to occupy. I have always believed in the rul of the majority. But I want it to b the majority of all the Democrats i the State. B. R. TILLMAN. , j L TPOMI NEXT PEOPLE. Mark Twain smokes constantly whe i writing. Modjeskn hope? to sell her ranch i I California. > Josef Ilofmann. the great pianist,] 1 I a clever electrician. Admiral Togo receives a salary e i for commanding the Japnnes Xa vy. J | Chancellor von Buelow has ha showered upon him priucely rank b ^ ; the Kaiser. I : M. Delcasse. former French Ministe j of Foreign Affairs, is now in his fifty [ third year. i King Leopold of Belgium is d< scribed as being a man of extraord i ; nary physique. The Siamese minister, Pliya Akhar.i > Varndliara. has fallen a victim to th ' fascinations of the game ot polo. J; I .Tan Kubolik. the violinist, recenti achieved a greater success in Itai j than any artist since Fagaunini's tlun Tolstoi is in no sense a popular wr j ter. yet his works have a wider eirev > lation than any living writer, it is sail i Prince Eitel. the Kaiser's second sor l is said to le smitten with the charm > of Princess Eva of Battcuburg, accord ? ing to court gossips. 1 j Ambassador Whiteiaw Roid ha ' i given S.Ton for the endowment of a be t ! for American sailors in the Uuio B | Jack Club. London. ^ I Jn.-tire Brewer, of the United State j i Supreme Court, said recently: "Japai ! it would seem, has made the Goddes of Liberty her hired girl." s ' Alfonso XIII. is said to have Ir . herit.sl his father's remarkably stead; > ! c\f and sure hand, and is now at > I * 3 ! counted one of the best shots in S^ain - i Mr. Joaquin de Casnpus, the not a Ambassador of Mexico to the Unitei J : States, will arrive in this country ii I August with his wife and seven chi] - ' dieu. 3 GIRAFFE OF RARE SPECIES. * Valuable Acquisition to London Zo< logical Gardens. 5 A young giraffe of a rare specie-' r the first of its hind ever brought t i , Europe, was recently landed at PI; ! mouth from the West African ma r 1 steamer Akabo. The animal, which i * | the property of Capt. Phillips, th British resident at Katagum. Nor;' | ern Nigeria, is fourteen months oh 1 | stands nine feet high, and is said t i I be worth $5,000. It is being taken t t the London Zoological Gardens. Th " | giraffe is a curiosity because of th * i character of its horns ar.d the shap " ; of the spots on its skin. Capt. Phi _ | lips captured his prize in a regio j j where some of the natives had neve e j before seen a white man. ureal cm: e i culty was experienced in getting til t ! animal down to the coast for shi] s i ment to England. It had to be walke s j the first 300 miles to Zungeru. Tliei e ' for the next 140 miles the poor ere: _ j tare had to stand in a narrow canoi i- j on which it was conveyed to th n ; Niger. Placed upon a small steam - it was next carried to Burktu. a di: e tar.ee of about 1,000 miles from th ' starting point of the journey. A sp< g cially-constructed box was placed o the liner for the animal's aecommi e dation. and several times during th e sea voyage it was taken out on dec for exercise. The animal, which ha e been named the "Amelia," bore he * trying experience remarkably well. c e e The Russian fleet has at last lean s ed the difference between real Jap y fcse torpedo boats and Dogger Ban b I "awlers, says the New York Tribun pAheM affairs 1 i ! * ! * i r e n Occurrence^ of Interest In Various o Parts of the State. n C Died After a Quarrel. e; e Lucknow. Special.?Mr. YV. J. Rollins c< jy died instantly Thursday at 12 o'clock, 0! j death resulting from heart failure. It k e seems that the cause was from a dis- hi e pute between he and Dr. L. H. Peebles, w * magistrate, while working on a ditch 5? e in the street. Some of the citizens si agreed to clean the ditch and Rollins ! ci >- was overseeing the work. Peebles de- Sf it cided he would help and secured a hoe n and worked with the rest of the crowd, e Some time, about an hour before they a] e quit. Peebles made a suggestion as to ai n how he thought the ditch should be y dug and asked Rollins to hand him i- the shovel, which Rollins did. Peebles J y showing Rollins his idea of how the ; J" ditch should be dug. Rollins said that 'f he would not have it that way, and that it should be finished as started. w e. Peebles got offended at Rollins for the ' 6 .... ? ?j ? manner in widen ne spcme ?uu ten, , . , without further words. About 12:00 I Si ; o'clock Rollins started for a bucket of I 171 1 water at a well at which he and all 1 31 use out of. and was obliged to pass Pee- ! 71 | blea house. Peebles was on his porch n' ' j and Rollins stopped and told Peebles 31 s he had come to tell him about the ditch 1,1 s ( and commenced to exulain himself, in * I the way he spoke to Peebles. Peebles. re being mad already, ordered him to get }}] away from his place. Rollins was II standing on the sidewalk, talking to w Peebles. Then Rollins went to the w j. well talking back to Peebles, but did I ;l not curse, while Peebles used stronEi e language to him. When at the well^L j( s but a few minutes Rollins fell and died [. instantly. Rollins leaves a wife and b] e many friends to survive him. fs d G n Palmetto Items. fr ? Columbia, Special.?Dispensary In- b< j spector C. L. Brown is looking for j" , $1,500 he lost, or was robbed of be- tc 3 tween here and Charleston, where he a went recently to look after Dispenser * S. S. Matthews, who was behind in )r accounts to this amount and who |r j. squared himself with the State dis_ pensary people by turning over this .. U sum in cash to Mr. Brown, who gave d his receipt. Mr. Brown did not disn cover his loss till he reached Colum- ?j j bia. He reported to Commissioner ;j Tatum that he had lost the money, d but just how. he was at a loss to dis- :. lt cover. The law as to suing on an In0 spector's bond seems to be defective . and there was some rub here, but ' e Commissioner Tatum insisted that the j j State should not be made to lose and ' tl Mr. Brown saw the force of the ar- * i- gument and made up the amount and . . j paid it over to the State dispensary. x Brown has been suspended. He says )f he did not drink on his way here P| 1 and does not see how any one could h ; have taken the money from his per| son. 9 Columbia, Special. ? Long-distance M ? | 'phone messages from Florence and tl n Darlington confirm the rumors current lc here of the failure of two big concerns ? at the latter place. The one is the Inde- |e pendent Cotton Oil Company, capital- as : ized at $1,000,000, and operating half a ol n dozen branch plants in Hartsville, Tim- bi nionsville, in Williamsburg counly. and n elsewhere, and the other is the Darlington Trust Company, which has authorized capital of $200,000, of which $120,- 31 6 000 has been paid in. The trust concern conducted a bank in Darlington, whose J doors were closed. ;c. st fa j Negro Found Dead. of y Florence, Special.?About 8 o'clock Thursday morning a negro man was b(' r found dead on the railroad near the old d< "* tobacco factory here. How he came ti< to his death is a mystery. It was ?* L jj] I. thought at first that he came to his Sl death by being run over by a train, ar if but the bruises on his body are not w <- sufficient to show that. Still some ! ('1 think he did. He was identified as j y Frank Henderson, and his home is 1 j- said to be at Hendersonville. N. C.. but >. he has been here and in this section T I. of the State for several months. For !. the past few days he has been working 1(7 I at the poor farm as a painter. ^ i. . ai s Negro Killed at Celebration. gt i- i-M?-?At a bie negro r lortutc, ^ _ Fourth of July picnic at Mars Bluff, | s about six miles from here, a difficulty a tl arose between two negroes, Sam Wind- bi u ham and Crockett Davis, and as a re- la suit, Sam Windham is dead and Crock- hi s ett Davis is shot through the thigh, f i. The trouble arose over a negro woman, ai s Both negroes were drinking. Several cc negro men were mixed up in the affair, but none got into trouble except * the two mentioned. m > w Bucket Shop For Union. in ' , m r Union Special.?It is understood H i that in all probability another bucket th " shop will be opened in Union this fall. J< Last week the Western Union Telegraph company had a lineman here to look into conditions. He said it was ^ probable that there would be a mar- d, ket wire established just for cotton 3' business, the wire to come from Spar- m I tanburg to Union, thence to Carlisle, tll Whltmire and Clinton. The woA of q, o construction will likely begin soon. , s3 th i! A Child Burned to Death. cr Elloree Special?Last Monday night about 11 o'clock one of the tenant m j houses on Mr. P. L. Cannon's place er 0 near Vance was destroyed by fire. The *v 0 occupants, Jennie Owens and her two ^ 0 children were asleep when the fire p was discovered. The mother escaped ai and one of the children perished in ar the flames while the other was badly '* burned. The origin of the fire and n full particulars connot be learned. , r Coroner RiekenbakeT of Orangeburg a* i- has been notified and is on his way ,a e to the scene of the accident. P- i Vt d 1 Some Garden Enemies. | hi i. ; IIow a plant can survite nowadays I fo t- j is a mystery, for alircst everyone has j ~ 1",m" -'"''I oro-iv fir oppitiIpj' in . C, SVIillV, ? ... ._ e fac:. their name is legion, says the v< >r Garden Magazine. There are biters, pc s- borers, suckers and cutters; there are jn e mildew, rust, blight and scab. While di s- there are wholesale methods of de- b< n stroyir.g most cf them, there are about h< > two dozen "critters" that have to be m e known by sight and fought by special ' k methods. All insects may be divided ;s into two classes, the biters and the K? r suckers. The way to get rid of the ^ pests that bite and chew is to poison j, their food, but the fellows that suck ^ a. the juices and pay no attention whata. ever to poison on the outside surface a: k of a plant have to be met and slain in S e open battle. c' n he Senator Declares That if Cor"e-> Hon is Met ^xtradicated He Will Stump the State to Kill the System, j Greenville. S. C.. Special.?The South arclina legislature has got to rcor;.n'zc the dispensary and m'.:c it clemt. declares Senator 11. it. Tillmt n. r. says he, "I'll stump the State to ill it." Outside of that, which remark J e had made in effect before, there j ere r.o startling revelations or s?nitional utterances in the senator's ( leech at Greenville. Many of the owd who had come from afar were < >mewhat disappointed that the sen- j tor refused to "cuss" for publication, , id that his pitchfork lay so placidly | id peacefully up against the door of i , le crib of mildewed forage which he ! ( ight have turned over. However, the ! , owd had already got wind of a let- |\ r he had written on the dispensaryid that was pronounced suffi.Iently i arm for a fourth of July speech, so i ley were ir. a sense appeased. I The speech itself was a oalra. dispasonate. impersonal, wholly good lia- 1 iored and most un-Tillmanie perform- : nre ennnnsp llv dealing with [lie cot- 1 >n situation, but really dealing with ^ othlng. The crow i laughed with him id enjoyed his fascinating presence. ' ut very few seemed to think he was | 3 taking a speech. Occasionally some | \ illow in the ccowd would try to get p a little enthusiasm by yelling. That's right. Ben; give 'em hell." at ? hich everybody, including Tillman, i ould laugh. 1 THE OCCASION. Upon the advice of president Knrvfe i Drdan, of the Southern Cotton Asso- ( ation. the Fourth of July was colerated in Greenville by a grand rally of ' irmers A telegram was read by Mr. ' . H. Mahon, mayor of Greenville, t om Theodore H. Price, giving it as his j elief that in view of an expected crop f not much over 10.000.000 bales, cot>n "will immediately eo to 12 cents 3 pound and stay there." This, together ith the rise in the past few days. wa3 j efficient to insure the good humor of le crowd and an enthusiastic attenon to anything which was meant to 3 fthoop them up" or "pat them on I le back." ( t o flftA r>*w">r?1o Vioarfl thp snppphes Al/V/UV ^,VVU UV.M? V* V?v jt in a grove, down in a hollow, away IT in the woods, where you could get aly by walking a mile from the furlest end of the car line or paying le traditional quarter for hack fare, et people went, even a goodly number sides those who heard the speeches. ! >r barbecues, picnics, horse races, base ill, were among the festivities of the curth. The Piedmont fair grounds as the place. The speaking began at | bout 1 o'clock and lasted till 3: 30. | At the close Mr. R. Mays Cleveland resided over the meeting. After a rief speech stating the object of the leetfng he introduced Senajor Tillman, ext followed Mr. E. D. Smith, after lese two regular speeches. Mr. G. H. lahpn, mayor of jhe city, addressed >e crowd a few mnutes. Then fol- \ wed Mr. J. T. Johnston. Member of ongress from that district. Then, af- I r a little impromptu collection for the =sociation from which about a hat full i ' nickles was realized, the meeting rohe up. j s SENATOR TILLMAN'S SPEECH. ; * Senator Tillman, after a few pleas- 1 1 ltries about the crowd, the occasion I c id the weather, and after declaring r :at this was not the time or the place j r him to make political utterances, j arter in to talk to the farmers as I rmers. "We are not here as citizens j the United States, but a3 farmers." said. He spoke first of the Southern atton Association and said that while 1 > was willing to concede that it had 1 t me some good in helping on an agita- I j on, he did not think it could rightfully i ( aim all the credit for the present rise j the price of cotton. He S2id: "Tom nith. Bill Johnston, John Williams, id the others saw something was rong. so they joined the cotton asso- ( ation and went to resolving and re- i Iving, and resoluting and resoluting, j it Old King Grass was the man who E ime along and choked the cotton out. ^ hat's what raised the price." Then { added, amidst the hilarity. "So Prov- f ence takes care of its own." Senator tfillman ambled on. appir- ? itly somewhat at a loss what to talk \ x)ut. Some one suggested corn. "I've ( )t the best corn crop in South Caro- ( ia: I don't care who he is." "You ain't seed mine, Is you?" cried ( tall, hearty-looking man in broad immed straw hat. The Senator ughed, so did the crowd. "No, I iven't seen yours," he said. . "Well, you come up to Chick Springs s id lemme show you some sho nuff Tit na io rom " said the man. Even if the speaker had had a set leech to make, he could not have c ade it in that crowd, for some one 1 as constantly trying to side-track him ? to politics or something in which he ight have occasion for his pitchfork. ? e did finally touch'just a little upon ie dispensary and his "former friend, )hn L. McLaurin," though very little >out the latter, saying, with a laugh, * 3e mortuis nil nisi bonum." He said a cLaurin was dead, even if he did 1 anage to get his many speeches these v lys in the newspapers. r But speaking of the present moveent and politics, he compared it with t ie former farmers' movement in South t arolina. "These newspaper men," he r lid, "think they smell fire whenever ie farmers begin to organize." The c owd laughed boisterously when he a cplained the difference between the f vo movements, saying "that other ^ cvcments years ago was quiet differit. We openly declared then that we ere going into the swim, and we went r i. They said we would get into deep j ater. We did get into deep water. ^ id we drowned more politicians than ly fellows that ever went a-fishing." THE DISPENSARY. About the dispensary Senator Tillon eoiri timp and nlace to settle ? ly issues on that score would be the 5 ;xt Democratic primary. The Legis- < ture, he said, had been tampering t ith the dispensary, and he indicated c ?ry clearly that he thought somebody id got it into somewhat of a mess. ^ ir. speaking of it. he said, "We've g >t to clean this thing. If necessary put ] in a pot and scald it. If we can't > that. I say kill it." He made it _ ?ry clear that when the next election * >mes around and the people are electg another Legislature to clean the spensary, he would be on hand. "I'll y a candidate." he said, "unless my ?alth fails. I'll meet the men who E anage the dispensary Ace to face, as ve always done." He Aid, too, that ? would do this in the tanae old way, y tying, "I have always ca?d a spade spade and a thief a ttpef. and I j aven't got a forked to^ue or been . tiled completely to slwp up there in Washington." Then he declared again: The Legislature has to re-organize it i ad make it decent or I'll stump the i tate to kill it. They've got to make it 1 lean or they've got to let It go. That's s iy position." a SOUTH CAROLINA CROP B^LETIf Conditions Fcp Past Week a$ Givei Out by the Department. The section director for the Eouti Carolina section of the Department o Agriculture issue the following bulle tin: The week endinz Monday, Julj 3rd, had nearly a normal mean tern perature, it having been very high al the beginning of the week, with a muximam of 99 degrees at tUackville or June ?7th. and was comparatively cool during the middle of the week with a minimum of 61 at Allendale on Jjme 29th. There was more than an averige amount of cloudiness. The winds were mostly easterly and drying. Copious rains fell in the Savannah valley counties and along the southerr :oast; excessive rains in the extreme western and northwestern counties Che co-operative observer at Walhalls eported over thirteen inches for th< veek. Scattered showers, generally ight occurred in the central, easterz ind northeastern counties, where th< Iroitght has only been partially reieved. Lands were washed and hotx>m lands flooded in Oconee, Pickens tnd parts of (Jreenville, Anderson and 3arnwell counties; in all other sections he rainfall was wholly beneficial. Cotton improved in general appearince, although it has not attained lormal size except in a few scattered ocalities. The cotton crop is uneven ind jugular in size, growth and fruitige^ahough it is blooming normally >v# practically the whole State. There ire fewer complaints of deterioration, ice and shedding than last week. In he dry sections, some plants are >looming to the top. Sea island cotton continues small, though generally lealthy. There is little, if any improvement, n the early planted corn, which coninues unpromising; later planting? lave improved in color and growth, >ut are still being seriously injured by hinch hugs in places. Wheat threshing is under way and he yields are very poor. Rice is dong well. Tobacco is being cured; the rop is poor and shows the bad effects >f drought. Peas are being sown exensively. pastures and gardens are rnrched, except where the recent rains lafe partially revived them. Waternelons are being marketed. Sweet poota slips are being set out since the ains .and where set out earlier are dong well. The general crop outlook s more promising than heretofore, but s still poor where a moisture is de9 ient, which "includes about half the state. J. W. BAUER, Section Director. Slayer of Seven Women Escapes Americus, Ga., Special.?The wholesale shooting and killing of seven ne;ro women here at the hands of War en Hicks, a black desperado, still ireates the greatest excitement in the leighborhood of the tragedy. The county is appalled at the horri)le deed. The county commissioners net and requested Governor Terrell to :ffer a reward for the murderer's capure, the commissioners making such m offer on behalf of the county, licks wa3 chased ten hours by offl:ers, but is still at large. Ship Yards Strike Spreads. St. Petersburg, By Cable.?The strike if the Nevsky shipyard, which begac Monday. became general Tuesday norning. Between 5,000 and 6.00C itrikers held a meeting in the court ard of the works. Speeches detailng the men's grievances were deliver?d and subsequently the men Attempted o form a procession. Thereupon the luthorities requisitioned StK) Cossacks vho dispersed the men by the free use )f their whips. There is marked ex itemeut in labor circles. Leaflets are jeing cast broadcast detailing the relents events at Lodz and Odessa. Telegraphic Briefs. President Roosevelt is at Cambridge, >articipating in the jubilee of his class it Harvard. The Yaqui Indians, the Apaches of dexico, are on a raiding tour in the ountry along tie San Miguel river, and lave killed at least 12 ranchers, beiides several women and children. T. A. Deveny was, at Fairmont, iwarded judgment for $40,000 in his :ase againi? James D. Cook. Preside it Benjamin Ide Wheeler, of he University of California, speaking it the Darmouth College commencenent. expressed a poor opinion of the veal thy class in isolation from' hur.anity. Leading members of the New York >ar are more or less in sympathy with he views of^Secretary Taft on the aduinistration of criminal law. John F. Wallace, who resigned as hief engineer of the Panama canal and l member of the commission, has acepted a 5G0.000 position with a New fork corporation. Graeme Stewart, several times a andidate for Mayor of Chicago on the tepublican ticket and prominent in the msiness life of the Western city, is lead. Party Moves Onward. Washington, Special.?Wm. H. Taft, Secretary of War, accompanied by a listinguished party, including memtors of both houses of Congress, armj iffieials, the daughter of the President, diss Alice Roosevelt, and others, be ;an their journey to the Philippine Is ands at 5:30 o'clock Friday aftertoon. The party embarked in twe pecial cars on the regular train over he Baltimore & Ohio railroad. Odds and Ends. The man who does not fear failure eldom has to face it. Never is happiness more clear than vhen founded on clean-heartedness. A nice thing about marrying money s everybody envies you so much more Lan you do yourself. Chairman Morton accepted the resgnation of James Hazen Hydeetad gnation of James W. Alexander as 'resident and of James Hazen Hyde ts first vice-president of the Equit ible Life Assurance Society . ft ... * 1 \ The Last Act io Tragedy of Rassbf \ Rebel Warship # , j ; BLOOD-STAINED SHIP IS OCCUPIED t! * : Russian |Admiral Arrives With His Fleet and Takes Over the Possession of the Kniaz Potemkine From the Rounmanian Authorities. j Kostenji, Roumania, By Cable.?AdI miral Kruger boarded and took possession of the Russian battleship # Kniaz Potemkine, King Charles of Roumania having sent Instructions to the commander of the Roumanian squadron that the vessel be delivered to the Russian authorities without raising difficulties. The torpedo boat which accompanied the Kniaz Potemkine, however, left for Odessa without surrendering, declaring that she had not mutinied, but that the Kniaz Potemkine had fnrooH hop tn fr* 11 *r? ?w? vvu MV* tv Aviivn i Admiral Kruger arrived with his squadron Sunday morning, and after exchanging the customary salutes, inI timated that he had come to arrange \ ' for the transfer of the Kniaz Potem' kine. Admiral Kolinsky, commander of the Roumanian squadron, boarded the Russian battleship Tchesme and ! informed Admiral Kruger that King Charles had ordered him to turn the : vessel over to the Russian admlraL ! The formalities of the transfer were complete this afternoon, and Admiral Kruger boarded the Knlaz Potemkine. The press representative inspected the Kniaz Potemkine after the withdrawal of the Roumanian guard. Despite the efforts of the Roumanians to get things in ship-shape, everything aboard the battleship was still in a state of wildest disorder. The officers' cabins were stripped of everything of any value, and blood stains were everywhere. There was sufficient ammunition aboard the Kniaz Potemkine' ( to have enabled the mutineers to ( make a desperate resistance. It is said that during the last few days the vessel was navigated by two , engineers and an officer with revolvers at their heads. All of the sailors wished to surrender with the exception of Matuschen. | ko. the leader of the mutiny, who re i sisted for some time, and wanted t? blow up the ship. Seven officers were prisoners aboard the Kniaz Potemkine. They were in a pitiable condition from ill treatment. They declare that Matuschenko himself killed ten officers of the battleship. All the papers and books belonging to the vessel were destroyed. It appears that the decision to surrender the Kniaz Potemkine was made * < when it became evident that no other vessels would Join in the mutiny. Th?,{\ crew of the battleship seemed to be *unaware of the surrender of the , Georgi Pobiedonosetz and expected that she also was coming to Kustenji to capitulate to Roumania. Twenty married sailors from the Kniaz Potemkine have applied to the Russian consul here to be sent bacjc to Russia. The crew of torpedo boat No. 268 were given half an hour in which to surrender or leave port. ! A considerable number of the crew i <JI the Kniaz Potemkine surrendered ' to the Russian squadron, alleging that I they had acted under compulsion. ; The coal supply of the mutinous bat tleship was nearly exhausted, but there was plenty of food on board. ! A Russian priest, after the transfer, ! held a service of purification on board . the Kniaz Potemkine, sprinkling the ! vessel and her flags with holy water. Admiral Kruger's squadron, which ' brought a crew for the Kniaz Potemkine, sailed with her for Russia. % Race Riot in new Torn.. New York, Special.?Two persons were shot, one probably fatally, In a t fight between mobs of whites and ne| groes In West Sixteenth street Sunday. The trouble began when Henry ' Hart, a colored man, was attacked in > the street by a number of white boys, who accused him of interfering with a 1 ball game. Hart fled, pursued by a mob of whites hurling stones, bricks ! and other missies, and reached the tenement house where he lived. After arming himself with a revolver. Hart ran down stairs and began firing into the crowd, one of the shots striking James Hunter in the side. Eight Blown to Atoms. Harrisburg, Pa., Special. ? Eight , men were blown to pieces and two others were injured by the premature explosion of a big blast of rock powder on the Pennsylvania Railroad improvement near the Cumberland at 7.30 o'clock Sunday morning. The ac i cident occurred directly across the i Susquehanna river from the scene ot i the Pennsylvania Railroad wreck oa May 11, in which 23 persons were killed and many othess injured. Two to DC nauyew. i The State supreme court passed 01 the case of Fletcher Byrd and Palmet Chriswell and the action of the lowei court was sustained. This means that the case will be remanded to the lower court in order that sentence of . death may again be passed upon the i negroes, charged with the murdar of Magistrate Cox near Fountain Inn last year. The magistrate tried to stop the negroes, who had illicit whiskey fn their buggy, and they fired upon him with fatal results. Cleveland Not to Retire. New York. Special.?In relation to.a report that Grover Cleveland #as contemplating retiring from the'trusteeship of the Equitable Life Assurance Society, Mr. Cleveland authorizes the I following statement: "lathing has i occurred thus far to dissatisfy me in the least and the idea of retiring from the trusteeship has never entered rag ' mind." t