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^ ?n the, flft Thr^"7^ the" month, and /] Wherein the 5on of ^ || Of wedded ttaid and w ' II Our oreat redemption | |i^ *T?\at He our deadly j j Andjwtfh Hi} father, v |s^ Uhercwjfh he . wont'at To m tF|C mid^t AOK. HE Jolly, potbellied, roisterJj lug old Santa Claus Is in ^ I O hot water. Preachers and A t parents are rising up against him. declaring that i J he Is a fraud aud as sucli ? yfftht .to be suppressed. TLpnk heav sporadic agitation like this can no serious results. Recalcitrant ts and preachers will ?>ass away. Ciaus will endure r.anl the enu, *j> ue uas etmureu iruui iue ut^iuiuuB. No one can say bow old be is or at ' what period he made his flrst appearance among prehistoric men. The name of Santa Claus, by which he is known In America, is the Dutch pet name for St. Nicholas. The name * Criss CriDgle, by which he is known in England, is a corruption of Christ Kindiein, or the Christ child. But the festivities that distinguish Christmas existed long before Christianity, and a Jolly god of good cheer appears as the personification of tl^e period from the earliest pagan times. Now. the Santa . oito-day is simply that old jolly ?-~ god sobere^TDp, washed and purified. ^ The Dionysia of the Creeks, the Saturnalia of the Romans, the Twelve Nights of the old Norsemen and of the ^ Teutons all celebrated the coming of the winter solstice People then gave ~ -themselves up to all sorts of revelry and excess. In the Dionysia the representative figure was not the young , Dionysus or Bacchus, but the aged, cheery and disreputable Silcnus. the chief of the Satyrs, or the god of drunkards. In the Saturnalia it w^s ^ Saturn, in the Germanic feasts it was **^Thor, both long bearded and white Paired gods like Siieuus. Now, although the central figure of the Christian festival is the child Cod. the Christ Kindiein, the influence of long pagan custom was too strong within Hn Krnocfe r?f tho oui'lr Phris tians to be easily superseded. The tradition of hoary age as thj true representative of the dying year and its attendant jollifications still remained "V - smoldering under the ashes of the past. \ It burst into new flame when the past was too far back to be looked upon with the fear and antagonism of the church, and there seemed no longer any danger of a relapse into paganism. At first, however, the more dignified representative was chosen as more in keeping with the occasion. Saturn was unconsciously rebaptized as St. Nicholas, the name of the saint whose festival occurs in December, and who. as the patron of young people, is especially fitted for the patronage of the testival which has come to be looked upon as especially that of the young. At first St. Nicholas did not supersede the Christ child, but accompanied Him in His Christmas travels, as, indeed, he still does in certaiu rural neighborhoods of Europe where tbe modern spirit has been least felt. St Nicholas, according to the hagiologists, was a bishop of Myra, who Nourished early in the fourth century. He is the patron of children and schoolboys. It is strange that everywhere St. Nicholas is most honored and his feast MOTHER AND CHILD. V^gPS^?. "? '" ' . 1 omfng of ftattvit? z^<, it I thi^fhe hof)f?y"morn, heaven'} eternal Kir^), Virgin Mother born./ from above did brings pes once did }tn?, U forfeit }hould release,N \\ /ork u} a f>er[>etual t*ace Y k $ \ ^YlnrocHnf 'J ipta (JauJ day most observed the most pious and instructed among the common people know little of the legend of the saint. He is treated with that mixture of seriousness and frivolity which becomes a dying myth. One masquerades In his dress In the evening and prays to him in the morning, and so fulfils a duty without spoiling the fun. Yet even the mumming has an educational purpose. THE GERMAN SANTA CLAUS." In Southern Germany and Austria (. youth possessing the necessary religious knowledge is masked, dressed in long white vestments, with a silk scarf and furnished with a miter and cro zier. He is accompanied by two angels and a whole troop of devils. The angels are dressed much like the choir boys in Anglican or Catholic churches. Each carries a basket. The devils blacken their faces and add horns of pigs' snouts or such other fantastic.devices as the ingenuity of boyhood can devise. They are girt with chains, WU1CI1 xuey siKiKt* ur rami; iuriuuM%v. It is thought much bettor fun to be a devil than an angel, hence the number of the former Is only limited to the number of boys who are able to eomChrlstmas Eve In Brlttanj e"ilH When the average visitor arrives iu Brittany for the first time he generally rubs his eyes to find out whether he is asleep or awake, for he discovers a land so novel in its aspect, a people so quaint in manners, customs and clothes, that it all seems like a dream from which he will presently awake to the nineteenth century he certainly leaves once the coutiues of this land are passed. Think of a low, flat country, with a strange growth of gnarled. queer-loosing irees, 01 sucmm of plains with dark, surging grasses, only now and then a low hovel of a thatched stoue house, in which the natives and their live stock, particulaily the pigs, dwell together. It is a place of little joy of living, for the land is ungrateful, and it requires all the energies of the husbandman to get even the smallest return for his work. The poverty is appalling and beggary is on all sides. The peasants rarely eat meat because of its cost. They live mainly on a soggy black Dread, which is broken up into mand the necessary regalia. In the twilight of the evening of December 5 the good bishop and his suite begin their round of visits. It is the season for juvenile parties, and almost ail the children of the village are collected in a few separate houses, each of which St. Nicholas visits in turn. He enters with the two angels, while his swarthy followers are left to play their pranks outside. A great silence falls upon the children, and one by one they are called up and examined by the saint. This part of the evening's business is carried on with the greatest seriousness and decorum. Simple religious questions suited to the age of each child are propounded, after which it has to sing hymns and recite prayers. If the ordeal is successfully pnsse?' 'he angels present it with nuts and ? 'os. If it fails it has to stand asid hen the exantluation is end"?l the H They are not allowed to approach the good children, but may tease and frighten the naughty ones as mnch as they like. They do this at first as a matter of duty. Duty Is followed by tho pleasures whose anticipation had crused them to enlist?pleasures which consist in strange dances and antics, and in pursuing the larger girls with the attempt to blacken their faces. Their whole appearance is intended to be grotesque and farcical. For the on- j tire evening they are allowed full license in the villages, though in some I of the towns the festival has. for good reasons, been prohibited. For weeks before the eve of St. Nicholas a devil 1 may occasionally be seen at the window of some cottage where the children are supposed to be naughty or their elder sister is known to be particularly attractive. It is proof of the sound nerves of the children that no harm comes from the ordeal. When St. Nicholas has left the children return to their own homes, but they do not believe that the generosity of the saintly bisiiop lias been exhausted. After saying their prayers and going to bed they place dishes or baskets upon the windows!!!, with their nauies written within them, and in these their parents deposit small presents, which their little sons and daughters fancy he has brought. In many places the bugbear overshadows in importance both the Christ child and St. Nicholas. lie appears under different names and in different guises. In Lower Austria he is the frightful Kranipus, with his clanking chains and horrible devil's mask, who. notwithstanding his gilded nuts and apples, gingerbread and toys, which he carries in his basket, is the terror of the nursery. In Hanover, Holstein and Mecklenburg he is known as CJas. In Silesia his name is Joseph. Sometimes the bugbear was a female. In Lower Austria she was called the Budelfrau. In Suabia It was the Berchtel who chastised children that did not spin diligently with rods, but rewarded the Industrious with dried pears, apples and nuts. The female bogie survives, especially in Russia and in Italy. In the former place she is known as the Baboushka, in the latter as the Befana. Befana is a corruption of Epiphania or Epiphany. For it is on Epiphany. January C. that the Italians make presents to their children in commemoration of . the gifts given by the three wise men to Christ on that date.?Now York Herald. Th2 Sacred I^ougfy. Mistletoe seems now Inseparable from Christmas, but it was not always so. The use of the mistletoe in our Christmas festivities is generally concetK<Lto be a survival of Druidic ceremonial. Looking back now, we can see that to this worship of the mistletoe, and the wonderful cures the Druids effected by means of it, was due much to the veneration in which they themselves were held. To them it was of Divine origin, possessing powers of healing and curing disease that gave it the name of "curer of all ills," or the "all-heal." The ceremonial rites connected with the worship of the mistletoe were performed on a scale of great mngnitieanee, in the sacred month of December, during the feast that ushered in the New Year. The time for the beginning of these rites I was announced by the priests, who r: the Little Carol Singers. imf* * q tit 1 a soup made of a piece of suet stewed iu boiling water. When the sardine is in scasou it is added, although this tish is generally eaten broiled, and when the chestnut comes all hands stuff at all hours of the day. The children dress just like the grown folks, and for both a single dress is kept most of their lives for the best, while on every day their collection of garments, save witii the better classes, is remarkable. But there are Interesting customs that happen there, and have happened for. lo, these many years, since there is little change In Brittany. That of feeding the poor is a significant one, taking place on Christmas Eve, as well as at other times. Here comes the little ones of the poor to get their pieces ~i- loiuiH nn/1 tlm hnntio nf the \t I UliiVU Uivuu iii*u ** ? v. good cure distributes without prejudice to all comers. The clank of the sabots is heard along the stone streets as these uufortunatc children tramp up to the rectory, and the picturesque? uess of the scene is emphasized by the opera bouffe clothes the suppliants wear. went about shouting outside the houses, "New all-heal, new all-heal!" or "The New Year is at hand, gather the mistletoe." The cry was followed by the congregating of the people in great crowds, to foilow the priests in solemn procession, as all went into the woods to search for the sacred plant. Two white bulk were taken tor sacrificial purposes, while the three most ancient pontiffs carried respectively s bowl of bread, wine and water, and a hand of ivory attached ton wand, this j representing power and justice. It must have been nr. imposing proces sion, with the ancient pontiffs in full ceremonial costume leading the way. ! followed by the bards and priests of various ranks, each in the costume of i his or<fer.\,and following tbesio the people, all eager to find the mtstic plant that \yas a panacea against Till Ills nnd 1 the trip\R0urc? '" to all who could PALMETTO AFFAIRS Occurrences of Interest From All Over South Carolina MANY ITEMS OF STATE NEWS . ? A Batch of Lire Paragraphs Covering a Wide Range?What is Going On in Onr State. The Pension Commissioners. Comptroller General Jones has issued a statement giving the names of the pension sommissioners in South Carolina. Only one county has not been reported?Kershaw. The list, without the appointed from that county. is as follows: Abbeville, J. S. Gilbert: Aiken, Geo. C. Kdmonston; Anderson. John T. Green; Bamberg, C. R. Clayton; Barawell, Washington Halford; Beaufort. Dr. R. R. Sams; Berkeley, J. Calhour Cain: Charleston, William Mathers Cherokee, J. W. McKeown; Chester. W. It. Edwards; Chesterfield, H. I). Tiller; Clarendon, A. J. Richbourg; Colleton. C. G. Henderson: Darli**gton W. K. James: Dorchester, C. P. Shuler; Edgefield, J. X. Fair; airfield, W. S. Crosby: Florence, J. E Pettigm; Georgetown, J. Harlestor Read; Greenville, S. S. Crittenden; Greenwood. B. F. McKeller; Hampton. J. V. Morrison; Horry, Jeremiah Misho; Lancaster, W. B. Bruce; Laurens, J. M. Hudgens; Lee D. E. Durant; Lexington, Paul Clark; Marion F. D. Bryant; Marlboro, W. S. Tawnsend; Newberry, W. G. Peterson; Oconee, J. W. Holleman; Orangeburg, T C. Albergotti; Pickens, J. B. Newberry; Richland, Jno. T. Gaston: Saluda, L. Rice; Spartanburg, E. F Wall: Sumter, W. D. Scarboro; Union N. B. Eison; Williamsburg, H. H Kinder; York J. F. Wallace. New Enterprises. The Eddy Lake Cypress companv had its capital stock increased froir $32,000 to $300,000. The companj was chartered in 1S99 with $20,00( capital stock. The directors have decided to increase the capitalizatior a second time, having raised it tc $32,000 in 1901 and to subscribe tc $20,000 capital stock in the Eddy Lake and Northern raiiwav. inis is im company in which ex-Congressmar Scarborough is interested. The Masonic Temple company ol Greenville was given a charter. Th( officers are A. B. Carpenter, presij dent; Geo. T. Bryan, vice-president: D. C. Durham, secretary and treasurer. The officers and the following directors: J. E. Sirrine, W. M. Jor dan. Park A. Dallis and L. S. Grandv The Piedmont Grocery Company ol Spartanburg was commissioned. Tc have a capitalization of $50,000. Corporators are: W. G. Lee and G. W. Staples of Martinsville, Ya.. and Brooks Rogers of Petersburg, Ya. The following were also incorporated: Werhltin Clothing company ol Mullins, $10,000: Pros'peritv Drug Co. $4,000; Southern Bottling Company, of Sumter, $5,000: Florence Furniture company, $2,500; Westmoreland Drue company, of Greenville, increased tr $4,000; J. S. Fowler company of Anderson. sales stables, increased fron $20,000 to $25,000; Dantzler, Iriek & Co., Parlers. $5,000. A Costly Case. Spartanburg. Speciil.?After consuming more than two days on onr case in which the suit involved amounted to not more than $150 damages. that litigation ended. It was the case of the Leesville Manufacturing Pnmnnnv vs the Monrnn Iron works, inviting damages as to the alleged deficiency in the grading of a lumber shipment. The jury rendered a verdict of (10.40 for the plaintiff. At the conclusion of this ease, Judge KImrli dimissed all jurors and equity business was entered on, and will occupy the court's time to the end of the present sesion. Columbia Gets Camcgia Library. Columbia, Special ?The mayor and aldermen of Columbia have decided to accept the proposition of Andrew Carnegia to cive the town a library costing $10,000, to be maintained by the town at a cost of >1,000 a year. The ladies of the Students club bare agreed to furnish a $2,000 site and donate the club's 1,000 volumes for the institution. Valuable Farm Lands. Aiken, Special.?Farm lands in Aiken county are getting very valuable, if the spirited bidding and hitrh prices produced at public sales are a sun indication. On snlesday in Aiken : large crowd attended the public sab of several desirable properties. Twenty dollars to sixty dollars per acre was bid on the more desirable lands. One plaee of 070 acres sold for IS,700. Another place of 20 acres near Aiken brought 1,200. The day's sales amounted to 32.70. ' Organ 700 Years Old. William C. Carl brought back with him from Japan a pipe organ of ancient make which he believes will prove a revelation to modern instrument builders. * - "r\/\ -14 k,.* The organ is <w yt-ars uiu, uui, uvu.withstanding this fact, embodies practically all the improvements which present day builders regard as new. The pipes are of bamboo, and the instrument is in a good state of preservation. Mr. Carl also brought home a large collection of Japanese music arranged in modern notation. Previous to thirty years ago, he says, all the native music was handed down from one generation to another in characters, but since the establishment of an academy at Tokio a great impetus has been given to all classes of music, and more than 600 students were in attendance at that inr^;;Mna ttfceu M Carl visit '-Seattle * ligencer. ^ Palmetto Brevities. The annual meeting of the board off visitors of the South Carolina Military academy was held and a number i of routine matters were disposed of. The business consisted%almost entirely of the reading of reports. Governor Heyward was the only members of the board who was not present. Senator Latimer has introduced a bill in the Senate to build federal buildings at Anderson, Chester and Greenwood, and to appropriate $75,000 for expenses. This bill, if passed will not effect the status on the new district bill, that is in statu quo, with better chances for agreement as to the places for holding court and passage this session. Fairfield county voted on the dispensary question, under the Brice act, and the results is three to two in favor of llio di<r?pncorv TTairfiol/t ia thus the second county in the State to retain the dispensary by vote. The 129th annual communication of the grand lodge, A. F. M., of South Carolina convened in Charleston with between 200 and .'100 delegates present. One hundred and eighty-two lodges were represented. Committees were appointed and the grand lodge got down to its routine of proceedings without delay. Matilda Carr, a little colored girl, six years old, was burned so serious- i ly Monday night that she died Tuesday. The circumstances were such that at first suspicion rested on a negro woman who lives in the same house, but at the eoronev's inquest held Tuesday night the facts as brought out indicate that the affair was an accident. i A commission was issued to the Greenwood Savings and Trust company, to be capitalized at $25,000. The coiporators are S. H. McGhee, E. E. Child, Kenneth Baker and X. A. Craig. The Cold Point Granite company of Newberry was given a commission. The corporators are: M. A. Carlisle, Geo. X Bryan, S. B. Aull, J. A. Blackwelw -and J. D. Davenport. Object of the company will be to quarry rock and granite and dress stone tfor building and other purposes. Capitalization, $30,000. On Tuesday the splendid monument < to N. G. Gonzales was unveiled in Columbia. It was erected by volunk tary subscriptions. A commission was issued to the corporators of the Bank of Fairfield which will have a capitalization of $30,000. The parties interested are: W. R. DotyrW. R. Rabb, J. R. Curlee, T. W. Traylor and others. The bank will be located at Winnsboro. A Tragedy at Gaffney. J Gaffney. S. C., Special.?Friday morning the usual quiet of the city was disturbed, about 8.45 o'clek by the report of a revolver, fired three times in quick succession, followed quickly by the screams of women cry ing "murder." The police responded to the call from the Piedmont Inn As they went in a man came out calling for a doctor. An investigation showed that George Hasty shot and instantly killed Mr. Milan Bennett, musical director of the "Nothing But Money" company, which showed here Thursday night and possibly mortally i wounded Abbott Davidson, the comedian and star performer. It was Davidson who came down the steps calling for a doctor. The sheriff and police arested Hasty and lodged him in jail. The coroner was notified and empannelled a jury. Dr. Nesbit testified as to the cause of death and the jury brought in a verdict in accordance with . the facts, j The tragedy was caused by a charge of insult to a lady member of the company. Abbot Davison Dead. Mr. Abbot Davison died at 0.23 Sunday evening. The end came while he was surrounded by friends and fellow members of the orders to which he belonged. There was one incident connected with the death-bed scene that was most touching. As the spirit of Mr. Davison was taking its flight, his " ' > " 1 it ...I,,, l.o.l Knon af iauniui swccuicaii, v> nv? n?iii .-.vv.. .... , his side since he was shot down, knelt j beside his bed and'rcpeated the Lord's prayer. There were a dozen or more men in the room and e *?ry one of them broke down and we{5t dike children. His spirit went accompanied by the praye -s of his faithful ^ *?etlieart, who ^uld have become Is wife in a few days. v- < George Hasty's Story. When seen in the county r Hasty, char? d with ?' -C Mr. Ben e't_a ^ Mr. ,ed that he shot ^ sel -that neither of the men ..tetany explanation and be need on him, one with a kniTtr e otfcf with something in his-na^ hif did not know what. He. .A' even nft> ? he shot he trie* ti_^J'k loose f x them. He says vumt the ladies lib testified knew nothing of the aftfiir, that he did not invite Mr. Bennett out but that he was followed out by both of them, who came almost in a ran. Ho says that he regretted t'-'O occurreime very much but if he wdd it to do over again he would do as he did this time. Ledger is Found. The mystery of the disappearance of three account books from the Union Mills, of Union, S. C., involving large transactions on the part of ex-President T. C. Duncan, has been partially j solved by the finding on Friday in the upper room of the mill office of the missing ledger by Mr. Clemens, who was cleaning up, preparator&^o stocktaking. An examination slu ved that a number of pages, carrying > ceouuts of special interest had been'bit out as if by a pair of shears, amlAs the innrnnl from which this lodJr was i nnsted is still missimr the recovered ledger is of practically no value in its mutilated condition. The books I cover transactions for the year 1903, 1904 and 1905. . No Wooden Indians. Baltimore board of estimates has refused to permit a wooden Indian to -be placed In front of a clgar.stoze. " ^IWBHJTence Is that a wooden; Indian Is too combustible. ^5533* ' BOOKS tO JE ADOPTED Important Work For State Board of Education. The State board of education wil will be called upon next spring to abopt a list of text books to be used in the publig schools. Uniformity in the use of books is very much desired, but very few city schools use the same books as other city schools or as the free rural schools. In regard to this matter, the State superintendent of education, Hon. 0. ??. iuariin, says in ms report to me legislature: "The contract for text books used in the schools under the adoption of the State bord of education will expire on July 3, 1906. The law governin the adoptions has been amended from time to time, until it has become somewhat inconsistent, and it seems to me that a general law should be passed which will unify and simpyfy the situation. Section 1239 of the code provides that 'county boards of education shall set aside an amount _not exceeding $.300 for the purpose of providing the public attending the free public schools of the their counties with school text books at actual c-?st or exchange prices.' "By a special proviso, ten counties hi.ve been exempt from the mandatory provisions of this act, namely: Charleston, Chesterfield, Edgefield, Georgetown, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Greenwood, Lexington and Richland. At the last session of the legislature a bill was passed allowing township depositories to make a profit of not more than 10 per cent, on the cost price of the books. Under the contract now in force, no restriction is put upon prices at which books may be sold by dealers, so there is naturally a great deal of confusion and some dissatisfaction in the handling of the books. To begin with, the cost price is stamped on the back of the , book. A township depositary may add 10 per cent, to this price. At this, the purchaser naturally wonders. The dealer, I am informed, frequently adds 15 to 25 per cent., and even more. The purchaser then wonders again. If it is desired to furnish the books at actual cost, then I think the Indiana plan is best, namely, have a State depository to which the publishers sell the books at the yowest competitive bids. The State -depositories then furnish to the county depositories at eost, and the county depositories in turn furnish them to the people at cost. "This is a good theory, but it puts a vast amount of very difficult labor upon school officers who have other multituduous duties. Jt seems to me that the plan that has been adopted by a majority of the States which have State uniformity is a simpler and better one. Any purchaser is willing tc pay a reasonable per cent, for the handling of merchandise of and kind. It is generally agreed thai 1U per cent, is a reasonable profit on a staple article. I think the law ought to provide for a strict contract with the publishers at a price to be stamped on the back of each book and provide also that the books shall not be sold anywhere in this State above that price It should provide also that this price be determined by sealed bids, protected by bond. "The State board should have the right to reject dhy and all bids which are greater than 10 per cent, on the cost price of the book. The cost price can be readily determined by comparison with the price list in this of fice from other states, and especially such a State as Indiana, which buys books direct at a wholesale price. This 10 per cent, should then be included in the price stamped on the back of the book, and the publisher bound by contract and bond not to allow dealers to sell their books unless the}' will agree to sell them at the price stamped on the back. This will enable all purchasers to get the books at a fixed price, and a reasonable profit will have already taken out of that price as a discount "If the dispository system is main? i V it . xf :i_: _i_ i lainea in me counues wnicii now uhvc it, I believe the county superintendent 'ought to be allowed the same 10 per cent, discount which is allowed to the dealers. If this were true, I believe tb',county superintendents in the 10 cdTThties wh^e the dspository act is op onal would handle the books and tins' ""ould serve as a check on the deal* i. I think the county superinten? .t ought to be allowed the profit on * unt of the extra work and to enab. to provide extra clerk hire untfcually buisy seasons, when it is impossible for him to be at the office. I am informed that under the present contract, the publishers have been r ing from 5/ > 10 per cent, discount -dealers on' at is now understood to be the cost pfiee. Of course, the county superintendet cannot expect this discount, because the law does not allow it; so in one case the dealer gets a discount and in another case the county superintendent is not allowed to take it. It is clear that the publisher keeps a discount which he would be willing to give to facilitate the handling of his books; so the county superintendent does the work for nothing, and the publisher keeps pronr. it noes not cost the &t?ite anything to allow the county superintendent to make the same profit which is now allowed to township depositories and to dealers. The dealer under the present law and contract may not only receive a discount, but may add as much profit as lis can get above the so-called cost price. Under the system which I suggest and which is in nse in a majority of the States which have State adoptions, there would be a uniform, reasonable price, which, it seems, to me, would give very general satisfaction. "I believe the State board of education will handle the text book ndoptkmjuid contracts with an earnest,desire for the welfare of the school a 1 regard to rigid economy." REFUGEES ARRIY1Wfr l 500 Expatriated Russian Reach New York MANY WITNESSED MASSMHnfl Senator Patricia .and Ohamista1' Brought the Unfortunate People They Told Graphic Stories of Their j. Experiences--Many Men Burst Into Tears While Telling Story. y'"-.' New York, Special.?Five hundred refugees, many of them eye witnesses of the massacres in Odessa and othii ^p Russian cities, disembarked here from the steamers Patricia and Chemnits. Some of them told graphic and pitiful stories of their experiences. Jews who had themselves lain hidden in Odessa houses while mobs searched for them, Russian workmen of thu ' m iLfiL _i fl it . Ai - - cnrisnan laun, sinners xrom me ion* > roads, a newspaper reporter and. termans who had long lived in Russia, ; joined at Ellis Island "immigration station Jn declaring that they had been attacked irrespective df religion * that their assailants were led by po- p lice (iiguked in titifcn's clothing and that the nasadjpys. were not race j pei^ecution, brit' vevWutJtm Whilo ttlling the'ii*. stories the men sometimes burst into/tears, for .perhaps half of the entire nutate? hod i?x; behind them wives ao8 children who were either dead or defcnselts* /A. in Wuss;.ill ?itjos. The i e v/ere thrte Jews front Ode*sa . all of whom six weeks age weiVforced | inti> hiding to save their livej. Alt three a en are ov&r thirty, * nr. 1 of hue physique. One of titem,' Ab \"arn Chanoch,m au Odessa t nsmiiii. told what he saw of Ike Odessa mas e from its beginning when two rival parades, which wero celebrating the new constitution, rpet and began to light. He told how little children wcr^ thrown out of high windows, hoar -'M Russian Christians patrolled streets in large bands protecting Jews while other bands of men pillaged and murdered. Workmen and students, he VIid, led the peace parties, white J2 disgurset police usually led the hood- * lums. After the first two days, hs'-/vi^ and two companions escaped from the . t city. Two refugees from western Russia said that there the Jew killing was started by emptying the jails of prisoners who attacked and stole from the Jews. A man from the pro- ( ; vince of Kovno, asserted that the police themselves read in the Emperor's proclamation of a constitution an or- "jp der to kill all Jews, and cried this lie through the streets. Blow Up Factory. .i? V" O TK? <A1>UM iliiKlUIJ* L\J .j upctiai A. *av vvwhvw factory here owned by Mrs. M. B. ? Penyck and operated by the American Snuff Company, was blown up by dynamite early Tuesday morning. j There was no loss of life, but the damage to the factory was complete. There was no insurance on the plant * as the insurance company had only a few days ago cancelled the policy^ owing: to the excitement oecassioned in this locality by the tactics of some tobacco growers. Jhe force of the ' explosion was felt for a long distance. '.if> Several honves in the vicinity were damaged as was the depot. Bell Telephone Co. Sells Tampa Plant. #w Tampa, Fla., Special.?A meiger of the local telephone exchanges was announced whereby the Southern Bell Telephone Company abandons the local field, its plant, equipment, business and franchises being acquired by the Pennisular Telephone Company, the independent company which ban been operating here several years. The consideration has not beeiTmadn public. ^ Witte is Interviewed. / London, By Cable.?The correspondent of The Daily Telegraph at St. Petersburg, in a dispatch dated December 10 by way of Eydtkuhnen, sends an interview with Count Witte, in which the Premier indicates that Russia is confronted with the alternative of a revolution or violent coercion. Though the count has not abandoned hope, he is not sanguine, and if forcible repression should become necessary, he will, according to the correspondent, resign his task to other hands. Persians Threaten to Invade Turkey. Constantinople, By Cable.?Trouble^ is threatening on the Turko-Persian * frontier at points which have never been exactly delimited. Five thousand armed Persians threaten to invade and take possession of a strip of territory in the Vilayet of Mosul claimed by Turkey. Two batallions of Ottoman troops with three guns have been despatched to repel the invasion. Six Children Burn to Death. Dubois, Pa., Special.?Six children were burned to death at Lendsey,_p.eax Puxsutwaney, at an earlv honr Tuesday and William Morgan and wife the parents, with their two remaining ' children, barely escaped with their fives. Both the father and mother were badly burned in attempts to save their little ones from t' numing 1 UULLiC. ^ ^ $2,500 Jewelry Packages Disappear. I Houston, Texas, Special.?Three J packages containing jewelry, ftateh " cases and works to the value of $2,500 m disappeared from an express wagoa Hie packages were left under the seat flHj while the driver stepped across the^^H street. When he returned they wcre^JH rone. They were consigned to jew- IB dry firms in Houstou and were about o be delivered. A similar event or V last week when a package va' B B t $1,100 disappeared. |HB