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vwr. s :"m H Ilje iotmtfi Hecort). gp y0L 35 KINGSTREE, SOUTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1920. NO 50 SECRETARY LANSING! QUITS CABINET ????? TROUBLE STARTED IN PARIS? NOW IMPOSSIBLE TO CONTINUE Robert Lancing, ended his career as { Secretary of State after President j wnson naa accuseu uuu ui u.tuipuK the powers of President by calling meetings of the cabinet during Mr. Wilson's illness. Mr. Lancing denied that he hadi sought or intended to usurp the Pres-! idential auth >rity. He added, however, i that he believed and still believes that j the cabinet conferences were "for the! best interest* of the republic," that; they were "proper and necessary" be- i cause of the President's condition and that he would have been derelict in his duty if he had failed to act as he did ' As the record stands Mr. Lansing! tendered his resignation and Mr. Wil-! son accepted it. The resignation wasj offered, however, only after the Pres- j ident, under date of February 7, had j written asking if it were true thatj * ? J /*nkinaf mnof. I jur. lianamg nau uuicu V?hauv? U?WV , ings and stating that if such were the case he felt it necessary to say that "under our constitional law and prac- j tice, as developed hitherto, no one but the President, has the right to summon i the heads oi the executive depart-j 1 ments into conference." Mr. Lansing answered two days ' later-?last Monday?saying he had called the cabinet conferences because he and others of the President's official family "felt that, in view of the fact that we were denied communica-! tion with you, it was wise for us toi confer informally together on matters J as to which action could not be post-I poned until your medical advisers j permitted you to pass upon them." The Secretary concluded by saying ^_ that if the President believed he had ^ /ailed in his "loyalty" to him and if; Hr. Wilson >10 longer had confidence in him he was ready to "relieve you of any emba -rassment by placing my resignation io your hands." The President replied last Wednes-j day that he was "much disappointed"' by Mr. Lansing's letter regarding "the so-called cabinet meetings." He' said he found nothing in the Secre-, tary's letter "which justifies your assumption of Presidential authority in such a matter" and added that hej "must frankly take advantage of your i kind suggestion" to resign. "I must sey," continued the President, "that it would relieve me of em^ . b&rrassment; Mr. Secretary, the em^ barrassment of feeling your reluctance and divergence of judgment, if you would give up your present office and afford me an opportunity to select I some one else whose mind would more j willingly go along with mine." Before this letter was written, the1 day for the regular cabinet meeting? last Tuesday, had passed and the corj^"^re?pondence discloses why the cabinet dnk^t meet. On the same day that; he received this letter from the President, Mr. Lansing announced that he, had written other cabinet officers that I he would no:; call any more cabinet r conferences for the present, but no explanation was offered. Inquiry at; the White House brought only the statement that Mr. Wilson himself I probably would call and preside at the next session of his official advjsers. . But the differences between the President long pre-dated the first cabinet call by Mr. Lansing, which | was issued last October 5, seven days I, j after Mr. Wilson returned from his f ^ western speaking tour and took to F% bis bed. The? began at the peace con- j r ; ferences in Paris, as Mr. Tensing disi dosed in his final letter to the Pres-' I*V ident, under late of last Friday, and' ?? had continued since that time?one' |- of the chitef differences being over the govt"nment's attitude toward lit' Mexico. [ When the cabinet met on October: [ 5, Joseph P. Tumulty, private secre- j [ tary to the President, issued a formal I statement explaining the reasons for| I the conference. He said: >The cabiaet was called to consid- i B??er questions in which more than one j .uoc mnrornoH 9TMi also ' the industrial conference." | H^HS^Bxerred to the first conference by the President with the hope | allaying tie industrial unrest. K.v In hfes statement, Mr. Tumulty said i | tbpt Rear Admiral Grayson, Mr. WflI b *? 'WQ&* persor rJ physician was present"suggested that only urgent. matters be brought to" the President's attention. Thereafter until this week the cabinet met more or less regularly. During the coal strike it met twice a week in an effort to avert the walkout of the miners and several weeks ago it was decided to have meetings every Tuesday and Friday. During the coal wage controversy j the President was said at the White House to have been advised of the meetings and to have been kept in- > formed as to the progress his advisers were making toward a settlement: of the controversy. He finally took the matter out of the cabinet's hands j and suggested a settlement which the j miners accepted. i ne correspondence ueiwctn uic President and Mr. Lansing which re- j salted in Mr. Lansings' resignation > was made public Friday night at the State Department an hour after un- j der-Secretary Polk had conferred at; the White House with Secretary' Tumulty. Mr. Lansing, in his final letter to; the President, said that "in thus sev- , ering our official association" he felt1 that he should make public a statement he had prepared recently showing that he had "not been mindful that the continuance of our presentj relations was impossible," and that it' was his duty to bring them to an end! "at the earliest moment compatible with the public interest." Every since January-, 1919 Mr. Lansing continued, "I have been con-'J scious of the fact that you no longer I ?mif n/ltnlaA . were aispu&eu W natwiirc m; auovv : ip matters pertaining to the negotiations at Paris, to our foreign service, or to international affairs in general." He added that had he followed his personal inclination he would have re- ( signed while in Paris, but that he had refrained because he felt it his duty i to "cause you no embarrassment in j carrying forward the great task in which you were then engaged." Again Mr. Lansing said that while he had been "surprised and disap- J pointed" at the frequent disapproval^ of his suggestions, he had never failed to follow the President's decisions, "however, difficult it made the con-1 duct of our foreign affairs." Mr. Lansing accompanied the Pres-; ident to Paris in December, 191S, as one of the American peace delegates but his friends have said that while Mr. Wilson was at the peace conference Mr. Lansing was virtually with- < out authority and that naturally he ; felt this keenly since the other Allied and Associated countries were repre-. sented by their premiers and not the ! heads of their governments. , ( William C. Bullitt of Philadelphia, |, formerly employed by the American , peace commission in a confidential ca-', pacity, testified before the Senate for- i eign relations committee last Septem- , ber concerning reported differences between the President and his secretary of state on the peace treaty and the league of nations covenant j Bullitt told the committee that Mr. >, Lansing had expressed to him oppo-, ( sition to the ratification of the treaty | and covenant in a conversation in Paris the day Bullitt resigned from j, the American mission because he was , not in sympathy with the treaty and league. < | Mr. Lansing was on a vacation at ( Watertown, N. Y., at the time Bullitt'. testified and when shown the testi-;. mony there he declined to comment. I, o Religious Meeting The Georgetown and Williamsburg "?>'?? ??;il moot at Mnunt Zion. Feb- !< VJUAVU ... _ ruary 27, at 6 p. m. The pastor and ! i Deacons, were to publish the program, . but up to this date we have not seen it. Now this is a very important meet- i' ing and we hope that all churches comprising this union will be represented. and every body is cordially invited; come brothers let's get together asd make it a union indeed and in truth. J. E. Williams. o Honor Roll of Mulberry School ?i j' Following is the honor roll of Mul- j ] berry graded school for month of?j January: i Grade I?Gibert Ferrell, 93; Clyde> Moore. 91; Alma Williamson, 91; j < Bessie Syson, 90; Eloise Gist, 90. Grade II?Rosa Belle James, 92; i Marvin Williamson, 91. Grade III?Lizzie Tisdale, 91; Le-1 land Gist, 91; Eva Chewing, 90; Isaac! James, 90; Glover Lesesne, 90. Grade IV?Charley Gibbons, 91. Grade V?Ida Belle Bradham, 90. jj Grade VI?Lawrence Tisdale, 90. I Grade VII?Herbert Bradham, 90. j Grade VIII?Irma Tisdale, 93; Fan- j nie McKnight, 90. Grade IX?Joe Bradham. 92. KINGSTREE GIRL WINS IN ESSAY CONTEST Miss Nora Kinder Awarded Navy Ten Inch Shell in State School Literary Contest Miss Nora Kinder daughter of Mrs. Willie Kinder of this place was on Monday awarded the ten inch shell given by the navy recruiting office to the school boy or girl writing the best essay on "The Navy as an Educational Institution." Miss Kinder's essay was selected from a number of arti/>lac Kv the hnaiv) nf illHcvt; And she will be given the shell, to be retained by the school she represents as a permanent souvenir. The shell won by Miss Kinder is the kind used by United States' cruisers in target practice and weighs approximately 500 pounds. It has been on exhibit at the navy recruiting office in Columbia for several weeks. The essay contest was inaugurated in January by Lieut. Commander A. B. j Anderson, in charge of recruiting in South Carolina, and was brought to 1 a close February "5. All the essays were gone over by Lieutenant Commander Anderson and then turned over to Prof. George A. Wauchope, j head of the department of English at; the University of South Carolina, and! Prof. George McCutchen, head of thej department of economics, who awarded the shell to Miss Kinder. Commander Anderson and the two professors were very much pleased with the es-. says submitted. The following students submitted j excellent essays and deserve honora- j ble mention: Edna Tiller, Camden' high school; Alma Davis, Bishopeville ; high school; Jno. Lang-ford, Prosperi-; ty high school; J. Ellis Craps, Brook-' land high school; Ruth Carter, Sum- j merville high school; Jennie E. Bos-! tick, Beaufort high school; Laura j Youngblood, St Matthews high school;' Edna Dawsey, Burroughs high school; j Claire Taylor, Ridgeland high school; Julius Covington, Cheraw high school;! B. G. Robinson, Spartanburg high school; Clarice Dillard, Whitmire' high school, and Lucile Smith, Ridgej Spring high school. , o i Williamsburg Farmers And The Boll Weevil The last issue of the Clemson Week-4 Iv News to reach our desk contains ~ { the following, which is of interest to local farmers: "As planting time draws near," says County Agent T. M. Cathcart of Williamsburg County, there is an in crease in the number of farmers that call on me for advice about the boll; weevil and the amount of cotton they should plant. The farmers of the county know that they have th^ weevil to, contend with, as is illustrated by this 1 further quotation from the agent: 1 "Mr. W. D. Daniel says that he went into his fields recently to see if the cold weather recently had killed the boll weevils and he found from, me to six live weevils in every cockleburr bush that he pulled up." As specific examples of farmers who are playing safe against the weetil he mentions LeRoy Catcs and J.I M. Martin who have worked out with ! the County Agent's aid the following cropping scheme for a three-horse! farm: Cotton 14 acres, tobacco 11 acres, beans 5 acres, peanuts 3 acres,; sweet potatoes 3 acres, Irish potatoes I acre, sorghum 1 acre, corn 30'? acres. "If I could get every farmer in the | county to diversify as these two men ; are doing," adds the County Agent, j 14 k^ll .MAAtn'l u'Aill/ln't Kurt us ! lilt? UVII ?VCt? II nuuiun v v ?- , much next year." ? o LANE TO HEAD S. A. DRIVE Former Secretary of The Interior. Heartily Accepts Chairmanship ; * * Franklin K. Lane, who recently resigned as Secretary of the Interior, has accepted the National Chairmanship of the Salvation Army's ten-day drive for home service funds to start j May 10. In his letter of acceptance to j Commander Evangeline Booth Mr. j Lane said in part: "In all our thoughts for other peo-1 pies, we may not rightfully forget I those on our streets. To all these and j more, tne saivauon Army speaas words that are healing to the spirit, holds out a supporting "hand and spirits them on their way upwardout of the slough of despondency. If we were not all intended to do this kind of work, then I believe the teaching of nineteen hundred years has been in vain." I BIG DRAINAGE PROJECT FOR WILLIAMSBURG COUNTY Kingstree Swamp Drainage District to Be Surveyed At Once For Canals Much has been said and heard recently about land drainage, and a I great deal of this splendid work has already been done in Williamsburg } county, but there still are many ' thousands of acres of swamp land ; that may at little expense be convertj ed into the most fertile garden spots. ' The section known as the Kingstree J Swamp Drainage District, extending from Olanta, in Florence county, to ' Kingstree, a distance of twenty-one ; miles and embracing an area of about j 40,000 acres, having its water shed at I Moore's X-Roads, in this county, is perhaps the largest single district in the county at all subject to reclama| tion by drainage. There has been a movement on foot for several years to get the land owners in this district together in an agreement to undertake the work of j draining this splendid section .of country. Finally they have been able 1 to see the great benefits in the way of 1 enhancing the walue of their lands, that a system of drainage canals ( through the territory would provide, and last week Mr. P. G. Gourdin was ' employed to make the necessary survey. The property owners have at 1 last gotten together and decided upon 1 a ways and means of carrying out the great undertaking, and enough money to complete the survey has been 1 planked down by them and is now in bank. Kelley and Hinds attorneys have 1 been retained to look after any legal 1 phases that may bob up as a stumbling block in the way this forward 1 movement by the people of the district who are willing to spend their ] money toward it's accomplishment. The district will be bonded as pro- ' vided for under the Drainage Act The bonds will be issued to run over ( a period of fifteen to twenty years ^ anil the property owners benefited by the drainage system will pay a nominal sum per acre each year just * as he now pays his taxes, and the land that is now worthless for practical purposes will increase in value ten fold. Mr. Gourdin will start a survey on the work with several crews of engineers about the first of March. The main channel of the canal will follow the valley or low lying swamp section from Mimm's X Roads, near Olanta, and terminate in Black river at Broad Swamp. The main ditch or canal will be twenty-one miles long, while forty-four miles of laterals will be run through the 40,000 acres of swamp territory embraced in the Kingstree Swamp Drainage district including valuable lands around Cades and in the Sandy Bay section. ????o W. S. Camlin Dead. Mr. W. S. Camlin a well known citizen of the East Andrews section, died at his home Monday night from dou- * ble pneumonia following an attack of the flu. He was buried in the old fami- 4 ly burying ground in the Earles 1 neighborhood Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Camlin was for a number of f years magistrate in the Andrews and Trio section. He was a man of fine in- . telligence, tho' never had the advantage of an education. He is survived ^ by his wife and several children, also ? a number of brothers and sisters. ? Some years ago he was a regular ^ correspondent of The County Record from his community. He was probably 65 years of age. . o??? 1 s Mrs. Ervin Passes Away t I Mrs. Gotea Wilson Ervin, widow of s the late L. Nelson Ervin died at her t home Sunday afternoon, February i 15th. Interment was made in the cemetery of the Indiantown Presby- i terian church Monday afternoon in t Al- ?? ffofKonno" nf * me preseutc ui a taigc ? t relatives and friends. r Mrs. Ervin was one of the best i known and generally beloved women t of the Indiantown community. She was a daughter of the late Mrs. Jane x Witherspoon Wilson, and was born < reared at Indiantown. Early in life she identified herself with the now famous old church at that place and remained a devout member of its large congregation throughout her i life. , The deceased has a large family connection in Williamsburg, and an 1 only surviving sister, Mrs. Frank E. , Taylor of Charleston. She leaves several children, Misses Annie and Jane < Ervin, Rev. Clarendon Ervin of North ( Carolina; Messrs. Robert and Samuel . Ervin of this county. J FIX SALARY AT $400 FOR LEGISLATORS Increase For Officials Decided Upon After Considerable Debate in The Senate Chamber It is the almost unanimous expression of Senators that adjournment sine die of the 1920 session is practically impossible of accomplishment within the constitutional forty days. The Senate indicated that it would like to adjourn, but with the appropriation and supply bills still imprinted and the time necessary for these and the good roads bill that adjournment was almost impossible before the middle of the week ending February 28. The House is thinking of fixing February as the final date. With these measures on the House side it was agreed when the Senate adjourned Friday, that it would not meet again until Monday night at 8:30 o'clock. The debate on the recess resolution brought out Senator Clifton's doubt about the passage of any good roads bill at this session. He hoped that something might be done but had his doubts. Senator Johnstone, of Newberry, expressed the sincere hope that a worthwhile good roads bill would be enacted and he thought it would be. The Senate is apparently waiting en the House to show its disposition en the joint committee road bill. Last year the Senate passed a bill and it went to slumberland on the House 3ide; hence probably the wait The two Houses had agreed to hold the Ieceion for warehouse commissioner at high noon Friday. The election was not held. The current of talk was that certain of the candidates thought their chances of election would be enhanced if members had a word from home on the week end visits. Whatever may have been the oc:asion the Senate asked to recall its acquiescence in the resolution fixing that day for the election. No time was ixed; all that was done was to countermand the election. Senator Pearce wanted the salary >f the Chief Game Warden raised to ?3,500 and Chairman of the Tax Comnission to $4,000 and Superintendent >f the Penitentiary to *4,000, These! particular officers were not included n the salary bill previously adopted >y the Senate. Senators Johnstone ind Pearce thought these unintentionU omissions as the disposition was to nakes increases, all along the line. I Mr. Pearce's amendment was adoptid 26 to 7. Senator Young again argued in j 'avor of his amendment providing aj lat salary of $500 for members of the , Jouse and Senate instead of $10 per liem as in the proposed bill. The Senate agreed to the $10 per 1 liem instead of the annual basis, but , iter heeded the $400 view of Mr. , Clifton who wanted a fixed $400 limt The Senate finally agreed to Mr. i Clifton's view fixing the salary at | >400 for members of the House and | senate. This does not apply to present i nembers. , The Senate took up the Purdy bill j o license hunting club lands. 1 Senator Young, of Charleston, was i ihsnintplv oDDOsed to the bill and the i dea. He thought the whole tendancy 1 >f the bill was wrong. It was wrong , n its legal and moral views. ] Senators Sheppard and Friday said he advocates of the bill should first f mswer Mr. Walker's, arguments , igainst the constitutionality of the 1 >ill before asking the Senate to pass ] he bill. Senator Purdy said the Supreme 3ourt has declined to pass on the con- < ititutionality of the bill. It was clear j o him that the bill came under the jolice power of the State. The bill itates that it is against public publicy 0 hold such large holdings away J rom agricultural purposes. Senator Clifton moved an amendnent that the lands in question should >e "available" for agricultural pur>oses. He thought the bill could be nade constitutional. No set of idle ich should be allowed to tie up the 1 " ' Wo nrn. rura ox an euuic wuuu;. Uv r.*sted against the idle rich regardless >f their origin. o Please consider this our personal ' nvitation for you to attend this Advance Showing of the New Spring Styles, for Men and Young Men. The ( voolens to be displayed in full length lrapes. PEOPLE'S MERCANTILE [70., Thursday, Friday and Saturday, February 26, 27 and 28. I 1 BILL FOR BRIDGING SAME RIVER. PRESENTED TO SENATE YESTERDAY BY DELEGATIONS FROM THREE COUNTIES Columbia, Feb. 18.?The Santee bridge bill was presented today. It provides: Section 1. That from and after the passage of this act any two or more counties of this State desiring to construct a bridge or bridges across any of the streams of the State whether contiguous to said counties or not, are hereby authorized and empowered to enter into a combination and form a bridge district. Section 2. That the counties of Berkeley, Charleston and Williamsburg, are hereby formed into a bridge district to be known as the San tee bridge district and such district, when so formed is hereby authorized and empowered to issue coupon bonds in the total amount of five hundred thousand dollars payable twenty years after the date thereof, with inter^t payable semi-annually, at 5 per cent, per annum, in denominations of one , thousand and five hundred dollars respectively. Section 3. That such bonds shall be signed b> the supervisor of the three named counties and shall be an obligation of said counties. Section 4. That a commission consisting of seven members, three of ...L- .L^ll 1- - ^ t. -1J -M it.^ wagm snail oe ireenuiuers gi me county of Charleston, two of whom shall be freeholders of the county of Berkeley, two of whom shall be freeholders of the county of Williamsburg and who shall be appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the delegation of the respective counties is hereby constituted, to whom the said bonds shall be delivered and who are hereby authorized and empowered to sell the said bonds to the highest bidder for cash, after advertising for sealed bids, reserving the right to c reject any bid, and to use the proceeds in the construction of a bridge and its approaches across the San tee river, between the counties of Berkeley and Williamsburg at or near Murray's Perry; the exact location to her determined by the said commission after consulting with the State Highiwatf Pwwi/lnrl Tliof fhp yycky vviauuooivu. a ivtiuvu^ au??v ?uw State Highway'Commission shall provide funds to pay at least one-half a the cost of said bridge and its ap proaches and all engineering work necessary. Section 5. That said bridge shall be constructed under the supervision of the State Highway Commission, and when constructed shall be turned over to the State Highway Commission as a part of the State Highway Commission system. Section 6. That the several auditors of the respective counties, as soon as the said bonds are issued, are hereby empowered and required to levy a tax on all property returned for taxation in the respective counties sufficient to pay the said bonds at maturity, according to amortization table to be furnished by the ComptrollerOeneral. The levy to be made here under shall be the same in each county, the resources of each county to be considered pooled for the purpose of raising funds for this purpose. Section 7. That the bonds so issued shall be an obligation of the respective counties in proportion to the assessed tax value in each county and shall be known as the Santee Bridge District Bonds. Section 8. This act shall take effect immediately upon its approval by the Governor. o Over 10,000 discharged, disabled soldiers were undergoing treatment \ in Public Health Service hospitals, or under contract with private hospitals, during January, according to tabulated returns. The number of applicant for treatment under the War Risk Act is constantly in creasing, as the men become familiar with the fact that they are entitled to free treatment. o Please consider this our personal invitation for you to attend this Advance Showing of the New Spring Styles, for Men and Young Men. The woolens to be displayed in full length drapes. PEOPLE'S MERCANTILE CO., Thursday, Friday and Saturday, February 26, 27 and 28. o 500 prs. Oxfords at price at the Sample Store. 2-12-3t