University of South Carolina Libraries
m ti n an THE SUMTES WATCHMAN, Established April, IS50. "Be Just and Fear not-Let all the Ends thou Aims't at, be thy Country's, thy God's and Truth's." . THE TRUE SOUTHRON, Established Jene, 1266 Consolidated Aug. 2,1881. SUMTER, S. C., WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1896. New Series-Vol. XVI. So. ll 1 %\)t Wi?kfam I? JWjnm Published Erery Tffednosday, -BY JN\ Gk O&teen, SUMTER, S. a TERMS : ?1.50 per annum-in advance. ADVERTISEMENT: y - One Square first insertion..-..Si 00 Bvery subs?quent insertionM. 50 Contracts for three - months, or longer will be made at reduced rates. All communications which subserve private 'interests will be charged foras advertisements. Obituaries and tributes of respect will be charged for. s. _ At the End of Its Row. The State Board of Control Abandons the Job.. ?__^ The' State board of control is still pegging away at its regalar monthly routine business Yesterday morning, however, it found tiujae "to receive the _ report of Messrs. Williams and Wes? ton, who were seat on during the recess to Cincinnati to look into matters bear? ing on the rebate business This re? port was received and received some discussion. The board practically de? cided at the morning session what it weald do so far as any farther investi? gation is onoeroed, bat took no officiai action, preferring, it is uoderstood, to await the arrival of,Mr. Allen. Dur? ing the morning, however, the board decided to make public the report pre? sented by these gentlemen, and it was tamed over to the representatives of the press. Io the afternoon the board brought, ap the matter of the investigation again, and took ! final action in regard ?hereto in the shape of the following resolution, which was adopted and at OB oe made public : ''This board of control, on account of the many rumors affecting the integ? rity of the management of the business of the State dispensary before the pres? ent board took charge of its affaairs, deemed it proper to enter apon an in? vestigation of the troth of soon rumors so far as they affect employees of the institution. This investigaren has been made as thorough and as search? ing as possible io view of the limited extent of the power and authority of this board. "During the investigation tba board .has received s ia; ern eu ts, under oath, of all persons and all officiais who appear? ed before it. A joint committee, com? posed of one member of the board and one member of the legislative examin? ing committee, was sent to che oily of Atlanta and city of Cincinnati to inves? tigate the basiccss transactions between firms who bave sold liquors to the State and the officials of the State dispensary ander the former-act of the legislature. The report of this joint committee has been made. The hearing before this board was held with open doors, and the testimony bas been published in the daily newspapers for the information of the public. It is the sense of this board that at the proper time the gen? eral assembly shall be folly apprised of the disadvantages under which ibis in? vestigation was made, that they may take such steps as may be deemed ad? visable. *'Tbe evidence that bas beeo taken is, in the opinion of this board, insuffi? cient to show that any officer or em? ployee of-the State dispensary has re? ceived rebates or commissions on sales to the dispensary, or to trace any money so received to the personal pos? session of any snob effioer or employee, or to prove that any such officer or employee has participated in sooh re? bates or commissions " TUE C-MMITTEE'S REPORT. Here is the report of the official com? mittee sent to Cincinnati: COLUMBIA, S. C , Oct. 7, 1896. To the State Board of Control : Wc, yoar committee appointed at your last meeting to go to Atlanta and Cincinnati to collect evidence against dispensary officials, if any there is, tending to show that rebates were im? properly reoeived, report : That we weut to Atlant, Ga., and there foaud fhat it was impossible to recover a damagiug telegram said to have been sent from lhere to Commis? sioner Mixsco by bis son in July, '95, as under the rale? ot the company, which is that all matter over six months old bas been destroyed, if ever in exist? an ce. _ That we theo proceeded to Ciocin nati, and as a result present herewith a statement from the Peebles and Live Oak companies, who have been charged with paying rebates, which deserves but Ht:le comment at cur hands. The offi? cers and employees of those companies refused to discuss any of these matters with ns except through tbeimey ; they refused tc allow a stenographic report ? of our interview with them, and re? fused to be bound by any verbal state? ment they might make. Their written statement amounts to little else than an advertisement for themselves, and without charging any? body with wroog-doing, we respectfully suggest that the legislature is the OG power iu this State with sufficient a thority to grapple with this matter ai expose damaging facts it any exist. While in Cincinnati we approach other parties who had had dealings wi the dispensary, bat with uneatt*facto resalta. (Signed) L. J. Williams, Of the Board of Control. (Signed) Francis H. Weston, Of the Legislative Committee. TUE WHISKEY MEN* S LETTER. The following letter is the princip one of those referred tc in the report (Diet.) CINCINNATI, Sept. 25, 1896 Mes8as. Williams and Westoo, Cos tnittee of investigation, Columbi S. C : Gentlemeo-As we have made yt assurance that we would investiga all the matters you have made a trip Cincinnati to look inte, we now pn pose to put in writting the result of ot investigations, concerning the affairs i the two undersigned companies with tl State of South Carolina We are promp ed to do this with a full appreciation i the importance of your visit, and wit full knowlege that the people of Sout Carolina, through their properly cc? stituted officials, are now investigatin the conduct of some of the State ofi cials with a view of getting at cxai justice, and right and truth. We write this statement with th hope that you will fully understand tb position of our two oompanies for fa dealing and honesty. The Joseph E Peebles Sons Co. (undersigned), ha been in business for 56 years. It ha grown to be a targe private corporator with a capital stock as i arge as most 0 tho large banks, and irs affairs ar managed by a board of directors. The Live Oak Distillery Co., is similar private'eopor' tioo, operated un der the management of a board direc Hors, all of whom are gentlemeo of in tegrity and high business reputation i this community. Both of. these con ceros have au aggregate capital' of fou hundred thousand dollars (400,000 paid io, and have io their employ ove 125 people. Of this number moro thai one half are sales people. Our busi ness relations with the State dispensar; of South Carolina bas passed tbrougl the hands of a number of these people Now, gentleman, we propose to sa; to you, and through you to the peopl of South Carolina, that if anything tba is even slightly dishonest or taintei witb corruption bas been indulged ii by anyvconnivance of aoy employee ao< any efficial of the State cf South Caro l??a, we only wish to know who it is,, a we caa cot tolerate aoy such conduct ot the.part of any one connected with ou business, whether io your State or ani other State We are.aware of the.fact that th< southern States have been industrious ly drummed by a line of commeroia travellere, some of whom are irrespoosi ble. We are fully convinced of tbi? fact; that no responsible ? establish meo eau do a large business through travel Hog salesmen without having imitators and without haviog their reputation as sailed at some {?me or other. The undersigned '.wo companies bav( beth been successful and have sold tc the Stace,of South Carolina large quan? tities of high grade goods; uniformly al the lowest prices consistent with quality We claim, without exception, f hat we have sold the State of South Carolina at the very lowest margin at which we could afford to sell. If, in connection with this business and the desire to re tain it, any one of the salesmen or em? ployees or commissioo agents or brokers of the undersigned companies have made any mistakes we . wish i you gentlemen to consider that we have j to be a little charitable with our em? ployees, who are pushing the sale ol our goods, with as high a degree o? responsibility provided they act honor? ably in all their dealings with our cus? tomers, and do not misrepresent the quality of our goods. A committee of our board bas now advised that one of the members of the company, who is also a lawyer, give a thorough investigation to a great many of the matters we have from time to time learned from the South Caioiina newspapers. We have ascertained the fact that Mr. Yost, who is one of ibo southern managers of the Live Oak Distillery company, did have persona! icterviews OD one or two occasions with James W, Misson, at Cincinnati, Ohio You bave asked us personally to procure any letters Mr. Yost is abie to furnish. We DOW furnish, attached hereto, the two letters that Mr. Yost bas been abie to fiod. ooe dated April 29lb, 1895, from James W. Misson tc our Mr. Yost, and the other dated May 10th, 1S95, to Mr. Yost aud signed b* J. W. Misson. Mr. Yost has also fur? nished us a 'etter from W. T. Misson, dated Dec 10th, 1895. Bath of our two compauies wish to have it distinct? ly understood that these letters were not known of by the other agents of the business, and that Mr. Yost dis? tinctly states that it never occurred to him that any friendly relations that might be established with J. W. Mix son and W. T. Mixson might possibly be coostrued unfavorably by anybody , io the State of South Carolina. You two gentlemen, as a committee, have requested us personally to ask Mr Yost about any interviews he ever bad with either of the sfn^of F M Misson. We have the statement from Mr. Yost, and DOW give it to you-that he saw one of the;e gentlemen on two or three occasions at Cincinnati, Ohio, and the other one possibly as many times at Ciocinoati, Ohio. That with? out any thought as to any possible con? struction that might be placed upon it, ?and in entire ionoccnce as to any im J proper suggestions be did consent to gi7e a small brokerage commission to said two. gentlemen. That each of j said gentlemen approached him. We have the assurance of Mr. Yost that in neither of the interviews with either of the sons of F. M. Mixsou did they promise or asBuro him that they would solicit business from their father. Mr Yost also states that he was led to believe from conversations with others whose Lames he cannot recall that the business as conducted io the State of South Carolioa enabled the different dis? pensers to call for the particular brands of goods they wanted or that there was a demaod for; that these demaods of the various county dispensaries controlled the orders given by the main dispensary. Therefore, as the Live Oak Distillery Co. and the Joseph R. Peebles Sons' Co. bad already established the scale of prices at which they were to sell the goods, and as the suggestion made by W. T. Mixson bad nothing to do with a change of these prices Mr?. Yost thought tbat by having brokers in the field to assist iii creating a demand for the liquors er popularizing certain brands there would be no injustice to the State of South Carolina, even if said brokers were related to the com? missioner. Upon the above theory th* under? signed company feel very well assured that we are right in exonerating Mr. Yost, one of our representatives from any wrong intention or disposition to? ward the State of South Carolina or from any attempted corruption or bribery We now state to you gentlemen the fact and assure yon of its accuracy that I the prices at which our goods were sold to the Stale of South Carolioa were I from ? to 20 per cent, less for the same ! grades as sold by us to other large buyers throughout the United States. Your committee bas asked these com? panies the questions in categorical form as to whether either of the undersign? ed companies have directly made to any officer of the South Carolina dispensary, any rebates, premiums", commissios, drawacks, or other valuable considera? tions, since theise companies have dealt with the State of South Carolina up to the present timss. Now, with tte exception of pocket knives and other little advertising de? vice, which we send freely to any cus? tomer anywhere in the country--we an? swer NO. We regret the absence from Ciooin nati oo account of illness of our Mr. Jos. F. Peebles. We cannot disturb Mr. Peebles during his illness. But if there are any other points which you desire to have covered in corres? pondence if you will address the letter to either of the undersigned companies at Cincinnati you will receive frank, full and complete answers. Before closing this letter we wish to say to you, and through you to the gen tlemen in South Carolina whom you represent, that we appreciate the force of the request that you made viz.: that you will be furnished with a stenographer and be allowed to ques? tion and take down in shorthand the conversation,questions and answers made on your present visit and investigation at Ciucinoati, Ohio. Varions m.-mbers of the undersigned companies,and io fact all the gentlemen you have personal!? met. were quire wiiliog to do this. Bur. we have an attorney who is associated with the business of both companies ?nd it is upon his advice that wc pre? fer to answer these questions io the form we have. As the reputation of both companies is high and we desire to keep it so, we do net desire to have our two companies made responsible forany mistakesio iauguageoraccidental blunders of the stenographers on mat ters that are of the greatest importance to us Besides an investigation that would be inquisitorial in i's o"'\irr- n.?-d touching upon points entirely different I from the matter under discussion would j ruu oo to great length ar;d would be ? tedious and involve the time of our most valuable people In truth we f.-el a great sympathy for the people of South Carolina if they have really been injured by any dis? honest officers an i w.e feel willing and free to help ferret it out to the bottom Now we sincerely hope that justice I will be done to all. We cannot help any irregular investigation or one car? ried on in Cincinnati, that is really without strict authority of law. We hope that cur lotter, written jointly by both ?ompaoios, will be re? ceived in the fair spirit in which it is offered Respectfully suboiitted, Thc Live Oak Distillery Co , Tbo8. L. Lisnoden, Sec. The Jos. R Peebles Sons' Co., H. L. Peebles, Sec. aud Treas. Mixsoii. Has Resigned. To-morrow ; Evening ne Ceases to be Commissioner. After al! there have been two very surprising things to develop from the recent dispensary investigation, and the action of the State board of con? trol as published yesterday morning. In the first place State Commissioner Mixsor h?.s resigned his position and his duties will cease to-morrow. This is a complete surprise to. even Col. Mixson's friends. The other matter is the determination of the State board of control to leave the Mill Creek and Peebles concerns out ofitwhenit comes to purchasing liquors for the dispensary "lt was noised around yesterday morning that Commissioner Mixson had determined to hand in his resig? nation, inasmuch as the board's reso? lution had cleared him of all wrong? doing. No "amount of questioning could bring any light to bsar on the matter. Several members of the board, when questioned, denied flat? ly that the board had requested the resignation, and Col Mixson himself, when asked if this were true, denied it almost as emphatically. He declin? ed to say whether he would resign or not Things rocked along through the day, newspaper men being con? stantly on the lookout for some de? velopment, but no resignation was forthcoming. During the morning Col Mixson was summoned before the board of coutrol and found Gov? ernor Evans already present. From what can be ascertained this was due to the consideration by the board of the matter of getting Governor Evans to stop the seizures of imported liquors by the constabulary, Mixson it seems, was called in to make a statement as to the extent of. such seizures by the constables. What the upshot of the matter was is of course unknown. It was about 6:30 o'clock yester? day afternoon when Col Mixson sent to the board hie resignation in the shape of the following letter, which gives his reasons for his action: Colombia, 5. C., Oct. 8, 1896 To the State Board of Control: It has been my desire for some months to resign my position as State commissioner, but on account of the many rumors and slanderous reports iu circulation I could not af? ford to do so, preferring to wait an investigation by your honorable board You have conducted this in? vestigation and have exonerated me fully from any wrong-doing, and I now tender you this my resignation, to take effect as soon as you gentle? men can name my successor, or in any other manner relieve me of the duties. I would be glad to have you aot at as early a time as you possibly can, but I do not wish to embarrass you nor the business in causing you to act hastily. Yery respectfully, (Signed) F. M MIXSON. Shortly afterwards the State board of control took a recess until this morning After the doors were opened it was ascertained that the board had accepted the resignation of Commissioner Mixson, to take effect at 6 o'clock tomorrow even? ing One of the members of the members of the board, when asked what the l/oard would do about elect ing Col- Mixson'8 successor, stated that the b^ard had not acted in re? gard to th .atter as yet, but that it would makv proper provision for !he conduct o? the business of the dis pensary until the place could be Siled. liuw the board wiU overcome the features of the law affecting the con duct of the business in case of the commissioner's resignation, which were pointed out in Thy Stale a few days ago, remain to be seen. Those features of the law were called to the attention of The Stott? by an attor? ney of some note. It is understood that- the attorney general's ofSce holds different views, however, and is of the opinion that the provisions of the lav/ quoted do net apply to the matter ;n il.o -\'v.y p< in?ed oui The board, ii is said, considers itself tree to go ahead and select a succesor to Col. Mixson The board was busy yesterday willi its monthly purchases of whis? key. Most of the purchases were made, but no information in regard thereto was given for the public, ex? cept that no orders were given to the Peebles and Live Oak companies. The board has determined not to make public henceforth the names of the parties from whom liquors were purchased and the amounts that were purchased. This information will be withheld in the future. Mr. Allen, the member of the board whose church intimated that it wanted his resignation as a memer of the board, was present yesterday. Ile will very h'Kely have something to say about the matter ta-day. Mr. White of Cincinnati is still here. Ile had refused to make a statement in regard to the rebate question in Cincinnati, he was here now and had come here for the pur? pose of becoming a witness Ile has not yet gone before the board, however. Ile will probably give a statement to i he press to day in re? gard to the scandal, inasmuch as his name was 60 frequently brought in by the several witnesses -The State, October 9. -^^-???>-- - J. T. Gaston Elected. He has Been Appointed Chief Bar-Keeper of the State Pro. Tem. Frc-'B The] State; October 10. When the State dispensary opens up for business on Monday morning next Commissioner Mixson will be a private citizen, supposedly in search of a job like many others, and Super? intendent John T. Gaston will be acting in the capacity of commis? sioner pro tem in accordance with the final action taken by the State board of control last evening after an all day session. What was said and done at thi" session is of course supposed to be known only to the members of the board On the out? side, it is understood that a pretty lively morning session was held From what can be ascertained there was much doubt as to what was the best thing to do. The merabere of the board, it is said, were divided in their opinions as to what was best. When the board finally adjourned last evening, announcing that it would hold another brief session this morning, the following resolutions were given to the press : Resolved, That as F. M. Mixson, State commissioner, has tendered bis resignation and it has been accepted and further time is required to make a judicious selection, it is the sense of this board that no appointment of his successor be made at this time, but that some person be desig de8ignated to act as State commis? sioner and to discharge the duties of the ofBce^mlil such appointment is made. Resolved, further, That John T Gaston is hereby selected and desig? nated to act as State commission and discbarge the duties of the of?ce at a compensation to be flexed by the board until the appointment of the mccessor of F. M Mixson be made This of course settled the matter, but does not end the speculation as to who will be made State commis? sioner to succeed Colonel Mixson There is some talk of Mr. / daffy, of Orangeburg county, being given the position If there are any applica? tions on file the board has not yet made public anything about them. But then the board keeps most things to itself. The attorney gen eral's office yesterday gave the board an opinion as to its powers in the matter of Colonel Mixson's resigna? tion. This opinion, a member of the board, said left the body free to act aa it saw fit. There has been some speculation as to what Colonel Mixson proposes to do in the future. He was asked about it yesterday. He said he had no $5,000 jobs nor general agencies of emigration societies offered him as Governor Evans had, but he was sure of one thing and that was that he would make a living ; that was all Colonel Mixson could be induced to say on the subject. MR. ALLEN RESIGNS. ! Last evening Mr Allen of the j board of control sent his resignation as a member of that body to Govern? or Evans and it was promptly accept? ed. Nothing is yet known as to who Governor Evans will select to succeed Mr. Allen He will probably take his time in making the appointment Mr. Allen gives the action ot his cnurch, which bas been given The State, as the reason for his resigna? tion. Mr. Allen's letter of resignation reads as follows : COLUMBIA, S. C , Oct. S, 1896. To His Excellency, John Gary Evans, Governor of Soutb Carolina. Sir : I hereby tender you iv.y res- ? ignation as i member of the State ! board of control and respectfully ask ! its immediate acceptance. Very respectfully. T. M. Alien ! Croup Quickly Cured. Mountain Glen, Ark.-Our children were suftV'rinnr with croup when we received :i bottie of Chamberlain's Cough Remedy, li afforded almost instant relief.- F. A. Thornton. This celebrated remedy ?3 for sale t>y Dr. A J. Cbina. Highest cf ail in Leavening Pow Du laurier Dead. _ LONDON, Oct 8 -George Du Mau rier, the artist and author, who has been suffering for sometime with heart and lung troubles, died at 2:30 o'clock this morning. His death was peaceful. The physicians who attended Du Manner announce that his heart has been weak"forTyears and that a 4fort night ago this affection became ag^ gravated by a chill, the effects of which settled upon his lungs. The voluminous obituary notices published in the London papers make no allusion to bis alleged remarks to a friend that populrity had killed him, and there is every reason to believe that be never so expressed himself. George Liwis Palmella Du Mau rier, artist and author, was born in Paris, March 6 1834, and was educa? ted in that city, but was a British subject. His grandparents on his father's side were emigrants from France during the Reign Of Terror. He went to Eogland at the age of 17 and studied chemistry under Dr. Williamson at University college, London. Afterward he studied painting in Paris under the famous M. Gleyere, aiso in Antwerp and Dusseldorf. He first began to draw on wood in England for Once a Week; afterward for Punch and The Cornhill Magazine, and subsequently he joined The Punch staff. Since that time his work in drawings made him one of the best known and most admired of contemporary artists and satirists. Mr. Du Maurier illustrated Esmond, "The Story of a Feather/' "Thack? eray's Ballards'* and many other books He was an Associate of the Royal Society of painters in water? colors. A special exhibition of his works was held at the rooms of the Fine Art Society in 1895. In 1891 Mr Du Maurier published a novel, "Peter Ibbetscn,"" in Har? pers Magazine, and 1894 his novel, "Trilby," appeared. The opening pages of h;s latest work, "The Martian," appeared in the October number of Harper's Mag? azine. Mr. Du Maurier has lectured occa sionly on subjects connected with his work as an artist A Visit to the State Farm. Last Friday afternoon we had the pleasure of driving out to the State farm. This is a tract of 138 acres bought by the State for the use of Winthrop College. An immense barn is in course of erection out lhere. . It is 130 feet long, 40 feet wide and 2 1-2 stories high, propba bly the largest of its kind in tbe up country. The lower floor will be used for keeping stock, while the upper floors are for storage The whole is well ventilated. The paint? ers are at work on it now. The damage which it received from thc recent storm- has all been repaired. Driving along we noticed quanti? ties of beets, turnips, carriots, as? paragus and such vegetable being raised for the table at Winthrop. There is a large field of strawberry plants growing nicely. At the dairy 18 cows are being milked daily. We saw an effectual way of managing fractions animals. One man holds the head, another holds the right foot tied with a strong rope, while a third does the milking. A rather primitive method, but it answers the purpose. Convict labor is employed to a great extent on the farm. There is also a large orchard of about 800 yooung apple, peach and pear trees growing nicely The swill from the college is.used to fatten a lot of healthy porkers. This is not a farn *"on paper," but is being run practically and economi? cally, though on an extensive scale. Rock Hill Herald. A Valuable Prese rf pt iou. Editor Morrison o- Worthington, Ind., "Sun," "Y?m h*ive a valuable pre?er?p;i< r, in Eiecttic Bitters, ata! 1 can ch?erfu?ly reeoai tuend it l'or C^nstipatkn ar l Sick Headache, and :is a genera! system tonic it has nu equal." Mrs. Annie Steele, 2025 C >r.ug? Grove Ave. Chicago, was ?ill run dGwn, c uld not cat nor digest food, had a backache which never left her and felt tired and weary, but .'ix bettles of Electric Bitters restored her health ar.d renewed her strength, Prices 50 cent^and $1.(0. Get. a :J .'.tie at J. F. W. DeLorme's brug itorc. cr.-Latest U. S. Gov't Report king , Powder ??X TORE