The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, January 20, 1897, Image 3
PITHY AND BOINTED.
Mr. Ehame's Reply to Criticism
Mr Editor : I see that Mr Sanders I.?3
been spilling ink instead of gore about me.
and I most say a few words. I hardly think
that he means all that be says or implies in bis
letter, becaosa I take it for granted that he
has common sense, and therefore be ost
know that nothing which I wrote should ne
twisted or distorted into any defence of
Cooper. He deserved all the panishm?nt his
physical frame could endure. But I feel
sorry and ashamed for our people-for those
who were trying to rival Cooper in brutality.
If those who criticiae me for opposing mur?
der by 'ynching, cannot?distinguish between
opposition to lawlessness and sympathy with
criminal-well so much the worse ,fo them.
1 am sorry for their stupidity or malice
whichever it may be. I believe murder,
whether ^committed by a fiend incarnate,
^such a9 Cooper was, or by a mob. such as
krtled Cooper, to be a grave crime. We hare
high authority for soch an opinion. God so
^pronounced it from Sinai ; and the beat and
wisest men of world, .those who have been
engaged century after century in building np
the frame work of society and adjusting laws
for the government of mankind, bow in
humble submission to the Almighty's fiat.
Mr. Sanders and bis friends think differently.
Both the Bible and the constitutions of all
civilized countries must give way when they
come in contact with opinions of a mob ; of
a mob that is to act as judge, jury and exe?
cutioner. Of course my critic thinks tbat
i this excited, furious and passionate crowd is
eminently fitted for such important duties.
I have not attempted to aaswer Mr. San?
ders' letter. It is a remarkable document,
bat I am too busy to take the time, even if I
bad toe ability, to explain assumptions, cer?
tainly not from wbat I said, but from Mr.
Sanders' fertile brain.
I have no quarrel with those who do not
agree with my ideas, but I deeply regret that
SO macy whom I have ev?ry reason to be?
lieve are good men, should in this closing
lustrum of the nineteenth century go back to
the primeval methods of barbarism in pun?
ishing crime. . W. F. RHAME
WHAT COL. RHAME THINKS.
More Opinions Concerning the
Lynching of Simon Cooper.
Mr. Editor: Io the Item of the 8tb inst.,
yon say, among other things, that 1 'the kill?
ing of Cooper adds but another to the list of
horrors that have occurred in Sumter County
this week." Io the Item of the 11th, you
say. along with many other things, that "it
(Cooper's killing) was Inst for blood, noth?
ing more nor less/' that it was "tigerish, not
human; savagery, not civilization ; crime,
not respect for enforcement of law; bliad and
irresponsible slaughter, not justice." Yon
say also "that the spirit tbat prompted the
mob that committed this bloody outrage
against law and civilizatioa was an outcrop?
ping of the identical latent savage instinct,
present in most men, that possessed Simon
Cooper himself when he slaughtered those
who crossed bis path."
No wonder, therefore, that you declare, in
the same issue, that the citizens who attended .
the Magnolia anas meeting' ''should hate
made haste to clear themselves of the im pu
tation that thev proposed committing the :
crowning act of savagery" by "burning the
mangled remains of Cooper, had the body
been sent to Magnolia." I can only quote a
very small part of what you have bad to
say in the Item on the subject of Cooper's
butcheries and his death at the bands of the
Citizens of Sumter Cocnty, but your utter- ]
anees in print are all before the public, have j
been read, and re-read perhaps, and I only |
quote here some of the worst things you have ?
said about your fellow-citizens. It does not j
require any effort of the mind to find the log- i
leal conclusion, necessarily deducible from ,
what you have said, takiog into considera?
tion everything good, bad and indifferent.
What you have said means simply this,
That Simon Cooper was "a fiend, a devil in?
carnate witb a tigerish lust for blood, a rav?
isher of female virtue, and richly merited
death"-and that a large uumber of the good
citizens of Sumter County who pot this fiend
and ravisher to death, and a great many f
others from this and other sections who ap- i
proved the killing, and denounced the criti- j
cisms of the Item are aloog in the same cate- ,
gory with" savages, murderers and fiends. (
That they are controlled by the identical sa v- ,
age instincts and lost for blood that possessed ,
Simon Cooper himself, when he committed )
wholesale murder and rape. This, I repeat, ,.
is what yon say sir, of the people of Sumter ,
County-at least many of ths best of them.
Why then, if there is truth in your declara- ,
tiona, should not these fiends be bang? Sure- ,
ly it is not because the Item's editor would ?
have to be both jory and executinner.
Now, sir, since you are so good at discov- |
ering motives (of inst for blood and savagery) j
suppose you explain what motive possessed j
the Item's editor wben.be offered to be one of ,
a party to lynch a colored man m Magnolia
who was only charged with aiding Cooper ,
and helping to keep bim hidden and posted, ,
between the kiliiog of Davis, on January 1st, ,
and the butchery of the Wilsons and Smith '.
on fie J th. You were there, sir, rifle in j
hand, arni you told the writer that burning )
was too good for Coope,r and you distinctly
offered to be one to go from the scene of the j
Wilson murder to Magnolia to lynch the ,
party referred to. How comes it theo when t
others o*ly carry out io part your idea ofv,
inflicting punishment aod death on the mur- ,
derer and "ravisher of female virtue" that
they are such "tigerish savages, lusting for
blood." What wrought this wonderful
change in the Item's editor, that after being
engaged for two days in a chase conducted
by "savages lusting for blood", be became
angelic as soon as the first shot was fired and
ran back to his desk to hurl against others
cbarees which he considered damning, if be- ?
lieved ?
Such reckless and damnable charges ;
against one's neighbors and feilow citizens,
ia view of the fact3 and circumsances, are
unworthy of any brave or truthful man, and
constitute the most mischievous slander ever
uttered against any portion of the citizens of
Sumter county.
In the killing of Cooper no law, human or
divine was violated-save technically hu?an
law
You knew full well, sir, that it was settled,
during the hunt for Cooper, throughout the
State, much less Sumter county, that Cooper
would be at once put to death and never
tried by a regular court. He bad verily been
tried and condemned to death long before he i
was caught, and, as the Item's editor says,
no doubt about his guilt. It was unreasona?
ble in any man or number of men to ask
that Cooper oe carried to jail-it would have j
taken all the troops in the State to guard j
him, and the three gentlemen (brave men j
though they be) wbo undertook to promise
Cooper protection from immediate death did !
not use their judgmect, for they should have
known that it would be impossible to save
his life, without the loss of many other
lives.
You have said that escape was impossible.
That is the veriest stuff". Cooper knew that
longer resistance was out of the question,
and he only parleyed, as is plain, to give a
little time and lay a scheme for getting
among the crowd without being first shot
down, and every circumstance proves beyond
a doubt that be had a plan by which he
hoped to escape, and he stood a good chance.
He came out, not unarmed, according to
agreement with the three gentlemen, (who
ad no right to make such an agreement) but
I armed with pistol and rt?Z)r concealed, and
I refused to be tied. So it is perfectly plain
; to a tty one wt o cares to see, that he meant to
! pick his time hod place on tnr *ay to Sum?
ter, slay some o^e, and, in the confusion
j escape
You owe the people of Sumter county
your nest endeavors from here on to make
amends for the mischief you have done.
Respectfully,
J. A. RHAME.
Magnolia, S. C., Jany. 16, 1897.
The above article calls for but brief notice,
since Col. Rbame, alone with some others,
CHonoror will oot comprehend the position
of the editor of this paper io reference to the
killing of Simon Cooper. We simply con?
demned the manner in which Cooper was
killed, and have not nor do not now offer any
excuse for Coober, for whom burning was too
good. There were tTo stages in the killing
of Cooper, and io everything that bas beeu
'written by tbe editor the dis io ct ion between
the two has been carefully made. First, 'he
shooting of Cooper afier he surrendered and
bad bis bands above his head. This was
not justifiable, but may be excused on the
grouod of uncontrollable passioo and ignor?
ance of the protoise of protection Second,
the banging and shooting at Green Swamp
when tbe negro iwas in i dying condition. It
was this latter act in tbe bloody drama that
was condemned*in tbe language quoted by
Col. Rbame. Not one word do we retract or
regret, for a more bloody, a more useless, a
more cowardly act is not chronicled. If to
hang and mutilate this negro wheo be was
helpless was so honorable and praiseworthy
?s Col. Rbame's remarks would lead one to
believe, why do not those who participated
io it declare themselves and have tb*ir names
placed-on record? Instead, they keep them?
selves unknown.
What motive possessed the editor when he
offered to go with Col. Rhame, when Col.
Rhame came to bim and said that there were
three negroes at Magnolia who were just as
bad as Cooper, bad aided and abetted bim
and needed ''handling V The same motive
tbat possessed him wheo be left his business
and went to Magnolia on the day tbat tbe
Wilsons were killed and the same that pos?
sessed bim when be went to Jake Dargan's
house io pursuit of Simon Cooper : A be?
lief that the community should be protected
against further outrages. Col. Rbame first
suggested tbe Magnolia negroes; and to tbe
best of tbe writer's recollection and belief,
Col. Rhame never once said he wished to
lynch those "colored men in Magnolia who
were only charged (Col. Rhame making the
charge) with aiding Cooper " He merely
wanted to "handle" them, and one gentle?
man with whom th? writer talked proposed
to run tbe negroes out of tbe community
nothing more. If Col. Rhame's memory will
serve bim correctly he will recall that when
a crowd, who were rather over-excited fromja
two free use of liquor, began talking about
killing negroes that be and the writer both
advised against any such rash proceedings.
Col.Rbame'sopinion heretofore has bad some
weight with the wn'er, but iu his present
excited and unreasonable frame of mind his
unjustifiable personal strictures give us no
concern whatever, for we believe that a fuil
knowledge of the facts and calm deliberation
will convice not only him but many other,
of the error of their present position We
have condemned what we deemed unlawful
aod miscbevioos to society, and stating facts
as we saw them them, simply and without
favor, we are content to stand by the record
and let thinking and reasonable men be our *
judges.- ED
Underwriters.
MAGNOLIA, S. C., Jan. 16, 1897.
Mr. Editor: Your criticisms, which refer
to and directly concern us, aloog with a vast
majority of tbe citizens of our county, seem
to us not only to be harsh, bot actually
vicious, therefore, we approve what the fore?
going article by Col. J. A Rhame contains,
Believing that it is within the limits of legiti?
mate criticism. Resoectfully yours,
Jno. M. Miller,
J. S Potts,
F. S. Potts,
J. F. McIntosh,
S. Copeland,
T. N. Griffio.,
It is not known what Mr. John M. Miller,
md the other geotlemeo who underwrite Col.
Rhame'e article, consider the "vicious" por?
tion of our remares concerning the Simon
dooper lynching. If it be the remarks con
?eroing tbe part the Magnolia people took in
the affair, we beg to remiad them tbat the
jaid remarks were made by the Magoolia cor?
respondent of the Columbia Register. If we
were vicious io our attack, it consisted io
ipplyiog a Magnolia man's remarks after tbe
Wilson, murder instead of before. If the
viciousness consisted io printing the rumor
that Cooper'3 body would have been burned
bad it reached Magnolia, theu we have
no excuse to offer, save that Magoolia
men, fresh from tbe scene, gave us the
information, and that since then two Magoo?
lia men have expressed their gratification that
Cooper's body was not sent to Magnolia ;
"for," said they, "while it was not the inten?
tion of some of us to boro it, there were
threats of doing ao, and there is no telling
what might have happened." We do not
?oocede that there was the least viciousness
io any article we have written, and, further?
more, the citizens of Magoolia should recol?
lect that they first attacked the editor of the
[tem. He merely condemned the manner in
which Cooper was killed in. general terms,
md forthwith the people of Magnolia de?
nounced bim. Then we made our defence,
i^d, io doing so, made an exhibit of those
who 60 roundly censured us in a series of
resolutions.-ED
One Other Lynching.
Mr. Editor : ? desire to correct an error you
made in speaking of the-'Cooper Lynching."
You say: "It is a blow to the fair fame of
3nmter County, within whose borders a
lynching never before occurred."
It is cot forgotten by the people of this
ectioc that a lynching "for usual offence"
took place at Pisgah Church three miles from
here some ten years a^o.
Respectfully,
H. E. L. PEEBLE3.
Smithville, S. C., Jan. 17. 1897.
[When writing the sentence quoted by our
esteemed correspondent, Col. Peebles, the
lynching referred to recurred to memory, but
upon inquiry we were assured that the affair
took place in Kershaw county, and that'in
additiou the offender was shot down while
attempting to shoot his pursuers. If these
be the facts, it could not be classeed as a
lynching whether it occurred in Kershaw or
Sumter county. The statement of" Col.
Peebles, however, satis?es us that we were
misinformed.-ED.
-mi:Kl - -cn II.
Lamar Locals.
LAMAR, S. C., Jany. 17, 1897.
Mrs. Maggie Odom, wife of Mr. J. B.
Odom, died on the 16th of pneumouia, and
was buried on the 17th at Newman Swamp
Cemetery. Mrs. Odom leaves a large family
and a host ot friends to mourn her loss.
Presiding Eider E. T Hodges preached at
tbe Methodist church on the 17th. at eight j
o'clock p. m.
There will be an election held at an early
day to decide the question of a dispensary at
this place.
Hon. J. A. Perritt came home from Co?
lumbia on tbe ISth, but will return ia time
for bu8inea3on tbe 18th.
'Wanted For Curiosity and' For
Identification
E'i"or I'ero : No?ioog your mean insinu
ticn, on the 11th ios:*n:, ? E. Keels, S.
Copeh-.d', J. A. Rhatue, T N Griffin, E. M. ,
Beac, J A. B.rr.i ar,d W. D. Gamble, ia j
"mass meeting," do declare that they care j
nothing whatever for the opinion of the i
Item's editor, but they do regard the opinion j
of good people who read the Item. There- |
fore they see proper to say.
1. That they were parties to the request for
the body of "Simon Coober."
2. That there were two motives only by
which they were ac:uated, that one moiive
was simple c;riosity of some who had never
seen the "killer and ravisher," to see the
body of such a demon. The other motive
was to identify the body, as was distinctly
stiled iu the telegram, and thereby quiet BS I
far as possible, the fear felt by many, some ot
them heine ladies in an almost dying cccdi
t;on. others defenseless women and children,
also some men-even brave men-tbat it
might be some other fugitive, and not the
"devil incarnate," who was killed, or, ac?
cording to the Item, murdered.
3. That it would have been to them a mat?
ter of indifference had the Item's editor seen
fit to burn Cooper's body, beginning before
he was shot or banged, according to bis pre?
vious idea of Cooper's deserts.
4. lt ?3 not true that no effort was made
to catch Cooper until the night before be
butchered the Wileoo family and made
threats against others.
5. We believe, a? subsequent events proved,
that if the citizens of Magnolia had tried to
arrest Cooper, as they bad no warrant or au?
thority to do, when be killed Davi9 on Jan
1st, Cooper would have b?en to kill ; and
then the Item's editor would have called the
killing a "tigerish lust for blood."
D. E. KEELS,
S. COPELAND,
J A. RH A.VIE,
T N. GRIFFIN,
E. M. BEAN,
J. A BYRD,
W. D. GAMBLE.
[The foregoing is given place without com?
ment, further than that it is the desire of
The Daily Item to give all concerned the op?
portunity to vindicate their course as well as
to duly ventilate their opinions. That the
terms used in reference to this paperare harsh
and out of place, they will doubtless concede
on due reflection The editor of the Item ?3
out of the city to-day, bot he has already
fully evpiaiced hi3 course in this lamentable
affair ]
WEDGEFIELD NOTES.
The recent depression in cotton prices,
seera3 not to have discouraeed our farmers,
judgine by the quautity of fertilizers being
distributed at this point.
"Grippe" still holds a firm grasp on our
community. Scarcely a family has escaped.
Dr. Dwight, our resident physician, is kept
busy these days.
Mrs. J. H. Aycock is suffering with pr*u
mooia and Mrs. Anna Cain is also very sick.
Rev. W J. Dowell and family are com?
fortably quartered in the new patsonage,
which is oow nearly completed. When a
suitable b-irn,. stable and fences are added,
the place will assume a very homelike ap?
pearance.
A recent entertainment given for the beoe
fit of the parsonage, was well patronized and
proved quite a success.
The graded school is progressing finely
under the efficient management of Prof. J.
A. Merritt and his accomplished assistant
Miss Elise Singleton.
Will Cooper, a negro, was arrested here
Friday for a crime committed lu Manning, to
which place he was remanded by Judge
Kelley. We are glad that "our Cooper"
failed to develop the desperate characteristics
of "Simon."
Mr. F. F. Covington and family of Marion,
are spending a few week3 with Mrs. J. H.
Aycock.
Mrs. M. R. Brown and Miss E. P. Duncan,
of Barnwell, are visiting Mr. John B. Ryan.
Mrs. Chas. Griffin, of Pinewood, is spend?
ing a short time with her parents, Mr and
Mrs. W. M. Moor.e.
Mr. Frank Tbomae, Sr , of N. C., is on an
extended visit to his soo Mr. F. E . Thomas.
Messrs. H E. and J. D. Odou, of Roc'iy
Mount, N. C , have been on a recent visit to
Mr. J. R. Odom. STYLUS.
Jan. 16, 1897.
Another New County.
The election for the new county of Bam?
berg, of which the growing and progressive
town of Bamberg will be the county seat,
was held yesterday and resulted in a victory
for the new county. The vote stood 877 for
the new county and 254 against.
BENJAMAN HODGES.
Death of a Highly Esteemed North?
erner, who Once Lived and Mar?
ried in Sumter.
A telegram was received on Tuesday. Jan.
12tb, announcing the death of Mr. Benjamin
Hodges at bis home, io Top?fieId, Mass. Mr.
Hodges come here from the North just after
the war and planted very successfully for
eighteen years. He wa3 very much liked
and highly respected by everyone and gen?
eral regret was felt when be moved back to
Massachusetts a tew years ago. He married
Miss Reynolds, the eldest daughter of the
Ute Dr. Mark Reynolds of Stateburg, wbo
with two children, survives him. Mr. and
Mrs Hodges came here just before Christmas
on a visit to Mrs Reynolds, when be became
so unwell that they were obliged to go home.
His death was not unexpected, as hi3 health
has been very poor for some years.
Burned Alive.
DALLAS, TEX., Jan. 16.-Fire com?
pletely destroyed the Buckner's Orphan
booie near here early this morning.
Sixteen children were cremated and
nine injured, three of them fatally.
All of the dead, except one ^ere buried
this evening in the cemetery home.
Rev. Mr. Buckner, manager of the
home, officiated. The home physicians
are io attendance on thc injured. All
the farmers in thc vicinity turned out
and assisted in making coffins, digging
graves and burying the victims. There
were 147 toys and more than 100 girls
in the horne, but all are accounted
for.
Lara? fhides when artistically made of
crepe tissue are things of beau'y. If you
want to make shades to beautify your homes.
H. G. Osteen & Co. can supply the materials.
A large stock of crepe tissue in tea foot rolls
ust received.
The Finest assortment of choice stationery
At H. G. Osteen and Co'e. bookJHre.
The Dispensary Law Declared
Unconstitutional Insofar as
It Prohibits Importation.
WASHINGTON*, Jan. 18 -The su
preme court of the United States
to day decided that the famous dis
pensary law. of South Carolina, at
least so far as it attempted to prevent
a citizen of the State from importing
into the commonwealth liquors for
his own use. was in violation of the
interstate commerce law of the Fed
eral Constitution, and therefore null
and void The opinion of the court
was prepared by Mr. Justice Shiras,
but in his absence owing to indispo?
sition, its conclusions were an?
nounced by Chief Justice Fuller.
The cases at bar were begr?n in the
Federal court for South Carolina by
James Donald, a citizen ofthat State,
upon the seizure of a case of Califor?
nia claret, six bottles of Maryland
whiskey and a barrel of Rochester,
N Y., beer, by S. M. Gardner. M.
T. Holly, Sr., E. C Beach and J. M
Scott, State constables, acting under
the provisions of the dispensary law
directing the seizure of all the
liquors in the hands of any common
carrier, agent or private citizen, not
sold by the State agent, whether im?
ported or otherwise The trial .court
gave Donald judgment for $300 in
each case and the constables appeal?
ed The cases were argued last fall,
the validity of the entire law being
brought into question The opinion
of the court stated that the proceed?
ings were not a suit against the
state,"which could not be brought
without its consent, and that the
pleadings of the record raised ques?
tions which gave the supreme court
of the United States jurisdiction of
the whole subject The law was
discussed at great length on the
opinion and many authorities cited,
the result being that the judgment of
the court below in favor of the own?
er of the liquors was affirmed with
costs, for the reason that the law was
in contravention of the clause of the
uational Constitution regulating com?
merce between the States The
opinion conceded that the legislature
of the State passed the law in what
it believed to be the exercise of its
police power aud with no intention
lo interfere with the operation of any
Federal law or to discriminate
against the products of any other
State, but that intention, it contiued,
couT8 not tiua?ly control the determi?
nation of the effect of the law..
' Mr. Justice Brewer did not hear
the argument and took no part in the
decision.
Mr Justice Brown recorded a
rigorous dissent, saying : "The ef?
fect of the enactment of the Wiison
law seems to me to withdraw intoxi?
cating liquors from the operation of
the commerce clause of the Consti?
tution and to permit the traffic in
them to be regulated in such a man?
ner as the several States, in the
exercise of their police powers, shall
deem best for the general interests of
the public This act is not limited
in its operation, as the majority opin?
ion seems to assume, to State laws
forbidding the importation, manufac?
ture and sale of such liquors, but de?
clares that they shall be subject upon
their arrival within the State to the
operation of all its laws enacted in
the exercise of its police powers
"Now, as congress has expressly I
declared that such articles shall,
upon their arrival in the State, become
Bubject to its laws to the same extent
as if they had been originally pro?
duced there, and as *the dispensary
law daos not declare them contra?
band as imported liquors or because
they were not bought from a State
officer authorized to sell the same,
and as the law makes no discrimina?
tion in that particular between im?
ported and domestic liquor, it is im?
possible for me to see why congress
has'not directly, authorized the action
that was taken by the State officers
in seizing these liquors.
-Butas I understand, the court
bases, to a certain extent, its opinion
of the constitutionality of this act |
upon the fact that the traffic in in?
toxicating liquors is not absolutely
prohibited, but is monopolized by the
State itself through the agency of a
State commission.
"Granting that the act gives the
State itself a monopoly of all the
traffic in such liquors, it is not a
monopoly in the ordinary or obvious
sense of the term, where one individ?
ual or corporation is given the right
to a manufacture or trade which is
not open to others, but a monopoly i
for the benefit of the whole people
of the State, the profits of which, if
any, are enjoyed by the whole peo- i
pie ; in short, a monopoly in the same
sense in which the postoffice depart?
ment and the right to carry the mails; j :
is a monopoly of the federal govern- :
ment "
Quoting Chief Justices Marshall i
and Waite upon the necessity of the i
expediency of the courts acting with i
great delicacy and hesitation in de?
claring a statine unconstitutional, <
Justice Brown concluded : "1 re- ]
gard these words as particularly ap- i
p?cable to the dealings by this court. I
with the proceedings of a State legis- I
latino and that their right to deter- < i
mino what is for tho best interests of i
their people should be carefully re- <
spected, except where it comes in j
manifest conflict with the dominant ]
law. Especially should everything i
oe avoided which carries the sug- j
gestion of a vexatious interference
with State action. The manifest
dangers to the future of the country,
which lark in the inflexibility of the
Federal Constitution can only be
averted by carefully distinguishing
between such laws as practically con?
cern the inhabitants of a particular
State only and are intended bona fide
for their welfare and such as are a
mere subterfuge for an unlawful dis- |
crimination and cannot be carried
into effect without doing palpable
injustice to citizens of others Slate.
It should not be overlooked in this
connection that the complaints in this
case emanate from a citizen of South
Carolina, who seeks to defy the law
of his own State and puts forward as
his excuse the injustice done the
citizens of other States, who make
no complaint of her action in this
particular. If a State cannot prohibit
her own citizens from importing
liquors, as well as buying them at
booie, the 'VYilson bill' is set at
naught and the prohibitory laws of
the several States rendered inopera?
tive in a vital particular. The fact
that these liquors were imported for
complainant's own use and consump?
tion, instead of for sale, raises no
question under the Federal Constitu?
tion. Both are under the ban of the
statute.
"I am unable to see how that sec?
tion of the dispensary act of South
Carolina, which authorized the sez
urs made in this case, conflicts in
any particular with the Federal Con?
stitution."
Ravages of Plague and
Famine.
LONDON, Jan. 16.-The eyes ol ?he
Euro-^an world are turned this week
toward India, each day's intelligence
from that stricken land making it
more apparent that the greatest
tragedy in modern history is being
enacted there under the double
curse of famine and plague. The
heart of Europe has been touched at
last and the universal sympathy is
perhaps more keen because it is now
tinged with apprehension. It would
not be surprising if within a month
a genuine plague panic should spread
through christendom. The great
powers she*w alarm and the news
comes to-day that Italy has summon?
ed an international conference to
meet forthwith at Rome to consider
measures for dealing with the dan?
ger. There is little doubt that the
response of the other governments
will be favorable and ali the resources
of modern science will be speedily
arrayed against the hideous foe.
Reliable information about the ex?
tent of the plague in Bombay and
vicinity is lacking, and regarding the
mortality, it is only said in general
terms that more than half of those
attacked succumb. The news ser?
vice of the London press is strangely
inadequate, and it is from private
sources that most of the information
comes. The point which most inter?
ests Europeans is whether the awful
disease is likely to flourish in north?
ern latitudes if infection should be
introduced here, but no evidence is
forthcoming yet. lt is argued by
medical men, however, that if the
plague was dangerous in Hong
Kong, it will find an equally prolific
field in London and Paris so far as
the climate is concerned It is gen?
erally admitted that the plague is a
filth disease, but there are certain pe?
culiarities connected with its spread
Dr. Hankin, a well known bacteriolo?
gist, who is investigating in Bombay,
fastens the responsibility for carrying
the infection upon rats, ants and
other insects. Rats in bouses have
the plague ; they die and are eaten
by ants which carry the germs into
the crevices of the buildiugs, to
water taps and sinks. Thus the
poison is diffused and cannot be
eradicated except by fire. This ex?
plains the efficacy of the old methods
of cleansing by conflagration, and at
the same time the futility of isolating
the sick as in other infectious dis?
eases The only thing to do is to re?
move the healthy
It is stated in the Daily Mail's dis?
patches, which are the only ones
worth reading in the London papers,
that large busines houses in Bombay
which are iniected by rats have been
rendered untenable by the ravages of
the plague among the vermin They
died by the hundreds in the walls
and the human occupants have beeu
compelled to vacate the buildings.
It is observed that any larger animals
tire subject to the infection.
The French, Austrian and Italian
governments have already taken
stringent precutious against the im?
portation of the plague, but it can
hardly be possible to escape a series
of alarms from this cause during the
next few weeks
The ravages of the famine in the
interior of India are still still far
more deadly than the horrible
plaugue at Bombay. The victims of
the plague are perishing by hundreds
daily, but the victims of hunger
succumb by thousands daily. It
would be easy to harrow the hearts
jf every one possessing human sym?
pathy by accounts of the typical
sights experienced in the vast
Famine district, but surely appetite
for horror in all its forms has been
satiated throughout christendom dur?
ing the past few months. It is suffi?
cient to say that the gaunt, starving
millions of India are perishing at a
nore rapid rate than an army ever
suffered before the most deadly en?
gines of destruction devised by man.
The relie? movement is now appa?
rently in ful! operation The public
conscience and s}*mpathy in this
country have both been fully aroused.
The response to the appeal is liberal
and utterly inadequate. The propor?
tion of givers to the sufferers is
scarcely more than one in a thousand.
It will require the generosity of the
whole world to oppose a real check
to the ravages of hunger in India.
Cured by Dr. Miles" Nervine.
.? Prolonged derangement of the nervous
system not only affects the brain and men?
tal powers, but develops disease in some o?
the vital organs. The most dangerous of
these indirect results is when the heart is
affected. This was the case of the Rev. N.
F. Surface, Fawn River, Mich., who writes
under date of Feb. 14,1S95:
"Fourteen years ago I had a slight stroke of
paralysis. Overwork brought on nervous
prostration. I was exceedingly nervous and
the exertion of public speaking caused
heart palpitation that threatened my life.
I used two bottles of Dr^Miles' New Heart
Cure for my heart trouble, and two of Dr.
Miles' Restorative Nervine for my nervous?
ness and feel better than I ever expected to
feel again? I can speak for hours without
tiring or having ray heart flutter as it for?
merly did, and I have you to thank that I
ai? alive today."
On sale by all druggists. Dr. Miles' Book
on Heart and Nervous Disorders FREE by
mail. Dr. Miles Medical Co., Elkhart, Ind.
Dr. Miles' Remedies Restore Health
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