Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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. WEDNESDAY, Ff?B 3, 1897. The Sumter Watchman was rouodea in 1850 and the True Southron in 1866. . The Watchman and Southro?i new has the combined circulation and influence of both of the old papers, and is mani? festly the best advertising medium in Semter. The Legislature bas put a quietus on the Salem County matter in a most decided manner, and it is set tied for the present. We believe, however, that Salem County will be established ultimately, for it is first and foremost a simple business prop? osition, and smaller counties are inev? itable There is no reason for inject? ing feeling that leads to bitterness into the new county agitation, and tbe less of it there is, the easier it will be to secuie the required num? ber of votes for the creation of a new county in any portion of the State To-day we publish an histori? cal sketch of Journalism in Sum? ter County, from the pen of Mr Yates Snowden, of the News and Courier. As stated by the writer, it ie published for the pnrpose of ob? taining additions aod corrections fiom the older citizens of Sumter County who may be in possession of facts not obtainable by Mr. Snowden. It is the purpose of the State Press Association to collect the data neces 8ary for the compilation of a com? plete and reliable history of journal? ism in South Carolina, and the work has been committed to the hands of Mr. Snowden, than whom no man in ^?ttc-Siste is better qualified to per form the task in a thorough and in tereetiog manner. We trust our readers will furnish us- with such facts and corrections as will conduce to the completeness and accuracy of the history of Journalism in Sumter County. Tile Rebels "Activa Buring Villages Within Sight of Habana. ^ KEY WEVT, FLA., Jan 31.-Ad ^-vicea from Habana state that in fiat contraction of all rumors lately circu? ited, that rebels are demoralized and weakened and ready to surrendered, especially in Pinar province, where Wey 1er made tbe ridiculous assertion that only 500 remained in straggling bands <>f bandits, word reached Habana Friday that insurgents had dynamited a ttaio, causing great damage and loss of life. Although the censor for S ate reasons maintains the official pacifica? r? ?iou and suppressed the information in the papers, tbe news rapidly spread and all were soon famiiar with details Tbe affair created a great impression aod was widely commented on. In? vestigation disclosed the fact that on tbe morning of the 28>h as a military train was crossing a coiveit at a place' named Aceyuera. be? tween Candelaria and Mangos, tremen- i d?us dynamite explosions occurred, I ditching the engine and tender The j armored c?tr was completely wrecked ? and other cara were also more or less I damaged. The engineer, fireman and j 13 soldiers were killed Tae surgeon, j 20 soldiers, conductor and brakeman were wounded. Assistance ????? bur- ! riedly font and the dead bedie* brou j? fe' j to Habana The wounded were left \ at Candelaria. The above is not the sole instance of | rebels activity in that provioce The i official reports daily announce nuraer- | ons encounters ia different sections o? the j eoaotry. lu order to diminish the im j portaoce they are always reported a* j skirmishes with considerable rebel j losses acd trifling on the Spanish side ! Whetf the affair assumes undue propor- ? lions, an Melguizo's recent defeat, then j the whole details are suppressed. , Other advices from Pinar announce a I change of leadership in rebel forces. | Mavis Rodriguez, after successfully j crossing the trocha with a strong bodv ! guard, bas assumed command, and Rais Rivera, who was desigoaiod to take cha?ge of the Cuban forces in Habana provioce, mansged to p-?>.?* rh . . celebrated line Friday and is near Mariel now at the head of the insur? gents of this section Another striking illustration of the Spanish impudence in asserting fha? the three western provinces are pr-cti cally pacified was given Friday ui^h: when late stragglers witnessed ali the eastern heavens illuminated as ii Guanabacoa was on fire. That town i^ not burnt yet, but reports received nest day stated that bold Araoguren had struck another blow in the vicinity of Habana, sacking and burning the ham? lets of Cruz, Pidera and Baeuranao near Guanabacoa. Wednesday last the rebels burned the most of ihe town of Eueva Psz, in Habana piovince, despite the fact thc town is protected by 10 forts with a garrison cf 306 men. All were taken by surprise when they saw the rebels io thc place. All the stores were looted and then burnt. Looks as if a Levy of 51-2 Mills Must Be Made. WHY AND WHEREFORE. It now begins to look as if there ia going to be a levy of from 5 to 5 ? 2 mills made by the general as? sembly at this session, if appropria tione are to be kept up to the present fioures and the general assembly re roams in session over 30 days Thus a very potent reason for an early ad Ijournment is made apparent The j ways and means committee has not I yet been abie to prepare the appro priatiou and supply bills for reasons that will appear below, the course of legislation having been slow Know? ing that there was a strong probabil ity of at) increased levy for' 1897, a representative of the State called upon Comptroller General Norton and obtained from him the following statement in regard to the matter, which speaks for itself : '.The total taxable property in the State as assessed is $170,755,474 On this are levied for State purposes $763 425 15. or 4 J 2 mills. To this may be added the amount of $15, 000. the possible receipt from in? surance license and fees of the sec retary of state's office The total possible receipt for the supp?tt of the State government for 1897 will, therefore, be $783,425 15. The esti? mates of the comptroller general amount to $800,000 for 1897 This is based on a 30 days' session of the legislature It is evident that appro priations will not be less than $900, 000 If, therefore, all the taxes as sessed could be- collected, there would be a deficiency cf $117,000. Ail the taxes cannot be counted as cash because of errors, nulla bona executions, deductions and abate? ments, etc. Safe financiering would j place the possible deficiency at not less than ?150,000. This is tbe amount, therefore, that the general assembly should provide for by an additional levy for 1897-or 5 to 5 1-2 mills in place'of 4 1 2 for 1S96 ' It must be borne in mind that the legislature at this session appropri? ates the taxes due December 31st. 1896, and cannot affect the results of revenue for 1897, except such legis? lation will give additional revenue laws "If these sourpes of revenue as above, or ?170,755,474 at 4 12 mills, and all other possible sources of revenue for 1897 will leave a de? ficiency of $150.000, then the same thing must occur for 1898 without au increase of taxable property ; then the present legislature must grapple | with a possible deficiency for 1897 and 1898 of $300 000 It will nor, it lVthought. reach these figures, but sufficiently certain it is that without other laws than now, this general as 8embly cannot make a levy of less than 5 1-2 mills with financial-safety. 'This estimate does not take into consideration the affairs of 1896, such as unpaid appropriations and the ?92 000 due from the dippensary, as it is known that there can be noth? ing to the credit of 1896 after all matters are balanced The fear is that the balance raay.be against and not in.favor of 1896. .'In other words, the general as- j sembly must raise the levy on the j taxable property from 4 1-2 mills ! sufficient to meet the deficiency ! caused by the loss of the* phosphate royalty, say $150,000, or pass other revenue laws from which a revenue can be derived to this amount or re duce ih?. annual average appropria? tion or have an annual deficiency of ?100.000 to ?150,000, the latter be ing the nearer correct 'The appropriations for 1897 should be-much less than 1896 for two reasons, viz-les? time by two months and fewer extraordinary ex? penses to meet "Three sources for revenues have been suggested, viz-graduate in j come tax, a graduated license tax j and a change in the mei hod of tax : lng insurance companies. The grad j uated income tax would possibly i reach a class of citizens who now enjoy the benefits and protection of the State government to person and property who pay nothing to the sup port of thal government A grado ated license tax would put South Carolina on a parity with North Caro lina and Georgia in roany particulars and reach another class of interests iu the State which pays no taxes Among them may bo mentioned the Pullman Place Car company, future dealers, lightning rod dealers and one hundred others "The changes in the insurance laws as suggested would enable these ! companies to pay a fixed percentage on gross premiums received to the j State treasurer in lieu of the present ! ; method o? taxing these premiums io ; ! the various counties for State, couti J i ty and school purposes This sys ! i tem, as in Georgia, would be better! ; for these companies and the State . than the present system. "ii is believed that from these ? titree sources the deficiency men? tioned above can be met without raising direct levy on rea! and per- ! sonal property without special def ri mont to anybody and better equalize j the burdens of State govern mont : titan the present system and laws ai j ford. For 1090 the difficulty was . overcome in the way of appropria j ting th? dispensary proOts accuring ' j before January 1, 1896. This cannot j I be done for 1897 nor ever after warda, lt will yet be found that the 1896 estimates of the comptroller general given to tue newspapers was practically correct These facts may be seen and appreciated when too late to remedy the evils without greater danger to the State's credit " m 11 ll .? .?. -^a The Outlook For Cuba, The special correspondent of the ; Londoo Times at Habaoa, who*o jud^; ; ment has heretofore been accorded ! high respect ia Eoglaod and our of if, i has an article in Harper's Weakly which should bc very encouraging to those friends jf Cuban liberty who, unlike The State., need encourage? ment; It makes a close analysis of the situ ation, points our Weyler's blunders ol policy, shows that he is helping the Cuban cause instead of iijuriog it. notes the skill with which toe iasur gcots are conducting their caopaig-n so as to exhaust Spain s resources at the least cost of men and means to them? -.elves, and predicts with confidence their final triumph. Within 18 months, he says, Spain will be at the end of her means and will abandon Cuba, and the government of the re? public will be administered from Haba? na. The loss of property meanwhile will be enormous, and the productive capacity of the island reduced to a minimum, unless the Uoited State? government intervene?, in ths interest of its citizens and ita trads, to secure the peaceful acknowledgement of Cu? ban independence. Nothing snort of this will be accepted by the Cubans, who know that their policy assures them success The special correspondent of the New York Herald, a paper pro Spanish in its tendencies and surporting the Cieveland-Oloey delusion of a compro? mise on '.'reforms," admits that Spain's rule is doomed if the insurgents per severe. The only effeot of doubling the Spanish forces in the island, he says, is io double the mortality amone rhem. ''Spain is bleeding to death " These conclusions are not new to the readers of The Stare, for we bav?? ? pressed them from the first, mouths of the struggle, nearly two years ago. but they may serve to satisfy the people of! South Carolina, who have HOOWU such interest in the cause of Cuba, bow worse tbao idle is the tinkering of the Cleveland administration wirb its "autonomy" theory. The conflict has never had a possible ending in compro? mise, and it long ago passed into the stage when, according to President Cleveland's own declaration last Decem? ber, the intervention of the United States in behalf of the independence of the island became a duty. The negotiation now in progress between Washington and Madrid are for the re? lief of Spain, not tbe aid of Cuba The administration proposes to U6e its "moral force" to induce the Cubans to abandon a certainty of ultimate independ? ence for such grudging reforms as Spain in her extremity may feel compelled to grant. Of course tb* Cubans will not do thin, but Mr Cleveland is vain enough to think that he can make them accept conditions which satisfy bim, with hi? prejudgment of prejudice against them. Thr? money cost to Spain and to Cuba from this obstinacy will be enor? mous, for tho former will hope on to the lo*e of $10,000 OOO a month, and the latter will be 'ravaged more and tn '/re ; but all that fire and sword can do will not equal to Cuba the penalty >be would pay for autonomy in the as.-.umption of the ?300.000,000 debt which Spain has incurred in her name. The right sort of intervention . would save hundreds of millions of waste and protect American interests as well, but of course that is out of the question in rbis administration. And probably in the next.-The State. Meteorological Record. The following is a report of observations of the weather taken nt Stateburg, by Dr. W. W. Anderson, for the pest week ending Jan. 31, 1897-beginning Juri. 24: C Temperature. 'Conaition. 2b bi 34 , 42 5 K i .00 ! Uioutiv 26 42 ! 32 2: 3G : 24 2 27 : 13 29 33 . 12 30 38 : 23 311 45 Si 37 I E I .07 I Cloudy 30 w .13 Cloudy 20 ; w j .00 Clear 22 :' . w j .00 *C?oudy 30.: j B j 00 ?Cloudy 3) NS I .00 ^Cloudy * Partly cloudy. Conditions no ?6;h and 27'b were similar to those of Dec 1st ?nd 2d. 1895-a cold ware beinj? intercepted and he'd buck by a Cyclone passing alone the const. Trees coated with thin crust of ice on 27th. Sotar huios 28th ?nd 29th. Deafness Cannot be Cured by local i?pp'icalions, they ennnot re.vh the diseased nortio') of the e::r. Tnere is nlv one way to cure Deafness, and thnt ?8 by constitution?! remedia Deafness, is caused '?y ?n :r.fltit:ed condition of th? nr?u <-(M?3 lining if the Eustachian Tube. When this tuoe ge's inflamed von h-tve a nr- b?r.g sound or imperfect ketring, mid when it is entirely closfd De Inf ss is th3 nsulf, and un le*3 the infliramation can be taken out and this tube restored to its normal condition, j hearing will t;e destroyed forever ; n m- cases j out of tenure ci used ny natarrb, which is nothing but e.:4 inflamed condition ol the nvue surfaces. '.Ve will Ot?"1 H und re? Dollars ?or :?ny ? casa of Deafness (caused nv catarrh) :b:tt can- ] ucl bc cared by Hull's Catarrh Curs S -d (OT circulars frte F J Cheney k C:> . Toledo, O. ?S?r>3cf? hy Druggists, 75c. The Plain Truth Tells. No Occasion for Sectionalism in Our School Histories. Washington Post. The Columbia State announces that simultaneously with the agitation in I the southern press against partisan histories of northern origin in south ern schools, certain norther!: papers | have started an agitation against par- j tisan histories of southern origin in : the same schools It appears that a j bili is now before the South Carolina ; legislature which demands impartial j ity in the school histories. The Co- ] lumbia paper asserts that "what the j south wants and all that it needs is ; justice v School histories should be the j closest possible approximation to ab- I solute fairness If this rule were ob* j served there would be no occasion | for different textbooks on history for j different sections of the United i States. Time enough has elapsed since the close of the great war for a cleating away of the misunderstand ings and prejudices that influenced public opinion north and south and distorted the school histories of both sections 30-years ago Neither par? tisanship nor sectionalism should constitute a part of any school curri? culum Those northern newspapers that are criticising a school history that has been recommended by the Con- j federate Veterans' association com- I plain that the occupation of the southern States by the northern armies is termed "an invasion,'' and I that it is said that the northern ar? mies were "ruthless." The Balli more Sun, referring to this complaint in a New York paper, says : "If our contemporary should ex? amine into the northern school his tories as carefully as he has ex? amined the southern histories, he might find there the reason why the latter were written. No one un? familiar with the subject would gath- j er from the northern histories that ? thci right of secession was an open question until the war settled it The southern people were fighting for a principle They now and have for a quarter of a century admitted that the question has been settled and set tied adversely to their contention, and they acquiesce in that settlement, but they naturally object to teaching their children that they were tiaitors and rebels Secession was first threatened by New England States, but we doubt whether that fact is very plainly brought out in northern school histories Partisanship is no better on one side than the other It is only the truth which will make us whole." This union of States could not have been formed by the adoption of the Constitution if that instrument had made peaceable secession impos? sible by a plain declaration against it. It is a historical fact that the right of secession was an open question until Appomattox decided it. However ill advised the secession movement may have been, it was not treason, but an assertion of a claimed right a right honestly claimed and bravely defended This fact should appear in all the school histories,and a kncwl edge of it by the writers of such histories should temper their narra? tions of the events of the war time. The generation that fought and witnessed the war-the men and wo? men of the north and the south have learned the lesson of mutual re? spect The soldiers learned it on the battlefield, and their fellow citizens learned it later Sectional animosity, so far as the grown up people of the United States are concerned, is ab 6olutely dead Why, then, should sectionalism be taught in our schools? Do we wish the boys and gills of to day to grow up under the distoit ing and distempering influence of such teaching? BOT I OE. The anouAl meeting of ?be St*t^ Grange will hold forth at Sumter in the Masonic Hall on Wednesday, the 1 Otb of Fet-ruary, 1897 All delegates and members of the Grange ure j r?que$ie.i to oe prompt in attendance. J. W. ENGLISH, Secretary. -iB --?.-?---q^--? Fire in Darlington. DARLINGTON, January 31 -The Planters' Tobacco Ware House waa destroyed hy fire at 0 o'clock Ins? night The building-, wich : office fix"Jres nod roany lots ol ie*t tobacco, I belonging lo various planters, ?ras a total los*. The insurance w?s very I'ght Smoot et Walden were tt e le?see3, and they are the be-iviest losers. Toe tot?l loss is ar ont ?7, 0 <0 and the insurance ? n'y S3,OOO A de- i fuco vs flur caused the fire, ?nd only the hard? est kind Oi work hy the buckPi brigade prevented ndjicent buildings from heiog de? stroyed. anu.it?~ljiliii ? illina Tuft's Pills Cure -All Liver Ills. Perfect Health. Keep the system in perfect or? der bv thc occasional use of - THE 75? na we,are to supply mir friends . We have been handling fertilizers very largely for 14 years, and we believe we know how to buy and where io buy. We will handle nothing but Standard Brands, Unless forced to do so by illegitimate com? petition. Our leading brands for which we are SOLE AGENTS Wageners High Grade. High Grade Blood and Bone and Navassa. In addition to these we handle. Atlantic and Chicora, Cotton Seed Meal, Genuine German Kainit and Acid Phosphate. As casi) is quite an item to us in our business, any person who is fortu? nate enough to be able to pay cash for his fertilizer, will find it to his inter? est to see us before buying. To those who are not so fortunate we will figure as close as the character of security they have to offer will admit. We would advise our friends in making their calculations for the purchase of fertilizers and other things, not to exceed five cants as a basis for the price of their cotton as all indications point that way OUR STOCK OF Staple Groceries and Farming Utensils For the Spring trade is very complete. We buy our Meat direct from Western Packers In car load lots. And our Flour direct from the Mills, And all brokerage and commissions that is paid by a great many of our competitors we give the benefit of to our customers. With best wishes for a prosperous new year and hopiug we may be fav? ored with a liberal share of your business. Very respectfully, O'DONNELL. & CO. Y Sleet emands o nary Trade. to the Just Receivede One car load of fine Mules. One ear load of 1-horse Wagons Two car iorses. Arrive This Week* s extra choice work isa Somier, S. C., D.c 28, 18f6.