Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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MM an M* SCUTES WATCHMAN, Established April, 1850. "Be Just sind Fear not-Let all the Ends thon Aims't at, be thy Country's, thy God's and Troth's." THE TRUE SOUTHRON, Established Jane. 12*>6 Consolidated A ag. 2, 1881. SUMTER, S. C., WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23,1898. Sew Series-Vol. XVII. So. 30 Published. Srery Tffadn?sday, -BY JW. C3% Osteen, SUMTER, S. C, TKRifS : $1 50 per an naas-in tdvaoce. .A D 7IS TIlt XS fi T: Onp Square first insertion...........51 00 Kv erv subsequent insertion... 50 Commets for three months, or longer wil be made at red need rates. AW communications which suhssrve private interests viii be charged for as ad versements. Obituaries and tributes of respects will be charged for. The General Assembly A Rush of Business on the Eye of Adjournment. Colombia. Fsburary 15.-Both the Senate and House worked bard to-day. It ?ss thc last ehaoce for the passage of Dill?. Interjected io tbe routine work wail mach that was ludieron?. Tbe sample room resolution was aap pigmented'by a resolution to ioqaire inio the patronage members and attach? es ara alleged to have given to "blind tigers"-just to think that there should bean ic evocation that there are any .'tigers" m Colombia The Senate to-day reconsidered its action of yesterday, and gave its appro* ?al to the Verner sample room investi? gating, and appointed Senator Bags dele OD tbe committee. Io the House Messrs. Yeroer sod Vincent were ap pointed. As the committee is to report to the present Hoose it is not seen where they eau db m ooh investigating. Quite a comber of bills passed both booses, bot they were gene ral ly each a? provoked bot little debate. Tbe Senate passed tbe Hoose bill to tax express, telephone, telegraph and Pullman companies exactfy as it passed the House. Tbe minority sought to plane the taxation oo a basis of the gross earn ings of these companies. Tee Last Bay of the Session Devoid of Special Interest Colombia. Feb 16'-After thirty five day8 of law making the patriotic .Sol?os of the Palmetto State have written "Bes adjndicata" over i\t thousand and one propositions offer? ed for tbe progress and betterment of toe State, and have vanished towards the havens where they would be In the moro of the February day Sena tors, Representatives and attaches of the Genera] Assembly are scurrying away from the Capitol, leaving be hind them a train'of legislation that will shortly image forth as good or evil for "Dear Old Sooth Carolina r The tocsin of adjournment . has soonded and the session of 1893, has ended sine die, sine revolution, sine fuss and feathers The day was just as hundreds of other final days are Reports from committees, ratifica? tions, impromptu choirs sod general merrymaking. There were no spe? cial final iucidents except it be the general report about the sample room liquors and the presentations to officers. The committee of free conference reported agreement oo the county government bill. The conference committe agreed practically to the House bill. The free conference-committee's re? port on the general appropriation bill was received at ll o'clock They recommended $25,000 for the Sooth Carolina College. The $1.500 for the phosphate inspector was granted, tod $1,200 instead of ?2,400 is to be j lent to the State Fair Association. Mr. Meares asked for concurrence Dr. Sturkie explained the com? promises. He said ?15,000 was given for elections The State board of health appropriation was fixed at $1,500-the Senate wanted $2,500 for the board. The Senate surrendered $5,175 and the House $5,200. The appropriation bill was then finally agreed upon, making the ad journal en sent all the more certain. The Senate concurred in the gen I appropriation bill as soon as it t. j The House agreed, after much contention, to take up Mr. Simkin's resolution to have a vote at the next geoeral primary ss to the dispensary, prohibition or high license The idea was to ..ave the matter submitted o the people, for the result to go to the Governor and by him be re? ferred to the General Assembly He said be tried to have his resolution passed with the force of law, but it had been held up The matter is one of burning importance and the Democratic voters should be allowed to settle the vexed question. He knew bis resolution was extraordi? nary, but when the liquor question is dealt with, some of the abstract prin? ciples of Government most be brush* ed aside ind the matter looked at in a busiuess like way. He did not say as a matter of law the House bad a right to ask this primary of the exec? utive committee, bat it was a matter of expediency. Mr. Wyche moved to indefinitely postpone the resolution which was carried. After 2 o'clook the printing commit? tee, which opened the bids for public printiog, made its report as follows : Tba joint committee on '".printing of the Seoate and House have carefully considered the bids for the public print? ing, and we hereby award the oootraot to the Bryan Printing Company, they being the lowest responsible bidder J. H. McDaniel, Chairman Senate. J. K. Kicard, Chairman House. it is stated that the joint committee stood six to seven as between awarding the work to the State Company and T. 8. Bryan, the minority beiog for the State Company. The majority took the position that the Bryan bid was for ooe price for role and 6?ure work, while that of the State Company was for one and a third on role and fignre work, and that therein foy sufficient difference to make the award to T. S Br jan. The minority held to the ooctrary. On the averages that were made op mern bers of the committee contended that the straight work-without the role and figure work-would roo op as fol? lows : The State Company, $6,488 72 A. R. Stewart, 6.934 00 C B. CaWo. 7,450 50 Bryan Printing Company, 7,358 50 Jas F. Parks, ' 7 Ml 50 Wm. A. Hatfield, 7,586 25 Edwards & Co, 8,382 68 J A Selby, 8.5u5 55 Thos Addison, 8,961 75 The Seoate to-day commenced busi? ness at ll oV.oek and speot the moro iog session in considering committee reports and other minor matters. The report of the dispensary sample eom mittee, published elsewhere was adopt? ed and ordered placed on the Calendar. A number of Acts were ratified. The Senate met at night and spent the last .part of the session in finishing op the fragments of work and ratifying Acts. ^mm i ? > i - - "A Famous Contempt Case. The recent decision of the Cali? fornia supreme coort in the case of the editor of the Sacramento Bee, who was fined for contempt of court, is so important that a statement of the issue involved will be found interest iog. The Bee published a report of the testimony of a certain witness in B divorce suit. The next day the at tor Dey 8 for one of the litigants arose io^coort denounced the report as false and Judge Catii ti, from the bench, proclaimed it to be "a gross fabrication * The Bee in its issue republished the report referred to and insisted that it was correct and said : "The Bee re asserts that in all ma? terial details the statement of Tal madge as given in The Bee of yes? terday, was the statement that he made upon the stand at Monday afternoon's session. The Bee will go farther than that. It will declare that both the attorney before tfoe bar and the judge on the bench knew that the statement made in The Bee was an essentially correct epitome of the testimony given- by Mr. Tal madge, at the very moment when they unhesitatingly, shamelessly and brazenly declared it to be a grose fabrication There is no paper any? where that bas a higher regard for fair and impartial courts than has The Bee, but there is no paper any? where that bas a supremer contempt than has The Bee for a judge who will approve the unmitigated false hood of an attorney, as Judge Catlin to day approved the brazen mis-state? ment of Judge J. B. Devine V For this language the editor of The Bee was summoned before the court and fined $500. An appeal was taken to the su? preme court and a majoritv of the court decided that the fine could not stand, because the editor was de? prived of bis constitutional right to be heard in bis own defense ; that he was not given an opportunity to prove that the report in bis paper was correct The chief justice who delivered the opinion held that the editorial complained of was not contempt of court at al! ; that, in denouncing the original publication as "a gross fabrication," Judge A P. Catlin was not acting as a ceurt or judge, and what he said "was in no sense a part of any judicial proceeding, and the fact that be was seated on the bench at the time makes the case no different iu point of law from what it would have been if his remarks had been delivered on the stteet or communi? cated in wtiting to the same or an? other newspaper."-Atlanta Journal Copenhagen, Feb. 17.-A dispatch received here from Helsingfors says that a track of ice on the coast of Finland broke adrift in a snow s'orra and was carried to sea with 200 fish? ermen and several horses. 253 Brave American Sail? ors Dead. * DETAILS OF THE GREAT DISASTER IN HAVANA HARBOR. Washington, Feb 16 -After a day o? intense excitement at the navy department and elsewhere growing out of the destruction of the battle? ship Maine in Habana harbor last night, the situation to-night after the exchange of a number of cablegrams between Washington and Habana can be summed up in the words of Secretary Long, when asked as he was about to depart for the day weth? er Le had reason to suspect the dis aste r was the work of an enemy, re? plied : "I have not. In that I am influ? enced by the fact that Capt. Sigsbee has not yet reponed to the navy de? partment on the cause. He is evi? dently waiting to write a foll report. So long as he does not express him? self, I certainly cannot. I think from indications,* however, that there was an accident-that the magazine ex? ploded. How that came about I don't know. For the present at least no other warship will be sent to Ha? bana." The appalling nature of the dis aster and the gravity of the situa? tion that would arise should in? vestigation give a basis for the undercurrent of suspicion of treach? ery and foul play that ran through all minds had a sobering effect on public men of all shades of pol?nica'! opinion. The fact stands forth and ia little less than remar? kable that not a single resolution was introduced or a single speech made in either house of congress save one of condolence with the families of the killed, adopted by the house of re? pr?sentatives. Public men expressed their opinions with reserve when ap? proached for interviews, but every? where there was a demand for investi* gatton and full details in the light of which the horror can be justly viewed. Secretary Long undoubtedly sum? marised the general opinion of the majoirity of the naval experts in find? ing it impossible just now to state the cause of the destruction of the Maine. There are a great number of theories, bot most of them are of a character that makes it easy to prove or upset them by a single investiga? tion of a diver. Secretary Long bas taken immedi? ate sl:eps to make this investigation. Late thia afternoon he telegraphed to Adm ral Sicard at Key West to ap? point a board of naval officers to proceed at once to Habana, employ divers and generally to make such inqui ry as the regulations of the navy demaod shall be made in the case of the loss of a ship. It is expected that this work will take some time, and while there are officers who say that in their opinion it will not be possible owing to the probably dis? rupted condition of the hull to make out t he cause of the explosion, the opinion of the majority is that the question will be easily settled by the simple observation of the condition of the ship's hull plates in the neigh? borhood of the hole which sunk her, whether they are bulged out, as would be tho case if the explosion came from the inside, or whether they are driven in as would result from the at tack of a torpedo or the explosion of a mine beneath the ship. The large majority of naval officers are inclined to the belief that the ex plosion resulted from spontaneous combustion of ' the coal bunker, the overheating of the iron partitions be? tween the boilers and the magazine, or from the explosion of a boiler, though the last theory finds little support The President and several of his cab inec associates held a conference about noon, it was cot a cabinet meeting, as no notice had been sent oar, and only Secretary of the Navy Lang, Seoretary Gage, Attorney General Griggs, Post? master General Gary and former At? torney Geoeral McKcuoa were pres eut. The disaster to the Maine was the only topio considered. It was deter? mined to abandon the reception at tbe white boo?e to-night and also the reV cep?ion lo tbe general public to morrow night. At 12 o'clock the cabinet ?ffioers came from the Pieaident's office. Ooe of them ?tated tbat tbe President had giveu directions that all official infor? mation relating to the disaster should be given tc the publie. He added tbat a private dispatch to Secretary Long, signed Rsa, stated that the loss of life was over 260, bet this was not official and Mr. Long considered the estimate too high. This was before Capt. Sigs? bee'.** dispatch, placing the lost and miffing at 253 was at band. Tbecabi net officer stated that there were II: any evidences that the disaster was the re salt of aooident. Up to the present time, he said co order for sending an American ship co Habana bas been given. Consul General Lee had cabled that the Spanish authorities had ex? pressed to bin: their profound regret at the occurrence Another cabinet offi? cial stated that one of the dispatches stated that Capt. Sigsbee was the last man to leave the ship. At 12:30, while Secretary Long was still with the President, Mr Finney, private secretary of tbe secretary of the navy, was admitted with an important dispatch just received from Capt. Sigs? bee, commander of the Maine. This was read by thc President and secretary and then given oat, as follows : "Advise sending wrecking vessel at once. Maine submerged except debris, mostly work of divers now. Jenkins and Merritt still missiog. Little hope for their safety. Those known to be saved are : Officers, 24 uninjured ; crew 18, wounded now on board Ward line steamer, in city hospital and hotel 59, so far as known. AU others went down on board or near the Maine. The total lost or missing 253. With few exceptions no o facer nor man has more than a part of a suit of olotbing and that is wet with harbor water. Ward line steamer leaves for Mexico at 2 o'clock this afternoon. Officers sav? ed are uninjured Damage done was in compartments of orew Am pre? paring to telegraph list of wounded and saved. Olivette leaves for Key West at 1 p. m. Will send by ber to Key West tbe officers saved except my? self and Wainwright, Holman, Henne berger, Ray and Holden Will toro over three uninjured boats to oaptain of port, with request; for safekeeping. Will send all wounded men to hospital at Habana. SIGSBEE." The Wrecked Battleship Mame. The Maine was looked upon as a warship that would give a good account of herself in any situation. She was built at the New York navy yard and since entering into active service, on September 17, 1895, has been continu? ously at work. She was also a steel armored battleship and was equipped with two 10-inch barbette turrets. She was 318 feet long by 58 feet beam and had a displacment of 6,682 tons. Her draft was 21 feet 6 inches, which allow? ed her to enter Havana harbor without trouble. She was equipped with twin screw vertical triple expansion engines, which drove ber at the rate of 17 45 knots an hour,-and she was thus able to make tbe distance between Key West and Havana in four hours She had a maximum coal capacity of 854 tons. Her sides were protected by 12 inoh, her turrets by 8-inch and her barbetts by 12 and 10-inch armor. She was armed with four 10-inch guos in turrets, six 6-inch breach loading rifles, seven 6 pounders, eight 1-pouod ers and four Gatlings. Believed Not to Have Been Torpedo. Survivors at Key West. Key West. Fla., Feb 16.-Tba Oli vette with 62 survivors of the Maine arrived at 10:30, seven and a half hours from Habana.. Of this number, 20 are wounded-10 seriously and 1 fatal ly Capt. Merrill with a company of artillery took possession of tbe dock before the arrival and kept back the exoited crowd, including hail the popu? lation of Key West, majority Cubans and mulattos. No ono not in uoiform was allowed on board. The Associated Press correspondent saw Purser Den? ison of the Olivette, who gave the fol? lowing brief account : The explosion is au absolute mystery to every one. It occurred in ?he for? ward magazine, which is just forward of amidships aod below the water line. Thc coal bunkers were outside, but separated by two feet air space. Ac? cording to custom the magazine was in? spected at 8 o'clock io the evening. The temperature was found to bc 59 The magazine was looked and keys given to Sigsbee. The meo went to hammocks in the foward part of ship soon after 9 o'clock. The explosion occurred at 9:40, aod so great and overwhelming that no one om yet give a connected ac? count. About 10 in the forwar partd of ship were saved, and of these several had hammocks slung on lower deck. Explosion split the big ship in two and threw these and one marine bleeping on superstructure 40 feet in the air and into the water In tbe magazine was 25 toos coarse pow? der, used for charging' big guns. No dynamite, detonating powder nor torpedo Heads-nothing that could be exploded by concussion. In the main magazine aft ??gb explosives were stored. This magazine did not explode. There are no electric wires connecting witn or near the mag? azine. It is not believed thc Maine was destroyed by a torpedo underneath, as if so a hole would have been torn in her bottom and tbe ship would not have been riven to atoms as was the case. The after par? of the ship sank in three minutes and officers and surviving crew escaped half clothed. Pieces of wreckage flew a distance of 500 yards, ooe large piece of cement striking the quarter deck of tbe City of Washington, Ward Line, that anchored ahead of the Maine 20 minutes before the explosion. Evidence" of Torpedo. Story of a Discovery That is Lacking in Practical Ele? ments. Key West, Feb. 17.-The corres? pondent bere of the Associated Press has just returned to thia place on board the Olivette from tbe scene of the wreck of the Uoited States battle? ship Maine in Habaoa harbor. The divers who have been working about bfj; bottom have discovered an eight inch percussion bole io a plate. Admiral Manterola bas summoned Capt. Sigsbee to appear before Mili? tary Judge Peral to make the neces? sary depositions. AU proof of the tor? pedo work will be removed. Another man-of-war is expected here tonight New York, Feb. 17.-Ooe of the regular staff correspondents of the Asso ciated Press at Key West cabled from there at 11:35 this morning that the re? port of the finding of the hole in the boll of the Maine, evidently caused by a torpedo was seot from Habana just, before the Olivette sailed and from a source regarded as reliable, but cannot be verified owing to the strict censor ship at Habana. The report ia poi verified by the offi? cers af the Maine who have arrived at Kay Wes:, from Habana. DISCREDITED IN WASHINGTON. Washington, Feb. 17.-The navy department absolutely discredits tbe story coming from Key 'West that di? vers have found an eight io oh percus? sion bole in the bottom of the Maine. Secretary Long says that there is no such thing as a percussion hole ; that there is no eight-inch torpedo and there is no other way io which such a hole could be accounted for. It is of course possible that a shell exploding inside of the ship pierced a hole of that kind in tbe outer skin but that would be readily revealed by the char aeter of the angle and whether or not the skin was bulged in or out around the puncture. It is more likely if there is any hole at all of the kind it was simply the outlet of one of the numerous pieces from the inside of the Maine. FITZHUGH LEE'S OR? PHAN ASYLUM. New York, February 14 -A letter was received today by the Christian Herald from Consul General Fitzhugb Lee io Havana relative to the fouoding of an orphan asylum in Cuba. Gen. Lee said : "I have considered the advisability of renting a large and suitable building for the purpose of founding a destitute orphan asylum, where the little starving children, who have no parents or relatives to watch over and protect them, can be placed and where they will be fed and well cared for, and perhaps later given some sort of education. I find that I can rent a most suitable establish? ment with a ' large bath and all conveniences as well as ground around it, which the children can use for air and exercise. I would through humane agents collect these little ooes and have them tausferred to establishments where they could be ic charge of curses and other suitable at? tendants/7 . The Christian Herald, in reply, cabled that it would pay the rerjt of the proposed asylum a year and furnish all supplies and guarantee to raise all ether expenses far the institution.' . GEORGE D. TILLMAN FOR GOVERNOR. Formal Announcement of the Facts is Made. Edgefield, Feb. 15 -There is no longer any doubt that the "Old Raman from Edgefield is in the race for govern or. Yesterday be issued the fellowing signed announcement: To the Democracy of South Carolina : Much more at the suggestion of oth? ers than by own prompting I announce my candidacy for governor, honestly believing that tbe office seeks the man, or else I would not have received so many letters urging me to ron. Manly candor also bids me to confess that a sense of duty as a citizen impels me to make tbe effort to reunite the people of the State and correot certain evils, which if done would result in moro liberty audMess taxation. To achieve these eod9 I shall advo? cate several measures tbat if adopted would both strengthen local self gov? ernment and reduce present annual State and county taxes at least a fourth-or say, half a million dollars without diminishing but positively in? creasing the efficiency of our govern? ment. What these measures are and argument in support of them, will be discussed later on, I shall run as the caudidate of no faction, no ring, no boes, bot simply on my own character as a man and record as a public servaot. GEO. D. TILLMAN. Ten Thousand Back Rent It Will be Paid Mr. Wesley in Order to Remain at the. Hall. ? final decision regarding tbe head? quarters of the di?oensary has been ren? dered, "Wc?!ey " carne up smiling despite the superabundant amount cf ..fust X" in it. It seems that thc members of the board came to tbe conclusion that they would be unable to move their engines and tanks,-they having become fixtures, as was pointed oat in yesterday's issue cf The State, and that rather than buy new ones, aod have the old ones io possession of At? torney Lyles. a compromise would be sought. The result was that a joint meeting of the siokiog funds commis? sion and the board of control was held yesterday morning for thc purpose of i settling the matter of back rents with Landlord Wesley. After quite a lengthy consulatioa, $10,000 was of j fered Attorney Lyles for back rent and damages and he accepted the amount as payment io full. Theo a contract was entered into for the future rental of the property, aod the dispensary people now have a lease on it for two years, tr amount of rent per month being 75 They also have the privilege of moving from the property aoy time before the ex pir?tico of the two years, provided 30 days notice is gi veo Mr. Lyles. Io addition to this they will be allowed to take their en? gines and tanks with them wheo they leave The arrangement appears to be per? fectly satisfactory to all the parties in interest, and fer quite a while longer, at least, liquor will be dispensed from the ?ame old stand. The members of the board are quite pleased at the manner in whiob they bave played their cards, and the way they kept people guess? ing at what they would do., One member of tbe board said that soon after they began fioai negotiations with Mr. Lyles, the former prices of property on whioh they were biddiog dropped one-fifth, and they thiak they will come down even lower Sc it ia that the question has been finaly decided, and for a time at least, the board can continue business undis? turbed.-The State Armour is beginning tc showasigos of anooyaoce as the result of his big fight with Joseph Leiter. A Chicago dispatch of tbe 8th instant tells this story : In a wheat settlement yester? day, Leiter gave one of Armour's bro? kers a check for $1,000,000 on the Illinois Trust and Savings bank, of which Armour is a director and tba larges: stockholder Wheo the check came iato Armour's bands be rushed to the bank and said to the president aod cashier, who were together : '.What the duce do you fellows mean by lending bim money on security ? Don't interrupt. I don't care if tbey were gilt-edged or not. You are lend? ing him money to fight me." Tba cashier replied : "Jost before the baok closed Saturday. Leiter deposited ?6. 000,000, aod, of course, we are always ready to receive deposits." Armour gasped, and all he could say was : .'Well, you don't say so ?,J - Mil? I ll Saluda, Feb. 16 -About 3 o'clock this afternoon George Caughman, colored, committed for burg'arly, made his escapa through the prison walls of the Saluda jail. He was tried and convicted before Magistrate B ry fiar? t and sentenced for 30 days and had served 20 days,which left only 10 more. He made his escape by punching a hole in the brick wall with a 2x8 plank "about three feet long which was used for a window sill, which he pulled off to do his work with. Thi3 is the third escape within 12 months, all on account of insufficiency of the jail. BUCKLEN'S ARKICA SALVE*. The best Salve in the world for Cats Braisese, Sores, Ulctrf,Salt Rheum, Fever, Sore Tetter, Chapped Hands, Chilblains, Coros and all Skin Eruptions, and positively care Pilet or no pay required. It is guaranteed to give perfect satisfaction, or money rtiunded price 25 cent? per box. For sale by Dr J. W. W. fJ-Lorme. * POWDER Absolutely Pure BOYA!. BAMWO POWDER CO.. NEW YORK.