Plums Ready and Ripe for the Spring Picking. AJU entire new and well-selected ?tock throughout. Dress Goods. Wash Fabrics. Ladies Shirt Waists. Laces and Embroid- , F J"Y slurLT,rti>ougCnof "ress" Shoes and Slippers. _ . We are now prepared to satisfy that! -- -: erieS, fancy t0 8ujt ihe most fastidious j JU8l i" rbe rear of oar Dry Goods ?n? T Never before have We have exclusive Control Of - ta8te* Department yea will 6nd oar Shoe Da !'.' Z ttTTt mtre beau? -e b*d 6O0h ? *- the celebrated Stanley Waists, This season we STR0?SE & ^OTHERS' CLOTH- partme,lt Bheriia u d:103 tbe largost ? patterns and designs than *" the acknowledged leaders m have surpassed As always, is in the lead I ?hoe business of ibis ?ey iu? [?t?iuii a goons. ,, _rp_:nno a+ ' ' . Lack ot space permits of very little ? previous years. AU lbs newest and choicest products this ame. ?" previous ?1 >^ew lde48 embodied with good J ' ft It will be /a pleasure to the of the miiUwill befo?od io thisde. An new and desirable styles. tempts m giving .0rkm.?.b ip P'!?yh,??i^ ' e Zl^T** V,a?r/in ate ?nd ad. partment. ," " , ' , .?J. Our trade a choice selection, beyond the reach of competitors, yet ??? "bow to tboie interested, tbe ^femimne Heart to see ana au. Oor assortment of Organdies can not All well made and good fitting. We have some- ? within the reach ?f every pocketbook choicest aod daintiest line of Ladies', flaire the new Styles we ate Umu9U^. " An entire new line Of Ladies' thin? new to j See the line of all wool Spring Suits Misses aod Children's Shoes, Oxfords J?llv?vf , ?K ^ rd on Xs* Ready Made Shirt, Sow ^ladies ! T ^'assortment "d sli<>P?" T - s-b I skirts ate specially attractive. pleil8Bre te show ?nd make you pnce.. J. j of and c!oihs h 0or Meo,s ghoei caa Mt be ^ ' _._ ----- i Pants Patterns-only one of a kind _ . ? i Made to your measure and fit guar ~, " Dress Goods Wash Fabrics. J Shirtwaists. Fancy IS orelty Scar!. |anteed. Shoes and Slippers. J. B?TTEi\BERCi & SONS. REBKESDAY, MASCH 23/1898. Tbe S?tm?er> Watchman was rounded 185? sad the 7V*e &>ui?r? Tba Freeman is sorry to note that the Watehma? and Soutarun, which bas always : at^od straight on tbe mob mw question,1 ia snowing signs of weakening. Its leading e?itori*i this week was intended as a harsh critic.sm of the jory that recommended Wil? liams to mercy, cot wat in resit;? io the i- nature of a surrender of its antHjncbing principles. The fact that Williams escaped ,tbe gallows ia to be deplored, but it is cer? tainty DO good reason woy moo law ?boa id be supreme in this County ' ; in the future. We have known instances in this Cone ty where white meo who were at guilty as Cain, nat only escaped the gallows, bat eses ped all punishment, and 'Oar contemporary did not see fit to condemn tbose juries. Why not extend the tame char tty in this case? The Freeman stands fora tiers administration of justice, but it also stands for tbe supremacy of righteous Uv. Sat aside tba courts a od allow moot to de? cide at to the guilt or innocence of meo charged with crime, and it requires no proph? et to foretell oar futur*. We claim that the article said jost t what the Freeman has said vis : that 'the effect of the reeommendatioo of the Jory it to furnish some people with an excuse for lyoohing io the future.' No more and no less ; and if the Free? man ean prove its ebarge against the Watchman and Southron by quotiog from the article, will it please proceed to do so. Such a conduction of the article was not dreamed of by the editor of the Watchman and Southron, who bas felt ;hat the position of this paper on the isnbjeot of mob law is too well known to admit of question. We have al? ways opposed mob law, and we deplored ifche action of this jury for its effect in weakeniog the bands of tbose who to uphold law aod cry down violence. We take this oooasic disclaim tbe interpretation as mad) tbe Freeman of the article io que? should there be anybody else who be abie to read it in the same ligfc the editor of thc Freeman claims t After reading the charge by Freeman that "We have knowi stances in this county where vi men who were as guilty as Gail * * escaped all punishment/3 looked over the court records for last ten years to refresh our men as to any such case Failing to anything that answers to the desc tion, and taking it for granted Mr. Miller knew what be was v mg about and would furnish information, we addressed 1 a note asking for it. He d?clin?e give the information, for reas which he states, bot which to us pear flimsy. Having made charge against the County, which eludes everybody as well as the ries and the Watchman and Soutbr fae need not hesitate now to specif Tbe following is the note sent bim, and his reply : Mr. E. F. Hiller, Editor of the Freeman Dear Sir : In your last issue you sai <:W? bave known instances ia this com where white men who were as guilty as Ca Dot only escaped the gallows, but escaped punishment, and our contemporary did i tee fit to condemn those jurors." Will you he kind enough to nao e the ca to which you refer, and let me have same the bearer of this ? Very respectfully, Varch 22, '93. X. 6. OSTEEX. Mr. N. 6. Otteen Editor Watchman a Southron. Dear Sir : You note of this date receiv and contents noted. I most decliae to "name tbe cases1' for t reason, that by so doing, I would pta myself in a similar position to tbat now c copied by you, viz : condemning some juro while excusing others ; and besides, you anc might differ as to whether the defeodants, tbe cases I bava iu mind, "w<>re as guilty i Cain." Very respec?fally, EDWIN F. MILLER. Sumter, March 22, 1898. IT MEANS BANKRUPTCY. Messrs. Latham, Alexander & Go have issued a circaiar letter tbs shows tbe cotton situation on Marci 18:h in a manner that "should warn th cotton far ours against plan ting aootbe eleven million bale crop. If the oro; of 1898 shall be as great as the crop o 1897, the farmers of the South will o baokrupt and the business interests o this seatioo will be in a worse condi tion ?ban in 1893-94. Tbe following extracts are made from the circular let ter referred to above : "The total visible suppl; of oottoc io the world ia 613,828 biles more than last year, 660,092 bales more than io 1896, aod 477,568 bales ies3 tbao io 1895. The amount of cotton that has beeo marketed to date is 2,105.027 mere tbao last year, 3,694.781 bales more tbao in 1896, aod 1,045.985 more than in 1895. The exports thia year are 977,896 I bales more than last year, 2,365,470 bales more tbao in 1896, aod 514.674 bales moro than io 1895 Tbe stock io United States ports is 288,385 bales more than la?t year, 357.330 bales more tbac in 1896, aod 91,856 bales more tbao io 1805 Middling upland- is now selling at ao advaooe of ooly 5 16 cent? per pound above the lowest, price touched this season, aod contracts for August deliv? ery, at an advance of ooly 0 25 cente above the lowest. lo our circular letters ot Jaouary 19:b aod February 5th we endeavored J to show the undeniably enormous losses } that tho Sooth has invariably sustained wheo more cotton was produced than necessary to supply the wants of tho j world. If we should bring the tabulated figures made then, up to this date, the losses to the formers on this year's crop would appear still more startling ; and, with the condition of affairs now prevailing throughout the world, the necessity for a redaction in acreage this year should appeal to every farmer with greater force and induce him to largely increase the production of food crops. The planters of the South have no encouragement to plant cotton large? ly this year, with the Aoglo-Rnssian Cbineso complications existing in the East, which might before the new crop could be marketed, greatly re? duce the value of cottonand the strained relations of our own Gov? ernment with Spain, which possibly might ?eeult in war, staring them in the face. Even with permanent peace exist ing between all the nations of the globe, the consumptive demand for cotton would not be sufficient to war? rant the production of another such large A mericaa crop as last year An inevitable loss to the whole South, tn* our opinion, would surely follow. From a recent circular of Messrs Ellison .& Go , Liverpool, the highest authority on cotton consumption in the wot l d, we make the following ex tract as to future prospects : "In our Annual Report issued in January, we showed that with an American crop of 10,750,000 bales, aud a consumption of about 9,650,- I 000 bales, the stock of Americon cot? ton in the ports of the United States, Europe, and the surplus stocks at the American and European mills would bs about 1,900.000 bales, against only 800,000 iast year, and we re? marked that in regard to the future of prices everything would depend upon the prospects of the new crop. "With as great a reduction in acreage es took place in the spring of 1895, we should see a repetition of the upward movement in values wit nessed in that year ; but, if planters are satisfied witb present prices and do not reduce the area platited, then cotton will become a greater drug than it tiver has been in the his? tory of the trade, and planters will not get anything like present prices " In their report Messrs Ellison & Co. based their calculations upon a crop of only 10,750,000 bales, when 9,975,418 bales have already been re? ceived, and the indications favor li, 000,000 bales or more The present unfavorable outlook for prices o? next year's crop should induce every merchant in the South to use bis influence with the planters to cause a mark? ed reduction in acreage, which would be surely followed by better prices and greater confidence in gene-al business operations 'throughout the South Yours truly, Latham, Alexander & Cn. Tiie new Spanish minister is report j ed to have inquired wby thia country is baying new warships. It might have ! been Mifficieot to reply 'hat it is be ( cau?i- we oh.v>se io du s ?, bat Assistant j Seorctary J) iy i? reported to bave rc j piled that i! t.- to ca!;e rtie plas? of the : ooo recently blown up in Havana har : nor. Ar il e saax? titee tr might have j be< o pertinent r<> inquire why Spain ie dickering ior ike (Vilifies and other ships ?-Augusta Chronicle. UNWORTHY OP NOTICE. j Since reading the eubijioed editorial i io the Kiogstree County Record, we have regretted that we took any notice whatever of the Like City Times acd irs attack on the people of Sumter and Darlington who assembled io mass meetings and condemned the Lake City lynching Tbs County Record shows up the editor nf the Lake City Times io his true colors and proves bim to be j unworthy of notice : j "We noticed in last week's Lake ! City Times an article casting epithets at tbe editor of The- County Record, and attacking this paper's utterances regarding the recent postoffice tragedy. It was our intention to let the article ? pass as not worth the attention of a gentleman, but the editor of the Lake City Times called to see os last Mon? day sod told os that, while the ar? ticle was his leadiog editorial, it was written at the dictation of some* ooe else, and expressed public sentit I timent and not that of the editor ; that he was a public servant, aod as such published the article at the instigation of another. Mr. Clark furthermore said that be had oot seen anything io The County Record that would warrant -such an article, aod be did not know what bis dictator was refer? ring to, but that he had beeo told it was ooe of the.articles we bad reproduced from another paper, aa our editorials were directed io speci? fic terms to the members of the mob. Continuing, be said he koew The County Record was oot "entirely foll of deouooiations of the people of Lake City aod vicinity," as bis editorial said, but he had published that "for effect " ?8 a matter of fact, there was uotb- i iog at ali published io The County Record which attacked anyon 3 save the murderers, and if occasion presented itself we will say r gain what we have already said about the assassination. The claim that we have deoouooed anyone who was not io the mob is utter? ly faUe, and was known to be by the author of the editorial in Lake City paper when the article was prepared." Kiogstree County Record. MORE LENIENCY. Henry Burrows was found guilty of manslaughter after a fair trial on the charge cf murder. He killed Alex Haynsworth by striking bim on the back of the head with a heavy billet of wood. It was murder, but tbe fact that the deed was supposed tu have been done io the beat of passion was ao ex? tenuating circumstance. The jury took a charitable view of the case and rendered a verdict of manslaughter, aod ooder this verdict Henry Barrows woald have received no more than jos tice bad the extreme penalty for bis orime been imposed. In this case the jury was not to blame, but the people wbo signed the petition for a light sentence are The people are crying for justice and are damning the courts and the law because criminals are not punished, but when there is a chance to punish a coovioted felon they must needs go and plead for leniency. Tbe way to put a stop to orime is to punish criminals, aod when tbe people Drevent the punishment cf criminals they do wrong. What we need in this oountry is more justice and more severe j punishment of criminals Tenderness ? and consideration is not the proper ' treatment for convicted felons. What i encouragement is there for juries to con- ' viet if the people follow immediately be I hiod them and undo theil' work hy j petitions?-Daily Item. ! fiCOAST LINE SHORT CUT. The Augusta Chronicle of yesterday contained the following of "much con? cern to South Carolinians : "It is stated that the Atlantic Coast Line is now surveying the route of an extension of their line that will put them a great deal nearer to Augusta th HU at present. . "The informatiob is to roe effect that the new line will be ruo from Denmark to Martini Station on the Port Royal and Western Carolina division of tbe Charleston and Western Carolina. "Tbe reason for the buildiog of this short line is obvious. The Atlantic Coast Line now owns tbe Charleston and Western Carolina and, at the same time, is running its trains into Augusta over tbe tracks of the South Carolina aod Georgia. "By the construcci?n of this short line it would be eoabied to reach this j city over its own tracks for the entire distance. "Just when the work of gradiog, aod of laying the tracks will oommeoce cao not be stated, lt is believed rbat the Coast Line in thc future will make a very strong bid for the business of this section and that by shortening its route to the east and running over its owo tracks it will compere, not only for tbe passenger business, bot for tbe freight to each an extent that Augusta will enjoy even lower rates than she cow bas to the east and from there." Southern Poets' Graves. "North Carolina has dead statesmen, lawyers, divines and soldiers who de? serve richly monuments to their mern or?es, bot do not receive them As to poets it has among its dead no one who can iu any special or proper sense be classed as a poet, except ex gratia. We are glad to know that there is a good showing for a suitable monument to one very genuine south ern poet-a man of genius, a gentle? man in high sense, a noble southron j We refer to Paul Hamilton Hayne. j It is noteworthy that our sister State ? ! of South Carolina has given birth to two of the best poPts of the south? land. In Harry Timrod and Paul Hayne South Carolina possessed two singers of inspiration and melody who deserve to be remembered grate fully, tenderly and pn?odly. They were finely endowed with lyric pow? er, and sang in such high and em avishing sweetness of numbers that they ought to forever charm Both were poor in this world's good things, and now sleep in unhonored graves In Georgia, the grave of | one of the truest of its own poets Richard Henry Wilde-has been duly marked with appropriate me monal stone. It was erected by the Augusta "Hayne Circle," organized in 1885. A correspondent writing from Augusta to the Baltimore Sun, tells of of the Wilde monument : "On a prominent Equate of Greene street, the beautiful residence street of Augusta, famous for its four rows of live oaks aud elms stretching from one end of it to the other, rises a cenotaph of Georgia granite in scribed to Wilde's memory. On one face is sculptured in bass relief a full blown tose, beneath which appears the verse : .'My iife ?s i ke the summer rose, That opens to tbe morning sky ; But ere me shades of e-eniDg close, Is scatterrd oo the goood to die." There are appropriate inscriptions, giving dates of birth and death of this gifted son of Georgia, who sang a few strains of magic sweetness "a poet, jurist, orator and statesman " "The Hayne Circle" is still trying to carry out the plan of erecting to the poet Hayne a monument that shall speak to coming generations We put Hayne third among southern poets, omitting Poe, who was born in Bostou-we may not undertake to say who shall be first-Timrod or Lanier. Both have left some rich legacies of rare merit and beauty Poe was born of a Maryland father, j but his mother was not southern. If i he 13 to He classed ES southern he is j easily first, HS he is first in pure ge- ! nius among al! American poetB. of whatever name or section In Eu? ropean judgment he is foremost among all the poets of our country. We hope that before longer neglect Timrod and Hayne's graves will be marked by fitting memorials of their genios If Lanier has not been thus honored, it is a neglect that cannot be too soon cored In Baltimore, at last, Poe's grave ia no lo?ger neg? lected He will live long in his poetry that may have the quality of perpetuity.-Wilmington Messenger. Tbat Silver Corpse. Of ail tbe unreasonable things we know of, the silver corpse easily tskea the lead. Its (naen i bas been preach? ed in every language, and that it is a dead ifsue we have been informed time and time again. Bat it does not seem to realize it We are are a loss to un? derstand why a corpse should so per? sist io stalkiog abroad. Hamlet's fath? er'? ghost is not a murker to the per? turbed silver spirit that walks abroad in all sections aod in all seasons, .hough its death has been officially de? clared, and we bave been informed by enthusiastic go?dbogs that the silver question is buried ao deep that resur? rection is impossible Io the face of ?hese authoritative ceciaratiops it is passing strange that s?, corpse will con? tinue to intrude itself upon the public attention. And yeti: coes Tbe Ohio Democratic stete central committee adopted the fo.lowing resolution last week : Resolved, That it ts the opinion of this committee that the silver forces of Ohio should stand united it? exactly the same position they recopied io 1896, and are overwhelming y io favor of the readeptioo of tbe Chicago platform aod the reoomioatioo for the presidency of HOD. William Jennings Bryao io 1900. And, folly aod unreservedly iodorsiog this position itself, the committee sug? gests to tbe organis?d silver forces of Ohio that io ail cc u o ty or district Democratic or silver conventions, held io the State this year, the question here raised be submitted to a direct vote cf the delegates assembled to the ead that doubt and discord as to the prin? ciples of a candidate a ay be eliminated j and the allied silver forces thoroughly ooited io the effort to roturo to congress a silver delegation frota the president's own State.-Augusta Chronicle. A man well knowo in politics aod OBe who is io a position to know where? of be speaks, ic talk'Dg of the outlook for this year's Srate campaign, yester? day said that Senator Tillman had de? termined to make several speeches io the State during the campaign this year. Of course they will not be de? livered at the regular campaign meet? ings, but at points to be arranged for later. Wben asked what would be the burden of the speeches, the speaker said that they would be in defense of the dispensary system sod the Reform party lt is paid that Senator Tillman intends to rake a hard on these lines notwithstanding the fact that his elder brother is expected to arrack both mat? ters referred to throughout the canvass. -The State. SPAIN BUYS TBE KERESE. Rome March 18-Thc Spanish government consummated the pur? chase of the new Italian cruiser Kerese to day and will be given im? mediate possession. The Kerese is a light armored crciser and is a new, fiwift and powerful vessel. The terms of the sale have not been made public KOTOS, Pore, sweet and dei ghtfully enchanting c?ptivBte tb? ear It is this very charm of tone thai most distinguishes tb? and makes theo the favorite home instru? ments. Singer? prefer them a3 accompani? ments, and for instrumental music, both popu? lar and classical, thev ?re unexcel'ed. TERMS ACCOUODAT?NG. STANDARD ORGANS. TUNING AND REPAIRING. CHAS. M. STEIFFj BALTIMORE 9 North Liberty St. Charlotte, N C., 213 N. Tr; on St