The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, February 24, 1904, Image 4

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1904. -: ? . l-???? The Suinter Watchman -was founded in 1850 and ih? True Southron in 1866. The Watchman and Southron now bas the com? bined circulation and in?aence of both of the old papers, and is manifestly the best advertising medium in Sumter. REVIEW INO SOMMENT. What the Generai Assembly Did and Failed to Do. A Teta! of237 Acts, of Which Most Refer to Lees! batters-Biennial Sessions -Work of Tax Commission " Thrown Away, as to Foar fittfes. of It Columbia, Feb. 22.- There was nothing of an especially distinguished character about the General Assembly of 1904, which 'bas just adjourned. . It did its work well and was disposed to do* the right .thing wherever possi? ble. There was no evidence of hostili? ty towards anybody or anything, and altogether the Legislators, who have finished their two years of labor, ?a've done' as well as they could. The make-up of the General Assem? bly is not as good aa it onght to be. The primary system ? has not tended to bring the best men- to the front for these positions. It is, of course, .quite true tba$ there are very many nigh toned, honorable and capable men in the Genera! Assembly, but what I mean to say is that as a role, men who have a great deal of business at home ard who ate indifferent to pub? lic honors do not care to enter into a scramble for a position in the General Assembly. It is unfortunately regarded as of too little honor and importance. This is altogether wrong, and it is certainly to be hoped that there will be some concert of action in the va? rions counties to - get successful men, men who have property interests, men who represent something, and some? body, to nm for the General Assembly and to keep ont freaks and represent? atives who do no ' honor to their coun? ties nor tc their State. ' In the list of ratified Acts that is published in The News and "Courier it will be seen that there were 237 prop ositivms that received favorable con? sideration. Of this number a very large proportion relate entirely to local affairs; in fact, more than a ?hird of all of the bills passed are to be put nuder the headings of claims of purely private nature, bills to pro? vide for bond issues for school pur? poses, and amendments to present statutes, increasing or lowering thc salaries^ of some county officers. As abmatter of fact, ,the barest fractional part of all the legislation this year was of a general character. There is. of course, a difference of opinion as to what legislation is of most general importance and conse? quence. There can be no doubt, how? ever, that the most important and far " reaching action was that looking to? wards biennial, instead of annual, sessions of the General Assembly. It is a very difficult matter with the con? stitutional restrictions, to accomplish the passage of a resolution looking to? wards any amendment to the Consti? tution, but the necessary legislation has been enacted by which the people will, next November, have the oppor? tunity of deciding whether or not they wish the 'Constitution amended seas to-provide for cessions of the General Assembly every two years instead of every year. Next in importance to this \s proba? bly .tte passage of the bill looking towards the establishment of a depart-1 naen* of immigration. It is reasona? bly expected that this department will ' feting about good ze^ults. Tue idea ir* not a new one, but the State has gone into the mitter in earnest and, with a competent- corumissioner, there is every reason to expect good resultb asd an influx of new blood. There were great things to be ex pteted from the tax commission ap? pointed at the recent sesi?n of the General Assembly. The State of South Carolina has not been, and is not. operating upon a cash basis, and the commission was appointed for the purpose of suggesting plans by which the State would get oat of debt and continue to operate on a cash basis. The tax commission did its work well, fent the General Assembly did not go any further than to pass what is known as the franchise tax bill and stop there. The tax commission was sincere in proposing? a series of five bills and it is, perhaps, unfortunate for the State; that the*General 1 Assem? bly should have picked oat the one bill that was directed against cor? porate interests and passed it. It is expected that this franchise tax bill will raise about $100,000, but, with the,complement franchise tax bill pro? posed by the tax commission the State would easily have had plenty of funds; but, unfortunately, the proposi? tion to make the corporations pay whatever tribute was to be paid be? came law and the scheme stops there. Outside of this franchise tax bill there was no legislation .that might be called E'S t agoni s tic to corporations, un less tho bill which places the telephone companies under the jurisdiction of the railroad commission is to be so re? garded, and there seems to.be no parti? cular objection to this measure. Quite a number of bills were passed relative to the railroad interests of South Carolina, but the only bills that will become laws that will in any way affect the railroad interests . are: First, the bill to require the railroads to transport baby carriages free as baggage; second the bill to require the hauling of 2C0 pounds of baggage free; third, the Coggshall bill, which places a time limit for the delivery of freight in this State; fourth-the bill to allow family use of mileage books. Of course there were a whole string of bills proposed, but out of all of them these were all that passed of concern to the railroads. There were quite a number of meas? ures proposed relative to cotton mill interests, but there was no disposition to affect injuriously the cotton mill interestp of the State, and if there had been any proposition winch would have given encouragement to.them it would probably have passed. Among the measures killed that were regarded as being against cotton mill interests were the McMaster liability bill, the Davis seat bill, the Johnson anti-strike bill, the Toole ten-hour labor law measure, and some others more remote? ly connected with this large Interest. The ?only bill that was passed that could in any way be regarded as affect? ing injuriously the cotton mill interest was that ol Mr. Irby, which provided for the redemption of checks issued to employees. It is understood that most cotton mills do not use this* check system, but pay in '?ash every two weeks. :?he dispensary had everything its own way this time. The only bill passed that in any way affects the dis? pensary situation --is the bill to which is attached the name of Senator Brice. It is not his bill as it was passed. The dispensary forces managed to have the bill amended so as to suit them in every way and the law, as it will go on the statute books, is not what Mr. Brice wished for, but is rather in line with the policy of the dispensary, which is that if any community does ! not want a dispensary that it will have to pay for that privilege. In other words, the bill provides that a com? munity can vote an established dispen? sary out of its limits, but if 'it does so it must at the same time provide for a tax of, one-half of one mill upon all of the property in the county for the purpose of maintaining a force to see that the dispensary Jaw is enforced in that county, and at the same.time it must forego the advantages of getting any portion of the surplus fund for its schools that would ordinarily go to them from the dispensary profits. The law says that a county can get rid of a dispensary if- its people vote to that effect. But it must at the same time provide annually by direct taxation a fund for whatever expenses might be imposed in the enforcement of the law, and also be deprived of its share of the surplus* school fund from the dispen? sary. Quite a number of new crimes, so tc speak, were created by the General Assembly this year. For instance, it was made a crime to operate gambling slot machines: to improperly brand foods ; to give false names to horses that entere*3, races, and to ship shad, oysters and clams out of the State, and to decline to fill unused wells. Of course, the General Assembly had to do something and it was just as well tb take a rap at the slot machines and the filing of horses' teeth and the filling of wells as anything else. This General Assembly has certainly broken a record, in that it has passed i a law that provides for a capitation ta- of fifty cents on dogs. As long as Citizen Josh Ashley remained in the General Assembly the "yaller dog" was safe, but now that he is in private life the "yaller dog" seems to be getting it, and if this law of provid? ing a fifty-cent tax upon each and every dog in the State is enforced, as it ought to be, it should result in a great deal of uood in eliminating worthless cars and at the same, time in raising a fund for educational pur? poses. The jar of the session was*incident to the State House work, lt .seems to be very mu?h of a mess and I will not undertake to justify or criticise any? one. There have already been columna printed on the subject. Unfortunate? ly there seems to be a great deal of I feeling about it. j The General Assembly, in the last I days of the session, voted 845,000 with I which to complete the building, and it is certainly to bc boped that with this money the building will really be "completed " The disposition in the House this year was very favorable to education in every way. A bill was passed pro? viding for a system of free libraries and it was based upon the proper the? ory of helping those who are willing to. help themselves. The State will give $5.000 this year for these new ru? ral libraries and each year $5,000 will be distributed towards that purpose. - News and Courier. Claremont Lodge, No. 64, A. F. M. will meet at 8 o'clock this evening. The annual banquet will be hold at the Hotel Jackson immediately after the meeting of the Lodge. PANAMA TREATY RATIFIED. End of a Long Contest in the United States S?nate. Washintgon, Feb. 23.-The United States Senate has ratified, without amendment, the treaty with Panama for a canal across the Isthmus of Panama by a vote of 66 to 14. The result was a foregone conclusion and the inerest in the matter was in the division of the vote on the Demo? cratic side, which was not definitely known until the roll was called. As was expected, all the ^Republicans voted for the ratification or were pair? ed that way. Three Republicans, who were absent, and Senator Foster, of Washintgon, were those who did not vote. Fourteen Democrats voted for ratifi? cation and fourteen against. Two Democrats-Clark, of Montana, and Stone, of Missouri-were paired in favor of the treaty, and three Demo? crats-Overman,' McLaurin. and Mar? tin-were paired against it, so in the total vote sixteen Democrats were for the treaty and seventeen against it. The vote on the . ratification of the treaty follows: Yeas-Aldrich, Alg?r, Ailee, Alli? son, Ankeny, Bacon, Ball, Bard, Berry, Beveridge, Burnham, Burrows, Clapp, Clark, of Wyoming, Clarke of Arkansas, Clay, Cockrell, Cullom, Depew, Dietrich, Di?lingham, Dolli ver, Dryden, Elkins, Fairbanks, Fo raker, Foster of Louisiana, Frye, Ful? ton, Gallinger, Gainble, Gibson, Hale, Hanswbrough, Heyburn, Hoar, Hopkins, Kean, Kearns, Kittredge, Latimer, Lodge, "Long, McComas, Mc Creary, McCumber, McEnery, Mal? lory, Millard, Mitchell, Money, Nel? son, Penrose, Perkins, Platt of Con? necticut, Platt of New York, Proctor, Quarles, Scott, Simmons, Smoot, Spooner, Stewart, Taliaferro, Warren, Wetmore-66. Nays-Bailey, Bate, Blackburn, Carmack, Culberson, Daniel, Du? bois, Gorman, Morgan, Newlands, Patterson, Pettns, Teller, Tillman 14. ? RUSSIA INDICTS JAPAN. St. Petersburg, Feb. 23.-Foreign Minister Lamsdorff sent the following circular yesterday to Russian repre? sentatives abroad : "Since the rupture of the negotia? tions between Russia and Japan the attitude of the Tokio Cabinet has con ! stituted open violation of all customary laws governing the mutual relations of civilized nations. Without specify? ing each particular violation of these laws cn tbe part of Japan, the Im? perial Government considers it neces? sary to draw the most serious attention of the Powers to th? acts of violence committed by the Japanese Govern? ment with respect to Corea. The in? dependence and integrity of Corea, as a fully independent Empire, has been fully recognized by all the powers, and the inviolability of this funda? mental principle was confirmed by Article 1 of the Simoneseki treaty, and by the agreement especially concluded for this purpose between Japan and Great Britian on January 30, 1902, as well as by the Franco-Russian declara? tion of March 16, 1902. The Emperor" of Core? foreseeing the danger of a possible inflict be? tween Russia and Japan, adressed ear? ly in January, 1904, a note to all the Powers, declaring his determination to preserve the strictest neutrality. This declaration was received with satisfaction by the Powers, and it was ratified by Russia. According to the Russian minister to Corea, the British Government charged the Brit? ish diplomatic representative at Seoul to pres?nt an official note to the Em? peror of Corea, thanking him for his declaration of neutrality. /'In disregard of all these facts; in spits of all treaties; in spite of its obligations, and in violation of tbe fundamental rules of internticnai law, it bas been proved by exact and fully confirmed facts that the Japanese Government first before the opening of ^hostilities against Russia landed its troops in the independent Empire of Corea, which had declared its neutral? ity : second, with a division of its fleet, it made a sudden attack, onJfFebruary 8: that is, three days prior to the de? claration of war, on two Russian war snips in the neutral port of Chemulpo. The comrdanders of these ships had not been notified ^' the severance of diplomatic relations, as? the Japanese maliciously stopped the delivery of Russian telegrams by the Danish cable, and destroyed the telegraphic com? munication of the Corean Government. The details of this dastardly attack are contained and published in an official telegram from the Russian minister at Seoul. "Third, in spite of the international law above mentioned, and shortly be fore^th?* opening Of hostilities, the Japanese captured, as a prize of war, certain Russian merchant ships in neu- ; tral ports of Corea. "Fourth, Japan declared to thc Em- i peror of Corea, through the Japanese minister at Seoul, that Corea would henceforth be under Japanese adminis? tration, and she warned the Emperor I that in case of his non-compliance, | Japanese troops would occupy the ', palace. "Fifth, through the French minister at ?eoul, she summoned the Russian representative at the Corean Court, to leave the country, with the staffs of the Russian legation and consulate. "Recognizing that all the above facts constitute, a flagrant breach of international law, the Imperial Gov? ernment consid?rait to be its duty to lodge a protest .with all the Powers against this procedure of the Japanese Government, and it is firmly conceiv? ed that all the Powers, valuing the principles which guarantee their rela? tions, willagree with the Russian atti? tude. At the same time the Imperial Government considers it necessary to issue a timely warning that owing to Japan's illegal assumption of Power in Corea, the Government declares all orders and declarations which may be" issued on the part of the Corean Gov? ernment to be invalid." RUSSIA WILL BIDE HER TIME. St. Petersburg, Feb. 2.1.- " The war will end in August or September in the complete defeat of the Japanese," said to The Associated Press a high auhority in intimate touch with the Russian war plans, whose opinion can be taken faithfully to reflect the be? lief in the highest official, quarters. He added : "How the Japanese can hope to suc? ceed when our army in the east is strengthened to a piont equal or supe? rior in numbera to that of our adver? saries we are honestly unable to com? prehend. It will not be difficult to place two, fonr or even six hundred thousand additional men-in the field, if necessary. When our forces are con? centrated and ready they will finish by driving the Japanese into tb.6 sea. Frankly, it seems to us that the Japa? nese either have utterly failed to ap? preciate Russia's resources, or have counted on the aid of Great Britian or the United States, neither of which ever contemplated becoming involved. So far as Great Britian is concerned we don't- believe any hallucinations existed there. *We think the British statesmen who did so much to push Japanese into war, realized that with^ Japans' defeat they would* ; accomplish two things for Great Britian-first, to give Bussia a check-for of course, the war must impede our progress tem? porarily ; secondly, to cripple Japan's maritime power, which was begin? ning to be greatly felt in the Pacific." It can be said with the utmost posi? tiveness that Russia will bide ber time. She will act on the defensive until she feels confident that her weight of numbers will leave no doubt as to the result. Roenfurcements are going forward at the rate of 3,000 per day. Probably some time will elapse before Russia feels fully prepared to assume the offensive. JAPANESE OFFICERS HANGED. St. Petersburg, Feb. 23.-The Japa? nese wfio were hanged by Russians in Manchuria for attempting to blow up the railroad bridge over the Sungari river, were disguised as coolie;--. They were arrested.just as they were about to make the attempt. Inquiry reveal? ed Jiiat they were Japanese officers of the general staff, namely. Col. Assia, of the engineers, and Lieut?. Zone loaischa and Kaeurta, of the Sappers. They were at once hanged from the girders of thc bridge. Charlotte, N. C., Feb. 23.-A special from Asheville, N. C., says: "A tele? phone message from Calf Creek, Madi? son county, ' tells of a tragedy which occurred there last night. It is said that a'young man named Hensley elop? ed with the daughter of Tom Kess; that Kess sent word to the young folks to return to his home, and upon their return last evening he drew his pistol and shot his daughter, inflicting in? juries that will prove fatal. ?"After Kess had shot his daughter the young bridegroom wrenched the pistol from Kess' hand, and shot his father-in law dead." The strike of the A. C. L. section masters and trackmen is said to have been a failure and that a majority of the strikers have gone back to work. The labor unions have invaded Sum? ter and within the past few weeks the electrical workers, carpenters and brickmasons have organized unions, and other trades are expected to organ? ize at an early day. The negro me? chanics as well as the whites have been organized, there being separate and distinct unions for whites and col? ored. . It is stated that tho unions have been organized not for the purpose of disturbing the labor situation here, ont to improve the conditions of tho laboring men. Those most active in promoting the organization of the un? ions say that there is no probability of a strike here in the near future, al? though conditions are not as satisfac? tory as the unions desire, but that for the present all their energies aro di rected to.the perfection and extens;on j of their organizations. The Sumter Telephone Co. has serv- | o:d notice on .subscribers of an in- ; crease in telephone rent to take effect : March 1st. Naturally the users of ? I telephones do not take kindly to this j increase of rates, but they will have I to submit, since the new rates do not exceed-only equal-the maximum rate permitted by the franchise giant- ? ed hy the City Council. A MURDEROUS ASSAULT. Bill Chapmaa Stabbed Mr. E. A. Jenkins ; sn the Back. ? Bill Chapman made a murderous aa sault upon Mr. E. A. Jenkins at th* j freight depot Monday afteraooa* | stabbing him in the back with a knife i and inflicting a painful but fortunate- ; ly not fatal wound. Chapman is an ix- ? convict and is said to have a bad re- j putation in the community. The assault upon Mr. Jenkins grew I out of a dispute over a truck which : one of Mr. Jenkins' wagon drivers- was j using and which Chapman tried to take j from him. Mr. Jenkins interfered and put an end to the dispute by taking j the truck from his driver and going j out on the platform where he was supervising the loading of freight on | his wagons. Chapman opened his knife, and placing it. in his pocket where it would be handy for immediate. use, followed Mr. Jenkins ont on the platform and renewed thc dispute. He made an attempt to take the truck from him by force and cursed him. Mr. Jenkins struck Chapman with his fist and in the scuffle the truck was dropped to the platform. Mr. Jenkins stooped to pick it np and as he did so Chapman drew his knife and stabbed him in the back, inflicting a deep wound in the muscles- below the shoulder-blade. If the other negroes standing around bad not interfered and stopped Chapman Mr. Jenkins would probably have received more severe injuries. Chapman was arrested and com? mitted to jail and will be given a pre? liminary hearing today. MAYOR'S COURT. The following cases were ?ried on Thnrsday. John ?. Keels, cursing and fighting, guilty, $10 or 20 days. Sydney Morris, drunkeness &nd dis? orderly conduct, guilty, $2 or 4 days. Henry Rayford, fighting, not guilty. Robert Wright, public drunkenness, guilty, $3 or G days. Jim Ross, carrying a pistol in viola? tion of the ordinance, guilty, $2 or 4 days. Candidate for Mayor. We haye been authorized to state that, at the urgent solicitation of friends, Dr. Geo. W. Dick bas consent? ed to be a candidate for Mayor at the municipal primary. He leaves for Washington this evening to attend the meeting of the Southern Dental Asso? ciation, but upon his return at the end of the week the formal announce? ment of his candidacy will appear. Manning News Notes. Dr. Baker, of Sumter, came down Friday night and also Suuday night to consult with Drs. Brown and Dickson in the case of Mr. Claude Breedin, who is critically ill at his home. Miss Olivia Ingram, after an extend? ed visit in Manning, left last Satur? day morning for Baltimore, where she goes to buy up the new stock of mil- ! linery for the Horn Dry Goods Co. of ? Sumter. Dr. I. M. Woods, of Salem, came i in town Monday and had been taking ! some quinine for a cold, but carelessly I took the wrong medicine and took morphine instead. The result came near being fatal. The Intendant had him locked up, thinking him to be under the iniluence of whiskey. But j the doctor recovered and declares that a mistake in medicine was made and j that he was not drunk.-Manning ? Farmer. In a row at St. Paul Christmas eve j Frank King shot Dosier Severance and ! pulled ont for parts unknown. Sever ance lingered with his wound until i thc 12th of this month when he died, I and Magistrate Richbourg held an inquest, and upon its verdict issued a warrant for the arrest of King.-Man? ning Times. Bishopville New* Items. Town council scooped in $69 last week from fines for disorderly conduct and $23 this week. The strike of the section masters and road hands on the A. C. L. is felt over on the Bishopville line. It was li ard a few days ago to get hands to keep even the water tank filled. But everything is working smoothly now. The many friends of Mr. George Baker will be glad to know he is able to be ont again after the sad accident of losing an arm while coupling cars ?n Charleston two weeks ago. Mr. Rollie Marsh and Miss Pearl Hill were married on Sunday, Feb. 1904, at the residence of Mr. IX L. Davis by Rev. C. D. Peterson. The blind tigers have beconae so bold in and around Bishopville that Chief Constable Hammett has deemed it necessary to put a special constable in Bishopville to beat them back into the jungles of Lynches river. The funny part is, that Bishopville has to pay the fiddler $60 a month out of the town's portion of the dispensary fund for making the tiger dance. Judge Purdy will preside at the next term of court here and we are told that he will not allow witnesses and jurors to take np the time of court by being out of the court room when their names are called ; nor will he permit the lawyers to consume time by uselebs talking. Not having court here in such a long time, the docket is a full one, but if Judge Purdy will do as we hear he does, he can clear it np in two weeks.-Bishopville Vin? dicator. / Church Officers Elected. The -first Quarterly Conference of Magnolia Street M. E. Church, South, was held last Tuesday evennig, Rev. H. B. Browne, P. E., presiding. The following officers were elected to serve during the ensuing conference year: Stewards-Geo. E. Beaumont, H. C. Barrinean, C. S. Curtis, W. T. Edens, R. J. Kennedy. T. B. Kennedy, Jno. S. Kennedy. Trustees-C. S. Curtis, H. T. Edens, H. J. Hicks, T. B! Kennedy, C. D. Lide. Superintendent of Sunday School and Recording Steward-Geo. E. Beau? mont. Very encouraging reports were re? ceived from the pastor and the official nfembers, and the outlook at present seems to be very hopeful indeed. This city owes it to itself that the Sumter Light Infantry be maintained, but unless a greater number of the business men take an active and sub? stantial interest ,in the organization and assist in supporting the company ' by entering their names as contribut? ing members the burden will soon. be-, come too great for the active members to carry. Th? company started cut with quite a list of contributing mem? bers, but instead of this list growing it has dwindled, first one and then another of our prosperous business men finding it too great a tax upon their income to pay fifty cents a month to assist in keeping alive a military company that is a safeguard to the community at all times and is frequently the bulwerk of our safety. WANTED-Faithful person to travel for well established house in a few connties, calling on retail merchants and agent?. Local territory. Salary ?20.00 per week with expenses addi? tional, all payable in cash each week. Money for expenses advanced. Position permanent. Business successful and rushing. Standard House, 330 Dear? born street, Chicago. Nov. ll FOR RENT-One storehouse, with three room dwelling attached, with necessary out buildings, for five months. Three and one half miles from Sumter in the fork of Providence and Stateburg roads. For terms apply to R. M. Edens, Sumter, S. C. Julv 29-tf. f A. MM', Prest. G. W. BOSIIIER, SM. S Treas. The Sumter Banking & Mercantile Company, Sumter, S. C. --Capital Stock $50,000 Wholesale Grocers, Fertilise ers and Farmers' Supplies. Sole agents for the celebrated brand of Wil? cox & Gibbs Fertilizers. We are prepared to quote the very closest " ?ash or time prices on all lines of Groceries, Fertilizers and Farmers' Supplies, And invite your investigation before making your arrangements for another year. Come to see us. We will save you money, and give you a hearty, courteous welcome. Sumter Banking ! Mercantile Company, ' Masonic Building, 2d door from the Postoffice. Sumter, S. C. Southeastern Lime & Cement COMPANY. CHARLESTON S C Building Material of all kinds. High Brade Roofing "RUBEMHO." i vr. -2 o ...