Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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it--Out. From its appearance it look to me as if some one had used sor " kind of bar to prize it loose. The wo: had the appearance of being well dor I remain Yours, very truly, Columbia Plumbing and Corni Works, K. B. Chapman, Manager. Telegram: Columbia, S. C., Feb. 13,1904. 'A. C. Dover, Ocala, Fla. Did the State house roof show flasl ings were torn out when you examim it? (Signed) . Frank P. Milburn. Telegram: Ocala, Fla., Feb. 18,1904. Frank P. Milburn, Architect. Yes, some half dozen places absolut ly pulled away from wall. (Signed) A. C. Dover. Columbia, S. C., Feb. 15, 1904. Mr. Frank. P. Milburn. Dear Sir: I am a native of Georgi but now a resident of Charlotte, VN. 1 I am a practical cornice and metal ar sheet worker, with 22 years actual e: perience. . I did a great deal of work on tl State capitol at Columbia; had chars of the sheet m?tal work of the inn? dome and the outer dome, and als the guttering,- and the same was put i according to the plans and details fe the same, by experienced workmen, i a good, workmanlike manner. I ha\ .-read the published testimony of M: Hunt relating to ray work, and th same is in the main not trae. I have this day been on the roof a? examined the. dome and gutters. Th floor of the lantern of the dome ha been bactfy abused since the work wa completed and accepted. There hav been hoies made in the copper, whic cause leaks inj the inner dome. Ther is now a piece of /timber there /wit nails in it, which might cause some o the holes noted. As to the guttering, the statement o Mr. Hunt is generally not . true. The; are made of Merchant's old method JJ tin, which is the standard of America arid proper material for that part?cula work. It rests or. a granite foundatio: and . has all thc protection necessarj After three years use it is in perfec condition. I have had large experience witl roofs, and have been familiar with thi roof, on! and on, since it w^s put on >/ In this matter, again the testimony o Mr. Hunt is largely untrue. It is as m . phalt and gravel, and not tar an< gravel. Xe ne of the stone used in it construction were one and a half o: two inches, and the little slipping note? is only some slight excess of material as is common to such roofs. The cost of metal ceilings in 1901 an( ^1902 was very much less than it wai .;. in 1889, because of progressive ideai and methods in this kind of business and prices of material. AT hough I hat . y no interest in the ceiling of the mair 'lobby or elsewhere, my work was neai it, and I had conversation with Mr Unkefer about same, and I know thai the new ceiling cost more than it woulc have cost to repair the o?d one, but t< fix the old one wouid require the im - portation of special expert metal work? ers,, and a great'deal of time, whict ; i ' would have resulted in inconvenience to the legislature. . >:.: Yours truly,, . (Signed) G. G Ray. To Whom it May Concern: Gentlemen: I have read with sur pnce Capt Hunt's testimony in re? gard to the roofing: applied to the Stat? house, and have the following to sub? mit: . The roofing on this building is what is known as "Warren's. Anchor Brand, Natural Asphalt Roofing," and was ap? plied by the "Charlotte Roof and Pav? ing company" of Charlotte, N. C., ac ." oording to the plans and specifications adopted by the Warren1 Chemical and Manufacturing company of New York city. This roof is what is known as our "Standard Anchor Brand Asphalt Roo lng," and has been applied accord? ing to our plans, and specifications. It contains no coal tar, or cpal tar prod? ucts., and is composed out of asphalt throughout In reference to Capt Hunt's assertion that the roof is of lit? tle or no value, I might state that while there are some leaks in the. roof, these leaks are occasioned, not through ; the fault of the roofing, but for other reasons not in the roofing contract Now, the pitch of this roof, as nearly as I can ascertain, is about four Inches to the 'foot, and the roofing is well adapted to this class of construction; in fact we do not hesitate io advocate, and furthermore to apply this roof? ing on buildings whose roofs have a . pitch of (6) six inches and upwards to the foot T^he crushed quartz used for the graveling surface is such as will pass through a mesh fi om ? 5-16 inch to 1-2 inch in size, and I am at a loss to understand how Capt. Hunt can say that he was able to find stones as big as pigeon's eggs, or the size of a man's hand. I submit the above testimony in defense of the Anchor Brand Roofing, which has been attacked by Capt. Hunt, -nd trust it will be accepted as such. (Signed) -Walter B. Harris, Representing Warren Chemical and Manufacturing company, 17 Battery Place, New York city. I notified the Charlotte Roof and Paving company repeatedly to send men to repair this roof. They sent men more than once, but finally Mr. Dover, the manager, told me that some one was tampering with the roof and that he thought that water was run? ning through the copper work and around the windows. It is a fact that some of the frames and sash were blown in during a severe windstorm last summer, and more than likely this accounts for some of the leaking com? plained of. Mr. Ray informed me that holes had* been punched in the copper dome. I cannot say as to this, bu* I do know that peoplefwere permitted to go and come at will. On two or more occasions I sent my men to inspect the roof after it was reported to me that it had leaked. They reported that a scuttle, which is about three or four feet square, was left off; and one time both scuttles were off. I required that the Toofing contract? ors give a guarantee for, 10 years, which fully protected the State's in? terests. The committee say that a fine slate roof was torn off which cost the State a great amount of money, and they further say that it afforded" perfect pro? tection. Bul they did not produce a single witness to prove these assertions. Who told them? The absurdity of the i statement is proved by the fact that : the principal argument used in get? ting the appropriation for the irnnrove ments was that "the roof was full of holes and leaked like a sei ve." Besides being old and worthless as a roof, there was a very small portion of the slate on the roof, only that -~*.rt that could be seen from the ground-that is. the steep mansard-the rest was of copper and was sold for .iunk. Eighth. Numerous objections to the dome which are so' disconnected as to necessitate somewhat of a general re? ply. It should be clearly understood that I originally planned for the construc? tion of this dome of cast steel, just like thc material used for the dome of the capitol at Washington- Col. Marshall : objected to this, and the commission, as J believe. largely influenced by its desire to satisfy him, directed the change to granite. This change neces? sitated a greatly increased-load, and I rot only carefully considered the Strength of the main building to sup? port it but. at my own exnense. had the best expert in this line to make an examination and calculation (ff the pressure, on the masonry, of the pro? posed increased load. The proposed? ehauge was feasible, but instead of supporting the , dome on two j steef beams? as first designed. I had put in four large box steel j girder:-;, and increased, the thick- ? ness ot all that metal. The expert! I referred to said, ?'W'? are satisfied there is no question as to the stre j of this revised design." With j change it became necessary to grreater pitch to the roof than c ! nally intended, and to make num< modifications and changes in the : ifications and detail drawings foi work. For instance, the chang pitch of the roof obviated, the nece for the ventilators shown in the i mal plans, which would have been sightly thereon. The modified anc vised drawings for this portion o? work are still on file in my office ; could have been seen by the inv gating committee and their "ext \ had they so desired. I It is charged that the window frc of the dome do not fit. This app ance is no doubt caused by the that some of them were blown in ; ing a severe storm last summer. Again, that there are kinks crimps in the galvanized iron of inner dome. But the.^e are no d( due to natural expansion and cont tion. Again that some stones on the side of the dome are too short, and contractors filled up the spaces Is the fact is, you cannot keep the w out of a close joint of stones: tl must be space enough to calk and men'., and it is necessary at that pc It must be understood that the li water oozing past the cement s^ the oakum and this makes the j' water proof. ' But the great bulk of critic of ^he work on the dome is t it is not according to plans specifications, and that the ol actually used" are not what t should be. It is true that much o is not according to the drawings ; specifications seen by the com mil and their expert, but are a s?bstan complance with the "modified drawi and detailed working plans. As to criticism by Mr. Hunt arid the comn tee of the plans as changed and ac ally carried out, I insist that neit this contractor nor this committee competent judges. Surely the memb of the committee are no better able judge of the work, at this time, tl were the members of the capitol cc mission, who saw the work as it p gressed and when it was completed s accepted. Ninth. That the wood truss um the portico roof, called for by the dra ings, is absent. * . After the commission decided omit the two columns befo;e ref en to, the wood truss was no longer prc er, the drawings were changed a steel trussed perlins substituted, spa ning the portico the shortest way. And here again the committee und? takes to criticise the use of, built . sections, as called for by the drawin; instead; of expensive solid stones. 3 deed, they criticise everything ex?c the contract price, whieh every bo knows was very low. Tenth. That a sheet of galvaniz iron 1-'.: of an inch thick is all th? is between the interior of the buildi and the "wide, wide world." These gutters.are not galvanized ire but the best quality of IX tin, which the best gutter lining that can.be us? Copper last's longer, but the expansi is too great. These gutters, which a of the.usual thickness for this class work, are painted on the under sic caulked with lead in the stone and tl gutter bed lays flat on the stone co nice. Eleventh. That one of the large Iii tel stones in the rear portico is cracke this being the last of the \specii charges which is numbered. This stone showed no defect wh< the work was accepted, but has br< ken si'ice then. 1" do not believe it likely to "give away." Apparently pe: feet stones w*ill sometimes crack in building and cannot be guarde against. .The committee could ha easily found evidence of this fact, ha they desired it, in several large stone on the east side of the building, whic are cracked and broken, as is also very* large stone on the south sid near the west corner. Next: That the contractors did nc protect the interior of the building dui ing the work. It is almost impossible to fully prc tect a building during repairs an changes and let the occupants rema i inside-it is not like an unoccupie building. I could not. and did nol undertake to prescribe just how th contractors should protect the ol work, and they claimed to the commis sion that they had done all they cou! do to that end. In this connection it must be remem bered that many of the stains fror leaks in different parts of the buiidinj were there before the/ work under in vestigaticn begun. ' Next: As to the cement floors an< water leaking from above. Only one day last month I was sur prised to see so much water in tin passageway under the iront portico as it had not rained for several days and I called the attention of "Mr. "Wil? liam Banks of The State to the condi? tions. Careful examination showec that the walis of the building wer< sweating aj? around, but where the din was against the building it absorb?e the water, while it was not'so absorb?e where the cement floors joined the walls. The walls sweat regularly This would not have been the case hac they been built hollow in the outset they, had enough thickness for afc space in the centre. This is one of the most serious defects in any part of the State house. I had nothing to do with it. Next: As to the defective water clos? ets and plumbing. This work was all done before the city had plumbing rules, or an inspec? tor of sewers and plumbing, or even a sewerage system. These rules vary in different cities, and in the absence of any prescribed rules each architect uses such plans and methods as seem best,, considering location and sur? roundings, general appearance and sanitary rules. In all these matters there is constant improvement, just as we have greatly improved on old clos? ets in the basement, which were in? stalled when Col. "Marshall was on the commission in charge of the State house improvements. I trust that, the State is able to get even more venti? lation, by electric fans, as suggested, or otherwise, as the present location was not built for this purpose, or there would have been more ventilation. 1 think the following letter will enable the public to form a correct estimate of the inclination of this investigating committee to condemn everything in sight: Office cf A. W. Edens, C. E., Inspector of Sewers and Plumbing. Room No. S. City Hall. Columbio. S. C.. Feb. 15. 1904. Mr. Frank P. Milburn. Dear Sir: At your rectuesi I take pleasure in stating that the plumbing ender the two porticos of th? State house will compare favorably wit!; any plumbing th.it has come under my ob? servation in- this city which was In? stalled prior to the passage of the present city plumbing rules. The clos? ets and otlur fixtures are of good qual? ity. The principal defect found \\:is the want of proper ventilation. Y?>u rs respectfully. (Sij?ned) A. W. Edens. C. 10. Next. it is elia rued that the contractors, as '^naked tresnassers." carried away and disposed of old material, which was valuable property of tie* State: and" the committee says they attempt to justify tie* aci by an item of the I spec? Goations, which does not support the contention. This is another ?vidence ?hat the : committee did net consider the reports of the capitol commission, as the legis- ' lature directed it to do: for it appears in one of those reports that under the ; item of the specifications referred to. thef contractors, and other bidders, j were told before bidding that they! would get ali the old material, exec the marble: that the contractors ; lowed for the value of this old mater in their bid': that the commission tu investigated the matter; that the : torney general gave his official opini that the general opinion had been tri the contractors owned the old mat rial, and the commission could ti Ciairn it: that the opinion of the attc ney general was approved by lb" coi mission, excepting oniy Mr..Marsha and the commission referred Mr. funkers proposition to it co buy t old material from the contractors. I repeat that I cannot believe th this investigating committee consi tied the report, or knew ol' these fae If they did, I think a discriminatii public can see that they are deterrnin to uphold Col. Marsha H's minority r port, even if a suppression of cu facts is necessary. Generally: As an evidence that i gave the Sta good and honest service in the expen iture of its money on the State houi and in refutation of many charg made, but not sustained, by the i: vestigating committee, 1 desire to su mit the following statements of ho: orable, widely known contractors, no withstanding the chairman of th; committee, on the floor o? the senat where he was secure from reply, d scended to the tactics of trying to b smirch and impugn any of and all wi nesses who dared to speak the trut if noi in support of his report: Nicholas Ittner, Contractor, P. O. Bc 606, Atlanta, Ga. Atlanta, Ga., March 22,1901. Mr. Frank P. Milburn, Columbia, S. < Dear Sir: Your favor of thev20th I hand. I examined the material ar workmanship at capitol building, ar find it a first, class job. I consider it good, substantial piece of work. Yours truly, (Signed) Nicholas Ittner, Contractor. Savannah, Ga, Aug. 17, 1903. Mr. Frank P. Milburn, Columbia, i C. Dear Sir: In reply to your inquir of August 7th in regard to the work rt cently done on the State house, I 'wi say that I Jbave had considerable es perience in large work, and have ha quite a number of contracts from th United States government. I was on of the firm of the Stewart Contractin company, who bid for the contract i Columbia. I was in Columbia Auc 14th, and while there inspected th State house work- As a whole, I thin the work very satisfactory. There ma be some minor things that I would hav done different if 1 had been award ed the contract. Anyone looking t find fault can always find it. There i one thing certain, the State of Souti Carolina, in my estimation, has re ceived full value for the money ex pended, and now has a capitol tha any State might well be proud ot This is my honest and - unprejudiced opinion. Yours truly, (Signed) J. E. Burgess, Manager. Savannah Contracting Company. Note. Mr. Burges remodeled interio of postoffice building in Columbia, i: 1903. Augusta, Ga., Sept.2, 1903. Mr.- Frank P. Milburn, Columbia, S vG. Dear Sir: In reply to your favor o Aug. 25th, wanting an opinion from u: on the new State capitol in your city we beg to say the writer has frequent ly gone over this building during con struction and since it was finished, anc consider it as good a job as it is pos sible to make out of a remodeling job and being familiar with the price paie for the work, I consider the State se? cured a regular excursion price on tha building. We have had considerable exp?rience in remodeling work, and know ho^ difficult it is to make everything per? fectly satisfactory, as there is some? thing always in the way that cannot be moved. You would have no trouble to prove up values if the matter wai investigated, as you know from ex? perience that it is much easier to crit? icise than it is to execute. Yours very truly. (Signed) J. K. McKenzie & Sons, General Contractors. Ey Charles F. McKenzie. Johnson Ci:y, Tenn., Sept. 26. 1903. Mr. Frank P. Milburn, Columbia, S. c. Dear Sir: Replying to your inquiry of Aug. 25th, asking my opinion of the work recently done on the South Caro? lina State hot.se, I will say that I con? sidered the same weil executed and ful? ly up to the standard for such work. I have had experience in remodeling old capitols, and have found it hard to please every one, as they do not un? derstand the many troubles that we have to contend with. I am surprised that any objections are raised in re? gard to the job, as I thought the qual? ity of the work done, considering the quantity, was well worth the price paid for it. I should think it would be worth fully i;200,000 to duplicate the same work now under the present con? ditions of markets, etc. Yours truly. Signed) N * J. E. Parrish, Contractor and Builder, Lynchburg/ Va. Columbia, S. C. Feb. 3, 1904. Mr. Frank P. Milburn, Columbia, S. C. Dear Sir: Replying to your favor of recent date, in which you request us to inspect the work done on the State capitol building at Columbia, S. C., we beg to advise as follows: After a careful inspection of the work, we are prepared to say that in our opinion, that the work seems to have been performed ir; a substantial and workmanlike manner. In our opin? ion, the appro?>riation was entirely too small for the amount of work under? taken. Very truly yours, t Signed) W. T. Hadlow Co., By G. H. Hadlow. General Contractors Jacksonville, Fla. Columbia. S. C., Feb. 13, ii)04. Mr. Frank P. Milburn. Dear Sir: I have this day been through the capitol building at Co? lumbia. S. C.. and after looking over the work I am satisfied that the work done by the contractor is a faithful performance of the spirit and intent of thc pians and specifications, as the work done i? worth a great deal more than his contract price. I also read Mr. Hunt's report as to steel ceiling and floor light and am satisfied that 1M- is entirely too high in his valuation of the ceiling, and that the floor light appears to have been used oi walked upon before the cement set. in which case the damages would not appear for some time. And I would say further, that in re? pairing or adding to buildings there are a great many things which no ability on the part of the architect can forsee, and which have to be taken up as they develop; so. after carefully looking over the matter. I am satisfied that the criticisms upon yourself and contractors are uncalled for and un? just. ? find that the granite used is not .-is hard as the original gm n ?te: tb texture being coarser, ii would not takt? ?bo same finish. I find that the specifications provide that each class and style of work shall be so many curs and che old work would not be taken by the contractor as his guide in performing bis work, while the gen? eral style and outlines would be the same. I rio not ..?' .that the removal of \'?> .?? -". ; >v.s mentioned in Mr:! Hunt's report o -ubi weaken the struc-l tur?*. 1 think the manner in which yon ! provided for the change was proper. 1 ; l?::d tbe thickness of the ceiling and gutters are such as are used on alli goo l buildings. lt is my experience ;is a contractor i .for 20 years that a number Of* roofs j leak for some time after the building i is completed, and io cover this a guarantee is given for one year. 5 The copper and tile roof on tlx- gov? ernment building in Augusta leaked j j from time to time and gaye the officers \ considerable trouble. Respect fully. (Signed) T. ?; Brown & Sun. Per T. C. Brown. Genera! Contractors, Augusta, Ga. THE GOVERNMENT EXPERT. No doubt the public is curious to \ know something mort- of Mr. Hunt, I I upon whom the committee seems con- : tent to rest for the support of its nu? merous criticisms of designs, plans and ; work, with the single exception of the; plumbing. 1 had understood, until last week. ! that the name of this witness was H. H. Hunt, and that he was a govern- ; ment architect.'as Committeeman Pat-1 terson announced in the house, and I j mad*1 diligent inquiry in Washington j as to identity and standing. In the ?limited time at my disposal I since Thursday. I have inquired as to j the work, position, etc., of Mr. S. S. ; Hunt, resulting in the following in formation: Before going to Washington. Mr. ! Hunt enjoyed the reputation of being, a good mechanic. The Washington city directory for ! 1903 contains his name as a contractor. The congressional directory does not show any such office as "superintend? ent of constructing of the United States capitol." The last congressional direc? tory Slows as connected with the office ! superintendent of the capitol: Superintendent, Elliott Woods. Con- j gressional hotel. Chief clerk. George H. Williams. 21G j E. street. Chief electrical engineer, Christian P. | Gilem, 642 East Capitol street. Clerk, John Welch, 310 North Caro? lina avenue, S. E. W. B. Kilpatrick wires: "Architect says neither S. S. Hunt j nor H. H. Hunt, superintendent of con- j struction capitol. Never heard of such I Hunt." J. K. Taylor, the supervising archi- j tect of the United States government, \ wires: "Office has no knowledge of S. S.; Hunt in connection with any of its: work." ? Paul J. Pelz of Washington, one of the three architects' (and the only sur- j vi vor) who designed the famous con-'! gressional library, says that his name is not in the government Blue Book; j that he neither knows S. S. Hunt as j a builder, contractor or architect, and j that if he had ' been of prominence in either capacity, he would have known ! him. Will South Carolinians endorse the i libelous report of this investigating j committee, confessedly based on the! opinion of this witness, in the face of j the opinions of Nicholas Ittner of At- i lauta, J. E. Burgess of Savannah, Charles F. McKenzie of Augusta, J. E. ; Parrish of Lynchburg. G. H. Hadlow of Jacksonville, and T. C. Brown of Augusta? . " The following extracts from the, rec? ords of the Capitol commission will no doubt prove interesting to the public: "Upon motion of Mr. Derham: "Resolved, That when the work on the State house is finished, prior to j accepting the same, the architect shall j notify the governor, who shall call the commission together, who with : the - architect shall inspect the work, and if the same is satisfactory the cer tificate shall issue." Columbia, S. C., May 22, 1902. Hon. M. B. Mcsweeney, Chairman ; State House Commission: Dear Sir-I wish to report that Mc- i Ilvain, Unkefer Co., contractors, have completed the w ork as outlined by me on the State house. That is, the spir? it, intent and meaning of the plans, specifications and modifications of the same, and are entitled to the final pay? ment. Frank P.- Milburn. ? P. S. This report to be filed when ! the commission are satisfied with the ! work as done. "Resolved, That it appears to the ; commission for the completion of the ; State house that the work is satisfac- j tory and that the contract has been I substantially performed. Whereupon Mr. Marshall made the following motion as a substitute: Resolved, That in the opinion of this commission the work done under the; contract to complete the State house has not been performed by the con- ! tractors according to the plans, speci- j fications . and contract, and therefore ; the work done is not satisfactory to the commission." A roll call having been demanded up- j on the question of the adoption of Mr. Marshall's substitute, the substitute was rejected by a vote of 7 to 1. as fol- \ lows: Voting yes-Marshall-L Those voting no-Mcsweeney, Jen nings, Mower, Johnson, Wilson, Bel Unger, Derham-7. CONCLUSION. I have tried to briefly and calmly i show the public the plain facts connect- j ed with the State house work, with- ; out resorting to rant and cheap clap trap about, bamboozling, etc. I have nb desire to conceal anything from the public and I court the fullest investigation, feeling sure of a com- j plete vindication from the cruel at- ; tack which has been made upon my character for the first time. Verv respectfully, Frank P. Milburn. | A PREACHER WITH A RECORD. j The Rev. John Rnppe of Gaffney Ha? Tied 4.1S Matrimonial Knot?. Special to The State. Gaffney. Feb. 15.-Rev. John Ruppe, who has possibly maried more cou- j pies than any other man in this coun- ; ty. married two more North Carolina couples iast Sunday. These were Mr. A. Moore and Miss L. E. Settlemyer, of Henrietta, and Mr. C. A. Hawkins | and Miss Hattie McSwain, of Boiling Springs. This makes a total of 43S I knots tied by this aged divine. Many | are the people who can date their ; greatest ?happiness to the time when they stood trembling before him. Miss Blanche Wilson has gone on a trip north. ! Mr H. K. Osborne has announced himself a candidate for the office of alderman from Ward Six. Mr. T. Davenport has sold his gro- | eery business to Mrs. T. Davenport, : who will conduct the business at the sri me place. Mr. Davenport will be? come a knight of the grip. His line will be groceries. o ? o Help is Appreciated. People's Recorder (colored).. lt is indeed gratifying to note the , interest the Columbia Daily State, the white citizens of Columbia and else- ; where, and Dr. Ray of lower Richland: county are taking in raising and dis- j tributing contributions of money, food und clothing for and to the colored suf? ferers of lower Richland. All remem- : b.-r bow their crops were all swept away bv hail, wind and rain last year, and "bow hundreds of the poorer class' have undergone almost starvation. Now these white friends, from their bounteous storehouses, are most liber? ally contributing to the needs of the sufferers: Being a Columbian, we do all the ra re appreciate this manifest Chris? ti.!, beneficence, "day the blessed Lord restore to these benefactors ten fold. We thank them, is about the only pay? back that we can give. -o->- - - A Fatal Explosion. Buffalo. X. Y.. Feb. 21.-Two men were asphyxiated, one bumed to death and several were seriously injused in an explosion of blast furnace gas at the plant of the Lackawanna Steel company today. Thc dead are: Geo. Reynolds, a mason: Michael S. Smith, a mason. Frank Prenatt, employed in the power house. I G!RLS WHO LEAVE HOME. I II I & ' # % Written for The State I?y W. li. j? 7r Woods. ~? -ii \ The readers of The State, or rather that portion bf them who have paid ih" writer the compliment of reading his articles, which have appeared from tim?? to time in its columns need hardly be reminded of his position on the subject of education. There is, however, one thing in connection with the question to which he begs to enter a protest, although it is done with a. considerable ?legree of reluctance. It is possible, of course, that this evil, aiufl the word is used advisedly? may not owe its origin to our system of education, bait to a change of pub? lic sentiment, which has found de? velopment outside of higher education. Then, too, the fact must be recogniz? ed that in all human affairs, it mat? ters not how good the general" ten- i deney is. there must be some evil; but ? while giving , full acknowledgment to this truth, every effort should be made to keep the evil incident thereto to the lowest possible point. The evil to which allusion is made is the craze that has found lodgment in : the mind of almost every girl that just as soon as she leaves the college i or high school she must find some j kind of employment, despite the fact ; that in the large majority of cases it ! involves leaving her home and being j thrown with strangers. Any system j of education or of public sentiment j that instills a feeling of this kind into the mind of a girl, that she must be in- j dependent and make her own way in ! the world, is radically and inexcusably ! wrong. There are, of course, many cases : where this seeking for employment is i painfully necessary, and where this' is i the case a girl should be encouraged j and rendered every assistance; but where this condition does not exist, j she is both unjust to herself and her ; parents when she voluntarily leaves them just at the time when they will I derive so much pleasure from her1 presence in the house. She has been sorely missed during the four years she I has spent at'college, but this separation ! was cheerfully borne by her parents, | for they could look forward to the time j when she would finish her education j and once more be with them to bright en their home. Independence and the desire to make one's own way in the ! world, is both natural and commend able, but there is such a thing as car- j rying even a good impulse too far, and there is something radically wrong in ! any system of home or school train- 1 ing that implants the idea in the mind ! of a girl that she should " t be de pendent on her father, even when he is abundantly able to provide for her i wants. Even if it' be granted that she can j have more social enjoyment in the town or city than in the country home I of her parents, this furnishes no suffi- i cient excuse for her to -leave her par- j en ts when her presence and help af- j fords them such unalloyed happiness. ? K often happens that the mother, get- I ting on in years, is worn out with toil j and , care. She has given all her strength and time to the raising and training of her children, and to her it is an inexpressible pleasure when her daughter insists on assuming some of her duties ?and responsibilities, and ! enables her to enjoy a well-earned ; rest. A number of years ago it was the ; writer's good fortune to be a frequent j visitor at a home where the condition ? above mentioned existed. The moth- j er's health was not good and the eldest daughter had simply relieved her of all i household cares, not even allowing the ; younger children to trouble her with ; any of their troubles. This daughter was accomplished, well educated, a j very fine musician and could easily have secured a position to teach. . This ! she would have liked to do, but she j felt that her first duty was at home, and the discharge of this sacred duty 1 will ever be the sweetest and tender- ; est recollection of her life, for when i she was called on to see that mother \ pass away she was sustained and | soothed by the consciousness that she j had done all that lay in her power to ! make her mother's last years pass in peace and happiness. One of the greatest and noblest men Robert E. Lee-who has ever lived on this earth, made duty the watchword of his whole life, and no sacrifice or danger ever restrained him from do- : ing what he conceived to be right. The : path of duty often calls us to walk in ways that humanly speaking are the very reverse of the ones we would j choose, but then there should ever be i present the thought that after all the strongest happiness comes from the consciousness of having done our ut- j most to promote the happiness of those who are dear to us. Fortunate, in- \ deed, is the daughter who, when she looks for the last time on the face of,' her mother, with her tired hands fold- : ed across her bosom, can feel that she | never brought tears to the now closed eyes or pangs of sorrow to the un selfish heart, which has forever ceas- ? ed to beat. If she can feel thus then she has a ? peace and joy that will be her greatest '. solace as long as life endures, for what? ever, for weal or woe, the future has , in store for her. this is something that ' no earthly power can take away. A girl when she first leaves col? lege and enters, as it were, upon the ; threshold of her life, stands in great need of her mother's counsel and pro- j tection, and it is a misfortune when i stress of circumstances deprives her ? of this safeguard. If there be one I thing on earth that comes as a gift : from Heaven it is the love of a moth? er for her child. No pen can portray : it; no plummet can sound its depths, : for it is as deep and wide as a fath- ] omless sea, to which no measurement \ can be given. .J The writer trusts that he may be ? pardoned for giving one more illus- j tration of the sacrifice of inclination i to duty, the facts of which are just as : related. } A good many years ago there ex? isted an engagement between two j young people, but there was. in the estimation of the young lady at least, ! an inseparable barrier in the way of its immediate consummation, that ob- ; stacie being an invalid mother, for! whose care the daughter considered herself responsible. After the lapse of a good many years the mother pass- ; ed away and a short, time after her death the daughter married the gen- ' tleman to whom she had been so long attached. They were both get ting along in years then, but can any? one doubt that that loving daughter] found great happiness in the few years j of her married life? It is very easy to believe that in tins short time there came to her enough of earthly happi- . ness to compensate for her long years of sacrifice to a sacred duty. It has always been a source of won? der to the writer that some truly great : writer has never trade a special point ; of trying at least to portray a moth? er's love for a child. following out that 'love from its birth, and when it lirst. . draws sustenance from her bosom, : through the years of its gradual mental and physical development. So far as the writer's knowledge extends this is for the novelist aft unexplored mine. ! .waiting for the touch of a master hand to bring its jew.-ls into the light ? of toda v. Baltimore. Feb. 21.-It was thought that not a life was lost in the fire here, but a charred body supposed to hoi that of a colored man has been found in the water at Bowley's wharf. 'The; bod:, is so badly burned as to be un-j recognizable, * SUEZ A ?REAljtY DITCH. I Cana! Cleft Through i Region Bar All Save? ?iibhVajl Richness. W. E. Curtis in Chicago Record-' aid. I Afloat on the Red |Sea, Jan. Every vessel passing through the ? canal is compelled to (take a pilot, cause skippers of ordinary vessels < not be trusted to navigate the nat channel, for the slightest devfa may cause damage that will cost tl sands; of dollars to repair. Each j however, navigation is rendered es by the widening of the channel by the excavation of additional sid or basins where vessels can jj From the moment the pilot goes on bridge he takes charge of the mi ments of the ship and is responsible whatever may happen, regulating speed according to tonnage draught. Vessels cannot pass in motion. "W they meet the one which arrives 1 at the signal station is compelled stop and tie up in the basin until other goes by. These basins are fo at intervals of a few miles, and every basin is a "gare" or statior charge of a signal officer, who co: sponds to a train dispatcher on of our railroads, and the block sys is used to regulate the movement vessels. Formerly no traffic was lowed at night, but now it is carried without interruption by the aid electric lights on the shore and sear lights on the vessels. The canal looks exactly what it a big ditch on a desert of sand which foxes, jackals, hyenas and casionally lions are seen by the wat men in the signal towers* At sc piaces the banks of earth on eit side are so high that passengers on steamer cannot see over them, but most of the journey you have a w sweep on both sides back to the moi tains that rise from the desert, ? at a certain point for a mile or 1 Mount Sinai is visible 37 miles to southeast, and is pointed out to 3 by the captain or the deck stewa Naked Arab boys ruh along the bat crying for baksheesh and easily k< abreast of the creeping vessel-, gn bing at pennies which passeag throw them from the deck. Half ' coins rofl down in the water, which exasperating to the youngsters. Ti do not like to stop and dive for th while there is a chance of getting mo but I imagine they mark the spots a come, back to recover lost backs he? when they have left.the vessel. There are only two towns of a account on . the canal. One is Ismal a half way point, wijth a population 4,000. It is the only rhonument in hor of the Khedive Isnjiail, who did t most and spent the post to carry c the enterprise, and j lost his thro thereby. It is rather a pretty tov abundantly irrigated, and hence h lovely gardens and' groves of pah and other trees. H?re reside most the engineers and other officers of t canal, because it is preferable to Pc Said. There is a hospital for sick et ployees, a club for the benefit of t officers, and several; good houses, i eluding one erected 1 especially for t entertainment of M.. de Lesseps, wh he should be pleased to use it. Beyo: Ismalia, as before, are occasion oases in the desert-groves of pair and luxuriant gardens surrounding t stations of the canal officials, f wherever you can turn water on th lonely desert everything will grow wi a wild luxuriance, lt seems as if tl earth suddenly released germinatii power that had been accumulatii during centuries of suppresion. The chief interest is found in tl town of Suez, because it is the crossii place of the great caravans of came that furnish transportation betwen tl two continents of Asia and Africa, ar travel regularly between Cairo. D< mascus and Bagdad; also because bil lical historians believe that here ti waters of the Red. sea opened 3,5 years ago and allowed 3,000,000 of tl children of Israel to cross over upc dry bottom. It requires a considerab concession to the imagination and strength of faith that a majority < mankind" do not possess to accept th theory, but no one knows to the cor trary, and experience has taught rr never to doubt the faith of interestin stories. If you do, you deprive youl self and others of much pleasure. 1 is like analyzing the attraction of pretty woman, or separating her fea tures into lots, classifying them an measuring them by the Venus de Mill On the other side of the Red sef which, by the way, is not red, but blu -as blue as the sky in June-you ca see the purple peaks of the Sinaiti range, and a few miles from the short which you can reach in three hour by donkey, one 01 these remarkabl oases that are frequently found in th desert. This particular one is calle the Wells of Moses. There is a com footless hotel kept by an Arab, wher beds and refreshment can be obtained but it is better tc? start early in th morning, so as to iget back the sam' day, and take a luncheon in a baske from Suez. The ?trip can be easil: made while the vessel is coaling. The children of Israel, according t< the Bible, wandered three days m th* wilderness of Shur and found no water and when they cairne. to Marah the] could not drink t$e waters, for the] were bitter, and t?e people murmur?e against Moses, sajiin: "What shall w< drink?" and he ched unto thc Lore and the Lord showjed him a tree whi?l he cast into the waters and the waten were made sweet, j And they came tc Elim, where there were 12 wells ol water, and three score and ten palrr trees, and they encamped there by the waters. And Miriam, the prophetess the sister of Aaron, took a timbre] in her hand, and all the women wen1 out after her with timbrels and with dances. ' That beautiful scene, one ol the most dramatic in the whole Bible, is believed io have taken place here, for these wei ls arra the wells of Elim, and three and ten palm trees still shelter a collection of a dozen or more springs. The village is peopled by naked Arabs, sinewy, springy, en? during fellows, wliose flesh shines like polished mahogany, and who must re? semble the young] men of Israel when they started on the journey that was not finished for 40 years. It is difficult to ?understand why and how they happenjed to be wandering about so long down here. If you will look at the map you will See that Suez is almost on a lirle with Cairo, and it was the most natural rendezvous of the tribes, who were! scattered all along the Nile from Memphis, which is just above Cairo, to Thebes, which is just below Luxer. The account in the Bible is eondensejd, and we are com pelled to take a gpud deal of these tra? ditions on faith, but. as I have already suggested, ir ss wprth while to do so. The Red sea isj?,400 miles long, and its greatest width is 200 miles. It is about the shape of a sausage, and ta? pers at both enids. On one side is Arabia, the most ?mysterious and prim? itive of all countries, and on the other side are Egypt, Nubia and the Soudan. At the north end ?what is known as the Sinaitie peninsula projects southward and divides the! sea into two arms, and near the point of the peninsula is Tor. the landing!place for sinai. Op? posite Tor is " Jebel EzrZeit. which means "thc mountain of oil." where pe? troleum was discovered some years ayo and created urent excitement. Hun? dreds of thousands of dollars have been expended in sinking wells and building docks, warehouses and refin? eries, but liave all been abandoned, because, for sonhe reason, the manu? facturers could not compete with the Standard Oil company or the Russian factories on the Black and Caspian se:is. . People tb ink that there is a good deal more wealth in Arabia than we know of. It was once foi greater importance _LL._ i than now, and in ancient days pro? duced considerable gold and other met? als, but now it ships little but dates, wooi and coffee, " and even these are gradually falling off. Mocha cdffee is produced at the extreme end of the Arabian peninsula, in a province called Yemen, and derives its name from the little port it is shipped from. But the people' have no enterprise, the coffee orchards have been injured by insects and blight, and the trees have not been renewed. This is acounted for by bad government. As everywhere else in the dominions of the sultan of Turkey, for Arabia is nominally a part of the Ottoman empire, the officials receive no salaries, and live off blackmail. Hence, whenever a citizen gets a little M.head. when he shows signs of pros? perity, he immediately becomes an object of plunder and persecution by the tax gatherer and by every other representative of the government. There is no incentive for the coffee growers to extend their orchards or to increase their product. One does not realize, until he comes face to face with the fact, that Arabia is nearly half as large as the United States. Its area is almost as great as that of India, and is nearly equal to that of our States east of the Missis? sippi river. The population is un? known, because there has never been a census, but it is suposed to be be? tween seven and twelve millions. The distance from north tc south is more than a thousand miles, and from east to west ityvaries from 500 to 800. Yet in all this enormous territory there is ho centralized authority. The interior is goverened by petty. sheiks, each being absolute over the members of his own tribe. Along a coast line of nearly 2,500 mil"** are only six ports, where the sultak of Turkey maintains pasha governors and garrisons to pro? tect the collectors of customs, who are required to pay him a certain amount of tribute every year, and they wrimr it out of the people any way they can. The relationship between the gov? ernment at Constantinople and the Bedouins of Arabia, is very slender, and is due solely to the cohesive power of the Mohammedan religion. There is no law in Arabia but the Koran; there are no courts but the priests; there are no mails, no postoffices, no postage stamps, and a person who wants to communicate with a distant fried must send his letter by a messenger, which is expensive, or by a caravan, which is the common way. Th?re is no tele? graph line, no newspaper, no railroad, and, strange to say, not a river in all that vast area except a few shallow, rocky beds, ; which during the spring; bring down water from the melting snow on the mountain tops to the sea, but for nine months in the year, are as dry as a crematory. The captain tells me that they pro? duce a<;urious phenomenon. The coast of ' the Red sea is lined with coral banks, built . by those mysterious an? wonderful little masons who, like aenae men that I know of, hate fresh water, arid wherever the spring floods fall int? the sea there is always a wide break in the coral reef. ~^he mountains of Arabia reach aa aicitude of 10,000 feet, and in spot? where borings have been made the san? is more than 600 feet deep. It is the prevailing impresi?n that Arabia is a vast expanse of desert, but that is a mistake. There are wide strips of Bar? ren sand, which are irreciaimabl? for cultivation only because they caxuzot be reached by water, but two-thirds sf the country is capable of cultivation, and. lying at an altitude of 3,0W feet above the sea, might produce cotton, sugar and other semi-tropical staples in unlimited quantities./ Although there are no streams plenty of water can be had for irrigation purposes hy digging 20 or 30 feet, and the introduc? tion of windmills would simplify the pumping problem. On the coast it fe intensely hot, and the humidity of the atmosphere during fh/> SStCBHSSC wirrah. makes life almost unendurable, but in the interior, upon the table lands along the mountain slopes and in the valleys, tihe mercury seldom rises above S5 de? grees, even* in mid-summer. While the direct rays of the sun are intense, it is cool in the shade, and at night the mercury often falls below 50. More than two-thirds of the popula? tion are Bedouin nomads, without per? manent places of abode, who live in tents made of camel's hair, just like the patriarchs of old. They have enor? mous flocks of sheep and goats, and herds of catie and camels. The follow the grass and move from place to place with all their possessions. There are, however, several prosperous cities sf considerable population and commerce. Trade is conducted by camel caravans, which cross the desert regularly, transport enormous quantiti0**" wool and other merchalL William E. Curtis, o ? ? A School for Grown-Upc Gastonia (X. C.) Gazette. The Statesville Landmark refers to the pluck of a boy 17 years old and of a man twice that age who recently buckled down to books at Buie's Creek academy without knowing how to read. The boy didn't know his letters, the man began in the first reader. Yes, that is plucky in a sense. Not that the t?sk is so great, but that the nerve to get one's consent to undertake it at those ages is so rare. But' it ought not to be rare. The task is not greit, not difficult of accomplishment. Little children who live with books and picture blocks learn to read be? fore they are six years of age, learn without special teaching; with some direct and regular instruction they would learn sooner. We do not believe that there is in the State an illiterate grown man of ordinary intelligence and industry that could not learn to read in Six weeks, write in ten weeks, and get a good beginning in arithmetic in a few more weeks, if he would only give these things attention and reg? ular study. Why hasn't somebody started a school fdr grown men who cannot read and write? The gap be? tween the man who cannot read and the man who can-how great and how wide it is! What storehouses of rich? ness and vast and fertile fields are shut away from him who cannot read. Beyond the Alps lies Italy-and the Alps in this case are not impassable. The gap is wide but not difficult to him who tries, and the prize is so worth the winning! The man who cannot thinks the way is hard; the man who can knows it is not. The grown man who cannot read and write -somebody show him, somebody help him. Here's missionary work for one. and priceless happiness for two. SPECULATORS IX TROUBLE. Have Been Starring War Ramon in Italy for Money Purposes. Rome. Feb. 21.-Rumors of warlike preparations by Italy having been cir? culated a semi-official communication has emanated from the government which is in substance as follows: Stories of alleged armaments and of the movements of warships and troops for service abroad are entirely false. Indications exist that this false news is connected with stock exchange speculations and those responsible lia ve been brought before the law courts to be punished according to law with imprisonment of from three to thirty months., rhe communication evidently alludes to the insistence by a portion of the press that Italy will be antagonistic to Austria in the Balkans and to the predict ?ens of international complica? tions thus causing a fall in Italian bonds and a rise in the exchange on gold. Dr. Jameson*? Success. Cape Town, Feb. 21.--Dr. Jameson has succeeded in "ompletiiff a oafclftet.