Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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WATCHMAN. Kttabllfthed April. 1850* s "Be Just and Fear not-Let all the Ends thou Aims t at be thy Country s thy God a -tad Truth's. THK TRC3S SOUTH BON, Established Jone, 1^6 Aug. 2,1881. SUMTER. S. G.. WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 22, \ ?Qb New Series-VoL XXIY. So. 31 Cfe tStatrira at? Jwi??nm ? -J ? O' ?o?Us2t?& Sway W??awday, -B? 8STEEN PUBLISHING COMPANY, SUMTER, S. C, ij? 50 per annum-io advaaee. ADTBBTI8BMJBXT: One Square first insertion........,.-...".$l CO Xverj subs?quent insertion........ ......... 50 Contracts for three months, or longer will toe ran?e si reduced rates. All eommcaieations which subserve private j interests will be charged for as ad vertiefen ts. Obituaries and tributes of respects will be shaj ged for. WORK OF TSE LEGISL?TSRE. NO CHANGE IN DISPENSARY LAW THIS YEAR. By TV. H. McCaw. Columbia, Feb. 16.-By a Tote of ? 54 to 46 the house this morning killed ?'"Mr. Nash's bill, to authorize water companies to condemn lands to pro . . ; tect water sheds. The house wanted to ' give Spartenburg the relief it seeks, hut objected to a general law. By a vote of 50 to 39 the house killed the Clemson trrustee's bill to re-enact and perfect the tag law with - T regard to merchants offering for sale fertilizers that do not come up %to the standard. The house passed the bill authoriz? ing cities and towns to pass and en? force compulsory vaccination or nanoes amended so as to strike out the provision which would have the effect of preventing. employment to any cotton mill operative not success? fully vaccinated. The senate increased the South Carolina college appropriation to $35, 000 from $32,750; Thus the college gets all it wants , although Senator Eifird wanted it reduced to $25,000. By a vote of 20 to 17 the senate to? day killed the Toole bill repealing the : tax feature of the Brice act, and thus passed the last hope of any change in the dispensary law this session. The supply bill, passed second :r?ad ing without amep-dm?nt," as it came from the house. Both houses could adjourn sine die tomorrow, but will have to wait cn the engrossing department until Saturday morning, Coifcaaibia, Feb. 17.--The two houses of the'legislature are taking turns rat laughing and singing as they are alternately waiting and acting on conference and free conference re portsj But sine die adjournment can? not be reached untff tomorrow morn? ing. The general appropriation bill is with the conference- committee, the house having refused the senate's /raise for the South Carolina college a?oV disagreed also on minor partie ^uJars, V --- The, house ? is just now., singing "Home, Sweet Home." The senate is considering . amendments to the sup? ply bill. Tho amendment of Senator Johnson to carry the state levy back to 5 mills was lost 2$?to 9. Senator tanning's . amendment substituting a fiat penalty Of 4 per cent, for: non payment of taxes in place of the? present 7 per cent, graduated penalty, the penalty to apply the first of January for sixty days after which executions shall is-' sue, was lost by a vote of 20 to 16. Columbia, Feb. IS.-At noon tbe joint assembly is reading acts, after whick all hands will go home.' Tbe billson which the finishing touches were put this morning- were' these, which were ratified. As to roads. McMaster bill to protect railroad employees from rapacious collection agencies. As to time of holding court in va? rious circuits of the state. Nash's water shed bil;. . ggg? The following are the committees appointed by President Sloan and Speaker Smith to work in the recess and report to the next session. To examine into the financial condi? tions of State colleges, Representa? tives Huger S inkier and M. W. Walk? er and Senator Haridn. To examine accounts of penal a od charitable institutions, Repr?senta? it ves J. M. Rawlinson and L. B. El h eridge, Senator Brooks. To exaimn? and check up books of Dispensary, Representatives fi. B. Collison and John B. Watson, Senator Warren. To contract for Supreme Court re? ports Representatives Lafitte and J. Harry Foster. To inquire into the progress of i;he code commissioner, Representatives Fisbburu end Nash, Senator Hudson. To provide for the examination of books of certain State officers, Repre srrtatives Richard, " Beamguard and Toole, Senators Butler and Douglas. To examine into the terrapin and oyster industry, Representatives Sea? brook, Doar and Haskell, Senators Christensen and McLeod. To investigate the dispensary under the Blease resolution, Representatives Gaston, Fraser, Lyon and Spivey, Senators Blease, Christensen and Bay. To report on biennial session to the house, Representatives Fraser, Pr.nce and Morgan, to the senate, Senators Mciver, Raysor and Hood. Speaker Smith has appointed M. W. Walker with Huger Sinkler on com mitte to examine State colige finances. The senator is Mr. Hardin. Mr. Nashgis on. the committo to lcok after the cede commissioner, LEGISLATIVE RETROSPECT. What the Legislature Did or Fail? ed to Do. The Sum Total of Accomplishment was insignificant While the Things Left Undone Were Many. 3y AV. H. 3fcCaw. Columbia, Feb. 20.-This legisla tnre just adjourned will be known to fame more for what it refnsed or reglected or failed to do, wisely or i.nwisely, than for hat it did-also vrisely or unwisely. If the comparison may be pardoned because of its apt res, it is to be likened more to a mole than to a spirited, highbred steed, in which there is danger as well as de? light. ' It-has provided for current expenses and as a means of'getting the State back on a cash basis the statesman like method of an increase in the levy, v?hile?t increased the appropriations from $1,238,000 to about $1,280,000. lint it resolutely resisted all efforts sihd entreaties to change a tax system which allows property to go on the books at most any old valuation with the burden clearly on the small tax? payer, and which encourages ' non jiayment for three months after the taxes are due. It perfected the fran? chise tax law, whch will yield about |>180,000 annual Hy, it is estimated, and it increasing the State levy half a mill, and passed a law whereby chair-1 men of township assessing boards make a five days personal convass for new and old property ; but it rejected Mr. D. O. Herbert's bill making the present. 7 per cent- graduated penalty .fall due on the 1st of January as it did Mr. Manning's amendment to the supply bili substituting this graduat? ed penalty with a flat 4 per cent, pen? alty, falling due on Jan. 1. It repeal? ed the secret feature of the income tax law, which may result in a great? er income from this source, but it de? clined Comptrpller_General Jones' suggestion bf a state board to make a county to county canvass to get prop? erty on the books at some uniform valuation. So much for the financial situation, which was about the most important subject this legislature had to deal with. The number of laws South Carolina legislators are getting up more and more reverence for, are holding more sacred and getting mere and more sensitive about, is increas? ing. This * leigslature refnsed to change either the marriage or the dis? pensary law, on the ground that the one wouid lead to the divorce evil and the other to the barroom iniquity, it refused to repeal, amend or refer back to the pople the Hen Jaw, whioh has been on'the books for ha?T^?T century, whereby the small farmer has been rob? bed with faith ful.regularity with doa? ble prices for provisoes and supplies and exorbitant interest rates. It would not change the jury -system, in any particular, and that/awful thing which is so loaded withv politics, the pension law, it touched in. only one minor particular, and had a fit which lasted to a free conference over this one little change. The only thing in the nature of a change in the dispen? sary law is to be found in the act which grants constables an increase of 50 cents a day and ?allows such ex? penses as are approved by the chief. There are 60 men on the force and if they average a legitimate expense of $1 for hotel fare while ont on trips, this innocent looking little raise will amount to over $30,000 a year. Among other important things this legislature refused to do were : To es? tablish a reformatory, to grant con? demnation powers to private corpora? tions either for the purpose of protect? ing water sheds or in order to devel ope important industries, although it did grant such authority individually in certain definitely stated cases; it declined to pass a compulsory educa? tion law. Now as to the positive legislation. There was some cf it, and generally speaking it is of a healthy, sound and creditable nature. For the first time in many years the governor has not vetoed a measure, and of the 195 acts there are a score or more of gen? eral interest and importance, the oth? ers being of local interest only. - This legislature did pass a good compulsory vaccination law, whereby cities and j towns are given authority to pass and enforce compulsory vaccination ordi- ! nances, the State board being author- j ized to promulgate such laws which ! shall have the force and effect of or? dinances in cities neglecting or refus? ing to pass such oridnances. It pass? ed the bill creating two new judicial districts, which does away with the bad practice of appointing special judges and holding extra terms; it amended the law with reference to new counties, which will result in more definite and accurate informa iton being given the governor as to area, wealth and population ; it pass? ed the Audubon society's bill, slight ly amended, for the propection of in sectiverous birds ; it perfected a law to punish giving, offering, promising or receiving gratuities with reference to employes which might influence them against their employers' busi? ness; it passed a law which will have a healthful effect on the primary elec? tions aganst bribery, heeling and oth? er forms of corruption, if it did get in a freak feature forbidding any candi? date to give or promise to give during a campaign toward even charity ex? cept through a regular church collec? tion ; it increased the only large and rapidly growing number of misde? meanors with one forbidding the plac? ing of any kind of explosive on a rail lroad track except by an authorized employe, and made breaking into a vessel punishable as for housebreak* ing; it declares the seduction of any unmarried woman by a man over 16 a crime punishable at the discretion of the court, provided the woman is chaste and there is no marriage before or after the trial and provided the man is not convicted on the uncorrob? orated testimony of the woman ; it has i restored the tobacco warehouse charges of a year ago, and has passed ' a road law suitable to the needs of : each ccnnty ; it has provided for reas ! sessment of abandoned rice lands and ! appointed a commission to lock into I the question of the fish, oyster and I terrapin industry, passing a license j law for this indnstry until the commis ! sion can report ; it has forbiden tres? pass for the purpose of hunting, fisb I ing, trapping, netting, gathering fruit, siraw or surf or vegetables or I herbs or cutting timber without the consent of the owner of the premises, which docs away with the necessity of posting against trespass, and it has regulated the traffic in seed cotton and unpacked lint cotton by ^forbidding their purchase between sunset and sunrise from August lo to December 20 except und?r a license of from SI to .?500 to be fixed by the county boards and by requiring records of the purchases; it has passed a law regu ating the running of automobiles in the rural districts ; it bas codified the military law in accord?nce with the reqnirements'of the federal government with reference to the appropriation from that source, and which gves au? thority for the troops to be inspected by a federal officer ; it has made the deer season uniform thoroughont the State, though it refnsed to interfere with the hunting season as to other game ; it has authorized the governor to enter into a contract with lawyers representing Spanish American sol? diers to get back pay for all of these soldiers ; it has povided for the ap? pointment of township game wardens, who for their compensation for seeing that the game laws are carried out are relieved of road and jnry'daty ; it bas enacted a law requiring raillroads tn give immediate notice of accidents to the railroad commission, whose members the roads are requied to hur? ry to the scene with all possible dis? patch ; it has prohibited the irregular manufacture, selling, nein*?, procur? ing Confederate crosses of honor ; it has passed a new rural school library law, but it has refnsed to tamper with the great pistol law or to regulate the sale ci cocaine, laudanum, chloral, morphine or to authorize the State house commission to get plans for a new dome and prop up the present one in the meantime, these last two bills being just out of reach of the senate on the last day. INSURANCE ON LIFE OF McCUE. Travelers Will Fight While Fidelity Will Pay up Promptly. Richmond, Va., Feb. 16.-The in? surance companies that hold policies on the life of the late Samuel J. Mc? cue, who was hanged at Charlottes? ville last week for wife murder, are taking various grounds regarding the payment of the~claims. The Fidelity Mutual has declared through its southerns-manager. Mr. I>. R. Midyette, that--the policy will be settled promptly upon receipt t>f no? tice from McCue's legal representa? tives. On the other hand, the Travel? ers' of Hartford will fight the payment '\ of their policy to the end. The following special was received here from Hartford on the subject last night: "The Traveler's Insurance Compa? ny of this city does not propose to pay !the $10,000 life policy carried by ex Mayor J. Samuel McCue, of Char loteesvill?, Va,, who was hanged last Friday for wife murder." From one of the officials it was learned that the company will contest < anv suit that may be brought gainst it' The defense will be that the con? tract did not contemplate any such contingency as a legal hanging, and that it would be against public policy to pay the claim, since the paying up of a life policy under such circum? stances might tend to increase crime. The representatives of the other companies involved were seen last night, and their replies to questions on the subject were as follows: Mr. T. A. Cary, of the Northwestern Mutual Life: "I do not know what my company will do. It is a matter for determination at the home office." Mr. Oscar Swineford, of the Equit? able: "I know of nothing to indicate that the claim will not be paid." Mr. W. B. Freeman, of the New York Life: "We expect that our com? pany will settle the policy when claim is made. We know of no reason why this will not be done." President Walker, of theh Life In? surance Company of Virginia: "When the claim is asserted it will be a mat? ter for the consideration of our le? gal department. So far nothing has been determined." The only other life policy is in *he Royal Arcanum, and a member of the order said last night, that the ques? tion would have to be settled by the Grand Council. McCue's life insurance was carried in the following companies; Northwestern Mutual Life, Mil? waukee, $15,000. E ju'table Life, annuity, bond feat? ure. New York Life, $10,000. Travelers' Insurance Company, of Hartford, Conn., $20,000. Life Insurance Company of Virgin? ia, $5,000. Royal Arcanum, benefit certificate, $3,000. Fidelity Mutual Life, Philadelphia, $10,000. St. Petersburg, Feb 18.-The coun- j eil of the empire, it is announced, will hold an extra ordinary sitting to con- j sider the situation resulting from the assassination of Grand Duke Sergius. New York, Feb. 17.-State Chair? man O'Dell, accompanied by Mrs. O'Dell, his youngest son and daughter, Estelle, sailed for Naples, aboard the Princess Irene this morning. DUX'S TRADE REVIEW. ! - Low Temperature and Deep Sn > \ Have Prevented a Full Revival of j Business. New York, Feb. 17.-R. G. Dun & Co.'s Weekly Review of Trade to? morrow will say: Weather conditions still dominate the trade situation. Low temperature and deep snows have interefed with traffic and checked the revival c^f busi? ness that was well under way in most sections of the country. Retail distri? bution is not maintained, and the del? eterious effects are visible in all out? door work, while the interruption to movement of freight has affected manufacturing to some extent. Prices ic?: staple commodities at the ex? changes are advanced by the restrict? ed receipts at prmary markets. M-.n' vhile there r= evidence that c r* fidence in the future remains un? shaken. ??reparations for spring and summer trade continuing unabated except where fuel or other supplies are temporarily blockaded in transit. Jobbing trade in dry goofs is on a lib? eral scale. Railway earnings thus far reported for Febraury were 1.9 per cent, smaller than a year ago, proba? bly another another result of bad weather. In the textile industries the most significant event of the week was the revival of export buying of cotton goods for China. Failures this week numbered 258 in the. United States against 2S7 last year. DENIES MILES' STORY. Rev. J. W. Jones Says Mr. Davis Had Only Bitter Feeling Towards His Jailer. A dispatch from Richmond says: Rev. Dr. J. William Jone?, chaplain of the United Confederate Veterans, who was a close friend of President Jeffer? son Davis, is "out in a lengthy state? ment denying the correctness of the recollections of Gen. Nelson A. Miles, who has been the bete noir of the south for forty years, because he put Mr. Davis in irons when the latter was- his prisoner at Fort Monroe. Dr. Jones says the statement of Gen'. Miles-is a mast amazing one. and that it is utterly"'at variance with the facts in the case. In beginning his statement. Dr. Jones says: "In ..the controversy between Presi? dent Roosevelt and others with Gen. Miles, I have token no interest what? ever; indeed, have been disposed to say: 'A plague on both your houses.' " He then takes up Gen. Miles' defense at length and denies its allegations seriatim. Dr. Jones says that Gen. Miles was never directed to iron Mr. Davis, but only empowered to do so if it seemed necessary. He also pointed out that Secretary of. War Stanton reproved him for fettering his prisoner and or? dered him to remove the irons. Gen. Miles, says the Confederate chaplain further on, can scarcely have letters from MFS. Davis thanking him for his kindness to her husband, since in her hook on President Davis one chapter is headed: "The Tortures In? flicted by Gen. Miles." To clinch the whole matter, Dr. Jones says: "I will now briefly introduce one witness whose testimony is unim? peachable-I mean Mr. Davis himself, j I chanced to be at Beauvoir just after he had sent to the North American Review a paper on 'The Treatment of Prisoners during the war "between the States,' in which he had a paragraph which scorched Nelson A.- Miles in that severe manner of whcli President Davis was so capable when aroused. He told me that the editor, who was a friend of Miles, had written him that he could not publish the paper un?ess that paragraph was omitted. "Rising from his seat, his eyes flash- j ing Are. and showing more feeling than I ever saw in him upon any oth? er occasion he said: :ii wrote back j that this paragraph should not b i al? tered by the dotting of an i or rthe dossing a t, for I was determined to hand down that miserable brute Miles | to immortal infamy.' " AN ASSASSIN CONFESSES. Sazaneff. Who Killed Von Plevhe, Be? trays Plans of His Associates. St. Petersburg. Feb. 18.-It has transpired that Sazonen!, the assassin of M. Von Phleve, while confined in the Peter and Paul fortress, wrote a confession giving in detail the aim of the terrorists of whose number is the assassin of the Grand Duke Ser? gius. The confession says they are not trying to overthrow the govern? ment by assassination, but are avenging wrongs by individual of? ficials. Columbia, Feb. 17.-The committee appointed to investigate the explosion of the state house boiler has not placed the blame at the door of Sec? retary of State Gantt or anyone else and tonght will make a non-comimt tal report. PUNS OF THE TERRORISTS. HAVE DETERMINED TO ASSASSI NATE ALL THE GRAND DUKES. Will Not Kill Czar Until He Has Signed' Constitution for Russia. Crisis of Proposed' Revolu? tion This Spring. * Moscow, Feb. 18.-Reliable infor? mation has been received in well in? formed circles outlining the inten? tions of the Russian revolutionists. The real crisis will not come till spring, A successful revolutionary movement is impossible now, owing to the rigor of winter. It is known that Nihilist, have selected /Grand Duke Vladimir as the next victim. Gen. Tre poff will follow him and Probiedon otszeoff, the procurator of the Holy Synod is the third on the list. The czar's turn will not come until he has signed the constitution as his signa? ture is necessary. The revolutionists thus follow the procedure of the simi? lar case of Louis XVI of France who was allowed to sign the French consti tuion in 1791 before he was guillo? tined. MARION PARR CONFESSES. Condemned Murderer in Columbia Jail, Influenced by Hearing a Prayer, Tells the Full Story of the Killing of Shealey. .Columbia, Feb. 17.-Marion Pan today made a full confession in the county jail that be killed Clarence Shealey. Parr is under sentence of death. The Rev. Vernon I'Anson has been the spiritual adviser of Parr and has done what he could for the poor fel? low This morning Mr. I'Anson was of? fering a fervent prayer, Parr, the jail? er and two prisoners were on their bended knees. Parr was mrrqh im presed with the prayer and asked to make a confession. Mr. I'Arison re? minded the young man what he was doing and then in the presence of sev? eral others, Parr related to the Rev. Mr. I'Anson how he killed Clarence Shealey. Whisky, he said, was the ! cause of the tragedy. - - ' Parr related that he went to see Shealey at the little fishing camp, and while there Shealey offered him a drink Of whiskey. Shealey told Parr that the liquor had been poisoned and whether there was anything in the whiskey or not he did not know, but it burned and scalded him, so that he did not know what was the matter, and for full forty hours the whiskey burned and tortured him. He insisted that he was not mad nor drunk, but the whiskey simply enraged him and he struck Shealey first in the face with the edge of an iron carpenter's square and then he struck him back of the head wrth the same square. He said that all that day and the next the whiskey had him wild and he went home and told his wife that he had killed Shealey. He insists that the gun which was found at his place was brought to him by a negro and that he did not take it home. At the trial it was held that Parr killed Shealey with a hoe and that he took the gun home. Parr says he did the killing with an iron carpenter's square and insists that the gun was brought to him by a negro. Parr was convicted entirely on circumstantial evidence, chiefly that the gun, which was in Shealey's tent, was found in Parr's room. It was peculiarly mark? ed on the plate. The Rev Mr. I'Anson, who is greatly beloved by all the people among whom he works, believes the full de? tails of Parr's confession. THE SWAYNE IMPEACHMENT. Statements Made By Judge Swayne Not to Be Used Against Him. Washington. D. C., Feb. 18.-The senate sitting as a court of impeach? ment today decided by an over? whelming vote not to admit in the Sw-ayne case the testimony given be? fore the house committee by Judge Swayne, respondent in that trial. COAL MINE ACCIDENT. Five Miners Killed, Twenty Injured and Ten Entombed. Pottsville, Pa., Feb. 18.-Five men were killed and twenty injured in the Lytle colliery at Minorsville this morning by the fall of the cage. It caught on a projecting timber and when released dropped so suddenly that the bottom fell out. The miners fell to the bottom of the shaft hun? dreds of feet below. Pottsville, Feb IS.-Ten more miners are reported entombed in a cave in Lytle colliery of the Susque? hanna Coal Company at Minorsville this morning. m$ ?'Q $&B$??wm FAMOUS FINANCIER DEAD. Jay Cooke Passes Away as a Result of Old Age. Philadelphia, Pa., Feb. 16.-Jay Cooke, whose fame as a financier is world wide, died tonight at the home of his son-in-law, Charles D. Barney* at OgOntz, a suburb of this city. Mr. Cook was 83 years of age. He had been complaining of general debilityr the result of old age, for several years^ His condition was not considered serious, however, and his death .to-? night came rather suddenly. Last Monday he entertained as his guests 125 young ladies attending the Ogontz school and their friends. On that oc? casion heh appeared to be in good spirit and was the last to leave the reception room. . . CONGRESS HONORS WOMAN Tributes Paid- to the Aleaiory of Frances E. Willard. Washington,. D. C.. Feb. IT.-For the first time the legislative wheels of the government were lt*s*fcilled for a portion of today :to pay a ribute to a.. woman's memory; T?^e?; occasion was the formal acceptance by congress from the state of Illinois of the statue of Frances E. Willard,, first national president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and for a quarter of a century the..leading spirit. Eulo? gies . were prono un ce<L _. in. ^, toth ' branches of congress; in the senate at' 3 p. m. and in the house of represen? tative an hour later. -.*3i . ? n ? .a THE TOWNSEND KATE BILL If Not Passed President Will Call an Extra''Session. Washington,' ?eh: lS.-If the sen? ate does not pass the Townsend rate bill at this ' session'the president will surely call. a:i extra' sesskV of con? gress in' the "'fall' to ' wrestle with the problem. This ' Announcement was made today by. Senator Townsend af? ter he had a ?aik with the president about the bill. "The senate committee on inter-state commerce is about equally divided on the matter," said Senator Townsend. 'TBut if we can get it reported to the whole body it will pass without' any doubt. HOUSE OF COUCHONS. Assistance Given Irish Revolution Scheme Angers Ulster Unionists? London. Feb. 16.-In the house of commons today the Ulster Unionists became angry at assistance given Lord Dunraven*s Irish revolution scheme by the under secretary for Ireland. Sir Antonio MacDonnell The present action of Unionists is with? out doubt connected with the general unionist movement to try and elect Under Secretary MacDonnell because of his liberal reform tendencies. SPECULATORS CAUGHT SHORT. Failure of Firm of Stock Brokers An? nounced This Morning. New York. Feb. 16.-The failure of Ellingwood & Cunningham, stock brokers, was announced on the New York Stock Exchange this morning. It is reported that the firm has been caught short of a large line of Union Pacific stock. SHELLED OYAMA. Japanese Pursued and Inflicted Heavy Damage. Tokio, Feb. 18.-The Russians shelled Field Marshal Oyama's centre and left on Thursday and yesterday. At Gen. Oku's headquarters via Fusan it is reported that 15.000 Russian cav? alry and 500 infantry with twenty guns who had moved south to both banks of the Liao river began to retreat on Thursday. They are now twelve mles northwest of Siapeho. The Japanese pursued and inflicted heavy damage. London, Feb: IC.-A dspatch irom Perth, West Australia, states that the Orient liner Arizona with passengers and mail for Sydney, N. S., is ashore on an siland off Maryland near Berth. The British cruiser Katoombia has been sent to aid the steamer, whose position at present is dangerous.