41
l?ittttat at? Son?l;roTL
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 1905.
The ?mter Watchman was founded in
?650 and the True Southron ia 1866. The
Watchman and Southron now has the com?
bined circulation and influence of both of
?he old papers, and is manifestly the best
advertising medium in Sumter.
The lumber market is firm now
*?*v firm that prospective house build?
ers are beginning to figure to see if
bouses cannot now be-built as cheaply
"?? brick. The; destruction of our for?
ests may "cause a reversion to "the
erick and- stone age in house con?
struction.
The Charleston. Ohio & Virginia
Kailroad company twas chartered at
Raleigh, N. C., a few days ago with a'
capital stock of $2,21)0,000. This road,
the articles of ? incorporation state, is
to extend from Charleston through
?he counties of Berkeley, Clarendon,
Sumter. Kershaw^ Lancaster and
across the state of North Carolina.
This appears to be an entirely new
enterprise and no one here knows
anything about it. Nevertheless it
will find a welcome awaiting it when
it reaches "the Game Cock City. "We
can't have too many independent rail
The offer of cheap ice now should
not deceive anyone, but should rather
he an incentive to push the plans for.
the Consumers' Ice Co., to a speedy
.. and , successful realization. Vfhat
Sumter wants is independence of la
condition that makes it possible for a1
single corporation to " fix the price of
ice at an exorbitant price today or at
a figure that is ridiculously low to?
morrow. No one wants ice given to
them any more than they ask for
meat ?or; bread on "the same terms.
We are not a- community of mendie
cants, but avpeople wiling and able to
pay a legitimate price for the neces?
sities- of life and such of the luxuries
as our means permit us to enjoy. "We
are not .begging for any concessions. or?
charity, but we are demanding our
rights, and when a corporation, un?
dertakes by means pf combination ?
agreement tb stifle competition in the
sale of a necessity and arbitrarily ex?
torts double price for it, we are unit?
ing to provide . the means to supply
our needs. The conditions and the
remedy can be understandably sum?
marized rn three words-Consumers'
Ice Co. 'Ja
^Several of the. leading New York
papers, particularly those closely. af?
filiated with the financial interests of
that city, have recently expressed
grave apprehensions that banks of the
South will do themselves serious in?
jury, and thereby impair public con?
fidence, if they extend aid and com?
fort to the Southern Cotton Growers'
Association in its effort to hold cot?
ton as a means of improving the
price of cotton. They take the posi?
tion that the banks should not lend
money to farmers on cotton as col?
lateral as they are engaged in a spec
dative venture when they persist in
; refusing to sell cotton at the price
fixed by the New York and Liverpool
cotton exchange "speculators, and that,
consequently, cotton is not a safe col?
lateral. Our friends of the North
have grown' accustomed to worrying
overmuch about the welfare of the
South and their advice is always on
tap; but always when they are most
worried the South is doing something
for the South's benefit that may inci?
dentally resulf to the disadvantage of
Northern interests. According to the
views, of many Northern business men
and financiers the South exists and
does business primarily for the bene?
fit, and enrichment of the North and
any policy that is in the least detri
rnentaf to these interests is fraught
with great danger to the country, even
though common sense, self-interest
and good business policy dictate that
it is to the advantage of the South.
The solicitude of our Northern
friends is gratifying as an exhibition
of brotherly love and pure benevo
lenee, but the South will be better
off when it begins toting its own bus?
iness skillet and pays no attention to
the advice of Northern speculators
whose every interest is dependent up?
on the fluctuations of the cotton mar?
ket- If a stable price could be fixed
for cotton the speculators and the
bucket shops would be driven out of
business, and folks who now wear
diamonds and fine raiment would be
honting another graft or a job of
honest work. Cotton is the best sort
of collateral and if the Southern
banks do not assist the cotton farmers
to control and dictate the price of the
South's great staple to the extent of
preventing the fixing of prices by
speculators irrespective of supply and
demand they will be working against
their own interests and prove them?
selves enemies of the people upon
whose prosperity their own ^stability
depends.
? * *
The city of Sumter has a level?
headed council and this fact was nev?
er more forcibly demonstrated than
ty the prompt and decided refusal
last night to consider the proposition
of the Electric light company to
grant them a fifteen-year extension
of the lighting contract at an in?
creased price. Electric lights are
growing cheaper each year, and a
municipal plant operated in connec?
tion ?with the water works system can
furnish street lights cheaper than any
private corporation.
* * *
The naval station at Charleston
is proving to be a rail?
way magnet, and if the Charleston
business men would wake up they
could carry two. or more new rail?
roads into the city. The railroads
j want to go to Charleston now, and
there is, enough money in Charleston
to build a road to the coal fieles with?
out waiting for outside capitalists to
do it and reap the profit.
The sale of the court house lot,
containing only one acre of land, for
J $60,000, seems to stagger some of our
friends in'other towns, and even some
of our own citizens who ought to be
conversant with the . value of real es?
tate in the business portion of the
city, think this price is high, but peo?
ple of other towns should not under?
take to compare Sumter values with
values at home, while Sumter ;people
should wake up and inform them?
selves as to the actual value of busi?
ness real estate. The rent paid by
quite a number of stores on Main
street is more than than a fair inter?
est on the. cost of store building and a
valuation of $300 a front foot fer the
land upon which it stands. Real es?
tate in the business portion of town is
t?creasing in val?e "every day and any
Main street lot . within the same dis?
tance from the" corner of Main, and
Liberty street as the court house is
worth today the price per foot paid
for the court house square. And
within twelve months it will
be worth ' inore * on the . open
market. The very people who now
exclaim over the price will be trying
to buy a- court house square lot as an
{.investment within a year or two. An
instance illustrative of the increase in
real estate values i? the Ryttenburg
store. . About a year ago this property
was purchased by the Bank of Sum
! ter for'$17;500 . ?nd' the - kh?w-?lls
held up their hands and exclaimed
over the; enormous price. Yet today
the Bank of Sumter could sell this
property, for $25,000 if it would say
the word,
*.??'.
It seems to us that-both the judge
and solicitor engaged in the trial of
the Eutawville lynchers have failed
to perform their full duty in one re?
spect. Several of the petit", jurymen
who were challenged and put upon
their voir dire, stated under oath that
they had been "approached" after it
became known that they had been
drawn to 'serve on the jury. The
sworn statement that an attempt
had been made to bribe the prospec?
tive members of the jury should not
have been allowed to drop. The so?
licitor, it seems to' us, had the Tight to
go ,a step further and ask the name
of the persons or person who had ap?
proached the jurymen, and thereby
lay the foundation for a criminal
prosecution of the persons who made
the effort to tamper withsthe jury.
The solicitor failing in this, the presid?
ing judge had the right, and it was
his duty to demand of the jurymen
the name of the party who had ap?
proached them, for the purpose of
punishing the said party for contempt
of court. The newspaper reports in?
dicate that no attention was paid to
the statements of the jurymen that
they had been "approached" by eith?
er the judge or solicitor and this
oversight or neglect of duty, call it
what you please, strikes us as some?
what peculiar.
? * ?.
The Louisiana rice millers have
decided to use cotton bags for the
shipment of rice instead of jute bags.
This is a cotton movement of the
practcal sort and the cotton oil mills
should follow suit and use cotton
bags for the shipment of cotton seed
meal.
* * .
If all the prospective gubernatorial
candidates come to the scratch the
State executive commtttee can make
job lot price on the assessments and
still not be short of funds to pay
campaign expenses.
Don't wait but take your twine
home now from W. B. Boyle.
Overworked Kidneys.
Murray's Buchu, Gin and Juniper is
prescribed and endorsed by eminent
physicians. It cures when all else fails.
Prevents Kidney Disease, Dropsy,
Bright's Disease, etc. At all drug
stores $1.00 a bottle or direct from the
Murray Drug Co., Columbia, S. C.
Oats harvest will soon be on. Get
your twine from W. B. Boyle.
To realize the number of new
houses going np in S amter one only
has to tase a stroll of the city-they
are being erected in every section of
the city.
Four and five room cottages are in
demand. Good investment for oar
capitalists.
Sumter has so ball team as yet
THE ICE r?UEETIXG
The Consumers' Ice Co., Will Be
Chartered at Once-Mr. J. J.
Harb y Addresses Meeting.,
The meeting of those interested in
the formation of the : Consumers' Ice
Company held in the court House
Monday evening was well attended
although the crowd was not as large
as that, which attended the meeting
last week. The interest was fully as
great, however, and the sentiment in
favor of establishing an independent
ice factory is as strong if not strong?
er than ever. In fact the sentiment
has become crystalized into determi?
nation, and the factory will be built
at once.
The meeting was somewhat late in
assembling owing to the fact that
court did not adjourn until, half past
six o'clock.
The meeting was called to order
and got down to business at once.
Mr. Barjtow Walsh, chairman of the
committee appointed at the previous
meeting to solicit subscriptions to
stock, made a report for the commit?
tee. He stated that subscriptions
amounting to 1,400 shares all told
had been obtained largely i.i small
blocks and that many of the subscrib?
ers had expressed a willingness to in?
crease their subscriptions if neces?
sary to insure the organization of the
compary. He stated that the com
mitte uad met the representative of
the iork Manufacturing company
and had obtained from him detailed
specifications for furnishing ice'
plants, prices being given for 15, 20
and 25 ton plants also on a 15 ton
plant that can be enlarged to 25 ton
capacity when desired. In round fig
I ures it will require $10,000 to estab?
lish a 15 ton plant and $12,500 for a
25 ton plant. The committee had al?
so received numerous telegrams from
other ' manufacturers of ice machin?
ery quoting prices and offering to
send detailed specifications, but he
did not think it necessary to read
these telegrams.
Mr. E. I. Reardon stated that he
desired to make an explanation. He
said that he had,- along with Messrs.
E. L. Witherspon and W. W. McKa
gen, been invited to become members j
of the canvassing committee and had
atteti'ded a meeting of the committee.
At that meeting Mr. E. L Wither?
spoon had ! expresed a disinclination
to go into a movement to antagonize
an existing local manufacturing en?
terprise without first ascertaining
fx^m the managers of that factory if
they would not arrange to give the
people of Sumter in the way of cheap
ice what they are seeking to obtain
by the establishment of an independ?
ent competing factory. Mr. Wither?
spoon was authorized to call on Mr.
J. J. Harby, of the Sumter Electric j
Light, Ice and Power Company and !
obtain from him the information j
sought. He called on Mr. Harby !
and was given a great deal of infor- j
mation respecting the ice business,
but was informed cy Mr. Harby that !
he was not prepared to give him an j
immediate answer as to whether his !
company would furnish ice at the |
prices specified in the agreement un- I
I der which the people are working
establish the Consumers' Ice Con
pany. Subsequently he had an inte
view with Mr. Harby, andras a r?
suit of the conversation, he had h
vited Mr. Harby to attend the mee
ing and explain his side of the i<
question to the public. Mr. Harl:
was present in response to that invite
tion and was not ah intruder.
Mr. Harby was given the privileg
of the-floor to make whatever stat?
ment he desir?d.
Mr. Harby said that he had a<
cepted the invitation to attend th
meeting as a result of M.r. Withei
spoon's call on him ? during which h
evinced an honest desire to obtain ir
formation at first hand and to tres
the ice company fairly. He was sui
prised by Mr. Witherspoon's visit fe
it was the first time any one ha
ever exhibited a similar dispositioi
He had taken pleasure in geing full
into the facts of the situation for Mi
Witherspoon's information and ha<
done a thing he had never done be
fore-had showed him the books
correspondence ?nd contracts of th
company to confirm the statemen
made. He had done this because h
was so appreciative of Mr. Wither
spoon's fair treatment-something t
which they were not accustomed
The public had a misconception o
the ice situation and then false idea
were obtained from the press, whicl
had made statements on the subj ec
on misinformation or from a lack o
correct information. He had beei
very much surprised, however, tha
bank officials-two at least who h<
knew to have attended the previou:
meeting-had not stated the facts t<
the public in that meeting, how th<
Electric Light, Ice and Power Com
pany had been struggling along foi
months paying interest on overdraft:
and that it had not been able to paj
a dividend in two years. It was ?
fact well known that in the eiectri<
light department the company did no'
make a cent ard maintained it onij
for the purpose, of . keeping togethei
a force of good and reliable men bj
being able, to give them steady em?
ployment throughout the year. Ir
reference to the prices of ice paid by
local consumers he said that these
prices were regulated by the local re?
tail dealers, and that the company
would sell them ice at the same
price paid by the dealers in other
towns. In ten ton lots' the price was
$4 per ton; in lots of two tons or more
up to ten tons the price was S 5 a ton,
and in less than two tons lots the
price was $6 a ton. The iocal dealer
bought in small quantities having the
ice delivered in lots of one, two, four
! or more blocks at a time, their reas
! on for doing this being to save them
I selves from the loss by melting which
j would be quite an item if they bought
j in larger quantities and kept the ice
i on hand for any length of time.
Mr. Harby was asked a number of
questions by Messrs. W. B. Boyle, A.
B. Stuckey and others, all of which he
I answered, but most of which he had
! covered in his general statement. He
explained how ice was obtained by
I consumers in some other places, by
j saying that he was informed that at
j Wedgefield, for instance, the people
A FRESH LAUNCHING
After fifteen years of sailing upon the mercan?
tile sea, we launch our bark again upon new
waters, but headed for the same port.
Our craft is steady and safe, set deep, and well
ballasted.
We fancy that the man at the helm knows his
business, and we cordially invite the happy mul?
titude to journey with us.
We covet a full passenger list. Our rates shall
be reasonable, our treatment of patrons just, and
our equipment as good as the best.
BEWLEY HARDWARE CO.,
No.28 North Main St. - Sumter, S. C.
j formed an ice club and bought two
tons at a time and divided it among
themselves at a merely nominal ex
? pense, one person who attended to
the division and distribution receiv?
ing a small per centage on the cost
for doing so. These people paid the
factory the same price the local deal?
ers would pay if they bought in the
same quantity.
After more or less resultory talk
back and forth Mr. Harby was asked
the direct que'stion if his company
could or would arrange to sell .ice in
this , city for 25 cents -a hundred in
100 pound lots, or 35 cents a Hundred
in smaller quantities.' He replied that
he could not dp so. He was then
asked if he would sell ice at the fac?
tory to a consumer's delivery com?
pany for $4 a ton in two ton lots. He
said he could not, as he had entered
: into contracts with the local dealers
and they had invested money in
horses, wagons and other outfits for
carrying on the business and he felt
he owed it to them to carry out his
contracts.
He was ask^d by Mr. Boyle, going
back to the statement that the com?
pany had not paid a dividend for two
years, if they had not spent a large
sum in enlarging the plant? He re?
plied that they had spent about $S,000
in replacing worn out machinery and
that had taken all they had made and
besides had left them with an over?
draft cf S2.500, on which interest had
been paid. He said also that stock in
that company could be bought for j
jess ?han par and if thc; people want- j
ed to invest in the ice business they j
cou?d cbta?n stock, ^ plenr/ being up?
on the market.
Mr. Edens asked him if he would
make a price on the ice plant at the _^
electric light station. He said he 1
would not.
Mr. Walsh stated that it having
been definitely learned that ice could
not: be obtained from the existing fac?
tory on the terms that the public re?
garded as reasonable, he thought it
in order to proceed with the organiza?
tion of the Consumers' Ice Company. 1
Rev. C. C. Brown offered a resolu
ton that the meeting proceed with the
business for which it was called,
which was adpoted.
Mr. Stuckey suggested that sub?
scriptions of stock be invited from
citizens of Camden and other nearby {?
towns, who, he was informed, were
taking a lively interest in the move?
ment inaugurated in this city to ob?
tain cheaper ice.
Major H. F. Wilson moved that a
beard of corporators be appointed to
apply for a charter, complete the 4
canvass for stock subscription and
take such other steps preliminary to
the organization of the company as
might be necessary. The motion was
adopted and the canvassing commit?
tee was appointed to act under .the
resolution as a board of corporators,
Before the meeting adjourned a
.nt.mber of subscribers doubled their
stock subscription.
Buy your binder twine from W. B.
Boyle.
Twine, Twine, Twine for binding
oats. W. B. Boyle. ^
Summer Fabrics
For Male and Female. *
Summer is actually upon us, there is no escaping it. Those
who can afford it may go to the mountains or seashore, but
even should they be so fortunate as to get away for a short ^
period they must provide themselves with material suitable to '
the season.
WA5H FABRICS.
There is nothing so essential 'to a lady's summer outfit as
wash material. It matters not how soiled or abused they get,
after a goori tubbing and properly ironed they are just as at- ^
tractive as when first they c une from the dress maker Our
stock of this material comprises everything in the line from 5
to 25 cents yer yard.
WHITE LAWNS.
There is probably no material in the line of female wearing
apparel for bummer that is so attractive as a white lawn suit. "fl
These are also very appropriate for children, especially for
commencement suits. Our line of
INDIA LINONS.
At 5,6%, 8 1-3,10,12%, 15, 20, 25 and 35 cents
have no superior as to values. The number we are selling ?
AT 5 CENT5
would really look cheap on many counters at 7?. We nave
had to duplicate on it several times, and at present have none
; in stock, but there is a large shipment on the way due to arrive
j this week. j
! WHITE CANVAS OXFORDS.
I Although the season Las barely opened already we have been
! compelled to reorder this line. The popular priced Oxford is
ONE DOLLAR and we believe we have the bett on the
market at that price. They are made for us by The H. C.
Godman Co., and that is a guarantee of their merit.
MEN'S WEAR,
This has been the busiest department of our house this sea
json. It keeps constantly growing. We cannot account for it
unless it is due to
OUR VALUE GIVING CAPACITY.
We believe we enjoy the reputation of selling the best clothes
for the least money of any house in the citv.
Our line of TWO PIECE SUITS at $5.00, $7.50
and $10 00 will be found excellent values.
MEN'S SERGE COATS.
There is nothing so cool and dressy for a man's summer coat
as a double breasted serge. We have them in b;aek and blue,
slims, stouts and regular form
* $2.50 TO $7.00.
And pants in a pretty assortment of stripes from
$1.50 to $5.00. i
JUST WRIGHT SHOES.
We have carefully searched the shoe manufacturing centres,
since the destruction of the Reynolds factory by fire, to find a
shoe that in our judgment would take its place, and feel that
we have at last succeeded. We can speak from personal ex- ,
perience regarding its comfort and wearing qualities, and be- '
lieve it to be what its name implies JUST WRIGHT.
MEN'S NEGLIGEE SHIRTS.
Our assortment of these is very complete and there is no better
value to be had anvwhere than those we are selling AT 50 CENTS.
BOYS WANTS.
We do not forget the little fellows. In fact they are constantly in
our mind. Today we received a shipment of boys caps, the prettiest
line we have ever seen AT 25 CENTS.
Our boys suit department was also replenished today with a lot of
very nobbv suits which we closed out fully 33 1-3 PER CENT. UNDER
PRICE. The little fellows will get the full benefit of this. We can
dress a boy very neatly for 50 CENTS.
A pair of our washable pants for a quarter and shirt waist at the
same price. We are selling MOTHER'S FRIEND WAISTS AT 35c.
The mother who has been buying these knows well what a saving
this is to her. We might go on ndefinitely enumerating the various
attractions our stores offer, but space forbids.
O'DONNELL & COMPANY.