Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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___-:-?-?--^---?-?-?---?-?-?-j -'-?-? r ??? WATCBKAX. Cat*i?ii<^?.d ?.prii. isso. 'Be Just and Fear not-Let ai: the ?nd& no.. A.iiss . at Oe f.h., Coar.t y s .17 3od 5 and Truth's. THE TRCI SOUTHRON. Established June, 1S& Cosolidaied Ang. 2,1881 Sew Series-Yoi. XXY. No. % . Wt??wc\ at? SM?piL Published Svery Wednesday, TEEN PU3LISHING COMPANY, SUMTES, 8. C. TCBXS : - $1 50 x>er aactim-io advance. P 1DTISTI8II1IT: O .e Square first inaertion.^^.^^....^ {,0 S erv snbseqwnt insertion-..... ......... 50 Cootra et? for three months, or longer wUr b 3j?de at reduced rates. All commaoicatioos which subserve private interests w?l\ be charged for as ad vertiemeaie. Obituaries and tribe tes of respecte will be jp ?hwzed for. t THF. PEXTTEXTIARY POISONING. ? The Investigation Has Been Almost Fruitless-Vicions White Boy Prom Charleston Strongly Suspected. ?ry Columbia, July 25.-The mystery of the poisoning of over 200 convicts with a "mess ' of cabbage containing Puris green is over a month old, but ^ is likely to acquire a deal mo re age before itris solved and anyone brought jpto trial on a charge of attempted murder. Superintendent Griffin and his lieutenants conducted a most rigid investigation, but while they develop? ed evidence which indicated guilt on . the part of the Charleston firebug, ^Bowman, the young cigarette fiend posent up here recently for burning ; barns and various other buildings to serve a ten year term in the reforma? tory, while this evidence seemed to also* involve an adult convict named Eivers who is serving a seven-y^ar P^term for manslaughter; still the facts brought out were deemed insufficient on which to base any substantial hope of conviction, and the matter has been allowed to drop. Bowman had been in the penitentiary only a few days, and he was promptly bundled up and sent . over to the reformatory. ^ Five one-pDund packages of the ^-?oison had been, stored in the com? missary to be used on the growing vegetables. After that dreadful din? ner a pound can was missing; but whether it was fished out through a grated window or was carried out J? through the door is not known. The State chemist's analysis showed Paris 'green, and a portion of the poison was found on the window sill near the J pot. Bowman had opportunity to eat rom this pot but refused, as did ters. Bowman predicted to a num? ber that all would be sick after eat? ing and he advised these whom he z apparently liked to avoid it. He pre? tended to believe the cause would be the fact that the pot had just been used to prepare glue. & The penitentiary people do not be lieve Bowman was actuated by malice, if the deed is to be laid af his ceil door, but ascribe his act to his general -state of degeneracy. They think he did not intend to kill anyone, though Irsome 50 had to be treated in the J "hospital, hut merely wished to see the effect of his work in nauseating a large number of prisoners. "What about a man or men you may suspect of being in collusion with Bowman," I asked a guard. ^ ""Haven't you seen men of such I moral depravity that if they sought to l kill one man would not hestitate to jeopardize the lives of hundreds? Isn't this fact being constantly illus-j trated in atempts to wrecks trains?" was the reply. THE COTTON IN SIGHT. Secretary Hester's Report of the World's Visible Supply. New Orleans, July 28.-Secretary Hester's statement of the world's visi? ble supply of cotton issued today shows the total visiblo to be 2,9in, 801, against 3,118,426 last week and 1,590,335 last year. Of this the total of American cotton is 1,827,801, against 1,926,42t- last week and 742,335 last year, and of all other kinds, including Egypt, Brazil, India, etc.. 1,112,000, against 1,192,000 last week and 848,000 last year. % Of the world's visible supply of cot? ton as above there is now afloat and held In Great Britain and Continental Europe 1,605,000, against 917,000 last year; in Egypt 86,000, against 81,000 last year; in India 750,000, against 419,000 last year; and in the United States 544,000, against 173,000 last year. A large collection of fruits, vege? tables and other exhibits is being col? lected by Commissioner Watson to \ ship to Hamburg, Germany, for the South Carolina immigration office now located there. CHILD LABOR LAW. It is a Dead Letter in South Carollina and Throughout the. South-Gen? eral Organizer Leonard of the Federation of Labor Inter? viewed on the Labor Question. Columbia, July 28.-"The South Carolina labor law is a dead letter and a farce, as is the child labor law of every other southern State, and this state of affairs is likely to contin? ue for some time to come." This is the emphatic manner in which Gen? eral Organizer Leonard of the Feder? ation of Labor expressed himself to the- Daily Item's correspondent today. Mr. Leonard is a New Orleans man himself, and he has just completed an official tour of the south. He came here from Anderson where he has been spending many days, and where his observations and investi? gations were confined mostly to the cotton mill operatives. "Both the spirit and the letter of the law are violated every day in every section of the State, and in every section of every other State where such a law is on the statute books," continued Mr. Leonard. "These laws are drafted by lawyers who purposely inject flaws so as to get fat fees knocking them out on constitutional grounds. Nothing is to be gained by prosecution of -viola? tions. Out of^seventeen cases I push? ed the law in in. my own State, fifteen were thrown out of court, in one the mill owner confessed and was fined $50, and in the single case where a conviction was secured the mill owner won on appeal. The parents had made false statement and the mill owners were held unaccountable. "Through there is better oppor? tunity of securing the passage of laws limiting the hours of work, still the labor people are losing time and money trying to get relief through legislation. The labor unions should make their own laws. The Inter? national Typeographical union is go? ing to give you an example of what I mean, when they pass a law in order own union making eight hours a day's work." It may be of interest to note, along with these comments from Mr. Leonard, that though the law is be? lieved to be disregarded in many mill ' sections, few complaints have reach- ' ed the governor. The two or three ] cases brought to the attention have < been promptly corrected. Thei-e Is ] not a single instance of a mill being ' brought into a suit for violation of the ' law. Though of course it is to be ex- ' pected that there are frequent cases 1 of child and parent deceiving the 1 foreman. The Rev. H. A. Mills, a Presbyterian 1 minister of North Augusta, appears ] to be at the head of a movement to ' form a central committee on child 1 labor, whose principal object so far 1 seems to be to increase the age limit He i's sending out circulars asking for suggestions. Is any effort being made, or is any ' about to be made, to organize the 1 cotton mill operatives of the South," 1 I asked Mr. Leonard "No; none is being made and'none 1 will be made in the near future/ The Southern cotton mill operatives ?re 3 too illiterate, and the transient art 1 bf them tha* moves from mill to mill 1 on false representations of mill agents ?3 too large. These mill operatives will have to be educated before there can be any effective organization." "Are the labor organizations sup? porting the efforts which others are making with apparent good, motives to secure compulsory education laws throughout the South?" "Education is all right; it helps the interest of labor. But we don't care for the education the cotton mills schools are pretending to give the operatives. These schools supported wholly or in part by the cotton mills are run in the interest of the cotton mills. Only such children as can be spared from the mill are allowed to go to school; in a family, for in? stance, of six or eight children of the school age, only one is allowed to go to school." "The science and philosophy of un? ionism sounds nice; the enunciation of the fundamental principles of or? ganized labor makes good, elevating reading it is good to swell up with noble sentiments perusing; but won't you admit on the side*-that the worst enemies of organized labor are in your own ranks, those who do vio? lence to enforce boycotts and other demands?" Mr. Leonard steamed up at once. "Young man, violence never yet won a strike," he answered, emphasizing what he had to say by pointing his stubby finger at the end of the inter viewer's retruse nose. "Don't you know that the labor leaders of this country have brains enough to know that. But we can't help corporations hiring men to commit violence inor ded to make it appear that the strik? ers were doing it, as was done in the case of the Chicago riots when freight cars were burned, and as was done out in Colorado on a number of occasions. Violence is a violation of union princi? ples. But we can't help a subsidiz? ed press placing the blame for vio? lence where it does not belong. "The time will come wrhen differ? ences will be settled not by strikes but by the aggrieved party taking the matter up with the higher representa? tives of labor, where he will always get justice." ATTORNEY GENERAL GUNTER. Rendered ail Opinion as to Elections Under the "Brice Act. Columbia, July 28.-In response to Inquiries from county supervisors, Senator Brice, of York, and others, Attorney General Gunter today ren? dered an opinion to the effect that elections under the Brice act on the question of voting out dispensaries in the 18 counties where campaigns are now being waged to that end, must be conducted as are general elections, with all Ibrmaliti?s as to size of ticket, appointment of managers of elec? tion, etc. He construes conducted "As other special elections," to fall within sec? tion 205 of the code providing that such elections shall be conducted as general elections. According to the opinion the Pickens election was irregular and void. The opinion is 3f intense interest in view of the gen? eral agitation of the question through? out the State. Railroad Commissioner Has Appoint? ed August 1st as the Date to Hear Telephone Matter. Columbia, July 28.-The South karolina Railway Commission has ap? pointed a hearing for the 1st of Au? gust, the outcome of wrhich will be >f grear importance to the tele? phone interests of the State. The owners and subscribers of independ? ent system will be particularly af?ec 5d. The object of the hearing is to enable the commission to arrive at i policy it should adopt toward carry ing out the provisions of the new act of the legislature which seeks to com? pel the Bell people to connect with Independent systems for long distance connections where the Bell people * have long distance stations or ex? changes in towns having and main? lining independent systems. The commission desires to hear from all communities having com? plaints to make against the present irrangements, after which the com? mission will adopt a set of general rules governing the establishment and maintenance of these connections with the Bell concern. For instance, is the situation now stand a Sumter citizen in his resi? dence or at his store cannot talk to a citizen in Columbia except he go to the long distance booth of the Bell company at Sumter, which until a few months ago was estab? lished nearly a mile from the city hall the Sumter city, authorities refusing them admission into the town. Complaints have recently reached the commission from Mr. Hugh C. Middleton, who has a business office in Augusta but whose legal residence is at Edgefield, and from Sumter, both to the effect that the Bell company refuses to make these connections un? less the subscribers use the Bell in? struments, which the Bell people offer to rent lor $2.50 a year. Mr. Middleton claims that this is an unnecessary requirement; he says that as good instruments as those can be bought for $2.50 from the Sumter telephone factoriesand that there can be no reasonable objection to the use of the independent instruments. President Mason of the Sumter fac? tory is of the opinion that his instru? ments may be used with perfect safety with the Bell lines; but even he seems to doubt whether the ordinary in? dependent line or system of lines, is strong enough to be used with safe? ty in connection with the Bell long distances metallic circuit lines. Then there also comes in the inter? ing question as to whether compelling the Bell people to connect up with all these little independent systems may not be an interference with the long distance business from other States, and therefore in conflict with the interstate commerce act. In 1904, 7,162 acres of peanuts were planted in South Carolina. The production for the year was over 131, 000 bushels. Weekly Crop Bulletin. The following is the weather-crop report for the past week as compile I by Section Director Bauer: The mean temperature for the week ending July 31st, was slightly below normal, althugh the departures aver? aged only about one degree per day. The extremes were a maximum of 96 degrees at Yemassee on the 25th and a minimum of 61 degrees at Green? ville on the 26th. There were several days with high winds in the north? western and south central' counties, which were damaging to certain crops, particularly cotton. Hail fell in a number of localities on the .28th, but it did no material damage. The precipitation was excessive lo cally in the central and eastern po tions, and was fairly copious over th eastern half of the State, but wi* numerous localities that had little c no rain; the southwestern counti had very little rain and in places th soil is exceedingly dry to the injurv of all vegetation; as a rule the mois ture conditions were generally favor able. There is an unusual diversity however, in the amount of precipita tion for different localities, which in turn has caused a corresponding di versify in the condition of all crop ranging from very good to very poor Over the greater portion of the Stat farm work made favorable progress and nearly ail crops have been laid by although late" corn and cotton conti?, ue to receive cultivation. Caterpil lars have appeared in some of th coast continues* and a red spider in fests cotton in places, while lice on cotton have not entirely disappe?! r?'d There are more numerous repo/t? than heretofore, of serious sheddh. of cotton squares, young boIK an leaves, caused by both exc^?iv rains and drought, and in places by lice. Rust seems to be spreading and in the north central counties affect whole fields. Cotton is deteriora! i nP most on sandy lands, and is tioiu,. well on clay lands, where it has a large weed, but in places is not \v? > fruited. A few localities tcpor.t a marked improvement in cotton. Early corn is nearly ripe, and is not affected by the prevailing weather while young corn made a marked im provement in ail sections and has be come promising. Tobacco curing is well under way, with the early crop poor, while late tobacco is much bet? ter. Rice is doing wrell. Sugar-cane sweet potatoes and gardens are doing well generally. Weather unfavorable for haying and fodder pulling in the coast counties, and considerable hay was damaged after*5cut wig., *y the heavy rains. Peas for foragelifeire do? ing well. Some turnips . have been sown. BADLY HURT. Mr. Herbert Ferrell Run Dito by a Negro. From the Daily Item, July 28 Thursday afternoon, while on the way to the base ball park, Mr. Herbert Ferrell sustained some very painful injuries. He was riding his bicycle., and as he passed the corner of Main street and Hampton avenue a negro man Picket Homes, who was driving a mule, endeavored to take the inside and suddenly pulling the animal to the left knocked Mr. Ferrell from his bicycle. Mr. Ferrell was quite seriously hurt, sustaining a three inch gash on the head and several bad bruises on his arm, shoulder and body. He was unable to be at work today. The negro was tried today before Recorder Hurst for reckless driving and was sentenced to pay a fine of $10 or to serve on the gang for 20 days. He has not yet paid fche fine. An attempt at jail delivery was made at Charleston Thursday after? noon, it has been learned, but The attempt was a failure as all previous attempts have proven, for escape is hardly possible from the u.'g prison. Charles Burbage was sentenced in Greenville to pay a fine of $200 for violation of the dispensary law. An appeal was taken. Burbage imme? diately after sentence was passed ask? ed Judge Prince for a cigar and was supplied with one. A shooting occurred in Darlington about 12 o'clock Thursday which came near being a very serious and ugly affair. The difficulty arose be? tween E. G. Billingsley, of St. Louis, and Joe Brock, of Kentucky, and the result is that Billingsley has a serious and painful, but not dangerous, wound, while Brock has been lodged in jail. J. A. Lucas, an engineer on the Southern was attacked by his fireman and severely hurt because he ordered the negro to fire up when the steam got low. SOME SAY DARGAN Is Dead. But There is Still Some Mystery. John Charles McNeill of the Char? lotte, X. C., Observer staff sends a special from Darlington to his paper in regard to the rumors which have been in circulation relative to R. K. Dargan and his suicide which says in part: "I don't know what went with the money," confessed the attci y for Robert Keith Dargan, the man whom a coroner's jury pronounced a suicide on July 11th. "We have not been able to discover much but debts. It does not seem that he had $100 when he died." This whole section of South Caro? lina is under intense excitement and the report that the supposed suicide is not dead at all and that the alleged awful tragedy of July 10th was a farce. They say that a man who was connected with the Independent Cot? ton Oil company and who is now in France, carried the money away with him. The company was capitalized at $1,000,000, and was suppoed to be worth more. Strange Stories Afloat. This history, together witn the re? port that Dargan went to Paris two years ago and had made a waxen image of himself, and another that his brother, Pegram, haa been, for several years, studying hypnotism and occult arts in the North; the fact that the coroner did not go in with his jury to view the corpse and the rumor that he said after the burial that he could not swear that Dargan was dead; that W. F. Dargan ordered out of the mension two men who had come with. the jury to see the body; that the grave was bricked and cemented; that there was a great ef? fort to avoid publicity on the night of the tragedy, and other rumors and reports too numerous to recount, con? stitute the basis for the widespread suspicion that it is a put-up job. So frantic has gossip grown that a tele? phone message went abroad last night that the grave had been opened and found empty. Hie Coroner's Story. The coroner tells me that on the night of the 10th, when he got to the office where the deed was done, he found the front door and the parti? tion door locked. In the back roofr were Pegram Dargan, Dr. Edwards and the dead man. The dead man's jaws were tied with a towel to pre? vent his mouth from fall? ig open. He was sitting in an easy chair with his feet upon a book case. Dr. Ed? wards said that he was dead when first examined by him. Both W. F. and Pegram Dargan asked the coro? ner if he recognized the corpse, and he replied that he did, and that it was Robert Keith Dargan. They told him they did not want a crowd to col? lect or any publicity, and he agreed that they might remove the corpse to the mansion. When they were tak? ing it up to bear it to the carriage at the door the coroner offered to assist them, but Pegram objected. The coroner thrust an arm under the body anyhow while they were lifting it into the carriage. It had not yet, he says,, grown cold. This was the last time the coroner saw the dead man. "If I had the authority," said he, "I would have the grave opened. It's the shortest way to stop all this talk." The Barber Interviewed. J. K. Doyle, a barber and a-member of the coroner's jury, which, in this State, is composed of 12 men, said that the man is dead. He said that atf 10.30 o'clock that night he was sent for to shave the corpse. He has shaved many a dead man, and this man was R. K. Dargan and no waxen figure nor hypnotized man. he had known Dargan personally for five years. He could smell the acid and saw marks of it about the mouth. Xext morning when he went into the chamber with his fellow-jurors the body was lying just as he had left it. "It's been reported," he said, "that the coroner got $1,000, the doctor $10,000 and I $5,000 to say these things, but that is an absolute lie." Knows Dargan is Dead. Superintendent of Education H. C. Burns told me he saw the body when the jury was viewing it; that it was Robert Keith Da^an, and he was dead. Foreman of the Jury G. K. King, a very emphatic and intelligent man, said that it is nothing but a scandal; that Dargan is dead, for he saw his corpse and knows a corpse when he sees one. It all got started, he thinks, from the ejectment trom the mansion by W. F. Dargan of two ru mans who went there through curiosity with thc jury, and who "hud no more business there than I've got in heaven." Receiver "Williamson's opinion is that there is no doubt the man is dead. Of him Mr. Williamson said,. "He was the smartest man and had the best memory and the greatest ca? pacity for work of any man I ever* knew." Attorney's Theory. The dead man's attorney said that, his theory is that Dargan, who hao^ great pride in his business ability;, had bolstered the business, which hacL' for more than a year been prosper? ous, out of his own resources. Since his death it is found that this, that and the other property belonging to? him had been sold and that there is? no accounting for the money they must have brought. He had proba? bly, to keep up confidence until bet? ter times came, given his own sub? stance thus, and had also paid "divi? dends" out of the capital stock. But discovery came before better times*, and high-spirited as he was, the man-; died rather than face the shame off failure and the ruin which it brought upon himself and others. Why Grave is Not Opened. They say that only his widow would! have authority to open the grave, and she does not even know of the rumors afloat. Unless the public will credit the men who say they saw the man dead, there is no way to settle the question except to go into the grave- . by violence or at the demand of the insurance people. What impresses? the investigator is the inconsequenoe of the whole business on both sides An Air of Mystery. ivfter all the apparent proof of sui? cide an air of mystery yet surrounds the whole affair, and it will likely be a good many day^- before public cur? iosity, as some style it, will subside. They talk here that Pegram Dargan is crazy, but if he is I don't know a saner man when I see one. DARGAN DEAD BEYOND DOUBT. Attorney Haynsworth Says Darlington Gives Rumors no Credence. "In Carlington people are convinced that Robert Keith Dargan is dead and in his grave," said H. J. Haynsworth,, who returned yesterday from a meet? ing of the creditors of the Independ? ent Cotton Oil Company in that city, where he represented a number of cotton oil mills in this section, which; were touched to the extent of several thousand dollars by the collapse. "I talked with prominent people in Dar? lington," said Mr. Haynsworth, "with men who had been friends of Keith Dargan and with men who had? been enemies in a business way, andi they told me with one accord that there was no sane foundation for the wild rumors floating about the country that the tragic suicide wras ai gigantic farce, a daring and success? ful fake. "From what I could gather the stories originated in the ejectment ol two ruffians who through idle curi? osity sought to invade the Dargans home on the night after the suicide. These men had no busines there, and were ordered to leave and finally" were practically . ejected from the* premises by ?frmember of the Dargan? family. From that rumors seem? to have spread until finally, when the coroner was appealed to, he unwisely said that he 'couldn't tell for sure,* or words to that effect, and this added? fuel to the flames that were ready to? ; burst out and spread over the coun? try. "Of course, it would be foolish tc* say that there are not some peoi^e irs Darlington who are disposed to give credence to these rumors, but they must be few, and as a whole I am in? clined to believe that people outside of his home are more inclined to be? lieve the reports than'are those on? the ground. So far as I can learns from mere conversation about the streets, for I had other business to atend to and never went out of my way to test the rumors, no effort is be? ing made to have the grave opened,, and it is likely to remain as it is_ , While the Dargan family is doubt? less aware of the rumors, from what I saw of some of the members ir* Darlington, they are not the sort to gratify what they regard as mere cu? riosity on the part of the public." Mr. Haynsw*orth is not the only person who has been on the scene, as it were, who is disposed to discredit the rumors of Dargan being alive; Mayor McCullough, of Darlington^ who passed through Greenville sev? eral days agc in the automobile, said that he had not the slightest doubt that Robert Keith Dargan had com? mitted suicide and that his body was in its grave. He was disposed to re? gard the rumors as so much bosh. Greenville News, July 29. Work has been . begun on the Iro dustrial Training School for way? ward young women at Greenville.