Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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ibi?t i&?m?m at? SMI?JOTL WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 27,1905. The Somier Watchman was founded in 1850 and the True Sauthron in 18?>6. The Watchman and Southron now bas the com? bined circulation and influence of both of the old papers, and is manifestly the best advertising medium in Sumter. The business men of Charleston who hoped for great things from the proposed Cincinnati, Hamilton and ^Dayton extension to that city via the Coal fields of Kentucky have had their hopes dashed to the ground by the purchase of the C., H. and D. system by Morgan, interests who are deter? mined not tov permit a competing rail toad to invade the territory of the . Southern. Charleston will never be fcnbottled by the C., H. and D., for that system is a thing of the past, and j the business men of that city must J Seek elsewhere for the relief they de- j .Sire. In this connection we venture to 1 *enew the suggestion made several ' months ago, that Charleston build | Vi th its own money an independent j .railroad to Sumter and co-operate j "with the business men of this city who j hsxe practical fy perfected their plans j tc- build a road from Sumter to j bethune to obtain a Seaboard A r j .Line connectin. It is proposed to 1 Artend this road to Monroe, N. C., in ! the near future, and this would give j t?harleston the outlet to the west that ts vitally necessary to the fut?re de? velopment and prosperity of that port. Korea fears it will require some practice before it will be able to tell ..peace" from "war." m m m Philadelphia proposes to celebrate I the two-hundredth?. anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin. Phila? delphia has but recently been trying to practice some of the precepts of honesty and fair dealing that were laid, down by poor Richard. . . . The men who have been arrested tor murdering the negro Pendleton ?at Honea Path are undoubtedly guilty tod should be hanged, but the jury may not be able to see it that way. The jury is the bulwark of the lynchers and if these men who engage tn mob murder were not pretty well satisfied that the jury would sympa? thize with them and save their necks there would be fewer lynchings. The' spirit that condones lynching has cor? rupted the jury, and until there is a stronger sentiment against lynch law the probabilities are that even such monsters as the Honea Path -murderers will be permitted to go -tree and unpunished. . ? ? * ' ^Th? farmer who owes debts cannot: afford to hold his entire crop for bet? ter prices when cotton ts selling at ten cents. When his debts are paid 3&e can and should hold his surplus *for the maxi ma m price that the law of SUDply and demand will warrant If this policy is followed there will bw ?O more trouble about low price cot? ton, unless there is an enormous in? crease in cotton production, j ? ? . ?? electric power can be carried ?rom CatawVa Palls to Columbia it Caa be brought to Sumter, and the ef? fort should be made to interest Dr. Wylie and his associates in a propo? sition to supply Sumter with electric power for lighting the city and man? ufacturing purposes. . V . John Bell Towill's training as a Y. fci. C. A. leader may not have been just the thing to equip him for a war of words with Senator Tillman, but he managed to hold/his own at Bates burg Saturday. . ? . Quite a number of the most con? sistent prohibitionists and besi citi? zens of Sumter take no stock in the proposition to vote out the dispen- j Sary. They prefer the dispensary, bad 1 its it is, to the unbridled reign of the ? blind tiger. j ? . . Tt is estimated that four or five ad- ! '?.?'? . ? ' $itional policeman would be needed to j keep track of the blind tigers if there ! "was ft? dispensary in Sumter. At pres- j cnt the lew blind tigers obtain a pre Carious and uncertain existence by al- j faying the raging thirst of the boozer ? fighters who fail to lay in a sufficient j supply of dispensary liquor to carry them through the night. If there were no dispensary to sell the more than $100,066 worth cf liquor the people of Sumter county now consume annually, the blind tigers would spring up on every hand to reap the big profits of the business. Il is folly to talk about suppressing the illicit sale of liquor "When the prize is the profits to be toade on $100.000. And the cost of lighting the blind tigers must be paid by the taxpayers, not out of the profits Cn the liquor sold as at present. Pro? hibition is a theory, the passion for ?rink is a fact, as is the cupidity of a fcreat marry men who will take any risk and break any law if the pecu? niary rew?rd is big enough. Prohibi? tion in Sumter was a farce twenty years ago-it would be worse today. ?For this reason we are opposed to th< proposition to vote out the dispen? sary. W. Zl. Graham has~fancy mules for farm and timber work. PUBLIC COTTON WEIGHERS. The system of public cotton weigh? ing has been generally satisfactory to the merchant and farmer alike in every county in which it has been adopted. The recent action which was brought to have declared uncon? stitutional the act that created the office of public cotton weigher in this county- was not, as we under? stand it, directed against the nature of the law, but solely against its poor administration. The writer has heard it stated re? peatedly by farmers that they took their cotton to others markets, not be? cause they could, receive better prices for thc staple, but for ^he sole reason that they would not tolerate the lonj, and unnecessary delays caused by the insufficiency of platform room and in? adequate means of handling the cot? ton that existed under the present system. Now Sumter cannot afford this loss. We want every bale of cot? ton made in the county to be sold in our town. This paper has always favored the system and desires to see it continue in force, and it takes this occasion to urge the weighers now in office to profit by the lessons of this suit in law, and urges them to so improve the mode of weighing and handling cotton to the satisfaction of those whom they were elected to serve. It is impossible to please all; but it is expected of the weighers that they, at least, 'comply with the provisions j of the act of the legislature; and, with a strict compliance in the future, which means that the weighing will be conducted more expeditiously, it can be said beyond any reasonable doubt, that the dissatisfaction that now exists will be removed. The Public Cotton Weighers of Sum? ter County Will Continue to Ex? ercise the Duties of Their Office. The action, in the form of a tempo? rary injunction pending the hearing of the case upon its merts, directed by Messrs. J. M. Woodley, W. Dukes Carson and C. L. Williamson against the public cotton weighers of Sumter, was heard by Judge Purdy last Sat? urday at 10 o'clock, and, contrary to expectations his decision was handed down today. , His order refusing the motion is clear and explicit in its terms, and is self explanatory. It isx quoted in full below. The question of the constitutionality of the act, while not definitely de? cided, is at present of little moment, for the decision of Judge Purdy was reached without touching the consti? tutional questions involved, and the weighers will continue to exercise the functions of their office, until further litigation restrains them. The Decision. State of South Carolina. Sumter County. Court of Common Pleas. J. M. Woodley and Others, Plaintiffs vs. J. vWhilden Netties and Others, Claiming; to be Public Cotton Weighers in the City, of Sumter, S. C., Defendants. This is an action to permanently restrain And enjoin the defendants from exercising ihe duties of public cotton weighers in the city of Sumter, S. C., and an application has been made before me in behalf of the plain? tiffs to grant a tempor?r:,- injunction restraining the defendants from act? ing as public cotton weighers, pending the litigation. The case was most ably argued be? fore me, and so far as I have been able to determine .the situation, there is scarcely any issue raided by the re? turn, as to the statement of facts made in the complaint, but issue is taken largely as to the conclusions to be drawn from such statements, and as to the law governing the case. It. is now well settled law in thrs State, that "where it shall appear by the complaint that the plaintiff is en? titled to the relief demanded, and such relief or any part thereof, con? sists in restraining the commission or continuance of some act, the commis" sion or continuance of which during the litigation would produce injury to the plaintiff," the parties are entitled. to a temporary restraining order and the court will grant such order. Al? derman vs. Wilson and cases there cited; 69 S. C., page 156. It is also settled that: 'Tn doubtful cases, the court weighs the nature and extent of the injury which will arise to^either party from the grant? ing or withholding of an injunction, and determines the question of equit? able relief in the manner best calcu? lated to promote substantial justice."' Pelzer, Rodgers &. Co., vs Hughes, 2 . S. C., page 408, and cases there cited. In this case the defendants are the successors in office of others who have filled the position without question or molestation for years. It does not ap? pear from the allegations of the com? plaint, nor were affidavits submitted charging that the defendants were do? ing or threatening to do any act or acts which would interfere with the rights of the plaintiffs. It might be that if the plaintiffs sought to carry out th** contracts to s<li their cotton, a.s alleged in the complaint and undertook to weigh the same in the city of Sumter, and the defendants in any way interfered with chem, that then they would have ? cause of action. There is no threat on the part o: the defendants that if the plaintiff? undertake to weigh their cotton else? where they will be prosecuted or in? terfered with, and there is no act be? ing done by the defendants which tends to show any breach of duty which they owe to the plaintiffs, lr, order to interrupt ar. officer in the ex? ercise of his governmental functions, the strongest and clearest case should be made out, especiallj- to warrant the granting of a temporary injunction. While I cannot decide the case on its merits, it is my duty to examine in? to the case for the purpose or seeing whether I should grant the temporary injunction, and this I have most care? fully done. In fact, the argument was so well presented on both sides that the case was particularly set forth before me in all of its phases, and especially by the plaintiffs as to the merits of the case, and also as to my duty to grant an injunction if I came to the con? clusion that. the act was unconstitu? tional. Under the case as before me, the right to a temporary injunction is doubtful; if I were satisfied that the plaintiffs had made out a clear right, and that as a matter of law, from the facts as stated, tney were entitled to a temporary restraining order, I would grant it, but I am not so satis? fied. The plaintiffs might come into town and weigh their cotton and sell it for an indefinite period, and no one might ever interfere with them, and it is purely a speculative question to say that such would be done. There is not an allegation in the complaint that the persons to whom they contracted to sell their cotton and to whom they delivered it, require that it shall be weighed in accordance with the law governing the office of cotton weigher, and .that if not so weighed prosecution would follow. In other words, as I see the case as now presented, I am asked to grant a restraining order and, prac? tically, in so doing, .'to declare the act complained of as unconstitutional for the reason that if the plaintiffs go outside the cotton weighers' act and weigh their cotton they may be pros? ecuted. _ The motion to grant a temporary restraining order is refused. R. O. Purdy, Circuit Judge. Sumter, S. C., Sept. 25, 1905. If you want a good harness horse W. M. Graham is the man to sell you. It would pay you to see W. H. Gra? ham's horses. They are good. 9 13-4t A NEW BUSINESS FOUNDED BY MESSRS. CROSSWELL. The latest business venture enter? ed into by merchants of the city is the Carolina Fruit Company, which was organized by Messrs. Crosswell and will be conducted under the man? agement of Mr. J. K. Crosswell with a corps of able assistants. The place of business of the company is in a lately constructed building at the foot of Sumter street, and is adjacent to the large warehouse occupied by the wholesale grocery firm of Crosswell & Co. The building is peculiarly con? structed for the storing and handling of perishables. The first floor serves as a place for keeping crates, drums, barrels for packing the fruits and veg eatbles and getting them in shape for shipment. The office is also lo? cated there. COTTON GROYVRS' ASSOCIATION. The meeting of the Sumter County Cotton Growers' association held Sat? urday in the court house, pursuant to the call of County President A. B. Stuckey, was not largely attended as anticipated and was wanting in inter? est, to a considerable extent. Mr. E. D. Smith, president of the State As? sociation, who had accepted an invi? tation to be present and address the meeting, failed to come. He did not notify President Stuckey of his inabil? ity to fill his engagement and when it was learned this morning that he would not attend the meeting it was too late to arrange for a speaker to fill his appointment. When the meeting was called to or? der President Stuckey made a brief speech outlining the objects for which the meeting had been called. Reports from the various township organizations were called for and committees were appointed to take up the work of organization of township associations so as to have the county thoroughly organized. f , Mr. W. A. Bowman was called on to report on the proceedings of the meeting recently held in Asheville, N. C., which he attended. " The sentiment of the meeting seem I ed be favorable to holding cotton for ll cents, the minimum price fixed by the Asheville meeting, and the ef? forts of the County Association will be directed toward inducing the cot? ton growers of the county to hold for that price. The following resolution waa adopt? ed: Resolved. That we endorse the ac? tion of Asheville Convention in fixing the minimum price of cotton at ll cents. Provided, That those who'have ob? ligation? which have to be paid are not bound by the recommendation. JUST A Few Words o The Tr^de Our unusually large and varied stock is now in and ready for criticism. The completeness of the various lines of merchandise handled by us is the result of many months' labor, reaching back to the early spring-purchased .when DRY GOODS . J Were cheaper than today, and the benefit goes to those who trade with us. Heed this advice from us : Call and get posted as to the newest Dress Goods Materials Both as to fabric and shadings. See the Plaid Taffeta Silks suggested for waists, petticoats and entire suits. Also the new black Chiffon and Spot-Proof Taffetas, all warranted, from 50c. up. Secure a Tailored Suit from our Ready-to Wear Department, either in the Eton or Pad? dock design. These stylish, serviceable suits are shown in dark green, plum, garnet, grey and black. Not elsewhere in Sumter is to be seen the large variety of Coats for Ladies, Misses and Children. And we say the same in reference to our Housefurnishing Department. Estimates cheerfully furnished on complete House and Hotel equipment. Again we say, Heed Our Advice ! IL HS CO. OUR Carpet Department Offers Unusual Attractions And an excellent range of values to the housekeeper who finds it necessary to invest in anything in that line. N The Art Square is rapidly displacing the Carpet as a floor covering, and rightly so. lt is more attractive, less expensive and more convenient. Our line embraces all sizes and grades From $3.50 to $20. RUGS, RUGS, RUGS! * We have always enjoyed the reputation of carrying a hand? some line cf rugs, but in our selections this season we think our previous record has been surpassed, and as to prices we are confident they are right. Smyrna Rugs, $1, $ 1.50, $2, $2.50 & $3 Hoquette Rugs, $1, $2.50, $3.75. MATTINGS. We carry a complete Hoe of China, Japanese and Grass Wire Mattings, in China Mattings we are offering some ex? cellent values, and a beautiful assortment of patterns At 16,18, SO, 25 and Up to 35c. Per Yard. We picked up a lot of Jap Mattings at auction very much under their value. The quality is excellent, the patterns as good as the best. Floor Oil Cloths From 25c. to $1.25 Per Yard. O'Donnell h Company A NEW ENTERPRISE. Sumter Machinery Company (INCORPORATED) SUMTER, 5. C. W. B. BURNS, Pres. T. H. SIDDALL, Treas. & Gen. Mgr. DIRECTORS: W. B. Burns, C G. Rowland, T. H.. Siddall. Charles Dewry, Richard I Manning, Neill O'Donnell, Geo. D. Shore. First Class New Equipment for all Kinds Machinery Repairs. Iron and Brass Castings, Grate Bars and Building Irons a Specialty. Agents for Winship, Pratt, Smith, Munger and Eagle Cotton Gins, Ginning Machinery and Presses. Steam Engines and Boilers in Stock? Give us a call and you will be convinced that our prices are right. Shops situated on W. C. & A. R. RM east of passenger depot-one block South of East Liberty Street. The Carolina Sanitarium L. G. Corbett, M. D. Solely for the Treatment of Whiskey and Drug Habits and Nervous Troubles Detailed information upon application. 405 Perry Ave. Greenville, S. C. Prices are rigrht and stock good at W. M. Graham's. \V. M. Graham can offer you extra fine horses and mules. R. B. BELSER. R. 0. EPPS. BELSER ? EPFS. Attorneys and Counsellors at Law. Phone 30S. SUMTER. S. C. Harby Bldg. . HOLLISTER'S Rocky Mountain Tea Nuggets A Busy Medioine for Busy People. Brings Golden Health and Reneged Vigor. A specific for Constipation, Indigestion. Live and Kidnev Troubles. Pimples. Eczema. Impure Blood, Bad Breath, Slu?s:ish Bowels, Headache and Backache. It's Rocky Mountain Tea m tab? let form. S? cents a box. Genuine made by HOLLISTER T)RVG COMPANY, Madison. Wis. GOLDEN NUGGETS FOR SALLOW PEOPLE