University of South Carolina Libraries
tile For the past year wa? the largest in its history, and we beg to thank the merchants of South Carolina foi eral share of patronage they have given us, and trust it was handled to theiJ satisfaction. We also wish to thank the wearers of shoes for buying our weil Known brands in oreferen . others The Cotton Growers7 Association, for two reasons, is in part resposiMe for ihe enormous increase in our ousidess. First-Their influence on the coi ton market enabled the farmers to get a.good price throughout the season. This put .more money in circulation Second-A sentiment is being created in favor of patronizing home enterprises. Professional and business men ^ well as farmers, have' been invited to join the Association and are waking togeiher as a man. They realize that the success of the one contributes largely to the success of the other The sentfinentis there now, and the shoe jobbers in the cotton belt sold moie goods las year by far than any year previous. There were four shoe jobbers in Charleston ten years ago-there are four now. We sold more goods last year than the four sold ten years ago, and we believe there Ins been a large increase in the business of the other three. Charleston stands "today in the iront rank as a shoe market. And we are in a large measure respons bie f <r this condition. Why? Because we have put out a line second to none in the United States, and do not allow a . t>f our competitors to offer better values than'we do. The following celeorated brands are as well or better known than any other shoes handled in this State : Ki FOR MEN. FOR LADIES. FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. " ; Red Eye, Astoria, Consolidated, Sam Lichten, * Southern King, Iron Age, Columbia Calf, Black Mingo, Missing Link, Bates7 Ga. Special. The < ouiitess, Ainslee, Th? Queen, Golden Bell inness7 Kangaroo Ruby, White House Queen, Blue Bell, Gentry's Special. Full Dress, Red Eye, Blue ?>tar, Warrior, The Queen, Red Star, Good Wear, Blue Bell, Klondyke. FOR SALE BY ALL FIRST CLASS DEALERS. j Leather is very high now, but it is our intention to keep the above brands up to the standard It has been <mr policy in the past and* will be our policy in ihe future to improve the quai itt -of ^ shoe rather than to reduce it so as to be able to put out a sho at a price. Again thanking you for the liberal share of business given us the past year, and wishing you ?Merry Christmas and Happy and Prosperous New Year. Yours very respectfully, ?fe ??imjji?M uni) Bmfy???u WEDNESDAY, JANUARY *3, 1905. The Sumter Watelunan -was rounded in i?5C and the True Souihmn m 1S66. The fFcrfdtoura and Southron now has the com? bined circulation and influence of both of She-o?d papeis/andis^canifestiy the best medium in Sumter. ' :\ Superintendent 'S. EL Edmunds' .' argument in favor of fixing upon S years at th? time at which the .formal education of a child should begin ap? pears' sound, sane and conclusive. Some ch8dren>are mentally and phy sicaliy mature enough* to /enter school at the age of 6 years; but they are ex? ceptions, and exceptional children do not flt in harmoniously with the preh? eat system of public education, which deigned: for the needs and capa ???itJes of " the average child. It is to ?e hoped that Mr. Edmunds' address . .. ' -ar ?Ti be read and digested by all school men in the . State, and that they WEI unite in exerting their influence to ?ayev the school age changed from 6 -to S years. * * * "-vviC; Ordinary farm ' mules com aariding the prices that they now do vv c; ... : understand why South |H?karolina i .rmers persist in paying the ?ices rather than raise all they need "?Orne a .id a few to sell. Mules can " oe ra.:^:i in this county successfully boon demonstrated at the State Earea. A sound young mule of good -size is worth from $200 to $250 and .x has been asserted and uncontra dicted that ihe cost of raising a mule is not more than $75 at the maximum, wld?e under favorable conditions the *jost is less than $50. * ? * The Christmas killings, due t liquor, appear to have been impar? tially distributed amongst the dispen? sary and the Brice Law prohibition =c?unties. Reliable statistics on this i point are not yet available hui it seems to t>e that whiskey and the devil got ia. their" joint work just as success? fully, where the dispensary had been outlawed and the blind tigers given tree hand as where that State presided ?3?er the distribution of the stuff that sakes the devirs work easy. ;. . ' -, . . . * * ? "With the New * Year it is to be ?ioped that the plan to build the rail .road from this city to Bethune on the ^Seaboard Air Line wi:! be revivec -SumtekT needs another outlet moi "'V> v Jhan any other one thing. A railroad riving access to the Seaboard territoi . ^vonld be invaluable to the wholesale merchants of Sumter and of gr?at benefit to the entire business commu? nty. * * * -A great furor has been aroused Uiroughout the country over the diver 3^?n of water from Niagara -Falls by ?^e power companies and the legisla? te of New York, congress and the .nadian government are being iiood with appeals to save the falls from th? rapacious grasp of the promoters - io would rob them of ali their beau ana grandeur in order to enrich emselves. It is a most worthy senti? ent that has been aroused and the -opie of America are. right in de? luding that Niagara Falls be pre .- rved in all their grandeur and beau - . There is, however, another ques n ot- ia:- rrreater magnitude that" af its the welfare of millions of people . -ectly about which little is heard. TJ at is the preservation of the forests tf the Appalachian watershed. If th? d struction of the forests in the -m ountaii? regions of the South con? nues at the present rate in less than . decade the region in which all of r rivers take their rise will be strip? ped bare by the lumbermen and the suit will be disastrous to this en e section. The people of the South . ? states should unite rh demanding '"at steps be taken at once to pre rve the forests. It should be an ?istent demand and our congress men should be forced to realize that it is a matter of greater importance to the South than the digging ? of the Panama canal, the status of the j Philippines or any other issue now 'before congress. The future pros? perity of the agricultural and manu? facturing interest of the South is in j . - .Wv ?a large measure dependent upon the i preservation of the forests in the mountain regions. ? ? * * If all the property, real and person? al, in the city of Sumter was returned for taxation at its market value the rate. of. the levy for municipal pur? poses could be cut in half. Still we be? lieve that, at the present market val? ue x>f farming lands, the real estate in the city is returned at a valuation nearer the market value than in any ; other section of the county. Farming land has enhanced more rapidly in ?value in ^recent years than city prop j erty and a valuation that three or four 'years ago represented 25 to 60 pei jcent, ot the^ actual value of farm j lands now represent anywhere from 5 'to* 20 per cent, of the market value. A reform iii the tax returns and valu? ation is needed all along the line. ? * * ; The . sentiment against lynching j has grown and strengthened in South I Carolina within the past year or two I and we know of nothing of which we ?should all be prouder than this j healthy growth of enlightened public j sentiment'. We may point with grat ; ification to our agricultural prosperity land the manufacturing development j that has taken place in South Caro j lina* but a respect for law and order is a mark of higher development than material prosperity. TAX DODGING. ! The expose of tax-dodging that The j Columbia State is making in its edito j rials on the subject of the reforms pro j posed by Comptroller General Jones j should convince all fair minded men j that reform in the assessment of ] property for taxation cannot come too j soon. The absurdity, the inequality, {the dishonesty of the present condi j tion of affairs is too patent to necessi j tate argument-a bare statement of . the facts make out a clear case of ; tax dodging against the people of j South Carolina. ! The inequality and dishonesty of j the- system lies in the fact that some j property owners are far more ex j pert dodgers than others; some pay ! on a 60 per cent, valuation and others i on a 10 per cent, basis on real estate i while on visible personal property the ! valuation is still lower. The man whd return cash on hand and in bank for i taxation, or pays the tax on income, is so rare that lis is a freak. 1 How the much to be desired reform is to be brought about is a most per? plexing problem, but it might tend to improve conditions if a law should be enacted to prevent the collection by suit against an insurance- company of any sum in excess of the relumed val? uation of any dwelling bouse or other building, merchandise, machinery, etc., that may be destroyed or daniaged by fire. Such a law would have one of ; two effects-property owners would either carry less insurance <>r they would make honest returns to the au? ditor. W-e are inclined to believe thal the average property owner woulo make honest returns. No sjfnilar mensure or method of forcing thc owners <>f reaj estate to j make honest returns suggests itself i just now, but there should be some j means found to make the penalty suf . ficiently heavy to force owners of ?land which has a market value o? ?50 j to $100 an acre return it for taxation lat its value and not for less than the i annual rental as farming land. ? Major W. B. Moore has practically completed arrangements to establish a $100,000 cotton mill in York county. The first snow of the winter fell in ' Spantanburg sun day. Sam Small on Chancellor Walter B. Hill. Atlanta, Ga., December 29.-The death of Chancellor Hill caused a pro? found sorrow in ali official and social circles in the capital. He was thor . oughiy acquainted .with and well es? teemed by hundreds of the leaders in all walks of State enterprise and they sincerely mournn the loss of so strong, erudite and effective an officer in the educational life of the commonwealth. Until the news of his demise came it was hoped by all that his clean and strenuous constitution would baffle the strength of his disease. Now it is felt that a forceful figure, whose trained intellect and ripened powers .promised great results in the univer? sity expansion work, has been untime? ly taken away, . As a lawyer Mr. Hill was conspic? uous for full equipment, judicious spirit and fine powers of advocacy. The bar esteemed him as an ex? emplar of the high ethics and excel? lencies of the profession, and often signally preferred him to illustrative positions. As a codifier of the statutes of the State he easily ranked next to the great Thomas R. R. Cobb, whose genius in that field has proba? bly never been suprassed. f As a publicist Mr.i'Hill never fell be? low the best standards of civic virtue and unselfish patriotism. He was one of those who imported his moral sen? sibilities into his political thinking, and no issue, measure or opinio? could affect him unless he had-first decided in his own judgment that it was "the right thing." Had he been less the serf of a good conscience and more a host to opportunity, he might have won the j best honors of politics in the State. ! And had he been less modest about publicity, he would have been in 1S96 the presidential candidate of the Na? tional Prohibition party and made bis name familiar and honored by hun? dreds of thousands of temperance re? form men and women throughout America. 1 As an educator, his latest and best fame has been achieved. Called un? expectedly to the head of the Unive. sity of Ceorgia. following a long line of ' illustrious men. such as Meigs. j Mell, Lipscomb, Tucker and Beggs, Mr. Hill, a layman and a lawyer, took* up one of the most difficult roles in | modern life. But with chracteristic I energy and devotion, he set to work J to master the details of his new office and soon took rank among the chief educational figures of the nation welcomed into their guild and honored for his sane scholarship and wise ad? ministrative powers. He has in a few years done splendid work for the uni? versity and all his fe'.low citizens who were gladdened by it will unite to mourn the almost tragic conclusion of his faithful labors. The nayy y .rd machinery at Port Royal will '. . transferred to the Charleston ni ./ yardj Deafness Cannot Bo Cured by local applications, as they cannot reach the diseased portion of the ear. There is only way to cure deafness, and -that is caused by an inflamed condition of the mucous Jilling- of the p:ustachian Tube. When this tube is inflamed you have a rumbling sound or imperfect hearing, and when it is entirely closed. Deafness is the result, and unless the inflammation can be taken out ?ind this tube restored to it?v .normal condition, hearing will bc de? stroyed for ??ver: nine cases out of ten j are caused hy Catarrh, which is noth jing but an Inflamed condition of the ; mucous surfaces. j We will give One Hundred Dollars j for any case of Deafness (caused by ?catarrh) tb*.i cannot be cured by j Hali's Catarrh Cure. Send for circu i lars, free F. J. CHENEY & CO., Toledo, O. Sold by Druggists. Ti5c. Take Hairs Family Pills for consti ipation. 12 IS-lm SOUTil CAROLINA NEWS. items of Interest Condensed and Par? agraphed for Quick Reading. i - f , The Spartan Mills, of Sparenburg, will, within the next few d?ys, pay $34,000 into the city treasury in set? tlement of back taxes from 1S97 to 1902. The case has been in the courts for several ; years.. Three * cottages, owned by G. A. Norwood, were burned in Greenville Wednesday afternoom. There was a clash during the fire between . firemen and water works officials over the deficient water pressure and Chief Ligon of the fire department had a water works employe arrested for .tampering with the hydrant during the fire. The water works people claimed that the hydrant was not open and that when properly openea there was ample pressure. TJae plan to build a railroad from Donald's to Due West has fallen through. The Incorporated Farming Associa? tion, of Aiken county, has been form? ed as a result of the work of Com j missioner Watson and his New York .representative, Mr. Raymond ?. Grif ?fiss. The colony will settle 2,200 ! acres in Aiken county with a number j of families and a co-operative farm j will be established in the course of the ?next few weeks. Mert Young was shot with a gun and seriously wounded in Spartan i burg Wednesday night by Sam Adams, j A coal famine threatens Greenville. The price of coal has advanced more , than $1 per ton during the last few weeks. The dispensary sales in Abbeville were less this year during Christmas week than -the pales during last Christmas. Mr. G. F. Freeman, an operative at the Granby mill, Columbia, feil dead Thursday morning while at work in the mill. Heart disease was the cause. He leaves a wife and family, having amongst other relatives a brother who works in the Olympia mill. John Boyd, a weil known white farmer of Laurens county, was shot in the neck and fatally wounded Sat? urday night by Walter Thompson, son of Judge of Probate Thompson. The Actors' Society of America, will defray the expenses incident to the prosecution of George Hasty, who killed . Milan Bennet and Abbot Da visions at Gaffney. Edward Carew Rice, managinb agent of the Virginia-Carolina Chemi? cal Company, office in Mobile, Ala., committed suicide in his office at an early hour Thursday morning. The only reason for his act is that he has overdrawn his accounts. He was a na? tive of Greenwood, S. C.. und ha J been living ia Mobile only a few years. J. P. Slattery; special agent of the Unite.; Slates agricultural department, is in Charleston looking after th.- mat? ter of reviving the rice industry in the lower part of the .State. X negro boy named Jesse James was burned to death today at tin- A. C. L. shops by falling in a pit of molten iron. He was playing around the pit and accidentally lost his bal? ance. Kis death was i:i<tant.. His body was horribly burned.-Florence Times, December 2S. * Coroner Flowers held an inquest at Mayesville on Sunday over ibo body of William Gr'egg, a young negro who was killed about a mile and a half east of that town Saturday afternoon. The evidence was that Gregg was stealing a ride on the freight train and when he jumped off near bis home he was thrown under the wheels and instantly killed. It invigorates, st rv ngthens and bulids up. It keeps you in condition physically, menially and morally. That's what Hollister's Rocky Moun? tain Tea will do. 35 cents, Tea or Tablets. China's Drug Store. ft il ? ?! * 1 1 tm ? S3 S? We %re now engaged in our annual work of taking an inventory of our stock. It is possible as we proceed we may find a few items of which we hav? too much, or some that we are especially anxious to dispose ot at a sacrifice. Ii1 sc you will he advised of it. In the me van time permit us to wish you the compli ments of the season, and to express our thanks for the liberal patronage bestow ed upon us during the year about to close, to which we will be forced, regret? fully, to say. FAREWELL ! ?Si B lb* On February 1st, Durant's Pharmacy will give away a hand? some Gold Watch worth 840.00, or its equivalent, to be se? lected at Folsonrs Jewelry Store. The watch will be awarded to the person who guesses est the number of seed contained in the big pumpkin nc exhibition. " A disinterested committee will be appointed tn r??t the pumpkin *-nd count the seed the day the contest ck With each five (5) cents purchase one guess is < Ask for a "Pumpkin guess" ticket, and record one guess 5 cents you spend. AN ADVERTISEMENT PLACED IN THE ADVERTISING COLUMNS OF THE DAILY ITEM WILL BT?TNO T?FOTTT QT