The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, July 11, 1906, Image 1

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matt an THE SUMTER WATCHMAN", Established April, 1850. 'Be Just and Fear not-Let all the ends Thou Aims't at be thy Country's, Thy God's and Truth's. THE TRUE SOUTHRON, Established Jone, i860 Consolidated Aug. 23 1881. SUMTER, S. G.. WEDNESDAY. JULY ll, 1906. New Series-Vol. XXV. So 51 ? Wyt Mti?wM at? Sondra Published Every Wednesday, -BY-* OSTEEN PUBLISHING COMPANY, SUMTER, S. C. Terms: $1.50 per annum-in advance. / Advertisements: I One Square first insertion.$1.30 Every subsequent insertion. 50 Contracts for three months, or longer will be made at reduced rates. AH communications which sub? serve private interests will be charged lor as advertisements. Obituaries and tributes of respects will be charged for. IMPORTANCE OF CATTLE TICK. A Statement Sent: Out by South Caro? lina live Stock Association. SjB^The papers of the State have been Requested by the South Carolina Live Stock association to publish the fol? lowing: "The common cattle tick is a fa? miliar sight "to all our people, but ^?very few. outside of those engaged in I the cattle business realize the im " portant part it plays in hindering the development of the cattle industry in .the State. The cattle tick carries the "germ" that causes Texas fever, a dis? ease very fatal to grown cattle. Cat t tie that are raised on land infested T with ticks are inoculated with the germ by becoming infested with ticks infmedir.tely after birth. At this age they suffer a very mild attack of the . disease with no visible external symp? toms and after they have passed I through it they are then proof against P^the infection and can be exposed to * ticks later in life without harm. But if cattle are raised on land on which there are no ticks and are afterwards moved to tick-infested lands they will become infected with the disease. They will also suffer from the disease j^lf. they remain or? the land on w-hich .* they were raised ard tick-infected cattle are introduced among them. ' "Because of these facts the federal government has established a quaran? tine line across the countrv dividing the regions infested with ticks from 'j? those in which there are no ticks. Np cattle can be moved from the tick infested regions across the quarantine line' except when they are being ship? ped for butchering to^ a slaughter house which has direct railroad con? nection. South Carolina is placed be jfe low this quarantine line among the tick-infested, regions. Hence, cattle cannot be shipped from this State to points above the quarantine line except for immediate slaughter. Cat? tle for dairy purposes, or for feeding .or breeding are barred. Thus, the v- market for the cattle produced in the f State is considerably restricted. "Some of the States deluded with -in the tick-infested area, notably Vir? ginia, North Carolina, Texas and Oklahoma, which had within their boundaries an area in which ticks ex? isted only a few farms or ranches I have succeeded in having such areas placed above the quarantine line, thu^ opening new markets for th<? cattle raised therein. This was accomplished by the passage of a law by the legis? lature establishing a State quarantine dividing the slightly infested area ? from the other part of the State and the -eradication of the ticks from the infested places in the slightly infested airea. When these conditions were bnought about the State quarantine line was then adopted by the federal government and made a part of the national quarantine line. This plan is just as feasible in South Carolina as in any of the States mentioned. In a great part of the State since the passage of the stock law the cattle tick has become almost extinct and exists only on a place here and there. I The first step in the matter, however, must be taken by the legislature." A COSTLY NAVY. New Boilers for Old Warships to Be Purchased at an Outlay of $600,000. Washington, July 9.-Nearly $600. 000 worth of boilers for intsallation will shortly be bought for the navy. New boilers for the battleships New York and Massachusetts alone will cost $300,000. New boilers will also be placed in the Gloucester at the Pensacola navy yard at a cost of about $13,000. THE FIRST BALE. New York, July 9.-The first bale of 1906 cotton raised in Falfurias, Texas, and consigned to Latham. Alexander & Co., of this city, was sold at auction today on the New York Cotton Exchange to Geo. W. Cum? mings for Ellison & Co., of Liverpool for 24 cents a pound. TILLMAN'S CAMPAIGN. FOUR THOUSAND HEAR HIM AT SANDY FLAT. There Was no Wild Enthusiasm But Received an Attentive Hearing. His Speech Was Devoted Almost Exclusively to the Dispensary Issue. Greenville, July 7.-The political rally and picnic today at Sandy Flat did not fall short of expectations. The crowd was large, the speakers of the day were in high feather, the order j was perfect and the weather was ideal. The conditions could not have been better. As has been recoginzed all along, Senator Tillman was the central figure of the whole meeting. He is always a drawing card and he was so on this occasion. He spoke with his old time zeal and expression and conveyed his thoughts in the same kind of language that he employed when' he first en? tered politics in South Carolina. He is the same Tillman today that he was 15 years ago, but he can't arouse au? diences to the high pitch of enthus? iasm and white heat that he once could. The crowd today listened to him attentively, and there was an oc? casional "Hurrah for Tillman" and other outbursts of mild appause, but the violent enthusiasm over Tillman of days gone by was conspicuously ab? sent. He perhaps had more friends in the audience and fewer enemies than he had in crowds of equal size a decade ago, but the people didn't get as excited over his speech as .they did in the early part of the 90's. It must be a fact that the people are not as wild over politics now as they used to be. The same interest is not mani? fested. j.h. addition to the spech by Senator Tillman, three candidates for ?Con? gress from this, the fourth, Congres? sional district spoke. Congressman J. T. Johnsor the incumbent, who stands for re election, spoke first, followed by the Hon. G. H. Mahon, mayor of Greenville, and Mr. W. C. Irby, of Laurens, the other congressional can? didate, spoke last. , It was a political rally, pure and ' simple. People went there to hear the candidates and the candidates went there to meet and talk with the people. A number of candidates who are in the race for State offices mixed with the multitude during the day and the aspirants for county offices were, of course, largelv in evidence. Among those seen on the ground were Messrs. Ansel. Sloan and Manning, in the race for governor; Col. Wharton, for railroad commissioner, and others. It is estimated that fully 4.OOO per? sons atended the meeting. The best of feeling prevailed. People were pres? ent from all over this and adjoining counties. Men were there who had driven from thirty to forty miles. . A large number went out from Green? ville and helped to swell the attend? ance, which was unusally representa? tive. Sandy Flat is ten mies from Green? ville, in the upper part of the county. The grove in which the speaking took pace is an ideal site for such an af- 1 fair. j . j ? It was very evident from Senator Tillman's speech that he had careful? ly prepared himself for the occasion. He said: There is but one important issue in- i volved in this campaign, so far as State affairs go. and as for my own candidacy it rests or the record which I have made since I entered public life sixten years ago and the intimate knowledge which the people of the State have of my character, personal? ity and qualification?. I am willing to .leave it there without discussion or presentation. The fight is Sta*-: dis? pensary vs county dispensary, for no one exp3cts the prohibition candi? dates, however worthy and w?i? quali? fied they may be, to Teceive very much support. With all their efforts (and they have been many and long continued) newspapers which have always fought the dispensary have not been able to drum up a candidate for governor who advocates local option I straight as against dispensary and prohibition, and only in Charleston does that idea have any men offering for office under it. The local option offered the people is between prohi? bition and county dispensary, and the whole fight is to destroy the State dis? pensary first with no other purpose tha?n to then obtain the privilege of reopening the old barrooms under the new guise of liquor stores, "selling un? der constitutional limitations." Th real fight is for the control of the Legislature, because the Governor cannot make or change the laws, and oan only try to enforce them. His only influence over legislation would b<=> in tho use of tho v^io power. But it is all important to get a strong and good man for Governor. The tin distinctly demand one. Says County Dispensaries Won't 1 In any event some counties v stand by prohibition with its bli tigers and heavy jug trade by expre Other counties will vote for cour dispensaries and the cities where t principal .newspapers are publish will have the fight on the issue State dispensary or county'dispensa: with the ultimate purpose of havi the county dispensaries turned ir licensed bar- room's if the county d pessaries are abolished. The scher is to restore the sale of liquor to p: vate individuals rather than let it i main in the hands of State officia Those who clamior for county dispe saries instead of one State dispensa must demonstrate how it is easier prevent corruption among the thir or forty county boards than to stop in one State board. I have gre faith in the good common sense of t: people, and do not believe they can persuaded to destroy the State dispe sary, and leave each county to pu chase and sell its own liquor. Yet t! State and News and Courier, whi< have always hated the dispensary "'Worse than the devil hates holy w ter," are advocating candidates who fav county dispensaries. The only possit good reason that can be advanced < this line is that the prohibition cou: ties under the Constitution receive part of the profits which arise fro the sale of liquor in other countie This ?is un just, as everyone must a knowledge, but it can be Temedu very easily by having the State dispel sary make no profits other than a fe thousand dollars above its running e: penses, thus leaving the counties ar the towns ix> divi de the profits'bet wee them. This can easily be done an when we consider the expense of bu? ing liquor in retail quantities and pa> ing local freights on it instead of buj ing carload lots and paying throug freights the county dispensary cann( stand the comparison. But this is n< the greatest objection. The leakage or stealage in bottlin of liquor Hi each county dispensar would be immense, and I know of n way that it could be prevented, no: do I know any by wh^ch it would b possible tc prevent the whiskey bein watred. bettles refilled, relabeled an other schemes of making money dis honestly, if the system were adoptee It is not possible to prevent it and do not thi.-k any sensible man wh confiders the question will serions!, contend taat it is. Even if one-hal of the counties in the State shoub adopt the prohibition-blind tiger-ju; trade programme it would be better more economical, and there would b less possibility of corruption and pecu lation in the purchase and handling o liquor in the other dispensary caun ties, if the buying, bottling and ship ping should be done at one central do? it pot, instead of in each county. Jumps on Charleston. It must not be forgotten, because ii was the understanding (and a bargair was made during the fight in the Leg? islature last winter against the State dispensary) that the ultimate purpose is to have Charleston wholesale liquor dealers supply the county dispensaries as well as the jug trade by express in dry counties, and while this would be better than to have this liquor ship? ped in from North Carolina and Geor? gia, as it r ow is, because it would keep the money at home, I do not believe that the people of the State are now willing, or will ever be willing, to see the State dispensary destroyed, with the inevitable result that liquor sell? ing will gradually go back to the old system of private control. I would be glad to have Charleston prosper, but it is not the loss of the liquor trade that has hurt Charleston. Other things are to blame. The issue between private control and control by State officials must hinge at last on the question of whether or not the people of South ! Carolina shall determine that we can? not find honest men enough to carry on the dispensary system and devise laws to make those who are dishonest afraid. T say we can. I do not beleive that every man who handles whiskey must become a thief. I believe that the people only need to see and know that the dispensary system can be re? formed and cleansed of corruption to make them stand by it. I will proceed to give the plan which appears to m. after a great deal of thought and consideration of ? suggestions from very many sources to be the b^st. We will beerin on the counties. How to Cure thc Dispensary. County dispensers should be elected in the Democratic primary, th^ same ns o'her officers. The county board should he composed of the mayor of ihe town in which a dispensary is Io cared, the supervisor of the count who is the business agent of the coui ty, and one man apopinted by tl governor. The county dispens should be removable by the governs for cause. The State board 'of contr ought to be elected by the legislator but its duty should be confined i general direction and supervision < the business, the same as the penitei tiary and. Hospital for the Insane ai run. It should not purchase any wibi! key or anythink else required in ti business. Everything required, ir eluding the whiskey, should be bougl under annual contracts made as fo low: After the State commissioner hz advertised in the manner prescribe by law (and this ought to' be ver clear and specific, leaving nothing t the discertion of any one, and goin fully into details) the bids should I opened in public by three men select ed just before the date fixed by tb governor and the contract made wit the lowest bidder by the year for th supplies to be ordered out by th commissioner as nedeed. These thr? men are to serve only once, and ar nually there shall be three new me chosen to male the contracts. Th bidders will not know who "will mak the awards and, therefore, cannot er ter into collusion in advance, and eve should the governor, which is incor ceivable, be willing to select a boar which would act corruptly, the spec; fications of the biding made with min uteness and the publicity would pr? vent any graft. ^ Xo whiskey or liquor should be pur chased except from government bond ed warehouses. In the case of wine and beer the brewers should alon furnish the first direct from the brew -eries, and the small quantitiy of th other used could be hedged about i: the advertisement so as to insure hon esty and the purest and best article For the information of those who ar not posted I will say that the govern ment bonded warehouses are unde the control of the United States inter nal revenue officials entirely and whis key deposited in them comes directl; from the still, and the owner is no permitted to manipulatte it or handl it in anyway until the tax is paid am it is removed. We thus get a guaran tee of absolute purity without a chem ical analysis and such liquors are a much staple articles of commerce a; corn, wheat or bacon. It is the blend ed and rectified whiskeys that ar< adulterated and where the cheating comes' in. The blending and mixing could be done in the State dispensary where there would be no incentive t( increase profits by adulterations, be? sides the law would provide seven penalties, for that kind OL thing. The county dispensers, being electee by the people, will'be anxious tc pteaxe the peop*e as they will be beat? en at the polls if they do not do theil duty. The county board chosen as in? dicated will be responsible to the peo? ple also, with every incentive to give a good administration. The whiskey purchased in that way will be as pure and as good as can be obtained under any possible conditions, and there is 'absolutely po way in which corruption can creep m, if'there is the least ef? fort on the part of the people and the governor to prevent it. % Slaps at thc Governors. ^ The trouble with the dispensary now is that our governors have neg? lected their duties and have not kept supervision over the workings of the local dispensers and the State board. People are Rightly Disgusted. The people are disgusted and they have a right to be, but the one crime which they should not forgive is the failure of the last legislature to change the law so as to prevent any further stealing and to restore the dispensary system to its -original purpose, that of controlling whiskey and minimizing the evils inseparable from its sale and use. The enemies of the dispensary were bent on killing it, and the com? bination of political and other in? fluences in the House having failed in that, compelled the election of a new board because they refused to change the law and continued all of the old and proven evils. It was the most glaring betrayal of the people's interests that I have ever known re? spectable white men to be guilty of, and while many of them are my fr and while many of them are my friends, at least politically, I take the responsibility to say that every man who refused to put safeguards around the purchase of whiskey and change the system of management in the last legislature ought to be left at home. Such men cannot be trusted. They put partisan advantage above public du? ty, i - i G rover C. Mathis who killed J. B. ! Gaylard near Heriots, Lee county. ? last winter, has been granted bail in > [he sum of $3,000 by Chief Justice ( Pope. DISPENSARY FINANCES. OFFICIAL FIGURES INDICATE THE SOLVENCY OF THE IN? STITUTION. Nevertheless It Could Not Pay What It Owes ii' lt Were Forced Into Im? mediate Liquidation-What It Has Paid the State. Columbia, July 9.-The cry is going the rounds that because the State dispensary has only $323,000 cash on hand with which to pay some $800, 000 worth of outstanding claims the dispensary committee has been hold? ing up that the institution is insolvent. There is no foundation for the asser? tion, which is ridiculously untrue. If the dispensary were liquidated todaj' it probably could not pay its debts, for the simple reason that the great amount *of whiskey on hand, which is the principal asset, could not find sale at its value. But if every business were forced to quit that could not pay? out on a liquidation basis there would be a mighty panic in this country. To meat its less than a million dol? lars worth of debts the State dispen? sary has assets amounting to $1,400, 000, of which- $323,000 is in cash, $56,000 in real estate and ihe re? mainder in stock in the central and sub-dispensaries. At least these are the. figures given out from the book? keeping department at the central dispensary, and previous formal re? ports bear out their truth, Since the State dispensary was started in 1893 it has paid back the $50,000 borrowed from the State, has paid $4,S68,613.61 to the State school fund and the cities and counties, has accumulated assets of one and a half million and run its sales up to three millions a year in spite of the grafting and the clumsy manner in which it has been handler by incompetents ele? vated to office through politics. In competent private hands the dispen? sary would be a mint, but whether it can be continued on its present basis, whether it should be continued, there is the gravest sort of doubt. That is the problem the State is now wrest? ling with. It is ""not the purpose of this article to attempt to answer that problem or iny phase of it but merely give a few figures which have not heretofore been published. Figures dug out.of the official re? ports made from year to year to the legislature show these results: Transferred to general State ac? count-?895, $50,000; 1896, $150,000; total, $3,466,915.96. Paid State school fund-1S97. $50, 000; 189S, $80,499.55; 1899, $75,000; 1900, $100,000; 1901, $100,000; 1902, $142,755.91; 1903, $1S5,602.S3; 1904, $235,663.17; 1905, $163,675.77; so far in 1906, $25.000-total, $1,163,197.25. Profits paid towns and counties: 1896, $132,267.63; 1897. $S4,7S2.7S; 189.8, $91,716.45; 1899, $220,492.35; 1S90, $298,166.28; 1901. $424,285.87; 1902. $443,198.76; 1903, $512,216.35; 1904, $603,998.22; 1905, $655,791.27 total, $3,466.96. . ' How the business is progresing in a financial way since the great volume of grafting has been uncovered by the dispensary investigating committee, and since fifteen counties in the State have voted out their dispensaries, it is difficult to say. There has been a material falling off in the sales to dis? pensers for the quarter just ended, in spite of the contention that the coun? ties that have gone "dry" have merely transferred their purchases to dis? pensaries in adjoining counties. And not a cent has been paid into the State school fund as profits for this year, although the Mower act of 1902 requires these payments to be made within ten days after the close of each quarter. The ony money paid to the State treasurer for the school fund was ?25.000 paid on March 23 last when the dispensary committee got to hammering on this point, and this was from profits accruing from last year. The report for the quarter ending May 31 of this year, which will be made public in a few days, shows total sales to dispensers of $172,0S4.95 for March, $191,507.37 for April and $226,133.36 for May-total, $589.729. GS-which is more, than $100,000 less than for the same quarter of last year, when the sales totaled $698,5^6.01, 5241.496.17 for March, $253,327.10 for April and $204,772.74 for May. The ?ales to dispensers for December, L905, and January' and February of :he present year amounted to $729, L9S.49. For the six months ending May 31, 1906, the profits to the cities and ?ounties amounted to $301,261.33. As his half of the year includes the win? er and best months it seems probable ha; the profits in that direction will all i ff this year not less than $100, 00. For the quarter just ended the pur j TOBACO TRUST INVESTIGATION. T?ie Inquiry is of Great Interest to a? Growers, Handlers, Manufacturers and, Incidentally, Users of Tobacco Nashville, Tenr.., July 5.-The Fed? eral court grand jury today began an investigation of the alleged Tobacco Trust, particularly as that trust af? fects the growing of leaf tobacco in Tennessee, Kentucky and other states. The government is represented^ in this investigation by District Attorney Till? man and Assistant District Attorney Brock, who have associated with them? as special representatives of the gov? ernment the Hon. Henry W. T?ft, Fe? lix H. Levy and Edwin P. Grosvenor, of New York. This investigation is one in which there is widespread interest among the growers, handlers and manufac? turers of tobacco, lt is along the lines for which the Tobacco- Protective As socaition was formed; that asosciation having been organized for the purpose of combating the alleged Tobacco Trust which the jury today began to investigate. The result of the inves? tigation will be watched with great in? terest throughout the tobacco section Many witnesses have been summoned, 0 and the investigation will continue for lome days. . . MURDERS IX BEAUFORT. Two Whites and a Negro Shot to Death by Negroes. - / Beaufort, July 5.-A white Saan, a white boy and a negro man were1 killed by negroes near Hardeeville between sunset of the third and sun? set of the Fourth. With one excep? tion this is the first time for over 30 years that a negro has killed a white man in this section. Mr. Hugo Schlegelmilch, of Hardee? ville, was killed by a negro field hand at his plantation, 17 miles from Har? deeville, at sundown on the Fourth. Mr. Schelegelmilch was walking through his field with two companions and met two ?negrees who worked on the place. Without warning, one of them shot Mr. Sc'nlegelm?ch through, the breast it a shotgun. Djeath was : instantaneous. Mr. Sclegelmilch had never had any trouble with the negrov but one of his companions had. The negro escaped and had not been, caught up to this afternoon.-* . Mr. H. G. Heyward,- magistrate at Hardeeville, received the news this morning and went at once to the scene with a posse. Mr. Schlegelmilch was an exemplary young mao, about 25. years of age, and a general favorise.. He was a gradute of Clemsonv an d'" spent several years on ranches in the - West. Charles Simmons, the 13-year-old: son of Mck Harrison, of Pritchard ville, was wounded in the stomach "Brer a negro boy .on the afternoon of the Fourth. The wounded lad was car- : ried to the hospital in Savannah, andi is reported to be dying. The shooting: occurred about five miles from where Schlegelmilch was killed a little later. The shooting was done with* a gun? and is said to -have been intentional.. The negro escaped. On the eve of the Fourth, a negro carpenter was killed by a negro team? ster at Purysburg, about two miles from Hardeeville. There was a quar? rel over whiskey at a gathering, re? sulting in a fatal knife wound in the ne?k. The same night a negro V7as= shot in the shoulder at a negro club*. v ? ' ?. re? house on the outskirts of the town,. but not fatally injured. NOT A CANDIDATE. t\V. R. Hearst Says He Will Not Seek the Democraitie Nomination for President. - San Francisco, July 7.-W. R. Hearst has declared himself out of the race for the presidency in 190$. Hearst says: "I would like to state very positively that I am not a candi? date. Bryan said the othei/day that there were others besides himself who had claims on the nomination, through services rendered the party. He men? tioned Folk. Bailey and myself. While appreciating Mr. Bryan's compliment, I must decline to be a candidate. Let the list stand, if Bryan please, Bryan or Folk or Bailey." Mr. C. C. Langston has sold his in? terest in the Anderson intelligencer to Mr. Victor B. Cheshire, and will re? tire from active business on account of continued ill health. chase amounted io $589,461.19, and it is a remarkable fact that for the same quarter of last year when the former board, which has bo-en so much crit? icised, was in charge, the purchases were juct $5.10 less, although the sa:es were over $100,000 more. The purchases were $589,456.09.