Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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-/A 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 June, 18M Consolidated Aug. 2, ?881. SUMTER. S. O I; WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 2ft 1907. New Series-VoL XXYL >o 32 o o O Published Every Wednesday, -BY OSTEEN PUBLISHING COMPANY, SUMTER, S, C. Terms: $1.50 per annum-in advance. Advertisements: One Square first insertion.$1.50 Every subsequent insertion.53 Contracts for three months, or longer will be made at reduced rates. AU communications which sub? serve private interests will oe charged for as advertisements. Obituaries and tributes of respects wfll be charged for. ------wess^mamm RAILROADS AND THE PUBLIC. President Finley of the Southern Railway Addresses the Freight and Passenger Representatives of the Railway as to Their Duties. The representatives of the freight and passenger departments of the Southern Railway Company were Drought together in Atlanta on Feb? ruary 13 th, at the request of Presi ?enVFinley, who addressed them in part as follows: :a-YOur duties bring you into personal ann daily contact with the people along the line of the Southern Rail way, and as I am one who has filled positions which some of you are now filling, propose to speak to you brief? ly of the relations of freight and passenger agents to the public. Your duties are of a two-fold nature. You owe duties to the railway company by which you are employed and you owe duties to the public These double du ties do not in any way result in con? flict or divided allegiance, for he serves the railway best who serves the ptiblic best. The general officers of a railway have, unfortunately, too few oppor? tunities for meeting and talking with tne people who are dependent upon the road for transportation services. The man having business relations with the road, as a rule, comes into personal contact with the local rep? resentatives of the traffic and operat? ing departments. The policies cf the railway are formulated and mapped out by the general officers, but the application of these policies to spe cific transactions must be entrusted in tlie main to men in the fieid. It follows, then, that you have in a substantial sense the reputation of the Southern Railway company for fair and just dealing in your hands Whether the company shall be pepu lar or impopular depends in very targe measure upon your attitude to? ward the public and upon your treat meet of those doing business with the road. It is of supreme import \ nee, therefore, that you, who daily come into intimate personal contact tvith the public, should bear in mind constantly that it is the unvarying policy of the company to be just a~d fair to all alike-to the small shipper and the occasional traveler as well as to the large shipper and the regu lar traveler; that you should be per? fectly frank in all business dealings; that you should always be consider? ate and patient, and that you should do all in your power to make the ser rices of the road satisf actory to those for whom they are performed. All classes of the public should be treated with consideration and be given every possible and reasonable accommodation. Even the man who makes impossible or unreasonable de? mands should not be dismissed with a curt refusal. He may not know that what he asks is either impossi? ble or unreasonable, and a few words of frank explanation pointing out to him why his wishes cannot be com? plied with may send him away a friend of the road instead of a fault? finder. While everything possible should be done for the accommoda? tion of those doing business with the road, care should be exercised not to promise the impossible in the way of facilites or services. When failure to fulfill such a promise follows, the man who made it may be able to shift responsibility to the operating * or some other department or officer, hut the damage done to the reputa? tion of the road cannot be easily rem? edied. Questior? that seem to you to be trivial may be considered of much importance by the persons asking them and they should be answered with patience and cour.esy. The efficiency of th - service as a whole depends upon the efficiency of each individual official and employe. Every agent and employe should study his duties in detail and should understand thoroughly just what he is to do in any contingency that may arise. He should then neglect no de? tail of his duties, however unimport? ant it may seem to him, for no mat? ter how carefully and minutely du? ties may be prescribed by the general officers, the neglect of some appa-1 rently minor detail may lead to se rious or possibly to disastrous results. Of even more importance than careful observance of duties pre? scribed by the company is obedience to law. Many of the relations be? tween the railways and the public are now regulated by federal and State statutes, and every official and em? ploye of the Southern Railway com? pany must understand that its busi? ness affairs are to be conducted at all times in strict accordance with the laws of the land. No transaction or practice that is forbidden by the laws can be permitted, and as I'am sure you all understand, there must be no resort to evasion of any kind. As representatives of the Southern j Railway company you should bear in ; mind at all times the basic fact that the interests o? the railway and of those served by it are identical and that they are inseparably interwoven. The railway can posper only as a result of the prosperity of communi? ties by which the demand for trans? portation is increased, and the pros? perity of the south can continue and can be brought to the highest level only through adequate and efficient transportation facilities. At the pres? ent time, when every effort is being made to supply additional facilities and mere efficient services, nothing is more important than that the truth of this proposition should be realized j by men in all lines of business. When once this identity of interests is thor? oughly (Understood the railroads of the south and the people will be brought together in more harmonious co-operation for the development of the natural resources of the south and for the expansion of al) lines of industry. The men in the freight and passenger departments are in a position to do much to bring about this mutual good understanding and this harmonious co-operation for the upbuilding of the territory traversed by the lines of the company. Tour careful attention to the wants of the people and your considerate treat? ment of everyone having business with the road wiir serve as a constant object lesson of its interest in the in? dividuals and communities along its lilies. My personal experience convinces me that the people as a rule are fair minded and when fully informed can be relied upon to deal justly with the transportation interests. I feel sure that it is only necessary to direct your attention to the import? ance ot your relations to the public, and that we shall have your loyal sup? port in carrying out what is the pol? icy of the company-the building up of a thoroughly efficient transportation system on the solid basis of harmo? nious relations with the people along its lines. There is another point to which I desire to call your special attention: The management of the Southern Railway has been confided to us as a high and sacred trust. This trust is not confined to the president, the gen? eral officers or the board of directors. It applies with equal obligation, in his sphere of action, to the humblest employe as it does to the highest. Each has his duty to perform and, in the performance of that duty, he represents the railway and is engaged in the performance of a trust in re? spect to it. The brakeman cannot perform the president's duty, nor can the president perform the brake? man's. Each man must do faithful? ly his own duty, and only in the hon? est and faithful performance of duty by all can there come a proper meas? ure of success. The railway and the public are en? titled to the very best that is in our employes, from the highest to the lowest-they are both entitled to de? mand that there shall be no luke? warm or limited service, but that the heart of our employes shall be in their work. All of us have volun? tarily undertaken a duty in respect to this property and the railway and the public should receive from each of us full and faithful performance. I wish to build up among all our employes a spirit of interest and co? operation-a spirit in which each man will recognize that he is identi? fied with the railway and will earn? estly and honestly work for its wel? fare. Only in this way can we suc? cessfully auininister. the trust which has been confided to us. The little daughter of Representa? tive Burleson, of Texas, goes to the same school Quentin Roosevelt at? tends. They have a drill each day in marching out of the room. Little Miss I Burleson was so placed one day last week that she and Quentin Roosevelt were to take hold of one another's hand's and march out. The little girl held back when she saw the presi? dent's son with extended hand along? side of her. "Take his hand," thc teacher said. "I'm sorry, but I can't," Miss Burleson said. "Why not?" the teacher asked. "Because I'm a Demo? crat," she said ,and insisted on walk? ing down alone. LEVER OUT FOR SENATE. Congressman From the Seventh Dis? trict in the Race Against SenatJi Latimer-Secretary of Agriculture to Visit Sumter. Washington, Feb. 22.-It is under? stood that Representative Lever will be a candidate for the United States Senatorship to succeed Senator Lati? mer There is no secrecy on the part of Mr. Lever in making this statement, for in conversation with a member of the Cabinet the South Carolina Representative announced the Senatorship from this State to be the goal of his ambition. When the matter was discussed among the members of the delegation in Con? gress their opinion was that there might be other aspirants for this honor besides the gentleman from the Columbia district. There will be a diligent and vigorous overhauling of records before the battle begins and some of the contestants may find that Senatorial honors come pretty hard sometimes, unless there is an appre? ciative and responsive constituency. Secretary Wilson to Visit Sumter. Secretary Wilson, of the depart? ment of agriculture, will visit Sumter this spring, in company with Senator Latimer, for the purpose of making a personal inspection of the soils and roads of that section. Assurance was given Mr. Latimer that the Secretary of Agriculture was desirous of going to South Carolina, whenever he could do so conveniently, and he expressed the wish that any arrangements made would keep this in view. Incidental? ly he remarked that he felt under ob? ligations to the South Carolina Sena? tor for the creditable manner in which he had co-operated with the department of agriculture in further? ing the aims of this branch of the public service. "I don't want to flatter you, Sena? tor Latimer," said Secretary Wilson, "but your efforts in our behalf are appreciated more than can be express ex. There has been no hesitation on my part in saying that you have done more for the agricultural interests of this country than any other man in public life today. Feeling as I do to? ward you, it will be a pleasure for me to accept your invitation to come down to Sumter and meet and talk with your constituents there. All that I will ask is that due notice may be given me when I am expected, so that I can make my arrangements accordingly." Senator Tillman has secured the in? corporation in the river and harbor bill of items making appropriations for the improvement o? the Lynch and Sampit Rivers, in accordance with recommendations by the engi? neer bureau of the war department.- I f News and Courier. 1 PLATTS OTHER WIFE. TheWoman He Has Never Acknowl? edged as His Wife Sueing for Di? vorce. New York, Feb. 26.-Miss May Catherine Wood announced today at Colon, Mich., that she has sued Sena? tor Thomas C. Platt, of New York, for divorce, and though the papers were filed in New York on Dec. 27th they had been suppressed in the courts. She added that Senator Platt will resign his seat in the senate next Friday. When Frank H Platt, the senator's son, was shown Miss Wood's allega? tion he smiled and said nothing. Miss Wood's attorneys at Richmond confirm her story of suit. Miss Wood in a late announcement said she had named sixteen correspondents, but she declines to give their names. She re? iterated that Senator Platt would re? sign at the end of the present session, despite his repeated assertions that he would stick out till his term ex? pires in 1909. Still After South Carolina. Washington, Feb. 23.-The com? mittee on immigration and naturali? zation today considered Secretary Straus' answer to the resolution of the house introduced by Mr. Gardner, of Massachusetts, asking for the opin? ion as to the lawfulness of the landing of the alleged contract laborers. The opinion was expressed in committee that the secretary's answer has been transmitted in misapprehension of the purport of the resolution. It merely deals with the question as to whether or not Commissioner Watson, of South Carolina, transgressed a penal statute. "This is a very differ? ent question," said Mr. Gardner to? day, "from the question whether or not the alleged contract laborers were lawfully landed." The committee will reach a decis? ion soon as to whether it will be nec? essary to present a new resolution to the house. ^^^^^ &asf*fr?m ^^^^^ fl The only excuse for buding anything but B H a Pure Grape Cream of Tartar Baking W? Wk Powder is to save a few cents in price, mg ROYAL costs you a few cents more per can than Alum or Phos- Bf M lj?8? phate of Lime powders, but it is worth far more than the difference maw 'SSBk to keep your biscuits, cakes and pastry free from: the injurious. ' Mm$j effects of these cheapening substitutes. jkwM ^Sfflk ^Continued use of Alum means permanent injury to health. ^^raS^ ^QBL Avoid Alum Ailments-Say plainly J^W l|k ROYAL BAKING JW POWDER ?OF _ -----^---? TILLMAN'S BITING SARCASM. ir- Expresses His Opinion Regarding Charleston's Attitude On Dispen? sary. Washington, Feb. 22.-"I want to ongratulate the News and Courier," aid Senator Tillman, "on its new departure, after openly and brazenly ?ncouraging lawlessness and Tesist tnce to the State government in re? gard to the State dispensary law for .3 years. Its editorials in the last ew days have indicated such a revo ution of feeling that I am bound to >raise it for returning sanity and de? bney. "I note that it says the 'tigers must it least learn to be good,' and that he taxpayers of Charleston are inter? ested now in having the 'county dis >ensaries conducted in a way to nake all the money possible.' "Jt is a matter of little concern, as ar as the principle goes, whether the iquor is purchased by the board in Columbia or by the board in Charles on, provided we stop the stealing. The sale by an officer for public profit .nd in the interest of sobriety and :ood order is the whole issue anyway, am -delighted to see that Col. Hemp till has at last joined the Law and )rder League and that the policemen lill not be 'spies,' as the constables lave been called'all these years "I had really expected the News .nd Courier to encourage the tigers o resist with all their might, in the nterest of obtaining high license later in, but we will see what we will see. >erhaps 'Old Granny' will get to be a trong advocate for county disp?nsa? les after a while, and if Farnum can >e kept from getting in his fine work very bo dy may be happy. "Since, reading the editorial in Wednesday's News and Courier I bid ^hicco a long and sad farewell." sews and Courier. CYCLONE IN PHILIPPINES. Reported in London That There Has Been a Terrible Disaster. -London, Feb. 25.-Two hundred vere killed and thousands rendered ?omeless by a cyclone striking the Southern parts of the Phillippine islands, according to a cablegram .eceived here today. No details are fiven as communication with the af licted points is interrupted. Washington, Feb. 25.-No mention >f cyclone in the Philippines is made in he regular department daily report >y cable received here by the Insu ar bureau. Officials are inclined to ;hink the press dispatches from Lon lon referred to the storm of a month igo. Details of that storm vvhich ap? peared in the Manila papers have just been received here. In Vienna last year 4 25 persons committed suicide and 407 attempted t. Sickness was the cause in 100 ^ases, love unrequited in 63, poverty in 31; domestic strife in 23; and too much wealth in two. The oldest was a, man of S7 and the youngest a girl :>f eight. REMARKABLE RAILROAD SOT. ' Title to a Strip of Land 153 Miles Long Divolved. Williamston, Feb. 25.-A case of unusual interest to perhaps hundreds ? of property holders along- the line of I the Southern Railway from Greenville j to Columbia and including both these cities was decided in Anderson last Wednesday, when the Southern Rail? way won its suit against Mr. James P. Gossett of Williamston for the re? covery of a certain tract of land oc? cupied by him, and claimed by both parties to the litigation. Briefly put, the case was as fol? lows: The Southern Railway claims a right of way 200 feet wide all along its route from Greenville to Columbia and from Belton to Anderson, while Mr. Gossett denied the claim in so far as it pertained to certain lands in the town of Williamston, for which he holds titles ante-dating the char? ter of the Columbia and Greenville Railroad, the predecessor of the Southern in these parts. This land has been occupied by Mr. Gossett and his predecessors uninterruptedly and peacefully for half a century, but the court decided that the railway com? pany may at any time dispossess him and, without rendering any compen? sation whatever, convert the proper? ty to its own use for railroad pur? poses.-The State. The Interstate Commerce Commission Investigation Strikes a Stone Wall in Harriman, thc Railroad Specu? lator King. New York, Feb. 26.-E. H. Harri? man was again bef?se the interstate commerce commission today and was plied with further questions regard? ing the Chicago and Alton re-organi? zation. The only point brought out was when Harriman identified a check for one hundred thousand, which he had received in adition to his profits as stockholder, for personal services in putting through the deal. Later on, Harr'man admitted that he, with Jacob H. Schiff, James Still? man and Geo. Gould, were the sole owners of the Lacede Constructiva Company. Harriman declined to answer a question regarding certain stock which the Union Pacific Railroad se? cured. The question was as to where the Union Pacific get the stock and if Harriman sold any of his own stock to the Union Pacific. Harriman sim? ply replied, "I decline to answer." Amos K. Clark, of Augusta, Wounded hy Thief Who Sought His Money. Augusta, Ga., Feb. 23.-Amos K. Clark, superintendent and part owner of the Clark Cotton Mill, was shot and robbed of $350 here this morning. Clark was conveying a large sum from the bank to the mill on account of pay day. When near the mill he was accosted by a stranger, who walked beside him for a short dis? tance, then, without warning dis? charged a pistol at Clark's head. The nearness of the weapon alone saved/ Clark's life, the bullet striking- below the left ear and glancing: forward The robber then snatched Clark's pis? tol and escaped. Most of the money/ was in an inside pocket Tonight the police arrested, and f have in detention Roderick Plinth, j who answers to the description given j by Clark, who is expected to be able I to confront the accused tomorrow. The Salton Sea. If the Colorado River continues te? tlow into the "Salton sink" of Lower California, it will bring into existence an American dead sea that will be as large as Lake Ontario, according to Louis C. Hill, supervising engineer of the United States Reclamation Ser? vice for Arizona and Soutthern Cali? fornia. Mr. Hill is here to report on his investigation of the overflow, and is at Raleigh. "Already 450 square miles of the bed of what was once a salt sea have been covered by the water to a depth of 60 feet, and if the flow continues 2,000 square miles will be covered to> a depth of 270 feet," he continued. "It began a couple of years ago, when the California Development company dug a ditch from an irrigation canal it was building to the Colorado river. A flood come and the river turnedi away from its usual course southe ward to the Gulf of California through the ditch thus dug and into the sinfc. Ages ago this sink contained a sea. similar to the dead sea of Palestine, which was finally evaporated. Now long ago I saw salt being mined froiEL what is now the bed of the new Iake^ Nearly 300 feet above is the shore of: the ancient sea. . "For a time the flow was stopped",, but it began again, and now it threatens 100,000 acres of irrigated: land, on which seven or eight crops-, of alfalfa may be grown every year,, and the homes of 12,000 people dis? tributed among many towns. It is= destroying the possibilities of land irrigation methods. As the water hasr. torn down into the sink, which is 20O feet below the level of the sea, it has made an ever-deepening ravine, untif at present the water falls from ?. height of 80 feet and gives promise or creating a second Niagara. "When the basin is filled the new lake will be 125 miles long and 30> miles wide. The river will -continue to pour in, and as rapidly as it does so it will be evaporated, the level of the lake remaining about the same. And so it may go on for thousands, of years, unless the silt deposit of ther river stops its flow and turns it back: into the old channel. Then the evap* oration may be greater than the n>w,\ with the eventual result of anodiec salt sink, 200 or more feet above-t?ife present one. But the flow cane be stopped at once if proper mea-sures are taken."-Washington Post. Prof. Charles W. Brown, of Brown University, has gone to Jamaica to study tlie geological phenomena con? nected with the recent earthquake;.