Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

CesssIMftted Aue 8.188 eBatrtjman sob Sontbron. Every mUSNINQ COMPANY aTOMTasR, 8. C $i~le pe? ana cm?In advance. awe* insertion.91.M t hmrtlon.10 far three months, or > Wall ha made at reduced rates. which eub wlU he oharged Pu? Dee. 17?Officially erejre ae developments la Pltts aenndal today. That Votera' tongue has evidence to arrests and that these when the time was propitious was an that any C two league would say. fs ? rumor tonight that <I. Heney. who uncovered the htnd frauds and was oonsplcu tUts* Ban Francisco graft prosecu? te coming here shortly, at the ef President Roosevelt, to In jjasenlgnri the alleged bribery so far Ha U la eonnacted with federal Instl tsjtle>na\ According to Washington reports, Mr. Heney vas In conference \ with the president yesterday on the Ptttsberg situation. If he comes here It will be in the oapndty of a special It Is aaid. to Investigate ths use of motu y by officers of banns to htve their Institu made de pool tot lee of the city's A statement was made at the preltsainary hearings of the men un? fit* arrest that ini.ooo had been esThOe there was no official develop nt today the alleged corruption In mantetpal asTairs was forcibly brought to the attention of thousands of ottl assent Nsnrty every minister, at either ?aaasntvg or evening services m the " anh, etthet devoted all or part of to the subject WOfttAN DEAD. be to1 t, December SI.?Special Mrs, Aantnte ganders Hsynsworth died flt her boast |n Darlington last night after an Illness lasting for several eaositlse Her remains will be inter red at Orove Hill Cemetery Monday sssafanssg at IX o'clock, the funeral jjierrsuia to be conducted by the Rev ht. I*. Baaks at the residence just to that hour. * Mrs, Haynsworth the wife of Mr William M. Hayns preetdent of the People's Bank. Sssd em-mayor of Darlington, and Is etvelved by him and Ihre children, all pays. The) eMeet. Harltee 8. Hayna worth, attends the Citadel. She wee n woman of most lovable character? istics, and did much work In the Mettodlst Church. Shs had much ths people of Darling pathlsee most deeply with her In their bereavement to Mvi. for and ^ tool elmpathise. GOOPKft* NOT RELIC ASF D Marder Re Nashville. Tenn.. Dec.- XI.?Col. Ounce n B. Coper, his son. Robin J. Cooper, and ex-Sheriff John D. Sharp, charged with the murder of ex-Sena? tor V W. Carmack. were today de? nied hall and wITV remain In jail until January 20. ths data set for their trial. In refualng ths application of defendants for ball. Judge Hart Ml have given thla esss careful con? ation and am of ths opinion thst It Is not a bailable cane; therefore de? stine to allow ball an to any of the defendants end deny the application." Moat of the ounael for the defense seeaid stunned at flrat by the ruling of the court and each aat atock still for a moment following the rendition of the brief opinion. The prleonera were conducted btok to Jail to await their trial on Jan? uary f'> flam Littlejohn'e burn In Jones vllle. was deatroyed by firs Christina* night Ths Are was started by ths shooting of fireworks. Tits fires of resentment sre only too apt to be the precursors of the eshes of repentance. shed April, I860. 'Be Just ai I._8?MTER CHRISTMAS 5 HUE. PROPERTY VALUED AT FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS DESTROYED One of tile Fiercest and Moat Spectac? ular CVm flegratlons That Sumter Has) Had In Years. The Business District Was Threatened With De? struction For Two Hours.. Firemen Made a Hard and Winning Fight Against Big Odds. A quiet, uneventful and pleasant Christmas day was brought to an exciting and lurid cloae by a fire that, tor a time, threatened the greater part of the business section of the city with destruction, and which was got? ten ander control only after a hard fight by the firemen, and a property losa of about ISO.OOO. The Insurance will cover approximately two-thirds of the lose. The Are started In the sales stables of the Booth-Harby Live' Stock Co., at the corner of West liber* ty aad Sumter streets at f :40 o'clock, and tor snore than two hours the west? ern half of the block bounded by Main, Liberty, and Sumter streets and Hampton avenue was a raging sea of flames. The Are resulted from the criminal carelessness of four little negro boys who were shooting fireworks on Sum? ter street alongside the Booth-Harby 8tables. They were shooting Roman candles at each other and one of the explosive balls passed through a crack In the stable wall and, lodging in the loft, whloh waa filled with hay, start? ed a bisse that was Instantly be? yond control. Mr. Moses Oreen and his son Alva were passing the corner of Sumter street at the moment the fire started and their attention was attracted by the frightened cries of the negro boys, who, terrified at the reeult of their carelessness, ran off in the darkness and made their escape. Alva ran back to Monaghan Hose Company's house and gave the alarm, but before a Una of hose could be stretched and a stream turned on, the loft of the main stable of the Booth Harby Company was a raging, raving furnace of flames. A crowd gathered qulokly and everybody realising that there was nb hope of saving the sta? hl?**, or for that matter any of the ad? joining property, efforts were Imme? diately directed toward saving the horses and mules In the stables and such other property as could be re? moved. All the horses and mules were gotten out safely, but quick work was required, and some of the loee ..horses that were rescued were ?lightly scorchd. A stiff wind was blowing from the southwest and the flames spread rapid? ly through the premises of the Booth Harby Co., and in a comparatively short time all of the buildings oc? cupied by the company were burning furiously and despite the large num? ber of willing workers who were laboring to remove the contents of the carriage house adjacent to the ?tables, only a portion of the stock of vehicles and harness could be saved before they were driven off by the In? tense heat The firemen had a num? ber of streams playing on the fire but there was no hope of stopping the on? ward sweep of the fire. The stablee of C. W. Smith ft Co., were the next to go, but not before the live stock and most of the vehicles^ and harness had been hastily remov? ed. The next to go was Monaghan Hose Co'? house and the small store adjoining, occupied as a plumbing ?hop by W. J Ard. The tools and stock of goods, except the heavy pip? ing, were removed before the fire reached the building. At this point the firemen made a stand, as the next building, was the solid brick block ownec by H. J. Harby, occupied by the Western Union Telegraph Company and the Star Fruit Com? pany, on the first floor and by the offices of the Trexler Lumber Company up stairs, served as a fire break. The flames gained en? trance to the building through the back windows and the second floor was considerably damaged, but the firemen won the fight at this point snd the building was saved as was al? so the adjacent office building of Harby A Co.. snd the Andrew? build? ing next to it which was occupied by Blrnle's Drug Store and Dr. C. W. Blrnle's offices on the second floor. Both of these buildings were damaged to some extent. Dr. Birnle suffered a loss of several hundred dollars to stock and fixtures and office furniture In the meanwhile the offices facing on the alley at the rear of the old court house square had been burn!ng fiercely and all them were destroyed. The two-story brick and artificial stone office building facing on the south side of the old court house square, owned by Mr. H. J. Harby, was also burned, but the fire was checked by od Fear not?Let ?11 toe ends Thon Ali . S. C WEDNESDAY the solid brick wall of the old Rytten burg building now owned by the Bank of Sumter. Messrs. Horace Harby Oeo. D. Levy and W. Lorlng Lee who had offices in the building succeeded in saving a small part of their books and office fixtures, but all three of them lost more than they'saved. The following offices on the back of the square, above mentioned were burned: Copleston Dying and Clean? ing Co., building owned by H. J. Har? by; office of County Dispensary Board, owned by H. T. Edens; two offices owned by Est of J. A. Benno, office building owned by Mark Rynolds; of? fice of W. M. Graham; two offices owned by Mrs. C. F. McFadden. Graham's stable extending from the corner of the square to Hampton Avenue was also burned, but by hard work, aided by the shifting of the wind the firemen kept the flames from crossing Hampton Avenue. Just back of Graham's office was situated the two story paint and carriage shop of Von Oshen A Shirer, which was burn? ed. This completes the tale of destruct? ion, but there were other minor losses. The rear ends of the store buildings occupied by Everybody's Store, Du Rant's Confectionery the Carolina Hardware Company, the Boston Can? dy Kitchen, Sumter Book Store, the Lyric Theatre, Levl Bros., Schwerts Bros, were damaged to some extent, and the occupants suffered some dam? age by Are and water. The old court house building was slightly damaged and the Elks Club, which occupies the second floor lost considerably in moving the furniture and fixtures. The Carolina Hardware Company lost about five hundred dollars by the burning of goods stoi id in the sheds In the rear of the store. Mr. J. P. Booth lost 21 bales of cotton which were stored in a shed on the premises of the Booth-Harby Co. The cof on was uninsured. N The building occupied by the Osteen Publishing Co., owned by Dr. C. P. Osteen was damaged by the intense hjat and all the glasses in the front windows were broken. The office of Dr. N. G. Osteen was also damaged by heat and water. At one time dur? ing the progress ot the fire this build? ing seemed doomed and the Masonic Temple, next door, was smoking as If ready to burst Into flames. The firemen won the fight of the night by running a line of hose through the stores on court house I square and by preventing the Are 'from entering those buddings saved I the town from the most costly con? flagration that it has ever known. It was there that the work of the fire department was most effective and did most good. The Booth-Harby Live Stock Com? pany are the heaviest losers, for while they had a stock on hand valued at 135,000 they carried only $11,000, and this was so apportioned among their several departments that they cannot collect all the Insurance, as In some departments there was no loss. For Instance there was $3,000 on horses and mules and there was no loss; and on feed and forage only $1,000, while their loss was several times that amount. C. W. Smith ?St Co. also lost several hundred dollars on feed with only $100 Insurance. SPECTACULAR AUTO ACCIDENT. Racing Car Turns Three Somersaults In Air, a Ball of Flame?Driver little Injured. Lps Angeles, Cel., Dec. 27.?A most speotacular accident occurred In a race at Ascot park yesterday, when the tire of a racing automobile broke on a curv , while Gus Seyfrled of San Francisco was driving at more than! a mile a minute, the car turning three complete somersaults In the air, a ball of flame, and landing wrecked In the centre of the track, where It wVs con? sumed by the flames. Seyfrled was thrown out with terrific force, but he fell clear of the machine and sus? tained only cuts and bruises. G. Soules won the 25-mlle event, lowering the world's record for stock cars, In 25 minutes 36 2-5 seconds, standing start. GEN. 1IEMPHILL DEAD. Prominent Carolina Journalist Dies In Abbeville. Abbeville, Dec. 28.?Gen. Robert Reld Hemphlll. editor of the Abbe? ville Medium, died at his home here this morning at 11 o'clock. Gen. Hemphlll had been in falling health for several months, and his death was not altogether unexpected, still It came as a shock to his friends in Ab? beville. The immediate cause of his death was heart failure. A girl's idea of an ideal always looks more or less like a matinee idol. ftlt? i na't at be thy Country's, Thy God's an ST. DECEMBER 30, \\ EARTHQUAKE IN ITALY. HAVOC WROUGHT BY TERRIFIC SHOCK IN CALABRIA. The Town of Messina Partially De-1 ?troyed?Loss of ?lfe Is Probably Heavy, But Cannot be Estimated, I Owing to Interruption of News Fa* cilitioa Damage Great. Rome, Dec. 28.?The three provinces of Cosensa, Catanzaro and Regglo dll Calabria, comprising the department of Calabria, which forms the south? western extremity of Italy or "the toe of the boot," were devastated today by an eathquake, the far reach? ing affect of which were felt al? most throughout the entire country. The town of Messina, In Sicily, was partially destroyed, and Catania was! inundated. In Messina hundreds of houses have fallen and many persons have been killed. Owing, however, to the fact that telegraphing and telephonic com? munications were almost completely destroyed It ts Imposeuge to obtain even an approximate idea of the vast damage done. The fate of entire regions within the zone of the earthquake is unknown, but reports received here up to a latel hour tonight Indicate that the havoc I has been great and the destruction of I life and property more terrible than Italy has experienced in many years. The uncertainty of the situation fori many thousands has filled all Italians I with the deepest distress, for they still have fear that the day may come when that part of the country which seems to have been most blessed by nature will be destroyed by the blind! foes of that same nature which nearly! 19 centuries ago overwhelmed Pompeii and Herculaneum. All reports show that the present! catastrophe embraces a larger area! than the earthquake in 1905. The tidal wave which followed the earth shocks on the eastern coast of Sicllv sunk vessels and inundated the lower part of Catania. It is known that a number of people were killed at that place, but the rushing waters carried everything before them and caused such an indescribable condition j that it Is impossible to estimate dam- I 'age.. I For a period the town of Messina and the whole province of Regglo were I completely Isolated through interrup-| tlons to the telegraph and telephone and landslides that obstructed the railways. Absolutely nothing was heard from Regglo ^throughout the day, While the firsts news from Mes? sina camp In the form of a dispatch, which a torpedo boat, flying at full! speed along the coast of the peninsu la, carried from point to point, al-1 ways finding the wires dov>n, until lt| reached Nlcotera, where the telegraph! lines were found to be Intact. From this point the dispatch was sent. It briefly stated that the slt-l uation was desperate and after sum-1 marlzlng the immensity of the catas-k trophe ended with the announcement! that Capt. Passino, commander of the I station of torpedo boats, was buried! under the debris after having, with other officials, performed orolc work! In trying to save others. The Italian government proceeded I energetically to relieve the far-spread I distress, concentrating at the points! of greatest need troops and engineers. Members of the Red Cross were dls- J patched to various places, and camps I with provisions were immediately pro-l vldsd, all available railway lines and 1 ships being used for their transport. The city of Messina has suffered possibly more than any other place, I the latest Information coming indi-1 rectly from that quarter stating that! two-thirds of the town was destroyed J and several thousand persons killed. The steamers Washington and Monte- I hello, which were in that harbor, later proceeded to Catania loaded with in-1 jured, who were so stupefied by ter- j ror that they seemed unable to realize what had happened, simply saying that It looked as though the end of the world had come. Five steamers left Catania for Messina to assist in removing the injured from that place who are reported to number thou? sands. At Catania the panic stricken peo? ple, fearing new shocks, absolutely re? fused to reenter their houses and are camping on the squares which are free from water and the surrounding coun? try. The tidal wave sank 500 boats there and did great damage to i large num? ber of vessels and steamers, Including the Austrian steamer Buda. Not only did Catania suffer from the effects of a tidal wave but a similar body of water inudated the handsome streets of Messina which Hank the harbor, covering them with a thiok layer of mud, which rendered more difficult the succoring of the wounded. id Truth'*." THE TRTJ 908._New 8erl< many of whom could be seen lying under the wreckage. It is reported that the village of Faro and Ganzirri, adjoining Messina, have disappeared. The effects of the earthquake were aggravated by fire through an explo? sion of gas, the flames, which swept along several of the streets adding terror upon terror. ASPHALT TRUST BEHIND REVO? LUTION. Corporation That Conspired With Ma? tes in 1901 to Said to be Aiding Lat? est Attempt to Overthrow Vene seulan Government. New York, Dec 22.?Dispatches from Washington indicate that the Asphalt Trust is. for a second time, behind a revolutionary attempt to ov? erthrow the existing government of Venesuela. Its first attempt was in 1901. when, according to the testi? mony of the trust officers four years later. It donated $120,000 to Manuel A. Matos. the revolutionary leader. A dispatch to one of the New York papers says that "shipments of arms and munitions of war, from the Uni? ted States to the revolutionists, are al? ready under way," and that "the rev? olution seems to have ample rtnanclal support," The same dispatch says that the first reports of revolutionary movements In Venexuela "came hard upon the heels" of rumors that the Asphalt Trust looked forward to an early settlement of Its case. The facts of the "asphalt revolu? tion" of 1901 came out in 1905. when Gen. Avery D. Andrews and other of? ficers of the trust testified In the suit brought by the government of Vene? zuela. Gen. Andrews testified that Gen. Matos, bearing a letter of intro? duction from the New York and Ber mudez company's agent in Caracas, called at the office of the company, at No. 11 Broadway, New York, In July, 1901, some seven months before Ma? tos began hostilities In Venezuela. On this visit Matos explained to the offi? cers of the company his chances of success and proposed that the com? pany should supply the necessary funds Gen. Andrews said: "The officers of the National As? phalt company, therefore, decided to give to General Matos the amount which he asked, namely $100,000. Further sums amounting to $30,000 all told were paid to General Matos soon after the first payment of $100, 000." The president of the National As? phalt company stated: . "When I returned from Europe in October, 1901, I was surprised to learn that during my absence the other of? ficers had decided to support Matos In his contest with Castro. I told them that what they had done was not act? ing In good faith with the state de? partment, which up to that time, i largely on represenatlon made by me to Secretary Hay. had supported the Bermudez company. I told them It would not accomplish any good re? sult, for, in my opinion, Matos could not succeed and it would ultimately become known that the company had aided him, and this would weaken Its position before the Venezuelan gov? ernment." The Bermudez company was found guilty, in all the Venezuelan courts before which the case was tried, of conspiring to overthrow the govern? ment. It was expelled from the coun? try and was ordered to pay a fine In partial compensation for the loss of life and property which its revolution had caused. .After that it endeavored to persuade the United States govern? ment to Interfere in its behalf. At the last session of congress, however, the senate committee on foreign relations declined to recommend any action against Venezuela, on the ground that the trust had outlawed Itself by at? tempting to effect the overthrow of a government with which the United States was at peace. President Roose? velt Is understood to have remarked that the Asphalt Trust "did not come to the government with clean hands." 'After its demands* were turned down by the senate committee, the asphalt combination suddenly ceased its open agitation?"its campaign of education."?and little has been heard of activities in the last few months. Now there are rumors of revolution In Venezuela, and the revolutionists are said to have "ample financial support." In view of the history of the Venezuelan case, it Is not sur? prising that all the guesses as to the giver of this "ample financial support*' point in the same direction. A little girl of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur BrOWQ of Gaffney, chocked to death from a peanut hull which she acci? dentally ?wallowed. E SOUTHRON, Established June, IHM ??Vol. XXV1II. No BECEITCBS FOB SEWIHOIE. JUDGE WATTS ANNOUNCES DE? CISION AFTER HEARINCi ARGUMENTS. Judge Says Thla Will be the Best Way to Unravel the Taugte?Xo> Receivers Named, Though Several Are Suggested. Cheraw, Dec. 28.?Judge Watt? to- . night, after hearing the argaaseatv anounced that he would appoint re? ceivers for the Seminole Seewrfttiea company in accordance with the re? quest of J. C. Klugh. He stated ?hat on the allegations made he was isytis fled that there sbJnld be an tsrjesti gatlon of the affairs that could only be done by a receiver. "If it be fcrae/^ said Judge Watts, "that these com? missions were paid, it shocks say con? science. Of course, it is a bad blow, but I see no other remedy." The bond was fixed at HO,000 for the receivers and $150,000 for the value of the property. Messrs, Buger Sinkler and Frank G. Tompkins were suggested by the attorneys far the plaintiffs and others may be suggested' by the attorneys for the defendants, tomorrow. The case was a long one, but very interesting. The passages % between the attorneys, the allegations. made and answers returned, the argu? ments, were all listened to closely. The argument of attorneys for Klugh " tru that the Seminole company was a mere shell and for the protection at the stockholders the receivers shonidl take charge. The argument of attor? neys for the trustees was that the trustees were not responsible for the action of some of the agents and that no case has been made out; arse that there was protection inside the com? pany that had never been asked. The argument of Mr. Bellinger for the Seminole company was that the al? legations were irrelevant and there was protection inside the company for the stockholders. When the case was called there was an array of attorneys on each side* The Klugh complaint was represented) by F. Barron Grier and Nelson st Nel? son; Patterson by Lyles & Lyles, Rud dell by Chas. C. Simms; the Beminolo* company by G. Duncan Bellinger and Aycocist^aip^ Mil 11 er. Messrs^ H tiger rii lief, Jennings Owings and ejeveral others represented some of the stock? holders. It was agreed that the Klugh. case should be heard first. The following is the stenographic report of the remarks made by Judge Watts In announcing the decision: "I do not care to hear further fron>^^ you gentlemen in the matter. The* case comes before me on the sole question as to whether or not I shalC appoint a receiver. As to the merits* of the case, I have nothing to do with them. The question is whether or not a sufficient showing has been made I for me to appoint a receiver. I am? of the opinion that justice imperative? ly demands that a receiver should be ? appointed. I think that under the ? showing made here that it is an ex* ception to all cases that have been before our supreme court and the al? legation here is that the stock was purchased fxpm the Southern Ufe at an extrovagirit price, the price doubly more than it was worth, and 1 think, that matter should be looked into and* I unhesitatingly say that the commis? sions paid shocka my conscience. If they are true it is a shock to any business man in the world. As to> whether or not it is true 1 do not know. I am not saying that it is so or not. It is an allegation made here before ms and 1 realize the fact that whenever you put a corporation tn the hands of a receiver you strike a bad blow, but the directors and presi? dent brought this stato of affairs on themselves, and it is high time that the strong hand of the court should" interfere and allow the matters to be investigated by a receiver and let whatever assets that can be recovered be put In the hands of the court fesr the stockholders. *T will hear nomination for the celver." The morning session of the co-'art, was occupied with reading the eon* plalnts and the two answers and wfrh arguments for the apnolntment of a receiver by Mr. Grier. This argument was at times heated and there were several interruptions by counsel :tor/ the defense on the statements msile. Mr. M?ller at first objected to the* reading of affidavits in support of Mr. Grler'a complaint but Judge Watts; ruled that he should be Informed as to ill the facts possible in the case and should Jhere be any affidavits irreft?? cant they could be stricken out. While services were being held ln? Bt Michael's church tn Charleston** Sunday the plastering fell with a* heavy crash, causing much eioity? ment.