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.

&ATUKOAY. ftARCM >4.1909. The Sumter Watchman was found? ed In llie and tha True Southron In lift. The Watchman and Southron low haa tha combined circulation and Influence of both of the old papers, rand ts manifestly the best advertising Hum in Sumter. The farmer, be he a land-owner. SU) a r?-crop per or renter, who haa a full corn house and plenty of hay and other foraue will art be hurt by the rapeai of the Hen law. It Is only teas* farmers who persist In a foolish dapsodeoo* upon the corn-cribs of the west who will be In a bad fix next spring ? ? ? Wltnout betraying a confidence It can be stated that the*author of the srtle.e printed Wednesday over the noon de plume. "Sober" was a lady, a resident of the county but not of the city. This much is stated to disabuse the minds of some reader* of the paper of the Impres? sion that the article was written by a preacher. Familiarity with the Bible Is not the exclusive prerogative Of ministem of the gospel. ? ? ? An automobile ride Monday of stxty miles aper the roads of Sumter rand Lae counties forcibly reminded the writer that there Is still much to he done In the way of road improve? ment What la bad fnr an automo? bile Is worse for buggy or carriage horsea and positively cruel to heavily loaded wagon tea ma The Court Houm In Sumter and the Court House us Ftehspvtlle are creditable to Sum? ter and Lea counties snd magnificent advertisements for the progresslve aesa and public spirit of our people, hut the public roads, which are more essential to the progress and pros? perity of the county, are a discredit aad tae worst sort of advertisement a Count) could have. When there Is a roadwiy. loading from Sumter Court Housn to the handsome new edifice that the people of Lee have Just dedi? cated, that is In keeping with these two structure* - a. rosd thst Is as good a highway as tha buildings at either end are court houses- -then the peo? ple of rintnter and Ice will have rea? son to sc proud of '.hemselves and of the lubetaniial progress of their counties The ttx that the people pay to build handsome court houses Is as tothlng to what they pay dally for p4<>r roada. They pay dollars In loot time and damage to stock every time :hey haul a toad over a bad road. ? ? ? The administration building plan got through Council by the narrowest penal Sie margin. as* Whsrs Is tha money to pay for the administration bu Idlng to come frees? s wM . ? ? ? if Council goes ahead and borrows the money to pay for the administra? tion building, where will the money come from to repay the loan? Par? ticularly If tho dlspenaary la voted oat III It may be a good business proposi? tion to erect a combination building to house the fire department, city of? fice* and city prison, but It does not appeal to us. We may be lacking In perception, we may be obtuae?It must be something of the sort?but ths policy sdopted by a bare majori? ty of Council does not appeal to us. Furthermore wa do not believe the Council has the right to undertake an enterprise of this sort without sub? mitting the question to a rote of the qualified electors at an election to be held in response to a petition of the freeholders. Council may have the right and the authority to do so. but the quentlon Is one that admits of de? bate. If the city had a surplus In the treasury over and above the floating debt and current ?xpem.es. the sur? plus funds might be used, but when the etty owe* as much as It does to % the bank* and will he forced to bor? row money lor current expenses In anticipation of the collection of the year s taxes, the authority of Coun * contract a debt of $11.000 for an extraordinary purpose Is question? able. It may look Jlke good business hut tho esperlence of other towns hu* proved that It Is not good policy to eombin* fire department and police headquarters. When the city prison and office* of city tfliclals are adde<i to tb ? uth.o H the (??mhin.itIon seems to be ton much of a conglomeration to be a success. Southern Terminal In Atlanta. Atlanta. Qu* March |u> An nouneesssnt was made here todsy that the Southefa railway will begin the const m n.n Immediately of ter? minal In Atlanta, costing In tht BOlgh? herhosd of t tot, tee. The total ex> aCUdlturea, Ifictudlnx. the necessary real estate, whe h hi i read] POSH purchased, will gpgjffoxltnt '>* $1.0 hi, A fool utterelh all his mind. Farmers' Union News ?AND? . Practical Thoughts for Practical Farmers (Conducted by K. W. Dabbs, President Farmers' Union of Suniter County.) The Watchman and Southron having decided to double its service by semi-weekly publication, would improve that service by special features. The first to be Inaugurated is this Department for the Farmers' Union and Practical Farmers which I have been requested to conduct. It will be my aim to give the Union news and official calls of the Union. To that end officers, and members of the Union are requested to use these columns. Also to publish such clippings from the agricultural papers and Govern? ment Bulletins as I think will be of practical benefit to our readers. Ori? ginal articles by any of our readers telling of their successes or failures will be appreciated and published. Trusting this Department will be of mutual benefit to all concerned, THE EDITOR. All communications for this Department should be sent to E. W. Dabbs, Mayeevtlle, 8. C. COTTON OK LIVE STOCK? A Correspondent Who Believes There Is More Money lit Cotton, With Some Editorial Com men la on the All-Cotton Plan. Messrs. Edltors: I agree with Mr. | French tut barnyard manure is the (tuner-stone of good farming; but) the trouble In our system of farming! is that we haven't the stock to make the manure, and with the exception j of dairy cattle we can't see the profit j In keeping stock. I I met one of our prominent farm-1 ers the other day. and said to him, "Mr. C, you used to keep a large flock of aheep (they were fine South downs), why did you discontinue I raising them?" He replied that the price of mut? ton declined and it did not pay. "But," he said, "the price of mutton is good now, and if you are scarce of labor It would pay you to raise early lambs for market." I replied, "Mr. C. labor Is plenti? ful In my section." "Well then." he said, "cotton will pay you better." Now, Mr. Editor, this Is the reason for the scarcity of stock in the South. The farmers believe that there Is more money In cotton, and until they are convinced otherwise they will continue to raise cotton to the neg? lect of stock. A number of our farm? ers have tried the beef breed*, but have not found them profitable. Our market for beef cattle la not good, and we can sell our surplua hay and corn at a good price. I think our Experiment station farms might take up this mstter. end show where tho profit lies in stock rslsing In connec? tion with general farming. Mr. Massey may be correct In de? nouncing our system of farming without stock raising, but the aver? age farmer is not going to change unless he Is convinced of a profit In keeping stock. I believe the South will some day become a stock-raising section, but the farmers can't bo driven into the business. They can be led Irto it, however, by showing them tha: it Is profitable. J. McD. Mecklenburg Co.. N. C. Editorial Comment.?It rather strikes us that about the only evi? dence needed that stock raising Is profitable In the South is to be found in the experiences of the men who have tried It If oui correspondent has read how Mr. French has built up his fsrm and made money by the raising of stock?if he has read the recent artlclea by Mr. Shuford, by Mr. Moye. by Mr. Strlbllng. by Mr. Murphy. by Mr. Damvllle, and by many others?he must certainly ad? mit that there are some men in this Hection who have made stock-raising pay. And It passes our comprehension how any one can talk of markets for stock products being bad In the South when the North and West are ship? ping us butter and beef, bacon and lard, horses and mules all the time. Wo cannot get Chicago prices for cattle. It Is true; and it Is also true that In most cases we could not g*?t the prevailing marke*, prices for our cattle If we had them at Chicago, simply because they are not good enough to bring them. We have never yet seen a farming section where the farmers who were making the most money were not talslng stock. No section has ever built up. under ordinary conditions, a permanently profitable system of farming which did not have stock raising for its cornerstone. Does our eorrespondt Mi really think that we cannot grow feed for live stock as cheaply as can the farmers ot other sections? We ship our cotton-He.-.I meal to dairymen in Pennsyl /anla and New York. Holland and Den J mark, and the> feed It to cattle, make money and enrich their soils, while we talk about cotton bears and He our land gradually depleted. In all frankness, it does seem to us that un man can seriously consider the com? parison between the profits of the Northern and the Southern farmers which we have recently published without realizing that we are on the wrong track. If a man finds cotton growing more profitable than cattle growing, let him grow cotton by all means. The chances are that If the ordinary cot? ton farmer quit growing cotton and went into the cattle business his last state would be no better than his first. But before any man decides which of the two will pay hin* better he must take into account the effects of the two industries upon his soil. By combining stock and cotton we can make money out of both. Neither Prof. Massey nor any oth? er member of our staff has ever tried to drive anyone into a different sys? tem of farming; but we have been doing our best to lead the farmers of our territory into more profitable lines of endeavor by telling them of other men who have made,* and showing them how they could make money by better methods. If anyone can compare the results of Southern farming with that of other sections where live stock is the basis of agri? culture, if he can read and see the success which other men have achiev? ed by growing good stock and im? proving their soils, if he can look out over the lamentably poor fields of the South and see the downright, heart? breaking poverty of the average Southern cotton grower, and still be? lieve that coton pays better than a system of farming which includes the raising of stock and the up-bultoTng of the soil, We fear that we have nothing to say that can change his mind.?Progesslve Farmer. ?"? The above inquiry and answer have so much good sense in them that I wish every reader of these columns would give them careful study. I wish to especially Indorse what is said about the "ordinary cotton farm? er" quitting cotton for stock raising. The better way is for the cotton farm? er to add some cattle and hogs, not an expensive outlay, but a few, and when he has learned to handle them profitably, the material increase will give him all he needs, until his ex? perience will warrant more extensive stock farming. Stock farming Is a growth, except in the few cases where money is plentiful?unless gone into slowly and naturally it is as easy a way to drop money as the all cotton system. Buying fine stock at fancy prices and expecting to make big money by selling the increase at fancy prices will prove a delusion and a snare. Why? Because fancy prices are the result of years of patient painstaking breeding of the best, for the best, and nothing but the best; properly adver? tised, with the reputation of always having the stock as good or better than the advertisement describes them. Would you discourage stock-rais? ing? Py no means. But I would dis? courage amateurs from thinking they ran compete with men who have spent a life time and lots of money In breeding fine stock. If the begin? ners will be content to raise fine stock because they will give more returns In beef, pork, or butter, at the market price; and when he sells one for breeding only ask a little more than the pork or beef price, he will make some money from the start. As to his success with fancy prices, it all depends on whether he has fancy stock or not. Only nine days to the County meet? ing. What are you doing brother far? mers toward making that meeting a success? We want the Unions well represented, and we want all farm? ers who have the cause at heart, to met t with us, and help formulate plans that will benefit us In every de? partment of our farm work, produc? ing as well as marketing. We wisb to make this the best Farmers' Un? ion rally ever held In Sumter Coun? ty. A Oood Contrivance for the Barn. A contrivance that I have found very handy is a self-locking rope hoist. This is placed over an opening in my upper barn floof, and is useful for many things, such as loading and unloading heavy machinery, handling a wagon bed, setting up new ma? chines and making repairs on old ones. It is placed on top of a sling In the wagon, and the ropes are tied on top of the load; the team is driven under the opening in the floor and the whole load hoisted to the barn loft in short order. This particular hoist locks itself automatically in any position and is released by a trip rope. A differen? tial chain hoist would be better yet. but its cost it much greater and its action slower; but it would handle heavier, loads and does not require any trip to realease it. W. S. DREW'. I Ttndal R. F. D, Route. Hon. A. F. Lever has succeeded In , having a new R. F. D. route estab- i lished to serve the southwestern sec- I tion of this county, in the vicinity of Tindals. The order establishing the route is effective May 1st. Fully two hundred people from this city went to Mt. Zion church yester? day to attend the centennial services in honor of Dr. J. Lcighton Wilson. The A. C. L. added three extra coaches to the morning train to ac? commodate the crowd and even then some of the crowd had to stand both going and returning from St. Charles. Ladles! You are cordially invited to attend my up-to-date Spring Millinery Open? ing Tuesday and Wednesday, March 30, and 31, 1909. Next door to De Lorme's Pharmacy, 19 South Main. Yours to Please, MRS. W. G. BROWNE, (Nee Miss S. A. Murray.) 3-26-Item-3t?W.-lt. IS RAISING CHICKENS. Florence Farmer Goes Poultry Busi? ness on Large Scale. Florence, March 24.?Mr. William F. Claussen, at Claussen's, in this county, besides being one of the larg? est and best farmers in this county and section, has gone into the chick? en business and is now raising chick? ens for the markets. A visit to his country estate by The News and Courier correspondent found him hard at work around h s brooders and interested to the fullest in the work he has recently under? taken. He has provided b. oo^ers and coops and yards for several thousand chickens, and now has te?dy for mar? ket some 1,200 or more broilers- and fr'ers. It was an Interesting sight to be? hold, and Mr. Claussen will make a success out of the business if an/ one can, for he believes ?n work and study.?News and Courier. - TRAIN WRECK NEAR MULE' FRANK IIAHDIX OF CHESTER LOO! HIS LIFE. ?pedal on C. & N., Carrying Chester Knights Templars und Relatives Leaves Hails?-Xo Passengers Hurt. Yorkville, March 24.?A special! train of an engine, baggage car and passenger car on the Carolina & Northwestern railroad was wrecked today about two and a half miles south of Yorkville. The train was carrying about 65 passengers? Knights Templars and their relatives ?from Chester to Yorkville to enjoy a banquet got up by the ladies of Yorkville. Fireman Frank Hardln of i Chester jumped, and was instantly ; killed. Engineer Smyer stuck to his I post and escaped uninjured, though , the engine and tender both turned I over. None of the passengers was hurt. The wreck occurred on a straight stretch of trrck when the train was going about 18 miles an hour. The engine and tender and both cars left the track. Col. Nichols and the Messrs. David? son and other officials were on the j train and did all they could to relieve the situation. The ladies of the parr> behaved splendidly, retaining their self-possession and urging the men to work. The cause of the wreck has net yft been learned. After the wreck the passengers were brought on to Yorkville by the southbound train, which ran down as far as the scene of the accident and returned. with the wreck-bound pas? sengers from the ill-fated special. They went tack toward Chester on 1 the southbound as far as the wreck, i where another train was waiting to i_ ??MM? ? carry them home. This is the first wreck on the Car? olina & Northwestern in the last 15 years. A track is being built around the wreck and traffic will pooa proceed. FORCED ACID DOWN 11111 THROAT. Body of Dying Woman Found in Wood Sind Hl Vlncennes, Ind. Vinvenne?,. Ind., March 24.?Mrs. Jessie Overton Culberston is dying to? night, it is said, as the result of hav? ing carbolic acid forced down her throat and her Jaw3 afterwards se? curely bound. She was found today in a shed back of her home. Revived for a few seconds &he said: "A man and woman dragged me into the wood shed and poured something down my throat." , The police attributes the crime to j Jealousy. They have held a letter purporting to be from a Jealous wo? man since Monday. The letter was found under Mrs. Culberston's door? steps. It warned her to give up her husband under penalty of death. Russell Culberston, the woman's husband, arrived tonight from Law? renceburg, 111. When shown the threatening letter, he said he recog? nized the writing as that of a woman he once knew, but who had not been in Vincennes for many years. Mrs. Culbertson who Is twenty-five years old, came here a few years ago as a trained nurse. While caring for Joshua Brazelton, Republican Coun? ty chairman, she fell in love with her patient!* step-son, Culbertson. The two eloped to Lawrenceburg, 111. In the shed in wtiich Mrs. Culbert? son was found, the police tonight dis? covered paper on which was a skull and crossbones, and the words "good? bye." The writing was the same as that of the letters. w - yj?u?u- -xi~ -w ?u? ?v "tr* "Vs oq^ ^TN ?TN ?U? CT3 ?IN 1 LIME :: CEMENT HARD WALL PLASTER, SHINGLES, \ LATHS, ROOFING, Fire Brick and Clay; Stove Flue and jDrain Pipe. . :. Building Material Generally. . :. j HORSF, COW, H08 AND CHICKEN FEEO. j Horses, Mules, Vehicles and Harness as Usuai. We still have some Milch Cows on hand. BOOTH-HARBY LIVE STOCK COMPANY, SUMTER, : : :: :: S. C. T5he Greatest VeJxies In SPRING SUITS For Men and Young Men BTAINABLE in this City, are to be had here. This you can easily prove to your satisfac? tion by comparison. Look where you will and then come see our large and su? perb collection of New Spring Suits at _uo. In style, workmanship, finish and fit, you can readily see the superior value of our clothes over others costing the same. If you would be posted on the correct fashions, get the b-st there is in wear? ables, and save money. Then come to this store for Everything you need from Hat to Half-Hose. The Sumter Clothing Co.