A
gCafTKK WATCHMAN, hJemMt
1 t*'-rtr
t n^olidatcd Aig. 2,188
r^bttatoed Woducmtay and Saturday
?BY
PUBLISHING COMPANY
SUMTKR, S. C.
?1.10 par annum?In advance.
f. One Square flrst Insertion.$1.10
subsequent tnaertloa.It
Can tracts for three months, or
langer will be made at reduced rates.
All eesasBanleatlons which ??b?
ertr?te later seta will he charged
aa advertisement
Ohttmarlee aad tributes of
he charged far.
/
leo.eee to fight the bell.
t Telephone Companies
Tall of Their Plana.
New York. Dec. 1.?Independent
phone Interssta have an avallab.e
tlag fund of $100.000. subscribed
do battle against the giant Bell
telephone Interests wherever the lat?
ter attempts to wipe out competition.
This was the gist of a statement
de today by D. A. Wilson, of New
prominently Identified with
the independent Interests, as he tes?
tified before the State Inquiry Into
telephone end telegraph companies
now going on hers.
"The disposition on the part of the
U company la to annihilate the im?
pendent companies all over the
untry." aald Mr. Wilson. "The Nj
Association of Independent
lephone Companies has created a
fund of 1100.000 to fight the Bui!
le wherever they try to wipe out
competition. This was formed three
months ago. The way the Bell com?
pany deterloratee the Independent:
companies la to buy a company her?
Heed there, thus breaking up the
chain. There are some 3,000,00(
telephones In New York, New Jersey
and Connecticut that cannot enter
' Mew York city because there la no
? independent company here."
' The Inquiry, to which considerable
|M0rtance Is attached In view of its
laahle effect upon the shaping oi
legislation having to do with
service corporations, was be*
aildahs telegraph and tele?
vise dolnr* bu*n?e?|
are the subjects of the inquiry,
dch to being made by the Joint
commission appointed at the last see?
ing of the legislature. Every phase
the telephone and telegraph situ ?
in la to be examined Into, and the
?wers given the committee are auch
to make the poasible scope of itn
trestlgatlon equally aa unrestricted
were the Insurance and gas In
tigatlonK.
By reason of the nation-embracing
character of the buslnesa done by
ie companies In the telephone and
degraph field here the Investigation
far more than local significance,
id the preliminary Indications ar >
lat It will awaken widespread Inter
The committee Is presided over by
Senator Oeorge A. Davla, of Buffalo.
Prior to the beglnnnlng of Its ses
elona In the City Hall here today. It
had taken evidence in Buffalo on
telephone conditions there.
I Independent telephone Interests
were represented today by Edward
A. Halliard, an official of the New
York and Eastern Telephone Com?
pany, a corporation practSjally ab?
sorbed, he said, by the Great Eastern
Telephone Company.
9 Mr. Malllard declared that all the
Independents wanted was a chance.
They craved no mare thun that and
did net want any State regulation,
he added.
It was announced* this evening that
I Oeo. J. Gould, president of the Wae?
tern Union Telegraph Company and
Theodore X. Vail, president of the
New York Telephone Company, w II
be called ti? testify at an early day
before the legislative committee now
investigating the telephone and tele
k graph business with a view to plac?
ing these corporations under the con?
trol of the Fehlte Setrlee commis?
sion.
Mr Gould r.nd Mr. Vail, who were
prominent in the recent gigantic
consolidation of telephone and tele?
graph Interests, will be culled upon to
testify as to the extent of the busi?
ness In the city and State. Their
opinions regarding the advlslablllty of
placing the companies under the Jur?
isdiction of the Public Service Corn
mission will also be sought by t ie
committee.
Mies Jeanette ('aider, a pretty
young women of Columbia, commit?
ted suicide by swallowing bl-chlorlde
or mercury tablets. Three days be?
fore she took the poison she entered
suit sgainst W. T. Meyers for
breach of promise.
ihed April, 1850.
'Be Jus I a
L_SUMT
THREE MILHON BALES SHORT.
NATIONAL GINNKHS' RESORT
PLACES \MOCNT AT 8,880,
000 RALES.
Statement Gives Number This Year
Aa Much Lew* Than Last?By
States.
Memphis, Tenn., Dec. 3.?The Na?
tional Qlnners' Association, In Its
monthly report, Issued late today,
eetlmates that 8.880.000 bales of cot?
ton have been ginned up to Decem?
ber 1 of the present season, as com?
pared with 11,008,000 during the
aame period of last year. The report
by Staten follows:
Alabama 901.000; Arkansas 614,
000; Florida 55,000; Georgia 1,68 7.
000; Louisiana 241.000; Mississippi
878,000; Missouri and Virginia 50,
000; North Carolina 538,000; Oklaho?
ma 609.000; South Carolina 990,000;
Tennessee 203,000; Texas 2,210,000.
Total. 8,880,000.
SYSTEMATIC ROBBING.
Washington, Dec. 6.?Both the
producers of cotton and the dealers
In that commodity are the victims
of the system of trading in vogue
on the cotton exchanges of the
country.
This Is the burden of parts 4 and
5 of the report of the commissioner
of corporations, Herbert Knox
Smith, on the conduct of such ex?
changes. The practice of dealing in
futures, as it Is carried on at pre?
sent, is condemned, although the
report does not condemn the exis?
tence of the exchange.
"The brief discussion of general
speculation in this report," says Mr.
Smith, 'recognizes the possibilities
for good Inherent In a great central
market like a cotton exchange, and
the need that this good be developed
and evils eliminated by regulations
In line with economic law."
The report is especially condemn?
atory of the dealings in futures,
branding this form of speculation as
pure gambling and highly Injurious
to legitimate trade. In quotations
for "future" deliveries of cotton, the
market la so uncertain and so many
elements of chanoe enter Into :he
transaction that all bids are made at
p
a much lower figure than those of?
fered for cotton actually in exis?
tence.
The effect of these fictitious quo?
tations, the report points out, te ids
to mislead the cotton planter as to
the true value of his crop, honettly
grown. In addition, it leads brokers
to "play" both sides of the market
to protect themselves against loss
In such trades, with the result tnat
the producer is forced to pay in the
end, while the farmer loses like?
wise.
The report, while recognizing that
the exchanges In New Orleans md
New York are necessary, does not
mince words In criticizing the New
York exchange. After declaring that
the New Orleans methods of con?
ducting the transactions In colton
followed natural lines, the report
draws attention to the fact tha? it
has been proved that abnormal de?
pressions In the future price in Mew
York "were almost wholly due to
Improper artificial conditions now
maintained by the New York co ton
exchange. By maintaining them, the
New York exchange Is responsible
for a very real Injury to the pro< uc
s
er and merchant."
In closing the letter to President
Taft which accompanied his report,
Commissioner Smith again takes oc?
casion to reprove the New York ex?
change. Ho said:
"After the publication Of the ear?
lier parts Of this report, the New
Orleans and New York cotton ex?
changes established special commit?
tees, Instructed to consider the sys
t? in of their exchanges and to co
operate therein with the com nls
sloner of corporations. Conferences
have been held by the commissioner
vith both OOtnmltteeSt On the part
of New Orleans this cooperation was
very complete, resulting in ceitain
Important Improvements In the tules
of that exchange After more
than a year's Investigation, the com?
mittee of the New York exchange
has not yet made any final report or
taken any substantial action."
The commissioner touches on the
activities of the various organizat ions
of cotton growers, all formed wl.h a
view of controlling both price and
production. He believes, however,
that so numerous are the factors of
supply and demand In determining
the price of cotton that It Is Impos?
sible to arrive at any satisfactory
conclusion as to the extent ot In?
fluence exerted by such organiza?
tions.
ad Fear not?Let all the ends Thon Alu
ER. S. C WEDNES]
IAUOUBON im KETII?.
M. (). DAXTZLER, OF ORANGE
BURG, ELECTED PRESIDEXT.
Xeed for State Game and Fish Com
minion Dtacussed?Bill Requir?
ing Hunters to Take Out Licensee
to be Presented to Legislature
Work of Retiring President High?
ly Commended.
_
Columbia, Dec. 3.?The annual
meeting of the Audubon Society
was held here this afternoon, when
plans for the coming year were dis?
cussed and officers elected. One of
th?> Important matters considered
was that of placing before the Legis?
lature the need of a fish and game
commission. A bill along this line
was introduced at the last session
of the General Assembly, but all the
Audobon Society bills were post?
poned and have a place on the cal
endar now. The commissioner that
would act under such a bill would
save a great amount of work and |
would systematize the appointment
of game wardens.
Charleston has one of the largest
memberships in the country in Au?
dubon Society work. When Secre?
tary Rice looked over the list last
year there were 160 members regis?
tered from Charleston. This is the
largest number in one city in the
South. Charleston's members, says
Mr. Rice, have shown much Interest
in the work of the Society.
Officers of the Society.
At the meeting of the Society to?
day the following officers were nam?
ed:
President?M. O. Dantzler, Orange
burg.
Vice President?W. H. Gibbs, Co?
lumbia.
Secretary?James Henry Rice, Jr.,
Summerville.
Treasurer?A. R. Heyward, Jr.,
Columbia.
The directors are: B. F. Taylor,
Columbia; Edward L. Wells, Char?
leston; Samuel G. Stoney, Charles-j
ton; Paul Sanders, Ritter; W. H.
Andrews, Georgetown; W. G. Sirrine,
Greenville; L. D. Jennings, Sumter;
R. C. Burts, Easley; A. L. White,
Spartanburg; D. Sam Cox, Columbia;
G. W. Croft, Alken; W. H. Wallace,
Xewberry; F. Perrin, Abbeville; R.
P. Hamer, Jr., Hamer; Nells Chris?
tensen, Beaufort.
The Audubon Society of this
State was chartered by the General
Assembly In 1907, the Society was
first organized January 4, 1900.
Treasurer's Report.
The treasurer's report showed
that, although the membership dues
were not as large as last year, the
fines totalled up considerably more
than In the previous year.
The fact that the membership of
the Society was not more Increased
during the past year is due to the
necessity for work to be done before
the Legislature for nearly two
months at the last session. This did
not leave as much time for work
throughout the State in the connec?
tion with the gaining of new mem?
bers. There were many convictions
of violations of the law during the
past year, and these fines are used
by the Society is furthering its work.
The game wardens were paid more
money this year than last, but the
cost of litigation in the courts was
less.
PROF. RIGOK IX CHARGE.
Col. Ilttrdin Declines?Director of
Chemical Department, Chosen to
nil Gap, Refuses to Accept Posi?
tion,
Clemson College, Dee. 3.?Col. If.
B. Hardln, director of the chemical
department, who was last night
sleeted acting president to succeed
Dr. P, H. Moll on January 1, until
the board can And a president, has
declined to serve. At s second aes
i?>n tills morning, the board elected
Pr??r. \vm. M? Rlggi Instead.
Prof. Itiggs is director of the me
Ohanlcal department. The commit?
tee of the board, consisting of Sena?
tor Tillman, ( 11 . Alan Johnstone and
R. I. Manning, was continued with
instructions to resume its efforts to
find a president. The new by-laws
adopted tentatively In September
were made permanent at this meet
inr. These new by-laws give the
president greater power and other?
wise improve the regulations of the
college.
The trustees adjourned this morn?
ing.
The legislature will be asked to ap?
propriate $4 0,000 to rebuild the dor?
mitory of the State Colored College
at Orangeburg, which was burned re?
cently.
is't at be thy Country's, Thy God's an
DAY. DECEMBER 8,
MAY FORFEIT THEIR CLAIMS.
NEW DEVELOPMENT IN THE
DISPENSARY SITUATION.
Whiskey Firm*' Payment of Whose
Claims Against County Dispensa?
ries was Held Up by the Winding
Up Board and Who Failed to Ap?
peal to the State Supreme Court
will Probably Loose Their Money.
Columbia, Dec. 5.?The never end?
ing dispensary web has developed
another serious situation. Whiskey
firms not appealing to the Supreme
Court will likely forfeit their claims
against the county dispensaries, if
there have been over-judgments
against them by the wlnding-up
commission. This new phase of the
claimants' run will mean at least
$65,000 in over-judgments secured
by the State if it pans out as ex?
pected.
There has been a great deal of
speculation recently as to what
method would be pursued by the
State to recover the over-judgments
or what the claimants were going to
do to get their money from the
county dispensaries. Not long ago
Governor Ansel ordered the county |
dispensary boards to hold up the
claims of the firms named in the
commission's findings against whom
over-judgments had been found. The
claims were also held up in dispen?
sary counties, Charleston, RIchland,
Beaufort, Alken, Georgetown and
Florence. It ha3 been stated that
the whiskey firms understood that
the appeal would be to the Circuit
Courts, but it now appears that the
firms not appealing to the State Su?
preme Court are in a bad way.
COTTON GOODS TRADE.
Imminence of Government Report
. on Crop Cause Assigned for
Slackening of Operations.
New York, Dec. 5.?The immi?
nence of the government bureau re?
port on the cotton crop is a cause
assigned for the light trading in the
cotton goods and yarn markets.
Buyers attach considerable impor
ance to It and are operating in a
hand-to-mouth "way, 'hoping that
something will happen to prevent
the further advance in cloths which
must follow the sustained value of
the staple.
There has been considerable trad?
ing between second hands In the
primary markets at prices showing
concessions from recent quotations,
hut mills and commission houses are
holding steady and are rot disposed
to accept further contracts until
there Is some assurance that values |
will warrant cotton purchases and
continued production. Retailers are
Dusy with the holiday trade, |
and are naturally paying the mini?
mum of attention to piece goods. At
the same time jobbers and selling!
agents are charging many goods on
old orders and mills are fairly well
engaged for the balance of the year
on medium count and fine yarn
goods.
The dullness In export circles
continues and the coarser end of
the market remains quiet. Yarn
prices have declined a little and
buyers are conservatively inclined.
General trade In the West and
South holds up better than In the
metropolitan sections in the East.
Prices remain nominally as when
last Quoted, but en tranactlons be?
tween second hands value are
easier.
run: in Baltimore.
Flames, Starting Near Point of Origin
Of 1904 Conflagration. Caused
Damage Aggregating |800t000.
Baltimore, Dec. '2.?Fire broke out
late this afternoon in the building
No. lat south Sharp street, within a
block and a half of the point of ori?
gin of the great fire of 1904. It
spread rapidly and within a short
time had done damage estimated
roughly by an insurance man at
$500.000.
In its spread the the involved the
establishment of C. J. Peed Shoe
Company and the spear Brothers'
Company, shoes, 104, MeCaddin and
McElwee, house furnishings, 106 and
108, and firms occupying the upper
floors of 100 and 102 Sharp street.
The flames jumped a narrow alley in
the rear and gained a momentary
foothold In the big building occupied
by the R. M. Sutton Company, dry
goods and notions.
A man by the name of Lanier was
killed at Ninety-nine Islands by a
dynamite blast. He was five hundred
feet away, but was struck by a piece
of flying rock.
1909. .*V 8er
FORECAST Ol RECOMMEXDA
Tioxs OF DEPARTMENT
HEADS.
Much Talk of Economy and Smaller
Appropriations will be .Asked for
?Army and Navy are Full of
Sore Heads, and They Resent
Charges and Intent of Economy.
Washington, Dec. 5.?The few
days preceding the meeting of con?
gress in Washington are not with?
out interest. The President is im?
mersed in his message to Congress,
which, it is said, will not be as long
as President Roosevelt's last mes?
sage, Inasmuch, as it will contain
not more than fifteen thousand
words. This, however, will be of suf?
ficient length and most readers will
prefer to confine themselves to such
epitomes as the press always fur?
nishes. The Cabinet members are
busy with their several reports and
some of them have been completed.
They are generally asking smaller ap?
propriations than were demanded
last year. Economy Is the watch?
word of the present administration
but it is not at all improbable that
before the budget is made up it will
exceed more than the billion dollar
mark as did the last appropriation.
It is difficult with the ambitious
schemes of public improvement and
betterment in almost every direction
to see how appropriations can be
kept down.
There are many public plans and
enterprises for Improvments of the
public service but none of them are
startlingly new although they are all
increasingly urgent. The Secretary
of the Navy has issued orders for
the reorganization of the Navy De?
partment which are looked upon by
those whom It will affect as nothing
short of revolutionary. If he Is suc?
cessful In carrying out his plans
much good will be accomplished.
The keynote to the changes in the
Naval establishment has been ex?
pressed In the not novel truism that,
the object of the Navy is to main?
tain an effective war fleet on the
seas. There, Is probably, not a
school boy but knows .that this, is<|
a self-evident proposition and not a.
Senator who would maintain that
there could be any other legitimate
object for the Navy and, yet, there
are Senators and members, admirals,
commodores, captains and lieut?
enants of the Navy with their wives,
mothers-in-law, sisters, cousins and
aunts who have for seventy-five or
a hundred years lived, moved and
had their being on the hypothesis
that the object of the Navy was to
maintain, first, a splendid Navy De?
partment at Washington with dis?
tinguished Naval officers at the heads
of various bureaus and other Naval
officers at a dozen Naval station
and Navy Yards that are no longer
used but are kept up at an im?
mense expense anc that cannot he
need for any legitimate Naval purpose
because the entrance to these Navy
Yards is to shallow for the admission
of modern warships. The'r idea of
the Navy is that it was created and
It maintained, not for National de?
fense but for the benefit of a bril?
lant corps of Naval officers and their
families and friends. These Naval of?
ficers have intermarried into the
families of senators and cabinet min?
ivers, until they form the highsst
social aristocracy in this country.
They are sore hit by this order ->f
Secretary Meyer. Senator Hale, of
Mains, who has the sobriquet of the
"Lord of the Navy," will, doubtless,
1 e heard from in opposition and
other senators and members will,
doubtless, speak in eulogy of the old
Navy and the old system an 1 tell
how much was accomplished at Ma?
nila Bay ami Santigo. it may b.
excusable to "point with pride." but
naval experts and close students of
naval progress know that many Im?
provements in naval construction,
naval equipment and naval practice
have been made since the Spanish
War and that if the American Navy
is equal in strength, man for man
and ship for ship, with the foremast
naves of the world it is becau-M? It
has made a great progress and im?
provement since it sank the leaking
lobster pot navies of Spain in Man'la
Hay and at Santiago.
ess
The Postmaster-General is con?
templating improvements In the
Postal establishment, nothing new
but several things urgent that have
been long advocated and that would
have been carried into effect in a
more effective and less unwieldly
Government than our own. Ali re?
forms and governmental betterments
here have to wait on legislation;
legislation has to wait on a Con?
gress that has been elected thirteen
E SOUTHRON, Established June, 18M
ies?Vol. XXX. 5o. 30.
I M ICfttjj HEEDED.
COMPTROLLER GENERAL JONES
WILL MAKE SUGGESTIONS.
Farmers Own Little Land and Con?
tention is That They SlKHihi Favor
Readjustment of Present Method
of Making Returns.
Columbia, Dec. 3.?In his annual
report to the legislature Comptroller
General Jones will call attention to
some necessary tax reforms. This
will be especially timely, as the year
1910 is the time for reassessment of
real estate for taxation in this State
and it has been suggested that there
might be some improvement In the
laws. It is not known whether the
legislature will take a hand in the
matter during the approaching ses?
sion as the tax proposition was not
considered at the last session and
that was the first of the present two
years' term.
Mr. Jones is of the opinion that
the bulk of the land in this State le
not owned by farmers, that is those
who actually superintendent the
farm work. He calls those men far?
mers who live on the farms and
make the cultivation of crops their
regular business and not those men
who live in towns and plant crops
from year to year through overseers
or renters.
Some time ago the press of the
State carried the following signficant
paragraph:
"Mr. Jones came across some
striking inequalities in tax assess?
ments in Williamsburg county.
Lands being sold at from $400 to
$8u0 an acre are down on the tax
books at from $5 to $10 an acre and
other land farther from town, assess?
ed at $2 an acre, has a ready mar?
ket value at $50 an acre. Mr. Jones
says the township and county equal?
ization boards, Which fix these
values, have got into the habit of
guaglng assessments by the amount
of taxes they think the property
holder should pay. In this way the
large property holders pay little
taxes proportionaXely^^^yaj|a^?^^tt^jk|
As to the inft?ua4ft4^?j Mr?^^ g|
"sTaYiVlriaYTO
counties in South Carolina. Refer?
ring to the farmers he says he doesn't
see why they should kick when the
greater portion of the land, In his
opinion, is not owned by the farmers
but by men in other lines of work.
He differentiates between the farmer
and the planter.
It Is pointed out in some of the
county papers frcm time to time that
these inequalities do exist. It is con?
fer ded that the inequality should be
remedied by either the taxpayer him?
self or by the board of assessors. To
evenly proportion the taxes appears
to be quite a problem and will be
discussed at length at the coming
session of the general assembly.
WARD'S WOUND PROVES FATAL.
Young Georgetown Man Succumbs to
Injuries Received while Hunting.
Georgetown, December 2.?Arthur
F. Ward died at 9.15 o'clock this
morning as the result of gunshot
wounds accidentally received while
hunting ducks in the rice fields on the
San tee River yesterday a'ternoon. His
death was due primarily to shock and
loss of blood and the long Interval of
suffering from the fearful wound In
his thigh before medical aid could be
secured. He was consclrus through?
out' the night and to within a few
moments of the end. He exhibited an
heroic cheerfulness, which caused
those at his bedside to hope there
was still a chance for life. But his
vitality had received tee severe a
strain and he breathed his last
peacefully, surrounded by lovtBg
tn< inhere of his family and devoted
friends.
Abraham Williams, a neuro, has
been arrested in Alken on the
charge of attempting to make a
criminal assault on a colored woman,
man.
months before it meets, a CongTCSS
that knows more about Dmr;c(,
county or parochial affairs than
about National affairs, a Congress
composed of hundreds of men who
by the time they learn their bus ness
as National legislators have lost
their places or rather have their
places filled by men as green and
untried as they themselves were
when first sent to Washington. In
other words, the legislative manage?
ment of the United States Is not in
the hands of seniors but of fresh?
men who are responsible not so
much to the Nation as to the pro?
vincial homes from which they
come.