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.

he THmZ mm WATCHMAN, EetaMl Consolidated Aur. 2,1 PaotlMlied Wedneaday and Saturday ?BT? tSTEEN PUBLISHING COMPANY SUM TSR, 8. C 1 tl.lt p?r annum?In advance. %d v rrttseaoanfs: Ott? Square first laaartlon.11.SO ?very subsequent Insertion.IS Contract* for thraa months, ar Hagar will be made at red ace d rata?. All communications which sub? serve private Ir.tereata will be charged fur aa advertisements. OeJtearl** and tributes of respects will be charged for. BRI Vso\ TVKF.S A HAN P. . Prohibit iou l/eniler Criticises the n Osasse of Mr. Featlierstone?Says Thai The Candidate for Gov? ernor Tried Hl P???" M Bring About the) Disbanding of die IVohlbltion Psjajsg f* To the Editor of The State: I regret to see In today's issue of your paper thst our Abbeville associa? tion has "rushed Into print" In defense of Mr. Featherstone ss the prohibi? tion candidate for governor. Espe? cially so as there are two other pro? hibition candidates without blemish ^ In the field. I have read carefully every edito? rial of yours commenting on Mr. Fea theratone's course, and there Is not an expression unsupported by the facta of this case?not a line that can be termed unjust. When Mr. Feather r^ston first became a candidate, his prahlbltln views were so clearly akin to license as to win a large part of the liquor vote of Charleston. If the prohibitionists of the State had voted for him. ss did the liquor element of Charleston, be would have been elect J sd. ejver since 1898 he has been printing his views and interviews so that every Intelligent man In the State knows he did not reach a clear-cut prohibition platform unjtll a majority of the voters had expressed them ~*n*? rave*, of H \ number of prominent pro I htbltlonlsts met in Columbia. June 16, Tits, and adopted a resolution* In fa? vor of calling a State convention and appointed a committee to arrange for end call the convention. When the committee met (Oct. 26). during fair week. Mr. Featherstone was present k and moved. "That It would be unwise to put In the field a 8tate prohibition ticket." and It was adopted. Finding he had a majority of the few present voting with him. he then moved, "That hereafter all of the work of the prohibitionists be done through the f Law and Order League." What looks so bad about the matter Is not the purpose to disband the prohibitionists, but the fact that Mr. Featherstone had. Just a few weeks before. Joined In a meeting to put in the field a State ticket on a prohltdtlon-llcens. u platform. I If he participated In that meeting In the Jerome hotel, hfl had no moral right in the prohibition committee. Igel E. r.runson Sumter. August 12. 1910. TWO WIM? LOCOMOTIVES. i - Raaawsy Engines Dash Through Union Station?Aeehlent Narrowl> Columb 'i. Ang. 15.?Superintend? ent Williams of the Columbia dlvls n. Southern Railroad. Is Investiga? ting a case apparently of maclllous mischief which might have caused the loss of many lives at early hour to? day. Two heavy locomotives that were coupled together ready to take out the early trains were started by I persons unknown from the Blandlng streot roundhouse and had gathered a speed of forty miles an hour when they passed through the Union station By a cross-over switch beyond the station they were derailed and after tearing up a hundred yards of track | came to rest, one engine turning ever. Hsd the runaway occurred a half hour earlier. It would have struck a train bringing several hundred per? sons back from week-end outing at Charleston. If later. It might have ?druck one of the early trains for |i Florence. Spartanburg, Greenville, Augusta. Savannah. or Charleston. Train No. M for Charlotte was delay? ed a half hour. killt i? limsi n \\ ITU n IM Ml It ^ Perellar and 1 nnsitnl \cc blent T? Railroad Trackman Columbia, Aug. IT..?Trackmm Ben Butler, while spiking cross |fsjf ne.tr St. Matthews, today allowed In heavy h irnm? r t > strike bis leg and f died two hours later from "surgical shock " shed April, ISM. 'Be Just a* 881. 81 MOO 1H THE LEAD. HOW THE RACK LOOKS FROM COLUMBIA. Acute iiml Disinterested Observer Re? views the Political Situation and < oil- In.I. - That Thomas G. M? - I ?nm! Occupies The Strongest Position of Any of the Candidates for Governor. roiumhia Aug 14.?This corres? pondent was discussing the guberna? torial race with one of the most acute and at the same time well balanced political observers in the State today, and his review of the situation at this stage of the campaign was so inter? esting that It is believed that the pub? lic will find it equally so. He sa>d: "From present indications Sumter county will be able to claim the next Governor of South Carolina. Al? though now a resident of Lee coun? ty. Thomas G. McLeod is a Sumter man and dubtless when the votes are counted on the night of Augst 30 It would be difficult for a stranger to tell which Is really the "home coun? ty" of Mr. McLeod. "It Is, of course, not an easy mat tor to tell anything at all about oolltlcs but there are certain things In the present race for the governor? ship that point te Mr. McLeod as South Carolina's next gopernor. "With the never-ending liquor question Injected Into the campaign l'V the alleged chief proponent of pro hlbtlon because there would have been no other plank for him tQ stand upon, the campaign has again been full of whiskey talk. Since the open? ing day in Sumter there has been more said upon the topic of liquor than upon any other question fac? ing the people of this State. "Those who have followed legisla? tion of the last few years know that State-wide proh.' Mtlon has met de? feat In the State Senate, although the session before the last, the referen? dum was the compromise In the up? per branch of the general assembly. It has been only a short while since both branches of the Legislature voted to let the people say what was want? ed in each county as a sort of wholesale election* on the liquor question. This plan was called the "reverse local option" and It was advocated by the present Governor, Martin F. Ansel, although others have claimed the credit. As a result of this act of the general assembly, fifteen counties voted out whiskey. The election took place In August, 1909, yet at the 1910 session of the general assembly the House passed a State-wide prohibition bill. This, In the opinion of local option men and of many prohibitionists, was a breach of faith. In the Senate the State? wide bill m^t with defeat on the very llrst vote taken on the measure. "An Interesting feature of the at? tempted prohibition legislation at the last session of the general assembly was the fact that those who call themselves the leaders among the prohibitionists did not press the bill A ery strongly. Had they done so and had the bill, by any reason, passed, what platform would Mr. Feather tone or Mr. Richards have on the liquor question? It should be men? tioned that Mr. Hyatt Is also on the prohibition platform as he has advo cstsd prohibition for twenty years but he is not making the whiskey ques? tion his main subject of discussion as is Mr. Featherstone. It was an open secret In legislative circles In Colum? bia last winter during the session of the general assembly that the pro? hibition bill would not be pressed and this, of course, was for campaign pur? poses. "To many men who have absolutely no Interest one way or the other In the present campaign except the In? terest that every good citizen has In h ?plng that th* State Will have the best man for Governor, the stand t iken by Mr. McLeod on the whiskey question appears to b* the most logl ' il, Mr. McLeod do i not stand for the ?||,. of whiskey as many people wrongfully attributed to him. He tmds f.,r allowing the people in i eintv to say whether or not they wish the legalised sale of liquors or prohibition. In Sumter county the majority of the people voted in Aug? ust 19'?9 to do away with the county dispensary?rather, to not vote it back in so th:it so called prohibition pret ni in Bumter eouaty now, In Lee eouaty which Is Mr. MeLood'i home ooaaty now, the same state of ift'iirs ealSt. It Is said that Mr. Mr l.cod took off bis COat, as the expres? sion goes, and worked for prohibition in his own countv. believing that the saatlmeal of the people would enforce the law. And this li the gisl ,,r ntl argument an the liquor question, nun-1\\ that the sentiment of the community should be back of the cn rorcemeal af the law and that, there id Fear not?Let all the ends Thon A In LJMTER, 8. C., WEDNES RAILWAY MACHINISTS STRIKE. It is Suhl They Quit Work Because Management Refused to Discharge Apprentice. N Columbia, Aug. 15.?Sixty Machin? ists employed at the Southern Rail? way shops here walked out this af? ternoon. An official statement cannot be had from either side, but it Is said the men quit becaase the man? agement refused their demand for the discharge of an apprentice who had not paid his union dues. HEPBURN (JETS WKATHY. Strains of Dixie Anger Idaho Sena? tor?Stops the Music. Seattle, Wash., Aug. 12.?Senator W. B. Hepburn, of Idaho, dislikes "Dixie." At a reception given to Congressman T, R. Hamer, at Wallace, Idaho, last! night. Col. Hamer had just finished J his address and the orchestra had started a medley of well known airs. About the sixth number was "Dixie." The Senator leaped to his feet, strode across to the musicians and cried out: "This Is a Republican meeting. We want no such tunes here." The amazed musicians stopped im? mediately. The Senator strode back to his seat. After a moment of silence Mayor Hanson arose and clos? ed the meeting. fore, it is not right to foist upon a county prohibition unless the people of that county vote for prohibition. "It is this view on the liquor ques? tion that has gained for Mr. McLeod many friends even among prohibition? ists. There has been much misun? derstanding of the whiskey matter in this State. Local option Is. however, gaining ground every day in South Carolina. There has been dissatisfac? tion in some of the counties where, it is said, the sentiment of the people was not ripe for prohibition, although a majority voted against the county dispensary system. In the coun? ties that now retain the dis? pensary there is apparently no no doubt that the majority of the people wish the dispensary. In these six counties there is strong opposition to the dictatorial attitude of State i widers who would enact a law that would give them that which thej/ do not want. "A popular opinion is that because a governor advocates this or that it means that such will be the legisla? tion. Rut folks who have seen Gov? ernors overridden in South Carolina know this to be an Idle dream. As a prominent man wrote recently: "Upstairs does not run the State gov? ernment now." So it doesn't really matter what a candidate thinks about most questions so long as he Is gen? erally qualified to be Governor of the State. "A statement that would hardly be questioned anywhere in South Caro? lina is that Thomas G. McLeod is par? ticularly well fitted to be the Gover? nor. Because of his experience in the House of Representatives as a member from Sumter county, his term In the Senate as Senator from Leo county when that county was first formed and later his work for four years as lieutenant governor, he Is admirably equipped for the Gover? norship. "The opinion has been editorially expressed bv the News and Courier that only by the election of Mr. Mc? Leod will turmoil in the general as? sembly on the liquor question be avoided. "On the opening day of the cam? paign Mr. Featherstone remarked In bis speech at Sumter that there was no friction between the State-wide c andidates. A few days ago in Union and still more recently at other points In the up-State Mr. F. H. Hyatt, a business man of Columbia who is a candidate for Governor, turned his guns on Messrs. Featherstone and Richards, two prohibition candidates. Especially did Mr. Hyatt attack the Rev. J. L. Harley, who, he said, was going about the State with a 'slate' headed by Featherstone with Hyatt's name at the end of the list. Mr. Hyatt stated that the Hev. Harley had said to voters that he (Harley) was of the opinion that that was the way the candidates stood, the other candidates ? omlng between Messrs, Featherstone and Hyatt. Mi1. Hyatt is just n ?w the most talked-of candidate In Columbia and the up state on ac eotint of his attack upon Feathrstone and Richards, Mr. Hyatl has gained mu< h in the race. When he entered the campaign he was well known as a successful business man but had h id no political experience. Some of the other candidates tor State offices have told Mr. Hyatl that he has gain ed more strength than any other man in the race *>r governor." t is't at be thy Country % Thy God's an DAY, AUGUST 17, 1910 HUNDRED MILLION FIRE. BELGIAN'S WORLD'S FAIR CT TERLY DESTROYED. Only Two Known to Have Perished, out Escape of Others is Considered Little Less Than Marvelous. Brussels, Aug. 14.?The White City of the World's Fair, as the Bel? gians have called their 1910 exposi? tion, is tonight a mass of flames and smouldering ruins. A spark falling Into Inflammable material burst into flames which, driven by a high wind, swept in all directions. Soon the Bel? gian, English and French sections were destroyed. The firemen and de? tachments of soldiers, called quickly to the scene, found themselves baf? fled by the veritable gale which car? ried the burning embers to all parts of the grounds. To the left of the main buildings rise the picturesque roofs and spires I of "Brussels Kermessee," a Belgian Coney Island, with water chutes, to boggan slides and scores of side \ shows. This place was alive with 1 Sunday crowds, and before they could 1 be gotten out with any semblance of (order the Kermesse was afire. The I crowds became panic stricken and men, women and children fought I madly to escape. The exits became choked with the struggling mass and men used their fists to clear the path? way. Many were trampled under foot and badly Injured. An engine corps from Antwerp at? tempted to dynamite the bridge of the French section in the hope of check? ing the Are, but the flames leaped ocross and engulfed the Italian, Rus? sian, Austrian, Japanese, Chinese and Norwegian buildings. Forty houses on the Avenue Solbosch adjoining the exposition were destroyed. At the time of the outbreak not less than 100,000 persons were circulating in the grounds and the Kermesse. Troops were ordered out and came at double-quick to aid the police in clearing the great grounds. This was aeco-nplished in fair order except within the limits of the Kermesse. Soon the enormous facade tumbled In ruins. Considering the rapidity of the conflagration the small loss of life Is marvelous. So far as is known uptto a late hour tonight, only two are dead. The Injured as officially announced number 30, but probably many hundreds received minor hurts. As the flames reached the menage r'e it was decided to shoot the beasts but the heat drove back the soldiers and the animals were left to their fate. The fire was finally got under con? trol, but the Belgian and English sec? tions are in ruins, while all the other sections, Including the American, were partly destroyed. Bands of thieves engaged in pillage and a soldier was stabbed while at? tempting to arrest three men whom he found rifling a jewelry exhibit. The aggregate loss will be enor? mous. It is estimated at $100,000,000. The diamond exh.Mtors are heavy losers. Many exhibitors were uninsured in :he French art section, the priceless Gobelins, paintings and sculptures were ruined, as were the rich treas? ures in the English, Belgian, Persian and Turkish sections. All the ar? chives were burned and it will there? fore be impossible to confer medals and diplomas. The fire was due to a short circuit. In addition to the panic that prevailed there were several minor panics at others points within the grounds and women and childdren were crushed in the rush. Some of the wild animals escaped from their cages and added terror to the scene. IS DISTINCT IMPROVEMENT. Cotton, Outside of Droughty District of Tc?xas, shows Prospects of a Good Crop. Xew Orleans, Aug. 14.?In present ing regular monthly reports of all sections of the cotton belt as to prog? ress of the cotton crop, The Times Democrat will say tomorrow that the consensus of opinion is as follows: "Outside of the droughty districts of Texas distinct Improvement has been the rule, but within the droughty districts of that State the deteriora? tion has been very great. Bxcept in Oklahoma, where timely rains have made the outlook almost Ideal, the crop is spotted. With the exception of Texas, the movement promises to be late because of the backwardness of the plant, Farmers would in most cases sell freely if they could. Much complaint of destruction by boll weevil comes from parts of Louisiana and Mississippi, but the pest seems to have done less damage than usual elsewhere. 1 Truth's." THE TRU SET A BUG TO CATCH A BUG. Best Way of Getting Rid of Insects Tliat Do Incredible Damage. "A billion dollars a year is a co* V servative estimate of what Amer' C have to pay for the work ?'^? A that eat our crops and desv' our products," says Samuel Kopkins Adams in the American Magazine. "Of the seventy-two species whose appetites run well up into the millions of dollars annually thirty-five have come to us from other countries. "In the year 1895 there arrived in Texas via the Mexican border a small I and unconsidered immigrant which has since had much to do with the rise and fall of one of the world's important crops. This was the cotton boll weevil. "To fight this pest, from Guatemala were imported numbers of a large and voracious ant, the kelep, which kills and eats the cotton boll weevil in that part of the world. Unfortunately the kelep pined and died in exile. Anoth? er ant, the fire ant, was next ex? perimented with, while it did well It has not as yet gained the upper hand. "The men of science then set about one of the most remarkable and In? genious experiments ever attempted. Around the cotton fields of the South grow fringes of ragweed upon which breeds a species of weevil closely al? lied to the destroyer of cotton. "These harmless weevils are para? sitized by an icheumon fly which de-! stroys them by laying its eggs In the' bodies of the young of the w< SVlL1 After sedulously studying the nature1 and habits of the fly the govern.aent etomologist could see no reason why it shouldn't be induced under pre* sure to alter its diet to boll weevil. "A number of the parasites were raised In captivity and the choice was given them of committing race suicide or laying their eggs in the boll wee? vil. They chose the weevil. I "The eggs hatched, the weevils in the experiment station were destroy? ed and there remained only to repeat the experiment In the open. Word was sent to the Texas farmer:: to cut down the weeds around the cotton fields at the proper time of the y?ar, just before the egg laying time ot the parasitic fly. Many of them did so. "The problem worked out 1 ith mathematical exactness as foil: *'s: First, the ragweed being cut d< ?rn, the habitant weevils perished for 'ack of home and food. Next, the fe? male parasite fly, heavy with ef,gs, sought about for a host to carry and hatch the brood, and found all the prospective victims dead. "Only a few wingbeats away stood the cotton rich in weevils. It wasn't the exact species to which the egg layer was accustomed, but it would do at a pinch. So the surprised weevils, unable to escape or resist the fly found themselves full of strange eggs and painful feelings and presently died, to the great profit of the plant? ation owner. "The San Jose scale, as it is now called In this country, was imported by a collector of plants at San Jose, Cal., probably from Australia. In a few years it had spread enormously, and was simply wdping out the or? ange crop wherever it gained a foot? hold. Working in conjunction with the progressive State authorities of California the United States bureau of entomology sent an emissary to Australia, where the scale was discov? ered in what was then supposed to be its original environment. With the Australian scale and preying upon its eggs was found a small red and black ladybird, the Novis Cardinalis. "One hundred of these were brought back to California by Mr. Kobele, bred and distributed. To the terrified and sceptical orange growers the result must have seemed miraculous. Within two years from the time when the first ladybird began to breakfast on scale eggs the victory was completely won. "It was more than a victory; it was a slaughter. Since then the white scale, while it is not wholly elimi? nated and never will be, has ceased to be an clement of peril to the citrus orchards of California. "It is an axiom of science that an imported Insect, if it succeeds in ac? climatizing itself at all, nourishes in its new home better than In Its native land. This Is particularly true of America where the climate seems to favor Insect life, and where farm and forest arc of such extent as to be be? yond the possibility of the rigid guar? dianship maintained over the smaller European holdings. More important still, it often happens that while the newly arrived insect accustoms itself to conditions here, the parasites which In Its true home, bold it in check fail to become naturalized, and soon per? ish. Then the newcomer has every? thing its own way." ? SOUTHRON, Established June, lMt Vol. XXX. NO. 50. COF Atf CONDITION. # - CF jfi AND YARN MARKET W STRONG. t% - alues While Higher Are Still Under Cost of Production and Curtail? ment Continues. i New York, Aug. 14.?There was a better demand for cotton goods dur? ing the past week and transactions have been more numerous. Sellers are still cautious about booking con? tracts into the new cotton year and much of the business being booked is I on stock goods, or on goods in hand or in process of production which can I be applied to filling nearby contracts, i The cotton outlook is still hazy to manufacturers although most of them now look for sustained, high values. Buyers are willing to concede the j probability of continued high cost of j production but are not keen in anti? cipating a rise in cloth production. Amoskeag tickings have been ad? vanced l-2c. a yard, some numbers of denims are l-2c. a yard higher, the price of staple ginghams had been i pegged at 7 cents until October 1. The sales made by some large com? mission houses in the past week have run far ahead of any week for some time. Fall River sold 395,000 pieces of print cloths last week, of which 75,000 were spots, the balance of the futures and large shipments of print? ed goods being made from Fall River where the American Printing com? pany has been closed 10 weeks and will continue closed until after Labor day at least. The local yarn markets are harden? ing and prices are fully lc per pound higher on the low numbers than they were at the opening of the month. It Is still true that values while higher are still under the cost of production and mills South and East are follow? ing a rigid system of curtailment in an endeavor to bring about an early adjustment of cost and selling prices. Values range about as follows: Print cloth 28-inch 64x64s, 3 3-4c; 64x60s, 3 5-8c; 38 1-2-inch 64x64s, 5 l-4c; brown sheetings standards 7 3-4c. to 8c; denims, 9 oz, 14c; tick? ings, 8 oz., 12 l-cj standard prints 5 l-2c; staple ginghams, 7c Dress I ginghams, 9c. -' I COTTON CROP IMPROVES. Late Frost Will Cau?e Fair to Goo?T Production in Most States. Memphis, Aug. 13.?The following cotton crop summary will be pub? lished by The Commercial-Appeal tomorrow: "For three successive weeks cotton has improved in the State east of the Mississippi and its promise is now fair to good. The crop is late and i would be seriously damaged by an early frost while frost later than usual is needed to allow the fullest 1 promise to be matured. The plant within the past two weeks has grown I very rapidly and is attaining fair size I I It is setting bolls quite satisfactorily j and the firm tone is decidedly more optimistic. "Such rains as fell in the past week were beneficial. They were local in man sections, however, and the Car? olinas and parts of Georgia WOOM be benefited by general precipitation. "Even in the earliest sections of this Eastern belt there is very little cotton that is ready to open and the movement to market will be delayed well into September unless drought later on. should force premature openings. "Boll weevils are active in Louisiana and Mississippi and are doing some more t arm than was earlier antici? pated. "In Texas no rain fell except In some of the R? <. River counties and the crop lost 'round steadily. "Cotton is opening very rapidly In southern and southwestern counties and is being rushed to market as fast as possible by the farmers. In west? ern Texas where within the past few years there has been a rapid expan? sion in cotton growing, the crop is al? most a failure and in many places is beyond repair but pood crops are the rule in the northern tier of Texas counties." MURDER AT BOWMAN. Nemo Shot Hi* Wife to Death While she Was at Work in Field. Columbia, Aug. 15.?Cashier Mittle, of r.owman telephoned the Governor's office this morning. saying that Charles Dwight, colored, bad shot and instantly killed bis wife, Lucy, in a A< id. without provocation. The loan of the penltentary blood hounds waft requested, but these were in the county beyond reach.