Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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UN VMKH IN SOUTH CAHOIIVA. \ppeal to ( ummoii sense uu?I 1 onH4i?>luv. To The Editor of the Dally Item: In my last letter I db. cussed MM distribution of the constitutional three mill tax. and auggeated a defl {jateoa of enrollment which would make the distribution contribute I eoiftool effb 1 now wish to dls oaaa the practical dlfrleultles whica confront the school authorltlea of South Carolina in the present method a? apporti ?. and IU moral ten destctea The Constitution provides that th mill tax shall be apportioned ion* the districts of the county In saflatea It la raised on the basis of en? rolment, and leaves to the leglsla iure the definition of enrollment. The [ lagialature hss defined enrollment as "Tan days attendance during the pre- j gtrlonjs scholastic session." Under this dean It Ion a pupil who attenda school j fee less thsn ten days should not be earolled and should not secure recog- , nttioL In the distribution of the tht mill tax. The actual number of pu? pils who at one time or another at achool during any scholastic ^2~mt\on t usually greater than thj legal enrollment. For example. In the annual report of the Columbia schools for 1908-0? the total number of pupils enrolled. In the ordinary sease of the term, was 3.933. The , WVegal ten day enrollment" was S. ffg. This Is typical of actual con? ditions all over the Stab Since the amount of money avail? able from the three mill tax for the maintenance of schools In any dis? trict Is dependent on the enrollment. M Is to th,- p mlary Interest of the trustees to secure as large sn enroll - asset aa possible for at least the min? imum period of ten days. The teach? er at the end of each month makes oa the b*< k of her pay warrant du? plicate s report to the county superin tjfaadent of education, who approves the warrant for the teacher's salary. , At the end of the year each teacher la supposed to make an annual re- ! pert uf the total number of pupils earolled. and of certain other data Indicated by the standard forms pro- , fcjrtiart by the State Department of j Bducatlon. This report la transmit? ted through the district board of trusteea who Alone have the opportu? nity to check Its accuracy. The teach eg*eery soon fin Is out thst the dis? trict board of trustees Is more con? cerned that there should be a lan?" Wf) gg ullmant than thav there should be ai accurate statement of fscta. In consequence, the enrollment im? ported frequently Includes e>ery child who haa bscn present even for one dag durli.-r the school session. In fact there are teachera in South Caro? lina who through Ignorance of the legal provision, without desire to de? fraud, report the entire list of pupils aa the legal enrol Im The law Is especially subject to abase by negro teachers. As Is well known in South Carolina, the dls krutut funda are not dl\i.led among th.' eohoola of the district In proportion to enrollment, but every negro child ceants as mu< h as a white child In securing funda for the district. The aagro schools afford the best oppor ^taalty for padding the rolls. In fact, a nontract with negro teachera la not Infrequently made In South Carolina In which the salary to be received by the teacher Is dependent on the ? amber of . nil Iren enrolled. The re pert of the teacher la usually receiv? es and transmitted without correct with a result which can be easily imagined. Recently 1 visited a negro eofcool In South Carolina In whb h I found nine children present. I asked the teacher for his record for beok. Although It waa the closing day of achool. he handed It to me |/w, h th" statement that he had Just made It out that morning. He had enrolled eighty eight children. Tb. r were no marks In the book to Indi? cate the numb r of daya each child had ben present. I asked him for the dally record which he bad kept. gVand be produced from his pocket 1 another book which contained mere- , ly the names of the pupils. I called his sttentlon to the legal definition of enrollment In the front of the realster, and asked him how he ex? pected to ascertain how many of his ^pupl'4 h id 1 'en pr I , . ||,.' replied "Well, air. 1 Jus?t guesses at It.' In the afternoon I called on the chairman of the district board, who candidly told gat that he h id In structed the teacher of his district to enroll evervbody who appeared at ^ >ihouse during the session and to get as many of them as they could There are districts In tho State In whhh negro schools are opened up for brief periods of tint" In two or three sections of a district for the express purpose of Increasing fc'h. I at riet enrollment and jSOMf lag "?n advantage In tho distribution of the county fund. Even In scanning th- r- ports of the cities of South Carolina ono fre? quently finds dlscr i i i |gg In tin enrollment of tho succeeding years which are only to be explained on the theory that th? ? rirollimwit has I been padded. The county superin? tendents of South Carolina make an? nual reports to the State Superin? tendent of data concerning the fi? nance* and the general condition ot the sc hools. Most ??t these county su- | perlentendents will tell you plainly to] no reliance on the accuracy of UM enrollment and attendance sta tisties a- Klven In theso reports. They nm.xt SSSept th.ni as presented by ? i' t- hers and district trustees. X. \ . rth. less, upon the data in tin IN I poftl the money of the county is. dlstrihuted. Last year 153,807 White , children and 181,075 negro children were enrolled in the public schools of South Carolina. More than a million and a half dollars paid an* nully by UM people of tho State Is ?'i till nt d largely upon the uncheck? ed reports of ignorant and often un? principled negro teachers who. In many cases, as Indicated above, have been given the strongest pi ssilde incentive to lie. it Is hard for the honest teaeher and trustee In the county to tell the truth when they realize that the rolls of other districts are pad? ded for the purpose of securing an unfair adavntage. Any system which d- . h not check critically the figures on which money is apportioned and >\ h!i h rewards the liar for his effort Will Inevitably drag down the moral stan lard, and make liars out of truthful men. The morals of a eommunlt\ are not saf< as long as the honest man can say truthfully: Th,. wicked Moorish as the green 1 iv t!., ? We cannot expect to In? tuit ate hoJMtty and public morality In South Carolina as long as our laws in their operations encourage thi?< miserable graft in the very in? stitutions which train our children. A !*ro|x>?*cd Itemedy for the Condi? tion. How vh iii we remedy this A-jpior SSM state of affairs? The llrst remedy is the removal of the county s-iperin'en b ut front polities. and the establishment of this office on some sin h that indicated in former letters. The county superlnten dent must be able to spend all of his time In the schools, and must receive a salary which will enable h'm to do this. His position must be made stable enough to enable him t" do his duty faithfully and fearlessly. The second rem? fly Is to change the definition Of enrollment to coin? cide with th?* total dayi attendance, aa Indicated In my last letter. The repofl of the teacher to the countv superintendent of education should Indicate the number of children pres? ent each dav during the school month and the total attendance for the month. It is impossible for anybody to check enrollment accord? ing to the present definition. It is possible, however, for the county su? perintendent, or other supervising officer, to visit the school at Inter? vals, to count the children present, ?nd to form an intelligent idea of the attendance. in tho third place, the figures on which tho money Is apportioned should be published for the informa? tion of the districts of the county. 1 The more publication of records would be sufficient to correct In a large measure the grosser violations of the law. At heart the people of South Caro? lina are honest and truthful. I be? lieve that they would welcome a law which would divide the school funds equitably, and which would secure truthfulness in reports. The present ? ?nditlon is the direct result of a system which rewards lying by in? creased appropriations and punishes honesty by a reduction in school funds. Such a system. If long enough ? ?ntintied, would corrupt a Metho? dist conference or a Presbyterian AOd, In no other department of the State finances Is there such laxity shown. How much longer can we afford such an unbuslness-llke pro? ceeding in the schools of the State v hlch are supposed to train our chil? dren In personal honesty and civic righteousness? w. k. t?te. I State Supervisor of Elementary Ru? ral Schools. New Express Agent lot ftamtar? The Southern Express Company has appointed .i n*?w agent ut its of ft I in this city, Mr. J. J. Am nt hav? ing taken (barge of tho office the [ I .f this month. Mr. Avant has been la the express businean for aav? ml eara ha having been agent nt Plorencs, from waten place ha waa ??tit h i., for four years prior to his appointment here. Mr Avant? when seen, mid that he mrj much surprised to see what a large amount of work was done I ? i the express company. Ha has I" ? n very busy since having ta? ken the ..Ml, i in hand, and has not Net had time to meal the Sumter people, but as soon as he has straightened Bp the affairs of Um of? fice he expects t?i m, out and meet them, lie was very favorably im? pressed with what he haa mt n of Die town and with those of the business men be has no t. Mr. Avent hopes to give the people of Slimt'T the i.? st service possible, and !?'? hopes I that the people will aid him in doing this. Ills Objection. (By Kennett Harris.) ? always felt a sort of doubt, 1 eotlld Rot "pish!" or pooh!" POF quite a while 1 hung about Tit hear hot sotly coo; Buti when I eame to try her out, 1 CoUVjd she wouldn't do. HOT half was like tine golden thread, Her throat was like the swan; iier skin was white, lu r lips were red And fair to look upon; Bnt she oonld never make a bed Or sew a button on. Her voice was ever soft and low, Her smile was very sweet; From certain points of view 1 know That girl was hard to beat; Hut I'd have had the slimmest show To get good grub to eat. She warbled like a mockingbird Upon a budding haw; Her playing was, upon my word, Without a singlo flaw; Bnt 1 believed, from what 1 heard. Sin- cooked her beefsteak raw. 1 mean no sort of slight or slur, However It may look, I knew 1 could not marry her? She'd never suit my book; f knew 'twas certain to occur? I'd have to hire a cook. More* Trouble In China. china Is declared to be on the versa Of another upheaval, similar to the Boxer uprising and the lives of forefinera are in jeopardy. Ad? vices received in Washington recently from government oillcials in China ex? press the belief that an outbreak at any time would not surprise them. The state department has Instructed its diplomatic and consular officials to maintain a does watch on the inter? national conditions, All through 'the summer montha there have been mutterlnaja of dis? content in some of the Chinese pn.vin due to the rice famine, dynastic difficulties and dissatisfac? tion over acts of the Pekin govern? ment as to foreign investments in j China. Oood harvests mitigated to j aonu extent the gravity of the situ attoi , but there is still a ge neral j feeling of unrest here from men on duly in that quarter. The army and the navy are prepared for any emer? gency, but their readiness is solely a precautionary measure, it is said, and should not be taken as an indi? cation of immediate danger. Authentic advices from those charged with keeping in touch with conditions indicate that the only thing lacking to parallel today's situ? ation with that preceding the Boxer troubles, which drew into China the American force! as well as those of other nations, is the matter of or? ganization and that it only needs a leader to effect that. Every vessel in the Asiatic licet, as well as the military forces at Manila is prepared lor almost instant action in the event the trouble breaks. Revolutionary uprisings are of greater or less frequency throughout China and It is recognized by Wash? ington authorities that trouble is lia? ble to occur at any time in some of the provinces. Fire on Manning Avenue. A store on the corner of Manning avenue and Divine street, the prop? erty of Mr. A. K. Gregg and run by Mr. J, D, Gregg, two negro resatu rants. and a negro dwelling house belonging to the Rev, Friday Ker shaw and occupied by Manda Treze vant and James Uoss, were burned Wednesday at J o'clock. The cause of the tire was unknown, although it was ascertained that it originated In a negro restaurnat belonging to a negro by the name of Adam Wilder. The .alarm was turned in from box fin and the reel wagons responded Immediately, hut owing to the charac? ter of the buildings and the stiff breeze that was blowing at the time, the lire had gained suc h head way before the wagona reached the spot and the hoae was properly adjusted that the lire men turned their attention to the aavlng of other buildings adjoining those on tire, it being utterly Impos? sible to aave those already on fire. The fire, While not unusually large, was an unusually hot one and the firemen Buffered extremely from the heat. The store belonging to Mr. A. 1*:. C.retftf was valued at about $?00, .about $400 of which was covered by I Insurance. The stock of goods was valued at about |600, there being no Insurance. The negroes living in the house, and carrying on the restau? rants, were unable to save anything except a small amount of furniture. a. I? Gray, a prominent business man of Laurens was thrown from a buggy iu a runaway Tuesday night and severely injured. 'The people's Bank received Tuea da) ;i Xorri i burglar proof BCfeW ? d e.r safe, a force of men were at work from aboul <> o'clock until (? thai nlghl unloading and getting tie* 1 safe4 into the bank, He Is a Cattle Thief and Even a Human Being Thief. WORSE THAN LION OR TIGER. Seizes Its Prey by the Throat and Clings With Its Claws Until It Breaks the Spine of Its Victim or Strangles It. Less In size, but even more ferocious, the leopard has a worse character thin the tiger or lion Living mainly in trees and very nocturnal, this fierce anil dangerous beast is less often seen than far rarer animals. It is widely spread over the world from the Cape of Good Hope to the Atlas mountains and from southern China to the Black sea. where It is sometimes met with in the Caucasus. Any one who has frequented the zoo for any time must have noticed the difference iu size and color between leopards from different parts of the world. On some the ground color is almost white, iu others a clear nut brown. Others are Jet black. Wherever they live leopards are cat? tle thieves, sheep thieves, dog thieves und human being thieves. Though not torinldable in appearance, they are im? mensely strong, and it is not unusual for them to turn man eater. Both In India and In Africa they have been known to set up In this line as delib? erately as any tiger. They have four or five young at a birth. The cubs can be kept tame for some time and are amusing pets, but it is extremely dan? gerous to have them about lu Hongkong an Englishman had a tame leopard. It was brought into the dining room by a coolie to be exhibit? ed to the owner's guests. Excited by the smell of food, the leopard refused to go out when one of the women, who did not like his looks, asked that it be removed. The coolie took hold of its collar aud began to haul it out. It seized him by the neck, bit it through and in a minute the coolie was dying, covered with blood, on the dining room floor. The Chinese leopard ranges as far north as the Siberian tiger and, like the latter, seems to grow larger the farther north it is found. The color of these northern leopards is very pale, the spots are large and the fur is very long. The natives of all countries are unan? imous in declaring that the leopard is more dangerous than the lion or tiger. They have no fear of the lion, provided they are not hunting for it, for it will not attack unless provoked, but a leopard is never to be trusted. In Africa a number of natives were firing the reeds along a stream. One of them, a boy, being thirsty and hot, stooped down to drink. He was imme? diately seized by a leopard. The boy's brother, with an admirable aim, hurled his spear at the leopard while the boy was in his jaws. The point separated the vertebrae of the neck, and the leopard fell stone dead. But the boy could not recover. The leopard's fangs bad torn open his chest and injured the lungs. The latter were exposed to i view through the cavity of the ribs. He died during the night. Leopards are essentially tree living and nocturnal animals. Sleeping in trees or caves by day, they are seldom disturbed. They do an incredible amount of mischief among cattle, calves, sheep and dogs, being especial? ly fond of killing and eating the latter. They seize their prey by the throat and cling with their claws until they succeed iu breaking the spine or in strangling the victim. They have a habit of fw'edlng ou putrid flesh. This makes wounds inflicted by their teeth or claws liable to blood poisoning. Nothing in the way of prey comes amiss to them, from a cow in the pas? ture to a fowl up at roost Iu the great mountain ranges of cen? tral Asia the beautiful snow leopard is found. It is a large creature, with thick, woolly coat and a long tail like a fur boa. The color is white, clouded with beautiful gray, like that of an Angora cat. The edges of the cloud lugs aud spots are marked with black or darker gray. The eyes are very large, bluish gray or smoke colored. It lives on the wild sheep. Ibex and other mouuiaiu animals. In captivity it is far the tamest and gentlest of the large Carnivora, not excepting the pu? ma. Unlike the latter, it Ls a sleepy, quiet animal, like a domestic. The West African leopard skin is more handsome than the Asiatic, the spots being very distinct and clear. He aud she?they usually go in couples are fond of hunting cautonments and around native towns, where they pick np a goat and now and then a baby. One night 1 was camped in a native town and after 1 had retired the na? tives, as was their custom, were sitting about a great tire asking my caravan all sorts of questions, for the African savage is the greatest gossip In the world. Suddenly a child's cry rang out, followed by a great clamor. Rush? ing out to discover the cause of alarm. I Was informed that a leopard had etolen from the darkness and qnick as a flash had grabbed a four-year-old child and made off with it. The child was seatod in the midst of the grown men and women. The latter could only lament their loss. They knew It was useless to try to pursue tho l>cast into the dense bush. The leopard is so bold that even In daylight he will wander about a town or a white man's premises. It Is not at all unusual to get a good shot at n 1 leopard from a bungalow veranda or ! a mud hut door.?Plttsburg nispaten. j He that plants thorns must never expect to gather roses.?Pllpny. is the name on a box of Candies that guarantees purity, quality, fresh? ness. ThereV'None like Nunnaliy V" We receive them fresh almost daily. The ideal holiday giff. W. \Y. SIBERT. Not in the Circus Trust Sumter, AfT 17th. Monday, vvl* IIs America'.^ Oldest, Richest Circus. A modernized stupendous realization of all that is great in tho circus world. 4 rings, 3 combined menageries, hippodrome and great wild west, all united in one greatest show on earth. 1000 Men and Women 400 Horses Enormous Zoological Exhibit jmsasti mm 11? bos ?g 30-Male and Female Riders-30 AND EVERY ONE A STAR 6-GAEAT AERIAL THRILLERS-6 The Wonderful DeComaa, LeMars, Leach and Vance, Mi>? Webb and Mi>s I>:i.v i. The Reckless3spa. COMPLETE WILD WEST 50 cowboys. 50 cowgirls, ri al blanket Indians, Mexican horse" men, Vaqueros, Basalen Cossacks and Japanese Scouts. Sinhalese Dancers and Magicians, Company of r s. Cavalry in all Winds of fane - drills, WARREN TRAVIS STRONGEST MAN L1VINC Lowanda's Eight Brazilian Riders The World's Greatest Horseman 50 Clowns! 100Feature Ads! 100-Acrobais and Cfmnasts-100 3 Famous Elephants, Including Robinson's Wonderful Comedy Four Grand Camp of the Nations $500,000 Free Street Parade Two performances dally. Doors open at 1:00 and 7:00 p. m. The only big show not in the circus trust, consequently there will be no adavnee in prices for seats or otherwise. MILL SUPPLIES Roofing Galvanized and Painted Corrugated, Galvanized, Crimp, Rubber and Paper. Belts Leather. Rubber and Gandy. Try Revere Rubber Go's. Giant Stitched aud Shawmut Belt. Every Foot Guaranteed. Packings Sheet and Piston. All Kinds and Grades. Circular Saws in Stock Simonds, Hoes, Ohlens and Disstons. Shafting. Wood and Iron Pulleys. Wire Ropes ai d Manilla Ropes. Rubber Hose. Pumps. Babbitt Metal. Lace Leather. Bar Iron. Pipe. Pipe Fittings, Valves, Etc. Saw Mills. Shingle and Lath Machines. If needing anything in the SUPPLY Line, write or call on us. Prompt shipments a specialty. Sumter Railway & Mill Supply Co. Phone 368. : : : : : Sumter, S, C. J^IME, (^EMENT, ACME PLASTER, SHINGLES, LATHS, FIRE BRICK, PRA1N PIPE, ETC. tJOAr tf^V'iin Rice Flour, Ship Stuff, Bran, Mixed ridy, Vjldlll, Cow and chicken Feed. Horses, Mules, BSfjUV. wfm9on* No Order Too barge or Too SoinH Booth=Harby Live Stock Co. SUMTER, SOUTH GAROEINA.