Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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1 11! < I )\|\II*MMN s HI PIA . i'liU'f F.xcxuiUo U Hc.ared to Printed lU'iaart* aid Original Report* oil Mle In Ilm oouv.?U Willing t4> (.ratify Uli Dowtrvs?The Reply in Full The dispensary winding up com mission has. 'hrough the chairman. l?r. W. J. Murray, transmitted to Gov? ernor H'.eane its reply to his request for information concerning all the actions of the ? ommlsaion. the gov? ernor t>?dng i ? f? rr? d to the printed re? ports on tll?' in the office of the gov? ernor. The commission states that if there thing further the gov? ernor desire* to know Um < hairm m will take pleasure In going over the whole matt??r with him. The r?qdy la as follows* Hon. Col.- I.. ttlease, Governor. Columbia, s C. I>.?a.r Sir The State dispensary commission in response to your letter of February 20. 1911. met on the 24th Instant and authorised the following information to be commu'.lcated to you by me: First. I hand you herewith copy of the agreement between the said com? mission and the firm \>f Messrs. An? derson. Felder. Rountree & Wilson, and will state that this agreement is the only one made with that firm, there being no agreement with the Individual no mbers thereof, and, therefore, none *1th Mr. Thomns II. Felder of said firm. A copy of the agreement Is hereto attached and marked exhibit " V s.>nd. As to the agreement with Mr. 8t*?v?-nson. The only agreement made with hin, was entered into for the year 1907. under which he was to be paltl f >r attendance upon the meetings of the commission and ad? vising them In all matters not liti? gated and pay his own expenses While In Columbia .ind to and from Colum? bia for the sum of $1,500, and when he went elsewhere under orders of the commission his expenses were to be psld by the commission. At the end of the year 1907, the business not be? ing completed, his services were merely continued to be settled for on a satisfactory basis. He participated In all the litigation and conduct.d one bra re h of It alone, to wit. the contest of th. I'nlted States govern? ment as to an assessment of $35,000 claimed by the United States govern? ment for alleged back revenue t i.v.s, the same being Anally tried in Wash? ington before the Internal revenue commissioner, who rejected the claim. For all of his services he was paid the sums shown in the statements which are below referred to, showing all the Item* of receipts and dis? bursements. Third. Afl to the contract with Mr. B. L. Abney: The commission on Jan? uary 24th. 1906. passed the following resolution: "On motion of Mr. Pat? ron. Dr. Murrary. chairman, was au? thorised to employ additional counsel to assist in the Fleischmann suit against the State after consulting with the attorney general." In pur? suance of that authority and on ac? count of the litigation which had just been Instituted in the federal court. Mr. Abney was employed to assist in the ease, snd subsequently in all of the cases involving the lssuea raised In the Kleinehmann case. These cases wer? finally successfully terminated in the I'nlted States supreme ourt, af? ter adverse decisions had been ren? dered In the circuit court and In the circuit court of appeals of the Unit? d States. When the services were com? pleted, there being no definite contract made, Mr. Abney rendered a bill on November 10th, ?909, accompanied by a letter, copies of which are herM > attached and marked exhibit "B." The earn mission without having a hearing from Mr. Abney fixed his fee tenta? tively at $9,000 Instead of *.io.OOO as rendered. Subsequently on Decem? ber 3 Mr. A? n? y wrote a letter to the oeenmission i enq r whi< h is aerate attached and marked exhibit "C," which letter states his p ?sltion fully. On further consideration the commis? sion acc? ded to bin request. recon? sidered the matter and allowed his hill for $10,000, whl< h wus paid tn full. In nettling with th?- hrmn and corpor? ation* who had i I.linn against tue. st itc wb. lit.i pros, i no (I and partic? ipated In tb r litigation, Um commis? sion with the connent of the attor? neys representing na'd liquor hon-,. s ann? <*? d tho ?n.m of ? J I. *. 1 7. costs, attorney* (, , * and exp. n*.-? against then*1 liquor houses. d? dueled P from th?lr Claim? Bjpf gppHsg It upon tie - t< - ? del the i.?h?T expends >f the litigation. This b ft only a small smount that th?? State was called upon In pa, as exp. n?i * of that litigation. Fourth. As to the It.-mi/ad stat. ments of moneys received and dis? bursed tin- . ?.nun) ?ton bssjs Isars to ntste that pUFSUSal 1? I he provision; of th.- ?et u itii.I . ..mm i linn, and the various nets continuing Ihe nano-. Hnv b*'\> rsgul il r ndercd reports to the governor or South Car* oiinn. all of which are on tile in the governor'* office, and u hi? h were petajteeX and tli v ittaeh s printed t??|?v of th? report up to ihi ? i I da) of Januarv, 191a, in vvhb h e\--f\ It-m ree?d\ed and every io-m di*bursed Bp to that date In net forth, tb. sami U-ing hereto attached and marked exhibH "i>," This report purports to ? correctly printed ropy, but it is bmiltc-d us a printed copy only of the correct report whn h was Bled In the governors ottlee subjsct to errors, if any of th" printer, it may be veri? fied by comparison with the original report on file in the governor's oflice. They else nttseh hereto s printed copy of a report, rendered to the gov? ernor (marked exhibit "?'*) of their doings up t? January 1st, ltll, aJid Ioabseqaeal to January 1st, 1910, and ask re-fere nee thereto, making the same statement as to Its correctness and the same suggestion as to its be lag OOmpared with the original which was tiled In the governor's olllee. as Is made in reference to the first men? tioned pHntsd report. They attach hereto a statement of the transaction! had from the first day of January, ltll, up to this date, the same being marked SXhlblt "F." The commis? sion would state as to the matter of attorneys' fees that final settlement in SO far as the commission was con? cerned was made with Messrs. Abney and Stevenson on or about January J 1st, 1910, and that they have had no j expenses for counsel fees since such j date, except such fees as accrued to j the firm of Anderson, Felder, Roun tree & Wilson under their contract heretofore exhibited. While the contract entered Into with Messrs. Anderson, Felder, Itoun tree & Wilson did not obligate that tirm to represent the State or the commission In the litigation had in the federal courts, nevertheless, that firm assisted in the argument of Un? cases in the olrcult court, ths circuit court of appeal! ami the United states supreme court and bore all of their expenses Incident thereto, and re? ceived no comp'Wisni >n for their ser? vices and !X peases in this particular from any source whatsoever. Fifth. Replying to that part of your letter which asks 0! to state "why the law has n<>t been complied with in regard to ths wlndtng?up of this matter as provided In sot at the earl? iest dat.- practicable," the commission submits that Is is et Rlplying with the provisions of the act referred to as - \peditlously ai the best interest of the State will permit That subse? quently to th.- SCt Horn which you quote the general assembly, passed Seti in 190S and 1909 and 1910, each of which pro\ided other and further duties for this commission to perform. That the act Of 1944 among other things directed this commission to proceed to ascertain the amount of any claim of the State against any liquor dealers growing out of trans i tions with the State dispensary und to make settlement thereof. This work has been pursued during the last year, and large amounts of mon? ey turned into the treasury through the efforts of the commission and its attorneys. This work Is necessarily slow and tedious, for the reason that it is very difficult to discover frauds connected with such transactions and then force settlement with persons who almost invariably live in other States. In this connection we would advise you that our attorneys are now at work on claims of this nature from which they hope to net the State many thousands of dollars. Further replying, we will say that in October, 1907, a restraining order was granted by the circuit court of thw United States In the flarrett case, which was the beginning of a long series of obstructions interposed by alleged creditors to the act of the commission in requiring an honest accounting by the claimants of such transactions as were fraudulently en? tered into between them and the for? mer State ottleers. See report of at? torney general for year 190S, page 5. That this was followed by further re? straining Ofden In January, 1908, and the appointment of receivers by the circuit court of the United States. An appeal to the circuit court of appeals of the Fnited Stab s was necessary to protec t the rights and interests of the Slide. This appeal was beard in May, IM!, with the chief justice of the United States presiding and the Judg? ment od IBS I ireuit court of the Fnited Status was affirmed by an opinion tiled in September, 1908. This necessitated carrying the oaSS to the Fnited Stat- s lUDTeins COUrt, where it w is argued in February and March, 1109, and decided la favor of ths State In April. 1 !?<?:?, but the mandate wa! not seal down until th.- latter part of May, ItOt, when the commis? sion again became free t?> proceed with its business. The commission promptly after ap? pointment had the boofci end account! ? of the dispensary audited, ;ni Inven i ry made of the stock of goods on hand, disposed "f ths goods on hand as rapidly as the county dispensaries I would take them, and promptly col 11.. ted from lh? county dispensaries 'therefor; and as I. sa the United . ? ?. .> :?. ne eotirl dissolved Ihe Injunei >n, I h< pf. led to adjudl II rate the smountl due creditors as rsi Mi] as If '"'ii foe d me, lur.ing due regard to the rights Of the Statt?. Ii That amounts of such claim! as w ere ,oi.)ot|ii ited in h? correct were paid. Thai hearings w. ???? had nnd such pro? ceedings taken as wer< necesanrj to narsvsl the network of fraud which surrounded ? very large proportion of the said claims. The legislature In 1901 passed an act directing them to continue tin work; this was fol? lowed bj a further act in 1910, all of which direct? d furiher and necessary proceedings t be tak< n to conserve the interest i the state. Pursuant to the mandate of the said acts, this commission proceeded until it has now with the exception Of a few items, concluded all matters which were in? volved in winding up the affairs of said institution. These acts Imposed additional duties upon this commis sion, tin- discharge of which In a proper manner has necessitated their continued activities, and they have been diligently endeavoring, and to a considerable extent successfully, thereunder to recover moneys Ille? gally collected from the State by va? rious parties who had no claims additional duties upon this Commis? sion was appointed. Among these claim- of the State still pending is a claim against the ltichland Distilling company and certain stockholders vjf the said company. Since the first day of January, 1911, the liability of two of these stockholders was settled for the sum of |S4,700. The commission is now pressing the company and the other stockholders for a settlement of the balance of the amount claimed to be due the State and are convinced that wdth due diligence and sufficient time they will be able to collect largely on this claim, which is being press) d under the provisions of the act of 1910. This work as well as the endeavor t>> collect other pending claims as directed by the act of 1910 is vary difficult and tedious, and the commission earnestly solicits your counsel and oooperatlon in order that this work may be facilltati d and that tho commission conclude its duties at the earliest possible moment. Tin y would further state that while in the dist barge of their duties under the act of 1910 a suit for injunction was brought against them by the Carolina Qlaas Company, and an ap p ad was also prosecuted by it from the decision rendered by the commis? sion on Its claim against the State, which proceedings had the effect of further delaying the commission in finishing their work. Both Of these cases have hern decided in our State supreme court in favor of the com? mission, but the commission has been notified by the attorneys of said com? pany that they propose to carry the nwjEtler to the supreme court of tin lulled States. The commission are defendants and have no means of ending these proceedings until the ap? peal is determined by a proper judg rpent, either of affirmance or dismis? sal. The commission has endeavored to furnish the information asked for In your letter, but If anything has been omitted, or if you desire any other or further information in reference to j the acts and doings of the commis? sion in winding up the affairs of ?>e dispensary, the chairman is Instruct? ed to furnish you wdth the same, and If you do not understand any of the Items or statements in the reports and accounts heretofore filed in your office, the chairman, wdth the com? mission's accountant upon your sug? gestion, will go over each item thereof in detail with you. Ail of which Is respectfully sub? mitted. W. J. Murray, Chairman State Dispensary Commis? sion. , The most common cause of insom? nia is disorders of the stomach. Cham? berlain's Stomach and Liver Tablets correct these disorders and enable you to sleep. For sale by all dealers. Napier Appointed Regime. Washington March 2.?James C. Napier a negro of Nashville, Tonn., was named by President Taft today to be register of the treasury. John \V. Slckelsmith, Greensboro, Pa., has three children, and like most ohlldten they frequently take cold. "We had tried several kinds of cough medicine," he says, "but have never found any yet that did them as much good as Chamberlain's Cough Reme? dy," For sale by all dealers. i Uniform excellence and reliability, . excluslveness and refin< ment, latest I designs, variety of choice, price ad? vantages, These facts together with unique store methods make this the Jewelry store of satisfaction and economy, W. A. Thompson. 6 S. Main St. Jeweler and Optician V FICKLE DICTATOR. <.ov. Blease Acquiring a Reputation for Clianglng Mind ?Sis Specific Instances in ns Many Weeks. Qov, Blease is beginning to make a record for changing his mind. Re? cently he has taken positive positions upon a number of things, only to re? cede from th* se shortly afterward*, and now persons int? rested do not know what weight t<? attach t > deliv? erances by the executive, in cases where tri?- w ay is up, n t<? him to re? verse himself. Particularly is this un ? ertalnty felt In regard to Legislative arts which as yet remain unsigned. An announcement by the governor that he will veto a given act may or may not be final; in several instances he has reconsidered such decisions and signed the act;' involved. Gov. Blease sent to the legislature a message vetoing the Osborne child labor act, but in a later message re? ceded from this position, admitted he was in error and asked that refer? ence to the matter be expunged from the record, which was done. Gov. Blease said he would veto the act incorporating the Piedmont and Northern railway company?the Duke interurbau projec; but he changed his mind and signed the act?without explanation. Gov. Blease said he would veto the act authorizing the employment of rural police in Charleston county; but next day he approved the act -with? out explanation, lie said he woul? sign no rural police acts vesting the appointive power In any person other than himself; but he has since signed a number Of such meavures. Gov. Blease vetoed the item in the appropriation bill authorizing the State treasurer to spend $G00 for "ex? tra clerical assistance; " but he has since authorized the treasurer to make this expenditure, though his veto was s istained by the senate. Gov. Blease vetoed the item in the appropriation bill authorizing the comptroller general to expend $5,000 in examining county offices, but he has since told the comptroller general to go ahead and spend this amount, if so much Should be necessary. Comp? troller General Jones has, however, declined emphatically to follow this course, since the legislature sustained the governor's veto. Gov. Blease vetoed the Item in the appropriation bill providing salaries and expenses for two factory inspec? tors, saying the inspectors were use less, but he has since said that this veto did not mean that the inspection act would go unenforced, for he would himself employ inspectors, paying them out of his $5,000 law-enforce? ment fund.?Columbia Record. A Cold, LaGrlppe, Then Pneumonia. Is often the fatal sequence. Foley's Honey and Tar expels the cold, checks the lagrippe, and prevents pneumonia. It Is a prompt and reliable cough medicine that contains no narcotics. It is as safe for your Children as your? self. W. W. Sibert. FEBRUARY FURNITURE The time for close buying?the time to pick up the needed arti? cles at prices considerably below former markings. FINK FURNITURE Representative styles in suits for bed room, dining room, draw? ing room?odd piece?the buffet, the sideboard, table you want is awaiting your selection. Sec the display now. WITHERSPOON BROS. FURNITURE CO. "a! I W. K. Tavel CIVIL ENG INKER. ft and 4 LAM) SURVEYOR V? tip ajf Ollice o\er Bank of Sumter. ,ft Piano Tuning, Mr. Edmund U. Murray off< ra his HerViCCS t<> these Who Iiecd MI. C . p( l't and experienced Piano and Organ tuner and repairer. References fur? nished and work guaranteed. Address EDMUND R. MURRAY, Sumter, S. C. r YOUR BANK ACCOUNT; OUR DESIRE. Your Satisfaction ; Our Pleasure Your Need; Ours to Supply Let's Talk it Over THE PEOPLE'S BANK, Capital $50,000 12 W. Liberty St. Sumter, S. C LIME, CEMENT, \^.Ji^^^ Hav CXru\x\ Ki'"? Flour, 9bip stuff. Brun, xia v, vjidiu. Mixed Cow end chicken Peed. Horses, Mules, V**0?? an:d: No Order Too Large Or Too Small. Booth-Harby Live Slock Co. SUMTER. SOUTH CAROLINA. Time to Ltet Your Property -o Now is the time to list your farm property for sale during the coming fall. Property to be sold to advantage has to be inspected and properly advertised. It takes time to inspect 75 or 100 places. If, therefore, you have propert> which you expect to offer for sale this fall, list it now. My sales the past season amounted 10 over $200,000. This means I have been able to sell property for others. If your prices are right, I can sell yours. Write for description blank and listing contract -<> C1TY, FARM AND TIM? BER PROPERTY HAN? DLED REAL ESTATE LOANS NEGOTIATED. R. B. BELSER, 26 1-2 N. Main St. Real Estate Attorney. MONEY INVESTED IN REAL ESTATE MORT? GAGES LET ME IWEST YOUR IDLE MONEY Af 7 AND 8 PER CENT Sumter, S. C. you dont need to Ask a fxvor IF YOUR MONEY Many a man ha: KEPT HIS OWN SALARY LOW because he has not saved his money and shown his em? ployer that he was independent of him. Make OUR Bank YOUR Bank. We pay liberal interest consistent with safety 4?. First National Bank OF SUMTER. Seed Potatoes! Seed Potatoes! Strauss' Satisfactory Selling Seed Potatoes Makes for Good Results?Big Yields. EARLY ROSE, IRISH COBLER AM) BLISS Direct from Maine. \\\w Your Sweet Potatoes l'rom A. A. Strauss & Co. PIIOXK s: 2f> N. Main Street Sumter, S. (i SPIXi.M. \ l \ I \ lion TO MAID ORDKIIS.