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.

VOICE FROM THEJPAST. m mi -i rrs S< IKMil, i i \< II I K \S II i NN Ns UAMMII 1? FKOM SOl Ttl ( AUO. UM v Au Vrtlclo 11' ? ordtng IIb* I l\|?crleiice?? In Barn well, WhHi Was Written NovemlMr 1JV, IHttO. l*ublUli?Hl for I Ir^t Time \ IVw Mays Ago The Most?.a Journal of Maivh -Jud ult. printed a letter that was written for publication In that paper more than fifty years as*"- The author, tor tome reason, never sent his ar? ticle to the paper and It lay undis? turbed In his desk for more than a half eentur> until It was discovered by the executor of the writer. The author of the letter was W. C. Wood, a graduate of Harvard, who had but the day before returned from South Carolina under unusual cir? cumstances. The story is best told in the author's own language, and the letter is reproduced in full herewith. The letter is interesting to South Car ollnans of the present generation. In that it throws light upon the con? ditions existing and tho prevailing sen? timent In this State Just before South Carolina withdrew from the Union. The author of this letter served In the Federal army throughout the war. After the surrender at Appo mattox. he entered the ministry and was for nearly fifty years in charge of large churches near Boston, years In charge of large churches near Boston. The letter follows. To the Editor of The Boston Journal: I noticed in your paper of last evemng an article on my return home from South Carotins. One or two Inaccuracies I might notice. I should per'er .however, if one csae out of many Is sufficiently Interesting to your readers, to give them a more detailed account of the treatm*- ,t I received. I shall thus answer ques? tions which will be asked me a thous? and times once for all and more cor? rectly than rumor \\..uld do it. I arrived at Blackville, nln 'v miles from Charleston, at 8 o'clock on Monday evening. November 5. Step? ping upon the platform I was almost Immediately surrounded by a group of young men. Finding that they wore a vigilance committee. I answer? ed their questions until they asked: "What are your political opinions? Are you in favor of Mr. Lincoln's election?" My answer was: "1 beg your pardon, gentlemen: I have noth? ing to say to you on political mat? ters" They asked me to stop, examined my trunk and a chest containing my library until late Monday night and for an h >ur or two Tuesday morning. The examination was conducted with politeness and delicacy. They found little against me?nothing, as they told me?which materially changed their impression. However, as I was a Northern man?that was sufficient. Would Send Me Safe Home. The chief of the vigilance commit? tee told me privately that such was the feeling that, were it not for sev? eral circumstanc a, "I would not have been let go with a whole skin." However, they would send me horn safe, pay my passage and keep my books until the money was refund? ed. This feeling, so strong then, grad? ually chanK? d. A f- - ling sprang up sr. J gathered ground that I should be sent on to my employer. The meet? ing broke up without being able to agree. 1 was informed of this by one of th* members, who advised me to proceed. 1 told him "No: I ra not going to run away. I was stopped officially, and I must have official no? tice that I may leave." This ?! presently received. Thus thlM storm. I thouaht. had passed away. At Marnwell, ten miles distant. I enjoyed the hospitality of the Baptist minister. In the afternoon my em plgjssf < from a neighboring town) called. WhHe conversing with hbn I WHS U?h XpeetedlV Waited Upotl by gentlemen wh ? wished my attend? ance In the village. \v?. pio<.led to the Court House. I shall not hi likely to forg-t Ute OOOnstOg)! many circumstance^ hiveotsd It with Inter? est. It was Marnwell Curt House, fron which years ago. under mem orable i IfsjUPjaftajM ? tin v nt awa\ tli" 'en..raM Jude?- Hoar, It was an as-ru'dy composed of the moMt respect i a,- m< n ot tin- place, Tie re were Ihe edlKUted 111 n. I'll' minister (at least) and ihe phy*t< t IM I of l||. lOVOj? Then- wen t ... nnroipii stave holders, and :? large plant' r of a.e?ni u< i. nal In ? In ? hair. \Vcl (out |eoii^ Ibroi uboiH. Tie- pro, , .! nt- were pur Ha it tarv ard courteous throughout I stood at lh" tnhle >( a little M < htin mm. Ins shortest, I bOllOVOi in my slnss nl N irvnrd)?and In? lOfTOSjhtOffos wo pot !?? no one by \?ne. What wer.- my sentiments on sis\?ry. the egtsnslim, Mr. Lincoln's Cleetloji. Ihe higher law. Irrepressible conflict, ete . etc. 1 answered them fairly. When I could reply without ?j t I did so when 1 could not 1 declined to answer, S|. hes w?-i e made ?f< i und i .? iiist. All expressed their admir atnm at IhO Obit and bonOSt manner m which i hud born? myself through? out. Many who did so said that convictions of dutj compelled them to vote against my stay. The vote st.i II to y. The vigilance com? mittee generously raised the money on the spot to pay my expenses home. Thus far 1 hud met only courteous and DOnotdcrutC treatment. After a day spent under the roof of Rev, Mr. i ry- himself a slaveholder?I re? turned to lUackvllle. On the train I was Insulted by a fellow, who drag? ged me Into the negro car (there was no one to say nay) and persisted In sitting by my side, threatening me with whipping, paddling and hang? ing, and who, on my refusal to ans? wer his queslrons, drew his knife to > cut off my ear. A pretended friend offered me a pistol; told me I should need it be? fore I reached Charleston. Of course I declined It. At Hambergs, where they had hanged a man short? ly before, "the fellow" went nut and called the vigilance committee, sev? eral of whom entered the cr. ?.?id endeavored by main strength to force me from the car to hang me. I had a good hold end they couldn't move me, but they tore my coat badly In tho struggle. The cars, moreover, were starting; they tried In vain to get them stop? ped and were forced to desist. The conductor quietly extended all the protection, as I think, he thought safe for him to do. Arriving at Charleston he procured me an officer, who conducted me to the guardhouse. It was not safe, the chief of police told me, to go aboard until the boat was about to start. They congratu? lated me on my narrow escape. Next day the officer attended me to the boat. Here ends the story. Northern Papers Mlsn^rcscntctl. In addition to the election and se? cession excitement there have been several cases of well-polsonlng and slave-arming. But extreme abolition? ists are not the only ones who have fanned the excitement. The editors of those Journals of the North who have misrepresented the desl{*r of the Republican party have done quite as much. I think, to produce the re? sult. Mad mlschleff makers! Even the personelle of the Republican candidates has been misrepresented. Why. in South Carolina they really betlwVO that Senator Hamlin, vice president elect, is a mulatto man. If I have not left the impression. I wish to state that I hu\e the beat reasons for saying that my return is owing to no Imprudenc on my part, i could not change any act done or recall any sentence uttered before the two vigilance committees. I say this for two reasons. < 1 >, In justice to myself! (2), to show that no Northern man with Northern principles, however prudent and well-intentioned, is wanted In South Carolina today l was told that many times. But I may al?> "sans peur." It would be only a grateful acknowl? edgement to the Power who kept me "in perfect peace, according to His promise, to say that the fear of man did not once cross my mind while I was on Carolina soli, In that not only menacing but dangerous journey on the cars, many pictures of peace were In my mind. An Incident of the Russian campaign came back to me. I remembered that I had heard how, on that memorable march, Na? poleon was told that the road which his army must pass was lined on both sides with the most deadly ar? tillery; how his soldiers, hearing this, crowded In a cir< la about him. ten. twenty, thirty deep; how the band struck up the peaceful tune, "Cairn In th < booom Of his family," and he was borne safe through that deadly puss. This was a mirror of tho peace which reigned in my mind. Such. Mr. Bdltor, is a brief but fair account of my reception In South Carolina and my return home. I have at last ranched a State where T chii express openly the suppressed .My nnd satisfaction i fell on South Carolina ground, on hearing thai ? new and bett r era has begun In our history. Tours very truly. Wild. I \ W? Ml|l, Ik m on ya litch i? in r i IIa* il. ? Prot The i le rton Journal Nw . 14, i ICS > ? Moir Knflfcrcra bj Hie Southern Punic " "Among the passengers on the steamer Hou*h Carolina, which ar 1 Hv< d le re this morning from . I 'hai U iton, u i, \tr< w ?\\'o id, ? graduate of Harvard < Jollege, l la , Is another sufferer from the prevail? ing SSi item, ill r. i tl S tilth, allh High j ha received no harm dherwlse than the ki i of i situation, and was gen? erally treated with kindness and consideration. lie was engagod us a i tutor ht the Interior of South Caro Una, and had just reached that State u hi n the recent disunion fever [ broke out. Boon after hla arrival at the place where his service! were required, he found the community very much ex< Ited, and was told by h! ' employers and < there that per? haps his own safety and comfort w ould he ||k< ly to become endan ii il if he accepted the position ho w 11 to OCCUpy, ami advised him lo return North? This was said in the kindest manner, and an offer was made to pay his passage home. He accordingly left and suffered no mo? lestation except on one occasion, when in the railway cars, at which time he. was somewhat hustled, but roeelvad no harm, as the conductor of the train afforded him protection. He arrived In Charleston in the height of the excitement, and was advised to procure the services of an Officer, which he did. and with his consent was placed In the guard hous^ for safety. He immediately took passage on the steamer and re? turned home." TOM L. JOHNSON DEAD. Twice Congressman and Four Times Mayor of Cleveland ? Three-Cent Fare Advocate. Cleveland. Ohio. April 10.?Tom L. Johnson, twice congressman from the Twenty-first Ohio district, four times mayor of Cleveland, champion of three-cent street railway fares and prominent advocate of the single tax theories of the late Henry George, died In his apartments at 8:45 o'clock tonight, after a long illness. Death was caused by cirrhosis of the liver. He was 57 years old. How to Got Hundred-Bushel Corn Crop. A farmer who says that his land has been worked in cotton for many years, and on wnich he has once made 800 pounds of lint an acre with 500 pounds of fertilizer an acre, wants to put that land In corn this year, and wants to know what fertilizer he shall j use to make 100 bushels of corn an acre. . Perhaps. If the season is very fav? orable and he piled the fertilizer on with a lavish hand, he may possibly 1 get the corn. But he will ilnd that every bushel in excess of what he would have had without the fertiliz ?f will cost him about as much as it would sell for on a fair market in the South where corn is usually high? er than elsewhere. The mere getting of a big crop of corn regardless of expense is not good farming. There, is an old Latin proverb: "Nemo repente turpissima quit." Which moans that no man i ever became suddenly vile. The down-hill road is always by degrees. The sam Is true of the soil. No soil that was formerly fertile and pro? ductive ever became suddenly poor. It has taken a long series of soil robberies to get it poor. The vile man may, by the grace of God, repent and c hange his life suddenly, but the land must get back by the same road that reduced It to poverty, but the road must be reversed, and we must adopt measures to restore, through Mood farming, tho matters that for? merly made it a virgin soil. The long cultivation in a clean-hoed crop has burnt out all the organic mat? ter. The nitrifying organisms have been starved out and the soli Is acid. It runs together and crusts hard, is colder than It was when new, and it dries out rapidly in summer and crops suffer from lack of moisture. 1 was on a farm last year where the former owner made 25 bushels of corn an acre in a very favorable sea? son, and that farm had on it a crop of corn of 97 1-2 bushels an acre all over the thirty-aere field, and had nothing applied to it but a crim? son clover sod and some lime har? rowred in after turning the clover. What has made the change in that soil? Simply getting back the or ganlo decay of which it had been rob? bed, it has had manure on it for other crops, i have been on a farm In Alabama where the owner claims that he makes corn at a cost of 8 1 centa a bushel, and he does not do it with fertlllsera, but with clover and "< lowana." To try to get tOO wuahela of com an acre on and thai has been cot* toned for mans years will be merely a gnmhle with fertilisers. The way to 100 bushels of corn per acre ll through ^ood rotative farming, the growing of legumes and feeding the forage and making manure This sort of farming enabled Mr. C. K. McQunrrle t<. mike |00 bushels of corn nn acre In west Florida, und it will enable any one In the South to make ln0 bush.-!-; of corn over his whole Held and make it nl a c.-t that will have him profti <ui the crop, while i hei e w ould be none left i vom trying to gi I 100 hush* Is m< r< ly through a lavi li use of fertilizers, it i^ no credit to a farm? er to make 100 bin hels of corn an acre it a cost of 1100, but when he 'makes it ,-t ;t cost nf |9.50 for tin I 100 bushels it shows that he \.* farming und nol gambling with f r? tlltiers, I'roflresslve Farmer, GOMEZ ISSUES STATEMENT. _ I Kays Mexican it evolution National Uprising?Predicts Further Trou? ble Washington, April l".?The Mexi? can revolution is a national uprising and not an individual affair ,in the opinion of i >r. Vasquez Gomes, head of the confidential agency of the rev? olutionists here and, therefore, he believes Francisco L. Madero will not make pearf, except on terms that Will satisfy the entil e rei olutiunary pa rty. Dr. Gomez, In a statement issued tonight, pointed out that another revolution would be forthcoming if the demands of his party are not satisfied. "Gen. Francisco I. Madero," said Dr. Gomez, "c nief of the insurrect? ion, is the champion of the just de? mands of the Mexican people. Gen. Madero will not make peace, except on terms sa .factory to the demands of his supporters, because should this not be we would have another rev? olution, and thia we wish to avoid. "If the present Government of Mexico would recognize the present crisis, we would have peace in twen? ty-four hours, hut before abandoning power, the men that constitute the Government 3fem desirous of satis? fying their country. "It is humiliating to think that Mexico's credit depends on one man ?Dia:: or LImantour?who are striv? ing to make the people believe that should they leave power the country would fall Into a miserable state. The present Government will have to quit their positions to make way for the men of this present progressive movement. For Mexico is rich and only needs good government to make Its credit second to none." DR AW NO COLOR UN F.. ! Negro Women Students Admitted to Sago College Dormitory. Ithaca, N ,T? April 10.?President j Jacob G. Schurman, of Cornell Dnl Iveraltw, today brought to an end the controversy, which has been in prog? ress for four weeks .over admitting negro women students to Sago Col lego dormitory. In a statement Issued by Mrs. J W. Martin, of the women's advisory council, she says that all negro wo? men students are to be admitted to the privileges of the women's dormi? tories if they request admission. When a medicine must be given to young children it should be pleasant to take. Chamberlain's Cough Rem? edy is rrade from loaf sugar, and the roots used in Its preparation give it a flavor similar to maple syrup, mak? ing it pleasant to take, it has no superior for colds, croup and whoop? ing ooujrh. For sale by all dealers. DOING THEIR DUTY. Score** of Sumtor Readers aif> Learn ing the Duty of the Kidneys. To filter the blood Is the kidneys' duty. When they fall to do this the kid? neys are sick. Backache and many kidney ills fol? low; Doan's Kidney Pills build up weak kidneys. ?umter people endorse our claim. Mrs. J. L. Nunamaker, 161 Wright stree:, Sumter, S. C, says: "I know Doan's Kidney Pills to be a remedy of merit and I am willing to recom? mend them. About two years ago I got a supply of this preparation at China's Drug Store, when I was suf? fering from backache and other symptoms of kidney complaint. I was relieved and benefited and I have no further need of a kidney medicine. It gives me pleasure to tell how bene? ficial Doan's Kidney Pills have been to me." For sale by all dealers. Price 50 cents. Foater-MUburn Co., Buffalo, New York, sole agents for the United States. Remember the name?-Doan's?and take no other. No. 10 Is to give value for valtc: reeiv? ed. That is our policy and that is the reason we enjoy such ,i l a r g <? business. Jewelry is sometimes very deceiving and some imitations look alpiosl as I good its the real, when new. How? ever, after you have li id them foi 1 i while you can see the differ? ence. \ i >u can rely ? >n c\ ery thing we sell being exactly ??s represented and that you will get \. >ur money's w< >rth. W. A. Thompson. 6 S, Main St, Jeweler and Optician TO THE BUSINESS MAN Hero you lind a bank where you can talk with an expert who knows the peculiar conditions under which you can do business. Here you are ex? tended the courtesies to which a man in your business and conditions is en? titled. Make use of this bank in your business. THE PEOPLES' BANK, !i W. LIBERTY ST. BCMTER, s. O. The Bank of Sumter Capital and Surplus $147,000.00 This bank has been the friend of the people of Surmer. Nearly a quarter of a century, and has made ior itself muny frieinds and customers. you one? If not the bank wants you. All deposits in savings department received up to 10th inst. will bear interest from 1st. We have provided for customers, American Express Companies' traveler's checks, good any where in the world without identifi? cation. If you anticipate a trip, provide yourself w'th them. They are safer than currency. R. I. Manning, Pres. Bartow W alsh, Cashier Do It Yourself. "Voung Man," says Col. Bright, "You had better put your money in the bank, because it will get there anyhow whether you put it there or not." Do you realize how much truth there is to this statement? Do you know that the wealthy men of the United States handle their money almost entirely through the bank. I think you will admit also that the wealthy men of the country are also the smart men. The smart, wideawake men are the ones who get your money. Most of your money Is spent with business men. These business men invariably take your money when they get it and put it in the bank. Why not put it in the bank yourself? The men who put your money in the bank for you get lots of benefit out of it. Why not get this benefl yourself. You are not too young to commence?neither are you too old. Try It. THE FARMERS' BANK & TRUST CO. A 0 M E PLASTER. SHINGLES LATHS, Fl HE BRICK. DRAIN FE. ETC. LIME, CEMENT, & IJ0,T fi-oir? Rice Flour. Skip Stuff. Bran, lidy, VJTdlll, Mixed Cow aud Chicken Feed. Horses. Mules. lkurn?sles' ?a*0!? &Dd No Order Too Large Or Too Small. Booth-Harby Live Slock Co. SUMTES, SOUTH CAROLINA. DR. N. G. OSTEEN, JR., DENTIST. 18 W. Liberty St. -:- Phone No. 30. -OFFICE BOCRS 8 TO I. -: 2 TO 6. Seed Potatoes! Seed Potatoes! Strauss' Satisfactory Selling Seed Potatoes Makes Tor Good Results?Big Yields. EARLY ROSE, IRISH COBLER AM) BLISS Direct from Maine. Bu> Vour Sweet Potatoes fYom? A. A. Strauss & Co. |*HOXK 85 2(> N. Main Streei Sumter, s. C. I I < I \l ITTF.XTION TO M ORDKKS.