Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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C^r?oLitcbman aiti ifoutbran. PubllHluHl VYcdnc-*lu) ami Saturday. ?BT? OSTEEN PUBLISHING COMPANY Sl'MTKU. S. C. 1 rrms; $1.50 per annum?in advance. Advertisement*: One Square first insertion.$1.00 ?very subsequent Insertion.50 Contracts for three months, or longer wilt be made at reduced rates. All communications which sub? serve private Interests will be charged for as sdvertlsements. Obituaries and tributes of respect will be charged for. The Sumter Watchman was found? ed in 1H50 snd the True Southron in litt. The Watchman snd Southron sow has the combined circulation snd Influence cf both of the old paper*, sad is manifestly the best sdvertlslng ?tedium In Sumter. ????"~ The State i I >rrowlng $600,000 to pay running expenses until taxes are collected next fall. This annual floating debt resul'.s from the legis? lature making appropriations in ex cess of the Income of the State. The sum that it Is necessary to borrow le tide the State over has grown larger In recent years, and we may expect It to becomo so large eventually that a bond issue will be needed to pay it off. A MATTER OF MONEY. When City Council plunged into the laying of concrete sidewalks on a wholesale scale by ordering the pav-. Ing of Church street from Broad to Liberty, we sounded a timely warn- , tng that the financial condition of tht city, as show n by the statement made in council meeting by the finance committee, did not warrant so am? bitious a programme. According to the report of tho finance committee, made at the same meeting the Church Street paving was ordered, or at the meeting Just prior thereto, the total possible incomo of the city for th next year?April 1, 1911 to March ?1 It 13?would bo required to pay or? dinary running expenses of the city and obligations for permanent 'mpro\ previ >usly contract? ed. In the face of this the "hur"!, street paving was ordered, and on top of It comes the demand from Washington street that the fSVtewalks be bnnm dlnt?pav? 1 on that street al?o. rege.i dies* of the fact that lh< I v hau no surplui in fho treasur?- ind Is now running on hagOowed n.i ;bat must ie i puj when taxes are collected this fall. Thee is Justico In the demand of the Washington stroet property owners. If It is considered as an abstract proposition The ClMff h street pre cedent supplies art Insontl00Sftthl argument in support >f the demand j en council. The financial condition of the city Is n w no different from what It was whin the Church street paving was cid r d. ? I ? pt It is a little deeper In debt than it would have hoen had Church street remained un? paged. Washington street has the argument on Its side even If it never gets the concrete sidewalks, but we do not see how city council can un? dertake paving on any other street until and expenditure are brought nearer together. There is no money on hand to pay for such werk, the current year's Income has been appropriated. It Is Illegal to con? tract debts In excess of the current year's Incme and the city is slready bonded to the limit, hence there is no source from which to derive the money for additional Imprvements. If the city goes blindly ahead con? tracting debts which there is not mon? ey on hand, or In sight, to pay, a big floating debt will piled up and even the money to pay the ordinary run? ning expense* of the city government will be hard to llnd To make ? hmg story short, coun? cil got Itself h to a hole when it com? mitted ItsHf lo ih ? Church street pa\ mir props>-\\Ion ami it fTOnnirl g. t out of th i ? u ft Hi r hoi. ; the best It can do now in ih present pre? dicament If ! ? r fttOS to dig ;\ deeper hole. Wnshlssston and nil other gtreet* must wait a mile longer for Concrete -dd- walks. KM |*M MXI Ii Ell l\M I.I I If, Kent lick > Woman M*ml<4 I wo Load Into Man > Hod \ . Somerset. K> . April 13, A I n i? tlonul ti ii,..l. was ? naeted m ar Oppens.i lodoy, when htm Mag i ? nil ? ?. t and killed Dnlton M ? dow*. a treolthy merchant and ihn her dealer. Mrs. I.? \\\s Is alleged to have us? d a doub|. .barreb-d shot gun. th?? contents of both barr. Is ? nterlng Meadows' body. l'la\ al fdOSSOflO, ??>ut In tin- StgOStS," played at Oswego school house I'rlduy night. April 21. i9ii. lor ihe bonofll of mis? sionary Hod' h i:.- -are i,, ,-om?\ The play s entertaining and ton. hing, re freshrients served. Admission only 36 cent* ?dulta; 15 children. Many Things Combine to Make It an Uncertain Operation. THE NUMBER OF CARS COUNT Likewise the Momentum and the Brak? ing Power and the Temperature of the Rails?Freight Traine More Un? certain Than Pasesnger Trains. "In what distance can a train be brought to a stop? Weil, that de? pends." said the grizzled eugiueer. with a hand like a ham aud an eye that could see red, white aud green a mile away down a silvery track. "That depends, son. aud the more I think of It the more I realize how it depends on circumstances. "In the first place, it depends on the noinber of cars you have on your train. The fewer cars you have the quicker you can stop, eh? Well, that's where you're dead wrong." The engi? neer rested his guarled tjst across his knee as If it were a tifteen pound monkey wrench. "Yes, sir," he re? peated, "If you've got that Idea you're wrong, just like folks are likely to be on railroad mutters which they don't know anything about. Now. the fact is thst a certain type of englr*? can be atopped quicker If it has a half dozen freight cars hooked on to It. That's so because there are brakes on each of ( I the enrs. and they all grind into the wheels when you sling on the emer? gency Why wouldn't it stop quicker if you had a dozen cars on instead of ' six? Well, sonny, for the simple rea? son that the weight of the train, or. i rather, the momentum, overcomes the braking strength of your air, and so you're carried along. If you had less than six cars it would be Just the other way?you wouldn't have enough braking power to overcome what weight you have got. Yes. sir, with every freight traiu and with every passenger truln there Is a certain number of cars necessary to make the train most effective when It comes to stopping quickly. This is a very prac? tical question too. An engiueer will say to himself, 'Well, I've got more cars on today; I'll have to put on brakes sooner In ,?uer to stop Just right at the station.' "1 once heard an engineer say that an engine with a baggage car and two passenger coaches traveling at tho rate of thirty-five miles an hour would re? quire about 600 feet to stop and trav? eling at twenty-five miles an hour would require 400 feet to halt. Now. I he was Just guessing, or else he had a particular train and particular condi? tion* In mfBd and most likely partic? ular t'iii"?? in mind The fact is you r-sn't ted srlthlo vrbat dletancs n traiu I can he stopp* I "Why, take the. samt tvpe r.f angine and the Be UM type of caches and run them over the same track and apply the brakes in precisely the same man? ner and the two trains will not stop In the same distance of track. Indeed. 1 take the same train over the very I same track at different times, run her [ at exactly the same speed and apply I the brakes In the very same manner I and you can't stop In the same dls I tance. Engineers would like to stop at each station at precisely the same spot that they did the day before. Do they ever do it? No. son. they don't, be? cause It can't be done. "The stopping of a train depends on conditions. Just as I said before. Kn? giueers who have traveled over a par? ticular road for years can't do it. Some? times the conditions vary to such an axtent that the train Is run past the station. Everybody hss seen that doue. And then the engineer says things un? der bis bresth and backs up his train to let the passengers on and to take on baggage. Sonny, engineers never know within yards where their trains will stop. "Freight tralus are more uncertain than passengers. This is so because it doesn't matter as much. An applica? tion of teu pounds of air may produce no braking at all, due to the wear of the system, and. on the other hand, fif? teen pounds might put on more brake thau the engineer wanted. He may throw ou a small quantity of air, and without fspoettag it the emergency brakes get Into action as a result. When the brakes are already on the engineer may release them a little and by so doing release them entirely, so that the train leaps forward. So. you see, you can't always tell what the brukes are going to do. "Von wouldii t suppose that the tem peruftire of Ihe rails would make any difference abuul brakes, would youH It's a fad A rule of thumb that a train will brake twice as quickly In the winter as in the summer. The Wheels stick to the rails more when I bey are cold. The scientific folk tell y<>u tfcjsjf the cohesion is greater. And. another thing, the oil on the rail when l It Is warm Is more slippery. All the steel rods, pipes, etc., on a warm day uro tipanded, and so IbOS have t<> iiio\ ?? through greater distances to i>c COsos effective, When they are con tra< t? d by the cold the brakes grip tho wheels that much quicker and tighter with Iba same itmouut of air that you applied on ii a:irm day, "Yon see sonny, every read In the country keeps mlis on the temperature threo or four limes i das all along Its Ilms Teni|M*rature I* quite :<n Important thing In railroading, Ad this goes to nhow thai there is quite n lot of science in running trains \nd I never saw n man o i who had been In the service nn lonu. thai be couldn'l l*?aru heap of Minu/s The fellows who think 'ii>"U' ih??lr hustnes* are RlWHV* e;i?!?UlV \eu York rr.il.une Bend ui > our job norb FIRST SUBMARINE. The American Turtle Was Tried Out at New York In 1776. GAVE THE BRITISH A SCARE. Her Attempt to Blow Up the English Frigate Asia Didn't Succeed, but the Enemy's Ships Fled In Terror?Her j Second Ev.apjde Sealed Her Fate. The American Turtle deserved a bet ter fate. It was the first submarine war vessel of the United States. It was tried out In 177G In New York harbor. Its Inventor and builder was David BuS Until of Connecticut, of whom little is known. The man who went under water with It and In New York bay tried to blow up the British frigate Asia, under General Washing? ton's orders, was Colonel Ezra Lee. The Turtle was built at Saybrook. Conn. After Its vicissitudes of being captured, sunk and resting for years at the bottom of the Last river it was raised and taken back to its birthplace. Ther". after more years, it was taken to pi"ces. Its metal went into grand? father's clocks, which are still ticking In the LrUways of New York and New England aomes. Its oaken, pitch smeared tlubers were put to struc? tural uses a.id all trace of them lost, i Bushneil did uot get even a tardy re j ward for his inventiveness. The coun? cil of safety of Connecticut in 1777 di? rected that he be paid ?200 for his services in "annoying ships." but there ' Is no record that he ever got the money. Here is the story of the American I Turtle's first exploit as It is told in I the quaint phraseology of tho yellow? ing manuscript where it was set dowu long ago: "When the British fleet lay in the North river, opposite the city of New York, and while General Washington had possession ">/ the city he was very anxious to be rid of such neigh? bors. David Bushnell of Saybrook In? vented a submarine curiosity called the American Turtle, which received General Washington's approval for that purpose. A brother of the in? ventor was to operate the machine, but on trial he declined to hazard his serv | Ice. Colonel Lee. distinguished for his courage aud patriotism, volunteered his services, and after practicing with the machine to discover its powers a night was fixed upon for the attempt "General Washington r ud his associ? ates lu the secret took their stations upon the roof of a house on Broad? way, anxiously awaking the result Morning came, but no intelligence of the bold naTtgator. While tho nntton* ?pactato a ware abooi i * give him as lost several barges were seen start mddcniy from Governors isuuai. then In i o*oassl< a of the British, and lUONe tOWnrd buuie oujeel L?CU4 Asia, ship of the line, and as suddenly they were seen to put about and steer for the Island with springing oars. In two or three minutes un explosion | took place from the surface of the wa? ter, resembling a waterspout which j aroused the whole city. The enemy's i ships took the alarm, cut their cables ?ad proceeded to the Hook with all possible dispatch, sweeping their bot? toms with chains and with difficulty preventing their affrighted crews from . leaping overboard. "Colonel Lee. coming to the surface during this scene of consternation. whs obliged again to descend to avoid I the enemy's shot from the Island. I After forcing his machine against a | strong current under water he lauded safe at the Battery amid a great trowd. General Washington express? ing himself as much pleased that the object was effected without the loss of life. "Colonel Lee had been under the Asia more than two hours endeavor? ing to penetrate ber bottom, which, be? ing sheathed with copper, resisted all attempts to attach the magazine to the shjp." I Apparently the American Turtle made one more attempt to "annoy the enemy's shipping*' before she ended her i career. Another old diary preserved by | a Connecticut family mentions this in- , cldent. It seems that the Turtle. I manned by some nameless hero, per? | haps Dgalo by Colonel Lee, though the ; chronicler does not state, made an at- ' tempt to blow up a British ship In the East river, By this time the British appear to bars discovered what nature of craft it was that had essayed to de? stroy the Asia and so were on tbe lookout for anything suspicious thai disturbed the surface of tbe water. At any rate, the American submarine \mih discovered before s!ic bad made any progress on her second mission of de? struction. The British boats gave chase. Coo ?ldering that the maximum speed ol the Turtle was three miles an hour, tbe pursuit could not have been a very long one. At any rate, s u American vessel, probably some small schooner, was waiting for the submarine, nnd the Turtle lied thither for protection. Hastily the odd looking craft was hoisted aboard, sail was set. and tnc American boat tried to show a cleou pair of heels to her pursuer, but It in vain. She was sunk by the English guns. For ti long time the Turtle lay In tho submerged vessel's hold. After the war was over, however, Iii?' ship was raised and the Turtle was recovered and car tied back to Saybrook. If every one else had forgotten ber und her achieve incuts bj thiil lime the people of bet inventor's native 'own still held tho Turtle In affeetkmate reinetnl.ranee. - j Thaddens s liayton in Boston Post. I The Why and Wherefore of Many Army Customs. HAND AND SWORD SALUTES. The Origin of the Former Goes Back to the Time of the Borgias and the Latter to the Knights of th? Cru? sades?Funeral Volleys and Taps. Why does a soldier when saluting a superior raise his hand to his head covering? The beginning dates hack to the time of the Borgia*, if not to an earlier date In those days assassina? tion was in vogue, and in order that an inferior might not have a superior at advantage the inferior was com? pelled when coming into his superior's presence to raise his right hand, palm to the front, to show that no dagger was concealed there. From this old custom our hand salute has come down The salute with the sword was not done that way in the beginning with? out any reason. When knights of the crusades received their orders it was tho custom for them to call upon God to witness their assumption of tho orders given. To do this the sword was raised to the front so that tho hilt reached the lips, when the cross formed by the hilt and blade could be kissed and an oath registered to carry out the orders faithfully. The drop? ping of the sword, point to the front, indicates submission. Why In the funeral eorteee of \ mounted othcer or soldier Is the hoise. saddled and equipped, with the boots of the late rider placid heels to the front in the stirrups, led to the place of burial? To show by reversal of the boots the owner's march has ended. We must go back to the days of the Romans for the reason why In th-? service three volleys are fired over the open grave of a comrade. Among the Kornaus the burial consisted of the throwing of earth three times on the coffin. Three times was the dead man called by name, which ended the cere? mony, and as the friends and relatives departed each said "Vale!" three times. So as a farewell to our dead comrades we tire three volleys over the grave. Then the service called taps Is sounded, this closiug the ceremony. Why should the call taps be sounded it preference to any other? Because taps Is the call for "lights out," aud the lights of life are out In the com? rade who has "Joined the silent bivouac of the dead." This ending of a service funeral dates back to the early forties, but did not become a fixed custom till late lu the civil war. There was a reasou for causing all witnesses beforx t military court ! ? remove the glove fn m the itgt< baud before takln,' the oath. The raising of lue bands and eyes toward heaven when t ?] :ing an oath is of great .. ? uquity. ?vben Luc Bible was printed the bare hand was laid on the book, which was afterward kissed. But the Bible was not always at hand when needed. So the custom of raising the right hand and uncovering the head has grown Into general practice. In olden days the criminal was branded in the palm of the right hand, and for this reason the custom of requiring the removal of the glove came into vogue in order that the hand might be Inspected. The colored silk sash long worn by officers of our army, which for many years has ceased to form part of the uniform, except for general officers, was not adopted simply because It looked pretty. It was originally in? tended that this sash, which was very strong, woven of silk and could be stretched out to over a yard in width, should be used as a hammock lr which wounded officers could be carried off the battlefield. And likewise the guady colored horsehair plume that flowed from the helmet was not placed there because It looked so well. The original hair plume hung down on the shoulders of the wearer, and it was intended that it should he a safeguard against a saber cut aimed at the back of the neck, for v.he long thick hair would turn the ')low and save decapitation or an ugly wound. Today the little hair tuft seen on the headdress of mounted soldiers is the result. There Is a reason why the Hag at half stall as an indication of sorrow, must always be hoisted to the top of the stafT before being lowered. The fiag is saluted when raised ami low? ered only when it is at the peak of the staff. So when it is necesasry to display it at half mast it must be rais? ed to the top befor?' being finally low? ered, for at this time the gun tires its salute, and either the band or the trumpeters are sounding appropriate music or call. Twenty-one guns, the number fired In the International salute, were not ?elected nt random. The number was chosen by our government because it was the number long used by the Brit ish for their International salute. Why the British u d tWOIltJ one guns was no doubl due to an curly ctistoi 1 which bad for n warship salute seven guns A fori was allowed m fire ihree nines ns many guns ;>>. a warship, becno* in those days it wa- dihVuli lo keep powder In good condition at sea. h could be kept In good condition on land, and consequently the shore batter} was allowed a larger number, or twenty < ne When the time arrived t!i :t better powder w as made au ' H could be car rled ;'t without deterioration Ihe warship was allowed the same tin in bor of gun* m> rue snore DAttery, and the tweuty-otic nr loony urs the result - Major R, W Alk nson, 1 s. A . ' ? Chicago Bei ord I lerald. Send US your job work. How It May Run In a Deep Rut In the Matter of Lcoality. LAMENT OF A MAN WHO MOVED The Homesickness That Came With Working Uptown After Twenty Years of Routine Travel to and From and In the Down*.??,: Dietriot. There arc thousands and thousands of men In New York city whoso busi? ness has been confined to one district for twenty years or more, whose dally routine seldom flueioates, who r>r?? punctual In traveling by a certain train every day In the week, who reach their offices, barring tie-up*, at a regu? lar hour and take up their dally grind and hold to it until tie hour of closing. Many of these men unconsciously get to know and make friends of people whose names they never learn. They become attached to localities In a strange sort of way and do not realize how strong is the attachment. Here Is the story of one of ihem into whose life there has conio a change through moving that startles and surprises him and throws a quaint light upon some of the city's people. "In the twenty years that T was downtow n." tho man said in telling his experience, "I wgs in the habit, weath? er peri. ittLnrt, of taking n wall; after the lunohoo-i hour every day In some street between City nail and the Bat? tery. I havo footed every hit of un? built ground In that territory. What marvelous changes hare come in those twenty yearsl How many signs on buildings have changed In that time! now many houses have been pulled down! How many new* ones have gone Up, some of them towering skyward, to take tho places of the landmarks? "I got to know tho lower end of town so well I conld shut my eyes and make a mental picturo of many of the blocks and see tho names on the build? ings. If I wanted any article, from shoelaces to anything elaborate, I knew exactly whore to get them. If some particular dish were desired I knew where it could he served and Just what it would cost. ?"A great city never stAnds stilt It is as restless as the great deep. But the man who becomes a part of it does not think until ho yets away from the part of it where he has done busi? ness what the changes are. When I began, my strolls there were no tun? nels under the two rlrers. In the years thst have drifted away great bridges hare been constructed be? tween Manhattan ai.d Long Island. It does not seem long since I used to boor tbft restSesfl puff of the < ar! r?*J locoaiotlves of the elevated ajVcui, yet to gradually did toe old ortier pass fhtit I do not distinctly reeall whea the present system ^ree tDera'ivj. **xi*3 changes umu look ptace iu business firms were interesting. Idany, many times I have e<3cn the name of the man who established a trade taken down and that of his son or tons take its placo. Bo frequently were the same people met in the same place and at the same hour that we nodded at we passed, although none of us knew the name of the nodder. "Not long ago the business with Vilich I am connected made a jump Uptown. Never until I took my traps uptown had I any occasion to walk In the street where our new building stands. The first day I went out to luncheon I had to search for a res? taurant. It seemed odd. I saw peo? ple I never saw before, I read signs one of my fool habits?I never read before. Many of the vehicles that passed were quite unlike those I used to see downtown. Ml had to change, nv hour and route for coming to business. For awhile I had to watch the street signs to know where to get off. Hew I missed the familiar call of tho guard of the car? for I always came down in the same car in the makeup of the elevated train?the one I always boarded at the same hour. "And that makes me think. I came to know by their faces most of the passengers who boarded that train at my station. I knew where most of them got off. Now that I am In new quarters in a now section I miss all these people with whom I traveled for years. Do they miss me, I wonder? "And the many whom I came to know downtown?how they will be missed! There Is the old street preach? er who use I to stand on a soap box nour Wall street or an tbe stone steps of tho custom house and talk to people in tho summer days and again In the days that betokened the coming of au? tumn. Then there were the Lenten Ba3's when l spent a part of my hour at Trinity or In old St. Paul's. I came to know the regular attendants on those serTlCOS so that thO strangvrs became conspicuous. There aro no street preachers In the new district to which 1 have gone. 1 wonder why the middle district of the great city doesn't need spiritual direction as well ?s tho downtown districts, ?*.\nd so it seems sometimes- that I am In a new town, among now people, seeing now buildings, rending new slgiM. henring new voices, but all In tho tame old New York. Ami when 1 think of thf> old walks I have fnkon downtown, tbe old buildings that 1 passed so often that they Itecnuio ns familiar hs the faces I met and HOTOT knew by name, of tho strotls along the two rfver*. of tho craft I saw so often coming snd going when 1 thing of all thOSfl there enmo* over me that port of feeling that a boy has when ho misses his mother, i think it In called homesickness." New York Press, t>h, t< nderly Ih< i ills his blue ur FELL INTO BOILING LYE SOAP. Twelve-Year-Old <>irl Dies from In? juries Received. Winston-Sahni, N. CM April 12.? V. bile playing with other children in the yard v>f her parents' home, near Friendship Baptist Church, yesterday, Gertie Hargrove, aged 12, stumbled ?<. n<l fell into a kettle of boiling soap, sustaining burns from which she died early today. Easter Lgg Hunt. There will be an Easier Kg? hunt Monday afternoon from 4 to 5 o'clock, April 17 ,at the residence of Mrs. 3. A. Schwerin, No. 24 Magnolia Street, for the benefit of the new Catholic church. After the egg hunt refresh? ments will be sold from 5 to 7 P. M. Everybody is invited to attend. Little Willie Again. "Pa!" came little Willie's voice from the darkness of the nursery. Pa gave a bad imitation of a snore. Fb whs tired and did not wish to be disturbed. "Pa" came the little voice again. "What is it Willie?'* replied his father, sleepily. "Turn in here; I want to ast you sumpin'said the little voice. So pa rose up from his downy couch and putting on his bathrobe anil slippers, marched into othe nur? sery. "Well, what is it now?" he asked. "Say. pa," said little Willie, "if you Was to feed the cow on soap would she give shaving cream?"?Harper's Weekly. T. P. A. Men Boost .1. C, Lanhani. The T. P. \. men traveling out from Sumter and belong'ng to Post G, are meeting with such success in their effort to boost Mr. J. C. Lanham of Summerton, for State pjresid^nt of the T. P. A., he having been declar? ed the nom'nee from this post for that high office. The election will come off in May when the State convention of travel? ing men meets in Greenwood and it is probable that before that time much more work will be done in his be? half by the delegates appointed from this place to attend the State conven? tion and othei members of Post G. '"apt. J. N. Philips reports that his oat crop has been seriously damaged p>y Ehe i i - .-n bu? j est. 5< m< : : lions I of his tietds are so badly Int? ct< d arith ; myriads of the bugs ? the oats I have turaed red and are. <:v The discussion of an electric rail? way from Sumter to Camden has been revived. It is the supposition that the Southern Power company that is de? veloping" a large hydro-electric power six miles above Camden, is encourag? ing the promoters of the ptpooed en? terprise. Corn is coming up to a stand and many farmers are well advanced with cotton planting. The lands have been exceptionally well prepared and Sum? ter county will make, a record break in? crop this year, if the seasons are propitious. As one of the most suc? cessful farmers In Sumter county re? member a short time ago. "We are just learning how to farm in Sum? ter county?we are beginning to find out h >w much our land is capable of producing under intelligent treatment. News has been received in Sumter that Capt G. C. Warren had arrived in San Antonio, Texas, and had been assigned to his quarters at that place. He stated In his letter to friends that he was enjoying himstlf and that he found the military man oeuvers very- interesting and instruc? tive. Attorney General Lyon left Wed nee day for Charleston, where he will ap pear before Judge Gary in the Det* yens case, which Involves the payment of about $3.000 on the bond of the former ciunty treasurer of George? town county, who was found short In his accounts to the extent of about $9.060. HUNTS Ligmmxg Oil THE LINIMENT sold B> SI BERT'S l>RI i. STORE I