The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, February 17, 1912, Image 2
WORSE AND WORSE.
LJTTTKK WAS CHANCE!? IN
BLRXSK S OFFICE.
Alk? ?t on Mittle hi State's Financial
Aceat, ?f. P. Matthews, In Letter to
she <io*eeu?>r?-TwlMl?d to Holxter
Claim* to Credit in Securing Low
IUt- of Interest on Stete Loan.
Columbia. Feb. 14?J. I?. Matthew?,
financial agent of the State, on Feb?
ruary * addreseed a letter to the
governor of South Carolina In which
ha charged that a previous letter to
the governor, sent to the general as?
sembly In special message on the
State loan incident, had been twlsteJ
and Its meaning changed. The letier '
of Mr. Ifatthewti clears up the cen?
tre wiry between the governor and
RobQffl 11. Jenn-ng*. the State treas?
urer. Mr. Matthew? states in hie let?
ter that he called at the office of th *
governor und dictated a letter on the
Stato loan. The letter was later pre?
sented to Mr. Matthews with the
statement that it was necessary to
cut nut several lines because of repe?
tition. Ha consented, but several
phrase* were added, according to his'
letter. He states that he did not read
ggg letter, upon the statement of the j
stenographer that only the repetition*
been left out. /
For Instance, Mr. Matthews claims '
following lino was Inserted in his
letter! The transaction waa not con- J
lindi A. neither were the notes sign- ,
ed antll after we reached New York." ,
Hiere are several other such alleged
ohangea in the letter. which would
snake it read as substantiating the po?
sition of the gevernor.
The governo** in a special message
tr the general aasembly said "What- |
ever rUf/eeesvc* may have taken place
awrwceri Mr. Matthews, as agent of |
she State, and the State Wraearer a*
la the amounts drawing Interest, Is
ae renerrn of mine, and if the,
rate did ant draw Interest, as
with me tliey should do, Mr
t letter dear 17 shown the
I
f maM only make the agree
H that It afjoald draw Inter
K It waa the doty of the State ureas- ,
to see that the agreement was .
led with."
f n reply to a question from R. H. .
Jennings, the State treaeurer. aa to
the loan drawing interest, as claimed (
ay tho governor. Mr. Matthews made
Igte following at?1 I bj s> Iggggfl
-Tn reply tn your third queMJon,
*jg*Jm la as follow*: What wm the
r*?tw?e? yourself and Oow,
a* t? the borrowed m mej on
tn your bank drawing inter
cat?' I beg tn state that there was
an agveeancnt.'*
-
> Rcn^nabOJty Shifted,
The following message was sent to
ehe general assembly on February 8
by the rovwrnor of South Carolina. |
*Te the Honorable, the Members of
the General Assembly of the State '
ef South Carolina:
'Oentlemen: In my general mes?
sage to the general assembly for 1912. j
und-t the head of 'Finances' 1 made
certain statements; and I herewith ,
transmit to you statements from Mr.
J. Swgej Matthews, cashier of the Pal
ssetto National bank of Columbia, j
and the Hon. George Hell Timmer
snan solicitor of the Eleventh Judic?
ial circuit, in reply to a statement re?
cently filed with you by th* State
We as 11 re r.
"The statements of Messrs. Mat?
thews and Tlmmerman clearly show
that he arrangements for borrow?
ing the money, and the signing of the
notes kg myself, had not been com?
pleted until after we reached New
Tnrk
? I have stated my part of this
transaction lust as It happened; and.
whatever difference* may have taken
plrr between Mr. Matthews, as agent
of the State, and the State treasurer
as to the amounts drying Interest, is
ef * r? concern of mine, and If the
amounts did not draw Interest aa was
agrend with me they should (b?. Mr.
Matthews' letter clearly ?hown the
ion. I Sgejfld only m?ko th.? un-f
it that It should draw Interest; It
the du v of the State treasurer to
that the agreement wu* compiled
with
\>ry respe<ffullv.
?'olo L. Rleaae.
"Governor.
1 ?tun n* S c . fvn <. 151? ?'
l^-.r.i *mm Straight.
1r? following ?*? r wa* s.>n? to It
M 'ennlngs. th#? State treasurer, by
J. I'ope Matthews, financial ngent of
th* State.
"Your letter of the 12th In re for
ggjgg ??? 'to- State lo?n Just r?"-?dved.
nnd t reeret In snv that there were
error? I the 7th to (Jov.
Itleaae.
?"The^r vrrorn were caused by the
rewriting of the letter after I had
read the ?>r?g1nal draft. I did not read
the second copy before signing, as ex?
plained In a letter to the governor, a
*opy of *vhl< h I am enclosing here?
with
l>pivn,g |f Mr^t o.u'-stlon. I
?rill ?*) that It was not nccetsary for
tac governor *?r other State ofacers to
go lo New \<>rk with me to enable me
lo forms* ii tiie money borrowed at S
pre* erviL, aa we contracted to do, a*
evidenced by my bid of April 17, and
aa shown by the receipt of the bank
dated April 20. It has been the cus?
tom In the past for some officer of the
State of South Carolina to go to New
T? rk with me on account of the size
of the transaction, and for the protec.
tlon that such officer could give to the
State.
"Aliiuvcring your second question,
which reads as follows: 'In request?
ing that a State officer should accom?
pany you to New York, was It, or not,
your purpose to furnish the money
needed at a lower rate if possible than
you had offered in your bid?' I will
say that it was my Intention to give
the State the very heal rat?' that I
could |M>HHibly secure for them, and it
was my intention to lower the rate if
possible. My purpose in requesting a
state officer to accompany me to
New York was to safeguard the in?
terest of both parties, and to have
present, when the contract was final?
ly completed, an officer of the State
as a witness to the transaction in case
any question should arise in the fu?
ture, and also that he might furnish
any Information in regard to the
State's affairs if desired.
No Agreement.
'In rejly to your third question,
which is as follows: 'What was the
agreement between yourself and Qov.
It lease as to the borrowed money on
deposit in your bank drawing Inter*
est ' I beg to statt* Unit there was no
agreement.
"Yours very truly,
(Signed) M J. P. Matthews.
"Cashier."
In Governor's Office.
The following letter was address?
ed on February 9 to Gov. Blease by
J. Pope Matthews, financial agent of
the State:
"At your request I called on you. in
your office day before yesterday, and
dictated to jour stenographer a state?
ment relating to the loan made the
State last summer throug.i the Pal?
metto National bank.
"This statement as first written out
l>y your stenographer and submitted
to me read as follows:
" 'Columbia, S. C, Feb. 7. 1912.
" 'Hon. Cole L. Blease, Governor of
South Carolina, Columbia, S. C.
" 'My Dear Sir: Complying with
your written request, in reference to
the loan msde through me to the
State of South Carolina, l beg to say
that we submitted s proposition to
the financial bagfd fast as ?u RSWS
done In the pa?;. T invited . i m.
bid. S roj r?e ;ntativ<. of the Siut? :o
go to NVv York With BIS to finally
conclude he matter, his expenses to
be paid by the State of South Caro?
lina. The representative to repre?
sent the State of South Carolina was
delegated to the governor by the com?
mission. I had, of course, noticod
considerable comment in the papers
in reference to the ability of the State
to borrow money if you were elected,
and I thought it nothing but proper
that the owner of $500,000 worth of
paper of South Carolina should have
occasion to discuss with the governor
the affairs of the State, in order that
they might, for themselves, get some
idea of who they were doing business
v,lth.
"The paper was accepted readily
and there was not the slightest hesi?
tation in the acceptance of the paper.
"In reference to your other ques
t. -Ii, in regsrd to II per cent being
left on deposit with this bank, I beg
lo say tlmt there wa* no request made
" 'It would have l>een our pleasure
to have paid Interest on the State's
balance, as agreed with you, If the
treasurer had been in the position to
haw left a.iy stated amount with us
T r any definite time. It has been
the custom in the past for the State
to have to pay quite a sum of money
for pensions pome time during the
first of the year, and as a rule some?
thing like $250.00 to $275.000 are paid
out for such purpose. Shortly after
that the interest on the State debt is
obliged to be met and this, with tho
pensions, practically takes up all of
the $500.000. If any unexpended bal?
ances were left In the bank we would
have gladly paid interest thereon;
and if ws had had any definite un?
derstanding as to the amount and
time, HM stated to you. we would have
gladly paid Interest thereon. We
have regular Interest-bearing ac
? - nits with the Stats for which we
PS) 4 per cent.
it hu* boss eustomsry with the
inks throughout the eountry to re
rs II per eenl Ol the money bor
rowed tc he left on deposit without
Interest. This. I believe, was covered
in vmir message, along with other
matters, which are the true faetS In
?ho case.
'I belu v,. the above covered nil
of vi.nr Writtsg requests.
"Yours very truly.
" '.i. popa Matthews,
''ashler Palmetto National bank of
Columbia. S. C
LgSSff Wan Rewritten.
"Yesterday when the letter was
presented to me to be nigged, my at
IsnttOfl was called to the fact that
there had been some repetition In the
wording of tho original draft and to
the fact that the letter had been re
written.
"1 waa very busy at tho time,, und
on being assured that the letter was
in all respects substantially the same,
I signed tho letter without comparing
it wiili lite original draft except for
the tlrst paragraph. I now find that
In copying the letter certain change*
lutd been miule whkii makes the
sense* different from wliat I Intended
gild somowliat misleading.
"I did not gat an opportunity to
look over the copy of tho letter
signed till late yesterday afternoon,
as 1 was not only very busy at the
bank, but had to be out of my otlice
for two hours in the afternoon. I
learned later, how wer, that you had
already sent in your message to the
legislature.
"The following is a copy of the let?
ter signed by me:
?Columbia. S. C, Feb. 7, 1912.
" 'Hon. Col L. Blease. Governor of
South Carolina, Columbia, S. C.
44 'My Dear Sir: Complying with
your written request, in reference to
the loan made through me to the
State of South Carolina, I beg to say
that we submitted a proposition to
tho financial board, just as we have
done in the past. I Invited, in my
bid, a representative of the State to
go to New York with me to finally
conclude the matter, his expenses to
he paid by the State of South Caro?
lina. The governor was delegated by
the comptroller general and the
State treasurer as the representative
of the State of South Carolina to ac?
company me. T had, of course, no?
ticed considerable comment In the
papers in reference to the ability of
tho State to borrow money if you
were elected, and I thought it noth?
ing but proper that the owners of
$500,000 worth of paper of South
Carolina should have occasion to dis?
cuss with the governor the affairs 0f
the State in order that they might, for
themselves, get some idea of who
they were doing business with. The
transaction was not concluded, neith?
er were the notes signed until after
we reached New York. The paper
waa accepted readily and there waa
not the slightest hesitation In the ac?
ceptance of the notes and the borrow?
ing of the money.
" 'In reference to your other ques- j
tlon, In regard to 20 per cent being |
left on deposit with this hank, I beg
to say that there was ^ot auch re- J
queet made as heretoiore. It has
been customary with the banks
throughout the conntrv to reoulre 20
par tent >f the money borrowed to
be left <-n deposit, without Interest;
out in this loan as stated t?y ffou, no
auch r? qnai t eras made,
'If the treasurer had left any
stated amount with us for any defi?
nite time, It would have been our
pleasure to have paid Interest there-,
on, as agreed with you. It has been
the custom in the past for the State
to have to pay quite a sum of money
for pensions some time during the1
first of the year, and as a rule some?
thing like $250,000 to $27R,000 are
paid out for such purposes. Shortly
after that the Interest on the State
debt Is obliged to be met, and this
with the pensions, practically takes
up all of the $500.000. If any unex
I pected balances had been left in the
hank we would have gladly paid in?
terest thereon, as stated to you; and
we would have paid interest thereon.
" This. I believe, was covered in
your message, along with other mat?
ters, which are the true facts in the
rase, just an stated in your message.
11 'I believe the above covers all of
your written requests.
" 'Yours very truly,
" 'J. P. Matthews.
" 'Cashier Palmetto National Hank of
Columbia, S. C
Matter Not DlSCUSSed.
"One could judge from my letter as
?bsjff/f that you and I had made a
special agreement in reference to
nanaed balance off the $.">00,000 bor?
rowed In New York, while yon, off
course, know quite well that the mat?
ter of ftaying Interest on balance* WAS
not referred to at all during our en?
tire trip.
"My letter was also made to 3e.y
that this bank had required 20 per
cent balances 'heretofore1 on state
loans, hut did not require such a bal?
ance in this particular instance. My
statement to you in reference to the
?'0 per cenl balance referred to com?
mercial accounts only of Individuals
The word 'heretofore1 was added In
the copy signed and did not appear in
the original.
Other Mistakes Made.
? In reading the letters OVCT you will
notice that other mistakes have been
made. In other words. |n attempting
to revise the wording of the letter It
has bran tcrj much confused and the
meaning completed> twisted.
"I think it nothing but proper t"
call your attention to tins,, changes,
which I did not notice when I signed.
"I will add that if I hid made an
arrangement with you to pay inter
eat on the state's deposits then my
I letter might be taken to Imply thai
We OWe the State interest.
"You will recall that While dlSCUBS
Ing the letter with you, and while
dictating in your office, you made
several suggestions, taking me wheth?
er. If tho State had had surplus mon
y and if a positive arrangement had
been made, we would have paid in?
terest on the surplus money. In dic?
tating 1 refined to this question, but
the letter as signed has made mo suy
something very different from what 1
intended. In tho letter the expres?
sion was used 'as agreed with you.'
In dictating these words I certainly
intended them to mean that I agreed
with you that I would have been will?
ing to pay Interest In case there had
been surplus funds, and I did not in?
tend them to refer to any supposed
agreement had with you heretofore.
"I wo had made any such arrange?
ment It would have, of course, ma
terlnlly effected the rate made to the
State on the $500,000 loan.
" 1 his statement Is made to protect
the hank and to avoid any miscon?
struction which might be placed upon
the letter signed by me yesterday. 1
am sure that you would not have me
make a mlsstatement.
"You, of course, as an officer of the
State, can use this letter as you think
be*t. But I will ask that you do me
the favor of correcting the impression
given in the communication of yes
terday, By so doing you will certain
ly oblige,
"Yours very truly.
"J. Pope Matthews.
"Cashier."
explanation Asked.
The folowing letter was addressed
by R. H. Jennings, the State treas?
urer, to J. Pope Matthews, tho finan?
cial agent of the State:
"The statements in your letter of
the 7th instant to Gev. Blease are not
In accord with the statements made in
your letter of the 6th to me.
"In order that the matter In con?
troversy may be perfectly clear, T re?
spectfully submit the following ques?
tions for your answer.
"Was it necessary for the governor,
or other State officer, to go with you
to New York to enable you to furnish
the money borrowed at 3 per cent
which you had contracted to do, as
evidenced by your bid of April 17,
and as shown by your receipt of
April 20th?
"In requesting that a State officer
should accompany you to New York,
was it, or not, your purpose to fur?
nish the money needed at a lower
rate, if possible, than you had offered
In your bid?
"What was the agreement between
yourself and Gov. (Blease, as to the
I borrowi monof on deposit In your
1 ha.-.' draw "tf intercet?
truly yours,
"R H. Jennings,
"State Treasurer."
The above correspondence was an?
nounced yesterday by State Treasurer
Jennings.
DECIDE YOURSELF.
[The Opportunity ?s Here Backed by
Sumter Testimony.
Don't take our word for it.
Don't depend on a stranger's state?
ment.
Bead Sumter endorsement.
Read the statement of Sumter citi?
zens.
Ami decide for yourself.
Here Is one ca.ee of it:
P. fl. Copleeton, I B. Bartlette
street. Sumter. S. C? says: "I have
taken Doan'S Kidney Pills and have
found them to be a remedy of mer?
it. Backache and pains across my
loins annoyed me and I knew that
my kidneys were at fault. Doan's
Kidney Pills, which 1 got at China's
Drug Store, brought me prompt re?
lief and In return I give them my
h artiest endorsement*"
For sals by all dealers. Price 50
cents. Foster-Milburn Co., Buffalo,
Now York, sole :< nts for tho United
?tat es.
Remember the name?Doan's
and take no other. No. is
jsigaldaiisigdl is^^ss^mjp.
There is
Nothing
I n u hi< h delay is* so
dang? r< >ns as in E y c
trouble ; when you cun
s.rJer that you can p;et
;,! ooj fail ly w ell without
any st nse except si^ht,
\ mi will understand how
important it is to take
no chances with it.
, Our Business is to Tell You When
! You Nied Glasses.
Is -
I We \ lave the Proper
mm r m -\* \ ? v X
! Meant of Finding Out
W. A. THOMPSON,
Jewel >r and Optician.
I feS. Main St. Samter, S. C,
?L
.W^iWjia ^?"'a? mm#ze*JF lsi^'M> Js*c*et? *?smf
ITOlFrma irv- j srorgrWTfWlPWIraiPsrwv!
As to Jones and Kuiitlis.
Kingetfee Record.
iT'tvomor Bleaee seems to have it
in for all the JonesttJ He went out
of his way recently to day that Comp- j
trailer Jones was "impertinent." The1
Governor had better bo careful. Get
the families of Jones and Smith
against a man and he stands but
Small chance of being elected to of
r. re.
"To Thine Ownselff Be True.*'
Do not listen to the argument that
the other fellows are not going to
curtail. J>et the other fellows in?
crease their acreage if they would
he treacherous to themselves and
their neighbors, hut if by their treach?
ery they cause the price to fall they
suffer most. If in spite of their
treachery, cotton goes higher, you
m ice a profit that you would not 1
have made had you not. with the
others true to the cause, curtailed.
And then, if you do not make the
profit on cotton that the other fellow
does, you make it on other producta.
If the farmers would come to real?
ize this. no organization would be I
.?eessary. Laurens Advertiser.
Accidents Will Happen
Anil uin n thef d<>?ihey hurt.
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Tlie action i* different, and tlie
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? hunt's nil
LSGHTMIMG UIL
Always have it in the house. Take
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you never can tell when
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bottles.
For Sale by Sibert's Drug Store.
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Sherman, Texas.
ff ? m
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v.