The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, June 08, 1912, Image 2
IN INTERESTING DISCUSSION.
m\\\ 01 rm: yotf.rs of mm
TFR Ml All AIK.I MIMN IN
FAVOR \M? \(.\IW| M\\
M)RM Ol' i ITV BOT,
URN MF.NT.
get Talk* h> Mc-r*. I.. I>. .Icnnlnu'
?Ii.I W Ii. Bo>|e?l>r. Baker F.s
plaoo Briefly Ni llitib or Act to Ho
Voteil on?About Two Hundred
i iii" ii' Fri'm'nt I'lirin: |)Im ii><
-Ion?II. I> Moh< \.I\Im > That All
Part* of flt> IV I nder One tic* 1?
Another Meeting Next Friday.
There were near y two hundred
people present at the coot house
during the discussion of the com?
mission form ?f gov?mount Act ?
a form of city government gpog the
acceptance or rejection of which t In
people o| Sutnter will \ote h*g| Tues?
day In an election which was provid
ed for it the lust session of the Qen
oral Assembly. The discussion was an
Interesting one and was listened to
with the deepest attention by all of
those preoent. The set speakers. Mr.
Jennlm*" and Mr. Boyle. In adv." u |
of the manager and the present sys?
tems, respe. tlvel>. made strong argu?
ments in favor of their side of the
question and Mr. H. A. Moses, who
?a h . tiled upon t<? represent the de?
partmental system of commission
government In the absence of Mr.
Clifton, who had been selected to
sjpesk for this side of the uuestkon.
gave a few brief pointers In favor of
the departmental *ystem. as It was
viewed by him
There was frequent applause dur?
ing the discussion, each speaker re?
ceiving his share of It. The andte act
seemed to be looking at the matter
from an unprejudiced view-point ami
seemed to have their minds open to
the arguuo nt.-i of the speakers. The
consensus of opinion among the
Speakers seemed to be t<> gsjlsi t the
form of government which STgl best
suited LT ggggggf and whieh would
prove to the most advantage of the
Ojty. The audience also seemed to
look at the matter In this light and
had evidently come for the purpose
?f hearing what the speakers h. d to
?ay and then by thinking over the
matter for themsel\< d< Ido which
form of government they thought
best. . si ? - * - s .
ft W*??? /*)??eld?-d bAfr?r? tb.? rosette*
adjourned ti i h?th?. m eeting
*>r n??? l'i da> niKhi a the court
house ni it If SS bei tb 1.pic had
hau ? . ? to Ihh tr the matter
-uJ no...
Among those to Join In the discus?
sion were Messrs. L. D. Jennings. \V.
BL Boyle. H. L>. Epps. H. A. Moses. K
B. Belaer. P Bowman. H. 1>.
ato 1st- and others. Dr. Baker opened
tge meeting by stating Its object ami
readln?,, u synopsis of the act by see
tlpns, nailing what was In each sec
tfcon ??a? he came to it. He then stated
that Mr CUftog WBS not present and
asked for some one to VglggtOOf to
take hi- nla> e <-ti th,. li-t as the sp> ak
er in favor ?>f oommlaalon form of
govcriin vnt With i departmental sjgrs>
tvni. x no <..,, r. -p.-mb d I >r. Ha?
ger explained that ihre. - t If.ihot
ha>. > 'iii > d f-.r. ?>ui. ow ing to
tb. f Mr. ('bfton onl) |W0
of the speakers wen present. Mi
Jennings ggSMMd with an ar^uim nt In
favor of the i mnSgMgfgg governmen
with a clt> rnggggfOfi hf stating thai
there was evhhmtly jsjgggthttag Ink?
ing from Ho pn ? nt form and some?
thing sjsjod to the row form m srory
member of council was lr favor of
commls - not ?o\, rnincnt for B unter,
aomethlng that had never been tho
cas?? In other cities win re the iom
misalon fggfB of gOTOf gWtonl had
I . . i iled M ? pointed out lb
f'Pt that a city was a corporation and
tb . t -bou'd be run on a bgl Ige I
Susis. g| a corporation, and to tun U
In a bgsdsjjsjsjsglhf w.t\ ?i was hsjst so
havf a gaggggJOf W urging und r the
agsjgg i list ... i gfuvlded lot Sum
ti i. II. pointed om tb. t o t that In
the it -tallatn Ii of the Wat. i Wgfkl
system and the sewer syst in. |Rg
work had led b? en gegti in a bgl -
like wa\. which, he stated would not
hn\e Bsgg the pggsj hoi an efficient
man . n In charge of tin <it\ it the
time He stated that then Sfgi He
chart of drainage system- and no ||?
gggggd "ther Ihtggi which" hoi beel
(lone m m unbu*iiics?.iiki w i>. the
BBVfsggsji system bsthg dwell og more
at IsggJtB than OthOfSV He .-aid that
the oht eg)] gggegili had doge Ins
be t whbh they < >>nbl Ittt they dd
not kn-.w. and. therefore, could go
no betr. r He believed that a mm
rould be hired for uione> to lool
aft* r IheM thing? a mm who knew
about them and how Ihoj Should bg
don*-?who should goVOti all of hM
time to the work, and then if he w is
not . ip.it h or efllelent ha could be
remoxid at any time and another
man put In hl? place. He stated tb it
the Hilary for the .m ihm n und r
the depariment.il system w is n it
suffh h ut to imlm ? good men to -
oept the offfoe, while nun who wer<
not efficient WOUkl try 10 get it for ihi
livelihood tin r?' was in it. t>n tin
other hand, under th.- manager sys?
tem where the councllmen would not
have to devote so much of their time
to th? work, the councllmen would
104 apt the OnVe from public spirit
.mil because i*l the go,.,) they could
iio the town, while men looking for
i livelihood Would pass it l>v as the
salar) wei not sufficient. An engl?
aeer and buslnees man with brains,
ha thought, could be hired lo do
this work in the most efficient man?
ner.
Yr. H. a. Mos,.s. who had been call?
ad upon to take Mr. Clifton's place,
n ads i short talk. He stated that
h ? had not given the matter suffl
I i. nt thought as yet tO make an ar?
gument f,,r the departmental system,
but that he gad, in thinking OVOT the
matter. eomS |o tin- conclusion that
this would l>e the best form of gov?
ernment for Sumter. Bvery town
having a commission form of govern*
meat had proeperodi saved money
and had been conducted in a more
businesslike way than formerly, Tin
trouble with the manager system
would be to get an efficient man to
serve as city manager. He believed
that men could be found In Sumter
who would gi\e sufficient of their
time and brains to the Olty'a service
to give an efficient administration. He
did not think the recall was effective
with a eity manager as each member
of council would try to shift the
blame on tin others, while with the
departmental system the b.ame would
be fixed at once where the deficiency
would be noticeable.
Mr. W? B, Boyle was in favor of the
present system of government. It
had been good enough for the city in
the past and the city had grown un?
der this form of government and it
would continue to do so. The trouble
with the manager system was that a
man with brains sufficient to know
about all departments of the city
could not be secured ami. if a city
manager was secured at a large sal?
ary, he was apt to have Inefficient
and cheap service under him. He
was opposed to the doing away with
the water works commission. the
school board, the board of health
and the other boards which would be
at the mercy of the incoming coun?
cil. If the commission form of gov?
ernment was su?cepted. He state 1
that only one Ilde of the matter ha 1 |
as yet Keen put te the voters and t j
nhou'd h \m been pat iooa?j
ler at 1 more fully explained, that
the people should have had Q ch?.i
to form their own opinions in the
matter. He pointed out the fact that
the old council had left money in
the hank when they wa nt out andt'u t
they had not done .anything without
first having the money in the bank.
Specialists were needed along each
line and a man could be mote easily
found to take Charge of something
he knew about out of the nine mem*
beta of council, than out of three
men. lie said*the sewer was put In
by a commission, w hich was composed
of g.n.d ami brainy men. but who had
Unfortunately chosen the wrong man
to superintend the job. He wanted
to know how OOUnell would know
whether they had the right man or
not. If the manager system was adopt?
ed He thought Sumter had men
with Sufficient brains to run the town
without going to New York or else?
where to get a manager. He did not
think thai a manager or a OOmmle?
?II Would take the place of the
hoards which might be done away
a t h
Mr. Jennings in repl) Stated lb it
the net had nothing whatever to do
with th.- s? hoi.i board or the bo nd of
health, as the new members tor the
former would be chosen at the same
election when iin councllmen were
chosen. Tin water wanks commis?
sion, however, would be abolished
Tin doing ana) with this commission
was Hi,- only feature of the act which
hoi been drawn Up her, by the com?
mit tee which had been omitted by
the legislature, He thought that this
WMUld ??. a .I thing as it WOS best
to have >U public utilities umb r on
bead \Y? ai Was wanted was pmg?
res*, The old government had v><\
succeeded ami tin present eity cou/tcll
realised this fact. Tin- only ws to
get nrogrcai a as to adopt tin <>ui
in,--ion form ot government aid put
? m ill at the In ad wie? l.ne\? what
work was necessary ami wo'ald see
hat ? v . s don* tight
Mi. ii. a Moses thought, thai ail
I ha i was necessary In putt lnt> tin act
suitably an< properly h fore tin
voters was p. put the ballots before
Ib.- \ otelf ; t Ho proper time. II.
-i iled tint. sine,. M r. |lo) '?? had no n
Hont ?I Ho- i ih ? ?.-.? ? ? i.i t h oi been
? It irged it i. aid of any
? barge- ,.f nS any nu m ?
her of coin i he h oi lie ird
' hurues of ii norance and
Inattention t huoght that
i man wit ib] be hired to
work for t' tie thought that
there were men with bralm In Bumter.
He stated th.a the i a>s,- mentioned by
Mr. Boyle where the city manager
had absconded with all of the city
fundi was the exception which prov
ed the rule. He was In favor of the
commission form of government with
the depart! tental system.
pp, Baker explained that the reason
that the a< I had ti<>t been put before
the people before, was because it
had been Impossible to get it from
the secretary of state and that it had
been secured as soon as possible. Mr.
Belser stated that the art was state?
wide with an amendment at the end
referring especially to Bumter and
some sections applied to Bumter and
some did not. Mr, Boyle Insisted on
his p.dnt that since the council was
given power to repeal ordinances it
might repeal the ordinances estab?
lishing the school board, the water
Commission and other boards Which
Wars now established, against which
he was opposed. It was pointed out
that the school board and the board
of health were created by special acts
of the legislature and nothing that
council could do could touch them
Mr. Boyle pointed to the fact that
formerly banks were managed by one
or two men. whereas now they were
required by law to have a governing
board of directors, he thought the <dty
also should have a governing board of
aldermen.
Mr. H. D. Molse made an Imprts
give argument In favor of having a
head for tin city which should be the
head ot all departments. He thought
that the mors persons there were In
this governing body, the better ser?
vice it WOUld give, as. by having a
largf number in it. politics and ties
of relationship or friendship would
not be so apt to cause the selection
of Incompetent city officials. He de?
duced his conclusions from what he
had Observed in cities all along the At?
lantic Coast from New York to Flor?
ida, A person could manage his pri?
vate office, or his bank, or his oth?
er business because he had control
OVOr It, but where one department
had to work with another department,
without a common head to direct,
there was constant danger of friction.
He stated that Bumter was as well
governed n town as any he had ever
visited, and that It was free from
uraft. something Other towns were
not free of. and he was assured that
the men could be found In Bumter to
do any work which was found neces?
sary. The governing board must have
Omit..a power It rf.* ' ? pr v? ?* a
fioni trying to do those things
k i< v nothing about I ut must get
ipett>nt men to do the work.
\i: Bppi then mad* some re
marks concerning Raws in the law
which was passed. He also pointed
out some possibilities which might
occur under the commission form act,
which would make it undesirable,
He stated that he had not yet come
to any conclusion as to how he would
vote on election day and that his
mind was still unprejudiced and open
to Influence from cither side, but
these few objections to the accept?
ance of tin act had come to his mind
while listening to the other speakers
arguing their points, Cue thing of
Importance he mentioned was the fact
that Mr. .1 linings had stated that
the water work system had been In?
stalled at small c est and sold to the
City ;:l a meat profit. The present
council might And that they had done
the same hing before many years
were out In granting the gas fran?
chise. He pointed out the fact that
there would be great confusion in
the use of the initiative, recall and
referendum and the use of these fea?
tures of the act Would cause much
expense, He did not think that n
man could be secured who would be
lapable of doing everything?or at
b ast be an expert In all ?>f the lines of
city work.
Mr. R, I ?. Pa Iser defended the bill
which had been attacked by Mr.
Bpps, He thought thai If there were
any objectl ?nable or unnecessary fea?
tures, these could be repealed by the
legislature at its next session
Mr. \V U Lee thought thai the
text of the law ought to be s!rili?-? 111
cued out,
1 'r. I lak r called attention t,, t he
fa.t that the law Itself stated that
M was to be Interpreted accord?
ing to the meaning of tin acl and nol
acordlns t > the w nrdlng.
Mr, Honmtin thought thai there
ottghl ??? be a lo ad for ? o h depart -
mcnt, He was not In favor of the
Initiative, 'ooall and referendum, but
he was wholly in fit vor of the Civil
Si rvlce Commission.
I >r linker then ask< tl thai the peo?
ple consld ?r I he matter I ully, ns it
Was one of \iiai Importance and the
meeting was then ad join le d.
Marriage la. m-c Itecord.
\ murrltge license un- Issued Mon?
day to Kugi lie I lolma ii a inl Susan
Bunders, colored, <d' Sum tor,
.". or ii d >ses 80fl will break any case
of < hill and fc\ ei; it acts on the bv or
better than Calomel, and docs nol
grl].r s ck. ri. 25c
TO PREPARE ITINERARY.
Mr. It. l. Manning Went to Columbia
Tucwday Morning to Join Other
Members of Biib-commlttee.
Mr. K. i. Manning, statt- executive
comtnltteeman from Sumter eoun*
ty left Tuesday morning for Columbia
t?? meet with the other members i t
the sub-committee appointed by th*
statt- executive committee to prepare
an itinerary for the State campaign.
The other members of the committee
are John Gary 13vans of Bpartanburg
and \v. F, Stevenson of Cheraw.
it Is understood that tin- tiist meet?
ing of the campaign will be held in
this city and in this gay Sumter
citizens will be aide to hear the best
speeches of the campaign and to hear
exactly what each candidate stands
for. The personalities which generally
come Into the campaign meetlngi
during the latter part of the cam?
paign will be eliminated and the clti
Bens will be able to judge the can?
didates on the merit of the plat?
form on which each <>n?> Is running.
Mr. Manning stated Monday that
he was in favor of having the cam?
paign commence In the central part
of the Statt-, work around on the
const and then northern and western
parts'of the state and Anally wind up
somewhere near the central part of
the State. He said that he would try
In the sub-committee to make some
arrangement of this sort in the pre*
paratlon of the itinerary of the cam?
paign.
COTTON ACREAGE REDUCTION".
Figures Baaed on Reports to Mem?
phis Newspaper?Condition*
Memphis, Tenn*. June 3.?The Com?
mercial-Appeal today will .-ay:
Reports of correspondents of date
May 28 and 29 indicate a probable
decrease In the acreage planted to
cotton this season of 6 per cent.
These figures are, however, more than
usually Indeterminate, as consider*
able planting remains to be done over
wide areas. Correspondent! esti?
mate on the condition of the crops
I as compared to normal indicate a
percentage of to S3.
The crop is later than last year In
all states save the two Carolinas and
Texas and over the whole belt the
land preparation is less thorough and
planting was begun at a later date
than last Near. Rapid germint!? n
haa, however, done much to restore j
the ttm< loa*?.
I Tin plant is generally health) and
growing thr 11) md vh- :? it a 'id !
; vanc< d < nongh iltivatlon is * ik?
ing non**..i pi'u?:t..3. In detail -c
turns show as follows:
South Carolina?Acreage decreased
9 per cent.
Alabama-Acreage decreased \2
per cent.
Mississippi?Acreage decreased 11
per cent.
Tennesse??Acreage decreased \?
per cent.
Missouri?Acta age decreased i ~>
per cent.
Arkansas?Acreage decreased 1
per ? ent.
Louisiana??Acreage increased
per cent.
Texas-Acreage increased '? per
cent.
Oklahoma?Acreage decreased ii
pel* cent.
Georgia?Acreage decreased II
per cent.
North Carolina ?Acreage decreased
9 per cent.
THREE Bl'RIED IN" ONE CiRAVE.
Boys Die from Rattlesnake Bites,
Baby Drowns,
Italelgh, May 31,?Two hoys, aged
eight and six. died as'the result of
rattlesnake bites, and a baby was
drowned when the mother. Mrs, <;???.
Adams, went to the rescue of the
brothers, according to tews received
lur< today from Greenville. The
tragedy occurred Just across the line
in Craven County on Wednesday.
The boys wa te attacked b) the
snake wlnn they attempted to take
a hen off her nest. The mother was
washing chains, with the baby near?
by when attracted by their cries. Af
ler aiding her sons she returned to
Und the baby had climbed into the
tub ami drowned. The three children
were buried in the same grave.
Tin conl i actor i- preparing to lay
the client, paving on Libert) street
in front of the V. M. C, A,
tlub-My-Tism will i ure you.
NOTICE.
in pur nance of an order of tin
<'"init\ s. hooi Hoard, an election will
in held at Oswego, Sumter School
District No. P. on Wednesday, Jur
i ith for tie purpose ol deciding oi
I h? i 'Sill of a two mill ta \ L \ y fol
ehool purposes, a petition to this ef
feet having been signed b) two third
? a the fn v holders of the school dls
II ii i as pi "\ ided by la w .
J, HKKHKUT 11 x N \s\Y< >KTH.
Superintendent of Edtn titlon
Include in Your Summer Plans a Trip to
the Beautiful
Isle of Palms
Every Accessory, Comfort and Amusement Belong?
ing to a Modern Seashore Resort.
See Historic Sullivan's Island?Restaurant, Hotels, Cot?
tages, Boarding Houses, Etc. Reduced R. R. Rates.
Consolidated Co. CHARLESTON
Have Business System
Charles M. Schwab worked as a boy for a
dollar a day, and at the age of thirty-nine was a
millionaire. His business success is due to a wise
financiering system. Increase your business and
personal capital by keeping your Check Account
in this bank. It's a wise thing to do.
The Fir^t National Bank
PRUDENT BANKING
Prudence has guided many a man
to riches?Imprudence has directed
others to poverty.
Be prudent and bank with us.
THE FARMERS' BANK & TRUST CO.
"Let \dtjmt will -it-., toil* " "w, ktt< ?v to* UtTge *\? j*. -
lure of deed Iii oju"
Deedn rightly begun are mure than halt aone uui those nnai *tc
compltthment often involves the aid of agencies impersonal to
ones' self. In deeds involving finance a Bank's Resources are
peculiarly adaptiv? to your, needs.
We stand ready to help you at the right place. Call in and
see us.
The Bank of Sumter
67-64
"GET RICH QUICK"
schemes, forty-nine out of fifty times, prove
to be a source of gain only to the promoter,
THE SURE WAY
of becoming independent is
TO SAVE
You can start with one dollar.
The Peoples' Bank.
GEORGE H. HURST
Announces that he has secured the services of Mr. J.
K. Wilson, of Columbia, Tenn., an experienced fur?
niture man and funeral director and em balmer, and is
better prepared than ever to serve you day or night.
We solicit your patronage, and appreciate same.
George H. Hurst,
202 N MAIN STREET
Day Phone :: :: :: Night Phone 201
LIME. CEMENT. ^^VTW'M
TTo-v (Train K;?'?' Flour, Ship >;utt Bran,
luiv, Vildlll, Mixed Cow and Chicken Feed
Horses. Mules, \\Wi4-""ls ",:
No Order Tim l arge Or Tt?o Small
Booth-Harby Live Stock Co
SUM IT R. SOI Til CAROLINA.