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.

FARMERS' UNION NEWS m tor Praotttal by B. W. Dabta, Pres t kX C Farmers Union.) Blame Random. Thoughts. Loot week In compliance with the wlah?a of the Sumter County union 1 went to Washington on Monday to appear before the agricultural com? mittee on the cotton grading bill which Mr. Lever hue introduced. Thea? hearings were fiom 10.30 to 12 each day. the balance gd the time was put In planning and ?'onaultlng with others who were up there on the same errand, except pert of one afternoon, whoa 1 went to Arlington, the beau? tiful home of Gen. 11. K. Lee on the Virginia side of the Potomac, now the national cemetery. e e e I thought this the most beautiful site for a home that I had see* any? where, but two days later when Mr. CoopT adn I stood on the lawn of Mt. Vernon and admired the taste of Oeorga Washington in the laying out et has grounds for convenience and foe symmetry. 1 was and am still pus sled to decide which is the more beautiful place. Because of its d Is? taar? from the city and absence of any man-made scars on the land? scape. ML Vernon seems to be the fa? vorite an snf rind pictures the pan ssesaa of each place. The Arling? ton trip era* made on a sight-seeing ear with seSSS twenty strangers. And Use aolea, duet and jarring of the car gave me t headache. The Mt. Vernoa tri? was with Mr. It. M. Cooper, them thorn It Is hard to find a ssare agreeable trav? ..ng compan? ion, as 1 have found on this and sev? eral ether blpgu We boarded a trol? ley ear obe eiock from our hotel at ? o'clock, ami lor an hour traversed Urn histori0 ftasjtes of Alexandria, aad the hillsides of the Potomac. Then tar nearly an hour we hurried from room la room, pausing frequent? ly ea admire the ear* from first one plans aad than another, until the clos? ing; hall so ended and we rode slowly down the winding road past the tomb, what* we paused for a moment and ea to the steamboat landing. On heard we went to the dining sa looa aad leisurely lunched while we sSasunsd up the broad Potomac, a a a But I must not try to picture the seeaee, nor describe our emotions as wa stood on these sacred grounds Where the Washington's and Lees' made history 160 and 160 years ago. My advice to every one who can pos? sibly do so Is to go to Washington whenever possible, and by all means visit these two hls.orlc spots. I was glad to sea and meet so many Sum? ter people who were Intent upon visit? ing as many of tho places of Interest aa they could hi a day or two. Mr. Cooper and I saw Just enough to make us wlah for a week with noth? ing to do but go tnrough the govern? ment buildings and read the Inscrip? tions and admire he flowers and the parka. And wa want to devote a whole day to Mt. Vernon and another to Arlington are The readers of this paper, I know, have kept up with the proceedings or the cotton congress. I urn sure It did a world of good In focusing the at? tention of the administration and of congress upon the situation In the South and that all that can be done by the government ahort of buying cotton, will be done. It remains with the bankers, merchnnts and farmers to eo-operate aa to handle cot? ton to the advantage of ua all. Meet? ings will bm held this week In all the cotton counties ami the loyalty of our people to the ptana there developed will determine the success of the movement. i: W. D. Some Its im lorn Thoughts. I am asking for apace In this de? partment for topics for the legal unlona aa suggested by the National comndttee on topics, and wish to sjdd J. Z. Oreen's article ssj a p pi v I ng the Kachdals Prlnclplea to Co-operation, and "Where la My Boy Tonight.' ? o a These are live subjects for consider? ation by every local union; and the Hochntle System should be studied by ev?ry stoekholder in the I'nlon Brokerage company. a ? m Next week the county union will meet With Salem I'nbm on Friday. Augo..t 2Hth. It Is probuble that re? ports from the Southern Cotton Con greas will be the feature of the meet? ing. The writer was sent to be at the Lover committee hearing h) the last meeting of the county union. M essrs. Heiser and Kolb attended the con - gresa and Cot. K. J. Watson, presi? dent of the congress, has accepted the Invitation of the county union to he present at this meeting. unless the pressing duties of the cottun congress take up his time. I know that he ex peet.i to bo present. The Kurmers' i'nion was splendidly represented In Washington, nearly every delegate that I named attended and several other good men whom 1 had missed in making up the lists. South Carolina had a most representa? tive body of men at the congress, about half of them members of the union. E. W. D. ?Whore Is My Boy Tonight." From the Progressive Farmer. a farmer has Just sent us an order to run the following advertisement il? lustrated with his own son's picture: "Above is a photo of -1 who ran away from home July 21st, 1914. lie Is 1G years old, weighs 120 pounds, and Is rive feet tall. He had on a brown suit and kneo pants and car? ried a hand grip when he left home. Any Information leading to his where? abouts will be liberally rewarded." When tho letter was handed to me, I turned to the picture expecting to seo the face of u mean, bad boy?even the face of a criminal. Instead?there stood Just a great, big, broad should ored kid about 16. While he didn't look happy, there was something In his defiant eyes, and the poise of his tousled-up. tine-shaped head that made my heart go out to him. And there came to me In imagination the face of his mother. What of her? Would she like to see her boy's face In public print as a runuwuy? And would our thousands of readers sur? mise that he had only been guilty of running sway Wouldn't thousands have thought he had done something had before he ran away? Yes they would, and not for all the world would 1 see the Ink of The Pro? gressiv Farmer smear the face of a mere boy?not even If he were a thief! Once and for all: This paper has a larger mission than making rnone'. We only want advertlsirg of some? thing which will bring jood to all concerned You need not tiy to buy space for anything else. This letter offering to pay for the advertisements made me so "bloom In' mad" that I took sides with tho boy. What ran him away from home? Has he a horse or a pi;; or a flock of good sheep?all his own? Has his father a gasollno engine?or did this "runaway" carry water 200 yards from a spring? Was the house paint? ed and cheery? Was there a big bathtub, a telephone, a talking ma? chine or a hammock and good books In his home? Did a "Dig Ben" clock scare him out of bed at I a. m., when 6 a. m., wa? early enough, and could ho reach with pride to his "watch pocket" and pull forth an "Ingersoll"? Did he climb the stairs at night with only a luntern or smoky lump to guide his weary feet?or had he an "Angle Lamp" In his bed room, and the Youth's Companion to lull him to sleep? g No?I'll bet a steamboat to a mus? tard seed he didn't have these things! If he had had he wouldn't probably have run away. "There's no place like home" when that home is a hap? py home and boys don't run away from happy homes. I'm not trying to put "foo? notions" In any boy's head; ncr do I think they ought to run away. Yet I've seen too much of u farm boy's life to make me take sides against them, except when I know they are past redemption. Now, you. Mr. Farmer?are you certuln you gave this hoy a squure deal? Was your farm owned by "- A Son?" (>r was ho worked like a hired man without real wages and given only a place to eat and sleep? Wherever you are, Mttle Pal. C.od bless you. Wherever yon go, be a man. Do nothing you wouldn't do if your mother were there. Keep your heart and mind and body clean. I?ittle Pal, and then?when you've mado good?go home and shake the "old ni.m s hand " In the meantime?why not " Son" on every farm gate and on every letterhead ? applying TiiF. rochdaue prin? ciple of cooperation. An I x phi nation of the Evscnt Inl Feu turo* of the System a* Conducted In E tu hind and In Minnesota. The Itochdule principle of doing business at the regular level ot prices that prevail In the community Is *o different from the price-breaking method usually employed by Inex? perienced eooperators that It makes It more difficult to apply. The Koch dab" cooperator gets his goods 'at cost." hut he must pay the usual mar? gin of prollt at his store when each individual transaction takes place, just as he would pay at any other store. In paying to the cooperative store the regular price for goods he pays no more than he would have to pay to some private profit-taking store If his own cooperative store did not ex? ist. Hut periodically be Is paid hack the excess which he pays in, after al? lowing capital the legal rate of iu t? i. st. and paying salaries and ex psnSOS ami sotting aside the usual serve tu eover depreciation, and for' expansion of the ?)usiness. I The theory of "profit-making" in associations of consumers has been vividly explained by a prominent English leader in the cooperative movement In the following manner: "A number of men and women combine and start a co-operative store. Agreeing for reasons of con? venience to sell their goods to one another at the ordinary shop-keep I er's prices, and divide the surplus later in proportion to their purchases un? der the name of dividend. They save the retailer's prollt and obtain their goods at what they would have cost the shop-keeper, plus the expense of distribution; they save the surplus but they make no commercial prolit. If a number of stores combine to? gether to establish a wholesale agency for purchasing directly from the man? ufacturer or producer, they save all middle profits but make no profits for themselves. The net result Is the same as if they sold their goods at once at cost price." In all Rochdale coopeiative stores what we usually call "profits" are treated as surplus and are divided pro rata upon the amount of pur? chases made by each member. In getting back this surplus he simply gets back the overplus he paid in when he made purchases .and as the surplus is what is left after satisfying capital by paying its legal hire and after paying rents, clerk hire and expenses incurred ,it represents an overplus that properly belongs to those who paid it in. Profit in the economic sense of "a pecuniary gain" accruing from commercial transactions between two persons, cannot exist In consumers' cooperation, wherein buyer and seller are practically one person. The de? vice, which Is the distinguishing fea? ture of the Itochdalo system of charging retail prices current in the ordinary markets and returning the margin upon cost?"the fund com? monly known as profit"?to those who had paid it in purchasing the goods, has been found equitable, sound and practical. Something over 150 stores In Minnesota have been es? tablished under the English Rochdale plan, with slight modifications, by the Right Relations League. The "profits" are divided on patronage and all purchases are included expect the things that are sold for less than 5 per cent gross. Unless the goods sold carry a price that amounts to as much as 5 per cent abovo cost the tickets for such goods are marked "net" and do not carry any patronage dividend. Where competition is sharp on certain staple goods It is important that a provision bo. made similiar to this, for it would be unwise and unjust to include In patronage dividends goods that are sold prac? tically at cost, and I am glad to note here that some of the Farmers' Un? ion enterprises that are operating on the Rochdalo plan in North Carolina have embodied in their by-laws a fea? ture for marking their purchase tick? ets "net" for goods that do not carry as much as G per cent gross above cost. In building the cooperative struc? ture the most important, and yet the most difficult, side to deal with Is the human side. While many of the dis? tributive enterprises promoted through the influence of the Farm? ers' Union aro simply Joint stock companies depending upon the union sentiment for patronage, we have quite a number of companies or asso? ciations that have embodied the Rochdale feature In their by-laws and others are making this amend? ment. On this basis the true cooper? ative seed has been planted and its k ov.th will be limited only by the human action of the individual units. If each human being that professes loyalty will consider that his trade or patronage is the most important as? set that he possesses he will be care? ful how he invests it. We are going to Invest this tangible and valuable asset either in our own cooperative business, which will return the sur? plus to those who make the invest? ment, or we are going to donate it to some private profit-taking agency that keeps all the results of our pa? tronage investment. We have been using it heretofore to build up pri? vate fortunes for others and we have built a lot of them. In fact, practi? cally all the profits of agriculture, to? gether with most of the profits that have arisen from the enhancement of the value of lands, have been ac unlred by those who have done noth? ing to create values, but who .merely accumulate what others produced ? reaped the profits of Other men's in? dustry. When business ami com? mercial In 1 istries are put upon the participating basis, lotting patronage ami labor acquire the surplus which they produce, there will be fewer glaring and criminal Inequalities to disgrace our civilisation. If I were asked to point out the real heroes of the Farmers' Union I would refer you to the faithful offi? cers of the local Unions who attended the meetings regularly and are all the lime encouraging the members to attend and become active in all sorts oi- community cooperation. With the Rochdale principle ot co? operation applied to business and organized industry can you Imagine the result In ten years? Ten years seems too long. Suppose the organ i'/ed farmers in every locality should decide to invest all their trade and patronage in their own cooperative associations just one year, on the same level of prices now current in business, how many substantial brick buildings would it be possible for them to erect and own at the end of the year period? You can answer this question more intelligently if you will take an inventory of the handsome stores and warehouse buildings that the investment of your patronage built for other people Jn various towns last year. If we could make it soak deeply into the minds of our members that their patronage ! is the most important asset they pos j sess, if they will keep on investing it in their cooperative business, they would quit committing business sui? cide by deserting their own places of business to swallow the puny baits thrown out by private competitors. Some Farmers' Union Notes from South Carolina On August 1 the writer, Mr. B. Harris, member of the executive com? mittee of the State Union, and Col E. J. Watson, commissioner of agricul? ture, went from Columbia to Center Local Union, about 20 miles over in Lexington county, to the sixth annual rally of this progressive union. Mr. Harris spoke on the need of soil building and how it is to be done; Col. Watson on the abuse of the use of commercial fertilizers; and the writer on "What the Union has done, and what can be done through the Union." He also called tho attention of the union to the call for informa? tion as to the tonnage of fertilizing nviterial that the unions will need for next year that the State execu? tive committee may be able to con? tract for the same, and discussed panic in cotton prices that the war in Europe has brought on. The dinner was the best of the I many good dinners these good people have served, in accordance with an? nouncements made last year, there were 12 or 14 head of dairy cows, six or seven pigs, and a dozen pounds of butter entered for prizes. Mr. B. Harris shipped to Columbia a month old bull calf from one of his line Jer? seys as a prize for the best cow. The State' agricultural car was a sight as it drove from Columbia over 20 miles of the capital-to-capital high? way with the calf crate tied on the left running board and the dignified commissioner of agriculture, and no less dignified former president of the State Union, petting the calf and try? ing to reconcile it to this mode of travel. First prize cow, Manuel Long; sec? ond, J. II. Price. First pound of butter, Mrs. J. II. Price; second, Mrs. Lemuel Seay. First pig, V/. II. Hendrix; second pig, II. I). Herman. Next year these good people prom? ise something much better. The executive committee of the State union has mapped out field work for reviving the Union in sev? eral counties. The president is au? thorized to put in the field as many organizers as he can secure. The ru? ral credit societies now being organ? ized in the Union, and the fertilizer contracts thit it appears the Union will he able to make for its member? ship ought to bring all the good farmers into its ranks. Probably the most important action of the committee today was the call for the re-assembling of the Southern Cotton Congress. Wo believe the im? pending disaster is so great that ev ery interest of the South must be lined up at once for concerted action to save the value of cotton to its people. The Farmers' Union of South Carolina is taking the lead in this move. On the streets of Columbia it is being talked of with more earnest? ness than the war news from Europe. It is being proposed that the bankers get together and underwrite every bale of distressed cotton In the State and absolutely hold it until the war Is Over and the world's commerce has settled down. It is proposed to have tho sttao underwrite the cotton 'bonds made necessary by such a pro? cedure on the part of the hanks. Fully believing that we must meet at the earliest practicable date to plan a method of saving the cotton crop of the State and Of the South, the writer endorses what Theo. H. Price, says in his supplement to Com? merce and Finance of July 2??, that because of Its enormous, cost the ex? pected war cannot occur. But even if this is the correct view, the excite* men! Of the times has already cost the State of South Carolina 20 million dollars, ami the South ZOO million dol? lars, unless some kind of finance can he devised to keep from letting any cotton go at the ruinous prices quoted today. e. W. o. Spider a Formidable Foe. A half-inch spider has beau known to catob and laud a two-luch hah. CLASS ANT WITH FLY BOTH ENEMIES, OF THE HUMAN RACE, SAY SCIENTISTS. Pests Are Equally Active In Carrying Disease Germs?Experiments in Panama Canal Zone Have Sub? stantiated Theories. No suspicion until lately has arisen that the industrious ant might upon occasion act as the transmitting agent of lu.ection to man, says the London Lancet. It was known that some spe? cies, such as the white ant, has very destructive tendencies in certain parts of the tropics and that the bites of some large tropical ants caused a good deal of general disturbance, be? ing attended with faintnees and shiv? ering and sometimes with temporary paralysis. It was also known that some savage races used the dried bodies of ants, beaten into a paste, as an arrow poison, but it is only of late that suggestion has been made that this insect might convey pathogenic bacteria to man. The ant Is com? monly found in and around the dwell? ings of people residing in the tropics. It is indeed, a matter of difficulty to keep this insect away from foodstuffs in such houses, and it is equally diffi? cult to keep the ant away from hu? man dejecta when these are not prop? erly disposed of. So that it cannot bo doubted that the ant has the opportu? nity of carrying from infected excreta the specific organisms of disease to the food stored Id human dwellings. Little or no experimental work, however, had* beer, lone to obtain proof that ants wen apable of trans? mitting disease to man, but in 1912 Dr. L. B. Bates, bacteriologist to An con hospital in the Panama Canal sone, undertook a series of experi? ments with a view of putting to the test whether or not the ant acted as a transmitting agent of such infec? tions as enteric fever and bacillary dysentery. His investigations were carried out with the large yellow ants which are found In and around the houses in the canal zone. He fed a number of these insects on bread soaked with cultures of bacillus ty phosus tor five days, killing and ex? amining some of them at certain Intervals, but in no instance was he able to recover the typhoid bacillus from the intestines of the ants. The experiment was carefully repeated with like negative results. He then tried to determine if the ant could carry the specific organisms on its legs or body in a purely mechanical way to human food. To this end a number of the In? sects were dropped into a broth cul? ture of the typhoid bacillus and al? lowed afterward to crawl out and walk over dishes in such a way that their footprints could be "cultivated" for bacteria. The typhoid bacillus was easily found in every instance. This experiment was repeated several times, and in the majority of cases positive results were obtained. Rising Generation. For one, I like to believe that the young people of the coming genera? tion are not less able or less earnest, not less willing or less devoted, than those of our own young days. Those men in buckram whom we boast of having fought, were they indeed so much more formidable than the giants In the path of the youth of today? Were we never "cowards on instinct," pluming ourselves on our "discre? tion?" I feel that we, the talking gen? eration, might suffer in comparison with the youth of today, did not our memories so often play us false. Cer? tainly not all of us have achieved even honesty and courtesy and common hu? man kindness. Did we all once havo learning and wit and zeal? Where are our zeal and wit and learning now? Are our sons and daughters so much our inferiors? No, by my hali dom! And we know it!?-Fannie H. Eckstorm, in the Atlantic. Chinese Market Expanding. Now that the Chinese in many provinces are adopting foreign dress, foreign food and foreign-style houses they are demanding a larger quantity of foreign merchandise. The sale of foreign clothing, shoes, hats and Jew? elry Is rapidly increasing. Foreign made furniture also is coming more and more into use, and while a great deal of it is being made in China there is a growing demand for foreign locks and hardware of all descriptions. A considerable increase is noticed in the consumption of foreign food and canned provisions are enjoying a wider sale. Foreign food is displac? ing Chinese food to such an extent that a local guild of Chungking which formerly made huge profits by selling sharks' fins and other Chinese deli? cacies has suffered heavily of late on account of the growing prefer? ence for foreign food. "Eat Less and Be Happy/' Mr. aud Mrs. Thomas A. Edison eat about half the amount of food now that they did formerly, and both claim to be much the better for their reduc? tion of diet. Mrs. Edison says she even gains in weight under the new sys? tem, and says that sho hates to think what her weight might bo if she had continued with her old methods, Tho lowest estimate she mado was 350 pounds. When she first Joined her husband In curtailing her diet sho found great difficulty in subduing her appetite, but now that sho has won tho battle she says sho feels better, sleeps better, can think more clearly and Is twice as active. Certainly her reward is greater than her sacrifice. Manning Strong in Beaufort. To the Editor of The News and Courier: Beaufort County voters are doing some concentrating on their own account. Inclined at first to sup? port It. I. Manning for governor, they have come more and more to regard him as the most available candidate. Friends of other candidates are drift? ing to him as the one offering the best chance of victory. The Blease candi? date* will not poll over 150 votes of 7<'0, and out of the remaining 5t>0 .Manning will probably get 400. With about 100,000 votes in 1900 he got nearly 19,000 in the first race with eight candidates running. To? day he is much stronger and with a total of 140,000 he should pass the 20,000 mark easily and go into the second race. That is the way they are figuring it out down this way. Beaufort County. Beaufort, Aug. 16, 1914. Colored Immigrants. One of the unique facts relative to Immigration is that more than B0y )00 Africans?black?have come into this country since 19C4. Degrees of Quality. Lord Lincolnshire, speaking a short time ago at High Wycombe, amused hie audience with 1he following: A friend of his, he said, was celebrated for the indifferent liquor he kept. This frieud was entertaining a guest on one occasion, and, turning to his Irish butler, be said: "Flanaghan, is this the beet sort of claret?" "No, sir; it is not," sali Flanaghan. "But it 1b the best you Lave got" Tragic Result of Jealousy. A terrible "remedy" for jealousy was employed by a good-looking woman named Borra, the wife of an Italian tradesman living at Luino, near Lu? gano, recently. The couple had been married five years and the husband, who was very Jealous, made frequent scenes for which there was no reason. In desperation at last his wife ob? tained some vitriol and washed hei face with the liquid "to spoil my beau? ty and keep my husband's love," she explained to the doctor. The wom? an's hands and "ace were terribly burned, and she has been taken to hospital. Her hut band cannot be con* soled. _ A Century Ago. One hundred years ago Napoleon took leave of his soldiers at Fontaine bleau, preparatory to beginning his exile at Elba. On the same day Louis XVIII entered London in state and a few days later sailed from Dover for France to ascend the throne vacated by Napoleon. In the midst of the enthusiasm excited among certain classes of the French people by the fall of Napoleon and the restoration of the monarchy, there was felt gen? erally a painful sense of depression. As the celebrated historian, Lamar? tine, remarked, "The king must have had great courage or a thirst of pow? er, to accept a throne and a nation burled under so many ruins/' SCHEDULE. SOUTH CAROLINA WESTERN RAILWAY. No. 7. No. a. 5.00 P. M. 10.40 A. M. Lv. Hartsville, 1.14 P. M. 11.04 A. M. Lv. Lydia. 5.32 P. M. 11.12 A, M. Lv. Young. 5.37 P .M. 11.17 A. M. Lv. Alcot 6.33 P. M. ILM A. M. Lv. B'p'vllle. 6.07 P. M. 11.47 A. M. Lv. Manvllla. ?.12 P. M. 11.62 A. M. Lv. Meredith. 6.21 P. M. 12.01 P. M.. Lv. Aman. 6.28 P. M. 12.08 P. M. Lv. DuBose, ?.37 P. M. 12.17 P. M. Lv. Brent 6.66 P. M. 12.86 P. M. Ar. Sumter. No. 6. No. 8. 8.36 A. M. 8.00 P. M. Lv. Sumter. 8.63 A. M. 8.18 P. M. Lv. Brent 9.02 A. M. 8.27 P. M. Lv. DuBosa. 9.09 A. M. 8.34 P. M. Lv. Aman. 9.18 A. M. S.4S P. M. Lv. Meredith. 8.23 A. M. 3.48 P. M. Lv ManvlUe. 9.39 A. M. 4.04 P. M. Lv. B'p'vllle. 9.63 A. M. 4.18 P. M. Lv. Alcot 9.68 A. M. 4.23 P. M. Lv. Young. 10.06 A. M. 4.81 P. M. Lv. Lydia. 10.30 A. M. 4.66 P. M. Ar. Us.rtsv.ile No. 6 leaving Sumter 8.36 A. M. connects from North and West, and or Darlington and Florence. No. 8 leaving Sumtes. 8.00 P. M. ?onneets for the North and West and rom Florence and Darlington. For further information apply to J. V. CHINA. Agent, Sumter, S. C. Supplement No. 1 to Time Table No. 1 Taking Effect 12.01 A. M. Au? gur* 20th, tttlS. SOUTHWARD. No. 28 No. 81 Mixed Dally. Mixed Dally. 7.00 P. M. 10.60 A. M. Lv Hartsville. 7.D2 P. M. 11.16 A. M. Lv. Lydia. 7.60 P. M. 11.46 A. M. Lv. Lamar. 8.20 P. M. 12.16 P. M. Ar. Tlm'vllle. NORTH BOITND. No. 28 No. 24. Mixed Dally. Mixed Dally. 8.26 A. M. 4.46 1?. M. Ar. llaitsvllle 8.00 A. M. 4.29 P, M Lv: Lydia. 7.30 A. M. S.fiO P, M. Lv. Lamar. 7.00 A. M. 8.20 P. M. Lv. Tlm'vllle Rastern standard tmie For any additional Information ap? ply to C. C. GRAVES, Traffic Manager. Hamlet W? *