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Wednesday and Saturday ?BY? Q8X3B3S8 FCBISSHING COMPANY S?MTER, S. 0. Terms: $1.50 per annum?in advance. Advertisements. Oae Square first insertion .. ..$1.00 Xvery aubseqaent insertion.50 Contracts for three months, or longer will. b?> made at reduced rates. AH ^communications which s*ab terv? private interests will be charged tor as advertisements. ObStuaiies and tributes of respec: irilt be charged for. . The Sumter Watchman -was found iC ax 1850 and the True Southron m The Watchman and Southron ?ow has the combined circulation an^ influence of both of the old papers, ?nd iri?anifestly the best advertisi:-.*' medium in Sumter. , THE COTTON ACREAGE. A "Safe and Sane" cotton crop cam - paign, such as suggested by the At 2*nta meeting of farmers and bankers, shdnld appeal to every farmer who is a business man. It was never more necessary to the South that the cot ton-crop be limited to the immediate needs of the world so that there shall be no surplus to serve as a drag on the market. The curtailment of the ! cotton crop to one-half the acreage in cultivation would accomplish this purpose, for the South would be, not only self-sustaining as to food sup plies, but would have a surplus to sell, and the law of supply and de mand would take care of the price of cotton. There is another matter that JBhould be considered?what is the; ysense of making more cotton than can 1 harvested? last year South Caro-1 produced a big crop of cotton; soj ;?hat it could not be harvested and j lay there are thousands o? bales of j .cotton still in the fields, the greater | part of which will never be gathered. The part that has been picked out within the past two months and wiii^ he picked within the next few! weeks is so badly damaged that ft is 1 not worth half the market price. The farmer who plants more cotton than is reasonably certain he can har is injuring himself and the South j * iit two ways. He is helping to de- \1 press the cotton market by doing his j' share to produce a big crop?the I' price being largely based upon esti-h mates of production on the basis of!1 acreage, and he is spending money to grow a crop that he can never har vest in good condition. RECOGNIZING MERIT TN CON GRESS. One of the most hopeful bits oi news coming out of "Washington late?y is the report Aat the leaders of the party which will ccrfcro! the next congress, intend to abolish the "se niority rule" in the organization of house and senate. The plans are said to include everything from the speak ership down to the chairmanship of tlse least important committee. If this is not true, it ought to be. Both parties have long operated un der- {he absurd system by which any representative or senator automatical- j ly comes into a committee chairman-j sh'p" or other place of leadership bv virtue of his period of service in con gress, without any regard to his! fitness for the position. Such a system would be tolerable j only on the theory that every mem ber of congress was a statesman ca pable of performing any task assign ed"- him. Its evils have become very evident with what most observers re gard as the progressive deterioration in the personnel of congress in re cent years. The present congress has been extremely unfortunate in some of its important chairmanships. The rext congress will be'unfortunate too. if it does not inaugurate this promis ed reform, demanded alike by the most enlightened members and bv the b?st sentiment of the nation. A SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTA TION. As long- as the railroads are un der government control, they wdl necessarily be under tho direction of one man. Their operation as a unified system is a one-man job. The job is a mighty big one, too?about as big as any of the executive positions in the president's cabinet. There is much force, therefore, in the. request mad* by big railroad men that tho management of the railroads be raised to the dignity of a cabinet position. Mr. AcAdoo as director-general of railroads, along with his secretarv ship of the treasury, had the advan tage of being already in the cabinet. The present incumbent has no sucn status. It would surely not be ;uni t to make him secietary of transporta tion if he measures up to the job. It. would be necessary, in case such a position were created, to work oui and define its relations to the Inte-> state Commerce Commission. Per haps the commission could be made 5n time, a board of appeal with ona! authority in case of dispute. In case the railroads are turned hack to their owners in a ccuplc .-?1 years, there would still be plenty ol big work to which a secretary transportation could devote himself directing the development of inland water routes, for example, and co ordinating the waterways with the railroad system. j a FscinmTiox president. headers of the Anti-Saloon League, flushed with the Success of their cam paign for federal prohibition, are talking already of new conquests. They propose to launch soon a cam paign for the presidency, aiming to place in the executive chair some can didate who will stand "four-square j for prohibition." And such an aim. ambitious as it appears, seems meant only as a step to greater triumphs. They hope to win the world for prohibition. In deed, some of the more enthusiastic I representatives of the movement sug jgest so close a date as 1930 for suchj ; a consummation. / , | With all due respect for the good intentions of these reformers, one may venture to give them a word of caution. They had better be tem perate. There does not seem to be any good reason for injecting prohibition con- j spicuously into national politics at '? this time. The victory is won. and the J issue is settled. The country is to go j dry next January. Then and there- { after, it may safely be assumed, any ! American who happens to occupy the j White House will be a "Prohibition j President," enforcing the liquor laws! fairly and vigorously. The ccuntrv does not want a third I j party, interfering with the function - \ ing df a governmental system that j has been developed on a two-party J basis, and the big parties now existing have plenty to occupy them along their usual lines of division. It is just as well, too. to go a little! slow about .converting the rest of the j world. The gospel of prohibition caui be carried to Europe more effectively j after the United States has given it j x thorough try-out. All this, it need hardly be added,! is said in the utmost friendliness to j: :he prohibition movement. It is nat- j ural enough for the prohibition work-! ?rs to sigh for more worlds to con- I qruer; but they are in danger of arous- ! ing resentment and hurting their own ! Dause. Highway Bond Bill j - i Senator Christensens Bill to Is-1 sue $25,000,009 of Good Road j Bonds. Columbia, Feb. 4.?Senator Chris tensen has introduced in the senate a bill providing for an election at the general election in 1920 on the ques tion of issuing bonds in the sum of $25,000,000 for the construction of a system of permanent highways in the; State. I: Following is the text of the bill: A bill to provide for the issue of | bonds of the State of South Carolina, to be known as the State of South 1 Carolina Highway Bonds, to an amount not exceeding twenty-five mil lion ($25.000.000) dollars, bearing in terest at the rate of 4 1-2 per cent per annum, payable semi-annually,! for the purpose of providing a fund j for the construction of State high-1 i ways. Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the gen eral assembly of the State of South Carolina, subject to the approval of the debt hereinafter created by two thirds of the qualified electors of this State voting at a general State election, that for the purpose of pro viding funds for the construction of State highways, with a hard and durable surface, by the State High way Commission, the Sinking Fund j Commission of the State of South | Carolina be. and is hereby authorized ; and directed to prepare a sufficiency of coupon bonds of uniform design and appearance, as will provide for a total issue at face value of $25,000, OoO of such "bonds; said bonds to be of denominations of five hundred ($500) dollars, or one thousand ($1, ; 000) dollars, and to bear interest I from the date of their issue until the date of their maturity, at the rate of 4 1?2 per cent per annum, payable sejssi-annually. and after said date on the-day of-and - in ^ach year, at the State treasury in the city of Columbia, or at the agencies of the State in the cities of -, which places of payment shall be expressed on the fae^ of the bonds; and said bonds shall have coupons attached ! thereto for the interest, which shall i become due on said bonds as herein-1 ! nbove provided. j See. 2: That said bonds shall ma-i I ture serially as follows: $1.000.000 on thp first day of l of each of the years 1926. 1927. 192S, 1929 and 1930. $1,200.000 on tho first day of * each of the years 1931. 1932. 1933. I 1 .?34 and 1935. i $1,300.000 on the first j\:\y of ! of each of the years 1936' 1937. 193S j 1939 and 1940. And $1,500,000 on the first day of j-of earh of the years 1941, 1942. i 1? 13. 1 9 5 4 and 194.". ! See. 3: That said er.npon bonds i<?bri!l l?o signed by the governor of the State, countersigned by the comptrol ler general, and have the great sea! (of the State affixed thereto by the sec ? retnry of State, which signing an " I sealing shall be made and done ithe time of their issue and not before: ; the coupons shaP bear the- signature of the Statr treasurer, his name be I ing lithographed or engraved thereon. Sec. 4: The secretary of State :s hereby required to keep ;ft all times a .-? >rrect registry of all th" bonds seal el by him. under the provisions o* this act. And th<> governor is. in like manner, hereby required to keep a "{similar registry of al! the bonds sign .[eel by him; each registry to be acces sible to the public at all times, j Sec. 5. That all coupons of said i bonds, and the principal of said bonds, ,: when the same shall become due. ; shall he receivable in payment of all j taxes, which shall become payable to j the state during the year in which [said coupons or the principal of said j "?onds shall become payable; except j for ihe tax levied for the support of ? public schools: and the fact that the jsaid principal and coupons are sore j ceivable shall bo expressed on the i face of said bonds and coupons re spectively; and this pledge is hereby j declared to be a contract between the J State of South Carolina and every holder of said bonds, which pledge shall be expressed on the face of the said bonds. See. 6. The said Sinking Fund j Commission ai-o hereby authorized and instructed to sell the bonds herein provided for in such amounts and at such times as they shall be directed so to do by the State Highway Com mission at the highet price obtainable, not less than par or face value and ac crued interest; and the proceeds thereof shall be deposited with the State treasurer, subject to the pay ment of vouchers issued by the State rlighway Commission, approved by the State Highway engineer and au-j thorized for payment by the chair- \ man of said commission, or any other] member thereof who may be desig- j nated by said commission for that' purpose: and a correct registry of] such bonds when sold shall be kept j by the Sinking Fund Commission, and j also an accurate account of the pro- j Cceds of said bonds turned over by! the commission to the State treasur-i er. Sec. 7: That for the purpose of de- \ fraying tho expenses and tarrying but the provisions of this act, thrt sum Df -. if so much be necessary, is here- i by appropriated to be taken from t he license fees collected by the State Highway Commission. See. S: That said bonds shall be free from all State, county and mu nicipal taxes whatsoever. Sec 9: That the Sinking Fund] Commission are hereby authorized inj their discretion, to perform each and j every act necessary to carry out the \ provisions of this act not herein j specifically authorized, and which is J not inconsistent with the provisions; hereof. j Sec. 10: That the principal and interest of the bonds provided fo^* in this act shall be payable in gold it the present rate of weight and fine ness per dollar. Sec. 11: That for the purpose of payins- the interest on said bonds and retiring th? same at maturity, an an-.j nual license tax rot exceeding $100 per horsepower for automobiles and i motorcycles, and $2.00 per horsepow- j er for motor trucks, said horsepower' to be determined by the rating es- j tablished by the Association of Licens ed Automobiie Manufacturers andj known as the Standard Horsepow-jrj Formula of the Society of Automo bile Engineers. ?10.00 for every traih" for .attachment to a motor ve-l hide: and an annual license of $50 for each and every make of motor vehicle sold by any dealer of same, shall he levied by the general assem bly: Provided however, that so much thereof as may be needed for the maintenance of roads and bridges constructed and for the operation of the State Highway Department shall be first deducted therefrom: and it ' shall also levy such annual tax as may be necessary to pay such an nual interest in the event that the revenue derived from the license tax upon automobiles shall be insufficienti for that purpose; and the fact that! the principal and coupons of sail' bonds are receivable for taxes as] hereinahove provided: and that the! payment of the principal and interest j af said bonds are to be secured by a levy of said motor vehicle license and other tax is hereby declared a con tract between the State of South Car olina and any beider of said bonds, which pledge shall be expressed on the face of said bonds. Sec. 12: That the State Highway j Commission is hereby authorized and empowered to draw and expend the funds which may be realized from the sate of the aforesaid bends for the purpose of layin:- out, grading- an-.l | constructing with a hard and durable j surface such highways of the States! as may be incorporated in the State Highway System, and the construc tion of bridges constituting part there of, and for no other purposes what soever. ! Sec. 13: That at the first general) State election, ensuing after the pas- I sage of this act< there shall be sub- I mittcd to the qualified electors of this! State the question as to the creation j o/ the debt hereinbefore authorized! and directed. LOCAL. i P. <:. BOTV'MAX. Cotton Buyer. ?Corrected Daily al 12 o'clock Noon}.; Good Middling 2.". Strict Middling 24 ::-4. .Middling 24 1-2. Strict Low Middling 2:. 1-2. SETT \?>JtK rO'lToN MAi .KtiT. Yes'td'ys' Open High Low Closr CU^'-e j Mch . . 23.20 2^.2" 22.21 22.40 20 May . 21.95 22.06 20.99 21.15 22.02 July . . 20.05 21.22 2 ?.2<? 20.2.9 21.IS XEGRG REPUBLICANS MEr.T. Pledge Loyally to Party <;ivi!)?z Them "??nights." Columbia. Feb. 4.?Negro Republi cans of South Carolina, meeting in a State conference here today, passed resolutions pledging their loyaity to the Union Republican party, "or any ether political organization thai cvill give us the rights to which \yo are en titled." The resolutions also urge thai negro ministers urge their follow ers to prepare themselves for the franchise. Committees were appoint ed to wait upon the ,-emor and railroad commission to urge represen * tion of negroes on school boards of trustees and better facilit'cs for rail way travel. If you have cotton to sail, see us, it will pay you. 4 If you have fertilizer or fertilizer materials to buy it will pay you to see us before you buy, Cash or approved collateral. 9 West Liberty Street Letter From France. St. Li in. France, Dec. 23. Received your welocme letter of the-? and was glad indeed to hear from you all ag.ua. About a month ago I was changed from th< Tele phone Detail to top Motor Detail and have been driving a large fine vThite recennasahee (12 passenger capacity) car sines and have sure got to sec France and to open her up to my heart's satfsfacticj; on these, the finest roads on God's gr; en ea "She" has tlx::-: inch fires that v.- aid cost $!"'? apiece. Have been all over many of the famous battleric: ine imhig V ? imi (where more, than t??.O?? men m.e? death). Ghateau-Thieia^y: St. *fih!e: and the Argonne fields. There are still some unhuried fragments of hu man bodies - laying around and raanyi dead horses; and ammunition by the; ton of ail calibres, from rifle car- j tridges to projectiles so large that a.i strong man cdukl not lift one < . P.ifles. some hroT%e a: d some order, il. in: :s. belts, : ho gs masks, can' -v-ns mess i its. bushe of hand grenades of . r I wreckage of motor and fc ? vehicles, bayonets, knives. cutters and other paraphernalia and) apparatus of war. [ have se :> fully; fifty towns and cities that were com-j pletely shot down i o the ground, the highest wall left in many < tses being only four feet high. (The 1. ? ? in this.country are ail ? rid ? Have not seen, a single wooden house! in France"). T have seen whole fori its in which! not a sing a ? tree had escaped death] from shells or bullets. ? nd all the\ undergrowth had 1 a killed by the high explosiv? s a.:id gay >: ? Is. Who e r ?lelds have been plowed a od replow~j ed by the bursting projectiles. ryj .shell craters you could hide ? Ford! in and the side1-- of hiPs have been j blown away by continuous artillery j fire. You have read these things in the i newspapers and mag; hui no amount of reading will, or can. im press one like seeing this devastation with your own eyes. We are camped in sere.'- "0 miles of some of the battlefields, but no non commissioned officers below the ranks of first sargeant and sargeant major, and no privates except the auto driv ers have been allowed to go see these things, so you see 1 am very fortu-1 sate to -get to go. i could easily get a truck load of souvenirs but can't get them home! so I am not bothering with, them ( much. I la vi? a good German Mauser rim- and -some cartridges for same. Gould nick up a double arm full of rifles and enough cartridges to last ray life time but can't send them or t rim- them home. I have been a'so to many cf the large cities of this country which were not in the war zone. All roaas and canals are lined with tall rows ?:.' sira - gilt and uniform size trees on f i i her side. Have: d-rPron a hundred m.Hes along the River Mense and have been on the Oise. Aisne, Seine, '?'omme. Argent; ; and some others . r/.d the River Leu way over hear the Swiss border, and have been oh the \r.>o river several times, and at dif ferent places. Wait a minute ti:l 1 see what this orderly wants. I will finish hirer when I get back. December 26th. t\.m just now get tin?: buck. Was called on to superintendent the wir ing of the V. M. C. A. stage for the .;. -v. v-hipn js to be pulled off to night and. tomorrow night. We put ? toctric lights, so me plain ? " some colored r: d. bluo ; nd green riray hcr-turnec ca at any time do r-TfecJ. V -?er lav. f v.??:?*??.? Day. we. ? he 21Cth Regiment, gave the trench . hildren of this town and county a Christmas tree. The decorations were a thing of beauty, being arranged by officers and Y. ?.f. C. A. ladies with a taste for this kind of work. A French speaking dental officer, Capt. Gkarron of Florida, made a short speech of welcome and Pat "tiggens of the same State who speaks French also acted as Santa Claus. Our banal, the best banc in the country, furnish ed the music. The people sure turned out and brought "he '.hildren. and it did my soul good to see the little folks ;njoy themselves so. * David Works Griffith, the world fa mous playwright, producer of *Tn tollerancc.*' ""The Brith of a Nation," ind othi r famous photoplays, was in this town. St. fin. France, a couple, of nights -go. Se recognized one of j the" boys, a fellow who sleeps next I bunk to me, that used to work for; him. We had a very good Christmas din ner. Snow fell on "eve" night, but melted. Snowed again last night and is about 3 inch.es deep today. Am going hunting this evening with my "German Mauser" rifle. There are wild Belgian hares big as kid goats around here and plenty of ?.uaii the size of full half grown rruineas and foxes bark around here every night. Th< re are more crows n France and England than any-] where in the world I suppose, j ? .ion"t know when we are corn jing back, whether we go to Germany I jV whether we winter here. With [love from brother, Robert D. Cole. ' Ho.. Co. 316 U. S. F. A., France. MTRATK OF SODA. ; ? k;iendcd for Filing: Applications for Government Soda. Due 10 the fact that many farm i ers neglected to put in their applica tions for government, nitrate of soda. ? to time for making applications at ; per ten F. O. B. the ports, has : e< n extended 'to February 17th. Applications may be made as be t tore at the Sumter Chamber of I Commerce. County Agent J. Frank : WiUiams will receive the applications at Chamber of Commerce, and E. I. j Reardon, managing secretary of the 'Chamber of Commerce will assist nt Williams in taking applications. >p!:eants must positively get :'nations in on or before :7rh, as this is the date set Bureau of Markets and by Tin: agents of the government tust comply with these regulations land they can not under any circum I stances receive any applications after i February 17th. 1919. Correcting a Mistake. Fditor Daily Item. Will you please correct an error in . your last issue. I paid my pledge to the Red Cress fund which was $100 an I tin- old check is at the .First Nat ional Fan!-: now. Mrs. S.' J. White paid her pledge in cash. Sorry the .:?-.] Cross makes such mistakes. Yours truly, S. J. White. (.Mr. R. L. Edmunds, treasurer of Sumter Fhapter Red Cross states that there was no mistake?there were twa S. .1. White's on the list of contribu tors. Mr. S. J. White, author of the above letter, subscribed $100, which he paid and was properly credited; the other S. J. White did not pay his pledge and the card is still in the hands of the trsasurer.) Mexico City. Feb. 5.?Cuban capi ta lists have formed a corporation with a capital of $5.000.000 to establish a steamship line between that republic and Mexico, according to reports pub lished in the capital press. Agents have been sent to the United States, it is added, to purchase or lease ships nwmmmmw 0 =: 55?;.- ^. ?'.' .> ' . ? i'tci.*-.-. rr an Wfc<......... v;.s'^- '? - ? ; -> ? ? . ,. vi., : Vvk Xfff &eh ? - ?'v.' *-? - ' -. ? ? 4 ; R.j. Reynolds! ot>a< coCo. smokes, Prince Albert a joyhandout standard that just lavishes smokehappiness on every man game enough to make a bee line for a tidy red tin and a jimmy pipe?old or new! Get it straight that what you've hankered for in pipe or cigarette makin's smokes you'll find aplenty in ?. A. That's because P. A. Aas ?Ae quality! You can't any more make Prince Albert bite your tongue or parch your throat than you can make a horse drink when he's off the water I Bite and parch are cut out by our exclusive patented process! You just lay back like a regular fellow and puff to beat e cards and wonder why in samhill you didn't nail a section in the P. A. smokepasture longer than you care to remember back! Bvy Prince Albert everywhere tobacco is sold. Tcppy red bags, Hay red tins, handsome pound and half pound tin humidors?and ?tha< clever, prc^circai pound crystal glass humidor with sponge moisier.zr top that keeps the tobacco in such perfect condition. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Winston-Salem, N. C the