Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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TH3C SUMTE! S W ATCHMAN, Estab Consolidated Aug:. 2,1 END OF SESSION OF LEGISLATURE Adjourns Sine Die 7.15 O'clock Sunday Morning?Long Ses sion with Little Result. BUT FEW REMAINED UNTIL FINAL VOTE Church Bells Calling to Early Mass as Lawmakers Leave State House. Columbia, March 2.?The church bells were ringing- for early mass Sun day morning" when the few .remain ing- legislators wended their ways homeward from the State House. The general assembly had adjourned its session of 1919 sine die. It was broad daylight, the day light after 7 o'clock when Gov. Cooper sent his final mes sage congratulating- the- legislature or. its- efforts, wishing: the members well and officially advising- that he had. no .further communication for the lawmakers. There were over on the senate side just six senators who; had kept vigil and had the privilege j of joining in the final amen. Four! of them, Senators Watkins, Clifton,] Laney and Baskins went down to seej the governor officially, and two, Sen-j :J ?iors Pearce and Christensen, re - "mained to keep company with Lieut.] Gov. Idles and the newspaper men. j Most,of the senators, appreciating) that all that was left to be done was! . to witness the final adjournment had gone to catch the early morning trams, the earliest of the series being the train for Charleston, leaving here ? .at 3 o'clock, which carried Senator Young, and then the trains go thick and fast out of Columbia after 5 in the morning and they carried full quotas of legislators who had re :r mained to wait for the engrossing for the work that had been piled up in the last few days of the session It could not have been a more har monious ending. There was general good will. No one waited and watch-1 ed; for veto messages and when the! long free conference report from the; appropriation bill was submitted it! wss not..eyen read so thoroughly was] cvery.,<*ne satisfied,,and ready to go; home. ??' Ik'was even found best and safest! by the free conference committee to j fix the maximum State levy at nine 1 an'1 a half mills, instead of nine as; expected and no one protested or ob- j jected to this. The final figures on j the appropriation biii, exclusive of | unexpended4 balances is $3,S93,5S2. .^Of this amount $362,000 is derived j from, special fees and the amount to ln\ raised by direct taxation is $3,531, 5?2.79. The proposed nine and a half mill levy will raise something Over. $50,000 more than what is nec es.^sry. The senate had a routing or raid ing party in the small hours of the night. A decided fight had been pro voked over a little bill which fixed the salaries of county officers in sev eral counties and in the last moment had, an amendment attached requir ing all county officers to keep an ex act and itemized statement of all in comes from their offices,* from what ever source derived. The purpose of Senators Ketchen and Duncan was to make this requirement State-wide and without exempting any counties. There is now such a statute Wt it exempts certain counties and that ex emption has mr.de the law quetsiona ble and not what is wanted. The amendment to the little bill had punch in that it was a general law. Senators Clifton and Sheppard in sisted that the proposed act was ttn constitutional in that the title was not responsive to the scope of ' the bill'. Senators Ketchen and Duncan who led the fight for the enactment of the bill lost but they put up a good fight. ;.H . '? The senate had attached the amendment during the day. The house refused to concur. Then a free conference committee was- appointed and the house and senate committee agreed to the senate proposition and wanted the amendment incorporated in the statute and then came the fight. The senate agreed to the free con ference report, and when it come to the senate there were a hundred nnd one parliamentary ? tangles. Finally about 4 o'clock it was suggested that a record vote would be wanted and would be insited upon. Xr. Duncan thought this was as.little as he could get. A poll of the senate was taken and it was found that 20 senators were present. Instructions were giv en to find three additional members to make the quorum, and several sen ators'were routed from bed and came to the senate-with sWp in their eyes and disappointment in their ex pressions that their slumbers had been disturbed after they had gone home to catch a few moments' sleep in the conviction that all was over except the final words. The roll-call showed voting: Sena tors W. P. Baskin, Proctor A. Bon ham. H. L?. Buck. T. B. Butler, Xiels Christensen, John H. Clifton. T. C. Duncan. K. P. Friday. A. Johnstone, T. T-T. Ketchin. Oeonre K. Lanov. W. F. "Lightsey, D. D. McColl, S. H. Mc Ghee, F. A. Miller. T. P. Pearce. II K. Purdy, W. S. Rogers. Jr.. J. C. Shepard, J. W. Shelor. T. F. Watkins. J. H.-Whurton, J. F. Williams. The fight on the proposition of re *afeed April, 1850. "Be Jnm a 881._I NINE MILLS LEVY ! FOR STATE TAXES - } j I Appropriation Bill Carries a To- i tal of More Than Four Million. i iLEVY IS jliOW that OF LAST SESSION j iFree Conference Works All Sat-i i urday to Adjust Differences1 Between Two Houses. Columbia, March 3.?A levy of nine mills was made by the general as sembly to meet the appropriations ! for the State government this year. j The total amount carried in the ap propriation bill is approximately $4, ; 200,000, which calls for a levy of I nine mills on a total taxable property iof $370,000,000. ! This is one-half mill, below the flexible levy imposed last year, but which was later reduced by the comptroller general to eight and one | fourth mills by the increased values j of taxable property put on the *tax j books. The differences between the bills as they left the two houses amounted to $689757^34. I*ems appropriated by the house, but which were not. in corporated in the house appropriation bill, as these bills had not been pass ed when the appropriation bill was isent to the senate, amounted to $335, 000, thus leaving a contested amount of $335,757.34. The University of South Carolina apportionment was trimmed consid erably in the free conference. Items put in by the senate, but which were rejected in the free conference, were: I Summer school, $10,000: furnishing i dox-mitories, $3,000; "printing plant, j $,5,000. The university will receive ! from the State this year $136,S00. ; The State health department was also reduced by the free conference. The item for venereal disease control was cut-from $15,000 to $10,000, and intensive county hea7th work from $22,000 to ?17.."00. The amount ap I pronnated for the health department, is $134,448.89. I Another department to - have its apportionment badiy cut was that of the adjutant general. This was cut from $30,846.7?, as recommended by the senate, to $25,400. Equipment for the reserve militia was reduced j from $9,150 to $4,000, and miscella- 3 neous expenses for the reserve mili-j tia from $10,000 to $5,000. j j The senate approriated $25,000 for] intensive work throughout the State j to put property on the tax books, j I This was cut in the free conference i I to $15,000. I The approriation for the office of i i the State superintendent of education 'was cul from $24,200 to $19,050. This 1 is for the general maintenance of the j office and operation of the depart I ment. The apropriation for the pub I lie school system is $524,602.GO, plus j unexpended balances to bring the to ;tal up to $719,6S7.S3. j :? -.--vi.r::. j quiring all county officers to file item I ized statements, which was the sali I ent feature of the little bill that rais ? ed so much of a "hub-bub" in the closing hours of the session, will be ; heaxd from again. The objection to j it at this time was that it was brought I in at the last moment as a "rider" to another bill, and one in which many senators had no earthly interest, and it was this feature that. Senator ! Clifton emphasized and provoked him* , to fight the bill to its final death. There were sixteen senators in all j who took the sau;'..- View that he did. [Senators Shepparo, Watkins and oth ers discussed the measure from a constitutional standpoint at length, i and said that the bill should be kill ed cn that account by refusal to : adopt the report of the free confer i ence report. In the closing hours of the session the usual praises and words o4* com mendation were spoken both on the I house and senate side. Gov. Cooper, with the coopera tion of Senator Christ'-nsen is still piusging away on the idea of a cen itral board for the higher educational institutions. Last night the senate passed this resolution, .;t the request of Senator Christens en. Whereas, the governor, in his in augural address, recommended for the consideration of the general assem bly, as a measure deemed necessary for the better conduct of the State, that the legislature at this time take steps looking: to the coordination of the government of our colleges and unnx-rsities; and Whereas, the proper framing- of such legislation demands careful in vestigation, so that the initiative, the fine traditions and a certain healthy individuality, now an asset of these institutions, may be duly considered and provided for, and the benefits accruing from the several separate boards of trustees may be preserved, and as a proper decision requires in quiry into the experience of other States that have adopted a similar central control; Now be it Resolved, by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring: That the budget commission con stitute a legisaltive cotnmittee on a central board for college control. It. shall be the duty of this com mittee to investigate the matters set forth in the preamble to this resolu tion and report surh information as may assist the legislature in arriving tili ad Fear not?JDet aB the end* Thon Alz SUMTER, S. 0., WEDNE NEWS OF STRIFE FROM RERUN Alar-^ng Reports of Situation! Sent Out by Press Cor- 1 i f respondents. I ? GOVERMENT ISSUES SENSATIONAL MANIFESTO j _ j j Government Declares That j ? -\ ! Thousands are Dying of Star- j : vation and Denounces Strikes. I i London,- March 2?(By the As- j isociated Press).?The possible fall ofi the German government is reported j in numerous spe cial dispatches re ceived today from Berlin. The mem bers of the government have arrived at Berlin to consult with the work men's council, and a manifesto has 'been issued. All the correspondents represent the situation as grave. i - Berlin, March 1.?(By the Associat ed Press.)?The government has is sued a long manifesto from Weimar, j denouncing the terrorist attempts to! get rid of the national assembly. It proclaims faithfulness to the princi ples of democracy. "Greater than the political danger is the economic distress." says the manifesto. "We can not feed, ourselves, from our own .supplies until the next harvest. The blockade is eating away the vitals of our people. Thousands \ perish daily from ill nourishment." j The manifesto denounces strikes,! j saving: "Every strike brings us a i step nearer to the abyss. Only work,, can save us.'" The manifesto promises the social ization of -suitable industries and es tablishment of councils representative of all the workers and freely elected. It closes with a strong note, asserting the determination of the government] to wage relentless war against .? rror j ism, concluding: <*Who ever assails I I the life of the nation is our enemy." ! '_ 1 Fighting in Poland j Germans Resume Attacks All I Along Line. I Posen, Sunday, March 3?The! Germans ; hav_? resumed their at- j tacks all along the line upon the j ! Poles today, according to reports j from the Polish-German frontier. Japanese Have Another Scheme _ i Negotiating With Russia to. Take Charge of Mongolia. I Pekin. Sunday. March 2.?Xegotla- ; j tlons are proceeding, it has been ? j learned from authoritative sources, ? ! for the purpose of giving the Japa-1 i nose the right to take over Russian j j rights and privileges in outer Men- i (golia. Bone Dry Law ; Congress Will Not Interfere: I With War Prohibition Bill. j Washington, March J5.?The senate : judiciary committee agreed today to litake no action on legislation to en j force the war time prohibition law. ! effective July 1st. It was decided j there was no chance for the passage ; of the pending bill at this session. Election in Hungary New Assembly Will Be Chosen I Early in April. i _. London, March 1.?The Hungarian cabinet has decided to order the elecr tion of a new constituent assembly j parly in April, acording to a Beuter's' dispatch. at a proper conclusion, together with their own recommendation, this re port and recommendation to be sub- ? mitted to the general assembly at its next session. When the house got hold of the resolution it promptly killed it. The budget commission can, how ever, of its own accord make the in quiry. It will, no doubt, do so. In connection with the session just adjourned a bit of legislation passed in the early stages, and which is con structive and will be of material value, is the statute which extends the operation of the Australian ballot, system. Cinder the former act th* system applied only to the larger towns, and incorporated. Under the new statute the system will be effec tive in every place that in the pre vious primary nad shown a voting strength of fifty, in other words, the . Australian ballot system will apply to all precincts except those in the country and remote. Then- was ab solutely no complaint of the opera tions of the system. Another significant bill passed in ? the very last hours of the session is the recognition by statute of a divorce ; granted in another State. The bill , provides, among other thinprs. that i where the wife secures a divorce in , another State that fact denies her the ? further claim for dower in the hus band's property. an at be t&7 Country's May b**!'? ? ISDAY, MARCH 5, 191? HOOVER FEEDS HUNGRY WORLD Appointed Director of American | , Belief Work by President Wilson. HE HAS HUNDRED MIL LION TO SPEND Food Distribution Will be Car ried on in Stricken Coun tries. Washington, March 2.?Herbert Hoover has been appointed by Presi dent Wilson as director general of the American relief administration creat ed under the new $100,000,000 Euro pean famine relief Dill with full au thority to direct the furnishing of foodstuffs and other urgent supplies purchased out of the relief fund and to arrange for their transportation, distribution and administration. Mr. Hoover, who already had l>een director general of allied relief under the commission sitting at Paris, also was given full power by the president to determine to which of the popula tions named in the relief bill the sup plies shall be furnished and in what quantities. He also is to arrange for reimbursement so far as possible as provided in the relief act. In making public the president's ex ecutive order tonight the food admin istration announced that Edgar Rich ard and Theodore F. Whitmarsh, who have been directing the affairs of the food administration during Mr. Hoover's absence in Europe, had been appointed by him joint directors in the United States of the newly created re lief association. , The president's executive order fol lows: Mn pursuance of an act entitled 'An act for the relief of such populations in Europe and countries contiguous thereto outside of Germany, German Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Tur key, as may be determined upon by the president as necessary,' approved Febrtii^y 24, 1919, I hereby direct that the furnishing .of foodstuffs and other urgent supplies and the .trans portation, distribution and adminis tration thereof provided for in said act shall be conducted under the di rection of Herbert Hoover, who. is hereby appointed director general of the American relief administration with full powers . to determine to which of the populations named in said act the supplies shall be furnish ed and in what quancities. and fur ther to arrange for reimbursement so far as possible as in said act provid ed. Hv is hereby authorized to, es tablish the American relief adminis tration for purpose of carrying out the provisions of said act and to cm ploy such persons and incur su'di ex penses as may be necessary for such purpose, to disburse all sums appro priated under the aforesaid act of February 24, 1919. and appoint a dis bursing officer with that power, and particularly to employ the food ad ministration grain corporation organ ized under the provisions of tiio food control act of August 10. 191.7. as an agency for the purpose of transporta tion and distribution of foodstuffs and supplies to the populations requiring relief. He is hereby further authoriz ed in the carrying out of the afore said act of February 24. 1919. to con tract with the fjod administration grain corporation or any other per son or corporation that such persons or corporation shall carry stock of; food in transit to Europe and at points' in Europe in such quantities as may j be agreed upon and as are required to meet relief needs and that there shall j be paid to such persons or corpora- \ tion in advance from the appropria- i tion ma.de in the aforesaid act of Feb ruary 24, 1919, any sums which may! be required for the purchase and; transportation of foodstuffs and the ; maintenance of stock." Farmer Shoots Self A. J. Hicks Dies at His Own Hand. _______ i Florence. March 1.?*A. J. Hicks, a' farmer living in the Olanta section of Florence county, committed sui cide Wednesday afternoon by shoot-. ing himself through the left breast' with a shotgun. He was H5 years old. Ill health is said to have been the cause of his taking his life. The deceased placed the shotgun on his breast and pulled the trigger with i his toe. Hq leaves a wife and two sons, both grown. Mr. Hicks was a good farmer and owned one of the best properties in his neighborhood. An Extra Session May Be Called Legislation for State Reserve Bank and ?ood Roads Needed. Columbia,.March C.?There is much :alk in the air today to the effect :hat an extra session of the general issembly will be called by Governor "hooper. The extra session talk is laserl upon legislation looking to the establishment of 3 State reserve bank as outlined J. Skottowe Wan namaker. and for the purpose of passing good roads legislation. ?a rmik'k.- THE IRC? GREGORY GOES WITH WILSON Former Attorney General to Be Legal Advisor at Peace Conference. I HE RETIRES FROM j j CABINET TOMORROW; i ? i Gregory Will Not Be a Mem-| ber of Peace Conference and! Status is Not Exactly Defined. j Washington, March 2.?Thomas W. ! Gregory, retiring attorney general of j the United States, will accompany I President Wilson to Faris as general j adviser and assistant at the peace j conference. j Mr. Gregory's resignation as mem ber of the president's cabinet becomes effective Tuesday, when he will be succeeded by A. Mitchell Palmer, and the retiring attorney general will as sume immediately his new position as unofficial counsellor to the president during his second visit to Europe. Mr. Gregory's functions have not been clearly defined, but he is expect ed to advise the president and the American peace commissioners on constitutional questions relating to the league of nations and on many matters of law and of general policy. There was no intimation here that he would succeed any of the Ameri can commissioners now in France. Mr. Gregory resigned from the cabinet two months ago with the in tention of practicing law, explaining that the salary of his position was not adequate to meet his personal needs. It is said he still expects to I return to law practice when his du j ties in Europe are completed. ! A. Careless Clerk i - j Six Acts Passed by Legislature Were Not Ratified. J - ; Columbia, March 3.?Discovery I was made today that six acts passed ; at the session of the general assem bly which came to a close yesterday ] had not been ratified before adjou.rn n.ent. One of the assistant clerk's of i the house had placed the bills in a drawer and forgot to turn them over to the proper officials for ratifica ?tion. One of the bills exempts from i taxation no more than 25 per cent of j the capital stock of any bank or cor ! poration doing business in the State j invested in United States Liberty J Bonds and farm loan bonds of the , Federal Farm Loan Bank at Colum | bia. ? Another of the acts was the one ! regulating the service of the street j railway company of Charleston. This i bill was a storm center ^during the j recent session. ! Another act was one ratifying the } constitutional amendment so as to j permit the town of Pendleton in Anderson county to assess abutting I property. ( Another provided for the creation I of Ellenton school district in Aiken i county, and one provided for elections '> in Horn' county for the extension of j the stock law. : Statements were issued this aftrr | neon by Marvin M. Mann, clerk of \ the senate, and J. Wilson Gibbes. ! clerk of th<* house, placing the blame! on the general desk assistant of the* j house. j I - I President Lyles j Columbia Attorney Succeeds J.j F. Livingston as Head of Co- | lumbia, Newberry and Lau- j rens Road. ? ~~ i Columbia. March 3.?At a meeting; of the board of director of the Co- ! lumbia, Newbery and Laurens rail-; road held here today, J. B. S. Lyles, j of Columbia, a member of the firm of Lyles & Lyles, attorneys for the: road, was designated as acting pres ident of the road for a period of; thirty days during which time a: suitable man for the position will be j selected. The vacancy was caused by: the recent death of J. F. Livingston, president of the road. ? j - Training Station Graft Secretary Daniels Orders In vestigation of Great Lake Station. Washington, March 3.?Secretary Daniels today instructed the com mander of the Great Lakes Training Station to invest5crate reports :hat a number of men there are involved in irregularities similar to those recent ly disclosed in tho Xew York district. Paying War Contracts j ? ________ i Congress Passes BUI Validating - Bills of Claims. Washington, March 3.?A bill vali dating and authorizing- the adjustment of more than two and one-half billion dollars worth of war contracts and i the thirty-three million dollars rivers j and harbors appropriations bill were t signed today by President Wilson. VoLXLVIII. No. 6. WHITE HOUSE LABOR MEETING i ' ? "? -' ? Governors and Mayors in Con ; ference to Discuss Peace I frme Business Problems* PRESIDENT WILSON WELCOMES DELEGATES Tells Them That Federal Gov ernment is the Servant of the ! States. By Associated Pres?3. . j Washington, March 3.?At. the : opening" of the White House confer | ence of governors and mayors on j peace time business and labor prob I lems today, President Wilson promis ed that the federal government would consider itself the servant of the States, counties andr municipalities in solving readjustment problems and would perform its duty, guided by suggestions of the conference. The president said he hoped: t&e conference discussion would assume ja wide range, including means for ? restoring labor conditions to a nor {mal basis as soon as possible, "and I to effect such fresh allocations' of la J bor arid industry as circumstances j may make necessary." Touching upon the peace confer j ence he said the conferees at Paris I regarded themselve sonly as the ser ! rants of about seven hundred ' mil- \ j lion people of the world and not-?ff j their masters. Consequently he said the conferees are anxious to keep in j close sympathy with the peoples they i represent, to find out how we can I best assist in making their lives what j they wish them to be by giving them ! the opportunity they ought to have. The president spoke briefly, cph- - fining himself largely to welcoming the visitors. Secretary of Labor Wilson, who {presided, told the>conference the re j cent strikes at Seattle, Butte, Law ? rence and other places were not in ; dustrial or economic disputes in orK i gin, but the results of a deliberate organized attempt at social and PCK-. litical movements to establish, soviet governments in the United States. Congress Falls Dowifc As Result of Time Killing Ses sion Er.ds With Many Im portant Measures on Calendar. j Washington, March 3.?With the Victory Liberty Loan bill out of the j way, both branches of congress went j to work today with the hope of I clearing up the mass of bills on the I calendar, few of which the leaders j thought could be put through. -Demo j cratic leaders predicted that while the [army and navy appropriation meas | ures would not be passed at this ses sion, they felt certain the billion dol I lars wheat guarantee bill and the ; general deficiency appropriation meas i ure would be enacted before adjourn i ment. __r j Espionage Law Upheld j Supreme Court Sustains Convic tion of Persons Who Inter fered With Lraft Law. Washington, March 3.?The con stitutionality of the so-called enlist ment section of the espionage act was upheld today by the Supreme Court in sustaining the conviction under the act of Charles Scheneck and Elizabeth Baer of Philadelphia, who were charged with sending non mailing circulars regarding the war to men within the draft age. Big Bill Against Huns Peace Conference Estimates Damages at Hundred and Twenty Billion. Paris. March 3.?The peace con* ference committee on reparation es timates that one hundred and twenty billion dollars is amount ene my countries should pay the allied r and associated powers, said a Havas agency statement issued today. To Investigate Crime Committee on Lawless Propa ganda to Continue Work* Washington, March 3.?The con tinuance of the investigation of law less propaganda during the recess of congress was authorized today by the senate. The report will be made ;it the next session. Newberry Gets Job Man Who Defeated Ford With Money Takes Seat in the Senate. Washington. March 3.?Democratic senate leaders today withdrew ob jection to the receipt of the creden ials of Republican Senator-Elect dewberry of Michigan.