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Published Wednesday and Saturday ? ^ ?BY? OSTEEN PUBLISHING COMPAX1 SUMTKR, S. C. Turms: : . Si. 50 per aim am?in advance. Advertisements. On? Square first insertion . .$1.0G Every subsequent insertion.50 . Contracts for three months, or longer will he made at reduced rates Ali Communications which sub serve private interests will be charged lor as advertisements. Obituaries and tributes of respect Kill be charged for. ? The Sumter Watchman was found ?a in 1850 and the True Southron in IS65. The Watchman and Soutaror. now has the combined circulation ant influence of "both of the old papers and is manifestly the best advertisi:-.. medium in Sumter. V REAL THRIFT. ? ? _ The government through its cam paign t? encourage popular savings in Thrift and War Savings Stamps, has.brought the word "thrift" into commoner usage than ever. One hears, it? on every hand. Yet how many people '-ho use it realize that thrift is a preliminary process and en tirely, distinct from saving? ^?The thrifty person is not the one who; puts' twenty-five cents into a thrift stamp which should be put into a pair,of new shoe laces, or five dol lars into a W. S. S. which should be set aside that week for meat. ? Thjrift only paves the way for sav- i j * , ? ingv\ It considers: carefully present] needs and future ? possibilities ?nc'; j decides what are necessary expenses, setting asid^ such a portion of the in come- aS will provide for them. It also determines what are unnecessary ex penses, and stops, the outgo of money for them. That is not thrift which nesrlects either process, nor can there be any security in savings when ^either is neglected. The -essential item of ex penditure, temporarily ignored, will have to be met finally, probably by taking from the sjfvings what should neVer have been put there. The un necessary expenditure oft repeated means ho. savings at all. Thrift holds tne scale between the two,-and-upon the nicety with which a balance is maintained between le gitimate expenditure and waste will depend ^present comfort and future prosperity. " ?' NO LOSS ON WHEAT. There is a gsea-t, disappointment in store for those'gldpm: spreaders who predicted that .the 'United State, would go broke oh wheat. "The winter wheat crop as forecast}" on* April first is the biggest ever] known ih the history. of this country. 1 being estimated .at &37.000,000 bush els by the department of agrieul ture: ? -fFhis is 152.000,000- bushel* [' more" than the highest previous rec ord.. . The tremendous yield is due to the increased acreage planted, and to a Winter of unusually favorable weath er conditions. Were' there no foreign market in sight, as has been feared by the pessimists, the United States treasury, under the guarantee of $2.26 per v bushel, would be called upon for on enormous sum to make up the loss. But there is a foreign market, and long before the grain is harvester there will be a better on*. The dreaded Australian crop is short, and compared to th* needs ol Europe, the Argentiba surplus is but a drop in the bucket. American wheai alone practically will have to f?ec the world. Spring finds Russia, the grea: granary of Europe, still unplanted, her. citizens given over to anarchy and war. This means that the Eu ropean, need will increase, not lessen, as the months go by, and wheat not immediately needed the United States ran well afford to store for future emergencies. Tremendous as the promised crop may seem, there is every present in dication that it will be needed to the last .bushel, and that America, far from- losing on wheat, will profit as never. be?ore. . BANK CLEARINGS. Harper's Magazine calls attention to a remarkable fact of present business conditions. Business, according to the usual view, has been bad for three or four months, and is still bad. There has been nothing approximating panic, but there has been a general dullness or depression. Almost any business man will tell you that. Now, in the past one of the mos! accurate indexes to the volume o! ? current business has been the volume of bank clearings. The principle ol the thing is simple enough?th< more business transacted, the more money is handled by the banks in th< form of checks and drafts. Con versely, the more paper handled in the banks, the more business is beinj done. ?Remembering, then. how ver: "?ood" busiaei? w?s in the sari: months of last year, most people will be surprised to learn, that in the ;orresponding months of this year the oank clearances reported for the whole, country are considerably high er. Thus, taking two typical dates, we find that the clearings reporte? on February 15, 1918, were $5,180, 000.O&O .and on the same date of 1919 they were ?5,937,000,000; on March 1 of last year they were $0,571,000, 000 and on March 1 of this year $7, 477.000,000. The gains, for the four separate weeks ending March 1 range from 11 to 27 per cent. A compar ison -of clearances from newspapers of recent date will mostly show the same situation. Financial experts mention certain facts as contributing to the volume of bank clearances without actually serving as a record of increased bus iness. There must be such factors, of course, because no well informea man can believe that business is ac tually better now than it was a year j ago. But these increased clearings cannot be entirely explained away> There is an enormous and unprece dented amount of money?if we reck on checks and drafts as money?cir culating around the country* in pay ment of old obligations and new bills, and it probably represents a larger i amount of actual, current business j and '"better times" than mcst per sons have any idea of. IMPROVING MILITARY COURTS. It is a cause for general satisfac- J tion that Secretary Baker before he went abroad directed Col. Ansell to prepare a bill embodying the reforms ^dvocated by him in the administra tion of military justice. The reports of this officer, who act ed as Judge Advocate General dur ing: the war, revealing" the injustice and inhumanity of many courts-mar tial decisions, thoroughly aroused the public, and Mr. Baker is but meeting demand when he allows the inves tigation to go ahead and lends his authority to proposed reforms. Military justice must of necessity be rigid. Discipline must be such as to insure obedience.. No one, however, can fail to believe that even military justice should be tempered with mercy and some appreciation of in dividual rights and extenuating cir- " cumstances, not to mention a knowl edge of law and a spirit of respon- - sibility on the part of those who do ( the judging. -, LET HEM LIVE. 1 _ i ."In some dark hiding place among t the outcast and vile thou'lt crouch i ?and die accursed!" ? 1 A German wrote those words in - a 1 German play, long years ago. They apply now with the solemn weight of ' prophecy fulfilled, to 'he suggestion 1 that the Kaiser be allowed to live on. i restrained, disgraced. j1 There will be many people who will j * urge that Wilhelm should die, bui ! death is far too easy. Life in dis grace, life marked with the stigma : of a murderer, a plotter against the < peace and safety of peaceful people. 1 life robbed of pomp and power, o? ' freedom and glory, will be hardei than death for that haughty spirit. Even now who but a few Germans, stupid and unconvinced, would take him by the hand? And if the whob. nation should welcome him back and try to foist him ag::in upon the res: of the world, what' vengeance would fall upon Germany: Let him live, by ail means, in some dark hiding place, marked with the brand of the outcast and the vile. Who knows? Death may be the end of everything, of loneliness, shame, regret?let him live! OUR IRELAND. The Philippine sini.~tion inevitably reminds one of the Irish situation, be cause it is so. different. Ireland is seeking its independence, by what violent means and in what bitter mood everybody knows only too well. The Philippines are seeking their in dependence, and the method am', spirit of the quest are admirably shown in the words of .Senator Zue j j zon, chairman of the mission .iov; visiting this country. "We ar<- here to emphasize the loy alty of our people to the United States," he says. "There is no plan j to revolt, as the Philippine Islanders 'have no grievance against America, j "We are seeking our independence ?now. and feel that we are not only, : I well deserving of it, but are equipped i from an educational point of view for s'-if-government. A committee of j my countrymen, wil! shortly appear j before Congress and argue the mat : ter fully, and we have no doubt cf ' ? the result." ; The Filipinos are loyal to the Unit f. ed States; they have no grievance. ? i but they feel that they are now grown up politically, and in a!! ? j friendliness would like to break away -'and shift for themselves. The Unif ied States has promised them their r"freedom when they were n-.i?y f. r it. j They arc confident that ;h<- promise . ; v. iil !><? kept. f'\ 11 "'ill be, oi course, just as coon as congress is honestly convinced of their readiness. American pledges are not scraps of paper, and the j Congress soon to assemble will un [doubtedly approach the question with an open and honest mind. I A situation which otherwise might be embarrassing, in view of Ameri can advocacy of the principle of "self determination of peoples,*' is friendly and comfortable for both parties con cerned. While Great Britain is pay ing the penalty of wrongs inflicted on Ireland in times past, the United States is facing hen* own "Irish prob lem" with entire equanimity. It is a striking vindication of the policy ot squareness and generosity adopted by this country when we took over the Philippines 20 years ago, and con sistently followed ever since. THE MEANEST MAX. Everybody is always looking1 for j the meanest man, but a little consid eration should put an end to the;j search. The meanest man in the | world is .the motorist who spec.Is past ! a'school safety sign without checking' his machine. In city and country warning signs! are posted at sufficient distance:; from j the school buildings .to permit of! slowing even the swiftest motor to j complete control before the danger j point is reached. Only a brute dis-| rtgards 'he sign. There is nothing in the world so j happy, so eager as a child just com- i ing out of school.. He has everything! in the world on his mind, from a j quick raid on the cooky jar to build ing the rabbit coop; so out he dashes j anxious to get at his important bus-j iness, and confident that this is u j goodly world where nothing will ever! happen to him. The individual who strikes down t I cne of these confiding little creatures] not only maims or slays one child; he j breaks faith with childhood. Kis! crime is dastardly, his punishment j can hardly be sufficiently severe. THE CIRCUS AND TH>: WAlt. j j The circus performers are drifting j back, cne by one, from the front, and i resuming their places with the en-j rious shows as they start out on their j summer tours^ Somehow, among all the men who j entered their country's service, thes.' j :haps. at whose antics in the sawdus: j ring or on flying trapeze thousands I *iave rocked with mirth or held their! wreath in suspense, h::.ve come for lit -1 .le mention. Yet over 300 of them ! entered the service, and their record s as stirring and gallant as their nost ardent little boy admirer would relieve. There are gold stars in circus ser vice flags. There are crippled and | [>assed and wounded circus men iov-1 ng tended at winter quarters, to bear j .estihiony that our fun-makers were! injong our bravest. j "Jerry" Clayton, a clown beloved , by children all ipver the United j ?:tatcs, sleeps under French sod. Clar-: ?nce Richards, whose trained animals' were the wonder of ail who saw them ivas wounded thirteen tjimes in his ef forts to subdue the wild German. Everybody loves a circus: but re- j raembering their feats in the arena) < i war. we shall look upon the per- j formers now with new and ever: j kindlier eyes. law against ked flag. - it is announced that a bill is to bej introduced in congress soon, and its prompt passage urged, making it tfn- j lawful to exhibit a red Hag in this country. This is a radical remedy for! a radical evil. Most Americans.! t however, will doubtless give their j approval. , in former days the red flag was tol erated because it did not appear a j menace. As used by the Socialists originally it was considered to repre sent human brotherhood. The eolorj did not suggest bloodshed, but mere- j ly the blood that flows alike in the veins of all mankind. But Social-; ism has degenerated in character and program, and its symbol with it. The red banner has come to stand for crime, for revolution, for the violent overturning of the ideals and insti-! tutions of the freest and best of coun tries. It is not only un-American. It: is anti-American. It is used today! i ?*.s the emblem of an alien propa- j ganda seeking to reduce America tc j a level with Russia. The moment the issue is drawn. 1 th< re can be but one answer. When I the red Hag comes into conflict with I I j i the red, white and blue, it must go. ! -. i: v i: i i y- j >a x pat i: i ors. j _ i ; Subscribing to the Victory Loan will j bo the test of true patriotism. \ The former loans were subscribed under the impulse of enthusiasm, an outporing of human desire to lend a hand when catastrophe falls upon ?? neighbor, together with the righteous Lwrath which doubles the fist in sei*' f defense at unprovoked assault. I This loan will offer no such inccr vc. ii is true. Subscriptions t<> it \vnll i-.tj.li the ???i2 steady, faithful If you have cotton to.sell, see us, it will pay you. * 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 I love of country which is but an en Iargemont of the faithful iovc oi home?the kind of love which sends a man to his business day after day. and keeps a woman steadfastly ai her household tasks. If cither fails to do his part the home disintegrates and is finally destroyed. Just so with the nation. Its strength depends upon the faithfulness of the individual citizens in the un exciting routine of daily life. The people who run in with well turned phrases of sympathy, with food and flowers in time- of. trouble are all very well; but the folks who make the world go round are the ones who perform the tedious tasks of every day and pay the monthly bills without waiting for the stimu lus of a thrilling crisis, but just be cause it is the thing to do. TH2: "ADMIRAL" QUESTION' AO AIX. Admiral Sims, having finished his war task, is reduced in rank, becom ing a mere "rear admiral" again. There is no question of the high ability with which this officer com manded the American fleet in Euro- j pean waters throughout the war, and; the honor and esteem he won there by at home and abroad. The secre- I tary of the navy pays deserved trib- i ute to his distinguished record. The | whole nation recognizes the worth of his achievement. His demotion is net a mark of dishonor at all. official ly or otherwise-. It is simply ordered in literal observance of the establish ed .law governing such eases. Ce ngress, some years ago, virtually abolished the rank of admiral by pro viding that such rank and title should be held only temporariiy by naval officers while commanding the Atlantic'or Pacific fleet or acting as chief of operations of the navy de partment. So, the Atlantic fioet be ing demobilized, Admiral Sims suf-l fers an automatic reduction of rank': r^ndlpay. A recent report'gives 70 rear ad-j mirals in our navy, 34 of them "per-; i maneat" and 3tj ''temporary." Sims is lost in a mob of rear admirals, few ' of whom are known at all outside oi'J their immediate official groups. It is time for congress to changej this absurd regulation, and permit, the! retention of the fine old title of 'ad miral" by men who have earned it? j not merely as a deserved reward, but for the honor of the nation. It should no longer be said that any picayune country able to" afford a gunboat hasj its "admirals" outre.nking the highes: j officers of the second-greatest navy in the world, which represents the greatest country in the world. Uncle Sam has organized a "per- ! manent tank service" and is going to j keep right on operating after July 1 j To Enlist Savings Washington. April 16.? Liberty Loan committees of several reserve districts were urged today by the treasury department to conduct their Victory Loan campaigns with a view to securing the largest possible pro Portio, of subscriptions from private investors. The loan should bo ab sorbed by the public and paid for out of the savings of the public, said a telegram to the committees. It add ed ihm the resources of the banking institutions of the country should be left free to take care of commercial needs .and also tiny short term bor rowings which the treasury depart ment might need to make in the fu ture. Washington, April 17.?Two lieu tenants and mechanician, the army flyers who were unofficially reported as missing between Xtcaragun and Havana arc safe. They were pre vented from startin for Havana by engine trouble. Washinton. April 17.?The sah- of the war built merchant fleet was be gun today by the Shipping Hoard with the transfer of fifteen wooden steam ships to Xacirema Steamship Co.. o; N"<-w York nt six hundred and fifty thousand dollars for each vessel. Archangel. Wednesday. April 1??.? A small American scouting party op erating in front of the it Hied position along the railway front yesterday, surprised and ambushed a C>olshevik patrol, wkmnding a number of the M V IiITTLE NEIGBBOK BOY. ; (Dedicated to the memory of little j George Mosley. whose tragic i death occurred recently). [Just over there across the street, ' Lived my little, neighbor boy. His life was young, and rich, and sweet. His heart was filled with joy. [So carking cures or worries, seemed, To brew within his li?e; Th his young eyes the sunlight gleam ed, He knew naught of bitter strife. The world was big and beautiful to him. Just one. long, lingering song. Wj$s life, with naught to mar ,and dim, The way he went along. But, one day. this neighbor boy of mine, Moved off from cross the street, And I missed him. and the glad sun shine. That made Iiis young ilfc so sweet. Time' passed on apace, the days, Went swiftly on their way. Another boy across the street now plays. Where my neighbor boy used to. . play. I've missed this-little neighbor of mine, That lived across the street. I've missed the happy, glad sunshine. e That made his life so sweet. I've thought of him through manv a dn: Ami oft I've longed to see. My nf hbor boy once again at piay. 'CrocA the street in front of me. "Cut. alas, no more will he romp and play. In the front yard over there. I My little neighbor so joyous and gay. j With his life so rich and fair. For the angels came just awhile ago. And carried my little neighbor boy away. tip, tip beyond where the star-gleams glow. To the realms of a brighter day. j Bye-bye, little neighbor boy of mine.! Jus, you stand up -here and wait.; Somn day I will, by grace divine, Meet you at the golden gate. And we'll pass inside, my little neigh bor boy. And all through God's long, long day. Our hearts all thrilled with a heaven-j Iy joy. We'll just play, and piay. and plajy. ?Rev. E. W. Reynolds. \ Suinter, S. G South Atlantic j League Revived! Columbia, April 13.?At a meeting ! here today machinery was set in mo tion for the formation of the South Atlantic Association of Baseball Clubs. Five of the six franchises were allotted. A-temporary organ ization was perfected and an ah. nouncem< nt made that the final or ganization of the league will be completed .:t a meeting to be held in Columbia Thursday at noon. At today's meeting the preliminary organization was perfected by the award of franchises to Columbia. Charleston. Greenville and Spartan burg in South Carolina, and Charlotte in North Carolina. Tim sixth place will go to Augusta or Orangeburg. Orangeburg representatives were pres.- j erft at ;h<> meeting today with an em- j phatic bid for the consideration. Tentative plans had provided Cor the inclusion of .Augusta, but OS tin Augusta representative did not at tend the meeting it was decided that opportunity for entrance of the Geor-j i-gia city would be extended until j i Tuesday, at noon. and. if Augusta j (?fails to qualify by that time the J, .h ! will be given to Orar*?eburfr. I Milan, Italy. April'IT:?Four per ? sons w<-re killed and several wound j <-d during the disordei here Wodnes i day, incident to clashes between So cialist and anti-Socialists. Groups of workmen in the principal manu facturing cities of northern Ttaly be gan a twenty-four hour strike today. ?Easre.hurch. England. .\pnl 17.? Major Wood. British aviator who is to attempt :i trans-Atlantic. flight from Ireland announced his intentions in London this morning of flyig to Lime rick this afterbon. If present improv ? 1 weather conditions continue he sa*: h<- would start his Might across tie Atlantic tomorrow. Copenhagen, April 17.- -Bolshevism in Russia is irivinjr way to :i "new Burgoisi." according to the director of .Moscow Red f'ross committee who h.is arrived here. Premier - Le iiinr> and War Minister Trotzky nr>' trying to reacb an understanding with tlrs moderate elements m Russia. / SAVE THE BABIES. Campaign Made in XYancc by flic' CliSdren's Bureau of the American .Tie,* Cross. Paris March 10 (Correspondence of The Associated Press.-"Save the ba bies'' is the message that has been, taken into the remote towns and Vill- ? ages of thirteen departments of France by the Children's Bureau of the Amer ican Red Cross. ' France is considered second to none in scientific knowledge of infant wel fare; but hitherto that knowledge has been largely confined to her medical' schools, her hospitals, and to the minds of her child specialists. It need- \ ed to be taken right into the homes., if France was to save her coming gen eration. To combat ignorance of the princi ples of child hygiene on the part Scft French mothers to , popularize fresh, air and clean teeth, to preach the trt!th that tuberculosis is preventable;'., to encourage breast feeding and sensi ble cipthing for infants was the task which the American Red Cross sev. enteen months ago set itself to per form. The result is, as the Bureau statis tics show, that 250,000 French child ren have directly benefited by the ef-. forts of this section of the American ?Red Cross It organized for great expositions in four of the busiest cities of France; ' Lyons Marseilles, St. Etienne and Tou louse. Three hundred thousand per sons went through the turnstiles of these shows, and they took home every pit-ce of child welfare literature that they could obtain. Traveling expositions next went in to thirteen French departments. They gave simple lectures and demonstra- ; tions with a life-size baby doll in the town hall or the market place, and with the aid of their cinema and a supply of picture cards and colored posters, told the mothers how the health and welfare of thir offspring might be promoted Xearly>*vo million pieces of child welfare proia^ganda were thus distributed, with the fying result that ifi many. inst?l mothers returned to the show that they had benefited by this that piece of advice given by "les Americans." Finally the Bureau has trained young Frenchwomen as social visit ors and sent forty-eight of them out among their own people. In Lyons, Marseiiles, Corbeil. Blois. St. Etienne, and Paris they are doing intelligent and constructive social work begin ning at the homo itself where they are endeavoring to instil modern methods of child hygiene and the prevention of disease. Another feature of the activities of the Children's Bureau, has been the ? stabiishment of children's play grounds. A start has been made at Rouen; where .two playgrounds hav'i been inaugurated for the use of child ren between the ages of 7 and 13. The workers arc Miss Jane G. Hennessey, who has had seven years experience as a playground teacher in New York City, and .Miss Beulah Kennard, a member of the faculty of New York University, and for twenty years presi dent and superintendent of the Pitts burgh Playground Association. Berne, April 17. ?The Swiss fed eral council ,ic is reported, has de rided to recognize the new. German government on the ground it was ele< ted legally by national assembly which was chosen by vote of the peo ple. The report caused a sensation ?h political circles here. -? > London. April 17.?It is learned hero. thai the situation in Turkey is causing grave anxiety. Internal dis order is rife, according to reports from the British naval ??dfieer at Con stantinople, ft is feared that short ly there will be outbreaks and mas s.iojs of ih<> Armenian population on large scab-. PUBLIC NOTICE Xottce is her by given of the regu lar spring Teachers' Examination, wh ch vvi;! be held. Saturday, May o. at rhe Court House, in Sumter. The examination will begin at 9 o'clock. Applicants must bring writing ma terial. The questions will oe taken from the text-books adopted by ths State Board of Education, and used in the public schools. . By o I'd er of the Slate Board o?r Educat'on. / J. H. HA Y XSWORTTT County Superintendent of Education. Sumter County. WANTED?Cow peas. Brabhams. Irons, mixed. Highest cash pric-? ? iid. B. C. Wallace, Sinnter, S. C. i .... T?Spanish Pindcrs for your hogs. We have nice ones at 10c per pound. O^Donnell & Co. BEESWAX WANTED?Any quantity Jar*re or small Am paying best cash price. S?r? me if you have .-ill F G ?.,-t?.^c!l.