Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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FUEL RULES ARE RELAXEDj Senate Investigation of Strike! Settlement Halted Washington. Der. Li.?Restrictions] on the consumption ot bituminous coal continued to go by the board today as the railroad administration now in charge of - the distribution of supplies received reports-indicating that SO per cent, of the striking miners had re turned to work. Senatorial * investigation of the! strike settlement proposal offered by j the government and accepted by the \ miners was temporarily halted today -while Chairman Frelinghuysen, and | members of the investigating subcom- j mittce considered the policy to hi ? adopted. It was said after a Ions j executive session that the committee I had not decided as to whether it! would formally demand documents in j the possession of Dr. Harry A. Gar- j field, former fuel administrator who ! resigned because of his disagreement j With the settlement proposals, or asj to whether Attorney Qenenal Palmer i and other officials would be called, i The- committee however, decided to resume hearings, and summoned R. B. Norris, one of the engineers of the fuel administration, to furnish the sta tistics on which Dr. Gaffield based his j suggestion that a 14 per cent in-j crease in wages be given the miners j and paid out of the operators profits j without raising prices of coal. At-! tomey General Palmer, who signified! last week that he would appear, if the' committee permitted him, left Wash ington tonight for the Middle West to -continue the government's cam paign against high prices and in creased cost of living through -confer ences with State and federal officials. Ke will -be in Chicago tomorrow and j from there expects to go to Little j Rock and Oklahoma City. Coal operators of the central com petitive field in a statement tonight declared miners in the various fields were returning to work slowly. Not more than AO per cent, of the men have returned in the Central Pennsyl vania field, one of the largest in the country, the statement said, and a very small percentage have returned in the* southwestern -fields. Indiana reported practically all of the men j back at work, while in Illinois it wad estimated that less than 10 per cent of the strikers have returned in the j Franklin county field. GUAm MAYOR OF CHARLESTON Inauguration Ceremony Took Place Yesterday Charleston. Dec. 15.?John P. Grace and 24 a i e'er men-elect assumed office today, at noon, in the council chamber at city halL Recorder Jervey administering the oath to Mayor Grace, and he in turn swearing in the' aldermen, after Clerk of Council Bar bet had read the election returns ! The inaugural address followed, and ; then rules were adopted by council, j being practically those of the previous! council, and committee appointments! wore read out. Alderman Danied L. j Sinkler being named -chairman of the! ways and means committee. Discussing the distribution of pat- j ronage. Mr. Grace said that he would : immediately accept, if it were tender- j ed him, the resignation of every man j in the service of the city who support- j ed the recent administration, provid-! ed he felt that such service could be! dispensed with in each case without1 injury to the public welfare. He ad ded he did not look for such resigna tions to come in embarrassing num- j bers and was rather inclined to be- j lieve it might be necessarv to take j some action along that line. Marriage Licenses. Colored?Powell DuEant, Dalzcll and Beulah Kennedy, Daizell. Sandy Praylord, DaJzell and Xiven- j da Loyd, Da Ire IL Sam Wooes. Surttcr and Josephine I McKenzie, Sumter. - Sam Xathanid, Sumter and Carrie; Glisson. Sumter. Donald Caldwell, Summerton and ! Lou Solomon. Sumter. Rome. Dec. IG.?Newspapers ex- ? press the belief today that the an nouncement of solution of the Flume j controversy will be made by Premier! Xiiti at tomorrow's session of the chamber of deputies. - ABRUZZl RYE $3.50 per bushel SEED WHEAT Fulghrum & Texas SEED OATS Two and three Pound Bagging Duck er & Bultman 905-906 i TRAGEDY AT ! ST. STEPHENS ? ?* j 'frio of Men Slain While Two Women Suffer Painful Wounds in Whole sale Shooting Kingstree. Dec. 15.?A triple trag-j edy occurred at St. Stephens at 9 O'clock last night when Dr. J. H. i Pratt, a prominent physician, his brother-in-law, John Bell and Royall; Cotton, of Charleston, were killed in ' a pistol fight. It occurred at the ? country home of Mrs. J. T. Bell about one mile from St. Stephens. The facts in the case as reported: hero are to the, effect that Dr. Pratt, i upon, returning home from preaching, found young John Cotton at his house with his mother-in-law, Mrs. Bell, and her young daughter. Pratt, hay- j ing warned Cotton to stay away from ? his house, shot at Cotton and went to J his room upstairs^ John Bell, brother. of the young woman Cotton was call- j ing on, heard the excitement in the parlor and come downstairs. Upon opening the parlor door Cotton, the j report stateSi thinking it was Pratt, hrcd at Dell as soon as he opened j the door. The ouli entering the heart' and killed him in the doorway. Pratt | then returned to the scene of the : shooting and again hred at Cotton 1 mortally wounding him, but before! Cotton died he fired four shots at Pratt, who fell dead in the hallway.; The young Miss Bell was wounded in I the arm and her mother received a ? slight wound in her shoulder. Dr. Pratt was.a native of this State] and came to Wiliiamsburg county soon ' after being graduated, locating in the j Nesmith neighborhood, where he built up an extensive practice. About five ? years ago he married Miss Katherine j Bell and for seyerai years thereafter j made their home at his old home com- ? mupity. He then returned to St. Stephens and lived with his brother in-law, John Bell, and his mother and sister. It seems that there was ill j feeling between Dr. Pratt and young j Cotton, who was a son of Conductor Cotton of the Atlantic Coast Line rail road.! For some reason Pratt had) asked him to stay away from the Bell i home. John Bell and Cotton,.however, J are said to have been good friends, j All the parties concerned were' prominently connected, most highly: esteemed and a pall has been thrown j over 'the entire St. Stephens commu- j nity by the shocking tragedy. The body ot Mr. Cotton was sent, to Charleston this morning for inter-! ment and those of Dr. Pratt and Mr. I Bell will be taken tomorrow to Ninety- j Six and Darlington, respectively. SUGAR CONTROL LAW PASSED Senate Passes Bill to Continue Regulation Next Year . Washington, Dec. 16.?By a vote of 256 to 34 the house late today passed ; the senate bill continuing the sugar; ?equalization board through 1920. Amendments retaining in force the j war. time powers of the government I for controlling prices and movementsj of sugar were approved necessitating' the sending of the measure to. confer- j ence committee of the two houses. While the only dispute to be settled in conference are the continuance of j the war time powers permitting li-; censing control of sugar business, and' the requisition of stocks or refiner- j ies, leaders in congress were doubt- \ ful whether an agreement could be ; reached by the senate, the bill re-1 pealed the license control, and con- j tained no reference to the requisition-1 ing power. Opposition of the bill's supporters, to the repeal of these powers and the ? unanimous criticism of the sugar I equalization board that the senate bill would serve no useful purpose, were j placed before the house committee bo-; fore decided to recommend continu-1 ance of :he power. The board fie-j clared it should be vested with these! powers as well as the power to place j an embargo on exports. The house interstate commerce com-; mittee began hearings today on the] proposal to place an embargo on sugar but deferred final action until Friday. S; v< raJ members of ? ongress appeared ! before the committee to urge favor- j ab'e action! ! Jnvthe house debate, however, Rep- \ resentative Fordney. Republican, of I Michigan, declared "this embargo ia-k j is nonsense. as under an agreement j of the equalization board with Great! Britain. France and Italy to keep] them out of the Cuban market, the United States was compelled to ex port some sugar to these countries. House action on the bill resulted from a "speed up" program adopted by leaders late in the day. Debate on the measure was largely an attack by Republicans on Presi dent Wilson because he had not or dered the purchase of the Cuban crop last fall by the government. LOOKING FOR SOL- j DIER IN DISTRESS A discharged soldier by the name of Chester A Heal, escaped a few days ago from the Public Health Hospital, Capo May. N. J., and is supposed to be somewhere in this section of the country. He is suffering from some! mental trouble. His former home! was ai Gas City. I n<!i<in.i. and ho ha* : a sister Living in Washington. The I local Red Cross Home- Service Wits notified a few days ago that this man j had escaped and was asked to join in the search for hirn No descrip tion could be given of the man ex cept that he is demented and is in a j?eri0US COJV*itP wherever he is. The Red Cro.~.s . -as asked to give ! this matter all publicity possible and j put forth every effort to locate this j man. Anyone who can furnish.any, information concerning this man is I asked to get in touch with M>*ss Ma- j mie J. Chandler. Secretary Red Cross! Home Service Section, 602 City Na- j Eional Bank Building, Sumter, .< C. j RAILROAD GROWTH ,A NATIONAL NEED Railroads Under Private Owner ship Will Need More Money ! and Higher Rates Seems i Certain New York. Dec. 14.?Thomas De Witt Guyler, chairman of the Asso j ciation of Railway Executives, an nounced today that the fundamental ?acts of the railroad situation would be presented to the country by moann of national advertising". The opening statement! to appear in the daily newspapers during the next few days, is signed by nearly a hundred execu tives of the principal railroads. It will be followed by a series of advertise ments in the daily and weekly news papers and in other publications. "The unmistakable verdict of puW opinion." said Mr. Cuyler, in making the announcement of the plan of the railroad companies, '"is that this great national industry shall continue to be conducted by private companies under striet public regulation. Modern rail road companies, of course, are not private affairs. Their capital is sub-, scribed by a vast number of individ ual investors, as weil as by institutions, j stich as savings banks and life insur ance companies; holding' the savings of millions of people, and they arc subject to the most minute regulation by the public authorities. In Europe such corporations are called public companies, and this name more ac- ? curately describes them. ? With the return of the railroads to the control of their owning com- j panics, after two years of war service under governn\ont operatipn-^-a pe riod of unprecedented industrial and: financial change?the railroad manag ers will have many difficult problems! to face. But the most important ; problem?the one most affecting the public jwelfare?will be that of . at tracting to the railroad business a flow of new capital, without which the railroads cannot grow and without which the country cannot grow. "The whole railroad problem sift^J down to this fundamental fact that j in a growing country like ours, with the transportation demands incxeas-1 ing much faster than the population, j there must be a continuous invest- j ment of new funds in the expansion ' of railroad facilities. "Railroad freight traffic reached! 200 billion ton-miles in 1906; it rose | to 300 billion in 1913; and last year it crossed the 400 hillton mark. The; railroads are now hauling five times j as much traffic as they did thirty years ago. And traffic is going to keep! right on growing, because this coun- | try is going to keep right on grow-; ing. "To keep pace with this increase in j business the railroads before the war; were expending about $500,000,000 a! year of new capital for expansion, i That, as we all know, was not enough, j But railroad earnings were not large! enough to attract the funds of inves-j tors in greater amount. In fact foi 1 several years the market for new rail road stock had vanished. Nearly all the new capital had to be obtained through the sale of mortgage bonds. and-short-term notea The companies; were obliged to increase the number of their creditors because they could j not attract more shareholders. "During the period of war control the government has been unable to keep up normal expenditures for rail road upbuilding. Last year the labor and materials had to be devoted to the! prosecution of the war, and this year! the government has not had the mon-j ey to spend. So with the return of the roads to their owners, the manage- i ments will be faced with the ncces- j sity of very large capital expenditures j for betterments and improvements.: And this work will have to be done, at a cost for labor and materials about: double what it was before the war. j New capital expenditures at the rate i of $1,000.000.000 a year would there- j fore seem to be the minimum requir-: ed required if the railroads are to | be enabled to handle the growing traf-1 fie of the country. "To attract th?1 new capital for up-! buiicMtig th<- railroads. ib<* transpor-, tation industry must be able to earn; a fair return on this capital. Ade- \ r-uate earnings are only possible with j adequate rales for service. The rates j now are admittedly too low to meet; I lie greatly increased expenses of op-; eration. and leave a fair margin for' capital." . I in the opening statement to the public, signed by the executive of nearly all the principal railroad com-! panics, thr Association of Railway Executives states: "It is the declared purpose of thej United Stytes government to restore' the railroads at an early date to the control of their owners. "The Association of Railway Execu- j fives represents those upon whom at that time responsibility will aga resti for the prompt and successful move-,! ment of the country's commerce. "Those constituting this association \ are keenly conscious of their account ability to the public, j "They have acofdingly determined j ! to present as fully as they can, the I fundamental facts and considerations] which they themselves must face in their efforts to provide satisfactory railroad service. "It is hoped to engage the interest j of the whole American people, whose) welfare is so vitally dependent upon i adequate transportation, j "The country can grow only as the j j railroads grow. The railroad problem j ; must b?* solved?and solved rightly ] land soon?if our country is to pros- i per. "it is to promote that prosperity? i permanently and in tbe interest of thej whole people?thai railroad executives will present to thr public the situation I as they see it." Marriage Announcement. i Mr. and Mrs. \V. (;. Seymour an-j nounce the marriage of their daugh- ? tcr. Mae. to Mr. Clarence Truluek.; Wednesday, the j?th of December.: L91-9,, .Sumter. S. C. Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Truluek! will be at home after December 21st.! at Ol an r *, S. C, i CHAMBER OF COM MERCE NOTES Headquarters Moved to Seventh Floor of City National Bank Building The Sumter County Chamber of Commerce has leased and now occu pies the entire seventh fioor of thei City National Bank building. The en-! tire suite of oflices including three! large offices and assembly room ca- \ pable of seating 250 peopi \ and large lobby have been completely renovated j and painted. Three large six-light combination; electric and gas chandeliers and oth er electric and gas fixtures are install- ? ed in the' bfg assembly room, and in the otficos. and there are offices fox*; thi- secretary, his stenographer, the ? farm demonstration agent, and for j the use of the home demonstration; department, if the latter sees fit to. cooperate with the Chamber of Com merce, when the new home demon stration agent takes charge next j i month. The Sumter County Chamber of Commerce has become nn important ?ity and county organiaztion and on'-, grew its old quarters on the second: fioor of the building. It is better pre- j pared than ever to handle the various interests of this city and county and to furnish meeting place for various agricultural, civic and commercial bodies. LIMIT THE SIZE | OF NEWSPAPERS ?? I Measure Opposed and Com-! mended By Publishers ' Washington, D. C, Dec. 15.?Pro-l visions of the Anthony bill 'which! would limit to twenty-four pages daily j newspapers and periodicals using the second class mail privilege in order to conserve newsprint paper were! commended and opposed by more than a score of newspaper men and magazine publishers today before the j house postoffice committee. Opposition to the measure came j chiefly from the representatives of the ! larger newspapers who declared that restriction on the rfize would do little j to remedy the situation resulting from th.e shortage of paper, and would i serve only to wor'?t a 'great, if not fatal hardship on the large newspa pers of the coun- ? The bill was supposed by publish ers of small newspapers, who declar ed they would be forced to; suspend publication unless something were done. In opening the hearing Repre sentative Anthony of Kansas, author j of the bill, declared that from 2,500 j to 5,000 small newspapers face sus- j pension and perhaps extinction should the present shortage of newsprint pa per continue. The shortage, the Kan sas representative charged, was due to the action of the great publishing concerns in buying up practically the entire available supply. Suggestion that an embargo be j placed on coal to Canada until Cana- j dian newspapers, which, he said, were j using all the newsprint they desired, agreed to submit -o the same con servation program forced on the i newspapers of the United States, wasi made by H. L. Rogers, business man- j ager of the Chicago Daily News Thisj action could be justified, he added, byj the fact that Canadian pulp mills used j American coal in making their pro duct The prospective shortage of print j paper for 1920 was estimated at 200.-; 000 tons by Frank P. Class, publish-1 er of the Birmingham, Alabama! News and president of the American j Publishers' Association. He predict-j ed however, that relief from the j : shortage would come within six j months. Congress, Mr. Glass declared, eith-1 j er should give the federal trade com-j ' mission full power to handle the en I lire newsprint paper situation orj I should appoint a paper controller j [ with powers similar to those of tho I fuel administrator. STATE BANK j REPORT GOOD I Deposits in State Banks Exceed\ $150,000,000 Columbia. Dec. 17.?The last quar- J j terly statement vt James H. Craig. j [State Bank examiner, as to the condi- j tion of the 363 State banks have in-j j creased $52,256.*' * since November ' I, IMS. The a ?nt on deposit one ! yea r 3 sro was $99,248,073:78. On No vember 17, 1919, this amount had in creased to $151,501,722.77. . Another interesting feature is j brought out by Mr. Craig as to the [increase of deposits since June, 1914. j I At that time the total deposits were! j far below the figures of ierease for] 1919 alone. The last statement prior; to the war showed that the total de posits were only $43,500,952.01, The increase the last. five years thus amounts to S107.94C.S70.76. or nearly 250 per cent. The total resources of the State banks today amount to ? Six.1,760.38. WAYWARD GIRLS ARE NUMEROUS j Sixty-eight Thousand Disappear or Run Away New York. Dec. 15.?Approximate-; ly 6*.000 girls have disappeared or run away from their homes in the : United States during the last year. ! according to a statement issued today by the Travelers' Aid Society. A spe cial meeting of the society has been , called to devise plans to meet demands made by the great increase in run- '? aways and helpless travelers. The! meeting will be attended by official*] of the trans-Atlantic lines and repre-; sentatives of Protestant. Catholic and I Jewish social agenijies. i SOUTH WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS! Why the Band Played "Dixie"! at International Live Stock Exposition Washington. Doc. l.~>.?When the I Herrford bull. Point Comfort XIV, \ won for the South the grand cham- I pionship for the breed at the Inter- j national Live Stoek Exposition of j ?1913, many northern people felt j that the occurrence w?s a "fluke"' | which was not likely to be repealed often. But the record of the International Live Stock Exposition held at Chicago November 21? to December G. demon strated the possibilities of the South as a live-stock producing section in a remarkable way. Nine grand cham pionships were won by breeders south of the Ohio River, as follows: Short horn bull and cow. Hereford bull. Aberdeen-Angus bull, Percheron mare. Duroc Jersey boar, Poland Chi na sow, and Hampshire ram and ewe. Not all of these animals were ac tually bred on southern farms, but the fact that they were shown from south ern herds is an illustration of the pro gressive spirit of the southern breed ers, and those which were bred rais ed on southern farms show clearly that the South can produce as fine breeding stock as any other section of the country, acording to live stock specialists in the United States De partment of Agriculture. In addition to the winnings in the live stock judging, the college judg ing team from the Texas A. ?& M. Col lege won first in the students judging contest, and the team representing the Texas agricultural clubs won sec ond by one point only in the non collegiate judging contest. ARMY FOR ALLIES French and British Discuss Peace Time Organization Paris, Dee. 16.?The French and British commanders have discussed plans for a peace time organization, according to The .Matin. The newspa per foresees the maintenance of Mar shal Petain as the French .generalis simo, at disposition ot the interallied counc'l, over which Marshal Foch probably will preside. REDUCED PAPER CONSUMPTION Congress Calls . Upon Newspa pers to Use Economy Washington. Dec. 17.?Every news paper in the country is called on to day by .the. house jpostoffice committee to reduce the consumption of news print by ten per cent for a six months period in an effort to relieve the pres ent shortage. Voluntary coopera tion of publishers would obviate the necessity for repressive governmental action, the committee statement said: LOOK FOR UPRIS INGS IN GERMANY Minister* of Interior Predicts ' Disturbances During Winter Berlin. Dec. 17.?Dr. Heine. Prus sian minister of interior, declared iil the Prussian national assembly-!today i 'We must reckon with the possibility I of revolutionary risings this winter. I We know how to deal with them." " Berlin, Dec. 17.?Forty-three work men and women were killed audy more than one hundred were in jured in an explosion at an ammu nition depot near Wilhelmshaven yes terday. The explosion occurred whifc the shells were being unloaded. RAISE QUARANTINE Hulls Released, But Order Does Not Affect Cotton Seed Restrictions Clemson College, Dec. 12.?Ai a meeting of the South Carolina State Crop Pe? Commission on December ' 11, 1919 the quarantine on cotton seed hulls was lifted and the order is .ef fective till August 31st, 1920 unless-, soon repealed. This removes all re-, strictions on cotton seed hulls ahd these can be shipped between any points in the State of ? th Carolina regardless 0f weevil L ... Specifical ly this permits the shipment of -eot ton seed hulls from weevil infested territory into free territory. This order does not raise the. quar-^. anfcine on cotton seed or on other pro- , hibited or restricted articles as pro?, vided by the regulations of the State Crop Pest Commission, .and it is not permitted to ship, cotton seed from weevil infested to weevil free terri tory. BRITISH DENY THE REPORT Garrison in Persia Was Not Massacred By Populace London, Dec. 17.--r-India office -in response to an inquiry from the I>aily^ Mail emphatically denies the reports of the wiping out of tbirteen hunarejd British troops, comprising the J?ajT rison of Meshed, Persia, by the popu-, lation. x . Washington, Dee. 17.-?Secretary .of, the Interior Lane- issued a statement today denying the published reports that he had placed his resignation be fore the president, but disclosed that he intends to leave the cabinet when he can do so without adding to the president's burden of worries. Geneva, Dec. 16.?The .report r^fr"" outbreaks of bubonic plague, in Con-; stantinople was confirmed in advices, received today by the international Red Cross headquarters here.. The disease is said to be spreading in the Youri am If you have farms or city property for sale, write us. W>. will subdivide and sell your property AT AUCTION quickly and profitably for you. Farm lands Our Specialty?Territory_ Nh:siy-Sevc?: Tbsuccnd Six Hundred and Eighty-Eight acres of Farm Land amounting to over FIVE MILLION DOLLARS sold, in 1918. Write for booklet cf endorsement? and infor r^\?ES>?s. rnation about our auction methods.. '^%A*FLOTC COAST BEETT [=9 "THE NAME Tl-:?.T J?STrFIES YOCR-COKFIOENCZ" \'&) Offices: PETERSBURG, VA. and CRKfiV!LLEr H. & The National Bank of South Carolina of Sumter, S. C. Resources $2,250,000 Strong and Progressive Tbc Most Painstaking SERVICE . with COURTESY Give us tlie Pleasure of Serving YOU C. G. ROWLAND, President EARLE ROWLAND, Asst. Cashier H. L. M'COY W. Y. YEADON.. NELLL O'DOJrNELL, President WPtUUgJBJUBff itW Mg| M THE FIRST NATIONAL I O. L. YATES, Cashier LET'S FORGIVE AND FORGET and make this the best Christ mas yet. We endorse these sentiments. Everybody fall in. The First National Bank S UMTER, S- C.