Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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CEI LIGHT fLANT ^ff^BiameforUhe Recent Trotf'-t siii . .bies Biscnssed bv illr. Mc Kiever In a Letter to Council The following letter addressed to . the Mayor and Council was read at meeting of City Council on Tuesday r.ight: Sumter. S. C., May 5. 1920; . To The Honorable Mayor und Council: i Gentlemen:? Realizing, bow earnestly and sin cerely your honorable body is labor ing for the successful administration of the city's affairs and also.'the try ing conditions existing since the city purchased the 'electric light plant. I fee! very reluctant in.calling .vour at ?r teniion to the poor service which is & being given the public. I would not now complain were I not convinced that justice to the city and myself compels me to do so. I request that you investigate the charges herein contained and if true place the blame where it belongs and remedy same or if unfounded I would be pleased to be enlightened and^ shown wherein I am wrong. . * i In the past when' the public has been deprived of light and power, we were informed that'it was due to the run down conditioned' the plant and that every thin:: that could possibly be. done was beingjdohe to keep the o-d plant in repair ".and give the best service possible under existing cir cumstances mitil the new plant was built. Although I^nd other power consumers were pu.tTto serious losses by the repeated interruptions to our business, the delay in filling our obli- ! ?cra.tions to our customers and (in myJ own case at least) the pay to idle ^Baen for"the time while.istrut down, we; ' d,id. not kick to any extent, believing i that 'the causes of the shut ?down.! "?were beyond/-the control of intelligent j management-. \3This! morning upon.'inquiry, after] finding no current, we.were informed! * ihht ii .might.be off all day. Inquir-j ing, later we informed that it was! doubtful if we would have current j .tomorrow. Upon learning this Ij '^thought I should investigate -what was j r*the trouble in view of the fact tfiat I ; we were shut down three hours Mon- j day, six hours Tuesday, all today and J ' probably tomorrow, for if the future! " was to be a repetition Of the present! and past experience I should know sol 'i could decide whether or not to put in my own plant. . ' I went to the office of the plant to see Mr. Olsen, but found it was locks ' .. ed, so went into the plant. I did not ] find Mr. Olsen, but found Mr. Brown.J the City Manager. I asked wha% was "the trouble. Ke said the motor on { I the circulating pump had burnt out. I looked towards the circulating pump and saw steam on the end opposite from the motor end and was sure that] the pump, was arranged so that it cojuld he~*rrm either by steam or elec tricity. Vpon inquiring as to why the pump could not be run by steam 1 was! ^jnfo^pietl that it broke dow.n .lasij. night. Further inquiry developed the i fact that the steam end had been out ?of commission for many months or ever since the City took charge. ;is Mr. Brown informed me in reply t<> my asking how long. The breakdown <?n I the st'e:?m end last night wax not im- j avoidable, but. was duo to trying to; run it with two worn out gears that | -should have been replaced long ago} .^and keptan reserve in case the motor '^end failed as it did.( Had these gears ..been replaced at the proper time at a cost of less than half a day's revenue) from current consumers. :n>t only! would the manufacturers and work men been saved their ioss. but the City would have been dollars ahead.! not to mention the inconvenience to I ;.-the general public. ; In order to curtail ibis necessarily long letter 1 will summarize the causes of the present shut down and which , could have been prevented had ordi nary efficiency been exercised on fher part of whoever is responsible. Wheth er the blame rests on Council in adopt-. . ing a. "penny-wise and-pound- foeiish'-'-l policy in refusing to spend the neces sary amounts.to jkeep the..plant-in a j reasonably .. "serviceable condition,! knowing that it will be a long time! before the new plant will be ready.'or j whether it is due to the failure and! .foresight on the part of the party-in; rharsojtf th" Plant.. !to properly .in-! form Coiincil of the necessities. or j. some one else is for Council to inves- j tigate and determine. Her?- is i-he cause of present shut- i down, briefly stated: Turbine engine is useless because! motor ??n electric end of circulating? pump went bad and the gears on thoi Steam end yd panto had been worn ? out months and months ago and al-i lowed to remain so. Also the pump i in the yard <that also connects with i circulating system* must ;><> in a bad condition as it was not put t<? work as | ? "und erstand it could have been. The i Buckeye engine. which could have j tw^rr^useii without the circulating i pump broke some time ago (how io:>ir| I do.?"t know.) 11 is ".??w being re-j paired but at best can only tzivo :i j limited amount of power. The other j larger engine. J was told by" Mr. ? ..Brown, is ready to run. but for tlv. | .fact that some two months or s(. ago* the belt was allowed to get wet and j the cement joints cable loose ;nv] has i not been repaired.. Asked why it had been allowed to remain in that con dition so lor.sr. Mr. Brown replied thai he was waiting for a man from Char lotte who would come when he could ?got here. When a similar accider.l happened ander private control the! belt was taken off. put on a truck and was in Chariot t? the next morning, j repaired that nay and on its way. i back. 1 am sure that the cost of car rying the },?-p u, Charlotte to be re paired was only small per cent age of the revenue that the Cttjr will Los?? by this shut-down. 1 doubt if tiv expense was much more than it ivould have been if the man had come to Sumter to do it. The loss to the City in collars de mands'it be looked inio e\e>, n the ? inconvenience to general public tie ios? to the 'industries shut-down, and I Mic wages lost by the workmen thrown out of employment,, is not considered. ?j:J\ly investigation of the v present -fliirt-down has convinced me that ft :is caused not only by lack of ordinary j intelligence and foresight, but utter incompetency or gross neglect, and has caused me to doubt if all of the past shut downs were unavoidable. It i has appeared strange to nie and per-] haps others that boiler troubles should j develop so frequently and so close to |geth?r. I would like to know how | j many times leaky flues have been [caused by allowing the water to get. J so low in the boilers as to burn them. [causing? them to leak and compel :c\\ ! shut-down; This information might j develop further carelessness in the j management in not looking after what they are paid to do. . After seeing conditions at the plant j and obtaining information from Mr.. Brown -by asking questions, and feel ing-that the loss and inconveniences j ent'orce'd ontbe public and myself were ; the result of poor management, f so | expressed myself to Mr. Rrow.t. To j this he took exception and stated fur ther that he Objected to being criti- , cisetl. I reminded him that he was an j offk-ial of the City and 1. a citizen.; and 1 would criticise him or any one j else under like conditions whenever I was sure I had a just cause. If he objects to honest criticism he Shoulo ?do one of two things: either to man age affairs in. such a way as wou-i prevent criticism vor- resign. If ha j fails to do the former Council should give him the option of doing the latter, or fire him. Perhaps it may not be amiss to a"k j here what 1 and others have asked in | privzrte. Why a City Manager if kit j does not manage?. If you wil- per mit me 1 would like to suggest that you. have'a, public investigation so j that all interested may he- present to get and give all information possible, j because only by demanding competent i and efficient management on tb?- partj of those* responsible will the wis?lo?:: i of municipal ownership, oi public j utilities (which 1 believe in) be prov en. There is no sane reason why a city cannot operate, its public, neces sities as efficiently and economically ? as a private corporation. ?xVjep* that it seems to be a settled pqlKv that when a city employs a man. believing him to be the proper person for the place, they take it for granted that he is making good and never dis charge him if he don't and the citi- j zens who do happen to know he is i not making good keep their mouths! shut or if they do open them, it is j only to grumble in private. But with | a private concern the interested par ries see to it. that he makes good or: get some, one else who will and should t they, jn a rare case, fail to do so. the complaints of the public will compel chem: to take notice. I. for one. be lieve that cities.,should own certain public necessities and intend to assist the City Council by furnishing the Council with the information, as in this instance, when I am sure the management fails, as. aside from the loss to me individually. I am a stock holder in the City of Sumter Corpora tion. ^ Trusting that these charges will re ceive prompt investigation by your honorable body.. I beg to remain. Respectfully yours, J. W. McKIEVER. BAPTIST FOR EIGN MISSIONS! Annual Report of Secretary of the Board Shows Growth of Work Washington May 1.3.?Southern! Baptists should lay plans for an alii-I ance with Baptist of all the world. Dr.? J. P. Love, secretary of the Foreign j Mission Board declared here today} to the Southern Baptist! convention, in his annual report. As a start in that direction it;.was! announced there will be a conference j of all European Baptist missionary or ganizations at London next July to consider a European Baptist program. Indicating the growth in foreign Tff'rssion'interest of Southern Baptists: during the last tlfty years, (he re- j "Port said that in 5*870*. Southern Bap-! tists had eleven foreign missionaries sin the held .with a church member- ' shin thereof i'/?o.. while the 'home | people contributed during the year to j the cause $21.^?v3. Twenty-five years' Ialen of ir. is!'."., when the convention-! iast met in Washington, the denomi- j nation had eightyrone foreign mis- J si?naries in the 'i< Id. 3.4S3 ch'tirch ! members- there and the collections for j foreign missions amounted to $12:*.-! Ms. Now. the convention has morej thar^jlOO missionaries in ten foreign j H-:fds.' many thousands of enuren i members, and the contributions fori the last- year to. foreign missions ran, into the millions. The number of am- \ verts on many of the fields dining the j last year has been lar ger than ever j before. In addition .to making available] more money for the prosecution ?fj foreign missionary work, the 7~? Mil-j Inm Dollar Campaign has produced : more workers for the foreign ?clds. I the report said, with indications that I more than -r?on of the 'best trained young men and women among South- j cm Baptist will offer themselves for I the foreign field during the five-year j period of the Campaign. ?_ SIGNATURE TO f! TELEGRAM FORGED) _ Sec. Daniels Charges Sims With Presenting Telegram With Forged Signature Washington. .May i;;.?Secretary I I>;:n,cis chaigcd before the naval in-i vestigating committee that the tele-1 gram i'i recent cd by Admiral Sims aa j p;<" * his criticism of the Navy De pVitn.. .! which purported i<> have! been signed by Daniels was a forged i r signature. The Secretary said h?*j j found rh?- original in tin- British Km-j [b.assy through which ii had been [-Sent, and the name signed !?< it wasj : "A. V. Carter. by direction of the j Vidcf oi' Naval Operations.'' .1 j Letter cm Stable C?tfon SftW^on v Hartsville, S. C. May 10, 1920.*^ "Dpar.Mr. Editor: j 1 have recently been giving much time and study to the present and fu [ture staple cotton .situation and assume* that some of your readers might like to know the results. / The situation, as I sec it is as fol lows: First, the supply of good grade up land staple cotton is practically ex hausted everywhere and the demand is still active. This forecasts an urg enj demand for the early part of the new crop. Second, the staple acreage of South, ?Carolina, has been increased .at least ? 3.0n po?- cent and in Mississippi about ?'30 per cent, but the crop is getting a very bad start in both Stales. In the latter there is considerable .flooded laud which cannot be planted for sometime, if at all. In the Piedmont section from Alabama to North Caro lina very little of the crop has been ?planted, in fact, much of the land has not been plowed for the first time. Third, a. late crop is usually a poor! one. <i?eri:iii . jn ool! weevil territory. Fourlb- ? acreage of the Egyptian crop which competes with American! staples has been increased, but that: crop also has an unfavorable start. Fifth, rp.io.oon bales of Egyptians,; were imported into this country this season to tili the shortage in the Am erican staple crop. This leaves the English mills bare of supplies and it! is unlikely that England will allow the exportation of such large quantities of Egyptians another season unless the Egyptian crop i? much -larger than is expected. High grade ''Egyptians are now bringing about $1.50 per pound. Sixth, the automobile tire industry of the United States will consume about one-half million bales of staple cotton this year and the demand for automobile tires is increasing at the rate of 20 per cent per year. This wli] probably mean that 623.000 bales of'sta'ples will be heeded for this pur pose for the Coming year, ft" Egyptian imports are curtailed American mills may need next season 230.000 more ?bales of. American staples than they used this season, and it is unlikely that the new crop will show that much increase. Seventh, while the crop in this sec tion is late, it is earlier than the Mis sissippi or Piedmont erop'and as trans:, portation from here is from one'to two, we?d;s quicker to. the staple centers of New England and the VarollTU'is than it is frpm Mississippi, this section may expect a heavy demand during the ear-: ly part of the season. It is. of course, impossible to ^pre dict future prb es as many factors can not be foreseen. The writer does not feel, however, l.hat the present out look would justify him in selling any of. his own. crop, at 20 per cent to 2o per cent discount from ^present prices as some people,are doing. , Some of the best posted nien in the cotton world feel that the great sear city o? agricultural labor.and thejate start *and poor stands will make.im. oossib"/^ the production . of anything but a very small crop.] The carry over of spinnable, cotton from this crop wir) be very small and wheii'we.Con sider this and the very high prices.of all manufactured textiles would seem that the present level of prices for all row cotton might easily he exceeded this fall. The writer has always felt that the sale of cotton for future delivery was an unfortunate practice and should be discouraged. "Hirsi. because U has a depressing tendency on the fall markets a> this cotton is rushed upon the market ?*s fast as gathered and by swelling re ceipts gives the impression' of a big crop., ' . Second, because forward sales must always be mad* at heavy diiCOfcjjfts under spot prices and the man who regularly sells his crop at a discount in the long run --;uing to get less tnan the man who dots not sell until his cotton is ready for the market. Occasionally forward sales will pay. but millions of dollars more have been lost by this practice than have been made. Yours very truly. DAVID R. COKER. Municipal Contest in Columbia. Columbia. May 11?The, voters of ' Columbia; are t.o^ay electing . E. S. | Earle. druggist, as member of city council. The voting is light, due to! the fact that the primary of last Tues-1 day eliminated the crudest. R. C. Per-j .-on. the defeated candidate siateaj that as soon as Dr. Earle is declared elected he will start legal proceedings: !?? kmseat him. because of the fact that i he has a home across the county line j iv Lexington county, where his family' lives and where he spends a day or SO I of. each week. Argentine *i> Fighting Bolshevism Buenos Aires. May IL'?The Argen liue Par.*iotic League, a citizens' or-1 ganization. has called a congress "ot'| workers to be held in May. in an effort] to free Argentine laborers from spii'-j it of Bolshevism which was manifest-1 cd recently in an attempt t<? start aj communist revolution. . ? It is proposed to agitate for jim proved; labor legislation and to riis-j cuss ways and means..of bettering the j rendition of the workers, through pac- i ific riieth'oVls. Representatives of ev-j tivy union in '-he country have *bccnij incited. .... , , t "tv.(? must sever ..relations with the j e:<i tic clement.*' says an announcement i by .?: pibor member of the organiza- ! IVfSrrragfc License Record. "fVhitc: Kjr!\v H. Smith and Mar;.; Avant, of 5??inter. . ; Ja*. rJVT. Dicks of Barnwell and Mey er Cantwell, of Oransreburg. Debor D. .McKenzie, of Kingstree. j and Lillie Morris, of Mow Zi<m. S. <'. Colored: Jackin Biitton and Mai-' venia Johnson, of Summertoii, S. C. j Vander Koberson and Virginia.; Wilson, of Mayesville. s. C. James Six^rleton and s*Hie Kerilcs.! OX kayesyilli, S. C. J Salting (ft the PJIgrhn Fathers , to be Celebrated in England 'Plymouth"". England. .May 11 ? Pre ! pavatiQns for the tercentenary cele bration in September of the sailing of the Pjjgrim Fathers are already in advanced stages here. The program, as present arranged, | open on September U with a civic re-! ception. On the morning of ?Septem- j ber i a literary and historical confer ence is to take place. In the after noon there is to be an historical pro- I cession with tableaux and a united re-! ligious service will be held in the eve- i ning. An open-air service is t<> be held at.: the "Mayflower stone on Sunday morn ing September 5. This is the historic j spot on the Barbican from which the j Pilgrim leathers embarked in 162?. A play based on the story of the Pilgrim Fathers is bjeiug written for j production here. In an probability; there will be a half in the Giuldhall. j From September 1 to in the -May-j flower pageant is to be presented with I Captain the Rev. Hugh Parry as, the! pageant master. This will be later produced in the provinces and Subse- , qucntly taken to America. Olympic Golf at Antwerp ?Autwerp. Belgium. May 10?Players in the Olympic golf championship! events to be held in connection with j the Olympic Games, beginning on Julyj ?12 will compete on a course that of fers few terrors to the steady, straight driver who is an accurate judge of j pitch and distance, but which prom- i ises untold difficulties to the man with i the slightest tendency to hook or slice. I The Associated Press correspondent! .recently went over the course, which j is that of the Antwerp golf course, at j Cappelinbosch, about fifteen miles! fr?m Antwerp. There are np pro nounced elevations, hut the IS holes /of the. course Lre dotted all about with natural., bumpy little hummocks of hard earths?most of them on the-fair way?while sandpits and annoying lit Ue cup-like depressions vie with arti ficial bunkers, tiny water ditches and particularly nasty stretches of trees or. rutty highroads on or bordering'ali the, fairways. "It is a course which should be ! played , over several times by-anyone who. iptemls to compete in a real match." the correspondent was told by one Scotch officer?a. scratch man at Si Andrews?who fOund^ difficulty ! sometimes in making the round in bogey, which is 78. The length of the course is 5,820 yards?2;S85 yards for the first nine holes out and 2.9Z~> yards in. with bogey :jft both out and,in. The long est, hole ?he fifth, .'is. 340 ya.Mf-? -the cleanest .yidtstraightway of the lot. though ev?-n this off ere occasional pit ted or.wodded difficulties and the shortest is the 12th. 1,50 yardss a a nice tittle pitch for. the accu rate mashie but so full of trouble in ?the,shape of ditches, bumps and traps that only the scratch men gen erally.^ make it in the 3'strokes set for begey,. .' ' .. ? i - 1 ? . L * The -Ha;ru<*. May 12?-The new Am erican Minister to the" Netherlands. Wiliam Phillips, considers himself a victim of an instance of profiteering in. rent. A wealthy speculater has purchased the commodious building which for a long time was occupied by the American Legation and has no tified the^ American diplomats that thc\ wil leither have to .pay a greatly increased rent or move. out. ? The American Charge..Mr. Gunther, has been seeking new quarters but has been l/andicaped by failure of the An^-ic;Mi/-:g^veci?uvut ..to provide for! the, purchase of a legatipn building. ! THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION Fred W. Upham, Who Has Been Chairman for Sixteen Years Is In Charge Chicago, May 13?The directing genius of four Republican conven tions in the past. Fred W. Upham, T.'e publican national treasurer, this year has planned his fifth and greatest one. Mr. Upham has been chairman of the Chicago convention committee for sixteen years and in that time prob ahly has promoted more national pol itical gatherings than any man liv ing. He has organized" and financed the local arrangements for the Re publican gatherings sine?- 19.04. Every four years the planning of the big gathering has become a more compiex and mere costly affair. In 1904, ihe first year the Republicans met at the Chicago Coliseum, the convention arrangements cost $7u. 090. In 1916 the expenses had in creased to $110.000 and this year the sum will exceed $150.000. To iaise this money, contract for building alterations, extra seats, dec orations, tickets, badges and all the other myriad, details of staging big Quadrennial spectacles, in which more than 13.000 delegates and spec rators will this year participate, is Up ham's task. Cost of altering the Coliseum and decorating it will alone cost more than "0.000 this year. The task of ob taining and then safeguarding the tickets, is a problem in itself. Tne admission cards are printed on safe ty paper, in special inks, and then locked in vaults until the Thursday before th** convention. Xone are sent by mail, all being distributed here. In spite of these precautions, many fail into the ha|tds of speculators, who retail them at anywhere from ^$00 to $100 each;,and even counterfeiting, of the cards is not unknown.- -. Mr. Upham. who has been treasurer of .the national committee since Feb- j ruary. IS* IS, has heen associated-with j national politics for 28 yeJtrs. In 1892 he was a delegate to the na tional convention from the eighth Wisconsin district. He .represented j a Chicago district in Tv912 and . 1016 and ran on Governor Frank O. Low den's slate for election as a delegate at-targe from Illinois this year. He was western treasurer of the na tional committee in the first Taft campaign in 100S and again in the Hughes campaign of 1916. The only elective offices he has ever held were alderman in Chicago .in '1896 and member of the Cooke county board of tax review fbr fourteen years. He is president of a large coal company. - ? - ' -i '*-| UNREST CONTIN UES IN IRELAND Reports of Armed Masked Men In Many Sections London, May 13?Reports of un usual activities by armed masked men in! various sections ? of Ireland have heen received. Rebel forces seem to be rapidly closing in on President Carranza and his army which is entrenched between .San Marcos and Apizaco. Governor De La Huerta has been named su preme leader of the revolution, and is preparing to-go to Mexico City .to take control.. ? t >, ?? " , ? '. f Candidates' Cards. for Sheriff. ' Having served the Counijr as Depu-' ty Sheriff under the l?te Sher?_ Brad ford, and desiring to have" my'.record inspected with a view to promotion, I hereby announce myself as..candid date for the office of Sheriff of"iSfim ter County, subject to the rUies-Of^the Democratic Primary. JACK H. KORBES.;.-' I hereby announce myself a^ a can didate for the office of. Sheriff, sub - ject to the rules of the Deinperatie party. JOHN it. .SUMTEIt. i hereby announce; ?r?seK.;a ?^'?i^ date for the office of Sheriff or'tfge^jp^ proaching Primary elections.^ejf -tfte Democratic ? party in S?mter . County, - subject to the rules. governmg. aj&ii elections. c. m Huusr. Sumter, May 4th, 1520. r annov nee m yserf a candidate tor the office of Sheriff of Sumter County, subject to the rules of the Democratic party. SAM .NEWMAN."" For TVcasiirer. Coming before the voters with mor^/ than twenty years actual experienc^Jnj iaccounting. I announce myself a. .ca^ Ldidate for the office of Coutitjr Tr^? iirer. and I promise loyalty sup port and to abide by tTie raiea-gev I crning the Democratic party,;-~ai$p cf flcient service f elected. vo**7" :^ :.. -ES J. mo?ke. Present ineumbtx.?. 3rd Magisterial District. _ ? ? i _ - v4. . HONOR SYSfSM>% . : isAmtsitEB Dean Announces That Students Have Forfeited This Privilege 5! Chicago. May 13?The facuny; has announced, the'abolition ofthe^fidnqr system among the st ti d e n t s- of ?'SJor'th-: western University. The dean;; said that, the. students .hady^ie^ 1$%^ up to the, conj^en.c^j>jiix^^4hii^ f ; Self-selected store glasses or;' glares, i furnished by incempe"tem;-persons^ is false economy. v. f Value your eyes at their tfne ^worth; Have them examined here' and . Wear the glasses required.. '> We rare YHrnipetent OptoiuV COOPER'S OPTICAL 6 s. 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