Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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I ? 1 ' . CITY MANAGER BROWN RESIGNS Resignation Accepted to Take Effect as Soon as Place Cm be Filled f . Council Chamber, May 11th. 15>2fl At a regular meeting of Council held - this evening Mayor Jennings and ' Councilman McCallum were present. "City Manager Brown and Mr. Olsen, of the lighting plant were also in at tendance. The minutes of April 13th and 27ta were read and approved. ' The clerk then opened the ballot gpboxes from the managers of election held th5s date for councilman, and tab " nlated the returns which showed that J. A.- Raffield received 73 votes. He was thereupon declared duly elected. The oath of office was ad r 1 ministered by the city clerk and sign ed by Councilman Raffield. Mr. W. C. Boyle was present to re quest Council to straighten the north ern end of Church street, by making an exchange of land. As the plan out ' Jincd would require a considerable outlay of cash action was deferred un til the members of ?Council could go out and investigate the matter. The Mayor reported that Mr. Gil hert C. White had agreed to allow the city $2S5 per ir >nth in lieu of a resi dent .engineer who was co be furnish ed by him during the erection of the lighting plant building; this arrange ment being possible on account of the city having secured the services of Mr. W. C. Olsen, who was formerly with . 3tfr. White, and who will act in the capacity of a resident engineer. The Allowance above mentioned to begin of even date with work of construc tion by the contractors, Messrs. Tuck er and Laxtton. A request from Mr. C. G. Rowland to connect a wash rack for auto mobiles, to sewer line . on Dugan street, was refused for the reason that sach action would be against the or dinance applying to sewers. The clerk read a>letter from Mr. D. "W. Cuttino with reference to connect ing the residence owned by X. O'Don nell on E. Liberty St to sewer. Coun cil maintained -ihat sewerage connec tions must *be installed at once, or the house vacated, and the clerk instruct ed to so advises Mr. O'Donnell. ? Police report for month of April : was read, showing: Total number, of arrests 133; cash nnes, $1,807.02. Causes of arrest: Disorderly conduct 22; violating . traffic ordinance 37; Larceny bicycle 1; house breaking 1; electric light ordin ance I; transporting whiskey 1; drunk and disorderly 5; gambling 40; cruel ty to animals 2; petit larceny 8; vag rancy 7;-violating license ordinance ?8; boys returned to reformatory 5. To tal 13'. Dismissed 15. Sent to upper court 2. Suspended 3. . A bill for $1,639.68 from J. Van SLindley Nursery Co.. Pomona, X. C. covering.shrubbery for Memorial park vas presented and ordered paid, a::-. - City Manager Brown stated that three car loads of gravel would bo / aieeded for the walks in Memorial ?: J?ark, and 150 lbs clover seed. Coun cil authorized the purchase of this \, jwaterial. A communication from Mr. I. A. ?Ryttenberg was read by the clerk with reference to assisting the city in se curing: coal for the lighting plant, and asking for renumeration for services iillcendered. Action wasN deferred un til next meeting, which Mr. Batten berg will be asked to attend. A request from the Coca-Cola Bot ?.' tling Works to install a gasoline fill ing station on Council street for use of their trucks was refused/' The City Manager reported that he and Mr. J. A. McKnight, of the Board of Health, paid a visit to Hartsville o*. April 30th to investigate the tank wagon used for sanitary service. He found that its use was entirely satis factory, and recommended that Coun cil ins'all one of these outfits, \fter some discussion it was deemed to purchase two tank wagons for the service, ? A report was presented by Chief R. IE. Wilder, of the Fire Depart ment, showing list of firemen absent from fires during April, and their rea sons for being absent. Same was ac cepted by Council as entirely satis factory. , A letter was read from -Mr. J. W. McKeiver. of the Sumter Sash. Door and Blind Factory, making complaint with reference to the .service given by the lighting plant, and the man agement of same. The Clerk was di rected to acknowledge receipt of this communication* and request Mr. Mc . Keiver to attend the next meeting of Council, in order that the matter may be further investigated. The resignation of W. T. Brown as City Manager, to take effect as soon as his successor is appointed, was read. The resignation was accepted with regret. Mr. W. C. Olsen, manager of the lighting plant, was authorized to pur chase necessary pipes, valves and fit tings for the new light and ice plant. Council decided to destroy all whis key that had been seized, and the City Manager was instructed to no tify Chief of Police to take necessary steps to this end at once. A request from the Lawrence Con struction Company for permission to erect pilasters in place of increasing thickness of wall to 17 in. of store Hiilding corner of Main and Hamp ton streets was refused, as the build ing code requires a 17 inch wall. Council then adjourned. The letter of resignation of City .Manager Brown was as follows: Sumter. S. C. May 11th. 1^20. Honorable Mayor and City Council. Sumter. S. C. Gentlemen:? I be? to hand you herewith my res ignation as City Manager* to take ef fect as soon as you can get some on<^ to take my place. I regret very much to be forced t<? take tais step, but it has become nec essary on account of my health. Thanking you for your many cour tesises shown me while in your em ploy, I heg to remain. Yours very turly, i W. T. BROWN. City Manager Brown's Statement Reply to Criticisms Contained In Letter of Mr. J. W. Mc Kiever Editor Sumter Daily Item: Inasmuch as Mr. .J. \\\ McKicvcr has seen fit to address a letter to the City Council, which appears to re flect upon me, and the same having been published in your paper, i wish to make the following reply: When I was appointed city manag er, the city did not own' the lighting plant, and, of course, none of the or diances prescribing the duties of the city manager mentioned the lighting plant, it should be well understood by everybody .that to manage an elec tric light plant requires great techni cal skill, both in steam and electrica: engineering For this reason the oid company employed Mr. Eugene Mos es, and for this reason the City of Sum ter has employed Mr. W. C. Olsen as the manager of the entire lighting and ice-making plant. Mr. Olsen is an expert at this business and is paid a handsome salary, which I think he well deserves. The City Council has ' ruled that Mr. Olsen can make any purchases necessary, which do not exceed the sum of $100 in any one month, and if necessary to purchase any equipment or material in excess of this amount, the matter is taken up directly with Council, and not with me. The fact in the ca.se. therefore, is j that Mr. Olsen is the manager of the ! lighting plant, and I have only such J supervision in a general way as I may exercise, in attempting to see that the best is done under the circumstances that can be done. I would feel that I was usurping authority to go into the plant and ittemp* to dictate what should be done with ; .-ence to mat j ters which require sKillful education j and training to even understand, and, j I presume, it is for this reason that t the Council hired an expert to look after this particular plant. On the occasion which Mr. McKiev er mentioned I was down there look-., ing over the plant in a general way." attempting to see how the repairs proceeding, and while I did not object, and never do object, to Mr. McKiever. or any. one else criticising me for any thing for which I am responsible I did object to Mr. McKiever blaming me for. matters that were entirely be ; yond my control, and for which I was in no way responsible. It is generally known that the lighting plant was very much run down at the time the city purchased it. If this had not been true, the city would certainly not now be engaged in building a. new plant and purchasing new machinery, almost complete. ' I think the man ager of the lighting plant has done the best he could under the circum stances, with the old and worn out machinery to keep the plant going, even as well as he has. I am informed that the steam pun*p which Mr. McKiever referred to. was worn out before the city purchased the plant, and the electric motor which pulls th" circuialo g pump for the turbine was installed for that rea son. It was certainly no part of my duties to have the steam pump over hauled, nor was it my duly to have any part of the lighting plant replaced with new parts. That rested entirely in the hands of Council and the mari [ager of the plant. Mr. McKiever j might have pointed out numberless (other things that are needed, and it j is for this reason that a new plant is j being built. If Council undertook to j replace every part of the old plant i which needs replacing, it would re ff uire practically a new plant: and that is what they are now building for the City as rapidly as it can be done. Now, as to the belt. Mr. McKiever stated that he had been informed that when, a similar accident happened to the" belt when the plant was under private management, the belt was sent to Charlotte in a truck. In the first place, l did trot tell Mr. MeKeivcr tliat the belt had been broken some two months ago. but I told him it had been broken about two or three weeks, and that Mr. Olsen had been trying con stantly to get a man who could ce ment thc belt back on the engine. I am told that when the belt was sent to Charlotte by the old company, it was not to have the cement joints fixed, but the belt itself was broken in two land had to be mended, and I am in formed that even on that occasion, after having had if mended in Char lotte it was necessary to have an ex pert cement the belt together at the joint after the same was placed upon the. engine here in Sumter. The belt is such that it cannot be placed upon the engine while it is whole, but must be placed upon the engine and then cemented together at the joint, and this is the job which required an ex pert to be on the spot. Before T had any intimation of Mr. McKiever's letter. I had already ten dered my resignation to the city clerk and threasurer to be presented to Council at the next meeting. My friends know that my health has not been good for sometime, and it was for this reason that I felt it my duty to relieve myself of the many cares which pertain to the office of City Manager, before my health should bo entirely broken down. While holding this position, t have attempted to per | form my full duty. How well' I have succeeded, it is for those who know all of the facts to decide. I have be-! ! come accustomed to criticism, because I I suppose there is no city where per fect machinery and ideal equipment j -can be procured with, the funds which j a City ordinarily has at its disposal. I have had to make th." best use pos-| I sible of the equipment put into my j hands, under all the surrounding cir cumstances and conditions. v j I shall welcome any investigation ; which seeks to place the blame. if: there be any, for the unastisfactoryj conditions at the lighting plant. Respectfully. W. T. BROWN. Sumter. S. C. May 13,1920. Nome. Alaska, May 14?Reports of the discovery of gold in North vostern Siberia has reached Nome. I WILSON VETOES } CENSORSHIP BILL 'president Takes Decided Stand Against Encroachment on Executive Authority Washington, May 13.?President Wilson pointedly informed congress today that in his opinion the legisla tive branch of the government war; showing an increasing tendency to in terfere imduely with the executive functions. Talcing as a vehicle for his admoni tion a sharply phrased veto of the an nual legislative, executive and judi cial appropriation bill the president declared than one of the riders of the big supply measure would muzzle ex ecutive officials with a "censorship" regulated by the congressional joint committee on printing. Immediately, the President's posi tion both on the general principle in volved and the specific case cited was challenged by Republican leaders of the senate and house. Senator Smoot. Republican, Utah, chairman of the joint committee declared in a formal statement that the president appar ently had been '?deliberately misin- i formed." about the appropriation bill and Representative Good. Republican, Iowa, chairman of the house appro- j priations committee told the house that "there must be seme mistake somewhere.' Whether repassage of the bill un I changed will be attempted or whether j the feature objected to by the Presi dent will be eliminated had not been decided tonight. The measure carries $134.000,0.60 for salaries and miscel laneous expenses of many government departments, and it mtist be approv ed in some form by the end of June or these funds will lapse. The President also cites several other measures en?et? or proposed in the present emigres" to support his charge that there had been "an inva sion of th j province of the executive calculated to result in unwarranted j interference in the processes of good j government'" He said that some of [these moa. .rre:? he had permitted to ; become lew as temporary expedients but tha1 l-.'- felt the time had come to call a halt before ?'destructive" prece '?dc-ntf had been established, j The section V>f the appropriation bill j which led to^ie veto wottld prohibit i tho printing at mimeographing of any ; government publication except by au ? thorhy of fio. joint com mitt o: Such. : x provision, said the President, would jgive the committee "power to deter | mine what injEormation shall be given j to the people of the country-by the! I executive department/' j Roth Senator Smoot and Represcn-; j tat ire Good, however, asserted that j j the committee already had been given i control over government publications i by an act which the President signed ton March 1, 1919. and that the pur i pose of the present provision was to j extend thVt power so meritorious peri- ; I odi'/u's could be continued. A row between the joint committee and Reger W. Rabson, formerly con nected with the committee on public information, was blamed for the presi dent's action by Senator Smoot, who said in his statement that Rabson apparently had "made use of the Pre sident or his advisers in carrying out i his threat and determination to end the censorship' which, without the least foundation, he has charged against the joint committee/' The President's veto message said j in part: / ! j "I am in entire sympathy*with the j efforts of the congress and the de j partments to effect economics in print ; ing and in the use of paper and' sup j plies, but I do not believe that such a provision as this should become law. j "If we are to have efficient and eco nomic business administration of gov ernment affairs the congress. T be lieve*, should direct its effort:-; to the control of public moneys along broad er lines. . . . This can be accom plished by the enactment of Icgisla-i tion establishing an effective budget system, which 1 have heretofore urg ed. "The congress and the executive should function within their respect ? ive spheres. The congress has the power and the right to grant or deny j any appropriation or to enact or re j fuse to enact a law; but once an ap- j propriation is made or-a law is passed the appropriation should be admin-^ ?stored or the law executed by the ex ecutive branch of the government. ''Jj regard the provision in question j is an invasion of the province of the j executive and calculated to result inj i unwarranted interference in the pro- I , I cesses ot good government, produc ing confusion, irritation and distrust. The proposal assumes significance as an outstanding illustration of a grow ing tendency which I' am sure is not fully realized by the congress itself and certainly not by the people of the! country*." ? The president also cited a resolution! adopted recently by the joint commit-j tee declaring that no person connected ] with any government department] should furnish any publication fori free distribution in excess of 50 copieSd without first malting application to the! committee. He also called attention' to che recent creation by congress of the public buildings commission to have 'absolute control of the allot ment of all space in ;i'I public build ings \:\ Washington except the White House, capitbl building, senate and house office buildings, the capitol power plant, the Smithsonian Institu tion and the Congressional Library." The commissie?n. the President said. ! "is organized and operates as a eon-, gressional commission" and has on va-! rious occasions directed various) branches of the executive depart-! ment to vacate buildings occupied by them. Indianapolis, Ind.. May 14?Oncj man is 'lead and two are in the hospi-5 tal as the result of drinking wood al- | c- hol. according to the police. Bucharest, May 14?The kins: and : queen of Rumania have decide! to i postpone their visit to the United ; States until next spring. y< DIAL TO OPPOSE USE OF HIS NAME! A.s Candidate for National Com mitteeman From South Carolina Washington, May i:j?Senator Dial, j disdUvfef-ssr further today t.;o Stale! Democratic convention to be held next Wednesday, said that he hoped ! ro attend as a delegate from Laurens, : though he niay be detained here, but j that oh further information and our.--1 !y in th. interest of the party solid-j arity he had reconsidered the deci-1 <:ion annbU'.iced in this correspondence Tuesday and would ask friends not to j present him for National committee-! man. Ke adheres, however, t^ Is or- j iginal statement that he cannot allow1 'die use of his name in connection wit Ii; ..?lection as one cf the four delegates at large and says that for'a number of reasons it h; out of the question for him to to the San Francisco conven tion. "When I stated the other day." ; Senator Dial said, "thai P would not' mind being elected national commit-' 'teeman, I had it from several sources' that the incumbent desired to retire' not only from that office but also as State chairman. I have heard that contradicted since. I have been offer ed support by a great number of the delegates and I have entertained no uneasiness as to the outcome of tho! election. However, the sugg? stion | ? cm es to mo from friends whose judg- | men: I respect that I might be cri'ti- ' eized for allowing the use of my name ' in connection with this, additional of fice. I would not have my friends put j in the position of having to defend ! any act of mine. But another cohsid-! oration which appeal to me as one that I ought to regard above ail oth- ? crs. is that no one ought to risk divid ing the Democratic forces at this stage. I believe that I could be of service as national committeeman and. I am ru der no obligation to the incumbent, but talte pride ami satisfaction in the growing solidarity among our people. Anyway, the post of national commit teeman is not. one over which I could oiiter into any scramble. I ana deep ly grateful to the friends who have been so cordial in their offers of sup port and am sure they will understand the reasons which constrain me to ask that they will not put my name forward in this connection. DIVIDE DIOCESE IN THREE YEARS Episcopalians Also Vote for Bishop Coadjutor Spartanburg, May 12?The council Of the Episcopalian church of South Carolina, in session h 're today, de cided upon division a'' the diocese to b<- brought about within three years and upon the election of a bishop co adjutor, setting October 12, next, as I the date for holding the election in Columbia.. The council went on record as op posing the eJigibiity of women as del egates to the diocesan council. A ! two.-thirds vote wa.s necessary in both the lay and clerical orders. In the clerical order it failed by only one vote, while in the lay order1 the vote v. as IS to xo against. The election of a bishop coadjutor at a special meeting of the council is of interest to the church in that. . in ?"'use of the division cf the diocese, the bishop coadjutor automatically be comes the bishop of one of the dio ceses.; The action of the council to day was in accordance with the rec ommendations of Bishop Guerry, the present bishop of the diocese, who favored a bishop coadjutor rather Jian a suffragan bishop. Te present session of the council is 'he most largely attended in the his-! lory of the church in this State and has been one of decided interest. POLES WIN VICTORY Bolshevik Division Cut to Pieces In Battle at Mouth of Bresina River - Warsaw. May 15?The rout of thel tenth Bolsheviki Division in a battle' north of the Bresina river is report-; ed in the Polish official communique j In attempting to escape the ro nnantsj of the division, were killed or cap tu r- \ BOLD ROBBER KILL ED BY THE PGUCE Chicago Bandit Overpowers Five Mail (Merks and Gets Away With Big Sum Chicago. May 1 1?A man entered a' mail ear on an arriving train today, made one- clerk tie the feet of, five I others and look several hundred thou-1 sand dollars in currency. lie was! pursued by the police and dropped a^ bag containing a hundred thousand j dollars in his flight He finally took j r< fuge in a building and was shot dead ? after two hours sniping. CONVICTED BY HIS OWN WORDS; Secretary Daniels Cites State ment by Admiral Sims to Prove That He Slan dered Navy Washington, May i l? Secretary j Daniels today declan t!iar Admu-tJ Sims' charge that the Navy prolong- \ ed the war four months by delays was refuted by the Admiral's own testl- ! mony.. BAPTIST HOME ! MISSIONS1 Work of Last Year Reported to Convention j \ ! Washington. .May 1-1?Operations of : ;the Home Mission Board of the South- : i ern Baptist Convention have been : practically doubled during the ? last i year. Dr. B. D. Cray, secretary, re ported today to the 75th annual ses Ision of tlie e<mvention. In the general evangelistic work of the board, carried by fifty white gen- j era] evangelists ; ud singers, one spe cial missionary to the deaf mutes, land three negro evangelists. more' 'than 1?J.0<*0 persons were added t o [the churches during the last year.. Evangelistic and educational work i among the people of foreign tongu-'S in the South has reached large propor j lions, this work being conducted in seven different languages. I EXPRESS CAR IS LOOTED _ I Agent Claims Eandits Kicked Him Into Insensibility Spokane, Wash... May 14.?Nine thousand dollars were obtained by robbers wh? kicked the express agent 1 into insensibility, according i.v the, i agent's account. j STATE PENSION FUND. ?Distribution of Conic derate Pensions; Waits on Rifling or Attorney - General The following letter from Pension I i Commissioner I.TcLaurin to Judge of. I Probate Tho.~ K. Richarson wih i of interest to Suraler County Coifed-! lernte pensioners. The aliotiaer.t ofj I the >nnd to Sunier county 's now in. !*bo hards of Judge Iticilfc'-oa lor, j distribution, but i! cannot be paid out! to those on tin' list until a ruLtng as! ; to the? distribution has been made by ?the Attorney CcneraT. Columbia. S. C. May 14, 1920. \ Judge of Probate: Enclosed find warrant for the! amount apportioned to your counlv; under the last act of,the General As-; sembly. Please sign same v.iiere I have: marked and return to the Comptroller j General, who will mail you check I" j cover. As soon as I can get the opinion!; from tin- Attorney General. I will send: you instructions as to the distribution j of this amount. i'ours very truly, D. W. MOLA'"It >.". j: Commissioner. _: CAPITAL STOCK INCREASED Sumter Cotton Warehouse Company Increased io $120.000 Columbia. May 14?The Sumter[ Cotton Warehouse Co., of Sumter. has : been granted authority to increase its capital stock from $17,000 to ? 125.000. MURDER AT SOLDIERS HOME Veteran of Civil War Kills Span ish War Veteran at John- u son City Johnson City, Tonn.. .May 14?John >*Mara. a veteran of the Spanish-Am erican war was killed by Luther S. Sands, a veteran of the Civil War. at he Soldie-s' Home here. The killing s said to have been the result of a LUat rel following the ejection of Sands Tom the grounds. The coroner's jury eturned a verdict of justifiable homi ide. LEE COUNTY FAIR PRIZES Premiums to Amount of $10,000 ?Plans to Encourage Ad vanced Agriculture : ishopville; May 13?The Lee Coun y Fair Association, believing that the fairs of this and other States have not fulfielld their proper sphere as devel opers of the agricultural interest of this country, has, after mature delib eration, decided to increase this line materially. The premium committee has offered the following premiums for individual farm exhibits: '$500 as* a first prize; $300, second; $200,. third: $100, fourth, and $50, !:fth. These prizes are open to all who desire to compete. The entire premium list will amount to about ?10.000 tliis year. The prime object of this fair association is not to make money ? for thc stockholders but to promote the agricultural and indus trial interests of the country. Wilhelm Changes His Residence Doom. Holland. May 15?Former Emperor W'*helm arrived from Am erongen to _y. FRENCH TROOPS WITHDRAWING Paris. May 15?The withdrawal of the French troops from the LYankfcrt and Darmstadt region has begun. BYRNES' SPEECH CAUSE STORM South Carolinian's Attack on Speaker (iillctto Causes Gillette to Make Foolish Display of Himself Washington. May 14?Investigate the investigations committee. Tnid was the purport of a resolution intro duced today by Representative Byr nes; of South Carolina, whose speech in his support of his resolution was a scathing arraignment of the so-called Graham committee that Speaker Gil lette had a brainstorm and made a foolish display of himself. - ?-" Because of interruption from the Republican side which ho v handled with great effectiveness, tn% SoutH Carolina < 'bngressman was not able'to finish his speech in the twenty minutes which he had obtained^ At the end of that period he asked unanimous consent to speak for five mmutes .more. In a fit of partisan resentment, Speaker Giliette refused to submit the request to the House. "Docs., the Speaker object," asked Mr. Byrnes, in astonishment. "No," said the Speaker, "but the chair does not recognize the gentleman for that purpose." Former Speaker Chamqj Clark, former loader of the minority b ere arose to express the hope ttiafl flic time of the South Carolinian, would 'be extended five minutes as he had requested. "Thc gentleman from Missouri- ancj. Lhe gentleman from South Caroling aro both out of order and will take tin ;;- seats." ordcrd the Speaker. "Will the chair permit me to remain in the house?*' sarcastically replied Mr. Byrnes, while former Speaker Clark walked out of the chamber in inar decjato disgust. Speaker Gillette made no answer to Mr. Byrnes' sally, puf < uf. matters short by recognizing Representative Sells. Republican, of Tennessee, who had not even risen, fro tu his seat. Thc rpfusal of the Speaker to put the request of Mr. Byrnes to the House is declared to be'without pre cedent. Nevertheless. Mr. Gillette said later j> conversation that he in-, tened to continue tiiis method of handling requests for additional time under similar circumstances.. Lu Brick, * Ccnicj Flooring, Ceiling. Siding, Casing, Mouldings, Framing Lumber. Red Cedar Shingles, Pine and Cypress Shingles. Shingles, Terra ^oti icnr, Plaster, Fire Brick, Fire Clay, Sewer Pipe, Stave Flue, ?1 1* Locks, uilding^ Grr ""'v ateriaP; Hardware Paints, Oils Metal and Composition Doors. Sash and Blinds, Porch CoiuPms and IfciHastcrs Beaver t?oard. Valley Tin and Brdge Roll. Grates, Saws, atchets. Rammers, Door Hangers. Carpenter's Tools, Mortar ( (dors and Stains Paint Brushes. Water Proofing Mineral, Paints and Oils. Corrugated Metal Roofing, Inside Decorations. \sbctos and Composition Roofing. Calsomincs and Cold Water Paints, WIRE FENCING. IKON AND WOOD POSTS Thimbles EVERY THE HOUSE Booth & McLeod, Inc. SUMTER, ' SOUTH CAROLINA