Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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?th in Reply : i To Mr. Jennings Information Relative to the Jail I l^i PBRds and Reasons Why H^#ot Been Built? Crititjsm of Mayor Jen^ ain^s Handling of - ; ?ity Funds Editor Etaffy. Item: Please- aUow me space to reply to 3^r.> JenuinjgsV irrelevant fUns at me iovorving^tfe Rational Bank. of Sum - ter. ?,As this matter of $2f5,000 bond issue'for^ the new jail fund makes up a' part of this bank's deposits as dis closed ..'ij* .its. recent published state mentits3&e "nigger in the wood pile." and* the phderlyxng reason for this uncalled., for. undignified and dirty inainus,tk>n as carried between the l?ies jotrmy"motive as a member of :&'e~ jaii: commission in delaying its construction and thereby retaining this fund Jfbr the bank's benefit. t'stoiiU&ke under advisement the isfef "of thisfund* to ^ the peoples' k protlded of course that Mr. Jen Mail* 4&.?president will see that a j^ ttfJI'.pIr cent or better is paid fot^t^^yne for another year?the lact iS-.I. know of some other funds t$?t' t?* available if he can make the rat*,, of"tnjt^test' sufficiently attractive. The-.agreement as quoted in Mr. i'enr^h!? article of the iZzh is about correel- The county commissionerf iec?pil>d the National Bank of Sum -iStt" iii an open Competitive call tj?,v%^.'jr4adi?oned" ?s- stated in hi; arti^ie of. tbe use of this fund unti .^S.-'fct the pttrpose of building the '^Ij^.'iii^^st at 4 per cent com $&*$ffr~ "Jitter ly; This has lost th< afSTA^ average of $4.70 per thou .dollars for* four years, this bein? >|fjK?e paid by the Count: tea to the Bank at 4 3-4 pe m ?iteresx as against 4 pei txmhded quarterly paid bj for this depoait, so th< l>e?e*fted to the extent of j o^er tfie hundred dollars anc 3*5?fd"i premium of forty dollar *c this business so it is clear thai tJr?-ictmfy has not lost $6.500.00 by ; 'my-: ?f?^ >?t:.cf;this year ihis func > ber.-^methLag over thirty thou dfp?fcr?, so- this howl about sucr ! no ffects to -support it. iund "fc?as provided *or th< of building a new Jail anc Mfc-^JennSngs is too good a lawyer tc be- tST?oram of the 'fact that wher< - ?&0a* are. fcrovided. for a specifi< 3nr$Qse that the constitution provide: t&2?,ii shall.be spent for that purpos? ^|tJr^o^ld.''be \#ne., husineas for th< 'l^ai^^joj m.als e ?this\ loan '-to- the. county 'l9f^^90di9tti::^.ihpfer :-cent and vol N&jt^^ 8 pel :?ept:-i when.;;as a matter of. .fact foj ?^^^^^^-^thjB "bank "has ? paid tin ^^^c^J^^his^ fund*, a higher aver thAn-the " federal reserv< t*4^pu4jt -rite has been, a u^-io-stJ&e riast weight or tei ; Mr.-. Jean lags could be equal ^cx.iGci$ed ini allowing t h< alj&i?g fund ' deposits to draw c*c?3r' 5 3&r cent from' vaious bank: Z ? the ke$ty has been paying J ' 'p^r. cer-t "for their money for somi 'if&? :or* mpre. ' .;Ut$n^- 14? 'commission was compos ;ej4''of three.Tnembers with the super . ~vifiiot *as; "tiiember ex-officio; imnie v42aie3y" after -the act was passed th< IteajKt was organized with four mem fs?: be^vPres?t? and as the act of 'i9l< pjoyided twenty-five thousanc ; doilaxe we did not get' very far be ?. r'jtore We found this amount' would d< F<ry.4Htie- more than lay a founda :. tie-:* Jor^a Jaii, hence the legislativ* J ?delegation .at the next session allow e$Mhe amount to be raised but fail ?e^:..$o' furnish the funds therefor however the commission visite< * ^nr4 or .five iails and decided abon what we wanted in the way of a jai - - <inti: employed an architect who drev * v i^aa3 ai>d specifications, which w< ?ow, .have and have bad for aboui Sonr-yesrs. We had estimates on this * l*jUl: two or three times within th? % mi?t, tour years and we found it wouk take at least sixty thousand dollar; or 'more to build a jail that we con ;? aidere*ri would meet the requirementi t p^\h%* community. .,.' Mr. Jennings states in his article \ . ..%h?X building material rs ?o< ut hall - ; of ', what they were during the war m shortly .thereafter; if he is sincert ? in this statement I feel sure that hi ? * , can. get the contract to build this ^..- j^U based on the estimates that w< -?.'?_i^ad. On its cost some two years ago ?Ve.; sixty thousand dollars. I hope " be is sincere in this matter and 1 fee! ?so -sure" that Mr. Rx?wland will concuj %t ita awarding him this contract ai i*. .-Will Mr. Jennings please state tc / ^i$i^:J[>til>Iic'how I could influence and ..: cpflitror the use of these funds for ??rJ^W???'period in the National Bank of i - Sumter's interest when 1 was only ?nie 'Of'three members? Certainly *$&.. Rowland has his own ideas and also ia matters of this kind has Mr. .lifts and Mr. "White, both supervisors Aufing the period covered by this .^^atter. * Mr. White signed his last " warrant as county supervisor . January 1st, 1921. So as matter of 'fact up to that date the commission I? \ was, composed of three active mem hers.' 'ft would suggest to Mr. Jennings as there is a vacancy on this board which the county legislative delega tioa .na? the authority to till, that he >-'!J5?$ hiniself appointed and he might * SO1 further and have the county com ~ -^mtssior.ers removed for neglect of duty 4n thbs matter and tili this of fice also. I might add that during this period when the taxpayers of the county have been so outrageous ly exploited by tpe use of its funds by the National Bank of Sumter that he - has been drawing a salary as at torney for the ceunty board of com missioners, and it seems to me he has ?been very derelict in his duty in aot handling this matter and bring ing tlpe.guilty parties to justice. The old jail was built for Jail pur poses and there has been no jail de liveries. It is quite true it is out of date and is unsanitary, but when you consider that in 2916 twenty-five thousanfd dollars was considered a fair price by county delegation for a new jail and the nearest ^approach to this price we could get was some sixty odd thousand dollars, as be tween people that transgressed the law and thereby are confined in this unsanitary building and the taxpay er, my idea would be to conserve the taxpayers' interest as against the comfort and convenience of the law breaker, who by their own deliberate act caused their misfortune of hav ing to occupy the old jail. Mr. Jennings takes great pride in imagining that he is the pioneer in all improvements of every nature in the city and county but as a matter of fact these improvemets began before he was ever heard of in public life. When only a few years from the country a commission of three or four citizens were appointed to act with three members of council in the construction of the sewerage system of thus town, 1 was put on this commission by the city council with the late W. B. Boyle, as mayor and helped to build it. Subsequent ly 1 W3s elected on city council un der the old form of government and under the commission form of gov ernment I was re-elected and have been identified in the city's affairs un til I resigned last summer. Mr. C. G. Rowland was elected as councilman under the commission form of gov ernment and my recollection is that at the very first meeting of council thereafter he brought the question of paving streets on the abutting prop erty plan up and was -requested. by , other two members of council, Mr. Jennings then being 'mayor, to take the matter up with a gentleman in Charlotte, N. C, a friend of his who ; was familiar with the abutting prop [ erty plan of street construction, Charlotte about this time having built a great many miles of street j on this plan. There was never a di vision of opinion in# the council on . the matter of good streets, nor would r there be any division now in mat r .ter of hard surfaced roads if they . could be built at anything like a fair ? iprice. No one is in favor of good I roads more than I am. ^ Mr. Jennings states in his article [ that 125 miles road was promised, j Last Saturday I figured with Maj. Lee ; the engineer employed by the hard t surfaced road commission and ab cost figured, a mile of 16 foot road can not be built at this time for less . than thirty-two to thirty-three thou sand dollars. He promised 125 miles of road when they advocated good ( roads before the people; only asked 1 for a bond issue of two and half , million dollars to build this 125 miles , of road and further gave assurances , that "he bonds would not bear iite* j est greater than 5 per cent or "> VI j per cent. Now would it o.- keeping faith with the people to attempt to j build roads at anything like this cost P when the aggregate would run to more than four million dollars when . j j*ou figure the cost of concrete bridges . i that would have to be built? > The city paid about $1.35 per yard . for their asphalt and brick streets; , the price now would be greater than $3.00 per yard for country roads, as L the haulage of this tonnage from de . pot or railroad siding would have tc j be considered in the construction ol r country roads which would add mate j ially to its cost. Some people remind me very much . o fa* kid with 25c to spend who can not rest until they find some candy or toy store in order to get rid oi . their wealth. The bare fact that the expenditure of this money having been authorized with steps not hav . ing been taken to spend it seems to j be a nightmare ever before theii t eyes. ?/ I feel I can say at least a major > ity of the members on this hard sur faced road commission are ready to I act and wil -lact as soon as their * judgment would dictate or suggest they can get a fair return for money expended. [ This article, Mr. Editor, appears : to be very rambling and disconnect [ ed, but as indicated in the beginning - this question of Mr. Jennings" crfti > cism of the handling of jail funds : grew out of my stand in the matter i of road bonds and building roads ! at present cost. Reverting back to this matter of i the handling of public funds I have had occasion recently to look over t the bookB of the city clerk and treasurer and I find since the first of ; October 1920. just prior to the fall ; collection of- taxes, until May 1st, ? '1921, the combined deposits of the City National Bank, First National Bank. Commercial Bank and Trust i Co., National Bank of South Caro lina, Sumter Trust Co.. and National Bank of Sumter aggregate a grand total of a little over ninety-one thou sand dollars. In the same period the Peoples' Bank of which Mr. Jen nings is president, had deposits of various kinds of some five hundred forty-nine thousand dollars; of this amount approximately two hundred forty thousand dollars of these de posits were loans negotiated by Mr. Jennings as mayor in New York and bonds sold by the city and passed to the credit of the Peoples' Bank in New York. This item alone being New York exchange is the most de sirable business for a bunk if only left in the bank for a short period to tin bank so favored by having this fund to their credit in New York. Tin Peoples' P>ank was used during tbest months for the clerk and treasurer's checking account. Now the custom of city council in the assignment of The duties of various members of council for a number of years has been about as follows: < me member was more particularly in charge of water works; one with street depart ment and Pre department, etc. The matter of finance and the legal end of ?city's affairs was left with the mayoi ?> and while all financial arrangements had to be made by consent of council, however the execution thereof was left with the mayor and clerk and treasurer. Now watch Mr. Jennings disclaim any knowledge and responsibility for j this condition of affairs. The eusto,n from time immemoral has been for cheeks i<?iied on any one bank in favor of the city, was for this check to be redeposited in the bank on which the check was drawn and transferred to such bank as was be ing used by the clerk and treasurer as his checking1 account for that pe riod as the office force claimed it was less trouble to pay all accounts through one bank. However, this checking account was shifted from one bank to the other every sixty to ninety days and thereby each bank enjoyed this prvlege for a like period. This matter of about five hundred and fifty thousand dollars passing through one bank in the last six or seven months, although if kept there for only a short period has been a mighty good asset to the bank so fa vored during this period of jmall de posits. The attention of Mr. McCallum and Mr. Raffield of city council having been recently called to this favor itism in favor of the Peoples' Bank. I am informed that clerk and treasur er has been directed to observe the former usage that was in vogue for the past number of years. This ap parently is another irrelevant mat ter, but under the circumstances having been so unfairly dealt with by Mr. Jennings in his communica tion of the 13th 1 feel justified in calling the public's attention to the above state of affairs in the favoi - itism extended to the bank of w*iieh he is president. No amount of ex planation on his part or the part of clerk and treasurer can justify .his gross injustice to the other banks whose stockholders are taxpayers themselves and the banks being tax players also. People who live in glass houses should be very careful of their conduct. And in conclusion I wish to say that this jail will ' be built in due time, being ever mindful of rhe interest of the taxpayers and no amount of bull-dozing or coercion on the part of any one or more dis gruntled parties will hasten the date thereof. And I might add that the hard surface road commission in my judgment will perform the duties as imposed on them as their judgments would suggest, whether it meets the views of this self-appointed custodian of the peoples' interest. Again thanking your indulgence. Yours very truly, J. P. BOOTH. j HARVEY TO ACT AS OBSERVER ONLY Washington. May 19.?The instruc tions forwarded to Ambassador Har , vey at London for his participator in the sessions of the Supreme Coun cil, as the personal representative of President Harding, it was said to night, are that he shall act only a: i an observer so far as the Silesian question is concerned. Administration officials reiterate* ' that the position of the Americar Government was the same as out lined in the formal answer to Poland the text of which was made publh last night, declining her request fo support of the disposition of Uppei Silesia following the recent plebis cite. That question is essentially Eu ropean. it was stated, and therefore does not concern the United States. In discussing The question, how ever, officials indicated That although the Silesian queston was esentialh 5 European, because it was a problen of adjusting boundaries. It or simi ! lar questions might conceivalby de velop to broader proportions involv ing interests of the United States oi an economic character. 1 In such an event, it is understoo? that instructions will be forwarded to Ambassador Harvey to act in ; manner to safeguard American inter ' ests on the ground that the Unite* States is vitally concerned in all eco nomic readjustments growing out o ' 'he wai_ OBSERVES 80TH BIRTHDAY Georgetown, May 19.?Benj. P. Fraser. Sr.. of Hose Bank Plantation a native of Scotland. Put since a boj a resident of Georgetown County, wit! , a number of children and grandchil dren around him. celebrated hi: eightieth birthday last Friday. Ma: 13, at the old family homestead oi the Pee Dee river. Many were tin gifts, good wishes and congratulation: received from far and wide, testify ing to the love and high reg -d it . which Mr. Fraser is held by all win know him. It was no ordinary oc casion, and though the day wa.? "dour." as they say in old Scotland the indoors was full to overflowinj with the true clannish spirit. th< spirit of hospitality and good cheer, in which the substantial good thing: of life were not lacking. No one pres ent enjoyed the day more thorough!} or added more zest to the family ecie bration than the head of the family whose birthday it was. Mr. Fraser was a Confederate soldier under Lee and like his great chief, when the em: came returned to his home to recon struct and build up the waste places. For more than thirty years, faith full;, and sometimes under extreme hard ships, he has performed tin- gratui tous service of lay reader in Prince Frederick's Parish, serving as vestry man and warden a much longer pe riod than that. Present at the family reunion were the following children of Mr. Fraser: Mrs. H. Shorter Watson and Miss Madeline Fraser, of Columbia: David E. Fraser and his son, Robert, of Bannock burn, Florence County: Hugh Fraser. the eldest son, of Charleston: Benj. J. Fraser, Jr.. and Miss Emily i Fraser. of Georgetown. Mrs. .1. M. j Dick, of Sumter. ami .Urs. VV. W. I Pierce, of Columbia, were unavoid ably detained at home. Petersburg, Va., May 20.?The Bri tish Tobacco company's here lias been closed until June? 1st, owing to the uc cumulation of stock, dm- to the rate of exchange. The company employs twelve hundred people. Milwaukee. May 21.- Butter sold today at the lowest wholesale price in live years, 2G,/?c a pound. Tokyo. May 21 (By the Associated Press.)?Japan is to evacuate Siberia and restore Shantung to China "a; the earliest possible moment," ac cording to a statement by an official of tie- foreign office after adjourn ment Today for tlie colonial confer ence, which has been in session here for the last week. This, he declared meant "no change in Japan's funda mental policy" in the Far East. Good Roads Movement Popular i - j Meeting in Columbia Endorsed; By Well Known Men of All j i Sections Columbia. May 2".?The registra tion of delegates at the organization! on Wednesday shows that practically every county in the state was repre sented. The meeting is dec-are.] . by sonic people to have been one of the; most representative good roads gath-j erings ever held in the state. Letters and telegrams pledging I hearty support to the new organiza-: tion are coming in from over the state i and the association officials express the belief that the enthusiasm arous-j ed ai rh<- meeting will continue to j spread and result in a system of high- ' ways for the state. B. C. .Matthews, banker of New berry, says in a letter to the associa tion: "Good roads, good streets;, and good people make a good state. Let's build them, grow them and keep them. ! Let's make South Carolina the liest state in these United states." _ Former Lieutenant Go-1 nor Junius T. Libs writes from Orangeburg: "It is time that South-Carolina was giv ing serious and practical - considera tion to the road problem. It can be conclusively shown that the kind of roads over which the people of our state have traveled during the past twenty years hav ecost them far more than it would to build permanent highways." "We have suffered on account of poor roads and the expense to our people has been tremendous", writes Senator W. F. Lightsey. of Hampton, j Col. Arthur L. Gasten, of Chester wired: "South Carolina must keep up ! with other states". "Am in hearty accord with move ment for better roads", read a mes sage from D. A. Spivey of Con way. "With uiiiVersal education and uni versal good roads. South Carolina will again take her place as one or' the leading states of the nation," writes J. F. Jacobs of Clinton. r President L. D. Jennings of 3umtei will probably call a meeting of th? - executive committee within a few - days to launch the campaign for mem l hers. The executive committee is - composed of President L. D. Jennings, of Sumter, ex officio, chairman: - Frank E. Brodnax, of Columbia: C. s G. Rowland, of Sumter; A. V. Snell i of Charleston: W. K. Gunter of Gaff ney, and Niels Christensen, of Beau 1 fort. i The election of L. I). Jennings oJ - Sumter as president has met witr , popular approval. Mr. Jennings ii C known as one of the greatest gooc !' roads enthusiasts in the state and tht r belief generally expressed is that h< - ha sthe ability to "put the movemem - across." ! VETERANS CLOSE ANNUAL REUNION Camden. May 19.?The South Car olina division of the United Confed . erate veterans which has been in .?j session here for two days came to a j close tonight amid an outburst ol , enthusiasm equal to thai displayed at . the opening. '' ~ The program for the day includ ed a business session and also some } addresses, the most important oi which were by Governor Cooper and f Mendel L Smith of Camden. The ; concluding parts of the program con sisted of a monster parade which was composed of veterans, sponsors, maids, matrons of honor, the Ameri r can Legion. Kershaw guards and j many other organizations, which was j followed by an open air reception, ? j the feature of which was community rsinging, moiv than 1.00.0 school i j children taking part. The program - for the night consisted of a fish Try, si followed by a dance at the opera *; house in honor of the veterans. 1 ? The election of otfieers took up '?most of the afternon business ses s j sion. Maj. Gen. <'. A. Heed was r>% ? elected by an overwhelming vote to 1 I serve as commander for the di > vision, while Gen. D. IV. McLaurin " j was elected commander of the first * j brigade and Gen. P. A. McDavid re ?{elected to serve as commander of ; the second brigade All other of ficers are to be appointed by the commander of the division and will *jbe announced at a later date. During the entire afternoon noth ing bill praise could be heard from. ; the veterans for the entertainment ?given them by the Can leu people. '[Many of them stated that they had J never been entertained better in their I lives and that if any city treated them I better they would have to "go some." 'I Camden has done herself honor in j the manner she Las taken care of the veterans and the memory of the pleasant time will be held in the I hearts of the veterans. Greenville Abbeville and Darlington made bids j for the next reunion, the result of [the vote being that Darlington will I entertain the veterans next year. For Improvement of Health Condi tions in Public- Schools. I Columbk., May 20.? Dr. H. L. Shaw, of Sumter. president South [Carolina Medical Association, has [named a committee from his associa tion ! ) launch a conceited and sus tained effort to improve health con ditions in the public schools of the state. The committee is composed of ; i ?r. J. W. Jervey, of Greenville; I >r. I William Westen. Coluinbhi; Dr. Jos. A. Uayne. Columbia; l>r. Robert Wil ison. Jr.. Charleston, and Dr. K. A. nines, Seneca. This committee will I meet from time ti> time ami will be ja permanent instrument in the in vestigation of sanitation and hygienic conditions in the public schools. j The better-health-for-school-chil dre movement is nation-wide, simi lar committees having been named in other states. Chicorn College Commencement. Columbia. May :.'?>.- Thirty young women will graduate from Chieora College, of Columbia, the commence ment starting Saturday. Rev. Ii Tucker Graham, of Florence, will be the baccalaureate preacher. Greater Liability For Telegrams Telegraph Companies Will Have to Pay Heavier Penalties for Mistakes Washington. May 20.?Telegraph companies have been ordered by the Interstate Commerce Commission to establish rules by July 13th increas ing their liability for errors in trans mission or delivery, or for non deliv ery of interstate messages. The amount is jo be increased from fifty dollars to no? less than five hundred on unrepeated messages and not less than five thousand for repeated mes ; sages. i_?_ i Nation Mourns Loss Of Chief Justice Washington, May 19. ? Edward I Douglas White. Chief Justice of the : L'nlted States, lay dead at his home j here tonight, while men highest in j the nation's councils vied with each ,oth<r to do h'm honor. I 1 y order of President Harding the '? business of the government will come to :i standstill Saturday when the j body is carried to its final resting (place, in Oak Hill cemetery. George town. Funeral services will be pri ivate, but wherever the American flag , Ries over American troops ashore or [American sailors afloat, or wherever : it waves above an embassy, legation or consulate the colors will be low ered to half-mast, that the world may i know America mourns a great loss. ; In Washington government dep?rt ! ments will be closed all day, from ; the White House down, j Great as was his place in life, ! death brought a realization of the even greater place Justice White held in the hearts of his countrymen. Yes terday he stood upon the highest pin nacle of legal renown; he held an of fice that has not its like around tht i world, that stands unparalleled in his Itory, and in his person was typified I the American ideal of the suprenn 'j majesty of law?the will of the ma '! jority of the people. But today there was extolled tlu greatness of the man himself, hi; ' deep learning, his fearless hewing U ? the line of right, nis wrse judgments j And even more than these, mei j among whom he had walked in th< ? j long, busy years of his life spoke o '{his modesty and the simple kindline&i " that had made him beloved, even a: . j he was honored for the greatness o: the power entrusted by his country 1J men to his keeping. !j From the president to humble foil ' j of the street, who now will look ir '{vain for the big, cheerful acquaint ' j ance of many a gossipy chat on tree .shaded corners. Washington paid it: i tribute of grief today. The senate where once he sat fur his native stat< of Louisiana, to be hailed forth t< r higher duties on the supreme bench I stopped in full , course when word o his death came. An eloquent tribute . from Senator Lodge, of Massachu . setts, majority leader, and one of tin i ! few whose memories of the Senat? go back to visualize the ample figun ; of the jurist in that setting, market the adjournment. The house was no in session, but a memorial observ . ance of the death of Justice Whit' . also will touch its proceedings whei ? it reconvenes. [ President and Mrs. Hading drov< . to the White home, where the bod: .[of the jurist lay. but did not intrude i (upon the grief of the family. Thej j remained outside and sent thei . I sympathy by word of mouth througl I { the judge's niece, who came out t< , talk with them. From the state de partment Secretary Hughes issued ; ? brief tribute drawn from his owr I memories of the late chief justice a: he knew him within the secluded cir. c!e of the court before the rush o j events drew Mr. Hughes again int< j more public place. , j Members of the Louisiana delega tion in congress joined in a similai 1 expression of respect and veneration for his memory. Attorney Genera j Daugherty also paid his homage anc '.-ill day the wires were busy with c j notion-wide flood of messages ol sympathy for the family and admira tion for the dead. Washington. May 20.?Presiden Harding definitely decided to Ieav< late tomorrow aboard the Yacht May flower for Xew York, reaching then Monday to attend the Centennial o the Xew York Commercial. He will re view the hundred sixth infantry reg iment and address the Academy o Science. He leave on the return voy age Monday night. ! Greenville. May 19.?F. G. Stokes former public service employe ol Spartanburg, was found not guilty to day in the Sessions Court here of a charge of the murder of J. 6. White who was fatally injured when an au tomobile in which lie was a passen ger, driven by Stokes was wrecked or the Spartanburg-Greenville road last sum mer. Washington. May 20.?Marie I Currie. the co-discoverer of radium I came here today to receive from President Hading gramme of rad ium purchased for her by American women. The presentation will take place ;<t the White House at 4 o'clock this afternoon. I Washington, May 20.? Damage to ?fruit crops from freezes in some sec tions has not resulted in a general shortage, the department of agricul ture says in its last report. Georgia peaches are abundant in several idaces. Tennessee is looking forward to the largest crop of blackberries on record. Virginia, however Is said to have very poor fruit prospects. Superintendent Kdmunds wishes it known that, by the orders of the City Hoard of Health, the boys and girls of the grade of which little Hen ry Moses was a member will be ex cluded from school for the rest of the term. They will convene each morning at ? o'clock at Dr. Green's office where, under the supervision of their teacher, they will as a pre vent ire measure have their throats s: j.yed. Students of ^ Illiteracy Schools Enjoy Two-Day Contest and Outing in Columbia Columbia, May 20.?The clouds heavy with ruin made Friday, May 13th dismally gloomy. Dut neither the weather, the day, no)- the date in* I terfered with the number and the [spirit of the adult students who came i to Columbia' expressly for the pu J pose of entering the contest planned ; Tor their benefit by the state depart i ment of education assisted by the 11 j literacy Commission ai-<i the exte sion department of the University o South Carolina. This is the first cc ? ! petitive contest ever h ?*' for ad\ i |students in the state or South Ca > lina and further the very first T u that the adult students of the s have met together in a body. The pupils had been making pi ep arations for this eventful day some time. A large n Tnber of t >? pupils paid their own railroad fare i Columbia. And this meant a self denial, an hour or two more added to the day's labor but with a real goal ahead, longer hours spent in the mill did not count for anything. In some instances, the mill paid the transpor tation of the pupils, fhowing clearly their desire to cooperate in this work. Every pupil in the class was not giv en the opportunity to list his name as one of the contestants but this honor was given to the pupil that had done the best all round work, thus demon strating* his desire to become a bet ter citizen. So popular was the con ' test that next year the decision as to ; who will eome will be nade on even ja keener competition. To arrive in Columbia at the ap pointed time, the majority of the pu pils had to arise long before, day break, however this seemingly small inconvenience did not fake away from their enthusiasm. Their spirits were in no way dampened although in i reality their outer garments wer? I j soaking wet. There were seventy pupils present .{chaperoned by seven teachers repre senting eleven counties. The ages of the pupils ranged from fifteen to fifty-eight, forty of the number were I over thirty years, of age. The students were first entertained ' by the University of South Carolina j, at a luncheon. From three to five f o'clock, the contests T.vere held in i- arithmetic, spelling, reading, and * ! .vriting and although the competition could not have been keener there was . I a spirit of good fellowship beneath ,it all. In Arithmetic II the decision . |as to the rightful winner lay between . i grandfather over fifty years and a small boy barely fifteen and although in this case the grandfather won the a ! prize, this same boy won a prize in ' j another contest where he competed I against men twice his age. ' I The Chamber of Commerce was the t j : host at a most delightful banquet f Ithal night. Reports from each school a were given. One man f rom Spartan 1 burg stated that he had driven one a hundred seventy-one miles to give the q report from his school A number of & speeches were/heard ijrom the adult I 'students who-Stressed %vbat the adult t [school had/' meant to them, expressing _ I their appreciation of what had been e done for them, and stating their de ^ j termination to enlist toe interest of I every individual who had been de ojnied the chance of an education in childhood. One 'ex-soldier spoke quite feelingly of the privilege that had been deprived hin. while in the trenches because of Iiis inability to read and write. He longed for let ters from home but what was the use when he received any he could t ' j\ot read them but had to wait un j Ufl one of his companions had the prime to read his own letters to him. 3f Further, he could not answer them f. j himself. This soldier determined "then and there if he returned and if an adult school was organized in his community that his name would be the first name listed on the school roll. This same pupil won the sec ond place in one of the contests. Saturday morning a!: points of in terest were visited in Columbia. The Civic League were responsible for this great pleasure. The greater number of the pupils had never been to Co- . j lumbia before and this trip over tho city was a wonderful event in their lives. The last pleasurable event was a luncheon given-by the State Y. M. C. A. At the luncheon the prizes were awarded, a beautiful book, contribut ed by the book stores of Columbia, to the winner of each contest. Two gold medals were given, one to Mr. W. H. I Avers of Rock Hill. S. C, for making ! the hiebest score in the beginners* I contest, the other to Mr. F. \Y. Wad ? jdill of Greenwood, S. s .. for making . !the highest score in the advanced , j COIlteSt. j These two days will always be. me . {morable days in the lives of the adult . students and they are deeply grateful t: to the state department of education land the illiteracy commission for giv I ing them this rare opportunity. j P.-u is. May 20.?Premier Briand is I opposed to the meeting of the Su j preme Allied Council t i discuss the Silesian question until the Inter-Al i lied commission in Silesia has reached 'an agreement and submitted a re j port. Washington. May 20.?Secretary Davis continued his efforts today to effect a sett I. ment of the marine wage controversy by conferring with the w orkers' i epresentative. j Charleston, W. Va.. May 20.?Gov ernor Morgan has issued a procla mation declaring martial law in I Mingo County. Chicago, May 20.?Th. regional di rectors of the interstate cotton seed crushers- association, in convention ii-re. report that the cotton crop will be thirty per cent less this vear than last. Gahvay, Ireland. May 2<>.?Sixty armed men ambushed a constabulary inspector and twenty policemen at West Point this morning. One con stable was killed and four of the ambushing party were killed.