The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, June 11, 1921, Image 2
Largest Class Ends
Days at University
One Hunderd and Nineteen
Stadents Receive Diplomas
Columbia, June S.?The exercises
of the I16th commencement of the
University of South Carolina came to
a close with the graduating**exercises
fn the university chapel yesterday
morning, 119 yoyng men and women
raeiving; diplomas from the institu
tion. This is the largest class to be
graduated from the university in its
over; ? Century of existence.
Thomas Walter Bickett, former
governor of North Carolina, was the
annual commencement speaker, mak
ing .an eloquent plea for the de
velopment of community morality as
the next logical step in man's march
from savagery to civilization. Gov
ernor Bickett enlivened and embel
lished his address with a ready flow
of wit,, particularly amusing were his
stories of life in the Reconstruction
days in Union coiinty, Governor Bick
ett's birthplace. During Wade
Hampton's campaign for a seat in
the United States senate it was the
..^astom, Governor Bickett said, for
the voters of Union county. North
Carolina, which borders on the South
Carolina counties of Lancaster and
York to migrate to South Carolina
on election day to cast their ballots
lor Hampton. The South Carolinians
/rem York and Lancaster counties
in. their turn migrated to North Car
Molina for the North Carolina elec
tions; '-returning the party call," as
Governor . Bickett phrased it. South
Carolina; had also been a haven for
' the! Union county lovers, Governor
Bickett said. No license was required
and .^mrarr^ge as well as salvation
was freeVin South Carolina.^ ^Gov
ernor Bickett also paid high tribute
tqf Got. *R. A. Cooper with whom he
had toured the "wild and woolly
4V?st." V ~
Parties for Miss Kingman.
" On Tuesday afternoon, Mrs. Gra
ham Moses was hostess at a Lovely
" ipirty &ften-,&\hohoj:.^?--<&i&s' Sidney
l?ngmam one" of the_ attractive June
bridge. The BSuse'was t&s{efnfly dec
oratedwith. masses of -spri-ag flowers
and eight tables were. arranged for
??htridge on the shaded porch and in the
. During the game delicious punch
?-w^'--seryecL and later refreshments of
iee eream and1 fancy cakes.. The fa
vors-were dainty little violet baskets j
fUled : with*.mints, the honor guest's
\ isaiket. -"being white with, valley 'lillies. ?
t.^At"tHe end of the evening the prize j
for.higfrest. score, two ' hand-made j
handkerchiefs was awarded to Mrs. j
.^^r? J^ltman,; the. consolation a j
4^^.;kij:";-was cut by Mrs. John Lee 1
'iaj-^ithV^est of honor .was presented
wtiha* loyely pink sachet.
^Those.-present" were: Masses Eing
rnan, jfonna Richardson. Theo Gregg,
i^ne|te" :,^Wlaite. Mesdames C. W.
-g^n^n?n," Bedaingffeid. *2i": 'B. Phil
if^s,;^. Hearoh, Evans Bruher,
Courf right, Ansley Harby, Paul ?ugh
trjf/riDewai'd Bultman, Irving Rytten
beigv ILeeman, R. C. Williams, Leland
M^o?"?*^ v-Frances Bulunan, Warren
M?ise,- John Lee. Foley, Perd Leri.
X?n^ io?is W?li?msph, Hirsch, W.
;^iP^bjjfips, W. C. Graham, Louis Ly- j
cms, ^etty \Moaes, Nina Solomons. !
Mitchell Leyi. Dorn, J, W. Brunson, !
"Bd-Wright,- Piatt.
; y*if>K. Wednesday afternoon Miss
Kiiigman was again the honor guest
nt;'a delightful "shower" given by Mrs.
fi^ans Bruher. The guests were
greeted at the door by a most real
istic "Aunt Mandy," who later proved
to be Mrs. Henry Bruner. She car
ried a huge clothes bask- sad solicit- i
ed '-washing." v j
In rooms lovely with soft yellow- !
leaded lights and quantities of yellow !
daisies the gaime of hearts dice was ;
enjoyed for an hour, when the prize \
for the best score, a lovely vase, was
presented to Miss Elizabeth McKagen.
? The guests were then handed cards i
containing a -Fioral Love Story," the
questions to be answered with names 1
of flowers. When the cards were com- j
pared -Mrs. Edward Wright and Mrs.
L.' B. Jr*billips were found to h?ve an
swered the greatest number, the prize,
a most artistic old ma my, being cut
by Mrs. Philips.
/'Aunt Mandy" then reappeared and
stretched a clothes line across the
room, upon which, amid peals of
laughter, she hung her "wash," the
numerous lovely gifts for the bride
elect, while refreshments of ice cream,
.cake and mints in yellow heart
baskets were served.
Those enjoying Mrs. Bruner's
Jpyely party were Misses Sidney King
man, Bertha Bultman, Helena Bult
man, Janet White, Elizabeth China,
Elizabeth McKagen and Sadie San
ders of Beaufort: Mesdames Kingman.
Phillips, Edward Wright. Bedding
field, Graham Moses. Archie China,
Gordon Bradley, James Shaw, Ray
mond Fowler. W. O. Courtright.
Columbia. June 9.?Lewis Wood.
Washington correspondent for The
Columbia Record, wires the Columbia
paper today that rumors in Washing
ton are to the effect that former State
?Senator J. A. Banks, of Calhoun coun
ty, will be collector of internal reve
nue at Columbia, and that it is also
rumored that W. H. Andrews of
Georgetown, will be collector of the
port at Charleston. Mr. Wood also
advises that Tolbert's organization tuts
been cut by mote than fifty per cent
by the national republican commit
tee. It is also stated in the Wash
ington ad vires that Tolbert himself
will likely be given an important job
because of his standing by Harding in
the last republican convention. John
I*. McLaurtn will be referee.
Beet Leaves as Greens.
Young beets are popular when
cooked witbthe leaves as greens when
they are pnly an inch or so in diame
ter.
All of this class of vegetables will
stand considerable frost so they may
?be put into the ground as soon as it
?can worked. The crops should be
well under wa> in the more souther
ly sections and a iu.;cession crop is
da-* to go fn'^bif'^Scrtrt' this time.'
[e; w. dabbs describes
interesting trip
I Editor Daily Item:
I Readers of the Item and Watchman
jand Southron may be interested in an
j account of our trip to Asheville and
I BiUmOre a few days since. Taking
j lunch we left Warrior mountain at
;1<) o'clock, at 12 o'clock we were at
j the entrance to Biltmore estate,
[about 40 miles from here. The road
in Henderson county beginning just
!;beyond Saluda is not so good as the
{roads in either Polk or Buncombe
j counties. Between Saluda and Flat
j Rock we have to cross two streams,
a branch and Gre'en River?very
j winding, but so well graded that
tone may go down by gravity?if his
j brakes are ood, and up in high gear,
i if meeting other cars does not require
j slowing down. The road is too nar
row and one is always in dread of
meeting a car at one of the short j
turns. But a more picturesque road it
would be hard to find especially
! where it winds along a hundred or
jtwo hundred feet above Green Riv
I er. Some of our party said it had
i nothing on the road from here to Mel
j rose up the Pacolet gorge. At the
i Buncombe county line we came to the
paved road, cement, in 20 or 30 ft. sec
i tions 18 or 20 feet wide. Big signs
at intervals forbid a speed of over 25
miles per hour. 1 tried to keep within
the speed limit and only exceeded it
when coasting down a long straight
grade. But several cars both going
up and returning passed me and must
have been going at 4 0 miles per hour.
The drive through Biltmore of y
miles cost us $1.50 but it was the best
spent dollar and a half of our trip.
The roads are well nigh perfect, the
shrubbery, flowers, natural forests,
[lakes, pastures and cultivated fields
to say nothing of the 360 room castle
with its courts and sunken gardens
|with splendid views of the Pisgah
range of mountains, close views of the
iFrench Broad and Swannanoa rivers
have on the retina of the mind pano
: romas of beauty that will never be ef
faced.
We1 had with us three school
marms. Miss-,Lide of Salem school
and Misses Bitner and Dabbs recent^
ly of Flora-McDonald college and
they have mental pictures that will
be translated to boys and girls many
miles away from the mountains.
The rules of admittance forbid visi
tors in cars from stepping on the
ground at any places but the dairy
barns.' It was our good fortune to
reach ^he main dairy at one o'clock
when the herd of beautiful cows were
being ^driven in from the pasture that
lies between the barn and the French
Broad river. It was a wonderful
sight to see hundreds of cows march
each to her own stanchion and begin
her midday meal. They use milking
machines driven by electricity. Each
cows has a two gallon water receptacal
with a false bottom so arranged that
as she presses her. mouth down to get
the last of the water a valve is open
ed that lets in mbre water until she
has all she .wants. Three immense
silos of about 200 tons capacity each
are so built in the side of the hill
that they are easy to fill on the upper
side, and easy to get outt he silage
on the level of the cow floor. The
cows are milked at 3 p. m. and 2 a.
m. each day. The milk is taken over
to the creamery by an aerial A ram -
war- There the butter is made, cer
tified miu.. separated milk and butter
milk put in sealed bottles. They have
an ice plant and were putting in an
ice cream piant. We bought both
milk and butter and ate our lunch
there. Both were good, but except
for coming off ice no nicer than the
milk and butter Mrs. Dabbs made at
home.
Mowers were at work cutting the
fine vetch and wheat into hay. Sev
eral fields were dotted with hay cocks
covered with yard squares of canvass
weighted at the four corners. I no
ticed a hay tedder to loosen up rank j
swaths of wheat and vetch hay to has- I
ten its curing.
Gangs of hands were at various J
places cutting out bushes, hauling
crushed rock for the roads and grav
el from the river bed for some pur
pose. They use a big street sweeper
prppelled by steam or gasoline sweep
one half of the roadway clean?the
other half was strewn with piles of
c rushed, rock. Just after sweeping a
big outfit was spreading boiling tar
ion the swept side, and hands were
shoveling the crushed rock over it.
To pass we had to drive over the piles
of crushed rock. The foreman warn
ed me not to run my car on the hot
[tar and rock as it would ruin my
j tires.
On account of Mrs. Vanderbilt hav
I ing gone that morning to her Mt.
Pisgah lodge we were permitted to
drive through the gates just in front
of the castle where an attendant gaw
us quite a bit of interesting" informa
tion. If Mrs. Vanderbilt had been
at home we would have been sent by
the "overlook** where from a greater
elevation and at some distance we
i could have, looked down on the house
! and grounds.
j We found the attendants at the
i dairy very pleasant and it was quite
! worth while to look around there. The
I horse barns look like pictures of old i
! world farm yards?but 1 doubt if
?there are many on such a scale or so
i conveniently arranged either in this
j country or Europe. By going on by j
! the horse barns nearly two more miles
j of riverside drives could have been
I rakcn. Hut we had to put Miss Uit
' ner on tin- Morristown train in Ashe
1 ville at i.'M) and wanted to make two
'calls also, so we hurried out by the
shorter way. At the exit the lodge
; keeper called for the other part of
lour ticket. One of the attendants
! said that sometimes 300 cars passed
I through the grounds in a day and they
; keep the records to be aide t<> locate
'any that might want to camp or stay
I overnight.
The estate consists of 12.500 acres
j on both sides of the French Broad
jand Swannanoa rivers. Three small
dairy barns are maintained on the
j west side of the French Broad?40
! odd cows each, 120 cows or more at
j the main barn. I did not learn how
! many work animals are kept on the
j place. There is a private cable and
gas ferry to connect tip the farms on
the two sidles of the river and many
miles of roads other than those visi
tors are allowed to travel. The gate
keeper sives eaeh party leaflets with
a map of the place in the fork of the
two rivers with the roads that are
open to the public and on the other
side a brief story of the route "with
the object of graphically pointing out |
the several thoroughfares that will j
afford a comprehensive glimpse of j
Biltmore. its forests. Heids and farms.'' :
J Having seen so much at Biltmore
we did not try to take in the sights of
Asheville, merely contenting ourselves
with short glimpses of Battery Park !
and Grove Park hotels, with Miss Re- j
na Alexander formerly of Darlington, j
I Sumter and Columbia as our charming
(guide. At 4 p. m. we turned our faces
homeward. From five to 5:45 we rest
ed in Hendersonville, at 7 we were at
lour door on Warrior mountain, having
[driven 110 miles, 20-odd of which
were in Biltmore and Asheville?
I tired but feeling that it was worth
I while to have seen one of the show ;
places of America, if not of the world, j
For perhaps there is not another pri
vate home in the world that cost $7,
000,000 for the mansion alone, and
that in the decade from 1890 to 1900
when labor and material were at the
lowest prices of a century, and when
the purchasing power of a dollar was
at its maximum.
We were told that several rooms
have never been finished to save
thousands of dollars annual taxes
that would be assessed on a finished
building. That the furniture all came
from Paris, France, and statuary that
I we saw in the sunken gardens from
j Italy. But I miss my guess, if all the
j utilitarian equipment of electricity,!
lice plant, road machines, cow barns. \
j etc. were not made in the good old !
(or new) U. S. A. Some of the rules j
about motor sightseers not being
allowed to put foot on the ground ex- I
cept at the dairy seem absurd when
for 10c each pedestrians may wander
all day through the wonderful paths.
But I have no feeling of envy or
covetousness, and I am sure Vander
bilt could not have made a better in
vestments of his millions than in de
veloping this wonderful property in j
this wonderful land. He sold to the j
government about lOG.OOQ. acres be
tween his Biltmore estate and his
Pisgah lodge of 500 acres for a nation
al forest reserve. Good roads are be
ing built through it and the forty mile
trip from Asheville to the top of.
Pisgah can be made in about two j
hours. Then one can descend in two j
directions toward Brevard or toward |
Waynesville. This is a trip I hope to
take some day.
One of the stories that was told us
of some of the Asheville smart set is
so sunny that I laugh every time I
think of it: When a certain heiress
has a bean to entertain one of the
favorite stunts is for her to start out
driving a high powered car, the beau
follows driving another and the moth
er follows driving a third car, and
they go a! 50 miies an hour. It is
inexpressibly funny to me to picture
them scooting along at 50 miles an
hou?\ and dodging speed cops while
they think they ore enjoying them
selves. I should want something
more secluded and with less speed if
I were a courting man again. But
then there Is no accounting for tastes.
E. W. D.
Tryon, N. C June 3.
Trial of Two Well Known Cases.
Columbia, June 8.?Two well
known state cases are on the roster
for the term of cpurt which starts in
Columbia June 20, the now famous
Sandel case and the old '"Hosiery
Mill case." In both the state is de
fend en t.
The Sandel case is set for the 27th.
This is the second of two cases
brought by J. O'Neal Sandel, of Cal- j
hoqn county, against the state, suing
in each case for $50.000. for the
death of his two daughters, who died
following the use of typhoid serum
furnished by the state board of
health. The first case resulted in a
verdict for the plaintiff on its second
trial, the first trial resulting for the
state.
The "Hosiery Mill case" is that of
J. M. Graham, of Columbia, who is |
suing the state for damages alleged j
to have resulted from the act of the
legislature in cancelling the contract
Mr. Graham had with the state, cov
ering his operation of the hosiery
mill in the state penitentiary. The
amount of money involved in the
complaint is $24.300. This case is set
for trial on July 1. This will be its
second trial, the first having gone for
the state.
New Gymnasium for the University, j
Columbia. June S.?Tentative plans J
for a new gymnasium and a new i
stadium at the University were out
lined for this correspondent today by j
J. O. VanMeter. athletic director at
?the University. A drive will be put |
aboutt he last of this year, according ;
to these tentative plans, and the city
of Columbia and alumni of the Uni- {
versity will be asked to contribute up
wards of $200,000 for an athletic i
plant that will put the University in
line with other institutions i>f the ?
south. The trustees authorized the j
drive at the commencement meeting '
which ended yesterday.
GOVERNMENT ISSUES
PROPOSED DRAFT
London, June Ih?Government is-j
sues (white paper), purporting t?? be!
a draft proposed of the treaty between \
the Russian soviet government, and
the Itepublie of Ireland.
Washington. June S.?The internal
revenue bureau warns r<l! taxpayers
to pay the June 15 tax installment
promptly to avoid penalties.
Pueblo, June s.?Establishment of
refugee camp for the homeless, is a
great step towards the restoration ot
normal conditions.
fork. Ireland. June 7. -The crown
forces have captured more than a
hundred members of the Irish repub
lican army following .a battle. Three
Sinn Feiners were killed.
Find Dead Whale
Near Georgetown <
- j
Big Fish Washes Up on North'
Island Beach?Parties
Visit Scene
i
- . !
Georgetown, une S.?W ord was j
brought up from North Island yes- i
terday that a dead whale, about 100 |
feet long and huge of body, was ?
ashoreorithebeach HAOIN UN.. ..
ashore on the beach there. Immedi- j
ately a number of boats were made j
ready and parties formed for going j
down to see the unusual sight. Those :
who had come back, last night re
ported the sight well worth the trip.
Decomposition had already set in
The length of the big fish is authori
tatively stated to be somewhere be
tween 80 and 100 feet. The head
had almostt otally disappeared, hav
ing probably been eaten off by
sharks, which seemed to be numer
ous in the water about the carcass.
Further Views on County Court. j
Editor Daily item:
It is an acknowledged fact that
self-interest is the first law of nature
and while our friends who are engag
ed in the practice of law are very j
much in favor of the county court, j
and while I am proud to say that I |
am broad enough not to censure them j
for it, I feel it is not to the best in
terest of the county to establish such j
a tribunal under the present depress
ed conditions. It means more litiga
tion and the further cramping of
many individuals, who are not able
to meet their finanfeial obligations
and will not be until times change
for the better. I understand there
are now two thousand tax executions
hanging over the people of Sumter i
county, and common sense leaches us,
if the people had had or could have
gotten the money to pay their taxes. |
such a condition would not now be in 1
existence; and yet some of our citi- !
zens. are anxious for a county court
which I understand will cost the peo
ple ten thousand dollars a year more
to be heaped upon their already ta>/
burdenea condiiion. The calendar,
we are told, is very much congested
and it will take years to clear up the
cases that are now listed, but is it not
just as easy to postpone or continue
in the county court as it is it the
circuit? From the standpoint of lay
man there is no difference, and it is
not the fault of the taxpayers at
large that these cases are carried over
from one term to anot?her and on
and on, and it must be laid at the
door of those who operate the ma- j
ohinery of the courts. If I was so un- j
fortunate as to have a serious case
in court, whether it be criminal or
civic, and wanted it held off for time
and my lawyer could not get up a
pretext upon which to base a con
tinuation, I would feel like I had em
ployed the wrong man.
From a standpoint of taxation, we
are now carrying about all we can
stand; but the end is not yet. Our I
national income tax is being met by j
many of our citizens and doubtless j
the time will come when the exemp- j
fion"feature will be reduced and many
who are now meeting that obliga?
tioh will have it u? do; and we see |
further, that there is a disposition by
our national legislature to impose a
sales tax upon all commodities put on I
the market, which of course will pass j
down to the consumer, who will have j
to pay or not buy.
Getting back to County affairs, we j
must pay a. tax to raise the money j
to meet the interest on the two and !
one-half million bond issue when the
bonds are sold for the paved roads
and also to create a sinking fund to
retire the bonds when they mature.
Notwithstanding many of us are in fa
vor of and want the toad.s. it means
we must go down in our pockets for
them. Then again, here comes the j
county jail proposition, (if which it is j
said will cost fifty or sixty thousand J
dollars more. I wonder if there is
any way to get a modern building, j
which is very much more important
than a county court, without taxing j
the people of county. Taxes, taxes, j
taxes and more taxes to be, heaped j
on that class who have to dig. a scant |
living out the ground and yet some '
of our people are not in favor of a j
holdup. There is such a thing as
laying the straw that breaks the
camel's back and if we don't be a
little more conservative in the way of
taxation, such a condition will soon be
staring us in.the face. Excessive tax
ation has caused revolutions in the
past, human nature has ever and will
even be the sanre. consequently we are
not exempt from such a catastrophe.
Trace the history of Russia back for
five centuries and you will find op
pression and despotism heaped upon |
the common people until the souls of
anarchism and bolshevism planted in
their minds having lay dormant for
a long time, finally sprang up and j
developed a spirit of antagonism and
hatred which in its fury assassinated j
tlo- head of the government in 1917 J
und ever .sine,- turmoil, strife and suf- i
i? ring and death has 1 e--n the j
reigning feature of that once hunt- j
b!e peopie. V.V see signs of dissatis- j
fa* lion at work in the great country
? ours and if we would keep up that ]
great spirit of democracy which we j
. !;tim to honor and esteem, we must
not burden and chafe the rank and
ble of our people with too heavy taxa
tio n.
in conclusion will say that the
J ridge across the VVateree, if built,
will U' um?iln > tax that the dear peo
j pie will have to bring up, and it will
i ?- well for taxpayers of tin- county to
consider well what they are about
next Tuesday, the day set apart fori
the election, as to whether or not we
I will have the county court.
J. C. I hinbar.
Seymour, Ind.. June S. Tine.- rail
I road employees were Kilb-,1 and two
injured when two freight engines
overturned near here.
Selma, Ala.. June 8.?Major Jef
fers, Democrat, won over Longshore,
Republican, in a special congressio?
ai election, by about five thousand.
Closing Exercises of
Sumter High School1
Manual of Arms Drill, Presenta
tion of Medals and Orations j
Feature of First Night
__. i
The impressive closing exercises of j
the Sumter high schools were attend
ed by a large audience which on last j
evening filled the opera house. The
first commencement night was, as is I
! customary, devoted to the competi- j
tive declamations made by a selected ;
riumber of boys of the graduating:
; class.
The curtain was raised promptly at |
! 8 o'clock and the exercises begun by
Ian' invocation by Dr. Thayer. The!
j competitive drill was first upon the'
j program and the three manly cadets,
j Messrs. Bert DeLorme, Edward Buck
and Ernest Friar, who had won out
in the two previous preliminary com
j petitive drills, marched out upon the
r-tage, and took their places in the
center of it. The judges of the con
test were Major Bradford, Joe Chan
dler, and Robert Brown. The com
mands were given by Prof. W. H. Dar
Igan. These three cadets proved them- j
selves proficient to a very high degree
and only after an hour's drill were
the judges able to make their decis
ion and declare Mr. Edward Buck the
[winner of the contest. The medal
I for manual of arms, which is yearly
I given by Mr. Mitchell Levi, was pre
sented to Mr. Buck by Mr. Robert
Brown who declared the drill as
splendid a one as he had ever wit
nessed and stated that his only re
gret was that there were not three
medals to be presented instead of the
one.
The medal for unusual achievement
was awarded U? Miss Jenevive Smith
by Dr. Edmunds who stated that
throughout her entire school course.
Miss Smith had made an excellent
mark on every subject that she had
I ta ken.
The Garland was presented to Mr.
Jark Chandk-i by Mr. Bartow Walsh.
This medal is yearly given by Mr. C. j
H. Wilson for the best all round ath
lete. In addition to this medal Mr.
Chandler also was presented the three !
medals which he won at the state
track meet in Columbia. The medals
are given by the Inter-High School
Athletic Association.
The medals given by Mr. George L.
Bicker for manliness and exemplary
attitude were presented to Mr. Hen
ry Price and Miss Hertha Ragan, by
Dr. J. A. Mood. The winner of these
medals is decided upon by the vote
of their classmates.
After the presentation of these
medals the audiem-e was entertained
by the High School orchestra, direct
id by Miss Truet, which rendered as
its first selection an overture, "Poet
and Peasant."
The declamations given this year
were unusually splendid from every
standpoint. The following are the
names of the chosen speakers with
the titles of their orations:
Jack Wright?'For a Mess of Pot
tasre."
Charles Cuftino?"A Dream."
Vivian Weldon?"Washington."
Henry Shelor??The Char'ot Race."
Henry McLuurin ? "The New
South."
Hary Price ? "The Wrestler of
Phi?ppi."
Frank Clarke?"A Patriot's Sacri
fice."
(Frank Clarke is not in declama
tion contest, having won a medal at
Clinton).
The exercises were brought to a
close by the singing of the national
anthem by the students and entire
audience.
The Telephone Rate Hearing.
Columbia, June 7?A. L. M. Wiggins
of Hartsviile, President of the South
Carolina Telephone Subscribers Asso
ciation, is to be in Columbia this
week, according to oficers of the aso
ciation, to confer with leaders in the
telephone rate test movement in re
gard to the plan of action to be taken
to bring the phone rate fight to head.
Mr. Wiggins is expected in the cap
ital about Wednesday, and it is likely
he will confer with members of the
railroad commission, which will be in
session that day.
Considerable interest attaehes to
the forthcoming announcement of
the telephone subscribers associa
tion's plans i?f procedure. The rail
road commission has indicated that it
will not hear the association at all.
in regard to a re-opening of the rate
case, unless some evidence is present
ed to show that there are reasons why
the ease should be re-opened, and
this evidence must be convincing.
Members of the railroad commission
have slated that if the telephone as
sociation merely presents the opinions
of its officers or of others interested I
in the rate situation, this will not be j
sufficient to warrant a re-opening of j
the case. The evidence must be j
stronger than that already considered j
by the commission in its consideration ?
of the same case prior to the rate !
advance.
It is believed that the recent action
of the tax commission, in increasing
the tax assessment against the tele
phone company, to the extent of
nearly two million dollars, on the
basis ot the statement made by the
company to the railroad commission.
(regarding the value of its property in
South Carolina. which is approxi
mately two million dollars higher
j than its tax return, will serve to
"clinch" the decision of the railroad
commission as to the higher phone j
j chai ges.
! New Vork. June S. l*ajt>e Ruth,
i home i nn king, was fined a hundred
i dollars and sentenced to one day in
j Jail for automobile speeding.
Clinton. Miss. June 8.? Robbers
I blew the post Office safe and secured
forty dollars and a thousand dollars:
I in stamps here.
I The same fellow who complains
j that the home paper has nothing in it
is the one who hollers loudest when j
it's a day late in getting to him.? j
'Ambridge (Pa.) Xews-Korald.
Trial of West Opens
First of Twenty Negroes Faces
Geargio Jury
Vienna, Ga., June 8.?Lavarga
West, first of 20 negroes indicted on
charge:? of murder growing out of
the shooting at Byromville on May
17. was placed on trial here today.
The state endeavored to show that
West was in a conspiracy to kill
Policeman Cunningham which re
sulted in the death of L. C- Davis, Jr.,
of Sommersville, X. J., one uf the
sheriff's posse.
In the stale's evidence were state -
I merits by merchants of Montezuma
that West purchased shells on the
j evening of the shooting. Five shot
jguns, two ritles, lour pistols and a
[large amount of ammunition seized
j by the officers in their raid on Fate
Chapman's home, which they alleged
was barricaded, were exhibited before
the jury.
The arguments will bo completed
tomorrow morning.
No announcement was made as to
how the other cases will he prosecut
ed, whether singly or in groups..
RAILROAD NEWS
Mr. W. A. Cole, trrsmmaster, Co
lumbia district, with headquarters in
Florence, was in the city Tuesday.
Mr. L. L. Mason, traveling passeng
er' ag*mi Southern Pacific railroad
with headcpiarters in Atlanta, was a
visitor in the city Wednesday.
Mr. W. A. Walling went to Colum
bia Tuesday.
The many friends of Mr. F. P.
King are glad to learn he is able to
leave the hospital and is doing nice
ly after his operation.
Mr. G. W. Farabow has returned
to the city after spending a week in
North Carolina with his mother.
I Mr. W. H. Newell, general super
j inrendent . nrst division. Atlantic
j Coast Line, was in the city Wednesr
I day. _ , J
Mr. R. B. Hare, superintendent Co
! lumbia district was in the city on
j Wednesday.
Captain M. S. Chase of Hartsvilie
passed through Sumter a few days
ago while taking his family to the
mountains for the summer. Captain
Chase looks tine and seems to be en
joying the best of health.
j Better not miss the Sunday excur
sions to the Isle of Palms; go and en
ijoy a delightful day in the surf.
Poppies as Cut Flowers.
Many gardeners seeing vases of
Shirley or siik poppies in florists' win
dows wonder by what trick of the
trade the commercial grower of these
most delicately beautiful annuals in
duced them to remain intact, for or
dinarily it is impossible to cut poppies
I for bouquets when the flower is in
I full bloom. They fully justify the
] poetical simile:
"For pleasures are like i es spread
You pluck the flower, nioom is
shed."
In nine cases out ol l, any ' at
tempt to pick a poppy results in a
shower of petals. But if properly
handled they are a valuable cut
flower and there are no annuals which
offer such a beautiful and: delicate
' variety of pinks, salmons, roses, and
' scarlets with variegations of white
and lighter colors in the way of edg
ings as do the Shirley poppies. There
are new strains offering beautiful sal
mon tones.
Here is the way to pick poppies and
make them stick. It will be noted that
the bud of the poppy droops until it
is ready to burst its green calyx when
it becomes erect. The tir e to pick a
poppy is before it has sh*|l the green
calyx or covering of the ? ?wer. This
is in two parts and splits at the bot
tom. The right moment is easily de
termined because the split at the bot
tom of this green covering shows the
fcolor of the delicate petals crumpled
within. Cut the poppy at this stage
and gently pick off the green cover
ings which will come off easily. Then
place the crumpled up bud in water
and it will open and the petals will
not fall. ., #??
Annual poppies can be sown at any
time, fall, winter or spring. The fine
seed if desired can be sprinkled upon
the snow and allowed to wash into
the ground The seeding* are very
hardy and often the melting snow will
reveal a lot of self-sown s -edlings.
The seed should be mixed with sand
before sowing in order not to get it
too thick as poppies must be sown
where they are to remain as they ean
not be transplanted. They will flour
ish in any sunny situation and are not
particular as to soil. They are of
short season, particularly if abowed t?
seed. All seed pods with the length
of stem on which they are poised
should be cut off as soon as the petals
drop and a succession of sowings two
weeks apart extending over a month
is necessary if a supply is desired for
any length of time.
WOULD HAVE WEEKS RE
LIEVE AS CHIEF
Washington. June 9.?Major Gen
eral Menoher, chief of the air service
recommended that Secretary Weeks
relieve Brig. Gen. Mitchell as assistant
chief of air service.
MARINE AVIATOR KILLED
TODAY AT COLONIAL BEACH
Washington. June 9.?Brown, a
marine aviator, was killed today when
his plane crashed to earth, at Colon
ial Beach.
SENATE WILL INVESTIGATE
ADMIRAL SIMS SPEECH
Washington. June 9.?Tbc senate
adopted a resolution ordering the
investigation of speech of Rear Ad
miral Sims in London touching the