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r If ?mSshed Wednesday and Satur " - ? - ' ? day by ? Osieen Publishing Company, Snorter, S. . : , Terms.: $2.00 per annum?in advance. ^Advertisements: me Square', first .insertion __$1.00 g|P^ery subsequent insertion .50 Contracts for three months or wv?er will be made at reduced ites. ? ill communications which, sub *j^"e-v^private interests will oe ^^^fe?jgi? for as advertisements. ? Xlibit^aries and . tributes of re ^Bpect will be charged for. The Sumter. Watchman was ?in 1850 and the True ^bjrxm m 1866. The Watchman l- ajLcK Southron now: has the com bined circulation and influence of ^ttoth of the old papers, and is man : 35^t^khe -best advertising medium ^gqmter. . , > ?_/ THE GAS SITUATION. attention is.: invited to the com innication of Mayor Jennings. It for itself, the Mayor em ing the fact that he is de ?ned to be the final arbiter as who shall and who shall not sign petition in the- gas controversy does not- explain how he arriv at a decision to strike from the petition the names ~ot sev tTpersons who have authority to -for institutions and estates, or hair-splitting decision in cer ;ases where the only difference m the names on the petition') on the gas company books, the inconsequential matter of spellir-g" of a. proper or given or the use of an initial in >f the full given name. There ive been some merit, tech in his Sr.e distinction as to are/and who Are not "sub ers,*' although his construction He agreement is according to ptreme letter of the law and harmony .with the spirit of g?P resolution adopted at the mass ing. But his practical applica m^oi his own construction of tne ^ resolution, with the apparent de t' termination to so emasculate the |r ipetstiJbn ^that it would be irnpos tZ sible to leay^m it the signatures of - .Seventy-five per cent of the gas con f~ CTmers, has reduced the whole pro ?v ceedi^igs to a farce. . kr.ii- Mayor Jennings may be able, by : .'irrne of the position that he holds, io^rxnpose his will upon the ma I' Jbj^y of the gas consumers in this v. m^tet, and by so doing vindicate, - lh:Bis own mind, the inviolability ^pK^idgment witlr-which he believes ;.. himself to be endowed; but one '?r-wonders if the idea ever occurs to ~, lumv\hat he might, perchance, . sometimes make a mistake. ?> 5tiwus not necessary for Mr. Jen ^>fiifrgs:to catalogue the meritorious ivements as Mayor of Sumter ie has to his credit. AH Sum P people abre familiar with his .and they have always given tull and appreciative credit Rp^fiWR- the services he has rendered. I^BM the fact that he has heretofore Tallys had the support of the great '--'majority of the people' of Sumter! ;?, ..does not carry with it the perpetual ; gilafantee that he w?H always be |? ^Wif* ?r *hat the majority will al i^lfgays. think as he does. The weak l^ytet VT^Ieas that Mayor Jennings a'x:ouitf possibly have selected to jus 7 tify/jjis stand in the present con tJ^ovjerjy, is his self-congratulatory wfeitad of the record of his past p*eVf6rmances, and the claim that *v he is being persecuted by personal t - enemies. If facts and sound argu : ment cannot make good his posi r'ti?h. the cry of past benefits con ^ f6rrjed and the plea of persecution . Y<-7l3?,jaot avail him. When a public OflSOliil sets up the plea of persecu ^Uop when his constituency do not g agrej? with him, the time for argu ?V^aeritand discussion is at an end. Btft in order that the record may 5 be. kept straight we will briefly Eejfiew the gas situation and define *?"t'he;"*pOsition of this newspaper rel ?? fttfv^1 thereto. oi g vT^hiring the period of inflated ? prices and profiteering the Gas -Company lost money, owing to the yixtcrease in cost of material and '"labor,. Being unable to advance \the5r rates, as the price to be ! charged customers was fixed in j ' the, franchise, the gas company cpuid not and did not share in the abnormal profits reaped by most *- individuals and corporations en gaged in business. When this con ditio? was brought to the attention of- City Councif that body, after )? mature deliberation, granted per mission for the gas company to in 'ezease the rate. "City Counril did hot' consult the public, but as the ?Hi; increase in rate permitted was so ?l^rly justified by the ciircum ^St?ftces it was acquiesced in with ^?tit objection save by a very few. Later on a second increase in rat.'-s 1 was.permitted for the same reason, the second increase making the rslte $2 gross per thousand cubic ?feiet^or $1.90 net. This^rate re .mained' in force and was paid by ? &?d consumers, without protest, until the business depression and deflation of prices set in last spring. Then City Council ordered the gas company to restore the franchise rate?that is to reduce the rate from $1.90 to $1.35 per thousand cubic feet. The gas company rep resented ?o City Council that this reduction in rate was too^drafetic and was not justified by the small decline in cost of material and la bor, and that if forced to operate at the franchise rate?$1.35 per thousand cubic feet?the company would in a short time be bankrupt. City Council by a vote of two to one refused to grant the request of the gas company to be permit ted to charge $1.65. City Coun cil and the officers of the gas com pany had a number of conferences on the matter of rates, and one of the results of these* conferences was that the gas company under took to ascertain the attitude of the gas consumers respecting the proposal to fix the rate at $1.65, and circulated a petition by means of an advertisement and by person al canvass. When it* became cur rently reported that a majority of the gas consumers had signed this petition, Mayor Jennings" stated in an open letter in the columns of this paper that although 600 gas consumers might sign the* petition consenting to fixing the rate at $1.65 he would not agree to that rate?all that he would consent to would be for those who signed the petition to pay the higher rate, if they saw fit, but he would not be a party to making the other four hundred pay more than the "franchise rate. This summarily ended the effort of the gas com pany to ascertain the sentiment of its patrons. The next development was the notice of the gas company to its customers, oy advertisement and circular^ letter that, as it was impossible to operate, save at a loss, at $1.35 per thousarfd feet for gas, the plant would be shut down on September 30th. A. great . many people, among whom was the writer, felt that the gas company was justified in ask ing that the rate be not reduced from $1.90 to $1.35. Almost at the outset of the controversy we sug gested that a disinterested expert accountant be employed to make an audit of the books of the com pany and ascertain what would be a fair and just rate for gas, under existing conditions, and that when this should be ascertained City Council then fix the rate accord ingly. This suggestion was not adopted, and then the League of Women Voters, in hope of finding an amicable and fair adjustment of the whole question, calied at mass meeting. As the result of the meeting it was agreed that in the event seventy-five per cent of the patrons of the gas company signed a petition recommending the increase of the rates above the frapchise rate, City Council would grant the increase. A few days after the mass meeting Mr. R. B. Belser made, a careful and painstaking investigation of the books and records of the gas com pany and arrived at the conclusion that the gas company could not operate, save.at a loss, at $1.35 per thousand feet, and recommended that the rate be fixed at $1.50 net. In pursuance of this recommenda tion of Mr. Belser, the 'committee of the League of Women Voters undertook to circulate a petition to put into effect the agreement en tered into at the mass meeting. The committee interpreted the ierms of the resolution reasonably and liberally, believing that the signature of the wife was as re liable an index of the sentiment of the family as that of the husband, and they proceeded to obtain sig natures of women as well as men to the petition. They secured .the signatures of more than seventy five per cent of the consumers of gas. The petition was presented to City Council. Mayor Jennings ruled that "subscribers," the word used in the resolution adopted by the mass meeting, meant the names as they appeared on the meter registry book of the gas company, a .d all names not pre cisely?to the dotting of an i or the crossing of a t,?as they were found on this book, were stricken from the petition. He even struck off some of the churches, although the officers authorized to sign for them did sign the petition. By this technical construction of the terms of the resolution Mayor Jennings has rendered it impossible to com ply with the agreement, except at the expense of great labor to circulate a new petition. This the committee of the League of Wo men Voters has undertaken to do. This is the status of affairs at this time. All readers of this paper are con versant with the various open let ters that Mayor Jennings has ad dressed to the public through these columns, and understand his po sition. In the closing paragraphs of his letter today, Mr. Jennings, for th first time, makes a suggestion that, in our opinion, has a practcial ap plication to the situation. He wishes to obtain an agreement with the gas company, that in the event a temporary increase in rates above the franchise rate is now granted, that the City Council shall have the right to reduce the rate below the franchise rate in future, whenever the gas com pany's earnings exceed a fair and just return on the capital invest ed. This is a reasonable propo sition, but we do not believe that an agreement with the gas com pany is essential in existing cir cumstances. The City Council has already varied the terms ,of the franchise contract for the benefit of the gas company and has, by so doing, taxed the consumers of gas to pay the losses that the gas company would have sustained during the months that the higher rates were in e ff e c t. The! contract having once been violated at the request of and for the finan cial benefit of the gas company in time of adversity, it stands to rea son that whenever in future its earnmgs become excessive, then as a matter of equity the gas com pany could be required ^o reduce the rat?, to a fair price for the benefit of consumers. It was for' this reason chiefly that we have advocated the granting of the pro posed increase so that the gas com pany may continue in business, earn operating expenses and a fair rate of interest on the capital in vested, believing that under nor mal conditions in future years the gas company could be required to lower the rate, even below the lowest rate specified in the fran chise. - And there is one other consid eration:- The city of Sumter is not under the control and super vision of the Public Service Com mission for one reason only? when the act was before the legis lature a section was added ex empting this county from the op eration of the act. This can "he remedied at any session of the leg islature by an amendments putting Sumter county under control of the commission, and this should be done at the earliest opportun ity. If we had had the commis sion to appeal to in the present emergency, all of the controversy would have been avoided, to the vast benefit of this community. The vadility of Mayor Jennings' judgment would never have been brought into question and he would not have any excuse for imagin ing that those who differ with him on a public question are his per sonal enemies and have utilized the opportunity to persecute him.. In this matter The Daily Item believes that Mayor Jennings has made a mistake and that both good business and good policy in dicate that the gas company should have been granted a tem porary increase in rate above the franchise rate?that is to say the reduction from $1.90, the advanc ed rate granted by City Council, should not have been so drastic at this time. So far from having per sonal ill-will toward Mayor Jen nings, we have been his friend and supporter in almost all mu nicipal issues, and in the next con troversy that develops we may agree with him. The chief fault we find with the Mayor is his im patience of crticism and the in ability to realize that he may sometimes be mistaken and the other fellow right?or if not right at least sincere, disinterested and honest in his convictions, although they contravene those entertain ed by Mayor Jennings. -? ? ?? THE KINGDOM OP HEAVEN. The celebration of Columbus Day on October 12 brought out a fact regarding the name America I which is not generally known, and well worth knowing. It makes an interesting study in etymology as well as in history and patriotism. Every school child learns that the name America was applied to this continent by a German map maker in honor of Amerigo (in Latin, Americus) Vespucci, in Ital 1 ian discoverer and explorer. Ves pucci was of German origin, and his first nam;- was merely the Ital j ian rendering of his old family i name Emmerich. That name, in turn, was derived from an earlier form Amal-ric, which in modern German is Himmelreith, and Oldaus Kingdom of Heaven. An appropriate name, surely, and one justifying the American custom of calling rhis "God's Coun try." - WELTj-NOFRISH ED CHILDREN. _ ! Commenting on tin- fact that a I recent survey in Detroit showed foreign children were better nour ished than children of native par ents, :i paragrapher says "Sosae times we get a little light on why Americanization is -such hard work." The children in the foreign quar ter may he unwashed and ill elothed. but somehow they thrive. The investigators lind, too, that there is no great mystery about it. They thrive mainly because they are fed on plain, simple food. The same situation is found in the humbler native homes as com pared with homes of the "better class." The poor children, in De troit and other cities where the matter has been looked into, are actually better nourished than the rich children, because rich chil dren usually get rich food, and that is not good for children. ft is the old story of Daniel and his young friends, who lived on "puke" and water, and were found "fatter in flesh" than the children of the Babylonians. AN ASIATIC LEAGUE. A dispatch from Tokio tells of an Asiatic league which is being formed, with Japan at the head, with the avowed object of combat ting the "aggressive policy of the white race." It expects to confine its activities to the Asiatic conti nent. Headquarters are to be es tablished throughout Asia, if pres ent plans carry. Such a movement n a t u r a 11 y causes alarm in America and Eu rope, although its professed pur pose is purely defensive. If the great Asiatic peoples can be arous ed "against white aggression," their union may conceivably go be yond its original purpose, and act aggressively against the white. And if Asia ever; undertakes such con certed effort, it will be a solemn day for the white race. There are a billion people in Asia of the Mon golian and other oriental races, and according to H. G. Wells, most of them have as good brains as we have. It is only a question, he says, of training those brains. The prospect becomes less dark when the.actual difficulties' of the plan are considered. The Japa nese promoters expect to start .with the Koreans and Chinese. Neither race likes the Japs, and both would be far more likely, for the present at lease, to ally themselves with America than with Japan. As for India, the Japs cannot hope to ac complish much with that medley of races and religions, especially if China will not play the game. ? ? ? CONTROL FIREARMS. One thing which municipal au thorities and state legislatures should bestir themselves to ac complish soon is the control of fire arms. There should be uniform regulations covering the sale or purchase of such weapons. In some communities where local sale is forbidden it is still possible for the purchaser to do his buying in another locality and proceed to commit murder or accidentally in jure other persons. The sale of poisons is pretty well guarded in most places. Why should not the sale of automatic pistols ajso be safeguarded? It is reported that the New Eng land states, through their govern ors, will take definite action in this matter before long. The movement should not stop with that section of the country. ? ?? ? Court of General Sessions. The court of general sessions opened its fourth day of business Friday by the e ontinuatio n of the case which was begun yes terday afternoon of the State vs. Joe Wilson, colored, charged with grand larceny. Wilson is alleged to have stolen a buggy and horse from a negro named Ramsey. The following cases have been disposed of: State vs. Kufus Davis, colored, j for housebreaking and larceny. Davis was found guilty and sen tenced to a term of 12 nonths at hard labor. Stale vs. James Richardson, col ; ored, for housebreaking and lar ceny. Richardson was found guilty and given an 18 months term. State vs. W. B. Smith, colored, assault and battery with intent ,o kill. Smith was found guilty, a motion was made for a new trial in this ease but this motion was overruled and Smith was given the alternate sentence of paying a fine of $100 or serving a term of thirty days. State vs. Harry Willis and Joe Maurer alias Benjamin Dollison, ? ?barged with grand larceny. Judge Mauldin ordered the jury r.o find n verdict of not guilty a ga i n s1 Joe Maur?-r, as then- was not suf ficient testimony against him to convict him. Harry Willis plead guilty to his charge and was sen tenced to serve a term of on.- year on the public works of Sumter count ?? Ti trials of Edgar Bradley for murd< i- and of Willis Jones for murder are scheduled to be begun :if the opening of the court on Monday morning. Tin- fire alarm system has been repaired and all the boxes are ready feir use again. Csin^ the box is usually a much quicker vva; of sending in the alarm then tel. - phoning. =o ?? o - An elastic currency is one thai will stretch until next pay day. General Ses sions Court Convenes This Morning For Second Week of Term. Wallace Goes Before Jury The court of seneral sessions convened this morning for the sec ond week of the fall tern. With out preliminaries tie- case of the State vs. J. C. Wallace, which was begun on Saturday, was entered into. Wallace w:is being tried on the two charges of rape and of a criminal assault with an attempt to ravish a young girl under the age of 14 years. The testimony of re maining witnesses whs taken this ? morning with the exceptoin of the j Testimony of the young girl, who, according to the statement of two physicians, was again not physi cally tit to give testimony before | the court. Judge Mauldin ruled that there was not sufficient evi- ? dein e and testimony to hold Wal- j lace for trial upon the first charge; but that the court would let the other charge stand to go before! the jury. At the time of the ad*- j journment of the court for recess i at 2 o'clock all testimony had been j presented before the court and I A. S. Harby for the defense and | Geo. D. Levy and Solicitor McLeod j for the prosecution had presented j their arguments before the jury, j Tiie case will rest with the jury I this afternoon after L. D. Jennings ! of the defense and J. H. Clifton j for the state have presented their \ arguments. ? ? o Can Fix His Death Day! _ i Kirby, Slayer of Brazell Has j Option of Dying October '' 21st Columbia. Oct. 17.?S. J. Kirby, j one of the three men in the peni- ' tentiary death house for the mur der of William Brazell, of Colum- \ bia, will Tuesday be served with I a. copy of the notice of his attorney, j A. B. Martin, of his intention not. | to perfect the Kirby appeal, and j Kirby will then be allowed to say j for himseipwhether or not he will die Friday. If he insists on con- ' tinuation of the appeal notice, he i will not die. because the time al lowed for perfecting the appeal'! will have not expired Friday. C. O. Fox will die Friday. Jesse Gap- j pins, the other member of the | murder trio, will not die, his ap- j peal now being prepared. -? ? o i j Orang-eburg is Loser j - Florence Team Wins by Kick-1 ing Goal After Touchdown Orangeburg, Oct. 14.?In a hard! fought game of football here this ! afternoon. Florence defeated ; Orangeburg by a score of 7 to ?. Orangeburg failed to kick goal. Orangeburg kicked to Florence in the first quarter and in a series of plays, followed by a forwasrd pass, j which brought the ball to Orange burg's thirty-five yard line. .John son on a criss-cross play, ran j around end for touchdown. Flor ence kicked goal. During the re mainder of the first-half. Orange- . burg played largely a defensive game, Florence handling the hall most of the time, but Florence could not score again. The fourth quarter was also hard fought, the ball changing hands frequently, i Orangeburg seemed to have more j fight in the game than Florence, j With three minutes to play, in the j fourth quarter, Jeffords, Orange- ; burg quarter-back, who was the j individual star of the game, inter cepted a forward pass, and ran ! sixty-five yards, being downed on the five-yard line. In three line; plays Jeffords carried the ball over for a touch down. Jeffords failed j to kick goal. Schools Teaching Agriculture. | -? Columbia, Oct. 14.?Excellent progress in agricultural education throughout the state is reported to day by Verd Peterson, state su pervisor of agricultural instruction of the department of education. The Lexington high school has this year put on an agricultural de- : partment, with 6 pupils enrolled.' At Estill there is a special rnstruc- : tor in agriculture, with twenty-one' pupils taking the course. The: Edgefield high school also has such a department and fourteen j boys are enrolled. Four Richland j schools have such courses, and Clio, Fletcher Memorial, in Marl boro county, Wagner, Honea Pain, Fountain Inn and Marion high j schools report large and enthusias- j tic classes in vocational agriculture, j ? ? ? Deb gates .Appointed to Child Hy giene .Association. Columbia. Oct. 14.?Gov. Cooper j has named the following delegates] to the twelfth annual meeting of the American Child Hygiene Asso-j elation, 10 be held a1 Xew Haven. | Conn.. November 2-5: Mrs. Ruth j A. Dodd, Mrs. F. S. Munsell and Dr. Jane Bruce Guignard, Columbia; Mrs. ??lalinde Murphy and Mrs.) Leon Palmer, Spartanburg, and Mrs. S. <>. Plowden, Dalzell. Mr. Roberl T. Goodale, of Cam-j den. District Deputy Grand Master for the l&th District of South Car olina Masons yas in city Thursday night and paid an unofficial visit : to Claivmont Lodge. Xo. ?'-4. which; was holding its monthly business meeting. Mr. Goodale made an j address to the lodge speaking main ly on the George Washington Me morial Association which associa tion is planning to erect a $2.1?im>. ?"'?? Memorial Home. This building! will sdrve as a home for many Ma- i sons and there will be kept in con- i ivection with the home a museum ' in which wlil be placed obtain able relics of George Washington's career. Mayor Jennings Is3ues Ultimatum Serves Notice That He Will Not Consider Proposed Petition at All Editor The Daily Item: I notice in your issue Of the I 12th under the heading "Gas Sit uation." that it is stated that the ! committee proposed to prove to city ' council that the original petition was valid and binding, and to ae- . complish this the committee h:i<l started out with a paper which: asks the men whose wives' signa ture were stricken from the origin al petition by Mayor Jennings to | sign. Von state in your paper that t he p< tit ion reads: "We. the undersigned, demand that city council honor the names of our wives who signed the follow ing petition-" In the first place, there were no j names stricken from the petition by nip, but the petition was check- i ed-against the books of the gas. company and of those on the pe- . tition only ?,:>'.* corresponded with ? the subscribers on the gas com pany's books. I wish to say now, so that there can be no niisunder- j standing, that so far as 1 am <-on- j cerned, if a petition is presented ' r ling as stated in your paper as ; ouoted above, that 1 will not con- j sider it at all. it is also stated in the samt- | piece: ??The committee of the League of Women Voters who secured the sig natures of more than 75 per cent of the 'gas consumers to the pe tition presented to city council in compliance with the agreement made at the mass meeting has not been defeated or surprised by the ruling of Mayor Jennings that the signatures of the wives are not valid under the agreement." I beg to call your attention to a resolution which was passed by the mass meeting, which was to the ef fect that it was the sense of the meeting that if 75 per cent of the subscribers petition city council to grant the increase that city council should do so, provided the gas company agreed thr.t "-ey would continue to operate at the franchise rate until such petition was filed. The resolution further provided that the gas company should notify city council within four days as to whet In r it agreed to the terms of this resolution. Within this time the gas company notified city coun cil that it had decided to circulate a petition and return it to council within thirty days and that they would operate during the month of October. This was not a compliance with the resolution ?.?? the mass meeting, because it provided that the com pany should operate until such a petition was filed, and wh?-n they notified city council, as above stat ed, I knew it v.as not a com pliance, but I did -c.jt want to take any technical position, and there fore adhered to my agreitn \t to vote for the increase if such, a pe tition was furnished, and I have never changed from this position, any other statement to Lhe con-' t ra ry notwithstand ing. It appears to me to be not so much a fight now to get the gas company's rates increased in order to help the company out, but it seems to have centered on a 'per sonal fight on me, for what rea son 1 do not know. But there is one thing I do know, and that is. ever since I have been mayor for about twelve years, there have been some people whose advice as to how to run. the city I have not sought, nor am I seeking it now. I have used my own judgment in all city matters within my jurisdic tion since I have been mayor and 1 expect to continue to do so until the end of my present term, unless1 I am sooner removed by death or; otherwise, and, as stated above, 1 will recognize no petition, it mat ters not whom it may be signed by, that makes a demand that 1 do thus and so. and if it is desired to! have some one else who will rec- I ognize such a petition in my place, then those who want it recognized will have to wait until my time iy up or I am removed by death <-r otherwise. I mean no reflection whatever j on the ladies who signed the pe tition, nor do I mean any on the League of Women Voters, the mem bership of which I understand is composed of 4"?, because 1 know a great many of these ladies, and at h ast some of them that I know are not in sympathy with the atti tude of the gas coinpasny at this time. Tile gas company, instead of no tifying city council in writing that it was going to cease to operate af ter September, sent a circular letter1 to the consumers, I assume in order to frighten the ladies. Then, when! they desired to hav< the petition j circulated, they preyed upon tin sympathy of the ladies and had them to circulate the petition. Now they are trying to get the subscribers who are men to sign a petition, using as i>w^\ni- that un less they do so they are not stand ing by their wives. 1 do not believe many men will be thus influenced, j and 1 do not believe they will sign the petition, unless they think thej gas company should have the in creased rate. Mr. Belser in his communication j referred to tin- rates of seveal cities in this state and in other sta:. s. Under the law in this state. of the cities which Mr. Belser referred to that are in this state, the maxi mum rates and charges for gas are fixed by a legislative commis sion for .''11 time, and it the con sumption increases and tin- com pany makes more profit that! the commission thinks they are entitled to. the commission Can reduce the rates at any time. Bui not so with the city of Sumter. It is not con trolled by this commission, but is operating under a franchise, which is the contract of the ;;as company with tiie city, and it does hot make any difference hew much they may earn in the years to cone-, the city would have no power to reduce ite rate below $1.35 gross or $1.25 tiet, and why some of the peop-Ie at this time should spend so much energy, and ^0-; so worked up over seeing that the gas company makes a large percentage at this tim,e I. cannot understand. fj I have interests In several busi nesses in tie city, and List year and this year they made no profit, could not pay any dividends on the in vestment, .''.;d 1 am satisfied [>rae tically ninety per cent of other businesses in this city are In the same position. Noi only are they not earning any n? t profits, but are in fact, losing money, yet some people are doing everything with in their pOwei to increase the gas rates so that i foreign corpora tion v. ill be permitted to make more profits Mi.-;:: tie / are entitled to under.ib.* presenl conditions. However, tin.- is left entirely with the subscribers to do a:; th? y please, and. as I have stated before, ' will vote for trie increased rate i* 7.> per cent of rite subscribers pe tition council to do so; but 1 will not resogtiisSe. any petition which demands that council do so. 1 have neon mayor for almost twelve years, and so far I have never had any private interest to serve, and when I once circulated a petition to get an extra levy for school purposes j had no one to volunteer to help circulate this pe tition. When i went around to try and raise funds to establish the. first park that the city ever h I i had no one to exert their energies in helping to raise the fund. When I advocated a bond issue to pave streets and a bond issue to pur chase the electric light and ice plant there was opposition, but 1 went on and acted on my own Judgment, and today w< have a park, we have paved streets, and we have an electric light and ice plant, and 1 am satisfied we will still have the gas plant, even thought, the rate is not increased. ] would like for the gas com pany to state to the public wheth er they would be willing to modify the franchise to the extent of giv ing the city council the power for the balance of the term of the franchise to regulate the gas to have fied by rates, even if it should become Lnecessary, in the judgment of city ! council to carry the minimum b< low the minimum fixed by the franchise, i? This is the power which the public service commission has over , the cities in .South Carolina refer ri d to by Mr. Heiser. The gas company now is perfectly willing the franchise rates modi having them increased. Mow. Aha:, i would like to know, they willing to have it modi fied so that council could reduce it ? ! < low the minimum when the ! time arrives when the company v ill make a large- profit on the in . stment, perhaps larger than city ???<>.should then think they r'were entitled to, whether they would I? ave it now in the power of r-it] ccuneil at such time to reduce ; Yours truly, l. d. Jennings, Mayor. -<> o* Macon School of Printing. . Macon, Ga., Oct. 3 2.?The good work don<~- by the publishers* as sociation in setting forth the?ad vantages to be gained in the print ing school at Macon, Ga., has be gun to teil. The attendance is twice as large thi3 fall as it was last, and the results for the stu dents nearly twice as good. The work has been systematiz ed;, a printing department has been add'.-d, and hand composition is taught in addition to the machine operating. The operators are also taught na chanics in a thorough manner, so they ?an take a machine to pieces, if need be, and rebuild it. Plans are now on foot to equip the machines with all of the different kinds of burners that are in use, so :hat students will be familiar with the burner problems that might rise in the different offices to which they are sent from school. Some clever work was done by both the detectives and the local force in apprehending A. P. and A. M. Truluck in connection with .the big robbery of Mr. Sam Young. m s3 b ajtfSJ? s Affin IHWm?%? io On& Big South Carolina ffciir GREATEST LIVE STOCK SHOW . In %e history of the Fair Association. . Come and see how others are meet ing the boll weevil menace. AUTOMOBILE EACES I Fast track, well known drivers, speedy cars. Purses amount to $3,0CC' ? Auto races on Friday. i:src. ' HOBSE RACING ?On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. Pacing.and Trotti races for purses ofv?3?Q each event, with added money. Running Races for : purses of $i.",n. each event, with added money. AUTO POLO?SOMETHING NSW Stripped automobiles in exciting polo games. Firs: time ever seen in the South. One exhibit < ach day between races Tuesday, Wednesday and Thurs day; also once each evening during ?reworks. BIG FIEEWOBKS EVERY NIGHT On the Midway, the famous C. A. Worthan Shows, featuring 30 attraction* many new and novel. POULTRY EXHIBIT under the auspices of the South Carolina Poultry Breeders' Association. Held in conjunction with the State Fair. & K. Adams, President, Charleston, S. C AGBICULTUBAL PE?DUCTS from every sed i<>:i of the state, including work cf Boys' Corn and Pig Clubs; *!:iCABOL21A-0LSMS0IT FOOTBALL CLASSIC The ont* bifr football game of the season. Reserved seats provided for 8.000 spectators. Football l'i\y. Thursday; 27th. REDUCED BATES ON ALL RAILROADS Admissions: AdcKs, 7."?e: children ?n?er V2 years, U5c. Farther reduced} rates for school children's ticlcets wheat bought in advance in bulk. These tickets net sold ui fair grounds, hut must he secured in advance from the treasurer and will hv redee:i?cd at fall value If nut used. Price*. 20c and' B?<- each. I;'or premium list or informalion. wriie D. Fi EFIBB, Secretary, Columbia, S. 6. ? A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss, Neither does a rolling dollar. Interest is what you want, that is what makes your dollar grow. , You have probably saved money and have it invested in good securities, if not you certainly should have it in the bank. Shot bag and stocking banking is unsafe. We not only take care of your money for you but pay you a liberal interest as well. Procrastination may mean a loss to you. It's far better to be safe than sorry. A SatLsfled Customer is our Most Dependable Asset. FIRST NATIONAL BANK SUMTER, S. C. NEILL O'DONXEIX ARCHIE CHINA O. L. YATES President Vice President Cashier I The National Bank of South Carolina jj I OF SUMTER, S. C. J \ ?h The Most Painstaking SERVICE with COURTESY II Capita! $300.000 Surplus and Profits 5280,000 I S STRONG AND PROGRESSIVE Give ns the Pleasure of Serving YOU The Bank With the Chime Clock. $ C. G. ROWLAND, Pres. EARLE ROWIxAND, Cashier <?>