Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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GOOD ROADS PLAN FOR US STATE Exoenditure of $34, 000.000 in Six Years Will be Proposed to Legislature Columbia, Deo. 17.?Krom the ! present, ratio of federal, aid, an in crease in automobile license fees, continuance of the two-mill prop erty tax. levying of a one-cent tax per gallon on motor vehicle fuel and the issuance of ten millions of dollars in state bonds. South Caro r Kna can spend in the next six years $3-1.000.000 and complete a highway syrtem of 4.000 miles, of which SCO miles can be hard-sur faced, according to the proposed improvement' plan to.be presented to the general assembly by the state ? highway commission. The full plan: ''Without increasing the present property tax one cent the state of South Carolina may spend'approx imately $34,000,000 and complete "within six years a system of im proved state highways comprising about 4,000 miles, more than 800 miles of which would be hard-sur ^: .faced and the rest surfaced with sand-clay, top soil or gravel; and under this plan each county will not only retain its own money, but Se* back more than it puts in for j the construction and maintenance j of its state *high ways and bridges. 1 "The money can be raised as fol- j lows: *'l. Federal aid from the nation- | ^al government at present rate of j "about $1,100,00 per year for six years, $6.CO0.C00. "2; The automobile license re ceipts. If the license fee is in- :: creased to correspond with the; average in the United States, which.! for example, would change the fee i for a Fordi car from $5 per year to ; $8 per year, and for a Cadillac from > $16 per year* to ?23 per year, this! source would yield on an average j approximately $1,300,000 per year,! or a total for six years fo $7. SO 0,-1 000. ? j '?3. "TL*-two-mill property tax j now effective would yield an aver- ! age of slightly more than $1,000,000 i per ye'ar, or about $6,200,000 for the I six. years. "4. A tax of 1 cent per gallon j on mgtcr vehicle fuel could I e im- 1 posed without appreciable burden j aad would yield an average of be tween $500,000. and $000,000 per! year, or say ?3,400,000 for the six- j y?ar period, "5. A State bond issue of only j '$1.000,000 would bring the total] fund up to $34,000,000, and this is- ' sv.e could be so arranged that a part "Of the revenues above sug gested would take care of it during! and after the six-year period. '?This. $3^000,000 fund would be j sufficient to carry out the follow-1 ing . described program of road im- j provement: "1. Construct 2,000 miles of soft- ! surfaced reads, including minor j bridges'and culverts, at $5,000 perl mile, $10,000.000. I "2. Construct 400 miles of hard- j surfaced roads, including grading j and the minor bridges and culverts, j at $25,000 per mile. $10,000.00.. "3. Construct all of the impor- : tant bridges on the state highway! system not' already provided for at j a. cost of about $5,500,000. "4. Provide annually a sufficient: amount to maintain all state roads ' previously constructed varying from J $400,00.0 'per year f? present to j about $1,500,000 per year when the | state system is complete, or about i $5,500,000 for the six years. j "5. Maintain the state highway department at a cost of aboui- $200.- j 000 per year, of $1,200,000 for the ! six years. ..."O. Provide interest and sinking! fund of $1.300,000 for bonds. In- j terest and sinking fund, after the j six-year period could be provided j from the same revenues, with a ! j substantial balance for matching \ subsequent federal aid and continu ing the' construction of hard- j surfaced roads. **The state highway system, as at J .present planned, contains about < 3,500 mi?es of road of which more j than 1.600 'miles will be completed i or provided for by the end of 1921. j including more than 200 miles of j hard surface. The 2,400 miles pro- j vided in the above program would i therefore complete *he system and j enable the addition of some 500 or 600 miles to the present layout. The I 400 miles additional of hard sur facing would also take care of prac- j tically all parts of the state roads j -where the traffic is too heavy for ! the soft surface and where the counties have not already made ar- ] rangements for hard surfacing. "The expenditure of the $20. 000,000 proposed for road con struction can be equitably distribut ed among the c >unties according to any reasonable schedule and c-t the same time complete the highway rystem as above stated. If the distribution were based, for exam ple, one-third on land area, one third on assessed valuation, and one-third on motor vehicle license receipts for 1021. no county would 'receive tes*. than about $180.000. and in each case the county's pro portion would be sufficient to com plete the state roads within its limits, due regard being had for the type of surfacing which the present traffic would warrant. As examples of how a distribution of this kind would workout, con sider a- few of the counties at rand on1.: -"?Orangeburg county would re ceive about $740.000 and has 180 miles of road on the state system, of which about seventy-five miles 'will be constructed or provided for at the end of the present year. The remaining 105 miles could be graded and.surfaced with sand-clay at a <-ost not exceeding $r>25,000, which would leave at least $215,000 for constructing several miles o\ WALLACE PREDICTS HIGHPRICES Secretary of Agricul ture Says Country is Passing Through Worst Agricultural: Depression Boston, Dec. 19.?The United* States is passing through the most severe agricultural depression of history, Secretary' of Agriculture Wallace declared in an address be- i fore the Boston Chamber of Com merce. He said that the prices of I farm crops are lower than ever be- { fore and predicted that decreased production would make prices so j high that consumers would com- j plain bitterly. needed hard surfacing. Besides, a j much needed bridge, across the I Santee river between Orangeburg! and Clarendon counties could be j provided from the bridge fund. "Chesterfield county would re- J ceive about $3S 0,000 and has ninety-three miles on the state highway system, of which about twenty-five miles have already been constructed or provided for. To construct the remaining seventy miles with sand-clay or gravel sur facing would cost some $350.000, whvch would leave a margin of $30,000 for constructing addition al mileage that might be added to the state^system. Chesterfield coun ty has no roads at present requir ing a hard surface. "Greenville county would receive about $1,140,000 and has a total , of 131 miles on the state system, all except about ten miles of which has already ~ been improved; At least $1,000.000 is needed in this [ county immediately, however, for hard surfacing those rocids on i which traffic is too heavy for the j existing topsoil surfacing. "Richland county would receive about $1,100,000 and has seventy nine miles on the state highway system, which is practically all pro vided for under the $2,000,000 bond issue for pavements already available in that county. The state fund could, therefore, be applied to the construction of roads to be added to tne system or in retiring a part of the county bonds. "In like manner every county in the- state would receive sufficient I fund to take care of the immediate need3 so far as the state highway! system is concerned, and due to the federal aid, each would receive more than it contributed. It is true that the needs would increase dur ing the six-year period on account of the traffic multiplying on some of the roads. On the other hand, increased traffic would mean in creased revenue from both the mo tor vehicle license ard motor fuel taxes, which in turn would enable a greater mileague of hard surfac ing to be constructed. "Some ?f the advantages of this plan are: "1. It would enable all of the counties to share equitably in the i benefits to be received from fed eral aid. An equitable distribution j by counties of this fund is not pos- j sible under the revised federal statutes. "2. It would enable the federal aid projects to be limited in num ber and thus greatly reduce the administrative cost of handling these projects. The government j formalities are just the same for a $1,000 project as for one costing a half million. "3. The bridges provided for in this plan would overcome the great barriers which our rivers now con stitute. Such bridges, would be of state-wide significance and the cost of their construction is not properly chargeable to any county, and seldom to any group of coun ties. This fact has been responsi ble for South Carolina's slow prog ress in constructing necessary bridges. "4. Thi3 plan would in the fu ture obviate the necessity for most of the county bond issues for roads. The total of bond issues for road improvement already authorized by the counties of the state amounts to some $23.000,000. but most of these issues were for improvements that would simply be supplemented and made complete by the present plan. In some case, no doubt, counties wouid find it desirable to provide for additional road im provement which would require bond issues, but they would cer tainly lose no advantage on ac count of the state work. ".". This plan provides for con tinuousness after the six-year pe riod. Any plan that is not con tinuous will necessarily be disap pointing because the needs of traf fice will continue to develop and no present plan could be sufficient to provide before a given date for needs that will develop after that date. At the expiration of the six year period South Carolina would still have about $3,000.000 per year to spend for road construction, in addition to a maintenance fund sufficient to taken are of the con structed roads. "6. The State Highway Depart ment is at present supervising road construction in conjunction with the various counties to the amount of $4.000.000 per year, so that the proposed plan would be little more than a normal increase in its activ ities. This means that the depart ment would have a chance to ex pand its engineering forces grad ually without the necessity of sending outside the state for trained road engineers, and at the same time would be able to han dle the work with reasonable ef ficiency. "7. The adoption or a more or Ises fixed program covering a pe riod of years would make for ef ficiency and economy. The pres ent procedure of planning as we go, with ho knowledge as to what Buffalo is Swept By Terrific Gale Hundreds of Boats Smashed in Storm?Great Property j Damage i * _ Buffalo. N. Y., Dec. 18.?A 95 miles-an-hour gale swept the city today. ? uprooting trees, tearing down chimneys, smashing plate glass . windows and piling up the water in the harbor to an unpre* ! cddentcd stage. One man was killed j in the storm. The "damage throughout the city was great, but heaviest losses oc l curred along the waterfront, where ?a 300-foot wireless tower was de molished, boat houses and small docks were swept away and sev eral hundred pleasure craft were smashed or carried down the river. The property loss will run into thousands of dollars. HARDWOOD TRUST LOSES CASE IN COURT Washington, Dec. If).?The gov ernment won \hc suit before the supreme court to compel the Amer ican Hardwood Manufacturers' Association to terminate the coop erative selling methods and agree ments alleged to have been adopted to eliminate competition. the appropriations of succeeding years will provide for, not only brings about waste on account of incomplete studies, but is also wasteful on account of the fact that it is impossible to coordinate the order and progress of road and bridge construction among the counties, so as to employ the state's sources of material supplies to the best advantage." The attached tabulation shows what each county's share in the proposed road construction fund would be: Abbeville Aiken. Allendale .. Anderson Bamberg Barnwell. Beaufort. Berkeley. Calhoun Charleston . _ Cherokee Chester. Chestenleld. Clarendon Colleton. Darlington _ Dillon. Dorchester_ Edgefield_ Fairfield _ j Florence ._ ; Georgetown_ ! Greenville. Greenwood .... Hampton. Horry. ; Jasper _. I Kershaw_ I Lancaster _. I Laurens j Lee _. Lexington .. __ McCormick .... Marion i_ Marlboro_ Xewberry _. Oconee . Orangeburg Pickens _._ Richland. ; Saluda j._ I Spartanburg .. : Sumter _. -. . _ i Lmon. I Williamsburg . ; York. Total --^20,000,000 3.414 Total mileage.3.414 Constructed or provided for 1.600 To be constructed_.1,814 ! The following is a list of the j major bridge projects under the : plan: ' Lumber river, Nichols. Little Pee Dee river, Mullins I Xichols. Great Pee Dee river, George I town-Conway. i Great Pee Dee river, Darlington ' Bennettsville. Great Pee Dee river. Cheraw. J Lynch's river, Effingh?m (King i stree-Florence). j Lynch's river. Sumter-Florence. Lynch's river, Bishopville-Dar I lington. ! Lynch's river, Lancaster-Ches 1 terfield. Santee river, Charleston-George town. Santee river, Orangeburg-Man ning. Wateree river, Columbia-Sumter approaches. Catawba river, Lancaster-Ches ter. Congarec river, Columbia. Broad river. Columbia. Broad river, Winnsboro-Xew berry. Pacolet river. Converse. . Pacolet river, Chesnee. Tyger river. WTiitmire-Union. Tyger river, Enoree-Union. Enroee river, Whitmire-?nion. Enoree river, Enoree. Saluda river, Xewberry-Saluda. Saluda river, Greenwood-Xew berry. Saluda river, Greenwood-Lau ren s. Saluda river, Ware Shoals. Saluda river. Greenville-Pickens. Edistor river. Dorchester-Walter boro. Edisto river. Branchville. Edisto river, Blackville-Spring field. Edisto river. Swansea-Spring field. Ashepoo river. Charleston-Savan na h. Combahee river, Charleston-Sa vanna h. Savannah river, Furey's Ferry: one-half cost. Savannah river. Calhoun Falls; one-half cost. O o o zt% X Vt 300,000 680.000 180,000 ^ 0.000 220,000 260,00n 220,000 380,000 200,000 1,180,000 320,000 380.000 380,000 340.000 360,000 500,000 2S0.000 240,000 240,000 320.000 580,000 300,000 1.140.000 460,000 240,000 380,000 180,000 380,000 280,000 500,000 280,000 460,000 180.000 260.000 42<*,000 440,000 360,000 640,000 320,000 1.100.000 240,000 1.100.000 480.000 340.000 400,000 540.000 O '~ ? o O 3 z: cs k? ? CQ 72 135 43 150 50 64 55 120 54 98 48 73 D3 37 83 52 41 62 52 55 62 73 131 86 61 75 53 S9 Cl 76 58 82 64 54 61 80 44 ISO 57 70 3S 116 G4 Gl S6 86 Community Christ mas Celebration . I Illuminated and Decorated Christmas Tree to Be Placed in Memorial Park Arrar.fremt.-iUs arc well davaneed j for a communiyt celebration of ! Christmas to be held in the Me morial park on Monday evening. December 26th. A large and beau tiful tree will be placed in the (?'??li ter of the plaza, the tree being dec orated and illuminated with a my riad of colored electric lights, and this tree will be the center around which all the people of Sumtcr, old and young will assemble, while Christmas carols and hymns will be sung by a great chorus, com posed of all the best voices in Sumter. The choruc will^be led by the combined choirs of all the churches, and everybody who can sing is expected to take part in j making the occasion one long to be I remembered. > There will be no distribution of gifts, nor will there be any gifts hung on the tree, which is to be simply the visible symbol of the season. The tree, the decorations and the lights will be the contribution of the city council. A meeting of the chiors and oth ers who will participate in the carol singing will be held in the Presby terian church at G o'clock Wednes day evening for the purpose of re hearsing the musical program. The complete program of carols and hymns to be sung will be printed ni The Daily Item between this date and Saturday, several be ing printed each day. Everyone is asked to clip these carols from the paper day by day and keep them until they learn them so as to be ready to take part in the singing on the evening of the celebration: Jcy to the World. Joy to the world! the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King, Let every heart prepare Him room. And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing. Aiid heaven and nature sing. v Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns: Let men their songs employ: While fields and flocks, rocks, hJls and plains. Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. No more let sin and sorrow grow. Nor thorns fest the^ ground;. He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found. P"ar as the curse is found, Far as, far as the course is found. ? Hark! the Herald Angels .Sings. jHark! the herald angels sing ' Glory to the new-born King: j Peace on earth and mercy mild, . God in sinners reconciled! Joyful, all ye nations, rise. Join the triumph of the skies; With the angelic hosts proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem! Hark! the herald angels sing Glory to the new-born King. Christ, by highest heaven adored; Christ the everlasting Lord, ? j Late in time behold Him come. ! Offspring of the Virgin's womb; i Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; I Hail the incarnate Deity. \ Pleased as Man with men to dwell; I Jesus, our Emmanuel! i Hark! the herald angels sing j Glory to the new-born King. j Hail, the heaven-born Prince of j Peace! 1 Hail, the Sun of righteousness! j Light and life to all Be brings, I Rising with healing in His wings. ?Mild He lays 11s glory by. j Born that man no more may die; [ Born to raise the sons of earth. j Born to give then: second birth. Hark! the herald angels sing Glory to the new-born King. Wlulc Shepherds Watched. . While shepherds watched their i flocks at night All seated on the ground. The angel of the Lord came down And glory shone around. And glory shone around. "Fear not." said he,?for mighty dread i Had seized their troubled mind. "Glad tidings of great joy I bring. To you and all mankind. To you and all mankind. "To you. in David's town this day. Is born of David's line. The Saviour, who is Christ, the Lord, And this shall be the sign: ? And this shall be the sign. j It Came I'pon the Midnight Clear. It came upon the midnight clear, j That glorious song of old. j And still celestial music floats. Over all the weary world; I "Peace to the earth, good will to men, From heaven's all-gracious King:'^ The earth in solemn stillness lay. To hear the angels sing. Still through the eleven skies they come. With peaceful wings unfurled: And still celestial reuse- floats. 0*er all the weary world; And above its sad and lowly plain:: They bend on heavenly wing. And ever o'er its Babel sounds. The blessed angels sir.;:. O ye. beneath life's crushing load, Whose forms are bending low. Who toil along the climbing way. Willi painful steps and slow; Look up! for glad and golden hours <"omo swiftly on ii),. wing: <>h. rest beside tin- weary road, And hear the angels sing. London. Dee. 1H. ? Premier Briand conferred today with Pre mier Lloyd George, discussing the < b i man reparations. REAL LEADER The Brilliant Virginia Congressman Who | Died Recently By Wallace Bassford Special Xnvs Qorrespondcut. Washington-, Dec. 17.?Mr. Gar rett of Tennessee, the brilliant young leader of the House Demo crats, is fully measuring up to his large job. It is no small task to up hold the traditions of great leader- j ship in that body, i believe it was Thomas Dixon, in The Clansman, who Quoted one of Lincoln's cabinet I members as saying that he greatly feared the natural aptitude of the young men of the south for states i manship. The truth of that ex ! pression has been shown scores of times but never more markedly l than in the ca?es of Cla^k. Stone ! Underwood. Kitchin, Flood' and ; Garrett. But death and illness have i played havoc with party leadership j ! recently. The death of Clark and i Stone, now followed by the sud- | ! den and shocking demise of Henry j I D. Fiood. the iilnes^ of Wilson and i ; Kitchin, might well alarm the j j Democrats as to the ouality of their l j leadership but for this propensity j ! of the young men of southern i I blood to achieve eminence in par- j I liamentary work. To this is doubt- ; ! less due much of the virility oi th ? i j party that was born with the Fie- ; I nulflic and has attended the funer- i al of several of its rivals: A cur- j sory glance shows that the party of : ! Jefferson and Jackson has heL\ the j ! reins of government during half I of the time since Washington left , the presidency, as against all oth- ' j ers, and today is militant, aggrcs- \ Jsive and full of expectation of win- ; j ning the state and congressional j j elections coming next fall. I '--*** ? : The death of Flood is directly due \ i to his fine devotion to his state and 1 j party. When the Republicans gave ! 1 it out that they were going to break s into the Solid South and that Vir ! ginia was to be the gateway, every- j one knew that it meant another i ; loosening of the strings of the long . { purse that poured out millions and '? i millions for the election of Harri- J ' son, McKinley. Roosevelt. Taft and ; ! Harding?the long purse of privil- j j egc. The Virginia leaders looked j over the field and could see no one i I but Flood to lead the fight to pre- i j vent the Republicans again getting I a foothold in the state that was ; i still remembering painfully the ? days of the carpet-baggers. So i j Flood was drafted for the job, j i though already Chairman of the ' ! Democratic Congressional Commit- i ? tee. He went into it like he went ! I into every other light?with ev- '. erj ounce of force there was in him. j ; Of course he won. and the Demo crat.-; carried Virginia by the big gest majority ever known, but I Flood came back to Washington and took to his bed, never to leave j it. Of him it can be truly said: I i i j 'He died with the harness on, the broad-sword Ic aping, The wild fight surging fast." } Rich as the party is in leader ship. Democracy can i;i spare him. | this proud Virginian, proud of his i clean hands, his clean public rec j ord, his clean professional career; j and his spotless personal character, j : it is remembered of him that I when he first came to congress, de j feating Jacob Yost, a Republican, | the result was very close and he was offered the certificate of elec tion on a technicality, whereupon he refused to accept it, preferring to stand aside until the status ot every questioned ballot was de termined. He knew he might lose by so doing, but he preferred it that j 'way. He died too soon. There is much work left to be done which needs to be done by trained men who can diagnose symptoms and effect a cure. Washington is suffering, as in all times of stress, from a sur feit of political nostrum-mongers ' .and scores of high-salaried trust lawyers who throng the eommit ; tee rooms of congress, wheedling ? and scheming for this special priv ; ilege and that, differing in scope, si/.e and venality, but all having ex ' actly the same purpos??to find a j means, through legislation, to g< t i more money for their product. Yes terday the cotton goods manufac turers were here in a swarm, ask ing more than 22 per cent tariff on ; importations of cotton goods, and showing how the pious makers of ; poker chips have 40 per cent pro ' lection. The answer is that the ; poker chip magnates probably con : tributed more liberally to the canv l paign fund. Therein lies the real secret of getting what one wants in the way of special legislation. In such a situation the finest de '. fense the people can have consists of men in congress who are too big for such dealing. Xo, the president has not adopt ed any new form of recreation tins week. He is still recovering from his recent horseback ride. This reminds me that one of the Washington m-wsseipers -ami ih>-\ stay vt-ry elosso t.. the t?resideTi ital throne, no matter who sitsj ihen?told, almost in tears, how lire president, with line decision of character, took a short cut across the lawns surrounding the Wash ington monument, and how some; of his satellites marked oat the track of his noble steed and ? straightway took st-ps to have it . made a permanent bridb -; a.h. The ; signs say "Keep off he grass." but in this great land of liberty that i si;-a is only Cor some of us. The , next day a group of pretty uiris. de i?;,rtmental clerks, sat on this same grass to eat their lun? h and were;! :.!1 snatehed U)?. taken to police court :.a?l lined for trespass. How; like ?!? ar bid Prussia: Charleston Hi Wins State Championship Chester Defeated by Score of 34 to 0 in Final Game in Columbia Columbia. Dec. IC.?Onoe more was the story of David and <roliai h enacted, this time upon the foot ball gridiron of the University of South Carolina here this after noon when the Charleston Ban tams completed the most success ful season in the history of the high school and for the second suc cessive year captured the undis puted championship of the state by administering a sound, thorough and altogether finished and. polish ed licking to the Chester (.Hants, champions of the northern part of the state. The score of 31 to 0 tells just how the "Men of Brause" delivered their final punch and within the space of seven days turn ed out victories over Peabody, Mass.. and the Red and White of Chester. For the first three quarters ir seemed as if David was getting the best of the argument as he was leading by a 7 to 0 score but few. if any, were expecting the complete bursting of the Goliath bubble that took place in the final period. It was a case of a huge fireworks dis play with the Chester team fur nishing the fireworks and the Ban tams setting them off for seldom if ever has a team appeared more dumfounded and surprised than Chester. Chester routers had beerf yelling all afternoon for Weeks to do something. Teddy had been tak ing care of his end but Holcombe, Brxnker and Kilpatrick were the men who bore the brunt of the at tack. Teddy decided to cut loose and with Brinker and Holcombe .and "JtJoll Wvcvill" leading the way spreading destruction in the wake Of their terrific interference work the Bantam captain went 40 yards for a touchdown. The Charleston rooters went wild. Ches ter was astonished. The team ap peared to have undergone a com plete change and from then on the size* of the scare was merely a ease of how long the game would last. 4P m* o-? Booze Runners Kill Officer Laurons. Dec. 13.?After re maining in the county jail a few hours. Monroe Willard and Luth er Timmons. two Clinton men who e?ro charged with killing Policeman Hosea Martin of Laurens last night in a battle with ofiicers, were taken by the sheriff this afternoon to the state penitentiary as a precaution ary measure. Coroner 11. R. Owings held the inquest today and the jury returned a verdict charging Willard and Timmons with the death of Officer Martin. The tragedy occurred near Lisbon church, six miles south of Ln?rens. shortly before midnight. The Clinton men. it is alleged, were earryinjj a lead of whiskey from the upper part of the state, having been suspected earlier in the even ing by Rural Officer Owens, who was on the watehout for them in the Gray Court section. The men t luded him. however, and the of ficer telephoned Chief Crows to get other officers and assist in inter cepting the alleged whiskey run ners before they ^ot to Clinton. With Policeman Martin and Ru ral Policeman Abrams, Chief Crows drove at once to Clinton, thence back toward Lisbon. Here his party was joined, by Officer Owens and Dtlur officers. At about this time the anticipated car hove in sight. Policemen Crows and Martin alighted. Martin steppeing out ahead and calling to the men to hold up. As he advanced to tin side of the car lie was tired upon I from the automobile and imme diately sank to Iiis knees mortal ly shot in the left side. He open ed fire in return, as did Chief Crows and Policeman Wham and (there was a general exchange of shots as Willard and Timmons sped away, making their escape j without being hit, though their car i was punctured with bullets from : the raiding party. Officer Owens and other officers I gave pursuit while Chief Crows and I others placed the wounded officer j in their car and rushed him to (Clinton. Martin died, however, on the way just as the party was driv ing into Clinton. Officers following Willard and Timmons found a ten gallon k"iu' of whiskey in the wake of the fleeing machine, but failed to overtake the fugitives. Tin- Wil lard car was found at a Clinton ga rage and at o'clock this morning tin- two men surrendered to Sheriff Reid, who had gone to Clinton dur ing tin- night to assist in apprehend tin- alleged whiskey runners. They were brought to the county jail." Willard and Timmons are young men. Policeman Martin, native of young's township, had been on the city police force lore for two years ai d was a :":ne officer. Six small children survive him. ins wife hav ing died only a few months ago. - One halt mile of the experimental one miii' gravel road which is being built by the county to ascertain the probable cost ami virtue of such roads, is in the last stage of com pletion. The gravel has been put down with :t ten-inch spread. This road was previously widened, grad ed and ditched, to take . are of the drainage, run on each side of the road. The cost of this mile is esti mated a.t about $12.000. The gravel used on tin- road was shipped into Sumter from a gravel pit in Geor gia. Work of graveling of road was begun at the end of the firs: mile from without the city limits and the work is gradually 1>- ing broughi cityward. -0m~mp ? - Washington, Dec. 3 7. Tin num ber of negroes reported born in the south and now living in lie. north and west increased from 14<V 000 in lf'10 to 7S0.OO0 in 1020. the ???usus bureau announced. Parricide in Kershaw County W. Hamp Jordan Shot by His Own Xineteen-Year-O'd Son Camdon. Dee. 1".?W. Hampton Jordan. a white man, said to be about 50 years of age, was shot and instantly killed about one mile north of VVestville in this county, early Wednesday evening. I Coyt Jordan, a lad of about It) j years and a son of the dead man, was held today by a coroner's jury charged with the killing. From I the evidence produced at the in [ quest it was testified that the eld : er Jordan came home in an intoxi cated condition and began a row j with the family. He is said to : have slapped one of the children j and had his knife drawn in the act of attacking another, when Coyt. j Jordan went outside the house : with his shotgun and fired at him I through the glass. The load took ; eLect in his right eye, killing him j instantly. i There were four witnesses ex amined by the coroner's jury, with ; .1. V. Young as foreman, and .they , all testified practically the same, j Some of the witnesses were not ! members of the family but were [visiting-at the honte at the time. { Jordan was a native of Chesterfield t county, but had been residing j around Westville for two years or i more. The killing occurred about I 7 o'clock. Jordan haves a widow \ and several children who were all present in the room when the un | fortunate affair took place. Federal Tax Information Improvement in Regulations For Adjusting Claims The following statement is is ! sued by the Acting Collector of In ! ".ernal Revenue, W. R. Bradley, for j the District of South Carolina: Important chansres in income tax I procedure, directed by Commission , er David II. Blair, are embodied in a treasury decision effective De i-ember iC which provides for the prompt adjustment of claims for re fund and abatement of federal ; taxes. Heretofore when an over i assessment or overpayment was ; disclosed by the audit of an income ; tax return, the taxpayer was invited to file a claim for abatement of the . over-assessment or the refund of the ? overpayment. When received the I claim was registered and filed j away until reached in due course ? for consideration. Because of the \ large number of such claims filed. delay in adjustment necessarily re I suited. After December 1". the taxpayers \ will not be advised of their priv ilege of filing a claim for the re i fund of taxes which have been paid j in excess of amounts legally due. ; but instead will receive a certificate ! of overassessment and a check in j correction of the error, or if.an ? overassessment is outstanding against the taxpayer for income or j excess profits tax. the overpayment j will he applied as a credit against I the assessment, and the balance ; immediately refunded. This will be of distinct financial advantage to both the taxpayer and the govern ment. It will do away with the necessity for the taxpayer filing a i claim for refund, and will greatly reduce the amount of work to be done by the bureau in the adjust ment of claims. Taxpayers may continue to file : claims for abatement and refund, ' but it is expected that the number , of such claims filed each month I will he greatly reduced. Efforts are being made by the bureau to adjust within six months. all . claims now pending and thereaf ter to keep the work current. The revenue act of 1921 provides that ; Tinder certain conditions interest I shall he paid upon claims from the date of the payment of the tax to tlie date of the allowance of the I claim. The new procedure should [ greatly reduce the amount of in I terest, which the government must , of necessity pay upon claims for ! refund. England Denounces Submarines Washington. Dec 10.?Arthur J. Balfour, head of the British dele gation, gave notice today that Ciear Britain would propose to the arms conference the total abolition <>i" submarines. French Gun Run ners Captured Madrid. Dec. Hi?The Spanish gunboat Bonifaz lias captured two French sailing vessels carrying arms and munitions to Moroccan insurgents ami sank aacil ? vessel engaged in the same operation to day's official report announced. ?? ? c Southern Rail way Bonds Washington. Dei-. 16. ? The Southern Railway has asked the in terstate commerce commission for permission to issue and seil thirty" million dollars in gold bonds. Chicago; Di-?. 1C. ? Additional policemen were again assigned to the stock yard district, following a renewal of outbreaks by strike sympathizers on suspicion that they wer,- strike breakers. A Mexican, who was stabbed, may die. N>xv York. Dec. 17.?The week in Wall street was marked by active trading in stocks and bonds, main ly .-it higher quotations, while for eign ex? hange suffered a set back. -? ? ? I;' . uriosity kills a cat. where can we get some curiosity '.* Pee Dee Bridge To be Built at Once. Contracts For Structure Let in Florence to Be Complet ed in One Hundred and . Seventy-Five Working Davs t Florence^ Dec. 14.?Contracts for the Pee Dee bridge project were let last night to Chit wood & Palmer for approaches, wooden bridges on causeway and roadway, etc., and to Hyde & Ea:;ter for the con struction of the steel bridge which* will span the river. The contracts total $131,037. an amount for the cost of the bridge and roadway much less than was expected. The contracts have been signed and* ; bonus for performance placed on ; deposit. Work will begin Monday ? morning. The contractors have j 175 working days to complete the j job. The steel bridge will be eight : feet above the highest water ever i known in the river. ! The causeway will be a low water I road, although it is a rare occur ; rence for the road, as it now stands \ to- be submerged. The causeway will he surfaced with concrete. Flor j ence and Marion counties are to i pay for the bridge. A toH charge j will be made. The bridge will be i placed at the Mars' Bluff ferry. The Wateree Bridge I Good Progress on Work is Being Made Columbia. Dec. 16.?Good pro gress has been made on the Gam | or's Ferry bridge* to connect Rich-^ j land and Sumter counties, It is said j that almost half of the job is done j with the practical completion cf the ! underwater part of the three main piers on which will rest* the steel' span of the Wateree. Two of the main piers are com ! pleted above the water, and the ' oCher is practically completed. This means that the above-water part of the piers can be started soon. Al most a score of smaller piers, out side the main bed of the stream, j are also nearing completion. It is stated that that part of the work which is below level of the water is the most difficult and this j being practically completed the ! construction of the bridge has seen j marked progress. It is expected that the bridge I will be completed by spring. With, j the completion of the bridge, the ! approach on the Sumter side, four t miles in length, is to be built. This is to be of dirt construction and to be only high enough to come above low water. The cost will be $25,000 and the business people of the two counties have guaranteed the money. Richland will bear half i the cost, the Chamber of Commerce ! and the City Council and delega I tion guaranteeing the funds wit* ; similar arrangements made on th* j Sumter side. The Hardaway Con ; struction company is building the : bridge, having a large force of men j at work. . ? iONE LIFE LOST IN SENECA FIRE Walhalla, Dec. 14.?Fire about : 12:30 today at Seneca, leading town t of Oconee county, nine miles from ! Walhalla, which was aired by a 1 fierce wind, destroyed a large j number of buildings. The loss was ? groat, but no estimate could be I made tonight. A woman, said to, j have been a negro, sick and alone j in a house was burned to death. ! This was the only loss of life. Threo I negro houses, a negro church and I the line residence of B. A. Daley.* I three blocks from the starting point ! of the conflagration, caught from ! burning debris carried by the wind ' and burned. ; The First Baptist church, Seneca ; High school and a number of resi liences, white and colored, caught, ! but were saved. j There were no waterworks, but I they are being installed. The fire ! started near the waterworks tank ! that is being erected. Prompt ! work on the part of the citizens j probablv prevented greater loss. - j PLAN FOR BASE BALL DRAFT New York. Dec. IG. ? Several j plans for the restoration of the j draft, satisfactory to major and rni j nor leagues are under considera tion by the baseball advisory coun : on. Col. W. B. Vtsey Kills Himself. St. George. Dec. 14.?Monday evening, about 6 o'clock Col. W. Boyer Utsey committed suicide at. the home of his brother. R. I*. Utsey. Col. Utsey had not been in good health for the past several years and had retired from all work and was living with his broth er. He borrowed a pistol from a friend on Monday afternoon, tell ng him that he wanted it to kill some \ogs. About 7 o'clock his brother went to his room to deliver an afternoon paper and found him lying across the bed with the re volver near by. Attached to th^ revolver was a note, telling him to deliver the pistol to the parts' from whom he had borrowed it that afternoon. Washington. Dec. 16.?Senator Harris, of Georgia, today introduc ed a resolution which would de clare it the sense of the senate that the United States would be unable to agree or accept the cancellation of its war loans to European powers. ?? ? ? Nashville. Tenn.. Dec. 17.?Amer ican Legion Commander McXider ? declared today that the soldier : bonus should be enacted. ^ The tariff question is "Will they get us new. or must they best