Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE SOFTER WATCHMAN, Est CONSOLIDATED AUG. 2,: WASHINGTON CONFERENCE AT CRISIS Charges of . Double dealing by France fend Japan Pressed by Far Eastern Del egates Washington., J^an. 2 (By the As sociated Press).?While practical ly all the machinery of the arms conference stood still over the New Year's holiday, the unofficial dele gation of the Far Eastern republic took advantage of the lull* to press their charges of a secret French Japanese understanding. for per petuation of Japanese control in Siberia. The Far Eastern delegates de clared that proof of their charges, already denied by both the French and Japanese delegates, could be obtained by examination of orig inal documents in the archives of the Far Eastern government at Chita. They suggested that such an inquiry be made by American consular officials so that the re sults might be known to the con ference when it takes up consid eration of Siberian' problems. To emphasize the French public denial made 3'esrerday, Albert Sar raut. head of the French delega tion, formally notified Secretary Hughes, as chairman of the con ference that - the charges were wholly without foundation in fact. The French government, M. Sar raut said, in a written communi cation to the conference head, had entered into no commitments re garding Siberia except those of which the United States already was aware. In view of the French and Jap anese repudiation of the charges and the position of the Far East ern . delegates as "outsiders" sent to the confre*mce by an uhrecog* nized government, the inclination in many conference circles was not to take the development very ser iously. At the same time the ac cusations attracted widespread at tention and furnished a *eady topic of discussion at a dull period, in the conference negoitations, . ?_. ? .JL,. The navy experts' alotte- worked through the holiday giving their day as a study of the technical details remaining to be settled in connection with the naval limita tion agreement. It was said their deliberations were at such a stage .tonight that all the loose ends of the . settlement probably could be cleared away within a few days. If questions of policy raised by the submarine regulation proposals can be settled in time, the conference leaders believe the five power treaty for naval limitation can be put into definite form during the present week. Tomorrow the naval experts will continue their a-ork and the sub committee appointed to formulate a new tariff program for China also will hold a meeting. Various other naval and Far Eastern questions will occupy the attention of the other delegates in informal con ferences. Beganied as Troublesome The question of proposed restric tions.- on submarine warfare is re garded by all delegations as the most troublesome jot the naval problems remaining unsolved. The first of the Root submarine resolu ? tions, reaffirming adherence to the existing principles of international law, has already been accepted by the five powers; but the second and third, proposing still more stringent restrictions on the use of underwater craft, are leading to much controversy. Under the second resolution, the five powers will Join in an agree ment that in any future war among1 them submarines would not he used in any circumstances as com merce destroyers. The United States and Great Britain alone have aceded to this proposition, Japan and Italy have adopted a non-^onv mital attitude toward it. and the French have shown some inclina tion at least to propose modifica tions before they can favor adop tion . As the resolution fust was pre sented by Elihu Boot of the Ameri can delegation it merely would have proposed that the prohibition a/r^inst submarine attacks on mer chant shipping be suggested by the powers as a modification of "inter national law which all nations would nave to accept before it be came effective. At the instance of Arthur .1. Balfour of the British delegation, however, a provision was inserted making the prohibi tion Immediate as between the Uni ted States, Great Britain, France. Japan and Italy. In its original form the French indicated the pro posal would be acceptable to their government but they said tonight that they had received no instruc tions from Paris regarding th*- re solution as amended. Should Not Be Armed The delay is taken as strength ening the possibility that France may have qualifications of further changes to suggest before she gives assent. Among some of the French there is a feeling that merchant ships should not he permitted to arm if they are to be free of sub marine attack. In other quarters it is proposed that some restric tions should be placed upon the dis guising of war vessels to make ablished April, 1850. 1881._ TREATY I TO LIMIT I I NAVIES; i -" I Five Power ' Agree- j ment For Limitation j 0of Naval Armament J Almost Completed I Washington, Jan. 4 (By the As I socfated Press).?The live power } naval limitation treaty, which will I explicitly define th-'s agreements i reached by the Washington oon j ference, is nearing completion and j soon will he ready for presentation to each of the signatory powers for j approval. When approved it will! j be submitted to a special plenary j j session of the conference for pub I lie adoption. In its present form the covenant comprises a nunfher of sections, j each treating with one a.spect of the naval question* as it has come I before the conference. It is., un-j derstood they include the follow- J ing: 1. (A) Agreement for scrapping capital ships, detailing time periods within which vessels must be ren dered unfit for war service: i (B) Agreement for eventual lim itation of capital ship fleets under; 5-5-3-1.66-1.66 ratio. (C) Agreement for limitation of individual capital ships in size and guns. (D) Agreement on standard in ternational unit for measurement of tonnage. Attached will be a replacement chart setting forth dates of replace- j j ment and dates of commissioning of new ships. 2. (A) Agreement for limitation j of individual aircraft carriers in j size and guns. (B) Agreement for limitation of! individual auxiliary craft in size! and guns. 3. Rules for use by aircraft of j torpedo tubes. 4. Regulations fixing the status , of merchant vessels in war time and covering their possible con version into armed cruisers. 5. Regulations covering building j in private yards of signatory pow j ers. both on their own soil and by j their nationals abroad, of warships! destined for other powers, either j of those signing the treaty or the! non-sfgnatory powers. 6. Regulations for the use of submarines. 7. Regulation broadly defining conduct of signatory powers in case of future wars, and especially in cases of wars with non-signatory powers. 8. Regulations defining the ex act status of "refitting" a capital, ship; whether installation of new i and< later guns will be permitted, for instance, or whether old guns may only be rebored. 9. Agreement as to Pacific for t tifieations. j Big League Game For Sumter! _ I i Detroit and Rochester to i Stage Exhibition Game On j March 23rd With All Stars in Game _______ Walter K. Hapgood, representing j the Rochester club of the Inter- | j national league of baseball clubs | was in Sumter today and made ar- ; rangements with those interested j here to stage a game of baseball j in Sumter on Thursday, March ! 23rd, between his club and the De- j troit team of the American league, j The contract stpiulates that Ty Cobb. the leader of the Tigers, will play and that Harry Heilmann, champion batter of his league, will also be in the gam?. Archdeacon, . reputed to be the tatest man in baseball, will be with the Roch ester club in centerfield. It is ex pected this game will draw a large j crowd from here and surrounding towns and cities and arrangements J will be made to take care of the j crowd. ? ? + i Lost Arm On Hunting Trip; - i Spokane, Wash., Jan. 5.?After, losing his right arm in a hunting i i accident II. .1. Jones, stopped the! j blood and drove his automobile j forty miles over a frozen road to a j doctor. BORDER TOWNS WRECKED BY STORM i Tulsa, Ok la.. Jan. 5.?Several j I towns on the border of Oklahoma.: j Kansas and Missovri were damaged jyes'erday by a storm which made many families homeless and in- [ j Jured several persons. I them look like innocent merchant-j : men. ! The third Root resolution, also I pigeonholed while the foreign dele Igations wait for instructions, would (make subject to trial as a pirate! j any submarine commander who' (violates international law. Accep-1 'tanee of this proposal is regard'd ! ,as hinging in some degree on the! i final action taken regarding the I second resolution, but it is hoped [ that both may be disposed of be-i I fore the end of the week so that the substance of the decisions reached can be ??mr>odied in the naval limitation treaty. '?Be Just and Fear OFFICERS IN LEAGUE WITH BOOTLEGGERS Former Prohibition Agents Indicted by New York Grand Jury For Conspiracy To Defraud New York. Jan 4.?A Bombshell was exploded today in New York federal prohibition headquarters. Breaking: of the seals on a secret indictment returned some weeks ago by the federal grand jury in vestigating the enforcement of the Volstead act in this city revealed rhe fact that Harold L. Hart, a prominent Binghampton attorney, who formerly served as federal pro hibition director of the state of Xew York, headed the list of a score of defendants, charged with conspiracy to defraud the govern ment through liquor withdrawals. Immediately public attention, fo cused on poiso . >puor consumed during the holiaa.vs, which today claimed its 19th victim, switched to the flood of real alcoholic which were alleged to have been loosed through putative fake drug con cern's. Indicted with Hart were two oth er high enforcement officials, three politicians and a number of the "drug" concerns and their officers. The list of defendants included: Thomas Deedy, formerly allied i with the postoffice department and department of justice and who la ter served as Hart's assistant be fore the latter's resignation last fall. McHale J. Lynch, a clerk in Hart's office, with a key to the cabinet containing the serially num bered withdrawal permits. William A. Orr, private secretary to Charles S. Whitman, when the latter occupied the gubernatorial chair and now engaged in the insurance business. Owen B. Murphy, treasurer cf the Bronx county Democratic com mittee. Thomas F. Duffy, Bronx politi cian. The indictment, returned after an investigation of several months, following complaints of lax en forcement of the Volstead act. and frequent shifts in federal pro hibition headquarters. When Federal Judge Knox ordered the seals broken, it was found that the defendants had been charged with defrauding the government by issuing false and fraudulent withdrawal permits, whereby li liquor exceeding vastly the amounts allowed any one defend ant for the compounding of drugs had been withdrawn. The offense, alleged to have involved wholesale quantities of liquor, ranks with a felony and, upon conviction, the defendants would face three year prison terms. Orr. Lynch and Duffy appeared before Federal Judge Knox late to day and entering tentative pleas of not guilty were released in 55, ?00 bail reach. Counsel also entered "Ot guilty pleas for the drug companies in dicted. Judge Knox granted a post ponement until tomorrow in the arraignment of Reedy, Murphy and former Director Hart. Correspondent Kid napped in Dublin Representative of London Thnw Spirited Away Dublin, Jan. 5.?A. B. Kay, the London Times correspondent was kidnapped by three armed men and spirited away. The other cor respondents have united in de manding his release. Soldier Says He Saw Twelve Hanged Washington. Jan. ?Testifying before the senate committee that is investigating soldier hangings in France, Herbert L. Cadenhead, of Mississippi, said he saw ten or twelve hangings, hut did not know whether they had been tried. He said one of those hanged was a lieutenant charged with attacking a girl aged seven. Horace Cook?* and Claude Bree don. of Covington, Va., Osborae Ellison, of Pulaski, Va.. Lee Col lins, of Dublin, Va., and William J. Eskew, of Pulaski, testified they knew nothing about Major Opie, of Staunton shooting soldiers in France. Lemuel O. Smith, of Dub lin, who has been in an insane in stitution, testified he saw Opie shoot ;i soldier named William Woolwine ami named foreign men to substantiate the charges. Russia Facing Year of Horror Moscow, Jan. .">.? Russia is fac ia:; a year of unspeakable horror with bread corps only slightly bet ter to relieve the terrible famin?'. American relief workers estimate that five million have died this winter :iri(l the number may reach ten million. Frozen bodies of ty plus famine victims are pile/u high awaiting burial. Several American relief workers have died and others are sick. f ? - Not?Let all the ends Thou Aims't a Sumter, S. C, Saturda; LEROY SPRINGS! MAKES CHARGES: AGAINST JONES _ j. Sensational Develop- j ments in Receiver-; ship Proceedings; Against Lancaster j Mercantile Co. _ i (Staff Correspondent, The State) j ( Lancaster, Jan. 3. ? Another j chapter in the Lancaster Mercan-I tile company-Charles D. Jones af- J fair was written here this afternoon j when attorneys representing the] Jones interests in the action agreed j to the appointment of a receiver! for the Lancaster Mercantile com-j puny and Judge Ernest Moore, who [ was presiding, asked that names of I distinterested men he suhmitted to him so that a selection could be made. These names will be sub mitted 10 Judge Moore next Fri- j day at 3 o'clock at which time it | fs likely that a receiver will be ap pointed. The action today, looking to the appointment"of a receiver for the company, whose capital stock of $100,000, comes as a culmination to a series of actions in which nu merous charges have; been made j and to one physical encounter, which took place in the offices of the Lancaster Mercantile company. The various actions taken by men who stand high in the business and social life, of the community in which they live and in the state have attracted much attention and the proceedings in the court room today, even though consisting large ly of legal sparring and the citing! of legal authorities on various j points, were followed by a crowd j which practically filled the room. The stock of the Lancaster Mer-; cantile company is owned by Leroy! Springs, J. T. Stevens and C. I D.; Jones, with 250 shares in dispute. | The controlling interest in the com- j pany is owned by Springs and i Stevens. The Catawba Fertilizer! company, ir\ which J. T. Stevens! and Leroy Springs are said to be interested, recently moved that a receiver be appointed for the Lan* caster Mercantile company, C. Di Jones, through nis attorneys, inter-*; vened, and gave notice that a mo-! tion would be made for an order! granting leave to Mr. Jones to have! the books and records of the Lan- | caster Mercantile company audit-1 ed, holding that some of the notes I consuming a par' of the indebted-| ness of the mercantile company! had been endorsed by Springs, j Stevens and Jones and that for that i reason they should be made par- j lies to the proceedings, and also; holding that when he, Mr. Jones.: made an effort to examine the; nooks of the mercantile company; he was expelled by force from the j office of the company. Attorneys for Jenes, in arguing I that Jones, as a stockholder in the! mercantile company, should be! made a party to the suit, held-' I that his interests were in jeopardy.! It was argued that a few months 1 ago the stock of the mercantile company was far above par in value, and that the company was not now insolvent unless made so deliberately through collusion and j fraud. It was further argued that' the other stockholders in the mer- j cantile company were so hostile to j Jones that they would not protect! his interests. It was argued that Jones wanted to intervene and to! ask for the appointment of a re-1 ceiver for his own protection, hold-! ing that he was not represented, ? as the governing body of the mer-i cantile company was hostile to; him. Attorneys for the Springs-Stev- [ ens interests held that no grounds j for the charge of fraud had been j alleged and that the receiver., as a. part of the court, would give Mr. J Jones protection. It was held that the notes on which charges of] fraud might be made were made: before Mr. Jones retired from the j presidency of the mercantile com-1 pany. Xumerous authorities were j cited by the attorneys to strength-1 en the various points raised, and; the judge announced that he would I take the matter of intervention un- j der advisement and render a de- \ rision later. After the intervention motion had been disposed of, the matter of the appointment of a receiver was j taken up. The attorneys for Mr. j Jones withdraw objections to the i appointment, holding that they do-j sired a receiver appointed, not. they said, because of the insol vency of the mercantile company! but because of the antagonism of j the controlling body. In this con-: nection numerous affidavits were j read by attorneys of both parties..' Join-s presented affidavits from I Todd ?v McColIough, public ac countants, in which they said that fin December :.'!? they had gone to the offices of the mercantile com-: pany to make an audit of the books for Mr. Jones, and that they were invited into a side room I which contained no books. Mr. I Jones demanded the honks and! was told, according to the attid::-. \it. thai the hooks would he fur-! nisbed him as he called for them., Mr. Jones, according to the atfi- J davit, started to the office where the records of the corporation were kepi, and the physical encounter occurred. <'. D. .tones suhmitted :i somewhat similar affidavit in which he told of the \isit to the office and the refusal to submit to t be thy Couniry's. Thy God's and r, January 7, 1922 BURIED WITH ! ROPE AROUND THEIR NECKS _ i Gruesome Testimony | Brought Out inj Hearing: Before the! Senate Committee | ? Washington, Jan. 4?A service! employee, who prepared bodies ofj American soldiers lor shipment j from France told the senate com- j rnittee that on three, of th? bod- | ies disinterred he found a rope! around the neck and a black cap i over each face. He said the bodies j were those of two negroes and one j white man. They were identified | by a cross on the outside of the : coffins and that the. black caps were I not re-moved before shipment to j the United States. Major Opie, of Staunton, Va., j commander of the third battalion i of the one hundred and sixteenth j infantry, was present with counsel j to enter a formal denial of the! charges made by Henry L. Scott, I Ohio, that he shot and killed two I soldiers in France. Deserting Sink _ing Ship! Washington. Jan. 4?Postmaster j General Hays said he had not do- j cided whether to leave the cabinet and accept a position with the rnov- j ing picture industry. ? ? ? Home Brew Still Killed Two Cairo, HI., Dec. 4?Marie Hogan. aged seventeen, and Gladys Hogan, aged nine, were burned to death last night when their home caught; lire. The police claim the fire was caused from the explosion of a home brew still. Road Foreman Dies j Greenville, Jan. 3?A. Macy, road i construction foreman, who was shot, it is alleged, by Calhoun Ware I at the construction camp in An- j derson county last Thursday, died tonight at a local hospital as a re- j suit of his wound. The negro is j being held at the Anderson county] jail. An inquest will be held to- j morrow at Anderson. him certain papers which he re- j quested. II. It. Rice, secretary of the mer- i cantile company, submitted an affi davit in which he told of the visit i of Mr. Jones to the orlices of the | company, saying that C. D. Jones j was accompanied by Ira B. Jones ; and Ira B. Jones, Jr., and others.! lie said Mr. Jones was asked to! name the books he wanted, saying! that they would be given him. He! said Mr. Jones asked for certain books and then asked for a pack age which contained stock certifi cates which had formerly belong ed to the L. C. Lazenhy estate. Mr. Jones was told that this stock was treasurer stock. The affidavit fur- j iher set forth that soon after Mr. j Jones said he was going into thej vaUlt where he would have access j to all the books he wanted, the per- j sonal encounter followed in which several blows were passed. It was! held that the mercantile company j did not refuse Mr. Jone? the right; to make an audit but that it would I submit the hooks as they were called for. Various other afllda- j Vits in which the details of the en- j counter were given, were submit-: ted. I.eroy Springs, in a lengthy affi- . davit in which he gave the history! of the Lancaster Mercantile com- j party, said that C. D. Jones paid \ $200 per share for 250 shares ofj stock, and that after paying for his { stock out of the properties fur nished by him drew out of the con cern $51,000 in cash. It was sett forth that Jones had drawn sala- j ries to the amount of $25,300 since; November, 1917, and that outstand ing unpaid accounts against Mr. Jones and members of his family, I employees and his corporations were more than $.".1,000. It was further affirmed in the affidavit that Mr. Jones improperly con verted to his own use and applied to the building of his residence! approximately $30,000 from the! company and that he executed and j delivered to his lather a mortgage i on this building in the sum of $20,615. It was further affirmed, that lie fradulently converted to j his own use at various times va rious sums, the property of the: mercantilec ompany, approximat- . ing $3?,C?(?0, '"for which he has j been arrested under live separate warrants charging violation of the i criminal laws of the state." It was further affirmed by Mr, Springs that neither one of the other two stockholders have re c? ived any dividends or drawn any- ! thing out of the busines?. "In- ' stead of drawing out anything the other two stockholders have ecu- i tribtited their credit ami indorse-; nienf. whic h wen essential and J necessarj to keep tin- business on its feet,*' says the affidavit. It was also affirmed in Mr. Spring's affidavit .hat in the im-j provement of his home. Mr. Jones! had used the teams and appli-j anees of the. mercantile company; and that lie had used large quan tities of coal in Iiis home from the supplies of the company without making charges against himself tor the supplies. I Truth's." CHICAGO ESCAPES BANK_PANIC Clearing House Comes to Rescue of Two Big Institutions That Were Insol vent Chicago, Jan. 2.?Two Chicago hanks with resources of more than $S5t00Ot0.0.0 were, sold tonight after the Chicago Clearing House com mittee had conducted an examina tion and found their assets ha"d been impaired by bad loans and in vestments. Chicago. Jan. 2.?The Continen tal and Commerce. National Bank and the Continental and Commer cial Trust and Savings Bank to night announced they had taken over the Fort Dearborn National Bank and the Fort Dearborn Trust and Savings Bank. George M. Reynolds, president, said the Con tinental and Commercial institu tions guaranteed all deposits in the Fort Dearborn Rank. The statement was followed by an announcement from the Clear ing house committee that it had investigated the condition of two other banks in Chicago in which William A. Tilden, president of the Fort Dearborn Bank, is interested, and found them sound. The Fort Dearborn National Bank had deposits of $51,124,749. Sti on September G, 1921, the date of the last national bank call, and total resources of $75,Hi!),070.44. The Fort Dearborn Trust and Sav ings Bank have resources of $10, li6,386.3i) and deposits of $9, 0O1.O?6.76. After two days' negotiations the Fort Dearborn National Bank and the Fort Dearborn Trust and Sav ings Bank were purchased by the Continental and Commercial Na tional Bank and Continental and Commercial Trust and Savings Bank. Members of the clearing house committee pooled guarantees totaling $2,500.000 to protect de positors against any loss. ? ? ? Hungarian Royalists Renew Agitation Budapest, Jan. 3.?Activity is re ported to be increasing among the royalists supporters of former Emperor Charles. The party has reorganized and adopted a plat form demanding that only a native Hungarian king be elected to the throne. Efforts are being made for Charles to leave Maderia and settle in Italy. Bandits Defeat Police Binghampton, N. Y., Jan. 3.? Five bandits escaped today from the police station where they were held after arrest for having stolen an automobile. They escap ed in the machine after a battle with the police. BAPTIST CHURCH CREW GREATLY LAST YEAR Nashville, Jan. :?? During the last year 250.814 baptisms were ad ministered in white Baptist church es of the south, which is the larg est in the history of the denomina tion the committee reports. YO?NGSTOWN POLICE PUT ON WATERWAGON roungstown, Jan. 3?Mayor Oles who was elected on the platform to fire the whole police department if they didn't obey orders, assumed office today, and issued the warning to the police, "One drink and you're tired." MRS. STILLMAN HUNT ING DIVORCE EVIDENCE Three Rivers, Quebec, Jan. 3 ? Mrs. Anne t'. Su'llman. who is be ing sued for divorce by her mil lionaire husband, hu^ arrived here on her way to the Stillman sumn home where she and her lawyers will interview witnesses. BANDITS ROR DRUG STORE 1 cs Angeles, Jan. 2.?Three ban dits armed with sawed off shot guns held up collectors in a drug store here today and escaped in an automobile with ten thousand dolla rs. FRANCE MUST PAY OR MUST DISARM Washington. .Tan. Represen tative Reavis. Republican, of Ne braska, has introduced a resolu tion directing the administration to demand payment Ivy France of money loaned by the I'nited States during the war as France has in dicated their Intention <?*' spending largi sums t?n increased naval arm ament. OTOOLLE IS MINISTER TO PARAGUAY Washington. Jan. 3? William J. (j'Toolle, of West Virginia, has been nominated a^ minister to Paraguay. THE TRUE SOr BETTER TIMES i FORECAST BY ! RESERVE BOARD ! - I December Review of Economic Situation Gives Ground For Hope of Return of Normal Conditions I Washington, Jan. 2.?Continued j upward movement of hnstn??? and 1 the gradual restoration of normal j conditions are indicated in the i comparison of reports for last ; month with those of the corre sponding month o*: 1920, according i to the December review of the eco f nomic situation issued tonight by j the federal reserve board, i Xef improvement was found by j the board despite the recession of j business activity in December as j compared with the same month last year, i "The holiday trade," the board ! said, "is a test of the soundness i of preceiding business activity. Re ! ports from the various reserve dis : tricts covering over half of the i month show that this year's de ! mand in the Eastern districts has ? registered an increase running as ! high as 10 per cent.-of that of '020, j while in other districts the situa ; tion is pronounced satisfactory." j Manufacturing conditions, how '? ever, the hoard reported as fa". ; from uniform, there being a de j crease of activity in the iron and j steel industry while textiles showed j little change from previous months j and uncertainty exists as to the fu ! ture of the clothing industry, due I to labor disturbances and the con j tinued demand of consumers for I lower prices. j "Freight rates," the board said, I "continue as a disturbing factor I due to the belief that reductions j already announced as affecting ! some commodities may be much i more widely extended in the near { future." ' Relatively lower prices for ce J reals and cotton, the board con ; tinued, had discouraged trade in j the agricultural districts and also j had resulted in retarding the pro j cess of liquidating frozen loans, j Hardware and related lines also I were said to be in an unsatisfactory [ condition, but wholesale prices i "are showing increased stability." i Unemployment conditions were re i ported by the board as but UUia j changed. j "A decided improvement In Eu i ropean exchanges," the board said, j "has tended to some extent to help ; the foreign trade situation during j the month of December but the ex I treme caution in the extension of j hank credits which was previously I so noticeable a phase of our foreign ?trade still continued. Export fig I ures indicate a itill further de j cline of activity in staples, while i imports show an advance. I "Disturbed conditions in various j countries of Europe still render a j maintenance of business relations i with them uncertain and haz ! ?rdous." Reviewing the year in the ship ? ping industry the board declared i that the "industry has been through ! a most difficult period, in which I many of the weaker operators ! have been forced out of business, [and in which reduced freight j rates have resulted in smaller avail | able cargoes and continued high j costs of operations. This condi I tion has been world wide, although j American companies have felt in J special degree the handicap of a ! higher scale of wages than their 1 foreign competitors have been obliged to pay." ? ? ? 4* Associate Justice In Hospital Columbia. Jan. 3.?Associate Jus tice R. C. Watts, of I^aurens, under went an operation at the Baptist hospital in Columbia today for a serious kidney trouble, and this af ternoon his physicians state that he is in a grave condition. His case is not hopeless, they say, but he is critically ill. The Associate Justice was brought to Columbia kite Monday by his physicians, lie was taken ill in Laurens early Monday. France Denies Secret Pact Paris. Jan. 3?The French for eign office today formally denied the alleged Franco-Japanese un derstanding, regarding Siberian oe cu pat ion. Minister Appointed By Hungary Budapest. Jan 3.?Count Laszlo Szechonyi. the husband of former (Iladys Y'anderhilt. has been ap pointed Hungarian minister to the United Smtes. Bank State ment Called Washington. Jan. .">.?The comp troller oi' tlie currency has issued a call for a report on the condi tion of ;ill national banks at the close of business December olst. Belfast. Jan. :)?Cardinal Logue. primate of Ireland, asked his con gregation to pray to be saved from such ;? misfortune as the rejection of the Ansrlo-lrish treaty. THRON, Establishod .Tone 1, 1S86. VOL. LH. NO. 42 COTTON FREIGHT REDUCED Railroad Commission Puts New Low Rate into Effect as of January 1st on Both Intra-State and In ter-State Shipments Columbia. Jan. 3.?Additional reductions in freight rates on cot ton vrere announced by the South Carolina Railroad Commission to day. The new rates are effective from January 1 and are a cent or two per hundred pounds lower than the low rato ordered by the railroad commission last fall. The new rates were voluntarily submit ted by the railroads operating in the state and are put in for a pe riod of six months as a trial. The new rate, for example, for ship ments five miles or less is IS cents per hundred pounds, as compared with the December rate of la cents per hundred, which itself was a reduction of several cerTts under the rate effective several mrnths ago. From this the new schedule graduates up to sixty-nine and a half cents per hundred for ship ments of three hundred miles, as compared with ths December rate of seventy.one aud a half cents for shipments over thref hundred miles. The new rates are tShe same as the railroad eommission's low rate of the past few months. These new rates are effe.tive for the Carolinas, Georgia ^.td Ala bama and are both interstate and intra-state. Florence Farmer Slain by Tenant D. Hiram Munn Dies Soon: After Shooting Florence, Jan. 2.?D. Hiram Munn, farmer and business man of Florence, died in a hospital here early this afternoon. Munn was shot in the shoulder with a shot gun by H, A.. Quick, a _ tenant. Quick has surrendered and is in jail here. It is alleged that Mann and Quick were having an accounting, of the year's work and that a dis pute arose over certain farm uten sils. Disagreement over the dis position of some cotton had been settled* it is said, on Saturday through legal proceedings. Reports of the actual shooting differ widely and the facts will not be known until the coroner's inquest, which will be held tomorrow i ion ing. Quick alleges that Munn was about to attack him wi.h an axe when he fired the fatal shot. It is said that eye witnesses who had not been subpoenaed ten is hi might tell a different story. Munn was married ar 1 I -aves a wife and one daughter, sirs. James R. Schipman, wife of an Atlantic Coast Line dispatcher here. Two brothers also survive him, A. A. Munn of Pamplico and C&COEgfe Munn of this city. The dead man was well known throughout this section. He has been candidate for sheriff twice. CONFEDERATE VETERAN DIES AT MEMPHIS Memphis, Tenn.. Jan. 3.?Maj. G. W. McRae, a native of Warren ton. Va.. a Confederate soldier, banker and philanthropist, died here today, aged S3. HIGHWAYMEN SHOOT COLLECTOR Spartanburg, Jan. 2.?J. Edward Whisonant. collector for Willard's real estate agency, was shot twice j by two unidentified negroes who I atempted to hold him up and rob I him early this morning on Brus.i street. Mr. Whisonant was carried to the New General hospital, where an X-ray was used to as. . ttain the extent of his wounds. One bullet entered Mr. Whiso uant's left arm. The other bullet struck the left side of the abdomen, but physicians were unable to de i termine on hasty examination i whether this bullet penetrated any J of the abdominal organs. It is be j lieved that this bullet penetrated only a short distance below the J skin, and then glanced outward, inflicting a painful but not neces sarily serious wound. It is this bullet that necessitated the X-ray examination at the hospital, the result of which has not bem an nount ed. BALFOUR AND HUGHES TO MEDIATE BY CHINA Washiruton. Jan. 3.? It is re port that Arthur J. Ralfour and Secretary Hughes have been asi?vd by the Chinese to mediate m *he deadlock with the Japanese over Shantung FI ETCHER MADE ?EL GIUM AMBASSADOR Washington, Jan 2.?Henry P. Fletcher, under secretary of state, has been nominated as ambassador to Belgium.