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: The Watchman and Southron ? -' " *' ' r " " * ' ~ Published Wednesday and Satur v: *ay by Ostccn Publishing Company, Sumter, S. C. " v ?. ; Terns: . v ; f $2.00' per annum?in advance. Advertisements: One Sqnare. first insertion .,$1.00 Every subsequent insertion >, .50. Contracts for three months or longer will be made at reduced rates. J ; All conrmunicsations which-sub serve ^private interests will $e charged for as advertisements. Obituaries and tributes^ of re spect will be charged far. The Sumter "Watchman ' was founded' in 1850 and the True " ?&S$&$gQL in 1Z66. The Watchman and. Southron now has tlfe com bined'circulation and influence" of both.of the old papers, and is man-' ifestly the best advertising1' medium in Sumter._ ? . ' ? .. :'",ro1, ' INTERSTATE GUN TRAFFIC. *f??. Tiie association of district at torneys'and federal prosecutors of . th^ritate of New York is seeding :*v-a-way to prevent pistols and small arms from being brought into the ," state" by individuals, and also to . . prevent, interstate shipment of fire arms. .It is a - sort of activity which; shodid 'be going on every-* where.':, * ? -it is. of Kttle.^use for one com jn-n.nit.y - or state to - try. #to control the- traffic in deadiy weapons as long as!'other localities have no similar*; legislation. As long as a firmi.in?:one city .can ship guns by ' ^pailto! customers in another city, .jitpppiQg thefr public sale in the latter is of little practical help. The pistol is;a killing weapon. It "should *be banished. While the t&i^jand the gunman are allowed *: to ke^p-ftheirs, tlie honest man will feei'rthat he must keep his. There ? snoulff!i be unified legislation -c - ... i. throughout the nation to sweep ... taeiSL all. out. There a*re measures pending .before congress mow for '"' thaFpnrpose. Either these, or mea% ures. more drastic and comprehen s^^-^hjpuld be put through" with out delay. ^ 3*~i?s??LW-' U-_^_ -tt^^-: g?r ? *CKANCE FOR. HOOVER. for the economic con nc^jere^e,at Genoa go on, it is report ed?'- that, a delegation headed by Herbert "Hoover may be sent to rep v y resetrt' America. , ? 1; , Totere., is a very general feeling ./invtiP? country that the great need 'in' Berfcpe is the reduction of ' standing armies and the return of 3s a corresponding number of men, ... who- now represent only a great "-** border **of expense, to productiva labors m their own communities. In' Edition to* this, Mr. Hoover thinks the rehabilitation of Europe *; depends upon four steps, which ? are*? ' 'T^atahcing of budgets by the va riQUS continental governments; re * t- construction and reformation of na tional currenciesr involving the stoppage of the presses turning out . papeK money; tevyi*r of increased . taxes; and recognition ol the' nec essary^ connection between the eco 1 n?mic recovery of Europe generally ancfthje economic recovery of Ger ? -many.:: It -is-bard to say whether, if the conference is* called at Genoa, France ? will subscribe to all the steps suggested, but the fact re ? -mains''that they are the essentials to' European recovery. It may be ,4bai? because of the esteem in - .";Which. jRe is held abroad, Mr. - ?e?ver>;might'be able to do some effective missionary work in/ the . matter- . A: RATION A?> ENTERPRISE, ' The ? recommendation to Con g?eW of the ~St. Lawrence deep waterway plan by the international commission has put this proposal squarely before the country for ac tion,' t The response seems to be almpst;,\manimouslj- favorable. The Tf West; ;and South are inclined to ; ^support it in spite of the fact that N rtr is "regarded as primarily a Mid dle ,yv"est project. They recognize tha&'any such constructive nation al undertaking benefits the whole country" directly or indirectly. As the ;Js?Cky Mountain News re marks, nearly all the opposition \tJomes from New York. The wes tern ami southern states probably fejei' too, that if the federal gov -v/.-enunoitt once undertakes any ~'"55UCh',c'onstructive enterprise in any section of the country, it will be -1 ~i more inclined thereafter to do big ?thingsrfor the development of oth er Sections. Tfie, general .approval is easily understood, in view of the com mission's reportj that the whole cost''* of the project, about as mu'cfi'as that of the Panama Ca nal., jfi^Jke divided between the .. United States and Ccinada. can be . regained by the sale of waterpower developed incidentally. Th<? chief benefit^.promised ar^: Tb# stimulation of agrifujlture and industrj' in tho whole region lying between the Appalachian range and the Rockies, by the low ering of export freight charges: Relief of congested eastern transportation, benefitting alike shippers and consumers and eas ing the burden of the railroads: Relieving the coal shortage and conserving the coal supply, through the creation cf nearly 1,500,000 horsepower m hydro-electric plants: Promoting the friendship of the United States' and Canada through helpful co-operation On a mutually beneficial project. There are two reasons that seem likely to prove effective with con gress. . . ~ WHY TAXES Ml'ST COME DOWN. ? (News and Courier). The primary facts with refer I ences t> the tax situation^ in South Carolina are so big and so outstand ing that one can Only be amazed that they continue to be ignored at Columbia. We hear' contin uously of the "necessity of '"finding new sources of revenue." We hear very little of what is far more vi tal at the present time, namely, the*nece^sity of reducing appropria tiohs*and expenditures] What the legislature needs to | realize, and what the people of South Carolina must realize, is that lor the past two years public ex penditures in this state have been oeyond the ability of the people to pity.' Th;s is the hard fact. It can iiCt be Ulnked in the end; the legis lature ought to recognize its ex istence now. In his'annual message to the legislature Governor Cooper stat ed |hat on November 1, 1921, "there* was -uneollected, from taxes of 1920, practically $1,259,000/' This morning the News and Cour ierv prints statements from coun ty treasurers of ^thirty-four coun- j ties showing that in those'counties only $?,151,323 of the 1921 taxes have been paid out of a total as sessment fo'$11,017,744 for the counties named. v ' * There is thus $4,366,421 of the 1921 taxes still outstanding and un eollected in these counties. ' The following table has-been made up from the statements ser t in by the county treasurers: Counties. ? Paid, Uhpaijl Abbeville ...$151,652. $1,IIU,101 Aiken Z_ 30<K9S0 221,703 Allendale_ 46,363 . $2,726 Bamberg_ 106,350 72,394 Barnwell_ 86,000 8*,O0O Berkeley..._ loi',8s4 78,624 Calhouh_ 65,952 65,952 I Charleston 898,501 397,259 Chester ? __ 294,S69 88.000 Clarendon .. 76,625 153,000 Colston i_ 105,968 153,733 Darlington 182,579 250,000 j Dillon . 118,2.69 175,000 j Dorchester ... 110,000 85,347 lEdgefieW_ 72,000 145,000 *Fairfield_ 164,000 78.000 Georgetown _ 98,600 125.00Q Greenwood .. 280,000 209,954 'Hampton ... 55,789 lll,0p0 Horry. 108.296 108.296. Lancaster_ i?8,434 105,00 Lancaster ... 158.434 105,000 Lee .. .. 91,4.42 2Q9.00O [Marion?_ 148,395 10.8,111 j Marlboro .. 225.761 150,000 McCormick .. 45,080 87,000 Newberry _r., 243,606 153,113 Qcon.ee -- .- 207,638 107,000 Orahgehurg ._ 240,182 359,807 Pickens_ 292,000 73,000 jSaluda. 58,000 107,000 I Summer ... .. 202.000 204,000 Union -. 280,000 118,000 Williamsburg . S9.000 170,000 York. 448,438 181,311 Totals ...$6,1-51,323 $4,866,296 j The county treasurers of Ander j son, Beaufort," Cherokee, Chester I field. Florence. Greenville, Jasper, Kershaw, Lexington. Richland and Spartan burg did not respond to iThe News and Courier's inquiry The total assessment of these coun ties for state and county taxes in 1921 was $6,849,610. The treasurer for Laurens sent the figures for state taxes only, flaurens county's total assessment was $438,217.82. On the basis of the averages shown in the reports from the oth er thirty-four counties, this would mean thajl there is still something like $2.500.000 of the 1921 taxes to be collected in the counties which have not been heard from. In addition, therefore, to the $1.250,000 of 1920 taxes which re main uneollected it is probable [that well over $6.000,000 of the 192 i taxes are still outstanding. This in itself should be a suffi cient warning of the necessity for retrenchment: but the story is not yet ended. It is brought out by several of the treasurers that the ? taxes which have been paid have ! come in many counties largely from ,the railroads and corporations. In : Vvilliamsburg county one-third of the 1921 taxes have been paid, but the county treasurer has written receipts for only one-sixth of the entries on the books. Out of every six property towners in the county five have still to pay their taxes. Identically the same situatmion exists in Hampton, where one third of the taxes have 1>oph col- I lected "But where, oh, whe?v," j I asks County Treasurer K. E. Caus j ey, "is the balance coming from, j with corporations and those who ; were able having paid?" When the legislature fixed the ! state and county taxes of South j Carolina for 1921 at $18,257,021, j 25 it was on the basis of a cotton crop worth two hundred millions or more. With a cotton crop worth less than half this amount the money, to pay such a tax bill simply does not exist?especially when it is borne in mind that over half the present crop is in eleven counties. No shifting of taxation will make it possible to meet such a budget as was called ljor in 1920 and 1921 or anything like it. If the land owners and farmers are unable to pay, who is? THE PAYING HEN. The Kansas City Star indulges in ? little comparison of hen and grain profits. The United States Depart ment of Agriculture reports thafit takes about six pounds of grain to feed a hen while she is laying a dozen eggs. . If the eggs sell as low as 12 cents a dozen, the grain she has eaten may be considered to'have, brought two cents" a<pound. Corn, oats and wheat are, selling at from one-half cent a pound to something less than one and one half cents. Of course other factors besides ' grain consumed must be figured in "when considering the profitable I ness of hens. Yet the fact remains that poultry raising might be one <of the most profitable industries of the farm. Poultry fanciers take particular care of their birds. The average farmer, however, houses his poul try in makeshift shelters, feeds them by crude methods and pays very little attention to the results in egg profits. Here is one place where the hard-pressed farmer could do a little thrifty spending and improving. Good flocks of hens, well cared for, do much more than pay their own way. # o o Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler of Columbia University says that "since the Civil War there has been a tendency in_ this country to lobk upon the college as the most inviting and satisfactory form of j country club with incidental facili jties for reading and study." Per haps that is why government cen ! sus figures show a steady gain in (college' attendance, j . < ? ? ? ? ? i ! UNSELFISHNESS IN POLITICS. 1 - , "Men have never worked for the sole good of their country," says Mary Garrett Hay, feminist lead er. "Men ha*e worked for office 'and for self-gain and glory. Wo men on the contrary, work for the best good of their country, and with that object the League of Women Voters will continue to be ? strong political organization." Ahem! This is a bit rough on the men. \W?h their usual mod esty, however, men are likely to agree that there may be something in it, and let it go at that. And yet, when a mere man starts thinking the matter .pver, he can't help remembering that George Washington was a man, and he took office under protest, and laid ft down with relief: also that Abraham Lincoln was a man, and even the feminists have not ac cused Lincoln of vainglory and self seeking. According to fallible masculine notions, there have been, and are i now, quite a lot of men who seem to be serving their country or state or city with zeal and self-de nial^ At the same time, politics is a notorious foe of modesty. We ven ture to warn the , good women of the League accordingly. Women have been known, it is said.' to strive for office rather ambitiously in private life?even in political organizations. Do they not fear j the temptations of the larger politi eal life? Or is even- woman po litician, by mere virtue of her sex. a Joan of Arc? GARDENS AND GARDKNS. The new garden catalogues are rooming along in the mails, this year 'more beautiful than ever. It is too j soon to plant, but it is never too [soon to plan: and planning is. of j itself, one of the best winter sports. There is One kind of garden. ' however, which can be cultivated j in the winter time. Work on it pays fat dividends. If the whole j nation turned to for one winter [and assiduously cultivated, every j one his own little patch, there is I almost no limit to the increase in ', the national resources which would I ensue. This is the garden of the mind. ; Reading one or two good, hard j books is one way to cultivate it. Attacking some problem of life or work which has hitherto baffled is another. Ji' rhe man who doesn't lik?- his io$ will give 1.". minutes a day to solid, concentrated thought on how to improve that job, he will r/ f ? find the digging turns up fresh soil i on which, before long, flourishing ; crops of better working conditions begin to show their .heads. If the i woman Who does not like her house will stop kicking and devote 15 minutes to solid. concentrated Ithought on the subject of how to better it. the first-thing she knows a simple means of changing things ; will occur to her. Pansies of hearts ease* roses of beauty and violets of contentment will spring up in her mental, garden. Getting the mental machinery to work smoothly is one of the great j satisfactions. j Reading the Bible a few minutes la day is not ^ bad way to dig and ! fertilize. P la y i n g the piano? ! something a bit hard and interest j ing?is another. Playing checkers or chess, or : any game which lakes skill arid concentration rather than chance fand noise, puts a pretty good bor i j der on the garden. Attention to self-control gives the shady paths that peaccfulness which radiates strength. How foolish to let this garden lie a dingy mess of weeds! -?>-t~* Putting a'Penalty on Thrift. ' j (Abbeville Press and Banner). ! The cry is that a property tax is j unequal and that not all the peo J pie contribute to the payment of j the running expenses of the gov ? ernment. It is proposed, there fore, by those . who would sec con ditions improved in this respect'to have some system of taxation which wiu he more nearly equal. Several schemes have been sug j gested. looking to fhis end. Some of I them may have merit and deserve consideration*! but there is nothing more unfair in our judgment than an income tax. A large percentage j of the people, under a property tax, ? contribute to the running expenses j of the government. The govern ! mer.t is for all alike, while under j an income tax a few people, (and j they taken as a whole are those I now most imposed on in matters of 'taxation), will be called on to pay fa portion of the running expenses I of the government. The fact is that it is a shifting of the tax burden j from property owners as a whole ! to property owners of a very lim ited class, to corporations and in | dividuals of large means, persons ! natural and artificial who are al ready paying more than their part j of the taxes. j ; The people who say that they 1 want to equalize taxes and shift ! the burden to the shoulders of oth * \ ers not paying any taxes, are not, i we thinkv sincere when in the next ; breath they undertake to impose a ?gre*at part of the burden of gov ernment on a very few: ^Of course ' it will be said that there is a man here and there who has an income of $5.000 who is paying no taxes ! and maybe there will be found j such, but the man who is dishon j est enough to undertake to escape j the payment of taxes , under one j plan will escape under anothei ! plan. There is no way to make a perfect machine of government. ! The danger is that in-undertaking ! to perfect" it we ma?e its imper j fections greater. ? , ! We believe that there is justice and equality in a tax on gasoline ! The peoplev who run motor cars j have in large measure been re J sponsible for trhe issues of road I bonds and for extraordinary ex ? pensesfor road building. The clam ! or for "good roads, and when the iroads are built they use them, Why not make them pay the bill oi \ a good part of it? But when we i are putting a license tax on auto ; mobiles and forcing their owners j to pay a tax on gasoline, why <io1 j also charge a license tax against j horse-drawn vehicles, against ani j mals driven upon the ^highways and against all the people who use the highways? To be perfectly frank- the real reason why this is not done is this: The legislators are willing to put the burden on the j few (automobile owners) and al j low the many to escape because in j this way they do not offend the : men who cast the. votes? We would like to see the genera] ?assembly ?? get idown to rock bot ' torn principles and do what thej j propose to do, impose the burdens \ of taxation on all, as nearly alike as possible. But they will not dc so. They will in effect line a man who has something to leave to hi> ! wife and children: they will put a penalty*on him if he works while others play: they will burden him j with an unequal load if he tries ft build up while the demagogue how ls, and so it will go. The public schools affect the j whole peopb-. If the members ol the general assembly want every body affected to bear some of the burdens of government, why not require of every child attending thep ublic schools the payment ot tuition in the amount of -SI pet month-.' li costs the taxpayers sonn- four or five Or more dollars per pupil to keep the schools run ning a month. Why should those who get the benefit <>;' the schools not pay a little? But they will not do this. The tax against lands, and houses and corporations, against incomes (of considerable amount) against inheritances, and against thrift generally will be doubled and trebled under one form or another, but the dear one-horse farmer will never be called <>n to pay. AH c>f which causes us t.i say thai this is the worst demagogue ridden Common wealth under the sun. When the fuss about taxes is all over the man who is now paying his taxes will lind himselt par ing a little more. Bin It Announcement. Mr. and .Mis. .J. Doby Jennings :i nnoutu e i he bin Ii oi ;i daughter. Sarah Josephine, January IS, l:?J_'. More German Frightf ulness ! Chemists Working With New York Bootleggers in Sale of Wood Alcohol ? ! Washington. Jan. 23.?The pro ; hibition authorities are on the ! trail of two Cerman chemists who i are alleged to be working with the j bootlegging organization in Xew ! York, in an effort to nullify the ! poisonous nature of denatured al ; cohol. j STARTING PLANTS IN THE HOUSE J In some of the cooler sections of I the South it is desirable to start I plants for certain crops before it I is safe to plant them in the open i ground. For this purpose it is de I sirable to have a hotbed, if any I large quantity of seed is to be started, or to use boxes in the house, if the^planting is to be only I in small or moderate quantity. For j the average small gardener the box ; in the house is the usual and more j convenient method. It is alto i gether" practical, also. J These boxes, which should be shallow in order better to govern conditions of moisture, are gener ally^known. from their shape, in the trade as flats. A cigar box makes an ideal flat for a small quantity of seed. Even in an ordi nary cigar box a sufficient Quantity of either tomato, pepper, eggplant, cabbage. Brussels sprouts, lettuce t or onion'seed may be given an 'early start placing the box in a i light window, where it is certain ' not to escape attenton. j ? If no box is handy and one has ; to be made, the following dimen sions have b*en found to be about (right: three to four inches deep, ? n foot to 14 inches wide, and 20 to 24 inches long. If it is desired to place the box upon -a window sill, the width, of course, should he reg ulated according to the width of the sill, letting the length of the box be the inside width of the window. g ' Drainage-is the first and most important feature. Place a layer of coarse gravel cinders or broken I flower pots or crockery about an I inch deep in the bottom. Upon this a layer of good garden soil, con j taining. if possible, decayed leaves j or manure, should be placed, coming almost to the top of the j box. The -soil under the family j woodpile, when it4 is used up in the J early spring or from around ^e ! caving logs in the woods, is ideal I material, but if this is not handy, [good garden soil will do very well. J Press this soil down firmly with a j brick or board, sift a little earth ' over it. so that the surface is even land smooth. .Make rows one-quar ter to one-half an inch deep, ac :| cording to the size, of the seed, the j narrow way of the box, and about j two inches apart for the coarser tand one inch for the finer seed, and sow the seed. Sift earth through a sieve to cover them and then gently firm it down with a brick or piece of smooth board of convenient size. 1 The "first watering is best done i by setting the seed box in water j until the moisture shows at the j surface of the soil, and then remov ing it and allowing it to drain. Af i ter that water only sufficiently to i keep the soil moist, but wet, and '(never enough so that the water i will leak through the box. Apply . the water gently wfth a fine spray, ; or if not at hand, with a whisk I broom, or by sprinkilng with the j fingers. Do not pour from a pitch | er or sprinkler, as the water will i wash the seeds and often destroy I them when they are^are sprouting. Until the seeds begin to show : through the soil, it is a good plan to cut a piece of cloth to fit the box to lay over the soil, old sheets ;! or limn toweling being excellent j for the purpose, and the water ! may be applied through this. Re i move when the first sprouts ap , pear. , I A pane of glass is even better, j as it prevents too rapid evapora tion. It should be removed oc casionally and the moisture which ! has condensed upon it should be I wiped off. When the sprouts ap pear, partially remove the glass at ; one edge to allow plenty of air to circulate, and as soon as well up I remove entirely. Turn the box j each day so the plants will not I grow one sided and stretch towards the light. * Chinese and British Contend About Possession of Land. Amoy. China. Dec. 21.?A dispute Ibas arisen between the British rep : resentatives and the Chinese in i habitants here over the possession I of a valuable section of the busi | ness district on Ihe waterfront or : Bund which may lead to serious j consequences. The British claim it as a concession. Part of this dis puted territory is composed of fill j eld-in land upon which a British firm is now building a jetty. To this the Chinese - objected. ; claiming the new land belonged to I the city. Failing to stop the Brit ish work, they appealed to the Pe king government thus far without result. Circulars have been issued by the Amoy Civilians' Association and other Chinese associations pro testing against the conduct of the British authorities and resenting the presence here of the British Asiatic Fleet, which recently ar rived. A boycott has been declared by the Chinese against the British firm which is building on the tilled in land. Severe Winter in Central Kuropo. Trieste. Italy. Jan. 1.?The se vere winter which the whole of Central Europe is experiencing has seriously handicapped the naviga tion of the Danube. The cold wave w.-!< so sudden that more than G" vessels belonging to several nations have been ra?ghi in the icfe and will be i'<>r< <-d to \ up to} 11n whole winter unless an unloolced for thaw ? onu s in the meantime. Jewish Relief Fund : One Hundred Thousan-.i Dol .. lars to Be Raised in South Carolina _ Charleston. Jan. 23.?One hun dred thousand dollars will be sought j in South Carolina for the relief I of Jewish war sufferers in Europe ! in a state-wide campaign to be i conducted February 5 to 9. The j campaign in this state is part .of a I nationwide drive to raise fourteen j million dollars for ministering to j the needs of millions- of starving i and destitute people in th= war stricken regions. "We save them or they die" is the slogan of the campaign. Preliminary work has been un der way in South Carolina for sev i eral weeks and the state body is ! rapidly perfecting its district an'd. county organizations. The- state committee is headed by August Kohn of Columbia as honorary chairman. Louis M. Shimel of Charleston as state chairman, and Montague Triest of Charleston as chairman of the state executive committee. Other officers include Arthur V. Williams of Charleston, j secretary, Joseph Hepler of Char I leston, treasurer, and JOsephx R. I Freifeld of Aiken, campaign di rector. The advisory board con sists of Rabbi J. S. Raisin, of Charleston: Rabbi F. K. Hirsch, of Sumter: Rabbi Emil Horowitz, of Charleston: Dr. Josiah Morse, of Columbia: Rabbi Zorach Bielsky. of Charleston, and Rabbi IX A. Karesh, of Columbia. The State, for the purpose of the campaign, has been districted in' accordance with congressional districts, with a district chairman j in charge of each.' These district j chairmen are: First district, L. I Wetherhorn. Charleston: Second, j M. S. Polier Aiken: Third, Morris I Rosenbaum, Greenwood; Fourth, I Gilbert Harris, Spartanburg; Sixth |j. M. Levkoff, Hartsville; Seventh, I. C. Strauss, Sumter. Each dis trict chairman is responsible for the counties in his district and each county has a chairman and ! organization of its own. I In sections of the country where j the campaign has already been j held, unexpectedly large results were obtained. Chicago, with a quota of $1,060,000J subscribed about $2,500,000. New York has a quota of 15,000,000 and is ex pected to exceed it. Campaign ' leaders in South Carolina are con fident of success in this state. Mr. George D. Levy, Sumter, is j chairman for this county. jCROP VALUE PER ACRE DROPS 00 PER CENT IN TWO YEARS Washington, Jan. 23.?The aver ! age value per acre of 10 crops con ' stituting nine-tenths of all crop I production dropped ,from $35.76 to $14.48, or 60 per cent, during [the two/years 1919-21, announced - the United States department of agriculture today. This decline is 1 unparalleled within the scope of records of the department dating back to 1866. During the years immediately following the civil war the general - trend of the average was down ! ward, dropping from about $14 , or $15 per acre to less than $S by 1896, the lowest point^in the in dustrial depression of that time. An advance then set in and by 1913 the average value per acre was , $16*49. The following year there was a slight decline to. $16.44 caus j e.d by the low price of cotton, but in 1916, the year before the Unit ! ed States entered tlie world war, i the average advanced to $22.58, or t $6-14 in two years. By far the greatest gian in one j year in average value per acre for ?| 10 crops was $10.69 from '1916 to j 1917, the average for the latter year being $33.25. Tne average for j 1918 was $33.73. The average con tinued to rise and in 1919 reached the peak of $35.76. A decline then set in. the average dropping $21.28 per acre, or 60 per cent, in the two years that followed. j Embargo on j Arms Proposed Washington. Jan. 23.?As one ! means of obtaining a reduction in ! the Chinese army, the arms con ference is considering a resolution providing for the prohibition of the importation of arms into China. Coal Mine Strike May Come in April ? Washington, Jan. 23.?Secretary ; Hoover announced that the govern i ment had been advising the stcok ling uf coal in preparation for the ' prospective strike April first. ! Par Check Fight. Washington. .Jan. 23.?Chairman McFadden, of the House Hanking and Currency Committee lias intro duced a bill to settle t!ie par check [collection fight between the coun itry banks and Federal Reserve 1 banks. -c ? m !r. r. superintendent dies at morehead city j Morehead City. X. C. .Ian. 23.? .!. c. Lewis, superintendent of tin I Norfolk Southern railroad died ! here last night. - archbishop of toledo dead Madrid, Jan. 23.?Cardinal Al ma razy Santos, aged 74. archbish op of Toledo, died last night. Ninety per t ent of the men look ing for arguments are single. Financial writer says unsettled incidents expected next month. By '?incidents" he must mean bills. The Aiken Check Forgery Case _ V j One Man Bound Over For I Trial at Sessions Court? Hearing Continues Aiken? Jan. ?".?Ar the prelimin ary hearing held in Aiken today.\ ! Melton Lyles.' alleged forger and ?swindler, was hound over on three 1 j charges of "uttering a forgery." \ j until the court of general sessions - j meets in Aike n in May. Magistrate Raibon was the judge j sitting in the case and he first fixed I the bond for Lylcs at $1.000 for! j euch forgery charge, bur at the re-< I erdest of the attorneys for the de fendant that the bond be lessened.; I lie announced that he would nor [decide on bond until lie had con-! i ferred with the attorney. The preliminary hearing for the ! alleged forgers began this morn I ing at 10 o'clock and continued un ! tU this afjfernoon at 5 o'clock when j court adjourned until tomorrow. [The last part of the hearing was i taken up with the ease of the state : against Mr. and Mrs. Sam Padgett, j J. C. Westberry and Melton j Lyles on charges of conspiracy, but j the hearing was put off until tomor I row, when all of the witnesses^ [ shall have been heard, j Henderson Bros., prominent Aiken attorneys, are assisting the solicitor, ft. L. Gunter, in thev pros ecution 'anu W. M. Smoak and Sawyer & Oiks are the attorneys j for the defense. I P. F. Henderson said he intended j to have several important witnesses j on hand in the morning. The hearing today began with j the testimony of L. C. Eubanks. in I the employ of George E. Owens of ! Aiken, who was the party whose j name was forged on the checks j passed in Aiken. Mr. I-Zubanks ex ? plained the circumstances leading ' to the discovery of the forgery. He ', recognized the checks and classed I them as forgeries, saying that j neither he rfor Mr. Owens had sign | ed them. j Tile next witness was J. M. j Thomas, teller of the Farmers and ! Merchants' bank of Aiken. He i said. after pointing to Lyles. J ''there is absolutely no doubt in j my mind that he is the man. He I made an everlasting impression ' upon me at the time and I could j not easily forget him." ? ; George E. Owens was the next, j He corroborated in full all of the : testimony given by his clerk, Mr. ! Eubanks. t ? William Schroder, paying teller ? of the First National bank of Aik i en, w?s?the next witness. He was : positive in his identification of , Lyles. "E am absolutely positive : that Lyles is the man."' he said. i "because when he 'presented the I check and started an account I talked with him for a few mo ments-and thanked him for becom ; ing a customer of the bank." ? W. H. Pardue, teller of the Bank I of Western Carolina, on whom one j of the forged checks is alleged to I have been drawn, likewise identi ! tied Lyles and said. "I am positive j beyond the shadow of a doubt that : he is the man. / As soon as I dis i covered that the checks were forg t ed I wrote 'forgery' on trfe backs j of them and returned them to the I other banks at once." ; When the above witnesses had I been heard Magistrate Raibon an | nounced that he had decided to ; bind Lyles over to the court of gen j eral sessions for trial in May. The ! conspiracy charge was then tak | en up. The hearing on the conspiracy I charge had barely started when I the lawyers for both sides began [a long debate relative to the admis ; slon of certain testimony and ? Ife \ fore the argument was ended the ! magistrate announced a recess for ' lunch. : Court convened at 3 o'clock and ! W. M. Johnson of Aiken was the I first to testify. He said that he i had seen Padgett in Aiken on Thursday of last week, the dare on : \yhich the forgery was committed. Mrs. .Julia Wolfe, another Aiken ' resident, also testfied and stated [that she had seen Mrs. Padgett on j the street and had recognized her by a unique hat she was wearing' : when she was brought to Aiken from Augusta Sunday morning. ? j The prosecution began by intro ' ducing testimony of bank officials in other places, and a Mr. McFali. j vice president and cashier of the ; Commercial bank of Xewberry, I identified Westberry as the party j who had passed a forged check on him. Mr. Wright, of the Ex ' change bank of Xewberry, also identified Westberry. Lyles was m-xt identified by a Mrs. Bray, teller of the Peoples' Xational bank of Athens. Ga., and the prosecution and defense began another long drawn ou; argument regarding admission of testimony as to the mann* r in which the four alleged forgers and swindlers were arrested, and what led to their dis covery. Magistrate Raibon at .", o'clock announced that the court was ad journed and the hearing would be continued tomorrow at f? o'clock in the morning. lew Autos iti Mountain Counties of Kentucky. - Frankfort. Ky.. Jan. l*.?Three! Kentucky counties contained no automobiles of any kind on ruly t. LJ?20 when the assessment of taxes for were made, according to the annual report of the State Tax1 Comission. These were the moun tain counties of Knott. .Leslie and Clav. Six other counties had no motor trucks although a few automobiles! woe 1 istt?1. They wer.-: Owsley.I county, two passenger ears valued; at $5SO; Powell. passenger cars] valued at s 1'.'..',.?_?.">: Roekeastle. 103 j passenger ears valued at $3S.1*70: Jackson, three passenger cars val ued at $7?>0" Magoffin. four pas senger cars valued at $700 and; Breathitt. si>: passenger ears val-j lied :r ?2 1 ~>0. I All of these counties are In the ! mountainous section of the state. State Teachers' Association Annual Meeting to Be Held in Columbia March-16-18. Pro gram Being Arranged' Rock Hillejan. 21.?The pro gram for the State Teachers' Asso ciation has beln practically com !'k:<>d. The slogan for the mee.. teg is "Fifteen Hundred for Colum bia. March 16th to 18th, 1922." Judging from the interest being taken in the meeting of the Asso ciation all over the State, this "will be one of the biggest and best meet ings ever held. Among the speak ers for the general sessions will be Dr. E. C. Brooks. Superintendent of Education of North / Carolina; Dr. Hugh S. Magill Field Secretary of the National Educational Asso ciation; Dr. Thomas Alexander, j Poabody College for Teachers; and" j Dr.. Henry D. Phillips, Pastor of Trinity Church in Columbia. Be sides these there will be some speakers^ from the State.. The "^departmental meetings promise to be up to their usual high standard. These departmental meetings have been arranged so that teachers may get information | and inspiration for their work from the kindergarten teacher to the college professor. These de partmental meetings will be. held on Thursday afternoon, March 16th, Friday morning, March. 17th and Friday afternoon. Special rates will be granted by the railroads over all parts of South Carolina, Announcement of the exact rate will be made a little later. The Columbia Chamber of Com merce is lending its hearty sup port in making the meeting a great success. Since the camp has been moved from Columbia there should be- no trouble in providing ample .entertainment for all of. the teachers It :s the desire of the officials of-the association to have as many to enroll in advance of the meeting as possible. To enroll it is only necessary to send a membership fee together with the name and address to W. E. Black, EstilL Mr. Black is treasurer and will send a receipt. Dues are oOc for ladies and $1.00 for men. Editor. I shall greatly appreci ate your*using the above. V be lieve that this announcement will ? be of interest to many of your*' readers. In doing this you will be rendering a service to the cause of education fn. South Carolina." 1 Thanking you, I am, : Yours very truly, I R. C. BURTS, Secty. Strange Story of Banditry. Sofia. Dec. 24.?A strange tale of 'banditry resulting in the murder by mistake of a girl by her- own father and mother is vouched for 'officially by the Bulgarian police. Ivan, a peasant of Hazrad, sold 'two calves for 10,000 levas# and 1 started home from the market with his daughter Milka. Fearing rob* 1 hers he gave the money to his daughter. The father was attack ed on the road and killed by two : men who saw him make the sale. Milka fled and sought refuge to, ?k peasant cottage where a woman ! and her daughter comforted her and 'gave her dinner. Later Milka ; was sent to bed with the woman's daughter. ! When the husband returned hs- ' I told his wife he had killed a man ['uselessly, as the money he sought . had been carried by the mudered'* : fnaii's daughter. The woman to whom Milka had [told her story, repeated it to her 'husband and the two determined j to kill the girl as she lay asleep to get the -10,"00 levas. Milka, in the daughter's "room upstairs, overheard and escaped i through a window. When p^ico I were brought by Milka tljey * I [the old couple had gone up* <**rs? 'and killed their own daughter by ? mistake in the dark. / siiimp in Pearl Market of Paris? EfarisT Jan. 3.?The pearl- mar I ket of Paris which considers itself ! tin/ market of the world has suffer ed a slump. A necklace of Orient pearls, valued by the experts at 1.500.000 francs has just been sold by public auction for only 466,000) francs. The slump is ascribed to general tightness of money, to the fact that war profiteers have by now got rid cf tl.eir superfluous millions and are not lmying freely as in the days just after the war, and to various other causes, but not to the,"com pel it am of Japanese cultivated pearls. French dealers continue to smile derisively when such a 3Ug gestion is made. * Time to Plant and the best varieties of vegetable and field seeds to plant for each purpose is told in the 1922 Catalog of ' WOODS SEEDS Xow ready to be mailed, free ( n request. Reduced prices are quoted on Seeds, Poultry Supplies, and Feeds, Garden Tools and Spray Materials. Write for vour copy today. T. W. WOOD & SONS, Seedsmen, :17 s. llth St., Richmond, Va. if