Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Legislature Urged ?Not to Cripple the School System b y Drastic Cut in Ap propriations Columbia. Feb. 17.?Governor Cooper hist. night sent a special mes'^age to both houses of the gen eral assembly, in which he said he was gravely concerned in the pro posed appropriations for the pub lic schools. The governor called attention to the advancement of the school system and how the .ap propriations recommended in the ways and means committee bill would seriously cripple the work. He urged the legislature not to re duce the common school work as a sacrifice for the institutions of higher learning. - 1 In the senate the message, upon motion of Senator Goodwin, was re ferred to the finance committee. The house received it as informa tion. The message follows: Gentlemen of the General Assem bly: 1 have not annoyed you with special oemmunications. It has been my policy to submit to you my views as to; needed legisla tion, in my annual message. At the beginning of the present session, I presented recommendations cov ering what I conceived to be mat ters of pressing importance. I con gratulate you on tne progress al ready ma'de towards a modern reve nue system. If the bills now pend ing before the senate, which have already passed the house, are en acted, we have the beginning of an up to date and equitable system of taxation. In the nature of things it will require several years to per fect any plan on this difficult and complex subject. I am constrained to address you on another matter. A careful study of the annual appropriation bill submitted by the committee on ways and means causes me grave concern. I refer especially to the provision for public schools. I ap preciate the difficulty with which the committee has to contend, and what I shall say m not in a spirit of unfriendly criticism, but is due to my conviction ?cs to the best pol icy to pursue at this time. I would .be unfaithful to my trust did 1 not state my position to you. . It has been my purpose in hav ing the state definitely committed to a program of education which will, in a few years provide for - every section of the. state, adequate educational facilities. The gener 7 al assembly has given its approval to a number of measures carrying out this idea. 1 refer to acts giv ing state aid to "high schools, the inspection of rural schools, voca tional education,, adult and night schools, term extension, rural graded schools guaranteeing a seven months' term and the erec tion of school buildings. In the budget submitted to you I recom mended for these purposes appro priations, which will enable the litate to meet its obligations as ox pressed in these various acts, to the variousyschool districts which have complied, and which are now ready to comply, with these various leg islative enactments. It is pro-j posed by the appropriation bill as submitted, to reduce the appropria tion for high schools $150.200. If this is carried out it means that the high schools of the state will be crippled and unable* to function and the people in the various high school districts deprived of the ser vice which tin y bare a right to ex pect and which they certainly need. The inspection of rural schools and mill schools for whieh no ap propriation is made, -s a matter of very serious importance. Failure to provide for this work.v.ill he a serious handicap In these fields. Without adequate supervision and inspection progress is impossible and the usefulness of any expen diture diminished. ? The item of $t,i>.200 recommend ed in the budget for vocational ed ucation and eliminated from the appropriation bill, is to match an appropriation by the federal gov ernment for this particular class of work. "With this appropriation we have now established in various schools of the state ?pbout 100 classes in agriculture. My informa tion is that the work is satisfac tory and growing in favor and ef ficiency . it is the policy of the state to provide, as a part of its educational system, special train ing in the professions, and for this purpose we have a law department in the state university ami a med ical college. We train teachers at both the university .and Winthrop ColUoO, especial emphasis is given agriculture at GJemson and domes tic science at Winthrop: How is it possible for this particular work at Clemson and Winthrop college to reach the masses who can nev er hope to attend either of the col leges unless it be through the lo cal schools'.' The farmer's son. who must he denied the benefit of a college education, ought not to be denied by the state tin- special training which can he given him through these various classes in ag riculture. The importance of this work is recognized by the federal government and congress has pro vided liberal appropriations for it. fn the various mill districts we have established 10^ textile evening classes, for mill operatives. These classes are for the especial benefit of adult operatives and this work has the approval of the mill exe cutives as well as the operatives. We have made gratifying pro gress in the operation of our adult and night schooH. This, as you know, is an effort cn the part of the i statt- to do something for that class j of citizens who have reached man j hood and womanhood without the ? rudiments of an education. The re i sponse of the people in need of this j work has been encouraging and to I reduce the appropriation requested i not only means a failure to go for | ward, but is a positive injustice to i those who are ready and willing {to make the personal sacrifice in volved in this effort to rid the state j of adult illiteracy. ! The appropriation provided for I by the bureau of examiners will j seriously handicap this work. The i work of this bureau is fundamen j tal if the standard of instruction I I in our schools is to be improved. It \ is absolutely impossible to do the 'work required in a reasonable, sat ! isfactory manner with the redue ; tion in appropriation provided in ; the bill., Th's subject is discussed ! in the report of the state superin tendent of education on pages 17 land IS. and 1U7 to 213. inclusive. : This chief cricitism of this bureau ; has been the delay in graduation of papers and the failure to provide some additional clerical assistance! [means to aggravate this condition.! I I come now to what 1 regard j 1 the most important state appro 1 priation for our public schools, to | ; wit. guaranteeing a seven months'j I term. The state took a step for- j i ward when the legislature enacted j ; ths law. For the first time wej 1 fixed a definite standard for our i county schools' It is true the stand-j j ard is low, but it is nevertheless a decided improvement over the abso : lute lack of any standard. The re } quirements of the law are logical and simple, any district in order I to participate in this guarantee : must first vote a local school tax of j eight mills, for teachers' salaries, iA great many of our people did ' not believe that such a local levy I would be favored in rural com ? munities and for about three years i the country patrons and taxpayers could not be persuaded to take ad vantage of this provision to aid i their schools. But during the schul- i astic year -1020-21. G07 districts! . qualified for equalizing aid, while j applications from 73 other , dis tricts could not be approved. These: : districts have voted a local tax of.I ; eight mills in order to meet the state standard and secure state aid. j The voting of these levies con-1 j tinues, notwithstanding the de- j \ pressed condition, and a great many j ! people are determined to educate | i their children even if it requires a I persona] sacrifice to do so. : There are about 800 localities Almost entirely rural now in posi j tion to receive the benefits of this i appropriation during the Scholas I tic year of 1021-22. The farmers 1 of these districts have a right to ex ! pect a seven months' school term j for their boys and girls. They ; would be glad to have eight months i or nine, if possible, and ? to dis i appoint them is nothing short of a repudiation of the solemn obli | gation of the commonwealth.. I can j not remain silent when I am con ' vfneed that there is danger of in ! jury to public education in. com ; munities where it is most needed, j If you will examine the report oi j the state superintendent of educa tion, pages 300 and 400, inclusive, j you will see in detail how this fund j was distributed during the year j 1920-21. It is principally limited i to rural communities. Cities and j towns with corporate wealth, rail i roads, banks and mercantile estab ! lishments do not need any assist - i ance. It should be borne in mind j also that practically every city and ! town in the state runs its schools j for nine months. The people of j these urban communities will not j tolerate anything else. Most of the j towns and cities also have state aid . ed high schools. The bulk of our ' population is rural. Can the state ; afford to neglect the country chil i dren on the plea that their educa ! tion costs money and requires, ttaxes? Wherever white population , is dense and tax valuation low. ; this law is mest beneficial. It taxes j the wealth of the state wherever it 1 finds it and uses th* proceeds to educate the children where they ' are. The property of the state is i thus made responsible for the ed ideation of our children. Any oth- j j er standard or policy is incompat- 1 ible with the true spirit of Amer icanism, democracy and Chris- j tianity. I am appealing to you, gentle i men, in behalf of that portion of] 'our population whose community j school is The only university they can ever or joy. If you must reduce the appropriation necessary to 'support our educational activities j why is it that the reduction must : 5>e made against the rural schools and the hi^h schools rather than the institutions? Do not misunder stand me. 1 woula protest against any reduction in appropriations to our higher institutions. In mak ing my budget recommendations i i for this year I was as liberal with! the institutions as with the public! schools, but if it Is absolutely nee-! jessary in the opinion of the leg-j I islature that the recommendations be reduced, I suggest in all fair- j mess that all the reductions should not be made from the high schools and the rural schools. By what Iprinpciple of ethics or statesman ship can South Carolina claim to have a public school system for the training of all her children, if this discrimination against the farmer's child be tolerated for a moment '.' 1 am sure you will not misun derstand what I have said. I am in favor of and stand ready to de fend every appropriation asked for our educational work, including the institutions, but our fundamental need is to improve the rural school. No patriotic taxpayer will complain against any reasonable appropria tion for the improvement of the ed ucational facilities of all th<- people throughout the state, and especial ly those who heretofore have had practieallj none of it^ benefits. Carnden. X. J., Feb. 17.?The frozen body of a young woman bearing the imprint of fingers on her throat was found at Forest Hill Bark. Automobile tracks and two men's footprints were also found nearby. THE CITY WINS IN GAS CASE Judge H. A. M. Smith Denies Request of Gas Company For Injunction Against City of Sumter In the suit of the Sumter Oas and Power Company against the city of Sumter and the city council, Federal Judge Henry A. M. Smith Friday. sitting in Charleston, made a decree refusing the injunc tion sought by the plaintiffs, which would have restrained the munici pal authorities from interfering with the collection for gas service at a rate of %2 per 1.000 cubic feet, subject to a discount of 10 cents per 1,000 feet when paid for promptly. The. order, however, provides that if the gas company gives bond in the sum of $2f?,000 to protect the defendant should the circuit court of appeals not decide in favor of the complainants, the city of Sum ter will be restrained for a period of thirty days from enforcing its new and lower gas rate. The decree of Judge Smith in ef fect sustains the contention of city council that the franchise under which the Sumter Gas *,c Power company Is operating, is a contract and therefore binding in all its terms and conditions, includ ing the schedule of rates it is per mitted to charge its patrons. The permission granted the Cas Com pany to charge the higher rate, viz: $2 per 1.000 feet, for a period of thirty days while the Gas Company is perfecting its appeal to the high er court in no wise niters the fact that Judge Smith decided clearly and positively in favor of city coun cil and against the gas company. Unless the federal court of appeals should reverse the ruling of Judge Smith the franchise rate will re main In effect so long as the gas company continues in business, ex cept the city council specifically al lows a higher rat?? to be charged, as a matter of grace as was done dur ing the period of war inflated costs. The decree, of Judge Smith in full follows:' Urtier. This is a motion for a tem'porary injunction of which due notice has been given and counsel for both complainant and defendants hare appeared and been heard. At the same time, there has been heard a motion tiled in behalf of the de fendants to dismiss the hill of com plaint. The motion.-, have been heard up on the bill of complaint and ex hibits thereto attached, the. re turn of the defendants, the reply of the. complainant, to the return, and the copies of the statute of the State of South Carolina, and the ordinances of the City of Sumter, filed before the hearing. The questions presented are very serious ones, but after considera tion, the court is of opinion that the temporary injunction should not be granted. It is Therefore Ordered. Adjudged and Decreed That the motion for a temporary injunction be arid the same is here by refused: Provided, however, that inasmuch as an immediate appeal lies from this order under Section Iii? of the Judicial Code of the United States, and the failure to keep the present status may cause irreparable damage to the com plainant, should the circuit court of appeals be of the opinion .that t^e complainant is entitled to the -em porary injunction prayed; It is Therefore Further Ordered, That if the complainant shall within thirty (30) days from the d' ?e of this order take an appeal from this or der 10 the United Slates Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and shall within the same period file its bond to the clerk of this court in the sum of Twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000) with sufficient security to be approved by the judge of this court, condi tioned that the complainant shall prosecute its appeal to effect, and answer all costs and damages if it fail to make its appeal good and shall pay to the defendants and any and all persons who may be affected hereby, by the payment of rates required to he paid for its ser vices by the eomplainant, all dam ages, costs and expenses, the de fendants or such persons or pur ties may incur or be put to, should this order refusing the temporary injunction be affirmed, as the same may be ascertained and adjudged by this court; then and in that ease the defendants, their officers, agents and servants, shall be en joined and res'rained from enforc ing tile rate provisions oi the or dinance of the City oi Sumter, adopted and ratified September '_'<;. l'.'ll. und any acts under the ordi nance of the said city of Sumter adopted and ratified February .*;. 1S22, referred t?> in the bin of complaint, and the copy ordinance herein tiled, pending the determi nation of the said circuit court of appeals upon said appeal, and the further order ??!' this conti there upon. And it is Further Ordered That from and after rii? date of this order, and until the expiration of said thirty < '10) days from tin- date of this or der, the defendants, their other's, agents and employees, be and I hey are hereby so enjoined ami restrain ed. And it Is Further Ordered That the com plainant shall until the further or der of ibis court keep a list or statement of each and every party from whom the additional rates not allowed by the said ordinance.-; of the said City of Sumter are re quired tu be paid, with the amount* iu excess thereof so required to be} paid; ami shall upon the request I or demand of any party paying- the ! same, give to the1 party so paying, a receipt stating the amount so paid, as in excess of the. rates per- ': mitteed and allowed by the ordi nances of the City of Sumter, and j for which the party shall be en- i titled to repayment if hereafter I adjudged by any final decree of this i court to be entitled thereto. The I failure to demand or receive such I receipt shall not, however, deprive; the party entitled "of the right to! recover the amount to which he may be entitled. It in Further Ordered, That the de fendants have twenty? (20) days from the date, of this order in ; which to file such an answer as they may desire to the hill of com- j plaint lu-rein. i Henry A. M. Smith, I LT. S. District Judge, ! Charleston, Feb. 17, 1022. robber holds s up guests at dinner! Thief Admitted by Hostess j Who Then Collects From j All in House Deal, N. j.. Feb. ID.?A dinner party at tin; home, of Mrs. S. H. Robertson was interrupted Satur day night by a masked bandit, who was admitted by the hostess, and at the point of a revolver robbed her of a handbag which she told the police contained jewelry' valued at ?f.0.000, stripped her four guests of their valuables and escaped. Mrs. Robertson was called to the front door while entertaining her ! guests and there was confronted by the robber whose face, excepting the eyes was covered by a white mask. He leveled his revolver at ! her and in sharp tones ordered her j to hold up her hands and keep si lent. He tore a diamond sunburst from her throat and with the weapoji pressed against her body, forced her to return to the dining room. Before the startled guests could realize what was happening the bandit flourished his revolver, com manding all to put up their bauds and warned them not to make an outcry. While the intruder in instructed his victims to turn over their valuables, Mrs. Robertson tried to conceal the hand bag with her jewels. The robber observed her, however, and snatched it from her. .Gathering up th.-. loot that had been deposited 'on t ie dining room table by the. Drighter.ed guests the bandit then-warned oil to keep quiet for five-" minutes, backed out of the room and fled. The police learned that a wo I man .and a .man were seen hear,the j Robertson home shortly before the : robbery*. *It- ia believed the, woman j v/aited 'm the mo.Tor car and aided i the thief to escape.; business in south shows improvement ; ' " ?? - ? j Officer of Publishers' Associ ation Sends Out Question naires Charlotte. N. C, Feb. .10.?Stead | ily improving business conditions in the South are indicated, in the j opinion of Walter C. Johnston of I Chattaooga, Tenn.. secretary.-treas urer of the Southern Newspaper [Publshers' association, in the re t plies to u recent questionnaire which he e?mt to the 250 odd mem bers of the association. "I found." said Mr. Johnston, who left here tonight for Chatta nooga, "that in almost every case the circulation of the newspapers Iis growing steadily and that adver tising was from 20 to 33 per cent, [better for the past January than 1 for January. 1021. i "This is a mighty good indica tion that business is returning. If it were* a few isolated cases, it (might not mean so much, but the fact that both the circulation and the advertising are inc reasing as a general rule throughout the South. 1 seems to me to be a mighty good indication of business improvement generally." Mr. Johnston announced that a meeting of the executive commit tee of the Southern Newspaper Publishers' association will be held in Chattanooga February 27. when the time and place for the next an imal convention will be tlxed. plot to assas sinate prince tokugwa School Boy Arrested in Tokio On Charge of Conspiracy ' j j to Kill ?? ________ San Francisco. Feb. 20.?A Tokio dispatch to the Japanese Amen-an says a Tokio school boy has been arrested for connection with a plot to assassinate Prince Tokugawa, the Japam-se delegate to the Wash ington arms conference. costly fire at chester Several Automobiles and 33 Bales of Cotton Burn t_ Chester, Feb. 19. ? Chester was visited by an early morning fire j today, which badly damaged the [buildings and stock of Paul Hardin. I state distributor of Chandler and Cleveland cars. Several cars were i burned, as was a big stock <?!' parts and thirty-three bales of cotton, lau for tin- splendid work of the ' fir<* department Mr-. ITardin's en tire plant would have gone up in smoke also several of the adjoining buildings, probably. SOLDIER BONUS OF POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY The Soldiers' Bonus is Regarded in White House Circles as a Political Expedient, Not a Necessary By Wallace Bassfoift (Special NVws Correspondent), j Washington. Fob; 20.?Mr. Uard-| ing seems to feel t hat it is politi- j cally expedient, if not necessary, to; provide a bonus for the soldiers. A I week ago he was hot-foot for it. ; immediately there appeared on the bulletin boards in the stoek-brok- ! ers' board rooms in all the cities brief wires from the Wall Street ! section telling how the great mon ey interests were getting together to prevent it. on the ground that it ! would necessitate laying an addi- j tional burden of taxation or the is suing of more bonds. Then paid i advertisements appeared in the Washington papers arguing against! the bonus proposition. Immediately thereafter the present came forth! jwith a statement that he would I not favor either additional taxes j or a bond issue for the purpose, whereupon the metropolitan press! expressed the view that this meant [an end to the bonus, as there, was j I no other way left to raise the! j money. liv at this juncture Mr. Byrneaj of South Carolina comes forward! with a proposition that should ap-1 peal tp. the president and everyone else. It is simply this: The Re I publican leaders figure that it will take $350,000,000 per year to pay ithe proposed bonus. Chairman ! Madden of the appropriation com-i jmittee says the administration, j through the new budget system, has [saved $357,000,000 by cutting ap propriations. If this is true, the i problem is solved and everyone I should be happy. Xow it remains [to be seen if the administration can I locate that $:J.">7.?o n.n r>o with suf ficient definiteness to lay hold of j it and use it for the bonus. But j right there is where the difficulty will begin. Of course there are at ! least one hundred Republicans who I would have thought of using this ! money if they really believed it had been saved"; but it is like trying to [pay the grocery bill with money (that you found in a dream. These great savings are fictitious; they re sult from a juggling of figures and j remind one of the prestidigitator 'who takes rabbit after rabbit from j a hat which never contained one. (The president makes savings of I millions upon millions in the eoi j umns of the newspapers while ?eiiieily sending up to the appro priations committee requests for the. passage of-more deficiency bills j for twice as many millions as those "saved. ' Another year of such [economy will force a new bond, is - ! SUe. j Senator Lodge, close friend to the ; president, went before the Massa chusetts legislature the other night [and made a statement which proves j him to he ignorant of the most im I'portant operations of the govern ment or else guilty of falsifying the facts. There i* no escape from j this. Mr. Byrnes of South Carolina j rose in the house and showed this I to be true, and no lb-publican chal lenged his statements. Lodge said: : "Since the present congress has i been in they have reduced the ap propriations asked for by the de partments from $5.337.000.000 to $1,428.00.0,000." To the average cit izen, paying high taxes and think ing the condition of the treasury deplorable, would think the mil leniurn had arrived and thai the Kopublcans are wizards of finance. That statement would be accepted from Lodge on the ground that he could easily got the correct infor mation, and that a United Slates senator could not afford to falsify the facts. But what are the facts? Mr. Byrnes held in his hand the [official estimates of the budget bu reau totaling $3,S01,000,0?).0 and then called attention to the fact I that while only six of the annual appropriation bills had been acted upon by the house, those six had ialready reached a figure of $2,90S, 000,000. lie showed that last year jthe Republican congress appro priated $3.771.000,514.01, being about $38.000,000 less than was j asked for this year, so that in real ity the administration was set-king ! more money to run the government instead of less. In the last year be fore tin- war (I01C) a Democratic 'congress .appropriated anly $1,114. 000,000 to run the government. Ap propriations for the present fiscal j year are more than three times as great. ; W ill Bogers. the gentle comedian I whose jokes have no sting, has felt the displeasure of the W hite House, j it is getting to be pretty well un fderstOOd in Washington, where po I litieal gossip is as nectar and am brosia t<> the people, that the Hard ings are very thin-skinned, but on the other hand they delight to en tertain nt (tie While House that Forbes person who has been pub lishing articles about the home life of the president. Washington is agitated today over the question of what has hap pened to that groa' warrior. Sen ator l-torah. h is re .-led that San! of Tarsus was journeying dow n the dusty road from Damascus to .leruseletn when a great light st rue); him; Here is Itorah*s mes sage to the tu ad el t in- Wilson Foundation: "Difference <'t view on some questions ot method has im.:. I mist, blinded me in the least (.i the i policies and principles urged and advocated by ex-Presi dent Wilson in looking t<- berrer and more peaceful world." The Philadelphia Record's story <?: Hits President'? displeasure to-j ward Will Rogers is a very choice ? picture of human nature in high places. 1* is worth reproducing in full: The Harding administration has! served notice on stage people thru ' it doesn't like to he the bun of their jokes. This is tili? interpretation placed on incidents of the past week when Will Hogers, cowboyactor, sere--n star and headliner of Ziegfeld's' Frolic, came under the displeasure! of the White House alter he had perpetrated several of his best! jokes at thc expt-n.se of Harding! and his "Disagreement Confer ence," as the comedian terms it. Hogers caused ticketn to his per- i formance to be sent to the Presi- \ dent, tun they wer- returned "with thanks." When a congressman friend <>f Hogers asked {,,v tickets to the White House reception !<?>? -ho ac- : tor he was told that taej Were j "sorry hut it can't be arranged." j The final chapter in the affair locally was written Saturday night. : when Rogers, in replying to one: of numerous encores, from a pack ed house, made some observations I that might appropriately be labeled ? "Presidents I have known." In ! response to a curtain-call Rogers' said: I have (^racked a number of jokes on public men here, both Republi- I cans and Democrats. I hope I have! not given offense. In fact, 1 don't believe any big man will take of- j t'ense?with considerable emphasis i on the 'big man.' "I recall when President Ftoose- ; volt was in the White House and li was a cub performer. I took ! Several flings at Teddy. Later, when ? ! 1 was invited to th.- White House. ! j I remarked on meeting Roosevelt: ! 'Well, I hope you are not going ! to put me in jail." (? * "Roosevelt laughed heartily and : j said: "Will?1 am going to call j you Will--don't be afraid you will' j hurt my feelings. Whenever you j j can use my name to advantage go ! ? the limit'." I This was the beginning of a warm friendship between the irrepros ! sible Teddy and the actor, j Incidentally, Theodore Roosevelt, i Jr., and .Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Longworth entertained Rogers at j luncheon at the Longworth home ; here this week. 1 "I remember, too," said Rogers, j j "that when Wilson was in the j j White House during the late war. j j I cracked some rather rough jokes : { at his .-xnense at this theatre, when | , he and his family occupied a box, ' J and Wilson laughed long and j heartily. After all. it is the test ! of a. big man whether he can stand I ! the gaff." j The .comedian's curtain talk : went "over the heads" of most of, ibis audience at the time, as his' ? "run in" with the White House I was not generally known, but as j the details of the affair became j public this week it has created a j buzz of comment in Congressional ; cloakrooms and among the the- \ \ atrical people in town, j Rotrer?. remained over in Wash- . i ington Sunday to see the production j of a film in which lie is the star ! j and which he had never had the \ ! opportunity of seeing since its I production He is now playing in! i Baltimore j Some of the stage jokes that j brought Rogers under the White j House ban run like this: Rogers. ! ? in the role of Secretary Hughes, is j presiding ov? r a burlesque of the I ??Disagreement Conference/' The i telephone at the conference table I rings, and while the "delegates" i pause an imaginary conversation j takes place between the President j j and his Secretary of. State. "You ' j lost by two holes?" queried Rogers, 'sympathetically.' "Well don't j worry, we will not call it a 1 eague 1 of Nations." j Commenting on Harding's j speech before the Senate Friday. ? Rogers, who was a Senator's guest i in the reserved gallery, said in Iiis ! curtain talk Saturday night: I "President Harding made quite a j speech. In fact, it sounded like one j of the best speeches Hughes ever j j wrote." i j Another reference of the corned i ian's to the administration, which j is said to have rankled, related to the fire at the Treasury Building j I last week. "The fire started on the roof and burned down and ? down until it got to the place ! where ihe money ought to tie. and '< there it Stopped." he said. "The j j Harding Administration had beat j [the fire to ir. A fire in the Treas- , I ury is nothing to sot excited about j ! during a Republican Administra- ' j tion.*' ! would violate agreement; ; Vice President of Corporation | Protests Against Ford's Proposition I _ i Washington. Feb. 20.?The ac ceptance by the government of Hen I ry Ford's offer for Muscle Shoals . would constitute a violation of a ' solemn and binding agreement en-' tered into with the Air Nitrate Cor- I poration, .1. O. Hammitt. vice pres ident of the hitter concern, noti ! fied the house military committee ' today. billy sunday j visits harding Evangelist Pays Pop Call at Wlnte House Today Washington, Feb. 20. -Hilly Sun ' day, the evangelist, passing through the city today, paid President I Hording a visit. - ?>>????? ? ? ? SITUATION IN NORTH IRELAND CALMER Relfast. Feb. 20.?The situation I in northern Ireland is calmer than at any time during the last week. \\ith the rival forces retaining1 , their pocitiuns along the border. LOOKING FOR WAY TO RAISE SOLDIER BONUS Republican Loaders Arc Not Ready to Talk Washington, Feb. 19.?The sol liers' bonus situation continued to iay to be so nebulous that Repub lican house leaders still were un prepared to venture even a guess is to what plan of financing ulti mately would be- agreed upon, it was understood to be their dispo sition to let the question simmer a vvhil.- longer in the hope that sen timent would so shape itself as to facilitate the task of those who will frame the measure. It developed today that beneath the surface of the storm which h.a. raged around President Hard ing's suggestion that the bonus be financed by a sales tax, there hasj been a lot of quiet talk in sup port of the proposal of some lead ers last week that the legislation be made a general charge against I the treasury, with expected sav-j ings through cuts in regular ap-j propriation bills relied upon for the financing of a portion of the initial cost. When fir.-,t suggested by Repre sentative Mondell, of Wyoming, the majority house leader, this proposal seemed to meet with con siderable favor among the rank and file in the house, but the idea became all but submerged by the; wave of talk that swept through j cloak rooms and corridors after j the president's letter to Chairman j Fordney. of the ways and means; committee, had reached the eapl-j tol. Irrespecive of the bonus, there apparently was a determination inj the house to reduce sharply the i estimates for both the navy and the army and that possibly $200>. 000,000 would be cut out of the supply bills for those departments alone. Such a sum, it was said, would go a long way toward meet ing the first year's cost of the cash payments to the former ser vice men. Views of the majority members of the ways and means committee on this plan have not yet been [ publicly developed. These members, will meet tomorrow to go into the; whole bonus question, but a/i im-: mediate decision as to how the bo-! nus will be financed is not expect-; ed. Proponents of the sales tax,. however, are understood to be pre pared to force their light in the j committee at the earliest opportu-j nity. Some opponents of the sales levy j concede that there are sufficient; votes among the majority members; of the committee to report out such a tax. but declare thje .ques tion of expediency must enter into the final decision. The first consid-j oration, they said, is the probable! effect of suCh a tax on the minds of the people generally, and the I second the known effect that will; he produced among Republican! members of the house. If such a tax Is proposed to a 1 party conference, the opponents assert they will renew the fight which was waged successfully in a similar conference in 1920 when the first bonus bill was presented with a sales tax attached. Failing to win In the caucus, they declare their light would be carried to the fioor of the house with the expec tation of almost solid ^support from the Democrats. It is understood to be the hope of leaders of the agricultural bloc that the committee will report out a bill without any specific provi sion for raising the funds, as the senate finance committee did last year. President Harding has said that he colud not look with favor on a measure that did not carry ways of financing it. but it was understood to he the thought of some of.the supporters of such a bill that with a large sum made available through reductions in the estimated cost of conducting the regular government establish ment a situation would be created which would remove executive ob jection. NAME OF FORD IS CHEERED Alabama Power Company De nounced at Birmingham Birmingham. Ala. Feb. 19.?At a mass meeting here this afternoon, presided over by former Governor Fmmett O'Neal. Alabama Poweer Company, bidder for Muscle Shoals, was denounced by speakers and the name of Henry Ford, who has also made a proposal to the government for ! he proyerties. repeatedly cheered. Ex-Governor O'Neal denounced a statute of the State of Alabama which exempts the Alabama Pow er Company from luxation for a period of ten years. He said than it was has in forma it on that "seven teen members of the State Senate are on the pay rolls of the power company." He adedd that the pockets of the Alabama Power Company are "bulging with spoils taken front the taxpayers." BANK MESSEN GER ROBBED Bandit Boarded Truck and Makes Getaway With 822,000 Washington. Feb. 20.?President Harding in replying to the senate on the Hhitehoook resolution ask in;; information on the four power Pacific treaty, stated it was im possible to furnish the data be cause most oi the negotiations were conducted without maintaining a record, but declared that there were no concealed undertakings and no secret" exchanges of note.-. TOBACCO MARKETING ' ASSOCATION Kentucky School Boys Write Essays on This Subject PTorenoe, Feb. 17.?The Ken tucky Tobacco Campaign Commit l<.frered a series of prizes to the various high schools through out the Hurley District tV.r the best essays on Tobacco Cooperative Marketing. The essay which land ed the ?20 in gold follows: ? ?Tlo- first reason my father should join the association is that it is a farm organization, organized by farmers, operated by farmers and used for the farmers' benefit. "The second reason is trat labor is organized, business is organized, and everyone else but the farmers organized Why should the farm ers not organize? "The reason is that matters could not bo any worst- The farmer is selling his tobacco at starvation prices and buying other things at war time prices. This cannot la.:t forever, for the banker can not lend money without the prospect of payment. It has come to the point where the. farmers will either have 10 stick together or starve sepa rately. "The fourth reason is that the farmer blamed everyone last year because he didn't get a fair price for his tobacco. All the good it did was to relieve him of his senti ments. "With per cent of the tobac co growers organized, the buyers will never dare antagonize the or ganization, and the farmer's opin ions will amount to something be sides hot air. "For years the farmer has been compelled to take what was offer ed him. This plan places h'.m. in-a position to force the buyers to pay what he wants. Father, think what this means to you and your family.. It means fair recompense for your labor, better clothes and more free dom for your wife and an education for your children. I "The grape growers of California and the wheat growers of the ! "Western States have put through I organization of this kind and made a success of it. Why shouldn't the tobacco growers of the Southern I States make a success of it also? * I "It is a democratic body, in ; which everyone has the same pow er?tenant and landlord alike. So j my father should join other fath ; ers in making this a success. Re j member: "The Lord helps those I who help themselves." ILAFOLLETTE j FLAYS POLICY -' 'Says American Freedom and I Independence Threatened I Milwaukee, Wis., Feb. 19?The '"twin pillars" of the American na I tion?freedom and independence? j are today being battered down by 'the '"vandals of privilege and mo* [ nopoly who have secured control j of every branch of government and j are using its great powers both in [domestic and foreign policy, to pro ject and extend their enormous 'wealth," Senator Robert M. LaFol 1 lette today told a meeting in com i memoration of Gen. Frederick Von (Steuben, the Revolutionary leader. The Washington conference, ! which he declared had only one prl ?mary object, "to make the world isafe for imperialism," was con demned by the senator, who at tacked the administration of Presi jdent Harding for what he called its I attempt to encroach upon the Con gressional prerogative, to hamper [the agricultural bloc and to thwart ? passage of the soldier bonus bill. The people of the United States ! must determine. Senator LaFol jlette declared, "whether they wih return 10 the fundamental princi i pies upon wich their government . was established ami devote their i lives and energies to building up 'a great people; or whether they j will follow th.' path along which jWoodrow Wilson and Warren G. Harding have attempted to lead Itheni; of becoming a great West lern empire, a arty to the world's {intrigues, hated b yall peoples and i respected by none. ' "President Harding, it v ould seem, either did not take the mean ing of the last election seriously to heart or has forgotten it altogether, for on July 12, 1321, when the bill Jto provide compensation for the vet - ; erans of the World War was under consideration, he so far overstepped the prerogatives of his office as.t* [appear before the senate and argue : against the passage of the pending ! measure." Turning to a discussion of for eign policies, Senator LaFollette said that the lesson of defeat of the league of nations by Congress had apparently been lost on the present administration, or else "tho forces which controlled President : Harding, are so powerful that they both prefer political extinction to resistance of their distastes. "The ink is hardly yet dry," theh Senator said, "upon the signatures of the delegates of the United States :<> new treaties and a new alliance which, in many respects, are more iniquituons and fraught with great er perils to the United States than" j was the treaty of VersaiUes. "The four power treaty s noth ing more or less than a binding al I liance w ith the three great poweni i of the present time, which pledges the Unitde States to place all her (resources of men and money at their disposal whenever they are attack ed." NARROW ESCAPE FROM FIRE* Richmond, Feb. 20.?-W. W. Ba ker, a former member of the house delegates and the members of his family, narrowly escaped death to-* day when his home at llallsboro was destroyed by lire. Mr. Baker, who w as seriously ill, had to be re moved.