The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, July 29, 1922, Image 1

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THE SrMTER WATCHMAN, Est? CONSOLIDATED AUG. 2,3 LABOR BOARD HAS SUPPORT OF GOVERNMENT Hands Off Policy in Railroad Strike Sit ~ nation Adhered To .By Railroad Labor Board Washington, Jury 25.?The ad ministration announced that it would support the United States railroad labor board as the only agency erected by law for handling the rail strike. The labor board adhered to its announced hands-off policy in con nection with .the strike and mem bers said no action was contem plated. ~ Baltimore &: Ohio railroad offi- j eials and representatives of shop men in its employ met in an at tempt to form a separate agree- \ ? nient. , : ' \ Executives of some Western rail- ? ways announced that these roads ; vould not restore seniority right j jo striking shopmen. : J Western executi\-es and the I Pennsylvania system announced that passenger.and "freight traffic: was normal, that . large numbers] of men are being added to shop j forces and that the general situa- j tion is satisfactory. ! Martial law was declared at \ Denison, Texas, where infantry j companies are assembling. Washington. July 25 (By the As sociated Press).?Support of the; railroad labor board as the only agency created by law for handl ing the transportation tie-up. ac celeration of coal production under federal protection and control of fuel distribution.were.given by ad ministration spokesmen today as j the three fundamentals of the gov-! efnrcent's policy toward the in- j dustrial crisis involved in the coal and railroad strikes. The statement | of the government's position fot- j lowed^ the regular Tuesday meet-; ihg of the cabinet which for nearly^ three iiours devoted its attention I to; the double threat against the country's economic fabrtc^J&mine ?n fuel and disruption of interstate commerce. - ? The first step toward..control of depleted ~ transp'?rt?tt?h T?cilities and coal supply came shortly af terwards in a statement from the interestate cdmmerce commission, declaring that an emergency exist ed in the territory east of the Mississippi, which required tha. commission to direct the routing of <sll essential commodities and to fix preference and priority status to control movement of food and fuel. *[ The priority ordef was followed by a "general service order" from the commission notifying "all com mon carriers" that an emergency existed and for them to disregard usual routing, practice, freight rate divisions and traffic arrange ments so as to obtain the most ex peditious movement of essential freights. Becoming effective tomorrow the commission's mandates give rail roads first priority on fuel require ments with electric power, light, gas. water and sewer works, ice plants serving the public, and re frigeration plants engaged in preservation of food, following in the order named. Proposed appointment of a fed eral commission to investigate the coal industry received further support today in a resolution in troduced in the senate by Chair-1 man Borah of the labor commit tee. . Mr. Borah suggested the commission be composed of three members appointed-by the presi dent and that it recommend the advisability or necessity of nation alizing the industry or of the in stitution of government regula tion. In outlining the government po sition in the railroad strike ad ministration spokesmen said it had been decided that the railroad la bor's board's statutory authority to determine wages and working conditions for railroads must be recognized and upheld and that the attempts to operate min*? in spite of the miners' union strike must be continued until it is demon strated that not enough men are willing to work* under :<tate and federal protection to bring out an adequate tonnage. It was added that the adminis tration was struggling to deal fairly with the entangled rights of all parties to the widespread in dustrial controversies but intended above al! to uphold the majesty and dignity of the government of the United States. Meanwhile in the fuel crisis re sulting from the coal strike the powers of the government will *e used to distribute the diminished current production of coal in ac cordance with the demands of pub lic welfare and to prevent the tak ing of extortionate profits. Pres ident Harding was represented as unwilling to anticipate in advance what course niicrht be taken should the coal output fail to !>*? ;iui?ment ed to the required tonnage, but for the present wpek leasst, it was <tated. he wou'd withhold crea tion of the suggested federal coal commission. While the railroad labor board would be upheld in its endeavors to d?-;ii with th?* strike. <?f shop craftsmen, it was intimated in offi cial circle* that if the concession of seniority rights of strikers who have left service would result in ib?&hed April, 1850. ENGLAND I WILL PAY ! WAR DEBTS ..Lord High Chancellor Says That Great Britain Will Main tain Record of Meeting All Obliga tions London/July 26 (By the Asso ciated Press). ? Sir Auckland 'Gedd.es, British ambassador to the United States, and Lord Birken heacL- lord high chancellor, took I occasion today at the dinner of the English sneaking union in farewell to the -ambassador on his return to Washington, to reiterate and un derscore previous ministerial as surances, of the inviolability of the obligations of Great Britain to her debtors. . The lord high chancellor's ref erence to Anglo-American financial affairs which he termed "a delicate subject,*' was the only materialis . tic note introduced in what other wise was a most felicitous exchange of expressions of amity and good 'will between' "the two greatest English speaking nations." "When we. look back upon our long history we fin(* no occasion where we ever failed to meet a bond to which we had ? set our hand." Lord Birkenhead declar ed: "Honor and the stability dt the finance of this country re quire that we should* be ready to meet any proper and reasonable charge , which can properly and le gally be laid upon us. "I only touch upon this delicate subject because it is proper I shoutd say plainly for the . understanding of , the citizens of this country and the United ;States that, we are to day the unworthy legatees of those who for generations had charge of the scurity and financial hegemony of the world. I ? : The lord-chancellor's declarations1 drew more applause than Sir Auck land's affirmations a few minutes later that far more Americans had a "comprehensive view . of Great Britain's problems and conditions than Britons \ of American .affairs." This he attributed to- -the insuffi ciency of news' of the American continent cabled to the- British press. The ambassador through his res idence in America or the reading j of newspapers, which he praised j so, highly, displayed an extensive ? knowledge of ' American slang, j which he used appropriately and I handily throughout his address. He also illustrated what he term ed "the unbelievable ignorance of Americans existing in Great Brit ain" by a number of amusing anecdotes. This ignorance, how ever, he added, was not a one-sid ed affair, and he urged a campaign of education "to throw light into the dark places-in the minds of citizens of the two countries to re move such colossal ignorance." In conclusion the ambassador said that at present so far as official re lations .were concerned nothing could be more fortunate' or happy than the relations between these two governments. Charges Undue Delay Senator Dial's Bill is Report ed Unfavorably I Washington. July 26.?The bill I of Senator Dial. Democrat. South i Carolina, to amend the Smith ! Lever act by increasing the num i ber of grades of cotton deliverable on future contracts was reported ? unfavorably today by the senate j agriculture committee. Senator Dial recently moved to discharge j the committee from further con sideration of the bill and also of fered it as an ^amendment to the pending tariff bill. The Committee's action today, it was said, was to meet Senator j Dial's demands to have the bill j brougat before the senate prompt j ly. Senator Dial having charged I undue delay in its consideration. 'Senator Keys. Republican. New j Hampshire, chairman of the sub I committee in charge of the bill, isaid another similar measure by i Senator Caraway. Democrat, Ar jkansas. still was before the com j mittee and that action toward j amending the cotton futures act i might yet come from the commit tee. ! Galcsburg. III.. July 27?Three ! ?eparate kidnappings by striking Burlington shopmen were reported this morning. A crowd of strikers late yesterday abdiu'ted two em ployes, took then: to a farm out side the city, heat them, and turn | ed them loose blindfolded in a ! blackberry patch. j their returning to work the rail I rood managements ought to yield j the point. There was no concealing that j grave concern h.'d been given government officials by verified reports concerning the dwindling of coal output. ; The possibility was said to have been advanced in the cabinet ses Ision that the president might call i another conference of the miners* ,uni<?n officials and coal mine ope rrators. this time including the [spokesmen of operating associa tions in West Virginia and Penn sylvania who wer?* not willing to attend '.he former meetings. "Be Just and Fear 3 COAL TO BE DISTRIBUTED BY COMMISSION Interstate Commerce Commission Says That Emergency Exists?M i n e r sr Leader Ridicules Government Plan * The interstate commerce com mission declared an emergency ex ists east of the Mississippi river on railways as the first step by the government toward control of coal distribution. John L. Lewis, head of striking miners, said that government's "fantastic schemes" to reopen the coal mines had contributed toward a pending fuel famine and tender ed an invitation to operators to settle strike by joint .conference. Calling of a special session of the Indiana legislature to repeal the miners' qualification laws and to enact sucTT other legislation as necessary to meet the coal strike situation was suggested to Govern or McCray. Kentucky troops are ordered out following alleged threats against non-union men at Fonda. "? Washington. July 25 (By the As sociated Press). ? Mobilized to meet the crisis of a nationwide fuel shortage, federal agencies, pro ducing operators and railroad traf fic experts 'awaited tonight the word from President Harding to set in motion the administration machine for emergency coal con i trol. Ground work for the emergency fuel rationing program was laid to day by the interstate commerce 'commission, which declared an emergency existed on the railroads east of the Mississippi river. This 1 formal announcement of the car ' riers' inability to serve the public ; in the transportation of necessi ties opened the way for the dis tribution of coal under the plan ! unanimously adopted < by repre sentatives^of the producing field in ! conference with fceeretary Hoov er/ I The directing agency for the emergency?? presidential com mittee chosen' from the interstate I commerce commission, the depart - ! nrents of justice, commerce and I interior with Secretary Hoover as [chairman?will be named by Pres ! idem Harding tomorrow, accord ing; to high administration officials. J This committee with the aid of ?n I administrative committee of oper ators, railroad traffic experts and j probably representatives of public i utilities will direct the activities i of local committees of operators j in maintaining fair prices and di*s jtributing fuel to the carriers and i other public utilities in the order of preference established by the j interstate commerce commission ' as best suited to serve the needs of the general public. Two orders, both based on- its declaration that emergency in "transportation existed, were issued by the commission. The first di rected railroads all over the United States to disregard usual or re quested routing of shipments in fa vor of such routing as would ex pedite movement and avoid con gestion, while the second estab lished a system of preference and priority in shipments over all rail roads east of the Mississippi. Though the preference system sketched in the second mandate j said that priority should be giv en in the movement of food, live , stock, perishable products and coal j and other fuels, all of details were j devoted to facilitating the govern ment plan for distributing coal. I Railroads were directed to sup j ply coal cars to mines "for such ! special purposes as may from time ! to time be designated .by the com I mission or its agent." the agent j mentioned being the presidential' j committee which will direct coal j distribution. These special needs ! having been cared for, carrieis j were directed to use all equip j ment for transporting fuel, first", j to railroads and other common I carriers: second, to public utili ; tics, street railways, power, light, ! gas. water and sewer works, ice j plants and hospitals: third to gov ernmental." local, state and federal ; bodies and fourth?this applying I only to coal carriers reaching I Pennsylvania. Ohio, West Virgin jia. Kentucky. Tennessee and .Ala ! bama?for shipments via Lake ; Erie ports to Lake Superior ports, i Domestic fuel coal generally was given the next place in the pref ? eren.ee list. Railroads were forbidden to di vert or reconsign shipments, ex cept as they might be needed for superior use under the order of classification set forth. They were further required to discontinue use of cars suitable . for c?>al shipment in any other traffic, and railroads not serving, mines were required to begin daily I deliveries of suitable coal cars to coal carriers. The order giving priority for food and other shipments was qualified by a clause stating that such preference should be shown by ;t carrier only "to the extent that it is currently to be unable to promptly transport all the freight traffic ordered it for movement.* In the routing orders applying nil over the United States, the com mission required the roads t?? dis regard existing contracts and S'ot?Let all the ends Thou Aims't i Sumter, S. C, Saturdi DISRUPTION Of MINERS' UNION PREDICTED Program of President Farrington of Illi nois Miners' Union For Separate Con tracts Are Denounc ed by Other Leaders Springfield, July 27.?The dis ruption of the United Mine Work ers of America, if President Far rington of the Illinois Mine Work ers, is permitted to proceed with the program announced at St. Louis yesterday was predicted here today, by John Watt, secretary treasurer of the Springfield sub district, who declared that it is up to John L. Lewis, international president, "to act and act quickly." According to Watt the action of Farrington in calling a convention to submit a separate wage contract is "rank sedition" and nothing short of "suicide by Farrington." St. Louis. July 27.?President Farrington. of the Illinois Mine Workers today rescinded the call for. a state convention to be held at Peoria on August 3rd. He also telegraphed acting Governor Sterl ing, declining to enter the plan for a settlement outlined by Sterl ing yesterday. FREIGHT IS BEING MOVED. HOADSCLJ^JM Gain in Workers is Reported ?Passenger Traffic I t rn West is Said to Be Qtfe? ating Normally ' Chicago. July 26.?Western rail way executives in a statement to night asserted, freight is -being moved as offered without conges tion and passenger traffic is being operated normally while leaders- in the railway shopmen's strike stifl maintained the walkout was vir tually 100 per cent. The Chicago. Burlington and Quincy, which yesterday reported an increase of 455 in shop em ployes today added 325 more men to its force, the statement said. The Pennsylvania system report ed a gain of 662 shopmen for the day, the largest single day's im provement since the. strike began, a statement said. The railroad Labor board main tained its hands-off policy. Chair man Ben W. Hooper was called to Newport. Tenn.. by the death of' a relative, and other board members gave the strike no official atten tion. Telegrams were received from the Idaho Producers' Union. and the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation asserting that fruit and vegetable growers face disaster unless the strike can be settled at once. E. F. Grable. head of the main tenance of way union, scouted re ports from Detroit that his organi sation was again talking of strik ing and announced that he in j tended to submit to the board ap j plications for wage rehearings on several roads. LIGHTNING ! KILLS YOUTH Walterboro. July 26.?Fenn Ack I erman. the 13-year-old boy of J. O. [ Ackerman. of Cottageville, was I killed by lightning Tuesday during a severe electric storm which visited this section. Fenn was out in the lot when a bolt struck a j tree near which he was standing. [ killing him instantly. The only I mark it left on the bey was a dark i place near his temple. His mother was in the house with the smaller children and the bolt stunned her. throwing her to the floor in an unconscious condition. Mr. Acfcer j man. the father of the boy. was j at. Jacksonboro at the time. As i soon as the mother regained con sciousness she went to look for her son and found him in the lot with life extinct. Fenn was the oldest of several children. j agreements applying to freight rev enue divisions. i Both orders were made effective i "from and after ,Ju:y 26." and were i based on authority delegated to j the commission by the transporta j tion a?-t. i The priorities order save no rea j son for the emergency which was I declared to exist, -but said the car riers could not "completely serve I the public in the transportation of ; essential commodities." ; The only geographical area en titled to preference under the order Iis in the northwest where the sup | ply of coal h customarily moved by way of the Great Lakes in sum i mcr months. This system was j adopted in !:?-'". though great I complaint was occasioned in oth er territories on the ground thai j if adequate coal was nut furnished I in the summer railroads would not j l?c able to handle enough of it in : winter, even i? mined. It was expected thai the "special i i?urposes" classification set up in the commission order would he the j foundation of the entire pric eon I trolling effort of the govern 1 meht's coal distribution plan, by I serving to prevent ears getting to mines whose owners did not take fair prices. it be thy Country's, Thy God's and ' ay, July 29, 1922 BLEASE IS SCORED FOR DISLOYALTY j Duncan Makes Attack j on Columbia Candi date?Laney and j McLeod is Attacked For Membership in j the Cotton Associa tion i s j Dillon, July 26.?Before a ' crowd that sweltered in the heat of : one of 'the hottest days since the I beginning of the campaign, can jdidates for state offices spoke here I today. The crowd gathered early and displaying wonderful patience jas one set of candidates after an J other spoke, remained to hear [the aspirants for the governorship, j who spoke last. ; Cole L. Blease was the last jspeaker of the day and addressed J possibly the largest crowd. The jtwo women candidates for state i superintendent of education were j accorded warm welcome. They i spoke earnestly and were, gener j ously applauded. More women j than have attended any meeting so ifar were present today. I John T. .Duncan was the first f of the candidates for governor to j be introduced. He launched into ;an attack on Cole L. Blease after j talking for several minutes on the ?Columbia canal. He spoke of Mr. 1 Blease's "Republican taint" and the'war record of the former gov ernor, declaring that when the ! American soldiers were fighting in ! France Mr. Blease's own brother ["had to get out and make speeches to counteract his (Cole L. Blease's) disloyalty." .The former governor, {he added, had done enough to |."damn any man to purgatory and I back." Men support Mr. Blease, he [said, merely to be contrary. Mr. ! Duncan also attacked Mr. McLeod i^nd Mr. Laney because of .their j membership in the cotton associa tion. Senator Laney paid a tribute to j Dillon county, declaring this one i of the greatest in war and one of ! the greatest in peace. He called ?attention to the fact that the first South CaroUna officer to be killed iin the World War was a Dillon J man. John' H. David.x "When the women got the bal | lot.** the Chesterfield man declared, I "John Barleycorn died." I Whiskey* is the greatest enemy ! of mankind and always will be. j Mr. Laney reviewed his record in ithe legislature and dwelling upon j his consistent support for schools J and education, for economy and j the betterment of the state, de ? clared that if his name is scratch : ed it will be his record that is j brushed aside. He pledged him j self, not only to economy but to j constructive economy, not econo j my at the expense of schools and i roads. The. tax burden could be lifted from lands and particularly | from farm lands. Mr. Laney says he stands for a system which he declared would lift the burden from the bended backs of the i farmers and place it on luxuries. He : told Of his part as a legislator in | ; tapping new sources of revenue j j and cutting down the state levy j from 12 to 7 1-2 mills. Today Mr. j ; Laney declared that if elected he ] j would "uphold the law. to the let- j ' ter." y I ; Thomas G. McLeod prefaced his j ! remarks with the statement that ! ; he had married in Dillon county j I had felt that he was therefore a i j son-in-law of this county. He i welcomed the women to their new | ? duties of citizenship. He reviewed! j briefly the power of the governor, j chief of which he declared is the J i power of the veto and the pardon j ing power. These, he said, should j be exercised with extreme precau tion. The BishopviUe man spoke I of rhe new problems now facing ?the people and these he gave as j (his opinion can be solved only by] ' thinking in terms of the time in j which the people are living today; j j the war has brought about far- ; !reaching changes. Mr. McLeod also] ?favored economy, but reasonable j economy: not such economy as! [ would hamper the schools or block : ! progress. The present system of taxation, he said, is obsolete and I defending the gasoline tax. made ?the statement that 75 per cent of ; the people who pay this tax pay no other tax at all. Law enforce- \ men! he named as the paramount issue in this campaign. Former Governor Cole L. Blease j was accorded something ?l an ova : fion when he arose and when he , concluded his speech. Me said he told the people of [South Carolina in Li) 14 that if they I elected a certain crowd they would bankrupt the state. That croud was elected, lie continued, and has done what he predicted. They have brought the state and the indi vidual citizens of the state ti? the point of bankruptcy. H.e recited th?- fact that the appropriations for I1*2U were mure than $6.(M?0. l>0(?. having heen increase from about $1.0UO.ooo in t.'?15. He made ;i comparison of state expenditures in 1.1? 14. the last year h<> was gov ernor, with those of last year, and gave as the reason f'>r this in crease the creation of new offices and "useless expenditures." He scored the tax commission, paid his respects to the budget commission, Truth's/' CONFERENCES IN WASHINGTON REVIVE HOPE! Meeting of Leaders of j Strikers and Rail-1 road Officials Mayj Result in Strike Set- j tlement ' i Washington, July 27-Hope! for a move toward a settlement of the railroad strike was received to day as the leaders of both sides! gathered here presumably for aj conference with administration of-; ficials. although definite indica-1 'tions were lacking, as to whether the presence, here at the same time | had the added significance of any i prearrangement. B. M. Jewell, the | strike leader, and six international) presidents-went into conference im- j mediately with W. H. Johnston, ? head or' the Machinists Union. At | the same time T. Dewitt Cuyler. I chairman of the association of rail executives, went into conference with President Harding. I Washington, July 27.?Jewell and, his colleagues went into a confer- I ence with the president shortly af- j ter Cuyler had concluded. On: leaving'the White House Cuyler said he had presented the view- ; point of the railroad managements' and would remain in Washington! "to await the pleasure of the pres- j ident." Jewell on leaving the \ White House said the labor leaders j would meet again with the presi-1 dent this afternoon. He said the \ morning conference was confined | to a general discussion of the rail- j road situation. * 1 mmmmwm^^mm^m^^ ???? "Doc" Sawyer j Denies Charges! _? Hardfing's Personal Physician ] Says He is Not Neglecting j Veterans _ i Washington. July 26.?Replying j to charges that as.chief coordina-j tor of the federal board of hospi- I talization he had delayed and ofo- { structed the government's - program j for care of disabled war veterans, 1 Brigadier GeneraU Sawyer. Presi-j dent Hardlng's personal physician, in a formal statement today de-; clared "facts certainly show that; the, United States government isi doing . every consistent thing pos- j sible for disabled ^veterans; and for.: the length of time at its disposal j everything has been achieved! which human agency could acconj-j plish." General Sawyer's statement wa--i in reply to the charge made pubite! yesterday in Chicago by A. A. j Sprague. chairman of the national J rehabilitation - committee of -tSMir; American Legion that the presi dent's physician was standing in the; way oi: hospitalization work. In his statement General Sawyer declared that "it is the determina- j tion of. the administration to give to the disabled world war veterans j the very best of hospital service J that can possibly be provided." "It should be my constant effort! and my policy," the statement con-; tinued, to proceed with reason, ef- j fieiency and economy in carrying out such of its affairs as come to the attention of the federal board of hospitalization. From this position I will not be forced, cajoled or stampeded." Declaring that the American I public should know the hospital j situation as it really exists at the! present time General Sawyer said it could tfien be determined wheth er the government is making ef forts to take care of its disabled! war veterans and whether the j charges by Mr. Sprague were just, j "At present under government control and operation." his state ment continued, ?"there are in the United States of America 99 gov- J eminent hospitals with a capacity of 28.413 beds. 10.191 of which are; at the present time unoccupied. '?When the hospitalization plan of the government for the care of j I the former service men shall have; j been completed as now contemplat- j ' ed?and which is being hurried to early completion?it will repre sent in all o% the departments a total expenditure of approximately' j S80U.UUU.01K?." j Coincident with issuing the state ment. Dr. Sawyer made public let I ters from his associates and from Colonel Forbes, director of the i veterans' bureau, commending hiiu j for his work and expressing appre I elation for his service. Chicago, July 27.?Just as the railway strike seemed to have set I tied to a long drawn out. deter j mined battle, hopes for peace were ! revived by thjj gathering at Wash I ington of s-rike leaders and rail I way executives. The restoration of I seniority right-- to the men on strike remained the chief obstacle to peace. the board *6f public welfare and of her boards and bureaus and promised when elected to abolish these "adjuncts." Mr. Btease ridiculed the state ment made sonn- years ago that the people would have to u?t rid of Rlease before the law could be enforced and spoke of the "flow of blood" in this state today, the crime wave and the ? utter disre gard of law and order that one sees on every hand, unchecked and unhampered." THE TRITE SOTJ? WHY SHIPPING, BOARD IS AFAIL?RE Chairman Lasker Has Converted Govern ment Organization Into a Republican Political Machine BY GRATTAX KERAXS (Special Correspondence). Washington. July 25.?Rocks and storms are in the path of President Harding's ship subsidy bill, which he has demanded that congress shall pass at the current session, on penalty of being re convened for that purpose. These obstacles to the plain sailing of the president':-? pet measure take the form of facts, figures and argu ments urged against it by Senator Fletcher (Democrat, Florida), gen erally regarded as one of the high est authorities on American ship ping. Senator Fletcher ascribed the failure of the nation's merchant fleet to operate successfully and economically to Chairman Lasker of the shipping board, who, he chained had converted <the board into a political machine and who spent Iiis time .on political propaganda instead of attending to his official duties as chairman. Experts, some of them owners and operators of ships, have esti mated that President Harding's proposed^ present to the private in terests which are pressing for the passage of the ship subsidy bill .would take from the rank and file of taxpayers not less than $50,000, 000 a year. The advocates of this annual ?'bonus" to powerful cor porations have been flooding the country with their propaganda. Chief among these press agents for the measure is Chairman A. D. Lasker of the United States Ship ping Board, one of the putative authors of the bill with Winthrop Marvin, vice president and gener al manager of the American Steamship Owners' Association. Part of the campaign for proi. moting the adoption of the bill which President Harding has made his favorite child .among the leg islative proposals now pending; j-next to the tariff, is the zealous ef fort to discredit the merchant ma , rine established by the Wilson ad i ministration. These ships are de | scribed in Chairman Lasker's ap | peals for. subsidies as "a costly her ! itage." Referring to this slur on the people's vast and valuable. invest ment in serviceable ships. Senator Fletcher said, in his speech in the I senate: i "Think of it! The finest fleet i owned or controlled by any mari time power in the world, or by any t organization, denominated 'a cost | ly heritage.' These people claim to want an adequate American Mer chant Marine?American owned and American operated?for the benefit of American commerce and American industry, and yet the first essential to such a merchant ! marine is ships, which they com j plain of as 'a costly heritage.' j *Tf we could only get rid of the i ships, the Shipping Board would be j relieved of annoyance and the j friends of this measure would be ! happy. Their main purpose would j be accomplished. "I must confess to being glad we I have the ships, and I value them as J a distinctive asset, which I would j not like io see dissipated and wast ; ed. I want to see them taken care 1 of and properly employed. They I constitute the first essential require [ ment to a merchant marine, and in | stead of giving them away or sink i ing them, or paying people to re j lieve us of them. I would put them I in service and operate them as our j needs demand and our interests call I for until such time as they are ! wanted by those who will keep ! them under our flag, who will take I pride in their country's 'status on ! the seas, who understand the busi ! ness they would engage in, and who i will see that they render the ser j vice the people of this country are ; entitled to have and must have, j ** 'The nation is cumbered by a great fleet of merchant vessels,' they say. It i*s like saying to a man : wanting to open a bank he is cum bered by capital, or to a mer I chant who would like to engage in foreign trade he is cumbered by ? goods or other assets." The failure of the nation's mer : chant marine fleet to operate suc cessfully and economically is the [ fault of the present Shipping Board, ! Senator Fletcher declared. "If the chairman of the board. , instead of furnishing arguments to : Congressmen and spending money on a publicity campaign to persuade the voters of the country to favor this bill, would spend his time and I devote his energies to persuade American ship owners that they ought to patronize their own ship yards; and American merchants that they ought to give their busi ness to American ships: and Amer ican bankers that they ought to en courage American shipping, that would be much more helpful in es tablishing an American merchant marine. Senator Fletcher declared that the Shipping Board under Chairman Lasker s auspices had become "the notorious resort of political place hunters, and has been used to a dis gusting and scandalous extent as a political machine." In the same breath with deprecations of the big American Meet under his control and pleas for its sale or donation fHROX, Established June 1, 1866. _VOL. LIL NO. 48 VERY LARGE ENROLLMENT FORPRIMARY Heaviest Enr?llm^t; in Democratic Clubs Ever Known?Wo men Voters Swell Strength Columbia. Ju'y 2S.?The heav iest Democratic enrollment the state ever knew is indicated by ad vices reaching Columbia Wednes day, following the closing of the enrollment books Tuesday even ing. The state democratic com-, mittee officials have received no* reports as yet from county f2om,r mittees, but unofficial advices" re ceived from various points indicate that the enrollment was ^eavy^* swelled largely by the women voters. Harry X. Edmunds, of Columbia*^ secretary of the state democratic executive -committee, stated todayi Chat he sent a letter to all cotm ty committees and secretaries ask ing that they report to him as soo'ii as possible on the enrollment figures, so that he will know how many balloU; to have printed this" year. . ? In the city of Columbia the en rollment is nearly doubl? w3aafr ^tt was in 1920, and the percentage of women whose names appear jm the club rolls is large. MARTIAL LAW IN TEXAS Five Companies of Militia Or* dered to Dennison Austin, Texas, Juy 25.?Martia* law has been declared at Denison and five infantry- companies "hfere are preparing to move there -at once, Gpv. Pat M. Xeff announced late today. The action was' taken due to disorders growing out of the shopmen's strike, it was statedi Rahgers called to Denison will': be shifted .to ,-ChiIdress and Sherman under the "open port" law. the governor said. "\ Martial' law' becomes effective at 5 a. m. tomorrow. Detachments ?f rangers from Denison also wiH- go to Cleburne, Temple. Am?rittb. Marshall,. Lufki'n. Kingsville, De Leon and Waco to do guard duty and protect railway shoptnen. Contributing factors to the ne cessity of martial law. the govern or said, were the Missouri, Kansas 6 Texas shopmen's strike, the--ix*"?, ability of the railroad to carry on freight traffic and maintain -the regular channels of commexca~3rt> cause the workmen lately em ployed were "intimidated, threat^ ened and injured by physical vio lence and the inability of bfScers who .had personally cbnferfeflT with him to protect workers and preserve peace." Birmingham, July 25.?On or ders from Governor Kilby 100 members of the Alabama National Guard were being mobilized here tonight for. "instant use," if neces sary; in connection with the shop men's strike. It was said the measure was a precautionary one and that no orders .had been gier en for the soldiers to * ^rftfaiz/ for any particular point. - t - j Man reaps what he. sqwa .u&less ! the chickens get it. ?* -~- - ? to private interests, Cha'trman Lask er isseeking'to enlarge"Jhetpowers and expenditures of the;.Shipping Board, Senator Fletcher showed. Phijtjp Manson. practical author ity on the subject of shipping^ has testified (Hat the ship subsidies ad vocated by President Hardr^gaitd, Chairman Lasker would be utterly futile in creating a merchant ?ma rine. . In testimony given before-tha Senate Committea on Commerce, Mr. Manson said: "I say to you that the only thing j subsidies will do will be to trans j fer from the public treasury to~the . pockets of a few favored steamship ; men. some of whom have appeared I before the Committee, large suxas of taxpayers' money, and' what is worse, it will perpetuate the graft and incompetence which is now tie real reason for our failure to k&ve an American merchant marine.*'... Payment of subsidies to "private corporations for operating ships i would, commit the taxpayers toca : costly program of indefinite con , tinuance. Senator Fletcher .said. ) He dissented from the vie\yss of : President Harding and Chairmais j Lasker. who propose subventions as I the only sure means of upbuilding an American merchant marine. "The vision of a merchant marine coming out of this bill is a deeep ! tive mirage." Senator Fletcher said, j "It is a false light. It meaTv* ' wreckage. The end will be ..what i the Shipping Board apparentiy ! would enjoy as they sit in their j offices and draw their salaries, rje> i lieved of the burden of those ships, i beholding the American merchant I marine on their walls, 'painted I ships on a painted ocean." J Edward X. Hurley, formet chair; j man of the Shipping Board: -JameE j A. Farrell, President of the For eign Trade Council;, the Americjfffi Federation of Labor, many com mend .?1 bodies and various opera tors of ships are &'mong individuals and organizations that are opposing President Hardim.'s pet measure as extravagant and useless.