The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, September 06, 1922, Image 1

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TSE SUMTER WATCHMAN, Efcts CONSOLIDATED AUG. 2,3 MAJORITY i AGAINST I _BI?ASI Candidate For Third Term Failed to Win the Governorship by 19,002 Votes Columbia, Sept. 1.?with only eight boxes missing, polling a total of probably not more than 1,000 votes,* the virtually complete re turns from last Tuesday's Demo cratic primary election developed the fact yesterday that E. B. Jack-, s?n of Wagener, has been nomi-j nated "for lieutenant governor in! the first primary over his two op ponents, E. C. L. Adams and Jen nings K. 4 Owens. Mr. Jackson's majority is close to 5,000. The practically complete figures in the governor's race do not di??er materially from those published in the News and Courier of yesterday, j With 172,712 ballots accounted for, and only about ' 1,000^ not heard from, the vote stands:: Blease-.-_- 76,855 . Cantey.. _ 1,509 Coleman_: -_ 3,622 Duncan.1,810 Laney.1 _. 22,988 McLeod.65,928 Total_172,712 The boxes heard from yesterday'' added only 1,372 to Mr. Blease's vote over the totals previously re ported, but gave Mr. McLeod an increase of . 2,243 over his* total as published yesterday and Mr. Laney an increase of 2,027. The majority against Blease went .up from 15, 560, as printed yesterday, to 19, 002. . /There has been a good deal of surprise that the vote- was pot; larger on Tuesday, the weather having been fine. With a total en rollment of 226,581 it was thought by many that the vote might go[ considerably^ beyond 175,000,! which was generally fixed as a; ininimum, but the political apathy which- has been general this year seems to have., prevailed to the extent of keeping more than 50, 000 enrolled voters from the polls . on one account or another. McLeod supporters^ will work ac . tively in the second primary to! bring out as full a vote as pos sible for the runover on September j 12. General confidence of hLs suc cess as the outstanding anti-Blease candidate is expressed, but the Blease forces are claiming that their candidate will win, and for McLeod to overcome-^the Blease lead and be elected, as Manning did in 1916, it will be necessary to bring out at least as large a vote as was cast in the first primary. As many voters last Tuesday will. probably not vote on September 12 ?a, great" deal now depends on'get ting to the polls on September 12 a considerable number of those who did not cast their ballots in the first primary. It will be noted that the total vote cast in the race for lieutenant governor is 20,000 votes below the total in the governor's race. No; explanation of this discrepancy is; offered. It not infrequently hap- i pens that a discrepancy of this kind occurs in election returns but in this instance the discrepancy is rather large. Voters of course can scratch all the candidates in any contest, or none, in either of which cases the ballot would not count as to that contest. It is not known. however, in what way the light vote In the lieutenant governor s race, as compared with the gov ernor's race, is accounted; for. The figures in this contest are also be low those in other state contests. As reported, with eight boxes missing, amounting probably to around 1.000 votes, the figures for lieutenant governor stand as fol lows: Adams.._ _ .38,557 Jackson.. _.78,646 Owens.,.. 35,155 Total.152,358 No change is indicated in any of the other state contests. Mrs. Drake gained somewhat on Mr. Hope, but the runover for state superintendent of education will be between Mr. Swearingen and Mr: Hope. The figures for Mr. Hope and Mrs. Drake are: Hope...,.37.275 Mrs. Drake.35.122 There was no change in other state contests. W. Banks Dove, incumbent, being renominated sec retary of state; Samuel M. Wolfe, Incumbent, being nominated attor ney general; Walter E. Duncan, in cumbent, being nominated comp troller general: B. Harris, incum bent, being nominated commis sioner of agriculture. commerce and industries, and R. ?. Craig. being nominated adjutant and in spector general. The governor's table is not re pubiished this morning as impor tant changes were, made in only a few instances. The final figures for Spartanburg are: Blease 5.315. Cantey 92, Coleman 324, Duncan 77, Laney 815. McLeod 4.746. Com plete and official returns for Ches terfield* ran up Mr. Laney's vote in that county considerably. The figures for Chesterfield are: Blease 1,157, Cantey 26, Coleman 6, Dun can 20, Laney 2,292, McLeod 485. r~ ibUshed April, 1850. 881. _ McLE0D ASKS SUPPORT OF ALL C??DCITiZENS Our Next Governor! Opens Campaign j Headquarters) in Columbia Tomor row Columbia, Sept. 1?Thos. G. Mc Leod. candidate for governor in the second race, will open headquarters" in Columbia Saturday, he an nounced here today. The location or management of the headquar ters haa not as yet been determin ed. Mr. McLeod is in Columbia today, and has received congratula tions from his many friends on his splendid race. He is confident of j nomination in the second primary j *>n September 12. He stated that j he felt confident that former Gov-'j ernor Biease, his opponent, is beat en and that he believes a large part of the vote of the eliminated J candidates is anti-Blease. "I am deeply grateful for the i splendid vote given me," Mr. Mc- j Leod stated, "and desire to express j jny thanks to those who voted for | me." The candidate calls on all; good citizens of the state to vote j Cor him on September 12. "An) election is not won until the bal- I lots are counted." he stated. " -*~^m A REPUBLICAN CONVENTION Tolbert Republicans of Sum ter County Held Meeting Wednesday The Republicans of Sumter coun ty wlao affiliated with the Tolbert! faction, ?rhich has the recognition! of the Harding administration and \ is classed as the regular organiza- j tion in South Carolina, held a meeting in this city Wednesday that was attended by quite a large j number of negro leaders of various : sections of the county. There was; only one white man in attendance, i according to reliable reports?J. | Madiso? DesChamps, of Pinewood j ?and he remained until the meet- j ing adjourned. It is stated thati ; the speaker, who made the key-! note address of the day, stressed the race issue and among other things declared, that he "'lived in hope of seeing the-day when a negro would ! sit in the president's chair and live in the White House." The meet ing was quiet and orderly and at tracted little attention. No infor mation respecting the proceedings or action taken has been given out. There is a rumor, however, that DesChamps may be put up ' as a candidate for Congress on the Re publican ticket against the-Demo cratic incumbent, H. P. Fulmer. DesChamps, it will be remembered, was a candidate for the nomina tion for Governor in the Democrat ic primary a few years ago. At the close of the primary, in which he received only ? a few votes, he an nounced in the press that he had gone over to the Bull Moose party. The Sumter Republican Club, which was recently organized by white Re publicans resident in Sumter, and which is anti-Tolbert, took no part in the meeting. EXTENDS TIME FOR PAYMENT 'Tax Payers in South Caro lina Given More Time Columbia. Aug. 31?Walter E. Duncan, comptroller general, an nounced tonight that after obtain ing the concurrence of Governor Harvey he had determined to ex tend the time for payment of taxes until September 15. Mr. Duncan stated that the reason the exten sion was not made until October 1 is that there are many obliga tions of the state to be met by Treasurer Carter during the latter part of September and money from taxes will be needed then. The Comptroller General has re ceived many requests during the past few days for an extension be cause the farmers are now in the j midst of their harvesting and mar keting season and have no ready ! money. The law allows the Comp i troller General to extend the time I for the payment of taxes by and j with the consent of the governor. j MOONSHINER KILLED NEAR CHARLESTON Charleston. Aug. 21 ? While raid ing :i skill ihi< afternoon near Fa J ber place, several mil^s above i Charleston. Federal Officers Sea | brook and Williams and State ! Officers Poppenheirn and Healey were tired upon, a shotgun being the weagori used. Officer Seabrook was wounded. The fire was return led. James .Jenkins, a mgro, being I killed. Officer Seabrook was 1 taken to the city and is at a hos ! pital. He is expected to recover j from small wounds in the face, ; arm. leg and body. The other of ficers made two arrests in connec tion with this raid and were iook Ing for two more negroes tonight. "Be Just and Fear : INJUNCTION AGAINST STRIKERS _ I Attorney General Se-j cures Court Order to Prevent Inter ferences With Op i eration of Trains ; Chicago, Sept. 1?Taking one of | Hie most drastic steps ever at- j tempted in a strike situation, the j United States government today j [ obtained a temporary federal or- j der restraining striking railroad j shopmen, their officers and afnlia-1 I ted bodies throughout the coun- j j try from interfering in any way i [ whatever with the operation of the* i railroads. The restraining order, hearing on j which was set for September 11. j I was issued by Federal Judge James j ; H. Wilkerson, upon the petition j I of Attorney Genera Id Harry M. j j Daugherty, " who came here from j [Washington to argue for the ac- i I tion. ' The order enjoins, under the j I hearing, all railway employees, at- j j torneys, servants, agents, associ-! ! ates and all persons acting in aid j j or in conjunction with them from j i in any way interfering with, hin- j I dering or obstructing railway com jpanies, their agents, servants or; j employees in the operation of their ] ' respective railroads and systems ? j of transportation or the perform- [ ance of their publie dutie? and ob- ' j ligations in the transportation of j passengers and property in inter-! state commerce and the carriage of, the mails and from in any manner.; j interfering with employees engag- j i ed in inspection, repair, operation \ [and use of trains, locomotives, cars, j I and other equipment and from at- j [ tempting to prevent any person ! 1 from freely entering into or con- j ! tinuing in the employ of the com- j panies for the purpose of inspec-j tion and repairing of' locomotives and cars or otherwise. "Survival and Supremacy** [ The underlying principles involv- j ed in the action, the attorney gen- j eral said in concluding his argu- l ment for the oilier is "the survival I and the supremacy of the govern-! ment of the United States/' De-! daring his request was not aimed at union labor, the attorney gener- j al said that the step was necessary' to the preservation of the unions! themselves. At the same time he' asserted that the government ex- ! pected to use its authority to pre- \ vent the labor unions from destroy- 1 ing the open shop. "When the unions claim the right | to dictate to the government and 1 to dominate the Amerioan public: to dominate the American public j of the necessities of life," he warn-! ed, "then the govenment will de-1 stroy the unions, for the govern-1 ment of the United States is su preme and must endure." The railway, employees depart ment of the American Federation of Labor, B. M. Jewell, its presi dent, J. F. McGrath. vice presi dent, and John Scott, secretary treasurer, together with the six j shop crafts brotherhoods, the 120 j system federations and their of-! ficials of the shop crafts asserted I that the order would have no effect j on the continuance of the strike, j "The strike will continue until a! satisfactory settlement has been1 reached." Secretary Scott said. W. j H. Johnston, president of the In- j ternational Association of Machin-: ists, said that leaders will not I abate their efforts to make the j strike effective despite any action j taken by the courts. B. M. Jewell head of the shop crafts, issued no j statement and at his headquarters) early tonight it was reported that1 he was "in conference" while an other official said he was "out of] the city." While Mr. Daugherty. Blackburn Esterline, his assistant, and Chas. I Clyne. United States district attor ! ney. all refused to comment upon j the possible effect of the injunc I tion. Mr. Daugherty said his fu j ture moves will be governed entlre j ly by the actions of the persons en i joined. In his presentation before the J court, Mr. Daugherty reviewed jthe efforts at mediation..particular ly President Harding's attempts to end the strike. He called atten tion to the fact that the railroad labor board is an agency of the government and that the presiacnt [issued a proclamation calling upon ! the strikers to return to work, obey ' the board's decisions, and in any \ event not to interfere with the J transportation service or with men willing to enter or continue in ser i vice. Labor Board Repudiated The defendants in refusing to ac j eept the labor board's decision cut ! ling wages, he said, have "repu { dialed the labor board and its au \ thority and hold the labor board I and the government of the United j States in contempt." Calling attention to the declara tion of the president before ?on gress that "the government can have no chart for its course except the law," the attorney general con tinued. "There are satutes forbidding conspiracy to hinder interstate commerce;- there are laws to as sure the highest possible safety to railway service. It is my pur Not?Let all the ends Thou Aiiiis't i Sumter, S. C, WednesSa TALK RENEWAL ! OF NATION : : WIDE STRIKE! American Federation j of Labor Asked to! Sponsor General; Sympathetic. Strike j in Support of Sh?ti-: men j - . i i p ?+ i I Chicago, Sept. 2?Under the re- j jstrietions placed upon them by the ? federal government by means of: j the most drastic and far reaching temporary injunction ever issued: in an industrial crisis, the railway; shopmen who walked out July 1st j in "protest against - conditions pre scribed by the federal labor board, today entered a new era of the ha- j tionwide strike. The Executive Council of the1 American Federation of Labor is'. prepared to meet September 9th.? Samuel Gompers said that com munications from labor organiza tions requesting that federation sponsor a general strike in sym- ; pathy with the shopmen would be J placed before the council "as a. matter of routine business." >H.<k' pose to invoke these laws, civil and j criminal, against all voffenders! alike." M j Legal, safeguarding against such : menace in the future, he said, must be worked out when a chance has ! been given to appraise the entire1 situation. - I "We must reassert the doctrine j that in this republic the first obr : ligation and the first allegiance of ' every citizen, high or low, is to ? his government," Mr. Daugherty ? said, "and to hold that government ; to be the just and unchallenged I sponsor for public welfare, and t^xe ] liberty, security and right of ail1 its citizens. No matter what clouds' may .gather, no matter what storms may ensue, no matter what j hardships may attend or what sac- : rifices may be necessary, govern-j ment by law must and will be sus-j tained." . i Expressing his resolve to use all j the power of the Government to j maintain transportation and sus- j tain the right of men to work, the i attorney general, he said, did not j appear as a representative of the I roads but representing the people j of the United States. Expressing: the government's friendliness to-! ward all labor, he continues, "the j government of the United States' is not opposed to labor unions, if! they perform such functions as can Be performed in lawful America, j Never while the labor unions limit j their activities to legitimate acts i and lawful pursuits not injurious, j at least while I speak and to the) extent that I can speak for the: : government of the United States, { shall a blow be struck at them. ? But ft may be understood that so j j long and to the extent that I can j I speak for the government of the: ! United States, I will use the power ! of the government of the United I States within my control to prevent j the labor unions of the country [ from destroying the open shop.! i When a man in this country is not; j permitted to engage in lawful toil. J I whether he belongs to a union or j ; not. with full protection and with- j j out interruption, the death knell j I to liberty will be sounded and an- j archy will supersede organized gov-! ernment." Not for Destruction Unions, the attorney general con- j tinued.' should not be destroyed j but they should be corrected and | sustained. No organization or asso ciation of organizations he said, will : be permitted to "laugh in the froz en faces of a famishing people, without prompt prosecution and I proper punishment." After citing | authority under which, he said, the! [court could enter the restraining! ! order, the atotrney general con tinued: "The right to work in this coun try is as sacred as the right not to be compelled to work, if a man is not disposed to do so, and every man must be made equally secure of his choice." He said the time had not yet come for taking over of the railroads by the government. "The dispute between the em ployers and the employees is not in I volved in this proceeding;." he said. j "we have passed beyond this point. A governmental body entitled to recognition and obedience has de cided that dispute. I am not tafc ! ing sides between the disputants ; at this time as an advocate of eith ? er. It so happens in this instance I that the railroads are willing to ! render the service the government ? requires they shall render. They 'are endeavoring to furnish trans j portation. On the other hand, the defendants are preventing trans portation and are offending against the law. as alleged in this bill, and by acts of violence are antagonizing and opposing the government of the United States. ??Shall the American people suf fer?" Mr. Daugherty asked. "Shall property be destroyed; shall com merce be destroyed: shall laws be broken; shall society be disor ganized; shall prosperity and all labor cease and the poor be in want because employers and employees engaged in interstate commerce, ob ligated to the government and to it be thy Country's, Thy God's and iy, September 6, 1922 GOVERNMENT ACTING JW1FTLY Court Orders to Be Served Upon A 11 Leaders of Striking Railway Employees ?Jewell is Dodging Service of Subpoena Chicago, Sept. 2?The govern ment acted swiftly upon the heels of the injunction action yesterday In which the United States Attor ney general Daugherty obtained a temporary injunction which pro hibits strikers from interfering in any way with the operation of rail roads. Notice of the order and the pending hearing was served on John Scott, secretary and treasurer of the railroad employes department of the American Federation of La bor, but B. M. Jewell, the acknowl edged leader of the strike couldn't be found by deputy marshals. Some fifty-five hundred deputy marshalls throughout the country are ready to receive and serve sub poena es on local-federation officers and other individuads named in the suit. PROF. LTJECO GUNTER DEAD Greenville, Sept. 1?Prof Lueco Gunter, for the past two years head of the department of education at Furman and formerly professor of pedagogy at the University of South Carolina died at his .home here this afternoon shortly ^after 3 o'clock after having been unconscious since Monday. With him at the time of his death were Dr. W. J. Mc Glothlin, president of. Furman, Prof. H. T. Cox, dean of Furman, and two sisters, Mrs. Arthur Broyde of Wagener and Mrs. H. W. Able of Saluda. No funeral arrangements have been made. BLOODY NIGHT IN DUBLIN Most Serious Fighting Since Early in July London, "Sept. 2?Dublin passed last night through its worst night of fighting since the surrender of the irregulars early in July, says an evening news dispatch from Dublin today. Dublin, Sept. 2?National army posts in various parts of Dublin were atatcked in force last night by the irregulars, but without suc cess. The- fighting in some in stances lasted two hours. the people of the United States by a greater obligation than that which rests upon any other set of men in the country, because of a dispute between them refuse to obey the law? No! The answer is by the government, that- if they can not agree others will be given -the privileges and protection of performing this service, who will agree with the government and obey the laws of government." Comes as Surprise I The action of the federal gov~ ernment came as a bombshell in Judge Wilkerson's court. As the attorney general entered the court room an audible tremor of surprise filled the marble walled hall and J the first indication of the magni tude _of the proceeding was given. It had not been known by more than a few assistants that the at torney general was in Chicago. District Attorney Clyne walked directly to the bench and announc j ed almost simultaneously with the I formal convening of court by the I clerk that he sought to bring ac i tion "of the United States of Amer i ica gaainst the railway employees' ? department of the American?" I With the sentence yet unfinished the room was alive with the activ : ity of a prodded wasps' nest. News j paper men ran empty handed for i telephones, court officials moved i ' frantically to restore order and j watting attorneys 'and witnesses j leaned forward in the benches they I had for hours occupied in rhonot ; onous indifference, with alert inter | est. As the reading of the bill of com ' plaint continued the court throngs ; grew and the ager interest of the I crowd advanced to dramatic ex citement and expectancy, sustained jto the climax, which came in the j concluding sentence of Attorney ! General Daugherty's plea, j Fifty-one typed pages making up 'the petition were read by Solicitor i Esterlinei flolowing which the at 1 torney general took his position ! before the judge to make his plea j for the petition. I The attorney general spoke de j liberately, often pondering on ' words or phrases, as it seemed, in [hope that their utterances might j not he necessary?then giving in ! io the urge that no other course 't remained. ! With the signing of the injunc tion the leghl array of the federal government withdrew and those j |who lingered saw with the calling j I of the case of Black vs. Mahoney the calm of normalcy returned toj the scenes as quickly as it had de ' parted. Truth's." SUPPORT IS PLEDGED TO RAIL UNIONS - American Federation ! of Labor in "Fuii I Sympathy" With Shopmen?L abor Leaders to Consid er General Strike i - .Washington, Sept. 2.?A renewed 1 pledge of "sympathy and support [to the fullest extent within our power" was given to the striking railway shopmen tonight by Presi dent Samuel Gompers of the Amer ican Federation of Labor. Without making direct mention j of the Chicago injunction pro I ceedings or discussing in detail its I possible consequences, the labor j leader telegraphed to B. M. Jewell, head of the federation's railway i employes department, announcing it had been "decided to ratify and i emphasize" a previous pledge of support by the labor legislative representatives of the national or Iganization. . 9 The telegram sent after a con ference of the legislative repre sentatives at federation headquar ters, constituted virtually the only comment on the strike situation to come from labor union officials here during the day. It was sign ed by Mr. Gompers in his capacity as chairman of today's confecence, at which it was indicated the re training order issued at Chicago was studied minutely. Road representatives and officials of the government likewise were reticent in discussing the injunc tion suit. Although for three hours the Senate gave its full attention to coal distribution legislation drafted to meet the strike emer gency, there was not a mention of the Chicago proceedings in the whole debate, and officials of the executive departments indicated that they preferred to let the At torney General's injunction peti tior ?weak for itself. Freight Cars. As bearing on the strike situa tion generally, the Association of ! Railway Executives announced that despite the absence of the striking shopmen from their jobs the number of freight cars in need of repairs decreased 9,438 between August 1, and August 15, although the total on the latter date was 10,9.92 above the figure for July 1, when the strike began. The num ber listed as needing attention on August 15, was 335,575 or 14.8 per cent of the whole number on all lines. The association's statement did; not cover the condition of motive \ power, nor did it show how many 1 of the cars out of commission were | of coal-carrying types. It was said at the organization's head-! quarters, however, that association ( reports from, throughout the coun try indicated that there were up. wards of 100,000 surplus coal ears in good condition. It was said at labor federation headquarters that Mr. Gompers* telegram to Mr. Jewell was all the federation president cared to add to his statement of yesterday, in which he pronounced the Chicago restraining order an "outrageous" invasion of the rights of organized labor, and declared the unions would stand upon the guarantees of industrial freedom given them under the constitution. In view of talk of a possible gen eral strike, it again was pointed out today that the American Fea eration had authority to call far such action, although it was sa*d a number of resolutions and petitions from local unions and others advo cating a nation-wide walkout would be laid before the meeting of the federation's executive council to be held here next -Saturday. The telegram sent by President Gompers to Mr. Jewell tonight was as follows: "At the meeting of the labor leg islative representatives July 21, a resolution was adopted conveying to you and through you to the striking railway shopmen the pledge of our sympathy and sup port to the fullest extent within our power. "At the meeting of the same cort ference this evening it was decided to ratify and emphasize the dec laration made July 21 and pledge anew our sympathy and support and the best wishes for the suc cess of the striking railroad shop men to the attainment of their just cause." Washington, Aug. 4.?The gov ernment is paying no attention to the loose and irresponsible talk about the injunction procured in Chicago against striking shopmen. Attorney General Daugherty said in a telegram to the Xew York Her ald. That paper invited him yes terday to reply to the charges of that lawful acts were prohibited by the injunction, that it is in vio lation of the Clayton act. Mr. Daugherty added, "the govern ment's answer to all discussions will, in due time, be made in open court, if it is necessary. ? <?.? Asheville, Aug. 4.?Home Ray, aged 26 was killed and two others were injured when an automobile was wrecked near here this morn ing. THE TRUE SOU FATAL FIRE IN PITTSB?RG RAILROAD YARD Seven Men Burned to Death When Pennsylvania Bunk House Was Destroy ed by Unexplained I Fire \_ Pittsburg, Sept. 3 (By the Asso ' dated Press).?Seven car repair rrnen recently employed were burn jed to death; ten men were injured, {several severely, and property loss of 5220,000 was wrought by fire (which started at dawn today in a I bunk house in the Thirtieth street I yards of the Pennsylvania railroad and swept through the building j with almost incredible speed. ! Nearly all the bodies were char red, beyond recgonition. The corpse of J. F. Carr of Balti more was positively identified, however. Railway officials made a check, of all employees living in ' the bunk house and gave but a ?list of six missing. Search of the wreckage failed to reveal an eighth body. Railway representatives said it was possible that one of the missing men failed to report after he had fled from the blazing bunk house. The most ; seriously injured when hurt when they, jumped from the second story ! of the bunk house. Investigations immediately were J started by the railroad, the police land fire departments and by the ' department of justice. They were I in progress tonight, with announce | ment by the railroad that it had been unable to "determine the I cause of the fire." i X. P. Good, chairman of the 'striking shopmen on the Pennsj'l : vania system, in a statement to ! night deplored the fire and said it I could not be charged to the strik j ing shopmen. * j "The shop destroyed was under : guard, as. I understand it," said j Mr. Good, "and could not be reacli i ed except by some one having free < access, to the yards," E. K. Kennedy, a watchman, saw j smoke coming from a "section of .' the building which, in addition to housing workmen, .was in part used as a storehouse and a commissary, i Running to the place, he saw the interior of a room filled with waste :was a mass of flames. He turned j in an alarm. Knowing that 60 men were sleep ing on the second floor, Kennedy ; dashed up the stairwya. He was 'driven back by dense smoke but. j made another attempt with bet ter success. I * Many of the men sleeping near j windows tumbled on the tracks, j and those who were uninjured ran I i'rom the yards. Others trapped in their bunks perished. The building was set in a net iwork of railroad tracks, and fire companies lost time in reaching ft. When they finally arrived the oil (soaked doors had fallen and ( the sheet iron sides had been twist | ed into a pile of junk. 1 I Exploring the ruins taxed the re ! sources of the firemen but by 10 j o'clock the bodies had been re ;' moved. j District Attorney Harry H. Row 'an. conducting an independent iin ; vestigation. gave out this state ment: i "If facts warrant a grand jury ; will make an investigation ^of the fire." Rowan declared, however, that his preliminary investigation had ? nor. thrown any light upon the j cause of the conflagration. Pennsylvania railroad officials reiterated the statements of em i ployees that the fire started within \ the building. This they said caused ! them to ignore a possible theory ?that a spark from a locomotive might have been responsible. The ' same officials declared the bunk I house cook corrobated the wateh j man's statement that the fire, when discovered, was roaring j through a mass of greasy waste and rubbish. j "I was the last man to get out , alive." said X. L. Davis, a tall, j middle aged carpenter from Cor I bin, Ky. ; "All I know about the fire is that four men were behind me? i but they couldn't make the door," . he added. "I don't know who I. they were. They seemed to be j fighting. They were coughing. I '? guess the smoke got them before I the fire did. I "It's hard to say where the men ; came from. I was here only five j days. Some of the boys came be^ ? fore I did. A few had just ar rived. Some, you know, did not , like to give their right names. I ' was sleeping with sjpme of my clothes on. I heard a yell and I jumped for the door." Labor Conditions Little Changed Chicago. Sept. 4.?Labor day and the sixty-sixth day of the shopmen's strike dawned today with federal marshals prepared to keep close watch on any labor demonstrations throughout the country. Central labor bodies in many cities have adopted resolu tions dealing with the strike. THRON, Established June 1, 1866. _YOL-Lffl. NO/f I BOLL WEEVIL DAMAGE OVER HALF BILLION Official Estimates of the Loss on Cotton Crop Last Year is $610,341,000 Washington, Sept. 3?The boil- i weevil, destroyer of potential c wealth in cotton and bugaboo of the cotton grower, had a record year and did itself proud in the ; fields of the South last year by preventing production, of 6,277, 000 bales of cotton, which withTthe seed that would have been g?mecL,-; was worth $610,341,000 based on farm prices of December 1. A careful study of The damages^' to cotton by , the boll weevil and other eauses has just been con cluded by the department of agri culture, whose report show.i that: during the 13 yeajs, 1909-1*21, the ' hypothetical value of the prevented * production of cotton from ali cam-* es totaled $11,473,599,000. Of tk\t amount the boll weevil damage amounted to $1.101,152,uv0. The farm value of cotton, including seed produced in those 13 years aggre-* [gated $15,646,523.000, or an average cf $1.203,">78,700 a year. Actual production of ct-Uon. Hi those 13 years aggregated i'>9,, [648.000 bales, while damage from all sources aggregated 109,434.009 bales, of. which the boll weevil; ' is credited with preventing prod icr . tion of 28,776,000 bales. The potes^ tial production of cotton in the Uni ted States for these years, there fore, aggregated 269,082,000 baieal or an average of 20,698,615 b*ai.2a * yearly,, while the reduction of rife crops because of damage from, all : sources averaged 8,418,000 bales :annulaly and the boll weevil's av-, erage toll 2,213,538 bales yearly/ From point of loss in production through all. causes 1921 was a re cord year. The estimated potential production aggregates 18,666,0<io bales, prevented production being . .10,712.000 bales, for which the boll. weevil was responsible fcr 6,377^- ~r~:' 000 bales. The actual production ?1 as 7,9 54,0*0wO bales. Prevented. ? production: therefore far exceeded the acutual crop and the weevil: ca used hl reductidn "^tial -to - 79"per cent, of the actual crop. Had 4t hot been, for-the weevil last year'* crop "could have been obtained from 60 per cent, of the acreage cultivated; The weevil was more, destructive than all other causes, of damage combined, being cred~ ited with 59 per cent of the total * damage. Estimated loss through the rav ages ot the boll weevil, loss of po- ? ten tial production through the 'bolt weevil, climatic conditions, plant diseases, other- insect pests, defi cient seed and .other or unknown causes, together with the produc tion for the years 1909-13. express ed-in thousands of bales, follows: Weevil All Crop. Year. Damage. Damage. Produced 3 921 6,277 10,712 7,954 - 1920 4,595 8,975 12,95? 1919 _ 2,780 8.825 11,421 19is" ' 1.325* 9.136 .12,041 1917 2,095 8,954 11,302 ? 191$: : 2,994 9,505 Tl,450 *. 1915 1.S83 7,346 11.102 1914 1,381 5,937 / 16,135<-. 1913 1,5.79. 7,937 " 14,156 1912 714 '7,143 13,703 ? 1911 388 6,893 15,*93 1910 1,297 8,702 11,609 1909 1,368 9,369 10,0u5 Total .25,77$ 109,343 159,643 Yearly * avergae 2.214 S,418 20,6-99 The loss from all causes in .1921 iwas 163.1 pounds per acre. The^ nearest approach to that figy was in 1909, when the loss j 144.9 pounds per acre, and the smallest loss was in 1911, with 91.5 pounds. The average damage from i all causes in the 13 years, 1909-21; [was 115 pounds per acre,'made up ! as follows: Deficit moisture, 2?.5^;;> I pounds; excessive moisture, 1343 I pounds: other climatic causes, 9> pounds: plant disease, 3.1 pounds, insect pests, 109.1 pounds: defec tive seed, .3 pounds, and ether, or unknown causes. 1.3 pounds. The value of the prevented pro duction at farm prices of picked production from the boll weevil and from all causes and the value of the picked crops of the 13 years expressed in millions of dollars fol lows : Boll All Crop Year. Weevil. Causes. Value 1921 $610 $1,048 $ 773 . 1920 . 409 807 1,20* ' 1919 569 1,826 2,231 1918 230 1,536 2,0*7 1917 355 1.474 1,S~66 1916 326 1,040 1,253 1915 143 522 ; 796 1914 65 266 ' 720 1913 113 575 1,027 1912 45 470 '$04 1911 17 383 870 1910 106 722 963 1909 114 755 812 * " -?- I The Permanent Highway Com mission, of Sumttr County will re ceive bids on September -7th, for the construction of sections of the Mayesville, Pinewood, Manning, Camden and Bishopville roads. Mayesville. 4.3 miles to the town limits of Mayesville; Pinewood, 4.3 miles; Manning, 6.1 miles; Cam den, 4.2 miles; Bishopville, 4.3 ''" miles.