Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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1 -1 Vv'< _ \ I jfr--. '^W' ) r ?> : * ^:*>v 4?> :- v 1 City of Union and Suburbs Has f T TP*! 1" """ 1" /\ 'BT fTTl Tl?A if 1 ^ City of Union and Suburbs Has Five Large Cotton Mills, One Knitting I IJ IJ I I B I I I M / Bj Wv Five Graded Schools, Water Works, an 1 Spinning Mill with Dye Plant, Oil BB 11 mi ^ M/ B^ Sewerage System, Electric Lights,Three Mill, L'urniture Manufacturing and B B B I J B B W f ' B B fl B ' J k j Hanks with aggregute capital offL'&O,000, Lumber Yards, Female Seminary. _B. B B JL-B JL B JL Xj- * JL JL JL ? B B J 9 Electric Kail way. Population 7,000. = _ VOL. LV. NO. o?"k uf Courl ONION, SOUTH CAROLINA, FRIQAT^AUGCST 4, 1905. #1.00 A YEAR: Wm. A. Nicholson Union, Soutl ? # ^ PAY INTEI Time Certificate r hMkHI iflBHBHBnHHHHHHrMHWB EINANCESOE THE SHARK SYSTEM Exposure of How a Pull is naae BY A U. S. SENATOR He Manipulates the Conv# gressional Wires and His Associates Negotiate Sales and Purchases. BY JOHN M AULEY PALMER. - After dinner Colonel Lumpkin led the way to his library where we had our coffee and cigars. We had been talking about West i /? 11 - _i_ port pontics, ana nnany we arm-1 ed from local matters to the railroad question. , r JBy way, Colonel," asked 1 Judge Docket, "what is the amount of your investment in' Winnebago Pacific?" : V j X ^ cent?*' exclaimed Bcr- i low in surprise, "why, I had al- [ >f ways understood that next to Senator Shark, you were the heaviest shareholder in the property." "And so I am," sa d Colonel Lumpkin. "But I understood the Judge to ask me how much I invested. " It is true that I own something like twelve millions in "Shark'1 securities, but, as I said before, ] have never invested a cent in th< property. Barlow gasped and looked a the Colonel in speechless amaze ment. The Colonel carefully li his cigar and settled back coir fortably in his arm-chair. "01 I see,'' said Barlow at lengtl "You must have inherited yoi ... railroad securities." ?? <snid Colonel Lumpki 11V, _ "My inheritance was limited tc good appetite and a determin tion not to go hungry." This paradox was too much f Barlow. He shook his head a U lapsed into silence. "But how did you get in, C onel?" I asked in order to as i I the conversation. "You m fv have given something in L change for a hundred thousi shares of gilt-edged stock." I "And so I did," said Cok n Lumpkin with a chuckle. | gave my services as a captaii I industry." Barlow's face brij f ened up and he gave a sig relief. A "I got into Winnebago Pa m* the year of the great senat B Jm dead-lock," continued Col I Jjr Lumpkin. "I went down tx 7 legislature that winter to ho I r the state government end o y gas and street-car interests. ' Honorable Leonidas Shark there too. He had come < W* \ from Washington to help r< j j himself to the Senate. The ILk ator's tally showed that he i be about five short on join I lot, ftucl he was, met civ, v still-hunt for negotiable s men. Now it happened ^ had three street-car senato ^ve gas-company assemb my hip pocket, and, nat .wasn't very long befc y inorable Leonidas and *3ned up diplomatic rel \ h held our first confere ['Senator's hotel, theni jp* the opening of the * ,lr s still a young man i for, while the Senator eorime as a great finan< lisman. He was a li b & Son, Bankers, h Carolina, REST ON :s of Deposit. posed to underestimate me at first. He began to talk on the money question. The Senator was one of the greatest authorities on the currency in Congress, and in order to prove his grasp of the problem, he offered to de -i-ii i. . termme experimentally now many one-hundred-dollar bills my coat pocket would hold. I resented such a crude estimate of my political importance, and indignantly reminded the Senator that I was a business man. "Oh, I see!" exclaimed Senator Shark as he squeezed his experimental wad back into his own pocket. "In that event your price is probably higher. But, as I am a business man myself. Colonel Lumpkin, I should be pleased to have your views on the business situation. "My view is this, Senator," said I. "The State of Winnebago is getting too big for one man to own it any longer. You need a junior partner, and I happen to be the man you need. What do you say to organizing the firm of Shark & Lumpkin?" The Senator's eyes blazed ;nf-my ^iMtpnance, thofr light gradual tVUXvw.. ly softened down into a glow 01 I amusement. 'Sir,' said he aftei a short pause. 41 perceive tha ! you are either a great man 01 a fool. I am not surprised tha you found so little interest in th greenback question. But, ad mitting for the sake of argumer i that I do need a partner, how d you figure it out that Colon* ; Timothy Lumpkin is the rig! ' man?" I "Because,' said I, 4the Winn * bago Pacific Railroad is no Ion er the only political feed-trout t in the state. A number of yo - old followers are beginning t find nourishment in Westpt i- franchises. You are five vol i, short of a bare majority no i. Senator. You are fifteen sh< ir of a safe control, and if yot check up your lost sheep yoi n, find that most of them hi i a learned to get their turnips fr a- me. Now I think it's good p tics and good business to k :or the flock together. But the c nd way to do it is to keep both f< tronghs in the same corral." ol- 4 4That sounds reasonable,' ive Senator Shark. 'It's enoug ust dream over for one night, ex- now, suppose we go down-sl and and get a prairie-chicken a CUltl k/v w>w( >nel "We didn't do anymore "I ness that evening, except to a of a temporary protocol pend ght- settlement of the final terr h of the treaty. We decided tc mit the Legislature to cor cific on the following day as presc orial in the state constitution, b lonel limited its program to gar > the 'drop the handkerchief' an Id up er innocent diversions. On f my ballot I voted my men foi The eral Canister, and up to th was enteenth ballot the dead-lo( down complete. But on the eigh jelect ballot, to everybody's su: ! Sen- my men stampeded. ( would Canister, in a brilliant f it bal- withdrew in favor of ? , on a Shark. Ano m<ti ^icat itates- man triumphantly enter* that I his fourth term in the Se rsand the United States. Short lymen the dead-lock, I traded urally, of gas and traction shar >re the block of "Winnebago Paci I had I was even prevailed upc ations. come one of the directon nee at great corporation." ght be- "But, Colonel Lumpk session, claimed * Barlow, "wl n those bought those shares wa was in an investment in Winne cierand cific?" ttle di8- "Not at all," said the ' 'The Senator and I both were playing on 'velvet.' I swapped some of my velvet for some of his. That was all." "Do you mean to say," asked Judge Docket, "that you got all your railroad holdings in that trade?" "By no means," answered Cola onel Lumpkin. "My first interest was a very small one?not over half a million. The rest came later from my perquisites as a director." "But how did Senator Shark get his velvet?" asked Barlow who was still seeking a clue to the paradox. "Why, Shark built the railroad," said Colonel Lumpkin. "He was a statesman before he was a captain of industry. When he first came into prominence, Winnebago was a great undeveloped country. The people wanted better communication and they didn't know how to get it. But the Honorable Leonidas did Know now to get it. ne was a man of ideas. He translated a vague public demand into a concrete idea. He canvassed the state in favor of a great eastand-west railroad that was to connect Westport with both oceans. The people of Winnebago believed in him, and they therefore sent him to the United States Senate as their agent and trustee. The new senator's first care was to secure a liberal land1 grant as an aid to the new enterprise, and then he proceeded to organize the corporation that was to profit by the land-grant. 1 Fortified by the land-grant the Senator found little difficulty in financing the scheme. The Shark , Syndicate sold $30,000,000 of bonds, and built .ft? their nroaooJ" pockets, to&ethei with the title tdu10,000,000 acres ' of the best land ill the State of : Winnebago. The people of the state were so charmed with Mr. t Shark's courtesy in accepting! " the ownership of the best part of t the state that they kept him in e- the Senate until the growth of his business interests made it necessary for him to assign the k> office to his private Secretary* el "And yet some people complain that republics are ungrateful " exclaimed Judge Docket, e- "Speaking of the construction ?- of the Winnebago Pacific, con?h tinued Colonel Lumpkin asi h< ur rose from his chair and walke< to toward his book-shelves, Ihav< liorp that .may inter 'iv SOIIltSLMliifc ~ :es est you gentlemen. Here is w? map of Shark County, Winneba &}* go, showing a part of the orig J,! nal line of the Winnebago Pact n il ic#" ave What a crooked track," e: ?JP claimed Judge Docket. "I hf ,0'1- no idea that Shark County wi e?P such a rough country." >nly 44And why do you think it sed- rough?" asked the Colonel. "Those curves tell the story said answered Judge Docket. "Wh to I was a boy I used to work 01 APd railroad survey in Pennsylvan ^rs and I know from experience tl n(* a a crooked track stands for er . neering difficulties. It mean busi- winding path along mount sign contours." in? a Colonel Lumpkin smiled, ns ot may mean that in Pennsylva ) Per" Judge, but not in Winnebj Why Shark County is as leve :ribed this floor, and almost as smo ut It's in the very heart of the < ries of ijgjt. When the railroad enc 9 ?ta" the country you could run a joint- row from one end of the co r Gen. to the other without taking 1 e sev- plough out of the grounu. ik was ha(i better guess again." teenth "Then the chief engine rprise, tbe railroad must have leneral drunk or crazy when he ra jpeech, ijne through Shark County. Senator "Not at all," said G states- Lumpkin. "He was as coo id upon cucumber. It was simply mate of nesa> The Shark System ly after iand-grant of 20,000 acr a block mne \n that part of Winn< es for a and so, where the land wa fic,' and they made as many miles i ?n to be- sible. Nver in the hills of j of that 11 County, where the lai . poor, the railroad was I in, ex- straight as a crow flies.' len you do you mean to sn't that agked Judge Docket, "T bago Pa- Winnebago Pacific still o . all that useless mileage?" i Colonel. "By no means,"/ said ?*; ? Lumpkin. As soon as the land was sold to Settlers the line was re-locaiafcr> The dotted line on the mnaJ^ows the present path of the Shirk System. "But wty were not these operations tacposed and investigated?" Ipked. ' Thjar? were exposed,'' said tfolenerLpmpkin. But that was before exposures MMNNfett a popular form of literature. The peggML&ccepted gift horses in thoseJdays without examining their Acth. The matter did come up In Congress, but it caromed againgt the Senator from Winnebago^ltnd kissed off. Senator Ferretwsked unanimous consent to investigate certain alleged irregularities in connection with land-grants. Senator Shark immediately rose to his feet and exclaimed: 'Mr. President,' 'The Senate* from Winnebago,' said the presiding officer. 'Mr President,' exclaimed Senator Shark. 'I object.' I give this speech in -full " Annfinuo^ r"nlrtnol T XU11, WilUHUCU WiVliVi I^Uilipkin 'because it is Senator Shark's longest -forensic effort. Later, on the personal appeal of his colleague, Senator Shark consented to have the matter referred to the Committee on Senatorial Courtesy, and there the incident closed." "But how can you account for the Senator's remarkable popularity with whe people?" I asked. "Because he was a good fellow," exclaimed Colonel Lumpkin, "the best I ever knew. He was the soul of generosity. Many a struggling young statesman in those days was grateful to Senator Shark for his first i taste of chanroaime s>rui to***'*'" , limits of his immediate and he won the love and grat | tude of the whole 3t^tc-,. As you know he laid out $3,OOU,OW (about one-twedtioth^ his embezzlements from the^public) in the foundation of Shark Umver ?itv where young gentlemen learn to be public-spinted after the example of their distinguishcne.exwiifw *mle are ed founder. /\I1U tuv still grateful to Senator Shark. Ever since his death they have shown their reverence for his ' memory by dividing their sena i torial franchise with the Winne - bago Pacific. The people o. 3 Winnebago sometimes have i 1 United States Senator and some e times they have not; but th - Winnebago Pacific always has i a least one, with quite frequentl i- an attorney-special (by courtes i- called attorney-general), and tc f- many assemblymen, alderme and railroad commissioners x- enumerate." id Here Colonel Lumpkin paus as and reached for a fresh cigs But Barlow was not yet satisfie is "Pardom me, Colonel," said 1 but I don't see how you got yc ," Shark holdings." en The Colonel smiled. "B l a low," said he, "I hoped you i ia, lows were going to let me off hat that.'' igi- "I sustain the objection, " s - - t.lArr* rwket. "The witnes * IB it (JUukv ? ;ain not bound to incriminate n self." "It "But perhaps I'd just as 1 nia, own up," said Colonel Lump igo. "It's the only chance I hav ;i as 'scoop' Steffens. He'll drop oth. Westport one of these days, corn if I don't expose Tim Lump ered he will. So here goes, Bar fur- Now, when I entered the di unty ory of Winnebago Pacific your property was in a bad way. You were charging all that the fic would bear, and our rev< er of were altogether too big. been were paying the interest o m his bonds, and we were trvin best to hide ominously big olonel dends on our velvet. I 1 as a were still increasing rapid! busi- anybody with a grain of had a could see that, if we didn es per out, there would soon be ebago, i cal demand for lower rates s good 1 of coure, that would distu as pos- I prosperity of the whole cc : Alka- j As soon as Congress adjc id was Senator Shark came or na ; Washington and we had u /Ultv WM ? ,f _ i ference on the mauer. ?, say," franchise experience in hat the port, it seemed a very perates , problem to me. I propc I good old plan of issuing Colonel new stock to cut the a i F. M. FARR, President. T it. Merchants and Plan Successfully Doing Busir mmm is the OLDEST Ilnnk in k II has a capital uinl Hurnhn I Is the only NATIONAL I bus paid dividends ami: | rfpsys FOUIt per cent, i I I is the only Bank In Unio H I hu nurirlar-Proof vault pays more taxes than A1 WE EARNESTLY SOLI HIMBaHBaHMi f profit down one-half. But right there I learned a new lesson in high finance. "That is too crude," said Senator Shark. 4 4Ohf I don't mean straight outand-out stock watering," T protested. 4 40ur lawyers can rig up o uofiiiritif f>nivin!?r?xr A1* u A m n U UWUi I VJ VVI lipui ltT ? VI OVIIIV other up-to-date quibble for it." "But that isn't the dilliculty,'' said Senator Shark. "A new stock issue is all right so far as buncoing the public about rates is concerned. But the objection to a new issue lies in the fact that it compels you to divide the loot with the other shareholders. If we double our shares, we will have to double everybody else's shares. Now, I think that six per cent is enough for investors. They don't really expect any more. It isn't good business, and besides we oughtn't to encourage the people to become extravagant. I'm figuring on some way of keeping the shares on a six per oasis. -rrrrrtV"* *hat w^might meet ty^by TeUifni some new benches. What do you think of the Midland property, Col onel?" "It doesn't amount to much,' I said. 'Its competition annoys us a little, especially in the coal trade. But I can't see that leasing it would help us much." "What does it earn?" he ask* ed. "Not more than a half a mil lion a year above interest - charges." I ventured. f "That's right," continued a Senator Shark. 'No, as oui r freight schedules are nettinj e about a million a year more thai it a reasonable profit; why can' y we adjust things by taking ove $y the Midland at an annual rente x> of a million and a half?' I looke n, at Senator Shark, and for tY to first time it crossed my mir that he was getting old. ed "What?" I cried. 'You wou ir. deliberately rent property f< id. three times as much as it le, worth?' The Senator smiled ?^ oimnet nitvinerlv. 'Don'ty 'Ur II1C aimvuv t ^ w see the point?' he asked. 'Isi ar- it good business?" fel- "I can't see it," I said, on "But Colonel,' he urged, 'I; assuming that the firm of Sh; laid & Lumpkin is to buy up the M is is land before we propose the les iim- That extra million a year wo then go into our pockets, well would disappear as Winneb kin. Pacific earnings. And incid< e to ally our little investment in ft into land would net us twenty ] and lions clear.'' >kin, After pausing a momem low. give us time to reflect on rect- stroke of genius, Colonel Lu the kin resumed: "Well, the Ser We and I bought the Midland traf- leased it to the Winnebago mues ciiic. Two years later the Wo nphaeo Pacific was again eai * -1 ?? V <iv^w0 , n our too much, and then we leasea ig our the Minne-wawa Valley Lin f divi- little later we handed ove >rofits Lobbyport and Stockwater. y, and deed, for a number of ye sense made a specialty of buying 't look rupt railroads to feed b a logi- Winnebago Pacific. And t ?and; well, I swore off. irb the "I decided it was abou >untry. for me to get off the watei >urned, on. I felt that I had < i from enough, even for my serv I a con- a captain of industry.'' ftthmy "Does the Shark syste West- follow this benevolent p< simple asked Judge Docket. >sed the "I don't know," said < enough Lumpkin. - "I am not in t pparent fidence of the managen ??v J. D. ARTHUR, Cashier. I E iters National Bank, tess at the "Old Stand." Union. ?ol SHU.OOO. Hank in Union, xintintr to $200,400. ntorcst on deposits, in inspected bv an officer, , and Safe with Time-Lock. jL the Ilanks in Unlou combined. CIT YOUR BUSINESS. present. Methods change from time to time, but, of course,their general aim is always the same, to make the excessive earnings appear reasonable.'' "But such things must be exceptional," urged Barlow. "I cannot believe that your account of the history of the Winnebago Pacific is typical of our railroad finance." "Mr. Barlow," exclaimed Col onei bumpkin, i don't know an important railroad in the United ouites whose published accounts give a truthful statement of the ratio of earnings to investment. You mustn't take such things literally Railway statistics are intended to be taken in a Pickwickian sense. They are to be regarded as imaginative literature^ and if you will look up there m that bookcase you will find my edition of 'Poor's Manual' on the same shelf with the 'Arabian Nights, and the adventures of gggpg lYmn^h"""? >>? First. Thou shalt have no other good before good health. Thou shalt not make unto thee .any other image of goodness or likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Second. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to any rules or observations or commandments that interfere with health, or prevent a sound body. For nature is a jealous mistress, visiting : the physical iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto 1 the third and fourth generation r of them that disobey her, giving ? health unto thousands of them n who love her and keep her comt mandments. r Third. Thou shalt not take the u I r>ntiirp. thv mother, in ; HUHUi , ? d vain to violate her commandments, for she will not keep him ld in who transgresseth her laws. ., Fourth. Remember thy physild cal body to keep it well. Six days shalt thou labor and do all ^ thy work, but the seventh day at is the resting day of nature. In oa it thou shalt not do any work, 1 t neither by brain nor thy muscles, nor thy hands, nor thy feet, nor any part whatsoever of thy body. jJJk For in six days work the body [id- becometh tired and needeth rei t ise. and recreation. Therefore, nauld ture has set apart the seventh ^ day and hallowed it. 5?> Fifth. Honor thy body and thy lid- mind that they may be strong mil- and healthy and thy days long upon the land which nature, thy k. J^ mother, hath given thee. 13 Si'vfh. Thou shalt not breathe imp- lator bad air. and Seventh. Thou shalt not comPa" mit the folly of taking drugs. m" Eighth. Thou shalt not overling ? it to eat* e. A Ninth. Thou shalt not bear ir the malice or ill will against thy *n" neighbor, for it will react upon bank- thyself anc* destroy thy health o the both in mind and body, hen? Tenth. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's fashionable dint time ner> nor hjs much-talked of banLirned ^uets' nor any ?* the nervous ices as diseases by which he distinguished himself from his fellow men. im still For all is vanity of vanity and :>licy?" violation of hygiene. Taken from "Medical Talk for