Skip to main content
The largest online newspaper archive

The Watchman and Southron from Sumter, South Carolina • 6

Location:
Sumter, South Carolina
Issue Date:
Page:
6
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

THE WATCHMAN AND SOUTHRON NOVEMBER 13 1896 Constitutional Convention A Petrified Man One Was Found Sunday in Saluda River What We Say We do We do And there lies the Secret of our Success Our Special Sale Day was such a success (many customers being turned away) that we have decided to have Work Done During the Past Week Special Sale IN OUR Clothing and Furnishing Goods Department 19tli £Oth 19th 20th HERE ARE SOME OF THE PRICES Telegraphic Briefs November 9 At New Orleans yesterday A Gridley a resident of Bloomington 111 asked a dealer to jet Aim examine a pistol This was done and a cartridge filled iu it After closely examining the weapon he placed (he muzzle to his head and sent the bullet through his brain He had been drinking absenthe in large quantities for two weeks Election week was a quiet one in business all over the country Reports to trade journals show that the senti ment of traders is for an active spring and holiday business On the railroad yesterday at Gynthiaua Ky a stock train ran in an open switch Twelve cars were wrecked Engineer Kelly aud 150 head of cattle and horses were killed The grand jury of Huntiugton Vat has indicated several pugilists and a number of prominent meu who were instrumental in a slugging match there recently A week ago ex-Senator Allen Thurman now 82 years old fell from a sofa and bruised his hip He has been daily getting worse and yesterday his son A lieu VV Thurman said that his father would probably live but a few days longer Steen a prominent coal operator and owner of tbe Idlewood mines of Pittsburg has been couvicted on the charge of cheating his employees by the use of ligbt weight aod defective scales in weighing coal mined by bis men The Berlin police yesterday seized the emire edition of Der Socialist The seizure was made before the paper was issued to the public on tbe supposition that it contained a seditious article The Southern railway has bought tbe Atlanta compress property Atlanta Ga for $325000 Tbe site will be used for a new union passenger station Commander Richard Rush superintendent of naval war records recommends in his annual report that the selection of original manuscript for the records of tbe Union and Confederate navies be made by a board to be composed of one naval aod two civilian members The second volume of the records willsoon'be issued There is enough original manuscript on band to make between 20 and 30 volumes The reports of the Union commanders are full and complete and Commander Rush regrets that the Confederate records are not equally so Black Cheviot Suits good value at $7 special sale price 50 good value at $11 special sale price $875 good value at $13 special sale price 98 Black Fancy Worsted Suits good value at $15 special 50 Balance of Sack and Frock Suits from previous sale worth $15 and $20 at the extreme low price of $998 Balance of Sack and Frock Suits from previous sale worth $12 and at $897 Black Cheviot SuitB 13 to 19 years good value at $650 special sale price 99 Brown Cheviots worth $850 speciai sale price $7 49 double breasted Suits ages 5 to 14 at 99 cents Blue Cheviot regular price 25 special sale Black Cheviot regular price $2 25 special sale $197 Brown Cheviots regular price 25 special sale $197 Cassimere Suits regular price 00 snecial sale $2 98 Black Worsteds regular price 00 special sale Knee Pants at 24c and 49j Alpine Hats worth $1 50 special price 99c Alpine Hats worth $175 special price Crush Hats worth 60o special price 49c Crush Hats worth 40o special price 25c Overall Fants regular price 50c special sale 39 White Hemstitched Handkerchiefs 5c worth 10c 9c 15c 13c 20c Fast Black 1-2 Hose 23Jcents Colors 1-2 19 and 23 cents Blue Golf Caps at 24 cents Colored Golf Caps silk lined at 49 cents Colored Tam worth 75c at 49 cents New Collars all linen 4-piy at 9 cents Cuffs 23 Our small stock of Overcoats from iast season all in perfect order at a 45 per cent reduction Our large new stock of Overcoats have special prices for to-day All other goods in this department at prices in proportion Remember these prices are for the Mr VV Buff who lives about five miles from this city in Lexington Comity7 found a petrified man in Saluda River Sunday morning and now has that wonderful curiosity7 in Columbia It is undoubtedly the petrified body of a human being and an inspection will show that it is no fake Mr Buff lives near the Saluda River and on Sunday morning went down to the river to look after his boats and fish nets The water was very low and Mr Buff found much difficultly in moving his boat over the sand In glancing down at the water he saw something sticking out which looked very much like a foot The toes looked familiar so Mr Buff made a closer examination and found that it was a human being apparently turned to stone lie saw that he could not move it and returned home at once to tell his son Mr Buff of this city about the find Young Mr Buff is well known here and keeps a store on Assembly street Mr Buff and his son together with Mr Shull and several other neighbors went to tbe spot and succeeded in getting the man out He was carried to the house and yesterday Mr Buff brought him to the city securely fastened up in a wooden box Had the Wild Man from Borneo in all reality come to Columbia be could not have caused such a sensation in so short a time as did the man turned to stone yesterday The news flew fast but few has been permitted to view the body The box which contained the body was in the lot back of Buff store on Assembly street and there was a iarge crowd around all the afternoon anxious to get a peep at the wonderful creature The coffin was fastened and Mr Buff was seated on the top There were so many around in the afternoon that a Register reporter did not get to see it Late last night however the reporter called at the store and Mr Buff readily consented for him to see the nan One look was enough to convince any sane man tiiat it was no fake but a man whose body had been completely petrified He has the appearance of an ludian as his legs are as straight as an arrow and very symmetrical His feet are wide and the nails on his toes are in perfect condition The body measures six feet one and a half inches tall and will weigh between four and five hundred pounds The body must have been buried as the hands are folded across the breast The river mud has colored the bod7 and the continual washing of the water has made it very rough A little moustache can be seen and there is some hair on his head Judging from the shape of the head and legs the body must be that of a young Indian and this supposition is strengthened by the fact that years ago an old Indian camp was situated not more than one hundred yards from the spot where the body was found The river must have gradually widened and took in the grave The body is in good state of preservation but there is a small part of the stomach gone which looks as if it had been cut out The hands and especially the finger nails are very plain and distinct Coroner Roach heard of the matter yesterday afternoon and went down presumably to hold an inquest jut did not do so after seeing the body Mr Buff will exhibit the man at the Fair grounds to-day under a separate tent and will charge a small admission fee It will be worth any time and money to examine it as it is a curiosity seldom seen in this city There is absolutely no fake about the matter Mr Buff said last night that he had received one offer already but declined to state how much it was If the business is profitable at the he will take it to the Atlanta Exposition and if lie gets an offer to suit him he will sell it He could get a Iarge sum from some Northerners who would keep it as a great wonder The Smithsonian Institute would no doubt pay a arge sum to get the body and keep in the museum at that institution A great many people say it is a fake because it was found just at the opening of the Fair but Mr Buff said that if it was a fake some one bad put it in the river for him ne is a good honest farmer and is well known among the business men of Columbia All of them have found him to be an upright honest man and hope that this find will be a financial help to him Col Register TWO DAYS ONLY Ryttenberg books must be open for tbe first registration for at least Bix consecutive weeks and after that at least one week in each month Tbe General Assembly is authorised to provide for party primaries In municipal elections the provisions as to registration apply except that tbe requirements are not to apply until 1896 After the suffrage matter had been disposed of tbe Couveution took up tbe matter of the change of venue aod injunctions which by tbe turn in tbe debate were made to apply more particularly to the dispensary and provoked the most intense aod partisan debate during the session Tbe Convention after a vigorous fight decided to strike out tbe provision giving tbe State the same right as the defendant to ask for a change of venue and then agreed to let the Legislature io special oases make provision for changes but protected the citizen by first requiring that a change be oontiogeut upon a true bill of tbe grand jury After more than a day of red-hot debate tbe sectioD in tbe Arti-ole on Jurisprudence came out iu this shape Seotion 2 It shall be tbe duty of tbe General Assembly to pass the oe eessary laws for the cbaDge of venue in all oases civil and criminal over which the Circuit Courts have original jurisdiction upon as proper showing supported by affidavit that a fair aod impartial trial cannot be bad in tbe county where such trial or prosecution was commenced Tbe State shall have the same right to move for a change of veoue that a defendant has for such offences as the General Assembly may prescribe Unless a change of venue be had under tbe provisions of this Article the defendant shall be tried in the county where the offence was committed Provided however that no change of venue shall be granted in criminal oases until after a true bill has been fonnd by the grand jury And provided further that if a change be ordered it shall be to a county in the same judicial circuit Upon motion of Senator Tillman tbe Convention took a recess until 730 The Convention decided to do away with the present plan of codifying the laws of the State every ten years The plan that is to get into effect io 1900 ill give the people a compilation of tbe laws np to that time and will include all laws of tbe State itr frce The scheme is to have a commissioner who is to arrange the Criminal and civil laws from year to year and at the end of the tenth year is to make a report to the General Assembly The report is to be open for a year for the inspection of all interested and at tbe next session of the Legislature after all corrections have been made the report is to be adopted by a bill and the farce of reading It is not be gone through with Then when the report is adopted it is to be made the existing law of the State and all law that is not in the report as adopted will be virtually repealed The idea is to have the law all in one volume so that aoy one can find it and not be in danger of some one else finding law on the same subject in some old or omitted statute The Convention has been working on a plan to minimize lynching and has about agreed on a plan by which the sheriff or other officer io charge of a prisoner is to be removed from office anti made ineligible if proven to have allowed the prisoner to suffer in any way either through negligence permission or conoivance The members of the Convention are to be given a reception Monday night by the citizens of Colombia The general impression is that it will take from three to four weeks to finish the work of the body If it can be constitutionally done the Convention will by ordinance postpone the session of the General Assembly until January The next important matter to be taken up is likely tojbe the Educa tional article and it is thought that there will be a lively fight over this especially as to the amount and distribution of the public school funds aud the incorporation of the existing higher educational institutions in the Constitution The committee on contingent expenses proposes that the members be paid per day for the time they spend here after Oct 15th and that the rate apply for recess A the time before the first i ons SUMTER Columbia November 11 1895 Tbe one thing for which the Constitutional Convention was announced to have been called has been finished The plan by which it is proposed to regulate the suffrage has been settled and given the world for what it may be worth There was not as much of a fight over the plau as was expected and indeed most of the contention wgg between the members of the Reform faction Most of this was on the grounds of looking out for tbe poor man of which so' awfully much has been heard in the Convention and is liable to be heard on the Btump It toofc about a week to agree upon the suffrage plan and while the committee report was not exactly what everyone wanted it was adopted in lieu of "something belter There were a great many of the members who had pet schemes that had to be agitated and a great many thought they had to go on record and so a great deal of time was consumed in record and history making in connection with the adoption of tbe suffrage plan The committee plan was adopted in all substantial particulars as tbe com mittee reported the only essential difference being in the refusal of the Convention to agree to the proposition that the minority party be given representation on the board of managers The Convention notwithstanding the firm stand taken by Senator Tillman declined by a decisive vote to provide for bi-partisan boards Repeated efforts were made to change the essential provisions of the plan as to the property qualification but all in vain The effort was made to strike out the entire section fixing tbe requirements for registration but it failed as did tbe propo- sition to extend the time for the operation of the "understanding clause" It took repeated votes on a variety of phases to satisfy the advocates of woman suffrage that the Convention did not want it in any shape or form The advocates of woman suffrage were persistent and think that they have sown the seed that will bear fruit in later years The threat has been made that tbe constitutionality of the plan will be tested As this plan is of such vast importance its main ideas are about on this line All elections shall be open and the count in public Residence iu the State for two years in the county one year and in polling district four months Payment six months before any election of poll and other taxes then due Registration is made a prerequisite to the right of voting There is to be a new registration every ten years except of those registered on the first registration which is to be made a permanent record and entitle those registered in the first enrolment to life registration Up to January 1st 1898 persons applying to register must either be able to read any section of the Constitution submitted by the registration officer or to be able to "understand and explain any section when read to them" Those registered up to 1898 are entitled to life registration After January lot 1898 all applying for and emitted to registration must be able to both read and write any section of the Constitution or be able to show that he has paid taxes on property in tbe State assessed at or more Tbe property qualification is an alternative for those unable to read and write after 1898 After 1898 tbe idea is to have a straight educational qualification with a chance for those who own property thereby having the intelligence and property-bolding classes as voters Proof of the payment of all taxes including poll tax must be shown managers of eleotion Those denied registration by tbe registration officers are allowed recourse to the courts Provision is made for tbe punishment of election or registration frauds through tbe General Assembly Twenty crimes are set down as disqualifying persons from registration Tbe first registration until January 1 1898 is to be conducted by a board 1 of discreed persons appointed by tbe by and with tbe consent of tbe Senate SUMTER November 11 A dispatch from Rome says that the vital powers are warning and that he has broken down very perceptibly Locomotive No 13 exploded yesterday on the Lehigh and Hudson killing four men A panic prevailed on the Berlin Bourse Saturday and some stock declined 15 per cent Lewis JeffersoD colored was lynched near Homerville Ga on Saturday Ex-Senator Allen ThurmaD of Ohio is improving The police have begun a war of extermination on tbe gatnbliug houses in Wilwaukee Wis Mayor McDonald of Austin Texas refused to permit tbe double scull championship match between Jake Gandaur and James Rogers and Bubear and Haines arranged for Sunday POSTAL INFORMATION- Hours of CJosing Opening and the Mails Sell on a home market and save money 0 The Opening Sales on Thursday and Friday August 29th and 30th were satisfactory in every respect The average price the Highest ever obtained for Tobacco in South Carolina ON AN OPENING- SALE SEE THE RECORD Pounds sold on 29tli 25952 Average per hundred $1204 Pounds sold on 30tli 26097 Average per hundred $1014 Mails for Colombia points above Colombia for the North and West Pamlet and Pregnals South of Sumter Ramsey Pioe-wood Rimini Elloree Vance Euta wville and Pregnal cioee at 910 a Mails for St Paul and points between there and Sumter opens and closes at 110 ra Mails for Florence and the North for Charleston Savannah Florida Hamlet Ben-nettsville Darlingion and Bishopville close at o'clock Mails for Columbia and the North and West and for Wilmington all close at 8 Charleston mail is also sent by this route For Providence and Smithviile on Tuesdays Thursdays and Saturdays arrive at 12 close at 2 For Maonville Mechanicsville and Bossard on the same days close at 7 a arrive at 6 Cut this out aod po3t it up where you can get at it and you will not want to find so much fault with the Post Office Haabood A NO How to Attain Season Eleven regular buyers stationed Sales throughout eh re arehouse charges low A Wonderful Now Medical Book written for Men Only- Ona copy may be had free on application Highest prices for all grades warehouse charges saved by selling The volume of receipts of State and county taxes is growing and each week shows an increase over the one preceding but the payments are not being made as rapidly as they should he There is na possibility of an extension and there will he such a rush towards the last that it will he impossible for Treasurer to write the receipts who present themselves to pay their taxes A great deal of confusion and inconvenience will result from delay in paying taxes until tile iast week and all persons who have the money at hand should pay their taxes at once Treasurer Scarborough is in his office every day and is anxious to write receipts now and avoid a rush during the last weeks of December loads of Chicago people arrived iu Atlanta to take Day festivities A at Heavy home Full information furnished promptly by ERIE MEDICAL CS BUFFALO Five train have already part in the Chicago great many more are expected A BROGDON yTypewriter supplies at Osteen Liberty street.

Get access to Newspapers.com

  • The largest online newspaper archive
  • 300+ newspapers from the 1700's - 2000's
  • Millions of additional pages added every month

About The Watchman and Southron Archive

Pages Available:
40,346
Years Available:
1881-1930