Newspaper Page Text
mm REHASHES
y ; y POPULIST DREAMS
Great Inventor Has Plan For Stabilizing In
dustry and Finance That is Reminiscence
of Sub-treasury and Other Schemes
Ridiculed by Money Powers
/ Thirty Years Ago
Thomas Edison has submitted to
the staff engineers of The Babson
Institute his plan for stabilizing
business and breaking the back
bone of the high cost of "living. He
has authorized the following popu
lar description of his thfeory.
With characteristic audacity, he
goes to the heart of economic life.
He-proposes to afford the ordinary
consumer cheaper commodities, to
- furnish the producer with ready
capital and security and to elimi
nate such parasites as unnecessary
middlemen and dishonest specula
tors, by establishing the govern
ment as the country's great mid
dleman.-and by making ordinary
commodities as well as gold' the
basis' of currency.
The Government on the Job.
Sometime ago. at the suggestion
; of Henry Ford and others Edison
devoted himself to study the causes
of economic unrest. His solution
of this momentous problem is now
under the scrutiny of the ablest
economists and business experts
at Weilesley
His plan is simple and startling.
He would have the government
list some forty basic commodities,
stich-as cotton, c*n. copper, coal,
wheat, flax, iron, and .then taking
?he prices of the last twenty-five
years as a basis, establish an aver
age price ?*or each. This price he
*would have determined in terms
or gold and called a unit or a dol
ktr.
'lie would have the government
take" over or establish great ware
houses and storage plants. When
the producer is ready to market
ms., product he. brings it to the
'agent, at the government ware
house, who gives him a certificate
covering h's whole deposit and at
the same time pays him half of
the value of the deposit, as comput
ed on the ? 5-year average basis, in
ea.sh. The government then stores
.the-product.
When a dealer wants wheat, coal,
cotton, or any other commodity he
b'uys the producers' certificate on
the market: he presents it at a
warehouse, pays the government
baek the money advanced, and
takes the product away.
The government-fixed average
"price safeguards the producer from
the ;ravages of dishonest specula
tion. The half-value payment he re
ceives from'the government affords
him a ready capital. The certifi
cate he receives is put on the mar
ket subject to the ordinary laws
of supply and demand. But the
certificate does not depend on the
gold in treasury vaults but on the.
commodity in the warehouse. In
"one sense the Edison plan is a re
turn to the ancient system of bar
ter as far as the complexity of
modern life will allow.
How the Farmers Would Find* It.
Unit money in the Edison plan
is not money in the popular con
ception?that is, metal money or
money with a metal basis. The
dJlTy when metal furnished the most
e*"Jfcjtejyely practical basis for a
Mwdfum of exchange as well as a
measure of value has. according
to Edison, gone by. His money
would still be determined in terms
of gold. But instead of gold in
treasury vaults being its only basis,
you would have wheat in the gov
e$7iment bins, coal in the govern
ment >pits. rice in storage, cotton
in *the* Warehouses, etc. ,
"All;articles deposited in the
warehouse." said -Edison, "bear
the same ratio when loan of unit
money is made, only one kind of
unit money is issued together with
the deposit certificate.
"Suppose a farmer . puts in the
warehouse 1,000 bushels of wheat
graded by the government as No.
1. Red. The average price for 23
years of this grade, including high
war prices is. say $1.00 per bush
el. The farmer is given $300 in
unit money?he then can hold his
wheat by means of his certificate
until he thinks the price is satis
factory and thus be independent of,
speculators who now set the price!
ahead months before the crop is
reaped. This certificate is bought i
on the exchange, at market price
now. say $1.15 for No. 1 Red. The j
farmer- would get ^$650?as the!
wheat is higher than the 25 year i
average. If, on the other hand, it
was selling at 96 ^cents he would i
only get $400.
"But the unit money would not
vary. It would always be the ;
same, because wheat would not be j
Ukely to be sold over a period of j
one 3-ear for 5'? cents, in other1
words, the certificate or equity!
would have to be valueless to im- j
pair the value oil the unit money, j
"The averages are changed every j
year, a new year being added and <
the earliest year of the 25 :s drop-i
ped. I
Backing up Gold.
"In 4 or 5 years the 25 year av- j
erage would be less and the three j
year high war prices will bring the i
average -down so if wheat sold at {
even 59 cents it would not im- I
pair the value of the unit money.
"If a person wants peanuts he j
buys peanut certificates or if he j
wants rice he buys rice certificates,
or anything else which the govern- i
nient accepts for storage; hands in
the certificate and the amount of
unit money loaned, and the com- j
modity is at his order for ship
ment. The unit money you no
tice is common to all articles.
"The unit money cannot fluctu- j
ate. The capacity or possibility of i
fluctuation is eitirelv transferred I
j to the certificate which is subject
': to the prices due to supply and
; demand.
j "it is not necessary for the gqv
j ernmenFto pass any laws legal ten
j der or otherwise with unit money.
: "This unit money together with
?gold for paying foreign balances
] might well be the basis of our cur
: rency. The business of the world
'is rapidly increasing: in . a few
j years a single commodity like gold ,
[will not be sufficient.
! "If it were not for the war we j
; should not have probably more
jthan 40 per cent of our currency
| backed by gold and even that sub
ject to being partly taken away
i f rom us. We should have behind,
[every paper dollar commodities of;
[the warehouses type, including j
?gold worth more than one dollar;
j on forced sales.
j "As most of our business, is done
with credit money which is also !
, based on credit and commodities,,
there seems to be no reason why j
the present Reserve Bank arid sys
tem should be disturbed. The com
modity or unit money could be;
made the legal reserve instead of
gold alone.
Taxes to Build Warehouses.
"You note that unit money is re
: deemed and again paid out prob- i
^ably every fifteen months. When;
! wheat and cotton comes into ware
i houses unit money is issued in huge j
! amounts, just when needed by the
ifarmers. This automatically solves,
j the banking problems which nowj
i arise at peak demand, for cur-;
i rency expansion and contraction of
[ unit money can never do harm.'
j There is not any illusion in it. It
I can't stay out because they must
(have the unit money to get,their
] cotton or wheat out.
?'Again, these commodities are
j quick liquidators. The certificates
lean be sold on the Exchange by
{ telephone.
[ "In books on the history * of
j banking. I find for eight centuries"
j it's the same old story?'Suspension
! of Specie Payments.' T*his need
f never take place in an agricultural
[country. There are a number of
[administrative details, such as, if
ithe stored material is not reraoxv
t ed within the time allotted the
] same will be sold at public auction.
'The equity after storage charges is
j placed to the credit of the own
let as shown on the duplicate cer-:
jtificate.
! "The warehouses are**to be built
gradually over a period of years
i by monev received from taxation.
f
; The warehousing charges include!
^depreciation and 5 per (rent intcr
! est on the cost of warehouse and
! handling machinery."
J Knocking the Bottom Out of Coal
Prices /
j In the light of current events.
: the working of Edison's plan in re
! gard to coal is interesting,
i A coal producer would mine a
j ton of coal. This he hauls to the
j nearest government coal resrvoir.
I The government gives him a cer
; tificate for one ton of coal and
j pays him half of its value, on the
j 25-year-average ; basis, in cash.
! This enables the producer to mine |
! coal every day the year round, j
; practically financing his operation
j on the money^ the government
: turns over to'tiim every day.
! Now, a buyer wants 100 tons of
hard coal. He purchases certifi
cates for 100 tons on, the open
market at the prevailing price
j which has been determined by sup
i ply and demand, turns these cer
tificates into the government with
i the amount of unit money that has
: been advanced on them and the
'government delivers 100 tons of
I hard coal to him from the nearest
! reservoir. He in turn, delivers this
\ to your house, adding a reasonable
j charge to his cost for shipping and
i handling.
The Speculator Squelched.
The result, in general, would be
j this: A ton of hard coal today
I costs about $0.60 at the mine?a
j cost which would l>e reduced by
I the steady operation allowed un
| der the Edison plan. The average
freight charge is about $2.50 a ton.
j The actual net cost of coal should
jbe about $10.00?which it would be
j under the Edison plan. But today
j it actually costs about $14?a ton,
the difference, being created by in
j '"rest, storage charges and spec
| ulative profit.
j "Coal should be stored," says
i Edison, "in concrete reservoirs
I sunk in the ground, 1.000 feet long,
! s<? feet wide. 17 feet deep and
kept under water. (Bituminous coal
j deteriorates in air). The mine
owners could then give their men
I steady employment and produce
cheaply. Supplies to all would be
i certain and price variations less.
The storage charges would be trill
ing, and. best of all. the mine com
! panics would get one-half of the
value of tlie coal in unit money
; without interest, to help carry, the
coal."
The Edison plan would be of
gn at assistance to ?he farmer. At
present the farmer sells his wheat
because he must have money to
live on. If he tries to hold it and
borrow money for operation he has
to pay an exorbitant rate of inter
est. Nine times out of ten he must
sell his product when it is in mar
ketable torni. It is ordinarily
bought by a speculator held in
warehouses for higher prices, and
may be sold back and forth a
dozen times at a profit each time
before it finally reaches the hand
of the manufacturer who must use
it. Edison's plan would enable the
farmer to hold hi? crop by payiru
a small warehouse or storage
charge and without paying any in
terest whatever. He could live on
the 50 ? per cent money that t h?'
government advances him and could
sell the crop whenever he thought
the market was right, but must sell
a percentage each month.
There would necessarily be a
certain amount >f speculation, but
it would be in the hands of the
farmer, the actual producer of the
material, and not in the hands of
a norf-productivc trader who is
watching the board in some brok
erage office. Price fluctuations
would be gradually reduced as
forced sales by the producer
would be practically eliminated.
As a net result, the farmer would
get more money for his crop and
the miller would pay les"s for his
wheat than they do today.
Gold Standard an "Absurdity.*'
It is of interest to note that when
Edison first began to work out this
problem, he said: "It seems absurd
to me that all our values should be
based on boxes of metal in the
treasury. They are put into vaults,
the vaults are locked, and imme
diately everyone believes that all is
well. They are taken out and their
contents distributed and everyone
believes that all is wrong.
"Sometimes a ton or so of the
gold which has been locked up in
the treasury vaults is put on a
steamer and sent to Europe, im
mediately re-shipped back to New
York and business stability isj
brought to pass, this shuttle-cock
business being kept up because no
one comes out with a plan to stop
such childish actions.
"It is an absurdity, but every
body has been educated to believe
that this absurdity is common sense j
?serious and not to be controvert-j
ed. Everybody believes because j
everybody has "been educated to be-;
licve that values can be establish- ]
ed and held stable only by the ere- j
ation and maintenance of a stand- j
ard based on the so-called precious j
metals. In reality, civilization hasj
become too complicated for the:
continuance of such a sy stem.
? "What is gold's rea! usefulness?
It makes pretty jewelry and picture
frames, and is used effectively for
filling teeth. Otherwise it is al- j
most a wholly' useless substance, j
Yet, we hold it the standard of all;
.values!"
All that is necessary to put the
Edison plan into operation is a gov
ernment ruling which would name
the standard prices over the 25
year period, for all basic commodi
ties and set up the necessary ma
chinery Uvreceive and store the
commodities. Whatever its defects,!
it would greatly simplify and sta-l
bilize the operation of all basic in-,
dustries. It would mean all-year j
.employment -for the majority of our j
workers who now suffer from sea
sonal trends. And it would in
large measure reduce the high cost
of living.
While the Babson experts ?rej
still studying its ultimate effects,
the plan offers much for the aver
age citizen to think about.
SEEKS $100,000
DAMAGES
Anti-Saloon Leader Charged
With Slander
Cornau;. N. Y., Nov. 'Jl?Papers
asking $100,000 damages and
charging Wiliiam H. Anderson, su
perintendent of the New York
State Anti-Saloon League, with
making slanderous statements, were
filed this afternoon by attorneys for
Frances E. Cprtright. of this city,
defeated candidate for assembly on
the Farmer-Labor, Prohibition and
Socialist ticketa. -
The papers set -forth that state
ments concerning Mr. Cortright
were published in the American Is
sue, official paper of the Anti-Sa
loon League and on campaign doc
uments and that the propaganda
caurtd Mr. Cortright's defeat.
RUSSIAN REFUGEES
ARE IN PITIABLR
STATE IN KOREA
Seoul, Korea, Nov. 20 (By the
Associated Press).?With extreme
cold approaching in Northern Ko
rea, the condition of the 7.000
Russian refugees at Gensan is pit
iable, j according to arrivals from
there.'
Those ashore sleep on the bare
ground or under clapboard sheds
while the crowding aboard the
ships in the harbor is reminiscent of .
the floating hells of the old gallery
slave days and the Australian con-j
vict hulks. Aboard the El Dorado,
an old 1,200 ton vessel, more than
1.000 men are herded. They sleep
seven men to the berth, taking two
hour turns at lying down.
At Gensan the severely wounded j
among the Vladivostok exiles are
segregated, but the convalescent
and ailing are crowded with the
rest. The sanitary arrangements
are so inadequate that an epidemic j
seems certain. The provisions ofj
the ships are about exhausted.
Men are offering to work for =i j
pound of black bread and a cup of j
tea, but no work is available.
Chang Tso-Lin. the military di<-- !
tator of Manchuria,' still refuses !
the refugees passage through Man- !
churia.? Local authorities at Gensan j
are unable to fix a time for the!
refuge and departure. Meanwhile
the destitute Russians are selling j
their paltry effects to obtain food, j
One of their officers committed I
suicide.
DISPUTE OVER
_THRACE
Lausanne. Nov. 20'.-?The ques I
tion of Thrace was again before)
the commission on military and I
territorial matters at the Lausanne
conference today.
Bonar Law's complaint seems to
be that there is too little under
standing on the Continent, and too
much standing from under.
Writer Weds
[ ?* Mrs. Frances W Elijah, fiction
'worker, has left for a honeymoon ?
rtage at New York to A. N. Diehl.
GERMAN
CABINET
SELECTED
_ . 5
? ?
German Chancellor Announces
His Co-Workers
Berlin, Nov. 21.?The new Ger
man cabinet has been constituted
as follows:
Chancellor. Wilhelm Cuno.
Vice chancellor and minister of
justice. Dr. Carl Heinze.
Ministers:
Foreign affairs: Herr Von'Rosen
berg; the interior; "Rudolph Oeser;
finance, Andrews Hermes; eco
nomics, Johannes Becker; the
treasury. Dr. Heinrich Albert;
transportation. Gen. Wilhelm Groe
ner: posts and telegraphs. Herr
Stinol: food, Herman Mueller; -de
fense. Dr.tO. Gcssler; labor. Dr.
Heinrich Brauns.
? ? ?
RAILROADING .
SUBSIDY JOB
Special Rule to Force a Final
Vote November 29th
Washington. Nov. 22?The house
rules committee wis expected to
report a special resolution giving
the administration shipping bill the
rieht of way before today's session
ended. Should the resolution be
adopted the measure will be taken
up tomorrow and the final vote will
com*' November President Hard
ing yesterday urged the early pass
age of the bill.
Senate interest today centered on
.Mrs. W. H. Felton. of Georgia, seat
ed yesterday for one day, as the first
woman senator. She was expected
to answer on the ?roll call and then
W. F. George, elected on November
7th, would claim the seat.
Mrs.-Felton made a brief address
to the senate declaring she felt like
the happiest woman in America.
Senator George was then sworn in.
The house rules committee report
ed a rule giving the shipping bill
right of way by a straight party
vote. The debate then started.
More for Booze Than Brains
According to the "Australian
Prohibition Year Book for 1922.
the commonwealth drink bill for
the year ended June 30. 1921. the
I.jst figure available, was ?29.407.
nearly $100.000.000 in Ameri
can money.
The total amount of Friendly So
ciety contributions (representing
thrift) was ?1.487.105: Thus, the
drink bill (representing waste) was
nearly twenty times the thrift
amount.
Invalid and old a^e pensions
amounted to ?4,411,629. Australia
spent more than six and one-half
times ;js much for liquor.
War pensions tor the year ended
June 30. 1020 totaled E5.S72.770.
This was about one-fifth the
amount spent for liquor.
The stales of the commonwealth
spent more money for booze than
for brains. The.niohey spent on ed
ucation (all forms) and for science
and the arts was ?6^608,442, a little
more than one-fifth 'of the amount
spent for liquor.
All the several state chnrities
spent ?2.855,999. The business
which helps tu ;.:;.ke these chari
ties necessary took out of the
pockets of Australians more than
i"n times that amount.
The value of g< Id produced in
1920 w;is ?5:494.083. It took neasiy
six times all the gold value to pay|
for the year's liquor indulgence. '
The income <>t" the municipali
ties, excluding loans, was ?10.233.
(129. Tlx- income of the liquor trade
was almost three times as much.!
The gross revenue of the pes*;,I de-|
partment \\;?s EG,744,972. The re-j
eeipts of the liquor shops was near- J
Iy four and one-half times as
mud;.
The gross revenue of all tho rail
roads in tin- commonwealth, in
cluding Ho- federal lines, uas ?32.
109.511?. The revenue of the liquor
business, which often interferes;
with the railroad business comes!
within ?2.701.083 of this.
Xo wonder Australia wants pro
hibition.
Newspaper Proprietor: "What
great useful thing are we turning
our forests into ever\ day. Gerald?"
Gerald: "Baseball bats."-?Life i
One thing to feel thankful for:
^ on don't owe as much money as
Germany.
SteelvMan
and scenario writer and famous war
l South America," following her mar
Pittsburg steel man.
Woman Saved By
Negro Worker
jCar Plunges Into Pool With
j. Mrs. Jamison, of Greenwood
? ?
[ Greenwood. S. C. Nov. 21.?
Plunging over, a fit'teen-foot em
! bank men t into. a. pool, where her
j head was submerged, Mrs. A. T.
\ Jamison, wife of Dr. A. T. Jamison,
? superintendent o.f Connie Maxwell
; Orphanage, narrowly escaped death
j shortly after 3 o'clock this after
i noon, when she lost control of a
j coupe she was driving. A negro,
j digging sand in Hardlabor creek,
near the orphanage, where the ac
cident occurred, rescued Mrs. Jami
json. She was uninjured, not even
j being cut by the shattered glass of
[the car. Two little girls, Billy and
: Emmie Lee Morgan, who were with
\ Mrs. Jamison, were also unhurt, ex
I cept for a slight cut suffered by
! Emmie Lee.'.. '
?.-? ? ? -
National Education Week?Wliat
It Is.
. National Education Week, De
cember 3rd to- 9th inclusive, is the
week .set aside by the president of
i the United States during which
! the citizens of each city. tOwn, and
community are urged to acquaint
themselves with the conditions sur
rounding the schools. Parents arc
invited to'visit the schools that
i their children ' attend, inspect the
I buildings, meet the teachers, and
see tilings for themselves. Trus
tees, and those'to whom the actual
work of manning the schools is
left, are asked to point out to the
citizens the needs of the schools?
all looking towards, better educa
tional advantages.
I? Sumter Count.v
Having been appointed general
.'chairman for Sumter county by tbe
j General Committee of the Citizens'
Educational Association at' their
'recent meeting in Columbia, I ask
that the persons whose names ap
I pear below, representing the re
spective organization set opposite
j their names, meet in the Girls'
High school building Monday aftcr
j noon at 6:10 for the purpose of
j conferring relative to the celebra
tion of educational week in Sumter
county:
Dr. S. H. Edmunds. City Schools.
Dr. J, H. Haynsworth, County
'Schools.
! Miss Armida Moses, Women's
f Clubs.
! Dr. J. A. Mood. School Trustees.
Mr. Geo. D. Levy. American Le
gion.
Mr. S. L. Roddey. Rotary Club.
Mr. H. L. Scarborough, Kiwanis
Club. ^
Mrs. Horace Harby, Civic League.
Mr. P. M. Parrott, Young Men's
Business League. i
Dr. E. S. Booth. Chamber of
?Commerce.
Mr. Hubert Osteen. County Board
of Education.
Hon. L. D. Jennings, City of
j Sumter.
Dr. J. P. Marion, Ministerial
j Union. ,
|. Hon. D. D. Moise. County Dele
gation.
j Mr. J. G. Rowland, County Board
of Commissioners.
Mrs. Louise M. Brogdon. Teach
ers* Asscciation.
Miss Irene Bryan. Winthrop
Daughters. .
Mr. H. D. Tindal. Trustee's As
sociation.
This conference is not expected
to last longer than 30 minutes. It
is an important meeting, however,
and each person is urged to be
present and on time.
R. B. Waters,
General Chairman Sumter Coun
ty.
RAILROAD INSPECTIONS
Columbia, Nov. 22,? Members of
the South Carolina Railroad Com
mission will this week begin inspec
tion ol the Southern Railway lines
between Cayce. near Columbia, and
Harleyvilie, the Savannah branch.
Following this they will make in
spection of the Seaboard line from
Monroe. N. ('., to the Savannah
river, near Calhoun Kails, the en
tire extent of one branch of the
Seit hoard in the state.
Several roads have already been
in-ported this year, the .Southern
from Kingville to the North Caro- ''\
lina line: the Charleston <fc Wei^arn
Carolina for its entire length: the
Piedmont and Northern, and one;
or two smaller roads.
When a girl who takes dictation
marries her boss she becomes boss
and lie lakes dictation.
The Ship Subsidy Grab
Scheme of Shipping Combine
to Raid the Treasury With
Assistance of President
Harding
Washington. Nov. 18.? By gag
ging the present Republican house
of representatives, which ."..was in
eluded in the anathema of Novem
ber 7. President Harding plans to
press .his ship sub bonus bill to
passage in the special session of
this congress, thai the sale of the
people's. mcr<*b;?nt marine at a loss
of $2.800.000.000 compared with its
original cost and the granting of
$750.000.000 of the public funds to
its purchasers may be sanctioned
before the next house and senate
shall have a chance to delcat it.
The ship bonus bill, along with
the Fordney-McCumber Profiteers'
tariff, the tax-shifting law and
Ncwborryism, was among the Re
publican proposals - and policies
condemned at- the polls three
weeks ago. The people knew that
it was a part of the president's
legislative program, they under
stood its provisions, and they vot
ed their disapproval of the meas
ure when they turned out of office
nearly a hundred Republican sena
tors and Representatives and oust
ed Republican governors in thir
teen states. Now the president is
in effect cocrcin.? a repudiated con
gress into passing his repudiated
"pet project."
President Plarding and the. Re
publican managers themselves made
! it plain that they regarded the
j election as a test of Republican
? legislation, past and prospective;
I They had as much opportunity to
pass the ship bonus bill in the ses
Ision which, closed in September as
they have in the special session.
But they feared the consequences
to their congressional and other
candidates at the- recent election
'and purposely withheld the meas
i ure from consideration at that time.
It was announced by semi-offi
cial organs of the administration
?two months ago. that President
? Harding preferred to await the
\ verdict of the voters on November
j 7 before urging congress 16 act on
j the ship bonus bill.
j The Washington Post gives an
(outline of the tactics*upon which
the president depends to force the
iship boni^s bill through congress
' and not only stifle opposition
among representatives and senators
but also defy the popular antag
onism expressed by the voters at
the recent election,
j '.'It is confidently, expected by
jthe administration that the house
I will pass the ship subsidy bill .un
! der special rule by the end of next
j week (November 23) and'that it
iwiil become a law* before the ad
| journnient of corigress March 4,"
Isays the Post. ,
j "Under such a rule," continues
;the.Post's article, "no amendments
j could be proposed on the floor and
! no motion except that to recom
mit would be in order. * * * Vigor
ous pressure will be brought to
bear in the senate, it is said, to
have that body pass the bill within
a reasonable time."
All the defeated and discredited
Republican representatives are ex
pected to support the bill and
thereby give token of their quali
fication for the federal appoint
ments for, which they arc hoping
and hustling! Those who were re
elected, it is fielt by the Republican
bosses, will be kept in line by
threats judiciously mingled with
promises:
If President Harding is success
ful in this attempt to exercise his
i official and political supremacy in
behalf of the ship bonus bill's en
actment during the special session
he will thereby override the peo
| pie's veto of this legislation but at
I the same time favor the interests
which have thus far kept the Re
publican administration steadfast
to its promise to' make a practical
gift of the government's fleet .to
! private corporations and superadd
! $75.000.000 a year by way of re
j wards for taking the vessels,
j Opponents of the bill, in the
i senate are confident it can not pass
(in the special session, or at any
J other session, in its present form,
t They regard most of its provisions
ias so "raw" that they feel sure
! of winning to the side of the op
} position even some of the stand
j pat Republicans. It begins to ap
j pear that President Harding is
I about to suffer a defcat^stf far as
his attempt to push this "pet pro
' ject" to passage in the special ses
! sion is concerned.
IDE VALERA
LIEUTENANT
HELD IN PRISON
Court Refuses Writ of Habeas
Corpus to Erskinc Childers
Dublin, Nov. 23.?A writ of ha
beas corpus today, was refused
Erskine Childers, lieutenant to
Eamon De Valera, who recently
was tried on the charge of illegal
possession of a pistol.
Considering Withdrawal.
An upstate town prospered so
much during the war that one af-!
ter another five new banks appear-!
ed upon its streets.
When business declined, compc- j
tition grew very active. In the!
scramble, t he only rules were those i
imposed by expected visits of the j
l>ank examiner.
One day the town's leading man- j
ufacturcr met a friend on the:
street.
"Jim." the friend asked, "are!
you doing much business these j
days with the Merchants' De- |
posit ?"
"Well, they're after me hard." j
Jim replied, "and I've got an over- j
draft there now, but I'm thinking'
of taking it out."
m Op
In Bcauvoir, Miss., a couple have
been married 64 years without
shooting each other one single
New Ministry
For Germany j
Wilhelm Cuno Succeeds inj
Forming a New Cabinet
Berlin. Nov. 20 i By the Associat
ed Press).?Wilhelm Cuno is Ger
many's 13th chancellor and the first
uon -pa rtisa n n o h- parliamentary
holder of that post in the new re
public. He has succeeded in form
ng his new cabinet but announce
nent of its members will not be
made officially until tomorrow.
It was indicated tonight, how
ever, that among the holdovers will
:>e Andreas Hermes, minister of
finance; Dr. Heinrich Brauns, la
bor; O. Gessler. defense, and Gen.
Wilhelm Groener. transportation.
Chancellor Cuno's ministry will
be chiefly recruited from among
the three middle parties who.have
agreed to support him while three
or four of the members will receive
heir appointments on non-politi
:al grounds.
The first pronounced bourgeoisie
.*abinct of tepublican Germany en
ters upon its functions knowing
that it will be confronted by the un
compromising opposition of the
L'hited. Socialists and Communists
but hopeful of winning the benevo
lent neutral tolerance of the
; strong Nationalistic party in the
reichstag.
The Conservatives tonight an
nounced they did not intend to em
barass the new ministry; even de
claring they would welcome the
opportunity to promote the revival
of the bourgeoisie movement. The'
Cnited Socialists this afternoon
definitely eliminated themselves
froni the further consideration 'of
Herr Cuno, to whom President
jEbert thereupon gave a renewed
j commission to proceed with the
j formation of the cabinet,
j The government enters office with
j a pronounced strategic advantage
! because the recent German note
j on reparations will aiso constitute
ja platform for internal reforms
i sanctioned by the middle parties
and the Socialists, while its dis
tinctive features concerning rep-j
arations have the approval of the
Nationalists. . ]
The reichstag has adjourned un
til Thursday to give the new min
istry an opportunity for organiza-!
j tion. ? ?
j BUSINESS CONDITIONS
j D?ring the last thirty days, com,
jmercial and industrial activity has I
[reflected the usual stimulation of
I fall and wmter demand. Retail]
i trade in the larger cities is more j
active than at the . corresponding
period of last Tear, amL seasonal
acceleration is evident throughout
the country. Uncertainty as to the
volume'of purchases by the farm
ers of the grain and livestock, states
has not been dispelled, how-over.
Wholesale tra.de has been good
throughout the current period.
Stocks of many kinds of goods in
the hands both, of wholesale and
i retail dealers are light, but neither
l this fact nor threats of higher
[prices have been sufficient to in
duce buyers -to make substantial
forward purchases. The- conser
vatism shown justifies the belief
that the catastrophe of 1920 has
not beeji forgotten.
Total car loadings and loadings
of merchandise aftd of less than
carload lots are practically at the
record levels established in 1920.
Despite car shortage, especially for
coal and for the movement of farm
products, the railroads are handl
ing freight remarkably well. Coal
has been rapidly moved to the lake
[ports for shipment to the north-!
J west before the close of navigation, j
j Receipts of wheat at primary raar
j kets to date, while somewhat less
I than for the corresponding period'
I of 1921. ai;e well above receipts forj
(1920. The livestock movement is
! Satisfactory. Cotton is moving
jmore rapidly than in 1921. Some
I industrial consumers are beginning
to accumulate coal reserves, and
the disappearance of premiums for
immediate delivery is evidence of
improved transportation for steel.
The manufacturing, industries as
a whole .are operating at not far
below normal. Steel output is at
75 p^er cent of capacity. There has
been a notable expansion W pig
iron production which for October
j exceeded any month since Decem
! ber 1920. Railroad orders con
tinue heavy. Demand from the
automobile and buildiztg industries
is good, due account being taken
of seasonal declines. Buying by
agricultural implement makers is
still light. The indications seem]
to be that demand for steel may!
slacken somewaat during the re
mainder of the year, but that re
covery will be made early in 1923.
Demand for machine tools is fair.
The woolen and worsted indus
try is at between 80 and 85 per
cent of capacity. Boot and shoe
manufactures range from 80 per
f cent, in New England to capacity
at St. Louis. Cotton consumption
in October was 533.950 bales,
compared with 494,745 and 401.
325 bales in October 1921 and 1920
respectively.' October output of
automobiles made a new high rec
ord for that month. Building is ex
ceptionally active for the season
this condition being reflected in the
various industries producing build
ing jnatcrials.
* National Bank of Commerce
in New York
Something of a Tight Wad.
A man who had just opened a'
store in a strange town was inter
rogating one of his early customers
on the purchasing power of the
?itizens. "Now, there's Deacon
Brown." he said. "He has the rep
utation of being wealthy. Would
he be likely to spend much money
in here?" 'Wa-al." drawled the,
native reflectively, "I wouldn't ex- j
aetly say that he'd go to hell for !
a nickel, but he'd fish around for
one till he fell in."?Salt Lake Tele-1
gram.
Influence bootleggers are gaining
is astounding. California voted dry.
Harding Urges
the Passage of f
, Marine Bill
Makes Address Before Joat
; Session
By the Associated Press
Washington, Nov." 21? President
Harding today urged Coaigress to
pasts the administration marine bill.
Ih his addufess before a joint ses
sion. He asserted it was necessary
to relieve the -government of the
staggering losses in the operation
of a war built merchant fleet and
that vie also needed to establish a
program assuring shipping in need
in war and to guarantee commer
cial independence. He said ah ac
tual money saving wouTd result,
telling congress the present opera
tion losses were fifty million dollars
annually, while the government-aid
to shipping at present would be
only twenty millions, which would
be paid back when the companies
began making ten per cent on cap
ital invested. "If success attends
as we hope, it will," he said, "gov
ernment outlay will be returned."
The president said the maritime na
tions of the world were in complete
accord with the opposition to the
measure. He asserted if it is fair
for government to aid in building
roads it is also fair to^ aid in es
tablishing market highways on seal
.- , Jfa, a' ~a
Ship Subsidy BiH IJp
Re publicans Agree on Amend
ment - *
Washington, Nov. _ 20.?Republi
can members of the Merchant*Ma
rire committee agreed tcday oh kn
amendment to the ship subsidy bill
designed to offset losses to Amer
ican passenger ships engaged in
foreign service by reason of &e
prohibition against the sale of li
quor. The amendment provides ^
tljat. such ships shall b3 paid di
rectly by.the government for carry
ing mail, instead of turning tfce
a mount due into, a revolving fund
out of which all companies are
to receive, compensation.
Representative Bankhead,. Ala
bama, Democrat membir ; of the
committee, announced he would
offer an amendment providing that
no part of the federal subsidy
should be paid to any ship - on
which liquor -was sold, regardless
of any future court ruling, on/.the
right .to sell ph the high seas.
Republicans of the committee
also agreed on. -. an amendment
which . would give the shipping
board the same authority ?:' over
coastwise steamship hne-> that; the
Interstate Commerce Conmiission
exercises over, railroads. It woiiTd
have power to fix both maximum
and minimum rates.
The bill will be, taken up to
morrow at ? fulf meeting of the
Merchant - Marine . committee and
formally reported to the house. The
rules . committee Is expected to
give it Yight of way.
Adoption of the rule by . the*
house will " start consideration
Thursday ^under' ? fixed .program
calling a final vote November 29.
ENGINEER SHOT
IN HIS CAB
Harry G. Ritner Fataliy
Wounded at EIrod S
Florence, Nov. 22.?CbtJmio?r
that he thought the men had at
tempted to rob his ? store, a mer
chant named Poole shot and prob
ably mortally wounded Harry; G.
Ritner, Atlantic Coast Line V?n
gineer while he was sitting in the
station at Elrod, N. C, and came
near wounding Charles Brock,
brsikeman, several buck shot, pass
ing through the. latter's clothing.
The shooting became known here
this afternoon.
Mr. Ritner was carried to a hos
pital in FayetteviU? soon after he
was wounded and it is reported
here that there is little hope, held
out for his recovery, the shot tak
ing effect near his heart. As
Brack was returning to the--loop
motive after switching a car onto
a side track in front of Poole's
store last night, he heard several
shots near by. More were fired
as he sprang into the cab, One
of these struck Engineer Ritner
who feH to the floor, in front of
the firebox of his locomotive. W?en
train employes carried Mr. Ritner
to the depot Poole appeared with
a shotgun in his hand and stated
he had. fired the ehots declaring
that someone had been trying to
break into his store and he thought
it was the engineer and brakeman.
Robbers broke into the depot at
Mars Bluff last night, blew open
the iron safe and cleaned out its
contents, taking $5,000 in ~ mort
gages, $500 in Liberty bonds and
about $50 in cash. The money was
the cash receipts for the day
the Atlantic Coast Line's agency
but the mortgages and bonds be
longed to the agent. No trace of
the robbers could be found by Of
ficers who investigated the loot
ing today. A pile o^ ashes1 "was
found near the depot and it is be
lieved the robbers burned the
mortgages there, not being able to
use them.
INVESTIGATION OF
STATE HOSPITAL
Columbia. Nov. 22.?Governor
Harvey spent all of yesterday .in
vestigating conditions at the stajte
hospital. The governor has receiv
ed requests from patients at the in
stitution lately and from former'
patients, asking that certain things
be authorized, and with a view to
making whatever recommendations
he might find advisable to the leg
islature, he undertook a thorough
study of the institution. While he
has not as yet made an official
port on the institution, he was 1
in his praises of the management.
The State Hosnital is considered
eise of the best institutions for me^
uviectives in the country.
