Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-04-18
Scraps and fafts.


been moved by the presidents recent
letter against race suicide" to send him
a letter protesting against the action
of the ns Wy department in sending "all
the nice young men" to the Philip
pines as being responsible for the fall
Of many Of the young ladies to get
married. Her letter, which was refer-
red to the navy department In the US
ual routine, is as follows: Dear Pres
ident Roosevelt: I have been very
much interested in the subject you and
DIR. Eliot, of Harvard college have
aroused about Americans not marry
ing. The reason I am not married 1s
because I have not been asked, and
there are a number of other young la
dies in Massachusetts, who have not
been either. My sister and Cousin
Kate think Secretary Moody Is greatly
responsible for their not being married.
as he orders all the nice young men to
the Philippines, and the girls think II
would only be fair for him to give free
transportation for them to follow.
Sincerely, your friend"
A fire which may prove the most
disastrous conf1agration that has ever
visited the Spindle Top oil lands swept
over the Hogg-Swayne tract and the
property Of the Caldwell OIL company
early Wednesday morning, consuming
264 derricks and entailing a loss esti-
mated at 100000, which it Is thought
may reach $1,000,000 when the details
of the fire shall have been learned. The
fire started from a lantern at the Cald-
we'll company's oil well. The fly wheel
of an engine struck a lantern, which
was thrown against nearby derrick
with it's flames exposed to the oil. In
stantly the oil ignited, and the flames
spread with tremendous rapidity, three
blocks, Nos. So, 81 and 38 being de-
stroyed in an hour and a halfs time.
No effort could be made to check the
flames, which spread over all derricks
within their reach. 1t Is stated that all
but twenty-three Of the It's rigs be-
longing to the Hogg-Swayne syndicate
were destroyed. No lives were lost and
1t Is stated that there are no known
injuries from the fires devastating
work, although several daring at
tempts were made by employees to
check the fire, which allowed no one
to get within hundred feet OF the
flames. Although the exact damage
of the conf1agration cannot be esti-
mated, 1t Is stated that two-thirds Of
the companies Of the burned district
will not be able to recover from the
loss Of the fire.
New York Tribune: "Dun's Re-
view" contains an article on the cost
Of living in the United States which
includes the period from 1860 to the
present year. What Is technically
known as an Index number" which
covers hundreds of articles, Is used in
the compilation Of the table, and
wholesale prices are the basis Of reck-
oning. In 1860 Dun's index number was
$121.631; meaning that If each inhab-
liant had purchased years supply Of
all the necessaries Of life the cost
would have been $121.63 and one-tenth
Of a cent. The highest point attained
by the index number was on SeptemS
ber 1, 1864, when the same quantities
of the same articles would have cost
$312737. This was due to the civil
war, and emphasizes the extent to
which production was curtailed by the
~ aT
industrial pursuits, the devastation Of
vast areas and the depreciation Of the
currency. In recent years no such wide
fluctuations have occurred, but the
rapid improvement in methods of pro-
duction reduced the level Of prices un-
til normal position appeared at about
s95 in the early 9Os. Beginning with
1893 there was a gradual decline in
quotations, due to industrial depres-
sion, and the fall eliminated on July
1, 1897, at $75.455. The present figures,
March 1, 19O3) is $1O1.O67, showing
that the high prices" Of today are
only slightly above the normal. though
relatively very high compared with the
prices in the period Of depression six
years ago.
Washington special to the News
and Courier: Mr.. E. A. Schwartz has
just returned to Washington from Gu
ba, where he went for the department
Of agriculture to make an investiga-
tion Of the cotton lands and Of the
dofi Of fha
The especial purpose Of his visit was
the desire to find out, if possible, some
parasite which will destroy the pest
so fatal to cotton. He failed to find
that the weevil exists pretty generally
throughout Cuba and that the cotton
possibilities of the island are natu-
rally very much injured by it's exist
ence. The department Of agriculture
has been devoting a great deal Of at
tention to the cotton boil weevil in
the hope that some means of ridding
the cotton lands Of it may be found
Investigations have been recently made
throughout Mexico, and as stated, in
So far no parasite to destroy the boil
weevil has been discovered. The re-
ports to the department show that the
territory Of its operations in the south
west is extending year by year, the
advance being at the rate of approx
mately seventy-five miles each year.
With its present progress the pest can
be expected to reach the Mississippi
valley in couple Of years. DR.. How
ard, chief entomologist of the depart
ment Of agriculture, says that unless