The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1905-05-17

of the Electric Light company to
grant them a fifteen-year extension
Of the lighting contract at an in
creased price. Electric lights are
growing cheaper each year, and a
municipal plant operated in connec-
tion with the water works system can
furnish street lights cheaper than any
private corporation.
The naval station at Charleston
| is proving to be a rail-
way magnet, and if the Charleston
business men would wake up they
could carry two. or more new rail
roads into the city. The railroads
want to go to Charleston now, and
there is. enough money in Charleston
to build a road to the coal fields with
out waiting for outside capitalists to
do it and reap the profit.
e.
The sale Of the court house lot,
containing only one acre Of land, for
100000, seems to stagger some Of our
friends in other. towns, and even some
of our own citizens who ought to be
conversant with the value of real es-
tate in the business portion of the
city, think this price is high, but peo-
ple of other towns should not under
take to compare Sumter values with
values at home, while Sumter people
should wake up and inform them
selves as to the actual value Of busl-
ness real estate. The rent paid by
quite a number of stores On Main
street is more than than a fair inter-.
est on the. cost Of store building and a
valuation Of $500 a front foot fer the
land upon which it stands. Real es-
tate in the business portion OF town is
Increasing in valte every day and any
Main street lot within the same dis
lance from the corner Of Main and
Liberty street as the court house is
worth today the price per foot paid
for the court house square. And
within twelve months it will
be worth more on the open
market. The very people who now
exc,airn over the price will be trying
to buy a court house square lot as an
investment within a year or two. An
instance Illustrative ofsthe increase in
real estate values is the Ryttenburg
store. About a year ago this property
was purchased by the Bank of Sum
ter for s17,5o0 and the know-alls
held up their hands and exclaimed
over the enormous price. Yet today
the Bank Of Sumter could sell this
property for $4,000 if it would say
the word.
1t seems to- US that both the judge
and solicitor engaged in the trial of
the Eutawville lynchers have failed
to perform their full duty in one re-
spect. Several of the petit jurymen
who were challenged ann put upon
their yoir dire, stated under oath that
they had been approached" after it
became known that they had been
drawn to serve on the jury. The
sworn statement that an attempt
had been made to bribe the prospec-
tive members Of the jury should not
have been allowed to drop. The So
licitor, it seems to US, had the right to
go "a step further and ask the name
of the persons or person who had ap-
preached the jurymen, and thereby
lay the foundation for criminal
prosecution of the persons who made
the effort to tamper with the jury.
The solicitor failing in this, the presid-
ing judge had the right, and 1t was
HIS GUY 10 QSIlldtlO VI Il1S J0A AAASAA
the name of the party who had ap-
preached them, for the purpose Of
Furnishing the said party for contempt
Of court. The newspaper reports in
dicate that no attention was paid to
the statements of the jurymen that
they had been approached by eth
er the judge or solicitor and this
oversight or neglect of duty, call it
what you please, strikes US as some
what peculiar.
The Louisiana rice millers have
decided to use cotton bags for the
shipment Of rice instead of jute bags.
Thi. is a cotton movement Of the
practical sort and the cotton oil mills
should follow suit and use cotton
bags for the shipment Of cotton seed
meal.