The Gftstoniaii Paper
r »r O.istoq County People,
li Gives You GdHiton County
N^W8. Read it.
COTTON MARKLi.
■otton i li 1-4
PUKLtSHFD MOyPAY AND THUH3DAY.
Cotton Seed ..k. Gvs
^'Gaiette
■‘'OLUME V.
.StlMeRimON PRICE $1,00 A YEAE-r-DUE IN A:
GASTONIA, N. C., MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1916.
OVANCS.
NUMBER f4.
MR. A, J. SMITH WILL NOT
STAND FOR EEvELJECTION.
On Account of Health Feels Like He
Would Not be Able to Make the
Race,
Politics are beginning to warm up
in the county sipce the' Republican
convention and since the*' two gentle
men have announced theii‘caandidacy
for the State Senate.
The latest developmenf'.is the fact
that Register of Deed#' A. J. Smith will
not stand for j-nomination. in the com
ing primaries. Mr. Smith's, health has
hot been good for some time and he
lecently went to Philadelphia whero
he consulted a spec'alist and in view
( f what he learned has d^^ided that
it would be unwise for him to make
the race. Mr. Smith has held the of-
I'ce of Register, of Deeds for twelve
, years and there is very little- doub
but that he could have secured ibr
n-:=mination if he had so desirfed. He
has "T.ade a faithful officer and is very
pcpiilor and the man who ra'n against
Jackson” (as his . close ac-
' cqu5unt;inces affectionately designd.tc
h.-rj'i pJv/ayR knew he had -been in a
ii:oe ano had come out setfbnd' best
Ahvay3 riffable and courteous he made
fr ends >\-'h everyone with whom he
in -r.on'ruct. and he will be missed
• ];f>n oe f his office over to hir
^uccassor. v/hoev:er it may be..
Tlvis leaves .the field open for r.
new man and abeady there is talk of
thoss who will likely make the race
Mr, Smith has issued the following
card to the voters of the county:
To the Democratic Voters of Gaston
County;
‘ I hef,; ’'V announce that I will J^^^t be
a canditjc^for ,re*nomination - thf-
oflfice fli .»«g:steE of; Deeds at t’ - com
ing Democratic primaries. J wish t
expres ’ > the voters of the Demo
GASTON COUNTY NEGROES
ELECTROCUTED FRIDAY.
George Poston and Ernest Lowry Pay
Penalty for Murder of Grant Davis
—Go to Death After Making Full
Confession.
Raleigh, Feb. 25.—George Poston
..nd Ernest Lowry, Gaston county ne-
;:roes, were execute3 in the electric
iihair this morning at the state prison.
Warden S. J. Busbee officiating for
the second time and in the second dou
ble electrocution that the state has
ordered
SIXES SELECTED FOR
NEW SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
Dilling Property in East Gastonia and
Wesley Bradley Land in West Gas
tonia for $4,000 and $3,000 Respec-
t’vcly.
The committees appointed by the
board of Aldermen to selcet sites for
PASSENGER XINER RAMMED
OFF DIAMOND SHOALS.
Liner Cretan, After Being Rammed
Plugged the Hole and Made New
port News Under Own Steam.
Newport Nws, Feb. 25.—The Mer
chants’ and Miners ’liner Cretan, dam
aged in a collision off Diamond Shoals
NEWS OF CURRENT EVENTS.
jvcviiA Kfx xxmciiiicii Lu beicet Hites lor wjnatun uii. ij^amona onoais
h- new school buildings to be erected; ^bout 2 o’lcock this morning when
ri.thppnaf. anri iirocf TamTYIPfl hv tllo cf-aamyii.
in theeast and west ends of the city
reported to the Board at a call meet
ing Thursday night, and as a result
the T. Wesley Bradley property was
purchased for the v/est end school and
I lor uiy vvesc ena scuooi and
Poston was the 24th and Lowry the | the Dilling Property for the building
;25th victim, 22 of these having been j jn the east end of the city.
; ^Vv^. TITn i. J w. m n _ 1 _.
to death by Warden T. P. Sale,
who died four weeks ago as he fin
ished the first double function as war
den. Both men confessed without ef
fort to assign blame to anybody else
the crime of murder for robbery, their
victim b> jng Grant Davis, an old ne*
gro of Gaston.
Poston elected to die first. “I want
-0 get to heaven and prepare a place
for Ernest," ho said to Warden Bus-,
bee. Th^ crudeness of the poor bln
'aith that enabled him, much the
The Bradley property is on: Second
avenue, west of the Loray mill, 400x
300 feet and the price paid Was $3,000.
The East Gastonia site was purchased
from the Gastonia Insurance & Realty
Co., and lies on the north side of Ozark
street, between Modena and Ozark
Mills, also a lot offered by the Modena
Mills, adjoining it which makes "the
tract 251x346 feet, and the price was
$4,000.
Another site in East Gastonia offer
ed was the Modena Ball Park by H. B.
craf
ciatk
past L
|of the county my appre
l;eir loyal support in th
^tre them  at I will give
feprt
, •• —~ -two i,uc irxuuejia r»aa rarjc Dy ±1. 15
worse of the two to , believe that his I Parker. He offered it in three differ-
I.' 11..
five minute priority gave him ample
opportunity to set the celestial house
in order appealed to the tenderness of
he Warden and Poston was first
shocked.
He was the younger of the two,
.fUst 22 and married, A few minutes
o*‘oia going to the chair he dictated
' unoQ^^^^ w fe., He came to
death and entered the
■■ainuer with one guard attending him
3nd two negro Episcopal ministers
■omforting him. The frequency of
fhe executions recently must have
•.vorn on the nerve^ of the attendants.
They have not. before experienced such
difficulty in’^ rranging the harness
that holds helpless victim to the-
chair while Wilcox’s huge dynr.mo
feeds nto their bodi»a Poston
it) abou.’
ent sizes and price. This site was fa-
ammed by the steamer Dorthy, ar
rived here this evening with a gaping
hole in her port bow, and went to the
shipyard for repairs. The steamer
came in under her own power and was
in no danger of sinking, the cargo
having been shifted to the starboard
' nd the hole plugged up with boards,
ceiTient, packing and all other avail
able material.
Captain Wood said that the Dorothy
now is somewhere in Hampton Roads
and her master contemplates landing
the passengers at Old Point tonight.
Capt. J, B. Wood, master of the Cre^^
tan declined to discuss the acciden-
saying:.
“It is against the rules of the com
pany and I don’t dare to for it may
mean a great deal later on.”
Captain Wood, according to a mem
ber of the Cretan’s crew was on the
v„ . * , , . V^recans crew was on the
y two school committeemen bridge when the ships collided Which
On r.he f'nmrvnt+iaQ a tti . *
^all signed a
. try-out i-^n the Balti
more tea^kf the,vCnternational lea
gue. ,M- ‘-'^xico will probably join
.the LtfnMRTore teani,.,when . it comes
south for training ^jthin, the . next
month. The Internat^priai league is
but a shade lower thaia.;the American
and National basebailjiea^gues.—-York-
vill.e Enquirer.
Today’s program faijed to. come at
the Broadway but ^r. Beard made
special arrangemeats to have a spe
cial program here this afternoon and
will start the show at 3 o’clock. Tues
day Mr.- Beard will show the “Smug
glers of Santa Cruz,’* a 3 reel special
an a “Sanatarium Scramble.” Wed
nesday will be a feature day in the
Gastonia movie history, showing Wm,
Clifford in a Five Reel Mutual called
“The Bait.” This is an animal picture
enacted by the Bosteck Animal Co.
The annual meeting of the stock
holders of the Gastonia Insurance and
Realty Company was held last Thurs
day afternoon in the company's office
in the Realty building. The reports
of the officers showed that the past
year had been a gbod one. The fol
lowing were elected as directors: W.
T. Rankin, R. G. Rankin, 0. F. Mason,
A. E. Moore, J. K. Dixon, T. W. Wil
son, S. M. obinson, R. R. Ray, E. B.
Brittain. The directors elected the
following officers: President and treas-
urer, W. T. Rankin; vice-presidents,
A. E. Moore and R. G.: Rankin; aecre-
tary, E. B. Brittain.' A semi-annual
dividend of six per qent^was ordered
paid. 1, * i .
Friday night inside the town of
Cherryville Deputy ’Sheriff G. Lee
Beam captured negroes, two
mules, a buggy and six gallons of
blockade whiskey.' * A inail carrier
had noticed these tw» negroes going
out a certain way quite often and he
put the officer onto it;' So Friday night
they lay for therii to come back and
when they did they arrested them and
it proved to be Jim Crawford and
John Burris. They had the whiskey,
in jugs an dalso had a jug of “back
ings.” They were- brought here and
given a hearing .before Squire S. S
Morris and by 12- o'clock were safe
in jail under a $100 bond for their ap
pearance at the next term of court.
As usual in such peases the outfit was
mortgaged. '
On the committee, Messrs. A. E.
E. Woltz and H. B. Moore, but the
echool committee have no voice in the
matter ^vhen it '■ ■■ down to a de
cision, the City , cil having that
privilege.. ““1
The Loray Mill offered what is
known as Loray Park ..free of charge
to the city, to remain fte property of
the city as long as it .was used for
school or munic'pal purposes.
The Bradley property^as offered by
Mr. C. W. Boyd, located west of Lin-
wood street, for $2,000. f
A lot on the corner o)f Second ave
nue and Linwood stree-'Kvas offered by
Mescrs Will Bradley art.“ C W. Bovd
5 $1,600. -altto' ’
Mich
-,'cered he louncu
at the crov^fc little octagonal room
and with a b^ad smile waved his hand
in salute andlaid: "Well, gentlemens.
I’ll tell the world I’m going to God
I’m going home to die no more.” Low
ry was luckier in the wait for the cur
rent. The attendants strapped him to
the chair and in a moment the heavy
leathers were creaking to hold him in
,nlace. One application ended his life.
Lowry was a powerful man, about
six feet three inches tall and a bony
man of weight, about 200. The elec
trical apparatus which was apparently
not performing its best in the light of
'he huge blisters raised, however,
found him with less resistance than
Poston. Both men were considerably
■corched.
One of the witnesses found himself
too overcome to witness it after en
tering the death chamber. Wilcox
put in the switcl^and.the humming of
the giant dynamo sang a song too
doleful for him. Many of the stra»-
gers to the function thinking the horse
)augh in order, administered it. The
fellows who have been seeing them all
d^e applauded the spectator’s show
of heart.
Poston and Lowry were young men,
Lowry being 23 and a year older than
Poston. They explained their murder
of Grant Davis as growing out of his
selling liquor and ‘^bragging about his
money.” 'After Poston had heard the
old man several times he and Lowry
arranged to get some of it- They
caught him one Sunday in March and
asked him for some' liquor. While
Lowry stood in front of Davis, Lovfry
winked and Poston struck him with a
big stick. It felled Da^vis but he arose
and Poston struck him harder this
time. Lowry took hi^ money, about
$280 and Poston said: “You are just
as much in tihs as I am; you inust hit
him,” Lowry then used the club.
They dragged Davis off, hid him and
it was three days before he was found.
In the meantime they became right-
ened and fled to Atlanta. They were
suspected and brought back. Their
confessions, coupled with their sus
picious conduct, convicted them.
A short while before going to the
chair Lowry wrote a letter to R. G.
Cherry of Gastonia, a faithful at
torney. The letter is in such indeci
pherable scrawl as to make its reading
impossible. Neither man had any ed
ucation. Both left wives, Poston hav-
ms cr
second
■i I acco”nt Mi.
B I I -y ruined' 7.
5 ri fire originatea
floor of the Tulloch siKre in a rear
room, which was unocctipied and was
discovered by Dr. T. . Balsley at
about 5-o’clock. ■ Dr. Baisley p-ave the
alarm. The flames had already gained :
strong headway and ihen the fire-' Sued
fighters reached the scene the de
partment saw that theV had a tough
job before them.
Tulloch’s stock of goods v/as prac-
of the steamers was at fault cannot be
ascertained. Members of the Cretan’^
crew assert that the Dorothy loomed
up through the fog and struck the
Cretan on the port bow in less time
than it takes to tell it, “Had the
Dorothy not been light she would have
sent us to the bottom,” said a member
of the Cretan’s crew tonight. As i^,
was she rammed a gaping.hole above
the Cretan’s water line. The pas
sengers were asleep and the shock
brought them from their beds. Con
sternation reigned for a short time
and the life boats were made ready.
“The officers succeedod in calming
the passengers and whei^irt was found
that the Cr^an was not as seriously
'"’jh^lrst supposed the pas-
the Dorq-
Steam. Tj.^e D^;thy towba in by
a revenue cutter (the ondaga.)
“I heard the master of the Doro
thy request that a tug meet him at
Old Point in order that the passengers
might be landed.”
for
$2.64 and Lost—The Cosft
Was $40.
Newton, Feb. 24.—Advices from
Rev. V. L. Fulmer, pastor of the New-
tically destroyed a„d°, th7 interior “of ^ w
*e beautiful Princess: theatre rlned ^ youngest s.ster died and
^ ruinea v/as buried yesterday, following fear-
Spartanburg, Feb. 25.—Mr. C. 0. —“ wives, x-os
Wyche, of the local bar has announced child and Lowry two.
candidacy for the;.pffice of lieutenant' Lowry’s wife, with a baby barely
lUilJlSU
The Piedmont Cigar company’s fac-
tory, which was located on the front
of the second story over Tulloch’s
store was also burned out and its
.stock of tobaccos and cigars was com
pletely ruined. By splend'd work the
buildings were saved, although very
badly damaged.
Mi% Tulloch was only partially in
sured. He estimates his insurance
will-only cover about 50 per cent of
his actual loss.
N. C. Jones had $4,000 insurance
on his theatre. He estimates the
damage at about $6,000. His plans
are to begin work as early as possible
to rebuild this popular playhouse.
Entire Family Wiped Out When Fire
Destroys Home.
Roanoke, Va., Feb. 25.—James L,
Taylor, a farmer near Newport, Giles
county, Va., losing his life together
with his wife, two daughtens and an
aunt, when their home was destroyed
by fire yesterday morn-ng between 'f
and 5 o’clock. Cause of the blaze i=
not known. The fire was discovered
by a neighbor a quarter of a mile
away, but when persons reached the
scene the building which was built
of logs and weatherboarding, had
been reduced to ashes. Two skulls
were found in the ruins which are
thought to be all that is left of the
family of five. This information was
received here over long distance tele
phone late today. E. E. Eppling, a
farmer living a quarter of a mile
from the scene, was the first to dis
cover the fire, said he saw a “light
between 4 and 5 o’clbck while re was
getting up.”
The aunt was 8 Oyears old.
herself and bab’es personally to Gov
ernor Craig and the governor has not
set eyes upon pity better incarnated ii.ngineer jood
puise will be made up to send heriSmyre, and his negro fireman John
home Slio T . iTT... ' . .
ful burns sustained at her home at
Chapin, S. C., early Monday morning.
The child was passing before an open
^^re, and was alone. Her clothing
caught and she ran into an adjoining
room where her sisters were, and the
flames put out, but not before they
had burned her fatally. She lingered
imtil Tuesday morning. Mr. and Mrs.
Fulmer were called to Chapin by-wire
Monday.
The campaign for 25 cents on the
;U00 and 75 cents on the pol, to supple-
incnt the school tax in the county is
■-rogressing favorably and the outlook
is that it will carry.
In casting up bills of costs following
-he recent term of Superior court the
clerk finds that a case in which $2.64
v/as the bone of contention, the cost^
pmcunt to $40. D. J. Fry sued J. C.
Matthews for the small sum, alleging
it to be an account owed. He lost the
case and must pay the expenses. Be
sides, there are the fees of the attor
neys.
Bought Race Horse Cheap
Smithfield, Feb. 24.—Some time ago
chere came a horse trader to Smith-
fisld and sold several horses at public
auction. One of these was bought by
John A. Narron for $125. The new
owner soon discovered that he had a
rare find in his horse and had him
trained. The other day he refused an
enormous sum for the animal. He
has won a number of races and the
horse keeps improving. Smithfield
horse lovers -are on the lookout for
this Kentucky trader again.
N. C. Jones, for eight years treas
urer of McDowel county, is dead.
Senators Cummins of Iowa and Bur
ton, of Ohio, have filed notices in Iowa
wa and Ohio, respectively, of their
candidacies for the Republican presi
dential nomination.
The Newton Enterprise is 37 years
old and Editor Williams has been on
the job for 35 years. The Enterprise
is a good paper. Long life and pros
perity to parper and editor. The En
terprise is soon to install a linotype.
Editor Wade H. Hari;is, of the Char
lotte Observer has been selected to ad-
•’ress the State Medical Society, at its
annual meeting in Durham in April on
the subject “The Newspaper and Pub
lic Health.”
Frank Parker of Raleigh has been
appointed government crop reporter
for North Carolina, succeeding Col.
John S. Cununingham. Col. Cunning
ham, it is said, will be assigned to a
more important post,
A report comes from Dahlonega,
Ga., that three men were drowned in
an old well into which Federal revenue
officers, after destroying an illicit still,
had dumped a quantity of sour mash
from which whiskey is made. The
men fell into the well, it is said, while
trying to get some of the mash.
Approximately 10,000 persons
‘mostly negroes, in the flooded district
of northern Louisiana, are in need of
assistance, according to official re
ports. The negroes who conduct their
own farms are reported to be suffer
ing most, while comparatively few
white planters are able to care for
their tenants.
The total resources of all the na
tional banks in the United States
which reported to the Comptroller of
the Currency at the end of 1915, ag
gregated thirteen and a half billion
dollars, an increase for the year of
more than two billions. The numb^^
of banks incrf,s;-£o?5. Dan. Ida^
in d^eposits w^^p.^i.g.g^ ; ^ilson, Corrle*
' poiIUocB on ^P’urjday. Their'^^x?eiS?J^?^ G
was that necessary to gather
the potatoe ' I i chat day, as weather
threatened to .ruin the crop, and the
Supreme Court held the excuse valid.
The Supreme Court , has affirmed
the judgment of the lower court in
the case of Ward, administratorj vs.
Morehead Seafood Company^ A man
died after eating mullets put up by
the compnay and it was alleged that
he was poisoned by the food. Suit was
brought for damages by his adminis
trator and the jury gave $5,000 dam
ages. This the Supreme court affirms.
SAYS WHISKEY IS EASY
TO GET IN CHAROTTE.
Corresponden^t of Baltimore Sun Sayft
it is Sold in Leading Drug Store*
and Bellboys Get it Easily in .the
Hotels—Would Make Good WitneM
for Grand Jury.
There is a state wide prohibition
bill before the Maryland legislature
and the Baltimore Sun has sent Mr.
J. H. Adams, as a representative to
:he different prohibition states .in or-
order to see ho wthe law worked. He
visited Charlotte in this State and re
ported it as dry as Sahara. He said
(n his article that he tried to buy a
r-nk at several places. His report was
eiy favorable to the prohibitionists
and spoke very well of our sister city.
In Saturday’s Sun the foUowiog
communication appeared in the letter*,
the writer evidently being . an anti,
and onto the ropes. The gentleman
would likely be as dumb as,an oyster
if he was brought before a grand jury,
which is likely to be done, because the
prohibitionists of Charlotte art a
pretty live bunch, and are by
an aggressive solicitor. The cornQM-*
nication is as follows:
To the Editor of The Sun:«—I have
read with a great deal of interest your
article written by one of your staff,
with reference to prohibition and its
success in North Carolina, and e«pec»
ially in the city of Charlotte. I am
at a loss to know just how your pep-
re^entative could have written fuch an
article in the face of existing Con*’
ditions at Charlotte, in the light I
have been able to see them.
While I am a native Baltimorean,
I have been a resident of Charlotte
for tv/o years past, and am frank to
admit that I have never seen th® .tiae
in Charlotte or any other city in
Carolina where a drink of whiskey «t
b.eer could not be obtained if
wanted it. or beer il
rli^a
Forsyth Girl Champion Pig Raiser.
The honor of champion pig raiser
for North Carolina for the year 1915
goss to Miss Rachel Speas of Forsyth
county, who lives on Route 5, Win
ston-Salem. Miss Speas took' the
sweepstakes prize at the State fair
^ast fall, but the honor was not award
ed until the cost of production could
be ascertained and all points both of
'udging and cost of raising considered.
The hog which copped the honors was
raised at a cost of $26.92. The ani
mal cost $10 when taken from Jihe lit
ter. For feed $10.85 was spent, labor
$4.64, pasturage 43 cents. The assess
ors have placed on the animal now a
value of $50. As a' prize the winner
receives a cream separator of .stand
ard make, which is worth $50.
_ ORTH BOUNPJ
m.- last tral
request a ' in oxiv- witithe lead^ -
ing hotels of Charlotte for a quart o^
whiskey and it only took the said bell--
boy about five minutes to produce the
spirits. I don’t know where the bell-
bpy got it. I only'know that’^ did.
Charlotte, as you say in'yonr Article
is a v/ell governed city,'but'did you
know that in Mecklenburg county, ift
wh'ch county Charlotte is located,
there were more homicides committed
this last year than in any other coun
ty in the whole South?
BALTIMORE.
Wilmington, N. C., Feb. 23.
C. & N.-W. Engine Derailed.
Hickory, Feb. 25,—A broken flange
:ausedthe derailment of the engine
of southbound C. & N.-W. train No.
a short distance this side of Mor
timer this morning and Engineer Bob
ome . She counts upon Lowry’s un- j Henderson, were slightly injured,
c e to defray the expenses of a burial i None of thepassengers were injurd
among his own people. Poston sent j Northbound passenger train No. 10
governor of South ' Z k . 7/ T \ oareiy -- ung ,us own people. Poston sent! Northbound passenger train No. 10
wX Ls always bee^ » i .7 : a letter to his wife and signed it. turned around at Lenoir and proceed-
of former Gwernor Blease ^^ther money enough to| Your devoted husband.” He also left! ed back to Chester ond No. 9’s sche-
i; Blease. [Come here to see him. She presented | photographs very recently taken. j dule.
Explosion of Gasoline Kills Two Men
and Injuries Ten Others.
Boston, Feb. 14.—The fishing
schooner Mary C. Santos, with 23
men on board, was blown up in the
harbor by an explosion of gasoline
today, ' Harry Fisher and Prescott
Bent were killed and 10 others of
the crew were injurfed. The schooner
3ank soon after a rescue fleet of tugs
and dories had taken off those of the
crew who had escaped injury.
Outward bound for her home ^rt,
Provincetown, the schooner had stop
ped off a fish pier in South Boston
to take on gasoline. Several cans had
been taken aboard when the explo
sion occurred.
Three Guards to Be Put On Trial.
Salisbury, Feb. 25.—The three
guards who Were in charge of the 31-
convicts, seven of whom escaped while
passing through this vicinity last
week, are to be tried in Rowan county
court tomorrow. The charge is that
the men allowed the prisoners to es
cape. District Solicitor Hayden Clem
ent will prosecute the case, Supt. J.
S. Mann, of the State Prison will at
tend the trial.
MURDERER CAPTURED HERE
Negro Who Killed Mr. Brittaiu Price
Caught Here Saturday.
John Blanton, the negro who killed
Mr. Brittain Price in Charlotte Friday
night was arrested here Saturdaay
morning by Policeman Tom Rankin,
near the P. & N. freight depot;' aa
he was clin^bing up on a wagon.' He
made no resistance. Friday n^ht
Blanton was caught by the watchman
at Phillips wood yard in Charlotte
stealing wood. He was putting the
wood in a hand cart when the watch
man approached and while they were
taking the wood out of the cart he
picked up a piece and struck the whitd
man across- the temple with it. The
watchman was carried to the hospital
V/here he died Saturday morning at
4 o’clock. The negro ran and was
chased for several blocks but got
away. He formerly lived her£ and
the officers were notified to keep an
eye open for him and Policeman Ran
kin picked him up early Saturday
morning.
Blanton was taken to the City HaH
and locked up where he talked freely
of the crime. He said that the man
told him he had to go to the office
and drew a stick of wood as if to iiit
him and that he hit first. Chief Moore
came over and took him back to Char-
lotte in the afternoon. Blanton was
never a fighting negro when he lived
here, according to those who know
him; It is said that his wife has been
known to beat hfm up, and he is also
known as an outrageous liar, always
telling a lie when the truth would fit
better. He is evidently headed for the
electric chair.
The seed is the cheapest part of the
g-arden and while you are getting, get
the best, which is Buist’s, and you get
chem quick from the Adams Drug Co,
Telephone No. 25.