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Ol.UME XXI-NUMBER 23 LAURINBURG, N. C, THURSDAY. JUNE 5, 1913. WAR RECORD OF A COLUMN OF CONDENSED NEWS MAJ. T. J. WOOTEN i STATE NEWS; FROM EVERYWHERE i 'Short Items of North Carolina News of A Column of the Week's Happenings . . 1 1 i n...Miti i TL- t . ... . VIIUII I I V IIIU VI H I " w - - A Brief Record of the Gallantry and Bravery of Major Thomas J. Q8n8ra Interest To Scotland County wooten, Known to the n.nemy as Major Hooten j n Condensed Form For Exchange During the Struggle Between the States. Readers Gathered From Gon- Written By James H. Lane. j tpmnoraries r GEN. LEE COMPLIMENTS THE SHARP-SHOOTERS OF LANE'S BRIGADE. "It is due the corps of sharp shoters of my brigade to state that after the flank movement on the 12th of May, Gen. Lee sent for ' me and told me that he had witnessed the gallantry of these brave men, as well as the cheer fulness with which they had en dured the hardships of the day, and that he had such a high ap preciation of their services as to make him unwilling to order them forward again, but as they had been thoroughly tried and wished to make another very important reconnoisance on the Fredericksburg road, he would be glad if they would make it for him. I at once told him that however tired they might be, I knew they would go wherever he wished them. To which he replied, "I will not send them unless they are willing to go." I went for Capt. W. T. Nicholson, at that time commanding them, and introduced him to Gen. Lee, who repeated what he had just said to me. In a few minutes afterwards our sharp - shooters passed Gen. Lee with cheers, and again pushed vigorously to the front." After the last interview Capt. Nicholson and I went back to the corps, and the captain told his officers and men all that had oc curred between Gen. Lee and ourselves, and I added that 1 knew in complying with Gen. Lee's request, they would not forget that they had already cov ered themselves with glory and had an enviable reputation to sustain. Gen. Lee presented a magnificent appearance as he sat on "Traveler," just where the works crossed the road im mediately in front of the court house. As the corps of sharp shooters passed that grand old chieftain, your brother, who was at the head of the column, raised his cap as the signal and the whole command wildly yelled yelled as only brave men can un der such circumstances. Gen. Lee simply but gracefully re moved his hat and remained un covered until the whole command was well to the front. The brave fellows who were holding the lines witnessed it all, and they, too, rent the air with shouts and continued their cheers until the corps had rapidly deployed to the right of the road and was lost to view. It was a grand sight and made my hearc swell with love and pride. At that time Gen. A. P. Hill was sick and Gen. Early was in command of his corps. On the 18th of the month your brave brother and his sharp-shooters were resting in the inner line of works, near the brick kiln to the left of the Fredericksburg road, and Gens. Early and Wilcox and myself, with some of our staffs, were standing between the end of the inner line and the re entrant angle, where we had a battery planted. As soon as the Yankees espied us they opened upon us with the artillery in front of that memorable salient, and forced all of us to seek shel ter behind the inner line. As we were doing so I saw them taking some one to the rear, and on ask ing who it was, I was told that it was Capt. Nicholson, who had been wounded with a fragment of one of the many shells that were flying over us. After your brother was thus wounded I put Maj. Thomas J. Wooten, of the 18th North Caro lina another brave hero, but as modest as a blushing girl in charge of our corps of sharp shooters, and he continued in command until the surrender at Appomattox Court House. Under him the corps continued to add to its already splendid reputation, especially in its first dash at the enemy's picket line at the Davis House in front of Petersburg, which called forth complimentary official communications from su perior headquarters ; in its double-quick deployment, advance and captures in the battle of Jones Farm in the presence of a large number of general officers ; in its sudden dash into the works at the Pegram House, after Brander's artillery had thrown the enemy into confusion, and where its captures exceeded its own strength ; and in the part it bore in the recapture of the hill in front of our quarters which had been taken from us on the day of Gordon's attack on Fort Stedman. It also behaved with conspicuous gallantry when Gen. Grant broke our lines at Peters burg, and on the retreat to Ap pomattox Court House, as it was frequently thrown forward and fought the enemy when the bri gade was, not engaged. On the 20th of May Gen. Ear ly (who was in command of A. P. Hill's), Gens. Lane and Wil cox and a number of staff officers were standing talking in the field near the brick kiln and not far from the right of the corps of sharp-shooters. The enemy es pied them through the opening in front of the salient, and hon ored them with a short but rapid artillery salute. The group was scattered but no one was struck. Nicholson, however, who was on the right of his line was badly wounded and was borne from the field. . Major Thomas J. Wooten, of the 18th regiment, was then or dered to take charge of the corps and he continued until the sur render at Appomattox Court House. Young, cool, brave, but modest as a girl, Wooten was worthy to succeed two such dash ing, fearless and efficient com manders as Knox and Nicholson. He soon won the confidence and affection of those brave sharpshooters. This corps rendered splendid service from Spottsylvania to Pe tersburg. It began its brilliant career around Petersburg by sur prising and capturing the ene my's videttes and reserves at the Davis House without losing a man. In recognition of its gal lantry on this occasion, the fol lowing complimentary letters ad dressed to Wooten were embod ied in a general order and read on parade to all the regiments in the brigade : Headquarters Lane's Brigade, Sept. 9, 1864. General Order No. 21. The following communications are published to the brigade, not only as an act due the distin guished merit of this gallant re cipient, but with the hope that it may encourage officers and men to emulate this noble ex ample : Headq'rs Third Army Corps, September 7th, 1864. General : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the report of Major T. J. Wooten, commanding, containing an ac- ( Continued on page six) A 75 gallon distillery was de stroyed by officers in Burke county Thursday. The Erwin cotton mills of Duke are equipping a modern hospital for that city. The North Carolina Pharma ceutical Association will hold a meeting at Newbern June 11, 12 ! and 13. The thirty-ninth annual meet ing of the North Carolina Dental Society met in Winston-Salem last week. Reports from Kinston say that the yield of the Irish potato crop in that section of the State will be only about fifty per cent. The Wadesboro Ansonian tells of the death of Mrs. Hattie Trex ler )f Anson county which oc curred recently. Mrs. Trexler had reached the age of 97. The city of Spencer has de cided to issue bonds in the sum of $60,000, $50,000 for water and light and $10,000 for school im provement. J. D. Artley, of Savannah, Ga., in an attempt to save his bathing companion, a Mr. Knouse, lost his life in a heavy sea at Wrightsville Beach Satur day. Walter H. Page, ambassador to the Court of St. Jameswwas received Friday by King George to whom he presented his letters of credence. While hi3 mother's remains lay waiting interment, attorney E. G. Davis pleaded for the life of a negro client at Fayetteville last week. Two negro women who threw a suspicious looking bundle into the waters of the Yadkin river near Spencer recently were ar rested. It is feared that the bundle contained the body of a child. The Newbern District Confer ence in session at Newbern last week, passed resolutions com- I mending the recent General As sembly for passing the search and seizure law. According to the United States geological survey, the Iola mine near Candor, produced gold to the amount of $150,000 during 1912. This is more than the combined production of all other mines in the eastern states. Alleging that while out on the I running board of a locomotive hi !the performance of his duties, 1 an engineer needlessly blew the j whistle and thereby impaired j his hearing, L. A. Lipe, a fire man on the Southern railway, has brought suit against the company to recover damages in the sum of $3,000. A new kind of strike has de veloped at Asheville. The de livery boys employed by the firms of the city markets at Asheville have walked out and quit because tney were refused an increase of fifty cents per week in wages. Answering the charge that his activity to secure just freight rates was inspired by an ambi tion to go to the Senate, Gov. Craig said that he had no such desire, but wanted to serve the people of North Carolina as Governor for four -years and then return to the. mountains of Wes tern North Carolina and live and die among his people. Throughout the World Told" In Brief- Gathered From Our Contemporaries and Boiled Down For Our Read ers. Secetary Bryan signed the formal announcement of the 17th amendment to the Constitution providing for the direct election of the United States Senators Saturday at 11 o'clock. Assistant Secetary of agricul ture has recieved a letter from a correspondent who claims to be "the guy who can take the crow out of a rooster." The corres pondent says that by a single operation removing one of the vocal chords of an ordinary roost er eliminates the noise that wakes people at day break. The de sire to crow is left in the chicken and he goes through the motion of flopping the wings, arching the neck and opening the mouth, but the effort is noiseless. Jules Goux the Frenchman who won the 500 mile automobile race at Indianopolis, drove his car throughout the race at an aver age speed of 76.59 miles an hour. Washington police have been obsolved from blame for the dis orders which occured during the suffrage parade on iuauguration day. Saturday, the fiury trying tlie libel suit between Col Theodore Roosevelt and editor Geo. A, Newett returned a verdict for Mr.tfUosvelt in the sum of six 2JL cen kaonville, Fla., has been selected as the place for the Unit ed Confederate Reunion in 1914. Lee W. Dutro, postmaster at Memphis, Tenn., for the past 12 years has been indicted by aJFed- eral grand jury on the charge of soliciting campaign funds in 19 10. Because he found a dead mouse in a bottle of beverage he was drinking, Turman Williams of Spartanburg, S. brought suit against the bottling works for $7,000: The jury decided that he was not entitled to recovet. Historic Sketch. The following clipping is taken from an article written by Rev. W. A. McLeod of Austin, Texas, to the Hoke County Journal, and jhas its local interest: Yet another noted inhabitant of the Buffalo country of that day was Lauchlin McNeill, who resided at what is now Sinclair's mill on the stream. He was an aicestor, perhaps grand-father (fthe late "Squire" Lock Mc Keill of near Laurel Hill Presby t rian church, Scotland county, whose beautiful daughters mar ried over in Hoke. Mr. McNeill was one of the few early High landers who could write. Many of the old land deeds were in his hand. He was also related to Mr. Neill Peterson and Mr. Wal ter Smith, of Blue Springs. He may have been the builder of one of the Buffalo mills, but of this I am not sure. At any rate, his name is enrolled in the first United States census, that of 17 90' so he must have come to the Buffalo before Daniel Patterson, even. $1.50 PER YEAR, IN ADVANCE THE FREIGHT RATES OF NORTH CAROLINA Railroads Did Not Keep Faith-Governor Craig Will Demand Just and Equitable Rates Their Attitude Ungrateful, In solent, Abominable and Detectable Examples of Freight Rate Discrimination. While standing near a building which was being moved Satur day, John Ennis, of Smithfield, was struck by a falling scaffold and eeriously injured. Marvin Man ess, a 17 year old lad of Maxton. in comDanv with a number of other boys went to McRae's mill pond near Maxton Sunday afternoon to go in bath ing and lost his life by drowning. Merchants Journal and Commerce. The attitude of the railroads to the State of North Carolina is ungrateful, insolent, abominable and detestable. Governor Craig, able, courte ous, conservative invited the railroads to a conference, the purpose of which was to adjust the rates, which the railroads had previously acknowledged were high and discriminatory. The railroads appeared, but their attitude had changed. They did not want to adjust rates they just wanted them to stay as they are. Their attitude was not to adjust, not to confer, nor to concede a single item. While they assumed an air of gentility their every action denoted sar casm and contempt for the prin ciples under consideration They offered absolutely noth ing, and refused to accept any proposition looking towards an adjustment. Governor Craig, the Freight Commission, Corporation Com missioner Travis, and hundreds of business men saw their atti tude of defiance and their studied efforts against conceding any thing that would relievet the bur den of the shippers. Governor Craig declared the conference at an end in this language : "I will use every agency and every power o my administra tion to compel the railroads to do justice. They, shall not despoil our people and exploit this State. Submission is ignominious. The facts arouse indignation. The sovereign State is not going to surrender to the domination of the railroad companies. The people are all powerful in de manding their rights. They should organize everywhere for aggressive co-operation with the commissions. Your meeting is the thing. While I am governor the fight will never end until we get justice. The pretense that the benefits of fair freight rates would be confined to certain places is ridiculous. All the peo ple would necessarily participate directly in the saving of millions of dollars, and the whole State would be quickened to a prosper ity that is now denied." This utterance explains the sit uation and suggests the battle that shall be foaght for North ! Carolina. The position of the I shippers and people in North Car iolina is right and just. North j Carolina citie3 and towns ought to have a right to deal with each I otner on a competitive oasis. They are not asking an advan tagein fact they are not now asking for anything, but they are demanding just, equitable and competitive rates. The railroads are defiant and feel secure in the giant combination which they have formed. There is a limit to the power of monopoly, and that limit will have been reached sooner than the railroads expect. There is a limit even to the power of pa tience, and that limit has already been reached by the people of North Carolina. This organized railroad monopoly has exercised a commercial tyranny that has driven manufacturers and job bers operating on small profit margins1 out of the State ; they drive capital from the State and dwarf the growth of industries that would expand save for the principle of the railroads to exact all the traffic bears ; they reap an excessive dividend from every morsel eaten and every garment worn by every citizen of the State. It is a work of love for some men, it is a fight for prin ciple with some others ; it is a fight for an existence with thou sands of citizens, but it is fight against abifse, tyranny, monopo ly and injustice by every citizen. An intelligent and determined opposition to the high-handed methods of the railroads has been begun and will never cease so long as the present burdens of freight charges remain. If the basis of freight charges are reg ulated by the earning capacity of a railroad within a State, North Carolina would have lower rates than any Southern State. The State is not demanding lower rates, but the same system of rates applied in other States- distance, location, topography ail considered. The railroads seem to think that their intricate tariffs and learned arguments can dispel even the sight of jus tice. They seem to feel that be cause they have maintained these outrages, that they have the right, or else the power, to fur ther exact the same exhorbitant charges. The people have wait ed patiently many have left the State of their choice, the graves of their parents, the ties of friendship, because they could not grow and expand their indus tries. Those who have remained have stood this tax until they can stand it no longer. Those - outside of the State are fighting with that zeal of those at home their interests have never sepa rated. Tne railroads shall not be greater than the sovereignty of North Carolina. Every organi zation of every description, every citizen of every creed and every man of every political party is behind Governor Lock Craig in this fight. Whenever the great mass and body of people unite in denouncing a system, that sys tem must be abolished. The rail roads will have cause to regret that they did not act in good faith, correct their acknowledged wrongs and grant to the people of North Carolina that modicum of justice to which they are fair ly entitled. These people know the value of their franchise, the conditions of their leases, and they further know that organ ized monopoly is never the equal of oganized justice or justice in any form. It will take a little time to ad just these matters, but the be ginning of the end of railway in justice is in sight. There is not a fact they can produce that will disturb Governor Craig, the Freight Commission or the peo ple behind them. This is a fight to the finish, and the people of North Carolina are not going to stop the fight until just rates are announced. A promise from the railways is not the promise that is worth consideration. They have broken every prom ise given by them. Their vision is keen only for profit. Their ill-gotten gains will be taken from them. They were built to serve the State, not to despoil it; built as an agency of expansion, not to diminish the wealth of the State. In every phase of rate-making -they have, sought to cripple in dustry. They are content to see houses grow to a certain size and and then leave the State. They Continued on page 2.
The Laurinburg Exchange (Laurinburg, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 5, 1913, edition 1
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