North Carolina Newspapers

JUDGE DEMISES HOUSE OF DAVID CALL8 CULT GIGANTIC FRAUD CLOAKED ' BY RELIGION AWARDS $15,000. PERJURY HIO IMMORALETY Finds Girls Were Forced to Conceal Truth About King Benjamin's Holy Rites In, Michigan Sect Grand Rapids, Mich. The Israltte House of David has .been found by United District Judge John E. Sater of Columbus, Ohio, to be the gigantic fraud alleged by John.W. Hansel and his family of Nashville, Tenn., who spent eight years in the Benton Har bor colony. , Based on his findings, Judge Sater gave to the plaintiffs a verdict which will amount to upward of $15,000 as compensation for their services from May, 1912, until Dec. 20, 1920, when they alleged they were expelled. They had sued for $0,000. The court decision, filed here, de clares Benjamin Purnell, head of the colony, "has deliberately and system atically taught utterance of falsehoods and the commission of perjury." Benjamin, also, he finds, has so taught his religious creed as to cause some of the female members of the colony to submit to Improper relations with him as a'roly rite. Xhe colony, despite its "low moral tone, fornication, adultery, attempted rape, if not rape, and petty theft" has gone unpunished and In almost all cases unreuked. Judge Sater said. "In political matters, the members of the colony vote solidly for the per sons designated by Benjamin," states the decision. Benjamin, It is declared, has. In his writings, made statements of no other rational interpretation than that if an investigation of the colony be had, its members should answer untruthfully. The evidence, it is pointed out, dis closes that on other occasions Benja min avoided and sought to stiffle in vestigations "concerning Benjamin and the girls." The court ponders as to the reasons of "Queen" Mary, wife of Benjamin, for failure, to take the witness stand at the Hansel trial, despite "evidence which cast a doubt, at least, on her virtue," in an attempt "to vindicate her honor or to shed light on transac tions in which she was said actively to have participated." Convict Brutalities to Be Aired. Tallahassee, Fla. Additional re ported convict brutalities will be air ed this week by the joint legislative committee investigating State and county prison camps. State Senator T. J. Knabb, former owner of a pri vate lease convict camp, and John Roddenhury, his alleged whipping boss, the latter now under an Indict ment, will be the principals ' in the coming inquiry. Counsel for Paul Revere White, of Washington, D. C, who is alleged to have received bruital treatment while serving a sentence in the Knabb camp, telegraphed the committee that his client would be unable to leave his home in Washington to ap pear before the committee. , An affi davit made by white together with ''the records of the Department of Ag riculture relative to his case will be Introduced in his behalf. White ,a 19-year old youth, was ar rested while walking on the highway, near White Springs, Fla., it is alleged, and after being arraigned in a justice of peace court, was sentenced to six months' imprisonment in the Alachua county Jail. He was charged with vagrancy. He was later leased to State Senator Knabb, who operated a turpentine damp near Macclenny. White contends he was put to work scraping turpen tine boxes and "because I could not do as much work as the negro hands" his affidavit reads, "I was whipped the third day after I arrived. I was kick ed, beaten and whipped practically every , day during the time I was there." " Methodists Name Conference Dates. Nashville, Tenn. Dates for annual conferences fixed by the ' Methodist " Episcopal college of 'bishops, south, in session here, include Virginia, Oc tober 10; Western : North Carolina, October 31; , North Carolina, Novem ber 14; South Carolina, November 28, Kentucky, September 5; Louisville, September 26 and Baltimore, April 21, 1924. ,. Harding Talk Shop to Editors. " Washington. '"Editor '. Warren : G. Harding talked shop' with his fellow craftsmen at a banquet of the newly formed American : Societv ' of News paper Editor The '100 newspaper men from all parts of the country who have been threshing out problems ranging from a code of ethics for jour nalism to the use of boiler plate and the work expected or reporters, invit d Mri Harding to give his views of 4he vexing problem, which he- did, ln formally. . , 1,846,293 GERMANS 8LAIN DURING THE WORLD WAR ' Berlin. Germany last 1,846,293 dead In the World War, according to official statistics, just brought up to date. - The number of de pendents left by those who lost their lives is fixed at 1,945,000. Of the dead, 56,138 were officers and officials, 212,069 non-commis-sioned and warrant officers, 1,572, 623 enlisted men and 5,568 men whose ranks were not reported. The dependents comprise 533,000 widows, 1,134,000 children who were left partially orphaned, 68,000 orphans, 38,000 parental couples, and 162,040 parents who were al ready widows or widowers. The statistics have been submit ted to the Reichstag by the Min ister of Labor. V LARGER TAX OH CIGARETTES GOVERNMENT COLLECTS THIS MUCH DURING MONTH OF , MARCH. Figures ("dlcate Healthiest National Business State, Says ' Treasury J Officials. Washington. An upward trend of general business, in the opinion pt treasury officials, is shown definitely in detailed statistics on gross federal tax collections for March, which place the total for the month at $533,542,000. While some specific items show a re duction in returns as compared with March 1922, officials regard the analy sis of payments, which was made pub lic, as giving evidence through gener ally increased' returns from the var ious tax sources of a healthier nation al business state. Proof of a more liberal spending the country over Is shown, as the offi cials view the situation, in the in crease in manufacturers' excise taxes on automobiles and accessories from which In March the treasury received $12,173,000, or $5,100,000 more than in March, 1922. There also was a mark ed increase reported in the tax on capital stock of corporations from which was derived $778,000, an indica tion, it was said, of expansion in in dustrial program. The tax is small and an Increase of about $150,000, as reported, was declared to represent important developments In capital stock additions. Tobacco taxes afforded observers another evidence, it was said, of great er use by most of the public of the current buying power, taxes on this commodity aggregating $25,667,000 in March, as against $21,427,000 for the corresponding month a year ago. The principal Increase in the aggregate amount came from larger taxes on cigarettes, which yielded a total for the month of $15,130,000. Cigar taxes netted the treasury $3,849,000 and chewing and -smoking tobacco about $5,000,000. Documentary stamp sales for the month were reported at $3,849,000, al most $400,000 greater than for March last year and also greater by about $50,000 than in February. There has been a generally larger sale of stamps each month in the last year as com pared , with previous months, except for one or two periods when small de clines were recorded. - Theater admission taxes brought. In $6,700,000 In March as compared with $6,284,000 in the same month a year ago, while the club does produced $643,227, or about $75,000 more than in March, 1922. Many other tax sources also showed increases, but the major ity were small and Inconsequential although Important In the aggregate. Texas Town Is Wrecked by Wind. Henrietta, Texas. Virtually : every building in Henrietta was damaged and five residences and six oil der ricks at Burkburnett, 30 miles north of here, were blown to bits by a ter rifle wind storm which swept up from the southeast. A fifty mile wind drove large hail stones through every window in Hen-' rietta, and blew In the roofs of the three-story St. Elmo hotel, several business buildings and a dozen residences.:- V'; V ' ' . ,' Hail piled up nearby a foot deep in Henrietta streets, and a torren tial rain which followed ; the wind stom caused water to. fill basements. V .Methodist Plan $10,000,000 Fund. St. Louis. Mo. Plans for the raising of a $10,000,000 endowment fund for superannuated ministers and widows and Orphans' of ministers of the South ern Methodist church, will bp present ed to each of the thirty-eight annual conferences of the church for approval this year, it was announced by the board of finance of the church. Bank Looted by Officials. v: York, Pa. Forged notes, ranging In denomination from $100 up into the thousands, constitute the evidence of defalcation against Thomas B. Balrd, jashier, and William H. Boll, assistant cashier, 'of the City Bank of York, according to state, banking officials, Who closed the doors of the Institution after' they had discovered a shortage estimated at nearly $1,000,000, Both Balrd and Boll, who are charged with embezzling funds of the bank, are lit jail in default of $100,000 ball each. TWELVE DIE III TENEMENT FIRE SIX CHILDREN AND SIX ADULTS BURN TO DEATH IN SUDDEN FLAMES. FORMER PUGILIST ASSISTS A Hundred Woman and Children Pass ed Down Rusty Fire Escape to 8afety. New York. Flames that suddenly enveloped a five story tenment In east 109th street killed 12 persons, 'six of them children, and led to Injury of more than a score of other - tenants. Two hours before daybreak Harhis Vogel, from his . home across the street, saw flames burst suddenly from every floor of the building. He called. Patrolman John Htlone and ac companied him through the flames to the second floor of the burning tene ment. They shouted, broke down doors and made their way to the first landing of the rickety fire escape. Above them women and children screamed. , Malone tried to drop the ladder to the side-walk. Rusted with age. it stuck. A taxi-cab, driven by Mannie Friedman, a former pugilist, pushed through the hysterical crowd until it was directly beneath the fire escape. A hundred women and children were passed down the fire escape to the top of the cab and were saved. Meanwhile, on the top floor, the family of David Mandelbaum, painter, was trapped. Mandelbaum's son, Hy man, crawled with his family to the fire escape and was saved. Mandelbaum tried to go back for his wife and six other children, rang ing in age from one to sixteen years, but failed. . In the apartment adjoining that of the Mandelbaums an entire family perished. Aaron Kuxls, his wife, their daughter, Bertha., 21 years old, and their 18 year old son, David, were found on the floor near the open door. Bertha was engaged to be married. She would have been saved but went back to get her wedding dress. When her body was found a bit of scorched lace was clutched in one hand. Mrs. Isaac Brownstein, who lived on the third floor, died in a hospital from burns. Announce New Gas Price Cuts. New York. The Standard Oil Com pany of New Jersey announced an other cut of one cent a gallon in the price of gasoline throughout its domes tic territory with the exception vof a few points where varying adjustments were made. This is the second cut within a week and IsVdue, the com pany states, to a surplus production pf crude oil and a consequent lower ing prices. The Standard Oil company of Louis iana, a subsidiary .of the New Jersey Company, also has reduced the price of gasoline one cent a gallon In Louis iana, Arkansas and Tennessee. The Texas Company and the Gulf Refining Company also announced re ductions of one cent a gallon in the price of gasoline in their territories. Robbers Take 20 Barrels of Rum. Louisville, Ky. Fifteen men held up guards at the W. B. Samuels distil lery, near Bardstown, Ky.. and carried away twenty barreli of whiskey Jn a stolen truck, according to reports re ceived by Federal prohibition officers here. ' ' -' (- After overpowering the guards, the robbers fired more than 150 shots, ap parently for the purpose of preventing interfrence, the report said. Soon after receiving a renort of, the robbery, P. Green Miller, chief prohibi tion agent for Kentucky and Tennes see, left Louisville, at the head of a posse of Federal agents and police, armed with riot guns. The posse members were to block roads leading from-the scene In an attempt to head off the robbers. n Amnesia Victim Drops Off Map, v Baltimore. As mysteriously as he. appeared in Baltimore the amnesia victim from Charlotte,- N. C., disap peared a few: hours later. Before dropping out of sight he visited several of the leading hotels and , examined their registers for several years back, He explained that the could recognize his handwriting although he .could not recall his name, which he thought was W. G. Farnsworth. Writing his name he compared it with three other names he found on one hotel register, and pointed out discrepancies which proved he had not written the origin als. ', . ' . ;..." .' . Guards Block Jail Delivery. St. Louis. Six prisoners were shot and several others , beaten severely when guards frustrated a wholesale escape at the city workhouse here , bout fifteen prisoners sawed through the bars in the cell room and let themselves into the prison yard by means of a rope, according to guards, who said one of the prisoners with a clevel imitation of a pistol carved ont of wood - attempted to hold up Fred Giese, 60 year old guards and obtain hit km '. TRAIN STRIKES CAR KILLING FOUR MEN. Cincinnati. Four men were kill ed when a passenger train on the Big Four railroad, 'Cleveland to Cincinnati, struck an automobile at a crossing at Elmwood, near, here. The accident happened five minutes after the crossing watchman quit work. Th dead: Harry Frank, driver of the automobile; Donald Tenny, George Biefold, Elwood Jones. All are residents of Cincinnati and ranged in age from 21 to 25 years. According' to a lone witness, a negro, the .victims apparently paid no 'attention to the whistle of the train, which was running at a high rate of speed. The automobile was struck squarely in the center and the occupants thrown to opposite sides of the tracks. The view of the right of way at this section Is unobstructed. , PRESS HEARS PRESIDENT HARDING CHAMPIONS U. S. MEM BERSHIP IN international" COURT. Address Made Before Thousands1 of ' Nation's Leading Newspaper EdU ' ' tors and Publishers. New York. President Harding com mitted himself and his administration without equivocation to American membership In the permanent court of international justice. Speaking at the annual luncheon of members If the Associated Press, Mr. Harding set, fotth the reasons which Impelled him to recommend to the senate shortly before the adjournment of Congress the adhesion of the Unit ed States to the world court protocol as drafted under the league of nations, outlined the advantages be believed would accrue from adoption of the rec ommendation and presented for the first time answers to the arguments of opponents of the administration plan. In doing so, .the chief executive as serted his conviction that American membership in the court would be "In harmony with party platform pledges, candldatorlal promises and American aspirations." It would not be and could never be construed as being an indirect entrance into the league of nations, he declared with emphasis. The address made before a thou sand of the nation's leading news paper editors and publishers was gen erally considered as the beginning of the presentation which the President plans to make during the spring and summer of the principal policies to be pursued during the next year. Political leaders throughout : the country admittedly In disagreement as to the wisdom of the world court recommendation awaited with Intense interest the address and were watch ing for the country's reaction. What ever reception it might be accorded by the American people, the President indicated clearly that he stood firmly behind his recommendation. The address was the principal fea ture of the executive's visit to New York, the first In a year and a half. Accompanied by Mrs. Harding and several high officials, he arrived in the Metropolis shortly after 6 o'clock. After breakfast on- his special train. he with his party went to he Waldrof Astoria hotel The morning was spent rather quietly In receiving callers. Great Loan to Be Made to Austria. New . York. Part of a second huge loan to Austria, totalling $135,000000, is to be floated in the United States through "one of Wall Street's best known Intrenatlonal banking houses," the New York World says. It would be the first loan to a world war enemy In which this country has par ticipated. v ' . , V ' ' ' . The new loan, .. according to The World, is part of the League of Na: tlons reconstruction' plan for Austria which, the newspaper points out, sav ed that nation from utter financial collapse after it had been declared bankrupt ' . Morrison to Aid Jefferson Fund. New York. Governor Cameron Mor rison has accepted the invitation of Governor E. Lee Trlnkle, of Virginia, to serve on the .National Governors' Committee of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation. . ?, ; The Governor's Committee has. been organized for the purpose of co-oper ting in the national movement to pur chase Monticello, the Virginia home of Thomas Jefferson, and preserve it for all time as the physical expression- of the' country's reverence tor, the memory of the author. of the Declara tion of Independence. ' , , Explosion Kills. Soldier. , El Paso, Texas; One soldier 1s dead and another reported dying as the re sult of a poisonous gas explosion In the seventh cavalry's blacksmith shop at Fort Bliss. 'The dead mantis Pri vate Morris Pousky, 23, of Philadel phia, a horseshoer. The man 'in the hospital is private' Martin B. Schultz, 25; Both were commended 4y com manding officers for heroism which is declared to have saved Fort Bliss from possible destruction, ; iDEIllllZAIII OF' NAVY DEPARTMENT WILL ABAN DON ITS PROGRAM FOR PRESENT. ' NOT TO SPEND ANY UDNEY Question of Interpretation of Wash ington Arms Treaty Is Involved. : ' Washington! Modernization of the older ships, of the American flet will await specific authority of Congress, Secretary ' Denby announced, and the naVy department will abandon for the time being the program which it con siders may have been approved under a misapprehension of the situation. The secretary's decision, which was said to have the approval of President Harding, was regarded as closing the incident created through the protest of the British embassy against state ments made before congressional com mutes when the department was seed ing appropriations for installing post war improvements In the battleships. Navy officials then asserted that ao criticism of the work could be, made as contravening the live-power naval treaty since Great Britain had com pleted similar alternations. t This was denied by the embassy.' As a result of discussion the $6,500,- 000 appropriated by the last Congress for. gun elevation will be left in the treasury and refunded at the end of the Ileal year as "unexpended money." With official opinion in the navy from Secretary Denby down holding unanimously that the modernization program is permissible under . the treaty drawn up at the Washington arms conference and essential to the American naval, standing, it was re garded as certain that the matter would be presented anew, to. Congress during the December session.' The de partment's recommendations, however, then Is expected to be based on the technical necessities of. the situation without regard to what any other na tion has done or may do. While the immediate problem was removed by Secretary Denby's state' ment, naval officials declared that a large question of treaty, interpreta tion remained which ultimately would have to be answered. Among the five signatories of the Washington naval convention, Great Britain has Indicat ed specifically she considered changes In gun elevation to come within the provisions prohibltng lateraton of de sign of main batteries. France has taken the opposite view, several bat tleships , now being in dry dock for such Improvements. Dry Laws Being Investigated. Washington. Prohibition troubles from ' bootlegging to ellegations of bribery in several states accumulated here and engaged attention of high officials of at least three federal agen cies, the treasury and justice depart ments and prohibition enforcement headquarters. There were indications that facts developed from the several investigations in progress might ulti mately come before President Harding for action. ; Charges of fraud among former and possibly present prohibition agents caused orders for an investigation by the bureau of internal revenue. An- other Investigation, along similar lines,' involving alleged tenders of bribes for "protection" to former prohibition of ficers already is under way by, the de partment of justice, whose agents are making inquiries among "bootleg", cir cles In a number of dities. : The Internal revenue bureau's In vestigation also was said to extend Into several states, Involving the per sonnel of several state , prohibition staffs. Navy Voids Pay Schedule Change. Washington. After receiving pro tests from naval authorities In charge of . various, shore' establishments the Navy Department announced, that the wage schedules recently promulgated to become effective May 1 would be re called and revised. , ' . : ". Orders were issued for the conven ing of new boards at the various yards to collect data and 'to recommend a revised scale to be effective July 1 and to continue until January , 1, 1924. Pending this revision, the Department announced "no reductions' will be made from the scale, which was put Into 'ef fect September 16, 1921," and upon which wages fo civilian employes of the Navy are now based. : ' i Russian Refugees to Be Given Home. Washington. President Harding de cided to permit transportation to the United States of the 500 Russian refu gees who recently landed In the Philip pines after a stormy Voyage in their own ships from Valdivostok- Secretary .Weeks said the refugees who are remnants of a band of anti Soviets, would make desirable citizens, most of them being skilled workers or professional 'or technical men.'; Ar rangements to bring them, to this conn try have been completed, v OLDER SHIPS ivorin sick 1 TWO YEARS $ ,. Caused ty Trouble Women. Often ' Have ReCered hj Ljdia L Pink . bun's Vegetable Compound p Medina, Mew York. "I bad a great ., deal of trouble such aa women often. I have, and thut ai- fected mv neYvea. For over two years I suffered this way, then I read in the- 'BuffaloTimes'abont Lydia E. Pinkham'a Vegetable Com pound and hava taken it with very good results, i am very much better and feel justified Jn Draining the Vegeta ble Compound to my friends and neigh bors who suffer from anything of the kind." Mrs. Wm. H. Adkins, 811 Erin Road, Medina, N. Y. Feels Like Girl Sixteen Rochester, N. Y. " After my twin girls were born I was all run-down. My neighbors thought I was going to die. I saw your advertisement in the paper, and bought Lydia E. Pinkham'a Vege table Compound. The first bottle helped me and I kept on taking it. I only weighed ninety pounds when I began taking it, and I nave gained in weight and feel like a girl of sixteen. I never can say enough for Lydia E. Pinkham'a Vegetable Compound." Mrs. Neixib Dobey.16 Skuse Park, Rochester, N.Y. Iron From Cuba. Along the north shore of Cuba, near the sea at Its eastern end, In three areas which formerly appeared to be simply expanses of barren ferruginous soil, recept exploration and 'test have shown that there ,0x1st deposits of a very pure Iron ore, amounting to 2,000, 000,000 or 3,000,000,000 tons. When de prived of the large percentage of wa ter which It contains, ( this ore wilt yield from 40 to 43 per cent of Iron, Ore from this source has already been, exported to the United States. CORNS Lift Off with Fingers Doesn't hurt a bit I Drop a little "Freezone" on an aching corn, instant ly that corn stops hurting, then short ly you lift it right off with fingers. Truly I . . , Your druggist sells a tiny bottle of "Freezone" for a few cents, sufficient to remove every hard corn, soft corn, or corn between the toes, and the cal luses, without soreness or Irritation. GREEN MOUNTAIN ASTHMA COMPOUND v quickly relieve! the dlatrear Ins oar ox jam t. Used for fff 66 yean and rnralt of loog 1 a ezperlene In treatment of iiiMoicjru.-.a throat and lung; dlaeaaea by a 7 . Dr. J. H. Guild. TSKB TRIAL BOX, TreatlM on Asthma, Its eanaea, treatment, etc., sent ii Don reaueat. ita. and SI .00 at druggists, J. H. QUILlJ OO., BUPEKT, VT. I "V L J t . DRIVE KALAE1A CUT OF TEE SYSTEM r' A POOD TONIC AND APPETIZER ' : nil: 'ir'?."HPf. .. . i i ... i i ii Funny Story Not His Forte. 1 : President J. J, Bernet of the Nickel Plate road makes a reply which Is humorous In itself:., . i;- V ' , f : ,"I have yours suggesting a funny 8tory.' Frankly, I am so serious that I wouldn't recognUe one If met lt on the street. If I should perchance hear one I probably wouid forget It before I left the room. ; , Would like to meet , your wishes, but don't seem to have the. material 1" --New York Herald. , . ; CASTOR I A. (.1 Uca FcrCvcrCOYcrra Always bean . ".'mm-m fnatur off ---" - - - --