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Established in 1888. A Noa-Partisan Family Newspaper. Devoted to the Best Interests of Boone, and Watauga County, "the Leader of Northwestern Carolina." ' ., . . , Published. Was My l.
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VOLUME XXXIV BOONE, WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH. CAROLINA, THURSDAY DECEMBER 28, 1922 NUMBER 4;
JUDGE OPPOSES S
DEATH PENALTY
JK:
RAILROAD URGED
FORLOSTPROVINCE
Ask Committe to Recommend Action
to General Assembly R. N. Hack
ett is Speaker Road Through the
Nortbwcti Would Save Freight of
$100 cn Car, it is Claimed.
(Charlotte Observer.)
Urging that Colonel Benehan Canw
eron and A. J. Draper recommend
that the general assembly take such
steps as is necessary to provide for
the linking of the so-called '"Lost
Provinces" with the rest of North
Carolina by railroad, a motion mde
by Heriot Clarkson at a meeting last
night at the Chamber of Commerce
and seconded by Dr. John Q. Myers
a native of Wilkeo county, was unan
imously adopted,
Colonel Cameron and Mr. Draper
are members of the committee ap
pointed by Governor Morrison, upon
recommendation of the last General
assembly, to investigate the needs
for and potential benefits of a rail
road, connecting Avery, Watauga
Ashe and Alleghany Counties with
the rest of the state.
Former Congrwssman R. N. Hack
ett, of. North Wilkesboro was the
principal speaker at tho meeting and
Mr. Hackett outlined the steps that
had been taken thus far, speaking
familiarly and impartially of the vn
i ous routes into the counties and
oitlining the steps that have been
taken.
What They Want
Speaker after speaker arose and
declared that the "citizens cf the
four counties are tired of being re
ferred to as belonging to the "Lost
Provinces" stating emphatically that
they are native born 'Tar Heels,' and
desire to be known as such.
"We are not in favor of the gen
eral assembly showing any favors
to a few counties of the state but,!
if it is found that this will be a step
that will benefit the entire state, we
wish a railroad into that section,"
as many as five speakers asserted. .
"This road will benefit the entire
state, both by providing a shorter
and more direct route to the coal
fields and by giving the citizens of
those, counties a gateway into their
state," the speakers further de
clared. Route a Secondary Matter
As to the route "ihey avered that
it did not matter. Any route that
was found by astate engineer to be
feasible and to be the best route
would be entirely satisfactory to
them. "The problem is l.ot one of a
oute. We don't vant a road that
will be of purely personal benefit to
any one person, or to the citizens ol
the four countici" thoy stated. " But
what the citizens of the action .-.re
solidly in favor of is such action a: j
will provide an ouc'et to thcio lui;
counties, giving them tho adv.i.itage
of the market they deserve, liv
ing tho state the benefits o ...oirj
trade and a shorter., direct route '::.'.)'
the coal fields. It is not a r,uc4.io.:
of direction but" one of action."
After the address of Mr. Ha:l:ctt.
in which he confined himself ennly
to the facts in the case, the dis
tances, grades, conditions of the
country, the problems that the con
structors of the road would meet
and some of the advantages of such
a road, former Sheriff Presley E.
Brown of Wilkesbcio; W. J. Shu
fofd and H. W. Link of Hickory;
Frank 'P. Grist;, representative of
Caldwell county, Mark Squires, sen
ator from Caldwell county, and Dr.
L. B. Moss, of Henderson County
made short addresses.
Agree Upon Route.
At the close of the meeting Mr.
Hackett and former Sheriff Brown
presented a proposition to the other
Tfinresentatives unon which thev all
agreed. Drovidine for a route connect
ing Hickory with Grandin, Elk river
and the Yadkin river branch of the
Southern Railroad and extending to
Boone, from which noint it could
be connected with the Carolina rail
road leading north and the lines at
Butler, and Appalachia, Tenn. lead
ine west.
This line, it is stated, will require
but 69 miles of grading and construc
tion and will Drovide Lenoir. Wilkes
boro, Boone, Jefferson and Hickory
with lines leading in all four direc
tions. The Chamber of Commerce
and the board of Commissioners are
to examine the DroDositions thorough
ly and report to the general assem
bly. Other members of the committee
appointed by Governor Morrison are
Maior W. C. Heath of Monroe: T. C,
Bowie, of Jefferson and C. D. Br'ad-
v ham of New Bern. The committee
was named by the governor to inves
tigate the proposition and report
upon the advisability of the state's
selling its stock in the North Caro
lina railroad to defray the expenses
of building the proposed road.
Amone the statements made at the
meeting were the estimates that such
a route would shorten the hauling
- dintancA of coal into the cities of
North Carolina approximately ,145
l ' ' "V ill
Sentenced First Man to Die In North
Carolina's Electric Chair Retir' t ,
ing After 16 Years Serrise.
, i
QCX)IBYTi, 01dYeafUthc fickle World
Pursues another Flame,
And Time the ruthless, changing Time--Wifl
now erase your name.
And yet your younger rival with
His aspect bright and new
Is but an unread version of
The hopes we had in you
nie. apple-blossoms of his Spring,
The little seeds that lie
Deep buried in the Heart of Earth,
Will live again -and die.
He, too, will give the warmth of Sun.
And days of slanting rain,
As he deals out our yearly share
Of happiness and pain.
The big round moon and silver stars
That lighted up your skies
Will shine upon as many loves
In just as many eyes.
And he will bring the fragrant June
When crimson roses nod,
And hurry through the Summertime
To flaunt the goldencod.
The painted pathway of his Fall
Will be with clouds o'ercast,
Because his Winter footsteps reach
The Portal you have passed.
Good-bye, Old Year! we foved you well;
We found your treasures dear,
But you have died as monarchs die
And so Long live the Year!
an Terrell e&l, in .V. Y. Timet
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THIS WEEK'S ISSUE OLD SIZE
For the first time since its estab
lishment the' Democrat comes out on
Christmas week. Our standard size
is now eight pages and we intend
to stick to that number from now
on, but in order that the force might
be able to enjoy a day or two of the
holiday season, we come out with
four pages this week.
miles and that it would save the con
sumers practically $100 in freight
rates every year.
What report the commission will
make to the general assembly and
what steps they will urge, could not
be learned last night, but it is under
stood that they will oppose the sale
of any stock owned by the state in
the North Carolina Railroad. It is
mentioned as a possibility that they
might urge the general assembly to
have an engineer investigate the pro
posed route with a view of ascer
taining the cost of such a road.
Such a road, it is stated, would
put the cities of the state in close
touch with the Kentucky' coal fields
and would, give the state a direct
route into the middle and northwest
ern states, thus avoiding a haul thru
the so- called key cities of Virginia
and saving thousands of dollars in
freight rates. This saving, it was
pointed ut, would come both from
the number of miles of the haul and
from the avoidance of the rates that
now apply when coal and other pro
ducts are brought through the "key"
citkf. . -i.i;. &' : 'r'i I
SHORT COLLEGE COURSE FREE
FOR BUSY FARMERS
Gianc circulars, beautifully print
ed, . and copiously illustrated, are
this week going out to all parts of
North Carolina calling farmers and
their sons to State College for the
short course given by the institu
tion from January 8 to 19 inelusive.
The course in agriculture designed
for busy farmers has five major ap
peals. There is a special training for
cotton, tobacco and small grain farm
ers; a second for fruit and vegetable
growers; a third for farm dairying;
a fourth for poultry raising, and a
final course in cotton classing. All
are free.
The college is asking that all who
expect to enter the shorty course
come January 8 and be ready for
classes the following day. In giving
free tuition the institute makes the
work the right of every person. The
principal cost of attending will be
board and room rent, which for the
term will barely be $10. The College
has a limited number of rooms at
$3. a week and it supplies board at
75 cents a day. The visitors will have
the special privilege of taking their
meals in the dinning hall. The Col
lege laundry will serve the visitors
a $2 to 3 a month rate. Private
families will furnish rooms in the
College vicinity from $4 to $7 a
week, two in a room.
. The short course comes in the
early days of 'the General Assembly
which will be in session when the
special student come to Raleigh. Bf
attending at this time many farmers
who would hardly see the capital in
a decade and prehaps the legislative
body never, will have an opportuni
ty to observe how the law-making
branch of the government responds
to the needs of those back home. No
meeting could be of more interest
to cither. The people in whose in
terest State College wa$ created, will
have an opportunity to show the rep
resentatives what it is doing.
In entering tho College no examin
ation to any of the courses will be
requjred. The greatest benefit will
come to tr.ose whose iundamentai
education fits them for observing
the work done. The special course
will run concurrently and will be
open to all those who are engaged
in, or interested in the different sub
jects outlined above. They, of course,
have no connection with the regular
College courses. The purpose of this
fcVinrt pniirs:i in inrriniilt.il re ia to fct im-
ulate farmers into tha practice of iom the Philadelphia Record
output of the commonwealth. In
these several endeavors the insti
tution offers specialists who ca:i as
sist farmers in bringing these four
things a"lmost immediately to pass.
For State College dosen't merely
teach agriculture, it livei it. It has
a large group of students V- work
in every department which it means
to cany to the very doirs of the
fanners by bringing them here, show
ing Ueiii the way to farm and send
ing ll'tm back missionaries in the
faith. It is no longer debated wheath-
.er the course pays those who attend
it. The College has no record ot a
disappointed short course student.
And it seeks another multitude of
satisfied sons of toil and soil who
found in their brief stay here much
that will follow them through their
agricultural lives.
Raleigh, SpeciaL-V After 16 year - -; ',
on . the bench during which time I " '
sentenced the first man to die in ' -North
Carolina's Electric Chair and ' j
have sentenced five others who were
executed, I am more than ever op- -,
poaed to capital punishment." , . t. '
Judge C. C. Lyon, now in Raleigh. " "
presiding over hio last term, of su- "
perior court, today made this state- .
ment while ciif cussing his experiences '
and the empressiona he . had gained
while serving as a jurist.
"I would be more active in my on-
position to capital punishment," he ' ',
said, "if it were not for the fact that
a majority of persons convicted of
crimes carrying long term3 of im-
prisonment either e.-cape or are clem-
ercy within a few years. Very few
of them ever serve their complete
sentence. .
"Still, I believe capital punishment
has failed of its purpose and is not
lUinane."
Although 72 ye.irs of age, Judge
Lyon is very active Ilis face and fig
ure give him an appearance typical
of a jurist. His l air and mustache
arc while, but the blue grey that peer
at one from behind sheli-rimmed
glasses ure clear and steady. ,
"Sixteen years in long enough for
a man to spend on one job," he
smiling replied when ask why he Wtt3
retiring.
"When I became judge of the su
perior court I reached tho height of
my ambition. As a youngster I used
to drive into Elizabethton and there
I invariably wound my way to the,
courthouse, where I listened to the
trial of cases. I resolved then that
my goal in life was to become a
superior court judge."
Judge Lyon's early education was
interrupted by the war between the x
states and the resulting conditions,
but later he attended the Maysville
high school in Blades county and
then studied law in the office of his
older brother, the late Robert H.
Lyon, at Elizabethton. He was ad
mitted to the bar in 1872. 1
In 1900, he was appointed solicitor-general
of his circuit by Gover
nor Aycock, and a year later he was
elected for a term. He was elected
judge of the seventh judicial circuit
in 1915 and re-elected eight , years
later.
1 "Attorney's of the present day,"
said Judge Lyon in replying to a
question, "as a whole are not elo-
j qucnt or as oratorical as those of
olden time?.
"Then also has been another
.hange; years ago lawyers were forc-
cl to take all the cases that came to
them in order to make a living. To
day, they are specializing in the dif
ferent phases of law and handling
only certain kinds of cases.
Judge Lyon is the father of four
children, three of whom are bovs and
sion. One daughter, Mrs J. M. Clark,
have followed their father's profes-
csides in Elizabethton.
Homer L. Lyon, the oldest son, is
a member of Congress from the sixth
North Carolina district, having been
nominated over H. L. Godwin, in
cumbent, 1920, elected and re-elected
in 1922. Before being elected to this
office, he was appointed solicitor-
general of the eighth judicial cir- '
cuit and served six years.
Terry A. Lyon is practicing law in
Washington, D. C. During the war
he was assistant judge advocate,
with the rank of major, of the 34th
division. J. Aldcn Lyon is practicing
in Elizabethton.
THE FOX FARM
more modern metnous anu into tno
more businesslike running of- their
farms. The specialists of the Col
lege, tho Experiment Station, and
of the extension Service are the farm
ers associates during those 12 import
ant days.
The College feels that this course
is one of the greatest opportunities
that North Carolina farmers will
ever have. They have an especially
important service now in ridding the
State of the Boll Weevil, in promo
ting the growth of fruits and vege
tables, encouraging dairying in the
State and fa improving tho ponltryjfuw to fr A r
Without personal knowledge it is
difficult to realize how the industry
of fox farming has grown in Canada
An exhibition was recently held in
Toronto where 300 silver black fox
were shown of an estimated value
of perhaps half a million dollars
There are about 600 fox farms in
the Dominion all of them having their
beginning in the act of a farmer's
boy at Georgetown, Unt. lo years
ago, who. caught a pair of foxes and
began to breed them. Some ot the
present fox farina represent large in
vestments from . which - substantial
profits have been made, in supplying
IF WE KNEW
(James Monroe Downum)
How would our souls with sadness
fill '
And how our hearts with love would
thrill,
If we knew this parting was our
last !
No careless word would mar the
scene,
But every feeling sad, serene,
Would bring our lives in ties so fast..
Some anxious tears would fill the
eyes
When we should say our last good
byes, If we but knew we'd meet no more.
Some prayers would be the words
we said
With richest blessings on the head
That now is going on before!
And how our anxious hearts would
bleed.
In earnest prayer our souls would
plead
For those who're coming, on' behind;
And as we'd view tha peaceful skies
We'd turn' with truest pleading eyes
That all the Better Home may find.
jA.
- Funny" how a girl with a Christ
mas ring hates to wear her Christ nua -
1