North Carolina Newspapers

VOL. XLIX COMMENCEMENT WEEK -IN CAPITAL CITY. Four Baccalaureate Sermons on Sip day by Distinguished Speakers- Other Raleigh News 6f Interest. (By Maxwell Gorman.) Raleigh, May 29. In the ap pointment of Hon. Heriot Clark eon of Charlotte to succeed the late Justice Piatt D. Walker of Charlotte of the "State Supreme Court, Gov. Morrison has again manifested fine judgment in selecting men for high office, a number of whom he has been call ed upon lo name during the last two years. Justice Clarkson, added to his native ability, is one of the best (quipped legal minds in the State; no other mau available could out rank him in qualification backed by long and valuable experience, fiud therefore his appointment was generally anticipated by those familiar with the friendly rela- . tions existing betWeen Governor j Morrison aud Mr. Clarksou. i The appointment is not only 1 satisfactory to the people, but a J valuable asset to the cause of jus tice in the courts of North Caro- f Una. Justice Clarkaon will arrive t iti Raleigh this week, but may not J remove his family to this till liter. ( N. Y". Senator £opeland at Halelgh. f This is the week of school and 1 i college "commencements" in t Raleigh, from the Raleigh High ( School, with its graduating class 1 numbering 75 (despite inadequate * school building and other serious hindrances) to the State A. and f " E. College, and including three t colleges for young women —St. j Mary's, Meredith, and Peace Insti- J tute. Four baccalaureate ser- j mons were delivered here Sunday by notables in educational life in e other states, -and every day till t Friday night will be taken up with I commencement and graduation * work and formalities. The most distinguished man t taking part in these ceremonies is j the new Democratic U. S. Senator for New York, Doctor Royall- S. Copeland, who speaks at A. and E. State College Tuesday, deliver ing the annual address. Dr. Dwiglit Hillis, of Brooklyn, delivered the address to the Mere dith graduates Tuesday morning, while Dr. Archibald Henderson of N. C. State University deliver ed the address to St. Mary's grad uates. Between 2,000 aud 3,000 students from all over the State attend colleges in Raleigh, and the home-going for the holiday season even slackens up business here appreciably, especially in West Raleigh, h line of the A. and E. State College. Mistaken Identity In the Courts. Remarkable as are the features of the Rawls-Reid bigamy case that has agitated Warren county 1 to its foundations for a week past, and as sparso as the reports of the Supreme Court in mention of any similar litigation, the case is not without something of a par allel in the courts of North Caro lina. Mistaken identity has been claimed and established before and the accused man freed. Six or eight years agj Raleigh was the beginning of a sqries of prosecutions against a notorious pickpocket that finally culminat ed in Asheville with a verdict in favor of the accused. Then the finger ]yintc> and a substantial alibi intervened in his behalf in stead of his teeth, which B&yed J. B. Rawls —or Reid, to those of that persuasion—from the pun ishment of the court in Warren-1 ton. In a general roundup of pick pockets instituted by the then Chief of Police Barbour, E. T. McNeelis, Boston Nick, Gory Smith and a man named Seelis were charged with a series of pocket riflings. They retained W. B. Jonesj and he finally se cured the acquital of all four of them. Buc McNeelis and Boston sick were wanted in Durham, and THE ALAMANCE GLEANER. they were taken there and ac quitted. But McNeelis' troubles were not over. He had been identified as the man who had perpetrated numerous burglaries in Asheville, although he was identified as a man named Crawford. With his wide knowledge of the etnlcs of criminals, Mr. Jones began work on the theory that it was a case of mistaken identity. A pick pocket would scorn to blow a safe, as a safecracker would decry anything 86 unsportsmanlike as , picking a man's pocket. The pickpocket was arraigned and twenty-fivfc people .identified him as Crawford. An accomplice to the burglary went on the stand and swore that McNeelis was the m»n who cracked the express ! office safe, although he went by ] the name of Crawford. But Mc- t Neelis claimed that he was not ( Crawford and that he never blew 6 a safe or committed that sort of | theft in his life. He scorned it. t Mr. Jones had been to New York 1 in the interest of his client, and had succeeded in establishing an t air-tight alibi. There he found ( that the police had been baffled ( by the same sort of circumstances i —two criminals,'the one a pick- | pocket and the other a second- ] story man—who looked exactly alike. They had not marks that might distinguish them execept i their finger prints. I It happened that two nights be- fore the safe robbery in Asheville | that a residence had been robbed i of SIO,OOO worth of diamonds in r Charlotte. In their investigation } the police found the finger prints i of the burglar, and they immedi- i ately preferred charges against i the man being tried in Asheville. A finger print expert came dowu and identified the marks as those i of Crawford. They didn't fit Mc- j Neelis, and he was acquitted ] after an hour's deliberation by by the jury. t Nothing has been heard of either McNeelis or Crawford since | then. Evidently they left these j parts, but there is an element in Asheville that still believes that i McNeelis is Crawford. Men who hid gambled with Crawford, i although he failed to recognize ( any one of them, when they swore that they knew him intimately. ( Even the man who helped Craw- , ford crack the safe believes that McNeelis was the man. i But the case lacked the dra matic interest that attaches to the i Rawls-Rgid case in Warren. There i was no wife and there were no tearful children in court claiming t the recognition of a man, who sat j within a few feet of them for a week and gave no sign of recogiii- ( tion. Lawyers throughout the , State have become tremendously interested in the situation, and many of them are refreshing , their minds on the laws of identi fication. Rawls has gone back to Rock ingham to work at the three cot- , ton mills he is building there for a big contracting firm in Char ] lotte, and the woman who claims that he is her husband and the father of her two children is back at work in Littleton, still support ing them as she has done since October 30, 1915, when J. Bynum | Reid, her husband, ran away with another woman. r ~-» » Autos Furnish Bulk ot Crossing Victims- Automobiles figured in 81 per cent of the accident* which oc curred at crossings of public high ways with tracks of the Southern Railway System during 1922. Out of 474 crossing accidents, 384 were in connection with auto mobiles Sixty-seven occupants of automobiles were killed and 194 injured out of a total of 86 i persons killed and 274 injured in 1 such accidents. There were 64 accidents in , volving other vehicle* and street ) cars in which four persons were - killed and 60 injured, and 20 ac ■ cidenta to pedestrians, of whom 15 were killed and 12 injured. These figures are contained in i a statement issued by the Safety . Department of the Southern, call f ing attention to the alarming in s crease of crossing accident* since f the automobile has come iutogeu -1 eral use, indicating that drivers - of motor cars do not take the same f precautions at crossings that are i taken by drivers of other vehicles 1 aud by pedestrians. GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY. MAY 31,1923 EASTERN CAROLINA, AMERICA'S WINTER GARDEN Vast Landed Estates of Many Thousands of Acres —Rertile Lands Without Tenants Where Fortunes are Made on Few Acrea. SOME OF THE THINGS THE TENANCY COMMISSION SAW The last Legislature appointed a Commission to make a survey of the agricultural possibilities of Eastern Carolina. It is not sup posed they saw everything but theysaw enough to convince them of the greatness of the Tidewater section. The following account prepared by S. H. Hobbs, Jr., for the Chapel Hill News Letter reads like Action: The Farm Tenancy Commission appointed during the last session of the Legislature has just return ed from a thousand-mile incursion into the Tidewater country. The Commission covered thoroughly practically every county f«om the South Carolina border to the east ern edge of Hyde county, thence northwest through Beaufort, Mar tin, Northampton, Halifax, and other counties. The maiu objects before the Commission were to look into the possibilities of the Tidewater country for agricultur al expansion, to look into the merits of the group settlement idea versus individual settle ment, and to gather information on the financial policies of suc cessful enterprises. Consulta tions were held with farm ten ants, small farm owners, big landlords, lumber companies owning hundreds "Of thousands of acres of cut-over lands, chambers of commerce, and others. The following are merely a few of the impressions gathered. The Tidewater country is a vast area eighty-five percent undevel oped, with the greatest agricul tural possibilities of auy similar area in America. It m the most sparsely settled area possessing equal agricultural advantages in America. It can become the Winter Gar den of America because »f warm moist climate, suitable soils, early maturity of truck crops, and nearness to northern markets. It can become a great livestock area because it produces grasses as abundautly as any area in the United States. Cattle can be grazed ten months In the year and no winter housing of cattle is ueeded. But in several places where we ate there was uo butter on the table; and whore we had butter, it was a northern product. The cattle tick and lack of mar ket for surpluses are the present drawbacks, together with a popu lation that knows little about livestock. Big Laudlorda It is the one area iu North Caro lina where big landlords reign supreme. A man with only five or ten thousand acres is a piker. Thirty thousand acres demands some local respect. One hundred thousand acres is doing right-well. Landlords with three to ten thou sand acres under cultivation were run across here and there. The biggest landlord of them all told the writer that the concen tration of land in the hands of a few people was the biggest curse of the Tidewater country. Many people are land poor. Every cent of capital is tied up in land, with no money left to develop it. The land is often heavily mortganed and a clear title cannot be given to would-be purchasers. Great fortunes have been lost in big draiuage project* because no provision has been made to get ' actual settlers on the land. Sev -1 eral individuals and corporations ■ offered to give the state ten thou -1 sand acres of drained land if the state would show them how to get 1 men on the laud. In one project ' three million dollars have been ■ spent in drainage and there is not • a farmer on the land. The Mnall Karacr I The most frequent cause of fail s', ure on the part of individual set s' tiers is that thpy buy big farms, 8, invest all their capital in undevel oped land, and have nothing left to develop the farm. Where farm ers have eonfe in and purchased small farms and reserved a part of their capital, they have almost invariably succeeded. _ In >fact about the,only successes'the Com mission found consisted of sma 1 farmers, both native and foreign. For instance, at Castle Hayne there are thirty farmers owning from twenty to thirty acres each and la*t year they sold two hun dred thousand dollars' worth of products. Twenty years ago this same body of land produced a total yield of five hundred dollars' worth of crops. One of these far mers owns twenty acres. His gross sales last year amounted to $12,000. His net income was SB,- 000 He built a handsome home out of his year's crops, lost $2,700 in a local baqk which failed, aud still had cash ou hand. ' Another is a nurseryman. He owns a few acres, it- actually using still fewer, has been on his pjaco five years and is worth $75,000. On one acre he bad 80,000 plauts which will in six years veil for sev en dollars each. Each plant in creases in value one dollar a year. It boats cotton add tobacco hands dowu. Tar Heeli Succeed. These people are not all foreign ers. The most successful settle ment of them all is made .up of native Tar Heels. The Comthis sion is not interested in bringing foreign-born people into North Carolina. It is interested i* placing native Tar Heel farmers ou farms under such conditions that they will gradually i,nto the ownership of the land. An intensive survey is being made of farmers who have failed and of farmers who have succeeded, so that the causes of failures cart be eliminated and the reasons for successes can be utilized. The land and other natural re sources of this state are nothing short of marvelous. We have in North Carolina 23 million idle acres. Nearly halt'' the farmers of Norlh Carolina are teuauca. The Tenancy Commission is trying to f Kliljillfl [\l I Wfl 1 llui ijn jJfIH 131,000 Jolly Juniors-1922 Ume it 50.000-1923 ' Junior Chautauqua Ticket! • Admit to, E _ GRAHAM, N. C„ June 11-15 - . discover measures whereby some of.this vast tenant population can be placed on a part of this vast area of land that is now idle, under the most ideal social and economic conditions, so that after a few years they will own their farms and homes and will be bet ter citizens of the community and of the atate. The native Tar Heel, if given a chance, will make good. SHORT CROP TOBACCO t IS THE PROSPECT NOW Due to Shortage of Plants and Many Laborers Leaving Farms. May be 50,000,000 Pounds Less Than Last Year—Over 90,000 Farmers Members Co-op Association. A very considerable decrease in the production of tobacco in the Old Belt of Virgiuia and North Carolina seems certain for 1923, according to crop reports sent in from 782 local units of the To bacco Growers Cooperative As sociation to its Ualeigh headquart ers last week. A very heavy cut iu the tobacco crop of Virginia for 1923 is indi-! cated by the fact that the figures from the signed statements of hundreds of local aasociati >n sec retaries show that 7 percent of the total Virgiuia acreage is already abandoned. The Virginia crop is already cut 25,000,000 pouuds short of the 1920 total and unless plant and weather conditions im prove materially it may bo short 50.000,000 pouuds in weight com pared with 1922. The ' >ld Belt of North Carolina, according to the locals of the to bacco cooperative, reports de crease iu acreage of 3.6 percent over last year. From Raleigh west and uorth farmers report the moat serious plant conditions they have ever known. Eaatern North Carolina and the South Carolina Belt report a slight increase in acreage but uncertain weather conditions. The unprecedented shortage in farm labor and the continuous migration of negro tenants to ti)e north will probably further decrease the production of tobacco in these counties for the coming year. t More than 90,000 tobacco farm ers are now members of the to bacco Growers Cooperative Asso ciation, according to a count of contracts made last week at Ral eigh headquarters and the asso ciation coutinues to hold its posi tion as the largest of the American commodity cooperatives. Several new customers are buying the re dried tobaccos of the association, which are finding a steady market at association prices. GOVERNMENT INSURANCE. Information for Service Men as to Different Kinds of Insurance—An other Opportunity for Reinstating Lapsed Policies. The Government granted in surance to the enlisted forces at low term peace time rates, with the privilege of carrying it at these rates to March 4, 1926, or convert ing it into a permanent policj'. Men in good health can rein state any amount not less than SI,OOO and in multiplies of SSOO, up to the full amount of the origi nal contract, by only the payment of two premiums ou the amount reinstated, or can reinstate aud convert by paying only one pre mium on Term Insurance and oue on the Converted Policy. There are six converted policies, i. e., Ordinary Life, 20 Payment Life, 30 Payment Life and 20 Year Endowment, 30 Year Endowment maturiug at 62 years. - The low premium rates of the Ordinary Lite Policy make it pos sible for every man lo have in surance protection. Premiums on this p an are paid over the en tire life ofThe lusured or until he becomes totally and permauentfFj* disabled. For a man who wantts, insurance for protection alone this is unquestionably the best, as the insured secures the maximum amount of protection for the mini mum cost. Ttie SO and 30 Payment Life Policy. Premiums ou these plans are paid for a period of 20 years and 30 years, respectively, then the policy becomes paid-up and par ticipating lo maturity. Premiums on the Limited Payment Plans are so computed that they are payable during the insured's in come-producing period. The period between the ages of 25 and 65 are usually considered the period men make money, there fore, it is the logical time to pro vide protection against the time when he cannot work and prob ably will have no income. Kndowment Pollicles The endowment policies are es sentially a means of saving with a prjtective feature. Premiums ou these policies are so computed that by a comparatively small an nual outlay the insured cau build up a substantial sum, which is payable directly to him at the end of the endowment period of either 20 yoars, 30 years or when he be comes 62 yearfl old. All of these policies have a dis ability clause without auy restric tiou as to time or cause from which the disability may occur. All have cash, loan, paid up and extended iusurance values and participate in dividends after they have beeu in f&ce oue year. The cash value is the amount for which the policy may be sur rendered, but a policy once sur rendered cannot be reinslated. The loan value is 94 percent of the cash value and does not affect the protection of the policy. A loan may be repaid at any time in one sum or in amounts of $5 00 or multiple thereof, at an an nual interest of not more than 0 percent. Paid-up insurance is the amount of insurance the cash value of the policy will buy at a net level term premium rate based on the insured's nearest attained age. Paid-up lusurance cau be obtained on application aud full surrender of the original policy. Extended Insurance is the length of tune for whi'jh the cash value will pay premiums at a net level term rate ou the facu value of the original policy. Premiums on Government Life Insurance are based ou the in sured's nearest attained age and do not change during the life time of the policy. The policy can be paid iu a lumpsum ou maturity. Information cau be obtained from Dr. I. T. Maun, High Pointy N. C., or the U. S. Veterans' Bu reau, 202 Mint Building, Char lotte, N. C, or the (J. S Veterans' Bureau, 407 Allen Building, Raleigh, N. C. M. Bryson, District Mauager, IT. S. Veterans' Bureau. Salt serves as a spice or condi ment which whets the appetite and increases the palatibility of feed for all livestock. NO. 17 HOWpO SAVE THE GARDEN CROP. Some Timely Suggestions About Spraying. Timely spraying will help to make a success of the home gar den if carried out with the prop er care, and a reduced grocery bill as the result of this kind of crop insurance, are two thoughts suggested by G. W. Fant, ex ten- 3 sion plant disease worker for the State College and State Depart ment of Agriculture. Mr. Fant sajs that there is much loss from disease in the garden whichis often mistaken for bad weather or poor soil conditions. A good many growers have found it profitable to spray tomatoes to reduce the amount of blight and fruit rot. If the vines die early and the trouble looks suspicious of wilt, send stem specimens to the ' Division of Plant Diseases, State College, Raleigh, for examination. This wilt disease lives in the soil from year 10 year. It may be elimiuated through the use of wilt resistant varieties, he states. "Spray Irish potatoes with pois oned Bordeaux mixture. Exper ience has showu that this is the best all around practice. '•l4s pretty rnueli of a disap pointment to havi a nice crop of grapes go bad from grape fruit rot. Unless spray is applied, there will likely be lots of it this year. "The spraying of watermelons and muakmeloiis prevents the early dying of vines, and elimi nates the melon spots known as anthracnose. "If celery is giown, spraying while plauts are in the plant bed aud later in the field will control foliage blight aud give rise to strong succulent stalks. "Ilome-made Bordeaux mix ture, plus arsenate of lead for chewing insects, is the cheapest aud most effective spray for gar den crops," says Mr. Fant. What most of us had rather be doiug instead of what we are do ing duriug Spring is anything else. SLKStCBIHB FOB TUB ULKAMBB 666 is a Prescription for Colds, Fever and LaGrippe. It's the most speedy remedy we know, preventing Pneu monia. PROFESSIONAL CARDS LOVICK H. KERNODLE, Attorney-iil-Law, GRAHAM. N. C. Aaaociated with John J. Henderson, oitice over Xationat Hank of Alamance THOMAS D. COOPER* Attorney and Counsellor-at-Law, BURLINGTON, N. C, Auocialed with W.S. Coulter, Not. 1 and 8 First National Bank Bldg, S. C. SPOON, Jr., M. D. Graham, N. C. jOflice over Ferrell Drug Co. Hours: 2 to 3 aud 7 to 'J p. in., aud by appointment. Phone 1)7" GRAHAM HARDEN, M. D. Burlington, N. C. Ottkc lioum; 9 to 11 a. in. unl by appointment Ollice Over Acme L)rug Co. Telephone*: Oflice llO—Kestdence till JOHN J. HENDERSON Attorney-a t-Law GRAHAM, N. C. Olllec over National Bank ol Alaaaaet T. S. COOK, Attorney-at- Lao - i KAHAM, - N. 0 octets fatieraoo Building aacoud Floor. • . DR. WILL mw, JR. . . ; DENTIST f B 5 Graham, .... Narth Carolina OFFICE IN PARIS BUILDING)