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VOLUMN XLVI. LOUISBURG, N. C., FRID AY, APRIL 13TH, 1917. .< v - NUMBER 9
$150,000 OF PROPERTY
?? _ DESTROYED JY FIRE
Entire Oil Mill Section Was Wiped Out Wednesday
BHittEST FIRE LOUISBCRG HAS
EXPERIENCED.
Oil KU1, Cotton Gin, Office Residence,
Six Storage Houses, Completely De
stroyed, 400 Bales o( Cotton anil
Thousands of Bushels of Cotton
Seed Badly Damaged?Only Partial
ly Covered by Insurance.
What proved to be possibly the
largest fire, certainly in the amount
of loss, in the history of Loulsburg oc
curred here on Wednesday evening,
when the entire Oil Mill section was
destroyed by Are together with a big
lot of Cotton, Cotton Seed, and Cot
ton Oil products. From the best In
formation we can get it seems that
the are started in the top of a large
seed storage house Ibcated between
the cotton gin and the oil mill, and
spread so rapidly that it was Impos
sible to keep the flames from either of
the adjoining buildings. The alarm
was turned in at about 4:46 and while
the fire department answered imme
diately and hundreds of citizens res
ponded, the Are was raging so rapld
" and spreading so fast when they ar
l.'vcd that they soon found that they
coi'H only protect adjoining proper
ty . This they did heroically, but at
times it looked as if the fire was go
ing to cross the street to another
large prize house and again to crosi
the railroad to the Loulsburg Coal &
Ice Co.'s plant and other storage
houses but by persistent and steady
work on the part of the' firemen they
finally succeeded in confining the
flames to Oil Mill district. It is gen
erally admitted that the losses will
reach at least $150,000 and may even
exceed that, with the amount only par
tially covered by Insurance.
Among the losers are the follow
ing:
Loulsburg Cotton Oil Co.?Cotton
Oil Mill and eq)ipment, Cotton gin and
equipment, offices, two seed storage
houses with big quantities of seed,'
I storage house with cotton, 1 stor
age house for hulls fairly well filled,
a lot of horse stallr:
Allen Bros., two storage houses, a
big lot of cotton, fertilizer, etc.
W. Hal Mann, a one room residence
and personal belongings, also dam
age to residence.
H. M Stovnlt, damage to houoohuld
goods ir moving from building about
to catch.
During the nrogress of the flre the
residence of Mr. J. R; Williams, lo
cated across the river and almost a
halt mile from .the scene caught from J
tolling sparks, but w?s soon extln
puifhed with but slight damage.
Seven box cars of the Seaboard Air
I.ine caught, but owing to the quick
and effective work of the train crew
and section hands the cars were soon |
removed and extinguished, with only|
a very slight damage.
The flre was one of the quickest the
citizens of Loulsburg have ever wit
nessed,unless it has a parallel In the
one about fourteen years ago, wliej
Cheatham's Stemmery and a number
of buildings burned, as within an
hour the flames had covered thpss
buildings and had spent its force.
There was estimated about four
hundred bales of cotton In this flip
practically all of which is damaged ]
to at least fifty per cent of its value,
and many thousands busTTefifot cot
ton seed, besides a lot of cotton seed
products, as the mill was in opera
tion at the time the fire started.
While assisting in rolling out and
away bales of cotton from the cotton
gin Mr. J. ?. Palmer was badly hurt
by a bale of cotton falling against h!s
back. ( He was resting fairly we'll
yesterday morning and It Is cot
thought the Injury will prove serious.
On account of the policies being
lacked up in the safe that wont
through the flre It Is Impossible to
say how much insurance there was on
the property, however It is known that
It was not fully Insured and that the
actual loss will be great.
The fireman and a^ large number of
cltiaens deserve mucft credit for the
splendid irork done to save the flre
rr?? ?preading to adjoining proper
ty.
BRAZIL BREAKS 'OFF
GERMAN RELATIONS
Government Is Thought to Hare Rc
celved From Paris Full Details of
Sinking o I Brazilian Steamer.
London, April 10.?Diplomatic re
lations between Brazil and Germany
have been broken off, according to The
Evening News.
Report Has Been Received.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 10.?
The official report regarding the sink
ing ot the Brazilian steamship Pa
rana, which the government has been
awaiting before taking definite ac
tion toward Germany, Is believed tc
have been received today from tho
legation in Paris. It is expected the
government this afternoon will sever
relations with Germany. Switzer
land will take over Brazilian Interests
at Berlin.
Mr?. J. L. Bowden Dead.
Early Wednesday morning, Mrs. J.
Lawrence Bowden died at her home
at Justice, 10 miles east ot this city,
aften a ten days' lllne'js of pneumon
ia. ..
Mrs. Bowden was 69 years old, and
for many years she has been one of
the most active and progressive la
dies In her community. She was a
devout Christian woman, being a
member of the Primitive Baptist
church at Spring Hope, and gave her
life in self-sacrificing service to oth
ers. * ' ? ?
She was the mother of 14 children,
eight of whom are now living, viz:
Mrs. Sarah J. Stalling?, Mrs. R. L.
Hayes, Mrs. G. S. Earp, and J. C.
Bowden, of Justice, Mrs. W. J. Coop'
er and Mrs. Dr. E. M. Perry, of
Louisburg, and L. W. Bowaen and
Henry C. Bowden, of Raleigh. Her
husband, Mr. J. Lawrence Bowden.
who is one of the leading spirits in
his community and county, also sur
vives her.
The funeral services were neld trom
her home on yesterday afternoon and
the interment was made in tlie family
burying ground near the home.
A large number of friends and rel
atives from far and neai* were present
to pay a last sad tribute to the (Jj.
ceased.
Mr. Leonard In Accident.
Mr. Fed B. Leonard was in to se?
us Wednesday and was telling us of
an accident he had with the Spring
Hope to Rocky Mount train on Tues
day. It seems that he was return
ing from Rocky Mount In an automo
bile that evening, accompanied by
Miss Bennette, of Virginia, and upon
approaching the railroad crossing
about one mile out from Spring Hope
he collided head-on with the train,
seriously damaging the car and came
near experiencing serious injury to
himself and the lady who was with
him. At this point bt the rallVoad it
seems that there is two crossings
within about a half a mile of each oth
er and Mr. Leonard says he heard the
train blow for tho further one but had
no idea it would reach the latter be
fore himself.
Aside from a pretty badly scaring
up and a sore shoulder no Injuries to
either occupant of the car were sus
tained.
The Train Was Wrecked'.
The wreck of the Carolina special
at Norcona station 25 miles west of
Ashevllle, last week, is charged to
"German agents." Practically all of
the spikes were removed from one
rail and the flsh plates at each end
of the rail loosened, sq that the
weight of the train turned it over,
derailed the engine and overturning
the passenger car and a combination
passenger and baggage coach. Con
ductor S. H. Mills, of Knoxvllle, Rich
Thompson, a negro porter, and several
negro passengers were slightly In
jured. .
Evidently the train was deliberate
ly wfsfcked but trains were wrecked |
before we were at war with Germany.
Taylor-Yaacey.
At the home of the bride In Chaa?
City, Va., Thursday moraine, Ptafi'
W. Raymond Taylor and Miss Bertie
Yancey were married. They left at
once for thlB city, where a most de
lightful reception and dinner party
were given them at the home ot Prof.
Taylor's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hen
ry Clay Taylor, Thursday night.
The following guests were present
to "wish the happy couple a bon voy
age; Prof. W. R. Mills and Supt.
E. L. Best, former teachers of the
groom, Prof. E. C. Harris, Rev. Wal
ter M. Gilmore, Prof. J. Qlenn Mc
Adams, Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Cooky,
Mr. and Mrs. C. T. Perry, Mrs. E.
L. Best, Mrs. P. B. Griffin, Mrs. 8.
J. Edens, Misses Llllle Hale, Rutn
and Pearl Taylor, of Oxford, Priselil*
and Iantha "Pittman, Beulah Eden?,
Messrs. W. B. Tucker, J. C. Hayes,
J. E. Tysinger.
Prof, and Mrs. Taylor left Satur
day for. Auburn, Ala., where he occu
pies the chair of English in the Ala
bama Polytechnic Institute,
After graduating at Chapel Hill two
years ago with very high honor, Prof.
Taylor took his Master's degree at
Harvard last June cum laude. Mrs.
Taylor is one of Virginia's most char
ming and accomplished young ladles.
. Easter at St. Paul's (ihnreh.
Bishop Jos. Blount Cheshire, of the
Diocese ot North Carolina, gave the
congregation of St. Paul's an early
morning service on Easter Day, mak
ing the hour 9:30 so that he could al
bo give the congregation of St. James
Klttrell, a morning service. .. Tho
church was beautifully decorated with
Easter llllles and potted plants and
flowers, and congregational attendan
ce was full, and-all enjoyed a partic
ularly attractive devotional service.
Very appropriate and well rendered
Easter selections ot music added
greatly to the solemn beauty Of the
day's services. The assistant^ rec
tor, Rev. Basil Manly Walton, pres
ented a class of six for confirmation,
and the Bishop administered the rite
of confirmation, admitting the class
Into full communion with the church.
At the close of the services the Bish
op, assisted by the rector, adminis
tered holy communion to a large num
ber.
Bishop Cheshire has a large circle
of friends and acquaintances In and
near Louisburg, both in his own
church and others, and enjoyed a day
of visiting them on Saturday. He was
the guest of Mr. W. H. Ruffln during
his visitation.
Mother's Four Sons Serving Country.
Mrs. Georgia T. Boddle says that
she has already given all her sons to
the service of their country. Her
oldest son, W. W. Boddle, is a mem
ber of. the Federal Reserves; Capt.
S. P- Boddie, of Louisburg, is an of
ficer In the military company; Mr.
S. G. Boddie Is lieutenant m Com
pany C, Vance Guards, and Mr. T.
G. .Boddte, the youngest son, is wire
less operator on the United States bat
tlehip Aylwtn now on the coast ot
Cuba.
The mother said that other mothers
would consider It a great sacrifice to
give up one son, but when the call
comes she expects to give four, and
all she has. "I am not willing," she
says, "for any one of my sons to re
sign now. They enjoyed the pleas
ures and the benefits of belhg mem
bers of the guards in peace, and now
when the country is In danger, I want
them to help."
-College Commencement Speakers.
fir. E. L. Bain, pastor ot the West
Market Street Methodist church, of
Greensboro, has been secured to
preach the baccalaureate sermon at
the commencement of Loulsburg Col
lege, Sunday, May 20. H$ will also
preach the sermon to the Y. W. C. A.
the same Sunday night. Judge R.
W. Winston, of Raleigh, will deliver
the literary address Tuesday morning,
May 22. The annual alumnae ban
quet will be held that night, Mrs.
Thonfaa Walter Blckett, of Raleigh,
acting as toastmlstress. Governor
Blckett will also be an honored guest
ot the occasion and will speak.
Bryan-Lanier.
Wood, April 11.?Miss Mamie La
nier and Mr. Claud Bryan, both ot
Wood, were married Saturday even
ing, April 7th at 8:30 In the Baptist
church. There were a large number
of relatives and friend* to witness the
happy occasion. Rev. J. C. Strowd,
pastor of the Methodist church - 'of
that place, officiated.
L. L. JOINER RENOMINATE!)
Al KB? Uic Old Board of Commlsxlon
cr? In (lie Primary Tuesday.
Although Inwn polillfs hay? been .
?sly, quiet up to Monday evening be
fore the primary it wfts evident be
fore the polls opened on Tuesday
morning at 9 o'clock that much In
terest would result before the close
of the day, as tyo complete tickets
lor Commissioners had found their
way to the polls. The lack of Inter
est before-hand was due to the fact
that there was no opposition to the
old Board of Commissioners except
the candidacy of Dr. A. K. Flemth?,
but when the full ticket was present
ed some active work was brought
about which resulted as follows:
Fb? Mayor: Joyner 236, Palmer 14;
For Commissioners; G. W. Ford
165, W. J. Cooper *151, B. N. Will
lamson 170. J. M. Allen 179, F. W.
Hick; 169, P. W. Wheleas 169, P. A
Reavls 75, Ivey Allen 72, H. C. Tay
Ibr 68, A. H. Fleming 97, Malcolm
McKinne J13, E. M. Perry 68. On
acconnt of Dr. H. A. Newell being
a member of the Medical Department
of the National Guard and expects to
be called out again soon he retired
from the Board and Mr. F. W. Hicks,
son of Mr. L. P. Hicks, was put cn
In hit- stead. -
Everything passed o If smoothly and
the best of feelings was evident at ail
times throughout the day.
COrSTY COMMENCEMENT.
To be Held Saturday, April 14th?All
Exercise* Except the Parade TV 111
Be Had.
At k meeting of the Township lep
reseWat:ves held in Supt. E. L.
Best1* office on last Saturday It was
to hold the County .Commence
ment on Saturday, April 14th, (next
Saturday), at which time all the pro
gramme will be executed except the
parade. On account of the fact that
a number of the five months schools
having already closed and the expense
of tlie arrangements it was decided
to eliminate the parade feature. The
pageant, declamation and athletic
contests will begin promptly at 1:U0
o'clock.
Everybody Is Invited to attend these
exercises.
Baraca-Phllathea Fnion Program.
The program for the Baraca-Phiia
thea Union, wTlich will meet with the
Flat Rock Baptist church on May the
5th. and 6th, is as follows:
Saturday, May 5th, 8:30 P. M.
Sermon by Rev. J. H. Buffalo,
Frankiinton.
Meeting of the Entertaining Com
mittee.
8:0? P. jr.
Devotional Exercise?Mrs. W. 1?.
Frazior.
Paper?"What a Sunday School Ter -
clier Ought to be."?Miss Lena Gill.
Paper?'"How to Make the Sunday
School Lesson Interesting."?Mrs.
W. A. Sherron.
A written report?"The Best Thing*
Our Class Has Done During the Past
Six Months. "?By a Delegate from
each claBS.
Sunday) May fitli 10:00 A. M.
Devotional Exercises?Mrs. J. O.
Pernell.
Business Session. ?
Presentation of banner to class ma
king the Tjest report In the last six
months?Prof. E. B. Co*.
Address by Mr. B. W. Ballard J
Frankiinton.
Dinner, 12;00?1:80.
Address?"The Relationship Be
tween the Church and Organized Clas
ses."?by Rev. Davis.
"Spelling Bee."
An oM fashioned "spelling-bee", un
der the direction of Mr. John J. Al
len. of near this place, the champion
speller of the world, was a most in
teresting feature of the preliminary
exercises of the county commence
ment Wednesday night. Representa
tives from nine different schools In
the county entered the contest. To
Miss Llilte Edwards, an eighth grade
pupil of the Ingleside school, was a
warded the $5 prize offered for the
best speller In the public schools of
the' county.
American Liner Struck a Mine.
Washington, April 10.?The Ameri
can liner. New York struck a mine at
7:40 laat night live miles oft Liver
pool bar. No casualties were repor
?tL-Ji't.. ?-. . ft* , .
ted and the vessel later proceeded to
Liverpool.
New York, April 10.?The Ameri
can line steamship New York left this
port on March 29 for Liverpool with
58 passengers included seven Amerl
can citizens. She carried a navy
crew of gunners and was armed. The
ship's crew of 234 men included 14fr
Americans.
New York, April 10.?The New
York docked safely at Liverpool at
1 a. m. (English time)7and passen
gers are safe, according to a cable
gram received here t- today by tho
American line I The damage to the
vessel was small, the message states.
Henderson Company Notified.
Henderson, April 10.?Capt. J. W.
Jenkins, commander of the Vance
Guards of Henderson, received the fol
lowing telegram from Col. S. W.
Minor, of Durham;
"You are notified that a state of war
with Germany exists. Govern your
self accordingly, and notify every one
of your command, and rush recruit*
ing.M
Simiiar orders to the above have
been received by Capt. S. P. Boddle
of the I.outaburg Company.
Marshull Law for all Guatemala 1? i'ut
Into Effect.
Guatemala City, Guatemala, Mon
day, April 9.?Martial law has been
declared in Guatemala. The action
was taken on Information of distur
bances on the Mexican and Salvador
ean frontiers, supposed to have been
created with German assistance.
Louisburg Baptist Church.
"TJie Call of the World", will be the
theme of the morning sermon, being
a companion sermon of the one last
Sunday morning on "The Call of tlie
Homeland.'1*-, rv:-?-* - -*?,
At 8 o'clock P. M. the pastor wil!
discuss the theme, "Wanted?Volun
teers, Not Conscripts." You are cor
dially invited. ? '
Club Meeting.
The Louisburg Club of Child Con
servation League will meet with Mrs.
W. E. White Tuesday, April 17tli, at
4 o'clock.
MRS. T. W. WATSON, Pres.
MRS. W. E. WHITE, Sec*y.
Particular.
Boarding House Mistress?"What
part of the chicken do you wish?"
Freshman?"Some of the meat.,
please. '^?Pelican.
a pathetic scene. Thousands of
friends and relatives of the victims
were surging through streets in an ef
fort to locate their loved ones, either
dead or alive. Crowds of the mor
bidly curious in front of the hospitals
and the morgue were held back by
national guardsmen. No one was al
lowed in the morgue and only those
who could establish their right to be
there were permitted to enter the hos
pitals. Companies B and C of the
Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment were
called into service early in the night
to assist the machine gun company of
the First Regiment and cadets from
the Pennsylvania Military Academy
who patrolled the streets throughout
the afternoon.
I Kan By Allied Commission.
The Eddystono Ammunition Corpor
ation, which was organized originally
by Interests,identified with the Bald
win Locomotive Works and operated
fby those Interests was taken over :ast
September by a commission represen
ting the British and Russian govern
ments. Since that time this commis
sion has been carrying on the man
ufacture of munitions for the entente
allies.
The financial loss as a result of the
explosion Is estimated at less than
$25,000, not Including the ammunition
destroyed. Work will be resum
ed tomorrow In all departments ex
cept the box, packing and base charg
ing departments. All departments
will be In full operation by April 24,
according to an official of the com
pany. More than 10.00O persons are
employed at the plant.
William ODonnel, of Zacelton, Pa.
who was In the pellet room when the
explosion occurred, charged the Ed
dystone officials with laxity in the
matter of hiring munition workers.
He declared that many Mexicans re
cently arrived from the border were
hired and that Germans and Austrlans
alto were given employment.
OVER A HUNDRED WAS
KILLED IN EXPLOSION
DETECTIVES HUSHED TO^SCEXE
JHISK EXPLOSION WAS AC
CIDENTAL.
Quantity of Shrapnel Placed Near Be
dlutor and Heat Might Have Easily
Hare Exploded It?Explosion Felt
In Philadelphia, Fifteen Miles Away
?Residences Thrown Open For In
jured.
Chester, Pa., April 10.?One hun
dred and twelve persons, most ot
them women and girls, are known to
have lost their lives, and 121 were In
jured by a series ot terrific explosions
today In the shrapnel building of the
Eddystone Ammunition Corporation at
Eddystone, one mile from this city.
Many of the injured were mortally
hurt, and It Is feared the final death
list will reach 150,'while others pro
bably will be maimed for life.
There was scarcely a fragment ot
the structure left Intact. Fire added
to the horror, and most of the bodies
were so badly charred that Identifica
tion was impossible.
In the absence ot any official state
ment, many theories as to the cause
of the disaster were advanced. Hu
mors of plots and arrests of persona,
both inside and outside of the plant,
were numerous, but all lacked conf.t
matlon.
Believed Accidental.
Twenty Philadelphia detectives were
sent to Eddystone soon after the ex
plosions on a rumor that it was the
result of a plot. After spending sev
eral hours investigating they report
ed that they had located from official?
of the uiWyi)?Uoa who had made aa
tnvesti&atioi/ that a "quantity of shrap
nel had been placed near a radiator
and the heat might easily have ex
ploded it. Their opinion is that tho
explosion was purely accidental. A
canvass of the police stations in the
vicinity and inquiries among officials
of the company failed to reveal thac
any arrests had been made.
The explosion, which was felt la
Philadelphia 1I> miles away, occurrel
about 10 o'clock in what is known as
the "10 F" building a two-story struc
ture, 75 by 300 feet. In this build
ing time fuses were prepared, more
?ban eighty per cent of the workers
being women and girls. Probably
fifty men and boys were employed in
thf building at the time of the blasp
and the majorltv of them escaped.
Town Darkened by Smoke.
Great excitement following the ox
plosions. A heavy pall of smoke dar
kened the entire town. This was
soon lightened by the flames from the
burning building. Rescue squadr,
composed of other employees at the
plant were quickly formed and a oall
for assistance was sent to Philadel
phia, Chester, Wilmington and other
nearby points. The entire Chester
fire department responded and ambu
lances from Philadelphia and Chester
were soon at the scene. A strong
military guard was thrown around
the plant and everyone except those
assisting in th^ rescue work were for
bidden to approach.
Fifteen minutes after the explosion
the bodies of the dead and injured
were beins carried out.Several bod
ies were fished out of the marshes tw o
hundred yards from the ill-fated buil
ding, and it is feared that others may
hare been blown into the river, stili
farther away. All were badly muti
lated and many were burned beyond
recognition.
Some of the injured were temporar
ily cared for in buildings of the ammu
nition plant,' while scoreB of homes at
Eddystone and nearby towns were
thrown open to others. At one resi
dence In Ridley Park 35 persons were
given attention. None of them had
been hurt, but were In a state of col
lapse from shock and hysteria.
Many Instance* of Heroism.
There were numerous Instances of
heroism. In one of these Capt. Wal
ter Wilhelm, vice-president of the Ed
dystone Corporation and formerly a
national guardsman, dashed through
smoke and flame Into (he wreckage
no less than ten times, each time car
rying some one to safety. So serious
was the dancer from exploding shrap
nel considered that the trolley lined
wore tied up (or tnor# than an hour.
Throughout the afternoon and nnUt
? late hour tonight Chester pr?Mated