i I. I ' i
J1J0IE
VOLUME X.
IiBNOIR, N. C, WEDNESDAY, FBBRUARY4, 1885.
NUMBER SO.
: f
Wallace
STATESVILLE, N. C.
Whole salE Dealers
!
general'
ercbandise.
-lot -
Largestirolirase
and best facili-
i f
5 ,
ties for han-
dling
Dried Fruit, Ber-
ries. etc.. in (V f
the State.
Respectfully
Wallace
Bros:
i- i
J. LI. SPAINHOUR,
trxiati EiHissn D!:til Csilut,
Dentist.
Vits io ImBure Material for
Pilline Teeth. -
Vf trk can be Done.
Patientj from a distance nay
j ji t. -
iw4uu6iar DTinionnine
VJ. . 1. C. ii At I
mxui a waai mne inej
propose coming.
i P. LEE. CLIN E,
UTORNET - AT -L!AT,
rfTORHII - ITJUlTir,
Lsnom, n. ci
CILLEY & NEWL AND,
3 . - . f.. r.
i Attomoy-ilt-LaT7,
Cr.;.Vp Tho' Courts.
RAILBOAOS, :CCUMTY RQAOS AND THE
' i PAHDOKIKG POWER. !
MllDiiigtcu Stur.
Gov. Scales makes a calm state
ment with reference to the State
management of railroads. He thinks
there are just causes of complaint
and that if nothing is done to rem
edy the evils complained of . "the
agitation will go on increasing day
by day until the people will force
from unwilling hands that justice
which if voluntarily granted would
have been gladly accepted in a spirit
of compromise, leaving no sting be
hind." lie does not make any, sug
gestions as to the manner of reme
dyingrthe evils, pbnt he says the
Iiegislature "has the power to con
trol and regulate these corporations. '
But he says the railroads 'best un
derstand their business, arid are cer
tainly best qualified to know what
should be done and how to doi it."
.This is the correctjriew. , .-.
h The Governor is too -pratrticalj to
overlook the necessity of im proving
the county roads.1 The condition of
rthe public roads of the State is a
positive disgrace. The money lost
in the breakage, and wear and tear
of vehicles, .and the loss sustained in
the carrying business in one year by
reason of themiserableroads, would,
if the sum could be accurately as-
cextajned, be sufficient to put! in
good . repair evary main road Jin
i North Carolina. A wagon and four
horses can haul more pounds over a
good turnpike road than twelve
Jiorses could over the roads in most
6t the upper counties. Governor
Scales says : V:
ld''TtTe build great railroads km!
improve; our national water ways,
tth'enwetinust; reach them by turn
: pikes And other, good roads in the
mountains and elsewhere, until! all
the productions in every part of the
State will find an easy' an J safe way
to the markets of the world, j As
the arteries to the bodyi as the rivers
to the ocean and as the spring and
. smaller streams td the rivers so : are
the public roads to the railroads and
jratej ways in snstainjfng the trade
arid coni merce- of the world. Our.
System is. old.and sadly defective and
ihxougU alLth(e years, have - been
most sadlv neglected. There must
b amendment. The people will
demand it. Communications have
been received from .some of j the
wisest and Most experienced of our
statesmen unrinsr attention to the
WW
question.'" 5
Ile makeV vio suggestions "as toll
best'plan of meeting this great draw
back unou the development and
progress of North Carolina. : Within
a year, we remember to have seen it
mentioned in one of our State ex
chaneesthat some Northern man
hmM TSitedj &4iiblL ot North Cr6l
lina and after travelling over . the
roads he declined to invest in nny
State where the public highways
were left in such a fearful, such a
reproachful condition. How the
people of at least forty counties have
been vTlllrng to bear the 'curse so long
wouldThe singular if we did not know
that in England our ancestors tore
with iuch rjad8 for hundreds of
vere, and that- in the - last centur
"they were no only almost impassable
But fwerebesetr with .Hangers ixom
highw'aynieri; vThe legislatorwho
can devise a judicious, economical,
efficient, equitable plan of putting
ngopd order ihj)ubliq roads of tlw
State will deserve the thanks and
honors of a much distressed and
hindered people.' Tho"Star thUks
that thejoads; can nver bo made
what tHey ahould be except by taxa
tion by keeping a force at work in
each county all the year round, undei:
a thoroughly competent manager
and road builder,, .Gov, Scales,
thinks a beginning should be niade'
at onoe, and auggeftl 'that at least
a part of the convict force' should be
reserved and applied through j the
counties to this purpose, to be con- .
tinued year aftery ear until we have a
complete network of good roads lead
ing from every neighborhood in: the
State to the railways,: - waterways
marVpto of the world." But if
MUU -"' . j
this forde only is to be relied upon
then it. must be ten or more years
before 'some of the counties can re
cejTe,tany benefit.v1 Th ponvict;
UWr shbuld'be Jrhade (o contribute
to the welfcboioy'fpfjtbe Statej fjbut
it will not do to rely upon that alone
Xtlx watt Sxpenecf would aid yery.
greatly. : Every main, road in each
countj.leadinto . the Court House
should be put in thorough repair at
thA oftrliest daT possible. j . '
We are delighted to see how wise-
ly-aad aiscreteiy woy. ouiwcb wuvu
upon the psrdoninptwer. At;last
there is a Gorernor who has aproper
regard for the punishment of crime
and who looks upon the pardoning
power us exercised jby one man as
not the best and safest way of sup
pressing crime and meeting the ne
cessities of mercy. He says :
"This power iaJso liable to be
abused, and has; been so much abus
ed, that I am inclined to think that
such a provision (a Pardoning Board)
is wise, ana perhaps the best possi
ble safeguard
bias, personal
against individual
weakness and anv
improper considerations. Under
such a law the 1'oa'rd must recom
mend to the Governor, but there can
be no pardon without the concur
rence of the Board and the Execu
tive. A pardon always comes in
contact with the judgment of the
law. The law saysjthe penalty must
be' enforced ; the pardon says it shall
not be, and is in fact a nullification
of justice as meted out by our
courts. As a general . thing it is
much betterjltat the judgment of
the law should stand." :
He says the pardoning power must
not be regarded as an appellate
court. He quotes from Leiber on
'fCivil Liberty and Self-government"
as follows :
1 "Whenever,: in the peculiar com
bination of circumstances, pardon
ing militates with the true end of
the State, that is with justice itself,
in such cases pardon may be grant-,
ed ; but eventtheri it should be done
after the most patient and thought '
fill investigation.! The arbitrary,
frequent and loose;' exercise of the
pardonin? power would be disastrous
in the extreme, impairing in its
consequences tlie love of justice,
confidence in the courts, respect for
the law and our high veneration of
the trial by jury."
LETTER FRCMUThT SEASIDE.
Science and Religion.
It was on a New Year's morning
dark and cloudy that I was- hastily
called from my couch of sleep and
dreams in the clever and classic
town of Statesville, N. C, to turn
my heart and face from the desire
of home arid toward a strange land,
for it seemed that the quiet yet
forceful echo of "a still, small voice"
like unto that which spoke to Abra
ham in the ancienj days had spoken
to me in the same commanding tone,
saying : -"Get thee out of thy coun
try, and from thy kindred, and from
thy father's ; house, unto a land
which I will shew thee : Gen. 12; 1.
What strong faith j it, must have re
quired to have obeyed such a com
mand !.-.;'' I.''.--'
Yes, indeed I was severing the
silver cords of ardent devotion to
my native hill country the golden
cord? of the old acquaptance never
to be forgottenthe immortal cords
of parental and filial love as fresh as
the power of steam could dash to
the rear of a flying train the chilly
air of a wintry morn.
How suggestive is this of the
speeding nature of human existence?
We are on the eventf ul wheels of
ever rolling time drawn by an om
nific, yet unseen power, hasting
from the known to the unknown
from a definite point in the past'to
a certain yet unknown destiny in
the future full of mystery. How
could we find comfort, or rest in the
case of quiet sleep on whirling
wheels of moving; train unless we
could place our confidence in the
man whose ingenious , mind and
skillful hand can construct, Control,
and guide f the corriplex machinery
of the engine which so grandly
bears us along ?
The comfort is
confidence. But
measured. f by the
we are on a reyommg, circling,
whirling world, drawn by the cours
er of time, divine! swift, through
realms of uncreated space in which
lie multitudious unseen orbits which
run in obedience
to celestial "law,
revolving planets,
systems and suns
against which our little sphere might
collide and dash all its historic
events into the f orgetf ulness of ob
livion, and scatter all of its immor
tal freight" like atoms on the bound
less area of eternity were it not for
the infinite intelligence of the mind
that designed and created, and the
unerring fingers which direct and
control the lines I of law which! go
out through all the universe like
threads of influence to keep in beau
tiful harmony all the wondrous
workings; of God's mysterious ma
chinery. " j ' . .
. How could I rest in comfort for a
moment on a moving world like
this did I not know that Go4 was at
the great center, controlling all its
workings and directing it to an in
telligent destiny, j Comfort is again
measured ;by confidence, or faith
and that faith not a ''blind snper
stition" ' but an - intelligent . power
corroborated and sustained at every
step by a
coveries
1 the inventions
and dis-
of scienee.
W ih God,
science
is but common sense and
hence is by no means at eniriity with
him She is but the entertaining
and expert agent by which God.1'3
leading genius to ultimatej perfec
tionin other words she is the "two
edged sword," keon as possibility by
which mind is gaining dominion
over matter, thus fulfilling jthe orig
inal command of God to man in the
early morn of creation. Thus sci
ence, the sprightliest daughter of
the intellect, is gracefully Jjwielding
her glittering scepter invention, in
this onward tuarchi The spiritual
to the final conquest of the material.
True science ever has been, is now,
and ever will be the brilliant head
light on : the train of civilization as
she dashes along the straight and
narrow way of practical revelation.
Ill guided infidelity has unintcntion
ally furnished many carloads of
practical 'demonstration toj
tiute the plain and simple
tions of our "old family!
substan-declara-Bibles."
Then while we see skeptics and in
fidels flipping their little j 'grains of
mental; sand, against the granite
foundations of eternal truth let us
not bring against them a1 "railing
accusation," but in earnest prayer
simply say "the Lord rebuke thee"
as he f most certainly will do with
that mighty truth whose heritage, is
tho "eternal years." j I
- The christian can with the utmost
confidence land without the least
nervousness from fear of contradic-
tion or j finding of flaw invite all
skeptics an4 infidels to a rigid exam
ination of the natural world of which
he has a j complete inventory, com
pendium: and record in the "oldj
family Bible." Why should we
make ship-wreck of faith tried and
true to the last of life for the misty
theories j of skepticism ? jjTo what
common understanding have skep
tics ever arrived ? What regard
does it offer to the just, ? What
punishment to the unjust ? What
rest to ihe weary ? What consola
tiori ti jthe grieved ? W hat balm
to the ' afflicted ? What gospel has
it ever preached to the poor ? What
"rod I and atafl" has it furnished
when man was about entering the
my8terioiis "valley of the shadow of
death ?" What power his it fur
nished to rob death of ts sting ?
What victory has it proclaimed over
death ? On all th ese great ques
tions infidelity echoes no, answer to
deply interested and inquiring hu
manity. I Let Us cling toll the com
forting faith of our fai
thers and
mothers for this
"Faith lends its realizing
The clouds disperse, t he shadows fly
The invisible appears in sight
And God is seen by mortal eye."
This faith is substantial and
sweetj but the theory of infidels
knows no certain origin has no
common
destiny
duty knows no future
for man. With ihim man
comes irora notmng ana goes no
where. An incomprehensible effect
without j an adequate cause. The ,
christian's faith furnishes adequate
cause ( for man's origin, j duty and
destiny, j and let it be our anchor
"both sure and steadfast, j
At one fell stroke it strikes down
the grandest and most comforting
doctrines of the Bible the immor
tality of the soul the resurrection
of the body. So that "in the flesh
e may see God." So long as science
finds new aid unexplored fields for
the exercise of inventive!1; and pro
gressive genius, so long can ; an
intelligent christian world rest as
sured that an infinitely intelligent
creator is still beyond the grasp of
his finite, yet intelligent creature.
j When man's present environment
is the victim of his comprehension
then he may claim rivalry with the
creator till then let him follow on
as the child followeth the father. :
.When he ' has equalled his creator
in a jmst conception of the nature,
laws and designs of this world then
we believe that a voice from heaven
will say unto him 'tis enough, "come
up higher V Thou hast been faith
ful over a few things enter into the
joy of the Lord by searching into
tho beauties of heaven which shall
be 5 to. thee a source of joy forever,
Here with nnenyironed mind and
untiring delight investigate celestial
sciimces with all the pleasure of
spirits redeemed from the hindran
ces of sin. Trusting child of a just
and? merciful ,God trust j on. ; Thy
heaien is one of eternal intelligence,
joy and . hre. Infidels are only
'raging j waves of the sea foaming
out their own shame ; wandering
stars unto whom is reserved the
blackness of darkness forever.") Then
take a firmer grasp on the "old fam
ily. Bible," make its doctrine of faith
the conscious experience of thy life
and from the "valley of tho shadow
of death" thou slialt emerge into,
eternal life. Thus a little entry in
my "diary" has grown into a news
paper article. J May it benefit some!
MAHRilGE LIGEKSE.
Senator Bower's Spescli in'Hagard to Re
ducing the Price of License.
Mr. Bower said : I'look at th
rnatter in the light' of public policv
and strict justice) the poorer clash
es of onrj people 1 Senators will re
collect tkat most of the civilized
countries of the! world, instead of
imposing restrictions upon marriage
license, actually J offer premiums j to
induce it. Sonie of the continental,
countries of Europe, especially, have
legislated in this direction. In
France there once existed a law
punishing celibacy, at certain ages
as a high misdemeanor. We are
taking an"opposite course. I object
to the present law because it is not
fixed or lmiform in the different
counties.. The tax may be one dol
lar, , two dollars, or three dollars,
pending upon the whims of persons
controlling county finances. The
present bill remedies this evil. !I
object to the present tax because it
is extravagant. I can well see how
a man living in his gorgeous man
sion, faring sumptuously every day1
with a big income at his disposal
can afford to disregard this tax. To
him the happy event of marriage is
an era of expenditure. A trip to
Europe, or Niagara, or New Orleans
is apart of the programme. Tjo
him a three dollar license tax is a
riaere trifle. But there is another
class whose interests we are to look
to. To him whose habitation is a
log hut in some nook of the moun
tain, this tax becomes, indeed, a
burden. He is often driven to the
most desperate expedients to
prd-
euro his license.
I would make the
assumption of the marriage relation
free and untrammeled. It has been
the policy of t;he greatest countries
of the world, j Let us not contra
vene the; wisdom of the past as well
as the demands of the present, by
continuing this anomaly updh our
statute books.!
i Shot at the Balloon.
Qoden, Kan., Jan. 12.
! Mr. Editor i If you will" allow
me a little room In your columns jl
would like to say something in reply
to the gentleman who speaks of the
two French engineers who have in
vented what he called the "cigar-
shaped" balloon, and went on to
discu S3 its merits as though it were
a great monster that could take on
board large bodies of men and come
over and make our homes desolate.
Now, if the gentleman thinks
that France is going to turn out io
making j cigar balloons and come
over and offer battle then he ' can
get on his ear and try to stir up the
statesmen so that they will tax the
people to raise money whereby jto
get ample funds to prepare for our
defense, for I think taxation would
be the only way to raise the millions
he spoke of.' My idea is that the peo
ple are taxed already to enormous
extent without any heavier tax being'
put on them for" the purpose of
meeting France in the elements arid
offer her battle. "j
j Now,1 1 hope Mr. Castle will study
over the matter a little before he
goes any further with it, for don't
he know that France came 'put
bravely and fought for our defense ?.
And I believe if our country were
in a helpless condition - today that
the Frenchmen would volunteer arid
come over and fight for us as they
heretofore did. So I hope; he will
let the two little Frenchmen amuse
themselves without trying to get the
United States to raise funds to keep
them within their lines, for 1 would
like to ha?e them visit us so that I
could get a view, of their balloon, , ; ;
I hope these few .lines will not
cause any hard feelings, for I have
not written them for that purpose.
I have only done it that the gentle
man might think what he was rec
ommending our statesmen to do as a
wise thing to be done. Bespectfuily,
X.
ii HISTORIC TOWII.
Ths .Sapit of the State of Wlkes Awakes
Like RiaJYan Winkle from a Lens Lett
argy and Sees a Railroad Hearing her
Borders.
Located in a beautiful spot on a
bluff overlooking tho placid waters
of the rofnantic Yadkin River ;
surrounded by broa rich bottoms,
fine tobacco land, great corn farms
and many very unusual advantages
generally3 especially the central lo
cation, wjth the Blue Ridge grand
and solemn 20 miles to the north
and west, and the fertilo and far-
famed fruit region of the. Brushy
Mountain Range on the South, sits'
with almost motionless pulse Just
now the old town of Wilkesboro.
Boasting of a'history and record
of more than one hundred years;
justly proud of herself as the cradle
of some of North Carolina's noblest
sons and most beautiful and charm
ing daughters,- she has gently gone
to Bleep. ' The Stokes, the Gordons,
the Waugn8, the Finleys, the Bar
bers and some others who were
among the earliest and best citizens
wore in tneir veins! the purest, the
bluest and the best of blood. In
individual jWealth, jin culture and in
vigor and beauty o ! form and per
son, sonie of them carried off the
palm of the State.!
Like the early and festive days of
Pompeii ; she was a gay town and
they said to each other, "Home of
my childhood that beautiful spot,
which memory retains, when all else
is forgot.
Let us rejoice ! They
rejoiced, in the fair land that Na
ture's God had given them. But
like the ancient Pompeii, she. was
buried not by the
vius and a rain
ashes, but worse 8
eruption of Vesu
of death dealing
ill, by the -reign
of Republicans and sinners. -
"Like
ed" she
a banquet' tiall desert
now sits breathing the
pulseless calm of stagnation. Whence
the change ? The great civil war
that shook all institutions to their
solid centre, carried from their civil
duties and our midst, our. brave,
gallant, peerlecs and patriotic Gor
don, Stokes, Barber, Brown and
others, many others, brave and true
and from the ' blood-flooded battle
fields of the east to Heaven.
Robbers of helpless women and
children and blind men got into
office, and upheld by the Republican
party, rolbbed the county and ran
her in debt., ' These saintly leaches
in cawhoot with the Revenue De
partment and officials dominated
her for a long tisne and still ' hold
seemingly the baanfe of , power.
- But behold the star ! j The good
and true jmen of4 Wilkes ire not all
dead. Slowly, it seems,' but cer
tainly sure the day for a glorious
resurrection of the dormant powers
that begin to stir, is close at hand.
Already we sniff with keen eager
ness of ai 'healthy appetite for a bet
ter state,! the coal-laden . fragrance
of the irbn horse. Verity do we be
lieve the :laat obstacle will soon be
overcome and the pall of oblivious
inaction Will be lifted and the dark
visaged emissary of misfortune, who ,
seems with a greedy grip to have
claimed Wilkes as his own, will take
flight at ithe musical snort of the
steed of iron and flee to the land of
Ashe or some other seaport town.
The dear "old city" sits in the
same position, in the centre of the
Yadkin jValley.j She is still sur-
rounded
by ! the ; broad rich corn-
lands.
She still boasts of a close
proximity to the finest fruit region
on earthf She is still the capital of
the county that produced the tobac
co that took the premium at the
great World's Fair at Vienna. She
still has
more advantages than ' any
one feeh
e pen Can portray in a short
article,
and she is still "unwept,
unhonored and Juntug" and ought to
see more
of The Lenoir Topic.
Obsebyeb.
FIFTY YEARS ISO.
Tki Slffersssa is Ui Csft ef Uainsrs
The parenta ruled the family ; the
children were in perfect submission
and were not men and. women until
about 21 years of age.) The ; boys
wore tow clothj cr flax, and cotton
"Coperas" pants i were common.
Cotton cloth was then 25 cents per
yard, calico the . same. Palm . Uaf
hats .' turned i up , behind . Tond ' a
red bandana kerchief cut cornerwise
made neckties for i two boys who
went barefoot to church until 18 or ;
20 years of age. ..j; "
The girls would walk to near the
church in" their j etery day . shoes,
turn asido to a suitable log and
change, putting on fine slippers :
which the beau would carry, ("tpat"
he called iti) in a "reticule" made of .
striped cotton cloth. 1 -
The boy that could afford a ruf
fled or pleated shirt bosom was con
sidered stylish. The girls then wore
their hair in the form which Nature . ,
pointed out. Now all the front .
must be cut short, put in press overs '
night so as to look at Church next ,
day like the top' of a! buffalo head. 1 '
The'n they used no paint, they were
painted by the warm, pure blood
coursing through their veins, caused!
by early rising and proper exercise!
and by not lying in bed till 8 o'clock.
It might be best for me to say no
more in regard to the women's dress '
of today lest I get into trouble.
. Then boys remained with their,
parents umtil they were about grown
Now they are men at about 10 years -of
age, must go about or get into
"business." He gets a $3 watch
with a ten cent curb chain attached,
puts a ring on and starts out. Every
thing must yield at his approach, he
is "monarch of all he surveys," goes
off, spends all the money he can get,
returns and takes board at home
again ; takes command of every
thing in the whole concern, is the
Legislative, Executive and Judicia
ry, Minister Extraordinary and V
Plenipotentiary wherever he goes. '
Watch him at church, enter just
as the text is being read, stamping
his heels on the floor as he goes, hat
on until he reaches a vacant seat. .
He jars the whole house as he drops
himself down. Gazes around the
congregation to see if there is ma
terial there for another "snob." If
he can't satisfy himself he waits till ;
the congregation kneels in prayer.
Then he is enabled to make his se
lection. If he can't bring himself
to notice during the services, then .
before the benediction has left - the
minister's lips he slams his hat on
his head and starts in a half trot,
runs over every one that don't give
way to ' him, stops just in the
centre of the doorway to look at his
watch (which never did riin) and :"
says, "Ah ! my watch has run
down." ! ' ,
Go to the postoffice and , see him
jam his head in the delivery box .
until the mail is opened. The post- -master
must attend to him' first to
get him out of the way. .
I went into a store one cold day
some time ago and found six chairs v
around the fire, occupied by G Afri
can "snobs," in a circle around, the
fire, talking large and loud. Several
old gentlemen of the Anglo-Saxon .
persuasion were standing around at
their backs waiting for an opportu
nity to get at the fire.
Pixe Burr.
Our Mount Zion Letter.
I January 26, 1885.
Editor Topic. Our Mt. Zion
school is still in session and now
numbers forty -two students, all of
whom seem to bo making excellent
progress in their studies. ,
The weather in this locality has
been quitV disagreeable for some .
time past, bxvt it is delightful now. 4
The farmers have comriienced re
pairing their fencing and preparing
to set another crop.
There was quite an interesting !
show at our schoo liouse ttye other
night. The Indian performer, per
formed one feat in legerdemain which ,
was not down on the programme,
by dexterously jumping behind the
canvass and smashing the lights out
of one of the windows with his head;
but he inado it all right by paying '
for the damage. . - V '
Why is it that we cannot always
receive The Topic on time? Somep
times it is more than a week old when
it reaches this office. Surely some :
postmaster between here and Lenoir
must fail to do his or her "duty, i Wo .
do hope that something will be done
to enable us to get The Topic on -time,
for when it fails to reach us,
we feel like we had -. lost our dearest
friend. ' - J. C. L.
, After General Grant's refusal ef
Yanderbilt's gift , Colonel Grant
refuses Arthur's tender of a quar
termaster's soft berth. Sons of.
great men follow their fathers a
long way off, y, fV : ,v ..:'. .
' Bob Ingersoll sneers at free cat3
in churches, and charges 50 cents a
head for his lectures. .
n