v WATCH LABEL ON TOUR PAPER AND DONT LET SUB. gyranoN expire. THE .DATE ON .THE LABEL ' IS THE DATE TOUE PAPER WILL BE STOPPED. ESTABLISHED 1870. SINGLE COP, FIVE CENTS. COUNTRY. GOD AND TRUTH. $2.00 A YEAR. DUE IN ADVANCE VOLUME Lljt 'LUMBERTON, N; a, MONDAY FEBRUARY 28, 1921 d ..... .-- - T . , Ml, NOUMBEB J" Considerable Hail ! Fell Last Night Six Inches of Hail Repotted in Ren nert Section and 2 Inches at St. , Paula Tobacco Plant f Beds May - be Damaged. : , " Y ' . " Considerable hail H ell in "Various i. iparts of, Robeson last night about :30 o'clock, two to six' inches, being " reported, and in sortie places hail was oh the ground this morning. No hail fell in Lumberton, but a light rain fell here about the same hour. The hail seems to have, been heavi est in the Rennert section. Mr. W. B. Smith, who lives in .that section , and is a Lumberton visitor today, says the storm touched about two miles from his home. The hail came, in a streak about one and a half miles wide and piled up till it was about 6 inches deep. This morning when Mrl Smith passed on his way to town it was then 3 or 4 , inches "deep. Mr. Smith, who is now 37 years old, says that he has never seen anything like it before. Many people went to view the scene last night, Mr. Smith says: Mr. Lacy McNair of Rennert, who is also a Lumberton visitor today, reports x that the hail covered the ground several inches arid some of it -still remained on - the ground this trical storm. This side of Philadelphus a heavy hail storm covered astrip about 300 yards wide, according to Mr. J. L. McNeill, who is. a Lumberton visitor today, the ground being covered with hail this morning At St. Pauls there was about two inches of hail, according to Mr.' Thomas OPrevatt of Cumberland coun ty, who came to Lumberton this morning after spending last night at St., Pauls with his nephew Mr. Aroh Odum. . ! SPLENDID PLAY BY PUPILS - OF PRIMARY GRADES "The Coming of . Liberty" - Presented by Graded School Children Friday Armenian Relief Day. . ! v A play, "The Coming of Liberty," was presented in a "most. , fdeasufg manner by pupw of :-the v primary grades of the Lumberton . graded schools Friday morniivg.-. The play was presented in the Hugh school audi torium, many patrons of the school being present. , The play portrayed the signing of the Declaration of Independence and each member of the caste played his or her part in a prals worthy man ner. Though dimple in design, the costumes worn by th children were most attractive, Colonial days being called to the memory of those pre- sent. - . - Some members of the caste were . dressed as farmers, some as house keepers, mechanics, soldiers, sailors, ' and Red Cross nurses. . The play was altogether delightful .and the tnannr in which the children 'acted their parts showed unusual talent and good train ing on the part of the teachers. Th ply was supplemented with several vocal musical selections and the high school orchestra rendered ". splendid musk. The auditorium was tastefully decorated with United States flags. . - Friday was set aside as Armenian Relief Day in the school. Silver offer ing were taken at the door and the children of the various grades made contributions to .this worthy cause,' Jail Delivery J At laurinburg Tour Negroes, One Charged With Wife Murder, Escaped Last Night Blaze in Dental Parlors Causes 1?vUaiManr f By w a . Wishart. "Laurinburg. Feb. 28. Laurinburg had a jail delivery last night, all the prisoners f our .. negroes making their escape. One of them was charged with wife murder, the others being charged with .minor offenses. Some excitement was caused here early last night by a small fire in the dental parlors of Dr. C. W. Re gan, caused by the explosion of a lamp. The blase ? was soon" extin guished with little damage, caused mostly by water, . t . .7 L Superior Court Superior court for the trial of civil 'cases convened today at tO a ni. with Judge F. A. Daniels- 'of XJoldsbor cresidine. While this 1 lupbos'ed to be a two weeks' termft Is expected' that the calendar will be" cleared tV . , PTM 1 . .M Air ? - weanesaav or inursuiy or in weea. The calendar was tb)isMd t1nr" last Thursday's Robesoalatrf Examination to Fill Offke1 of Post master at Shannon, - . ' , The United . States Civfl I Service commission has announced an exam ination to be held at - Fayetteville ' March 26 as a result of which it is expected to make certification to fill a contemplated vacancy , in the posi tion .of fourth-class postmaster ' at Shannon. The compensation of- the postmaster at this office was $501 for the last fiscal year.. , morning. It is feared that tobacco The nail was accompained by an elec McLean Resigns Treasury Post In Accepting Resignation President expresses Appreciation ' for - Mc- ' ' Lean's Services Urged to Remain! : on War Finance Board and May do j So He Expects to Return' to Lam. ( berton bat not Before May orf ' Mr. A. W. McLean has tendered tol- t PrpRlHpnt Wilann hia foofirnnfinil as ' 'assistant Secretary of the Treasury,1 eiiective at midnight on March ard. tMr. McLean accepted 'the appoint ment only until the end of Mr. Wil son's administration. Before he left Washington for Lumberton Friday night Mr. McLean was told' by Mr. Joseph Tumulty, President -Wilson's private secretary, that when he pre sented the resienation the President 'said McLean had been a loyal friend to him and to his administration and ' would express his appreciation. Mr. McLean has not decided how long he ' will continue as managing director of Jthe War Finance corpora tion. His appointment was for four years and it is a non-partisan board. Mr. McLean will remain on that board for some weeks longer, at any rate. He is being urged to continue on the board, as in the event he should jregigiCthe . 5outtLprdbably would ha-vci, retresenUiu,iililc5 iv is. nopeu vnttt me ooara . yei may render material assistance jn helping out the cotton and tobacco situation, though no appjitttion has been made so far .for assistance in the export of these products. I Mr. McLen left for Washington last night after spending two days, here. He does not expect to move back to Lumberton . with his. family until May or June in any 'event, as his son is in school there. He does expect however, he says, to move back to Lumberton, though he has had a number of offers. When asked abouFa rumor that' had reached here that he would remain in Washington and practice law with Mr Tumulty, Mr. McLean said Mr. Tumulty pro posed a law partenership but that he had said nothing about it and did not know how the report got out. He said he had not been able to figure out where it would pay him to give up his ' business interests here and start over again. Asked about the report circulated here' recently ' that he had offered his' residence here for sale, Mr. McLean laughed and said he had not thought of such a thing and could hot imagine how such a report got out. POSTMASTERS WILL. BE NAMED BY HARDING UNDER OLD PLAN It Is Said Be Will Return to Patron ago System Hundreds of Tar Heel Nominations Will be Wiped Off Slate.. Y.-:.. Washmgton;FebriHMawhtly reliable information' fm St Augus tine that Presidentelect "Harding in tends soon after he takes- office to abolish civil service examinations in appointing postmasters means that the patronage struggle--- in North Carolina ana all other states will become more desperate than ever; -Applied locally, such action by President Harding will negative off hand nearly 100 .nominations by President ; Wilson Of postmasters in North Carolina. ,. , . . , , Washington heard today that President-elect Harding believes in the merit system of appointment but does not believe this system calls for a system of percentage figures by, the civil service commission. He is reported as being unwilling that j Democrats, simply because they have! passed an examination, shall hold on indefinitely to postmastership during a Republican administration. This is merely a reflex of statements made by ..Mr. Harding during the campaign! wherein he affirmed his ' belief in government by parties. 1 In North Carolina, for instance, there are hundreds of postmasters holding on under civil service ex-1 aminations. Posibly because the Democrats in the state outnumber the Republicans it is also true that most of the nominations sent in by President Wilson in the past few months were of 'Democrats. When . President Wilson came into office, only fourth class offices were under the civil service. Eventually he broadened this by executive order to include third, sec6nd and even first class offices and there has : always been , friction over -distributing such choice plums- through - a percentage table.-'; ; ' " " - ; . - , - It Is Net Law. . -The executive order of Mr. Wilson b only an executive order.. It. is not law and may be rescinded as soon as Mr. Harding, takes- officer. Post mastrshipa then would go back on the patronage basis; anoer.sach . regulations- as Mr, Ilardinr and. his? aost- maater general 'may decide are, aeces sary. to observe fo - dejgreeitlie-merit TJiA?lccal 'emsequence4'rof this are . apparent. - such La policy will set . aside 'automatically civil service ex aminations that have: been held and kill .at one bloW several thousands postoffice nominations pending in the senate. The senate all along this session has refused to confirm such Wilson nominations, but now the in dications are the slate will be wiped entirely dean by the new President and new system of appointments sub stituted. This adds to the "plums" in North Carolina and should also re sult in a mad scramble for patronage EIGHT YEARS Ravages of war are far-reaching.' Those two pictures of the retirteg preside! tell tastr ntory. On the left Is a picture, pf President Wilson at th first meettag offals cabhMt. eight years ago Oa the right, the last cabinet meeting la tns Wilson ad mmlstratk. -wkaa this Blstav wsa takam. vak. General Assembly Bill for Relief of State Institutions. Senator McCoin's bill providing for an issue of $5,740,000 for the "per manent .enlargement and improve men'of the State's educational and charitable institutions" was offered Saturday:-night. The bill provides that $2,872,500 shall be issued in 1921 and 4922, and shall bear interest not exceeding 5 per cent and shall be in denominations of $500 and $1,000. They must not be sold under par and run 40 years. They shall be exempt from all state, county or municipal taxation, Road Bill Passes Senate.' - The Senate Saturday passes the $50,000,000 road bill and sent it back to the House , for concurrence . yi amendments. ,- Censorship Bill . . The jooving piiie -ttensowhrp.bin was, reported favorably Saturday by the -Senate committee and unfavor ably by the House committee. , . Municipal Finance Act. The municipal finance act passed its finals in the House Friday. It differs but little from the provisions of the act of the special session, ex cept that it raised , the authorized municipal tax" rate from 50 cents to $1 on the- $100 property, valuation, and the ratia of allowea debt from 5 per cent' of the total valuation of pr0ety69 per cent 1 'ill Kied for ; Good. The Senate tick bill came into the House Friday nd was killed with the . rule which provides that the House .may not consider for a sec ond time any measure upon which it previously has acted. It had kill ed the tick bill before the Senate ac ted upon it. . ' s, A bill introduced by Senator Varser requires the State Auditor . to audit and examine the books of all county officers in all counties not having a wholetime county auditor. Sdnator Kinsland introduced a bill requiring all cities, towns and road commiss ions not under thecontrol of county commissioners to have ' thear books audited by certified public account ants in April of each year amd re quires publication of the result of the audit. The bill applies only to in stances where the annual expen ditures exceed ' the , interest on in. debtedness by more than $5,000. " A bill offered by Senator Varser to prevent . the commissioners of Robeson, Northampton and Randolph counties from prescribing rules' and regulations in regard to sanitary privies passed the Senate Thursday. Troy Thomas Says He Did Not know Goods Were Stolen. " To the Editor of The Robesonian: I wish you woula correct the mis take in the case of mine in The Robe sonian 'of this week' -where I was bound over, to court, : - I wish' to saV was bound over .to court but . the paper stated that I bought, goods and was knowing thy. was . stolen' goods. That is not true' and I never stated no such evidence to ma nne I twmvHt thenr and did " hot-know they was stolen goods at aa-and-tho way 'the rper sUted thls week at 1 did-but did not - Plea( orreet that ttia- uuio fn 'your nexT!paperj- -vr. n ai. -.TROY THOMAS. Pembroke, rf.Teb. 26V 1214 : - i--jVt '. : : .... . d ir 4.! . i- Mr. H. C. Bridjer.' CsadiUoa is Not - isaprsviag. . v - . . .. ,r.: : " A dispatch' jpfuthe,270H from-Bhr denboro states: The, many friends of ti. . urtdger regret very much that he is not doing soi well at his home here. Two weeks ago he was stricken with paralysis and for a week he seemed improving but for the past week he has not rested so well and the physicians have no encouraging news for hia family and friends. . as the news is dissimenated among the Republican faithful. Theodor Tiller of Greensboro News. OF "PRESIDENTIAL SERVICE, AND A WAR .....:.T.Tr- ! .. . -TTiia g Recorder's Crfurt Doct Hardin Gets 30 Days on Roads Changed With Insulting White Xlirl He'g One4 of formr GdY ernor Bickett's Pardon Benefki- ther Cases. Hardin, Indian, was sentenced s on the roads by Reoordr Fuller this morning on the charge of disorderly conduct; on the public highway. Hardin was , also found j guilty of being drunk in the town of Lumberton. He was fined $5 and cost in this case. . He. was also charged with being drnuk on the pub lic highway, but was found not guilty the evidence not -being suffi cient to convict. He gave notice of appeal in each case and Ms bond was fixed at; $250, in default of which he was remanded to jail: . fiatdhCmade an. inputting remark to- two white girls on the. Carthage road, yesterday afternoon, according to the evidence, lor which he was given the road sentence. He was given a pardon front a road sentence a few months ago by former Gov ernor Bickett, having been convictd of manufacturing whiskey.- Arthur Lamb plead guilty of be- Kng drunk In the town of Lumberton and was fined $5 and cost He was arrested Saturday night, and placed m jail. ' : ' ' ' . ; Furm&n MclntyTe was found guilty of operating an auto while under ths influence, of intoxicants. Prayer for judgment r was continued upon pay ment of to $25 fine. He was also found guilty of exceeding the speed limit Judgment was suspended upon pay ment of thecost in this case. Y ' - ' c : ; Y MRS. VARNER FOUND GUILTY. .; Jury Returns Verdict After 42 Hours T-ki:i. n vcuuyiiwmi inra. . Timer, rrvs- trated by Verdict, Declares She is Innocent. MrsFlorence C. Varner. wife of H. B. varner, prominent publisher and business man of Lexington, is guilty of illicit relations with K. Baxter Mc Rary, wealthy mulatto, formerly of Lexington, now of Cincinnati, O. This was the crux of the verdict returned yesterday morning at 10:10 o'clock by the jury in the United States district court, after 42 hours of deliberation. It closed the first chapter of one of the most sensational litigations ever waged in the courts of justice in the Old North State. The trial commenc ed Tuesday, morning, February 15, and was fought furiously by both sides until 3:45 p. m. Thursday, Feb ruary 24, when the case was given to the jury fdr decision. Not in the -history of North Carolina, perhaps, has a trial created quite so much interest, not OIUy in thit bQt in practically all Southern, states. Mrs. Varner was su ing her husband for a reasonable sub sistence, laying claim to the Varner building in Lexington, valued at $50,- 000. In her complaint ' she alleged that he had wilfully and maliciously abandoned hery ,' .-. u .Upon learning of the verdkt , Mr. Varner, with tears in his eyes, saidrl . I. am glad it is over. It is a matter of , grief to-me, ' but J want to see Justice-done and 1 intend to prosecute the v mulatto to "the end.1 appveciate- ,the! fact that I have got . fair-trial her. I was never ! in doubt about-the verdict" I . f '.u'iVT ' t Mia; Varner was notiHed ' of - the verdict by;onerof her attorneys short ly after it was announced. Shseoi lspsed.' declaring "I'm innocent" Mrs;. Varner has-- been ; a patient at Glen wood - sanatorium ' for several weeks. Attendants there declare "that it will be three or four days before she is able to decide upon her future course. Greensboro Daily News, Feb. 27. " ... Mr. L.-P. Nye of R. 2, Fairmont, was among the visitors in town Thursday. Mr. Jetter J. Branch of the Bellamy section was a Lumberton visitor Thursday. arielO Oocl to 30 iday David H. CITIZENS PROTEST AGAINST PROPOSED LEGISLATION Say Board of Audit and Fin ance Should Not be Abolished and - Citizens Should be Allowed to Vote on Proposed Bond Issues. To the Editor of The Robesonian: We notice in your last issue refer ence to increased bonded effdebted ness for the town of Lumberton. and we have noticed also the abolition of the board of audit and finance of the town. Permit us to say as citizens and tax-payers of the town' and county, that while we are always favorable to progressive measures . when the time for such is propitious, it has occurred to us that this legislation taken together is not progressive, either for this or any other time.. It is , our understanding that , in -1907. at which time and subsequently most of the "present bonded endebtedness of the town has been contracted, the Legislature provided this board of au dit and finance, whose main duties were the supervision of the spending of the town's money in all sums in ex cess of $500, and whose duty it is and was to see that sinking fund money was provided for the ultimate retiremen. of these bonds. In, t other words, this beard is the "safety-valve" of the town treasury. It ought not to.be abolished, but strengthened, if anything. Especially so, if it is contemplated that we shall have other large bonded endebtedness. We must not break faith with the people who loaned us money under a law that provided a' special board' to see that their i investments were protected, an d that the town commissioners would not make extravagant expendi tures of the town's funds. v Another thing we wish to empha size is that the present members of the Legislature from this county Jrere elected largely upon the assump ion that high taxes would be reduc ed by them if such a thing were in their power, and speaking as some of those who so understood their atti tude on the tax question, we would like to have the privilege of voting on any further bond issues, . rather than have the Legislature, speaking through only six of the town's citi zens, composing its mayor and board of commissioners, fix this bond issue on us. ' If abolished, it is not too late for the Legislature tcv give us another board of audit and finance, wttn am ple authority to supervise the expen ditures of the town's funds to such extent as is necessary and proper, and it should be a body independent of any controlling power on the part of the mayor and commissioners. Very truly, -C. M. Barker, B. F. McMillan, Jr., G. Badger MeLeod, R. E. Lewis, C. M. Fuller, O. C. Deese, Rowland Deese, J. M. Jones, D. R. Shaw, E. M. Britt, T. A. McNeill, Jr., L. T. Townsend, Jno. D. McMillan, John Knox, J. A. Martjn, A. P. Caldwell, J. H. Floyd, Junius J. Goodwin, K. M, Barnes, Ev L. 'Hamilton, M. A. Geddie, Jno. C. Fuller, H. U Pope, W. G. Pitman, E. A. Thompson, W. K. Bethune, E. L. Holloway, " - " ; faay,, People , . Killed in - Railroad Wreek- YRYY"1"; Porter, Ind Feb. ' ZTV Between so and 40 persons were, reported killed mnA an ..unknown number injured to- when a westbosad NeW Ydrk r'- . - . . . . i ::...:. Ceatral train crasnea mwra- oeraiiea eastbound Michigan" antral- rraur here, in which railroad officials said may he. one of the most disastrous wreck? in history. ' ; . Michizan Central officials placed the number of dead at more than 30, while unofficial reports made tne death list as high as 50. The- towerman of the Michigan Central was arrested 'immediately after the wreck, officials saying they believed that he had left a Switch closed, causing a derailment of the eastbound train. Mr. J. W. Barnes of Barnesville was among the visitors in town Fri day. - COTTON MARKET. j Middling cotton is quoted on the lo , cal market today at 9 1-2 cents; strict middling 10 1-2 cents. ! BRIEF ITEMS LOCAL NEWS?""" i Mr. E. C Graham had his rijht arm oroKen inursaay ty a "kicking ' rord. I iHiitnen wcxuuian ana cnuns . McLebd, colored, of Shannon, were j married here Saturday afternoon at j 4 o'clock at the home of Justice M. G. I McKenzie, who .officiated. , A fresh coat of pain has been I added to the tower on the court j house. The roof of the court house is a!so being repaired, this being re i commended by a recent grand Jury. j Mrs. C. H. Durham and daughter, j little' Miss Kathleen Durham, left i Friday evening for Cooieemee, Davie i county, to be with Mrs. Durhirc's j mother, Mrs. Ida Tatum, who is ill. j It has been rumored that the syegfrmen who robbed the Fairmont ( postoffice last summer have been ar rested in Atlanta, ua. The Robeson ian has been unable to confirm the report, however. Mrs., C. P. Grantham of Fair mont passed through town Saturday en route to Asheville to be with her husband, who is ill in the Biltmore I hoipital there, Sho was accompained 4Kt &&.JbKS5L?zZ.. mama ee marriiirt of Walter Ivev and V.C,mZ. . beth Hayes; W. Almond Graham and Virginia D. Humphrey; Sandy Pat terson and Effie M,White; Marvin Townsend and Douglas Hollings worth. Mr. C. J. Helgren of the Globe Swamp section was a Lumberton visi tor Saturday. He was accompained home by his sister, Miss Emma Hel gren, was had been a patient at the Baker sanatorium for three and a half weeks. Miss Josephine Breece returned yesterday morning from New York and Baltimore, where she .spent some time buying spring goods for her ' millinery store. Miss, Cora Collins of Christfield, Aid., accompained Miss Breece to New York and Baltimore, returning with her yesterday. Miss Collins will be with Miss Breece again this ,season. Miss Breece will have her opening on Tuesday and Wed nesday, March 8 and 8. Mr, and Mis. Furman K. Biggs 7 returned Thursday night, from their bridal trip. They visited Washing ton, D. C, and several other points of interest They will live with. Mr. Biggs' parents, Mr. and Mrs. K. M. Biggs, until Mr. Biggs can erect a residence. He has already purchased material for his new home. Mrs. Biggs was Miss Katie Britt daughter of Mrs. Florence Britt of R. 1, Lum berton, and the marriage took place Wednesday evening, February 16. Edward Brigham, basso profun do, dramatic reader and pianist, gave a song and dramatic recital in the high school - auditorium Saturday evening. The recital was advertised for Friday evening, but so few peo ple turned out that a second. attempt was made at getting an audience. The " audience was small but appreciative '' and Mr. Brigham's work was really good. He came under the auspices of the Boys' Athletic and Literary society and the cause and the merit of the recital deserved a larger an- " dience. . .. Mayor A. E. White returned Saturday night from Raleigh, where he spent most , of last week, making two trips. He was not there, he says, as many seem to think, in connection with the various local bond issue bills before the Legislature, but in con nection with the fight of the power companies to be allowed to increase . their rates. Mr. White was repre sentine the interests of the Lumber- Hon, Dresden and Jennings cotton mills. The proposed increase would mean an additional expense of sever al thousand dollars to these mills and also to the town. The matter comas up for final hearing tomorrow. THE RECORD OF DEATHS. Mr. Jim Wiggins of Columbus Coun Ty. Mr. Jim Wiggins, an aged Colum bus county citizen, died Saturday af ternoon at his home, death resulting from heart trouble. Dc eased is sur vived by his wife and several children. Miss Odell Smith of East Lumberton. Miss Odell Smith, aged 17 years, died yesterday at her home in East , Lumberton, following- an extended illnessi Interment -was made in the family burying ground, near Allen ton, at 3 o'clock this afternoon. Washington Feb. 25--iPatfick Md' w Lane, of Scrahton. Democratic repre- . sentative ff om 'the , Tenth Pennsyl- " vania district, was unseated by thev!-- ' ' House lats toniielit on charres of vie--' UUag' the-eorrtpt practices act and v..v bedsuse- of' election iundf Inuaedi- ately after taking 4this action y the House adopted a -report, by -t the, tan : mittee on ehetions dechiringJohn - ' R. Farr, Republican, also of Scranton.- - -' duly elected and entitled to McLane'a , seat - The vote to put McLane out - , : was 161 to 121. Washington, Feb. 25 The influ ence of President-elect Harding today was thrown behind the big navy pro gram of the Senate Naval affairs committee majority and against the stand of the House for decreased ap propriations for the naval establish ment - Mr. D. P. Buie and two children Miss Fodie and Master McPherson, if R. 2, Red Springs, were among the visitors in town Saturday. 7