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J.J. MINER, Mcr. BREVAKD, TRANSYLVANIA CO., N. C.. FRIDAY, AUGUST 14,1908. VOL. XIII. NO. 33.
M
I
iKtD INTO A TRAIN
Striking Miners in Alabama At
tack Load of Strike Breakers
THREE KILLED; ELEVEN HURT
Ambushing a Special Carrying Non-
Union Men to Alabama Mines,
Strikers Pour a Murderous fire
Into the Car Windows.
Birminghjfcn, Ala., Special.—Three
men were instantly killed and
cieren injured, two of whom will
probably die, when striking miners
tired into a passeng:er train on the
Birmingham Mineral Railroad at
Blocton Sunday morning about 2
o'clock. The dead are:
Conductor Joe T. Collins.
Willard Howell, non-union miner.
The injured:
Major F. H. Dodge, superintendent
of safety, Tennessee Coal Company,
wounded in hand and leg.
E. E. Cox, superintendent of mines,
Tennessee Coal Company, slightly
wounded in knee.
A. E. Cross, chief clerk, superin
tendent’s office, wounded in arm and
knee.
J. C. Johnson, deputy sheriff,
sliditly wounded in side. .
.\. r. Bryant, deputy sheriff, slight
ly wounded in side.
J. B. Cornett deputy sheriff wound
ed in back.
W. H. McAuly, soldier, slight in
juries.
M. A. Pearson, soldier, wounded in
left shoulder,
J. C. Martin, wounded in head,
back and arm.
A. J. Myer, laborer, wounded in leg.
Robert Sigmon, wouiided in arm
and breast.
The train was a special bearing
ncn-union men to the Blocton mines
under guard of soldiers and deputies.
On the outskirts of the town the
engineer suddenly saw a log across
the track and at once a fusilade was
^red into the train. The engineer
did jopt.stop^ but let the coal^catcher
throw the lo°: from the track and
put on full spead. The place where
the attack was made was in a cut,
the ground being on a level with the
lower part of the windows. The as
sailant's behind the rocks above pour
ed down a murderous fire directly
into the windows and at the engi
neer. Practically every window in
the train was broken and shots
struck all parts of the engine and
cab. The train proceeded to Blocton
and the dead and injured were re
turned to Birmingham. Dogs were
hurried to the scene and took trails
through the woods directly to the
union quarters. Eight negroes were
arrested this afternoon and other ar
rests are expected.
HE ATE ROTTEN O/STERS
SToimg Man Dies at East Dnrharn of
Ptonaine Poisoning.
Durham, Special.—\V. H. Jackson,
i young man 22 years of age, is dead
in East Durham as the resuft of
ptomaine poisoning. He had been
ill since Monday evening. On Mon-
iay the young man ate a can of
oysters and scon afterwards was
vaken violently ill, lapsing into uu-
jonsciousness. Physicians were sum
moned bivl; he remained unconscious
aaost of the time up to his death and
seemed to suffer great pain. The
oysters were evidently spoiled and
this set up the poison that resulted
in hie death.
IGOLDMINEWRTCKM
Two Large Boilers txpfode at
the Haite Plant
HEAVY DAMAGE TO MACHINERY
Making Much Brandy.
Raleigh, Special.—Internal revenue
officers here say that there has not
been for twenty years so much apple
brandy distilling in North Carolina
as at the present time. Throughout
the apple-growing sections of the
State, distilleries are in operation
and others are being bonded. In
Wilkes county alone there are 115
apple bonded distilleries. There are
forty in Surry and large numbers of
them in other apple counties. The
officers say there seems to be a gen
eral desire among all w-ho have -ever
in the past operated brandy stills,
to have one more pass at the under
taking before State prohibition goes
into effect next January. There can
be no more bonded brandy distilleriea
in the State after this season as long
as the prohibition law is in force.
The Results in Illinois.
Chicago, Special.—Illinois Demo
cratic ticket:
Endorsed for United States Sena
tor, Lawrence B. Stringer.
Nominated for Governor, Adlai E
Stevenson.
Lieutenant Governor, E. A. Perry.
Secretary of State, X. F. Beidler.
Auditor, Ralph Jeffris.
Treasurer, J. B. Mount.
Attorney General, R. C. Hall.
rfepublican State ticket.
Endorsed for United States Sena-
Albert J. Hopkins, or George E.
'rovernor, Charles S. Deneen (re-
’ i s incomplete.)
’ ' tenant Governor, J. G. Oglesby
i- Smith.
‘Secretary of State, James A. Rose.
Auditor, J. S. McCullough.
Treasurer, Andrew Rrussell.
Attorney General, William H.
The result of Saturday’s primary
"loction as far as it is accuratelv
kiiown in regard to the State officers
given in the foregoing list.
The Golden Weed at Tvilson.
"Wilson, Special.—The Wilson to
bacco market re-opened for the sea
son of 190S-1909 this week and the
golden weed is selling v,*ell for the
quality offered. Only the lowest
grades are now being marketed, and
the prices are over a dollar a hund
red higher than last year’s. The
Wilson tobacco board of trade held
its annual meeting for the election
of officers and the following wsxe
elected: Mr. W. J. Boykin, president;
Capt. J. G, Ronev, vice president,
and Mr. R. M. McFarland, superv’isor
of sales. I'his market has a strong
and large corps of buyers and the
crops of this section are good.
Fearful Catastrop-he Early Monday
Morning at the Haile Gold Mine,
Near KerShaw, S. C.—Two Mam
moth Boilers Explode Injuring
Four Men.
Acquired Beal Estate at Franklin.
Franklin, Special.—The United
Land Company, a corporation of
Georgia, has recently acquired a
large and valuable tract of land here,
and is spending a large amount of
money in the work of development.
It is pr()posed to make this one of
the most desirable residence sections
of the to^vni. A force of more than
fifty hands has been at work for
some time, and a public sale of lots
will be bnd on the 27th of this
month. The company offered a re
ward of $10 to the person suggest-
insr the best name for the property,
Avhich was won by Miss Mary Siler,
“Bonny Crest” being the name sug
gested and selected.
Charlotte, N. C., Special.—One of
the most fearful boiler explosions
that ever occurred in South Carolina
took place Monday morning at 9:07
o’clock at the Haile gold mine in
Lancaster county, two and one-half
miles from Kershaw, when the two
100-horse power boilers blew up de
molishing the engine house and mam
moth stamp mill and seriously injur
ing four men, one of whom was a
sou of Capt. and Mrs. A. Thies, of
this city.
Other than that the water is sup
posed to have been allowed to get
too low in one of the boilers nothing
of a definite nature is known as to
the cause of the accident. Boiler No.
1 blew up and one of the flying frag
ments of iron knocked off the dome
of boiler No. 2, which also then
exploded. ^ The shock w’as terrific,
its force being very perceptible, even
in Kershaw, more than two miles
away. It simply demonlished every
thing about the place, some of the
parts of the boilers being hurled far
upon the sides of the adjacent hills.
Ml. 0. C. Gardner, who happened to
be standing behind a post but ten feet
away from the boilers, when the ca
tastrophe occurred, was throAVU
through the side of the engine house
and into the stamp mill hard by, and
was practically unharmed. • The in
jured are:
Mr. Ernest A. Thies, superintend
ent of the mine, seriously burned
about head and body and face and
neck cut by falling debris.
Mr. B. M. Truesdel, badly bui:ngd.
Mr. J. P. Pittman, engineer, burned
and stunned by falling pieces of wood
and brick. Not seriously hurt.
Mr. E. M. Ogburn, burned and cut
by falling timbers.
The accident took place shortly af
ter 9 o’clock. The engines at the
time were running smoothly, appar
ently perfoiming their accustomed
duties in their accustomed way. There
PENITENTIAL PROSPERS
Tlifi Directors Adopt ResolntioBS of
Kegret at the Deaift of W. £. Oross-
land and Elect Capt. W. L Everett
in His Stead.
Raleigh, Special.—The penitentiary
directors adopted resolutions expres
sive of their deep regret at the
death of one of their number, W. E.
Crossland, Capit. W. I. Everett, of
Richmond county, who beoomes direc
tor in his stead was sworn in. The
directors stated that the penitentiary
was in very fine shape financially,
having a balance in its treasury of
about $45,000, and having no debts.
Everything at the penitentiary farm
on the Roanoke river is as fine as can
be. At this faim there are about
1,400 acres in com; 2,000 in cotton
and 800 in peanuts. The crops there
were never better. No brick-making
is now going on at the penitentiary,
bocause no sales can be made. There
are ahnost a million brick on hand.
Of thfe State convicts 75 are at work
on the Elkin Railway; 75 on the
Washington & Vandemere and 75 on
the railway in Hyde county; another
75 being employ^ on another road,
making a total of 300 under contract
for this year. Very rapid work is
being done on the road in Hyde
county and over half of its 70 miles
has been graded. The length of
this road depends upon whether its
terminus is Washington or Belhaven.
About 45 miles of it have been grad
ed and it will be finished next year.
The work on t&& road in the moun
tains isf of course, heavy and is much
slower.
Tar Heel Notes.
Reports coming to Washington
from farmers in the county state that
the damage done the crops by the re
cent storm that swept this section is
not as bad as first thought and if
weather conditions are favorable a
good crop will be realized yet.
The outlook for forming a stock
company of $100,000 for a cotton mill
nt High Point is good. The Messrs.
Millis Avho have the matter in charge
have $6-5,000 of the amount in hand.
It is felt that such a diversion in the
industries is needed there.
Crops in Surry county have never
been better than the present and the
yield of corn from present indications
will be the lai^st that has been rais
ed in this country for many years.
PRESIDENT TAKES BUME
Progress of Inlaiid Waterways.
Raleigh, Special.—That progress is
being made in the preliminary work
for the inland water way along the
North Carolina ^ast is evidenced by
orders just made by Judge Thomas R.
Purnell, in the Federal Court here
for the assessment of damages on
property along the North Carolina
sounds for the right of way, Nor
folk & Beaufort. The orders were
on motion of Col. Harry Skinner,
United States district attorney, on
whom the duty of looking after these
legal interests for the government
d^Kilves. There were also orders
naming guardi'ans for a number of
minors interested in these swamp
and sound lands thus condemned by
the government under the right of
eminent domain. United States Dis
trict Attorney Harry Skinner said
in speaking of the progress of the
work preliminary to the construction
of the waterway, that seven orders
AnAOctnees '^Tliat He is Responsiblt
For the Discharge of the Negro
Troops at BrownsylUe Taft Had
Notkiiig to do With the Matter.
Oyster Bay, N. Y., Sepcial.—Presi
dent Roosevelt in a statement issued
late Friday made it clear that the
entire responsibility was his for the
issuance of the original order dis
charging the battalion of negro sol
diers for alleged participation in the
Brownsville, Tex., rioting and the re
fusal to permit a suspension of that
order.
The President was shown an inter
view which was had in Washington
with General Corbin, U. S. A., re
tired, in which General Corbin stated
^hat no credit or blame in the mat
ter rested with Mr. Taft. After read
ing the interview the President
through his assistant private secre
tary, Rudolph Foster, gav« out tke
following:
‘^General Corbin’s statement is ab
solutely correct, and it was entirely
proper that he should make it. The
substance of the message from the
President which he quoted was made
public long ago. In the Brownsville
matter the entire responsibility for
issuing the original order and for de
clining to allow its suspension was
the President’s. ”
In his interview General Corbin
stated in substance that Mr. Taft
was in no way responsible for the
order discharging the batalion of the
Twenty-fifth Infantry, and that in
doing so the then Secretary of War
had obeyed the direct order of the
President. General Corbin then re-
coun^ted the circumstances as they
occurred and were published follow
ing the Brownsville affair.
was nothing slack sa far as’ any of “if
those about the place could tell to in
dicate that there was anything wrong.
If the water was low in one of the
boilers no one was aware of it. Mr.
Thies, who happened to be passing
thropgh, observed to Mr. Pittman, the
engineer, that his clock was four
minutes slow and suggested that he
move it forward a little. This Mr.
Pittman proceeded to do. He step
ped up on a box to get at the clock
and had just accomplished his mis
sion and was climbiijg down when
the explosion occurred. Mr. Thies
was buried beneath the debris, his
face being cut by flying bricks and
falling timbers and his head and
body seriously burned. Messrs. Pitt-
nan, Tmesdel and Ogburn, the three
jther men in the building, were also
hurled to the floor and almost if not
altogether covered by the loose ma
terial which fell all about them.
Fortunately Mr. Pittman was not
badly stunned though severely burn-
sd and he was able to crawl from
beneath the wreckage w’ithout assist
ance. Mr. Thies fared much worse,
however, for he was rendered uncon
scious and some time w”as required
to extricate him, 15 minutes at least.
bTeither Mr. Truesdel nor Mr. Og-
burn were seriously injured although
their cuts and burns were most pain
ful. Mr. Pittman escaped by a hair’s
bredth, his call being an exceedingly
alose one. Mr. Thies suffered the
most serious injuries.
New York Sunday Tragedy.
X^ew York, Special.—Mrs. Bertha
iood, 32 years old, was shot and in-
■ Uintly killed at her home in Brook-
n Sunday night by Ernest Seitz, 24
■ oars old, of Manhattan. Seitz also
lot and seriously wounded the year-
and-a-half-old daughter of Mrs. Hood,
nd then turned the revolver on him-
^<^lf, inflicting a probably fatal
• ound.
Aeroplane Makes Good.
Lemans, France, By Cable.—Wilbur
Wright, of Dayton, 0., made a flight
variously computed at from 21-2 to
1-2 kilometres with his aeroplane
here, in one minute and 46 seconds.
Throughout the flight Mr. Wright
had perfect control of the machine,:
No attempt was made for a record,
the object of the flight being to try
the' aei'^laiie. While flying
through the ?.ir Wright demonstrated
'ir so it appeared to the spectators,
M}at he was absolute master of the
airship, first soaring, then shooting
gracefully downward and then mount-
ing again at will, until finally, after
completing two circles, he came down
Whole Family Killed by Lightning.
Sparta, N. C., Special.—Frank Mur
phy, a respected farmer living at
Edmonds, Sparta, Mrs. Murphy and
their litle child were struck by light
ning and instantly killed ^Yednesday
The three were in the field stackin'-
rye when »a violent storm came up
and were stricken down while they
were seeking shelter.
Charged With Abduction.
Durham, Special.—Charged with
abducting little Bennie Ashby, of
Greensboro, fouH white people, Ken
Surratt, Walter Ashby, Beck Rober
son and Jennie Taylor are under ar
rest here. An officer will take them
to Greensboro. The men and woman
claim to be married and deny the
kidnapping, saying that the boy, a
brother of Ashby under arrest, fol
lowed them from Greensboro. The
party tramped all the way here. The
boy is being held and says he came
of his own accord.
Cardinal Gibbons Has Relapse.
Rome, By Cable.—Cardinal Gibbons
suffered a slight relapse due to over
exertion in attending the audience
granted by the Pope on Saturady.
Sunday ^s services at the Vatican and
Monday’s congregation. As a result
tb3 cardinal may have to cancel all
present plans and remove to the
sountry for a season of complete
rest.
E.
E.
ment of damages complete the right
of way from Pamlico Sound to Beau
fort harbor, a distance of sixteen
miles and that work will begin on
this section within a few weeks. In
fact that the contracts for the con
stuction of this section of the water
way has already been awarded and
the contractors are all ready to
start up the work.
m BY EXPLOSION
•
Many Killed and ln|tired When
Boiler Blew Up
THE DEATH LIST TOTALS EIGHT
Boiler of Large Rolling Mill, Locat
ed in the Centre of the Plank, Ex
plodes Without a Moment’s Warn
ing.
PRESS COMMITTEE.
State News Items.
The Winston-Salem Athletic Asso
ciation is chartered to take in hand
the Carolina League ball team of the
Twin City, the capital stock being
$25,000 authorized and $950 paid in
by W. L. O’Brien, T. W. Watson, H.
Y. Shelton and others.
The ^‘Push Rockingham ' Forward
Club” is chartered without capitol
stock for promoting the social inter
est of naembers and the advancement
of the industrial interests of Rocking
ham, Richmond county. A. S. Dock
ery, W. H. Everett, W. B. Cole, are
among ifhe incorporators.
There is also a charter for the
Quinn Furniture Company, of Eliz
abeth City, capital $10,000, by C. W.
Quinn and others.
Cashier R, B. Roberts of Internal
Revenue Collector Brown’s office, at
Statesville- reports that the total col
lections for July, 1908, amounted to
$liS8,340.48, an increase over the col
lections for July, 1907, of $6,009.29.
The postoffice receipts for the Wil
son office for the month of July
amounted to $1,215.81. The receipts
for July last year amounted to $1,-
147.99. The site for the ^ public
building for which an appropriation
was made at the last session of Con
gress, has not yet been decided upon.
Several sites have been offered the
government, and there is a great dif
ference of opinion among the people
here as to the proper one.
Chairman Henry Watterson An
nounces Members of the Demo
cratic Press Committee.
New York, Special.—Henry Wat
terson, editor of The Louisville Cou-
rier-Journal, who is chairman of the
newspaper committee ol^ the Demo
cratic national campaign committee,
made public the names of the Dem
ocratic press conmaittee of advise
ment, among them being the follow
ing Southern men:
Alabama—Birminghan Age Herald,
E. W. BaiTett; Montgomery, Adver
tiser, W. W. Screws, F. P. Glass.
Arakansas—^Little Rock Democrat,
Clio Harper.
Georgia— Atlanta Constitution,
Clark Howell.
Kentucky — Lexington Herald,
Desha Breckenridge.
Louisiana — New Orleans Pica
yune, Thomas E. Davis; New Orleans
Times-Democrat, Page H. Parker.
Mississippi—Jackson ClarionnLed-
ger, H. R. Henry.
North Carolina—Charlotte Obser
ver, J. P.' Oaldwell.
South Carolina—Columbia State
W. E. Gonzales; Charleston News and
Courier, J. C. Hemphill.
Tennessee—Chattanooga News, J,
C. Rice; Knoxville Sentinel, G. F.
Milton; Nashville American, Charles
H. Slack.
Texas—Galveston, John R. Hedges,
Virginia — Richmond Times Dis
patch, Joseph Bryan.
Governor Smith Urges Action on Im
portant Bills.
Atlanta, Ga,, Special.—Governor
Hoke Smith sent a special message to
the Legislature urging action on sev
eral measures which he considers of
, vital importance and stating his
) readiness to call an extra session of
the legislature if necessary, at which
the convict quesfion can be disposed
of. The measures which Governor
Smith mentions as being of primary
importance are the anti-lobbying bill,
a law fixing the time for holding
State primaries not earlier than 60
days before the date of election, a
new registration law and provision of
a fund for the maintenance of thi
State agricultural schools.
They Must Be Tried Again.
Asheville, N. C., Special.—W.
Breese, W. H. Penland and J.
Dickerson, the three former officials
oi: tikc defunct First National Bank of
Asheville, must again stand trial on
a criminal charge. This was the ef-
,C»3ct of Judge Newman’s decision in
Uiiilcu States District Court in hold-i
ing that the original bill of indict
ment found at Greensboro in 1897
and chaining conspiracy was not de
fective. The motion of counsel for
the defense to quash the bill was
therefore over-ruled and the noted
L'ase will again be aired in a court of
lusiice.
Fayetteville Negro Shoots His Girl.
•
Fayetteville, Special.—Frank Coun
cil, a young negro of bad reputation,
last week shot his sweetheart, Hat
tie Newell, though not seriously, be
cause she chos« tbe escort of another
man in preference to himself.
After a negro performance, Couacil
offered to take his girl home, when
she refused and walked off with an
other man. Council followed until
they reached the vicinity of the Con
federate monument, on St. James
Square, when he fired two shots at
the woman, one ta^ag effect in the
right knee and one in the left thigh.
York, Pa., Special.—Eight men
were killed, nearly a score of
others more or less seriously injured,
and thousands of dollars worth of
property damaged by the explosion
of a boiler in the York Rolling Mill
late Monday afternoon.
The dead:
John Clency, York.
Benjamin Bremer.
Harry Zachrict.
Pola Pucci.
John Slossman.
Harry Fager, all of Columbia, Pa.
Edward Fittler, Marietta, Pa.
The boiler which was located in the
centre of the mill exploded without
a mon^nt’s warning.
A rescue party was quickly organ
ized and search for the bodies was in
stituted.
Ambulances from the York Hospit
al were hurried to the scene, but ow
ing to the number of dead and injur
ed, deliveiy wagons and other con
veyances were pressed into service in
order that the injured might be rush
ed to the hospital.
While the injured were being look
ed after, the bodies of the dead were
being carried from the ruins of the
building. A majority of those kill
ed had their heads and limbs torn
from their bodies and Avere so badly
mangled that identity was almost an
impossibility.
The mill had been closed down for
about a week and two score of men
were engaged in making repairs to
an engine. The men were work
ing close to the boiler and \^en the
explosion occurred not one of them
was able to make his escape.
Texas Files Complaint.
Washington, Special.—The railroad
commission of Texas filed a formal
complaint with the inter-State. com
merce commission against sixty-seven
railroads and other common carriers
alleging a conspiracy on the part of
the defendants through the South
western Traffic Association for the
suppression of competition and re
straint of trade in the recent action
increasing freight rates to common
points in Texas. The commission will
forward notice of this complaint to
all the carriers involved and will give
them fifteen days to reply, the usual
period allowed for answering a com
plaint being twenty days. The com
mission will expediate this ease as
much as possible on account of its
widespread importance. The com
plaint is signed by Allison Mavfield,
chairman of the Texas railroad com
mission, with W. R. Davidson, Attor
ney General, and Claude Pollard, As
sistant Attorney General of the State
of Texas, countersigning the paper.
The complaint undertakes to com
pare the alleged cost of maintenance
and operation of the railroads with
the actual cost, and the claimed in
debtedness which is supposed to jus
tify the increase. The railroad com
mission of Texas, it appears, has ap
praised the cost of construction and
operation of the road.s, as well as the
actual indebtedne?s upon which the
rates may be fairly based.
Work Train Wrecked.
Roanoke, Va., Special.—The work
train on a narrow gauge road run
ning from Roanoke, left the rails
and rolled down a high embankment
on the mountainside. A number of
men riding on the train were caught
under the engine . and cars. Three
were killed and several more serious
ly injured.
Contracts For Army Clothing.
Chicago, Special.—Manufacturers
in the West are severely criticising
the methods employed in the War
Department in awarding contracts
for army clothing. In constituting
a special board to pass on all bids it
was ordered that special sample of
twenty yards of cloth be used for
uniforms be furnished. Mamifactur-
ers in an informal protest declare/
that this virtually creates a monopoly'
as the cost to manufacture a special
sample is prohibitive for small
dealers.
President’s Daughter Weds.
Paris, By Cable.—Mile. Fallicres,
daughter of the Pre.sident of France,
Monday became theljride of M. Jean
Lanes, her father’s private secre
tary. ^The wedding was a quiet wffair
and was wholly unaccompanied by
the enthusiasm and publicity which
attended the marriage of President
Roosevelt’s daughter. The bride re
ceived many handsome presents.
Dutch Vessel Catches Fire.
London, By Cable,—Only the time
ly arrival of the British .steamship
Imogene prevented a terrible loss of
life among the passengers on the
Dutch steamship Amstell, which
caught fire off the coast of South
America on August 6th, according to
a message received here. The fire
created a feartul panic among the
passengers', and tHey inij^hed to tbe
rails and leaped overboard in droves.
Scores, it is said, would have been
drowned in the scramble in the
ocean had not the Imogene put oat
i;o the .wscue.