If You Read
The Democrat, you don't need
anj- other newspaper. It's all here.
One Dollar a year. : :
Established 1899
wniin
Comprehensive Estimate of
Americas Late Literary Gen
ius, Whose Pen Swayed the
Heart of the World. 0 0
By R.OBERTUS LOVB.
MARK TWAIN is dead!
The king is dead—long live
the king! But there is no
heir, either apparent or pre
sumptive. The throne of humor, whose
kingdom was the world, is empty. The
scepter that swayed the universal
heart—the pen—lies idle at last. The
empire of laughter and also of tears
which this king of the writing craft
founded and which he fostered for
nearly fl£t y years is become as whirl
ing dust in the abyss* of the things that
were Only there remains the heritage
of tln* dead ruler's kindly philosophy.
THE LATE MARK TWAIN.
[Samuel L. Clemens.J
his droll fun. his quips and jestings
and his pathos.
Mark Twain became before be died
the most famous man on earth. He
was not merely a man: be was an in
stitution. He was a sort of neighbor
hood settlement of good cheer, with
many braucbes located in the oases as
ID the waste places, where admission
and refreshment were free to all. Mil
lions—how many millions is beyond
estimating—came and partook of bis
wiue of optimism and stayed for sup
per. His fame was and is universal.
Though an American born, a native
of Missouri, he belonged to all lands.
He b:ul traveled in all lands and lived
in most of them He had more near
permanent homes perhaps than any
other man of bis day. Nearly always
be was a wanderer, sometimes from
necessity, more frequently from choice.
Tbe world was his plaything, and he
was uot content remapping
for himself tbe entire surface of the
big ball.
Of Most Striking Appearance.
He was a man of most striking ap
pearance—the kind that attracts atten
tion anywhere in a crowd and causes
others to take a second look, in liiy
later years his shock—no, his crown
of hair, perfectly white and glossy like
finespun silk, became his trademark oi
recognition by strangers wherever IK
went. 1 have seen a woman who nev
er before saw Mark Twain pick him
out without opera glasses, though sh*-
sat in the top gallery of Carnegie hall
and he occupied a lower box near the
stage, and the great house was crowd
ed. He had no doubles as to personal
appearance—there was only oue os
him.
And there was only one of Marl-.
Twaiu as a literary syndicate. It ha
become the fashion to describe him a «
the great American humorist. This
undoubtedly he was, but he was more
His appreciation of Joan of Arc, first
published anonymously, is accepted by
critics of acumen as one of the most
refined works in the serious literature
of the nineteenth century." The book
won its way before Mark Twain ad
mitted its paternity. While he was
writing the Joan classic he worked,
time and time about, ou that amazing
funny masterpiece, "Pudd'nhead Wil
son." He simply couldn't be serious
altogether for a stated period.
Never Altogether Funny.
Nor must we take it for granted that
Alark Twain, summing up his career
as a writer, ever was altogether funny.
He never was. He was one of the
closest observers of iuman nature and
institutions, places acxl things, that
ever lived. Even in his most humor
ous books we find that he has made
accurate trauscripts of tbe things
which impressed him. Though he ex
aggerated, a privilege belonging to his
profession, one can read between the
Hues the inhering truth. He was an
inveterate foe to shams of every sort,
and apparently knew his highest hap
piness when with droll sarcasm he
punctured a popular fraud with bis
Pen.
But Mark Twain often wrote books
Just because .he had the story to tell.
The tale of "Tom Sawyer" is one of
these, aud the "Huckleberry Finn"
hook is another. Each of these is true
to life—to boy life. Rudyard Kipling is
f o liave remarked that he would
THE HICKORY DEMOCRAT
HE OFJUIR
Tribute Paid to the Ability,
Kindly Philosophy, Droll Fun
and Pathos of the Man Whose
Optimism Cheered Millions.
rather be the author of -'•fom Sawyer"
than all of his own works.
"Tne Innocents Abroad." of course,
always will be associated with Mark
Twain's name as one of his most char
acteristic books, but that may be be
cause it was his first big work and
won for him the fame and the for
tune which enabled him to write what
he pleased.
Mark Twain's name was Samuel
Langhorne Clemens, but it was used
chiefly as a vessel whereon universi
ties hung LL. D. handles. He was
"l)r Clemens" three times over, but
the distinction never spoiled him.
With no school learning save such as
he gained from a few years' attend
ance at the village school in Hannibal,
Mo., his scholastic titles were earned
by literary work which the whole
world accepted.
He Was Intensely Democratic.
Mark Twain was intensely demo
cratic. He was easily approachable,
aud ha never emitted any bear's growl
or lion's roar. Even the humblest per
son was made to feel at ease in his
presence. Shrinking reporters sent to
interview him quit their shrinking and
puffed up when they found him as
easy to interview as the aspiring au
thor of the poem published in the low
er corner of the town weekly. He
could talk on any topic, even the
weather, and glorify it with his hu
mor. If the insistent attention be
stowed upon him was distasteful to
him he did not permit the fact to be
known. Mark Twain was one of the
politest men I ever knew. He was
considerate of the feelings of others.
; , jffijifajj
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lip,"**praß%£§^ ..^5:"" , -, sS3§H§Jj^
>v^4"' "'' ' ?'' ~ 4 F 1,? ..
-.
>••'*' * *'|y ; *??'■• -
MARK TWAIN'S LATEST PICTUKL.
HICKORY, N
and therein lies (he soul of politeness
Those obsessed by the uotion that It
was impossible for Mark Twain to
open his mouth without saying some
thing funny should revise their im
pressions of him. In the course of his
last visit to his boyhood home at Han
nibal in the summer of IJ>O2 he said
solemn thiugs in the most diguified
manner possible. Several times he was
so deeply touched by the pathos of the
occasion, his meeting with boyhood
friends then grown old like himself,
his visit to the graves of his parents,
that his voice quavered and broke, and
the inevitable tears trickled down his
face, tie was overcome with emotion,
conquered by tender sentiment, and
those of us whcse privilege it was to
observe him upon these occasions went
away with a new notion as to Mark
Twain. lie was not the mere Jester,
not the buffoon who sees in life only
the guffaws and works assiduously to
evoke them in boisterous riot of laugh
ter. He was the man of feeling, the
tender hearted old fellow, the owner
of a heart as gentle as any that ever
beat.
His Many Personal Sorrows.
Mark Twaiu's life was not a rose
bed. He walked no primrose path. He
encountered stumbling places and had
steep hills of difficulty to climb. And
he had sorrows that bit and griefs that
bludgeoned. At the close of his life,
so far as relatives were concerned, he
was almost alone in the world.
His best loved daughter, Susy, died
iu America when he was in Europe.
His story of her death in his autobiog
raphy is a piece of pathos seldom sur
passed. His wife, who was Miss Olivia
Langdon of Elmira, N. Y., his compan
ion for many years, died in Italy after
vain wanderings for the restoration of
her health. He built a big country
home near Redding, Conn., and settled
down to continue growing old as grace
fully as he could with his two remain
ing daughters, Clara and Jean. In No
vember of 1009 Clara married a for
eigner and went abroad to live. Jean
was left with him. On the day before
Christmas, with a Christmas tree for
her father trimmed by her own hand*
iu one of the rooms, Jeau Clemens was
found dead in her bathtub, having
been seized with an epileptic fit and
drowned.
Wlieu Mark Twain was fifty years
old aud worth about $1,000,000 a pub
lishing firm in which he was a part
ner became bankrupt He lost his for
tune and was Involved aeavily in debt.
He set to work, made a lecturing and
writing tour around the world and in
ten years had paid off his indebtedness
and again was ahead of the" wolf. By
that time he had become so universally
famous that his work commanded Its
own price. Thereafter he could write
or rest as he chose, and he chose to
write much.
Mark Twain's writing life began In
his pilot days and continued up to bis
death—half a century of devotiou to
the art of making people happy. For
several years he was simply a hard
working newspaper reporter and spe
cial correspondent, searching for gold
in Nevada and California between Jobs
at journalism which grubstaked him
for prospecting. Rut he found bis
purest and most paying streak of ore
when in ISG7 he wrote "The Jumping
Frog of Calaveras County." That
story, picked up in a mining camp, was
his first promising literary prospect.
He had struck the mother lode.
Printer, pilot, reporter, humorist,
novelist, philosopher—he is safely em
i baimed to enduring fame.
C., THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1910.
The Passing of
Hon. R. Z. Llnstey
How Ha Gaye ttis tes "June
Bag" to the A. T, & 0. R. R.
HIS CAREER IN CONGRESS
What he said when they Made
Him Apologize for Unparli
amentary Language-" A Whet
stone to Intellectuality"
AN APPRECIATION.
Rarer than the diajnohd, more
priceless than the white stone of
Golconda, North Caftlina fur
nishes a gem of purest ray se
rene which has never been found
elsewhere in all the hidden wealth
of a wide world. Authorities on
the aristocracy of jewels assert
the kinship of this gem to the
noble family of the Emerald. Un
der the purple shadows of the
Brushies, the nervy little picket
line of the giant army of the
Blue Ridge; where the modest
mountain sweet briar unfolds its
pink petals, there in Alexander
County, the Hiddenite makes its
bed in the rock.
The world reckons that the
Hiddenite stone is the richest
gift of "Little Aleck" to the
race. But the world reasons reck
lessly. In so far as a man is of
more value tlmn a stone; in the
proportion that the thinking of
an intellect is higher than the
irridescent scintillations of a jew
el, by SO much more was Romu
lus Z. Linney the richest and rar
est gift of "Little Aleck to the
world. The stone was a mere
symbol of the man—a priceless
treasure in an unlooked for quar
ter; a jeweled shadow of an in
carnate reality.
Linney was "Little Aleck's" j
and North Carolina's human
Hiddenite.
He died on the doorstep.
Fumbling at the keyhole, stumb
ling upon the threshold of his
law office in Taylorsville,
the unpretentious little smithy
where4ie had forged his court
room thunderbolts—the sudden
summons came. There is d sort
pathos in the picture of his
death. There is an awful loneli
ness in the death-moment and
the friendliness of the inside of
his workshop might have less
ened it.
With the passing of Linney the
last of a remarkable coterie
of great mountain and
piedmont lawyers disappears.
"And there were giants in those
days." Geo. N. Folk, of Lenoir;
f.linton A. Cilley of Hickory;
Davie Schenck,of LincolntonjC. M.
McCorkle, of Newton, and their
contemporaries—tall timber of
the law any one of whom would
have graced the Supreme Court
or the Attorney Generalship of
the United States.
Romulus Z. Linney conld hold
his own with any of them. The
radius of the circle of his practice
was as wide as that of any law
yer in the State. And Linney
had Blackstone and Coke at the
tip of his tongue as glib as any
of them. His mingled know
ledge of the law and human na
ture made him well nigh invinci
ble before a mountain jury.
Linney's genius had no more
appreciative admirer than the
distinguished editor of the Char
lotte Observer, Mr, J. P. Cald- 1
well, yet he could not conceal his
annoyance over one quality—and
the only discounting quality—of
Linney's oratory, his exaggera
tion, his hyperbole. Linney al
ways overshot the mark in his
eulogies, except the time when
he declared that the mountaineer
preacher. Rev. Parks Gwaltney,
—who by the way conducted the
deceased's notable funeral last
Tuesday a week—was a greater
preacher than Talmage.
Linney could write an exquisite
"In Memoriam." The Taylors
ville Scout, Mr. Linney's home
paper, recently printed a fine
piece of this kind of work from
his pen—his tribute to the late
Partee Matheson of Alexander.
But he could never approach the
exact shade of delineation at
tained by the Hon. Risden Tyler
Bennett, of Wadesboro in similar
writing. As for instance, when
he paid the last adieu to the late
Sam Fort, who fell from his chair
at 3a. m. and expired, and of
whom Judge Bennett said: "In
the hour of the night when men
are not courageous, he blundered
upon death."
The explanation of Linney's
hyperbole may lie in the fact
that he saw "mute inglorious
Children Cry
FOR FLETCHER'S
CASTORIA
Miltons" or "Cromwells guiltless
of their country's blood" in his
countrymen who just fell short
of great opportunity. Linney's
education was interrupted by the
Civil War through which he
fought. He made up for the lack
by omnivorous reading, and was
easily familiar with the great
figures of history. He saw re
semblances in character and in
little achievements on the part
of his friends to world notabili
ties, and naturally to the general
reader these comparisons seemed
like gross exaggerations.
The mountain men voted Lin
ney into Congress as a Republi
can and here this diamond in the
rough scintillated as never be
fore. The appreciation by the
"Honorables" of his genius, his
originality, his repartee, his un
conventionally gave him con
stant inspiration, so that he ex
celled himself and adorned his
State. Jerry Simpson failed to
squelch nim. Tom Reed culti
vated him, probably for the same
reason as a brilliant North Caro
lina woman to whom Mr. Linney
paid court in the days of his wid
owerhood.Mr.Linney told me the
story. :
"if you will not marry me," he
quoted himself as saying, "why
do you evidently care so much
for my company?"
"I took it as a quite a compli
ment," Mr. Linney continued,
"when she replied, 'Because you
are a whetstone to my intellectu
ality.' "
Linney loved to look back upon
his congressional experience. He
told me in an interview of the
time they made him apologize for
unparlimentary language.
"It was in a contested election
case," he said, "and I had in the
heat of debate said that the Dem
ocrats 'stole votes.' It was de
clared by the Democratic leaders
that I had been guilty of unnarli
mentary language and ought to
retract.
"I told the House," continued
Mr. Linney "that I was sorry
that in the heat of debate I had
been betrayed into using the lan
guage I did. I therewith with
drew the words and begged leave
to offer in lieu thereof my views
in the form of an illustration,
"Down in my section of North
Carolina many years ago, I went
on to say, there had been a quar
rel in the church and a judicial
committee consisting of old man
Doughton, of Alleghany; Dr.
Todd, of Ashe, and a man named
Smith, of Wilkes, had been ap
pointed to meet and settle the
trouble. They lived far apart
and across mountains; but on
the day appointed Doughton and
Todd were on hand, having rid
den over snowy roads distances
of 25 miles or more to come to
the meeting. Smith had not
shown up, and the other two
were indignant that he should
fail to be on hand.
4 'They were about to separate
j when Smith appeared and when
taxed about his tardiness, he ex
cused himsalf that he could not
get away from a fox hunt in
time.
"He said he had a dog named
Truman, famed as the best fox
hound in North Carolina. That
the dog had been running the
foxes in the mountains and just
as Smith was about to start for
the meeting, he saw the hound
was in distress from being run
down. Now Smith had invented
a wonderful liniment that would
put ne .v life and power into man
and beast. He went after the
hound, picked him up, warmed
him by the fire and rubbed the
liniment in his joints. Soon he
began to squirm like a young
pup. Smith rubbed on and in a
little bit the hound had broken
loose and was running the fox
over Nigger Mountain, and from
there on to Old Baldy. In a lit
tle bit Smith caught sight of him.
"Brethren," said he to the judi
cial church court, "I'll be hanged
if old Truman wasn't three miles
ahead of the fox so powerfully
had my new liniment worked on
him."
"Now the Democrats have
been using this same liniment,
and I want to say that in their
arguments and evidence in this
election case, they are 15 miles
south of truth and only two miles
this side of the gates of Hell!"
"Well the House roared." Mr.
Linney finished, "and Champ
Clark worked my illustration up
into a story and printed it in
Henry Watterson's newspaper.
"Champ came over to my desk
and said: "Linney,you make me
plaguegoned mad sometimes but
I always admire native ability
wherever I find it, whether in
friend or foe."
We were riding at the time Mr.
Linney related this story, over
the "June Bug" road — as the
Atlantic, Tennessee & Ohio rail
road is nicknamed—and it was
not a far cry from that fact to
Mr. Linney's own story of how
Democrat and Press, Consolidated 1905
ihe came to christen it by that
name.
" I had proposed in the North
Carolina legislature." said Mr.
Linney, "to take the money from
the sale of the state's interest in
the Cape Fear and Yadkin Val
ley railroad and put it in the ex
tension of the Atlantic, Tennes
see & Ohio railroad from Char
lotte to Taylorsville. The north
ern terminus of the road was
then Statesville.
"My friend Cy Watson, of
Forsyth, was leading the fight
against me, his proposition being
to make the northern terminus of
the road Danbury. He exhibit
ed on the day he made his main
speech in the state senate, a map
which he had gotten up, making
it appear that the route I pro
posed was without any streams
of water while his line was well
watered and fertile. Further
more he made a strenuous argu
ment that his line would open up
coal fields and deposits of iron
ore, while Iredell and Alexander
counties, through which my
route lay, were, he held, practi
cally without any mineral
wealth.
"I slept on his speech that
night and the next day I had my
line of defense well in hand. 1
had studied geography some my
self in the meantime and had a
maD on hand, too, to show the
many streams that flowed
through the section from States
ville to Taylorsville.
"As to minerals, I said that
coal and iron were so common up
our way that thev were lying
around loose; and furthermore,
we had in our section what no
other spot on earth could boast ol
—the Hiddenite stone. I added:
"A well wintered June-bug
can carry away $l,OOO worth of
this valuable gem, which rivals
tne diamond in sparkling beauty,
tied to its hind-leg!
"When the vote came to be
taken almost the first senator on
the roll, said:
"I vote for the June-bug
road!"
"And a majority in both houses
voted for the June-bug road, and
June-bug it remains to this day."
Howard A. Banks.
Monroe Shuford.
Written for The Democrat,
Monroe Shuford was the oldest
son of Uncle Eli R. Shuford and
wife. He was born m Catawba
county. After leaving the coun
ty, he made his home in Wood
county, Texas. He left the
county of Catawba when a young
man. He was about the age oi
Hon. Leroy Whitener of Cataw
ba county. He and others will
be glad to hear from him. My
brother A. A. Shuford will re
member him well. Monroe Shu
ford died at Little Rock, Ark.,
in 1862. The cause of his death
was measles. He was with his
command on their way east when
he took sick. He was a Confed
erate soldier and belonged to a
regiment of cavalry from Texas.
His colonel was Lock. Uncle Eli
R. Shuford and wife were the
parents of six sons; five of these
boys were in the Confederate
army. One of these boys is yet
living, and five of them have an
swered the last roll call. Their
early life was spent in Catawba
county. They are a part of the
history of Catawba county.
J. H. Shuford.
All Kinds of News.
Accusing Geo. Rabish of being
a spy on the men at the Avella,
Pa., mines of the Pittsburg and
Washington Coal Co., a crowd oi
angry, drinking miners on Fri
day crucined the man, having
first placed a crown of thorns
upon his brow. He died soon
after he was taken down from
his cros3 by rescuers who were
too late.
Fire practically destroyed Lake
Charles, La., Saturday night,
starting in an opera house. Loss
$4,000,000
Tom Taggart is a candidate for
the Democratic endorsement for
the Senate in Indiana.
Mr. Lutz Gets 4 Out of 5 Prizes
Mr. H. P. Lutz informs the
Democrat that the Dutch Dairy
Farm has won four of the five
prizes totalling $75 offered by
the state department of agricul
ture for the best dairy products.'
Mr. Lutz won prize 1, $25; prize
2, $2O; prize 4, $lO, and prize 5,
$5. The 3rd prize was won by a
Charlotte man. There were 30
contestants in all all. Mr. Lutz
is one of the finest dairymen in
the South> and the Democrat
congratulates him on his success.
Children Cry ,
FOR FLETCHER'S
CASTORIA
The Democrat
Gives the news of Hickory and the
Catawba Valley in full. Ilie news
of the world in brief. •
Mr. Elliott Will
Be Next Mayor
He and Mr. J. D. Lentz Have a
Close Run [or Honor
TWO BALLOTS TAKEN
In Largest Non Partisan Pri
mary ever Held in Hickory,
Messrs. Setzer, Stroup and
Campbell were named for
New Aldermen —School
Commissioners
After the closest kind of a run
in the non-partisan municipal
primary convention held in the
opera house last Thursday nighty
Mr. J. D. Elliott was named for
mayor over Mr. J. D. Lentz. Mr.
Elliott on the first ballot got 82
votes, Mr. Lentz 81 and Dr. W.
hi. Nicholson 2. Chairman Jones
W. Shuford was about to rule
that Mr. Elliott had the nomina
tion when the point was raised
that no one had received a major
ity of the 165 votes cast.
A second ballot was then taken
resulting in a vote of 91 for El
liott to 78 for Lentz, and Mr.
Elliott's nomination was made
unanimous.
C. Setzer, W, S.
Stroup and J, W. Campbell re
ceived the highest votes for al
dermen.
For school commissioners,
Messrs. J. F. Abernethy, H. F.
Elliott, S. L. Whitener and C. C.
Bost were nominated.
Owing to the fact that Mr. C.
F. Blalock had recently resigned
from the board of School trus
tees. it was decided to take a bal
lot for four members for this
board instead of three as is the
usual custom.
Mr. E.B.Cline called the meet
ing to order and Mr. J. W. Shu
ford was made chairman. The
convention was the largest of its
kind ever heldin Hickory.
HEFFNER VS. ABEE.
Two Candidates for Mayor in
West Hickory—Storks
11th Visit.
Correspondence of the Democrat
West Hickory. April 25.—The
town of West Hickory has al
ready held two primaries to
nominate candidates for the
town offices and there is another
primary called for next Wednes
day evening, April 27. Donse
quently. everybody is satisfied
that there will be plenty of can
didates to choose from*when
alection day comes. Mr. W. A.
Heffner is heading one of the
tickets for mayor and Mr. H. H.
Abee the other ticket, and the
people are just waiting to see
who next.
The nineteen-months old child
of Mr. H. C. Smith of this place,
died Saturday morning of meas
les, and was taken to Morganton
Sunday for burial. The rest of
the family are sick with measles.
Some of the children are very
low. The bereaved family has
the sympathy of the town.
Mr. Jim Abee is all smiles at
present. The Stork visited his
home for the eleventh time one
lay last week, and left him a
fine boy this time.
It seems that the baseball
teams of West Hickory are hav
ing unfavorable luck at present.
Ne have two teams in town
mown as the First and Second
lines, and on last Saturday,
Vpril 23rd, the First nine went
:o Newton, crossed bats with
the Newton boys, and reported
jn their return that the score
?tood 16 to 24 in favor of New
con, and on the same day the
Second team went over and
played Rhodehiss and they report
he score standing 14 to 18 in
c'avor of Rhodehiss. Don't get
liscouraged boys. Try again!
Mr. Dan Wilson and wife were
here Sunday visiting their son,
Mr. Arthur Wilson.
Mr. Mac Travis and wife of
Brookfoid, were here Sunday
visiting the family of Mr. Jeff
Holler.
Mr. W. A. Sherrill, of this place,
vent over in Caldwell county
Saturday to visit his brother.
He returned Sunday.
Success to The Democrat.
lota.
HICKORY PRODUCE MARKET.
Corrected weekly by Whitener &
Martin.
Hens, per lb 12c
Spring Chickens, per. lb 23£ c
Turkeys,per lb 12 l-2c
Eggs, per doz 17c
Butter per lb 15 to 25
Apples, eating 2 50 a bu
Sweet Potatoes 1.60 acr
Irish Potatoes $1 00 a bu
Cabbage, per lb 3 to 4Q
Strawberries 8c a