Newspapers / Hickory Democrat (Hickory, N.C.) / Aug. 8, 1912, edition 1 / Page 11
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Our Equipment -• . . *• \ * / , t'l AS recently been replenished IjjjJ with new job type, new ad • vertisement type, new body | ajfe | type, additional machinery, | | and other labor-saving de- MMM,t vices and material. We are now in position to do as good work as can be had in western North Carolina, and solicit all kinds of Book and Catalogue work, Folders, Circulars, Typewriter Letters, Pro* grams, Cards, and all kinds of Com mercial printing. / « " . We Solicit Your Patronage . Satisfaction Guaranteed % THE HICKORY DEMOCRAT "The Home of Good Printing" HICKORY, N. C. THORNTON LIGHT & POWER CO. Phenomenal Growth of this Most Im portant Public Utility—lt is one of the Prides of Hickory. In the year 1888 the City of Hickory granted to four of its progressive citizens, Messrs. A. A. Shuford, D. W. Shuler, H. D. Abernethy, and J. A. Martin, and as a copartnership under the name of Hickory Electric Company, the sole and exclusive franchise, right, title privilege and power for a plant, to erect poles in the streets, etc., for the distri bution of electric light and to operate a telephone in said town for a period of years. In December 1902 A A. Shuford, ,k H. D. Abernethy and j. A. Martin, the surviving partners, and sole owners of the Hickorv Electric Co., sold to Co!. Marcellus Eugene Thornton, who had then been a citizen of Hickory for ten yearj, ail the rights, title, franchise,etc., ; including real estate, electric plant and | the electric lighting of and in the City ! of Hickory; reserving, however, only ! the telephone rights,—which part Col. i Thornton declined to purchase. Later, in January 1903, after Col. Thornton • had taken charge and had been operating the electric lighting businessfn Hickory, ; Messrs. Shuford, Abernethy and Martin I proposed that they would procure for him, entirely at their own expense, a charter and provide him with a Board f of Directors if he would allow them to i retain for the telephone operation the*- j name, "Hickory Electric Company", i and the late Mr. A. A. Shuford proposed ! the name for the new corporation,—the : /Thornton Light & Power Company." j That was agreed to, and carried out. i Later Col. Thornton took his wife, Mrs. \ Elizabeth Camp Thornton, a free trader, j into the company with him and made ! her Treasurer, transferring one share of the stock to her for that purpose, while : he remained President and only assistant J treasurer. She had been treasurer of ! his large coal company out in Kentucky. | There were just 380 electric lights all j ! told and only two residences in the City j i that were wired and used electric lights ! | when Col. Thornton made the purchase, j | In fact, it was because after a residence i | in Hickory for ten years, in one of the | | finest residences in this part of the | State, without being able to get the i wires extended so he could have elec- [ j trie lights in his residence, that he was i | induced to buy the business. There were j ! only lb of the very old style open arc j lamps on the streets at the time. Col- Thornton telegraphed an order the sec ond day after he bought, for 17 A-B. ■ enclosed arc lamps to be forwarded by ex press. They were installed immediately i on arrival. He bought a water power 1 on Horseford creek expecting to develop ; it for a hydroelectric plant. Later, he found it would be more practical, and bought the water power out on Catawba river within four miles of the-center of town. Meanwhile he had prevailed on the late Mr. John N. Bohannoa to buy on Catawba river some of the riparian rights for him. But Mr. Bohannon did not quite understand the business and bought large tracts of unnecessary lands . along with the riparian rights and Col. Thornton withdrew from consideration of that part of the proposition. Having purchased but little more than the mere franchise for the conduct of j the business Col. Thornton set about to install an outfit sufficient to operate and enlarge the business. He purchased $2,500.00 worth of electrical supplies at; one clip from one firm for the cash. He set men to work wiring houses and ex- i tending the lines in every direction all over the City. The plant was buying its steam power and running only until mid- ji night. The increase of business brought about a raise in the price for the steam power and it was so much that he bought \ a new steam plant outfit entirely; con- j sisting of a 400 H. P. Hamilton Corliss; engine and a pair of large Lombard 1 boilers, so as to alternate them in ser- • vice, and an automatic induced air draft equipment, the first one used in this j part of the country, and thus did away , with a huge stack chimney. The old 35 h. p. engine and 40 h. p. boilers he : got with the plant w'ere not able to pull i the wagon out of the mud. This new steam plant—said by some, i and one an Alderman, to be entirely too large for the business and he couldn't j make the interest on it —was put into j service the 19th night o1 August, 1903 on • the lot beside the Southern Railway just j east of the present Hotel Huffry, for j which lot he had exchanged the old j power house lot to his wife. The build-1 ing he erected was x 135 ft. and a | boiler room 40 x 40 ft. There was an immense concourse of j Hickory people present on the opening : night when the new steam plant in the new power house building was put in j operation. Mayor J. D. Elliott presided j and patriotic speeches were madcTrom an improvised platform of boxes in the ' street at the power house by leading j citizens of Hickory, including Mayor Elliott, Judge W. B. Council, State Sen ator A. Y. Sigmon and others, applauding and praising Col. Thornton for his enterprise and public spirit. Resolutions laudatory and commendatory of Col. Thornton were unanimously and enthusiastically adopted by the large assembly of Hickory's most prominent people. The first month's receipts after Col. Thornton bought the plant was $170.23. The receipts for the month of September 'after the new steam plant went into op eration was $278.30. The receipts for September 1911, last September, was $1,890.85. Later in the Winter they were still larger, and some months dur ing last winter the current run over the minimum and they had to pay extra for it. The plant was run or operated on the one-half night, until midnight, and for the City street lights, on the moonlight schedule, until 1908; and in January 1910 they commenced taking hydroelectric current from the Southern Power Co. and dispensed with their steam plant. At this present time their poles and wires reach all parts of the City of Hickory and there is no residence or person in the City who need be without electric lights, electric cooking stoves, electric washing machines, smoothing irons, or anything and everything elec trical; or for electric power to pull and operate any kind of machinery, if they want it. The prices are as reasonable, if not on the line of the lowest in the State. This showing, though not as full and complete as it could be made, demon strates how the business has grown and prospered. But it has required a won derful amount of patience, sweet oil., money and worry, to bring the plant to its present fruition. Had Col. Thornton been given to discouragement entirely and succumbed to obstacles and harry ments he would now be in his grave and the Thornton Light and Power Co. would still be operatingon the moonlight schedule for half a night only. He stuck to it through thick and thin, ad versity and misfortune, ohstacles and hindrances, and has weathered the gale. The Thornton Light & Power Co. plant is reputed as second to none in North Carolina, and business is as good as the best of its size. As soon as the Company gets full possession of its new quarters on the ground floor of the Academy of Music building, which -will 1 be by September, if not sooner, they will place on exhibit and for sale all the new modern devices for making life's bur . : dens easier and home life moTe-pleasanl; and no one in Hickory need want for j electrical applicances nor electric ' i lights. Col. Thornton's well known i I public spirit, enterprise and generosity iis a sure guarantee of that. Electric lights and power for machinery are as ' cheap in Hickory as first class can be , had anywhere. And Col. Thornton , will not countenance, sanction or have I j anything but that which is first class : ' in every respect, up-to-date and the very 1 ; latest approved—even in dress. No shoddy, sorry, measly stuff passes muster in his critical eye. He always wants the j best to be had—and he generally gets it. The father of the writer, who died ir- Atlanta in 'B4, was a chum with Coi. Thornton for years and Col. Thornton I spake of him in the most tender affec tionate spirit, and said that his old friend in Atlanta and Geargia were all fas I passing away from whence to hence. I iiut he hinioeif does not show muc* j signs of weary passing years, for he look i aijd acts youthful and cheerful. He wa. married to the widow of John Ruther ■ ford, whose father was a pioneer, and h i was 91 when he died in 'BO, at Bridge water, N. C., Sept. Bth 1 SSI. She is now :in her 83 year, Sept. 26, and his nata! j 1 day is Sept. 7tli. Some few months after | their marriage while they were living lat the old Kimball House in Atlanta, an aged lady from Savannah, Mrs. John ; Scriven, who was adorned with beauti ful silver colored ringlets in the old time i style aroumi her neck, asked on being I introduced by his wife: "Is this Colonel | Marcellus Thornton?" Being informed ;by Mrs. Thornton in the affirmative, j Mrs. Scriven gently said: "Well, well! | I have heard tell of you all my life. You i don't look it." He had been in politics, ; editing newspapers and reporting for , them and owning them —the first to pub ' lish a full daily paper in Georgia. He came within one vote of getting Democratic nomination for Congress in | ; the sth district, the Atlanta, in 1875, and ! in '76 was elected a delegate to the con j stitutional convention but was counted | out, and did not look any older then | than he does now; only now his hair is ; some gray. He was known by nearly ever j oneinGeorgia. He electedthe great Alex i ander H. Stephens Governor of Georgia. I The old crew that published the old j Atlanta Herjad was the liveliest set ever j got together in Georgia. There was I Col's. Bob Alston, and Isaac Avery, I Henry Grady and Col. Thornton. They ] said, —when they went broke, that Genl. i | Bob Tombs loaned them five thousand dollars like a Prince and collected if like a Shylock. Genl. Tombs sent the | Sheriff, Ang. Perkerson, after their plant to bring it to him to the Kimball House iin his nether end of shirt, The Col. Was on a paper in Macon also at one" time. He was one of the men who helped to build Atlanta. He attended the meetings of the Citv Council every meeting night for six years in succession, and was in every public enterprise. He studied law in Griffin, Ga., and was ad- I mitted to the bar Oct. 22nd, 1867. When he accompljsljes to a success j some of the enterprises he now has on j hand in Hickory he says he intends to I retire from active business and devote j the remainder of his life to literature, j He has two books published—novels— > but not in circulation or on sale. They i were butchered by the publishers. Be- j sides, the publishers of both of them | failed, —one after the other, on publish- ] ing his book. No, that is not the reason. | One of his publishers published more i books than he could 'stand up under and ' the other one had some silk goods ex- ! perience and saw the Toombs and In surance companies. Col. Thornton j talks amusingly of his book publishers' j experience and the way they had of trying I to make him a book salesman. The ' only ones of his books that got on the market, he says, were those that were distributed free. An account of it would ; make an amusing short story for maga- I zine, or periodical. A friend in New j York City has the finished MSS. of two j of his novels, "Delego" and "Sadie j Yarnadore." He is very timid and sensitive. One of the leading educators [ of North Carolina Colleges has written j him two or three letters to get material! for a biographical sketch of his life; yet he has long hesitated about giving it. j He says: Whats the use? Wait until Ido something worth something." He says ! that will coine sometime. He has the ' manuscript for four or five books al- ' -ready, and noihing to do but write them j on the typewriter. Besides half a dozen enlivening short stories and one extra- j 'ordinary drama. He is whole-souled ! and cannot harbor an ill feeling against I any one. Ae says he has tried his best j to be angry at someono and to keep it i up, but he just can't do it. First thing j he knows he again is OL the best and friendliest terms with any and every one j whom he tries to be mad with, and there I remains not a trace of any spirit of ani- I mosity or revenge in his breast. He I suffered a severe test and serious un- j fortunate handicap when he refrained i from filing an answer in court to I a complaint in a certain receivership j proceeding wherein his wife was a j party and his integrity was assailed. But j since then he has often been commended | for his course in the matter. Still, it i caused' or gave ground for many of his j subsequent adversities, and caused unin- | formed people to do him grave injustice j in a business way. Recently the Board of Directors and Stockholders of the Thornton Light & Power Co., passed resolutions declaring in favor bf having its charter amended so that they will be authorized to in crease the capital stock of the company to $125,000.00, and the bonds to SIOO,- 000.00, and provide for a Vice President of the Company and to issue any kind of first preferred stock desirable not exceeding $50,000.00. The Company purposes to do the pumping of the water for the City, or probably lease the water works, and it will be necessary to incur considerale expense in order to do all these proposed things to the best and most economical advantage, including the installation of a large and adequate stock of electrical goods and appliances: "All together, all the time for everything electrical." He is a "Son of Jove." Some of, if not all of the first preferred stock will be issued and sold to obtain the money necessary to meet any additional expenditures. This first preferred stock will be first offered to citizens of Hickory, and they no doubt will want to take it all, for some of them have already expressed a desire to take some of them. They will be a splendid investment. As some people have said: "This first preferred 6 per ct. cumulative stock in the Thorn ton Light & Power Co. will be the best in vestment in Hickory, and will be eagerly taken by the people right here." Those shares not disposed of in Hickory will be sold elsewhere. There are some other enterprises in which this Company can, under its charter, engage, and it is most probable that it will take them up and enter into them at an early date, as they are to be of almost inestimable benefit and advan tage to Hickory and all of its citizens. As has been said and repeated by many citizens of Hickory: "They wished Hick ory hadhalf a dozen or more such enter prising citizens as is Col. M. E. Thorn ton; they would make the old town hump and hum." There are several substantial citizens who will stand by him and help him in anything or any enterprise he wishes to undertake. We asked Col. Thornton specifically what he was expecting to do about his proposed development of a large 9,000 H. F. hydroelectric plant out" on the Catawba river at Hickory. He replied that he had rather not say much about that enterprise, as he had been so badly treated and so sadly disap pointed with a bond house in New York that he could not say positively when the matter could be again got into the market so that something could be done. • But, as he was never known to aban don a project, or give up entirely in de spair in anything he ever undertook, it is not probable that he will cease efforts in the water power development, or the street railway in Hickory when the wa ter power is developed. The watei power development is absolutely neces . sary for the construction of the streei raihvav. Incidentally we learned, however, that Col. Thornton's present fondes; hopes for pecuniary results are centered in a patent which he has pending. It i; an electric ore smelting furnace and also i a process connected with the furnace fo= I electrically smelting iron ores into iro. i and steel from first process, and locating a $750,000 plant for it out on Catawb. ! river near the proposed power house an j take up the current developed there witl a very short transmission line and smel the magnetite iron ore which is to IK had on his wife's estate of 2200 acres a! Bridgewater in Burke County—of which she owns 900 acres of the magnetite ore —and ship the ore over the Southern" Railway to Hickory and then on out in the same cars »to the furnace. The Southern Ry. will construct a spur track at Bridgewater out a mile and a half to the ore lands, and there will be also built a track from the Southern Ry. near Lenoir College out to the river. That can be used for a street car line. It is not deemed feasible to obtain a hydro j electric plant at Bridgewater, hence elec tric current cannot be had there for electrically smelting the magnetite ore at that place. It will take nearly all the power that can be developed out near Hick jry to operate the smelting furnace. ;It would depend on the size of the smelting plant. The money for the mining of the mag netite ore, constructing the street car line and building the smelting ore fur nace is already in sight, and all that is lacking is the hydroelectric development for a market that will be ready by the j time it is ready. There is another process that goes with it, but of which nothing whatever will be disclosed at present. It is confidently asserted by Qol. Thornton that he can produce steel bars at one-half the present cost of pro duction and make as much profit as is now made by any prevailing process. If this is so, and we guess it is, there are millions in it for the Colonel. We wish him all the success obtainable. He can lease rights for the furnace and process to others on royalties and get an enormous income from them. Or, he could sell outright. COMMENT The Democrat hopes Hickory people will turn out en masse to the Newton veterans reunion August 15. By the way, while the veterans have the right of way, we would like to see the only military company in Catawba county, the Hickory Rifles, now in the limelight as the best company in the State Guard, escort the old soldiers in their parade. Co. A. is full of veteran material for the future ROOSEVELT AND JOHNSON. Theo. Roosevelt and Gov. Hiram Johnson, of California, were nominated at Chicago yes terday for president and vice president and their party's name is to be simply "the Progressive Party" WILSON NOTIFIED. jGov. Wilson was officially noti fied of his nomination for the presidency by Senator Ollie James, and made a superb speech of acceptance, outlining his pol icies, CORN DAY AT ROBINSONS. Crowd of 500 Feed on Corn Soup From the Crack Patch. Over 500 people attended corn day on Mr. John W. Robinson's farm Wednesday and heard two fine, common sense talks by Mr. A. L. Fiench, of Rockingham county, one before and one after dinner, and a most excellent ad dress by Miss Maud Eckard on what the Girls Tomato Clubs of the county are doing. The girls looked lovely in red uniforms, and waited on the table. Corn soup, made with corn from Mr. Robinson's great patch was served by these girls, and sand wiches handed out, and even then there was much left over. The 4 acres of corn make a beautiful sight. The seed was Batt's. the fertilizer Royster guana, and the field was dyna mighted with Jefferson Powder Co.'s dynamite. Every man present registered a guess at the yield per acre, and the winner will get a bushel of corn free. It will push 100 bushels to the acre. Committees to Report at Newton Reunion. - The annual reunion of the Confederate Veterans of Camp No, 162, will be held at Newton on 15th of August. Following township committees were . ap pointed at the last reunion to get the number of living soldiers, and also the number who died during the last year. S. E. Killian, Hickory, P. A. Hoyle, Newton. Thornton Cline, Jacob's Fork. N. E. Siemon, Clines. Alfred Baker, Bandys, N. E. Propst, Caldwell. W. A. Day, Mountain Creek. J. U. Long, Catawba. Report to me at Newton on the morning of August 15. S. E. KILLIAN, Sec. & Treas. Do You Get Up With a Lame Back? Kidney Trouble Makes You Miserable. Almost everyone knows of Dr. Kilmer's Swamp-Root, the great kidney, liver and bladder remedy, be cause of its remark able health restoring ; properties. Swamp ■ Root fulfills almost | every wish in over , coming rheumatism, , pain in the baek, kid , neys, liver, bladder i and every part of tlie urinary passage. It corrects inability to JSJ I i J .J * «* hold water and scalding pain in passing it, or bad effects following use of liquor, wine or beer, and overcomes that unpleasant necessity of being compelled to go often through the day, and to get up many times during the night. Swamp-Root is not recommended for everything but if you have kidney, liver or bladder trouble, it will be found just the remedy you need. It has been thor oughly tfested in private practice, and has proved so successful that a special ar ! raugeinent has been made by which all readers of this paper, who have not al ready tried it, may have a sample bottle sent free by mail, also a book telling more about Swamp-Root, and how to •ney or bladder trouble. When writing mention reading this generous | offer in this paper and send your address to Kilmer Bz. Co., Home oi&*amp*Root. Binghamton, N. Y. The regular fifty-cent and one-dollar size bottles are sold by all druggists. Don't make any mistake but remember the name, Swamp-Root, Dr. Kilmer's Swamp-Root, and the ad- Iress, Binghamton, N. Y., on every bottle. Notice ot Sale of Land Under Exe; ution. North Carolina, | Hickofy Township, Catawba County j City of Hickory. In the matter of the Sidewalk and Street Improvement Taxes or Assess ments of Geo. E. Bisanar. Under and by virtue of an execution directed to the undersigned, Tax Col lector, in and for the City of Hickory, which said execution was issued by W. L. Clinard, Clerk of the Board of Al dermen in and for the City of Hickory, said execution being issued under and in accordance with the terms and pro visions of Chapter 242 of the private Laws of North-Carolina, Session 1907, same being issued for the collection of the sidewalk and street improvement Taxes or Assessments due by said Geo. E. Bisanar for certain sidewalk and street improvements, made by said City of Hickory, at and in front of the property hereinafter described, said improvement taxes or assesments being in the sum of $330.00 which said Geo. E Bisanar failed and refused, and still fails and refuses to pay, and whereas by said Chapter 242 of the Private Laws of North Carolina, Session 1907, said amount of sidewalk and street improvement taxes oi as sessments is made atjd constituted a lien on the property of said Geo. E. Bisanar, winch is located on Ninth Ave nue, this being one of the streets im proved by the Board of Aldermen of the City of Hickory, under the author ity contained in said Chapter 242 of the Private Laws of North Carolina, Session 1907. NOW, THEREFORE, as required and commanded to do, and pursuant to said execution, I will on Monday the 2nd day of September, 1912, at twelve o'clock noon, at the door of the City Hall of said City of Hickory, sell, at Eublic outcry, for cash to the last and ighest bidder, in order to satisfy said execution, all the right, title and inter est which the said Geo. E. Bisanar has in the following described real estate, which was levied upon by me, on the 30 day of July 1912, —namely,— BEGINNING at a stone, at the inter section of 15th Street and 9th Avenue, and runs Westward with 9th Avenue 150 feet to a stone; thence Northward 65 feet to a stone; the corner of the lot owned by R. J. Foster; thence Eastward 150 feet to a stone on 15tn street; thence Southward 65 feet, with 15th street to the beginning. The intent and purpose of this sale is to sell all and singular of the lot upon which the residence of the said Geo. E. Bisanar is located. This the 30 day of July 1912. P. P. JONES, Tax Collector of the City of Hickory. A. A. WHITENER, City Atty. 8-l-4t- Certificate of Dissolution. State of North Carolina, Department of State. To all to whom these presents may come—Greeting: Whereas, it appears to my satis faction, by duly authenticated record of the proceedings for the voluntary dissolution thereof by the unanimous consent of all the stockholders, deposit ed in my office, that the Morrison Bros. Company, a corporation of this State, whose principal office is situated at No. - , —Street, in the town of Hickory, County ol Cataw ba. State of North Carolina (C. T. Morrison being tbe agent therein and in charge thereof, upon whom process may be served), has complied with the requirements of Chapter 21, Re visal of 1905. entitled "Corporations." preliminary to the issuing of this Cer tificate of Dissolution: Now, Therefore, I, J. BRYAN GRIMES, Secretary of-State of the State of North Carolina, do hereby certify that the said corporation did, on the 21 day of February, 1912, file in my office a duly executed and attested consent in writing, to the dissolution of said corporation, executed by all the stockholders thereof, which said con sent and the record of the proceedings aforesaid are now on file in my said office as provided by law. In Testimony Whereof. I have here to set my hand and affixed my official seal, at Raleigh, this 21 day of Febru ary, A. D. 1912. J. BRYAN GRIMES, Secretary of State. N. C., Catawba County—Recorded in Corporation Book No. 2. Office Clerk of Superior Court, 7-29-1912. C. M. McCORKLE. HIDES. Prices paid at the Hickory Tan nery: Green Hides 11c per pound. Partly cured hides 9c. " " Green Salted Hides 12c " Dry Flint Hides 18c " " Dry Salted Hides 16c " 44 Tallow 5 1-2 c " " Rye Straw 40c per 100 lbs,
Hickory Democrat (Hickory, N.C.)
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Aug. 8, 1912, edition 1
11
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