Established 1899
MR JOHNSON HERE.
United States Department of Ag icul
tore Striving to Bring About Econ
omy-An Interview.
jlr. J. M. Johnson, of tne
United States Department of
Africa' ture, was i i the city la-t
Saturday. He is with the U i
pgrtrnent of Farm Management
and is working the commercial
•nd economic end of farming
with a view to increasing the
profits of the work., In an inter
yjev? with a representative o?
theDemocra the lined his policies
aD d plans as follows;
"We go from place to plsce",!
laid be, "studying the agricul
tural conditions with the idea of
getting lessons from the most
successful farmers and cartyir.#
them to those who are not suc
ceeding so well. We are en
deavoring to find out the enffi
■that are making the mosl mone£
the methods of preperation of
soil and cultivation that give the
best results. The distribution
of labor throughout the year is
awa subject of our investigi
tiou-the number of days a mule
or horse works on the farm and
the number of days of man
labor put in pro ducing a given
crop.
"The average mule on the
cotton farm works a little less
than ninety days in the year,
while the fat ir.er and his family,
in cultivating twenty-five acres
of land, of which twenty will be
to cotton fiive to corn or other
crops, put in about two hundred
and fifty days in the year, in
other words, the man works
three days for every day worked
by the mule or horse.
' Tne horse or mule being idle
two hundred and fifty or more
days has to be fed as well as
during the days on which he is
atwerk. In some cases we are
finding the horse or mule kept
busy practically one hundred
and eighty days in the year. I
costs no mere to keep him than
during the days on which he is
idle; consevuently, a days work
costs only one half as much. The
question comes, then, (n regard
of a system of farm and
croping that will allow us to use
the horse or mule a greater
number of days and use him
profitably.
"Right along this line, I de
sire to throw out one hint for
the farmers of this section to
think about: The State of North
Carolina, in 1911, produced prac
tically six million dollars worth
of hay and forage. The average
acre of ground devoted to these
crops produced a harvest worth
a little more than twenty dollars.
The state imported fifteen mil
lion dollars worth of hay and
forage. We had between eight
and nine hundred thousand acres
of land planted to small grain
which was harvested by or be
fore July. About a hundred
thousand acres of this was then
Planted to crops such as peas,
millet, etc. to make hay in the
&H, leaving seven hundred
thousand acres with nothing
Krowihg on it. % That seven hun
ted thousand acres planted to
hay and forage crops, which
w uld have gived merely an
average yield to the stata, would
have produced our fifteen mil
lion dollars worth of stuff im
ported. This work could well
have been done with the live
stock and implements usually
found on the ordinary farm. The
state as a unit would have been
"'teen million dollars better off
at the end of tne first year and
considerably more than fifteen
Million dollars better off at the
end of the next year by the
witier having grown tlis extra
«ay crop.
e suspect that ther will be
• 'so I many acres left idle in
vbi co-inty after the small
11 nis cut off of it at the
eommg harvest. We also sus
pect that there will be hay ship-
; e( ! lnto county next winter
n ? piing. It would be well, I
e 'eve, for your community to
«»nk of this,
"\v
c art hunting a farm sur
THE HICKORY DEMOCRAT
j AN IMPORTANT MEETING.
Directors of the State HospitaT Meet
at Morgantoo.
I Greensboro Daily News, llth.
This was the regular annual meeting
• of the board, and all the members, ex-
I cept J. W. Noell, of Roxboro. were
. present as follows: I. I. Davis of
Morganton; J. G. Hall, of Lenoir; A.
' B Tate, of High Point; Dr. J E. S
j Davidson, of Charl tie; F. P. Alspugh,
of Winston.*J. P. Sawyer, of Asbeville;
A. A Shuford. of Hickory; and X. R
Clark, of Statesville. Messrs. Shuford
and Sawyer, n n membets of the
board, and Mr. Tate, who was reap-
I pointed, took the oath of office. Cap
tain Sawyer is really ar old member of
the board. For 26 years he served on
the board, but was left off six years !
ago. Now he comes I back as success- \
or to J. W. McMiao, of Brevard* Mr.
Shuford, who b a son of the latf? A. A'.
Shuford, who for 11 years was a mem
ber of the board, succeeds Dr. J. W.
Colcard, of Ashe county, who served
out his fathers unexqired term.
I 1. Davis was reelected president
of the board of directors for ano'her ;
year, and Mr. Clark sec i
aetary. The meutaees of the executive j
committe— Messrs. Davis, Tate and
Clark—were also reelected. F. M.
Scroggs was reelected steward and Mrs.
C. A. Marsh matron. Dr. John Mc i
Campbell was reelected superintend- i
ent at the last quarterly meeting"of the '
board. A slight increase was ordered '
in the salaries of the female attendants
of the hospital.
The report of Superintendent Mc-
Campbell showed that on November j
30 last there were on the rolls of the 1
hospital 567 men and 763 women, a
total of 1.330. For tte four months
ending March 31, 61 patients were
admitted —31 men and 30 women;
died —15 men aad 8 women —and one
man and two women were discharged
Remaining on the rolls Macc-t 31.
582 men and 783 women—a total of
1,365. or a net gun Of 35 in the four
monthfc. There mc actually pnesaot.
in the institution 1,163 483
men and 680 women? out on probation
184 —Bl men and 103 wonfen; absent
by elopment, 18 men. the
past four months 49 were released on
probation—2l men add 28 women—
and of these 18 were returned— 9 men
and 9 women.
President Wibon Makes Plata His
Attitude toward Applications.
Greenboro Daily News.
Washington, D. C., April 11. —
From no less a personage than Presi
dent Woodrow WilsOn himself, it was j
learned this afternoon that President
Wilson will use his own judgement as j
tc whether he will accept the j
mendations of Senators Simmons and
Overman or Secretary of the JJavy Jo
septus Daniels, in the of
"pie" in the state. This wilPfee:more
or less startling news to many North
Carolinians who have pinned their faith
to either one or the Other of the sena
tors or Secretary Danisls.
''Mr. President, there is more or
less apprehension in North Carolina as
to whether you will accept the rec
cofemendations of Senators Simmons
and Overman or Secretary Daniels in
the distribuUon of federal patronage in
North Carolina. Would you care to
give light on the subject?" - was the
quostion asked Mr. Wilson py the
Daily News correspondent this after
noon.
The Presidents reply to this ques
i tion made clear his attitutde in regard
to the distribution of federal patronage
The President will use his own judg
ment in th'se matters, the long fixed
rule whice has been an unwritten law
allowing senators to receommend ap
pointments for federal jobs within the
bounds of their own states will not be
1 followed by Mr. Wilson. In such ca
ses as the President deems proper the
senators' reCcomendation will be ac
cepted, but it was made clear today
that the President does not consder it
j necessary nor will he do so except
j when the man reccommended by sen
ators is the man the President himself
| wants appointed.
ivey that will dertermine in
; each community the value of the
,land planted to the different
crops, the value of the crop after
harvested and the cost of pro
duction, as we'l as the methods
, followed that have proved to be
successful/'
HICKORY, N. C., THURSDAY. APRIL 17,1913
■ *r- A' "
„ WIFE HELPED TO ELECT HUBBY.
j Mrs. Clyde H. Tavenner Was Impor
tant Factor in the Election of her
Husband as Congress&an
By ROBERT F. WILSON.
(Special to The Democrat.)
Washington, April 16. —The
swearing in of Clyde H, Taven
ner of Cordova, Illinois, as the
aepresenta'ive in Congress of
the Fourteenth Illinois District,
was as much of a triumoh for
Mrs. Tavenner as it was .for the
young newspaper man himself.
It is a fact that Mrs. Taven
ner worked as hard in the cam-
I oaign to elect her husband as
| Tavenner did himself. Futher
! more, she knew how to work
[effectively in his interest. Be
, fore her marriage, Mrs. Taven
ner had for three years been
private secretary to Unitfed States
Senator Robert M. LaFollette
of Wisconsin.
Mrs. Tavenner is 21 years old.
Her congressman husband is
31. Tavenner has been a news
paper man at the National
Capitol during the sessions of
Congress for four years, He
knows every member of Con
gress personally, and the fact
that be has been writing an
article a day for four years, has
quite naturally resulted in his
acquiring much valuable and
useful information on the* tariff
and other subjects. Mrs.Tavenner
says her husband is a progress
ive of the LaFollette type, and
Tavenner replies that it is not
necessary for anyone to prove
it, that he admits it.
Senator LaFollette is a Repub
lican, or at least insists that he
is a Republican," says Mr. j .
Tavenner, "while Mr. Tavenner
is a Democrat. Yet so far as I
can make out they seem to take
almost identically the Fame view
points of thebig issues confront
ing the people.
- - 'Of course I wasn't responsi
ble for Mr. Tavenner's election.,
I helped in every way 1» could, I
however. My husband and I
work together in everything. I
can take shorthand dictation
quite rapidly, and can run the
typewriter pretty fast, so you
see, that, together with my ex
perience with Senator LaFollette,
makes it possible for |ne to
make myself pietty useful to
my husband. It is a pleasure
for me to help him. Now that
he is elected, I take jQst as
much interest in which be does
himself, We both appreciate
deeply that the people of' the
Fourteenth District believe in
us and trust us to represent
them faithfully, and we are
working day and night to make
good/'
The oath of office was admin
istered to Tavenner by Speaker
Champ Clark, which in itself is
a rather remarkable coincidence,
in view of the fact that it was
Speaker Clark who first recog
nized Tavenner's ability as a
writer and who has been a
steadfast friend ever since.
To Secure old Law Office of Vance
Ashevillfc, April 13.—The board
of Aldermen of the city, at the
weekly meeting Friday nigh*,
instructed Corporation Counsel
J. Frazier Glenn to take the
proper legal steps in securing a
release from the Smith estate of
thebuilding on Spruce street,
which was used by Zebulon Baird
Vance as his law office. The
heirs of the estate have already
designated their willingness to
give such a release, in order that
the building may become public
property. Steps will also be
taken by Mr. Glenn to have the
people of the city and county co
operate in having it moved to a
point back of the court house,
where it may be used as a
museum or for some historical
p irpose. Such action has been
under consideration for some
time and it seems certain that
the citizens of the county will
see to it that the building is se
cured and properly cared for a*>
public property.
Mr. J. F.-Hosley attended the Ba
raca convention in Charlotte.
COMMENT
A WELL BALANCED BOARD.
The city of Hickory fill itart
out very auspiciously on its first
year under Commission govern
ment, and those who have been
pessimistic will soon become op
timistic. Of the five members
of the new board, three of them
(Q. H. Geitner, J. W, Shnford
and C. C. Boat) are not piy tried
and true business men of the
community, but are also men of
large experience in municipal af
fairs. The other two (Jes. L.
Abernethy J.
while comparatively young men,
at the same time not only have
the confidence of the people but
rank very high aa business men.
- We congratulate the citizens of
Hickory on the selection of such
worthy servants.
THE COMING CITY ELECTION.
The first primary election un
der the new Charter apparently
worked out smoothly and effect
ively. There were, we believe,
petitions signed for two candi
dates for Aldermen from each of
the four wards, as well as two
candidates for Mayor. However,
after the filing of the petitions,
four of the candidates for Aider
men and one of the candidates
for Mayor were withdrawn. leav
ing but one candidate in the field
for each elective office.
| .That there were not more can
didates for office in the primary
was due to the universal desire
on the part of the friends of the
new Charter to have this new
(for Hickory) plan of govern*
ment tried out the first year by
its friends. As a result, they
concluded to concentrate their
istrength on one man for each
elective office. Some qf those
who opposed the new Charter
took a similar view of the situa
tion from their viewport and
agreed to concentrate tueir
strength upon candidates who
were either opposed to or not
actively interested in their sup
port of the new Charter. Both
sides were doing what they had
a legitimate right to do under
the law.
It is reasonable to suppose that
in the future elections no such
feeling will exist. We have such
confidence in the merits of the
new Charter that we believe a
year's trial will convince the
most skeptical that the citizens
of Hickory acted wisely on the
17th of March when they enact
ed a new law for the govern
ment of this city.
OUR NEXT MAYOR.
We want to join with the citi
zens of Hickory in a peon of
praise for their unanimous choice
of Mr. C. H. Geitner for mfcyor
of this city—the first mayor" un
der the Commission form of gov
ernment for Hickory. There
could not have been a wiser
choice, and we are to be congrat
ulated that such a man would as
sume the responsibilities of this
office. "Charlie" Geitner, as he
is affectionately called by almost
everyone in Hickory, possesses
the rare qualification* of sterling
| integrity, honesty, unexcelled
business ability, a broadminded
ness that takes in all sides of a
question, and at the same time
is wonderfully charitable in his
estimate of others. With such a
man at the helm of the new
charter crpft, we can all look for
plain sailing.
FREIGHT RATE ADJUSTMENT.
The manufacturers and mer
chants of this section are vitally
interested in securing an adjust
ment of freight rates that will
give our shippers an equal advan
tage with those of other points,
and it looks as if we were in a
fair way to get our just dues.
One of the most important con
ferences ever held in the State
was that of April llth, at Char
lotte. There were present at
this meeting, Gov. Craig, the
Freight Rate Commission, of
which our honored citizen. Judge
I W. B. Councill is a member, and
a number of noted rate experts,
Judge Council! gave a clear ex
position of the determination and
plans of the Commission with re
ference to adjustments, aud so
licited the co-operation and as
sistance of 1 all shippers and good
citizens generally. The expres
sions of all the speakers were in
no uncertain terms, and as a re
sult of that meeting our shippers
may be very hopeful of good re
sults. When the Chamber of
Commerce had a rate expert here
last fall, he estimated chat a re
duction of one cent a hundred
would mean a saving of $4O a day
to Hickory shippers.
The interview we carry this
week with Mr. Johnson, of the
TJ. S. Department of Agriculture,
contains much food for thought.
The question of more economic
production of farm products is
one that has occupied the best
thought of some of the best thin
kers for years.
Mr. Johnson stated to the wri
ter that the average acre of cot
ton in North Carolina produces
$33*00; small grain is worth less
than $lO,OO per acre, corn $17.00
and bay $21.00. If the small
grain acreage was sown to hay
or other forage crops after thf
small grain is harvested, the val
ue of the. small grain acreage
would be increased from $lO.OO
to $31.00. We hope our farmer
readers will take notice of these
things.
Hit Social Circles
The Hickory Book Club met
April 9 with Miss Wheeler, Mrs
J. A. Martin, the Vice-President,
presided in the absence of the
President Mrs. H. C. Menzies.
A very pleasant hour was passed
in the exchange of books and
varied opinions of the same, and
also in reviewing events of the
world-wide fame with those of
home interest Delightful re
freshments were served inform
ally before adjourning to meet
next with Mrs. G. H. Geitner
April 23.
April 10. the last meeting of
the Travellers' Club for the year
1912-13. was held at the home of
Mrs. A. B, Hutton. Quotations
were given from "Portraits" in
Tennyson's poems. Mrs. K. C.
Menzies opened the program
with a delightfui article on "The
Idylls of the King," followed by
Mrs. W. B. Menzies poetic pre
sentation of '"A Dream of Fair
Women." Mrs. E. B. Ciine read
the last part of "The May
Queen." In conclusion Mes
dames Murphy, Chadwick, W. L.
Abernethy and J. Cilley sang a
cape!la, "Sweet and Low" and
"Crossing the Bar," The
elected for next year were Miss'
Geitner, president; Mrs. W. B.
Mebzies. first vice-president; Mrs.
E.B. Cline, second vice-presi
dent; Mrs. Chadwick, secretarv;
ani.Miss A. McComb, treasurer.
Refreshments in courses were
served before adjourning.
■■■ ■ 1 1 ■ %
The Thursday Study Club met Apr.
10th, with Mrs. Joe Abernethy. In
spite of the cold and rain, ten mem
bers and Mrs. Rnssell and Mrs. Super
as visitors, were present. Mrs. Roy
Abernethy gave an interesting account
of Women in World Wide Missions;
Mrs. Blackburn told of the Late Em
press of Austria, and Mrs. L. R,
Whitener of Ineen Wilhelmina of
Holland.
Conent events were discussed. Of
ficers for next year were elected as fol
lows, President, Mrs. C. C. Bost,
Vice President, Mrs. Roy Abernethy;
Secretary and Treasurer, Mrs. T. C.
Blackburn.
A delicious luncheon was served.
The next meeting will be with Mrs.
F. B. Ingold.
W. J. Harris to Succeed E. D. Durant
' President Wilson, nominated W. J.
Harris, Democratic state chairman of
Georgia, lo be director of the census.
Many minor nominations, including
several land office appointments, will
be sent to the senate tomorrow. As
the state department has not yet re
ceived formal answer from Great Brit
ain as to the acceptability of Walter 9.
Page for ambassador to the court of St. {
James that nomination probably will]
not be made until next week.
Democrat and Press, Consolidated 1905
NEWS BREVITIES.
Short Items of News Condensed
for Busy Readers.
The conference on marketing
and tarm credits held in Chicago
last week appointed a committee
to go to Washington to lay be
fore the president, the need of
the establishment by the govern
ment of a bureau for a thorough
study of crop and market con
ditions. They ask that one
million dollars be appropriated
for this purpose. They also
urge the need of loans from the
government direct to farmers.
J. P. Caldwell, a merchant of
Spencer filed a petition in volun
tary bankruptcy last week,
The farm demonstration com
missioner has in mind a plan
that if put into practice as he is
planning to do this fall will mean
much for the farmers of the
county. His idea now is to start
a farm caravan through the
county conducted on the same
plan as the agricultural can car
ried over the railroads. A num
ber of prominent speakers will
accompany the outfit wnich will
consist of all the different farm
products grown in the county,
several of the best breeds of live
stock, the different kinds of boils
and anything that can be used
towards illustrating advanced
ideas in farming. —Catawba
County News.
Sheriff Deaton and police of
ficer Kerr have made a neat cap
ture. The officers caught L.
Goodnight retailing liquor and
now he is held in 1250 bond for
trial at superior court.
The officers have had an eye
on the accused. The sheriff was
concealed in one building and the
policeman in another where they
had a view of the rear of the
Coco-Cola works. There they got
the evidence, they state, against -
their man sad arrested him. He
was held by the mayor's court.
The county commissioners at
their meeting Tuesday let the
contract for the new County
Home building at Barium. The
Solomon Construction company
of Cnarlotte is the successful
bidder at $27,800. Statesville
Sentinel.
Common Sense About Flies.
Don't waste your time swat
ting flies this summer unless
vou have your house well screen
ed. Fly swatters are a refine
ment to be used only in houses
or rooms where all the doors and
windows are screened. F1 y
swatters are merely a finishing
process—a matter of refinement,
if you please—to be used in a
well screened room or house
where there are perhaps never
javer a dozen flies. By means of
fly swatters you can lay low the
last fly in a room, but if the
room if not well screened you
well blow against the
wind 4s to try to keep all the
flies out by Bwatting.
The first thing to do, there
fore; is to put up fly screens.
Don't put it off to another week
or another month. Do it now,
get the benefit of screens all
spring, summer and fall. Screens
dc not need to be expensive to
be effective. In fact, in many
instances a window can be
screened perfectly with mosquito
netting for 15 cents, while a 35-
cent ill-fitting extension screen
will Jet the flies come in bv the
hundreds.
For kitchen windows, where
it is rarely necessary to open or
close the shutters, there is no
better way of screening than by
means of mosquito netting tack
ed to the outside of the window
frame. Mosquito netting will*
usually last an entire season,
and it does not interfere in the
least with raising or lowering
the windows, or with the inside
shades or blinds. Of course, if
you have the money, there is no
objection to getting made-to
order screens to fit all the
windows, but they will cost
from $l.OO to $1.50 apiece,
against 15 cents for the mosquito
netting,—North Carolina State
Board of Health,
COMPLETING MODERN PLANT.
Southern Railway to Provide Im
proved Facilities for Handling
Live Stock.
Spencer, N. C., April 11,—To
provide improved facilities for
properly handling the arrowing
| movement of live stock to East
j era and Virginia markets from
| the Southeastern states, the
I Southern Railway is now com
| pleting a modern plant for rest
; ing and feeding stock on proper-
Ity adjoining the Spencer yards,
i The plant consists of 33 pens,
20 of which are covered. All
pens and alleys are paved with
one foot of cinders and are lo
cated on a gentle slope, provid
ing natural drainage. Each pen
is provided with water trough
and feed rack, and the entire
plant is electrically lighted. Nine
pens are set apart for cattle
from quarantined area and are
separated from the others by a
solid board wall ten feet high.
As all cattle are unloaded at
Spencer for feed and rest, this
convenient plant will prove an
important facility for stock
growers.
The construction of this plant
is in line with the Southern
Railway Company's policy of
making every possible effort to
aid the live stock industry in the
territory along its lines, in ac
cordance with which it has pro
vided special train service for
live stock from points where
snfficient business is offered and
through its Live Stock Depart
ment is endeavoring to interest
farmers, to disseminate helpful
information; and to contribtte in
every proper manner to the up
building of the industry.
Railway Bridge is Destroyed by Fire.
Asheville, April 13.—Traffic on
the Murphy division of the Sou
thern railway was hampered Sat
urday because of the loss of a
bridge which spans the Nanta -
hala river. The bridge is west
of Bryson City, and information
was received at that point Sat
urday morning to the effect that
it had been burned during the
night. Trains were run from
each end of the line and passen
gers were transferred at the
crossing. going over a temporary
structure. Workmen are rebuild
ing the bridge and it is thought
that the line will be cleared by
this morning.
Division Passenger Agent
James H. Wood stated that the
time of the burning of the bridge
had not been learned nor had the
cause of the fire been ascertain
ed . The bridge which was de
stroyed was about twenty feet
long. It was at the second cross
ing of the Nantahala,
This haa been the "Jonah*'
year of the Murphy division,
Overflowing mountain streams
have caused serious losses on this
division, and the Southern has
been put to a great expense
within the past few months in
maintaining a schedule over the
line. '
Anniversary of the Philaethlean and
Eumenean Literary Societies of
Lenoir College.
! The two literary societies of
young women held their joint
anniversary on Monday evening,
April 7th.
The attendance was unusually
large and the exercises very good
and highly enjoyable. Numbers
deserving special mention were
"American Women of To-day"
by Miss Lena Moose; "An unin
vited Member" by eleven voung
women; Vocal Solo, "In a Ham
mock" by Miss Pearl Miller; and
"Molly" and "Everything's the
Matter,, by Miss Elizabeth Line
berger.
The Pantomime, "Ode to Pas
sion, '' by nine young women was
exceptionally good. Many said
they had never seen mere artis
tic work of Jthe kind.
Mr. John F. Setzer who has been in
Florid* for a number of years has re
turned to this city and will make his
home here.
Edgar Lytle was a delegate to the
Baraea convention in Charlotte Sun
day.