Vol. V.
LINCOLNTON. N. C. TUESDAY. SEPTEMBER 5. 1911.
No. 71
ORIGIN OF "MARK TWAIN."
Smuel L. Clemens Quoted as Saying
That He Inherited the Name.
New York Sun.
The familiar story of the origin
of Samuel L. Clemens use, of the
n; me Mark Twain is now declared
to be incorrect It pictures ,CIem.
e: 3 as a Mississippi " river pilot,
listening to the men . heaving the
lc id at the bow of a river boat and
sieging out, "By the mark, three;
by the mark, twain." Tab, leant
Clemens smites ' his ' brow; ' and
soliloquizes: "There is my nom de
plume." '' '
It is true that tthe name origi
ns ted with the Dicturesaae crv of
tie mau with the lead J but a mini
other than Mr. Clemens first dis
covered the picturesqueness.
That man was Capt. Isaiah Sellers,
who furnished river news for The
New Orleans Picayune.. To Prof,
William Lyon Phelps of Yale
Mr. Clemens confessed that it was
from Sellers he got his name.
Prof. Phelps'- story is quoted in
Professor Henderson 's ' 'Mark
Twain."
According to this book Mr.
Clemens said to Professor Phelps:
"Captain Sellers used to sign his
articles in The Picayune - 'Mark
Twain.' He died in 1863 I liked
the name and stole it; I think I
have done him ' no wrong, for I
seem to have made his name some
what generally known."
Professor Henderson records a
number of interesting incidents
connected with the use of this
name. For a while, when he was
a miner in Nevada, Mr. Clemens
sent to the. Virginia City , Enter
prise humorous letters . signed not
"Mark Twain" but "Josh."
When he became a regular re
porter on that paper and reported
the Legislature he signed his re
ports "Mark Twain. " ;, When
questioned as to his use of this
name Mr. Clemens declared: "I
chose my pseudonym- because to
most persons it had no meaning
and also because it was short.'. I
was a reporter in the .Legislature
time. It was much shorter to say
in their debates Mark Twain?
than to say "The unprincipled
and trying parliamentary reported
of The Territorial Enterprise!"
Mr. Clemens made the name
known on the Pacific coast, but
the world at large did not hear it
for years after the "Jumping
Frog," reprinted in hundreds of
exchanges without credit, had
jumped into such notoriety as is
rarely accorded , well-mannered
frogs. In fact, it's first use in any
Eastern magazine was a fiasco.
Mr. Clemens made a great scoop
on the Hornet disaster ; when he
was writing up the Hawaiian
islands, in 1866, - says Professor
Henderson. His account of the
disaster Mark sent to Harper's
Magazine, where it appeared in
December 1866. But alas! it was
not as "Mark Twain," not as a
drawling lovable river pilot sort
of person that the world beheld
the new author. For he had not
written his new pseudonym plain
ly, on his copy, and Harper's
cheerfully introduced him to fame
as "Mike Swain." -
How To Call On The fcditor.
Advance to the inner door and
give three raps. The devil - will
attend to the alarm. You will give
your name, postoffice address, and
number of years you owe for the
paper. You will be admitted to
the sanctum and will advance to
the center of the room, where you
will address the editor with the
following countersign:. 1 After lay
ing a watermelon on the floor, hold
the right hand about two feet from
the body with the thumb and
fingers clasping a ten , dollar bill,
which you will drop into . the
editor's hand, saying: "Were you
waiting for met" Theeditor will
grasp your hand and the bill press
ing it, and will say, "You bet!"-
Exchange.. r. . , v . ,
Mr. W. F. Woodard brought a
branch loaded with persimmons to
The News office Saturday. , It was
one of the largest clusters of
"simmons" we have ever seen.
Mr. Woodward l stated to The
News man that the tree was load
el down with just such clusters
as he brought to the office. He
says this is a sure sign that we
will have' an unusually; severe
winter. Mrs. Woodward accom
panied her husband to the city to
do some Shopping.
3,CC3 WEBBSALL DEMOCRATS.
Big Missouri Family Keepi All It Mem
ber In The Party.
From, the New York Prea.
'' The reason there are more Demo
crats in and around St Louis than
near some other big Western towns
has just .been discovered. There's
a woman behind it! When Mrs.
Rebecca Webb' of East St
Louis, whose son. is the City
Attorney there, gathered her clan
around her at a big .family reunion
a few days ago a Republican poli
tician, would have thought a Demo
cratic mass-meeting was going on
and 1 that, the women present, if
they could vote, were going to
learn how toa. mark" their ballots.
There were 3,000 Webbs there and
half of them voters. "But the
best part of it," said Mrs. Webb,
"is that they're - all Democrats,
and if the women folks could vote
there would be more Democratic
officeholders hereabouts." Mrs.
Webb, although 70 years old, is a
pretty lively old lady, and she
measures time by the Webb
reunions, which she began 19
years ago and has arranged every
year since. She is the mother of
six boys and six girls and her
grand-children never fail to regis
ter in the primaries and to put
their "Xs" beside the names of
the candidates that are followed by
a"D." That is, no backslider
has been discovered, and if he
were it would go hard with him,
because the Webbs insist on party
unity.
Another One Nailed.
The Union Republican, in its
extremity to seize upon something
for which to criticize the work of
the Democratic legislature, makes
a great ado about the law which'
relates to .furnishing medical
schools the ? unclaimed bodies of
paupers.. The Republican admits
that "this exempts the bodies of
Confederate soldiers, inmates of
thj State hospitals and State
schools, bodies of travelers or
strangers who died suddenly, or
inmates of a county home," and
notwithstanding this admission
criticises the law with almost
frantic vigor. The Republican
knows that there is nut one pauper
in a thousand who is not included
in one of the above classes, and
that even if he is not his body
cannot be turned over to a medical
school if it is claimed by a relative
within thirty-six hours after death.
The Republican is mistaken in
saying that The Tribune is "try
ing to explain away this law." It
needs no explaining away, and the
only thing we sought to do was to
publish it as it is and correct a.
false impression that has been
sent out about it When the peo
ple know the law they will realize
that there is nothing in it to criti
cise with the exception of a few
Republican editors who must have
something to howl about Con
cord Times.'
LINCOLNTON WATER ANALYSIS.
Laboratory No. B. 4011. Sent by
W. L. Kistler, Superintendent of
Water Works. Location, Lincoln
ton. Source, Tap. Marked Au
gust Received August 28, 1911.
Reported August SO," 1911. Odor,
hot, none;; Alkalinity, (in terms
of Calcium carbonate), 27.5; chlo
rine 8; nitrogen as ,nitrates, 0.08;
nitrogen as nitrites none: free
Ammonia, .018; Albuminoid Am
monia, .026; temporary hardness,
27.5; Colon bacilli in 1 c. C, none;
Colon , bacilli in 10 c. a, none;
total number of bacteria per c. c.
13. No pollution. ,
v " C. A. Shore, ,
' Director.
Government Give Cotton Report.
Washington, Sept 1. A total
production of 12,918,200 bales of
cotton as the final yield, this year
is indicated by the Department of
Agriculture's- official report of the
condition of the growing crop on
August 25, which the crop report
ing board, from reports, from its
correspondents and agents through
out the Cotton belt,, estimated to
day at 73.2 per cent of a normal.
Mr. B. O. Thompson . will leave
tomorrow for Willington'. 8. C,
where he has accepted a position
as principal of the school at that
nlace. Mrs. Thomoson will ioiu
him there some time next month. '
ilJ'.
c
5
Heroic treatment for a corn, widen has no right to be on the
human toe, is to open your handy old corn razor and cut it out '
" ' There are bad habits and practices which people ought to cut out,
though no razor is needed for the, amputating process. " For instance,
it is a bad practice to get in the habit of buying things through Mail
Order concerns when you can buy to better advantage the mutual
advantage of yourself and your neighbor at the stores in your own
town. ' .
If you have acquired this habit take tha Razor of Resolution, hone
it on the hone of Mutual Interests, strop it on the strop of Town Im
provement and
CUT IT OUT!
LOCAL AND PERSONAL.
' Miss Linda Ward and Messrs.
Jack and Bruce Lander returned
Friday from Plumtree, N, C.
Mrs. Saine's private school will
Open Monday Sept. the 18th;
hours from 9 to 1. l-5t
-Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Jenkins
arrived in the city . Saturday and
are the guests of Mrs. Alice
Lander:
Mr. D. W, Dellinger one of the
enterprising citizens of Iron Sta
tion spent yesterday in Lincolnton
on business.
Mr. James Widemm of Due
Wpst. S. C. is SDendinz a few
days in the city, the guest of
I'rof. 13. .F. uaiaweu.
Mr. A. M. Hoke accompanied
by little Misses Elizabeth Hoke
and Roberta Love spent several
days of last week in Atlanta, Ga.
Lightning struck a tree yester
day afternoon in the grove near
Mr. J. L. Lineberger's residence
and shocked Mr. J. S. Stallings
and child so severely that both
were rendered unconscious for a
few minutes.
The Lincoln Milling Co., ginned
its first bale of the season on last
Saturday." The fleecy staple be
longed to Mr. R. D. Hauss. i ne
Lincoln Milling ' Co., bought the
bale paying 11J cents per pound
for it.
Ticket sales at the Union pass
enger station was a record-breaker
during August. The - sales for
this month amounted to $3,038.52.
City . Passenger Agent Chitty in
forms us that that this is the best
month, since the consolidation of
the stations, .
' Mr. M. Luther Fineer purchased
a John Deere sulkey plow from Mr.
R. M. Roseman on Farmers' Day
that will plow sixteen inches deep
if necessary The plow was
delivered on last Saturday and
created no little interest , on the
part of the bystanders. Mr.
Finger also purchased a corn cut
ter that cuts two rows at a time.
The Western farmer hasn't any
thing on the Lincoln citizen in the
way of up-to date farming.
OldSoldier Visit Lincolnton.
i Mr. Thomas - Parkins and wife
and daughter of Houston, .Texas,
are spending f a few; days here,
guests at the - home of Mr.' and
Mrs. J. H. Lineberger. Mr. Par
kins, having been paroled at Ap
pomattox, visited Lincolnton with
a number of comrades in , 1865.
Although the town was under
martial rule at that time, the
ladies were undaunted and waved
their handkerchiefs to them as
they passed through the J streets.
Before their return to Texas on
the. first of November, Mr. Par
Was and his family will, visit rel
atives in Catawba county1 and at
Liberty, S. C.
if
say
WIRELESS OPERATOR A HERO.
Climbed Rigging of Wrecked Vessel at
, Risk of His Life and Sent Call for Help.
Charleston, S. C, Dispatch Aug ijO
Passengers on the ill ' , fated
steamer Lexington, which was
beached on Edisto Island during
the hurricane Monday afternoon,
lived ten years in the space of 24
hours with the ship almost entire
ly submerged time and again
while driven before the gale. This
was the statement made by some
of those taken from the ship by
the revenue cutter Yamacraw.
This afternoon the passengers
were given the privilege of pro
ceeding to Savaunah by rail and
there taking passage for Phila
delphia, but with the horrors of
their recent experience fresh in
mind, they promptly declined the
offer. .: :
Lack of power to resist the gale
caused the Lexington to be beach
ed. With five feet of water in the
engine room, every pound of steam
that could be raised was used to
man the pumps and keep the ship
afloat' .
With the boat under water
Stewart Berlinger managed to
cook food for the passengers and
creeping on hands and feet served
it to them in the cabin where they
were unable to move through fear
of being washed overboard.
But for the heroism of wireless
Operator Sheetz there would have
been no chance of rescue. After
the storm had wrecked the wire
less station, Sheetz climbed iuto
the rigging and adjusted his in
struments, flashing the calls for
immediate assistance. The signals
were caught by : the . Yamacraw,
which hastened to Hunting Island.
Sheetz, a 16 year old boy, was in
imminent peril of his life, while
operating the wireless, the wind
almost tearing him from his inse
cure position. The lad was utter
ly exhausted by his desperate
work.
Passengers incessantly prayed for
abatement of the storm and when
the government steamer hove into
sight a mighty cry of relief went
up from the sorely stricken peo
ple on the Lexington. When - the
captain realized the danger of the
liner's breaking up at any minute,
he had life preservers strapped on
every passenger. ,
$100 Dollars, $100.
The readers of this paper will be pleased to
learn that there la at least one disease that
science has been able to cure In all its Stages,
and that Is Catarrh. Hall's Catarrh Cure Is
the only positive cure now known to the
medical fraternity. Catarrh being a constitu
tional treatment Ball's iCatarib Cure Is
taken Internally, acting directly upon the
blood and mucous surfaces of the system,
thereby destroying the foundation of the dis
ease, and giving the patient strength by build
ing up the constitution and assisting nature in
doing its work. The proprietors hare so much
faith lu its ouratWe powers that they offer One
Hundred Dollars for any case tha t It fails to
cure. Send for list of testlmonlats. i
Address F. J. CHENEY & CO., Toledo, O.a
Sold by Druggists, 76c.
Take Hall's Family Pills for constipation.
CITY FATHERS HOLD
MONTHLY MEETING.
Mr; Frank Wdmack Tender Resigna
tion Which i Accepted Mr. Summey
Elected to Fill the Vacancy Boutins
. Business.
The regular monthly meeting of
the city fathers was held on last
Friday, niarht ; All members ;- of
the board and mayor were present
The minutes of past meetings were
read by the clerk and adopted.
The Finance Committee made re
port of settlement with Tax t Col
lector H. A. Self for the months
of June and, July. Only a few
releases on water and light taxes
were asked for. Mr. H. S. Robin
son a member of the finance com
mittee stated that the report was
an unusually good one, as did also
Mayor Simmons.
Mr. John M. Rhodes, on behalf
of the citizens of Rhodes' village,
appeared before the , board and re
quested that the town place lights
to the number of six in this im
mediate vicinity. It developed
in the discussion that the city
plant would only stand five more
arc lights unless a new regulator
and arc transformer was erected
which would cost in the neighbor
hood of $500. The board felt
very kindly toward Mr. Rhode's
request and ordered that the light
committee confer with him and
erect not less than six or more
than twelve 50-candle power lights
at the places desired.
Mrs. S. H. Hopkins appeared
before the board and ' requested
that she be allowed to connect
three of her tenenent houses with
the water system without the
expense of meters. The board
granted this request and ordered
Mr. Eistler to attend to the matter..-
j',' ' :
Superintendent of Water Works
W, L. Kistler stated to the board
that something ought to be done
relative to fixing a place for the
hose reels. ... Several of the old
sheds now in use are in bad con
dition, leaky and otherwise and will
result in damaging the fire hose.
The proper committee was in
structed to look into the matter
right away ; and erect suitable
buildings or sheds. It was also
suggested that the committee con
fer with the fire company relative
to the different parts of the town
that the different reels are to be
stationed.
The matter of renting the town
farm out next year was disposed
of. There were two bidders viz:
Messrs. O. A. Costner and Will
Campbell. The leasing of the
farm was awarded to Mr. Camp
bell for the sum of $60.
Next on the program was the
election of a successor to Mr. F.
P. Womack, night policeman,
whose resignation was tendered
and accepted. The board went
iuto executive session to act on
this matter. There were five ap
plicants, viz: Messrs. L. G.
Kellv. J. S. Hallman. K. M. Ram-
saur, A. L. - Senter and Sheridan ;
V I '
Summey. Mr. Summey was elect
ed by a small margin.
The matter of bids for street
paving was laid over until a future
meeting which - will - probably be
held this week or the first part of
next. The usual routine matters
were taken up and disposed of.
Enjoyable Party In Honor of Visitor.
On last, Friday evening many of
the young people of Lincolnton
drove out to the hospitable home
of Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Sumner
about a mile and a half east of
town. There they were delightfully
entertained at a party given in
honor of their guests, Miss Mary
Bruner and Mr. Whitehead
McKenzie of Salisbury. During
the evening refreshing ices and
cake were served.
lerry
Moore May Well
Laurel.'"
Look to fils
McColl, S. C, Aug. 81. Jerry
Moore may well look to his laurels.
Last week Mr. Harvey Wright
exhibited an ear of corn 12 inches
in length and yesterday Mr. Felix
Stanton, a planter from the Red
Bluff section, brought to McColl a
cornstalk measuring 16 feet and
2 1-4 inches in length.
Lightning struck a tree in Freed
mon Sunday afternoon and
glanced, striking a water bucket
which was carried by Ocie Ashe,
colored. The stroke stunned the
icoiuieu wumttu auu sum tier
-i j j . I., i
thumb.
CULTIVATE1E0W LEGS.
Related Commendation' of Their Archi
tectural Beauty Attorney Self Carrie
Oft the Honors.
Hickory Democrat.
In the August inumber of The,
Budget, a Baltimore insurance
paper, appeared the following
bright paragraph, full of cdmfort'
to a large part of the human raceJ
; ; , "bow legs,"
: Bow legs are trustworthy. They
embody the architectural principle
of the arch, which is stronger than
two strait pillars. The tortoise
who finished first in that mem;
orable marathon with the hare,
the bulldog, who whatever the
odds will finish first or die, both,
belong to the bow ' legs. The im
portant thing, however, is a bow
legged mind. A mind that always
moves in straight lines is splendid
for speed in level places, but life
is not a cider path. Human prog
ress is due to men of bowlegged
mentality, the Roosevelt type,
men like Lincoln, or Voltaire, for
though these names belong to
characters essentially unlike, the
character of their growth Bhows
the kinship of their minds. Each
at various times in his life was
labelled a failure, for each came to
understand that in . human devel
opment the shortest distance be-
f.wPAn r.wn nmna ia talHnm a
staight line, so they took a bow
legged gait, learning Xo sacrifice
immediate speed in order to gain
the advantage of a side view. At
to be going oft at a tangent, yet,
never stopping, always growing, .,
they steadily zigzagged ahead.
Cultivate bow legs.
. . As nnA nf r.Vio Vnm fnrfarl ami
brilliant attorney, Mr. W. A. Self,
wrote the following reply under
date of Aug. 1:
Maryland Casualty Co.,
Baltimore, Md.
Gentlemen: To the champion
of Bow Legs (August Budget),
whoever he or she may be, I bow
and lift my hat I have used a
pair all my life; have never at
tempted to exchange, being con
vinced that there is no substitute
"Just as good;" yet, I have not
had the courage to proclaim their
superlative architectural and
artistic merits to this perverse
and wolefully non-aesthetic gen
eration. Hence this obeisance.
As to the concluding command
I assume that we are not to lose
sight of the scriptural admonition,
"Let your moderation be known
unto all men," which, being in
terpreted, meaneth, "Have regard
for the rule of reason."
Very truly yours,
W. A. Self.
In reply he received the follow
ing from the editor of the Budget
dated Aug. 2:
Dear Mr. Self : In the matter
of bow legs I yield- first place to
you, for while I have but one bow
leg the other being indefinitely
wavy, you are bow legs its Self,
and of Hickory at that. Hence I
feel that the propaganda begun by
publishing the war cry. "Culti
vate Bow Legs, " is really your
work, and to you I surrender the
honor of organizing the first chap
ter of the Brotherhood of Human
Calipers.
Clarence Stone,
Editor The Budget .
Drought Affected Cow' Hide.
Mooresvillo Enterprlze.
Mr. W. L. Alexander, familiarly
known about town as "Bill" Alex
ander, who lives southeast of town,
was in Mooresville last Friday.
In talking to The Enterprize man,
he stated that nearly everything
in his community had dried up on
account of the continued drought.
One of his neighbor's cows had
given him much concern by get
ting into his late corn patch, and
several days ago he said he took
his gun and shot the animal three
times. The cow's hide was so
parched and dry that the bullet
glazed off without making a
puncture.
Shuiord President N. C. Farmers,
Special to The Charlotte News.
Raleigh, Aug. 31 W. J. Shu
ford of Hickory was elected today
president of the North Carolina
Farmers' convention which closed
its annual session it the A. & M.
College. There was also the re
electiot of I. O. Schaub as secre
tary. The attendance has been
about 300.