C Cooper, raahier, and 0|>
UnWir, an aiHewuhile dealer. am at
liberty today miliar honda from »1,000
to tit,000 following their i
of einapk—f U\
ck the
hi the
af
U.
of '
the Cooper*
rested and tiled for their I
the affair* of the defunct'
bank has been a subject of i
cummmi amonir the people of Wilming
ton for mm little time.
Sentiment in the leaport city seems
to have bean almoat unanimous that
the Coopers should be made to ex
plain certain facta about the bonk,
and many Wilmingtonlana hare been
outspoken In declaring the Coopers
should be indicted and triad.
The failure of the Cooper bank and {
many other smaller institutions
emed by it was one of the hardest I
Mow* Wilmington ever sustained. The |
popular estimate In and around Wil
mington ia that the crash of the Coop
er bank coat that city not laaa than
$*.000,000 and did great injury
the section'! rreadit.
Too MMk atov
miaiad Wans are the canan Wilming
ton in general attributes as having
been responsible for the bank's crash.
The Commercial National bank waa
closed on December 30, 1921, after an
examination by National Bank Ex
aminer William P. Folger, who took]
charge.
SAYS COOPER VICTIM RE- |
PUBLICAN INTRIGUE
Mlamay, •f Wilming
ton, Lays HU Indictment to
Political and Personal Preju
dice
llkifh, Knf. 18.—Lieutenant Gov
ernor W. B. Cooper, under indictment
hi tho federal courts for conspiracy
in the wrecking of the Wilmington
Commercal National bank, is the vic
tim of pononal and political preju
dice, in the view of Senator Emmet t
H. Bellamy, who iaaaed today a state
ment attacking Republican officehold
er*, charging that political intrigue
It back of the arrests.
Senator Bellamy eitea ths fact that
Governor Cooper is only one of the
board of directors who approved a
bad loan In the beak, hot none of the
directors working with him has been
"If W. B. Cooper, is guilty, so abo
Is every banker and G. O. P. office
holder in charge of bank affairs,"
says Mr. Bellamy.
In a statement given ont today
ths indictment by the department of
jostiee< agents, is ia his opinion, "the
result of collusion between certain Be,
publican leaders, the porpoee of which
is to embarrass the Democratic par
ty in North Carolina. If Lieutenant
Governor Cooper has committed any
criminal act, then the board of direct
ors of every banking institution in
the state of North Carolina ia guilty |
of having committed a criminal act,
as the only thing he did was to ap-l
prove a loan which has subsequently |
proved bad, and from reliable soero
he has been im formed the bank hi
ample collateral ultimately to' make j
the loan good.
"The Coaunercial National bank, |
of which Mr. Cooper was one of the,
directors at the time of tHe failure,
was closed by order of the comptroller,
of currency on or about Jantaary R,
IMS, and since that time the hank's
affairs have been in dm hands of the
drada af telegrama and Mm af sym
nature af Mm chmgaa, he Ana net In
tend to reeign."
Raieigh, At«. 1».—The taak at
transcribing wilt* and other old do
cuments, mm of thaw naarly two
centuries old, ia a taak now consuming
much at the time of tha secretaries
in tha effice of W. N. Everett, w
retary of atata. but a taak not alto
gether devoid of Interset, It bain*
something that reflects interestingly
on tha euatoMa, life, thought and ra
ligioua temperament of tha narly ta
hahitanta of tha atate.
Two willa made by Joaeph Ball, af
Cateret county in 1726 and 1744 traaa
cribed this weak attracted orach in
taraat on the part of employes in tha
office In apite of the hoars of tedioua
work they spent in making tha trmna
criptiona.
Both wills abound in mlaapallad
words and grammatical errors, but
rhetorically they are forceful and as
preaaive. Although new typewritten
copies hare bean made, the original
manuacripta will be preserved in the
state's archivea. They now are al
most illegible, tha ink having faded
and the parchment having browned
with age. They were raad with the
aid of a magnifying glasa.
In point af phraaeology and reli
gioua expression, the will drawn in
1744 ia the moat interesting. It fol
lows in part:
"In the name of God, Amen, this
12th day of March 1744. T Joseph
Bell of Cart rite county in North Caro
lina Planter be very sick and weak
is Body bat is peTfeet mind and mem
ory thanks be given onto God.
"Therefor* Calling onto miad the
mortality ef my Body and knowing
that It ■ appointed for all mm one? (*>
dye wtarud ordain 1Mb ary last
will and Testament that is to say
principally and f'rrst of all I five and
recommend my Soul into the hand of
God that rave it and I recommend
my Body to the Earth to be buried in
decent Christian burial at the discre
tion of my executors nothing doubt-'
mjr but at The General Ressurection
I shall receive the same again by The
Mighty power of God and as touching
Such Wordly estate wherewith it hath
pleased God to blessed me in this life
I give demise and dleposes of same in
following manner and form.
In the first will Joseph Bell be
queathed various pieces of property,
real and personal, to his wife/Martha
Bell, and to four children, but in the
second will he named his wife as the
principal heir and designated that it
tor her death the property should go
to a son, not naming any of the three
other children aa heirs. It was not
stated whether they had died or for
what reason they were not mentioned
in the will.
The will was signed "Joseph Bell."
The nsme "Thomas Harrill," who
was a witness, was affixed beneath
with the marks of Raichel Booth and
Martha Booth, also witnesses. It was
certified by Geo. Bead, clerk at court.
Well Diggers at Shelby Strike
Strata of Gold
Shelby, August, 1Z.—City aldermen
and county commMawrs seem to
have started something when they
decided to have a deep well drilled
on the court square, for gold, real
gold, has been found in the herd gran
ite rock which the well diggers' hit
Is slowly passing. What will he the
result is a matter of question.
About 60 feet the drill went before
rock was struck and a little over 400
feet has been gene in solid granite.
About 10 feet in the granite and the
people who were around the drilling
outfit noticed that when the water
and muck were pumped out there
arere numerous quantities of yellow
sand interspersed with the particle*
of blue granite. Ifeere was much
discussion, but nobody seemed to take
the matter seriously. However, T. W.
Hamrick, jeweler and member of the
board of aldermen, decided to satisfy
his own mind. He took s handful of
the muck over to hie store and tested
it. Geld, he says it is, and his repu
tation as a jeweler, coupled with Ms
known conservative mind, stopped all
There Is not geld ie any trsmswdeue
quantities, thinks Mr. Hamrick. feut
the* rock is easily eenegh to justify
tie belief that sum is hen nearby
then Is faid Ie is^-Hsl quantities.
Tin trial of the GwwtU «M K*lt
ed Al|nt 9 by the fctlilw of Judge
White, prsaiding muUinlnf the mo
tion of the state far a mistrial be
cause of dtaqualtf ication of thrse par
sons by statomenta they wrr* alleged
to have mada before the trial
CnlHaatioa of Lm( Wrangle
The killing of the In. Mr. Nm
wan only on* eruption of the internal
fever of quarrels, goasip and recrim
ination that has bean raging in Cum
berland county, though it ia the moat
serious ao far Heretofore moat of the
f| 1+4 m mm— t, — a ■■■ ■ , mm A. I a - ^ —
Qlliaiviiuva nrlWWTl Iflc IATUOTII nS'r
coma to the surface in arguments, or
in fiirhta in which no one wan killed.
The firat automobile that came to
Cumberland, year* ago. started a train
of feuda that have never died oat.
It wne driven by Dr. Carter Weiaiger.
Robert Garrett waa at work in a field
on a reaper when the doctor drove up
in hia new ear. Aa ia the way of new
cara with new driven, the automo
bile, with a whole field to chooae from,
headed for the one object it needed to
avoid, and there waa a collision fol
lowed by hot worda. When both men
had relieved their minds the trouble
apparently waa over, bat it ia be
lieved to have been the starting point
for many things that happened after
ward.
Shortly after the automobile inci
dent the Garretta had a fight with
four men. The fight took place on
one of the highways in Cumberland
county, and waa aettled with no other
weapons than their fiats, bat next day
in front of the office of the dark erf
the court, the fight waa renew** and
in this battle Charley Carson waa shot
in the back. Robert Garrett waa ac
cused of doing the ahooting, and was
tried before Judge George J. Hund
ley and acquitted. Garrett claimed
the shooting was accidental. Judge
Hundley refused to preside at the
present murder trial.
siiasimi uu iiaarr
Then for a time there was peace
4tram around Cumberland, but there
was always a mouldering fire ready
to flare ap at the first flash of a fan <
or the sound of an unkind word by
either the Garrrtta or thoae opposed
to their regime
i Cumberland county elected L. C.
Garrett a member of the school hoard.
This body named the teachers of all
the schools. They would hire or dis
charge teachers, but the dismissed
person had the right to appeal to the
electoral board for final disposition of
the case. In Cumberland county, the
electoral board not only names the
judges to preside over elections, but
it alao has the power that b accorded
boards of supervisors in other rural
communities in Virginia.
The school board hired a pretty
young woman to teach music in the
Cumberland high school. She was aa
excellent teacher too. Her pupils call
ed her "Mis May" and today few peo
ple know her by any other name
Thoee whs do knew her full name
are apparently afraid to mention H
for fear that by doing so more trouble
will be started.
Romaace Started the Bow
This pretty little woman fell in love
arith a Cumberland youth who took
no part in the factions existing in1
the community. The pair were to
have boon married. One day the lov
ers ware seen in each other's embrace
sfd somebody reported it to the school
hoard.
Lark in C. Garrett took it upon him-1
self to make a fight against the
teacher. There were reports that he
did not like her for several reasons j
He used his influence, it is charged,
to get another three msmhms i
of the board to side w«M him, and
they voted to ask ' Miss May" I -r her
resignation.
It waa the opinion of the two mem
bers of the school board that the fact
that "Miss May" had kimed a man
so that others c >uld see bar. tended
to lower the moral standard of the
school system and would haws a rtev
rimsntal effect aa the pupils if the
incident was allowed to paas unnoticed
One Maker of the heard a^w ae
harm *l "Miss May- kieeiag her
sweetheart. He fact that she pads
no attempt to usual the kiae from
others was proerf, the lews member
In the
pair mi* to he
Rev Mr.
%
and that body pramptly
derision of the school board. "Misa
May" retained bar position, but It to
I'laimnt, the school hoard mada it a*
unpleasant for bar die resigned volun
tarily aftar a few month*.
Paraaa's Pi a/SI Htarted Feud
It waa ilurinr a service to tba Bap
tist church that tha Rev. Mr. PWit*
made a remark white pray toff that re
sulted to his death from pistol wounds
inflicted, tha ptnaecutton alleges, by
one or both of the Garrett hrothars
now on trial for Midtr.
The three nsmhin of the school
hoard ware married. Two of than
were father* of child™. Larkin Gar
rett had no children. When Mr. Pierre
prayed on tba night to question ha did
not call the name at any member of
the school board. He prayed far
"Mias May." asking the jreod Lord ta
"help her to beat her enemies—and,
oh Lord." continued the prsacher, "If
it be Thy will remove from the board
the member who baa no children."
Everybody to the church that night
knew the minister was referring to
Lark to Garrett aa the only childteaa
member. News that Mr. Ptorea had
"prayed against Mr. Garrett" spread
all over the coanty. Larkin Garrett
waa pointed oat aa the "man without
children" whom Mr. Pierce bad pray
ed to have removed from the school
board.
The Garretts were the talk of the,
county. The lev. Mr. Ptorea tot H be
her position through
the influence jf Larkin Garrett.
Everybody but Garrett's friend took
up the cry. "He should be ashamed
of himself" was the household word
of the w-men of the county.
Heat up tit* rnmn
Th- f arretU win- not heard fro*
for *om - days. Then Larfcin G-rrett
met the preacher and asked him A
he had praye<* aa htfwas reported to
have done. What the preacher said
is not known. Larkin Garrett was,
accompanied by his brother when they
met the minister. There was a fist
fight in wfiieh the preacher was badly
worsted, foie fight happened right
at the front gate of the preacher's
home.
When he picked himself off the
ground where he had been knocked
by a blow from one of the Garrett's
fists, he was bleeding at the noee
and mouth. He ran into the house
and got a shotgun. He came out
again and his wife and children came
with him. He again aetoMd the Gar-'
retts and there were more welds and,
flat blows. Then the shooting began.
The Garrett* are said to hare
opened fire on the preacher together,
and even when he was on the ground
the prosecution charges they fifed;
bullets into his body. The authorities
dug out of tile earth where the preach
er fell, JMne bullets which it is claim
ed were fired at the minister after1
he had fallen.
Mrs. Pierce picked up the head of
her wuended husband and rested it in
her lap. It ia charged the Garrett*
did not stop shooting even when this
"Yea have killed Mm; isnt that
enough?" Mrs. Pierce is qwoted aa
saying to the Garretta while they con
tinued to fire at the body of her fallen
After the shooting the Garretts
walked away. They claimed they had
killed the Rev Mr. Pierce because he
had triad to kiU them The people |
of the county say it was because the)
minister was one of the few persons
in the -ntire community who nil not
fear the r-wer of the Gairatl political
machine and had steadfastly stood by
the tittle school teacher who had kiss-!
ed her *weetheart and was not asham-t
ad to tot others see her do it.
Berlin, Au(. M—"Yea, we hare no
patateM today," la the universal mm
plaint in Germany. which played a
large part In tha down fall of tha
Cuno rvarnmmt and Indicates tha
moat important teak wtttrh Chan
cellor Streaemann faces In taMag
over control in tha praaant faod and
financial criaia.
Frederick tha gnat fought a tad
war which waa called the "potato erar."
Ha and hia brother. Prince Henry,
led the Pruaeiaa troopa is 177t-7»
againat the Auatrians in order to ob
tain tad Mippliaa. Tha food short
age also was one of the chief tmmm
Tor the collapse of the empire which
forced the former emperor William
to become an exile in Doom.
So German history Is merely re
peating i tee If, and the republic's in
ability to food itaelf is emphasised
in the depreciation of the currency,
which makes purchases outside the
country impossible. The lack of grain
has forced German) to forego large
quantities of the bread which plays
so gnst a part in the diet of the
French and other 'extensive wheat
growing neighbors, with the result
that the potato is of more importance
In Germany than it is in Inland.
When Peru seat potatoes to cen
tral Europe, by way of Spain and
when Sir Walter Raleigh popularised
it in the British laiee, an important
economic factor entered Europe from
the new world. Eathonia is scoffing
ly called the "potato republic," by
Ruaaiana who dislike that country.
But Esthonia is proud of the title and
dec la re e its people were fed on pate
toes when the Russians were starring
and that the independence of the na
tion is founded on potatoes.
Germany's tragic shortage of pote
toee is due partly to the lateness and
wetness of the season, partly to the
unrest in the cities and the shortage
of currency to facilitate purchases
and ahipments from rural districts or
from abroad, as would have been done
under normal conditions. But the mar
ket baskets without potatoes are em
ty in the eyes of millions of German
housewives, and the full market bas
ket is just as neceeaary to the popu
larity of the German govenusent aa
is tha full dinner pail in America.
The shortage of meat, milk, bat
ter and fats waa critical cnought but
when the supply of potatoes failed,
riots followed and a change in govern
ment followed.
tor American raraisy nna uw ap
gre« during the last week. Senators
Aii hurst of Arisona, Roberson of Ar
kansas, McKeller of Tennessee, Swan
son of Virginia, former Senator Frel
ingbuysen, of New Jersey, Congress
man Baker of California, Roland Mor
ris former ambassador to Japan, and
other prominent Americans many of
whom are en route to Copenhagen to
attend the meeting of the inter-par
liamentary union, called on Ambassa
dor Houghton whom they all knew
when he was a congressman.
These distinguished visitors shared
with leas known Americans the gen
era! confusion ceased by the money
shortage and Joined the line trying
to got cash at the various banks.
Bank notes for SO ,000,006 marks Is
practically the only cunuucy avail
able, and as nobody could change
those many tourists had to open hank
sccounts and issue their personal
checks to pay hotel bills and buy
railroad tickets. Many tourists are i
stranded in the resorts frsm the Bal
tic sea te the Bavarian highlands,
being unable to travel b scenes they
cant raise money on their letters of
credit.
The situation is similar to that
exiting when war was declared and
many Americans were mright In the
swirl unable to inUm ea the tweet
ers checks of credit. Gold alone
was good then but now gold isat in
demand and it is impoaaMe to OS
change the large denomination Amer
ican or English bills for marks, or
dollar or pound n ite*.
NOTICE
Having qualified as Administrator
on the estate of John W. Venable deed.
tall vo« that M^th cCS! uatTpf
>rsdit to construct hifkwajri haa
bankrupted the state, but that to not
the impraaeion «me gleam a* ha trav
el* through that aaetton. !t Is not the
▼law of North Carolinians themselvea
and H not Uie view of tha uittoy
la general. Tha fact la that North
Carolina. onra tha batt of many rrude
Jojkea, now is una of A* moat pee
graseive, flounehing utataa in tlto
union. It la a modal of community
thrift. Aak the buaineaa man dawae
thara if ha thinka tha taaoanc* ml
bonds i» an unpardonable aainiiH! act
and ha will touch at you. Ha win
tall ywi it to tha only way to bvild
roada ao rxpaditioualy aa to (to*
tha prsaent generation tha benefit of
them."
If tha bankruptcy of North Caiw
tina, a result of issuing bonds far
money to pay for a state highway
system, should be used effectively by
the opposition to bonds ia Virginia
—thing* stranger, more absurd
hare happened; Dot not much aaors.
The advocates of highways in the OM
Dominion ought to bo able to gat
serosa the state line tha information
that North Carolina rrada an carry
ing their own bonda. There to erery
reason to believe that at present
there to r progressive excess of expen
ditures over revenue; but no road ex
penditures are involved to thto cam po
tation, and the revenues applying are
those derived from income, inherit area
and special taxes. No ad valorem
taxes are levied for any state purnose,
and whatever may be the omdltto*
of the state treasury, the p»oye«t>
of North Carolinians, real and person
al, to a revenue aeaet wholly aMack
ad by the state. •
Highway fina».cing ia a thing apati
There arc bonds authorised for con
struction to the amount of 06 million
tlsllars, and bond* to the amount of
about 93fi.000.000 have been sold. The
highway income last year, that ia »o
say. revenue* from licensc tax on
motor ears and tax of one cent per
gallon on gasoline, waa between six
million and seven million dollars In
asmuch aa thia item will ran over
seven mllion dollars thia year, (fuel
tax increaaed two cents) itiaasafe as
sumption that K can be depended on
as a steady source of income, increas
ing in prosperous years; perfcaps ie
rreasing sharply in periods of depres
sion. We thus have, to pot It con
servatively. an income of six million
dollars with which to carry an event
ual load of 166,000,000 of debt, al
though at present carryng only SM>
000,000 of debt. Something like two
million dollar* ia being used to main
tan the roads that have been built,
and to keep in the beat possible condi
tion thoae that are unimproved.
Whether the state will authorise a
still graater expenditure far construc
tion, and whether tfce license and gas
oline tax wil. always be sufficient to
carry sock expenditures aa the people
may wish to make fan building rands,
tion. At present North Carolina high
way construction ia an an absolutely
sound financial haste. X
A state official has declared that
the improvement of the roads of the
throughout North Carolina immsass
were isanH; --tin ate* now are toot
the number isaoe*l this year will he
8U.M0.
The only known mathud by which
Virginia add build a system ef made
that would ho of aaalalanm and profit
to the prmat «»aaratiea is by leaning
bonds. The North Carolina system
af carrying n debt of that nature tor
not recommended as Ideal; tort by gen
eral agreement. In any aeont meter
ram should pay licsnaa, and the mo
a mileage basia. or fosl tuna—iptlun
basis, which la the simpteat wag of