THE RALEIGH POST, THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 1000.
A LEGAL RIGHT TO
COAWULSORY VACCINATION
Our Supremo Court has just rendered
ft decision affirming the right of county
find, municipal authorities to enforce
compulsory vaccination greatly to our
satisfaction, for an adverse decision
would have 'been fraught' with the gray
est consequences to our people. , It gives
tis, therefore,- much pleasure to priut
below the able opinion of the Court as
delivered by Justice Clark. Bearing, .as
it does, upon, an always important and
now especially interesting subject, we
hope the newspapers of the State will
give it wider publicity byt printing it in
their columns:
No. 109.
Is. C. Supreme Court Feb. Term, 1000.
Alamance County.
State. Appellant, v. W. E. Hay,
Attorney-General for the State.
Defendant not .represented.
Clark, J. Chapter 214 of the Laws of
1893 is a weir considered and carefully
drawn statute for the preservation of
the public health. Section 23 thereof.
.-which is specifically in regard to vac
cination, contains among other provisions
this clause: "The authorities of. any city
or town or the board of county com
missioners of any county may make such
regulations, and provisions for the vac
cination of its inhabitants" under the di
rection of the local or county board of
health or a committee chosen for the
purpose, and impose such penalties as
they deem necessary to protect the pub
lic health." There is no provision of
the Constitution which forbids the Leg
islature to enact, and it is indeed an ex-
oieise of that governmental police p'ower-
to legislate for the public .welfare, which
' is inherent in the General Assembly,
;' --'except when restrained by some ex-press
constitutional provision.
Salus populi. suprema lex, "the public
welfare is the- highest law." is the foun
dation principle of all civil government.
It is the urgent cause why any govern
ment is established, for, as Burke says,
"any government is a necessary evil." It
is, however, a much lesser evil than the
intolerable state of things which would
exist if there were no government to
bridle the absolute right, of every man
to do', "that which seems right in his
own' eves." like the Israelites in days of
Micah. The above maxim, quoted "from
Lord Bacon, is placed appropriately tit st
by Broom in his treatise on "Legal Max
ims'-' with this just observation, "There
is an implied assent on the part of every
member of society that his own indi
vidual welfare shall, in ease of neces
sity, yield to that of the commuuity,
Hnd that his property, liberty and life
shall under certain circumstances be
1 laced in jeopardy or even sacrificed for
the public good." This observation,
' -which is almost a literal translation from
Grotius, he fortifies by quotations from
' Mor.fesunieu. Lord Hale and many
opinions from both sides of the Atlantic
But it needs none, for it is everyday
t common sense tnat u peopie van unm
or conscript its citizens to defend its
I crders .from invasion it can protect it
Hlf from the deadly - pestilence that
'' valketh by noonday by such measures
as medicai science has found most ef
ficacious for that "purpose. We know as
an historical fa't that prior to the dis
covery 101 years ago of vaccination by
Edward .Tenner, smallpox often de
stroyed a third or more of the population
of a country which it attacked, and so
futile was every precaution and the most
careful seclusion, that the greatest sov
ereigns fell victims to this loathsome
disease, which Macaulay has styled "the
most terrible of all ministers of death,"
f this was so in days of imperfect com
munication, the present rapid means of
. intercourse between most distant points
' would so spread the disease as to quickly
- paralyze commerce and all public busi
ness, if government could not at once
ctomn not thP disease bv CODQDelliug" all
alik.e.. for the public good as much as
for their1 own, to submit-to vaccination.
Statistics taken by governmental au
thority show that while 400 out of every
1,000 unvaccinated persons exposed to
the contagion are attacked by it, less
than two in a thousand take the disea-se
when protected by vaccination within a
reasonable period. There are those, not
withstanding these well ascertained facts,
-'r wlio deny the efficacy of vaccination, as
; there are always some who will deny
any other result of human experience,
however well established; lut the Leg
islature, acting in their best' judgment
for the public welfare, upon, the infor
mation before them, has deemed vacci
nation necessary for public protection,
and their decision, being1, within the
Fccpe of their functions, must stand un
til repealed by the same power.
- The power of the Legislature: to au
thorize county and nmniclpal authori
ties to require Compulsory vaccina tiou
has been exercised by nearly every State
and has been recently sustained by the
highest courts of- two of . our sister
States. Morris vs." Colurnbus,102 Ga.,
702: Blue vs. Beach (Supreme Court.
Indiana, February 1. 1900),. 50 N. E.
Rep., 89 and there are bo.. decisions to
the contrary. -In. 'reply ..to the. argument
that such exercise of power by the Leg
islature may in some cases inrringe upon
individual lights Cobb. J., in the Geor
gia case just cited, well saysr ''No law
which infringes upon the natural rights
of ,man can be long enforced. Under
our system1 of government, the remedy
of the people, in that class of cases
whore the turts are not authorized to
interfere, is at the ballot-box. Any law
which violates reason and is contrary to
the popular conception of right and jus
tice, will not remain in operation for
any length of time, but courts have no
authority to declare it void merely be
cause it does not measure up to their
ideas of abstract justice. The motive
which doubtless actuated the Legisla
ture in the passage of the act now UU:
der consideration was that vaccination
was for the public good. In this the
General 'Assembly is sustained. by the
opinion of a great majority of the men
of medical science, both in this country
and in Europe." -
But even if we were of opinion with
the small number of medical men. who
contend that vaccination is dangerous
to health and not a preventive or tne
committee
power to
potism, girted with Infallible wisdom,
whose function is to correct the. errors
and mistakes of the Legislature. Brod
nax vs. Groom, 04 N. C, 250. Our
people are self-governing, and them
selves correct, the mistakes of their rep
resentatives. The function of the courts
is to Construe and apply the laws, and
they can hold a satute nugatory only.
when plainly aud clearly violative of
some provision of the organic law which
nas restrained the legislative' power
Sutton vs. Phillips, 11(1 X. C, .r02;
White -vs. Murray, at this term.
ior uoes section ot tne act require
that the Board of Aldermen shall pass
such ordinance in conjunction With the
Board ot Health (as defendant con
tends). It merely provides that the exe
cuuuiii oi me ordinance, l. e., , tlie. vacci
nation, shall be under the direction of
the local board of health or a
appointed by the aldermen.
While the Legislature has
aulhonze municipal bodies, to provide
compulsory vaccination, and the defend
ant did.not comply with the 'ordinance
enacted by the town of Burlington, in
pursuance of such authority, though af
forded ODDOrtunitv to dn sn it i tvnn
that fhere mav be somp conditions nt
person's health when it would be un
safe to submit to vaccination, and which
therefore would be a sufficient excuse for
non-compliance, but it does not vitiate
the ordinance that Sill f'll PYf'nntimi ia rf
provided for and specified therein. It
is not a defence that a person bona fide
believes that it will be dansrerou for
mm to be vaccinated or beli ptm ttint Yin
- --- - n .. u. a a .
is already sufficiently protected by for
til At va ri n i linn . J?.. ii .i .
.avtimuiuu, nor would me omnion
of his personal physician on either point
coiicjusive miougn it would natural
ly have weight with the jury), for there
may be evidence or circumstances tend
ing to the contrary. Indeed, as to n
f i V ") A I'll i, 4? . I
.wiunri MiiTiuaiiuu neing sumcieut pro
tection, the opinion of the official physi
cian su nervism er the vnpfinnt;,.!. wV.,.,ii
be presumptively correct. That which
would 'relieve from a compliance with
the ordinance is a matter, of defence, the
burden of which is upon the defendant,
and; is a fact to be found by the jury.
The special verdict is ambiguous and de
fective in this particular and is set aside.
Let there be a hew trial.
DIGEST OF SUPREME
COURT DECISIONS.
under the dir?s!ion of the' IoealT board
of health or committee appointed' br the
aldermen, does not imply that such ordi
nance shall be passed in- conjunction
with the board of healtlC ' :
lne condition of one s health may be
a sufficient excuse for -failing to-comply
with an ordinance requiring compulsory
vaccination, but the fact that the ordi
nance, and it is not a sufficient defense
for its violation that one i has a bona
fide belief that it would be dangerous for
him to. be, vaccinated or that he believes
he has been sufficiently" vaccinated, but
the opinion of the official physician su
pervising the vaccination tht one has
been sufficiently vaccinated, would be
presumptively correct. That which
would relieve from a compliance with the
ordinance is a matter of defence, the
burden- of which is. upon the -defendant,
and is a fact to be found by the jury.
MARCOM vs. .It. & A. A. L, RAIL
ROAD Co. Affirmed. ;
It is a settled rule of law that a rail
road company must provide and main
tain a safe roadbed, and its negligent
ianure to do so is negligence per se.
But it cannot be held responsible in an
action for damages resulting from the
wanton and malicious act of au outsider,
unies it could by 'the exercise Vf lea-
sonable diligence have prevented the con
sequences of such act. Here the acci
dent occurred by the act of some out
side pa'rty in pulling out the spikes, thus
making what is called in railroad par
lance a "jack-switch." The burden of
proving failure of "legal duty in such
cases rests upon the plaintiff, but when
that fact is proved or admitted, then the
burden of proving all such facts, as are
relied oh bv the company to. excuse its
failure, rests upon the company ,
STATE vs. IRVIX. No error.'
A provision in a town charter con
ferring upon it "the power to levy and
collect taxes on all "persons and sub
jects of taxation which it is the power
of the General Assembly to tax for
State and county purposes under the
Uonsntutiou, is not repugnant to sec
tion 4, article VIII of .the Constitution
as not restricting the limit of taxation
(State vs. Worth, 110 N. C. 1007), nor
in violation of section u, article vii-or
the Constitution, in reference to uni
formity of taxation (Kosenbanm- vs
Newbern, .118 X. C, 83), and it is com
petent under stich provision in the char
ter, for the aldermen to levy a tax of
$10.. upon tobacco buyers within the
town, without stating in the ordinance
for what purpose the tax is imposed;
and such ordinance and the provision
in the charted authorizing the same are
not in violation of section 7, article VII
of the Constitution, that no tax shall
"be levied or collected by any town ex
cept for the necessary, expenses therof.
unless by a vote of the majority of the
qualified voters therein,"
Defendant was chargetf with violating
a town ordinance imposing a privilege
tax' of $10 upon tobacco buyers in the
town of Kinston. There was no specific
fine or penalty imposed by the ordinance
for its violation, but before the pas
sage of the ordinance tle board had
passed an ordinance providing that "the
violation of any ordinance to wuicu no
. .... - , ? . - 1. ?
IU Pai't SUecim: UlIC 1 leull i! u-itrvi n a mia
defend- demeanor and shall subject the offender
THE LADIES'
MEMORIAL
ASSOCIATION
A History of the Splendid Services of This Noble Band in
Caring for Our Heroic Dead.
To credit of account January 1,
1899 . .$151.50
March 2(3, 1899 To credit ' by
Miss Devereaux ............
April 28. 1S99 To cash received'
Mrs. G. Jones
May 5, 1899 To cash received
Mrs. ii. Jones . ..............
June 30, 1S99 Interest to July
1, 1S99 '
Sept 28, lS99-To credit by Miss
Devereux ......
Sept 7, 1899 To cash received
Mrs. G. Jones ..............
Oct. 30, 1899 To cash -by Miss
Devereaux
Dec. 31, 1899 Interest to Jan. 1,
1900.
G.00
15.00
20.50
3.00
4.00
6.00
3.00
3.20
.50
Total ?212.2r
Paid out to bearer, Jan.'30, 1899.
W. C. Stronach & Sons, Feb.
10, 1899
W. C. Stronach & Sons June
3, 1899 .
J. L. O'Qui-nn June 13. 1899....
Upchurch & Holder June 17,
1899
W. C. Stronach & Sons, July
11, 1899
J. L. O'Quinn, July 15, 1899....
J. L. O'Quinn, Jan. 27, 1900. .. .
J. L. Hardware" Co., Jan. 13,
1900 ........
J. L. O'Quinn, March 21, 1900. .
$1.52
3.90
11.70
2.00
1.00
1.".00
12.55
85
16.40
Lucy Evans, Second Vice-Presi-Robert
Lewis, Third Vice-Presi-Mary
Lacy, Fourth Vice-rresi-
Total
To credit
1900 ..
.$ G5.42
STATE vs. UTLEY. Affirmed:
In an indictment for attempting to
poison, an averment that the prisoner
knew the deadly character, of the sub
stance is not essential.
The weight of the evidence and the
credibility of the witness are for the
jury to consider, and not the court.
HALL vs. FISHER. Error.
Plaintiff alleged that he sold a lot to
defendjfht for $1,000, and took
payment! another lot owned bv
ant; that as a part of the consideration to a fine of not more .'than $zMtf&;m
of purchase by plaintiff ' of defendant's prisonment for thirty days.". 1 The .lef-
lot, the defendant aarreed verballv at the fendant was convicted and appealed
time, that he would open a street leadihir Held, that the ordinance imposing the
to the lot conveyed, to plaintiff; that tine is void by reason of the uncertainty
defendant has failed to comply with
this agreement, and the complaint prays
for damages. The answer denies the
agreement and alleges that' defendant
did not own the property over which
the street would have. to be run; that
defendant was anxious td; open the street
and 1 endeavored to purchase the right
of way but was unable -to do so. Held,
that as the plaintiff contends that the
agreement to open the street was a part
of the purchase price of the land con
veyed to plaintiff, tne agreement is void
under the Statute of Frauds and can
not be enforced, nor damage's awarded
against defendant for failure to comply true 0f j,ia own knowledge, except those
in tne amount or. ine nue . ouh
and 383: 97 N. C. 424), but the defend
ant is guilty of' a misdemeanor, under
section 3820 of The Code for violating
a valid" town ordinance.
Upon the objection that j. a town" or
dinance was not passed as .required by
its charter, it is competent to produce,
in support of its validity, the record of
the meeting of the- board of aldermen
at which the ordinance was passed.
McLAMB et al., vs. McPHAIL et al.
Error.
The verification of an answer that "the
forecoinsr answer of the defendant is
therewith.
CHEEK vs. SYKES. Error.
1 he plaintiff Cheek contracted to sell
a tract of land to one Pickett and took
Pickett's note for the purchase money
and gave him a bond to make title
upon payment of same. Picket made
some- payments . upon the price of the
land and rented the land to Sykes, agrees
ing that Sykes might pay the rent to
Cheek td be credited on the purchase
price. Thereafter, without , Pickett's
knowledge, Sykes rented the land from
Cheek, agreeing to become CJieek's ten
ant. When this became known to
Pickett he forbade Sykes to pay the
rent! to? Cheek: Heid, iii an actiou by
matters stated on information ana be
lief and he believes these to be true,"
is a substantial compliance with sec
tion 2."8 of The Code. Cole vs. Boyd,
125 N. C, 496; Payne, Ibid 499; Phifer
vs. Insurance Co., 123 N. C, 410.-
Plaintiffs sue for recovery of real es
tate as the heirs at law of Felix Flem-
net. who conveyed the land to his wife
Ailey in 1841, but without using the
words "her heirs" in the deed. Ailey
married one Tew after the death of her
husband Fleming, and the complaint
allocs that the defendants are holding
under mesne conveyances from Ailey,
who died in 1895.
Among other defences the defendants
Cheek to oust Sykes, that the trial allegel that the deed from Felix Fleni-
judge committed error in refusing Pick
et t s motion Ao intervene ana detent! ins
1 . ,
interest in the land.
KING vs. FOUNTAIN.' Reversed.
The general rule that contracts in re
straiut of trade are void as against pub
lie policy, will be modified in order, to
motect the business of the covenantee
. -1 -r -.1 ... 11 l,
ing to Alley r leming, was miwiufu oj
the parties thereto to convey a fee sim
ple, that the words "her heirs ' were
omitted by mutual mistake and mad
vertance. and ask for a correction and
reformation of the deed so as to make
it convey a fee" simple.- The plaintiffs
fnilpil - to renlv to the allegation of
or promise when tbjs can be done with- grounds for a decree for reformation of
out detriment, to the public interest.
Here, the defendant who was engaged
in the livery business at Gi'eenville,
sold .his teams and vehicles to the plain
tiff for a valuable consideration and
a greed .w
i.
the deed and the judge gave judgment
bv default. Plaintiffs contend that this
was error as the allegation of grounds
for correction of the deed was not a
counter-claim because the defendants
ith plaintiff that he would not conu not have, maintained an independ-
. 1 .. 1 ; i : : I . , ,
engage m -any oilier uver.v unMiie iu ent action tnereior.
Greenville for ther period of three years. Held, that bys virtue of Chapter 6 of
Soon"t hereafter the defendant's wife en- tne Acts 1893, the defendants though in
gaged in the livery business in said town possession, could have brought an actiou
and ' employed the defendant to super- to remove a cloud upon their title, and
intend tie business. Held, that the con- allegation of grounds for correction
tract was valid and that the defendant's js therefore a valid counter claim and
employment by his wife amounted to a uot mere matter of defence. The jndg-
breach Uiereof. Baker vs. Portion, t ment bv default was erroneous, however,
X. C. 116. ." tf for the reason that under the law in 1841
MOREHEAD vs. HALL. New trial, governing the property ribhts of married
Where a deed on its face couAeys only womell, the conveyance from Fehx Flem-
one-half of a well described tract and jUg to his wife Ailey, if it had been ex
fails to describe the particular part con- rented as a fee simple deed, would have
paid out
of account, March 20,
. . . . . .$146.84
I JXO.-T. PULLEN, Treas.
As .a desire has been expressed by
some members of the Memorial Associa
tion; to know just how the annual dues
are expended, I beg leave to submit the
following report:
The history of the Wake County Mem
orial Association is perhaps the, most
interesting in .North Carolina as under
its auspices much outside work has been
accomplished. " It was through its ef
forts the Soldier's Home was built, and
through efforts the magnificent monu
ment that stands at the western gate
of the capitol was erected, the Monu
mental Association having been formed
of members of the Memorial Associa
tion. When the remains of our beloved
President Davis wcre carried through
Raleigh to the re-interment in Rich
mond, the Memorial Association, act
ing with a committee' of Confederate
Veterans, had the honor of receiving
them; at which time, on learning at a
late hour, that the Governor was not
authorized to invite the militia of the
State to be present, the president, act
ing for the association sent out per
sonal invitations to each military organ
ization to attend. Several companies
accepted the invitation, and were hand
somely entertained at the Yarborough
House. . .
Death hassadly thinned our ranks,
until' "now only about seventy-five of
that noble baud of women who organ
ized the association remain, and from
this number about sixty-three dollars
are annually collected. Out of this
amount the cemetery is kept in order
and the necessary expense of Memorial
Day are borne. Yet, having to our
credit, as the treasurer s report will
show, an amount varying from one hun
dred and forty to two hundred dollars.
To keep in good condition a lot of about
three acres, containing some seven hun
dred graves, necessarily requires , some
expenditure of money.
The hedges and shrubbery are to be
kept trimmed and in order, underbrush
cleared away, young trees to supply the
fast decaying forest, and every year sot
out such flowers ,as are suitable to the
place are kept growing. From May un
til. October the grass is to be cut once
a month.
A moun3 of beautiful growing flowers
has been made of a once unsightly spot.
The walks that run being badly washed
have been graded, crushed gravel being
used for the purpose, and about seven
thousand .brick used in draining them.
The original growth of grass was being
choked out by the very objectionable
Joh'nson grass.' In order to get rid of
this the turf has been taken up and
carted away, the ground graded, and
fresh grass seed sown. Headstones have
been . placed over the Arlington dead.
The pavillion has been reopened and
repainted. In fact, a great deal of
much-needed work is every year done
at the cemetery, and much remains to
be done before we can make the last
resting place of our fallen heroes the
beautiful spot we would have it.
I have endeavored, conscientiously, to
keep up the good work commenced by
my predecessors, and for this purpose,
with "the exception of the necessary ex
pense of Memorial Day, the annual dues
of the patriotic, faithful members of the
association are expended.
Since the organization of the Daugh
ters of the Confederacy iu this city the
Memorial Association has always united
With the Daughters in all patriotic
work, and under their united effort a
great deal has been accomplished, both
for the Soldiers' Home and for the Con
federate Veterans. The very successful
bazar held in our city more than a
year ago for the veterans was under the
auspices of the Memorial Association
and Daughters of Confederacy.
MRS. GARLAND JONES,
capitol. May 23d, 1866, a society was
formed called the "Wake County La
dies' Memorial Association." the object
of the association being to protect and
care for, thee graves of our Confederate
soldiers.! " '
After prayer and an address by the late
Rev. Dr. Lacy, the following officers
were chosen : v
Mrs. L. O'B. Branch, President.
Mrs. Henry Miller, First Vice-Presi
dent.
Mrs.
dent.i
Mrs.
dent.
Mrs.
dent.
Miss Sophie Partridge, Secretary.
Miss Minnie Mason, Treasurer.
The first business of the association
was to j choose a suitable spot for the
proposed cemetery; several meetings
were held at the residence of Mrs. L.
O'B. Branch at which various lots were
offered by friends of the cause, one by
the late Mr. G. W. Mordecai,( one by
the late Maj. John Devereaux, and one
by the late Mr. Henry Mordecai, the lat
ter was finally accepted by the associa
tion, , being in many respects the most
available for the purposes of the L.
M. A. - . ,
The gentlemen oj! Raleigh and of the
county gave help in money, time; and
advice.: Conspicuous among these ac
tive -frsiends were the late Mr. Geo. W.
Mordecai, Mr. P. F. Pescud, Maj.
Husted, Maj. B. C. Manly and Mr.
ChasvB. Root, who still survives, a. use
ful citizen and a friend to every good
work. " Capt. G. M. Whitney as the
representative of the young men of Ral
eigh offered their services "to assist in
caring for our fallen defenders." Capt.
Whiting has long since passed away;
he is at rest in the Confederate Ceme
tery, and a verse from one of his poems
is engraved on a face of the Confeder
ate monument which stands in the
northeast corner of the cemetery.
On June 16th, 1866, a constitution,
prepared by Mrs. H. W. Miller, Mrs.
Annie Busbee. and Mrs. Mary. Lacy was
read and adopted.
At ai meeting held on the 25th of the
same inonth the President's Council
was appointed: "Mr. G. W. Mordecai,
Maj. Husted, Mr. P. ,F. Pescud, Mr.
Wm. Grimes, Maj. B. C. Manly, Gen.
W. R. Cox.
During the following months
much
was accomplished by the association,
money; was raised in every way by gifts,
by the work of the members, who had
organized a sewing society, with Mrs.
H. T.; Smith as; president, and finally
by a bazaar held; just before Christmas,
veyed, the deed will be construed as
conveying a one-half undivided interest
in the. land. Grogan vs., Bache, : 45
Cal., 610.
been void at law, ana sustainable in
equity only upon 1 meritorious considera
tion, and the answer contains -no aver
ment of meritorious consideration. Tak-
ilamnrrai' ltxr all I A tanii a life will K rno,i-m tn tliU raenaft t Vo tnia
be overruled if the complaint sets forth because undenied by a reply, it did , not
a good cause of action as to any one authorize the judgment rendered by de-
of the defendants. 103 X. C 315; N. C fault for correction of the deed.
403, ; A defendant may plead inconsistent
STATE vs. HAY. New trial. defences if separately stated., Clark's
The legislature has power to authorize Code (3d Ed.) section 245
county and municipal authorities to re-
ouire compulsory vaccination, and Chap
ter 214 of the Laws 1893, providing that
the execution of a town ordinance ie-
Uiscase, the court is not a paternal de- quiring compulsory vaccination shall be
, ; -..
London is twelve miles broad one way
and seventeen the other, and everv year
sees about twenty miles of new streets
added to it
new sAreets
1
Pres. L. M. A.
ANNIE L. DEVEREAUX,
Secretary.
. Sketch of the Aodatiom
By a Charter Member.
Very soon after the conclusion of the
war between the States, involving as it
did - rnin to our county and bitter dis
appointment and humiliation to our peo
ple the hearts and minds of the women
of the South turned to the duty of car
ing for the bodies of our soldiers, who
lay on a hundred battlefields, or who
were scattered in cemeteries rudely laid
out near hospitals or the sites of former
camps, in many cases exposed to des
ecration or in danger of being confused
with the Federal dead.
The women of Raleigh were no lag
gards in this sacred task, and at a meet
ins, held in the Commons Hall of the
I860 at which nearly $1,200 was real
ized. "Fourteenth of February, .1807, an ap
propriation of $1,500 was fnade by the
Legislature for a monument to the Con
federate dead." ' l
Meantime the committee appointed to
Choose a! site for the' cemetery had' been
untiring in its labors, and aftefr inspect
ing many locations it had advised the
,L. M.i A; to content itself for the pres
ent, with putting in good order the? cem
etery near the rock quarry at the west
side o the city where there were 447
graves. They were advised to mark
the graves and to plant a hedge around
the spot, thus making a distinct division
between the Confederate dead who lay
there and the Federal dead whom, the
United States government had resolved
to move to that place from other piir.ts
of the State. But before .any work of
importance could be done the president
of the L. ;M. A. was notified by the
United States authorities that "Confed
erate isoidiers buried at tne rock quarryj
must be removed immediately to make
room for the Federal dead." Some of
the members of the L. M. v. remember
that this order was acompanied by the
threat that unless the removal was
promptly done the bodies of the Confed
erate dead would be taken from their
graves and thrown into the public road.
Arrangements were made to effect this
removal as quickly as possible. The
lot given by Mr. Henry Mordecai was
accepted, and during the early--spring
weeks of 18G7 about 500 dead were ta
ken from the rock Quarry cemetery and
reinterred in the .present- Confederate
Cemetery. This work was done almost
entirely by the young men of Raleigh,
with whom it was a labor of love, and
each day a. certain number of ladies
were present at. the Condeferate Ceme
tery to remove the coltins as they were
brought from the rock quarry, and to
keep ia watch over them until a suffi
cient number being on the ground tlie
work of reinterment would begin. The
writer remembers one coffin in particu
lar which was a little strained at the
joinings of the wood allowing a long;
half-curled ; lock of fair hair to escape
which hung down as the coffin was 'lift
ed from the wagon. The task was of
ten ajtrying one to the young men, and
a lady seeing them nearly overcome by
it begged a cask of beer and walked by
the wagon the whole distance from one
cemetery to the other giving it to them
as she saw they u ceded it.
J ne president In ner nrst annual re
port read the meeting of the L. M. A.
on May 3d. 1807, writes; "The spot of
ground liberally donated! to the associa
tion as a cemetery for the Confederate
dead, you are aware, nad 'to be put in
proper condition by cleaning it of trees
and stumps before it could be used for
the purpose designated, which required
quite! a heavy expenditure of means;
that having been accomplished and the
grounds properly- enclosed, the work of
disinterring and reintexring the bodies
was commenced. , (In ' very many in
stances additional coffins were required
at a cost of $1.50 or more a-piece to fh
association.) This work was faithfully
and energetically performed, aided by
the young gentlemen of our city, who
deserve the thanks of the ladies of the
association for the zeal, manifested in
this labor of love.
"There are 538 of our fallen heroes
now resting in that sacred spot. Of
that number 312 are North Carolinians.
46 from South Carolina, 44 Georgians. 8
Alabmians, 8 Mississrppians, 4 Virgin
ians, ; 2 Floridians, 2 Teunesseeaus, 1
Texan, 1 Louisianian, 1 Arkansian, 3 of
the Confederate States Navy, and lor,
unknown dead. The cemetery is divid
ed into sections, and each State has al
lotted to it a 1 certain portion. Head
boards haveT already been placed to
quite a number of the graves on which
are, inscribed the name of the soldier,
the State from which he came, and each,
for future reference,! has been num
bered." .
At tjiis meeting it was decided that
the 10th of May, being the anniversary
of the -death of Stonewall Jackson,
should be observed as Memorial Day,
and that the exercises should be public,
"sp far as to meet in the capitol square
or in the capitol and proceed from
thence to the cemetery." The original
minutes of the L. 51., A. which have
been closely followed so far contain no
details of -the -observance of the first
Memorial Day, may 10th. 1S07, but the
writer well remembers . the meeting in
the rain at the capitol square of u num
ber of faithful men and women, who
walked to the cemetery carrying their
garlands and crosses of flowers, and
closely followed and watched by several
Federal officers, detailed by the military
authority who then governed the State,
to see that "110 procession was formed."
It." was .believed .at the time, and it has
never been contradicted, that the threat
was made that if the L. M. A., chiefly
women and children, did form a proces
sion it would bo fired 011 without fur
ther warning. On this day there were-.
no exercises of any kind, not even a
prayer, and it demanded some courage
and some independence from those who
walked under .the dripping skies
through the ankle-deep mud of the
country, which is now Oak wood avenue,
to fulfill this poor duty to the dead.
Beautiful Oakwood did not then exist,
the Confederate cemetery was a soli
toary enclosure in the woods, full of
newly made graves, scarcely reiving
promise of the neatness and order hich
now mark that sacred spot.
In the compass allotted to this article
it is impossible to give in detail all the
work accomplished by the L. M. A din
ing the first years of its existence: a
rapid enumeration of the principal un
dertakings accomplished will, however,
be attempted. The Avalks were laid ' out.
grass was sown, flowers and shrubs were
planted, the Confederate Monument was
erected, the handsome iron pavilion was
placed in the center of the grounds; the
wooden head-boards placed on each
grave were exchanged for granite ones
the present .system, of marking them by
numbers -and recording both names and
numbers in a register; an ' arrangement
was made with the' trustees of Oakwood
by Which the Confederate Cemetery
shares in "the care bestowed upon Oak
wood; many bodie's of North Carolina
soldiers were removed from distaut
points; 137 being; taken at one time
from Gettysburg and reinterred in the
soil of their mother State. The exercises"
of Memorial Day were punctually cele
brated with a dignified observance of
prayer, oration - and procession, the
orators being chosen from the men of
talent and culture of the State, the chap
lains from the clergy and ministers of:
the city, aud the chief marshal and as
sistants from the Confederate officers
and soldiers of Wake county.
October 4th, 1800, Mrs. L. O'B.
Branch resigned the office of president
which she had exercised with a. zeI,
trust and ability which had greatly con
tributed to the success of the associa
tion, and Mrs. Selby.was elected in her
place. Mrs. Selby died in 1870 and" Mrs.
H. T. Smith was elected; at her death
Mrs. Robert Lewis became president.
Since that time the presidents have been
Mis. Robert II. Jones, Mrs. Leo. I.
Ileartt. Mrs. Jos. B. Batchelor and Mrs.
Garland Jones, who now fills the o trice.
At the annual meeting, 27th June,"
1883, it was moved by Mr. W. T. Prim
rose and adopted by the L. M. A. that
in future the subject of the oration 011
Memorial -Day be the war services of
one ot tne generals or ot k' tdc distin
guished officer of North t .nolina, or
else of some regiment belonging to the
State, that the orator be chosen by the
family of the officer who should be se
lected as the subject of the address, ami
that the orations be placed among the
archives of the State' as material for
history. The war records of Gen. L.
O'B. Branch was clmsen as the subject
for Memorial Day. 18S4, and Maj. John
Hughes of New Bern was requested by
Mrs. Branch to ,deliver the address'. For
fifteen years the custom has been ob
served of making the addresses on Mem
orial Dav deal with the character and
services of a general of North Carolina,
the only -.exception' being that on one oc
casion the subject was the "Junior Re
serves," and on another the "Private
Soldier." Iost of these addresses are
now in the keeping of the L. M A. . be
ing preserved in a box which is kept iu
the State Library. The. president is
making every effort to secure the miss
ing orations in order to put them in the
same place of safety.
October 17th. 1SS3, one hundred and
seven Confederate dead were removed
from the Federal Cenieterv at Arling
ton and interred in the Confederate
Cemetery at Raleigh. They were met at
Weldon by' a detachment of the Fay-
etteville I. L.
Raleigh by a
the L. M. A.
in the capitol
I., and' were received in
committee 'appointed by
The bodies lay in Stato
for a fitting length of
time, and were carried to the-cemetery
and laid at rest, with all due honor and .
respect, a short religious service being '
held with suitable music, ami an ad
dress delivered by Gov. Jarvis.
Mrs. Jos. ,11. Batchelor was. elected
president of the L. M. A. 5th Manh,
1885. During her term, of office, which
lasted eight years, little new work f im
portance was undertaken, the formativo
period of the association .having passed.
But interest in the work was kept alive
and even increased, and much was done
at the cemetery in the way of beautify
ing the grounds and planting treesT ahd
flowers. Mrs.'. Batchelor ' resigned her
office 17th April, 1803, and Mrs. ..Garland
Jones was elected to fill her place.
Since Mrs. Jones assumed the duties
of president the work of the association
has been continued with tact and abili
ty; all the records of the association,
including a list of the names of all the
dead in the cemetery have - been care
fully copied and deposited in the 'Citi
zens' Bank; the graves of the dead
brought from Arlington have been mark
ed by suitable stones, and the nueleu -of
our endowment has been placed at in- -terest.
Some slight changes have LeH
made in the details of the exercises
(Continued oa Third Tag ej