North Carolina Newspapers

2HC FEC3Bd35VEi PAEnED : SBPTEIIBEE 0, 1898 - .... ! 1 ;! ;4 w : I i ii I- i " : , i i. : : . T SHE PROGRESSIVE FABIIER. una L. L. POLE, . J. L, RAMSEY, . CLARENCE H. POE, J. W. DENMARK, , Proprietor. Editor. . Asso. Editor. Business M'g'r. Raleigh, N. C. SUBSCRIPTION Single Subcrllwr. Ope Yeu. six Monti 100 Ona rsoDT on tui Irte, tc any :ao sending c'ud Mnnfhi fil of Ten. Ofli-V-Intjarioilu in A&vcmn. N. R. P. A. EDITORIAL, NOTES. What is the matter with Raleigh? It la reported that the Y. M. C. A. closed and the Capital Club opened on the same day. An important dairy article by Prof. Kmery, "Red Water, or Wood Evil," 3 crowded out this week. Read it next week. Will some subscriber please send us a copy of Chairman SimrLona' cam paign paper and other Hypocratic literature! The First North Carolina Regiment stationed at Jacksonville, Fla , con talning 50 officers and 1160 enlisted men has been ordered to Raleigh to be mustered out. Have you sent us a club of five 20 cent campaign subscribers? Many have done so. Have you done youb part? If not, don't fail to send a club before our next issue. It is generally thought that if Hob son had devoted more of his time to trying to save the Spanish warships and less to going around getting kissed, the chances of saving them would now be better. The September storms in the West Indies are likely to seriously interfere as the matter has been de layed so long. A writer in the Durham Educator cays he looks on The Progressive Faejieb with "perfectly calm con tempt." The feeling is mutual, bud. "You look with contempt on the man 'who has opinions and the courage to express them ; we look with contempt on the man who is so narrow that he abuses every one who does not see fit to agree with him. We give this week the masterly and convincing address of Judge Clark to the Board of Trustees of Trinity Col lege. We hope that every reader of this paper will read every sentence of it. Then file the speech away, where you can find it and read it again. There be not three men, but thou cands who will bow to the golden im age, and there walks by their side the Son of God." TheN-.-wa and Distorter says: "The purification of the State from the filth and slime that now pollutes it is more far reaching than questions of politi cal diffeience." Since looking at the filth and slime in its cartoons we are prepared to agree with it. The people of the State must give that paper's gang such a whipping that they will never again dare resort to such means in order to boost themselves into pub lie office. The Wilmin gton S .ar is "an accessory after the fact" in the matter of the slander perpetrated by the Daily Re cord of that city. For the past ten days or more the Star has kept the base matter standing in a conspicuous place in the paper. A party can never rise any higher than the moral tone and honesty of its newspapers, and this places the Democratic party low in the scale, for the Daily Record and the Star are not the only Democratic organs that are contemptible. By the way, Hobson is not in it One girl kissed him, and only one. Com modore Schley came to Washington the other day,Ief t his wife at the hotel, went down to one of the government buildings and was eurrounded by a whole regiment of pretty girls and got" kissed until he couldn't uttter a word of protest. They say Schley's heart thumped more wildly than it did when the Spanish fleet attempted to escape from Santiago harbor. Schley deserves call the good things he gets, though. We call the attention of the young people to the history priza contest an nounced in another column. It pre sents a rare opportunity for some bight ! boy or girl to make some money and make himself or herself famous at the same time. We learn that up to date ! one-third more girls than boys have applied to enter. Does this mean that the girls take more interest in our his tory than the boys? We learn, too, that the city and larger town boys and girls are taking more interest than those from the country. Does this mean that they are better taught, or that their teachers are wider awake? The applications to enter the contest must be sent in by th9 10th day of September. We predict that some girl will get the first prize. But an honest, diligent effort will be worth more to any applicant than the prize. ' LOOKS LIKE NONSENSE. We have a vast numb:r of 4lyellow journals" in this country and not a few sentimentalists. They display their abilities in times of peace and have given a great many grandstand dis plays during the late scrap with Spain. They ranted and tore the air until they got the country worked up to the pro per pitch for war, and now they are etill fighting not fighting Spaniards but fighting the managers of the war, from President McKiniey down to grave-diggers. Every official, civil and military, , has been accused of out rageous conduct of some kind, either cruelty, neglect, incompetence, or all. We do not know just how much truth there is in all this stuff, but fear that there is some. Human beings are not perfect. But the government did just what these "yellow newspapers" demanded licked Spain : in a few weeks. Now they are mad about it. These ranters assert that the soldiers are starved, that they are sick and are not getting proper medical attention; that they are cruelly treated and a thousand other things. And some of the soldiers make the same assertions themselves, which seems to add weight to the stories. Now let's look at it in a conservative way. The government did everything possible to avoid war. Tothia day nobody knows exactly what the fight was about. The best explanation yet is that we flagged Spain on general principles just flogged her because she needed it. We can't prove that Spain was responsible for blowing up the "Maine." It remains to beeeen whether or not we can make anything out of the Spanish people who will fall to our lot by the acquisition of teri tory. But we went to war. Our two fleets sank the two Spanish fleets. We cap tured some of their merchant ships. We killed a great many more of their men than they killed of ours. The war is over. As a war it has been prac tically a joke. Yet we had a powerful enemy to cope with; powerful in that it was prepared. We were not, and we have not gotten ready yet. The fight was over before half of our army was really ready for war. We had only 25,000 troops ready for service. The navy was unprepared. Two hundred thousand volunteers were to be armed and equipped. It was a stupendous undertaking. Time was required. This we might have had but for one thing the climate of Cuba. Spain had to be whipped by or before the first of August. It would have been impossible for American troops to live in that locality in August, Septem ber or October. Two thirds of them would have died. On the other hand suppoce the real fighting had been de layed until winter. The preparations could have been elaborate, but ten times as many men would have met death than did die during the short, sharp campaign. Even if every soldier had been kept in Amsrica the death rate would have been fearful. As it was many were eick and died in all the camps located in this country, though they were selected witn a view to healthf ulness. There are no healt&ier spots in the United States than Raleigh, Chicamauga and camp Aiger, and yet the sick and death rate at all these camps and, others, was etartilng. Yes, better preparations could have been made, but the results would have been worse in the long run. If indeed it was a war for humanity, then the best way was to make a finish of it. The soldiers of the standing army were used to camp life and they stood it pretty well. But the ranks of the 800,000 volunteers would have been de cimated long before next winter. The Buff ering and hardships may have been great during the few weeks that the war lasted, but had. it been dragged along in order to get better prepared ten soldiers would have died where only one died during the few weeks the war lasted. When war comes and a vast number of physicians are needed good ones are secured with difficulty. They do not care to leave a lucrative practice and undergo the dangers and hardships of warfare, consequently the medical de partment is always more or less defec tive. Many of the surgeons and doctors who volunteer are either young and inexperienced or elBe they are worth less, or nearly so. o Too many people think that war is a picnic. They expect to wear spotless linen, standing collars and play the all around sport. Hard discipline, coarse food, confinement and actual fighting always tnkea the starch out when the "stern realities" take the place, of air castles. It is a matter of history that five or more men die with camp sickness to one from bul let wounds. No psra m should j An the army in peace or war unless he expects to undergo countless hardships and make life a lottery in which a great many draw blanks. It is well that tho war With Spain was terrible qiickly fought. THE STATE FARMS. Interview With Superintendent Llew boorce About the Rice Farms on tht Cape Fear. A representative of The Progressive Farmer had a conversation with Mr. J. M. Mewboorne, Superintendent of the State's prison, with, regard to Leazer's talk in his speeches about the rice farms on the Cape Fear. Leazsr is saying that the State pays an exor bitant rent for these farms, and that the rent is two or three times as much per acre as that which is paid for the cotton and corn farms on the Roanoke and in Anson county. It seems that Leazer does not know the difference between the value of waste lands and wern out fields, and Cape Fear tide water lands, banked and ditched and worth more than a hundred dollars an acre. Mr. Mewboorne gave out the follow ing statement: As for the rice farms on the Cape Fear the rent is very much less than any rent that is paid by the State for any farm. Take for example one place that was rented from Mr. H. U. But ters; it contains 135 acres; all of it is the best river land, as rich as any in tho 'world, not surpassed in fertility by anything on the Nile or the Missis sippi. One hundred acres of this land was at the time it was rented, in excel lent condition for a crop. Mr. Butters had spent more than $30 to the acre in recent improvements on this one hun dred acres. The dykes were strong and high; the ditches were clean and deep for these sort of lands; the water gates were in good condition, and there was very little to do except to plow it and plant it. But owing to the grassy season it had to be hoed. It was una voidably planted late and eo it had to be hoed twice. The local supervisor kept a strict account of the number of days' work done on this one hundred acres. Tnis statement starts at the beginning and ends with the "laying by" of the crop. It is as follows: No. d'ys w'k'd Eleven handi, 8 days, plowing, 93i Five hands, 8i days, scattering ditch banks, 42 One blacksmith, (convict) 8$ days shoeing mules, repair to gear, etc., 8 Twenty hands, 5 days, levelling, trenching and fixing up mar gins, removing sunken logs, stumps, etc., ,100 Three men, 9 days, harrowing, 27' Two men, 5 days, levelling, trenching and finishing up i margins, io Three men, 9 days, harrowing land, 27 Two men, 9 days, marking rows, 18 Twenty six men, 12 days, hoeing over first time, 313 Thirty two men, 11 days, hoe ing and picking second time 82 acres, 352 99 ?i 990 days at 30 cents per day, $29? 15 Eighteen acres was hoed second time with hired labor and picked. The total cost for both hoeing and picking, 37 00 Cost of hired labor for sowing rice, si 00 Amount paid for attention to banks, trunks, and watering rice, 15 00 Total, $380 15 (Thirty cents is more than it ought to cost to maintain guard and clothe convicts, but the loss of the sick and other things increaso the cost. To be on the safe side, let us calculate at 30 cents for a day's work.) Experienced rico planters who have seen this one hundred acres, say that it has now growing on it five thousand bushels of ricethat is, good river rice, known on the market as Carolina rice, such rice as brought last year $1 20 per bushel Now suppose we count forty five hundred bushels at $1 per bushel, we have results as follows: The cost of preparing, plant ing and cultivation, figur ing the convict labor as cost ing the State 30 cents a day, $ 380.15 Rent, - 500 00 Incidental expenses, such as e hoeing mules and minding birds, . 7500 Harvesting (estimated), 300 00 3 0 bushels eeed rice at $1 50 450 00 $1 705 15 Value of crop, Cost of crop, Profit, 14 500 00 1 705 15 2 794 85 about $28 an acre. No account of cost of threshing is taken in above because the straw sho'uld more than pay for that. The above calculation is all correct and is subject to but one danger, and that is the danger of a storm O ' course that is what all farmers have to take chances on." h The Convention of the People Party of the Ninth Congressional THatrinf: j will meet in WaynMvilles, N. O., Sep t tember 8 1898. Gko - E. BOGGS j Cbm'n Ex. Comm. 9,h Congressional 1 District. NEXT I As we eaid two weeks ago, the News and Distorter is getting "hard up", for campaign ; thunder. . After : trying to make the people of the State believe that guards were eo kind that convicts were allowed to leave at almost any time and that Gov. Russell was so kind: as to pardon one almost every day, it come3 to us under date of September 2d with a picture of a negro ex convict, Geprge Dixon, whom it quotes to prof that guards treat convicts cruelly. And so we have this great apostle of white supremacy " and "good gov ernment," the most holy State-saver quoting a column of rot from the con versation of a negro, a "big, black, burly negro," and if this were not enough an ex convict, and if this were not enough, one who had not been out of the penitentiary a week. Then, too, the apostle of white supremacy gives its readers a picture of your uncle Josephus' big, black, burly friend! In the language of Shakespeare, "Lord, Lord P WHO LIES? The Democratic press is trying to make it appear that Supt. Jno. E. Ray repudiates a part of the interview with him as first published in The Pbogbes sive Farmer. The News and Distorter gays he "virtually repudiates the whole inter view." Supt. Ray says the interview as first published was essentially ahd sub star ti ally corbect," but be made one or two unimportant corrections in our last Issue. We publish the cor rected interview in another column. We defy the Democratic prets to pub lish it, and venture the prediction that not one will accept the challenge. If the Biblical Recorder intended to say nothing in its so called reply to us last week, it was entirely successful. In reply to our request that some one point out one of hia statements which we failed to answer two weeks ago, however, he does say that we were ' struck silent" by his mention of the "two parties in fusion, that laid design ing hands on the A. & M. College." Tnis is fully answered on pagel. We await for him to point out something else on which we are "struck silent." The Christian Educator, of Durham, is also at liberty to quote what the Demo cratic Professors said. The Recorder is certainly not guilty of quoting any of our editorial. The North Carolina Christian Advo cate surprised us. Surely neither Dr. Crawford nor Dr. Ivey wrote "Our Po sition." In it they quoto us assay ing: "Only one college in this State has, we believe, thus far been led astray." Then instead of quoting the remain der "And we doubt not that when the good people of the Methodist Church in North Carolina have an opportunity of speaking in the matter they will say witn one of. their most honored laymen, Judge Clark, that this blot shall be re moved from Trinity's fair name and this grand old institution will again go forth "conquering and to conquer" em and ignorance in whatever snape or form" they say that we make "sweeping charges against the Methodist Church at large throughout the State." All we have to say to them is: Do you consider this fair? Is this the kind of treatment we should expect from Christ's servants? And as to saying that Trinity had been led astray, we will say that Judge Clark made substantially the same statement. We believed him and said so openly. For this, we have no apology to make. It is not an unpard onable crime to express an opinion. We give in a suppliment this week Judge Clark's side of the case. We have not read Dr. Kilgo's and shall not express an opinion until we do so. We dj know that Judge Clark was not created fairly at first, if reports are true. OR. CY. THOMPSON TO SPEAK Dr. Cyrus Thompson will address the people on the political issue of the day at the following times and places : Ashboro, Randolph county, Septemer 10th ; Concord, Cabarrus, county, Sep tember 12th; Pitteboro, Chatham coun ty, September 15 :h; Hood Swamp Church, Wayne county, September 221. Don't fail to attend. Mr. J. W. Denmark, chief clerk in the State Treasury Department has furnished us with a statement of the receipts and disbursements of the State Treasury for the six years 1892-7 in clusive, showing amounts received and disbursed on each account. This was received too late for this week but enough of it will appear next week to silence the batteries of those who are trying to prove from the Auditor's re port that the present administration is waiting the people's money or can't tell what is going with it. Look out for next weeks Progressive Farmer and get the truth from the records. THREE OF A KIND, Rpo.rPit Circular Simmons and bis gang are making a great to do over the insolent negro at Wilmington who wrote some insulting stuff about white people. This same negso has been run ning his sickly sheet for more than a year and in it has every day written up just such stuff as the Democratic machine wanted. He and Col. LL. D. Kingsbury have every day been slan dering the Populists and other anti monopoly men nnd abusing Governor Russell. Both of them seem to have been aiming at the same thing. Their purposes seem to have been identical; and both of them are serving the same masters, the railroads and other mo nopolists. A negro by the name of Howe is the associate editor on the negro sheet and was a member of the Legislature from New Hanover. Of course the railroads and monopolists got him. He voted in favor of the lease fund. He was greatly admired by such Tory sheets as the Winning ton and Wcldon Railroad Messenger. It is understood that he carried a pass given him by the railroads as some part of the consideration of the service that this negro sheet was rendering to the caus3 of monopolony. Now these Democratic Hessians like Kingsbury and Joe Daniels are howl lag as if they were really mad with the negro, but they are not. They are three of a kind. They are pards. We notice that some partisan papers are still trying to make political cap ital out of the statement made in the first draft of Mr. J. W. Bailey's letter of resignation as a member of the Ag ricultural Board, that he had heard that appropriations were "padded" in order to increase the salary of Capt. Jno. R. Smith. It has been proved that the rumor to which Mr. Bailey gave publicity is utterly false. We have waited for a statement from him which would stop the publication of this slander, but he seems slow to pub lish it. The South received her full share of glory in the present war, inspite of rather adverse circumstances. Here is an interesting sketch of the heroic conduct of Congressman Wheeler, major general, famous as a Confederate cavalry leader. Like Roosevelt he was warmly greeted on arrival at Mon tauk Point, N. Y. We quote from special to Times-Herald: " Joe' Wheel er, survivor of the confederacy, come to a time in life when rest' was surely his right, leaves the shelter of home and goes to the defense of the flag. Stricken with the deadly calentura at Siboney, stretched on his couch at El Caney, when the battle commenced, Wheeler, defying his physicians, or dered his. pallet carried to the front. Over thorough and rain soaked roads, through the entangling chaparral, he was carried, fighting soldiers cheering as they eaw his pallid face and biasing eyes. At last, nearly at the edge of the battle line, he bade his escorts set him down and bring a horse. They did. Wheeler then rose, shaking in every limb, but unconquerable, and mount ing, took command of his men. LittU wonder that the story comes back from the Bloody Bend at Qxn Juan that men wished to embrace him, that, with Roosevelt, he is the best loved man of the army of Santiago to day." TIME TO CALL A HALT. In previous issues we have referred to President McKinley's propensity to pardon defaulting bank officials and embezzlers while allowing poor thieves who stole to keep from starving to re main in prison. It has been proved that since 1893 the average time served by bank Wreckers, forgers, embezzlers, etc., has been only 51 per cent, of the terms to which they were sentenced. In a speech before the New York Bankers Association recently Mr. A. D. Hap burn said: "In order to obtain exact informa tion upon this subject, made inquiry from the government of each State, and also the government of the United States,, asking how many individuals had been pardoned since January 1, 1893, whose crimes fall within the fol ljwing classification: "(1 ) Individuals, either officers or employees of banks, convicted of mis appropriation of funds or malfeasance in office; "(2 ) Individuals convicted of swind ling banks by forgery, forged endorse ments, check raising, 'kitin,' or , other wise ; and "(3 ) Individuals convicted of burg lary or robbery of banks. "The records of some of the impor tant States were not eo kept as to af . f crd the above information. Such in formation, however, was received from thirty two of the States. It appears that in Vermont criminals of this claes are most rigorously dealt with. In that State five criminals have been par doned eince January 1, 1893, whose average sentence was eight years, two months, and twelve days. The aver age period actually served wagfl years and four months. 9 "During the same periM York there were twenty-seven n,.j w The average sentence was seven year four month a at fl a 7 a lue averaea j mree yearn three months. The laws of tha Q. ' of New York provide for a commm? Muu w ua account of good behavior, bo that the reduction B tceuiws uaiy m pert irom execu tive clemency. This may be truent some other States. "During the same period the fitty nine pardons ot such crim,i. convicted in the United States courts wiiu eu ttvwugo Bcuuciiuo 01 nve years eleven months, and average nev actually served, three years, six days. -in some 01 our large central and western states the greatest lenin seems to have been extended, the aver age period served being lesa than one third of that imposed. The record of some States, however, was excellent in this respect. "The United States hasnocommuta tion law, and yet the average period actually served was but 51 per cent, of the average sentence. Executive clera ency wiped out 42 per cent, of the penalty imposed by the court. There seems to be no justification for this These expert criminals are, many0f them, individuals of rare accomplish ment and ability. They make preying upon honest industry a profession. They are entitled to no sympathy, ana the business public are entitled to every protection. "From data obtained it appears that the greatest degree of leniency is ex tedded to 'Napoleons of finance,' who in the furtherance of some scheme of speculation or in the indulgence of a desire for fashionable and expensive living, appropriate the funds intrusted to them for safe keeping. The social position, friends, and influence which these stolen funds enable them to cb tain seem to avail in obtaining a modi fication of their sentence. Shrely this class sin against greater light, and it ia difficult for one to see wherein they are entitled to greater leniency than the brutal burglar." Every one knows that as a rule, the embezzlers and bank wreckers are men of some culture and possess some per sonal magnetism. When sin appears in such guise it is seldom so harshly dealt with as when clothed in rags, and the term to which the bank wreck er is sentenced is usually comparative ly short. In view of these facts, the official statement that the average period actually served by these transgressors is but 51 per centbarely one half of the time to which they are sentenced may well produce alarm. Truly it is time to call a halt For the good of public morals the wholesale pardoning of criminals of this class should stop. THEY ARE "HYPOCRATS." North Carolina Democrats tell us that they are in favor of free silver. This is a little hard to believe when we remember that they have killed eleven free silver bills. "But," they say, 4,we have been Converted.'" Very good. Let us see where they stand now. To do this we shall deal in cold, dry facts, and it is well known that the Hypocrats are constitutionally opposed to facts, espe cially those relating to their silver rec ord. Nevertheless, we must do it. On May 26:a, 1898, these Democrats, who tell us they are in favor of frej silver, met in convention in Raleigh. Tne Populists of North Carolina pro posed to co operate with them to elect nine free silver Congressmen. This was the test. D.d our Democratic friends, who favor (?) free silver, stand it? Listen. They knew that without co-operation the Populists would, as Bryan said, be "forced to fight for the life of their organization, "and the silver forces divided. They knew that with co-operation nine free silver Congress men would be elected ; without it, some goldbug Congressmen would be elected. Much as they hated it, the Populists had forced them to put themselves cn record. What did they do? They threw off the sheep's clothing and said : "We will not have nine free silver Congressmen from North Carolina." And still they say they are in favor of free silver I "Hypocrats P Beware of them I The three leading Democratic dailies of the State are: Tne Raleigh Post, Raleigh News and Observer, and Char lotte Observer. Does not every one know that two of these three are op posed to free silver and the editor of the other was one of the Democratic committee which refused to co operate to elect free silver Congressmen? The Democrats knew that the elec tion of nine free silver Congressmen from North Carolina would help tna cause of silver. "And we are such great friendp(?) of silver," paid they, "that we must do everything possible to retard its progress!" Oh, consist And still they say they are in favor of free silver I "Hypocrats!' Beware of them I