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VOL. XXII
(TUESDAY)
WARRENTON, N. C, TUESDAY, APRIL 3RD, 1917
(FRIDAY)
NO. 59
$1.50 A YEAR
A SEMI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF WARRENTON AND WARREN COUNTY
3c. A COPY
rn' IF THIS PAPER ISN'T WORTH THREE CENTS A WEEK, IT ISN'T WORTH PRINTING
- - . . ' I m
- - - N
(Fred A. Olds.)
Beyond any question the oddest of
ii Worth Carolina's great men was
Nathaniel Macon, who has been rated
among the dozen greatest men these
United States have produced up to
this good hour. j
jjr. Macon was of the people and
for the people, first, last and all the
time, and was truly a-near-to-nature-um.
The writer has just made what !
may' be termined a pilgrimage to the
borne and the grave of this great
iuerkw, as rugged as our North
Carolina mountains at their wildest;
tfe mcv who was for thirty-seven
years Speaker of the National
kousr , Representatives; and for
vhom r.:my cities, towns and counties
have been named.
It had been a long desire to visit!
this heme and grave, to see the sim
plicity of the life and death of "Nat
Macon" for that was what the call
ed him then and yet. From Macon
station, a tiny place on the Seaboard
Air Line, th i journey was made over -loads
which have changed but little
since the days when Macon flounder-
fid through them to Churchill public
school house, and from thence over
roads of the same type to the home,
snd grave. The writer was gravely
tld that ha had "come into the Styx. '
Ibis was a polite way of calling it the
jumping: off place, for as you remem
ber the ?tyx wa3 the river across
which grim old Charon ferried you on
your last journey, into the Great Be
vond. It is rdl in the county of Wairen 1
Famed f.r stout general "n the War
of the Revolution, and yet time has
stood very still there Quaint old
houses are here ar.cl there alongside
.the roads which are entirely fair '
weather highways. IT ere is a world f
painted and unkent. Yet ;.xty rdd
years ago, the county of Warren was
regarded as one of the most aristo
cratic m the State. It n-od' ced great
en and some of these cut a large
Spure in affairs. On of them w--s
the first governor of Texas, another
was Governor Miller of North Caro
lina, and there were Eatons, Persons,
Polks and others who were national
ures.
Those were the days of big farms
and many slaves in Warren. Fine
folks are their now, pure Americans,
whose ideals of life are good man
rs and hospitality. Warren has in
large degree stood still or gone back
ward as to farms and homes and
reads bat not m courtesy or kindness.
It was: "nder such conditions and
Wiroments that the trip was made,
the Churchill school, and some of the
landed gentry, to u;e and old- phrase
escorts. The route led partly
nato the valley of a creek, marked bv
d like that in an abandoned brick
Pit, with an absence of life astonish
es in these days and presently the
road climbed and there ahead were
buildings and a grove of half-dead
and ugly white oak trees, which folKS
-all the "Nat. Macon Place." From
hcme there is a far view, partic
ularly westward .There was heard the
wot of a locomotive in the distance.
ih place is tumble-down in the last
ree, and if the writer had seen a
memorial arch, there, with the one
word "Irhvhod" upon it; he would not
av ; -n startled for truly "Thy
Slory h, .h departed." .
Macon's dwelling house, is, of course,
central feature. . It is one story
Bd an attic, the latter shaped like a
JPil A and just big enough for a
children and their dolls. Down
Vlow th-ere is one room, the dimen
os of the house being 20 x 16 feet.
,1S bmlt of logs and weather board-
Underneath is a cellar or base
st of the -rudest fashion, the en
t0 doorless and a sort of
nt-houSe projecting above, looking
a cave entrance. Yet below tkere
15 a fireplace.
tw the one real room 0f the house
one as many quaint things a
aMd Can think of. There is a door
a south door, a chimney with a
and Tlth and graceful arch above,
loset left 0f tkis a double-deck
The Wlth a high door nd low one.
tmv .eplace is stucca. There are
p, J0. each composed ef feur
of glass. Th cehmg is of
NATHANIEL MACON'S HOME IN WARREN
place Badly Run Down arid HI Kept; No Place For
Company.
rough planks, which has been white
washed again and again and are
thick with the scales of lime. A
stairway right at the door make one
little turn and then leans like a iad-
der so steep is it, and vp it you climb
into, the "ole-timey" garret. The
house was well built of its class, every
nail was made in a smithy, the wood
work .was, well done, but verything
seems so dwarfed. There is just room
for two people . downstairs and one
child's btsd upstairs. In the attic is
one full-sized bed and just about takes
all the space. The roof comes right
down on the building in a way quite
different from modern construction
The garret is ceiled with moulded
plank, all gotten out by hand.
In f ront f this house, which by no
mrans could be called a mansion, is
vviat used to be the kitchen, now beat
en as flat as a wafflle by one of the
wretclied a.nd dodered white- oaks,
- Mch a little gale .last year blew
down. This kitchen was the same
sise as what the slaves in those days
used to call the " great house," in
fact was a trifle larger, 18 x 20 feet,
and the sleepers of it are heart sweet
gum; these, like the other beams, hav
ing been hewn out. There was a fire
place eight , feet wide and above this
the chimney areh, a beam of white
oak eighteen inches square, and per
fectly sound today, like the sleepers,
which ar lying there, uncared for and
soon, likti everything else at the tumble-down
place, to be only a bed of rot
ten wood.
Not far from this kitchen and the
house W.s another building, of about
the sami size and general design,
which either tumbled down er .was
torn down many a year ago, and from
its material was constructed oir the
southssid of the "great house"' what
is known as a "lean too," a little af
fair and this is now the kitchen The
place is now ewned by negroes and
the latter live in not a few other
places in that community which used to
be in far earlier times the abode of
nell Known families. The whole
place is so ill-kept, so unkept, that it
makes ycu think of a ragged boy,with
uncut hair sticking through a hole in
his battered straw hat. To tell the
truth, tho idea came into the writer's
mind instantly that if Warren county
and North Carolina should show no
more regard for Nat. Macon's memory
than this, it were far better that-net
one timber stood upon another and
not one brick remained, but that every
thing should be clothed .with the wild
forest, and this emotion abides.
The torn down building alluded to
was built . by Macon for his two
daughters. What he did wit his com
pany, and he had a great deal of it,
puzzles the people today. What did
do with his brother great man,
John Randolph, of Roanoke, that
proud Virginian, as slim as a rail and
near seven feet high? Did they sleep
in that little attic? If so, one can al
most think of Randolph, with head
ont of one little window and feet out
the other. Did these gentry old and
young, for Macon was very fond of
young men, sleep around the neigh
boring houses, and neighbors were
not thero, or did some put up in the
splendidly built granary, which is
much th largest building on the
place? "
It seems that Nat. Macon was go
ing to build a real "great house," and
had the timber hauled for a mansion
sure enough, but just then his wife
died and the scheme ended then and
there, for he loved her dearly and
KHMir aid that the house was good
enough for her and so good enough
for him; plain but substantial ana
well put together. .
Mr. Macon was devoted to fox hunt-
,r, Wed the treat out-of-doors.
The fact has been mentioned that he
was fond of company, especially young
r, Hi used both tobacco and wnis-
key, but constantly advised his young
friends to abstain from Dotn as DemK
what he termed bad and unnecessary
habit. ::" -
Tr,rT-w VinilHiB- on the , place was
looked at by the writer with special
care; The second in size is tne com
crib, built of logs, its only door be
ing six feet from the ground, and
two an. one-half feet square.' The
-K.i prcject far ont anel under thi-
great overhand were the light beams
xn granary, tne best built of all ex
cept perhaps the "great house," is a
partial wreck. It waa for small
frrain, and its second floor 4s yet a
superb room, with floors of sweet
gum, the planks eighteen inches wide,
which looks as though they had been
polished with wax, and with joists of
sweet-gum. m This big room would
have been by far the finest sleeping
place of all, and perhaps long and
lanky John Randolph, of Roanoke,
stretched himself there. Another
old building standing is the smoke
house. Nat. Macon, like other sensi
ble folks of his day, and quite unlike a
vast number of pitiful North Caro
lina farmers of the year. 1917, raised
all of the provisions which could be
possibly needed, and was therefore a
century ahead of fully a third (and
maybe half) of the farmers of today,
and they have no reason to laugh, but
onlv to hide their heads in sham frrr
they have not followed the example of
.ne of the dozen greatest Americans
patriot, lawmaker, . farmer, and
good in all of these capacities.
What grand white oaks those were
in their prime, in this once splendid
grove at the Nat. Macon home. It
was the dear fashion in that day for a
gentleman to live in such a grove and
to keep it . up, ; but now the pitiful
trees make you think of those totter
ing men you see now so -near gone,
but once so sturdy and fine at the
Soldier's Home. The eyes almost
cloud with tears at-the sight of this
Macon place. The writer confesses
to much more than a touch of sadness
there, and others, even little children,
felt it too. -
The whole farm looks barren and
is today a melancholy example of how
not to farm. The grave of Macon is
set in the fringe of the . woods, quite
near the corn crib. Do you know why
Macon, most methodical of men,
chose that particular location for his
grave? He himself gave the reason,
saying itwas on account of its barren
ness, and yet -nature in that bitf
f re3t ; ia far kinurthan oh the 001
f arm j where man has ignored her. S
Macon thought of everything, plann
ed everything - and ordered that his
grave should be unmarked-except by
rough stones. Many of these were
gathered, for they are surely thick,
and at his death were thrown upon
his grave. Friends and visitors have
added to the pile or mound, and there
are now upon "it perhaps four two
horse waeon loads of all sorts
of
stones to be found nearby. The only
other monument is a post oak a foot
in diameter, and on this was rudely
carved the letter "M," now nearly ob
literated; this of course having been
done long since Macon died, for-that
was 18S6, and this tree is surely not
over thirty years old.
The grave is perhaps about three
hundred yards from the house and on
either side of the road are some other
graves, the total being four or lve,
each with its mound of rocks, , his
grave being covered with a far larger
mound than any of the others. An
acre of land, taking, in the grave has
been quite recently bought, - and the
writer had a m conference with the
Woman's Club at Macon in regard to
properly marking the place, suggest
ing a wire fence with privet as a
hedge, the use of rough stones in mak
ing a rectangle at the Macon grave
upon which the stones from the vicin
ity should be place as now, and with
ground-ivy planted among the stones,
and with a granite boulder, all in the
rough, from the vicinity, with a bronze
shield upon it; just the sort of head
stone. Macon would have loved; 'rude
rugged, native; the larger tress to
be reserved, and the shrubs removed
of course. The club will act upon
this suggestion and it may take up a
plan of buying the old home and re
storing it.
Macon had some novel ideas. He
surely was a lover among lovers.
With him love was the compelling pas
sion and his devotion to his wife seems
wonderful in these degenerated days
to many a man who considers some
other mans wife superior to their own.
It is set down that he played the game
of whist with his greatest rival for
the hand of a young lady of the coun
ty of Warren, that hand being the
stake. The rival won, but Macon re
fused to abide by luck's decision and
married the lady straightway, justify
ing himself by declaring. "Love is
superior to honesty."
One of the things he loved was his
spring, not far from his, house, but
this is now a ruin and unused, truly a
typo of everything else in that turn-
SHALL THE SOUTH SUF
FER FOR FOOD.
TO THE COMMITTE QF PUBLIC
SAFETY: ;
We call your attention to the calam
ity which threatens the Soutn.
In War the problem is not one solely
of men and munitions, but of food sup
ply. The South can furnish men, and
to a certain extent munitions, but of
food in the matter of food supply we
are helpless,, unless their is a heavy in
crease "of f ood crops at once. We do
hot even feed ourselves. As matters
"now stand, we are fed from, the hog
pens and the" stock farms and the
granaries of the West. Many people
in the South have .felt it necessary to
deny this or gloss it over. This may
be all very well in times of peace, but
when this War comes the truth will.be
exposed. We will be face to face with
absolute want. Not only will we un
able to furnish food for the armies,
but we will be unable to feed our peo
ple at home.' We will become a bur
den upon the Nation, because the Na
tion will find it necessary to supply us
with something to eat. .
It has been estimated that $600,000,
000 of food stuffs, including animal
nroducts. are brought into the South !
each year in addition to what we, our-! Playg an important role in the pre
serves, produce. When all this food is J mention of diseasesparticularlytypnus
i 'fever. When a batallion comes out of
vilian population in other sections of
the Country, $0 say nothing of the ex
ports to Europe, how are we to be fed?
There is but lone answer to this ques
tion. We must take immediate steps
to produce upon our own farms some
thing that will" support man and beast,
or we shall suffer. This issue can be
avoided no longer. We must face it
vl face it at oncr v
Every well informed man knows that
food is scarce the world over, and food
crops under these conditions are sure
to bring high prices. Corn is selling
at the highest price ever known in the
history of this Country.
"--A' man in position fo kriow predicts
that no wheat will be available in this
Country by July 1st for any purpose
whatever. It will be well nigh crim
inal for our farmers, and for the men
who control the great plantations, and
for the bankers who finance these men,
and for the merchants who have been
accustomed to supply them, to follow
out their present plans and put every
available acre in cotton. Our grain
crops were practically destroyed . by
the cold a few months ago.
It is understood that farmers have
determined to plant all this oat and
wheat land in cotton. Every means
should be exerted to prevent this. The
big farmer and the little farmer
throughout the South ought to be
shown that it is his patriotic duty to
grow" sufficient food stuffs upon his
farm, not only to feed his own family
and his own stock, but to give some
assistance at least to the Government
in taking care of the men in the army
and the navy. ' Let it not be said that
in these critical times the South has
become a burden upon the Nation, is
unable to sustain itself and unable to
he of any service to the Country.
H. Y. McCord, Chairman
A. M. SOULE,
J. T. HOLLEMAN
J. A. McCord
J. K. ORR
LEE ASHCRAFT
. II. G. HASTINGS
J. N. HARPER
B. II. GROVER, Asst.
Com. of Agriculture.
Committee On Food Supply.
Atlanta Ga., March 31, 1917.
One brother was tall and slim,
The other was chubby and short.
Teddy sat looking them orfe night,
Apparently lost in thought.
"Mamma," he asked at length, "
"Which would you like the best,
For mo to grow North and South, like
fvrrt
Or, like Willie from east to west?"
Youth's Companion.
ble-down place. The. only thing there
today he could have endured were the
trees, the shrubs and the stones in the
bit of forest where his bones lie.
A pilgrimage to the grave of a real
American is worth while in these de
generated days, when oho has to plead
with some folks to be Americans and
when so very many people put not
"America first," but the letter" "I"';
pitiful people these, who care not one
whit if their country decays so they,
meanly, survive. .
EVERY MAN A SANITARIAN
IN THE ARMY
One of the wonders of the European
war has been the health of the men at
the front. As a matter of fact, the
advance made in the science of disease
prevention during 'this war has re
versed the records of past wars. De
spite the horrors of trench life and
war conditions, the death rate of the
British and French soldiers from
sickness has been as low as 3 per
thousand as compared with five per
thousand among males of military
age in times of peace. It is remem
bered in this connection that the army
consists of picked men, that "there is
no illness and deaths, due to conditions
such as bad hearts, etc., but even this
fact does not account for the good
health of the soldiers under war con
ditions. There is a reason, however, and in
the main it is because) each officer and
each man is required to be a sanitar
ian. For example, if an order de
manding cleanliness in the trenches
be issued it is sent from officer to man
and each is required to see that his
particular "dug-out" or section of
trench is kept clean- Thus each in
dividual keeps his section and the
whole army area is kept clean.
In France the station bath house
the trenches after perhaps a two
week's stay, it is dirty or infected
with lice. The soldiers are " marched
in squads to the bath house and are
given so many minutes to luxuriate
? i ' J - 1 " A -
in these baths of hot water and soap.
Afterwards they are given washed,
sterilzed underclothing and socks, and
their uniforms which meanwhile have'
been disinfected with hot steam. This
suffices to kill lice and their eggs
which are deposited in the seams of
the clothing,.
The amount of typhoid in the Brit
ish army has been almost neglible.
This fact is attributed mainly to anti
typhoid - inoculation- and- -sanitary pro
cautions taken in regard " to the dis
posal of excreta which is burned or
buried. Other precautions taken in
the army against diseases were the
cholorination of water, prevention of
breeding places, for flies, inspection
and care of all food, rapid removal of
all cases of infectious disease, and
rest stations.
COMPARISON OF SOYBEANS
AND CO WE AS
Experiments shows that soybeans
-ire better yielders when planted in
rows and cultivated, than are cow
peas. The beans are also a more cer
ta n c"oo for hay and seed than nre
cowpeas. Not only is this true on
well-drained land, .but it is true also
on land which is only- fairly well drain
ed, when once a stand has b?en socuv--d
On the black soils of the eastern
portion of the State it I .as been found
that soybean usually thrive when the
peas many times meet with failure, r
with very poor returns. Not only this,
but in sections of the State where, dur
ing the late spring or early fall, the
nights are cool, the soybeans will be
found to be much, better adapted than
are the cowpeas. This being so, soy
beans may be sown earlier and be ex
pected to grow later in the fall than
the cowpea. This is of particular inter
est to those farmers whose-places are
located under conditions which require
such crops as will thrive with cool
nights and complete their growth in a
comparatively short time under these
conditions.
In most cases the total growth pro
duced by soybeans will be equal . or
larger than that produced by cowpias.
The cost of growing the two crops , in
rows will be practically the sanee.
This may possibly be a little in favor
of the beans, however, because of the
ease wHh which the cultivations naay
conducted, due to their upright nab-
f" UA suwm. xxUi-Vj -
v.hen compared witn tne variety i
cowpeas that have a strong tendency
to run. Extension Farm News.
"We plan and plan, then pray
That God may bless our nlan;
So runs our dark and' doubtful way,
That scarce "shall lead unto the day
So runs the life of man ? ;
But, hearken! God saith, 'Pray!'
He will show His plan,
And lead in His shining way -
That leadeth on to perfect day,
I Each God-surrendered man!"
WALKING BEST TONIC
Drugs, Pills and Purgatives
Harmful. Give Nature a
Charice.
Walk some every day has been pre
scribed as a preventive of spring fev
er. But this does not mean walking
in and about the house or standing on
your feet while at work. It means
going for walk -in the open' air and
sunshine, relaxing mind and body,
leaving cares behind, and enjoying
walking for the good it will do.
As spring comes on the body re
quires extra attention. It needs ton
ing up in order to properly adjust it
self to the change of season, and to
completely recover from the bad ef
fects of high temperatures and 1 1
door living during the winter. But
drugs, pills , and purgatives are not
needed. They do more harm than
good. Spring tonics that are worth
while are exercises that will'take you
out in the open air, sufficient and reg
ular rest of mind and body, and a diet
mainly of fruits and vegetables.
Walking every day in the open air
is particularly recommended, whether
it bo walking to work, or walking for
healths' sake. As to the health value
of walking, Dr. William A. Howe says:
"This means of improving health,
like fresh air, is within the reach of
most people. Its energizing influence
should be more widely utilized. A
reasonable distance should be walked
every day, regardless of weather con
ditions. It is not well to walk so rap
idly or so far as to induce fatigue from
which one does not prornptly recover.
Neither is it advisable to walk rapidly
in the face of a strong wind, or on a
rough -road, or in ascending a hill.
Unless' already accustomed to walking
it is far better to begin by going a
short distance each day, at a moderate
pace, gradually increasing the dis
tance and speed."
THE HALIFAX-
WARREN CLUB
The Halifax-Warren county club
was organized at . the University of
North Carolina in the fall of 1916. The
purpose of this club is to foster a
love for the University and its future
welfare, and to create a closes ac
quaintance among men from the same
section of the State. This idea of
County Clubs was originated at the
University a few years ago, and now
there are many such clubs here.
Mr. R. W. Madry, of Scotland Neck,
was elected President of the Club; Mr.
Forest Miles, of. Warrenton, Vice
president; Mr. Brodie Jones, of War
renton, Secretary-Treasurer. Since
the organization of the. club; we have
had several smokers social gather
ing where refreshments are served,
and members on time and where va
rious topics relative to the welfare of
the club have been discussed.
There are twenty members of the
club. Warren county is represented
by Messrs. Edward L. Davis, J. Boyd
Davis, Keppel Falkner, Forest Miles,
Morton Miles, William Polk, and
Brodie Jones; Halifax is represented
by Messrs. Sidney Allen, A. W. Andle
ton, Donald- Daniel, Charlie Doniei.
Kelly Jenkins, R. W. Madry, V. B.
Mouhtcastle, C. E. Matthews. A. Z.
Travis, E. T. Travis, L. G. Travis, R.
S. Travis, and A. Z. Zollicoffer.
In accordance with a plan formu
lated by the Greater Council, a form
of student government, and sanctioned
by President Graham that each county
club should select a member of that
club to represent the club and th Un
iversity at-the county commencemenvs,
the 'Halifax-Warren County Club se
lected TVIr. Sidney B. Allen fo- the
Halifax County Commencement and
M . Forest'Miles for the Warren coun
ty commencement. The Club pays one
jhalf the expenses of these gentleman.
and they will be glad to entertain any
question in regard to expenses, the
various courses, athletics, or any other
feature of college life.
Boys who are interested in coming
to College as almost all boys are
will be surprised to learn how cheaply
a college "education may be obtained at
Carolina, and they will do well to make
it appoint to see our representative on
County Commencement day.
Secretary.
PHILATHEA CLASS WILL
SERVE REFRESHMENTS
The Philathea Class of the M. E.
j Church will serve Hot Coffee (5c.) and
j Sandwiches(5c.) on the Court House
'Square, Thursday April 5.