(
VOLUME AAl v
7l50 A YEAR
(Tuesday)
WARRENTON, N. C, FRIDAY, JULY 11, 1919
(Friday)
Number 54.
A SEMI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF WARRENTON AND WARREN COUNTY
5c. THE COPY
n
RMI Gi ! 0IT1D PRESIDENT WJ LS0S1 ETS
To the People of Warren Coanty:
You are entitled to a fair and truthful statement of conditions in respect
tn all matters leading up to the occurances in the office of the Board of Edu
oHon on last Monday, July 7th., and I will endeavour to state the facts as
I see them
If I am wrong in my conclusions either of fact or of law, I am
open
to conviction, and am entirely willing, in-so-far as I am connected with
. 1 i- -v .r Vk C J-J SI 4"V "l-lCT--- Vr etZ a T 1 1 '11 1
the matter, lu aumc mc ucioiwn uua utcaswii, a.s nave oeen in an oxners,
of the people of this County.
THE LEGISLATURE OF 1917
The Legislature of 1917 took from succeeding Legislatures (insofar as it
had any power to bind any other Legislature, and I think without repeal of
the law it was so bound) all initiative in appointment of members of the
county boards of education m Counties making nominations by Primary or
Executive Committee, it passed what is known as Chapter 74, Acts of 1917,
o-ivino- to the people the privilege of naming the members of the Boards of
Education and stating clearly and without doubt that the Legislature shall
onnnint the candidates so nominated, The Legislature had no choice It must
t? r
obey the mandate of the people at the legalized primary.
THE PRIMARY IN WARREN
A Primary was held in Warren. Messrs. T. A. Baxter, J. A. Kimball, W.
H. Fleming and Jesse Gardner were candidates for the two positions to be
come vacant on the Board. . There is no doubt that the people, the Superin
tendent of Schools and the candidates thought that only two members should
come on and that two should make places for them by retiring.
Mr. John Newell resigned before the primary was held. Mr. J. A. Kimball
was appointed to succeed him on the Board. Mr. NewelPs term of office ex
pired on the. first Monday of April. He resigned from the Board on the first
Monday of April. Thercandidates for the unexpired term of J. D. Newell were
W. H. Fleming and J. A. Kimball. Mr. Fleming was elected by the Primary.
His name as the primary nominee was certified to the Secty. of State in ac
cordance with law, and by the Secty. of State certified to the Gen. Assembly.
His name therefore was the only name legally before the Legislature for the
unexpired term of John D. Newell, resigned. The Act under which he was
elected and crtified says in Section 3 that the Legislature shall appoint the
nominee of the primary. The nominee, towit: W. H. Fleming, had been cer
tified to the Legislature. If W. H. Fleming for any cause between the date
cf the Primary and the 11th day of March, 1919, became ineligible, then in
that event the Executive Committee of the County filled the vacancy; but
NOT THE LEGISLATURE.
FLEMING A NON RESIDENT
It is set up by those representing the County in the General Assembly
that Fleming was a non-resident and not eligible." He was a resident when
nominated and could have become a resident within twenty-four hours. Who
is to say that he lost his citizenship? But if he had lost his .citizenship in
the County, the General Assembly had no duty of nominating his, successor;
the County executive Committee was charged with that duty.
FLEMING HAS NOT RESIGNED
Fleming was the nominee of a legalized Primary. The County Board of
Elections was the custodian of. Fleming' "Notice cf Candidacy"- to- succeed
John D. Newell, resigned. A resignation could inly be made to the author
ity holding his Announcement, because that authority was charged with the
duty of providing machinery for nomination. If Fleming had resigned the
Board of Elections would have brought to the attention of the Democratic
Executive Committee the fact, and the Democratic Executive Committee
would have filled the vacancy.
GROUNDS FOR PRESUMPTION
Did Messrs. Hawkins and Davis, representing Warren county in the Leg
islature have reason to believe that the Executive Committee would have
named Mr. Petar for the vacancy in the nominees ? I think not. It had only
been a few weeks previous, with Mr: Hawkins voting for him, that this same
Executive Committee failed to give him sufficient votes (with two candidates
only) to elect him to a vacancy on the Board of Commissioners. Therefore
there could not have been in the minds of either Mr. Hawkins or Mr. Davis
that they were carrying out the wishes of the Executive Committee in nam
ing Mr. Petar. And if they had thought so, they were not empowered to
say so. Only the Executive Committee could act.
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Again, under the Act naming Mr. Petar the Legislature empowered the
State Board of Education to fill a vacancy where the Legislature failed to
appoint for any county. If Fleming was ineligible; if they were afriad to
trust the Executive Committee, they could (and should) have failed to ap
point, and the State Board would have appointed.
DID THEY APPOINT TO VACANCIES?
What did they do? Did they make appointments under Chapter 74, Acts
of 1917? If so, then the appointment of Mr. Petar was in violation of the
Act. Certainly Mr. Gardner and Mr. Petar could not have -been both appoint
ed under provision of Chapter 74, Acts 1917. Mr. Gardner was a legalized
nominee to succeed Mr. Rooker. Mr. Petar was Mr. Hawkins's and Mr.
Mavis's nominee and could not have been appointed under provision of the
Act of 1917, for they (Hawkins and Davis) were restrained by unrepealed
Act of the Legislature from making any nominations other than candidates
certified to the General Assembly by the Secretary ' of State. Mr. Petar
could certainly not have been appointed in any other way than to increase
the membership of the board; he certainly could not have been appointed to
the unexpired term of John D. Newell, for there is not a line in print that
authorizes him to fill the unexpired term of John D. Newell; there is not a line
iR print showing him as eligible for nomination under the same law that
dominated Mr. Gardner. Mr. Gardner's notice of Candidacy for the term to j
succeed J. E. Rooker is on file; and Mr. Gardner's certificate of election has
been certified to the General Assembly; but Mr. Petar is the candinate for
nobody's unexpired term, nor the nominee of the Legislature for anybody's
""expired term, He is just Mr. Edward Petar appointed for a "term of four
years" to "fill vacancies existing or caused by increase in the number of the
Membership, as provided by law." Therefore-Mr. Hugh P. Reams, successor
01 John D. Newell, is clearly within his rights in holding over "until the next
regular meeting of the General Assembly." If neither of the appointees (Mr.
Gardner nor Mr. Petar) were appointed under provision of the Act of 1917
land Mr. Petar could not have been) then they were under the provision of
lJe Act of 1919 appointed to increase the membership of the Board. And as
"te appointing Act clearly states that they were both appointed to "fill va
cancies existing or caused by the increase in the number of the membership,"
lookqs as if the candidacy of Mr. Gardner for the term to succeed Mr.
looker was ignored by his friends, Messrs. Hawkins and Davis, and that
Jobody was appointed to succeed Mr. Rooker, and he was told to hold over
t0 July, 1921.
MR. JESSE GARDNER
1 think Mr. Jesse Gardner has a moral and legal right to sit on this Board
or a term of six years. He was the nominee of the people, he was certified
0 e Legislature. He was a candidate for a definite term, he was elected
IOr that t.P rm u,,. tt ' tt i,; j riotnc Ai-wooA tVifit the term he was
uut lvi cssia. liiiwivnia txiij. A-rcv.& uuvw
bership. He was so appointed. This being the view of the membership of
the Board, they were invited to do so in accordance with the law appointing
them.
The Legislature said to us and to them "We have appointed Messrs. Ed
ward Petar and Jesse Gardner as members of the County Board of Education
Lcf Warren County "To fill vacancies existing or caused by the increase in the
number of the membership, as provided by law." And the Board felt that
this was in entire harmony with the other direction of the Legislature that
IN ALL COUNTIES where by provision of existing laws, the term, for
which the member or members of the board of education of said counties have
been elected or appointed, expires BEFORE THE FIRST MONDAY OF
JULY, 1921, the member or members so appointed or elected shall HOLD
OVER until the first Monday of July, 1921." There you are: one section says
hold over to 1921, and the appointing section says "I appoint you to increase.
the Board." both consistent.
AN INVITATION TO BE SEATED
Therefore the appointees of the Legislature of 1919 were invited to
become members of the County Board of Education under direction of the
Act of 1919. On the 11th day of March they were appointed members , of
THIS County Board of Education, and not of any other. The direction was
"the county board of; educatiran,aiidjthere was. no other existing on the-11th
of March, 1919. They were invited to participate in the orderly administra
tion of the School law by virtue of their appointment to THIS board. If they
don't takqe seats on THIS board there will be two vacant seats. Messrs.
Gardner and Petar will have failed to avail themselves of the privileges and
direction of the Law. The Board's construction of Section ONE may be en
tirely erroneous the Legislature may have intended to have put them on in
place of Messrs. Newell, resigned and Rooker whose term expired. But it
was on THIS board that those vacancies would occur. A refusal to siton
THIS board was a refusal to obey the instructions of the General Assembly.
It mattered not how many other members might then appear to be thereon -
their title might not be good for they may have a wrong construction of the
law. But whether they have or not it does not alter, the fact that the mem
bers whose appointment was certified here as members of THIS board have
refused to serve on or with THIS board.
THE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
-
The County Board of Education is a Corporation, a creature of law. It has
its office, its records, itsseal. It has a great many conferred powers and
many by implication. It is recognized by the Legislature as being in charge
the matters affecting the Schools of the County. There is no vacancy of the
County Board of Education no "wilo' the wisp." It should be a dignified
and order,ly body transacting the business of the State in an orderly and
mm .1 -w-v i i j
dignified way. Two appointees to membership on tne uoara cannot set mem-
selves up as a County Board of Education if such claim is resisted by tnose
who are even de facto members. Only the Courts can give authority to tnose
claiming authority, if such claim is resisted by those then in authority.
Neither Mr. Petar nor Mr. Gardner have demanded seats on THIS board; but
on the contrary have refused to sit on THIS board. THIS board if it was a
hnard of Education on Julv 7th. 11:59. was also a board when it tendered
membership to Messrs. Petarand Gardner at 12 M.J It continued to be a
board when they refused to serve. It is NOW the SAME County Board of
(Continued On Third Page)
The President of the United States returned to his native land yesterday
without a word of apology for any of the acts performed by him during his
one hundred and ninety, day's participation in the Paris Peace Conference.
There was in the attitude and brief addresses made by the President at
Hoboken and Jn Carnegie Hall not the slightest intimation that he believed
any explanation or excuse was needed to justify the terms of the peace treaty
that he, as the representative of the American people, helped to negotiate.
There was, on the contrary, a decided and positive ring in the state
ments made by the President in acknowledging the unusual welcome ex
tended to him a grim note of determination to fight for the sanction by the
people of the Nation of the terms of peace accepted by him.
Admitting that the task already' performed had been irksome and most
difficult in accomplishment, the President gave his solemn pledge to a vast
audience at Carnegie Hall that another and greater task still confronted him
the ratification cf the peace treaty by the legislative representatives, of the
American people.
WELCOME TO WILSON IMPRESSIVE.
This was his last word to the wildly enthusiastic crowd that heard his
Carnegie Hall speech before he resumed his journey to the national capital,
where another welcome cheered him late at night, as the final preliminary to
the battle that awaits him with the reactionary elements in the United States
Senate. v
The welcome extended to President Wilson by the people of New York
and New Jersey was not only heartily cordial but most unusually impressive.
It rivalled in some spectacular features the receptions accorded .to him by
the people of Paris, London and Rome. It lacked, perhaps, the pageantry and
ceremonial that characterized his visits to the French and English capitals,
and the emotional fervor of the greetingextended to him during his stay in
Rome. '
.But New York has rarely, if ever, participated in or witnessed so dem
onstrative a welcome to any of its national celebrities as that tendered t
Mr. Wilson and his wife. The nearest approach to the event was the per
sonal tribute paid to the late Col. Theodore-Roosevelt on his return from
hunting big game in Africa in 1910. On that occasion upward of half a mil
lion citizens of the American metropolis choked Fifth Avenue and contribut
ed a joyous welcome.
MORE THAN HALF A MILLION GREET HIM.
More than that number of the citizens of New York and New Jersey
participated in the bewildering sequence of events that marked his entry
through the gates of New York. From the time that his gray transport, the
George Washington, appeared off Ambrose Channel Light and headed toward.
Sandy Hook Horseshoe from the open sea until a special train bore him away
at 6:46 o'clock last night, the President was the central and pleased figure in
a kaleidoscopic array of marine, aerial and street demonstrations in Hoboken
and New York, winding up with his formal speech of welcome to the greet
ings extended by Gov. Smith and Mayor Hylan in Carnegie Hall .
..There was no mistaking the sincerity with which '"he acknowledged" the"
greetings extended to him, nor of his manifest pleasure in coming home
again.
"You may be glad to see me' he said in Hoboken and later in New
York, "but you are not half as glad to see me as I am you. I am certainly
glad to be home. I don't think I ever heard anything more beautiful in the
way of music than the tune just played by the band." This was at Hoboken.
Tha tune was "Hail! Hail! The Gang's All Here!"
The attitude of the President during the two hours that the George Wash
ing poked along from the Ambrose Light to the old Hamburg-American Lina
pier in Hoboken fully confirmed his statement. With his head protected from
the sun, he spent the entire time on the bridge of the. transport, whose bulky
sides were lined with sbmthing like 4,000 troops and a distinguished company
of advisers that accompanied the President. Most of the time the President
sat cross-legged on the top rail leading to" the bridge, gazing in admiration
at the superb picture that came within his vision.
1471 People Take All Three
Anti - Typhoid Treatments
After four trips to every appointment mapped out by the County and
State Boards of Health to make the typhoid vaccine accessible to every white
and colored citizen of this county, Dr. Howell Peacock completed the cam
paign in Warren Wednesday afternoon.
Fourteen hundred and seventy-one people took the three treatments.
Numbers took one and many more two doses but fell short on the third. Six
and six tenths of the county population availed themselves of this opportun
ity, one per cent, of whom were colored people.
In talking over the campaign yesterday morning with Dr. Peacock, who
tf'has filled every appointment on time
despite the weather which one day
i uuii lvicaoia xxawAiua auu jcy.a
r . 1 should be held bv the present incumbent until July, 1921, and that Mr.
wdner was put on to increase the Board. You cannot construe the law as
PJ meaning what it said when 'it directed the incumbent to hold over, but
Mr ?ean what Jt said when it directed Mr. Gardner to. serve for six years.
petar has moral and legal right to sit on this Board to increase its mem-
-.ww c. . - i ! i ! i i urn i i v.OT-.'jwr?.'
)
1 Turkish delegates to the peace conference who have been sent Dack to Constantinople. 2 Private Paul
L. Bolin and Corporal Edward J. Gillespie with their wives about to start from New York on the second leg
of their journey from "France to Frisco." A American circus performance for the Yanka at Bordeaux,
France, awaiting transportation hon e.
caused him to abandon his motor
byke for fear of it being drowned and
take to a Johnnie, we learn that "in
difference and busy conditions on the
farm are responsible for the small
percentage," continuing he stated,
'Those who took the treatment were
mainly boys, girls and women a
very small percentage were men."
Dr. Peacock was warm in his praise
for the citizens of the county with
whom he came in contact during hi3
'month's stay. The campaign, from
I every angle, was a success. Four
teen hundred and seventy-one people
jare better citizens because they are
healthier and practically immune
from typhoid, but the wholeale ac
ceptance of the preventive treatment,
and this "lack of concern in personal
safety" was the reason less than
i seven people of each hundred took the
precaution to protect themselves.
Dr. Pacock was on the job from the
jump and made ..friends during his
four weeks here. The small percent
age was neither due to lack of his
ability nor to ignorance by the peo
?)e of the appointments and the treat
ment's benefits, but to largely indi
vidual indifference and
tions on the farms.
labor condi-