VOLUME
THE
PILOT
NUNBER
36
Is a Paper Devoted to the Upbuilding of the Sandhill Territory of North Carolina
Address all communications to
xhe pilot printing company. VASS. N. C.
JOHNSON DELAYED
BY A WASHOUT
Sees Colorado—Writes Interest
ingly of Towns—Touches
on Mexico
On the 18th June, I was up at five
o’clock, and was surprised to find that
we had been delayed five hours on ac
count of a wash-out; and that we were
still in Colorado. But for this delay
we would not have seen the state of
Colorado at all, for it was about night
when we entered the state from the
Kansas side, and by schedule time
we would have been in Nev/ Mexico
before day. So even a delay in a
journey may not be without its bless
ings.
The land is as level as a table, but
we can see the dim outline of very
hig’h mountains far in the North-west.
The ve^^ietation is comparatively
sparce, but still sufficient to support
large herds and flocks. The only wood
in siu’ht is the ever present sago bush.
It is not the same as our Salvius Of
ficinalis, or garden sage, that is so
suggestive of home-made sausage,
but its foliage looks not unlike our
garden thyme—yet it is sweetly aro
matic, ad * seems to me ought to be
valuable as a savory herb.
At the town of Earl, the recent
rains had washed great gullies in the
soil, which showed the rich loam to
extend six feet deep, and more; and
mind you, these rains are few and
far bkween; and as we approach
nearer the foot of the mountains, rain
rarely ever falls; and here we see the
firsi irrigation ditch. The scent of
venter spreads an emerald green man
tel over all the adjacent lands. We
are now in plain view of the TWO
BROTHERS mountains, and are near
ing the town of Trinidad, where we
have our ftrst plain view of the reg
ulation Mexican adobe dwelling-
houses.
Trinidad, (a Spanish word meaning
Trinity), is a fine town of about 15,-
000 population. This is the head-
quartevi^ of John C. Fremont, the
“WoolyHorse,” when he was exploring
the southern Rocky Mountains soon
after the discovery of gold in Cali
fornia, when the slogan of the Forty-
Xiners was: “Pike’s Peak or Bust.'’
It is the county seat of Las Animas
county (meaning The Life). It is new,
as a town, but old as a fort. The
first settlement dates from 1862, and
it is the gateway of Raton Pass, pro
nounced Raw-toon, which carries us
over the Rocky Mountains.
We stopped here twenty minutes
to get the usual assistance to make
the mighty grade that is just before
us. Here we begin the climb by which
we ascend sixteen hundred feet in fif
teen miles, and in order to rnake the
grade we take on two additional lo
comotives at Trinidad, one a standard
locomotive in front of our regular lo
comotive, and one a strong, especially-
built “pusher’ in the rear, a low built
machine with five drivers on each side,
and with this assistar.'^e we start up
the mountain.
I ought to mention that the county
in which Trinidad is located is one of
the richest in the United States—to-
wit. Las Animas county: It produces
annually three million pounds of
beans, a million sheep, and so much
corn I can’t remember it. Besides it
has a court house that would make
our new Moore county court house
look like thirty cents! But you are
to remember that I am not telling
that here. I make them know that
our Moore county court house is so
great and fine the Trinidad poor little
half a million dollars court house
Would look more like fifteen cents than
the well rounded sum of thirty cents.
Like Dan McLauchlin’s story about
the sick mule that came so near dy
ing: After the mule had recovered
one hill-billie of a horse doctor said
to his assistant: “I .wouldn’t give fif
teen cents for that mule at ten o’clock
last night!”
The assistant answered: “I wouldn’t
b-e-GIN to give fifteen cents for him!”
Some of you will remember that
I^an McLauchlin in criticising my
former letters on Scotland, said: “the
little old sorry things I said were the
best part of my letters.” I was won
dering if this story would be little
enough, and old enough, and sorry
enough to claim his commendation.
At Trinidad, before reaching the
hne ftepot, we see Sisters Hospital on
the left, and in the park on the right
IS the statue of Kit Carson, the noted
pioneer for whom Carson City was
named. Fisher’s Peak towers 8,000
teet above the city. This peak is
named for an artillery officer in Gen-
Kearney’s army, and just north
the town is a very high promon
tory named Simpson’s Rest, so called
or an old pioneer buried on its sum
mit.
Across Las Animas River on the
l^l^ht hand side of the railway are
“igh bluffs where in 1866 the settlers
t a sanguine battle with the Ute
pamphlet that is my in-
t^ does not give the result of
'JJ^ttle, but it is significant that
Indians are gone, and the
settlers are still there. Time is al
ways the best umpire.
Ascending the steep gradient, we
arrive at the mining town of Starl-
ville, which is notable as being in the
edge of the great Maxwell Grant of
one and three quarters million acres,
where in the old times the most lavish
entertainment was given to all travel
ers. This princely grant of land was
first secured by a French gentleman
narned Beaubien, and Maxwell mar
ried his daughter. The name Beau
bien literally means Beautifully Good;
I bet Mr. Maxwell, when he married
that rich heiress, said to himself
“Pretty Good.”
Passing Wootton, a mining village
on the Old Santa Fe Trail, we come
to the State line between Colorado
and New Mexico, and immediately en
ter into the Raton Tunnel, which bores
directly through the comb of the
mountain, and for a little over half
a mile we are in total darkness; and
while in this tunnel we pass over the
highest point on the Santa Fe rail
way from Chicago to California, and
so emerge into daylight and into New
Mexico, having dismissed our “push
er” before we entered the tunnel. We
now “shuck out another extra loco
motive and roll down the mountain
towards Albuquerque in great style.
All my life I had thought of New
Mexico as a desert, and of no value
to the United States except to answer
as a stopper to fill up a mighty hole
in the earth. But soon after entering
the state borders I found that I “had
another Think coming.” New Mexi
co has more coal than France and Bel
gium combined, and more than all of
Germany! Just think of half the
world fighting over the coal of the
i Ruhr valley, and other coal fields in
I central Europe, when our sparsely
I settled state of New Mexico with its
I wealth of coal, as well as the other
requisites for world progress, beckon
ing with both hands for the brawn of
France, Belgium and Germany to come
and take it, and exploit it for the
word’s advancement! There would be
no France, no Belgium, no Germany,
no ill will, and neither thought of war,
nor cause of war, but a vast Brother
hood under the Star Spangled Ban
ner, the God-blessedest Flag that ev
er floated over a free people! “Go
West, Young Man!”
The Santa Fe railroad on which we
are traveling enters the state of New
Mexico near Raton tunnel, and traver
ses the state in a south-westward di
rection to Albuquerque, thence north
westward to the town of Gallup- -but
I am anticipating.
Almost as soon as we enter New
Mexico we are in the rainless belt,
and it is more interesting to look at
the preparations for irrigation than
to examine and write about the towns
we pa?s through. Indeed I took very
few notes on any subject other than
the irrig.ition dams and ditches.
The town of Maxwell, named of
course, for the Mr. Maxwell who mar
ried the rich Miss Beaubien, is the
headquarters of an irrigation plant
that irrigates 23,000 acres, and makes
the whole territory blossom like a
rose.
The town of French, the next we
pass after Maxwell, is the headquar
ters of the Antelope Valley Irrigation
District, and makes a veritable garden
of another large territory of country.
The waters for these projects are from
(Continued on page eight)
SQUIRE CAMPBELL
CELEBRATES HIS 88th
Family and Friends Gather for his
Birthday—Still Hail
and Hearty
FRIDAY, JULY 27,1923
A CO-OP LETTER
FROM UPPER HOKE
Mr. Smith Says Crops are Look
ing Fine—Best Cotton, To-
baco, Corn—Co-op Talk
Is your crop as good as you wish
it to be?
Upper Hoke crops are fine, no bet
ter cotton, tobacco and corn prospects
anywhere in the State, as we know
of. There is some of the b(;St tobac
co in Little River township that has
ever been grown since this industry
was begun a few years ago. It takes
time for people to learn anything so
as to make a success of it, and the
farmers are just learning the art of
growing fine tobacco, and it looks now
like this will soon be the leading to
bacco section. We get not only the
size but also the fine grade which
counts at selling time.
We are 90 percent co-ops in Little
River, and have a very good local at
Mt. Pleasant school house which
meets every two weeks. About all
you hear said against the co-ops not
being all right is said by the fellow
who does not belong, and he doesn’t
say much, and we believe after the
present crop is put on the market that
this township will be 98 to 100 per
cent co-operative. We think that the
co-operatives should charge ea^h
member a fee of, say 50c. on the
$100.00 worth of tobacco sold, this fee
to be set aside as an emergency fund,
and placed in some good bank at 4
percent interest, and then shouid a
member have hard luck, such as get
ting a barn of tobacco burned, his
crop ruined by hail, or anything that
might happen, unavoidable by Wm to
cause him to be unable to meet his ob
ligations, then let him report his con
dition to his local and let the chair
man and secretary investigate the
conditions reported, and if found to be
deserving then let them recommend a
loan to said member out of this fund
to tide him over until he can make
anoO'.er crop, or until his payments
come in for back crops already de
li :ered. Charge him 4 percent inter
est until he is able to repay the loan,
and thus keep all members in good
i standing at all times. And should
there be no need of any one borrow
ing any of this money let the bank
pay the members the interei;t on their
money. We have approximately 92,-
000 members, so we are informed, and
should they pay even 50c. apiece this
would be $46,000.00, and the interest
on this for 12 months at 4 percent
v/ould be $1,840.00 to be added to the
$46,000.00, which would give us $47,-
840.00 for the first year, as a sinking
fund. We admit there would be some
expense for handling this, but we
have to pay our clerical expenses any
way, and we see no reason why this
extra work could not be done v/ith
very little additional cost to us, and
we would be in shape at any time to
meet the urgent needs of one of our
fellow members and no one miss the
measley 50c. he would have to pay.
Am I right or am I wrong? We
would be glad to hear from some more
of the members in re:?ard to this
proposition. If we are wrong in this
or have misrepresented any figures,
we have done so unintentionally, and
hope you will look over any mistakes,
as we are only expressing our view^s
and stating what we think, and not
trying to run the co-operative tobac
co business whatever.
With best wishes to all the co-op
members, and all Pilot readers,
A. C. SMITH.
I front on the ground floor and immedi-
; ately behind these, the Municipal de-
I partments. Here would be the quar-
I ters for the town Fire Department,
j town offices, courtroom and jail—all
i heated from the same heating plant
i which would heat all of the building,
i A good basement, properly ventilated,
would provide a place for the children
of the town to engage in play and
athletics, or this could be utilized as
an all-year-round swimming pool, the
water in which could be kept at an
even temperature from the central
heating plant in the building; or the
children’s headquarters could be mov
ed to one of the upper floors. One of
the upper floors, however, should be
set aside for lodge-room purposes,
with the usual division of small rooms
for kitchen and lounging uses. A
part of one of the floors might be used
for offices, as that would add to the
revenue of the building.
A building of this kind is absolute
ly necessary for Aberdeen, and while
it is building, the needs of the town
should be anticipated as much as pos
sible. The committee is of course
confronted first of all with the prob
lem of financing any proposed build
ing. It is suggested that the lodges
take out Building and Loan stock
enough to raise their part of the cost.
It would seem, however, that if the
town v^ould act in conjunction on this
proposition, that the entire erection
of the building should be assumed by
it and that it shoi-ld assume the own
ership and control of the same. It
would be a feasible idea for the town
to put its revenue obtained from the
stores, the offices and the lodge room
in the building into Building and Loan
payments, and in that way provide a
sinking fund to take up any indebted
ness assumed for it. -The idea has
been launched, the will to do is there,
and all that remains is to whip it into
shape and form. Aberdeen is a pro
gressive town and we believe that it
will not allow this opportunity to
pass, especially as it has almost been
thrust upon it.
VASS HOME IMPROVEMENT
CONTEST CLOSES
Saturday, July 28th, 8 p. m., is the
time the home improvement winners
will be announced. There will be
speakers and a free moving picture at
the school auditorium. All are in
vited.
In January the Community Club
with the help of the Home Demonstra
tion Agent, opened a Home Improve
ment Contest, in which the merchants
of the town offered prizes to the
homes making the most improvements
on their yards, by planting flowers,
shrubs, grass, m.aking walks and
drives. These prizes have been dis
played in the store windows.
If you joined the contest come and
see If you won a prize; if you did not
loin come and see why you should
have.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE OF CLUB
MEETINGS
Squire Campbell, known to every
one in this section, celebrated his 88th
birthday last Monday. The Squire
clings tenaciously to his old home
place just out of Addor, though he
lives there alone with tenant farmers.
He likewise is as strongly attached
to his horse and buggy with which
he gets over the neighborhood to keep
in touch with what is going on. Squire
Campbell is a remarkably well pre
served man. Age has dealt kindly
with him and he is still in good pos
session of his mental faculties. He
accompanies his son-in-law on regular
trips to Aberdeen where he visits
with friends from place to place un
til it is time to go back. The squire
not only cultivates his old friends,
but he is making new friends, which
is remarkable for a man of his
Squire Campbell served the Addor
section as its Justice of the Peace for
a good many years. During that time
he acquired a unique reputation foi
meting out justice. Anecdotes that
will go down into county history are
told about him, some of them founded
on facts and some of them merely at
tributed to him. , ^ . 4.U
The relatives of the Squire gather
ed at the home of N. A. McLeod for
a family reunion in honor of the
Squire’s birthday. Later during the
dav a party of friends went out from
Aberdeen also. The extends
congratulations to its oldest
and hopes that the years still allotted
to him may be pleasant and cheerfu .
CIVIC CENTER LOOMS UP
FOR ABERDEEN
Public Activities Building Plan May
be Joined With Municipal
Building
Aberdeen’s two fraternities, the
Knights of Pythias Lodge and the
Masonic Lodge, both of which have
been prospering and growing in size of
late, have launched the idea of a build
ing in Aberdeen incorporating an up-
to-date commodious lodge hall and a
public activities center. The original
idea was that the two lodges should
come up each for their one-third share
of the cost of this building and the
remaining one-third to be made up by
the town or public subscription. Each
lodge has named a committee, and
the two committees are to function
together as one to evolve ways and
means to put the plan in motion.
While the idea has not gotten be
yond the confines of the two lodges
yet, the members of the organization
are beginning to advance various
ideas. The idea now has become en
larged to the erection of building at
a central location which would house
the Municipal departments and per
haps contain several stores in order
to make it yield sufficient revenue to
pay the interest on the investment,
and provide a sinking fund to eventu
ally pay for the building itself. The
building is taking shape as a two
or three story building erect^ on
corner lots with several stores in the
Friday, July 27, 1:15 p. m. Ingram
Branch Girls Club—Sewing. 3 p. m.,
Carthage Girls Club—Sewing, Wo
man’s (jlub Room.
Monday, July 30, 2 p. mf. Big Oak
Girls Club—Canning, Ida Ingolds.
Tuesday, July 31, Club Women and
Girls attending the Farmer’s and
Farm Women’s Convention, Raleigh.
Wednesday, August 1, 2 p. m. Hemp
Girls Club—Canning, Mrs. Stewart’s.
Thursday, August 2, 2 p. m. Man
ley Girls and Women—Basketry, Mrs.
McRae’s.
Fridav, August 3, 1:30 p. m. Pine-
hurst Girls and Women—Canning,
Community House.
NORA BRADFORD,
Home Dem. Agt.
FAAMOUS PICTURE AT PINE
HURST JULY 31
SUBSCRIPTION $1.50
GREAT REJOICING
AS MARKETS OPEN
Governor, Senator and Leaders
Urge Co-operative Marketing
Upon 20,000 Farmers
At the new Picture Theater on Tues
day evening July 31st, an very inter
esting and famous picture of eight
reels which has jjust been released
will be shown. This picture is one
that the moving picture loving public
can ill afford to miss. The picture
is “Hollywood”. The scenes are laid
at this most famous part of the Uni
ted States showing more than one
hundred of the really famous moving
I picture artists. Mr. Charles Picquet
I is indeed an artist in his line and he
I givevs to his patrons the very best
j that experience and money can pro-
I cure as he gives his entire time and
I thought to the pleasing of his pat-
: rons. The audiences at the summer
series of pictures have been very large
I and a record crowd is expected at thi?
picture “Hollywood.”
SPECIAAL NOTICE
Owing to delay in mail reach
ing The Pilot two very interest
ing news letters came too late to
appear in this issue We regret
very much that they cannot ap
pear as they are full of good
live news—one from Pinehurst,
and one from Pinebluff.
The opening of the 42 markets of
the Tobacco Growers’ Co-operative
Association in the South Carolina
Belt has been marked by enthusiasm
and celebrations by the organized
growers that have passed all previous
records.
Close to twenty thousand tobacco
farmers joined in the great mass
meetings of last week at Kingstree
and Mullins, S. C., and at Norlina and
the Guilford Battle Ground in North
Carolina. The spirit of loyalty of the
organized farmers to their plan of
marketing tobacco as evidenced in
these meetings is now beyond a doubt
as they begin their second year of
marketing.
U. S. Senator, of South Carolina,
told twenty-five hundred farmers at
Kingstree “We fought because we had
taxation without representation. VVe
fought and won. Yet when you come
to selling the product that the educa
tion of your children depends on you
haven’t any more to say about it than
a Hottentot in Africa. We sit down
here like dumb driven beasts and al
low others to dictate what we sell our
tobacco for; we sit down here and al
low others to dictate to us what our
wives and daughters are worth.” Sen
ator Smith said co-operative market
ing was the only way out.
Charging domination of the South
Carolina tobacco markets by the Im
perial Tobacco Company of Great
Britain, Governor McLeod, of South
Carolina, told more than a thousand
farmers who gathered near Mullins
that “If England wants out friendship
she must not allow a company under
the British flag to destroy an insti
tution organized by the American
farmers and sanctioned by the laws
of state and congress.” The South
Carolina governor declared “When the
Britons’ back was to the wall and
France was bled white, if it had not
been for our American boys who went
over, there would be no Imperial To
bacco Company of Great Britain. It
would be a Hun company.”
The record meeting in the history
of the Tobacco Growers’ Co-operative
Association was held at Norlina last
Friday, when over twelve thousand
farmers came from twenty counties
of North Carolina and Virginia and
feasted at a barbecue for which over
a thousand checks had been contribut
ed by members to mke up the Bruns
wick stew, which was prepared in
thirty-five great iron kettles. Those
present hung upon the words of Oliver
J. Sands, Manager of the TobaccD
Growers’ Co-operative Association, U.
B. Blalock, Manager of the Cotton
Growers’, Dr. J. Y. Joyner and County
Co-operative Chairman John Fleming.
So huge was the crowd that sound
amplifiers were installed and the mes
sage of their leaders was heard by
every one of the ten thousand farmers
and brought thunders of applause that
marked the great multitude one hun
dred percent co-ops.
On Guilford Battle Ground more
than two thousand tobacco farmers
who heard Senator Smith from South
Carolina and Oliver Sands from Vir
ginia, responded to the call to throw
off the yoke of economic slavery as
their ancestors had thrown off the
yoke of British doxnination one hun
dred and forty years ago. The fol
lowing resolution, signed by '«he offi
cials of the county organizations of
seven North Carolina counties, was
passed with a s’anding vote that
brought two thousand fanners to their
feet.
“We members of the Tobacco Grow
ers’ Co-operative Association, do most
heartily commend the courage and
patriotism which has animated U. S.
Senator Smith of South Carolina in
espousing the cause of the farmers,
and in using his influence in promot
ing the cause of co-operative market
ing, and we heartily and earnestly
thank Senator Smith for the clear and
logical exposition which he has given
us today of the urgent necessity for
the practice of that co-operation spirit
which has always been the foundation
of every successful business accom
plishment.
“We express the wish that our
worthy governor and honored Sena
tors, realizing fully as we are sure
they must, that the foundation of our
business superstructure must ret:t
upon agriculture and that the prosper
ity of the farmer is essential to the
welfare of the state and nation, may
profit by the example of the illustri
ous Senator from South Carolina and
raise their voices publicly in behalf of
this worthy movement.”
South Carolina farmers are busy
saying the best and largest crop which
this state has seen in many years.
Though small deliveries have been
made to the association, its members
are highly pleased with the first ad
vances which are much higher than
those paid last year.
S. D. FRISSELL.