itK Smittjfirlii XrmliL
price one dollar per tear. "TRUE TO OURSELVES, OUR COUNTRY AND OUR GOD." single copies nve cents.
VOL. 25. SMITHFIELD. N. FRIDAY. MAY 4. !})()({. NO. i>.
Myatt Case.
Attorneys for Defense File
a Demurrer
Judge Council Throws Case Out
Court But Plaintiff (jives
Notice of Appeal.
J udgeCouncill, after argument ?
by counsel on both sides, yester
day afternoon sustained the de
murrer of the defendant in the
suit brought by Mrs. Martha
Fovrle Myatt against her hus-j
band, Mr. J. Walter Myatt, for |
divorce, holding that the com
plaint did not state facts consti
tuting a cause of action, and he
dismissed the action. Formal
judgment will be drawn and sign-{
ed by the court to-day.
The attorneys for the plaintiff
filed an exception, and gave
notice of an appeal to the Su
preme Court. Counsel for Mrs.
Myatt were Busbee & Busbee,
and Armistead Jones & Bon,
while Argo & Bhaffer, of Raleigh,
and Congressman Edward W.
Pou and Mr. Ed. S. Abell, of
Smithfield, appeared for the de
fendant. Relatives of both Mr.
and Mrs. Myatt were present,
but Mrs. Myatt was absent. Her j
brother, Mr. Daniel G. Fowle, at- J
tended the proceedings.
Many witnesses were present
but none were examined.
The motion for discontinuance
was made by Colonel Argo. The
complaint was read by Mr. C. M.
Busbee, after which Col. Argo
read the demurrer, which wae as
follows:
"That the complaint does not
state facts sufficient to consti
tute a cause of action; for that
"1. That allegations of cruel
and barbarous treatment, and
indignities to the person of plain
tiff are general: do not state the
facts or circumstance attending (
them, or wherein they consist, nor
whether plaintiff was to blame, i
or by her conduct invited them;
"2. The particulars pretended
to be stated in detail, are child
ish, frivolous, and insufficient
even if they were admitted to be |
true, and do not constitute cruel
or. barbarous treatment, or in
dignities within the meaning of
the law, but in so far as defend
ant is concerned, were trivial
protestation which will occur in ,
the best regulated families.'
"Wherefore the defendant de- (
mands judgment:
"1. That the plaintiff do not
recover the judgment demanded; ,
"2. For the custody and con- (
trol of the child;
"3. For costs and other relief." ,
Colonel Argo said that unless
the plaintiff could prove that her ]
condition had been intolerable,
her life a burden, and that she <
had been treated with violence ]
and that her husband had ma
liciously turned her out of doors, j
she did nnf, hare statu f.rirr
grounds for divorce. The allege- ,
ments in the complaint, he said, 1
were unsupported by facts, and |
if the complaint of Mrs. Myatt, ,
he said, were held to be a cause |
for a jurisdictional separation,
then there is not a married couple
in North Carolina who have lived (
together for any length of time (
who could not get a divorce, if
these facts constituted a cause. ^
No violence had been offered the (
plaintiff, no accusation to de- j
grade or distress her had been ,
made, she had not been aban- i
doned by Mr. Myatt, he had not
failed to support her, and had
not visited her with indig
nities or incivility. In conclusion
be cited several authonties to
sustain his argument.
Mr. Armistead Jones argued
the legal phase of the matter for
the plaintiff.
Mr. Edward W. Pou said there
were only two allegations in the
complaint worthy of the consid
eration of the court, the first be
ing that Mr. Myatt had drawn
back hie fist as if to strike Mrs. j
Myatt, but he did not strike her,
and did not accompany the
movement with any declaration
of a present intention to strike
her. .She dared him to strike her,
aud he then beeped her pardon.
The second and most serious
charge, he said, was the allega
tion that the defendant virtually
turned the plaintiff out of doors.
Hut the mere statement of the
occurrence, he said, is an exclu
sion of conclusion. The defend
ant had left home, and upon her
return at night the plaintiff com
plained of his leaving, and when
he offered her oranges, confec
tioneries, aud cakes, as a peace
offering, she announced her in
tention of leaving him. ''The
truth is," said Mr. I'ou, "the
plaintiff abandoned the defend
ant, and she spurned his offer
ings. There was not a ground
for a judicial separation, the de
fendant having made every over
ture, and she having voluntarily
abandoned him. It is simply the
case of a dissatisfied wife who
realizes too late that her mar
ried life could not be congenial."
Mr. Busbee said that the plain
tiff and defendant had separated
for good and conditions compell
ed her to institute proceedings
to obtain for her the relief to
which she was entitled. He de
clared that the allegations were
material, vital not frivolous, for
they proved that the life of the
plaintiff had been made a burden,
and her condition intolerable, by
the conduct of the defendant,
and that he forced her from her
home to the society and comfort
of relatives in this city. The de
fendant, he said, had offered her
personal, not physical, indigni
ties and that iudignities to the
sensibilities and ieelimrs of a wife
are deeper, severer and more rep
rehensible thau a blow or other
physical injury. The defendant
admitted, he said, that his con
duct toward the plaintiff had
been intentional, to harass and
insult her. He asked that the
court ratify a separation that
had already been made in fact,
and could never be mended.
In the name of every wife in
the land, Mr. Husbee protested
agaiust the declaration of Col.
Argo, and said not one married
couple out of 500 can be found
with whom conditions like these
alleged had been endured, and
they continued to live together.
Air. Ed. S. Abell said that the
judge could not render a judg
ment in the case even should it
go to the jury and the verdict be
for the plaintiff. No facts are
alleged, he said, in thecomplaint
which constitute legal cruelty or
legal indignity. He said her life
had not been endangered and her
condition had not been intoler
able cor her life a burden. He
said the plaintiff's conduct may
have been an insult to the de
fendant. The plaintiff, he as
serted, had the luxuries she want
ed. was not forced to stay at
home, and could havegone where
she wanted. The grounds on
which the divorce was asked were
not sufficient, he said, to make
void the injunction of God:
'Whom God has joined together
let no man put asunder."
Judge Councill stated that the
iiiejim iniif in me coinpiuiui uiu
not constitute legal cause for an
action, and dismissed the case.
This means that the law of North
Carolina does not entitle a wom
an to a limited divorce upon the
facts which are alleged in Mrs.
Myatt's complaint.
Mr. Busbee gave notice of an
exception to the ruling and ofau
appeal to the Supreme Court
In a proceeding of this charac
ter, the question of the custody
of the chdd could not be determ
ined. The child is in the posses
sion of Mrs. Myatt.?News and
Observer, 3rd. "
Postmaster Robbed.
G. W. Fouts, Postmaster at
Riverton, la , nearly lost his life
and was robbed of all comfort,
according to his letter, which
says: "For twenty years I had
chronic liver complaint, which
led to such a severe case of jaun
dice that even my finger nails
turned yellow; when my doctor
prescribed Electric Bitters;
which cured me and have kept
me well for eleven years." Sure
cure for Biliousness, Neuralgia,
Weakness and all Stomach, Liv
er, Kidney and Bladder derange
ments. A wonderful Tonic. At
Hood Bros, drug store. 50cts.
State News
Some Events of the Week
in Tarheeldom.
Short Items of Interest Clipped
and Culled From Our
State Papers.
Mrs. Irene Craven, widow of
Braxton Craven, founder of
Trinity College, died Friday
night at her home in Trinity,
Randolph county, in her 83rd
year.
Frail Durham, the 19-year-old
| boy, sentenced from Polk county
to fourteen years in the peniten
tiary for killing Deputy Sheriff
Hilton, of that county, over a
year ago, began his term Mon
day.
On Sunday morning near
Mount Airy John H. Walker
committed suicide by taking an
overdose of laudanum. He had
been drinking for some time and
his friends had frequently heard
him threaten to take his life. He
leaves a wife and three children.
W. A. Wiggins, a conductor on
the Salisbury and Spencer street
railway, was shot and fatally
wounded while on duty Sunday
morning by John Black, colored,
a passenger on a car. Black was
in the white apartment and be
ing ordered out, he stepped off,
shot the conductor and made his
i escape. Hiererins died Tuesdav.
There are now in this State
five life insurance companies,
three at Greensboro and one each
at Fayetteville and Charlotte,
all doing business under the legal
reserve system. Charters have
been obtained for other life com
panies at Kinston, High Point
aud Kaleigh. There are also a
number of fire insurance compa-j
nies.
Craven county Democrats, in
convention Friday, adopted reso
lutions favorable to F. M. Sim
mons for the United States Sen- j
ate, C. li. Thomas for Congress,
D. L. Ward for the State Senate,
O. H. Guion for Judge of the
third judicial district, L I. Moore
for solicitor of the third judicial j
district, Franklin McNeill for
corporation commissioner.
To show what an immense
amount of shipping is done each
day in the furniture manufactur
ing town of High Point, there
were 90 cars of furniture or: the j
tracks there last Saturday wait- j
ing to be sent to their destina
tion. The yard force is kept busy
day and night placing the cars
and yet congestion takes place !
every now and then that is hard
to relieve.
Deputy United States marshals
made two raide in Harnett
county, and onein Moore county
last week, capturing two stills,!
one white operator, a quantity
of beer, and on the first raid one
barrel of corn whiskey was
rnrown away on account or tne
inaccessibility of the place. The
Moore county still was operated
by negroes, who escaped. The
stills averaged about sixty gal
lons capacity.
There are now in the State 1,- J
l 259 rural public libraries, estab
lished under the act of the legis
lature providing for libraries
where the citizens of the district,
tht county board and the State
appropriates $10 each for the
purchase of books. Wake, Guil
ford, Buncombe, Mecklenburg,
Durham and Forsyth are among
a large number of counties that
i have the full limit of eighteen
i libraries each. New Hanover has
| twelye.
W. H. Strain, a farmer of
about sixty-five years of age,
committed suicide last week back
of his home near McCullers' Sta
tion in Wake County. He went
into the woods back of his house
and selecting a convenient tree
tied a plow line to a limb and
then around his neck. It is un
derstood that he jumped from a
slight elevation, and when the
j dead body was found the feet
were within six inches of the
j ground. He has been showing
signs of mental aberration of
1 late.
Notes and Comments.
If the long debate in the Sen
ate over the railroad rate bill
was not occupying the Republi
can Seuators, tbey might be do
ing something worse. It's only
a week or two ago they passed
the steal known as tRe ship sub
sidy bill.
Congressman Longworth lias
been trying to help father-in-law
out by telling the Hamilton club
of Chicago that the present cry
of dishonesty has the elements of
hysteria. There is a general ob
jection by Republican politicians
to exposing the grafters.
The "general unrest" that
i'resideut Roosevelt admonished
us is prevalent, is mostly confin
ed to the White House and the
Republican politiciaus who re
fuse to revise the tariff and favor
the ship-subsidy and other ways
of plundering the people.
That Senator Elkins of West
Virginia should declare in a
speech in the Senate that he is
the best friend the railroad rate
bill has, either indicates that the
railroads do not fear that meas
ure will hurt them, or that the
Senator begins to fear the peo
ple, who will soou have bis case
under consideration. His vote
on amendments and on the final
passage of the bill will be closely
watched by his constituents.
That the Republican leaders
are Opportunists and ready to [
recommend and adopt any issue [
or anhamo thfth will L'oon thoni in
power was plainly shown, when
almost on the same day Secre- j
tary Shaw declared for the Ham
iltonian policy of concentrating '
all power in the general govern
ment and President Roosevelt
recommended confiscation of the
property of the multi-million
aires. These two extremes im
bedded in the national platform
of the Republican party should
catch the votes of imperialists
and socialists.
The modern Monroe Doctrine
as expounded by President Roose
velt is very unpopular with some
of our sister republics to the |
South of us. Argentina entirely
repudiates the right of this coun
try to use the "big stick" and it
seems that Secretary of State
Root will have to use more than j
usual diplomacy to prevent a j
combination on what is known
as the Calvo doctrine, which is
that the use of force is not per
missible for the collection of
debts contracted witn Kuropean
nations. The Administration
will probably have to crawfish
as it has done on other novel {
ideas.
President Roosevelt has been
threatening for some time to de
nounce "the man with the muck
rake" and at last found his op
portunity at the laying of the [
corner stone of the office build
ing for the House of Representa
tives. The trouble with the
President, as with other Republi
cans, is that "the man with the
muck rake" has been nlavins/
havoc with the Republican part\.
If the Republican politicians had
not created the muck heap, there
would have been uo occupation
for "the man with the muck
rake," neither can he be charged
with being responsible for the
muck's existence. Heretofore
the President was ardently de
manding "publicity" as a cure
for most of our political ills, but
the magazine writers gave him
such a dose of it, that he has
cried enough already.
Aycock Not a Candidate.
For sometime it has been hint
ed that Ex-Governor Charles B.
Aycock would be a candidate
j against Senator Simmons for a
seat in the United States Senate.
The Governor has recently made
1 a statement that shows where he
stands, as follows:
"No, I am not a candidate,
and whenever in the past I have
wanted a public position I have
never hesitated to anm>uuce the
fact. If I were a candidate for
J the United States Senate or in
? tended to be I should long since
have notified my friends of my
purpose ! am out of politics,
an if 1 ever return to it my
| friends shall know at once."
General News
Happenings of the Week
Tersely Told.
Items ot Interest From Far and
Near Served in Short
Courses.
At a Socialist 'demonstration
in Chicago Tuesday a mau who
unfurled a red flag was arrested
and the police had to draw re
volvers to preveut his rescue.
A resolution was presented in
the House Monday by Represeu
tative Hearst, of New York, ap
propriating $2,500,000 addi
tional for the California earth
quake and fire sufferers.
In the Senate Tuesdav Sena
tor Daniel, of Virginia, made a
powerful speech, maintaining
that Congress has power to fix
railroad rates or delegate power
to the Railroad Commission to
do so, but he opposed interfering
with the jurisdiction of the
courts.
Tuesday was a day of tumult
in Paris, but no revolution was
allowed to show its head. Cav
alry rode rough shod over the
people, charging with swords,
the result being many injured on
both sides. The working men
resolved to not return to work
till an eiirht-hour dav is granted.
The responsibility for the pay
ment of the expenses to the re
moval of the Cherokee Indians
from the Eastern States of Indian
Territory, more than half a
century ago, has been decided
by the Supreme Court of the Uni
ted States to rest with the govern
ment. The claim is for #4.000,
000, and this amount must be
paid by the government.
It is announced that Andrew
Carnegie has just made an offer
of #20,000 to the Virginia Chris
tian College of Lynchburg, on
condition that the college raise
#30,000. The offer has been ac
cepted, and the work of raising
the fund will be started at once.
With the money a boys' dormi
tory for more than a hundred
students and a college building,
the two costing #50,000, will be
erected.
The Confederate veterans at
New Orleans last week re-elected
the old officers by acclamation
and decided to hold the next re
union at Richmond. The only
new measures of importance ad
opted was a recommendation to
the States that slaves who served
with their masters through the
war be pensioned, and that each
camp set apart one day in the
year for memorial services in
honor of the confederate dead.
The day of cheap cotton is
passed was what President Har
vie Jordan, of the Southern Cot
ton Association declared to the
international conference of cot
ton growers and manufacturers
w hich met in Washington and ef
fected a permanent organization
Tuesday. President MacColl oi
the National Association of Man
ufacturers declared that the mill
I people wanted the growers to
make a fair profit.
-Popular Couple to Wed.
Invitations have been issued
to the marriage of a prominent
and popular young couple ol
Wake county, who have a large
circle of friends.
The groom-to-be is Mr. John
F. Broughton, of Garner, son ol
Mr. J. T. Broughton, Countv
; Commissioner, who is one of the
most prominent and popular
young farmers in the county.
He is to wed Miss Alice Klizabetb
Penny, daughter ot Mi. and Mrs,
A. C. Penny, who reside near
(iarner, aud who is a most lovely
and talented youug woman with
a ho?t of friends.
The wedding is to take place
on the ninth ot May and it is an
event that is being looked for
ward to with much mterest by
the many friends of the youu>>
i couple.?News & Observer.
A STRONG TEMPERANCE CAM
PAIGN.
For Five Nights Prof. Wilcox Drew
the People Young and Old to
Hear His Addresses.
Clayton, N. C., April 27th ?It
a horde me great pleasure to bear
this unsolicited testimony to the
excellence and worth of Professor
A. I>. Wilcox's temperance lec
tures in Clayton. For five nights
in succession he drew the people,
young and old, from their busi
ness houses, the skating rink,
the merry-go-round and from
their homes with unabating in
terest. Without exception all
were pleased, were edified, enter
taiued, and helped. The temper
ance people were made stronger
for their battle for prohibition.
The drinker was brought to see
the folly of his course and
strengthened to abandon the
habit. The liquor advocates were
shown the exceeding wrong of
the traffic and were persuaded to
turn away from its endorsement.
Professor Wilcox is not a f
crank or a fanatic, that the most
conservative might dread op fear
the results of his work. He does
not try to drive the liquor man
from his strong intrepchments
by invective or vituperation. He
discusses the philosophic claims
of prohibition on such planes as
to win the regard of the strong
est opponents of temperance re
forms.
iv ? ? ' ? - ??
tie is lrresistioie ana tneliquor
dealer, the drunkard and the
moderate drinker who hear him
through his series of lectures go
away feeling they can no longer
afford to defend their position.
Professor W ilcox is a native of
Kansas. He has recently cam
paigned that State iu their tight
for prohibition, under the au
spices or endorsement of the
State Anti-Saloon league. He
came to us in an auspicious time.
He bears the best of endorsements
from the people of every town he
has visited. He is in North Caro
lina to spend a whole year's ser
vice to our people. Be will do
any town or city good whether
they are in an immediate tight
for temperance reform or wheth
er they are under existing prohi
bition laws. He makes new
friends for temperance and en
courages the saints.
The pastors of our churches
and all the friends of temperance
should-do their best to make
Brother Wilcox's campaign in
the State effective.
C. W. Blanchard.
Growth of Churches In 1905.
The following facts concerning
the growth of churches in 1905
will be interesting reading to
those who wish to keep posted,
especially so as they were com
piled by Dr. Carroll, of New York,
and published in Christian Advo
cate:
"In the year 1905 the total
number of communicants was
.u,t*r>,+?*.>, a net gain tor that
year of 519,155. This member
ship was distributed as follows:
Roman Catholics first, with 10,
785,496, net gain 192,122; Meth
, odists second, with 6,429,815,
gain 101,892; Baptists come
third, with 4,974.047, gain 72,
057; Lutherans fourth, with 1,
841,346, gain 51,580; Presby
terians fifth. with 1,723,801,gain
20,174; Disciples of Chriot sixth,
with 1,235,394, gain of 1,428;
Episcopalians seventh, with 817,
127, gain 19,203; Congregation
, alists, eighth, with 087,042, gain
1 13,321; Reformed (Dutch and
i German) ninth, with 405,022,
gain 4,021."
i Deaths hrom Appendicitis
decrease in the same ratio that
the use of Dr. King's New Life
' Pills increases. They save you
from danger and bring quick and
i painless release from constipa
? tion and the ills growing out ot
' it. Strength and vigor always
' follow their use. Guaranteed by
' Hood Bros., druggists. 25c.
Try them. ?
i London news agency dispatch
? from St. Petersburg says it is re
ported that the Czar has arcept
: ed the res'ifiiatii u ofCount Witte
as premier.