pjr Smitljfirli Jkralil
Price On? Dollar Par Year "TRUE TO OURSELVES, OUR COUNTRY AND OUR GOD." -? a,nglo c?pi? Flve Cent,
VOL. 28. SMITHFIELD. N. C.. FRIDAY. FEBRUARY 2(i, 1909. > NO. 1
LAST CHAPTER ON
FEE BILL MUDDLE
Chapter 202 Not Re-instated
Nor Re-enacted.
THE FACTS IN THE CASE.
The Letter of Chairman Richardson
Not Calling the Committee Togeth-,
er?Efforts Made to Get Repre
sentatives Myatt and Barnes to In- j
troduce New Bill.?Voice of Peti
tioners Crying in Vain.
It Is a matter of general knowledge j
throughout the county that an effort
has been made to bring about the re
peal of the Myatt-Barnes Act, pass
ed by the present Legislature, which
Act repealed Chapter 202, laws of
1907.
Soon after the matter was called
to the attention of the readers of this
paper by Mr. S. S. Holt, several of
the leading Democrats of the county
who considered that the party occu
pied a dangerous position as long as
It made no effort to annul the My
att-Barnes Act, held a consultsftion
in Smithfield, and decided to ask the
Chairman of the Democratic Execu
tive Committee for the county, to
call a Committee meeting for the
purpose of discussing the matter with
n vipw nf securing some legislation
that would allay the trouble and dis
satisfaction, and that would serve to
counteract the effect that the Myatt
Barnes Act had produced. Accord
ingly, the following letter was ad
dressed to Hon. C. W. Richardson,
who is the present Chairman of the
County Executive Committee: ?
"Smithfleld, N. C., Feb. 8, 1909.
"To Hon. C. W. Richardson,
''niriuan D 'iw>cratic Ex! Coin.,
"Dear -Sir: 'f
"We, the undersigned Democrats,
do respectfully ask you to call to
gether the Executive Committee of
the Democratic party to meet in
Smithfield, on Thursday, February
11th, 1909, at 12 o'clock M., for the
purpose of considering the advisabili
ty of calling a County Convention of
the Democratic party, to consider the
recent legislation touching the fees
of County officers in this county."
(SIGNED):
W. H. Upchurch, W. W. Cole,
J. A. Massengill, J. C. Keen,
Jas. A. Wellons, N. W. Smith,
S. W. Lassiter, W. F. Grimes,
J. G. Smith, Lee Johnson,
E. J. Holt, J. W. Blaylock,
W. N. Rose, J. T. Hudson,
Jas. M. Oliver J. M. Beaty,
Israel Stephenson, T. L. Hudson."
Messrs W. W. Cole and J. M. Bea
ty were appointed a Special Commit
tee to go to Selma, wait upon Mr.
Richardson, present to him the above
letter, and ask him to call the Com
mittee together. They saw Mr. Rich
ardson in Selma on the afternoon of
February 8th. and made the reauest.
In answer to their request, he stated
that it would be inadvisable to call
the Committee together on February
11th, but that he would call the Com
mittee to meet on Monday, February
15th. and he promised Mess. Cole
and Beaty that he would do so.
Supposedly in compliance with his
promise, he addressed the following
letter to the members of the Execu
tive Committee:
"L. H. ALLRED
"Attorney at Law
Selma, N. C.
Selma, N. C., Feb. 10th, 1909.
"Dear Sir: The recent repeal of
the special act (reducing certain fees
of our county officers) is agitating
some of the citizens of the county,
and I have been importuned by some
to call the executive committee in
special meeting to consider the ad
visability of re-enacting the said spe
cial bill. Before doing so I wanted to
get the benefit of the wise discres
sion of the various members of the
executive committee, as I am unwil
ling to impose a hardship and trouble
upon the committee to come up from
thnlr homes to attend a meeting, un
less I feel that the committee is in
aoroM with the opinion of some that
thin Is a matter justifying the trouble
and expense of a committee meeting.
"As you know when the salary
question was being industriously agl
tated ovfer the county in 1906, at the
convention of that year Sir. \V. A.
Edgerton, ex-register of deeds, who
opposed the salary proposition intro
duced a resolution instructing the
members of the legislature front John
ston to cause a bill to be passed re
ducing certain fees in the four of
fices of the county.
"In accordance with the purport of
said resolution, the bill passed tho
legislature of 1907, and is Chapter
202, Public Laws 1907.
"Recently a number of the citi
zens of the county who have been,
and are, as loyal Democrats as there
are in the county, including some who
devoted much time and means to the
cause in the last election, especially,
feeling that the county was not
bound forever by a single resolution
passed by the convention of 1906
avowedly for the purpose of quieting
the then threatened dissension In the
ranks, took up the matter of repeal
ing the said special act with Repre
senatlves Myatt and ilarnes, and
they each heartily favoring the re
peal of the law caused a bill to be in
troduced in, and passed, the House
to that effect.
"The caption of the bill fully dis
closed its purport and was publish
ed in the News and Observer, the
Raleigh Evening Times, The Char
lotte Observer, and a number of
weekly papers in the State, wherein
the citizens of the county might read
for themselves and be governed ac
pnrH I n crlv
vv" >* ' "O 'J ?
"After a week's duration no mate
rial opposition had manifested itself,
and the bill then passed its several
readings in the Senate and was rati
fied. Only one citizen from the
county, so far as your chairman is
advised, appeared at Raleigh in op
position to the enactment of the law.
Immediately thereafter, however, con
siderable opposition was voiced
through THE HERALD, together
with a severe arraingment of our
worthy Representatives Myatt and
Barnes. ? ,>sitU>q is being
shared in b> a number of citizens
who think 1, as chairman, should call
you together to discuss ways and
means of undoing what has been
done by Wur worthy and faithful rep
resentatives.
"The law reducing fees was not
in response to a real demand of the t
pei pie, as our representatives though
tut to quiet the then perturbed con
d.liont growing out of the drastic
salary agitation, hence Mess. Barnes
Liid Myatt doubtless thought they
were not bound by a resolution which
passed at a convention to which they
did not owe their nomination, and
they had the courage to do what
they thought was to the best interest
of their constituency.
"Since the repeal of the law, the
officers of Johnston fare exactly as
do the officers of practically every
county in the State, and receive the
same fees as are allowed under the
general law. The decreased fees
materially effected the officers, while
the saving to the county was so in
considerable as to be almost beyond
ascertainment, not effecting the gen
eral tax levy even a fractional part
of a cent, nor increasing the school
terms even a day, nor appreciably
increasing the surplus in the coun
ty treasury. The poor people who
were supposed by some to be the re
cipients of the benefits of the reduc
ed fees have manifested no opposi
tion to the Myatt-Barnes act nor
even appreciation of Chapter 202
Laws 1907, because as a rule many
of them do not own land, hence they
have scarcely no occasion to pay fees
for the probate and registration of
papers.
"Your chairman is not apprised
of the fact that an ex-office holder
of the county has retired from office
greatly enriched by the spoils of of
fice, nor has he even the remotest
inkling that greed or graft is now
being practiced by the present in
cumbents. It is contrary to all prece
dent, and it would be a serious re
flection upon the wisdom and good
Judgment of our present representa
tives in the legislature, to call a meet
ing of the executive committee du
ring a session of the legislature at
which they are sitting, to reprimand
them for what some think Is an un
pardonable mistake, or to dictate to
them (the chosen representatives of
the people) what and how they shall
do during the remainder of the ses
sion.
"However, I am only one of many,
and I shall yield to the better Judg
ment if in their opinion a meeting
, should be called, and on that sub
ject I await your pfompt reply.
"Yours very truly,
"C. W. RICHARDSON.
Chinn. Dem. Ex.'Com.'
"L. H. ALLRED, Secy."
On Monday, February loth, Mr.
Richardson sent word to Mr. Cole
that he had heard from his commit
tee and that ten (10) members of
the same had stated that it was in
, advisable to call the committee to
gether, and that therefore he would
not call the committee.
Believing that it was a hopeless
I proposition to secure any action
through the official organization in
the county, the opponents of the
Myatt-Barnes Act decided to make
a request of our representatives in
the Legislature to reopen the ques
tion, and to give them an opportunity
of showing up their side of the
question. Therefore, on February 17,
Mr. S. S. Holt saw Mess. Myatt and
Barnes in Raleigh, and after discus
sing the matter with them, he made
the request that they reopen the
question, which request is embodied
in the following letter:
"Raleigh, N. C., Feb. 17th, 1909.
"Hon. J. W. Barnes and Hon. J. W.
Myatt,
"Raleigh, N. C.
Gentlemen:
"Representing one thousand Demo
cratic voters of Johnston county, I
respectfully ask you to Introduce, or
cause to be introduced, a bill repeal
ing the recent bill passed by the
present Legislature, which repealed
Chapter 202, Laws of 1907, and pro
viding for the re-enactmnet of Chap.
202, Acts of 1907, into law.
"If you will cause this to be done,
and have the bill referred to a com
mittee, I will appear in Raleigh on
any day you suggest, and submit ar
gument, supported by the endorse
ment of one-third of the Democratic
voters of the county, in support of
| my contention.
"Very respectfully.
S. S. HOLT."
In answer to the above letter,
Mess. Barnes and Myatt stated to
Mr. Holt, verbally, that they would
not introduce the bill nor would they
ask to have it introduced.
And so the matter now stands.
Nearly one thousand Democrats have
signed a petition addressed to the
General Assembly, asking that this
legislation be repealed. The County
Organization has been asked to do
something, and it has refused to do
it. We considered it due the read
er; of this paper, and the signers of
tli petitions especially, that an ex
planation be made as to what efforts
had been made in securing the re
life asked for in the petitions.
It? is a matter of great regret with
us that the opportunity was not giv
en for a full discussion of this ques
tion in the Legislature, as we be
lieve it un-Democratic to secure the
enactment of such legislation with
out a full knowledge by those who
were responsible for the old law;
namely: the people.
THE INAUGURAL PARADE.
Over Thirty-one Thousand Men Will
be in Line.
Washington, Feb. 20.?More than
31,000 men will march in the inaugu
ral parade March 4th, 'according to
official reports made to the inaugu
ration committee at a meeting held
yesterday.
1 here will be approximately 22,000
soldiers, sailors and marines of the
tegular service, National guardsmen
and independent millitary bodies, in
cluding the Cadeis from West Point
and Annapolis in the military divisi
on.
Up to date 45 organizations of
white men and nine of colored men,
have applied for positions in line, as
well as one body of Indians. These
with their musicians will number
about 9,000.
HEAR WIRELESS FROM HAWAII.
Aerograms Travel 2200 Miles and
Reach Los Angeles.
Los Angeles, Feb. 18.?Los Ange
les wa? in wireless communication
with the Hawaiian Islands last night
for the first time. Operator Blaken
ey reported today that his station
was in touch with the station at
Kahua for a brief time. The distance
between the two points is about 2200
miles.
?
NEW RECORD IN
NAVAL HISTORY
Striking Features of the Fleets
Notable Trip.
HAS BEEN WORTH THE COST,
An Analysis Shows That the Battle
ships Have Steamed a Distance
Equivalent to Twice Girdling the
World?Social Features Not the
Least Important?Economics in
Coaling Learned.
Fort Monroe, Feb. 22.?When the
fleet anil second squadron of the At
lantic fleet came to anchor this af
ternoon they had completed a jour
ney of 45,000 miles in round numbers
in the trip around the world. Really
they had steamed about 46,000 miles,
because the work at target practice
in Magdalena Hay last March and in
Manila Bay last November required
about 1,000 miles of extra steaming.
Hence, In going around the world,
the fleet made a journey almost equal
to twice around the world at the
equator in actual distance. The dis
tance from Hampton Roads to San
Francisco, by way of the Strait of
Magellan, was 14,000 miles in round
numbers; from San Francisco to Pu
get Sound and return, 1,500 miles,
auu irom nun rrancisco 10 itampion
Roads, by way of Australia, Japan
and Suez, about 29,5Uu miles.
The fleet visited every continent
on the globe. North and South Ameri
ca, Australia, Asia, Africa and Eu
rope. It sailed over every ocean ex
cept the Arctic and Antarctic and
ah^ost over every sea. It spent a
large part of the time in tropical wa
ters. It crossed the equator four
tjmes and nearly touched the equa
.M 'onci- more in passim* by Singa
pore. In its journey it was greeted
by the warships of Hrazil, Argentine
Republic, Chili. Peru. Mexico, Great
Britain, Japan, China. Turkey, Greece
and Italy. It also met a Russian
squadron in Gibraltar, French war
| ships at the same place and at Mo
rocco, a French warship at Gibraltar
and a Portugese Warship at Port Said
In the Mediterranean various countri
es were visited by detached; ships,
among them being Turkey, Greece,
Tripoli, Algiers, Morocco, Italy and
France. It also had the satisfaction
of giving assistance to the earthquake
sufferers in Messina.
Voyage Lasted 434 Days.
The fleet was gone from Decem
ber, 1907, to February 22, 1909, a
year, two months and six days, or
434 days in all, counting leap year.
According to the logs of the ship on
ly 433 days were occupied on the
cruise, but all home calendars will
show that the cruise lasted one more
day. The difference is due to the
loss of one day by the fleet in its
Westward cruising. The folks at
home had one day more of sunrise
and sunset, one night more of sleep
than those on the fleet, but those on
the ships had days with a little long
er daylight in them than those at
home, and thus the day lost was
made up. Of the 433 days that have
elapsed since the fleet left Hampton
Koads, 190 in round numbers were
spent in cruising the 45,000 miles,
making the sustained speed of the
journey almost exactly ten knots an
hour. A total of243 days were spent
in various ports. On the first stage
of the trip from Hampton Roads to
San Francisco more days were spent
in port than in steaming, the figures
for stays in port being 80 and at sea
62, or 142 in all.
There was a middle stage in the
journey, the trip to and from Puget
Sound, where about six days were
spent in steaming and 54 in port.
That was simply marking time for
the third stage, the trip from San
Francisco to Hampton Roads by the
roundabout way of New Zealand Aus
tralia, the Philllppines. Japan, the
Suez Canal, Mediterranean Sea and
the Atlantic Ocean. On that part of
the journey more days were occupi
ed at sea than in port, the figures
for steaming being 172 and for stays
in various ports 109, or a total of 281
days during which nearly 30,000
miles were traveled, against the 14.
000 traveled in the 142 days occupied
in going around South America.
On its social side the trip home
from San Francisco, like that around
I
South America, was one of mad en
thusiasm, amounting to public hys
teria. by the people of the countries
1 visited.
On the first leg of the world jour
ney the fleet was reviewed by the
Presidents of Brazil, Chili and Peru,
? in addition to President Roosevelt on
Its departure. On the last leg the
domain of royalty was reached. The
.Mikado of Japan, the Khedive of
i Egypt, a prince of China, the King
of Italy, and the King of Greece re
: celved some of the officers. The
| king of Greece dined 011 one of the
| ships at Near Athens. The Govern
i or Generals of New Zealand and
Australia and the Governor of Cey
lon also viewed the fleet.
The two dramatic visits were those
to Australia and Japan. That Austra
lian visit outdid in enthusiasm any
i that American naval officers ever
saw or dreamed of. The details have
been printed widely. From the high
est to the lowest the people seemed
to have gone crazy. The wonder Is
that the fleet got away in time to
save its face. The entire Australian
Continent seemed engaged in a gi
gantic conspiracy to force food and
drink down the throats of the Ameri
cans. The fact that very few fell by
' the wayside is a mighty tribute to
American capacity and fortitude. To
preserve military discipline down
there was one of the hardest tasks
any American admiral ever had to
undertake.
Lessons of The Trip.
As to the effect of the cruise oil
the fleet, it may be said that many
wholesome lessons have been learned.
That of self-sustainment at sea has
probably been the most beneficial.
There will be greater independence
of navy yards in future. Many re
pairs heretofore thought impossible
on shipboard, have been made. There
has been a great wear and tear on
the ships, and extensive, large re
pairs will probably be made oil some
of thein, but this fact remains that on
the last leg of the voyage there were
almost 110 minor breakdowns- a thing
that was occurring constantly during
the first stages of the trip. So far
as actual work goes, the ships per
formed better toward the end of the
journey than for a long time at the
start. They have been shaken down
splendidly.
Another valuable thing learned has
been in economy of coal consumption.
An authority of high degree in the
fleet has made the assertion that in
five years the amount of coal that
will be saved on these 16 ships, as
a result of economies that were learn
ed and practiced on this trip, will
more than pay for the entire amount
of coal used on the round-the-world
trip. Of course the ships would have
had to use a good deal of coal had
they stayed at home, but even that
amount and the extra amount used
011 the journey will be saved to the
country, it is contended, by results
of this cruise. In other words, it
is asserted that in five years the
government will have actually made
money, or saved It, at least, by send
ing the ships on the cruise.?Haiti
more American.
STRANGE INDIAN TRAGEDY.
Girl kills Her Father to Save His
Soul From Perdition.
Winnipeg, Man., Feb. 18.?A weird
tale of a young Indian girl's slaying
her father to save his soul from per-,
dition has been brought in from the
Lake Nlpigou country. Returning
home after a long hunting trip, an
old Indian, Zeabe by name, explain
ed to his family that he had killed
his best friend. Zeabe said that the
homicide had tak? n place during a
dispute over the possession of some
fox skins.
The murder so preyed on the old
Indian's mind that he was unable to
rest or sleep. Believing that if he
gave up his own life his soul would
be saved, Zeabe asked several ac
quaintances to kill him, but they re
fused. Going to his own home, he
placed an axe in the hand of his
daughter and commanded her to kill
him. She at first declined, but final
ly consented. After her father hat*
said good-by, the girl swung the axe
with all her strength, completely sev
ering the neck from the body.
It was held by the police, who in
vestigated, that the killing was jus
tifiable, as the father had threatened
to take the lives of his two young
sons if the daughter did not kill him.
LIT" MARY WOOD SOCIETY.
i Ex-Sheriff Powell Discourses on Live
Matters of Interest to the People
MESSRS EDITORS:?I desire to
nay that the 324 petitioners from
Smithfield Township, asking our rep
resentatives in the Legislature to re
move that traction engine off our tax
built roads, did not sign "Just for
fun." nor was it a "cherry-tree" tab
leau, but a "groind hog" case. There
seems to 'je "nothing doing," so we'll
all join the Little Mary Wood Socle
I ty.
Little Mary Wood,
Did the best she could,
We will take Little Mary's plan
And do the best wo can.
And while we are "Jining" would
say that somebody 011 the line is
slacking the Democratic rope. That
"new old Fee Bill," looks like a
Fleece bill, and those proposed "Me
Adam Road Bonds" would be the
liVest mud turtle ever toted by the
tail in this Ranch. We want that
thing "drapped" right now, for if
that kind of a road invites such
Devil on a saw mill looking things,
as our present tax constructed road
has, we want our road tax released,
and our pineywoods paths restored
to our own behoof. We are for no
foolishness. Seventy per cent of this
township has spoken. Only six per
sons approached, refused to sign.
Many more would have signed if op
portunity had afforded. If that is
not Democracy, please pass the Hoe
cake along. I do not wish to stand
in the way of prosperity neither do
I want to endanger the lives of my
family and teams, nor do 1 want to
be compelled to abandon the road
and back up in a rock quarry with
my eyes bulged out like a buck rab
bit's while the unearthly looking
thing creeps by. Nuff said.
C. S. POWELL.
Feb. 23, 1909.
FLEET AT HOME ONCE MORE.
The World-Girdling Cruise Took a
Little Over 14 Months.
December 16, 1907, departed fvpni
Hampton Roads to Trinidad, 1,850
miles.
December 29, departed from Trini
dad to Rio de Janeiro, 3,100 miles.
January 21, 1908, departed from Rio
de Janeiro to I'unta Arenas, 2,228
miles.
February 5, departed from Punta
Arenas to Callao, 2,6ti6 miles.
February 28, departed from Callao
to Magdalena Bay, 3,050 miles.
April 11, departed from Magdalen''
Bay to San Francisco, 1,200 miles.
April 18, departed from San Fran
cisco to Honolulu, 2,100 miles.
July 7, departed from Honolulu to
Auckland, 3,850 miles.
July 23. departed from Auckland to
Sydney, 1,284 miles.
August 15, departed from Sydney
to Melbourne, 575 miles.
August 27, departed from Mel
bourne to Albany, 1,350 miles.
September 5, departed from Alba
ny to Manila, 3,500 miles.
September 17, departed from Ma
nila to Yokohama, 1,753 miles.
October 10, departed from Yokoha
ma to Amoy, 1,343 miles.
October 24, departed from Amoy to
M.-.uila, 666 miles.
Nov- mber 4, departed from Manila
to Singapore, 1,368 miles.
l)e;;?mber 1, departed from Singa
pore to Colombo, 1,560 miles.
December 20. departed from Co
lombo to Suez, 3,440 miles.
.lanuai y 10, 1909, after coaling at
Port Said, the fleet dispersed, the
vessels to visit various Mediterrane
an ports. They went to Gibraltar.
1,920 miles.
February 6, departed from Gibral
tar, homeward bound. Distance to
Hampton Roads, 3,500 miles.
February 22, arrival at Hampton
Uoa^s and review by the President.
The fleet covered about 42,000
miles In its world-girdling cruse.
Washerwoman Left $36,241 Estate.
North '.ciims, Mass.. Feb. 13.?The
inventory filed today of the estate of
Mrs. Ann Collins, a washerwoman
and scrubber, who for years has been
classed among the city's worthy poor,
showed bank deposits, real estate,
railroad bunds and personal effects
having an aggregate market value of
$36,241.