pjc pimtljfidb Mtm{i\
Price One Dollar Per Year "TRUE TO OURSELVES, OUR COUNTRY AND OUR GOO." ^
Single Copies Five Centa.
VOL. 28. SMITHFIELL). N. O.. FRIJJA Y. DECEMBER 17. !?()?. N()> ^
TRAIN'LEAPS
FROM TRESTLE
TWELVE MEET DEATH IN DISAS
TER AT REEDY FORK CREEK.
Southbound Train No. 11 Topples
Over Trestle and Falls Tweny-five
Feet Into a Creek Eleven Miles
North of Greensboro. Wreck Due
To Broken Rail. George Gould
and Son Among Passengers On III
Fated Train. Two Southern Rail
way Officials Among Those In
stantly Killed. The Conductor,
Badly Hurt, Walks two Miles to
Nearest Telegraph Station to Wire
the News of the Wreck.
Greensboro, Dec. 15.?One of the
most appalling wrecks In the his- J
tory of the Southern Railway occur
red at Reedy Fork trestle, ten miles
north of Greensboro, at 6:30 o'clock
this morning when the two Pullman
cars and three day coaches of south
bound local train No. 11, between
Richmond and Charlotte, left the
track, hurling the passengers into
the water of the creek 25 feet be
low. The accident was caused by
a broken rail 160 feet north of the
trestle. Twelve dead bodies have
been recovered and it is known that
more are under the wreckage. Twen
ty-eight people were taken out of
the wreck more or less seriously in
4nraH
The known dead are:
John G. Broadnax, Richmond, Va.,
a former resident o? Greensboro, a
wholesale liquor dealer.
A. P. Cone, superintendent of the
Richmond division of the Southern
Railway, formerly chief dispatcher
of the Southern in Greensboro.
D. C. Nolan, Greensboro, Pullman
conductor.
Virgil E. Holcomb, Mount Airy,
attorney.
Ed Sexton, Dentist.
Charley Bagby, Manchester, Va.,
flagman of the ill-fated train.
H. C. White, Washington, travel
ing auditor of the Southern Railway.
Richard Eames, Salisbury, mining
engineer.
Isaac Dammals, colored, Richmond,
Va., Pullman porter.
H. L. Stribling, Winston-Salem,
traveling salesman.
P. W. Kilby, whose address is
supposed to have been Anniston, Ala.
Charles T. Broadfleld, Americus,
Ga., of the Virginia-Carolina Chemi
cal Company.
A special train brought the more
seriously wounded to St. Leo's hos
pital, where they are being attended
by the medical staff of the hospital
and all the physicians of the city.
George Gould, who was accompa
nying his son and friend on the hunt
ing trip, escaped injury further than
a severe shock. When the Norfolk
sleeper had been hurled into the
creek, Mr. Gould, who was occupy
ing a state room, provided a way of
OOTOCO fnr Vlimcolf Vllp Cnn nnd Kla
VQIVDO 1U1 UIU10bU| UIO DUU a 1114 Ulo
guest by knocking out a window with
a shotgun. The three men crawled
through the opening thus provided,
and clad in night attire sat upon the
roof of the car for an hour and a half
until help arrived and they were res
cued from their perilous position.
When interviewed by The Observer
correspondent this afternoon, the
Messrs. Gould freely admitted it was
the most unpleasant experience of
their lives. They were brought to
Greensboro by automobile, wrapped
In Pullman car blankets, and after
being attended by physicians they
were able to proceed to their hunt
ing lodge near High Point this after
noon.
The wrecked train was in charge
of Conductor George Coble of Rich
mond, who was seated in the front
end of the second class car when
the accident occurred. He was
thrown into the water along with I
the passengers, and altogether pain
fully injured, crawled out of the I
creek and walked back to Brown j
Summit, a distance of two miles, and
telegraphed the news of the wreck
to the division superintendent's of
fice in Greensboro.
The engine, baggage, express, and
mail cars did not leave the track,
and after a short delay, proceeded
to Greensboro, bringing the first con
signment of the wounded.
Upon receipt of news of the ac
cident here, a wrecking train was
made up and hurried to the scene of
the disaster, carrying a number of
railroad officials and physicians. As
fast as the wounded were taken out
they were brought to St. Leo's hos
pital, where they were given every
attention possible.
The Richmond Pullman is a mass
of wreckage, lying in the creek
buried under the heavier Norfolk
sleeper, and it is doubted if a sin
gle occupant of the Richmond car
escaped death. The railroad men in
charge of the work are agreed that a
removal of the debris will reveal more
dead bodies.?W. I. Underwood, in
Charlotte Observer.
167,677 VOLUMES ADDED.
Librarian of Congress' Report Shows
Priceless Works Among Them.
Washington, Dec. 10.?Accessions
of almost priceless value from part
of the 167,677 volumes which were
added during the year to the Libra
ry of Congress, making the total
number of volumes in that great li
brary 1,702,685, according to the re
port of the Librarian of Congress
made public today. The valuable ad
ditions include a set of the great
Chinese encyclopedia given by the
Chinese Government. China, alone
among nations, has attempted to
embody in a single literary record
the entire knowledge of an epoch.
The edition seems to have been a
very small one. A copy, secured
in 1877, forms a prized possession of
the British Museum. Valuable man
uscripts transferred to the library
iium various aepanmems oi me gov
ernment included all the "applica
tions for office" during Washington's
administration, the original vouchers
and accounts of Washington's ex
penses during the Revolution and
historical documents regarding Revo
lutionary pension claims.
Salary vs. Foes.
The change from fees to stipulat
ed salary for county officers seems
to be growing in favor with the peo
ple of this State. Up to compara
tively a few years ago the fee sys
tem prevailed in every county in
the State. The ice was broken In
1905, when the Legislature passed an
act putting the officials of Guilford
county on a salary basis. Buncombe
and Forsyth counties fell into line aitf
the same changes were made for
them. Two years later Columbus
and Robeson counties also became
salary paying counties. These five
counties found the new plan to
work so satisfactorily that by the
time of the convening of the Legis
lature In 1909 a number of other
counties were anxious to make the
change and at that session seven or
eight more were added to the list
of those operating under the new
order. Not a single one of them
all, so far as we know, has ever re
gretted the change. In fact, the
plan has worked so well that it is
probable the Legislature at each suc
ceeding session for some years to
come will be asked to sanction the
change for other counties, until in
the end all or a very large majority
nf thpm will hava uHnntoH thn
system. While there may be some
objections to the salary system, they
are hardly so numerous nor so grave
as are those to the one based on
fees.?Charlotte Observer.
Some Expressive Words.
The following words were written
by Editor Archibald Johnson, of
Charity and Children, about Thanks
giving day, and though written some
weeks ago, they are so beautiful,
and expressive of that ? day, that we
gladly publish them:
"As we awoke on last Thursday
morning our hearts were lifted In
grateful praise for the perfect beau
ty of the broadening day: and all
through the golden hours the sun
shine was as sweet as a dream; and
the silvery night, so still and ten
der, crowned the glorious day!" |
Volume and quality both considered
Sir Walter Scott was probably the
most wonderful writer known. More
than 10,000,000 volumes of his "Life
and Works" have been printed, and
the demand is by no means exhaust
ed. Within fir? years after the
fame of "Waverley" and gone a
broad he was r<ad by all Europe and
America, and the annual profits of
his novels amounted to more than
(60.004.?Hx.
i
JUDGt LURTON
13 NAMED
FOR PLACE ON U. S. SUPREME
COURT BENCH.
Taft Remembers His Former As
sociate and Gives Him a Life Po
sition, Even If He is a Democrat.
Judge Lurton Was Appointed to
a Circuit Judgeship by President
Cleveland.
Washington, Dec. 13.?The Presi
dent today nominated Judge Horace
H. Lurton, of the Sixth United States
circuit, to be a Justice of the Unit
ed States Supreme Court. The ap
pointment, regarded as the highest
at the disposal of the President, is
to be commended, aside from the
personal ability of Judge Lurton, for
the reason that it is without a po
litical motive in view, Judge Lurton
being a Democrat.
With the President it was a per
sonal matter and regardless of the
pressure brought upon him to name
a Republican, he appointed his old
fellow Judge of the Sixth circuit.
Judge Lurton was born in Ken
tucky, at Newport, February 26,
1844. He is the oldest man ever nam
ed for the Supreme Court. The
justice's age was used against his
appointment, but the President did
not consider it sufficient to deter
him from making the appointment.
The nomination of Judge L,urton
has been anticipated ever since the
death of Rufus W. Peckham, Asso
ciate Justice of the Supreme bench.
Mr. Peckham was a Democrat in
politics. Judge Lurton was named
to the bench of the Sixth circuit
by President Cleveland. This was
March 27, 1893. Judge Lurton was
at that time a Tennessee lawyer. He
has resided at Nashville ever since
his appointment to the circuit bench.
Judge Lurton was born in Camp
bell county, Ky., and removed to
Clarksvi'lu, Tenn., at the close of
the Civil War and afterward attend
ed the law school of Cumberland
University at Lebanon, Tenn., being
graduated as Bachelor of Law in 1867
and returning to Clarksville to prac
tice.
In January, 1875, the chancellor
ship of the district became vacant
and Judge Lurton was appointed to
fill out the unexpired term. The
next year he was elected without
opposiiion to the same office, which
he held until 1878, when he resign
ed.
When Chief Justice Turney was
elected Governor he appointed Judge
Lurton as his successor on the
bench. This was in August, 1886.
At the expiration of this unexpired
term, Judge Lurton was elected to
a full term and was made Chief Jus
tice by his associates, which position
he held until appointed United States
Circuit Judge for the Sixth circuit
by President Cleveland in 1893,
which place he has since held and
Is now holding.
HE WEIGHS 490; BRIDE 100.
Former Circus Attraction Procures a
Marriage License.
Elwood, Ind., Dec. 14.?Chauncey
Morlan, weighing 490 pounds, obtain
ed a license today for his marriage
with Mrs. Estelle Banning. The
bride to be weighs 100 pounds. Mor
lan traveled with a circus for a num
ber of years and was advertised as
the largest man in the world. He
is said to have weighed 720 pounds
at one time.
Appointments.
Rev. Thomas J. Hood will preach
Saturday night, December 18th, at
the Sandeers sehool house near Mr.
T. D. Snead, Jr.
Rev. J. L. Jenkins is expected to
fill the appointments at Sardis and
Woodard i>*hool house the third Sun
day In December.
Rev. B. Townsend will preach at
Hood's Grove church third 8unday
in December at 11 o'clock.
I*ast week the oldest moonshint r In
North Carolina died In Jail aged over
80 years. The revenue officers say
that for over thirty years he has
been In this business and has been
arrested at least 20 times and has
served many of these sentences in
Jail
PEARY HAILED
POLE FINDER
COMMANDER TOASTED AND PRE
SENTED WITH MEDAL.
Statesmen, Ambassadors, and Distin
guished Citizens Join in Tribute
Given Under Auspices of the Na
tional Geographic Society at the
Willard Wednesday night?Dr.
Cook's Claim Is Touched Upon.
Seldom has a more brilliant assem
bly of diplomats, statesmen, and men
of science gathered to do honor to
one man as that which hailed Com
mander Robert E. Peary as the dis
coverer of the north pole at a
dinner given him by the National
Geographic Society at the New Wil
lard last night.
Peary was proclaimed the couquer
er of the North, and the man who
nailed the Stars and Stripes to the
pole, by a dozen distinguished speak
ers. The name of Dr. Frederick A.
Cook was mentioned once only, but
the Peary-Cook controversy cropped
out in every toast, at least by in
ference, and always to the credit
of the hero of the evening and his
lieutenant, Capt. Robert A. Bartlett,
Commander of the Roosevelt.
Great Britain, Italy, and France
bowed their heads to Peary, and the
diplomats who spoke for America's
t rivals in the race each used the
I ?vrtf/4 'MIb/iauaim. ?? T-l. ~ XT-* I 1
.. u. u iuc naiiuiiui
Geographic Society, the Geographic
Society of Berlin, and the Royal
Geographic Society of Great Britain,
either by telegram or representative
officially recognized him.
Speaker Cannon, Andrew Carnegie,
Admiral C. M. Chester, Prof. J. How
ard Gore, and Willis L. Moore, the
toastmaster, paid their respects in
eloquent terms to Commander Peary.
Telegrams were read from Col.
Roosevelt, in the South African Jun
ble, and the Duke de Abruzzi, in the
Italian capital, offering the grizzled
veteran of the icy north their con
gratulations.
"Either Cook or Peary discovered
the pole," said Speaker Cannon,
"and as this society has decided
which, I have explicit confidence in
your judgment. I am glad the north
pole has been discovered, for it will
put an end to the attempts of adven
turers seeking noteriety."
A diamond studded medal was pre
sented to Commander Peary by
Toastmaster Moore, on behalf of the
National Geographic Society, and
Capt. Bartlett was honored with a
similar trophy. Both made speeches j
thanking their donors, and the BOO
guests arose in a body and toasted I
and cheered them. ?Washington Her
ald.?December 16.
The Prevalence of Perjury.
Even a casual observer cannot
have failed to notice that there is
much false evidence given in our
Courts. The fact is thrust upon one's
attention. Not only in sensational
murder trials, but In almost every
civil proceeding or quasi-judicial in
vestigation which is of sufficient gen
eral interest to gain publicity, the
reported testimony is always con
tradictory, and nearly always to such
a degree as to be utterly irreconcil
ble. There seems to be little or no
regard for the sanctity of an oath;
| and yet with this multiplicity of in
| stances of reckless or wicked swear
| ing one rarely hears a word of re
proof from the Bench, and, to judge
| from the number of prosecutions,
perjury would seem to be the rarest
I of crimes.
A good deal has been recently said
i in criticism of the administration of
Justice in France, where the Judge
j has the privilege of confuting a wit
ness and of accusing him of false
j hood in the presence of the Jury;
but the too great admonitory powers
j oxercised by French Judges might
under many circumstances be prefer
able to the dignified indifference with
which our Courts listen to mutual
ly dostructive sworn statements made
before them. The obviously wide
prevalence of perjury in judicial pro
ceedings calls for earnest remedial
action. Perjury muddies the stream
of justice at its fountain head; it
makes property and liberty and life
Itself Insecure. Can anything more
1 >rrlfylnx he Imagined than the pos
sibility of being deprived of one's
i possessions or freedom, or of an In
j uocent man being condemned to
death, on the word of a forsworn
witness'' i'erjurers are greater dan
gers to a Commonwealth than, assas
sins or robbers, and the danger from
them is further enhanced because
the furtiveness of the crime and the
difficulty of proving a negative per-1
mit the false swearer to go unwhip
ped. .
But perjury is a sin as well as
a crime. The commandments against
taking the name of God in vain and
against bearing false witness were
thundered as loudly from Mt. Sinai
as the injunction against killing.
Where the State has failed the
church might have better success.
Perhaps the keepers of one's con
science could bring home to the
merely indifferent and heedless, if
not to the deliberately malicious, the
horror of perjury and the demoraliz
ing effect of sworn untruth not only
on the victim, but also the utterer
thereof; perhaps the sanctity of an
oath may thus become recognized and
felt as it ought to be, but has not
been. To the teachers of all religi
ous and all systems of ethics Truth
Is the central all-containing idea; and
its opposite the sum of all evil. The
whole fabric of civilization is woven
of co-operation and mutual confidence
and co-operation cannot endure with
deceit, nor can confidence persist a
mong liars. When lying is backed
up however, by an appeal to that
which we hold most sacred, then not
only are the bases of society destroy
ed, but the foundations of faith as
well. Perjury is the most unforgiv
able of sins and the most abhorrent
of crimes. It ought to be as repug
nant to a civilized human being as
is self-destruction; Indeed, it is spirit
ual suicide.?Philadelphia Record.
Fir? in Smithfield Ginnery.
Last Saturday our town was excit
ed by the ringing of the fire bell
which occurred on account of a
fire at the ginnery owned by Mr.
W. M. Sanders and others. It start
ed from a match in the seed cotton.
The fire was carried from the gin to
the condenser and thence to the
press in which there was about half
a bale lint cotton. It went into the
seed, house and singed over the seed.
It burned the webs and lint which
were hanging from the top of the
house. By the use of buckets and
water which had been kept in some
barrels in the house and by turning
on the steam the fire was extinguish
ed. The lint cotton which was damag
ed but not destroyed was left in
the press after it had been wet and
the press run down on It.
Sunday morning Just before the
conclusion of the service at the
Methodist church the fire bell rang
again and the men of the congrega
tion and others rushed to the gin
nery to find the cotton in the press
burning again. It seems to have
burned slowly in the press from Sat
urday. The fire was soon extin
guished but the two fires about ruin
ed the lint cotton. But for the ar
rangements for turning on steam put
in a few months ago and the water
kept ready for a fire and the ear
nest work of the fire company, the
entire ginnery would have been con
sumed.
AN EDITOR TURNS BURGLAR.
Sentenced to Penitentiary, He blames
Whiskey for Ruin.
Cloverdale, Ind., Dec. 14.?John
Ackers, editor of the Cloverdale
Graphic, and a lawyer, was sentenc
ed to from two to fourteen years in
the penitentiary today for burglary.
For two months there had been mys
terious burglaries of grocery and dry
goods stores and meat markets here,
and one night Ackers was caught in
the act of burglarizing a grocery.
In a pathetic speech after his sen
tence, he declared that whisky had
been his ruin.
The number of convicts now in the
penitentiary at Raleigh is only 83
out of a total of 639. The remain
der are placed here and there in the
State as follows: On the State farm
on the Roanoke river near Halifax
332; building the Lake Mattamuskeet
Railway, In Hyde county, 75; engag
ed in railway construction at and j
near Laurinburg, under contract with
Wade & Morrison, 160; constructing
the Glkln and Alleghany Railway, in
Surrey county, 72. this gang being
now at work grading that road near
a plac* called Mecca.
DEPOSITS RUN
TO 14 BILLION
???
i ANNUAL REPORT OF COMPTROL.
LER OF CURRENCY.
25 Million Bank Accounts. Stupendous
Figures Reveal Vast Extent of
Banking Business?General Stock
of Money Over Three Billions?Per
Capita Circulation placed at $34.95.
Washington, Dec. 10.?More than
25,000 banks, with an excess of 25,?
000,000 deposits acocunts, capital ag
gregating $1,855,987,368 and individu
al deposits of more than $14,000,000,*
000, are the stupendous figures reveal
lug the vast extent of the banking
business of the United States, as
shown in the annual report for the
year ended October 31 of Lawrence
O. Murray, comptroller of the curren
cy, laid before Congress today.
According to the Comptroller the
general stock of money in the coun
try at the close of the year ended
October 31, 1909, was $3,427,889, an
increase of $46,809,379. The stock
of gold decreased to the extent of
$644,613, and Treasury notes of 1890
to the extent of $671,000. National
bank notes increased to the extent
of $38,096,564, silver certificates by
$9,340,521 and standard silver dollars
by $687,907.
The per capita circulation is placed
at $34.95 on November 1, with a
population of 89,404,000, a slight de
crease from last year, when it was
$35.22.
The deposits in the savings banks
of the country aggregate $5,678,735,
379, with $14,894,696 depositors or
accounts. Individual deposits increas
ed $78,898,862 during the year.
SALOONS ARE VOTED IN.
Worcester, Mass., Goes Wet After
Two Years of No License.
Boston, Dec. 14.?The license ques
tion was again the paramount issue
in the election in 15 Massachusetts
cities today, Worcester, going into
the "wet" column by 3,270 votes af
ter two years of no license, while
the "dry" majority of 8,925 of a year
ago was reduced to 2,197 for the 15
municipalities.
Salem, however, went back to no
license by 500 votes after a year at
license. The other cities remain as
they were a year ago on the license
question.
George F. Fall, who has run for ?
mayor of Maiden for six years and
declared he would be a continuous
candidate, until elected, secured hta
coveted goal.
SEEMS FATED NOT TO MARRY.
Third Affianced Husband of this
Woman Burned to Death.
Utica, N. Y., December 13?Herman
Spencer, a farmer, 35 years old, was
burned to death near Guilford, in &
fire that destroyed his barn Sunday
morning. Spencer was to have been
married next Wednesday. Five years
ago the woman whom Mr. Spencer
was about to marry was planning
J3A0( joq uoq.vi iiuippo* jaq joj
was killed by the cars. Two years ago
she was again about to wed when
her affianced husband was taken
suddenly ill and died in a few hours.
The trustees of the State library
are reprinting a work which is very
rare, this being the "History of North
Carolina," written by John Brickwell.
and first published in 1737. Brickwell
used some material obtained by John
Lawson, the first real historian of the
State, but in some respects his book
la considered more valuble than that
of Lawson and it contains more about
the manners and customs of people.
Brickwell was at the town of Edenton
in 1730 and the following year made
a very notable journey to tha country
of the Cherokee Indians, part of
which was In North Carolina and part
in what Is now Tennessee.
Rer. P. D. Woodall went to h!?
new charge, Zebulon Circuit, on last
Saturday. He wrought most faith
fully and successfully at Epworth,
and the good people of Zebulon Cir
cuit may congratulate themselves on
having as their pastor one of tha
best men In the Conference.?R&>
sigh Uhrtotlan Adrocata, Dec. I.