Smitljfirlb ftef&lit
Price On* Dollar Per Year . "TRUE TO OUR8ELVES, OUR COUNTRY AND OUR GOD." Single Copies Five Cents.
VOL. 28 SMITHFIELD, N. C., FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 1910 Number 47
BUSINESS FINE IN SOUTH.
President Emerson Sees Signs of
It on Every Hand. Planters
Have Money From Cotton and
Other Products and Are Pros
perous.
Reports from the South, par
ticularly the Southeast, indicate
that section to be enjoying the
greatest prosperity in its history.
This applies to all lines of trade
and farming communities. The
Southeast suffered comparatively
little from cotton shortage and j
returns from the product break
all previous records. Money is
abundant everywhere.
President Emerson, of the At
lantic Coast Line Railroad, re
cently returned to New York
from a tour of inspection over the
entire system from Washington
to Tampa, and is quoted as say
ing of conditions in Dixie:
"The farmers and planters
have more money just now than!
they ever had before. Not only
did they get the highest price in
years for cotton, but the same is
true of about everything they
grow. The result is they are all j
making improvements and pre
paring bumper crops for next |
year.
"Every crop was sold easily,|
? and the demand was not oxce-ti
ed. In fact, it was mucli larger
than the supply. This is especial
ly true of Florida citrus fruits
and every sort of vegetable. The
improved transportation facil
ities and cheap rates make it
--?1-1 4. .. _ .4.
possioie iur me giunt-i to gi-u
his crops into the big Northern
market almost as soon as though
they were grown near at hand
and at only a little advance in
freight. It is this reason, per
haps, which is rapidly increasing
the population of this section."
President Emerson announced
that it was the intention of the
directors of the Atlantic Coast
Line to double-track the main
line of the system from Florida
to its Northern terminus, lie
said that 250 miles of double
track had been constructed in
the year just ended and that 30
miles more are in hand.
The company has begun work
replacing the five miles of wood
en trestle across the Peedee, San
tee and Savannah rivers with con
crete, and it is expected that the
improvement will be completed
next month. The Atlantic Coast'
Line is to spend many million of
dollars on improvements during
the year.?Washington Herald. ]
30 CLOCKS STRUCK IN VAIN.
Robert Willoughby, the Punctual
Motorman, Was Dead.
New York, January lfi.?For
the first time in 30 years Robert
Willoughby failed to wake up
this morning when his 30 clocks,
simultaneously setting off a series
of gongs, gave their customary)
alarms at 6 o'clock. lie had died
sometime during the night of
Bright's disease.
Willouclibv was f>7 veiirs old
and had been employed as a
motorman by the Third Avenue
Elevated Railway. He was the
most punctual employee in the
service. No matter what the
weather was, Willoughby was
never late.
the secret of his punctuality
came to light when his room was
inspected today. Ranged round
near his bed were 30 clocks of
different sizes and makes. All
struck the same hour at the same
time.
Willoughby came from an old
Maryland family.
Aurora Giant Dead.
Chicago, Jan. 16.?Peter Rlees,
police magistrate at Aurora, who
weighed 595 pounds, is dead. A
portion of his residence will be
torn away to permit the body
being taken out. There is no
hearse big enough, and a bobsled
will be used in its place.
It pays to raise corn. Mr. J.
D. Johnson, of Robeson county,
says he sold for one of his sons
the corn from an acre and it net
ted $9i?"after paying all expenses.
It looks like the boys are going to
teach their fathers how to grow
hog and hominy as the best pay
ing crops.?News and Observer.
STATE NEWS.
Nine houses occupied by ne
groes were burned Saturday
morning in New Bern.
It is now an assured realisa
tion that a railroad will be built
from Goldsboro to Seven Springs.
As the result of a fight, Kich
ard Bivens stabbed to death with
his pocket knife Vassar Fowler,
in Granville County Saturday af
ternoon.
Hardy Kay, a little seven year
old boy, of Charlotte, lost his life
Thursday morning of last week
in an effort to build up a fire
with kerosine.
A plucky llowan County wo
man saved herself last week from
criminal assault from a burly
negro by shooting a pistol. The
negro made good his escape.
L. D. Robinson, Solicitor of the
eighth judicial district, has re
signed to take effect January 24.
There are several prominent Dem
ocrats who are canidates for the
job.
The annual meeting of the
North Carolina Merchants' Asso
ciation will be held this year in
June at Salisbury. This thriving
city is preparing to give the vis
itors a hearty welcome.
The Guilford County Poultry
Association held a full show of
chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks
etc, at Greensboro last week. The
exhibit, which has created much
interest, closed Thursday night.
Mrs W .T Pliimmt'r ail jtL'eil
woman of eighty-five, who lived
at Salisbury, met an awful death
Tuesday of last week, by falling
into the fire. She started to re
plenish the fire when she fell,
with her head in the open embers.
A dreadful accident occurred
in Burlington Saturday, when Mr.
Frank Philips, an employee in
Plaid Cotton Mills, was caught in
the shafting and his right arm
torn off just below the elbow. A
serious wound was also inflicted
in his left side.
The town authorities of New
Bern took four children from
Mrs. A. L. Price last week and
bound them out to farmers of
Pamlico County because she was
not able to properly care for
them. She was allowed to keep
her youngest child.
Fourteen boys from Granville
won a' trip to Raleigh in corn
growing contests. Last Week,
nine of them made this vi.vt.
The young men, ranging in age
from 14 to 17, w?irj escorted
;ibout the city by Prof. 1. O.
Schaub, of the U. S. Department
[of Agriculture.
A society to be known as the
" Anti-Tuberculosis Society of
of "Wilson County," has been or
ganized in Wilson. An interest
ing feature of the meeting, which
was held in the Mayor's office,
was the reading of a paper on
'"Etiology and the History of
Tuberculosis" by Dr. llcnry B.
Best.
Tne Ifo year old girl ol
Mr. A. S. Cratch, of near Wash
ington, was burned to death 011
Thursday of last week. Hav
ing been left with some smaller
children for only a few minutes,
the mother returned to (he room
and found a broom on fire and the
clothing of the youngest child in
flames.
Wednesday of last week was
the anniversary of the first birth
day of the Stonewall Jackson
Training and Industrial school
at Concord, which is accomplish
ing so much in the noble work of
saving wayward boys of North
Carolina. Appropriate exercises
followed the annual meeting of
the board of trustees.
Judge W. II. Allen has render
ed a decision sustaining the Clerk
of Harnett County in his refusal
to remove II. C. McNeil as exe
cutor of the estate of the late
W. A. Stewart who was killed by
a train in Dunn about a year
ago. After the railroad company
compromised the suit against iI
j by agreeing to pay the estate of
' Stewart, the sum of $25,000, Mrs.
Stewart, the widow, sought to
I have McNeil removed as execu
tor, and enjoined the railroad
company from paying the money
over to him. The courts so far
have sustained McNeil. An ap
peal has been taken to the Sup
preme Court.
MAY OBEY SPINSTER S WILL.
Though Relative Objects, Trus
tee Demands That the Body
Be Stabbed.
Pittsburg, Jan. 16.?The police
had to be called out this after
noon to keep a crowd from tear
ing down the house at i!42 Main
Street, where the body of Miss
Laura White, the rich recluse,
was found yesterday.
Miss White's will has caused
a clash between the Fidelity Ti
tle and Trust Company of Pitts
burg and Dr. Robert White of
Connellsville, her only living rel
ative in this vicinity. Dr. SVhite
insists 011 disobeying the provis
ion of the will asking that her
heart be stabbed three times af
ter she has been dead ten days.
President C. S. Gray of the trust
company insists that the re
quirements of the will be carried
out. Dr. White may enter court
to-morrow in an attempt to pre
vent what he calls desecration.
Prom those who had known
the woman long it was learned
to-day that she had been haunt
ed with a fear that she would be
buried alive. Forty-fiv? years
ago she was engaged to marry a
young man named Graham, who
died suddenly. Months later it
was necessary to move the body
to another cemetery. The coffin
was opened, and the body was
found to have turned on its side.
?New York Times.
FLOOD LOSS $14,000,000.
Salt Lake Railroads Washed Out
For Ninety-three Miles.
Salt Lake City, Utah, Jan.
17.?Advices from the flooded
districts of the San Pedro, Los
Angeles and Salt Lake road, fil
ter in slowly, it is now known
that ninety-three miles of track
arc washed out. All trains, save
four locals, have been abandoned.
It is estimated that it will cost
$14,000,000 to rebuild the Hue,
which must follow a different
route, and one which detours to
Meadow Valley, Wash. The wash
out of three years ago entailed a
loss of $3,000,000 and delayed
traffic only a few weeks. The
damage wrought by the present
flood is so stupendous that the
officials themselves cannot give
comprehensive details. It is con
sidered the greatest railroad <lis
astt ; i:i the history of the world.
Ail the available steel in the
Or ;on Short Line and other Ilar
riman systems in the West
would not be sufficient to provide
material for temporary tracks.
Kills Inmate With Hoe.
Elizabeth City, N. C., .Ian. 17.
?Griffin Jennings, aged 75 years,
and an inmate of the I'as
quotnnk county home, is charged
with the killing of another aged
inmate, R. M. J. Ellis, with a
hoe. The trouble was precipi
tated by a dispute at the break
fast table. Jennings is in jail
and will be given a hearing to
morrow morning.
Rev. Dr. P. R. Law Locates Site
Of the Pythian Orphanage.
Clayton, Jan. 13.?The archi
tect, the engineer and the con
tractor for the Pythian orphan
age met Rev. Dr. P. R. Law of th
Pythian board of trustees on the
ground at Clayton today and he
located the precise site of the
first building of the group to
constitute the orphans' home.
In the presence of the inter
ested spectators Rev. Dr. Law, in
behalf of the Pythiani of the
State, removed the first dirt
with a new shovel which is to be
kept in memory of this initial ser
vice. The work of ex-avating
goes on and carloads of lime and
brick arc on the side track of
the railway. The contractor is
expected to rush the work to
completion.? Charlotte Observer.
Snow is City's Plague.
Chicago, Jan. 15.?It is csti
mateed that 41.599,800 tons of
snow have fallen in Chicago this
winter, and a fortune has been
spent to clean the streets. Pneu
monia and other troubles have
made it a disastrous thing of
beauty and ugliness.
HEROES GET BIG VERDICT.
Bridge Workers Let themselves
Be Maimed to Save Compan
ions. i
As a sequel to a thrilling ac
cident to a bridge worker, a <
jury in the Queens County Su
preme Court at Flushing yester- ,
day returned a verdict for $20,- ,
000 to each of two men, who, by
ttieir bravery, saved the lives of
several other workmen, while
building the Queensboro Bridge j
over the East River. The ver
dict is against the Pennsylvania
Steel Company, the bridge con
tractors.
On Dec. 11, 1!H)7, Orlazus dude (
to this city, and Jno. J. McGlynn
of Long Island City were at work
on the tower of the bridge at the
water's edge on the Queens side.
They were more than 100 feet in
the air. A heavy steel plate was
being put into place by a gang of
men, of which Jude and McGlynn
were members. The plate was
almost in place, when it began to
slip. These two men realized
that if it fell the lives of at least
three of their companions would
be sacrificed. Both men thrust
their hands into a crevice beneath
the plate. It ground on for a few <
feet almost tearing off the hands i
of the two men. But the beam
was stopped in its fall.
The nerve of the men prevent- 1
ed them from fainting while they
were being held prisoners, and
until the plate was raised and i
they w#re released. Then they
were carried to the pavement be
low, and taken to St. John's
Hospital, where their hands were i
amputated.
Both men as workers at their <
trade were able to earn from $35 j
to $40 a week, but since the ac- i
cident they have been able to ear i
but little.?New York Times. !
RUSSIA LEADS IN WHEAT.
Its Crop of Last Year Exceeded
Ours by 26,000,000 Bushels.
Washington, Jan. 15.?The
United States has lost its place i
as the greatest wheat producing i
couDtry in the world, and Russia 1
has won that distinction. Even
though last year the total yield
of wheat in the United States
was next to the largest in the his- |
tory of American agriculture, the j
crop of 1901 only having exceed- j
ed it, Russia last year produced ,
the remarkably large harvest of ,
783,000,000 bushels, or 40,980,000,
000 pounds, which constitutes the ,
largest crop ever harvested by
| any count r\* and 26,000,000 busli
U'ls greater than that of the ,
United States.
The great yield of Russia for j
1909. as shown by the revised of-!
ficial returns which have just
been received by the United (
States Department of Agricul
ture, is the feature of the grain
world for the year. Coining af
ter three successive short crops it
exceeds by more than 100,000,000
bushels the previous record of
Russia.
i .? ?
vmy iwice nas trie wneat ]>ro- ;
duction of Russia surpassed that
of the United States, the first in
1904. when the crop here was a
j partial failure. The wheat acre
age in .Russia lias been rapidly
increasing for many years. Last
year it was over 65,000,000 acres, i
Rye was grown on 72,000,000
acres last year. Rye is the chief ,
bread grain of Russia, while
wheat is the "money crop,"
about one-fourth of the whole be
ing exported.
Heavy Snow in New York.
Kingston, N. Y., Jan. 14.? .
Twenty-nine inches of snow had
fallen on the level at Davenport
Centre, Delaware County, before
a blizzard started through this
section of the state at noon. The
pale increased in violence stead
ily as the sun went down, and to
night all traffic is seriously ham
pered throughout the Catskill
Mountain region. Tn some places
j the roads are already impassable.
Klk Park, a town of 1,200 in
Mitchell county, was swept, by a
destructive fire last week. Twenty
buildings in the center of the
town arr ashes, with an esti
mated 1; af $75,000.
NOTES OF INTEREST.
At the Royal Normal College
for the Blind in London IK) pt-r
cent of the students are self
supporting.
The coining value of silver pro
duced from the mines of the
world since 1492 is practically
equal to that of the gold pro
duced in that period?115 billion
dollars.
Canada has 100,000 Indians
among her population of 6,000,
000. The Government has iso
lated them, as wards of the na
tion, in reserves, which are scat
tered all over the Dominion.
In 1851 there were over 8,000.
(XX) people in Ireland, but in 1901
the population was no more than
4,456,000. Thus in half a century
the population decreased to al
most half that which it formerly
was.
Citizens of Concord, N. 11., pro
pose to erect there a statue of
Ralph Waldo Emerson, to cost
$20,000. and the sculptor, Daniel
French, who in his youth was
Mr. Emerson's neighbor and
friend, has consented to under
take the work.
Rev. Watson Dana, 73 years
old, of Ohio, who is visiting Kan
sas City, has never raised his hat
to a woman, and declares that
he never will. "The Bible teach
es us to uncover on entering the
temple of the most high," he said,
"and this mark of respect 1 re
serve for my Ood."
According to the reports of the
Manitoba Department of Agricul
ture the value of the butter pro
duced in this province during
1!X)8 was $1 ,21(>,97(i, an increase
aver that of the previous year of
iibout $170,000. The cheese pro
duced in 1908 was valued at
?183,294, compared with $1t>8,
997 in 1907.
The total area under cotton in
India, including both the early
and all the late crop sown up to
the end of September, amounted
to 18,722,000 acres. For the same
period last season the area was
Hi,990,000 acres. There was,
therefore, ail increase of 10 per
jent., as shown by the figures of
the present season.
According to the census of
1901, the production of eggs in
I'rinee Edward Island amounted
to 2,42ti,2C>l dozens, valued at
?248,423. The production in 1909
is estimated at 4,000,000 dozens,
af which 3,000,000 dozens will be
shipped to Quebec and the other
maritime provinces, to England,
and to the United States.
Another "melon" of large pro
portions?the distribution of $20,
J00,000 in common stock- is to
be given the stockholders of the
International Harvester. Com
pany. The directors of the com
pany have recomended that the
entire $80,000,000 of stock be
placed on at 4 per cent, div
idend basis, commencing next
April.
The number of persons of all
races employed on the railways
in India in 1883 was: Europeans,
3,995; Eurasians, 9,982; Indians,
177,287. At the close of 1908 these
figures had amounted to: Euro
peans, 7,180; Eurasians, 9,982:
Indians, 499,594, showing the
tendency toward decreasing the
relative number of European em
ployes.
The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian
church in New York city is to
give a salary of $12,000, together
with a home whose rental value
is set at $5000 a year, to get as
its pastor Rev. Dr. Ilenry Jowett
of Carrs Lane Congrgational cha
pel inn Birmingham, Eng. Dr.
Jowett is also promised a yearly
vacation of two months. But the
latest news from England is that
Dr. Jowett has declined the call.
The New York Convention of
the Layman's Missionary Move
ment for the evangelization of the
world, which was in session in
New York for a week was
brought to a close with a meet
ing for men in the Hippodrome
Sunday afternoon. The Hippo
drome was crowded with minis
ters and laymen, and before the
meeting closed a resolution was
adopted calling for the collection
of a fund of $725,000 this year
for the foreign missions. Last
year the sum raised was about
$400,000.
ROCKFELLER NURSE DEAD.
Miss Williams, 100 Years Old,
Had Lived 80 Years in Cleve
land. ,
Cleveland, Jan. 16.?Miss El
eanor Williams, once a nurse iu
the home of John I). Rockefeller,
died Saturday night. She was
100 years old.
Eighty years ago, when Cleve
land was a malaria-stricken vil
lage at the mouth of a stagnant
creek, she began to nurse the
children of the settlers. She was
alone, an English emigrant, and
to none of her friends did she
ever reveal who were her parents
or whether she had any rela
tives alive.
A quarter of a century ago sbo *
was sent for by Mr. Rockefeller
to nurse one of his children, who
was ill. The affection for the
kindly people in the old Euclid
Avenue home which she gained
then she never lost. Kor the
past ten years she has lived with
Mrs. Samuel II. Crowl.
STATE NEWS
At a meeting of the Harnett
county bar held at Lillington
Tuesday resolutions were unan
imously adopted ? endorsing Mr.
J. C. Clifford, of Dunn, for
Judge of the sixth Judicial dis
trict.
Mr. Billic warren, of Sampson,
carried a load of turkeys to Dunn,
last week, which included two
weighing 36 and 38 pounds re
spectively. He received for the
two $11 10 This is hard to beat
on fowls.
Mrs. llaywood Baker, of Wayne
County, was burned to death
Friday while dressing one of her
children for school. Her husband
who is a paralytic, l>eiug unable
to help her. was compelled to
witness the horrible scene.
Mrs. George W. Wynne, of
Greensboro, was buried at La
Grange Tuesday afternoon. While
her bereaved husband, age 79,
was waiting at the station for' the
train he was xpecting to take to
return to Greensboro, he was
suddenly stricken and died of
heart failure.
An unfortunate fire caused by
the explosion of a lamp which
was setting on a shelf above a
stove, resulted in the horrible
burning of two young ladies,
Misses Le^sie and Bessie Wes
cott, at Maiiteo, last week. No
hope is entertained for the re
covery of one, while the other,
though she will recover, will be
maimed for life.
A Good Roads Meeting will
be held at Raleigh, N. C., on
January 27, 1910. This meeting
is called by the State Geologist '
for all tiiose interested in im
proved roads for North Carolina
to discuss what can be done to
assist the various counties
throughout the State in putting
forth still greater efforts for the
construction of good roads within
their borders. The meeting will
also take up the discussion of
State aid to counties in the con
struction of good roads.
4 ?i1 T- 1 --
4ixuiiir uuniistJii, ii youiig muu,
of Salisbury, had a very narrow
escape from death last Friday.
Mr. Johnson, having delivered a
load of lumber, was driving to
wards the railroad crossing. The
flagman detained him a few mo
ments, then told him to drive on.
He did so, and his team was
struck by a car. The wagon, a
total wreck, the mules and Mr.
Johnson were shoved along the
track some distance before the
engineer could stop the train. It
is miraealous that the mules nor
the young man were killed.
Orange Crop Million Short.
Los Angeles, Jan. 16.?This
year's orange crop has been dam
aged approximately $1,000,000 by
the heavy frosts of the last few
days, according to the estimates
made by reliable growers. Some
believe this amount will also cover
nursery stock and the coming
year's crop, but others figure thu
total to be several millions.
Compared with the $35,000,000
valuation of the present crop,
this is not a discouragingly largo
V' . -