ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR.
mitljfieli) llctalb.
SMITHFIELD, N. C., FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1911
Number 30
EDUCATION
GOOD ROADS
GOOD HEALTH
PROGRESS
five cent* per oorr.
CLOUDBURST IN
PENNSYLVANIA
PITTSBURGH SUBURBS UNDER 12
feet OF WATER.
Cloudburst Does $500,000 Damage
Floods Tears Into Factories, Brid
ges Block Debris and Back Water
Makes Great Lakes—The City Ex
pects Trouble To-day.
Pittsburgh, Sept. 15.—Property loss
approximating half a million dollars
was suffered to-day when the streets
of Etna, Etna, Millvale, Sharpsburg
Turtle Creek and other suburban
towns were transformed into raging
torrents by a cloudburst.
One life was lost and scores of
others were saved by firemen and
volunteers.
The storm, which broke early in
the day, reached its greatest inten
0ity at Etna, where the streets were
flooded to the depth of 12 feet and
the foundations of many houses were
undermined.
Lashing their ladders together, the
village firmen spanned the swirling
flood 150 feet and saved 25 persons
marooned in a block of houses.
Two hundred steel workers at the
Spang-Chalfonte Company hung to
rafters in one of the buildings for
several hours until taken off in boats.
Care loaded with steel and coke
were tossed about like corks and
railway tracks were torn up.
The flood in the Turtle Creek Val
ley tore through some of the build
ings of the Westinghouse Electric
•and Manufacturing Company and the
Westinghouse Airbrake Company,
compelling a suspension of work,
While a number of factories at Glen
shaw were shut down.
D bris dammed against bridges
caused the water to form lakes, cre
ating a dangerous situation for hours.
Telephone and telegraph communi
cation was interrupted and in some
instances suspended, while railroads
annulled trains and re-routed others.
For the first time in the history of
the local Weather Bureau a flood
wartiing was sent out in September,
22 feet of water being expected here
(omorrow.
The storm was general throughout
Western Pennsylvania, but the prin
cipal damage was done in Alleghany.
County. The precipitation at Pitts
burgh from 10:30 o’clock Thursday
gight until 10:30 o’clock to-day was
2.08, while at Beaver Falls 4.60 was
repcrted.
At Glenshaw a number of manufac
tuiing plants were flooded, and at
Sewickley a reservoir of the water
works system broke, causing some
damage.
Many houses in Emsworth, nearby,
also were flooded.
Six feet of debris blocked the
tracks of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne
and Chicago Railroad at Bellevue,
and there was six feet of water on
the tracks of the Pittsburgh, Bes
semer and Lake Erie Railroad at
Greenville when the Shenango river
overflowed and a reservoir went
out.
Sixteen trains were held up there
for hours.
Another Merchant In Selma.
Mr. Nelson D. Wells has moved
from Henderson to Selma and has
opened business there. He will re
pair watches, clocks and jewelry
and will sell watches, jewelry and op
tical goods. Mr. Wells and his wife
were reared at Princeton and we
gladly welcome them back to John
Bton County after several years’ ab
sence. He is a successful man in
his line of business and we wish him
Success at Selma.
New Selma Concern.
On Wednesday last the Secretary
of State granted a charter to the
A. V. Driver Company, of Selma, to
do a general mercantile business.
The authorized capital is $25,000,
with a paid in capital of $10,000. A.
V. Driver, I. T. Wood and S. P.
^Vopd are the incorporators. They
are all well known business men of
Selma and their management of the
new concern is the strongest evi
dence of its ultimate success.
Canada defeated the reciprocity
measure yesterday.
JONES FOUND GUILTY
GETS TWENTY YEARS
A murder case of more than or
dinary interest came to a close here
Tuesday evening, when the jury re
turned a verdict of murder in the
second degree against Jesse T.
Jones for the killing of James
Hull, a negro boy, at a fish pond
near Kenly, on the third day of last
May. The jury was out a little ov
er an hour.
The evideuce in this case upon
which the prosecution relied for a
verdict against the defendant was
substantially as follows: On the af
ternoon of ay 3, a small negro boy,
in company with several other ne
groes, was fishing in a pond near
Kenly, on the property of the defen
dant, Jesse T. Jones. Jones having
been informed that the negroes
were fishing in his pond went there
and ordered them to leave, and tak
ing a pistol from his pocket fired
in the direction of where the little
Hull negro was standing, with the
result that the ball struck the Hull
negro in the left breast, puncturing
the muscles of the heart. Hull ran
a few yards and fell, dying in less
than five minutes.
At the Coroner’s inquest the next
day it was understood that the shoot
in was claimed to have been done
accidentally, and that Jones did not
see the Hull negro on account of
weeds and reeds growing about the
place.
Quite a surprise was sprung at
the trial here Monday when a new
line of defense was presented. The
evidence upon which Jones relied for
his acquittal was to the effect that
he did not shoot in the direction of
the negrp at all, his first shot strik
ing a pine, and the second shot go
ing into the pond, but that the shot
which caused Hull’s death" was fir
'd by Thurston Elliot, one of the
negroes fishing at the pond, who
vlien Jones appeared and began fir
,ng, ran off into the woods and fir
d back at Jones, the ball missing
tones and hitting the Hull boy.
To corroborate Jones in his state
ii) -nt Tom Harmon and his wife,
vho were tenants on the land of
Tones, were introduced in his behalf.
They lived near the pond. Both these
witnesses swore that Elliot was the
man who killed Bull. To offset this
evidence the State introduced wit
resses to prove that Jones, during
the term of court, attempted to bribe
one of the State’s witnesses; that
Tom Harmon said on the day of the
Coroner’s inquest that he knew noth
ing of the shooting until Jones call
ed him and told him that he had kill
ed a negro boy and wanted him to
help find him; and that Mrs. Har
moij, at the time of the shooting,
was at her house and was not In
position to have seen what took
place.
The defendant’s brother, who was
standing near him when the fatal
shot was fired, .was not put on the
stand by the defense. It is said that
at the Coroner’s inquset he swore
that two shots were fired, corrobor
ating the State's witnesses, all of
whom were colored, and all swore
that only two shots were fired,
while Jones, Harmon and his wife
testified that there were three
shots.
While much bearing was brought
on the jury by the defendant’s coun
sel of the fact that in order to con
vict the defendant they would have
to say that Jones, Harmon and his
wife had committed perjury. Some
how the jury disregarded their evi
dence and returned a verdict of
guilty.
Judge Peebles, in commenting up
on the verdict, told the jury that
the verdict that had been rendered
was both a righteous and commend
able one, and in returning it as
they had they were fully justified in
doing so, and that they had perform
ed a service to their county for
which they should feel proud and
which would meet with general ap
proval. In sentencing Jones Judge
Peebles told him that there had
been dirty work done in the case
and that he would like to know who
was responsible for it, that his de
fense was not made in good faith
and that the Jury's verdict was right
and commendable. He then sentenc
ed Jones to twenty years at hard
labor in the penitentiary. Or if he
would pay the mother of the dead
AUTOMOBILE RUNS
THROUGH FENCE
AND SEVERAL ARE DEAD AND
BADLY INJURED.
Automobile While Racing at Syra
cuse, New York, Had a Tire to
Get off and Driver Loses Control.
Syracuse, N. Y., Sept. 16.—Six
persons are known to be dead and
at least 14 hurt, several probably fa
tally, as a result of an accident in
the 50-mile automobile race at the
state fair track late this afternoon.
A Knox racing car, driven by Lee
Oldfield, crashed through the fence
on the turn after leaving the stretch
in front of the grand stand and
ploughed for some distance into
the crowds, causing the casualties.
Oldfield was not seriously hurt. The
blowing up of a tire on Oldfield’s
machine was responsible for the ac
cident.
i The dead are:
J. A. Arnold, Syracuse, N. Y.
James Coin, Alexandria Bay, N.Y.
Claude Hammill, Hollandville, N.
Y.
Charles Ballantyne, Syracuse.
Fourteen-year-old boy.
Unidentified man, about 26 years
old.
The injured are:
Fayette Funk, of Farleyville, at
tachee of an attraction on the mid
way, is dying at the emergency hos
pital on the fair grounds. His skull
is fractured and he is otherwise in
jured.
Every ambulance in Syracuse was
rushed to the scene and vehicles
at. the park also were pressed into
service to aid in the relief work.
The woman’s building was turned
into an emergency hospital.
The accident happened during the
47th mile of the race. Oldfield was
a lap behind Ralph De Palma and
running even with him. Oldfield had
had a bad tire on his car for over
27 miles, but it did not blow out un
til the race was within three miles
of the finish.
At the time it exploded De Palma
and Oldfield were neck and neck.
They had just taken the turn at a
terrific speed that had the specta
tors almost in a frenzy. Then came
a crash that was heard all over the
field, followed by screams of women
and children in the stand, the pad
dock and inside of the track.
Efforts were made by prominent
Syracusans to stop the meet at once
Starter F. J. Wagner, of New York,
however, refused to stop the race.
He started another race, the last one
of the day, within f^ve minutes af
ter the track was cleared.
Popularity of the Bible.
It is often said that interest in
the Bible is care, that people are
more and more likely to let dust ac
cumulate on its pages. The investiga
tions of Clayton Sedgwick Cooper,
published in his new book, “The
Bible and Modern Life,” would seem
to rebuke and refute this idea, and
to establish the fact that the Bible
is the most widely read book in the
world.
Mr. Cooper tells of the work which
is being done in modern Bible class
es, not alone in this nation, but
abroad and gives many details which
are of interest. The general public is
unaware of how extensive this work
is. Last year 28,011,194 people, rep
resenting fifty-one nationalities, were
enrolled in Sunday schools in various,
countries. Twenty-seven Bible socie
ties report an aggregate distribution
for 1910 of 12,843,196 Bibles. One so
ciety alone prints the Bible in four
hundred different languages.—Rich
mond Times-Dispatch.
The annual peanut crop of this
country is valued at about $12,
000,000.
At Amarillo, Texas, the public is
supplied with water pumped by elec
tric motors from eighteen wells
which are each 300 feet deep.
boy the sum of $1,500 he would make
the sentence the minimum under the
law, two years in the pen.
Jones’ attorneys gave notice of
appeal and the bond was placed at
ten thousand dollars.
HAZEL EDGERTON
BADLY BURNED
— ■
| little daughter of mr. and
MRS. E. O. EDGERTON.
Fell in Pan of Boiling Water Tues
day and Received Very Serious
Burns. Is in Critical Condition.
Fallin. backwards into a dish
pan full of boiling water, little Ha
zel Egerton, the 19-months-olc
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. O. Eg
erton, of 317 East Hargett street,
was seriously injured yesterday af
ternoon about 13:30 o'clock. The
little one’s entire back, from her
head down, was severely scalded
and she is in a very critical con
dition. At a late hour last night
she was reported to be resting fair
ly well under the circumstances, but
at times pain was very acute.
When thel accident occurred Mrs.
Egerton and the nurse were in the
kitchen, preparing dinner, while
the child was walking about the
room. The nurse placed the pan
of hot water on the floor. The
child had a playful habit of walk
ing backwards, and just after the
pan had been placed on the floor
she took several steps backwards,
her little feet striking the edge of
the pan and throwing her body in
to the pan, which was just large
enough to contain her, leaving her
head and feet out.
As the child fell its mother saw
her and grabbed her out of the
pan, but already the hot water had
scalded her severely. A physician
was summoned and dressed the
burns.—News and Observer 20th.
WEATHER OVER COTTON BELT.
There Has Been Abundance of Sun
shine, Not Too Much Rain and Con
ditions Have Been Favorable For
Further Development of the Plant
But Also For Picking the Staple.
Washington, Sept. 19.—Generally
favorable weather in the cotton grow
ing States during the week which
ended yesterday was reported by
the national weekly weather bulle
tin of the weather bureau issued to
day. It says:
“The weather was warm, sunshine
abundant and conditions were favor
able. No rains occurred over much
of the belt to the westward of the
Mississippi and some excessively hot
weather occurred in Texas and Okla
homa. In the more eastern States
of the belt, however, temperatures
were not so high, local rains occur
red and conditions were, in the main,
favorable for the further develop
ment of the cottoii plant as well as
for picking.”
Conditions by States:
Virginia, temperature about nor
mal. Precipitation normal in north
and east-central; elsewhere decided
ly deficient.
North Carolina, temperature above
normal. Rainfall light except near
coast. Ample sunshine, conditions
favorable.
South Carolina, warm and dry, es
pecially in south. Temperature abovt
normal. Rainfall practically lacking.
Sunshine above normal.
Georgia, without precipitation in
many sections, several* scattered light
showers. Favorable for harvesting.
Generally quite warm. Sunshine
above normal.
Florida, rain slight, scattered, and
decidedly deficient. Sunshine ample.
Alabama, temperature shows nor
mal. Precipitation very irregularly
distributed. Abundant sunshine.
Mississippi, excessive heat. No
rainfall except light showers in south
west and on coast. Weather highly
favorable.
Louisiana temperature above nor
mal. Precipitation much below nor
mal. Sunshine excessive.
Texas, temperature above normal.
Sunshine abundant. Precipitation de
cidedly deficient.
Arkansas, sunshine and tempera
ture above normal. Light scattered
showers in few northeastern and
southwestern counties, but no rain
fell over rest of the State.
Tennessee, hot weather. Rainfall
generally light.
A machine has been perfected that
will seal 20,000 envelopes in an hour.
It is driven by electricity.
TRAIN WRECKED
AT SMITHFIELD
—
News reached iis just before three
j o'clock last Monday of a collision
between two trains near the depot
I at Smithfield. It occurred within a
j few steps of the northern end of the
I pass track and near the section hous
j es. A northbound through freight
was cn the main line waiting for the
local freight going south to come
from Selma and go into the siding.
Engineer R. A. Bell, of Rocky Mount,
was on the engine of the local train.
At Selma his train had been broken
up, taking on and putting off cars,
which made it necessary, according
to railroad rules, to test the air
brakes before starting from there.
This he failed to do. It seems he
left Selma and came to Smithfield
hurriedly in order to get here to let
the through freight pass him. When
he tried to stop, to go in on the sid
ing he found the brakes would not
work and the train ran by the switch
and collided with the through freight.
Several couplings to the through
freight were broken and the en
gine was damaged, but no one of the
crew was hurt, as they got out of
the way. The fireman of the local
freight jumped off the train and was
not hurt. Mr. Bell remained at
his post and was killed. One of his
legs was cut almost In two at the
knee. A large piece of flesh was
torn from the other leg. One of his
arms was broken and he received
several bruises about his head. If he
had not been struck he wras scalded
enough to kill him. He had to be
prized out from between the engine
and tender. The wreck occurred at
2:40 o’clock and he died at 3: Oil.
His remains were taken by Cotter
Unacrw'ood Company, undertakers
here, and embalmed and sent to
Ro< ;y Mount that, night. lie wras
a native of New York state and had
been married three years. The car
next to the engine was loaded with
cotton seed and was badly damaged.
The next car had in it a few cas
es of shoes and other goods and was
completely destroyed. The third car
wras damaged to some extent. This
engine w^as damaged worse than the
engine of the through freight. The
large front wheels were up from the
track about a foot.
MAN FOUND DEAD IN BUGGY.
Carl Armfield Suffers Peculiar Acci
dent Near Jamestown. Had Been
Drinking Heavily. When Found
Neck Was Broken.
Jamestown, Sept. 20.—Carl E. Arm
field, son of the late Dr. David Arm
field, was found dead in his buggy
near his home here yesterday morn
ing at 4 o'clock. H>e was found with
his head between the shafts and
wheel, with a broken neck. As the
body was rigid it is thought that
death occurred earlier in the night.
He was about 31 years old.
The deceased is thought to have
been returning to his home from
Greensboro when the accident oc
curred that caused his death. It was
known that he had been drinking
heavily for the past three weeks and
his head head bore several abras
ions, supposed to have been caused
by having fallen from his buggy,
while under the influence of whis
key. It is a surmised, therefore, that
while in this condition he fell over
the dashboard of the buggy and be
ing under the influence of whiskey
was unable to recover his position
on the seat.
When found the buggy wheel was
against a post and it was thought
that the horse, having pulled aside
from the road, struck this post and
in doing so wrenched the shafts
around and broke Mr. Armfield’s
neck. As this was the apparent
cause of death, the coroner did not
deem an inquest necessary.
Monday afternoon Mr. Armfield ap
plied to a prominent physician for
chloral, stating that he was in a bad
condition and hinted at delirium tre
mens. The physician stated that he
would have administered the drug,
but did not have it; he saw that Mr.
Armfield needed it. It was suggest
ed that this condition might have giv
en rise to the accident.
Why is it that a fly can always
find the hole in a screen from the
outside, but never from the inside?
i
OFF BUILDING
POLITICAL FENCES
PRESIDENT TAFT BEGINS HIS
LONG TOUR OF TALKING.
Chief Executive of the Nation Saw
His Fifty-fourth Natal Anniversary
Go By.—Trip Begun Last Week,
Will Extend Over Nearly Seven
Weeks and Carry Him in 24 States.
Boston, Sept. 15.—President Taft
left. Bosto’. at 7:35 tonight on his
13.000 mile speaking tour, embracing
twenty-four states, and continuing un
til Nov. 1. His departure in the
special train prepared for his party
was signalized by an enthusiastic
demonstration from several 'nundret
persons gathered at the South sta
tion to bid him Godspeed.
This was President Taft’s 54th
birthday. Congratulatory messages
poured into the executive offices at
Beverly from all over the world. One
came from King George V of Eng
land.
A drizzle of rain fell during the
President’s motor trip from Parramat
ta to this city. Midway on the road
he wras forced, with other occupants
of his automobile to alight and get
into the automobile of the secret ser
vice men, owing to a slight accident
to his own machine.
When the special train left, the
President’s immediate party consist
ed of Secretary Charles D. Hilles,
Major A. W. Butt, military aide, and
Major Thomas L. Rhodes, IT. S. A.,
the President’s physician. Three se
cret service guards and nine newspa
per men accompanied the party. The
train consisted of a baggage car
coach, the Pullman private car Ideal,
to be occupied by the President and
his immediate party, the Pullman
compartment cars Texas and Florida,
and a dining car. The coach is to be
carried over the entire journey, as
it has been found on previous trips
that so many committee delegations
have boarded the train that there has
been no room in the sleeping cars to
properly care for them.
From the beginning to the end of
the trip the train will carry super
intendents, train-masters and other
operating officials on the various
lines over which it moves, and it
is estimated that between 45,000 and
50.000 railroad men will be directly
concerned and engaged in transport
ing the Presidential party.
A STATEMENT.
Last week we stated that cer
tain Smithfield negroes spent part
of a Sunday recently gambling at
the new academy, which is being
built by the colored people near the
depot. We printed this as a matter
of news. We meant no reflection on
the colored people in general and no
reflection on their school. This buil
ding is being erected by the col
ored Baptists of the County for a
high school, which they expect to run
here. We commend them for this
worthy undertaking. WTe favor ev
erything which will elevate the col
ored race. We are willing any time
to take their part in a matter of right
®nd wrong. In Smithfield there are
a great many good colored people.
There are also some bad negroes
here. They lead immoral lives.
They spend most of what they make
clear of actual expenses for whiskey,
which they drink and sell to each
other or to anybody else who will
buy from them. They gamble and
practice other immorality. They are
banded together for breaking the
laws and to prevent their enforce
ment. Many of them will tell any
thing or swear to anything to carry
their points. They have been known
to go to the home of a whitle man in
Lis absence to serenade his wife with
their brass band as an insult because
they had a grudge against her hus
band for no other reason than that
he opposed their devilment. They de
fy every law and everybody in car
rying out their plans. We are favor
able to the colored race and their
churches but cannot and will not in
anyway cloak the meanness of this
bad element in Smithfield. We hope
to see the day when the laws can
be enforced against them and hope
that such a day is not far in the fu
ture. They are enemies of progress
and good government and should be
classed as yuch. j