MORE SOLDIERS WANTED.
John Paul Lucas, Secretary to
North Carolina Food Conser
vation Commission, Makes an
Appeal to Farmers to Mobil
ize Their Forces for An in
creased Production of Food
and FeedstulTs.
"Grow your own food and
feed crops or go hungry." In
less abrupt phrasing but in lan
guage just as easily understood,
this is what the rest of the coun
try is saying to the South this
year.
The South has been depend
ing upon the North and Central
West for food and feed and
feedstuff's to the value of ap
proximately $700,000,000 a year
? at present prices the figures
would no doubt pass the billion
dollar mark. North Carolina's
part of this tremendous aggre
gate of imports has been in
round numbers $80,000,000. For
the fiscal year beginning July 1,
1916 and ending June 31, 1917,
because of a combination of
high prices and poor crops in
some sections, our importations
will no doubt reach the stagger
ing figure of $100,000,000.
This State in common with all
of the South has received sol
emn warning from officials of
the National Government, in
cluding the Secretary and As
sistant Secretary of the Depart
ment of Agriculture, that the
food and feedstuff's we have
been importing will not be avail
able this year because they will
be required for our armies and
the armies of our allies. The
Governors, agricultural leaders
and far-sighted farmers and
business men of the South have
sounded the warning also. So
grave is the situation that Pres
ident Wilson himself has made
a special appeal to the farmers
of the South.
The State of North Carolina
has been early to take steps to
meet the situation. Even before
war was declared Governor
Bickett took time by the fore
lock and issued a proclamation 1
urging upon the people of our
cities and towns as well as those
on farms the importance of
planting ample home vegetable
gardens. Following the entry
of this Nation into the war Gov
ernor Bickett appointed a State
Food Conservation Commission
which promptly met and has
planned and is putting into exe
cution under the direction of its
executive Secretary a vigorous
campaign for greater food and
feed production. A sub commis
sion is being appointed in each
county in the State, to have rep
resentation from every school
district. The newspapers of the
State, the commercial organiza
tions, ministers, mayors of
towns and cities, bankers and
other persons and agencies will
be called upon to assist in this
campaign, in addition to the
State Department of Agricul
ture, the Farm Extension Ser
vice, the boys' and girls' corn,
pig and tomato clubs and other
organizations. In short every
possible agency is being mobil
ized to meet the situation.
There are several means of
increasing production. Where
farmers can see their way clear,
they are urged to reduce slight
ly their acreage of cotton and
tobacco, especially the latter,
giving more acres to corn, soy
beans, peas, potatoes, hay and
?ther food and feed crops. Even
where they do not reduce their
acreage of cotton and tobacco
they are urged to try to take
care of a slight additional acre
age, if they can do so without
neglecting their accustomed
crops. Increased amounts of fer
tilizers may be used to advan
tage where wisely applied. Coun
ty commissioners are urged to
use convicts and their work
stock on tenantless farms for
the cultivation of corn and hay
especially, even to the tempora
ry neglect of road work. The
people of our cities and towns
are urged to utilize vacant lots
and lands close by for the grow
ing of staple food and feed
crops.
When one tries to vision the
amount of wheat, flour, corn,
oats, hay, potatoes, etc., $80,
000,000 or $100,000,000 will
buy, he begins to realize what
gigantic task the farmers of
the State have imposed upon
them, and what a really impor
tant work the mobilized forces
working through and in co-op
eration with the Food Conser
vation Commission have to per
form in getting the farmers
and other producers in the State
to feel the seriousness of the
situation and to act promptly in
meeting it.
The farmers of North Caro
lina are called upon to grow
food and feed crops not only
sufficient to supply all of their
own needs, but to supply the
needs of our cities and towns
and mill communities as well.
If they should raise a surplus
above these requirements, which
is beyond the range of possibil
ities this year, there will be a
ready market for it, because this
nation is being called upon to
feed not only the armies but to
a considerable extent the civil
ian population of our Allies,
whose producers by the millions
have been taken from their
fields to fight in the trenches.
All authorities are agreed
that unprecedented prices may
be looked for this year for meat
products, corn, wheat, oats, hay,
Irish and sweet potatoes, soy
beans, velvet beans, cowpeas,
canned and dried vegetables and
fruits and in fact all non-perish
able food and feed crops. The
farmer is not being called upon
to make a sacrifice, because it is
not necessary. Cotton and tobac
co are the lowest priced farm
products we have, even at their
present prices, and farmers who
raise these crops to the neglect
of sufficient "hog and hominy"
and feed for their own use are
going to be in the calamity
howling class this fall. Gotton
and tobacco will no doubt com
mand something like present
prices next fall, but there is
some danger of an overproduc
tion of these crops while there
is no danger of the South rais
ing too much food and feed
stuffs.
The farmers of the State, to
gether with business men, and
others who can help, are called
upon to perform a patriotic du
ty. But that is not as far as
it goes. They are being given,
by unusual conditions, such an
opportunity to profit as they
have never had before. The war
is going to bring prosperity to
a marked degree to those farm
ers who are fore-sighted and
wise enough to produce abun
dantly of those crops for which
there is certain to be the heavi
est demands at the best prices.
Plant all you can cultivate and no
more. When planning your planting
be sure to plan for the cultivating and
harvesting.
TOWN-SCHOOLS IN CONTEST.
Representatives of Graded and High
Schools Met Here Saturday. List of
the Winners. Teachers Present
Purse to Prof. Vermont. Notes of
Appreciation. Some Needs Sug
gested. , ?, a
Saturday was another red letter
day in Johnston County school his
tory. Representatives from the town
schools met and contested the vari
ous events scheduled for them. Each
one on the program as billed last
week was present and every contest
was most interesting.
Following are the winners in the
town group:
Declamation ? Jennings Talton
from Selma school.
Reading ? A tie between Thelma
Peedin, of Smithfield School, and
Claudia Wood, of the Benson School.
Story-telling ? Paul Massengill, of
the Four Oaks School.
Spelling ? Orman Bailey and Elmer
Poole, from the Selma School.
Piano Solo ? Lucy Davis, from Wil
son's Mills.
Chorus ? From Smithfield School.
In the final contest between the
country group winners and the town
group v/inners Percy Barnes from
the country schools won over Jen
nings Talton of the town schools.
Claudia Wood, of the town schools,
won over Irene McLamb, of the coun
try schools.
Little Miss Mary Parker from the
Fitzgerald School was declared win
ner in etory-telling.
Each and every contestant did his
part well, and each school that took
part in the contests is stronger for
having done so.
We wish to thank Miss Dowd,
from St. Mary's in Raleigh, for her
untiring interest and patience as
judge of the music contests and one
of the judges of final contests. Every
one greatly enjoyed Miss Dowd's
short address to the audience and con
tests at the close of the exercises.
Another incident .of the day de
serves special mention: Mrs. W. H.
McCullers very kindly brought with
her from Clayton two of the teachers,
Miss Willie T. Hall and Miss Ruth
Young and with them acted as judges
of the reading contest. It is gra
cious acts like this that make the
whole scheme of things look brighter
and make us forget that there may
be even yet in Johnston County a
few folk who can not find time for
any work other than that with self
as the ultimate goal.
Our thanks are also due to Mr. F.
Hunter Creech, Mr. Boseman, Mr.
Andrews, Mr. Gentry, Miss Joyner
and Miss Jones who acted as judges
in the various contests. Also to Mr.
Vermont, Miss Trotter, Mr. Whitley
and Miss Myatt who had charge of
various programs. Then last, but not
least, we remember the fine spirit
shown by the other teachers of the
Turlington Graded School and by oth
er teachers present from the other
schools. And did you notice the Tur
lington Graded School high school
boys and girls? They were always
ready at the right time and the right
place to do what was needed and they
did things in such a way as to make
all very happy because of their cheer
ful service.
Another pleasing incident of the
day was the presentation of a purse
to Supt. A. Vermont from Johnston
County Teachers. This small bit of
money v/as only an expression of ap
preciation for Mr. Vermont during
the years he has been in Johnston
County school work. The money is to
be placed on deposit as the beginning
of a savings account for little Miss
Fanny Louise, Mr. Vermont's only
daughter. Supt. Andrews, of the
Kenly School, in a pleasing way pre
sented the purse to Mr. Vermont who
accepted the gift in the same spirit
in which it was given. Mr. Vermont
in reply to Mr. Andrews made a talk
which only Vermont could make in
which could be seen the high thoughts
and purposes of a man whose heart
is big enough to enfold every child
in our schools and the sincere wish
to give to every child his chance to
make of himself the beet possible.
Last week was mentioned the fact
that the Pomona school pig was pur
chased by Mr. W. M. Sanders. His
pigship, "E. Wiggle Pomona" has
been sent back to his native heath by
Mr. Sanders who put him in the hands
of :i pip club hoy down there. Just <
here we wish to say that this is only
ore of the many instances of kind- <
ness and support to our work by Mr.
Sanders. He has more than any other
individual given financial support and
encouragement to our club members.
We have no doubt that there are oth
er men in the county who are just as
willing to help in our work as Mr.
Sanders. They have not offered the
help, and we have not asked them <
because we hesitate to make what is
really a privilege appear to be char- !
ity. As we write this it comes to us I
that we are wrong not to let folks I
know that there are hundreds of
boys and girls in Johnston right now i
who would raise pure-bred poultry if I
they only had the eggs furnished I
them; there are thousands of cans of 1
fruits and vegetables that will be
lost in Johnston this year that would i
not be lost if cans for saving these |
things were furnished the women <
and girls; There are dozens of boys
and girls who might be raising pigs
and cattle if only they had the stock |
to begin with. <
Please do not understand from this
that we would have you give these i
things outright. We know that all of
these things would be repaid with in- ?
terest ? and we know that the men or
women who may see their way clear i
to help in this work will do far more j
than they may think for the educa
tion of Johnston County's future <
citizenship and for the true growth
of the county.
If you are willing to help, drop me
a card and I will tell you of the plans
we are working out here in the Coun
ty Superintendent's office together
with Miss Pickens and Mr. John.
ELIZABETH KELLY.
Smithfield, N. C., April 23, 1917.
BRAZIL IS A GREAT COUNTRY.
An Army of Four Million Men Could
Be Called Into Service. Great Re
public, Last American Nation to
Oust Monarchy, Adds Dread
naujjhts and Battleships to Fleets
of Democracy.
The severing of diplomatic rela
tions with Germany and its possible
entrance into the war has brought
Brazil into the limelight and makes
the following facts interesting at
this time:
Brazil is a Nation fifteen times the
size of Germany, sixteen times the
size of France, thirty times the size
of Italy, 289 times the size of Bel
gium.
If Brazil were as densely populat
ed as Germany it would have nearly
a billion inhabitants. If as thickly
settled as Belgium it would have
more than two billion, ft is only one
fifth as well settled as the United
States.
Brazil can put more trained sol
diers into the field today than can the
United States. Four million men tan
be called out under the Brazilian ser
vice law, which makes military train
ing obligatory for all men between
21 and 45.
The navy includes two dread
naughts rnd two battleships.
But Brazil's resources will do
more for the Allies, including Uncle
a ? i> : l a:
oaiii, uicui i)i c>.?j 1 1 ? auiuiuid.
In the high interior are vast pla
teaus, covered with forests and
abounding in tropical fruits. The
forests are hardly touched. Cocee,
cocoa, rubber and dyewoods are lead
ing exports from this region.
Brazil was settled by the Portu
guese and was a Portuguese colony
in 1807, when Napoleon invaded Por
tugal. The royal family fled to their
American domain.
In 1821 King John returned to Por
tugal, leaving his son, Dom Pedro as
regent of Brazil. Dom Pedro pro
claimed Brazil independent, and in
1831 abdicated in favor of his son,
Dom Pedro II, who reigned until the
Bloodless revolution of 1889 that
made Brazil a Republic.
Brazil today has a population of
more than 25,000,000 and an area of
3,290,000 square miles. Rio Janeiro,
the Capital, has over a million peo
ple, and Sao Paulo, next largest city,
has nearly half a million.
Factory-made butter in the United
States increaserd from 627,145,865
pounds in 1909 to 786,013,489 pounds
in 1914, and factory-made cheese in
creased from 311,175,730 pounds in
1909 to 377,506,109 pounds in 1914.
Chile's first steel mill has been
opened to manufacture the metal
from scrap iron heretofore exported
to Europe.
CAPT. HI WANT'S TRAGIC END.
Li round to Death Beneath a Coal
Train at Wilmington Saturday. His
Body Severed and Terribly Muti>
lated. Train Failed to Take Track
Leading to Chute and Crashed
Against Gondola on Which He Was
Leaning.
Below we give an account of the
death of Capt. John W. Hinnant who
was section master at Smithtield for
several years and was well known
here. He was reared near Kenly and
his body was carried there for burial.
He was a member of the Junior Order
and was buried by the Juniors of
Smithfield and Kenly. The account of
his death in the Wilmington Star
follows:
"Mr. J. W. Hinnant, an Atlantic
Coast Line section foreman, was
ground to death beneath the wheels
[>f a coal train at the coal chute near
Ninth and Green streets shortly be
fore 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon. A
gondola and five coal cars passed ov
er the body of the unfortunate man.
"According to eye witnesses to the
tragedy, Mr. Hinnant and Mr. J. A.
Matthews, conductor of the coal train,
were standing near the spot where
the track leading to the coal chute
diverges from the main track, leaning
against a gondola.
"The train, with the engine attach
ed to the rear, had drawn off some
way on the main track in order to
attain the momentum necessary to
push the heavy cars up the inclined
track leading to the chute. As the
foremost car came to the switch, for
some unaccountable reason instead of
taking the track leading to the chute
it continued on the main track, crash
ing into the gondola against which
the two men were leaning and hurl
ing Mr. Ilinnant beneath the wheels.
Mr. Matthews was also knocked
down and slightly bruised but fort
unately the impact of the blow threw
him away from, instead of under the
cars.
? "Before Engineer Lee Chadwick, in
charge of the train, could bring the
cars to a stop, the gondola and five of
the coal cars had passed over Mr.
Hinnant's body. The wheels struck
him just above the waist severing
the body. His right arm was also torn
off and dragged for nearly 200 yards
from the spot where he was struck.
"Mr. Ilinnant was 55 years old and
is survived in his immediate family
by his wife, one son, and one daugh
ter, Mrs. J. W. Daughtry, of Smith
field. He had been in the employ of
the Atlantic Coast Line for a num
ber of years, and had been in his
present capacity for the past three
years."
NEW SCHOOL EXAMINERS.
Appointed by Governor Bickett. Wom
en Receive $2,000 and the Men
$2,500 Per Year Salary.
Raleigh, April 23. ? Governor Bick
ett today announced the appointment
of institute conductors and examin
ers created under the act of the re
cent general assembly, which requires
the examination of all first-grade
school teachers and the holding of all
institutes by this board.
The three women members are:
Mrs. T. Edgar Johnson, of Salisbury,
appointed for four years; Miss Hat
tie Parrott, of Kinston, four years,
and Miss Susie Fulghum, of Golds
boro, two years.
The men are: Prof. A. T. Allen,
superintendent of the Salisbury
schools, two years; D. F. Giles, super
intendent of the Wake County schools,
two years, and Prof. J. H. Highsmith
of the faculty of the Wake Forest Col
lege, four years.
The women members of the board
draw salaries of $2,000 annually, with
$500 for expenses, and the men are
paid $2,500, with the same expense
allowance. The terms of office will
begin June 1 next.
Jones-Flowers.
Kenly, April 23. ? Sunday afternoon
two Kenly high school students ? Mr.
Harvey Jones, and Miss Etta Flow
ers ? sprung a surprise on the entire
community by united in the holy
bonds of wedlock. It is true that Mr.
Jones and Miss Flowers had been
manifesting a good deal of interest
in each other during the school year,
but hardly anyone supposed that they
were contemplating marriage so soon.
They have the very best wishes of
their large circle of school friends
and advisors.
WAR SECURITIES GO EASILY.
Amounting to $200,000,000, and Offer
ed Only to Financial Institutions,
Were ({uickly Taken Up. Offer Be
fore Country Only Three Days.
Officials Believe Patriotic Outpour
ing of Funds for th? War Is Pres
aged.
Washington, April 21. ? The first
American offering of war securities
in any form ? $200,000,000 ia treas
ury certificates, has been heavily
over-subscribed.
How great the over-subscription is,
officials were unable to say tonight,
as many of the banks before which
the offer had been placed informally
through the Federal Reserve Board,
had not been heard from.
The certifications were offered only
to financial institutions. The response,
officials believe, pressages a patriotic
outpouring of funds to an extent un
parallelled in the history of any Na
tion when the $5,000,000,000 bond is
sue is placed before the general pub
Offering of the certificates was
made informally because the $7,000,
000,000 war finance measure ia not
yet a law. As soon as it is disposed
of by Congress, probably by Wednes
day of next week, the formal offer
will be made and proceeds of the sub
scription called for at once.
The informal offering of the certifi
cates has been before the banks of
the country only three days. It wis
presented by the twelve Federal He
serve Banks, which will act as the
Government's authorized agents in
receiving subscriptions. The certifi
cates will bear three per cent interest
and will mature June 30, the end of
the current fiscal year. They may be
used in lieu of cash in paying for sub
scriptions to the big bond issue and
the date for their maturity indicated
the belief an part of officials that
the $5,000,000,000 bond issue will be
floated by that time.
Other issues of certfficates proba
bly will be formally offered the fin
ancial institutions of the country
within a short time. It is probable
that as soon as the extent of the
over-subscription of the present issue
is ascertained, Secretary McAdoo will
authorize the immediate issue of on
additional amount to care for the
over-subscription.
The proceeds of the $200,000,000
issued and probably of subsequent is
sues will be distributed among the
Federal Reserve Banks of the coun
try, each Reserve Bank receiving
amounts equalling the total subscrip
tions of banks within its district. The
money will be paid out again by the
Government in the ordinary course
of business within a short time. In
this mariner officials believe that the
money markets will not be disarrang
ed and that the present financial
status of the country will suffer the
minimum amount of disturbance.
ONE THOUSAND ARE WANTED.
A Military School to Train Citizens
for Commissioned Officers, To Be
Held at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia,
From May 8th, to August 8th, 1917.
A Training School for the purpose
of preparing American Citizens for
service as commissioned officers dur
ing the period of the present war
will be held as above indicated.
Those who satisfactorily complete
the preparatory work will be commis
sioned as officers in the U. S. Army.
It is not necessary that applicants
should have any previous military
training. The purpose of the school is
to make officers out of citizens.
The United States is now entering
the greatest War in its history and
has on its hands the job of raising
an army of Twelve Hundred Thous
and men, with no other officers than
those of the regular army and Na
tional Guard to start with. The im
mediate and imperative need is for
additional officers who can train and
handle men, and for this we shall re
quire in the next four or five months
approximately forty thousand officers
in all branches of the service.
North Carolina is called upon to
furnish One Thousand of these, and
all that is necessary to start with is
a sound body, a clear thinking mind,
and the desire for patriotic service.
Surely this great Stat* will not fail
to furnish her full quota.
Men between the ages of twenty
years nine months and forty-four who
' desire to enter, communicate at once
i with R. W. Glenn, Division Secretary,
Greensboro, N. C.