VOLUME 39
SMITHFIELD, N. C., FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 1920.
Number 24
FUND SUFFICIENT FOR
EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES
Raleigh, March 23.—The depart
ment of education has sent out a let
ter to all county superintendents of
schools stating that the augmented
educational fund, provided for the six
months school term for North Caro
lina will be amply sufficient to take
care of all needs of the department
of education. The thirty-two cent
tax for school purposes provides
about three and a half million dol
lars, and that, according to figures
compiled by the clerks of the depart
ment, will be amply sufficient to meet
all the needs.—Wilmington Star.
VROOMAN ON WILSON AND
ROADS.
Ben Dixon MacNeill, writing from'
New Bern to the News and Observer
tells something of the visit of Carl
Vrooman to his town as a guest of
the Chamber of Commerce. Mr.
Vrooman was former assistant Secre
tary of Agriculture and is widely
known as a Democratic leader. We
are pleased to make the following
extract from the letter in Tuesday’s
Raleigh daily:
Mr. Vrooman has seen Mr. Wilson
at close range for a number of years,
and is among the President’s cham
pions. “He is the biggest man in the
world,” he declared, “but his inacces
sibility and his dependence upon those
around him have almost wrecked his
career. ... If he would have called in
available advisers, and not depend up
on himself and a few friends, he
could have had the whole country be
hind him, and the whole world ready
to do his slightest suggestion.”
Roads in North Carolina please him
greatly. “It is foolishness for you to
spend money for concrete roads down
here,” he said. “These sand-clay
roads, properly built and properly
kept up, are the best that can be had.
I wish we had as good roads in Il
linois as you have down here. You
never have freezes to disrupt your
foundations, your climate suits the
sand-clay ( roads, they withstand any
sort of traffic if you keep them up,
and they are much easier on vehicles
than the unyielding concrete road.
“It is criminal almost for states or
counties to build concrete roads now.
Necessary industrial expansion de
mands every barrel of concrete that
can be produced for the next three
years, and yet states are buying it at
enormous prices to build roads they
don’t need. Three years from now
it may be all right to build concrete
roads, but now industry needs the
concrete and the labor that it takes
to build such a road. Here and there
North Carolina needs a concrete road,
but what ought to be done is to build
sand-clay roads and keep them up.”
“I had no idea the South was such
a country as it is. Looking at maps
of it you’d think it was all swamp
and sand hill. We have had agricul
tural prosperity out in the Middle
West, but not anything like you have
it here. The South is in the saddle,
not politically, but agriculturally and
industrially. You have just begun to
grow, and I am going back up there
in Illinois and see if I can’t sell some
of my land and come down here and
get some of this eastern Carolina
Eden.”
Mrs. Humphrey Ward Dead.
Mrs. Humphrey Ward, a well known
English novelist, died at a London
hospital of heart disease Wednesday.
Mrs. Ward was the author of quite
a number of popular novels, the one
which made her reputation, “Robert
Elsmere,” being published in 1888.
Other books which she wrote later
were Lady Rose’s Daughter, Fen
wick’s Career, and Diana Mallory.
Mrs. Ward was bom in Tasmania in
1851 and was the niece of the poet
Matthew Arnold. Her husband, Thom
as Tumphrey Ward, was also a writer
of some note. Mrs. Ward was very
much opposed to woman’s suffrage.
Motion Pictures in Schools.
Motion pictures are fast becoming
a big feature in the public schools. It
is estimated by the Community Mo
tion Picture Bureau of New York, an
organization i'hich specializes in this
kind of work", that there are now in
the United Spates 620 schools using
motion pictures in some form. Each
week the number is being a^ded to.
In Texas it is the law that each new
public school going up shall be equipp
ed with a projecting machine.—News
and Observer.
GENERAL NEWS
A well digger in Canada recently
discovered what appeared to be gold
nuggets while working in a shallow
well.
The United States has taken a place
with China. These two nations are
the only eligible ones now left out of
the League of Nations.
William Jennings Bryan is starting
up a campaign for election as one of
the “big four” to the Democratic
National convention at San Francis
co.
The city council of Denver, Colo
rado, has proposed a bill not to al
low any horses, cattle or swine on
the streets of Denver after January
1, 1925.
Henry Morganthau, of New York,
former ambassador to Turkey, has
been nominated by President Wilson
to be ambassador to Mexico to suc
ceed Henry P. Fletcher, resigned.
Representative Hannibal L. Godwin
introduced three bills in the House
Tuesday providing for appropriations
to build postoffice buildipgs in his dis
trict, they being Lumberton, Dunn
and Southport, each for $100,000.
New York City’s Daylight Saving
Law will go into effect next Sunday
morning and will remain in effect un
til the last Sunday in October. Some
of the suburbanites are worrying
over the fact that they will leave New
York at five o’clock and will arrive at
home at five o’clock, one hour later.
Consolidation of the Chemical and
Citizens national banks of New York
city is announced. The combined in
stitution will have a capital of $4,
500,000, surplus of $13,500,000, undi
vided profits approximating $1,000,
000, gross deposits of $140,000,000
and total resources of $200,000,000.
The Chemical National was founded
in 1824 and the Citizens’ National in
1851.
Gold coin valued at approximately
$10,000,000 has been taken from the
sub-treasury for shipment to South
America, chiefly for the Argentine
government. This makes a total out
flow of about $57,000,000 to that
country so far this year. The Argen
tine government and private bankers
had in reserve in Washington during
the greater part of 1919, gold coin
and bullion estimated at $75,000,000
to $125,000,000.
Selma Connection Sure.
The Corporation Commission issued
an order Monday calling for certain
changes in the schedules of certain
Southern and Atlantic Coast Line
trains in order to make connection at
Selma. From and after next Sunday
the Southern train No. 112 will arrive
at Selma from Greensboro at 5:10 A.
M. instead of 5:20. The Atlantic
Coast Line will hold train No. 83
twelve minutes at Selma for this con
nection unless the Southern is more
than fifteen minutes late.
Christian Reid Dead.
Mrs. Frances Fisher-Tiernan, of
Salisbury, North Carolina novelist
whose nom-de-plume was Christian
Reid, died at her home Wednesday of
pneumonia. She was 74 years old.
Her literary interests included poet
ry, drama, travel notes, and fiction.
She wrote more than 30 novels and
hundreds of short stories. One' of her
early books, “The New Eldorado, or
The Land of the Sky,” the theme of
which had to do with Western North
Carolina, furnished a popular name
for that part of the state.
Baxter Durham for Auditor
State Auditor, Col. W. P. Wood,
who has held this position for ten
years has announced that he is not
a candidate for reelection. Major
Baxter Durham has announced his
candidacy for the place. Major Dur
ham has been identified with that
state department for 12 years and for
the past year has been traveling au
ditor.
Mr. I. C. Griffin Appointed.
Governor Biekett has appointed Mr.
I. C. Griffin, for many years superin
tendent of Shelby graded schools, a
member of the State Board of Exam
iners and Institute Conductors.
Probably Second-hand.
Although woman is a natural bar
gain hunter, she does not care to mar
ry a man in reduced circumstances.—
Cartoons Magazine.
AT THE CAPITAL OF BOON HILL
Princeton, March 24.—Mr. J. W.
Perry has gone to Florida for the ben
efit of his health. He was partially
paralyzed more than a year ago.
Mr. Charlie Braswell from Rocky
Mount is visiting relatives here for
a few days.
New arrivals this week are report
ed as follows: A fine baby boy to Mr.
and Mrs. Murry Lynch; a bouncing
baby girl to Mr. and Mrs. O. V. Rier
son; a b:.by girl to Mr. and Mrs.
Willie Langston; a girl, also to Mr.
and Mrs. Thomas Briggs. Mrs. Briggs
was a Princeton girl.
Mr. Luther Grantham has returned
home from Goldsboro where he has
been for several weeks under treat
ment of physicians. His condition
is yet very serious, although he can
walk a little with much difficulty.
Hundreds of shad are being caught
every night by the citizens of this
territory. A good many of them are
white shad.
Mrs. R. S. Stevens has been visiting
in Smithfield this week.
The quantity of mail received and
delivered from the Princeton post of
fice amounts to about three hundred
pounds per day—about tWo times as
much as it was only four years ago.
About one thousand five hundred let
ters are received each day. The other
big items are newspapers, catalogues
and parcel post packages. There is
more mail received at the office now
in one day than was received in one
month a few years ago.
Mr. Jim Hinton from Clayton and
Mr. Vass Barber from Norfolk, Va.,
were visitors in town a short while
today.
Boon Hill sent fifty eight young
men to the world war. Three of them
were killed in France, two died in
army hospitals. All the others re
turned and have entered some line of
honest work. Not one of them is
known to be loafing. There were
about eighteen negro young men from
this section and all returned. Some of
them are in jail, some on the scout,
and all are said to be implicated in
the blind tiger whiskey business.
Princeton had one week of carni
val. It is said by some merchants
that the carnival company receipts
were more than two hundred dollars
per day, not including the amounts
that were lost in the gambling de
vices One man lost sixty dollars at
one time. Those who dance must pay
the fiiddler.
The many friends of Mr. and Mrs.
N. G. Wiggs will regret to learn of
the serious condition of their oldest
son. He had a serious case of flu and
it settled on his brain. He is now in
a most pitiful condition.
Relatives have received word that
R. J. Warren would visit his old home
some time soon. Jack left here near
ly forty years ago, and settffed at
Fort Chester, New York state.
A Big Still Captured.
On Wednesday March 24 one of the
biggest stills ever captured in this
county was taken by Sheriff Massey,
Mr. J. D. Stephenson and Mr. George
Moore. It was found with everything
complete and running on Spring
branch in Wilders township. There
were six large vats for beer at the
still. There were about twenty four
hundred gallons of beer in these vats.
Just before they reached the place
two pistol shots were fired as signals
to the blockaders to leave the still.
The last man to leave the still was
seen by the sheriff and his deputies.
They captured 111 gallons of molas
ses in two full barrels which was
brought to Smithfield. Besides this
they took hoes, shovels, axes, ^buck.
ets, saws, flash lights, an auger, a
lantern, one shirt, one pair overalls,
one pair overshoes and six packs
cigarettes.
Burlington |o Have No Carnivals.
At a meeting of the Alamance
County Board of Health resolutions
"have been passed prohibiting the ex
hibition of circuses and carnivals
within the confines of Alamaace coun
ty. The Board declared that such
shows with the attendant crowds were
a menace to the health of the coun
ty. The order will be enforced until
revoked by the Board.
Rexall Meeting in Greensboro.
The annual meeting of the Rexall
druggists of North Carolina was held
in Greensboro this week at the 0.
Henry. About 100 members of the
association were presenf.
CLAYTON NEWS.
Clayton, March 24.—Mrs. G. H.
Johnson and little daughter Catherine
of Enfield have been here for a few
days this week.
Miss Alta Dedham a student at G.
C. W. was here for the past week end.
Mr. A. Sam White spent the week
end at Concord with his father.
Mr. P. K. Honeycutt from Kinston
was in town Tuesday.
Mr. P. A. Wallace has returned
from New Y'ork where he went to buy
goods for A. Horne & Son.
Mrs. L. M. Edgerton and Mary Ida
Edgerton are here spending the week
with friends.
Miss Eula Maie Farmer was called
home from Greensboro College for
Women last Saturday on account of
the death of her brtoher, Mi^ Ashley
Farmer.
Miss Lola Gurley spent the week
end at her home in Selma.
Mr. and Mrs. A. V. Gulley and lit
tle daughter Cora Belle spent Tues
day in Smithfield.
Mrs. C. Ev Hamilton is spending
some time with her parents at Grover.
Mr. Vassie Barbour of Norfolk
spent a few days heYe this week.
Misses Mildred Harris and Barbara
Gulley and Mr. Howard Gulley are
spending this afternoon in Smithfield.
Mrs. Thurman Smith, Misses Bar
bara and Jessie Gulley spent Monday
afternoon in Raleigh.
Miss Gladys Barbour who has not
entirely recovered from a spell of
pneumonia has been very sick today.
We hope she will soon be well again.
Goldsboro People Injured.
Wayne superintendent of public
Welfare, A. E. Howell, his wife and
little son, were all three injured in
an automobile accident near Golds
boro Tuesday afternoon. Mrs. How
ell’s injuries were most serious and
she was rushed to a local hospital
Not to Control Coal Prices.
President Wilson Tuesday ordered
abandonment of government control
over bituminous coal prices. The ter
mination of price control will take
place April 1. The president warned
the operators against unreasonable
prices.
Mrs. R. S. Clark Dead.
Mrs. Ruth Stephenson Clark, wife
of Mr. R. S. Clark, died Tuesday af
ternoon at Sanatorium after an ill
ness of about one year. The funeral
will take place this morning at 11
11 o’clock at Smithfield. The follow
ing will act as pallbearers: Messrs.
E. B. Crow, J. W. Kellogg, John Sher
wood, C. W. Ellington, C. A. Gosney
and J. C. Allison. Mrs. Clark left no
children.—News and Observer, March
25.
Mrs. Clark was buried yesterday
near Barbour’s Mill, in the neighbor
hood of her mother’s old home. As
a girl Mrs. Clark lived in Smithfield
where her father, Mr. W. J. Stephen
son was a contractor and builder.
J.,
Cyclone Mack in Rocky Mount.
An evangelistic campaign is on in
Rocky Mount having begun Sunday.
Rev. Baxter M. McLendon, known as
“Cyclone Mack”, is conducting it, the
meetings being held in the Farmers
Mutual Warehouse.
Colby Commencement Speaker.
Bainbridge Colby, the new secre
tary of state, will be the commence
ment day orator at the University of
North Carolina this year. He will
speak on J„une 16, and will probably
be heard by a great and representa
tive audience.
Connecticut Not to Call Session.
Governor Marcus H. Holcomb, Re
publican, has flatly refused to call a
special session of the Connecticut leg
islature to act on the Federal suffrage
amendment. The Republican state
convention called upon the governor
for a special session.
Tower and Chimes at State College
From the numerous forms of me
morials which have been proposed as
a tribute to 33 former students at
State College, Raleigh, it was decid
ed to erect a tower and chimes on the
college campus. The tower will prob
ably be about 90 feet high and will
cost in the neighborhood of $10,000,
| the clock $2,400 and the chimes $16,
500.
CARTER SCHOOL HOUSE NEWS.
Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Parrish of
Apex spent last Sunday with Mrs.
Mollie Rains.
Mr. and Mrs. Janies L. Peedin of
Pine Level visited Mrs. C. F. Boykin
last Sunday.
Mrs. Rayford Oliver of Pine Level
is spending some time with the fami
ly of Mr. J. S. Stancil.
Miss Annie Boykin and little Billie
William^ have returned home after
spending quite awhile in Wilson visit
ing relatives and friends. They were
accompanied home by Mrs. C. A. Wil
liamson.
Misses Etta and Eula Creech of
the Sanders Chapel section spent last
week end with Miss Kate Rains.
Mrs. G. G. Edgerton of Princeton is
spending quite a while with her moth
er Mrs. W. H. Etheredge.
Mr. Noble Hinnant of Micro spent
last Sunday with Mr. Willie Boykin.
Messrs. Paul, Luther and Ennis
Etheredge of Kenly spent last Sunday
with their parents, Mr. and Mrs. W.
H. Etheredge.
Miss Dora Creech went to Wilson
last Saturday shopping.
Miss Collins of Goldsboro was the
guest of Miss Anna Boykin last week
end.
March 24, 1920.
HOPEWELL NEWS.
The farmers of this section are
very glad to see this fine weather.
Mr. Erwin Pittman of Smithfield
spent Saturday night in the country
at the home of his uncle, Mr. J. O.
Stephenson.
Miss Bessie Stephenson spent Mon
day in Raleigh.
Mr. and Mrs. D. U. Thompson and
Misses Sallie and Nettie Wright mo
tored to Powhatan Sunday.
Miss Ua Woodall spent Sunday
with her aunt Mrs. Orlando Barbour
at Benson.
The Hopewell Community Club met
Thursday night March 18 and a very
interesting program was rendered. A
box party will take the place of out
next community meeting which will
be April 1. Everybody is cordially
invited.
8TH GRADE PUPIL.
Pour Dead and Seven Injured.
Early Tuesday morning the collapse
of a two story brick wall in Roanoke,
Va., caused the death of four men and
the injury of seven others. The wall
collapsed as the result of an explosion
either from an ammonia pipe or a
boiler, it was doubtful which.
Drives Car Into Curb.
M. P. Webb, who was driving his
far in West Asheville Tuesday, ran
his car into sidewalk and large brick
building to avoid a child who was
playing in the street. Mr. Webb re
ceived serious injuries and the ma
chine was tom to pieces.
_
Baptist Women to Meet at Shelby.
The annual meeting of the Woman’s
Missionary Union, Auxiliary to the
Baptist State Convention of North
Carolina will be held in Shelby April
6 to 8. Mrs. W. N. Jones, of Raleigh,
is president of the Union.
Browning of New Jersey Dead.
Representative W. J. Browning, of
New Jersey, dropped dead Wednesday
in the barber shop at the capitol. He
was about to step out of the barber’s
chair when he was stricken with heart
disease and died before physicians
could reach him.
Woman Member of Civil Service Com.
Helen Hamilton Gardner, author
and lecturer of Washington City, has
been appointed by President Wilson
as a member of the Civil Service Com
mission to succeed Charles M. Gallo
way, resigned. She gives as one rea
son for accepting the place the fact
that if women are to enter fully into
the benefits of American citizenship,
they must not refuse to take up such
duties as are laid upon them.
Four Oaks Store.
Mr. W. J. Lewis has an ad in this
visit Four Oaks. He moved to Four
Oaks fnom near Bentonville several
years ago and has all along been in
creasing his stock and building up
his trade. Now he prides himself
with being able to meet the demands
of the people who want goods.
NEWS FROM SELMA.
Mr. Robert Lee Ray, Jr., has joined
the sales force of the Spark Intensifi
er Co., a gasoline consumer and spark
increaser made exclusively for Henry
Ford’s “products.”
Mr. C. J. Joyner spent Monday and
Tuesday in Raleigh, as a witness for
the defense in a law suit against the
Atlantic Coast Line railroad.
Quite a few of our people saw the
Aurora Borealis Monday night which
appeared about 8 or 9 o’clock.
Mrs. C. Richardson is visiting
relatives and friends in Raleigh this
week.
Mr. Douglas Driver has recently
affiliated himself with the firm of
Roberts, Corbett and Woodard.
Mr. O. N. Lovelace of Goldsboro
was a visitor in the city Tuesday
morning.
Miss Margie C. Benoy who is at
tending school at Peace Institute
spent the week with her parents, Mr.
and Mrs. T. M. Benoy.
Mr. Frank (5. Ray was a visitor in
the city of Goldsboro last week.
Mrs. Sarah E. Creech has just re
turned from a visit to her daughter
in Norfolk, Va.
Mr. W. B. Roberts has recently
bought the handsome Iresidence on
South Railroad street from Mr. J. W.
Short where Mr. Raymond now lives.
Mr. Raymond plans to occupy the res
idence just back of Mr. J. W. Short’s
home.
The preliminaries for the triangular
debate were held Friday in the school
auditorium. The judges selected
Cronje Earp, W. J. Talton, James
Fields and Baxter Ray to debate
Smithfield and Clayton on April the
ninth.
Little Malissa, the daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Theo Eason, had the mis
fortune to break a leg sometime ago
by falling off of the porch. She is
somewhat better now.
v Selma, N. C., March 24.
Four Oaks Firm in Four Stores.
Several months ago the R. I. Las
siter property on the west side of the
railroad in Four Oaks was purchased
and arrangements were made for a
large building of store rooms. It has
just been completed and James A.
Creech & Company have moved into
it. First is the ladies store with
dress goods and ladies ready to wear
goods and such other things as the
ladies will want to buy. Next store
contains the men’s goods, clothing,
etc. The third store is the hardware
department. The fourth store con
tains the groceries. The next store is
used as a warehouse. The building
has 140 feet front and goes back from
the street sixty feet. It is one of the
largest single story buildings in the
county and the entii'e building is be
ing used by one firm. Messrs. James
A. Creech, H. W. Creech, A. M .Lang
don, B. T. Barbour, T. C. Barbour and
T. F. Watkins are the members of
the firm. Mr. James A. Creech is
now on the northern markets buying
more goods.
Five Wake Stills in One Day.
The capture of five blockade stills
in one day in Wake county, four of
them being on one farm, was a record
made yesterday by raiders headed by
Deputy Sheriff Jesse Wyatt. In ad
dition to the five stills, over 1,000 gal
lons of beer and a small quantity of
whiskey were destroyed.—News and
Observer, 24.
Suffrage Fight in Delaware.
Both sides, the suffragists and the
antis, are said to be hard at work on
the Delaware legislature and both
sides seem to be confident of the out
come. Veteran campaigners said the
fight transcends that experienced in
any other state.
Mother of Secretary Christens Bdat.
Mrs. Mary G. Baker, mother of Sec
retary of War, Newton D. Baker, act
ed as sponser Wednesday at the
launching of the sixth of the concrete
passenger steamers being built at
New Bern for the quartermaster de
partment of the army.
Trinity Glee Club to Tour State
For the first time in three years on
account of war times, the Trinity Glee
Club gave a concert in Craven Memo
rial Hall Monday evening. The Club
appeared in Greensboro Wednesday
night at G. C. W. and an extended trip
will be taken through the state.