NUMBER 4
COUNTY LETS COURT
HOUSE CONTRACT
Commissioners Call Election
For School Bonds for
Smithfield District
The County Commissioners here in
special session Wednesday let the con
tract for a new court house and jail
to be built in the near future. J. W.
Stout & Co., of Sanford, were driven
the job.
Work will not begin until after the
sale of the bonds which are now be
ing advertised. At the special sess
ion of the legislature last August, a
bill was passed providing for a $500,
000 bond issue for the purpose of
building an adequate court house and
jail for Johnston county. The new
structure will be erected on the pre
sent site, after the old buildings have
been removed.
The commissioners at their regular
meeting this month called an election
for school bonds in the Smithfield
District f°r the purpose of relieving
the acute school situation here by
the erection of a High school building.
The school has been over crowded for
sometime and about a year ago the
school board purchased property ad
joining the present site with a view
to putting up a new building. The
election has been called for March 2.
Those who have the matter in hand
consider this spring and summer a
favorable time for building since build
" ing material is off considerably
and the price of labor is reduced.
Princeton School Items
There will be a spelling bee and
a short program by the school child
ren given Friday, January 14, at 7
p. m. at the Princeton school build
ing. The patrons are cordially in
cited to attend. No admission.
The moving picture show came to
Princeton Saturday night. It was well
&ttended by the people of the com
munity :.n spite of the rain.
A contest has been worked out by(
the teachers of the different rooms for
the best attendance. The room hav
ing the highest percentage of pupils
present and the least number of tard
ies holds a banner for one week. A
great deal of enthusiasm exists among
the pupils. The sixth and seventh
< grade rooms won the banner for last
week. The average daily attendance
being 95 per cent and no tardies.
The school is going to have an hon
or roll. Pupils whose names are to
/ appear on the roll are required to
have 100 on deportment, an average
daily grade of 90 on all studies, no
tardies and must be present every day
" in the month.
A special program will be given in
chapel every Tuesday, Wednesday and
Friday. All parents are cordially in
k vited to attend.
A Letter of Appreciation
We are in receipt of the following
, letter from Mr. C. Walton Johnson,
son of Mr. Esrom Johnson, of Eleva
tion township, who is Community
Boys’ Work Secretary at Asheville,
which speaks for itself:
^ “I am enclosing check for $2.00 for
my subscription to The Smithfield
HERALD for 1921.
“The people of Johnston county and
all the frineds of Mr. Lassiter should
rally to the support of the The HER
ALD, for his sake and in apprecia
. tion of his untiring and successful ef
fort to build up a County paper equal
to any in our country, a paper that ha»
been the champion of every good
cause, free from radical ideas, thor
oughly wholesome, a paper that has
done much for the general progress
and moral uplift of the county. The
. editorials were always such as to
mould and direct public sentiment in
favor of everything that would be
the best for the people as a whole.
During these days of financial de
pression, those who love Tom Lassiter
and are yet inspired by the memory
of his splendid life should not let
this worthy paper suffer in any way.”
President Greatly Improved
p The president’s physician, Rear
Admiral Grayson, has announced that
the president is now able to work two
hours a day without fatigue. Dr.
i Francis X. Dercum, the neurologist,
from Philadelphia, after a visit to the
white house to see the president Sun
day, stated that his condition was very
!* satisfactory.
NAVAL BALLOONIST
BACK HOME SAFE
Return to Civilization After
Thrilling Experience—
Two Have Fight
The climax to a series of thrilling
experiences undergone by the three
American naval ballooniste occurred
at Mattice, Ontario, Tuesday, when
two of the participants had a fight.
They came to blows over statements
alleged to have been made by one of
them in a letter to his wife The
balloonists and their fate have en
gaged the interest of the country
since they were lost, and the story
is an interesting one.
A naval balloon ascended above
New York City, December the 13th,
for the purpose of making some ob
servations for the United States gov
ernment. It carried three passengers,
all officers of the Navy, Lieutenants
Hinton, Farrell and Kloor. The bal
loon was caught in a contrary gale,
and blown far to the north, travelling
25 hours. The passengers had com
pletely lost their bearings and had no
idea where they were. Hearing a dog
bark, they descended to find them
selves in the wilderness of Canada,
820 miles in a straight line from the
place whence they started; but more
than 2000 miles, by the foot and sled
routes, which they must follow in
order to get back home. They made
the flight at an altitude of 3000 feet;
but were 6500 feet up when they
heard the dog bark and concluded to
come down. They landed in an un
broken forest, with no food, and
greatly exhausted. They followed a
stream for four days, and in that
time had not food except two or three
carrier pigeons, which they had taken
along to send messages. They were
about to die of exhaustion, and Lieut.
Farrell was so sick and hopeless, that
he begged the others to kill him and!
eat his body. He was doubtless tem
porarily insane when he made this
ghastly propostition, but he persist
ently asked them to leave him and
save themselves. Instead, the other
two loaned him of their clothes, and
slackened their spged im order that
he might keep up with them.
At the end of the fourth day, they
.sighted an Indian hut, where they
were received fearfully by the Indian
and his wife, but after their fears
were allayed, the Indians gave the:
men something to eat, and showed J
them the utmost kindness. Later
they helped them to find the way to
Moose Factory, a Hudson Bay trading
post, from whence news was sent to
their friends of their safety. Lieut.
Farrell was still too weak to continue
the journey on snowsfioes, so the
others waited while a sled was made
fcr him, and then the three proceeded'!
to Mattice, Ontario, where they could
take the railway. The news of their
terrible experience had gone all over
the country, and newspaper reporters
had raced to meet them at Mattice.
They were all soon rested and re
stored to health and apparently the
best of friends, with an affection ce
mented by the blood-curdling ordeal
through which they had passed, when
a bad break in the harmony occurred.
Newspapers were awaiting them at
Mattice, and when Lieut. Farrell read
a letter, which Hinton had written his
wife, from Moose Factory, telling of
Farrell’s terrible exhaustion, &c., he
resented it and denied it so bitterly
that the two came to blows! Human
nature is a queer compound! A
good, healthy, normal fist-fight en
sued, which at least, proved conclu
sively, that both are restored to
health and strength. Before leaving
Canada, they will have to face another
ordeal. It is against the laws of the
Dominion, for anyone to enter it, from
the United States, without giving an
account of himself to the proper au
thorities. This the balloonists ob
viously could not do, as they entered
at an altitude of 3000 feet. So they
will be arrested duly, hut of course it
will be only a formality, and the re
port states that it is the plan of the
authorities to release them im
mediately, so they can attend a re
ception in their honor. If they are
like most of the men we know, they
would rather remain under arrest than
go to a reception!
They are expected in New York in
New York in a few days, where they
will be the heroes of the hour.
Lieut. Kloor is from Louisiana, and
about a year ago, his airship was
qpught in a tree, and he hung in this
perilous plight for fifteen hours.
Lieut. Hinton was on the famous,
I
I
URGES BIG CUT IN
TOBACCO ACERAGE
A Reduction Of Fifty Per
Cent is Only Hope For
Growers This Year
Mr. T. S. Ragsdale, who has large
tobacco interests here, was in attend
ance at the meeting in Wilson Mon
day of warehousemen and tobacco
growers from which he brings back
the message that the number of acres
planted in tobacco this year must be
reduced at least, fifty per cent.
Mr. M. T. Carrington, of Richmond,
president of the Tobacco Association
of the United States, was present at
Wilson and urged the importance of
a reduction. He stated that his as
sociation is ready and willing to back
both morally and financially the Tri
State Tobacco Growers Association.
Going to Rocky Mount from Wilson
Mr. Carrington reiterated his state
ment in Wilsbn adding that “unless
this year’s tobacco crop is cut fifty
per cent, the present prices will be
considered high next season.
The North Carolina branch of the
Inter-state Tobacco Growers’ Associa
tion met in Raleigh Wednesday, and
declared for a program of acreage
1 eduction and co-operative marketing.
Aaron Sapire, of California, market
ing expert addressed the gathering.
Discussing tobacco prices in the
Greenville News, Mr. N. Gorman
makes the following recommendations
to the the tobacco farmers:
“First. Cut acreage half and tend
this properly, making good and fine
tobacco. With half a crop you can pay
more attention to cultivation, sucker
it more often a'nd prime more as it
ought to be and. this half will cost
you less and bring much more than
a full acreage of common and medium
tobacco.
“Second. Plant a garden and raise
your.other supplies on the farm. If
this is done the planter will make
money but if there is as large a
tobacco crop planted in 1921 as there
was in 1920 we cannot hope for even
the present prices and the pre
sent prices paid in Eastern
the farmer. All tobacco imported into
the United States pays a duty of 40'
cents per pound, so while the surplus
tobacco crop of the world affects our
foreign trade, it cannot affect our
home trade, but if we continue to
make more medium and common to
bacco than the home trade can con
sume, then we cannot hope for any
improvement in prices.”
These facts speak for themselves
and the farmer who has been raising
tobacco, or contemplates raising it
can draw his own conclusions. But the
slogan of those who handle after it is
put on the market is “Cut acreage
fifty per cent.’
More Changes on Main Street
During the past week another
change has taken place on Second
Street, Turnage and Talton having
moved their stock of groceries into
the store recently vacated by the
White Grocery company. Mr. S. C.
Turnage and Mr. Ralph Talton, who
compose this firm are so well known
that their customers will have no dif
ficulty in finding their new place.
The store from which Turnage and
Talton have moved has been made
ready for The Thornton Music House
and Mr. G. E. Thornton is ready to
display his line of musical instru
ments to any one interested.
The game of fruit basket among the
several business houses has kept the
sign painter busy, freshly painted
signs greeting the eye on all sides.
Rock Hill School Honor Roll
Eight grade:—Thelma Lee and Ret
ta Lee.
Sixth grade:—John Mahler, Tommie
Adams and Garrett Lee.
Fourth grade:—Bryant Allen and
Ona Massengill.
Second grade:—Annie Moore, Her
bert Massengill, Kathleen Mahler.
First grade:—Roby Blackman, Way
land Massengill, Wilbert Massengill,
Josephine Mahler, Neva Morris, Sallie
Allfen, Mamie Norris,Aaron Wood and
Lenols Woods.
navy seaplane NC2, which made the
trip across the Atlantic in 1919.
The incident serves as a companion
story to the adventure of the Sub
marine was sunk last summer and
both emphasize anew the courage and
discipline of our boys of the Navy.
STATE OFFICERS’ i
SALARIES RAISED
T
Senate and House Pass the
Measure; Officers Will
Receive $4,500 Except 2
Devoting practically the entire leg
islative day to. consideration of the
bill providing increases in the salaries
of the Constitutional State officers,
both Houses of the Legislature Tues
day passed the measure and it be
comes a law substantially as it was
reported from the committee.
The bill was first considered in the
House where it was passed without
amendment by a vote of (55 to 44, two
Republicans voting for the bill. The
bill was passed in the Senate by a
vote of 27 to 20 the solid Republican
strength furnishing a majority of the
opposition. The Senate engrafted an
amendment giving the Auditor an in
crease of $1,500 instead of the $1,000
granted the other State officers and
placing that officer on a parity with
the Secretary of State and the State
Treasurer. The House which had
previously rejected an identical
amendment adopted the amended
measure and it became a law.
Under the bill as finally adopted
each of the offices affected will carry
the following salaries: Superin
tendent of Public Instruction,$5,000;
Secretary of State, $4,500; Treasurer
$4,500; Auditor, $4,500; Attorney
General, $4,500.
Wilson County Miser
Wilson, Jan. 11.—A big tow sack
containing $70,000 in coin was recent
ly depositied in a bank here by S. G.
Newborn, who has been appointed by
the court as guardian for Henry Mor
ris, a Wilson reculse, who is said to be
the oldest and wealthiest citizen of
■the town. It represents the savings of
many years and was taken from a safe
in his home to be transferred. It re
quired several days for the bank em
ployes to get the coin counted as it
was in all sorts of denominations,
ranging from pennies to ten dollars.—
News and Observer.
Five Prisoners Escape from Smith
field Road Camp
About eight o’clock Wednesday
night, January 12th, five prisoners
escaped fr>rn the Smithfield township
road camp near Smithfield. There
were four leroes and one white m \n.
They escaped by sawing out a hole
in a window with hack saws. The
sawing no doubt had been going on
at night for sometime. The guards
did not suspicion any danger until
the prisoneis were far away. Up to
caped prcc.ners had been heard
from.
Landis Controls Base Ball
A Chicago dispatch announces that
organized baseball in the United States
Tuesday virtually was brought under
the control of Federal Judge K. M.
Landis for at least seven years when
the drafting committee of the Nation
al Association of Minor Leagues of
ficially voted approval of the new
National agreement, already accepted
by the two major leagues committees,
which creates the office of a baseball
commissioner with supreme powers
and with Judge Landis as the first in
cumbent.
Killed His Brother
Monroe, Jan. 10.—Ranson Baucem,
shot and instantly killed his brother,
Charlie Baucem, at he former’s home
in New Salem township Saturday
night. Another brother, Gaston Bau
cem, was struck on the face, and pain
fully wounded during the fight. Ran
son surrendered to officers, who ar
rived a short time after the shooting,
and is now in jail here.
Official Count of Popular Vote
The total number of votes cast for
President in 1920 was 26,759,708, as
compared with 18,515,340 in 1916.
Harding’s plurality over Cox was 7,
001,765. President Wilson’s plurality
over Hughes in 1916, was 591,885.
The Prohibition candidate received
187,470 votes, and Debs (who was in
jail) polled 214,869. The candidate of
the Labor party, Fassmer, received
252,435 votes.
Official returns from al\ the states
(except Tennessee) furnish the above
figures.
COSTLY INAUGURAL
TO BE ABANDONED
Extravagant Plans Cancell
ed at Request of Presi
dent-elect Harding
Washington, Jan. 10.—Abandonment
immediately of all plans for a cele
bration in connection with the inau
guration of President-elect Harding
was announced tonight by E. B. Mc
Lean, chairman of the Washington in
augural committee,in accordance with
the desire of Mr. Harding.
Mr. McLean upon receiving the re
quest of Mr. Harding for abandon
ment of the celebration plans, issued
the following statement:
“I realize, of course, how keen will
be the disappointment to the the peo
ple of Washington, but I have all along
known how President-elect Harding
felt with respect to the expenditures
of large sums of money at this time.
“Because of Mr. Harding’s feeling
1 was always in doubt about the in
augural program being carried out. I
feel that Senator Harding’s friends
and advisers, no matter how much they
regret the loss to Washington, will
ba with him in this matter.”
Announcement of the President
elect’s decision came only a few
hours after congress, through action
of the house, completed enactment of
a bill appropriating $50,000 for expen
ses incident to the inauguration. As
the measure has passed both houses
of congress, just what course con
gressional leaders will take in respect
to it was in doubt tonight. In the us
ual course of procedure the bill would
go to the white house tomorrow but
the suggestion was made tonight that
Republican leaders in either the sen
ate or the house might move to re
consider the vote of their body and
thereby withdraw the lull.
Disbanding of committees appoint
ed by Chairman McLean, membership
on which include hundreds of persons
not only in Washington but elsewhere
is expected to begin immediately. Up
's ards of $200,000 had been pledged
by Washington citizens and business
men towards the expenses of the in
augural celebration.
New Plans for Inauguration
Washington, Jan. 11.—President
elect Harding will take the oath of
office next March 4 with ceremonies
approximating in simplicity those
which attended the induction into of
fice of Jefferson and Jackson.
The new President under the plans
formulated by the committee would
thus take the oath of office in the
small and almost semi-private cham
ber of the senate immediately after
the swearing in of Calvin Coolidge as
vice president of the United States
and then would deliver his inaugural
address within the hearing only of
members of the senate and house, the
justices of the Supreme Court and
not more than 1,000 persons able to
crowd into the restricted gallery
space.—Associated Press.
Women Taller and Heavier
Philadelphia, Jan. 10.—Women are
growing taller and heavier, according
to Dr. R. Tait McKenzie, director of
physical education at the University
of Pennsylvania.
“Statistics of womens colleges, cov
ering a period of 60 years show the
average college girl of today is an
inch taller than the colege girl of
1860”, he said. “These statistics also
prove the modern girl is 6 to 7 pounds
heavier.”
Dr. McKenzie attributed this in
crease to the increased interests in
sports and outdoor life.—Coicord
Times.
First Woman Legislator
Miss L. Exum Clement, “the lady
f<om Buncombe,” has the distinction
of being the first woman member of
the North Carolina General Assem
bly.
Having received her training in a
private law school Miss Clement be
gan the practice of law in Asheville in
1907. She has made a speciality of
the problems relating to women, par
ticularly of divorce. The majority of
her clients have been women. It will
be remembered that in her campaign
for the Legislature, before the pas
sage of the 19th Amendment, she de
feated the opposing Independent can.
didate, who receded only 41 votes, by
a majority of over ten thousand.
MORRISON TAKES
OATH OF OFFICE
Ceremonies Were Simple;
Chief Justice Walter
Clark Administers Oath
Cameron Morrison took the oath of
office as forty-eigth Governor of North
Carolina in the city auditorium short
ly afternoon yesterday and before an
assemblage of legislators and citizens
of the State that crowded the big
hall enunciated the program, that
during the next four years he will
seek to write into the life of the state.
Inaugural ceremonies of severest
simplicity inducted Mr. Mbrison and
the State officials who were elected
with him into their respective offices.
Senator J. L. DeLaney of Mecklen
burg, chairman of the legislative in
augural committee, presented the/of
ficers-elect for the administration of
the oath by Associate Justice Platt D.
Walker, except Governor Morrison,
who was presented by retiring Gov
ernor Bickett, and who took the oath
at the hands of Chief Justice Walter
Clark of the North Carolina Supreme
Court.
Asking for the banishment of dis
cord and difference and for considera
tion and co-operation of all the peo
ple of the State in a program for the
next four years, Governor Morrison
in his inaugural address threw down
a challenge to lawlessness, plead for
greater care for the defective, the
unfortunate and the delinquent, and
made a powerful plea for health and
education.
“Our present weakness grows out of
our strength,” he said in the discuss
ion of schools. “We have attained
such glorius results that our equip
ment and organization is inadequate.”
He asked for* greater support for
the common schools which have al
I ready flooded the higher institutions,
and then for adequate provisions by
which the colleges may take care of
the public school output.
The Governor’s proposals thus far
| had been received with applause,but
it was nothing to the outburst which
followed the enunciation of his road
program, a system of good roads, hard
surfaced for the main highways,which
i should not depart from local self
I government in construction and main
tenance than practicality and neces
I sity may require.
It was promptly on the hour of
noon that band music and a commo
tion at the doors announced to the
waiting auditorium full of people
that the inaugural party had arrived.
Governor T. W. Bickett and Gover
nor-elect Cameron Morrison started
down the center aisle toward the stage
between them, hanging on the arms
of two Governors, nine-year-old An
glia Morrison, daughter of the in
coming Governor. The crowd greeted
the trio standing. To the cheers, the
two Governors responded with quiet
smiles but the young lady in brown
coat and hat with a corsage of sweet
peas, radiated happiness. So far as
the two Governors or the assembly
were concerned she was the center of
the ceremony.—News and Observer.
Austrian Government Bankrupt.
London. Jan. 11.—The Austrian
government has announced to the en
tente that it is at the end of its re
sources and no longer is in a position
to continue, acording to a report which
has reached official German quarters
says a London Times dispatch front
Berlin.
The government has declared its in
tention to retire January 15 and place
the administration of the country in
the hands of the reparations commiss
ion, the dispatch adds.
Elder Felton Dead
Elder Thomas Felton, pastor of the
Primitive Baptist church at \Hhite
Oak Meeting House near Saratogo In
Wilson county died at his horn# Fri
day in 81st year. He was sick only
a week, pneumonia causing his
death.
Tobaceo Growers at Wilson
The warehousemen and tobacco in
terests of eastern Carolina met in
Wilson Monday qalled there by the
president of the Tobacco association
of the United States. The president,
Mr. Carington, urged at least a 50
per cent reduction of the tobacco ac
reage for 1921.
i