107 ARE DEAD IN
RUINED THEATRE
More Than One Hundred
Others Known to Have
Been Injured
An accident which took a toll of
one hundred seven dead and more
than another hundred wounded, oc
curred in Washington, D. C., Satur
day night when the entire roof of the
Knickerbocker Motion picture theater
fell in, pinning fhe occunat ts of
the theatre beneath a mass of debris.
The spectators were enjoying the
film comedy, “Get Rich Quick Wal
lingford’’ when the crash came with
out n;'.y warniro' w'hatev \ T • e
weight of the snow is said to have
caused the r*of to collapse. Owing
in the severe storm only a compara
tively small crowd was in the theatre.
The capacity was 2,000 persons but
only a few hundred were there when
the accident occurred.
The fire alarm was sounded, and
firemen braved the heaping snowdrfts
in answer to the call. Relatives of
those in the theatre rushed to the
scene. Police patrols hurried fo be
of assistance. Wild confusion reign
ed for a time, but soon the work of
rescue began carefully and cautiously.
Nearby stores were converted into
rescue stations. Army ambulances
from Walter Reed hospital were on
the scene with sacks full of bandages,
and doctors from everywhere attend
ed the injured. All through the
night the work of rescue went on.
Housewives made pots coffee for the
workers as the night went on. With
dawn the work became easier, but
less than half the total had been res
cued when daylight came.
Most of the dead and injured were
residents of Washington, or those
who had recently gone there. There
was the name of one North Carolinian
irr(the list of dead, Miss Nannie Lee
Lambert, formerly of Asheboro. The
list of injured stood at 134, with 14
listed as “seriously injured.”
In regard to the cause of the dis
aster, Senator Capper, of Kansas,
member of the Senate District of
Columbia committee, has announced
that he expects to introduce an reso
lution calling for an investigation of
the Knickerbocker Theater disaster,
and also of all large building con
struction in Washington since the
beginning of the wrar. He fears that
during the rush of construction fol
lowing the increase of the city popu
lation during the war, the building
code of the District of Columbia was
violated.
B. O. TOWNSEND IS
HARNETT’S CHOICE
For State Director of Cooperative
Cotton Marketing, B. 0. Townsend, of
Dunn.
That is the way Harnett county’s
ticket will read wThen the ballots are
gathered and sent in after the voting
this week.
At Raleigh last Wednesday when
ire district convention was held Mr.
Townsend and C. P. Harris of Frank
l;n county were named as nominees
for director from the Sixth district.
The meeting was enthusiastically at
tended by Harnett’s eleven delegates
with several extra volunteers also on
hand. Mr. H. T. Spears, of Lillington
led the fight as chairman of the dele
gation for the naming of the Harnett
man.
The state will have eleven direc
tors, ten to be electd from the ten
districts and one to be named by the
governor. Upon these directors a
great responsibility rests and there
fore it is incumbent upon the cotton
growers to name good men.
Harnett farmers feel reasonably 1
certain that Mr. Townsend will be
the man to represent them.—Harnett
County News.
WOULD CHANGE NAME OF
WATERLOO TO “FOCHLOO”
Waterloo, Belgium, Jan. 28.—One of
the new* names suggested for this
town is “Fochloo,” after the Field
Marshal Foch. The desire to change
the name is due to an effort to .void
recalling “the humiliation of an Al- j
lied and friendly power”—the de- ■
feat of Napoleon.
\ petition is nov/ being circulated '
among the residents of Waterloo 1
asking Parliament to pass a bill aban- ,
coning the old name. Several new |
names beside that o:! “Fochloo’ have
been suggested.
NORTH CAROLINA LADY
WAS IN LIST OF DEAD
Newspaper Correspondent Pic-'
hires Scene of Theatre Dis
aster in Washington
The following extract from a let
ter of January 29th of Theodore Til
ler, Washington correspondent of the
Greensboro Daily News, pictures the |
awful scene of the Knickerbocker
Theatre tragedy, giving facts about
Miss Lambert, the victim from North
Carolina.
“A North Carolina Carolina girl,
who intended to leave the government
service and return home, was one of ;
the hundred or more victims of the j
Knickerbocker theatre catastrophe of '
last night. Late today, under the i
debris in the theater, whose roof cav- j
ed in because of its deep covering of
snow the body of Miss Nannie Lam
bert, of Asheboro, was found.
Miss Lambert for the past 5 years
had been a government clerk in
Washington. She intended resigning
her position in a few weeks. Before
coming to Washington, she was em
ployed in the law and newspaper of
fice of William C. Hammer, now a
member of Congress. She was a
graduate of the North Carolina Col
lege for Women at Greensboro, made
an unusually creditable rating in her
examination for a government posi
tion, and was regarded as one of the
brightest graduates of the state col
lege.
This writer will tell below what he
saw late last night and today at the j
Knickerbocker theater. The death of \
this North Carolinian but emphasizes j
how' widespread is the mourning in j
which Washington came today, for :
men and women from all parts of the
country were in that unfortunate lot
that went to the Knickerbocker last
evening.
representative Hammer saia to
night that the body of Miss Lambert
could not reach her home for two or
three days. All Washington under
takers are so hard pressed by the
theater tragedy that bodies cannot be
prepared earlier.
Tonight they were still digging
through the ruins of the Knicker
bocker theater but at a late hour the
only North Carolina who seems to
have been killed is Miss Lambert.
“Hiss Lambert,” said Representa
tive Hammer tonight, “was one of
the finest girls North Carolina ever
produced. Before she came here she
was in my office for quite a time;
she worked there a part of her va
cation periods, while attending col
lege at Greensboro and greatly aided
me in publishing my newspaper. She
was a cousin of H. M. Robins, who is '
known throughout North Carolina. 1
and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. j
Thomas Lambert, of Asheboro, whom
I advised today of her untimely end. j
Her mother was the sister of the j
late Montague Robins, known as one ;
of the great lawyers of our state.” j
Miss Lambert went to the Knicker- j
bocker last night with Archie B. Bell, !
who boarded at the same address as
that of the North Carolina girl. Both
she and Mr. Bell were on the list of
the dead today. There was another
young man in the party whose fate '
so far is unknown.
And now one comes to the general ,
tragedy of this calamity which has
stunned all Washington and the coun- j
try.”
DAILY NEWSPAPER FOR
BURLINGTON PLANNED
_
i
Burlington, Jan. 28.—Burlington j
will have a daily newspaper after !
March 1. “The Burlington News.” a ■
semi-weekly newspaper, published
here, will make the venture and |
launch the new daily newspaper. |
Plans for the publication of the
daily are nearly completed, which j
provides for an afternoon paper the
name of which will be “The Burling
ton Daily News.” The announcement •
of the plans for the daily newspaper
has caused much interest and favor
able comment by leading citizens of
the city and county and the enter
prise will mean a greater development
of the commercial life of the city.—
Greensboro Daily News.
Profanity Is Disgusting.
Profanity never did any man the
least good. No man is richer, happier,
or wiser for it. It recommends*no one !
to society; it is disgusting to refined
people and abominable to the good.—
The Uplift.
BRITISH EXPLORER
DIES ON VOYAGE
Sir Ernest Shackleton Died
J»n. $ While Exploring
Antartic Seas
Montevideo, Uruguay, Jan. 29.—
Sir Ernest Shackleton, the British ex
plorer, died January 5 on board the
steamship, Quest, which he was mak
ing another expedition into the Ant
artic regions. Death was due to au
gina pectoris and occurred when the
Quest was off the Gritvicken Station.
The body was brought to Monte
video on board a Norwegian steamer
and will be taken by another steamer
to Europe.
Captain L. Hussey, of the Quest,
will accompany the body home.
Professor Gruvel and the other
members ofthe explorers’ party will |
continue the expedition.
Sir Ernest Shackleton was born in
1874. He was a third lieutenant in
the British National Antartic Ex
pedition ^n 1901 and in 1907-09 com
manded an expedition which got to
within 97 nc iles of the South Pole. He j
made his third quest of the Pole in
1914.
The expedition in which he was
engaged when he died was to have
covered 30,000 miles of uncharted sec
tions of the South Atlantic, the Paci
fic and the Antartic seas.
On board the Quest, a little 200-ton
ship, Sir Ernest set sail from England
last September on what was to have
been a two-year voyage. Large
crowds gathered on the docks in
London to wish the party a successful
voyage.
The voyage had as its objective not
only oceanographic research, but the
exploration of a petrified forest and
the location of a “lost” island—
Tuanki—the adjacent waters of which
had not been sailed for eaeso than
90 years. In addition soundings were
to have been taken of the ocean pla
teau surrounding Gough’s Island, in
an effort to determine the truth re
garding a supposed underwater con
tinental connection between Africa
and America.
Sir Ernest for his distinguish
services was made a Knight in 1909.
Various societies throughout the
world honored him for his work. —As
sociated Press.
TRAIN CRASHES INTO
A MOUNTAIN OF DIRT
Nineteen Persons Slightly Hurt In
Wreek On Southern
Near Asheville.
Asheville, Jan. 28.—Eighteen pas
sengers and Conductor Jas. Richard
were slightly injured today when
Southern Railway passenger train
No. 20 crashed into a mountain of
dirt and rock which fell on to the
track a short distance west of Nolan.
Engineer F. W. Poindexter, driv
ing the engine around a sharp curve,
saw the slide coming and throwing on
the emergency brake, he and Fireman
Frank Pennington jumped to saijpty
just before the pilot of the engine
jammed into hundreds of tons of dirt
that came- crashing down the moun
tain side, covering the railroad track
and the public highway for a con
siderable distance.
Loyal to Dad.
Little John was sent alone to the
barbershop for a hair cut.
The barber, in his joking way, in
quired what kind of a haircut he
wished and then pointed to a man
in the chair. “Do you want one like
this man is getting?”
“No, sir,” the little fellow return
ed after he had looked at the man.
“If you have to cut it like some
body’s, jus tcut it like my dad’s, with
a hole in the middle.—Indianapolis
News.
Three Fires in Wilmington.
Three fires entailing a loss of over
$250,000 have occurred in Wilmington
within two weeks. The origin of the
fires is unknown, and the fact seven
of the thirteen emergency fire hose
lines had been mysteriously cut prev
ious to the fire whicr occurred Thurs
day night has aroused the suspicion
of Wilmington people. Some attach
little importance to the circumstance,
but at any rate matter has been re
ported to Washington.
STORM GENERAL IN j
EASTERN STATES
This City Not as Heavily Hit
As Other Sections; Traffic
Is Impeded
The snow which began falling here
last Thursday seemed to be quite gen
eral over Virginia, North and South
Carolina. The immediatey vicinity of
this city has not suffered from the
storm as reports show other sections
to have suffered. The electric current
was off all Saturday afternoon and .
until about 8:30 o’clock that evening.
Some telephone wires were torn down
but the handicap has not proved ser
ious.
Business was at a standstill be
cause of the difficulty of travel, but
work done on the highways in remov
ing the snow and ice will soon remedy
that, it is hoped.
The storm which affected such a
wide area is said to be the worst since
1899. In Lynchburg, Va., the snow
reached a depth of 16.4 inches, the
greatest on record according to the
weather bureau, while in South Bos
ton, Va., the snow was 24 inches deep.
Although North Carolina was well
covered with snow, it was worse in
some sections than in others. Ham
let was almost entirely cut off from
communication with any other town,
and street cars were put out of com
mission in Winston-Salem. In Ox
ford where the snow was 24 inches
deep, the schools were closed and
traffic stopped.
The following dispatches to various
daily papers of the state give an idea
of how certain sections were affected.
■ Washington, Jan. 29.—Buried un
der from one to more than two feet
of snow by one of the most severe
storms in several decades, the Middle
Atlantic section of the country spent
Sunday in valiant, but mostly vain
to-*>emHne the activities sus
pended Friday night when the storm
swept up from the South.
The storm described by the weath
er bureau as the worst in twenty
three years, had its center tonight
slightly north and east of Cape Cod,
and was moving slow- over the
ocean, but in its wake from North
Carolina to southern New England
and fromthe coast to the Alleghany
Mountains all was buried under a
snow blanket.
The coastal region had added to
the factor of snow, strong gales,
which crippled shipping. The Hamp
ton Roads district experienced heavy
seas along its water fronts, a forty
two mile gale and a dense mist of
snow and sleet keeping the area with
in the Virginia Capes closed to
maritime traffic and making naviga
tion extremely perilous to the few
vessels moving.
Reports to the weather bureau to
night indicated that gales, which were
strong from Cape Cod to Cape Hat
teras during the day, would diminish
before the end of the night as the
storm center passed out over the sea.
The forecast was for cloudy and un
settled weather over the Middle At
lantic region tomorrow and Tuesday
with no severely cold weather.
Richmond, Va., Jan. 27.—One death,
one prostration, two missing, four ac
cidents and general paralysis oftrolley
and automobile transportation is the
toll tonight of the worst snow storm
in almost a quarter of a century in
this city.
John R. Ellerson, a teal estate deal
er is dead, and G. S. Justice, a lawyer
was overcome as a result of the storm,
which assumed almost a blizzard pro
portions. Two girls, inmates of the
memorial home for girls at Highland
Park, a suburb of the city, are missing
and late tonight had been unaccount
ed for.
Several persons were hurt, several
seriously in a series of accidents at
tributed to the blinding storm and
scores of automobiles are stranded in
various sections of the city, accord
ing to police, their drivers being un
able to move them.
At 9:30 o’clock tonight snow had
fallen to the depth of almost ten
inches, and at this hour, there has
been no abatement in the fall, which
has continued uninterruptedly since
about 7 o’clock this morning.
DANVILLE, Va., Jan. 27.—Eigh
teen inches of snow had fallen here
by 10 o’clock tonight and the flakes
were still descending. All street car
TOBACCO CO-OPERATIVE
ASSOCIATION MEETING
Delegates to Convention In Ra
leigh Feb. 7 Elected, Who
Will Choose Directors.
At a meeting of the tobacco co
operative marketing association held
yesterday delegates to the convention
to be held in Raleigh on February 7
were elected. These delgates will,
on that day at a meeting held at the
court house in Raleigh, elect a direc
tor for the counties of Johnston and
Wake. The following men will rep
resent Johnston county at this meet
ing: Messrs D. T. Creech, Princeton,
R. F. I>.; Zero Parker, Benson, J. P.
Parker Smithfield. R. F. I). No. 1; T.
S. Ragsdale, A. M. Johnson and J. W.
Stephenson.
Despite* the weather conditions, a
goodly crowd of farmers was in town
to attend the meeting.
Saw Two Feet of Snow.
Last week, Mr. T. S. Ragsdale took
a trip to the western part of Vir
ginia to visit one of his sons in school
there who was sick. Returning he
reached Richmond Friday and to save
time as he thought, decided to come
by way of the Seaboard railroad to
Raleigh and thence on the Southern
to get to Selma. At Norlina his train
took a siding and an extra en
gine had to be used to get it back on
the main line track. At Henderson
four engines were required to bring
the train through the great snow
which had fallen in that section.
There the snow was two feet or more
deep. Mr. Ragsdale arrived home
Saturday morning instead of Friday
night as he had expected.
Meeting of Farm Dem. Agents.
Mr. S. J. Kirby spent most of la3t
week in Raleigh attending a conven
tion of farm demonstration agents.
The convention began Tuesday morn
ing and continued until noon Satur
day. Nearly all the agents in the
cotton belt portion of the State were
in attendance. Mr. Kirby informs us
that all of the counties in the cotton
growing portion of the State have
demonstration agents except Hert
ford and Harnett counties.
Experts on Poultry Here.
The -poultry keepers of our city will
be glad to learn that through one of
our enterprising grocery firips, Peed
in and Peterson, they may have the
privilege of conferring with experts
as to poultry culture, only for the
asking. Miss Ella Fussel and Mrs.
E. L. Dowd are in the city making a
survey of the poultry raised in this
vicinity. They will be glad to help
poultry raisers solve their problems
while here.
LOCKS FOR POLICE PISTOLS
New York to Guard Holsters Against
Gun Snatchers.
New York, Jan. 26.—Police Com
missioner Enright today ordered the
city’s 12,000 policemen to obtain hols
ters with safety catches from which
no one not in the secret can draw a
pistol.
The order resulted from the recent
killing of Patrolman Motz by a n£gro
who snatched the pistol from Motz’s
holster in a police station. Orders
also have been issued for a shooting
school to improve the marksmanship
of the law’s guardians.—Washington
Post.
Marriage at Selma.
Selma, Jan. 24.—Two marriages
took place at the Methodist parson
age Saturday night. Ernest P. Surles
and Miss Frances Blackman, and
James A. Parker and Miss Katie Hin- j
nant, were the contracting parties.
The marriage ceremony was perform
ed by Rev. G. B. Perry. The newly '
weds are well known here where they
will make their future hqme.
traffic is suspended.
CHESTER, S. C.., Jan. 27.—Ches- |
ter was visited by one of the worst j
sleet storms last night that has visit- i
ed it in many years. Accompanying |
the sleet was an icy wind that forced
the thermometer down considerably
The icy streets have made travel by
automobile, foot, etc., very difficult. '
MAY VOTE FOR DI
RECTOR TILL FEB. 4
Sir. A. M. Johnson Added to
Ballot; Other Nominees
In the Race
Due to unfavorable weather con
iitions, Mr. A. M. Johnson, county
chairman of the cotton cooperative
marketing association, announces that
the State Organization Committee has
ordered an extension of time for vot
ing for the cotton director until Feb.
4, at noon. Those signors who have
not received the ballots can get them
from the office 01 Mr. Tchnson in this
ty This ex*ti#!on f time is stat«
widc.
It will be recalled that when rep
resentatives of district number five,
which includes Johnston and Wilson
counties, met here recently, Mr. W. H.
Austin of this city and Dr. S. H. Crock
er, of Stantonsburg, Wilson County,
were nominated as directors. Since
then, at the request of a group of
cotton cooperative marketing signors
from over the county, Mr. A. M. John
son has allowed his name to go on
the ballot for cotton director, as a
signed statement elsewhere in this
paper indicates.
FURTHER YIELDING IN COTTON
Selling Pressure Predominates, and
Price Trend Is Downward.
With selling orders again predom
inating, further yielding of cotton
prices occurred this week. The mar
ket trend has been mainly downward
since the year opened, and losses of
nearly 200 points from the closing
quotations on the first business day of
January are now disclosed. Starting
the year at around 18.25c., both the
January and March options have since
declined to below the 17-per rent lev
el, while the more remote months
have fallen nearly as much. On oc
casions, pressure against the list has
been sufficiently heavy to cause con
spicuous weakness, though most of
the time prices have given way grad
ually. The setback this week was of
the latter character, but the active
options were $6 a bale lower at the
end of Thursday’s session than at the
beginning of Monday’s trading. Ac
companying the decline in futures, the
local spot quotation has yielded to
16.70c., which contrasts sharply with
the price of 18.65c., on January 3.
Most of the news affecting cotton
this week was bearish, or was so con
strued. As sentiment again seemed
against an advance in prices, shorts
became rather aggressive at intervals.
Not all of the selling, however, came
from this quarter, liquidation on the
long side largely accounting for the
market depression. Irregularity in
stocks and in foreign exchanges, a
small Wall Street failure, a break in
Liverpool and in Bombay, and some
disappointing domestic and foreign
trade advices were prominent among
the factors making for lower cotton
prices this week. The number of idle
looms in Manchester was reported to
be increasing, with new business in
cloths there contignent upon price
concessions, and demand for goods
from the Far East was said to have
not improved. Some dispatches from
domestic centers, moreover told of
quiet conditions in print cloths and
certain other fabrics, and activity in
spot markets in the South was the
exception. These unfavorable phases
were stressed during the periods when
the market was declining, but en
couraging features were not wholly
absent and prices displayed rallying
powers on occasions. While this was
largely due to the stronger technical
speculative position which resulted
from the persistent selling, part of
the recovery from the lowest levels
of the week reflected mill buying and
temporary steadiness in spot cotton.
The attitude of Southern holders will,
it is believed, have much to do with
shaping the future course of prices.
—Dun’s Review.
We Know Him.
“What kind of a fellow is Blinks!”
“Well , he is one of those fellows
who always grabs the stool when
there is a piano to be moved.”—Peo
ple’s Home Journal.
Mr. Edgar Watson, who is a stud
ent at Trinity College, Durham, spent
the week end in the city with rela
tives.