North Carolina Newspapers

VOLUME 41 _ MR. MITCHINER WRITES LETTER Tells of Confederate Soldier Killed Near What is Now Holt Lake We are in receipt of a letter from Mr. John A. Mitchiner, of Selma, who is now sojourning in Florida, which , should be of special interest to Johns ton county folks and particularly to United Daughters of the Confederacy. In fact Mr. Mitchiner directs some of his remarks to this organization, using this paper as a means of reach ing not only the members of the local chapter but others who will be inter ested as well. The letter presents a bit of history which doubtless many of our citizens do not know. The let ter is as follows: “On a dark drizzly or rainy night in March 1865, a part of Wheeler’s Cavalry was in camp at Black Creek Bridge, just south of the old Wellon’s plantation, on the road leading to the southern end of the county. The waters of this stream at one time, made, as a few older people can tell you, the David Smith mill pond—now done away with by a new dam across the stream near the County road and holds back the water which now forms Holt Lake as the present generation will ever remem oer. lwas on the hills about this lake that the stldiers were in camp to guard the approach of the Yankees toward Smithfield and on to Raleigh and to the end. It was after the bat tle of Bentonville, about or after, midnight when a young Kentuckian was called to go on pickett duty at or near the bridge. He hurriedly pulled his musket from under a pile of rails, where he had placed it “to keep his powder dry” and in doing so the gun was discharged, the ball passing through his thigh, making amputation of the limb necessary. This operation was performed at Col onel Heath’s home across Neuse riv er near Turner’s bridge, and death was the result. The Kentuckian’s dying request was, that his body be buried in an enclosed graveyard. His bcdv was brought to my falh er’s and grandfather’s burial ground or the old Mitchiner plantation, now owned in part by Dr. Holland, of Smithfield. The writer as a twelve year-old boy remembers and recalls the scene of a burial and may be the only living person who saw this sol dier put away to await the final bugle call. A piece of four by four scant ling was used for the markers, and ,on the headpiece was neatly carved— John R. Harris, Co., B 1st Kentucky Cavalry, U. S. A. Since that day no attention has been paid to the grave of this man who made the great sacrifice for his country, and the writer must confess that other graves there dearer to him have been too long neglected but not forgotten, and neither has this grave of this Confederate soldier been forgotten by the writer. As will be seen, by visitors to the grave (on next Memorial Day 1 hope) the writer has placed a lasting mark er at the head and foot of this grave, and in a short time he hopes to have the old family graveyard enclosed with a substantial fence, and one marker for all the members of the original Mitchiner family buried there. This last enclosure may leave out the soldier’s grave or, call for a separate fence. No, it will not be left open, his dying request shall be re spected and carried out if his remains are left as at present. The writer addresses this letter, as will be seen especially to the Holt Sanders Chapter of the U. D. C., at Smithfield—and why? The remains in question are buried in Smithfield township and the Confederate Monu ment and Cemetery are in Smithfield. Now follows the writer’s recommen dation in the care of the U. D. C.— and it' is this—that on the fourth Wednesday in July next, the ashes and slab placed by the writer be moved to the Confederate plot in Smithfield, where once a year for all time to come, flowers will be placed on this grave and those of his companions. Further that on that date, the fourth Wednesday in July^ all the soldiers who wore the gray )be invited to at tend the ceremony (a dinner awaits them, the money is waiting and ready). Further, that the speaker for the day be a map not only con nected with the history of 1861-65 JEWISH RELIEF WEEK FEBRUARY 6TH TO 12TH Governor Morrison Issues Proc lamation Setting Part Next Week as Relief Week. | j WHEREAS, there is great suffer | ing among the Jewish people of Eu ! rope, thousands of whom are. report ed as being entirely destitute and in a dying condition, due to the lack of I food and other necessities; and WHEREAS, our own land has been blessed with a prosperity that not on ly guarantees our own safety, but which enables us and should impel us, to share our bounties with our less fortunate fellow human beings in oth er lan A: NOW, THEREFORE, I, CAMERON MORRISON, Governor of North Car olina, do hereby set apart by this Proclamation the week beginning Monday, February 6 and ending Sun day, February 12, as Jewish Relief Week. I ask that all newspapers of the State give wide publicity to this week, devoted to such a worthy cause, and I especially ask that on Sunday February 5, notice be given in all the churches that the following week will be observed a& Jewish Relief Week and that the ministers, Sun day school superintendents and teach ers, and others, urge their people to seize this opportunity of helping the suffering and contribute to the relief of these worthy distressed people, so far as their means of relief will per mit. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have 1 hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State to be affixed. Pone at our city of Raleigh, this the sixteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and twenty-two, and in the one hundred and forty-sixth year of our American Independence. CAMERON MORRISON, By the Governor: Governor. WM. H. RICHARDSON, Private Secretary. Opening New Stock of Goods Mr. J. H. Godwin, formerly of the firm of Parrish-Godwin Company, of Benson is daily opening up new goods. He is using the two-story brick building opposite Mr. J. E. Wall’s hardware store in Benson. Mr. Godwin has been cut of business fc two years and many will be glad he is going back into business. He will deal in heavy groceries, produce, har ness and hardware for farmers. Mr. Oscar Surles who is well known to the trade will be with him in his new j quarters. j but has eifcr since been a known, hon ! ored and loved citizen, of not only j North Carolina, but, the South. To j day he is an empty sleeved veteran i of the war between the States and | a member of the greatest Lgislative i body of the world. I respectfully i refer to the Honorable Charles M. j Steadman, M. C.,’ of Greensboro. He j has no apologies to make and will de | liver an address so stirring that it ! will not only revive any luke-warm | Daughters (if there be any) but will [ give new life to the coming genera j tion who must hold up the banner | "furled but not forgotten.” You may ask why the fourth Wed nesday in July.' I say that day should be an annual event. The an swer to the question stands in the Capitol square at Raleigh and that is the statue of a private soldier—the | first to give his life in action for Southern rights—Henry Lawson Wyatt. The movement to raise the funds for this statue was launched on the fourth Wednesday in July and in less than five years it was unveiled. The movement was started by the U. D. C. of Johnston County and endors ed by the State and by the South, j Colonel Ashly Horne readily sent a I check for $25.00 and General Carr | did the same. Captain Bob Ricks who saw Wyatt fall, gave $1000.00. The writer has in his possession a letter from Chief Justice Walter Clark of the North Carolina Supreme Court, saying that his statue to private Wy att was the only one in the history of the world to a private and that the U. D. C., of Johnston county has an | honor to be proud of. j Now why not Smithfield officials j make the fourth Wednesday in July a [ legal holiday and ask the countrv ! people, their best friends, to come to see them every year? THE CONFERENCE ADOPTS TREATIES Will Limit Size of Navies and Restrict Use of New Agencies of War Washington, Feb. 1.—The Wash ington negotiations for limitation of armament reached their consumma tion today when a plenary session of the arms conference gave definite and public approval to the two treaties limiting the navies and restricting tne use of new agencies of warfare. One of the covenants thus sealed after seven weeks of debate estab lishes a fixed ration of capital ship strength between the five great pow ers, and the other pledges them against unrestricted submarine war fare and use of poison gas. Within a day or two the plenipotentiaries of the United States, Great Britain, Ja pan, France and Italy will formally affix their signatures. At the same session the far eastern wing of the conference moved toward completion of its tasks by announc ing officially the terms of the Shan tung settlement and by giving final approval to nine of the resolutions adopted in committee in regard to Chinese problems. The agreement on Shantung already has been put l into a draft treaty between Japan and China, and the other far eastern set tlements are to be embodied which will come before the conference shortly. As soon as Japan’s intention withdraw from Shantung had been definitely stated, the British announc ed formally for the first time that their government was ready to hand back to China the lease-hold of Wei Hai-Wei. The French let it be known tonight, however, that they expected to treat directly with China over pos sible retirement from their leased ter ritory of Kwangchow Wan, a decis ion which appeared to becloud the prospect of any general conference i narptimpni rpp‘»rdinQr the Chinese leased territories. Two other conference projects, one relating to the Chinese eastern rail way and the other to the prohibition of importation of arms into China, al so encountered serious- obstacles when the committee work of the del egates was resumed late today. The Japanese made some technical objections to the Chinese eastern pro posal which, coupled with Chinese and French opposition to some features, resulted in appointment of a Japa nese-French-Chinese subcommittee to consider a compromise. The Italians i and Japanese presented such perti- j nent reservations to the arms impor tation resolution that it was virtually ! decided not to press it for adoption. 1 The five-power naval limitation ! treaty, whose text was made public for the first time with its submission to today’s plenary session, contained j no surprise and was approved by the conference without general discussion. Its terms, which had been completely forecast by published accounts of the negotiations, provide for a 5-5-3-1.6- ; 1.6 capital ship ration for the United j States, Great Britain, Japan, France, j ! and Italy, respectively, impose var | ious restrictions on the size and arma j ment of other types of warcraft and ■ I establish a fortifications “status quo” J I in the Pacific. In the separate submarine and poi- j son gas treaty an attempt is made to outlaw submarines as commerce ; destroyers and to prohibit chemical j warfare altogether. TJj>e language ) of the convention follows almost ex actly the terms of the Root resolu tions adopted by the armaments com- j ' mittee several weeks ago.—Associat- j ' ed Press. _ MEETS MAIL ORDER WIFE Philharmonic Concert Master Sees j Her First at Pier. New York, Jan. 30.—A husband whom she had never seen was waiting for Mrs. Edward Tak, when she walk- 1 ed down the agangplank of the liner, j Ryndam from Rotterdam, today. Edward Tak, violinist, and one of I the concert masters of the New York i Philharmonic Society, had wooed and j won Miss Sarah Speyers by mail and ; married her by proxy. His brother, j > David, went to the altar in his stead, ’< kissing the bride farewell and putting | : her aboard a vessel for her new home, j COUNTY AGENT MAKES REPORT Tells of Work In Office and Demonstration Work In The Field County Farm Agent S. J. Kirby, who has just closed his ^econd years’ work in Johnston, December 1, 1921, made quite an interesting annual re port to the Board of County Com missioners at the January meeting, which we print below: “Realizing the deep interest of your Honorable Board in the Farm Demonstration Work in this county I take pleasure in presenting to you a brief summary of the year’s work from December 15th, 1920 to Decem ber 1, 1921. The report itself con sists more of a story of the line of effort invested in the work than of the reults actually accomplished. This is true, because of the fact that much of the work done this year has been with large undertakings of a permanent nature that will necessari ly continue through a number of years and also because of the neces sity for much work of an emergency nature. “How work was divided—98 days were spent in office, 209 days in field work and 6 days including holidays and all were spent on annual leave; or about 31 per cent of the time was spent in office work and 67 per cent in field work. Calls made by the county agent were as follows: >• isits to Demonstrators -302 . *5* to Cooperators_78 Vis?1 ■ e ther Farmers-194 Visit mss men_*_ 32 Visits . ?d girl’s club members .. . --- 26 Total visits_ . -- 632 Mileage travelled o; business trips; by auto 8.171 Total _8,31!* Calls on the agent at the office and the home relative to work personal -3,187 Telephone _■_ 280 Total _ 3,473 General meetings held by the county agent - 94 Attendance_5,158 Field meetings held by the agt. 10 Attendance - 151 Total meetings held in the coun ty under auspices of agent or Extension Service _ 141 Total attendance approximate ly _*_10,793 Number of official letters writ ten —- 1,828 Number of articles relating to work prepared for publication __ 71 Number of different circular let ters prepared- 76 Number of copies of such circu lar letters -9,561 Number of bulletins or circulars of U. S. Dept. Agr. distributed- 060 Number of bulletins or circulars of State College of State ’ Dept. of Agr., distributed- 470 Total number of parcels of mail going out _12,605 Number of schools visited rela tive to work_ 17 Number of boys and girls en rolled in club work- 785 Number of specialists working in county from College or Dept. 35 Community Fairs held in county 1 County Fairs _ 2 I wo crop variety tests were con ducted in the county in cooperation with the specialists in plant breeding. One with cotton and one with soy beans. The work of the cotton va riety test there has done a great deal to increase the interest in better cot ton seed of purer varieties and this year as a result of this work we will start some real improvement work with cotton in this county. (The re sults of this test will be published at an early date.) In the soy bean test, 10 varieties were used not s° much as a test of the ability of each variety to yield seed, as it was of a demonstration of character and value of the different varieties to produce hay and also to produce seed. To give you some idea of what the farmers in the commun ity where this test was conducted think of it will say, that the county agent has a signed statement by one man stating that it will mean ^>i000 (Continued on page 8) PRESIDENT TO SELECT AN OTHER NEGRO FOR PLACE West Virginia Negro Lawyer Slated For District Re corder of Deeds. Washington, Feb. 1.—President Harding is determined to give the District of Columbia, a negro record er of deeds. The Senate having sat down on the nomination of “Link” Johnson, the Georgia negro, who is a member of the Republican National committee, though it took the declara tions of Senators Watson and Harris, of Georgia, that Johnson was per- i sonally objectionable to them to se- j ! cure this. President Harding will now i submit the name of another negro. This time it will be that of Arthur G. Froe, a negro attorney of Welch, W. Va., this having been learned at the White House today. Accompa nied by Representative Goodykoontz, Republican, West. Virginia, Senator Elgins, Rep., of the same State, went to the 'White House today and follow ing a conference with President Har ding it was understood that the President would send the nomination of the negro to the Senate this week. Froe is reported as having prac ticed law for the past twenty years and as being one of the prominent negro lawyers in West Virginia. He has been prominent in Republican politics in that State for many years and it is said he has been an ardent worker for the Republican party among the negroes of West Virginia. He is said to be a fluent speaker and to have been largely used in many campaigns in whooping up the negro vote for the Republicans. And as a reward for his political activities he is now nominated by President Har ding for a position that will put him in charge of an office in Washington in which there are a large number of young white women employed. That his record will be closely scanned i by Democratic Senators is certain,! land bat they will vole against eon n is also certain.—Edward E. •Brit; m in News and Observer. Recovered Stolen Ford Automobile. On Thursday night, January 19th, Mr. Clarence Johnson, a son of Mr. Lee Johnson who lives near the county home had a five passenger Ford au tomobile stolen from under a shed at his home. On Wednesday of this week he recovered the car in a badly damaged condition. When it came back it had on it a different top and body and set of cushions. It was found on a road near Wendell and was returned by Mr. T. E. Talton, night policeman of Selma. A reward of $25.00 had been offered for the recovery of the car. Jesse Perry and Clarence Perry are said to have been connected with the theft. Miss May Bennett of Montoursville, Pa., is spending some time in the city the guest of her sister, Mrs. J. Her bert Fitzgerald. IN FAMINE-STRICKEN RUSSIA PARENTS EATING CHILDREN Famine Reaches Terrible Degree— Parents Eating Own Children; Man Eats Corpse of Brother. Geneva, Feb. 1.—Famine has reach ed such a terrible degree in the Orenburg district of Russia that peo pjle are killing each other and parents are eating their children, says a tele gram received here today from a rep resentative in Moscow of Fridtjof Nansen, head of the international committee of Russian relief. The representative’s telegram ad dressed to the Geneva bureau of the international committee was based up on reports received from a Russian representative attached to the Ameri ; can relief administration at Orenburg. The following authentic examples, says the telegram occurred in the village of Tuliakova: A man named Tuhvatulla Halline ate the corpse of his brother. A woman named Housna ate two of her children, and a man named Absam devoured his daughter. Other cases of cannibalism were reported from the district of Gomy, near Orenburg, whither people arriv ed on foot, having walked 200 to 250 versts in order to obtain American aid. (A verst is .66 of a mile.)—As sociated Press. LEADS IN VALUE OF POTATO CROP Also Regains First Place In Value of Peanuts; Other Crop Statistics Raleigh, N. C., Feb. 2.—It is of re markable interest to find that North Carolina has recovered first rank in the totjvl value of the sweet potato crop and also the peanut crop, which added to the already attained first rank in soybeans and tobacco denoted great credit. The probable value of all crops per acre puts us in the lead too. The value of North Carolina’s 1921 sweet potato crop was $9,900,000 which rail' s us first in the value of this crop. While Georgia stands fir3t in the production with 12,400,000 hushels, Alabama is 2nd both in pro duction and value, with North Caro lina’s ten million bushel crop rank ing third in quantity produced. Geor gia potatoes sold at 63 cents, Ala bama’s at 73, while North Carolina’s brought 97 cents or 9 cents higher per bushel than the average price for the whole country. Our sweet potato crop, although less than grown in 1920, is gaining in popularity as evi denced by the interest and increase in curing houses. Our rank of 20th in the five million dollar value of Irish potatoes and 23rd in the four million bushel production is an improvement since 1920, when we were 24th and 27th respectively. Maine holding first place in produc tion with 37,000,000 bushels, New York, although second in bushels pro duced, holds first rank with $36,709, 000 and Maine second with $31,579,000 in value. The price of North Caro lina potatoes averaged $1.43, while the average for all states was $1.11 per bushel. About a decade ago, North Carolina was the primary peanut state, but lat er fell behind. I . I j< ■ 0* > : ' nrd AMbwvta .ak x-apdaev'l mow Our nuts being of he Virginia ty>«. are utilized for street and store trade, while the Georgia and Alabama crops principally of the Spanish variety, are utilized more for oil. The prices are, consequently, 2.8 cents higher in North Carolina than in the other two states. The value of our crop is seven million dollars compared with six for Virginia and five million dollars for Alabama’s crop. Our production of 129,57(1,000 pounds was third. The nation’s production of 816,465,000 pounds, at an average of 4 cents, was worth $32,000,000. Last year, this state harvested 32, 000 acres of Sorghum cane, with a production of 3 million gallons of syr up. We held the fourth rank in the value of the crop and were surpassed' by Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennes see in order of value rank. The av erage price of syrup in these four leading States were Alabama syrup at 42 cents $3,213,000. Kentucky av eraged 72 cents, Tennessee 59 cents and North Carolina 78 cents per gal lon or $2,346,000 for the crop.—U. S. and N. C. Dept. Agriculture. BURLEY GROWERS GET BIG TOBACCO PRICES Receive 4,000,000 Pounds For Sale On Floors of Co-operative Mar keting Warehouses. Lexington, Ky., Jan. 31.—Four mil lion pounds of tobacco were delivered to the warehouses of the Burley To bacco Growers’ Co-operative Market ing association, when those outside of Lexington were opened today for the first time this season, it was announc ed at headquarters tonight. As was the case when the houses here opened last week, it was said that growers received more money in advance for their crops this year than they sold them for last season. No reports Oi dissatisfied growers were received. Tobacco buyers tonight contrasted conditions as they existed today with those of the opening day for market ing the 1920 crop. Low prices paid for the weed then caused so much dis satisfaction that in several cases the warehouses were closed for a time.— Greensboro News. Sans Souci Club To Meet. The Sans Souci Club will meet Tuesday afternoon at 3 o’clock with Mrs.^N. M. Lawrence. The members will receive no further notice of the meeting.