VOLUME 41
SMITHF1ELD, N. C., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1922
NUMBER 102
MR. N. W. WALKER
MAKES ADDRESS
Johnston County Alumni
Give Banquet; J. D. Park
er on Program
In spite of the very rainy weather
Wednesday evening, about twenty- ,
five were present at the Woman's
Club room to enjoy the State Uni
versity banquet for the Johnston
County students and alumni of that
institution. The local chapter of the
IT. D. C., had prepared a veritable
feast served in four courses, and the
only regret was the fact that the
weather prevented quite a numbe*
from attending. The hall was beauti
ful with its Christmas decorations.
The toastmaster, Mr. N. C. Bare- |
foot of Benson, presided in a capable i
manner the entire program of the
evening passing off without a hitch.
Mr. N. W. Walker, of the University
faculty was present and the toast
master called on him first, for a
speech. Mr. Walker expressed pleas- j
ure at being in Smithfield and j
brought greetings to the University
men from their alma mater. It may l
be interesting to note that there are
128 alumni in Johnston county and 20
are now matriculating at that insti
tution. Mr. Walker threw out the
suggestion that these men might |
worthily lend their influence and
support to increase the number grad
uating from accredited high schools
in this county, especially since this
requirement has now been made a
condition of entering the university.
Out of 15,000 Johnston County chil
dren attending the public schools, on
ly 270 completed the seventh grade
last year and considerably less tha i
a hundred got their diplomas from
high schools . “The University,” Mr.
Walker stated, “has just begun its
period of development.” Ten years
ago Mr. Walker predicted that if all
the colleges in the state should dou
ble their capacity that the high
schools would fill them, and the num
ber of high school graduates has so
increased that his prophecy has
more than been fulfilled. He urged
that the U. N. C., alumni help it to
come to pass that in the near future
the number completing four years of
high school equal the number now j
finishing seventh grade. And in the
meantime the University will be ex
panding and enlarging sufficiently to
take care of these boys and girls too,
for 65 girls are taking work at the
University this year, and the future
will see better provision made for
the “co-eds.” The University is j
already a “blue ribbon” college, and j
is still forging ahead. i
After Mr. Walker Mr. J. D. Park
er was called upon, who spoke in a
happy vein of his college days, call
ing himself “the last leaf of sum
mer,” being the oldest alumnus
present. Mr. Parker entered the
University in 1894 there being only
three other boys from Johnston
County there at that time. His
reminiscences were enjoyed as well
as his expressions cf loyalty to his
alma mater.
After the last course was served
Mr. Frank O. Ray presented the
matter of forming a permanent
Johnston County Alumni Associa
tion ,and the matter was discussed
by Messrs A. M .Noble, J. A. Nar
ren, Leon Stevens, and H. H. Mar
row It was finally decided to leave
the organization in the hands of a
committee composed of Mr. N. C.
Barefoot, of Benson, chairman of
the Johnston County Club at Chapel
Hill, Mr. Holt, of Princeton, secre- '
tary, Dr. George Vick, of (Selma,
Messrs F. O. Ray and H. B. Mar
row of this city. The selection of the
committee was a happy one, and no
doubt the U. N. C. Alumni Associa
t'on will become a live organization.
The evening’s program was con
clude d with this decision.
Those present on this occasion
were as follows. Mr. and Mrs. John
A. Nar-on, Mr. and Mrs H.H. Mar
row, Misses Jean Abell, Margaret
Moore, Rose Grantham, Arah Hooks,
Lucile Johnson, Messrs Wm, M. San
ders, ar., Geo. Y. Ragsdale, Ken
neth D. Coates, Thel Hooks, N. R
3ass, b. O. Ray, Jas. D. Parker, L
G. Stevens, Benton Wharton, A. M.
Noble, G. A. Martin, Baxter Ray,
N. C Barefoot, W. J. Barefoot, Colon
E. William, of Benson. Joe Temples
of Seima and N. W. Walker, of
Chapel Hill.
New fork’s fire losses last year
were more than $20,000,000.
VOCAL UNION TO BE
HELD HERE NEXT SUNDAY
Good Program Has Been Arranged
And a Large Crowd Is
Expected.
On account of the Lower Johnston
vocal union which will be held here
Sunday, there will be no preaching
services at the Baptist and Metho
dist churches here Sunday morning.
This is the first time the vocal un on
has ever been held here, and it is
hoped that a large crowd will be pres
ent. These unions are held some
where in the county every fifth Sun
day, and they are usually attended
by several thousand people.
A good program has been arranged
by Mr. J. B. Beasley, president of the
vocal union, and a number of choirs
and some good speakers are expect
ed to make the day well worth while
for those who attend.
The services will be held in the
court house and the puplic is cor
dially invited and urged to be here
Sunday morning, December 31, by
9:30 o’clock. All Sunday school pu
pils are especially invited.
JOHNSTON COUNTY LEADS
STATE IN COTTON PRODUCTION
Johnston, Wake, Nash and Harnett
have made much larger cotton crops
than last year. Johnston has led the
state this time, Robeson having suf
fered an eclipse through the opera
tions of the boll-weevil. Johnston
is accredited with the ginning of
55,028 bales up to Dec. 1 this year,
against only 45,946 to the same date
last year. More than 9,000 bales of
twenty-five cent cotton in excess of
last year’s crop is enough to make
Johnston feel that degree of thank
fulness which was expressed in a spe
cial thanksgiving program at Smith
field some months ago. But Harnett
is credited with ginning 32,060
against only 24,108 last year, a gain
of 8,000 bales. But as Dunn gets
thousands of bales from Sampson
for ginning, it is probable that high
Sampson, which shared in a measure
in the rnusual yield ri the Wak1
J- nnstor.-Harnett area, is responsi
ble for a part of this 8,000 excess ov
er last year, thereby counterbalanc
ing the shortage in the ginning re
port for Sampson. That is, Samp
son probably made as much cotton as
it did last year, though the ginning
report is 1,594 bales short. This
would mean that the section lying
near Harnett made more cotton than
last year, while the southern half !
and the area above Clinton and East
of Coharie made considerably less.
Not only was the boll weevil more
active in the latter sections, but the
wet weather was more hurtful, while
two or 1 three big hail storms de
stroyed many bales. We, according
ly, should judge that Mingo, Honey
cutts, Westbrooks and Herrings
townships have made a fine crop this
year, and that conditions in those
townships should be rapidly improv
ing.—Sampson Democrat.
Long-Continued Popularity.
Much more than the usual atten
tion is being given this year to those
perennial lines of Dr. Clement C.
Moore’s “ Twas the night before
Christmas”;—because it is recalled
that they are just a century old. It
was on Christmas eve, 1882, that the
serious-minded professor of Greek
and Hebrew in the General Theologi
cal Seminary, New York, first jotted
them down to amuse his children, and
thought no more of them. They were
presented to posterity by a young wo
man who made a copy of the verses
and sent it to a local newspaper. The
old professor’s fame rests chiefly up
on the little piece of light writing
which seemed to him at the time so
trivial. After all, this is not sur
prising. We have had a more famous
instance of the same sort in our own
day. The fame of Lewis Carroll, au
thor of “Alice in Wonderland,” etc.,
is world-wide. Few to whom his pen
name is familiar ever heard of
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, the learn
ed professor of matematics at Cam
bridge. It is idle to attempt to ac
count for the long-continued popular
ity of Dr. Moore’s poem. It simply
sped true and hit the bull-eye. Such
things defy analysis.—Philadelphia
Record.
A ten year old boy beat his daddv
in the show ring at the Pinehurst
Fair and won $85 as the best show
man at the fair. He had been train
ed in club work.
FARMERS TO FIGHT
MR. BOLL WEEVIL
Farmers’ Meeting Is Called
Here Jan. 16 to Discuss
Methods of Warfare
RALEIGH, Dec. 26.—Holding its
first meeting on January 1st and be
ginning the new year with an intern- :
sive fight on the cotton boll weevil, .
the Division of Entomology will ren- 1
der every assistance at its command j
to aid farmers of North Carolina in ,
their war on the weevil this year. 1
The meetings to begin in January I
have been divided into three gi*oups. j
The western series will embrace the j
counties of Rutherford, Cleveland,
Catawba, Lincoln, Gaston, Mecklen
burg, Cabarrus, Iredell, and Hoke.
These meetings will be in charge of
W. Bruce Mabee of the Division of
Entomology as principal speaker.
The central series will embrace the
counties of Rowan, Stanley, Moore, j
Montgomery, Lee and Chatham and i
will be in charge of Franklin Sher- !
man, Chief of the Division of Ento- !
mology.
The Eastern series will embrace the i
counties of Harnett, Cumberland. J
Robeson, Bladen, Pender. Duplin, j
Sampson, Wayne, Johnston, Jones,
Lenoir, Greene and Pitt and will be
in charge of J. 0. Taylor, formerly
with the delta laboratory of the Uni
ted States Department of Agricul
ture,
The county agent in each of the j
counties will arrange for the meet- j
ings and plans are being made now i
to hold one meeting to the county, j
this to be in the county court house j
or some other central gathering
place. Each meeting will begin at 11 !
o’clock and will be advertised by the j
county agent several days before it j
will be held.
Every farmer intending to grow ,
cotton this coming year should make |
it a point to attend the meeting in
his county. The meeting for Johnston
County will be held at Smithfield on
Tuesday, January sixteenth at 11
o’clock.
Careless Bondholders.
During the world war, when our
Government was engaged in raising
billions of dollars by loans, the curious
fact was developed that millions of
Americans were quite ignorant of
the nature of bonds and the methods
of investing in them. When they
were induced by appeals to their
patriotism to buy bonds many of
them neglected to collect the inter
est due them, and in other ways
seemed to indicate that they regard
ed the money they had paid for Lib
erty or Victory bonds as really a con
tribution to the Government, for
which they were to receive no return.
Some of these unsophisticated
persons seem to be still among us,
judging by the announcement thac
the holders of $400,000,000 of Victory
bonds, interest on which ceased on
December 15, have failed to call for
their securities and are therefore
now receiving no return on their in
vestment. The interest due them is
waiting for them, along with the cash
necessary for the redemption of th^
bonds, but still these holders show no
desire to obtain their money.
Evidently there are a vast number
of Americans who are either very
improvident or very careless when
they pass up $400,000,000 in this
easy fashion. Uncle Sam would be
very glad if they would call and get
th emoney which is waiting for them
and which should be promptly rein
vested.—Philadelphia Record.
I
i
FORMER PRESIDENT WILSON
IS SIXTY-SIX YEARS OLD
NEW YORK, Dec. 26.—A delega- !
tion of five from the Woodrow Wilson j
foundation will await upon former ;
President Wilson at his home in j
Washington Thursday to extend birth
day greetings to him on the 66th an
niversary of his birth. Those in th'.
delegation will be Hamilton Holt, ex
ecutive director; Rabbi Stephen S. ;
Wise, Mrs. Charles E. Simonson, Mrs. i
Charles L. Tiffany and Mrs. Carolina
Ruutz-Rees.
Road Bonds in South Carolina.
The road convention which met in
Columbia Monday is in favor of an
issue of from 40 to 200 million dol
lars of bonds for the building of
roads.—From The Newberry (S. C.> j
Herald and News.)
HAS PRELIMINARY
HEARING—PERRY
Examination Waived Until
Recorder’s Court Next
Tuesday, January 2
A case which will attract wide
spread interest was instituted in a
justice’s court in Smithfield on
Wednesday before Squire D. T.
Lunceford. The case is State vs. A.
W. Perry and charges the defendant
with the wrongful killing of Paul
Stephenson, which occurred in the
town of Benson on the night of De
cember 9th.
The defense which is represented
by E. S. Abell waived examination in
the preliminary hearing and the
case was forwarded to the Record
er’s court docket and will have a
hearing on Tuesday, January 2nd.
The State will be assisted in the
prosecution of the case by attorneys
S. S. Holt, of Smithfield and Ezra
Parker, of Benson.
It is not definitely known what
line of defense the defendant will
make but it is generally thought
that a plea of not guilty will be
made on the ground that the killing
was justifiable.
30 TO 80 MILES AN HOUR
COMMON SPEED FOR BIRDS
Certain species of hawks have a
speed of 200 feet a second, or about
136 miles an hour, says the Biological
Survey of the U. S. Department of
Agriculture. This might be a suit
able rate for a racing airplane. The
canvasback duck can fly from 130 *o
160 feet a second, but its usual rate
of 60 to 70 miles an hour would he
pretty fast to be enjoyable in a plane
making a pleasure trip.
The crow is the least rapid of a
list of 22 migratory birds, flying an
insignificant average of 45 feet a
second, or 30 miles an hour. Of
course this speed maintained steadily
in an automobile would mean a very
fair rate of progress, defying the
speed laws in many communities.
Most of the birds listed, however, do
better than the crow. Curlews and
jacksnipes can fly 55 and 65 feet a
second, while quails, prairie chickens,
and ruffed grouse can make 75 feet.
The dove can reach a speed of 100
feet a second, or 68 miles an hour,
although its usual rate is less. Red
heads, bluewinged teals, green-wing
ed teals, Canada geese, and differ
ent varieties of brant can fly over
100 feet per second, ranging in speed
from 68 to 98 miles an hour, but us
ually fly at a much slower rate.
THIRTEEN PERSONS ARE
BITTEN BY RABID DOG
KINSTON, Dec. 24.—A rabid
dog owned by a farmer a short
distance from Pink Hill was today
reported by health department
workers to have attacked and
bitten 13 person in the vicinity.
The first victim was a small boy
visiting the home of the animal’s
owner, it was understood. All the
victims are being given the anti
rabies treatment. The head of
the animal was examined at Ral
eigh where hydrophobia was
found to have existed.
SARAH BERNHARDT
IN CRITICAL STATE
A Paris dispatch tells of the news
of the critical condition of Sarah
Bernhardt, famous actress, now 78
years old. Though at this advanced
age she has kept up her work and was
rehearsing a part in a new play soon
to be produced. The papers Wed
nesday reported her better, and she
told friends that she expected to as
sume her role in the play yet.
4c * s{e * sjc * 4c * s}e * >;< 4c * 4< * ife * •;<
* 9 *
* MASONIC FUNERAL TO *
* BE CONDUCTED SUNDAY *
* _ ■*
* Next Sunday, December 31st, *
* the Masonic funeral of Mr. L. B. *
* Langdon will be preached at the *
* home graveyard in Elevation *
* township. Mr. Langdon was a *
* member of 450 Polenta Lodge *
* A. F. & A. M., and that lodge will *
* have charge of the funeral ser- *
* vice. All masons are especially *
* requested to be present, and the *
* public is asked to take notice *
* and act accordingly. “
* $
* $ * $ * 4: * $ *{$ $ * sk * * $
J NEGROES ARE LEAVING
STATE OF GEORGIA
I
I
I
i
I
Labor Agents Post Signs Predicting
Trouble From The Ku
Klux Klan.
ATLANTA, Oa., Dec. 27.— Facing
what they described as the greatest
labor shortage in years, Georgia far
mers are swamping the two United
States 5>n* if*'s f o.n Diis St tc with
requests for immediate relief.
Labor agents from the NorDi, op
erating in every section of the State,
it is declared, have caused negroes
to leave by the thousands, and so
general has been the exodus that a
majority of the farmers find them
selves without laboi;. Hence, the
Senators have been asked to try
either to modify the immigration
laws or restrict the activities of la
bor agents.
Ku Klux Klans over the State
whose memberships are composed
largely of farmers, are trying to
stop the operations of the labor ag
I ents, but thus far have made little
j headway. State Labor Commission
[ er H. M. Stanley estimates that neg
r< es are leaving the State for North
i ern cities at the rate of 100 a day.
“In many communities,” Commis
! sioner Stanley said, “labor agents
have posted signs warning negroe
1 to leave the State by Christmas if
I they wished to avoid trouble at the
! hands of i he Ku Klux Klan. Labor
j agents then got busy in these dis
| tricts, and the migration begins when
fat jobs at $7 to $10 a day in North
ern cities are offered the negroes.”
Mr. Stanley declares that “unless
this migration can be stopped quick
ly Georgia’s agricultural interests
will be gravely menaced. Georgia
farmers, as a rule, are entirely depen
dent on negro labor.”
UNIVERSAL CITY IS
DESTROYED BY FIRE
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 23.—Fire at
Universal City, a suburb, late today
destroyed 1,100,000 feet of film at
the Universal studios, gutted one
building and resulted in the injury of
one man. Damage was estimated at
$350,000 including the value of the
motion picture films.
Between 35 and 40 productions
were included in the destroyed prints.
The negatives from which the prints
were made, however, were saved. Be
sides the one man, Edward Bush, a
film cutter who was said to have bee
seriously injured, four others, were
slightly burned or overcome by
smoke. They were Kerman Kerrp, an
; actor, Fred Archer, head of the art
j title department, and Frank Atkin
son and Edward Curtis, film cutters.
CHILD THROWN INTO
MAIL SACK BY MISTAKE
CLEVELAND, Dec. 24.—Amid
the hustle ad bustle of a large
crowd of Christmas shoppers in
l the rrmin postoffee there ;ame the
cries of a mo her for her lost
infant.
While the mother was address
ing Christmas packages at a
table in the lobby she placed the
'•hild in a market basket, which
she placed under the table. Her
packages ready to be mailed, she
looked for the baby. It had dis
I appeared.
The basket, with its contents,
had been picked up and thrown
into a mail sack. Cries from the
child as the sack was about to be
placed on a mail truck led to its
discovered.
The woman refused to divulge
her idenntity.
FIFTY IN HOSPITALS
FROM BAD WHISKEY
BOSTON, Dec. 26.—More than
fifty persons were in hospitals
here today suffering from alco
holic poisoning as a result of
drinking liquors obtained dur
ing the holidays. Two deaths
due to this cause occurred. Eigh
teen of the patients were listed
as in a critical condition.
Potato Yield Varies.
—
! The average yield of potatoes pet
acre in the United States varies from
| about 60 bushels in Texas to more
i than 200 bushels in Maine, according
, to reports of the United States De
partment of Agriculture. The aver
age for the entire country for the
past 10 years is 98 bushels per acre.
PEACE PARLEY
MAY BE FAILURE
; Uneasiness Spreading in the
Conference as Crisis
Approaches
LAUSANNE, Dec. 27.—Great un
easiness is spreading- throughout
Near East conference circles as the
time approaches for a final reckon
ing on all important questions which
remain unsettled between the Turks
and the Allied powers.
Lord Curzon’s positive announce
ment today that Great Britain will
not cede Mosul to Turkey and does
not propose to discuss that question
further was the forerunner of less
positive statements from the other
delegations.
The sub-commissions are making
little progress. Riza Nur Bey was
less truculent today in the sub-com
mission on minorities. Allied dele
gations are clearly becoming less
tractable in preparation for a final
and complete statement of the maxi
mum they will yield.
The indications are that the final
will come early next week, with an
uncertain outcome on capitulations,
control of the straits and the rights
of minorities.
Seemingly every one is talked out
and every foot of ground between
Mount Ararat and the Garden of
Eden has been traversed.
O.d Testament history has been
reviewed from Genesis to Malachi;
pcet.s, historians, soothsayers, who
trace their ancestry directly back to
Adam and Eve, have presented
claims; ecelesiatics, soldiers and
statesmen of many races, languages
and religions have been heard. The
hopper is filled to overflowing and
now the mill is starting to grind.
Kurds, Arabs, Assyro-Chaldeans,
Armenians, Greeks, Turks, Bulgar
ians and Russians are watching with
tense interest as the Allied leaders
meet daily in private conferences,
which are really deciding what the
map of Asia Minor shall be. Lord
Curzon, Marquis Di Garroni and M.
Barrere had a long discussion today
on capitulations, which, after Mosul
oil, is probably the most stubborn
question for settlement.
The three leaders made no an
nouncement as to what decision had
been reached. It was made clear
however, that foreign supervision
of foreigners tried in Turkish courts
must stand.
The Turks are insistent against
this and will not even consent to
have a probationary period fixed
so their courts may advance to west
ern standards. Meantime, Constanti
nople is becoming more unsettled and
Greece and Bulgaria are floundering
along under the burden of miserable
refugees, who dread a resumption of
hostilities between Greece and Tur
key.
The Allied delegates tonight were
plainly discouraged after several
hours discussion with the Turks on
economic capitulations. The Turks
made it clear that they wanted the
right to give preferential treatment
to their own manufacturers in the
matter of taxation and justified their
attitude by saying it was necessary
to protect Turkish industries. In
other words, foreigners would not
only lose their preferential econom
ic position which they are ready to
lose in the interest of equity, but
must meet Turkish competition,
which would be strengthened by ex
emption from certain taxes imposed
on foreigners.
A complete deadlock exists on the
customs tariff questions. The Turks
desire to postpone all action on this
subject for two years, during whic 1
time they would undertake to ne
gotiate separate commercial treaties
United States. The Allies are ready
to accept this but in return want
Turkey to accept a maximum tariff
scale, which would be arranged ' v
i negotiations at Lausanne, and op ;
ate both during and after the two
year period. The Turks have refus
ed this compromise suggestion. -
Associated Press.
EFFORT TO COMPLETE
WOODROW WILSON FUND
| -
| Mrs. Josephus Daniels, Chairman
of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation,
has been putting forth renewed ef
fort in the last few days to complete
the drive in North Carolina. She
called on each county for an addi
tional $35 which would put this state
, over the top.