VOLUME 42
SMITHFIELD, N. C., TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 1923
NUMBER 3
MOTHER AND BABY |
PERISH IN FLAMES
Nurse Is Also Burned; Fath-,
er Jumps from Window
With Child in Arms
_
A fire which took a toll of three j
human lives ocourred in Raleigh ear- i
ly Saturday morning, Mrs. Simpkins, |
her little son,, and a colored nurse
perishing in the flames. Sunday’s
News and Observer carried the fol- |
lowing account:
“Somebody kill me!” begged Isaac ;
W. Simpkins, in front of his blazing :
garage, 128 East Morgan street, early j
Saturday morning when, in an agony
of helplessness, he saw a curtain of
snapping, roaring red flame cut off
his wife, his four-year-old son, and
their negro nurse, from the only
avenue of escape out of their apart
ment on the second floor.
A moment before, he himself,
clutching his two-year-old daughter,
had jumped from the window to
safety, expecting, he explained to
relatives, to break the fall of his
wife and son, who were to follow:
With his feet badly burned in the
effort to get back into ihe building
to rescue his family and the nurse,
and distracted with the horror of
the thing, he was led off by friends
to Rex Hospital where last night,
he was suffering from a complete
nervous collapse. The body of. Mrs.
Simpkins, charred arms encircling
four-year-old Isaac W. Simpkins, Jr.,
was found at 7 o’clock, little more
than two hours after the first alarm,
in the ruins beneath her bed room.
Near her was the body of Carolina
Hill, the negro nurse. Around them
were charred timbers and the twisted
shapes of sixty-five automob les,
which, with the building, were
totally destroyed with a loss estimat
ed at $100,000.
The final desperate effort to break
through the burning.-J*&rrj.er ^4:
made by Fireman J. C. Beck, of Sta^
tion No. 3, when he flung a ladder
to the second story windows out of
which Simpkins had jumped and
prepared to spring through the open
ing as the furnace belched out a
blast of flame in a back lash of a
gas tank explosion that knocked him
from the ladder to the paving below,
breaking his arm in two places.
Dinty Moore,- of Richmond, Va\,
an automobile man piloting two
trucks from Richmond to Columbia,
and W. G. Brewer, whose .room,
near the Simpkins apartment, Moore
was occupying for the night, escaped
from the burning building by smash
ing a window at the rear and slid
ing down the almost red hot roof of
a shed. Moore received burns and
gashes about the arms and hands.
Brewer was uninjured.
The only other injury was to A. O.
Goodman, a fireman, whose arm was
cut by falling glass.
Isaac Simpkins jumped from the
second story window with his little
daughter .leaving his wife who was
shortly to b< fome a mother for the
third time and his son to follow.
Catching on his feet without injury
in some -miraculous fashion, he call
ed to Mrs. Simpkins to throw their
son to him. For a second, his wife
hesitated, then disappeared. A few
minutes later Fireman Beck was
knocked from the ladder and Simp
kins’ feet were burned to blisters on
the roof of a little shed in the rear
ot the building on which he strug
gled vainly to gain an entrance.
To members of the family who,
alone, were allowed to see him in
Rex Hospital yesterday afternoqn,
Simpkins confirmed this story with
the additional theory that his wife
suddenly realizing that the aged
negress, Carolina Hill, who had been
a faithful servant of her family for
years, had not been aroused, returned
to wake her. She was trapped in
the effort. The location of the
bodies indicate that they were to
gether when the end came.
Almost simultaneously, it appear
ed, the fire was discovered far be
yond control by E. R. Rowe, an auto
mobile mechanic, who has an apart
ment over the Southern Express of
fice at the corner of Morgan and Wil
mington streets; by A. M. Tyner, an
other mechanic who lives in the resi
dence three doors east of the burned
garage, and L. H. Lee, mechanic for
the Simpkins garage.
Lee, who holds down the night
shift at the garage, and whose cus
tom it is to snatch as much sleep as
possible between calls after mid
night, stated yesterday that he was
WILL FORCE ROAD TO
BUILD NEW DEPOT ,
-- I
Mandamus Action Will Be Started
To Spur Up Southern On
Selma Station.
i
I
I
The State Corporation Commission, j
through the Attorney General, is j
preparing to start action by man- j
damus against the Southern Railway j
and the Atlantic Coast Line to force j
compliance with the Commission’s or- |
der, originally issued September 10, j
1914, for the erection of a new union j
depot at Selma, the juncture point j
of the two roads. The Atlantic Coast
Line, it is understood, asserts its
readiness to comply with the Com
mission’s order and to begin the con
struction, it is stated, has ignored
the Commission’s order.
Agitation of the depot question
for Selma dates pack ten years or
more. In 1914, the Commission, af
ter a hearing, ordered the Atlantic
Coast Line and the Southern to begin
on the construction of an adequate i
union depot to replace the shed which
now accommodates the passenger ser
vice at that point. By reason of war
conditions and the financial stringency
of the railroads, the order was con
tinued from time to time until March
of 1922, when the Commission renew
ed its original order. The Atlantic
Coast Line at that time, it is stat
ed, announced its willingness to com
ply with the order.
Papers in the case are now being
prepared by Assistant Attorney Gen
eral Frank Nash and the matter will
go before a Superior court judge
within the next few days.
DECLARES DEPOSITION WILL
BE PAID IN FULL
T. E. Cooper president of the Com
I merrial National Bank, of Wilming
| ton, which closed its doors Saturday
; upon order of a federal bank examin
j er, yesterday telegraphed the State
• Corporation "Commission that-'the
| bank would reopen in a few days and
i that all depositors would be paid in
j full.—News and Observer.
i -i
! Human tuberculosis will follow bo
| vine tuberculosis. The State veteri
: nary division will test your herd,
j Write Paul Vaughn inspector, at Ra
: leigh for information.
asleep in an automobile and was only
awakened when the top of the car
was in flames.
“I rushed out, yelling for Mr.
Simpkins,” he said, “then I ran
around to the Fire Station No. 3 to
call out the department.”
In the meanwhile Tyner had been
aroused and had turned in an alarm
from a near-by box, and Rowe, half
a block away had been awakened by
crashing glass. Calling to occupants
of an adjoining room to telephone
; the alarm he had dashed down to
I the fire.
! Isaac Simpkins was standing on
| the sidewalk, with his little girl by
his side, calling to his wfe to jump
I when Rowe reached the garage. It
j was Rowe who took charge of the
j bttle girl who was later turned over
I to Mrs. Rowe for care,
j Impetus was given the easy burn
ing timbers of the garage building
by the accumulation of oils and gaso
line stored there in barrels and in
| automobiles. According to a state
| nient Simpkins is said to have made
j to relatives, there was a crashing ex
! plosion just before he jumped. Sim
! ilar explosions followed at intervals,
; and fireman state that a bursting gas i
' tank on a truck created the back lash j
: that threw Beck from the ladder in 1
| the act of rescue.
, i he isimpkins Building was owned
oy the J. 0. Rand estate and was
valued at $20,000 partially covered
j by insurance. By far the greatest
( loss came to owners of the sixty-five
j machines which were stored in the
I garage. They ranged from high
j priced Packards to the modest Ford j
i 2nd many yesterday agreed that an ■
| average of $1,000 per car would j
| cover the loss.
Definite determination of the or
| igin of the fire last night had not
been reached. Chief Horton of the!
i Fire Department, stated that his in- j
j vestigation had brough to him the
conclusion that the fire started on
the second story. It dropped fiJm
i the upper story, he believed to the
| storage room. This is largely borne
I out by the statement of the night
mechanic, Lee, who declared that the
top of the auomobile in which he
was sleeping was ablaze before he
was aroused.
MEETING SCHOOL
PRINCIPALS HERE
Also Seventh Grade Teach
ers are Called to Meet
Saturday, Jan. 13th.
County Soperintendent Marow has
called a meeting of the principals of
all white schools in the county to be
held here next Saturday, January 13,
at ten o’clock. The meeting which
will be held in the court house, is j
for the purpose of planning for fhe
taking of the school census.
At the first teachers meeting ox !
the school year the county superin- :
tendent announced that the teach- ;
ers would be requred to take the i
census this year, and he now has the
cards and ticklers with instructions
ready to give out to the teachers.
All seventh grade teachers are al- ;
so requested to meet Saturday to re
ceive instructions about the exami
nation to be given seventh grade
pupils in the spring. These teach
ers will meet at the same time and
place as the school principals.
A letter to the seventh grade
teachers and principals states that
the roll will be called promptly at
ten o’clock, and unless present, or
a doctor’s certificate is sent stating ;
that they are unable to attend, five
dollai-s will be deduced from the ;
next month’s salary. This meeting j
takes the place of one of the usual
group meetings and will give part
credit toward professional work this
year.
FOUR MILLION FOR THE
UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL
RALEIGH, Jan. 4.—President-: !
Chase, of the university, and Few of -
Trinity are holding' up big news, vag- !
rant rumors say tonight, because j
those academicians are in the north i
and the folks here at home have doc- .
umentary evidence that the univers- i
ity e«n gets its $4,000,000 for a med- i
ical school from the Rockefeller foun- j
dation without the Trinity-Univers- ]
ity merger.,
The two presidents are’nt purpose- j
ly holding up news. The folks here |
are holding their peace until the i
twain returns. What the Associated '
Press partly carried and state papers !
hinted at broadly this morning, was '
two messages, one said to be written
to Governor Morrison and the other
to Representative Pharr of Mecklen
burg, confirming the story that the
state can have its $4,000,000 with
out pooling at all. Mr. Pharr’s fight
for Charlotte has quite divorced him j
from the governor’s proposal. The J
Mecklenberg’s legislator doesn’t j
think Chapel Hill is the place at all '
for a medical college nor would he '
tie to Durham. Clinical facilities, he .
said, would be put above most things j
in a medical college and he finds !
them not this side the former metrop- '
olis. Albeit this is no authorization i
of his. In short, the state can pret- j
ty nearly get a medical college with- i
out denominational partnership and j
the ’ight for location is on again.
FIVE PERSONS KILLED
IN FLORIDA RACE RIOT
OTTER CREEK, Fla., Jan 5—Two \
white men, two negro women and one
negro ma nare known to be dead,
while it is believed there are many
other casualties as a result of the j
race trouble last night and early j
today at Rosewood, 12 miles from
here. With the exception of three |
buildings, the entire village was burn
ed by a mob shortly after daybreak,
according to available report here.
—Associated Press.
Preparing for Battle.
This was at a solemn conference
preceding a church wedding. There
were present the groom, the best mai. •
the ushers and the guest list.
“You understand,” said the best
man “you meet ’em when they come
in and ask ’em if they are friends
of the bride or the groom.”
“And then what?” asked the head
usher.
“Why, you seat the friends of the
bride on one side of the church and
the friends of the groom on the'
otner. It’s the custom.”
“I can’t see the use of that,” said
the head usher. “They’ll take sides '
soon enough.”—Ex.
If you don’t like some neighbor, 1
give his little boy a drum.—Washing
ton Daily News.
FRANCE S RHINE
ARMY GATHERING
_, i
Is Ready for Action When ‘
Premier Poincare Orders
To Seize Rhineland
PARIS, Jan. 7.—France’s Rhine I
army is gathering, be ready to
march when Premier Poincare, gives
the word for the carrying out of his 1
still secret plan for seizing the Ruhr '
and the Rhineland. Trains were
crowded tonight with officers and
men, hurriedly recalled from leave,re
turning to their posts, and M. Poin
care conferred this afternoon with
M. Le Trocquer, minister of public
works, on final Arrangements for
the transportation of the civil and
military forces. ,
The French troops on the Rhine
have been ordered by General De
goutte to remain in their quarters
where there appears to be any dan
ger of clashes with the Germans, and
every precaution will be taken to
avoid demonstrations.
There are several times the num
ber ot French forces in the Rhine
land as are likely to be required for
the Ruhr operations, but all the
troops will be held in readiness for
instant service, although there is
nothing yet to justify the assumption
of immediate action.
The details of the French plan
■emain a mystery, but M. Poincare
has repeatedly described the pro
posed entrance into the Ruhr as chief
ly the work of engineers and customs
collectors. This is the nucleus, but
the military support required neces
sarily depends on the French esti
mate of what resistance the Germans
may offer. It is known also that the
premier’s original idea was modified
to make it attractive to the Brit
ish, but now that France is going in
alone she is under no restraint.
The government considers it de
spral.lc to have the. reparations com|
mission declare Gerrorjfc^-hl—vtihlTl*
tary default on coal before acting,
but this is expected late tomorrow
or Tuesday. The French cabinet will
meet again Tuesday and the premier
will outline the declaration he will
make before parliament probably
on Thursday.
Various considerations may cause
Premier Poincare to delay the Ruhr
operations until Germany’s failure
to pay the 500,000 000 gold marks on
January 15 further strengthens his
hand, but importance is attached to
the commission’s action on the coal
question, which is taken to mean
that he would consider recognition
of a default in that respect as ade
quate.-Associated Press.
FRST STRAWBERRIES
IN ALABAMA SHIPPED
CASTLEBERRY, Ala., Jan. 5.—
The 1923 strawberry season opened
here today when the first crate of the
early variety was hipped to Mon
gomery. The crop, wit'
ther prevailing, is in splendid condi
tion, according to growers and many
shipments are planned for next
week. The majority of berries are
ready to pack. The first shipment
however, was the earliest in any sea
son in the history of this section.
The Typewriter on the Farm.
Most business houses keep carbon
copies of all letters. This is a great
advantage to the farmer owning a
typewriter, as it is highly important
that he keep a verbatim copy of price
quotations and agreements of var
ious kinds. Without the machine,
the copies must be tediously writ
ten out or the farmer trust to his
memory. In the latter case, if a dis
pute arises, the other party, who may
be either dishonest or mistaken, con
cerning the terms of the transaction,
has the great advantage because he
has the only record. Even if a dup
licate letter is written out in long
hand, there is always a question as
to whether the two letters were real
ly identical. With a typewriter, the
farmer is protected as the other
party knows the farmer will have a
carbon copy which is an exact dupli
cate of the original.
Willie’s lead.
Mother—“Now, Willie, if you put
this wedding cake under your pillow
what you dream will come true.”
Willie—“Why can’t I eat the cake
and put the pillow over my stom
ach?”
TAR HEEL RAIL
EXECUTIVE IS DEAD
J. I'. Beckwith, Native of Plymouth,
Victim of Double Pneumonia
In Florida.
MIAMI, Fla., Jan. 4.—J. P. Beck- !
with vice presdeint in charge of op- j
eration of the Forida East Coast Rail- I
way, died at the home of his son here j
early today of double pneumonia af- i
ter a short illness.
Mr. Beckwith was seized with an
attack of grippe while on his Way j
from New York to his home is Jack- j
sonville, but had recovered suffici- !
ently to begin a tour of inspection 1
of the Flagler system. He became j
ill aboard his private car Sunday |
and was brought to his son’s home j
here.
Born in Plymouth, N. C., June 24,
1858, Mr. Beckwith was educated in i
the common schools of his State and
began his railroad career with the
North Carolina Railroad in 1880 as
a clerk. Two years later he went
o Cincinnati in a similar capacity
with the Cincinnati Southern, now a
part of the Southern Railway sys
tern.
In 1887 he came to Florida as gen
eral agent of the Central of Georgia
Railroad and in 1892 became general
freight agent for the Jacksonville,
Tampa and Key West Railroad. He
was made general freight and pas
senger agent for the Ocean Steam
ship Co., two years later and left that
line in 189ti to accept an appointment
as passenger traffic manager for the
Florida East Coast Railway.
The body of Mr. Beckwith will
leave here tonight for Jacksonville,
accompanied by his widow, a daugh
ter. Mrs. W. G. Lockwood, and
Thomas L. Beckwith, his son. Fun
eral services will be held at the late
residence of Mr. Beckwith in Jack
sonville Saturday afternoon.
(Mr. Beckwith lived in Smithiield
and is will remem
ogH
learn with sorrow of his^ passrflP1
We are publishing this later account
of his death in order to correct some
statements made in the account
which we published last Friday.—
Editor.)
ASKS PRESIDENT TO LIFT
CALCIUM ARSENATE TARIFF
NEW YORK, Jan 5—Dr. Miller
! Rees Hutchinson, director of the Am
erican Cotton Association’s campaign
for boll weevil control, today sent
a telegram to President Harding
urging the lifting of the 25 per cent
duty on calcium arsenate, the anti
boll weevil poison, as a means of
augmenting the sTnall domestic sun
ply of the chemical.
Dr. Hutchnson declared the domes
tic supply was only 35,000,000 tons
while 205,000,000 tons was said by
cotton growers to be needed to fight
the ravages of parasites. A large
foreign supply, he said, was avail
able at prices the growers could af
ford to pay, if the poison could be
ir” or ted duty Lee.—News and Ob
ser «er.
Named.
The Chinaman could speak but lit
tle English, and the Englishman could
speak no Chinese; nevertheless, the
dinner went off agreeably.
There was one dish that pleased
the Englishman. It was a rich stew
of onions, pork, mushrooms, and a
dark, tender, well-flavored meat that
; tasted like duck.
| The Englishman ate heartily of
j this stew. Then he closed his eyes
lifted his hands and shook his head
with an air of ecstacy.
After this compliment to the dish,
he said interrogatively: “Quack,
quack ?”
“No, no,” said the Chinaman. "Bow
bow.”—The Christian Evangelist (St.
Louis.)
A Timely Resolution.
_
i “Ralph,” said his father, “what
; good resolutions are you going to
| make for the new year?”
“I’m not going to fight with Frank
Ross any mere,” replied Ralph.
“I’m glad to hear that, my boy,”
I said his father, “but why did you
| make that resolution?”
“ ’Cause,” was the answer, “I al
ways get licked.”
Make the home town paper a New
j Year’s present to that absent loved
one. Write him about it. There is
nothing, he will appreciate more.
LEGISLATURE GETS
DOWN TO BUSINESS
Two Anti Ku Klux Measures
—Would Reduce Exemp
tion; Free Text Books
The General Assembly has hardly
had time to get down to business yet,
but despite the short sessions, sev
eral bills of importance have been in
troduced in both branches of the leg
islature.
Thursday’s program for the Housi
iscluded bills to abolish death penal
ty, to exempt ex-service men from
poll tax, and to amend the prohibi
tion laws of the state providing
among other things conviction for
felony on the refusal of a drunk to
tell where he got his liquor. The
prohibitnon bill also provides that
the first conviction for making or
selling liquor shall be classed as a
misdemeanor, punished by a fine of
$100 to $1,000, or imprisonment for
not less than six month or more
than one year. Second offenses car
ry no fine, but imprionment for not
less than one, nor more than three
years, in State Prison. Subsequent
convictions carry a penalty of not
U\ s than three nor more than 15
years penal servitude.
Among other statewide measures
; introduced in the House Thursday
| was one requiring every motor ve
hicle to come to a full stop before
crossing a railroad.
Outstanding bills introduced in the
i House on Friday included, one pro
viding for free text books, one call
i nj> for the publication of names of
| members (aimed at Ku Klux) of
; secret orders and one to reduce the
I personal property exemption from
$.100 to $100. The free text books
measure provides that the State sup
erintendent of Public Instruction
shall find out in April of each year
how many books of each kind will
be required for the pubic schools
chase them out of the general fuijeJ^H|
and send to the county superinten- ^
dents for distribution.
An exemption bill similar to the
one just introduced suffered defeat
in the last legislature and another
fight is anticipated this time.
Second day measures in the Sen
ate incude three of general interest.
One would require all vehicles to
display lights at night when on state
roads. This bill is aimed specifically
at horse drawn vehicles and provides
that a light shall be dispayed on the
left side visible from both front and
rear.
Other measures of Thursday would
allow the corporation commission to
appoint freight inspectors, and
would abolish superior court clerks
fees for jurors and witness tickets
in all counties where the clerk is on
a salary. Friday's session of the
Senate was characterizel by Senator
Baggett’s Ku Klux Klan bill. This
measure if passed will make it a
felony for any individual to appear J
i off his own premises masked or
! disguised in such manner as to de
1 stroy his identity.
The sessions in both branches of
the General Assembly have so far
been brief, the usual week end exodus
breaking into Saturday’s program.
COTTON YIELD OF
WORLD INCREASES
WASHINGTON, Jan 5.—Total
production of cotton for the 1922-23
season in countries that produce ov
er ninety per cent of the world’s
crop in the period 1909-13 is estimat
ed 15,250,000 bales of 478 pounds net,
according t othe Department of Ag
riculture. This is an increase of
2,559,000 bales or 20 per cent over
the production for the same countries
last year and a decrease of 3,991,000
bales, or 21 per cent from the average
production for the five years 1909-13.
The countries covered are the United
States, Mexico, India, Egypt, Asiatic
Russia and Kora.
MANY CASES OF INFLUENZA
REPORTED IN LEE COONTY
j SANFORD, Jan. 4.—Influenza has
been very prevalent in practically
all sections of Lee county the past
few days, but in generally a mild
form. Some severe cases were re‘
i ported by attending physicians. The
; condition of the roads has made it
' difficult for the physicians to visit
the patients and has kept the doc
ors out all hours of the day and
night.