VOLUME 42
SMITHFIELD, N. C., TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1923
%
NUMBER 15
MORRISON MAKES
A FINE ADDRESS
Pleads for Farmers to Raise
More Hogs, Cows, Chick
ens and Vegetables
In keeping With the purpose of
the Farmers Congress held in this
city Thursday, Friday and Saturday
of last week, Governor Cameron
Morrison addressed a crowded court
house Friday stressing a live-at
home campaign. The governor has
preached this doctrine all over North
Carolina but this was the first time
the citizens of Smith field have had
the opportunity to hear him upon j
this subject.
Mr. J. A. Wellons introduced the j
governor who launched forth imme- j
diately upon (as the governor said) j
his pet theme—the greatness of j
North Carolina. “The Old North j
State is in many respects,” said the |
governor, the greatest state in the i
Union. North Carolina is a great
agricultural state. She is the empire
state of the South with the excep
tion of Texas, which is an empire
in itself. Only four states in the
entire union surpass her in the val
ue of crop values. 'In the value of
tobacco produced annually and in
cotton produced per acre North Car
olina ranks first in the nation.
Governor Morrison also recalled
the fact that Johnston county ranks
high as an agricultural county.
Among the 50 greatest agricultural j
counties in the United States, four j
are located in this state one of them j
being Johnston county, which hea ls j
the list measured by population. |
After dwelling upon the farming
wealth of the State, the Governor
spoke of the stride which has been
made in manufacturing. North Car
olina has 153 more cotton mills than
Massachusetts. She is the undis- t
puted leader in the south in the field |
-‘TrfirrTffrrrtfprffirrr- frr tfur mmti*rirhnrr '
of furniture, she holds second place |
in the United States, and leads the j
world in tobaceo manufactured.
But with all this illustrious rec- |
ord, these wonderful achievements, |
Gov. Morrison made the asseretion |
that the farmer is not prosperous. I
Some, he said attribute this fact Lo j
bad laws; some to one thing, and I
same to another. But according to i
the governor, the trouble lies in the
type and chai'acter 'of agricultural
practiced. Instead of agriculturists,
the farmers have become cotton and \
tobacco growers. After making I
millions of dollars,” said Mr. Mor- !
rigon, we give it to Iowa and Ne- '
braska for musty meal and fat back.” ,
He declared that when farmers make 1
.crops on borrowed money and dis- ]
aster comes and they are not able j
to stand up under it, the system is ,
wrong. And he implored North I
Carolina and Johnston county to ;
mend their ways. He said that many \
of the farmers have forgotten that j
the primary business of farmers is j
to raise necessary food stuffs. He 1
told the folks that $40,000,000 word) j
of meat is imported into North ;
Iarolina, whereas this state is the !
finest place anywhere to grow a j
hog.
When the governor reached this
stage of his speech he began to pic
ture how North Carolina might
change conditions by raising hogs
having more milk cows, chickens,
turkeys, vegetables, fruits, nuts,
berries, and other good things to
eat thereby making it possible to j
keep the cotton and tobacco money
at home. The governor showed how !
expensive it was to send away from
North Carolina to get produce. He
spoke of the high freight rates and
in this connection put in a lick for '
his plan to develop the waterways ^f
this state. With 35 counties pene- !
trated by navigable rivers, he sees j
no reason why this situation cannot '
be remedied. He cited the boat lines '
now in operatio which he said are
paying well.
“I do not know how it will be i
worked out,” declared the governor, j
“but some way, some how, some
time the waterways will be develop- [
ed.”
The closing thought of Governor
Morrison’s address was that God :s j
leading us on to higher, better and .
nobler things, and it is the duty of
the people with such wonderful
resources at their command to go j
forward. It becomes a duty to take |
care of all those unable to take !
care of themselves—the insane, the
defective, the sick, the helpless.
And a fundamental duty said Gov
JOHNSTON COUNTY BAR
ASSOCIATION MEETS
Governor Morrison and Secretary of
State VV. N. Everett Guests
At A Luncheon »
Immediately following the ad
dress of Governor Morrisoon here
Friday, the Johnston county Bar As
sociafVon met in the Woman’s Club
room where they were served a de
lightful three course luncheon. Mr.
Robert A. Wellons, president of the
Bar Association, was master of
ceremonies, and during the course
of the luncheon a number of short
speeches were made.
Among the first to '-speak was
Judge A. M. Noble, who made a rrtb-.
tion which was carried that Gover
nor Morrison be made an honorary
member of the Johnston County Bar
Association. The governor respond
ed briefly after which Mr. F. H.
Brooks moved that Rev. D. H. Tut
tle, also a guest of the association,
be made a nhonorary member. The
motion was carried and Mr. Tuttle
thanked the association for the hon
or thus conferred upon him.
During the course of the luncheon,
Mr. H. B. Marrow. County Superin
tendent of Schools, was called upon
who spoke of the progress made in
this county along educational lines.
He recalled the fact that this county
has furnished wo Rhodes scholars,
He pointed out signs of material
prosperity as shown in the building
of good, substantial school houses,
and gave some comparisons as to the
number of boys and girls graduating
from high school. This year eight
times as many high school graduates
will be turned out as finished three
years ago.
Mr. John Morris, secretary of the
chamber of commerce, was calltd up
on to name the greatest resource of
Johnston county, and after naming
several things which might be„con
sidertd greatest, declared that thf i
people'*o? .Tdfiston wdre' het greatest
asset.
Mr. G. A. Martin, secretary of the •
local bar association, was the next
on the program, whose witty re
marks provoked laughter a number j
of times. He made the statement I
that the oiggest percentage of law- I
yers lived in Smithfield than in any |
town in the State, but that they were |
all making a living and apparently |
getting on in the world.
Mr. S, S Holt followed Mr. Martin j
with a few remarks after which the I
delightful occasion came to a close, j
The guests then repaired to the court
house steps where a pictore was tak
en and soon afer the distinguished
guests-of-honor were on their way
back to the Capital City.
FAIR RALEIGH BALL
TOSSERS HERE TONIGHT
The local girls quintet will meet
the. Raleigh team here tonight in
probably the best game of its kind
of the season. The Raleigh team
has been swamping the girls teams
of the State and will be even more
anxious to add Smithfield’s scalp
to its belt.( The Smithleld girl«
have played two games and come ;
out at the big end of both. The
first was with Kinstton resulting in |
a 43-9 score and later defeating
Goldsboro 29-10. |
1
NORTHERN FLORIDA
IN GRIP OF COLD WAVE |
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Feb. 18 — ,
Northern Florida today experienced
the coldest weather hnd the first ice .
of the season. The lowest tempera- !
ture recorded by the local weather
bureau was 34 deg. at 7:30 a. m„ but
thin ice in the extreme, low places
evidenced the fact the mercury drop
ped below that.
While today’s cold snap was con
fined largely to the northern portion,
the weather bureau forecast frost
over the entire peninsula tomorrow, i
with threatened damage to growing
vegetables, which are about 30 days *
ahead of the season. Fruit will not
be endangered, however.
' 1 1 —~
ernor Morrison is to educate the J
youth of the State.
When the speaker sat down, at
the suggestion of the chairman, Mr.
Wellons, a rising vote of thanks
was extended the governor.
Then Mr. W. N. Everett, recently
appointed secretary of state to fill
the vacancy caused by the death of;
Col. J. Bryan Grimes, made a brief (
talk, after which the crowd adjourn
ed.
FEBRUARY TERM
OF CIVIL COURT
Judge J. Lloyd Horton Is
Presiding; Most Cases pn
Calendar Called
The two weeks’ term of Civil
Court began here y .vd.crday with
I Judge J, Lloyd Horton, of Green
ville, presiding. Judge Horton who
is the youngest judge- on the North
Carolina Superior court bench is
handling the calendar in a manner
that bids fair to clean up the dock
et. The major part of yesterday
was spent in going Over the calendar
and very few cases were allowed to
be continued.
The following are serving on the
jury this week:
S. T. Langdon, Benson.
E. V. Deans, Selma
H. W. Higgins, Smithficld
Seth Lee, Benson RED 2
W. G. Rowe*, Princeton^RED 3
victor uarDour, t layton Ki'L) l
J. H. Price, Wilson’s Mills
A. F. Bowen, Kenly RFD 2
W. S. Creech, Princeton
J. W. Barbour, Four Oaks
A. D. Austin, Willow Springs
P. H. Joyner, Princeton
Walton Johnson, Benson
T. H. Daughtry, Pine Level RFD 1
R. V. Crocker, Pine Level
J. C. Gordon, Smithfield.
More About Cigarette Smoking
When a study was recently made
of the fourth month grades of the
cigarette smokers and non-smokers
in the eighth grade in the Smith
field High School it was found that
the smokers averaged 72.7 and he
non-smokers 80.7. Averages of the
examination grades of the same
students for the first term exami
nations have been fojyid by Superip;
tendent Franks to see if there were 1
similar results. The' average of the j
examination grades of the smokers
was 68. The average grades of the j
non-smokers was 77. The girls av- ;
eraged 80.
These facts about grades of cigar- J
ette smokers have been worked out j
not for the purpose of showing up ,
anybody, but simply for the pur- ;
pose of letting the boys who are j
smoking, as well as those who might |
take up the habit later, know just '
what effects of cigarette smoking
are. The boys have cooperated with :
Mr. Franks in the matter. He went I
to the boys to find out definitely
who smoked and whodidn’t promising
the boys not to tell their parents ,
or anybody else they were smoking
or to use the information against t
the smokers in any way.
ROBBERS ROLL AWAY
25 BARRELS OF LIQUOR
BALTIMORE, Md., Feb. 16
While three armed watchmen v; re. 1
supposedly on guard, robbers saved
ihoir way into the warehouse of the
Federal distillery, Colgate station, ,
near Camp Holabird, last night, and ,
rolled 25 barrels of whiskey out of the
front door.
Apparently the thieves got away j
with only 14 barrels as 11 were 1
fojind by prohibition agents hidden
under a tarpaulin not 50 yards from
the warehouse. The failure of the
watchmen to prevent the robbery is be
:ng investigated by federal agents.
PLAN ERECTION OF
HOSPITAL AT DUNN
DUNN, Feb. 18.—The mayor and
commissioners of Dunn will be asked
at their next regular meeting to call
an election to allow the citizens of
the town to vote on a $20,000 bond
issue for the erection of a 40-room
hospital there. It is planned to
raise $20,000 by popular subscrip
tions from the citizens of the town
to supplement the bond issue of
$20,000 to be voted.
A Better Pasture
A tramp, entering the gate of a 1
rich lady’s villa, knelt down on the j
lawn, and began eating grass. The
old lady noticing his pathetic per- ;
formance, came out and said: “My '
gdod man, are you so hungry that
you eat grass ” ,
“Yes Ma’am, I am,” said the tramp.
“Oh, dear,” said the lady. “Come
around to the kitchen door, the grass
is longer there.”
WORK AHEAD OF
GEN’L ASSEMBLY
A Mass of Bills to Be Dispos
' ed of DuringKthe Remain
ing Two Weeks
The legislature for the past few
days has been somewhat at a stand
still so far a enaeting bills into law,
j hut the remaining days will doubt
less be filled to the brim. The Ral
| (dgh correspondent writing to the
I Charlotte Observer Saturday summa
| rizes the situation in the following
| words:
More will be done during the next
! two weeks than has been started
j during the 46 days that have already
gone. Much of that which was
started during those days will be
carried through* during the fort
night. The highway bill, with the
$15,000,000 bond issue, and the
Morrison substitute ship bill are
about the only pieces of important
legislation that have passed both
sides. Coming yet are the appro
priations bill, wilh an expected $7.
re
of
of
500 GOO .appropriation for continu
ing the huildng fund at the educa
tional and charitable institute :n;
the revenue bill, to provide for tin
financin go fhe state during the
next two years; the debt limitation
bill, the sinking fund bill, a mass
of legislation proposed by responsi
ble organizations and expected to be
acted upon favorably; and numer
ous measures carrying out recom
lhendations of the administration
and various government depart
ments, including the proposal of
Auditor Baxter Durham for the
organization and simplification
the administration departments
the state government.
Then there is the Giles bill to in
crease the number of farm-owners
in North Carolina, the Volstead act,
the anti-klan bill, the new judicial
districts bill, bills placing solicited
on a salary, and numerous other
bills, some of which have gotten
through the house and others of
which are now before committees
or waiting their chances on the cal
endar.
This finance and appropriations
committees of the house are work
ing overtime now drafting the reve
nue and appropriations bills. These
must start in the house. Both are
expectel to put in their appear
ance next week. The appropria
tions bill will stick to the sum
recommended by Governor Morri
son for the educational an4 charita
ble institutions, it is confidently
believed, and the appropriations for
maintenance will follow closely the
recommendations of the budget
commission. A half million for
the development of fish and oyster
possibilities in eastern waters, Gov- ^
ernor’s Morrison’s proposal, is !
thought certain to be included.
The bills submitting to the peo
ple constitutional amendment lim
iting the bonder indebtedness of!
the state to five per cent of the as- i
sessed valuation of property and :
for the protection of the sinking
fund to be created before the ses- j
sion adjourns, will get into the j
house early next- week, the senate j
having voted its favor of them both.
The Giles farm loan bill is now
im the senate and will be hard
fought by !ts proponents. It has
strong supporters and if it loses it
will be after ore of the toughest
fights the general assembly has wit
nessed.
The house acted on the Volstead
act and the anti-klan bill and the
senate will get a turn at them next
week. These two measures have
received the most attention from
the house of any legislation propos
ed thus far. The road bill, thanks
to the settled state of affairs early !
in the session went through with 1
little discussion and little opposi- j
tion. The booze bill and the -anti- !
klan bill brought up subjects calling
for a lot of talk and a multitude of
amendments, and it took time to !
get them out of the way.
Three Year Old Child Burned
The three-year old child, Lois, of I
Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Jones, of this
city was severely burned several
days ago, her clothing catching from
an open grate. Had it not been for'
her little 9-year old brother who
was in the room with her, she would
probably have been fatally burne 1.
He quickly caught up a bed quilt and
smothered the flames.
SMITH FIELD AMONG FOUR
CHAMP CONTENDERS
Raleigh, Durham, Wilmington and
Smithfield Quints Look As
Class of Eastern N. C.
(By Donnell Wharton)
Four strong basketball squads-- ]
Raleigh, Durham, Wilmington and |
Smithfield—look today as the most j
formidable contenders for Eastern j
North Carolina High School Champ- ■
ionship series which began Thursday j
night when Smithfield eliminated j
Pikeville and was continued through j
Pikeville and was continued through |
forced from the arena. Perhaps j
other teams may prove to be “dark |
horses” in the race, but those that j
\Vould look to be most likely to j
come in that class are Sanford, New ;
Bern, Fremont and possibly Bel
haven. The latter team fought its j
way in the elimination series ’ast j
year up to the final contest for East- j
ocji Championship when Durham
forced her out.
Durham has not been defeated this
ye j by any high school the o ly
Hot being a forfeited game at Ral
eigh. With about the fastest team
n the race they look good.
Raleigh went through a long series
of victories until on their breeze
through Eastern ^ Carolina both
Smithfield and New Bern took their
measure, though Raleigh has de
feated both of the teams on th“
Auditorium court. Lucnma forfeited
game with Raleigh in first go
round of series.
Wilmington has not been defeated
except by Sanford team at Sanford,
piling up a 60 to 5 s^ore against
Goldsboro last Saturday.
Smithfield has won 10 out of 2
games bowing only to Durham and
Raleigh and defeating the latter on
the local court. The Smithfield quint
will take on Fremont (most proba
bly 'Tit Goldsboro) on Thursday
night. Tlfe winner of this game will
• glay^ the winner of tfce, Lumberton
WilmingTon game.
Teams contesting in the Eastern
championship series left in the run
ning from the series of games last
week are: Group One—Belhavsrfi.
Washington, Rich Square. Greenville.
Group Two—Chapel Hill, Oxford
Henderson, Sanford, Parkton. Group
Three—Oriental, New Bern, Jackson
ville, Stoi* -wall. Group Four—
Durham, Ellerbe. Group Five—
Rocky Mount, Roanoke Rapids.
Group Six—Raleigh, Benson. Group
Seven—Smithfield, Fremont, Lu n- j
berton, Wilmington.
Average Price on Cotton 26 Cents !
Raleigh, Feb. 17—An average" price
of 26.25 cents was received for 37,493
bales of short staple cotton sold by the 1
North Carolina Cotton Growers’ Co
Operative Association, according to an '
announcement from the headquarters
here. j
This average represents prices on
short staple cotton actually sold and
delivered to date by the cotton co- J
operatives, it is stated, and does not
include any estimated quotations on
the hundred thousand bales yet to be
sold.
The cotton trade has been taking
the lower grades for the most part, it
is explained, and the cotton coopera
tives still have its best grades on
hand. The tendency to buy lower
grades is declared to be due to the
strong demand, and as the supply of
cotton in these classes become ex
hausted the demand will turn toward
the better grades, which command
higher prices.
Half Hiilion (Joes Up in Smoke
In 1921, the sum of $495,406,012, 1
or nearly a half billion dollars’ j
worth of property, went curling up I
in smoke. Diverted into construe- !
tive channels, this money, wantonly
flung away in a single year would !
have built no fewer than 2,477 com- 1
r.iodious 1 ospitals, at -in individual !
cost of $200,000. Every three and j
one-half hours, on the average, suf
ficient wealth is destroyed by fire
to erect one of these institu1' ons:
for the present burning rate in Am
erica averages $16 a second!
i
Hardings Plan Trip
WASHINGTON, /Feb. 16 —Presi- j
dent and Mrs. Harding expect to j
leave Washington for their vacation I
in Florida March 5 or 6, it was said i
at the White House today. A
more definite date cannot be an
nounced at present, it was added.
TWENTY-TWO ARE
BURNED TO DEATH
Six Thousand Inmates of N.
Y. Insane Asylum Terri
fied by Explosion
NEW YORK, Feb. 18.—A terrific
blast, set by dredgers in Hell Gate
last night, rocked the buildings of
the Manhattan State Hospital for
the insane on Ward’s Island in the
East River and set the 6,388 inmates
cowering and wailing with a sense of
impending doom.
Attendants calmed them and got
them to bed, but before morning
the doom fantasied by the disordered
brains had come true, for 22 of the
maddest. They had been burned to
death in n fierce fire that, swept the
west wing of the main building.*
Three heroic attendants died with
them; striving to the last to rescue
them.
Blast Causes Fire
Hospital authorities and City Med
ical Examiner Jjorris, who. rushed
to the scene, said that in all proba
bility, the blast had been the im
mediate cause of the fire. According
to their theory, it caused a break
in the insulation of electric wires
in the building. A short circuit,
they think, did the rest.
The fire was discovered at 5;05
o’clock by Michael Campbell, an at
tendant in ward 48, in which all the
fatalities occurred. His calm heroic
work, and that of Jafnes *Hill, at
tendant in charge, and Patrick Bil
ligan, of Hartford, Conn., George A.
De Enio amt George Freiss. the three
attendants, who Were burned to
death prevented a far greater loss
of life, r
Part of the attendant- brought
those and fought back the flames,
while the others, directed by Hill,
ran up and down the 200 feet, top
floor corridor, rousing the patients
with the eoof m'HWr ' —
“All up for breakfast.”
As fast, as the maniacs—declared
Supt. Marcus B. Heyman to have
been the most dangerous on the is
land—could be marshalled - from
their rooms, they were marched in
orderly procession to the fire proof.,
dining hall, far from the scene of
the fire. Seventy of the 02 inmates
in ward 43 had been lost or carried
to safety when a huge water tank in
the blazing attic crashed through
the ceiling completely blocking the
corridor tjjat led to safety, and fill
ing the hall with flames anil smoke.
City firemen, fighting their way past
the blazing barrier, brought out
several struggling, screaming in
mates, and several who had been
overcome by smoke whil< dressing
for the “breakfast.” Most of the dead
were found in the rooms and corri
dor beyond the .fallen tank. Several
were believed to have been buried
beneath the debris when the floor
gave way.
Seventeen bodies of inmates and
one believed to be that of an at
tendant, had been recovered to
night. In addition, a few charred
bones had been found, which were
believed to be all that was left of
some of those unaccounted for —
Associated Press.
Smithfield Must Hustle
Announcement that four units of
the North Carolina National Guard
are being organized and that when
they are completed this State’s al
lotment; with the exception of one
hospital company, will be replete,
was made here today by Adjutant
General J. Van B. Metts. The com
panies are being organized in
Smithfield, Greensboro, Whiteville
and Charlotte.
Smithfield is forming a headquar
ters detachment and combat train,
to be a part of the second hatalion
of the 117 Field Artillery. The com
pany will be equipped with 155 how
itzers, radio broadcasting and receiv
ing stations, ammunition supply
trucks and other materials. General
Metts stated the organizers had been
given until February 2fi to complete
the company. Washington is bid
ding for the same unit, ar:d if Smith
field fajled, it will be given an op
portunity.—Raleigh Times.
Legal Holiday
Thursday, February 22, being
Washington’s birthday and a legal
holiday, the banks will he closed on
that day.