JOHNSTON COUNTY
LOSES GOOD CITIZEN
Arch Vinson Passed Away
Tuesday Morning; Fun- '
eral Wednesday.
The town of Clayton suffered a dis
tinct loss Tuesday in the death of one
of its most prominent citizens, J. A.
Vinson. Mr. Vinson had been in fail
ing health for several months past,
and two weeks ago suffered an attack
of pneumonia, and this with complica
tions, was the cause of his death. He
passed away shortly before 4 o’clock
Tuesday morning at the home of his
brother, Mr. Tom Vinson.
The deceased was fifty-two years of
age and was the son of the late Aha
sura and Mary A. Vinson. He was
bom about four miles from Clayton,
October 27, 1871. For thirty years or
more he had lived in Clayton, from
which place he conducted an extensive
lumber and farming business. He
might be termed the “lumber king” of
Johnston County. He loved the woods
and had acquired vast timber and
farming possessions not only in John
ston county but in Wake, Sampson
and other nearby counties. In the
beginning his business was on a small
scale, but his square dealings and up
right methods soon drew him custo
mers and his business grew until at
the time of his death his estate was
rated at over a million dollars. He
was identified with a number of busi
ness enterprises of Clayton in addition
to his private business affairs. He
was president of the Farmers Bank,
and was local representative of the
Ford automobile.
Mr. Vinson was a member of Clay
ton Baptist church, and was one of
its substantial and faithful members.
He was a Mason and a member of
the Knights of Pythias. He was
never married and lived a simple, un
assuming life, but no man in the com
munity had more friends than he.
The funeral services were held in
the Clayton Baptist church Wednes
day afternoon and that spacious build
ing was filled with friends and rela
tives assembled to pay a last tribute
of respect to their departed friend
and kinsman. Beautiful floral de
signs banked the altar. Soft music
was rendered as the funeral proces
sion which included a large number
of Masons filed into the church. The
Masons of the Polenta Lodge of which
the deceased was a member had
charge of the service. After the choir
had rendered “Some day, sometime
we’ll understand,” Dr. J. T. Gibbs, of
the Methodist church read the scrip
ture lesson. Then Rev. Mr. Matthews
of Raleigh, who had held evangelistic
services in Clayton, paid a splendid
tribute to the deceased and Rev. A. O.
Moore, of the Baptist church, led in
prayer. “Under His Wings” was then
sung by the choir and the simple ser
vice was over.
The remains were taken to the old
family burying ground near Wilson’s
Mills where beneath the sheltering
pines which he loved so well his body
rests in peace. Near to nature’s
heart, on soil which has been in the
family of the deceased since George
III of England granted it to his great
great-greatgrandfather, his body
awaits the resurrection morn. A
large concourse of family connections
and friends were present at the burial.
The deceased is survived by one
brother, Mr. Tom Vinson, of Clayton;
three sisters, Mrs. Rosa Duncan, of
Clayton; Mrs. S. P. Cox, of Durham
and Mrs. H. B. Ipock, of Clinton.
CLAUDE KITCHEN IN
WILSON HOSPITAL
Wilson, May 1.—Representative j
Claude Kitchin, former minority lead- i
er i nthe lower House of Congress, is i
a patient at a local hospital taking
the “rest cure.” Mr. Kitchin entered j
the hospital yesterday and his cond:- :
tion is declared by his physicians t > j
be not serious.
Representative Kitchin re :eritly '
suffered an attack of influenza and !
his already run-down con M on was j
said to have been greatly weakened, i
He came to Wilson from Scotland j
Neck yesterday hv autorio'wi ,ace<]
tank'd by Airs. Kitchin and hi' two j
sons-in-laws. His physicians said,
t< day that the former raino ;'.o ] hli- .
r »>s* in I*. spirits - d,
I’ress.
DR. EDGAR KNIGHT
SPEAKS AT BENSON
Commencement Occasion Quite a
Success; Twelve in the
Graduating Class
The finals of the Benson High
School took place in the school adui
torium on Thursday, May 3rd. The
features of the day time part of the
commencement exercises were the
declamation and recitation contests,
the commencement oration, and the
awarding of certificates and prizes.
The graduating class, consisting of
twelve boys and girls, gave a play and
musical selections at night.
The commencement oration was de
livered by Dr. Edgar W. Knight, a
member of the faculty at the State
university. His speech was a half
hour long and made a strong appeal
to his hearers. The beginning of his
speech contrasted education in the
South as it was when Henry W.
Grady made his famous New South
speech in Boston and as it is today.
His pictures of the transition period
of our education from the days in
which the teachers “boarded out” to
this splendid day of grace and oppor
tunity were vivid enough to bring
forth both smiles and tears.
We have broken well away from the
sixty-day school year of twenty years
ago, he declared, and still have hard
ly started. He stated that the school
buildings now under construction in
North Carolina are worth more than
every school building we had at the
beginning of 1920. This shows to |
some extent what has been accom- J
plished in school building construc
tion within the past three years. We i
have 480,000 school children now in ;
the State, and only five per cent of j
them are in high school. This we j
have determined to remedy. “The |
State,” declared he in closing, “owes j
every child a good school house and ;
a good school teacher to go to. We
must not lose sight of the vital fact
that every thing we do is done for j
the children.”
Following Dr. Knight’s address I
was the announcement of the decision i
in the declamation and recitation con- j
tests, which awarded first prize to i
“Mother, Gird My Sword Around Me,” !
Bruce Creech on his declamation,
and Mary Raynor on her recitation,
“High Culture in Dixie.”
The Certificates of perfect attend- 1
ance, the seventh grade certificates, i
and the graduation certificates were
delivered by Miss Mary E. Wells, as
sistant superintendent, of Smithfield. '
In presenting the certificates of per
fect attendance, Miss Wells congratu
lated the children and the school for
having the largest number of such !
certificates up to the present date of
any school in the county. She com- j
plimented several of the seventh !
grade graduates upon the splendid ^
papers they had made. In addressing
the graduating class Miss Wells told
them that their certificates were not ,
teachers’ certificates which would
entitle them to teach school next
year, but were merely passports to
the training schools and colleges. She
hoped that each one of them would
attend college next fall.
The Benson High School has been
for the year just closing under the
supervision of Prof. H. C. Renegar, of
Chapel Hill. He has had a faculty of
twelve teachers. It is understood that
he will again have chrage of the
school next year. In his remarks for
the day he announced that the rumor
was out that Benson would have only
a six months school next year. This
he declared to be a false alarm, and
that the school would certainly be
eight months or not nine months long.
BOY HURT WHEN
GUN SHELL EXPLODES
William Clifford, 10-year-old son
of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Clifford, was
painfully burned late Sunday after
noon when a gun shell, from which
the shot had been removed, exploded, j
The boy was pranking with the shell,
it is said, attaching a fuse to it. His
forehead was bady burned and at
first it was feared that he would lose
his left eye as a result of the explo
sion. Drs. C. H. Sexton and 1P. A.
Stewart dressed the wounds and la
ter he was taken to the Pittman hos
pital at Fayetteville, and it is not
thought his injuries will prove seri
ous.—Dunn Dispatch.
MEMORIAL DAY
EXERCISES MAY 10
Confederate Veterans Will
Be Guests of Sanders
Holt Chapter U.D.C.
Each year on the tenth of May the
old Confederate veterans, whose
ranks are thinner each Memorial Day,
are the guests of honor of the San
ders-Holt chapter of the U. D. C. The
program for next Thursday has been
arranged part of which will be given
in the court house, and part at the
cemetery. The exercises will begin at
eleven o’clock in the court house with
the following program:
Song—“Carolina.”
Chaplain’s Invocation.
Song—“How Firm a Foundation.”
Welcome to Veterans by Mayor.
Response from Veterans by Mr. J.
A. Mitchiner.
Prayer by Mr. Julius Broadwell.
Song—“Dixie.”
Address.
Song—“The Homespun Dress.”
At the conclusion of this song those
present will adjourn to the cemetery
where the garve of soldiers will be dec
orated with flowers. While at the
cemetery, an old camp song, “Tenting
Tonight,” will be rendered; the nation
al song. “My Country ’Tis of The§”
will be sung and a prayer will con*
elude the program.
Then the Confederate veterans will
be driven to the home of Mr. and Mrs.
W. M. Sanders where the Sanders
Holt chapter of the U. D. C., will
serve them a dinner on the lawn.
POSTMASTER RESIGNS
WHEN OIL BOOM HITS
WASHINGTON, May 2.—When an
oil boom hits a one-man postoftice
things begin to happen, as witnessed
by the records made public today of
the tribulations of the postmaster at
Smackover, Ark.
Smackover was basking in the sun,
a town of 200, last fall when oil was
struck. Almost overnight the popu
lation swelled to 10,000, and this mes
sage came to the Postoffice Depart
ment from Postmaster Fred V. Mc
Donald, who meantime had grown
wealthy in oil lands:
“The office is out of my control;
letters arriving 5,000 to 7,000 daily;
parcel post by the tons; can’t open
mail any longer, no place to put it;
accept resignation.”
Thirteen assistants were rushed to
Smackover and the salary was in
creased from $600 a year to $2,500,
but Postmaster McDonald refused to
stay longer on the job than was neces
sary to get things running smoothly.
SUDAN PREPARING
FOR CEREMONIALS
WASHINGTON, N. C., May 2.—
According to reports from New Bern
Sudan headquarters are hurrying pre
parations for the annual spring cere
monial which will be held in this city
Thursday, May 17th. Dr. J. F. Rhem,
recorder of the temple, says that the
indications are that the largest class
of candidates in many years will be
disposed of. He says that while many
applications had already been receiv
ed he expected many more in the fin
al rush. No applications will be re
ceived, he said, after midnight of
Tuesday, May 2nd.
Rumor has it that several of these
candidates will be from Washington.
The outlook points to a large number
waiting to tread the sands of the des
ert enroute to Mecca. Mr. B. L. Sus
man wants 250 rooms in Washington
to sleep the visitors. Let him know
at once how many you can accommo
date. This is going to be the day of
days. Final arrangements for the
occasion are fast coming to a head.
Thrown Off Back Of Mule
Mr. Buren Faulkner, who lives on
Smithfield, Route One, had the mis
fortune Tuesday to be thrown from
a mule’s back resulting in painful
cuts about his face. He was ridir.g
the mule home from the field at
noon, when the mule became fright
ened, jumped and threw him
against a barbed wire fence. The
cuts on his face required several stit
ches to be taken. He came to this
city for medical attention.
FOUR YEARS OF ROAD
BUILDING IN N. C.
1,127 Miles of Road Have
Been Completed; Lot of
Money Still Not Spent
; The North Carolina Good Roads
i Association is in session in Raleigh
this week, and Mr. Frank Page, high
. way commissioner, has been asked to
i review the work of road building in
| the state during his administration.
; The following from The News and
, Observer gives an idea of the won
( derful development in road building:
Two hundred and ninety-four pro
| jects, aggregating 2,002.08 miles of
every type of road completed, under
construction or under contract, and
costing a total of $53,513,013.02, and
more than 3,200 miles of road under
, maintenance in the achievement with
which Frank Page completed his
fourth year as State Highway Com
missioner Wednesday.
The day was the fourth aw .
sary of his induction into office
i under appointment from the late £,ov
; ernor Bickett, and the second anni
versary of the re-organization of the
Commission under the Connor-Drugh
ton-Bowie road act in 1921. The de
i tailed history of the achievement will
^ be one of the principal subjects to be
discussed at the annual meeting of
the North Carolina Good Roads As
I
sociation here today.
! Two thirds of Mr. Page’s term of
office, after which he expects to re
tire to devote his time to his neg
lected private interests, were done
yesterday, but before his full time
is out, he expects to complete all
work now7 under construction and
, have approximately 1.500 miles ad
ditional road under construction or
j completed. Mr. Page has definitely
i determined to retire at the end of
his term.
Of the $65,000,000 authorized for
road construction by the General As
| sembly of 1921 and of 1923, approxi
mately $38,500,000 has been obligated
in contracts or expended for con
struction under way or complete. The
remaining 15 million dollars comes
from the old automobile license fund
collected in 1919 and 1920, amount
ing to about $3,000,000 and a total
of $11,682,265.75 from Federal aid
funds covering the four year period.
Remaining to be applied to new
construction not yet let to contract is
approximately $26,500,000 of the
funds authorized by the two Gen
eral Assemblies, 'or sufficient to
build about 800 miles of hard sur
faced roads, and about an equal
amount of gravel and other types of
highway, and the bridges required.
This expenditure will be distributed
over a period of two years, determined
largely by the condition of the labor
and material market.
The work now under various stages
of completion throughout the State
comprises 208 seperate projects, with
a total mileage of 1,756,.25 miles of
various types of road, costing, to
gether with bridges, a total of $34,
172,474.20. Fourteen projects let to
contract, but on which work has
not yet begun, account for 75 miles
of road costing with bridges, $2,496,
045.01.
Seventy two projects have been
completed, with a total mileage of
1,127.55 miles of various types of
| roads costing $17,803,544. 86. This
mileage goes back to the beginning
of the Page administration in May,
1919, and includes all work complet
ed up until April 1. During the
I present summer, if weather, labor
and material conditions are at all
favorable, approximately 1,000 miles
or road will be finished and put into
use.
In reviewing the achievements ot
the Highway Commission, Mr. Page
lays greatest stress upon the main
tenance division which took over ap
proximately 5,000 miles of road, re
built much of it, and put all of it
1 into usable condition 19 months ago.
Making a great mileage immediately
I serviceable to the people of the State
he regards as the most important
: immediate result of legislation for
roads.
The largest single project which
, has been let to contract during the
j past four years is the Lumberton
Maxten road in Robeson cunty, with
approximately 19.5 miles of concrete
road. let last fall to James 0. Hey
i worth at a cost of $647,888.05. Some
what longer, but less costly is the
Williamston-Bethel route let to W
T. Hadlow for $499,900,-40. Several
! SIMMONS IN ACCORD
WITH HARDINGS VIEWS
Favors Entry of This Country Into
International Court of Justice;
For League of Nations.
WILMINGTON, May 2.—Senator
; F. M. Simmons, Democrat, of North
j Carolina, is in accord with President
Harding and Secretary of State
Hughes, in favoring the entry by this
country into an international court of
justice, as a step in the right direc
tion, which will eventually probably
lead to the entry by the United
States into the league of nations, ac
cording to an exclusive interview
given to a representative of the Wil
mington Morning Star.
The present chaotic condition of af
! fairs in Europe is attributed by Sen
ator Simmons to the failure of this
country to enter the league of na
tions, and he thinks the Republican
party is favoring the international
j court in order to protect this eoun
| try from the evils which would fol
i low Europe’s total collapse,
i Senator Simmons says:
{ “I am not only in favor of the
! United States becoming a member of
I the international court of justice, an
■ institution created by the league of
1 nations, but I am also in favor of
j the United States becoming a mem
t her of the league of nations.
‘If we had joined the league at the
j time it was created, I am satisfied
that most of the ills which now af
flict Europe would have been averted
and the ultimate result would have
been the establishment of peace
throughout the world.
“Of course the international court '
of justice cannot take the place of the
league of nations, but it will be a
t step in the right direction, and if |
i taken, will probably lead to our ulti- j
■ mate full participation in the league, j
j “I presume that President Hard
ing’s attitude with reference to our
participation in the international
court of justice is dictated by a con
viction that the United States must
do something to save Europe from
the chaotic conditions into which it
has been plunged and protect us from
the evil consequences of its continu- :
ance.
“I do not wish to characterize ,
harshly the opposition in the Repub- |
lican party to his position, but I can
not escape the conclusion that the
inspiration of the opposition to the
court, as it was to the league itself,
is largely political.”—Associated
Press.
INFANT DEAD, MOTHER
IS PAINFULLY INJURED
Terrific Cyclone Hits Shelmerdine
Section Near Vanceboro;
Several Injured.
VANCEBORO, May 2.—During a
terrific cyclone last Saturday night in
the Shelmerdine section, a few miles
west of here, the six-months old baby
of Mr. Jasper Cannon sustained in
juries by falling in of the house
top that resulted in the death of the
child a few hours later in the night.
Mrs. Cannon, the mother, was al
so so badly hurt that her course from
the wrecked home to a neighbor’s
house could be traced by the blood
j that was shed from her bleeding
j wounds. Three of her ribs were
: broken. Mrs. Cannon and the baby
I seem to have been left alone that
! night, and in the absence of a man
: the horrors of the night were great
| ly intensified for that lonely moth
j er. After the passing of the storm
; Mrs. Cannon searched and found the
t baby, and she picked its dying body
up and rushed to the home of a
j neighbor. In just a short while after
! reaching the neighbor’s house the
baby died. The mother is still suf
| fering, but there is hope for her re
' covery.
Luther Burbank has accepted a
place on the board of directors of the
nationali campaign for boll weevil
control. He is one of several lead
ers in financial, agricultural and
scientific circles to take an active part
in this crusade against the pest that
is destroying millions of dollars’
worth of cotton each year—Dearborn
Independent.
projects under construction run be
yond the quarter of a million mark.
FRENCH MAY REFUSE
GERMAN PROPOSAL
Officials Feel Sure France’s
Reply Will Be Flatly
in the Negative.
PARIS, May 2.—The proposals con
tained in the German note, which was
delivered at the foreign office at four
o’clock this afternoon in the German
language are regarded in French of
ficial circles as for Anglo-Saxon and
neutral consumption only. The terms
of the note appeared “so preposter
ous,” to the members of the French
government that it was assumed
there was no hope or desire on the
part of Berlin that they be accepted.
“The scheme amounts to the re
opening of the whole question of
reparations as settled by the treaty
of Versailles,” a high official of the
government said. “The plan Is ag
gravated by the suggestion that in
case of failure of a loan, the ques
tion of payment by Germany would
be referred to a eommssion, on
which would be represented neutrals
' ho are loaded up with marks and
have every interest of boosting them
by getting Germany off as easily as
possible.”
To Confer With Allies.
Another official said: “There is
not the slightest progress toward
settlement in this proposition. It is
impossible for the French govern
ment to consider it for a moment.”
Premier Poincare is studying the
translation of the note as it is be
ing made and is reserving comment
until he has the whole document be
fore him, but those about him did
not cancel the unfavorable impres
sion the note had made. ’They are
all of the opinion that the reply will
be flatly negative.
M. Poincare will probably confer
with France’s allies before giving his
answer, but it is thought it will be
unnecessary to consult with Great
Britain and the proposals have as
their object the evacuation of the
Ruhr, in the occupation of which
Great Britain has not participated,
and for similar reasons there will
be no exchange of views with Wash
ington.
Proposal Inacceptable.
It is regarded as doubtful if the
premier will consider it necessary to
make a detailed reply, but if he does
he will point out that the proposal
is inaccegtable both from the view
point of the amount of money offered
and the conditions under which it is
offered, and that there is nothing in
the proposals to form a basis for
serious negotiations.
The French government has a plan
for the settlement of the reparations
problem, which it is holding in re
serve, to bring out when the time
is thought to be opportune, but it
will be only when Germany has ceas
ed resistance to the allied aetion in
the Ruhr and has manifested a de
sire to reach a serious agreement
although it is improbable that it
will be brought out in reply of pes
simism in official and political cir
cles, and the general conclusion is
voived by The Temps in its leader,
which terminates with these words:
“let us exploit the Ruhr.”
A more vigorous application of
penalties and the probable extension
of the territory occupied on the right
bank of the Rhine is thought to be
the logical sequence of Germany’s
declared intention to continue passive
resistance.—Associated Press.
RUM FLEET OFF JERSEY
BEGINS TO MOVE AWAY
Highland, N. J., May 2—A general
exodus of the rum fleet that has
been off the New Jersey coast for
several months began late today when
the British tanker, Warsseawa, and
the yacht Istar got up steam and
sailed out to sea. Both were out of
sight by dark.
The vessels departed soon after a
government cutter had hauled and
searched a small unidentified steam
er that was steaming towards the
fleet. When the cutter headed back
towards rum row, the tanker, which
had been on the row since February,
steamed out to sea on a northeast
course. The Istar followed a few
minutes later, headed southeast—
Associated Press.