FORTY-FOURTH year
SMITHFIELD, N. TUESDAY MORNING, MARCH 24, 1925
NUMBER 25
IMPORTANT EVENTS
FOLLOW ASSEMBLY
Re-organization of Supreme
Court, Official Announcement
Concerning State Deficit
Among Events
START PROGRAM ECONOMY
(By M. L. Shipman)
Raleigh, Mar. 23.—The legislative
rush in Raleigh was succeeded last
week by events of a nature as impor
tant as the acts of the General As
sembly and was featured particularly
by the reorganization of the Supreme
Court, the official announcement from
Governor McLean relating to the
State deficit, the beginning of bus
control by the State and the handling
of several matters, chiefly from the
Governor’s office, dealing with en
forcement of law's enacted at the re
cent session of the Legislature.
The most important event of the
week was the resignation of Chief
Justice W. A. Hoke, of the Supreme
Court, and the appointment by the
Governor of Associate Justice W. P.
Stacey to succeed him* To fill the
vacancy created by the Stacey eleva
tion, Governor McLean named former
State Senator Lycurgus R. Varser, of
lumbevton. The new Associate Jus
tice was Mr. McLean’s lav,' partner
prior to the latter’s becoming Gover
: or. During the recent session of the
General Assembly Mr. Varser had
headquarters at the Executive Man
sion and has been one*of the Gover
nor’s chief advisors on legislative
matters. He is recognised as an able
Dwyer and it is believed will make a
valuable addition to the high tribunal
to which he has been elevated.
hief Justice Hoke resigned be
cause of ill health, and after having
devoted more than thirty years of
distinguished service to the State,
ii.o - t of these having been spent on
the bench. The new Chief Justice, Mr.
Stacey, achieves with his elevation
the distinction of being the -young
ett chief justice in America. He has.
besides, attained to the highest judi
cial position with the gift of the peo
ple of North Carolina at the age of
forty, after fifteen years of actual
law practice. In 1909, Mr. W. P.
Stacy was principal of a Raleigh
public school. In 1925, it is Chief Jus
tice W. P. Stacy presiding over the
highest tribunal maintained in the
State, after four years as an asso
ciate on the bench, during which time
he fully demonstrated his capability
as a judge and became recognized as
probably one of the most capable
members of the Supreme Court. It
is little -wonder now that the call
from the State University for his ser
vices a short while ago did not appeal
to him. Time has shown the wisdom
exercised in remaining on the bench.
Governor McLean “startled the na
tives” on Friday with a statement
showing the deficit of the State under
his system of “cash” financing, to be
$10,251,66^57 as of February 28,
1925, and its bonded indebtedness
$113,868,000 on the same date. The
figures show aivincrease in the deficit
since last July of approximately
three and a half millions and an op
erating deficit for the month of Feb
ruary of more than $300,000. It is
recognized, however, that the deficit
will be reduced when figures of reve
nue collections from March 1st to
June 30th, the close of the fiscal
year, are taken into consideration, as
this is the period for the heaviest
collection of revenue to take place.
The Attorney General’s office is be
ing re-organized under the recent law
Passed giving that official three full
time assistants at $3,600 a year. The
Present assistant, Frank Nash, has
been re-appointed and will continue
in office of Attorney General Brum
mitt. Walter L. Cahoon will contin
ue with the State Highway Comission
as another of the assistants, and still
another is to be assigned to the De
partment of Revenue. Mr. Cahoon
will receive $3,600 instead of a little
more than $4,000 which has been paid
him the past few years.
The Governor also took a step the
Past week toward reducing the run
ning expenses of the State when he
1Ssued his first order as director of
the Budget, requesting that all state
(Turn to page five, please)
IMPROVED WATER
SYSTEM AT SELMA
Town Votes $17,500 Worth Of
Bonds To Improve Present
Water System
HAS OTHER ADVANTAGES
Selma, Mar. 23.—All Selma has
put on smiles. The town of Selma
has sold to W. K. Terry and Company,
of Toledo, Ohio, $17,500 worth of
bonds at a premium of $267. The
sale of the bonds was for the purpose
of extending and improving the pres
ent water system. A new pump has
been installed which is bringing 150
gallons of water per minute, 9,000
gallons per nour and zi,t>uu gallons
every twentyfour hours. The water
system is clear, soft and free of iron.
All this is the cause of so much re
joicing, for Selma’s greatest draw
back has been her water supply, which
has been inadequate and not of the
best quality. Hats off to Mayor
Wade Brown and the present town
board who have labored so diligently
to bring abut this much needed im
provement.
Selma has much to offer those in
terested in cotton mill sites, manu
facturing interests, storage space,
etc. It is located in Johnston County,
one of the fifty richest agricultural
counties in the United States, on
junction of the main line of the A.
C. L, and Southern railroads, midway
point between New York and Jack
sonville, terminal for Southern rail
road freight service between Nor
folk-Selma and Spencer-Selma, with
twenty-four passenger trains daily.
It has one of the best high schools in
the South with splendid faculty of
twenty-seven, a $250,000 building and
five acres of playground. It has
Methodist, Baptist, Episcopal and
Presbyterian churches, two strong
banks, one state and one national;
twenty-five merchants of various
lines, two whole sale grocers, Amer
ican Telephone and Telegraph Com
pany, relay office handling market
wires; Associated Press repeating
station on matter handled between
Philadelphia and Havana; one of the
most important and largest stations
between the north and south; excel
lent local service.
The combined payroll of the many
manufacturing plants including rail
roads is over twenty-five hundred
dollars per day. It has one good
week weekly newspaper, The John
stonian, having a large circulation
over the entire county, equipped to
do all kinds of job work. It has also
a modern bakery, a professional build
ing, four doctors with modernly
equipped offices, one dentist with up
to-date methods and equipment, four
lawyers, and two druggists. It is
one of the healthiest towns in North
Carolina (State Board of Health re
port).
BENSON SELECTS
PRETTIEST BABIES
Benson, Mar. 23.—At a mass meet
; ing held in the school auditorium,
Haywood Faircloth, the young son
of Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Faircloth was
; selected as the finest boy to repre
| sent Banner township, and little Miss
Wood, the attractive daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Dalmer Wood was selected
as the prettiest girl. These two chil
dren will represent Banner township
at the Exposition to be held in Smith
field.
FOUR-Y F \R-OI.l) BOY
HIT WITH AN AXE
The little four-year-old son of Mr.
David Alford Who lives in the Pisgah
section, was accidentally hit in the
head with an axe late yesterday af
| ternocn by his six-year old brother
while the two rvere playing in a field
ner the house. The little boy was
rushed to Smithfield where medical
assistance was rendered by Dr. L. D.
Wharton. The gash was about two
inches long and necessitated)four
stitches. The wound wa|v not of a
very serious nature, and “the child is
expected to improve readily.
"death claims
j CLEVELAND CITIZEN
Mr. L. D. Wood Passes Away at
His Home In Cleveland
Township
FUNERAL TOMORROW
Friends throughout the county of
Mr. L. D. Wood, prominent farmer of
Cleveland township, will be grieved
to learn of his death which occurred
1 almost suddenly at his home in the
Polenta section yesterday afternoon
about one o’clock. About seven weeks
ago, Mr. Wood’s leg was broken by a
falling tree and he had since been
confined to his bed but appeared to
be getting along fine. He complained
very little with the broken limb and
seemed to be about as well as usual,
except he refused to take his dinner
yesterday at noon. The end was en
tirely unexpected by those who min
istered to him. He was about sixty
years old.
About thirty-five years ago, Mr.
Wood was married to Miss Lydia
Coates, a daughter of the late Mr.
and Mrs. Ruffin Coates, of Pleasant
Grove township. To this union were
born four children, three of whom
survive him: Mr. I). M. Wood, of near
Garner; Miss Kittie Wod, a member
of the Ingold high school faculty, and
Miss Zelda Wood, teacher of home
economics in the Bessemer iCty high
school.
For several years, Mr. Wood had
been a faithful member of Oakland
Presbyterian church. He was one oi
the most prosperous farmers oi
Cleveland township.
The funeral services will be helc
tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon a1
I two o’clock at Oakland chu.eh and
interment will be made in tile ceme
tery there. The funeral services wil
be conducted by Rev. A. T. Lassiter
pastor of the Presbyterian church ol
Benson.
The bereaved ones have the sympa
thy of many friends in their loss.
NEWLY ELECTED SCHOOL
SUPERINTENDENT RESIGNS
Mr. C. S. Warren, of Mount Olive,
who was recently elected superinten
dent of the schools here for next year
and who had accepted the position,
has reconsidtred the matter anu yes
terday tendered his resignation. Mr.
Warren will remain at Mount Olive.
The school board here had felt that
in securing Mr. Warren, a splendid
1 school man had been chosen, and it is
with regret that his resignation is
accepted.
BENTON WHARTON MAKES
PHI BETA KAPPA
Benton Wharton, son of Dr. and
Mrs. L. D. Wharton of this city* has
made the national honorary scholas
tic fraternity Phi Beta Kappa at Da
vidson college, it became known here
yesterday evening. Young Mr. Whar
ton is a senior at Davidson, and is
one of four students of that institu
tion to win this much coveted honor.
Selection of the members was made
last week. It is interesting to know
that three of the four men chosen are
members of an organization known
as “The Vikings”, organized by Whar
;ton and others when he was a Soph
omore, having seven original mem
bers.
The reason why extension workers
devote so much attention to children
is because youth will use this know
ledge for many years while the adult,
can use it only a few at best.
“MISS SMITHFIELD”
Miss Rose Grantham, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. N. B. Grantham, who will
represent Smithfield in the Queen’s Contest during the Exposition.
Princeton, Mar. 23.—Silas Worley
was seriously carved with a knife in
the hands of Luther Worley here
S; urday - morning. The affray oc
curred at the old Tyner Mill place,
when some words between the two
resulted in the cutting-. Silas Worley
received a cut in the side which re
quired several stitches by the physi
cian to sew' up. He also received
some other cuts about the head. Aft
er the cutting it is claimed that Lu
ther Worley left for parts unknown.
Silas Worley is an uncle of Luther
Worley.
LAWYERS WILL
REPRESENT BANK
Indications Are That The Case
Will Be Carried To Higher
Courts
Princeton, ^lar. 23.—Some of the
most brilliant lawyers in Eastern
North Carolina are now employed in
the controversy between the deposi
tors and the directors of the Mer
chants and Farmers’ Bank. The de
positors are making an effort to col
lect some of the money they lost
when the bank failed and was closed
on February 3. Mr. Finch, of Wilson,
and Mr. Faison Thompson, of Golds
boro, are representing the depositors
and Messrs. Ed. Abell and S. S. Holt,
of Smithfield, and Langston Allan
and Thompson, of Goldsboro, are rep
resenting the directors.
The conferences which have been
conducted here by lawyers and cli
ents have not so far solved the prob
lems and the indications are that the
fight will be carried to the higher
courts.
Stop hens from eating eggs by
oyster shell and scattering the grain
; feed in deep litter to keep them busy
Dangerous For Travelers To
Leave Cars Along r:returns of
Paleigh-Golushoro RoaJ
Princeton, Mar. 23.—The time has
arrived when public safety demands
that an automobile inspector should
be on duty every day in the week on
the Central Highway between Ra
leigh and Goldsboro. One of these
inspectors has for the past several
weeks been making regular trips on
the highway, and has made many
cases in the vicinity of Princeton for
violations of the road laws. His at
tention has been especially called to
one place near town where for sev
eral months past it has been danger
ous for any one to leave his car and
in many cases travelers were accost
ed in their cars. Some of these viola
tors have been caught ittid are now on
i the county roads and every effort is
being made to catch the remaining
; members of the gang.
Supt. H. B. Marrow
Explains School Law
Princeton. Mar. 23.—Professor H.
B. Marrow, county superintendent of
public instruction, addressed a gath
ering of citizens in town Friday night
in the interest of the new school law
which was passed by the legislature
and is now to be submitted to the vo
ters of some school districts before
it actually goes into effect. After
listening to his interpretation of the
law it seems to be a good thing for
Boon Hill school district, and it is
reasonable to suppose that when the
tax payers of Boon Hill find out that
this law will actually reduce their
school tax assessment, they will cer
tainly vote for it.
Blonde Bess Opines
“These old adages don’t all run
true. F’rinsta^ce, I have found—
‘that he who laughs last—is dumbest.
Two Teams Run Hospital
Thermometer Close $40,000
\ esterday’s Hospital drive was
greatly handicapped due to the fact
that business affairs and previous ar
rangements prevented five of the sev
en teams from getting into action.
The two teams that did get a start
met with encouragement if the num
ber that each saw will be taken into
consideration.
The total subscribed before the
campaign started reached a total of
$38,500. Yesterday’s limited drur*
mounted the total by $950, and the
thermometer ran up to very near the
$40,000 mark.
Team number four interviewed
eight men and got subscripts^! s
amounting to $800, and checks to
cover one-fourth that amount. Team
number three (Interviewed four per
sons MMi received a subscription with
check for one-fourth to one share of
the pieferr^^ stock.
It is expected that a much larger
total will be turned in tonight, due
to the fact that all the teams will
probably get into action today. If
the remaining teams meet with the
responses accorded to the two teams
which were in the field yesterday, it
is believed that the drive will go over
the top safely, and that will mean
that Johnston County will get the
hsopital it needs.
SONG CONVENTION
! PART EXPOSITION
Dr. A. S. Oliver of Benson Is
Chairman of Committee; Five
Choirs From Johnston
MONEY TO BE DIVIDED
The singing convention to be held
on Saturday of the Eastern Carolina
Exposition at Smithfield, promises to
be one of the most interesting pro
grams of the entire week. Dr. A. S.
Oliver, of Benson, chairman of this
committee, is being ably assisted by
Mr. Simon Honeycutt, who "is an ex
perienced singer of Johnston county.
Choirs from anywhere in Eastern
Carolina may enter. Johnston County
may enter as many as five choirs, and
no choir may have more than 25 in
it. Other counties will be limited to
j two choirs, each of the same size. At
the request of the singing leaders,
the Exposition agreed to divide the
money appropriated for the whole
| convention equally among the choirs
thus taking part, rather than have a
contest. The amount appropriated
! for this program is $175, and this
will be divided equally among the
choirs taking part in the big day’s
program. Any choirs who are think
ing of entering, should communicate
with either Dr. A. S. Oliver, Benson,
or the Eastern Carolina Exposition,
at Kinston. The program will begin
in the afternoon at about 3 o’clock,
and will continue for about one hour
and a half and it will be resumed at
night and run for another hour. A
great time is in store for aN music
lovers on this the last day. Make
your plans to be there early and re
main late.
Raleigh Salesman
Injured In Accident
Fayetteville, March 21.—Surround
ed by flowers sent by competing
salesmen, W. T. Eddinger, of Raleigh,
representative of the Southern
School Supply Company, lies in
Highsmith’s Hospital tonight suffer
ing from severe bruises about the
chest and hip as a result of a head-on
collision on the Dunn - Fayetteville
highway between Eddinger’s car and
[ a Ford coupe occupied by Marion
Baggett and Lonnie Alphin, of Dunn,
The impact of the cars was heard two
hundred yards away and both cars
were turned over and completely
wrecked. Baggett and Alphin were
taken to Dunn, and the extent of
their injuries is not known here. C.
M. Hodges and A. F. Stephens, of
Benson, brought Eddinger to the hos
pital here. Eddinger makes his home
at the Raleigh Hotel, Raleigh. He
was coming to Fayetteville to enter
bids on school supplies for Cumber
land county. He is optimistic about
his condition and apparently his own
injuries are worrying him less than
those of the men with whom his car
i collided.
Note:—Mr. Eddinger was formerly
connected with the Smithfield Obser
ver, which was published here a few
years ago.
BABY CONTEST
HELD IN SELMA
Selma, Mar. 23.—A preliminary
j baby contest was held in the Kiwanis
Club rooms Friday afternoon at 3:
i 30 o’clock to determine which baby
girl and which baby boy should be
sent to represent Selma township in
the Eastern Carolina Exposition at
Smithfield, April 13 to 18.
Eight handsome boys and six pret
ty girls were present to be voted on,
along with their mothers and numer
! ous interested friends. These babies
were numbered, tagged and placed
i on a long table where the spectators
could view them. They "were voted
on by ballot. While a finer, sweeter
group of babies could hardly be found,
an overwhelming majority was given
No. 4, of the boys—Ralph Kendall
Younger, 18-months old son of Mr,
and Mrs. C. E. Younger— and No. 6
; of the girls—Clell Bernice White, the
two-year-old daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Reuben White.
A social hour was enjoyed and ice
cream served everybody present.
d>