VOL XVI. NO. I
Atlantic Coast Line Station Burned
I
Before half the people in town
had retired on Monday night, .Ire
was discovered in the freight de
partment of the A. C. L. station,
and the alarm give. Agent W.
A. Ellison, who was at home do
ing some clerical work of the
office, found it necessary to re
turn to the station about. 11
o'clock to get some papers. He
was accompanied by Pearlie
Perry. They entered the office,
secured what they desired and
talked with night watchman
Truitt for a few minutes and then
prepared to leave. Before going
out, Perry desiring a drink of
water, opened the door heading
into the freight room and in
, which the pump is located, and
while in the act of getting the
water, called to Ellison that there
was fire among a lot of books and
papers stored for reference
among the rafters of the build
ing. access to which was by
means of a ladder. Mr. Ellison
hastily seemed a bucket and at
tempted to put out the fire - but
the smokl became so dense that
he and Perry ran out into the
office to prevent suffocation. In
the meantime, they had called
Central to give the alarm, and
soon a great crowd had assembl
ed. There was no water near
which could be secured for use
in the fcnpine and it seemed futile
to try to use the chemical engine
as the danger was too great to
enter the building. The rear
platform was full of freight which
is never stored in the freight
room, and all this was carried out
of range of the flames. There
was a number of tanks of gaSo
* line also which would have
wrought destruction if allowed to
remain" For perhaps thirty min
"utes, the people waited for the
flames to burst out, while clouds
of dense smoke issued from every
hole and crevice. Beneath the
building could be seen whiskey
on fire, this evidently had flowed
from kegs and packages which
the heat had bursted. The night
was calm, not even a breeze stir
red the air and so the fire was
confined to the building. Two
small cottages on the Staton lot
across the street would have
burned from the intense heat but
for good work on the part of a
few men and boys. The large
tank at the Staton residence sup
plied plenty of water, which was
conveyed in buckets, pans and
everything* '.conceivable. One
unique carrier for water was- an
iron wheelbarrow propelled by
Ed Johnson, who in this manner
carried an appreciable amount of
, water to the threatened build
ings. By protecting the&ftliQiises,-
the l|omes of T. W. Thomas and
Thomas Peed were saved. The
origin of the fire is supposed to
have been a defective flue, as
there had been fire in the office
stove all the day and it originat
ed in the top of the building, and
the ceiling in the office concealed
it while it was eating its way out.
The ynount of freight burned
cannot be estimated but the. loss
comes high as the receipts that
day were heavy. All the office
contained except a lot of tickets
and whatthe two safes held, were
lost. The travelling public, busi
ness men and the agent will be
inconvenienced for many months
as*it will take some time to re ;
place a station house creditable
to the town and to the railroad.
The people will ask that the com
pany build a more modern and
convenient structure.
The officials of the railrbad ar
ranged a temporary office in the
• storage room of Harrison Bros &
Co., near the ginning mill, and
telegraph instruments Were ta-
THE ENTERPRISE
LOCAL
Register and vote right on
November 3rd.
The office force enjoyed some
delicious barbecue on Monday and
appreciated the thoughtfulness
of Mr. A. B. Windham, adver
tising agent of the Atlantic Coast
Realty Co.
Mrs. F. U. Barnes entertained
the Embroidery Club at her home
on Smithwick Street on Tuesday
afternoon. There were a number
of honor guests and the time was
most delightfully spent.
Dr. W. E. Warren accompained
Miss Esther Daniel to St, Vin
cent's Hospital on Wednesday,
where she went to have on opera
for appendicitis from which she
has been suffering for months.
Mrs. Warren and Miss, Fleming
left for Norfolk also.
Williamston has had some music
within the past ten days as four
brass bands and one Italian or
chestra have been here in that
time.
Yesterday morning, the engine
drawing the train was unable to
reverse ami come into the station,
so passengers, -express and mail
were put on the cars at the Stand
ard Oil tank on the Washington
road. Trouble always comes in
pairs.
Jenkins & Roberson%?d A. S.
Roberson & Co., of Roberson
ville have ads. in this issue..
Don't fail to read them carefully.
Get the punch card from J. B.
Hopkins and secure a set of the
handsome ware he offers op speci
al terms. Read ad in this issue.
FOR SALE-One store 28 by
100 ft warehouse and stables on
same lot, best business part of
Williamston, N. C., also
oxen for sale. For further infor
formation see or write
L. E. Corey
Jamesville, N. C.
Jesse James of Falcom, N. C..
will start a Series of meetings
Friday night Oct. 30th. Mr. J. H.
Wiggins and wife will have
charge of the singing. The meet
ing will last about ten days or
possibly longer. Place of meet
ing at Court House.
FOR SALE-Two yokes of
oxen, one yoke good size others
of medium size all well broke.
J. J. Roberson
Jamesville, N. C.
40,000 pounds of tobacco were
sold on the market here last Sat
urday at the high prige mark.
Sales have been fine this week,
too.
—The two little boys of Mrs.
Wiley Mizell, whose husband died
a few weeks ago, left for the
Methodist Orphanage at Raleigh
on Tuesday morning. They are
'splendid little fellows and were
anxious to go bccnuse they had
been instructed that an educa
tion could be secured. _
stalled before night Tuesday.
They expressed themselves as
being desirous of providing early
for the convenience of the public
and business men. As soon as
possible, a platform 150 feet long
will be erected and on this will be
constructed a temporary office
and later a handsome station will
be erected on the old site. Tlfe
Williamston people appreciate the
desire of the officials to restore
and add to the conveniences of
the station, and there is much
regret that the loss of freight
and express should be so heavy.
Some very valuable packages
were burned but there are no
records.
WILLIAMSTON, N. C.. F
Deferable Condition
li* any observer had taken notes
on Tuesday morning, he would
have seen pupils out of school
and hanging about the ruins of
the station. This is a common
occurrence in Williamston. Whe
ther it is the duty of the parent,
the teacher or the two together
to catch these pupils out of school
and run them in, is not a debata
ble question. Rather it is an ap
parent fact that the two should
cooperate and break up the strag
gling of the boys and girls who
always stay at home, even if it
is nothing more than a new cat
in the neighbor's yard that Tom
my, or Bill or Mary must see. It
is impossible to teach children bn
the streets and the rules of the
school should deal especially with
non-attendance.
Use Cotton Bafs
A circular letter from Ballard
& Ballard, makers of Obelisk
flour, tells of how they are using
$1225 worth of cotton sacks each
day, when only two weeks ago
they used only SOOO worth. They
have discarded Jute bags and are
urging the use of cotton solely.
Then the cotton mills would work
24 hours instead of 12, and bring
the total consumption of the ?top
from 40 to 60 percent. America
does not raise one pound of Jute,
but she does raise cotton.
Another thing: If the jobber de
mands that"the goods the pro
ducer sends him are packed in
cotton sacks he will get it. This
is worth striving for. The country
is facing a grave crisis and the
solution is making every edge
cut, and using our own products
ayd not importations.
A Young Man Dead
Henry W. Rogerson, son of
Samuel and Amanda Rogerson,
was born Sept. 10th, 1894, and
died Oct. 7th, 1914, making his
stay on earth, twenty years and
twenty-seven days. He leaves a
father, mother, five brothers and
three sisters to mourn "his loss.
Henry was a young man of ex
cellent character, kind and gentlr,
a favorite with all who knew him,
especially toward his parents, *a
quality which is badly wanting in
the children of the present gen
eration.
His afflictions great, but
he bore them patiently and gent
ly awaited the end. Not wanting
in industry, he labored with his
hands till the weakness of his
body prevented him.
All wasjdone for him that lov
ing hands could do, or medical
skill could devise, but death
claimed him. Then with bowed
heads and sad hearts, we laid
him to rest in the family burying
ground to await the Resurrection
Morn.
His memory on earth we will
cherish,
'Tis all he left us to keep,
Until our bodies shall perish
And no more on earth we shall
weep.
* ~""' A \
Illiteracy Among Rural Population
The need of more and better
rural schools in North Carolina is
made manifest by conditions re
vealed in a recent census report
showing the per centage of illi
terates among the native white
farming class of this State. The
figures show that the per centage
of illiteracy in the rural districts
of North Carolina is 13.5 and
4.9 per cent in the cities and
villiages of the . State. North
Carolina has 291,497 illiterates
and 260,753 of them live on the
farms. There are 129,141 boys
and men and 131.6J.1 girls and
women on on the farms of this
State that can neither read nor
write.
RIDAY, OCT., 23,1914
E. C. T. School
The sixth year of the East
Carolina Toachei'sTraining School
opened with, all the dormitory
rooms filled, and a few students
boarding in town. A number
were refused admission, because
of theiack of room. On the an
niversary of the first opening,
President Wright reviewed the
growth of the school and con
trasted Conditions of that year
with conditions this year. 2902
students have been enrolled,
counting number of students
twice during a twelve months.
The records show that 1312 have
been refused admission for the
lack of room.
The Model School, a branch of
the Greenville Schools, but con
nected with the Training School,
opened this fall with four super
vising teachers. The student
teachers of the Senior Class will
observe and teach under the
guidance of both supervising
teachers and the teachers of
Primarv Methods.
Robertson-Peel
Sdnday morning, a quiet mar
riage was solemnized at the home
of Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Peel, near
Macedonia Church when their
youngest daughter. Ruth, became
the wife of Mr. Rolin Robertson,
of Williamston, Rev. J. T. Stand
ford, pastor of the Methodist
Church, officiating. Owing to
the illness of the bride's father,
only a few friends were present,
Miss Josephine Robertson and
Maurice D. Watts, accompany
ing the grcam from here. The
bridal party motored here in time
for the 8:17 train, and left for
Raleigh to spend a few days
sight-seeing in the Capital dur
ing the fair. On their return
they will be at home in East
Williamston*with relatives.
The bride is an attractive mem
ber of the younger set of sec
tion of Martin County in which
she was reared, and has many
warm friends who wish for her
years of happiness in her new
home.
Mr. Robertson is chief clerk at
the A. C. L. station and a young
man of splertdid qualities, and is
being congratulated on winning
Miss Peel.
Another New Year
With this issue THE ENTER
PRISE enters its Sixteenth year
of usefulness to the people of
Martin County, and with renew
ed determination to live for
greater and better things in this
blessed land, it begins th/ new
year seeing naught but the stiver
lining to the clouds, and pointing
with the finger of hope to brigh
ter and better things for all peo
ple. ■' . _ r
To have lived and labored for
truth and equity in tlje town,
county, state and nation is to
have lived right before God and
tnan, and our thoughts and as
pirations are and have been
bound together in labor for the
betterment of each ' soul whose
eyes scan these columns and
more. To make the work larger,
more productive of good, there
must be sympathy and coopera
tion flowing from the hearts and
lives of this people. We have
had all this or else the sixteen
years would not have been mark
ed on our calendar. For it all we
are deeply grateful, and we shall
try to merit a larger sympathy
and support in the years before,
us—year? in which our desire;
must find fruition in a more use-:
ful publication and a greater
, number of people among which 1
to circulate. , i
PERSONAL
Oscar Anderson attended the
I Patterson-Gardner marriage at
Virginia Beach Saturday.
Maurice S Moore with W. H.
Gurkin and Misses Annie K.
Thrower and Clyde Hassell mo
tored to Washington Thursday.
Mrs. P. B. Cone is visiting her
parents near Middlesex.
Miss Isabelle Morton, of Rober
sonville, spent Tuesday night'
here and joined the party which
attended the Watts-Hornthal
marriage.
J. W. Watts, Jr. is spending sev
eral days here with his parents.
Mrs. C. W. Kellinger received
a telegram on Wednesday stating
that her son, Frank Kellinger,
was near death in a sanatarium
at Aiken, S. C. She in company
with Miss Delia Ijanier left on the
5 o'clock train for Aiken,
Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Fowden
returned from their bridal tour
on Friday and are at home on
Smithwick Street.
Rev. Braxton Craig arrived
here Sunday night and delivered
a most interesting talk on Mis
sions at the Baptist Church. He
is a brother of Gov. Locke Graig
and has visited here several times
before.
Mr. and Mrs. S. R. Biggs are
at home from their bridal tour
and for the present are at home
on Smithwick Staeet.
Mrs. J. J. Jones, who has been
here for the past month with her
husband, left Monday for Raleigh
to attend the fair and from there
will go to her home in Durham.
J. W. Cherry, of Everetts, was
in town Monday on business.
W. Z. Morton, Sec'y of the
Atlantic Coast Realty Co., was
in -town a short while Monday.
W. E. Roberson, of Roberson
ville, was in town Tuesday visit
ing his daughter, Mrs. Theo.
Rot)erson.
Mrs. H. H. Pope and children
were here from RobetSonville on
Tuesday.
Messrs. B. J, Hughes, Supt. of
the Norfolk Division, Charles
Cobb, Roadmaster, Detective
Ames and others of the A. C. L.,
were in town on Tuesday to ar
range with Agent Ellison about
temporary quarters for a railroad
office.
Mr. and Mrs. Clayton Mogre
left Tuesday afternoon for Wash
ington and Raleigh.
Mr. and Mrs. A. D. Mizell,
j Mrs. Anna Harrison and Mrs.
L. B. Harrison spent Monday in
I Washington.
J.AV. Mrnning with Mrs. VV.
C. Manning, Miss Daisy Man-
I ning and Mrs. J. A. Roberson
jmQtored to Washington Tuesday.
P. F. Apfel left Monday for
'Emporia, Va.
Mesdames Asa T. Crawford,
|c. D. Carstarphen, Alonzo Has
sel, James S. Rhodes, J. W.
i Watts, Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler
Martin Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler
Martin Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Leslie
Fowden, Misses Mildred Purvis,
Hannah Vic Fowden, Mse Ben
nett, Fannie Biggs Martin: Mess.
W. H. Gurkin, Robert Everett, M.
D. Watts, J. W. Watts, J. P.
Simpson, Alonzo Hassell; Mrs.
.W. H. Crawford and Mary Gladys
Watts attended the, Watts-Horn
thai marriage at Plymouth Wed
A few people from here and in
the adjoining country are attend
ed the fair this week. It is the
best place to go to see what North
Carolina* has to offer in products.
sr.oo a Year in Advance
Sale of Farm Lands
The Joe Mallard place was of
fered for sale on Monady by the
Atlantic Coast Realty Company.
The 300 acres had been subdivid
ed into 9 farms, and careful ad
vestising had been done for ten
days previous by the company's
publicity agent, A. B. Windham.
This company has the fine art of
advertising, and there is no fake
scheme put on the public. Their
All Star Band arrived here from
Greenville by *auto on Monday
morning and gave several pleas
ins: selections on the street. Then
in company with many citizens*,
they went out to the place of
sale, where a free barbecue din
ner was enjoyed by the 200 peo
ple present. It was interesting
to listen to the auctioneer and
watch the eagerness of those de
siring to purchase the fertile
lands for which Poplar Point is
famous. No section of .Martin
County can produce better and
bigger crops of cotton, corn, pea
nuts and tobacco than lands.
The chief bidders at the sale
were four-brothers, the Messrs. *
Wellj, who are intelligent far
mers of the county, and will
properly develop the resources of
the soil which they purchased.
The price paid was $10,500, which
was a splendid profit for the sel
lers of the farms. The sale was
under the direct supervision of
President J. VV. Ferrell and Sec
retary W. Z. Morton, the latter
a native son of Williamston, who
is making good with the Realty,
company, being one of the princi
pal stockholders. This company
is the largest in the South, and
the only one travelling on its own
private car. They have held
sales as far down as Tampa, Fla.,
and are in Virginia this week for
several sales, one being in Suf
folk.
Factory Robbed.
Friday night, burglars enter
rd the Hamilton Pants Factory
and carried away valuable pack
aged of pants and rain coats.
Every window in the lower floor
has iron grating, but those in the
npper story are unprotected ex
cept by locks. It happened that
one of these had been left unlock
ed. whether purposely or acci
dentally has not been fully de
termined. Any way, the burg
j lars placed a ladder at that par
j ticular window and secured the.
! booty, among which \v"ere
pies from the case whicn G- VV.
I Hardison tfas to take on the road
| the next day. These were new
and valuable.
The police was informed and
as much secrecy as possible
ywas observed until thirarrival of ;
a bloodhound from Tarboro by
/V ( "
auto. The dog, however, failed
I to get on the trail, as the ground
was very wet from the week's
rain, and a heavy shower had
probably come just after the
! robbery. Turner Williams, a col
ored man living on an adjacent
! lot, says that he saw a light in
the building and HcnryAWilliams
j declares that he saw a man with
,a ladder but thought nothing
l wrong about the circumstance.
! The police have been very dili
gent 11 in trying to discever
the hiding place of the goods,,
but though there is a clue, yet
j the evidence is not sufficient to
arrest anyone. Chief of Police
Sawyer is using every means to
catch the burglars. It is re
ported lhat stealings have been
going on sometime in a small
way. -
1 m §
J. D. Ward & Company here
have contracted to erect a modern
brick building' for the Bank of
Jamesville. *