North Carolina Newspapers

- - - .IJBI a Year, la Advance. FOR COD, FOR COUNTRY AND FOR TRUTH." SIojI Copy 5 CU VOL. XVIII. PLYMOUTH, N, C. FEID AY, MAY 1, 1906. ' NO. 48. ' ' f " -SECOND-CLASS RATE Interesting Explanation of the Post Office Ruling ABOUT EXPIRED SUBSCRIPTIONS Third Assistant Postmaster General, 4 Hon. A. L. Lawshe, Explains the ' Relations Between Newspapers and the Postoffice Department in an Address Before the North Carolina Press Association. Charlotte, N. C, Special The meeting of the North Carolina State Press Association here last week was An event of much interest. One of the prominent features of the meeting was the presencnof Hon. A. L. Law ch". Third Assictant Postmaster 'General, who addressed the publish ers upon the relations of the post office depart ment to the press of the country. The address was of especial public interest at this time, because -of a recent ruling of the postoffice de partment concerning delinquent sub scriptions to newspapers and period icals which are entitled to postage at second class rales. The substance of Mr. Lawehe's address was as follows: The speaker briefly stated the rates of postage fixed by Congress on the first-class rate of two cents for each ounce or fraction thereof on written matter or matter sealed -against inspection; the third-class rate of one cent for each two ounces -or fraction thereof on printed mat ter other than newspapers and peri odicals, including books, circulars, etc., and the fourth-class rate of one cent per ounce' or fraction there of on all matter (usually merchan dise) not embraced in the other classes. The first, third and fourth class rates are for the general pub lic. Rate a Special Privilege. The publisher of a newspaper or periodical admitted to the second class enjoys a rate of postage for his product not accorded to any other citizen or class of citizens, or to any -other industry a general rate of 1 cent per pound and a free rate with in the county of publication under prescribed conditions. The next lowest rate of postage is .that granted to the general public on ma&7,g of newspapers and other periodicals which have been admitted to the second-class at the rate of 1 cent for each 4 ounces or fraction thereof.' The next cheapest rate is that on books and other printed mat ter, of 1 cent for each 'A ounces or fraction thereof. The statistics of the Postoffice De partment show that there is an aver age 42 -sealed letters to the pound. The business public and the people generally therefore pay at the rate of 84 cents per pound on their letters; they pay an average of about 10 cents per pound on mailings of books and other printed matter, and about 20 cents per pound for merchandise, the government gaining over the ounce rate by reason of taking ad vantage of the fractions of an ounce offered. The Extent of the Favor. The extent of the privilege or favor conferred upon the publishers of legitimate- newspapers and periodicals liy the special rates of one cent a pound is diclosed in the fact that "newspapers and periodicals enjoying the second-class mailing privilege constitute 07 per cent, of the matter carried in the mails, but yield only 4 per cent, of the total revenues. All other classes of mail matter the let tys, the circulars, the books and merchandise, and under the franks of members of Congress comprise but 33 per cent, of the total weight of the mails and yield about 0(5 per cent, of the revenue. A change in the rates of mail transportation will not affect this proportion. A change in the relative percentage of second class matter carried as compared with other matter would, however af fect the expenditure "for transporta tion, as the expense for carrying the mails is determined largely by weight. The second-class rate is in reality a subsidy a "privilege," as it is termed in the act of 1901, to be al lowed only when the terms under which it is granted are complied with and to be continued only so long as the conditions of the law are met. It is provided by statute that when conditions are not maintained the privilege may be annulled after a hearing granted to the publisher. The Desire of the Department. Mr. Lawshe explained that the pol icy of the department is to cure, so far as possible under existing law, some-of the gravest abuses of the second-class mailing privileges, wmie imposing the least amount of incon venience and annoyance to legitimate publishers those who do not at tempt to evade the spirit and pur pose of the law by padding their subcripon lists with free subscrip tion, iji subscriptions, expired sub- M"" ' ' script ions, etc., for the purpose ol securing a wider field for the circula tion of advertising matter at increas ed rates. The pound rate for newspapers and periodicals which meet the re strictions of the statute was defen ded on the ground that they are th one great educational factor of our country in their true intent and pur pose as recognized by Congress in framing the law. Furthermore, second-class matter originates a vast amount of first, third and fourth-class mail matter. That fact, however, should not be made the excuse for allowing all sorts of abuses. The conditions surrounding second-class postage were intended to directly fa vor the legitimate, and at the same time protect H from the illegitimate publication. The point was emphasized that the object aimed at is to protect both the publisher and the government, and give the people the real benefit of the low rate of postage, while pro tecting them from unscrupulous pub lishers. A far better understanding c-f the rule will doubtless result from the information given in the address PROMINENT PEOPLE. Representative De Armond sug gests using the Philippines as a hatch ery for dukes. The Hon. Reginald Walsh has been gazetted British Consul-General at New York City. A service in memory of Congress man Smith, of Illinois, was held in Washington, D. C. James Jeffrey Roche, the American Consul at Berne, Switzerland, died there after a long illness. It was stated in Washington that President Roosevelt would spend a year after the expiration of his term in traveling abroad. Professor Arthur J. Roberts was elected president of Colby College, Waterville, Me., at a meeting of the trustees at Portland, Me. Dr. Washington Gladden, of the First Congregational Church at Co lumbus, Ohio, has completed twenty five years' work at that church. Samuel Gompers assailed the Just-ices of the United States Supreme Court at the big labor mass meeting at Grand Central Palace, New York City. Captain Roald Amundsen, who dis covered the Northwest Passage, sailed from New York for his home at Chris tiana, from which he had been absent three years. Arthur T. Hadley, president of Yale, has been aDroad several months visiting foreign universities. While in Berlin Professor Hadley presented 100 books to the Roosevelt Library at Berlin University. Henry Chadwick, who is known from ocean to ocean as the "Father of Baseball," and who has been a writer and enthusiast on the Amer ican national game for more than half a century, died in Brooklyn, N. Y.'. NKWSY GLEANINGS. Turkey yielded to eYeryJlemand of Italy. The prohibiten wave has reached Newport, R. I. Arrangements were made to open Grav headquarters at Washington, D. C. A heavy snowfall wa3 reported from Rochester, Utica and other places in New York. Dr. Hv H. MacCracken, Chancellor of New York University, addressed a large audience at Copenhagen oh "American Ideals." The "Oklahoma Outfit," consisting of 113 citizens of that State, arrived in New York, to boom the attractions of the young city of Tulsa. Richmond, Va., is planning to open ten school playgrounds for white children and two for colore4 children during the coming summer. William J. Bryan told, in New York City,' how the trusts had tried to tempt him to leave -public life by hiring him at $25,000 a year. Four floors will be added to the Metropolitan Life Building, at Madi son Square, New York City, making the tower 700 feet above the side walk. New York City has bought eighty one automobiles at a cost of $200, 000 in the last three years for the use of department chiefs and their subordinates. Justice Mills, in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., ruled that Christian Science heal ers cannot plead privilege when asked to testify to communications made to them by patients. Antitoxin was administered to the thirty members of Olga Nethersole's "Sapho" company, in Syracuse, N. Y., because the leading man is suffer lng with diphtheria. President Will Veto Bill Washington, Special. President Roosevelt will veto the naval appro priation bill should the Senate, as did the House, fail to make any appro priation for the two battleships hich are authorized in that measure. The pronpt announcement of this fact to Senate leaders is regarded as resnonsible for the announcement by - - i - ------ . . , , Mr. Hale that lie should propose an amendment appropriating $7,000,000 .. i o ii towards the construction of these bIuds. Special clocks, which need windin.q up only once in 400 day3, are now manufactured in Munich. Ui'GKACTION URGED President Goes For Congress in Another Special Message SOME LAWS THAT ARE NEEDED Mr. Roosevelt S ends Document to Congress Further Outlining His Views Concerning Needed Legisla tion. Washington, D. C, Special. Presi dent Roosevelt .on Monday sent to both houses of Congress a special message setting forth his views con cerning matters that should receive prompt attention from the lawmak ers. The substance of the document follows: - THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE To the Senate and House of Repre sentatives : In my message to the Congress of March 2d, 1908, I outlined certain measures Avhieh I believe the ma jority of our cotintrymen desire to have enacted into law at this time. These measures do not represent by any means all that I would like to see done if I thought it possible, but they do represent what I believe can now be done if an earnest fciEort to ward this end i3 made. Sinco I Avrote this message an em ployers' liability law has been enact ed which, it is true, comes short of what ought to have been done, but which does represent a real advance. Apparently there is good ground to hope that there will be further legis lation providing for recompensing all employes who suffer injury while en gaged in the public service; ''that there will be a child-labor law enact ed for the District oj Columbia; that the waterways commission will be continued with sufficient financial support to increase the effectiveness of its preparatory work; that steps will bo taken to provide for such in vestigation into tariff conditions, by the appropriate committee of the House of Representatives and by government experts in the executive sorvice, as will secure the full in formation, necessary for immediate action in revising the tariff at the hands of the. Congress elected next fall; and finally, that financial legis lation will be enacted providing for temporary measures for meeting any trouble that may arise in the next year or .two, and for a commission of experts who shall thoroughly investi gate the whole matter, both here and in the great commercial countries abroad, so as to be able to recom mend legislation which will put our financial system on an efficient and permanent basis. It is much to be wished that one feature of the finan cial legislation of this session should bo the establishment of postal savings bank. Ample appropriation should be made to enable the inter-State commerce commission to carry out the very important feature of the Hepburn law which gives to the commission supervision and control over the accounting systems of the railways. Failure to provide means which will enable the commission to examine the books of the railways would amount to an attack on the law at its most vital poiut, and would benefit, as nothing else could bene fit, those railways which are corrupt ly or incompetently managed. For est reserves should be established throughout the Appalachian moun tain region wherever it can be shown that thev will have a direct and real connection With the conservation and improvement of navigable rivers. There seems, however, much doubt about two of the measures I have re commended: the measure to do away with abuse of the power of injunction and the measure or group of meas ures to strengthen and render both more efficient and more wise the con trol by the national government over the great corporations doing an inter-State business. As To Injunction Power. First, as to the power of injunction and of punishment for contempt. In contempt oases, -save where imme diate action is imperative, the trial should be before another judge. As regards injunctions, some such legis lation as that I have previously re commended should be enacted. They are blind who fail to realize the ex treme bitterness caused among large bodies of worthy citizens by the use that has been repeatedly made of the power of injunction in labor disputes. Those in whose judgment we have most right to trust are of the opinion that while much of the complaint against the use of the injunction is unwarranted, ye that it is unques- f . . . . tionably true that in a numoer o cases this power has been used to th l r ii M.i . 1 , v. . ..: of e gravo injury ot the ngiit oi mooring men. I ask that it be limited in some such way as that I have already pointed out in my previous messages, for the very reason that I do not wish to see an embittered effort made to rt i l 1 1 destroy it. It is unwise stubbornly to refuse to provide against a repoti tion of the abuses which have caused the present unrest. In a democracy like ours it is idle to expect per manently to thwart the determination of the great body of our citizens. It may be and often is the highest duty of a court, a legislature, or an execu tive, to resist and defy a gust of pop ular passion; and most certainly no public servant, whatever may be the consequesces to himself, should yield to what he thinks wrong. But in a question which is emphatically one of public policy, the policy which 'the public demands is sure in the end to be adopted ; and a persistent refusal to srrant to a large portion of our' people what is right is only too apt in the end to result in causing such irri tation that whon the right is obtained! it is obtained in the course of a move-! ment so ill considered and violent as to. be accompanied by much that is wrong. The process of injunction in labor disputes, as-well as where State laws are involved, should be used sparingly, and only when there is the clearest necessity for it ; but it is one Bo necessary to the efficient perform ance of duty by the court on behalf of the nation that it is in the highest degreo to bo regretted that it should be liable to reckless use; for this reckless use tends to make honest men desire so to hamper its execution as to destroy its usefulness. Stronger Anti-Trust Law. The strengthening of the anti-trust law is demanded upon both moral and economic grounds. Our purpose in strengthening it is to secure more effective control by the national gov ernment over the business use of the vast masses of individual, and espe cially of corporate, wealth, which at the present time monopolize most of the inter-State business of the coun try; and we believe the control can best, be exercised by preventing the growth of abuses, rather than merely by trying to destroy them when they have already grown. In the . highest sense of the word this movement for thorough control of the business use of this great wealth is conservative. Concerning State control of rail ways the President says: The decision of the Supreme Court in the 'Minnesota and North Carolina cases illustrate how impossible is a dual control of national commerce. The States can not control it. All they can do is to control intra-State commerce, and this now forms but a small fraction of the commerce car ried by the railroads through each State. Actual experience has shown that the effort at State control is sure to be nullified in one way or another sooner or later. The nation alone can act with effectiveness and wisdom; it should have the control both of tlvj business and of the agent by which the business is done, for any attempt to separate this control must result in grotesque absurdity. This means that we must rely upon national legis lation to prevent the commercial abuses that now exist and the otheis that are sure to arise unless some ef ficient governmental body has ade quate power of control over them. Therefore, it is clear that (unless a national incorporation law can be forthwith enacted) some body or bodies in the executive service should be giveji power to pass upon any combination or agreement in relation to inter-State commerce, and every such combination or agreement not thus approved should be treated as in violation of lav and prosecuted ac cordingly. The issuance of the se curities of anv combination doing inter-State business should bo wnbr the supervision of the national gov ernment. A strong effort has been made to have labor organizations completely exempted from any of the operations of this law, whether or not their acts are in restraint of trade. Such exception would in all probability make the bill unconstitutional, and. the legislature has no more right to pass a bill without regard to whether it is constitutional than the courts have lightly to declare unconstitution al a law which the legislature lias solemnly enacted. The responsibility is as great on the one side as on the other, and an abuse of power by the legislature in one direction is equal ly to be condemned with an abuse of power by the courts in the other di rection. It is not possible wholly to except labor organizations from the workings of this law, and they who insist upon totally excepting them are merely providing that their status shall be kept wholly unchanged, and that they shall continue to be expos ed to the action which they now dread. Obviously an organization not formed for profit should not be re quired to furnish statistics in any way as complete as tnose turmsneu by organizations for profit. Moreover, so far as labor is engaged in produc tion only, its claims to be exempted from the anti-trust law are sound. This would substantiallv cover the right of laborers to combine, to strike peaceably, and to enter into trade agreements with the employers. Rut when labor undertakes in a wrongful manner to prevent the distribution and sale of the products of labor, as bv certain forms of the boycott, it has left the field of production, and its action may plainly be in restraint of inter-State trade, and must necessar ily be subject to inquiry, exactly as in the casq of any other combination for the same purpose, so as to deter mine whether such action is contrary to sound public policy. The heartiest encouragement should be given to-the wage-workers to form labor unions and to enter into agreements with their employers; and their right to strike, so long as they act peaceably, must be preserved. But we should sanction neither a boycott nor a blacklist which would be illegal at common law. Federal Legislation Emphasized. Surely such a state of affairs as that above set forth emphasizes the need of further Federal legislation, not merely because of the material benefits such legislation will secure, but above all because this Federal ac tion should be part, and a large part, of the campaign to waken our people as a whole to a lively and effective condemnation of the low standard of morality implied in such conduct on the part of great business con cerns. The first duty of every man is to provide a livelihood for himself and for those dependent upon him; it is from every standpoint desirable that each of our citizens should en deavor by hard work and honorable methods to sdure for"' him and his such a competence as will carry with it the opporunity to enjoy in reason able fashion the comforts and refine ments of life; and. furthermore, the man of great business ability who obtains a fortune in upright fashion inevitably in so doing confers a ben efit upon the community as a whole and is entitled to reward, torespect, and to admiration. Negro Shoots White Man. Hickory, N. C, Special. The con troversy between four young white men and two nogroes at 7 o'clock Saturday afternoon at Connelly Springs resulted in the negro's shoot ing Pat Berry in the forehead, kill ing him instantly. The negroes so far have not been captured. The last seen 'of them they were malum? their way in the,, direction of Hick ory. Alleged Yeggman Arested. Greenville, S. C, Special. A white man giving his name as W. J. Henry was lodged in the county jail Satur day, charged with blowing open the safo in Carpenter Bros.' store Mon day night. He was arested at Dun can's, a town near this city. The evidence against him looks pretty strong and lie will be held for" trial in all probability. Head Official Old Inhabitant Asso ciation Dead. Washington, Special. John Ed ward Libbey, president, and Charles B. Church, vice-president, respective ly, of the Oldest Inhabitants' Asso ciation of the District of Columbia, died here. Mr. Libbey was born in this city November 22d, 1S37. and Mr. Church at Jefferson, Frederick county, Maryland, September 11th. 1S2G. Both men had long been identified with the lumber business. FF.M1NIXK MAYS NOTES. Madame Gould should have been sent to a sanatorium, declares Town Topics. American teachers are going to England to study the English school system. Miss Clemence L. Stephens, ot New York City, bequeathed ?S9,000 to charitable institutions. Appointment of women policemen Is advocated by the Women's Demo cratic Club, of New York City. I.Iis3 Ray I.ongworth was admitted into the Central Federated Union as the walking delegate of the Hebrew Variety Actors Union, in New York City. Eleanora Crawford, daughter of the novelist, F. Marion Crawford, and Cavalier Pietro Rocca were married at Sorrento, Italy, at the villa of the bride's father. ivf ;a r nvhplle E. Strawmskl. a hos pital nurse on North Brother Island, N. Y., died from poisoning uue 10 in fection from the prick ot a pin in a diphtheria patient's clothing. Countess Ada von Boos Farrar, of New York City, has opened her Brookside Farm Home, where she wni rare for the wives and children of prisoners serving sentences. Mrs. Lucy Burris, owner of two fine farms near Wabash, Ind., was fined one cent for assault and battery against one of her tenants, and went to jail In preference to paying the fine. Mrs. Owen D. Evans, a graduate of Radcliffe, recently won the prize of $100 offered, for the best original essay by the women's auxiliary of the New York Civil Service Reform Asso ciation. King Edward and Queen Alexandra of England, though far from being the oldest of the royal couples, have been married for more years than any other pair of crowned heads in Europe. Will CLOSE DOWN Carolina Cotton Mills Agree to Suspend Operation July 1 WILL DECLINE TO TAKE ORDERS At a Representative Meeting of Cot ton Manufacturers at Spartanburg It Was Decided That All Cotton Mills of Piedmont Section of North and South Carolina Will Shut Down For Indefinite Period After July 1. Spartanburg, S. C-, Special. The eotton mills of the Piedmont section of North and South Carolina will close down indefinitely July 1st, and' no further orders for cloth at the present prices will be accepted by the piills. This action was taken at a meeting of mill presidents represent ing the mill industry of the upper section of South Carolina and North Carolina. The action of the cotton mill men did not come as a surprise, for it will be remembered that it was reported in this correspondence several days ago that the mill men were up againsJS a serious proposition. It was either a reduction of wages and shorter hours or the closing down of the mill in definitely. , The mill had hoped to op- orate on shorter hours and reduced wages; in fact, some of the mills have been pursuing that policy for some time; but it gave no relief to the sit uation. The meeting was held in the cham ber of commerce and nearly every mill in this section was represented either by personal representatives or By proxy. The meeting was held quickly and quietly. In fact, it did not become known that the meetin.gr had been held until representatives of the mills made the following state ment : "At a representative meeting of cotton manufacturers held this day in the chamber of commerce it was resolved that they will accept no fur ther orders for eloth at present prices; that they will shut down their mills indefinitely not later than July 1st, 1908." The closing down of the mills will throw thousands and thousands of people out of employment, and the great problem before the mill opera tives is how they will employ them selves after July 1st until the mills resume operation. Had the mills closed down earlier in the season the siutation would not have been as se rious as at the present time, for the mill people could have easily, made. ar rangements to secure work on the farms. The employers of farm labor have now made all their arrange ments, for agricultural work. It has been said that possibly the mills have made arrangements to provide for the operatives while the mills are idle. Dead of Heart Failure. fireenville. 8. C.. Special. Cant. A. " - - - ' - 7 I I D. Hoke, a prominent business man ot this citv, was found dead in bed Sat urday morning. Heart failure was the cause of his death. Captain noko was a veteran of the Spanish-American war, having been one of the cap tains in the First South Carolina Regiment. He was educated in Char leston. His mother was a Miss Mills, of that citv. The funeral services will take place here Monday morn ing at n o clock. Murderer Confesses. Roanoke, Va., special John Hamlet t Phillips, aged 20, was ar rested charged with the killing of Walter Bell and the wounding of Hunt Lester. Phillips confessed, saying ho shot the men in self-defense. Phillips was "with 'a woman when it is said Bell and Lester ac costed her and their conduct was re sented by her champion. Judge Wellborn Dead. Millen, Ga., Special. Judge Carl ton J. Wellborn, aged 72, died here Sunday. He had served many years as State librarian, was , a brigade quartermaster in the Confederate army, had been a circuit judge of the State courts, and under Secretary of the Interior Hoke Smith during a term of President Cleveland served as one of the attorneys of that deart ment. Sidney Herbert Lacy Deal. Orlando, Fla., Special. Major Sid ney Herbert Lacy, journalist, soldier and historian, died at his home at Maitland. Over the pen name of Sydney Herbert he had for years contributed an interesting article each Sunday for The Savannah Morning News. He was the best post ed man in the United States on the history of the civil war, viewed from both the Federal and Confederate sides. "