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Year, In Advance.
"FOR GOD, FOR COUNTRY AND FOR TRUTH."
Slag! C?y 8 CmtK
Vol. -xviii.
PLYMOUTH, N, C. FKIDAY, MAY 22, 1908.
Ha 51.
iS GREAT CONFERENCE
Governors of Many States and
President Meet in Council
IS A NOTEWORTHY GATHERING
Kotable Conference, the First of Ita
Kind in the History of America,
Begun Under Auspicious Circum
stances in the White House.
Washington, Special. Two ideas
destined to mark material progress in
America's futui'e resulted from the
first of the three days' conference at
the White House at whiceh President
Roosevelt, the Governors of 44
States, 'Cabinet officers, Supreme
Court judges, Senators, Representa
tives and experts are participating, in
efforts to reach conclusions on the
best methods of conserving the nat
ural resources of the United States.
The first is that a permanent organ
ization between the States and the na
tion is necessary and will likely result
from the present conference to ac
complish the end sought. The sec
ond, suggested by Secretary Root, is
that there is no limitation by the con
, stitution to the agreements which
(day be made between two States,
subject to the approval of Congress.
The two ideas fully developed, it is
predicted, would result in the con
servation of Ihe energies and . re
sources of the nation through uniform
and unconflieting laws, both national
and State.
The idea that the conference should
be perpetuated developed in the form
of resolutions adopted for later con
sideration by Governor Glenn, of
North Carolina Governor Folk, of
Missouri, and many others, but a par
limentary move to save time sent
them to a committee for considera
tion. Forty-four Governors of soverign
States of the Union sat on gilded
chairs in the "historic East Room of
the White House and chatted from 10
to 11 o 'clock. Five hundred other
persons taxed the capacity of the
room. They were Cabinet officers,
Supreme Court Justices, Senator
Representatives and experts in all
tines of industry. With a flourish of
trumpets the President and vice pres
ident entered at 11 o'clock and the
i conference, the first of its kind in
the history of the nation, begun.
' Ti'e lcception of the President was
the lust climax of the day. He enter
ed the East Room at 11 o'clock as
he Marine Band rendered the presi
dential honors. The Governors arose;
they clapped their hands, they shout
ed. The demonstration became tu
multuous. Then Jfoll6yed , a hush
The venerable '1)1'.':' Edward Everett
Hale, chaplain of the Senate, read
from the Scripture the description
of the fertility of , the land promised
the children of Israel, and followed it
with a supplication for guidance in
ihe present undertaking. . '
President Roosevelt here begun his
explanation' of the reason for the
conference. His fifty-minute speech
was many times interrupted by ap
plause, and when he finally reached
his point of praise to the inland wa
terways ceommission, and declared
with characteristic vigor that should
Congress neglect to perpetuate the
commission "I will do it myself," he
"captured" the assemblage. The
Governors stood up and shouted, Sen
ators and Congressmen added a laugh
to their applause, and general as
sent was given the sentiment.
The President's Address.
' The President spoke in part as fol
lows :
Governors of Several States and Gen-,
tlemen;
I welcome you to this conference at
the White House. You have come
hither at my request so that 'we may
join together to consider the question
of the conservation and use of the
great fundamental sourcces of wealth
of this nation. So vital is this ques
tion, that for the first time in our his
tory the chief executive officers of the
States seperately, and of the States
together forming the nation, ' have
met to consider it.
With the Governors come men from
each State chosen for their special ac
quaintance with the terms of the
problem that is before us. Among
them are experts in natural resources
and representatives of national or
ganizations concerned in the develop
ment and use of these resources; the
Senators and Representatives in Con
gress; the Supreme Court, the Cabi
net, and the Inland Waterways Com
mission have likewise been invited to
the conference, which is therefore
national in a pecular sense.
( A Weighty Problem.
This conference on the conservation
of natural resources is in effect a
meeting of the representatives of all
the people of the United States called
to consider the weightiest problem
now before the nation; and the occa
sion for the meeting lies in the fact
that the natural resources of our
country are in danger of exhaustion
if we permit the old wasteful methods
of cspliti-ia then to continue.
With the rise of peoples from sav
agery to civilization and with the con
sequent growth in the extent and va
riety of the needs of the average man,
there cdmes a steadily . increasing
growth of the amount demanded by
this average man from the actual re
sources of the country. Yet, rather
curiously, at the same time the aver
age man is apt to lose his realization
of this dependence upon nature.
Savages, and very primitive peoples
generally, concern themselves . only
with superficial natural resonreea;
with those which they obtain from th
actual surface of the ground. As
peoples become a little less primitive,
their industries, although in a rude
manner, are extended to resources be
low the surface; then, with what we
call civilization and the extension of
knowledge, more resources come into
rye, industries are multiplied, and
foresight . begins to become a neces
sary 'and prominent factor in life.
Crops are cultivated; animals are do
mesticated; and metals are mastered
Mankind's Progress.
Every step of the progress of man
kind is marked by the discovery an
use of natural resources previously
unused. Without such progressive
knowledge and utilization of natural
resources population could not grow,
nor industries multiply, nor the hid
den wealth of the earth be developed
for the benefit of mankind.
From the first beginnings of civili
zation, on the banks of the Nile and
the Euphrates, the industrial progress
of the world has gone on slowly, with
occasional setbacks, but the whole
3teadily, through tens of centuries to
the present day. But of late the rap
idity of the process has increased at
such a rate that more space has been
actually covered during the century
and a quarter occupied by our nation
al life than during the preceding six
thousands years that take us back to
:he earliest monuments of Egypt, to
the earliest cities of the Babylonian
plain.
A Difference of Degree.
When the founders of this nation
met at Independence Hall in Phila
delphia the conditions of commerce
lad not fundamentally changed from
what they w7ere when the Phoenician
seels first furrowed the lonely waters
)f the Mediterranean. ' The differ
ences were those of degree, not of
kind, and they were not in all cases
sven those of degree. Mining was
larried on fundamentally as it had
Jeen carried on by the Pharaohs in
Ihe countries adjacent to the Red
lea.
The Wares of the merchants of
Boston, of Charleston, like the wares
)f the merchants of Nineveh and Si
ion, if they went by water, were car
ried by boats propelled by sails or
jars; if they went by land were car
ried in wagons drawn by beasts of
iraft or in packs on the backs of
beasts of -burden. The ships that
jrossed the high seas were better than
ihe ships that had once crossed the
iegean, but they were of the same
iype, after all they were wooden
ships propelled by sails; and on land,
;he ' roads were not as good as the
roads of the Roman Empire, while
:he service of the posts was probably
nferior.
In Washington 's time anthracite
:oal was known only as a useless
)lack" stone; and the great fields of
bituminous coal were undiscovered,
is steam was unknown, the ude of
;oal for power production was un
ireamed of. Water was. practically
;he only source of power, save the
abor of men and animals; and this
jower was " used only in the most
5rimitjve fashion. But a few small
ron deposits had been found in this
jountry, and the use of iron by our
:ountrymen was very small. Wood
was practically the only fuel, and
what lumber was sawed was consum
;d locally, while the forests were re
garded chiefly as obstructions to set
;lement and cultivation.
The mere increase in our consump
;ion of coal during 1907 over 1906 ex
seeded the total consumption in 1876,
;he Centennial year. The enormous
stores of mineral oil and gas are
argely gone. Our natural waterways
re not gone, but they have been so
injured by neglect, and by the divi
sion of responsibility and utter lack
?f system in dealing with them, that
there is less navigation on them now
than there was fifty years ago. Fin
ally, we began with soils of unexam
pled fertility and we have so im
poverished them by injudicious use
and by failing to check erosion that
their crop producing power is dimin
ishing instead of increasing.
Such was the degree of progress
to which civilized mankind had at
tained when this nation began its ca
reer. It is almost impossible for us
in this day to realize how little our
revolutionary ancestors knew of the
great store of natural resources whose
discovery and use have been such
vital factors in the growth and great
ness of this nation, and how little they
required to take from this store in
order to satisfy their needs.
After speaking upon the various
points wherein our natural resources
should be conserved the President
colsed as follows :
Finally, let ys remember that the
conservation of our natural resources,
tnougn the gravest problem of to-day,
is yet but part of another and greater
problem to which this nation is not
yet awake, but to which it will awake
in, time, and with which it must here
after grapple if it is to live the
problem of national efficiency, the pa
triotic ducv of insuring the safety
and continuance of the nation. When
the people of the United States con
sciously" undertake to raise themselves
as citizens, and the nation and the
States in their several spheres, to the
highest pitch of excellence in private,
State, and national life, and to do
this because it is the first of all the
duties of true patriotism, then and
not till then the future of this nation,
in quality and in time, will be assur
ed. Governor Glenn s Great Speech.
Governor R. B. Glenn, of North
Carolina, covered himself with glory
before the President and the Gover
nors. He made a very delightful
speech, taking as his subject the Ap-palachian-Whita
Mountain park pro
ject. The Times calls it the one
startling feature of the session.
Among other things, Governor Glenn
said: "When the Civil war closed
you of the North told us that we
were ysnr brothers. You said that
if we wanted anything to come to you
and we would get it. The very first
time we have come to you to assist
us in preserving a great industry we
are rebuffed." This statement
brought forth round vafter round of
applause from Governors from all
parts of the United Slates.
Governor Glenn's reference to old
war times was made during the
course of an impromptu address in
which he followed the lines of Presi
dent Roosevelt in condemning Con
gress for its inactivity.
"We have come here year after
year," said Governor Glenn, "and
asked that someth ing be done to reg
ulate the industry of inter-State for
estry. We can regulate intra-State
forestry, but we cannot regulate th
inter-State industry. And every timf
we come to our Representatives in
Congress they say, 'Wait until next
session,' that is the answer we havt
been getting for years.
Torpedo Flotilla at Savannah.
Savannah, Ga., Special. The tor
pedo boat flotila, commanded by
Lieutenant W. G. Mitchell and com
prising the Porter, flagship, De Long.
Thornton, Blakeley and Tingey.
reached here by the inside route
from Brunswick and tied up at the
docks. At sunrise the vessels will
sail, taking the inside route foi
Charleston. They are bound foi.
Northern waters.
A Second Gillette Case.
Kanab, Utah, Special Alvin Heat
on, aged IS, confessed to the murder
of Mary Stevens in the canyen back
of Orderville under circumstances re
sembling Gillette's murder of Grace
Brown. Heaton declared that the
girl pleaded with him to marry her.
Driven to desperation he asked her
to meet him in the canyon, and shot
her while she begged him to wed her.
The body was found two days latei
whore it was hidden" under pile oi
rocks.
Places Tax on "Near Leer."
Atlanta, Ga., Special. City coun
cil has passed an ordinance placing
a license tax of $200 a year on so
called "near beer," a beverage con
taining less than 2 per cent, of al
chol, which has been on sale since
the prohibition law went into effect.
The ordinance also provides that
"near beers" shall not be sold on
Sunday nor to minors and prohibits
the serving of free lunches with it.
Bishop Van Deviver Will aemain.
Richmond, Ya., Special. Rt. Rev.
A. Yan Deviver will withdraw his
resignation already forwarded to
Rome.and continue his service as
Catholic bishop of the Richmond Dio
cese. Waited upon by a committee to
present resolutions adopted at a mass
meeting urging him to reconsider and
not leave the bishop deeply affected,
consented to do so. It was the bish
op's intention to return to Belgium
and li with his relatives.
Indicted For Rebating.
, New Orleans, La., Special. Indict
ments for the acceptance of rebates
on cotton shipments were returned
against the Illinois Central and the
Yazoo & Mississippi Yalley Railroads
by a Federal grand jury. It was
charged that the Illinois Central ac
cepted a fee of two cents a bale for
booking cotton for foreign ports from
Granda and Jackson, Miss. The Ya
zoo and Mississippi Yalley was al
leged to have accepted similar fees
on shipme.-iK from Natchez and Ya
zoo City, Miss.
GENEROUS.
Mr. Meane I have nothing but
praise for the new minister.
ilr. Goode So I noticed when the
plate came around. Philadelphia In-qu'.rer.
GOVERNORS ADJOURN
The Set Programme of the Last Day
Swept Aside and the President,
With Characteristic Progressive
ness, Lets it he Known That Action
is What is Needed and There Will
be no Halting for Precedent or Red
Tape.
Washington, Special. The firfct
conference of the Governors of the
States of the American Union ended
Friday. The final accomplishment
of the conferencec, which has been in
progress at the White House for
three days cannot 'be set forth with
mathematical precision. That its im
mediate results are more than ample
is the expression of President Roose
velt and of the Governors who par
ticipated. The printed record of the confer
ence, which will later be available to
every American home, will be a com
pilation of facts, startling in their
meaning, convincing in their univer
sal conclusion that the States must
act, and that the States and the na
tion must co-operate that to the end
the whole people of the nation may
accure the lasting benefit of its nat
ural resources.
"Declaration of Co-operation."
Besides the compilation of facts
by the experts and the freely ex
pressed opinion of the Governors, the
conference leaves as its permanent
record a thousand word "declaration
of co-operation."
Perhaps gi'eater in importance than
all else was the determination of the
Governors of the States to perfect a
permanent organization whereby a
heretofore unknown intimacy may be
developed among the Executives of
the forty-six soverign States, made
strong by a common purpose and
made potent by a pro-announcements
which may not lightly be disregarded.
Of the last day the story is one
of many features. The set pro
gramme was swept aside. The Pres
ident presided hroughout. The pre
pared papers were not presented, but
they will be printed in the permanent
record. Their places were taken first
by the "declaration" which ... was
adopted after discussion which
brought to light no serious objection
to its affirmations.
President Roosevelt himself an
swering the one criticism that of
Governor Folk, of Missouri to the
declaration, aroused the conference
to its wannest demonstration of ap
proval . He swept aside the "aca
demic question" of where the line oi
authority should be drawn between
the States and the nation. He want
ed action, and what he said received
endorsement at each period. It was
this:
Roosevelt for Action.
"Just a word on what has been
called the twilight land between the
powers of the Federal and State gov
ernments. My primary aim in the
legislation that I have advocated foi
the regulation of the great corpora
tions has been to provide some effec
tive popular sovereign for each cor
poration. I do not wish to keep this
twilight land one of large and vague
boundaries, by judicial decision thai
in a given case the State cannot act,
and then a few years later by other
decisions that in practically similar
cases the nation cannot act either.
I am trying to find out where one or
the other can act, so there shall al
ways be some sovereign power that
on behalf of the people can hold
every big corporation, every big in
dividual, to an accountabiliy so that
its or his acts shall be beneficial
to the people as a whole. In matters
that rlate only to the people within
the State of course the State is tc
be sovereign end it should have the
power to act. If the matter is such
that the State itself cannot act then
I wish on behalf of all the States
that he national government should
act.
The declaration, upon which the
President's remarks were predicated,
was presented to the conference by
Governor Blanchard, of Louisiana, at
the opening of the session. The de
claration begins:
"We, the Governors of the States
and Territories of the United States
of America, in conference assembled,
do hereby declare the conviction that
the 'great prosperity of our countrj
rests upon the abundant resources of
the land chosen by our. forefathers
for their homes and where they laid
the foundation of this great nation."
The declaration states that the nat
ural resources of the country are the
common heritage of all the people,
and that the duty, of the government
is to censure the same for future gen
erations. Reclamation work is advised and
the streams and watercourses should
be protected and improved. Forestry
ought to be encouraged by the States
and the general government. The
final work of the conference was tc
make it a permanency.
BAPTISTS ADJOURN
Great Meeting of the Southern
Convention Closes
FAVORS PROGRESSIVE ACTION
Southern Baptist Convention Comes
to a Final Adjournment After a
Night Session Devoted to Address
es From Members of Indian Tribes
and From Mexicans of the Texas
Frontier.
Hot Springs, Ark., Special. After
a night session devoted to addresses
from members pf the Osage and Paw
nee Indian tribes and from Mexicans
of the Texas frontier, interpreted
through field workers of the organi
zation, the fifty-third annual session
of the Southern Baptist convention
came to a final adjournment Monday
The session passes into historj as the
greatest in the progress of the de
nomination's move in this country.
Reports from home and -foreign mis
sion departments from the Sunday
school board, from the Baptist Young
People's Union and from the Wom
an's Home Missionary Union, made
in this body all evidenced the great
growth of this organization and
pledges for even greater extensions
of these departments were made.
The last work of the convention
was the naming 'of a-standing prohi
bition committee, to carry out the
declarations iterated in the resolution
passed at the morning session. This
committee is composed of A. J. Bar
toil, J. A. Johnson, S. P. Brooks,, J.
B. Gambrell, J. B. Cranlill, J. A. Ma
ples, R. W. Daniels and P. E. Bur
roughs, of Texas; W. T. ..Amiss, of
Arkansas; H. A. Summerville and C.
Y. Edwards, of Louisiana; S. C. Wolf
of Oklahoma; W. T. Lowry, of Miss
issippi; E. E. Folk, of Tennesee, and
W. 1). Upshaw, of Georgia.
Liquor Traffic Denounced.
"The reception tendered Secretary
Taft on his arrival at Shanghai
means more than our people appreci
ate, The greatest people of the na
tion came to do him honor and the
streets and fields were filled with
hundreds of thousands who took an
interest in the public reception."'
The convention adopted ringing
resolutions condemning the liquor
traffic in all its phases. Officers of
the national government are request
ed not to issue -privilege taxes in
States where the sale of liquor is
prohibited by the State law.
Congress is urged to inhibit the
shipment of liquor into dry territory
and people everywhere are urged not
to vote for candidates who are in
sympathy with the saloon interests.
Upon motion of Dr. A. J. Barten, of
Texas, an amendment was adopted
providing for the appointment of a
standing committee on temperance to
consist of 15 members who shall keep
up the fight. The sum of $S25,000 has
been apportioned for collection for
home and foreign missions next year
by the Southern Baptist convention.
Chairman J. B. Grambrell, of Texas,
of the committee on estimates and
appointments made his report of the
convention at the afternoon session,
which was adopted.
Serious Affray at Murphy.
Murphy, N. C, Special. Will Me
r&ney and Garland Posey got into a
dispute here Monday evening. Me
roney struck Posey with a rock and
Posey cut Meroney four times with a
knife near the heart. Meroney 's con
dition is not considered serious. Posey
is under bond. Both are of promin
ent families. The trouble came from ,
the effects of too much whiskey.
Monster Whale Captured.
Beaufort, N. C, Special. A large
whale was captured at Cape Lookout
on Sunday and was towed to Beau
fort, where it Wll be pulled out of
water by the shipyard railways. The
monster is about fifty feet long and
twenty-five feet around the body. It
will be on exhibition at the shipyards
for two or three days. The estimated
value of the bone and oil is $000.
Telegraphic Briefs.
The Southern Baptist Convention
adjourned on Monday after one of
the most largely attended sessions in
its history.
On Monday congress passed the de
ficiency bill, carrying nearly $1.8,000,
000. Stockholders of the Carolina,
Clineh field & Ohio railroad met Mon
day and sanctioned the issue of $15,
000,000 bonds.
Hearing in. the notorious Flatt di
vorce' suit was resumed.
The Atlantic fleet has sailed to Pn-S'jund.
BIG BANK DEFUNCT
Pittsburg Institution Unable to
Recover from Big Steal -
WILL NOT HURT OTHER BANKS
Allegheny National Will ; Not Re
Open Its DoorB Institution Can
not Weather the Storm Will
Have No Effect on Business.
Pittsburg, Pa., Special. It is of
ficially announced that, the Allegheny
National Bank, whose former cashier,
William Montgomery, is in jail, spe
cifically charged with the misappro
priation of $594,000. while officers of
the bank and of the Treasury De
partment are trying to fathom still
larger apparent discrepancies in the
bank's fundc, will not re-open for
business Monday. Instead a notice
on the door will announce that tie
Comptroller of the Currency has tak
en charge and will close up the affairs
of the bank.
Until late Sunday it had been ex
pected that the institution would
weather the torm and be able to
continue business. To this end a
number of strong financial institu
tions and prominent capitalists of the
city offered assistance and provided
$250,000 cash while the directors pro
vided a like amount to meet imme
diate needs or provide for possible
emergencies. At the same time a
complete re-organization was decided
upon. A hitch occurred in these
plans and all of the day was spent
in conferences attended by Examin
er Folds, representing the Treasury
Department, the bank's directors and
financiers who had proffered aid. Af
ter a careful review of the situation
suspension of the bank was decided
lmnn o flip n,ili InOMinl rnt-co Vki-i
Mint f'.xw M VAU
this decision was scarcely announced
until a new ray of hope appeared.
The announcement was withdrawn
and the conference reconvened to dis
cuss the new suggestion for continu
ing business. Finally, however, it
was agreed to stand by the earlier
decision and to liquidate.
The suspension 'of . the bank, it is
believed, will have practically no ef
fect upon commercial 6r financial in
stitutions of the citv. -
President to Methodists.
Washington, Special. '.iGood citi
zenship" was the subject of - an ad
dress by President Rosevelt in whieh
he paid a notable" tribute to mother
hood before a large gathering of
Methodists at the American Univer
sity, in course' of construction, just
outside of the city limits. The assem
blage was composed principally ' of
the delegates to the General Confer
ence of the Methodist Episcopal
ill lfli ViAwf in c nc nnn i n Tin 1 f i mrtVlk''
What was to have been a feature
of the occasion a reception of the
delegates by the President' and. Mrs.
Roosevelt in the college of history
was abandoned owing to an engage
ment which the President previously
had made. Perhaps no feature- of
the exercises occasioned the" "Presi-.
dent more real delight than the sing
ing by the German members of the
General Conference of "Em . Feste
Burk Isk Unser Gott" (A .Mighty
Fortress is Our God"), a hymn sung
by the adherents of Martin Luther
during the period of reformation.
"That's fine," exclaimed President
Roosevelt when the singing of this
old . hymn, began. He added that It
wa's his favorite song. The President
then repeated a portion of the first
verse of the song in German to the
evident delight of the assemblage.
Work on Panama Canal.
Charleston, S. C, Special. The
Hon. William H. Taft, Secretary of
War, arrived in Charleston harbor at
noon Sunday on board the cruiser
Prairie and after spending a few
hours in the. city, during which time
he was met and greeted by a number
of officials and friends, left the city
for Washington at 5:15 p. m. via the
Atlantic Coast Line. The Secretary
expressed himself as exceedingly well
pleased with tk progress of the ca
nal work.
Telegraphic Briefs. .
After a lively debate the Senate re
ported Senator Rayner's Stewart in
quiry resolution to the Military Com
mittee. Hundreds of visitors saw a Vir
ginia couple married in the rotunda
of the Capitol. '
Governor Fort, of New Jersey, is
being boomed as the Republican nom
inee for YW-President. .