North Carolina Newspapers

rs v f, :':! " ' ' r;' rf (Art ipifl&f i J I Lli I ill Year, In Adraoc. "FOR OOD, FOR COUNTRY AND FOR TRUTH. ' VOL. XX, PLYMOUTH, N, C FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1909. Battle of Kings Mountain Commemorated With Grand Monument Day of Speech-Making and Patriotic Pride. King's Mountain Battle Ground, Special. Thousands of people jour neyed Thursday on a patriotic pil grimage. The battleground of King's 'Mountain was; the. shrine of their seeking. Here in the presence of the official heads of North and South Carolina two United States Sena tors and two Representatives in Con gress besides others prominent in , the officialdom of two States, official dedication was accorded the King's Mountain monument a signal recog nition by the Congress of the United States of the valorous part played in the war of independence by the sol diers of the south. It was a day of many features. Pre sided over by Gov. Marin F. Ansel of South Carolina, the exercises of the morning which were prolonged into the afternoon were entirely intelBst ing. Undoubtedly they were to the audience "gathered from a vast ex panse of many counties in two or more Commonwealths. For never be. fore did such an audience, of whom the majority stood the entire time, listen for three hours and a half to constant making of speeches without the slightest exhibition of jstless ness. Never had lonesome Kings Moun tain been host to such a concourse. For a day or two in advance strag glers had been coming in wagons, harbingers of the hosts to follow. From Gaston, from Cleveland, from York, from Chester, from Spartan burg, from Mecklenburg, from Mc Dowell, from Cabarrus, from Lan caster, from Union, even from Bun combe they had come, the earliest ar rivals pitching camp by the roadside and in the woods in true pioneer fashion. Before dawn an endless stream of carriages and buggies and wagons were rattling and rumbling along the winding ways. Three roads, that from" Kings Mountain, that from Grover and that from Yorkville had been put in excellent condition by public appropriations and private subscriptions inspired by civic pride. Contributing most brightly to the animation of the occasion was ' the delegation of Daughters of the Ameri can Revolution from Charlotte, from Yorkville aand other places. The Charlottedelegation, of course, in cluded the delegates who were there attending the North Carolina Con gress of that . organization. It is doubtf ull if ever before so many rep resentatives of feminine culture, re finement and loj'al patriotism climb ed breathlessly the cliff which the plateau overtops. Seven companies of the national guard of North and South Carolina were present. Friday they reproduced the battle of Kings Mountain with the deathless cartridges. One of these companies is from North Caro lina, the Dallas company, under the . command of Capt. A. L. Bullwinkle. The others are respectively from Rock Hill, Fort Mill,, Columbia, Corn wall, Yorkville and Spartanburg. In command of these provisional troops DRIFTED BY THE STORM Port Arthur, Tex., Special, Water logged, dismantled and with the decks barely .above the water, as sho was being towed by the Guffey Company steamer Winifred, the Kate Flore, Capt. Whitney, from Mobile to Cuban ports, limped into port Friday with what was left of the crew in the throes of starvation. Of the crew of seven which sailed from Mobile, Fri day night five are in the hospital THE GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY IS STILL DUBIOUS Washington, Special. The follow ing resolution was adopted at the meeting of the board of managers of the National Geographical Soeiety held at Hubbard Memorial Hall as an introduction to the reports of Dr.' F. A. Cook and Commander R. E. Peary, to be printed in the magazine of the society: "We print herewith the reports of Dr. F. A. Cook and Commander R. E. Pearr announcing the discovery of the North Pole. April 21, 1908, and April C, 1909. Before the society can, was Col., W. W. Lewis of the First Infantry. In general charge of the whole exercises was Col. J. C. Boyd of Columbia, S. C; Adjutant General. The monument is the third erected in honor of the heroes of this turning point of the .revolutionary struggle. Col. Asbury Coward, chairman of the executive committee, in present ing Gov. Ansel to preside over the meeting said: "This beautiful day usher3 in a day rendered glorious for the deed accomplished on October 8, 1780. It is the most notable that can be found in all our annals. ''It is peculiarly a matter of com pelling pride because the result of the battle was due to the spontaneous ini tiative of the plain people of that whole section and others contribut ing of their men to the American forces on that occasion.. It was here on this lonely spot that the represen tative of a foreign power was over thrown and a triumph achieved which laid the foundation for the realiza tion of the Declaration of Indepen dence and the existence of the con stitution of " the United Statesthe repository 'of all. pur liberties. "The dead were left unburied after the battle and the place was avoided as haunted territory.' Then, about 30 years later, the neighbors came again, buried them at the foot of a stone which recorded their deeds in simple language. In 1S55 the counties recog nized the significance of what had happened and gathered to give ex pression to appreciation. Men like John S. Preston and- the ' great his torian Bancroft, spoke with eloquence of the part played by the men at Kincs Mountain. , Later came the other monument. And so the recog nition has spread. First the neigh bors then the counties, then the State and now the United States has placed its seal of approval and appprecia tion." The monument first erected is a simple soapstone slab. The second is much more pretentious in monu mental form, and is quite creditable. The third for which Congress ap propriated $30,000, is a granite shaft. 83 1-2 feet hnjh, with inscriptions as follows : On the north and front face: i- Erected by the Government of the United States of America, to the establishment of which the heriosm and patriotism of those who participated in this battle so largely contributed. West face: To commemorate the victory of King's Mountain, October 7, 1780. , On the east face the names of the killed, the mortally wounded and the loss seriously wounded are inscribed. President Snydor of Wofford Col lege was the orator of the day. He was measurably brief but eloquent and historic to the delight of the vast assembly. Senator Overman and Gov. Kitchin of North Carolina, Senator Smith and Congressman D. E. Finley of South Carolina each addressed the enthusi astic audience. Congressman "Webb was detained at home by sickness of his son and his address was read by Congressman Page, his colleague in Congress. The whole occasion was the exe cution of a program most inspiring to young patriots and pride insipiring to the descendants of the heroes whose noble deeds the handsome shaft stands as a perpetual memorial. THEY WERE PERISHING with slight chances of recovery, while another was washed overboard in the recent hurricane, and a second died of starvation shortly before and came to the helpless vessel, washed hun dreds of miles out of her course. The Kate Flore sailed from Mobile about September 12, with a cargo of lumber for Cuban ports. Encounter ing' the hurricane, the boat was strip ped to the decks and waterlogged. however, accept the conclusions of either Commander Peary or Dr. Cook that the North Pole has been attain ed it will be. necessary that the scien tific records and data of each explor er . be carefully examined by its committee on research or by some body or commission acceptable to the board. "The society takes this position, not from any distrust of personal integrity of either explore but be cause of the many calculations that enter into the determination of the pole." COnONCROPNOTSOGOOD Most Unfavorable Report Issued by the Department of Agriculture at This Season of the Year in Many Years. Washington, Special. The most unfavorable report on the condition of the cotton crop issued by the Department of Agriculture at this season of the year for many years has just been made public. Financial and weather conditions combined to make the report unfavorable. ' The official report indicates that on September 25' the condition of the cotton crop wa only 58.5 per cent, of normal, as compared with 63.7 per cent, on August 25, 1909; 69.7 on September 25, 1908, 67.7. on Sep tember 25, 1907, and 67 per cent, on that average for ten years on Au gust; 25, 1909. After the announcement by the Department of Agriculture of the figures recording the average for this month, Dr. S. A.' Knapp, chief of the co-operative demonstration work for the Department of Agriculture in the south, after the conference with Sec retary Wilson, said that tho serious falling oft in the figures, especially for Louisiana and Mississippi, were due to two conditions. One -was. the excessive rainfall in the early part of the cotton crop season, followed by a serious drought and the second was the failure of cotton planters to obtain advances on their -crops from bankers. The latter reason - forced the planters to dismiss a 'consider able part of their labor at a time when the boll weevil was a most seri ous pest. ; Dr. Knapp Gives Reasons. Dr. Knapp stated that another rea son which induced a falling off in the general average of Louisiana, was that there was practically 30 per cent, less of acreage in cotton than in pre vious years. The boll weevil did serious damago during the past year in the southwes tern quarter of Mississippi. ' ' In my judgment, ' ' said , Knapp, "the really serious trouble, which applies to all of the cotton States, was brought about by the excessive rainfall in the early part of the sea son and the excessive drought in the latter part: In. some of the States planters scarcely could obtain water enough for their live stock. This was particularly true of Texas and Oklahoma. What is known as thfc New Orleans storm, which passed up through portions of Louisiana and western Mississippi, blew . out im mense quantities of cotton and served seriously to detract from the excel lence of the crop." Secretary Wilson declined to make any statement regarding the figures given out by his department. He said that he could talkr about the wheat crop, about the condition . of cattle in the west and about almost anything else but cotton He said that Dr. Knapp knew more about the cotton crop from practical observance of conditions in the south than any other man in the department, and he had nothing to add to the statement made by him. Comparisons of conditions by States on September 25 and the 10 year average follow: 10-yr. 1909 1908 Av. Virginia 71 78 75 North Carolina .. ..70 69 70 South Carolina .. ..70 63 69 Georgia 71 68 69 Florida 67 72 71 Alabama .62 70 67 Mississippi. .53 70 68 Louisiana 39 55 67 Texas 52 71 63 Arkansas . ..54 70 67 Tennessee 68 78 72 Missouri.;, 72 70 74 Oklahoma.. 55 70 69 United States 58.5 69.7 67 Cnrtis3 Makes a Flight? , St. Louis, Mo., Special. Under ad verse conditions, Glenn II. Curtiss, by a. flight in his bi-plane late Friday afternoon in Forest park, received the applause and cheers of the many thousands of persons .who had waited for hours for the wind to slacken. George Francois Ozmont and Hugh Robinson of St. Louis attempted to make their machine fly but failed. Ozmont, after Curtiss had made his successful flight, tried a second time and his machine ' was damaged by striking the ground, but he was un injured. Pour Persons Burn to Death. Nashville, Tenn., Special. Fire broke out here Friday morning while occupants of the house were asleep, ever a store. Four of the fire ,"iom panies arrived n the ecene, but in spite of heroic efforts to enter their apartment in the face of flanfes burst ing from the windows, every member of the Fishman family but one perish ed. Miss Rachael Markeson, the oth er victim, lived in same apartment. GULf COAST STORM Key West is Caught and Suf fers Severely. FATALITY NOT GREAT HOWEVER Estimated Damage $2,000,00!) Wood and Brick Buildings Tumble Alike Storm Takes to the Ocean and Relief is Felt. Key West, Fla., Special. As a re sult of the" hurricane which struck the Southern coast of Florida Mon day morning, Key West Monday niylit is a mass wreckage and the damage to property is- estimated at $2,000, 000. Martial law was proclaimed by the mayor at 6 o'clock and the Key West guards are patroling the eity. The United States government was asked to dispatch troops here without delay, to assist in patroling the storm swept area. Chaos reigned on every hand and few people remained in their homes, hundreds of which were either totally wrecked or damaged. It is known that many persons have received more or less serious injury and reports are current that several Jives were lost. ' ; The storm reached its height at 1 p. 'clock, in the afternoon, when the wind reached an estimated velocity of. 100 miles, an hour. There was a hard, steady blow from 8 a. m. to 3 p. m., when the wind began to die down and by 4 o'clock the center of the hurricane had passed this point. The hurricane is the worst that Key West has ever experienced. Of one hundred local vessels in the har bor Monday but five remained at an chor,' the others having either gone to sea or been washed upon the beach es. The streets along the water front were a mags of wreckage. Brick as well as frame dwellings throughout the city suffered alike from the fury of the heavy wind and many miraculous escapes from death or serious injury have been reported. Besides the several score of resi dences either totally wrecked or blown from their pillars, nine fac tories were partially destroyed, in cluding the Havana-American, Mar tinez, NicTTols, Ruy Lopez, Manuel Lopez, Flotas Trris, Cortez and Wolf cigar manufactories. No. 1 and No. 2 engine houses of the city fire department were de stroyed, the firemen narrowly escap ing:, but several of the horses being killed. The top of the First National Bank was blown off, the postoflice damaged and two running gears of the government coaling station were wrecked. - Every telephone and electric light pole on Duval street, the principal thoroughfare of the city, were blown down. Great, fears were suffered for other points along the coast, but at 9:30 Tuesday night the weather bureau re lieved further fears with the follow ing dispatch: , ' "Down hurricane warning 10 p. m.. Mobile, Pensacola, Panama City. Ap palachieola. Carrabelle, Cedar Keys, Rockwell, Tampa. Punta Gorda, Pun ta Rassa, Key West.;' Storm centers southeast Florida moving northeast. Apparently no further danger on the Gulf coast. . - Cuba in' Storm. J Havana, By Cable. The most ser ious cyclone since the big blow of October 17, 1906, struck Cuba early Monday morning, causing extensive devastation through the whole west ern portion of the island. In the city of Havana ' many minor buildings were blown down or unroofed, almost, all the trees were uprooted and five persons were killed one by an electric wire and the others by falling build ings. About twenty-five persons were injured. S. A. L. Makes Progressive Step. Richmond, Va., Special. John Skelton Williams is back from the meeting of the reorganization com mittee and the board of directors of the Seaboard Air Line system in New York. He speaks encouragingly of the system and the harmony and co operation hoped for among interested parties. The system has recently ab sorbed five smaller systems in the far South aggregating nearly 400 miles. Seems a Horrible Murder. Tiverton. R. I., Speeial The find ing of the severed legs of a woman in a dress suit case among some bushes in an outlying section of this town Monday brought to light what the authorities are convinced is a ease of murdr. "lie discovery of a New Bedford newspr.pc-r of Sunday's date with the portions of tlie liml)S 1S rc" warded r.s tho most important clue thus fir ohiained-indicatins possibly the place of the murder, if murder there was. The authorities were, of the opinion hat tho woman as mur' dered in New Bedford. PRESIDENT JAFT'S TOUR Enthusiastic Thousands Greet Sis On His Western Trip. As he was crossing from the Oak land to San Francisco the army transport Thomas was setting sail for the Philippines and by the Presi dent 's request the revenue cutter Golden Gate, on which he was a pas senger, was drawn up alongside the big vessel, the sides of which were lines with soldiers and the families of officers. On the bridge of the transport the Philippine constabulary band was drawn up and was playing, "Hail to the Chief as the President shouted across the water to khaki-clad sol diers: "Good-bye, boys; I wish you a pleasant voyage." Answering cheers came back to the President. "Does it make. you feel homesick, Mr. President?" asked a member of the President's party. "Indeed, it does," replied Mr. Taft, "and I would give anything'if I were going with them." One of the most pathetic incidents of the President's trip marked" his stay in Berkley. He passed in re view of the 'pupils .ot an' 'institution for the deaf, dumb and blind. The tribute ,of flags waved with unseeing eyes, of silent nods of the dumb, and cheers from the blind deeply impress ed the President. An all-day stage ride over thirty four, miles of mountain road brought President Taft Thursday night to this little" sierra retreat, eight miles from the entrance to the Mariposa grove of big trees, whither the Chief Executive started at sunrise Friday. News that mountain lions were in festing the park held out hope of ad venture for a time, but not even the tracks of one were seen on the road. The President declared that Thursday was one of the most enjoyable days of his life. It was the first glimpse of the Yosemite and the impressive sur roundings, the bracing mountain air, the freedom from speech-making all contributed to the pleasure of the first day of roughing it in the Sierras. His constant coach companion was John Muir, the noted naturalist and explorer. He alighted from the stage during a portion of the trip and walked a mile or more up the mountain road. It gave him a splendid appetitie for the picnic luncheon of fried chicken, pota toes, fruit and jelly served in the Grouse creek pine forest. The President arrived at Glacier Point Friday evening. The drive from Wawona, where he spent the forenoon visiting the Mariposa big tree groves, was over twenty miles of mountain road and the President was ready for bed immediately after dinner. He arose before dawn and started for the sequoia trees in a dense fog. which quickly cleared, however. He was deeply impressed with the immense trees, especially in the upper groves, fie was photographed at the base of the "Grizzly Grant," the biggest and oldest tree in the world; and he was snapped in the stage as it passed, through the trunk of .-the .Wawona,'1 one of the largest of the forest mon archs., ... The President's speech at Fresno, Ca., Sunday was in reality another Sunday sermon, the third he has preached since his trip began. His text, quoted from memory, was "He Who Conquereth Himself is Greater Than He Who Taketh a City," and from it the President drew the lesson that popular government must always be a failure unless it is based upon sound common sense and the self-restraint that goes to make the good loser. He drew an anology between the American people in this respect and those people who in their attempts at self-government follow an election with a revolution. .On his way here President Taft at tended morning service at the Presby terian church at. Merced. . , A feature of the President's visit to Fresno was the presentation of good will from the Japanese residents. "We hail you, sir, as the honored Chief of a great nation which we are glad is on the friendliest terms, with ours." they said, "and we also rejoice that our beloved country, Japan, lias the honor and great priv ilege of reciprocating such fraternal regard." After an all-day stay at El Paso Sunday he President starts on anoth er long jump, San Antonio being his nevt stop, and there he is to accept on behalf of the United States army a magnificent chapel and library building, the gift of San Antonians, as an appreciation of the American soldier. 1 SNJPPVS, Items Gathered and 1 You Hold Your Breat. SOME EVERY DAY HAFPENL . . . ;'. - ".V. Lirely and Crisp as They Are G nered From the Fields of Action t Home and Abroad. Dr. Cook says he will aequesce in a request by the American Geograph ic societies in requesting the Copen hagen University to waive its claim to prior examination of his records. In doing so it was to meet the de mand in America for a scientific test of the claims both of Cook and Peary. Copenhagen does not take well to it j but Dr. Cook hopes to make it right and let the examination go on; Samuel E. Herman '.fell--overboard a gun boat and was drowned and H. Daniels and E. Hermaine were aspyx ated with gas in a room as naval casualties last week amid the great Hudson-Fulton celebration. Sheriff H. J. Pope, of Taylor eotra tj, Ga., was terribly if not fatally wounded, being- shot three tunes by J. R. Brown, whom he was attempt ing to arrest Saturday night. President Taft was moved to tears Saturdaj' at Portland, Oregon,, by school children in drill. They spell ed Taft by rising with' flags in form to make each letter and then in on burst pronounced the wprd. Two men were killed and a number of other street car passengers ia Pittsburg, Pa., were injured Sunday by the breaking of an axle whicli caused the car to tumble over. Arthur Wright was arrested Sat urday at Portland, Oregon, as , ho pressed too hard to get near Presi dent Taft with a camera. He was found to have a revolveiof heavy calibre with a pocket "full" of -cai'; ridges. Upon further examination it is now believed that he really had no bad intentions toward the President. Albert Pulitzer, brother of Joseph Pulitzer," the phenomenal genius of the New York World, committed suicide at Vienna Sunday evening. He had been a great sufferer from nervous breakdown. , . The difficulties of Spain, with the Moors in Africa, in v which . Morocco is about to be involved, is assuming the attitude of a holy war and the tribes seem frantic. , , Charles A. Gordon, - who, . by con fession of the woman whs criminal- lly intimate with Mrs. Wn. N. Faull- mg and killed him on account of these conditions, was sentenced to life imprisonment at Walthourville, Ga., last week, and Mrs. Faullin was banished from the State. Mr. and Mrs. Charles .Johnson, of Duncannon, Pa., have a living child weighing less than two pounds and that could be put into a quart cup. In France recently a man; was tried for killing his wife. - He explained that he did it as an act "cf mercy at the request of his wife, who was a prolonged and. intense sufferer. vTha jury pronounced him not guilty.' ' St. v Louis, Mo., is celebring tbj .city's .'centennial in a jubilew of a week. It began oi-Sunday by 15,000 children in exercises " ' - A. farmer named Vostburg, -near Lake Champlain, N. ' Y.; recently plowed up some gold coins. He went to digging out till he had more of the coins than he could carry, prob ably $50,000. ' It is believed that, the money was put there by some thief in the Burgoyne campaign, who never lived to make use of it. James E. Martin, Jr., is a babf living on Long Island,; N..Y., and is heir to $500,009. His widowed moth er asked the court for an annual al lowance for his rearing and here, are the items as allowed: For a home, $4,000; for maintainirg same, $7,500; for an automobile, and its keep. $3, 000; for entertainfng, recrations, and exercise, $1,300; rr medical atten- tion and niedicinesTNfGOO ; for cloth-' ing, $750; total, $15,750. Captain C. E. Borchgrc-vink, tho antartic explorer, opposes the propos ed submission 'of Dr. Cook's records to the university at Copenhagen and to the committee of the American Geo graphical Society. He declares that this would not prove . satisfactory, both bodies being, he thinks, prej udiced in favor of Dr. Cook. C:;r tain Borchgrevink suggests that i'.-.a Geographical Society of Genoa, as an unprejudiced body, '.fho".ld t e i ed to settle the matter,; The little son of ConiTes-- . f., Webb, being critically ill. .r. Webb could not attend tie ''.v -'a Mountain celebration on '1 and Friday. I