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Raleigh Enterprise.,
VOL. II. RALEIGH, N. 0., THURSDAY, MAY 25, 1905. NO. 6
LETTER FROM BILKINS.
How the Mighty Have Fallen-Fife
Drops from Evangelist to Pro
moterThe flajor Will Try to En
force the State Laws, and Will
Carry Along a Transport Filled
With Colic Cure, But Desires Help.
Correspondence of the Enterprise.
I hev bin readin' sum talk f rum
Bill Fife, the reformed evangalist,
erbout hiz sellebrated oil mine, or
Sold mine stock I fergit which hit
iz fer there iz so much mone an'
gold mixed un in hit; an' I don't
whut ter think ov Bill.
In one ov the advertizemints that
covered a whole page in a paper, there
wuz a pickture ov Bill a-standin' on
a rock givinVaz he sed, "dollars fer
dimes," an' the folks were awl eround
him scramblin' ter swap dimes fer
dollars. I reckon Bill got that idee
f rum Andy Carnegee an' iz tryin'
ter git rid ov a lot ov surpluss welth
before he pegs out.
I figgered an' figgered an' I could
n't make out whut sort ov a game
Bill wuz playin'. After awhile I
showed the pickture ter Betsy, fer
she iz gude at unravlin' things.
"Hain't Bill Fife "one ter Parrydice
yit ?" axed Betsy. "No," sez I, "he
iz hangin' out at Sharlit sellin' min
in' stock or almost eny thing that will
make folks rich."
"The last time I seed him," sed
Betsy, "he wuz preechin' aginst awl
sorts or riches an' other wickedness,
an' I thought he wuz too gude ter
stay in this country long. He tole
the peeple that money wuz the root
ov awl evil, and warned them ov the
dangers ov accumulating riches. He
sed hit wuz easier fer a cambel ter
go through the eye ov a needle than
fer a rich man ter enter the Kingdom
ov Heaven, which wuz quoted f rum
the Bible."
You never know whut a day will
bring forth. The wurld iz full ov
folks whut air too gude ter last or
too mean ter live; mity few ov them
kin -'strike a gude average an' be tol
erably gude only, an' sorter keep hit
up awl the way through life, gittin'
a little bit better az the hot fires ov
youth burn less fiercely.
I reckon Bill Fife belongs ter the
too-gude-ter-last squad. He hez gone
awl day with cold feet many a time
in the winter bekase he didn't want
ter let folks see him encouragin' fire,
the devil's principal stock in trade.
Alas! poor Bill. You may yit drop
so low that vou will sum day be a
drummer on the rode. But most eny
thinr iz better than bein' a hyper
critical evangelist or a permoter.
I seed a peece in your paper last
week headed: "Where Are Mv
Braves?" You critisized sum ov the
offisers fer not enforcin' the Watts
law an' the Ward law. I'm a-goin'
ter make a sresialty ov that an' the
cap won't fit me. I've done bin out
prospecktin' fer sum ov them fellers
in my kerpassit az consterable, justis
ov the peece an' perspective candy
date fer the legislator. I didn't see
env blind tiger tracks nor hear eny
blockade still whistles blowin' in Mar
tin Creek Township. I tuk a bottel
ov colick cure erlong an' found hit
gude ter keep off the collick an' keen
snakes frum bitin' me. I've bin read
in' erbout how Admiral Rogeswhen
sky tuk hiz fleet throutrh by havin'
transports go erlorig with coal an'
pervishuns. Hit give me an idee.
I'm goin' ter rig up a transport an'
load hit with collick cure the next
time I go out huntin' fer violaters ov
the law. In that way I won't hev ter
hurry back an' won't run short ov
collick cure at a critykal time.
I've bin thinkin' I'd git Sinator
Simmons an' Joseephus Daniels ter
cum out an' help me keep things
strate. They helped ter fit us in this
box an' I want them ter help ter guide
the ship through. Thev hain't say in'
nor doin' a blamed thing ter help
save the State. I'm af eared they
both hev the legislative lokomotive
affixy. There iz awl so a lot ov the
the members ov the leaislater that
orter wake up an' do sumpthin'. I
know a ude meny ov them would go
on a hunt fer violaters ov the Watts
law if they knowed that a transport
wuz goin' elong filled with collick
cure. In fack, I think Guverner
Glenn orter call the legislater in spe
cial seshun an' make them go hunt
in' fer blind tigers an' things.
Yours, '-:'
ZEKE BILKINS.
True to His Convictions.
Stephen Girard made no pretense
of religion himself, and showed scant
courtesy for the religion of other
men. And yet Stephen Girard had
profound respect for the relig;on that
made men faithful.
One Saturday he ordered his clerk
to come the following day and unload
a vessel which had just arrived. It
was no work of necessity or of mer
cy. It merely suited the million
arie's convenience that the vessel
should be unloaded as quickly as pos
sible, and sent to sea again. One
of his clerks had strong convictions,
and courage to act upon them.
"I am not accustomed to do un
necessary work on Sunday," he said,
"and I cannot come."
Mr. Girard was astonished; he was
not accustomed to disobedience, and
had no mind to tolerate it. lie told
the young man that unless he could
obey instructions he must give up his
position, and the young man went.
For three weeks the discharged
man walked the streets of Philadel
phia looking for a position. His
mother was perilously near to want,
and the question forced itself upon
him, repeatedly whether his convic
tions had required of him so great a
sacrifice.
When he was almost discouraged
he was surprised to receive a mes
sage from the president of the new
bank, offering him the position of
cashier. Very gratefully he accept
ed it, and later he learned that it
was Stephen Girard who had nomi
nated him for the situation. The
president had asked Mr. Girard if he
could find him a suitable man for
the place, and Mr. Girard, after some
reflection, named this young man.
The banker was surprised that he
should name a man whom he had
lately discharged.
"I discharged him," said Mr. Gi
rard, because he would not work on
Sunday; but the man who will lose
his situation from principle is the
man you can trust with your money."
Even men who have no religion of
their own appreciate in others con
victions that make them faithful.
Exchange.
Smoke Fisher's TJnita cigar. Union
made.
NO ARRESTS.
The Fiends Who Killed Watchman,
Robbed Safe and Set Fire to Stand
ard Oil Plant Still at Large.
The local police have been busy
since Saturday morning trying to
get trace of some clue that might
lead to the capture of the safe crack
ers who killed night watchman
Strickland and burned the plant of
the Standard Oil Company early
Saturday morning. It is said that
Pinkerton detectives were soon on
the ground, also, and it has been ru
mored that they are now satisfied
that two men belonging to a gang of
expert safe crackers did the job, and
that they will soon locate and arrest
them. But that story sounds improb
able, and may be a ruse to throw the
criminals off their guard.
All indications pointed to bung
lers, and unless it is proven that ex
perts did the work, the bungler theory
will appear the stronger.
The killing of the watchman was
against the expert theory, for they
avoid murder. The improbability of
finding a large quantity of money in
an office of that kind also weakens
the expert theory. They do not, as
a rule, undertake risky jobs for a
few dollars.
The remains of Watchman Strick
land were found where the stable of
the company had stood near the
large storage tanks, at one of the
keys he must use in punching his
time clock. That accounts for the
fact that his body was only partly
consumed. The watchman is re
quired to go all over the premises
every half an hour during the night,
and keys are suspended by chains at
different points and the watchman
must use each one of the keys in
the clock during every round, and
the time is recorded in the clock.
This prevents neglect of duty and
prevents the watchman from taking
a nap, or, if he does, the clock will
show such neglect the next morning.
Watchman Strickland carried the
clock suspended around his neck by
a chain. It was opened and it was
found that he punched it with No.
4 key at exactly one o'clock, and near
the location of that key his remains
were found. No doubt he was struck
down by the assassins at that hour.
The fire was not discovered until
2.40, hence the robbers had probably
consumed an hour and a half getting
into the safe and then fired the
building hoping to destroy evidence
of the terrible tripple crime.
The night before the fire Mr. T. F.
Brockwell entered his gunsmith and
bicycle shop on Salisbury street. He
found a man in the shop who fired
at him with a pistol. Being un
armed and at a disadvantage, Mr.
Brockwell wisely retreated. He soon
found a policeman and returned and
searched the shop, but the intruder
had disappeared. Nothing was
missed. Doubtless Mr. Brockwell's
uninvited visitor was looking for
tools then. But it is believed that
the hammer, crowbar and other tools
used in opening the safe at the Stan
dard Oil plant were stolen from the
Seaobard Air Line Company the
same night the crime was committed.
The Standard Oil Company's loss
in the fire is placed at about $30,000
for building, kerosene oil, lubricating
oils, gasoline, five mules, etc. The
robbers only found between fifteen
and twenty dollars in the safe.
The Company will rebuild at an
early date, but it is doubtful if the
city will grant a building permit for
the same location, as it is now sur
rounded by homes. It is possible
that they will be compelled to build
somewhere outside of the city limits
as a matter of safety.
The oil in two large tanks was not
burned and they did not explode.
There will be no lack of oil supply
ample quantities beine1 now en route.
Watchman Strickland's remains
were buried Sunday afternoon. He
was 24 vears old. and came here from
Clayton, where he lost an arm in a
cotton gin a few years ago. He
could only fill a position like that of
watchman, owing to the loss of the
arm. He had only been with the
Standard Oil Company since Mav
1st. ',
A rumor has been current that
watchman Strickland told a man be
tween ten and eleven o'clock on the
night the crime was committed that
he felt that something was going to
happen, and that he had tried to get
some one to take his place as watch
man. Possibly it was a presentiment,
for there is no doubt that some peo
ple have such experiences.
Mr. J. II. Smallbrook, an official of
the Standard Oil Company, is here
this week in conference with district
manager Whitaker.
Cats and Shells.
A lady who was in Port Arthur
during the bombardments ordered by
Admiral Togo has described the curi
ous effect it produced on cats by the
cannonade. "I was at my window
during each bombardment," she has
related, "but only through the day,
because at night I did not dare stir
out of bed. In front of mo there was
a little roof on which five or six
cats of the neighborhood collected.
Each time there was a bombardment
the cats duly arrived, and having ob
served them, I on the second occa
sion proceeded to watch them. With
my familv we passed the hours look
ing at them. At each gunshot the
cats arched their backs and stiffened
their legs, and seemed both terrified
and furious. Then when a hissing
shell arrived it cave the signal for a
frightful battle. They jumped at
each other, raging like tigers, and
seemed to hold each other responsi
ble for what was taking place. The
effect was so comical we could not
help laughing, although the occasion
did not inspire gayety. After having
fought the cats retired for awhile,
as though bewildered, but as soon as
the bombardment commenced again
they went through the same business.
Each time it was always the same."
St. Jams Gazette.
Man and the Universe.
Sir William Kamsay, the great
English scientist, said: "All our
progress since the time of Sir Isaac
Newton has not falsified the saying
of that great man that we are but
children, picking up here and there
a pebble from the shore of knowledge,
while a whole unknown ocean
stretches before pur eyes. Nothing
can be more certain than that we are
just beginning to learn something of
the wonders of the world in which
we live and move and have our being."