Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

lTURDAY, JANUARY 28, 1905. £8£ ■■ E US. During the next 10 days jwe are going to offer all our Winter Goods at greatly reduced prices. We are soon to need room for our immense SPRING LINE; hence our reason for offerirV this reduction in prices. OUR STOCK MUST BE REDUCED. Come on and buy if y^u igeed anything. Don't delay. Ladies’ Dress floods. Mo. Cashmer* sod Wonted Me. BrUllenttne end Flennele 10 and llo. Optings reduced to g lOo « " " Calico, Bltaching, Ginghams and Efea bland per ya^ Ml-Sc. ■450. »o. 71-fic. do. Miscellaneous. Me. Faaoinaton Reduced to Mo. goo Mo. Baby Cape M and Mo. Baby C LIT THE 83c. 45o. 66c. 33c. 43c Underwear. ladies' 35e. Under-rests Reduced to " 60c. “ 86c. Union Saits Reduced to Mens’ Heavy Undershirts Reduced to ** 60c. Heavy Undershirts Reduced to (Other Reductions Will be Made. IRE STORE, Valdosta, Georgia. DREW SMITH'S ESCAPE. GRAPHIC STORY OF HI8 EFFORT TO GAIN FREEDOM. t V A White Man Who Went Five Oajrfl and Nlahta Without Food Waa Cap tured In the Very Moment of Hie Triumph—'Wae Eervlng a Wle 8en- tence In the Prleon Perm at Mil- ledgevilic. lost ev- ■ ■ :■ i! i '■ > elgh he "I vu house tor toad—not of nogro. 1 know tliat^^^Bto that my garb was observcc^^Miuld bo unsafe. I had no that neighborhood and I kn^V that I would be turned over to thn authori ties. All day Wednesday D remained under cover, and when darkness fell I was almost unable to move. I suf- «lf i had only had one more hour f«r with rheumatism, and/the entire . T -A..U _.a uam Its t.* f1nv An the rnM. dfittin canned of dorknost I would not now be be hind the ban of the Bibb county jail. Just one more hour, sixty minutes, and I would have been a free man. Ae It is now 1 have a life of servi tude staring me In the face at the state farm at Mllledgevllle. It seems hard, after enduring and suffering all that I did, that the lack of one small hour should now cause me to >Bpend my forty-sixth birthday In jail, wait ing ‘o be taken back to the state farm.” Thus It was Drew Smith expressed himself this morning to a Macon Bvo- ews reporter a m« _ (nanoer. , pr,f!S» Wltti liberty almost In his grasp, after suffering hardships of the most severe character, his hopes were dashod to pieces and ho was taken In custody to finish serving his sen tence of life for murder. For five days Drew Smith wont without sleep and without food to gain bis llborty. For flvo duys ho wnlked by night, skulking along the coun try roads, afraid every minute that some lone traveler would hco nnd capture him. and In the day time hid In ditches. But ho did not sleep. Ho couldn't. Every sound would cause him to start, uml a thousand times 1m lm- ,jbut me ilan. I p"*"* - ' 1 1 stumbled on tiw way. “I know that it I once reachSd the houso of my father-in-law at Cross Keys I could get food, sholter and clothing. I Just knew the old man would not turn me down. All night Wednesday 1 walked, stumbled and full. My rhoumatlBm became worse, and hunger was gnawing at my vltuls until I thought I would go mad. fact I think that Friday night I was out of my mind, for I hnvo only a fnlut recollection of whnt occurred. Again Thursday I remained bidden front sight In a ditch near a brook, and hero I bathed my aching feet and drank water. In vain did I look about for something with which to satisfy ngtncd he heard the baying of tlogB' my hunger. Once I saw a chicken upon his trail. Every shout of hands nnd tried to kill it with a stono, but In the fields ho mtstwik for shouts I couldn't. 1 was then afraid to try further for fear some one would ace me. I was hungry onough to have eaten that chicken In any mnnner, day on the cold, damp ground caused my every Joint to ache. )But, hungry and tired and discouraged, I was de termined to go on. 1 /might life, I thought, but then, I would as aton be dead as spend the balanco of w* life In stripes. j “I knew it was a long distance to Macon, and I wondered time and again It I could yolk thirty mile* without food or eleeiS Once or twice I thought of giving myself up to nope one In the neighborhood and aljjuw him to get the reward ^Df |50 offered’ for toy'capture,shut mo thou for 1 fho of a searching party. For fivo days did Drew Smith thus Journey, clad In his convict garb nnd not once during that time did ho tasto food. But he pushed onward in the hope of getting food and clothing and had reached his destination and was eating hie first meal slnco ho oluded the watchful guards at the state term, when he was surrounded by farmer* with guns and captured. Last Thursday It was that Smith escaped from the state farm. Re wae at work about noon sawing and apUttlng wood near tho railroad when he perceived a chance to got away. Ho was quick to take advantage of the opportunity, and away, COTTON GROWERS MEET ERS IS THE SLOGAN. icaily and tried to cheer hlro^jxp. “Never mind, old pal,” said a hUo, waiting to be sent to the gang for beating his way on a freight train. | REDUCE ACREAGE AND FERTILiZ "you'll get anothor chance some day. Give 'em a run for their money next time. You ain’t cashed In yet by a great deal. Walt till yonr pegs get In good running and you've had a few square feeds. Ton'll Be all right then.” Sut dmith could only think of the balance of his life In convict garl/, and the thought that he had Just been In grasping distance of liberty made him all the mroe melancholy. "I hardly know what I did Satur day night,” continued Smith, some what cheered up by the words his fel low prisoners had spoken. *1 just kept stumbling along and was so anx ious to get to my father-in-law’s houso Wore daybreak. I was almost down afed.oftt, and fcould not travel very fast.’ Jpy mind must have wandered, ought i fo bfi several times I was on ordering a breakfast In, t and called to a something to ei •used me renleml I was a hunted fugitive from JuFtlce^ and that T was almost perished ;My feet ached so, and every Joint was so racked with pain that I fell down set* eral times. I know I was several miles from my destination, and T was eager to got thers before daylight. A meal and some clothes, and this beard removed from my face, and I would then be free. "But 1 just couldn't go any fautar, and I saw that day would break bo- fore I could get thero. I hoped that I might get thero unperceived, for I could not spend anothor day in a ditch without food. And lioro is where I mndo a fatal mlstako. If I had been like Joshua and commanded ih) sun to stand still, 1 would now bo man. Just ono hour more of ness would have savod me. "I got to tho old man’s house, and I didn’t think any ono had seen me. I asked for food tho first thing, and Eleven Hundred and Thirty-five De'e- gates Registered at the New Or leans Convention—Measures for the Protection of tho Planters to Be Adopted. New Orleans, Jan. 24.—By a unan imous vote at the close of the first session today, the Southern Inter state Cotton Convention, by general agreement the largest and moat rep* resontative that has gathered in the South, declared that reduct’on of acreage and commercial fertilizers is the paramount question to be consid ered at the convention, and it must be settled before any other business is undertaken. Eleven hundred and thirty-five del- tea, representing they thirteen cot- |U growing states andA territories, when tholconvention Tho more 8m!tU talked about his w “ ravenously dovourlng a breakfast adventure, It was evident the more molnncholy ho bocamo. Soveral times during his narrative he wiped the sloeve of hie coat across his eyes and bemoaned the fact that he had not been given another hour of darkness. It waa evident that he had the sympathy of the other pria- oners In the cage and they crowded around him, eager to hear his story. "I kept out of sight all day Thurs day," continued Smith, with a sigh, "and again Friday night I took up hastened my weary march. Just all that I did that night I cannot remember. When "Every minute," said Smith, "I ex- j I began my Journey that ovenlng I pected to hoar tho crack of a rtfio or was so benumbed that I could hardly the report of a shotgun, and tt was walk, and when daylight came I was with fear and trembling that 1 man- drenched to the skin and almost frox- agod to get away from the vicinity on. Tho cold rain polled mo In my of the farm. I dared not go on tho'face, and I was chilled to tho bone. railroad, and I was afraid to tnko tho wagon roads, because my convict stripes would tell the world that I am an escape. I managed to get a few miles from the farm without be ing observed and then I got Into a ditch and covered myself up with brush and there I remained until night oamo on. Then I started toward Ma con. All night long I walked and Just before daybreak Wednesday morning I got Into another ditch and prepared to spend the day. By this time 1 be gan to feel the effects of hunger, hut I dared not show myself. I just re mained where I was, and although I needed sleep I could not cloee my eyes without Imagining I could hear my pursuer*." ,l Hero the thoughts of whnt he had gone through seemed to unnerve the ooavtct and It was some minutes be fore he could proceed. He spoke In n low voice, broken occasionally by a sob er two, and Us whole demeanor By this timo I was almost fronxlcd from tho effects of hunger, and sev- eral times I was just on the point of lying down to dlo. "But I knew that I must bo near the end of my Journey, and, tight- entng my belt and taking a drink of water from one of the muddy pools along the road, I trudged until nearly daylight. Then began the weary wait for daylight to vanish. My wet clothes and the cold caused me suffering cannot describe, and I cared not whether I ever reached the house of my father-tn-law. But somehow or another I managed to worry the day through, starting at every sound nnd fhnring to hear the bark of dogs and th* crack of a rifle. I was afraid to run nnd afraid to lie still, nnd my mental anguish, together with my physical Ills, almost made me mod. -Oh, I hate to thfcJt of it," and here Smith turned away hit head. The other prisoner* looksd on sympathet- when sevoral men with guns entered and covored mo. Then I knew It was all up. All my Buffering and m t hard ships had been endured for nothing. They had seen me outer the old man's house, and come after me. "Well, I'll try to stand It th* bal ance of my life, hut I don't think I'll take my fellow prisoner's advice here. I'll Just try to stay there till 1 die. I have been s convict nineteen months and I can say that never once dur ing that tlmo have I boon punished. Not ono lick havo I over re vived from the strap. "But, I swear, young man, it’s mighty tough to go through ail I did nnd spend your forty-Bixth birthday In Jail waiting to go back to scrvsj out n life sentence.” Some Kinder Lou Dots. Kinder Lou, Jan. 25.—We have a nice Sunday school overy Sunday a 3 o’clock. Everybody Is cordially In vltod to attend. Misses Della and Bessie Toumans entertained quite a number of friends as a musicals ono night last week, Mr. J. B. Chisholm has been on tho sick list for some time. His many friends are glad to know he 1 s Im proving again. Messrs, w. O. and A. R. Rivers and W. A. Parrish made a flying trip to Valdosta Sunday. The young folks had qulto a pleas- ant time at a party at the home of Mr. C L. Rivals one night last week. Mr. O. C. Allred and several other hoys gave us some nice music at the etngtng Sunday night There are between olght aad ton million young men In tho United States. of the convention. Tho forenoon end early afternoon were devoted to the compromising of all differences that existed as to or ganisation, the central idea b ring that tho work of the convention should go to the country with the stamp of har mony and practical unanimity. Th# result was that former Congressman Catchln's name was withdrawn and all opposition to hnrvle Jordan s se lection ended. Washington Artillery hall, seating 2,000 people, was crowded to tho doors when the convention met. As president of the Southern Cotton Growers. Mr. Jordan called It to or der. Ho raid in part: Agreed Upon Four Points. “Wo are all agreed upon four gen eral propositions: "First. Wo must tie up nnd take care of tho surplus of this crop nnd romovo it from the markots of the country until next fall, and hold the balance of the crop absolutely In our possoscion until tho price advances to normal conditions. Second. Wo must reduce th* cot ton acreage and use of commercial fertilisers under cotton at least 2S per cent, under that of 1904. "Third. We must arrange for a general system of bonded warehomses under local control of the people throughout the South. 'Fourth. We must at once proceed to organlxo the producers of the South In every cotton growing country on a business basis to carry Into opera tion a permanent system of relief and protection for the future." Judge E. B. Perkins of Dallas, nom inated former Lieutenant Governor Jester, of Texas, for temporary chair man, and ho was unanimously elected. Concluding a brief, but effective ad dress, Mr. Jester said: Two Reforms Needed. “Two reforms must bo inaugurated by tho Southern farmers: Diversifi cation of crops that will reduce the production of cotton and better facili ties for the storage of cotton that will give lower insurance and Interest and better protection." J. A. B. Lovett, of Blontavllle, Ala, Richard Choatham, of Mississippi, and J. H. Whyto, of New Orleans, were elected secretaries. The question of representation Im mediately arising. Governor Varda- m»n moved that every properly ac credited delegate should be entitled to a seat on the floor and a voice In the convention, and though the mo tion provoked considerable debate. It finally prevailed. - On motion of J. A. Brown, of North Carolina, a committee on permanent organisation of one delegate from each state was named, and pending its report, welcoming addresses by Mayor Bohrmann and President San ders, of tho Progressive Union, were listened to. Pope Brown Spoke. There were responses by Walter Clark, of Clarksdalo, Miss, and J. Pope Brown, chairman of the Georgia railroad commission. Mr. Brown said It was the number of bales which reg ulated the price of cotton, and the price would not advance until It was known that the production this year waa to he curtailed. Eight million bales would be an ample crop to raise this year. With the four million of surplus held on to It would give pre cisely the crop the bears desire. He believed the South could whip in the present light. W. D. Nesblt, of Alabama, present ed the report of the committee on permanent organization. It provided for Harvlo Jordan for president, for a vice-president from each state, and for the three secretaries named by the temporary organization. It fixed rotation on the basis of one abama, 10; Arkansas, 8; Florida, 1; Georgia, 14; Louisiana, 9; Mississip pi, 14; North Carolina, 6; South Car olina, 9; Tennessee, 3; Texas, 28; Ok lahoma. 2; Missouri, 1; Indian Ter ritory, 3. Committees Provided For. These committees were provided for: Reduction of cotton acreage and use of commercial fertilizers, with one farmer, ono banker and one merchant from each state. Permanent organization of farmers, with three farmers, ono merchant and one banker from each state. Financing and holding balance of the present crop until legitimate prices aro secured, with one farmer, one merchant and one banker from each state. Warehousing and financing future crops, similarly constituted. On direct trade between farmer* and manufacturer*. On transportation. On resolutions, to consider matters of a general nature not otherwise provided for. "Reduction of acreage and commer cial fertilizers being of paramount im portance, we recommend It bo made the first order of business and be settled before other business is un dertaken,” was the conclusion of the committee's report, which was unan imously adopted. Sheriff Has Not Yet Levied. Atlanta, Ga., Jan. 25.—Tho short of Emanuel county has not yet lovi- the execution sent him several d ago by Comptroller General Wright on ike. Stillw Ire Air Line. Mo rntj^ng OomptfoUer Wright ed a letter from the Sheriff asking he could levy the execution on engine which waa engaged In pulling a train that carried the United States malls. The comptroller wrote tho sheriff that he had better levy on some other property of the road and' let the engine alone. The execution is for taxes which' the road has not yet paid the state for the year 1904. "Neglected colds make fat grave yards.” Dr. Wood’s Norway Pine Syrup helps men and women to a hap py, vigorous old age. ••o.l-o-po-i-o+o-i-o+o-i-ovo'i-o-i-o'i-o+oil-o+o+o-i-o-i-oe-ovo-t'o-i-o+o+o+o+e Mimaki Linker Cmpuy, LUMBER, Shingles and Wood. Mill No. 1, Doerun, Ga. Mill No. 2, Cutting, Ga. ROUGH AND DRESSED tlifOHB yo. ltr C. B. Peeples, —DEALER IN— Paints, Oil, Varnish, Brushes, Pine Mantels, Tiling, Grates, Brick, Lime and Cement. I Sill "White Rose” Lime, the Beet Line lade In the Soith, and Atlas and Lehigh's Portland Cements. McCormick & Plano Mowing Machines and Rakes, Parts of all Mowers and Rakes. I occupy my own building, pay no rent and sell cheaper than any one. C. .B Peeples, 113 Hill A.ve., West, VALDOSTA, QA