Newspaper Page Text
THE CLAYTON
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THERE IS NO PAPER LIKE TIJE HOME PAPER TO HOME PEOPLE.
J1
VOL. IV.
CLAYTON. RABUN COUNTY. GA.. THURSDAY. JANUARY 2. 1902.
NO. 50.
BILL ARP’S LETTER
Bartow Man Warns the Publio
Against Alleged Imposter.
JOEL SMITH POSING AS BILL’S SON
On the Strength of Fraudulent Claim,
Florida Man Gathers In Shekels
of the Unsuspecting, Says
William, , .
Our Christmas Is over, but the mem
ory of It will linger long. Most all the
tilth and kindred garnered at the old
homestead and brougnt love and glad
ness wlih them. All the far away
uoys, save one, were here and I never
saw them so happy before. Of. course
we had prepared a Christmas tree for
me little ones and Santa Claus came
down the chimney and filled their
stockings and men filled the tree with
beautiful presents and decorated It
with gorgeous ornaments. That part
of Christmas has passed. The anxious
expectation and wonder of the llttlq
ones Is all over, but the old mansion
is stlu wide open And running Over
with happy children and grandchildren
and Moore's first verse was changed to
" 'Twas the ,nlght after Christmas—the
rooms and the hall
Had the holly and mistletoe still on
the wall,
The Christmas tree stands In-the par
lor forlorn,
Us beautiful hangings all given and
gone.”*
then they went to work on the endless
chain humbug and got other women
In to send more money and be duped.
Now, Mr. Editor, I beg you to put It
In large type and print It in red ink
that Joel Smith, of Monticello, Is no
son of mine, nor do I know anything of
him or his paper. I saw a late issue
in which he boasts of having 40,0(10
subscribers which I suppose means
$40,000 that these dependent wtimen
have sent him. He promised them $20
a month to write three hours a day
and some of them sold their jewelry
and other precious things to raise the
$25. Mr. Editor, Bo please lend your
columns to stop this fraud upon our
poor southern woipen. And now we
see that another endless chain paper
has started In Athens, Ga. These
frauds are bringing discredit upon the
press and distress upon poor women.
I inclose a sample circular. Please
stop ,lt. Kill It. Crush It. It Is worse
than the cherry tree swindle.
P. 8.—I will give $10 to find QUt who
started that lie that the Monticello
naan was my son. I have received at
least fifty letters saying, “Yobr son at
Monticello," etc. They make me tired.
I had three from Texas this morning.—
Bill Arp, In Atlanta Constitution. .
IN RACING FLOODS
Cities of Georgia and Alabama
Are Closely Grasped.
L!VES*tfND PROPERTY LOST
Greatest Damago Done at West Point,
Ga.—Trains Plunge Into Wash
outs—Many Deaths From
Drowning.
FLORIDA WIN8 CONVICT CASE.
Court .Cfecldes That Camp & West
Havo No Valid Contract.
AJt Tallahassee, Fla., Tuesday, Cir
cuit Judge Malone decided the famous,
convict lease case involving the dis
position of 900 convicts for four years,
beginning January 1.
Camp ft West phosphate operators,
of Jacksonville, filed a bill for Injunc
tion to restrain the officials from, de
livering state convicts To the Florida
brought, including turkey and oysters
lor dinner and turkey hash for break
fast every day while the boys were
with us. These boys are ail natural
born musicians and what with the pia-
W and 'flute and violin and half a doz
en sweet voices we had a choir of our
own, and when they got onto the "buz
zard lope” and other hilarities the
girls formed a ring and danced and
pranced to concord of sweet sounds,
and all of a sudden the maternal an
cestor lost her self-control and joined
the processioh and bowed and curtsied
and chased all and held out her hands
Invitingly to me. What could I do but
accept the uxorlal banter and as I was
-about to take her hand In mine and
fly arc-und she flashed her Pocahontas
eyes and declined my soft approaches.
8hc flirted away, on her No. 2 feet as
gay as a girl and went coquetting with
one of the boys. Thats the way she
treats me now In my antiquity. Time
was when she was glad enough to take
my hand and keep it and dldent dare
tp play coquette at my expense. But
noUTj.1 am discarded, and so I retired
ifttlrthe ring singing that old song:
t ' 1 standing alone,
Mfy /lovely companion has 1
. gone.”
But the frolic Is about
tied dowi
> old men slip-
stores buying
folks. I
arbrough wa<T-
i some bun-
a new am
id the umbrella -jpas fo:
faithful servant, who
him &kU)pge years and
i tried’and had never own-
Tha£,was good and
, i proof enough that Broth
-•.Yarbrough belongs' our hia set
‘ had t lavea to serve-him. "befo* de
& West. The latter firm claimed to
have contract with state authorities
dated February 13, 1901, for 300 con-’
vlcts. On June 28 last the officials
made a contract to lease all of the
state convicts to the Naval Stores com
pany for four years, beginning January
1, 1902. The state authorities deny that
the Camp & West contract was ever
perfected or approved as -required by
law.
After an exhaustive argument by
seven of the state's lawyers, Judge
Malone has sustained the demurrer
of the Camp & West bill, dismissed
the bill, holding first that the action
was virtually'a sjtlt against the state,
which Is prohibited by the constitu
tion; second, that the bond was never
Approved by law; third, that no rights
had,-VMj£e4 In Camp & West which the
inJualSoit could protect.
Canip ft West will appeal to the su
premo court, but appeal will very like-'
ly not be reached for several years.
This important decision clears the
way for the state officials to deliver
au the state convicts to the Naval
Stores company on, January 1, and
the last rose of summer. left “ lve * * » roblem wh 4 lcb ba * caused in-
iftnim AtnhnrrasamAnF tn flnvovnnv Tan.
: . tense embarrassment to Governor Jen-
an( j pings’ administration for some time.
MILITIA pdftS FOR OUTLAW.
Alabama-Governor Asked to Assist In
Capturing Uriah Porter.
The reign ot terror which has exist
ed In the Crawford community to Ala
bama since the killing of Joseph Fin
cher by Uriah Jtorter came to a climax
Saturday afternoon when the situation
became so acute that the governor, of
AJhbhma Was appealed to for aid. Gov
ernor Jelkii ordered the Twin City
Guard to proceed to the scene and cap
ture Porter, who has been at large In
the community heavily armed and
threatening death to any who dared to
try to- arrest him.
- SAMPSON GROWING DAFT.
Mind le Affected Beyond Re
covery, Says His Wlfa.
i, of Champaign, Ill., a
ot Admiral Sampson.
Loss of lift! and terrible destruction
to property h$R occurred as a result of
the heavy rains to Georgia and Ala
bama betweep Atlanta and Montgom
ery.
Four deatht are known to have re
sulted from t^e flood near West Point,
-Ga., while thftoestructlon of property
was extenslVd there and all along the
lines of the Itlanta and West Point
and the. Western Railway of Alabama.
A telephone message to The Atlanta
Constitution 'from West Point stated
that the river had risen twenty-five
feet above normal height, and three or
four bridges Jind culverts had been
washed Way. The streets of West
"Point wCTegflrfoded • and many people
had to mpv% |nto second stories for
comfort and s'ifety. • . •
At 2 o'clock] Sunday morning freight
train No. 21, kl|Ji fifteen pars, on the
Western Railway of -^Alabafca, went
Into a was|iod4>ut,culvert at Notasulga,
Poial. Th^eggine
ovsr.jtnduhtagineer
was killed, while Cy
Lee, the negro fireman, was fatally In
jured, and two trainmen were badly
hurt. -■ *•.
Train No. 209 started to the scene
of the wreck, but went through an
open culvert 5 miles out of West Point.
No one Was Injured to this accident,
however.
Four men attempted to cross the
Chattahoochee river near West Point
shortly after noop,. with the result that
three of the party, two white men and
one negro, were drowned. The dead
are George W. Callaway, H. B. Jones
and one negro, name unknown.' The
fourth member of the party, a negro,
escaped unhurt.
On the Louisville and Nashville rail
road. southern system, the train due at
Montogmery was derailed and Is under
water at Dyas. On the’Geneva branch
of the Louisville and Nashville 300 feet
of track have been swept away near
Rocky Creek . Numerous washouts are
reported along the line between West
Point and Montgomery.
Only one train attempted to go from
Atlanta Sunday over the Atlanta and
West Point—the LaGrange special,
leaving the city at 3:10 In the morning,
it was stopped at HogansviUe on ac
count of a severe washout and had to
turn back.
All of the through trains to New Or
leans, via the Atlanta and West Point,
had to be annulled Sunday,/tnd pas
sengers going In that direction had to
go around by the Southern.
In West Point the water was up In
the streets and the situation, It Is said,
was desperate. People can get about
with difficulty, and as the river was
still rising, tears are. expressed, a* to
.the results.
BIG BATTLE8HIP LAUNCHED.
With Appropriate Ceremonlea the Mis
souri Glides Into the Water,
The battleship Missouri was launch
ed at the ship yard at Newport News
Saturday at 11:12 o'clock. Fully 15,000
people, it Is estimated, saw the big de- a
fender go overboard. The launching
passed off without a hitch and none
prettier or more successful waa ever
accomplished. Miss Marlon Cockrell,
daughter of Senator F. M. Cockrell,
of Missouri, was sponsor for the ship
performed the duty assigned
bottle of etaam-
f Missouri prtv
The number of
around
lab-
the
CREAH OF NEWS
I
Summary of. the Most | \
Important Daily |;
+ Happenings Tersely Told. > >
—The Misses Battle, of Barnett,
Ga., were robbed of $6,000 in gold Sun
day morning. They discovered the rob
bers, who dashed a bucket of water In
the face of the lady holding a lighted
lamp.
■ —As an aftermath of Saturday’s
storm, a washout on the Western Rail
way of Alabama causes a wreck in
which Engineer 'Rllssell is killed. Val
uable property threatened 4 In Colum
bus. Lives lost In West Point,
—The Rev. N. Z.. Glenn, brother of
State School Commissioner G. R.
Glenn, died at his late home in Eaton-
ton, Ga., Sunday.
—A street car and freight train col
lided at Birmingham early Sunday
morning. The street car conductor
was killed and two men were seriously
injured. *
—Through the attorney general, the
state of South Carolina has begun suit
against the Virglnla-Carolina Chemical
Company, the allegation being made
that the concern is a trust and a mon
opoly.
—Uriah Porter, for whose capture
Gpvernor Jelks ordered a military com
pany to Crawford, Ala., is still at large.
It Is feared a general riot may be pre
cipitated by Porter’s friends when he
Is taken.
—Funeral services over the body of
Mies Nellie Cropsey waa held in Eliza
beth City, N. C., Sunday.' Ministers
advised from thel-julpll that Wilcox
be nbt hastily citoilamAe’d. Jhnd urged
agaldft any. ' ** ■ -
—Four persons lost their lives In a
railroad collision at Malta, Ills., Sun
day afternoon.
—Postofllce Inspectors Holmes and
Fletcher left Cincinnati Sunday for
Havana, where they go to testify
against Neely, charged with embezzle
ment.
—According to a Manila special five
insurgent officers, 175 then, with 6 can
non anfi 68 rifles surrendered on Sat-
urday to the Americans.
—Foreign ministers at Pekin say
they will decline the invitation to din
ner on the occasion of the Chinese
court returning, It they are not Invited
to the palace.
—The Zionist conference, In session
at Basle, Switzerland, will try to raise
a million dollars to purchase lands In
Palestine. '
—Savannah capitalists are forming
a trust company to float legitimate en
terprises.
—Uriah Porter,,,who killed Joseph
Fincher at Crawford, Ala.,, is armed
with a pistol and a winchester rifle and
defies the authorities to arrebt him. A
bailiff gave up his job rather than at
tempt to arrest Porter
—Oil wells were struck In Tenues-
see and Kentucky Friday, j . ■>;.
—Governor Aycock, of North Caro
lina. will sign death warrants for four
burglars—two 'White and two b!ac$..
—Washington seems to think that
Germany will soon make a demonstra
tion ggalnst Venezuela. It is believed
Venesuelan ports will be blockaded
and the people starved into submis
sion, 8T jU
—The battleship Missouri was
lannqhed at Newport News Saturday.
Miss Marios Cockreji, of Missouri
christened the vessel. The members
of th* cabinet were present.
—At the National theater In Wash
ington Friday night Admiral Schley
received g.remarkable ovation. Every
one to the house rose and cheered him.
—New Plan for consolidation of pub-
lie utility properties to Atlanta, Ga.,
may contemplate ignoring the city. No
tice of epplicetlon to the state for sew
charter is nelng published.
—Spanish squatters on the Island of
La Costs, southwest of Florida, have
been- ordered by the government
leave at once. The island!"
ae the former, nndesvous
—Two white men were killed, one fa-
Wally wounded and a white man and
negro were wounded in n race riot
Thursday nt Chlldersburg. Ala., precip
itated by a game of crape.
FLOATING IN RIVER
Body of Long Missing Nellie
Cropsey Found By Fisherman.
s i
DEEP MYSTERY FINALLY S0LYED
James Wilcox, a Former Lover of the
Girl, Is Held By Authorities Un
der Suspicion of Being
Her Murderer.
;Plvo weeks of mystery and specula
tion as to the fate of Miss Nell Crop
sey terminated at Elizabeth City, N.
C., Friday at 10 o’clock when the body
of the missing girl waa found floating
in the river opposlM her father's
home. t
The body was discovered by J. p.
Stillman, a fisherman, who was return
ing from his nlght”s fishing trip. Upon
discovering that the floating object
was the body of a young girl, he Im
mediately notified the committee and
Coroner Fearing had the body broughf
to the shore.
When the body was found It waa
face downward. AS the wearing appa
rel was Intact with' the exception of
the rubber which Nell wore on the
night of her disappearance, and that
was missing.
Body Little Decomposed.
With the exception qf some slight
discoloration of the face the body was
In a good state of preservation and lit
tle decomposed. The body was easily
Identified as that of Nell Cropsey by all
who had known her in life. The spot
wheije the body fount’%sd bqpn
dragged several times since her disap
pearance, but with no result *
Coroner Fearing summoned a Jury
of prominent men from among the
crowd that had assembled on the spot
where the body had been brought
ashore, and called In three of the best
physicians of the city to make a thor
ough and exhaustive autopsy to learn
If there were any signs of violence on
the body.
James Wilcox, a former lover, was
last with her. He Is under $1,000 bail
for Investigation by the grand Jury. He
Is suspected as the murderer of fhe
girl.
Naval Reserves Protect.
Anticipating that trouble may be
brewing for young Wilcox, the naval
reserves have been ordered out to
maintain order and peace and to see
that no violence is offered Wilcox. By
order of the mayetTall barrooms in the
city were closed. Wilcox has been re
moved from the mayor’s office, where
he had been since his arrest Friday af
ternoon, to the county h
protection, and .a Awt®'
placed around the jsiiLr'
The family of the dead girl
to axpress an optoiqu as to the
of the death of Nell Cropsey, hut an
uncle of the girl Is repdfted as hav
ing said:
”1 never have yet beard of a drowned
person floating. foe* downward.?
The mother or the girl ie completely
prostrated,, and little can be done on
the part of relatives end friends to
comfort her. -She has watched d
hoping for the return of her daughter
alive, and the sad ending of the disap
pearance has completely broken bier
down.
Verdict of Coroner’s Jury.
The verdict of the coroner’s Jury was
as follows: ' ‘‘ -.5/ 4
"We, the coroner’s Jury, having been •
duly summoned and sworn by Dr. i, v
Fearing to inquire what caused the
death of Ella M. Cropsey, do hereby
report that from the investigation
made by three physicians of Elisabeth
City, end from their opinion end aiad
from our personal.observation, JCUa M. .
Cropsey pame to her death by, being
stricken a blow on the left temple and
by being drowned, in the Pasquotank
river. We have not yet investigated ,
stay testimony as to wrbo to* ,
a- mo
ha blow and did the drowning,
ate informed that one James Wil
cox is charged with
custody. We
gatlon as to hls
able guilt be had _
lstrates'ta Elisabeth
that saldWUcdx be held to await saiJ
investigation.’*
and is now is *?
nd that Invest*
ona site's proh
or more Jbag . «
township anA
