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THE CLAYTON «# 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