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♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ * The leading new* * + and advertising medi- + urn of the great Mid* + + die Georgia Peach and ♦ * ♦ Melon Belt. * 4.4.44.4.4.4.4.4.4.4.4. Volume XXXIII, Number 1. FOUR ) DOORS TO LEAGUE 1 ARE OPEN TO U. S. WORKS TO LEAVE THE WAY OPEN FOR UNITED STATES TO HAVE HER SAY AMERICAN ARMY AT GENEVA |Vi*it nificance, Of Major Churchill Has No Sig¬ But Puts Delegates To Talking Geneva, Switzerland.—The arrival liere of Maj. Marlborough Churchill assistant chief of the military intel .licence division of the general staff ©f the United States army, which sc far as appears now has no real sig nificance except to himself and hi? department, has created a mild sensa tion in league of nations circles. The “United States” has been od the lips of almost every spokesman in the assembly of the league and probably in the minds of every dele¬ gate. The hope that tile v i-i-l States will some day join the league is unmistaka hie. The entire work of the assembly lias visibly been directed so as not to prejudice the most important ques tions at issue regarding the league covenant, and so as to leave the way open for the United States to have her say in its eventual revision. The appearance during this assent bly of any official or unofficial repre sentative of the American government was the last thing hoped for. Major Churchill, consequently, was ail the more an object of attention when his presence here became known. Major Churchill conferred with the United States members of the league’s secretariat and also with Colonel Re quin of the French military delegation in attendance here. Major Churchill explained that he was on a tour of inspection of all the United States military attaches in Eu rope and came to Geneva to find out the manner in which the military com¬ mission was organized and become ac¬ quainted with the activities of the as aembly regarding intelligence work and other military questions. The United States, Major Church¬ ill said, is interested from the stand point of the future and naturally is anxious to know what has been done or may be accomplished in a military way by the league. TO LAUNCH LARGEST VESSEL IN UNITED STATES NAVY AFTER NEW YEAR'S Quincy, Mass.—It is authoritatively announced here the keels of the su perdreadnaught Massachusetts will be laid soon after New Year’s Day. The Massachusetts will be larger than any vessel in the United States navy. With a length of 660 feet over all and 106 feet beam, her displace¬ ment will be 43,200 tons. She will have electric drive and engines ol 60,000 horsepower, and her speed is tc be twenty-three knots. The armament will comprfse twelve 16-inch guns and a secondary battery of sixteen 6-incb guns. The keel of the Lexington, a battle cruiser, will be laid soon after that of the Massachusetts. She will have almost exactly the same beam as the Massachusetts, but her length over all is to be 880 feet and her displace ment 43,500 tons. Her engines of 180, 000 horsepower will yield a speed ot thirty-five knots under electric drive. She will mount eight 16-ineh guns and sixteen 6-inch guns and also will have eight torpedo tubes. These two huge warships embody the latest developments in naval eon sanction and incidentaly show how rapidly types have changed in recent years. The locks of the Panama ca nal, which are 110 feet wide, will allow only two feet margin on each side for ihe passage of a vessel of the Massa chusetts’ beam. Kitchen StrlcKen &y Acute Indigestion Washington.—Representat ive Kitch¬ en. minority leader of the house, was stricken with an attack of acute indi¬ gestion as he entered the postoffice department for a conference with the postmaster general. His attack was of short duration, however, and after receiving treatment he was taken to his home. His physician, Dr. Louis Battle, says Mr. Kitchin’s condition is not in "any way alarming.” Price-Cutting Wave Rolls On Asheville) Asheville, N. C.—Men’s wear, beef, pork and bacon will be cheaper in' Asheville as the result of a wave ot; I price - cutting , which struck the city. Clothing houses advertised reductions of 33 1/3 per cent in men's suits and J j t«T«ral firms inc^uAad in their lists THE HOME PAPER OF THE BEST PEOPLE OF THE PEACH PARADISE OF THE WORLD. « The Leader-Tribune AND PEACHLAND JOURNAL FORT VALLEY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1920. EIGHT PAGES BIG MASS MEETING OF AUTHORITIES ON PEACH PESTS TO BE HERE. ALL GROWERS, FOREMEN AND SUPERINTEND¬ ENTS URGED TO ATTEND. On Wednesday, December 8. at 2:30 p. m., a mass meeting of the peach growers in this district will be held at the Chamber of Commerce in Fort Valley for the purpose of dis¬ cussing the chief factors which will influence the degree of eurculio and disease damage to the next crop. Dr. A. L. Quaintance, leading au¬ thority in this country on fruit in¬ sects, of Washington, D. C., will he present to discuss various practices which must be enforced in the dis¬ trict to save the next peacn crop from the ravages of the eurculio and other pests. It is probable that a represen¬ tative from the Bureau of Plant In¬ dustry will also be present. The representatives of the U. S. Bureau of Entomology, who have headquarters on Miller Street, have been making a survey of local condi¬ tions, such as hibernating quarters of the eurculio in and near orchards and a definite program of work to eliminate sources of infestation, etc., has been outlined and will be pre¬ sented at this meeting. It is very es¬ sential to secure the cooperation of every grower, and is this program as presented is accepted and adopted the proper public sentiment must be created to make sure that it is thor¬ oughly and efficiently carried out by every grower, small and large, in order to eliminate sources which might reinfest properties which have adhered to the program. The orchard superintendents and foremen should attend this meeting as well as the orchard owners, be¬ cause they are the ones who will act¬ ually conduct the work. It is the duty of every grower to see that this meet¬ ing is well attended because the fu¬ ture of the peach industry rests upon the adoption of a program of work which will keep in control the pests which have caused suen tremendous losses during the past two seasons and which have lowered the pres¬ tige of the Georgia peach on the mar¬ kets. A corps of trained men will be permanently maintained at the Gov¬ ernment laboratory in this city and their services are at the disposal of the peach growers of this section. 0 BAPTIST WOMEN ACTIVE IN MISSIONARY WORK At the general meeting of the Wo¬ man’s Missionary Society of the Bap¬ tist church held in November, the president, Mrs. W. J. Braswell, ap¬ pointed Mrs. A. J. Evans chairman of personal service, Mrs. Tom Mur phey chairman of publications, and Mrs. Bettie Williams chairman of so¬ cial service. In the absence of the treasurer, Mrs. Mittie Wynne, Mrs. W. A. Wooddall, as assistant treas¬ urer, has charge of the finances. The society voted to continue the work of caring for the French Or¬ phans and Mrs. Charlie Byrd has this phase of the work in hand. During the past year, under the direction of Mrs. Braswell the society has made advances in all of its activities and the outlook for the new year’s work is very encouraging. ■0 Mr. N. Hauser, the jeweler, who has been seriously ill for several days at his apartments in the rear of his store, is improving. Dr. W. S. White, a special nurse and friends have been attending him. other wearing apparel, sin, shirts in some instances being cut 50%. The butcher shops announced reductions* of between 20% and 25% on all grades of beef, pork and bacon. Marine Is Accussed Of Killing Haitien Port-au-Prince, Haiti.—Dorcas Wit liams, a marine sergeant, formerly of Birmingham, Ala., accused of killing a native of Haiti, arrived here in the custody of officers aboard the destroy er McCormick. The court of inquiry, which is investigating the activities of the American marines in Haiti, de Bared hearing W illiams to enable him to confer with witnesses for the de fel)ge The Haitien courier has been p r j n (j n g a series of extremely sensa tional charges against the marines based on hearsay reports. IN THE I Mrs. F. E. Elmer, Mrs. lone Henry, Ernest D. Hopson and Mrs An= nie E. Cutts Are Held. Testimony of Experts Indicated Bi-Chloride of Mercury Taken Through Mouth Caused Death of F. D. Shepard. The coroner’s jury empaneled Nov. 6, to inquire into the cause the death of Fred D. Shepard on 1, was reconvened in the Austin atre in Fort Valley Saturday noon at 2:30 o’clock and heard timony from Dr. M. S. Brown of Valley, Dr. John Funke and Dr. gar Everhardt of Atlanta. Dr. Brown first testified to identification of the body of Shepard when it was exhumed Nov. 6 and again on Nov. 17; of removal on each occasion of of the alimentary canal and important organs; of the delivery these in sealed glass jars to Dr. hardt and Dr. Funke; of the tion of the intestines and other dominal tissues observed by him the occasion of the operation was performed on Mr. Shepard just prior to his death in a Macon hospi¬ tal; and of the indication that these conditions and death were not due to any known disease. Dr. Funke testified as to his path¬ ological and microscopjc examination of the viscera removed by him and Dr. Brown on Nov. 17, and stated that the changes in these tissues served by him clearly pointed to corrosive poison taken through mouth Dr. Everhardt testified that he had isolated one-fifth of a grain of bi¬ chloride of mercury from the visce¬ ra taken from the body on the sec ond autopsy, which were delivered to him by Dr. Funke. He stated that poison had been found in his tests of the viscera turned over to him im mediately after the first autopsy on Nov. 6. He stated that tt was ble that a much larger quantity of the poison may have been taken and eliminated from the body by vomiting and purging. Immediately after the testimony of these witnesses Solicitor Chas. M. Garrett cleared the theatre of the general public in order that the cor¬ oner’s jury might deliberate on the evidence and arrive at their decis oin. In a very short time this verdict was rendered as follows: “We, the jury, find that Fred D. Shepard came to his death by bi-chloride of mercu¬ ry given in a manner unknown to us by parties unknown to us. tt Mrs. F. E. Elmer, former wife of Mr. Shepard, with her attorney, Chas. M. Durrance of Jacxsonville, Fla., ent at the coroner’s inquest, having ent at the soroner’s inquest, having reached Fort Valley on an early af¬ ternoon train from Macon. Neither Mrs. Elmer nor her attorney were given an opportunity to participate.! in any way in the inquest. As soon as the theatre was ordered cleared Mrs. Elmer and her attorney and stenographer made their way to the 3:40 train for Macon and just as they were in the act of boarding the train Deputy Sheriff J. J. Robinson presented to Mrs. Elmer a warrant In bail trover proceedings affecting administration of the estate of Mr. Shepard and for relief of Fred R. Crandall, her bondsman in the sum of $25,000.00. They were escorted from the train to the law offices of Col. L. L. Brown, where arrange¬ ments were made for the estate of Mr. Shepard to be turned over to Col. Brown, who was named as ex¬ ecutor in the will made by Mr. Shep¬ ard a week or so before his death. It is stated that her attorney arranged to give bond in this phase of the case in the amount of $120,000 for Mrs. Elmer. Immediately on leaving the law offices of Col. Brown, Deputy Sher¬ iff Robinson again placed Mrs. El under arrest on a warrant charg murder. She was tak^n to a room the Winon Hotel and kept there guard of Deputy Robinson and J B Bartley, until the midnight on which these gentlemen took | her to Macon, where she was placed | in a hospital ward of the Bibb Coun ty jail. Mrs. Elmer’s arrest was soon fol¬ lowed by that of Mrs. lone Henry, her sister, and of Ernest D. Hopson, Mrs. Elmer’s son, both of whom were placed under guard at Mrs. Henry’s home in Perry. The fourth person arrested in the case was Mrs. Annie E. Cutts, wife of a prominent Fitzgerald attorney, and a former intimate friend of Mrs. Elmer when they both were in Ab¬ beville. Mrs. Cutt-s was arrested in Fitzgerald Monday and was taken to Macon and placed in the Bibb County jail that night. She is said to know a a good deal about the alleged plot to poison Mr. Shepard, which is said to have been formed in Abbeville last May when Mrs. Elmer, Mrs. Henry, Mr. Shepard and Ernest Hopson went to Abbeville to see Mrs. Elmer’s son, John S. Hopson, who was shot there on May 17 by J. A. Turner, it is said, overseer on the Cutts’ plantation. A preliminary hearing will be giv¬ en the four persons under arrest on Dec. 7, when applications for bail will be considered. It is reported that Solicitor Gar¬ rett will be assisted in his prosecu¬ tion of the cases by W. A. McClellan, a noted criminal lawyer, and that other lawyers also might figure in the prosecution. It is further stated that General Walter A. Harris will assist in the defense of Mrs. Elmer, that Judge Jno. P. Ross will rep resent Mr. Hopson and will also as s j s t Judge C. E. Brunson of Perry in the defense of Mrs. Henry. Col. R. J j Berner, it is said, will assist at tomey Eldridge Cutts in the 0 f Mrs. Cutts. I I - -o- 1 D. A. R. ARE IN CHARGE OF FRANKLIN THEATRE TODAY Proceed* Go For Memorial Scholar¬ ship, Education Of Mountain Boys And Girls, And To Thomas Library. On Thursday afternoon and even¬ ing the Governor Treutlen Chapter D. A. R. will have charge of the picture show at the Franklin Thea¬ tre, which has been kindly donated to the D. A. R. for the occasion. The proceeds of the show will be applied to the memorial scholarship fund at the University of Georgia for disa¬ bled soldiers and for the education of mountain boys and girls and to the Thomas Library. Mrs. W. B. Smith is regent of the chapter and under tier leadership marked advances in educational and benevolent activities fostered by the D. A. R. are evident. The cooperation of trie public will be appreciated by the members of the Governor Treutlen Chapter. o U. D. C. TO HOLD BAZAAR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY I Fancy Work, Cakes, Candies And Kisses To Be Sold To Con¬ tinue Work Of Education And Benevolence. The Charles D. Anderson Chapter U. D. C. will have a bazaar at Cope¬ land’s Pharmacy on December sev¬ enth nd eighth. The bazaar will be open from ten o’clock a. m. until ten in the evening. There will be on sale articles of fancy work, cakes, can¬ dies and kisses. The proceeds will be applied to the work fostered by the U. D. C., which is education and be¬ nevolences. The present need is for funds to care for the old soldiers. The Charles ~ narle J? u D ‘ Anderson on Chanter Chap ’ with Wlth F- ^ Mllle „ * as president, , is makin £ advances in many phases of work aTul 18 a,so S roW!n S in member ship. $2.50 Per Year In Advance. DIES I! THEATRE PASSES CALMLY INTO LAST LONG SLEEP WHILE WATCH¬ ING THE PICTURES THANKS¬ GIVING NIGHT. As peacefully as a babe falls to sleep on its mother’s breast Mr. Mar¬ cus Jones Langston, husband of Mrs. Daisy Foster Langston, express agent here, crossed “the great divide” be¬ tween the here and the hereafter while witnessing the pictures a the Franklin Theatre here Thursday night. There had not been the slight¬ est premonition to anyone of his pass¬ ing until Mr. T. E. McMinn, propri¬ etor of the picture house, was clos¬ ing up about 10:30 o’clock, when his attention was called to a man ap parently asleep in the auditorium. As soon as Mr. McMinn approached the silent form close enough to rec ognize it he had a premonition that the man was dead, although his atti¬ tude was that of one asleep. It was generally known here, however, that Mr. Langston was a sufferer from heart and' kidney trouble. When found Mr. Langston’s body was sitting naturally !n a seat, his head leaned against the wall, one arm resting on the adjacent seat, the other hand holding' his hat easily and naturally between his knees. There was not an indication of struggle, pain or premonition of death. The doctors say it was the most remark¬ able case of literally falling asleep into death that had ever come under their observation. Mr. CcMinn immediately called in Doctors Hickson, Wise and M. S. Brown, who laid the body in the aisle where an examination could be made. The cold extremities and stilled heart showed life to be extinct. The circum¬ stances indicated that Mr. Langston had been dead for an hour or possi¬ bly two hours. Mr. McMinn remem¬ bered seeing him enter the picture show very soon after seven o’clock. Death was pronounced due to heart trouble complicated with a kindney trouble. The body was taken to the under taking establishment of the Georgia Agricultural Works, where it was embalmed for shipment to Lithonia, former home of the deceased, Mrs. Langston and daughter, Mar tha Frances, were spending the Thanksgiving season in Atlanta and were reached over the telephone at 11:30 o’clock that night. Mrs. Langs¬ ton and her sister, Miss Martha Fos¬ ter, caught the first train available that night for Macon where they were met by friends with an automo¬ bile. They, with Miss Em Langston, sister of the deceased, and Rev. J. W. Stokes of the Presbyterian church accompanied the body Friday morn¬ ing to Lithonia, where the interment occurred at 11:00 o’clock Saturday Morning. Mr. Stokes was assisted in the funeral service by Rev. Marvin Williams of Grace Street Methodist church, Atlanta, a former pastor of the deceased, and by Rev. Burrell of the Baptist church, pastor of the fam¬ ily. The concluding services were in charge of the Masons. Mr. Langston was 55 years old. He was well thought of by the people of Fort Valley, as are his estimable wife and daughter. Owing to the con¬ dition of Mr. Langston’s health for several years, Mrs. Langston was the active head of the family, and has filled the position of express agent here with the assistance of Mr. Langston most capably for the past year or more. The sincere sympathy of many friends is extended to these bereaved ones. -O JUSTICES OF PEACE TO BE ELECTED SATURDAY The election for Justices of the Peace throughout Georgia will be held Saturday, Dec. 4. The election for the 528th G. M. (9th) District of Houston County will be held in the office of the Justice of the Peace in Valley. ©■ The many friends of Dr. Virgin ius Brown and family are much con cerned over his serious illness. - a ten-pound boy arrived Wednes jay evening at the residence of Mr. and Mrs . W . F- Mathews, 225 Ander son Ave. * The only newspaper * + published in the heart ♦ + of the largest Peach- ♦ + growing section of the ♦ ♦ world. * 4.4.4.4.4.4.4.4.4.4.4.41 CASE TOPER CENT GRAFT I WITNESS CHARGES AUDITOR SAYS HE TOLD BOARD LAST JULY GOVERNMENT WAS BEING ROBBED GERMAN SHIPS ARE INVOLVED Alleges Government Suffered From Overcharges, Favoritism And Needless Repair New York.—Testimony that 10% ol the $7,000,000 shipping board repail bills in the south Atlantic district was “graft,” was given here to the Walsh congressional committee exam ining into shipping board affairs. The allegation was made by Charles Ban zahf, a traveling auditor of the board out of New York. It was contained in a letter written by the witness to the general comptroller of the board last July, read here by Chair¬ man Walsh and identified by the wit¬ ness. Means by which the alleged “graft” was made possible, the witness testi¬ fied, included lack of inspections, fail¬ ure to check repair work, overcharges for materials and labor and unneces¬ sary repairs. He cited an instance of a repair engineer who, he said, had set in a pilot house and approved re¬ pair hills amounting to “thousands of dollars’ without ever looking at the work. He declared inspectors had been their told business, that and "costs” that were there none ofj was a; spirit of make, rather than cut down,! repair work. Two of the former German ships were brought into the inquiry for the first time by Banzahf. He asserted he had been instructed to check up bills for the reconditioning of the former German liner Hamburg, now the New Rochelle. This ship was sold on a charter purchase contract to the Bal¬ tic Steamship company. Ther sale price, he understood, was approximate¬ ly $985,000, and the shipping board had advanced for the reconditioning of the ship about four hundred thousand dol lars. The hill of repairs for this ship he added, was about a million and a halt dollars, which an audit of accounts reduced approximately $337,000. The discrepancy between the sale price of the ship and the cost of recondition¬ ing, he said, he could not explain with¬ out the contract of sale, which he did not have with him. -o POLICE CHIEF LYON HAS FAMILY REUNION SUNDAY Chief of Police W. A. Lyon is not strong on cards nor card fiends, but the chief had a “full house H at his house Sunday. It was a family re¬ union of four generations of Lyons, from the chief’s invalid mother, 79 years of age, who lives with him, down to his youngest grandchild, age 8 months. Altogether there were fif¬ teen persons in the chief’s little home on South Macon street Sunday, gathered there in honor of his son, W. A. Lyon, Jr., and his new bride, an account of whose marriage ap¬ peared in our issue of last week. Chief Lyon and his family all spent Thanksgiving Day in Macon with his son and daughter who live there. o War will be declared on the two million-doilar curculij December 8, Be there. -o FORT VALLEY BOY HOME FROM SIBERIAN SERVICE Mr. Jesse Hartley is at home on a furlough for several weeks. He has been stationed for the past eighteen months at Vladivostok, Russia, and went inland 3,000 miles to Omsk, where he volunteered to assist in the building of the Siberian railway. He will go from here to the army post at Seattle, Washington. 1 * o HARTLEY-YOUNG Friends are cordially interested in the announcement of the marriage on Sunday, November 21, of Miss Vera Hartley f daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Hartley, to Mr. Virgil Young, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. 15. Young -o Miss Ethel Kim of Korea, China, and who has been a student at Wes¬ leyan College for a number of years, spent last week end with Dr. and Mrs. C. R. Jenkins. Miss Kim gave a very interesting talk at the Ep worth League hour Sunday evening.