■pELEi JW
■ITON BURCH, . . Editor
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Some people are nothing but sham,
like so called woolen goods that are
’ mainly cotton. They have a fair ex
, terior, are fluent of speech and make
great pretensions, but when they are
examined their true character is re
vealed in all its worthlessness.
Some people always wait for some
thing to turn up, while others go out
early and blithely in the morning and
do the turning for themselves. The
first call life a failure and the other
class says it is crowned with success.
■
The wor^^ repidly finding out that
the' foundaWn of society is not wealth,
nor a congress, nor armies and navies,
nor vested interests, but the mass of
toilers and workers, and that the great
problem is to so advance their material,
social and moral welfare that the foun
dation may be perfectly secure and
lasting.
Not very long ago a doctor was paid
$3,000 for treating a dog, and when
the dog died its owner gave it a costly
public funeral. Evidently not all the
foolish and weak-minded people are in
state or private asylums. The dog
may have been a very valuable and
sensible creature but the same can
scarcely be said of the man.
; . ’
Christmas may easily become a bur
den instead of a joy. It does so become
when people act on the supposition that
; the value of a gift depends upon its
’ money cost. When that idea prevails
it makes Christmas a season to he
dreaded instead of welcomed. The
yalue of a gift is in the love and motive
| that prompts the offering.
ISI ♦
Jssip and slander are two evils that
MH unoften disturb a whole community
Hr^n waimeSt friends into bitterest
^Kemies. Great is the harm done those
■■irainst whom the malicious or thought
3®ss tongue speaks, but far worse is
harm received by those who are
■■Bpty of the practice. Upon them the
^^l usually rebounds with double force.
HP The time is at hand when an infinite
timber of people will make resolutions,
■nd while many will faithfully carry
|Bhem out through life, yet it is safe to
^nay that the whole path of the next
Hear will be littered with cast off res
|Klutions. In making resolutions one
Should be certain that they are good,
^■hat there is a reasonable prospect of
Hone’s ability to keep them, and that
■ when kept someone is the gainer.
That Ohio woman who got a divorce
because her husband yoked her to the
plow with her brother may now be said
, to be free from a double yoke, for cer
tainly in her case marriage must have
been such a yoke. It seems almost in
credible that in this enlightened age
and here in America that a man should
be so barbaric and brutal as to make a
beast of burden of his wife. Such a
man would feel more at home in the
wilds of Africa amidst untutored sav
ages than in an intelligent common
wealth like Ohio.
For some reason or other municipal
ownership of public utilities has not in
this country been the success that it
is in England and some other countries.
* Here and there a favorable showing is
made but these instances serve mainly
byway of contrast to make more glar
ing the numerous failures. Probably
, the real cause of failure is found in too
much politics and the prevalence of the
spoils system. And this will continue
until people in both large and small
cities determine that municipal business
shall be conducted on the same business
• basis as their own private affairs are
conducted.
J. P. Morgan’s* admission that less
than hundred people control many
billions bf American money confirms
what most people* had long believed
that such a control is fraugh't with
great danger to American business and
political life. These men may think
they are doing right in the way they
conduct business but it will be impossi
ble to convince the public to ti.eir way
of thinking, Such concentration of
enormous wealih savors more of a
financial oligarchy than of a democracy.
The great problem for statesman now
is to ensure that, the people rule and to
do it without disturbance to honest
business. It is a large problem, but
not too large for able and conscientious
men whose first and last aim is to pro
mote the welfare of the country and
allow no one special privileges.
COL JOHN L B. SEELY
F H
Li
The Rt. Hon. Lieut. Co*. John Ed
ward Bernard Seely to the successor
of Lord Haldane as British secretary
of state for war. He was born In 1868,
the son of Sir Charles Beety, and Ei
both a lawyer and a BoWler. Serving
with the Imperial Yeomanry In the
Boer war he won the Distinguished
Service Order and the queen's medal
with five clasps.
WILSON WELCOMED HOME
STAUNTON, VA., EXTENDS GREAT
WELCOME TO HER NATIVE
SON UPON HIS RETURN
President-Elect Reaches Little Par
sonage Where He Was Born
56 Years Ago.
Staunton, Va. —Virginia welcomed
home Gov. Woodrow Wilson, the
eighth of her native sons to be chosen
president of the United States.
From the moment the president
elect crossed the state line at Alex
andria, after he had a ten minutes'
glimpse of the national capital until
he reached the little parsonage here,
where he was born fifty-six years ago,
the reception. given him was one of
great enthusiasm, noisy demonstra
tion and spectacular display. Escort
ed by troops of cavalry, militia com
panies and a torchlight procession, in
which practically the whole town par
ticipated, the governor and Mrs. Wil
son motored through the streets of
Staunton to the home of the Rev. Dr.
A. N. Fraser, pastor of the Presbyte
terian church, where Rev. Joseph R.
Wilson, father of the president-elect,
lived in 1856.
With Mrs. Wilson, the president
elect paused for a minute on the il
luminated portico of the house and
greeted Doctor Fraser. The band
struck up "Dixie.” the governor turn
ed and waved his hat to the crowd
and a spontaneous shout of welcome
echoed in the winter air.
"It’s fine to be back again,' exclaim
ed the president elect as he stepped
indoors.
Outside the crowds surged the
streets, which were alive with color
and flags and electrical displays. From
far and wide, native children of
Staunton had come to greet their fel
low-townsman. Except for an infor
mal visit a year ago, Mr. Wilson had
not been here since he was three
years old.
WOMAN CONFESSES MURDER
First Attempt to Get Rid of Husband
by Poisoning Whiskey Failure.
Macon, Ga. —A complete confession
of how she had forced Nick Wilburn
to murder her husband, Jim King, in
cold blood in order that she might
collect $2,000 insurance on his life
was told to Detectives C. P. Moore
and J. W. Kea by Mrs. King, follow
ing her arrest at the home of her
sister at Round Oak. and confinement
in the Jones county jail at Gray.
The story of the deliberate plot to
remove the husband is one of the
most graphic that has ever been re
vealed.
MEDIATION NOW PROPOSED
Walkout of Garment Workers Has
Resulted in Serious Situation.
New York.—Strong efforts were
made to bring to an end by mediation
and arbitration the strike of workers
in the men's clothing manufacturing
trade, which began with the refusal
of operatives variously estimated to
number from 50,000 to 150,000 to go
to work because they desire higher
pay and better working conditions
from their employers, members of the
New York Clothiers’ association. The
strike affects 4,000 shops in New
York, Brooklyn, Newark
John J. Bealin of the state board
of mediation and arbitration, confer
red with representatives of the Cloth
iers’ association and of the United
Male Garment Workers of America,
and will report to the board on the
advisability of conducting an investi
gation of the conditions under which
the garment makers work.
The International Peace Forum also
resumed its efforts looking to media
tion. It presented to both employers
and operatives a plan for submitting
I'--' '• f / 7
to them a list of governors of ten
states,'ten educators, ten IJnfted
States senators and vbn clergymen
from whom five or seven men shall
be selected -.to hear arguments and
submit findings which shall be bind
ing to the manufacturers and their
employees.
Fight Began , Levees.
Memphis, Tenn.—' it to enjoin the
Mississippi river -«ommlBBion and
levee board of diff® »t states border
ing -on the Miesiß pl river from
building and msint wing levees was
filed in the kun Federal court
here. Simultanscr ▼ similar bills
were entered In th federal courts at
St. Louis; Helewn. -irk:; Clarksdale,
Miss., and New ( »ans. The bill
asks a process court, which, if
granted will do * >.y with the river
commission and r. tous levee boards.
Deserter Confers Double Murder.
Miami, Fla. —Ti mysterious mur
der of two Itai: .n- tamed Rosani and
Spenelli, on Git st ey, in April, 1910,
was cleared u; 1 the confession of
Francis Bridge-. ’ jail at Key West,
according to di .p lies. Bridger was
arrested in Ge< r; as an alleged de
serter from th > my, following the
kidnaping of a ’ named Gallagher
in Miami last <- g. He stated that
the Italians we.- sisting hi min dis
posing of cou* - at money when a
dispute arose, ii vhich he knocked
them both in h, ead.
CHANGES MADE IN
TREASON /METHODS
NEW RULES ID REGULATIONS
WILL GO TO EFFECT
FEBR RY FIRST.
REFORMS ARE INAUGURATED
Secretary MacVeagh Thinks Changes
Will Lessen Interference With
Country’s Business.
Washington.—Secretary MacVeagh
ordered a revolutionary change in the
business methods of the treasury de
partment in handling the income and
expenditures of the government,
which is expected to lessen interfer
ence by the treasury with the fiscal
operations of the country, make the
government deposits in United States
depositories more active and obviate
the payment of exchange on govern
ment cheques.
Effective February 1, accounts of
the .Federal disbursing officers will be
placed with the treasurer, and all dis
bursing officers’ cheques drawn on
that official may be cashed by any
national bank designated as a United
States depository. Banks making
such payments may immediately re
plenish the specified account from
Federal customs or internal revenue
receipts daily deposited. The banks
thus will forward to the subtreasu
lies only the excess of receipts over
expenditures. If the expenditures
are greater than the receipts, the sub
treasuries will supply the deficiency.
In this manner, it is explained,
much of the government’s business
will be transacted without the actual
use of currency. It will be an exten
sion of the clearing house principle
to the government, and the banks
will cheek expenditures against re
ceipts and then make the settlements
with the treasury.
All cheques in payment of customs
and in connection with revenue re
ceipts which are turned into the sub
treasuries, under the existing sys
tem, must be converted into actual
money before they can be paid out
on cheques of disbursing officers. The
new scheme will obviate this cumber
some method of withdrawing money
only to pay it out into circulation
again.
Train Robbers Make $20,000 Haul.
Bakersfield. Cal.—Twenty thousand
dollars in gold was the haul of two
robbers who held up the express car
of the Sunset Western train, bound
from Bakersfield for Taft, Cal. The
money was consigned to the First
National bank of Taft by the First
National bank of Bakersfield. It was
not placed in the express safe. When
the train arrived at Taft, railroad
men were forced to break down the
door of the express car. In a corner
was M. W. Hamby, messenger, re
gaining consciousness.
Women Won’t March.
Chicago.—There will be no band of
Suffragists marching behind Presi
dent Wilson and Mr. Taft in Washing
ton, March 4. The plan has been
dropped, it was announced here, by
officials of the National American
Woman’s Suffrage Association. In
stead the Suffragists wiil march
through the streets of the national
capital March 3, headed by Mrs. Car
rie Chapman Catt. Miss Jane Addams
and Dr. Anna Howard Shaw. The of
ficials said that it was poor policy
to play second fiddle to anybody.
Just What He Meant.
“Your toys are very pretty, but the
prices are too high,” objected the cus
tomer.
"Why, look at that drum for $6.48.
You can’t beat it at the price,” pro
tested the dealer.
“I believe that is what I intimated
in my remark,” said the customer.
GEORGIA WOMAN
ADMITS CRIME
Mrs. James King Tells How
She and Wilburn Plan
ned to Kill Her
Husband
Macon, Ga-, Dec. 31.—Mrs.
James King, aged 42, was ar
rested at her home near Round
Oak, Ga., to-day, after Nicholas
Wilburn, 25, in a confession to
the police, is alleged to have ad
mitted that he killed Mrs. King’s
husband because she offered him
S6OO to commit the crime, and
promised to marry him after it
had been perpetrated.
James King, a prominent
planter, disappeared Dec. 12.
His body was found with a bullet
wound in the heart, in a woods
lot where he had gone hunting.
His bird dog was keeping watch
over the body. Indications were
at the time that King was re
sponsible for his death. Investi
gation led to the arrest yester
day of Wilburn and James Bar
ber, a negro.
In his confession to-day to the
police Wilburn is quoted as say
ing:
“Mrs. King had offered me
S6OO to kill her husband. She
said she wanted to get rid of him
and promised to marry me if I
killed him. He had $2,000 life
insurance.
On Dec. 12, I was passing the
King home. She called to me
and told me that King had gone
hunting, and for me to go |
through the woods, find him and j
shoot him. I followed him, and
when he stopped to re^t, I
sneaked up behind him, grabbed
his gun and then shot him just
over the heart. He begged me
not to shoot him'any more. Just
then he fell over.
“I put his gun in his hand and
arranged the body so as to make
it look aS if he had shot himself,
then went back to the house and
told Mrs. King what I had done.
She said I was a good boy and
she thought a lot of me.”
Wilburn is a farm and sawmill
hand.
Barber, the negro prisoner,
stated that a few minutes before
the killing, Wilburn had told him
that he was going to shoot King.
He said that he had frequently
heard Mrs. King tell her hus
band that she would like to get
rid of him because she was tired
of “seeing him sit around.”
Mrs. King is the mother of six
children.
Her oldest daughter married a
brother of Wilburn. Mrs. King
has taken a' prominent part in
AFTERMATH GF CHRISTMAS
church work in Jones county.
The King plantation is said to be
, one of the largest in Middle
■ Georgia.
■ For two hours this afternoon
Mrs. King sat in the women’s
department of the Jones county
jail, refusing to admit any part
in the murder of her husband.
She had collapsed when placed
under arrest, denying the charge
at first.
As detectives told her little by
little of the confession of Wilburn
she finally asked:
“Do you think that God , will
forgive me?”
Detectives assured her that
they believed that He would.
“Then with God Almighty as
my help I will tell you all, for I
cannot meet my God with a lie
on my lips,” said Mrs. King.
“Ask the people to have mercy
on me. not for myself, but for
my little children.” Then she
started in to tell the gruesome
details of the awful tragedy and
of her intimacy with Wilburn.
“It was in March that my re
lations began with Nick Wil
burn,” she said.
“One night we were in the
dining-room alone, and Nick told
me that he didn’t have a friend
in the world. I patted him on
the back and told him I would be
his friend.
“From that time on our rela
tions were of the most intimate
character. We would meet in
the woods, and whenever my
husband won. .-ave home Nick
would come he e and spend hours
at a time.
“We had signals so that I
could let Nick know when my
husband was away from home.
“Had it not been for the $2,000
| insurance we would never have
L planned to kill my husband.
“My first attempt to kill him
was to give him strychnine. Nick
bought the strychnine and we
put it in my husband’s whiskey.
When he became deathly sick I
gave my husband an antidote and
he recovered.
“After my husband recovered
from the effects of the strych
nine, then we planned to shoot
him. Nick told me that we
would catch him out hunting and
kill him wjth his own gnn. This
was to be done at the first op
portunity Nick had.
“The day of the killing Mr
King was sick and the doctor
told him not to eat hog meat, so
he told me that he was going to
take his gun and go out in the
woods and kill a couple of birds
for supper.
“He left home about 3:30 p. m.
and when he had been gone
about an hour Nick came and
walking into the room missed
my husband’s gun. He asked
me where the weapon was. I
told him that Mr. King had gone
t
hunting. Nick said, ‘Now is our
time,’ and I told him ‘yes,’ and
directed him as to where my
husband had gone.
“Then Nick left and when my
husband did not return I knew
that he was dead, though I did
not know where he had been
killed. I sent for Johnny Gor
don and Frank Wilburn to go and
look for my husband.
“After Johnny Gordon and
Frank Wilburn, my son-in-law,
came they asked Nick to go with
them to hunt for King. I asked
them to let Nick stay with me.
After they had gone, Nick told
me it was all over and I saw in«
Nick’s face this was so as soon
as he came in. I told him to
brace up, if he didn’t his looks
would give him away.
“We didn’t discuss the killing
further until the day Detective
Moore came to talk with me.-
This was on Tuesday, Dec. 17,
After Detective Moore left Nick
told me that he knew that he was
suspected. I told him to brace
up and give nothing away, even
if he was put on the scaffold with
a rope around his neck.
“I had great confidence in
Niqk and didn’t believe he would
ever give me away. When Nick
was arrested I made up my mind
I would go to the gallows before
I would tell a ’ word, but later
I thought it over and came to the
conclusion I could not meet my
God with a lie on my lips.
“I was a good Christian wo
man before I met Nick Wilburn,
and I had never done any wrong
in my life. I am 35 years old
and have six children, the oldest
of whom is 18 years and the
youngest 4 years. I was mar
ried nineteen years ago. I have
been a member of the Mission
ary Baptist Church for fourteen
years.”
REAL PUZZLER
7
Cook —I see some novelty genius
i has invented a collar button in the
shape of a feminine heart.
Hook —Huh! I bet that will be hard
er to find than ever.
t
