Newspaper Page Text
PEARSON®TRIBUNE
VOL. 3—NO. 8.
GLEANINGS OF COFFEE COUNTY
Items Gathered From Various Sources By Our Lynx-Eyed Reporter
Roddie Davis, who won dis
tinction at the State university,
as a member of the class in
ournalism, has returned to his
home in Douglas for the summer
vacation.
The Tribune is informed there
was a big social party at the home
of Mr. \Y. L. Thompson*.in the
Harmony drove neighborhood, last
Saturday night and the young poo
plo who attended enjoyed a splen
did time.
Mr. Frank Fielding, son of Mr.
and Mrs. X. Fielding, of
I>ouglas, who is attending school
in Chicago, has been reported
seriously, if not fatally, hurt in an
automobile accident. It is
thought he w ill be out in a few
weeks.
The Broxton Sunday schools w ill
picnic at the spring near Sparks
to-day, and the schools at Douglas,
\\ illacoochee and Nashville are in
vited ‘ join, Them. The Georgia
& Florida railroad will run asufii
eient train to accommodate all
who go.
The City Court of Douglas con
venes in an adjourned session the
fourth Monday in July and con
tinue two weeks. The first week
w ill be devoted to civil business
and the second week to criminal
business. The jurors drawn and
summoned for the May Term w ill
be used at this term, also thecal
endar arranged for the May Term
- 4ritl be used.
The State prison commission has
declined to recommend C. W. Lott
totiov. Harris for pardon and. it
is probable, this great legal battle
is at an end and that the aged
prisoner w ill have to remain at the
State prison farm until death shall
claim him as its victim. It is un
derstood that Attorney Cooper will
not carry the case before the Gov
ernor, as the denial of Mr. Lott’s
plea by the prison commission was
unanimous.
The Court of Appeals has af
firmed the decision of Judge W.
C. Bryan, sustaining the Defen
dants demurrer, in the case of The
Downing Company vs. Pearson
Banking Company. This case was
filed in the City court of Douglas
prior to the death of the Bank's
first cashier, Mr. James S. Roberts,
and has just reached its finality.
The facts in the cast' were some
w hat peculiar: One Fisher, identi
fied by Mr. Byrd—the son-in-law
of B. H. Tanner —presented two
bills of lading, with draft attached
purporting to represent shipments
of Naval Stores by the Douglas
Naval Stores Comnany to The
Downing Company, to Cashier
Roberts, who discounted the draft
and forwarded it and bills of lad
ing for collection; the Downing
Company paid the draft. It after
wards developed the bills of lading
were forgeries and The Downing.
Company made demand ujion Pear
son Banking Company for a re
turn of the money paid it on the
faith of the draft and bills of lad
ing. The Bank, on the advice of
its counsel, refused to do so, and
then this suit was filed to recover
the amount. The full text of the
decision has not yet been publish
ed. The Downing Company, plain
tiff, was represented ut trial by
Bennet, Twitty &. Reese, of Biuns
w iok, and Lankford & Dickerson,
of Douglas; Pearson Banking Com
pany, defendant, Quincy & Mc-
Donald, of Douglas, and Benj. T.
Allen, of Pearson.
Hon. B. H. Tanner has written a
lengthy card on the subject of high
taxation in Coffee county. Every
citizen is feeling the burden of
high taxation. llis remedy is to
discontinue the chain gang and to
abolish the board of county com
missioners and tlie city court of
Douglas, and thus retrench tin 1 ex
ponses of the county. The Tribune
thinks the' powers that be should
study the question thoroughly be
fore doing any of these tilings.
There is such a thing as being
“Penny wise and ixiuiid foolish.”
The real trouble comes from the
$40,000 debt in connection with
the agricultural school, and the
high rate of interest —8 per cent —
being paid to carry it. The Tri
bune would like to see this debt
wi|)ed out, either by private sub
script ion, through the medium of
bonds or direct taxation. The ed
itor of the Tribune is ready to ac
quiesce in whatever method that
may be adopted to consummate
tin' desired end. But let this in
debtedness be wiped out in some
way.
Miss May Cheatham, Coffee
county’s canning club demon
strator, has gone to her home in
Macon for the summer.
'l'he examination of teachers, for
license to teach in the public
schools of Coffee county, will lie
held at Douglas on Friday and .Sat
urday, August 3rd and 4t h.
Clerk Haddock lias been busily
engaged all this week transcribing
the selective draft registration
papers, but with efficient help lie
has it well in hand.
The boll weevil is getting in
his deadly work in alt sections of
Coffee county. Nome of the farm
ers are fighting him and some are
not. What the Cotton harvest
will be in Coffee county depends
<‘|x>n a strong fight against this
pest.
Program of the Smyrna
Sunday-School Convention
11:00 A. M. Friday June 20, In
troductory ,Sermon. R. W. Bugg.
12:00 m. Dinner.
1:30 P. it’ Devotional, T. H.
Brown.
2:00 p. m. Organization for Ses
sion.
2;15 p. M. Reports of the Sunday
School.
2:45 p.m. The Benefits of the
Sunday School Work to the Home.
I). M. Douglas, H. T. Clifton.
4:00 p. m. Appointments of Com l
m i ttees. Adjo urn men t.
SATURDAY, JUNE 3()TH.
9:30 a.m. Devotional, J. F. Dent.
10;00 A. m. How to create and
Maintain Interest in the Sunday
school, Judge T. A. Parker.
314)0 A. M. Sermon, T. S. Hubert.
12:00 M. Dinner.
1:30 p. m. Devotional, W. B.
Smith.
2.4)0 p. m. Sunday School Work
on Home and Foreign Fields, T. S.
Hubert, Geo. W. Andrews.
3;00 p. m. Report of Committees
on Place and Officers. Adjourn
ment.
7:30 Sermon, Jno. F. Smith.
SUNDAY MORNING, JUI-Y IST.
9:15 A. M. Devotional, S. E.
Biitch.
9:45 A. M. Exercise, Stokesville
Sunday School.
11:00 a. m. Address, Jno. W.
Bennett.
Everybody invited to come and
bring baskets.
PEARSON, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 1917
REMINISCENCES OF
THE CIVIL WAR
The writer was twelve and his
older brother fourteen years old
in the spring of 1864.
His father, after about six
months service with the Dixie
Boys down on the Georgia Coast,
the most of the time at Savannah,
had received honorable discharge
from the Confederate army and
returned to liis home in Thomas
villi' in an exceedingly feeble con
dition from an attack of pneu
monia. He remained al home
some months lecupemting and
t hen engaged in farming on a big
plantation in Brooks county, on
the Ocopilco creek six miles north
of Quitman.
To escape the annoyance of the
ever present conscript officer he
gathered a force of negro laborers
and went to Savannah to construct
defense for the city, including the
building of Fort Jackson, a short
distance down the river. Upon
the completion of this work he
sent the negroes back to the farms
of Brooks county and entered the
service of the Atlanti" & Gulf
railroad, w hich had been comple
ted from Savannah to Thomasville
just prior to the beginning of the
war in 1861, as purchasing agent —
his special duty being to provide
supplies for the hands engaged in
keeping up the track. Thus, the
spring of 1864 found him, with his
family and the railroad comissary
stores, at. Doctortown on the west
bank of the Altamaha river.
There was a regiment of home
guards stationed at Doctortown.
composed of old men and boys
unsuited for the regular army, and
commanded by Col. Arthur Hood
of Cutbbert, Ga. The soldiers
were equipped with a variety of
war guns but mostly carbines.
They did picket duty at the Alta
maha railroad bridge at Doctor
town, the Black swamp railroad
bridge two miles cast of Doctor
town, and at Battery Morgan (im
provised earthworks where guns
were mounted to command the
river) about four miles south of
I loetortown.
The Federals had taken posses
sion of Darien at the mouth of the
river and established a strong
army post there. They would oc
casionally make raids into the in
terior on foraging expeditions and,
ever and anon, rumors would reach
Doctortown that Federal spies
were lurking in the vicinity for
the purpose of locating and plan
ning an attack upon the Doctor
town garrison. These rumors
kept Col. Hood wide-awake and he
promulgated stringent rules for
the conduct of the people, and re
quired double diligence at the
picket posts to prevent being sur
prised by the enemy.
Besides the picket of soldiers
armed with carbines the railroad
employed a watchman whose duty
it was to watch the bridge at
night. He was armed with a
muzzle loading shotgun, and his
ammunition was composed of per
cussion caps, black powder and
cut shot, made by beating the lead
flat and cutting into squares about
the size of BB shot. This watch
man. aliout sundown, would build
n small fire in the centre of the
track at the west end of the covet
ed railroad bridge and here was
th<‘ established picket post,
The writer and his brother w-ere
of the proper age to be inquisitive
and to acquire knowledge—not al
ways by asking questions but by
staying with the game and wit
nessing results. So frequently they
would keep company with the
watchman and soldiers until ten
or eleven o’clock at night.
On the occasion in question it
was about eleven o'clock when the
watchman and soldiers discovered
SYRUP IN BOTTLES
MUST BE LABELED.
“When a farmer bottles his
syrup for sale, he becomes a manu
facturer and comes under the pro
visions of the Pure Food laws,”
holds S, O. Lee, Food Inspector.
“Each package must be labeled,
and the label must state the
amount the package contains.
This amount can be understated
but must not be overstated. For
instance a package containing
twelve ounces can be labeled ten
ounces, but one containing ten
ounces must not be tabled twelve
ounces.
This will come as quite a sur
prise to many of the farmers. A
number of t hose in the vicinity of
Pearson have labeled their syrup
for several years as an advertise
ment, and guarantee of quality,
but this label did not state the
amount the package contained.
In the future it all must be
labeled.
PUBLISHER’S NOTICE
The editor is sending out this
week a number of sample copies
of the Tribune to people who are
directly or indirectly interested
in Pearson and all this section of
Coffee county, also to some whom
he is pleased to number among
his personal friends. Tnis is an
invitation for them to subscribe
for the paper. It will be a news
letter that will cost them but 2c.
a week and all can afford it, A
strong effort will be made to
produce a paper that will be in
teresting and desirable to all.
Let us have your subscription;
only $1 a year?
B. T. Allen.
SPECIAL NOTICE.
To the Colored People of Coffee
County;
The nation of which you arc a
part is up against it, and no one
can see the end. You have a duty
to perform, you made good regis
tration day and I hope and believe
you will make good June 23rd and
24th we want every colored person
in the county to be presnt.
The race leaders w hose services
we have secured will be here and
will be glad to tell you jusf why
the negro should remain in the
South. Let everyone urge the
importance of this meeting. A
big barbecue and a free dinner fin
al 1. J. B. Ellis.
two shilling eyes apparently
coming up through the bridge.
It was at once in the minds of all
that the eyes were those of a
Federal spy. The intruder was
haled but no reply came. This
struck consternation to the hearts
of the boy soldiers and, after par
leying for some minutes, they de
termined to fire upon the eyes.
Twelve carbines were aimed and
at the command, fired; the shin
ing eyes disap]>eared. Then an
investigation must be had but no
one, not even the veteran watch
man, desired to go into the bridge
and See to whom or to what t host*
eyes belonged.
The volley brought the writer’s
father to the scene and there was
more discussion of the investiga
tion. The writer assured that his
father was the bravest of the brave,
agreed to make the investigation
provided his father would go with
him. This was settled and to
gether they went into the bridge
and found —what do you sup
pose! —a great big raccoon pierced
with twelve carbine balls. The
boys were frightened and a bit
nervous but their aims were true.
However, the garrison was
aroused and hastily formed into
battle line to receive the enemy
that —never came.
Among Our South Georgia Neighbors
,AL&. READABLE PARAGRAPHS ICARNERED BY THE JPENCIL AND
scissors process
It is now generally known that
the Moultrie packing plant has
been sold to Swift & Co., of Chi
eago. It is understood that the
new- owners will double its capaci
ty-
Thomasville will entertain three
conventions during the month of
July. First, the second division
of Odd Fellows on the 4th; second,
the second district Masons on the
11th and 12th; third, the Georgia
Weekly Press Association on the
16th and 17th. This is the kind
ot things that puts towns and
cities on the map and keeps them
there.
The Diamond Match Company,
of New York, one of the largest
match manufacturing concerns in
the world, will establish a factory
on the twenty acres of. land on the
Savannah river, above the city,
known as the Hermitage. The
company will spend $250,000 in
buildings and equipment. It will
aed much to Savannah’s already
large manufacturing interests.
The little city of Sparks wild
hold an election July 10th to au
thorize the issuance of bonds with
which to erect a public school
building. This is made necessary
by the divorcement of public and
sectarian schools throughout the
state. The Methodist school there,
Sparks Collegiate Institute, has
heretofore taken over the entire
educational interests of the city.
The law forbids this and iu -.future
it will be enforced. Sparks, Nor
man Park, Blackshear, Mcßae and
Mt. Vernon will all be fed from
the same spoon.
Mr. Bradley Slater, living six
miles north of Alapaha, on the
Oeilla Southern railroad, planted
thirty acres to Irish pototocs this
year and reaped a profit of $7,000
on his crop of potatoes, which was
sold to Savannah men who har
vested the crop in their own way.
Mr. Slater now has his thirty
acres planted to com. Those peo
ple who were solicited and urged
to plant Irish |>otatoes last spring,
if only five or ten acres, and de
clined to do so, doubtless feels
like going aside and kicking
themselves.
A marriage of interest was that
on Sunday the 10th intstant, of
Miss Lonnie Smith, daughter of
Mr. Ben Smith of the Mud Creek
district of Clinch county, and Mr.
S. W. Elliott, deputy sheriff of
that county. It was an elopment
and the marriage ceremony, was
performed by Judge B. A. Harper
near Homcrville- while the couple
were seated in an automobile. The
bride is well known as a most
amiable and accomplished young
lady; is a sister of Attorneys W.
R. and J. C. Smith, of Nashville,
and a niece of Elder John F.
Smith, of Pearson. May the hap
py couple live long and prosper,
The authorities of Mitchell and
Baker counties have reached an
agreement whereby each county is
to pay one-half of the cost of
bridging Flint river at Newton.
Baker is one of the few Georgia
counties without railroad facilities,
and the building of the bridge
with a good road to Newton, the
county site of Baker, will prove a
great commercial convenience to
the people of Newton and Baker
county and open up a splendid ter
ritory to the merchants of Camilla.
Flint river being a semiuavigable
stream Congressman Park had to
obtain authority from congress be
fore the bridge could be built.
81.00 A YEAR
Milltown will entertain the 1918
annual session of the Valdosta
District Methodist Conference.
Capt. Walter A. Gray’s com
pany of pioneer engineers, at Way
cross need ten more recruits to
complete its enlistment.
The Darling Manufacturing
Company, of Waycross, is being
moved to the old car factory site.
To the novelt y works will be added
a crate factory.
South Georgia melon growers
are now shipping their products to
market and are realizing good
prices. The partial failure of the
Florida crop has inured to their
advantage.
The officials of Lowndes county
are makfng much noise because it
is getting back from the state a
much less amount from the auto
mobile tax road fund than the
county paid into it.
A Waycross girl creaieil quite
a sensation by appearing on the
streets in overalls during her
shopping tours. Well, she’s in
troduced a new fashion and the
other girls will follow —rather be
dead than out of fashion.
The Tribune regrets to learn of
the death of Mrs. Culpepper, wife
of Dr. A. H. Culpepper, of Homer
ville. She was a splendid woman
and well-beloved by all who knew
her. The doctor and his family of
children have the Tribune’s sincere
sympathy.
The contractors have turned
over the main building of the
Brunswick Shipbuilding Company
to the owners, who will begin
work within the next few- days. It
is said to have contracts for live
schooners, three 3 masts and two
4-masts.
Charlton county people are al
ready busily engaged making pre
parations for the 1917 fair, to be
held at Folkston. The success of
the fair last fall has encouraged
them to undertake greater tilings,
despite the war, for the fair this
year. The premium list has been
approved and will soon be ready
for distribution.
If the amount of her subscrip
tion to the Liberty Bonds is any
indication Brunswick is the big
gest little city in not. only Geor
gia but the United States. Her
pro rata share would have been
less than SIOO,OOO, blit she put
$1,100,000 on the altar. The Tri
bune is glad Brunswick is in South
Georgia; proud of her.
Hon. Judson L. Hand, lately de
ceased, of Pelham, left in his will a
bequest of twenty thousand gal
lons of mellow old grain* wine to
the University of Georgia. This
wine is wortn au least $40,000, and
the money is sadly needed by the
university. Just how toevade the
“bone-dry” law, so the University
can get this $40,000, is puzzling
the brain, it is said, «f Gov. Har
ris, the board of trustees and al
umni of the university and a num
ber of Atlanta,s astute lawyers.
It is also suggested that the legis
lature, soon to meet, will lx*called
upon to straighten out this knotty
South Georgia anomoly. Will
there be some more legislation
akin to that forbidding the para
lelling of the State road? Is
there to be so soon a demand from
Gov. Harris and fiis prohibition
followers that their “bone-dry”
creation be strangled? “We will
B*e w hat we shall seel”