Greenbrier independent. [volume], August 29, 1919, Image 1

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tt-H. tag Sh?U be Indifferent to us which Advances the Cause of Truth
and Morality, or which Concerns the Welfare of the Community In which we Live.
VOLUME 5'
LEWISBTTRG. WEST VIRGINIA. FRIDAY MORNING, AUGUST 29, 1919 NUMBER 10
TEXT OF WILSON'S STATEMENT TO
PUBLIC
T!ie Presidents statement on the
M:. Kinds of the railway shopmen,
addressed to the public, follows: '
"My Fellow Citizens: ? A situa
tion has arisen in connection with
the administration of railways !
wlich is of such general signifi-j
ranee that I think it my duty to!
make a public statement concern- '
ing it. in order that the country
may know what is involved. * !
"The railroad shopmen have de
manded a large increase in wages.
They are receiving 58, 63, and 68
cents per hour. They demand 85
cents per hour. This demand has
been given careful and serious con
sideration by the board, which was
constituted by the railroad admin
istration to adjust questions of
wages, a board consisting of an
(<;ual number of representatives of
employees and of the operating
managers of the railroad compan
ies. This board has been unable
to come to an agreement, and it has
therefore devolved upon the direc
tor general of railroads and mv
.vlf to act upon the merits of tlie
ease.
"The shopmen urge that thev are
entitled to higher wages, because of
the higher wages for the present re
ceived by men doing a similar work
in ship yards, navy yards, and ar
senals. as well as in a number of
private industries, but I concur
with the director general in think
ing that there is no real basis of
comparison between the settled em
ployment afforded mechanics by
he railroads under living condi
hons as various as the location and
Miurroundmgs of the railway shops
themselves and the fluctuating em
tio.^ ment afforded in industries ex
ceptionally and temporally stimu
. b>* the war and located al
most without exception in indus
. a', centers where the cost of liy
'?'ig is higher.
The substantial argument, which
s??I>men urge, is the very seri
ous increase in the cost of "living,
.'"is is a very potent argument
cost0 of 1* -Ut,lhe fact is St he
it LIl "I? has certainly reached
lis peak, and probably will be low
eied by the efforts which are now
everywhere being concerted and
"iied out. it will certainly be
lowered so soon as there are set
led conditions of production and
the C?rM|lerCf ' ' t,lat is* 80 soon as
h treaty of peace is ratified and
. operation, and merchants, manu
facturers, farmers, miners, all have 1
who! ?!n Vs ?f calculation as to
. ; ,^e,r husmess will be and
I h h C l!1 K10ns wiH be under
mch t must be conducted. The
fore "ami ?M ^'hopmen, there
,.V .!? similar demands, are
creiw i S: at we mav in"
( I i. n Wages which are likely
' , e Permanent, in order to meet
1, Je'nporary situation which will
(;<M. nobody can certainly tell how
?. i; . In a Probability only for
j?. ""ted time. Increases in wages
? l '"oreover, certainly result in
> ' ? stimulate further costs of pro
ion, and therefore the cost of
I g, and we should only have to
\1IN ""['f1 "/e same process again.
P. s;'bstantial increase of wages
fiiri /'"es ?f industry at this
? would Utterly crush the gen
"lent Wl.!luch ,he #?vern
1 11 ,s " aging, with energy, vigor
' ? |,?pc of J-JX
H:, .'.. <osl "I livin*. And
1-r.rlVlV ",SC? ,,,t' ('OS' of
' ''stilt ft'# ' Wl,ch wolll(l necessarily
or rail w! " ,,u're?ses in the wages
"?rtainlv'^i ^''i'1 ?'V( CS wini,'d more
have !!? , "'ore immediately
'lanced U ,han anv oth*r en
I . n !' TlS- ?",v bv kecp
' I Si ?,,r?(,UC.,io" <>"
li.,,, by increasing produc
' on tin' r,g! economy and sav
?r!he I>e?P,c' can
'"inlei .??, ge decreases in the
n"xv weiuhv C0S'i ?f ,ivin?' which
weighs us down.
" I lie director general of rail
n>;?ls and I have felt that a pecu
liar responsibility rests upon us,
l??'<ause in determining this ques
tion we are not studying the bal
ance sheets of corporations mere
we arc in etTcct determining
"h burden of taxation which must
'?'H upon the people of the coun
}??>' in general. We are acting, not
J"1' private corporations, but in
name of the government and
public, and must assess our
,tAl><?nsibility accordingly- l''or
*' is neither wise nor feasible to
" l itre of increases in the wages
' ';iilroad employees at this time
increases in freight rates. It
1 impossible Ml this time, until
?|' 11 h:is come and normal con
"ns are restored, to estimate
v ' the earning capacity of the
1 oads will be when ordinary
('?'lions return. There is no cer
hasis, therefore, for ealculat
ing the increases of freight rates,
and it is necessary for the time
being at any rate, to take care ?f
all increases in the wages of rail
road employees through appropri
ations from the public treasury.
"In such circumstances it seems
clear to me, and I hope will seem
clear to every thoughtful Ameri
can, including the shopmen them
selves, when they have taken sec
ond thought, and wage earners of
every kind, that we ought to post
pone questions of this sort until
normal conditions come again and
we have the opportunity for cer-*
tain calculations as to the rela- !
tions between wages and the cost
of living. It is the duly of every
citizen of the country to insist up
on a truce in such contests until
intelligent settlements can be
made, and made by peaceful and
effective common counsel. I ap
peal to my fellow-ctitzens of every
employment to co-operate in in
sisting upon maintaining such a
truce, am( to co-operate also in sus
taining the government in what I
conceive to be the only course
which consciencious public serv
ants can pursue. Demands un
wisely made and passionately in
sisted upon at this time menace
the peace and prosperity of the
country as nothing else could and
thus' contribute to bring about the
very results which such demands
are intended to remedy.
"There is. however, one claim
made by the railway shopmen,
which ought to be met- They
claim that they are not enjoying
the same advantages that other
railway employees are enjoying,
because Iheir wages have been
calculated upon a dill'erent basis.
The wages of other railways em
ployes arc based upon the rule
that they are lo receive for eight
hours' work the same pay they re
ceived for the longer work day
that was the usual standard of the
pre-war period. This claim is, I
am told, well founded; and I con
cur in the conclusion of the direc
tor general that the shopmen ought
to be given an additional four cents
an hour, which their adjustment
asked for will justify. There are
certain other adjustments also,
pointed out in the report of the
director general, which ought in
fairness to be made, and which will
be made.
"Let me add, also, that the po
sition which the government jnust
in consciences take against gener
al increases in wage levels, while
the present exceptional and tem
porary circumstances exist, will
of course, not preclude the rail
road administration from giving
prompt and careful consideration
to any claims that may be made
by other classes of employees for
readjustments believed to be prop
er to secure impartial treatment
for all who work in the railway
service.
"WOODROW WILSON."
"White House, Aug. 25, 1919."
INTERNED GERMANS ESCAPE
Reports !o Columbus, Ohio, from
Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, at mid
night, on Aug. 24th. indicated that
eighteen of the twenty or more in
terned German sailors, who es
caped from the stockade had been
recaptured
Six of the number were caught
i within the camp. Two others were
I taken al Chillicothe and it was re
ported that live had been arrested
at Circlcvillc. Five others were
captured in Columbus on a trac
tion car from Chillicothe.
; The prisoners escaped during
the height of a severe electrical
storm. Through a secretly con
structed tunnel, leading from the
cellar of the barracks in which they
were quartered, to a company
street thirty feet away, the men
made their escape.
The tunnel, camp officials said,
was an ingenious affair. Their bar
racks are inspected daily. It is not
known when the tunnel was con
structed, but officers believe it
must have taken the prisoners
weeks to tunnel it and dispose of
the excavated dirt.
THREE FOR BURGLARY.
Three Thurmond men, Charles
Brown and William and Joseph
(fipson, broke into the South Side
Drug Store at Thurmond Saturday
night and stole a lot of jewelry and
pistols. Suspicion pointed to them
as being implicated and when ar
rested by officers, they confessed
to the crime. They were bound
over to Ihe grand jury and arc now
in jail at Fayetleville.
On Monday night another bur
glary was comniittccd at the same
place. The thieves broke a front
window and carried away a lot of
Ihe goods on display.
LABOR'S DEMANDS.
The following correspondence
between the Federation of Railway
Employees. C. & C). system, Hunt
ington, and Governor John J. (lorn
well explains itself:
Fkdkuatiok of My. Employees,
C. & O. Systedi.
Huntington, W. Va., Aug. 8, 1910
Hon. John J. Cornwell.
Governor of West Virginia,
Charleston, W. Va
My Dear Governor Cornwell:
It is with sincere regret that we,
i the employees of the railroad en- 1
terprise in the State of West Vir- 1
ginia, and especially those employ
ed on the Chesapeake and Ohio
Railroad System in the State, have
! been forced to believe by the read
ing of your articles in the adver
tising mediums of the State in re
spect to government ownership,
and government control of rail
1 roads, that we have, made the mis
i take of our past life by casting our
influence as a unit to confer upon
you the highest honor within the
I gift of the citizens of the State to
j bestow.
Realizing as we do the confidence
I placed in you at that time though
la member of the bar association,
! resting securely upon the pledges
1 made, and the untiring efforts made
irrespective of time and cost to ob
tain the coveted honor, we are
forced to acknowledge that our
[hopes have perished and our pros
l perls have been blighted
j There has never been an article
i published in the newspapers of the
j State in the past, with which the
I thousands of toilers upon whom
I rests the future success of the State
have familiarized themselves, that
lias caused judgment to fail and
I reason to stagger* as has your ar
I tide in opposition to the Plum bill.
We were pricked to the heart at
your attempt of two years ago to
impose Ihe State constabulary upon
the toilers of the State, and were
surprised to note that our suspi
cion was a truth when at the extra
ordinary session of the Legislature
the attempt became a reality.
If these accusations arc not true,
we beg that you assert yourself as
the chosen spokesman for the State,
through the advertising medium of
the State, as you should; that the
toilers of the State may be safe in
rendering you their influence as a
unit, to the end that greater achieve
unit, to the end that greater
achievements may be accomplished
in the future, than have ever been
accompilshed in the past.
Trusting you will give this sub
ject matter your earliest considera
tion and awaiting your early reply,
we beg to remain,
Yours very turly,
E. T. RRENfNA, President.
J. H. WILLIAMS, Secretary.
t
STATE OF* WEST VIRGINIA
E.r k ( : u t i v k D e p a it t m e n r .
Charleston, W. Va., Aug. 11, 1910.
Mr. E. T. Brcnna, Pres.,
Mr. J. II. Williams, Sec.'y,
Federation of Hy. Employees,
Huntington, W. Va.
(ientlement :
Of course I regret tliat any of my
fellow-citizens should disagree
with, or feel aggrieved with me be
cause of my views upon any pub- :
lie question, but that cannot deter!
j me from having and exercising the i
same freedom of opinion that you'
I have- When you asked for an 8- j
jliour day I was with you, heart and I
sou). I was then and am now, in
, favor of your securing not only a
fair, but a liberal wage, but when j
you ask the farmers and the labor- j
ers in other lines of work to go in |
i debt twciitu billions of dollars
j through the medium of the Federal
I government to buy the railroads
and give them to you to operate fori
your hcnclit and to use as you |
please, you are making a proposi- j
tion that is neither sane nor fair. |
To me it is little short of amazing
that men possessing the intelligence
of the train men I meet should be
gulled into making such an un
reasonable and outrageous demand.
If the people bought the rail
roads and gave them to you to run
for your benefit, telephone and
telegraph employees would de
mand the same thing of those pro
perties. They have as much right
to it as you have. Then the coal
miners would demand that the
mines be purchased and given to
them, and they have as much right
to make that demand as you have.
Then the farm laborers, with even
better right would say: "NYe pro
duce the food you all live on buy
the farms and give them to us.''
Then we have, not socialism, but
chaos. Then ore Irnint/ I o run
Ihiitf/s thai toot/ in littssiti <iikI toe
all know llic result.
t intend to try to present to the
people of the State what this plan
means. First, as to the shifting of
the burden of taxation, or some
four million dollars of it. in West
Virginia from the railroads on to
the farmers and home-owners if
the l'lum plan was to go through
it would make Cabell, Wayne, Mc
Dowell, Mercer, an^l Mingo coun
ties unable to pay the debt they are
creating to build public roads. It
would stop road building, building
of sc hool houses, and all public im
provements.
I have been a laboring man my
self ? carried a dinner bucket ? for
a dollar a day. My labor now is
I not regulated by eight, ten, or
twelve hours but often sixteen and
sometimes eighteen. I am not now
and never expect to be a capitalist,
but I am an American, not a Bol
shevik. I stand for law and order
and I am not asking somebody to
buy property and give it to me, but
want to work and give honest ser
vice for every dollar I receive
Verv trulv yours,
JOHN J. CORNWELL,
Governor.
DRASTIC BILL TO JAIL PROFITEERS
The first food measures in the .
program of laws to check the cost \
of living completed its first step j
toward enactment on Aug. 21st,
when the House Agricultural Com- j
mittee reported the bill amending
the Food Control Act to include
wearing apparel and containers de- (
signed for foods, feeds and fertiliz
ers and to punish profiteers by j
lines of $5,000, two years in prison,1
or both. Chairman Ilaugen hopes j
to get it before the House soon. 1
The measure amends the Food
Control Act so the government can !
punish big and little retailers. Only
those doing $100,000 business an-!
nually are punishable under the j
law as it now stands.
The committee declined to in
clude farmers, gardners, horticul
turists, vineyardists, planters,
ranchmen, dairymen, stockmen or
other agriculturists as to profiteer
ing, and provided against construc
tion of the act that would forbid
for them the right of collective bar
gaining. Members of the commit
tee think the anti-trust laws are
strong enough to punish the latter
class.
In his report to the House. Chair
man Haugen explained the reason
for exempting farmers as follows:
"In view of the testimony before
the committee, the apparent injus
tice done, the absence of evidence
showing profiteering by the farm
ers and the provisions of the Sher
man Anti-Trust Law, recognizing
collective bargaining by labor, it is
not deemed wise to subject the
farmer to the inconvenience and
expense indicated by the witnesses
under the Federal laws."
DEATH OF MRS. FARREN.
A few days ago Sergeant J. E.
Farren and wife and Nannie A. Far
ren left to visit friends in Kentucky
and Ohio and were guests of Harry
Jones and family at Frankfort, Ky.
On Sunday afternoon, Aug. 17th,
they were out in a surry with young
Mr- Hall and Miss Alice Jones tak
ing a drive. On going down a bill
the horses being fast, Mrs. Farren
took fright and jumped from the
surry and was killed instantly ?
having fallen on her head. Mr.
Farren also jumped out of the ve
hicle and wenl to her relief but
when he reached her life was ex
tinct.
The remains accompanied by Mr.
l-arren and Mr. Jones arrived here
Monday, the 18th, and the funeral
was from the home on Tuesday,
conducted by Hevs. I'harr and Leg
get I, and the interment in the town
cemetery. Floral tributes were re
ceived from far and near attest
ing the esteem in which the de
ceased lady was held by many
friends ? While Sulphur Sentinel ?
FOUR BANDITS KILLED.
Four Mexican bandits were killed
by the American trobps in Mexico
on the 20th, according to a report
by Capt. Leonard Matlack. They
were surrounded in an adobe
blockhouse that they had construct
ed in a mountain pass.
The bandits fought desperately
when they found they were trapped
and two escaped. When the Ameri
can troops approached the block
house with the intention of search
ing it the Mexicans opened fire
from portholes.
The fire was returned and the
blockhouse charged by the' Ameri
can cavalry. Three of the four
Mexicans killed have been identi
fied as Jesus Janir, Francisco Janir
and Jose Fuenles- The identity oT
the fourth has not been ascertained.
All are known to Capt. Matlack as
bandits operating along the l>i<{
Lend border for years.
RED CROSS NURSE IN GREENBRIER.
A good crowd of men and wo
men, residents of this community
with many from the county at large
assembled at the Court House at 2
o clock Tuesday afternoon to en
courage and support the Hed Cross
Chapter of the county in its appli
cation to the County Court for aid,
with an apropriation of *50.00
per month toward the salary of a
professional Hed Cross county
nurse whose energies and activi
ties are to be given to the promo
tion of the health and well being of
school youth and the people gen
erally a work to which the Ameri
( an Red Cross, aided by National
and State governments, is turning
its attention, now that the war is
over and its services are no longer
needed in alleviating the sufferings
of the sick and wounded soldiers.
Mrs. Dora Biggs, chairman of
the County Red Cross Chapter, first
addressed the Court briefly ex
plaining the proposition the Court
was asked to consider. She said
the salary of such a professional
nurse as it was desired to employ
would be $1,200.00 a year, one-half
of which the Red Cross would pro
\ ide for with all the necessary
! equipment, etc., the Court being
| asked to provide for the other half.
After a few additional remarks tell
| ln& great health movement
now attracting wide attention
throughout the country, Mrs. Riggs
introduced a number of persons
j prominently affiliated with the
i movement, among whom was Miss
[Ophelia M. Feamster. a Red Cross
i nurse. |
j A letter from Miss Janie Price, I
, who had recently made a personal
I our of a portion of Lewisburg dis
trict, was read. R reported about
a half dozen cases, some of them
! touching and pathetic, all showing
the need of just such assistance as
a trained nurse could give and re
vealing distressing conditions ? the
results of ignorance or poverty
which a well regulated community
i should not allow to go unrelieved.
) Miss Feamster, who for some
I years has had a large experience in
this line of work, and who is a na
tive of our county, being a daugh
ter of the late Thos. L. Feamster,
of Lewisburg, explained the kind
of service the County Nurse would
do in organizing the teachers and
the people in the health movement,
visiting the schools, instructing the
ignorant and the careless in the
laws of health, prevention of dis
eases, etc. In the rural districts,
particularly, where the people
have fewer advantages, she was
convinced the rural nurse would
lender the most valuable service
and earn her wages many times
over.
Mr. Palmed, secretary of the Fay
ette County Chapter American Red
Cross, tohl of what was being done
in other states for the health of the
l>eople. lie reminded the Court
that a very large percentage of the
young men drafted for war service
were found physical unfit, the re
sult often of ignorance or neglect
in youth, when the cause of the
defect might have been removed.
Dr. S. II. Austin, speaking from
the viewpoint of a professional
man of large observation and ex
perience, h<-aitil\ approved the
proposition to employ a County
Nurse.
. P'J: n,(?s- " Dennis, speaking on
behalf of The Itulcin'iidcnl, did not
doubt the power or the right of the
Court to make the appropriation
asked and felt assured tnat the ser
vice of a competent, well qualified,
enthusiastic nurse always at work
in the schools and homes of the
county teaching and insisting upon
the observance of the well-recog
nized laws of health and means of
preventing the spread of disease
would bring excellent results and
fully justify her employment, lie
was satisfied that when the people
saw what the nurse was doing ?
presuming, of course, that she knew
her business ? (and here we might
add no other than a graduate nurse
who has taken a special eight
months course under Med Cross in
struction after her graduation as a
trained nurse, can qualify for the
j position of County Nurse) they
[would approve and justify the ap
propria! ion .
, All*. J. S. McWhorter regarded
the nppropi'iiit ion nsked for as an
investment and believed il would
yield the most satisfactory returns.
He presented an order making the
appropriation which the Court, af
ter brief consultation, approved
and directed to be entered of rec
ord.
Some one, facetiously inclined,
remarked, during the pending of
the motion, that llic Court would
not deny the request, for where
could two bachelors be found (and
two, Messrs. Shields and Syden
stricker constituted the Court that
day) bold enough to deny a request
made and urged by the charm and
beauty of Greenbrier women?
DUPONTS HAVE EYE ON NITRO.
Following the statement by the
Federal government that the great
smokeless powder factory at Nitro,
W. Va., would be placed on the
market for sale it was announced
by the Dupont Chemical Co. that it
would bicl for the complete plant.
The company at once sent to
Nitro a corps of experts who will
make inventory of the entire works
to guide them in submitting bids
The DuPont Chemical Co- has al
ready taken over from E- I. DuPont
De Nemours and Co. all its mili
tary plants and at present is en
gaged in developing some of them
industrially.
It has already disposed of part
of the material and equipment in
others.
The DuPont Chemical Co. is one
of the largest manufacturers of
"Fabroid," a by-product of cellu
lose nitrate, or smokeless powder,
it is known, and, therefore, the ob
ject of the big chemical company
to delve into the facts pertaining
| to Nitro is readily seen because the
Nitro plant is tiie second largest
smokeless powder plant in the
world. ^
The statement above is from the
department of publicity of the big
chemical company and is the first
authentic indication that purchas
ers are really in, the field for the
plant, although the Hooker Chemi
cal Co., of Niagara Falls, and the
, Proctor & Gamble Co., of Cincin
nati, are rumored to be in the field
for the purchase of the $70, 000,000
town. *
The Dupont company manufac
tures hundreds of articles, all by
products of celleloid; beautiful imi
tation hair brushes, combs and oth
er necessities and ornaments are
manufactured by this concern. It
has been said that the sale of "Fa
I broid," which is used for automo
jbile upholstery, lias outgrown the
i capacity of the plants. "Fabroid"
in many other instances takes the
place of leather. ? '
BOY BOND THIEVES ON TOUR
Detective Sergeants Brown and
Mayer of New York City Police
Headquarters returned from Sar
anac Lake,, N. Y.. on Aug. 24th with
the three boys they arrested on the
Saturday before on the charge of
stealing $45,000 in Liberty bonds
from Simmons & Slade, brokers at
No. 5 Nassau Street, New York, on
| Aug. 12th, and with them a story
j of lavish spending by the trio dur
i ing the period in which the police
[were seeking them.
' According to the detectives the
l boys, with the police always a lit?
I tic behind them, posed as college
'students and the sons of Chicago
millionaires, rode in Pullmans,
bought expensive clothes, ate at
high-priced restaurants, paid $100
a week each for quarters, hired fast
automobiles and motor boats, and
I cashed a $500 Liberty bond when
ever I hey needed funds.
At the time they were caught they
were negotiating for the purchase
of a 85,000 automobile to lour the
country, and were using a high
powered speed boal on Saranac
i Lake, will) ;ni option on ils pur
I chase. And one of the hoys had of
, fercd lo send a Broadway dancer a
I $500 IxhhI. so that she could join
i him.
They had sold $-1,000 of the bonds
| and had 811.000 of them in their
, possesion when taken.
DAYLIGHT SAVING LAW REPEALED
Congress has at last repealed the
daylight saving law, having, in both
houses passed the repeal hill over
the President's second veto. The
repeal hill takes effect Sunday. Oct.
2(>th. The majority for repeal was
large in hoth houses, hoth parties
supporting it. The argument for
repeal was based upon the allega
tions that it worked a hardship on
the farmers. This the President
was disposed to admit but main
tained that in the interest of busi
ness generally the law was of great
service to the country.
"NATIONALIZE COAL MINES."
Nationalization of the coal mines
is sought by mine workers, and
a bill to that end has been prepared
Harry N. Taylor, president of the
National Coal Association, testified
on Aug. 2(ith before 4he Senate com
mittee investigating the coal situa
tion.
The plan is for the government
?to buy the mines and turn them
over to the men for operation, Mr.
Taylor said. Already many of the
miners are demanding a six-hour
day and a livc-da> week, he added.