VOL. VII.
McCRORY, ARKANSAS,
THURSDAY, JULY 9, 1908.
NO. M.
CONVENTION IS OPENED
Proceedings of the First Day in the Great National
Gathering of the Democrats at Denver---City
Elaborately Decorated in Their Honor
Denver, July 7.—The Democratic
national convention was formally
callej to order at noon by Thomas
Taggart, chairman of the national com
ntitlee, in the spacious auditorium
erected by the citizens of Denver for
the use of the convention.
Rt. Rev. James J. Keane, arch
bishop of Wyoming, one of the most
c oquent and able prelates in Amer
ica. made the opening prayer.
Call for Convention Read.
After the delegates and visitors
ad setiled in their seats, Urey Wood
®on (,f Kentucky, secretary of the na
lonal committee, read the call for the
convention, and a brief period of de
a> followed. The committee on rules
den made its report, and the officers
o the convention were announced.
They are as follows:
temporary Chairman—Theodore A.
Bell, California.
General Secretary—Urey Woodson,
Kentucky.
Assistant General Secretary—Edwin
betton, Washington, D. C.
Sergeant-at-Arms—John I. Martin,
Missouri.
Chief Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms—
"• C Uenn, Indiana.
< hlef Doorkeeper—Eugene W. Sul
•i'an, Illinois.
Rarliamentarian—H. D. Crutchfield,
Kentucky.
Chaplain for Opening Day—Rt. Rev.
atnes J. Keane, archbishop of Wyo
ming.
Official Stenographer—M. W. Blum
herg, Washington, D. C.
"temporary Chairman Theodore A.
el. in his speech, frequently aroused
Uii audience to enthusiasm, and the
applause was especially generous and
lasting where reference was made to
the record of the party or the leaders
whom Democrats delight to honor.
National Colors Used.
Red, white and blue were the only
colors used in decorating the audi
torium. and the decorations were the
most elaborate ever seen in a Demo
cratic convention. A unique feature
was 52 huge stars artistically ar
ranged on the ceiling. These stars
represented the states, territories and
insular possessions, the names appear
ing in blue letters ond a white back- 1
ground in the center of each star. The
points of the stars were red and white.
Directly over the speaker’s plat
form, against the wall of the building
near the junction with the ceiling, was
a large shield, 16 feet high, carrying
six tings 12 feet long draped in artis
tic folds. In addition to this main
shield there were four other shields
over the platform, each ten feet high.
The six flags on these shields were
eight feet long.
Just below the main shield hung a
mammoth portrait of George Washing
ton, 14 by 16 feet in dimensions, lied,
white and blue bunting was draped
from the sides of the shield to the
bottom of the portrait of the ‘‘Father
of His Country."
Directly under the last shield, on
each side of the Washington portrait,
was suspended a portrait, one of
Thomas Jefferson and the other of
Andrew Jackson. On each side of
these pictures a large American flag
was draped. These flags are 40 by
60 feet in dimensions. Beyond these
pictures, at each end of the wall, and
hanging above the gallery, was sus
pended a pendant, ten feet in diame
ter, upon which bunting was draped.
Upon these pendants a tiger was
painted. The back of the platform
was banked with palms. Twenty
stuffed American eagles, with extend
ed wings, were suspended over the
platform, each bird carrying in his
bill red, white and blue silk ribbons
that were draped back to the wall.
Balcony and Galleries Draped.
In the auditorium the balcony ex
tends all the way around the huge
building, but the galleries are limited
to each end. The front of the balcony
and the fronts of the galleries and
boxes were draped with bunting, 55,000
yards being necessary to complete this
part of the decorative scheme. At
intervals of five feet shields, three feet
high, were placed.
Thousands of yards of bunting
were used in draping the corridors of
the building and the walls of the bal
cony and galleries. Delegates were
supplied with small American flags
to wave when their feelings reached
a pitch that compelled an extraordin
ary demonstration.
Although the decorations in the
auditorium were elaborate, the street
decorations were even more pictur
esque, and the illumination scheme
wras the.most brilliant Denver ever at
tempted.
Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seven
teenth streets, three of the main
thoroughfares in the city, were reve
lations in color. On Fifteenth and
Sixteenth streets there are eight iron
ornamental electric poles to a block,
four on each side of the street. On
these streets the poles were draped
with red, white and blue bunting.
Wires were stretched across the street
from these poles and from each wire
two American flags were suspended.
The flags hung over the street and
were “weighted” to prevent them from
becoming tangled and torn by the wind.
On Seventeenth street the scheme
was the same, except there were only
six poles to each block, two at each
corner and two at each alley.
At each crossing two wires were
strung diagonally across the intersec
tion, from which red, white and blue
incandescent lights hung. The busi
ness houses along the three streets
were handsomely decorated with
bunting and flags. Elaborate and cost
ly electric display signs had been
put in place on the buildings, and at
night Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seven
teenth streets were a blaze of light.
Electric display signs are one of
the main features of business life in
Denver. Every merchant has an elec
tric sign, and as all of the streets that
cross the three thoroughfares de
scribed are live business streets, the
committee on illumination did not find
it necessary to add much in the way
of light to these avenues of trade.
However, the business houses were
handsomely decorated with bunting
and flags, so the entire business sec
tion of Denver was a mass of color
when the big convention opened.
The people of Denver, in addition to
decorating their city and providing a
beautiful and commodious auditorium
for the Democratic national conven
tion, seemed determined to convince
every visitor that true western hos
pitality is not a thing of the past in
this city. The real Denverite is hos
jiitable because hospitality is in the
atmosphere in the wonderful Rocky
mountain country.
LONG IN PUBLIC LIFE.
Pen Sketch of Theodore A. Bell, the
Temporary Chairman.
Theodore Arlington Re!!, temporary
chairman of the Democratic national
convention, was born at Vallejo, Cal.,
just across the straits from the Mare
Island Navy yard, July 25, 1872; was
educated in the public schools of Na
pa, and admitted to the bar in 1893. In
1894 he was elected district-attorney
of Napa county and was re-elected,
serving eight years in that office.
Mr. Bell was elected to congress in
1904, when the Democrats elected a
number of members from California
by reason of the upheaval caused by
the labor movement. It was at this
rr~-— - --=n
V.—-. -.—a
Theodore A. Bell.
election that Livernash and Wynn
were elected as union labor congress
men from San Francisco. They ac
cused Bell of being a friend of plutoc
racy, especially that section of plutoc
racy embraced in E. H. Harriman’s
Southern Pacific Railroad Company.
Because Bell advocated a mail sub
sidy that probably would have been
paid to the Pacific Mail steamers, Liv
ernash rose one day and accused him
of misrepresenting the people of his
section of the state, the implication
being that Bell was more particularly
the representative of the Harriman in
terests than of the people of Cali
fornia. Mr. Bell was a candidate for
re-election to congress and was de
feated by Duncan McKinley.
In 1906 Mr. Bell was the Democratic
candidate for governor of California,
James N. Gillett of the Republicans,
Lewis of the Socialists and W. H.
Langdon of the Hearst Independence
league. The vote: Bell, 117,590; Gil
lett, 125,889; Lewis, 16,030; Langdon,
15,008, giving Gillett, Republican, 8,299
plurality. But for Langdon's can
didacy, Bell would have been elected.
History of the Sugar Beet.
The merits of the sugar beet were
discovered gradually. For ages it
was used chiefly as cattle feed. Later
the leaves were used as a vegetable,
and the roots were roasted as a sub
stitute for coffee. About the middle
of the eighteenth century a German
chemist named Marggraf found that
the roots contained a considerable
proportion of sugar, but it was not
till 1S01 that the first beet sugar fac
tory was built, in Silesia, with the aid
of King Frederick William III.
NEWS OF
ARKANSAS
Lecture Campaign of Farmers’ Union.
Arrangements for the educational
campaign in Arkansas to be made dur
ing the month of July by the Arkansas
Farmers’ Union were made at a meet
ing Wednesday in the Senate chamber
of the state house by the Executive
Committee of the union and Ben L.
Griffin of Conway, state secretary of
the union. The principae topic dis
cussed was the nature of the instruc
tions to be given to the lecturers who
will stump the state in the interest of
Farmers’ Union work and the union
movement.
The lecturers will be directed to
speak on the history of the union
movement, what it has accomplished
and what is to be accomplished in Ihe
future. One of the things that will be
touched upon will be the movement to
sympathize 1he storage and sale of un
ion cotton now held in various ware
houses throughout the state. It is the
intention to organize the union ware
house owners into an Arkansas Farm
ers’ Union Cotton Company, similar
to the one in Tennessee, and to han
dle the union cotton through that com
pany, which would have a central mar
ket, in turn, would deal directly
through another Eastern central mar
ket, probably the Memphis Union Cot
ton Company. The work of warehous
ing, selling and moving the cotton
would then be simplified and placed on
a systematic basis.
The Arkansas Farmers’ Union will
have a battery of about 15 speakers in
this state during the campaign. These
speakers are divided into two classes,
known as the "regulars” and “extras.”
In case one of the “regular” speakers
is unable to fill an appointment one
of the “extras” will take his place.
The state, during the campaign, for
the sake of convenience, will be divid
ed into eight districts. Most of the ap
pointments in each district have al
ready been made.
Among the speakers will be: T. A.
Brooks of Atwood, Tenn . secretary of
the Tennessee organization; National
Vice President .1. E. Montgomery, also
of Tennessee; John F. McCuston. Jack
son county; C. R. Murry, Nashville;
Luther Martin, Des Arc; H. S. Mobly,
Prairie Grove; R. B. Snell, Stevens; H.
B. Lewis, Monroe county; M. A. Cobitt,
Lonoke county.
The campaign, which extends from
July 6 to July 31, will be in- charge of
a lecture bureau of the union which
will direct speakers and fill all ap
pointments.
All members of the Executive Com
mittee of the Arkansas Farmers’ Un
ion were present at Wednesday’s meet
ing except Chairman R. H. McCulloch
of Beebe and A. R. Austin of Gilkey.
Make War On Impure Foods.
Efforts on the part of J. M. and J.
W. Williams to deliver milk in Fort
Smith in the face of the Board of
Health's warning not to do so resulted
disastrously for the Williamses, fath
er and son. Both were taken in cus
tody and their milk confiscated. May
or Bourland proposes backing up the
Board of Health in its campaign for
better sanitation in the preparations
of milk and meats for the market.
Sixty gallons of sweet milk and £0
gallons of buttermilk, belonging to the
two men, were poured into the gutter.
Slaughter Houses and Dairies Put Un
der Ban.
By action taken by the Board of
Health at Fort Smith, four slaughter
houses and four dairies were closed
Tuesday. In addition to receiving no
tice to close their establishments the
dealers were notified that their prod
uct would be confiscated if they at
tempted to put it on the market. This
is the beginning of a campaign for
lanltary abattoirs and dairies.
A. S. Gibson Exonerated.
The trial of two cases against A. S.
Gibson, charged with extortion, was
had iq the Miller County Circui Court
Tuesday and resulted in the discharge
of Mr. Gibson. The cases were by the
last Grand Jury. The state alleged
that Mr. Gibson, while acting as depu
ty prosecuting attorney for Miller
county, collected fees in two cases
when he was not entitled to a fee.
Mrs. T. S. Osborne Is Dead.
While in attendance at the Chautau
qua at Electric park, Fort Smith, Tues
day, Mrs. T. S. Osborne, one of the
best known women journalists in the
state, was stricken with paralysis and
died a few hours later. At the time
she was taken ill Mrs. Osborne was re
porting the Chautauqua for a Fort
Smith newspaper. Mrs. Osborne was
a member of one of the prominent
Southern families and has for many
years been prominent in social and
philanthropic circles.
Three Shot In Van Buren Riot.
Charles Henderson, guard, shot
through foot with buckshot.
Antonio Lazzaro, Italian strike-break
er, shot through shoulder.
Carlos Niccolina, Italian strike
breaker, shot through right leg and
arm.
This is the casualty list, after a pre
arranged attack upon the bunk cars,
containing 30 Italian strike-breakers,
who were sent to Van Buren a week
ago by the Iron Mountain to take the
places of the company’s striking car
repairers, at 10:30 Monday night.
So far as is known none of the at
tacking party was injured, as it was
very evident the Italians were not
armed, or, if they were, they were too
badly frightened to shoot, and used all
of their energies in getting out of the
cars and out of range.
No arrests have been made, and as
Henderson, the white guard, left for St.
Louis on the midnight train to enter
the company’s hospital for treatment,
only a vague idea as to the number
of the attacking party can be formed,
the crowd being estimated from 50 to
100.
The entire eastern portion ot tne
city was awakened at 10:30 by a per
fect volley of shots. At the first vol
ley those familiar with the bitterness
of the strikers toward the foreigners
concluded that the strike-breakers
were being attacked. Owing to the
fact that the streets in that part of
the city are not lighted, there were
only a few of the citizens who went
in that direction to investigate the
trouble. Not a sound could be heard
above the reports of the guns. Ap
parently only enough time for the at
tacking party to reload the guns
elapsed between the first and second
volleys. After the second volley there
was some desultory firing, for after
the first volley the Italians leaped
from the cars in which they were
housed and fled through the yards,
taking refuge behind and in hundreds
of cars on the tracks in the east yards,
or hiding in the eottonfied and Johnson
grass pasture that practically adjoins
the shops on the east.
Henderson, the white guard, made
his way west along the main line un
til he reached the division offices,
where he reported the attack, asked
that he have his wounds dressed and
that he be gven a ticket to St. Louis.
He expressed the opinion that several
of the Italians had been killed, but a
search of the yards and cars resulted
in the finding of only two wounded
men who were given medical atten
tion.
Less than a dozen of the strike
breakers appeared at the shops Tues
day morning when the 6 o’clock whis
tle blew. These men had evidently
spent the rest of the night after the
attack in the tall Johnson grass and
ventured out only when they knew
they w'ere assured protection.
It was felt there Monday when the
two white guards, George Hermon and
Tom Mullary, were arrested on what
is believed to have been a trumped
up charge and held without bail, that
an attack was to be made upon the
Italians, and no surprise was felt when
it was known that they were fired up
on. The negroes, had been
wrought up during the day by the al
leged assault upon Donnie Johnson, a
negress, and they were as bitter to
ward the imported laborers and their
guards as were the white strikers, and
it is believed that a large portion of
the mob was made up of blacks.
Sues Half-Broher for Alienating Wife.
An unusual suit was filed in Cir
cuit Court at Fort Smith Tuesday by
L. Sanford against his half-brother,
Louis Seaser, charging him with hav
ing alienated his wife’s affections. The
sum asked for is $7,500.
The half-brothers had lived together
since Sanford’s marriage some 25
years ago. The family lived at Wich
ita, Kan., and recently Seaser went
to Fort Smith, and, it is said, was
followed there by Sanford’s wife. San
ford then went there and instituted
the suit.
Saving Timber Wind Felled.
The work of saving the timber blown
down in the vicinity of Caddo Gap by
a tornado last April is now progress
ing rapidly. Several sawmills have
been placed along the path of the storm,
and much of the timber will be saved.
The white oak is being worked into
staves. About 75,000,000 feet of lum
ber, it is estimated, was leveled during
the storm.
Henry Stroder Found Dead.
Henry Stroder, a German, aged 60
years, a stonecutter, who has resdied
in Franklin county and in Ozark for
20 years, left his home Saturday after
noon and did not return. Search was
made for him, but without result until
11 a. m. Sunday, when in a vacant
house in the outskirts of the town his
body was found. He had purchased
from a drug store Saturday morning
20 cents worth of carbolic acid and
a dozen morphine tablets. He had been
a great sufferer from dropsy and kid
ney troubles.