THE HOME NEWS
_EDITED IN THE INTEREST OF McCRORY AND WOODRUFF COUNTY
VOLUME 1. McCRORY, ARKANSAS, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22,1915 NUMBER 13
TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU
SUPPORT YOUR HOME PAPER?
Some Experiences of Running a Newspaper, Showing the
Editor’s Side of the Business and Also That of
the Fellow Who Borrows Each Week.
What is your measure of sup
port for your preferred newspa
per?:
What is the thing about it that
most attracts your commendation,
and does your approval reach the
newspaper where it will do the
most good or does it stop in your
own mind, where none but you
know it exists, and you only
vaguely?
Quite recently James Scher
merhorn, editor and publisher of
the Detroit Times, who will be
remembered in Little Rock by
those who attended the Arkansas
Bankers’ Association banquet,
for his address, considered by
many the best ever heard by that
association, made an address in
which was reviewed the history
of the Detroit Times, started six
teen years ago as an experiment
which has been called “Testing
the Beatitudes.” The idea, ex
plained Mr. Schermerhorn, was
to see if a daily newspaper could
come anywhere near living up to
the principles of the Sermon on
the Mount and make a financial
success. The editor has not con
cluded yet that a paper can be
run in conformity with that nota
ble sermon, saying that it will re
quire the first twenty years of
the century to complete the test.
The experience of the Detroit
Times, however, as set forth by
Mr. Schermerhorn, is filled with
interest and pertinently suggest
ive of the attitude of the public
toward newspapers, even those
they approve. For example, Mr.
Schermerhorn says:
x recall a cneery clergyman
who stopped me as he was get
ting his shoes shined in a Detroit
hotel to say that he had nothing
but praise for the attitude the pa
per had taken against medical
nostrums. As I saw a copy of
each of our esteemed contempo
raries sticking out of his pocket
I knew he meant what he said.
He had nothing but praise for us.
•“A temperance leader said we
were bringing in the kingdom of
heaven by excluding liquor ad
vertisements and if we ever de
cided to get out'a morning paper
we could count on him as a sub
scriber. He found it more con
venient to read a morning paper.
“An influential Methodist pas
tor called to tell us his church
i board had decided that the policy
of the Times was entitled to their
support to the extent of inserting
the regular Sunday announce
ments, but the minister said that
he would feel more like carrying j
out the instructions if the paper
had a larger circulation and if it
! used a different style of type on
the front page. I told him the
heading would have to stand, de
spite the lure of an additional $1.
a week, but we could begin right
I there and then to meet the other
! requirement, larger circulation,
by taking his subscription. He
! saw the point and subscribed.
“A prominent minister became
so enthusiastic over our church
page that he reported that he
bought the paper every Saturday
i to show his appreciation. Other
pastors were not so well disposed
! as they thought we were too tol
erant toward the Catholics. A
! few truly devout people were en
i thusiastic over the rejection of
| thousands of dollars worth of
liquor, medical and wildcat finan
cial advertising, but finally fell
away because we printed the
theatrical announcements and
reports of prize fights.
“Of course we have no busi
! ness finding fault with the dubi
; ous quality of public appreciation
of ethical newspaper making, an
appreciation which moves with
leaden heels, for the Beatitudes
I make it plain that our reward is
great, only in heaven.”
! The experience of the Detroit
Times is typical of the average
paper throughout the country.
Diligently rightor unintentionally
wrong, the problems confronting
the publisher are varied and nu
merous. About the most support
some people give their newspa
pers is to tell the neighbor from
whom they borrow it “they think
it has so many interesting feat
ures/’but overlook the feature
of subscription.—Arkansas Dem
ocrat.
I
Married:Friday, Oct. 15,1915,
Mr. Joe Skinner, 22, of near Mc
Crory and Miss Ida Luker, 17, of
near Wynne. The marriage took
place in the court house at Wynne
and the newlyweds will reside on
T. N. Taylor’s farm north-east
of town.
TWO CHILDREN ARE BURNED
TO DEATH ON KIRKSEY FARM
Oma, age 11, and Annie May, age Six, Meet With Horri
ble Deaths as a Result of Pouring Coal Oil on Fire at
Home of Their Parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jim Mathis.
The death of two children,
Oma, age eleven years and Annie
May, age six years, Tuesday
evening about seven o'clock, Oct.
19, 1915, was the result of a fatal
accident which happened at
the home of their parents, Mr.
and Mrs. Jim Mathis, Monday
morning on the' Walter Kirksey
farm near Tip.
The mother had made a fire
under the wash kettle in the yard
which had burned to a bed of hot
embers. Oma, the largest child,
in an attempt to make a larger
fire around the kettle, started
pouring some coal oil from a can
upon the fire. Gas immediately
formed and an explosion was the
result, throwing the fire upon her
and a younger sister, Annie May.
Another sister, Lillie, and a baby
child were present and when the
explosion came Lillie grabbed
the baby and carried it away
from danger, calling her mother
to the rescue of the other two
children.
When the mother reached the
two victims, their clothing was all
ablaze and before she could do
anything for them had almost
completely burned up. Mrs.
Mathis' hands were severely
burned in trying to save the
lives of her children.
The eldest child s feet and face
were not burned, but the fire
burned her breast and around her
body to the extent that it ate its
way through the outer flesh,
crisping the intestines of the
helpless child who had been
home only a few days. She,
(Oma,) was a child by a former
wife of the father and had been
residing with an aunt in Lee
County until Mr. Mathis went
there and accompanied her home
about a week ago. The father
had gone away from home at the
time of the accident looking after
some business. Only a short
time elapsed between their
deaths, both victims having suc
cumbed to their injuries about
seven o’clock Tuesday evening
following the accident which hap
pened on the morning of the day
before.
The remains were laid to rest
in the Beards Cemetery Wednes
day afternoon. Mr. and Mrs.
Mathis have the heartfelt sym
pathy of everyone in this, the
untimely loss of two of their chil
dren which makes the bereave
ment double as heavy, notwith
standi ng the horri ble deaths which
were their misfortune to share.
GINNING REPORT
Following is the number of
bales ginned by various gins in
this section from Thursday of
last week to Wednesday of this
week, inclusive:
A. S. Thompson, DeView,... 165
Gray & Co., Grays,.116
Fakes Mercantile Co.,.135
Jernigan Merc. & Gin Co. ... 65
McCrory Gin Co.,. 82
Planters Gin Co... 79
TOTAL THIS SEASON
! A. S. Thompson, DeView, ..610
Fakes Mercantile Co. .600
Grays & Co., Grays,....538
Jernigan Merc. & Gin Co.365
McCrory Gin Co .331
Planters Gin Co.273
- Cotton was selling for 12^6
I cents a pound and seed for $40.00
a ton at McCrory Wednesday.
We herewith make a correc
tion of a mistake which we acci
j dentally made in our report last
week. We stated that the Mc
! Crory Gin Co. had ginned a total
j of 149 bales when it should have
; been 249.
MISSISSIPPI HIT HARD
_
J. L. Bronte returned Wednes
! day from a ten days’ visit to
; friends and relatives at Winona
; and Grenada, Miss. He stated
that he never saw a gin in oper
ation because the boll weevil has
j almost completely destroyed the
! cotton crop there. His brother
; in-law who raised nine bales last
year harvested only one bale from
the same ground this year. The
oil mills have closed for want of
seed notwithstanding they are
paying #62.00 a ton. Jeff says
that Arkansas and especially
Woodruff County can be truly
| thankful for her bountiful crops
| which are averaging half a bale
s of cotton and 30 bushels of corn
j to the acre.
The largest and best five cent
cigar on the market— “Official, ”
row on sale at Raney’s Smoke
House.
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