The Fitzgerald Leader, 1921-03-17

Lightning Strikes T. E. Walker As He Stands Guard HAIL IN ABBEVILLE Windstorm Tears Roof Off Wil Wilcox - cox Wilcox Countian's House A terrific storm swept the 'Southeast last night and late yes yestterday - tterday yestterday afternoon took a toll of one life in Ben Hill county and thousands of dollars in crop dam damage - age damage throughout its course. | The storm was marked here by a tremendous electric display and the only life reported lost up to this afternoon was T. E. Walker, a convict at the Ben Hill county convict camp who was instantly killed by lightning at 8:15 o'clock 'while standing guard at the Ben Hill convict camp, just out of the city limits on the Dixie Highway. Walker, who was committed to the gang for hog stealing was a trusty. The body of the dead man will be sent today to his home in Montgomery Co. where is sur survived - vived survived by daughter in Uvalda and | brother in Vidalia. He was an exemplary convict and his death was not only a blow to his fellow prisoners but the guards and war war+den - +den war+den who had grown close to himi during his imprisonment. | The storm swept through all South Georgia. In Abbeville tre tre'mendoqs - 'mendoqs tre'mendoqs hail stones fell, the ~-eatest in the lifetime of the old - inhabitant. Oscar Cannon, a farmer and prominent citizen of Abbeville measured one of the lar larger - ger larger stones that fell on his place. It was five and one-half inches in length. The force of the.wind that ac accompanied - companied accompanied the storm in Abbeville was so great that it tore the roof off the home of Jim Walker, a farmer located between Rochelle and Abbeville in Wilcox county. In places the giant hailstones drif drifted - ted drifted fifteen inches and more deep against fences. Crop damage was not estimated this afternoon but it is known to have been large. Many beds of tobacco, not yet transplanted, were saved from the fury of the hail storm by their protecting cov cover. - er. cover. Very little of the crop damage is irreparable as most of the crops in the section which suffered most heavily can be replanted. Far Farmers - mers Farmers throughout the region vls vlsited - ited vlsited by the hail were busy today replanting and repairing the hav hav(By -

A.B. & A. WAGE CUT Attoreny for Men Is Absent; | Hearing To Be Saturday | AR LABOR BOARD MONDAY IMen Prepare for Final Appeal to Law Before Board | . (By International News Service) ATLANTA, March 17 - On ac account - count account of the absence of one of the attorneys for the employees, the hear hearing - ing hearing before Federal Judge Sam H. Sib Sibley - ley Sibley on the petition of the striking union brotherhoods for revocation of the Court's order authorizing a reduc reduction - tion reduction in salaries and wages on the A. B. & A, scheduled for today was postponed: until Saturday morning. . A. B. & A. officials state train schedules continue to improve and are now running on five divisions. Receiver Bugg said this afternoon that service was restored practically on all branches of the system except 'the Waycross division where connec connection - tion connection is made from Sessoms with Jack Jacksonville - sonville Jacksonville and Florida points. Col. Bugg stated that sufficient men are now in the shops at Manchester and Fitzgerald to do light repairs. Beginning today the train from At Atlanta - lanta Atlanta to Cordele will be run to Fitz Fitzgerald - gerald Fitzgerald on a daily schedule. Another important development ap approaching - proaching approaching is the hearing before the Railway Labor Board in Chicago Monday, when representatives of the strikers will present their side of the controversy. It was announced by Val Fitzpatrick, chairman of the fourteen brotherhoods committee, Wednesday that G. W. Marshall, in international - ternational international officer of the shop crafts unions, and C. J. Goff, vice-president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Enginemen and Firemen, will appear before the board on behalf of the un unions.,No - ions.,No unions.,No announcement as to who will go for the railroads has been made, Receiver B. L. Bugg announced ad additional - ditional additional train service cffective Wednes Wednesday. - day. Wednesday. He also said that the service be between - tween between Atlanta and Cordele will be become - come become a daily service, effective Thurs Thursday. - day. Thursday.

' (By International News Service) MEXICO CITY, March, 17. - The' American Chamber of Commerce has issued this warning: "Mexico is not a poor man's country. Laborers from outside cannot compete with the Mexican labor. Professional men without a knowledge of Spanish and money take a long chance in com coming - ing coming here. There is an oversupply of school teachers, stenographers, bank clerks and such. Please advise peo people - ple people to this effect and save many heart heartaches. - aches. heartaches. * Says Strike Breakers o Cut Tires Off Auto Douglas Taxi Man Alleges "Break "Breakers" - ers" "Breakers" He Transported Damaged Car A taxi driver from Douglas had bad luck while in the shops yard at Fitz Fitzgerald. - gerald. Fitzgerald. He had delivered an automo automobile - bile automobile full of strike breakers to the A. B. & A. officials in the shops and while - he was getting his bill Okehed 'he left his car inside the shops, and on his return he found that the strike 'breakers in the shop had cut three of his tires entirely off the car and punc punc'tured - 'tured punc'tured the other one. He passed through Fitzgerald on three rims and one flat tire on the way home. He stopped and report reported - ed reported to Conductor A. M. Barrett and said he knew too much about the class of men employed by the A. B. & A. officials to again ride them in his car. The taxi driver, according to Mr. Barrett, was paid $l5 for his trip and estimated the damage to his tires at $9O. WILL RESUME NAVAL RECRUITING IN FLORIDA ATLANTA, March 17 - It was announced here today that Navy re recruiting - cruiting recruiting in Florida will be resumed in charge of the recruiting office in At Atlanta - lanta Atlanta with braches-in Jacksonville and Tampa. »

Complete U. S. Census Makes It Second Farming County EXCEEDS IN DENSITY Colquitt and Ben Hill Surpass ' All Others in State Complete United States Census returns for 1920 that reached the Leader last night, place Fulton, Colquitt and Ben Hill counties, 'in the order named as showing the largest per centage of increase 'in population in their rural dis districts - tricts districts of any in Georgia. ~ Fulton increased 37.4 per cent; Colquitt increased 37.1 per cent; 'Ben Hill increased 27.4 per cent. As Fulton's "rural" population is in reality an overflow urban 'population, Colquitt and Ben Hill stand first in agricultural devel devel'opment. - 'opment. devel'opment. Ben Hill county's population 'increased from 11,863 in 1910 to 14,559 in 1920. Colquitt increased from 19,789 to 29,332, Ben Hill was, however, more thickly pop populated - ulated populated than Colquitt, having 57 persons per square mile to Col Colquitt's - quitt's Colquitt's 54. The population in neither county is compar comparable, - able, comparable, as far as densemess is 'concerned, to that in older sec sections - tions sections of the state where Spald Spalding, - ing, Spalding, for instance, has 104 people per square mile with no big city. The proportion of urban, or Fitzgerald population, to rural population decreased from 48.8 per cent to 47.1 per cent, consid considered - ered considered an evidence that Fitzgerald has developed better support for its commercial enterprises during the last ten years than it had during the previous ten. Colquitt county has only 23.1 per cent ur urban - ban urban population, considered as ev evidence - idence evidence that Fitzgerald needs bet better - ter better agricultural support than it has now.

Abbeville, Rochelle, Douglas and Ocilla Readers Attention: If a general strike is called on all raiiroads in the Southeast, the Leader Publishing Company will start two automobile routes with its daily paper out of Fitzgerald the day it is called. One route will carry six hundred papers to Ocilla and Douglas and one will carry four hundred papers to Abbe Abbeville - ville Abbeville and Rochelle. We want to get in touch AT ONCE with a live wire man in each place who will be competent to handle the local distribution of the Daily Leader. Should a general strike be called, mail service will be cut off entirely, no big city dailies will reach this section, and the Leader, by automobile, carry carrying - ing carrying the telegraphic news of the world by Interna International - tional International News Service, will be your only reliable com communication - munication communication with the outside world. The demand will be large enough to enable a hustler to make considerable money as agent for them. - The following schedule will be put in effect in case a general strike is called and the out of town circulation of the paper will be limited as specified in order to conserve-our supply of newsprint paper: Arrive Ocilla, 300 copies, 4:15. : Arrive Douglas, 300 copies, 4:45. Arrive Abbeville, 200 copies, 4:30. Arrive Rochelle, 200 copies, 4:45. . Responsible parties should wire or write AT ONCE giving at least two references in order that contracts and instructions may be forwarded and the organization for a satisfactory distribution sys sys%em - %em sys%em perfected, immediately. No applications after riday. ADDRESS - - CIRCULATION MANAGER, LEADER PUBLISHING COMPANY, FITZGERALD, GA.

(By hav(By International News Service) 1 WASHINGTON, March 17 - Inter 17 - Interstate - state 17 - Interstate Commerce Commission today decided that certain freight rates pre prescribed - scribed prescribed by the Railroad Commission of Florida on intrastate business were unduly prejudicial to the interstate commerce shippers and ordered the rates raised to meet the level of inter interstate - state interstate rates, effective April 25th. It rendered the same decision on rates on cotton linters and brick in Georgia and issued a similar order effective April 23rd. : ; ~ T 0 CRUSH LABOR & \ - _ - - - - ~ (By International News Service) COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 17. Accusing the National Chamber of Commerce and organized employers with being responsible for the present business depression, Michael D. Cain president of the Columbus Federation of Labor, addressing a local audience of unemployed workers, declared that a conspiracy existed "to bring labor to its knees." President Cain said it was the first time during his twenty-five years' connection with organized labor that he talked to an audience of unem unemployed. - ployed. unemployed. ~ "The very men who preached Amer Amer;icanism - ;icanism Amer;icanism and democracy to labor dur dur'ing - 'ing dur'ing the World War suffered a change of heart and started to grind organ organized - ized organized labor into the dust before the ink was dry upon paper used to draw up the armistice," continued President Cain. } The only solution to the problem, he said, is to be found in organiza organiza'tion - 'tion organiza'tion and co-operatjon.

. Shops Are Lit Up . - All Last Night The first evidence of life at the rail railroad - road railroad shops since its evacuation Sat Saturday - urday Saturday a week ago by the union men and its occupation more recently by strike breakers, was last night when the electric power house started oper operating - ating operating and every building in the shop yards was lighted up. No move had been made to operate any of the ma machinery, - chinery, machinery, according 'to best information obtainable up to this afternon. The walk out of the foremen Sunday is ex expected - pected expected to make it difficult to turn out any work at the shops. . ° Masked Auto Bandits Get $lOO,OOO Jewelry (By International News Service) NEW YORK, March 17. - Four masked bandits secured between $BO,- 000 and $lOO,OOO in platinum jewelry in a hold up late yesterday, the detec detective - tive detective bureau revealed today. The robbers entered the Fochi Manufacturing Plant on east Sixty Sixtyseventh - seventh Sixtyseventh street, covered two employes with a gun, raked the jewelry into two suit cases and escaped in an au au'tomobile. - 'tomobile. au'tomobile. \ | . G. 0. P. Diplomats Tell Panama To Obey U. S. } (By International News Service) ~ WASHINGTON, March 17. - A 'new note, sharper in tone than its pre pre'decessors - 'decessors pre'decessors and virtually demanding that Panama cease quibbling with Costa Rica and gegept Justice White's 'decision in the boundary dispute, was dispatched today by the state depart depart'ment - 'ment depart'ment to the Republic of Panama.

° Atlanta Business Men o ® To Fight Crime Wave ATLANTA, March 17. - Members of the. Chamber of Commerce today are planning to form a viligance com com'mittee - 'mittee com'mittee and other means of action -against organized criminality, follow follow'ing - 'ing follow'ing Solicitor Boykins sensational statement yesterday naming detec detectives - tives detectives and other "higher up" police of officials - ficials officials as connivers in aid of bunkoing. 'Several of those named made heated answers today. e S oc wrought by- the storm. Ben' County suffered very little. The heaviest hail barrage missed even the northeast sections 'and, with the exception of the death of Mr. Walker, the worst thing the storm caused, little ;damage was done, ' The coroner's jury impaneiled } this morning to officially determine 'the cause of Mr. Walker's death re returned - turned returned the following verdict: 'GEORGIA, Ben Hill County: | We, the undersigned jurors, having 'been sworn in to serve as jurors by Coroner W. H. F. Lee, to investigate the death of T. E. Walker, and after having been sworn in and having in investigated - vestigated investigated the death of T. E. Walker, .we, the jury, find that T. E. Walker came to his death by a stroke of light lightning. - ning. lightning. o This the 17th day of March 1921. D. P. Adams, Foreman, T. I. Grif Griffin, - fin, Griffin, Geo. C. Player, R. O. Stephens, W. C. Bussell, S. O. Minshew.