August 23, 1918.
    Members of the Farmers Union, along with a few ginners met in Kimball Hotel in Atlanta to address the Federal Food Administration protesting a 75 cent rate for ginning cotton and urging that if a price be fixed it be not more than 60 cents per 100 lbs of lint cotton. More than 150 farmers from more than 25 counties assembled and sometimes the debate was long and hot. Attending from Johnson County was J. F. Henderson, C. D. Roundtree, Sheriff W. D. Rowland and Judge B. B. Blount. Finally the price of 60 cents was agreed upon.
    The county's Farmers Union met at the court house on Saturday to discuss prices for ginning and picking cotton with President C. M. Dent presiding. It was agreed upon that a price of $1 should be paid cotton pickers for gathering the cotton crop of 1918, on a basis of 5 days' work each week.
    Messrs. E. A. & W. H. Lovett have installed a new seed arrangement at their ginnery in south Wrightsville, mainly for the purpose of preventing seed from damaging while stored. The long seed house is built 50 feet from the ginnery. An auger 65 feet conveys the seed from the gin to the seed house. Two gutters meet in the middle of the latter. There are 8 apartures for opening, which allow the piling of seed in 8 places in the house so that a day's ginning may fall in each pile. When a bale comes to the gin the wagon is stopped on the scales under the suck and as soon as the cotton is ginned the owner will know how much lint, seed and wagon he has in pounds. If he wants his seed 2 chutes are made under the auger so that they may be stopped before entering the seed house. A hydraulic ram works the press and steam packs it without the aid of a person, it being a self packer. The Lovett's have a splendid outfit.
    It had been kept for safe keeping as evidence. It was in an adjoining cell in the jail here to one George Clay. Friday afternoon when George was sent for to attend his trial in the court house he was found to be beastily in toxicated. The court waited a while hoping he would sufficiently revive to go on with the trial. George was sent for and after some little time he had not got back right, so his trial went over until Monday morning last, where upon the sheriff and his deputies proceeded to destroy the whole lot of "evidence" by pouring it into the gutter. George used some kind of stick to draw or rake the jug up to where the neck would reach through the iron bars which separate the cells. This is the supposition, as everything tended towards such a conclusion.
    So, George Clay, white, in jail for a serious charge, after two former attempts at a trial in Justice Court here, was held to a higher court on a charge of adultery and fornication, a bond being fixed at $300, at a hearing. Monday morning George gave bond and is free at the present. Clay works with Brasington's Shingle Mill crew.
    A little excitement was caused Saturday when an auto backed into a top buggy, smashing the hind wheel against a two horse wagon and stopping at that. It is not known who is at fault, as the wagon, the buggy and the auto collided some how.
    W. D. Sumner of Spann gets into the legislature race and Col. Ben Hill Moye for solicitor of Wrightsville. Hon. Thomas W. Hardwick, senator, gave a rousing re-election speech at Idylwild. Dr. R. Emmett Butterly purchased the Jenkins Drug Company.
    Mrs. T. A. Johnson, formally Miss Kent, died at her daughters in Cairo. She was rocking on the front porch and just fell over dead. She was 62 and brought home and buried at Kite. Charles Fulton Kitchens, the 3 year old son of Mr. & Mrs. C. F. Kitchens died suddenly Tuesday. He was buried at Pleasant Grove.
    Uncle Sam called 3 more to service, Tom B. Williams, W. T. Scarboro, Jr., and Terry L. Raines. These were not included with the seven to go soon. The Governor signed a law passed by the legislature that men of age must work or fight.