The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1888-04-10
THE STONE-HEARN LIBEL
CASE.

This case. which, has excited wide
spread interest throughout the cotton
counties of the State, was brought to
trial. on the Sd inst. in Wake Superior
Court, His Honor, Judge Ship, pre-
siding.
On the 23d of February, Mr.. S. W.
Hearn, editor Of the Wadesboro IN
teNigencer, published in his paper an
editorial charging J. l.. Stone, Of this
city, with fraud; that he was selling
cotton seed which he had purchased
at a small price at an exorbitant figure,
and that Mr.. Stones methods showed
that he was Intending to defraud
them. : For this MI. Hearn was ar
raigned for criminal libel.
The -jurymen. were as follows: A.
II. jerks, w. H. Britt, Joshua Good
win, w. II. Darlington, A. D. Jones,
R. D.. Honeycut,@ J. E. Council, CIV.
Partin, J. W. Booth, Jr., W. r.
Macy, "A. j. Honeycut and Robert
Wyche.
Messrs. Hubbard, Bagwell, Drake,
Drake is Hearn's printer) were intro
duced by the State, to identify the
Intelligence, the article, the date and
the author. The Solicitor read the
article from the hteUigencer as evil
dence, and which contained the follow
ing resolutions, adopted by the Farm
ers' Alliance in Arson county:
"WHEREAs, One J. L.. Stone, of
Raleigh, N. G., dealer in pianos,
organs, sewing machines, ETC., is per.
petrating an enormous fraud on the
farmers of North Carolina by sending
emissaries throughout the State and
selling them Peterkin cotton seed,
called ZEPHYR" at SIS per pound,
which cost him only about % cents
per bushel.
RESOLVED lst, That we, the Arson
County Farmers Alliance, denounce
the methods of J. l.. Stone, and eau
ton our brother farmers throughout
the State against the fraud which he
is ind~ustriously perpetrating upon
them.
Resolved I'd, That a copy of these
resolutions be sent to the Wadesboro
InteUigencer and The PROGRESSIVE
FARMER with a request to publish the
same, and that all newspapers in the
State friendly to the agricultural in.
t~erests, copy the same"
J.. G.. L. Harris, editor of the Raleigh
Signal, had read the article, but had
never heard of Stones offering cotton
seed for sale. Here the State rested
its case.
Mr.. B. P. Williamson, of this city,
was introduced on the part of the
defence. Mr.. w. stated that Stone
asked him if he had any nice cotton.
what its advantages were, and if he
had any seed to sell, and how much
he would sell. Mr.. w. told him that
he had been raising the cotton three
years; that the yield of lint per lOC
pounds Of seed cotton was from 3S tc
40 pounds, and that it would yield as
much seed cotton per acre as ordinary
cotton; that he had only sold in small
lots at 81 per bushel, but that for a
large quantity he would sell for some
less. Stone. asked him frequently
about the yield. They agreed on the
price for about 600 bushels of seed
IS cents, and Mr.. W. regarded that
as a fair price for them. Stone pro.
cured from him one hundred pounds
of seed cotton and one or two stalks
which he had used as specimens in his
store. Stone told. him that he wanted
to put better seed into the hands OF
the farmers; that it would greatly
benefit them. Mr.. w. did not regard
the quality of the llnt'as superior to
ordinary cotton, but the increased
yield of lint would give a greater1re.
turn per acre. He would pay as much
as SIS. per bushel for Peterkin seed,
if he could not get them for less,
before he would plant ordinary seed,
but would not pay as high as $25. He
had never named any cotton "Zephyr;'
never sold any as such, and had never
heard of it until recently. :.
Mrs. Crutchfeld had clerked in the
furniture house of Stone since Sep.
TENDER last; had never sold any seed
saw seed in sacks in Stones Office. He
told her he had some select cotton
seed and asked her if she could not
suggest a name for it.. The name
Zephyr" suggested itself to her
she thought it a pretty name; so did
he, and: he adopted il. Stone EN-
ployed hands to pick OF assert the
seed; put up in boxes (some of which
he ordered from the North,) She
superintended.giFing out the seed tc
the pickers. There We're found four