The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1904-12-29
RALEIGH LETTER.
RALEIGH. n. C.. Dec. 26.

IlALflGH. ~. ". DcI. ~
The sensation of the week was /
the return last Friday OF Thomas
Dewey, the defaulting New Be,1n bank
cashier, who voluntarily surrendered
to the sheriff of Craven county and
was at once released under bonds
aggrega ing $40, 900. He seemed to
have no trouble at all in giving the
bond, his two brothers and Messrs
+. h and J. l.. Borden, klnSmen,
qualifying rs his bOndsmen. His
case was set for trial at the April
term of Craven county SuperiOrcourt.
Since his sudden disappearance from
North Carolina he has been u wan
derer on the face of the earth, remain
ing in no place long, but spending
much OF his time at various places III
California and Texas. He says he
could stand the strain no longer and
concluded to return, give himself up,
furnish bail if possible and stand
trial for his crime. Dewey succeeded
in eluding all the detective agents
who have sought him to secure the
various rewards first offered by the
bank and later by Governor Aycock.
The General Assembly will convene
next Wednesday week, the date fixed
by the State cOnstitutiOn--the first
Wednesday after the first Monday i'll
January, in alternate years-which
will be January 4. The date for the
Inauguration of Governor Glenn will
be fixed by the Legislature. and there
| fore is yet to be officially determined.
The "reformatorN' plan will not
down. There are people in the State
| who are SO well convinced that it
| ought to be established that they
| will not allow it to be set aside. This
correspondent is among the number.
But there is no concentration of plans
vet, it may be said, although it APP
pears that that of Director Kerr, of
the penitentiary board, seems to
promise the best results The direc
tors of the penitentiary at their meet
ing early in January will take up
again and dispose of the very impor-
tant question of the establishment of
a reformatory for young white Grim
inals. Director John p. Kerr has
this plan very much at heart and is
pressing it earnestly. The people OF
the State who know the need of such
Il rcfOrmatory should support him in
| his effort to establish it. This seems
to be the one chance to get such an
institution That it is needed every
official knows well, and reports made
to the Governor and to the Legisa-
fuse show that there has been a
necessity for many years for a place
OF this kind. The presence of some
very young cOnvicts in the peniten
tertiary and in the various county
gangs has touched the heart o
thoughtful people. None of the direc
tors OF the penitentiary have any
argument against the proposition
made by Director Kerr to the use 0
$4,000 of the pnnitentiary surplus
tOestablish the refOrmatory One OF
two of the directors stated that the,
thought the penitentiary might, II
some time in the future, cease to b
self-suppOrting, and that this none,
| ought to be kept as Il reserve. Th
, lpresent excellent management OF thu
, penitentiary is to. be continued b,
Governor Glenn, as it deserves to be
| and there is no doubt that the peni
| Tertiary is not in future to be a bur
| den upon the State.
Mention was made in this CORE
dependence about the long service c
the register of deeds of Orange county
We are informed by Mr.. J. A. Hige
. John Laws, IS the Oldest living: ma
c who has held office so long in the en-
tire United States, and still retainin.
1t, and that the fact was demonstra
ted through II reference to it in
n speech by Congressman Kitchin il
4 Congress recently Mr.. Laws ha
s continuously held the position c
register OF deeds for the last So wears
IL The sheriff of Orange, until recent
~, MIR. John X. Hughes, held TIL
office OF sheriff for 26 years, and the
voluntarily resigned it on account G
: ill health.
i cotton continues to drop, and wit
= each successive slumpin the price far
! mers show more willingness to SCI