Vol. XLII.? No. 32.
Murphy, N. C., Friday, March 13, 1931.
$1.50 YEAR? 5c COPY
PRISON FIGHT
IS FATAL TO
ANDREWS MANi
Ralph Davis. Forsyth County Con- !
vict. Held As Slayer Of
Thurman Luther
it. funeral of Thurman l.uthcr, I
21, was held from the home of his]
pai nts at Andrews Tuesday after- j
ti. . at 1:30 by the Rev. James i
Truett of Andrews. Luther died at
St prison. Raleigh, Saturday as
a h suit of wounds received in an
af j iay with another prisoner while
a- work on the prison farm Febru
ary 27 th.
1!? is survived by his parents and
eleven brothers and sisters. Inter
m nt was made in the town ceme
tery.
The following story of the fight
I . wren Luther and Ralph Davis is
taken from tho Raleigh News and
()< '-rver of March 8th:
Prisoner Slayer Held On First De
gree Count
Accused of being a stool-pigeon by
Thurman Luther, a fellow prisoner,
Ralph Davis, young Forsyth county
convict, struck Luther in the head
with a mattock, inflicting a wound
which caused death yesterday at State
Prison Hospital. Following in inves
tigation, Coroner L. M. Waring is
sued warrant charging Davis with
fir- t degree murder.
(>uards at the Carey Prison Camp,
where the two men wer stationed,
yesterday told of the fight on Feb
ruary 27th between Luther and Da
v: which led to the fatal wounding
or the form r an hour or so later.
I) n is later told his verson of the at
tack in his cell at Central prison to
lift uty Sheriff W. G. Maddrey, who
served the murder warrant yester
day afternoon.
Luther's home is in Cherokee coun
c't\\ wivfre he was sentenced to pris
on for one and a half years on a
larceny charge. He came to State
i ison in August, i'J^O. Davis is
from Clemmons, Forsyth county, and
is serving a term of five to seven
years for highway robbery. He had
only b en out of solitary confine
ment at the camp for a day when
the trouble with Luther began. 'He
had been in the "brig" for an assault
on a night guard.
Luther, said J. K. Brewer, a guard,
had approached Overseer J. C. Stutz
<<r the morning of the fatal wound
ing and asked permission to speak to
Davis concerning reports which had
come to him to the effect that Davis
had told officials that he (Luther)
was planning to escape. Stutz gave
him permission and Luther walked
over ito Davis and spoke to him.
What the men said, the guards could
imt hear, but Davis suddenly swung
a shovel he was using and knocked
Luther back approximately 10 feet. .
Luther then picked up several rocks.!
At this point, Stutz ordered the men
to throw down their weapons and
"fight fairly." Luther, according to
the guards, threw down his rocks but
Davis r, fused to fight' 'him, claim
ing that he was not Lather's equal
physically. This ended the quarrel
for the time.
Around 11 o'clock, Guard J. K.
Brewer told the coroner, Luther was j
directed to gather up the coats of
the prisoners which mre lying at the
various stumps around which the
men were working. Luther went to J
th< stump at which Davis was busy.
Davis was working with a mattock I
cutting roots away from the stump, J
Brewer said. Whicn Luther reached i
for Davis' coat, the latter swung |
the mattock, striking him in the right j
temple. Brewer said Luther was in |
such a position as to not have been |
able to sec Davis when he swung the
implement. j
Luther was rushed to the Central ;
Prison hospital. lie never regained
consciousness before dying eaTly
yesterday afternoon.
Davis was sullen when approached
yesterday by Deputy Sheriff Mad
drey. Deputy Maddrey read him th.
v.'arrant. Warden H. H. Honeycutt
bad told him of Luther's death.
"Well, what have you to say for
yourself," he was asked by the of
ficer.
"I don't want to talk ? not yet,"
Davis replied. However, he did ex
plain a few points when questioned
further.
"This thing was forced on me, in a
way," he declared. "The fellows at
the farm had been after me since I
was transferred from Caledonia.
They all accused me of being a boot
"ck. I hit Luther with the shovel
when he start! d. ^to jump on me.
Luther also accused me of telling
<hings on himself and other prison
ers. I tried to get along with all
other prisoners, but they kept after
all along."
Davis' reference to a "bootlick" is
a Prison term for a stool-pigeon, or
Andrews Youth Gets
Award at R. O. T. C.
of N. C. Ctate College
Leiutenant R. F. Montoney, of An
drews, student officer of th? R. O. I".
C. Regiment, North Carolina State
College, was declared the best pla
toon leader in drill ^competition*
when the regiment recently made it-=
first imblic appearance, and marched
in review befort Senators and Rep
i sentatives at the Pullen Park drill
field, Raleigh.
Both house of the Legislature ad- '
journed at noon to witne s the pa
lade as guests of the Cad t corps.
The college regiment. compo.H-i ?if
j more than 800 students, was com
manded by Cadet Colonel Chadles I1'.
Turner of Hendcrsonville.
Major Lindsay Mcl). Silvester, pro
Cessor of military science and tactic:-,
presented individual winners of the
recent drill competitions held at the
college. Winner- were: Captain G.
W. Dameron of Bessemer City, com
mander of the best company; Cor
poral V?r. K. Tulluck of Sanford,
commander of the best drilled squad;
. Leiutenant R. F. Montony, ot An
I drews, best platoon leader; Private
I H. M. Foy, as be*.t fresman cadet;
; First Sergeant -I. F. Allen of Raleigh
best musician; Corporal C. L. Cham
bers of Winston Salem, best bugler;
and Corporal L. Woodbury of
Wilmington, best drummer.
j SAYS PROFITS OF
FARM DEPENDS
ON WOODLAND
R. W. Graeber, Extension For
rester of North Carolina State Col
lege, Raleigh. \va> in Murphy Tues
day for a ton ference with County
| Agent K. W. Gray.
While hen. Mr. Graeber gave a
press interview in which he stated:
"The farmers of Cherokee County
are absolutely depend nt upon the
farm woodland if they expect to
make thteir farmiifc profitable. I
find that your farmers have 127,
200 acres of farm woodland which
is more than :i times the amount of
cultivatj d land, 35,277 acres. This
woodland will give great many re
turns if judiciously handled. How
ever, I find two distressing features
about the farm timber situation in
herokee ? first, the forest fires
annually kill so much young timber
and damage the older trees, and even
worse destroys so much soil fertility.
Sccond, the reckless and destructive
manner in which the timber crop is
cut." N
"There is another feature, Chero
b c farmers have 12,453 acres of .
land cleared, but idle. Idle land pays
no taxes, and gives no income. This |
land should be planted to trees." (
"My recommendations would brief
ly be:
1. Stop burning the woods.
2. Practice timlf v thinking and !
a selective system of harvest.
3. Plant idle, and eroded slopes
with pines, (shortleaf or white pine).
The better soils having plenty of
moisture should lie planted with yc!
low poplar.
4. Plant black walnuts along all
stream banks, field corners and other i
waste places on every farm."
a prisoner who tells prison officials
of plans of other prisones to escape
or riot in return for favors from the
officials.
Davis request- d that his lawyer
in Winston-Salem be notified of the
murder charge. Warden Honneycutt
said that efforts have been under
wa*v for sometim. to obtain a parole
for Davis and that his lawyer had
only recently said that hi' thougnt
Davis would be freed shortly.
Asked why he would not fight
Luther without using weapons, Davis
replied that he understood Lutty r j
was a fomer prize-fighter and did J
not feel he had a chance in a fist j
fighe with him.
The mattox stuck Lucher squarely j
in the right tunple, inflicting al
wound approximately two inches in
length. This indicated. Coroner War- |
ing said, that the short and sharp
end of the mattox had struck Luther.
Davis was transferred to Central
Prison Friday when it becam: ap
parent that Luther would not live. I
He had been confined in the "brig
cell" at the farm sincp ' <ault
on Luther.
Denying that he r.?u <ed a
prison guard, for which he was put
in solitary confinement eight days
before the wounding of Luther, he
said th?t pj-i.-on Authorities hatf
found that he had nothing to do with
the affair. Guards a)t the prison .
camp said that he was put into the 1
brig when he struck a night guard j
in the head with a pop bottle.
NEW MAIL ROUTE
IS INAUGURATED
TO GAINESVILLE
::fiVcii\. Monday. M.wh 2. 1SKII.
n<l<l it i onal star route service lias been
established between iaine-villo. Ga..
and Murphy, N. C., supplying the of
fii-vs of Clev -and. Blil?-vi!l . Younjr
Hrn-ris and Hiawas>ee, Ga.. Hayes
ville. and Murphy, N. < . with -ohe
dule as l'ollows:
Lv. Gainesville. 'la. I 00 p. M.
Cleveland 4:45 1'. M.
Blairsville ?> :~>0 1*. M.
Vounfr Harris 1*. M.
Hiawassee 0 I?. M.
Hayf.sville. N. C. <1 o.r? p. M.
Ar. Murphy. N. C. .7:30 1*. M.
I. v. Murphy. N. C. 1 :30 r. M.
Ilayesville 2:10 I*. M.
lliawa^sce, (la. 2:25 P. M.
Younjr Harris 2:45 P. M.
Blair?ville :i:05 p. M.
Cleveland 1:15 P. M.
Ar. Gainesville, Ga. 5:05 P. M.
This service is daily, except Sun
day. and carries only first ela=s and
news paper mails, special delivery,
and sp rial handling parcel post.
Connection for this route will be
made thr 'u<**h C-?incsvill?*. Ga.. post
t ice, which office will make a
pcuch daily, except Sunday, for each
office.
Kach office involved will also
make a pouch daily, except Sunday
for Gainewill , Ga. The-e pouches
to contain all first class mail for
connection with Charlotte and At
lanta at that point.
The above time schedule is based
on Eastern Time.
H 1
MRS. HALL DIES
AT CLYDE HOME
Mrs. J. K. Hall died at her home
in Clyde Saturday afternoon after
an .Uness of more than a w ek. She
\\a.' 74 years old *md hn.-, been in
i failing health for pome time out had
been eon fin d I > her bed only ten
I days.
Mrs. Hall, wno was familiarly
I known as "Aunt l*??liy Ann", \va? the
v nly daughter of \lu' late 'ieow and
.?ane Harris Wright, her father hav
ing ..led while in service during the
Civil War. She was converted and
join d the Iiaptist church at the age
of twelve years, and lived a loyal
Christian life. She was the mother
of nine children, five of whom pre
ceeded her to the grave some years
ago. Surviving are the husband, who
is near 80 years of age, and four
sons, M. K. and Jack Hall of Mur
phy, and R. K. and C5 \V. Hall of
Waynesville. One brother, W. T.
1 Wright, of Canton, and a number of
grandchildren and gruat-grandchild
ren also survive.
The funeral was held at the Clyde
i Baptist church Sunday afternoon at
[three o'clock, conducted by her pas
tor, the R v. R. P. McCracken. Bur
] ial was in Pleasant Hill Cemetery.
SECRET OF LOST
ART DISCOVERED
BY CAPT CARROL
O
The lost art of manufacturing ar
raw heads, and spearheads from flint
Indian fashion is the discovery claim
ed by Captain H. L. Carroll, U. S.
Army, retired, and to back up the
fact that he has discovered thi* long
lost art. Captain Carroll has b-en dis
playing to his friend? and acquaint
ances several of the^e Indian relics
made by himself.
The discovery was made after 20
years of extensive study of the sub
ject, apt. Carroll statrd. Although
t he process >s simple, he refuses to
divulge the secret of his discovery.
However, heat and hammering is not
u-ed, as supposed, the Captain said.
A numb r of the relics made by
him have been submitted to Dr. S.
C. Ileighway and other connoseurs
of Indian relics, and they have been j
pronounced perfect specimens. Cap- 1
tain Carroil showed the writer aj
spearhead which he made in about
twenty minutes, and though w? are
not an authority on the perfectness
of Indian relics, this one look-d as
perfect as any we have seen.
In his reseaeh throughout thi?
section, Captain Carroll says he has
found flint from many different
sections of the country. Dr. Heigh
way ha^ some elics mad. of stone
that is ten of fifteen thousand years
o y i, according tjo -Captain Carroll,
the condition of the stone showing
that it has jrone through a series of
complete di integrations.
According to Captain Carroll, the
most difficult stone to manufacture*
The -tory of an old man. an old I
organ, and a little boy will he t< Id I
in story and sing at the Methodist t
church Sunday night. The story i> ?
a I- autiful evangelistic story, and !
will take the place of the regular;
Sunday evenii^ service. Th, title,
of the story is "Christie*.-. Old Oigan"
Mis. K C. Mallonee will read the
story, and the music will be furnish-!
d hy Mvv Glenn Bates, Mrs. Hadley i
I?;ckey. Mrs. Dale Lcc, Mr-. Wh-.slow j
M elver, and Messrs, Axley, Powell.
Williams and Ilenshaw. Mrs. Batnes
will be i*.t the piano and Ms. Tom \x- [
ley will play the organ, with Miss i
Mildred Akir., violinist. The oid or- j
gan used in Harshaw's chapel for
years and still d ar to the hearts of j
many of Murphy's early citizens and j
churchgoer-, will be the organ of the
story.
The story is woven around old
Treffy. barrel-organ player, and
Christie' an orphan hoy. who live
together in an old attic. Old Treffy
is told by his doctor that he cannot
live mot' than a month. Old Treffy
doesn't know what to do. but most
pathetic of all he doesn't know where
ho is going. Poor old Treffy! Hi is
not a Christian! Only a month to
live then he starts on a long jour
neyd Where to? If he knew he
wouldn't mind going. What a mys
U ry!
Christie shows his love an faith
fulness to Old -Treffy by bringing
him all the liuht and resourcefulm s>
of his childish little soul ? and what
light and resourcefulness that, is!
The story opens with a song, - ?
"Where Am i Going?" and closes
with "Home, Sw.et Home". Among
the songs rendered during the even
ing will be "There is a City Bright"
"Tell Mother I'll Be There", "Gold
en Bell>" and other old favorit >
The public is cordially invited t?>
hear this beautiful story in song and
prose Sunday night.
PRESBYTF.RANS
! OBSERVE 8, 1 5 AS
KINGDOM DAYS
Dr. J. P. Anderson, of the Local
Preaby teriar. Church, Makes
Following Announcement
O ?
Southern Presbyterians in seven
teen states are observing March 8
' ;.nd 15 as two of the most important 1
days in the whole year's program of j
that church, according to announce
ment by thv Assembly's Stewardship
Committee, with headquarters in At
| lanta, Ga., March Kth is churchwide I
day of prayer in the interest of the
whole work of the whole church, and
March 15th is the date of the annual
every member canvass, with a total
| objective this year of $14,000,000 I
: for expending the Kingdom of God.
Of this amount it is estimated that
i $0,500,000 will he needed for work
i within 3,564 churches and $4,500.
i 000 for educational, odphanag. , hos
pital and missionary work in the i<
1 -ynods. 02 Presbyteries in the home
field and in nine missions, in Africa
Brazil, China, Japan, Korea and Mex
ico.
The Stewardship Committee is
composed of Dr. J. II. II mderlite,
(Jastonia, N. C., Chairman, Dr. \Y. R.
I Dobyns, Birmingham, Ala., Mrs. W.
F. Smith and Dr. W. H. B >ggs, At
lanta, Ga. This committ e has ap
pealed to the whole church member
ship for unanimous respon e to the
[challenege of the great spiritual
l theme of the Canvass "The Kingdom
for All." The committ. e announces
the hearty cooperation of all the ex
ecutive and promotional con mittees
of the Assembly and of all agencies
in synods, presbyteries and local j
churches. A pledge for Kingdo n sup
port is asked from every memb-r of
every church, and strong effort*, are
being made to secure tithers. "This
is the best growing season for pro
ducing gr at Christians our Church
has ever known. There is real suf
fering. many tragedies and the ioud
resounding of crashing fortunes in
the South. But our people are turn
ing to the Lord for help, and it is
the be.-t y?ar for a spiritually suc
cessful every member canvass in his
tory," states the Committee in up
pealing to all church members for
sacrificial giving.
into an Indian implement of warfare
is Hemmetite, which requires extra
ordinary cae and skill. While not di
vulging his secret. Capt. Carrolll
stated that even the Indians living
today could not manufacture arrow
heads. spearheads, etc., and do not
know how their forefathers made
them.
DR. H N. WELLS
DIES AT MURPHY
TUESDAY P. M.
? o
Funeral Scrvicc Held Wednesday
Morning ? Interment At
Waynesville
? O
Dr. II. N*. Wi lis, one of Murphy's
oldest and most prominent citizens,
died at his home here at 3:15 o'clock
Tuesday afternoon following an i'l
ncss due t ? ? pneumonia.
Dr. Wells was Ion January 14,
1 sr.l), near Asheville. II<- graduated
from Kmory and H : nry colleg, in
Virginia, and studied at the Louis
ville .Medical College and Vanderbilt
University. After completing his
studies, he located at Clyde, in Hay
w< od county. He retired from prac
tic. in U'OO and entered busine-s.
He lived in Waynesville and An
drews before coming to Murphy 15
I years ?igo.
Survivors
Dr. Wells was married three tim?>s,
He is survived by his wife, one son.
j H. V. W). lis. of Nashville, Tenn., one
daughter. Mrs. Frank K. Haynes, of
j Clyde, children by bis first wife, ami
' -everal grandchildt en and great -
j grandchildren. Mrs. Wells is ill with
ifluenza.
The funeral service was held at
th. Methodist church, of which he
was a member, Wednesday morning
at 11:30 o'clock, in charge of the pas
tor, Rev. Howard 1*. Powell, assist
ed by the I5apti>t and Presbyterian
j ! actors, the Rev. I. LeRoy Steel and
! the Rev. l)r. .1. I*. Anderson. Burial
was in Waynesville at 3:30 o'clock
l with Masonic honors.
MEN. WOMEN
I HOLD MEET AT
FOLK SCHOOL
.?unlj?y night. V;rt-n 7<1 '.e
; Woman's Club and tne Men's Club
of Brass town held their third joint
meeting at the .John C. Campbell
I oik School. About thirty members
of the two clubr wore present, and
enjoyed a varied program First, a
I film strip on "Transportation" was
>hown. illustrating numerous type*;
j of boats and ships. The s -hool has
' recently had a gift of a film projcct
| or, which is attached to a stereop
ticon lantern. These pictures wire
explained Ky Mrs. Campbell.
! Next, Mrs. Campbell briefly gave
| the most important points of a talk
by George Kusscll, known as " A. F."
| the Irish agricultural economist, poet
wiftei*. and artiist. Mi's. Campbi 11
land Mi-s Kutler went to Atlanta a
few days previously to hear this talk,
which was not open to the public,
but given before an invited group of
Georgia educators, county agents,
land others interested in developing
and bettering country life. "A. E."
has been a leader in the cocpeartive
movement in rural Ireland, and is in
terest <1 in the progress wnich has
| been made along thi* line in Brass
town. Hi- recommends that, as ma
chinery is li ed more and more in
farming, the small farmers should
tiy to raise their own supplies and
do their own manufacturing, in sofar
as possibl ; and raise only small
amounts for the market. The im
portance of rural soeial life and the
value of getting together for good
times was also stdesced.
The ^roup then adjourned from
the library to the community room
J to play singing ganus. A very lively
hour was spent in playing "A theif,
i a theif,'' "Pop goes the weasel,"
"Napoleon," and other favorites. The
T-anish grand march concluded this
part of the entertainment, and every
one marched on to the dining room,
here one huge table had been made
by putting several smaller ones to
gether. The coffee, cookies and cak^
supplied by members of the Woman's
Club were greatly appreciated, and
then several amusing impromptu
speeches were made. Mrs. Fred 0.
Scroggs, Mr. Leon Deschamps, and
Mrs. Bird Adams made their audi
ence laugh and applaud. Finally,
with real reluctance, people started
for home, all declaring that another
similar party should take place in tbc
mar future.
Murphy Boys Elected
To Debating Team
Cullowhee College
The boys debating team at W? st
ern North Carolina Teachers College
has been chosen. Those making the
team are: J. R. Porter of Murphy:
George Gibbs of Milta Spring; J. W.
Smith of Murphy: and C. R. Zach
ary of Franklin.
Story of Christie's Old
Organ To Be Told
At M. E. Church Sun.