WOMAN’S
REVfRSED
TESTIMONY
SEALSDOOM
tfCmie0
fTAVTf 'ntMimpe
VOLUME 19
NUMBER 13
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLIffA SATURDAY, MAY 20, 1»3S
FfllCE SEVEN CENTS
RALEIGH, N. C. (Spceial)—
A cas« which hai lagged in
and out of court for the past
thre* yean was closed definitely
W«dn«sday when Parole Coro-i
missiuner Edwin Gill failed to
pardon or evem parole Charlie
Smith for the aUetred attempted
atatck on Mra. tJarah Lylei dur
ing th« summer of 1936.
ProbSdbly one of'the greatest
comedy of errors in Juris prud-
^jejnce btetoiy,-th« bas attract
ed statewide attention due to
the numerous times the prosecu
trix ha« altered, and in one in
stance, changed her original
t6%ttmc»ny. p
In his first trial at the Au.
gust, 1996 term of court. Smith
drew a verdict resulting in the
death penalty. The state su
preme court upheld Uie verdict
-^rTTiir i*f?wTt and th»i-g was
an immediate clamor for cle
mency brought about by the
mfny who did not beleive Smith
guilty. Since that time'it has
supposedly been under the con
sideration of the parole board.
Chaag«« TntioioBy
It all came about whoa the
prosecutrix pusitivtely identified
Smith as her assailant during-
the- first tfialr -—When she was
approached with the petiton ask
ing that bis sentence be commit
ted to life imprisonment, she
stated that there were pussibili-
ties-»f her having made a mis-
in the indentification ol her
assailant;- _ -r- -
She made another trip \ tu,
Commis«ion#r Gill in Raleigh a
^short while later, and without
any outside prodding, issued the
foU«win(( definite i^tatement t
“I admit I made a mistake.
Charlie Smith is inncMent."
This in itself was * dulKcient
to free the man but the commis
sioner, holding to the assertion
that her son, Clarence was 14
at the time the crime was sup-
posed to have been committed,
seemed positive that Smith ^yas
the man and continued to hold
on to Charlie. '
prolonged incar:ei«t|iofl
was partly due to a wamittg
from Supreme Court jJudge
John J. Burney who in 1936
was a Dolicitor and prosecuted
Smith. Judge burjiey advised
RIOT QUELLED AT A. & T.
PRINCIPAL
Morris
Stayed For
Execution
Sixty Days
Governor Wants Dr.Juliatl'Millcf
More Time For
lnvesligalkaL_
■Finals SpeaktT
lili. h
tut SllldCIll!!
I
M BreaoxV
KeiiiMM
HAliEaoH, N. C. (Special to
the TIMES)-^e "Tlfl of “Ar
thur Morris who was slated to
die Friday, M^y 19, Tias been
spared for another sixty days
according to an announcement
given out by Governor Hoey
late Thursday evening.
iMuiris,--iinown aimultaneo.usl^
.as the ‘Eel’ and the ‘Gray Mouse’
was convicted by a Wake^ coun^
Ti u 1 n t superior court . on j, vttryiHgf
Potte^ a5^1t_Oxfoi^,
lier
REV. H. S.. DAVIS, principal
another
the commitsipner ' Ag&iniil. free- -j
"mg |
not be exonerated sknply on the
prosecutrix’s ehang« of t^ti-
mony. “ l, ; i
Armed with, this advice, the
commiasioner decttSed to let
time take its 'course mfiim'WhHe-
ISmith" did-time-lor-a -crime he
had been cleared of by his ori
ginalprosecutor. ; T
The Scciie Changes
Following repeated petitions
from 4ho8e wba4)eleiyed li the*
young man’s innocence, the pa
role board a^nt a representative
_ arru«nr BLajn.
—Tbia time, realizing .that her lai
confession had stootf long
enough, she decided to phange
it again.
“Charlie Smith is the guilty
man,” she guessed.
Her son, now residing in
South Carolina, corroberated
her accusation s'ealSi^'' Smith’s
fJ^f', - ■
Claims Out«ile Influence
In attempting to account for
her continuous change of mind,
intimations have ibeen , made re
cently that her marriage to
Henry Britt might, have had
omething to do towards influ
encing her various, different
testimonies.
Her marriage to. iBVitt came
iratQ'ediately afteF sher had ga^
ed iba spotlight following the
T@^ir"6irenv5w iiiai Tjrjiir~i»
in jWn ?h Robeson county, those
intimations further suggest, the
Lyles woman can finally tell
“the trijth, the whole truth, and
othlng but the truth.”
Yet the fact still remains that
■he had jchanged her testimony
Wice before she marjried Britt.
However the 4ase goea 4own as
closed until as such time that
she deems to reopen it with a
different stoi^ altogether.
of Mary _
whoTi'^l^unding ‘•'^t
successful y^par v ith his com-
mem^ement ej^erc^es next week.
Oamer Ltses
es of night burglary which
iii this state carries the 'death
penalty. The specific’ charge in
this trial being the one in which
he is supposed to have ’^entered
the home of Dr. W. B. DeWar,
white, Raleigh. In this instance,
Morris wa» charged with takmg
a check from the home uf the
physic ran ffn3 cashing it w JJut-
hhm.
SAN AJ^TONIO,—San Anton
io voters dealt a body blow to
the reactionary Garner for
President coalition this week
when they voted in Maury
Maverick, Texas New Dealer, as
San Antonio’s new Mayor. Ma
verick, who was defeated by
the Garner block last year when,
he ran for rerelection to Con
gress, was the only; fiouthern
congressn^an to support the anti-
lynching bill. ~
C. K. Quin7 GaOrer -hetr-
tenant and present Mayor lost
out by a large majority as San
Antonio voters repudiated • the
Garner slique and swept Maver-
rick and fusion ’ticket of- four
commissioners into office. - *-Ma-
-reriek t»ke« office - on June _1.
PoliiiVal observers here are
of the opinion . that^ Maverick's
victory clears the «way for his
return to Congress next jear.
It was-also interpreted to ntean
Utat Bexar County will send a
progressive delegation to the
tion, thereby challenging Garm^^
er's plans to control the State
Convention in preparation fo^ a
fight on- the New Deal at- the
National Democratic conv^tion.
COMMENCEMENT
SPEAKER
Before making the eepyeive,
Goverf^ Hoey Consulted Judge
^ C. Harris of the Wake coun*j
ty superior court who wntenc-
of his family were the first to
l^sit the executive’s office and
in reciting a b^ief history of
the condemned man’s life,
brought out many instances
wherein the young man w a s
mentally deficient.
Louis J. Spaulding, of Dur
ham, after having procured the
signature* of th^ trial juror^
had an interview with the gover
nor Tuesday ill behalf of Mor
ris. The governor was very
cordial in his reception of Mr.
Spaulding and promised at that
time to give the case due con
sideration.
The trial ■Jurof’^''stiittd to Mr.
Spaulding that they woul.l have
broaght - in a Verdict of guUty
of socotid degree burglary had
■not Judge.'Harrjs in his charge he has been editor of the
to the jury ihstrucfed"ITiek‘to ' Charlotte Observer, leading aaily
either return a verdict of guilty ^ of the Carolina. The speaker
of first degree burglary, which has also taken an active patt in
carries the death penalty, or an'*ocial welfare arid interracial
the fact that groups. At present, he is presi-
GREOEJNSBORO, N. C./(Special
to the TIMES)—DespUfe threat.^
ef expuVsion npft nttvf warning*
from inembei|B of the boaid.of
tiustees\the§^dent? ‘Of**A. and
T College are still enthuslustic
1 in the demonstration of their
' resentment to the dtsmissal of
I Ipman A. Breaux as director of
-^Atliietifs at th«» irriffege. Hie
GREiENSDORO, N. C. (Special ' agitation was at its peaks Thurs-
to the TIMES)—Dr. Julian day night when between 200 and
Miller, fiditor of the Charlotte 300 male students marched In
Observer, will l6e the principal ‘ front of the home of ■ President |
speaker at—the—.commencement F. D. Efluford yellinig ‘we want
exercises at A - T College, Breaux.” It has been rcyiit led
Monday, May 29, at 8 p. m. The ) that several hundreds of di-^llars
Baccalaureate sermon will be worth of damage was done to
delivered by Dr. Adam Clayton , school property during tiie de-
Powell Sr. pastor emeritus of ' monstrations. —
Abysslntan ^Baptist ■Cburcb, J^Jew | The unrest began when the
York City, Sunday morning May niws circulated thst "Bernard
28, at 11 o’clock. -All public ' Jefferson, who graduates from
exercises will be held in the- Northwestern thla^^ear, would
college gym, •
Dr. Miller is a native of South
Carolina.'He was educated at
Erskine College and the Univet-
sity of North Carolina. He serv
ed as editor of the Charlott#
News from 1915 to 19&2. Siiice
'Morris, and Solicitor William
Biciett who prosecuted hint.
£*oth reported the goyernor
that a repreive would be “satis
factory” to them,
lateraiteii Parties Intercede
Since the cCITvTction of Mor
ris, many petitions have been
sent To tifi^e^'‘gbvern6f. Members
Morris had previously pleaded
‘‘guilty as charged,” it wa? im
possible under the circumstances
to grant a complete acqiyttal
leaving only one other alterna
tive, guilty of first degree bur
glary. Judge Harris’ charge to
the Jury had presented a legal
Pteaae tuttti to page eigkt
dent of. the North Carolina Con
' ference of Social Service.
Local NAACP
-Rt'orgariiztfd
Dr. Powell is a native of Vir
ginia and a graduate of Virginia.
Union University,
his B. D. fro m Yale Divinity-
School and holds the honorary
Doctorate in Divinity from Un
ion, Y^^inia Seminary and How-
ar'ii IFniversity. He has been
connected with Abyssinion,
replace Breaux as head of the
department of athletics at A and
T. The students, led >by the
athletes who have been,-under
the direct tiitelage of breaux,
refused to attend classcs last
Friday as the expression ,of
their united desire for 'the
desire for the coach’s reinsUite-
ment. The athletes have stated
that they found Coach Breaux to
be “competent, inspiring, -and
possessing a profound coaching
ability. He will always oe our
coach.”
TRUSTEE SPEAKS .
j In an attempt to put a stop to
the demonstrations of the stu-
He ve££ix£«i:^dents and the deetruction of the
school .property. Major L. P.
McLendon, former Durham At
torney and member of the Board
of Trustees of the A and T-Colr
Air the “revival meeting” of
the Durh^ branch of t h e
NAACP At White Ro^ BSaptsit
Church Sunday afternoon, JiTay
t4i—theL_nieimber8 and officera
agreed ^htit th^' meefings wou!
be held mor^ wgulafiy and that
a campaign would be' waged for
more members.
A-ttorney M. Hugh Thompson,
convon xbicf.. advisor.. .and - chairma*>-
the locaLJjianch, gave
history of the work thgt
been done in the lotal brafitfh
Many outstanding citizens of
Durham ntad« intereiting and
a brief . .
|4uture^
inspirational talks to the group
gathered for the revival. C. C.
Spaulding admonished the „peo-
pTe coireemtng the- dire necia-
sity for maintaing his organiza-
tioKi. ~——— .
Dr. C. W. Lightner of Duke
Univers^^biJtr,S$d that the branch
be nupp^rted. He lalso made a
motion that the president would
can another meeting in the near
Ohu%jh, 'ffie • largest Protestant
iiuiich’'
charcn inr thV*5wAi-'sinee;. 1905.
tom--
The coni>?cie list of,
mehcfement events-follflws
FRIDAY, MAY 26
6:00 p. m.. All Student Banquet
SATURDAY, MAY 27
4:0p p. m Senibr Class Day
President’s Reception'ed sl«>«ld be (brought before the
I board of trustees - ^fben ^ey
lege warned the students that if
the violence persisted the State
^ \ North Carolina would be
forced to take the steps Jiacet
sary to ’pr|^Cec^ its~properfy at
the school. He furthei: stated
that any student who was de
finitely proven to be a leader of
the strike would be sent from
the institution. Any grievance
that the students have, he stat-
Annual membership fee was
payed by many of the members
who were present.
Tsai
■li'
Nazi Leader
Assaifs Raci^jl
.Equality
SUNDAY, MAY 28
11:00 a. m. Baccalaureate Ser-
—Rev^ A. Clayton Powell,
*iSr. pastor emeritus, Aliyssin
ian Baptist Church New York.
i3;3l0 p. m. Open Air Concert,'A
Capejla Choir pB' front JmeD*
MONDAY, MAY 29
lOKlO a. m. Meeting of Alumni
associatiorf
1 :OiO p. m. Alumni Lupcheos
4:00 p. m. Band Concert oii the
Lawn
7:00 p: m. Commencement EJx-
ercises. Address: Hon. Julian S.
Miller, Editor of the Charlotte
Observer, Charlotte, N. C.
meet in
May 19.
ffreenisJiiofo Friday,
->
XlERiLXN,—In a speech crowd-
%d with vicious incitemer^ts of
race hatred. Dr. Alfred Rosen
berg, Nazi cultural leader, as-
sGiwBw at a'luvtivliig
• DR. R. A. SCOTT,
of Camjibell college who
deliver the Baccalaureate
palace here that the emancipa
tion of the Negro, if it continues
in the political sphere, most
bring the downfall of civiliza
tion.
■ The Hitlerite leader of the
l^azi programs against h' ,e
President Jews in Germany assailed the
will
democracies as advocating lo
day "the antiquated principles'
mon at Morris Brown uitlversity, of the French Revolution’ of the
Atlanta, Sunday, Jun* 4. lequft’lltjr of peoples. He repre-
sented Democracy ‘ as decadent
in comparison with fascism and
stated that .the alleged equality
of people is one ■ of the most
ed in political life.
Rosenberg’s speech followed
within a few days the i.ssuance
of a decree by the Nazi regime
which will establish minatare
gliettoes in GermtCrr cities, pro
bably desagnated^by the five-
point yellow star used 'in medi
eval times by compelling all
Jews who will not or cannot
emigrate to live in segregattid*
MOtiOM.
■llfgrdS
,’fliiilc lirk
WIASHINOTON—The National
RICHMOND,'—A hot debate
is raging in this state on the
rjftcent action of the , Virginia
Federation o f Music ClubSj
white, in voting against the
pttrposal to have the Leg’slature
designate “Carry Me B"ck to
or 'Virginny’ as the official
State song. The federation fa
vored a little known compbsi-
t 1 o n called “Old Virginia”
written by a white man.
“Carry Me Back to 01’ Vir
ginny’ was composed by James ^
A. Bland, a Negro minitrel ift
Aeronautical Association h a s'the late ninetenth century and
decided that the parai-hutinjf, is identified in the pnbhc mind
rrc^rrm this country is held with the State -while “Old Vir-
is little known, even in
CHAMPION JOE LOW3 as he, in preparation f»r his title de-
t . ,fens# agaiaat T*ny
appeared Just .before Iea.ving ::fcw The bout. wIH U
York last week on his way to
Lafayetteville for several weeks
roughing prior to launching his
camp at Pomptoa Lakes June 1
t^e
i 1 at
pUtee Wednesday, Ju'he 23 I at
the Yankee Stadium anU Joe,
confident as ever sends a cherie-
“Helf^to you out th«M*"
Tobacco Union
_ . % ■
U r ges Workers
Id Stand Firm
With ’T. J. Atwater, president since it^beginning, but that ttty
of the^oc^^4obaeco workers un
ion-number i^residing, two
very ireteresting. afr^—imfortaat..
meetings were held at the union
hall locat^ed in the- Scarborough
building on Popular street on
Monay night at eight o’clock.
The meeting wj^s opened by
singing and prayer' beiiig- offer
ed by Chaplain Spain._
.Aft^ the devotions the meet
ing was opened 'for' bU5tne«s-.-|-'
At the opening *of the busi
ness s
that the president app»int. S'!
■finance- eommittee compoiyeid of
three members of ■- the union.
The motion was carried 'fa n d
those appointed were I.. L. John
son, Clyde^ Brown and DcHnie
Harrington. ... — — —
Following the appointment
of the f])ili^4ce jximmittee, a ne
gotiating’ 'c'bhimitte^ was elected
composed of I. L. Johnson, Ho
ward Williams and Will Ste
wart. I ■
At jthe Friday night > metrtfng
the'*^resident spoke briefly and
urged the membfers to stick to
must not become, slack an l let
their membership lag.
«t th^ Friday n.ght
meetijjg was S. E- Blalii; *Sfccre-
tajy of local number 17B. Mr.
Blain . delivered a very inspiring
talk in which he told of i h e
benefit *to be derived from or
ganized labor. Mr. Llain stated
in his talk that if there was any
Claris ,of people- who needed to
organize it was colored i>»;opl»;
because tK^~wei e~' be i iig
sed from every angle.
the organization
members present
He told the
that the lrmhi
"The speaker iitaiti—be—^hupctt ■
bbe time would come when the
•" ‘ ■ ^—T'
Colbred people in the Liggetc
and Myers T^acco Coiiipany
would wake up. The- s)
pledged to the members of the
colorfd union his heat au_pport.
Mr. Blain stated that if c^iJored
workers could not orjaoiTe
themselves that the white work
ers in the factory oigan-
ize.
The members of the union
have pledged themselves, to with
draw their patronage from any
business that is> opposed to un
ionism. The ^iinion on the other
hancl^ has pieced to sopport all
OTgaaixations titt^ CQaSi^rat^
;; had made wonderful- progress with the union.
.Virginia.
Ujl Wiuie (S ritid?) , yii^ia'
gro avaiator of Chicage.
The Association tTiis week
adVised Jones thaj:_ ejwmination
of' a barograph carrieafn a "plane
from which he made a parachute
jump on Mar^h 2 showed that
he had leaped from an altitude
of 24,468 feet,
with t h e.
mark of 2f2,733 and the
record of held by
viet psraehuter*
Spring Grad%tion Exer
cise of DeShazor’s TCollege' of
Beauty Culture will be held at
He White Rock Baptist Church,
of which Rev. Miles Mar»c Fiih-
as compared^^ is pastor Sunday, May 48,
country’s previouf ;a| 3 P;, m- with Prof. R. Hraiftg-
?air8HBB College acting a* Mas
ter of ceremonUl.
ing I o
itors
. UllOMLE, Alp. CNiA)—In a
decision that may set a prece
dent in cases of terrorism
^against courageous Negro editors
in the South, a Federal Cou^'
Jury this week convicted fiv^
’KTri, >A^nt prastdem M
ing to interfere with the fr«e» fraphiac him ia
dom of the prew.
The . (overanteot conlMded
that the six defendantsriiSiigSF-
ed to intimidate Henry WnM,.
white former executive gjjftor
at th« Mobile Press
who vat conductiiif a eeapeifw
PIcaee I* |Mif*