North Carolina Newspapers

A Paper w ‘ a P rest '^ r of a Half Centura County, Not £ mun ;> kP 1 ESTABLISHED SEPTEMBER 19, 1878, WIFE of dead man gets out warrant Coroner’s Inquest Inter rupted by Arrest of Officer Crutchfield SOLICITOR TAKES CHARGE Inquiry Discontinued From Fri \ day to Tuesday —Crutchfield Held Under SIOOO Bond for Death of Homer Sillmon, Fatally Shot Last Tuesday While Allegedly Resisting Arrest. —-<$ v ton o'clock Monday night, the ; day of the coroner’s inquest, ,L ; . converted into a preliminary firing, of the killing of Homer Sill ;,Ld by Deputy Sheriff Charlie O’utchiield, the court sitting at Siler Cyy adjourned. Crutchfield was bound over to comt* There has probably never before hcen a case of the kind that lasted A i o ng in Chatham county. The session of the coroner’s inquest was held at Greensboro a week ago today. It adjourned to Siler City and spent Friday of last vreek in Session there. Mrs. Sillmon having taken out a warrant against the of ficer. the inquest was converted dur ing that day into a preliminary trial of Crutchfield, and when evening came and Mrs. Sillmon wished to have other witnesses heard and the burial was set for Saturday, the court adjourned till Tuesday of this week. The coroner and the jurymen from Pittsboro left here early Tuesday morning, and all day long and into the night were engaged in the in quiry, though it seemed a very simple matter. Mrs. Sillmon had employed At torney Koonce of Greensboro and Solicitor Williams was on hand rep resenting the state. Only those there Tuesday could tell what held them so long, even if they can, Mrs. Sill mon numerous witnesses present to rebut the testimony of Greensboro officers as to her husband’s danger ous character, and the question of his possession of a gun was an issue. There were plenty of people who did cot believe that the officers found a in the Sillmon car, though one was shown as taken from it after the shooting. The jury took two hours to come to an agreement. Bond was fixed at SIOOO. Court is in session next week, and the case will probably go then before the grand jury. Possibly, also, if a bill of indictment shall be secured against Crutchfield, the jury may also inquire into the behavior of Deputy Desern. who also is alleged to have shot at Sillmon, and with no more justification. It has been a difficult task to get the straight of the matter of the shooting of Homer Sillmon Tuesday of last week by Officer Charlie Crutchfield. Even the Siler City paper, published almost in sight o-f the shooting, failed to get the name of the man wounded and now dead, publishing his name as Sullivan in its last week’s issue. The wounded man * as quickly conveyed to a Greens boro hospital and the officers who knew the story were disinclined to ta.K much when approached by any newspaper man. Sillmon, an account of whose footing appeared in last week’s Record, died of hi 3 wounds Wednes- The sheriff consulted Solicitor “uliams, who took charge of the for the state, working in con junction with Coroner George H. Brooks. Mr. Brooks selected a jury of Messrs. R. M. Eubanks, william Farrar, E. E. Williams, of vittsboro, and Wade Paschal, J. A. P; > and J. C. Fishmire of Siler or environs, and went, on nursday afternoon, to view the 1,/ ’ n Greensboro. An inquiry was f. tnere m chambers, but while the simony before the coroner* was f‘\\ made public, the Daily News !"A r€d f rorn Crutchfield and others * ? “ es Gfied some matters of interest r. •, ;m Portance. Said the News on fr ; t day Corning: Hom er Sillmon’s companion just do ;? r , to 'h® shooting, who since Tues \ p nas keen held in the Chatham *;• - a s been identified as Hubert Ll'. 0R » a cousin of Homer and who ci 2 ed * rom the Guilford county Be- was returned here U ' :iy afternoon to compete his u AA/‘ ‘ : on Guilford roads, im vi.AU?n a forgery charge. ‘‘kough Crutchfield’s testimony !**n LA I corcm ® r ’s jury has not yet with . 1 r Public, in an interview •ft"**..* \ News reporter yesterday •28 asserted that with his Sill"'? ke fired twice at Homer gun in \ j r ‘ € ? saw Homer with a raisin'* hand in the act of “ r r t s, Bhoot on thp A, 11 an<l I me t Sillmon after As ! k r "Staley road just ft, failed to get him at *topp ed u n ? 1€ , r c »ty where he had the Cadillac automo ‘AllTS ON PAGE FOUR , The Chatham Record A. & Y. Road Goes i Back to Southern Decision of Federal Judge E. Yates Webb ordering an end to the receiv , ership of the Atlantic & Yadkin rail road and turning the road back to its original owners, means' in effect chat the road goes under control of the Southern railway. This ends $ legal fight of more than five years inovlving the railroad from Sanford to Greensboro in which the State of North Carolina owns stock. Attorney General Brummitt and A. L. Brooks, special counsel for the State, opposed the court decision. , MacDonald Pleads for More Patience In an eloquent address in New \ork City last Friday night. Premier Ramsay MacDonald of Great Britain pleaded with the American people to be patient with Britain as his people changed the “furniture of their minds on the sea arament.” The pre mier pointed out that centuries of thinking in terms of the world’s big gest navy had developed a spirit that could not be changed in a few months. As the American people show pat ience with the British they will contri bute to international peace, he said. The address was delivered before the Council of Foreign Relations but was carried by radio over the United States and across the sea to the pre mier’s homeland. $ Hugh Chatham, Mill Magnate, is Dead ——<®> Hugh Chatham, aged 66, head of the Chatham Mills of Winston-Salem and Elkin, and one of the leaders in Textile development of the South, died at Baltimore last Thursday. He began work as a boy in his father’s woolen mill at Elkin and learned the whole process of wool manufacture from the bottom. Later he enlarged the plant, organized a big corpora tion and had made the name of Chatham synonomous with the best product in wool blankets. He was a public spirited citizen and had ren- State. For many years he had lived dered great service to his county and at Winston-Salem and his body was brought there for burial. ® Davidson May Quit All Military Training One of the livest discussions at the North Carolina synod in session last week at Rockv Mount was pre cipitated when Rev. A. J. McElway of Laurel Hill offered a motion in , structing the trustees of Davidson college to abolish all military train ing. After some discussion a substi tute motion naming a committee to confer with the board was adopted. Another matter of general interest was action of the synod in authoriz ing its several agencies to purchase $3,600 worth of display advertising from the Presbyterian Standard dur ing the year. The Standard, pub lished at Charlotte is official organ of the Presbyterian church in this state and it has had a hard time dur ing the past years. The S3OO a month additional business will help the paper to continue its program of service to the church. $ — Deputies Bound Over at Marion — s — deputies were bound over for trial at superior court on charges of murder as result of the investiga tion conducted last week into the killing of six mill workers during recent rioting at a Marion mill. Sher iff Adkins and seven other deputies were released. Those bound over were placed under $3,000 bond each. The hearing was conducted by Judge W. F. Harding of Charlotte sitting as a committing magistrate. The death toll we* increased to six Fri day when T. L. Carver, 54, died of wounds received in the melee Oc tober 2. . Judge Harding, in announcing his findings, said that Sheriff Adkins was within his legal right in using force to dispel the picketing strikers, and that the strikers acted illegally in at tempting to keep cither people from lawful work. However, all of the evi dence adduced at the hearing tended to show that the shooting was done by the deputies, and sever? of them were bound over for trial at Mc- Dowell superior court. SATURDAY GOOD DAY FOR SOUTHERN TEAMS Saturday wa« a good 6*" Southern football teams. All the sport writers’ dope was upset when Georgia Universitv defeated Yale 15 to O, and Davidson scored on the Arniy and held them to 23 to 7. This was the first trip ever made into the, aouth by Yale and the southern vic tory has greatly boosted interest m football. The of this section j this week will be between Georgia] and Carolina at Chapel Hill Satur < day. ' PITTSBORO, N. C., CHATHAM COUNTY, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1929 Pittsboro’s Great New Theatre Opens Saturday Fields Building Nearing Completion Work Being Rushed to Have Theatre Ready for Opening Saturday at 2:30. BJLJILDING AND EQUIPMENT COST $42,000 A Real Ornament to the Old Town L. J. Phipps of Chapel Hill to Be Manager of Theatre Factory Man Who Installs Equipment to Be Temporary Operator The great Fields building, the first< real step in modernizing the business district of Pittsboro, is rapidly ap proaching completion. The Record planned withholding an account of it till it is completed, when a photo gravure and a full description would be run. But the rather unexpected purpose to open the theatre Saturday in a measure disrupts the proposed plan. Part of the story must be told tliis week. Elsewhere in the Record is a full page announcement of the opening of the theatre, with the program for the following five days. The fact that next week is court week, when many people will be in Pittsboro from all parts of the county, doubtless had its influence in determining upon the Saturday’s opening. It will give a county-wide opportunity to see just what kind of theatre the old town has, both in the way of building and in the character of the plays. A Truly Modern Building - Mr. W. G. Fields, to whom the town is under many obligations for the erection of its first truly modern business building, has spared no ex pense in its erection and equipment. Mr. Fields is known as a builder who gets full value for every dollar ex pended; yet he is spending here a total of $42,000 in the erection and equipment of the handsome structure that bears his name. But you can find plenty of buildings that cost far more which do not contain the ma terial and the workmanship comprised in Pittsboro’s handsome new struc , ture. It is more nearly the ordinary $60,00 structure. . Good material has gone into its construction throughout, and rather than risk having tenants mar the ef fect by the installation of half-hand ed equipment, he himself has equip ped the theatre and the barbershop, and will have the two institutions run with competent managers in charge for him. One of the most effective talking and picture equip ments has been installed. It will be on a par with the city theatres. Chat ham county folk no longer will have to go out of the county to hear and see the most up-to-date pictures. Excellence has been the key note of the enterprise from beginning to the installation, and will continue during operation. The theatre is of surprisin''* length and depth. It will seat on the first floor hundreds of whites; while the convenient balcony affords abundant room and high-class opportunities for our colored population to enjoy the pictures. The heating plant, which will furnish heat for the whole build ing, assures comfortable quarters during winter weather, while the ventilating system is such, with the heavy walls and lofty ceiling, to as sure a cool retreat in dog days. Mr. CAROLINA WON FROM GEORGIA TECH TEAM The University of North Carolina football squad upset the dope bucket last Friday by winning from Georgia Tech at Atlanta, 17 to 7. Carolina is said to have one of the strongest teams in its history, and the Tech squad is not so good as last year. State lost to Clemson at Florence on the same day, the seore being 26-0. ■ ■<s> ■ " ■ INFANT DIED The three-week-old son of Mr. and Mrs. L. L. Boone of Dunn died Monday and its body was brought to Hanks Chapel for burial Tuesday. Mr. and Mrs. Boone accompanied by quite a number of their Dunn friends, accompanied the remains. The funeral services were conducted at Dunn before the cortege left. Mrs. *Boone, before marriage, was Miss Lura Womble of Lockville. Mr. Boone was reared in the Hanks neighborhood. A. F. L. TO PUSH WORK IN SOUTH 4 The American Federation of Labor in session last week at Toronoto adopted a committee report urging that organization work among' all ! unions be pushed in the south. Sec jretary of Labor Davis and Premier I MacDonald addressed the convention. 1 1 We- begin by fooling others and ;end by fooling ourselves. J. Phipps, who formerly operated a movie show at Chapel Hill, will be manager. The factory representative who is here to install the moving picture and talkie outfits will remain and operate the theatre till an ef ficient operator is secured or trained. The “Rainbow Man,’’ an all-talking and singing play will be the first thing shown. Other Tenants of Field Building Fronting main street are three well finished rooms. The north one will be occupied by a case, owned by Clyde Bland, but under the direct management of Sam Beard. This will also be opened this week and will be in smooth running shape by the be ginning of court. The middle room on the first floor is being equipped by Mr. Fields for a barbershop. The elegant and costly equipment has been on hand several weeks and will be installed as soon ts the building is complete. Mr. A. O. Harmon, for a number of years manager of the College Barber Shop at State College, West Raleigh, will be manager of the shop, with Mr. W. R. Oldham at one of the chairs. Mr. Oldham’s transfer to the new shop will leave his present stand vacant, but it is understood that Mr. Grady Snipes is to open a case there. Thus Pittsboro, which recently lost a case when the room occupied by the Far r®* 1 Case was rented to the Progres sive Grocery Stores, will have gained two for the one lost. The room on the south side of the building will house a drug store, equipments for which are already purchased, it is understood. Mr, 0, D. Mcßane will be proprietor. He is a brother of Dr. Mcßane of Pitts boro, and a graduate in pharmacy from the University school of pharmacy at Chapel Hill. Above, on the second story, are four sites of offices. Ray and Up church, attorneys, will occupy one of these suites, and Dr. Mcßane an other. Tenants of the other two suites have not been announced. Mr. J. T. Squires of Chapel Hill has been superintendent of construc tion and has proved his efficiency in his vocation. But he has been for tunate in having from the start work men who know their business and ap ply themselves diligently. The plumb ing has been done by Mr. Benson of Chapel Hill and another plumbing company not now recalled. The heating plant, including pipes, has been installed by Mr. Benson. The wiring is the work of the Alamance Electric Company of Burlington. The King Roofing Company of Sanford has had the roofing work. The front of the building is now being ornamented with a marquise (markee), which will afford oppor tunity for the instalment of modern electric signs. A QUIET BUILDING PLACE — v — It is told of Mark Twain that when, in his early days, he was the editor of a Missouri paper, a super stitious subscriber wrote to him say ing that he had found a spider in his paper and asked whether that was a sign of good luck or bad. The editor-humorist wrote the subscriber, and also printed the reply in his paper. The letter read: “Old Sub scriber: Finding a spider in your paper was neither good nor bad luck for you. The spider merely was look ing over our paper to see which mer chant is not advertising so he can go to that store, spin his web over the door, and lead a life of undis turbed peace ever afterward.” Dogdom. $ GAME ABUNDANT The squirrel season is on and the supply seems abundant. In fact, it is a good game year. There are many turkeys reported, though it is not yet time to kill them. Foxes have become a nuisance. Within the last two or three years, the red fox has come into the county and is multi plying rapidly. Nine red foxes have been already Caught in one com paratively 6mal» section. The reds seem more destructive of fowls than the native grays. The partridge crop ts thought to be fine. Some women smoke whether they like it or not. CAROLINA PEACH GROWERS TO UNITE Aberdeen and Hamlet Kiwanis Clubs Sponsor Organization; Peach Institute Next Month The disastrous results attending the growing and marketing of this year’s peach crop, together with past years’ crop or market failures has placed the peach grower in a position ( from which he must secure immedi ate relief either by improved cultural or markting methods, or else suffer the losses so far sustained and wind up his business of peach growing, thus closing the door on Carolina’s most promising agricultural indus try, into which business great sums of money have been invested during the past 15 years. Just at the peak of the peach movement of this season, there was brought to the attention of the , Aberdeen Kiwanis Club, the pending disaster which Carolina peach grow ers were facing. The agricultural committee of this club fully realized , the abvious necessity of action look ing towards relief of a situation that in the past years, had gradually be come more and more acute, until it had assumed such momentous pro portions as to ensnare practically every grower of peaches, some of whom it threatened with utter ruin. During the last days of July, the Kiwanis Club turned one of its meet ing days over to its agricultural com-*' mittee who prepared and presented , before this body, a program support ed by able speakers, most of whom , were from the various agricultural departments of State College. These men being well versed in their sub jects, presented to the club and its ' guests who were invited from neaaby | peach growing sections, a picture which was indeed realistic and con vincing and proved beyond a per adventure of a doubt the absolute necessity of coordinate action on the part of all peach growers and busi ; ness interests if this so-valued in dustry was to be snatched from the ’ grasp of failure and desolation. Following this meeting, the agri cultural committee with the able as [ sistance of the extension and re search men of State College and de , partment of agriculture made ( an ex haustive study of this situation and ! its probable solution. Realizing the wide scope of the work which was , being attempted, they solicited and [ secured the assistance and support of , the Hamlet Kiwanis Club who wer§ f equally involved in the success or failure of the peach industry. A , meeting of representatives of these ’ two clubs, peach growers of both • Carolinas, agricultural extension workers and business men was call ed at Aberdeen, at which time this whole situation was gone over care fully and a plan of action mapped out with the successful culmination of which it is hoped a long stride will have been accomplished to return this business to a substantial basis. Plans are -now being formulated for the holding of a two-day institute at Hamlet on November 14th and • 15th, at which it is hoped every peach , grower of the two Carolinas will be , in attendance. Interesting and in structive subjects will be discussed by able and well versed speakers. Some of the subjects thus far out lined are: Orchard sanitation; sta tistical information; analysis of orchard sites and soil; relation be tween growth and fruiting of peach trees; and soil improvement. It is hoped that this institute will devlop into a permannt organization which will hold annual or semi-annual meetings in the interest of better and more economical production. The thought has also been advanc ed for the formation of a growers protective association which would look towards the non-neglect of orchards; systematic and uniform control of insects and diseases; and ways and means of prohibiting the shipment or movement into the trade channels of non-marketable fruit. At the joint meeting in Aberdeen, a committee consisting of the fol lowing were appointed a further per fect plans in connection with the in stitute: Geo. R. Ross, Raleigh, N. C., chairman; Dr. W. W. Long, Clemson College; Dr. J. H. Beaumont, State College; Jesse W. Page, Eagle Springs, N. C.; W. N. Hutt, West End; A. G. Smith, Edmund, S. C.; J. J. Cudd, Spartanburg, S. C.; Ash ley Haywood, Candor, N. C.; W. R. Land, Hamlet; and Fred P. Abbott, Hamlet, who will also act as secre tary to this committee. BRING HER WITH YOU Many readers of the Record in re moter sections of the county will have to come to court next week, and the Record suggests that every one of them bring his wife or daughter along with him for the fall shopping. Pittsboro now has stores that can compete with those of the larger towns in quality and price of goods, j and it behooves every good citizen of the county to help the old town at this time of a new start in growth and prestige. Some are doing so to their own profit and the town’s and' county's profit. j r . .. . \ •• * i Subscribers at Every Postoffice and All R. F. D. Routes in Great County of Chatham VOLUME 25, NUMBER 5 WARD ESTIMATES DAMAGE AT SBOOO Courtty Road Superintendent Reports 14 Bridges and Nearly Two Miles of Fills Damaged by Flood Waters —-<s> Mr. A. T. Ward, county superin tendent of roads, found fourteen bridges out of commission and many fills washed out after the flood waters subsided. Last week and this have been busy ones with him and his forces. He got thirteen of the fourteen impassable bridges open last week. The worst loss was at the creek just side of Coal Glen Mine. That bridge is being replaced with a steel bridge, made from material brought from the state when the steel bridges across the Haw and the Deep near Moncure were replaced by concrete bridges. Mr. Ward thought there were nearly two miles of fills washed out on the many roads of the county. He is doing his best to get these embank ments replaced. The loss to the county Mr. Ward estimates to be about SB,OOO. As there is no way of securing addition al funds for this extra expense, it probably means that less work can be done on the county roads during the year was contemplated when the levy was laid. . ♦ Seaboard Bonds Retired Under Finance Plan —<s> Under a streamer headline an nouncing selection of Robert Lassi ter o£ Charlotte as a director of the “re-adjusted Seaboard,” the Charlotte Observer of last Saturday had the following story: Information was received from New York last night of the further action taken by the directors of the ■ Seaboard Air Line Railway Company toward consummation of the Sea r board’s readjustment plan, subject to . the approval of the interstate com . merce commission. The plan involves the retirement , through voluntary exchange of ap proximately $22,300,000 of five per cent adjustment bonds, on which ac cumulated interest aggregates ap proximately $4,500,000, and the is sue in their stead of approximately fJtl.l5O : OO0_ es consolidated six per cent bonds and approximately 000 shares of new no par common stock. Among the men who have con sented to accept election as direc tors of the company is Robert Lassi ter of Charlotte, it was announced. New Stock to be Offered The board also plans, it was learn ed, to offer stockholders approximate ly 1,900,000 shares of new no par stock at sl2 a share, which will pro duce in excess of $20,000,000 new capital. Also approved was the exe cution of an underwriting agreement with Dillon, Reed & Co., and Laden burg, Thalman & Co., underwiting this issue. * Stockholders are expected to ap prove the plan, it was stated. Appli issue of new securities involved has cation for formal approval and the been filed with the interstate com merce commission. Announcement was made, too, of the election of W. H- Coverdale of Coverdale & Colpitts as chairman of the board to succeed Robert L. Nutt, who announced his desire to retire as chairman after nearly 40 years of active service. He said that in view of the assured success of the refinancing plan and the strong fi nancial position which the company will now be in, he believed the time opportune to take this step, which had been in his mind for some time. Mr. Nutt will continue as director and in an advisory capacity. Legh R. Powell, Jr., president since 1927, will continue as president and ope rating executive. It was announced by *Mr. Nutt that a group had been formed to in vest approximately $10,000,000 in Seaboard securities, the stock to be purchased being the major part of that held by the estate of the late S. David Warfield, president of the Sea board company. It was in this con nection that the name of Mr. Lassi ter w r as announced as one of those who had consented tq accept elec tion to directorship. Others are? Preston S. Arkwright of Attanta, Walter W.- Colpitts of New York City, Harvey C. Couch of Pine Bluff, Ark., William H. Coverdale of New York City, Norman H. Davis of New Cotton and Franklin, Oscar Well* York City, George S. Franklin of of Birmingham, Louis H. Windholz of Norfolk, and E. A. Yates of Bir mingham. SALES i Sales of tobacco in North Caro jlina during September reached 117,- 250,723 pounds, nearly 3,OOO,O<Kfr pounds more than for September hut ( year, but the price was about a ceiit ; a pound less, making the actual •,tum to the farmer about the same j as last year. .