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- i i 't
VOLUME XXIV—NUMBER 14
Offer SBOO Reward For Each Mob Member
Needleman Still in Serious
Condition At Washington;
v Is Friendly to WilliaitMon
Refuses to Give Any Further Statement to Press
This Week Upon Advice of Doctors and
Lawyers; Holds No Malice Toward
People of William ston
■ v
A representative of the Enterprise visited Joe
Needleman in his room at, the Washington Hos
pital this morning and a short conversation was
held with him. Upon the advice of his doctors and
attorneys, who thought the effort required to go
; over the harrowing details would be bad for him
and might cause him to lose his nerve, which has
returned so rapidly in the past two days. The
statement a& he gave it to the Washington papers
is the only word regarding the mob violence or the
charge which rests against him that will be given
out*shis week.
■rviinougii weak and nervous Needte
nian insisted that we express to the
* people ot williamston and the coun
ty ins leeiings toward Uiem. Jhxcepl
* nig (.nose WHO were involved in the
attack upon nun ana muse who laiied
to protect him whose du.y it was he
tas tne kindliest leelings. He sij(o
nut men sympathy, which has been
expressed in various manners, is grel
iy appreciated by him. Telegrams
li'oin many States, (lowers and other
remembrances have been pounng into
ins room ever since he has been in the
* hospital, and friendly visitors are al
his bedside during the hours that he is
allowed company".
Declares He la Innocent
iSeedieman, in a statement to Drs.
itnodes, Vvarren, \oik, and Urn. Da
vid 1. lay toe, sr., and jr., just before
lie was placed upon ihe operating table
and wnen he had been informed that
he could not live an hour longer, de
dared that he waa innocent and that
he had knowledge of the young wo
man upon her consent. While coming
from under the effects of the ether
given him when two abdominal opera
tions were made upon him at the
same time by father and son, Dr.
Dave ,sr , aricf Dr. Dave, jr., he raved
fiercely, over and over again protest
ing his innocence.
The operations wero made as hur
riedly as possible, but before they be
gan much of his life's blood was lost.
A blood transfusion was the only
thing that kept the thread of lift
from snapping before he was properly
attended to by surgeons. The terrible
way by which he was mutilated and
the walk into town to find doctors
would have killed the average man.
Claims He Asked Protection
When Deputy Sheriff Peel arrested
, him in Edenton Needleman claims that
he asked him not to bring him here.
Deputy Peel denies this emphatically.
Marriott Britt claims that he asked
the sheriff for a guard for the jail
because there had been so many peo
ple requesting the sheriff that they
be allowed to see Needleman during
the day. The sheriff claims that he
let several of Needleman's friends, as
* •
THE STRAND
THEATRE. -
Williamston, N. C.
, There will be a
special picture each
nijrht next week.—
Do Not Miss a Single
One '
MONDAY
Marion Davies in
'Little old New York*
Heads the List
-
THE ENTERPRISE
well us others, visit turn duuiig me
uay.
ine mob, or some 01 iis members, j
appeared ai the nome ol Sfteim Kuu
eison and demanded the keys. And
instead 01 following them up as quick
ly as possible alter lie , hud relused
>hem me keys, it is alleged that the
sheriff did not gel up town uiuil a few
muiuies after the mob hail its victim
and had gone to do its dastardly crime.
Sheriit Koberson says that when the
mob came to his home his daughter
fainted and was so ill thai he was
not able to dress and gel off as
quickly as he could h&ve done other
wise, and when he came up town, he
went U> the jail to hnd out whether
friends or enemies of Needleman had
taken him from behind its bars. Yvheii
he found that his clothes and belong
ings were still there he knew tlial his
enemies hail taken him cut to Jo him
violence. He claims that he had start
ed in the direction that the mob had
gone when Needleman returned to
town.
Lark of Hearing Deplorable
A close-up view of the fac>s of the
case, as we can gather them, makes
the alfair even more pitiable than il
would otherwise iixve tnn. .Needle
man in a death-bed statement declares
his innocence cluims that he asked to
be carried to another jail, and finally
asked lor guards, and all three claims
are refuted. The first by the young
woman, and the other by the sherill
and the deputy.
This mixture of facts makes a more
distressing appeal lor a hearing to
have been granted the accused, that
he might have had a chance to give
his side of ihe alfair.
Macedonia JLocal
JNews ana rersonais
r ' ——_
Messrs. Messrs Sidney Beacliun and
Jie Sheppard Holliday and Miss .Nellie
Fisher went to town Saturday alier
noun shopping.
Mrs. K. H. feele, Miss Virginia, and
Mr. Lucian feele went to town Sat
urday afternoon, '
Miss Sadie Mae Hadley visited Miss
Elsie Green Wednesday af ernoin.
Messrs Claude L. Hadley, liert Har
rison, and SUbert Whitaker, of Pac
toius, were the guests of Miss Carrie
Ward Sunday night.
Miss Maggie Jackson, of Oold Ford,
spent the week end with Miss Myrtle
Beacham. ' /
The many friends of Mr. Al D.
Hadley will be sorry to learn that he
is quite sick. We all hope for him a
speedy recovery.
Mr. and Mra. W. P. Hadley and
children spent Sunday in Griffins
Township.
Mr. Julius Jackson was the guest of
Miss Sadie Mae Hadley Sunday night
Miss Nealie Jones spent Friday
night with Mrs. W. A. Coltrain.
Messrs. Hugh Ooltrain-and Robert
Coltrain called on Misses Myrtie
Beacham and Maggie Jackson Satur
day night.
Miss Nellie Fisher left here Monday
morning to go to her home in Mebane,
N. C.
Mr. A. D. Hadley was carried to the
Washington Hospital Thursday morn
ing for an operation for appendicitis.
Mr. Dave Griffin called on Miss El
sie Green Sunday night.
Williamston, Martin County, North Carolina, Friday, April 3,1925
Expect to Arrest
- Three Saturday
Solicitor I)onnell Gilliam was in
town today working on the jail
l>f\akij)g case. He states that he is
gathering considerable informa
tion and expects to make three ar
rests tomorrow. He says he linds
Ihe county doing its fu)l duty in
trying to carry out the law.
The arrest of the three tomor
row will bring the total of those
held for trial in connection with
the mob of Saturday night up to
eighi. There are three in the i
Pitt County jail at Greenville and
two in the Edgecombe County
jail at Tarboor.
GROUP CENTER
CONTEST RESULTS
Williamston School Has No Opposition
in Contests Held Here Last
Saturday
On Saturday, March 28, the second
group-cente/ contest was held at Wil
liamston and the following schools
sent representatives: Group 1, Wil
liamston; Group 111, Biggs.
In''the dontest of group 1 William
ston had no opposition. The fol'ow
ing stuJents were entered from the
local school: Spelling contest: Mar
garet Rodgerson, Edith Taylor, Mary
Alice Dunning, Melville Wynne, anil
Robert Shirley. In this contest Mar
garet Rodgerson and Melville Wynne
were selected to represent the school
at the county commencement.
In the story-telling contest: Altu
Critcher, Josephine Anderson, and
John H. Gurganus. Alta Critcher was
selected from this contest to repre
sent the local school.
Arithmetic:, Margaret Rodgerson
and Edward I'eele were selected to
represent the school. Both of these
were tied for first place. The best
of these two will be selected to rep
resent the school at the county com»
mencement.
The third grade, under the super
vision of Miss Anderson, gave a splen
did display of work under dramatisa
tion. This grade will fluent this as
I special work at the county' com
mencemenf. r
In the contest held by group 111
only the Biggs school entered. The
following students were representa
tives of the same:
Spelling contest: Fred Cross,
Rogers, Mervin Bond's, and Ollie Bail
ey. Clyde Rogers was selected to rep
resent the Biggs school at the county
commencement. The second place in
this contest was awarded to Fred
Cross, the third place to Ollie Bailey.
Arithmetic contest: The following
students were entered as representa
tivea: Mervin Bonds, Clyde Rogers,
anil Fred Cross. The first place was
awarded to Mervin Bohds. The sec
ond place to Clyde Rogers, and the
third place to Fred Cross. In this
group only one representa ive is en
titled to represent the school.
Singing contest: Song used 'Myj
Country, Tis of Thee." The follow
ing students participated: Clyde Rog
ers, Ollie Bailey, Mary Price, and
Willon Bonds. Th£re being no oppo
sition to this group they were award-'
ed first place and will represent the
school at the county commencement.
The next group center meeting wil
be held at Jamesville on «April "4.
Much interest is being shown in these
contests.
BOYS OFF TO
WAKE FOREST
Coach Ricks and Williamston High
School Track Team Le tve for
Tournament
Coach Ricks left yesterday with his
track team for Wake Forest, where
they will participate in.ihe interrstal«
high school track meet.'
The boys left with high hopes and
feel confident that they will bring back
some first prizes, as they have been
working steadily for the past few
weeks. The following boys were se
lected to take the trip: George Harris,
Eli Barnhill, W. T. Meadows, Tommy
feel, Benjamin Cour'ney; and John
Booker, who will represent the school
in the declamation contest there Fri
day- •
inJLLS ATTITUDE
Ob COMMUNITY
Chamber of Commerce Writes News &
Observer to Correct Impression
-Made by Various Articles
The Williamston Chamber ot
Commerce yesterday addressed
the letter which appears below lo
the News and Observer, following
a special meeting of this body held |
Wednesday afternoon. The letter, j
whieh is solf explanatory, is as -
follows:
To the News and Observer:
The Chamber of Commerce of
Williamston held a special meet
ing for the purpose of ascertain
ing its duty in making public its
altitude and the attitude of the
community concerning the deplor
able and outrageous crime com
mitted here on last Sunday morn
ing. This step was taken because
the articles published In several
of the papers did in no wayyep
resent the true feeling of the peo
ple and were misleading and did j
a great injustice to the people of
Martin County. Th chamber of
commerce, speaking for the com
munity, wishes the public (o
know that this community in no
way condones the barbarous mu
tilation committed by the mob,
and ib greatly shocked and in
censed, both on account of the
ghastly deed and the flagrant dis
regard of the law. In the entire
history of Martin County there
have been two cases of jail break
ing previous to the one Sunday
morning, both committed hy citi
zens of other counties. This is
the first time that citizens of Mar
tin County have been charged
with this offense.
The community is backing ihe
solicitor, Donnell Gilliam, and
other officers of the law in mak
ing a complete investigation of the
alTair, as is witnessed by the
fact that five of the moh have
been arrested, and it is expected
that the entire moh will be ap
prehended before the end of 'he
week.
WILLIAMSTON CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE.
Hy K. B, Crawford, President.
By Rolit. L. Coburn, Secretary.
Marriage Licenses
Issued in March
Marriage licenses were issued to
the following people by the register
of deeds during the month of March:
White
F. W. Sparrow, jr., 21; Eflie Grit-
I Jtn, !>.-•' •—■ ■ 11 -—-
James C. Keel, 21; Bertha Taylor,
1 22.
William L. Knox, 40; l.sabcll Ayers,
I 21.
Colored^,
Sam Gorham, 19; Maletha Rogers,
I 17-
Jame;; Bagley,' 23; Carrie West, 23.
Rufus T. Chance, 56; Mary E.
Cherry, 48.
- Peter Cason, 20; Louise Gilliam, 20.
Willie Davis, 21; Perlie Harrell, 18.
Allen Thomas, 20; Bill Collins, 18.
Elijah Jones, 20; Carrie Eborn, 19.
John Brown, 39; Bessie C. Thorn
ton, 32.
John Henry Adams, 51; Martha
Purvis, 40.
Warren A. Gray, 56; Lavii.iia Knight
66.
Sam Joyner, Bertie County, 35; Liz
zie S. James, Bertio County, 19.
S. C. Ward, of Pitt County, 21; An
nie Chance, 19.
Tobe Rogers, 21; Mamie C. Dempsjy,
iB.
S. L. Waits, of Washington County
19; Eula Brown, 17.
News Notes of
Baptist Church
Sunday school, 9.45 a. m.
Morning worship, 11 a. m.
B. Y. P. U. meetings, 6.46 p. tn.
Evening service, 7.45 p. m.
Ah attendance of 169, with an offer
ing of $54.75 for missions was a part
pf the Sunday school record last Sun
day. The children and young people
who rendered the program did fine
work.
__ The pastor wiU preach Sunday
morning "on "Forgiveness" after, which
we will observe "The Lord's Supper.
He will preach at 3.00 p. at Rild-|
dicks Grove. A special service, will
be held in the local Church
evening hour. It will be in the natur?
of an installation service of the; new
officers of the Baraca class.
A cordial invitation is extended to
all, and a warm welcome always
awaits you. Come and worship with
tu.
bULin. 11
KUCior Warren CeieOraiea !>■!. nua.>
uy U'u>K Hum lu .tuiiul twuut)
Uociors Organization
ilie Martin County Aledical Souet>
met lucsuay night in tlieir regular
bcssiun. The following were guess.
uia. D. 1. tayioe, D. i'. Tayioe, jr.,
and Dewitt Iviutiz, of Washington;
lira. S. P. bans and U. V. liooker, oi
l+r Edgar Long ot Hnmit -
ton; Drs. Jesse and Vemou Y\ard and
Marshall Kilpatrick, of Kobersonville;
Drs, Charles Lauglungiiuuse, Wpoien, ,
Greeiie, Pace ,and Uutlanu, oi Ureen
ville; Dr. Dixon, ol Aydeii; Dr. ilyrd, ,
ol Raleigh; Mayor E 1.. Stewart,' oi
Washington; und Messrs' k. li. Craw
ford, K. A. Pope, V\. C. Manning, J.
L. Hassell and Dr. P. li. Cone, ol this
city. They were present in pari lo
attend the meeting ol the .society, but
mainly to celebrate the birthday oi
Ur. W. E. Warren, who was host to
the society and several friends.
It was not definitely staled what
anniversary it was; howover, concedes
to be the 46th. Doc or Josh Tayioe
raised the question 61' the accuracy ol
the date, and' said that he could not
tind enough candles in Washington to
decorate the cake.
Doctor James S. Rhodes, ol mis city,
was t'.illed to preside ill the absence
o/ Dr. Saunders, the president. l»r.
Spencer liuss, of i'arboro, was calleu
on ami reail a paper before liie so
ciety dealing With some important ii.
ea.->e* and llieir trea.inen.. A numbei
ol tiiv. doctors engaged in the dis
cussion which .followed. ~
lion. E. L. Stewart of Washington,
was asked by the chairman to ait
as toan.master, and for an hour niuny
good afier-dttrner speeches weie mailt'
by the doctors presen., relating odn
things happening lo doctors in their
practice.
Several presents were given tin
host, among them one from the stall
of the Washington llospiial.
The dinner and the reception were
thoroughly enjoyed by the large num
ber oi guests present. AID praised
Doctor Wurren for his activ.;y in ule
capacity of an ollicer in the various
jnedicin societies, as a doctor, and a*
a good fellow.
lOUAUJO A'KlCfcS
MADE li 1 UJ-Ol'6
tobacco Planter Recalls .he Days oi
.S .ne-Cent Tobacco and Dis
astrous Overpayment
There aro plenty of tobacco farmers
both within and without the Tobitlcii..
Growers Cooperative Association, who
recognize that the real issue at stake
in upholding or relaxing tli-ir allegi
ance to the cooperative marketing ol
tobacco is whether they Sllull drop
back to the pre-war pHc'e.s of 12 arrd
15 cents for the weed or whether they
shall continue to hold uibucco price,
up to or above twenty cell s a po :
as has been the case during the three
past years. In that pij. iod the as.-o
ciatioii hus sold anil pan! the farmer.-,
for more than two-thirds of the 44f>,-
000,000 pounds delivered lo it in Vir
ginia, North and South Carolina.
A striking contrast between the
prices oT tobacco before the war and
today is given in the following letter
of Kuius C ir er, prominent plr.n ei oi
Pittsylvania County, the largest
bright tobacco-producing county in the
United Stales:
The Tobacco Growers Coop Assli.
Raleigh, N. C. r-
Gentlemeni—l have received filial
settlement for my 1922 ciop of to
bacco, including che;k for a small bal
ance to my credit, j Since I had lonx I
since received 10(1 per cent of the j
bankers' valuation, 1 did not expect J
any further payment. From i
percent already there was no deduc
tion for expenses. This was net, the
tobacco having been sold for a suffi
cient sum to pay for receiving, griul
ing, storing, and seHing, an 3 besides j
to pay for 30 of the 150 warehouses
and then put aside a substantial re
serve fund. When we remember thai
the bankers' valuation was about dou
ble that of the auction warehousemen,
this record should be a source oiVpride
to the manaement and of gratitude to j
the membership. J
Predicted 1 2-CentA ver age ~"
Soon after the annual meeting of |
the United States Tobacco Associa-!
tion in 1922 and Just one week before;
the cooperative association began to]
receive tobacco, a prominent ware-i
houseman, who I assume is a mem- j
ber of thie United States Tobacco As- j
sociation, and fully advised of the |
proceedings of their convention, said j
(Continued on page 4)
County Commissioners
k Vote Maximum Reward
Allowed by
REGULAR SESSION
liECOHDEUS COURT
Big Docket Faced Judge Smith and
Solicitor Feel; Sixteen Cases
Disposed of
The recorders court was held Tues
day, March 31, Judge J. C. Smith ana
Solicitor E. S. Feel presiding and pros
ecuting.. y
The following casef. were called aitu
difposed of;
State vs. Allen Smith; carrying con
cealed weapons. Flea of guilty en
tered. Sentenced to jail for one da>'
and lined SSO. - .
State vs. Ida Thomas and /.eke
Brown; obstructing ditch. Not pros.
Statu vs. Isaiah Mobky. Carrying
concealed weapons. Found not guilty.
State vs. Harry }W*al.?r Biggs; as
sault with detull) weapon. Flea of
guilty- entered. Judgment suspended
r.po.n payment of cost of action.
State vs; William Siaton; assauli
with deadly weapon. Flead guilty.
Sentenced, io Edgecombe roads foT
months.
State vs. William Sta.on; carrying
weapons. I'lead guilty. Sen
teneed to Edgecombe reads for four
months- Term to b -gin at the expira
tion of the first term.
S»ate vs. Henry Fierce; violating
liquor law. l'leads guilty of having
material on hand for the purpose ol
manufacturing liquor. Prayer for
judgment continued until first Tues
day in September upon the payment,
of the cost and entering into bond In
the sum of $250 for his personal ap
pearance before the cour .
Slate vs. Simon Slieppard; assault.
Guilty. Judgment suspended upon
pu> ineni of the cost.
State vs. Simon Sluppard; resisting
officer. . Not 'guilty
Slate vs-. Simon Sheppard; using
profane language. Nol pros.
State vs. Simon Sheppard; larcej^.
Guilty. Judgment susended
nient of the cost. .
State vs. W illiaih Bland; assault.
Fleads guilty. Judgment suspended
upon payment of cost and paying Dr.
W. E. Warren S4O for medical atten
tion.
State vs. Jesse Moore; Riding.anu
al»etliiig prostitution. Guilty. Sen
tenced to the Edgecombe roads for 0
months.
" State vs. Jesse Moore; larceny.
-Guilty, - Sentenced --to — Edgeeombe
roads for 0 months. Term to begin
at expiration of first term.
State vs. Dave O'Mary and l.eoi,
Edwards; manufacturing liquor. O'-
Mary not in court. Edwards not guil
ty " .
State vs. Edmund Whichard; forni
fieation. Guilty; prayer for judgment
continued.
Hubert l\>teat Decries
Sinking Cheap Hymns
Kansas Cjty March 30. —"Cheap
hymns" were decried in an address
here last, night by Dr. Hubert M. Fo-1
teat, .who holds the chair ol Latin in
Wake Forest College, Wake Forest,
N. C. Dr. Foteat spoke to delegates
here at the eighteen Lb annual conven
tion of the music supervisors' national
conference which opened today.
"The taste for vulgar music >n the!
church is comparable to the taste for
it outside the church, declared Dr. |
Foteat. Those pushing the twaddle |
hymns advertise their wares iit sundry j
ways. One of the most cited.ve is j
the evangelic singer, who introduced j
venerable jokes and poor Vaudeyflle
in the House of God.
"There are three tes s for a hymn.'
If it is old, it probably is g' od he
cause it has withstood—countless as
saults .by widely varying tas.es. If!
■your spiritual instinct tells you its
idea is good, use it. If 'he mature
judgment of yourself and o.liers sane
tions it, sing it."
Death of Mrs.
Hester \r.,'?e
Mrs. Hester Ange, wid w of; he late
Edwin W. Ange, died near Jamenville.
Tuesday, March 3.1, and was huried
at the Ange graveyard • .Wednesday;
the funsral being conduc ed b. Rev.
A. J. Manning. The deceived was 68
years old and leaves two children, Ed
win Ange and Mrs. Her'on ModHn.
She had been a.Jaitbfr! mejnber ef
Mount Olive Free Will Baptist Church
for more,than 40 years.
■ , . X
ADVERTISERS WILL FINII OUR
'JOLtTMNH A LATCHKEY TO 1600
HOMES OF 'MARTIN COl'NT>
HSTAtILISHEI) 1898
County and State "Each
Offers S4OO Bounty
for Capture
The board of county
commissioners met in
special session this af
ternoon and vpted a re
ward of S4OO for the ap
prehension and convic- 1
tion of any person who
was engaged in the as
sault and mutilation of
Joseph Iseedleman on
Sunday, March 29. This
reward supplements the
S4OO offered by the State
anu is the maximum
amount that can be of
fered by the county.
The members present at the special —
session were: Chairman Henry C.
Green, John N. Hopkins, H- M. Bur
1. U. Slude jr., J. (I. Barnhill.
T. I!. Slade, jr. offered the motfon,
ami it was seconded by J. G. liaru-
Inli authorizing the county to pay a
rewani >f SIOO for tlie apprehension
ami conviction of any person engaged
in tlii' assault and mutilation of Jo
seph Needleman on March 29. The
jnolion was carried by a unanimous
vote.'
Stale Also Oilers SIOO
Chairman Ilexuy C. (.ireen received
a telegram today l'rtlni Governor A.
W. McLean, as -ftdlows:
"The .Slate will pay a reward of
$•11)0 for the apprclfbnsion and con
viclion of any person eniged in the
jail hieakiug and assault aml inutila
lion ol Joseph Needleman
, A. W. McLEAN-, Governor.
Kaleigh, April 1926.^
ILA MILTON liONl) •
ISSIJti CARRIED
I'roposiliOa to Issue $15,000 Electric
Light Bonds Carries by
I nammous Vote
l«wti "flection held in HaTfiil
ton Tuesday, March 31, on the propo
sition fo issue $15,000 •-■lectiic light
bond.-, ,jvery vote was cast for the
bonds. f v-
The town exports to procure power
from some outside plant; Williuinstuii,
Scotland Neck, and Greenville are
easily accessible, and can furnish
ample power at a much lower rate
than can be' furnished by a small lo-
Tal plant.
They expect to begin the, construc
| tion of a power line just as soon as
| they can make a satisfactory contract
for the current.
An Appreciation
From Mr. Ricks
l wish to take this opportunity of
expressing our apprec.ation to the
! public for the hearty suppon of ath- .
j le- ics given us by the people of the
: town during the year.
In one sense of the word we had
'a very successful season in basket
i ball, winning the last five games out
i of gix, and also wtirmng Dion ilirni
I than we lost during the year.
We sincerely appreciat j the unusual
support f Mr. U. K. Barnhill, who .
| was always willing to help
us carry the team by lending his cars.
Never would he accept one penny for
the use of them, but seemed glad to
have the opportunity to help us. The
team also expresses its appreciation
to hirti and to all of those who gave
us their hearty support."*-
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