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VOLUME XLII?NUMBEFri4 Williamston, Martin County, North Carolina, Friday, February 17, 1939. ESTABLISHED 1899
County Court Has
Shortest Session
In Several Months
Judge H. O. Peel and Solici
tor Johnson Handle
Pour Cases
>
Crime activities in this county
reached a new low during the past
few days, the county recorder's
court in one of the shortest sessions
held in many months handling only
four cases last Monday. The audi
torium in the old house of justice
was almost vacant except for the
litigants and counsel for the defen
dants. One attorney, arriving a bit
late for the session, found the court
had folded its tent and vacated the
building. There were hardly morel
than a dozen spectators in the au
dience at one time, and the court
handled the few cases so quietly
and so rapidly that some of them
hardly realized the court had com
pleted its work when an order for
adjournment was issued.
Judge H O. Peel and Solicitor
Elphonsa Johnson were at their
posts, but Clerk L. B. Wynne was
held at home by illness. Sheriff C.
B. Roebuck, just out from a recent
illness, creeped about the courtroom
with a several days' old beard
Deputy Clerk Elizabeth Keel handl
ed the minutes.
Bob Canipe pleaded guilty in the
case charging him with drunken
driving, and Judge Peel fined him
$60 and taxed him with the costs.
The court ordered that no driver's
ing the next twelve months.
H. D. Andrews pleaded not guil
ty in the case charging him with vi
olating the liquor laws. The court
found him guilty and continued the
case under prayer for judgment two
weeks.
Charged with violating the liquor
laws, T. Taylor and Patty Taylor
were adjudged not guilty by the
court.
Pleading guilty in the case charg
ing him with larceny and receiving,
Harry Wilson was sentenced to the
roads for a period of ninety days.
To Examine Pupils
In County Schools
Dr. F. E. Wilson and his healtn
department assistants will start
series of examinations of colored
children in the county next Monday,
the department having recently
completed a series of examinations
in the white schools.
The examinations will be limited
to children in the first, second and
sixth grades.
The schedule for holding the ex
aminations follows:
Dardena. February 20th
Jamesville, February 21st, morn
ing; Williams Lower, February 21st,
afternoon.
Woolard, February 24th, morning;
Bear Grass, February 24th. after
noon.
Williamston, February 27th, Feb
ruary 28th, March 1st.
Biggs, March 3rd, morning.
Smithwick Creek, March 3rd, af
ternoon.
Buroughs Sp. Hill, March 6th.
Piney Woods, March 7th; Keys,
March 7th.
Coreys, March, March 8th.
Poplar Point, March 9th.
Hamilton, March 10th.
Gold Point, March 13th.
Robersonville, March 14th and
15th, morning.
Everett*, March 17th.
Oak City, March 20th and 21st.
Bowers, March 21st, afternoon.
Cross Roads, March 22nd.
White Oak Sp., March 23rd.
Parmele, March 27th and March
28th, morning.
Salsbury, March 29th, morning.
Whichard James, March 30th.
Jones, March 31st.
Cut By Flying Tin In
Wind Storm Wednesday
?
Bill Abbitt, county game warden
and operator of the old Mobley mill
on the Hamilton road, was painful
ly but not seriously hurt during the
windstorm that struck this section
last Wednesday. Ripped from its
moorings by the wind, a piece of tin
struck Mr. Abbitt in the face and
inflicted a wound that required half
a dozen stitches to close.
Very little property damage was
reported in this section, but the
wind rendered a number of people
homeless in the western part of the
State during the day.
Miss Mamie Clyde Taylor left to
day for Greensboro where she will
?wisit friends for about two weeks
Mrs John Rogerson and daughter,
Mary, visited friends in Tarboro yes
terday i
Applicant Must Give His Life
History To Get A Seed Loan
With a prepared questiunnaire
embracing nearly 200 questions, it
is difficult to determine whether
the governmental lending agencies
are more interested in getting a life
history of the poor folks or in se
curing measley farm loans. The ap
plicant for a farm loan verying in
size from a few dollars up to possi
bly $500 or slightly more is bom
Tiarded with four pages of questions,
and some of the answers are really
unique too.
The government must know how
many children the applicant, if
married, has, their ages, where they
live, what they do and why come.
Every old hen on the plantation
must be counted and accounted-forv
And then the applicant must num
erate the mules, horses, cows, sheep,
hogs and goats. Exact acreages must
be listed as to crops and woods
along with plows, automobiles and
tractors. After asking all about
what is, the questionnaire then asks
what is going to be, and so on.
"How many children do you
have?,' the applicant is asked. "Wait
and I'll ask the old 'oman," is one
reply, others stopping to use their
fingers to make a hurried count
themselves. Aged are general run
one fur every two years, bqt a rec
ord was noted a few days ago when
one applicant said he had fourteen
children in as many years, and the
fifteenth year was not quite spent.
"Single?" was another question
asked "Yes." was the reply "Who
helps you farm?" and the answer to
that question was "The two boys."
The one handling the application
"Mrs." to clear matters up.
"And so it goes," a representative
said, adding that the seed and feed
loan office was certain to do a rec
ord business in the county this year.
Observe Anniversary
Of F. T. A. Association
UNUSUAL
"There are 57 members in the
Kobersonville senior class and
only two of the boys smoke,"
Principal 1- tV. Anderson writes
in a current weekly review of
the school activities there. It is
an usual case, all right, and it
is understood from the princi
pal's review of the school activi
ties thai none of the girls smoke.
The general average for most
schools is about two non-smok
ers in a group that size.
OjM'ii Night School
For Adults Here
Early Next Week
County Is One of Few in
State Where Schools
Are Not Held
?
Arrangements were announced
virtually complete today for open
ing a night school here the early
part of next week for white adults
in the county. Operated in connec
tion with the Works Progress Ad
ministration educational program,
instruction will be offered free to
any white adult in the county. Tay
lor Malone, recently graduated by
Wake Forest College, will have
charge of the school, it was an
nounced.
Classes will be offered in liter
acy, including reading, writing,
arithmetic, English and spelling,
grades one through seven, and in
high school subjects if desired. Oth
er classes in leisure time and voca
tional activities, parent education
and public affairs will be offered.
Anyone who is interested in at
tending night school may commun
icate with Mr. Malone at the Agri
cultural Building or Superintendent
of Schools James C. Manning.
Martin County had, according to
the 1930 census 787 white persons
who could not read and white and
2,073 Negroes, making 17.1 per cent
of the entire population. The aver
age in the United States is 4.3 per
cent, and 10 per cent in the State of
North Carolina. The state ranks for ?
ty-fourth in the total number of il
literates with only New York, Penn
avlvania. Texas and Alabama re
porting a greater number. It it
feared that unless North Carolina
puts forth a great effort it will sink
even further in the scale in 1940 as
the states now below us are making
a determined fight to reduce illiter
acy.
The North Carolina Negro Advis
ory Council of the State Department
of Public Instruction and the Works
Progress Administration are coop
erating in a Negro Literacy drive
from now until March 12 to reduce
the percentage of Negro illiteracy.
Public school teachers are teaching
the patrons of their schools and it
is hoped that 100,000 of the 139,105
illiterate Negroes in North Carolina
may be reached. Broadcasts in con
nection with this program may be
heard over station WTAR, Norfolk,
Sunday, February 19 at 3 o'clock
and over station WEED, Rocky
Mount Monday, February 20, at
3 o'clock. *
Any adult who is interested in
the WPA education program is in
vited to attend classes and every ef
fort will be made to arrange his
studies to meet his needs.
Public Invited To
Attend Pageant In
School Auditorium
Unique Program Is Planned
For Next Tuesday
Evening
(Note: The date for holding
the pageant has been postponed
indefinitely, local P. T. A. lead
ers explaining that there was
much illness here at present and
that a new date would be deter
mined later.)
The Parent-Teacher association of
Williamston has set aside February
21 to commemorate the forty-first
anniversary of the Parent-Teacher
Congress which began as a nation
wide organized movement when tiro
first congress of mothers was as
sembled in Washington, 1) C , Feb
ruary 17, 1897.
Two million members throughout
the nation are celebrating Founders
Day. The local membership and
public are invited to attend this
birthday celebration in Williamston,
Tuesday eyening, Feb. 21, at eight
o'clock in the high school auditor
ium. The highlights of the evening
will be a colorful pageant "As Told
By Candles," an anniversary acros
tic and special music.
The program of service of the na
tional congress of parents and
teachers still stands upon the basic
principles advanced by its founders
forty-one years ago and serves as
a daily reminder of the ideals which
led them into new and untried fields
of cooperative service for childhood.
The Williamston Parent-Teacher
association has been organized
about twelve years and has brought
into a close relationship the home
and the school. The welfare of chil
dren and youth in the home, school,
church and community has been
its objects.
Of interest to all students of social
welfare is a 42-year-old page from
"Farm and Fireside" dated April 1,
1897, recounting the very beginnings
of the organization. The clipping is
reproduced through the kindness of
Mrs. Doyle D. Alley of Waynesville,
president of the N. C. Congress of
Parents and Teachers, organized la
ter in 1919.
"It was a universal wonder among
all people as to what this Congress
of Mothers, which was held at Wasli
ington, D. e , February 17, TS and T9,
could mean. Consequently, thous
ands went to see. The idea, which
originated with Mrs. L. W. Birney
(Continued on page six)
Teacher Resigns In
Jamesville School
J. C. Eubanks, teacher of voca
tion agriculture in the Jamesville
school, has resigned to accept a posi
tion with the Farm Security Admin
istration, th^yesignation to become
effective March 1.
Meeting here yesterday afternoon
representatives of the school and
director of vocational work in the
state appointed Mr. Pruden to suc
ceed Professor Eubanks.
Recently graduated by State Col
lege, Professor Pruden is now doing
practice teaching in Northampton
County. He will return to State Col
lege for two weeks for advanced in
struction and report for work in
Jamesville about the middle of next
month.
School Attendance
Lowered By Illness
Nearly 100 Pupils Absent
From Local School
Yesterday
Absences, climbing us high as 20
per cent in some cases, have been
reported in the schools of the coun
ty this week as a result of a mild
epidemic of influenza that has swept
this section during the past few
weeks.
Striking mostly adults and youths
of high school age, the influenza epi
demic is causing no serious reaction
and school officials do not think
it necessary to suspend classes. It
the attendance figures continue to
decrease, it is possible that a briel
holiday will be ordered, it was
learned from the office of the coun
ty board of education here today.
Commenting on the situation in
the local schools yesterday, Princi
pal D. N. Hix said:
"Absences in the local schools
reached the highest mark of the
school year when ninety-five stu
dents failed to report for classes to
day Colds and influenza are wide
spread, particularly among the high
high school students, twenty of
whom were reported missing. Eigh
ty-seven per cent of the membership
attended today as compared to the
usual average of ninety-four
"Busses continue to maintain ser
vice and schedules in spite of the
rainy weather, only occasional de
lays being experienced."
Only two teachers are held at
home by illness, and one of tlveiii.
Miss Estelle Crawford is expected
in return Monday.
Religious Leade
To Work In Loral
Piirisli Our Week
Miss Catherine Sherman
Will Aid in School
Reorganization
Miss Catherine Sherman, direc
tor of religious (duration for ttTtr
East Carolina Diocese, will center |
her activities in the local parish
during the coming week and assist
in the reorganization of the church
school, work with the members of
the Woman's Auxiliary in any way
they desire, and confer with others
wishing to discuss general religious
questions, Kev. John Hardy^ rector
of'the Church of the Advent, an
pounced today. Miss Sherman is ex
pected to arrive here tomorrow t >
begin the special work at this point.
Iri connection with her visit, Rev.
Mr. Hardy had the following to say:
Although" Miss. Sherman has been
in the diocese only a few months she
has come up to and surpassed all
i xpectations of the people. She isr
firmly grounded in her work, hav
ing come, to us from one of the larg
er northern parishes where she was
director of religious education. Born
in China, the daughter of the Rev.
Arthur Sherman, now of the For
ward Movement commission, and
sister of Miss Pat tie Sherman, of
St. Hilda's School, Wuchang, China,
Miss Sherman has a fitting hack
ground for one in her field.
Since she has been in the diocese,
Miss Sherman has worked with the
church schools of Christ church.
New Bern; St. Peter's, Washington.
St. David's, Creswell, and St. An
drew's, Columbia. She has conduct
ed an institute at St. James, Wilm^
ington. While here she hopes to
spend one day confering with the
parishioners of Grace church, Plym
outh, and St. Luke's, Roper.
On Sunday night, Miss Sherman
will address the congregation at the
church. It is hoped that both parish -
ioners and friends in the other
churches of the town will avail
themselves of this opportunity to
bear Miss Sherman.
Monday afternoon at four o'clock
Miss Sherman will meet with?ttnr
Woman's Auxiliary in their regular
session, with Miss Marina Whitley,
and will address them All ladies of
the parish are urged to attend.
Miss Sherman will stay at the rec
tory while in Williamston, and will
make it her headquarters, although
rhe will visit in the homes of the
parishioners.
State Missionary Board
In Meeting At Dunn
The State Board of the North Car
olina Christian missionary conven
tion met on Thursday in the Hood
Memorial Christian church in Dunn
Reports on the various mission
points of the state were made. Rev.
F. W. Wiegman, the pastor, was for
two years the pastor of the local
church. Rev. John L. Goff is a
member of this board.
Price Adjustment Payments
For Cotton Are Announced
A schedule for price adjustment
payments on cotton, corn and two
or three other crops has been ten
tatively advanced by federal agix
cultural officials, according to un
official reports received here this
week. The schedule calls for a pay
ment of 1.6 cents a pound on cotton
and about 6 cents a bushel on corn
Other crops included in the sched
ule are wheat and rue, the authori
ties pointing out that tobacco prices
were above the 75 per cent of parity
figure and that no price adjustment
payment would be made on that
crop.
These payments are not to be con
fused with tluise paid under the soil
conservation program
l*ast year, approximately $40,000
was paid to Martin, County farmers
in cotton price adjustment payment*
which were based on t>0 per cent of
allotments and at the rate of two
cents a pound. The schedule "an
nounced tentatively this week does
not Specify how the price adjust
ment payments are to be deiermlri
ed this year on the 1938 plantings.
It is possible that the payments will
be advanced at the rate of 1.6 cents
a -pound on a fanner's entire al
lot ment, or they may be based on
the amount of cotton actually pro
duced or as they were last year
60 per cent of the base allotment. If
the payments are based on actual
^production, Martin County farmers
will not receive a_ great deal of
money, for they did not produce
hardly half a crop.
Seek State-Wide Vote
On Whiskey Question
Bill. Introduced In
House, Now Before
Finance (lommitte
Assembly Goes Liberal and
Gives Teachers Extra
Dollar Monthly
Led by Representative Grady
Withrow, of Rutherfordtun County,
the drys dropped a bombshell in
the State House of Representatives
this week when they called for a
state-wide referendum on the liquor
question. Immediately placed in the
hands of the House Finance Corn
mittee, the bill calls for a vote by
the people on May 5 on the question
of banning all sales of beer, wine
and liquors in the State. Rumors
have it that the proposal will get an
unfavorable report by the commit
tee which has been reporting unfav
or ably all bills proposing to dry up i
vv< t counties.
Withrow claimed that lie had aj
petition of 3,000 signatures opposing
the sale of liquors.
A proposal to increase the State
tax on liquor from seven to ten per
cent on gross sales has bebn defeat
ed, and just now the lawmakers are
pondering the Umstead-Council
Thomas-Spruill bill to authorize the
State ABC board to set up ware
houses -and?handle mail-order ship
ments to liquor into the 73 dry
counties.
The ABC board would set up a
state-wide enforcement unit to war
titt bootleggers, devotmg .from five
to ten per cent of its gross receipts
to enforcement, and Senator I'm
stead, of Orange, said tlie lull was;
in reality a control measure as well
as a way to perhaps gets $4,000,000
a year in revenue.
The mail-order hill already has
run into announced opposition from
Senators Gardner, of Cleveland;
/?Prince, of Henderson, and Walking
of Granville' and Representative
Mull, of Cleveland.
Wednesday at a finance commit
,tee meeting Mull voted with Repre
senatives and Senators from the 27
wet counties inf rejecting a budget
commission recom mend at ion that
taxes On whiskey be increased. He
| predicated his vote on opposition to
basing the fiscal policy of the state
on receipts from liquor and made it;
clear he expected support from wet'
counties in his opposition to the
mail-order bill.
The finance committee has adopt
ed a policy, apparently, of killing
bills which would prohibit sale of
beer, wine or intoxicants of any
kind in whole counties. Such propo
sals were dealt with favorably by
(Continued on page six)
Install 17 Western
Union Clocks H< TC
Seventeen Western Union clocks
are being installed in local business
houses and in at least two public
buildings this week.
A close check shows all the clocks
are operating in perfect harmony,
but they are out of tune when
matched with the old clock on the
town hall, the time peice that guides
the goings and comings for many
hundreds.
The discrepancies between the
readings of the two types of clocks
have already been called to the at
tention of the town fathers, and ac
tion to harmonize the time pieces is
eagerly awaited.
Incidentally the modem clocks are
rented at $1.90 per month.
I FISHING ~1
V J
"A few more days and our
people will be the most inde
pendent in the county,"" ~ ft
Janiesville citizen remarked
while on a visit here yesterday,
lie recalled the fairly large her
ring catches that were being
made in the Itoanoke there, and
then told about Mat uavis, a col
ored man, dipping a two and
one half pound shad from the
stream there the day before.
Reports from Janiesville yes
terday stated that as many as
a dozen or more herring had
been caught in a drift net in a
single net a few days before.
Johnston Mourns
Loss Of Friends
In An Old Letter
Former Governor Says Life
Is Intolerable Without
Friends
.{teaching the age of sixty-one
years on January 2(1, 175)4, San?
Johnston, former governor of North
Carolina, United States Senator and
leader in the Continental Congress,
expresses Ins deep regret of the
passing of old friends 111 a letter
dated the following day to his bro
ther in-law, James Iredell, then a
justice of tin United States Supu nie
fonrf ," -? ? 1
The old correspondence, appear
ihg here through the courtesy ol Mr,
Warren li. Biggs, was headed, "Her
mitage, January 27, 175)4," and was
apparently addressed to Iredell in (
Edcnton. Johnston, locating in Wil
liamston in the early part of 175)3,
is believed to have bought and set
tled on the farm now owned by M
1) Wilson, and called it "llermit
age." Efforts to determine the iden
tity of the land by a search of old
county records have not yet proved
successful.
The former governor of this State
had been here almost a year when
he wrote the following letter to his
brother-in-law:
"Dear Sir:?Yesterday finished my
sixty-first year; and, I thank God, 1
find myself in as good health as 1
ever was in my life, (in looking
back, what 1 have.the most to re
gret is the 1<jss of many valuable
friends whom 1 had reason to
esteem; those who are left are now
reduced lo so small a number that
1 shall consider myself unfortunate
indeed if I should survive any more
of them. 1 am not tired of life as
long as I can live with them; but
without them it would be intolei
able."
in a letter scheduled 10 appear in
the series next week, Governor
Johnston touches tin three subjects,
the election of a president, the wea
ther and farming He tells of what
are believed record low tempera
tures and points out variations in
weather conditions.
# \
Will Locate District
Blind Headquarters Here
MiSs Dorothea B Tucker, district
supervisor for the State Blind Com
mission, will locate her office here
next week and handle her duties
from this point. She succeeds Bill
Smilhson, who resigned some time
ago. During the past several months
Miss Tucker has maintained district
headquarters in Elizabeth City.
She will make her home with
Mrs. Joseph A. Eason in the Tar
Heel apartments.
? * ?
George S. Moore
Dies At His Home
Here on Thursday
Funeral Services Are Beinfc
Conducted At 3:30
Today
?
George S. Moore, highly rogpett
tni citizen, died at his home on
Rhodes Street here yesterday after
noon at 4:40 o'clock following a
stroke of paralysis suffered the eve
ning before. Mr Moore suffered a
first stroke of paralysis about a year
ago, and while he never fully re
gained his health he was able to be
up and supervise his farming activ
ities until a few hours before his
death. Feeling better than usual,
Mr. Moore attended to business ac
tivities up town on Wednesday be
fore he was taken ill that night.
Eating a hearty meal, Mr. Moore
then turned to his daily practice of
reading the family Bible for quite a
while and retired about nine o'clock
suffering th stroke a few minutes la
er.
The son of the late William C
Moore, a native of Pitt County, and
Mary Jane Harris Moore, a native
of this county, he was born in
Washington county 00 years ago. Af
ter spending his early life there,
bE moved to Wtlliamston and mar
ried 43 years ago. Miss Frances Me
lissa Warren who survives with four
sons, Samuel, Charlie, Jasper and
David Moore, and one daughter,
Mrs. Ora Rebecca Speller, all of this
county He was the last member ot
his immediate'family
Mr Moore was connected with the
local postoffue 111 the rural free de
livery service for eleven years but
retired to engage in farming a hum
her of years ago. Mr. Moore was a
member of the Free Will Baptist
Church at Cedar Grove, and his life
was marked for its christian-likc
character He walked humbly in the
sight of his Maker, was a peaceful
neighbor, a good citizen, a faithful
husband and an understanding fa
ther He was a good man, and held
the respect of everyone in all walks
of life. He was not pretentious, and
fie valued an obligation as a trust
arid cherished the -friendship of
all
Funeral services are being con
ducted from the home this after
noon at 3:30 o'clock by Rev. James
11 Smith, pastor of the local nap
tist church. Interment will follow
in the family plot at the home.
kidnapping Charge
IVoved Unfounded
A charge of kidnaping brought
against Elizabeth Williams and Rob
ert Williams by Maggie Miller here
last Monday night was proved un
founded when the case was called
in the Washington County Record
er's court this week
Going to the local police head
quarters last Monday night, the
Miller negress alleged that the Wil
hams woman had kidnapped her
two year-old son. She was directed
to procure a warrant, and Williams
couple were arrested the following
morning at three o'clock in Griffins
Township here by, Officers Roebuck
and Gurganus. They were placed in
the county jail along with the "kid
napped" child, and returned to
Plymouth later that morning.
Williams, charged in the warrant
with aiding and abetting kidnapping
was apparently dismissed in the
court, and the Williams woman was
found not guilty. The defense offer
ed evidence showing that the Miller
woman had given the child away.
Elizabeth Williams quoted the mo
ther of the child as saying, "My hus
i,....^ ,i"y Hnmi till iho tifTie, and
1 can't support my three children
and I want you to take the boy."
Apparently the mother changed her
mind or was made to change her
mind, and she appealed to the law
for the return of the tot.
Faces Charge In Court
Of Washington County
??
Joe Bland, native of the Cross
Koads section of this county, faced
a charge of simple assault m the
Washington County Recorder's court
yesterday and was subjected to a
small fine.
Bland was said to have threaten
ed the life of a tenant near Plym
outh. J ? ^
Exciting reports reaching here
and stating that he had attacked and
killed members of his own family,
were declared without any founda
tion whatever.
?
Mrs Bruce Wynne and Mr. Clyde
Griffin visited Mr. Bruce Wynne in
a Rocky Mount hospital last night
Mr. Wynne's condition is quite sat
isfactory, they report