North Carolina Newspapers

3men SUFFER 1 INTENSE AGONY AS ' JURY SAYS GUILTY : (Coittiituwi W ' there was never a question raised in my mind about anything we did, he, were fined $1000 > each a^J^rie^ds portionate pait of i takes a point out thetac ^ a thousand long, long time to longer dollars fronrt t^save that amount still, perhaps, t0 ,;k white re out of ? modesty wagejike WJ ^ E8' ffnes are small in comparison sS when determining the amounts of fines. C. R. McNeely Charles McNeely, stubbornly con asss&-sjssa.^s2 the confidence of all men with w MtfdafcWg., smt ami also acted as county accountant and purchasing agent. He was tne onlv "full-time" member of the board, and, naturally, ca, rne " ? *? S?'?2& r,7. 3? this thing and that t ing Me who worked alongside Mr. McNeely .inrinir the two years he seized tne county declare that he was just as careful in his every transaction for the county as he was ^ th*.ggjg{ of his own business. Mr. Mci^eeiy made enemies while sevving m that capacity? enemies who have oeen heard to express the hope that Mc Neelv would go to the penitentiary, or to He UFri c n d s of McNeely declare that some of these enemies J^re m?d? because McNeely would not Purcna;n their wares for the county, when h? could save money for the county by purchasing elsewhere. These enemies have not g;. and thev are known to MCiNeeiy a friends? and McNeely's friends are numerous, being counted m e\e y walk of life and in all churches, po litical parties and in town a"d coun tv These friends express belief in McNeely's honesty and integrity though *a dozen imported juries de clare him guilty. These friends d - clare that intention 's "ece^ary to make a criminal, and that Mc.Neeiy has done no intentional wr?ng to Transylvania county, m then opin ion, and that this opinion will prevail as long as life lasts. J. H. Pickelsimer Joe Pickelsimer, one th?. men in all the world as testified to by practically all citizens of the county regardless of political or t ligious affiliations, was chairman ot the board now condemned. He served a term as sheriff of the county, and in 1926 was elected chairman of the board of county commissioners, with \ M White, republican, and b. i. Lyday, democrat, as co-members The legislature of 1927 increased the number from three to five, naming - C Yongue and Jordan \V hitmire, both democrats, as new members. This legislative action so changed the complexion of the board from what the citizens of the county in exercise of their franchise had determined, that Mr. Pickelsimer resigned from the board. In 1928 he was again elected, and under his administration the tax rate was reduced from on the hundred to $1.94, declared to be the greatest tax reduction eyei made in any county in North taio "joe Pickelsimer has lived his whole life in Transylvania county, and no more honorable man has ever lived here, regardless of the fact that an imported jury found him gui t\ o conspiracy. Joe Pickelsimer will be always a great man to his thousands of friends., with no criminal intent m his mind and no evil intentions in his heart. He has -been successful in his life's work, and many have been en vious and jealous of this success and have, no doubt, lent much aid in forging the chain that culminated in the rendering of a verdict of guilty by a jury from another county, so his friends assert. Ralph R. Fisher Fighting every inch of the way in his life, from the time that wild;, blackberry vines reached ou* ? , scratch his rtakefd legs as he worked ( on the mountain farm, on throug the time he worked first in Silv?r steen's- industries at Rosman where he and the owner of the plant bwame | bitter enemies, the boy scrapped and fought his way i It was a battle for him to go to school,.andw^CUthe stances were h>s enemies. When th World War came on, it was just the natural thing for Ralph volunteer his services and fight m France with the same spirit that had dominated his life theretofore. When peace was declared, as to world wa affairs, Fisher resumed another bat-| tie? that of becoming a member of 1 the legislature, which he did in lJ-i. Later, he was a candidate for con gress, and after that, as his practice ? grew and grew because of the num 1 erous cases which he won at the bai , Fisher became a power. He was nam jed chairman of the county committee for his party, and herein he had am ple battleground. j And in all of . his fighting, the main enemies of his hie and the ones he fought harder than any and all others, were T. H. Shipman and 1 Jos. S Silversteen, and the object of Fisher's, greatest ire was ^Brevaid S Banking company. Now. Ralph Fish 1-er has been pronounced guilty by a I Haywood county jury of having con spired with these same enemies, Shipman and Silversteen, for the pui pose of assisting the Brevard Bank jing company, an institution which ! Ralph Fisher has cussed more per Uistently than any other institution in the community. In all the various turns that come up in couit pro cedure which is hard to unde?tand . bv the layman, this lining Ralph Fisher up ill conspiracy with Ship man and Silversteen to the help of the Brevard bank is the hardest ' understand. | When Fisher was pronounced KUilty 'bv -1 poll of the jury, Mrs. Usher, ' i faithful, beautiful, wife of the law Ivor, fell in a faint and the sickening Vim A of her fair head on the haul : floorboard unloosed the fw's jthat had been hold ng back the ; teais I in welling eyes and men and women 'alike wept, as sobs were heard m i many sections of the court room. Mrs. I Fisher's frail, inert body was carried I into another room of the court hous . i Fisher has steadfastly maintainea ! that his indictment was the result ot : riolitical and professional envy, nt | now stands convicted and under sen tence, awaiting the action of the Su Ipreme court. In the meantime, Solic itor J- Will Pless, Jr., prosecutor in J the case, says Fisher is automatica: i barred from the practice of law un 'til the Supreme court rules on 1 appeal. Jos. 5 Silversteen I "Well, I hope they are satisfied now. They have long been demanding 1 their pound of flesh, and now <.he> have it," was J. S. Silversteen ? ex pression. denoting his reaction to tht. verdict of guilty, rendered by an im ported jury. By they Mr. Silve steen explained that he meant those people who have been dogging at the heels of men here, demanding ..hat somebody be crucified to satisfy ihe longing in the hearts of some people that somebody oe punished. Mi. Sil versteen has touched more lives and been "touched" by more people prob ably than any other man in the coun tv. He is president of four or five in dustrial corporations in the county, and is at the head of the Red Cross and Associated Charities, or has been until a short time ago. Judge Sink was more lenient witn Silver steen than with some others in the group, placing a fine upon him oi ?5000, but giving no prison sentence like was given to Fisher, Shipman. Pickelsimer and McNeely. His. many friends are happy that he escaped prison sentence. Mr. Silversteen is a man of large affairs. He has connection with big institutions of the East. His home, Silvermont, is one of the most beau tiful homes in Western Carolina. His industries at Rosman are about all there is to Rosman, and the town was built up around his plants and be cause of his plants. He has sent sick women to the hospital, and paid the bills. He has placed many children in hospitals for operations, and paid the bills. He has sent several boys and girls to college, and paid the bills. He has many friends and many enemies, but all admit that he is a man of af fairs in this county. What effect this trial and conviction will have upon his interest in the county in the fu ture is, of course, not known. His first bitter moment when the verdict Checkerboard Chatter Volume 1 August 20, 1931 Number 36 Published in the in terest of the people of BREVARD and T R AXSYLVANIA County by the B&B Feed & Seed Co. Some men never ap- J predate astrology until they come in contact with, a roll ing pin. We are closing out our stock of Boquet flour, plain and self rising, at the bar gain price of 24 lbs for 49 cents. Some folks do not get their smile started right until about the middle of the day and by this tim e have every body around them started wrong. It seems that two Scetties were play ing golf : One of them had a stroke of appoplexy and the other one charg ed it against his score. Check over these prices and compare the quality of our feed with other feed ? we offer: Cotton Seed hulls 75 Cotton Seed Meal 1.30 Purina Lay Chow 2.20 Purina Corn & wheat Scratch 1.95 Pure Coffee J! 1-2 lbs 50 75-lbs Multigood Shorts 1.05 100-lbs Standard Wheat mid.. . 1.40 Lots of foft<s were in our store Friday and Saturday, tak ing advantage o f our Two-Day Spec ials. This Friday and Saturday we are offering 25 lbs. of salt at 35c, and 100 lbs at $1.05. He who steals my purse steals trash, bitt he who filched the right of way at the highway inter section yes terday robbed vie of some thing winch, enrich ed him only to the extent of a few sec onds but left me madder than a wet hen. B&B Feed & Seed Co. Brevard, N. C. The Store v>ith the Checkerboard Sign MANY BLAME PLIGHT 1 OF EIGHT MEN UPON AN IMPORTED JURY , ( Continued from page one ) -* bility for the situation sow existing. "In as much as some of the most ? influential and prominent members of both political parties are indicted, < it would be almost impossible for a ' jury of Transylvania citizens to for-, get the political aspects of the case, j land for above reasons, your affiant I seriously doubts if a jury of Transyl- ; ! vania citizens could ever arrive at 'any verdict of either guilt or acquit tal, and for the above reasons be- | ! lieves that a fair and .impartial trial cannot be obtained in this County, and that the ends of justice demand that a jury be brought from another . County for the trial of the cause." PUBLIC SERVICE IS I TO SHOW FULL HAND j Copies of All Contracts Mu3t I Must Be Filed With Com mission Next Month Raleigh* Aug. 18. ? The State Cor poration Commission has issued an order calling on all public service | corporations operating electric, arti ficial gas or telephone property in I the State to file, under oath, and on or before September 30,' copies of all written contracts and statements in I full of all agreements, arrangements, understandings and practices in ef fect during 1930 and the first half of 1931 with all holding, managing or operating companies or those engag ed in the selling of service of any kind. ; The order is under authority of an act passed by the 1931 General As sembly giving the commission pow er, in its discretion, to call for this data, the object being to make cer tain such companies who are not dis sipating or paying to holding or ser vice companies an undue amount of revenues, by which the State might I be deprived of its just amount of ? taxes imposed. i Companies are required to file statements of all fees, commissions or i other compensation paid or payable by the companies operating in the , State to any holding, managing, op :erating, constructing, engineering, fi I nancing, purchasing company or ; agency, including subsidiary and af i filiated companies, for services or property during the 18 months, with the character of such services and i the basis of payment. !was announced soon gave way to something else, as man after man who J works for him came down into the 'bar, and took his hand, and said: j "Chief, we are still with you, jury or ,no jury, verdict or no verdict." Thos. H. Shipman. Verdict of guilty came like a slap ! in the face to Tom Shipman, for years j and years the "key man" in Brevard. Affable, accomodating, big-hearted, j ever ready to attend any meeting and | make any donation necessary to car ' rying on civic work of the town, Tom Shipman is, perhaps, the best known man in the county. Thousands of peo ple have hitched their chairs a little close rto Tom Shipman, down there at the bank, when speaking lowly, most always hesitatingly, their words in application for a loan. But few peo ple in the county can be found who j will say that Tom Shipman ever turned them down. There he sat. listening to the words of an imported jury pronouncing him guilty of con spiracy to harm the county in which he was born and reared, and to which he has given so much of his life and his means. Eyes that danced in merry good humor back before the crash were filled with tears that overflowed and coursed down his face as wife and daughter and friends gathered about him. He has more or deals to suffer, in the contemplation of which his friends do not even try to see the end, and in which he must shudder at every thought. Lines crease his careworn face and, when, lost in thought, one can see him pic turing the past and comparing it with the present, hesitating to think of the future. Combined Influences Great | The above named eight men consti tuted an influence and embraced a worth to Transylvania county that cannot be estimated. They did some thing which a Haywood county jury said was wrong, and the court said they must suffer certain penalties for this wrong. While friends contend 1 there could be no intentional wrong, and swear eternal allegiance to them, j this in nowjse affects the jury's find- ' ing and the law's administration of ' punishment. They lose, regardless of j ! the action of the Supreme court, be- 1 cause they can never be the same again in this community. The verdict has been rendered. i But the eight men are not the only losers in this event. Transylvania county has lost more than it has ever lost at any time in its history. Whether the men were legally, morally, or technically guilty of conspiracy, and regardless of the intense suffering of each of the de fendants, the loss of their leader ship. their activities, the influence of the lives of each of the defendants in his respective community. And that is not all. When men like Luther Talley, Al fred White, Sam Owen, C. R. Me- 1 Neely and Joe Pickelsimer suffer the fate that has come to them, their i- ' wis question, wh is there of abil ity and character in the county that would have the commissioners' places? Removal of every industrial plant from the countv would not have hurt Transylvania like this sad event has hurl, 1* ' I.y ?ne of the leading men of Brevard^ IMPRISONMENT AND ^ HEAVY FINES GIVEN COUNTY'S LEADERS,. (Continued from page otic) J and fined $5000. Pickelsimer was given two to five , years and fined $5000. McNeely was given two to five years and fined $5000. Silversteen was fined $5000. White, Talley and Owen were giv en fines of $1000 each. Appeals were taken in all cases, and will be heard at the December term of Supreme court. The verdict rendered by the im ported jury from Haywood county was the most unpopular and unbe lievable verdict ever rendered in a Transylvania county court, judging from the criticism of the verdict heard from the moment it was rend ered. Many attorneys were engaged in the case for the d<""?ncc, including J. Citi. Smathers and G. Lyle Jones of Asheville; McKinley Edwards of Bryson City, Newt Moody of Mur phy F. D. Hamrick of Rutherford ton,' Jake F. Newell of Charlotte, R B. Overton of Canton, and Hamlin, English, Mitchell, Breese and Gallo way of Brevard. This staff of de fense counsel was absolutely content with the state's evidence, being thor oughly satisfied, they said, that Alex Kizer's testimony on cross examina tion showed clearly that the commis sioners were acting in regular and legal manner m issuing the note; that same was necessary, as it _ had been necessary in the past to issue tax anticipation notes. I All of these lawyers, in expressing their opinion as to the evidence, were dumfounded at the verdict as rend ered by the jury. Citizens who fol lowed the case closely are dumb founded at the verdict. Some of the leading men of the town have stated that they thought the case charging conspiracy to harm Transylvania county in' order to help the Brevard bank was a "joke," and cannot un derstand the verdict at all. i The result of it all has just about ruined Transylvania county, accord ing to the expressed belief of many citizens here. The combined influence and activities and connections of the eight men convicted constituted just about the most valuable asset to the county. The convicted men have received piles of mail ? letters from men and friends with which each has long done business or had connection, all of which convey one central thought ? that there can be no criminal ac tion among men who are not crim inal. These letters come from all over the county. The verdict has caused county officials to fear, as ev idenced by the remarks of some pres ent commissioners. Solicitor Pless was assisted in the prosecution by Pat Kimzey, attor ney for the liquidating agent of the Brevard bank, and by Felix Alley. Waynesville lawyer. It is said on the streets that the state employed Mr. Alley to assist in the prosecu tion. Transylvania county stands puz zled and all but paralyzed. Already stricken many hard body blows from the economic enemy, the community is now further and more seriously crippled because of the verdict which removes from the scene of activity the leadership of those whose leader ship had been most powerful in the section. In severest criticism of the ver dict, however, it is stated by most of the citizens that the Haywood county jury, knowing nothing about local conditions, faced with evidence that was confusing at times to many men in ihe court room familiar with the county's affairs, overloaded with ex hibits, and, probably, unconsciously swayed by the general sentiment pre vailing as a result of so many bank failures, did the best they knew in the confusion of things. But the verdict has established firmly the conviction in the community that a state is committing grievious wrong against citizens of a county when the state demands an imported jury to sit in judgment upon the fate of good men, for all agree that some of Transylvania county's best and fin est and most upright and honest citizens were convicted when the Haywood county jury returned its verdict last Saturday. i AUTOMOBILE FEES j SHOW BIG INCREASE! i Upward Trend In Business Is Seen Reflected In This, It Is Shown Raleigh, Aug. 18. ? July, for the first time this year, showed an in crease in number of motor vehicles . and an increase in license plate re ceipts over July of last year, Sprague Silver, supervisor of the Motor Ve hicle Bureau, reports. Vehicles in creased from 16,886 in July, 1930, to 24,953 last July, the license plate fees increasing from 8135,278 to $193, 544.26 for the two months. Motor vehicles dropped from 435, 144 for the first seven months of last ; year to 370,518 foT the same period this year, a decrease of 37,561. Fees ' for license plates dropped from SO,-; 379,255.37 to $5,814,067.34, or $565. 888.03 for the same period. j Of the automobiles registered to August 1 this year, 5.48 per cent had . been bought since January 1, while . 5.83 per cent of those registered at j the same date last year had bought in the corresponding seven months. New cars bought this year number j 22,184, as compared with 25,777 for ; the same period last year. However, j new cars bought last July numbered i 4.615, as compared with 4,161 in, July, 1930, an increase cf 5'4. ' I mm RELEASED ( FROM STATE PRISON' ? ' I Learned Printing Trade While In Penitentiary and Now To Start Shop of -His Own < Raleigh, Aug. 18. ? Clem Wrenn, serving a sentence for embezzlement and' other irregularities as president of the Bank of Wilkes, Wilkesboro, ] had his sentence commutted by Gov-! . ernor Gardner to five and a half years and has been released. Wrenn . had charge of the State's Prison ' print shop and made a splendid suc cess of it, otherwise proving him- . self a model prisoner. He hopes to i settle down with a little shop some- i where, with a business sufficient for ( a family livelihood. His Parole was recommended by Executive Councils N. A. Townsend , and 0. M. Mull and then by Tyre C. j Taylor, but Governor Gardner held out for five vears of service, probably as a sort of object lesson to bankers generally. In fact, Wrenn's service was beginning to look more like per secution, since many think he was made the "goat' of the bank organi zation, and it was beginning to seem that he was also becoming the "goat" and example for all bankers. Sam P. Christy, paramour and co defendant with the State's most not ed woman prisoner, Ida Ball Warren, like the woman, has been given a pa role, after serving about 15 years of a life sentence, commutted from the death penalty, for murder of the wo man's husband in Forsyth county. Sentiment against exacting the death penalty from a woman saved his life, as well as hers, and her parole a few months ago, was followed- by freeing him. N. C. COLLEGE OFFERS GREAT OPPORTUNITY | The textile industry has offered better opportunities to young college men during the years since the World War than it ever did before the war. according to a vocational study of the Textile graduates of North Car olina State College just completed. The total number of men who have received textile degrees from State College is 357 and of this number more than 70 per cent are in the tex tile industry. Many of these men hold good position. Five of the textile alumni are pres idents and four are managers of tex tile corporations, while five are gen eral superintendents and thirty are superintendents. There are eleven men holding the position of secretary treasurer and seventeen are assistant superintendents of textile corpora tions. Thirty-four are foremen in cot ton mills or dye plants, eleven are textile chemists, and four are textile designers. Six men are southern rep resentatives for manufacturers of raycr., textile equipment and sup plies, while seventeen men hold posi tions as sales manage!1, sales engineer or salesmen for similar firms. Six men are technicians for rayon com panies, five are technical demonstra tors for dyestuff manufacturers, and five are doing research or specializa tion work for the United State Gov ernment. Many other alumni hold re sponsible positions in commission houses and other phases of the tex tile industry. Three of the leading tex tile schools in the South have State College textile alumni on their fac ulty. The salaries paid the men holding the above positions are large and the )RR REUNION TO BE DRAWING CARD EOR BIG THRONG SUNDAY Several Thousand Expected To Attend Event Near Hendersonville ELABORATE PROGRAM IS ARRANGED FOR THE DAY Picnic Dinner, Music Speeches, and Other Attractions Will Be Enjoyed Plans are complete for the annual Drr Reunion to be held Sunday, Aug. 23, at the Orr Camp two miles east ' of Hendersonville on Highway No. ' 28. R. K. Orr and Everette Orr. in charge of arangements for the day, announce that several thousand peo ple are expected to be present, mak ing this year's reunion one of ihe I most outstanding so far held. * Music, speeches and a picnic din ner at the noon hour will be features of the day. Morris Orr will have charge of the music, consisting of quartets, string band and other num bers. The history of the Orr family from 1726, at which time the pioneer John Orr, married, and a few years later brought his wife to America from Scotland, will be traced in an interesting manner by J. M. Orr. Among other speakers ?f the day will be Oliver H. Orr and James F. Barrett of Brevard. A picnic dinner that is expected to be one tremendous spread will be en joyed by the On- defendants and their multitude of f -nds at 12:15, when the great table- in the grove of the Orr Camp ground wil be spread with viands from as many homes as are represented at th" gathering. The Orr family counts among its tree many of the outstanding citizens of Western North Carolina, being especially active in the public life of the immediate counties of Henderson, Buncombe, Transyl -. a and Polk. RACKETEERING J. P. 1 KNOCKED OFF ROOST i ? ? | Raleigh, Aug. 1-.? Revoking the commission of G. W. Foster as jus tice of the peace of Guilford county because of substantiation of charges that he had made a "racket" of his office, brings forth intimation that Governor Gardner wiil have prac tices of justices lot k<?d into a little closer generally, at . have solicitors check up on those named by the Gov ernor, elected by the people, or ap pointed by the General Assembly. I Foster, it was charged, and in part admitted, in company with a deputy sheriff, would snoop around side streets and parking places watching for petting parties. Finding one, he would agree to receiving certain sup posed costs and fines without bring ing the couples to trial and thus re sulting in publicity for the couple. It worked well, because of the dislike the couples have tor publicity about such incidents. Greensboro, it is stated, will be a safe place for pet ting parties, at lea?t for a time. ' i average annual income received by the textile graduates North Caro lina State College wh > have stayed in the industry is considerably above the average earning- of college grad uates throughout the country. BEDROOM SUITES AMERICAN WALNUT VENEER $75.00 ONLY THREE LEFT! Newest design, bed, Hollywood Vanity, and Chest of Drawers. Exceptionally well made. A REMARKABLE VALUE RAILROAD SALVAGE CO. MAIN ST. HENDERSONVILLE Phone 998 We Deliver Anywhere