L\
THE JOHNSTONIAN-SUN
THE JOHNSTONIAN AND JOHNSTON COUNTY SUN CONSOLIDATED
VOLUME 13.
SELMA, N. C., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1930.
NUMBER 40.
County Auditor Replies
To Article Appearing In
The Smithfield Herald
Explains How Tax Notices Adver
t:sing Was Handled—Has No Rec
oUection About Flat Rate of $2.00
Per Notice.
Mrs. T. J. Lassiter,
Editor of the Smithfield Herald,
Smithfield, N. C.
Dear Madam:
This is to ask that you let the fol
lowing come out in the columns of
your next issue of the Herald.
Pertaining to the write-up appear
ing in the Herald last Friday cap-
"tioned “Explanations of Big Sum
Paid Republican Organ Don’t Ex-
_plain,” I recognize thereto, that I
should be cognizant that there are
plenty of biased minds to which
nothing ordinarily reasonable would
•explain at all satisfactorily, how
ever, I explained and referred to
thoroughly, the principal things and
phase of Business which absorbed
practically all of the outlay set out
in the Glaring Headlines.
My endeavor was to vindicate the
•Legitimate process in the business
involved, thereby offsetting the at
tempted thrust alleging that we
officers here in the Court House had
grabbed the Oohnstonian-Sun loving
ly for the purpose of continued nur
ture without other consideration,
which I knew was untrue.
Relative to the tax notices, I was
governed by the official records of
the Clerk’s Office,—if the Sun ran
some in advertising which they did
not bill,— of course they lost there
in of their own accord, or account
of error.
As to the $2.00 rate and statement
thereto made by Mr. Corbett, so far
as I am concem>ed and knowing
anything about that whatever, the
same developed under this wise,
when some of the delinquent tax
payers had seen the advertising no
tices in the first issue of the Sun
they took the matter up with me
pertaining to settlement and I in
turn took the matter up with Mr.
Stancil, which L^d?^in fairness to
the tax payeM^nd also to the news^
papers an#*fn that consultation with
Mr. Stancil, Editor' of the Sun,
agreed to make a charge of only
$2.00 in those cases where the no
tices had not been run more than
one week prior to the tax payers
settlement of the taxes involved.
This is all I know of the $2.00
proposition whatever except I recall
that some gentleman representing
himself from Clayton dropped in
my office about the time or soon
after we had delivered our last prin
cipal batches of the notices to the
Johnstonian-Sun and stated that he
would have run them for $2.00 each,
and suggested that he would take
some then but we did not have any
on hand to deliver.
His behavior in the matter re
minded me of the story in the case
where the fellow had bought a pair
of shoes .at a neighboring store and
paid $5.00 for them, immediately
after in passing along down the
. street comes past a Jew store, pro
prietor of which accosts him pertain
ing to the purchase he had made and
attempts to discourage him by mak
ing the statement to--the effect that
he had made a “bad deal” in his
purchase as he would have sold him
the pair of shoes for $2.50. I re
cited the above story to him jovially
at the time.
So far as Mr. Corbett’s further
statement pertaining to the publish
ing of the notices, he had never
taken that matter up with me what
ever in any manner or I to him,
because of the' fact it did not occur
to me that he had any interest in
the matter further th.^ any other
citizens because official ’ capacity in
reference to those matters Mr. Rose
vvas regarded as the proper authori
ty by me and here I take occasion
to state that Mr. Rose behaved quite
affably in the matter and showed
that he also had some consideration
for the tax payers along with me
in reference to that matter.
Evidently Mr. Corbett appears to
have some allusion of imagination,
in fererence to that matter.
I don’t know who the writer or
writers in the article were, but ap
parently “they,”—I suggest, were
afflicted with at least one of two
things—intent on blundering or
twisting the matter, or grossly ig
norant in reference to their state
ment that, in addition to the $3371.50
paid from the Debt Service Fund,
there was paid out of the General
Fund on Feb. 7, 1930, for those ad
vertisements the sum of $762.91.
The above is untrue, as the, $762.91
was paid the Sun for advertising the
1928 Delinquent Land Sales, Taxes
less the amount of $44.50.
, In my previous article, I wrote'
about the Sun advertising the 1828
Delinquents, but overlooked writing
in the amount paid for that service
—which came into my mind during
last Thursday afternoon, but I knew
it was then too late to inseii; it in
your paper.
In the writers 5th paragraph of
the article in which is' written the
$4134.41 as amount received by the
Sun for advertising"'notices, which
meant that the County had paid
35 each alleged anticipated addi
tional pay which would bring that
total up to $9.35 “mere juggling
figures”—I again state that we bar
gained with the Sun to run the no
tices advertisement for a flat price
of $4.00 each and that is all the
compensation they have received for
that service.
As to the Clerk’s Office making
remittances, direct to the Sun Pub
lishing Co., I have never understood
that that was anticipated or done
until I recall that one day in June
Mr. Stancil, Editor of the Sun, was
in my office and mentioned Mr.
Rose’s office had forwarded them
some remittances in case of the no
tices advertising, which he expected
to at the first convenient opportuni
ty, when the County had closed its
account with them,—to come over to
Mr. Rose’s office’ and rechecked with
them, credit and balance Mr. Roses,
account and turned the money which
amounted to about $60.00 over to the
County Treasurer. Mr. Stancil vol
untarily sprang the matter, which
as above stated I did not know any
thing of, and it dismissed just as I
have ^^ted, and I am thoroughly
con^Mt that Mr. Stancil will at
firs^j^pportunity close mie matter
wiHi Mr. Rose just as he stated. We
know, Mr. Rose is a busy man and
those who may take occasion to ob
serve, will note that Mr. Stancil
stays regularly Wiell occupied, but
there is not occasion for anyone to
become alarmed about that small
matter.
What I haver done has been ac
complished in thoroughly good Faith
in every way pertaining to all trans
actions with the Sun Publishing
Company,—having had in mind as
before stated the interests of the
tax payers of Johnston County and
I have stated the' exact plain truth
in reference to the same, as is and
have been my policies in all matters
for years before Mr. Corbett’s Baby
hood, and 40 years before I ever
saw Mr. Penn, and I don’t propose
to deviate from that policy now
since I recognize that 1 have “passed
over” the peak of vigorous manhood.
I always “Hated Controversies,”
and as to this I am “casting aside
the Gauntlet” as I am not a candi
date for Elective office therefore be
ing pressed daily with duties which
are in interest of the Citizens of
Johnston County which I recognize
that I should execute in my con
tinue best endeavor and on that ac
count do not have the time to ‘chew
the rag” over matters which amount
ultimately in answer to designed
picyune political thrusts.
In my previous article I did not
have in mind any thrusts to make
whatever toward the Herald and
meant only justification of the expen
ditures to the Sun Publishing Co.,
but since I note in the reply article
herein referred to appears to have
been mingled conspicuously with the
paper’s mind, I feel it my duty to let
the following take its place in this
article namely.
'So far as the volume of money
paid to the Johnstonian-Sun, that
would look puny compared to the
volume paid out of Johnston County’s
Treasurery coffers to the Smithfield
Herald during the past many years
under Democratic rule and the Re
publicans during their prior admin-
Glayton Republicans
Have Good Meeting
Clayton, Sept. 25.—An enthusiastic
meeting of the Republicans of Clay
ton township was held in the city
auditorium here last night. A good
crowd was present which was said
to have exceeded in number the ex
tensively advertised Democratic rally
held here several days ago.
Those who attended were agree
ably surprised when Hon. John C.
■Matthews of Spring Hope, Republi
can candidate for Congress dropped
in and made an interesting speech.
Mr. Matthews said he did not come
expecting to be called on for a
speech, but just happened to learn
about the speaking as he was pass
ing through, and stopped to attend.
He held the undivided attention of
his audience for about 40 minutes,
and his remarks were greeted with
generous applause. Mr. Matthews
said he did not pretend to be a great
orator, that he was a dirt farmer and
a time merchant and was in position
to fully realize the needs of the
people. He made a number of strik
ing illustratio.ns and got off several
good jokes at the expensie of the
Democrats.
One thing that made quite an im
pression was his story of “the house
of Pou.” He said that it seemed that
the Pou family had gained complete
control of the Democratic political
affairs of North Carolina.
He said that his opponent E. W.
Pou dominaated the Democratic poli
tics of the fourth Congressional dis
trict, that George Ross Pou ruled
over all the state prisoners with the
exception of Otto Wood, that James
H. Pou, Jr., as chairman of the
Democratic County Committee ruled
the Democrats of Wake County, that
J. W. Bailey whos-e wife was a sister
of J. H. Pou, Jr,, had formed a new
political machine which was in com
plete control of the Democratic poli
tics of the state, and that as Bailey
was controlled ,by his wife who was
a member of the Pou family, it
would be 'seeff that the Pou family'
was in complete control of the Demo
cratic political affairs of the state.
Among the other strong points
that he made was that if elected he
expected to spend the greater part
of his salary in his district, that he
would be found in full co-operation
with the present national adminis
tration and giving aid and en
couragement to the President in his
"efforts to help the farmers, and thus
bring better conditions throughout
the country.
Among the other speakers were
the two Republican candidates for
the legislature Rev. J. W. Alford
and Elder H. F. Hutchens, also Miss
Luma McLamb, Register of Dreeds,
and Mr. J. T. Edgerton, chairman
of the board of county commission
ers. Mr. V. D. Duncan was master
Tax Collector Is
Ready to Compare
His Records
D. W. Parker, Tax Collector, Calls
Attention to his Record as Tax
Collector as Compared with The
Record of His Prerlecessor, Ex-
Sheriff W. F. Grimes.
of the ceremonies.
Prominent Benson Man
Died Last Thursday
A death which came as a distinct
shock to the people of Benson and
to a large circle of friends and rel
atives throughout Johnston County,
.was that of Mr. John R. McLamb
who passed away at his home in
Benson about 10:30 o’clock on Sep
tember 25th. While Mr. McLamb
had been in declining health for
some time, his own family and most
intimate friends and relatives did not
vision the end would come so soon.
The funeral services were conduct
ed from the Methodist church in
Benson Friday afternoon about three
o’clock, by his pastor. Rev. B. H.
Houston, the deceased having been
a faithful member of the Methodist
church for a number of years.
Mr. McLamb was a son of Mr. Joe
M. McLamb, a prominent farmer
near Benson, who preceded him to
the -grave a few years ago. He is
survived by his wife, nee Miss Meta
Williams of Newton Grove; an adop
ted daughter, Mrs. William Pittman
of Rocky Mount, and the following
brothers and sisters: W. J. and El
ton McLamb, of Be.nson, Henderson
McLamb, of Coats; Mrs. Arthur
Neighbors and Mrs. N. L. Britt, of
Harnett County; Mrs. Bradley Mc
Lamb, of Benson, and' Miss Luma
McLamb, of Smithfield, who is the
present Register of Deeds of John
ston County.
istration also contributed liberally
thereto.
Respectfully submitted by:
R. L. FITZGERALD,
Auditor of Johnston County.
This the 27th day of Sept. 1930.
In last Friday’s issue of the Smith-
field Herald September the 26th un
der the caption “Tax Collection’s for
2 1-2 months not credited to any
County Fund,” by innuendo the writ
er of the above mentioned article at
tempts to cast reflection upon the
conduct of my official duties as Tax
Collector of Johnston County, but
that part does not give me any per
sonal concern when’ I feel and know
that I have diligently tried to per
form the duties of the office that
were incumbent upon me to the best
of my ability. I have made deposits
in the Bank to the Credit of D. W.
Parker, Tax Collector of Johns*to
County, and have settled with tne
County Treasurer for same just as
often as my deposits amounted to
enough to distribute to the various
County Departments and funds as
set up under Our County fiscal pro
gram and system. With reference to
the amount of $9,581.70 being on
hand on Sept. 16, 1930 to the credit
of the County and a Loan of $10,000
made the same day to the County for
the Road Fund, I want to say that
out of the $9,581.70 the Road Fund
was entitled to receive approximate
ly the sum of $1200.00. The Road
Fund did borrow the sum of $10,-
000.00 to meet obligations due by
said Road Fund in anticipation or
collections of Taxes like any other
department of County government
and it is perfectly obvious to any
unbiasied person that when under
the present system of County fiscal
control the $9,581.70 could not be
used by the Road Fund to pay its
obligations when other departments
of the County government was en
titled to ricaive from said $9,581.70
their proportionate allocation from
said $9,581.70. I leave the rest with
the public, but since the matter of
mathematical computations, financial
parallels, citations of the various and
sundry laws governing the fiscal pol
icy of the respective sub-divisions of
tlje County government have been
gone into to some extent, I feel
that it is proper and right to show
by parallel example over a given
period by actual comparison from
the records in the court house the
number of deposits made by me as
Tax Collector and that of my pre
decessor, Sheriff W. F. Grimes,
former Tax Collector. From Oc
tober 22, 1928, to September 1st,
1929, Sheriff Grimes deposited with
the County Treasurer twenty two
times over a period of ten months
and ten days with total deposits al
located to the various County funds
of $601,872.84. Now over a period
of ten months from September 1st,
1929, to June the 30th, 1930, I have
made twenty eight deposits with the
County Treasurer with total deposits
allocated to the various County funds
of $721,007.07. Now I didn’t notice
any glaring headlines about Sheriff
Grimes not depositing every day in
the Smithfield Herald nor did I no
tice any streamers on the front page
of the “Paper with a prestige of
forty eight years” when sheriff
Grimes had on deposit as Tax Col
lector of Johnsto.n County in the
First-Citizens National Bank on De
cember 27, 1927, the sum of $38,
679.35 and yet with this amount
then on deposit the First-Citizens
National Bank loaned to Johnston
County on the same day the 27'th
day of December $25,000.00 Sheriff
Grimes was at that time a director
of the First-Citizens National Bank
and still is. I didn’t see anything
in the Smithfield Herald at that
time nor neither have I seen any
thing since about the above state
of facts “Being an unusual and in
defensible spectacle of the County
Commissioners borrowing the Coun
ty’s own money and paying interest
on the said loan, thereby, increas
ing the County’s operating expenses
etc.” It all depends on whose ox
is gored, that’s the test.
Respectfully,
D. W. PARKER,
Tax Collector for Johnston
County.
Smithfield, N. C., Oct. 1, 1930.
C. Stancil Replies to
Vicious Attack Made
On Him by H. V. Rose
Reviews Controversy Between Him- and he stopped and asked if I had
self and Mr. Rose About News-[talked with Miss McLamb. I told
paper Article—Assures Mr. Rose I him that I had asked her if there
That He Works Required Number
of Hours.
' In the issue of the Smithfield
Herald dated Sept. 23, 1930, I find
an article written by H. V. Rose^
Clerk of the Court of Johnston
County, making a very unjust at
tack upon me in connection with an
article which appeared on the Smith-
field page of The Johnstonian-Sun
printed at Selma, N. C., on Sept 11.
Mr. Rose starts off by objecting to
the latter part of the following
which appeared in the issue *men-
tioned:
“About two months ago after the
County Commissioners had found
that there had been a great falling
off in the listing of personal prop
erty this year, letters were mailed
to all the officers, and departments
of the County government, asking
that all officials and helpers agree to
a cut of 10 per cent in their salaries
in order to keep down the tax rate,
and thus share the burden of the
taxpayers.
“The cut was to start on the first
of August. Not a dissenting voice
was heard among the Republicans,
but superintendent of "schools H. B.
Marrow responded by increasing his
budget for the six months schools
exactly $28,532.00 over the amount
which he forced the County Com
missioners to furnish him last year,
so instead of cutting his budget 10
percent, Mr. Marrow increased it
about 5 per cent.
“A letter was reported to have been
sent to the clerk of the court at
the same time and in the same form
that the letters were sent to the
other county officers asking them
to accept a 10 per cent cut in all
salaries.
“It was said that no reply had
been received to the letter addressed
to the clerk and his force, so when
the checks were made out for the
month of August, the 10 per cent
cut was applied to the clerks office
along with the others. Soon after
the checks were delivered Mr. H. V.
Rose, clerk of the court, was report
ed to have rushed into the Register
of Deeds office, and in a very abrupt
manner told Miss Luma McLamb
Register of Deeds, that he was not
going to stand for any cutting of
salaries in his office, and that he
would show ‘the damned radicals’
that they could not run over him.”
Dr. W. S. Cozart, of Fuquay
Springs, Wake County, gets a plen
tiful supply of milk, butter, eggs,
meat and vegetables from his small
11-acre farm. The physician finds
better health exists where the people
grow these essential supplies.
In his article in the Herald Mr.
Rose says that he did not use any
profanity in addressing Miss Mc
Lamb in her office, and then pro
ceeds to make a long, rambling and
vicious attack upon me, because I
wrote 'the article quoted above and
turned it over to my son J. R. Stan
cil who used it on the Smithfield
page of The Johnstonian-Sun which
page he edits.
Mr. Rose approached me a few
days ago, and asked me if I wrote
this article, and I told him that I
did. He denied using profanity and
said that he wanted me to write
another article and say that it was
all a mistake about his using pro
fanity. I told him that I had no
correction to make, because what I
had said was true. I told him I had
said that he was “reported to have
used profanity,” that my statement
was true, and that he had no grounds
had been any mistake about the re
port of his using profanity in talk
ing to her about the cut made in the
pay checks for the clerk’s office, and
that she had assured me that he
had used the words “damned radi
cals” in speaking to her about the
matter.
Mr. Rose then admitted that he
htd talked with Miss McLamb about
the mattr, and that he had not been
able to convince her that she could
have been mistaken as to the lan
guage that he used. Mr. Rose then
asked me to go with him to Miss
McLamb’s office. After reaching the
Register of Deeds office he told Migg
McLamb that he wanted her to make
some sort of denial of the report in
the paper that he had referred to the
Republicans as “damned radicals” in
her presence.
Miss McLamb told him she was
very sorry that the matter had got
ten into the newspapers., and that as
they had always been good friends
she really would like to be able to
help him out of his embarrassing
position, but she could not, of course,
make any denial of the language
which had been actually used by him
in talking to her about the salary
checks, and which had been printed
in The Johnstonian-Sun.
She told him that she would be
willing to state that in her opinion
he was hardly responsible for what
he said at that time, because of his
angry and nervous condition, and
that this was the most liberal, or
charitable statement that she could
truthfully make, and that she would
make no other.
Mr. Rose was repeatedly told by
Miss McLamb that he certainly did
use the words “damned raidicals”
and that if he did not remember us
ing these words, he evidently had so
completely lost control of himself in
his rage of anger while talking to
her about the pay checks, that he
did not know what he was saying.
After all' this, Mr. Rose charged
in his newspaper article that I had
“uttered and published a falsehood
against him”. He knew when he
wrote it that my printed statement'
was absolutely true. I explained to
him that the article to which he ob
jected had been written for my son,
and had been used in the paper as
his article, but I was willing to ac
cept responsibility for what it con
tained.
Mr. Rose tried to make it appear
that I had been neglecting the duties
of my office and loitering around the
court house. In reply to this, I will
say that if Mr. Rose did not know
this statement was untrue, it was
probably because he was spending so
much of his time out of town that
he did not know what was going on
around here. His article appeared in
the issue of The Herald dated Sept.
23, 1930. Taking the month of Sep
tember as a whole, I think I spent
twice as many hours in the post of
fice as he spent in the clerk’s office,
and I don’t think there has been a
month in the last three years that
he has spent more time in his office
than I have in mine. Any way, I
have always spent more time in my
office than the regulations required.
In making this attack on me, Mr.
Rose draws heavily on his imagina
tion. He says, “The purpose of this
assault on me is to effect my de
fer complaint, on that account, neith- feat for clerk of the court in the
er could he blame the paper for, November election.” So far as I
printing a true statement. know, no assault has been made on
I explained to Mr. Rose that I had him; and so far as I know, he is the
no desire to do him any injustice,
and told him that I would talk with
Miss Luma McLamb, Register of
Deeds, and see if it was possible that
there could .have been any misunder
standing about the matter. Miss Mc
Lamb assured me that there was no
mistake about it, and mentioned the
fact that a lady from the country
Mrs. Mary Langdon, happened to be
in her office at the time, and heard
what Mr. Rose said. She said that
after Mr. Rose left the Register of
deeds office Mrs. Langdon remarked
that she had seen Mr. Rose before
when, he was angry and nervous,
but that she had never before seen
him in such bad shape as he was
at that time.
Later I met Mr. Rose on the street
first person to mention his Candida-
cy in connection with this matter.
Mr. Rose, it sieems, picked a
time to. visit the register of deeds
office and use his rough language
to Miss McLamb, when the other
employees were all out at lunch;
but as it happened, Mrs. Mary Lang
don, of Elevation Township, came in
to the office about that time and
heard what was said. '
Besides Mr. Rose, Miss McLamb
a.nd Mrs. Langdon it seems were the
only persons in the office at that
time, and they have both made affi
davits in which it is stated that Mr.
Rose did use the words “damned
radicals.”
It is plain that the greater weight
(Continued on last page)
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