Newspapers / The Johnstonian-Sun (Selma, N.C.) / March 24, 1932, edition 1 / Page 1
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„.._____ .... ..... . ^ ? VOLUME lo. ♦ ^ Ha li MHIsh iHk aial w ^ THE JOHNSTONIAN AND .lOHNSTON COUNTY SUN CONSOLIDATED SELMA, N. C., THURSDAY, IMARCH 24. 1932. Fire Rages While Cyclonic Winds Howl Equinoxial Storms Take Heavy. Toll krauds Are Charged /^| TT* FI 1 1 • In BaJlej^ Election tlUeS I 0 KODOerieS Toll .In Iliimaii Lives .May E.xceed Home i)f J. VV. O Js.eai Bunted Tuesday Alleinoon During Uie He.ght of uiie of ithe Most !• u- rtous Gales On Record—Smithlieid I’iremen Gome Jo the Reseiie and Fianies Are Conquered After Long- and Stubborn Fight. What came near being ant) what juld easily have be.en the wor.st have be^n the :'re hazard in Selma’s history took here last Fire Destroys Big Banner Warehouse 301) Killed and Thousands of j j Cripples and Otherwise In.iured I White Property Damage Will j Probably .Mount into .MilUnns of Dollars. Fe'it In This State. .\ttorney For Pritchard Files .An -Vmended Petition On Eve of j Senate Hearing. | Smi,thfield’s Largest _ and Oldest Tobacco Warehouse Went Fp In Smoke Shortly After .Midnight Sunday .Morning. Loss Placed At Around $25,000.00. lace here last Tuesday afternoon •luring the height of one of the worst March gales and E(juinoxial ^terms on record. While howling winds .swept clouds of dust through the elements and flying debris, •lamming doors and blumbing win- ■ Aw.s bespoke the fury of the ele- "lents and while deep in our human 'reasts lingered a heaviness not h) be explained or expressed, the clarm signal at the town hall began ’n ring repeatedly and when no ■ne seemed to respond from the i'layor's office Mr. H. H. Lowry ■•icked up the telephone receiver in he office of the Johnstonian-Sun 0 inquire of the central office if 'here was any trouble, to be told ‘hat J. Wh O’Neal’s home was on ‘•re, but by this time someone els? ad answered the alarm and pro ceeded to turn on the sirien which houseman, had The Selma Fire fighters got a call to go to Smithfield between one and two o’clock Sunday morning; when it was discovered that the Big Banner Warehouse was eng-ulf- ed in flames. But the fire depart ments of Smithfield and Selma were soon on the job, but the fire had gotten such headway that little could be (lone towards saving the warehouse and they soon found that they had all they could do to prevent the spread of the flames to adjoining buildings. The fire originated in the back of the building, wffiere a large t(uan- tity of cotton belonging to Capt. H. L. Skinner, proprietor of the ware house, was stored, and burned to wards the front of the buildin.g. In less time than 10 minutes after the fire was discovered, the entire .build ing was in flames. Harvey Creech, a local When the United States ' Weather Bureau announced Monday mornin.g that a large storm area was form ing over the State bf Oklahoma, no one dreamed that this storm was so quickly to assume the vast proportions of great intensity that it did within the next few hours. Ihe barometer steadil.v dropped and the cloud belt continued to spread like a tank o^Mkter turned loose in an open sjr^^^The warm humid Washington, March 20.—Sweeping charges of fraud and irregularities throughout North Carolina in the JD30 senatorial election were made Saturday in an amended petition filed with the senate elefctions com mittee for George M. Pritchard of .Asheville, contesting the election of Senator Josah W. Bailey, Democrat. Robert H. McNeill, attcjrney for Pritchard, disclosed tf^ight that specific instances of fraud were cit ed in upward of 40 counties, while irregularities were alleged in virtu ally every county in the state. The election committee, of whicli Findings Private of Police Otiijeers and Detectives Disclose Many Bold and Daring Robberies Which Are Coupled With Bootlegging and Bad Women. air from the Gulf soon began the formation of \-ioIent thunder storms { Shortridge, Republican, Cal- which developed into roaring torna- chairman, expects to take does which dropped down here and I contest at an executive ses- there leveling vast regions of for- regions ests, and scattering farm buildin.gs and vast city structures like they were mere toys in the path of super-giants. Fives were snuffed out, cattle, hogs and other livestock were blown away while telephone and telagraph communication was seriously interrupted as swaying poles toppled before the fury of the elements. stensifiod the gloom already han,g- ig over a storm-swept community. The firemen were soon on the re truck and on their way to the ■cene of conflagration, where they ■■ .ere soon joined by the Smithfield remen who had been called into , service because of the foreseen azards which could (jiiickiy result ■>om an angry blaze on such a ' tormy day. Several streams of ater weie soon shooting across ue roof and through the windows ■ the burning building while lior- nfying belches of smoke and leap- Tig blazes of fire swept upward and were beaten down by the fury ■>i the wind. For a time nerve ten- sibn reached a high peak lest the "ames should ground themselves s’nd stretch across to adjoining building.?, but by heroic work of t he firemen and the aid of the metal ■oof on the burning- building the lames -were kept down to a re markably lew pitch. Had the build- •'Ig been covered with wooden shin nies instead of metal, there is no T.oubt but that Selma’s youth could have had a fire story to relate to thgir children and grandchildren that would ■ keep sleep from their qves until late at night. With such gush of wind bearin,g down an-d ovirling through the streets and alleys wooden shingles would have blown for blocks carrying a flame vf fire and with such a condition '.his story would have , painted an 'ntirel.v different picture of the fire nere last Tuesday afternoon. The upstairs part of the house IS practically burned up and all furniture with it, but the fire did "lot do so much damage to the 'lownstairs story, however there ■was so much water used' in extin guishing the flames that all of when narrow the furniture on the first floor was by Policemen C. R. Cable and ware- escape he broke through tlie front .of the building and attem])ted to put the. fire put, which appeared to be confined entirely to the rear of the warehouse. .A side window was broken out while Creech' was on tlie inside fighting the flames, and ■his causi'd a draft which fanned the falmes forward. The Smithfield Baptist church, lo- lated in front of the hurnin.g liuild- ing, was ignited during the blaze. Almost .at- the .same time it was discovered that the residences of Mr. and Mr.s. Hugh A. Ragsdale, Mi'S. Archie . Strickland and the home- of Charlie Hodge, neg’ro, were on fire caused by the intense heat and sparks. Some damage was al so done to the Austin building, occupied by the ’tucker Furniture Co.,, of Raleigh. The Smithfield fire station was damaged b.v smoke and heat. Mrs. Archie Strickland, an aged widow, whose home was fired by the burning warehouse, was pain fully injured while directing the removal of the furniture from her house. She was • accidentally struck down when a bureau was being re moved from the burning house. Mrs. Strickland was carried to the John ston County Hospital for treatment. She suffered a broken shoulder. The Banner Warehouse was own ed b.v tapt. H. L. Skinner, and is said to be covered by insurance. A truck and an automobile were also destroyed in the fire. The loss is estimated at around $25,000. ■Alabama seems to have suffered the greatest toT where a number of. twi.sters struck during the late ofternoon f.Ionday and Jlonday nig'ht. Many tragic pranks i> re ported to have been played iiy the terrific winds Relief agencies are busy trying to get a check up of the dead and wounded, while hos pitals and other public community ouildin.gs are ere wiled with victiin.s of the series of storms. Georgia, South Carol! na, 'I’ennes- see and Kentucky all .cuffered heavy los.^es from various st’orm.ii ami tor nadoes Monda^' Among the specific counts of fraud charged, McNeill Said, were illegal absentee voting and regis tration, election workers at the polls and in some instances coercion of voters. .Among the counties named in the fraud charge.?, McNeill said were; Swain, Buncombe, Cherokee, .Ashe, Brunswick, Polk, Macon, Rowan, Alleghany, Wake, Graham, Clay, Hayr^ood, Rutherford, McDowell, Burke, Cleveland. Gaston, Lincoln, I Catawba, Watauga, Cabarrus, Davi,c, Guilford, Davidson, Richmond, For- I syth and Surry. I Mc.Neill^ said copie.s of the peti- | tion and charges had been served I For some time it has been evi dent that the hand of the under world was at worl( in Johnston County on a large scale. The removal of an iron safe from the store of N'. B. Snipes in Sel ma a few weeks ago when this store was broken into and the safe, to gether with its contents consisting of considerable cash and valuables. ell’s criminal record disclo.ses that he has org’anized several similar rings (luring liis career, and .the of ficers are confident that he. is the- ring leader. The residence of John Mitchell, father of Major Mitchell, -was raidetJ immediatel.v following the arrest of his son, and a quantity of .stolen goods were found in his possession. Following the identit.v of the car Mitchell was di-iving as that of Red Dixon, it became known that Dixon had fled with Red Stanley, of Four Oaks', another man with a criminal were carried away. This was close- l.v followed by another bold robbery at the store of Claude Beasley at Bentonville when the postoffice safe and other items of merchandise in the store were carried away. Then, coupled to this was the robbery of the postoffice at Wilson’s Mills record, who is also thought to be implicated in the activities of the gang, and their arrest could not be made. Dixon’s wife refused to per mit the officers to search her home in spite of the fact that they were armed with a search warrant. Up- on receiving the necessary authori ty from H. V. Rose, clerk of Su- when $.50 in money and about $150 perior court, they broke in the vvorth of other valuables were car- Dixon home and found a large quan- About the same time a tity of stolen property. The homes ried away box car was broken into at Wilson's Mills station yard and several bags of flour was taken which was con signed to Clair Wilson at that place. Then came the robbery of the L. C. Canada.y Drug Store at Four Oaks early last Monday morning when an iron safe containing ,$225 ■of Bertha Barnett and Lelia Sher man were raided and in allditictn to stolen goods several cases of high explosives, such as used in safe cracking, were found. These two women were placed in jail along with Mitchell. A safe belonging to Stanley and Dixon was found in the Mitchiner Tuesday morning. | p!"’ '^"^^^hany. Rescue .d parties following up the | Stanley, Tran.sylvania,'Orange, Dur deeds of - the storm report .some | ham, Wayne and intensely tragic scenes. The in money and other valuable paper.- were stolen, together with a num- | Grocery Store in Selma, and it was upon Senator Bailey and given to | her of, hams of meat."We uuderdtand j "hfined Wednesday night by an ex- that the safe was later recovered j from Raleigh, Nothing of im- somewhere in the country beyond ] POftance was found in the safe and Pour Oaks. The safe had been brok en oi)e«N-iind the cash taken but the other paper.? were unmolested. A lot of narcotics were also taken fioin the Canaday Drug Store at the same time. t-* r(-m(«mbeTcti:'"tliat . a Chairman Shortridge for the com mittee. , NO 1 E: .Another .Associated press news item sent in from Washing ton on above date included in the list of counties in which fraud had been perpetrated in the 1930 elec- perhap.s others. Smithfield News. Smithfield, March 22.—A negro, named Eee Love, about 30 years ■old, was arrested and jailed today practically^ ruined. We have hot heard an estimate of the loss given, but it is said to be heavy. We understand that the property was insured but that the policy may have lapsed only a short time ago, but cannot verify this as a fact. Mr. 0 Neal is one of the oldest .men in Selma, if not the oldest, and he and his daughter, Miss Dora O’Neal, lived together. SELMA BAPTIST CHURCH. Services at the Selma Baptist . church next Sunday, March' 27th, will be at 11:00 a. ra., and 7:30 p. m. These services will be in ob- .servance of Easter. At the morning service the pastor ■will speak on the Resurrection qf our Lord. It will be the purpose to give in this message conclusive ev idence, based upon the Scriptures, that Christ arose from the dead. The subject for the night service will be “The Appearances of Jesus after the Resurrection.” There were perhaps many more of the.se appear ances than are usually pointed out. The special music will be in keep ing' wih the sermon. An all-day Vocal Union will be conducted at the Lizzie Mill Chapel next Sunday, March 27th. .. E. A. Johnson, on a charge of house breaking. He is said to have admit ted that he broke into the home of Mr. Carson Thornton in Bentonville township last week. He had been arrested here two or three times be fore and is said to have served two road sentences on larceny charges. Number of young people got a severe shaking up on 'Highway No. 10 between Smithfield and Raleigh last T hursday morning when a car driven by Mrs. , Tilden Honeycutt was overturned. In the car with Mrs. Honeycutt were Misses Mary Elizabeth Wellons, Gladys Johnson, Corrinne Ellington, and Corbin Young, of Smithfield, and Miss Ma bel Barnes, of Clayton. camera ts brought into play and a few of the .snap-shots taken reads as fol lows: Sevent.y-five dwelling sprayed over tlie coimtrv-side as if scatter- ed a giant broom. The bo(l.\- of a farmer impaled on d barbed wire fence, torn almo.st to piece.s by th,; fury of the -wind. .A crying father, with a weeping babe in arm.s, walk ing heart-broken down a road in search of his wife. The nude body of a woman, lying in the front yard of what had been her home. The body ^ of a six-months-old infant, blown half a mile into a creek, where it drowned if it hadn’t been killed en route. A stove in a tree. *n one county a huge section one mile wide and si.x miles long was cut as smoothly as if a' huge scythe had passed over it. In one commu- nit.v of ten houses all of these were c(rmpletely blown away : and all but one of the families had been oblit erated. The sole survivor was the sheriff' of the county who wa.s left to tell the storv. Singing Convention At Lizzie Mill Chapel 1 here will be a Conven tion^ at the' Selma In'zzie Mill Easter Sunda.y, with the following choirs represented; Lizzie Minn choir. Robert Pittman choir of Kenly. Lob Thomas with his Johnson Union choir. The singing will begin about 10:30 in the morning and continue until 5 o’clock in the afternoon, Mr. J. E. Norket will be leader of the Lizzie Mill Choir. Other choirs ai-e invited to take part in this convention. Public cordially invited. : few weeks a.go several thousand wash rags were stolen from a box j cur parked on the Selma freight j yards and later found in a ditch of water not far away. .All of the above and man.y more activities going 'on under cover have, brought on a rigid inve.stigation by the officers of thd; law with the as- it appeared to have been recently j rifled. Officers believe that Dixon j and Stanley had sufficient time to secure their private papers - beforei I they fled for a Northern State. J Mitchener’s grocery store was also LuUded-qiql.jii-tprantity of tlie stolen good.s were found in his posae.ssion. He i.s said to have purchased them from Dixon, not knowing that they were .stolen. No warrant has been ^^woni (Jut for his arrest yet. 'Two bolts of cl(3th and other ar ticles of m’erchandise liaVe been found at a packhou.se of Kirby ■ Hughes about two miles from Sel- ' A' negro, named J. D. Simpson, gave Policeman E. A. Johnson a lively race last Sunday morning about 6 o’clock. The negro w^ carrying a half gallon jar of whis key on ^Bridge Street, and -when the policeman halted him, he dashed and_ ran to th(J river and fell into a gully about 10 feet deep, where both he -and his liquor were cap tured. He was given a hearing in Mayor J. D. Underwood’s court and bound over to the Recorder’s court where he was tried to-day and fin ed $10 and cost. These and man.y other g’ruesonie stories are being told through the findinji's of press reporters and re lief workers. There is no telling what some of these people exper ienced before they were finally engulfed in the jaws of death. While Selma and North Carolina was remarkably free from the haz ards of the tornado there was plen ty of evidence that a great commo tion was going on in the elements. Early Tuesday evening as the sky became overcast ■ and' as the sun lowered into the deepening clouds to the westward, a gentle breeze began to pull in from the southeast with an ever-increasing force until its fury -was heard among the tree tops and over the wire lines, ft was not hard for the average weath er .' prognosticator to realize that there, was an unrest in the elements which might prove devastating as lightning flashes were seen emitting through the dark nimbu's cloi^ to. the west while cumulus cloucl^ swept across the face of the ap proaching disturbance where dis tant peals of thunder bore the sem blance of the fading cries of a a giant commotion coming from the depths of some far-a-way cav ern. As one of the thunder squalls would pass -over the wind wo^B dip down in threatening madn^^ but the showwer would soon move on to be closely followed up b/ another at various intervals of the night and until early dawn whin the rain area passed on to the northward and eastward. Vann Smith of Marshville, route 2, L nion count.v, will purchase no nitrogep fertilizer this season as all of his crop.s will be planted on les- pedeza .sod. si.stance of private detectives repre senting- the posloffice 'department and private interest,?, which have uncovered some astonishing opera- I tions- by local residents who..seem to have been engaged in carrying- on their devilment on a large scale. Coupled with their thievery, it has developed that li((uor and women have played a high hand in this campaign of corruption and criminal activities. ma. These were carried to the sher iff’s office where they were later identified as a part of the loot from Claude Bea.sley’s store at Benton- I ville. Seed sweet potatoes have been bedcied in preparation for the new crop in Currituck county. As the day began to take on a little age the wind moved around a little farther westward and steadily grew in intensity until we found ourselves amidst one of the most .severe gale.s that has hit this state in many a day. Although frequent showers ha| come during the night and early morning, by noon time the -wind was blowing up sand and dust from the ground and carrying it high into the heavens which became partially overcast with a dust cloud that remains for the, entire afternoon. The wind probably reached its greate.st fury from 12:00 noon untjl about 4:00 in the afternoon when it gradually began to subside. While the lower Gulf and South Atlantic States were being swept by thunder storms, gales and ter rific tornadoes, the north and west- central States were experiencing ojie of the worst snowstorms of the en tire winter, although temperatures did not drop excessively low. During the height of the gale Tuesday afternoon Mr. J. W. O’Neal’s large two-story home in Selma was reported to be on fire. The Selma firemdn together with tlie aid of the Smithfield Fire De partment, did some heroic work as the threatening flames would, spout through the room of this home as' they were fanned by howling winds I of ajmost cyclonic proportions. '• In an effort to identify someone in connection with the Four Oaks robbery Monday morning, some im portant' clues have been run do-wn which has brought a new revelation to our people. A Packard automo bile with the title in the name of li. John.son of Wilson, was investi gated to find that thi.s was a false representation, it i? thought, as no such person could be found. This car was traced to the Pearce Ga lt is understood that up to this time there are something like lOO people involved in this investigation, either directly or indirectly, and new clues are developing daily. Bill To Provide Beer Gets First Approval Senate Subcommittee Approv-es .Measure and Sends It to Full Committee For Vote—4 Per Gent Limit Set. Washington, March 20.—.A bill 'to permit 4 per cent beer reported favorably by a .senate subcommit- - „ • 'o 1 , . . *1®® Saturday with a majority eon- .age m Selma, where a storage tending it would “promote temper ance and. decrease crime” while a. room had been rented from the garage by Red Dixon for storing his car when it was - not in use Under the car, specially made com partments of zinc were discovered in which merchandise consisting of cigarettes, hosiery, automobile tubes, and two gallons of liquor were dis covered. A ham was al^o in the car. Some -of this merchandise answers the description of that stolen from the store at Bentonville. In the car also were tools of various kinds supposedly used for breaking safes and entering locked doors. Scars on the automobile indicated that some heavy object, probably an iron safe, had been transported on the bump er. Albert Earp and Arthur Cook have been arrested and are being held for further investigation. Other arrests were made Tuesday night and Wednestiay in the efforts to round up a gan,g believed respon- sible for numerous robberies in this section. The new arrests include a reputed professional criminal. Major Mitchell, alleged profes sional yeggman, with a long crim inal record, was arrested By the posses in charge of the investiga tion near Selma Wednesday. WheB apprehended he was driving a Ford sedan, the property of Red Dixon, a Selma resident. He was wearing a watch at the time of his arrest which was stolen in the robbery of the Wilson’s Mills postofee. Mitch- minority held it would “add to en forcement difficulties.” The action laid the issue before the full manufactures committee, wiiich is expected soon to decide whether to report it to the senate. The measure, sponsored by Sena tor Bingham, Republican, Connect- icutt, would, amend Volstead act to legalize the manufacture of beer containing .not more than 4 per, cent of alcohol by volume. It provides for sale only by brewers and dealers in the original packa ge or case except that the beer might be served in bottles by “legit imate hotels and restaurant.?.” A majority report favoring 'the bill was signed by two of the three members of the subcommittee which conducted extensive hearings. They were -Senators Metcalf, Re publican, Rhode Island, chairman, and Burkley, Democrat, Ohio, Sena tor Hatfield, Republican, West Vir ginia, dessented. The majority said four peiR cent .beer is not intoxicating and that the bill would decrease crime and un employment, promote temperancev assist agriculture, benefit the na tional finances and be practical in operation. Alamance county farmers are planting approximately - 30,000 lbs. of comon and Kobe. s'- •it NUMBER 12T Paint Bad Picture m m ^•1
The Johnstonian-Sun (Selma, N.C.)
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March 24, 1932, edition 1
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