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Local Merchants Are Making Preparations For Big Holiday Business
00 OUR PART
THE JO
READ THE ADS„1.
APPEARING 11^"
JOHNSTONIAN:
SEEMA. N.
THURSDAY. DECEMBER 21, 19:].!.
• Johnston County
Superior Court News
H. M. Webb, Jr., ‘Oe.s Five Years
(ill Mai^siaugiiter Lnarge—Henry
Hall bound Uu Ity of the Muitier
of Junius McLamb—Burning of
Pack House Br.ings home inteie.^t-
ing Testimony Into Court.
number
The December term of the John
stou County Superior Court conven
ed last week for the trial of cnm-
'nal ca.ses, with Hon. Frank A.
DanieLs, Juijge presiding, and Hon.
Clawson Williams as the prosecutor
tor the State.
Judge Daniels’ charge to the court
wa.s an able appeal to the_ law en-
ioreement officers of the State and
tjanly relative to their responsi
bilities in regard to prohibition law
,tmforcement, etc.
Some of the cases claiming the
attention of .the court are:
State against H. M. Webb, Jr.,
• a young white man of Harnett,
v.ho was found guilty on a charge
tf manslaughter and given a five-
year sentence in the State prison.
. The charge grew out of an automo-
bTe wreck_ which caused the death
. of J. Q. Ivey, Simpson Ivey and
I’e Be Hears, all of Robeson county.
Henry Hall was before the court
oader 'a charge of the murder of
Junius Mcl.afnb of Meadow to.wn-
tip. He was tried on second degree
lurder and found guilty.
Quite an unusual case came be-
" ■ re the court on Monday of this
week when Howard Atkinson, young
white man of Duplin co.u.nty, was
,1 the witness stand for about
'..VO hours giving te.timony growing
;jt of the burning of a pack house,
t :e property of L. E. John.soh, of
Bentonville township, in wh.ch he
(Atkinson) stated that he had been
i_red by Johnson to burn said barn
; pack house.
Defendant Atkinson stated that
re burned the house on November
-S3, 1930, and that for its los. and
ire loss of the tobacco containeil
iiierein at the time, Johnson col
lected upwards of $1,000,1/1) as iii-
-srrance; and that John-son promiseil
t pay him $20.00 for doing the
job but that he had failed to make
ibis promise good.
But it was brought out that some-
ii Tie in May, 1931, following the
brming of the barn in November,
1330, Atkinson testified that he got
religion and made peace with God;
wid thu> having repented -for his
'vvrong doing's, he was then impelled
■±T confess his sin. He told Johnson
he intended confessing the crime
a.id Johnson told him not to di-
'•'./Ig'e the secret, for it meant noth
ing less than death or life impris-
- oniuent. Not daunted by Johnson
'Warning he next confessed it to his
T 5a.Btor, Rev. K. D. Brown of Golds-
’.'■-ro; and also to an insurance agent
i.i' Goldsboro, and this led .to an
rivestigation by the State Insurance
Department and the arrest of both
Atkinson and Johnson.
Johnson denied hF guilt and'^put
T ’ an able defense, being represent-
■f.:i by the law- firm of Parker &
wee of Smithfield. A letter was pro-
raced which was purported to have
been written by Johnson to Atkin
s-n in which Johnson tried to ab-
STlve Atkimson of ■ the burning by
a imitting that he and not Atkinson
applied the torch to the house.
Atkinson testified that after John-
s'.n had gotten his promise to do
t.he biirnirtg for him, he was told
ny Johnson that he (Johnson) would
be away from horpe on the night
of November 30, 1930. Atkinson was
.slaying wdth Johnson at the time,
s: that night during the wee hours,
he got out of bed, lighted a splin
ter and went to the pack house and
•eft it to spread. He stated that he
then returned to the hou-e- and to
bed and waited for the fire to get
a good start, which was accomplish-
nd in short order. He then ran out
"'f the house and gave an alarm,
but when neighbors arrived the fire
■ bad gotten "such headway that the
'■•ss was complete.
Johnson contended on the witne.ss
stand that he was impelled by his
religious dictates to tell the truth
about the burning, but while under
a fire of questions being put to him
.':y lawyer James D. Parker rela
tive to certain statements he had
■nade about the matter, the witness,
in a religious feror, shouted out;
‘■Praise God, Hallelujah, they are
. trying to frame me now.” Hi.-- out
bursts were arrested by the trial
jiudge who admonished him to paise
God in .secret but to continue with
bi.s testimony. He resumed a quiet
.nein and continued with his story.
Atkinson’s story was fully cor
roborated by his pa-tor, the Rev.
F. D-. Brown, and by a signed state-
ffierry Qhristmas !
rUCH is the old, old greeting that is .
ever new which will soon be heard on every side tn this community.
It is the greeting between mdividuals, between friends and business
associates; it is tlie greeting which we will hear frequently in our clubs
and societies and civic organizations, in our churches and our schools.
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All these institutions have a definite place in our community life and
as such we give them our loyalty and our support. But not everyone can
belong to all of them. So there may be some of us who will not have the
feeling of sharing in the Christmas greeting which comes from them.
But there is one institution whose interests are the interests of the whole
community, of every man and woman and child in it, an institution which is
devoted to serving the interests of all. That is the Home Town Newspaper.
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A welcome visitor into the homes of this community; a messenger bearing
news of community interest; a chronicler of the joys and sorrows and of
the trials and triumphs of its people; a mirror held up to reflect the daily
life of the community; the loom in which is woven into one harmonious
pattern the varied threads of conununity artivity... all these are the
Home Town Newspaper.
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So, through what more appropriate medium than the Home Town News
paper should there come a greeting to all the peopleof our community at
this time of the year? We believe there is none more appropriate and we
are happy to have the privilege of saying to you all: "A Merry Christmas.”
TAe Publishers
Copyright, 193S.
Selma-Wilson Mills
Road Being Improved
READ THE C HRISTM,\,.S ADS.
In thi.-) issue, of the Johnstoiiiaii-
Sun will be found numerous adves-
tisements, most of which are from
bu.siness men and concerns who have
purchased this space in the Sun to
express their wishes to their friend-
and customers for a Mery Chri.st-
mas and Happy New Year. The
cuts in these ailvertisements were
specially prepared for this very
purpose. The readers will please
note the Yule Tide trend through
out these ads. Special mention miglit
be made of the whole pag’e adver
tisement of Hudson-Belk Co., of
Smithfield with its Iioliday border
and the advent of Santa Clause
beautifully portrayed in verse ac
companying old Santa himself.
Large Force of .tien Now At Work
Between Selma and Neuse River—
lo Be Hard Surfaiee Road and
Will Shorten Distance to Raleigh
Over F'our Miles.
Shipment Of Whisky
Across State Legal
Brummitit Rules Carolina Ol'ficer.s
(anno. Interfere iWth Interstate
'I raiisportation.
Man Honored
Mr. Stanley Armitage, who has
been connected with the Selnaa Cot
ton Mill- for the past ten year.s
and who has recently been promot
ed to the superintendency of a
large cotton mill in McComb, Mi.ss ,
was tendered a stag dinner at the
Jatch-Me-Eye Inn Friday night
from 8 till 10 o’clock. This dinner
was given as a token of the high
esteem in which he is held in this
ommunity. C. P. Harper acted as
toastma.ster and called on a number
of those pre ent for short talks. All
present expressed keen regret at Mr.
Armitage’s departure but felt that
he was to be congratulated for his
well deserved promotion.
Those en.joying the occasion were:
Dr. V. A. Davidian, of Smithfield;
A. L. Graves, of Scranton, Pa.; Dr.
E. N. Booker, Dr, George D. Vick,
C. P. Harper, R. D. Blackburn,
Raleigh Griffin, B. W. Booker, Gor
don Whitaker, Clyde Jones, William'
T Godwin, J. D. Massey, Mose God
win, Carl Worley, Ed Creech and
H. H. Lowry.
May Help You Defunct Clayton Bank
Get Back to the Farm Pays Depositors $15,000
Maj. A. L. Fletcher, Commissioner
Christmas Service
At Mill Chapel
Next Saturday evening at 7
o’clock in the Village Chapel at
Selma Mill the Nineteenth annual
Christmas service will be held, the
younger children of the village will
render their part of recitation ami
songs, this will be followed by a
most interesting Pagen represent
ing the Shepherds on the plains of
Bethlehem, this promises to be one
of the best the school has ever
given ,and the public is cordially in
vited.
Martin County sweet potato grow
ers have 65,000 bushels of cured
siFeets in storage for sale this
winter and next spring.
ment which he gave their investiga
tor for the Insurance Department.
The conclusion of the case will
be published at a later date.
of Labor, announces that North Car
plina farmer.s are to have a nev\
ervice through the Federal ani
State Departments of Labor a.s a
part of President Roosevelt’s Re
covery Prdji’ram.
Thi.s service proposes to make of
each employment office a clearing
house through which farmers, farm
tenants, and farm labor may go
when in need of any kind of help.
Famil.es of farm origin now liv
ing in town or mill villages will
also find ths office of help ,-hould
they be interested in returning . to
the farm. Some provision is being
made to aid such families with pro
visions and clothing where needed,
under certain conditio'ns.
It js hoped that this service may,
in these unsettled times, be of help
in . placing familie.s of farm expe- !
rience who have drifted to town and I
find it difficult to fit themselves into '
urban or mill village life, back to '
their rightful environment.
This work, Commissioner Fletcher
says, will be supervised by Homer
H. B. Mask, who ha.s had wide ex
perience in North Carolina Agricul
ture, having served as county farm
agent, assistant State agent, Fiehl
Director -of the North Carolina Cot
ton Grower--, Co-operative As.socia-
tion and state manager in the pro
motional work of a larger fertilizer
concern.
Bad Hair Tonic.
Selma Teacher To Class—Give
me a sentence, using the
“annoy”.
Small Boy in -Class—My Daddy
annoyed hi:s head with oil’.
The closed Clayton bank came to
life by mailing checks, to all its de
positors last iFeek, marked in the
upper left hand comer “10 per cent
dividend to Claim No. ??” (each
aheck bearing a number).
This money coming at this season
and so unexpectedly will make many
believe in Mr. Hewitt’s Santa Claus
who lives at the North Pole,
The Clayton bank closed it- doors
December 1930 after thirty years
of successful banking .service. They
opened again January 1931 after a
majority of the depositors had sign
ed a paper agreeing not to draw
out the money they had on depos't
in order to give Clayton banking
service and give officials an op
portunity to.collect the money that
had been loaned. The bank remained
open under this comiition unfl
November 1931, at which t'me they
closed the doors definitely. In the
fall of 1932 the bank paid its de
positors twenty per cent and last
week ten per cent. It is expected
that another pay-off will be made
in February.—Clayton News.
Raleigh, Dec. 18.—Attorney Gen
eral Dennis G. Brummitt today
ruled that state law inforcemeut of
ficers could not interfere with the
interstate .shipment of legal whisky
acros.s dry North aClolina.
Because North Carolina is a dry
state in a wet nation, Brummitt said
the situation called for “the exer
cise of sound judgment on the part
of officers whose duty it is to en
force the law. and who are undei
the necessity at all times of acting
with due prudence.”
F.vasion.s of the state law—whicli
prohibits the tran.-portation of
whisky within the state- “contrary
to law”—may be expected constant
ly to occur through claims of per
sons found to be transporting in
toxicating liquors that their cargoes
ire interstate shipments, he de
clared.
Experience, the attorney general
added, probably will demonstrate the
necessity of additional legd.-Iation to
lid officers in performance of their
duties.
Brummitt held shipment across
the state of legal liquor from a lie-
ginning point without this .state to
a delivery point beyond its borders
Was not a violation of the .state
law.
He pointed out that the state pro-
I)ition law only prohibited trans
portation of liquor in this .state
“contrary to law,” reaching the con
clusion that shipment of liquor legal
m one state across North Carolina
to another wet state was not in
violation of the state dry law.
For several days a large force
of men have been employed by the
State Highway Commission in grad
ing and widening the road leading
from Selma to Powhatan by way
of Wil.son Mills.
For several months some of Sel
ma’s enterprising busine.ss men
have kept constantly in touch with,
the State Department in an effort
to make this one of the State’s
hard surface roads, with the result
that the work has actually been
started, and we understand that it
is to be a hard .-urface hig-hway
similar to Highway 23 leading out
from Selma to Zebulon.
Work is in jirogress on the Selma
end and the grading and widening
jirocess is going on in a hurry,
Neuse River already having Iieeii
reached. .Narrow )ilaces in the
road are being widened and crook
ed place.s are licing streighlened, -as
is the general policy of the High
way Commission in the.se modern
time- of road building.
A survey of the route has been
made and it has been demonstrated:
that when this road is oonqileted
that di.stance between Selma and
Raleigh will have been shortened,
by more- than four miles.
Among others who have been
sponsors of the much needed road,
especial credit is due to Mr. C..
Harper, Selma’s enterprising - drug
gist, and to Lawyer E. G. Hobbsi,
both of whom liave made repeated’.'
visits to Raleigh in behalf of this
project.
50,000 Persons Get
Civil Works Money
North Carolinians Getting ApproxU
mately ,$1,000,000 Weekly, Mrs.
O’Berry Says.
Kentucky Moves To
Reduce Burley Crop
Virginia Joins .Sister tSaites In De
daring Holiday On Tobacco Hales
WHO PAYS PRO( E.SSING TAX''
Ambrose Cline, of Lincoln County,
reports harvesting 900 , pounds of
common lespedeza seed an acre from
one field thi.s fall.
Sixteen Cas-well county farmers
are competing in a farm forest con
test thi.s winter for cash prize.s of
fered by business organizations.
Secretary Wallace took occasion
to d.scuss a .subject that ju.st now
is agitating the farm di.stricts of
the Middle West. That question is;
W'ho is paying the processing tax
on hogs ?
The tax started at 50 cents a
hundred pounds on November 1, an.'!
word i on December 1.
I It will go to $1.,50, January l.st, and [
to $2,00 on February 1st. Since the
tax was added hog prices have de I
dined approximately $1 00. This has' j
led many farmer.s to -conclude that '
they are paying the tax through a i
lower price for their hogs. I
Secretary Wallace contended, how- !
ever, that a 10-year average of .
prices shows that hog values decline '
in the Fall, reaching the low point
in December. The decline thi.s year,
he said, has been about normal.
1
Lexington, Ky., Dec. 18 —A drive,
to sippi up hurley tobacco growers
for acreage reduction began today
as Virginia joined Kentucky and
Tenne see in closing its hurley mar
kets in protest against prices paid
ince the season opened a week ago.
The Ripley and Gallipolis markets-
in Ohio, and the Madison, Ind., mar
ket, both were clo.sed today in line
with those across the Kentucky bor
der, but at Weston, Mo., sales con
tinued. Burley at We.ston, where
500,000 pounds were ready for sale,
averaged $14 a 100 pounds.
Belief that signed agreements for
reduefon next year would boo.st this
season’s prices was expres-ed by
growers generally and at a meeting
Saturday afternoon in Frankfort
growers told Governor Laffoon that
unless he took steps to clo.se the
market “night riding” and other
di.sorders of years past might break
out.
Price.s this season at Lexington,
the world’s largest hurley market,
averaged $12.46 for the 6 479,210
pounds sold the first- week, and at
other Kentucky markets upwards of
3.000,000 pounds had been sold at
average- ranging from .$9.82 to $12.-
'20. Last .j’ear 239,938,067 pounds of
hurley were sold in Kentucky for
$28,945,271, and average of $12.06
The Lexington market average
where 75,000,000 pounds were sold,
wa.s $13.38.
Raleigh, Dec. 19.—More than 50,-
000 persons, drawing ajiproximately
$1,000,000 weekly, will receive sal
aries from civil works jobs in time
for use at Christmas, Mrs. Thomas
O’Berry, • state administrator, said
today,
Mrs. O’Berry ha.s kept her organi
zation working at full speed for the
last few days seeking to give work
to as many persons as pos.sible be
fore Chri.stinas.
The eWA work week ends Thurs
day and fo.r that reason the drive to
plac-6 joble.Js persons in jobs has
been intensive the first part of this
week.
Approval of 127 projects creating
2,908 jobs was announced today,
bringing to 84,853 the number of
jobs created since the program was
instituted in North Carolina.
Among the projects approved
were the consti-uction of swimming
pools at Caswell Training .-chool
and the town of Newton. -Construc
tion of 3,200 sanitary privie.s in
Beaufort county also was approved.'
Left Sum of Money
To Enforce Prohibition
Cfa.ston, Dec. 18.—Ed. G. McLurd,
building and loan executive, who re
cently died, left $1,000 to be' used
in securing better dry law enforce
ment in Gaston county.
The will of McLurd, who died No
vember 24, has just been recorded
here and the provision was made in
a codicil a few days before his
death.
He was a leader in the campaign
again.st repeal prior to the Novem
ber 7 election when the State and
Gaston voted dry.
TAX BURDEN .MAY GROW.
The American taxpayer ’ probably
can look forwai'd to having a heav
ier tax impo.sed on his unearned in
come derived from intere.st and div
idends, and corporations probably
will be subjected once more to the
war-time excess profits tax.
These' two tax changes, both of
which w-ere tentatively .suggested to
the Hou.se Ways and Means Com-
ipittee on December 15th by Acting
Secretary of the Treasury-Henry
Morgenthau, Jr., are now being
worked on a the Treasury De
partment.—United States News.
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