-T-
Selma offers splen
did living condi
tions, pure water,
diversified indus
tries, varied re
sources, equable
climate and mod
em city conven
iences. Seima wel
comes youl
.VOL. 24.
The Johnstonian-Sun
A Containing The News And Views Of Your Community And Surround,ng T.rnto^
The Johnstonian-
Sun is dedicated
to the best interest
of Johnston coun
ty and its sixty
thousand people.
Read the news and
advertisements in
its columns each
week.
NUMBER 35
.i
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V
Selma Police Criticized
For Spy Scare Incident
HIGHEST PRICES IN YEARS CHEER
FARMERS AS BRIGHT BELT OPENS
Baggage of Ohio Woman Tourist
Is S^earched by Police A'fter
Her Sou Had Been Arrested
For Wanting To Make Some
Pictures of Union Station, All
Of Which Incensed the Lady
Very Much — Legal Action Is
Menticned Against Town.
Washington, August 27.—Eastern
North Carolina leads off with the first
authentic nazi spy scare of the south
eastern section. An Ohio woman, Mrs.
William Scott McKell, -driving
through the country, stopped near
Selma to spend the night, and an 18-
year-old son, probably thinking he
would like to be a locomotivfe engineer
some day, visited the railroad yards
at the junction to take some pictures.
Local officers, thinking this looked
suspicious, put the young fellow un
der arrest and refused to permit him
to communicate "with his folks. Fort
Bragg is not so far away and the of
ficers suspected the pictures were be
ing taken to direct German bombers
to that great army settlement.
Mrs. McKell wrote to Senator Taft
about her experience, and the Ohio
senator in turn took the matter up
with Senator Bailey, who felt that a
very great mistake had been made, a
mistake for which there was little ex
cuse or justification, and that the
governor of the state would be pleas
ed to offer apologies to all concerned.
JOHNSTON COUNTY
SCHOOLS TO OPEN
SEPTEMBER 18th
This Was the Decision Come
To by the County Board of
Education At a Meeting Last
Thursday.
Delegation, Headed By Dr. I^-
cutt, lof Clayton, Appeals To
Board of Education For A
System of Vocational Educa
tion In Johnston County.
SCHOOLS WILL OPEN
A. M. (D.L.S.T.)
AT 8:25
At a meeting of the Johnston Coun
ty Board of Education, held in Smith-
field last Thursday afternoon it was
decided to open the public schools of
the county on Thursday, September
18th.
The suggestion to open the schools
on September 11 failed to meet the
wishes of many farme|| who felt that
this date would be too|soon to allow
their children to give^ much needed
help in housing the crops, expecially
the early opened cotton.
Superintendent H. B. Morrow said
that the 1941-42 school term would
and on Monday, May 11, which will
be somewhat of a p'recedent, since
ordinarily the final closing day comes
on Friday. Class work will be coip-
pleted Friday, May 8th, and the com
mencement sermon will be on Sunday,
May 10th, and the graduation exer-
cu w viLcj. ““ —- - cises will come on Monday night. May
There is also some talk of prosecuting nth according to Mr.' Marrow.
the Selma officials on a charge of
false arrest.
Mrs. McKell, sister-in-law of Col.
David McKell, retired, of Chillicothe,
wrote to Senator Taft a letter filled
with indignation, more than a trace
of melodrama, and the elements of a
first class spy narrative. She had
three sons along, but in the instant
case the story revolves in the main
about Robert, who had visited Selma
with his camera. This, in part, is the
way Mrs. McKell related young Rob
ert’s experiences, in and out of-jail:
“He started home right away but
remembered that we needed gas be
cause Mr. Ickes doesn’t like his sta
tions here to keep open after seven.
While he was getting the gas, the
chief of Selma police drove up and
(Continued on L'kst Page)
Seen and Hfeard Along
THE MAINDRAG
S=By H. H. L. ——
F. B. PARRISH, JR., “soda jerker’’
at the SELMA DRUG COMPANY,
won third place in the “Amateur Auc
tioneer’s Contest” in Wilson on last
Thursday afternoon—F. B., JR. 18, is
considered one of the world’s young
est auctioneers—he is a son of F. B.
PARRISH, auctioneer on the Green
ville market—F. B.’s first cousin,
GEORGE PARRISH, of Selma, Route
1, won first honors—you will see and
hear these young men on the screen
at your local theatre in the near fut
ure—SGT. D. P. HOWELL, JR., is at
home from Fort Bragg for a short va
cation—another son of MR. and MRS
D. P. HOWELL, LEON HOWELL, is
now on his way to Alaska a card re
ceived from him by the writer says
he is enjoying the trip—LEON is in
the Navy and D. P., JR., is in the
army—RUDOLPH HOWELL, mana
ger of the Selma Theatre, has mo.ved
into his home, recently purchased
from B. B. LEE—the home has been
remodeled and now presents a very
attractive appearance — RUDOLPH
has gone into the hog and cattle rais
ing business—he has 17 fine hogs,
five cows and a bull—RALEIGH H.
GRIFFIN has returned after spend
ing several days with his mother in
Northampton county and other points
—MISS ELIZABETH WHITAKER
of Littleton, arrived in her “tin Liz
zie” Saturday afternoon to attend the
Spencer-Perkins wedding at the local
Methodist church that evening
“WHIT” says she gets such good ser
vice from that old Ford she is not ev
en thinking about buying a new one—
MR. GORDY of the Brick Hotel ran
a “want ad” in this paper some time
SELMA SCHOOL FACULTY
First Grade—Ruth Ingram, Kenans-
ville, N. C.; Irma Herring, Clinton,
N. C.; Mrs. Alethia Fant, Wa^^,
N. c.
Second Grade—Roberta Spiers, RiA.'^^
mond, Va.; Mrs. Hattie Perkins;
Selma, N. C.; Nora Blackmore,
Warsaw, N. C., taking the place of
Alma Lee who is married and liv
ing in Greenville, N. C.
Third Grade—Mary Watlington, Ruf
fin, N. C., taking the place of Mary
Hudgins, now at her home in Ma
rion, N. C.; Celeste Boyette, Kenly,
N. C., who formerly taught at Cor-
bett-Hatcher, and is taking the
place fo Mrs. Mamie Harper Wiggs,
now living in Selma; Bertha Mae
Ammons, Rowland, N. C., taking the
place of Delia Batchelor, who will
teach in Enfield, N. C.
Fourth Grade—Naomi Wood, Wal
lace, N. C., taking the place of Dor
othy Lee who resigned to accept a
position with the Guy C. Lee Mfg.
Co., Smithfield, N. C.; Mildred Boy
ette, Kenly, N. €.; Mrs. Margaret
Linn Lentz, Goldsboro, N. C., tak
ing the place of Mrs. Freida Farth
ing Sasser who now resides at her
home in Goldsboro, N. C.
Fifth Grade—Vivian Griffin, Wilson,
N. C., taking the place of- Mrs.
Rowe Henry, deceased; Martha
(Continued on Second Page)
Revival To Begin
At Methodist Church
A delegation, headed by Dr. A. B.
Hocutt of Clayton, went before the
Johnston County Board of Education
at a meeting held in the Johnston
county courthouse last Thursday af
ternoon and made an appeal for a sys
tem of vocational education in John
ston county.
The chief spokesman for the occa
sion was Norman Shepard of Smith-
field, but others who made short talks
in support of the new educational unit
were Dr. E. N. Booker of Selma; Ezra
Parker of Benson; Rev. A. T. Lassiter
of Cleveland Township; Ralph Cana-
day of Four Oaks; G. Willie Lee of
Pleasant Grove township; Paul Kellar,
the Rev. Roy McC'ullock, Colonel Bed-
dingfield, all of Clayton; Henry M.
Johnston, Wilders, and James A. Wel-
lons of Smithfield.
It was brought out at the meeting
that Johnston county is one of only
two of the 100 counties in the state
which does not have a system of vo
cational educatidn embracing indus
trial, agricultural and business train-
ing- , ,
It was also brought out that only
about 10 per cent of the high school
students of the county go to college,
and that by providing vocational
training for the remaining 90 per
cent they would be fitted for some
kind of business or industrial career,
whichever they might be found best
suited to fill.
Superintendent H. B. Marrow ex
plained that the board of education
had already had this matter under ad
visement, and that they were consid
ering calling a meeting, in the near
future to which interested citizens of
the county would be ^invited. But Mr.
Marrow thinks it will be impossible
for Johnston county to participate in
a federal-state vocational program at
this time due to the great amount of
cost involved. Mr. Marrow estimates
that to set up a complete system of
vocational training throughout the
schools of Johnston county would cost
from $75,000 to $100,000, which
makes it impossible without raising
taxes to a considerable extent.
Superintendent Marrow listed four
methods of financing a vocational ed
ucation program:
1. The county tax rate could be
raised.
2. Special tax elections could be
held by districts wanting vocational
instruction.
3. The county could terminate its
policy of making bond payments for
the school districts, leaving the var
ious districts to pay their obligations
and making possible a 30-cent reduc
tion in the county-wide tax rate that
would provide a leeway for appro
priating funds for the vocational ed
ucation program. (The county has
never assumed the bonds of the school
district, but has agreed to pay the ob-
igations from year to year).
4. As a temporary method of gett
ing funds, the county could refund its
bonds.
FOURTH MAN HELD
IN DEATH PROBE
Charlie Sadler Tells Officers
That He Drove Woman
To Clayton.
Plans have been completed for the
Revival Meeting at Edgerton Memo
rial Methodist church here, which be
gins Wednesday evening, September
3rd, at 8 o’clock.
Services will be held daily, at 9:00
a. m., and at 8:00 p. m., through Sep
tember 12th.
The Rev. F. B. Joyner, pastor of
the Fairview Methodist church, will
bring the messages at each service.
We feel that the services of such a
gifted preacher will enrich the spir
itual life of our community. We ex
tend an invitation to the people of
the community to worship with us.
The Rev. O. L. Hathaway will
preach at the regular worship ser
vices Sunday.
N. J. Creech’s Brother
Dies At Angier Home
Mrs. Miffie Anne
Sellers Died
Tuesday Morning
Funeral services for Mrs. Miffie
Anne Sellers, 61, wife of D. Craft
Sellers, who died at her home, Selma,
ae-o advertising a Ford Truck for 1 Route 2, three miles east of Selma,
sfle but in some manner the ad said > Tuesday morning at 8 o’cffick, were
1. ’ + fr. “hnv” a Ford Truck— conducted from the home Wednesday
tyifsIhl S-ed?.*,™ *«. at 3 .;c.o* (EST,. B.aia.
The time the paper left the press and took place m the Futrell cemetery,
Funeral services for Mr. William
Henry Creech, who died at his home
near Angier on last Thursday after a
brief illness, were held from the Ele
vation Methodist church Friday after
noon at 3 o’clock, conducted by a
former pastor, the Rev. J. J. Boone,
of the Smithfield Methodist church,
assisted by'the Rev. D. M. Clemmons,
pastor of the Selma Baptist church.
Burial took place in the church cem
etery.
Mr. Creech was 67 years of age
and a brother of our townsman, Mr.
N. J. Creech, of the firm of W. E.
Parker & Son.
Surviving are another brother, R.
B. Creech, of Benson, and three
daughters, Mrs. Thaddeus Barbour, of
Benson; Mrs. Ben Barbour, of Ben
son. Route 1, and Miss Esther Creech,
of Angier.
A fourth man was held in the coun
ty jail at Raleigh early last night
in connection with the slaying of Mrs.
Ruth Smithwick, 25-year-old woman
whose bruised and lacerated body
was found on U. S. Highway 70 one
mile from Garner early Sunday mor
ning.
Charlie (Red) Sadler, said to be
about 40 years of age, was taken in
to custody by Wake County and Hills
boro officers Wednesday at Hillsboro,
where he had worked for two days
after leaving a job with the Pilot Cot
ton Mills in Raleigh Saturday. Sad
ler, who was drawing his pay prepar
atory to leaving his job in Hillsboro,
told officers that he and two other
men took Mrs. Smithwick to Clayton
Saturday afternoon. Sheriff Nurma F.
Turner said. He said further that he
noticed that she had a black eye and
“had had a lick on the head with an
instrument of some sort” when he
first saw her Saturday afternoon.
Sadler’s statements fitted very
closely the stories told by the John
ston County youths, Harry Lee How
ard, 19, and Frank Johnson, 21, who
previously told officers that they had
carried the woman to the spot near
where her body was later found. Sher
iff Turner said last night. Both How
ard and Johnson have been held for
investigation since Sunday, and Mon
day Thad Barbour, 29, Johnston coun
ty farmer, also was arrest§.d,_, Bar-^
hour told officers that he, Sadler and
a man by the name of Charlie Wad
dell, also an employee at Pilot Mills,
had seen the woman on Saturday.
Standing before officers in working
clothes, Sadler declared that he and
Waddell had taken Mrs. Smithwick
to Clayton, picking her up at Dolly
Saunders’ residence on the Wendell
highway.
“We were driving my car,” Sadler
said, “and had stopped at a filling
station at Clayton. I went in to get
some cold drinks and when I got back
the woman had left my car.” He de
clared that he never saw her after
that.
Both Sadler and Waddell' left the
Pilot Mills employ Saturday, officers
revealed.
Yesterday’s arrest brought the to
tal to four now being held on inves
tigation in the strange death of the
90-pound woman, whose records re
veal that she had faced court charges
of being an inmate of a bawdy house.
Johnson and Howard have only re
peated their same story—that they
took the woman from a car at a fill
ing station, started to bring her to
Raleigh and discovered that they were
out of gas. Since they couldn’t buy
gas along the way, Johnson said, they
decided to put her out and go back
to Clayton. They left her standing by
the roadside with a trunk and suitcase
which belonged to her, officers said
the boys told them. Her body, bruised
and cut, with a leg and arm broken
in two places each, her neck broken
and a thigh crushed, was first discov
ered about 4:30 a. m. Sunday. How
ard and Johnson said they left the
woman at 2:30 a. m., and Coroner
Roy M. Banks estimated that she had
been dead at least two hours when he
reached the scene at 5:00 a. m.
Following yesterday’s relentless
questioning of the four persons held
and the continued search for “other
parties,” officers seemed in agree
ment that the woman was dead be
fore she was thrown from an automo
bile or run over—if she had been
thrown from a car or run over at all.
Price Range This Year Shows A Gain of From
$4 To $13 Per Hundred Above Those Paid
On The Same Date One Year Ago.
SMITHFIELD MARKET MAKES GOOD AVERAGE
The opening’ of the tobacco market in Eastern North Carolina,
Tuesday resulted in one of the most auspicious beginnings in re
cent years. Long before the chant of the auctioneers was heard,
farmers from far and near crowded the warehouses, many of
whom had offerings on the floor, while niany others appeared as.
spectators to inform themselves on the price trend. Also hundreds
of businGSS niGn visitGd the various markets to see how the goiden
leaf was selling.
Will Conduct Revival
At Kenly Church
The Rev. Lawrence I. Stell, pastor
of the Roanoke Rapids Presbyterian
church, will conduct a series of Revi
val services at the Kenly Presbyte
rian church, beginning Sunday night,
August 31, at 7:30 (EST). He will
be assisted by the Rev. Charles E.
Clarke, pastor of the Kenly church.
These services will continue through
Sunday night, September 7th. Mr.
Stell is a wonderfully attractive
speaker, and very much in earnest
about the Master’s work. You will en
joy these services.
Charles S. White Dies
Suddenly In Home Here
Was Superintendent Of Eastern
Manufacturing Company For
Many Years — Funeral Held
Sunday Afternoon.
Charles Solan White, who cele
brated his 67th birthday anniversary
last Sunday, died suddenly at his
home in Selma Saturday morning at
7 o’clock. The deceased was the first
superintendent of the Lizzie and the
Ethel Cotton Mills, serving in that
capacity for more than twenty years.
He was a native of Bertie county,
moving to Selma in 1904. Surviving
are his wife; three sons, Herbert L.
White, of Selma; Luther G. White,
Pittsburg, Pa., and Charles L. White,
of Selma; six daughters, Mrs. D. P.
Jernigan, of Cabin Creek, W. Va.,
Mrs. J. R. Hill, of St. Albans, W. Va.,
Mrs. R. L. Hawkins, of Wilmington;
Mrs. A. J. Worrel, Mrs. Ernest Par
rish, Mrs. James Eason, and Miss
Louise White, all of Selma; one bro
ther, P. M. White, of Roxboro; two
sisters, Mrs. Charles Jordan, and Mrs.
John Jernigan, of Kelford, N. C.
Funeral services were held from
the home Sunday afternoon at 3
o’clock, E. S. T., conducted by his
pastor, the Rev. D. M. Clemmons, of
the Selma Baptist church, assisted by
the Rev. 0. L. Hathaway, of the Ed
gerton Memorial Methodist church of
Selma. Burial took place in the Selma
city cemetery.
When the buyers went into
action and began to cUunt off
piles of tobacco behind thena
containing tags showing the
price offered, eager eyes scann
ed these tags as favorable com
ments began to be heard con
cerning the prices. As the bid
ding continued the smiles on the
farmers faces broadened, and
very seldom did any one show
signs of dissatisfaction with
prices, but on the contrary there
was plenty of evidence that most
farmers were more than pleased,
many saying prices were much
better than they had hoped for.
Smithfield Makes Good Average
One of the best average made in
the entire state Tuesday was made by
the Smithfield market, which sold
495,116 pounds of tobacco at an aver
age of $31.63 per hundred. Smithfield
has two sets of buyers this season
and there was enough tobacco on the
floors of the Gold Leaf and Wallace
warehouses Tuesday to keep both
groups busy all day.
Sales were heavy on all markets
Tuesday, with the average price level
ranging from $4 to $13 above lart
year’s opening sales. The bulk of tlie
tobacco sold from 24 to 35 cents per
pound.
It was very noticeable on the
Smithfield market Tuesday that the
figure “39” played a very important
part on sales tags. Only an occasional
pile would bring 40 cents or above,
but hundreds of piles sold at 39 cents
per pound—even though a farmer had
made several grades from a curing,
it often happened that three or more
grades placed side by side in a row
sold for 39 cents, many farmers hav
ing remarked that it did not seem to
make much difference whether the
tobacco was graded or not, since, it
all brought the same price. Of course
there were lower grades that sold
much lower, and these are what al
ways pull the average down.
Other Markets
Rocky Mount reported 1,000,00(1
pounds sold Tuesday at an average of
between 29 and 30 cents a pound.
Kinston reported an estimated 1,-
100,000 pounds sold Tuesday at an av
erage of 28 cents.
Wendell reported officially that
246,362 pounds were sold Tuesday at
an average of $28.10 per hundred.
Wilson reported that approximate
ly 1,400,000 pounds were sold Tues
day at an average of $29.75 per hun
dred.
Goldsboro reported an average of
27 cents per pound Tuesday.
Greenville reported that two million
pounds were sold there Tuesday at an
average of $29 to $29 per hundred.
Lumber reported that Tuesday’s
sales totaled 924,248 pounds sold, at
an average of $27.60.
Two Cotton Stalks
Contain 140 Bolls
The Balls Return
From Mountains
it kept up for about a week ^besides
Ford Truck sellers drove here from
Goldsboro, Rocky Mount, Wilson and
■ other places to “sell’’ him_ a truck—
it pays to advertise in this paper
near Pine Level.
Surviving are her husband; six
sons, W. C., N. V., Andrew, Vivian,
Calvin and George Sellers; one broth
er, Joe Pittman, of Central, Md.
Courthouse To Be
Closed Monday
The Johnston County courthouse
will be closed Monday, September 1,
1941, in observance of Labor Day;
and the Board of' County Commis
sioners 'Will hold their regular meet
ing on Tuesday, September 2nd.
On display over in Smithfield the
other day a Johnstonian-Sun man
saw two stalks of cotton containing
140 matured bolls. This cotton grew
on the farm of B. W. and Dr. E. N.
Booker in Cleveland Township. If
there are other farmers in Johnston
county who can beat this, let us hear
from you.
Mr. David S. Ball, superintendent of
the Eastern Manufacturing Company
here, left Saturday for Stony Point to
spend the week end with his parents
Mr. and Mrs. A. F. Ball. Mrs. Ball
and children, David, Jr., and Betty
Ann, after spending the past month
with Mr. Ball’s parents at Stony
Point, returned to Selma with Mr.
Ball Wednesday.
Selma Boys Attend
Dedication of Armory
Fred Woodard and Yates Perry, of
Fort Jackson, S. C., attended the ded
ication of a new armory in Warren-
ton, Wednesday and Thursday, and
played with the 120th Infantry Band.
On Thursday night the citizens of
Warrenton gave the soldiers a dance.
They will arrive in Selma Friday to
spend the week end with their re
spective parents.
Billy Pearce, of Wilson, was the
week end guest of his parents, Mr.
i and Mrs. H. B. Pearce.
Selma’s Police Chief
Attends Kinston Meet
Mr. and Mrs. Elijah Dean and son,
Benjamin, of Buie’s Creek, were din
ner guests of Mr. and Mrs. E. V.
Woodard Sunday.
Chief-of-Police H. B. Pearce and
Policeman Charles W. Straughan, of
Selma, attended a “law enforcement’*
meeting held in Kinston on last Sun
day afternoon. The officers attending
the meeting were given first-class in
formation in regard to “flimflaming”
now going on at practically all tobac
co markets in the tobacco belt.
V-.' •