Carolina’s Only TABloid NEWSpaper
The Roanoke Rapids Herald
VOLUME NINETEEN- ROANOKE RAPIDS, N. C- THURSDAY, September 28th, 1933 NUMBER TWENTY-FOUR
MATTHEWS CAUGHT
* * * * * * * * * * **-*************
Fugitive Lawyer Found In Hawaii
NEARLY 5,000
NRA CONSUMERS
IN CITY SIGN
Roanoke Rapids went over the
top in splendid style in the drive
for NRA Consumers with an ac
tual total of 4,827 signing the a
greement to trade with NRA
stores and buy Nl£A products.
With the goal set at 4,000 for
the city, the army of 200 work
ers visited every home in the city,
Belmont and South Rosemary to
get 827 more signatures than an
ticipated.
A few special teams are work
ing other outside sections near
Roanoke Rapids in order to reach
the 5,000 marie. Colonel Steve
Lipscomb, in charge of the drive,
has been congratulated on his re
port by Raleigh and Washington
NRA headquarters.
Every store in the city and every
industry is flying the Blue Eagle,
having signed up the Employers
agreement with the President.
Team workers met last Thurs
day night to report and every
team made a 100 per cent report.
In addition to those team mem
bers whose names were printed in
last week’s Herald, the following
were volunteer workers who did
valiant work: Mrs. O. R. Elmore,
Roy Kennemur, Mrs. Sadie As
kew, Mrs. John Gaylord, Miss Min
nie Johnson, T. G. Bush, Collins
Pitts, Mrs. Collins Fitts, Miss
Lucille Baird, Miss Fannie Harris,
Miss Viola Glover, Miss Ruth
Glover, Miss Clyde Fulgham, Miss
Mabel Fitts, Miss Edith Fitts and
Miss Ethel Cook.
Hospital Manager
Here Is Honored
T. J. Alford, who came to Roa
noke Rapids less than a year ago
to assume the position of business
manager of the Roanoke Rapids
Hospital, was elected a vice-pres
ident of the North Carolina Hos
pital Association in the annual
convention of that body at Char
lotte yesterday.
Under Mr. Alford’s management
the local hospital is now in the
best financial condition it has been
in for many years. J. T. Chase
is President and Dr. R. P. Beck
with is chief of staff.
_
SPECIAL
RED CROSS
DRIVE ON
The local churches will bear the
brunt of the Red Cross drive
next week for funds to relieve
suffering and distress among the
storm victims of the recent Caro
lina coast hurricane.
This decision was reached by
Mrs. F. G. Jarman, who will be in
charge of the drive, when she
noted that the city-wide annual
Associated Charities drive comes
next month and the regular Red
Cross membership Roll Call starts
Armistice Day. Rather than bur
den the general public with anoth
er drive now it was decided to
confined it to donations on the part
of any wlib desired to make them
for the storm victims.
Select Senior Boys
As Kiwanis Members
On Wednesday, September 27,
the Senior Class elected the boys
who are to represent the school
at Kiwanis Club meetings during
this school year. The boys elected
were: Marvin Matkins, J. D. Ed
wards, William Gaylord, Ed. Lew
ter, Murrell Hudson, Leonard Sul
livan, Jack West, Woodrow Gar
ris, Chester Chase.
These boys will serve one month
each.
Health Officer Oct. 2
The Health Department, under
the supervision of Dr. Z. P. Mit
chell, has announced the annual
immunization campaign against
diptheria in the schools through
out the county. He will be at the
Aurelian Springs schol Monday,
October 2, from one o’clock to
two-thirty P. M. All parents hav
ing children under six years of
age should be present and have the
Schick Test made.
The ministers have been asked
to make an appeal Sunday morn
ing and those in charge of the
work in each church are: Mrs. W.
C. Allsbrook, Roanoke Rapids Bap
tist; Mrs. T. M. Jenkins, Rosemary
Baptist; Father McNerney, Cath
olic; Mrs. F. J. Hawley, Presby
terian; Mrs. V. H. Grantham,
Christian; Mrs. F. G. Jarman,
Episcopal; T. M. Jenkins, Rose
mary Methodist; R. L. Towe, Roa
noke Rapids Methodist and Ki
wanis Club.
Anyone wishing to make a do
nation, please send it to Mrs. A.
E. Akers, Treasurer, Roanoke
Rapids Red Cross Chapter.
Miss Eddins, Mr. Cheek, and
their bunch of “Dignified Sen
iors”, as they call them, are plan
ning a most successful year.
UP AND DOWN
Uhe Avenue
WITH THE EDITOR
The Woman’s Club will hold
their October meeting on Monday
afternoon at the club house. The
program for the afternoon will be
under (the direction of the Civic
Department and several local
speakers will present local prob
lems of interest to every woman
in town. The membership commit
tee wishes to welcome quite a
few new members, and all women
interested in club work are asked
to become a member.
Mi*, and Mrs. William C.
Thompson, married here on
September 14th, are at home
at 1506 W. Girad Avenue,
Philadelphia.
Citizens of Roanoke Rapids are
warned about parking near the
new fire hydrants. It is against
the law to park within ten feet
of a hydrant. The maximum fine
can be $50.00 and costs.
Judge Daniel asked one Roa
noke Rapids speeder if he had
read about the death of a
child, the Mayor's warning to
speeders, and other speed
news of the past few issues
of The Herald. The defendant
replied that he was not a sub
scriber to The Herald and had
not read the news. Just think
how much he would have sav
ed if he had been a Herald
reader. It certainly pays to
keep up with what’s going on
in city and county. j
J. Saunders and his East Caro
lina Concert Band played to sev
eral thousand people at Rocky
Mount last Sunday afternoon. And
had two baseball games close by
for competition. They have played
to crowds of 5,000 at Wilson and
Kinston in past months. While a
large part of the band comes from
Roanoke Rapids, it is impossible
to get the crowds here like they do
at other places in the State. J.
wonders Why?
Our guess was that the other
places had big parks for out
side concerts, properly built
bandstands. When they play
herte, they must use the High
School auditorium and people
do not like to go indoors in
the Summer time.
Another guess by somebody else
sounds even better. He said the
(Continued on back page)
E. A. MATTHEWS TO
BE RETURNED HERE
FOR EMBEZZLEMENT
A. fugitive from the law for six years, E. A. Mat
thews, Roanoke Rapids lawyer, was arrested in Hono
lulu, Hawaii, this week and is Ifeing returned to Halifax
County to stand trial for embezzlement.
„ Disappearing from this city in the fall of 1926,
Matthews whereabouts were unknown until a cablegram
from the Honolulu police last week stated the fugitive
had been identified by three tourists from Halifax
Lounty.
Kidnap Trial On
An indictment, charging embez
zlement of $3,800 from E. W. Lis
les of Halifax County, was secured
in 1929. Other embezzlements are
said to run into a total of some
$50,000. His victims were Roanoke
Rapids, Halifax and Northamp
ton County property owners for
whom he negotiated property
loans.
A cablegram was sent today
by Halifax County authorities to
the chief of police of Honolulu. It
reads:
Gabrielson, Chief of Police,
Honolulu, Hawaii.
Put Matthews on ship stop
Check for $90 w'ill await you
in San Francisco payable to
Chief of Police San Francis
co stop Deliver Matthews to
police authorities in San Fran
cisco to be held until called
for.
Matthews will be brought to San
Francisco and from there will be
brought to Halifax County by some
one from Sheriff Johnson’s office.
It i3 not known yet who identified
the fugitive. More than a year ago,
a Roanoke Rapids boy in the Ma
rines says he saw Matthews in
Honolulu.
1 Above, Federal Judge Edgar. S.
Vaught before whom is being tried;
the defendants charged with the
kidnapping of Charles F. Urschel,
millionaire oil man of Tulsa, Okla,
The trial is being held at Okla*'
homa City, ^
ONE DEAD
RESULT
OF BREAK
Four prisoners are back at Cal
edonia tonight, and one of their
colleagues is in Billy William’s
morgue as a result of the most
recent break and escape attempt
at the penal institution Tuesday at
noon.
According to Superior Court
Clerk Ed. Travis, there is only the
Lisles indictment against Mat
thews, altho there were several
other victims in this and North
ampton County. Some of these
settled with by the loan compan
ies from proceeds of the sale of
Matthews’ property. Banks and
title companies also lost money in
their dealings with Matthews.
The lawyer represented the Fed
eral Land Bank of Columbia and
he was said to have refinanced
loans thru the Virginia-Carolina
Joint Stock Land Bank of Eliza
beth City. When the loans would
arrive for his clients, it is charg
ed Matthews would cash the
checks, made out jointly, and keep
the money. When a client became
unduly impatient, he would nego
tiate a loan for a new client and
use that money to satisfy the
first client. Things went well for
him until too many of them be
came disgruntled and he could not
make enough new loans to pay
(Continned on back page)
Joseph McCarty, 23-year-old
white man serving a 3-year sen
tence from Moore county, is the
dead man, and he was accompan
ied on the escape attempt by Jim
Tendall, Benjamin Drew, Raymond
Rich and Ned Heffner. Heffner
gave up after swimming a short
distance in Roanoke River. The
other three men' succeeded in
swimming the river, but were ar
rested near Jackson yesterday af
ternoon and returned to Caledonia.
H. S. Powell, foreman, and Jul
ian Riggs, guard, were working a
group of 13 men, picking butter
beans near the camp Tuesday.
While eating their lunch, McCar
ty, assisted by two other prison
ers, hit the guard on the head with
(Continued on back page)