THE ROANOKE RAPIDS
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VOLUME TWENTY-ONE ROANOKE RAPIDS, N. C. THURSDAY, AUG. 1, 1935 NUMBER SIX
'
KILLING
SUNDAY
Five Littleton Negroes are
being held in jail at Halifax
charged with the murder of
Will Alston, 22 year old Ne
gro, whose dead body was
found on the railroad tracks
near Darden Lumber Co. Sun
day night.
Those in jail are Wilson Lee,
Willie Mae Arrington and her
daughter, Annie Belle, and two
material witnesses, Haywood
Shearin and Minnie West.
! The body was found by Officer
Newsome and a railroad employee.
The Coroner Monday rendered a
verdict of death from being struck
by a train. Trainmen say they saw
the man just before he was struck
but too late to stop the train.
Tuesday, the father of the dead
man, June Alston, swore out war
rants for the five above, charging
murder. Chief Harvey and Of
ficer Newsome made the arrest.
At the hearing before Magistrate
J. R. Kirkland, there was much
conflicting testimony but suffi
cient of a nature to cause the
Magistrate to hold the five for
the grand jury.
It was brought out that all the
persons had been fighting and that
shortly before Alston was killed
he had a fist fight with one of
the defendants near the spot where
his body was found. One witness
testified he was knocked down
twice on the railroad tracks. All
had been drinking. It is the
opinion of some that Alston was
left senseless on the tracks after
the fight.
UP AND DOWN
Ghe Avenue
WITH THK
todtlo%
DRUNKS are going to find the going harder and harder as the police
of all N. C. cities where there are AI3l-stores express themselves as
did the Chief of Police of Warrenton. The police are also going co
find that they have public opinion with them now more than ever. It
is no longer funny to see a cirunk. That fellow is just making it
harder to convince folks the present system of handling liquor is the
best. We say to our police that they will have the full cooperation of
a great majority of the citizens if they bear down on those who per
sist in making disgusting hogs of themselves. Citizens, police and the
courts should combine to bring forth an era of real temperance by
turning thumbs down on the intemperate. The Warren Record says:
“The expressed determination of acting Chief-of-Police Wilson, as
carried on the front page of this newspaper, to bear down on public
drunkenness will meet with the approval of citizens of the town as
well as those who come to their county-seat town to do their trading.
There is no good reason for allowing those who are unable to control
their appetites for strong drinks to annoy other citizens of the town
and make a general nuisance of themselves. In bearing down on all
such, without fear and without favor, we believe Warrenton police
will have the full support of our citizens.”
-o
WHAT is the Reason? asks F. C. Hege, who sends in the following:
A loom fixer who formerly worked here returns from Burlington to
move his family. Says all the mills there running full time double
shifts. When asked if any Union there or ABC st«jfe, says No.—We
might ask Mr. Hege what is his reasoning. What connection has an
ABC store Iwith whether a mill has orders to run on or not? Had he
left that part off, we could see where he reasoned that because the
Burlington mills were not unionized, they had received plenty of or
ders from buyers who do not care to place orders with mills constant
ly having labor disorders. I
(Continued on back page)
FARMER USES HOE
ON NEIGHBOR’S HEAD
_A___
John .C. .Alston, .well .known
farmer and saw mill operator near
Littleton, is in the Roanoke Rap
ids Hospital in a very serious con
dition from a wound in the head
received from a hoe in the hands
of Frank Langston, another farm
er of that section.
The affray took place Friday
morning on the road near Lang
ston’s farm. After an argument,
Langston struck Alston a power
ful blow on the head with the hoe
he had been using. The wounded
man was rushed here in a criti
cal condition and doctors at first
did not think he would live.
His condition is slightly im
proved today, but is still very se
rious.
Langston is being held in jail at
Warrenton pending the outcome of
Alston’s condition. The former’s
son was the only eye witness.
Both are from prominent fam
ilies and each is about 40 years
old. Alston was passing Lang
ston’s place when the latter
stopped him and the two got into
an argument. It is said the dif
ference was about a small amount
of money which one claimed the
other owed him.
I
FINED AND
LOSES HIS
LICENSE
J. Dooley, who told a crowd
of 75 at the Labar Temole
here last Saturday that he
had been framed and was in
nocent of charges brought a
gainst him, was found guilty
in Recorder’s Court this
Tuesday at Fayetteville.
He was fined $50.00 and the
costs and his driver’s license was
ordered taken from him for a pe
riod of three months.
Dooley was round guilty or
drunk and disorderly and driving
an' automobile while under the in
fluence of liquor. He noted an
appeal to Superior Court.
He had been arrested last week
on the highway near Fayetteville
by county officer Raymond Edge,
after he had driven the officer’s
car off the road and after a chase
of several miles, during which
Dooley forced several other cars
off the highway. He was drunk
when the officer finally caught
him.
Dooley was under bond when he
returned to Roanoke Rapids last
Saturday to attend a meeting with
Messrs. Lawrence and Christopher.
Evidently planning for an over
flow crowd, they installed a loud
speaker in front of the meeting
place. About 75 went in the hall,
while about 25 heard the speeches
from the sidewalk in front.
Mr. Lawrence spoke on the Wag
ner Bill, while Christopher took
occasion to belittle home unions.
Dooley was most interested in de
fending his criminal recoi-d. He
assailed the Roanoke Rapids Her
ald as a “Tad-pole” newspaper,
which this week would be com
pelled to print in large type the
news that Dooley was Not Guilty.
Instead, the headlines are that
Dooley is guilty.
Local Union Grows
At the same time this speaking
was on, the Roanoke Textile Work
ers, local union of textile em
ployees, were having their regular
——o
(Continued on back page)
j_Pedj^VTroublc n
Viola Brown, above, pretty
American shop girl, is in a peck
of trouble since her marriage to
K. M. James Lin, foster son
of the President of China and
student at Ohio State Univer
sity. Reports from home say
Lin is already married.
Change ABC Hours
Week-day and Saturday hours
of Halifax County ABC Stores
will be from 9 A. M. to 6 P. M.
according to announcement com
ing late this afternoon from
Wm. Alfred Thorne, chairman
of the ABC board. Last week,
the stores remained open until
8 o’clock Saturday night. In
the future, the stores will close
at 6 o’clock every night.
CHANCE TO PAVE J’CKS’N
AND HAMILTON STREETS
If the property owners are will
ing to pay their share, as in all
cities, Roanoke Rapids can have
sevieral miles of paved, streets
within the next year. The city
officials have applied to the Fed
eral government for a 45 per cent
grant on a paved street project
which would cover all of Jackson
and Hamilton Streets and the side
streets leading from Jackson and
Hamilton to the Avenue.
The government will pay 45 per
cent, the property owners 36 per
cent and the city 19 per cent of
the cost. Corner property owners
would pay only for 60 of the 140
feet on the side streets; the city
paying the balance and for all al
leys and street intersections.
The cost to each property owner
over a ten year period per 30
foot lot would be:
Concrete—$8.49 a year.
Asphalt—$5.55 a year.
This would include the cost of
storm drainage, concrete curb and
18 inch concrete gutter, and the
grading and permanent surfacing
of the street.
If the property owners agree to
pay their share at once, there ia
a good chance of having the proj
ect approved at once and work
started within 60 days.