Newspapers / Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, … / Feb. 20, 1947, edition 1 / Page 1
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* FORECAST: Served By LeaSed Wires rarsnwf Jets ^S“d 1 Vf t ft tf I4 associated press Friday cloudy with occasional rain and III I I I I I I I i/ 7/ I I I and the slightly warmer ill 1111 111 W 1 11 1 UNITED PRESS ^ ^ ^ ^ With Complete Coverage of '——" State and National News VOLJO.-N^10:---___ __J_WILMINGTON, N. C., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1947 ESTARIISHFD ISfiT Gurley Gives Evidence For Prosecution Orissetf Trial Get* Under way After Completion Of Jury late Ye*terday THIRD WITNESS Indicted Ex-Patrolman Places Defendant Behind Hardware Store In July — The state’s star witness in the Wilmington ex-police officer’s al leged thefts told a jury in New Hanover county Superior Court yesterday afternoon that he saw patrolman Roy Grissett walk from behind the Anchor Hardware itore in July last year with a box which contained an “outboard Diot-or.’’ The witness, H. L. Gurley, also I former policeman on the Wil mington force, and who also is under indictment of storebreaking, was the third witness to take the Hand after selection of a jury had been completed at 3.45 p. m. After Gurley, admittedly caught red-handed in a local grocerteria, had been indicted he implicated Grissett in the store-breaking charge. Gurley told the court that he and Grissett patrolled adjoining beats lining the time of the alleged thefts "sometime” last July. He said that he saw Grissett, on or about the first of July, come from be hind the Anchor Hardware store with a package. It was aoout 2 a. m., he said. And he described the package as being about four feet long and two feet wide. He said he saw Gris lett put the package down on the jround in the alley. He said t.nat Grissett came out to the street, and told him, that “I have an outboard motor” and that he had "got it from the Anchor Hardware store.” It was ibout an hour, he said, before he saw Grissett again. At that time Gurley quoted Grissett as saying "I have sent at sway.” On cross-examination by Attor ney Elbert Brown. Gurley admit ted that he did not. of his own knowledge, know what the box contained. And tie said that he did not go back of the hardware i;ore to see if it had been entered. Under a heated cross examina (Continued on Page 2, Column 5, SELECTING JURY PROVES PROBLEM Many Are CaUed But Few Are Chosen In Grissett Case Here there s really nothing unusual • bout selecting an ordinary jury for an ordinary court trial. But the story to follow is not about an ordinary jury, neither is it about •n ordinary' trial. For qualifications sake, probably no other city in North Carolina •ver before has had two of its policemen indicted simultaneously while members of the force; on charges on breaking and entering, •r.d larceny. That's one reason why this is no1 •n unusual story. The second rea lm simply and factually is that few jurors ever have flatly admitted that they believe a defendant guilty snd nothing the defense might of fer would change their opinion. That’s exactly what happened in New Hanover County Superior Court yesterday afternoon when the trial of Roy Grissett got under way *s the first of the two former Wil mington policemen to face prosecu tion. To begin with, practically every juror called said that they believed Grissett to be guilty as charged, but that if the defense offered suf ficient evidence of his innocence they would change their mind. However, there were many excep tions. And that’s what this story is about. John Mercer, who is engaged in business at Wrightsville Beach, a ^(Continued On Page Two; Col. 4) RHONE'S MEDITATIONS By Alley 1 —\ -'TY PAPOrtS PRINTS Potfncs ioo <^IN' OHDERSTAH' NO-NoW ^ A COUNTRY PAPUK Print de hews 'Bout pou<s Vou knows ! flC/i vw- **“'»■ >«■) Trale Mark Z-loXt'? * ° ‘ ^ °**' Granny Is 105 .Now I _ Although bedridden because of a fractured hip, Granny Turner, above, is managing, she says, to enjoy life at the age of 105. A patient at the New Hanover county home, where she is officially registered as Martha Jane Turner, Granny bantered Interviewers yesterday but concluded by singing them a song. (PHOTO BY CAROLINA CAMERA). Granny Turner, At 105, Sings To Interviewers Wilmington Woman Cheer ful As She Recalls Days Of Happy Youth Granny Turner, now in her 105th year, she says, smoothed her bright white hair against her pillow. She closed her wrinkled eyes, shutting off the mischievous gleam that lighted them, and lay lost for a moment in reverie in her bed at the New' Hanover county home. Then she opened her eyes again, carefully folded her thin hands across her breast, and began to laugh in a soft, silent chuckle. “Where was I born, you wanted to know?” “Yes, Granny,” said the report er. “Well, honey,” she said, still chuckling silently, “I was mighty Utile then and don't remember much about it, but they told me it was in Bladen county, two miles this side of Elizabethtown.” Granny Turner, officially regis tered at the county home as Martha Tane Turner, was satisfied with her quip.• She had had.her moment of amusement. Now she was interested in other things. She wanted a fresh box of j snuff. “Tell the doctor to bring it to j me.” she said, with the inflection j of finality that was fashioned for; women accustomed to getting their , bidding. The doctor brought the snuff to Granny. The “doctor” was Char lbs M. Carter, superintendent of the county home. The “doctor” is all that Granny has ever called him. She can get away with that, and probably more. too. because Gran ny has a priority rating.. “She has been at the New’ Han over institution for about a year and a half, ever since she was tak (Continued On Page Two; Col. 6) PENSIONBOARD GRANTSREQUEST Takes Action On Police Chief’s Retirement; Thompson To Serve Chief of Police Charles R- '-as teen’s request for retirement from the local police force was granted at a meeting of the police pension fund board yesterday afternoon. Although no definite time was set for the retirement to become effec-, five it was recommended that it be at an early date in view of the recommendations of three local doctors which accompanied the re quest. , , - The pension board’s decision specified that the retirement be come effective at a date satisfac tory to the city administration and to Casteen, according to Harry M. Soloman, who presided at the board meeting. Meanwhile, the appointment of Lt. O. V. Thompson as acting police chief in the absence of Casteen was announced by City Manager J. R. Benson. Casteen is scheduled to leave for Fletcher Sunday for a three month rest cure and Thomp son will serve as head of the de partment until a successor to Cas teen is appointed. Thompson, who is next in depart ment seniority, is now in charge of the 8 a. m. to 4 p. m. shift. FOOD PRICES DIP COMES TO AN END Nation-Wide Survey Shows Retail Cost Of Many Items Soaring BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Indications that tne brakes had been applied to a January dip in many food prices was given yes terday in a cross-country survey of a number of common items. With weather and other seasonal factors coloring parts of the pic ture, price tags on' some foods were shown to have been revised upward, at least temporarily, in several cities. Others held firm or showed signs of continuing a down ward trend. Against this checker - board pat tern, in which priees frequently varied widely from city to city, there stood out the latest figures of the Federal Bureau of Labor statistics that if all food prices were considered in one lump the trend was up from last month's level. Most meat prices in New York, for example, were advanced mark edly over last week. The same ’f'ent was 'shown in some other cities, but was not reported .1-wide. Freezing weather rais ed hob with citrus and fresh vege table prices in some sections. Drop ping butter prices firmed or went up in several cities. Even when prices went down or held to recent lows, however, the survey showed that in most cases they were still considerably re moved from one - time OPA price ceilings. Clothing tip The survey showed also that men's clothing .prices in the na tion’s principal cities frequently were 10 to 20 percent above old OPA levels, and might go up be fore they came down. Women's me dium priced dresses generally were up, from slightly to a lot, but with sn improvement in quality and se lection. Shoe prices had recorded a major advance also. A housewife who could afford ny lons wouldn’t go broke on the rela tively small increases recorded for them in most cities, the survey showed, and she could replenish her supply of bed sheets at some where near OPA levels in a num ber of metropolitan areas if she shopped around long enough. Food prices presented a varying picture. Here is what you would find if you went out to purchase a good, round steak, butter, eggs, (Continued on Page Ten; Col. 3) WEATHERMAN SAYS CITY CAN EXPECT COLD, CLOUDY DAY Cloudy and cooler is the fore cast given for Wilmington today, by Paul Hess, Wilmington weather man. With a low of 34 degrees expectld for early this morning, temperatures are due to rise to a high of 46 degrees during the day. The northeasterly winds are to diminish today, Hess said. The cold wave which . struck in the Northwest will 'not be severe here, he said, and although it is snow ing in Asheville and Richmond, no snow is predicted for Wilmington. Too Many Crosby Records \ Rouse Ire Of Scotchman LONDON, Feb:' 19—W—Walter Elliott, Conservative party mem ber of parliament from Scotland, argued in Commons tonight that the British Broadcasting corpor ation was playing too many Bing Crosby records. “It’s not merely three or four hours of Bing Crosby,’’ he said, "but 30 or 40 or 300 or 400 and this aU&catkm is rained on the heads of many households.” Mrs. Jean Mann, a Laborite, claimed that the sentiments ex pressed in many of the modern tunes played over the BBC helped lure married couple* into illicit affairs. "We who make the laws are perturbed at the rising costs of divorce courts, at homes for ille gitimate children, at the number of parents who have taken their matrimonial respors.'bilit'es fr ‘do lightly ard are encouraged by crooners to regard this sort of thing as a highlight of happiness,” she said. These comments came just be fore the House a > roved a supple mentary budget of $!o.976,0"'! ‘o operate the BBC. The rest of the money for the BBC cc es t or. more than 10,000,-000 radio owners in Britain who pay four dollari each for an annual license. TRUMAN ASKS CONGRESS FOR LAWS % TO PERMIT EARLY EMERGENCY END; ROWDYISM MARKS “LABOR” HEARING l-l "i" I .. " — —' " il Adjournment Threat Halts Warm Debate _ Galleries Loudly Applaud Josephus Daniels’ De- - fense Of Closed Shop MINISTER “BOOED” Dr. Frank P. Graham Hits At Attempt To Destroy Bargaining Rights RALEIGH, Feb. 19 — (IP) —Amid contrasting tempers of boas and cheers, the House Comnfittee on Manufacturing and Labor today heard proponents and opponents of a bill to outlaw the closed shop in North Carolina, in what observers called “one of the rowdiest legis lative committee hearings on rec ord.’’ The “boos” and cheers came after testimony by the Rev. F. T. Rose of Brevard on behalf of the bill, and were stopped only by con stant pounding of the gravel by Rep. R. L. Harris of Person, chairman of the committee. Harris said: “If we have any more of that, the meeting will adjourn. Make up your minds: this committee will accord each side the right to speak.” Rose said, “I come to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to speak for this anti-closed shop bill. I am a conscientious objector to being forced to join something un democratic and unchristian.” He shouted that “never in the II yea^s that I have been a child of God nor in the three years' I have been a preacher, have I been forced to sign • on a dotted i line for labor dictators.” Loud~applause, ringing iii "the galleries, came later when Jo sephus Daniels, editor and pub lisher of the Raleigh News and Ob server, spoke against the bill, say ing: “I am an employer who has operated under the closed shop for many years with nothing but good results.” “Any man who thinks he can reg ulate labor unions might just as soon try to push back the ocean.” Daniels said, adding “it cannot be done.” He said the bill was “conceived in secrecy and came from an asso ciation that wants to destroy labor unions — not from dissatisfied unions themselves.” “The proposed bill would throw a firebrand into every industry in this state. North Carolina has been (Continued On Page Two; Col. 2) j MEDICAL SOCIETY NAMES OFFICERS Dr. Johnson Of Garland Selected As Head Of Third District With approximately 60 represen tatives from New Hanover, Brun swick, Columbus, Onslow, Samp son, Duplin, -Bladen, and Pender counties, present the winter meet ing of the Third District Medical Society was held in the Cape Fear club last night. New officers elected for the as sociation are as follows: Dr Amos Pohnson, Garland, president: Dr. William Tarlington, Jacksonville, vice president, and Dr. William Baldwin, Whiteville, secretary and treasurer. Action taken during the . meet ing included the unanimous »ir ■ ing of the ■James F. Robertson as a candi date for tils p _ Continued on Page Two; Col 3) “Red Arrow ” Train Leaves Rails On Sharp Curve ! ........ mm %mmm °? a s*eep l?ank beside sharp “Bennington Curve” near the Pennsylvania railroad’s better known Horseshoe Curve’ lies wreckage of the fast Detr oit-to-New York passenger train, the “Red Arrow." It left the rails a short distance from Altoona, Pa., killing at least 22 persons and injuring about 128 Smoke puffs come from a salvage train directly be hind one of the “Red Arrow’s” cars still on the road bed. (AP Wlrephoto). Proposed Traffic Artery \ In City To Cost $34,000 The Weather FORECAST: North Carolina — Cloudy and rather cold, occasional rain Southwest and snow or sleet North and West portions Thurs i day. Friday, cloudy with occasional rain j and slightly warmer, i South Carolina — Cloudy and Quite | cool, occasional rain. SJeet or snow- ex treme northwest portion Thursday. Fri day mostly cloudy with rain and little change in temperature. (Eastern Standard Time) (By 1'. S. Weather Bureau) Meteorological data for the 24 hour* \ ending 7:30 p. m. yesterday. Temperatures: 1 :30 a. m. 54; 7:30 a. m. 45: 1:30 p. m. i 56: 7:30 p. m. 46. Maximum 56; Minimum 43: Mean 49; j Normal 48. Humidity: 1:30 a. m. 50; 7:30 a. m. 69: 1:30 p. m. 51; 7 ;30 p. rn. 68. Precipitation: Total for 24 hours ending 7:30 p. m.— 0.00 inches. Total since the first of the month — 0 34 inches. Tides For Today (From, the Tide Tables published by U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey). HIGH LOW Wilmington _9:29 a.m. 4:08 a.m. 9:43 p.m. ' 4 :40 p.m. Masonboro Inlet 7:20 a.m. 1:20 a.m. 7:26 p.m: 1:38 p.m Sunrise 6:51: Sunset 6:00: Moonrise 6:38a; Moonset 3:4lp. River stage at Fayetteville. N. C., at 8 a. m. Wednesday 11.2 feet. YARD CONFERENCE SET BY STEELMAN N.C. Congressmen, Truman Ass'stant To Discuss SPA Offer Today WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 — (£>)— Presidential Assistant John R Steelman will corner with North Carolina members of Congress at 4 p. m. tomorrow on the state’s efforts to purchase the North Car olina Shipbuilding . yards at Wil mington. The North Carolina Ports author ity wants to buy the yards and has offered to pay the U. S. Maritime commission $1,200,000 for the prop erty. This offer was *rejected. Senator Hoey (D-NC) told a re porter the group tomorrow again will discuss the details of the pro posed purchase at the request of steelman wso was asked by Pres ident Truman to study the situ ation. Along The Cape Fear GREAT DIVIDE—Yesterday we j vere fortunate enough to bring j you a picture of the monument erected to the brave women of the Cape Fear section. The monument located in Moore’s Creek National Military Park at Currie pays par ticular tribute to Mary (Polly) S’ocumb who aided the Patriots | following the famous battle fought there on February 27. 1776. Thanks to Oswald E. Camp, cus todian of the park for the National Park Service of the U. S. Depart ment of the Interior, we can bring you some of the historical back-^ ground that led up to that memor able engagement. The growth of the Old North State from a few coastal settle ments to a large and populous Royal Colony brought in its wake several disturbances. The schism between East and West, caused by the dominance of colony by the eastern section (that’s us) though less populus as early as 1770. resulted in a violent en counter between the two sections s A'amanee Creek in 1771. There, while the so-called Regu lators were defeated, the Preach was widened, and the defeated v \ Westerners were under parole of -•> king through the royal gov ernor. * * * POPULAR GROUP—Some ele ments among the settlers had not. by 1775, been amalgamated into the general populace. Chief of these was a large nura ■'ey of Scotch Highlanders who. be tween 1765 ana 1775. had migrated to and had settled in the central part of the colony. By 1775, Clans McDonald (Isles) and McLeod held a dominant place among these settlers, and Allan McDonald and his wife, the cele brated Flora, . were among the leaders. * * * OPPOSITION GROWS — The growth of opposition to parliamen tary taxation in 1775 forced the Royal Governor. Josiah Martin, to take refuge on a ship in the mouth of 1he Cape Fear River. Counting the number of avowed Loyalists who had corresponded —fih biro, knowing of the loyalty to the crown of the Scotch H gh iar-dei-s. and remembering tb- ’ role authority which he b- ter (Continued On Page Two: Cot. 5) Benson Makes Estimate Of Local Share In Seventh Street Route An additional through traffic artery for Wilmington will cost j the city around $34,000 or ten per j cent of the' amount estimated as! necessary for the project, accord ing to City Manager J. R. Benson yesterday. This estimate was given by Benson following a meeting of the city council yesterday which was attended by a delegation from the State Highway Commission headed by Chairman A. H. Graham. The highway department group appeared before the council to present the program formulated by the commission as the answer to the traffic problem on Third street. W. Vance Baise, the com mission's chief engineer, present ed the plan on behalf of the high way department following a state ment by Graham that the use of arterial highways in _a city is pre ferred io the establishment of a route by-passing traffic. The route proposed by the high way commission called for heavy traffic to move along Seventh street, to connect with Dawson and thence via Nixon street. In answer to a question by Councilman Har riss Newman why the route did not follow Third street which -is now the main traffic artery, Gra ham replied that Seventh street was less cro.wded and therefore was less suseptible to heavy dam age from a fire or explosion. The Commission’s recommenda tion calls for a minimum width ot 44 feet from curb to curb and a 99 foot building line. The cost of the project, set at approximately $340,000 will be di- j vided between the state and federal; road bureaus less the $34,000 to be ; furnished by the city. Mayor W. Ronald Lane said fol lowing yesterday’s session that a public hearing on the plan would be held within the near future. Clark To Speak WILMINGTON STAR Washington Bureau WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 — t/P)— Representative J. Bayard Clark! of Fayetteville. N. C., who rarely makes a speech in the house, will arise tomorrow in protest against the Republicans’ proposed six bil lion-dollar budget slash. “I favor ecor^jny,” he said to-j day. “but I’m against cutting ! blindly. We must first determine! how much money the government needs—especially for maintaining a strong national defense.’’ Aunt Ida Has Little Truck With Tingling Telephones Really, you ought to know Aunt Ida, in print at least. Aunt Ida is a character unique a colored woman of firm and pre cise nabits. An impo.tation of years ago from j t.ie rolling farm lands of her na- j hve Georgia, she is employed here; as a domestic-of-all-sorts by the prim landlady of aiir.en’s rooming house. The other afternoon the telephone rang there. Aunt Ida, kneeling as she dialed near the telephone stand in the hall, lifted her graying head and sliG' ted “Hello!'’ The telephone kept on ringing. “Hello!” shouted Aunt Ida again. "W;’1o! Hello!" . v But the telephone continued to ring, despite Aunt Ida’s combined salutations, each of which had gathered shrill crescendo. The prim landlady, attracted by the telephone's insistent calling arx fcv Aunt Ida's persistent clam |. left her room and went to investi gate. “Look, Aunt Ida.” explained the landlady patiently. “You must lift the receiver before answering.” Aunt Ida t'urned a bellicose eye ,n r.er employer. “Mot me. Man. I have little truck with them things. If they don’t want to answer when I an swer. they can keep on ringin.’ ” RED ARROW DEATH LIST FIXED AT 22 Seven Of 128 Injured On Critical List In Altoona Hospitals r ALTOONA, Pa., Feb. 19 — VP) — The dead from the plunge the Pennsylvania railroad’s ’Red Arrow” took down a 150-foot em bankment in the pre-dawn hours yesterday was fixed at 22 today with seven of the 128 injured on the critical list. Tire last of the dead we,re iden tified today by the railroad and Coroner Daniel M. Jteplogle of Blair county with one exception. Mrs. Lillian Pettigrew of Adele, Ga. was listed among the fatal ities but there was belief the body may be that of her sister, Mrs. Beatrice White of Bridgeton, Mrs. Pettigrew’s brother, Willie Seabrook of Bridgeton, was said to be enroute to establish definite identification. Originally, the number of dead was thought to be 25 but was re duced as confusion over names was straightened out and badly mangled bodies were identified. There was a Mrs. Renetti listed among those dead but later the body was identified as that of Mrs. Innocente Brunatti of Wyandotte. Mich. About 50 of the injured remain ed in either the Mercy or Altoona Genera] hospitals. In addition to the seven listed in critical condi tion, five were reported serious < and nine fair. HUBBARD TO HEAD DRIVE COMMITTEE Group Will Solicit Public Service Division For Red Cross - | L. S. Hubbard, Jr., represent ative for Dunn and Bradstreet, will head the Public Service Di vision, to aid in the 1947 financial drive of the local Red Cross chap ter. His appointment was announc ed last night by J. H. Carswell and N. A. Avera, co-chairmen ol the drive. Hubbard has appointed C. T. Burke and Cecil W. Henderson as the two team captains to head committees in the work of the Public Service Division. This di vision will solicit funds for the drive from personnel of local uitli ty companies, banks restaurants and other concerns. AH workers in the division will meet next week to get supplies and make last minute plans. Their work will begin shortly thereafter. President Would‘Keep’ 16 Statues Immediate Repeal Of Many Wartime Measures Urged In New Message “SECOND’7 STEP White House Proposal May Return Coast Guard To Navy At Once WASHINGTON, Feb. 19.—(*•)—In a major new stride toward normal national life, President Truman today asked legislation by Con gress to permit "early ending” of the 7 1-2 year old “state of emergency.” The President’s message urged extension of only 16 of the 102 emergency laws on the books, in cluding the power to arm merchant ships and the maintenance of de fense housing, now in use for vet erans. Congress was asked to repeal immediately 24 laws dealing with “problems of the war which no longer face us,” such as the leasa of public lands for arms produc tion and the use of dollar-a-year men. * On his own, the Chief Executive ordered federal agencies to sus pend activities under the emer gency clauses of 36 permanent statutes at once or "in any event not later than March 15.” "The progress of reconversion now makes it possible to take an additional step toward freeing our economy of wartime controls,” said the message sent to. Capitol Hill. Before Midyear Mr. Truman made it clear that he hopes to declare an end of th* emergency before midyear, If prompt Congressional action on today’s recommendations makes such speed possible. Thereup, all the laws which remain In fore* for the period of emergency will end automatically. This will accomplish the second of the tliree big steps unwrapping the tangle of war powers and de fense controls. The first was taken Dec. 21, when the President proclaimed the end of hostilities and thereby knocked out 5S statutes including the federal au thority to seize strikebound privafe plants. The third step—-and the most important one—will come with th* (Continued on Page 2, Column 5) WALTON TO JOIN ORPHANAGE STAFF Southside Baptist Pastor Tenders Resignation Last Night At a meeting last' night in the Southside Baptist church, the Rev. J. O. Walton, pastor of the church for the past eight, years, offered his resignation to become effective about April 8, to join the staff of the Baptist Orphanage at Thomas ville. The Rev. Mr. Walton’s letter of resignation said in part: “After many days of constant prayer and the most careful con sideration, I am tendering my res ignation, effective about April 8. “My reason for resigning: After looking at the matter in every way of which I can possibly conceive, it seems very clear to me that my service for the next while should be rendered at our Baptist Orphan age (Mills Hornet in Thomasvfle.” He came to the Southside Baptist church, Nov. 9. 1938, from Wind sor. Members of the congregation, regretfully accepting his resigna tion, said that the church’s finan cial condition at that time was bad. He celebrated his third year with the church, they said, by cbn cluding a campaign to pay off all of its indebtedness. “We deeply regret that he has seen fit to accent the Thomasville - call.” they said. “And in accept ing his resignation we feel that we are maki(B a sacrifice to the Mills Home and the Baptist denomina tion.” And So To Bed A lowly rat can be the source of trouble still. The transmitter at police headquarters suddenly went on the blink last night and for sev eral minutes contact between headquarters and patrol cars was broken. Try as he would, radio operator J. W. Wilson's efforts to “raise” the cars were to no avail. The radio technician was summoned and in the trans mitter, roasted and dead, was found the form of a lowly rat, j evidently executed while trying to find a warm spot. To him went the honor for the breaking of the circuit. V
Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, N.C.)
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Feb. 20, 1947, edition 1
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