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The Leading Weekly Newspaper in Western North Carolina, Serving a large and Fcrientiaiiy Rich 1 erritory in this state
MURPHY, NORTH CAROLINA FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1^27.
VOLUME XXXVIII. NUMBER 2!t.
COPY ? I1.5C PER YEAB
TWO DIE IN
PISTOLDUEL
AT TOPTON
Boys Entered Cafe As Friends; Trival
Joke Said To Have Precipitated
Gun Play
Two men are dead and another is
wounded as a result of a pistol duel
in a cafe at Topton last Saturday 1
night.
Victor Birchfield, 22, son of Sheriff'
p. M. Birchfield, of Cherokee county,
an<i his cou.->r?, En?rrict Wiixjii. 2G,
of Topton, were fatally wounded and
Arnold Wright, 18, an innocent by
stander, was slightly wounded during
the pistol battle which occurred as a
result of a trival joke, according to
witnesses.
The two victims of the fight were
apparently on good terms, Birchfield
having taken supper at the Wright |
home earlier in the evening, when |
they entered the cafe Saturday nitrht |
about S o'clock. Others in the restau- 1
rant were scarcely aware that any
thing unusual was under way until !
the filing started.
Face Deadly Hail
They continued shooting, neither
giving an inch of ground under the
deadly hail of bullets, until both fell
mortally wounded. Wright was car
ried to his home a few hundred feet
from the scene of the duel, and died
alomst instantly. Birchfield was taken
t< the home of his father near To
m<>tla and died at X o'clock Sunday
morning.
The cousin of Wright was wound
ed in the hip but a medical cxaniina
* on at an Asheville hospital where h"
\va-- carried following the shooting,
disclosed that he was not dangerous
ly wo nded.
Kmniet Wright was the son of Tom
bright, of Topton, and is survived by
his parents, his widow and two small
chiMren. Birchfield is survived by his
parents, two sisters and one brother.
The men had been together all day,
.? < < < nfing to reports, and appeared
to be the best of friends. After they
entered the cafe they had been seat
ed only a very few minutes when a
trival jok^> caused them to become
deadly enemies in an instant, and led
to the shooting that cost them their
lives. Both men were well known in
this section.
Funeral services were held for
^ l ight Sunday afternoon at the First
Baptist church at Andrews by Rev.
W H. Ford, assisted by Vaughn Kin
sey.
Last rites for young Birchfield
were held Monday morning at An
drews by the Rev. Clay Whitaker. In
terment of the two young men were
?n the Andrews cemetery, within less i
than 100 yards of each other. ,
No investigation of the affair is j
expected as both were slain in the ,
pistol battle.
Victim TelU Story
Arnold Wright, when questioned at
the Mission hospital Sunday night by
a C itizen representative, gave an eye
witness' version of the affair. He had
gone to the cafe with the two- men
after they had had supper together.
His statement of the shooting was as I
follows:
We all went to the restaurant to
gether, I went in the restaurant with
*ny cousins, but wras not so near them
when they began shooting. I do not
now what statement or joke it was
that started the shooting, but the
first thing I knew both were shooting
?*U each other at close range. One was
using a .38 calibre special and the !
other a 32-30 pistol, Victor shot r^ix j
imes and Emmet shot five time.-. I
6r0 were three or four others in
e cafe besides my cousins and my- 1
self. ;
"It all happened so quickly that I ;
! 1 not realize much about it until I
a a bullet in my hip. Emmet and
?etor had always been quarrelsome
*n<j fractious about mtle thingSf but
ey had never had any real trouble
c ore this. I was not paying any
ention to the conversation in the
BILL INCREASES
SCHOOL BOARD
TO 6 MEMBERS;
Three Other Bills Affecting Cherokee j
County Are Passed By The
Legislature
A bill changing the membership of (
i the Murphy School Board and in- j
I creasing the number from three to i
I six passed the legislature on Friday
I of last week. The new law becomes
i effective at once, and names the
i following a; members: Dr. R. c.
j Parker, Thos. S. Evans. W. S. Dickey,
I.I. I). Mai lo nee, Dr. J. N. Kill, and S.
I D. Akin. The old board was compos
ed of D. Witherspoon, chairman;
[Mrs. M. W. Bell, secretary-treasurer
j and C. M. Wofford.
The new board will meet the first
Monday in March and organize by
' electing a chairman and secretary- j
treasurer, it was stated.
i Among other oil's passed by the i
! legislature affedting this county are
the following:
I Road bill, consolidating the road
| laws ol the county. The road law-?
remain practically the same, and the
membership is the same with the ex
ception of one, M. L. Mauney, of
Peachtrec taking the place of N. K.
Dockery.
Rewaid Bill, authorizing that offi
cers shall be paid $25 for each boot
legger convicted, the reward becom
ing a part of the fine imposed upon
conviction. Officers are already paid
$10.00 for each still captured and
$10.00 for each man caught with the
still.
Fish bill, authorizing the abolish
ment ol license fees for fishing in ;
the county. Otherwise the law re
mains the same, is is understood. \
LANCE RAISES
HOG WEIGHING
750 POUNDS!
R. L. Lance of the Belleview sec
tion, near the Georgia-N. C. state
line, brought to Murphy this week o?.ie
of the largest hogs ever seen in this
section. It weighed 755 pounds after
being dressed, the scales of the F. D.
Dickey Feed Company being used.
The hog was twenty-six months old,
full blood Poland-China stock, and
the feed used was mostly corn and
rye, Mr. Lanc(> stated.
Mr. Lance brought the animal to
Murphy to sell, along with a number
of others but on account of its size
no market was found here. The local
market for pork dressed is 15 1-2
^cents per pound, which if sold, would
I make this 'nog alone worth $117.02.
1 Mr. Lance stated that he had sold
| mere than $500.00 worth of pork in
i the iast Tew months.
cafe as they had not been arguing j
about anything at home or on the way j
to the cafe. I think they both had j
been drinking, but were not drunk,
Emmet was placed in a car to be
taken to Andrews, but died on the
way, and Victor died at 8 o'clock this
morning. I have always thought that
Victor and Emmet were friends, al
though we all knew that they argued
all the time about little matters. I
had not heard any argument and we
had been in the cafe but a few min
utes when the shooting began."
An X-Ray picture was made of
young Wright's hip. The bullet is
still in his hip but will not prove se
rious the doctors think. He was car
ried to Asheville Sunday by relatives.
The shooting affray is indeed a sad
? jcurence. Both young men. were
members of prominent families in the
county and were well known in this
section.
I " Yes, he has retired from politics
jind is raising extensive fruit or
chards."
j J "All of his trees are grafted I sup
pose ?"
BILL WOULD
FORCE FIRM TO
BUILD DAMS
Most Of County*? Power Sites
Arc Tied Up, Is
Charge
(Asheville Citizen.)
RELEIGH, N. C.. Feb. 18.? A bill
to amend the charter of the Carolina
Tennessee Power company, introduc
ed by W. P. Odom, representative
from Cherokee county, and referred
to judiciary committee No. 2 of the j
He. use, came on for hearing this af
ternoon. The bill seek- to require
the Carolina-Tennessee Power com
pany to begin actual construction of
its three proposed dams in Cherokee
with one year and to diligently prose
cute the work to completion and in
default the attorney general is au
thorized to institute prnrPedlfSgS to
repeal the power company's charter.
This power company was chartered
in North Carolina in 1900 and since
that time is said to have acquired
practically every water power devel
opment site in Cherokee and has as
yet begun no actual work <?n its dams.
Development Needed
It was pointed out to the committee '
that Cherokee's resources were un
developed for lack of electrical pow
er and that the building1 of these
dams would mean a new ? ra for the
most western section of the state, as
ide from the fact that several million !
dollars would be expended in Chero
kee in developing the water power
rights.
The committee was informed that J
some three years ago the president '
of this power company had stated j
that he and his associates could de- I
velop their water power properties as \
soon as the then litigation was ended, j
and that though the litigation had J
ceased over two years ago, nothing
looking toward the extual developing
of these properties had been done. ;
W. V. N. Powelson spoke to the
committee for several minutes and
offered as an excuse for not going
ahead with the developments, the lack
of a market for electrical power in
Cherokee. One of the power com
pany representatives stated in re
sponse to questions by the chairman,
that in order to make the develop
ment feasible, a market for around
50.000 horsepower would have to be
secured. He stated that such a user
of power as the Aluminum company
of America would have to be secured.
The chairman referred the bill to
a sub-cimmittee. It is believed that
the bill will either be reported favor
ably r>r a substitute offered looking
toward the early development of
these water powers.
Petitions signed by several hun
dred Cherokee citizens asking relief
were given the committe along with
a number of telegrams from promi
nent citizcns of Murphy.
The citizens of Murphy and Chero
kee were represented at the hearing
by Hon. J. C. Biggs of Raleigh, At
torneys D. Witherspoon, J. D. Mal
lonee and Mayor Frank S. Hill of
Murphy.
The power company was represent
ed by J. C. Martin of Asheville and
D. H. Tillitt of Andrews.
Among those attending the hearing
and opposing the bill were: W. Mer
cer Fain, E. P. Hawkins, C. W. Sav
age, L. E. Bayless, M. L. Mauney, and
E. B. Novell of Murphy, and O. L.
Anderson of Hayesville.
Mr. Trainor, a factory represen
tative, will give a demonstration of
the well known Duco paint and its
uses and application, at Brittain and
Axley hardware store, Murphy, on
Friday, February 26th, and at the
office of the Carolina Lumber and
Supply Co., Andrews, on Saturday
the 26th. See their ad elsewhere in
this issue.
SLOAN DIF.S
AT HOME IN
TENNESSEE
Formerly Resided In Mur phy And
Was Well Known
Here
Clarence Sloan, 22 years old. for
mei resident of Murphy, died at the'
home of his parents near Tellico
Plains, Tenn.. last Wednesday, Feb
luary 16th, after an illness of three
or four days. Heart failure is said
to have been the cause <>f his death. |
Young Sloan was well known here, j
where he resided with his parents, the 1
family moving back to their old home
some time ajro. His father, O. B.
Sloan is now employed with the Mur
phy Mills here.
Funeral services were held at Tel
lico Plains. He is survived by his
father and mother, three sisters and
two brothers, Misses Merle. Rebia and
Jean Sloan; and Ulie and Warren
Sloan.
Clarence was a quiet likeable boy
and made many intimate friends dur
ing his sojourn in Murphy, who ex
tend heartfelt sympathy to the fami
ly. I
GRANDVIEW
1 There is quite a bit of snow here
at the present date.
i
Miss Hattie McRae of this place,
i who has been employed at Gastonia,
has returnee! home to spend a while.
Mr. Krnest Kephart and wife vis
ited the laters mother, Mrs. X. B.
Odell, of Boiling Springs, Sunday.
Mr. Clifton Kephart and wife,
spent one night last week with thej
formers parents, Mr. and Mrs. Xpwt
Kephart.
Miss Oma Kephart >vas the guest
I of Miss Mary *Ioti6s one day last
i -tC"- i
Jjt 0 s*
I The folks of this place are intend
ing to have a singing school to begin
j this week. We wish them much suc
cess.
* * *
Tht re was a forest fire in the grape
vine cave on the land of Mr. J. T.
Hays the 17th.
* * c
On February 16 William Has and
wife Grace, buried their infant baby
at old Hangingdog cemetery.
? * *
Mr. Fred Dockrey from Boiling
Springs is hauling apples to Murphy
and shipping to his father at Madi
sonville, Tenn.
!> V ?
Mr. W. J. Sosebee visited his old
home the past week.
* * #
Sheriff Birchfield and deputy Rose
seem to be making it hot for the boot
leggers. Look after them and brake
it up if you can.
? * ?
Mr. Andy Kephart caught two
large oposums the past week.
* ? *
There is some sickness on Owl
Creek at present.
The following announcement has
been sent out here:
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Leo Sasser
announce the birth of Thomas Living
stone Sasser, Thursday, February
seventeenth, nineteen hundred twen
ty-seven, Murphy, North Carolina.
The Lion's Club held its regular
semi-monthly meeting on Tuesday
night in the parlors of the Methodist
church. The ladies of the church
served supper for the public in con
nection. This was also ladies night
with the Lions and a motion carried
to dispense with the business and
make the occasion a social hour.
If tennis develops the racquet arm
of players as 'tis said, then we would
back President Coolidge in Tex Rich
ard's heavyweight toumney, since he
shook hands with 1.220 people ip
twenty-seven minutes the other day.
HOT HOUSE
ROAD TO HELP
THE STATE
New Route To Tennessee Wi!
Cut Distance To
West
2
(Ashev lie Citizen.)
FRANKLIN. N. C., Feb. 18.? Citi
zens of Andrews, Murphy, and lower
Cherokee county are deeply interest
ed in the construction of a road from
Muiphy to the Tennesf.ee line. And
building this road is of almost equal
importance to Franklin, to other
towns along Highway No. 28, to
towns along N. 10, to Asheville and
Western North Carolina, and to
Tennessee as well, declares D. S.
Russell, of Andrews, secretary of the
Cherokee County road commission.
Ninth District Highway Commis
sioner J. G. Stikeleather recently
chose the so-called Hot House route
as the most desirable one for a road
from Murphy to the Tennessee line.
Announcement of his choice brought
to an end a county disagreement of
long standing, two other routes hav
ing been agitated.
The route has been chosen by Mr.
Stikeleather, Mr. Russell pointed out,
and he no doubt will shortly recom
mend it to the highway comission.
And th?. next problem is to get the
road completed. The Hot House
route would cross the Kimsev Moun
tain connecting with Clcvv'iand.
Would Benefit V
Illustrating tb? "Yiportance of this
\
"etch
'd load, ?:'r.??ut 25
rub;
stj
in length. Mr. RusSell : laced
on a v .t , showing that a
t ght lint* i . from Raleigh to
i'hattanooga, .-?.uld pass through im
portant manufacturing towns of Pied
mont North Carolina, near Asheville,
and through Murphy, to Chattanooga,
opening up to all the Mississippi val
ley the mountains of Western North
i Carolina.
"Now," he saiil. "where do Frank
lin, Highlands, Kendersonville, and
other towns along No. 28 come in?
The answer lies in the fact that the
mecca for all these people will be
Asheville, and that they will want to
id return another.
i come one route ai|
| "When they
| tains, they generj
j ville, advertised
They will come
art for the moun
iilly will have Ashe
as it is. in mind.
I They will come tf> Murphy, and there
? they can take Jther of two routes,
t No. 10 or 2S. *f they take No. 10,
when they get ready to go home they
almost certainly are going to come
along No. 2S, and see a new section
of the country.
Route To Chattanooga
"Another reason why this road is
important to towns along No. 10,
especially Highlands and Franklin, is
! that visitors coming west pass num
bers of towns where they may decide
to stop, long before they get to your
' Macon county cities; whereas coming:
from Tennessee toward the moun
tains. they strike only two towns,
Murphy, and Hayesville, prior to
reaching Franklin. Then Highlands is
the next stop."
"The entire Mississippi valley wants
to get to the mountains," continued
Mr. Russell, "and this would provide
it a short and beautiful route. This
road would do another thing for our
section. It would place Chattanooga,
a thriving manufacturing city, as
close to us as Asheville and Atlanta
are now."
About 15 of the 2o miles of the
road has already been graded by *
Cherokee county and the county has
$50,000 additional to spend on it.
But to complete the grading will rc
quire, it is estimated, $70,000. Then
the road would have to be improved
as to surface.
Mr. Russell believes the road is of
importance not only to Cherokee
county, but to all Western North Car
olina; that it is not a county *-oject
but an inter-State propositioifl