Newspapers / The Cherokee Scout (Murphy, … / Dec. 5, 1930, edition 1 / Page 1
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TheLrading ITeekly Nevspo ? *rr"e'n %orth Carolina, Covering 0 Urge and Potentially Rich Terri tory in This State Vol. XLII.? No. 18. Murphy, N. C., Friday, December 5, 1930. $1.50 YEAR? 5c COPY MACON OFFICERS TAKE BRYSONS FROM J All. WITHOUT AUTHORITY, FAKE MOB STORY, OFFICERS SAY Declare Prisoner. Spirited Aw&y Without Knowledge of Court or Officer In Whose Custody The Prisoners Were The Macon County officers took Walter and Casey Bryson, Cherokee couniy priJonem, from the Macon County jail Sunday, November 23rd, and spirited them away without reas on, the knowledge of the court, or any authority whatsoever, and had the defense attorneys to fake the mob story before Judge Cameron F. McRae in order to cover up their tracks, declared Cherokee county of ficers in an interview thi5 week. Walter and Casey Bryson, brothers were convicted by a Macon county jury of second degree murder Sunday morning, November 23rd, in connec tion with the slaying of Mack Car ringer, Murphy chief of police, on Ce tober 7th, and were sentenced to 30 years for Walter and 15 years for Casey. Tre trial had "been ordered tran-ferred to Ffanklin by Judge Mc Ra*. at the November term of Chero kee Superior Court. The story of the sensational dash of officers and prisoners from Frank lin was carried over a screaming head line on the front page of the Ashe ville Citizen, and copied last week in the Cherokee Scout. Following the appearance of the story, citizens in general from Cherokee county have denied that there was any mob thinking of taking the law into their own hands an denounced the story as untrue. Sheriff Abernathy, in the inter view, said that Deputy Sheriff Lee Cri?p was left at Franklin in charge of the prisoners, and all Cherokee county citizens and witnesses return ed to Murphy Saturday. When the cuUH sertestced the men Sunday morning, acording to Mr. Ab ernathy, Judge McRae placed the prisoners in the custody of Deputy Crisp, ordering that Walter Bryson's healing wounds be dressed. Deputy Crisp carried the younger Bryson back to jail and Walter to the doctor. While Walter's arm was being dressed, Mr. Crisp said he call ed Sheriff Abernathy at Murphy and told him of the sentence, and Mr. Ab ernathy immediately set out for Franklin with another deputy to car ry the prisoners down to Raleigh and the State's prison. Deputy Crisp carried Walter and committed him to jail to await the ar rival of Sheriff Abernathy. He then went out and got his dinner. Deputy Crisp stated that he was later told by Judge McRae that, upon plea of the defense attorneys that they had wind of a mob approaching Prom Murphy, he had decided to let the Macon county officers accomp any him and take the prisoners on to Raleigh immediately. Mr. Crisp said when the court is sued the order, it was discovered that the Macon county officers had al ready taken the prisoners from the jail and had been on the road two hours and forty-five minutes before he knew anything about it, or before the court order was issued. Upon learning this, Judge McRae ordered the prisoners placed in cus tody of the BPuncombe county sheriff. | A later order dfrceted the Buncombe; Sheriff to take the prisoners on to Raleigh. In the meantime, all of the papers nf committment, etc., were in the hands of Cherokee county officers, while the prisoners were being frisk ed away to Raleigh. "It looks like to me a case of in venting a blunder to cover a blunder" Sheriff Abernathy stated. "Maybe the Macon county officers just want ed a trip to Rale;gh and the fee for earring the prisoners down there," the Sheriff continued. "As far as I could see, Lee Crisp was the only Cherokee county citizen there when I reached Franklin Sunday after noon. v "In the first place, the Macon jail er had no authority to commit the Prisoners to Macon County officers when they had been placed in the custody of a Cherokee county officer and lodged in the Macon jail for **fe keeping, with Cherokee county footing the bill, and without the knowledge of Cherokee county au thorities or the knowledge of the court. He might as well have turned the prisoners over to Gdaham Clay county officers or anyone else, w far as authority and responsibility ? concerned. "After the Macon authorities dis covered their blunder," Sheriff Aber nathy continued, "And it was too late to correct the mistake, they had defense attorneys to go before Judge McRae and secure an order for their immediate removal, and they used as their pica the moh story. However, the prisoners had been out of the Macon county jail and on the road more than two hours before the court order was issued or the Cherokee county officer, in who?e custody the men had been placed by the court, knew of their removal. "There is nothing to the story of a mob from Cherokee seeking to tak?' or get possession of the prisoners ? except .hat it was faked in order to cover a blunder." Sheriff Ahcrnathy concluded. NORVELLS LETTER Col. E. B. Norvell wrote a letter to the Aiherille Citizen following the appearance of the story, which it self explanatory, and is carried here: Murphy, N. C. Nov. '24. 1930. Editor of the Asheville Citizen: I have just read in your issue of this date account of windup of trial of Walter Bryson and Casey Bryson, in Franklin, Macon County, and note it is stated that mob violence was brewing against the brotheits. and that, "the removal of the Bry-ons to the Buncombe jail was upon author I ity of Judge McRae, who acted after ! he had received numerous reports 1 that Cherokee County citizens, an ! gered because the brothel's had not been ordered to the electric chair, were discussing: plans <o take the law into their own hands."' I have just talked with Mr. R. L. Crisp, a deputy sheriff of Cherokee County, who was in attendance upon the trial of the Brvsons from Wednesday, Nov. 19 .until l?:3fV o'clock Sunday night Nov. 23, and he teils me he never heard of any suggestion that violence be resorted <0. Whoever told Judge Mc Rae that violence was threatened im posed upon his honor and did the citizens of Cherokee County who may have been in Franklin or elsewhere a great injustice. It must be said to the credit of Mr. J. B. Carringer, the father of Chief Mack Carringer who was killed, that when he heard of the death of his son he expressed himself as wishing the law to take its course. In "justice to the citizens of Cheiokee County will you kindly pub lish this letter. Yours truly, EDMUND B. NORVELL. STILL AND MAN TAKEN MONDAY Deputy Sheriff Lee Crisp brought in a still and a man by the name of Foister, taken in the Franklin Mount ain section of the county down next ? \o the Tennessee Line. Mr. Crisp said Foister was build- ! inp a fire under the furnace when the raid was made, and he came along without offering resistance. Another | man got away. The outfit was of , about fifty gallon capacity, and about 500 gallons of beer were destroyed ' together with thc equipment about | the place. The still was brought to i town. It later developed that Foister was an escaped prisoner from Benton, I Tenn., and Tennessee officers came I for him later in the week. Have We Got Your "Tag"? On the nipht of DecemSer 13th, cveiy man. woman, b>y an.' (till in Murphy will answer, "Yes." By your :a?s we shall know you. Dec. 12 and 13 are "Tag Days" for the Murphy Public School. On those days school children will approach you and you may wear a tajr for 10c. One of the objectives of the facutly of Murphy Graded School is Co make thii> a standard school and to do this we must have 300 books in the library. Come on and do your bit for thc library of Min-phy Public Schools. "Children of Old Car olina" Is Postponed The pagent will be given Friday night, December 12 at 7:30. tDue to the fact that satisfactory arrange ments could not be made with the Costuming company the pagenat has had to be postponed until that time. I EVIDENCE IN TRIAL OF BRYSONS Following: is the evidence reported by the court stenographer in the trial of the State vs. Walter Bryson and Casey Bryson, brothers, charged with murder in connection with the slaying: of Chief of Police Mack Carringer on October 7th, 1930. The case was tried in Macon County, November term. After the jury was chosen, sworn and empaneled, the following: pro ceedings were had: GEORGE LEATHERWOOD. aft er first being: duly sworn, testified on behalf of the State as follows: Questions by Mr. Davis: Q. What is your name? A. George Leatherwood. Q. Where do you live? A. Murphy, North Carolina, Cher okee County. Q. Did vou know Mack Carringer? A. I did. Q. Is he dead or living? A. He is dead. Q. I)o you know the date of his death? A. 1 do. The 7th day of October, 1930. On the night of the 7th at 9:30 o'clock central time> Q. I)o you know* what position Mack Carringer held in Murphy at the time of his death? Defendants object. Overruled. Ex ception. A. 1 do. Q. What wa? it? A. Chief of police. Defendants move to strike the an swer from the record. Motion de nied and defehdants except. Q. Anything else? Defendants object. Overruled. Ex ception. A. Deputy sheriff. Motion to strike the answer from the record. Motion denied and de fendants except. Q. Were you with Mack Carringer at the time he lost his life? A. 1 was. Q. Where was it? A. It wag ?n the road known as Hang^ngdog or Beaverdam road lead ing out of Murphy on the Hiawassee river. Q. Outside or inside the corpora- | tion of the town of Murphy? A. Inside the corporation. Q. Had you pone to the scene where he lost his life with him? A. Yes. Q. Who else was in the party? A. Burt Savage, Toby Fain, Mack and myself. Q. Explain why you went to this place? Defendants object. Overruled. Exception. A. On information that Carringer had gotten from ? Defendants object. Sustained. y. Why dia you go there? A. 1 was deputized by the officer to go with him. Who deputized you? A. Carrinper. the chief of police. Q. After you were deputized to go. why did you pro, what reason? A. He had a telephone call ? J Defendants object. Sustained. Q. Pursuant to any information I you had, is that the reason you went? | A. Yes, the information we had was the reason we went. Q. How did you go Co the place? A. fn an automobile, Chevrolet Q. Begin and tell ju-t what took place from the time you went down the highway and where you stopped? A. We drove down. Fain and Sav age and Carrinper and myself, drove down a little better than half a mile , below the town from the public square and stopped on the side of the road making plans to meet a party that was coming in there that we were looking for. Defendants move to strike out the J answer. Ovei ruled. Exception. Q. Co ahead? A. Mack and myself were out of the car and Fain wasn't. Don't re j cali about Savage. And Fain was sit i *ig under the wheel, and we stop ped in front of an old rock quarry. By the Court: Fain was in the car, who else? A. 1 don't recall whether Savage was or not. The lights of a car came in sight 290 steps from where we (Continued on page 9) A TRIP TO PALESTINE By Rev. Howard P. P owell oX^X^X11 On this beautiful spring morning in April, as we made our way toward the city of Jerusalem, we saw enroute many things to hting to ou: minds I ih Bible fuels a< *e l ac1 read --hem. V, t .aw the wheat and the care-, tne shepherds watching over their flr.fl the thrcrliing-floor, the one-1 handed plow drawn by two oxen, and the travelers from Jaffa to Jerusa lem by foot. The distance between Jerusalem and Jaffa is forty six miles by the motor road, which distance is made in about one hour and thirty minutes. The traffic over this road almost equals that of our own state high ways. One of the first things one ; notices apart from the scenes already mentioned, is the scarcity of trees ( and vegetation in general. The coun try of Palestine is a very rocky one and in many places very small patch- , es are cultivated. Little spots no larger "than a small flower bed are used to. cultivate vegetables for the market. With the exception of an olive orchard here and there it is almost impossible to find a tree. In some sections the olive orchard? are very numerous and offer a very wel come scene for the traveler. For those who have studied the j L'ible, and the books written about | the Book of books, Jerusalem, more than any other city of the world, holds for them a peculiar charm. It is the purpose of the writer to have you share with him something of the thrill that came when the Arab, who was driving the car, announced to us that after turning the next corner we would be able to see the city of Jerusalem. It greeted us with unus ual solemnity and stillness of heart and soul, which words do not provide a means of expres9eion. With hardly a spoken word we came into the city of our Loid to try as best we could to live over with Him those days .which have meant so much to the world. In Jerusalem we were entertain ed at the "American Colony," which is an organization for the accommo dation of the tourists. This "colony" was established in 1881 by a Chicago' lawyer, Horatio Spafford, and his wife, and at that time had a member ship of only fourteen; it has now in creased to ninety, and is drawn from ten different nationalities, American and Swedes preponderating. Its aims are religious, and are based on non dogmatic Christianity. It is financial ly -elf-supporting and maintains an orphanage and an industrial school. Here we were very comfortable, with all the modern conveniences that one would expect to find in an Amercan city, save the absence of an elevator. The food, with a few exceptions, was very much like our American dishes. The vegetables were not altogether the same as our vegetables, but the taste was very much the same. The string beans were much smaller and greener, but they were "good for food." For our dessert in the evening we had ice cream, which was very delicious and served very plentifully. Many of us regretted that those re sponsible for the menu did not re peat for the twelve days we were there. In the afternoon a group of us en joyed a walk to the city, where we found every imaginable opportunity to spend one's money, from a street peddler to the most attractively ar ranged souvenir shop. Ir. a later chap ter the business methods of Jerusa lem will be discussed. On Thursday morning, which was the Thursday before Easter, we went to the city to witness the activities of the Moslems. On this day they had one of their festivals, in which there were more than five thousand participating. They started their pa rade near the village of Bethany and marched, dancing, singing, and clap ping hands, to and through the city of Jerusalem. From the hill by the city walls we viewed the scene. In the midst of the festival our attention was directed toward a young boy of about fourteen yecrs of age lash ing a woman. Some of us investigat ed and found that the woman was the mother of the boy and that he had asked her for money with which to buy candy, and because she refused him he was lathing her. When we were permitted to gee the face of his mother, we saw that in several places he brought blood with his lash. This little illustration will bring to you the conditions to be found in Jerusa lem where the, Christ "Who was bruised for our iniquities," was not accepted and is not accepted today. Where Jeaus Christ is denied Hia place, womanhood and all that is right and good does not come in for that which it deserves. (To B? Continued) NEW OFFICERS TAKE OVER CO. GOVERNMENT Oath Administered To New Board By Chairman of Retiring Board The new officers elected in the No vember election were inducted into office Monday and took over the reins of county government The retiring hoard of county com n>is-ioners, composed of J. W. S. Da vis. chairman; W. J. Martin and T. D. Hickey. were in session until near ly noon Monday, transacting business and getting things in shape to turn over to the incoming hoard. Chairman Davis, of the retiring board, administered the oath of of fice t? the incoming hoard, composed of J. M. Lovingood, Lee Shields and K. L. Townson. Following this the new boaid orp.a?)>zed by electing J. M. Lovingood chairman, and it being noon, adjournment was taken until after dinner. Among the other county officers submitting bonds and taking the oath of office were J. E. Keener, Clerk of the court, Frank J. Bristol, Sheriff, B. L. Padgett, Register of Deeds. Constables submitting bonds and tak ing oaths weie: A. W. Padgett, W. J. Sneed, and Jack McMillan. All these officers were administered the oath of office by the new county Board of Commissioners. The following important business was transacted, and the board ad journed to meet Mondav, December 8th. Hereafter the fee paid officers for capturing still- and making arrests will be $5.00 for taking the still, and $5 for making arrests of operators. The old fee was $10.00 in each in stance. Lon Raper was named Tax Super visor for the county, and instructed to meet with the State Tax Super Visors in Raleigh on December 10*h. The Cherokee Bank was named treasurer for the county funds and required to put up $25,000.00 bond. Will ook was named janitor of the court house with salary at $50.00 a month, to take over the job on December G, relieving A. J. Ramsey. Miss Hattie Axley was reappointed court stenographer for the county. T. W. Axley, reappointed County Aditor at onet-hird less salary. Don Witherspoon reappointed county Attorney at salary of $25.00 a month. Sheriff Fiank Bristol was instruct ed to use the grandjr^ry room as his office until N. W. Abernathy, tax collector, completed his term. J. A. Hampton was named Super intendent of the County Home at a salary of $60.00 a month, reliev ing A. L. John-on. Action on the retention of the County Supervisor of Schools was taken up and deferred to the next meeting pending fumther investiga tion. Investigation of the County Health Department revealed that the health officers had a contract with the state and County which expires July 1, 11)31. R. W. 'Gray was continued as coun ty agent at a salary reduction of $25. a month. The work was so heavy that the Board could not finish it and ad journed to meet next Monday, De cember 8th. Miss Mae Keener will assist her father; J. E. Keener, in the Clerk's office, and Mrs. Dean Wakefield will assist her father, B. L. Padgett, in the Register of Deeds office. COOPER-MATTOX ? Miss Rosemond Cooper and Mr. H. A. Mattox were married Tuesday, Nov. 25th, at Blairsville, Ga., by the Ordinary of Union County, Ga. Mrs. Mattox is the daughter of Col. and Mrs. Harry P. Cooper. After graduating from the Murphy High School, Mrs. Mattox attended North Carolina College for Women. Greensboro, later taking a course at the Teacher Training Class here, and is at present a popular teacher in the Maltby school. Mr. Mattox is the son of Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Mattox, and is in the Mui - phy Hardware Company. He grad uated from the Murphy High school and later attended the University of Tennessee. A-fter a short wedding trip to Knoxville, Tenn., the young coupla returned Sunday and are at home io their many friends at the residence of the bride's parents on Dillard Street. The wedding of this young couple came quite as a surprise to their many friends, who extend to them their best wishes for a long and hap py
The Cherokee Scout (Murphy, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 5, 1930, edition 1
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