Our Aim: ?
A Better Murphy
A Finer County
?hp
Dedicated
To Service
For Progress
THE LEADING WEEKLY
newspaper ,n WESTERN NORTH CAROUNA.COVER.NU a
LARGE AND POTENTIALLY RICH TERRITORY
\OL. 53? SO. 17
Ml Rl'llY. XQRTII CAROLINA
i m nsiiw, nqvkmbkk jo. imi
.V ( lipy ? si II 1-1 I! ykar
NEW INDUSTRY
LOOMS FOR THIS SECTION
TRIPLE MURDER !
GREETS WORKER
ON RETURN HOME
TVA Man Finds Wife,
Woman Roomer, And
Baby Shot To Death
Two young women and a baby girl
were murdered, while a fcaby boy
escaped unharmed In the Greasy
Creek section lust across the Ten
nessee line Tuesday night. Pour men
are under arrest.
Tile double crime was discovered
when James Hedden, a TVA tunnel
worker employed on the Ocoee pro
ject. returned home shortly before
midnight to find the body of his 20
yenr-old wife, Lecia, lying across
threshold. She had been shot
through the heart.
Lying across a bed. inside the
house was the body of Mrs. Irene
Dillard. 30. who had been living with
the Heddens. On the floor, near the
bed, lay the body of Mrs. Dillard's
one-ye..r-old daughter.
The only sign of life in the blood
spattered room was the gentle
breathing of Hedden's 18-month-old
baby son, who lay sleeping beside
the dead body of Mrs. Dillard. The'
boy had not been harmed.
Mrs. Hedden, Mrs. Dillard and the
latter's baby daughter, had all been
shot to death with 32-calibre pistol
bullets. Mrs. Dillard, separated from
her husband, who is reported to be
in Detroit, had also been beaten ov
er the head with a pistol butt, or
some blunt weapon.
Immediately after discovery of the
triple claying, police of Hiwassee
Dam were notified, and a call was
put in for Sheriff Carl Townson, in
Murphy. Townson was off on anoth
er case, and before he could be
reached. Sheriff Broughton Biggs, of
Polk County had been summoned,
and had sent to the Tennessee State |
Prison for bloodhounds. Before the
dogs arrived, however, four men had |
been placed under arrest; They are ;
Bill Hedden. 40, brother of James
Hedcen and a constable of the Polk i
county Second district.
Lawrence Breeden, 26, and his first j
cousin. Floyd Breeden, 20.
Julius Goforth, 30.
Sheriff Biggs declined to express'
himself as to the motive for the ;
crime. j
o
Defense Begins Listing
All Trucks And Buses
T. B. Ward, North Carolina Com
missioner of Motor Vehicles, has an
nounced that 150,000 questionnaire i
cards to truck and bus owners were
mailed Nov. 17.
Each truck and bus owners Is ask
ed regarding the season of the year
when he most urgently needs the
vehicle in his own business and
whether In an emergency he would
be willta3 to hire or lease the ve
hicle to a Government agency.
Former Resident, Hurt
In Crash, Stops Here
On Way to S. C. and Ore.
Mr. D. S. Davis, formerl;. of Mur
Piiy. returned lor a short visit last
week to recover from injuries he
received in an automobile accident
October 31.
Mr. Davis was thrown through the
windshield of the car his nephew.
Zane Davis, was driving when the!
vehicle was crashed into by another I
40 miles from Columbus. Ohio. He'
was in Columbus General Hospital
five days.
Zane Davis, also was injured, re
ceiving lacerations of the body and
internal Injuries.
While here, Mr. Davis stayed with
a sister, Mrs. R. L. Abernathy. He
will visit Miss W. P. Hass in Pickens.
?. f.T and then go to Salem, Ore.,
to visit Mr. and Mrs. W. Panther,
also formerly of Murphy.
After that, Mr. Davis says he is
coming back to Murphy, to stay!
Ex-Con Confesses
Shoooting Out Eye
Of Allen Owenby, 63
With a hearing set for Saturday
morning. Nov. 22, Bert Beasley. 19
year-old escaped Georgia convict, is
reported to have confessed to Jailer
Patton Coleman that he shot out the
left eye of 63 -year-old Allen Owen
by in the latter's cabin in the Liber
ty section.
Beasley and his 18 year old broth
er "T. J.", who also admits being a
fugitive from a Georgia chain gang,
and Homer Cheatham, 22, of Hi
?wassee Dam, are all being held in
connection with the assault. Cheat
ham also faces charges of stealing
the gun with which Owenby was
shot, and with stealing the automo
bile in which he and the Beasley
brothers escaped.
Bert Beasley admits he fled from
Pickens county. Ga. after serving
eight months of a two year sentence
for assault. His brother escaped also
from Pickens County, after serving
fialf of a two months sentence to
the roads, for being drunk and dis
orderly.
Mr. Owenby was shot in the head,
at close range, with a 16-gauge sin
gle barrel shotgun. Pellets tore out
his left eye and riddled his forehead.
An instinctive ducking, as the gun
exploded was all that saved his life.
Jailer Coleman says Beasley said
he and Owenby quarrelled over the
price of liquor, and that Owenby
came at him with a 22 calibre rifle,
ordering him to leave the cabin.
"I fired twice trying to scare him"
Beasley is quoted as saying, "but he
wouldn't scare ? so I let him have it."
Owenby says that, after being shot
and left helpless and alone, he was
robbed of his rifle and six dollars in
cash. This may mean new charges
at the hearing.
Magistrate Reese Now Using An Alias,
Appointment By Gov. Broughton Reveals
The Scout, last week, printed a list
of Prominent County residents ap
pointed by Governor Broughton to
serve as a local Advisory Council to
the State Unemployment Commis
sion. The list came from Unemploy
ment headquarters. In Raleigh, and
Tas turned over to the printer "as
*as."
Among the Cherokee Countians
aa?ed was one "D. M. Rocco". No
'**'7 could be found who had ever
heard 0f him, but It was taken lor
l^anted that the Raleigh authorities
taew "ho had been appointed.
??t they didn't. Shortly after the
Scout appeared on the streets. Mag
istrate D. M. Reese came into the
office bringing a letter from Govern
or Broughton naming him to the Ad
visory Council.
Putting two and two together, it
was decided that Mr. Rocco and
Mr. Reese were one and the same.
The answer probably Is that when
Magistrate Reese wrote accepting
the appointment, his handwriting
was so "bed" that the folks in Ral
eigh couldn't make it out.
Mr. Reese denies this, but anyone
who has ever seen his chlrography
will admit that the explanation is
reasonable.
TWO MEN DYING
AFTER BLAST AT
APPALACIIIA DAM
Stick Left Near Portal
Of Tunnel Explodes
As Shovel Lifts It
Two men were so terribfcr injured.
Tuesday, 1 1 ui t neither is expected to
live, following a dynamite blast at
the Turiletown Adit of the Appa
laehia Dam. The dynamite exploded
in a steam-shovel.
One of the victims was Fred Huff
man. aged 30. of Waynesville. a
steam shovel operator. Huffman,
his wife and five weeks old son came
to this section to work only about
two weeks ago.
Tlie other victim was John Bla
lcck. 30. Jiving in Turiletown. Both
men were taken to a hospital in
Chattanooga, with death regarded as
almost certain.
The blast was the result of dyna
mite having been left on the ground
at the portal of a tunnel. Huffman
was preparing to load the truck with
his shovel, and the driver, in ac
cordance with TV A rules, liad dis
mounted, and was standing by the
truck's hood.
The big shovel picked up tlie dyna
mite along with some rock. In lift
ing the load, the rock set off the
explosive.
Rock is said to have torn a great
hole in Huffman's chest; perhaps
to have torn out both eyes, and to
have caused other injuries. The truck
driver is said to have been almost
disemboweled, and to have been oth
erwise injured about the face, head
and body.
Immediately following news of the
accident, the young wife of Huffman
left Murphy for the hospital.
It is reported that T. V. A. will
conduct an investigation seeking to
learn who left the dynamite
Meanwhile, latest reports from
Chattanooga, as the Scout went to
press were that both the victims were
still alive. Physicians refused to pre
dict, however, that either would re
cover.
o
Thanksgiving Date
Decreed For State
Ignored By Many
Thursday. Nov. 20 is the official
Thanksgiving day in North Carolina,
according to proclamation of Pres
ident Roosevelt, backed up by a con
firmatory decree by our own Govern
or. Nevertheless a good many persons
throughout the County decided to
stick to the old custom and celebrate
on the last Thursday of the month.
Pew turkeys have been seen on sale
in this section. Merchants shun
them because, they say, they have
to sell them quick or "get stuck".
Fifteen states have refused to
abide by the Roosevelt decree, and
will pay no official attention to
Thursday Nov. 20. They are:
Arkansas. Delaware, Florida, Iowa,
Kansas. Montana. Nebraska. Nevada,
New Hampshire. Oklahoma, Penn
sylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Texas and Vermont.
Those states which supposed to
celebrate the earlier date are:
Alabama. Arizonia, California,
Colorado, Connecticut. Idaho, Illin
ois, Indiana. Kentucky. Louisiana,
Maine. Maryland, Massachusetts.
Michigan. Minnesota, Mississippi,
Missouri. New Jersey, New Mexico.
New York. North Carolina. North
Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island,
South Carolina. Utah. Virginia,
Washington. West Virginia. Wiscon
sin. Wyoming and the District of
Columbia.
Land Is Found Rich
In Olivene Deposits
Needed For Defense
Len Lenderman, 20,
Slain; Crime Is Laid
To Dillard Morrow
Leonard Lenderman. 20 year old
son of David Lenderman. widely
known throughout this section is
urau. ailu 17 jtrar olii Faui morrow,
son of Dillard Morrow, well known
farmer, is in jail across the Tennes
see line charged wltn murder, as a
result of a quarrel last Saturday
night.
Tile quarrel took place near Telli
co plains. Policc arrived to find
Lenderman lying dead, with two bul
lets in his chest, and Morrow stand
ing. waiting to be arrested. He is
said to have admitted the killing,
declaring he shot Lenderman after
| the latter had knocked him down.
The slain youth's father will be
I remembered as the Cokcr Crees
postmaster who was bound, gagged,
and left in the Buckfcerry school -
: house by three bandits who robbed
the postoffice. Mr. Lenderman freed
himself, notified Lite law, and there
was a gun-fight in which one of the
robbers was killed by "Tobey" Fain,
and the other two were captured.
Young Morrow's brother was re
cently shot, accidentally, while vis
l iting in the County jail, in Murphy.
o
Two "On Gang" Escape
But Are Soon Retaken
News has just been made public of
the escape, week before last, of two
prisoners from the camp near
Peachtree Both were recaptured
near Etowah, Tenn., and returned to
i the camp within two days.
Fred Allen, of Barnesville. N. C.,
serving six months on the roads for
assault with a dangerous weapon,
and Charles Rumbaugh, of Ashe
ville, serving eight months for lar
ceny, walked off while working near
the Hiwassee Dam. Both began
serving time last September 18.
o
20 Families Will Move
To Hiwassee Dam Soon
| Approximately 20 more families
soon will be added to the population
at Hiwassee Dam, TV A officials said
yesterday.
The new arrivals will come from
Pickwick, Gilbertsville, Ky., Watts
Bar. Tenn.. Wilson Dam, Ala.,
Wheeler, Ala., and Austin, Texas.
New Process Found To
Extract Magnesium
From Ore And Soil
Possibility of a vast now industry
which will embrace all this section
looms in construction ol the Pontana
and other dams emb'.wced in the
new TV A program, according to
Maurice Henley, Chief of the In
iOmwuuu SIa'i of t lie TV A .
Mr. Henley, whose headquarters
are in Knoxville painted a broad
picture of the outlook during a vis
it to the Scout office Tuesday.
The new industry will be the pro
duction of magnesium, which is es
sential to manufacturing a particu
lar kind of aluminum used in air
planes, automobiles, and oilier ar
ticles constantly used in peace-times
as well as in war. A new process lias
been discovered by TV A experts,
working with the University of
Georgia, whereby magnesium can be
obtained from a mineral called Oli
vene.
TV A prospectors, after months of
investigation, have reported that
liuge deposits of olivene are to be
found all through this section. A sin
gle deposit, located between Mur
phy and Asheviile, has been report
ed to hold more than 200 millions
tons. Other deposits, of varying sizes,
have been found on farms all
through this section.
Production of magnesium, hereto
fore, has been at the rate of 25,000
tons per year. The O. P. M.. in
Washington, has decreed that this
amount must be stepped up to 800,
000 tons per year.
Until the Olivene deposits were
found in this section, some of the
magnesium had to be produced from
sea water.
Development of the Western Caro
lina deposits probably would neces
sitate constructio nof a huge plant,
somewhere in this section. Comple
tion of the new dam program is ne
cessary to supply the power to op
erate such a plant.
Extracting the Olivene, and get
ting It to the plant probably would
be a matter of individual enter
prise.
The appropriation for the new
TV A program, which includes the
Fontana project, has been held up In
Congress by Senator McKellar, of
Tennessee, who is fighting against
construction of the Douglas Dam, in
the French Broad Valley, Just across
the line in Tennessee.
Building the Douglas Dam, Sen
ator McKellar claims, would dispos
sess hundreds of farmers from rloh
(Continued on back page)
Andrews Force Out-Jerseys Jersey
As Two Are Sentenced, Day After Crime
If all things are comparative ? *
the oft-touted "Jersey Justice" Is but
a snail beside the lightning swift
ness of Andrews Apprehension.
Two authorities on the subject
were found guilty and sentenced
Tuesday for the crime they had com
mitted less than forty-eight hours
before.
This new chapter In the serial
"Crime Never Pays" started staortl7
after midnight Sunday when the
Whitaker store was broken into and
robbed of boots, shots, blankets, and
other merchandise valued at $136.
Discovery of the robbery the fol
lowing morning brought officers F.
H. Mahaffey and Sam Jones hur
^iedly to scene. After a quick mr
vey, they scurried away, vowing to
return with the criminals before Mr.
Whitaker could say "Jack Robin
son."
And the store-keeper hardly had
time to utter that brief phrase before
they policemen were bock. They
bore the stolen merchandise.
Tuesday morning. Robert and
Gerald Jones, were brought before
Cherokee County Superior Court to
answer the charges. Both were con
victed.
Because of his previous record.
Robert was sentenced to from three
to five years in the State pen. Ger
ald got a suspended sentence.