A Paper with a Prestige
of a Half Century. A
County, Not a Com
munity Paper.
ESTABLISHED SEPTEMBER 19, 1878
DIRECTORS SUED
FORj^MILUON
Receiver of Alamance Insur
ance and Real Estate Com
pany Charges Directors with
Paying out Money Illegally
! as Dividends
The following article from Satur
day’s Greensboro News gives an ac
count of proceedings taken by the
receiver of the Alamance Insurance
and Real Estate Company to recoup
for the creditors of the company
money which the receiver declares
to have been illegally paid out in
dividends to the stockholders, when
the company was already practically
insolvent. The company was headed
by Mr. W. E. Sharpe, who is well
known in this county. Also it is
assumable that quite a number of
Chatham citizens are creditors of the
company through the purchase of its
bonds. Says The News:
• “An action against the directors
of the Alamance Insurance and Real
Estate Company and its subsidiary,
alleging mismanagement and fraud
on the part of the operators of these
corporations and involving more than
a quarter of a million dollars was
brought by John M. Coble, receiver
of the company, on behalf of all the
creditors yesterday in middle district
federal court,
The defendants are: W. E. Sharpe,
John M. Fix, C. V. Sharpe, J. C.
Staley, John B. Cheek, S. G. Moore,
James N. Williamson, Jr., and Mrs.
Maude Holt, administrator of the es
tate of W, K. Holt* .
n of the corporation
permitted dividends to be paid dur
ing years when they knew or ought
to have known that the company was
insolvent, the receiver claims. A re
cent audit of the books of the cor
poration show that a total of sllß,-
573 was paid in dividends during
(the years 1923-28 none of which, the
receiver says, should have been paid
which materially damaged the claims
of other creditors to whom the Ala-
Qiance Insurance and Real Estate
pwed far in excess of
$118,573. -
„ This dividend item paid out should
$3 an obligation resting oii the di
rectors, the plaintiff says.
The records of the corporation
from 1923 to 1928 are grossly inac
curate arid defective in that they do
not show the true state of affairs of
the corporation. The plaintiff lists a
large number of alleged inaccuracies
and says that there are far more
than he had listed. Included among
them are the following: that mis
cellaneous accounts of $175,955
shown by an audit to be due were
not listed, in the repdrt of the secre
tary at all; that the secretary failed
to report at one time $552,781 in
bonds outstanding. An actual deficit
in December 1926 of $110,795 existed
when the report of the secretary
showed the company to be solvent;
the total liabilities of the company,
shown by the audit amount to $2,-
275,852 instead of $406,656 as shown
in the report made public.
The directors either had knowledge
of this or could have known it. They
failed to have an audit made of their
books as should have been done, it
is charged. They permitted W. E.
Sharpe to practically run the affairs
of the corporation, it is claimed,
much to the detriment of the claims
of the creditors.
Mr. Sharpe, acting by the authority
of his board of directors issued sec
ond mortgages as first mortgages, is
sued duplicate bonds on the same
property; encumbered land far in ex
cess of the value thereof. As an ex
ample of the kind of thing that was
practised, the plaintiff sets forth the
Cameron park incident. He charges
that on February 1, 1928, the Na
tional Real Estate Company issued
bonds in the amount of $12,500,000
on Cameron park in Raleigh and that
in October of the same year issued
an additional $11,000,000 in bonds
alleging that both were first mortgage
Sj bonds. The sum of these two was
''' far in - excess of even a speculative
value, of :the property, it is charged.
The plaintiff further charges that
the officers of the company, with the
silent consent of the board of direc
tors, given either wilfully or negli
gently, misappropriated $99,013 paid
into the company to be applied on
bonds and which were never applied
that way.
This-item of nearly SIOO,OOO is the
second thing that the receiver asks
the directors to make good in full.
In addition the plaintiff asks for an
accounting.
The complaint voluminous to the
extent of 37 pages has been in course
°f preparation for some time under
the direction of King, Sapp and King,
sf Greensboro,'John S. Thomas, and
E. S. W. Dameron, the latter two
from Burlington, all of whom repre
sent the receiver.”
~
Singular.
“We have the safest railway in the
world where I come from. A collision
on our line is impossible.”
, How do you make
* that out?”
"Why, we’ve only got one train.”
Pioneer.
Tne Chatham Record
Hoover States Take
Official Note of Tea
Legislatures in Texas and Florida,
two of the southern states that last
year deserted the democratic party
and cast their electoral votes for a
republican president, have adopted
resolutions condemning Mrs. Hoover’s
action in entertaining a negro
woman at a White House tea. An
anti-Smith democratic rally planned
for Roanoke, Va., has “blown-up”
because of that tea, and because of
the further fact that DePriest, negro
congressman and husband of the
woman entertained, came to Roanoke
and made a speech praising the anti-
Smith’s and all others who bolted
the party last fall.
CULBERSON CUED
FOR GALLANTRY
Chatham Man Maintained
Laison Between Elements of
Command Through Showers
of Shot and Shell
John L. CuU&tftQdfr, of Bynum, who
served overseas in the World Was Ss
a corporal in Company “H”, 322nd
Iftfantry, ha% just been notified that
he will bft fcited in War Department
General Orders, for gallantry in
gctiog. jyjth the following citation?
“John L. Culberson (Army serial
No. 1865255), formerly corporal,
Company H, 322nd Infantry, 81st
Division, American Expeditionary
Forces. For gallantry in action east
of Verdun, France, November 10,
1918. Acting as runner between his
Company Command and the
two front line platoons, Cpl. Culber
son passed through areas swept by
enemy machine-gun and artillery
fire, and by his disregard for his own
personal safety was able to keep up
liaison between elements of the com-
J’o ££ceive a citation from the War
Department for gallantry in action
j£_no small honor; and this sitation
entitles Corporal Culberson to wear
one silver citation star on the ribbon
of his Victory medal, and the War
Department has directed that such a
star be issued to him.
Mr. Culberson is a member of Jfes
Pittsboro Post of the American
Legion, Chatham Post No, 57 and this
Post, together with the assistance of
Congressman E. W. Pou, helped Mr.
Culberson to get this citation at this
time.
Poe Reunion to Be
Gum Springs, July 4
9—
The following letter has been j
sent out over the signature of Brt :
Clarence Poe to descendants of the
original Jesse Poe who settled in this ,
county:
“You are cordially and urgently
invited to attend the 1929 annual Pbe
family reunion, at Gum Springs Bap
tist church, 5 miles south of Pitts
boro, and on the highway between
Moncure and Pittsboro, at 10 a. m., ,
July 4, and bring dinner. \
This is a reunion of all the de
scendants of the original Jesse Poe
who came to Chatham county from
Culpepper county, Virginia, about
1780, arid of his sons —Gilbert, Bev
erley, James, Jesse, Joseph, Hasten,
and Willis; and of his daughter,
Lucy, first wife of Jordan Tysor. All
relatives of the family by marriage
are also invited.
1. Reminiscences of Hasten Poe
and his descendants and the early
history of the Poes, Pattersons and
Hackneys in Chatham as shown by
old court records will be the subject
of the main address by Rev. Dr.
Elias Dodson Poe, of Roanoke, Va.,
and of introductory remarks by C.
C. Poe, presiding.
2. Following is the program in
detail:
10:00 -Introductory, Horton
Poe.
10:30-11:00 —Songs and invoca
tion, led by Rev. W. D. Poe, Oxford,
N. C.
11:00—Address, Rer. E- D. Poe,
Th.D., Roanoke, Va.
12:00—Election of committees and
other plans for 1930 reunion,, selec
tion of place, etc.
12:30—Dinner.
2:00 p. m.—r-Footrace, sackrace,
horse shoe pitching, checkers, mar
bles, etc.
3. A $5 gold piece will go as
prize to the person who brings and
exhibits the most interesting collec
tion of old relics, papers, or docu
ments that were once owned by old
members of the Poe family or fam
ilies into which they have intermar
ried, or the most interesting written
story, item, or reminiscence of old
times in which Poes participated.
Please come. Please bring dinner.
Please bring all interesting stories or
items or reminiscences of family his
tory you can collect. Please bring,
any old relics or documents you
know of. (These of course can be
, carried back home after you exhibit
them.) Please bring a nomination;
for next year’s reunion program.
i ' TT
Twin propellers for airplanes are
expected to add power and make
, ] steadier flying.
PITTSBORO, N. C., CHATHAM COUNTY, THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1929
SEES LITTLE HOPE I
OF FARM RELIEF
Editor Bion Butler of Aber
deen Pilot Takes Gloomy
View of Future of Farming
The following article from The
Aberdeen Pilot, presumably from the
hand of Bion Butler, indicates that
the farmer’s plight is too serious to
be relieved by any legislative enact
ment. With the farmer’s income only
a third that of the average of other
people, full relief is truly hopeless,
but a little help often means the dif
ference between sinking and swim
ming. But Congress has refused to
throw the farmers even the debenture
straw. Yet the farmers are not on
starvation row. The injustice is that
others get too much. It is not a
fair division. The Pilot article fol
lows :
“Possibly Congress may legislate
something that will bring farm re
lief, but this is suggested merely on
the claim of some folks that the day
of miracles has not passed. At the
last census the Government reported
the value of all farm property in the
United States as of seventy-eight biL
lion dollars. The total value of creßS
reported for a recent year was twelve
billion dollars. In other gordia
erty of dollars produces
a return of twelve dollars. This must
include interest, taxes, costs of pro
duction, depreciation and everything
else. As the farm may expect to pay
interest and taxes of about seven or
eight per cent that takes nearly half
of the income, and the balance goes
to the farmer for his costs of opera
tion and living and wages.
There are in the United States over
six million farms,. _Thes£ farms pro
duce twelve billions of farm stuff
of all sorts, or $2,000 on the average
to the farm. With interest, taxes and
depreciation taken out of this, it is
apparent fctfW much the average
larmer has to maintain himself. TheSS
figures are from the Federal census
reports 4.nd are the highest authority
onthe subjeetr-.Allow six per cent
for the investment, and two qbUara
on the hundred for taxes arid
preciation, but nothing for repairs 6t
extensions, the farmer has on the
average throughout the United States
about $1,120 a year, and from this he
mnst pay his hands, his cost of opera
tion, including fertilizers, seed, ma
chinery bought and all that sort of
stuff. He must pay the gasoline bill
for his tractor, his oil, his blacksmith
bills, feed and supplies, and every
thing that calls for money.
And this situation is what the
farm relief schemes proposes to re
lieve. If anybody believes legislation
; can accomplish much in this direction
jhe is a hopeful man. The five hundred
’ffltsllion dollars proposed to be provid
ed 1 - by congress to relieve the farmers
woutid mean about eight dollars for
.each farmer if divided outright dir
ectly and in cash, or less than one
more' boll of cotton.
The annual value of manufactured
products' in the United States total
about sixty billion dollars, and the
products of mines five billion more,
or together five and a half times as
much as the products of the farms.
Forests, fisheries and other agencies
add to this total. The thirty million
people on the farms get twelve mil
lions, while three times as many not
on farms get practically six times as
much. To equalize the farm income
with the income of those not on
farms would require about twelve
billion dollars a year for the farms,
and probably the only way for the
farmer to get much relief is to go
out to the factory and work there
where incomes are twice the income
of the farms, to say nothing of the
expenses the farmer has to pay to
carry on. That is the only farm re
lief scheme that will work.”
m; .5 zoneob.l
$
***************
* *
* Kimbolton News *
* *
***************
Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Webster of
Rocky River community spent Sun
day with Mr. and Mrs. A. V. Fer
guson.
Henry Hackney and Dorothy Hack
ner of Charlotte and Mrs. Sara JTane
Hackney of Ramseur were Sunday
visitors here.
Mrs. Mittie Russell and Sara-
Brewer are spending awhile in
Greensboro.
Mrs. Sam Hancock and children of
Swepsonville are spending the week
with Mrs. Brooks McNath.
Mr. and Mrs. Jeter Jenks of Pitts
boro spent the week-end with Mrs.
Claude Pickard.
Ossie and Mozelle Brown of San
ford spent last week with Joyce
Perry.
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence McManes3
of Bear Creek spent Sunday with Mr.
and Mrs. A. V. Ferguson.
Miss Ina Gilmore of Greensboro
spent Sunday with Mrs. C. M.
: Pickard.
Mr. W. T. Johnson of Pittsboro
!was here on a business trip Monday,
s He used to be the famous mail carrier
jon the Durham-Pittsboro-Siler City
star route.
FOUNDATION WORK
FOR BIG BUILDING
Block of Buildings to be Erect
ed Next to Farrell Building;
To Provide Store Rooms, Of
fices, Movie Theatre
The outline of the Geddie Fields
block of brick buildings to be erected
next to Farrell Building here in
Pittsboro has been made, and pre
liminary work to the foundation lay
ing has started. The building is to
be even greater than formerly de
scribed if the purchase of the small
lot adjoining can be purchased, as the
prospects are at this writing that it
can be. With this sixteen-foot lot
the front will be 54 set, while the
rear will be the same. Without the
, purchase of the small shallow lot,
the front will be 54 feet* While ths
i rear.
The movie theatre will fee la tfie
. rear of the stores and approached
- through a hallway between the store
i rooms. The whole depth of the build
l ing will be 184 feet, which carries
. it much beyond the rear of any other
. building on that side 0 f Main street,
j The building will be erected under
► the suprevislon of the owner,
€gddlg Fields of Chapel Hill. It
| {the expectation to complete the build
ing in ninety days. ...
DUKE FUNDS FOR i
SANFORD HOSPITAL
$62,500 Offered to Lee County
on Condition of Matching
With Similar Sum for Erec
tion of Hospital at Sanford.
The following (Slipnirig from fcho
Sanford Express should be ©f consi
derable interest to Chatham Cdunty.
Lee and Chatham have co-operated in
various enterprises, bridges particu
■ and in trtal£. Ts titers is no
getting a hospital for Pitts
boro tfcif &9tififcy should co-operate
with Le€ §ei whatever advan
tages the f)ultd funds give to indi
gent patients. If Chatham folks ex
pect equal favors they should share
expenses. Money could scarcely be
better spent. The article follows:’
“J. U. Gunter, chairman of the?
Board of County Commissioners, in
forms The Express that the com
missioners at their recent meeting
discussed and endorsed the propos
ition made by the Duke Endowment
Fund to the effect that the sum of
$62,500 will be appropriated to the
construction and equipment of a hos
pital in Lee county by this Fund
provided that like amount is appro
priated by the county. The com
missioners recently received a com
munication from the Duke Endow
ment fund making this offer. It was
suggested also that they get the en
dorsement of the civic and other
clubs in the county arid the people
generally who are interested in this
proposition. They are given six
months to decide the matter. At the
end of that time should there be no
favorable action in the matter the
sum offered will go to some other
county. If the people of Lee county
want a county hospital now is the
time to get busy.”
$
Congress Adjourns
Till the Early Fall
Congress has adjourned. The sen
ate closed shop last night until Aug
ust 19 and the house of representa
tives fallowed today and may not
come back until the middle of Sep
tember. During the recess commit
tees will work on tariff and other
matters. The main reason for which
the session was called—adoption of
farm relief—was accomplished, al
though the bill as passed was far
from satisfactory to farmer repre
sentatives.
Corner Stone Laid
at Orphan’s Home
High officers of the Junior Order
and thousands of members and
friends assembled at Lexington Sun
day for the laying of the corner
stone of the North Carolina dormi
tory at the orphan’s home there. Nine
Pullman cars were required to bring
the national board to Lexington. The
corner stone was laid by E. A.
Llewellyn of Ohio, national council
lor. Addresses were made by other
high ranking officers of the order.
i Ray Keech Killed
on Altoona Track
Ray Keech, holder of America’s
> speed record as an automobile driver,
, met death in a crash on the Altoona,
Pa., track last Friday. He was lead
t ing the field when his car collided
, with three other racers. Cliff Wood
- bury of California was seriously in
i' jured. Other drivers in the mix-up
4 came out without hurt to themselves.
First Bale of Cotton |
Auctions for $3 Pound j
The first bale of 1929 cotton J
shipped from. Texas by airplane and
sold at auction on the floor of the
New York cotton exchange Monday,
brought the very satisfactory price
of $3.00 a pound. The bale brought
$1211.00, half of which goes to the
United Hosptial fund in New York
and half to the Salvation Army in
Corpus Cristi, Texas. The sale was
attended by many notables in the
business and political world. The
first bid was $2.00 a pound and the
price advanced by 5c and 10c bids.
C. C.HALLDISTRICT
MANAGER OF CHAIN
, 9
Ben Franklin Chain Stores to
Hava Headquarters at Pitts
hore—Store Here to Open
It is gratifying to announce that
the Ben Franklin Chain Stores will
have district headquarters here for
Central Carolina. Mr. C. C. Hall is
district manager, and while the
Franklin has just entered thl# tewq--
1 tory it will be a ©f
business a« 'miffSger to develop the
district. When other stores are lo
cated and put into operation, Mr.
Hall will h ape the appointment of
managers for the individual stores
and wiU be in general charge of all
of them under the general manager.
1 In the meantime, Mr. Hall’s as
sociation the system, he informs
us, enables him tio use the buying
advantages of the Ben Franklin sys
tem for his own store here in Pitts
boro, giving hhn and jhe town iddL
tional advantages from tlie location
of a unit of the Ben Franklin here.
It is probable that the Record will
carry week an advertisement of
tK$ of _ the Pittsboro store.
Good Kat been'lßSiife in re
arranging the interior of the stored
the specified requirements, and. goods'i
will be arriving almost immediately
to stock the store.
As before sfthted, Mr. Roy Riggs
bee, a native of the county, will be
local manager.
“Yellow Bird” Makes
It Across Atlantic
The French airplane “Yellow
Bird” was forced down in Spain last
Friday 150 miles from its destination,
which was Paris, by shortage of fuel.
The plarie took off from Old Orchard,
Maine, early Thursday. Jean Asso
lant, Chief pilot, Rene LeFevre,
navigator, and Armento Lotti, radio
operator comprised the crew. Arthur
Schreiber, 17 year Old Maine lad,
went as a stowaway. He is said to
have been the proudest member of
the party. Will Rogers expresses
what is pretty apt to be the general
opinion of the lad when he says that
he can’t get enthusiastic about a boy
big enough to have good sense stow
ing away on a ship like that where
every pound of weight counted so
greatly, thus imperilling the safety
of the whole party just for a little
personal glory to himself.
Houser Succeeds
Ben C. Sharpe
Ben C. Sharpe, prohibition en
forcement officer for the western dis
trict of North Carolina, died last
Thursday at his home in Statesville.
The post which he had held was im
mediately tendered to Mrs. Mary ■
Settle Sharpe, his widow, but she
declined it. Announcement was made
Saturday afternoon of the appoint
ment of Evans L. Houser of Dallas.
Mr. Houser has had long experience
as a deputy enforcement officer
under Mr. Sharpe and is said to be
thoroughly familiar with the duties
of the office, as well as the territory
to be served.
Shotguns Banned
in Border Patrol
1 9--
Following reports of indiscriminate
shooting upon automobiles and motor
boats by enforcement agents, pro
hibition enforcement officials have
ordered patrolmen along the Canadi
an border to lay down their shot
guns and rifles, and confine their
arms to service pistols. Reports of
careless firing were aired in the con
gress Monday. ,
9“—
3 Children Drowned;
Foul Play Is Feared
#
The bodies of Nellie and Frank
Powell, 14 and 7, and Oscar Ames, 8,
were found lying in the shallow
waters of a creek just outside Eliza
beth City limits last week. It is be
lieved by officers that the girl had
been ravished and murdered, and
that the little boys were probably
!:Ted .o n: even 4 H’.’.lng. tNo j
clue has been discovered as to the
guilty party or parties.
Subscribers at Every
Postoffice and All R.
F. D. Routes in Great
County of Chatham
VOLUME 51, NUMBER 38
BERTIE COUNTY HAS
ECONOMICAL PLAN
Jail Built on County Farm—
One Keeper for Both Insti
tutions—Prisoners VWork on
Farm Greatly Reduce Costs
The cost of the county home, the
county gang, and the chain gang in
many counties of the state has reach
ed alarming proportions. It is true
that the sums expended on these in
stitutions in rural counties rarely
reaches the annual total of $30,000,
but the per capita cost is excessive.
In one county current expenditures
amount to as much as fifty dollars
per inmate per month in each of
these institutions. In this county the
inmates of the county home could
have been boarded at the best hotel
or boarding house in the county for
less than thirty-five dollars per
month. In another county there are
only three inmates in the home,
the superintendent is proving ~a
home for himself and„ SSitUily, is al
lowed the use__of the county farm,
is paid $25. merith for each in
mates, the county nays in addi
t\sft clothing, faSAical attention,
and JULY other unusual cost.
Jail and Chain Gang
The county home is only ofie of the
institutions which are costly; the jail
is another one. Ordinarily the jailer
is given from seventy-five cents to a
dollar a. day to board the prisoners
in the jail. Medicine, tobacco, clothes,
fuel and bedding are all furnished
by the county. The jailer is also fur
nished with a home. In some counties
the cost, when only currnet expendi
tures are considered, is from fifty to
sixty dollars per month for each
- county chain gang is another
expensive proposition. In only a few
counties has the use of convict labor
on the roads proved economical.
Many counties do not know what
the daily cost of prison labor is, for
no cost accounting Jias been done.
. Greene and Sampson counties
worked their convicts on the roads
successfully and have kept the per
capita costs at a minimum. At the
same time they have clothed, fed,
and housed the prisoners adequately.
On the other hand, many counties
have not had satisfactory results with
their chain gangs.
The Bertie Plan
When Bertie county saw the costs
of these institutions rising it under
took an interesting experiment. The
county home farm contained nearly
two hundred acres of good land. Road
work for the convicts was not neces
sary. The jail facilities at the county
seat were not adequate. Therefore
the county commissioners combined
the three institutions. Since the
county home was already established
no changes in respect to it were
necessary. A modern jail was built
on the county home farm, near
enough to the superintendent’s cot
tage to permit him to look after it.
That is, the superintendent of the
county home was also made jailer and
convict supervisor. The jail was built
large enough so that it could house
all prisoners, whether serving sen
tence or awaiting trial. Those await
ing trial are placed in a separate
compartment. The jail fully meets
the specifications of the State De
partment of Public Welfare. Since
the county home is only a few miles
from the county seat the jail is with
in easy reach of the sheriff. Those
prisoners who are serving sentence
work on the county farm.
Low per Inmate Cost
It is the plan of the county com
missioners that the farm produce the
greater portion of the food supply of
the jail and the home. The remainder
of the crop land is planted in cash
crops, mainly peanuts and cotton. In
1928 the surplus from the farm pro
duced a revenue of $5,857.59. The
cost of the home, other than de
preciation and interest on the invest
ment, was $7,046.66, or a net cost
of $1,189.07. During the year there
was an average of thirty inmates
in the county hom£, ten working
prisoners, and seven prisoners await
ing trial. If the total cost of the
combined operations is charged to
the thirty residents of the home, it
amounts to only $39.63 per capita
per year. This is a monthly cost of
only $3.31. If the seven prisoners
awaiting trial are included in the
count the per capital cost is reduced
to $2.68 per month. If the interest
on the investment and depreciation
of the buildings were added the cost
would not exceed five dollars a
month. This is a lower cost than has
been found in any of the other; fifty
eight counties in which county gov
ernment studies have been made.
Bertie’s arrangement might not work
well in all counties, but it has proved
an economical one for that county.
—Edward A. Terry.
Just as Well.
They laughed when I spoke to the
waiter in French. You see, it was a
dumb waiter.—Judge.
War ended? ,
Daughter—“ Did you have many
j love affairs, daddy?”
Soilder Farther —“No child; I fell
|in the first engagement.”—Answers.