+ WEATHER +
Considerable cloudiness, mild and
becoming rather windy today.
Thursday Clearing and cooler, pre
ceded by showers near the coast.
VOLUME 5
OFFICERS TESTIFY AGAINST ROSS
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"SANTA STEVE" WITH $62,927 FOR CHRIST
MAS CLUB MEMBERS The Commercial Bank
of Dunn has no Santa Baby, bast Ift has a five
wire cashier named J. N. Stephenson and Steve
is shown here loaded down with checks for mem
hen of the bank’s Christmas Savings dab mem
bers. He was on his way to the bank to malt the
checks when this picture was'made. The bank’s
club has grown from a modest beginning tot its
Benson Asks
Public Aid
CLEVELAND, Ohio (IP
Secretary of Agriculture Ez
ra T. Benson today appealed
to “everyone” for help in sol
ving the nation’s farm prob
lems.
Benson made his broad appeal
In a speech prepared for the 89th
annual convention of the National
Orange.
*‘l ask everyone of you both
here at this National Orange meet
ing and home by your radios to
send me your ideas about solutions
to the problems we face,” Benson
said. “Every suggestion will be
considered and every letter will re
ceive a personal answer.
“We will listen to any sugges
tions from any source except
the suggestion that would turn
back to the programs that helped
create our present difficult prob
lems."
(Conttnaed On Page Six)
What Price Dames?
Asks This Prince
PARIS The six concubines of
Prince Alexandre Douala Manga
Bell were allowed by a French court
today to keep $8,'500 worth of shorts
and summer dresses.
But the prince’s bank accounts
and his |6OO-a-month salary as re
presentative of the French Camer
ons in .the National Assembly were
Impounded by a French Judge, who
ruled it was about time the prince
paid his bills.
The 86-year-old prince has a
“habit of not paying attention to
TELEPHONES Sll7 • Silt
present sise of aboaft 9H members. This year's to
tal of *62,927 is an increase of *12,900 over last
year. The dab continues to grow each year in
members, dollars and popularity. The Commer
cial Bank, founded in 1919, operates the club with
out profit as a community sendee. Steve adds a
word of advice to members: "Do your Christmas
shopping in your hometown stores." (Daily Rec
ord Photo.)
County Educo Club
Meets At Angier
Harnett County school masters heard a program on
Monday night at the Angier school cafeteria on the high
school vocational education program.
Majority of the county's men
teachers attended the monthly
meeting of the Bduco Club which
had a dinner session at 6:30 p. m.
preceding the program. C. H. Hood
of Lillington, new president, presi
ded, and Coyte Lanier of Buie’s
Creek served as secretary.
Roger Johnson, principal of the
Lillington School, speaking from a
outlined the importance of voca
tional education. He stressed the
need of increasing and expanding
vocational services. Johnson cited
the value of commercial depart
ments to students and the commun
ity employers alike.
Johnson was followed on the
panel discussion by Jeff Denny,
Dunn vocational agriculture teacher
Continued on Page Btx>
blls," the court was told by lawyers
for a famous French tailor.
Douala runs up blls at the Na
tional Assembly's bar, for instance,
and the French government has
to pay them—and reimburses itself
by selling a few acres of the prince's
land in the Cameroon* the lawyers
said.
i The French tailor whose patrons
> include the Duke of Windsor, said
the $6,500 bill was run up over the
■ past two years by the prince, who
»l (Pi nils hi I Ob tags AID
(Eke Jt&ilu IXttaviX
Record
Roundup
UNION SERVICE Following a
custom of long standing among
Lillington churches a union
TTanfcsgiving servjce will be held
tonight (Wednesday! at 7:30 p. pa.
at the Methodist Church. The host
pastor, the Rev. E. C. Shoes will
preside and the Thanksgiving ser
mon will be preached by Dr. David
A. HuMlnes, J*., Presbyterian min
ister. The music will be the respon
sibility of the Baptist Church
Choir under the direction of Mrs.
L. C. Pinnix. Offering taken will
go to the orphanages of the three
denominations represented.
CORN SHUCK FlßE—Lillington
firemen answered a call around
11:30 a. m. Tuesday at the Lilling
ton Roller Mills where flames de
stroyed the small 15 by 20 foot
shuck house at the rear of the big
flour and feed mills. The house,
made of metai, burned but the hay
baler which was In action baling
■hucks, was pulled to safety. Nor
were adjoining big mills Injured.
Owners Nelli and Leon Kelly aaJ4
that sparks from the exhaust on
the gasoline engine of the baler
ignited loose shucks, setting fire
to the house and destroying several
(P—frail Ob Page Btx)
DUNN, N. C., WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, NOVEMBER 23, 1955
Coats Resident |
Misses Curve, 1
Killed In Wrecks
Five hundred yards from w
home, Joseph Tart missed a cuffi
and went headon into a tree and
was killed, his neck broken g&s
his body pinned in the wreckauS
The 37 - year -old white manJpif
resident of Coats, Route J, wre«#v
ed on the road between Coats and
Bailey Crossroads at 4:30 a. m. this
morning. ,
‘J**
Wedged deeply in the. almost
completely demolished remains Os
his 1952 Pontiac, Tart’s body had
to be removed with th eaid of a
wrecker.
Highway Patrolman Paul Alter*
glne investigated. Coroner Orover
Henderson said there would be no'
need for an inquest. This brings
to 23 the number of fatal accidents
in Harnett County this year.
Tart is survived by a wife and
two children.
(Cotntißiied on Page Eight)
Record Will
Publish On
Thanksgiving
nwW- rboord mu.
."TW-Daily Record wIH publish on
Thursday as usual and Crafton
Tart’s Open Air Market will con
tinue seling food around the clock
because it never closes.
JBut for practically all ether bus
iness firms and o'fires m Dunn
and throughout Harnett. Thanks
giving wi 1 be a holiday.
All city, county and ether gov
ernmental offices will b? closed.
There is a pow»l:t*v however that
Superior Court will continue in
session wib the trial of County
Solicitor Neili Ros«.
A union service of three local
churches. Methodist, Christian and
Baptist, will be held tontght at 7:30
o’clock at Hood Memorial Chris
tian Church in Dunn. Other chur
ches have announced separate ser
vices.
Cleo Stops Show
At Guys & Dolls
HOLLYWOOD (TO Working as a United Press pho
tographer last night’s star-studded premier of “Guys and
Dolls,” glamour girl Cleo Moore stopped the show cold.
Celebrities stepped aside while the working press took pic
tures of Cleo.
The blonde screen siren appeared
for her assignment wearing a
strapless gold lame gown with a
plunging neckline the most glam
orous photographer In United Press
history. She docked off 24 pictures
of Movletown's guys and dolls pa
rading into the Parmount Theater.
Each time a star-laden limousine
pulled to the curb, policemen clear
ed the crowd away fqr Cleo to take
her pictures. No fotog ever had it'
so good.
“I got all the pictures I wanted,”
Cleo said triumphantly. “There
must have been three dozen other
photographers there, but the stars
didn't hesitate when they asked
them to stand still for a shot.
“When I asked they stared in a
kind of disbelief-like shock. While
they gaped, I snapped their pic
tures.”
Stars on Cleo’s click list were
John Wayne, Stewart Oranger,
Jeanne Crain, Bill Holden, Lana
Turner and Lex Barker, Deborah
Kerr, and the picture’s stars, Frank
Sinatra, Jean Simmons and Vivian
Blaine.
Cleo was backed up by United
Press photographer Carlos Schie
beck who said She needed very
little advice.
“I was using a Rolliflex with
flash equipment,** Cleo explained
professionally She gained her ex-
CeattaMf ea Page Ms)
HE . 1
SWEDE AND LOVELY-
Actress Anita Ekberg poses
? provocatively for photographers
’ after arriving in Stockholm,
Sweden. It was the first visit
home since 1981 for the Swed
, ish beauty who made good in
Hollywood. Anita came to the
U.S. after winning the title o£
$ “Miss Sweden.” _
Collections Rise
For United Fund
Around s22,ODD—almost SO per
cent of a near-$35,000 quota—has
■pa reached in United Fund cot
jjimn, Executive Secretary Mar*
garet Warren reported this morn?
ing.
More names are being added to
the honor roll of businesses whose
employes are contributing, 100 per
cent strong, to the combined cam
paign. N ,
Four United Fund workers—
Paul Walker, Raymond Cromortle,
Fined Byerly, and Wayne Jurtesen—.
are .delivering talks oo the need for
United Fund solicitation.
Currently on the honor roll are
the Machine and Welding Co.. Car
olina Cleaners, Howard M. Lee
Furniture, First Citizens Bank and
Trust .and the Installment Loan
Depri of that bank, WCKB, Ro-
Mar Miattress Co., Carolina Power
and Light, Colonial Frozen Food
(Continued on Page Eight)
V ’; 1
I ■
I I
CLEO HOOKE
Say Solicitor
Was Drunk;
Dropped Case
Two highway patrolmen
and a rural policeman swore
positively in Harnett Supe
rior Court today that Coun
ty Solicitor Neili McK. Ross
had been intoxicated on .sev
eral occasions while trying
to conduct court affairs.
Other witnesses swore that
a case of drunken driving
was nol prossed by Ross
without giving witnesses a
chance to be heard.
District Solicitor Jack Hooks be
gan his parade of nearly 40 wit
nesses against the prominent Har
nett political leader and former
State Representative this morning
after Ernest Moore of Bast Erwin
wa* seated as the 13th and alter
nate julor.
The State is attemp-ing to prove
that Solicitor Ross is guilty of four
court of misconduct in office al
leged against him a bill of indict
ment returned against him by the
grand Jury after months of inves
tigation. -
The bill of particulars charges
Ross with numerous instances <rf
public drunkenness and with more
than 50 instances of dropping court
cases without reason and with
making deals with defendant or
their agents.
State Highway Patrofcnen Paid.
tfnA Paul Albelgine aw|
Rural Policeman Walker 'O'Qointf
were the officers who swore to
Ross’ alleged intoxication in court.
O’Quinn, declaring that he had
known Ross for 25 years, swore that
he was under’ the influence of
whiskey on June 7 and June 23 and
August 30 of this year.
Solicitor Hooks asked O’Quinn to
tell the court on what grounds he
based his opinion that Ross was
drunk.
O’Quinn replied: “The odor of
alcohol on his breath, his face was
flushed and his speech was slug
gish.”
On cross-examination by Chief
Defense Counsel James R. Nance,
however, the officer admitted that
Ross was not staggering drunk and
said his face normally tended to
be red.
Patrolman Lucas said Ross was
intoxicated “three or four months
ago,’ but said he couldn’t remem
(Cm tinned Ob Page Btx)
Rites Set For
Edgerton Baby
Charles Roger Edgerton, age 3
weeks, son of Mr. and Mrs. Hendon
Edgerton of Buie’s Creek, died
Tuesday in Duke Hospital.
Oraveside services will be held
at 10:00 a. m. Thursday In the
Buies Creek cemetery. Services
will be conducted by the Rev. Wel
don Johnson, pastol of the Fir*:
Baiptlst Church In Buie's Creek.
The child is survived by his pa
rents, Herdon and Kathryn Sexton
Edgerton: one brother, Hendrick
Edgerton, of the home: paternal
grandmother, Mrs. L. E. Shenauit,
of Buie’s Creek; maternal grand
parents, Mr. and Ml*. Roger Sex
ton of Lillington.
SIDELIGHTS AT THE ROSS TRIAL
Trial And Personalities
By TED CRAIL
Record Staff Writer
A small trial "tonality, a big trial reveals
it. In most city courts, and often in Superior Court, case
after case is pushed so hurriedly through the mills of jus
tice that no-one, yeast of all the spectators, can be quite
sure of what has happened.
The Ross trial, which started In
Lillington yesterday, and the case
of Judge Lee, which may be tried
at another time, are not sliding
by in such peremptory fashion. As
the trial began, it was apparent
that every word of every person
the least answer of a prospective
juror was to be weighed and re
welghed by defense, state, and spec
tators.
■j- The Record Is Firs* i
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SOLICITOR NEILL ROSS —Leaving court yesterday
Owner Thought Dog
HadSwallowedßone
Another mad dog was discovered in Harnett County
this morning. His owner, Elbert F. Thornton of Erwin,
brought him to the pet hospital in Dunn thinking he had
a bone in his throat.
Dr. Belmont Kittrell, veterinar
ian, took one look at the four
month-oid black and tan beagle
hound and diagnosed rabies. The
Thornton's pet will probably die
by tomorrow.
Thornton told Dr. Kittrell's as
sistant, Lois Jordan, that yester
day the dog had approached him
as though it needed help. It had
not tried to bite him, and didn’t
today.
Tortured by the disease within,
the young beagle twisted, yowled
and snapped as it was transferred
from the hospital to a small boxed
cage and taken by Earl Wells,
county dog warden, to the pound,
where it will' die.
Just yesterday another pet was
brought in which Dr. Kittrell be
lieved to have rabies. It has already
died and the head is being taken
to Raleigh for examination in the
state diagnostic office.
E. W. Williams, who lives on Er
win Road, is the owner of the dog
which died. It was a stray befriend
ed by his family two years ago. The
dog’s lower jaw dropped on Mon
day, and Williams, too, thought
there was “a bone in its throat.”
Neither dog had bit anyone, but
both had apparently been bitten
(Continued On Page Eight)
“GET ’EM OUT"
As the state finished its first
round of challenges and seated
twelve jurors, a spectator tapped a
reporter on the shoulder and said,
“Ross better get some of those fel
lows (the Jurors! out of there They
won’t be no aid to him”.
The defense put some of them
out
Hardly a Juror could be found
NO. 252
White Man
Guilty Os
Raping Negro
CROWLEY, La. IIP) An all
white male jury convicted a young
white father of three children of
attempted rape of a Negro wom
an, reportedly the first case of its
kind in Louisiana history.
Sterling Trahan, a local rice mill
supervisor, will be sentenced later
this week by Judge Smith Hoff
pauir. The jury’s verdict wal
"guilty of attempted simple rape,"
for which the maximum penalty
is 10 years.
The alleged attempt took place
August 14.
Opening in district court yester
day morning, the trial continued
throughout the day and late into
the night. The jury returned it*
verdict about 2 a. m. today.
Except for the two policemen
who had taken the defendant in
charge in August, all witnesses for
the prosecution were Negroes. De
fense witnesses were the accused
and his young wife.
who had not heard the ease dis
cussed or taken part in a discuss
ion. One of them said that at hi*
service station. We’ve already triH|
the case, had it sentenc#
passed ” Later excused, this juror)
must have caused Ross to wonder,
as he passed a few feet from lum,
what the sentence was. |
REMARKABLY AT BASK \
The accused solicitor, more famfc*
liar te the prosecution of a rust
than In its defense, seemed remark
ably at ease as the long job of
Jury—choosing went on. He leaned
back In his chair; behind counsel,
frowned and smiled and talked M
(Ceattnaed Oa Page Eight)