North Carolina Newspapers

VOL. I NO. 7 CHARGED WITH MUR DER OF HUSBAND. Dove D. McMahan, , a section hand on the Tenn. and N. C. R. R. was found shot and dying in his home above Sunburst last Friday morning about 5 o'clock, and a pistol was found about 2 feet from the left side of the bed on the floor Mrs. McMahan,' the wife, was in the kitchen and another woman, Mrs. Hamilton, was in another room near by and they cried out. Charles Campbell was asleep up stairs and heard the shot and the cries of the women. He dressed hurriedly and came down. Mrs. McMahan gave him a lamp and he went in where the man was breath ing his last on the bed. A pistol was on the floor. The wife did not go into the room. Dr. McFayden, the coroner, held . an inquest Friday and although the first news of the matter indicated suicide the iury was not satisfied with the theory and would not pro nounce it suicide. The funeral was held at Dillsboro Saturday and Mrs. McMahan was arrested and brought here for trial. A preliminary hearing was held in the court house yesterday after noon before R. Q. McCracken, Esq. It was shown that he must have been shot while laying on his back about a foot from the left or out side edge of the bed and the shot went straight through the body bedding and mattress. Mrs. Mc Mahan never went into the room. The clothing was not much powder burned or schorched.. The' pistol was on the floor on the 'left side. These are the main suspicious cir cumstances the States representa tive, Grover C. Davis, relied on for holding conviction or holding the accused. Gilmer Leatherwood represented Mrs. McMahan very ably. He put no witness on the stand. Mr. Campbell didn't think the wife could have had time to be in the room do the shooting and return to the kitchen from the time he heard the shot and her cry, just after which came from the kitchen. After the argument Esquire Mc Cracken announced that he could not find sufficient evidence to bind the defendant and she was released. Mountaineer. AN APPRECIATION. THREE FRIENDS UNITE IN A JUST TRIBUTE TO A TRULY GOOD AND REMARKABLY USE FUL MAN. The death of Mr. Jasper Allen on July 30, 1915, recalls the splendid public service that he rendered the town of Sylva in its early history durin ' tve latter '80's.The town had nonpublic hall, no school house, no church and for several years this was the condition; but Mf. Jasper Allen though living on his farm some distance off, rose grandly to meet the community's important needs and with characteristic gene rosity and public spirit provided for Sylva a building where secular meetings, school, , Sunday school prayer-meeting and church services could be held. For this inestimab-, ly valuable contribution- to the town's early educational, moral, and spiritual opportutii ties, the name of Jasper Allen as a noble benefact or should never be forgotten by the people of Sylva. When the first church Was built a Baptist Church, he was the largest contri butor an I the most enthusiastic promoter, never flagging in his zeal till the edifice was ready for use. This venerable father in Israel was eighty-seven years of age, July 4. In his last illness, he was toi cV ingly thoughtful of those he was to leave behind. When his final sum mons came, he was fully ready and fell ashep in Jesus as gently as a babe upon its mother's breast. This appropriate Scripture c ime to the writer as he reviewed the long, use ul life of Mr. Allen: The path of the just is as a shinning light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." The testimonies and tributes of loving friends woul i fill a volume, but there are two that I wish to- in clude in this sketch. Rev. J. J. Gray thus beautifully speaks of our departed loved one: "I have known Bro. Allen as an active church member nearly twenty years. The interests of Go Ts kingdom lay heavy on his heart. His life carried unmis takable proQf that he was a. saved man. As so me insects handle and mould the ea rth, without being de filed by it, so Jasper Allen lived i daily contact with earthly things, turning then to account for his personal comfort, and for the moral i betterment of all, without being de filed by the contact. As the insect leaves his house of clay, grows wings, and flees out of sight, Jasper Allen's spirit earth free, ascended into God's upper Heaven. J-His life.and death at .the ,;:yery edge of Sylva's commercial life is a suggestion that every Christian ought to bring heaven into the centre of the active business world" Hon. James H. Cathey, when ask ed bv the writer for an estimate of Mr. Allen's character responded feelingly and fittingly as follows: "He was a citizen of the old school; humble in his daily walk; honest, like Washington to the pen ny; true to his word. If he prom ised to meet you at the corner of the street, he was there to a minute. If he. promised to pay you a debt on a certain day, the debt was paid that day or yo'i knew the reason why." He was true to his religious faith; faithful and loyal and liberal as to his religious obligations. "He was sound and solid as Gib ralter in his political principles; riatriotic and true in the discharge ol his civic duties. In his relation to men, he was considerate to the point of deference. Toward women, he was urbane and chrivalric as became a gentleman ot the "Old South." "His manner was as gentle as a woman's; his heart good and tender as a child's. His affection for his wife was as beautiful as it was re markable and this affection was thoroughly reciprocated. He has gone to the home of the good. R. L. M. The Fox Tent show that's playing Canton this week will play Sylva next week. Mrs. Walters, is visiting her dau ghter Mrs.. S. C. Allison of this city. Mrs. F. A. Luck Jr. and family of Augusta Ga. are visiting at the home of Mr. F. A. Luck Sr. of this SYLVA, N. (J., AUGUSr 13, 19:5, AUCTION SALE Oi BEAUTIFUL RESIDENT LOTS Mr. T. A. Vick , of ; the Atlantic Coast Reality Co.,;of Oreeiiville N. G. is in the city this Week advertis ing for the big auction sale of lots known as the Baunv property on the court house hill? This is one of the most desirable jweces pf prop erty anywhere about 'own. It is on a high plateau overlooking, the town only a shor distance from j the business section of the city and has well graded streets leading to it, with trie electric Ikies of the Dills boro Sylva Elefetric Company passing through it, making it very easy to obtain lights for any resi dent that may want them. The Atlantic Coast Reality Co., are the selling agents for this prop erty and they have a reputation of being the largest Real Estate Auct ion Co. in existence. Come to Sylva Aug. 20th and buy yourself a nice residence lot i n a progressive town, where in a few years you can double your interest Mr. T. A. Vick is in charge and can be found at 'the Commercial Hotel. See ad onpage eight of this issue. MILLIONS ARE INVOLVED Knoxville, JuIk 31. The agree- ment between the Southern rail -3S way and Alumiigrm Company of America has be,en signed whereby the Southern railway will remove itsligr of the seven dams that will be con structed by the Aluminum com pj'ny on Little Tennessee river, ac cording to Judge H. B. Lindsay for the Aluminum Company of America. Judge Linsdav states that work rmy be started at once on the construction of seven dams of the Aluminum plant, but he has not yet received advicejas to when itjwill start. The Knoxville Power company was first organized by lo cal capital and later sold the rights to the Aluminum Company of America. In 1907 the work was stopped on the construction of the Tennessee-Carolina Southern rail way at Chilhowee, a short distance from where the proposed dams were to be constructed, also on the North Carolina road being con structed from Bushnell. The right of way of this road ran along the banks of the Little Tenn essee river and it is stated that the backwater from the dams, if con structed, would overflow the right of way. When the Aluminum Company of America purchased the property of the Knoxville Power company and additional rights, the question arose as to whether the backwater would overflow the right of way of the railway along the mountain side near the river. It was the opinion of the engi neers that this would be the case, and the work of constructing the dams was not pushed until an agre ment could be reached by the Southrn railway and the Alumi num Company of America. While this was pending the Aluminum Company located its plant at Mary ville and secured 25,000 horsepower from the Oconee plant, now. owned by the Tennessee Power company. Rfl The agreement provided that the Aluminum Company of America can proceed at once and start the construction of the seven days which will harness the water i power of that section to generate electricity for light and power. This will give 4()0,000 horsepower. The agreement provides that if the Aluminum Company of America dams shall flood the tracks of the present right of way of the road be tween Fontana and Bushnell that it shall pay to the railroad com pany $500,000 for the construction of a new Ime which shall be built from bushnell with a rise of one foot and being 180 feet above the track ?t Fontana. Then if the Southern Railway company desires to connect with Chilhowee, the Aluminum company agrees to pay $1,000,000 toward the construction of the new route, half of this to be paid when the work is started and the other half when completed. In addition the South ern Railway company shall have a right of way over the grounds of the Aluminum Company of America. The agre ment reached is believ ed by the local representatives .to mean that work will be started soon on the completion of the sev en dams af the company. A num ber of men have been employed on the dam sights making soundings and doing other preliminary work toward the construction of the dams. President Fairfax Harrison and President Davis have both labored to secure an agreement and it is believed that this additional power will add much to the development of southern territory. This will f give East Tennessee the largest water power in the country. Citi zen. FIRST WOMAN TO DIE IN ELECTRIC CHAIR? Winston-Salem, N. C, Aug. 7. At 11:50 o'clock tonight Judge E. B. Cline, of the Superior court, having receivea tne veraict oi tne jury murder in the first degree con demned Mrs. Ida Ball Warren and Samuel Preston Christy to death in in the electric chair Friday, Sep tember 24, for the murier of G. J. Warren, husband of Mrs. Warren., Clifton Stonestreet, foimd guilty of being an accessory after the fact, was sentenced to three years in state's prison. An appeal was taken, filed for the defendants as paupers. Mrs. Warren stood erect until the words fixing the date were uttered, then with a quick, nervous jerk sank into her chair, drooping for a minute and then resuming appar ent calmness. In the event Mrs. Warren is electocuted she will be the first woman to go tothe chair ii this state, and it is said the second woman ever to pay the death pen alty in North Carolina. Warren was missed from his home here after August 18 of last year and his body was found in Muddy creek, Forsyth county, last April. Christy, during the interim had gone back to Texas, where he had lived for years with Mrs. War ren, and whence the woman posing as the wife of Christy, Alias Kearns eloped with Warren. Mrs. Warren, arrested after the discovery of the body, according to the police made a confession im plicating Christy, who was extra dited. Christy is then said to have made a confession in which he told of a plot by him and Mrs. Warren to kill her husband. Citi-2en. $1.00 THE YEAR IN ADVANCE OFFICERS SEIZE 'STILL AND ITS OPERATOR In spite of the strenous fforts made by Mrs. A. S. Ammons to aid her husband in making his escape from revenue officers. Am mons was captured in a swamp yesterday near Willets in Jackson county. An illicit distillery that he had been operating near his house was destroyed by J. F. Cabe and W. A. Thompson spe cial employes in the internal reve nue service. . Willets is a station on the Murphy division of the Southern ; railway, but it is in the heart of the Balsam mountains and the house and "moonshine" factory were in a wild and inaccessable spot. As Officer Cabe dashed around the house after the fleeing blockader Mrs. Ammons seized the raider and held him for several minutes. The delay gave Ammons a lead but it was not sufficient an I he was soon captured. . The alleged blockader was taken to Waynesville and after a hearing before United States Commissioner Osborne he was held for trial at the next term of the District court. Deputy Marshal M. D. Justice went out to Waynesville on the afternoon train to represent the government at the hearing Gazette. FIRE DESTROYS MOODY HOME NEARJRANKLIN Special to the Gazette-News. Franklin. N. C, Aug.; 7. The large .country home of Frank Moody about four miles from this placf was destroyed by fire recent ly. The h juse was beared on the well known Barnard farm, one of the largest and most valuable in this part of the state, which was recently purchased by Moody and Howell of Waynesville. The loss is estimated at $8,000 with tli3 amount of insurance unknown. About $2,800 worth of jewelry was destroyed in the flames. Gazette. Several Baptist ministers passed throush this city enrout to the As sociation now in session at Cullo whee. The Fox tent show presents "The man of mystery" "Ten Nights" "Jessie James" and other good plays, Miss Christine Nichols entertained with a moon light picnic, Tuesday night, complimentary Jo her cousin, Miss Ora Nichols of Etowah, Tenn. Among those who went to Bum garner Falls and partook of the good time and good eats, were Misses Dorothy McKee; Mayme and Pearl Long, Alice Gray, Virginia Greer, Ora and Christine Nichols and Messers Hal McKee, Gerson and T. C. Bryson H. P. Cathey, Ephrim Stillwell St. John Cox and Dan Tompkins. The party was charieroned by Mrs., Mary Carter Brinson.. . Mrs I. J. Brown has returned to her home in Waynesville after hav ing spent some 'time with her mother, Mrs. J. D. AlleiL . Don't miss the tent show next Monday night, l(Tcents admission - Mr. Harry Morton of Salisbury is in the city this week Miss Sallie Mae Snyder, who has been visiting MisVMira. Crisp for the past week, teftibr her home in Davidson county yesteraay. '