Net Paid
CIRCULATION
Last Weefc
2782
Jftaconian
. . . There is no issue
of poverty involved . . .
North Carolina has just
as much money to spend
for education as it wants
to spend for education.
? Edward Kidder Graham
in 1916.
72nd Year ? No. 12
Franklin, N. C., Thursday, March 21, 1957
Price 10 Cents
Sixteen Pajres
DR. ANGEL SAYS?
Blood Program
Is Not Needed
(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is
the second in a series <A ar
ticles discussing the proposed
American Red Cross blood
program as it applies to Ma
con County).
"It's not that I'm opposed to
It. I just don't see the need for
it here."
That's the stand Dr. Edgar
Angel takes on the proposed
participation of Macon County
in the regional blood program
of the American Red Cross.
Speaking officially as medical
director of Angel Hospital In
Franklin, he says his hospital
will not support the program as
it is now constituted.
An A. R. C. requirement is
the blanket approval of all hos
pitals within a county cooper
ating.
Macon County's other two
hospitals, Highlands Commun
ity Hospital and Angel Clinic
in Franklin, have previously
Indicated their interest in the
program. The Highlands insti
tution recently applied for per
mission to participate in the
blood program independent of
the rest of the county. Dr. Fur
man Angel, head of Angel
Clinic, while serving last year as
president of the county medical
society, personally endorsed the
program as advanced by the
local A.R.C. chapter.
Supports Stand
As a private physician, the
present head of the Macon
County Medical Society, Dr. J.
W. Kahn, supports Dr. Edgar
Angel's stand on the issue.
Moreover, Dr. Kahn thinks a
vote among doctors of the
county society would see the
majority oppose the county's
participation in the blood pro
gram.
Defends Position
As the lone dissenter of the
three hospitals, Angel Hospital,
through its director, defends its
position ty calling attention to
SEE So 2, PAGE 8
Dr. Winstead
Denied Pardon
By Governor
A Franklin physician, Dr. G.
Ashby Winstead, has been de
nied a pardon from a 10-year
narcotics sentence in Florida,
according to the United Press.
In refusing him a pardon,
Gov. Leroy Collins granted Dr.
Winstead a 60-day reprieve
pending results of a trial here
at the April term of Superior
Court in which the doctor is
charged with driving while
under the influence of a drug
or narcotic.
The UP account said Dr. Win
stead was convicted in Panama
City, Fla., in 1955, on charges
of illegally prescribing narcot
ics for a young woman on whom
he had operated.
It said: "The State Pardon
Board refused to set aside Win
stead s sentence in spite of the
plea of his attorney. State Sen.
Bart Knight, that the urological
surgeon was the victim of a plot
conceived by a woman he treat
ed and his estranged wife."
Dr. Winstead, his two sons,
and his mother, Mrs. Mabel
|Iolme3, have been living here
about two years.
A Superintendent
To Be Named
By County Board
Ml reports of a change,
hiring a county school super
intendent is expected to top
the Macon Board of Educa
tion's business at its April'
meeting.
The present superintendent,
Holland McSwaln, is now end
ing his third two-year term.
Under the law, the board
must name a superintendent
the finst Monday in April
(April 1), or as soon there
after as practicable.
Bundy Gets
P.-T. A. Job
Stephen A. Bundy. plant su
perintendent of Franklin Hos
iery Company, was elected pres
ident of the Franklin P.-T. A.
Monday night.
Other officers chosen were
Mrs. Frank Martin, vice-presi
dent; Mrs. Bill Horsley, secre
tary; and Dan Stewart, treas
urer.' The officers will be in
stalled at the next meeting,
April 15.
Monday night's program was
presented by a seven-student
panel from the Franklin High
School chapter of the Future
Teachers of America. They were
Max Gladwell, Miss Evelyn
Jolnes, Howard Burch, Miss Mil
dred Burch, Jimmy Yeary, Gary
Calloway, and Miss Mary Lee
Howard. They held a round
table discussion on the 100-year
history of the National Educa
tional Association.
Mrs. 8. B. Moss led the de
votional. About 40 people at
tended the meeting.
Juvenile Delinquency Has
Slight Increase In Macon
There has been a slight
Increase in teen-age crime in
Macon County in the last two
years, including juveniles (un
der 16).
Sheriff J. Harry Thomas says
most of the offenses are steal
ing, breaking and entering, and
larceny.
.Mrs. Kate M. Wrinn, judge
of the Juvenile Court, says
seven cases were tried in her
court last year, five in 1955,
and four in 1954. She pointed
out that many cases are set
tled out of court, however.
Mrs. Elolse O. Potts, super
intendent of public . welfare, and
whose agency helps handle ju
venile offenders, says she has
no explanation to offer for the
increase in juvenile and youth
ful offenses. "I do know It's
not caused by poverty; poverty
doesn't make a juvenile delin
quent. A poor home ? does,
though."
Sheriff Thomas said some
Little League
Benefit Slated
A benefit basketball double
header, featuring former cage
stars of Franklin High School,
is set for tomorrow (Friday)
night in the high school gym
nasium.
At 7 o'clock, boys making up
the 1953-54 Franklin High team
will play the Clayton (Ga.) All
Stars.
Next on the program will be
a clash between girls who play
ed on the Franklin team that
won the Smoky Mountain Con
ference championship in 1953
54 and the graduating seniors
of Franklin's 1956-57 squad.
The proceeds are earmarked
for the Little League.
sections of the county ? he de
clined to specify which ones ?
produced many of the trouble
makers, "while there are some
in which we've never had a
single call".
In his opinion, idleness is
responsible for a lot of the
teen-agers' getting into trouble.
He suggested three things to
help counteract teen-age crime:
"1. Give the child work to
do and some responsibility.
There's always something to be
done around the home he can
take part in.
'?2. Know where your child
is when he's away from home.
We had one case of a man
whose son missed 13 days of
school during the month and
the father didn't know about
it.
"3. Let there be some under
standing between the parents
and the child. They should talk
together. The parents need to
show an interest In the child."
Work got under way last week
on a two-bedroom addition to
the jailor's quarters. Living
area vacated by the jailor and
his family when they move into
the new rooms will be used as
juvenile detention space.
A.R.C. Drive Reaches
$506.80 This Week
With only a few of more than
50 volunteers reporting, the an
nual American Red Cross fund
drivel this week had $506.80 of
its $3,873 goal.
The chapter executive secre
tary, Mrs. Elizabeth McCollum,
said this week's total (through
Tuesday morning) represented
only seven reports. She still has
not heard campaign results
from any communities and she
urged all workers to report con
tributions as soon as possible.
Nantahala Group
Seeks School Tax
P.-T. A. Heading
Drive For Special
Election In Spring
In a move to meet pressing
needs at Nanlahala School, a
group of citizens in Nantahala
lownship is stumping for a sup
plementary township tax levy.
Meeting last Thursday night at
the school, some 30 members of
.he P.-l . A gave their unanimous
approval to the tax proposal and
are now carrying the facts before
? ? ?
Nantahala Job
To Be Resumed
Work is expected to be re
sumed almost at once on the
5.29-mile state highway project
from Feisty Branch Road to
Nantahala School, according to
G. W. Lee, district engineer.
Winter halted work on the
job.
Mr. Lee this week said the
contractor in charge of struc
tures, C. E. Crouch, of Asheville,
should resume work within the
'week. Grading probably will not
get under way for about 30
days, however. Asheville Con
tracting Company has the con
tract for the road work.
Plans ?all for having stone
down on the new road by Sep
tember, the engineer revealed,
so it can be used next winter.
The final link of three jobs
giving the Nantahala section an
all-weather highway from US
64 In fhis county to US 19 in
Swain, the Feisty Branch proj
ect Is costing $338,231.40. Con
tracts for the job were let in
July, 1956.
others in the township to gather
support.
The proposal sets a maxium ef
10 cents per hundred valuation.
In the township the levy would
bring in $4,833.52 on the basis if
Nantahala's present taxable value.
Preparing Petition
Meanwhile, the district school
committee, headed by D. L
Owenby, Jr.. is preparing a
petition requesting a special town
ship election to decide the issue
One petition already has been
handed the board of education,
but it has been withdrawn be
cause of some legal points and a
new one is being drafted, accord
ing to School Supt. Holland Mc
Swain.
From the board of education,
the petition will go to the board
of county commissioners, which
will call an election for the town
ship.
Spring Election
Jerry A. Hall. Nantahala prin
cipal, and Mr. Owenby say the
petition will be ready for presenta
tion prior to the April 1 meeting
of the county boards. Both men
hope to see the election held this
spring so the school could derive
some benefit from the levy next
fall, if the voters approve it.
Nantahala T :',vr.ship's present
tax standing is $4,833,525. This
amount, if the rr.axirmm 10 cents
per hundred was usee, would give
the school $4,833.52.
Carry Load
Carrying the bulk of! the tax
load would be Nar.tahila Power
ar.d Light Company, which has its
Nantahala power facilities in the
township. The company is listed
on the township tax books at
$4,371,745, so its share of th '
extra tax levy would be $4,371.74.
SEE NO. 3. PAGE 8
Rioting Prisoners At Macon Camp Subdued By Tear Gas Bombs
As a last-ditch tactic, tear gas
was used in the early morning
hours of Monday to stamp out
a boisterous riot that flared
through the Macon Prison Camp
for some four and a half hours.
As armed guards stood by, the
gassed rioters ? most of them
teen-agers ? stumbled blindly
from the small brick prison
where they had barricaded
themselves Sunday night about
9 o'clock and then, in a burst
of violent defiance, completely
wrecked Its interior.
Screaming, chanting, and
cursing prison officials and
spectators attracted to the scene
by the noise, they smashed out
more than 1,500 window panes
with chunks of coal and soft
drink bottles, overturned heat
ing stoves, knocked out lights,
set fire to mattresses and paper,
and broke up metal bed frames
and used the stouter sections
to pry bars loose so they could
travel between cellblocks.
92,600 Damage
Damage to the interior was
conservatively estimated alt $2,
000, exclusive of labor costs to
make the repairs. ,
Except for some minor glass
cuts on some of the prisoners,
there were no injuries on either
side.'
Two tear gas bombs were lob
bed into the east cellblock
about 1:30 a. m. Sunday by
Capt. Dan R. Lyday, division
prison supervisor, after one of
the youthful rioters pitched a
bucket of paint on him from a
window.
Capt. Lyday had been at
tempting to talk the prisoners
Into surrendering since he had
arrived on the scene about 11:30
from his home In Henderson
ville.
Gasp For Air
Gasping for air, their faces
streaked by tears, the subdued
rioters groped from the build
ing through the back entrance
and were quickly broken into
groups and trucked to maxi
mum security prisons in other
counties by prison guards who
had turned out to help quell
the riot.
Twetoe of the Insurgents
landed in a segregation cell at
the local camp.
35 Participate
Camp Supt. John E. Cutshall,
who three times entered the
darkened cellblock after the
outbreak in an effort to negoti
ate with the leaders, said 35 of
the camp's complement of 73
were involved in the riot.
All will stand trial for their
participation, he declared.
Pour of the rioters were hon
or grade prisoners.
Soon after the riot broke out,
those who wanted no part of
the riot were released from the
prison building. Four others
came out about midnight.
What Happened?
Supt. Cutshall said it is dif
ficult to determine exactly what
touched off the Incident.
A guard's refusal to let a
prisoner's mother hand him
(the prisoner) money through
the fence during visiting hours
earlier probably precipitated it,
he decided. He commended the
guard's alertness and explained
that the ? mother's gesture was
against regulations "for obvious
reasons".
Both the superintendent and
?Mr. Lyday said they thought
the Idea of a riot had been
"brewing in their minds" for a
couple of days as a means of
protesting conditions at the
camp.
Air Grievances
A list of grievances was turn
S?HISOe
ed over to Capt. Lyday by the
rioters.
It Included demands for bet
ter food ("They're eating bet
ter here than they ever did at
home," the captain declared);
less overtime work; more time
in the prison yard; removal of
a fence which prevents prison
ers from approaching the high
fence surrounding the camp;
and better mall service.
Smash TV Sets
They also asked for radios in
the cellblocks. Ironically, during
their burst of destruction, they
smashed beyond repair two tel
evision sets valued at $600.
In a statement from Raleigh,
state prisons director, W. F.
Bailey, declared:
SMASHING THINGS UP was the order of the night Sunday when some 35 prisoners rioted
in their ceUblocks at the Macon Prison Camp. In the course of their rampage, they smuM oat
more than 1,500 window panes (Above) with coal, soft drink bottles, and their fists. Gamp
Supt. J. E. Cuts hall (left) and Capt. Dan R. Lyd ay, division supervisor, , are counting broken
panes. At left, Capt. Lydv.y shows the remains of two television sets smashed by the rioters.
The TVs, one in each cellblock, were valued at $600. The prisoners practically gutted the small
prison, lipping out all the plumbing and setting mattresses and pe.pers afire.
"Some of them seem to ex
pect it, but we can't afford to
turn the camp over to them."
He said there was no Das Is
for most of their complaints,
but he Is sending a man here
to Investigate.
Offer To Help
Unsure of the extent of their
jurisdiction. Franklin police of
ficers, who brought tear gas
with them to the scene, and
Sheriff J. Harry Thomas and
members of his department of-'
fered to use tear gas to break
up the rioting In the early
stages.
However, their offers were de
clined by Supt. Cuts hall, who
held that permission for such
action had to clear through
prison authorities In Raleigh.
Capt. Lyday brought tear gas
bombs with him from Hender
sonville.
Permission to use the gas on
the rioters was finally obtained
about midnight, but the prison
officials on the scene chose to
continue efforts to talk the men
into giving up without having
to resort to its use.
About 1:30, however, a paint
splattered Capt. Lyday turned
talk into action by uncorking
his tear gas bombs. The riot
was soon over.
Dr. Angel Tries
Not long after the men bar
ricaded themselves In the prls
SEE NO. 1, PAGE 8
The Weather
The wrek's temperature* and rainfall below
are recorded in Franklin by Manxon Stile?.
U. S. weather observer; in Highlands by
Tudor N Hall and W. C. Newton. TV A
observer*: and at the Coweta Ifydrologfo
Laboratory. Readings are for the 24-hour
period ending at 8 a.m. of the day listed.
FRANKUN
High Low Rain
Wed.. March 13 60 34 .01
Thursday 67 4"! .08
Friday 71 46 .#2
Saturday 66 22 .00
Sunday 69 23 .90
Monday 62 37 .00
Tuesday 63 44 .59
Wednesday ? 37 .00
. HIGHLANDS
Wed , March 13 62 32 .00
Thursday 56 44 .22
Friday 62 40 .04
Saturday 70 30 .00
Sunday . 66 27 .00
Monday 81 36 .00
Tuesday 66 40 .00
Wednesday ? 32 .00
COWETA
Weds., March 13 57 34 .03
Thursday 68 47 .11
Friday 72 48 trace
Saturday 66 26 Of
Sunday #9 24 JO
Monday 50 38 .OA
Tuesday 64 42 109
Wednesday ? 38 .00