ALL HAIL
TO JULIUS
'KING OF GOLF
ALL HAIL
TO JULIUS
KING OF GOLF'
Missing Girl Found Brutally Slain
In Lonely Forest Grave; Man Jailed
Discovery Climaxes Week of Intensive Search;
Former Lover Maintains Silence At Graveside
Mrs. Louise Dowd McLaughlin,
25, of West Southern Pines, who
had been missing from her home
since Friday, November 7, was
found dead Tuesday afternoon in
woods one mile west of Aberdeen,
her body barely covered with sand
and pine needles, in a shallow
grave.
There were wounds about her
face and head. The body was clad
in a pink dress, underwear and
anklets. Missing were her coat,
shoes and pocketbook.
Watching the disinterment as
he stood handcuffed to a Southern
Pines police officer was Melvin
Morrison, 31, former sweetheart
of the dead girl, who is suspected
of the slaying. His composure
was complete as he watched the
disinterment, and he maintained
the silence which had baffled po
lice during three previous days of
questioning.
Search Party
Discoverer of the grave was
* Charlie Monroe, brother-in-law of
Louise, one of a party of searchers
headed by local and county police
officers who were fine-tooth-
combing ,the area for the third or
fourth time.
When the burial place was
found, in the middle of an aban
doned fire lane off a narrow road
between the Linen-White and
Robbins Mill plants. Chief C. E.
Newton told aU present to remain
there, leaving it untouched. This
was done, he said later, for two
purposes; first, to secure neces
sary and wanted witnesses, and
second, to keep knowledge of the
find, which might serve as a
warning, from spreading.
To Richmond County
With Deputy' Sheriffs A. F.
Dees and H. H. Grimm, and Offi
cer Smith, he drove to Richmond
county and picked up Deputy
Sheriff Heeney. They went to
the farm home of the Randolph
Morrisons in the Capel Creek sec
tion near Windblow. There they
found the Morrisons’ son, Melvin,
whom they had previously dis
missed after prolonged and fruit
less grilling.
Sheriff also notified Coroner
Ralph G. Steed, who summoned
an ambulance. Aberdeen Chief
Archie Phillips was notified, and
joined the group.
The young woman’s body was
brought to a funeral home here,
where an autopsy was performed
Wednesday morning.
Morrison was lodged in Moore
county jail on open charges, with
out privilege of bond, pending ac
tion by a coroner’s jury. The in
quest date will be set as soon as a
report on the autopsy is received,
said Coroner Steed.
Mounting Suspense
The find climaxed several days
of intensive search and days and
nights of investigation by the po
lice, also mounting suspense on
the part of the general public.
The certainty grew that the girl
had been murdered and her body
hidden. Where it was, constituted
this community’s first murder
mystery in a dozen years.
Louise McLaughlin was the
widow of Rufus McLaughlin, kill
ed in World War 2. With their
two little girls Susie and Lauretta,
aged nine and eight, she shared a
home on Stephens street with her
mother and other members of the
family.
Her mother, Mrs. EUa Mae
Dowd, reported to police last
Tuesday that her daughter was
missing. Louise had gone uptown
Friday morning, she said, to mail
a payment on her television set,
and had never returned.
Friday, police picked up Melvin
Morrison, a janitor on the third
shift at Robbins Mill at Aberdeen.
In Mortal Fear
Melvin and Louise had gone to
gether for a year. Lately, though,
they had broken up. In October,
the girl had Morrison indicted for
molesting her, and police gave
him a warning to leave her alone.
Since then, it was reported to po
lice, he had threatened that he
would “get her,’’ and the girl was
in “mortal fear” of him.
They found put also that on the
day of Louise’s disappearance,
Morrison had borrowed the car of
Worth Morgan, white, of South
ern Pines, also a Robbins Mill
worker. He said his own car was
in the shop at Aberdeen, and that
he wanted to use Morgan’s for
“about 45 minutes” to keep a date
with a girl. He did not return it
as promised and Morgan recover
ed it from Morrison at his room
ing-place in West Southern Pines
some two and a half hours later.
There was blood inside.
Noticing wet blood on the steer
ing wheel, Morgan inquired what
had happened and Morrison said
he had pinched his finger.
Later, though, M(organ found
there was blood also on the back
of the seat, and flecked on the
glass.
"Too Polite"
Other evidence piled up against
Morrison, who continued to re
main , cool and. calm under ques
tioning at the police station. A
slight, soft-spoken Negro, des
cribed as “almost too polite,” he
denied all knowledge of Louise’s
whereabouts, or what had hap
pened to her.
He said, though, he had seen
her Wednesday at the depot and
she told him she was “going to
Jersey.”
Mrs. Dorothea Monroe of
Brooklyn, sister of the missing
woman, who arrived last weekend
on receipt of a distress call from
her motl^er, revealed that she had
received a telegram from her sis
ter October 23. Louise had wired
to ask her to “find a room for me
and my kids as I got to leave
home before Monday night.” Mrs.
Monroe wired back for-them to
come, but they did not, and there
was nc- further word.
Saturday afternoon, Morrison,
during a brief respite from ques
tioning, dashed out of the police
station and ran for two or three
blocks, through back alleys and
streets almost to Millen park.
There Officer Smith, hot in pur
suit, caught up with him and
brought him back.
Refused Lie Test
The Negro agreed at that time
to take a lie detector test, and
Chief Newton made arrangements
for one with the SBI headquarters
at Raleigh. Saturday night they
drove to Raleigh hut once there,
the man refused to go through
with it, claiming, “I had a friend
who took one of those tests once
and it mixed him all up, and hurt
his brains.”
He was released Sunday after
noon and Chief Newton gave him
(Continued on Page 8)
THANKSGIVING DAY
Thursday, Thanksgiving
day, will be observed as a
general holiday here as else
where in the United Stales,
its possessions and battle-
fronts.
Stores, banks, city and
county offices will be closed.
Local schools will close Wed
nesday at noon, not to resume
classes until Monday morning.
The Southern Pines post of
fice will have a partial holi
day. The stamp and general
delivery windows will be
open from 10 to 11 a.m. There
will be normal distribution of
mail to boxes and despatching
of outgoing mail, but no city
delivery.
The Pilot will go to press
Wednesday instead of Thurs
day.
Accident Near
Robbins Is Fatal
To Mrs. Maness
Mrs. Katie Garner Maness, 48,
was fatally injured Wednesday
evening when the Ford car in
which she was riding with her
husband, Hobart Maness, was in
volved in a head-on collision with
another automobile about a mile
outside Robbins. Taken to Moore
County Hospital, the injured
woman died without regaining
consciousness, a little before 8 pm
shortly after arrival there.
Also taken to the hospital were
Mr. Maness and Cpl. Reeves
Black, a Negro soldier, one of the
occupants of the other car. Mr.
Maness was suffering from a knee
injury and severe shock and will
be hospitalized several days. The
soldier was treated for lacerations
and bruises and will be transfer
red to the hospital at Fort Bragg.
The two other soldiers, occu
pants of the second car, an Olds-
mobile, accompanied their injur
ed comrade to the hospital but
did not remain for treatment. Ac
cording to the State Highway Pa
trol, they are now in the hospital
at Fort Bragg.
The fatal accident took place
near the crossroads where the
Robbins road joins the Carthage
highway. Mr. and Mrs. Maness,
whose home is between Carthage
and Robbins, had started to drive
to the Moore County Hospital,
where their son-in-law, Claude
Wallace,, was undergoing emer
gency appendectomy. Mr. Maness
was driving when the crash oc
curred, at about 6 p. m.
A third car was slightly involv
ed, that of John Donald Marshall
of Spartanburg, S. C., who came
upon the wreck suddenly as he
drove over' the hill. Applying his
brakes, Marshall slowed down
sufficiently so that, though his car
rolled into the tangled mass of
wreckage, little damage was done.
He posted $500 bond and is book-
(Continued on page 5)
Voters Approve
Three Projects,
Turn Down Biggest
No Okay For Jail,
Police Siation;
Committee Named
Southern Pines Voters number
ing 403, out of a registration of
1,406, went to the polls Tuesday
to approve three proposed civic
projects, and turn thumbs down
rather emphatically, on a fourth.
Approved in the $160,000 bond
issue election were the following:
enlargement and extension of the
sewer system, to cost an estima
ted $10,000, by a vote of 224 to
146; purchase cf a new and mod
ern fire truck, $20,000, 245 to 150;
remodeling of the present fire sta
tion and the building of an annex
to house the new fire truck, $34,-!
000, by 197 to 192.
Turned down was the combin
ation police headquarters and jail,
with space for the ABC store on
the first floor and public offices
on the second, by a vote of 212 to
169.
Cost of the building, to be.con
structed on the site of the present
police station, had been set at an
outside figure of $96,000.
Defeat of one building and ap
proval cf the other (which just
squeaked by) will not necessarily
mean abandonment of the consol
idation plan proposed by some cit
izens. Mayor C. N. Page gave a-
his opinion following the vote
(Continued on Page 5)
Three-Day Tournament, Banquet
W ill Honor “Kin^” Julius Boros
Mm
• I
*» ^
Union Service On
Thanksgiving Eve
The Annual Union Thanksgiv
ing service of Southern Pines
churches will be held. Wednesday
night at 8 o’clock at Emmanuel
Episcopal church.
Members of all churches, as
well as those unaffiliated with any
church, are invited to attend and
share in the service of thankful
ness to God.
Scriptures will be rS'ad by Dr.
W. C. Holland, of the First Bap
tist church; the sermon will be
preached by the Rev. C. K. Ligon,
of Brcwnson Memorial Presbyte-
rion church; and prayers and an
nouncements will he by the Rev.
C. V. Covell of Emmanuel church.
The offering will be devoted to
CROP—the Christian Rural Over
seas Program, by which churches
all over the country are offering
opportunity at this time for Amer
icans to share their .abundance
with people cf less fortunate
lands. The money given will be
converted to food, to be channel
ed through church agencies to the
stricken people of Korea, India,
the Middle East countries and
others where war and famine are
taking toll.
Crews Start Work
On NewBraggRoad
Work started Monday on the
new road to Fort Bragg.
Timber crews cf the Gulf Creo
sote Company are hard at work
on the Boyd property along the
route where it leaves the old road ^ ^
at the top of the ridge beyond the o „
Grover and Cardy lands. ® P' Thursday
Sandhills Events
Of Next Week In
National Limelight
This ccmmunity is paying honor
to a famed “adopted son” next
week, and in so doing is giving it
self a great big treat.
The occasion is the Julius Bo
ros Testimonial Tournamient, to
be played Sunday, Monday and
uesOay over the Mid Pines
course.
The treat is that everyone is
invited, free of charge, to join the
gallery, in which Boros himself,
1952 “King of Golf,” will lead an
all-star field.
Approximately 100 invited play
ers, both professionals and golf
ers, including some of the best-
known names in golfdom, will tee
off in threesomes for a total of
54 holes, 18 to be played each day.
The State Highway Patrol will
handle the traffic.
Plenty of parking space will be
available, with members of lo
cal organizations serving as park
ing marshals and in other capac
ities as required to handle the
crowds. Food and soft drinks, both
hot and.cold, will be served from
refreshment stands along the fair
ways.
Banquet
Climax of the tournament wiU
be a banquet to be held at the
Mid Pines at 8 p. m. Tuesday, an
invitational affair with some seats
available to the public at $10 each.
As the tournament is planned to
be a top sporting event, the ban
quet will be a brilliant social
function.
Sam Snead, who preceded
Boros as “Professional Golfer of
the Year,” will be the principal
speaker. Last year, Snead was
golfdom’s tcpTnoney winner. This
Rupert C. Dah-ymple, 64, brcth- Boros, a pro only
er-in-law of Sheriff C. J. McDon- years and comparatively un-
ald, was severely injured when^"°'^^ summer,
his car collided with anotherl. ®oros will be presented a gift
JULIUS BOROS
Dalrymple Hurt
In Car Accident
Near His Home
from the Sandhills communities
^e C^lf Croosote Company, ofl
which Howard Butler is Presi-1 " j ^ winning the two top tournaments
dent, has the contract for taking of the year, the National Open in
the timber off all the Property O’Shanter
along the route, some of which is ■ ® Carthage, to drive
the old Butler homestead, Valhal
la, first developed by Bion H.
Butler, where his daughter, Helen,
lives.
to the hospital. Mrs. McDonald,
said that she saw him start off
and draw to a stop as he reached
the highway; she had just turned
„ , , away when she heard the crash.
. Rights of way have been se- a „ n- • u j
cured by the state along
whole route which crosses the ^ j nir-t.ir. and a
Grover property and the Boyd ^
land and follows along the back
of the Bowers and Butler hol^-!^^^ed
ings, skirting the edge of the
Sheldon Smith property near thej*4f,Q
reservation. | $400, though the driver was re-
TA • A, A , 'Ported unhurt. No arrest was
It is thought that a couple of made but investigation is contin-
weeks will see , the end of the tim-|Uing.
bering along the roadbed, marking
the arrival of bulldozers on the
scene. Because of the fine natural
grade of the line laid out, a quick
Mr. Dalrymple was taken to
Moore County Hospital, where it
was found that he had suffered
a fractured pelvis and probable
June and the Tam O’Shanter
World Championship in August.
Nature of the gift is a secret, well-
kept by the local committee.
A. reenactment of the World
Championship presentation will
be a feature of the banquet pro
gram, with the same trophy, same
recipient and same donor, George
S. Mc.y, sponsor of the Tam
O’Shanter tournament.
$5,000 Purse
Other awards will be the prizes
for professionals, from $1,000 on
down, totaling a $5,000 purse rais
ed by public subscription in the
Sandhills communities and troph
ies for the amateur winner and
runner-up. '
A unique presentation will be
that of certificates from the State
of North Carolina to the Tar Heel
“quartet of champions.” These are
job is in sight, according to thei^ p probable
engineers ' ^ injuries. Patrolmen called ,
roA-i co # ,1 • • i^° scene of the accident, had Jonnie Palmer, Harvie Ward,
« \ K hardly completed their investiga- Dick Chapman and Boros, who
large of the timbering oneration. j a_
charge of the timbering operation,
with Weymouth Estates’ John M.
Goldsmith acting as supervisor for
the owners.
As searchers pushed the pine needles aside from the lonely
burial spot, they saw the face of the murdered girl. Arrow at
left points to her head, arrow at right to her hand, just visible
among the needles.
Melvin Morrison, suspected slayer, handcuffed to Officer La
mar Smith watches with apparent impassivity as the body of his
former sweetheart is disinterred. Officers said, “His expression
never changed.”
Conference Play
Will Start Dec. 2
First games of the new Moore
County High School Basketball
Conference will be held 'Tuesday,
December 2, it was learned from
Coach Irie Leonard of Southern
Pines High school.
A master schedule for all high
schools of Moore county is noiV in
process of preparation, and will
be published next week.
The Conference is being spon
sored by the Educo club, compos
ed of superintendents, principals,
coaches and men teachers of all
the schools. They have elected
Harry Lee Brown, Jr., of the
Southern Pines faculty, to handle
information during the conference
series, sending out weekly bulle
tins on games, scores and team
standings.
At the local high school, as else
where in the county, basketball
practice is now in full swing, and
Coach Leonard said prospects look
fine for a highly interesting sea
son.
tion when they were summoned to
cover another accident in this ter
ritory; details of both were un
available at presstime.
among them have corralled all
the top championships of the
year. Their achievement is inter-
(Continued on page 5)
Ferrell H. Brown Elected Chairman
Of Moore Red Cross At Annual Meet
Ferrell H. Brovin, of Aberdeen,*
was elected chapter chairman of
the Moore County chapter, Ameri
can Red Cross, at the annual
membership meeting of the chap
ter held here last Friday night
W. A. Leland McKeithen of
Pinehurst was elected chairman
of the March 1953 fund drive at
the meeting, which was held in
the fellowship hall of Brownson
Memorial Presbyterian church.
Presiding over the meeting was
L. L. Hallman, Aberdeen, retiring
chapter chairman who, on instal
lation of his successor, automati
cally became a delegate-at-large
on the board of directors.
Other officers elected were:
Garland McPherson, Southern
Pines, first vice-president; J. B.
Edwards, Aberdeen, second vice-
president; Mrs. O. D. Griffin, sec
retary, and Harry Menzel, South
ern Pines, treasurer (a reelection).
Community delegates elected
were Miss Blanche Monroe, West
End; Jere McKeithen, Aberdeen,
(Continued on Page 8)
ELECTED
F. H. BROWN