VOLUME 45
NO. 99
SMITHFIELD, N. C„ TUESDAY MORNING. DECEMBER 13. 1927
* * *
$2.00 PER YEAR
New Evidence
In Snipes Case
—*—
.New Witness To Testify In
Case; Two Revolvers Are
if Found In Room Where the
ffl Killing Took Place
RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 10.—“Oh,
]ny God. I have killed poor Elsie—
what must I do.”
When John Wesley Faison, for
mer secretary-manager of the
Hermitage Country club, goes on j
tiial in Hustings Court next Tues- j
day on the charge of slaying his ,
affinity, Mrs. Elsie Holt Snt/pes, j
pretty and accomplished musician, 1
formerly of Princeton, N. C., in
her apartment in the West End, the
prosecution will be prepared to es
tablish by a witness occupying an
adjacent flat that some one was
heard repeating that exclamation
over and over before Faison carried
her out of the apartment and rush
ed her to Stuart Circle Hospital
where she died early on the morn- j
ing of November 16 of a pistol
.-hot wound in the head which is I
alleged to have been inflicted by
him. This was learned from an
^authoritative source today.
Meanwhile, the identity of the ;
Witness is being kept under cover. 1
According to Faison he was alone;
with Mrs. Snipes in the apartment ]
when she received the fatal wound. |
He contends that she shot herself j
in a moment of despondency with
a large Spanish special revolver!
of 38 caliber which was found ly
ing on the floor near a chair in
which he says that she was seat- ,
t'd at the time of the tragedy.
The prosecution also claims that
it will be able to prove that near
ly an hour intervened, between
time of the pistol shot and
when Faison arrived at the hos
pital with her. Mrs. Snipes was
..hionscious when she reached the
ital and remained in that con
n until she died. An autopsy
performed disclosed that the pis
ullet pierced her forehead just
ove the right eye and taking a
downward course made its exit
through her neck just below the
base of the brain.
Another revolver was found ly- ^
g on a bed in the room. This was
a small weapon of the automatic
pockut type. Faison admitted that
both weapons belonged to him. He
said that he had loaned the small- ^
tr one to Mrs. Snipes to be kept
in the apartment for protection. €
She had given a party in her
apartment the earlier part of the
night. Faison it has been estab
lished, called twice which the party f
was in progress but did not tarry ;j
participate in the festivities,
when he called the third time, he
found her alone, the guests hav
ing taken their departure. Police
succeeded in obtaining* the names
‘■f two men and several women '
who attended the party. These
have been cited as witnesses. At
the time of the shooting, Coroner \
Whitfield ascertained, Mrs. Snipes
was fully dressed with the excep- *
tion, that she had her shoes off.
The theory of the prosecution is 1
Jnat raison shot her in a nt oi
malous rage. Investigation brought ,
light the fact that he had beer j;
giving her $65 a month and his j'
wife $100 a month for the main
tenance of herself and five chil
dren. Mrs. Faison is standing by
her husband despite his alleged un
faithfulness, and is expected to
he a witness for the defense at
file trial. Faison first met Mrs. j
Snipes early in July of this year j
and is said to have become gfeat
l.v infatuated with her forthwith. '
•’'dice claim that they have evi
dence indicating that she had
mown tired of him and was pre
paring to throw him overboard, as
it were.
Methodist Prayer Meeting.
The subject for pi’ayer meeting
i liscussion Wednesday night is the
\fourth chapter of Mark. This guar
Jtntees a good discussion for the
following parts are contained in
this chapter. 1. The Sower; 2. The
Hidden Light; 3. The Measure You !
-U*te; 1. The Tares Among the
'heat; 5. The Mustard Seed; 6. i
MiHing the Tempest.
The service begins at 7:30.
’°w things are as expensive
Nctma Fits Job
sc°£AiiiC5 jm
John Fields, vice-president of
the Federal Land Bank of Wichita
serving the states of Kansas, Okla
homa, Colorado and New MexicoJ
who was elected president of the
American Farm Congress at Kan
sas City.
New Ford
Vew Tudor Sedan Receives
the Admiration of Over
1600 People Here Yester
day; The Same Car As Ex
hibited in Raleigh, Wilson
and Goldsboro
The new Ford car arrived in
mithfield yesterday morning at
:30 o’clock to pay an all day visit
> Smithfield and people of the sur
ounding territory. The distin
uished guest went immediately to 1
le showroom of the Young Motor
:>mpany and up to three o’clock
fcsterday 1610 people of Smith
eld and nearby towns paid hom
ge to this “miracle of the ages.” j
The new car, a tudor sedan, ar
ayed in Arabian sand color, was I
fought here from Goldsboro by
*• B. Yates, a representative of
fie Charlotte branch of the Ford
lotor company. The car was the
ame displayed in Raleigh, where !
pproximately 30,000 people view
d it; in Wilson the first, of last
reek, where nearly 20,000 saw it,
nd in Goldsboro, where approxi
lately 17,000 saw it. The Young
lotor company, local Ford deal
r, estimates that 3,000 will have
een it here before the day was
ver. To the many thousands who
ave seen this car, it has fulfilled
he highest hopes and expectations,
'he only complaint that has been
card is that it was not for sale.
The pictures and specifications
hown here on December 2nd by
he Young Motor company, local
lealers, delighted the mass of
icople who saw them, but the
howing* yesterday of the car it
elf has resulted in the booking of
luite a number of orders. Mr.
foung, of the Young Motor eom
»any, stated that he believed it
vould be several months before one
ould buy a car on the open floor;
hat it was just a matter of put
ing in your order and getting in
ine for your turn. He believes de
ivery per order will begin in early
January.
Shown
Here
GINNING REPORT
Census l'eport shows that there
vere 48,356 bales of cotton,'gin
led in Johnston county from the
;rop of 1927 prior to December 1.
1927, as compared with 63,370
sales ginned to December 1, 1926,
:rop of 1926.
E. G. HOLLAND, Reporter.
Tantalizer
There are exactly enough let
ters in the line below to spell
the name of a person in Smith
field, and if the right one de
ciphers his name and will pre
sent it to The Herald office,
we will present him with a
complimentary ticket to the
Victory Theatre. Tickets must
be called for before the fol
lowing issufl.
Marvin Stephenson . recog
nized his name last issue.
Totfay*s Tantalizer?
etersponed
Superior Court Will
Comene Here Today
Judge Grady Is Detained in
Clinton; 133 Cases on Cal
endar, More Than 40 of
Which Grand Jury Will
On
The two weeks’ term of Superior
coui't for the trial of criminal
cases opened here this morning: in
stead of yesterday morning: as'
was first announced, Judge Henry
A. Grady, the presiding judge,
having been unavoidably detained
in Clinton yesterday.
The docket for the two weeks’
term is full, there being* one hun
dred thirty-three cases down on
the calendar. More than forty of
these cases will come before the
Grand Jury, and in all likelihood, !
this body will be kept busy all of
this week. Five murder cases will
be passed upon by the grand jury.
The defendants in these cases are
Otis Moore, Roby Wall, Joab1
Baker, Jethro, Howard, and Thenia
Bell Baker, and Gurney Hinnant. |
. Recorder’s court was heid yes-!
terday instead of Tuesday as is |
the usual custom, because of the
fact that today Superior court will j
be in session.
-4
Co. Road Engineer
Receives Honor
American Road Builders
Ass’n. Appoints J. B. Lo
dor As Contact Represen
tative of This Section;
' Will Attend Cleveland1
Meeting
J. B. Lodor, Engineer and Sup
erintendent of Highways of John
ston county, has been appointed by
the American Road Builders’ As
sociation as contract representa
tive In this section. Mr. Lodor will
report the progress of road con- i
struction in this county at the an
nual convention and Road Show
to be held in Cleveland, January
Dth.
County officials from all sections
of the United States will attend
the road congress which will con
vene at Cleveland. More than 25,
000 road builders are expected to
be in attendance at this meeting
which will be one of the most im
portantr in the history of highway i
construction.
Mr. Lodor has served as county
highway official for the past year :
and is very much interested in the
construction and maintenance of
highways and bridges. He was the
county engineer of Duplin county
on highway construction and main
tenance for two years and for
three years was resident engineer
of Carolina on street paving, wa
terworks and sewerage.
All road officials and engineers
of Johnston county have been exr
tended an open invitation to at
tend the meeting at Cleveland. A
special session of county highway
officials will be held on Thursday,
January 12 for the purpose of dis
cussing the best methods of build
ing local highways efficiently and
economically . A general meeting
will be held on January y. Both ot
these meetings are expected to
give impetus to the construction of
county highways throughout the
nation.
Mr. Lodor may attend the Cleve
land sessions accompanied by a
number of road builders from
Smithfield' and surrounding terri
tory. They will inspect a machinery
exposition which will cost nearly
$5,000,000.
The national meeting of the
county highway officials was call
ed following the organization of
the County Highway officials of the
American Road Builders’ Associa
tion last June. Thomas J. Wasser
of Jersey City, N. J., was elected
president of the new organization
and will preside at the county ses
sions in Cleveland. This will be
the first national meeting of the
county highway officials ever held.
I
Harry returned from school
with a deep frown on his face and
said to his mother, “They don’t do
fair at school, cause they give
salaries to the teachers when the
children have to do all the work.”
Dairy Chief
An especially posed portrait of
f>r. C. W. Larson, chief of the
ureau of dairy industries, depart
3ent of agriculture, who has re
ined to become Director of the
Iwt'ortal Dairy Council, effective
January 1. 1928.
Annual Meeting
Banks Of Connty
-*—
Go on Record Favoring Serv
ice Charge; W. E. Strowd,
Goldsboro Banker Speaks j
at Meeting
On Wednesday, December 7, the
annual meeting of the Johnston
Bunty Bankers’ Association was!
leld in Clayton at seven o'clock p.
m. Representatives were there
from the following banks: First
National Bank. Benson; Citizens
Bank and Trust Company, Benson;
Bank of Four Oaks, Four Oaks;
Bank of Pine Level; Clayton Bank
ing Company; Farmers Bank &
Trust Company, Smithfield, and
First & Citizens National Bank.
Smithfield.
After dinner which was served
>y the Clayton Woman’s club, the
principal address was made by W.
E. Strowd, vice-president and
cashier of the Wayne National
Bank of Goldsboro. His sublet
,vas “The Service Charge.” The
association went on record as fav
)ring the adoption of the service
charge, the details to be woiked
)ut by a committee appointed for
;hat purpose, and the whole plan
•atified by the association at an J
?arly meeting.
Officers were re-elected as fol
ows: president: R. P. Holding; i
rice-president: M. T. Britt; secre
tary-treasurer, F. C. Sweeney.
REPUBLICANS CERTAIN
OF SENATE’S CONTROL;
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9.—Qon
tinuation of Republican control of;
the senate was assured today with j
an announcement by the five wes- j
tern independents that they would
assist the old guard in organizing \
that body.
Their declaration was made aft- !
er Senator Curtis, of Kansas, the :
Republican leader had assujred |
them that a majority of the Re-.
publican senate conference “took ,
the position that there should be,
no unnecessary delay in securing.
a vote” on the tree measures that j
the independents had proposed.
These are a farm relief bill
along the lines of the McNary
H-augen measure; a bill to curb
the issuance of labor injunctions
by the federal courts and a reso
lution proposing an inquiry into
the administration policy in Latin
America.
With their majority of one re
duced to a minority of one by the
temporary exclusion of Frank L.
Smith, of Illinois, and William S.
Vare, of Pennsylvania, the Repub
licans need every one of the votes
if the five independents to organ
ize the senate.
NEGRO CONVICT ESCAPES
[ News reached here yesterday of
a negro convict, Whiter Horton,
who escaped from convict camp
number 2, Peacock’s Cross Roads,
late Sunday afternoon. He escap
|ed from the camp about supper
time and the guards were unable
;to find a trace of him later.
I The negro was convicted of vi
olating the prohibition law in Re
corder's court here several weeks
ago, and was serving a 4-months
Iroad sentence. He had served only
about a month of his time, accord
ing to J. L. Rackley, road super
intendent.
Co. Commissioners
Meet Here Again
-»—
Appoint Auditor and County
Attorney to Receive and In
vestigate Tax Complaints;
Permit Opening Driveway
The board of county commission
ers met here Thursday in an ad
journed session to ti’ansact busi
ness left over from the regular
meeting on Monday.
A reolution was passed confirm
ing the sale of $385,000 worth of
six months notes to Bray Bros, of
Greensboro, to renew outstanding
short term notes.
An order was also passed that
H. A. Watson, county auditor, and
Faul D. Grady, county attorney
be appointed to receive and inves
tigate all tax complaints and make
recommendations to the board of j
their findings, and that they be i
furnished the proper printing for
complaints and recommendations.
At this meeting, permission was j
granted to the town of Smithfield 1
:o open the old drive way at the j
•ear of the courthouse from the
alley by the Herald office to Sec- j
and street.
Ordered that Albert Moore be
*eleased of license tax on cold drink j
and hot dog* stand in the town of j
Four Oaks on account of being a 1
jaralytic.
Ordered that Dr. S. C. Ford, of
Franklinton, be released of $3,500
;ax valuation in Selma township on 1
account of over-valuation.
IOHNSTON STUDENTS
FORM ORGANIZATION
WAKE FOREST, Dec. 8.—W.;
2. Whiley was elected president1
and C. N. Adams, secretary, of
he Johnston County Club, which
vas organized here with 14 mem- j
aers, the largest representation
?rom Johnston county in the his
;ory of Wake Forest College, ac
cording to Whitley.
While election of a sponsor for
;he new club was postponed until |
;he next meeting, the following!
girls were nominated: Miss Gay
iclle Hinton, of Clayton; Miss
Ruby Crush, of Kenly; Miss Mo-,
selle Lee, of Selma; and Miss Mary,
Parker, also of Selma.
Following are the members of
:he club: W. F. Woodall, H. L. j
kVull, William Clark, M. B. Par-1
rish, and C. R. Duncan, of Clay- j
:on; A. D. Lassiter and C. N. Ad-1
ams, of Wilson’s Mills; W. B. j
Oliver, Jr., of Pine Level; Josephus;
Johnson, of Four Oaks ; Jack
Hooks and T. T. Godwin, of
Kenly; A. L. Narron, of Middlesex;
H. S. Grant, W. C. Wfhitley and
J. W. Earp, of Selma.
HONOR ROLL GLENDALE
SCHOOL, 2ND. MONTH
First grade: Pauline Davis, |
Mamie Lee Hinton, Dorothy Mum*
(ford, Marie Radford, Virgfnia
Stancil, Edell Watson, Norman
Brown, Rudolph Woodard, William
Holland, Agnes Renfrow, Ruth Da
vis.
Second grade: Gladys Pope, Huel
Boykin, Elva Godwin, Mavis John
son, Doris Woodard, Hester Col
lier, Hazel Riley, A. W. Boyette,
A. W. Boyett, A. V. Boykin, Ray
Boyett, George Pope.
Third grade: Thurman Woodard,
Mavis Hill, Harvey Pope, Garlon
Stancil, Sallie Gooch, W. R. Hodge,
Jr., Lolar Whitley, Rudolph Pitt
man.
Fourth grade: Vernon Hales,
Malissa Godwin, Marvin Godwin,
Pauline Pittman, James Woodard.
Fifth grade: Estelle Price, Mary
Woodard,-Grace Gooch, Venona At
kinson.
Sixth grade: Beulah Pittman,
Eloise Holland, Dessie Johnson,
Person Woodard, Jesse Woodard.
Seventh grade: Otho Batten, Es
sie Hales, Erna Watson, Hazel
Woodard, Manning Narron, Ethel
Batten.
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UNSIGNED COMMUNICATIONS
CANNOT BE PUBLISHED
We are agarn forced to re
mind the puhlic that commun
ications received in this office
cannot be printed unless we
know who sent them in. The
name of the writer need not
be printed hut we must know
who sends In the communica
tion.
Slayer Of Wayne County Girl
Must Die In Electric Chair
JOHNSTON COUNTY ’POSSUM AND
STILL IN WHICH HE WAS CAUGHT
■■ -t‘ . * t'&'Vtf.i
JOEL B. LEE IS CONVICTED
AND GETS ROAD SENTENCES
-♦- *__
Recorder’s Court Finds Him
Guilty of Receiving Stolen
Property and Buying Cot
ton After Dark
-♦
Recorder’s court was in session
several days here last week and j
i number of criminal cases came
jp for trial.
In the case against Joel B. Lee,
who was arrested some time ago
when it was found that he had
sought stolen cotton from William
ind Percy Boylan, negroes who^
live in Cleveland township, Lee
was found guilty of receiving stol
en property and buying cotton
after dark. On the charge of re
ceiving, he was sentenced to the
roads for a period of eight months
and taxed with the cost.
On the charge of buy
ing* cotton after dark, he received
a four-months road sentence and
was required to pay the cost, this
sentence to begin at the expira
tion of the eight months sentence
above. Both of the above sen
tences, or the eight months sen
tence, is to begin at the termina
tion of the sentence the defendant
is now serving from the Federal
court at Raleigh.
For being publicly drunk, Henry
Crossing was sentenced to the
county roads for 30 days, the road
sentence to be suspended upon the
payment of a $10 fine and the
cost.
In the case against Prentice Mc
Leod, charged with housebreaking
and larceny, probable cause was
found and the defendant was
bound over to Superior court.
The State took a nol-ptos with
leave in the following cases: Eu
gene Thornton, charged with vio
lation of the prohibition law; Hu
bert Smith, assault with deadly
weapon; Joel B. Lee, larceny;
Wright Harrington, larceny.
Ed Warren was found guilty of
possessing intoxicating licpiors. A
30-day road sentence was suspend
ed upon the payment of $10 fine
and the cost.
James Holloman was convicted
of possession of beer. He received
a fiO-day road sentence which was
suspended upon the payment of a
$50 fine and the cost, and on con
dition that the defendant does not
violate the prohibition law again
in two years.
Eliza Worley was charged with
giving a worthless check. A 30
day sentence was suspended upon
the payment of the cost.
Bud Muns was in court charged
with larceny. Probable cause was
found and the defendant was
bound over to Superior court.
J. H. Lee entered a plea of
guilty to a warrant charging vio
lation of the prohibition law. He
was sentenced to the roads for 30
days, but the sentence was sus
pended upon the payment of a $25
fine and the cost.
| For violating the prohibition
law, Joe E. McLamb was fined $25
and taxed with the cost.
Willie Hudson received a 10
(Turn to page four please)
‘Possum Beds In
Old Liquor Stills
Johnston County Specimen
Caught by D. A. Pennel of
Wilders Township Attracts
Attention in Capital City
Whatever deductions and con
clusions may be made from it, the
fact remains that down in John
ston county the ’possums have
taken to making their beds In
liquor stills, and in proof of it
there is the specimen of the phe
nomenon brought to Raleigh Fri
day morning by D. A. Pennel, of
W/llders township, and exhibited
in various places to the vast as
tonishment of a lot of doubting
people.
Doubting spectators had their
doubts dissolved when the var
mint, shivering in the unaccustom
ed cold, clawed his way back into
the still, and dug down deep into
the leaves he had put there for a
bed during the winter. He just
wouldn’t stay out of the still. He
apparently felt more at home in
the place than anywhere else in
the world and he wanted to stay
tnere.
Nobody could have professed
greater surprise than Mr. Pern*
nell expressed when he related the
tonishing tale of the varmint’s cap
ture. He had just gone ’possum
hunting Thursday night. His trus
ty hounds picked up a trail and
pursued it through the forests of
upper Johnston county. After a
while- there was a deep baying,
such as hounds make when they
have treed something. Mr. Pennell
went to them. '
At first he was not entirely able
to believe what he saw by the
flickering light of his lantern. The
dogs insisted that the thing had
taken refuge in an abandoned still.
It was with some difficulty that
the varmint was extricated from
the den, and when he did come, he
came clawing and slitting. He
was about as big a 'possum as
Mr. Pennell has ever caught, and
he has caug-ht a good many. He
weighed nine pounds.
And as for the deductions and
conclusions to be drawn from the
still, Mr .Pennell didn’t draw any.
He was content with the 'possum.
It was suggested that Johnston
county had abandoned the making
of its famous apple brandy, and
that its stills were given over to
the roosting places of wild ani
mals. On the other hand, it was
suggested that they have so many
that they can”t operate them all,
and the disused ones are approp
riated by the various varmints.
As to these things Mr. Pennell
had no opinion, but he is very
definitely of the notion that such
things don’t happen often, even in
jWilders towpship, Johnston coun
'ty.—News and Observer.
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Swift Justice Dealt
To Larry Newsome
Guns Flash and Panic
Reigns When Angry Citi
zens Seize Negro Slayer of
of White Girl; National
Guards Aid in Keeping
Order While Jury Convicts
and Armed Judge Sen
tences Larry Newsome to
Die In Chair for Slaying
Beulah Tedder
■-♦
The brutal murder of Beulah
Tedder, a fifteen-year-old girl of
Wayne county by Larry Newsome,
negro, roused to fury Wayne coun
ty citizens and it was only at the
point of a pistol in the hands .of
Judge Grady who was conducting*
the trial of the negro that perhaps
a lynching was averted:
The crime was committed in
Great Swamp township about 18
miles north of Goldsboro. Thurs
day night and Sunday afternoon,
barely 60 hours later, Newsome
was sentenced to die in the electric
chair oh January 13. The girl had
been sent by her parents to a ne
gro home, not far away, for a jar
of syrup. When she failed to re
turn, members of the family went
in search of her and found the
body not far from the house. She
had been dead less than an hour.
In a clump of woods about four
hundred yards from the house,
there was evidence of a terrific
struggle.
It was about two hundred yard's
from the place to the spot where
the body was found and officers
believe that the girl broke and
ran from her assailant 1)ut was
overtaken and slain.
A post mortem investigation re
vealed that she had been criminal
ly assaulted before being slain.
Bloodhounds were secured from
Smithfield and in a short time New
some was arrested. He was taken
to the State Prison for safekeep
ing until the trial. The trial began
Sunday morning about nine o’clock,
and this is believed to be the only
Sunday session ever held in North
Carolina.
Ben Dixon MacNeil, staff cor
respondent of the News and Ob
server, describes the dramatic
scene in the court room as fol
lows:
GOLDSBORO, Dec. 11.—Leaning
forward from the bench with a
heavy automatic pistol warning the
audience that he would shoot dead
the next man who laid hands upon
the prisoner, Judge Henry A.
Grady this morning saved Larry,
Newsome, 23-year-old black, from,
attempted lynching. Three hours
later, when the jury’s verdict of
guilty was in, Judge Grady sen
tenced Newsome to die on Friday,
January 13, 1928,
6nly a moment before Judge
Grady rose up from the bench,
pistol in hand, the court roomy
packed to suffocation, had been
thrown into pandemonium when
William Tedder, an uncle of Beu
\a'J Tedder, the negro’s victim,’
precipitated what was evidently a
well-planned attempt to take the
Turn to back page, please
Aunt Roxie Opines j
By Me— j
“Ah wonders ef de han’ dat
recks de woi'l’ by rockin’ de cradle
,iz gwinter rock do ship uv state by
mot votin’.’*