THE ENTERPRISE
VOLUME XXXIX?NUMBER 1 Williamston, Martin County, North Carolina, Friday, January 3,193^ ESTABLISHED 1899
Cotton Farmers
Slow To Send in
Sale Certificates
Adjustment Payments Run
As High as 60 Cents
A Hundred Pounds
?
The importance of turning in cot
ton sale* certificate* was again point
ed out this week by Mr. T. B. Slade,
assistant in cotton control for this
county. The certificates are reach
ing the office of the county agent
slowly, Mr. Slade stating that not
more than 300 had been received so
far. He urges all growers who have
sold their cotton to get a certificate
of sale from the buyer and forward
it to the office of the agent. The cer
tificates should be turned in within
seven days after sale if possible.
To participate in the cotton ad
justment payment, a grower must
file his certificate of sale. While
there is little hope of getting a large
adjustment payment on that cotton
sold in November, it is possible for
the grower to receive as much as
60 cents a hundred pounds for cot
ton sold in December. The adjust
ment payments are based on average
prices of middling 7-8-inch spot cot
ton from the daily price quotation of
10 designated markets. If the aver
age price is 11.40 cents per pound,
the average for December 16, then
the grower who sold on that date
will be entitled to a payment of 60
cents a hundred pounds. In short,
the farmer is entitled to the differ
ence between the average price on
the 10 markets and a fixed figure of
12 cents, regardless of what price he
actually received. Friday of last
week the average price was 11.60
cents a pound. The farmer who sold
cotton on that date is entitled to 40
cents a hundred pounds in the form
of the cotton adjustment payment.
At times the market average was
more than 12 cents, and the farmer
selling his cotton on those days gets
no adjustment payment
The cotton adjustment is not to be
confused with the cotton parity pay
ment.
2 Colored Families
Made Homeless by
Fire Here Tuesday
Local Fire Company Gets
Three Calls In As Many
Days This Week
A call last Tuesday morning
marked the end of the local volun
teer fire company's activities in the
old year, and all but marked the end
for two colored families on Church
Street, when their humble abode
was destroyed by fir^ The families,
one headed by Gus Purvis, a victim
of feeble health, and the other by
Ethel Keyes, who is alone with her
small children in life's battle, were
thrown in to the open with the mer
cury at the freezing point and no
place of their own to shelter them
selves. The loss was not great, Mr.
James Bowen, the owner, stating
that he had planned to tear down
the hut and build'a new one, but
that he continued to delay the
change as long as the old structure
was of any service to any ope.
Starting from a makeshift flue out
the back side of the house, the fire
was spreading rapidly all over the
house before the Purvis or Keyes
children discovered it. The older
charges hardly had time to carry
the helpless babies out into the snow.
Not a single piece of furniture was
saved, and the clothing, only scant
at the best, saved, was on the backs
of the family members. The par
ents were away working for a meag
er subsistence, one returning late to
And all his earthly poeesssions ruined
in the wrecked building.
No insurance was carried on eith
er building or contents, and the
scene presented a really pitiful
sight as the victims started pulling
old twisted bedsteads and other
warped pieces of furniture from un
der the charred timbers to start
again their housekeeping roles from
scratch. Purvis stated yesterday
that he found two rooms in a small
(Continued on buck pege)
?
Rev. J. H. Smith Makes
Baptist Announcements
Bible school, 9:46 a. m.
Morning worship, 11 o'clock,
a T. U, 6:80 p. m.
Evening worship, 7:80 o'clock.
Start the new year off right by
coming to church Sunday. And re
member that our first quarterly
church business meeting will be held
next Wednesday night, January 6,
at 7 JO o'clock. Show your interest
in your church by your
??!T|i
School-Building Program To
Get Under Way Wednesday
Weather permitting, contraction
work on Martin County's $100,000
school building program will get un
derway next Wednesday, Mr. C. W.
Buchanan, general superintendent
lor the Goode Construction Com
pany, of Charlotte, announced to
day. Preliminary arrangements for
actual construction activities are be
ing completed as rapidly as possible,
and present indications arc that the
first earth will be turned on that day
if the weather permits.
Manager Gilliam, of the county
employment office, stated yesterday
that already more than 150 men, in
cluding carpenters, bricklayers,
metal workers, painters and decor
ators and comman laborers, had al
ready registered. Nearly half of
| them signed during the past two
days, Mr Gilliam said. This num
1 ber, it is understood, is hardly suf
j hcient to handle the labor demands
'of the school building program, and
I others who are out of work and care
| to get employment are directed to
I the employment office in the county
I courthouse. The first labor requisi
: tion is expected any time now, and
! a goodly number of the unemployed
are expected to start work Wednes
! day.
Mr. Buchanan, who will have
1 charge of the construction of the
buildings at Jamesville, Farm Life,
Williauiston and Oak City, will have
his headquarters here. Materials for
the projects will start moving with
ing the next few days, he said.
4-Year Cotton Control
Program Worked Out
Look for High
Water in River
As Snow Melts
With the melting of snows
throughout the Roanoke basin,
and with the clouds going "up"
the river, much high water is
expected in the stream at this
point during the next two or
three weeks. Old men of the
river are predicting the high
est water in years, but no offic
ial report has been released by
the United States Weather sta
tions, Hugh Spruill, keeper of
the river bridge here, said this
morning.
A rise of almost one foot was
reported during the past twenty
four hours in the Roanoke at
this point, |dit that was due to
local rains and snow, it was
stated.
Rainfall has been general over
the section during the period,
the weather station here report
ing 4.05 inches durin the past
month. About one-third or 1.38
inches, was snow, however
11-Year-Old (*irl Is
Struck by Stray Shot
And Painfully Hurt
Police Investigate Shooting
And Warn Against the
Careless Use of Guns
Bina Jackson, U-year-old daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Jackson,
was shot in the shoulder by a stray
rifle bullet Sunday noon when she
started to enter the front door of
her Williams Street home. The child,
an honor pupil in school, complained
at the time to her mother, but it was
thought she had been hit by a snow
ball and no investigation was made.
That night the child's underclothing
was bloody, and a wound about the
size of a 22 caliber rifle bullet was
found.
An indirect report reached the
town police department Monday
night and an immediate investiga
tion was started by Chief Daniel and
his assistant, J. H. Allsbrooks. No
report has been made by the offi
cers, but medical attention was of
fered by them, it was said.
Probably the one who flred the
bullet does not know it struck some
one, there being every evidence that
the shooting was not intentional. .
The incident brought a sharp warn
ing from the police chief, who de
clared that the careless use of fire
arms would necessitate their remov
al from the owners. Several young
boys in that section of the town are
|said to own and use rifles.
Warm Rain Takes
Snow Away Fast
Held at a standstill by snow and
ice during almost, two weeks, traffic
on the Roanoke is gradually getting
underway again. Ho boats have
traveled the stream during that time
but a return to its regular schedule
by Sunday was announced today by
the Norfolk, Baltimore and Carolina
line.
A small power boat, carrying sev
eral carloads of lumber, went from
the Farm viUe-Wood ward docks here
last Wednesday and Anally reached
Plymouth the next afternoon, ac
[cording to reports.
Plans for Launching
Drive ^ ill Be Made
At An Early Meeting
Farmers Will Name Board
To Handle Adjustments
And Other Matters
Preliminary plans for launching a
four-year program for cotton con
trol in this county, beginning in
1936, will be made at <a meeting of
contract signers in th ecounty court
house about the middle of this month
Mr. T. B. Slade, assistant in cotton
control, announced this morning.
The meeting date will be definitely
determined within the next few days,
and an immediate announcement
will follow.
The preliminary plans will center
around the organization of a cotton
adjustment association, composed of
a county and two community com
mittees, the voting being limited to
the 981 contract signers in this coun
ty. As the rules ar? understood
here, two of the old committee mem
bers for both the county and com
munity units are to be retained, the
cotton growers deciding which one
to drop and whom to elect for the
vacated positions. The adjustment
j association at the present time in
cludes: County committee, H. H.
Cowen, M. D. Wilson and J. F.
Cusp; community committee num
ber 1: I). R. Edmondson, A. R. Os
borne and H. S. Everett; community
\ committee number 2: J. R. Knowles,
| John Daniel Biggs and W. S. White.
New applications for the 1936-1939
contracts will be received as soon as
blanks are available, probably the
latter part of this month, it was stat
ed. The assistant in control pointed
out that it will be to the decided
advantage of the grower to furnish
accurate and definite acreage and
production data or records for the
years 1933, 1934, and 1935. The new
contracts will be based on acreage
and production records for the years
1928 to 1935, inclusive.
Cotton contract signers are urged
to watch for announcement of the
meeting date and make arrange
ments to attend.
Local Man Has Narrow
Escape from Burning Car
George Mobley, local man, barely
escaped with his life last Tuesday
night when his car turned over and
caught fire near Rocky Mount. Be
fore Mr. Mobley could break out of
the up-side-down car, his overcoat
cauht fire and part of it was burn
ed off at the bottom. The man was
cut and bruised about the face bad
ly. and it is almost certain he would
have burned to death if he had been
rendered unconscious in the wreck.
He gained his freedom by knocking
out a window with a crank handle
and crawling out. The car was ruin
ed, and Mr. Mobley stated that he
did not know how the fire started
Home Destroyed by Fire
On Jamesville Highway
Fire, believed to have started
from an over-heated flue, burned
the humble two-room home of Zenia
Nichols, between here and James
ville, last Wednesday noon, throw
ing the colored woman and her
seven children out of doors into the
sncw. No one was at home at the
time but the children, and the old
er ones, after carrying the smaller
tots out and sitting them down in
the snow, had no time to save a
single article from the home except
two old quilts, and the edges of
those were burned, it was said.
15 Cases Cleared
From Docket by
CourtThis Week
Judge Peel Continues To|
Bear Down On Drunks
And Drunken Drivers
The county recorder's court, after |
a recess of two weeks for the holt
days, held another long session last!
Tuesday, Judge H. O. Peel clearing!
his work for the old year. The
docket, carrying 22 cases, was con
sidered small, as no session had been
held since the 17th, and the holiday
season fell at that time. Fifteen
cases were cleared from the docket,
the court continuing to bear down on
drunks and drunken automobile driv
ing.
Cases disposed of are as follows:
A six months road sentence was
suspended upon the payment of the
cost in the case charging Jesse Wal
ston with an assault with a deadly
weapon.
I The case charging Milton Smith
with drunken driving was nol
prossed, reports stating that the de
! fondant was in a hospital,
j Judgment was suspended upon the
payment of the costs and payment
of a certain amount to the prosecut
ing witness in the case charging J.
P. Baker with passing a worthless
check.
Charged with being drunk and
disorderly, James Purvis was sen
tenced to the roads for three months.
The case charging Robert Hollis
with an assault with a deadly weap
on was nol prossed.
A 12-months road sentence was
suspended in the case charging
Isaiah Dawes with an assault with
a deadly weapon upon the condition
that he pay the cost and the prose
cuting witness' doctor's bill.
C. H. Gardner, charged with re
moving mortgaged property, ap
pealed from the county court judg
ment, bond being fixed in the sum
of $100.
Luther Hampton was sentenced to
the roads for three months on a bas
tardy charge.
Charged with drunken driving,
Delmer Harris was fined $75 and
taxed with the costs, the judgment
automatically revoking his license to
operate a motor vehicle for one year.
He appealed and $150 bond was re
quired.
Carrie Bell Purvis was jailed for
10 days on a drunk and disorderly
charge.
Thomas Hyman drew three months
on the roads on an assault with a
deadly weapon charge.
Sam Roberson was sentenced to
the roads for three months for
diunken automobile driving. His li
cense to operate a car was revoked
for one year.
John Smith was sentenced to the
roads for three months and J. D.
Wiggins for four months for violat
ing the ABC laws.
Paul Lilley was fined $50 and
taxed with the cost for the alleged
violation of the liquor laws.
Charged with attempted larceny,
I Willie Smith was sentenced to the
i roads for four months.
114 Motorists Cited
For Using Old Tags
On Cars January 1
Approximately 3,000 Tags
Have Been Sold at the
Local Bureau So Far
Learning there waa not extension
of time for the purchase of state
automobile license tags, auto own
ers in this section have been rush
ing the license bureau here during
the past two or three days. Nearly
3,000 of the plates had been sold up
until noon today, the managers ex
plaining that the sale was about
equal to that of last season consid
ering the fact that additional bu
reaus have been opened in this sec
tion this season. Last year the lo
cal bureau sold approximately 5,000
tags during the early part of the
season.
Wednesday, State highway patrol
men went into action and arrested
14 motorists in this section for using
old license tags on their cars. All
of them pleaded guilty before Jus
tice of the Peace J. L. Hassell, but
one, Mr. Luther Hardison, appealed
to the county court. The justice
sentenced each to ten days in Jail,
but suspended judgment in every
case upon payment of cost.
Yesterday the weather held th|
patrolmen in their office, and no ar
rests were reported in this section.
However, few cars carrying old
plates were seen on the streets that
day. With clearing weather today,
the patrol members are expected to
renew their search for old tags.
To Take Applications for
Potato Allotments Soon
1,000 Cotton Parity Checks
Arrive Here for Distribution
Approximately 1,000, or 85 per
cent of the cotton parity checks for
the year 1935 have been received in
this county, and arrangements are
being completed as rapidly as pos
sible for their distribution, Mr. T. B.
Slade, assistant in cotton control, an
nounced today. In releasing the in
and that to avoid confusion and elim
mate any possible trouble for the
grower, the checks could be distrib
uted only when cards are present
ed. Cards will be entered in the
mails some time next week.
The parity payment represented
by the approximately 1,000 checks
amounts to slightly more than $10,
formation, Mr. Slade stated that it 000, or an increase over the pay
would be impossible for a grower to | nient last year. Payments are made
get his check until direct notifies-j at the rate of 1 1-4 cents a pound,
tion from the agent's office has been based on the individual farm allot
I received. Mr. Slade explained that ment or 40 per cent of the base
lall the checks had not been received,! production.
Authorities Will Find
Relief Major Problem
Many in Dire Need
Of Shelter, Food and
Clothing in County
Several Plans For Handling
Situation Considered by
Welfare Officials
?
Relief on a larger scale than ever
before experienced in this county
is expected to loom as the major
problem at the regular meeting of
the Martin County commissioners
here next Monday. The poverty
stricken are expected to present
their pleas in greater numbers that
day than ever before, and already
the problem is being considered by
welfare heads in the county. Just
what will be done by the officials is
not known, but several plans will
likely be considered, it is under
stood. One thing is just about cer
tain, and that is that something must
be done and done now.
Dropped from emergency relief
rolls the early part of last month,
without food, little clothing, and oft
en no shelter, approximately 65
families are likely to turn do the
county authorities Monday, it is be
lieved. They are-going to the coun
ty because they have no other place
to turn.
Conditions almost unbelievable in
some cases will support the pleas of
the needy, who have barely escaped
with their lives during the bitter
cold of the past 12 days or more. Ex
periencing the pangs of hunger and
of cold, most of those whose very
lives are depending upon charity are
not expected to ask relief on an ex
tensive scale, for any succor that
will aid in keeping souls and bodies
together will be apreciated. And
when it comes to a matter of life
and death, which situation is facing
quite a few in this county right now,
some one must step in and lend aid.
For some time, the federal gov
ernment has handled the situation?
on a grand and extravagant scale,
possibly?but it has virtually with
drawn from the field as far as the
helpless are concerned. The WPA
is carrying on its rolls at this time
more than 130 families. The county
has on its relief rolls 105 individuals,
most of whom are advanced in age.
Aside from these two relief sources,
no form of aid is available, leaving
around 65 families to face starva
tion alone.
Several ways in which to .handle
the situation will probably be dis
cussed by*the authorities at their
meeting next Monday. One sugges
tion is to employ a case worker
about one day to the week to han
dle the situation. The present pau
per list could be turned over to the
worker who would ,with an in
creased appropriation, handle the
other really needy cases. Another
suggestion is to add names to the in
digent or pauper list, which allows
to each person one or two and some
times as much as three dollars a
month. Other plans (or handling
the problem will likely get atten
tion.
At the present time the county is
spending approximately $300 each
month for the care of outside poor,
and considering the large number
and the condition most of the recipi
ents are in, the sum is pitifully
small. It is estimated that an in
crease of around $300 a month would
be necessary to cope, even in a small
way, with the situation now facing
??me
Schools To Open
Next Thursday
Instead Monday
The reopening of the white
schools in this county has been
postponed until next Thursday,
it was officially announced by
Superintendent J. C. Manning
this morning. The delayed
opening after the Christmas hol
idays is the result of bad roads,
the superintendent explaining
that another delay could be ex
pected if the condition of the
roads did not improve consider
ably by that time. The colored
schools will reopen as scheduled
next Monday, it was stated.
With favorable weather pre
vailing during the next few days,
it is believed the condition of the
roads will be much better and
that the schools will reopen on
the 9th.
Arrest Colored Man
For Two Robberies
Here During Week
Hardware Store Robbery Is
Admitted by Alexander
Smallwood to Police
Alexander Smallwood, colored
man, was arrested here Wednesday
afternoon for the alleged robbery of
the Williamston Hardware Company
on Washington Street earlier in the
week, and the alleged theft of a
small amount of money from the
Texas Service station on Railroad
Street Wednesday afternoon. The
man is being held in jail and will
get a hearing before Justice Hassell
some time today. Smallwood is said
to have admitted the Hardware rob
bery.
Hiding himself in the Staton
building, Smallwood used a bar to
prize an entrance into the hardware
store house in the same building
Except for about 125 pennies and a
small amount of change, the hard
ware store owners could miss noth
ing. The robber closed the door
and left the outside entrance which
had been left open by Mr. John Peel
while working on the second floor
of the Staton building.
Smallwood was seen in the filling
station Wednesday afternoon open
ing the cash register, but was not
arested until a short while later by
Officer Allsbrooks.
Night Officer John Gurganus stat
ed that he saw the same man about
four o'clock on the morning the C.
O. Moore grocery was entered, and
it is believed Smallwood is connect
ed with that robbery. However he
denied the charge when question
ed by officers today.
e
Norfolk Undersellers Are
Now in Their New Home
Surrendering their lease for the
Tar Heel Apartment building store
the first of the year, the Norfolk
Undersellers have moved their stock
of goods to the store just recently
vacated by S. Ganderson and Sons
on Main Street next to J. O. Man
ning's grocery. The Arm opens for
regular business tomorrow, Mr. Chas
Frank, a partner, said today.
Blanks Expected To
Arrive Next Week;
Must Have Records
???
Hardly More Than 300 Are
Likely To Apply For
Allotments in County
Applications "by Martin County
irish potatoes for acreage and pro
duction allotments are expected
within the next week or two, accord
ing to information released by the
office of the county agent. Allot
ment forms or blanks will be deliv
ered to the agent's office shortly,
and arrangements will be made im
mediately to have growers to file
their applications, it was stated. Just
as soon as the blanks are available,
allotment applications will be re
ceived in the office of the county
agent, and arrangements to handle
them in the several communities
will be made for the convenience of
the growers.
In filing applications, farmers
should furnish accurate production
records for the years from 1932 to
1935, inclusive. Applications for al
lotments in the several counties will
be adjusted in Raleigh and base con
tracts determined.
Compared with the number of to
bacco and cotton farmers, the num
ber applying for the Irish potato al
lotments is expected to be very
small, Messrs. T. B. Slade and An
drew Clark estimating that approxi
mately 300 applications will be re
ceived.!
I The potato control movement is
not designed to interfere with the
small grower who does not produce
for the market, but it is understood
to be aimed at those large-scale op
erators who flood the market by sup
plying seed and fertilizer.
However, all growers selling any
portion of their crop, whether large
or small, are expected to file appli
cations for allotments.
The grower will have seven op
tions in determining his base:
1. The annual average of sales in
the years 1933, 1934 and 1935;
2. The annual average of sales in
the years 1932, 1933, and 1934.
3. Ninety per cent of the annual
average of sales in the years 1934
and 1935.
4. Ninety per cent ol the sales in
the year 1935.
5. Eighty per cent of the sales in
the year 1934.
6. Seventy per cent of the sales
in the year 1933.
7. Sixty per cent of the sales in
the year 1932.
Mrs. Jane Wynn Dies
Thursday at Home
Of Soil in Bear Grass
Elder B. S. Cowin Conducts
Last Rites from Home
This Afternoon
Mrs. Jane Wynn, one of the coun
ty's oldest and most highly respect
ed citizens, died at the home of her
son, Thurston Wynn, in Bear Grass
Township early yesterday morning
following a long period of declin
ing health. Mrs. Wynn, 84 years of
age, was the daughter of the late
Milton W. Bennett and wife, and
lived in this county all her life.
In early womanhood she married
Sam Wynn who died some years
ago. Throughout a long period of
married life, she was a faithful wife,
and remained devoted to her chil
dren as long as she lived.
Six children, two daughters, Mrs.
Alonzo Raynor and Mrs. Lawrence
Buwen, both of this county, and four
sons, Lonnie, Thurston and Pete, all
of this county, and Amelick Wynn,
of Wilson, survive. She also leave*
one brother, James Bennett, and
one sister, Mrs Fannie Wadsworth,
of Bertie County.
Funeral services are being con
ducted from the late home this aft
ernoon by Elder B. S. Cowin, and
interment will follow in the Bennett
buril ground on the farm of her
birth in Williamston Township.
Sponsors Porgram at Bear
Grass Saturday at i P. M.
?
The Bear Gran Music
is sponsoring a program by
Mainer's Crazy Mountaineers
auditorium there
at ? o'clock. A small
will be charged.