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VOLUME XLI?NUMBER 56
Williamston, Martin County, North Carolina, Friday, July IS, 1938.
ESTABLISHED 1899
Judge Peel Calls 4
Eight Cases In
Recorder's Court
Docket Considered Small in
Pace of Accumulation
Over Two Weeks
Holding its tint session since
June $7, the Martin County Re
corder's Court had a compara
tively light docket last Monday con
sidering the fact that there was an
extra week for cases to accumulate.
Nearly one-half of the defendants
facing His Honor, Judge H. O. Peel,
were found not guilty, the jurist
continuing several other cases.
Charged with bastardy, Caswell
Brown strenuously maintained his
innocence but for the sake of having
the matter disposed of he tendered
a plea of nolo conlendre. t he prosc
cuting witness by and with the con
sent of her mother and representa
tives of the Martin County Welfare
department agreed to accept $ ISO in
full settlement of all of defendant's
liability for support of child and in
full settlement of all civil liability
arising by reason of alleged charge
of bastardy against defendant. The
court adjudged the defendant guil
ty and decreed that upon payment
of $150 he is to be forever discharg
ed of any and all further liability
either past, present or prospective
to the child. The judgment was ap
proved by Mrs. J. A. Powell and
Vivian PowelL
Harrv Duty, charged with drunk
en driving, was fined $50 and tax
ed with the cost. His operating li
cense was revoked for a period of
one year.
The case charging John Pittman
with reckless driving was continued
until August S.
Charged with drunken driving,
Roland Eugene Thornton was found
not guilty.
Henry Page, charged with disor
derly conduct and disturbing relig
ious worship, was found not guilty.
Charged with violating the alco
holic beverages control laws, Pat
Bell and Wilier Gilliam were found
not guilty.
Theodore Griffin entered a plea
of not guilty in the case charging
him with resisting arrest and as
saulting an officer. Prayer for judg
ment was continued until the first
Monday in August.
Charged with speeding through
the town of Jamesville, Pete Bell,
Plymouth's colored attorney, had his
case continued until next Monday.
First Sizeable Suit
Against Pulp Plan I
The first sizeable damage suit
against the North Carolina Pulp
company in this county was filed in
Chowan Superior court by Robert
L. Chesson this week.
The lengthy complaint prepared
by J. Henry LeRoy, of Elizabeth
City, Chesson's attorney, asks a to
tal of $13,900 damages, $11,000 for
breach of contract and $2,500 for
wrongful and unlawful libel.
The"papers set forth that the pulp
mill failed to carry out a contract to
purchase lumber from Chesson, af
ter he contracted with land owners,
thereby causing him a loss. The li
bel complaint developed when the
pulp mill folks allegedly wrote one
of the land owners: "We have defi
nite policies which allow us to work
with only experienced contractors
and not with such men as Chesson."
Roy Tapp Released From
County Jail Wednesday
Washington hospital tor injuries re
ceived in a fall from a beer truck on
Washington Street here last Friday
night, Roy Tapp, Virginia Negro,
was returned to this county and
placed in jail Tuesday. Investigating
his case officers were advised no
charges were pending against Tapp
and he was releasd Wednesday.
While in the hospital, Tapp is said
to have acted crazy. He tried to eat
the glass knobs from bureau draw
en there, but after a short stay in
jail here he appeared all right and
anxious to get out.
Gun Shot Victim Is
Expected To Recover
Shot in the stomach by Bud Shank
at a lumber camp in the old. Dymond
City section early last Sunday morn
ing, Percy Pugh, colored man, is
said to be getting along very well in
a private home at Jamesville, late
reports stating that recovery is poe
tic. The pistol hall is still in. his
body, it was reported.
Shank, arrested for the shooting
Sunday afternoon, continues in the
county Jail, officers stating that a
preliminary hearing is being delay
ad pending the outcome of Pugh'j
wound.
Martin Farmers Complying
With Soil Conservation Plan
That Martin County farmers are
cooperating to the fullest extent
with the soil conservation program
is evidenced as the supervisors con
tinue their work. An unofficial re
port today states that more than 1,
000 acres of tobacco land had been
measured and that the acreage was
two per cent the allotment total. It
was also pointed out that the first
few farms measured and the records
checked show hardly more than 80
per cent of the acreage actually al
lotted had been planted to cotton.
Indirect reports from surveyors
maintain that the farmers have been
unusually courteous in assisting
them in making the surveys, that
some made arrangements to com
plete-surreys?even?un thuse days'
when tobacco harvesting work was
underway.
In only one case has a surveyor
SALES QUOTAS
The force in the county agri
cultural office is working over
time this week preparing farm
ers' applications for tobacco
marketing allotments. Nearly 9*
per cent of the farmers In this
county have submitted the re
quired Information and the ap
plications will be sent within a
short time to Raleigh where the
poundage allotments will be de
termined and released to the
farmers some time about the
middle of next month.
Farmers filing applications for
poundage allotments after to
morrow will have to wait their
turn for marketing cards, some
reports indicating that late ap
plications will mean late distri
bution of cards.
Season For Taking
Quail Is Cut Short
There'll be little hunting in Mar
tin County thia coming Thanksgiv
ing if rules and regulations advanc
ed by the State Department of Con
servation and Development at a
meeting in Morehead City this week
go unchallenged by the sportsmen.
The quail and turkey season will
begin December 15 and extend un
til February 20 instead of the pre
vious November 20-February 25. No
extra lay days were decreed, except
Sundays as at present
A 30-day period from December
15 to January 15 was set for ruffed
grouse, and the season for opossum
and raccoons with gun and dog was
set for October 15 to February 15.
Decision as to the shad season
was postponed until an October
meeting to be held in the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park, the
exact time and place to be named
later. Various local fishing matters
were settled, following Monday's
public hearings
Announcement was made that the
department is working out plans
for trying to employ more and bet
ter paid fish and game protectors.
As for water pollution by pulp
mills, it was voted to have the wa
ter resources division engineer, T.
S. Johnson, study the situation, and
report at the next meeting. Johnson
reported that the federal govern-1
ment will bear half the cost of study
of water analysis for the purpose of
determining commercial possibili
ties.
?
TuneraT Held Tuesday
For Mr. Carl W. Keel
Funeral services for Carl W. Keel,
6fl, of Vance County, were held yes
terday afternoon at 3 o'clock at the
residence on Route 2, Henderson.
The services were conducted by the
Rev. J. T. Biddle and the Rev. D. A.
Petty. Interment was at Elm wood
Cemetery in Henderson.
Mr. Keel died Monday morning
at Maria Parham Hospital. Surviv
ing are his widow and four brothers,
John Keel, of Cornelia; Jesse Keel
of Everetts; Roy Keel of Roberson
ville and Wiley Keel of Scotland
Neck; and three sisters, Mrs. J. A.
Powell, of Robersonville, Mrs. Ruth
Grimes, of Halifax County, and Mrs.
Mary Rieves, of Enfield.
?
Capture Large Still Th
Bear Grass Last Tuesday
A large liquor plant, equipped
with a inn-gallon capacity copper
kettle and large beer containers,
was wrecked in Bear Grass Town
ship last Tuesday by special enforce
ment officer, Joe Roebuck, and dep
uties. Approximately 1,000 gallons
of beer were destroyed along with
the plant.
been ordered from a farm, and in
that case the name of the farmer
was not revealed. No threatening ac
tion accompanied the order for the
surveyor to leave the property, and
the order was indirect, it was learn
ed. A few farmers maintain they
will not participate in a control or
soil conservation program another
year, that they are through. Howev
er, the large majority of Martin far
mers have no complaints to offer,1
and voluntarily state that they be-1
lieve they are better off under the'
present program than under the do
nothing program back in the dark
Hoover days.
# Official repi
agent's office
ors are doing a good job this year.
# Official reports from the county
agent's office show that the survey
tliat then?mrasnremrtrre?In those
cases where checks have been made
were found nearly 100 per cent per
fect.
Tragic Conditions
In China Described
By Visiting Doctor
Dr. H. W. Yu Declares That
Japan Will Wear
Herself Out
The sufferings that are being en- j
duied by the Chinese people at the'
hands of the invading Japanese can
be. realized only by those who have I
witnessed them as he has, declared
Dr. H. W. Yu, of Shanghai, who is
in Raleigh to study the operations
of the North Carolina State Board
of Health, under the sponsorship of
the Rockefeller Foundation A resi
dent of Shanghai, he was in that
city when it was bombed from the
air by the Japanese The results
were appalling, he declared. The
home of his family was destroyed I
and he, with his mother and several
brothers, moved into the interna
tional settlement -
He saw several "dog fights" in the
air, and in one of these two Japan
ese planes were brought to the
ground, Dr. Yu said. He was in the
downtown district when one of the
aerial bombings occurred, and saw
two direct hits in the main road
there. On Edward VII avenue, he
saw numerous victims and helped
to remove the wounded to hospitals.
Asked what he thought would be
the outcome. Dr. Yu replied that
Japan already has lost more in men
and money than she would have
gained had she carried all her ob-1
jectives in the two months she |
thought it would take her to accom-1
plish what she set out to do. But the
war already has been in progress
more than a year, and China today
is stronger than it "ever -was, he de
clared
"Even if Hanhow falls," he said,
"every day is costing Japan $5,000,
000, and the capital will be moved
to Yunnanfu, further to the south
west, and this will prolong the war
nine or twelve months. __
"By that time," Dr. Yu declared,
"the Japanese will have completely
worn themselves out.
"I confidently expect the rebirth
of China and an internal reaction
among the non-militarists of Japan
to be the result. The war is simply a
matter of time and space.
"General Chaing Kai Shek has
the support of a unitedpopular front
and will continue to have. While
there may have been differences be
tween him and General Li, the latter
will never do anything but stand
with Chaing Kai Shek as long as
China is menaced from without."
Dr. Yu said he was well acquaint
ed with Chaing Kai Shek, having
examined him in a hospital on one
occasion. "He is a mild mannered
man, a Christian adherent, who
reads -his-Bibl* an hour -every day,
His wife is a devout Christian and
a splendid woman. The generalissi
mo is simple in his habits. He insists
on being called 'Mister' instead of
General."
Upon his return to China, Dr. Yu]
will resume his work of promoting;
public health among the rural pop-1
ulation. He is a Christian sympathiz
er and may unite with the Baptist |
church, having formerly been
(Continued on page six)
, 1
Martin Hospital Savings
Celabratas AnniversaryI
Today is the first anniversary of
Martin County's representation in
the North Carolina Hospital Sav
ings Association. Mrs. Elnise Ben
nett has enrolled nearly 2000 mem
bers within the county for member
ship and there are approximately
70,000 members in the two-year old
project for the State. Mayor John
Haasell was the first member to en
roll for Martin County.
One Of County's
Oldest Residents
Dies Wednesday
Funeral Held in Bear Grass
For Mrs. Martha P.
Gurganus
One of Martin County's oldest cit
izens, Mrs. Martha Peel Gurganus,
died at her home in Bear Grass
Township last Wednesday morning
at 11 o'clock following a long period
of declining health. She would have
been 90 years old the 28th of next
October, but despite her advanced
age she was very active until she
Suffered a slight stroke about a year
ago. However, she was able to be up
most of the time until recently when
the infirmities of age forced her to
bed, the end coming gradually
Mrs. Gurganus was ff direct de
scendant of one of Martin County's
oldest families. Her grandfather
fought with George Washington at
Valley Forge during the Revolution-1
ary War, and her husband was a
soldier in the Civil War The daugh
ter of the late Craven and.Hannah
Woolard Peel, Mrs Gurganus was
born in Pitt County where her par
ents migrated from Martin just a I
short time before her birth She
spent only a few "years in the neigh
boring county before moving to
Martin and locating in Bear Grass
where she lived until her death.
When a young woman she was mar
ried to Daniel Gurganus who died
a number of years ago. The several
children born to the union preceded
her in death and she is survived by I
only one brother. Church Peel, of
Atwood, Tcnn., and four grandchil
dren, Mrs. Willie Whitehurst, of
Bear Grass; Mrs. Gladys Taylor, of|
Williamston. Craven Gurganus, of
this county, and Marvin Gurganus,
of Norfolk.
Mrs. Gurganus was a devout be
liever in the Primitive Baptist faith
and held membership in the church
at Bear Grass for a lung number of
years. Funeral services were eon
ducted at the home yesterday after
noon at 3:30 o'clock by Elders B. S.
Cowin and A. B Ayers. Burial was
in the Biggs Cemetery, near the
home, in Bear Grass Township
Offi cers Installed
By Local Lions Club
New officers of the Williamston
Lions club were installed at a reg
ular meeting of the organization in
the woman's club hall last evening
when D. V. Clayton made a farewell
address and turned the duties of the
office over to Judge H O. Peel.
In his talk, Mr. Clayton reviewed
the activities of the club during the
past year and stressed the import
ance of wholehearted cooperation by
all members in promoting worthy i
undertakings. He urged a renewed
interest in Lionism and support for
the new officers.
In appreciation of their work in
the recent white cane drive, the
club had as their special dinner
guests, Misses Nancy and Millie
Biggs, Virgil Wafd, Reid White,
Mary Helen Boykin and Marjorie
Dunn.
Officers of the club now are:
President, H. O. Peel; first vice
president, J. H. Edwards; second
vice president, K P. Linsley; third
vice president, K. D. Worrell; direc
tors for two years, Fred Taylor and
Irving Margolis; directors continu
ing in office. S. A. Maxwell and J.
W Manning, secretary-treasurer, E.
R. Froneberger; assistant secretary
treasurer, Bill Howell; lion tamer,
D. L. Hayman; tail twister, Eugene
Rice. The meeting was then turned
ered a very inspiring talk on Lion
ism and cooporalion in club activi
ties.
Miss Keel Named Deputy
Clerk Of Martin Court
Miss Mary Elizabeth Keel, of Bear
Grass, was named deputy clerk of
the Martin County Superior Court
here this week. She has been em
ployed in the clerk's office during
the past several months.
DELAY
The letting of a contract for
the construction of an addition
to the George Reynolds hotel
following the receipt of bids
from a number of contractors
yesterday afternoon. "We will
wait a few days before taKIng
with building an addition to the
hotel," Mr. E. P. Cunningham.
Plans for the addition call for
an additional sixteen rooms on
the second floor and four apart
ments on the first floor.
Martin County Tax Rate for 1938
Is Tentatively Fixed at $1.41 by
Commissioners Here Wednesday
Postal Receipts in Past Three
Months Set New Mark Here
Postal receipts in the local office (
for the second quarter reached an
all-time high this year, Pqstmastei
L. T. Fowden stating today that the
stamp sales passed the $5,000 mark
this year for the first time in the
particular period.
The receipts. $5,005.31. were
$350.49 greater than those reported
in the corresponding months of
April, May and June, a year ago
First quarter receipts this year were
$4,724.61
Ending the first quarter with a
decrease, the postoffice here start
ed climbing last April when the in
come for the 'single month totaled
almost $2,000 May, with only $1,
305.54, was a lean month, but June
came back strong with a gain of
more than $400 over the income of
the previous month.
Money order business continued
about the same at the local office,
Positions Filled
Appointments to the Oak City
school faculty were announced com
plete this week by Principal II. M !
Ainsley, who is attending the first1
session of the University Summer
School, Chapel Hill. Finishing the
term there next week, the professor
will return to Oak City and formu
late nlans for operating the school i
I the coming year. Tentative arrange
ments have been made to offer in
structidrj in twelfth grade subjects
there this year, the principal stating
that quite a few students have al -|
ready registered for the special
courses.
Only two changes have been made
in the school faculty there this year;
| Principal Ainsley stating that Miss
Helen Watklns, of Hattiesburg, Miss .
[ will succeed Miss Ethel Cole in the
home economics department, and
that H. J. McCracken, of Clyde,
Haywood County, will succeed Ran
dolph Chandler as science and math
_ J ?tLU
rnidiiva icaunci anu aiuiciu lwulii. |
The names of the teachers are: I
Elementary department: First ,
grade, Miss Mildred Smith; second ,
grade, Miss Myrtle Price; third
grade, Miss Adeline Tew; fourth
grade, Miss Louise Minton; fifth (
grade. Miss Elizabeth Greenlee,
sixth grade, Miss Ernestine Johnson;
seventh grade, Miss Mary Everett. J
High School: H. M. Ainsley, prin
cipal, mathematics; Miss Beatrice:
Stalls, English, library, and French;
Miss Mildred Everett, history and
English; Miss Heleij Watkins, home
economics and general science; Mr.
H. J. McCraeken, mathematics and
science; Mr. J. E. Mullen, agricul-l
ture and rural economics; Miss Dor-^
othy Flanders, music and expression I,
Thieves Raid Chicken
Coop In Bear Grass
Raiding the chicken mop of Mt
and Mrs. H. U. ?Peel the early part
of this week, thieves stole between
25 and 30 nice pullets The steal was
nut discovered until the owners were
feeding the chickens Wednesday
morning and noticed the decrease in
the ranks of the barnyard fowls No1
[clue to the theft has been establish j
ed. 1
Chicken raids have been fairly j
numerous?m?this?county during tin -
past several months, one or two
larmers losing more than a 100
chickens in a single night.
*
Pantego Christian Church
Begins Annual Meeting
The annual meeting of the Pan
tego Christian Church will begin on
Monday evening, . July 18th with
Rev. John L. Goff, of Williamston,
as the evangelist Rev. Joseph A.
Saunders is the pastor of the church.
p
Third Death In Same
Family. In Three Weeks
e
The third death within three
"weeks in~THe" rente family was I
4>nrlnd here this week when t
month-old son of the late Mamie
Clyde Woolard died Tuesday. The
child's mother died about three
weeks ago and his aunt died Just a
day or two later.
Burial was in the Odd Fellows
cemetery here Wednesday.
during the first six months of this
year, the postmaster's report show
ing that $46,950 25 was handled by
the office during the period. During
the first six months of last year, the
money order business handled
through the local office amounted to
$50.970.33 as mmnarftl vi/ith ttlfi .
950.25 during the first half of the
current year. The trend during the
second quarter was downward for
money orders, while stamp sales in
creased In January and February of
this year, the money order business
was considerably ahead of that for
the corresponding months in 1937,
but during the past four months
sizeable decreases are noted in the
postmaster's report.
There has been no noticeable de
crease in the size of the mails han
dled this year compared with last,
the office here handling an increas
mg amount ot tranged mail.
NO CHANGE
Efforts to alter the tobacco
marketing dates as set by the
I'nlted States Tobacco associa
tion in annual session at White
Sulphur Springs, W. Va., the
early part of this month have
come to nought and auction sales
on the Williamston warehouse
floors will get underway as
scheduled on August 25. The de
cision to leave the opoping dates
unchanged was officially an
nounced by a representative of
the association after East Caro
lina warehousemen had asked
the date be moved up to August
IS.
Mother Calls For
Missing Daughter
Held in the 'Martin County jail
since Thursday of last week at the
direction of welfare authorities, Con
stance Saunders, bright-eyed, 14
year old girl, was turned over to an
anxious mother late last Wednesday
night, the reunion marking the end
i)f a hectic period for the daughter
who had run away from her home
in Norfolk and wandered over parts
jf two states before falling into the
hands of the law and welfare au
thorities here.
Mystery still surrounds the ease as
far as local officers are concerned,
and once the Child was back in the
care of her mother, Mrs. Kathleen
Saunders,?they considered the case
closed and no further investigation
was made.
Picked up by Patrolman W. S.
Hunt on Williamston's East Main
street late last Thursday afternoon,
the girl claimed that she ran away
from Norfolk with two older girls
whose names were not revealed.
The girl's companions are said to
have deserted her in Washington and
he began wandering around eastern
North Carolina. She is known to
have visited Greenville and was
picked up by a motorist and brought
to Williamston. She told several dif
ferent stories, but finally explained
where her mother and step-father
could be reached. They were noti
fied immediately, but the message
was misunderstood and her parents
ure said to have looked for her in
>ther towns before finally coming to
Williamston.
Everetts School Faculty
Named For Coming Term
The faculty for the Everett*
school was completed at a meeting
of the board Monday night. The fol
lowing teachers were elected to
teach tor the year 1938-1938:
First grade: Miss Cassie William.
Ocracoke, N. C.
First and second grade Miss Mary
Bel-le. Edmondson. Wiliiamston
Second grade: Miss Margaret Pal
mer, Gulf, N. C.
Third grade: Miss Doris Everett,
Robarsnnville, N. C.
Fourth grade: Miss Frances Ides
Smith, Mecklenburg County.
Fifth Grade: Miss Lucille Hunt
er.
Sixth grade: Miss Ora Kate Tur
ner, Halifax, N. C.
Seventh grade and principal: C.
R. Simpson, Peachland, N. C.
New Rate Remains
The Same As One
In Effect In 1937
Increase of $12,000 in Bud
get Requirements for
Fiscal Year
Martin County's 1938 tax rat?? was
tentatively set at $1.41 the $100
sessed property valuation by the
board of commissioners in special
session here Wednesday, the author
ities studying closely the proposed
figures that at first indicated an in
crease of two cents in the rate would
be necessary to-care for the budget
requirements for the current fiscal
year. The rate is the same as that in
effect last year ^????
With increases necessary in every
single department except two ?
health fund and debt service for
schools?and with the virtual loss of
income from intangible properties,
the commissioners found a reduction
in the rate impossible and the task
of holding it to the same figure ex
eeedmgly difficult. Preliminary fig
ures submitted to the commission
ers for consideration indicated that
a~-2--cent increase would be- neces
sary to meet the new budget re
quirements. After a long session, the
commissioners shaved one cent from
the county's general fuad and de
creased the proposed raise of two
cents for the school fun# to one
cent.
Considerable uneasiness entered
into the task of determining the
rate when the cpfrlwl'*<"nm>rw fr"'Mr*
that the property valuation this year
will hardly exceed one qui rter of a
million dollars. They had hoped and
expected that the valuation increase
would approximate a million or one
and one-half millions.
Income from other sources than
the tax levy especially the liquor
Dl'ofits fund KiiVMd th#? dav maUinu
it possible in the final analysis to
hold the rate to the same old figure.
This year the county is to raise
$222,248 17. to meet its budget re
! quirements as against $210,466.65 a
I year ago. The total amount raised
| by. taxation increases from $160,
1641.65 to $162,998 17, the budget es
timate showing that the remainder
or $59,250.00 is to come from other
sources than by tax levy,
j Reductions in the various depart
mental rates are as follows: county
i general fund, 2 1-2 cents; health
s fund, one-half cent; school debt ser
vice one and one-quarter of a cent,
a resulting decrease of four and a
quarter cents. Increases in the var
! ious departmental rates are, as fol
lows: poor fuhd, 1 1-2 cents; county
eight months school term capital
outlay fund, two and one-quarter
cents, a result increas of four and
one-quarter cents. The department
al increases and decreases offset
leach other.
The budget requirements for 1937
and 1938 are offered for comparison
I as follows
County: 1937 493*
General fund $44,544.00 $46,752.00
Poor fund 21.258.00 25,490.00
Health fund 7,800 00 7,400.00
Debt service 61,236 65 62,636.17
Gahnnl- : ? ' "? ? ? ? ^
nirnwi.
Current exp. 22,128.00 24,490.00
Capital outlay 6.500.00 9,650.00
Debt service 47,000,00 45,830.00
Totals $210 566.65 $222,248.17
*
Registration FoFHond
Election Is Increasing
The number of citizens register
ing for the special bond election to
be held here on August 9 is increas
ing daily, Registrar C. B. Hassell
stating that more than 25 nimaa
have been placed on the books since
last Monday. Quite a few people are
expected to register tomorrow at the
town treasurer's office in the city
hall.
I The registration books will con
tinue open through the 30th of this
month, " ' ?
a
Stop Light Installed
In Town Of Jamesville
A stop light, the second one in
Martin County, was installed In
Jamesville yesterday. Robersonville
installed the first 'stop light at its
busy Intersection several years ago.
Unofficial reports state that it will
cost $36 a year to operate the light
in JamasviUe.