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VOLUME XLII?NUMBER 7 Williamston, Martin County, North Carolina, Tuesday, January 24. 1939. ESTABLISHED 1899
Officers In County
Get Number Calls
During Week-end
???
Fifteen Are Jailed Here On
Saturday and .?
Sunday
Sheriff C. B. Roebuck and his of
fice force, had one of those busy per
iods last week in the county, the
chief upholder of the county peace
stating that he received three calls
before he could get dressed early
Sunday morning. Robberies were
reported in Jamesville and in the
Farm Life community of Griffins
Township, and several minor disor
ders were called to his attention.
Monday morning at three o'clock,
the officer received a mysterious
call from Parmele and he went there
to find the postoffice and a store
building burning. In addition to the
current happenings, the officer was
doing a little more work on the
month-old Lilley murder case, but
he admits that he is no further ad
vanced in that work than he was
when the man was killed.
Tearing through a back window,
a robber stole a crate of beer from
Anderson's filling station in James
ville some time last Saturday night
or early Sunday morning.
In the early evening Saturday
while the family was away, some
one entered Herbert Manning's
smokehouse at Farm Life and car
ried away about 300 pounds of meat,
Including choice hams and shoul
ders. The robber or robbers broke
into the home and prowled arounj
apparenUy in seach of cooked food
Nothing was missed from the home.
Yesterday morning, some one
called the sheriff from Parmele. Af
ter making sure it was the sheriff
on the phone, the party said come
to Parmele as quickly as you can
"I can't tell you what's the matter
and. my name doesn't count, but
just come on to Parmele as quickly
as you can," the strange voice com
manded. The officer was a bit sus
picious at first, but.after convincing
himself that he had no enemies in
that territory he hurried to the coun
ty's railroad center to find the post
uffice and the store of Leon White
hurst in ashes.
One report indicated that some
one had robbed the store and then
fired it The stock of goods in a sec
ond store escaping the fire was said
to have been found scatted on the
floor. A third store owner stated
that he lost some of his stock, but
he was not certain whether it was
stolen from the store or from the
railroad where it was carried away
from the fire. Investigating the case
further yesterdgy afternoon, Sheriff
Roebuck and a postal inspector had
no findings to release. The store be
longed to A. D. Griffin, Sr., of Grif
fins Township. The owner ' of the
stock, Leon Whitehurst, was said to
have had his property covered with
$700 insurance.
While the sheriff was running to
and fro over the county, other offi
cers were in action, too. A count of
the jail record yesterday showed
that fifteen were jailed over the
week-end for murder, assault, lar
ceny and drunkenness. Without ade
quate jail facilities, Beaufort Coun
ty sent eight of the fifteen over in
cluding five, Dorothy Tyner, Mar
garet Perkins, Luis Parker, Irene
Tyner, Robert T. Small, Bloomer
Roberson, all colored, who stand
charged with or are allegedly impli
cated in a murder case in the ad
joining county.
Judge H. O. Peel cleared the jail
of many of the Martin people, and
Beaufort officers shifted two or
three from here to Raleigh, includ
ing Frank Bright, a white man con
victed of manslaughter and sentenc
ed by Judge Carr in Washington
yesterday to serve from seven to ten
years in the State's prison.
a
Mr. Coltrain Continues
Quite III At His Home
Mr. James L. Coltrain, Griffins
Township farmer, continues critical
ly ill with pneumonia at his home
there. Reports received here early
this afternoon stated that while his
lungs were "clearing up" he was
so weak that his condition was still
regarded as critical
Negro Man Is Found Dead
In Woods Near Jamesville
John Northern, 55-year-old color
ed man, was found dead in a small
woods not far from his home in
Tain? lilla last Saturday afternoon.
Investigating the case, Coroner S.
R Biggs stated that the man was the
victim of a stroke of apoplexy.
Going into the woods with his axe
about three o'clock, the man was
found dead about a half hour later
by Garland Moore, small colored
bay.
Relieve Farmers In County
Will Get Around $150,000
Late estimates, unofficially learn
ed this week, indicate that Martin
County fanners will receive approx
imately $150,000 in soil conserva
tion payments under the 1938 pro
gram instead of around $100,000, the
figure which was mentioned in the
first estimates a short time ago. The
$150,000 figure while only an esti
mate and a fairly conservative one
at that, does not include more than
$40,000 received a few months ago
in the form of cotton price adjust
ment payments.
Receiving the first applications for
payments under the 1938 program
last week, the county agent's office
reports a favorable response, Chief
Clerk T. B. Slade stating that mora
than 80 per cent of the farmers in
four districts had already applied
and that others were anxious to "get
their names in the pot." Farmers in
Cross Roads Township were a bit
slow to sign the application forms,
but in the other districts a large
percentage reported.
The work of receiving the appli
cations was delayed a few days
when the supply of forms was ex
hausted. An additional supply was
received last week-end, and the
agent's office is working over time
to get the forms ready for the far
mers' signatures.
Applications are being received in
Hamilton Township today, and ev
ery effort will be made to carry on
the work in the remaining town
ships as early as possible. "We hope
to gel the task completed next week
and get the applications to the Ral
n|\rve> *^*"vnnftnr 1 Mr
vi^11 uinvr ouvll ttlv tvtll let , Ivl I
Slade said. It will be about six or
eight weeks before any payments
are made, according to the best
guessers.
Bureau Members Hear
Farm Plans for Future
Masons Will Hold Regular
Meeting Tuesday Evening
Regular communication of Ske
warkee Lodge No. #0 A. F. and A. M.
will be held in Masonic Hall this
evening at 7:30 o'clock. Visiting mas
ter Masons are cordially invited to
attend.
Use Airplanes In
Search Of Liquor
Stills In County
First Air Raid Was Success
fully Handled Last
Saturday
Employing airplanes and trained
pilots, federal agents cooperating
with enforcement officers in this
county are now mapping plans for a
war to the end against illicit liquor
manufacturing in this county.
The first raid directed from the
air was successfully handled last
Saturday morning when a govern
ment plan spotted a distillery in
Bear Grass Township and then
dropped directions to the raiding
party several miles away. "It work
ed slick as a whistle," Special En
forcement Officer J. H. Roebuck
said upon his return with Federal
Agent Mose Harshaw from the raid.
"We captured a 100-gallon capacity
copper kettle, poured out 1,300 gal
lons of beer and ten gallons of li
quor and wrecked the equipment,"
Mr. Roebuck added. Frightened by
the low flying of the plane, the op
erators deserted the plant, and there
was much commotion in the area
covered b ythe plane at a low alti
tude. The plant was virtually new,
and had been in operation for a
short time only.
Flying here from Elizabeth City,
the plane picked up a "scent" with
in a short time. Advanced instruc
tions had the raiding party parked
on the Washington Highway near
the Martin-Beaufort boundary, the
car having been marked so the pilot
could identity it. After dropping in
structions, the plane then returned
to the liquor plant site and dipped
its wing toward it. The officers fol
lowed within a few minutes.
It is understood that similar activ
ities will be carred on in this coun
ty at least once each week by the
Martin County Enforcement bureau
in cooperation With the "federal
forces. Officers would not verify the
report that the plane pilot spotted
several other plants during last Sat
urday morning, but had to hasten
back to Elizabeth City before he
could drop instructions for locating
them.
Enforcement agents look upon the
method as one of the most effective
advanced in a number of years for
tackling the illicit liquor manufac
turing business.
However, prior to the. "air raid,"
officers in this county were making
progress toward wrecking the illicit
business. Last Thursday, Officer J.
H. Roebuck wrecked a steam plant
in Bear Grass and poured out 1,000
gallons of beer. The following day,
the officers wrecked a fifty gallon
capacity copper kettle and plant and
poured out 1,400 gallons of beer. A
second plant, a steam outfit, was
wrecked later in the day.
So far this month the officers have
wrecked nine plants in the county,
the record to date being better than
it eras during a corresponding per
iod in int.
Countv Contest For
Members Is Meeting
With Much Sue cess
Representative J. T. Cooper
Tells of Farm Meet in
Raleigh
?
Meeting in the agricultural build
ing last evening, representatives of
the county Farm Bureau Federation i
membership teams compared their
activities and heard J. T. Cooper,
field representative for the State
Bureau, review a discussion of fu
ture farm plans advanced at a
meeting of farmers called by the To
bacco Advisory Committee in Ral
eigh earlier in the day.
There was keen interest shown in
the tabulation of preliminary- re
ports by the membership canvass
ers, and that wide smile worn by
Van Taylor, captain of one of the
teams, when the facts and figures
showed Charlie Daniel and his team
were well in front with nearly 100
new members. However, there was
a "sneaking" feeling that Mr. Taylot
had something up his sleeve, that
he would release a bombshell when
the final count is made next Mon
day, the day for closing the mem
bership campaign.
Next Monday night, the members
of the two teams will enjoy a tur
key supper in either the Woman's
Club or in the Legion Hut. The los
ers of the contest will pay for the
supper, but the final outcome of
the membership drive will not be
announced until after the supper so
that all can enjoy the meal.
Reaching here just in time for
the meeting after hearing a discus
sion of future farm plans in Raleigh,
J. T. Cooper and others reviewed
the discussions held in Raleigh.
According to Mr. Cooper a radi
cal change is being proposed in the
(Continued on page six)
Tickets On Sale For
Birthday Ball Here
Ticket* for the President's Birth
day Ball here next Friday night
were placed on sale last Saturday
afternoon, early reports indicating
that the event will be well attended
by local people and by quite a large
number from nearby towns and
communities. Arrangements were
announced virtually complete today
for the ball which promises to be a
gala affair this year.
Sponsoring the ticket sale at the
direction of CHhirman Leslie T
Fowden are Misses Bolton Cowen,
Marion Pender, Sara Cone and Mrs.
J. Sam Getsinger, Mrs. John Hardy
and Mrs. J. L. Spencer.
Half of the proceeds received from
the birthday ball will be used in ad
vancing research work in the cam
paign against infantile paralysis.
The remaining funds will be used
in this county for various charitable
causes, Chairman Fowden stating
that last year the money was taken
from the fund to buy glasses for
needy children in the county and for
treating several who were attacked
by mad dogs, ;
The parade of dimes, scheduled to
have gotten underway last week-end
has been delayed. Chairman Fowden
explaining that the shipment was
lost and that another was expected
daily. The sale of buttons will sup
plement the proceeds from the birth
day ball.
Native Of County
Robbed and Killed
Near Owingsville
???
Bob Rodgerson Dies Early
Sunday in Hospital at
Cincinnati
Attacked by robbers on a lonely
road near Owingsville. Kentucky,
last Thursday afternoon, Mr. Bob
Rodgerson. a native of this county,
died in a Cincinnati hospital early
Sunday morning. Funeral services
are being conducted this afternoon
and interment will follow in Cin
cinnati.
The son of the late Mr. and Mrs.
Alfred Rodgerson, he was born in
this county 55 years ago His father
died when he was a small child and
he spent his early boyhood with Mr
Simon Ward, an uncle, and Mrs.
Ward, in Bear Grass Township.
When a young man he located in
Edenton and married a Miss Essex,
of Ohio. After working with the
American Tobacco company for a
number of years, he moved to Ohio
and established a produce business,
making his home in Cincinnati for
the past fifteen years.
He is survived by one brother, Mr.
John L,. Rodgerson, of Williamston,
and three sisters. Mrs. M D. Dodd,
of Richmond; Mrs Emma Sawyer
and Mrs Sadie Owens, both of Eliz
abeth City.
The following account of the rob
bery was carried in the Lexington
(Ky.) Herald last Friday afternoon:
Bath county officers and state
highway patrolmen announced to
night that they had arrested two
persons in connection with the slug
ging and armed robbery this after
noon of a truck driver on a lonely
Bath county road and had obtained
a confession from one of the sus
pects, giving in detail the story of
the attack and robbery.
State yighway Patrolman C. W
Wilson said John Miles McFarland,
17, of near Salt Lick, Bath county,
signed a written confession that he
and Sullivan Hunyan, about 30, of
Clay County, had committed the at
tack and robbery and attempted a
second robbery which led to their
arrest,
The victim of the attack and rob
bery as listed was Bob Rodgerson,
about 55, of Cincinnati, Rodgerson
suffered a concussion of the brain
and'numerous severe bruises and
cuts about the head and face.
McFarland and Runyan this af
ternoon placed several logs and
stumps across the road near Salt
Lick and then hid in the bushes at
the side of the road, according to
McFarland's confession Rodgerson
drove up in his truck, stopped and
got out to remove the obstacle, and
Rungan stepped out and pointed a
shotgun at him with the command
to "stick 'em up and turn around,"
JMcFarland said.
After Rodgerson turned his back
toward the men, McFarland said in
his confession, Runyan struck him
over the head "several times" with
the shotgun, a single-barrel weapon,
and Rodgerson fell to the ground.
McFarland added that Runyan
struck Rodgerson "at least once"
after the man had fallen to the
ground, Wilson quoted the youth as
saying.
The pair then dragged the uncon
scious Rodgerson into the bushes at
the side of the road and left him
there, then got into the truck and
started down the road, with Mc
Farland driving, the confession stat
ed. McFarland, admitting to the
state highway patrolman that he
was "not a very good driver," lost
control of the vehicle and it left the
road and went over an embankment
about a mile from the scene of the
(Continued on page six)
To Present Play At
Bear Grass Thursday
The play, "The Gate to Happiness"
a stirring drama of the fairly mod
ern stage, will be given in the Bear
Grass school auditorium Thursday
evening of this week at eight o'clock.
The proceeds will go to the Sweet
Home Christian Church. The public
is cordially invited to attend and
urged to support this, a worthy
cause.
Fire Damages Home In
Jamesville Last Saturday
Fire believed to have started in
a wood box in the living room dam
aged the John Long home in James
ville last Saturday afternoon. Dis
covered by Mrs. Paul Holliday who
occupies an apartment wth Mr. Hol
liday in the home, the fire was
brought under controf by a number
of workmen quickly summoned
from die Askew home just across
the street.
It is estimated that the fire caus
ed a lew of 1100. a
Fire Claims Lives of Mother and
Little Child and Destroys Farm
Home Near Here Last Saturday
Hold Last Kites For
Victims Of Fire In
Griffins Township
Throngs Pay Last Tribute
To Mrs. Leslie Smith
And Little Child ^
Funeral services were conducted
for Mrs Leshe Smith and her th.. -.
teen-months-old daughter, Martha
Louise, at the home of her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. John E. Griffin, in
Griffins Township last Sunday a -
ternoon at 1 30 o'clock, one of the
largest crowds to attend a funeral in
the county in many months assem
bling there to pay a last lnbul^
those whose lives had been snuffed
out by fire when their home burned
down near WilliamsUm the morning
before. _ ??
Mrs Smith was born in Griffins
Township twenty-eight years ago
She attended the public and high
schools in this county, and in
was married to Leslie Smith, a na^
live of Pitt County. After a stay of
several years in the Jamesvitle
community, she moved with her
family to the old Crawford place or
the Cedar Hill farm near here on
the Tyner Town road
Thrifty and energetic .she was get
ting along fine until tragedy struck
the peaceful home She was a devot
ed wife and mother, thoughtful of
her family and always anxious to
render anyone every service possi
hie A genuine happiness was al
ways found in the home and she
looked to the future with a beauti
ful hope not for herself but for her
children. She was a member of the
church at Fairview where her fore
bearers worshipped before her. .
Besides he husband she leaves a
daughter. Evelyn Gray Smith, who,
jstui visiting- in_the_homc_nf?net
grandparents when the lives of her
mother and sister were snuffed out |
Just about three years old, the little
girl before retiring last Friday nigh
cried to go to see her mother. "Of
ten she had visited there, but i
was the first time she had ever cried
for her mother." Mrs. Griffin, the
grandmother said. Mrs Smith, be^
sides her parents and husband and
daughter, is survived by twig broth
ers, Elbert and-Roland, and one sis
ter. Miss Verna Griffin, all of Grif
fins Township
Following the service in the home
by Rev Fernando Lilley and Rev
W B Harrington, interment was
made. in.- the old .Bryant Cemetery
on the Griffin farm, near the home.
Learning of the tragedy, Mrs.
smith's mother in-law, Mrs Annie
Smith a resident of this county <>
a number of years but who is now
living at Pinetops, was so overcome
by grief that she suffered a heart
attack and had to be placed in a
physician's care. She was unable to
attend the last rites.
Among those from out of the
county attending the funeral were
Mr and Mrs Albert Gray Griffin,
of Richmond, and Mr Wilson Grif
fin, of Goldsboro
Number Enroll In
Church Institute
Last night a hundred people en
rolled in the "Learning for Life In
stitute," being conducted at the
Methodist church. The theme of th?
institute "Building the Church in
the Community," is one with a pop
ular appeal to those interested in
community betterment of any type.
Many business men joined in the
session last night as the leaders pre
sented the topic, "A Business Man
Looks the Church Over." Outstand
ing business leaders from various
sections of the nation were quoted
in their estimate as to the value of
the church in community life
Tonight an open forum on "The
Women Talk the Church Over," will
be led by Dr. S. A. Maxwell, who
is iii charge of the institute.
The public is invited to join in all
sessions of the school. The institute
will come to a close Wednesday
night with the celebration of the
Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Sup
per
Funeral For Infant-Is
Held Here Yesterday
Funeral services for the infant aon
of Mr. and Mrs. V. J. Spivey were
held here yesterday morning by
Rev. John L. Qoff. Interment was in
the Harrison plot In the local ceme
ELIMINATION
v t
Maintaining there is a dupli
cation of duties being handled
by the State Department of
Agriculture and the State Col
lege Extension Division, the
Martin County farm Bureau in
a meeting here last evening
passed a resolution urging Rep
resentative H. G. liorton and
the two senators from thix dis
trict to withhold any appropria
lions until the duties of the two
agencies can be defined. While
some of the farmers at the meet
ing were in favor of abolishing
the Department of Agriculture,
the resolution merely recom
mends that the educational ac
tivities be placed in the hands
of the extension service and let
the Department of Agriculture
handle the other dutim.
Local Faculty Vi ill
Present Play Here
Thursday Evening!
Proceeds Will Be Used For
The Purchase of .Li
brary Books
In an effort to raise funds to pur
chase books for the school libraries
Williamston teachers will present a
three act comedy in the high school
auditorium next Thursday evening
at eight o'clock. Rehearsals of the
play, which is entitled **Her Step
Husband," have been in progress for
two weeks, and the production
promises to be highly entertaining
Tickets were placed on sale yester
day, and sponsors of the play are
appealing for liberal support to this
worthy cause. ?
The case includes Nancy Glover,
Dorcas Knowles, Mary Whitley, Re
becca Harrison, Mildred Talley, Lew
is Enloe, Frank Neely, Charles Tox
ey and David Hix. Teachers not in
the cast are-handling the programs,
properties and ticket sales. Mrs.
Rarnhill is acting as coach.
An added feature of the evening's
entertainment will be the appear
ance of the rhythm orchestra made
up of first grade children The little
tots, resplendent in their new uni
forms, will offer a novel musical
program under the direction of Re
becca Harrison.
Patrons of the school may be in
terested to know that no drreel ap
propriations are made for the sup
port of school libraries. However the
county board of education doesi
match funds raised locally to pur
chase new books. The local high
school library contains eighteen
hundred volumes, all properly cata
logued and aacessionod The product
of years of hard work and attention
the library is strictly up-to-date and
is regarded by Mrs Mary Douglas,
state library supervisor, as one of
the best high school libraries in the
eastern part of the state With the
elementary library it ls a different
story. While it meets State stan
dards, it is not a library of which
our community should be proud. It
contains only thirteen hundred vol
umes, many of which are old and in
poor condition. In this library we
find only two books per child en-1
rolled. Even the most conservative
person .could call this an inadequate
reading matter for six hundred chil
dren enrolled in seven grades.
Funds raised from the play will |
be devoted largely to the improve
ment of the elementary library
Will you do your part by purchas- I
ing a ticket and attending the play |
Thursday night.
Two Cars Stolen Here
Are Recovered Saturday
Two cars stolen from local streets
last Saturday night were recovered
a few hours later, reports stating
that neither of the machines was
damaged.
The car belonging to Mr. W. H.
Carstarphen was stolen from in
front of his Haughton Street resi
dence about 8 o'clock that evening.
The car, a Ford sedan, was recover
ed-about fhre* hours later by the
Pln^tops chief of police, but the
thief, a colored man, escaped.
A Plymouth car, belonging to Mr.
Raymond Heath, was stolen from
West Main Street about 11 o'clock
that night, the owner finding it
abandoned on the old Everetts Road
not far from Mickey's Inn.
Bodies of Child and
Mother Are Found
Clasped Together
Mrs. Leslie Smith Loses
Life in Effort To Save
Child
Mrs. Leslie Smith and her thir
teen-months-old daughter, Martha
Louise, were burned to death in an
early morning fire that destroyed
their home and all its contents last
Saturday on the Tyner Town road,
near here, the tragedy ranking as
one of the most horrible recorded in
this county in many years.
The origin of the fire that claim
ed the two precious lives and swept
destruction of property before it
will never be known, and the mute
evidence found at the tragic scene
and the fragmentar accounts offer
I ed by Mrs. Smith's husband and her
sister, Miss Verna Griffin, leave
much to the imagination of anyone
who would attempt to tell about the
activities on that fateful morning
Grief stricken and forced to his bed,
Mr. Smith is not yet able to recall
many facts relating to the tragedy.
Miss Griffin, a visitor in the home,
barely escaped with her life, and is
unable to shed any light on how the
fire started and what happened un
til she was called by her brother
in-law.
Arising about four o'clock that
morning, Mr. Smith made a fire in
the living room and then went in
the kitchen. He then went to run
some hogs out of a field about one
half mile away preparatory to sow
ing a tobacco plant bed. Possibly
three-quarters of an hour after leav
ing the home he discovered it was
011 fire. Hurrying there he is said tc
have gone to the room where his
wife and youngest child slept and
found them gone. He then went tc
his sister-in-law's room in the front
of the house, but when she failed to
answer his first call he rushed to
the front porch and knocked out a
window to the room and told her to
get out, that the house was on fire.
Thinking that his wife and child had
left the house and gone for help,
Mi Smith hopped in his car and
came to Williamston, a little less
than two miles away, to turn in a
fire alarm He met Handy Ore, a
taxi driver, near the Columbian
Peanut plant and asked him to turn
ir. the alarm. Ausbon Rogers, a col
ored man, was standing at a filling
station nearby and he called and
asked him to go to his home, ex
plaining 4hat?his home and every
thing in it was burning up.
On the way to the fire, Rogers
stated that Smith told him when he
woke up that morning, the house
[ was about to fall in, that the fire
had Trapped -bis wife and baby.
Terribly excited, Smith is believed
1 to have meant that when he return
ed home from his field the house
| was about to fall in. Rogers also stat
ed that when he reached the fire he
heard a woman screaming in or
near the rear part of the house, that
Smith asked him to drive up the
roads a few hundred yards and call
neighbors to come and help. It is be
lieved that Rogers heard Miss Grif
fin screaming, reports stating that
Mrs. Smith had a cold and was so
hoarse that she could not talk
I above a whisper.
About the time Rogers and a few
neighbors reached there, Smith ap
parently learned that his wife and
child had not gone to the home of a
neighbor and were still in the burn
ing house. Reduced to temporary
madness almost, he tried to run in
to the flames to get his wife and
child, but realizing that the fire had
already claimed the lives of the wo
man and child, those reaching the
scene a short time before caught and
held him. Even after the house was
reduced to ashes, he tried to run in
to the embers, and at times as many
as six men were required to hold
him.
"I want to go with them," he
shout&d time and again, and finally
(Continued on page tlx)
Youth In Bear Grass Is
Recovering From Injury
Ast Harrison, four-year-old son
of Mr. snd Mrs. Goroer Harrison is
recovering rapidly from an injury
received when a plow fell on it at
Bear Grass a few days ago. The lit
tle fellow suffered a broken leg and
a severe injury to his back.