North Carolina Newspapers

XBB ENTERPRISE IS READ BI OVER 3,000 MARTIN COUNTS FAMILIES TWICE EACH WEES VOLUMfe LII—NUMBER 2 THE ENTERPRISE ~ THE ENTERPRISE IS READ HI OVER 3,000 MARTIN COUNT! FAMILIES TWICE EACH WEEK William at on, Martin County, North Carolina, Thursday, January 6, I94V ESTABLISHED 1899 Marked Increase In Illicit Liquor Traffic Destroy Fourteen | Stills Burin" -the J C5 i Month In County ABC Officer Joe Roebuck And Deputy Peel Pour Out 6,200 Gallons Beer Battling the greatest flareup in the illicit liquor business since j H. Roebuck and assistants wreck ed fourteen distilleries, poured out nearly 100 gallons of white liquor and 6,250 gallons of beer in this county during the month of De cember, the enforcement head said yesterday while reviewing the work for the period. Discussing the alarming flare up, the officer said that the short age of ready cash apparently ac counted for the renewed activi ties. No estimate was offered, but the business would run well into the thousands of dollars. One person was arrested. Car ried into the justice of the peace courts, the violator was fined $7.50 and taxed with the costs. Starting out on December 2, the officers noted no big increase in the illicit traffic, but as the month progressed they realized that the business was growing by leaps j and bounds. That day the en- I forcement officer and Deputy Roy j Peel wrecked a plant in Bear j Grass and poured out 100 gallons ; of beer. , Going into Robersonville Town ship on December 7, the officers wrecked three plants, including two 50-gallon capacity oil drum stills and a 50-gallon copper ket tle and much equipment. Three days later in the Mace donia section, they wrecked an other still equipped witff an oil j drum still and six 5G-gallon fer menters. d A week later on December 17 they returned to Robersonville Township and captured ar30-gal lon copper kettle and poured out T50 gallons of beer. v Three days later the*-■ raiders Were in ’Bear Grass where they tore up a 200-gallon capacity Wood still and three 100 gallon ca pacity fermenters filled with beer. Later that same day they wrecked a 50-gallon drum still and poured out 150 gallons of beer. '■ j One of the big days was-Decem ber 22 when the officers went into the Free Union section of James ville Township and captured two 100-gallon capacity copper kettles and poured out 550 gallons of sug ar beer and eleven galons of li forcement work when the two1 Buck Holloman and the U. S. Treasury’s Alcoholic Tax Unit agent, Jack Gaskill, of Elizabeth City, went into Bear Grass Town ship and wrecked a bi^ plant a sfioirt ' aisuuice l The plant was equipped with a (Continued on page eight) prohibition days, ABC Officer Joe ! in en raiders, accompanied by‘Deputy Load Of Furniture Detroml By Fire Fire believed to have been start ed by a cigarette thrown from a passing ear, burned a trailer load , of furniture between i.ere and Windsor shortly before noon i .Tuesday. Moving from Cherry Street here ! to Norfolk, Mr. J. H. Brown load ed bedroom and living room suits of furniture and other household goods on the trailer that morning and accompanied by his wife and Mr. and Mrs. Lee Brown, was driving north on Highway 17. A short distance out of Windsor a motorist waved a yarning and they looked back to see the trail er load of furniture in flames. The two suits of furniture were ruin ed, and other items and the trail er were damaged, Mr. Brown es timating the loss af more than $500. The loss was partially off set by insurance, Mr. Brown has been working in j Norfolk about a year and was’ moving his family there. i (draft registrants ^_J Draft'registrants wfioKiSVc' married since they registered under Selective Service are * asked tu notify the draft ' board on the third floor of Williamston’s town hall with out delay. They are asked to in persmi. They are alw> ask ed to notify the board of any other changes that would possibly alter their classifica tion. It was announced today that the draft board will be closed on the afternoon of January 20 while the cierk at tends a district meeting in Edenton. submit marriage certificates ■ n na. Than -• a a .1.1. A .11. _ President Calls For “Fair Deal” Declaring the State of the Union was good, President Harry Tru man, in his address to Congress yesterday, called for a “Fair Deal” program and urged a vast exten sion of social and economic legis lation. To help finance the program, (he President urged a $4,000,000, 000 increase in taxes, aimed chief ly at corporations. Further big boosts in taxes would result if the whole Truman program were en acted. It provides, among other things, for bigger social security benefits; pre-paid medical and health in surance; 1,000,000 new public housing units in seven years, and aid to education. Among other recommendations that stood out in the 3,500-word “State of the Union” message the President delivered in person were: Power to impose sweeping eco nomic controls, including curbs on some wages and prices; authority to build steel plants' antj> other factories if deemed necessary in view of shortages; repeal of the Taft-Hartley labor law; universal military training; aid to farmers and civil rights laws. Varied comment on the speech was offered, many of the law makers wondering where the four ixtra billion would be found. Some of the features of the pro gram were denounced, but the general belief is that the adminis :ration is destined to move in the iirection pointed by the Roosevelt Mew Deal. Soon after the speech was leard, Congress set out to back up he President by offering legisla tor! that- k mini-. mum wage from 40 to 75 cents an lour and repeal the Taft-Hartley law. Justice Johnson Has Nin£.£asejs, Following a period of little ac ivity during the holiday season. fustir.e. R T. Johnson handled line cases in recent days in his :ourt. Charged with failing to give •ight-of-way on highway, Ernest E. Harris, was”tine’cl $2(J and taxed vith $5.85 costs. Ralph Eugene Andrews, failing .o stop at a stop sign, was taxed ■vith $5.85 costs. Charged with not reporting an iccident on the highway, James David Lilley was required to pay ?5.85 costs. Nathaniel Boston was fined $10 ind taxed with $5.85 costs for al lowing stock to run at large. Charged with “beating” taxi EaVe, Russell Perry was taxed v;th $5.85 and directed to pay the fare. Jallies Frank Finch was taxed .vith $5.85 costs for disorderly :onduct. Ollie Bonds was fined $15 plus >5.85 costs for an assault. Charged with an assault, Vern ce Hodges was fined $10 and tax id with $5.85 costs. Richard Allen Reese was fined >5 and taxed with $5.85 costs for iperating a motor vehicle with lapiepor lights. Fourteen Cases In County Court Monday Morning —♦- ■' Large Doeket Prepared For The Regular Session Next Monday Not certain a session wouia oe held this week, county cou/t of ficers scheduled very few cases for trial last Monday, leaving a fairly big docket on hand for trial I next Monday. | The court was in session hardly I an hour this week and very few I people were in the courtroom to witness the proceedings. Fines imposed by Judge Chas. H. Man ning were comparatively small but several road sentences were meted out during the brief ses sion. Proceedings: Papers, calling for his arrest, were issued when Turner Ward failed to appear in the case in which he stands charged with non-support. The cases charging Ransome Whitehurst with non-support and Clarence B. Ayers, Jr., with oper ating a motor vehicle without a driver's license were nul piussed but are subject to be reopened. The cast charging Wm. Jasper Paige with non-support was con tinued until February 14. Pleading guilty of operating a motor vehicle without a driver’s I license, Annie Blake was fined I $25 and taxed with the cost. Un able to meet the terms of the judgment, she continued in jail. | H. L. Blake, pleading guilty of | public drunkenness, was fined $4 | and required to pay the costs. | A continuance was allowed in | the speeding case against Jas. Ro j binson Mauldin until next Mon day. Pleading guilty of allowing an unlicensed driver to operate a motor vehicle, Fred S. McLaw horn was fined $35 and taxed with the costs. The case charging Russell Cul lipher with operating a motor ve hicle without a driver's license was continued until January 17. George F. Lee and Chester P. Parsons, both pleading guilty of speeding, were each fined $15 and taxed with the costs. Charged with non-support and (Continued on page eight) i •o State Legislative Mill Cranked Up The State Legislative Mill, idle since 1947, was cranked up yester day when lawmakers dumped sev eral bills into the hopper. One of the bills would boost teichers’ pay and the other would appropriate fifty million dollars -.'or financing .,»'hbQL£a'g$t,ruction in the several counties. Another bill, introduced in the House shortly after 1:00 o’clock Wednes day, would direct the highway commission to improve secondary roads with the unspent appropri ations created by the 1945 and J|947-sessions of ‘.he General As sembly. Teacher;, pa ™mTnTmum would be placed at $2,400 for 1 holders of A-grade certificates. Another]protrosed law would repeal tne motor "vehicle inspec tion law. Behind the scene there were scraps over the move ij wipe out the dete^TafjM L" 1 e end execu tive or secret .ommittee sessions. Today, the lawmakers heard Governor Kerr Scott’s inaugural address in Raleigh’s Memorial Auditorium and are expected to do little until the inaugural ball is over tonight. Draft Board In Meet Last Night -vy- - Meeting last night, the Martin County Draft Board — Eugene Rice, chairman, and Chas. Gray of Robersonville and LeRoy Ever ett of Hamilton, members, classi fied fifty-three registrants and caught up with routine work. It was announced that the board has a call for two men to report for final induction on January 20, but it is likely that only one will be ava table. There is also a call for ten men to report for prein duction tests on January 31. To Arrest Trespassers In Woodlawn Cemetery Here Advised of the repeated viola tion of the rules of decency and disregard for cemetery ordin ances, Willinmston's commission ers in regular session last Tuesday everiing'ViM’ci ucteii puhie fo sifts, ! trespassers there and book them for trial ir, the courts. The direct order came as a climax to a report stating the vandals had torn down and damaged stones, includ ing a marker to the memory of a World War II hero, ;;md trampled grass and shrubbery. Ordinances, governing the use of the sacred plot, are very ex j plicit in their meaning, and the \ authorities are calling for their I enforcement. The walks and drives are not to be used as gen eral thoroughfares, and traffic, in cluding walkers who cut across > plots and even graves, will bo stopped. The ordinances also deny admittance to anyone to the cemetery between the hours of sunset and sunrise without per sonal permission from the grounds -fcn." ----.... Woodlawn Cemetery is being well kept, but the ground is be ing desecrated by thoughtless per sons. it was pointed out. The prac tice must be stopped, in accord ance with orders issued at the board meeting to Keeper H, V. Wheeler and Chief W. E. Saund ers. Persons entering the grounds between the hours of sunset and sunrise are to be arrested and carried into the courts without further warning. Violation of the ordinances carries a maximum fine of $50 and thirty days in jail. Church Union Is Held Wednesday In Local Church One-Day Service Attracts Large Crowd In Chris tian Church The Albemarle Christian Mis sionary Union held its quarterly meeting Wednesday in the Wil liamston Christian Church with one of its largest attendances. Rev. J. M. ferry, Robersonvilie, presi dent of the convention called it into session at 10:30. Rev. John L. Goff, pastor of the local church, conducted the devotional service J. C. Manning, elder in the local church, etxended the welcome to the church-filled delegates while a fine response was made by John W. Eubanks, elder of the Hassell Church. Two former ministers who served in Martin County, Rev. Olin Fox. now pastor of the Hassell, Oak City and Everett group, and Cecil F. Outlaw, now pastor at Pantego, were recogniz ed. The early history of two of the churches of the district was given. The pastor, Rev. Ivan Adams, gave the history of the Belhaven Church while Mr. Abram Rober son of Robersonville, gave the his tory of the Oak Grove Church. Many interesting and humorous incidents were given. The ser mon was preached by Rev. New ton J. Robison, pastor of Hillyer Memorial Christian Church, Ral eigh. Mr. Robison brought a stirring message on the subject, "Go and Preach.” The afternoon session began with the devotion being led by Mrs. J. D. Waters, Plymouth. Mr' H. M. Ainsley, vice-president, Oak^ City,-{residing. Mrs. H. H. Settle, Greenville, state secretary of wo man's work reported oiW->****» a j man’s work while dividing her time with Mr. Clinton Campbell,1 Indianapolis, Ind., one of the na tional directors of “The Crusad • for a Christian World.” The state service was covered by Thomas P. \ •-- S r *1 ilia. , education; State Missions, C. C. j Ware, state secretary; Atlantic Christian College, H. S. Hilley,j precidf;«<saS<iiv#w!ifti;Olism, C. V.'.' Riggs, state evangelist. The convention accepted the in- j vitation of the Hassell Christian i Ch-.w.vV. ..Co --' - .Mng on ' April 6th. Lunch was served by the Wo man's Council of the local Church to about two hundred guests. Spe cial music for the convention was rendered by Mrs. George Wynne, who sang “No Room” while Miss Ida Privett sang “Were You There.” Mrs. Joseph W. Griffin accompanied at tne piano in the absence of Mrs. W. C. Manning, the regular organist. Fire Insurance Group To Meet Here Saturday The annual meeting of the Mar tin County Branch of Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Associa tion will be held in the county courthouse Saturday of this week at 2:00 o’clock, it has been an nounced by the secretary, Geo. C. Griffin. Mr. Sylvester Peel is president of the association which i has over 500 policyholders in the county. ' i Town Officials In Regular Meeting On Tuesday Night Hoar Complaints About Smoko Condition* On West Main Street meeting in regular session last Tuesday evening, Williamston’s Town Commissioners discussed u list of varied subjects and heard reports from the several depart ment heads. Treasurer Dan Sharpe stated that $43,194 68 of the approxi mately $68,000 tax levy for 1948 had been collected, that collec tions were better for 1948 than they were for 1947. The treasurer also explained that sizable pay ments are to be expected before penalties go into effect at the end of this month. It was also stated that the sale of 1949 town motor vehicle li cense tags is progressing fairly slow, the treasurer explaining that between 200 and 250 of the tags had been sold to date, leav ing about 450 unsold. The board explained that action is to be ex pected if the tags are not display ed on vehicles in town on or be fore the last day of this month. A formal complaint about smoke from burning tires and old vehicles in the junk yard on West Main Street was heard by the board. Residents in that area ex plained that while they realized the operator had to make a living, that they did not want to do any thing to cause a hardship, they pointed out that smoke and soot from the junk fires are causing damage to their property. “The smoke is about to run us out of our homes, and we can't hang our wash on the lines without it be ing damaged by soot,” one spokes mMusavk- -A**** adh-er the problem, the officials said they would discuss it with the ; aid operator and sec if old cars could be burned farther back on the property. C; m.iderable time was spent ^ge^ssirj^t^irdinances for the con trol of taxis in town. KepresenflP" tives of the board are to meet with representative taxi operator; and I^g^^ojjn^hr^orles and regula ♦ rw tions. A petition was placed before the board calling for the paving of a sidewalk on the south side of Beech Street 'i rum*'W9?Ts'to' jjiggs Street. Commissioners John II. Gur ganus, Ben D. Courtney and K. D. Worrell were ijn attendance upon the meeting. Fifth Sunday Sing Slated In County The next fifth Sunday sing will be held in the Piney Grove Bap tist Church on January 30, E. R. Stewart, Hamilton minister, an nounced this week. Rev. W. B. Harrington, the pastor, and his congregation are making ready to welcome a large crowd. Those who plan special num bers are asked to contact the Rev, Mr. Stewart, listing the numbers and singers. The special sing will be held at 2:30 in the afternoon and the pub lic is invited. Governor Outlines 15-Point Program In Address Today Roads and education High j On List; Favors Liquor Refer* ud tint | Declaring he faced the future with confidence. Governor Kerr : Scott, in his inaugural address 1 early this afternoon, submitted a ! 15 point program to the members j of the General Assembly in chart ing the course of North Carolina ! for the biennium ahead, j “Together we have a job to do," j the new governor declared in launching his far-reaching pro gram before a record crowd in the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium. Roads were given the No. .1 place in the program. “We have made great, progress in road build ing in the past three decades,” Scott said. “We now have more than 52,000 miles of roads, nearly 10,000 miles of them hard-surfac ed, but a great part of our State still does not have all-weather transportation. In my opinion the most inexcusable waste in our economy is the mud tux. I pro pose repealing the mud tax just as rapidly us i! is possible lu build and improve roads that will en able every school bus to operate every day in the year, and provide all-weather access to markets, places of employment, churches and medical care,” he continued. Recognizing the “colossal na ture of the task of building . . . roads," the governor said "it may require both an increase in the gasoline tax and borrowing money. . . .” Education was the No. 2 point in the program, the chief execu tive reviewing the costs over a period of years. He favored a $2, 400 minimum salary for A-grade teachers, plus increments, and anticipated 20 millions of dollars in federal aid to state education each year. He recommended aid for the construction of buildings in the several counties. Touching on higher education, Scott said, "I am not convinced that our system of higher educa tion is either the best or the most economical system we can de vise." He cited the great loss due to poor preparation and other ad verse factors, and declared that the answer may be in the develop ment of a system of junior col leges as a part of the Greater Uni versity. He recommended that a careful survey of the system be made. rvuii'i i mg 10 neaiui us me mini point in his program, Governor Scott supported the medical care plan, including a four-year medi cal school and teaching hospital at the State University and a dental school. The chief executive said that he favored modern health stations and the encouragement of country practice for the doctor -: 4 if for financial reason “we are unable to carry the entire program,” the health sta tions should be given precedence. Scott said, “Our hospitals for the mentally sick must be made adequate physically and staffed with properly trained personnel, ■fti ■e*i» .i.j n 11» night, should a jail be the waiting room toi' patients requiring men tal treatment.” The chief cxecu Uvffusfi 'sa'i'u mat “we Thust not overlook the part of the medical program devoted to the preven tion of sickness as carried on by the State it - ~1 Vli 'll eluding his health point, the gov ernor said, "We are lagging in providing facilities for the treat ment and prevention of tubercu losis. Farmers long ago stamped out TB among cattle. I think it is high time we showed more pro gress toward eradicating it in the human family.” For Human Welfare he recom mended increases in old age bene fits, and said local communities should maintain vigilance against fraud and should be encouraged to shoulder greater responsibility toward caring for those unable to care for themselves. He stressed the need for improvement of our prison administration and parole and probation systems. Natural resources were men tioned, the governor urging better land usage, the recognition of for estry as an industry, an expansion in commercial fishing and the de (Continucd on page eight) I - Propose Regulations For Taxi Operators REPORT v__j ■ Reporting on the operation j of parking meters here for the first four and one-half months, Treasurer Dan Sharpe /old a meeting of the hoard rff town commissioners last Tuesday evening that $2,- 1 996.80 had been collected, since the meters were install ed August 9, that one-half the amount had been applied on the cost of the gadgets. In come from the meters in De cember was S779.73. The trial period ends in February and the board, ac cording to its bargain, will submit a petition to the pub lic to determine if the meters are to be retained or remov ed. I Reviews Years In Furniture Store — •— Observing the 35th anniversary of his furniture firm the first of this month, Mr. 13. S. Courtney, this week reviewed the years spent in the business. “I left Scotland Neck on Jan uary 1, 1914, at 7:00 o'clock that morning and reached here that evening. Mr. Sam Ray had un packed and placed a stock in the store now occupied by Margolis Brothers," Mr. Courtney said. An expanding business called for larger quarters within a short time and the store was moved to the building now occupied by The Enterprise. After a few years still larger quarters were needed and the store was located in the build ing now occupied by Pittman's. Advancing with the times, Mr. Courtney purchased the Martin Building and located his business there in January, 1920. The store is now one of the largest in this I section of the State and is sup ported by three warehouses. Only one other firm has been in continuous business and under th ■ same management longer than | Courtney’s. Sam Faulk was run ning an ice and fish business when the Courtney firm opened, but all | the others have since changed I hands or management, Mr. Court ! ney explained. Other firms, in cluding The Enterprise, the Biggs Drug Store and Funeral Home and possibly others, are older but the management personnel has changed or there was a break in operations. The Courtney store is now one of the leading firms of its type in this section, its personnel hav ing' ' from 4y. Mr. Sam Harrell, late of Williams- i ton, was with the firm for about twenty years. Special Jury For Case Next Monday A special jury was drawn lust week-end to hear the drunken d-:.\'jni! -.ji.vi-rr •,iji»rlin«t' lJ:>nnT.s Holliday in the Martin County Re corder’s Court next Monda.,. Names of the special jurymen ■ are, w e. Pace,' mmuT^mrr W. Henry Coburn, Robersonville; A. T. Guikin, Griffins; E. T. An drews, Robersonville; G B. Mod lin, Williamston; Llewellyn Bar ber, Jamesville; James H, Gray, Jr., Robersonville; J. Raymond I Gurkin, Griffins; and Paul Bell flower, Goose Nest. Hand Parents Meet ISext Tuesday ISifilil A meeting of the Band Parents Club of the Williamston Green Wave Band is scheduled for Tues day night at 8:00 o’clock in the high school building. Plans for the trip to Rocky ^lount on the 19th and other mat ters pertaining to band work are to be discussed. Inability to use the new high school building unit is handicapping the work of the band which is finding itself too pushed around to get much work of an organized nature done. Representatives Discuss Control Plans At Meeting Un^.orin Fares and Inspec tion Service Included In New Proposal 1 roubled by the haphazard sys tem of operating taxis here for the past several years, the local board of town commissioners in their meeting Tuesday evening discuss ed proposed ordinances designed to regulate the business. No ac tion was taken, the board calling a meeting of its own representa tives and representative tax oper ators to work out the rules and regulations of operation. Under the proposed plan, the town would name a taxi inspector. Operators are to file applications, showing good character and other qualifications. The number of taxis would be limited to meet the public de mand, but all those now operating are to be allowed to continue if the rules and regulations are adopted as proposed. Operating certificates are to be issued for one year, ending June 30. Certificates and picture of the drivers are to be displayed along with uniform fares. The certificates, under the pro posed ordinances, may be revoked for any one of several violations, such as, "Pint pushing,” reckless driv ing, speeding, assault, drunken driving or improper use of cabs. Parking space is to be provided for a limited number of cabs and a privilege license will be charg ed. The license fee is to be deter mined, the commissioners suggest ing that a fee between $25 and $50 per year be fixed. Drivers are to wear caps, and the cabs arc to be inspected for cleanliness and mechanical condi tion at certain intervals. Violations of the provisions set out in the ordinances carry a maximum fine of $25 in additfbn to revocation of licenses or certifi cates. No date for the meeting of board and taxi operators repre sentatives w'as fixed, but the may or, chief of police will get together with tile operators within the next (Continued on page eight) Perforin Autopsy On Attack Victim • .>v." ..JtOJMW pet-'-fiWVWi body of Lawrence Andrews, 39 year-old colored man who died at his home near Parrncle late last Saturday night, reveals that he died of a skull fracture. No offic ial report has been filed by Coron er S. R. Biggs, but one report stat ed that Andrews, a victim of an ’a 11 < u ■ i\" 8 i rP, " '.W pistol by Norman Worsley, suffer ed a fracture on the side of the noaii ~abuut two inch*:.- Inng.-thst • infection lesuiteiff^ausing Vh6' man's death. The autopsy was made by Dr. Elliott Ward of Robersonville and undertaking establishment in Greerville last Monday night. No warrant has been issued in the case, but it is certain that Worsley will be charged with murder. He attacked Andrews on the night of December 24 after An drews reprimanded him for at tacking his (Andrews’) daughter in Edgecombe County the evening before. A warrant was issued last week in Edgecombe County charging Worsley with rape, and it was learned that the man is also wanted in this county for drunken driving. Armed with the rape warrant, 1 county officers searched for Wor* le.v the middle of last week, a day after the warrant was issued in Edgecombe County. The officer* saw Worsley get out of his car and disappear in a swamp. Noth- I ing has been heard from him since 4 that time.