North Carolina Newspapers

the enterprise is read by OVER 3,000 MARTIN COUNTY FAMILIES TWICE EACH WEEK THE ENTERPRISE IS READ BY OVER 3,000 MARTIN COUNT! FAMILIES TWICE EACH WEEK VOLUME LII—NUMBER 23 Williamslon, Martin County, North Carolina, Tuesday, March 22, 1949 ESTABLISHED 1899 Stresses Service And Secrecy In Address To Jury Jmlfje Chester Morris Ap peals To Jurymen To Help Cheek Crime Presiding over his first term of superior court in this county, Judge Chester Morris of Elizabeth City Monday in a 45-minute ad dress to the grand jury stressed duty as members of both the grand and petit juries as a moral obligation and went on to declare that all deliberations in the jury room should be kept secret. Declaring he was pleased with this county’s more or less perma nent grand jury system. Judge Morris said that some people say the grand jury is outmoded, “but I can’t conform to that theory,” adding that it had been tried time and again, that people should not shun duty on the jury, that service there is a position of honor and trust. “The jury is the guardian of the people, upholding their wel fare and the peace and dignity of your county,” he said. Continuing, the jurist said, "You have been designated as men of good moral character and of men tal ability, and you should recog nize the confidence placed in you ” The jurist, explaining that they came from every section of the county, pleaded with the jurors to aid the sheriff and other officers in cracking down on criminals, and help maintain law and order and decency. "You are obligated to report to the sheriff any viola tions of the law that escape the attention of officers, and it is ex pected of you.” he declared. The oath a juryman subscribes to was listed among the most sol emn, “and if you remember that oath, Martin County will benefit when you have completed your work,” Judge Morris said. Stressing secrecy in the grand jury room, the jurist said he had known instances where good men hesitated to bring out facts about law violations because they were afraid their action would be re vealed. “I hope you will report any law violations that have es caped the attention of your of (Conlinued on page six) Native Of Town Dies In Hospital Funeral services were held in St. Peter’s Episcopal Chinch in Washington last Fridav afternoon at 3:00 o'clock for Charles Urqu hurt Hill, native of Williamston, who died in a Charlotte hospj al last Thursday morning after an illness of three months. Rev. Ste phen Gardner conducted the ser vice. A son of the late Whitmel John Hill and Josephine Bryan Nicholls Hill, he was born in Williamston on January 31, 1891, in the home of his aunt, the late Mrs. Walter Hassell, but made his home here for only a short time. He spent his early life in Rocky Mount and Washington and at tended. Trinity Collrge. Durham. He served as a lieutenant in World Murchison Hardware Company in Wilmington. After tin war he went with the C. A. Nash Com pany in Norfolk and while there he was married to Miss Helen Tait. In 1938 they moved tc Greensboro and in 1942 he was made manager of the Rogers Pain1 Store in Charlotte. Surviving’’are his widow, a son »1_ha.s. U. Hill, Jr., of Belton, S C. two sisters, Mrs. W. A. Blount Jr., and Mrs. J. E. Matthews, anc an aunt, Miss Bettie Hill of Wash ington. r, SPECIAL WEEKS-DAYS I v_-* According to the IT. S. De partment of Commerce Ref erence Service: We are now in the middle of Hobby Week and National Wildlife Restoration Week. Marylanders have declared a holiday for observance of Maryland Day" >riday^-^ ~ IPpeeVaffveiiY* get" cutttpat atively little attention this week, but beginning Sunday there’ll be plenty of ’em. Arraign John R. Colt-rain In Murder Case Yesterday j John R. Coltrain, charged witht I the murder of W. Thomas Rober-1 son last January 26, was arraign-! ed in the Martin County Superior Court Monday at noon a few min utes after the grand jury, headed by Foreman I. Jessup Harrison, returned a true bill charging the j defendant with murder in the first i | degree. Simon Roberson, brother | i of the murder victim and a mem- ■ ber of the grand jury, was dis missed, but seventeen members returned the bill of indictment in open court after questioning two! defendants, H. G. Roberson and'. Henry Roberson, a matter of ten i or twelve minutes. Judge Chester Morris, presiding ! over the term, directed the pris oner to stand and raise his right hand while Clerk L. B. Wynne read the indictment. Asked how he pleaded, Coltrain, through his counsel, pleaded not guilty and said he would be tried by “God and country.” Coltrain did not quiver and stood upright as he heard the indictment read. He ap peared normally interested as the names of a two-hundred man-wo man venire were drawn and read in open court. The court will start examining members of the venire this after noon at 2:30 o'clock, or slightly ahead of the predicted schedule. Where the trial will go from there is anybody’s guess. Some think the venire will be exhausted to day without getting a jury and that a call will be issued for a ven ire from another county. Others think a jury can be had from the group by some time tomorrow and that the trial will be well under way by noon Wednesday, with the possibility that it will continue until the latter part of the week, probably Saturday. Cali 76 Witnesses In Capital Offense Case r SALARIES > j The fifteen vocational teachers in the Martin schools who are paid entirely from county funds will share along: with the state-paid teachers an increase in salaries, the county board of education members decided in a special meeting held Monday night. The increase, approximating about 15 percent of the an nual salary, will call for an additional 98,000, It was learned. Several insurance agents appeared before the meeting and discussed the state-pro posed plan to insure school properties. The board took no action. Time For Trick Legislation In State Assembly Biy Payday For Some Slate Employes This Week; Laler for Teachers It now looks as if the Legisla ture will be here until well into April. During the next few weeks, a lot of trick legislation will be in troduced. When the bills are roll ing fast, the table gets those which come along last. Any measure thrown into the hopper from here on out will have to compete with heavily loaded calendars. If you as an individual—or your county or city—are afraid some detrimental legislation is going to be introduced, now is the time to be on your guard. With the bills moving so swiftly, almost any Farmers visiting Raleigh say the State now is in tractors. With Northern dealers getting their full allotment, but more of the small tractors than needed, N. C. sharp sters are having a fine time buy ing them and selling. A'veih while the legitimate dealer up the street walks in circles. Although attempts are now be ing made in some quarters to dis credit Governor Kerr Scott in the eyes of the people who elected him, it is apparent that agricul ture, labor, and the school people are still with him. , With Gov. Kerr Scott waving a big stock over the heads of the budgeteers and the State paymas ters, it now seems certain that all State employees, including teach ers, will receive outsized pay checks within the next two weeks. The big day for employees other than teachers will fall Friday, March 25. All these people will receive their regular pay, plus a 20 percent increase for each month Wu.ng last October i. I :yr.iy» — pe might—for this increase has been due a long time—now is the time to see them. Fifty-two Called 24 by Prosecution Several Witnesses Hesitate To Answer Calls And Ask To Be Excused ■ « That the trial of John R. Col train, Griffins Township man who shot and killed his neighbor farm er, W. Thontas Roberson last Jan uary 26, will be hard fought in the Martin County Superior Court this week was given further em phasis last week-end when the de fense called thirty-one additional witnesses, boosting its total to fif ty-two. Twenty-four have been summoned by the prosecution. Reliable reports heard over the week-end indicated that quite a few witnesses hesitated in recog nizing the summons served upon them in person by the sheriff and his deputies. Others pleaded with defense counsel to be allowed an excuse to have no part in the trial. Although seventy-six witnesses are being called, the case has only two principal ones. Several of the others can offer material evi dence, but it is apparent that most of those summoned can only play the role of character witnesses. Witnesses called by the State in clude: Rufus, Ben Ira, Ira, W. G. and Charlie Hardison, Tommie Bland, Dr. V. E. Brown, Archie Coltrain, Ottis Coltrain, Carlyle Manning, Lee Griffin, Sam Brooks, William Henry (Bill) Peel, N. R. Daniel, C. C. Coltrain, Mat Bissell, Oscar Roberson, Arthur C. Roberson, Nathan E. Roberson, Whit Saunders, Henry Roberson, Gabe Roberson, James M. Peel. Names of witnesses eahed by the defense: Herman Bowen, L. P. Perry, Ira Jones, Arthu^Modlin, Tummy James! BilrtSuRTElbcr*. N. Manning, Fred Chesson, A. E. Manning, Noah T. Daniel, Coy j Roberson, John BdvV,,", '.Icn'rnrri£, i Bill Manning, of Jamesville, Geo. , Dai berTtlarenee "CartaMv. .S'^non Barber, Luther Taylor, Kager Perry, Grady Godard, J. Lawrence Coltrain, Willie Mayo Gardner, Mrs. Marvin H. Leggett, Georgie Martin, Frosty Martin, B. S. Courtney, P. E. Getsinger, W. B. Harrington, Asa J. Hardison, C. D. Carstarphen, Sam Godard, Oscar Jones, R. J. Hardison, Calvin Ay i ers, Gilbert Rogerson, Adrian Hardison, Mrs. Adrian Hardison, | Howard Hopkins, J. T. Heath, (Continued on page eight) Taken Critically III At Home Last Friday Taken critically ill lest Friday morning, Mr. Claudius Roberson was treated in the local hospital and removed an hour or two later sthitd IhL •moiOHag Bnrt iwlors were planning to amputate his right leg. His left leg was re By Defendant and ►reports County Officials Meet As A Board Of Equalization Hear Few Complaints *ml Plan D«jt Vaccinations For April In County Meeting as a board of equaliza tion and review, the Martin Coun ty Commissioners Monday receiv ed very few complaints and mov ed on to handle other business. Crowded out of their quarters by the grand jury, the commissioners met in the clerk of court’s vault and did very well in their cramp ed quarters. The construction of an addition to the courthouse will be completed shortly and the board will not find it necessary to scamper into a hole to carry on its business. Appearing before the board, W. B. Cannon of 'Goose Nest asked about the valuation increase. He was advised that there was a hori zontal increase throughout the county, and the explanation was I acceptable. • Suggesting that his store on Washington Street was listed higher in proportion to other buildings, John Wier was allowed a $1,000 reduction from $6,000 to $5,000. A small reduction was allowed Frank Carstarphen on his home on Williams Street, the board reasoning that the assessment was somewhat out of line. Final arrangements for the vac cination of all dogs in the county were completed. The task was assigned to Dr. W. F. Coppage and he is to furnish complete records of all vaccinations, and the county is to witHhold $100 instead of $500 until all records are entered on the county tax books. The vacci nations will be handled without direct cost to the dog owners. The board received several in surance agents who discussed the proposal to have the State insure school buildings in the face of a 25 percent increase in rates on such properties. W. H. Carstar phen, John Pope, Hildreth Mob ley, Nat Johnson and E. B. Which ard discussed the proposal and later carried their appeal in op position to the plan before a spec ial meeting of the county board of education last evening. The county board took no action, the spokesman explaining that his body would cooperate with the* board of education. Commissioners C. C. Martin, W. I M. Harrison, John H. Edwards, C.! Abram Roberson and 'Henry S. Johnson were present for the board of equalization meeting. Attack Follows Money Argument Said to have argued over a dol lar, Henry Davis launched a tell ing knife attack against James Holley, both colored, in an old shanty car near the North Caro lina Pulp Company plant in this county late Sunday night. The dollar argument turned into] about a $30 slicing, reports stating j cefi .dies j were necessary to close the knife] ’tr.. •<■■■ wounds on his back and aroundT the neck. One blow reached the heck and j moved downward to Hie., man's! belt, parting the man’s clothes and opening a straight furrow in the skin. ... ’ ■*v. Davis was arrested about 1:00 o’clock Monday morning by Sher iff C. B. Roebuck and placed in the county jail. Man Beats Wife Along Highway -o Fussing and a feudin' over little or nothing, Ed Pilgreen, while drinking, badly beat his wife along the highway turning off U. S. 17 at the old Mill Inn last Sun day afternoon. The husband tore his wife's clothes partly off, stabbed her in the back and beat her with an abandoned car exhaust pipe and an iron hoop. was VreaV-d ir a V>ca' d - . tor's office and he was placed in i jail in default of a $100 bond, Pa trolman M, F- Powers said. ‘ Cail Two Hundred lor Possible Duty On Jury In First Degree Murder Case Against Coltrain Veteran Of World W ar One Passes In j Hospital Saturday Funeral Wednesday After noon At Graveside In KohtM'Mon Cemetery Charles T. Stubbs, World War I veterani died in Veterans' Hos pital at'Oteen last Saturday morn ing at 9:05 o'clock after a long period of declining health. His condition had been serious for some time He entered the hos pital near Asheville in 1940 and continued a patient there until his death. The son of the late William Asa and Lenorah Mills Stubbs, he was born near Jamesville on Novem ber 4, 1892 and spent his early life there. During World War I he served with Company B, 306 Engineers. After two months training he went overseas on Jub 31, 1913, and continued there un til June 11, 1919. Following his discharge on June 20, 1919, he went with a construction force of the Atlanta Coast Line Railroad Company, moving from place to plate throughout the district. He was a member of the James ville Christian Church. The body is scheduled to rea di Williamston this afternoon at 5:00 o’clock and will remain at the Biggs Funeral Home until 3:00 o’clock Wednesday when it will be carried to the Roberson Cemetery near Jamesville for graveside ser vices at 3:30 o’clock. Rev. John L. Goff, pastor of the local Chris tian Church, and Rev. W. B. Har rington, county Baptist minister, will conduct the last rites. Surviving are his widow, the former Miss Elma Jernigun, who is now employed by the Carolina Telephone and Telegraph Com pany in its Williamston office; a (Continued ori page six) Up For Violating The Liquor Laws —* Two colored men, Columbus Ward and Henry Howell, of near Hassell, were arrested by ABC Of ficer J. H. Roebuck and Deputy Roy Peel early Sunday morning for allegedly possessing a quantity of low-grade illicit liquor. About four gallons of the white liquid was found in the Ward home, and Howell allegedly carried one half pint on his person, the officers ex plaining that they found a still wor.i and other manufacturing c ;uipn, .t in Howell’s barn. Given a hearing before Justice R. T. Johnson, the two men were pound over to the county court for trial on April 4. Bond was re quired of each in the sum of $300. I •■d.st.Su J u rda v.. tJyyjJJjjjjjrs raid ed in a woods about two miles ' * V >r; V i I 1.-' ’ tured a 100-gallon capacity copper kettle and poured out 300 gallons of bee i. Monday morning they wrecked a cheaply equipped plant in Jamesvilie Township, destroying file oil uiuni stiii arid pouring out fifty gallons of beer of filthy and mediocre quality. URGENT APPEAL ^ Reporting: some over $2,000 in hand and aboui S700 need ed to reach the goal, Chair man G. G. Woolard today is sued an appeal cordially urg ing all canvassers who have not yet completed their work not to let up in the current Red Cross Fund Drive. Several districts have not yet met their quotas, “but if the drive can maintain its mo mentum we’ll not fall down wi the My. Wwitwrd . said. __ j Fairly complete reports are expected from all districts this week. f SERVICE ^-/ Ultra superior service in summoning: a venireman Tor the trial of John Coltrain in the superior court was report ed Yesterday. The slow task of calling names out in open eburt hall been going on for some tf/ne when the name of Walter Slade, Colored, of Rob erson villc Township came up. Spotting the man in the audience, Sheriff Roebuck called out and instructed him to he present Tuesday after noon at 2:30 o'clock. Reports this morning stated that the county had been combed in rounding-up the veniremen, but the success of the search could not be learn ed immediately. One report did state that quite a few i persons whose names were on the list had left the county. Mary Lou Lee Is Top Twirler At Greenville Event Green Wave Hand And Jun ior Glee Cluli Rated Ex eellent; Seniors Good Representatives of the Williams ton High School drew one Super ior, two Excellent and one Good ratings at the district music festi val at Greenville last Saturday. The Superior rating was won by Mary Lou Lee, majorette of the Green Wave Band in a twirling exhibition that thrilled judges and spectators alike. She was one of | three instrumentalists to get a superior rating, the other two be ing pianists. The Green Wave Band itself got a rating of excellent in its rendi tion of three numbers in Grade I. in its program on the stage and in thi' big parade that followed the local band maintained its reputa-■ tion for discipline and orderli-’ ness and Director Jack Butler re ceived many compliments from the other band directors present. The judges, offering written criti cisms of all performances noted! that the Green Wave Band did i very well for such a young or ganization and for its first entry in such an event. The Junior Girls' Glee club un der the direction of Mrs. Beecher Patterson also drew an excellent rating despite the fact that the group has been organized but a few months and has only been do ing serious work for two months. The group sang two numbers. The Senior Glee Club of mixed voices drew a rating of good. Also I (Continued on page eight) -4rr^\»inTn^(4rt^ --m The regular monthly meeting of-1 the WiiliamstoO Woman's Club! was held March, 13, in the club I building. The meeting was called to order j by the president, Mrs. Joanna j Martin, the collect was repeated and the minutes of the last meet- j ing were read and approved. Tfie nominating committee re-1 ported newly elected officers as' follows: Mrs. H. L. Swain, presi dent; Miss Marjorie Brady, re cording secretary, Mrs. W. H. Car starphen, corresponding secretary,! and Mrs. Ross Froneberger, 2nd vice president. An acceptance speech was made by Mrs. Swain. The State Convention of the Federation of Woman's Clubs which will be held this year at Goldsboro was discussed and Mrs. H. L. Swain, Mrs. P. B. Cone and Mrs. Urbin Rogers were elected to attend as delegates, Alternates elected were Mrs. Rav Goodman and Mi's. Irvin Margolin. MlSS bii/.,(belli i'diKct, {Jlu^ntlll chairman, gave an interesting talk on “Better Citizenship." Some Expressing Doubt If Jury Can Be Had from List ——♦— Officers Search Late Into The INi^ht for Speeial Venire Members Judge Chester Morris, presiding over the current term of the Mar tin County Superior Court, Mon day morning ordered a special ve nire of Martin citizens be called for possible duty as members of the jury to hear the first degree murder charge against John R. Coltrain, Griffins Township man who fatally shot his neighbor far mer, W. Thomas Roberson, in the Farm Life section on last January 26. The order directs members of the venire to be in the courthouse this afternoon at 2:30 o'clock when the court will start selecting a jury to hear the case. Doubt was expressed if a jury could be had even from the 200 member venire, but the defense said that a selection was possible. Solicitor Geo. Fountain, suggest ing that a venire called from out side tlie county would expedite the trial, said that if it should be called in the county that between 200 and 300 persons likely would be needed. The defense suggest ed that 200 would be enough. Judge Morris compromised and directed that 250 be called. After Little Miss Carolina Mar tin had pulled approximately 200 names from the box, Judge Mor ris said stop right there, if a jury could not be had from that num ber it wouldn't be likely that an additional fifty would help relieve the situation, that if no jury can be had from the 200 a venire would be called from another county. The case has been widely dis cussed and since the drawing was n o t sectionalizcd, relatives, friends, acquaintances, witnesses are being called. Even the name of the defendant, and those of two of his sons and a few relatives were drawn, but the court order ed them set aside. The name of a brother of the murder victim was also drawn but it was set aside. At first names of witnesses passed, but Judge Morris ruled later in the drawing which took the greater part of an hour that names of witnesses drawn from the box be pushed aside. Names of the venire members follow, by townships: Jamesville Township: Mrs. Ed gar Brown, C. N. Martin, L. C. Brown, Bruce Fagan, Royal Gur ganus, A. W. Ange, Church Mob ley, W. M. Davis, G. M. Anderson, P- M. Ange, L. W. Hardison, Car roll Brown, I). D. Coburn, S. L. Ellis, R. L. Waters, Thomas E. Martin, Henderson Mizelle, H. S. Hardison, G. W. Sawyer, R. L.„ Stallings, P. C. BlounhJr.. Edwin Hassell. - » ' 'n*- ■*. i oiitf Perry, Jasper Jones, W. L. Man ner,g, Jr., Roy Hudson, Frank Hop kins, John T Heath. Griffins Township: F H Man ning, Jr., Leslie E. Hardison, Rob ert E. Peel, W. Rufus Hardison, Leon Earl Griffin, Henry H. Corey, Geo. W. Hodges, John A. Lilley, H. L. Manning, R. 11. Peel, Roy S. Hardison, Mrs. Howard Coltrain, B. R. Manning, John E. Griffin, Leslie J. Griffin, Maurice E. Roberson, Mrs. Raymond Gur kin. Bear Grass: J. S, Holliday, Noah Gardner, A. L. Williams, Mrs. H. U. Peel, W. V. Ward, J. T. Hardi son, Dee Bowen, Wm. D. Hardison, Jesse Terry, Cecil Brown, Ben Whitehurst, John A. Bland, Ar thur Peaks, W. Worth Mobley, John L. Rogers, Ralph B. Holliday, Jap Lilley, Jasper C. Griffin, J. W. Green, H. N. Bailey, Dennis L. Peel, J. B. Rogerson, Wheeler Rogerson, William LeRoy Hadley, James S. Bailey, Lance Hardy, Si w>w. Hwrrvtz'Tv, Wavrvwv<\. A L. Williams and Theodore Men denhall. (Continued on page eight) Clear Few Cases From The Docket In Superior Court Thom- Who Dance Must Pay the Fiddler, judge Chester Morris Vi arns After clearing away grand jury j formalities and spending some i time setting up machinery for tny | ing the Roberson murder case the | Martin County Superior Court ] managed to handle a few criminal cases during the first day of the two-week term. Judge Chester Morris of Elizabeth City is presid ing. The proceedings, other than the arraignment of John R. Coltrain for the murder of W. Thomas Ro berson, attracted very little atten tion. Lonnie Lee, charged with bas tardy and non-support in two cas es, pleaded guilty in one and maintained that he had been sup porting the first child. Denying ownership of a second child, Lee went to the jury with his case and was adjudged guilty. Imposing sentence late Monday afternoon, Judge Morris said that he who dances must pay the fiddler, and "in this case apparently the de fendant has been doing a lot of fiddlin'." Placed under a six montli road sentence, the defend ant was directed to pay the court costs, $15 to the midwife and $6 a week for the support of his two children. Pleading guilty of forgery, Wil liam Luther Knight was sentenc ed to the roads for not less than twelve and not more than fifteen months. The case charging Charlie Bell with an assault with a deadly weapon, was continued until the Juno term. Pleading guilty of failing to pro vide support for a minor child, William Robert Gaines was sen tenced to the roads •'or two years, the court suspending the road term upon the payment of the costs and the sum of $25 on the first of each month until the 9 yoar-old child attains the age of eighteen years. Bond was requir ed in the sum of $500. Charged with drunken driving, Lollie Williams failed to answer when called and the court ordered his arrest and his $200 bond for feited. Charged with speeding, Frank Williams was adjudged not guilty, the jury deliberating the issue for about forty minutes. James Wesley Ormond, charged with carnal knowledge, failed to (Continued on page six) | Young Child Died Saturday Morning Little Miss Rebecca Van Donald (lied at the home of her parents on U. S. Highway 64 near Ever etts at 6:00 o’clock last Saturday morning after months of declining health. Suffering with cornier, she had received trijp&nient in hospitals in this SLvie and in Virginia during last October. Her critical for some nd. " intervals since condition was tii’n’T' Mattie Moore Donald, she was born on May 4, 1944. Surviving besides her parents are two brother :, William V>. aRd Whitmore Donald, and three sis ters, Nancy, Elizabeth and Mar guerite Donald, all of the home. Funeral services were conduct ed in the Everetts Baptist Church Sunday afternoon at 3:30 o'clock by Rev J. M. Perry, pastor of the Robersonville Christian Church, in the absence of the pastor, Rev. E. R. Stewart. Burial was in the E v c r e 11 s Cemetery. ROUND-UP Comparatively few arrests were made by local, county and state officers last week end, the jail record showing that only five persons were detained in the hoosegow. Three were booked for pub lic drunkenness and two for (U\uU\ ue.t{/</n .j.ii.iuH.simZTwt> of tUe five were white and the ages of the group ranged from S7 to 47 years.