North Carolina Newspapers

the enterprise is read by OVER 3,000 MARTIN COUNTY FAMILIES TWICE EACH WEEK THE ENTERPRISE THE ENTERPRISE IS READ BY OVER 3,000 MARTIN COUNTY FAMILIES TWICE EACn WEEK VOLUME LII—NUMBER 35 Williamston, Martin County, North Carolina, Tuesday, May 3, / 9 /O ESTABLISHED 1899 Proposed Welfare Budget Calls For Close To $205,000. County Commissioners In Long Session Handling Affairs On Monday *-<§> Meeting in regular session Mon day, Martin's county commission ers received several road peti tions, drew a jury for the June court, heard tedious and monoton ous reports from several depart-! ment heads, issued a few tax re lief orders and tentatively approv ed the welfare department budget for the 1949-1950 fiscal year. The commissioners, Messrs, C. C. Mar- j tin of Jamesville, W. M. Harrison I of Bear Grass, J. H. Edwards of Williamston, and C. A. Roberson of Robersonville and H. S. John son of Hamilton, were in session until well into the afternoon hand ling the business on the calendar and literally scratching their heads over the welfare • depart-1 ment budget. The commissioners suggested, upon petitions from citizens, that the State Highway Commission take over, maintain or widen and improve 200 yards of road begin ning near the residence of the late Sylvester Lilley and running by the residences of Mrs. Harris and Geo. Revels in Griffins Township; a road in Bear Grass beginning at the Harris Mill Road near John W. Wynn’s and running to Stokes Road near Rose of Sharon Church, a distance of three-quarters of a mile; a road from Roy Harrison’s farm to R. C. Gurganus’ store and known as the Cowan Road, a dis tance of one mile; and a road in Goose Nest Township, beginning at the Mayo Road and running 300 yards to the Tommie Griffins residence. Tax Collector M. L. Peel, ap pearing before the board, explain ed that certain properties had not been listed and he was instructed to impose the maximum penalty. Peel reported that all but $22, 718.62 of the $283,428.26 1948 tax levy had been collected. There is a balance due of $6,332.75 on the 1947 tax levy which originally was $234,906.57. All but $2,472.18 of the $207,459.77 levy for 1946 has been collected, Peel said. Tax relief orders, based on er rors made in listings or on ac count of death, were issued as fol lows for 1948: L. Boston, Jamesville, $5.95; Columbus Boston, Jamesville, $11.27; James E. Midgett, James ville, $2; Lucy Moore, estate, Jamesville, $5.25; Arthur Simp son, Williams, $4.55; W. H. Wil liams, Jr., Williamston, $5.71; W. S. Bland, Cross Roads, $2; Gro. E. Andrews, Robersonville, $2; Her bert Purvis, Hamilton, $2; Mark Bunting, Goose Nest, $2; and dogs listed in error accounted for $4. For 1947: W. S. Bland, Cross Roads, $9 61; peo. E. Andrews, Robersonville, $4,50; Paul Wynne, Robersonville, $3; C. A. Fisher, Poplar Point, $1; Herbert Purvis, Hamilton, $2.78; Frank Roberson, Hamilton, $5.92; T. L. Browm, Goose Nest, $4; Mark Bunting, Goose Nest, $2. The 1949-50 welfare budget calls -. ilij i i iii ' • rr $205,024 00, go. I ^amount larger by $68,142.00 than j tile levy for the department Suf-" ing the 1948-49 fiscal year. Some over three-fourths of the amount is expected from the State and federal treasuries, leaving the county to raise $48,582.00, or $3, 791.00 more than was called for (Continued on page eight) ] ENDOKSE ISSUE v-> In a special meeting last Thursday evening, Williams ton's district school commit tee—R. L. Coburn, W. I. Skin ner, M. M. Britton, R. H. Goodmon and C. B. Clark, Sr. —wholeheartedly and by un animous vote endorsed the $25,000,000 school bond issue to be placed before the vot ers in this and the other coun ties in the State on June 4. The members, recognizing the need for the fund, pledged their efforts in support of the proposal. The board considered sev eral faculty resignations but postponed definite action to a later meeting. i Plant Shortage Delaying Transplanting In County Tobacco transplanting while ad vancing fairly rapidly in some of the areas in this county is being | delayed generally,by a plant shor tage, according to reports reach ing here from nine of the ten' townships yesterday. Tha reports] declare that there w ill be enough plants, but they will hardly be j available before and possibly not I until after the middle of this j month. . : Plants in a majority of the beds > are growing out of the blue mold,1 and some are being used now, but most of the beds will hardly pro duce any plants within the next week or ten days. Quite a few | beds were completely wiped out j by the mold, reports coming from ■ the Jamesville area stating that the plant shortage there is serious. Farmer L. P. Holliday said yester day that cnly one farmer had found enough plants to start trans planting his crop that others were looking to others for plants. Farmers in Cross Roads Town ship are going right along with the transplanting, one report stating that two or three farm operators had already transplanted over 200 acres in one section, Most of the plants were taken from beds that had been treated for the mold, it was learned. A few crops can be seen along the roads in other parts of the county, and where the transplanting was early cultiva tion will get under way the lat ter part of this week. COMMISSIONERS v__ Holding their last regular meeting tonight, the old town officials will discuss several matters in addition to hand ling routine duties The gar bage problem, all stirred up by appeals from the Woman’s Club, will be aired, according to a tentative schedule, and a sewer line for the proposed new hospital on Liberty Street will be discussed. David Moore, polling the largest vote among the new nominees, will be sworn in as a member of the board to fill the position made vacant by the death of Commissioner G. H. Harrison. The other new nominees whose election is in progress today have been in vited to meet with the old board tonight. They are Le man Barnhill and Landy Grif fin, Sr, Examine 322 In School Clinics Three hundred and twenty-two children were examined recently in the pre-school clinics conducted in the nine county white schools by the health department. Patronage was reported, as fol lows: Williamston, 92; Robersonville, 45; Jamesville, 55; Hamilton, 14; Bear Grass, 25; Hassell, 9; Ever etts, 19; Farm Life, 12; Oak City, 31. Commenting on the clinics, Dr. J. W. Williams said: "We found fewer remedial de fects, less undernourishment, cleaner children, greater percent vaccinated against diptheria and whooping cought but there was about some percentage of children whose parents had neglected the protection against smallpox; not withstanding our state law re quiring this protection by the end of first year of life. No vaccina tions will be done in the school this year and after this school year no more vaccinations for those en tering school as it is a temptation to neglect this free work for the five years that the child is in most dang.^.... _ _ "The law will have to take its course. These clinics named above were ideal because with the exception of only a few at James ville, every child had a parent with him and consultations were complete. I hope the negro school will do as well with their first grades.” Similar clinics are now in prog ress in the colored schools of the county. Recover Stolen Car In County Charged with the temporary larceny of a 1941 Dodge converti ble, "Frog” Daniels, Pactolus col ored man, was arrested in Rober ronville Sunday night by Patrol man B. W. Parker and turned over to Beaufort County authorities. Daniels went to a car dealer in Washington and explained that he wanted the car, that he would like for his wife to see it. Daniels car ried the car home but his wife was not there. He returned the car and asked permission to take it a sec ond time, and that was when he did not return it. N. C. State Band To Play Here May 11 —$— The concert band of North Caro lina State College, Raleigh, will give a program here Wednesday evening, May 11, at 8 o’clock and will be the guests of the Williams ton Band Parents Club at a picnic supper at 6 o’clock that evening, it has been announced. The concert is being sponsored by the Band Parents Club and Director Jack Butler of the High School Green Wave Band is com pleting detailed arrangements for the program which will include some very fine numbers, classical, semi-classical and popular. The band has a* very fine reputation and is in demand all over the state. It had bids to Kinston and Washington but accepted the one extended by Wllliamston. The members of the junior and senior Green Wave bands will also join the visiting musicians in the picnic supper at the high school cafeteria, making up in a way for their disappointment in being pre vented by school work from ac cepting any of the several invita tions they have had for out-of town appearances next week. In vitations had been received, it is understood, from at least four places but school authorities ruled the trips out because the children will be reviewing during the v nek for final examinations to follow during the week of the 16th. Details of the program to be giv en by the State band will likely be ready for release this week-end according to word received from Major Christian Kutschinski, di rector. Of interest to local people will be the appearance in the base section of the visiting band of Howell Peele of Williamston who started his work under Director Jack Butler here before the re cent World War and has continued it at Raleigh. ■a Crashes Into Fence At River Bridge Hugh Brown Moore, stationed with the navy at Portsmouth, es , .aped injur- when. [ straighten outthe highway on this | end of the^Hoanoke River fill Sunday morning at 1:50 o’clock. I Traveling into Williamston, Moore lost control of his 1948 Studc-bak er and tore into the fence, knock ing down four posts. He did not go over the embankment. Investigating the accident, Pa trolman J. T. Rowe said the dam age would approximate $150. The young man was charged with drunken driving and his case was scheduled for trial in the county court next month. -,-< -<$> Young Man Promoted In the Army Air Force -« Curtis Biggs, Martin County young man and son of Mrs. Sallie Biggs, was recently promoted to the rank of staff sergeant in the Army Air Forces. Serving in the air force for almost four years, he was pick-up operator and has over 700 glider pick-ups to his*credit. The sergeant, with his wife and their son, Alvin, transferred with the 10th Air Force Headquarters, Indianapolis. Mrs. Biggs is the former Miss Susie Revels, daugh ter of Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Revels of Williamston. Find Stolen Cash On Inmate in the Prison Camp Here — — <»—— Approximately $ 1,000 Stol en In Columbia Taken Froin Prisoner Approximately $1,000 of the several thousand dollars unac counted for following the Bank of Columbia robbery last fall was found on a prisoner in the prison camp near here a few days ago. Too much money got Buster (Geech) Burgess in trouble. Following the Columbia bank robbery, Burgess, sent to prison in Cumberland County for robbery, was handling the bloodhounds us ed in tracking down the robbers. Although accompanied by officers, Burgess spotted and managed to pick up unnoticed several batches of money strewn in the woods by the robbers. There was no cause for suspicion, but several thousand dollars were not accounted for by officers at the time. A short time ago, Burgess lost his honor rating for a minor in fraction of the iules. lie was in structed to change clothes and move back “under the gun.” He was seen slipping a small tin box into his pocket and Capt. John Delbridge called for it, finding about $500 in ten and twenty-dol lar bills in it. A further search at that time revealed no added cash. Later that night, Burgess, ap parently convinced the search was not over, produced another box of bills and threw them under the stove. Right there the plot thick ened. Other prisoners literally ate up the money, and a real “egg” hunt was started. One $100 bill was found buried in the Bertie sand pit. A $50 bill was found in a nail keg on a truck. About $200 was found wrapped in paper in the prison yard, and still more was found at various places. One re port said that the box disposed of by Burgess contained about $800 and another report said it had $1, 900. Including the $500 found on Burgess’ person, approximately $918 has been recovered. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents were called and they have been working on the ease but they have made no report, as far as it could be learned Burgess, who had his hat shot off by the bank robbers and who was in line for parole, has been transferred to another camp. “We were plenty rich out here for a short while, but all the money has disappeared and we are just plain poor folks again,” Capt. Sessoms said yesterday. •-4b- i File Damage Suit In Superior Court ■■ »■ Henry Lee Hardison, Martin County man, filed a suit in the Martin County Superior Court last week to recover damages resulting in a highway accident near Nor folk last August 30. The plaintiff is asking damages in the sum of $361.42 in his case against T. C. Capps and Medlin and Dorman, The. ^^Jrtaj-ri^joj^had stopped his Chev rolet pick up truck to wait for a jdrawbrrdge Mien a truck driven by Capps plowed into him and| knocked his prek-up into the rear of a lar ge navy truck stopped just in front of hint. Hamilton Ballot Ruled Unofficial Politics, sailing along quite smoothly in the county’s eight towns, hit a snag in one of them over the w%ek-end when it was ruled that a ballot was unofficial. In Hamilton the ballot, ruled unofficial by Mayor Frank Ever ett, carried the name of G. Alli good for mayor, and the names of J. A. Cherry, W. F. Thomas, W. C. House, R. A. Edmondson and H. S. Johnson. At least three on the ballot had not filed and were not candidates, it was learned. The revised ballot, receiving official sanction, carries the names of Graham Alligood, Frank Everett and R. Sears for mayor; L. R. Ev erett, Joe Cherry, D. G. Matthews, George Haislip, W. F. Thomas and J. H. Harrell for town commis sioners. Collrain Left For; Prison Today To Start Life Sentence Convicted In March Term of Court For Murder of W. Thos. Roberson Convicted in the Martin Coun ty Superior Court on March 30 of the murder of W. Thomas Rober son, Griffins Township farmer, John R. Coltrain, formally with- 't drew his appeal to the North Car- ! olina Supreme Court yesterday and was transferred from the' county jail here this morning to Central Prison, Raleigh, where he is to serve the remainder of his “natural life”. Charged with the Roberson murder on January 26 of this year, Coltrain was convicted by a Hertford County .jury of murder in the first degree, but the jury men recommended mercy, the recommendation automatically blocking death in the gas cham ber in accordance with a law passed earlier in the year by the State Legislature. Talking with former inmates of the prison week before last, the prisoner was said to have defi nitely decided to forego the ap peal at that time, but no formal action was taken until yesterday. He told his wife and other members of his family good-bye in jail yesterday afternoon and last night, and left this morning about 9:00 o’clock for the State’s prison in the company of Patrol man M. F. Powers and Sheriff C. B. Roebuck. The following was addressed to Clerk of Court L. H. Wynne: "The defendant, John Coltrain, comes voluntarily into court, through his attorneys, Critcher and Gurganus and Albion Dunn, and asks that the appeal from the judgment rendered at the March term, 1949, Superior Court Martin County, be withdrawn and dis missed and asks that he be sent immediately^ in compliance with the judgment in the above entitled (Continued on page eight) Red Cross Group In Meeting Here Meeting in the Branch Bank building here last Friday evening, members of the Martin County Red Cross Chapter executive com mittee heard reports from the sev eral committee chairmen and dis cussed program plans. Chairman W. H. Carstarphen presided and he called for the va rious reports. The fund drive chairman, G. G. Woolard, stated that $2,930.04 was raised in the re cent campaign. The disaster committee chair man, Chas. H. Manning, said that the truck accident near here last November and involving several Negro families, cost $708.21, that the national organization reim bursed the local chapter. Agms Beale, junior Red Cross chairman, reported that four schools, Williamston, $45.86; Jamesville, $19.75; Farm Life, $19.33; and Bear Grass, $10.60, had been, enrolled, ganizaiion had a cash balanceo!) Tiic gr< <li etts ! plans for sending a delegate m the i junior training camp in Alabama | this summer. j Dr. J. A. Edens reviewed plans fii first aid and water safety, and explained that a first aid class was in progress. Plans were discuss ed for holding a water safety and life saving school, and the chap ter will send students to schools at Brevard and Colerain this sum mer preparatory to opening class es here some time in June. Plans were also discussed for advancing a course in home nurs ing. Production committee chair man, Elizabeth Parker, said that she planned to handle a program with the assistance of home dem onstration club members. The home service chairman re ported that the department had handled 150 clients during the past month, including 58 servicemen or their families and 85 veterans, rhe division is planning a more i-xtensive program for the future. G. G. Woolard was named a felegate to the national conven tion in Atlantic City, but he is to pay his own expenses. Big Swine Show Is Assured The County i Club Members To Exhibit More Than 100 Hogs At Show /—.— Fill Sli'i'rs To Hi* In Show May 12*13 j At Williamston With nearly three hundred ani- ^ mals already booked, the annual Martin County Fat Stock Show on May 12 and 13 is certain to be the biggest event of its kind ever held in this immediate section, accord-' ing to Assistant County Agent J. W. Sumner. Club members are working hard to get their thirty-six fat steers in top condition, and preliminary re ports declare there’ll be some keen competition. The swine department, holding • a position, more or less secondary in the past five shows, is coming in to claim equal if not more at tention than the beef cattle show this year. The agent announced this week that 259 hogs are being entered in the show which will bo held in the Planters Warehouse in Williamston the latter part of next week. The 4-U club members and Fu ture Farmers of America will ex hibit 103 hogs and individual far mers arc to exhibit 156 hogs, but those entered by adult farmers will not be in competition with those exhibited by the youths for tire prize money, Sumner explain ed. The names of the youngsters, in cluding several from Negro clubs, planning to exhibit hogs in the show follow: Johnnie Bowen, Peggy Godard, j A. P. Griffin, Susan Griffin, Jerry , Nicholson, Dick Rogerson and Jack Williams of the Williamston 4-H Club; Raybon Harris, Marion Griffin, Hilton Leggett of the Ev eretts 4 11 Club; Raymond Ben nett, Russell Cowan, Philip Peaks and Johnnie Leggett of the Bear Grass 4-11 Club; Bennie Ray Hop kins and James Hopkins of the Farm Lilt' 4-H Club; Wayne Bail ey, Charles Purvis and Sylvia Crisp of the Hassell 4-H Club; Williamston Hardison and C. A, I Martin of the Jamesville 4-1L Club; Janice Cox, Elizabeth Ann j Cox, Albert Thompson and Buz/.ie j Worsley of the Oak City 4 H Club; j Donnie Roberson, Jean White-! hurst, Elliot Harris, J. R. Ward, j Clifton Mathews, Mary Alice War-j ■ on and Earl Warren of Roberson-1 ville 4-H Club. Wallace James and Benny Ross! of Robersonville F. F. A.; Wilton' McLawhorn, Joe Roebuck, Charles Edwards, and George Ayers of the) Oak City F. F. A.; Howard Gard- j ner, Ray Moore, Larry Jones, and Fay Ange of the Jamesville F. F A. James Albert Manning, Arthur Manning, Rudolph Lee, Johnnie Peele, Jr., Hosea James, Cleveland Brown, Wiliie Brown, Randolph iC"‘ .bridge, Alton Peele Jams. Brown, Willie C Brown, Herbert Louelson %-i'i Clubs. “ - ! Demonstrate New Collection Truck A manufacturers’ representa tive demonstrated the latest in garbage trucks here yesterday, and the vehicle attracted much at tention hut on comment was forth coining from town officials. The outfit, costing between $6,000 and $8,000, will get some considera tion possibly tonight when the of ficials meet with the new board nominees. Garbage is dumped into the rear o! tire truck and then it is coin pressed by hydraulic pressure into the large box body. Starting at 7:00 o clock yesterday morning, the truck served about one-fourth of the town and picked up ap proximately 7,000 pounds of gar bage by 2:30 o’clock. The officials holding their noses, saw the truck dump the load in a matter of min utes on the town dump near Sweet Water Creek. r i DIKKCTOK Alford Sweutt, recently appoint ed managing director of the Wil liamston Boosters C’lub, assumed his new duties yesterday. Mr. Sweutt comes to Williamston from Charlotte where he had been em ployed by the Charlotte Mer chants Association. Mr. Sweutt is a native of North Carolina, having been born and reared in Concord. During the war years he was attached to the AAF, Aii' Transport Command in Washington, D. C., and Cincinnati, Ohio. He susequently was em ployed by Dun and Bradstreet in Cincinnati; later transierrmg to that company's Dayton, Ohio, branch office. Several years ago he left Dun and Bradstreet to be come Sales and Promotion Manag er for the Charlotte Merchants As sociation. In Cincinnati, Dayton and Charlotte, Mr. Sweutt was ac tive in civic affairs, Little Theatre work and Junior Chamber of Commerce activities. Able Appeal Made For Caiieer Drive (Williams) collected $21 in ex cess of tln.‘ quota assigned in the current cancer fund drive, Chair-1 man Chas. L. Daniel declared yes- i terday that three of Ins canvassers got out and really worked. The three canvassers, led by Mrs. Ernest Jones with approxi- i mately $26 collected, raised $56 and sent the district over the top among the first to complete the drive. A complete report for the coun ty is expected momentarily from the chairman, T. E. Harrison. Last Thursday the drive was about $200 short of its $1,500 quota. Two townships had not reported at that time and the drive was not complete in several others. j Local Bov Is Host Mr. and Me. Kelly D. Davenport j of Willian ston was host to 22,136 j people of Plymouth, England,1 (board the heavy cruiser Colum bus, during the British Navy Days. The Columbus, flagship of Ad miral Richard L. Conolly, Coin mander-in-Chicf of Naval Forces, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterran ean, joined warships of the Royal Navy in the entertainment of Brit ish civilians during the annual Navy Days observance. The visiting citizenry of Plyrn (Uth, home port of the Columbus, were conducted on inspection tours of the ship. Honjervnve 7 o Hr Held In tin* Methodist Churt'll The Elizabeth City District Conference will meet in the local Methodist Church in an all day session Wednesday beginning at ):30 a. m. Two hundred and fifty ninisters and laymen are expect :dr to attend. Rev. J. Herbert Miller of Eli/a >eth City, District Superintendent vill he in charge of the confer* mce. Reporting that his township Superior Court In Final Session Of Term Late Friday Rrf«*r»*t> Named To Hear (Haims In ( axe of < herry Vgaiiist Dennis Hardy --<£>-— The special t( rrn o£ Martin County Superior Court, -ailed the week of April 18, drugged to a close last Friday after noon .short ly before 5:00 o'clock. Encount ering long, drawn-out and highly involved cast s, the court cleared comparatively few cases from the calendar. The proceedings heard by Judge W. H. S. Burgwyn of Woodland, attracted very little at tention from the public, and there were very few spectators in at tendance upon the sessions at any time dur ing the term. The court observed Easter Mon day as a holiday, cleared several divorce eases from the calendar the next day and called a few damage suits before recessing the following day until Monday of last week. The Tuesday session of last week was interrupted when several members of the bar were called out of town, but the court called extra jurymen and three full days were spent hearing sev eral lengthy cases. After working several hours on the $15,000 suit brought by J. B. Cherry against Dennis L. Hardy the court appointed II G. Horton referee to hear the evidence and report his findings at another court term. The defendant main tained that he bargained to buy certain property near the old fair grounds at Williamston, that the defendant withheld the deed, that he made improvements to the property m the sum of several thousand dollars. The plaintiff maintains he is entitled to rent. Starting the trial of the $10,000 damage suit brought by Dallas Ray Green, colored youth, by his next friend, C. W. Griffin, against Roy Bowers, the court worked on it from Thursday afternoon until closing time Friday before the jury, deliberating the issues forty minutes, rendered a verdict, giv ing the plaintiff a judgment ip the sum of $1,000. The child was struck by the defendant's truck in Parmele last September 15 and spent weeks in the hospital. Pointing out that the verdict was different from what he would have rendered, Judge Burgwyn did not act to set the verdict aside. In accordance with law, he allowed the plaintiff's attorneys a fee in the sum of $333.33, $100 for (Continued on page six) Makes Final Report On lieil Cross Drive In making his final report on the recent Red Cross fund drive conducted recently in this chap ter, Mr. G. G. Woolard, chairman, said that an additional $12 had been turned in to the treasurer by W. D. Speller, colored. The total collected by the colored minister in the eastern section of the town amounted to $32. The total collected by the Mar tin County Chapter stands at $2, 903.04. Storo In F.yerrttx l\nl>ln<! liming Last Sninluy Sight * m+ Breaking into Harry Harry’s ■■tore in Everett'; sometime dur um Sunday night, robU-i.-. stoic a lew pennies and a small quantity if candy, reports reaching here dating that nothing else was miss ed. The robber knocked out a win dow glass in the back of the store so gain entrance. f-* ' LITTLE INTEREST S-/ Little interest was report ed shortly before noon in most of the municipal elections to day in this county. Hardly more than two dozen had vot ed here at that time and it is possible that the count will not be much larger than the 47 votes cast two years ago in the general election. A report from Hamilton stated that much interest was being shown in the election there, and that indications pointed to one of the largest votes ever cast in a municipal election there.