Newspapers / The Enterprise (Williamston, N.C.) / Aug. 21, 1951, edition 1 / Page 1
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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 EACH WEEK VOLUME LIY—NUMBER 67 Williamtton, Martin County, North Carolina, Tuesday, incus! 21, /<>.>/ ESTABLISHED 1891 Not Certain Thai Germans and Japs Will Measure Up \llio Defied In Rerlin ami I okvo Talks Neutrality Iu Case Of W ar Disturbing news dispatches from both Germany and Japan last week bore out the fears of some Americans and many of our aiiies that we are strengthening and preparing to rearm some peo ple who may not be found on our side if a showdown comes. The West German government has openly defied American occu pation powers for the first time, in supporting the refusal of May or Ernst Reuter of Berlin to in terfere with a court ruling. The case concerned a man who admit ted he worked as a spy for both the Russians and the Americans in the early days of the occupation after the close of the Second World War. American officials in Germany apparently believe the defendant. Hans Kemritz, was really helping the Allies, but he was convicted in Berlin of turning anti-Communist Germans over to the Russians. It’s a peculiar case, but accord ing to a blew York "Times” story by Drew Middleton, Allied offi cials are growing angry over this and other evidences of a growing spirit of defiance in the German government. Middleton quoted an unnamed official as saying he fears that "all of us, in our desire to check the Russians and to bring the Ger mans onto our side, have been too quick to overlook the lessons of 1914, 1939 and, for the French, 1871. "If the Germans act like this now,” the official said, “what will they be like when they have their equality and their arms?” From Japan came reports of a demand by a former military leader. Colonel Masanobu Tsuji, known as the Japanese “god of strategy,” that Japan remain neu tral in what he regards as the "inevitable war” between Russia and the United States. “Then, when the rest of the world i-- destroyed,” he said, "Ja pan will regain her rightful posi tion as leader of the nations.” Yet one aim of the proposed treaty with Japan is to open the way to building that country up as a military power to help block the “Reds.” Another area that might flame into a serious situation is the for mer British colony of India, now divided into India and Pakistan, whose governments have been making warlike gestures over the state of Kashmir, which both claim. Britain always followed a pol icy of keeping India divided along religious lines, and the present Labor government in London sticks pretty close to the old "Tory” line in foreign policies. The British still have impor tant interests in Pakistan, and its army is said to be run by "retired" British generals. As in other parts of the Far East, most of the "news we get from India and Pakistan comes through British channels. That means Americans get little information which has not been passed by British censors. One of our strongest allies, France, has been weakened by a six-week “cabinet crisis," which means there has been no real gov ernment since the national elec tions in June. Tire "middle of the road” parties have been troubled by both Fa scist and Communist sniping. Gen eiai Charles De Gauiie, who seems to have rallied around him the "200 families of Fiance” who hold the financial and industrial pow er, is following the usual Fascist (Continued on page eight) Waives Hearing In Murder Case Lee Bonner, charged with the student of Edward s Military In ored man, in Everetts early in the morning of August 11, yesterday waived his right to a hearing through his attorneys, Critcher and Gurganus. The man continues in the coun ty jail and faces formal indict ment by the grand jury at its quarterly meeting on September 17. Segregation Petition | Validity Questioned ; r ROUND-UP s_._ Fourteen persons were ar rested and detained in the county jail last week-end. Five were booked for public drunkenness, four for drunk en driving-, two for being ab sent without leave from the service, and one each for lar ceny. breaking and entering and murder. Ten of the fourteen were white, mostly young men. The ages of the group ranged from 17 to 52 years. Going To Cost More To Live The smoke cleared away from the new Defense Production Act last week, and it began to be pos sible to get some idea what the outlook is for the consumer. The concensus seems to be that it’s going to cost more to live in the coming months. Experts can see food prices ranging higher meat up at least five percent, bak I ery products up 10 percent, and ! milk costing one cent a quart | more. Price boosts on refrigera i tors and other heavy durables arc expected to be relatively small, j but increases of about six percent on smaller appliances and up to 10 percent on household utensils and accessories can be expected. Auto mobile manufacturers have al ready asked for permission to raise prices 9.5 percent, and truck and parts producers may be al lowed increases ranging up to 15 percent. There are a few bright spots. Many clothing and textile manu facturers could raise prices under the new law, but current weak I ness in the entire textile market makes it unlikely. Similarly, buy er apathy in the field of home fur nishings will deter any higher prices. Meanwhile, reports are filtering in from all over the country of increased sales of used cars, ma jor appliances and other items on which credit restrictions were re laxe'd by the new law. Corn Prospects Are Not So Good i i I Hot, dry weather during July reduced corn prospects in North Carolina. Current estimates place 1951 production at 73,066,000 bu shels, 11 percent less than last year’s record crop of 81,955,000 bushels but 26 percent greater than the 1940-49 average of 57, 934,000 bushels. As of August 1 the average yield of corn per acre is estimated at 34 bushels. This is 3.0 bushels per acre less than the July 1 esti mate. This yield, if realized, would be 3.0 bushels per acre less than the record yield established in 1950 and 10 bushel per acre un der the 1949 yield. In several areas of the State dry, hot weather caught early corn in the critical stage of de velopment, iMiwnn.g Vessels prior to the emergence of the silks. This has resulted in poor pollination and reduced yield prospects in many sections Growth of later plantings was held in check some what. However, rains during the last few days of July relieved drouth conditions in most areas. Soldier's Body Arrives Friday Tin body of Sgf. James Ellis, Martin County young man who lost his life in the Korean war, is expected to reach here on Friday of this week, relatives were advis id today. The body, accompanied by special military escort, is sche duled to leave New York Thurs day afternoon, the special mes sage received today stated Funeral arrangements have n> yet been completed The young man’s bodys is the second of a Korean war hero to be brought to this courtly for m | terment. Leader Of Negro Race Speaks On The Radio Here - ■ <»> — Points Out No Mass Moot ing Hold To Draw ll|> Segregation Petition Turning to the radio, T. K. Slade, teacher and a leader for the Negro race, Sunday afternoon ov er Station WIAM, declared that a petition presented to the Martin County Board of Education and calling for the elimination of seg regation in the school system, did not have the support of a majori ty of the Negroes in the county. Introducing the speaker, Wil liamston’s mayor, Robert H. Co wen. said: "Ladies and Gentlemen of the radio audience, it is extremely gratifying to me to have this op portunity to talk to you today. It is our hope that this shall be the first of a series of speeches brought to you on this sub ject by interested parties, both colored and white, here in Wil liamston and Martin County. No douht most of you now are fa milar with the fact that a few short weeks ago a petition, signed bv citizens of Martin County and purportedly arising by and be cause of their wishes, was served upon the Martin County Board ol Education, said petition asking that an end be brought to segrega tion in our schools in Martin County. It is our sincere belief that this petition was instigated not by the citizens of Williamston, not by the citizens of Martin County, and not by the citizens ol the State of North Carolina. Wr are sincere in believing that the petition was instigated by peo ple foreign to our community and to our State. Those people are not at all familar with our circum stances, our customs and our mo res here in this localized vicinity. We feel that they are trying to usurp our prerogatives in trying to tell the people of Martin Coun ty and the State of North Caro lina how to run and to operate our own school system. "Of course, it is granted that there exist great needs, but those needs exist both with the white and with the colored races. We do not pretend that we arc perfect, | we are not opposed to change, but we do know that we are more capable of equalizing and making more equitable our own facilities than could some foreign element, having no knowledge of nor be ing familar with the circumstanc es existing in this community. "It has been noted, ladies and gentlemen, that there has been throughout the South an upsurge of petitions similar to those about which w'e arc speaking today. There seems to be a concerted drive backed by people who are not and can not be familar w'ith the actual and true circumstances wherein the demands are made. To my knowledge this is the first time in any area and in any local ity that the colored people them selves, the colored people who are citizens of the area in which these demands are filed have asked lor and been granted the right to an swer a petition filed by their own race It i- my sineete belief and hope that by then own answer and by arriving at the truth of the matter this can be settled amicably foi all parties concern ed, therefore, it gives me great pleasure to introduce Professor T. K. Slade:” A summary of the professor’s talk follows: "First of all I wish to make known that I was not drafted or forced by any individual or indi viduals to make the statements that arc to follow. When I saw an account of the petition in the En terprise, 1 was disturbed, and be gan immediately to contact some of my friends and associates in or der to find out what it was all about. After getting some expres sions from them, 1 sought for an opportunity to express the feeling of the majority of the Negroes in Martin County. “(1) The petition was not pre sented by nor with the consent (Continued on page eight) Mrs. Ada Leggett Died Monday Ai Home In Hassell ——- S' Funeral Service Will Be Conducted Wednesday In Robcrsonvillc Mrs. Ada Leggett, respected and well-known county citizen, died at her home in Hassell at 12:20 o’clock Monday afternoon. She had been in declining health lor several years, suffering with a heart condition. She suffered an attack of pneumonia a few weeks ago and her condition had been criticftl since that time. She was born in Bear Grass Township 86 years ago in April, 1865, the daughter of the late Le vi and Mary Revels Rogcrson. She spent her early life there and following her marriage to Mack G. Leggett in 1892 she located in Robersonville. Since Mr. Leggett's death twenty years ago she had made her home,with her son in Hassell, participating in the af fairs of the church and her adopt ed community as long as her health permitted her to be out. Mrs. Leggett was a member of the Roberson ville* Christian Church for many years, and the pastor, the Rev. J. M. Perry, as sisted by the Rev. Olin G. Fox, pastor of the Hassell church, will conduct the funeral service there Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 o'clock. Interment will be in the family plot in the old ceme tery in Roberson ville. The body will he carried to the church one hour before the service Surviving arc a son, George Leggett, oi Hassell, and a step : son, Clarence Leggett, of Rocky I Mount. -- irVirus Againxl The OUl Flim-Flammers' Practice -♦— It has been several years since anyone was victimized by flim flammers here, hut local police are warning the unsuspecting against the practice. Anyone who is offered to share in a pocketbook find is asked to contact the police Three Accidents On Highways In County Recently Hoy Painfully Hurl In A Trnrk-Bike Accident Saturday Morning Two persons were hurt, one of them painfully hut believed not seriously, in a series of highway accidents in the county during the week-end. The first in the week-end series was reported on the River Road, running from Hamilton to Pal myra, at 8:15 o’clock last Satur day morning. Jesse* Roy Harrell, eight years old, was riding his hike on the right side of the road toward Hamilton. Richard Ran dolph Thompson, driving a 1950 Dodge pick-up tryck and travel ing in the same direction, start ed to pull to his left and pass the lad. About that time, Harrell cut to his left and was knocked off the bike, receiving painful lacera tions about the head and one leg. It was reported that no bones were broken, that the victim was removed to a Williamston hospi tal and getting along very well The bicycle was badly damaged, according to Patrolman R P. Nar ron who made the investigation. While driving about five miles south of Jamesville on Temporary Highway 171 Sunday morning about 1:00 o’clock, Kenneth W Jones, Lynchburg, Virginia man, was forced out of his 1949 Olds mobile convertible when fire started in the hydraulic lift used in raising and lowering the top. All but the front tires and engine was burned, according to Patrol man R. P. Narron who made the investigation. Edward Harris was bruised about the shoulder when he wrecked his car on the Williams ton-Bcar Grass Highway about noon Sunday. Patrolman B. W j Parker made the investigation but complete details on the acci dent could not be had immediate ly. The side of the machine was said to have been damaged. Grover Peel Fatally Shot Sunday Night Young Men Turned Over To The Military Police Allegedly absent from the arm I od services without leaves of ab ! si nce, three young Martin County ! men, Pete Pritchett, Harmon Rob erson and Elijah Williams, were turned over to military police lust Friday. Pritchett and Roberson were taken into custody last Thursday. Williams had been a "gust" in the jail for almost two weeks. -$— Enters Upon New Job In Charlotte Stationed in Williamston during the past four and one-half years with the General Electric Com pany, Mr. Neil N.Ripley is trans ferring to Charlotte today to en ter upon his new duties with the General Electric Supply Corpora I 1)011 <..-. n .--.Msia nt supply and uppa jiatus sales manager. He is being I j succeeded here by Mr. R P. Kloe j ;ti who ' “inn ted here a few days' ago from Richmond. Although the change means a promotion for him, friends of Mr. Ripley, Mrs. Ripley and the child ren, Craig and Susan, are regret ful of their leaving but wish them success in their new home and po sition. They will be at home at 205 Per rin Place, Charlotte. Mr. Ripley has just been notified to report on Thursday of this week to Fort Bragg for a final type phy sical as a member of the Army Reserve, meaning that he could he called for active duty. Heaignn Position Willi Ijoeal Furniture Company -4> After br ing associated with the Woolard Furniture Company here for almost ten years, Mr. B. F. Perry has resigned his position as sales manager of the company, it was announced yesterday. Mr. Perry has not made public his plans for the future. Murder Is Second In County Within A 10-Day Period ---— DuIIhm Jaiiirh, Jr., Yomip Colored |{oy Arivslnl Monday Morning -m> Martin County’s second murder within a ten-day period was re ported in the Dardens section late Sunday night when Dallas James, Jr , 17-year-old colored boy, fat ally shot Grover Peel, 30-year-old colored man, following an argu ment over Peel’s wife. James was arrested at 2:00 o’clock Monday morning, about three hours after the shotgun attack and about three miles from the scene of the shooting. He surrendered to Sher iff M W Holloman and Deputy Raymond Rawls. James went to a i<o,'gj^_mint operated by ‘ Muddy” James on Highway l>4, not far from Dardens and ‘A a.-, dancing w ith I’<« !'s wife An argument followed and tin two went outside where Peel took one of James’s shoe s and beat him down. The ope rator of the dance hall separated the two and You... James went three miles tee his home and returned with a sheet gun. Peel was in freent of Romulus Peel’s store at that time, and Gro ver threatened tee whip James again. Moving toward Jame s, Peel was warned tee stop He paid nee attentiejn tee the warning, accord ing tee the story told by Sheriff Holloman, and James fired at fairly close range a full Iceael eif shot into the man’s right side. Peel was remeivcd to a Ply mouth hospital where he died at 1.00 o'clock Monday morning. James ran from the scene, but did not try to escape, Sheriff Hol loman said Peel, employed on the Coburn farm near Dardens, had been in court several times for various (rontlnued on page eigbt) First Tobacco Sales Averaged $53.00 On Local Market Today J ()PS Re prensentatives Will Hold One-Day Clinic Here Business analysts from the East ern Carolina Office of Price Sta bilization will be in Williamston a Cain on August 22 to assist peo ple of this area with reports and OPS regulations, A1 Swcatt of the Williamston Boosters, Ine„ has an nounced Williamston has been se lected as the site of a monthly field trip by OPS. The OPS rep resentatives will have an office in the Woman's Club Building which will be open from 10 AM to 12:30 PM and from 1 PM to 3 PM This is the second trip to Wil liamston. As a public service, the Eastern Carolina OPS has sched uled regular trip.. to cities throughout the district under the auspices of civio 01 gani/.ations. "These visits giving on-the-spot help ami information to the bus inessmen of eastern Carolina are a part of our program to do eve rything possible to be of service to the public," OPS Director J G. Clark said, "and we urge people to meet with these specialists for any assistance they may need" “Our previous visit to Williamston was enthusiastically received by the public", Clark added, "and we will continue these trips as long as the people want us to". The Williamston visit is plan ned to serve people in this immed iate vicinity and the following counties. ifiCta, fVfnrfih, Washing ton, Tyrol! and Dare. Loses Life In Farm Accident — —<$ Mrs. Minerva Thomas Smith wick, 27, sister of several Wil liamstnn citizens, lost her life in an unusual accident at her home in Bertie County early last Thurs day morning Handling a wire, charged with 111) volts and run ning to a chicken brooder, Mrs Smitlnviek was electrocuted about 6:00 o'clock that morning, a neigh bor finding her several hours later that morning still clutching the wire Reports stated the wire was thinly coated and that the victim got her feet damp in the dew on the grass, causing a circuit. She was a daughter of Mr and Mrs. J A Thomas of RFD 2, Windsor, was active in Lawrence s Baptist Church and club work in her community. Surviving are her husband, Wil liam II Smitlnviek; four sisters, Mrs W L. Connor, Mrs W N White and Mrs C. .1 Rose, all of Route 2, Windsor and Mrs Fannie Leggett of Route 1, Windsor; six I brothers, .1 A ot Windsor, Dunkm of Route 2, Windsor, Charles of Ahoskie, Guy, I’earlev and Grady Thomas, all of Wiiliamston. Funeral services were held Fri day in the Lawrences Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev, A Corey of Jamesvillc. Burial was in Edgewood Cemetery. Band Picnic Will Be Held Monday -4 Because the circus will be play ing here on Tuesday of next week the Green Wave Band picnic and business meeting originally sched uled for that date has been moved up to the previous night, Monday, August 27, and will be held in the ball park instead of on the school grounds. Following the picnic, which is always one of the highlights of the band’s summer program, the Band Barents are to hold a meet ing at which new officers will be I elected for the coming year. R L (Bon) Welch has served • Hie, band parents as pi evident for the past two scholastic years. ,1 Edward Corey is a commit j tec ot out to >ec that the grass is cut around the stands in the ball park before the picnic is set up. Cannery Ending | Successiul Year —*— Nearing the ent. of one of its; most successful seasons, the can- j ncr.y at Jamesvillc will be opei at- ! ed Friday of this week and Wed j nesday of next and then will close except by appointme nt, it was an nounced this morning. Under the direction of Vaiden Main , the cannery has turned out over 10,000 cans of produce this summer. While the hulk of the canned goods is vegetable, there has been some fruit tinned now and then. Mr. Hairr has supervis ed the canning operations and has helped to make cans available for the various individuals with vege- i tables and fruits to can lor use j during the' wintei months. _y Tax notices were placed in the mails last Thursday by the Martin County tax collector's office and the little pink slips are bringing in a great re sponse, according to Collector 8,500 of the notices, and the property owners started re property owners started re sponding before the tobacco markets were opened. Two Curing Barns Burned In County Fin- destroyed two tobacco cur ing barns in the county last week end, pushing the total losses for the season up to nine A large barn, filled with choice tobacco, burned on the Hold Eve rett estate farm near Wilhamston last Thursday night shortly tie fore 11:0(1 o'clock. Williamston’s fire department was called, and firemen went there with equip inenl but could render very little assistance. Fire destroyed a curing barn, damaged another and threatened just about all the other buildings including Win. Cherry’s home on the Roberson farm about two miles from Robei sonville last Fi i dy afternoon. Robei sonvilles fire department turned III-- fire back after one barn was burned and it had caught a second one and burned most of a shed connecting two barns. A large oil tank caught fire and exploded, but the firemen did a good job and held the loss to a minimum. Another barn, the tenth in the county, was destroyed by fire on the Shci rof home farm near Ham ilton early last night. Reports reaching here stated that the barn fire on the Sherrod farm threatened otliei buildings, that the burning timbers fell in an advantageous position to limit the fire to the one structure. Prospects Good For Peanut Crop Based on August i condition re pi.rtii, North Carolina's l»5t--pea nut crop (for picking or thresh ing) is estimated ;:t 278,460,000 pounds 11 the current estimate matcriali. this will be the I erg cst peanut crop produced since 1048 when almost 847 million pounds were harvested. The 1951 average yield is esti mated at 1,170 pounds per acre or 105 pounds more per acre than was realized last year. The ex pected 238 thousand acres of pea nuts to lx picked or threshed this year are 3 percent more than the 231,000 agfes harvested last year, but 15 percent less than ttie 1940 40 average. The expected increase over last year's yield is a result of favor able growing conditions to date in t lie heavier peanut producing areas. Little disease has been re ported and vines are in good con dition. Generally, the crop is clean, stands are normal, and soil conditions are favorable for peg ging, pointing to a good peanut crop for 1051. Inferior Qualify Of Leaf Predominant In First Of Crop ('omparalivrly Small Block W ill Be Cleared Here Marly Tomorrow —* Early sales on Williamston’s to bacco market this morning aver aged a little above $53.00 per hundred, reports declaring that the opening measured up to ex pectations and that no dissatis faction was noted Prices, admittedly lower for the inferior or nondescript types but equally as high if not higher than those received for the better gradi s last year, fluctuated ac cording to the quality of the of ferings There was a range from 15 to 72 cents in prices, most of the sales falling in the 40- to 60 eent category. The first sale of 346 pounds averaged right at 40 cents, but by the time 7,168 pounds had been sold the price average had pulled up lo $55.55. The average fluctuated from that point, set j tling down to a figure just above $53.00 per hundred by the time 20,000 pounds had been sold The house figured prominently in the early sales, but the com panies soon stepped in to get most of the tobacco. It was estimated that the government of stabiliza tion corporation purchased front 15 to 20 percent of the early sales. Farmers, acquainted with sales on the border, said the price struc ture here was much better than they had found it to the south. The size of the crowds present for the opening today did not measure up to those of past years, reports from the rural areas point | ing out that many were still busy I with the harvest and most of the ’ others had not had time to pre pare any of the leaf for market. However, there were several thou sand visitors here for the opening. Varied opinions as to the qual ity of the “break" on the floors here today have been expressed. Some farmers say the inferior | quality types are predominant. Others maintain the quality of the first offerings is equally as good as ll was on opening day last year. Farmers explained that the crop was spaced so closely in the fields that the sun could not reach the lower leaves, that the coloring process was difficult. However, many growers point out that marked improvement in the quali ty is to he expected. By earls Monday, the market had received a full sale for today. The can s -over block is certain to be cleared by early tomorrow, and ri asonabh light sales are ex pected throughout the belt during the next seveial days. While a majority of farmers completed the harvest last week, it will be several more days before the task, is handled in its entirety, with a few finding it impossible to get the last of their crops into the barns before sometime next week. All of the tobacco companies were represented when the sales were started without any formal program promptly at 11:00 o’clock this morning. Report from tiie markets south ot here maintain that there has been a price rise in recent days. The border last week sold 32,552, 3.■ 0 pounds foi an dVciuge price of $52.71 Season sales through last week on the border totaled 69, 153,115 pounds, averaging only $51.02. Before most of its markets clos ed last Friday, the Georgia belt had sold this season 18,1,655,123 pounds for an average of $46 58. Last week the sales totaled 31, 231,841 pounds and averaged $38.39. The Stabilization Corpora tion took about nine percent of the crop in the Georgia bell. I{eturns To llis Holin' On II est Main Street After a stay of several weeks in a local hospital, receiving treat ment for a heart condition, ABC Officer Joe H. Roebuck has re turned to b.is home on West Mam Street with definite instructions to “take it easy” for some weeks.
The Enterprise (Williamston, N.C.)
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Aug. 21, 1951, edition 1
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