Newspapers / The weekly advance. / Sept. 27, 1912, edition 1 / Page 1
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7 Mffi-CGTOBER 2225tllTlie Event ol The Year M.L1 1 i f j I THE BEST ADVERTIS A NEW PAPER WITH AN- INCREASING CIR CULATION ING MEDIUM IN ELIZA BETH CITY, , II V hi nii I VOL II ELIZABETH CITY, NORTH CAROLINA, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1912 NO. 40 n k Biggest W JUl JU JO JU V UlJUUI- Lji JLJ I .. J I J u i ... J J yi I L 9 ) GUILTY OF MURDER IN THE SECOND DEGREE IS VERDICT OF JURY THAT TRIED VANN And Twenty-Five Years in The State Prison At Hard Labor Is the Sen. tence DEFENCE His Face Blue with the Strain of the Trial Jury Return Verdict Against Him and Sentence- The Case Still A Mystery Popular Approval On Wednesday inorning-hort-. ly before ten o'clock a verdict of . guilty of murder in the second -. degree was brought in . against Vann, and at about eleven thir ty o'clock the prisoner was sen . fenced to thirty-five years in the ' penitentiary, ' ' ; Court had been called to con yeneat a quarter past nine, buc counsel for the defense was late. t'he court, room was filled by the appointed hour. and. there was a short and nervous wait on the 1. part of, court and spectators be - jpwj the last stage in, the battle "'a'man'g life could begin. ' At about half past nine how veer, W. M- Bond made his ap v pearance pushing' his way thru the crowed aisle toward the bar, and he was followed in less than two. minutes by Judge Ward.x While waiting for court to open .x Yanu sat apparently . composed. For once the inevitable quid of tobacco was not in evidence. Yann's jaw was motionless. His face naturally dark was almost ijlue, as if from cold. He folded -and refolded a handkerchief ji which he held in his hands. v, Thefaee of Ihe guiltyv um v when 'the jury returned their vei '. j diet, was inscrutinablf. But ho covered his mouth with. his fan. One standing behind. hiine couU He that his mouth up to this iirr..- held rigidly- closed was working find 'twitching with feeling. ? From time to time, too, his iAnroat could be seen to contract as he labored for self control. Apparently, however, the grca est shock came to "him in the sen tence of Judge Lane. For a sec oud his face was convulsed and he shrankis if for a blow. Up " on hearing the sentence, the de fense immediately asked the - court to note an appeal. -- Vann's mother was absent dur in g this last session of the court: Sbe collapsed Tuesday Neither were his .sisters present for the final act of , this drama. Fol lowing the judge's charge on Tnes dtf night they were led from the owt room weeping as for one whom had. laid in Bis grave. Thef did not appear again. Mr aid Mrs Layden, the parents of tfce murdered boy, were present. TSiejr expressed themselves as ' satisfied with both the jury's ver dict. and with the sentence. -Judge Lane's words in passing sentence upon the prisoner "were serious and impressive. He' spoke of the heavy burden of responsi biliry that had been' on bis mind from the beginning of the trial Ue declared that hi passing sen 4eee upon a prisoner ha eonli Imposed By Lane WILL TAKE . ' ' ! not permittimself.to.be swayed by sympathy or sentiment : inai if he had thought himself one to be so swayed he would leave the bench. "On the other hand," he said, "if I thought myself one who could feel no sympathy for the "Unfortunate, I would leave the beneh" Judge Lane then sta ted that he concurred with the jury- in" its verdict," and that he was about to pass a sentence up on ' the prisoner which, while it would deprive him of his liberty, until . he was- a manj of full ma turity, would yet set him at lib erty hi time to enable him to re deem his wasted life." If there is error in the sentence that am about to pass, 'V be said, it is all the side of mercy.- Manv thought from the language that Ihe term-of imprisonment would not lie "Above fifteen vears. There was evident approval however. when the judge's final words fixed the time almost at the limit al lowed by law for offense. Yet few would haye asked for an ad ditional five years to be added to the prisoner's sentence. As he sat there., one pudgy hand from which extended tapering, slender effeminate fingers, resting on the tahle ItPtore aim more tiian a boy and yet hardly a man, eviden lyin ill health, one could not help but feel that his sentence was all that and jieiliaps more than he would be able to. bear. Help less, friendless, under the ban of a heavy sentence he passed for the last time from the court room Judge ,Lane, who passed sen tence upon Vaun, is under thirty five. -""' When, in Jhe latter part of Ju ly word reached Elizabeth, City of the mysterious disappearance of young Oliver Layden from the Belvidere section, the Advance was the only paper that featured the story. The Advance report er made a special trip to the Bel videre s?tion to get the details of the disappearance ; and un til the body was found some three weeks later this was the only paper in which the facts, substantially as they have since been brought out on trial had appeared. ' With the discovery of the bo dy, however, the matter took op additional interest and this week as the trial came on the case has attracted much attention and has been given wide publicity; Bo far as the defense was con cerned, practically nothing was brought out on the trial that had . not already appeared in the Advance. But the defense sprang a decided sensation on Monday of this eek when they pot the ! Judge AN APPEAL Benji man Vann Hears Shudders Under Judge's and Verdict fleets With prisoner on . the stand, and ad" milling tne Killing ui uma uaj den bv Ben Yann, undertook to show, by the defendant's unsup poported testimony, that he deed was done in self defense. -Vann's story was about as fol lows: ' On Tursday morniug, July 11th C liver Layden' came to Yann's home and asked Yann to takca tiip to town wilh him. .'Vann .agreed to do so and Ol iver waited for him at the "house nuril Yann . had dressed and Jiid gone to the store for his wheel. The two then set out for Eliza beth Citv. But -on the wa3r to the store Yann had obtuined a pistol from a neighbor, named Lamb 7'. Vann testified that hp told Lamb he would take the pistol to Eliza beth t'ilv and, if it did not cost too ii'-icli, have it repaired and buy il . - - When Yann got back home, he and Layden set out for Elizabeth Oily making several stops on the way. The. route' taken, accord ing to Yann's testimony, and the stops inaHe, were the sarnie as. had already been set forth in the testimony of" "the prosecution. The twa -reached Elizabeth City early in flip morning, hot. misty ami tatigued. . They went at once to Bagley's Stables to rest, ".leaving Ihpir wheels in front of the stables, the two boys went hack into the rearr and there a difficulty occurred. Oliver had worked for' Vann in the latter' store,--for which at this time Vannwas due the boy 4.50. But Vann had sold Oliver a wheel for which. the. boy had not paid. x ' ' While in the rear of the sta bles Oliver asked Vann for the money due" him. , Vann reminded Oliver of the amount due on the latter's wheel, which amounted to about, thirty dollars . Oliver said that it had been the agreement that this wheel was to be paid for in the fall. Yann admitted this, but said that it had also been agreed that Oliver's work in the meantime should go on the debt. This Layden deni ed, calling Vann a liar. ' Hot words followed and finally Yann, offended, declared his intention of returning home without spend ing any money on Layden. . Then Vann testifies, Layden declared: "If you do that you'll never see the sun set again.'' Vann, thereupon, started home, followed by Layden. Jnst be fore the two reached the rail road. Oliver passing Vann took the lead and kept it until they reached a part of the railroad (ContiH4c4 onPg Fmr) THT ALKRAMA OPENS soon. A DESCRIPTION OF ELIZA BETH CITY'S ""SEW THEA TRE ND r'OMETH INU OF WHAT MAY. BE EXACTED WJIEX IT OPENS XEXT MONTH. On'McMaraii 't. just back o the big -ICramer Building, cuvpe. tern, contractor and managers ar busy at work on the brand-new up-to-date theatre that the Hiu ton Brothers ' a i-e erecting unde the 'supervision of Mr. J.! Kra mer, for the managers, Jlessei Kramer ; and Nutter. . This building, for which the public have lieen clamoring for several years will lie one of the prettiest, most comfortable ant most convenient theatres that can be found in the state. It will be steam heated, -and sup plied vvifh Ihe newest devices for -lighting -mud ventilating. The color scheme inside will be white trimmed wilh meleor gray, and the exterior will be two colors of pressed brick, with cornice and wood work to match. There will be four boxes in the. new theatre, and it will have seating capacity of ".". The gal leries atthe end of which, near the stage the dressing rooms are located, will seat several hundred Inclined ttoorsVill insure to the uidience ev ve on ' the ? back s seats full view of t he. stage, in fact, special care hi.s been tuki n That every scat in thevwouse, upstair or down, shall command a good view of. the actors inrd the play represented. The inside dimen' sions of the theatre are 50 x 100 feet and the ceiling is 20feet high The stage is the same size as the one lVthe Oranby theatre iu Xor folk, the opening being 10. x 2C feet and the stage itself 22.x 21 feet. The orchestra will "enter Ihe theatre from a door under the stage. Hie managers, Alessers Kram er and Nutter will spend about 2,500 on the seats and scenery in the theatre. A' iiqav -moving licture machine has been order ed and will cost about ?.500niil will he used for. the first time on the night of the opening of the new theatre. The machine will1 be installed in the gallery, at a distance of SO feet from the stage The drop curtain for the si ago of ihe Alkrama is a beauty. The scene depicted t hereon is copied from the well known picture, Christinas Eve. at Mt. Vernon. A crowd of merry young people in the quaint, bright costumes of Colonial days are holding high festival in the stately drawing room at Mt. Vernon. In the cen Ire of the room hangs a big bunch of mistletoe, beneath which a gallant youth has nearly succeed utLjn enticing a (seemingly) un suspecting maiden. Washington and his lady are standing near, and the great general relaxing from his usual austere, demeanor is smilingly watching for the us ual denovemcnt that follows when a man, a maid and a sprig of mistletoe are brought in close proximity. Mr. Brttou and Ooodfellow are the artifs. whose skilful brush es have painted the curtain, and the scenery to be'Tmed in tbe new theatre, will be a product of their talent. These gentlemen have had a great deal of exper ience, in scenery painting. Mr. Benton painted the scenes for the Ben Hur tableaux in one of the great Xew York Theatre several years ago. Messers Kramer and Nutter are negotiating for a grand open ing attraction to be presented early in October, and other first class productions will follow. Ia ter. Indeed, th public mar iAEROPLAHE FLIGHTS AND I RESTING Contract with Noted Air did Program of Races expected Purses. Aggregate Over $1500. feel sure that nothing will be pre seated on the stage of the Alkra- ma to which the most cultured and refined audience could object. A good play will be rendered by high class 'artists once a week, and on the other evenings, the moving pictures will furnish the public with still greater attract ions than those with" which Mcs- sers Kramer anu Aimer now ue light the "town . Much of the prosjerily of our town is due to the enterprises established in Elizabeth City by the Kramer Brothers who are a mong our best and most progres' sive citizens. To Mr. AlkMi Kramer, who has for years, had at his heart, this project which he has at last brought to a successful consuma- lon, the Town is indeoieo tor the erection of this handsome, up to date theatre. The patron- ige which the public will undoubl edly give this new enterrise will prove that the building of the A'' kin ma fills trio;;, ftit wftuj.. Mil. ELI ELLIOTT DEAD Hertford. X. C, Sept., 20 Mr. OH Eliott, brother of Kev. Jo- siah Elliott of this town died at his, home here on ,last Tuesday, September 2-tt'n. His" remains were laid to rest in the cemetary lere yesterday, his grave being lieside that of his wife. ,. - Mr. Elliott lived, in the Wnft louse with his brother, and died in the latler's arms. The devo tion between these two has Ikhmi marked and beautiful to see. Mr Elliott had been failing in health for some time, but had been con fined, to his iom for onlv about week. From youth he had been u faith ful and consistent mcmlier of-the Japtist Chun h, and had. been deacon in his chun h for manv ears lie came to,lfertford a bout thirtv vears nro and has leld that office in this church lere ever since. He was active in all church work liesides, hav ng served as superintendent of more than one Country Sundav school in this seetiun where Sun day school workers were scarce. Two of the schools that he serv'i ed in this way were Center Hill and Great Hope. Mr. Eliotf was especially fond of. the Advance and read with particular zest, the contributions by "Bob" Teele. He is survived bv if son and two daughters. The daughters are Mrs. L. W. Xorman and Mrs. W... M. Maddry. The son is living in a distant state and was unable to reach his father's bedside or burial. LYCEUM COURSE TICKETS Season tickets for the Lyceum Entertainment Course for the coming winter are being sold to day under the direction of the Board of Education and Prof. Sheep. A liberal patronage for the sea son's entertainments in bespoken and to that end It is urged that all friends of clean, wholesome. entertainment in Elizabeth City get in on the ground floor by buy ing season tickets, f 350 worth must be sold to insure the coarse. Capt, and 3Irs. R. II. Cor of this city are taking a trip in Vir ginia where they will probably be goM for two r three weeks. TRACK RACES Man Concluded and splen Secretary Lamb of the Fair in- r formed us that he had closed a deal wit h the manager of Robert (. Fowler, "The World's great- , esle Aviator.", He will make two. flights dai ly during ttie fair. Applications for concession. are being received daily. No prir ih'ge has leen granted for the res J taurant as yet. A local bidder will be preferred . , i A feature in the Albemarle Ag ricultural and Fish Association " Fair that should attract wide nt ' tention is the- trotting races which are to occur on the three ,' principal days of the Fair The committee on the races are C. W. Stevens. M. B. Saw ver. and F. V. Scott. These gentle men will see to it that all prep arations are made to carry: out the program of the races for the , fair in every detail. . .- Over $ 1500 in purses will go to . the winners of these race's and there are to be three races every day of the fair. . WELCHWIXSLOW Belvidere. X, C- Sept,, 25tu -' A quiet, but;1 very .. pretty home .. wedding was celebrated at the home of the? tfadeV ftstretirs:,'Miir,,H' and Mrs. Robert J. Win slow at Belvidewv-XT; C. on Wednesday September 18th when their daugh ter, Miss Elizabeth Winslow be came the bride of Mr. William il. Welch, of Tvner X. C- The home was beautifully deco lated with 'house plants, asparii" gus and goldenrod. . Shaded caudles cast soft radi : a i i 1 ; mice over, me loyei.y scru-. Only .f?):..'...ft!!T.-. and friends of the bride and groom witnessed the ceremony which was performed liy Kev. .josuiu Eliott of Hertford X. C. The bride was given in. mar riage by her father and was char niiugly gowned in a modish suit of blue cloth with hat and gloves to correspond . . - Miss Lucy While of Belvidere was maid of honor and Miss Lu cy By rum of Sunliery was brides maid. ' Both wore lieautiful lingerie frocks and carried boquets . of goldenrod atid asparagus. Mr. Earl Wealch acted as best man for his brofher and Mr. ' Joe Winslow, brother of the bride was groomsman. Following the ceremony a de lightful luncheon was served, af ter which Mr. and Mrs. Welch left for a trip to the lieautiful ''Sapphire County.'' MISSIONARY IXSTITUTE TO MEET The Missionary Institute of the Elizabeth City Division will meet with tbe Ahoskie Baptist Church on October the 9th and 10th. All delegates are request ed to send their names to Mrs. J. C. Jenkins Ahoskie, N. O. not later than October 1st. CHAMBER OF COMMERCH MEETS The Chamber of Commerce holds its regular monthly meet ing in the Court TJonse to-night, A good attendance is desired and urged. Mr. Loyd Berry of was io town Tuesday. BlcroM A v-fS "i A
Sept. 27, 1912, edition 1
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