A home newspaper dedicated to the service of Washington County and its 12,000 people. The Roanoke Beacon ******* and Washington County News ******* Advertisers will find Beacon and News columns a latch-key to 1,100 Washington County homes. — VOLUME XLVII—NUMBER 2 Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, Friday, January 10, 1936 ESTABLISHED 1889 LIFE TERM GIVEN NEGRO BURGLAR HERE THIS WEEK William Bell Enters Plea of Guilty of Second Degree Burglary ———» Life imprisonment, to be assigned to hard labor, was the sentence im posed on William Bell, colored, when he entered a plea of guilty of sec ond degree burglary in Washington County Superior Court, which con vened here Monday. The calendar of civil cases will lead the court into the second week. Bell was charged with forcing an entrance into the second story win dow at the home of Rev. R. H. Lucas and choking a woman, Mrs. Swain, who is staying with the Lucas fam ily at their plantation near Plymouth Footprints, threads from torn cloth ing and his inability to satisfactorily explain where he was at the time of the entrance of the prowler into the Lucas home, were some of the evi dence that was piled up against the negro. Attorney P. H. Bell, colored law yer, was appointed by Judge W. C. Harris as counsel for the defendant. After a consultation it wras agreed that the negro would enter a plea of guilty to second degree burglary instead of standing trial for first de gree burglary, which carries with it the maximum of the death penalty. George R. Stillman, of Creswell, was found guilty by jury of em bezzling $62.07 from the Edenton Laundry as their agent. Charles P. Wales, owner of the laundry, was the prosecuting witness and com plained that Stillman kept all of the amount mentioned in the true bill from the January, 1935, grand jury, instead of turning over to him 55 per cent of the collections. Sentence had not been passed Wednesday aft ernoon. Earl Tetterton, 21, white, entered a plea of guilty to an assault with a deadly weapon and judgment was suspended upon payment of costs and $50 to R. M. Bateman. A bond of $100 was required to assure the payment of the costs in 30 days and to assure the payment of $50 to Mr. Bateman before the July term of court. The matter grew out of an automobile wreck. Takes Dead Deer From River Here —»— Tom Gardner, local young man and an employee on the “Solicitor” of the Plymouth Box and Panel Company, over the week-end dis played a large head of a buck deer with a fine pair of antlers. The body of the lifeless animal was taken from the cold swollen stream of the Roanoke River, where hunters un able to secure their prey after it had been shot allowed it to drift. Gardner said the animal weighed 300 pounds and that the meat was preserved by the icy waters that provided the cold temperature that the meat needed. It was taken from the waters while only the rear flank was above the surface. It was found at the mouth of the river. -® Mrs. Anna J. Hatfield Passes in Creswell Creswell.—Final rites were held Wednesday for Mrs. Anna J. Hat field, 79, who died Monday night at j 1C o’clock. She had been in illi health for some time. , The last rites were held in the Creswell Metho dist Protestant Church by Rev. O. L. Easter. Interment took place in Memorial Cemetery. Mrs. J. W. Starr sang, “Jesus, Sav iour, Pilot Me,” as the casket was brought into the church. A quartet sang two hymns, after which chimes were played as the procession moved into the cemetery. Surviving Mrs. Hatfield is one son, O. D. Hatfield, and two daughters, Mrs. Bertha Jones, Norfolk; and Mrs. Leah Lamb, Philadelphia. -® Funeral Held for Mrs. Mary Patrick —♦— Creswell.—Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon in the Cres well Methodist Protestant Church for Mrs. Mary Patrick, 79, who had been in declining health for some time. Interment took place in the family cemetery. Rev. O. L. Easter officiated, assisted by Rev. John W. Hardy. Surviving are five sons, Dock, Webb, and Tom Patrick, Creswell; Charlie Patrick, Elizabeth City; John Patrick, Norfolk; two daugh ters, Mrs. Frank Chesson, Roper; and Mrs. George Smith, Plymouth. Warren Says Congress Mast Devise Substitute Legislation That the downfall of the Agricul tural Adjustment Act will command attention in Congress, possibly for months to come was made quite cer tain on Monday shortly after the ruling reached the ears of the law makers. Representative Lindsay C. Warren was the first member of either branch of Congress to take the floor after the decision was known. His remarks, as officially reported, fol low: Mr. Warren: “Mr Speaker, the Su preme Court of the United States has fust . handed down its opinion declaring the Agricultural Adjust ment Act to be unconstitutional (applause). I would like for it to be noted that the applause comes entirely from the Republican side of the House. “This decision of the court will be received with consternation and a mazement by millions Of farmers throughout the this land who have been benefited by the first construc tive program that any Congress or any administrtion has ever propos ed in their behalf (applause). It comes to them as a sickening and deadly blow. “Regardless of court opinions, Mr. Speaker, I believe there are enough members of the present Congress, who are deeply interested in the welfare of the American farmer, that they will keep this Congress in session until Christmas, if necessary, to write upon the statute books legislation that will repair this dam age. The farmers of the nation will never return to the economic salv ery that existed prior to 1933. (ap plause).” I RIVER FULL OF ICE I Masess of floating ice came down the Roanoke River during the week-end bound for Albe marle Sound, where the floes will probably be emptied to melt away. They came into the stream from tributary small streams nd creeks along the route as far up as Weldon. A heavy downpour of rain was expected to help melt the ice. Though there were a number of large floes and the hard ice oc cupied the middle of the river, it was not considered to be very dangerous except for very small craft. The middle of the river looked like scenes of ice floes taken up in the frozen north. # Farm ]\otes By W. V. HAYS, County Agent A telegram received this week from State Director Schaub was as follows: “Imediately suspend further action adjustment programs stop dis continue work and incur no expense pending further information stop as Federal employees take charge all production control association forms records and property.” Regular work with contracts, etc., in the county office has been con tinued at least to the extent that con tract signers and farmers having business to attend to should notice very little difference. The county commissioners will most likely help us out until it is decided by the Fed eral Department how to handle the situation. Those connected with department al affairs and the heads of the vari ous commodity crop departments seem to have been anticipating the action taken by the Supreme Court and do not seem to be very much worried. This is indeed an indica tion that some form of a program will immediately be .put into action. Those people who have been dele gated the authority to handle the various programs were without doubt very capable, with very keen minds, and were men who should have been in a position of under standing along these particular lines. They assure us that a program will be continued. We believe this to be a much improved program. A number oi very interesting side lights have developed this week. One farmer who had a small acre age of tobacco and who had com plained continuously since the first sign-up came into the office with a smile from ear to ear and inquired, “How many acres of tobacco can 1 plant this year?” My reply was that he could plant the whole farm in tobacco, as every other tobacco grower intended to do. Before leav ing the office he concluded that if things were dropped, he didn’t be lieve that he would plant any to bacco at all in 1936. Similar cases are noted in all of our commodity crops. I believe that within ten days’ time, some sort of plan will be of fered to the farmers of Washington County. We have envelopes ad dressed to every contract signer in the county and as soon as we have any definite information a letter will be sent each individual farmer in the county giving details and par ticulars. --- White Leghorn Sets Now Record at State College -<*> A white leghorn pullet at the State College poultry plant produc ed 313 eggs during her pullet year ar. din the 518 days elapsing since she laid her first egg, she has pro duced 435, without taking time out for a moult. Many Expected For Credit Meeting In Washington Monday A large number of farmers is ex pected to attend the annual meeting of the Washington Production Cred it association serving the counties of Washington, Tyrrell, Hyde, Beau fort, and Martin, which will be held in Washington next Monday after noon at 2:30 o'clock in the John H. Small school auditorium, acorcding to Herbert H. Cowen, a representa tive of the farmers’ credit organiza tion. At this meeting the annual reports of officers will be made and two directors will be elected. One of the speakers will be Mr. Ernest Gra ham, president of the Production Credit Corporation of Columbia. Not only are all of the members invited and expected to be present at the meeting, the representative from this county said, but a most cordial invitation is also extended to all non-members who are inter ested in securing short-term credit for production purposes. The association is anxious that every farmer in this territory shall have the oportunity of knowfng of the credit service which is offered, it was said, and they are urged to attend the meeting and see how the business of the association is con ducted. “We will have complete reports of the year's work at the meeting and members will be acquainted with all of the details of our oper tion. It is the policy of our associ ation to keep our members thoro ughly posted. “We feel proud of the record which we have made in the two years in which we have operated. Our business the second year show ed a very substantial growth over tiie first year and we are anticipat ing another substantial increase in 1936 as more and more farmers learn of the service the association offers,” the representative conclud ed. -^ Former Resident Died January 1st Mrs. Lizzie Goelet Knight has re ceived the news of the death of her nephew, Buncombe Goelet Lehman, who died suddenly New Year’s Day at his home in Drexel Hill, a suburb of Philadelphia. He was born in Ra leigh, but had lived in Plymouth some years ago. Mr. Lehman was vice president of the John T. Lewis Company, a large paint organization in Philadelphia. He served in the Marine Corps dur ing the World War and was wound ed. in the Battle of the Marne. He is survived by a wife and an aged mother. Mr. Lehman was named after an illustrious ancestor, Colonel Edward Buncombe, of historical fame for his hospitality in Tyrrell County. Six months ago Mrs. Knight sent to him as a gift a chair that was taken from the home of his famous relative. -® Mrs. Aiken Returns From Georgia Tour Mrs. J. E. Aiken has returned to her home in Roper from Stateboro, Ga., where she has been with the South Georgia Teachers College or chestra. The musicians featured Mrs. Aiken as soloist and first trum pet player. She' played a two-weeks engage ment with the orchestra during the holidays. Included in the list of places they made on the trip was Savannah and Way cross. Reports reaching here are to the effect that Mrs. Aiken did some good w'ork on the trip. Hotneand Club News By Mary Frances Misenheimer Schedule for Next Week Monday, Scuppernong club. Tuesday, Cherry. Wednesday, Albemarle. Thursday, Wenona. Friday, Mount Tabor. Saturday, curb market at 8:30. To tal receipts for December were $135.68. This was good, consider ing the two Saturdays that the weath er was rough. To the new club leaders and those remaining in leadership from the past year, we give our heartiest co operation. I know each leader and officer in the clubs will give of their best. We must all work together to make this year the best in home demonstration work. Winter garden contestants: Re member there are 3 more months in which to keep records and make them show up. We want good rec ords—just as you have had in the past. We want Washington County to be on the top, and there is only one way to do it, and that is for each club member to work and do her best. Food Leaders’ School On January 22 there will be an all-day school for the food leaders of the various clubs. I urge all of the food leaders to attend. These meet ings are worth while and very in spirational. Miss Broks, assistant food specialist, will conduct the school. The meeting is to be held in Plymouth at the courthouse at 10 o’clock. Prize Offer Which club is going to be lucky'.’ A prize is being offered to the club that submits the best and most eco nomical plan to make the home agent’s office more livable. Sugges tions from several clubs have been made, but up to date no plans have been handed in. Since the agent’s office is a place for everyone in the county to come visit, it should be comfortable and pleasant to stay in. -T Officers Elected By Bible Class —$— The men’s Bible Class of Washing ton Street Baptist church, at the reg ular Sunday school service Sunday morning elected the following offi cers for the next six months: Rasser L. Edwards, president: Moye W. Spruill, vice president; Jack Peele, secretary: J. B. McNair, assistant secretary; Rev. R. H. Lucas, teacher; J. T. McNair, assistant teacher. The membership committee elect ed for 30 days was composed of R. L. Bateman, Louis H. Lucas and W. B. Cox. This class has a membership of 25, with an average regular attendance of 15 men, a record any men’s class should be proud of. There are men who do not attend any Sunday school and who ought to be in this class; to those men the class extends a cordial invitation to meet with them every Sunday morn ing at 9:45. -« Final Rites Are Held For Luther Sitterson Roper.—Funeral services were held Tuesday for Mr. Luther Sitter son, 65 years of age, who died Mon day morning at 4:30 at his home in the Westover section of Washington County. Interment took place in the Mizelle Cemetery, near Roper. Rev. M. L. Ambrose, of Roper, pas tor of the Christian church, officiat ed. A large crowd attended the fu neral of this well-known and well liked man. The floral offering was very beautiful. Surviving Mr. Sitterson are his wife, Mrs. Luther Sitterson, and the following children: H. L. Sitterson, Jacksonville, Fla.; F S. Sitterson, Wilson; B. H. Siterson, Embreeville, Pa.; W. N. Sitterson, Roper; Mrs. T. M. Bowen, Plymouth; Mrs. E. J. New bold, Jacksonville, N. C.; Miss Eula and Miss Velma Sitterson, Roper. Active pall-bearers were: Clyde Robbins, Aubrey Ange, Jack Skyles, Louis Skyles, Chauncey Swain, Ned ?wain. -® Up to the present time, cotton farmers of Hoke County have pur chased gin certificates amounting to 118,000 pounds from growers of Montgomery County. DUTIES OUTLINED TO GRAND JURY RY JUDGE HARRIS Expresses Dislike for Con ventional Reports Sub mitted Usually -* Proclaiming his dislike for the con ventional reports that merely state the irksome sameness of those of prior terms, Judge W. C. Harris, of Raleigh, presiding over a two-weeks mixed term of Washington County Superior Court, which opened here Monday, charged the grand jury to manifest interest enough in their duties to make their report reflect genuine interest. In some cases the grand jury in an effort to speed their deliberations lave copied reports that were hand ed in at a prior term. But this time the judge urges them to be diligent in their duties and to write their re ports in their own words, even if they misspell a few of the words in an effort to show to the court and the county at large that they have done their work well. They were urged not to go into a public office only to greet the offi cei but to inspect the records and see if they are safe and to see if they are carefully kept. They were told to secure the reports of the last two terms and determine if the recom mendations of the previous grand juries had been carried out. And special emphasis was placed on the examination of records of executors, administrators and guardians to see that they were accurate. A suggestion was made that a member of grand jury could be dele gated to test the brakes, lights, and other safety facilities of school busses to see if they are in good con dition. The jurist also called atten tion to the need of investigating the activities of magistrates to determine their status in regard to complying with the law'. His closing remarks were related to a visit to the jails, county homes and prison camps. And he made special mention of the need of the inmates of the county home to see that these good old people were well taken care of in the “Sunset of life.” Force Garden Plants With Cold Frame for Use Early in Spring -* Well Constructed Frame Is Great Help In Starting Vegetables Early -• A well constructed cold frame will help the home gardner get his vegetables off to a good start in the spring. A cold frame, serving as an inter mediate stage between the seed box and the garden, gives the plants a chance to harden before they are placed out in the open. H. R. Niswonger, extension horti culturist at State College, recom mends that such vegetables as cab bage, cauliflower, tomato, pepper, and egg plant be transplanted to a cold frame before being set out in the garden. For the average home garden, he said, the cold frame should cover an area six feet wide and 24 feet long. The wooden frame enclosing the bed should be 15 to 18 inches high along the back and 8 to 10 in ches high in front. Locate the cold frame in a sunny place, facing the south. Place good garden loam, mixed with stable ma nure, in the bed to a depth of six i inches. L Second-hand sash or unbleached muslin makes a good covering for the frame. Muslin saturated with hot linseed oil will retain the heat of the sun within the bed and also shed water. Or the cloth may be treated with a solution of one pound ol paraffin dissolved in a gallon of gasoline. Young plants are ready to be transferred to the cold frame when the first two true leaves have de veloped. As warm weather approaches, the plant bed should be left open a lit tle more each day to harden the plants. Ventilation is necessary even on cold days. Water the plants on sunny norn ir.gs when the temperature is rising. Thoroughly wet the soil, then do rot water again un Landlords are urged by J. C. Swain, tax collector of Washing ton County, to impress upon their tenants when they settle with them for the year's work to pay at least a part of their taxes. “Some landlords have settled with their tenants, others are new and a few have already done so.” and I wish to call this matter to the attention of the landlords so that they will ren der this much-needed help to the county. Many of the landlords and ten ants are slow settling this year, and peanuts of last year’s crops have not been sold. Mr. Swain urges that when final settlement is made that the taxes be re membered. Fresh and Warm Water Needed By Stock on the Farm Most Expensive Way To Heat Water Is In Body Of the Animal One of the most expensive ways a farmer can heat water for his livestock is to let the animals drink it cold and warm it with their bodies. Giving the animals water at freez ing temperatures lowers their vi tality, and seriously curtails the production of dairy cattle, said Pro fessor R. H. Ruffnes, head of the State College animal husbandry de partment. “Can you imagine a beef animal fattening, a calf growing, or a cow P’.oducing large quantities of milk after becoming thoroughly chilled and shivering for an hour in over coming the effects of 10 to 20 gal lons of ice cold water?” he asked. He estimated that a cow pro ducing 25 pounds of milk a day burns up more than a pound of corn in warming the water she drinks when it is taken into the body at freezing temperatures. At the State College dairy barn, where water is supplied at a mod erate temperature, there are seven cows producing more than fifty pounds of milk a day. The food burned to warm the wa ter is needed to maintain the ani- j mal’s vitality, promote growth, and to produce milk, Professor Ruffner pointed out. To attain her full milklproducing capacity, he added, a cow should be given all the fresh water she will drink at a temperature of 70 de grees. If the water is too cold, she will not drink enough to maintain a full I milk flow. The resulting loss may be far more than the slight cost of provid ing animals with water from which the chill has been taken. -® Local Legion Post Plays Santa Claus Over 150 poor children in differ ent parts of Washington County were made happy Christmas morn ing by the visit of Santa Claus, through the auspices of the James E. Jethro post of the American Le gion and the local council of the Junior Order United American Me chanics. These two organizations donated enough money to buy toys and different things that go to make Christmas a happy day to boys and girls. The packages were distributed to the various sections of the county by members of the Legion, through snow and ice that was sometimes almost impassible. But with all the bad roads and snow and ice every man that helped deliver those pack ages said he got a real pleasure out of being the means of making some boy or girl’s heart happy on Christ mas morning. 1400 BOYS AND GIRLS IN JOHNSTON 4 H CLUB WORK -9 With an enrollment of 1400 rural boys and girls in the 4-H clubs of Johnston County, there is an in crease of 100 per cent above the en rollment for last year. -« Miss Sallie Dickens, of Enfield, attended court here this week as ste nographer. Bitter Denunciation Of Court Rings from Farmers in Section -® Unlimited Production Can Cause 8-cent Tobacco And 5-cent Cotton -® The Agricultural Adjustment Ad minsitration, the agency that has brought a renewed hope to de pressed farmers over the nation since 1933, was declared unconsti tutional in its entirety by the United States Supreme Court Monday by a vote of six to three. The decision, while its ultimate effects are not now to be known, comes as a rebuke and slap in the fac? of the dirt farmer but one that brought expressions of happiness from textile interests and corporate wealth in general. As the decision is understood here, all efforts made by the present ad ministration have been rendered use less in aiding the farmer The Kerr Smith bill was not in keeping with the age-old constitution, the court uled. The cotton act is no good, and the potato barons who have profited much at the expense of the lowly farmer now have free reign again, it is understood. State's rights have been upheld at the expense of the tillers of the soil. The action by the court likely means unlimited produc tion and consequent 5-cent cotton and 8-cent tobacco unless something is done, agricultural leaders stated. The court ruling was so far-reach ing that even the premises upon which the farmer found hope were declared invalid. While the farmers of this little community received the news of the century with shock, few realized the serious ness of the situation. Those few were pessimistic, however, and the others did not know what to say or think when the ruling reached them. Some of those disgruntled for one cause or another with the activities of the AAA expressed themselves heartily in favor of any movement to continue the program or adopt another. A united front was evident on the streets for the present administration and hot at tacks were directed against the six supreme court justices who, the farmers believe, favored the wealth of the nation rather than the masses. But in it all there is probably some hope as expressed by Con gressman Lindsay Warren when he aid that he hoped Congress would stay in session until some remedy was found, even if it was until next Christmas. Probably at no time in the history of this country are the eyes of the farmer turned more eagerly to the law makers and to the administration, . pleading that their rights be preserved. -« Reach Compromise In Suit for Damages A compromise settlement of $250 was reached when E. H. Liverman handed over to Mrs. Fletcher Harris a cheek for the amount last week. It was decided to handle the matter sat.isfactoriy out of court rather than to drag through a drawn-out and ex pensive lawsuit. Mrs. Harris has sued Mr. Liver man for $10,000 charging that he or his employers were negligent when she stepped through a trap door in the floor of his sto-e several months ago. She was in the store trading at the time the accident occurred. It was said that the trap door had no guard rails around it and that when Mrs. Harris went across the store to look at some millinery she stepped into the uncovered Hole, causing her personal injuries Mr. Liverman had heretofore paid the physician and other bills that she incurred. -® Not Practical To Plant Pine Seed in Open Field -» It does not seem practical to es tablish a stand of pine by sowing seed in an open field, reports Ex tension Forester R. W. Graeber, aft er studying several such demonstra tions started last spring. -S' One Bale of Cotton Worth Much as Three Used To Be -® Largely due to the effects of the adjustment program and lower in terest rates, the North Carolina far mer now needs only a third as much cotton to pay the interest on his farm mortgage as he did in 1932.