BREVARD, NORTH CAROLINA, APRIL 2, 1931
Number 14
VOLUME XXXVI
RETURN TRUE BUI ]
AGAINST SH1PMAN j
ON THREE COUNTS1
Former Bank President Charg
ed with Embezzling
$21,703.81
MISAPPLICATION AND
ABSTRACTION CHARGED,
Shipman Says Forgery By a J
Y Customer Accounts for
$15,000 of Amount
True bill was returned by the |
Grand Jury in Superior court late j
Tuesday evening against Thos. H.
Shipman, president of the Brevard
Banking company, now closed, charg
ing embezzlement, misapplication and
abstraction of the bank's funds. The
indictment was signed by J. Will
Pless, Jr., solicitor in this district.
The sum named in the charge as hav
ing been embezzled, misapplied and
abstracted is $21,703.81, and date of r
alleged action is given as date of De
cember 15, 1930, on day that the bank :
closed its doors. Bond in the sum of
$5000 was demanded by the court. ,
Mr. Shipman is one of ?he? best (
known men of the county, and had
served as president of the North Car- . j
olina Bankers association. When in
formed that the indictment had been ;
made and of the charges contained ?
therein, Mr. Shipman issued the fol- |
lowing statement: ji
"I have not seen the bills of indict
ment, and know only what I have (
heard to be the basis of the charges, j,
1 am confident that a hearing in open ' ]
court, here in my own county, will ,
thoroughly vindicate me of all i
charges. i
"While there are items which con
stitute an overdraft against my ac- i
count, it does not represent money i
that I drew from the bank. Most of I
same consisted of items of customers \
that the auditors charged to me after j
the closing of the bank, one of which ,
reaches the rather large figure of ;
$15,000. This item came about through t
forgery on the part of one of our r
customers, and which I personally t
and voluntarily made good temporal:- f
ily, and I secured the bank against ,
loss on account of this forgery. So ]
far as I know, every transaction was ! j
handled in the usual banking man- f
ner," ' j
Closing of the Brevard Banking js
company came 25 days after the fall j i
of the Central Bank & Trust com- (
pany of Asheville. More than one t
million dollars on deposit, including t
more than $600,000 county and town
( Continued on back page )
RENEWED INTEREST !
IN RE-OPENING BANK
Much Activity by Committees
and Many Signing the
Agreement
'Increased activity in the work of
re-organizing and re-opening the (
Brevard bank is noted here since the |
meeting of the stockholders, which!1
t was held in the court house last j i
Thursday, and largely attended. H. c
A. Plummer was named chairman of i f
the meeting, and David Ward was|(
selected as secretary. The proposition ; ,
which had been submitted to the j (
stockholders by the Depositors' Com- ,
mittee was read, and its provisions
accepted. A committee was named 1 .
by the stockholders to work with the
committee of the depositors in iron
ing out the many questions arising, |]
and to submit plans to the corpora-;!
tion commission for approval by that;1
body. . i j
H. H. Patton moved that the cor- 1(
poration commission be asked to make
a 35 per cent assessment against the
stockholders, .to raise the amount of
money for re-opening the bank which
ha^l been requested in the proposition
as submitted by the Depositors' Com-j
f mittee. This motion was given unan- \
imous approval, and the committee
was named.
The joint committee met at the
Chamber of Commerce rooms on Tues- ;
day afternoon of this week, and some i
fifty men from all sections of the :
county were added to the joint com-j
mittee, and actual work was begun in '
obtaining signatures of depositors to ,
the agreement. This agreement pro-;
vides that depositors will set asidi 30
per cent of their deposits to be added
to the surplus fund, and "freeze" the
remaining 70 per cent for a given
length of time.
Although the committee on obtain
ing signatures have worked but part
of two days, 30U depositors have al
ready signed the agreement. It is '
known that more than this number
have signed, but the agreaments are ,
in the hands of citizens living in out- 1
lying scctions o/ the county, and re
ports had not been received from
them. These will be in Saturday,
when it is expected that more than
half of the depositors will'have signed
up during the first five days.
In the meantime, a sub-committee is
working on the other end of the
proposition, and is now in corres
pondence with the state banking of
ficials for the purpose of making cer
tain that whatever is done here will
_ be done in suqh manner as to conform
to the rules and regulations of the
state officials.
RETURN TRUE BILLS
i AGAINST MEMBERS j
OF FORMER BOARD
__ ? I
Silversteen, Shipman and Fish
er Also Named In
Indictment
IN CONNECTION WITH
SALE OF $100,000 NOTE
Fisher Asks for An Immediate
Hearing of Case ? Con
spiracy Charged
True bills wore returned by the
Grand Jury Wednesday against the
board of county commissioners which
retired last December first, the county i
attorney serving with that board, the
president of the Brevard Banking
company and the chairman of the
board of directors of the bank. One
bill charged the county commisson
ers with failure to obtain collateral i
for public funds deposited in the Bre-|
vard Banking company, while another i
bill charged the former county com- '
missioned, the former county attor- ,
ney and officials of the bank with |
:onspiracy to defraud Transylvania!
:ounty in the sum of $100,000.
Named in the bill are the follow
ing :
Thos. II. Shipman, president of the
Brevard Banking company.
Jos. S. Silversteen, chairman of,
:he board of directors, Brevard Bank
ng company.
J. II. Pickelsimer, former chairman :
)f the board of county commission
ers: A. M. White, W. L. Talley, S. ;
it. Owen and C. It. McNeely, former ;i
nembers of the board of county com- j
nissioners; and Ralph It. Fisher, for
lier county attorney.
No warrants had been issued late
Wednesday, hence no bonds had been i
lamed by the court for appearance. ?
Ur. Fisher, speaking for himself and i
lis former associates in the county j
government, asked the court foF im- ! i
nediate hearing of the cases. The bill , !
igainst thy former commissioners |
iharges that the board of county com- . i
nissioners were empowered under !
-he law to select a depository for the p
'unds of the county; that the com-j<
nissioners did select the BreviirdU
banking company as the county's de-jl
jository; and that the commissioners 1 1
'ailed and neglected to require of the I
Brevard Banking company a bond it)1!
;ome surety company doing business <
n North Carolina, as the law re- i i
luires, in an amount sufficient to pro- 1 j
ect the funds of Transylvania coun- ,
?y.
The bill charging conspiracy to L
( Continued on back fxtye)
SCHOOL BOARD TO
ORGANIZE MONDAY':
i
Wilson Suggested as Chairman '
? To Name County
Superintendent ?
Next Monday will be another active j <
lay in Brevard, when the county com- ji
nissioners will be in regular session, J
md the newly appointed board of edu- j j
:ation will meet for organization. The i
:ounty commissioners met last Mon- '
lay and transacted special business ]
.?elating to the finances. The board ofli
xlucation also met Monday, the last''
session to be held by the old board.
There is no money as yet for the
:eacher?, it. is s?id, they not having j
jeen paid in full this year. Fifty ]
aer cent was paid for January's work, >
20 pc v cent for February, and noth
ng 1 ? March. Plans are being ,
rushf .! through, however, to obtain
money with which to pay the teach
;rs.
The new board of education, now
insisting of five members by legis- j
lative enactment which increased the |
board from three to five in number,
will organise next Monday. L. P. j
Wilson is spoken of on the streets as ;
being the favorite for the place of 1
chairman of the board. Mr. Galloway, |
of Kosmnn, the only member of the J
old board to be re-appointed, Sid Bar
nett of I'isgah Forest, C. V. Shuford ,
of Little River and Leo Cash of Oak- '
land, are the other board members. !
It is not known what action the
new board will take on the question
of naming a county superintendent, j
Some reports have it that Prof. I
Verner will be retained for another
two y.ars, while others express con
fidence that Prof. J. E. Rufty will be I
named as head of the school system i
in the county. Suggestion is made in ?
many quarters that neither of these!
will be named, and one report is to
the effect that another man, not yet
mentioned pubicly in connection with
the place, will be named.
GRAND JURY SERVING IN
IN SiPERIOR COURT HERE
Following is a list of the names of
tho .citizens selected to serve on the
Oram. Jury, now ih session for Super
ior court:
W. A. Wilson, foreman; F. L. Wil
son, Lambert Gillespie, EHe Cassell,
Webb Hollingsworth, Ace England,
| Louie Fisher, Nath McGaha, Hughie
I Orr. Chas. LaMance, M. B. Bagwell,
B. N. Toai'Ut1. K. F. Gillespie, Porter
[Morgan. B. VV. Trantham. Jim Jones,
' R. E. Fortesque and J. P. Wilson.
SHERIFF PATTON IS
INDICTED IN BILL
ONSEVERAL COUNTS
Charged With Falsely Repre
senting Possessions In Ob
taining Money
NAMED AS AGENT OF
PATTON-PICKETT ?0.
Requests Court to Give Himj
Immediate Hearing In
the Matter
True bill charging that he ob- !
tained money from the Brevard !
Banking company through false I
representation was returned by the
Grand Jury Wednesday against T.
E. Patton, Jr., sheriff-tax collector i
of Transylvania county. Six specific (
instances were cited in the bill, chair
ing Mr. Patton with representing in
each instance that he, as agent for
the Patton-Pickett Timber company,
had certain values in shipments of
poles, upon which representations he
obtained sums of money in each in- 1
stance. The alleged transactions arc |
said in the bill to have been committed '
on the 7th and the 8th days of Oc
tober, 1929.
Upon being informed that present
ment might be made against him, Mr. '
Patton requested Solicitor Pless to '
send in the bill, and when it had been |
sent in and returned, counsel for Mr.
Patton, in open court, asked for trial <
at this term of court so the matter j
:ould be cleared up.
The six shipments of poles included |:
in the bill had a total value of '
fl, 720.05, for which, the bill recites, j
Mr. Patton received these sums ol' j 1
money, aggregating the above named '
amount, and the bill charges in cachj!
instance that the defendant did not
possess these poles, and misrepresent- I
jd the facts to officials of the ban); !
from whom the money was obtained, j
Bond in the sum of S1000 was de- |
manded, and immediately furnished. 1
The bills covered five pages, type- 1
.vritten, covering each count, giving 1
Jate of alleged transaction, number!'
)f poles shipped from each point, des-j'
:ir.ation, amount of money each ship- 1
nent was represented to bring in, and
;hen the charge in each instance that ' 1
nisrepresentation had been made j*- 1
)btaining the various sums of money.,'
from the bank against these ship- /
nents. | (
APPEAL MADE FOR
SCHOOLCHILDREN!
Officers and members of the Par- !
;nt-Teacher association issue urgent!]
appeal for volunteers to provide ! ,
unches for the two groups of chil-!t
Iren here who have been receiving |J
;h'ese lunches throughout the school
.?ear. Plans are made for the .
unches up to and including Wednes-i]
lay, ^April 8. There are 20 children i
n one group, and fourteen in the 1
)ther school group. The Parent- ||
Teacher association has been provid- 1
tng milk for both groups, while vol- , '
jnteers have provided sandwiches. 1
There is noted improvement in the ! <
health of the children, it is reported, /
and the need for continuation of this 1
work until school closes is urgent.
Following is a list of the volunteers '
who will provide lunches through ,
Wednesday, April 8:
Mrs. Dr. R. L. Stokes, Mrs. Truman i'
Crary, Mr. and Mrs. Carl McCrary, I
Mrs. Avery Galloway and Mrs. j]
James F. Barrett. Volunteers are
needed for providing lunches begin- 1
ning Thursday, April 9. Notice should j
be given Mrs. Charles Pickelsimer, !
Mrs. H. L. Wilson, or any member of j
the association.
T. W. WHITMIRE ASKS
FOR SEVERAL TRACTS
As an indication of the manner in
which people are turning their eyes
toward Brevard and Transylvania
county, T. W. Whitmire, mayor of
Brevard and real estate dealer, has
placed a quarter page advertisement i
in this issue of The Brevard News,
asking for three, five and ten acre ,
tracts of land, near Brevard. "It is i
urgent," the advertisement reads,
"whatever is done must be done at
once."
Men who have made a study of ;
conditions Here predict the summer j
and fall of this year to be the most :
active in the community's history. :
There are some big things in store for I
this section, and all of these events,
although seemingly small when con
sidered alone, but taken in the aggre
gate are sufficient to cause people to
take new hope and new heart, and ,
work toward a gerater goal than ever j
before.
REGULAR MEETING OF
O. E. S. NEXT TUESDAY
Regular meeting of the Pisgah
Chapter of the Eastern Star will be
held naxt Tuesd"'" nt the regu
lar hour. A large attendance is me
ed.
MARK GENTRY FOUND GUILTY
OF MANSLAUGHTER IN CASE
OF SLAYING CLAUDE MASON
\
Mark Gentry was found guilty of
manslaughter in Superior court, . the
verdict being returned by the jury at
6 oclock Wednesday afternoon, after
having been out about one hour.
Gentry was being tried for the mur
der of Claude Mason, on the 7th day
of Oct. last year. Gentry based his
plea on self defense, and has been out
under bond since a few days after
the preliminary hearing.
The following citizens were on the
jury, which Returned the verdict of
manslaughter :
Granville Fisher, Joe Clayton, Jr.,
Clyde Pitman, Bob Mackey, Carmel t
Pickelsimer, Jot' McCrary, Cole I Lee,
Frank Case, afldon Barton, Will Con- 1
ley and R. E. Whitmire.
Gentry was represented by Wm. E. i
Bieese, T. Coleman Galloway and Pat;
Kimzey. . Solicitor Pless was assisted '
for the state by R. R. Fisher and L.
jP. Hamlin. Trial of the case was be- ,
gun Wednesday morning, the verdict
| being returned before 0 o'clock in the !
evening. Judge Grady, who was;
called back to thfe court room from'
the Waltermire Hotel, announced that
he would pass sentence Thursday. |
JUDGE GRADY HERE
FOR FIRST COURT
? ; ?
Many Cases Disposed of ? So
licitor J. Will Pless Is
Prosecuting
Superior court, beginning here
Monday morning with Judge Ilenry
A. Grady presiding, and Hon. J. Will !
Pless, Jr., solicitor, has disposed of |
numerous cases on the criminal dock
et, all of which were of minor nature,
except the murder case against Mark j
Gentry. This is the first court in
Transylvania county over which i
Judge Grady has presided, yet in the j
few days that he has been here he has j
made many friends. Solicitor Pless 1
is well known here, and this county
:laims him as one of its own citizen!--, j
It is believed that the criminal !
locket will be cleared before the <.: ' !
the week, unless trial of some of
;he bank cases come up. Sheriff T.
E. Patton, Jr., has asked that he be;
jiven an immediate trial on the [
?harcrea lodged against him, while R. '
It. Fisher, former county attorney, :
nas requested for himself and for the
former county commissioners indicted j'
with him, a hearing at the earliest
possible moment. It is not known!
whether any of these cases will be;
icard at this term.
Next week will be devoted to the.|
:ivil docket, on which there are some |
mpnrtant eases. Judge Grady will i'
remain here ?or trial of the . civil
locket, while Solicitor Pless will gr'
0 other work as soon as the criminal
locket has been cleared.
LIMITlFlAWTO be
GIVEN, SAYS MAYOR
Mayor T. W. Whitmire stated :<<
,he press Tuesday that instructions,
lave been issued to the officers to '
tiake arrests of all people who violate ;
;he law governing conduct of the.
public while the fire whistle is blow- <
ng, or while the firemen and the '?
:hief are on the way to the place of |
1 lire. The mayor further stated that i
ie intends to give the maximum pun- 1
shment to those who are guilty oi ,
:hese violations, and is giving this ;
public notice to the end that all may |
enow what to expect in event the or- j
iinance is violated.
The ordinance provides that ali .
drivers of vehicles on the streets ol
the town of Brevard shall park thru
:are immediately when the live
whistle, or gong, or the fire siren, is
sounded, and remain parked until the
file fighting forces shall have clear
passage on the streets to the location
t>f the fire.
Following is the ordinance which is
to be strictly and rigidly enforced, the
mayor says:
"Be it ordained by the Board of
Aldermen of the Town of Brevard, N.
C., that all persons, other than mem
bers of the Fire Department, who may
be driving any automobile or other
vehicle on any of the public streets of
the Town of Brevard, shall at the
sound of the "Fire Whistle," or the
Fire Bell, park their vehicle in such
a place and manner as not to inter
fere in any way with the passage of
the Fire Truck or automobile carry
ing members of the Fire Department
until the exact location of the fire is
ascertained.
"Any person violating any of the |
provisions of this ordinance shall be (
guiltv of a misdemeanor and shall be
fined" not less than twenty-five dollars, j
or imprisoned not more than thirty j
days in the discretion of the Mayor."
MANY COMING HERE
FOR B. Y. P. If. MEET
i
The Western North Carolina Reg- 1
ional B. Y. P. U. Convention meets i
with Brevard Baptist church April
17 and 18. This will be one of the
most significant meetings ever held at j
this church.
Plans are being made by the dif
ferent committees to care for and en
tertain the scores of Unioners who
will attend this convention. A hous
ing committee will make a survey of
the town possibly this week to secure
homes for the delegates.
Cooperation of other churches of
+ATt'W ' th6
Scouts have agreed to be on hand and
iinlp in every way possible.
JUDGE'S CHARGE IS
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Plain Presentation of Purpose
of Court and Duties of
Citizenship
"In the courts of our land, onej
man is as good as another, and there
nr:st be no difference in the trcat
n: 'it of men in our courts," said
Judge Henry A. Grady, in delivering
k charge to the Grand Jury Monday
morning. His Honor had explained
the dutifs of the Grand .jury, stress
ing the importance of the position of
the foreman of the body, when hu
continued with the assertion that
th re can be no favoritism in tlv
courts of the country. Some mensth"
jud| iaid, had violated the law, and
bee:. ? of their political influence, ,
financial standing or religious con
nections, has escaped indictment an !
prosecution. It is only through ilu
Grand Jury, the judge asserted, thai
redress can be had, and warned th"
jurors to make investigations and
follow these with presentments when
evidence of wrong-doing justified such
action, regardless of the man or men,
their position or power. (
Judge Grady also stressed the im- 1
portance of examination of the books ;
and records .of justices of the peace.
A justice of the peace, the judge cx- ;
plained, must make his report to the .
clerk of the court at least ten days
prior to the opening of a term of
court, and reporting in detail all :
cases that have been tried before the ,
magistrate, and must turn in all fines :
and forfeitures to the proper offic- ,
ials.
Judge Grady's charge to the Grant! !
Jury was plain and to the point, eas
ily understood by the body addressi.-:! '
and by the large crowd of laymen in
the court room. It was in reality '
most highly appreciated lecture to all !
who heard him as to the purpose of
the ? courts, Jthc great protection to so
ciety provided by the courts, and the
Judge Grady's first court in Transyl
vania county, yet in the few days j
that he has been here many citizens
have expressed great admiration for ,
the jurist, and many comments have
been heard as to his ability and very >
evident sense of fairness and cour- ,
tesy to all people who come in con- ?
tact with him.
BANKS RE-OPENJNG
IN MANY COUNTS
Practically all the banks in West
em North Carolina that went down
with the Titantic, when the big Cen
tral Bank & Trust company of Ashe
ville sank last November, are now
re-opened, re-organized and doing
business. The banks that closed in
Asheville, "Hendersonville and Bre
vard are about the only ones that re
main closed. No effort has been made
to re-open any of the Asheville or
Hendersonville banks, the latter city
taking the course some time ago ol
starting a new bank, and leaving the ;
closed institutions to be liquidated. !
Some twelve or fifteen banks in ?
the counties of the West have been
re-opened and re-organized. In some
instances the depositors placed as
his as 60 per cent of their deposits in
the surplus fund, freezing the re
maining 40 per cent for three years,
and re-opened on this basis. All the
banks have taken the position that ;
re-opening and re-organization is
the better way of handling the situ
ation. "Ynrponinij belief that deposi
tors would receive more than through
liquidation of the banks.
Many men have been working hard
here in an effort to re-open and re
organize the Brevard bank, and splen
did progress is reported. Business has
greatly increased in every town where i
the banks have re-opened, and men
who study conditions assert that there i
can be but little progress made hero |
until the community is provided with
banking facilities.
TINSLEY BROWN RETURNS TO
I JOB IN THE P1SGAH FOREST
I Tinsley Brown, popular citizen of
the Balsam Grove section, has been in
I town this week attending court, but
:left Wednesday afternoon to resume
I his work for the Carr Lumber' com- '
ipany in the Forest. Mr. Brown ii
runr-'*"" "Jogging job on Big Creek
for he comwany. He was witness here
'in the Mark Gentry murder trial.
I
LEGISLATURE NOW
BEGINS 4TH MONTH
OF PRESENT SESSION
Sales Tax, Bone of Contention,
Now In the Senate,
May Die
MacLEAN SCHOOL LAW
CAUSE OF BIG WRANGLE
fc'
No Adjournment In Sight ? 1
Predicted That MacLean
Will Be Repealed
North Carolina's legislature is
breaking all records for length of
time in continuous session, as it en
ters upon its fourth month of work,
with no indication of adjournment,
?he revenue bill, embracing the sales
tax plan as passed by the lower house,
is now in the hands of the senate
group, where, it is freely predicted,
the $ales tax feature will be elimin
ated. Prediction is also being mada
that in the end the MacLean school
bill, cause of all the long sessfon, will
be repealed, the equalization fund in
creased, and tax left on land for sup
port of the schools.
Brevard News Burrati
Raleigh, April 1
Sales tax or no sales tax has been
the all-absorbing problem in the Gen
eral Assembly for a week, particular
ly in the House of Representatives
side of the General Assembly. Tho
question of, if a sales tax, then
which, was answered by the Houso
committee and later by the Ilnuse, as
a committee of the whole, in favor of
the general sales tax ngainsj the so
called luxury tax, by the close mar
gin of four votes.
This vote, of course, was not de
cisive. In fact, proponents of the lux
ury tax, in some instance?, voted for
the general sales tax, with a sort of
reservation that they would introduce
amendments when it comes to final
voting in the House to substitute tho
luxury tax, or that the Senate, when
the revenue bill reaches that body,
would substitute the luxury sales tax
and send it back to the House for
concurrence.
Lines established when the so named
MacLean bill was enactcd to require
the state to support the six months
school term, and when the later John
ston-Jolly bill, providing machinery
for operation of the six months term,
was enacted, both by overwhelming
majorities ? these lines have become
all broken up over methods of financ
ing the six months term. It would
seem that the legislature would in
( Continued on ]>agc five)
NEW REAL ESTATE
FIRM ORGANIZED
McCrary and Hamlin to Adve*
tiee This County Far
and Wide
Announcement is made in this vsue
of The- Brevard News of the forma
tion of a new real estate company in
Brevard, composed of Judson Mc
Crary and Lewis P. Hamlin, under
the firm name of McCrary & Hamlin.
It is announced that a general rea'
estate business is to be>conducte(.
offering all features of service, ir?
eluding the sale and purchase of re:
estate. }>oth town and county, renta' .
re-financing, and all elements of sc
vice that will prove of value i<> the
property owner or man who desires to
purchase property.
That there is great need here for
an active firm of this kind has long
been realized. The firm intends to dc
extensive advertising both locally and
in other fields where prospective citi
zens may be induced to come here and
invest in real estate. In addition to
homes and business houses, farms and
stock" farms, the company intends to
push the sale of hunting and fishing
preserves and summer camps.
Mr. McCrary is an experienced veal
estate man, recognized as an author
ity on real estate values. Mr. Ham
lin is one of the outstanding lawyers
of Western North Carolina, and
while he will be actively connected
with operation of the real estate bus
iness, it is not to interfere with his
practice of law, it is said.
Offices have been equipped in the
Pickelsimer building on Main street,
where Mr. Hamlin has long maintain
ed law offices. There is a decided
trend toward increased activity in
the real estate field here, and it is be
lieved that the constant work of this
new firm will be of untold value to
the town and county.
WOMEN WORKING ON PLAN
TO CLEAN UP THE TOWN
The Woman's Bureau is busily en
gaged on plans for cleaning up the
town for the summer season. One
additional attraction to be offered is
the plan to prepare the court house
lawn, toi'W used as a park during the
summer. The Bureau is selling lunch
es at the court house ?his week, mak
ing what money they can for the pur
,pcs8 of preparing the court house
grounds for the summer. It is be
ilieved that an intensive campaign
?will be waged by the women to clean
iip the town in splendid manner for
i the season.