Number 33
IMPRISONMENT AND
HEAVY FINES GIVEN
COUNTY'S LEADERS
m Verdict Was Shock and Sur
? prise to Citizens of County
Who Know the 8 Men
COUNTY IS PARALYZED
BECAUSE OF MATTER
Convicted by Imported Jury
Demanded for Trial by
Solicitor Pless
Transylvania county people packed
into the court house last Saturday
afternoon heard a Haywood county
jury, imported at the request of
Solicitor J. Will Pless. Jr.. render a
verdict of guilty in the trial of eight
of the county's outstanding citizens.
Thos. II. Shipman, Jos. S. Silver
steen, former bankers, and J. H.
Pickelsimer, C. R. McNeelv, A. M.
White. S. R. Owen and W." L. Talley,
former county commissioners, and
Ralph R. Fisher, former county attor
ney, had been indicted at the April :
term of court, charged with conspir- j
acy to misapply and misapplication
of county funds. The trial had last
ed for almost two weeks, the state
taking up the entire time of offering
evidence, the defense not putting up
any evidence at all. The jury took
the case late Friday evening, return
ed its verdict at 3 oc'lock Saturday
afternoon.
When the verdict was returned it .
came with such distinct shock to the
big crowd that people stood stunned
for a moment, and then hundreds of
men and women openly wept as real
ization of the awful fate which had
befallen these neighbors and fine cit
izens was impressed upon them, j
Judge H. Holye Sink announced to [
the lawyers that he did not consider
it necessary for any long arguments i
in support of the motion to set aside '
fhe verdict, J. Bat Smathers made
the motion for his client, Thos. H. j
Shipman. Judge Sink tol_d the attor- ,
ney that the court would hear him|
on the punishment to be meted out, j
whereup Mr. Smathers stated that
he did not care to make any remarks
on that subject, saying: "There is
your man, Tom Shipman. You know j
his physical condition. It is your
honor's place to fix the punishment .
You know his past life, his service to j
the people of this county, and these |
people know it."
Wm. E. Breese, attorney for Sil- 1
versteen, started to address the court j
in behalf of his client, but was so ov-j
ercome with grief that no words came ;
from his lips? just sobs of grief. It 1
was some time before Mr. Breese
could resume his place at the bar and j
address the court. T. Coleman Gal- j
loway, associate counsel for Silver-:
steen, made a strong plea for Silver- ,
steen, reciting his many acts of
benevolence, telling of the many in- !
dustrial plants operated by the de- !
fendant, and urging upon the court j
the lack of evidence to support the;
jury's verdicc.
McKinley Edwards made strong '?
plea for Ralph R. Fisher, introducing!
Dr. R. L. Stokes who testified to I
Fisher's serious illness during the '
months the alleged conspiracy acts j
were charged to have been made, [
and of the time that Fisher spent in !
the several hospitals, including a ,
time at Oteen hospital.
Edwards told of Fisher's battles to '
conquer the obstacles thrown in his !
way as a lad, and of his answering :
the call of the country when the war j
broke out, and in graphic manner de
scribed Fisher's work for the county. !
G. Lyle Jones, Asheville attorney j
for Fisher and the former board of j
commissioners, stated to the court j
that he did not, as a usual thing, !
quarrel with a jary's verdict, but |
stated that "this is one. time when I i
am utterly shocked at a jury's ver-'
diet."
' Mr. Breese again appeared before !
the court, after recovering his com
l posure, and recited to the court the
tcreat work that has been done for
Transylvania county by the defend- j
ants, and told of the faithful work |
performed by Mr. Silversteen in j
building Transylvania county. He
ridiculed the idea that Ralph Fisher j
could be charged with conspiring with
Shipman and Silversteen, as there!
had long been intense enmity between
Fisher on the cne hand and Silver
steen and Shipman on the other hand.
Lewis P. Hamlin made an especial
ly strong plea for the convicted men.
Hamlin told the court how the com
missioners had worked to reduce
taxes on the citizens of the county,
and made, during their term of of
fice, the greatest reduction in taxes
ever made by any county in the state
in any two-year period. He reminded
the court that the commissioners in
issuing the tax anticipation note had
done only what all boards had done
each year for a long, long time.
Hamlin, who had prepared the case
for the defendants and acted as chief
counsel throughout the trial, assert
ed that the men were innocent of
crime, that they were clean, fine, up
right citizens end that all citizens of
the county would so testify.
Judge Sink passed sentence;
> Shipman was given two to five
years in the penitentiary, and fined
?5000.
Fisher was given two to five years
(Continued on page eight)
EIGHT MEN SUFFER
INTENSE AGONY AS
JURY SAYS GUILT\
Re- Action to Verdict as EacI
Name Is Called Brings
Tears to Many
SHORT SKETCH OF EACH
DEFENDANT IS GIVEIV
One Little Word That Tool
i Away From Fine Men Their
Rights of Citizenship
Eight men sat in the Transylvania
'county court room last Saturday eve
jning, and heard one word uttered by
a jury of twelve imported men, that
1 took away from each of the eight his
] citizenship, and brought a few mo
jments later penitentiary sentences to
ifour and heavy fines to the othei
four. Among the eight men whose
lives were so changed by the utter
ance of the one word ? Guilty ? were
jmen ripe in age, rich in character
and standing, and facing the court
for the first time in their lives.
Reaction to pronouncement of the
verdict by the men so vitally affected
brought tears not only to their own
eyes, but the eyes of hundreds of
others in the court room. Following
is a short sketch of each of the de
fendants, with reference to the effect
produced by the verdict:
Alfred White
Alfred White, of Kosman, a mem
ber of the board, and recently elected
mayor of Rosman, was one of the
most jolly members of the big crowd
attending court. He is known as a
"stay-at-home" man, except when he
attends church, or visits sick people
in his community. He has worked hard
throughout his fifty-odd years of
life, and those who know him best
look upon him as the ideal citizen. He
was not worried about the trial, and
his jocular mood was the subject of
comment upon many occasions and
by many people.
When the Haywood county jury ?
strangers to Alfred White and the
exemplary life which he has led ? re
turned a verdict of guilty, and the
lawyers began talking to the court
about making the prison sentences
just as moderate as possible, was the
first time since the indictments were
returned that Alfred White realized
that he really was being connected
with crime.
Tears gushed from hi? eyes, and a
great lump came up into his throat
until he could not speak with clear
ness. "I have done my county no
wrong, and have been conscious of
no sin committed by me as a member
of the board, I didn't realize that
they even suspected me of having
done anything wrong. God knows that
I have never knowingly wronged
anybody, any time, about anything.
What's the meaning of it?" he asked
those standing about him. "Why
don't you know that if I had even
dreamed that anything was wrong,
I would have resigned from the of
fice and gone home." And those who
know Alfred White, know that he was
speaking the truth.
W. L. T alley
Luther Talley, hard-working farm
er of Penrose, and for 20 years post
master there, known by his neigh
bors as the soul of honor and personi
fication of kindness and neighborli
ness, sat quietly throughout the two
weeks of court, seldom speaking.
There is a quiet dignity about him
which is the indelible mark of the
true mountaineer who has spent
much of his time in the quiet of Na
ture's bigness as he applies hand and
hoe to the soil in coaxing from her
bounteous goodness another crop for
another winter's supply. When the
verdict was rendered, and the gaping,
yawning prison doors became the
subject of conversation between law
yer and judge, Luther Talley did not
move from his accustomed position,
but two great streams of briny tears
coursed down his kind, honest, consci
entious face, to drop unheeded from
his cheeks into his hands lying fold
ed on his lap. Those who know Mr.
Talley best pronounce him to have
been scrupulously careful in his
every transaction throughout life in
his inborn desire to be law-abiding,
and say that Mr. Talley has always
so lived as to plainly mark him an up
right and honest citizen.
5. R. Owen
| Sam Owen, living away up in Glou
cester, rugged man of the mountains
jand as strong in characta^ as the
everlasting hills of the rugged sec
I tion of the Blue Ridge where he has
1 always lived, is another who paid but
j little attention to the indictment and
'gave but little heed to the prepar
ation of the case. "I have done no
wrong, so why worry about the trial?'
; he said to friends. Throughout the
'trial Mr. Owen had occupied a place
| in the court room just behind defense
? counsel, where he could lean his chaii
! against the bar railing. When the
Haywood county jury, strangers to
Sam Owen, pronounced the verdict ol
guilty, and the question of time foi
ieach to be spent in the penitentiary
I as common convicts, the broad face ol
i Sam Owen became distorted with i
I new agony, an agony never before ex
iperienced by him, and tears big a;
raindrops gushed from his eyes anc
the stream never ceased for an hour
"I only did my baet for the county a:
a board member, and the Lord know;
(Continued on page eight)
Lewis P. Hamlin
New State Vice Councillor Junior Order
L. P. HAMLIN ELECTED TO HIGH
OFFICE IN THE JUNIOR ORDER
( Special to The Brevard News) votes in Western North Carolina to |
! Charlotte, Aug. 19.? Lewis P. Ham- elect a man, and we must be content j
llin, Brevard lawyer, was elected here to lay our claims before you- We do I
i l _ ' ... ? so in the fullest confidence that your,
'today as State \ ice Councillor of the inherent love of fair play will prompt <
Junior Order in North Carolina, be- you delegates to turn aside from the1
I ing the first man ever to be elected well oiled machinery of the organiz
| to this coveted position who lived ation, and say to the Juniors of the j
iwest of Charlotte. Mr.?Hamlin auto- mountains that you recognize their;
imatically becomes state councillor a great claim upon your support, and
jyear from now. Election of Mr. cast your votes for our candidate,
i Hamlin to head the Junior Order in' ?We now place before you the ,
j North Carolina was looked upon herename of Western North Carolina's!
!as one of the greatest victories ever great man_Lewis P. Hamlin, law
jwon in a state-wide contest. An- yer> legislator, loyal Junior. From
I other man had been selected for the every council in the mountains have ;
? place by the leaders, and when the come strong appeals to place Lewis I
.convention opened Tuesday morning Hamlin at the head of this great or
no one except a few o. Hamlin s ganization of fifty thousand men. I
friends and workers had any other ;am commissioned to say to you that
idea than that the honors would go no other one thing that you could do
to E. L. Gavin, of Roxboro. |jn ^his convention would so enthuse j
j Nominations were made Tuesday the membership of the Junior Order
, afternoon, and the election held late In this state as would that of plac- j
| Wednesday afternoon. James F. Bar- 'ing Lewis Hamlin at the helm. Hon
> rett placed Mr. Hamlin's name be- esty, integrity, capability and conse
. fore the convention in one of the j crated loyalty to the order are the j
most appealing presentations ever j elements of the man we now leave in
heard here, according to the delegates j your hands, confident that right will ,
'in attendance. The speaker said, in j triumph and recognition of our claims
i part : j upon your support will be registered !
I "We men of the mountains come to j by you when the time comes to cast
I you and place before you Western j your votes."
| North Carolina's great claims and j Then the delegations from Western
I Western North Carolina's great man. North Carolina began to work, and
i This is the forty-first year in the j not a moment was lost until the bal
| life of the State Council of the Jun-jlots were closed 24 hours later. Ex
ior Order, and Western North Caro-jtreme eastern delegations began com
ilina has never had a man among: ing to Hamlin's support, and when
jyour state officials. These officials ! the ballots were counted, with three
Shave always come from "the eastern (candidates in the race, Hamlin lack
jpart of the state. It has been 25
years since a man living west of
Monroe has been selected for the head
of this organization, so we come to
ed only 12 votes having a clear ma
jority 'Over both opponents, where
upon Hon. E. -L. Gavin, the nearest
opponent, made motion that Lewis
jyou as a challenge to your spirit of Hamlin's election be made by ac
ifairness. We do not have sufficient clamation.
Juniors Urged to Attend Hamlin
| Jubilee Meeting Saturday Night
"
! Lewis P. Hamlin of Brevard, was
j elected State Vice Councillor of the!
! Junior Order United American Me- 1
jchanics in Charlotte Wednesday aft-j
ernoon, and will automatically be
jcome councillor one year hence. Re- j
i port of the convention showed that
j there are more than fifty thousand
I members in good standing in the
I Junior Order in the state, making
I this the biggest fraternal order in
North Carolina.
William Lyday, of Pisgah Forest,
and delegates from Biltmore, Ashe
ville, Leicester, Canton, Waynesville,
Sylva, and many other western sec- 1
tions, worked hard for Hamlin's elec
tion, which is the first time in the
forty-one years of its life that a
Western North Carolina man has
, headed the Junior Order in this state.
Plans are being made to have a
i large number attend the meeting this
- Saturday night in Brevard, and greet
> I the new state leader, Lewis Hamlin.
1 All members are expected to attend
? Saturday night's meeting, and all
3 former members are urged to attend,
3 and all members of Rosman council
are cordially invited to meet with the
Brevard lodge Saturday night, when
a jollification meeting will be held in
honor of the selection of a Brevard
man as state vice councillor of the
state organization.
TONSIL CLINIC TO BE
HELD IN BREVARD
Announcement is made that the
I State Board of Health will hold a
[tonsil and adenoid clinic in Brevard
on Sept. 1 to 4, inclusive, when chil
idren between ages of 5 and 12 years
[will be operated upon for minimum
[charge of ?12.50. Those unable to
ipay anything at all may have work
done free by making early aplication
to Prof. J. B. Jones, superintendent
of schools, or to Dr. C. L. Newland,
county health officer, or Miss Clara
Beam, at the Norwood House.
Friday, Sept. 4, has been set aside
for operation on colored children.
Complete hospital facilities will be
installed at the place of holding the
clinic, which place will be announced
: later.
MANY BLAME PLIGHT
OF EIGHT MEN UPON
AN IMPORTED JURY
Not Believed That Local Jury,
Knowing Men, Would Con
vict On the Evidence
SOLICITOR PLESS ASKED
FOR THE OUTSIDE JURY
In Affidavit Declared State
Would Find Influence of
Men Too Great
One reason offered by wounded cit
izens why eight of Transylvania
? county's leading men stand convicted;
of conspiracy, some of them sent
enced to the penitentiary in Raleigh
and heavy fines hanging over the
heads of others, is to be found in the
fact that these men were not allowed
to be tried before a jury of their own j
fellow citizens. Solicitor Pless filed'
an affidavit with the court setting ]
forth the fact that, because of the
prominence of the eight men, their j
large influence in the county, and so |
on, the state would find this "influ- '
jence almost insurmountable."
' Many people do not agree with i
Solicitor Pless that Transylvania;
ccunty citizens are not men with suf- !
fieient courage of their convictions to ?
return a fair verdict, regardless of ,
the influence of defendants being ;
tried. It is agreed by many who have |
expressed themselves that a jury of '
Tiansylvania county citizens would j
not have convicted the -eight men up
on the evidence which seemed suffic- j
ient to the imported jury, but Tran
sylvania county citizens are just as '
loyal and fine citizens as can be found I
in any other county in the state, and
would perform their duty with the 1
same regard for their oath as would a j
jury from any other county. The
state would have been forced, it is |
believed, to have offered stronger evi- 1
dence against the eight men than was
produced in the trial last week in
order to convince a jury made up of I
men who know the fine citizens being [.
tried than was apparently sufficient';
to the Haywood county men.
Following is the affidavit filed by']
Solicitor Pless in demanding a jury 1
from another county to try Transyl
vania county men:
"J. Will Pless, Jr., first being duly!1
sworn, and respectfully moving the j !
Court, says : J
"That he is Solicitor of the 18th , ?
Judicial District, and that in that j
capacity, has received information as .
to the opinion of the general public '
of Transylvania County in connection '
with the above entitled cause upon :
which to base this motion for a venire . i
to be brought from another County j I
for the trial of this cause; j,
"That the defendants include the J
leaders of both political parties in
Transylvania County, all of whom
have occupied positions of prominence i
and have been for many years en- i
gaged in the business, social and po- '
Titical life of the County;
"That the defendant, T. H. Ship- ,
man, served as President of the Bre- j j
vard Banking Company for many 1 i
years, and in this capacity, came in- ! '
to personal and intimate contact with ; 1
a large percentage of the qualified |
jurors of the County, and has prob-,'
ably assisted in financial banking ;
arrangements, a majority of the citi-|i
zens of the County in the operation 1
of their business, or by making loans | '
and other banking accommodations;,1
That the said Shipman has been ac- 1
tively interested in the welfare of the ,
Democrat party for many years and '
numbers among his friends, practic- '
ally every Democrat of influence inj
I the County;
"That J. S. Silversteen is a man ,
who occupies a position of unusual j
i prominence, in that he is the largest ;
employer of labor within the County, :
having furnished employment to .
hundreds of prospective veniremen, '
and in this manner, has obtained the .
friendship and good will directly and :
| indirectly, of almost every family in 1
[the County; ? |
"That, J. H. Pickelsimer, has ser-,
Jved as Sheriff and Chairman of
' the Board of County Commissioners
,of this County, and was President of
' a Bank for many years, and in these
j various capacities, has been intim- ;
lately associated with a majority of
jthe residents of the County qualified
for jury service;
"That the other Commissioners
have occupied places of prominence in
i the County, and come from j- i-actic- 1
I ally every section thereof, so that
, their influence would be almost insur
'mountable by the State;
"Thct, Ralph R. Fisher has served ?
as a member of the Legislature from ;
this County, and has been actively in
terested in its business and political
'ife for many years, and in addition ,
thereto, has enjoyed a large and
lucrative law practice, and from the I
said capacities, holds the friendship'
of many citizens; The said Fisher ;
now holds the position of Chairman ,
of the Republican Executive Com-!
mittee of the County.
"Affiant respectfully states that
'he is reliably informed that this
case, and other cases connected with
the failure of the Brevard Banking
Company, have been the topic of
conversation in practically every
household in the County, and that a
majority of the citizens thereof have
formed opinions as to the responsi
( Continued on page eight)
jGREATEST CROP !N
STATE'S HISTORY IS
NOW IN THE MAKING
Government's Suggestion 'I'o
Destroy Each Third Row
Is Not Acceptable
PLENTY TO EAT IN THE
STATE, IT IS DECLARED
H. Clay Williams Makes Sug
gestion That Government
Take Over and Hold It
Raleigh, Aug. 18. ? While the Fed
eral Farm Board's proposal ror the
cotton farmers to plow up every third
row has been receiving varied com
ments from Southern Governors,
ranging from Governor Gardner's
suggestion that the board and all
other holders of cotton destroy one
third of it, to that of another that
every third member of the board be
shot, North Carolina has been going
about raising the biggest food and
feed crop in history.
This State, based on the August 1
condition of the crops, as ascertained
by the Federal-State crop reporting
service, will produce this year more
than seven million bushels more of
corn, nearly two million more of
wheat, nearly two million more of
white and two and a half million more
of sweet potatoes, while each of the
three main fruit crops, apples,
peaches and pears, are almost twice
as large as last year.
The application is that even if
the main cash crops, tobacco, cotton
and peanuts, bring little or nothing,
the people of the State will have to
spend much less for food and feed,
and can "live at home" much more
comfortably this winter than they did
last winter. They will at least have
food. 1
The report shows the increase of
food and feed products for important
items, as compared with last summer
in bushels, in tons for hay and gal
lons for sorghum syrup, as follows:
1931 1930
Wheat 6,180,000 4,288,000
Corn 59,198,000 51,865,000
Oats 8,181,000 6,521,000
Barley 1,352,000 924,000
Rye 1,443,000 1,068,000
Buckwheat .. 200,000 120,000'
Potatoes, I. . . 10,544,000 8,590,000
Potatoes, S. ..12,075,000 9,505,000
Apples 5,329,000 2,555,000
Peaches .. .. 2,988,000 1,800,000
Pears 289,000 115,000
sorghum syrup, 1,900,000 1.230,000
Tame hay .. 990,000 748,000
Wild hay .. 51,000 46,000
Alfalfa .... 26,000 18.000
Tobacco acreage is off 7 per cent
?nd the' estimated production of off
11 per cent. A poor stand with aver
age production of peanuts is shown.
Raleigh, Aug. 18. ? Anyway, North
Carolina didn't plant that third row
in cotton this year, having reduced
the acreage 28 per cent in two years,
Glovernor Gardner told the Federal
Farm Board in particular and the
world in general. The proposal in un
just and impractical, he warned, say
ing it is unfair to make the already
depressed cotton growers bear all of
the brunt, when holders of last yea:';;
crop will benefit if one-third ot' thv
growing crop is destroyed. It might
work if the board and all other hold
ers would do as they have asked the
growers to do.
S. Clay Williams, president of the
R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., makes a
suggestion which he admits is im
practical, but not as much so as the
Farm Board's proposal. It is this:
That the Farm Board take over one
half of the growing crop, store it,
pay insurance, and hold it for a cer
tain price, say 12 cents, or whatever
figure it may decide upon ; let the
growers dispose of the remainder of
the crop as best they can, then re
frain from growing cotton altogether
next year. By so doing, he thinks, the
growers could sell the cotton next
year at a good price and have a
year's vacation '.'with pay".
Mr. Williams, in a recent radio
talk from Raleigh, also had com
ments to make relative to tobacco, in
which he is most interested. Two or
three times he suggested a closer
contact and more cooperation between
the manufacturer and the grower of
tobacco in raising the types of to
bacco for which the manufacturers
have built up a market, the kind
needed for production. Mother Na
t'lre and the desire of the grower to
get a few pounds more often play
havoc with efforts to produce a cer
tain kind of tobacco, however, he re
alizes.
The point is made that the aver
age grower knows what kind of to
bacco the manufacturer wants, what
types bring him the best return. So,
cooperation in this particular really
resolves itself into the grower pro
ducing, as near as possible, the types
of tobacco wanted by the manufac
turer, and giving some attention to
grading it, rather than following a
hit or miss method. He knows that
piles of tobacco suitable for establish
ed brands of cigarettes, smokipg or
chewing tobacco bring' hjnj J .gooA
prices, while unsuitable' grades cai^^jv ;
the low average prices, especially the t
chaffy, light, bodyless lugs and leaf.