North Carolina Newspapers

III Wmwnmti&Mfflfc 1 Has More Paid-in-Advance Subscribers In Hay wood County Than All Weekly Xews papers Combined VOL. XLV. NO. 10 WAYNESVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA Till USPAY. I KliRl AUY D, 19.5:5 Homer L. Ferguson Gets Four Letters Demanding $10,000 Be Paid To Gang Death Promised If Demand Not Met By Ferguson Former Haywood Han, Now In Virginia, Does Not Pay Demand; Is Safe. C ASE TRIED IN COURT ENDS IN A MISTRIAL Ferguson's Family And Husi ness Were Also Threaten ed By Gang. Specific threats intended to make Homer L. Ferguson, former Hay-wood County man and well-known here, and who is now president of the First Na tional Bank of Newport News, Va., and also president of the Newport News Shipping Drydoek Company, to part with $10,000 and also threats against the safety of the lives of him and his family were revealed in court in the Virginia 'City recently during the trial, when Herbert Young, form er employee of the shipyard, was harmed with extortion. Young was arraigned and enter al a plea of not guilty to a lenffthly ..indictment which included quotations from six threatening letters received by the Feiguson family. .Police kept the plot a strict secret until several days after Young had been arrested. '!-The; Hirst letter was received by Mr, Ferguson on Septem ber 27. Authorities hoped to lay a trap for the person sending the let ters. All letters were sent" special de livery and were addressed to the ship builder's home in the North End sec tion. The messages were, printed in block letters with pencil on double sheet paper. No name was signed. The contents of the extortion let ters were not made public until the trial. In the letters, the anonymous sender made direct threats again t Ferguson, and members of his im mediate family if the money was not paid. Death was the penalty for fail ure to meet the demands of the gang, the notes declared with blunt direct ness,'. In the first letter dated September 27, the sender told of a plan to shoot up the First National Bank, of which Feiguson is president. The plot was 'subsequently, discarded because "we 'don't. want to kill any one unless we have to." Addressing the shipbuildei direct, the message stated: U were elected to pay up $10,000 if you want us to leave U. and all the members of your family to rest in security. . . We have collected from a very close friend of yours, who play ed wise & "kept all negotiations quiet and paid up, now his family's safety as far as we are concerned doesn't worry him." Negotiations were to be opened, the extortionist wrote, by the insertion of an advertisement in The Times-Herald concerning a lost dog. More emphatic language was used in the second note, postmarked Oc tober 4. "We have several means and .directions in which we can strike and hit- close home. "Which do U think is most dear, your wife's life, your daughter's or yours or the $10,000 which we ask. "If U ignore this, U are inviting us to strike and strike we will." A strong hint not to inform the police of the letters was contained in the one sent October 11. The extor tionists promised that no one would get hurt unless "U insist on lptr.inir the police in if U do U will be the) '"st one to get hurt. "We -want $10,000 'delivered and we won't bite at a dummy or decoy U are to deliver it in person at the point (Continued on page 3) Small Want Ad "Sends Home The Bacon" You have often heard people say "bringing home the bacon," well, that's just what a small want ad in last week's Moun taineer did, only it "sent home the bacon." Several weeks ago a stray nog took up at W. E. Brown's plaje near here. In vain Mr. Brown tried to find the owner of the pig so he sought the want ad column of The Mountaineer m a effort to locate the right ful owner. Within a few hours after the paper reached the post office, the owner called to Mr. Brown's for the -hog. When you want to rent rooms, a house, or sell something you .have no use for, the best way is with a Mountaineer want ad. The cost is almost nothing. Jonah Jackson, 86, Died Last Thursday At His Son's Home Had Lived In County For Nearly 10 Years. Was Active Church Worker- Funeral services were held last Fri ,day at the Clyde Baptist church for Jonah Jackson, 80, who died at the home of his son, J. L. Jackson, at Clyde, on last Thursday. The servi ces were in charge of Rev. 11. P. Mc Cracken of iClyde and Rev. Mr. Hicks of Canton. Interment was made at the Pleasant Hill cemetery near Clyde. Mr. Jackson had been living in Hay wood County for nearly 40 years and was well known throughout the coun ty. He was born in Surry county in 184(1. He married Miss Lucida Creed when he was 23. To this couple was born seven children. Those surviv ing him are: J. L. and Sam, of Clyde, Alec, of Canton, Stonewall and Charlie of Reidsville and Mrs. 11. C. Cham bers of Iron Dull', and one brother, Job, of Mt. Airy, N. C. The deceas ed is survived by twenty-five grand children, and twelve ureal, grand childien. Mr. Jackson became an active church member when just a lad, and had been faithful ever since, having attended all set vices regularly until ill health forced him to remain in. He was a member of the Clyde Baptist church. The active , pallbearers wore six of hi;: grandsons. 200 Masons Met Here For Annual Meeting Friday Hanquet And Memorial Services Are Held By All Haywood Masons. Fruliy evening was a .Masonic oc casion in nynesv ille. for at 7 o'clock more than 2lK of the fraternity and their friends gathered in the temple to -attend the annual dinner, roll call, and memorial services in honor of those who died during the year. The annual hanquet was the first feature of the evening's program. At 7 o'clock, the members of the Waynes ville Lodge No. 259, A. F. and A. M their guests from other lodges in Haywood county and other counties, together with their wives, daughters, sisters, or lady friends, gathered in the banquet hall for the annual din ner. Covers .were laid for 250 guests, and nearly all of the seats were taken. Dr. J. R.MeCrackcn, last grand high priest of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of North Carolina- was master of ceremonies.. Af ter the song, "Blest Be The Tie That Binds," in which the entire body of diners joined, the Rev. R. A. Sentelle. oldest Mason present, invoked Divine blessings. The Rev. Albert New ex tended words of welcome- Dinner was served by the ladies of the East ern Star. The toast master, Dr. MeCracken, enlivened the occasion with a few jokes on members of the-committee in charge of the entertainment part of the program. Roy Ebbs, of Ashe ville, senior grand warden, was intro duced, and he expressed his pleasure at being present. Memorial services in the lodge room werc eulogistic of the members who had departed during 19:52. The fol lowing were eulogized: R. L. Under wood, tribute by W. A. Grahl; Georye I). Shcrrill. bv Dr. J. R.McCracken; F. G. Roberts, by Fred Doutt, W. S Patterson, by Rev. Albert New; W. N. Mease, and T. W. Mease, by Clyde A. Hildebrand; C. C. Medford, by Glenn Brown; and Dr. S. B. Medford, by Grovcr C. Haynes. An appropriate musical program was rendered- Mrs. Fred Martin and Miss Ida Jean Brown sang solos ac companied on the piano by Mrs. Al bert New. A feature of the evening was the presentation of bouquets to W. V. Willis, of Beaverdam township, who has been a Maon for 57 year.--, ami to R. . A. Sentelle, who has been a member for 54 years. "FINES WON'T STOP LIQUOR SELLING," SAYS .1 IT I) C, E Judge Clement stated that ''"; win can't bp ,ivnde to stop selling UiU'r by fining iiim a few dollars- A term on the road is about all that will tend to put a stop to such things." GRAND JURY IS APPOINTED TO SERVE ONE YEAR F. E. Branson, Of Canton, Is Named Foreman Of New Grand Jury Approximately 500 people were present when Sheriff J. A. Lowe for meily opened criminal court here Monday morning, with Judge J. II. Clement presiding. When the roll of jurors was called, two of the list failed to answer, and Judge Clement fined each ?40. The grand jurors drawn from the publish ed list of jurors are as follows; F. E. Branson, J. J. Haynes, C. C. Willis, T. T. Green, A. M. Frazier, S. B. Reeves, S. IV Rich, W. L. Clark, Zeb Cagle, J. Byrd Smathers, E. A. Thomp son, Paul Robinson, Walker Brown. R. L. Messer, C. S. Freel, S. W. Cham bers, David Howell, and G. C. Hooker. F. E. Branson was given the oath of foreman of the body and R. M. Leath crwood was appointed officer in charge. Judge Clement's charge to the grand jury, appointed to serve one year from date, consumed about 40 minutes. He gave the history of the organization of the grand jury system, its incep tion by the Greeks and Romans and its beginning in its present form by the British people. He gave a clear illustration of why it is necessary for the existence of law and why enforce ment is a prime necessity, using the changed conditions brought about by the coming of the automobile as an illustration. He said that the luty of the grand jury is not to try a-es but only to find probable cause for the trial of cases that might come before them, and pointed out to them the procedure in carry ng out the investi gation of cases that might be sent them. Traffic Lights Will Not Re Used During Next Few Months Discontinuance Will Mean Sa' ing Of Over .$100 Per Month. At a reccnty meeting, tiie city board of aldermen ordered thai the traffic lights on Main street be discontinued for the winter months for the sake of economy. It is understood that the cost of operating the traffic lights amounts to over $100 a month, in each of the sets of lights there are V2 lights, it was said. The traffic signals will be put back iato service during the summer months a member of the board said. iMotoiists were cautioned about (hiving while the lights will be -Hit of sciiee, and to drive .-.low at in tersections. Officers Training School To Be Held Here Tonight, 7:30 Judge -J. H. Clement will instruct others of the county Thursday night, February 9, at 7 :."() when and how to make arrests and other points of the law in the first of a series of a course which will be held over the entire state by each presiding judge. All justices of the peace, mayors, policement. deputies, sheriffs, police judges and others are requested to be present Thursday night to hear the instructions given by Judge Clement. Tr mf.i,ement is state wide, mid an effort is being made to train all offi cers, and prepare them to perform their duty more efficiently. Kach judtc i'i each district has.- been akod to do this in each county in which he holds court. Francis Introduces Far-Reaching Insur ance Bill In Senate The Raleigh correspondent of the Asheville Times had the following to say in regard to a bill recently in troduced by Suiator Francis from here: A bill, far-reaching in its effect upon insurance companies, has been introduced in tiie senate by Senator W. R. Francis, of Hajwood. It would require insurance companies writing workmen's" 'compensation insurance in North Carolina to deposit with the -tat treasurer funds to pro'ect out standing Ihbility. It is recalled that Asheville and Buncombe county face heavy losses as a result of the receivership of the Union Indemnity company of New Orleans. This company- which wrote the workmen's compensation insu liinte for the city and county in .192!) ;tnd 19.10, had been paying on several claims until its recent failure. It is probable that tht, city and county will have to make good the remaining pay. ments. . ; JAMES L. PALMER PASSED AWAY ON LAST THURSDAY ! Popular Hanker, And T u w n Treasurer Passes After Lonjj Illness Last rites for James L. Palmer, ;S, who died at his home here last Thur day morning, after an illness of sev eral weeks, were held at 3 o'clock Friday afternoon at the Methodist church. The Rev. Wade Johnson, pastor of the Methodist church con ducted the, service, assisted by Dr. R. P. Walker, pastor of the Presbyterian church. Interment was made at Green Hill cemetery. The First National Bank of this city closed Friday in honor of Mr. Palmer, who had been assistant easn ier for that institution for about 15 years. The local post of the Amer ica Legion attended the funeral in a bodv. both at the church and grave servees. Mr. Palmer was an efficient cm ploye of the First National Bank, and was clerk of the Home Building and Loan A.-sociation ami also treasurer of the city of Way nes ville, having held this post through the different town governments since 11)19. The popularity of tnt. deceased was evidenced by the huge throng that attended the services u pay their last tribute to Mr. l'alm-r. The church was crowded to overflowing. At the outbreak of the World War. lie was a stndiut at Hie University of .S. uln t arolm i. He left the Universi ty ami volunteered . for service, He was stationed at Newport, K. 1.- and w.i-. there in govi I'linicnt service for ir.o dilution of tile war. Ivet u riling ( ( out iiiueil on page ) Methodist District Conference To Meet In Asheville Friday Dr. ('. N. ( lark And Presiding Elder L. II. Hayes Are On Program. On Friday, February JO, at 10 o'clock there will convene in the Cen tral Methodist church in Asheville a conference on .Spiritual Life and Mis sions. The meeting was called by Bishop Kdwin I). Moir.'.on and arranged through his cabinet, composed of the ten presiding elders in . the -Western North Carolina district. Dr. C. N. Clark, of Canton, will, open the services with the devotional exercises at 10 o'clock. This will be followed by an address by Rev. L. H. Hayes, on Sources of Inward Strength." U lkl'i Bishop Mouzon will addivs- thi' conference. Other addresses will 'u .made in the after noon by Rev. M. T. I'lyler and Rev Walter West n! in the evening Bishop Paul B. Kern- who has just returned from the Orient, will speak. In a letter to Rev. L. B. Hayes, Bishop Mouzon says: "There has been planned a most important series of meetings for laymen, and preachers to cover the entire state of North Carolina. Last year was a great year for our church with more than 50,000 additions to our membership through, the church at large. We plan now to move fin ward all along the line. In. :!ieali:n- already are that these meetings will be large and enthusi ast ie, These conferences are to be Kdueutioiial, Spiritual, Inspirational." It is hoped that a huge number from Haywood county .will attend thi.- conference. Mrs. M. E. Reeves Is Buried On Saturday Mrs. M. F. Reeves, 59. who died at her home on the Asheville road Friday morning, following an illness of three months, was buried Satur day afternoon at' Green Hill ceme tery following funeral services at the home, with Rev. B. B. Caldwell con ducting the services, being as.-isted by Rev. Frank Leatherwood and Rev. Alf Arrington. The cause of death w:is heart trouble. She was the widow of Samuel Reeves, who died about 10 years ago. She is survived by four sons and one daughter.- Gilbert, F.iott. James. Al bert and Mr.-. Leonard Hampton. Active pallbearers were: John Curley, Frank Leatherwood. John Boyd. Jan-is- Allison. J. H. Kwyken da!! 'ii! Galloway- I UATHlSONi: (JETS 1 TO 6 YEARS - AT HARD LAHOR . Bill-Rathbone Was sentenced Mon day from 4 to ? years at hard labor at 'the' -state penitentiary -at Raleigh for the 'sttcrwpfe- to .hjjrn.rfj "-railroad bridge of the Si.icrevt Lumber Com nail.va ' ':. : '.'--.-' Dave H. Clark Now On Trial Charged With The Killing Of Brady Brooms Five Canton Men Given 18 Months For Destroying County Property Vindows, Chairs, Wals Og Gar den Creek School Destroy ed In July. Five young men of 'Canton were sentenced Tuesday afternoon for de stroying the school property of Gar den Creek school last July to IS month- on the roads. The estimated damage was Over $100. it was brought out during the course of the trial. five defendants in the case. Frank "Red" Mease. Fred Smathers, Grady Clout:;, Henson Teague, and Dolphus 1 1 railways took the stand and told abaut the same storv in connection v. .:h the case. Wit pe -sis for the slate testified that tii. property of the school building had i.ic i destroyed early in Julv. It was set out that the windows, both glass and ash. hid been torn out- chairs broken, partitions, demolished. bell . i ken, and stove upset. Stale witnesses stated that ihey heard a noise in the vicinity of the school house and three men of the community went- to investigate ami upon arriving theie found, the de fendant's getting in cars leaving the .-i iiooi j aid. - The delendanls denied' having been in the- building in si veral 'years, statin;;- that they 'had gone to the river for fishing bail ami 'had paiktil their cars in the i-chool yank All the defendants told of nioeling two men running through the woods from the building as they (the de fendants) were returning from the river. The school building was formerly a three-teacher school and is located on the I'igeon Road between Canton and Woodrow. During th,. course of the defendants testimony, it was brought out that each -of then) had b( en previously in dicted -on .some-charge.- with the ex ception of Grady ('Units'.. Tin. mher four were involved in whiskey eases with th,. exception of Tread-way. and he admitted to a larceny indictment: several years ago Teague admitted to a forgery charge .'together with a wniskey charge of several years ago. Tiie court room was ciowded for most of the trial,, uhich consumed. Hu rl eater part of Tuesday. .nice Hie propi'ity wa - destroyed, ,iie school iioard has cu)iso!idated most of the student body with, another school and .at piise'i tin- Garden ('leek school is ;-, eni- leacln i- s.'hotl- Robbers Of Filling Station Here (Jet From 10 To 15 Years Wcldon Graddy, Ruv liowen and Clay Creasman, of Asheville, entered a plea of guilty for holding up and robbing a filling station near here three weeks ago, and were sentenced by Judge Clement to not less than 10 years tr more than 1" years at hard labor at the state penitentiary at Raleigh. The three youths were recently brought here from Asheville where they were tried for other offenses and sentenced. One of them remarked as he left the courtroom "Quite a lot of time, wasn't it?" The three men took M gallons of gas, over 10 in ca-h and made the opeiator of the station walk down the road with his hands in front of him. This happened aliout I o'clock :m the morning-. Homer Noiand, 26, Dies At His Home In Crabtree Section Homer Noland- 2f. farmer of Crah trie, passed away Tuesday night af ter a Ill-day illness of pneumonia at hi home. Mr. Xol.md was born and reared in th.' county ami was a successful farmer of his communitv He if, survived by his wife and thr. win, hi., parent , Mr. and Mr.. V. T. Noland... and three sisters, and one brother. Two of his sisters. Fannie and Roxie. both .it home, and Mrs. Silver of. Canton. His onlv brother. J- live- in Wc's A-heville. -.Funeral services were not . complete when the paper tarted to press, but ii. was thought, that they would be held at ihe.Crttbree Buntist church Thursday morning ate 1 1 :( o'clock The deceased was a nephew of John R. Mipps of this city. ' . ROSE CASE IS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN TODAY Clark Case LikeiyTo Go To Jury Sometime Before Noon Today. Dave Clark took the wit ness stand in his own behalf at 3:30 Wednesday afternoon. He was giving his testimony when The Mountaineer went (o press. The trial of Dave H. Clark, Can ton contractor, who is charged with manslaughter for the death of Brady Brooms, who was fatally injured last July at Clyde while he is said to have been walking along Highway No. 10, got underway Wednesday morning in Superior court here- Thirty minutes was consumed by the state and defense in selecting the jury, and Dr. J. V. Rate, of Clyde, the first state witness took the stand at U):-l.".. Dr. Pate te-tlfied as to what posi tion the body was in when he ar rived at the scene of the accident. Ik' staled that the body of the dc c -ased was about IS inches from the curb ol the highway ami was totally tttfonsciiuis when he arrived, which was only a few minutes after Brooms hau bivn struck. Dr. !t!e directed the injured mail" t i 1 e brought to the hospital here. ;.t:d there he made further examina tions which revealed that a cut some 'I: re" inches long had been made on the back of Brooms' head. A large bruise wav found oil the man's back he stated. Brooms lived about 21 hours after reaching the hospital. Death was indirectly due "to -.the blow received the phy-ician stated. I..- J. Trantham. near whose house the deceased was ' injured, was the net to take the stand. Mr. Trant ham stated that the m:n was found at the intersection of Mulberry street in Clyde and Highway No. It). His description .of the body was the - line ;:s that of Dr I'ate. lie stated that he heard the crash and looked out of his window and saw the man on the sidewalk, and immediately Went out to investigate, but did net see. any : car anywhere near. He found the hat. shoe and .bucket, s;iii! to l.e the personal belonging's of I'.ii). hi: si.attered in the road. II,. also testified thi' he saw; fresh '.ato'N'Jii'le -tracks on the left side of !tui;v ;y No. It). These tracks wore so.r.e 1H iiic'iio oil' the pavement. The car. he said, seemed to 'be going fas', al tii,. time of the crash, but lie did not see the car, .All-. Trmtham helped diaw a dia gram on the Moor m front of 'he jury box and pointed out the ililferenl mails, streets and house, as well as the. place where the body -was" found. Horace Sentelle wn the next state witness to take the stand. Mr. Sen telle was in th,. car with ( lark at the time the alleged accident, is said o have occurred. Mr. -Sentelle told of how he met Clark and just what took place on the evening Brooms was1 said to have been struck. He .aid during the course of testifying, the .following, in part: "I met ..Mr. -Clark-in Canton about !) o'clock that evening, and he offer d to take me. to my home in '-Clyde, as he was going to see hi- brother who lives between t'hi'i' and l ake .Juab iltska. We got in his car and started for Clyde; going by my oiiice to close the windows, as it w raining- be. fore h aving Canton. "As we left. Canton. Mr. Clark of. fered me -a drink of win.-key. I v fused to take any- We drove on to Mid-Way Filling Station all.1 Clari tool: another '-.'drink,- but' I . decline' I (Continued on page o ) ULAYLOCK-STAMEY MUIfDER CASE IS CONTINUED Mo'i lay colt in red ait;-'; ill,. c:i i-n'lg" '..Cl. meiii Sani I'kijloc' V- .1,1 i' I huii'!".! ; v. in I.-iVctniin f :u d ( '-'lid witb k i''n: in tiie 1 h-ci-amly.'. ' , Th, Kr..i: lift.iiv-l;. tin; ;;''ej'n:ons inii on i ; - The , ilei'c AV: R-. I'i" ' ititll! Tv ' .1':. lie: a i cut Dili s' ih'flday . .;'are'5)Ut. "., Svrntor li'ii-cy. and 'Hey after !! would i tiie licn .".nil a!s Alio'w -tr1eV.aivI d time 0 to, ropre- etiflant ''cndaiit bond. ,':",(' an :cis-. f yet t empley.-, their 'at',' Fclir K. A .it' Mr. Fia! would .'-e ii in Raler-'li. Hon. Feli-;.. ''-,; iii-y'-di- '.h' li.l't.'. III! : atti-rr.cy. hvth n !v,i ilov: lit thi'