NUMBER 15
TRENTON, N. C., THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 1965
VOLUME XVII
Long-Winded Lawyers Leave Large Records
These pictures are not news pictures, but merely confirm what most people already knew:
That lawyers are long-winded. At right, Landon McSwain, bailiff for Federal Judge John Lar
kins, is seen preparing to file away the record of this summer’s litigation between factions
in the tobacco sales business in "Wilson. The transcript of the trial includes 4340 pages and
since those involved in the 28-day trial asked for “daily copy”, or each day’s transcript deliv
ered by the next day, a champion crew of court reporters from Cleveland, Ohio was imported.
This crew gave the court daily copy at a total cost of $17,400. Another expert observer in the
court also estimated that the array of legal talent on both sides in the law suit represented
a minimum daily outlay of about $7,000; which made this one of the most expensive as well
as one of the longest trials in recent local court history. At left Judge Larkins’ Law Clerk Doug
Connor is seen with the less voluminous record of the action brought by Edwin Davis of Lenoir
County against several companies Davis charges have infringed his patents on tobacco harvest
ing machinery.
Recorder's Court Docket lightened
By 19 Cases During Recent Session
In the past week trials be
iore Judge Joe Becton or sub
missions to Clerk Walter Hen
derson removed 18 charges from
the local Recorder’s Court cal
endar.
Bobby Ray Roberts of Pol
locksville was given 60 days in
jail term was suspended on his
gun in his possession but the
ajli term was suspended on his
payment of a $50 fine, his not
violating any law for 12 months
and not having any firearms of
any kind in his possession for
12 months.
Jerry “Casey” Jones of Pol
locksville had to pay off a bad
cheek and the court costs and
another charge of malicious
damage to private property was
dismissed.
John Allen Turnage of Pol
locskville was fined $10 and or
dered to pay the doctors bills
in a charge of assault with 2
deadly weapon.
Clifton Jones of 211 Wesl
Blount Street in Kinston ap
pealed a $100 fine for drunk
en driving and was freed un
der $300 bond pending the Sep
temher term of superior court
Lemmie Reynolds of Trentor
ramie 2 also preferred to have
a bad check charged in super
ior court, rather than by Judge
Beeton. His bond was fixed at
$100.
The plaintiff withdrew the
warrant and paid the costs in
Continued on Page 8
Sawed-Off Shot
Gan Lands Youth
Jn County Jail
Principal among the arrests
reported by Jones County Sher
riff Brown Yates in the past
week was that of Bobby Ray
Roberts of Pollocksville, who
was charged with carrying off
his premises a sawed off shot
gun.
Other arrests during the past I
week include that of Clyde Web
ster Kinsey of Pollocksville for
drunken driving and driving
without a license, Patrick Mor
ton of Hubert route 1, charg
ed with driving without a driv
er’s license, without a license
plate and in an uninsured car.
Hubert Lee Baysden of Col
lunibia, James Monroe Garris
New Bern Lawyer Hollers Foul When
Hit by Jones Court Clerk's Order
Threatens to Sue for Half Million
Full Text of Frazier
Letter to Henderson
(Following here is the full text
of New Bern Attorney Reginald
L. Frazier's letter received
Tuesday by Jones County Su
perior Court Clerk Walter P.
Henderson.)
“Of recent date I received
copies of your order entered by
you in connection with the es
tate of James Emmanuet White,
deceased;
“I have evidence that, you,
acting in the official capacity of
Clerk of the Jones County Su
perior Court, deliberately con
spired with Edward Cannon,
executive secretary of the North
Carolina State Bar, in a brazen
and unabashed attempt to ha
rass and intimidate the attorn
ey of record in violation of 42
USCA 1886, 1985, 1983. That
you diberately(sic) urged Mrs.
Catherine Turnage to sign an
affidavit prepared by you,
which in fact is malicious and
libelous and that you knew the
same at the time you drafted
the affidavit. That you have in
secrecy advised Catherine
Turnage concerning matters
which were within the confi
ueuuai prerogative oi sne ana
her duly elected attorney.
“As the result of the malic
ious and libelous nature of the
order duly signed and publish
ed by you in your official capac
ity as Clerk of Court, legal pro
ceedings will be instituted
against you and the County of
Jones.
“I am demanding $500,000 in
damages. If you wish to settle
the matter without litigation,
then, I suggest you turn the
matter over to your county at
torney.
“If I do not hear from you
or your attorney, I will move
forthwith to bring the mater
to a judicial determination.
Very Truly Yours,
Reginald L. Frazier.”
BARRUS LOW BIDDER
Barrus Construction Compa
ny of Kinston Tuesday was
low bidder on 112.035 miles of
resurfacing roads in Jones, Pitt,
Green, Beaufort, Pamlico, Car
teret, and Lenoir Counties at a
price of $492,940.70.
of Kinston and Fred Sumpter of
Trenton route 2 were each ac
cused of being publicly drunk.
Last Thursday Jones County
Superior Court Clerk Walter
Henderson issued an order
against New Bern Attorney Reg
inald L. Frazier, calling upon
Frazier to immediately return
to the court $650 he had col
lected from the estate of James
Emmanuel White.
Monday Frazier filed in the
court a “Bill of Exception”,
“Motion to expunge orders”
and “Notice of Appeal.” He al
so directed a letter to Clerk
Henderson, threatening to sue
Henderson and Jones County
for a half million dollars.
In the threatening letter Fra
zier claims that Henderson and
Edward Cannon, executive sec
retary of the North Carolina
State Bar, had conspired in a
“brazen and unabashed attempt
to harass and intimidate” him
as the attorney of record in
the White estate matter.
Frazier concluded his letter
to Henderson by saying, “I am
demanding $500,000 in dam
ages. If you wish to settle the
matter without litigation, then,
I suggest you turn the matter
over to your County Attorney.
»» * '•V Win J VU l/J. J UU1
attorney, I will move forthwith
to bring the matter to a judicial
determination.”
In the “Bill of Exception”
Frazier took a different tack.
After saying that such a con
spiracy as that he alleged be
tween Cannon and Henderson
“taints the whole proceeding
with such illegality and abuse
of proper ethics that the same
amounts to a flagrant violation
of the due process clauses of
the 14th amendment to the
United States Constitution;”
Frazier then said: “However,
the attorney of record will not
or does not intend to turn this
proceeding into a proceeding in
fected with the rancor of rac
ism and prejudice, but requests
that all interested parties be
called before a superior court
judge for a full plenary hearing
and that a court reporter be
present to take testimony.”
HEAVY FIRE DAMAGE
Fire last week that possibly
started around an air-condition
ing unit did heavy damage to
the building and inventory of
the Bye-Lo Shop on the 100
block of North Queen Street.
The fire was found by a neigh
borhood youth, Kenneth Grant,
at about 4:15 a.m.
SCHOOL BELLS CALLING STUDENTS TO CLASSES STILL LARGELY SEGREGATED
This week school bells be
gin ringing for the 1965-1966
school year all across the na
tion and in the South close tab
is being kept on the degree to
which colored parents take ad
vantage of their opportunity to
put their children into previous
ly all white schools. This is the
first testing year of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, which sup
plements a long line of judicial
fiats that have attempted to
open the doors of white schools
to colored children.
If the rest of the South can
be judged by the situation in
Eastern North Carolina the
problem now seems to be re
versed. Hie, presidency, the con
i gress and the federal courts
Save all now accepted the
{slanderous principle that col
ored students cannot learn in
schools of their own race, with
teachers and administrators of
their own race. A majority of
white churches and white
have also added their
slander to that of the white pol
iticians by saying a belated
“Amen” to this insupportable
premise.
In fact there is hardly any or
ganized group in the nation oth
er than the Ku Klux Klan that
has not bowed to this commu
nist - inspired effort to create
hostility between the white and
colored people in every facet
of American society.
But there is a vast unorgan
ized group that has not yet ac
cepted this libel. The colored
parents of America, and most
especially the colored parents of
the South.
Evidence of this is coming
from every school district in
the South now as the school
doors are5 about to open. In
spite of every effort of school
officials to lean over backwards
to comply with the orders bf
those distant libelist in Wash
ington, D. C.; despite every pos
sible kind of publicity the vast
majority of colored parents in
-____
the South are ignoring their
right to enroll their childen in
white schools.
In their deliberate plan to
sew discord the communists and
their fellow travellers have ov
erlooked the uncommon com
mon sence of the stable seg
ments of colored society; and it
is true beyond question that
the major part of the stable ele
ments of colored society still
lives here in the South.
In most school districts there
are a few “professional negro
es,” who are either on some
outside payroll or are attempt
ing to get on such a payoff.
They are willing, for a price, to
sacrifice the educational well
being of their children on the
altar of racist agitation.
But these agitators overlook
ed, or could not see that the
majority of colored parents love
their children just as much as
Sir Bird and Lady Bird love
their minor birds. Now these
agitators are agitated themselv
es: The worst they can do is to
hollar, “Foul!” and to allege that
threats, pressures and bribes
have been used in massive doses
to “keep colored people in ther
place.”
And these agitators are per
fectly sincere in their claims;
because they cannot compre
hend that there are colored peo
ple who don’t want to be white
people — that there are colored
people who have pride in their
race, their family, their schools,
their teachers.
The reason these agitators
are so sincere in their chag
rin is that those floaters and
hustlers of colored society with
whom they have been associat
ed are the types that have no
pride, and no basis for pride.
They prefer to harass their own
people in riotous frenzies and
fanatical demonstrations ra
ther than to try to take them
by the hand and to walk togethr
er to a higher ground.
But while the marchers have
iiMiMiiillliilii
been marching and the rioters
have been rioting the majority
of Southern colored people have
been making amazing strides
forward — in education, in
housing, in morality, in person
al hygiene. In short the non
marching, non-demonstrating
colored people have been doing
the only thing any person —
white or colored, can ever pos
sibility do to become a first
class citizen. And that is not to
wait for a white politician to
pass a law making them first
class citizens, but by actually
in daily practice becoming a
first class citizen.
So this week and next a tiny
handfull of colored children
from prideless homes will move
into local white schools, but the
vast majority will return to
their own classes, with teach
ers of their own race and con
tinue the eternal task of lifting
themselves to that higher lev
el all of mankind seeks.