North Carolina Newspapers

NORTH CAROLIN A’S LEADING NEWSPAPER OUTSIDE OF THE DAILY FIELD SHELBY Was Carolina’s Fastest Crow ing Town 1920-1925 By U. S. Census. Ibe l * to e land THE STAR Is The Leading Paper of Shelby and The State’s Fertile Farm Section. VOL. XXXIV, No. 79 THE CLEVELAND STAR, SHELBY, N. C. .FRIDAY, JULY 2. 1926. Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday Afternoons. ^>car (in advance^"^2*50 J by carrier, per year in ad'-suice S3.0C Boyer Consults Chappell About Minister’s Defense Reported That Friends Are None Too I,oval. Three Former Shelby Pastors in Trial. That Rev. Ashley Chappell, 1). It, ,:.st• >r of the fashionable Central Methodist church of Asheville, chare eh with immoral conduct and su p. nded from his pulpit pending trial, j; crushed by the blow that has fal len upon him. is word brought to Shelby by reliable authorities follow ing the case. Vnd it is said that Mrs. Chappell t es the circumstance even harder than her husband. Already, ii is said, friends are giving both the pastor and h. handsome wife the cold shoulder, notwithstanding his trial has not yet come off, and is still more than two weeks ahead, being set for the 20tn of July. It develops that not only the coun el lor the defense at the trial has been chosen from Shelby in the per son of Rev. H. K. Boyer, pastor ot Central Methodist church here, hue the jury to set upon the case will in clude three former Shelby pastors of the Central church—Rev. A. L. Stan ford, who recently left this charge for a Charlotte church: Rev. George I). Herman and Rev. W. E. Poovey. Hr. Boyer left Shelby Thursday aft ernoon for Asheville to consult with Hr Chappell, That the conference was prolonged and important was indicat ed by the fact that Dr. Boyer had not returned to the citv as late . as Friday, he having expected to be back at his desk here Friday morning. !* is said the attitude of certain of .Hr. Chappell’s fornn” close friends c l some members of his congrega tion in adopting a program of ostra cism toward him. has hurt him im mensely. and made hint realize the full import of the charge against him. The minister is being made to real ize it is said shat no matter what the verdict o fthe jury mav be. that .hi mav exnect to face a cold and hostile world from this time on u hen these facts were broueht to the attention of F>r. Boyer, who '$ •<>utly defending Dr. Channel! in ev ery word he utters in connection with ♦he case, the minister said the fact is inexplicable to him how many men and women will do pH in the;? power to drive a man downward who is embarrassed hy circums ances. “Many people.” said Dr. Royer “do not wait to pet the facts of a case as in this instance, hut iumn at con clusions. and instead of privin<r one who is buffeted by adverse eirenm s'acee the benefit of a reasonable doubt, proceed to do all they can to sink him deeper in the mire. “Such seems to be an unfortunate phase of human nature.” Dr. Rover was asked if the state ment which has been made here that Dr. Channell had no monev in his "ocket when he was caught in the al leyed house of ill fame, is true. He rpnlied that Dr. Chappell had three dollars in his pocket, which the po lice confiscated. The defense j« collectimr a larjre number of affidavits to be used at •he trial, some of these pointim? clearly, it is said, to 'he innocence of the accused. It was at first thought that other counsel would be admitted to the case, '■oth on the side of the defense and fur the prosecution, but lately it was decided that representation will b * confined to Dr. Rover, actirnr fer f'hapnell. and Rev. C. M. Pickens, D D-. of Albemarle, for *he prosecution. The chairman of the trial rpmmit t''°. who is the trial irdere. will be Kev. I>r. Prettyman, of Gastonia. City Fireman Goes To Truck Factory Mapes Newman, one of Iho mem bers of Lhe Shelby Firr department leaves tonight for Elmira. New ’ ork, where he goes to learn the con struct ion and operation of the new s'* cylinder fire truck which the town "f Shelby has purchased from the American LaFrance Co. Mr. Newman "'ill be gone about six weeks, the pur l'osH ()f his trip being to study the construction and operation of this modern fire fighting apparatus which humps 750 gallons of water per min ute and is fully equipped with fire fighting devices. I his move is made under the super* vision of Shelby’s new -fire organiza tion under the direction pf Chief Her man Eskridge. Mr. Roy Newman, for years one of the city firemen, is back on his old teat at the fire department. Wehb Building At Kings Mt. Going Up Kings Mountain—The new Webb i'Uilding opposite the postoffice is go* mg up. Excavation has been com pleted and the brick has been going m.to the walls for a week. The front ''’ill be of white pressed brick. Tv/o Banks Pay Out $18,0C0 In Dividends Dividends arc welcome n md year and the hirst National and Union I rust company are distributing theii regular dividends today to the amount of $1«,000 for both institutions. The 1 ii'st National is paying regular six percent semi-annual dividend on its capital of $250,000 and this amounts to $15,000 to the shareholders. The remainder of the profit is being add (‘<1 to undivided profits increasing this item to *100,000. The Union Trust company -with headquarters in Shelby and maintain ing branches at Lattimore, Fallston and Lawndale is paying its regular three percent semi-annual dividend which amounts to $:i,000. Sufficient funds is being added to its surplus to increase this item to‘360,000. ADVERTISING OUT The following letter has gone to all j merchants, of Shelby from secretary! •J. C. Newton of the chamber of com. j merce in which he asks the merchants; to cooperate with a secret advertising, committee in eliminating unworthy • and ineffective advertising propost- j j tions which will save So,000 to $10. 000 a year if the merchants will not buy community advertising from any on unless they have the written ap proval of the secret advertising com mittee. The letter follows: “The Shelby chamber of commerce i desires to express to you its apprecia tion of your efforts in ivs behalf, fin ancial and otherwise, and to offer you , any service it is capacitated to per form in keeping with the civic, indus trial. and commercial p- ogress of t!ie town. “The board of directors feel that the j chamber of commerce can be of inesti j triable value to the merchants and; i business men of Rhelbv by making' this organization the medium through' which all community advertising is j | to be effected. Thev believe that j Shelby has been, and is now, consid- j ' ered “easy meat” for the fake adver- J User, and that enormous sums ot money are wasted annually in un worthy advertising. With these facts before them, and motivated by the firm belief that they can save you time and expense by eliminating all j community advertising that does not react t othe benefit and profit of the town, they have aopointed a SECRET ADVERTISING COMMIT TEE whose duty is to pass upon ths | merits of all advertising of a com munity nature. Your resnonsibility in making effective our efforts in this field, is to refuse to subscribe to any j form of advertising of the character mention above that does not bear the written endorsement and approval oi the chamber of commerce. In th.s matter alone the chamber of com merce can save the town from fiv.v to ten thousand dollars per year, an amount equivalent if not greater than, he total cost of onerating the cham ber of commerce for one year. . “We believe that your cooperatton in this matter will react both to your advantage and to the benefit of the town, and if we can be of further as ' sistancc to you in any way do not hesi tate to command us.” Expect Completion Of Road In October Engineer R. M. Graham of the State highway commission organiza tion. says the hard-surfacing of high wav No. 20 between Shelby and the Rutherford' county lino will be com pleted sometime in October if the present rate of construction continues. About 500 feet of base and surface is being put down daily and at present the force is working near Mrs. J. P. Putnam’s and going in the direction of Moorcsboro. About August 1st the force will move equipment to the Dover.mill to which point material will be shipped for construction of this end of the project. As is al ready known, the surface is cement instead of asphalt and manv motorises declare this to make a much smoothei surface. Countv Ranks Low In School Budget Cleveland county ranks in no proud [position in state educational circles -peaking from the standpoint of school expenditures. According to the University News Letter the eountv ranks 83rd in current school expendi ! ture per rural child. This expendi i ture is $116,77 Rutherford. Lincoln and Catawba ! counties rank considerably higher j than Cleveland. Big Cotton Crop For County Seen Ahead On Farms Another near record cotton crop for Cleveland county this year is the latest prediction. The rains that fell following; special prayer services have made such seem a possibility, accord ing- to prominent farm leaders. In fact, the most pessimistic of farmers in the county have little to kick about now in regards to cotton—that is, except the price. Former Senator Sam C. Latti more declares that his crop this year promises to he his best, and numerous other farm leaders, make similar statements. Follow ing the receni rains numerous farmers have been heard to ex press themselves as looking for a big crop. Only a few weeks ago the farm out look over the county was one overshadowed by clouds—clouds that did not contain rain. With anything like a decent price for their cotton farmers of the countv feel sure of a pros perous fall. Half Holiday Not A Reality Shelby business houses, generally sneaking, did not observe Thursday afternoon past as half-holiday as a result of confusion arising over :v general misunderstanding about the half holiday closing movement plan ned to have started last Thursday. It was stated in an issue of The Star last week that a large number of merchants had signed a petition agreeing to close, and those signing the petition were given by signatures on the petition. However. some of those signing state that they under stood that by their agreement they w'ere to close only if the majority of the merchants reached a similar agreement. The majority did not so rule, they say, and a large number of the business houses remained open owing to the confusion. However, some local business placer, were closed for the afternoon, most of them be ing grocerymen. Apparently the general impression gained now is that the half day closing will not be observed. At least a number of leading merchants have expressed themselves thusly. Dr. Frasier SneaUs At Kiwanis Meeting Dr. W. H. Frazier, president of the Charlotte Kiwanis club and president of Queens college was the chief speak er at the Thursday night meeting of the Kiwanis club wiih the program in charge of Max Washburn. Both Fra zier and Washburn made the trip to the Kiwanis International which mot in Montreal and Dr. Frazier’s speech was devoted mainly to a report on th" great vision of world peace by Rabbi Stephen S. Wise. Because of the summer season when many members of the local eluo will be away for the summer, it was decided to hold meetings every other Thursday night during July and Aug ust and by unanimous vote the clun agreed to pay the Cleveland Springs hotel $1 per plate for dinner, Manager J. D. Lineberger showing that the actual cost of the raw food for Thurs day night was 60 cents per individual fed. A much better feed is promised at the $1 charge. Mercury Climbs To 96 During Thursday “Off and on” weather has been th< booking for Shelby during the past week. Cool days, warm days, hot days and cool nights. Thursday the Ebeltoft thermometer a conservative standard, climbed back up to 96, the highest point s'.nce the recent cool spell. Just what has bee* the highest point reached by the mer cury this year in Shelby is not known, although the weather of Thurstlav was exceeded quite a b!tr in heat t>y the weather of a month ago. Woman Heads B. & L. League In District Rutherfordton, July 1.—Miss Vir ginia Grayson, secretary-treasurer of the Citizens Building and Loan as sociation was last week elected ore ident of the Ninth district of the state building and loan league, it be came known here yesterday. She is the first woman to ever hold this honor. She has been the efficient secretary of the local building and loan for many years. The ninth district com prises the counties of Burke. Cleve land, Catawba, Gaston, Lincoln, Meek lenburg and Rutherford and contains some of the strongest associations in the state. 1SK REQUISITION OF SHELBY ITI1IE Attorneys Say McKinney Returned Auto. Rt(juests Comes I p To Governor McLean Raleigh, July X.—Govenor McLean has under consideration a requisition' from the State of Flor.da for return of ('. S. McKinney, of Shelby, charged there with failure to make payments on an automobile whicn he bought while in that state. Florida officials charge ihat Me. Kinrey bought an automobile there last year, paid a part on it. agreed not to leave the State with it until he had completed payment for it .and' then left with it. Attorneys representing the wanted man. meeting with the Governor here yesterday afternoon, said ihat Mc Kinney had returned the- automobile to the concern from whom he pur chased it. after he had found that he was unable to complete payment for it. They testify that in all he pair the Florida concern around SGI0. Governor McLean announced that he would make his decision after a further consideration. Ten Days Grace To Buy Automobile Tags Hundreds Have Not Yet Purchased State and City License Plates. Urged To Gets Theirs North Carolina and Shelby automo-1 bile license plates expii'*d Wednesday ! at midnight and as jet hundreds of i motorists have not equipped them selves with new plates. R. A. Dough ton, state commissioner of revenue, has authorized a ten-day j extension of time to secure state 11 cense and Mayor A. P. Weathers states that the city of Shelby will give a similar period of grace. Motorists are urged bv Commis-! sioner Doughton and Coleman W. Roberts, vice president of the Carolina Motor club which is distributing state tags from 28 offices, to purchase j plates promptly and not wait until j the end of the ten day’s period of i grace. Practically all of the Carolina j Motor club offices will discontinue! sale of plates on July 10, Mr. Rob- j erts said. ! Plates go on sale at 8:80 a. m. and the offices close ai 5 p .m. Under a ruling of the department of revenue license clerks are not permitted to accept checks for plates. although Carolina Motor club offices casn checks for members. Commissioner Doughton has an nounced that there will postively Oe no extension of the 10 days’ grace Deriod and that motorists who do no, have license bv July 10 are subject to fine as provided by statute. Mrs. Jessie Francis Back In Jail Here It’s not hardly news any more— but Jessie May Prances is back in th«. Cleveland county jail. And future chapters m an already j noted case promise to be continued in j the future. Officer Bob Kendrick, working It I is said, on the instigation of her | bondsman, visited Asheville Wednes day night a»d found the woman, bringing her to the county jail here to await Superior court during tile latter part of the month. Mrs. Frances, in court here sev eral times, was under bond for a head ing at court several months ago, but disappeared on the opening day o*1 the session and has been elsewhere since. BIRTHDAY DINNER GIVEN AT MRS. BLANTON’S HOME Kines Mt. Herald. Mrs. J. C. Blanton and Rev. W. N. Cook were jointly accorded a sur prise birthday dinner at the home of Mrs. Blanton Sunday, by friends and relatives of both. Among the out-of town guests were R. W. Blanton and family, of Gaffney, and George Me Swain, of Shelby. STAR WILL POST PRIMARY RETURNS The Star on Saturday night will gather the unofficial re turns of the county’s second primary and post these returns as they come in on the bulletin board in front of the office. Election officials, judges and registrars, may greatly assist The Star by telephoning o\ sending in their precinct vole just as soon as it is counted. The general public is invited to take advantage of this serv ice, which will be approximately correct, although not official. Shelby Carrier Has Covered 216,000 Miles On Mail Route “Gov” Hawkins Could Have Circled World 12 Times On His Working Mileage. Has Delivered Two Million Pieces. G. V. HAWKINS. When it conies to getting over the ground Shelby has -in entrant for prize-winning honors. He's none other than G. V. Haw kins, rural letter carrier of Shelby, and president of the North Carolina Letter Carriers’ association. In his 24 years of service on the mail routes of Cleveland county Haw kins, better known as “Gov.", has reeled off over 216,000 miles. Mean ing that his total mileage would have taken him around the world one dozen times. In that time he has delivered ap proximate 2,000,000 pieces of mail. That’s what even Uncle Sam in his exacting role as employer would ca'l '"service.” And perhaps that's why Mr. Haw Politics Warm In County On Eve Of Second Primary ♦ Thursday Sees First Real Activity of Second Primary Here. Work Hard for Solicitor. It's boiling! The proverbial old political pot in Cleveland county. Since the first primary little has been heard of the second primary, but Thursday things changed like unto the first ballot battle. By late Thursday evening campaigning was at its height in various sections of the county, including Shelby and Kings Mountain. Onlookers say that there was more campaigning during the day and night Thursday than during the interval since the first primary. This rejuv enated interest is continuing unabat ed today with a grand climax expected tonight on the eve of voting day. The two candidates for clerk of court. A. M. llamrick and George D. Washburn, together with their numer ous friends began the final lap of vote-getting Thursday and front gen eral reports both are meeting with success. In fact, the success of both is so apparent that veteran politicians today refused to pick a winner and ' stuck to the prediction that “it will j he a hot one." Some sections will go | for one candidate, other.- for the oth er. but for the most part the various ! voting precincts are expected to cast vote for vote with very small mar ; gins at each precinct going together | for a small county margin of vie* I tory. Of course, this done may be entire ly upset, but it’s that of the general citizens’ viewpoint and will likely stand through the county of Saturday night. Thi j sday and Thursday hvening witnessed the greatest activity of all among the friends of Sam Ervin and Spurgeon Spurling, candidates for su nerior court solicitor. That both men have strong and influential friends in the county was made evident by the happenings of the day. And such was expected with one throwing the vote' of Caldwell against Burke and run ning about fifty-fifty in the other counties, Cleveland is expected to be the deciding battle ground. And how Cleveland will go isn’t exactly a certainty. However, the un interested bystander gets the impres sion that neither will receive any great majority. Both men are too ponular in the county for either to re ceive the landslide so often talked in politics and seldom seen. Spurling, originally a native of Cleveland, will noil a big vote on that basis, especially in his home section, and on the other hand Ervin’s nopularitv as a prosecutor and with the ex-service men will at least give him a handsome vote. It’s a matter of take-your-choie# between what is generally accepted as two candidates, both of whom would make a fine solicitor. Which is ‘‘tit for tat” and carries no information. (Note: The informa tion, exact, will be in Monday’s Star). To Get Returns. Again it might be stated that The Star following its customs*of serving its thousands of readers and friends, will gather the returns on Saturday night. Election officials in various sections of the county have been ask ed to co-operate with the paper in getting these returns fn unofficially and those who so desire may gather in front of The Star office to secure the returns as they are telephoned ti. and placed on the big bulletin board. SNAKE WHIOHRODE A CAR IS KILLED The snake story which Renn Drum carried in last issue of “Around Our Town" has had a tragic ending, for death overcame the snake which stole a ride in a Chevrolet belonging to Mr. Bate Hamrick. Mr. Hamrick learns that John Hunt who was driving in another car behind him, saw the snake drop from the oil pan of the Hamrick car at the new pump station one mile east of the Buice store near the Do ver mill. Mr. Hunt killed the snake and hung it on a limb to bring a re freshing rain on the crops. It will b*. remembered that when Mr. Hamrick was talking to friends at the Buice store when the snake, running acrors the road, was chased bv men around the store and the snake scooted up in the oil pan of the car. A thorough search failed to locate the reptile anil Mr. Hamrick proceeded to drive away, of course feeling all the time that the serpent might appear beside him on ihe seat. Mr. Hamrick was prepared to leave the car to the snake at a break-neck speed. For a day or two he had a constant fear that the snake was an unseen passenger with him, but he learned yesterday that John Hunt, who trailed behind him to watch the snake-car, that Mr. Snake dropped out after a mile ride and was killed. And so ends the most unusual snake story of the season. MRS. B. C. HOUSER IS SERIOUSLY ILL AT HOSPITAL j The many friends of Mrs. B. C. j Houser will regret to learn that, she is not responding readily to treatment at the Shelby hospital. Mrs. Houser has beer sick since last Saturday. kins is the reticing president of tho ] state association of nu*n who cover ground in performing their lit a work. I<et ires As President Mr. Hawkins, who is carrier on Shelhy Haute 2, will automatically go out of office as president next week when the association of rural letter carriers meet in Sanford. Convention for Shelby As retiring president Mr. Hawkins will have considerable influence with the convention and he stated this week that he believes he can swing the next convention to Shelhy if the town is sufficiently interested to make it known in the proper manner. Offi cials of the city, chamber of com merce, and other civic organizationsi are expected to take up his sugges tion and wire the convention an in vitation to gather in “The City of Springs" in 1927. In the point of service Carrier Hawkins is one of the oldest carriers in this section of the state, having entered the service September 1, 1902. In the 24 years he has witnessed many changes over the routes he has covered. Style of mail has changed in various ways, but love letters still hold their usual sway as Hawkins h.is observed in the two dozen years of delivering them. Just how many friends "Gov” has made during the years he has been looked forward to as the “mail man" is unknown, but today he is one of the best known men in the county, and when the state association named him their presi dent his worth was well recognized. Under the present postal laws Mi. Hawkins has 14 more years to serve before reaching the age of retirement, and from present appearances he will be on his route in 1940. Recent Visitors Write Back About Houses Here. Others Ask In formation On Living Costs Shelby’s climate carried an appeal back to Clearwater. Florida, through the delegation that recently visited Cleveland Springs Estates and other sections of Western Carolina. • Mr. S. T. Wiekens, of Clearwater, a member of the party here some weeks ago. has written *he office of Cleveland Springs Estates asking them to secure a six-room house for f!0 days for his family nnd some friends who wish to spend a part cf the summer in Shelby. They plan to come up about July IS. it is said. Mr. Wiekens added that although he wasn’t interested in purchasing property now that he liked Shelby on his visit and thought it a fine place to spend a portion cf the summer season. Along with the lette" came inquir ies from two Florida ladies asking for hotel rates and other information about the town. They heard of Shel by through members of the recent d3 legation. Mr. I). R. Keys, another member of the party, hns written back that he was thoroughly impressed with the town and for equal climate thought it had no equal. He stated that he would not likely get back this sum mer, but hoped to be able to spend next summer in Shelby. Recent delegations visiting Shelby have carried hack boosting reports'of the town and little by little the values of these visitors are being heard. Al most daily the mails bring in quer ies and letters about Shelby, result ing from the chamber of commerce booklets. Observe Lord’s Supper At Presbyterian Church T7o celebration of the Fourth has been planned for Shelby, but it is gen erally understood that practically all of the business houses of the city will be closed during the day Monday, July 5. ' It is definitely known that all the banks will be closed during the day and numerous "business houses hav* announced their intention of also closing following an unwritten custom of several years, the Monday closing coming in view of the fact that tha Fourth falls on Sunday. This announcement does not intern tionally speak for all the business houses of Shelby, for a complete can vass of the business section was not made. The following inercha'nts have sign ed a petition agreeing to close on Monday: Efird’s Department store, Roses. Alexander Jewelry, Gilmers inc., Blanton-Wright Clothing Go., W. L. Fanning and Co., Kelley Clothing Co., J. C. McNeeley company, Nix and Lattimore, Wray-Hudson Co., J. C. Penney Co., T. W. Hamrick Co. _______ • Forest City Banks Announce Merger Rutherfordton, June 30.—“Beginning Thursday morning, July 1, Forest City had only one bank, the Farmers Bank and Trust company, the stock holders having decided at a joint meeting last Friday afternoon to merge the National Bank of Forest City with the Farmers Bank and Trust company. The new and larger bank will occupy the spacious new home of the National bank, completed last spring, facing the square. The Farmers bank will move in Wednes day night. The officers and directors of the national bank haxe been added .to the board of directors of the Far ,mers Bank and Trust company. J. H. Thomas is president, while M. W. Harris will b eactive president. Mr. Harris has been cashier of the Nat ional bank since its organization. The combined capital stock of the merged banks, or the Farmers Bank and Trust company, will be $250,000 with a surplus of $250,000 and total re sources of about $3,500,000. Lattimore Speaks At Columbia Meet Former State Senator Sam C. Lattimore was one of the speakers before the district Federal Land Bank appraisers at Columbia, S. C., today. Mr. Lattimore, recently nominated for county commissioner by Cleveland county Democrats, spoke on what North Carolina’s good roads have meant to farm values and incidentally passed along a boost or so for the county. Attending the meeting were lan l appraisers from the four states mak ing up the third district, _j