I*-- ^ 8 PAGES TODAY »- - -* By mall, per year In Mail Will Leave Here By Bu« Now It is announced at the Shelby postoffice that beginning last Sat urday first-class mail will leave Shelby by bus for Gastonia at 4:50 each afternoon. Mall intended for this trip must be at the postoffice by 4:20. The mail by bus plan came about in order that outgoing Shel by mall could catch No. 38 north at Gastonia. A change in connection has caused the down Charlotte mail to miss this train recently, but now Shelby mail will reach No. 38 and arrive In Greensboro in time to catch the air mail. On Magazine Staff. A dispatch from Davidson college states that Mr. Louis C. Roberts, ron of Vpt. and Mrs. J. P. Jenkins, has been named assistant business! manager of the Quips and Cranks, ♦he college annual Eskridge Gives History Of Banking In Shelby First Bank Organized In 1869 In Wooden Building Next To Courtview Hotel. First National Bank In 1903. Shelby Has Never Known A Bank Failure. Cache Of Pennies Under Hotel Charles. Who remembers when Shelby's first bank was organized, and where it was located? Did you know that the present home of Mr C. C. Blanton, First National president, was built by the town's first banker and has been occupied by leading bankers since? Did you know that no Cleveland county bank has ever failed? And did you know that years ago all the pennies in Shelby were burled in a jar under the present Ho tel Charles to get them out of circulation? That was the day when the bank in Shelby, formed by Jesse Jenkins, was the only bank between Charlotte and Asheville. .___— All the above information and other historical facts about Shelby were given recently to the Rotary club here by Mr. Forrest Eskridge. First National cashier, in a survey of Shelby banking. Mr. Eskridge’s talk contained val uable historic information in re gard to early Shelby, and the very interesting story related by him is reproduced below by The Star just as delivered to the Rotary club: The first bank organized in Cleve land county was organized by Jesse Jenkins and H. D. Lee about the first of the year 1869 and opened for business in the wooden building adjoining the present Courtview ho tel, which was owned by Crawford Durham. One of the outstanding men of wealth and influence in Shelby at that time. The name of the banking firm was called J. Jen kins & company, private bankers, the members of the firm being Jesse Jenkins and H. D. Lee. For years Jesse Jenkins was clerk of the court for Cleveland county, and uncle by marriage of Dr. E. B. fcat tltnore, Mr. J. J. Lattimore, Mr. Nelson Lattimore and others of the family now living in Shelby and a close kinsman of Mr. J. J. Mc Murry. In fact Mr. Jenkins and Mr. McMurry were both named for the same person, another Jesse Jenkins from whom they were descended. Mr. Jenkins had amassed consider able wealth for that day and time but had the misfortune to lose It all in a business venture in Shelby. He later went to Texas and recouped his fortune becoming fairly well off. He died in Texas many years ago, but his body was returned to his native soil and rests in Sunset ceme tery. His monument is the tallest spire in the cemetery. Lee Was Partner. His partner in the first banking firm was a young lawyer. Mr. Har vard D. Lee, who had come to Shel by from South Carolina to practice his profession, marrying Miss Dameron, a member of a prominent family in Cleveland county. When Major Jenkins lost his fortune and moved to Texas, Mr. Lee induced Mr. Burwell Blanton, the father of Mr. C. C. Blanton, George Blanton and my mother, to become intere ested with him, also taking in the firm the late Samuel J. Green, the firm name being H. D. Lee & com pany, private bankers. Later busi ness interests and investments caused Mr. H. D. Lee to move to Knoxville, Tenn., to live and where he died many years ago. When he left Shelby his interest in the bank ing firm was sold to his partners namely H. D. Lee & company, for several years, Mr. Samuel J. Green being in actual charge of the ad ministration of the bank affairs. Mr. Jenkins who headed the first (Continued on page eight.) Final Tax Paying Period This Week Sheriff Allen Now Preparing List To Advertise Delinqnent Taxpayers. Only a few more days of grace remain for the late taxpayers in Cleveland county. The first day of May Wednes day, Is technically the last day 1928 taxes may be paid, but Sheriff Irvin Allen is now pre paring a list of unpaid taxes to be advertised in The Star of Friday, May 3, and taxpay ers who settle with him prior to that time will not be on the list. Fallston Finals May 3rd To 7th Rev. E. B. Jenkins To Preach Sermon And Dr. J. B. Davis To Deliver Sermon. Fallston school finals begin May 2, and continue through May 7 with the following program. Thursday evening. May 2.—Ele mnetary grades in diversified pro gram of drills, songs and playlets. Saturday evening, May 4—Senior play, ‘‘Much Ado Aobut Betty.” Sunday afternoon. May 5—Bac calaureate sermon by Rev. E. B. Jenkins of Rutherfordton. Tuesday evening, May 7—Gradu ation exercises; address by Dr. J. B. Davis, president of Boiling Springs Junior college. The following is a list of gradu ates: Boys—Franklin Bumgardner, Sherman Beam Costner, Robert Wason Falls, Talmadge Hoyle Lee (Valedictorian), Clarence Poe Mor ris, Charles Dixon Stroup, Paris Franklin Wilson, Furman Alexan der Wright. Girls—Ola Bryte Boggs, Bryte Co6tner, Maude Alice Gantt (Salu (Contlnued On Page Eight) John Champion Is Buried At Union Mr. John Champion, age 77 years who died Saturday afternoon at the home of a relative, Cad Spake on Gidney street was buried this afternoon at Union Baptist church in the community where he formerly lived. Funeral services were conducted at the Palmer fu neral home. He is survived by sev eral sisters and a daughter, Mrs. Hunt who lives at Mooresville. Mr. Champion lived in the county many years and has many friends who regret to learn of his death. Shelby Highs Beat Cliffside For First Win In Bid For 3rd N. C. Baseball Championship Goode, Visiting Third-Saeker, And Capt Lee Slam Out Homers. Hamrick Pitches Well. Casey Morris' Shelby highs got a flying start in the race for their third North Carolina baseball title here Friday afternoon by piling up a 14 to 4 score on the strong Cliff - side team in the first game of the state title series. Some of the flashiest high school baseball ever seen here along with some of the sorriest was exhibited during the afternoon. J. Goode, who started the game at third and wound up pitching, for “Pop'’ Simmon's team, was easily the star of the day, securing two of the five hits made off Sher rill Hamrick, one a homer with a runner on, and contributing two flashy infield stops. Rivalling Goode for honors was Capt. Owens Lee, • Continued on page eight ) Shelby In Title Contest Tuesday The Shelby highs will play their second championship game here Tuesday afternoon with Henrietta-Caroleen fur nishing the opposition. The visiting team is unusually strong and the local outfit will have to play jam-up base ball to remain in the fight for the school's third State cham pionship. Admission will be 25 and 35 cents. "I.efty” Moore may do the hurling for Shelby as Queen Is still out with an injury and Hamrick pitched Friday’s vic tory. If Shelby wins, Morris’ boys w’il play Lincolnton in the third title game here Fri day. Wednesday Shelby plays a return game with Cliffside. Historic Talk T/ ('ashler Forrest Eskridge, of the First National bank. In a talk re cently before the Shelby Rotary club gave the history of banking In Cleveland county which is published in The Star today. Son Of Governor Sees Negro Die In State Death Chair Negro First Person To Die Vnder First Governor To Oppose Chair Sentences. (Special to The Star.) Raleigh, April 29—When Lee Mc Murry, young negro man. died Fri day morning in the electric chair at Raleigh for the murder of J. N. Dixon. Gaston county farmer, it was the first execution carried out under Governor O. Max Gardner, who Is North Carolina's first Gover nor to declare against capital pun ishment. As a matter of record the big black died in the presence of Governor Gardner’s eldest son. James Webb Gardner, popularly known among his Shelby friends as "Decker.” Young Gardner stood near the dy namo. but did not go into the octagonal death room. "Let me make a little prayer,” McMurry said s« he stumbled over the solemn litany intoned by a quartet of negro preachers leading him to the electric chair but War den Honeycutt did not hear the re quest and McCurry mumbled “Lord have mercy on me” until four min utes of fire struck him. Child’s Brain. McCurry, a powerful black, de scribed as having the brain of a nine-year-old, hardly lived up to his intellectual reputation. Two equally stupid men may have died there, out none Who surpassed him In sheer senselessness. McCurry took the current two minutes and 52 seconds, then Rotar lan Doctor Wall, of Winston-Sa lem, dropped a portion of his sethoscope. Laid against the huge chest of McCurry, Dr. Wall said, "better give him a little more.” The “little more” was a minute and ten seconds. Many Attend Funeral Of W. R. Tesseneer A large crowd attended the fu neral of Mr. W. R. Tessener at Zion last Wednesday, he having died the previous day with pneumonia. Mr. Tessener who was 65 years of age was married to Anne Short who survives with eight children: Griftin Dave, Zadie, Everett, Clarence, James, Artie and Malie Ina. Serving as pall bearers were R. L. Jones, Webb Mauney, Will Lane, Albert Bridges, D. W. Curtis, and Everett Curtis. Flowers girls were Pearl Towery, Cora Tessener, Oris Jones, Virginia Biggerstaff, Ona Carroll, Johnnie Carroll, Agnes Green, Rosa Lee Curtis. Executive Board Of Scouts To Meet Here On Tuesday night May 7, the exe cutive board of the Piedmont Council Boy Scouts of America will hold a meeting at the Hotel Charles, Shelby, according to an announce ment mads by J. W. Atkins, editor of the Gastonia Gazette and presi dent of this council. Thus Ls to be a very important meeting when council business will come up and Mrs. Charles Miller, assistant na tional field director of the national headquarters with Mr. F. D. Chad wick of the regional headquarters will be present and address the meeting. Paul Putnam, a nephew of Mrs. J. D. Eskridge, and a veteran of the World war. remains critically ill in the national sanitorium at Johnson City, Tenn. Election Is Week Off, City Quiet I nusual Quietude Prevails In City With Flection Right Around Corner. Shelby's biennial battle of ballots will lake place a week from today and political interest Is at such a low heat that it is no easy matter to start a conversation on city pol ities, much less stir up an argu ment. Which, without doubt, is very unusual for Shelby, a town that takes its city politics almost as seriously as the Mexican do their national elections except for the shooting. Even the oldest political observer in town cannot remember anything to equal It. Ordinarily “the fur is flying" a fortnight before the elec tion. and issue after issue has been raised, but with only six more days before hundreds of fvhelby voters start marching to the polls to pick a mayor, four aldermen and five school board members, not a single issue worthy of rote has bern raised, and about the worst thing any of the candidates, or their friends, have said about the other candidates, whichever he may be, is that “he's a good fellow." Now, Two Years Ago. It certainly is a contrast with the campaign of two years ago when Shelby awoke in the morning talk ing politics, the candidates and their Issues, and a good hefty fist fight could be started in a min ute's notice on the court square. This time of year in 1927 circu lars, newspaper advertisements, and mouth-to-mouth campaigning had quite a bit to say about "cleaning house,” treating rich man and poor man alike, cutting taxes, operating city government on economic busi ness principles, etc., and Shelby was split in five or six hostile was just around the corner. Now it is altogether the reverse Fact is, not a single candidate for mayor, or either of the two boards, has publicly expressed his certainty to win. And if that isn't a political freak, what is? The Silent Vote. No matter how heated a campaign gets in Shelby the political observ ers in their complacent, philosophic pose about the soda fountain or court square benches, always ten der the warning that "the silent, vote" will decide the outcome. If the silent vote decides the election today week, then there is no living man who knows as much about how it will go as Jiggs does about the whereabouts of Whoopee McGurk and Dinty Moore. Which is to say that mighty few Shelby voters are even saying who they are going to vote for, much less do any predict ing. Perhaps the belated fireworks will begin popping this week, but it doesn’t seem so now, and that part of Shelby not versed in poli tics is in a daze as to the reason for the silence—a silence typical of that preceding a storm, but the storm has been anticipated for two weeks and it hasn't arrived, and may not. The Candidates. When this was written there were three candidates for mayor: W, IJ. Dorsey, the present mayor; Enos L. Beam, theatre owner: and S. A. McMurry, cotton broker. There are two announced candidates for aldermen in Ward One—J. F. Led ford and P. M. Washburn; two in Ward Two—Ab Jackson and J. F. Jenkins; two in Ward Three—John F. Schenek, jr., and W. A. Broad way; and one in Ward Four—Z. J. Thompson. Candidates for the city school board are: Thad Ford, can didate-at-large; Roger Laughridge for Ward One, and H. Clay Cox for Ward Three. No candidates have announced for Wards Two and Four. Write your own ticket; then vote it today week. Nolan Willing For Name On Ticket Mr. J. B. Nolan, local real estate dealer, stated today that he would consent for his name to go on the school board ticket in the city elec tion a week from today. Mr. Nolan lives in Ward Four. Injured In Crash, Improving Today Forrest Barrett, who was taken to the Shelby hospital yesterday evening suffering from an head in jury received in an auto wreck, was reported to be improving today. Messrs. Sam and Hobson Austell spent Sunday with Mrs. John Byers in Charlotte, r----_ Preaches Sermon Rev, 11. MrDiurmid, above, will prea< h the baccalaureate sermon of the Shelby High school Ibis year at the First Baptist church. 127 Residences Erected Here In Period 9 Months Almost Half A Million Dollars In vested In Shelby Homes Since June, Shelby has almost a half Mil lion dollars more Invested in residences than just nine months ago, according to a summary made by Mr. E. A. Itudasili, city building inspector. 127 New Ones. From June