VOL. XXXV, No. 129
SHELBY, N. C. WEDNESDAY, OCT. 39, 1929
12 PAGES
TODAY
.—. u. , J
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday Afternoons y5r (madvanS) *ioo
LATENEWS
THE MARKET.
Cotton, per pound __ 17^c
Cotton Seed, per bu._49',ic
Rain And Warmer.
! Today’s North Carolina Weather
Report: Occasional showers tonight.
Thursday partly cloudy with show
ers in west portion. Rising tempera
ture in central and west portions
Thursday.
-
John Roach Straton Dead,
pf The Rev. John Roach Straton,
D. D., noted fundamentalist Bap
tist preacher, died yesterday at a
sanatorium at Clifton Springy New
York. Dr. Straton, pastor of Cal
yary Baptist church in New York
city, had been seriously ill follow
ing a nervous breakdown a month
r*_
Divorced. Wife
Testifies For
Former Hubby
Woman And Present Husband Take
Stand For Former Husband
In Court Here.
’ A divorced wife and her second
husband took the stand in superior
court here yesterday and were used
as witnesses for the woman's first
husband who was the defendant
in a meat stealing case.
The two were used in establishing
an alibi for the defendant, both
testlfyfng that the former husband
spent the night with them in Gas
tonia when he was charged with be
ing in this county collecting val
uable hams and shoulders'from two
smoke houses.
The defendant in the case was
Bate Hamrick, who at the time of
his arrest lived near Enola in Burke
county. The meat was stolen, ac
cording to the owners—C. B. Wright
and Lem Hamrick of the Beam’s
Mill section—on the night on Jan
uary 13. last year. Evidence was
introduced showing that a man had
been tracked from the Wright and
Hamrick smoke houses to the road
side and from that point on a ca'
was tracked for some distance by a
defective place in one of the tires.
After reaching the highway the
track w-as lost, but was picked up
again on a side road leading to the
home of Mr. Sammie Hamrick in
No. 8 township. There it was testi
fied, that a car was found in the
yard with a tire upon it which
made the peculiar track, whila in
the back seat salt was found, in
dicating the state attempted to show
that the meat had been canied
there as it had Just been salted away
before being stolen. The car. it was
brought out, was brought there by
Hamrick’s son, Bate, defendant in
the case. Later officers visited tne
Bate Hamrick home in Burke coun
ty and found a portion of one ham
which Mr. Wright identified as his
because the hairs were not entirely
scraped off and it had been, ac
cording to Mr. Wright, a peculiar
ly colored hog.
Offer Alibi.
Evidence offered by the defendant
tended to establish an alibi for the
defendant on the night of the meat
stealing. Boy Allen, who lives at
Gastonia and who had married the
defendant's divorced wife, testified,
as did his wife, that Hamrick hrd
spent the night with them. The
date was recalled, they said, be
cause Mrs. Allen’s daughter by her
marriage to Hamrick was sick and
that her first husband had been
sent for.
On cross-examination Solicitor
Spurling brought out that the meat
stealing night was the first night
the defendant had ever spent with
his former wife and her second hus
band.
No School Friday,
Teacher# Attend
District Meeting
The Shelby city schools will close
Thursday afternoon for the week
end with no school Friday due to
the fact that practically all local
teachers will be required to attend
the district meeting of teachers In
Charlotte on Friday.
“DON’T
DODGE IT,”
said
Theodore Vail
Theodore Vail, late presi
dent of the Bell Telephone
company, said: “The way to
meet a difficulty Is to face It.
If you owe a bill don‘t dodge
it. Pay It today if It Is hu
manly possible. Retain vour
self respect—make good your
credit standing. If you can't
pay today tell your creditor
when you will pay, and keep
your promise. You will win
his good wlU and save your
self embarrassment’and loss
of standing.”
PAY THOSE BILLS TODAY!
KEEP YOUR CREDIT
GOOD!
Shelby Prepares To Welcome 1,000 State Baptists
Murder Trials Open
Thursday; Will Try
Hornhuckle Friday
Four Murder Trials In AM, Fifth
Continued. Negro Killer On
Trial Tomorrow.
Disposal of the largest number of
murder cases to come up on a dock
et for one term here In many years
will get underway in superior court
here tomorrow, it was announced
today by Solicitor Spurgeon Spurl
ing. Cliff Fullenwider, middle-aged
negro, will face the bar of justice
in the first of the murder hearing.
Fullenwider is charged whb Kill
ing his brother-in-law at a negro
church near Shelby several months
back, the trouble between the tv o
centering about Fullenwider's wife,
a sister of the slain mam
Four Altogether.
Four killing cases are scheduled
to be heard at the present term
Five true bills charging murder
have been returned by the grand
jury, of which Thad Ford 's fore
man, but the fifth case, a shooting
affair between negroes at Lawndale
last Saturday night, will be con
tinued to the next term of court.
On Friday the court is scheduled
to take up the murder, charge
against A. J. (Kid) Hombuckle.
young boxer, who will be tried for
fatally slugging George Scruggs m
east Shelby last February.
Two killing cases are booked for
Monday’s session, the' first being the
charge placed against several young
white men of the Grover section of
fatally assaulting a negro at Grover
several years back, while !n Uie
second case Boyd Law is charged
with killing another negro over a
girl, the killing taking place a few
weeks back.
No First Degree.
Solicitor Spurling as yet does not
know definitely the degree ill
ask in each case, but he is inclineo
to believe that the extreme cenaliy,
which upon conviction would mean
the death chair, will not be asked
by the state in either of the four
cases. The defendants, one in each
case except the Grover case in
which there are several, will pre
sumably be tried upon counts rang
(Continued on page twelve.)
Georgia Man Die*
Here At Age Of 78
W. W. Rochester who died here
last Thursday night at the Shelby
hospital came to Cleveland county
about* six years ago from Geo'gia.
He had been living in the Union
community and wras 78 years of
age. The funeral was conducted
Friday afternoon at 3 o’clock and
Interment was in the cemetery at
Union Baptist church.
She Presides
Miss Selma Webb of Shelby, chair
man of the pammar grade depart
ment of the Fiedmont district as
sociation of the North Carolina
Educational Association presides
over this meeting in Charlotte Fri
day afternoon of this week. JIfss
Webb is prominent In school circles
in this territory.
Juniors To Put
On Big Meeting
Several Hundred From Over Dis
trict Expected Here Friday
Night. Meeting Ope^*^
District Deputy Ed W. Dixon ex
pects the district Junior Order rtJ'v
here Friday night of this week it
the Central school building to draw
one of the largest crowds of any
meeting ever held in the district,
which covers four counties.
Originally the meeting was sche
duled to be held in the Junior hall
but after State Counsellor D. W.
Sorrell, of Durham, and Vice Coun
sellor C. E. Hamilton, of Monroe,
agreed to attend it was decided to
stage an open meeting with the
public invited to attend and to hold
it in the school building to ac
commodate the crowd anticipated.
The district embraces the lodges of
Caroleen, Henrietta, Forest City,
Spindale, Cliffside, Rutherfordton,
Ellenboro. Concord Bostic, Latti
more, Shelby, Fallston, Flay and
: Logan’s Store.
Judge Harding Wants Facts Of
His Court, No ‘Maybes’, ‘Abouts’
Scoffs At Strangers Who Gives
Drinks Away. Criticises Old
Character Witness Phrase.
Judge W. F. Harding, who is pre
siding over Cleveland county’s big
gest criminal court here this week,
prefers facts from the witness stand
rather than ‘‘maybes” and ’abouts.’
He Is a stickler for getting his
informaiton straight but keeps a
court room alert and entertained
with his wit as he makes his de
mands. In fact, an attentive ob
server might readily reach the con
clusion that the Charlotte Jurist
once shedding the dignity of the
court bench could measure up wi'h
Will Rogers in .a wisecracking con
test.
Explodes Old Phrase.
Perhaps the most used and most
heard phrase in the court room is
that expression of a character wit
ness when asked about some de
fendant’s Character—"It's good, so
far as I know.” One witness used
the wom-out expression in the
court room yesterday and Judge
Harding immediately jumped on
him writh both feet, figuratively
speaking:
"Yes,” snapped the judge "and
it's good so far as I know, too, but
I don’t know him at all. How far do
you know?”
Whereupon barristers and court
attendants, who had been hearing
the expression for years and con
sidering it a good one, began to
look at each other and wonder if,
after all, it was a very exprestive
answer.
Doubts One Story.
In another case a young defend
ant, who had rua afoul of the law
while partially intoxicated, had
made a pretty good defense until
he took the stand and tried to ex*
plain about it. The judge w-as a bit
curious as to where1 the young fel
low had secured his whiskey, and
to satisfy his curiosity he began to
ask questions.
“I guess somebody gave it to you.
did they?” queried the judge.
"Yessir,” was the eager reply of
the witness. *
‘'Did you know them?'''
“Nossir.”
"Strangers to you. were they?’
asked the Judge.
“Yessir,” answered the witness,
perhaps wronderlng just how the
kind jurist seemed to know just
how he had been enticed into trou
ble.
‘‘Hadn't ever seen them before,
ch?”
"Nossir.”
"And did you permit, a couple of
strangers nice enough to give vou a
drink or two to go away without
finding out their names?”
•Yessir.”
“Well, young man I must be
somewhat different from you. If a
(Continued on page twelve.)
County Second
In Ginning In
State So Far
Robeson County Nearly 2,000 Uales
Ahead l!p To Oct. 18. Mistake'
In Other Figures.
Cleveland county had ginned
17,880 bales of cotton up to Oc
tober 18, this year, Instead of
15,889 as was reported In Mon
day's Star, and at the time tl,e
ginning report was issued this
county was second In the state.
Robeson county to the same
date had ginned 10,680 bales, or
600 bales more than that comi
ty had ginned to the saihe dale
last year.
The revisal of the ginning
figures this week has the coun
ty 750 bales alirad of last year's
ginning.
Only five counties in the
state had ginned over 10,000
bales up to October 18, and
their ginning figures this year
and last arc given:
County 1929 102S
Robeson. 19,680 19,088
Cleveland . ..... 17,889 17,171
Harnett-. _ .. 17,106 18.311
Johnston. 11,789 17,117
Sampson __ 13,376 13,38'!
Lincolnton To Play
Forest City Eleven
In Shelby Friday
Two Teams Clash In Class B Series
Of State Championship
Grid Race.
Shelby It appears now will have
three football games this week in*
stead of two. News dispatches in L.e
morning papers today stated that
the Forest City and Lincolnton high
school elevens have been scheduled
to play here Friday afternoon in
the first round of the class B state
championship race.
Thursday, tomorrow', afternoon
the Shelby eleven plays Mt. Holly
here, while Boiling Springs college
plays the High Point college re
serves on Saturday at the city perk.
Funeral Of Young
Riviere Held Today
The funeral service of Alexander
Riviere, who died Sunday at one
o'clock at his home in Norfolk, Va.
was conducted today, at 2:30 o’clock
from the home of his aunt and
uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Russell Laugh
ridge on N. Morgan street by Dr.
H. K. Boyer assisted by Dr. Zeno
Wall. The pall bearers w»ere the fol
lowing young friends of Alexander:
James and John Lutz, W. D. Bab
ington. H. A. Logan. Floyd Wulis
and Guy Laughridge. Relatives fi otn
a distance at the funeral were;
Walter Riviere, a brother, from the
navy school in New London, Conn .
Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Riviere, his :sar
ents and family from Norfolk, Va.,
Mr. and Mrs. Nesblt Riviere, of Nor
folk and Mr. and Mrs. H. C. John
son of Wilmington.
Doster Youth Gets
Thirty Days On Gang
Ernest Doster, white youth, was
sentenced to 30 days on the chain
gang by Recorder Horace Kennciv
in county court yesterday on the
charge of stealing a suit of "lothes
last Saturday afternoon at ".he
Montgomery Ward store.
A little over a year ago he re
ceived a road term for a larceny of
jewels from the Alexander jewelry
store.
Have Fine Catch On
South Carolina Coast
Bringing with them six channel
bass weighing 121 pounds and rep
resenting a day's fishing at South
Island on the coast of South Caro
lina, Jake Elliott, Jim Elliott, Carl
Putnam and Boyce Dellinger re
turned to the city Monday *,h "tell
their friends.” The channel bass
ranged in weight from ten to thir
ty pounds.
Two Local Couples
Married At Gaffney
Only two couples from tins sec
tion of North Carolina were married
at Gaffney, S. C„ last week. They
were: Clyde Humphries, of Patter
son Springs, and Era Batchelor, of
Kings Mountain; Gary Huskey ar.d
Ruth Blanton, both of Cliffside.
Whfere Baptist State Convention Meets Nov. 11 th to 14th
The First Baptist church of Shelby is the meeting place ior the Baptist State Convention. Here it met In 181J,
1890, and 1913. The auditorium has a seating rapacity of 1,500. The church property Is valued aat $300,000. In
the building are 103 rooms. Inset, reading right to to 1 eft. nr. Clyde Turner of Greensboro, president of the
convention; Dr. Zeno Wall, pastor of the First Baptist church and host to the convention, and Dr. J. Marcus
Hester, of tVllmington. who preaches the convention sermon.
Child Falls From Moving Car
And Dies From The Injuries
A1 Wants To Know If
He Is To Blame For
Stock Market Crash
Springfield. Mass.. Oct. 29.— "Will
they blame the stock market on uic
Democrats?—‘Al.’ " Such was the
laconic message sent by Alfred E.
Smith to a meeting of the West
ern-Massachusetts Democratic club
last night.
The message was enthusiastically
applauded, coming after Governor
Franklin D. Roosevelt, of New York
had declared that if such a market
debacle ever took place' in a Dem
ocratic administration it would im
mediately be hailed as the result of
business bungling by the party in
power.
-,
Pinned Under
Car, He Dies
Farmer Of Lower Cleveland Meets
Death As Car Turns Turtle
On No. 18.
Jeff, Davis, farmer living >ri Cleve
land, county below Boiling Springs
was buried Saturday afternoon at
Elizabeth Baptist church ft 2
o'clock, following his death or Fr
day night on state highway No. 18,
north of Shelby in Burke county.
It is understood that Mr. Davis
was driving his car. returning home
from Morganton with his son, when
the car left the road near South
Fork Creek. Mr. Davis who was 68
years of age was pinned unde.
and received injuries from which Ac
died before the sen could get medi
cal aid
Mr. Davis Is survived by his vile
and several children. He is well
known in several parts of the county
where he lived at different times
Mrs Katherine Dysart
Buried At Rehobeth
Mrs. Katherine Dysart was buried
Friday afternoon at 2 o’clock at
Rehobeth Methodist church. 3he
was 78 years of age and died at the
home of her daughter, Mrs. Lee
Whitesides with whom she had been
making her home. Mrs. Dysart was
a splendid woman and an exemplur
Christian who will be greatly miss
ed in the community. Her husband
preceded her to the grave and be
sides her daughter, Mrs. Lee
Whitesides of this county, on? sou
Charlie Dysart of Latpria. Cia rlso
survive..
Mr. J. M. Holland and Mr. R. M.
Schiele of Gastonia were over today
planning with local officials for the
Boy Scout drive here on next Tues
day.
Wu Visiting Relative* Here With
III* Parents. Body Taken To
New Jersey.
A four and a half year old New
Jersey child, visiting its grandfather
Mr. Joe Runyans and other rela
tives here, fell from a moving auto
mobile Sunday and sustained a rup
ture of the liver from which it died
in the Shelby hospital Monday
morning at 10 o'clock. The child's
father P. F. Runyans and his broth
er Craig Runyans and Craig's three
children went out for a short ride
after church service. The fathers
were in the front seat and the four
children In the back sent playing.
In some manner the rear door of
the car flew open and the four and
a half year old child, William
Fletcher Runyans. fell to iho
ground, sustaining the fatal inju. v.
Mr. and Mrs. F. F. Runyans wei e
here on a visit to his father, bring
ing with them their only child which
was a victim of the accident. They
left yesterday for Newark, New
Jersey with the body which will be
buried today in tire cemetery at
Mountain View, N. J., a suburb of
Newark. Mr. Runyans has oeen
manager of dne of the Great West
ern Grocery stores in Mountain
View, N. J., for the past ten years.
Drive For Scout
Funds Is Planned
Civic Club Members To W»(f Cam
paign For Shelby's Quota In
Piedmont Council.
Civic club members of Shelby are
planning to wage a campaign next
Tuesday for $1,000. Shelby's quota
for the maintenance of the Picd
I mont scout council. Oliver Anthony
j is general chairman and the Ki
I wanis, Rotary and Lions clubs have
| appointed committees to conduct
j the campaign.
| Mr. J. M. Holland, council truas
j urer and R. M. Schiele, scopi ex
ecutive of Gastonia were to Shelby
today conferring with leaders in
planning the' campaign. The fol
lowing committees have been ap
pointed :
Kiwams: R. T. LcQrand, Earl
Hamrick, Chas. Hoey. Jack Palmer.
J. D. Lineberger. Henry Mills, J. H.
Origg, Bill McCord, Max Wash
burn. Forrest Eskridge. Horace
Easom and H. N. McDiarmld.
Lions club: A. L. Bennett, Arthur
Benoy, Charles Dover, Clav.dt
Oroce, Clyde Nolan, Peyton Mc
Swaln.
Rotary club: Dean Duncan. Hor
ace Kennedy, Charlie Hubba’d, Roy
Sisk, Henry Massey. Rush Thomp
son, DcWitt Quinn, Tom Oo’d.
Negro Congressman Adds To Heat
Of Political Trouble In Virginia
Charged That Republicans Would
Repeal Poll Tax Voting Law.
Racial Issue Raised.
and denials resulting from a printed
circular asserting that the Republi
can party stood for repeal cf the
poll tax as a prerequisite to voting
and showing pictures of Oscar De
Priest, negro congressman, and hie
wife, together with portions of De
Priest speeches, this week usurped
some of the interest that oUkt
phases of the Virginia gubernatorial
campaign has held.
Party officials exchanged letters
concerning the circular, Hen#y W.
Anderson, Republican leader, seek
ing to learn if the circular was
‘‘authorized or approved." and T.
McCall Frazier. Democratic head
quarters director, denying any offi
cial connection with the pamphlet.
Anderson Replies.
Mr, Anderson spoke of the cir
cular as being an “outrageous at
tempt to associate Dr. Brown (Wil
liam Mosley Brown, coalition gub
ernatorial candidate), and myself
with DePriest." He accus'd Demo
cratic headquarters of distributing
the circular, and denied that the F*e
publtcan platform stood for :epeal
of the poll tax.
Mr. Frazier, who received and an
swered the letter in the absence of
Dr. John Garland Pollard, Demo
cratic nominee lor governor, wrote
Anderson that insofar as he knew
| Dr. Pollard did not know of the cx
; istence of the pamphlet and decl.tr
| cd that no one connected with the
Democratic headguarters had any
thing to do with it. Mr. Frazier
wrote that Dr. Pollard was "no more
responsible for its printing and dis
tribution than is Dr. Brown or his
headquarters responsible for the
printing and distribution of the cir
cular signed by Dabney Harrison,
which ,is row being distributed by
friends of the coalition candidates
and in which Dr. Pollard is shame
fully slandered.”
Circular’s Charges.
In the DePriest circular It is
charged that Dr. Brown, coalition
candidate for governor; Henry W.
Anderson and the platform on-which
Brown is running “demand a radiccl
revision of our election laws, in
cluding the repeal of the require
ment that three years poll tax must
be paid as a prerequisite for voting.
DePriest and his wife are pictured
in the circular standing together,
the illustration appearing alongside
the statement that Anderson, Brown
and the Republican platform s*cnd
for repeal of the poll tax. The circu
lar charged that the poll tax was
put into the Constitution to elimin
ate the negro vote.
The circular bore on the front
page this question: "Can white su
tContinued on page twelve.)
State Meeting
Comes Here For
Fourth Session
Last Baptist Convention Held Her*
Was In 1913; Plan Two
Banquets.
One thousand delegates and vis>
(tors are expected to attend the
Baptist state convention whiob
meets In Shelby November 11 to 14
inclusive with the First Baptist
church which will entertain tht
convention for the fourth time. To
get some Idea as to the strength of
the Baptists in North Carolina and
the importance of the deliberations
of this body of religious leaders, it
is learned that a year ago there
were 2,281 Baptist churches in tbs
state with 386,403 members, con
tributing for all purposes nearly four
million dollars. It is estimated that
the summary will show over 49*,(iW
members of the Baptist denomina
tion In the state this year.
Ample Quarters For Meeting.
The First Baptist church which
ill be host to the convention this
'fir is greatly enlarged, having
lunch property, Including tha
nndsome parsonage, valued at
5300,000. The church and gduca
tional building were remodelled
within the past year and now the
plant has 103 rooms, the church
auditorium having a seating capa
city of 1,500. Here tire t conventior
meetings will be held, while In thf
educational building adjoining thf
church are ample department room!
for sessions of the various branchei
of the convention to be held
The First Baptist church has Dr
Zeno Wall for Its pastor. He la be
ginning hts fifth year and la con
sidered one of the outstanding lead
ers in the denomination In th*
state. Horace Easom la education*'
secretary and director of music anf
is playing an important part it
making plans for the entertainment
of the visitors. Hon. O. M. Mull b
chairman of the committee on en
tertainment and is making the as- ,
signment to homes for the dele
gates.
The host church is one of th<
strongest of the Baptist faith i«
the state with a membership of 1,«
200 and a Sunday school enroll
ment of a like number. This church
entertained the Baptist convention
(Continued on page twelve.!
^ ■ t
Courtney Presiding
Elder For District
Stanford Remains At Broad Street
In Statesville. Other
Appointments.
Rev. R. M. Courtney is the new
presiding elder of this district of
the Methodist conference succeed
ing Rev. W. A. Newell.
Rev. A. L. Stanford, former pal
tor of Central church here, was i«*
turned by the conference Mondaf
to the Broad Street church ai
Statesville.
The full appointments for thW
district, now known as the Gastonia
district, follow:
Presiding elder, R. M. Courtney.
Belmont Main Street, H. C. Sprin
kle. jr.
Belmont Park Street, J. C. Greece
Belwood, J. W. FI teg er aid.
Bessemer City, C. B. Newton.
Cherryvllle, W. G. McF'arlanri
Cherryvttle circuit, T. V. Crouse
Cramerton, J. P. Morris.
I Crouse circuit. Van B. Harrison
Dallas, J. W. Vestal.
Gastonia.
East End. T. J. Huggins.
Bradley Memorial, A. C. Salford.
Main Street, J. B. Craven.
Maylo, T. B. Honeycutt.
Smyra, T. H. Swafford.
Trinity, J. R. Warren.
West End, R. A. Taylor.
Goodsonville, J. W. Combs.
Kings Mountain, J. R- Churn
Lincolnton, P. W. Tucker.
Lincoln circuit, C. R. Allison.
Lowell. P. H. Price.
Lowesville, J. O. Cox.
McAdenville, D. P. Carver.
Mount Holly, J. C. Cornett.
Polkville. J. M. Barber.
Rock Springs, R. F. Honeycutt.
Shelby.
Central, L. B. Hayes.
LaFayette Street, W. R. Jenkins. ,,
Shelby circuit. R. L. ForWs.
Southfork, W. J. Miller.
Stanley, J. W. Oreece.
Missionary to Japan, I. L. Shave# '
Student, Duke University, G. 9,
Hood
Student Boston urn vers tty, P W,
Townsend.
Religious director, William an*
Mary college, M. T. Hipps.
Conference missionary secreiaejfej
R M. Courtney