North Carolina Newspapers

? ? m we To ? Your Dollars May Reclaim A CkiM POPULATION City Limits (1940 Cm sua) 6-574 laiBMdiat* Tiading Ami 15 000 (IMS Ratios Board FtfurM) VOL. 60 NO. 2 | g Pages Today Kings Mountain. N. C? Friday, January 14. 1949 PRICE FIVE CENTS Polio Fund Campaign La u n ched on T h u rsda y Local News Bulletins BUILDING PERMITS "Building permii was issued Tuesday at City Hall to Fred J. Wright, Jr., for construction of two Oiie-story houses on Watterson street, estimated cost $800 each. METER RECEIPTS Parking meter receipts for the 3?th week of operations, which ended at noon Wednesday, total ed $143.50 according to a report ?by S. A. Crouse, city clerk. CONDITION CRITICAL The condition of Mrs. "W. A. Ri denhour, prominent Kings Moun tain citizen, ".'is described as cri-. tical Thu.jfia/ morning. Mrs. Ri* denhour has been receiving treat*, .mem at Gaston Memorial hospital since suffering a stroke last week. SATURDAY SERVICES Special services are held each Saturday evening at Second Wes leyan Methodist church, near the Sadie Cotton Mill, according to -announcement by Rev. Jessie Hin flpn, the pastor. The services fea ture special speakers and sing *?**. . ,LY Vv-. . at the ' Mountain JunioftCbamber of Com merce will be held Tuesday night ?t the Woman's Club at 7 o'clock. 'Full -attendance is being ur^e j. J' Gul fey. Browns Draw Road Terms In Court ? J. C. Guffey -was sentenced to serve 12 months on the roads for as sault on a female in Superior Court action in Shelby this week. A charge of rape was changed to assault in connection with the case. Three Kings Mountain Negroes were sentenced to the roads in con nection with the incident here De cember 11 in which Edgar Brown was wounded by a pistol shot fired by a Kings Mountain police officer. Grady Brown was sentenced to serve six months and his brothers, Wfthrow and Woodrow Brown were each sentenced to serve four mon ths. They were charged with inter fering with an officer. Judge Peyton McSwain presided at the January term of court. Dry Victory Is Landslide Cleveland County's dry forces won ah Overwhelming victory last Satur day as they voted against legal sale of beer by 9,284 to 1,183. The vote against legal sale of ' wine ? banned for more than a yea f ^ by county board action ? / was ever m\-inore dry, 9,348 to 904. :Sings Mountain's two boxes Join - 1 ed in the parade, returning 1,300 vo Bretes against ;he legal sale of beer to - ? 008 for It. The vote on the wine mat- 1 ter here was: against legal sale of i wine, 1,305; for legal sale of wine, I 242.' ' ""-'MSSBm ?' I The election here was conducted biArily, but quietly. Dry forces had a fyll quota automobiles on the move all <?&, seeing that voters of v'.- ttie,4fy .raffKs cast their v&bes. and the business of votes usually re quired some few minutes wait, as cithten* jammed tht polls. The situ ation wua particularly bad in the We* KiAg* Mountain box, many | people reporting standing In line for 'J'-JW Wrtttttf before they could cast the two Kings Mountain boxes. The i totals were as follows: Bast King$ Mountain ? For beer, Hi ; ' . ifCMltlliinistr. 38b; for Wine. 1 17, *; '?* i ' ? ? ? ? I Weat Kings Mountain ? For beer, % for wine ' 99, 1 Inst wine. 713. , befertvftt end in 0#. j nd county 60 days from the dat? i voted out. Township Quota Is S5.000; Need For Funds Given j Kings Mountain a. .. Number 4,1 :ownship's fund campaign for the j National Foundation for Infantile 'aralysis got underway officially .'hursday morning at a kickoff oreak/ast at the Kings Mountain Country Club, with Chairman Ollie Harris as host. Goal of the campaign this year is ,$5,000 in - Number 4 township ? ex- j 'actly one-fourth of the county's $*20,. i 000 quota. Actually, the campaign was al- , ready underway in Kings Moun- j tain. The Kings Mountain Lions club at its Tuesday night meeting had ! presented Chairman Harris with a $75 check for the fund, and indivi- } dual Lions contributed another $335. j This total, plus tail twister fees de- 1 voted to the campaign, totaled i ! $419.52. I Already in action, too, was the in | dustrial gifts committee, which in- ' j eluded George Houser, chairman, Mrs. Harry Page and Jack Day. Mr. j Houser reported virtually complete cooperation on the part of all oi 'he city's industrial plants. Many are making available a payroll deduc tion service to employers who wish to give in this manner, and almost all report much interest in the eanj (Cont\J on page eight) Bank Officers Air He-Elected Stockholders of the First Nation al Sank, in annual meeting at the i bank Tuesday afternoon, heard re I ports on the year's opejations and re-elected all officers and directors. The bank statement ,at the close of business December 31, showed as sets of $4,109,497.49. Deposit^ total ed $3,787,311.40. During rhe year, the bank increased its surplus to $100, 000, an increase of $15,000 during 1948, and increased its undivided prof its and reserves furjd by $12, 350.34. This fund now totals $62, 873.91. ! During 1948. the bank paid out di ! videhds to stockholders representing j six percent on the $100,00u capital ! stock. ' Officers re-elected were F. R. Sum mers, president, B. S. NeiU. execu- 1 | tive vice-president, R. L. |Mauney,j | vice-president, L. E. Abbon, cashier, j and James S. McKinney, assistant' cashier. Directors re-elected includ ed Dr. L. P. Baker, G. A. Bridges, W. i K. Mauney. P. M. Neisler. ,M A.J Ware, Mr. Summers, Mr. NeiU, and; R. L. Mauney. forking meter Dunes To Aid Polio Fight It won't get a motorist any parking time, but it'll be all right to put dimes in parking meters during the next two weeks. The meters don't work in dimes ? ? only on nickles and pennies ? but forgetful motorists regularly . forget or don't know. The re?ult is that the city finds a few dimes in the meters almost every week. Mayor H, Tom Fulton announ ced Tuesday night that all dimes found in the patking1 meters dur ing the ensuing March of Dimes, campaign will be turned over to the fund to fight infantile paraly i sis. Bridges & Hamrick Damaged By Fire Fire which broke out shortly aft er closing time Monday night caus ed considerable damage at Bridges & Hamrick Hardware. City firemen answered the alarm at 6:33 and worked about an hour extinguishing the blaze which de stroyed a portion of the store's of fice at the rear. . Chief Grady King reported only minor fire and water damage, buti he said the smoke damage was ex- | cessive. Cause of the fire had not been determined, he said, but added that G. A. Bridges, proprietor of the firm, thought it had resulted from a defective furnace flue which runs to its outlet near the office space. Mr. Bridges said the store had been closed -as usual at 6 p. m. The A U P, which adjoins Bridges t Hamrick, closed a short time later, and one of the employees, emerging from a rear door, noticed smoke pouriqg from the building. He turn ed in the alarm. < N ; f; Estimate of damage had not been completed TharwJsyTrtorttlffg; ' Mr. 'Bridges said los# Waa partlaLty covered by insurance. Mr. Bridges said he deeply appre ciated the "good work" of the city fire department in quiokly exting uishing the fire. "Had it not been for their quick work, it is certain that the loss would have been much greater, and it is possible other buildfngs mayi have been burned too." he said. ' ! Bus Firm To Suspend Sunday Morning Runs The Kings Mountain Bus company will suspend Sunday morning ser vice, effective February 6, according to an announcement this '.veek by Hal S. Plonk, manager of the com pany. Mr. Plonk said the reason for the cancellation of Sunday morning ser- 1 vice was due to insufficient demand for such a service, proved over the 1 past several years. The new Sunday schedule of city J buses which will go into effect the j first Sunday In February will be 1:15 p. m. to 9fl5 p. m. Mr. Plonk said no changes are he- I lng made in present week-day schedules. > ? Unemployment Claims-Takers Are Busy; 826 Claims Filed Last Week | As they have since August, a num ber of Kings Mountain citizens have come to appreciate again the small, but helpful unemployment compen sation benefits which, of course, don't compare to the weekly pay check, but which help to keep suf ficient groceries on the table. - For ?the week ending January 9, a total of 826 Kings Mountain per sons entered claims for unemploy ment compensation. Mrs. "Nancy B. Webb, a jolly ex-proofreader for the Charlotte News, is the local claims taker, and, <after Itsilng the total, was quick to point out that this did not mean that 836 people, in Kings Mountain are unemployed. Many of the claims were of the "Spot" va riety, which is Unemployment Com pensation commission lingo for temporary layoffs. Some instances were for extended Christmas hok days from local textile plants which this year many plants, lacking or ders* officially termed layoff a Of the 826 applications for the week ending test Saturday, 103 were filed by World "War II veterans. Ma ny were collecting for temporary layoff* Just as their neighbors were. They filed under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act provisions rather than for regular unemployment compensation provisions because they would get higher unemploy ment pay. | 1 he minimum , check a worker draws is $4.00. The maximum Is $20 j The payments are based on the worker's income during the next- to- j last calendar year completed. This! means that present unemployment ' benefits are 'based on what the work er made in covered employment dur ing 1947. Covered employment is any work in -a plant, store, or other! place of business in which eight or more persons are employed for 20 week* during the year. The maximum number of benefits paid in one calendar year Is for 16 weeks. The present wesk-on-week off operational policy of some local mills insures that a worker oan col lect benefits for the "off week" over , a term of approximately eight mon ths. < The Unemployment Compensa tion program is a phase of the na tional social security program be gup in the thirties The funds come exclusively from employer contribu tions (which begin at 1.7 percent of the company payroll, go down ac cording to experience rating). Claim* must be filled by unem" ployed workers for each week they are eligible for, and e-*v?ot to col lect, benefit checks. Claims may be filed at the office of the state Em ployment Service on Qwrok^ ; street, or at places designated by the claims-taker. For mass group 1 filirtg. the clainvs-tak?r has been working at Cft? Hall. ?175*000 Sewerage Disposal Plant Immediate Need, Engineer Report Bcyce Simonton Funeral Rites Conducted Sunday Kuner.i! services for William Boy co Simonton, 70 well-known Kings Mountain citizen were held Sunday at 12:30 at Hams Funeral Home, with interment 'following in the family plot of New Hope cemetery near Woodward. S. C. Mr. Simonton died about 8 o'clock i Friday night at his home. He had ..been in declining health for the past j six years, since suffering a stroke of , paralysis, but had been critically ! ill only for the past few weeks, j Mr. Simonton was a former city i clerk, and for almost 20 years serv- j ed as bookkeeper at the Dilling Mill. A native of White Oaks, South Caro lina, he had been a citizen of Kings Mountain for the past 34 years. He was the son of the Late Samuel ft. and Sallie Harris Simonton. Funeral rites were conducted by Rev. W. L. Pressly, pastor of Boyce Memorial ARP church, of which Mr. Simonton was a member, assisted by Rev. P. D. Patrick, pastor of First Presbyterian church. Pallbearers were Sam R. Suber, ?E. W. 'Griffin. M. A. Ware. W. S. Ful ton, N. F. MdGill, and Jack Arnette. i Among out-of-town persons at tending the funeral were Miss Sax alee Harrill, a niece, and R T. Simon ion, * brother, both of Atlanta, Cg., i and C. Calder, i ulster, of Greenville, S. C. Other survivors In clude tour E. A. Merrill Mrs. W. S. Dilling, Miss Bessie Si 1 monton and Mrs. J.M. Patterson, all I of Kings Mountain. Lail Minder i Trial Continued ' * ?; ? ' ' ? ?% i-f The trial of John C. Laii, 59. char ged with the murder of RolMe Boyd Fr^zier, 41, of Shelby, at Margraee boarding house here !asr Sauirdav night, was continued to 'he March term of Cleveland county Superior court by. Judge Peyton McSwain this w?ek. Lail's bond was set at $7.5<y?.i Lail waived preliminary hearing ' in Recorder's court at Shelby Mon day morning. He is alleged to have murdered Frazier at around 9:30 p.! m. Saturday night in Lail's room at j the Margraee mill boarding house during a gambling argument over a five-dollar bill. * He admitted the shooting to Sher iff Hugh A. Logan, J., and Chief De puty Haywood Allen, who investiga xed the killing One witness, Miss Sara Jones, was on the scene when the murder oc curred, according to Officers Logan I and Allen. Miss Jones, daughter of the owner of the boarding house, i stated that she htNird a uhot as she sat downstairs, and that she stood outside of the room shortly alter and heard the two men arguing. The ! girl added that during the argument ' she heard Lail threaten to kill Fra- 1 zier unless he grave him a five- do! ? i lar bill, and a few minutes later she | heard two more shots fired. Frazier, a native of Rutherford county, was shot in the shoulder and the left side, one bullet piercing his heart. He was a veteran of World . War II;. Lions Heaxd Polio . Carlos Young, of Shelby, chairman of the county's current polio fund 'Campaign, outlined rhe needs for meeting ? * and surpassing. If possi ijUOta tht* yoar, ore members of the Kings Moun tain Lion- club at their regular meeting TMsdtv night. Mr. Young, himMlf a victim of polio, during last summer's epide mic, gave *n interesting report on the way funds of the National Foun dation for Infantile Paralysis were spent In forth Carolina during last summer'* epidemic, which resulted in 2,496 oases. Cleveland county a (one recorded 102 cases. Including ii in* deaths, Mr. Young said, while King* Mountain wealed 28. slightly more than one- fourth the courrty'e WtaL He reported that the state has re ( Cont'd on page eight) KIWANIS PRESIDENT ? J. Byron Keeter. prominent Kins* Mountain budneumaD. was installed as pres ident of the Kings Mountain Kiwan is club (or 194S at the meeting oi the club last week. Mr. Keeter suc ceeds J. L. McCUL (Herald photo by 3undy.) Kiwanis Officers For '49 Installed j Officers and directors for 1949 were installed at a special instal lation night program of the Kings Mountain Kiwanis club Thursday January 6* ,Mr.r KmgTolf Shefby, lieutenant - gover nor of Kiwanis district 1, conducting the installation. New officers of the club are J. By- - ron Keeter, president, who succeeds John,L. MdGill. Hugh V. Ballard, vice-president,- and Harold Cog gins, secretary-treasurer, re-elected. New directors installed were !>r. P. G. Padgett. Drace M. Peeler, Or. J. S. Mauney. W. S. Fulton. Jr. Dr. R. N. Baker. L. E. Abbott., and J.-E. An thony. Jr. Past President McGlli is a member of the board ex officio. 75th Anniversary Banquet Monday Members of Fairview Lodge No. 339 A. F. & A. M. will observe the 75th anniversary of the founding of the lodge at the annual ladies night banquet to be held at the high school cafeteria Monday night at 7 , o'clock. | M. E. Hoffman, of Asheville, j Grand Master of North Carolina, will be the speaker at the event. ' Masons in charge of ticket sales for che banquet are J. Ollie Harris, Bruce M<?Dar?iel and Oscar McCar- j tef. A capacity crowd is expected for the event. Commissioners Hear Dickson Survey Report W. K. Dick-son, .Charlotte s<*w?-r en gineer who has completed a survey of the city's water and sewer sys tems, made his report 10 the city board of commissioners Tuesday night and recommended as -soon as possible construction of a $175. t>K) sewerage treatment plant to serve the area of rhe -city now served iiy the McGlll tank on Potts creek. Mr. Dickson gave reports 011 what he said was a complete survey of the city's five-tank sewerage system, designated the so-called Mauney d?s posal tank as the "next worse," and said the cost of absolutely necessary sewer line extensions would total approximately $33,000. Mr. Dickson's report was the main item on the board's agenda Tues day night and consumed the major portion of the meeting. Describing his survey of the Mc Gut tank, which he reported serves 605 houses in an over-all area of 720 acres. Mr. Dickson said the pres ent tank w badly overloaded and added, "What you are doing is dumping raw sewerage into 'Potts Creek." He said two types of sewerage dis posal plant could be built, one activated sludge method dispell system which would coot about $175,000 and require $2,800 power annually to operate, <he other an ae rial filter syfctem which woukl^fe ulre an original expendfture of 184,000 and cost about $500 worth of power anniMlly to operate. He recommended the sludge method a? the best. He said the investment should take care of the McGllI tank area through a population growth of the city to 14.000 ? 15.000. Mr. Dickson gave the following re port on me remainder of the city's sewerage dispo.*val system: The Mauney tank serves '#>'2 hou ses and an area of 320 acre*, wi:J- m (Cont'd on page eight) Accident Victims Return To Homes Mrs. O. W. Myers and Mrs. B VV. Gillespie, injured last week in a wreck near Charlotte, have return ed to theit homes here, after receiv ing treatment at Memorial hospital in Charlotte. Mrs. Gillespie, who suffered a knee injury, returned home Sunday, and Mrs. Myers returned home Tues day. Mrs. Myers is still confined to bed. having received painful head and back injuries, and severe bruis es. The accidcnt occurred at an inter section of the Hunterwville road shortly after noon January 5, as Mrs. Mvefs was driving her daughter back to school at Winston-Saiem, Miss Myers was unhurt. Six-Month Report Shows Budget Oi City Is 5LS Percent Spent The city's S305 000 budget for the fiscal year 1948 49 was SL5 percent spent, at the close of business De cember 31, according to a six-month report given by Gity Clerk S. A. C rouse at the regular meeting of the commissioners Tuesday night. The report showed Income for the first six months of $192,820.98, ex penditures of S15T.539.ft4, and a cash balance at the end of six months of *39,396.48. Of the various city deoartments, the general department was highest listed In -percent of budget spent, the S6.941.08 representing 77-3 perce'nt of the budget appropriation. In best Shape budget-wise was the light and power department, whic^ had expended 533,' 754.66, only 40.8 ' per cent of Ks budget appropriation. City Engineer E. C. Brandon, Jr., pointed out that the city was well wtthin Its budget, even though the figures showed more than half of it spekn. Fie said that expenses in some department* for capital outlay 1 tems are heavier in the first six months of the year. The report showed total 1948 proo erty tax collections of $57,838.14, or 60.4- percent of the total levy. Mr. Croude also reported the following percentage collections for prior ( years: 1947 ? 97.5 percent, 194^? 97.5 percent, 194ft ? 97 j6 percent. Sale of water and lights was the biggest income factor during the first six months, totaling f85.993.60, followed by property tax collections. Other Income Items Inc'uded: $5, 562.23 from the city's share in the tax on beer (vtrted out last Satur day.) $6320.95 from court costs and fines, and $4,369.67 fjom parking meter collections. ' The report alio showed tfiat 237 dog licenses had been purchased 'at $1.00 each), in come of $366.50 from sale of fishing permits, and $231 from parking vi olations. ? Largest expense Item was in the ilght and power department with total expenditures of $33,754.66. Wa ter and sewer departments had cost the cKy $15,299.99, and $14,846.60 had been paid for debt service. In cluding paying off $6,000 in city t>ond?, $8,801.25 in interest, ?nd $45.35 in Har.k commissions. Per the pay-on-receiptg contract with the Magee-Hale Park-o-Meter company, the oty had paid out S3, 069 against the purchase price of the parking meters. The police department had co4 the city $11,623.23.