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VOLUME 40 — NUMBER 28
Georgia Supreme Court Gives
Judgment for Mable Moody
The State Supreme Court ruled
unanimously Friday that Mrs.
Mable Moody was the winner in
a hotly disputed Democratic pri
mary contest for the post of
Brantley County School superin
tendent.
The high court action sustained
a lower court ruling which de
clared Mrs. Moody the winner by
one vote over incumbent Hers
chel W. Herrin in the Feb. 16
primary.
Mrs. Moody now can run as the
Democratic candidate in the No
vember election, and be eligible
to take office next January.
Herrin originally was declared
the winner by seven votes, 1,333
to 1,326. However, Mrs. Moody
demanded a recount in which she
came out on top, 1,330 to 1,329.
On March 10 Mrs. Moody filed
a suit seeking to force the county
Democratic executive committee
to declare her winner.
After trial of the case before
Judge Cecil Roddenberry in
Brantley County Superior Court
Judge Roddenberry ruled in fa
vor of Mrs. Moody. Mr. Herrin’s
attorney then appealed the case
to the Georgia Supreme Court.
The ruling of the Georgia Su
preme Court Friday was unani
mous with the seven judges and
was as follows:
1. There is no merit in the
contention that the trial judge
erred in overruling the defend
ants’ demurrers to the mandamus
petition. By those demurrers the
pleader evidently sought to
draw in question the validity of
the recount act of 1941 (Ga. L.
1941, p. 432), or some part there
of, but they are wholly insuf
ficient to accomplish that result.
It is a grave matter for this court
to declare void an act of the
co-ordinate legislative depart
ment and it will not do so on
such a vague and indefinite at
tack as the one here made.
2. No contention is made in
this case that the provisions of
the recount act of 1941 are not
available to Mrs. Moody who
was a candidate in a democratic
primary election for the office
of superintendent of schools of
Brantley County or that she fail
ed to comply with any of the
requirements of the act in mak
ing her recount demand in that
particular race. But it is con
tended that the recount commit
tee which was appointed in
strict compliance with the pro
visions of the act was without
power to act in the premises
since it did not meet within 48
hours after being appointed. We
do not think this position is
sustainable. While section 6 of
the act does provide that the
members of the recount commit
tee shall meet within 48 hours
after their appointment and pro
ceed publicly with the recount
of the ballots cast in any such
election where a recount has
been demanded, yet section 4 of
the act requires the executive
committee of the party holding
such primary or the chairman
thereof to fix a time and place
for conducting such recount, and
give all candidates affected by
such demand not less than forty
eight hours notice of the time
and place thereof. The Code Sec.
102-102 (6), also declares: “A
substantial compliance with any
requirement of the Code, or
laws amendatory thereof, especi
ally on the part of public offi
cers, shall be deemed and held
sufficient, and no proceeding shall
be declared void for want of such
compliance, unless expressly so
provided by the enactment.” The
rule announced in Horkan v.
Beasley, 11 Ga. App. 273 (75
S. E. 341) and followed by this
court in O’Neal v. Spencer, 203
Ga- 588 (47 S. E. 2d 646), and the
several other cases decided by
this court as there cited, is that, 1
‘Where a statute directs the do
ing of a thing in a certain time,
without any negative words re
straining the doing of it after
wards, generally the provision
as to time is directory, and not
a limitation of authority; and in
such case, where no injury ap
pears to have resulted, the fact
that the act was performed
after the time limited will not
render it invalid.” So tested,
the provision of the act requiring
the recount committee to meet
within 48 hours after being ap
pointed for the purpose of pub
licly recounting the ballots is
directory only and not a limita
tion of its authority or power to
act thereafter.
3. It is argued that the action
which a majority of the party s
executive committee took on
March 28, 1960. respecting a con
test filed by Herrin superseded
and vacated the prior findings
and report of the recount com-
Brantley County Land of Forest Products, Naval Stores, Tobacco, Livestock, Honey, Hunting, Fishing — and Progressive People.
mittee. There is no merit in this.
Section 7 of the recount act in
part provides: “At any such re
count of the ballots made by the
aforesaid committee constituted
as aforesaid, the said committee
shall have the right to determine
whether any ballot recounted was
legally cast by a duly qualified
elector and voter of said county,
and if such committee should de
termine that any ballot was il
legally cast, said committee shall
have the right to throw out and
not count the said ballot in de
termining the final result of
such recount.” And section 12
also declares: “The report and
findings of such committee on
such recount shall be final, and
shall be adopted, promulgated,
published and certified as such
by the authority of the political
party under whose jurisdiction
the said primary election has
been held.” And since the find
ings and report of the recount
committee are therefore final
and conclusive as to all questions
respecting the validity of such a
primary election, any subsequent
attempt by the party’s executive
committee to entertain and hear
a contest between the parties in
volved in such recount is an
absolute nullity for want of its
authority to do so.
4. When the executive commit
tee or other authority conduct
ing and holding a primary elec
tion for the nomination of its
candidates fails or refuses to
adopt, promulgate, publish and
certify to the proper authorities
the findings and report of a re
count committee, then the candi
date for such office whose rights
may be affected by such failure
or refusal has a right under sec
tion 14 of the recount act to pro
ceed by mandamus to enforce
the findings and report of such
committee and the same section
of the act expressly confers
jurisdiction on the superior
courts of this State to hear and
determine the cause, notwith
standing the political nature of
the controversy. Hence, there is
clearly no merit in the contention
that mandamus is not a re
medy which the plaintiff in this
case can maintain for the en
forcement of her political rights.
5. A judgement requiring the
defendants, other than Herrin, to
adopt, promulgate, publish and
certify the findings and the re
port of the recount committee
to the proper authorities was de
manded by the evidence in this
case.
Judgement affirmed. All the
Justices concur.
W. Dan Sheppard
Funeral Services
Were Held Friday
Funeral services for Mr. Walter
Dan Sheppard, 56, of Route 1,
Hortense, who was killed acci
dentally last Wednesday after
noon, July 6, in a truck accident
near Blackshear, were held from
the Atkinson Community Church
at eleven o’clock Friday morning,
July 8, with the Rev. W. L.
Montague conducting the rites in
the presence of a large number o
sorrowing relatives and friends.
Interment followed in Palmetto
Cemetery, Brunswick, Ga.
Mr Sheppard was a native of
Mississippi, and was the son of
the late Walter and Irene Taylor
Sheppard. He attended school in
Mississippi and had been a resP
dent of Brantley county for the
past thirty years. He was
Saw Filer by trade.
Survivors include his
Mrs Ella Minchew Sheppard of
Hortense; three daughters, Mrs
Jack Bennett of Brunswick Mrs.
L. D. Thompson and Mrs. Bo y
Kins both of Waynesville, three
sons J D. Sheppard, Bobby
ShAPPard, and Walter Sheppard,
.11 S Hortense; toe
Winnie Watts. Elixabetn
Tavlor, and Mrs. Sara Lee, all oi
■ u Fla • two brothers,
Pensacola, * ta-
Willie Sheppard and J. B. S P
oard both of Pensacola, Fla
Sen grandchildren, several
S. nephews, and other rela
tives also survive.
Servin,, .s ^to were
“XT Chester Walker George
dX: Herbert Minchew and
r L. Ammons.
The family have the sympathy
of their many friends m their
Funeral Home
of Nahunta was in charge of ar
rangements.
Brantley Enterprise
Brantley Enterprise P. O. Box 128, Nahunta, Ga., Thursday, July 14, 1960
2 Bandits Are Captured and Money
Recovered in Nahunta Bank Holdup
Star
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LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS SURROUND BANK HOLDUP PAIR — Seated
Are M. L. Jordan (L) and Robert L. Usher; Standing Left To Right Are An FBI
Agent, State Trooper C. V. Gowen, Another FBI Agent, Trooper M. R. Hamrick
And Brantley Sheriff Walter Crews. (Photo courtesy Waycross Journal-Herald)
Man Beaten,
Left for Dead
At Twin Rivers
J. C. Brooks of Bushnell, Fla.,
was found unconscious and badly
beaten on a side road near Twin
Rivers Friday, July 8, according
to sheriff J. Walter Crews.
Brooks was also under the in
fluence of alcohol, the sheriff in
dicated. Brooks said that two
men with whom he had hitched
a ride from Bushnell beat him,
took about s2l in money, his
billfold and suitcase.
Brooks face was badly bruised
by the beating and he underwent
medical treatment in Nahunta
Sheriff Crews contacted the
sheriff at Bushnell and it was
established that one of the two
men who did the beating was i
dentified as Beverly Stept.
The two men were driving a
car with an Ohio tag, Brooks said.
Avery Rowell, wildlife ranger,
found Brooks lying beside the
road leading off from Route 301
and brought him to Nahunta.
Forestry Meeting
Scheduled for
Nahunta July 26
The Brantley County Forestry
Commission will celebrate 37
yeais of forestry protection with
a meeting at the commission
headquarters in Nahunta, Tues
day, July 26, it is announced by
Avery Strickland, County For
ester.
The meeting will be attended
by men interested in timber pro
tection and forest conservation
and wiß feature speakers of
state-wide reputation in forest
conservation.
A barbecue supper will be
served to the guests at the meet
ing.
Brantley County has the oldest
oragnization in Georgia set up
for fighting forest fires and for
conserving the timber interest of
this section. The forestry unit
here was set up in 1922 and func
tioned as an independent organi
zation for many years until the
state-wide fire protection law
was passed.
Details of the meeting will be
given in next week s Enterprise
Births
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Todd an
nounce the birth of a baby gir]
on July 8. She has been named
Patricia Ann. Mrs. Todd is the
former Miss Mae Ila Highsmith
the daughter of Mrs. Turner
Highsmith.
Lumber is graded for quality
on the basis of its poorest face
or surface, says Harold Baxter,
forestry marketing specialist,
Agricultural Extension Service.
ALLEGED BANK ROBBER NABBED — An unidenti
fied FBI agent and Trooper C. V. Gowen escort accused
bank robber Robret L. Usher from building. Usher and
an accomplice, identified as M. L. Jordan, are accused
of robbing the Nahunta Bank of $6,589 Monday. The
pair was captured Monday night and the money recover
ed. (Photo courtesy Waycross Journal-Herald)
Card of Thanks
We take this opportunity to
express our deepest .appreciation
for the many expressions of sym
pathy, the floral tributes, the
covered dishes and other acts of
kindness shown us during the
death of our loved one.
Our kindest thoughts will be
of you always.
Mrs. Dan Sheppard
and family.
Be careful on the highways —
the life you save may be your
own.
OFFICIAL ORGAN BRANTLEY COUNTY AND CITY OF NAHUNTA
Bloodhounds
Lead Posse
To Hideout
Two bandits who held up The
Citizens Bank Monday at Nahun
ta found that crime does not pay,
because they were captured a
bout nine hours later and all the
$6,589 recovered by a posse of
local officers, FBI men, state pa
trolmen and citizens.
The two men were identified
as Robert Lee Usher, 27, a plumb
er of St. Marys, Ga., and M. L.
Jordan, 20, of Jacksonville, Fla.
The two men, dressed in heavy
winter suits, entered the bank a
bout 10:30 Monday morning when
only cashier A. S. Mizell and two
assistants, Mrs. Frances Carter
and Miss Elender Crews, were in
the bank.
One of the men pointed a pis
tol at Mrs. Carter and said, “This
is a holdup.”
“You’re kidding. It couldn’t be,”
Mrs. Carter replied.
“No, I’m not,” the bandit re
plied. He shoved a paper bag at
the cashier, A. S. Mizell, and or
dered him to fill it up with
money.
“I gave him all the money in
the drawer,” Mr. Mizell said.
Then the gunman came around
behind the cashier’s window and
took all the bills out of three
other drawers. He asked for the
rest of the cash and Mr. Mizell
told him there was no more ex
cept the silver coins.
The two men then forced the
three bank employees into the
vault, closed the door and dashed
out of the bank. They took a pis
tol belonging to Mr. Mizell from
a drawer when thew were ran
sacking the money drawers.
“I had the vault door fixed so
it wouldn’t lock while I was in
side,” Mr. Mizell said. “I waited
until they left the building and
then went after them."
Mr. Mizell dashed from the
bank in time to see the two ban
dits running down the alley be
hind the bank. He shouted to Al
bert Purdom who was at the
rear of the Moody Bros. Furni
ture store, “Follow those men,
they have robbed the bank.”
Albert Purdom jumped into his
truck, which was parked nearby,
and gave chase. The two gunmen
ran through the alley toward
their truck which was parked on
a side street near The Brantley
Enterprise office. One of them
dropped the pistol they had taken
from the bank and Albert Purdom
stopped and picked it up.
Mr. Purdom then chased the
robbers in his truck to the out
skirts of Nahunta, east on High
way 84. They were in a pickup
truck with a Camden County li
cense plate.
The bandits outdistanced Mr.
Purdom near the Nahunta city
limits and he returned to report
and identify the robbers’ truck.
Sheriff Walter Crews was im
mediately notified and in a mat
ter of minutes roadblocks were
set up in all the area east of
Nahunta.
A number of local citizens
joined in the hunt for the bandits,
as well as state patrolmen, FBI
agents and officers from sur
rounding counties.
Bloodhounds were brought in
from Wayne County and Ware
County. The truck of the bandits
was soon found about five miles
from Nahunta. The trackdogs
then trailed the gunmen to a
swamp near the Avant Griffin
farm.
The suits of heavy clothing
worn by the two men was found
discarded near the swamp. The
tired trackdogs were reenforced
by a bloodhound brought in by
sheriff John Whitehead of Lake
Butler, Union County, Fla.
The trackdog from Lake Butler
quickly took up the trail of the
bandits and the two men were
flushed from the swamp about
eight o’clock in the afternoon.
Albert Purdom, who had chas
ed the bandits in Nahunta, was
guarding one side of the swamp
when he heard a commotion a
mong the bushes and soon the
two bandits came crawling ab
jectly from the swamp. Mr. Pur
dom called to them to put up
their hands which they did with-
Keep up with the News
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(Plus Sales Tax)
out any gesture of resistance.
About 150 people were in or
near the swamp, including a
swarm of FBI agents, state pa
trolmen, sheriff Crews and his
deputy C. T. Stephens, forest
rangers and officers from other
counties.
The two men were handicapped
in their flight by a circling
forestry plane. They later said
they could not leave their hiding
place in the swamp because of
the plane.
Sheriff Crews found all the
money stolen from the bank on
the bandits, $6,589 in currency.
The two men were brought to
the Brantley County courthouse
where they made statements to
the FBI agents and to sheriff
Walter Crews. They readily ac
knowledged their guilt and one
of them said they would have
made good their escape if their
pickup truck had not been identi
fied by Albert Purdom when
they fled from Nahunta.
When the Enterprise editor
asked one of the bandits why
they parked their truck so far
from the bank, he said, “I figur
ed that if we were chased, I
could run faster than that truck.”
The older man, Robert Lee
Usher, said he had a wife and
six children. “The oldest is seven
years and the youngest is six
months old,” he said.
The two men will be tried at
the September term of Brantley
County Superior Court, according
to sheriff Walter Crews.
The men told the Enterprise
editor that they had “cased” the
Nahunta bank every day since
Friday, July 8. They were in Na
hunta for several hours Monday
morning and were seen by a
number of citizens before the
robbery.
Mizell Thanks All
Who Aided in
Capturing Bandits
I wish to express my great ap
preciation to all the people who
assisted in the capture of the two
men who robbed The Citizens
Bank pf Nahunta last Monday
morning, i ■
The fact that these men were
caught and the money they took
fully recovered within about
nine hours from the time of the
robbery shows the splendid co
operation and the desire for law
enforcement of all our officials
and our citizens.
I especially wish to express my
very great thanks to sheriff
Crews and his deputy C. T.
Stephens, to the state patrolmen,
including officer Moses who
found the abandoned truck, to
the Nahunta City Police, to
the capable men of the FBI, to
the officials of the FDIC, to the
wildlife rangers and the forest
rangers, to the sheriffs and de
puties of other counties in Geor
gia, to sheriff John Whitehead of
Union County, Fla., and to the
many citizens of Brantley Coun
ty who assisted the law enforce
ment officers.
To all of these men and or
ganizations I am deeply grateful
for their capable and prompt
action in pursuing and capturing
the two men. Mr. Albert Purdom
especially did a fine job of fol
lowing the truck and identifying
it.
Again I thank all of you for
your fine work.
Very sincerely yours,
A. S. Mizell.
PERSONALS
James B. Carter, radioman
third class, USN, son of Mr. and
Mrs. J. B. Carter of Route 1,
Hoboken, is serving aboard the
submarine USS Thornback op
erating out of Charleston, S. C.
Mrs. J. E. Stanfield and daugh
ters and Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy
Spears of Glennville visited Mr.
and Mrs. J. E. Morgan and Mr.
and Mrs. C. T. Stephens on Sun
day. Wanda Faye Stephens re
turned with them to Glennville
to visit Mr. and Mrs. Lonnie
Stanfield.
