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HERE N THERE Miss Ruby Cotton has been appointed general manager O’- Summerville Hospital, effective Sept. 15th it has been disclosed. Miss Cotton has been employed at the hospital as credit man ager since March of this year. Dr. W. T. Gist will continue as Superintendent of the Hos pital, but he has delegated all his duties to Miss Cotton, except those dealing directly with medi cal practice. Johnnie C. Pegg, 18, Summer ville, Route 3, and Charles H Wells, 18, Berryton, enlisted in the United States Army last week, according to an announce ment by the Rome Recruiting Station, 406 West Building. Pegg is the son of Mr. and Mrs H. G Pegg, of Summerville, and Wells is the son of Mr. and Mrs Gamer Wells, of Berryton. Anyone interested in contact ing a recruiting sergeant from Rome may do so at the Summer ville Post Office on Wednesday of each week. Radios were installed in all rooms of Summerville Hospital this week, it has been announced by Dr. W. T. Gist. These radios are especially constructed for hospital use, and are clamped to the beds in such a position as to allow the patient to see the dial and to tune the radio while lying flat in bed, he said. The radios are equipped with tiny flat speakers which can be placed under the patient’s pillow, allowing him to hear his favorite radio program without disturb ing anyone else, since the radio can only be heard by the person operating it. Construction on the Summer ville High School Auditorium will begin in the near future, accord ing to County School Superin tendent, C. B. Akin. Work is continuing on the new Menlo School building, Mr. Akin said, and the new Welmyer and Pennville schools have been com pleted and are now in use. Ad ditions to the Summerville High school also have been completed and are now occupied. WE’VE GUI A 'NEW' FACE As you’ve undoubtedly noticed, your Summerville News has had it’s face Ifited. And what an improvement it is too, don’t you think? We are proud of the brand new linotype which was just in stalled this week, because it means we can give you a much easier read newspaper and one that you will enjoy reading even more than you did before. This linotype is a Model 31, which means it’s the latest thing out, and has 12 different type faces. This huge, complicated ma chine does a great deal toward getting out a good newspaper for you and we hope that you’ll en joy reading your “new” Summer ville News, as much as we enjoy sending it out to you. PROCLAMATION HIRE-THE-HANDICAPPED WEEK October 3-9,1948 By the mayor of Summerville WHEREAS the nation, by act of Congress and proclama tion by the President, will observe “National Employ the Physi cally Handicapped Week” and WHEREAS, the state, by proclamation of the governor, will observe “Hire-the-Handicapped Week” as part of the national campaign; and WHEREAS the citizens of Chattooga County, being aware of the importance of such a campaign to this community, real ize fully the urgent need of rehabilitating and employing those of our fellow-citizens who have acquired physical handicaps; and WHEREAS these two steps—rehabilitation and employ ment—are essential to the restoration of the physically handi capped to normal living; and WHEREAS the Georgia State Employment Service of the Department of Labor and the Vocational Rehabilitation serv ices are the agencies involved in these two steps; NOW, THEREFORE, I, Willis James, mayor of the city of Summerville, do hereby set aside the week of October 3-9 as “Hire-the-Handicapped Week” and urge all citizens, especially the employers of this city, to co-operate with this worthy cam paign to find suitable jobs for the physically handicapped who, impartial surveys have shown, become superior employees when placed on jobs that utilize their abilities; AND FURTHER, I urge unemployed physically handicap ped persons to register with the Georgia State Employment Service which will refer to vocational rehabilitation agencies those who are in need of medical and-or vocational training prior to entering the labor market. IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and have caused the seal of the city of Summerville be affixed. WILLIS JAMES, Mayor, City of Summerville VOL. 63; NO. 40 ARILON ASH FREED IN; PLESS KILLING Arilon Ash, 16, was released Wednesday in connection with the murder of L. D. Pless, 36, after a 12-man jury delivered a verdict of not guilty for the boy who was charged with the mur der of Pless. Ash, the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Ash, of Summerville, was arrested on the misty night of the murder, August 3, for be ing drunk and was retained the following week on a murder war rant. He was defended in the trial Tuesday and Wednesday by J. Ralph Rosser and Freeman Mc- Clure, both of LaFayette. Solici tor-General E. J. Clower led the prosecution, assisted by H. T. Clary. Pless’ body was discovered with a bullet in the head shortly after 9 o’clock on the night of Aug. 3 in a drizzling rain near the highway in front of Wayside Inn, on U. S. Highway 27, south of Summerville, by Steve Soulis, of Rome. Mr. Soulis told the jury that he had come to Summerville to attend a movie and was on his way home when he passed what he thought was a body. He said that he drove on approximately four miles beyond seeking a tel ephone to call the Summerville law officers. A few hundred feet beyond where he saw the body, Mr. Soulis, a Rome case operatorr said he saw a person walking with what appeared to be a rifle or shotgun in his hands. Further beyond the per son walking was an automobile parked beside the road with it’s tail lights on, the Rome man said. He pointed out that immedi ately outside the city limits the same automobile passed him go ing at a fast rate of speed. However, Mr. Soulis said, after failing to find a telephone, he started back to Summerville and the automobile had disappeared. He said that he met no one on -he way to Summerville, where he found two police officers. Among the other witnesses were: Dr. Herman Jones, of the Fulton County Criminal Labora tories; C. D. Simmonds, Special Investigator of the Georgia Bu reau of Investigation; W. G. Tal lent, policeman; Mrs. Russell Barnes, who lives near the Inn and heard a shot that night; O’neal Taylor, who had been with Pless and some other men in the late afternoon; Whit Tay lor, his father, who also was at the Inn in the afternoon; Sher iff A. H. Glenn, and Gordon Phillips, who stated that Pless and another fellow, whom he identified as Ash, were in his car with him for a while on the afternoon of the murder. The jury, which deliberated four hours, included Claude Far rar, J. C. Norton, Jr., D. J. Kel lett, John Salley, James E. Led better, Grady Ramey, Sam J. Lancaster, Diamond Warren, H. L. Hammond, J. T. Greeson, Fred Mitchell and Robert Hendrix. ©hr Summeru ill? Nms SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA, THURSDAY. SEPT. 23. 1948 "G. I. Night" Is Planned at Church “GI Night” will be observed at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Septem ber 29, at the First Baptist Church, Summerville, where a revival will be in progress next week. The Rev. Ira C. Frazier, Pastor, will conduct the series. The sermon for the “GI Night” services will be “Am I A Soldier?” All veterans are especially invit ed on this night, church leaders said. Services will begin at 7:30 p. m. each day. NURSES TRAINING PROGRAM PLANNED A training program for practi cal nurses will begin at the Sum merville Hospital in October, it has been disclosed by Dr. William Gist. The training program is in tended to relieve to some extent the existing shortage of nurses in this area, it said. After com pleting the training these practi cal nurses would be capable of carrying out many routine nurs ing duties under the supervision of a graduate nurse, and would also be available in cases of emergency, or for private duty nursing in the horns. The classes will probably be limited to six students, Dr. Gist said, and will consist of three months of training, with lectures three nights a week, and assign ed periods of training in the actual care of sick patients, un der the direction of graduate nurses. No charge will be made for the training of those who are accepted for the course. Some of the necessary quali fications required for the train ing are as follows: 1. All applicants must be be tween the ages of 23 and 45. 2. They must be residents of Chattooga County or the im mediate vicinity. 3. They must present evidence of having had at least two years of high school education. 4. Trainees must attend at least 80% of the classes after they begin the training. 5. All applicants must be will ing to accept jobs in Chattooga County as practical nurses, upon completion of their training. 6. They must have no other obligations or family ties which would prevent their being avail able at any hour of the day or night. Individuals who fill the above qualifications may obtain appli cation blanks at the business office of Summerville Hospital. Qualified applicants will then be interviewed by Dr. Gist, who is directing the training program. The six applicants chosen will then be notified as to when their training will begin. INDIANS BATTLE CENTRAL "B" TO 19-19 DEADLOCK; PLAY AT LAFAYETTE FRIDAY BY BILLY ESPY The Summerville High Indians fought the Baby Purple Pound ers of Chattanooga to a 19-19 standstill Thursday night at Sturdivant Field as Jimmy Bush, Indian quarterback, scored all ! three touchdowns. As ‘B’ teams usually do the Central aggregation consisted of no less than 20 varsity players. This 20 along with 15 more showed local grid fans a rough and sometimes dirty brand of football. We like to see a good, hard, clean game, but do not especially care to see any more games as unsportsmanlike as the one Thursday night. Time and time again infrac tions of the rules were seen by everyone,such as slugging, kick ing, piling on and even pinching and gouging were used freely throughout the game. To coin a phrase it could be said that “the boys from Tennessee were right in there slugging at the final whistle” and the phrase could be taken literally. But enough of this, let us turn to the brighter side and review the game a bit. To open the game the Indians kicked to Central and the kick was returned to the 28, then on a series of line plays Central marched to pay dirt in the open ing minutes. John Donovits, who played a brilliant defensive game, broke through and block ed the try for the extra point. Dacus returned the kickoff following the Central score 9 FINAL RITES FOR JENNINGS ARE HELD WEDNESDAY Cpl. Archie L. Jennings, 23, one of Chattooga county’s World War II dead, who died in action with a tank battalion in Ger many, January 30, 1945, arrived in Summerville at 5:49 p.m. Tuesday. Cpl. Jennings is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James A. Agnew, one daughter, Miss Jeanette Jennings, all of Menlo; a sister, Mrs. Lee Ratliff, of Amarillo, Texas. 1 Funeral services were con [ ducted at the Menlo Baptist Church, of which he was a mem ber at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22, with the Revs. J. Pat Brock, Pastor of the Church, and S. K. Dodson officiating. Active pallbearers were mem bers of the VFW Post 6688 and American Legion Post 129. Honorary pallbearers were: J. W. Parrish, Bub Tucker, James Cooper, W. P. Atkins, Earl Cope land, Dike Kennedy, Leslie Tuck er, Billy Edwards Auburn Long ley, Earl Hurtt, Junior Crane, J. D. Hurtt, Herbert Cook, Jr., Hugh Willingham, Deedie Powell, Wilburn Hutchins, J. C. Hutch ins, J. T. Copeland, Edward Baugh. Harold White, Hill Hall, W. A. Deering and Loyd Waters. Interment was in the Alpine Cemetery with J. D. Hill Funeral Home of Summerville in charge. 1,500 Local Men Register so? Draff Approximately 1,500 Chattooga County men between the ages of 18 and 25 have registered for the new peace-time draft, according to Miss Mae Earl Strange clerk of the local draft board. Registration terminated Satur day, except for those who reach| their 18th birthdays. These must register at the local draft board, 1 located at the courthouse, within: five days of their birthdays, Miss Strange said. Questionnaries will be sent out the Clerk said, and single, non veterans and non-fathers will be the first drafted, and those according to their order number, which is determined by their birthdays. Mother of Local Woman Succumbs Mrs. Emma Hammontree died today at the age of 96 at her home, in Dalton. She lived her entire life in Whitfield County. She was the widow of the late ! Lee Hammontree, one of Dalton’s earliest merchants. She is survived by five daugh- | ters, Mrs. R. H. McFarland, Mrs. Carter Stacy, Mrs. Annie Nelms and Mrs. Lizzie Humphrey, all of Dalton, and Mrs. I. M. Hender- [ son, Summerville; three sons, Herman of Dalton, J. S. of Rome and Sam of tica, N. Y. | yards to the 35, Bush hit the line 1 for 7, followed by Dacus for 7, then Bobby Nix reeled off 30 yards to the 31. Bush again hit the line, this time for 1 to the 30, to get up a 30-yard pass play from Dacus to Bush that was good for 6 points. The attempt for the conversion failed. The Indians again hit pay dirt early in the second canto as Nix made 3 to the 45, Dacus again hit Bush for another 30- yard pass, Nix hit the line for 3 to set up another pass from Da cus to Jimmy Bush that covered 30 yards and was good for an other 6 points. Roy Lee Bagley converted and the Indians were ahead, 13-6, but this lead was soon to be erased as in“the wan ing minutes of the first half, Central rallied and on a series of line plays scored from the 2. The extra point was good and at the half it was still anybody’s ball game with the score all tied up, 13-13. The score remained the same throughout the third period as neither team could penetrate the other’s defense. To open the final quarter, aft er failing to score, the Indians kicked, the ball going into the end zone for an automatic touch back and the pigskin was brought out and turned over to Central on the 20-yard line, then in the shadow of their own goal posts they tried a desperate pass that was good for 75 yards and a touchdown. Donovits again See Page Eight ELLEN FREEMAN FOUND 'NOT GUILTY' OF BROWN MURDER A. A. Farrar Opens Law Office i Archibald A. Farrar, son of Mr. and Mrs. Baker Farrar, of Summerville, has opened his of fice in the Tooga building and is now practicing law. Mr. Farrar graduated from the Lumpkin Law School at the Uni versity of Georgia on August .31 and was admitted to the prac l tice of law on Sept. 11 by Judge Henry West in Athens, after I having passed the Georgia Bar [ examination on June 30-July 2. He is a member of the Dalta ' Theta Phi legal fraternity and Pi Kappa Alpha social fraternity. The new attorney served over- I seas two years with the army and held the rank of captain in the infantry. Mr. Farrar is married to the former Miss Em ily Nixon, of Rome. Body of W. B. Alexander Arrives For Final Burial The remains of Pfc. William Barry Alexander, 33, arrived in Summerville at 5:49 p.m. Tues day. One of the heroes in Company “F” and with half of another Company were trapped and com pletely wiped out by German forces August 7, 1944, near St. Lo, France. Near St. Lo is where they were laid to rest until a short I time ago when Alexander and his I comrades were disenterred and i started their journey home. He was born July 7, 1911, and was reared in Chattooga County. He enlisted in the U. S. Army, j November, 1942, and was. in ’ action almost two months be . fore death. Impressive memorial services I Presbyterian Church, of which |he was a member, Sunday Sept. 17, 1944. The Rev. Leßoy Obert, iof Trion, officiated. Married to Frances McWil iams, June 27, 1943, who now re sides in Trion. Pfc. Alexander was for sometime a member of the faculty of the McHenry Schools of Floyd County. Be sides his wife he is survived by his mother, Mrs. Carrie Alexan der, Cloudland; two sisters, Mrs. W. R. Wilson Rome and Mrs. E. L. Pless, Cloudland. Seven nieces and nephews also survive. Funeral services will be con ducted from the graveside in Chattanooga National Cemetery at 10:30 a.m. Friday by the Rev. Leßoy Obert. Pallbearers will be: J. E. Kennedy, Ralph Chamlee, Lester Edwards, J. C. Cavin, Leon McCollough and O. L. Self. The remains will lie in state at the J. D. Hill Funeral Home in Summerville until 9 a.m. Fri day at which time the cortege will leave for Chattanooga. F.F.A. Initiation Held at Menlo A group from the LaFayette Future Farmers America Chap ter, joined the Menlo group on Wednesday night, September 12, for an initation ceremony. Eleven Green Hands from La- Fayette and twelve from Menlo, in this ceremony became Junior Farmres. The recently elected officers of the Menlo chapter are: Willis Smith, President; Hal Wilson, Vice President; Alvis Clark, Sec retary; Junior Burnette, Teas urer; Jerry Hogg, Reporter. James N. Young, head of vo cational Depatment of LaFayette High School, accompanied the boys to Menlo. J. A. Harris is director of Vo cational Training in Menlo High School. Floyd County Clinic To Serve Chattooga Cancer Patients The new Floyd Tumor Clinic at ■ Rome has been opproved as the newest addition to Georgia’s net work of 15 State Department of Public Health. I The clinic will serve patients ' from five counties Gordon, Floyd, Chattooga, Polk and j Haralson, and parts of two others I —Bartow and Paulding. Patients from these areas were formerly treated either at Dal ton or Atlanta. highway!? BOOSTERS TO MEET ON OCTOBER 20 Fred F. Starr. Acting Executive ’ Director, U. S. Highway 27 As sociation, announces that plans [for combining Florida and [ Georgia efforts in a widespread 'promotion program for U. S. 27 . will be discussed at a conference of Highway Boosters from the j States of Georgia and Florida in Winter Haven and Cypress Gar dens, Florida on October 20. This action was decided upon at the annual meeting of High way 27 Association of Georgia at 'the Ralston Hotel in Columbus. Friday Sept. 10—The Executive 'Committee was authorized to do I all in 'its power to form this [coalition in order to pull more traffic and tourist travel over U. S. 27 both in Georgia and Florida. O. L. Betts, Jr., former treas urer of the Association, was | elected President succeeding J. ■ I Hubert Griffin of Carrollton. R. I i Y. Howell of Bainbridge, Ist Vice President, J. L. Henderson of •Summerville 2nd Vice President; [ I Thomas E. Sikes of Columbus j was elected Treasurer and Fred I F. Starr of Rome was elected Acting Executive Director and Secretary. The presidents report showed that tourist traffic over U. S. 27 in Georgia has inceased five-fold within the past year, and that an extensive advertising and promotional campaign will have to be carried on as in the past, in fact a more aggressive and much larger in scope than past years— ; A new strip map. more bill boards, advertising in A. A. A. Media, tourist and travel maga zines. The group also named a new ■ Board of Directors, which in turn elected a seven-man Executive • [ Committee of its own members. The new Board of Directors includes: S. Marvin Griffin, • Bainbridge; J. J. McDonough and B H. Mooney, Jr., Rome: Fred [ AldrecL*;Summerville and L. B. : HarfeU,-Trion. E. ( E. Fletcher Dies of Gunshot Wounds Saturday Elbert Emmett Fletcher, 57, .veteran of World War I, died in: | a Summerville Hospital at 10:40, Saturday, of self-inflicted Gun shot wounds. The wounds were inflicted approximately one hour before. He is survived by his wife. Mrs. Ollie Roberts Fletcher; six daughters, Mrs. N. E. Cook, Mrs. W. P. Atkins, Miss Wanda, Myra, Shirley and Laura Fletcher, all of Summerville; two sons, Jack : Fletcher, of Summerville and O. A. Fletcher, U. S. Navy, station ed in Rhode Island; one brother, O. R .Fletcher, of Summerville; two sisters, Mrs. Mamie Roberson • and Mrs. Lyle Johnson, of Sum- , merville. Five Grandchildren and [, a number of nieces and nephews also survice. | ( Funeral services were conduct- j, ed at the South Summerville , Baptist Church at 4:30 p.m. [• Monday, with the Rev. W. M. ■ Steel, pastor, and the Rev. I. C. i' Frazier officiating. Full military \, honors were given Mr. Fletcher [ by members of VFW 6688 and { American Legion Post 129 with interment in the Summerville cemetery. The J. D. Hill Funeral Home of Summerville was in [ charge. ■ The regular meeting of Trion Lodge No. 160 F. and A. M., will [ be held at 7:30 pan. Monday, September 27, at the Lodge Hall. 1 All qualified Masons are invited' to attend. $1.50 A YEAR Bride’s Slaying Remains Mystery The mystery of the bedroom L'aying last year of beautiful Laura Katharine Brown, a bride of three months, remained un ■ solved this week, as her sister • in-law, blonde Ellen Brown Free man walked out of the court ;' house Tuesday afternoon a free woman, after having been found [i not guilty of the crime. The jury ; [ deliberated four hours. Mrs. Freeman, a young mother .I of two children, was arrested on . I June 10, 1948, charged with the [ murder of her twenty-year old [sister-in-law, who was shot in I the wrist and neck at Summer i ville in the early morning hours of July 26, 1947. The blonde attractive Mrs. Freeman, wearing on both days of the trial a blue and white i striped cotton chambray dress land void of makeup, testified in i. Chattooga County Superior Court ■ Tuesday that she was awakened ; on the night of the murder when [ either the victim or her own . half-sister called “Sis.” She said ’ that she then opened her eyes, ■ saw a man standing at the foot i of the bed, in which Mrs. Brown I slept, shut her eyes and then \ opened them again, .at which Itime the man moved away from the bed. I didn’t see him go out, the . accused woman said, and I don’t I know which way he went. At that time, she said, she screamed, raised a window and j called to the next door neigh bor, Raymond Mosier, for help. She said then her sister-in-law rolled off the bed and began clutching at her bed. The defendant told the jury [that she started dragging Mrs. Brown to the door and saw blood [on her then started back to the bed, but dropped her at the door. The victim’s feet were lying in I the front door leading into the room, and her head was lying, I face down, in a pool of blood in- Iside the room when found. The first person to reach the Freeman-Brown duplex home after the murder was Mr. Mozier, who said the victim moved and groaned once after he arrived. Mr. Mosier was followed by his wife and mother, all of whom occupied the concrete block store-dwelling next door to the I house of the crime. The husbands of the two wo men, Alfred Freeman and Bill Brown, were both at work on the third shift in Trion at the time of the murder and the two women allegedly were sleeping in ■ the same room, Mrs. Freeman [ and her two sons by a former marriage, Bobby and Coleman Hamilton, ages 5 and 7, occupied one bed and Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Freeman’s 10-year-old half I sister, Geraldine Gray, the other. The only other occupant of the ; house was Bobby Allen, 14-year old boy who was visiting Mrs. Brown, Young Allen made his home with Mrs. Brown’s father. R. L. Abernathy, of Alabama. The . state attempted to show that the youngster had been drugged by some coffee he and the others were given by Mrs. Free man before they retired that . night. Sheriff A. H. Glenn and Police Chief W. M. Whaley both stated that they were unable to arouse the child when they arrived shortly after the crime was re ported. The lad, a state witness himself said he knew nothing of the night’s occurences until the next morning when awoke on the back porch with his clothes on. PREACHER AND LITTLE GIRL A little girl and a Baptist preacher were perhaps the most interesting of the procession of witnesses who filed through the courtroom on the first two days of this week. The little girl was tjhe 10-year old half sister of Mrs. Freeman, Geraldine Gray, who allegedly occupied the bed with Mrs. Brown on the night of the shoot ing. The child, a defense witness, calmly answered the questions put to her by defense counsel, Mack G. Hicks and as equally unruffled withstood the crossr examination of Solicitor General E. J. Clower. She stated under [ the cross-examination that if a I gun had been fired in the house I she would have heard it. To a I number of the questions, the i serene child merely replied “I 'don’t know.” The preacher, the Rev. J. A. Smith, injected a shot of humor Spp Papp Rijrht The preacher, the Rev. J. A. Smith, injected a shot of humor See Page Eight