Authorities Looking for Person Who Abandoned Baby Boy at Lafferty Boarding House, Aug. 26, 1926

Babe Left During Night in Boarding House in Concord. . . Was Found When Cries Awoke Mrs. J. S. Lafferty in Whose Home it Was Deserted. . . Laundry Mark Is Only Clue. . . Mark “J.N.H.” Found in Several Dresses Left with Baby Now at Concord Hospital

A precious babe in swaddling clothing is being cared for temporarily at the Concord Hospital while local officials endeavor to trace its parents and locate a home for it.

The baby, a boy about three weeks or a month old, was left at the home of Dr. J. S. Lafferty some time during the night, its cries arousing the household at 4 o’clock this morning. Upon being awakened Mrs. Lafferty listened for a few minutes to the cries of the youngster, being unable to realize that he was inside her home.

When the cries continued Mrs. Lafferty went into the living room and found the babe resting comfortably on a davenport. To ensure his safety, the person who left him there had propped pillows about him, leaving nearby a bottle of milk and a bundle of clothing.

It is through the clothing that officers hope to trace the parents. Several baby dresses, all showing signs of having been worn and laundered several times, bear the laundry mark, “J. N. H.” and the clothing was wrapped in the heavy craft paper almost universally used by laundries.

Mrs. Lafferty notified the police of her find and officers on duty carried the babe to the Concord Hospital, where already he has won his way into the hearts of the nurses. He has been given a basket in the baby’s ward and this morning was quietly enjoying the benefits found at his new home. The nurses at the hospital insist that his name is “Jackie,” and they use that name in addressing him.

The management of the Concord Steam Laundry stated this morning that none of their regular customers has the mark “J. N. H.” Several years ago a man at Harrisburg had the mark, but he has been dead several years, it was stated, and all of the laundry he sent in was apparel for men.

Officers here, it is understood, have notified police officers in other cities of the case and have asked that inquiries be made in their cities to ascertain if anyone thee has the mark found on the babe’s clothing.

So far as the officers can learn no one saw the person or persons who left the baby at the Lafferty home. It may be that the youngster stayed in the home some time before crying out, so it is impossible for the officers to know the hour the home was entered. Officers also are unable to know whether the babe was left at the Lafferty home on purpose or whether the person who deserted it entered the first door found open.

Due to the fact that many boarders stay at the Lafferty home the front door is never locked and it was easy for entrance to be made there. Police are inclined to the opinion that the person who left the baby knew the Lafferty home is a boarding house and that the front door is always open. One opinion expressed by officers is that the babe was left by someone who had stayed for a day or so at the Lafferty home and knew the kindly disposition of Mrs. Lafferty.

In the bundle of clothes left with the boy are various sorts and sizes of garments. At the hospital this morning the youngster was wearing a lightweight flannel shirt, diaper and petticoat that boasted of pink ribbons across the top and a bow on one shoulder. He had been dressed in clean clothing after reaching the hospital and it was stated that he was wearing a dress as well as the other garments when found.

All of the dresses had the mark “J. N. H.,” but the other clothes were not marked. There was one apron-dress in the package, several petticoats and about two dozen diapers. Some of the dresses are large enough for a two-year-old child and all show that they have been worn and washed many times. The clothing is not torn, and everything in the package undoubtedly had just been returned from a laundry somewhere. Nurses who examined the clothing expressed the opinion that only one of the garments was hand-made.

The baby shows no outward sign of mistreatment. He is plenty plump, his skin is fair and his eyes grey or blue. When police officers went into the ward to examine his clothing, he uttered not a sound when he was picked up and carried to a window where the marks could be more easily read. When he was placed back in his basket and covered with a blanket he seemed entirely happy with the world. He had been fed after reaching the hospital although the manner in which he held his fist to his mout indicated that he might have been hungry again.

Until officers have had time to make their investigation, the baby will be left at the hospital. If they fail in their efforts to locate his parents, it is probable that they will try to get some couple here to adopt the boy.

The case has aroused unusual interest here, many persons expressing horror that anyone would be mean enough to desert a helpless babe. “Dumb animals won’t desert their offspring,” one man stated in expressing the hope that the persons responsible fo the fate of the child can be found and convicted under the law.

From the front page of the Concord Daily Tribune, Aug. 26, 1926

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Martin Bost Allowed to Pay Widow of Jesse Vanderburg $3,500, Skips Prison Sentence, Aug. 25, 1926

End of Bost Litigation

Martin Bost will not serve a prison sentence for the slaying of Jesse Vanderburg at the Bost home several years ago. Under a compromise reached, Bost will have the criminal charges dropped upon payment of all costs in the case and $3,500 to the widow of the man he killed.

In discussing the case in open court Judge P. A. McElroy indicated that he considered the disposal of the case a very just one. Under the terms of the court order, Bost is to pay all costs in both the civil and criminal cases including the special venire from Mecklenburg called to sit on the case, and must give the widow of the slain man $3,500.

It is no secret that court attaches felt that Bost would never serve a prison sentence for the slaying of Vanderburg. The feeling was accentuated when the Supreme Court of the State allowed a new trial after the second trial of Bost. To many persons present at the trial it seemed that the defense had little ground for exception, yet the new trial was ordered.

Judge McElroy said in court that he did not see how Bost was convicted on the evidence he had read in the stenographer’s report, and in view of this evidence and the two new trials granted the defendant, the disposition seems a just one.

There is one thing certain about the case—if Bost had been cleared in the criminal charge, no jury would have ever given the Vanderburg damages in the civil suit. That much is certain, and somehow we feel that court attaches knew that and probably felt that Mrs. Vanderburg needed the money too badly for any chances to be taken.

From the editorial page of the Concord Daily Tribune, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 1926

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C.O. Champion, Who Shot G.E. Gibson at Charlotte Speedway, Former Inmate at Broad Oaks Sanatorium, Aug. 25, 1926

Champion Late Asylum Inmate. . . Mooresboro Man, Held in Jail after Wounding Speedway Spectator, Holds Silence, but Kin Bare Past Weakness

Charlotte Observer, August 25th

The speedway shooting took a spectacular turn yesterday when it was learned that C. O. Champion of Mooresboro, who shot and wounded G. E. Gibson of Gibson was a recent inmate in Broad Oaks Sanatorium, a private institution at Morganton.

Relatives of Champion in Charlotte yesterday were reported as having informed county authorities that Champion had been sent to Morganton to cure him of excessive use of alcohol.

It was learned at the sanatorium that Champion was released on July 5th. Dr. Erastus Taylor, head of the institution, declined to make public las tnight anything about the man’s mental condition.

Champion, himself, refused to make any statements. He was seen in the cell at the county jail and doggedly evaded his questioners.

“I have no statement to make,” was his constant reply.

Only once did he give any intimation of how he felt. When asked about Gibson’s statement that he had never seen Champion before yesterday, Champion looked up and smiled.

“Is he able to talk yet?” he asked, seemingly insinuating that Gibson could tell a few things if he would.

The prisoner denied that he had said what he was quoted as saying about making a future statement.

“I didn’t say what they had me saying,” he asserted. “The only thing I said was that I hoped Gibson lived.”

Gibson was reported at the Presbyterian Hospital as being in a serious condition. He was feverish, hospital attaches said, and had spent a very restless day.

The shooting occurred during a lull between the races at the speedway Monday. Gibson was eating at a lunch counter when Champion walked up and shot him.

Champion was arrested by Deputy Sheriff Avery B. Johnston a few moments later and was taken to rural police headquarters in an intoxicated condition.

Immediately after the shooting he told officers that Gibson was responsible for domestic difficulties. He denied this later.

Gibson told his physician that he had never seen Champion before the shooting.

Editor's Note: Shooter's last name was spelled "C. O. Chapman" in a previous article. From page 3 of the Concord Daily Tribune, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 1926

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A.E. Gibson, 38, Shot at Charlotte Speedway by C.O. Chapman Aug. 23, 1926

Man Is Shot at Speedway in Charlotte; One Arrested

Charlotte, Aug. 23--A. E. Gibson, 38-year-old Gibson man, was shot and wounded at the speedway today and was reported late tonight by physicians as slightly improved.

He has a chance to recover, despite internal abdominal injuries, according to Dr. T. C. Bost, who performed an operation after rushing Gibson to Charlotte in an ambulance.

C. O. Chapman, a man believed to be of Mooresboro, Cleveland county, was held in the county jail without bond tonight. He is charged with intoxication and with assault with a deadly weapon.

No reason for the shooting has been given. Gibson denies having ever seen Chapman prior to the time Chapman fired point blank at him.

Editor's Note: Shooter's name was spelled "C.O. Champion" in a subsequent article.

From page 8 of the Concord Daily Tribune, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 1926

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D.C. Kirby, Winston-Salem Attorney, Facing Federal Charge for Possessing Whiskey, Aug. 25, 1926

Winston-Salem Man Caught with Liquor. . . Attorney of Twin City Arrested Along with Others by Raiding Dry Officers

Charlotte, Aug. 24—A three-day raid by federal dry agents in the mountains of western North Carolina netted the arrest of three men, one an attorney of Winston-Salem, the seizure of three cars and 42 gallons of whiskey, it was learned at eighth district prohibition headquarters here today.

D.C. Kirby, the Winston-Salem attorney, called at the headquarters today to make $400 bond for the release of his car which had been seized by officers. He was arrested by federal agents when one gallon of liquor was found in his car which he was driving along the Boone trail near Brooks Cross Roads, according to the agent’s report. He was bound over to federal court at a hearing before a United States commissioner at Mocksville.

The arresting officers were James Riddle, J. L. Randall and W. D. Demarcu.

Walter Haney, Madison County, was arrested near Marshall, his car seized and 24 gallons of whiskey destroyed. Clarence Loving of Buncombe County was arrested while parking his car on Pack Square, Asheville. The agents seized his car and 17 gallons of whiskey.

From page 3 of the Concord Daily Tribune, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 1926

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Isaac Best, 70, Flogged for Being a "Conjure Doctor," Aug. 25, 1926

“Conjure Doctor” Gets a Flogging; Demands Redress

Goldsboro, Aug. 24—Isaac Best, colored, about 70 years old, has 20 welts across his back, three places where the skin is broken, and a bruised place on the abdomen as the result of a flogging at the hands of a band of men in the Sherrods Cross Roads section about 2 o’clock Tuesday morning.

Six negroes and one white man are under arrest, charged with the deed, and two other white men are being sought.

A true bill alleged kidnapping and house breaking was bought by the grand jury now in session.

That Best was a conjure doctor and “liable to pizen our wells” was a reason one of the negroes told Sheriff Grant in explanation of why the old man had been beaten.

From page 5 of the Concord Daily Tribune, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 1926

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J.V. Vickers, in State Prison for Manslaughter, Escapes by Walking Away from Guard, Aug. 26, 1926

Leaves Guard for Minute and Falls to Show up Again. . . J. V. Vickers of Monroe, a Prisoner at Raleigh, Uses Old Ruse to Make His Getaway. . . Guard Waited for His Return. . . Vickers Was in Charlotte for Examination in Effort to Get More Government Money

Charlotte, N. C., Aug. 26—J. V. Vickers of Monroe, now serving a penitentiary sentence at the state prison at Raleigh for manslaughter, escaped on a downtown street here this morning from a guard.

Vickers was brought here yesterday for an examination of the U.S. Veterans Bureau in connection with an effort to obtains additional compensation for disabilities said ot have been incurred during the World War.

The man was sent to prison after conviction for the slaying and robbing of Ellison Y. Rogers of Monroe on the old Tuckasegee road last October 8th.

Within 15 minutes after his escape word had passed through the street crowds, causing a sensation as the reputation of the man as a “killer” had accompanied the reports of his dash. B. S. Jenkins, guard at the state farm at Halifax, had Vickers in custody when he effected his escape.

The getaway was made after the guard and the prisoner had gone to a physician’s office, and finding that it would be some time before they could be admitted they decided to go for a stroll. Stopping at a confectionery store, Vickers asked permission to go to the rear of the establishment for “a minute,” which the guard granted.

When he did not return shortly a search was instituted. Jenkins said he granted Vickers permission to leave his sight because he had acted in such a “model way” at other times.

The two had been here since Tuesday. They spent two nights together in hotels. Jenkins said he had not been permitted to handcuff his prisoner.

From the front page of the Concord Daily Tribune, Thursday, Aug. 26, 1926

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