Ayden, N.C., August 1—Impelled by a deep and growing spiritual conviction that he should confess a crime that has been a local mystery for several years, Thomas Jackson, a former citizen of this place, yesterday made public admission in the presence of a hundred or more persons in the Seminary auditorium here that he set fire to his clothes pressing establishment in order to collect insurance money on a policy he had purchased a short time previous. The blaze started by Jackson, according to his statement, also destroyed the Ross Hotel and damaged a residential structure.
No Action Taken
Late today it was learned from local representatives of insurance companies that no action against Jackson had been planned so far. It appears that the matter will be one for the local authorities, but definite steps in this direction were not taken today.
Jackson, who now lives near Greenville, announced on the streets of Ayden Saturday afternoon that he would preach in the auditorium of the seminary Sunday afternoon, and incidentally confided to a few friends his intention of making a public confession of a burning of a pressing establishment, of which he was proprietor, some years ago in order that he might collect the insurance money.
Tells Whole Story
Yesterday afternoon, in the presence of a large crowd, Jackson, with a voice almost choked with emotion, recited the details, telling how he took his rifle near the midnight hour and left home, fully intending to kill anyone who happened to see or recognize him. He said he poured gasoline on the floor of the pressing club building and then ignited it. The blaze rapidly spread. The Ross Hotel was also destroyed and a residence nearby was badly damaged.
Jackson, who says he was converted last fall during the revival meetings, conducted by “Cyclone” McLendon at Greenville, told his hearers he had been unable to rid his mind of the crime, and asserted that God told him he must confess his sins before he could be forgiven. Jackson presaged his remarks with the ?? “That every knee must bow and every tongue confess.”
Squared Himself
None who heard Jackson doubted his sincerity, and it is now a question of what action will be taken in the matter by the insurance companies, Jackson says this is a matter of no concern to him, as he wanted to square himself with his Maker, adding that after he had prayed earnestly over it, God directed him to come back here and tell all about the crime.
The sympathy of those present was with the man who bared his life in obedience to the text and many went up to shake hands with him at the conclusion of his talk and congratulated him on his manly stand.
From The Dunn Dispatch, Tuesday, August 2, 1921.
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