Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1925-07-31
REV. RUSSELL WANTED
ON ROBBERY CHARGE
Stole Money Given Him To Pay Of
Farm Hands.


"Rev" Ralph Paul Russell, the great
evangelist that could jump Sc high
when he pretended being happy was
written the past week when the
swamp angel" absconded from Bev-
erly with $134.00 belonging to la
bores on the farm of S. Workman's
of South Beverly.
Russell contracted with the farmer
to pick crop of apples and hired
colored men from this city to do the
job and they are still waiting for
their pay, while Russell is somewhere
in hiding with the pay in his posses
sion, at least that's the way the story
goes and as Russell is gone we have
no alternative than to believe it.
This is the second charge that Rus
sell win have to face in this city.
On November 9th, 1924, he came to
this city, bag and baggage and was
taken in by Rev. Lee Hicks, color
ed minister who made deal with
RUSSELL to canvas the city for funds
to be used for the building of col
ored church Russell conducted the
campaign and collected quite a sum
of money, which Hicks at the time
claimed was never turned over to the
church, and Russell was brought to
this city from Wilmington, Del,
where he is said to have been con-
Quoting a similar campaign, to an
swer the charge.
Russell was arraigned in court, in
sisted that he had done no wrong and
maintained his innocence and chat
the debts he had incurred while in
Beverly were all "honest debts" and
would be paid He also showed
sheaf of testimonials which highly
praised him. He was indicted by
Police Justice Thompson in this city,
and was held under bail for court.
o. T. Johnson and Converse Rice
went his bail When he came up for
trial at Mount Holly, Russell had his
case so planned that he was immed-
lately released.
His being released by the higher
courts gave him more courage and
he came back to Beverly soliciting
aid from the white folks claiming
that he had spent all his money in
his own defense and that he wanted
to start anew. Most of the people
he approached rallied to his support
and some gave him money, some
clothing while Others gave him old
fufniture.
He has since that time followed
the straight path until he was en-
trusted with the money to pay off his
men and it is presumed that SO much
money in his hands created the
wanderlpst which caused his disap-
pearance.
Russell has been charged with
everything from taking money from
blind mans cup to kidnapping, his
complete history being traced back
to his birth on the Russell plantation
in Tennessee some sixty years ago,
by Thomas Holland, an officer of
Beverly City and the Beverly Banner,
some of which was published in this
paper in the issue of February 9th.
Some of Russell's escapades were
misrepresentation, kidnapping, rob-
berry and petit larceny, together with
number of others. He was senten-
ced to serve one year in the peniten-
tiary at Elmira, New York on prac-
tically the same charges brought
against him in every city he has
struck. He was charged with kid
mapping and "enticing a girl under
the age of 16 years" at Freehold, N.
j., he pleaded guilty to this charge
and threw himself on the mercy of
the court. He served time in Jail at
South Carolina, Avoca, Penna., Ten
nessee, Seneca Falls, Rochester, N.
Y and Towanda, Pa.
He has heeced everyone he came
in contact with in this city, some OF
the local merchants for as high as
$4,000. But upon his being released
from Jail he called upon each of his
creditors saying, 81 came back to
Beverly of my own accord, | was
indicated by the courts, ] was
never in any trouble in my hfe.,
Rev. Hicks received every cent | col
lected and used it to buy an automo-
bile" These utterances coming from
the sauve tongue of Rev Russell
again put the creditors to sleep with
but few exceptions Now he is gone
again, his debts are still unpaid, and
the money of some one else's labor
is in his pocket.