Henderson daily dispatch., 1941-04-21
New Board
No Surprise
Highway Commission
Appointments AS Ex-
pecfed to be Made,
Aycrill Declares.
Daily Dispatch bureau.
In the Sir Waller Hotel.
~ HENRY ANtRILI..

pfc April-foolcd by Governor
E~ra.eu'an. Friday highway com
MISSION announcements were rep
rc-cu'JtNcs of the afternoon news
PtHets.
There wasn't Wen a mild surprise
In =t5o whole commission-load, nor
c.aId there have been even minor
eyebrow lifting at the shifts that
VIII send Robert Grady johnson TO
the ABC Craftsmanship and Oscar
P.tt- 20 head of the prison division;
had it not been for the timing of
their announcement.
~ late as noon Friday the GOV
Crn1r, in answer to a specific ques-
ten. made the unequlNocal answer
thu. there would be "%nothing'' on the
pr#4.n division until the forst meet
ing ct the new highway commission
on May 2,
And that will be for the after
noon papers, he said with a smile to
y9gr reporter who had Just express
ed Inability TO applaud any appoint
ment made at 4:40 p. M
Nevertheless, at about four o'clock
i'm tin" afternoon Governor Brought
ton handed out to morning paper
meH typewriter announcements that
Pr would be recommended for
PRISON head and Johnson would be
elevated TO the liquor board chair
H4n-hIp upon the effective date
august y of Guitar Moore's resig-
nation.
Ii seems that the governor did call
representatives of the wire services
bu, too late for them to get anything
in the afternoon report.
lie explained that Mr., Johnson
had submitted his resignation to the
highway commission sooner than X
peeted and gave the impression that
he tthc goVernor) was not aware
his would be done. That. he said,
altered things so that he thought the
announcements should be made i'm
modla,cly.
This sudden and unexpected resig-
nation of the prison head was in
sharp contrast to scores of previous
designations during the BrOughton
IclImc-mOSt, if not all, of which
We're IN the governors hands (eVcn
NceE>) before they were announced,
II appears to be the only instance
OF il, Kind on record IN this admin
ls,ratIon.
RdIcIgh Notwithstanding by
that the politicians who arc inter-
e-ted IN the city campaign now in
progress OF bitter llQuidatlon-scent-
ed close connection between the an
hounCcmcnt of the Pitts promotion
and ct 2ubernatorIal statement car
RED simultaneously in this morn
lng News and Observer in which
broughton denied that he is partici-
pdtInE IN any way in the city battle.
It has been openly and repeatedly
charged that Pitts is working tooth
'0d mail to elect former Detective
captain Bruce Poole Owe lnCum-
bent commissioner Of Public Safety
Bob Powell, and that other smaller
ny politicians who are close to the
EtHti lldpfldI bosom are ON ulc
same Pitts has denied only the al
legation that he is a "CataWba voter.
lie has established residence here.
The theory Of these politicians is
mat the Governor found himself
forced, by direct questioning, to
clear his own skirts of taking part
IN the city race. This he did by flat
ana categorical denial.
they further thcorize that this
statement seemed too much like a
IepudIatlon Of, or slap at, Pitts and
50 II was deemed advisable to on
INN complete gubernatorial conf
oehco in HIM vs. =. gubernatorial pat
On the head in the announcement Of
HIS coming promotion.
lhey translate the two occurrences
iouShly like this: I'm not taking
.le slightest part in the city race:
pul II my best political henchman
f1lS u.s. its perfectly all right with
me as you car see by the fact that
I'm gong to give him a better job
one that pays $4,000 instead of the
o4'ZOo he's now getting"