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JOHNSTONIAN
THE JOHNSTONIAN AND JOHNSTON COUNTY SUN CONSOLIDATED
SELMA
OFFERS YOU MANY
OPPORTUNITIES
Meadows Township
Man Killed With Axe
Smithfield, April 19.—County Cor
oner J. H. Kirkman was called to
Headow Township last night to in-
-',-estigate the death of George R.
Hudson, age 40, who was reported
to have been killed with an axe by
L. B. McLamb, age 35. McLamb
was reported to have admitted the
killing, but claimed self-defense, and
exhibited a mark on his neck and
throat which appeared to have been
made with a knife. |
The men are said to have attend- '
ed a ‘ barn raising” at the home of
a neig’hbor in the afternoon and
were on their way to their homes
about 8 o’clock when an argument
started, which developed into a
tight, and resulted in the killing.
Coroner Kirkman said the gash
which reached acros.s the front por
tion of the dead man’s head and the
upper portion of his face, was large
enough so that a man could have
laid his hand in it, which indicated
that he had been hit in the face
with the blade of an axe. There
were said to have been three eye
witnesses to the killing, and a
hearing will be held in the county
commissioners room in the court
house here Thursday afternoon at
4 o’clock. i
McLamb was taken to the John-
.ston County Hospital where several
stitches were required to repair the
wound made upon his throat in the
fight.
Both men were well known farm
ers residing in the vicinity of Pea
cock’s Cross Roads. Both’ were mar-
riad, but Hudson did not have any
children. McLamb is t’ne father of 8
children.
The axe which w'as reported to
have been used in the killing was
placed in custody of the sheriff,
and from blood s-tains left on this
axe it appears to have been stove
up to the eye in Hudson’s head
Interesting Items
From Smithfield
ProceedingsCounty
Recorder's Court
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
(Editorial in Hoards Dairyman)'
“"What do you think of the new
farm bill pa-sed by the House of 1
Representatives on March 23?” is I
-•4'Uw’w Ev OHS of
the question submitted by one of
our readers.
It is difficult, if not impossible,
‘to form any definite opinion as to
what this bill will accomplish. Read
ing of the summary given previous
ly shows that it grants practically
supreme pow’er to the Secretary of
Agriculture to adopt such measures
of price and production control as
he may deem best, and from his
decision there is no recourse, except
Lhe promise of the President to dis-
continue the operation of the plans
if they fail to achieve the declared
-purpose. Secrtary Wallace says, “the
basic purpo-e of the farm bill, first
-'f all, is to increase the purchas.ng
-power of the farmer and the goal of
-the bill is pre-war parity between
-the things the farmer sells and the
-things he buys.”
In presenting the bill Secretary
AVallace asked this question: “Has
'the time come when all elements of
our society are willing to pull to
gether to re-tore economic balance
and attain social, justice?” In other
words, will farmers be willing to
rent a portion of their land to the
federal government at the price set
for such rentals, and to follow out
the practices outlined in order to
secure these rentals? Will the con
sumer be willing to have a tax
placed upon products he consumes
that farmers may receive more for
their commodities ?
The bill, in reality, make? the
Secretary of Agriculture a dictator
in the field of farming. It means,
if this bill works ,that the farmer
will have to submit to arbitrary
rules and regulation instituted by
the Secretary of Agriculture. It is
declared that he will call in con
ference representatives of the
various farm commodity groups to
formulate the plan. We may^ w’ell
ask, can any group of men formu
late a plan that will meet the ap
proval of the millions of fan-ners
who, in many instances, are farmers
■because they' have been permitted
to carry on their industry ni their
•o-wn way and to express their own
individuality? They have preferred
the mode of life which farming has
given them to being regulated.
Will the consumer who is on
wages or is living on a small sur
plus that he has accumulated in past
years, be willing to be taxed so
that farm products can be sold to
return the farmer a higher income?
All of there ques^ns and many
more must be considered when draw^
ing conclusions concerning the new
farm bill. There is not much to en
courage us to thiuk that a bill like
this will work. When we look about
for example of price fixing, we are
unable to find any country in which
it has been successful. In recent
years several attempts have been
made to fix price.? and in every
instance the results have been
disasterous. England, for example,
attempted to fix the price of rub
ber. For a time it looked as though
the scheme would work, for rubber
went from 23 cents a pound, which
was then declared to be below the
cost of production, to over $1.00 a
pound. Then prices receded to 19
cents and England discontinued the
act in the fall of 1928. Rubber is
now selling for 5 cents a pound.
Brazil attempted to stabilize the
price of coffee and the scheme end
ed in revolution. Attempt has been
made to stabilize the price of sugar,
which is controlled by only a few
large industries. Sugar sold in
June, 1932, at the lowest price of
all times.
So we might go on, giving other
illustrations where nations have
tried to fix the price on their lead
ing product and where they controll
ed a high percentage of that pro
duct, but in no case have we di.s-
covered where price fixing has be
come succes ful. Will price fixing
on agricultural products in this
country under a dictator become
successful ? Or, will it end in failure
the same as the stabilization feature
of the Federal Marketing Act? Our
federal government spent mdliones
of dollars in attempting to stabilize
the price of wheat and cotton. This
scheme ended in failure and it cost
us over $300,000,000 to learn that
we couldn’t buy agricultural ' pro
ducts and store them and maintain
the price at profitable levels.
Who kno-ws or who can forecast
what will be the cost of returns of
such an ambitious program? Will it
take on a bureaucracy and cost far
beyond tills much discussed phase of
prohibition enforcement? Or, will it
have such universal .support that
enforcement will be relatively ef
ficient and inexpensive? Its original
proponents are now advising their
followers not to “expect too much,”
that some must “sacrifice for the
good of all,” and that other thing.?
must accompany this program,
such as inflation, tariff adjustments,
etc. It is particularly difficult to
ans-wer these and ■ other questions,
because the bill outlines no definite
proposal of action. It primarily
gives the President and Secretary
the authority to outline a program.
If the bill becomes a law, their
judgment and understanding will
write and execute the plan.
How will the proposal be applied
to dairy products ? That is in the
discretion of the Secretary of Agri
culture. Some assert it will be the
application of the dome tic allot
ment plan in a manner similar to
that outlined in our issue of March
10. It may be applied to one dairy
product and not to another. Some
assert it may be applied to some
particular section and not to the
nation as a whole, although we fail
to find authorized in the bill.
It is asserted by some of those
who have been in on the discussions
in Washington, that probably the
contract method of raising prices
will be applied to any dairy pro
duct that is bought under control.
This is, in effect, an authorized
trade agreement between processors
to raise selling prices, subject to the
approv’al of the Secretary, whereby
farmers can be paid prices of a
pre-war purchasing power. This
would not necessarily Involve any
excise tax as provided in the allot
ment plan. Secretary Jensen, of the
American Association of Creamery
Butter Manufacturers, says: “A
control measure might be used in
the New York milk shed or other
milk sheds to reduce production of
milk and yet not to be in effect as
to other dairy products.”
As we survey the field, we see
no opportunity through any price
fixing scheme under the direction of
a dictator to raise the prices of
agricultural products to a satis
factory level. Further, the working-
out of the plan is in the nature of
a trial and error method. 'Various
and sundry schemes may have to
run their course on this rather new
and uncharted sea of the economic
theory of planned production. For
Everett S. Stevens won over W.
B. Wellons in the second Democratic
primary held Monday to settle the
mayoralty contest, Stevens getting
513 votes to Wellon.? 259.
The contest was a rather warm
affair, and it brought out 777 votes,
but 5 votes were thrown out be
cause of irregularities. In the first
primary, with 5 candidates in the
field, 803 votes were cast, and 290
of these went to Wellons, who led
the ticket. In the first primary held
on April 3rd, Stevens came out sec
ond best with 269 vote?. While rath
er young in the game of politics,
the fact that he was able to almost
double his vote in two weeks time,
shows Stevens to be an apt polit
ical student, as well as an efficient
-worker in the field; and this is cal
culated to make the older politicians
sit up and take notice.
An interesting program is being
prepared for the meeting of the
Young People’s Conference of Gran
ville Presbytery, which will be held
in the Smithfield Presbyterian
church next Saturday. During the
meeting talks will be made by Rev.
W. C. Cummings, of Henderson;
Rev. D. F. Waddell, of Selma, and
Rev. James P. Smith, the local pas
tor. There will be morning and aft
ernoon sessions.
Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Ragsdale,
I.awrence Stancil and Frank Skin
ner spent several day? in New York,
returning to their homes la.?t Fri
day morning. They report that they
found the big city very wet; not
only with large quantities of water
in the shape of rain and snow which
fell there during their stay, but
witli foaming product.? of the big
breweries which were running day
and night in a vain effort to keep
up with their orders.
John L. Stancil, who is now do
ing construction work for the War
Department at Fort Bragg, visited
his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. C.
Stancil, la-t Sunday.
The county comm’ssioners at a
special meeting held last Thursday-
voted to extend the time for pay
ing 1932 taxes without penalties to
July 1st. After that time 3 per cent
will be charged until October 1st
when it will be changed to 4 per
cent. The commissioners adopted a
resolution asking the Johnston Coun
ty members in the Legi-lature to
introduce a bill making certain
changes in the tax laws applicable
to Johnston County.
GERMANY’S “SECRET
ARMY” IS WORRYING
OTHER COUNTRIES
Paris.—“With the means at her
disposal. Germany could transport an
aiTny of 150,000 men in a 24 hours
from the right bank of the Rlrine
to the French frontier.”
This statement is published here
today following investig-ations into
what i.? described as Gen-nany’s
secret army.
It is added that in the event of
Germany could quickly equipt and
put in the field an army of about
4,000,000.
Included in this force would be
Germany’s legal army of 100,000,
400.000 Hitlerite “storm troops,”
300.000 “steel helmets” and 120,000
reserves, with 60,000 trained mem
bers of flying clubs.
instance, the provision of the bill
that the excise tax may be revised
at any time, either up or down, by
the Secretary of Agriculture may
tend to uncertainty among processors
and prcessors and distributors. Will
these handlers of farm products be
fearful and hesitant of increasing
or even maintaining reasonable in
ventories? Will they be willing to
maintain cash markets except a
conditions look decidedly in their
favor ? If they are, will not the
farmer pay the piper?
In our opinion the proposal con
tained in the farm relief bill is un
sound, it cannot fulfill the express
ed purpose of the bill, and it may
do positive injury to agriculture. Yet
under conditions in which we finl
ourselves, with farm products at al
together too low a level, and realiz
ing that with better prices the
whole nation would be benefited,
it may be well to let these men who
ask for this legislation have it. It
is possible that only in this way
will we learn what can and what
cannot be done by go-vernment fiat
in a country not under control of a
military dictatorship.
State vs. Ben N. Royal, white
laborer, aged 43, for worthless
check, who enters plea of guilt. Con
tinue prayer for judgment upon
payment of cost.
State vs. Harvey Stanley, white
merchant, aged 32, for operating
slot macliine. Guilty, and prayer for
judgment is continued upon payment
of cost and on further condition that
defendant does not operate any slot
machine or gambling device again
in two years or pern-ut one to be
operated in his place of business.
State vs. George H. Barnes, white
laborer, aged 24, for larceny of gas
oline, value less than $20.00, proper
ty of Bill Stevens, Jr. Guilty, and
defendant is given 90 days on roads.
State vs. Jack Dudley, colored la
borer, aged 23, for assault with
deadly weapon. Guilty, and given
road sentence of 60 days, to be sus
pended upon payment of cost.
State vs. Hubert Cole, colored la
borer, aged 22, for assault with
deadly weapon. Guilty, and given
road sentence of 60 days, to be sus
pended upon payment of cost.
State vs. 'Valton McLamb, white
farmer, aged 23, and J. Randall
Beasley, white farmer, aged 17, for
-violation of prohibition law. Both
guilty of possession of still outfit,
beer and manufacturing of whiskey.
Bach defendant given 90 days on
roads.
State vs. Leon Joyner, for aban
donment and non-support. Open.
State vs. James Smith, transferred
to Superior Court.
Wednesday, April 19th.
State vs. Ausley Pilkin^-ton, white
laborer, and Paul Pilkin;rton. white
laborer, for larceny of chickens, val
ue less than $20 00, property of J.
A. Lamm. Not guilty and discharg
ed.
State vs. Raymond Norris, white
farmer, aged 22, for assault with
deadly weapon with intent to kill.
Probable cause found and defendant
bound to Superior Court. Bond fixed
at' $200.00.
State vs. Dalton Harrison, white
laborer, aged 19, for -violation of
prohibition law. Guilty of posses-
-^ion of one-half pint of whiskey.
Continue prayer for judgment upon
payment of cost.
State vs. C. F. Parrish, white la
borer, aged 43, for violation of pro
hibition law. Guilty of possession of
one-half pint of whiskey. Continue
prayer for judgment upon payment
of cost.
State vs. Harmon B. William.?,
colored laborer, aged 16, and Clai
borne Dublin, coloretl laborer, aged
14, for larceny of chickens, value
less than $20.00, property of Mrs.
C. B. Fulghum. Dublin under 16
years of age and this case as to
him is transferred to Juvenile «>uvt.
Williams guilty and' given 60 days
on roads.
State vs. Charlie Morris, white
farmer, agei 33, for assault with
deadly weapon. Guilty and given 90
days on roads.
State vs. Charlie Morris, white
laborer, aged 33, for -violation of the
prohibition law. Guilty of posse-sion
and transporting whiskey. Defend
ant given 90 days on roads, this
sentence to run concurrently with
sentence in above case.
State vs. Raymond Norris, white
farmer, aged 22, for assault with
deadly weapon. Guilty, and given 90
days on roads.
State vs. Raymond Norris,
■white farmer, aged 22, assault wi^h
deadly weapon. Guilty, and given 90
days on roads, this sentence to run
concurrently with sentence in above
The United States Goes
Off The Gold Standard
Many Visits Made by
Training School
Smithfield, U. C., April 15.—The
teachers in the Training School here,
realizinz that the worth of a teacher
to the school and community, can
not always be accepted by what is
actually done in the cla.-sroom, or
by what we thing of what we do
ourselves. In the final analysis
teachers are rated on the basis of
how much they are able to convince
the public that what they do in the
classroom and in the community
represents a real asset. What the
public thinks is quiet important in
the life of a school, and it should
be the teachers ambition, as well as
to teach Mathematics, English, etc,
to harmonize the progress of the
school with the progress of the com
munity, thus building up, warm
friendly helpful relationships.
With the above conviction in mind
the Training School teachers start
ed out this year to make a new
mark. Nine hundred and thirty three
visits were made during the first
six months of the present school
term. This number does- not include ^
the visits made by the Principal,
locally and out in the school dis
trict. Records compiled the pro
gram of the school was presented by
the teachers. A monthly average of
eighty six church seiwices were
made by the teachers per month or
a total of five hundred sixteen
church services atended by the
teachers during the first six months.
The teachers have participated in
fifty community projects in the past
six months, which projects were con
ducted by parents. Eight teachers
are now engaged in the develop
ment of community projects.
It is to be accepted that the com
munity spirit in general is better,
and that the parent? are becoming
more interested in the school and
the possibilitie.s of their boys and
girls. To make such contact may
seem a mere trifle, but it is funda
mental in the estimate of a good
teacher.
Vote To Keep Gas
Tax, Gut Postage
Washington, April 18—The House
Ways and Means Committee today
approved the Doughton bill to con
tinue the one-cent-a-gallon gasoline
tax for another year, reduce first-
class drop-letter postage from 3 to
2 cents and give authority to Presi
dent Roosevelt to increase or de
crease first, second and third class
mail rates.
Hundreds Of Farmers
Get Crop Loans
J. B. SLACK
Hundreds of Johnston County
fanners have taken advantage of
the crop producton loans that have
been put out both by the Regional
Agricultural Credit Bank and the
Seed Loan Office. The season is
getting rather late and any other?
who are expecting to get these
loans should get their applications
in not later than April 20. This is
especially true of the Regional
Bank since it takes some time for I
these papers to go through the
regular channels and be approved.
case.
LIVE OAK NEWS
Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Creech spent
the week-end with their parents,
Mr. and Mrs. Willis Barbour.
Miss Nera Mae 'Vauce sjient the
week-end with Miss Myrtle Stal
lings.
Mis.-es Berttie, Allie and Lela
Phillips went to a Birthday Supper
last Friday night given at Mr.^
Waylon Brown’s, near Corbett-
Hatcher.
Mr. Luby Foster and Needham
Foster from Pleasant Plain spent a
short while here Monday night at
the honie of Mr. Wilmer Phillips.
Mr. James Stallings from Uni
versity at Chapel Hill is spending
the Easter holidays here at hi?
home.
For the past nine weeks, the new
curb market at Lenoir in Caldwell
County has averaged $113 a week in
sales.
Belgian Sent to Court
To Prove He’s Alive
Jemeppe Sur Sambre, Belgium,
April 9—A youth here had a bit of
a shock whe.n he was calmly in
formed by the communal registrar
that he could not marry for the
simple reason that he didn’t exist.
His name was not regirtered be
cause a physician had failed to re
port his birth.
He had to appear before a judgc|
with witnesses to prove that he was
a real live flesh-and-blood human
being.
TWO COAST GUARD STATIONS
WILL GO ON INACTIVE LIST
Elizabeth City, April 9.—Two
coast guard stations, the Gull Shoals
and Dam Neck Mills stations, both
with crews of nine men each, will go
on the inactive list on July 1, it was
announced at seventh district coast
guard headquarters here today.
Revaluation of Gold Downward
and Silver Upward Is Piwn-
isedAs Result of Latest Act
of Administration At Wash
ington—Leaves Gold Dollar
To Tender Mercies of For
eign Exchanges.
Washington, April 19.—-In a baff
ling and bewildering acceleration of
events today America passed defi
nitely and avowedly off the gold
:#indard in the international field;
in the domestic field there was a
promise of a revaluation of/igold
downward, and silver upward, tha
while federal reserve officials were
preoccupied with plans looking to a
liberalization of credit facilities as
the quickest means of promoting
trade and industry.
In the senate ye.-terday Senator
Bailey referred to the farm relief
bill as self-contradictory, inadequate,
and anachronism, and declared that
a remedy for the distressing and
continuous process of deflation must
be sought in a controlled inflation.
He said the floating debt of the fed
eral govemment, a few months
hence, would approximate 10 bill
ions, and that a refunding of this
debt could be provided for in no
other way.
Apparently the administration has
adopted this general -view; where
fore, Washington today was amazed,
the while such members of the sen
ate as Robinson, Democratic leader,
Harrison and Wagner, professed ig
norance of what was transpiring.
However, both at the White House,
and at the capitol. Assistant Secre
tary of the Treasury Raymond Mo-
ley, of the Roosevelt brain trust.
Senators Byrnes, Pittman and Thom
as, were at work on the details of
an inflationary measure which, it
is believed tonight, will be ready
for presentation to the senate to
morrow. ,
This is a revised version of the
Thomas amendment, and, it was
said tonight, this will be introduced
as section six, of the farm bill. Its
declareil purpose is to “relieve the
e.xisting national economic emer
gency by increasing agricultural
purchasing power, to coin money
and to regulate the value thereof.”
At the conclusion of the conference,
participatei in by Professor Moley,
Senator Byrnes, sometimes spokes
man of the administration, and the
two silver senators, Thomas and
Pittman, it was explained that the
first section, authorizing the issuance
of United States notes, and for
funding the floating debt, would
stand virtually in its present form.
Uniform Gold Standard Basis.
The second section, to authorize
the President to fix the ratio of the
proportional. value of silver to gold
in all coins, would be changed to
read more like the old Pittman sil
ver bill, with its provision- to au
thorize the government to accept
payments on the foreign debts in
silver at a ratio not to exceed 50
cents an ounce.
At the White House earlier in
the day there was recorded the be
lief that all the principal govern
ments of the world, eventually,
would return to the gold standard,
and a section of the amendment now
being formulated would authorize
the President to enter into agree
ments with foreign governments to
return to the gold standard on a
basis that would be uniform, and
that would remove the exchange dif
ficulties that have resulted in con
fusion and injury to commerce in
all the world markets.
Our own passage from the gold
standard, our new policy, which is
to leave the gold dollar to the ten
der mercies of the foreign exchang
es, will, in the opinion of the White
House, result in improved prices for
commodities in the world markets,
a fact especially true with respect
to cotton. The dollar is simply to
be left to its fate, it will be per
mitted to slide, abroad, anti to some
extent at home, for the brand new
idea now is to permit the dollar to
come down, rather than to adopt
methods to force prices up, under
present conditions. Sterling increased
in value today, in its relation to the
dollar, while there has been some
increase in late days in the home
markets in anticipation of some in
flationary, or reflationary move, al
beit it is doubtful whether the most
imaginative person anywhere fore
saw the lengths to which the ad
ministration is now fully prepared
to go in its determination to put an
end to the process of deflation.