> AUGUST 21, 1030 Drouth Boosts Cost of !F' Living in United States' Washington-?It became more ao-j 1? parent this week that the cost ul inej jr extended drouth would fall upon boihj >? the producer and the consumer, irot|7~~ to a greater degree upon the for- * ' ' merProducers are bearing the brunt of the unusual weather conditions Jvl which have prevailed for more than to six weeks. Farmers in the hot, rainless areas 11 are confronted with disaster. But m' general ,heavy rains within the next IP' month would avert the most serious sa consequence.-? in many areas. . Individual consumers will share the "a farmers troubles in increased prices of late fruits and vegetables and in ln daily products, especially butter. . Butter has gone up 5 cents to 3d ?? cents a pound since duly I. Beef p11 prices are not expected to rise and an might slump if continued shortage .UJ of water and feed force ^animals on J*? the market prematurely. There will r" he sufficient beef, it is believed, al-' though of a poorer quality. 1 , The monthly crop estimate showed ?n, the usual supply of food crops was available, but there was a shortage JV1 of feed crops for poultry and live- tn stock. Nothing in the government re- . ports suggests a scarcity of prod- *a ^ nets for the consumers' table. Drouth profiteering has not yet become a factor in the situation, in- ,,, quiry among official agencies indieated. Bui Vice-Chairman Stone of lt the farm board said brati prices had j risen from $25 to $31,130 a toil andj t~Kr-4 ? V, vH?? ...? mvieastr was unjuslitieil- \. Tho agriculture department sur- ,l!* vey showed prospects had declined nearly 7 per cent, in July. Yields per f, acre are forecast to be -r>.5 per cent. * below last year's and 91 per cent. below the average for the past ten iv' years. The corn crop forecast at 2-.- l 2 1 1 .823,000 bushels would be the !v smallest since 1901. Pastures are the , worst in fifty years. Much surplus wheat will be con- (!e .sumed as feed to offset the 1 1 1 per cent, aggregate deficit of feed crops. sfa Wheat generally matured too early to be caught by dry weather. The an 1930 crop 1"recast now i.s f??t 321,- a 000,COB bushels. an Agriculture department and farm 'UJ board experts apparently believe the *l" drouth situation is somewhat less general than is popularly supposed. ?v. Conditions are local rathe-* than na Uonalr - tboy SAl'ri... LAST SURVIVOR OF BATTLE OF MERI MAC-MONITOR DIES Captain William Francis Drake, 91, the last survivor of the famous battle between tho Merrimae and the Monitor, the first two iron-clad war vessels, died last Thursday at the Confederate Soldiers Home, Raleigh, where he had been an inmate for 28 years. Captain Drake was not only the last survivor of the famous sea l>at tie, but he was also the oldest inmate of the Home. His passing giv?;a renewed emphasis to the rapid thinning of the "Gray Line." S.x years ago a when Superintendent W. T. Muntrum y took charge. there wove 96 inmates o( the Home. The departure of CapLairs Drake leaves only 26 and 1! of that number are in the hospital. Although his principal engagement was M sea, Captain Drake served ia the Anoy rather than, the Navy, being a member of the United Artillery of Norfolk and Portsmouth, which was called anon to man the on the Confederate guvtboai v! "Merrimac, the first "sea monster." Captain Drake, wnbsc honie was in Northampton County, sewed throughAmi the war. enlisting; on April 19. 1 The \yxniou* clash between the Merrimae and the 'Monitor- prepared S bv Federat forces to meet it. occurred in Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862. All of those who were aboard the - Monitor predeceased Captain Drake. Captain Drake, who was a teacher until he entered the Home, was a deeply religious man. He was an active member of the Methodist Church and the Masonic Order and served for a number of years as chaplain; at th*e Soldiers Hornet- I NORTH CAROLINA RANKS FORTIETH IN EDUCATION Raleigh.?Based on a composite ranking of five educational items for 1927-28, North Carolina ranks fortieth among the states in public edca cation, it is learned from State School Facts, publication of the Department of Public InstructionThe five items upon which the states are ranked are: (1) number 7? of pupiis ai lending daily fa; each 100 enrolled, (2) average number I days schools were in session, (3) ay^ erage annual salaries of teachers, supervisors and principals, (4) per cent, of total enrolment in h>gh school, and (5) average value of school property per pupil enrolled. The current number of School Facts concerns itself with public education in the States, the data presented being taken, from Bulletin, 1930, No. 5, giving statistics for state school systems for 1927-28 and recently issued by the Office of Education of the U. S. Department oi the Interior. This paper shows that based on the j five items mentioned North Carolina | has a higher rank than the followIr.? CPoi.i-t?? xr?x-- -i- I i.K - viuaawuiu. ivr/itutny, South Carolina. Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi. North Carolina held 41st place among the stales on the basis of identical facts for 1925-2G. This state took fortieth place in 1927-28, according to School Facts, by ranking 39th on item J, 42nd'on item 2, 40th on item 3, 86th on item 4, and 38th on item 5. This State's lowest rank, that paper further points out, is on item 2, the average length of school term. On the basis of these five items, Virginia is.just ahead of North Carolina at 39th place. South Carolina ranks 43rd in this respect, and Tennessee 45th. On the basis of these five items the State of Massachusetts has the best schoo' system, while Mississippi ranks lowest in this respect \ "What did you pay for your * watch?" "Six months." '--".'T-Sv '' "> - is? *3 VT1IER AND SON KILLED FOR STEALING POTAIOE: Toledo, Qluo.?-There was no thin] eat in the Tilton home and fch ildrcr. were crying pitifully fo 6d, SO Elmer Tiller., father of th m;!y, rolled his eldest son. Louie one side for a conference. Then they said to Mis. Til ton: "Mother, were going out for ; die. We're going to get something eat for you and the kids." They went out before dawn las fursday morning. An hour later i isseriger came to the Tilton doo say that father and son had beci ot to death "up the road a piece. I/ stor Coy, a 23-ycar-old farmer d caught Elmer Tilton and his IT ar-old boy in his potato patch. Co; lied b th of them with a shot-gun. Tilton was 45 years old. He hai en out of work for months- He ha< eked up odd jobs her? and thor d managed to make a go of it t in the last few days there ha< en no income. All Hay yesteida; e family went without food, air night Tilton was desperate. Coy, the farmer, was arrested ; ort while after the shooting. H Id police that he had been lvinj t in the potato patch, waiting fo ieves, for four nights. 'People have been stealing my po toes for six weeks," he said. "Al ^ether. I guess they've taken mon an $200 worth. ' Three weeks ago 1 borrowm larley Munday's shotgun and kep around the place. 1 started lyinj t in the potato patch a I nights s? could catch them. One night tw< in and a woman came and wer* :ging up my potatoes. I fired inti l? air ami they ran away. "Early this morning I was lyihj it between two rows of potat< ints. with the shotgun beside mi i*o men came up and walked bad to the field. They passed just iv f.vA* mi A..,- ... t? .. ilvuj .uf XIITT.Y MUK \s for about -Jf? minutes. Then the: isteri their sacks up on their shoul re and started away. 4t) hollered at them to stop. The; irted to run, so 1 fired. I aiioei their legs?I didn't want to kil ybodv. I couldn't see anything fo minute on account of the smoke d then 1 saw the older man stil iniipg. I fired a pi in and saw hin \r Coy then ran to a neighbor's hom< ISlillaSi 1 ;'i illisiiiilli I ? imp. ijocttt t kti KSBaBWSBSswl^BSsm . ; " THE WATAUGA DEMOCRAT? rfM:ss Unt^^ 9 8E 1 ' * 1 Eh * H. H ^BES ''& " * JB :i r'"tf "f Nov OfJeins. w*?Tr ?f to! jWematicnl beauty couteat buid "at k tjalvcsioa. > j an?l telephoned the sheriff. Officei ! found Elmer Tilton and his son lyir 1 j face downward, within twenty-fi\ 1 fee" Of each other, hoth dead. : The two sacks of potatoes wei J j worth. Coy said, about $2. ?j DEMOCRAT WANT ADS PAY! ? Ji IS^ILDER, YE Chesterfield off flavor. BETTER TA that's what smc est measure?tl tobaccos, exact! Better taste, anc as Tobacco Co. " -EVERY THURSDAY?BOONE. N. C. Sossamon's Sayings ; ?VE !v)://y^-.'r.."--fif^-./ By I.EKOY SOSSAMON j SNAKESOUP AND ROOZE ! A" EDITORIAL FOUND TWO ATOMS OF PHILOSOPHY j J 1 i j Federal prohibition, agents made a I J raid on moonshiners' haunts in Pied-j , inont North Carolina a few weeks ? ago and, incidentally, stumbled upon I j a hit of information which may or| ; ! man not be of interest to those whoi ' are wont to patronize these "blind tigers" for their personal booze. A t word to the wise on the merits of { drink might not be at all amiss at ? this time, 'oui we merely pass the in- ? cident along for what it is worth. J However, we advise you to give it . full face value at least. In a heavily wooded section near a small branch these officers came , upon a sizeable cache of fermenting! mash awaiting its turn at a nearby I t distillery. No owner was in sight, and!, the officers proceeded to do their \ obvious duty. The still was duly de-| . molished and they turned their eT-' J forts to disposing of the mash. But) ^ stifferin' snakes'. The officers were! t dumbfounded to find a queer green-it ish shake-like creature, resembling a], baby.alligator, happily snoozing away I in the mash. The animal was very , [much alive and apparently thriving!, Jon his peppy environment. Yes. sir; ! j a reg'lar old moss-back, hill-bill; bootlegger, he was! In stately attendance upon hisI j majesty, the imbibing alligator, were! j twelve crayfish and . . But the J : officers went no further. Besides,I ) they didn't draw government money j ; for taking the census of bootleg mash I < o 1 o?W_ TLVO*. :+' ^ V-: . : . . i - ..-?La? . v.".n ii ?ui> is tin? ri'j^i'iai | census year. I Bringing the snake liack lo town i as their captive, the officet-s related; j (heir strange find. Tt is Understood5 that they made a meiita- note of the i look of consternation dp. the fares j of several fellows who frequently "" visited that part of the country. .? ersjsumably on very legal business. re 1 The most plausible theory as to ^ how this motley colony got into the] re mash is that the dry weather had put! water at a premium, and it was hastily scooped up from some nearby half-dry puddle, frogs, snakes, leaves, filth and all. \ \ V \1 \ \ went wa a I m mm u i beWt S?BUT SOMETHING MORE, ers richness, aroma, satisfying tSTE? that's the answer; and ikers get in Chesteriieid in fullic flavor and aroma of mellow ly blended and cross-blended. I milder too! : ? This is only one illustration of the' .areless manner in which this modern; 'fire water" is concocted Every: maimer of filth ?ml unsanitary con-i iition is present during the processI >f manufacture. Very often the manjfacturers make no effort whatever! :o keep the still clear* And the fel-1 ow who purchases this filthy stuff! i f.Iit one who enffpre?because di??! nakers fchemseKes will very often! *ot drink the stuff from their own' slant! Why? o imply because they enow the conditions under which it s made. From all this, we do not wonder hat the Southern States have reported in such abundance the strange 'jake" malady caused by drinking ?ad booze. Our only suggestion is J hat someone second our motion for he disease to be henceforth called 'snake soup" malady, with due apol>gies to the incident just related 'rem I'iedmont North Carolina. We sincerely hope that our suggesion will meet with popular approval md that by a public boycott we fi- i tally brand obsolete the term as well j is the related product- For, until! he public stops consuming the hell-] sh stuff, there can he no relief. But.; Lake it from us. if there was none, ;onsumed, except by those who now: :urn out this inferior product?with-1 n six months there would be no dan ] for from this source. The product would improve or get off the market Ipne. Men, if you must drink, why not i at least drink something that will; give the required kick without the] .rldiCLcxr, 41. ' ' .?uiwvii <1 w . . j ' j 1 l 1 iia