MAJOR ISSUES WILL
VEX NEW CONGRESS
Payment of Soldier Bonue First
on List of Vexing Legislative
Problems.
i Washington Correspondence.)
Without frying to predict what the
final outcome wilt be, this is a good
time to take note of the major issues
with which the second session of the
74th Congress, convening on Friday,
January 3. will occupy its time.
l. immediate payment of the Veterans'
Bonus. The only apparent open
question about this is whether or hot
SPEAKS AT NIGHT
Leaders of the Senate-and House
have arranged for an extraordinary
session FrMriy night to re- |
ceive the mrssaire of President
Rccscve't on the state of the Union.
l*lie President has departed
from usual custom again i .i Uifltvu ing
his message at night, prcsum- i
ably in order to increase the number
of radio listeners. Only once
before has such a message been
given at night, the war message
of President Wilson. Mr. Roosevelt,
also has set a precedent in
bringing his messages personally,
something seldom done in the nation's
history. The President devoted
the Vast day of the old year
to the preparation of tlie message,
which will be broadcast at 9 or
9:30 Friday evening.
the bill as passed will provide for
lull cash payment or for a special
issue of bonds.
2. The Townsend old-age pension
proposal. This will stimulate a lot of
oratory in both Houses. The Lal>or
lobby will oppose it. The Vest guess
is that the Townsend plan will not
he adopted u?d_ that Ov agitation
will result in liberalization of oldage
benefits under the Social Security
Act, which has got to be amended
in many respects, anyway.
3. lA>ts of talk and some pretty
hot debates on the Frazier-fcaipike i
Farm Mortgage greenback bill. Lit-;
tie chance, however, of its passage.
4. Government ownership of railroads.
Again a lot of talk, backed by ,
a well organized campaign of the1
railroad unions in favor of it Action!
of Interstate Commerce Commission;
in ordering reduction of railroad pas-;
- soiijger rites to two cents a ndlc> i
whore they are now higher Utah iiuil
? which is all over the Fast This
AviU be a demonstration of the Gov- j
ernmcnt's present power over rail-j
roads, and may have a strong ir?fJnonce
in bringing holders of railroad j
bonds into line lor Government own- j
ership.
Neutrality, Navy, Army
5. The neutrality question will;
come up early in the The:
present temper of Congress is tbj
strengthen the neutrality laws. The]
strong belief prevails thai a great
war is rapidly approaching* and Conwill
hot bi> In tho
Stale Department alone to keep us j
otil of it. One outcome of the war
talk is likely to no liberal appropriations
for a bigger navy.
f>. Proposals for increasing- the
army strength will he backed by reports
that Mexico ia planning an out-j
ami-out Communist Government. This
will give strength to the demand for
military defenses along the Rio
Graiide.
7. Tt will >i* more debate on
proposals to regulate wageaand hours
of labor Outlook is for the passage
of the '"7a.!sh Bill, requiring all con-!
cerns r tiling anything to be standards
established by NRA.
S. Attempts will be made, to
stra ghten out. the silver tangle, probably
by mandatory legislation requiring
the Treasury to increase its
mn'SnRirw nr.-l mniptnin !n.' world
pviee. The silver policy is not clearly
defined as yet,
9. Amendments to the Housing Act
probnl.lv will be made, with the objective
of inducing private capita-! to
go into large scale low-cost housing
projects This is in aceotdance with
t'n.s -J-' < ? -
\n oeei ciary at or reninsI],
Director Fahev of Home Owners
i-oar. Corporation, ami Peter Grimm.
Housing Co-druinator.
10 A lot of noisy thai '.vill he
hear-.) oh Capitol Hill from r.ow on
wiii mime from the committer rooms,
where Public Utilities, railroads, monitions,
chain stores and various other
phases of business will be under
investigation.
The program for this session will
be complicated by other factors.
There wili be Supreme Court decisions
which will interject new issues.
The budget as submitted by the
President will look quite reasonable.
Politically, the relief issue has been
brought to the front by Hoover's
speech in St. l?uis. The Government's
plan to turn the relief problem
back to the states as fast as possible
is not making headway.
Betting on Republican candidates
is now better than even money on
Landon. Tl seems certain that neithCT
Mr. Hoover nor Mr. Borah will be the
nominee.
Even money is being bet on a Republican
Congress in 1937. but the
Presidential odds are still in Mr.
Roosevelt's favor.
KIKAL CARRIER EXAMINATION
The United States Civil Service
Commission has announced an ex
amination to fill the position of rora
carrier at Vilas, N. C.
The examination wi'l be held ai
Boone, N. C. Receipt of application!
will close on Jan. 17, 1936.
V. S % ' ;<
. !j.:; . .V Bgf,
, t - , .
WA1
An
VOLUME XLVII, NUMBER 27
JACKSON DAY TO
MARK HISTORY IN
STATE POLITICS
Political Pot May Be Expected to
Warm Following Dinner
Gatherings.
PARK SYSTEM GETS
OVER T.000 ACRES
Hollar SlM'aUrr Sht.u v Sinns of Activity;
I'ltts t'clicit.i'fJ by t'ri!<OM
inmates; The tiewevv
of ttie ?Vi ck i;> Et lEctgh
By M. It. DUNNAGAN
Itaieish. Jan. 1. Jackson Day Dinners
to be hold in probably more than |
50 of the 100 counties of the state j
January 8 will be making political j
history, primarily because from that;
date politics may be expected toj
liola the spotlight in the state for the
next six months, or until after the
j June and July primaries.
Also, it is expected that most of
the announced candidates for major
posts will be on the program and j
make important announcements then
or soon after as to platforms, policies,
managers, headquarters, and the
like. Too, if is likely that the date
1 will be the signal for the beginning
.1 the vivl of the political announce
j ments of candidates for state-wide
1 iTficos, as well as for eShgress'onal J
| and judicial district officers. Suehj
: announcements may. be looked for toy?
; or soon af ter the dinner date, as few |
j candidates will announce for office in
| major or general contests later than
; January.
Lots of oratory may he expected.
Public men and women and candidates
will be on many programs. For
example, Governor Ehringliaus will
! speak in Greensboro and Senator |
Bailey in Raleigh. Others will he
Scattered through the counties.
Tickets in this state will he or.lv
S2. those honored as "sponsors" paying
S5 each Protests are made
against high charges a-t many Cities.
TlU pLoe0c%(s will go largely to the
national Democratic headquarters to
pay a deficit, that body sponsoring |
and the Young Democratic Clubs
handling the dinners. Mrs Bess Phoenix
has charge in this state, with E.
C. Brooks Jr. Durham, as coordinator.
JOHNSON IN ACTIVITY
Politics Robert Grady Johnson, |
House speaker. was seen in activity
last week Which may mean that he
will manage n for one of
the candidates for Governor, Clyde
Hoey or "Sandy" Graham?- Dr.
Ralph McDonald intimates that he
will have no state manager, but a
headquarters in Raleigh. R. T. Fountain
still claims he is running on
Senator Bailey's record, .that theaen1
ior Senator was really with Presi|
dent Roosevelt on only two import:
ant matters, the Would Court and
tContinued on page two.)
i FATHER GREETS SOX .AFTER
PPPTA1A VT1 *?C
JL u*MW *!? i I. VIIO ADaUirtLfc I
I E. M. Norris of Starhuck, Wash-1
! ington, formerly of Watauga court-1
Uy, N. C., and eldest son of W. H.
j Norris Sr., who resides with his
I daughter. 'Mrs. S. O. Stanborry in
! IJoone, came in for a short visit,
j spending four days only wiih his aged
I muter aitu outer rotaiivea tuiiuiig
j v. horn were Rev. .1. B. Norris, Hamp
| Norris. and Hat.tie Rae Norris, of
LaCrosse. Fla., who faced the win!
tor breeze to Boone, in order to see
I ho brother and uncle, all leaving
I December 27 for their homes in
| Washington and Florida, respectiveJ
ly. Friends of the Western man will
ire glad to know that he has suc!
oeeded well, and Old Man Depres|
sion doesn't interfere at all- ReportHv
NO KECOKDER'S COURT
There was no session of the Recorder's
Court again Tuesday adjournment
having been taken for two
weeks the day before Christmas.
Since there is practically nothing on
the docket, there will be no session
of the court until next week.
REVIEW OF YEAR
ADDED FEATURE
Readers of the Democrat will
note that the \HibI teat ion has fol
! lowed usual custom in making the
Chronology of the year 19S5 a
feature of the first issue of the
Xevv Year.
This valuable feature which appears
on page three, gives a concise
and classified resume of what
happened during: the old year in
the field of domestic, foreign and
j internalional relations and provides i
j a store-house of accurate Informa- |
tion. As in the past, many will j
. ] doubtless make, a scrap-hook |
IJ piece of this page, so that there 1
may be a iKsmanerit record in the
? household of the principal things
3 that constituted news in 1935.
Independent Weekly New
BOONE, WATAUGA CPU:
: _____ '
FIREMEN CHEER"
nu&BUi uiilimlGPI
^nipt> Slocking Fund Ample to
Take Care of Goodies For
The Destitute*
At the last minute, people of the
| cdrttmunit.y responded liberally to the
annual call for Christmas trinkets
and goodies for the destitute children
and according to Fire Chief Pat McGuire,
Who with city offkia^. was
actively in charge of delivering the
aula Clous parcels, there was amdo
provision made
! About throe hundred bags of fruits,
1 .nils, randies, and toys were distributed
in the community and environs
he day before Christmas, and amne
parcels were taken to the county
home, the jail and the prison camp.
Ulotmoots for different purposes
. re hi?? cased, but yet there was a
surplus of the commodities, Mr. Mc,
Guirc said. He believes there was a
1 voided indication of improvement, in
lie condition of the poorer families
his year.
Dunnagan Retires As
Local Correspondent
Raleigh. .Ian. 1 - M. R. (Alike)
Dunnagau, Raleigh eorrys{>oiuhiqt for
sevcrni newspapers in the state for
nearly seven years. Including The
V( ttlau^It Dcill'JCial, ttiiitOUlKva th.lt
he will suspend his newspaper work
for the present and devote practically
full time until next June, or
July if necessary, to his campaign
for the Democratic nomination for
Seretary of State.
Mr Dunnagan takes tip his residence
in Winston-Salem early in the
new year and will conduct his campaign
from that city. He reports that
he has a home there, mortgaged but
not foreclosed, occupied by a brother
and with plenty of room for his campaign
activities. He expresses the beI
tief that he has a very good chance
for the nomination, and expects to
make the best possible use of the opportunity.
Wilkes County Man
Goes To High Court
Washington, Dec. 30.?Branson
Benton, operator of a 700-acre farm
i in wiiKcs county, Of. t;., appealed to
the Supeme Court today to free him
from a $1,000 fine and two-year prison
term ordered by lower federal
courts for alleged illegal operation of
a mountain eistillery.
Tier.ton appealed from a ruling by
the fourth federal circuit court which
affirmed the penalty.
lawyers for the farmer said the
conviction was based on "wholly cir)
rnmstantial evidence," Federal agenis
found a 300-gallon still and other
equipment April 23, 1934 on land adjoining
Benton's farm.
MRS. SAt.I.IK ADAMS COMBS
Mrs. Sally Adams Combs, aged 77,
died December 21 at Vilas, N. C
Funeral sendee and interment was
at Henson's Chapel, December 23, at
11 a in,, with Rev. Mr. Parker in
charge.
Surviving is the husband, W. D.
Combs and the following children:
Mis. T. C. Cain, Southwick, Idaho;
Mrs. J. L. McSwain, Gastonia, N. C.;
H. L. Combs, Mabel, N. C.; Mrs. J
I.. Scagraves, West Jefferson, J. P
Combs, Mrs. W. H. Campbell of Vilas,
and Mrs. Spencer Miller ol
! Boone. 34 grandchildren and 3 great
grandchildren also survive.
Mrs. Combs was well known, particularly
in the westen part of tb<
county, where she had attracted '
wide friendship through her man?
sterling traits of womanhood. Sh<
will t>e greatly missed in her section
MEETING CIXISES
A revival meeting closed at Brush?
Fork Baptist Church just befon
Christmas which resulted in 20 td
ditions to the church. The- meet ire
which lasted two weeks, was conduct
ed by Rev. W. C. Payne and Rev W
D. Ashley and good attendance v &
reported.
/r
A DE
rspaper?Established in the
NTY, NORTH CAROLINA, THURS
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m ^Sk % 'CP
s y .... vu. w 4
' i h' - :. Jfc :'
; v . ' ' r-^:^
* .?ki6
I I .
HAT IN RING i<
! i
Senator Borah Definitely In !
Presidential Picture
.Senator Borah of Idaho is definitely
in the race for the Keaubli
I can nomination fin- the presidency.
| Monday tile Idahoan pave permission
for his name to o nlorod in
tile Ohio primaries on May 12. J
Great Interest is centering in the
effort of the .liberal Republican
group to put across liis noniination.
and opinion is tiiat ius candidacy is
gaining momentum lapidiy. 1
SCHOOL OPENINGS ;
POSTPONED IN CO.
Severe Weather Makes Opening '
of County Schools Impossible
This Week. i
Opening of the various county
schools has been postponed for a ,
week on account of the cold weather,
and blocking of side roads with snow,
making it impossible in instances for
the buses to operate. The schools
were' to have opened Monday and
Tuesday of this week, and Superintendent
Walker states that in one or
two instances, the teachesr attempted i
to open, but the classes were hope- j
lessly depleted, hence the general
j postponment order.
i Those >schoo-s which observe Saturday
as a holiday will open next Monday,
while those taking* Monday off,
will open Tuesday. Mr. Walker stated.
Brazil leads the I*a tin-American '
{countries in. cotton production with j
| an annual crop of approximately 207-!
j 000,000 pounds.
| WPA Worker
Miles Facin,
Tliose who believe that direct
relief and the subsequent works
! program have made a lot of **sofj
ties" out of the wards of T;?cle
Sain should have beheld twenty .
i four snow-clad and frosty visaged
r-j individuals who (Tekked from the
- j Pottertown country into Boone
Monday morning, tv? show up for
Ixvork, ;v> seconiy-wage earners under
the wifA.
The even two dozen workers had
t, walked distances ranging from 11
r i to 17 miles, in order to take care of
i| their nineteen dollar a month jobs,
i and the tortuous Journey was ac!
oomplishcd in near-zero temperature
and In the face of a blinding
7 i freezing gale of snow and lee. The
? | way was unmarked save by t hese
-1 hardy travelers, and snowdrifts six
X | r?nd eight feet high often had to be
M,rmr>untcd. Progress was slow, and
occasionally the tattered two-dozen
3 turned their faces for a moment
away from the snarling teeth of
MOCI
; Year Eighteen l^ighty-Eig
>DAY, JANUARY 2, S?
"" 1 Ipl
' ' ' j J/
? !
JE '! :5
no) j !"
^ i
V.. ,
v :* , ^ -*
? ?<?53k >':-. j WO
^asss*^ > i j p*-s-i ; ?r
??"Bar"- * j cii
| sw
jne arrest made>?
during christmas' i
{th
?oiicc Department Relieves Fco- do
pic Have Set Record J JJj
For Orderliness. j or
Whether or hot the frigidity of the j ^
itniosphere contributed to the gen-j
rat piety, the fact is quite cnnclu-| ,
iiveiy established that the celebration | lVN
if Christinas In Boone ami environs j ^
va> the most orderly in manyj^.
vara. Friends mingled mostly about j
he family fireside during tile past ,VX
reek and the city police department
eports the arrest of one man the ^
lay before Christmas on an inconsc>n
the heels of a generally improved .
[ucntiai indietincnt. ,lS
The calm or Christmas week come :u
ondition in tiie town brought about
lome weeks ago when Chief Wiley tjC
.lay's police department clamped ,v<
town, so to speak, on violators of
he law, and there has been less and b
ess public drunkenness since. *j<
Patrolman Ollis, who has been in Sn
iolice work for msnv vears in some ..
>f the larger toXyslji of the slate, takes
?ccasiou to compliment the citizen- 3t
;hip of this section on their manner ^
f observing' the Christian holiday. si
\ever in his experience as an offixt,
says Mr. Oltts, has he seen such bi
i fine and orderly disposition on the pi
v-art of the people at the holiday nea- b<
ion. er
A
Reports Good Price
For Burley Tobaccoju
Mr. \V. O. Stephens of Zior.ville. In j Sl
own Monday, tells of haying secur-1 w
d an unusually favorable price for | tc
lis hurley tobacco, recently market - ;
?d at Abingdon, Va. One crop of 262 i ls
pounds brought S66.83. A basket of s>
58 pounds went at 35 cents: P4 pounds |''
brought 33 cents, and 70 pounds '.w.r.t
it 29 cents, just to mention the three
Highest lots.
Another crop of tobacco raised by ai
Mr. Stephens on the; farm of Rev. R. tl
C. Eggors, was really better he says. ,j
190 pounds sold at 37 cents; lugs tl
brought 34 cents and the dark leaf rr
came in for 33 cents. a:
Mr. Stephens states that the tobacco
proved exceedingly profitable: w
since aside from 100 pounds of ferfi- si
lizer, there was scarcely no cost to o:
its production.
MCKNSGS RKVOKRli M
Several hundred automobile dri- >'
vers have had their licenses to drier -
ears revoked in the less than two r;
months since the law became effee- ^
live requiring the revolution for sevoral
offenses, and making it discre- ^
tionary for others, License must be
rc-voked for 12 months for driving s:
while drunk or drugged, using car
to commit a felony, perjury as to ear f'
ownership, transporting liquor, mar.- :l
slaughter, two convictions for reck- ?
less driving, and failure to stop and s
render aid in ease of accident.
?TWalk 17 !
g Zero Storm 5
fi
the blizzard?hut on tbey came,
and by 10:45, managed to report to n
their foreman in Boone?all but
frozen, yet dead game and ready to i u
work. s
The incident provided a topic of **
conversation among the people in 4
the town;" many of whom had hud- P
died in their places of business and ''
foregone trips to the post off ice a
block or two away, and the con- *"
elusion was that inborn courage *
and pioneer fortitude still exist-?? ^
at least in the breasts of twentyfour
men, who, when their vehieu- **
lar transportation couldn't coi>e
with the elements, endured bodily ^
snffering to protect their jobs, ?
which at best can only secure them ^
the hare necessities of life.
The incident recalls that a state *official
of the WPA ha* recently a
called attention to the fine spirit
and faithful disposition shown vn *
the part of the greet majority of r
the mountain workers. 1
IAT
ht
$1.50 PER YEAR
ING WINTER HAS
iELD WATAUGA IN
RELENTLESS GRIP
^verity of the Cold Brings Recollection
of Freeze During
Winter 11)17-18.
PES FREEZE, BOILERS
5UKST FROM ZERO BLASTS
ghwav Crown Bu?*.v For l>ay* Keeping
(toads Open, While Boone
Shoveled Self Out From
Under Heavy Blanket.
Tho most severe siege of winter
'either for almost two score years
ippetl Watauga county during Uie
u istmas-weCk holidays, and heavy
owfalls accompanied the freezing
sis which carried the thermometer
5 below the week-end before,
iflstmas, and has brought mercury
or near the zero point each suceding
morning. Tuesday morning
e suit broke through the cloud3and
spite predictions of the weather
an that more snow or rain was in
e offing, those who had been more
less snow-bound went about, smdlgly
under the cheering rays of
I Sol.
The intense cold has prevailed,
ithout abatement for more than
reive days, and while the depth of
c snowfall in this section cannot
accurately determined due to the
ivlxjg winds, it is quite likely that
reive inches or more have fallen,
ighway crews were busy for days
cping the main thoroughfares
^anc-d anrl on occasions, the scraps
were manned throughout the
ght. The heaviest snowfall, oci
rod with the week-end, and Suniy
the city employed a large nuuir
of men and supplemented the
tick of lite highway forces by clcarg
the snow from the sidewalks
rough the principal business sec>n.
Monday came in with blinding
iow and the work was postponed
its1. Tuesday when VVPA crews, undo
to proceed with their regular
rr>f>f imnrM'.-tm-nl ihifiiiQ
, V ......Cll J""""
imls with the city in clearing: the
reels ami sidewalks.
Plumbers of the city had their
isiest season in years, as frozen
pes wore experienced in largo numsra
of hemes, iiv rare instances boil's
to hosting plants having burst.
minimum of trouble has been ex vicnced
however, with the city
at-:r mains, sir.ee they were laid in
iticipalion of intense cold.
OM timers, who had concluded that
voiv winters were in the discard,
rink led their brows during the last
w days and tied to recall similar
'verity of the Wintry elements. Tt
definitely determined that not
nee 1917-1S has there been such insnsely
cold weather.
17 DEAD FROM COLD
New York, Dee 30.?Snow, iee
ad freezing temperatures lay over
le east, south, and much of the midte
west tonight following a storm
rat took at least 17 lives and caused
dllfons of dollars of property damge
Regionally, the heaviest death toll
as in the south, where five persons
iccumbed to the unaccustomed rig's
of winter.
Snow flurries, felt as far south as
lorida, were moving tonight into
ew England after covering the mid
v. .-Viiiimn. OWIIV-I W4UI IIIC Heaviest
ill of the season. In depth the snow
fnged from four to six inches in
[iaisr York City to 13 inches in parts
t" North Carolina. Mount Mitchell,
'. C., reported 30 inches.
Vor north Georgia it was the worst
nowstorm in 30 years.
With freezing- temperatures exE-ndir.g
generally to the gulf of Mexv>,
southern children took advantage
f the snow and ice with improvised
leds and 3kiis. made of barrel staves.
For the first time in years there
-as a thin coating of ice on the llisissippi
river at Greenville, Miss.
Faced with the task of opening
riow-cloggcd roadways, the South
hrolina state highway commission
cgan a search for a snow/plow which
. believed it owned but couid not
irtd.
New York City officials who have
lore use for such apparatus, quickf
found 2,000 snowplows and sent
ileal into action, together with
weepers, Rushers, and rotary brooms,
"he city's snow removal crew totaled
5,000 men and a 51.000.000 approriation
was voted during: the day
o finance the work.
Six ocean freighters, icebound in
he Hudson river between Albany and
Kingston. N. Y.. were freed during:
he day by coast guard cutters.
In addition to the five deaths in
he south, four were attributed to
he storm in Philadelphia, four in Okihoma,
two ^tucky and one
ach in N ' r>d Battle Creek,
iich. rbrbna Todd.
Ice fit'*'Aiph?v * -Sd navigation in
he Ohio I -...ting ferry service
t Shawneecov?i\The Wabash
,nM completely x :cr. ever at New
larmony, 111.. Metropolis, 111.,
eported the hot >st snowfall since
917, six inchesT '
Z