LIQUIDATING AGENT TAKES CHARGE
OF MURPHY AND HAYESVILLE BANKS
DISCUSS ROADS
AT MEETING HERE
THURSDAY NIGHT
O
WANT STATE HIGHWAY NO. 28
SURFACED TO TENNES
SEE STATE LINE
Road improvement work in Chero
kee county was discussed at a meet
ing of citiz ns and officials in the
Regal Hotel here. Among thos* pres
cn*. were: James G. Strikeleather, of
Ashevill , ninth district state highway
m mission er, G. A. Curtis, road
commissioner of Fanning county, Ga.
. nd W. J. Denmark, cashier of the
Fanning county Bank. The meeting
wa- sponsored by the Murphy Lions
Club.
Mr. Strikeleather was r quested to
lend his efforts to have highway No.
28 surfaced from Murphy to the Ten
nessee state line. This link now has
only a slag surfac.. Mr. Strikeleather
promised to start this work in the
spring and complete it this year if
possible.
Other Projects
It was also requested that state
highway No. 28, from Murphy to
Brass town, be completed thi* year.
\ new bridge across Valley river on
highway No. 28 to the Georgia State
line at Culberson, a distance of three
miles, well? urged. .The road from
highway No. 28 to the Georgia line
would be for the purpose of connect
ing with the Georgia road by way of
fll-uc Ridge and A tlants
Mr. Strikeleathei* agreed to com
plete highway No. 28 to Brass town
as soon a? the funds are available.
And he thinks he may be able to
build the bridge on Highway No. 10
over Valley riwr this year. He also
promised to take under consideration
construction of the Culberson road,
saying that his engineer would meet
the Gtorgia engineer to locate the
road from Highway No. 28 to Cul
berson on the North Carolina side
and Mineral Bluff on the Georgia
side.
Kitchen Cabinet
Orchestra Friday
Night, Auditorium
The Bachelor's Dreams and the
Kitchen Cabinet Orchestra will be
presented Friday, Jan. 23, at the
School Auditorium by the Character
Builders Sunday School Class of the
First Methodist Church. T^he pro
ceeds to be used for charity.
Cast of Characters for "The
Bachelor's Dream" ?
Reader ? Mrs. H. P. Powell
Bachelor-? A. W. Mclver.
Pianist ? Mrs. Frank Fain.
Advertising Manager ? Mrs. Wil
lard Axley
Little Tot ? Justine Johnson
Playmate ? Winifred Townson
School Chum ? Mary Aiken
C ountry Girl ? Ruby Hall
Coquette ? Florence Mclver
Beauty ? Annie M. Maneval
N'un? Callie Hall.
Summer Girl ? Julia Johnson
Winter Girl ? Emily Sword
Old fashioned Girl ? Emogene
Kates.
Old Maid ? Mayda Mallonee
Spanish Girl ? Leila Posey
Actress ? Rugy McCombs
Sailor Girl ? Elizabeth Gentry.
Gypsy ? Annie Brannon
Military Girl ? Carrie Carringer
Society Girl ? Dot Heighway
Indian Maid ? Roberta Dickey
RedCrosg Nurse ? Coy Johnson
Widow ? Betty Kate McCombs
Mother ? Lizzie Brittain
The same youn# ladies compose
th Kitchen Cabinet Orchestra. They
will be dressed in uniforms of dark
hule coats and white skirts. Some of
the latest and some of the old-fash
ioned songs will be played.
Outlook Meeting To
Be Held January 29
Theer will be an Outlook program
held in Murphy on January 29 for
botr men and women.
This meeting is Very important,
and we hope evry man and woman
^11 try to come if it is at all oos
sible. There will be representatives
from Raleigh, both mtn and women
Booster Campaign
Inaugerated by Lions
fl| ??
Lion, Club Adopt B.b.on Pl.n of
Distribution of Money
? O
Roger Babson, one of the greatest
I authorities on finance and economies
in America, started an idea down in
?' I?rida r centlv which is covering
America almost as rapidly as did the
influenza, or the Yo Yo* fad. And
that idea is not a fuel, hut something
xtremely woith while.
Checks of $1. $5, $10. $25, or any
size are drawn up. made payabl to
bearer, certified at th bank, and
started circulating. The idea is to
et as many indorsements a* possibl
| n the back of +he check, thus mak
jng it pay as many debts as possible, I
?io one man keeping it longer than
twenty-four hours. For instance,
j such a ch ck tor $10 is prepared by
a booster. He pays a ten dollar
I lebt with it. The man to whom hoi
! rays same indorses check, and in I
?turn pays a ten dollar debt with it.!
| If it changes hands ten times, SlOo;
.in d:bts are paid with the same mon- t
i ey, without taking any money out
| >{ the community, or out of the
1 banks. Helps everyone, and does not
! hurt anyone.
Civic organizations all over the
; South are taking up this idea. Th ,
! Rotary Club of Hendersonville start -
' ed one hundred checks of this type ;
? of $10 denominations. Ten. bona
j fide indorsi ments were necessary be
,fore they were presented at the bank
| for payment. Each man getting a
check was asked to k ep it as little
I time as possible. And in eight days;
I every one of those hundred checks
changed hands ten times or more,
[thus paying $10,000 in debts without
! one cent leaving the banks or com
i munity. A Lions Club in Missouri
I started a $1 check with additional
I spaci provided for indorsements, and
I this check changed hands three hund
i red and thirty five times before it
was presented to the bank. On dol
, lar paid three hundred and thirty -
| live dollars worth of bills. A check
! for $100 was started in the same club
, and changed hands seventeen times
1 before it was presented, thus paying
$1700 worth of bills.
How do you like the idea Several
of these ch cks have been started.
If they come to you, cooprate. Pay
a bill or make a purchase with them
instead of turning them in to the
bank, and sec how many d^bts one
check can pay. If you would
like to enter into this Booster Cam
paign, start you a check. If you
would lik. more information on the
subject, that you have not gotten out
of the dailv papers, call any Lion and
he will tell you how the checks are
fixed, or will come and fix one for
you. This costs you nothing, will lulp
collections and trade, and will not
take any funds out of the communi
ty or banks. Get in line!
RAY BARTON'S
LEG BROKEN IN
SCRAP AT GAME
Ray Barton, numbers of the Mur
phy School basketball team, is on
'crutches this week suffering: with a
1 broken leg, as a result of a general
| fight which broke out in the basket
! ball court last Saturday night be
! tween members of th|:- Murphy and
! Marble teams.
Barton's left log was broken just
above the ankle. He was helped from
the building and carried to the doc
tor where Ms leg was reset and plac
ed in splints and a plaster cast. He
is getting along nicely and is walking
about with the aid of crutches.
Barton is otherwise displaying the
teeth marks of an antagonist on his
arm, as is also several of the Murphy
players.
Just how thr? fight started is not
known.
to discuss subjects vital to the wel
fare of our county and our lives.
This meeting will be in the court
house at lOo'clock A. M.
This is a time wh-=n we all should
try to mage every efifort count and
you are going to miss something if
you miss this meeting.
If we are going to try to live at
home tet's get together and see how
OUR BANK SITUATION
EditctU!
The c'tizens committee and bank officials intl rested in the open
ing of the Bank of Murphy were shocked, dumbfounded, amazed and
speechless when Mr. Dard n. of the State Banking Department, told
them that decision had been made not to allow the Bank of Murphy
to open, but would be r quired to liquidate. And as the news of the
announcement has prone out over the town and county, a wave of in
dignation has gone with it. The news came as a bomb dropp d from
a an unseen hand into the midst of a peaceful and hopeful gathering.
No intelligent reason was given. Mr. Harden did give three. His
first one is absurd, and an insult not only to the people interested in
opening the bank, but to the organization he represents. Its weakness
lies in the fact that it sounds like the mutterings of a disowning man.
If the people here have not shown that they are doing something
to get the bank opened, we would lik: to know who is. It was on Jan
uary 12th. exactly ten days before Mr. Darden*s visit Wednesday night,
that the proposition and conditions wer laid down by the Corporation
Commission. The bank closed its doors and was taken over by the Com
mission on the 22nd of November, exactly two months ago.
Since the hank officials and citizens committe received their in
structions, they have been working ? working hard ? and already more
than 400 agreements have be n signed ? that number of depositors
have been s en. There are about 1600 depositors, scattered to the four
winds of this section. Some live in the far isolated s ctions of the
mountains, where roads are rough, narrow and muddy, and to reach
them is difficult, even on foot.
It is not a matter of g tting the stockholders and depositors to co
operate. It is a matter of SEEING them, especially the deposiors ?
1600 of them ? which requires time. And this was being don- rapidly,
we dare say as rapidly and with as much dispatch as the State Banking
authorities have shown. And the records will bear this out.
His s* cond reason is not so absurd, when viewed from the standpoint
of a State Banking official who is fearful of his job. The State Bank
ing examiners have been catching h 1. They have been subjected
to the piercing eyes of the public, and their actions aired in the daily
and weekly press throughout the state. In fact, they are just plain
scared. Perhaps they have been asked: Why is a bank examiner? What
do they examine? Why do they examine? etc.
His third reason is dodging the question, and at the same time plac
ing a burden upon the stockholders ancf the depositors that he knows
will be a block to the opening of the bank. Th^ first proposition, made
by Mr. Henson, is reasonable, fair and sufficient. If carried through
and the bank allowed to open, it would place the bank in a far stronger
position than it has been in in years. Certainly it would be one of the
strongest banks in Westr.m North Carolina.
If the bank is allowed to be liquidated, it will cost both the stock
holders and depositors heavily. This section will receive a setback
which will require years to overcome. Houses, lands and property of
not only the* stockholders, but patrons of the bank as well, will be plac
ed on the auction block and sold at pitiful prices. Those who haven't
a cent in the bank will suffer from a lack of business and livelihood
and renurw rative occupation; and those who have money in the bank
will not get the use of it for two years, perhaps three, perhaps five ? all
because of some State banking official fearful of his job and "catching
h 1."
Furthermore. the revoking of the terms and conditions first laid
down by Mr. Henson as. represenative of Mr. John Mitchcll, chief
State bank examiner, is an open breach of contract, the purport of
which, as this newspaper views it, is to block the opening of tb. Bank
of Murphy. Certainly, a branch of State Government clothed with the
powers and responsibilities as is the State Banking Department should
not treat contracts like this, as something to be broken so easily, as
though with the snap of the finger.
Citizens of Murphy and Cherokee County, now is the time for you
to come to the aid and assistance of your community and your county
by falling in line with those who are bending every effort to have the
Bank of Murphy opened instead of liquidated!
250 Gallons of Beer
Destroyed on Marble
Creek; Outfit Missing
O
Officers destroyed some 250 pal
Ions of beer and the furnace, bar
rels, buckets, ttc., at a stiil site they
had raided Monday January 12th, on
the waters of Marble Creek on the J
property of the town of Murphy and j
? known as the water shed.
Th*- officers discovered thes'te of i
; the still and watched the place for
two days in an effort to catch the
i owrern and operators, but they evi
' dently discovered that the pine, was
i being watched and did not venture
into the trap. The kettle, worm and
cap were missing. Th:* officers
searched for them but failed to find
anything. Deputies D. B. Morrow
and Carl Dockery matte the raid.
They stated the condition and the
newness of the place and location
bore evidence that it had been set up
but a short whii , and as far as they
could ??e only one "run" had been
made and the operators were get
ting ready to make the ^ cond run.
this can be done. A meting similar
to this is being held in every county
in the State.
Lions Club Will Have
Ladies' Night Jan. 29.
Menu Will Consist of Cherokee
County Products. State Of*
ficiaU Be Present
The Murphy Lions Club will give
their annual dinner with everything:
on the menu coming: from the farms
and dairy and gardens of Cherokee
County on Thursday night /at the
Regal Hotel. This occasion will also
be Ladies Night as usual, and enter
tainment progided.
Several out of town gutsts will be
present, and among these will be Miss
Smith, district supervisor of Home
Economics, and Mr. John W. Good
man, District county agent for West
ern North Carolina. The other gutsts
will be leading men and women from
our cwn county.
There is every indication that the
attendance will Ik- good and, judging
from the past, both guests and mem
bers will enjoy the inspirational ad
dresses and entertainment features.
! J. A. PORTER, OF
FRANKLIN ACTS
FOR COMMISSION
Revoking of Order Allowing Bank To
Procred With Ooening
Comet as Shock
David Daden. representing John
Mitchell, chi f St^te Rank Examiner
told the .stockholders and officers
and citizens committee at a call
meeting Wedn sdav night that the
hank of Murphy was not going to he
allowed to open hut the Corporation
i Comm,usion had decided to liquidate
the institution.
This statement came as a homb
I in* xepctedlv dropped into the ma
chinery and efforts <>f those who
were working diligently to meet the
LEE ADVISES
LIQUIDATION
BEING DELAYED
? o ?
Tbf following telegram from Hon.
\V. T. Lee. chairman of the Corpora
tion Commission, is in response to
one sent Mr. I.ee for a statement for
the press:
RALEIGH N CAR 338P JAN 22
THE CHEROKEE SCOUT
MURPHY N CAR
NOTHING WILL BE DONE IN THE
MATTER LIQUIDATION BANK OF
MURPHY UNTIL FURTHER
ADVICE
W T LEE
CHAIRMAN CORPORATION
COMMISSION
308P
I
conditions as laid down by G. N.
Hen son, State liquidating- agent for
the closed hanks of W. stern North
Carolina, and dashed to pieces the
high hopes of the people of this sec
tion after digesting the ntws carried
in these columns last week that the
bank was preparing to open.
As to the reason for revoking the
I ord r or agreement of last week Mr.
Darden told the committee and of
ficials that it appeared to the Com
mission that they were doing nothing
toward opening the bank and that
the Commission was getting tired of
it. He also stated that the Commis
sion did not want any more "straw
banks" and if they allowed the Bank
of Murphy to open they would catch
Mr. Darden was asked the question
of what would be his idea or suggest
ion for the opening of the bank. To
this he replied that it would require
$36,000.00 in cash.
So dumbfounded were those as>
sembled and heard the annourfce
ment that few could find tongues
for speech. The officials of th?e bank
and the committee who have been
working to get the agreements be
tween the depositors and the bank
signed up, have discontinued that
phase of the work, but are hopeful
that things can be worked out and
negotiations can go forward for the
opening.
J. A. Porter, of Franklin, has been
I appointed as liquidating agent for
| the bank of Murphy and also for the
Clay County Hank at Hayesvitte. As
isisting Mr. Porter at Murphy will be
j Billy Davis, of Sylva. It is unden
stood that Miss Myrtle Scroggs will
assist him in liquidating the bank at
Hayesville.
Mr. Porter is well and favorably
known in this section, having been a
former citizen of Cherokee County.
; He took charge of both institutions
j Wednesday and Thursday of this
week.
Mr. Porter appears to be a clean
? rut gentleman, and his statement is
different from that of Mr. Darden
with reference to the liquidating of
the bank. According to Mr. Porter,
he is htre to do everything in his
power to -assist the stockholders and
depositors to open the Bank of Mur
phy and the Clay County bank.
He said that the appointment of
1 a liquidating agent for the two banks
was a necessary step for the Cor
poration Commission in order to
(Continued on pace 8)