Newspapers / The Danbury Reporter (Danbury, … / Dec. 31, 1930, edition 1 / Page 2
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PAGE TWO The Danbury Keportei N. E. and E. P. PEPPER, Pubs WEDNESDAY, DEC. 31, 1930 Bank of Stokes County Causes Of Its Failure Depositors Mlust * Share In the Respon sibility For Its Sus pension Public Re acts and Looks The Situation Coldly In the I Face, With a Grain of Charity. When (he Bank of Stoke* County went down, every de positor who had been paid six per cent, by the Bank for his or her money, was to that ex tent a co-sharer in fhe respon sibility for its dis;- ,ter. It has been now more than a month and a third sintv Stokes county's main financial institution closed its doors. Much water has passed under the bridge since that black Wednesday in Stokes county. The snow has fallen and melted, and Christmas has come and gone. The shock has spent it self. and the public has had time to look the situation dis passionately in the foce. an:i to feel a small tingling of char ity for thnjse who have been charged with the responsibility of the bank's failure. The Bank of Stokes County was a six-per cent. bank. This was the fundamental reason why it could not go on. There were other contributing causes. The great immediate cause was the unparallelled disaster which has folded its sinister wings on the thousands of farmer - doorsteps in Stokes county. The five thousand farmer-patrons. victims of drought and continued bad crop years, were left in a posi tion where they could neither deposit nor pay. The Bank of Stokes County wa,4 an agricultural hank whol ly—a farrier's bank. Those who have 1 been studying the calamity which is the portion of agriculture and farming throughout the world todayk can understand why a farmer's bank should fail. The Bank of Stokes County was caught in the undertow. It sank. It could not do anything else. As this farmer's bank was paying its farmer-patrons six per cent, for their money, necessarily it had to loan this money at six per cent, plus to meet dividends and expen se®. Money-market paper, stocks and bonds etc., these things do not pay over 4, 5 or 5 1-2 per cent. So the Bank of Stokes County let the farmers have the money back again, and when the squalls came it had no securities in its vaults on which it could quickly real ize to meet a (serious and con tinuing decline in deposits. Only in the fall when the far mer realized, could the bank realize. When the farmer fail ed to realize, the bank failed with him. Both went down to gether. The Bank of Stokes County had a yearly interest pay-roll of around SIOO,OOO. This mon ey went into the pockets of its farmer-depositors. For many years the bank made v money, and paid good divi dends to its stockholders. From _ 8 to 12 per cent, was paid for 1. years. A year or two ago - when tobacco conditions got so r , bad, and everything slumped, e the dividends were passed. t The steady decline of farm - products since 1920 meant ac cumulating ruin to farmers - everywhere. Many farmers £ found themselves at the end of [1 the year unable to pay out, and 1 had to be carried over, and I they would need help again the 1 year following. Lands declined *5 following. Lands declined - seriously. If the Federal land x baks had to take in $40,000,- s 000 of farms, with their ultra - con«?rvative appu'sals, a coun• " try bank with its loans almost entirely to farmers, might rea i sonably be expeU'il to have ' suffered. I The adamant decision of the -.State Banking dvv:rhrent in r forcing a liquidation if (he as ' sets of the Bank ol' Stokes • County when its depositors • | were willing to pay any losses II up to $250,000, cannot be un ■, derstood by the people of I; Stokes county, who consider • it a tragedy. I j It is well known that the j management of the bank was j alive to the danger of the six '; per cent, policy, and was doing i all in its power to cope with the j evil and eradicate it, when con -1 ditions of the last two years : ! owing to crop failures among ', its patrons made it necessary ■| to use every recourse to con -1 serve the assets of the bank ' | until a crop could be made, and its cash reserves built up from j its collections. The six per 1 cent, evil had grown slowly', ' I and it could not be eliminated all at once. The change must ' be gradual. If the bank had carried large reserves of liquid asset)}, the change could have been radical, and would have been. The management was fully alive to the interests ef j itsj patrons and stockholders, | and was awake to the dangers. : But it needed time. ! The depositors of the Bank jof Stokes County having pro fited from the conditions which i caused its downfall, it now ! stands them in hand to lend a j meed of charity, and to co-op , crate for the best advantage ;of all concerned, and in this ,; way they will best serve their i cwn interests. There is much ; talk of various kinds in the air. . and a great deal of it comes from ignorant, vicious people > who do not understand. Then • there is the incendiary element, i ( who want trouble, and who fan ; the fears and goad the ignor- I , ance of the unlearned. There t is still another type who are j waiting like vultures to feed on - j the carcass and who mean to . 1 profit from the wrecks of good . men. -1 But there is a very large fol [ j lowing who view the situation . 1 with judgment, patience and I; charity, realizing that the . | bank's management are not | crooks, but are honest men, who r ■ are ready to sacrifice them- I selves and all they have or ev -1 er hope to have in bringing out i the situation with the least ' possible hurt to everybody con > cerned. THE DANBURY REPORTER - Lessons of the Ages. i r There was never a crisis ir 9 history but that it bore ar 3 underlying meaning mappec out by the Creator, and from J which humanity, though bereft i and not understanding, was left a degree further in th« scale toward a higher and hap 3 pier destiny. j War, famine, pestilence j drouth, are sometimes cruci j bles through which the soul passes that its latter state ma\ j be made better. Gold ife finer j when it negotiates the furnace. I Character grows from suffer ing. The children of the year i Nineteen Hundred Thirty will ,j reJafe to their grandchildren besids the home firesides in (the days to come the exper iences of the evil days, the most trying, the most ill-fated jin the country's history. Yet ■ the lessons learned from our | suffering will strengthen their ■ understanding, impressing in delibly on their consciousness the virtues of truth, faith, thrift, economy, and will warn them to swerve always away from the pitfalls of destiny. Then in the total, we shall have profited from our regrets and our tears. Now the old year has gone, and God speed it. The new year stands debonnair and smiling on the threshhold, radiant with the future's bright promises. Welcome in the newcomer, and ring out the old. Ring out the false, and ring in the true. Let us turn our faces from the ashes of the past, and look to the sunrise skipping across the hills. Happier days and better times are coming back to the world, and the castle of our dreams may yet rear into the air its pointed spires, and may our abiding faith wail patiently and prayerfully'. Rewarding: the Faithful "To the victors belong the spoils" is not only an old-fash ioned Democratic doctrine. It is also an old fashioned Repub lican doctrine, with a big D. From time immemorial both of the great political parties, as well as all other parties, asso ciations, leagues, cliques, cults and sects have observed the principle of taking care of their friends, and showing scant shrift to enemies. When this policy falls into desuetude, po litical parties will crumble at the core, and exjfst no more. The civil service rules of the federal government are only a beautiful tissue of fiction. They are always made to func tion to the advantage of the partyyin power. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a Dem ocrat to get an R. F. D. line. The Republican party has too much sense for this monkey wrench to lodge in its machin ery. A party that rewards its enemies while its faithful friends stand out in the cold and eat the crumbs that fall from the table, will find when it sends out S. O. S. calls that its integrity has disintegrated. i Help For Farmers. n The news that help is now n available for farmers will be heard with a sigh of genuine " relief in Stokes county, where farming has been smitten tin 's der the fifth rib. Stand on the e warehouse floors and see the Stokes crop go, if you want to ; know how it feels to be real sick. Averages, less than five cents. Good tobacco that it took man, woman and child y long months to make, slipping r away and simmering away to nothing under the song of the " j auctioneer. Many of the best I farmer's in the county finishing J r with less than SIOO for the " whole crop. Leads of good * ieaf going at $3.00, some for • I less, some for less than the * price c' tiie gas it took to haul e it to market. We heard of one * poor farmer who owed the; ' warehouse 10 cents, after the, ' sale. Fertilizer bil's to pay, r clothing and shoes to buy for | " the children, who are nakea 5 and barefooted. No corn or; ' j feedstuffs at home to feed the I I stock and cattle. Nearly* every r merchant broke or crippled, ' every guano dealer staggering, l or down and out, individuals 1 with their savings in the hands of a receiver, and now a rigor ous, long winter before us. If anything but federal aid can handle this pitiable situa tion, please name it. "Would Have Adorned the High Station." The friends of the lamented Humphreys will read with in terest and appreciation this tribute to him from Senator Josiah W. Bailey: Raleigh, N. C., Dec. 29, 1930. , The Messrs. Pepper, ] Danbury Reporter, Danbury, N. C. Gentlemen: j I have read your editorial entitled "Adieu," and I wish to thank you for it. It Is ex cellently well written, is true and just. It is a great thing to have deserved such a trib bute. After reading it I feel all the more keenly the loss we all suffered hi the death of Mr. Surely he would have adorned the high sta tion to which the people hsd called him. Yours very truly, J. W. BAILEY. Dance and Bridge Party Last Night Tw o of the nice events of i the Christmas season were the dance given by Miss Miriam Hall and the bridge party by Edith Fagg, given at their re -1 spective homes here last night. ' Both events were attended by ■ large numbers of the young people and were thoroughly en ■ joyed. > l Edwin Couples set an air i mail record by flying 127 miles i in 48 minutes on the Cleveland- I Pittsburgh line. I The next internatinal Boy 1 Scout conference will be held in Salisburg, Austria, in 1931. OTTO WOOD MEETS HIS FATE Shot To Death By Salisbury Policeman When He At tempted To Escape—Ordered Policemen To Escort Him Out of Town. Dying like he had lived, Otto Wood, North Carolina's most written about • criminal, was I killed in a gun battle with Chief of Police R. L. Rankin in Salisbury Wednesday. In death as in life, Otto pro ved "good copy," a matter j which had always been of ! prime importance to the pub licity hungry, one-armed ban dit-murderer who fcur times escaped from State prison, i n addition to escapes from four other State penitentaries, says the Newe and Observer. If Otto Wood had accompli shed his escape from the Salis • bury officers Wednesday—and • he would have but for the dar ; ing of Chief Rankin, whom ha had covered with his pistol— it would have been his most sensational getawaj#. Recog zed by the Chief and assistant Chief J. J. Kesler and another officer, who had been "tipped off" to Otto's presence in the town, Wood had his pistol out, was climing into the officer's own car and had ordered them to drive him out of town. Then Chief Rankin took a chance, ducked, pulled his own gun and began the battle which ended with the eleventh shot—this being the one that killed Otto Wood. Hunted throughout the coun try since he made his fourth escape from the State prison on July 10, Wood drove into Salisbury with a companion, Ray B. Barker, of Saint Paul, Va., about noon. An unidenti fied man told the officers he was in town and though the report was one that had been made in many North Carolina towns du ring the last months—usually without foundation —the Chief and his assistant went to in vestigate. They found Wood and Barker on East Innes St., a block and a half fromthe po lice station. The Chief, driving the car, pulled up to the curb. "Come here, buddy*," he cal led. "What do you want." said Wood, cursing. "Let's see your other hand," answered the chief, knowing that Otto had lost a hand. "I'm Otto. Wood, here's mv hand,"'shouted Wood, whipping out a .45 caliber pistol. "Move and I'll kill both of you." Wood ordered Barker into the rear seat of the car and with the pistol pointing at the officers, climbed into the seat beside him, ordering the Chief to drive him away. Reaching for the gear lever, as if to obey the command, Chief Rankin made his bid for fame. He opened the door, ducked and slipped from the car, drawing his own y'stol as he left. Using the car as a pro tection, he fired through the windshield. The bandit re turned the fire. The Chief fired four shots while Wood fired three and WEDNESDAY, DEC. SI, iufl | Kesler, who left the car infl •J mediately after the Chief, I two shots. Then came the fiflf ? Y ish which Chief Rankin dA| - cribed as follows: i J "I raised up frvn behimV i the windshield. I wanted tJI end it. As I raised up I fired. Wood fired. We both shot at j the same time. Otto mined j t My bullet went home." J Wood's leg had been shit- jk , tered during the fight, but the i shot which killed him hit him near the mouth and ploughed a J great shattering wound in the ; side of his head. He was dead f almost immediately. Barker, who had' an unload ed pistol in his pocket, took no part in the fight. Onlyi one or two people wit nessed the fight, which ended J n fr.r less time than it takes to ; tell it. But the word soon . I spread through town that Otto . Wood was dead. | The body of the outlaw, for . which a reward of $275 had i 1 been offered, was taken to an . undertaker's establishment. Public Construction Work Starts Soon Washington (INS). With in the next few months public and semi-public construction work representating an eypen diture of more than $800,000,- 000 will be started in the Unit ed States with a definite relief to unemployment, Colonel Ar thur Woods, chairman of the President's emergency employ ment committee announced to day. "All of this work has ad vanced beyond the stage af producing funds, authorization, selection of sites, litigation and other preliminary steps which frequently delay public con struction programs," '• said Franklin T. Miller, head of the committee's public works sec tion. Professional CARDS Eyes Examined Glasses Fitted DR. T. E. HOLLEMAN Optometrist Woolworth Building Winston-Salem, N. C. J. W. H A L L Attorney-at-Law DANBURY, • • N. C. Prompt attention to all business. v Practice in State and Federal Courts. S. GILMER SPARGER Attorney-At-Law, (Office over Martin's store, just opposite court house. DANBURY, N. C. UI business given prompt attention. Will practice in aH State and Federal Courts. JAMES W. MANUEL* Jeweler Walnut Cove, N. C. DR. H. G. HARDING Dentist KING, - - - N. C. Office hours: t to It and 1 to V DR. W. J. CONRAD DENTIST 412-414 O'Hanlon Building Phones: Office 376—Residence BSS- Winston-Salem, N. C. Boct4t -
The Danbury Reporter (Danbury, N.C.)
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Dec. 31, 1930, edition 1
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