North Carolina Newspapers

MARION PROGRESS A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE BEST INTEREST OF THE PEOPLE OF MARION AND McDOWELL COUNTY ESTABLISHED 1896 MARION, N. C., THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 1929 VOL. XXXIV—NO. 8 SETTLEMENT OF THE STRIKE FAILS Conferences End After Failure To Reach Agreement-*—Situ ation Complicated. Interest in the strike situation has centered around the action of the members of the conciliation com mittee named by Judge N. A. Town send, which committee has been in conference almost continuously for a week. Judge Townsend has presid ed at the meetings of the committee^ which is made up of six men, three reprsenting the mill officials and three representing the striking em ployees. This committee is composed of J. L. Morgan, J. W. Winborne and B. M. Hart, representing the mill officials, and J. J. Connor, D. L. Epley and D. L. Roland, represent ing the strikers. After numerous conferences the committee was unable to agree upon terms of settlement, and Judge Townsend, after further conference with Governor Gardner at Shelby, is said to have offered a new proposi tion embracing a “common ground’ for settlement. This proposition has been the subject of much specula tion by the general public, the text of the proposition or proposed agreement not having been made known to the public. It was general ly understood that the conciliation committee had tentatively agreed upon terms of settlement on Satur day afternoon and adjourned, to confer with the respective partiec to the controversy — the mills and strikers. During the week, while the com mittee has been at work upon the terms of settlement of the strike, and while the troops called here more than a week ago, continued to be quartered at the court house, a number of disturbances have taken place in blasts of dynamite being set off, and the home of an overseer being fired upon, seemed to be the most alarm ing of the disorders. One man was arrested, charged with placing dyna mite under the home of a loyal mill worker. The hearing in this case was postponed from Tuesday to Friday afternoon. No damage was done and the arrested man claims to have had no part in the affair. Leon Moore was the man who was arrested, un der k warrant sworn out by C. H. Wood, who claims to have seen Moore place the dynamite under his (Wood’s) house. being influenced and directed by Alfred Hoffman, who represents the American i^ederation of Labor, and that the agreement, as finally • ar rived at by the original ^committee and sub-committee, was materially changed and sixteen new points sub mitted for ratification, embodying statements to which the mills would not agree. Judge N. A. Townsend, the per sonal representative and executive counsel of Governor Gardner, is sued a statement, placing responsi bility for failure to reach terms of settlement entire upon the mill own ers, or that is the interpretation put upon Judge Townsend’s statement, in which he says there was no mate rial change in the proposition as agreed upon by the committee. Alfred Hoffman issued a state ment, asserting that the disorders in the mill villages have been caused by those who, he alleges, want troops placed in the mill villages. He de clared that the strikers are conduct ing a peaceful picketing of the mill villages. These disorders consist of the continued exploding of dyna mite, the firing upon the home of an verseer of the mill, and other disor ders of a similar nature. One man has been arrested for placing dyna mite under the house of a mill work er and is now on bond, awaiting trial The people of Marion and this en tire section are greatly interested in the situation, and much regret is felt at the failure of the committee to reach a satisfactory settlement. The troops are stationed at the court house, as they have been for the past ten days. It is stated that B. M. Hart, president and treasurer of the Clinchfield Mfg. Co., has reques ted that the troops be placed in the mill village, or protection to the mill workers and property. C.D.CORPENING TAKEN BY DEATH BIG LAKE TAHOMA Well Known -Citizen Passes After an Illness of Several Weeks; Funeral Wednesday the North Carolina Board of Conser- O'T/l'Tl? CIUDAI I MltKTT tvation and Development, as vice- ijlflllj IjIiIXvLiIjImLiIi 1 1 president" Alfred S. Barnard, prom- nFVFl flPMFNT QH! n Ashevllle attorney, secretary; 1/L f LiLUl iflljn I JULiI/ and D. W. Adams, of Old Fort, and Funeral service was held at the First Baptist Church Wednesday af ternoon at 4 o’clock, for Champ Da vid Corpening, who died at a hospi tal in Statesville Tuesday afternoon at 3 o’clock. He had been in the hos pital there for about two weeks and was operated on Saturday, but no relief could be had. The body was brought to Marion by an undertaker of Statesville and the funeral held at the Baptist Church with the Rev. J. C. Story, the Rev. P. D. M'angum, and Rev. Mr. Bradley, pastor of the Race Street Methodist Church, of Statesville, in charge. Interment took place in the Hoover cemetery, in the family plot. Mr. Corpening was a splendid cit izen and was held in high esteem by a large circle of friends. He has spent most of his life in a quiet man ner on his farm about two miles Million Dollars Will Be Spent To Improve Property— Ho tel and Club House Planned Sale of the beautiful 3,500 acre Lake Tahoma Development, which nestles in the shadow of Mt. Mitch ell, just a short distance from Mar ion, to R. M. Mead, prominent busi ness man and capitalist of Cleve land, and a group of associates for a price of approximately $1,000,000, was announced Saturday by the for mer owners of the development, J. Q. Gilkey, of Marion, A. M. Kistler, of Morganton, G. W. Chapman, of Marion, and the estate of D. E. Hudgins, of Marlon. Coincident with the announcement of the sale and transfer of the de velopment, which adjoins the Pisgah National Forest, the new owners an nounced plans for extensive and elaborate developments of the prop erty at an additional cost of approx imately $1,000,000. Plans already completed for the j improvements will, when consumma- south of Marion. Mr. Corpening was 71 years of j ted, transform the Lake Tahoma age and is survived by three sons \ properties into one of the most and five daughters, as follows: Ed- beautiful resort and club develop- MRS. MATTIE S. KIRBY DIES HERE SUDDENLY Mrs. Mattie Kirby, widow of the late Millard F. Kirby, of Charlotte, win Corpening, of Bryson City; Jes se Corpening, of Starke, Florida; George Corpening, of Asheville; Mrs. W. A. Landis, Statesville; Mis ses Emma, Gladys and Lurline Cor pening, of Marion, and Miss Flor ence Corpening, of Statesville. One brother, B. F. Corpening, of Route 1, also survives. PART - TIME BUSINESS SCHOOL OPENS SEPT. 4 ments in America, the new owners stated. The plan of improvements under taken by Mr. Gilkey and his associa tes in the early months of 1925 transformed a natural beauty spot, easily accessible to the main high ways, into a recreation place of re markable attractiveness. The new owners will use the pres ent improvements for the nucleus of a development which calls for the immediate enlargement and beauti fication of the casino, the construc tion' of a two-story rustic hotel. The part-time Business School conducted in connection with the died at the home of her daughter, j Commercial Department of the Ma-j probably containing 115 rooms, the Mrs. W. K. M. Gilkey, last Friday | rion High School will hold its first j erection of a private club house, a the mill villages* numerous i evening, her death being caused by j session Wednesday, Sept. 4th, at j gemi-public club house, a private ’ stroke. Mrs. Kirby’s sudden. pas-j 3:30. Anyone who is n^t a regularly i golf course, a semi-public golf J. H. Smith, of Asheville, as direc tors. The Lake Tahoma development, the owners announced, is not to be a real estate promotion or stock sale scheme of any kind, but a sound rec reation and sportsmen’s develop ment, with provision for the general public also. Mr. Mead, president of the new corporation, is a business man of wide connections in Ohio and in the East. He has for a number of years been vitally interested in elec trical power development and allied business in many states. The Lake Tahoma properties will not, howev er, have any connection with his other companies, this being entirely a personal project on the part of Mr. Mead, who has fallen deeply in love with Western North Carolina. Mr. Mead has already moved his home to Asheville, and after his handsome residence is completed at Lake Tahoma, expects to move there Sportsmen’s Paradise Some of the many natural advan tages which the new owners believe will make the development a sports men’s paradise and attract many people when it has been completed is an almost complete absence of fogs, prevalent in many other sec tions of Western North Carolina and the Blue Ridge mountains; an even- all - the - year - around climate and temperature, with modified winters; a range to 6,700 feet, making winter sports possible on the higher loca tions ; its situation within the Iso- Thermal belt, with its low range hu midity and health atmosphere. The new owners, looking ahead to the rapid development of air travel in this country, have optioned land adjoining the development for the location of a modern airport. Air service to the North and East at 0FHIGHSCH0015 Summary Shows 89 Per Cent Increase in the Rural High Schools in Past Five Years. Raleigh, Aug. 26.—^Approximate ly 110,000 boys and girls were en rolled in the public high schools of the State during the session just closed, it was learned today at the office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction from a summary taken from thes taoin shrdlu vbgfrh of the figures taken from the reports of these high schools. A total of 96,739, or 88 per cent of the 109,975, were white boys and girls. The remaining 13,236 were negro pupils, 3,779 in rural schools and 9,457 in city schools. More than 61,000 of the white children atten ded rural high schools, and over 35,- 000 attended city schools. Five years ago, 1923-24, there were only 32,415 rural boys and girls and 26,369 city children, a to tal of 58,784 boys and girls, seeking a high school education. The large increase of 89 per cent in number of rural boys and girls taking advan tage of the opportunity of a high school education indicates, according to school authorities, the holding power of the recently erected rural high schools. “Formerly,” they say, “most rural boys and girls left the elementary school provided for them without seeking the advantages of a high school education, whereas now these same rural boys and girls in increasing numbers go on to the high schools provided for them.” This past year, there were 35,410 white children in the eighth grade. sing was a great shock to her rela tives and friends. At the time she was stricken one of her grandchil dren was in the room with her, and seeing that her grandmother was apparently fainting, called help, but it was seen that the end was near. Mrs. Kirby had been reading a mag azine and had remarked about the | for one or more of the business sub interest of the article she was read- jects offered are urged to be on ing just a few minutes before shej^and the opening day, Wednesday, was stricken. The remains were September 4th, at 3:30. Quite enrolled student of the Marion High j course, as well as private and public School may enroll in the part-time j beaches, and a residential section school. Judging from inquiries com- which will include the erection of a ing in to Prof. Klontz, a large en- j $75,000 to $80,000 private home for rollment is anticipated. As hereto- j jyir. Mead, who is now living in fore, the part-time school will be held in the Commercial rooms at the high school. Those desiring to enroll taken to Charlotte for interment in the Elmwood cemetery of that city. The funeral services were conduc ted at the First Methodist Church of number of Asheville. Transformation of Lake Tahoma into a sportsman’s paradise is the aim of the new owners, they stated. After studying location in various parts of Western North Carolina for a period of over 18 months, Mr. students have already | Mead and his associates finally de completed courses in this part-time school and are holding good posi tions. There is no tuition charge. Monday with reference to the use ofjA short service was held in Marion! and supplies needed I conducted by explosives at night, which has great-j Saturday morning, ly disturbed the citizens of the town | Rev. W. O. Goode, assisted by Rev. I'mmodiafA vioinitv- esneciallv E. 0. Cole and Rev. J. C. Story. Mrs. Kirby was well known here. n and immediate vicinity, especially patients at the hospital and other nervous and sick people. Since that no further blasts have been Iieard, and there has been compara- ive quiet since Monday night. The troops remain in town, and seem to be enjoying their stay in Marion. They drill twice daily and maintain the routine life of a sol dier. During the day, while not on duty, they while away the time, playing games, reading, sleeping and visiting the various places of amuse ment and points of interest of the town and surrounding territory. Tuesday the committee met, it is stated, to go over the written draft of the agreement reached by the committee Monday, a sub-commit tee having been appointed to put the agreement in writing. There was some difficulty in obtaining complete ratification of the agreement, as An ally reduced to written form. Judge Townsend has handled the entire ne gotiations and has constantly ex pressed the hope that the agreement would be ratified by both the mills and the strikers. Meetings of the committee and sub - committee continued, with Judge Townsend here and in charge of the negotiations. After prolonged discussion the members of the com mittee were unable to agree upon final settlement and adjourned. Following the end of negotiations in an effort to adjust the differences, and the withdrawal of mill officials from further conferences, state ments were made by B. M. Hart, setting forth the claims of the mills, and giving as their reason for refus ing to take part in further negotia tion, the fact that the strikers’ rep resentatives on the committee were having visited her daughter and other relatives at intervals for a number of years. At the time of her death she was 73 years of age. She is survived by seven children, as follows: M. S. Kirby, of Gastonia; W. C. Kirby, of Decatur, Ga.; John Kirby, of Gastonia; Mrs. W. K. M. Gilkey, of Marion; Miss Mary Kir by, of Charlotte; R. S. Kirby, of Charlotte, and Mrs. M. W. Mann, of Nashville, Tenn. She is also survived by one sister, Mrs. J. W. Kirby, of Morganton. IMISS DORIS TROUTMAN MARRIED IN NEW YORK Announcement has been made by Mrs. L. A. O’Neal, of Normandy | public, including the private bou- DISTRICT PASTORS HOLD CONFERENCE IN MARION A district meeting of the pastors in the Marion district was held at the First Methodist Church in Mari on Monday morning at 10:30. Over thirty pastors from over the district were present and gave reports on the work of the several charges dur ing the conference year. Rev. E. 0. Cole, district presiding elder, was in charge of the confer ence and atfer a brief summary of the outstanding achievements in work in the district turned the con ference over to Dr. H. B. Trimble, who discussed in an interesting man ner the problems and responsibilities of stewardship. Bishop Mouzon was also in atten dance and made a short tialk on pas toral relationship. His remarks were timely and well received. Folowing the conference luncheon was served by the Ladies Aid Socie ty at the church hut. At the Marion, Theatre, next Monday and Tuesday, CLARA BOW in “THE WILD PARTY”. cided upon Lake Tahoma, already famous as a fishing ground and hunting area, as offering more nat ural advantages for complete, all year-round mountain playground than any other location in the region Part of the property on the east side of the lake opposite the main highway will be closed to the gener- Road, Fontainbleau, of the marriage of her daughter, Miss Doris Eliza Troutman to Mr. Em jo Hode Basshe at Wurtsboro, N. Y., on April 1st. Miss Troutman graduated from the Asheville High School in 1927 and during her high school days took leading roles in many of the high school dramatic pr«seirtations. Following her graduation here she went to New York and was accepted by the Provincetown Theatre to play in productions. Presentations in which she has had parts havfe been “Singing Jailbirds” and “Airways Incorporated,” both of which were directed by Mr. Basshe. She has been engaged by the Provincetown Theatre and will begin her third year there this season. Mr. Basshe is a playwright, direc tor and author of “Earth,” “Adam’s Solitaire,” and “The Centuries,” also a large group of one-act plays which have been produced. Mr. and Mrs. Basshe are now at home at “Rock Tavern,” Orange County, New York. They will re turn to New York City about Sep tember 1st.—Asheville Citizen. DEATH OF CHILD Mildred D. Haney, nine year old daughter of Mrs. W. D. Haney, died at her home at Clinchfield on last Thursday after an illness of several months. The funeral services were held at the Clinchfield Baptist Church Friday afternoon at 2:30 o’ clock by Rev. W. H. McMahan and Rev. A. A. Walker and interment made at Cross Mill cemetery. E. H. Dysart is remodeling his residence on North Main street. ! 26,333 in the ninth grade, 19,859 in , . JO. - r~II^7\7ithe tenth grade, and 15,137 in the later date is proposed as a part of j j 4. * 1 ^ nc rroa J , i., 4-i. „ eleventh grade—a total of 96,739, the development s attractions. , v,■ mnn ^ or nearly 7,000 more than m 1927- OLD FORT HIGH OPENS ^ j 4. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND | Buncombe county leads the State I in having the largest number of ru- Old Fort. Aug. 28. — Mr. S. '>7* and girb, 2 394, en- Smithey. principal, announces >” ?“*>>>= '"f'’ levard now connecting this part of the property with the main highway. This area will be developed into pri vate estates. Also on this side of the lake will be built the projected Lake Tahoma club, the Lake Taho ma Bachelors club, an 18-hole pri vate golf course, as a preliminary nucleus for the ultimate develop ment of one of the sportiest play grounds in the entire South. Plans for the development of the hotel, club Tiouse and Mr. Mead’s private home have already been pre pared by Beacham and LeGrand. The new structures will all be of the rustic type. The enlarged casino will provide a central tower and a bea con light. Included in the plans for early development is also a projec ted airl)Oi?t. Lake fahoma is already regarded as one of the most beautiful spots in Western North Carolina. Lying as it does within the shade of Mt. Mitch ell, with the forests of the Pisgah National reserve adjoining it, the former owners had already taken great pains to have it attractively landscaped by E. S. Draper of Char lotte, a distinguished landscape art ist. Sewage lines for the develop ment have already been laid out by J. L. Ludlow and Company, and the dam, now completed, was the work of engineers of the Duke Power company. A power plant operated by the dam supplies light and power for the development. The new project will be held and managed by a corporation known as the Lake Tahoma Corporation with R. M. Mead, president; J. Q. Gilkey, a former owner, and a member of Old Fort High School will openon Monday morning, Sept. 2nd. On the opening day all students will be classified and orders placed for books. Tuesday morning at 8:30 regular class work will begin. Par ents are urged to come out the op ening day and participate in the op ening exercises. County Superin tendent Nolan is expected to be present and have* something to say concerning the present and future plans for Old Fort. Considerable repairs to the roof and interior of the grammar grade building have been made in the last few weeks. The original little brick building has been remodeled and is now equipped to house all the scien ces. The Home Economics depart ment and the Sciende laboratories are now in this building. Additional equipment for these laboratories is being added so that they will meet fully the standard requirements of the State Department of Education. Additional sets of supplementary books for the elementary school and reference books and fiction for the high school are also being added. As a result of these needed improve ments Old Fort High School will have the best plant in its history. So far as instruction is concerned the organization will be about the same as it was last year. Some min or changes will be made so as to in crease the use of the library and ex tend tiie athletic program. Parents are urged to send their children the first day and every day thereafter. According to last year’s report, the schools of McDowell county had an average attendance of 75 percent. Students simply cannot stay out of school and expect to be promoted at the end of the year. The progrram of study that is being required of stu dents at this time is so arranged that it takes most of the time of the best students. Those of average ability and training and below should plan to be on the job ev6ry day. More than one-fourth of the rural white high school enrollment is in the fol lowing eleven counties: Buncombe, 2,394; Mecklenburg, 1,635; John ston, 1,599; Union, 1,508; Guilford, 1,476; Rutherford, 1,451; Robeson, 1,308; Harnett, 1,159; and Forsyth, 1,131. BIRTHDAY PARTY Union Mills, Rt. 1, Aug. 26.—Mr. and Mrs. D. Boultmann, of St. Pet ersburg, Fla., who spend their sum mers at their summer home near the “White House”, celebrated the fifth birthday of their little daughter, Emily Violet, last Friday from 3 un til 6 o’clock. The dining room was prettily decorated in white and yel low. The dining table was beautiful ly laden with fruits, cakes and can dies. In the center was a white cake with pink candles. After playing games the children were bidden to this table. Prizes were awarded to the fol lowing in the contest games: Stancil and Hazel Nanney, Ward and Billy Harris. Little Miss Emily Violet re ceived several pretty gifts. Those present were, Stancil and Hazel Nanney, Jessie, Jean, Dodd, Ward, Hoyt, Thad and Billy Harris. The afternoon was thoroughly en joyed by all present. MARION MEN PASS LAW TEST OF STATE COURT SCHOOL AOPENS FRIDAY The Marion Public School will op en Friday with the registration of all high school and grammar grade pupils. Regular class room work will not be resumed, after Friday’s open ing, until Tuesday, Sept. 3rd, the object being to be prepared for ef fective work with the first regular school day. The school day will be gin this year at 8:45. Two Marion residents success fully passed the bar examination to practice law, which was given last Monday at Raleigh, according to an nouncement by the State Supreme Court. The two Marion men are Daniel Edward Hudgins, Jr., and Carter Hudgins. MARION MAN HONORED H. D. Hoover, commander of McDowell Post, American Legion, was elected commander of the tenth district of the legion at the State meeting held in Raleigh during the week. Col. Geo. K. Freeman, of Golds boro, was elected commander of the North Carolina department of the American Legion and Mrs. R. S. Mc- Geachy, of Kinston, was named pres ident of hte Legion auxiliary. CLARA BOW, the IT girl, will be at Marion Theatre next Monday and Tuesday in “THE WILD PAR TY”.