.J I X '
Hi"
ji'i
Uco tli2 Want Ada
Classified advertisements in The
Franklin Press bring results. If you
have something to sell or trade, try
a classified ad. The cost is small
only one cent a word with a mini
mum charge of 25 cents for each
insertion.
:
(
turb
nccrrriiatien Starts'
Lien; L&vrycrs '
CcLLict Predictions
Pr:s Canlrruptcy Dili
Tests End Dad Checks
Sip Qtgljlttttfcs Hanmimt
PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL INDEPENDENT
VOL. XLVIII, NO. 5
FRANKLIN, N. C, THURSDAY, FEB. 2. 1933
$1.50 PER YEAR
PASS 3 REORGANIZATION
BILLS -
Three of the 10 bills introduced
by the . joint committee on reor
ganization of the state govern
ment, "were passed by the senate
on Monday, abolishing' the office
of executive counsel, the director
of personnel and the tax com
mission." 79 TAKE BAR EXAMINATION
: A ; class of , 79, the smallest in
recent years, on Monday stood the
supreme court s vsemi-annual test
for those fishing to qualify for
the practice of law in the state. -
FOUR PICKED FOR CABINET
. Advisers of Predisent-elect Roos
evelt say he has finally determined
onfour members of his cabinet
Senator Glass, Virginia, as secre
tary ; of the treasury, Senator
Walsh, Montana, as attorney gen
eral, James A. Farley, of New
York, as postmaster general -and
Miss Frances Perkins, New York,
as secretary of labor.
NEW BANKRUPTCY BILL
TL - I f .
xiic iiuusc ui representatives on
Monday by 201 to 43 -passed the
bankruptcy Bill permitting debt
ridden individuals and corporations
to adiust. S(a1 down nr 'e-rtenA
their obligations' "subject to appro
val of federal courts. It is ex
pected to save railroads and other
corporations on the brink erf re
ceivership. Speedy action on the
bill is forecast in the senate.
REPORTS DELINQUENT
N. C. TAXES
Revenue . Commissioner A. J.
Maxwell last Fridayj-eported to the
genera! assembly a total of .$42,
967 in bad checks given in pay
ment of state taxes, and items
past due for over 60 days totalling
$1,227,696, together with a list of
those delinquent in payment
RECOMMENDS FREE
TEXTBOOKS
The state school book commis-
oiiMi ictuiuuicuucu rriuay 10 wc
state board of education that free
textbooks be supplied children in
elementary grades in.. North Caro-1
lina's- public schools. It is esti
mated the cost would be around
$500000 oer vear. .
. METHODIST JUNIOR COLLEGE
Bishop Edwin Mouzon -disclosed
last week that the education com
mission for the Western North
Carolina conference of "the Meth
odist Episcopal church has decided
the 'State by consolidating present
junior colleges.
STATESVILLE BANK FAILS
The First National bank of
Statesville, started in 1887, failed
to open for - business last week.
A notice said it would be liquidated
to the best interest of depositors.
LONE BANDIT IS NABBED
Robert Whiteside, of Raleigh and
Asheville, picked a , bad time for
his attempted holdup of an Ashe
ville theatre, Saturday night. Three
county -officers were" passing "in a
car. They saw Whiteside and his
gun, stopped and nabbed him as
he was scooping up the cashier's
receipts of the day.
DE VALERA HOLDS IRELAND
Final returns from last week's na
tional election in the Irish Free
State show' Eamon De Valera,
champion of a united free Ire
h"i winner of a clear majority in
v the Irish parliament. -
MINNESOTA FARMERS
REVOLT
Over 3,000 irate Minnesota farm
ers on Saturday forced a stop to
' foreclosure sales of farms in three
counties. r '
FRENCH CABINET
OVERTHROWN x
The 40-day-old French govern
ment headed by Paul-Boncour was
overthrown by the chamber of dep
ujjs, Saturday, on its financial
program. President Lebrun, asked
Eauard Daladier to attempt the
formation of a new cabinet.
GERMANY LOOKS TO HITLER
General Kurt von Schleicher and
his cabinet resigned control of the
German government Saturday in
face of united Reichstag opposition.
President Hindenburg offered the
government leadership to Adolph
Hitler, German fascist chief.
EPPERSON IS SUDAN
POTENTATE . '
Jesse H. Epperson, Durham, was
last week chosen potentate of the
Sudan temple of the Shrine in
annual meeting at New Bern. Dur
ham was selected for the spring
ceremonial,
RATIO OF FARO
TAXESSHALLER
State College Professor
Cites Comparative Tax
ation Figures
NO DISCRIMINATION
Farmer May Be Overbur
dened But He's Not
Taxed Unjustly
BY PROF. G. W. FORSTER
N. C State College
(Reprinted from (he University
z New Letter)
Taxes levied on farm property
in North Carolina were approxi
A 1 . . !
maieiy seven munon dollars in
1920, , and rose to $14,468,373 in
1927, or an increase of 107.5 per
cent. After 1927, however, the
taxes' levied began to decline. The
greatest decline came between 1930
and ,1931 when taxes levied drop
ped to $8,527,617," or a "decline in
one year of approximately 41 per
cent. ,
Pay Smaller Ratio
. Taxes7 levied on ' farm property
amounted to approximately 21 per
cent of the total taxes collected
in 1920, and about 10 per cent of
the 1931 total. The annual per
centage figures varied between
these two extremes. For the post
war periocLof 1920 to 1931JncluSr
ive, the proportion that farm taxes
were of the total declined about
53percent
The farm property tax levy in
1920 represented about 21 per cent
of the total taxes less the highway
fund. The percentage declined al
most constantly throughout this
period reaching about 13 per cent
in 1931-32.
Not Discriminated Against
Thus, it is clear that the farmers'
share of the total-taxes-declined
throughout the post-war , period,
14 snould be emphasized, however,
hat this does not prove that the
farmers' tax burden is not exces
sive or that other groups in our
state are not receiving more favor
able treatment than, the . farmer.
Itis obvious however,; from this
data that the state has been collect-,
ing a larger and larger per cent
of its total taxes from other than
farm property. It seems reason
ably safe to say also that if our
tax -system -was -fair- and - just - to
the famcrrr-192QraboOTwhlch
there may. be some question) it
would appear that our system was
fair in 1931. Or our tax system
as modified from time to time has
not apparently discriminated against
the farmer in favor of all other
classes combined.
Although it may be true that our
tax system has not discriminated
against the farmer, it may be true
that farmers are paying out more
in taxes in proportion to their
wealth than other classes in the
state. It. is interesting, therefore,
to examine the relation .which ex
ists between the Planners' shars of
the total wealth and the share of
the taxes which they pay,
XTomparing" the per cent of wealth
controlled "by farmers and the per
ceaUof -taxesJcvied-on-f arm-land
as compared with the total taxes
of the state, it seems evident that
in 1920 farmers were paying
higher per cent of the total taxes
than they controlled of the total
(Continued on page' six)
Report Shows
In Macon
Percentages of destitution in the
various counties of the state are
widely , divergent, ranging . from a
low of 4.8 per cent of the popula
tion in "Lincoln county to a high
of 54 per cent in Anson county,
according to figures released by
Dr. Fred W. Morrison, of Raleigh,
state emergency relief director.
Dr. Morrisons report showed
that only 7.2 per cent of Macon
county's population was destitute,
placing this county sixth from the
lowest. ' '
500,000 Aided
Nearly 500,000 individuals have
been provided with the necessities
of life by relief and welfare or
ganization in the various counties,
the relief director stated. Food
has been supplied to a total of
122.281 families. Families in Ma
con county aided during October,
November and December numbered
533. , ' -Interesting
Sidelights
The comparative rankings of the
percentages of destitution in the
Second Library Meeting
To Be Held Monday
A dozen person met in The
Franklin Press office Monday
night and discussed plans for
reopening the public library in
the Masonic building. Mrs. Las
sie Kelly Cunningham, who was
chairman of the old Library as
sociation, which disbanded sev
eral years ago, said there were
about 3,000 volumes in the li
brary, most of them standard
reference, history and timo-tried
fiction. The Eastern Star, she
said, now ha supervision over
the books and would be glad to
have the library reopened if a
responsible organization will see
that it is properly managed.
A second meeting was called
Cor 8 o'clock next Monday night
in The Press office, at which
time it is hoped that a. number
of members of the old Library
association will ba present. Rath
er than start a new association,
it is planned to revive the old
one. ' '
MEN GET
-RELf WORK
$3,668 Received by County
From Reconstruction
Corporation
During the past three months
around 900 men have been given
employment " onreliefprojectsln
Macon county. The work is under
the supervision of Miss Rachel
Davis, superintendent of public wel
fare in the county, and J. Earle
Lancaster, chairman of the county
Red Cross chapter.
The state has sent to Macon
county through the Reconstruction
Finance" Corporation, a total of
$3,668 and the county is scheduled
to receive around $2,000 during the
month jf February
The money ir being spent on
public -improvements,-- At - present
there are four road projects under
way in the county under the super
vision jof the State Jligh way com
mission. With the exception of a
few school districts, there ias ieen
some work done all over the coun
ty, and plans call for these dis
tricts to be aided in the near fu
tures- : '- 1
There are many other projects.
which are to be done at an early
date, such as: Road work, beauti
fying the Franklin cemetery, and
improvement of the Franklin high
school grounds.
The men are being paid at the
rate of $1 per day for common
labor, and at $120 per day for
skilled labor. For a while the men
were paid in cash, but for the past
several weeks they have been draw
ing scrip, which is in three forms,
for clothing, groceries, and other
needs.
Many organizations in Franklin
have cooperated with the Red
Cross in a splendid way. Ladies
of the Methodist, Baptist, Epis
copal and Presbyterian church and
members of the Eastern Star have
worked-iaithfullyin making -gar?
ments for men, women and chil
dren, so that the superintendent of
public welfare could have them for
distribution. Approximately 125
garments have been made by the
ladies of these organizations.
Destitution
Relatively Low
various counties provides many in
teresting sidelights. It reveals that
no one section of the state can be
singled out as a spot where the
rate is particularly high or low
with possibly two exceptions. A
dozen counties in the western sec
tion of the state, largely mountain'
ous, have the smallest percentage
of destitution and similarly the
eastern counties have the highest
rate, although there are exceptions
even in these two sections.
It is interesting to note that
the rate apparently is in no way
based upon the general economic
make-up of any county. The rate
in Forsyth, for instance with all
its industry, and in Currituck with
no industry, is the same. The rate
in Cherokee and Dare, representing
the extremes of East and West, is
virtually the same.
Perhaps the most interesting rev
elation of the study is the fact
that Stanly county, ranking second
from the top with only S.5 per
cent of destitution adjoins Anson
with the highest rate.
Consolidation of Counties
Seen as Means of Lowering
Heavy Cost of Government
The depression has resulted in
many and varied- proposals for
economy in government. One of
the most vital suggestions concerns
the consolidation of counties, pro
ponents of legislation to this and
contending that good roads and
automobiles have shortened distanc
es so tremendously that county
consolidations could be effected
without working any hardships up
on the people. They also claim
that it would greatly reduce the
costs of local government by re
ducing the number of office-holders.
A bill proposing a constitutional
amendment to authorize county
consolidations was junked by the
1931 general assembly after con
siderable committee debate. The
question is likely to come up again
at the current session of the legis
lature. : r:
An interesting article on the sub
ject, written by Paul ,W.JWager,
has been - published in the Uni
versity of North Carolina News
Letter. The Press quotes the ar
ticle in full, commending it to its
readers for serious consideration
The legislatures of thirty-six
states are convening in regular ses
sion this year. Probably others
will jmeet in special session. In
most of these assemblies important
legislation will be introduced look
ing toward a Teductionn-the tost
of local government. In some states
taxpayers' organizations are sub
mitting comprehensive, if not rev
olutionary, programs of reorganiza
tion and retrenchment.
In the improvement of . county
government North Carolina has al
ready advanced beyond most states,
thus there exists less need for rad
ical T:hangesthaninsome- other
states. For the most part the
shortcomings which now -exist in
North Carolina are not due" to faul
ty laws but to weaknesses in ad
ministration. The enabling legisla
tion has already been enacted. For
instance," the way has been" paved
for competent accountants and
strict budgeting control, the, aboli
tion of the treasurer's of f ice, the
appointment of a purchasing agent
or county manager, and the joint
support of certain services or agen
cies .Jy two ...or :lmorcadjoining
Counties.-Moreoverra-state -agency
has been created to assist counties
and other local units in solving
fiscal and administrative problems.
The failure of certain counties to
meaesure up to the high standards
contemplated by the law or to take
advantage of its provision call for
local enterprise rather than, legis-
ative action.
For Tax Relief
There is one major reform, how-
a . t T
ever, to wnicn me legislature
should give its attention. This is
one which is being agitated in no
less than thirty-two states, and
which will " probably b given" legis-
ative attention in a - number ot
them. Reference is made to the
problem of county consolidation
There is pretty, general agreement
thatJthcrearcrnoreunitsoL rural
local government today than are
needed with modern methods of
transportation and communication.
Specifically, in the South, there
are too many counties. This is
true in North Carolina. The state
has one hundred counties differing
widely in population and wealth
Many of them lack the capacity to
support the services essential to
the development of an enlightened
and cultured rural civilization. This
is mainly because there are more
seats of government than there
are trade centers, more taxing units
than there are trade and. resource
areas'. There are forty-six counties
which do not have a town of 2,
500 population. There are at least
thirty counties whose county seats
are not developing into active trade
centers. The people of these coun
ties are doing their banking and
trading in the larger towns of ad
joining counties. The result is that
the accumulating wealth of these
larger towns is taxed to support a
smaller area than that from which
it is recruited. The strictly rural
counties thus suffer a high tax
rate, or inferior governmental ser-
vices, or both. As a matter o!
equity county boundaries should be
recast to conform with the new
and larger economic areas which
modern transportation has brought
into being.
- Lower Cost, Better Service
Again, it will be generally found
that it is the poorer counties which
have the most inefficient offices.
the most lax financial practices', and
the highest overhead costs in re
lation to volume of business done.
It is reasonable to believe that if
each of these weak counties were
annexed to a richer adjoining coun
ty the administrative staff of the
larger county would have to be
increased hardly at all, a better
quality of service could be ex
tended over the whole area, and
the tax rate enjoyed by the whole
area would be only slightly, if
any, above that of the more favor
ed county now. That is it would
probably be true except for the
item of debt service. If the debts
of the two or more counties enter
ing into the consolidation were not
in the same proportion to assessed
value no injustice need result, for
each could remain a taxing district
for debt purposes until the debt
was liquidated or equalized.
Ail Aid to Democracy
The consolidation, or better the
redrafting, of counties might there
fore" be expected tor" reduce "and
equalize the cost of local govern
ment, improve the quality of pub
lic services, and increase the dig
nity of the county offices. Most
important of all, the enlargement,
in some instances, of the local unit
of government, making it coter
minous with an economic area and
giving it a strong trade and culture
center as its capital, might prove
to be the tonic necessary-to-revive
and strengthen local self-government.
- It is important that local
self-government be preserved, but
if it is to be preserved the local
political unit must be expanded to
conform to tbj; larger social com
munity which modern transporta
tion has created.
A reduction in the number of
countie-will-necessarily-mean-that
some county-seat towns must sur
render the courthouse and such ad
vantages as its presence bring them,
but most of these towns ' are de
clining despite" the presence of
the courthouse. Farmers and vil
lagers that sedOraderriearihorne
are now going ten, fifteen,, or
twenty miles to do the bulk of their
trading. The perpetuation of su-per-fluous
seats of lvernmenfwill
not check this trend. It is one of
the - products -of - the - automobile.
PjogresshasjlwaysinyolvedecQr
nomic-injury to-ertain-individuals
and certain communities. Many
of the little country villages are
doomed as trade centers unless
their merchants and tradesmen are
unusually alert.. The presence or
absence of the courthouse will not
greatly affect them. It is not fair
to the taxpayers nor to the cause
of democracy to postpone a logical
and needed political reorganization
in order to give a doubtful benefit
to a few merchants.
Survey Needed
It is not suggested that there
be a hasty or wholesale consolida:
tirafTrjtmtiesiir-NorthCarolina.
t is suggested that the legislature
consider the absorption by strong
er adjacent counties- of
six or
eight small weak counties that are
so lacking in unity and taxable
resources "that their perpetuation
as separate counties is obviously
impractical. Then it would be de
sirable to provide for a state-wide
survey covering the distribution of
(Continued on page six)
Attempt To Cut Salaries
Riles Railroad Employes
Considerable resentment has been
stirred up among employes of the
Tallulah Falls Railway company by
the reported action of J. F. Gray,
the receiver, in seeking a further
reduction in their salaries.
"Judge" Gray is said to have
circulated a petition among busi
ness men of Franklin and other
points served by the railroad en
dorsing aproposal that the salaries
and wages of station agents, train
men and track workers be curtail
ed. It was -reported that he sub
mitted the petition to Judge E.
Marvin Underwood of the U. S.
Court for the . northern district of
Georgia, who has supervision over
the receivership ; but that Judge
Underwood declined to sanction a
further reduction. No forma! an
nouncement has been made con
cerning this, but the report became
current this week among employes
of the railroad.
"Judge" Gray was in Franklin
last week conferring with shippers.
It i$ not known whether he in
Dogs Kill 26 Sheep in
Sheriffs Flock
Last fall Sheriff A. B. Slagle
had a fine flock of 60 sheep.
Now he has only 34. The sher
iff revealed last week that stray
dogs have made away with 26
of his sheep. Under the law,
the county is supposed to pay
for sheep killed by dogs if they
have been listed for taxes.
Other iheep raisers also have
reported serious depredations by
dogs. Many of them fear that
it will be useless to attempt to
raise sheep unlets the late Rep
resentative J. Frank Ray's dog
law is left untouched and is
strictly enforced. Senator R. A.
Patton has succeeded in having
a bill passed in the upper house
of the legislature to amend the
law so at to permit one dog
to a family free of taxation.
SINGING MEET
ATTRACTS 409
Bad IWeatherlCuts 'Atten
dance; Next Conven
tion Set Fof April 30
Owing to the disagreeable weath
er the Macon County Singing Con
vention which met at the court
house Sunday did not ' draw as
large a crowd as heretofore, and
the attendance was the smallest
in the history of the convention.
Between 400 and 500 people were
present.
Some excellent numbers were
rendered, but many of the best
classes which have been attending
were absent.
The next convention will be
held at the same place on Sunday,
April 3a
FEL1XE. ALLEY
GOES ON BENCH
Appointed by Governor To
Succeed Late Judge
"Moore
Governor Ehringhaus " announced
last-week- the-appointment of - Felix
EAlley;-Tof Waynesville, i j sue
ceed the late Judge Walter E.
Moore on the Superior court
bench, and said Judge N. A. Town-
send, of Charlotte, who had been
serving temporarily during Judge
Moore's illness, soon would retire
to private life.
Alley will be resident judge of
the 20th judicial district and will
serve until the next general elec
tion in 1934.
He was a member of the Gen
eral Assembly in 190S and from
1911 to 1915 was solicitor of the
old 16fh district. The new Judge
irytanr -bid. Judge Townsend
was - appointed early in December
by former Governor Gardner to
serve temporarily during the illness
of Judge Moore, who died Mon-dayJrLAshevilleTownsend-lias
sent in his resignation.
In announcing' the appointment
of Alley, Governor Ehringhaus de
scribed him as "a capable lawyer,
a man of fine character, one of the
(Continued on page six)
cluded his own salary in the pro
posal for reductions.
Relations Detween the receiver
and the rank and file of the em
ployes of the Tallulah Falls line
have become perceptibly strained
during the past year. The em
ployes say their pay already has
been cut 43 per cent. "Judge"
Gray's salary, variously reported
at $4,000 to $6,000, they add, has
been reduced only eight per cent
The attitude among most of the
employes is that they want to do
all in their power to prevent service
from being discontinued over the
line; but they feci however, that
more could be accomplished with a
new rem r in charge.
1I1ZZIE AVANT DIES
IN CHAIR
Contending to the last he had
not premeditated the murder of
Mrs. Smith E. Calder, Hezzie
Avant, Scotland county man, died
in the electric chair at state's pris
on, f riday.
HOUSE PASSES
COUNCIL BILL
Would Reduce Number of
Councilmen from
6 to 3
STIRS DIFFERENCES
Town Officials Say They
Were Not Informed
Of the Plan
A bill introduced by Representa
tive C. L. Ingram of Macon coun
ty to reduce Franklin's town coun
cil from six to three members was
passed by the house last week and
sent to the senate.
Offices of the present members
of the council expire in May and
the law proposed by Represenative
Ingram would take effect at that
time.
While in Franklin about ten days
ago the Macon representative said
he had introduced the bill at the
re
a- niimber-df -"Fr'anklwH
residents, but he Hid not divulge
their names. He said he thought
it was a good measure and intend
ed to do all he could to secure
its passage.
Sentiment Divided
Sentiment among citizens of the
town seems to be much divided.
Town of ficersTwhcsay they knew
nothing about the measure until
theyLxeacLinthedaily paper s-thaL
it had been introduced, are won
dering what motivated .its intro
duction. Some of them think that
it is an attempt to slip something
over them and put control of the
hown's affaifs in the hands of some
particular iaciion.
Likewise, some of those who are
inclined to favof the bill are of
thejopinkmlhat-itwoul(i-prevent
factional control of the council.
Opponents argue, however, that it
would be far easier for one group
to - con trol a council of th ree- mem--bers
than one of six members.
Beaten 4 Years Ago "
A-similar-bill-was introduced -by-
Representative Solesbee four years
ago Tut was defeated alter Mayor"
George Patton went to "Raleigh and
argued -against its - passage. - 1
Thus far no hearing has been ask
ed on Representative Ingram's bill -and,
as far as The Press could
eaniDnenas-takenEefinite.
steps to prevent its passage in the
senate. -
Patten's Bills
Following is a summary of bills
introduced by Senator R. A. Pat
ton of Macon and the disposition
that has been made of each;
SB 12, to exempt Cherokee, Uay,
Graham, Macon and Swain, counties
from provisions of absentee ballot
law. Introduced Jan. 10 before
Senate committee on. elections law.
SB 13. relating to dog tax in
Swain, Macon, Graham, Clay and
Cherokee counties. Introduced Jan.
10 passed Senate Jan. 16, and now
before House,
SB 53, to permit unlicensed hunt
ing- for-coyotes, wildcats',- foxes and -crows
in Cherokee, Gay, Graham,
Macon and Swain counties. Intro- "
duced " Jan.16, before committee on
game. T
SB 54, to provide bounty. for kill
ing coyotes, wildcats, and crows
in Macon county. Introduced Jan.
16, before committee on game.
SB, 126, relating to Clay County
bank, Hayesville., Introduced Jan.
16, passed Senate Jan. 25 and pass
ed House Jan. 28.
SB ' 135, -relating to tax foreclos
ures in Macon county. Introduced
Jan. 26, before Senate committee
on judiciary No. 1.
Senators Patton and Francis in
troduced SB 35, permitting teachers
to keep . certificates without at
tendance at summer schools dur-
ing 1933-35 biennium. Passed Sen
ate . Jan. 27 and sent to House.
They also joined with seven other
senators in a bur to repeal the
workmen's compensation act.
Red Cro$ To Elect
Officers Saturday
. A meeting of the Macon county
chapter of the American Red Cross
has been called by J. E. Lancaster,
ohairman, to open at 2 o clock
Saturday afternoon in the court
house. The principal business to
be considered will be the election
of of fleets for the ensuing years.
Mr. Lancaster was appointed
chairman of the chapter last fall
when Miss Elizabeth Kelly, who
died 10 days agoj became ill.
Mr- Lancaster urged that all
members of the Red Cross attend,
especially fhose who are member
of community relief committees.. '