THE FRANKLIN PRESS and THE HIGHLANDS MACON IAN , THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 1935 The Royal Road To Romance by A. B. Chapin Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press At Franklin, North Carolina Telephone No. 24 VOL. XLIX Number 10 PAGE TWO BLACKBURN W. JOHNSON....... EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Entered at the Post Office, Franklin, N. C, as second class matter SUBSCRIPTION RATES One Year ' .' , $150 Six Months A -75 Eight Months $100 Single Copy ..... .05 Obituary notices, cards of thanks, tributes of respect, by individuals, lodges, churches, organizations or societies, will be regarded as adver tising and inserted at regular classified advertising rates. Such notices will be marked "adv." in compliance with the postal regulations. Why Worry About Petroleum? WE HAVE been interested in noting the progress which the Diesel-type engine has been making the past few years. The Diesel engine differs from the ordinary gas engine in that it does not require gasoline, but runs on crude oil, or oil only slightly refined. Many ships are now propelled by Diesel engines. Successful airplane engines of the Diesel type have been flown. Now a Diesel engined automobile has been developed, which has made a speed of 115 miles an hour. The success thus far in applying this simple and economical engine to all the uses to which gasoline engines have been put suggests that we may be facing new technological changes which will render obsolete a great part of the existing manufacturing equipment and practice. The history of scientific research and of the invention which follows close upon the heels of the scientists, is that a constant and steady change is going on in every line of human activity all the time. That is why it seems foolish to put any restraints upon the free and unhampered development of new ways and new machines. This constant change in methods and machines makes us a trifle unconcerned about the outcry that we must conserve our petroleum reserves. In the first place, nobody knows what those reserves are. In the second place, the general use of Diesel engines will result in a reduction in the amount of oil consumed per engine. Most important of all considerations, however, is that the Diesel engine, we understand, doesn't have to have petroleum at all. It can run just as well on soy-bean oil, for example, or perhaps pea nut oil. There isn't any limit to the amount of. vegetable oils that we can produce, if there is a market for them; and if all the pe troleum were exhausted and a more volatile motor fuel than soy bean oil were essential, science has already shown the way to produce alcohol cheaply even from corncobs, while invention has produced several types of engines that run as well on alcohol as on gasoline. Perhaps the ultimate salvation of American agriculture is going to come through raising motor-fuel on the farm, instead of pump ing it out of the ground. Some Ideas On Inflation WE DO not pretend to be financial or economic experts. But we hear so much talk about "inflation" that we have gone to some trouble to find out what the talk all means. As nearly as we can make out, "inflation" means putting the value of money down by comparison with the things that money will buy. It does not necessarily mean printing money with nothing back of it, as Germany did, nor the free and unlimited coinage of silver, though that, too, would be inflationary. It means any arti ficial process of sending prices up. Well, it appears that we have been gradually going through a process of inflation for a couple of years now. The devaluation of the gold dollar, the forcing up of farm prices, the addition of silver to our monetary system, the increase of bank credits through Government borrowings all of those are part of the process of inflation. Almost everybody is feeling the effects of it in rising prices of things they buy, though not all have yet felt the in flationary effect upon their incomes. The next step, the experts tell us, will come about through the centralization of banking and credit control. Our expert adviser pointed out that the ones who benefit are those who have property of any kind bought at the pre-inflationary price, which they can sell in terms of the cheaper dollars. Also those who owe money in dollar debts, who will get money with which to pay more cheaply than they can now. That sounded reasonable to us. If inflation puts up the price of hogs or of a day's work, the man with a mortgage or a note in bank won't have to sell as many hogs or do as much work to pay off his debt. That's about all we know about inflation, except that the folks who know more about it than we do say it's going a lot farther before long. LETTER CONFEDERATE VETERANS INVITED TO CONVENTION Editor, The Franklin Press: Three times in the last thirty years the Confederate reunion has been held in this city, and it has been my pleasure through The Franklin Press to open my house to all Macon county veterans. The last Confederate reunion, I think, should be at Montgomery The banner was first unfolded there and taps should echo there the last time. Our seven members of the legis lature and state senator from this county have been asked to support an appropriation for expenses for the last reunion at Montgomery. Mr. John Arnold (he was my school teacher 50 years ago) is the only veteran now living that I am personally acquainted with in Ma - PRESS con county. If he will comej 1 will meet him and all other Macon county veterans and see that they are well taken care of at Mont gomery. The writer was a veteran, one of the two that went from High lands township in 1898, and we mention with pride that we were all volunteers; and last August at Pittsburgh we elected a command er in chief from Alabama, the second-one in 28 years from south of the Mason and Dixon line. Trusting that all veterans of Ma con will make special efforts to come to the Montgomery conven tion, I promise to be their host while there. Yours respectfully, A. D. McKINNEY 3937 38th Avenue, North, Birmingham, Ala. March 4, 1934 THROUGH CAPITAL KEYHOLES BY BESS HINTON SILVER STEAMING UP The campaign in behalf of Clyde R. Hoey, Shelby's silver-tonguer for the Democratic nomination for governor next year, is being whip ped into nice form if the political stars read true. Mr. Hoey is yet silent on his decision but the boys who snoop around learning things about people addicted to politics say you need not be surprised if there is an immediate up-cropping of Hoey-for-Governor clubs among the youngsters at Chapel Hill and other institutions of higher learn ing. If the matter develops that far you can mortgage your house and lot and bet that Hoey will be a candidate and the odds will be with you. CONGRESS The state capitol this week is of the opinion that Congressman R. L. Dough ton is in a mood to seek the governorship via the Democratic primaries and a candidate to suc ceed him in congress from the ninth district. He is no less a per son than Dalton Warren, the Sen ator from Alleghany county. Friends of Mr. Warren say he is going to seek the congressional seat no mat ter what "Farmer Bob" decides to do, but express confidence that Dougliton really means to retire from Congress even if he does not run for governor. ONE MORE THING Friends of Lieutenant Governor A. H. Graham think he is doing nicely presiding over his second term of the state senate and they are beginning to roll the pld po litical ball in his behalf for gover nor. "Sandy" said his luck with the legislature would influence his decision on .the gubernatorial mat ter and even his enemies are fail ing to point out major mistakes. You can't tell what's going on in the Scotch head of the lieutenant governor but a lot of people are ready to help him make up his mind and step across the line as a candidate. It's going to be highly embarrassing to many people if Graham and Hoey cross swords. CHANGED COURSE Many close personal and political friends of Representative R. Gregg, Cherry, of Gaston, say he is pad dling his canoe toward the speak ership of the 1937 house. They say he has abandoned any idea of run ning for governor. At least has told some folks that he wants to come back to the legislature one more time. If he seeks to wield the gavel over the 120 representa tives he is likely to find Represen tative R. F. (Jack) Morphew, of Graham, grabbing for the handle in the Democratic caucus two years hence. Ambitions make political history. OPPOSITION North Carolinians are writing their senators and congressmen to oppose the Rayburn bill, which would repose authority to fix rates in the federal power commission. State regulatory bodies would find their hands pretty well tied under the Rayburn bill and Tar Heels still are suffering from federal discrimination in the matter of freight rates. Considerable senti ment against the Rayburn bill has been manifest in Raleigh, especial ly among persons owning stock in domestic power companies. They fear its passage would reduce the value of their holdings. MARATHON- The boys who know their legisla tures say that a real bombshell ex ploded when the motion was made in finance committee to reduce the sales tax rate from three to two per cent. Immediately all former predictions on sine die adjournment were withdrawn and even the op timistic Robert Grady Johnson, speaker of the house, admitted that the end is not yet in sight. The anti-sales taxers led by Rep resentatives W. L. Lumpkin, of Franklin, and Ralph McDonald, of Forsyth, are wise enough to adopt this course in their effort to slow down the trend toward consumption taxes. One man's guess is about as good as another's on what will happen before the general assem bly folds up for good (or worse). DIVERSION- Don't sleep upon your couch if you want your gasoline taxes spent on your roads. Designs looking toward using it for other things have not been abandoned. On the other hand", diversionists are re ported sitting up nights planning the best way to get a finger into the highway fund. When the real raid starts some potent influencers of legislative opinion will be found in the ranks. There is consider able opinion that motorists pay their taxes without complaint and will not kick up much of a row if they are spent for general fund and other purposes. What's your idea? COMING UP Don't get the idea that the sug gested system of textbook rental has been abandoned. The bill pro viding for such a system is still in committee but individual lawmakers are getting things in line to push the measure through the legislature ere long. You haven't seen any fight, not even ovef the sales tax, to what you will witness when this textbook matter comes into the front line trenches, according to past records and present predic tions. There is little doubt, how ever, that sentiment for renting books is growing and the proposi tion has a much better chance of becoming law than during past ses sions. WIELDS CLUB Senator Lloyd Griffin, of Chow an, is one member of the general assembly who gets things done without, benefit of oratory. You couldn't exactly say that he has "it" but when it comes to the school system his ideas usually pre vail. The secret of it is that he has the knowledge and determina tion needed to guide legislation through a general assembly. When storms break over the school prob lem Senator Griffin usually lets things ride until the boys get the weights off their chests and then he takes the floor. The questions fly thick and fast and he answers them all and usually what appeared to be a rebellion against the edu cation committee turns out more in the nature of endorsement. BONER Wets and Drys in the Legislature generally agree that the Reverend R. L. Arnold, of Raleigh, made a mistake in praying for defeat of the Hill liquor bill when he was invited to open the senate with prayer last week. Senator Hill told the senate he resented "such a po litical talk" and after all most of the senators know the Durham lawmaker as a dry and a strong church man. They didn't seem to relish an outsider coming in and attacking one of their own flock even in a prayer. It's) entirely possible that the minister may have aided the liquor bill, although its fate may be decided by the time you read this. SIMMONS Raleigh is taking with a grain of salt recent published rumors that former United States Senator Furni fbld M. Simmons will oppose Sena tor J. W. Bailey next year. Like wise the politically-minded are not betting that former Lieutenant Gov ernor R. T. Fountain will support Simmons in the event he runs. Capitol Hill believes that Mr. Foun tain will follow the line of his re cent announcement and seek the toga himself rather than take to the trenches for Simmons. On the other hand there is some opinion that Fountain would do anything politically reasonable to help defeat Governor Ehringhaus, who nosed out Fountain in the 1932 primaries. There is nothing reasonably certain about the shape the 1932 senatorial race will take.