Knit
LIBERAL INDEPENDENT
PROGRESSIVE
VOL. L, NO. 13
FRANKLIN, N. C, THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1935
$130 PER YEAR
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WORK RELIEF
COMING SOON
Compromise Seen on Bon
us; Washington News
Reviewed
(Special to The Preta-Maconian)
WASHINGTON, March 28.-Con-greis
will give President Roose
velt the $4,880,000,000 he has asked
for his work relief program, but it
is likely some strings will be at
tached. Predictions in Washington
are that the measure will go
through the latter part of this
week or sometime next week. In
dications are that payment of pre
vailing wages will be required onj
permanent government work, but
that wage scales on other projects
will be left largely to the presi
dent's discretion, although neither
the American Federation of Labor
nor certain business organizations
look with favor on this compro
mise. Little likelihood is seen of spend
ing all of the huge appropriation
in the year beginning July 1, as
planned. Doubt, therefore, in
creases as to the possibility of
greatly reducing the direct cash
relief system the "dole." The the
ory was that the federal work re
lief program would employ all who
are able to work, and that the
states would take care of the un
employable. Disclosure that the
states have, many of them, done
nothing to speak of, makes the
feasibility of this plan questionable.
Several states have contributed on
ly from one to five pet cent of
the relief expenditures inside their
boundaries.
Pension and the NRA
Congresswoman Isabella Green
way of Arizona, who was, inciden
tally, one of Mrs. Roosevelt's
brides-maids at the wedding 30
years ago this Saint Patrick's day
just past, has lined up a strong
opposition to the passage of the
socalled "social security" bill, which
all agree is a confused jumble of
unrelated things. Mrs. Greenway's
plan is to enact an old-age pension
bill applying only to the indigent
aged who are now on relief, or
(Continued on Page Ten)
Title Office Workers
Given Indefinite Leave
Employes in the title office of
the Nantahala National Forest, five
or six in number, were notified
this week to take an indefinite
leave of absence beginning April 1.
The leave, however, is expected to
be only temporary, as it is thought
likely that the office will be called
upon to resume its activities as
soon as the administration's work
relief bill is enacted.
All employes in other depart
ments of the forest service here
are expected to continue working,
although some uneasiness has been
felt on account of the congressional
situation. John Herbert Stone, su
pervisor of the Nantahala Forest,
said Wednesday that he had re
ceived no instructions to curtail
activities or put employes on leave.
The instructions to the title of
fice do .not affect the forest's large
acquisition crew.
McClure Recovering
After Removal of Eye
Charles McClure, former county
commissioner, underwent an opera
tion Sunday at his home on Route
2 for the removal of one of his
eyes. The operation was perform
ed by Dr. Furman Angel. Mr.
McClure was reported Thursday
to be recovering. He had been
suffering from an ophthalmic dis
order for some time.
Sam Roane, who was seriously ill
last week from acute indigestion,
is able to be out again.
George Porter, of Andrews, was
among the business visitors here
Wednesday.
Tanks Full
New Pump Banishes Fear
Of Water Shortage
A new electric water pump was
installed last Friday to replace an
obsolete one formerly used to pump
water from the town well on east
Main street. The well then was
thoroughly cleaned and by Monday
the new pump was performing so
efficiently that the two reservoir
tanks on Harrison avenue were fill
ed for the first time in weeks.
A ban on washing automobiles
which had been in effect for about
ten days was immediately lifted by
the town authorities.
After a preliminary test had
shown that, with the new pump,
the well was yielding approximate
ly 35 gallons of water a minute,
George Dean, town clerk, said there
should be little fear of a water
shortage in Franklin this summer.
With the old pump the east
Main street well supplied approxi
mately 20 gallons a minute. The
west Main street well is the town's
chief source of water supply, yield
ing approximately 68 gallons a min
ute. The new pump, a Pomona Ro
tary, was bought by the town
council on trial. It has self-regulating
equipment, is powered by a
15 horsepower motor. It was
bought through the McBurney,
Stoker Equipment company, of At
lanta, and the price was $1,420 in
stalled. The council plans to pay
for it out of a small surplus fund
realized in connection with its pow
er plant deals.
SCOUTSWDUL
RUN FRANKLIN
To Take over Reins of
Local Government
Saturday
BY REV. FRANK BLOXHAM
Franklin Scoutmaster
March 29th is the second anni
versary of the founding of the
present troop of Boy Scouts in
Franklin. Permission has been giv
en for the boys to fill the town
offices for a while on Saturday
afternoon, and at the Troop meet
ing on Friday the boys will be
elected to fill the various town of
ficers, positions from mayor to
scavenger. This experiment will
prove of. untold value in furthering
the trailing of the boys in good
citizenship and giving them an in
sight into the ramifications of city
government.
In connection with the annivers
ary, a father and son banquet is
being planned for Thursday of next
week when speeches will be given
by prominent Scouters from Ashe
ville. This will be held in the
Rotary Hall. A Scout play will be
given in the courthouse on Friday,
April 5 at 8 p. m. Further an
nouncements of these functions will
appear next week.
The attention of all is directed
to exhibits of Scout work and col
lections to be found in the window
of Perry's Drug Store.
Browning Asks Rpeal
Of Absentee Law
Repeal of the absentee ballot
law in Macon, Swain end Gra
ham counties it sought in a bill
introduced in the legislature by
Senator Vance A. Browning, of
Bryson City. Ed Hyle, Repub
lican representative from Cher
okee county, was reported (de
sirous of having hi county in
cluded in the measure; but the
Democratic organisation of that
county was said to be opposed
to any such action.
Although there has been con
siderable agitation for abolition
of the absentee ballot, legisla
tive committees have been ex
tremely slow in reporting out
either local or statewide bills
to do way with the system.
Many Workers Find Jobs
As Spring Brings Spurt
In Building Activities
The sound of saw and hammer
rings throughout Macon county as
spring brings with it a spurt in
building and repairing activities.
At Highlands, one of the South's
foremost resort centers, where con
siderable work has been going on
all winter, other construction pro
jects are now getting under way
with indications that carpenters,
masons and other building laborers
will be kept busy all spring and
summer. Outstanding construction
job there is a new $12,500 three
story brick and stone hotel being
erected for Mr. and Mrs. W. W.
Edwards by Wilton H. Cobb, con
tractor. Walls of the. building, a
handsome structure with native
stone trim, have been completed
and it is expected that the hotel
will be ready for occupancy by the
opening of the summer tourist
season. On the main floor will be
a spacious lobby and dining room,
and there will be 12 bed rooms and
baths on the upper floors. The
new building will be a complete
unit in itself, affording Highlands
a modern year-round hotel, but it
will be connected with the frame
building occupying an adjoining lot
which has been operated as an inn
for some years.
In Franklin work is expected to
start in a week or so on st $100,000
federal building, which will house
the postoffice and provide office
space for the headquarters staff of
the Nantahala National Forest,
Workers Busy Hero
Although no new construction
work of major proportions is now
under way in Franklin, building
trades workers are being kept busy
on various repair and moderniza
tion jobs. J. E. Perry has just
completed redecorating and paint
ing his home on highway 286. Mrs.
Lassie Keffy Cunningham is mak
ing changes in Kelly's Tea House
that will odd four more rooms.
She also is planning to enclose in
glass the spacious side porch used
as a summer dining room. The
Porter house on Bidwell street is
undergoing a thorough renovation
and is being repainted. Jule Rob
inson is making various repairs to
Dixie Hall. The McCoy building
on Main street was recently re
paired. Various, home owners are
reported painting and redecorating
their residences.
Erecting Stone Residence
Mr. and Mrs. I. T. Peek are
erecting on their lot on the old
Georgia road an attractive bunga
low, using river stones in the walls.
Considerable construction work
also is reported in the rural sec
EDWARDS SENT
TO ASHEVILLE
John W. Edwards, formerly of
Franklin, has been promoted to
deputy United States marshal of
the western district of North Caro
lina and transferred from Bryson
City to Ashevilk, where he will
serve as payroll clerk for the fed
eral courts of the district.
Mr. Edwards was appointed dep
uty marshal following the death in
Sylva Tuesday of Nelson L. Sut
ton, 67, of Sylva, who on account
of illness had been on a leave of
absence for several months. Mr.
Edwards had been serving as act
ing deputy marshal since January
13, with headquarters in Bryson
City.
Now that Mr. Edwards has gone
to Asheville to serve as payroll
clerk for federal district courts, he
will be succeeded at Bryson City
by Fred York, formerly connected
with the marshal's office in Asheville.
tions of the county. Quite a num
ber of new barns and some new
homes have been reported
Hundreds of men who had been
employed only part of the time for
many months are now back on the
job, and hardware and building
supply dealers are enjoying a re
vival of business.
Thousands Being Spent
It is estimated that construction
work in the county this year, in
cluding the federal building in
Franklin, will run well over $200,000.
If the administration's work relief
bill, carrying appropriations of $4,
880,000,000, is enacted, it is very
possible that the building bill will
exceed this estimate. It is under
stood that plans for two more Ci
vilian Conservation Camps in the
county, one at the Coweeta Experi
ment station and the other in the
Cowee section, are awaiting final
action on this bill.
New Homes Planned
Among those who are now build-
: , i u:.,ui i l .
announced that they intend to build
are :
David Black, of Atlanta, Ga., who
is building on Satulah Mountain;
Fred McGonigal, of Atlanta, who
is building on Little Yellow Moun
tain; the Klines on Little Yellow
Mountain; the Floyds on the
Country Club property; and two
new cottages by the owners of the
Country Club property. The Brew
ers, of Charlotte, will build this
spring; Dr. Fred Hodgson will also
build this spring; Helens Barn,
a dance hall which burned last fall,
is being rebuilt; Professor Holmes,
of Clemson College and R. B. Law
rence, of Seneca, S. C, are build
ing on Mirror Lake property
Frank B. Cook, Highlands real
estate dealer, has announced that
he will build on his Bearpen Moun
tain development; the Harrises will
also build on Bearpen Mountain;
Robert Rogers is starting three or
four new cottages on his Dillard
road property ; the Apleys, of Coral
Gables, Fla., have purchased 10
acres of the Hill property and will
build a summer home; F. A. and
W. W. Edwards will build on the
Pierson development off East Main
street; Judge Harry McCall is
making improvements on his prop
erty; improvements are being made
on The Martin, a summer hotel.
The Sinclair Refining company
is erecting a new automobile ser
vice station in Highlands on the
lot on Main street opposite the
Masonic hall, which was leased
from J. D. Burnette. The cost is
estimated at approximately $2,500.
Singing Convention
To Be Held Here Sunday
The Macon County Fifth Sunday
Singing convention will be held at
the courthoues Sunday. The pro
gram is scheduled to last all day.
Classes, quartets and solos from
all sections of the county are ex
pected to be present, also singers
from Haywood, Jackson, Swain,
Clay and Graham counties, and
from South Carolina.
Roy Carpenter Attends
Auto Dealers Meeting
W. Roy Carpenter, manager of
the Franklin Service Station and
local Chrysler and Plymouth agent,
returned Wednesday from Char
lotte, where he attended a meeting
of Chrysler and Plymouth automo
bile dealers.
Lefler Conducting
Meetings at Salem Church
The Rev. B. W. Lefler, pastor
of the Franklin Methodist circuit,
is holding a two-weeks series of
special meetings at Salem church
in the Cullasaja section.
The public is invited to attend.
CONTRACT LEI
FORPOSTOFFKE
Work on $100,000 Struc
ture May Get Under
Way Next Week
Work on Franklin's hundred-thousand-dollar
federal building is
expected to get under way in the
near future, probably next week.
Contract for the building has
been let, Postmaster T. W. Porter
was informed in a letter yester
day, but the name of the success
ful contractor was not given. Bids
on the project were opened on
March 8 in the procurement di
vision of the public works branch
of the U. S. treasury.
Lot Being Cleared
The letter to Mr. Porter, who is
custodian of the lot on East Main
street which was bought by the
government as a site for the feder
al building, requested information
to when the property would be
cleared and ready for the contract
or to start work. Mr. Porter wir
ed officials that the lot would be
cleared Monday morning. The res
idence on the property formerly
occupied, by Alex Moore and family
was being demolished and moved
away this week. Thursday morn
ing the structure had been razed
to the floor joists.
The procurement division is now
advertising for bids on an elevator
for the building.
Plan of Building
Plans for the federal building
call for a two-story red brick and
cast stone structure with a base
ment. Ground dimensions are to
be 62 by 61 feet. The dimensions
of the lot, sold to the government
by the Town of Franklin for
$4,000, are 103 feet (on Main street)
by 155 feet. The building is to be
set back five feet from the present
sidewalk. The style of architecture
is to be a modern adaptation of
the Georgian.
In the basement of the building
will be a steam heating plant, work
and storage rooms, including a
dry-proofed stamp vault, and a
truck loading stand at the rear,
which will be connected with a
mail sorting room on the main, or
first, floor by an elevator.
On the main floor will be a spa
cious public lobby with tile floor
ing, a large mail sorting room, a
fireproof vault for storing records
and funds, sanitary accomodations,
and an office for the postmaster.
On the second floor will be five
large offices for the forest service
and an office for postal inspectors.
The office space was based on
normal needs of the Nantahala
Forest headquarters rather than on
present requirements.
Homer Nichols
Transferred to Florida
Homer Nichols, executive assis
tant in the headquarters office of
the Nantahala National Forest, has
been ordered transferred to Talla
hassee, Fla., effective April 1.
Walter B. Dillon, formerly of Hot
Springs, Ark., arrived here this
week to succeed Mr. Nichols.
Four national forests in the vi
cinity of Tallahassee have recent
ly been consolidated. In his new
assignment Mr. Nichols will occu
py a position similar to the one
he has held here.
John Earl Lancaster
Wins College Honors
Friends and former teachers of
John Earl Lancaster, son of Mr.
and Mrs. J. E. Lancaster, of Frank
lin, will be interested in learning
that he has won a place on the
debating team of Maryville Col
lege, Maryville, Term., and that
he made the college honor roll for
the first semester. His grades
were the highest in the freshman
class and third highest in the col
lege. John Earl is a native of
Macon county and a graduate of
the Franklin high school.