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Cite ZHigltinnxis JUtarmtian
Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press
At Franklin, North Carolina
Telephone No. 24
Entered at Post Office, Franklin, N. C., as second class matter.
WEIMAR JONES Editor
BOB S. SLOAN Business Manager
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Needed: A City Manager
"If any business man tried to run his business
the way the Town of Franklin operates, he'd go
broke ? and quickly."
That was the comment, recently, of a business
man who has served on this town's board of alder
men.
He had reference, of course, to the fact that the
Town of Franklin is operated the way a bank
would be if the bank had a board of directors but
no president or cashier. The operation of the town,
in fact, is perhaps even more complex than the op
eration of a bank. For a bank deals almost entirely
witl^a single thing ? money; while the town gov
ernment not only handles a lot of money ? more
than $100,000 a year ? but is responsible for such
varied tasks as street construction and mainte
nance, operation of water and sewer systems,
street lighting, public health, maintenance of order
and enforcement of the law, and the general wel
fare of the whole community.
Even in the brief period he served, Mayor Rob
ert M. Dillard gave the people of Franklin sofne
idea of what a full-time executive could do. Un
fortunately there appears to be no other capable
man who can give the town his entire time, with
out ,pay.
The time has come when Franklin should have a
full-time executive to carry out the policies laid
down by its board of aldermen. It is time we adopt
ed at least a modified form of city manager gov
ernment.
Meanwhile, this community is fortunate in hav
ing obtained the services of Mr. W. C. Burrell as
mayor. A good business man, a forward looking
citizetl, ' ahd a man with experience on the board,
Mr. Burrejj undoubtedly will give the town his
best ; he probably will do as good a job as any part
time mah ! ^ould do. But Franklin has no right to
expect him or any other citizen to neglect his per
sonal affairs to devote the time that the job really
demands.
Franklin needs a capable man to serve as its full
time, paid executive.
The Way To Cut Taxes
Much is being written todav about the burden of
federal taxes; and surely it has become a subject ?
of concern for every man, woman, and child in the
country ? for all of us are hit, directly oi^ indirect
?y
Should federal taxes be reduced? Almost every
body agrees that thev should. Can they be reduced?
Of course they can! But whether they will be is
quite another question, because it is going to prove
a painful process when we get around to cutting
our federal taxes.
If we really want to reduce our federal taxes,
the most obvious first .step would be to create un
employment ? a lot of unemployment ? in Wash
ington and other government centers. We are all
for that, of course. Or are we? Are we for it if it
means a member of our family must lose his or her
federal job ? ,
Second, we must eliminate or reduce the services
that we buy with a part of the federal taxes we pay.
Would the families of those drawing old age as
sistance ? to take only one instance ? be willing to
have these assistance checks reduced, or eliminated?
To cut taxes, we must eliminate waste, of course
? and undoubtedly there is a lot of it. But we must
po a step farther and practice real economy ; that
is, eliminate government expenditures for every
thing except the essentials. Would Western North
Carolinians welcome a reduction in the appropria
tions for the Great Smoky Mountains National
Park or the Blue Pidge Parkway? If not, they
should stop talking about government economy.
Finally, if we warn a permanent lowering of fed
eral taxes, we probably shall have to ;i,;cept even
higher taxes now. The reason is simple: Today the
government is spending more than it is taking it;
thns our national debt is growing; that, in turn,
means that the interest on the national debt, which
is a big item in our fed^aj taxes, is becoming great
er each vear. The onlyV?.y to a permanent lower
ing of taxes is to start right now paying more in
taxes than the government spends.
Can we reduce federal taxes? Sure we can. But
whether the American people have the character to
demand it, and whether our federal executive and
legislative servants have the courage to do it ? that
is another matter!
Shack To Mansion
, When, a family moves out of a little shack into a
big- new home, the old furniture looks terrible in its
new surroundings.
If the family has much ambition, it will want
new furniture, too. It may have to get along with
the old, bad as it looks, for a while, but sooner or
later it will have furniture in keeping with its new
home.
In the meantime, though, the new home will mean
added expenses that cannot be escaped, or even
postponed. Instead of home-made candles, that cost
nothing in money, there will be an electric light bill
to pay. Since there are eight or ten rooms to heat,
instead of one or two, the fuel bill will be many
times the cost of providing wood for the fireplace
in the shack. The old place probably wasn't worth
insuring, but if the head of the family is a good
business man, he will take put insurance on the new
home ? another added item of expense. Thus it will
go? the family is living better, and it must pay for
it.
That is exactly the position of the Macon County
school system today.
A Job Well Done
This community is due thanks to Messrs. YV. N.
Sloan, H. H. Plemmons, R. E. McKelvey, W. Roy
Carpenter, and Wayne Faulkner for their services
as a town zoning', commission.
Serving without pay, they devoted much time to
their assignment. More important, they did a good
job. Examination of the zoning map and the pro
posed zoning ordinance suggests that ; and it ap
peared to be the concensus of the some 75 persons
attending the recent hearing on the zoning plan.
Boiled down to it.s essentials, the purpose of the
zoning ordinance is twofold. Its primary purpose is
" to protect the owner of property, particularly resi
dential property, from damage resulting from near
by construction of buildings of an undesirable na
ture. Its secondary purpose is to make Franklin a
better place in which to live and a prettier town.
Our American Civilization
Deploring the moral standards in Hollywood ;
continuing to let Hollywood set most of our Amer
ican standards, moral and otherwise.
Boasting of American progress as indicated by
the high standard of living; ignoring the fact that
it takes more and more wage earners per family to
maintain that standard. *
Providing transportation for more and more chil
dren to and from school ; citing the quantity and
quality of this transportation as an index of edu
cational progress.
? Others' Opinions
HE WAS SO RIGHT
It's a long time since Caesar Augustus decreed, as recorded
in the Book of Luke, that "all the world should be taxed."
Verily, the decree has now been oh so heartily carried out, and
now comes home to roost. Caesar's seizures cease not.
?CHARLOTTE NEWS.
MAN OF THE YEAR
We nominate one Harold Hunt as "Man of the Year in
Sports." Perhaps we should make it "Man of the Year," in any
field.
In a year of scandalous activities in college athletics, here's
a man who dramatically reminded us that true sportsmanship
is still being practiced if the headlines seem to say otherwise.
Mr. Hunt is a football coach at Southwestern College of Kan
sas. One day last fall his team was tied, 6-6, with Central
Missouri State when one of his players swept around end for a
tie-breaking touchdown. The referee signalled a score and was
having the teams line up for the extra point when Coach Hunt
Intervened. He had noticed that his ball carrier on the touch
down play had stepped out of bounds, so he informed the of
ficials of their oversight and declined the touchdown. The
game ended in a 6-6 tie.
Not only the sports world, but all areas of our national life
could Ui-f more Harold Hunts.? Smlthfleld Herald.
DECLINE IN FARM TENANCY
The University of North Carolina News ' ?tter asserts that
l|rm tenancy definitely on the decrease !;i North Carolina,
and esueclaLy lias this decrease b*'-n apparent during U.e last
OUR DEMOCRACY i?m*
RIGHTS c^J> RESPONSIBILITIES
160 VCAR.S AGO THE FIR.ST TEN AMENDMENTS WEfcE AOPCO
"TO THE CONSTITUTION.
THESE AMENDMENTS F C3M OIJ"l C/LL OF RIGHTS.
AMONG THE RIGHTS TNZY CL. J AMP MAINTAIN ARE:
- FREEDOM OF SPEECH
i FREEDOM OF THE PRESS^
I FREE POM OF RELIGION
= FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
These rights are the fundamentals of our democracy.
t? THEIR EXERCISE, WE HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF
MAKING SURE THAT WE DO NOT TRANSGRESS THE RIGHTS
OF OTHERS ?
DM AND NIGHT THESE RIGHTS PROTECT AND GUARD US
? IN WHAT WE THINK ( WHAT WE SPEAK, AND WHAT WE DO .
they are the free soil, we walk on
THE FREE AIR WE BREATHE.
20 years.
When the first farm census was made in 1880, thirty-three
per cent of the Tar Heel farms were operated by tenants.
From then until 1930 there was an increase in farm tenancy
until 49 per cent of the farms were operated by tenants. The
reverse trend then became apparent and since 1930 the farm
tenancy figure has decreased to 38 per cent.
It should be noted that farm tenancy increased tremen
dously from 1880, on through the lush years of the so-called
"roaring 20's and reached a peak in 1930. Then the trend was
.reversed, and it is significant that the reversal in the trend
came about during the years that business-like programs for
development of agriculture were worked out, combined with
parity prices and quota systems. Men who were tenant farm
ers got more for what they were doing and the desire, always
prevalent among those who love the soil, to own their land,
took form in the purchase of farms by these tenants.
The decline in farm tenancy is significant to this section of
North Carolina, which is largely agricultural. A tenant farmer
I
may be a satisfactory risk in every respect and may be an
entirely satisfactory citizen and may enjoy life. But there is
definite proof that the land-owning and home-owning make
far a more satisfied citizenry; and likewise make for a more
stable population and a more prosperous community.
A community which is composed of large numbers of farm
ers owning and tilling their own land is from an economic
aspect a much better place in which to live and do business
than a community composed of tenant farmers and share
croppers. What is true In the towns and cities, that is that
home ownership makes for greater interest in the community
and its affairs, is true likewise of the rural areas.
? Scotland Neck Commonwealth.
STRANGE BEDFELLOWS, INDEED
We received a postal card the other day from a group which
calls Itself the Citizen's Protective league. The card states that
? the league holds "America First" meetings on the first Friday
night of every month In the Assembly hall of the New York
Ave. Cafe, corner of 84th street and York avenue in New York.
This may not sound significant to the average reader until he
recalls that "America First" meetings were being held before
the last war, that their objective was withdrawing from the
arena of international affairs to give the troops of Hitler,
Mussolini and the Japanese warlords free reign over the world.
The "America First" meetings had the backing of William
Dudley Pelley's Silver Shirt, a subversive group. Furthermore,
the meeting place, in New York's Yorkville district, has defi
nite taints of Nazism.
The Interesting facts on this ? postcard are the political views
of this '?America First" group: "We believe that our . country's
best Interests might be served by a Sen. Taft and Gen. Mac
Arthur (or a Gen. MacArthur and Sen. Taft) ticket, as ? if
elected ? they would lower taxes, stop Inflation and drive out
of government not only the crooks but also the fools, failures
and fanatics who are often more dangerous than crooks. Their
foreign policy would be AMERICA FIRST; they would conclude
immediately a fair and, If necessary, separate peace treaty with
all of Oermany and Austria. There would be no Koreans In
Europe, the Far East or the Near East."
Probably most of us are for lower taxes, less Inflation and
fewer crooks In the federal government. But we are Inclined to
wonder what fanatics the "America Flrsters" would have
thrown out of the government. Looking at the past record of
the "America First" group, this would Include practically every
one who advocates a realistic view of the International situ
ation. For Taft and MacArthur we have this observation to
make: You make claims about Acheson courting some strange
bediell jws. But the forces of Acheson and the Democratic party
have not received the endorsement of the America Flrsters,
who have been proven wrong once. Looks as though there are
some strange N'dfellows who approve of your views.
? Sanford Herald.
Business
Making
News
? By BOB SLOAN
Due to the moving, Annie's
ailments and Christmas, this
column has been absent several
weeks. We will try to do better
for the remainder of the year.
Last year we began the year
wi,th the wishes that something
be done about a road to Nanta
hala, the Franklin-Dillsboro
highway, and a county fair. We
feel lucky because we picked
the right horses to ride, judg
ing by results. More than three
quarters of a million dollars will
be made available by the state
and federal governments for
this road to Nantahala in the
next several years, and work
will begin this year. Contracts
will be let this Spring on the
improvement of the highway
across the Cowee mountain. The
combination Home Demonstra
tion club achievement day and
4-H club achievement day pro
gram held last Fall was such
a success that perhaps that is
a better answer than an out
and out fair. There are some
times certain aspects about a
fair which are not always de
sirable.
Anyway here are some of the
things we hope Macon County
works for in 1952:
1. An equalization of the tax
valuations in Macon County by
an outside, impartial board of
people who know this work. If
the county had a 20 million dol
lar tax valuation and a 90c tax
.rate instead of a 14 million
valuation and $1.10 tax rate,
there woujd be two advantages.
1. There would be more money
available for public service at
very little extra burden to the
average tax payer. 2. A lower
rate would be added incentive
to incoming industry.
2. All offices in the court
house should be placed on a sal
ary instead of being paid by
fees and commission. Also we
suggest that a county manager
be hired who is a trained ac
countant. Fourteen million dol
lars valuation is a pretty big
sum to keep track of, particu
larly when it has to be dis
tributed into many different
funds.
3. We think that the town of
Franklin should adopt a city
manager form of government
and that the city manager
should be paid not less than
$3,000.00 a year. We doubt that
any of these things will be real
ized in the coming year but we
can hope.
Here are a couple of predlc
Continued On Page Five?
Do You
Remember?
n
(Looking backward through
the files of The Press)
50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
If all the seeds sent to Ma
con County by Congressman
James Montrevllle Moody are
planted and produce well, Ma
con will need two railroads to
transport the surplus.
It will soon be time for can
didates to bud.
Prof. R. M. Ledford, of Elll
jay High school, was in town
Saturday and gave The Press a
call. He reports his school pro
gressing finely.
We are having a kind of bliz- ,
zard, cold north winds with oc
casionally gusts of snow.
25 YEARS AGO
Thermometers In and around
Franklin Sunday morning reg
istered all the way from 5 above
to 6 below zefr). Every one banks
on the correctness of his own
thermometer. Take your choice
as to how cold it was. Mr. W. L.
Hlgdon 'lows it was cold enough
for him and then sojne.
Mr. Andy Gibson, who has
been away IS years, has been
visiting friends on Turtle Pond.
Mr. W. H. McKay, brother of
Franklin's photographer, has
located his furniture shop in the
building formerly ? occupied by
the Western Electric company,
near Angel's hospital.
1? YEARS AGO
The Franklin chamber of
commerce met on Tuesday night
to discuss the matter of trans
portation and living accommo
dations in Franklin that will be
available lor employes and their
families on the Fontana dam
project til Swain county, which
will begin operations shortly. .
A big square dance at Pano
rama Court on Saturday night,
will be a feature of the celebra
tion of the Presidents birthday.