VOLUME
1
THE
Devoted to the Upbuilding of Vass and Its Surrounding Country
SUBSCRIPTION $2.00
A Fine Fxample
Tiiere are cliilclren starving in
Europe, women are suffering, an.l
once strong men are breaking un-
•ler the strain which the war has
them as an inheritance. We
are comfortable here in our own
.and. and few of us have the least
dea tliat conditions are at this mo-
iiieiit worse in some European coun-
iries than history has ever recorded.
America lias heard the cry of starv
ing children in Austria through
Herbert Hoover, and it is good to
Know that she is answering, show'-
ing that she can forgive a recent
t-neniy, and that her big heart will
nut i»ermit little cLildren to starve.
But the part of this answer which
will strike Vass residents most forci-
My is the answer being sent by the
tanners of this nation. President
Howard, of the American Farm Bu
reau, said recently in a speecli at
♦ 'liicago:
Farmers in 37 states have author
ized Mie as their president to offer
• nougli American-grown corn to
leed the starving millions of Eu-
roi)(*( China, Armenia and other for-
•i^"u countries. And I promise that
*he farmers will deliver their offer
ings i)romptly to the point of ship-
hient. This treasure will come in
voluntary gifts* of from 5 to 3,000
hushels, many wealthy farmers
naving given as liigh as 3,000 bush-
-Is.-
All that the farmers insist on is
the corn he not sold, but must go
-traight to the people who need it
The farmer is having a pretty
lough time of it himself just now,
with grain and hog prices declining,
But he conies to the front when
TrouI'Ie appears, lie Realizes that
the good in the world outweighs
*he evil, and he sets a mighty fine
example for the balance of the
u’orld.
VASS, N. C., FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1921
PRICE FIVE CENTS
Bank Controversy On
i lu‘ controversy between the Fed
eral Reserve Bank of Richmond, and
the State Banks in North Carolina,
'vill eventually- go up to the Su
preme Couil of the United States,
and will be watched with great in
terest hy the people of this state.
^>11 November 1,5th 1920, the Fed-
^iral Reserve Bank began collecting
all checks in North Carolina at par,
‘dthough the banks in this state had
J'een collecting exchange for years,
on checks for which they remitted.
This practice was continued until
February 5th, when a law was rati
fied by the Legislature, authorizing
the State Banks to collect exchange,
and providing that if the Federal
Reserve Bank presents the checks
at the counter, the paying bank may
settle with its check on a bank in
which it has funds.
Th6 Federal Reserve Bank at once
put its agents in North Carolina,
and began presenting checks at the
counters of a large number of State
Banks, demanding payment in
money, and refusing to accept a
check as provided by the North
Carolina law. A great many checks
were returned by the Federal Re
serve Bank to the Banks from which
they received them, and some of
these checks-have returned to the
original holders. A large propor
tion however have been forwarded
by the banks holding them, to the
banks on which they were drawn,
for payment in the usual way.
An injunction has been secured
restraining the Federal Reserve
Bank from returning, as dishonored
any check not paid in money, which
should put a stop to presenting, at
the counter, checks dated after Feb
ruary 5th. This injunction is re
turnable before Judge J. Biss Ray,
on March 1st.
A number of merchants and oth
ers who liad forwarded their checks,
have received letters from those to
whom they had sent them, saying
their banks are objecting to taking
checks on North Carolina State
Banks, on account of the action of
the State Banks in refusing to re
mit for the checks without charging
exchange. These merchants are ex
plaining the matter, and anticipate
no further trouble.
The shifting of bank clearings
from the clearing centers in this
State to Richmond, brought about
by collecting all checks through the
Federal Reserve Bank, occasioned a
loss in deposits to North Carolina
clearing banks of about ten mil
lions of dollars between November |
1,5th, and February 5th, but it is ex-1
pected the re-establishment of clear-
I ing through North Carolina banks |
I will bring these funds hack to the |
' State. I
A Fine Compliment
A stranger who recently had oc
casion to spend several days in
Vass told us just before departing
for his home that one thing which
impressed him during his stay here
was the number of latch-strings
that were hanging out. He w-is
from a big city, where one hardly
knows his next-door neighbor and
it was pleasing to him to be where
people spoke to him whether they
knew him or not, and where they
appeared to have time to answer his
questions and to treat him courte*
ously.
This is a mighty nice compliment
for the town, but it also proves that
there is-still another good reason
for making your home in a place
this size. You bump right into
neighborly help and courtesy at
every turn. You find people who
are more interested in life than in
seeing how many dollars they can
pile up. You feel that community,
spirit which the smaller towns of
this country possess but which the
large cities brag so much about.
The gentleman was impressed with
the fact that our people had time
to answer his questions, and seem
ed pleased to be of assistance. He
is carrying that same report wher
ever he goes, and such reports never
do a town any harm.
If making and hoarding money is
your prime object in life, then you
belong, possibly, in the large city.
But if you want to feel that you are
cared for by your fellowmen; if you
want to feel the real community
spirit and know what it is to have
real neighbors and neighbors you
can depend on, then our advice is to
stay right here, hero where the
latchstrings are hanging out and
where people have time to he po-|
lite to strangers.
Quit Kicking
For the love of Mike, let’s be done
with this whining and moaning
about hard times; and let’s stop all
this talk about how much worse
conditions are apt to be in a few
months than they are now.
We know that isn’t very pretty
English, but it is plain English and
we are hearing too much kicking,
anyhaw, to make us# care much
what kind of talk we use so far as
grammar is concerned. The only
person who ever got anything out
of whining is the fakir who stands
on the comer pretends he lost a leg
in the great war and begs a dime,
when in reality he lost the limb
through being too lazy to get out
of the way of a passing automibile.
H you want to get into this class
you are welcome, but pick another
conmiunity to do your whining in.
What if business isn’t as good
as it might be? Are you going to
make it any better through running
around shrieking about it? You
had some mighty fine times in the
last two years or so, and if you
won’t take the bitter with the sweet
then you’re no better than a spoiled
child. Life is not all sugar, and it
would be a pretty sickening kind of
proposition if it was.
Stock Clubs
France’s answer to Germany is sub
stantially that it had better pay up when
paytime comes or it may find its things
out on the sidewalk.
Farmers around Vass will be in
terested in knowing that splendid
progress in live stock and poultry
breeding by boys’ and girls’ clubs
is reported from many sections of
the country and made tlie basis of
an interesting report by the govern
ment.
The Department of x\griculture is
interested in these clubs'and reports
that in seven states last year there
were 1186 of them, with a total mem
bership of 28,490. Of this number
12,786 male reports, showing that
731,709 eggs were set. From these
510,478 chickens were hatched. The
value of the products sold was set
at $94,791.32, while the value of the
stock OQ hand was estimated at
$382,777.37. A total of 712 exhibi
tions were held with 5,615 competi
tors participating. The prize money
divided among the winners amount
ed to $9,681.14.
The department urges farmers
throughout the United States to lend
every encouragement to the boys
and girls, and to assist them in
forming live stock and poultry clubs
whenever possible. They are the
ones who will be running the coun
try in a few years, and there is noth
ing more important than implant
ing in their minds now the dignity
and opportunities offered to intelli
gent men and M omen in agriculture.
Any one interested in promoting
this work in this community will
find plenty of help, advice and en
couragement if they care to write
the Department of Agriculture at
Washington and ask for it.
TOBACCO GROWERS NEn AT CARTIIAGENONDAY,MARCH 7