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VOLUME
1
The Opening of the Vass Graded School has been Postponed until September 19th
THE PILOT
NUMBER
Devoted to the Upbuilding of Vass and Its Surrounding Country
SUBSCRIPTION $2.00
VASS, N. C., FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1921
PRICE nVE CENTS
SCHOOL OPENING DEFERRED
The Vass schools open on Monday,
Sept. 19th, instead of the 12th, the
building being not yet quite ready.
The summer has seen things change
so much for the better that Vass
will this year have one of the
best schools in the county. Except
Aberdeen and Carthage it will probab
ly have the biggest attendance of any
school in the county. The added four
new rooms gives an abundance of
space for the enlarged school, which
will pretty fairly utilize the increased
facilities. The southern half of
Cranes Creek district has consolidated
with Vass, the balance going to
Cameron, and this makes two strong
schools in this section. Vass will
have over 200 scholars, and Came
ron will probably have around 165.
Mr. Matthews asks the children to
be on hand promptly on Monday morn
ing, as he says he cannot guarantee
results and satisfaction next spring
to those who do not take a hand in
bringing the resullts, and no child can
expect to make progress by starting
late or losing time along the way.
It is likely a truck will be provided
to help get the country children into
school, but those who can should make
it a point to be on hand and to be
there every morning when the school
starts.
It is the intention to try this year
to raise the general state of the work
and to make the school thoroughly
up to the standard, that the increased
number of attendants and the larger
building: warrants, and to give the
people of the Vass community what
they are paying for in the way of
education for the children of the
town and surrounding territory.
The Wilmington-Wins ton Road
CARRYING WEAPONS
OLINA
We believe Vass citizens, who are
accustomed to reading of the rapidly
increasing number of tragedies being
enacted throughout the country, will
agree with us when we say there
ought to be laws enacted prohibiting
the purchase of pistols or other dead
ly weapons without a written permit
from a sheriff, a chief of police, town
marshal or some responsible constable
or magistrate. This thing of charg
ing to the hardware store every time
you get enraged or when the old car
nal nature begins to call for revenge,
is becoming too common, and with a
little legislative assistance, by making
it difficult to buy a deadly weapon,
it would prevent many a fellow from
committing murder. We have studied
the matter carefully, and we have
been unable to see just why a coun
try boasting the highest type of
citizenship and Christianity should
desire to manufacture such weapons
for general sale, or to place them on
the market where it becomes possible
for any one, young or old, responsible
or irresponsible, to become the bearer
of an article as dangerous as it is
possible for the human brain to in
vent.
That the road from Wilmington to
Winston-Salem is finding friends is
seen in an article below from the
Winston-Salem Journal. It is one of
several such articles as are appearing
on this subject in the papers of the
territory that would be served, and
this shows the importance of this
road in serving the whole country
from Tennessee to the coast, and its
value in opening a big area of North
Carolina:
To the Editor of The Journal:
In considering the road projects
that Forsyth now has in hand since
looking at the map of North Carolina,
and since it has been suggested that
this road is only a link in a more ex
tensive and ambitious scheme of road
building towards Fayetteville and
Wilmington, I have been greatly im
pressed with the importance of the
road from Winston-Salem to High
Point.
The route of the road from Win
ston-Salem to Boone, a distance of
109 miles, has been practically de
termined upon, and the road in its
entire length has been thrown open
for public travel. This road makes
Winston-Salem 40 miles nearer to
Boone than it was by the route for
merly used, by way of Mocksville,
Statesville, Newton, Hickory and
Lenoir. In other words, the county
of Forsyth and its adjoining counties
have, by the construction of the Boone
Trail High way,, been thrown 40 miles
nearer to the transmontane counties
of Watauga, Ashe and Avery.
Now if a road is built from Win-
ston-Salem to High Point, from High
Point to Asheboro, thence to Fayette-
vile and on to Wilmington it would
bring these counties west of the
Blue Ridge 40 miles nearer to any
point in North Carolina lying east
of said road. In other words, any
person motoring from the eastern
part of the State with a view of cross
ing the Blue Ridge, will have to cross
this proposed Winston-Salem-Wil-
mington road, and other things be
ing equal, he would follow the line
of this road to Winston-Salem and
then would pass over the Boone Trail
Highway across the Blue Ridge to
the Tennessee line. In this way Win
ston-Salem would be the gateway be
tween eastern and western North
Carolina.
Of course, in order to secure this
travel on this road it would have
to be a good road, for the Central
Highway from Raleigh to Asheville
will be a hard surfaced road, of the
best and latest type of construction.
It seems to me the building of this
proposed highway from Winston-
Salem to Wilmington is of the great
est importance to our city, and it
should receive the encouragement of
all the public agencies through which
citizens of our city are accustomed
to express their views upon public
questions.
The territory lying between the
county of Forsyth and the Tennessee
line is already secured as tributary
to Winston-Salem. By encouraging
the building of the road from Win
ston-Salem to Wilmington in every
possible way, the eastern part of the
State can be brought much nearer
to this place, and the travel to the
west can be directed through Forsyth
county.
This is no discovery of mine, but
since regarding the territory through
which this road would pass, I have
been immensely impressed with its
importance. In this way, communi
cation would be opened up between
our city and High Point, Asheboro,
Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Fayette
ville and Wilmington.
It is said that in the future fed
eral aid will be granted to the States
only* in the building of interstate
highways. The Boone Trail road
has been completed to the Tennessee
line. In all probability the state of
Tennessee will carry it on through
east Tennessee to Cumberland Gap,
and thence into the state of Kentucky.
So that by furthering the building of
the road to Wilmington, Winston-
Salem has a chance of becoming the
most important point between the
North Carolina coast and the states
of Tennessee and Kentucky, and of
receiving aid from the federal govern
ment in the construction of this great
interstate thorougfare.
Every effort should be made to
influence the state highway commis
sion to have this road constructed
at an early, date, and I trust that
you will throw the strength of your
publication in its behalf.
LINDSAY PATTERSON.
Winston-Salem, Sept. 1, 1921.
COTTON STILL GOING UP
UPPER HOKE
Cotton has been going up rapidly
since the first flurry of a couple of
weeks ago, and there is little doubt
now but that it will reach twenty
cents in the local markets if it does
not hit that spot by the time this is
printed. A lot of old cotton is in
the hands of the farmer and will be
coming out now with the increased
prices, and that means that a big
amount of money will be turned
loose in the South in the next few
weeks. The crop this year is esti
mated by the government to just
leach 7,000,000 bales, and this is the
first time since 1888 that the crop
has been so small. This is hardly
half a normal cr^p, and it can mean
only one thing which is high price.
The call for cotton now from the
mills in all directions is big, and the
export trade is picking up as well.
This all points to good prices and
that the prices will hold good all
winter. With the amount of cot
ton in the hands of farmers, time
merchants and warehouses, it is easy
to see that money will be easier right
along now and that the backbone
It’s hot and dry in Upper Hoke
and everything is burning up, but we
guess we are not by ourselves as re
ports show that it is the same way
almost everywhere.
The Hoke road force are at work
on the roads of Upper Hoke, and in
the near future the long talked of
road from Lobelia to the Hoke line
at Hector’s Creek, on the Overhills
road, will be graded and a new
bridge will be built on Buffalo Creek.
This is a very' much needed road,
opening a good route from Vass to
Fayetteville via Overhills and Man
chester, the road from Lamont place
having recently been put in shape
by the Overhills road force, who keep
up the five mile stretch leading this
way at their own expense. And
furthermore, this road will pass thru
some good undeveloped farming land
in Upf)er Hoke which will no doubt
be taken up and improved as soon
as this road is completed. While not
officially informed, we have heard it
talked that if Camp Bragg is not
abandoned they expect to run a ro«d
from the camp to the river at La
mont Bridge, thus giving us a more
direct route to Fayetteville than by
Overhills, but this we don’t know to
be true; the Overhills route will be
all 0. K. anyway, and will answer
all purposes.
Mr. Neill Stewart, who has been in
Rex Hospital, Raleigh, for the past
two months, is at home again and
doing findy, we are glad to say.
Mr. D. K. Blue, Hoke’s efficient
Register of Deeds, is visiting relatives
in Upper Hoke for the week-end.
Ther was a communion service an<i
a baptizing at Mt. Pleasant Sundaay.
There was a meeting held at Mt.
Pleasant a month ago with fourteen
new additions to the church, and Sun
day was set apart to baptize the new
members by immersion.
Mrs. A. C. Smith has been very
sick for the past two weeks, but is
slowly improving.
Mrs. Cash, of Winston-Salem, who
has been spending the summer with
Mr. W. H. Simpson’s family, has been
sick for a week, but is better.
Mr. James Wright, of Florida, is
at home on a visit.
Mr. J. D. Stewart, who has been
with his father, Mr. M. N. Stewart^
during his illness, returned to Flori
da yesterday.
of the financial trouble in the South
is broken.
As the farmer has made his cot
ton with the use of much less fertil
izer this year than usual he is going
to have more margin on what he
harvests, although the harvest will
not be as big as it has been. But
the prospects are much better than
was anticipated earlier in the season.
Tobacco is also looking much better^
and with better quality and prices
more favorable the tobacco men are
feeling more encouraged.