THE BREVARD NEWS a E N ai Pubished Every Thursday by THE TRANSYLVANIA PUBLISHING CO., Inc. ct T Entered at the Postolfice in Brevard, ir N. C., as Second Class Matter la . n James F. Barrett Editor t, SUBSCRIPTION RATES C (Payable In Advance) One Year . $2.00 " Six Months 1.00 ti Three Months .80 C Thursday, February 26, 1931 FARMERS SHOWING US H\t) OCT Of THE DESERT. i .. vw v! would do well to take a ( lesion from the farmers of the county just now. It is springtime, arm that means time for planning and planting a crop and crops for harv- t est lli:.' summer ami l'all. There has ( neve i before been such activity on the farms of Transylvania county as | that witnessed this season. From the f apt. ai'ance of ^-erything, there will not ':h- a fence corner left in idleness ( this year. . iuess men, boarding house and , hot ' keepers and property owners ha\iug places for lease during the , su. ,i:iv r season, would do well to look j to the preparations being made by the fanner. We can no more have a good 1 1: Iness season here this sum mer. f.- m a tourist standpoint, with out preparation and proper planning than a farmer can have a crop with out first preparing the soil, planting the seed, tending the plant and reap ing the harvest. it is good to see this great activity on the farms. Little by little our farmers* arc adding to their livestock, and this is the finest mark of in creased wealth. There can be no suc cessful farming where there is no live.-tock. This har. long been an ac vepre ! principle of agriculture. Be fore many years there will be an abundance of livestock roaming these hills, and when that day comes, the;e wiil be an abundance of wealth among the farmers of the county. Julian Glazener and J. F. Corbin, teach' rs of vocational agriculture in Brevard and Rosman, are mighty forces in this agricultural progress beirir made in the county. Et.l.i'TRIC CHAIR CLAIMS ITS VH'TIMS IX PENNSYLVANIA. I'p at Bellfonte, Pa., last Monday m?'i..lnv, the great state of Pennsyl vania took Irene Schroeder and \V. (iiinn Dague, shaved their heads, plae< . them in a chair, strapped their arms and legs to the chair, and then turned electricity upon them until they were pronounced dead. They had killed a highway patrolman, and, un der our laws, must pay for their crin;. with their lives. They wrote a lei let to theii attorneys, asking that no further effort be made to have tin : ? sentences changed to life im prisonment, as they preferred death to life imprisonment. .Some day historians will write about- such electrocutions, and people in that day will shudu. and wonder how a Christian nation could be so barbarous as to electro: te men and women. There is little sympathy, however, for the unfortunate pair. They went . out of their way to kill a man. Had ; they been at home, each one at that ' one's own home, there would have ' , been no dead highway patrolman, nor J ?would there have been any eleetrocu-1" tion at Bellfonte early last Monday. This pair felt cocky, impressed with their own importance, and sallied i forth to do their will. A highway 1 patrolman was in the way, and they slew him. They simply acted the 1 c fool, and now the families of the t slain officer, of the woman and of her 1 c | C male companion, must go through, J life with this taint and stain, trouble a and heartache, the innocent really 1 j paying the price for the crime of the j? guilty. So it is with all murders. Some c one acts the fool, and a killing re- ^ ? 'suits. Some one decides to lord it * ? ? I ? over another, or takes a violent dis- u like to some one, and decides he must C beat that one up, and, as a result a J d killing follows, and then the families ^ of the killed and the killer must pay ' 0, tie penalties in the ensuing years of j suffering, the years and years that ? follow, filled with heartache and ' j hardship. I b, How foolish it is for the. state to P take human life, and how much more f foolish it is for a fool to start out oh an errand that is likely to result in,. J just such tragedy that the state must, under the law, step in and take bu im.n life. Our court records are SUed with the recorded, doings of these awful souls in hell and 'survi vors Living lives that are worse than J l'' to". Ig PC ai< oc ici ou ob fo ATH0L1C CHURCH MAKING { FFORT TO WIN THIS ATION-TO ITS FAITH. , Protestant America is becoming roused by the effort of the Catholic i lurch to "make America Catholic.'' J his is evidenced by numerous writ- ( i?s and appeals now being made by , ading Protestants throughout the ? ation. No one but he who is wil jlly blind can deny the fact that atholics are making a most deter (ined etrort to place their church in bsolute control in America. The ex jnsive broadcasting program of the latholic church, their publications, nd the personal work being done by he church and its organizations all ioint to a well defined program to ^ take America." The Catholic church is already , casting of the fact that America, 'rotestant in its beginning, >s now apidly becoming Catholic. Some American Protestants say: Well, what of it?" Well, it simply means annihilation >f our public school system, for the "atholic church hates the public chool, and contends that the Catho ie church, "the ONE TRUE church is they call it, should have absolute jontrol of the education of the youth >f the land. It would mean a complete reversal jf our present form of government. It would mean a wiping out of the ivork of Calvin, Wesley, and all of the pioneers in Protestantism. It would mean complete and full and final power of the pope over everything. One big provison in the program ol the Catholic church in winning Amer ica. many leaders believe, is the elec tion of a Catholic as president of the United States. Road the following article that ap pears in the current issue of '^The New Age," official magazine of Scot tish Rite Masonry. It is enlightening. It follows: ? It is unfortunate that Protestant itligions and societies in this country a 10, seemingly forced to defend their verv existence by counteracting tne implications, direct accusations ana taise claims of an organization oper ating under ecclesiastical banner^ leaked in religious garb and e working to force people of every uade of religious belief .0 the sell iaimed "one true Chinch's" way of ihinking. But that '.o actually what tr.king place in America today. "That Protestantism as a whole ha* jeen openly challenged was revealed ,o longei ago than last Decenibei when tae Rev. Francis X. Talbot, S .)., \i addressing the New York Circle ol the International Federation ol Catholic Alumnae, is quoted in the press as having stated: f old Protestant cult tire w about at the end of its rope. J' he first set rters of our country esra btisheu tin t distinctly Protestant culture, being chief lu from Protestant countries, s i : nut our history from the beginning of the republic has been predomin ? lintly non-Catholic. It has given the complexion to the country, entered out I egislation , sociology and economies, w the basin of our commerce and indus try and, in fact, has formed v. Ijrcat part of the American people. For one hundred and fifty years the Protest a tit element was strongest, and we ad mit it. This Christian culture is a wave receding, and we Catholics are. living in 1 1 most important day, with one culture vanishing; another gaining strength . . . Why can't we wake the United States Catholic in legisla tion, Catholic in justice, aims and ideals ! We are the greatest numeric ally in the country, strong and grow ing in the arts and education. We are now ready to expand. Now is the time tor small groups like this to organ ize and strike hard to put the Cath olic idea before all. (Xciv York World, Dec. 14, 1930.) "These statements, startling as they appear, are not new to one who has kept abreast of Catholic thought as contained in the publications of the hierarchy and laity. For years Pro .cstant writers have pointed to the landwriting on the wall and have en leavored to awaken the American ion-Catholic people to an obvious langer looming ahead. "Catholic insistence was never so ironounced as at the present time ; Datholic claims (or boasts) never so irrogant ; Catholic culture never so iggressive. The democratic institu ions of the nation have been assailed; he freedom of the press threatened; he public school system condemned as ;odless; freedom of speech subjugated >y threats of violence, boycott, etc., "nd more than one man has been ailed for daring to circulate what he elieved to be an authentic oath of a latholic secret society. "The press stage and screen have ome under the close supervision and ensojrship of the Roman Church. Ion-Catholic religions have been flay d from the pulpit and in the col mns of the religious press Anti 'atholic orders have been split asun er, and lecturers, many of whom 'ere former members of som?t. sacred rder of the Catholic Church, have een mobbed and assaulted "Thus a persistent and aggressive rogram is being followed by the atholics, not only at home, but ; aroad, and in the latter connection ; it said that in some countries i rotestant -religions are not tolerated, reemasonB are arrested and impris iea' on the flimsiest of charges, or j v. chliflge at all '"From far away Rome a foreign < dentate recently delivered a broad- 1 3$ of condemnation anent the dem- j ratic, free public schools of Amer- . i Twenty million Americans who re the pontiff spiritual and temporal J edience are, without alternative, g rccd to heed the mandates of fchis r gust personage. This flagrant, at ek upon the very foundations of our government affects the nation from V x>rder to border, coast to coast. .11 I s a challenge that America will ig lore at her peril? an opening wedge (that happily failed of its purpose f ,vhen a Roman Catholic candidate ? .vas defeated for the Presidency of g :he United States) to "Make America Uatholic," just as Rev. Francis Tal bot hopes and is ardently working i for. ' * "While the papal encyclical on ed- t ucation did not seriously upset the equnimity of many Americans, the Supreme Council, Ancieijt and Ac cepted Scottish Rite of the Southern t jurisdiction, was awake to the ac- f tual and potential dangers of the sit uation and at its Dallas Session adopted ringing resolutions solidly i supporting the American public < school and voicing its disapproval of , the Roman pontiff's interference in the conduct of our public school af fairs. "There has been published, as a distinctly Masonic duty, an interest ing pamphlet entitled "The Truth Shall Make You Free," wfcich con tains the papal encyclical, the Su preme Council's resolutions and rela tive matter. This pamphlet is being mailed without charge to all Scottish Rite Masons of the Southern Juris diction and our brethren are urged to read the same and, after doing so, pass it on to an interested brother Mason or to someone outside 9f the Fraternity. (If extra copies are need ed, a postal card addressed to the .lupieine Council will secure the same. I "This pamphlet should be read carefully and intelligently by the re cipients, not only as Scottish Rite Masons but as citizens of the United States. It is a Masonic duty that should receive the studious attention 01 every member of the Fraternity." AN AWFUL INJUSTICE TO AN HONORABLE MAN. ' Brother Dan Tompkins, wielder of the mighty pen which gives to the world that inimitable Jackson County Journal, has, unintentionally we be lieve, done violence to the good name of an exceptionally good man. And the fact that Brother Dan published the same editorial in two consecutive issues of his paper makes the matter all the more serious. The Jackson County Journal was commenting upon the appointment of Hon. Charles A. Jonas to tbe_ high office of United Stales District At torn? -j ; succeeding Hon. Thomas J. llarkins, resigned, and said: So far as we have been able to see, Mr. Harkiiis has been making a most acceptable district attorney. He is popular in Western North Carolina. The Democrats like him, although he is u Hepublican oj the Kepulilicuns. j All of which makes us wonder just , hole, why, etc., when the sprint; time began to come ( Gentle Annie), and i with it the end of the term of the i Honorable Charles A. Jonas, in the ' Congress of the United States, Mr. ' Harkins should have developed an ; urge to quit the office lie was hold ing, and why, almost immediately, i Mr. Jonas was appointed to it, effec r tire two days before the tour oj i March! People up in this parts of the t district, at least, prefer the distin guished Mr. ti uric ins. Hut a roost J must be prepared for lame ducks, . and Mr. Hark ins is perfectly capable o/ making a good living without a , public office. We most heartily agree with all i that Editor Tompkins says about ? Thos. J. Harkins. lie is popular. He is capable. People who know him, like him, regardless of political affil iation, and he is most worthy of every friendship, every good opinion, every good word, that he possesses 91- that is held for him or has been said about him. But the insinuations that Mr. Jonas needs a job in order to make a living is preposterous, and must have been made by Mr. Tomkins in a mo ment of thoughtlessness. Charles A. Jonas is a most capable man, and has rendered service! to North Caro lina equalled by but few men. He did more for his congressional dis trict, than all the congressmen pre ceding him. Mr. Jonas is one of the outstanding lawyers of North Caro lina, and could make "a good living" in the practice of his profession in any city in this state or in any other state. Because Mr. Jonas wijs "defeated" in the last eleetion does not place him in the "lame duck cla^" al all. There are many who believe that Mr. Jonas was elected last November, and denied his rightful place because of that sweet weapon so generally used, known as the Absentee Voters Law. It may develop that Mr. Jonas will have opportunity to display his great abil- j ity as a lawyer in the prosecution of ^ some of the election thieves who so , dearly love the Abesntee Voters Law, and its easy manipulation in the pur-1 pose of, defeating popular demands. j Wouldn't it be the irony of fate if ( Mr. Jonas should have occasion to ^ display his ability in the prosecution ij of some of the close personal and ^ political friends of Editor Tomkins? g That would be a lame duck story with c different feathers, wouldn't it? I j You good people have been most * iberal in your donations to charity . ^ luring the winter months. But the eaders of the Associated Charrities ell us that the need is still acute, and hat there is much suffering. We can- c] lot stop now. Farmers with food- S tuff that can be spared will render ? eal service by making donation to cj he Charities board. c VHAT YOU GOING TO DO VHEN PAY-DAY COMES ? Once again we call attention to the act that time is passing, and, as yet, iothing has been done in the way ot o jetting summer people here for our ? ommunity pay-day in July and Aug- * ist. It is now almost springtime, j ind no action at all has been taken 011 c his important matter. Is the town so absolutely dead that J 10 concerted action can be taken on J ;he one important matter of bringing j lummer folks here? What else will relieve this commur.- ] ity, except that relief which can i ;ome only through a good summer j season? , How are we to have a good summer unless we make some effort to bring the summer people to this com munity? The farmers are doing their part. Every foot of tillable land in the | county is being plowed, preparatory | to planting crops. The camps are busily engaged in filling their lists for the camping] season. All has been done along industrial lines that can be done now, and suc cess has crowned the efforts of those who have worked so diligently in this field. But what about the tourist business, the ?ne best bet for ready cash this summer? Where is our Chamber of Com-] merce? Are the men to sit idly by during another season, and let the women do the work? , Wake up, you good old scouts, and get the old fire back in your eyes, and the old pep that once was so mani fest here, and let's get to work for this community. EASY PICKINGS GONE, IF SIGNS MEAN ANYTHING. i History is being made down at Raleigh, where the spotlight is being turned upon county and municipal governments. Regardless of all else ?that -may* oy jjw not- ^ done, one thing is being acco5/S$fehed that will mean much to the future t'le s'ate' the counties and the municipalities this old commonwealth ^ ^as with county and tow" governments. For a great many tfears now it has been the custom ^/cliques and clans to obtain a hold onv .county or town government, and gouge tbe public to the quick. When sufficient money could not be raised by taxation, then the gang in power would soli\ some county or town bonds, fill the tTU?1" ury, hire their kin folks for one j"'J and another, and go merrily on ?neir way. Usually, some squarehead who could not make a living in the com petitive field of his activities, became the leader of the gang and establish ed a dictatorship, bossing the town or county in much the same manner that a convict boss wields his power over the gang. It has been no rarethkig to see half a dozen members of one family in a small town government on that town's payroll. Queerest of all twists and turns in connection with this system has been the fact that the gang having full reins in public affairs has assumed the position of owning the town or county which such gangs had in their itchy palms. But things are chang ing now, and the public, always siow to turn yet a most determined factor when it does turn, is now putting the screws to the gangs and cliques and self-appointed bosses of public busi ness. Hereafter, the pathway of these grif{ers and grafters is not to be so rosy. Old Man Public is now saying to them : "If you work for me, you are my servant, and I am your ( boss. You must make report of alii activities to proper authorities in [ your state government, and you can not ever again issue bonds and exe cute notes unless and until you ob tain the okay from men ? who must know4 that said notes and bonds arc an absolute necessity." Yes, the day of the little swelled-up. big-headed, self- appointed public "boss'' is dying. He belongs to the race of vanishing men, and tax pay- j ers will be relieved when he is gone: for he has done more than all other influences to cause taxes to increase to the back-breaking point now exper ienced. Eighteen men have been indicted by ;he Buncombe county grand jury in .'on&ection with the closing of the 3entral Bank & Trust compaAiv Phree are former county commission irs, a mayor and two city commis ioners, a county treasurer, and offi ers and directors of the Central lank. Bonds were made, ranging in tee from $15,000 down to $3,000. iome of the outstanding men of isheville and Buncombe bounty are mong those indicted. The use of farrowing houses on lean land has paid W. E. Smith of cotland Neck well this season. He ist ten pigs from five sows in the d pens and only two runts from ght sows in the houses on clean round. 1 POKING FUN AT } ( MRS. McKEE ????? v ( Greensboro New*) It was observed yesterday morning, I f the taxation bill introduced by a Senator McKee, that it evidences a willingness on th<> part of the senator o accept her share of the respongibil- f t for a taxation shift she had fav-U; ired, and to that extent is commend- [j ible. The Daily News was not then g ind is not a day later prepared to 0 wsert the bill is a bad one. It must >e judged as a whole; and the possi-L rilities of amendment must be taken I ^ nto consideration. A part of what the senator pro- 1 j poses to the general assembly is that , it levy a tax on water ;H20; presum- i ibly, drinking, cooking and washing. The general assembly might levy a . worse tax than that The window tax has been common- , ly considered as the most unwise in ' principle and the. most oppressive in . fact imposed in any civilized country since the dark ages. It is a tax on , God's free air, whose gases are neces- ( sary to sustain life; on His free sun- j shine, whose chemicals are necessary to the health of human beings and ' especially children; on His free light,1 the tonic of the spirit. Whereas a water tax is merely a tax on clean- J liness. There is possibly a great deal . of nonsense in the present-day clean- 1 liness preachment and practice. Be that as it may, it seems clearly dem-|i onstrable that except for the small J amount used for drinking, which! would hardly count in any taxation | scheme, air and sunlight are much more necessary than water. The taxers might do worse than to tax water. " But not much worse. MRS. McKEE'S UNJUST BILL ( Aahcville Advocatc) Because of the multiplicity of in terests involved it would be impossible to propose any new form of tax rev- 1 enue that would meet with the ap- 1 proval of everybody. There is no form of painless taxa-1 tion unless it is that paid by joyriders on gasoline, and so every new pro-' posal that is dumped into the legisla tive hopper' at Raleigh brings forth a storm of protest from one quarter or another. Now it is Mrs. McKee, the lady senator from Jackson county, who would have the multitudes showering down to the tune of five per cent oil j their gas, electricity, water, telephone, "and other utilities." Heaven knows that these bills are high enough already, and mortals here below know that the users of gas, electricity, telephones "and other utilities" grow less every day. In other words the utilities are bearing about all the charge that the traffic will stand without reflecting an ever-lessening use of 'these commodi j ties. Ask the telephone people how many people have given up their phones during the past two years. Ask the gas people and the electric people how I consumption is falling off among do ;iTK'stic users. Asheville water rates i are too high already and higher rates fail to bring in more revenues. In fact the reverse is the case. ^ And yet Mrs. McKee ? and many lifce her ? would levy a five per cent tax' against these commodities, a levy whicfc >s not K?ing to be paid out of the ptfQkets of stockholders in the cor poration8 but will come out of the dwindling earnings of old Mr. Ulti mate Con?umc as sure as shootin'. A tax leV>' on utilities has the same defect as i*ny consumption tax ? the little man p^J's more in proportion. I The smaller the income a family has, naturally. 'be larger the percent i of that income must go for the neecs ' sities of life. \This makes any tax 'on consumption Lgreater in proportion upon the lowly A*10" ul)on those more fortunately be"sto?ved with this world's ; goods. v i One wonders 4 bo legislative, grist hasn't been Swamped with bills | that would remove ,the tax exemption I from foreign and di?m.cst'c securities! jit would be a move* 'n the direction | opposite to that whio^ the bulk of so called tax relief has. taken so far. And so the Legislature flounders and flounders, and ap]\ears no nearer anything that looks ifke tax relief than it was in the beginning. The 1931 assembly sterns to have become a sort of trainiityf school in taxation for the legislator many of whom have learned all \they have learned (if anything at ft") since, taking up their temporary \abodc in Raleigh. CONDEMNS MRS. McKEETS BILL (Lexington Dispatch) ' A proposal has been made in the legislature that a tax be placed on 11 water, electric and gas bills paid y consumers. It is a proposal that eserves to die a death of ignominy, or it would be class legislation of he rankest, meanest and narrow sort, f there must be sales taxes let them o where they will not merely fall on ne group. Thf domestic consumer pays the op price for current for lighting his louse and for gas used in cooking he meals of his family. The major ty of this class are composed of Iwellers in small homes that have teen taxed higher than perhaps any ither class of property. These homes >ear the full brunt of both county and nunicipal taxes. There is no calling ror passing more of the general burd >n of taxation there, to the exclus on of those who may use other meth )ds of lighting, heating or cooking, rhe electric light long ago passed out >f the luxury class, and so has the lse of gas for domestic purposes. And sure water has never Keen a luxury. CAN'T TAX WEALTH ( Gastonia Gazette) Josephus Daniels is making a brave and determined fight for Governor Gardner's road and school legisla tion. The News and Observer con tends that the money can be found to finance both the schools and roads without having to tax real estate. It points to the great amount of intangibles in foreign corporations and to the immense profits returned by the cigarette, tobacco and soft drink industries as sources from which all the money needed to finance both the roads and schools, could be secured. The News and Observer says: Uncle Sam collects $231,576,998 yearly from the cigarette companies, 'which increased their earnings last year sixteen million dollars by paying the farmers eighteen million dollars less for their tobacco. And yet North Carolina cannot secure reasonable tax from them to help carry on its six months school. One power company poured 2,000 per cent of water into its stock and all of them are earning big money on watered stock. And yet North Caro lina cannot secure reasonable tax from them to help carry on its six months school. The soft drink concerns, at least the big ones, are making millions. Al ready the News and Observer has printed the earnings of the cigarette companies in North Carolina. The jNew York World of Sunday has the ! following: j "Another record breaking year was I shown by the Coca-Cola Company's annual report for 1930, placed in the mails last night. Net profits were $13,515,536 after deduction of federal 'income taxes and all operating charg es. This represents an increase of 3.6 per cent in earnings per share on [the common stock over 1929. i And yet we are told it will never do to assess any reasonable tax on soft I drinks. "It would ruin the industry ! of the state" is the psrrot cry. | Unless such big paying concerns pay their share of taxes the bent backs of land owners will be broken, j Either big concerns making this 'money .must pay more taxes or more 'counties like Chatham will sell 1,000 tracts of land at the court house door [for non-payment of taxes. GOOD FOR MORRISON Ruthcrfordton Xcict Senator Cameron Morrison is tak ing a dry stand in the Senate. His "tilt" with Senator Tydings of Mary land Monday showed that he has not 'lost his "fire and vim." Senator Morrison is right. The South will not support a wet candi date for President. The South is dry and is likely to remain so. Senator Morrison is also right in stating that Chairman John J. Ras kob of the Democratic National Com mittee must "come down." Raskob has been a drawback to the party and should resign. Morrison is right when he says: "Raskob is the monu mental mistake of the last Democratic candidate for president." His over whelming defeat showed that some thing was wrong. The News congratulates Senator Morrison on his dry and Raakob stand. SOMETHING TO S&L? TRY OUR WANT ADS. Checkerboard Chatter Volume 1 February 1931 Number 12 Publixhed in the in terest of the people of BREVARD and T R ANSYLVASIA County by the B&B Feed & Seed Co. "I think I'm seeing too much of you," said the sweet young thing after her 8th cocktail. Just unloaded N. C. The 5