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MONDAY, APRIL 23, 1923
A Few Economic Hopes
It is time for North Carolinians to
recognize the fact that a deep water
port with adequate ship terminals and
port equipment is the economic hope
of the state. Europe regards America
as her economic hope, and now a
reputable Philadelphian who ought to
know, tells us that the south is the
economic hope of America. North
Carolina is not exactly the economic
hope of the south but we make a
■noise as though she is the economic
example of the south.
At the annual convention of the
Southern Wholesale Drygoods associa
tion, which closed with a banquet at i
Memphis, last Thursday night, the |
members and guests listened to an ad- j
dress by Edward James Cattell, city
statistician of Philadelphia, ivhoj
spoke optimistically of present condi
tions and the future of business. Mr.
Cattell greatly enthused his southern
audience of business men by declar
ing that It was obvious to him that
“the south is the economic hope of
America and America is the economic
hope of the world.” In the face of
present conditions, he said, there are
ahead of us 25 years of the greatest
prosperity this country ever had.
It is quite natural for the speller |
at a banquet to geyser with enthusiasm
and bubble over with optimism, but
while his declaration as to those 2&
years of prosperity ahead of us is an
optimistic prophecy, nobody can doubt
for a minute that his indicated con
fidence in the great economic possi
bilities of the south proves him to
be a forward-looking man with full
knowledge of southern resources. The
only difficulty is to get southerners
to realize it themselves and take more
Btock in the south, not alone as trad
srs but as developers.
The Philadelphia statistician was
not bragging on us for the really great
things we have accomplished but he
was emphasizing the immense possi
bilities in undevelopment of southern
resources. As much as we have done,
we have hardly scratched over those
resources, and in their undeveloped
state there are thousands of splendid
opportunities for us. No people on
earth ever had such opportunities in
undeveloped state resources as the
people of North Carolina have.
Nevertheless, if a fellow believes
too ptrongly in North Carolina re
sources, the run of the. crowd will
pitiably regard him as a more or less
clever dreamer. When a man of the
broad vision of Governor Morrison
undertakes to make an asset of some
of those 'possibilities—only some of
them—there are not a few who "in
sult” hjm. Probably they do not ac-’
tually mean to insult him, as he
claimed in a speech during the past
week at Thomasyille, but the opposi
tion is so unreasonable that it makes
him more or less indignant.
Governor Morrison has seen in bet
ter developed ocean and waterways
facilities and shipping facilities a
great opportunity for North Carolina
but the difficulty is to get the people
of the state to believe it. Even the
legislature, at its 1923 session, was
not exactly prepared to believe it. The
legislators, however, thought there
may be something in it, so it appoint
ed a ship and waterways commission
to carry on an investigation and to
make a study of the possibilities and
feasibilities involved. However, that
had to be done because of the rather
large proportion of those from Mis
souri.
The fact is, the people of the whble
of North Carolina had4 better wake
up and. back their ship .and port com
mission if ever they hope to solve
their freight rate and transportation
problem. All along they have believ
ed that arguments "well based, reason
able logical and vehement would set
tle the thing but argument has been
exhausted by our rate experts. Tfce
have argued in vain against skilled;
water and rail technicians and ¥25,
000 lawyers, and at last North Caro
lina is about to realize that her hope
Is in a deep water port. She has
neglected that argument, even though
that powernu factor a» a j
basing has been hurled at us from
time immemorial-. We have appealed
for justice and it has been denied on
purely technical lines—deep water
for ocean transportation and adequate
ly developed facilities to assure that
transportation. It is a more or. less
unreasonable and unjustifiable techni
cality but the theory in it is all power
ful and undisputable. We have not
and never will overthrow it with
facts and figures and guff. The way
to do it ought to be plain or ought
to be made plain to North Carolinians
as far back in the*hinterland as the
Lost Provinces.
Coming right down to Wilmington,
we wonder if the people here know
what the hope of Wilmington is and
have realized the possibilities and op
portunities here for them. The larger
ones, in which we have our main
chance is the development of indus
tries and commerce. If it is possible
for us to realize it we will rally to
a man for ratification of the indus
trial bill at the special election to
be held June 10th. If North Caro
linians realize their hope in a deep
water port and adequate terminals
to make it a competitive port, they
had better 'be prepared to appreciate
the work placed in the hands of the
North Carolina ship and water trans
portation commission.
-,
Increased Cotton Acreage
A Washington special to the New
York Journal of Commerce says pre
liminary reports to the agricultural
department show /that the cotton
states will increase the cotton acre
age 12 percent this year over the 1922
acreage. “This would mean,” says
the estimate, “that the* south will
cultivate 37,791,040 acres in cotiton
this year, and if the yield per acre
is the same as last year, this addi
tional acreage would mean a crop of
only 11,110,688 bales.”
That acreage is about the same on
which the record crop of more than
16,000 bales was produced, and if there
were an average yield of a half bale
per acre, the 1922 crop would be 18,
895,520 bales. A per acre yield all
over the south, equal to the per acre
yield in North Carolina, would make
a crop of more than 20,000,000 bales.
However, the governments estimated
yield, based on the per acre average
last jlear, is for a 1923 crop of 11,
110,688 bales. That would be less
than one-third of a bale to the acre,
and there would be another crop below
the cotton demand of the manufactur
ing world.
• We wonder if the farmers of the
south think they can prosper on land
which will produce only a third of a
bale per acre, on the general aver
age? Of course, the boll weevil takes
.its toll of already poor yields on im
poverished lands, so if we expect to
combat the weevil and grow cotton
inspite, of it, we will have to do it
by soil improvement.
According to the government’s pre
liminary estimate of the intended
plantings this season, as a percentage
of last year’s planted acreage for the
various cotton states, are as follows:
Virginia. 150 percent: North
Carolina, 102 percent: South Caro
lina, 103 percent: Georgia. 101
percent: Florida. 130 percent;
Alabama, 113 percent; Mississippi,
110 percent; Louisiana, 110 percent
Tennessee, 119 percent; Texas, 114
percent: Arkansas, 111 percent;
Missiuri, 200 percent; Oklahoma]
120 percent; Arizona, 121 percent.
Pottery Magnates -Sentenced to
\ Jail
The country was wondering what
kind of penalty would be put upon the
22 pottery magnates who were con
victed in the federal court in New
York last week. The defendants rep
resented 20 pottery companies which
combined to control prices and regu
late sales, and the defendants were
chraged with entering into a con
spiracy in restraint of trade. It seems
that they restrained quite a lot of
trade, especially in such ceramic
necessities as go intto the outfitting
of houses and buildings.
The defendants received both fines
and jail sentences. The fines ranged
from $250 each to six months in jail.
However, Archibald M. Maddock,
president of the Thomas Maddock and
Sons company, was regarded as the
ring-leader and he was sentenced to
serve ten months in jail and to pay
a fine of $5,000. When Judge Van
Fleet imposed the sentences he as
sailed Maddocks, whom he characteriz
ed as the principal of the , manufac
turers association accused of establish
ing the conspiracy. Asked by -the
judge if lie could show cause why j
sentence should not be Imposed, Mad-,
docks replied that be was innocent °t
the charge preferred, against him by
tfce^government. The judge commend-,
ed the Jury for rendering a verdict of
guilty, and in passing sentence on the
2 men, whom he evidently regarded
as malefactors of more or' less great
wealth, he said: i
it becomes my auty now w mooi
out such punishment as in my jud
ment the law compels following- a
verdict of guilt. The aim and pur
pose of the law in inflicting punish
ment is not to reelc vengeance,
nor to give outlet to any public
malice, but rather to set an ex
ample and act as a deterrent to
all others throughout the oountry.
This applies to'im who may be
inclined to pursue criminal activi
ties similar to those of which you
have been found guilty. Let mo
refer for a moment to circum
stances peculiarly applicable to
this case, which are a matter o£
common knowledge. During the
war a shortage of men, money and
materials oreated a shortage of
housing facilities In all of the
larger cities of the land.
At the close of the war public
attention became focused on
domestic conditions, and prominent
among those was the lack of
proper homes by the thousands.
Efforts were* being made on all
sides in every large .city to relieve
this acute shortage.
Rent law's were enacted to pro
tect thousands of families from
becoming homeless. You defen
dants have been engaged through
out this reconstruction period in .
manufacturing one of the most
urgent necessities of proper hous
ing. It is' difficult to conceive of
any one commodity more vital to
the health of the community the
^ bath and tile fixtures manufactur
ed by all of you.
Your activities attracted the at
tention of the department of Jus
tice and were made the subject
of an exhaustive investigation;
resulting in this indicment and
your conviction after a protracted
trial.
The judge seemed to have taken
pleasure in sentencing the defendants,
but,all hands appealed and gave bond
pending disposition of the appeal. They
don’t like the idea of going to jail,
especially during the summer.
CONTEMPORARY VIEWS.
—-O
THE SOUTH NEW IN BUSINESS
Those who think that the present
business revival is too rapid, says the
Atlanta Georgian, should consider that
the south, oldest part of the union
politically, "is the newest In a busi
ness way.”
The south, which did not actually
begin to recover from the War Be
tween the States until 1900, “is in the
same position now. that- the middle
west was in the late nineties; and
everyone knows what happened to the
west in the past 20 years."
The Georgian continues by saying:
“The development of the west began
with the world’s fair in Chicago in
1898. The city of Chicago then was
young and crude, Detroit almost un
known—and Cleveland a smaller City
than Cincinnati.
Government lands were being staked
by homesteaders then that now bring
from $200 to $500 an acre for farm
ing purposes.
“What we are now experiencing is
an influx of population to the south
east, from the oversettled and develop
ed east and the overcrowded industrial
west.
“The rest of the country is awaken
ing to the value of southern farm land
that can grow a dozen crops and at
ridiculously low prices—relatively
speaking. Also it is awakening to our
power facilities and manufacturing
possibilities.
"Outside capital doesn’t invest in a
$6,000,000 hotel here ‘for fun’—or ex
| tend chain stores and cotton mills
throughout the south, just as, an ex
periment.”
When Hudson Maxim said to an ad
vertiser correspondent that the great
est industrial development of any state
in any section Is about to occur in
Alabama, he was not talking merely
to hear the echo of his voice. He was
speaking his convictions, atfd he. was
speaking by the card. He lpnows.
When Roger Babson advisjed his in
Jdustrail and commercial clients to come
south with their Investment! money on
the ground that here the next great
industrial story will be written, he
I was not speaking as one who strives
| to please his host. He was speaking
honestly, -sincerely. He was but telling
the simple truth.—Montgomery Adver
tiser.
OUR OYSTER INDUSTRY
Dr. E. W. Durant, chairman of the
.state board of fisheries, in his letter I
printed in The News and Courier of
yesterday, declares that “our oyster
beds will never become depleted un
der the present law and method of
planting shells." Giving figures to
show that in the last three years 70X,
374 bushels of oyster shells have been j
planted under the supervision of the
inspectors for the board, he says that j
the real need is “to interest more I
people to come here by making the j
j fishing industry more attractive to out- j
I side capital—consistent with conser- j
| ration measures—which we have—and ■
developing our fishing Industry."
The condition of the oyster industry, |
especially the question whether or- not !
the conservation measures now being

carried out are adequate, is a matter of
controversy, which will hot be ended
by Dr. Durant’s letter. Why should
this controversy hot be settled once
and for all in the only way in which
It can be settled—namely, by havins
an investigation by a board of experts
whose verdict would be accepted as
authoritative and final by all reason
able people?
The United State* government, we
believe, through Its bureau of fisheries,
is always ready and eager to co-operate
with any'State which wishes to un
dertake a survey of this kind-' We j
are under the impression that arrange
ments can be made with the govern
ment for a survey by its experts, men
of the highest standing in this field of
practical science and men who are,
of course, free from any bias which
might- influence their conclusions or j
their recommendations. That the pub- j
lie welfare would be promoted by such
an Inquiry Is Hardly open to question.
—Charleston News and Courier.
THE LOST WILL
It is rather a strange story of a
lost will that Is being sent out by Bov.
W. O. Ooode, secretary, of~the board
of education of the 'western North
Carolina conference. Newspaper read
ers may remember the circumstances
of the accident occurring to Mr. Ji W.
Higgins, at his home'in Yancey coun-j
ty, several weeks ago, and of his death
while en route to a hospital in Marion.
It was stated1 at the time that Mr.
Higgins was "the wealthiest citizen
of Yancey,” and now It develops that
he left a will by which the Methodist
church, south, was to get {800,000, by j
far the bulk of his possessions; his
farm, valued at $18,000, all he had out
side the church? bequest, going to a
nephew, The will has been "lost’’ and
lawyers in different parts of the state
have been employed to look after the
interests of the church. The news re
ports do not throw any light on the
supposed manner of the disappearance
of the'will, but as its existence ap
pears substantially established, there
is prospect of a legal tie-up that may
hold until tile will is produced.—Char
lotte Observer.
THE NATION’S SUGAR BILL
A year ago raw sugar was 2.5 cents
a pound; yesterday it was 6.25 cents.
With refined asugar approaching IB
cents a pound wholesale, the demand
for a full explanation of the causes
of the recent skyrocketing market will
be redoubled. Congress before its ad
journment registered the conviction,
which is elementary, that speculation
Is playing an important part in a
rise which has cost American consum
ers hundreds of millions of dollars—
nearly half a billion If the market’
hasesskvhesAta&as
Ic penmates, rescares not
trial drajiaiion—4>teaiss
painful congestion.
Sloans Liniraent-fc/fc pamf
For rbgumrtfma. brnfa»e«.»trofi»i.che«tcot<h
stay* up; The tariff commission will
be expected to do more than try to
whitewash the Fordney tariff for its
share in the advance. It can help the
Federal Trade commission and com
merce department to show just how
many and how big are the different
niggers in the woodpile.
Mr. Stanley Baldwin was beyond
doubt correot yesterday In telling the
commons that the worldwide rise in
sugar la largely due to increased
American consumption. He need not
have dragged in prohibition to ex
plain that consumption. Year by year
we eat more, sugar per capita; year
by year our population grows. We
are fast climbing from the flve-million
tons-a-year mark to six million tons
a year. One of the sure indices of
prosperity in the United States is an
increase demand for sugar—sugar on
the table, in candy, in Ice cream, and
iced drinks. A second factor is the
reduced acreage in Cuba following the
terriflo slump of a year ago. Every
body advised Cubans to go in for mixed
agriculture, and some of her bank
rupt sugar growers did. The same
slump in sugar deprived Europe of
its incentive to restore beet sulrar
growing. A third factor unquestion
ably is speculation.
And the tariff? Well, in spite of
proteotionist denials, the tariff is un
questionably a factor in a double
sense. It adds its direct and immedi
ate percentage to . the charge for
every pound. Indirectly it adds even
more. It provides in the first place
an excuse and cover for the specula
tive advance; in the second, it is there
to cushion the drop if, as after the
war, large quantities of sugar should
flow in from the East Indies or else
where to break the market. If the
tariff commission reports that the new
duties are not in part to blt^me, it
Statement of Condition of
T12 Murchison National Bank
Of Wilmington, N. C.
' At thw Close of Business April 3,1922
RESOURCES
Loans and discounts ........ .$ 8,874,182.51
Customers' liability acceptances r,.300,000.00
U. S. bonds . ..•••-• ....., 729,450.00
Banking building.. 368,600.00
Bonds and other securities . -160,500.00
Cash and due by banks .... .3,494,160.55
TOTAL ••.••••• a**u•••••■$13,926,893.06
LIABILITIES
Capital stock ..j.,..$ 1,000,000.00
Surplus and net profits---- ^. - 1,165,839.74
Reserved for taxes ..^... 65,293.u
Circulation .. 541,600.00
Acceptances . 300,000.00
Rediscounts with federal reserve bank. . 614,000.00
TOTAL .....$13,926,893.06
is trying to deceive the American
peopie. But not much is to be ex
pected from the tariff- commission in
any event, for it would be some time
before the president could actually cut
the duties. The sugar consumers have
J
the best remedy in their bwn hand?
Let them go back to the war-tim«
practice of rationing. Let every
family cut its consumption drastically
and the price will soon fall.—v.'
York Evening Post. ‘ 'v
Tax Payers Attention
Applications for reductions in assessed valuation of
real estate must be filed with the Board of County Com
missioners on or before June 30,1923.
Values c^n be changed only by reason, of extraordi
nary conditions arising since last assessment.
Values placed on tax books this year are to remain
for four years. Application blanks can be had at office
of County Commissioners.
THOMAS K. WOODY, Clerk.
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can not afford the time or expense necessary to collect them either by cor
respondence with the publisher or by financing his own investigation .
C Therefore, the uniform, easily-accessible A. B. C. form, packed with
complete dependable facts, is a ready solution to the problem of how to lo
cate the most desirable mediums with the minimum of effort and expense.
CThe long-established commercial rating' agencies have furnished finan
cial informaton for years. Banks are audited periodically. The Audit Bu-’
reau of Circulations performs a similar function by collecting and verify
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mercial lines, has proved ttfbe Good Business.
The Wilmington Morning Star is a member of the A. B. C. and would be
pleased to submit a copy of the latest Circulation report