North Carolina Newspapers

I&IP I A I Established in 1888. A VOLUME XXXIV Laws of Lo P&SS A Bill (o be entitled an act to provide for the Construction, Improvement and M aintenance of the Public Roads of Watauga County. | mi c....i ..r xt tl r iuu uviivim ui nuuu v?ru lina do enact: Section 1. That the Board of Co. j Commissioners of Watauga County, J is hereby constituted the public road commission of Wafauga county and | as such commission the said board is authorized and empowered to con- j struct, repair# improve and maintain ; and the said board is authorized, em- j powered and directed to levy, in addi- , tion to the five cents now levied and collected for the up-keep of bridges and roads in said county and collect j annually at the same time and in the same manner that the other county taxes are levied and collected a special tax on all real and personal property in Watauga county not to exceed ten crents on the one hundred dollars valuation of said property and forty-live cents on the poll tax. The said tax so levied and collected shall be deposited with the treasurer ^ of the fiscal agent of Watauga county to be kept seperate and apart from other county funds to be used for the construction repair improvement and maintenance of said public roads' of Wutauga county and in anticipation of ihe taxes to be collected under this act, said board is authorized to borrow money from time to time to j carry on the work herein provided for: Provided, that the money so bor-' rowed shall at no time exceed seven-' tyfive per cent of the County road j tax levied in Watauga county for the fiscal year in which said sums are bor ' rowed. That the county commission-' ers are empowered to hold special meetings if it may deem proper in or- ; der to carry on the road work and its members shall receive the same pay*' as they now do for regular meetings. I See. 2. That the board of county commissioners of Watauga county at its meeting in April one thousand nine hundred and twenty three and annually thereafter* shall elect a com petent j). r>un as road supervisor for Watauga county and said supervisor shall be paid a salary not exceeding one hundred and twenty-five dollars tper month for : jch number ci" months or fractional part thereof as the commissioners may require and for the faithful perforniai;. ? of h";- duties said supervisor shall :<ive to such boa I'd such bond ?< ;iu'? I?i?. mn?* require. It shall be the duty of 'he road supervisor as soon as it is practicable to classify the public roads now being kept op by free I; bor in such classes as he may deem proper and right so as to apply road funds where it would he the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people but he shall not discriminate against any township or section of Watauga county and shall put the road funds on all sections of roads now being kept up by free labor in as equitable proportion as is possible for him to do so to keep the roads of the coun^ ty in good passable condition. That . he shall have the right to amend or ( improve the public roads where he i deems it wise to do so and the grade | oi said roads shall be as good as is j nncciKl.i A mol'n tlion. J.. 1 V luunt null LUC XU1IUS available. Sec. o. That the said road supervisor of "Watauga county shall have authority and power to employ labor, j let contracts for the up-keep, const-1 ruction and improvement on said roads where the same are not being | kept up by the State, or that may be hereafter kept up by the state. The supervisor must have the approval of the Board of County Commissioners for any contract for construction work. Said contract or contracts shall be let to the lowest responsible bidder after notice of the letting of said contract shall have been given for ten days by posting in two public places such notices in the vicinity of where said road is to be kept up, constructed, or improved is located. Said supervisor shall have the right to reject any all bids for said up-keep, construction or improvement if he deem * proper. Said supervisor shall require .. of all contractors entering into contract for such work to give bond conditioned on the faithful performance of the contract in such amount as the supervisor may deem proper but the said supervisor shall withhold from such payment ten per cent of the i . ?t ''if' t i e m , Non-Partisan Family Newspaper. D BOONE. cal Interesl ed by Last whole amount due under such contract and until completion of the terms of said contract. Said supervisor shall have power to employ foreman to work on all the roads not worked under contract and to pay therefor the customary wage. Said foreman in working said roads shall give employment to any person or persons in the vicinity of the roads to be worked who may be able to do manual labor and a day's laljpr shall be construed to be ten hours. Said foreman shall not work at any time less than five men each unless they shall do equal labor themselves with the laborers each day, or unless it be in the case of emergency after storm or slide to remove obstruction from the public highway. Forms and record books for making reports to the county commissioners by said road supervisors shall be furnished the hoard of county commissioners of Watauga county. The said road supei visor shall furnish to the board of county commissioners of Watauga county a quarterly report, which report shall show the amount of road work performed and completed, the amount of money expended in the pel forma nee of said work, the amount ol money or. hand and the amount of claims outstanding: for work performed under the direction or control of said supervisor foreman or contractor shall receive payments in installments in such amount or amounts as said road supervisor deems necessary as the work progresses. Under the supervision of said board of county commissioners of Watauga county, the said road supervisor sha;l expend such bond issue money as is now 01 ay become available and such money as is provided for in this act for work on the public roads of Watauga county And the taxes collected according to this act shall be expended a* the county beard of commissioners may deem proper. The said board of county commissioners of Watauga county is hereby authorized and empowered to employ a road engineer to assist or to work in conjunction with said supervisor; and said beard shall have power to discharge or dismiss said supervisor or said engineer, or bot hat its discretion. It shall be the duty of the road supervisor til r.:iVf? ail rnn/ic iinrtnr his trol wonked or constructed by contract or worked by foreman under ::is supervision, and he has the right to iisiftiss any foreman 01 contractor when he deems it proper and wise to do so. Sec. 4 Where it is shown that it is necessary for the construction of a new road in any part of Watauga co. the citizens in immediate neighborhood where said road is to be constructed may ask the board of county commissioners to pay out and construct said road. Said supervisor or the foreman or foremen in his employ may hifve the right to go on said land over which said road is to be built, and use such timbers, stone or gravel, dirt or borrowing pits as is necessary for the construction of the said road, not to destroy more of the available timber, stone or gravel as are necessary. In case of damages arising from the construction of saicl road or roads, if an agreement cannot be arrived at with fhe parties concerned and the supervisor, then the same shall be taken up with the county commissioners and if they cannot agree, then the said county commissioners shall appoint one good business man and the aggrieved party shall have the right to appoint one man and they shall elect the third, to go over the said road or roads and settle the dispute, taking into consideration the value of the road to the saio aggrieved party and report theix findings with amount of damages to the county commissioners, they pay ing the same out of the road funds of the above levy. In the event any difficulty arises as to damages the same shall not conflict or stop the work on said road in any way, as the same shall be adjusted after completion of said road. Sec. 5. The said board of county commissioners of Wataua county i< hereby authorized to furnish all tools on roads that are not contracted and blasting material as may be required for the upkeep of said roads. The supervisor shall provide some suitable place to keep said road tools belong 'X ' -? v -uF y fi-y. ' - cvoted to the Best Interests of Boo WATAUGA COUNTY. NORTH. CARt t Legislature or chests with lock and key, at a reasonable cost. Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the road supervi >r of Watauga county to visit the roads let out by contract | or worked by foreman and to personally direct said work on public roads , and shall not pay over the customary wages prevailing at the time of employment in Watauga county. The supervisor, foreman or conlracfor whoshall fail to perform any duties rcJ quired of hini by this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon! conviction shall be fined in an am | . ouqt not exceeding: fifty do'nars. j See. 7. That on or after the first! Monday in April one thousand nine hundred and twenty-three, there shall i he no free labor worked on the pub lie roads of Watauga county. There ! shall net be any tax levied by the 1 county commissioners except what is provided for in thiact and the five j cents that is now being levied for the ' j upkeep of the public roads. Sec. 8. That tbis act shall not. in ! any way be construed as effecting the . validity of any bond issue passed in said county, or the state highway road I law, but all othe r laws conflicting : with this act are hereby repealed. Sec 9. That this act shall be in j force from and after its ratification. A Bill to be Entitled An Act to Amend Chapter 125 Public-Local Laws 1921, Authorixing the Levy of Special Taxes and the Issue of Bonds for the Improvement of the Public | Roads of Watauga County. ,! The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact: ' Sec- 1. That section aix of chapter J or.e hundred and twenty-five of the ;! Public-Local Laws, one thou.-and nine --..1 a . . . uuiiui'-u ttnu iv-en'^y-one do amended i .'to r^ad as follows: i I "Sec. 6. That the county commis , sinners of Watauga county shall as ! certain the proportionate amount due | each township from the bond issue mentioned in the preamble of this act and thereupon it shall he raanda' tory for said board of county conimissioners to issue the bends of \V;ii tauga county as is provided for in .: section two of this act and direct tb'? ,1 expenditure of the proceeds of sail . 11 bonds upon the public roads of townships in the proportionate amounts they are entitled to have expended on their roads under the di, rection of the road supervisor of Wa! taug& county." i Sec. 2. That failure on the par: i the county commissioners of Wata ; pa county to carry out the pro\ , ions of this act within twelve month* j after ratification shall subject each . of them to a penalty of one hundred I dollars, the same to be paid over to the school fund of Watauga county. Sec. 3.* That this act shall be to force from and after its ratificat.io . A Bill to be Entitled An Act to Ab' | clish the Office of Treanunrr of Watauga County and to Provide I" -! I cal agents for Said County. The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact: I [ Section 1. That the office of tr' urer of Watauga county he, and ; hereby abolished. 'I Sec. 2. That the county fund: i Watauga County shall be deposit ;! equally by the commissioners of the said county with the banks or ti . companies of said county, which | shall be the fiscal agents for said coon jty; and each bank or trust compass i for the protection of said .county's , funds in said bank or trust compar... I' shall give to said commissioners such bonds as said commissioners may r? quire: Provided that said bounty 1 funds shall be divided equally anions 1 the banks and trust companies of the j ' said county only when and if such] banks shall render similar service in j ' i connection with i - -- -?..u *Hin?n mivi iiii i' j i die said funds on similar terms. ! j Sec. 3. That all laws and clause i j : laws in conflict "with the provl.: of this act are hereby repealed ! "I Sec. 4. That this act shall be ; j [force from and after the exph r of the present, term of oflice of " ' treasurer of Wataujra County. | ; l! j A Bill to bo Entitled An Act Fo<- l Lei j Protection of Fish in Watauga | * J County. ' The General A.ccmMy of NorLli 1 . olina do ena.i: a W#\ ne, ?nd Wttauga County, "the Lead. DL1NA. THURSDAY MARCH 8 19; KEEPING HISTORY STRAIGHT 1 Gastonia Gazette. The One Minute page of the Charlotte Observer has this item. < "Have you imagined a church with out collection plates?" asked Sister ' Register yesterday. "Picked up a paper today and saw where some preach er up there in Pennsylvania asking for the doing away of the collection plates, calling it an unnecessary evil. He said the Church of Jesus Christ I is not a police department nor a law enioicement bureau and he wound up by asking that his congregation abolish the collection plate, syystem which h?* says is an unnecessary evil I in the church where the members love the Lord. i i * 1 oiiiy know one thing about that J preacher, and that is that he ain't no Methodist preacher." For the benefit of Sister Register and the one minute page of the Ob-J -?-rcer, the Gazette passes on to them I tho information that Gastoiya has a ohcrch in which a collection plate; has not been passed for more than three years, and it's a Methodist church at that. Under the pastorate of Rev. A. U. Stanford now pastor of Central Church Shelby. Main street church of this city abolished colli lloi; plates entirely. In lieu thereof boxes were placed iu the two lobbies of the church and the announcement was made that the church would be ?imported by the free-will oiTeriugs of the membership. No assessments were made. The idea of stewardship was stressed. During last conference jear, ending last October, money was, mentioned publicly in the church once or twice and the largest budget in the church's history something like 7,000 was raised without a collection plate being passed. At the time this system was inau-. gurated the idea Mas s? new mid novel that the New York dailies and other metropolitan papers printed .stories about it. It is known far and wide as "the church where no public collections are taker.." ' | Section 1. That it shall be- unlawj ful for any person to place sawdust > I in any pond, lake or stream in Wa- J tauga county. Any person violating ' the provisions of this section shall be j 1 i guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not less than j ten dollars and not more than fiftyfjn dollars, in the discretion of the court. Sec. 2. That it shall he unlawful'i for any person to catch, kill, take, HSSaieMroy with dynamite or any other explosive any fish in Watauga co. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be gailtj *?f a i misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not exceeding fifty dollars or imprisoned not more thau SO days or both, in the discretion of the court. See. 3. Thai it shall he unlawful for any person to catch, take, kill, or destroy any fish in Watauga coun- ; ty except with hook and line from , April 30th until September 1st. Any person violating the provisions of J this section shall he guilty of a mis- j demeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined not less than ten dollars and*' not more than fifty dollars, W he j discretion of the court. Provided, this section shall not apply ij private water reserves. ' See. 4. That a" laws and tluusva of laws in consul with th<- provisions!, of this act are hereby repealed* Sec. 5. That this act shall be in. force and effect from and after its! ratification. A Bill to be Entitled an Act to Place the Sheriff of Watauga County on j a Salary. The General Assembly of North Car- < olina do enact: Section 1. That rhe Sheriff of Wa-j tauga county sha\ receive a salary! of twenty-five hundred dollars per annum, payable monthly, and in ad- . dition thereto, process fees, and for performing his services said sheriff shall receive no i?t; . compensation whatsoever. Sec. 2. That all fe excepting process fees, co mm is profits and e.noluments i .ee. the sheriff of 'Autauga Coin. performing his duties bhall be fan In ally collected ! him a*u -c!' :i the Board] : C:ffLfy trwr.i.' toner?: oi ?V?taa-j i ua County. ? i Sec. *?. A A !. \" -vrd clauses of' ; i.?\vs in con >/': ) tne provisions! ; of this act are hereby repealed. I See. J. "V ' ? ' * !-: " . ? . . . -n . .* .::e ct:p r. j. the cCi. i of . . o. the present' | bhcridf of Watai ga County. '< ittortr; r of Northwestern Carolina." 23 WAS UNUSUALLY TURBULENT SES- [ SION Cienc-ral Assembly Crowds Sixty Day Work into Six Calendars are '1 Cleared. Memebrs Go Through | v More High Water Than Any in j Decade. ?' i c Two Weeks of Calm t Victory for Morrison and Adminis>ration Policies Bitter Pill for An- s tix to Swallow. 1 . A dispatch from Raleigh under the a Jat?' of March 4 gives the following a of interest in regard to the closing of ' Lli stormy session of the legislature . The legislature that got away to j sue"' a had start is about to reach its j s bitter ending. _j I Crowding: into the* past six days the work of *50, ii ha handled in on way or another most <>t thv pnportant legislation prqjft^ed dur- 1 in*; the session and it leaves with * its public and local calendars coinbh : "ly cleared. ! has been tit rough more poilti-, f cai high water than perhaps any 4 legislature in a decade. It has had t hut two weeks of tranquility out of 1 eight, the first and the lasi. It has * i .nived a degree <>f abuse unpreee- i ? dented in legislative annals, and j * when the members return home s they very likely will receive more. * It has been the victim of influences1 * seeking political preferment and ad- ' vantages and it has been beset by di- ( vers and sundry disturbances ever > magnified trifles. It has been for the most part a badly disorganized lot. ' ( Diipk-a.ed Everybody 1 1 it has displeased everybody some more than others. It may have in- 4 tended to please them all. Certain-1 > ty, it ran into every path that was ^ beaten for it long enough to make j N all the conflicting demerits and in- j d fluences praise it for a time. But (<! finally it made its own path, and r followed it in the latter days with' some degree of consistence. j t The first week gave signs of a t conspicuous session. The house 1 wnerem me aistorcances seemed to 11 center that at one time or another v shook the entire slate, was calm for : the first week and quite enthusiastic. 1 The grand old man of Alleghany R. v A. Doughton n" vM t.e commissioner, n was at the Helm, and the chief mate J Secretary of Y\*. X Everett was. t in the t i .iv . pernor took these two av and t..? .ueforlh the house f ja?.. .'<< "it on shift.' .ir sand * ' 'v fed owed w leaders who r '< get the hang <1 things; 1 tin i u.ne ti e Maxv. d deficit eon- I1 lro\i -i the convulsion within th g. ... assembly made the state *? trenv le. *II ran into a courting spree with a rc.:.i ... risnt but wuund up by vot- * ing . . i as much in bonds as the r pre. iij'g session. It sought to man-' * ii'c^t a wedded fancy for indepen- ' Jem c but de> eloped into a chaotic ( and disorganized aggregation of men ( * who could not figure out where or: * how they stood. | 1 While complaining of the lack of 1 revenue and the danger of high taxes the- body was magnanimous in * its generosity, exceeding the recom-i* menu... ons of its own budget com-i1 miss. >u. And this on top of mid c session indications of extreme reae-' * tioiu . ism, threatening the continu- J 1 ance even 01 trie building programs * and educational and charitable insti- J 1 tutions. 1 What Was Accomplished It may contend with a degree of j posit! veuess that it reaches its "'bit-j ter ending" in a ''blaze of glory." i ' regardless of what has gone before | * and the mountains of abuse that j5 have been heaped upon it. The bond 1 issue it has authorized are conceded 1 to he for wise undertakings, and 5 even the most reactionary of reactionaries can not help but find a de- J gree of justification in them. It has provided for constitutional pro-'; tection of the state's bonded indebt-', 1 edness and for safeguarding its fi- ' nancial standing through the bmita- : tion of the authority to contract in- 1 defczedness. It has passed consider- 1 able legislation of importance along j ? reform .and social lines. It took aj1 step of extraordinary boldness when ! 1 it, struck from the laws the tax discrimination and exempted stock in 1 foreign corporations held by residents The bond issues it authorized for 1 undertakings recognirt:! ;~ : mill t:,;- rouJs, c;in : millions for educational and charita-, I Ifci * Published Weekly NUMBER 19 tie institutions. Ten millions for a ailroad into the lost provinces, a ialf million for the rehabilation of tie fish and oyster industryIn addition it authorized the govTrior's ^ater transportation coranission and gave it $25,000 to inestigatc and determine the leasi ility of state owned shipping lines >nd the construction of terminal failities. If provided increased appropriations for the schools. These hings alone, in the opinion of sevral observers at this session contitute a record that will recompense or the mdecisivoness of the legisatureV early days, for its hesitancy ind fcr its down right ridiculousness [boot the time Mr. Maxwell was in [lis political heyday. Millions in Bonds The millions in. bonds, pleased ome and displeased others. To the iregresive the iegislat re has 'glorified" itself bv its wnprndto tnd the legislature can claim it has *fr!orifi itself as a martyr to imgros iveness when the reactionary sarps on ''extra vagence." Who camp off victoi among the n-iuein . that sought to guide the rem rai assembly depends on who ost the !? s F- r a cons:derable por ion of t :.< session it was a fight bev.een the Morrison or administration one : arui the anti-Morrison anti-adn i v i strati on forces. The governor's >oufne.ss in his advocacy of progresiveness was met by the determina.on of those who opposed progressven? s>. The governor lost less than hey did. But the legislature left unluiic: enough the executive asked hould be done to please for a while he cutis, but it did enough the antis lemanded it should not do to bring heir wrath upon the body. Morrison was asking for something he influences and elements oppo&n ng him were opposing t-omethingr" Inu trie light throughout the sessionvas a question of doing something or oing nothing; it was never a question :f doing Something the governor did lot want ar.d those opposing him did. The generosity to the assembly to he schools and colleges and educaional institutions was in keeping with he governor's request. He asked taie \ his biennial message. The "lost proinces" railroad ti^rht had his moral upport. The constitutional amcmlnent proposal providing for the iniolability of the sinking fund and limiting the bonded indebtedness of the tate were his proposals, announced ar in advance of the session and reommended in his message; and the >ropo.-al for the creating of a sinkcur fund wax advanced by him and eeommended in his message. He had he bills introduced that made these tro visions The Legislature refused him the 12,000,U00 bond issue for the operaicn of a si ate-owned line of .-hips ;nd for the construction of terminal facilities uu; it gave him a commission aiid $25,000? and raore will ie heard Ironi the proposal at a nter date. The loss of the $2,000,100 pleased the governor's enemies hey made t appear that the creaion of the commission pleased them; vents of the future are yet to prove heir attitcft' rn The governor recommended a tanking department but he did not ollow up this recommendation so hat legislature and refusal of accession to the idea cannot be deermined he also recommended a detriment of commerce and industry ind it is hardly thought he will get hat; loss in this case was due entirely to delay in getting the bill >efore the assembly. Bitter Pill for Antin As the record stands the governor ost on two proposals and partly ost on a third, though defeat of the diip bill may be only temporary and i special session may have to wrestle vith this recommendation in the late ;ummer or fall. In his advocacy of the extension ind "rounding out*' of the program >? progress, Governor Morrison was bitterly opposed by lobbyists and apposition organs. Fearing doubtess a bold stand against bonds, es s?-.uai iuj cue continuance ol the program, they poked ridicule and earnings, advocating a "pay-as-you*o" called the street car idea-policy :hat has kept the state in an economic coma for a hundred years. Only in the failure of the original Morrison idea as to the stateowned ship lines did the opposition find a parried of .error la.gl.e:; ? (Continued on page eight)