V
VOLUME XLIII, NUMBER 37
DOUGHTON WILL "
INTRODUCE BUI
FOR 'HALF-CENT'
Measure Calling for miitling of HalfPennies
Will Be Introduced by
Veteran Legislator Within a Few
Days. Would Save Consumers
Many Thousands of Dollars Each
Year.
(By J. W. VAN HOY
Washington, 0. C.?Not only is the
lowly "brownie" coming into his own
again during these days of financial
stringency, but he is to have a companion
and strong ally in a brand
new creature of the mint, the halfcent
piece, if a bill now being prepared
under the direction of Repre- ,
sentative R. L. Doughton becomes a
law, for while working on the revenue
bill where money is counted in
millions and even billions (on paper)
it has occurred to this veteran legislator,
who is also a practical banker
and a student of finance and taxaw
tion. that a great saving can he made <
possible to the buying public by providing
a medium for making "correct
change" instead of allowing the difference
of a half-cent to go to the
.seller as is universally done in this
country.
wv;i
*v inic nu l enauie statistics are
available, it is estimated that millions i
cf dollars are lost to the retail buyer i
annually on account of this purely j
American custom of the seller taking ]
the half-cent in addition to his legit- i
imatc charge every time it chalks up '
in the calculation and every time the
purchaser takes one of those articles
so frequently priced "two for." In c
the course of a year's purchases ev- i
cry housewife knows that she loses J
considerable pin money by this means, 1
even one day's shopping often Ieav- s
injz a pain from this unfair system i
on American generosity?to the sel- v
ler. Hence, "Farmer Bob" to the res- r
cue, and he now has the legislative t
counsel of the Housg of Represents- f
tives and the director of the mint
working out the details and will pre- r
sent the bill ill a few days and urge v
its passage.
Half-pennies have Been coined uvi;'
very limited quantities a few limes '
to commemorate some special occa- \
nr cviirt hut it certainly has been ^
a long time since it was in general *
circulation* if it ever was in our coun- (
ill all tnveign countries where t-con- 1
eicy and frugality are virtues nut 1
lived and practiced by our people. I
Xu one esn tell how far thi* annnr- J
ently insignificant step may go to-|I
ward relieving the mysterious finan-jl
; inl rliini'necifiri Ai'nrcKn/louto I C
land today. Billions of dollars are he- t
ing diverted from the Federal Treas- C
ury into the sagging arteries of trade
and commerce as a stimulant but with -I
faint hope of permanent relief, how- '
ever, when our people begin again
to count their pennies and save their '
half-pennies we will he getting near f
bed rock in our efforts to remove 1
the cause of our financial ailments 1
?just plain American extravagance.
The most prosperous establish- I
meats in trade today are the chain *
stores selling small articles at large
profit?5, 10, 15 25-eent and $1.00
stores?and there is a reason. The
average buyer never stops to think
that when he buys one of the nu- E
roc-rous articles priced "two-for-five"
he pays, if lie purchases only one,
20 per cent, profit to the seller over
and above the piice r.sked. Figure it
yourself. Price 2 1-2 cents, two-forfive.
Customer takes one and pays }
three cents or 1-2 cent over the real 1
Btice for one. One-half cent figures a
exactly 20 per cent, of two auu e..e- 8
half cents. There you are! If it were ^
the price of an auto or radio it would
be different, but as the hoy said to fc
his father when given a nickle during 7
the war boom: "Aw, gee, a penny r
wont buy nothing." ^
Travels 139,528 Miles ?
Over Sixteen-Mife Road <
r
Mr. A. M. Banner of Sugar Grove t
has rounded out twenty-four years c
as mail carrier on the rural route a
from Sugar Grove postoffice into the r
Beaver Ihmi see Lion, the round trip
requiring twenty-six miles of travel r
daily. Through a simple calculation s
it was found that over this short link ?
of road, which when he began was i
scarcely more than a muddy, rocky I
trail, Mr. Banner has traveled a to- 1
tal distance of 139,528 miles, and is
still going strong. i
For seventeen years Mr. Banner <
rode his route on horseback, but with i
ihe improved roads came the motor!
vehicle, and he now makes his round
in half & day. When he began carrying
Uncle Sam's mail he was a lad
less than 21 years old, and through .
the intervening years he has suffered (
many hardships, but the mail has always
gone through, and he has served
the public well.
In the old days, says Mr. Banner,
"I had to ford the creek at tv elve 1
points, and the river once. Have wad- ,
ed the river when my horse broke
through in freezing weather, and certainly
know how to appreciate good
roads." i
MAT
A Non-Partisan N?
BOONE
vwwwvuuwmuwwvww
Believe Potatoes Are
A Good Bet This Year
A number of farmers as well as
business men who follow up agricultural
markets and speculate on
the future prices, have expressed
the opinion that AVataugans would
do well this spring to equal or even
increase the acreage planted to Irish
potatoes last year. The low
nrirns hnvt* Hrivpn trrnwPK in the
early yielding belts to greatly reduce
their plantings, and it
opined that if Watauga farmers
plant a big crop, they will be assured
of a more satisfactory income
next fall.
JURORS DRAWN
FOR APRIL TERM
SUPERIOR COURT
Convenes on April 11 With Judge
P. A. McElroy Presiding. Spurting
Will Prosecute Heavy Criminal
Docket. 75 to 100 Cases. Including
Two Homicides. Ed Stokes and :
Ephriam Wallace to Be Tried.
The regular spring term of WatauSuperior
Court will convene on
Monday, April 11th, when Judge P.
McElroy will preside and Solicitor
[*. S. Spurling will prosecute a criminal
docket which will carry from
75 to 100 cases.
Ed Stokes, slayer of Ivy Greene, j
vho was once acquitted in justice's'
:ourt for the fatal shooting, will be!
igain arraigned, after the Grand
Fury returned a true hill last fall,
iphriam Wallace, of the Beech Creek
action, is in jail awaiting trial for
he alleged killing of Thurston Oli- i
rer last December. Sixteen prisoners I
ire now in the county jail, most of <
hem to answer charges of minor in- i
Tactions of the law. i
Following is a list of those whose i
mines have been drawn for jury ser- i
ice. during the two-weeks term:
First Week W. S. Davis, Russell j1
'r.r.r.'..y, Bert Farthing, Itov Norris, |
A. Clay. Luther A. Wilson. J. Y. I
mitherman, W. B. Castle, Finleyl
iliore, Dan Klutz. Fred It. Criteller, I
rIoyd Hngaman, Hill Hagamnr,, C'nas.ji
) Rogers, Cecil Miiler, A. D. Wilson,i
V. B. Hodg!"tJr|.||-| B Cannon. W. l
V. Gragg^NvSifeptVlnt;lcr, John K. i
'erry, A. N. Mast, E. C. Henson, i
.ewis Johnson, A. J. Payne, Amos (
Ldams. J. P. Cooke. Zeh V. Harmon. <
R. .Shell. A. B. Harmon, Jop.t ft. i
lagan, Noah Winebarger, D. W. ?
look, Clyde Wallace, Russell Far- )
biitg, J. C. Shoemaker, A. G. Miller, j]
M. Clark. s
Second Week?W. W. Miller, E. f
. Farthing, R. T. Greer, Will Sher- s
ill, J. T. C. Wright, Walter Carroll, i
ilonzo Hodges, Charles Hollars, Don t
. Horton, Don Perry, Chnrles Prof- r
itt, John E. Combs, C. C. Greene, ,
loe Mitchell, E. T. Miller, Russell i
'rivett, Fred White, O. G. Daimer. i (
ICERO SHEPHERD li
KILLED IN WRECKj;
teath Instantly Follows Auto Acci-! i
dent. Well-known In Watauga. i <
Funeral Services Conducted j 1
in Wilkes Tuesday.
Cicero Shepherd, of Purlear, ^
Vilkes County, well known in Waauga,
was instantly killed Sunday
fternoon about G o'clock when his
ntnmo'nile overturned on the Boone <
'rail Highway near his home. i
No one was in the car with him i
iot the accident was seen from a i
icarby house. He was driving at a j
noderote rate of speed, when the
ehicle swerved into a side ditch. He I
urned it back in the road and it i
ivertumcd three times, killing him I
nstantly. ' i
Mr. Shepherd was employed by the <
Itate Highway Commission and was i
etuming to his work in Surry Coun- i
y when the accident occurred. Sev- i
:ral years ago he was in charge of 1
i crew employed in placing the guard |
ailing or. Blowing Rock Road. i
Th. CA -f
ind is survived by his mother, widow ]
ind five children; also three broth- i
;rs. Mrs. Millard Hodges, of Blow- i
ng Rock is a sister-in-law of Mr. i
Ihepherd. Funeral services Were
lcld at Lewis Fork Baptist Church <
ruesday afternoon at 2 o'clock, and :
ntermer.t was made in a nearby cem- i
;tery. Several Watauga people were I
n attendance.
MEETING POSTPONED
Due to the extremely cold weather i
which prevailed in Boone for several
lays past, the revival meeting which
was to have begun at the Baptist
Church last Sunday, has been postponed
until Easter Sunday. Rev. B.
Townsend, pastor of Salem Baptist
Church, Winston-Salem, will assist
Pastor Hicks in the meeting, and peoples
of ail denominations are cordially
invited to attend.
JGA
;wspaper, Devoted to the
!, WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH C.
W. B. BAIRD MES"
AT VALLE CRUCIS
MONDAY EVENING
Prominent Wataugan Succumbs at
Advanced Age. Ill Four Weeks with
Heart Ailment. Was Two-term
Sheriff of County. Funeral Wednesday.
Seven Children Survive.
W?!!-Knnw?
*v tiiiain D. Dauu. prsnunssi: f-Tr;
ev of the Valle Crucis section and
Watauga County's first sheriff of this
century, passed away at his home on
Monday evening, the 7th, after an
illness which became serious about
four weeks ago. Should he have lived
until April 20th, he would have been
82 years old. A heart attack was assigned
as the immediate cause of his
death.
Funeral services Were conducted
from the home the following Wednesday
afternoon by Reverend G. C.
Graham, pastor of the Valle Crucis
Methodist Church, who was assisted
by Reverend L. F. Kent, of the Episcopal
Church. Interment was in the
Baird family cemetery.
Surviving are six children, five
sons and one daughter: Charles of
Mountain City. Tenn.; John of Johnson
City, Tenn.; Thomas J. of Wilmington.
N. C.; Cluster and Clay of
Valle Crucis, ar.d Mrs. John H. Mast
of Raphine, Va.
Mr. Baird was born, reared and
spent his entire life in the Valle Crucis
community, and was known as one
of the most substantial and best citizens.
He was a moving spirit in community
life, and for two terms was
sheriff of Watauga County. He was
elected in 1900, and two years later
his faithful services were again rewarded
by the voters at the polls. He
was a long-time member of the Methodist
Church at Valle Crucis, and conributed
a full share to the good
works of the community. In the death
of "Bill" Baird Watauga loses another
of its fine pioneer citizens, and
:he occasion is one of genuine sor:ow.
Warm Sunshine Come#
In Wake of Blizzard
Wednesday moi ninR Old Sol but^t
Ol-th to break the icy grip of kik
Winter, which had held uutaUw
^umLv--inr n .relentless grip for. mofe
[nan ten days, during which time
nercury dropped to four degrees1
\bove zero, npd highway crews werel
ccpt busy, by day and by night keep-!
ng the roads cleaned of the drifting
mow. On Monday snow fell constantly
throughout the day and at night
i sixty-mile gale drove the heavy
;now like stinging needles into the
:aces of wayfarers, and mercury
itood at 8 degrees above zero. Plumbng
fixtures were broken throughout
he community, early budding fruit
vns killed and buses and motor mail
:chicles were delayed. The Monday
dizzard was purely local, a telephone
.onversation revealing that, in the
ifterno^n, no snow was falling and
he sun shining brightly on the east
tide of the ridge.
On Monday morning nt 5 o'clock
he sky was cloudless. At 6 o'clock
> blinding snowstorm was in prog- j
ess; and at 7 o'clock the same morn- j
"S ujgnway truggg were on uie juu j
rl earing county roads. Just another:
'reakish trick of the weather man. j
Banner Elk Civitans
Meet With Local Club
A number of the leading members
>f the Banner Elk Civitan Club met
in Tegular session with the Boone
organization at luncheon at the Crit-'
pher Hotel last Thursday. Considerable
interest was manifest when Mr.
Edgar Tufts, one of the visitors and
:he head of the Edgar Tufts Memorial
.Association, of which Lets-McRae
College is a part, addressed the
nudience on the advisability of pro:uring
a full-time press agent for this
section of the country. Ways and
means of financing this new move
s'ere advanced by the speaker, who
pelieves that through daily newspaper
publicity, northwest Carolina
may fully come "into her own" as a
jrreat tourist center. Mr. Zimmerman,
a member of the Banner Elk
pollege faculty, and Dr. R. H. Hardin
of Grace Hospital, also spoke
ilong the same general line.
G. K. Moose and Dr. J. M. Gaither,
pf the Boone Club, made brief talks,
ind mentioned the possibility of locating
a game bird farm in this section.
The Boone club accented an invi
tation extended by the visitors to enjoy
dinner with them at the Banner
Elk orphanage on the 24th, and in
the afternoon to visit the game bird
farm, which is proving such a success
there.
MITCHELL CHILD SUCCUMBS
Lois Mitchell, three-year-old daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Dewey Mitchell
of Blowing Rock Township, died on
last Sunday evening, but meager information
does not give the cause of
the child's demise. Funeral services
were to have been conducted on Wednesday.
dem<
t Best Interests of Northw
AROLINA, THURSDAY, MARCH 17,
Whereabouts of 1:
CHARLES AUGUSTUS L1KDBER
| who was kidnaped from hie Hope?
ax well ax private agencies arc usi
but thus far all clues have prove
shortly before the child wax abduct
Milki'or-Hea
Strikes Resp<
Many County Farmers
Apply for Seed Loans
Mr. G. 13. Hagaman, chairman of
the local fgrnmitioe for the distribution
of the Federal seed loan
money, reports that 85 In 100 farmers
have made applications for
loans during the first week of the
organizations activity. Mr. Haga- i
man states that there seems to be a
disposition on the part of the borrowers
to scctire as little money as j
in possible, and at the same lime
carry on their planting program ns
?nanai Blank? ' " appLying for the
lotmu m<*y bp secured from Mr. Ha.
gainftn at the bank, or from R. T.
Greer or C. M. CriicueV, the other
members of the committee. Smith
Hagaman also has a supply at the
I cour mouse .
j * vv^ !
MRS. A. J. M'BRIDE
CLAIMED BY DEATH:
Popular Lady of the Cove Creek Sec-!
tion Succumbs After Long Illness.
Interment Saturday at
McBridc Cemetery.
Mrs. A. J. McBriile, 79 years old,
passed away at her home in the Mast
community last Friday afternoon, following
a long- illness. The direct
cause of her demise is said to have
jbcen a weakened condition of the
heart. Interment was at the McBride
family grave yard Saturday afternoon
I at 3 o'clock.
Surviving are a husband, one broth:
er, Mr. Asa Wilson of Silverstone,
j and one sister, Mrs. Nolia Wilson,
of Beaver Dam. Mrs. McBride was
horn in the Cove Creek section and
i spent her entire life in Watauga
j County. She was a good woman, a
kind-hearted neighbor and will be
Lmissod in the community, gjfe was a
j member of the Advent Churen.
Republican Countv
Convention Is Called
Russell D. Hodges, chairman of the
Watauga County Republican Executive
Committee, publishes today a call
for the county convention which is
to bo held in the courthouse at two
o'clock Saturday, April 2, 1932, for
the purpose of electing delegates to
the Congressional and State Conventions,
to elect an executive committee
aim for such other business as
may be proper.
Precinct meetings are to be held
on Friday, April 1, at 2 o'clock to
name delegates to the county convention.
The Congressional convention will
be held in Taylorsville on April 1,
1932, at 2 p. m., and the State Convention
at Charlotte on the 14th at
10 o'clock a. m.
HOLY WEEK SERVICES TO BE
HELD AT LUTHERAN CHURCH
link Wool- 1-1 T ..
?AWV ?1 VV? OV? ? ill VJlttte uutheran
Church, East Boone, will begin
on Monday evening, March 21st,
at 7:30 p. m. and continue all week.
A sunrise service will be held on
Easter morning at 6 o'clock, at which
time the Holy Communion will be
administered. Service also at 11 a.
m. Easter Sunday. Rev. J. A. Yount,
pastor, invites the public to all these
services.
DCRA
est North Carolina
l'J32
laby Yet a Mystery
wji
'kGH JR., son of the famous flyer,
yell, N. J., home on the 1st. Police
pg every effort to locate the baby,
d fruitless. Photograph was made
cd.
Ith Campaign
cmsive Chord
i Welfare and Civic Organizations Join
Together in Extensive Educational
Drive, Contest?. Arouse Much Inj
terest Among Young People. Window
Displays in Local Stores.
Speakers at All Schools.
The Watauga County Board of
Health, through its sanitary inspector,
Gordon Baltic, and with the assistance
of various local committees,
i !?nc joined whnle-hoart.edly into the
I Governor's Milk-for-HealtK movej
ment, and indications arc that at the
I clobe of this Week, Waiaugans will
! have come to a complete apprecia|
lion of the part milk and milk prouLuets
idax in their health and happijness
Eight or nine windows in busis
houses of the town have been)
I ucv.t>i?vcu-especially lor tne oc??on '
through tlie genius of Miss Lily Dale
of the Home Economics Department
at?Slate Teachers (ffllege,- who
; worked with the co-operation of the
|Spamho?r Store; school children are
|busy finding out all about milk and
writing competitive essays a n d
rhymes, business men of Boone have
| taken advantage of the occasion for
newspaper advertising and have coj
operated to the extent of making The
I Watauga Democrat today a "Milk
| Week special," speakers arc pieachI
;ng the doctrine of good health in
I the various communities, and the \
'campaign is going over with a hang]
i locally.
A Gigantic Campaign
Something of the sine of the cam
paign may he learned from the fact
! that the demand for campagin liter-1
ature from the State Board of Health I
| has kept the printing press running i
I day and night. Of one pamphlet alone j
Milk?-and More Milk,*' more than
a quarter-million copies have already
been sen; out at the request of county
organizers. Similar demands have
been made for other forms of literature.
Just what the campaign will accomplish,
it i3 too early to say. But many
counties are already planning to increase
their cow population, and at
the same time all to their^per^capita
? consumption 01 mine. uraven, Lenoir
and Nash counties are making definite
steps in this direction. A number
of counties are setting: up permanent
Milk-for-Health campaign committees,
the work of which will be
to carry on the work set in motion
by the State-wide Milk-for-Health
campaign. Rowan and New Hanover
I counties have effected such organj
izations.
But perhaps the greatest good to
i be accomplished will be the creation
of a great army of milk-drinkers
among the school children. And these
will know why they drink milk?-that
is the most nearly perfect food and
an essential to the hep'th of their
bodies, their teeth and to their mental
/Plnoc-n \
iv *??&?; cijjno./
A. S. T. C. Debating
Teams Win Decision
The debating team at the Appalachian
State Teachers College won a
2 to 1 decision both at the college
here and at Lenoir-Rhyne Tuesday
evening, when the query, "Resolved,
. that Congress should enact legislation
ifor centralized control of Industry,
! constitutionality waived." Leroy Sos;
samon and Yates Havener supported
j the affirmative side of the question
I at Appalachia, while Earl Haywood
and Livingston Willioms were negative
speakers at Lenoir-Rhyne. This
was the first debate for the local
team of the season.
lT
i?i r- n trn a n
r" fi.uv a rilV A
S >F ELECTION
CASE,-CONTINUED
BY JlJliE HAYES
a
Watauga Cou Democratic Elfvctton
Officials W ^ Not Be Tried at
Wilkesboro Week. Motion for
Continuance Entertained by Judge
Monday. No Further Date Set.
Thirty-Nine Under Indictment.
Judge Johnson J. Hayes, of the
Middle c^diirJ District, t-: t i-1;; * 'chambers
in Greensboro Monday, allowed
a continuance of the trials of
Democratic election officials of Watauga,
indicted on a conspiracy
charge, after a motion had been made
for a postponement by counsel for
the defense. No date was set for the
trial of the thirty-nine local men who
were alleged to have been guilty of
entering into a conspiracy to prevent
voters from freely exercising the priv
ucj,ie in j. ran en use iii me iy*5U elect.io?i.
Ifc had been previously arranged by
the court for the trial of the Watauga
men in Wilkesboro, beginning next
Monday. Four townships are rcpre|
sented in the bills of indictment,
Boone, Cove Creek, Laurel Creek and
I Stony Fork.
"When will these Watauga County
cases, involving alleged violations of
the Federal election laws, he tried?"
j a newspaper man asked District. Attorney
J. R. McCrary at the Federal
building in Greensboro Tuesday.
"The government," Mr. McCrary
replied, "has been making careful
preparations for two 01* three weeks
| for the trial of these cases. Judge
j Dan M. Jackson, specially assigned
! by the Department of Justice for t.he
purpose of assisting in these trials,
and Mr. A. E. Tilley, one of tho
assistant United States attorneys in
this district, who drew the original
bills of indictment, have been in the
mountains for two weeks examining
the witnesses and preparing for trial.
"The defendants, through their attorneys.
moved last week for a continuance
of tho cases anil that molion
was denied by Judge Hayes.
The motion was renewed yesterday
by Mr. Harry P. Grier, cf Scatcsville,
Mr. J. IT. Burke, of Taylorsville, and
Mr. It. A. Dough ton, of Sparta, attorneys
fOi* the ucicuuttlJc. 5"d the
motion for continuance was granted
today by -Judge Hayes for the reasons
assigned in the court's wider of
i no ntinnance. The covevmhcnt e*perted
to be ready for triad of the cases,
but could not controvert the facts
sot forth in the motion for continuance."
The order signed V \ Judge Hayes
follows:
"The defendants through counsel
moved the court last week for a continuance,
which motion was overruled.
Again this week a motion by the defendants
for a continuance is renewed,
assigning:, among other rea(Please
turn to page eight.)
Evangelist Miller to
Preach Here Sunday
Evangelist M. B. Miller, who recently
closed a meeting here, will fill
his first regular appointment SunI
day, preaching in the Advent Chrisj
tian Church, The newly-organized
I ^nrisuan v^nurcn win snare me use
of this building: jointly with the Advent
Christians for Sunday School
and general usage, Rev. Miller preaching
one Sunday each month. After
this month, his regular time will be
each fourth Sunday.
Since both congregations arc small,
it seems a f ine arrangement whereby
the two can join their forces in this
manner. A united budget has been
worked out and a financial canvass of
both congregations will be made
soon
Rev. Miller is anxious that all the
members of the Christian Church,
as well as the Advent Christian congregation,
be present at all services
in the church, and urges a fine showing
at his first regular service next
Sunday.
Young People of M. E.
Church Give Program
The program at Boone Methodist
Church last Sunday inornirig \*as in
charge of the young people, and sev
eval very interesting talks supplanted
the usual sermon. Mr. Van Hinson
spoke on "The Essential Unity of
the Church," Rev. J. T. Houck gave
the "Attitude of the. Adult Toward
the Young People," Miss Pauline
Bingham read a paper on "The Attitude
of the Young People Toward
the Church," and Miss Louise Cox
offered "Ten Laws for Church
Young People." This program is the
modern form of the old Epworth
League Anniversary Day.
Rev. J. H. Brendall Jr., pastor of
the church, was in charge of the
service, which is in line with the new
unified program of the conference,
which has already been set up according
to the modern legislation. Mr.
Brendall states that a Local Board
of Religious Education, with a complete
reorganization of the Sunday
School is in prospect for the near
future.