Our Aim:?
A Better Murphy
A Finer County
She
am
Dedicated
To Service
For Progrew
the leading weekly
NEWSPAPER tN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. COVERING A
LARCJE AND POTENTIALLY RICH TEURITORY
VOL. 53?NO. IS
MI'RPHY. NORTH CAROLINA
TH1 KSDAV DECEMBER ?. 1M1
5c COPY??1.5? PER YEAR
CONSIDERED
FOR MURPHY
miracle saves
BOY IN CONTACT
WITH IJVE WIRE
Son Of G&y Johnson Is
But Slightly Burned
By Touch Of Death
The young son of Gay Johnson, of
the llrasstown section, came In oon
tact with a deadly live wire carrying
enough voltage to mean Instant
death, and escaped with only slight
injuries last Wednesday afternoon.
His miraculous escape from death
occurred near his home, on the Mur
jjhy-Hayesvilie road.
The boy was knocked senseless,
and it was with but little hope that
the ambulance of Peyton O. Ivie was
summoned. Before the ambulance
arrived, however, the boy recovered
consciousness, and save for a slight
burn, was apparently none the
worse. An electrician said the wire
he had contacted carried as high
voltage as that used to execute a
man in the electric chair.
The deadly wire had touched the
toy's forehead?a spot close to the
brain, and almost invariably fatal;
yet his burns were so slight that it
?as not even found necessary to take
him to a hospital. First aid treatment
was sufficient, and the bey was taken
home, where, today, he apparently is
playing about the house, as usual.
According to witnesses the boy was
riding his tricycle across a lawn and
ducked to pass beneath a wire. Hiis
wire was Testing on a power-line, and
hence was charged with high voltage.
The boy did not duck quite low
enoutrh, and the wire brushed his
head.
He was knocked from his tricycle
and fell motionless, but a moment
later he sat up, wondering Just what
had happened to him.
Final Tributes Paid
To Mrs. Pink Cochran
Mrs. Pink Cocfoiwi died in her
home in Wolf Creek Tuesday mom
tan following a heart attack from
?which she never regained conscious
She leaves a husband and two
(ilildren.
The Cochrane have been residents
of the Wolf Creek community for
?everal years.
funeral services were held in the
Macedonia Baptist Church.
Priority Ratings Kill
Highway Construction;
Minor Repairs Are O. K.
The long-hoped for road improve
ments in Western North Carolina
seem doomed for the duration of the
war. State Highway Commissioner P.
L Ferebee said yesterday.
Because of the effect of priority
ratings on equipment and materials
necessary for road construction. Per
ebee said, the Commission must
abandon most construction projects.
Peretoee attended the Commission
meeting in Raleigh last week, with
County Commissioner E. A. Wood.
He said that, although defense prior
ities definitely eliminate any thought
of construction work in the near
future, minor repairs and alterations
will continue as usual.
'42 License Plates
Are Black On Gold;
Ready Since Dec-1
North Carolina's 1942 license
plates, which went on sale December
1st, feature bold black numerals
on a gold background, long consider
ed one of the most striking and vis
ible color combinations of the sec
trum.
Tl;e new tags are in sharp con
trast with the 1941 color combina
tion of gold figures on a black back
ground, which were more conserva
tive than the reverse color scheme of
the 1942 plates, and did not stand
od: as boldi? as the new ones.
In other states and sections of
North America, 1942 ' licenses will
have a wide color range, according
to a list compiled by officials of the
Carolina Motor Club. Only Texas
shares North Carolina's combination
of black-on-gold.
Nineteen other states will reverse
their colors in the new issue of
plates. Two states will keep their old
colors.
Infant William Hartness
Dies; Buried Thursday
William Eugene Hartness, the in-1
fant son of Mr. and Mrs. William C.,
Hartness, Murphy, died Wednesday. !
Funeral services were conducted by j
the Rev. C. B. Newton Thursday af- j
ternoon in the Chapel of the Ivle1
Funeral Home and were followed by
burial in Sunset Cemetery.
Girls, Beer And Champagne Taken
As Two Battalions "Capture" Murphy
The army was here Tuesday night
tt least a part of it. Olive drab was
decidedly the style of the moment, as
more than 1200 khakhi-clad Nomads
flooded local cafes, barber-shops.
Pool-rooms and the movies.
Nomadic is the proper description
*<*>. for the 75th is a new type mo
bile outfit, specializing in rapid man
euvering. Most of the men are from
C&mp Leonard Wood, Missouri, al
though some are from even more re
?ote spots. They recently have been
maneuvering in Itexas, Louisiana,
South Carolina. The two tat
are composed of both army
and draftees.
they desired, at least nearly all,
**" to be treated like homefotts.
''"?V is thetr chief worry. *trls their
?tactP?l avocaithm. One ot the
they decidedly don't lflce la to
"* oomcred by mum oM army man
**** have the "8p4rtt of 19 ' pumped
"wa in Usw with congenial
""?"t* oo the Ml
saMhra HtenBy "took" the
Htle Mmghiltoe mm ttwlr
te-is whtaked mm* an the arm*
t <k?Ked in
?*l <*f?? tor a eoid bottle ot
beer before retiring, found t.he night
spots sold out. even of champagne?
which shows that one can afford
luxuries, even on thirty dollars a
month.
Those guns you saw wearing
snoods belong to the anti-tank bat
talion. and were made of good old
wood. The artillery battalion had the
real thing.
The mobile kitchen, and the mess
sergeants axe all right, the soldiers
said, but they Just can't treat a spud
like Mom can.
The 75th, although purely an ex
perimental outfit, Is an accurate in
dicator of whait our army will be in
the next few months?a fast-moving,
far-traveling group, minus the wood
en guns?we hope!
The only voiced objection to the
mechanized army is that it seems to
be losing some of the old traditions,
such as. digging trenches around
tents before laying in. Just in case
It rains like K did Tuesday night.
Early Wednesday morning, even
before the earliest riser was out of
bed, the soldiers took a tip from
Longfellow, folded tbetr tents like
the Arabs. "Mid stoutly stole
?way."
BLAZE DESTROYS
HOSIERY MILLS;
CAUSE UNKNOWN
Loss Is Placed At $8,000
By Owner Lee Shields;
Property Insured
Fire ol an undertermined origin
Thursday morning complete'.-/ de
stroyed the City Hosiery Mills just
across the Hiutlvw River in Beal
Town.
The blaze was discovered shortly
after seven o'clock by Ora Ellis. oc
cupant of one of the cabins at
Shields' Tourist Camp
M Us Ellis hurried to the cafe and
awakened M Shields, owner of the
mill, who called the fire department.
By the time fire-fighters arrived the
building had been demolished, al
though the charred ruins continued
to smolder until late Thursday after
noon.
Mr. Shields estimated damage at
$8.000 The building was insured
Investigation revealed that the
conflagration evidently broke out in
the "boarding room.'' Shields said
the last mill worker left the room at
ten p. m. Wednesday and that none
was known to have been in the build
ing from that time until the blaze
was discovered.
State Repairs Close
Three Main Highways
Three links of the Stale's highway
system affecting traffic In this im
mediate section are closed for re
pairs. according to word from Ral
eigh. They are:
U. S. 1 between Henderson and
Pranklinton and between Raleigh
and Wake Forest, with a detour over
N. C. 39 and N. C. 59 via- Lcuisburg.
Through truck traffic should detour
over D. S. 301 from Petersburg COr
Payette vllle.
U. S. 25 between Hendersonville
and Asheville, with a detour for
through truchk traffic over N. C. 191
and N. C. 280 via Mills River and
Avery Creek. 17 miles hard surfaced.
Otfher traffic is maintained over pro
ject. with short local detours.
Construction of bridges and ap
proaches over the Tuskaseigee River
has closed N. C. 107 between Cullo
whee and Sylva. and between Cullo
whee and East Lapo-t. Detours are
maintained over a three-mile stretch
of macadam road in both instances.
County Teachers Plan
Meeting December 12
The next County Teachers' meet
ing will be held at Martini Creek
School on Friday. December 12. ac
cording to an announcement by
principal of the schools at Hiwassee
Dam.
The teachers will Rather at 6:30
p. m. Those on the program will be
Mrs. Onabee Hickev and Messrs.
Clarence Hendrix. County School
Superintendent. Alden Cuoke. R. H.
Keenum and Oountv Health Officer
Whlehard.
o
Carmel Hall Graduates
As Army Pastry Cook
Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Hall, of Mur
phy, have just received word from
Benning. Oa. that young Carmel C.
Hall Is now a full fledged pastry
baker. He graduated from the Cooks
and Bakers School at Port Benning,
Nov. 30.
Young Hall, who now has the rat
ing of Private, First Class, win get
a special rating, and a considerable
increase in pay. He is stationed with
the Servoe Detachment, Corps Area
Service Command, Fort McPhemo?.
Change Would Save
Half Of Time Used
For Business Trips
LACK OF GARDENS
COSTS CHEROKEE
$15,00? ANNUALLY
State College Expert
Says Each Farmer
Robs Self Of $54
Farm people of Cherokee County
lob their pocketbooks. as well as
their health, when they fail to grow
gardens, says L. P. Watson, Exten
sion horticulturist of N. C. State Col
lege.
The 1940 census showed that 1905
farms in this county had gardens,
but 277 farms in the county had
<Continued on hack pare)
?O
Big Bond Issue Ordered
To Pay County's Debts
Orders authorizing the issuance of
bonds to refund principal and inter
est on nearly a million dollars in out
standing bonds were issued Monday
by the Cherokee Ccunty Commis
sioners.
The new issues will cover bond
deficits in six townships and the
county itsell.
Towns which will be effected by
the order are Hot House, Notla, Val
leytown, Murphy. Shoal Creek, and
Beaver dam
The new issue will be floated to
pay off interest and principal on
bonds issued by the County and tfce
various towns as long ago as 1911,
and is authorized under Chapter 257
of the Public Laws of North Caro
lina of 1933.
Of the total outstanding bond is
sues, more than half must be met
by the County itaelf. Murphy ac
counted for nearly a fourth of the
total, having issued $228,000 in bonds
from 1911 through 1924.
Hearings on the issuance of the
bonds will be held in the Office of
the County Commissioners during the
next two weeks.
New Schedule Seen As
Of Joint Benefit To
Railroad And Public
From Otis B. Price, Assistant Gen
eral Passenger Agent, the Scout has
learned that the Southern Railwtiv Is
seriously considering changing Its
schedule between Asheville and Mur
phy so that trains will get here early
in the morning, and depart at night
Nothing definite has been deckled,
but some such plan has been under
study for a long time, with the joint
purpose of giving better service to
the public, and at the same time in
creasing passenger traffic. Revenue
from passenger traffic has been so
relatively small that the department
for years has been operating at heavy
loss.
It was this steady loss which caus
ed the Southern to attempt to dis
continue passenger service t-o Mur
phy several months ago. Application
was made to the Interstate Com
merce Commission to run passenger,
and mail trains only as far as Hry
son City. The request was based orig
inally on a threatened shortage of
coaJ. Later the plea of lack of pat
ronage was added.
Refusal of the I. C. C. to allow
discontinuance of the passenger ser
vice revived a study of the plan to
change the schedule. It is probable
that the sentiment of various towns
along the route and other attending
conditions will be carefully investi
gated before any action is taken.
Mr. Price, speaking unofficially,
listed some of the possible advan
tages of a different schedule. At
present, he pointed out. a trip to
Asheville consumes so much time
that the day is practically wasted
for business purposes. The same
thing applies to persons coming here
Either way, the passenger reaches
his destination in mid-afternoon?
or even later. There being no facili
ties for meals, enroute. The new ar
rival's first act. usually, is to find a,
restaurant. Then, usually, he seeks
quarters where he can "clean up",
(Continued On Back Page)
Ex-Congressman Suggests Murphy
Replace Washington As Capital Of D. S
Greeted by gales of laughter and i
siorms of applause at the High j
School Auditorium Wednesday morn
ing. when he spoke on "Pluck. Pur
pose and Patriotism." former Con
gressman William D. U pshaw. of
Georgia, so captivated several hun
dred students that many of them
came to hear him speak a second
time Thursday night, at the Court
House.
The Kev. C. D. Newton, pastor of
the First Methodist. Church in Mur
phy. introduced Mr. Upshaw as "one
of the nation's outstanding leaders
in the cause of righteousness", and
added: "while the cause of Prohibi
tion has suffered a temporary bur
ial. the Methodist Church and all
other friends of public decency and
morality believe in the sure resur
rection of this prayer-bom cause."
Mr. Upshaw caught his crowd by
paying a glowing tribute to Murphy,
noting the town's remarkable growth
since he spoke at commencement
exercises here some 25 years ago. Be
then suggested making Murphy the
Capital of the Nation, declaring:
"Murphy Is better qualified than
Washington. D. C.. far Washington
?pent ISO minion dollars for Uqoor
last year, and drank more liquor per
capita than any other city
"It Is North Carolina's part, in
America's greatest battle to so clean
up her own doors, ridding this fine
State of the liquor being sold against
the vote of the people, that this Tar
Heel Empire will startle Washington
and inspire the whole nation to
ward national sobriety."
The speaker held a dollar bill be
fore the audience, saying: "If I gave
this dollar to Dr. Newton, the chair
man of this meeting, an an expres
sion of my friendship, and then stole
a ten dollar bill out of his tack poc
ket. T would be the same kind of thief
and robber that liquor is in JkaOti
Carolina; for it in probable Hurt for
every dollar put into the public trea
sury by liquor revenue, the people
must buy $10 worth of Honor.
"If North Carobna geta three mO
lkm dollars a je?r trmn Honor, re
member tfrat the good State most
spend 30 milrton dollars to get It?
and tan* money ought to ?o tar dry
goods . family groceries, furniture,
homes and happtneas.
"That does not count torn op can.
mutilated todies and Miliwp spat
tered with human blood."