Newspapers / The Independent (Elizabeth City, … / Dec. 2, 1932, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Independent (Elizabeth City, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
1 The Independent i ^ . . . \') | *>()?) I'ublulntl Kvcry Friday by W. O. tfuuiulera ELIZABETH CITY, N. C., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1932. x.**.! mTaux SINGLE COPY 5 CENTi \0I~-J"1 "1 ^ee-s Franchise For Bridge and Ferry Between Pasquotank and Tyrrell Counties f'oruv P'i^ge, Representing Himself and! Outside Capital, Says He is Prepared to i\t;-i*ise Franchise For Fast Ferry Serv-j j,.(l t) \Aiik Elizabeth City With Columbia r,i of f.onunissio tiers of Pasquotank and j s will Ik* asked for a franchise for a ferrv and j\iH-I 1 ' 14 ' . . . \ I lie two counties, at their meetings on Mon k 4 . , ? % i I lie franchise is sought by (icorge (i. Dodge inself and outside capital, the source of which puhhc. Khringhaus & Hall are attorneys i) ?i ?. old I.. K. Skinner. .Ir. is named as trustee in lor 1 - i ,!T|i,ati"H for the franchise. has been piaying . ;-ry between Pa-- 1 ;? veil ever since he tlv promotion and Wright Memorial C..:.: ;ek Sound. Re _:v en the imminent i ..j over Albemarle wspaper. stire.1' He claims to have! - ele capital and to u .. to enable him toj ..y service between, te- a: an early date.! ? vi'.. terry steamers to b?| v.;::;.-, be similar to the fer-j it.---.veen York town and; CVa.t steel ferric; ur 24 to 30 auto :i a speed o: 15 miles Deiue faintly states that while iir st lv- a franchise for both a 3t.:f. nr.ii a terry, he has no idea of juil.-i.tir a br.d?e; but the fran tor a b.idg? is necessary toj r.t? ?? ;uo:ank terminal of the ?i : would be at a point rear Listtr s P.er in lower Pasquo nnk una a channel would have to it antic. : make this point avail :.i: The Tyrrell County terminal rtuld be a few miles North of C. ..r.h . v. en the Scuppemonj I t:.c Alligator Rivers. The croov.-ed ferry would make | crossir.e of Albemarle Sound in ' or than or. hour, making possible i number of round trips daily. It Ttuld revalu-ionize the social life jr.: commerce cf four counties. Lxioeth City, the countv seat of ? nqucidtik and Columbia, the c ur y <?a: o: Tyrrell would b? .re ly r.ear each other as Eliz ?::h C y ar.tl Edenton. are. Sucn a fiery would restore to Elizabeth C.f muelt cf its ios: trade with Tyrrell. Hytlc and Washington coun ties and s.v- these counties new carke: cutlets. Cite ih.r.r is certain, no local ? al 1: b en sought for the pro service. -*i am working v.nh outside capital." says 3 - "and no stock in our com ';-1 '? ferod locally, in either e.nk rr Tyrrell: we are a t cn;y for a franchise and the p a wti: c: the public cf four coun ? that will be immediately bene aited." ~ ' ".m.f . appointed by Gover r has begun a campaign ic amount that it is will be needed to place P c "-"try of Progress World ^a" a' Chi-ago next year an ex J presentativo cf the ?at.- cf North Carolina. V^v , ' by N- A- Ho3d of awarded first prize for : he grain judging at C'-i' :V ;:'al livestock show in Third prize was awarded !?' "? H. E. Bonds of Con ttrd. A I'KOPHECY In its j- -jo of Nov. 11, 1926 The Independent maf.e this statement 'n it. editorial crlumn: "The building of bridges ?"?re in Eastern North Caro lina h--. cnly begun. The Mite Highway bridge over 'h aan River between Em- J ' and Eden House Is only a begin. The State will e?ei?tuallv bridge Albemarle ::-d itself and one may ride a hard sa face road all ?.i frt.m Elizabeth City t'1 I ? lumbia and from Col umbia straight on tc Fair liiId in Hyde C ounty." loat ; ri ahery hasn't been ful vi t, but since it was writ ,r" iimrn ke and Currituck S| ai ds have been bridged, corn been chartered to build 1 bndgt i ver Croatan Sound from Ki.un:k" Island tc Manns Har lH r,). and n;w a franchise is be ??i sought lei a loll bridge and lmv between l'a-quotank and lyircil Lvcnluallv the Albe >'.!!.??! be*"en Pasquotank i!-- 1' rrMl sk ill bs bridged. Has Lived With Chinamen Till ??e Looks Like One A itr. antl-Bol h?v:k and a j Fundamental'^ ff the fr ? Mr.tr- . is Dr. IIu? h Y?. White. Presbyter ian mi'jJcrvy to China for the past thirty-eight years, whe iv n.w en a yca-.v furlough in the States and is ccr.ducting a week's evan.-r ?stie services at Cann M nv -is! Presbyterian church. Dr. White i> an int. resting character and a ma t entertaining talker. Dr. Hugh White was born in V:: - t ginia. He entered th? Presbyterian missionary service at th? age of 04. j In 1901. he had charge of Cann Me- i inoria! Presbyterian church in this! city for a period of five month-.' while cn furlough. It was this city that his oldest san was bora, and Dr. White consequently i: attach d to Elisabeth City. His other chi!-1 dren were born in China. When Dr. White came here to begin a series ' of evangelistic services last Sunday morning it was his first visit to the city since 1901. Dr. White has been : in China for 38 years with th? ex j oeption of the periodical furloughs1 ! at the end of every seven years. He fis located in a town by the name , of Yen Cheng, in th? province of ; K:ang-su. He returned to the States under his current furlough n April and has been engaged in giving lectures and conducting evangelistic services in a number of tates since that time. His head quarters this year are at Raleigh, where his brother holds a pastorate and cne of his sons is connected with the State Highway Department. I Dr. White is well-infcrmei on reiigicus and political matters in China and is an interesting conver sationalist. A strong Fundament alist. he views with alarm th? pro gress atheism is making in all th? Christian countries of the world and is a leader in the movement on the part of Christian ministers and mis sionaries to combat the spread cf atheism. "To my mind," cays Dr. Whit?, "the Bolshevik's attempt to over threw the church is one and the same thing as his attempt to over throw the world. The downfall of Christianity means the downfall of Christian countries, and only by un dermining the religion of these countries and steering them a?'ay from Christianity into atheism can the Bolshevik hope to become rulers o: the world. The Bolsheviks are j paving the way for their political revolutions with atheism. If we are ! to survive against this we must check the spread and progress of the atheistic movement." Dr. White says the bandits in China have mistreated, kidnaped and killed some few missionaries, but that he has had no trouble with ? Continued on Page Two> ? I A Bishop's Pawn Great was the disappointment of Elizabeth City First Methodists when big Bishop Mouzon w ho rules i the Methodist roost in the North I Carolina removed Rev. Geo. W. Perry from the pastorate of the Elizabeth City church and gave him , to Rocky Mount. Great too was the disappointment of Mr. Perry. Eliz abeth City had grown fond ol friendly, sympathetic, warm-heart ed George Perry during his three years' pastorate in this city and Mr Perry had become attached to Eliz abeth City folk. But such is the life of a Methodist minister. A pawn upon the checkerboard cf a confer ence to be played at the whim ol I a dour bishop. To first Methodisl , Church comes Rev. H. I. Glass, cold stiff straight-laced, exclusive, almosl frightfully serious. George Perrj walked and talked much with com mon men; the Rev. Mr. Glass im i presses one as walking only witt Jehovah. However, it u oaid tht , heating system of First Methodist -1 Church is in gocd order. E8EHT0KUPIH siiwin PiME TOLLS ,1 to cross the Chowan Riser B^Ue tna yet - C.o s the bridge, saysStat.Se ator-elcct Lloyd E. Gnff^Eden ^:rsvsrcUn n^rr-cirsss f rpp V Chowan trade body has two fZZ~-Z%? ^?JsaVsrs rviffin and Mayor J. L. J Edentoiv two of the leaders in the foU removal fight. One plan is tc have the State and Federal got en ments take over the bridge To a ccmplish this plan, they first must h-ve the Federal aid highwaj a , ? hnLei as to permit the use of F-deia' aid funds for purchasing bridge bonds. The law at present makes no provision for such fund t2 be used in this mannei. btu Con gressman Lindsay C. Warren at he request cf the Chowan Coum Chamber of Commerce a..d cth, trade bodies and individuals in h.. district, will introduce an act en bodyiUS SUCh /congri in Decern cv^vt ^pssion of Con^itv be-' In the meanwhile, the interest and support of the H^resentatne and State Senators-elect thruout th' State will be enlisted and an <u ?emot will be made to have the 1933 General Assembly vote to take ove: the bridge with assistance oUj Federal aid funds. The Wa amount of the bond issue aathorii ed for the construction on the bridge was $640,000. of which more^hai S"'00 000 has been retired to d.ue in County C. of C. bopos u S2CO.OOO cf the remamde. sup plied bv the Federal government an. fSL amount by the State, the m; debtedness paid eff and t..2 o moved. If no Federal a.d can b, 'enured, however, 'and there reason to believe that the incomin. Democratic administration will see* 'retrenchment and one of tne flr appropriations to fail under th< hatchet will be the enormous high way impropriations, the State wil b? asked to as:ume the entue bur don Cn taking ever the bridge anc making it toll-free. This laUerplan to will meet with strong opposition for about 63 cents of each tax dol lar in the State is now being spen for roads and schools and it is i around these items that the fight | for reduction and curtailment of i expenditures will center in the next | session cf the General Assembly. Regardless cf the disheartening prospects, tho, the Chowan County Chamber cf Commerce is goine i ahead with its plans for a long and ' hard light to have the toll removed J , from the Chowan River bridge. It is indeed an ambitious task tney an I undertaking, but it is a task ii 1 which Edenton. Chowan County an. jail the Albemarle section is heartil; j interested and willing to cooperate. The importance cf making thi | Chowan Bridge toll-free cannot b i underestimated. Here is a three i mile bridge on the principal high way route from Northeastern Nortl Carolina to the Southern and Cen tral parts cf the State and on th Atlantic Coastal Highway. U. ? highway route extending fron ? Mains t > riorida. This bridge, to ! gctiaor with a toll ferry across Albe | marie Sound between Edenton an< i Mackeys. serves more or less as ! barrier bptween this section and th ' rest of the State and makes th j counties of Dare, Currituck, Cam den. Chowan. Pasquotank and Per quimans geographically more a par , of Virginia than of North Carolim This bridge takes money out of th pockets of Northeastern North Caro linians every time they have t make a trip to the State Capits > or seme other point in the State: i . exacts toil from one Edenton con ? cern of S3.000 a year; it is costly t > j Edenton and Elizabeth City whole 11 sale houses which send their repre ? j sentatives to Martin. Tyrrell. Wash : ington and Hyde counties: it is ; veritable trade barrier; it restrict , business and social relations be t tween neighboring counties. On r reason why Edenton is so anxiou ? for removal of the toll is because c ? j the great amount of peanuts raise i on the other side of the Chowa s Rr.er. Ldentoa is located in th 11 heart of a peanut-growing sec tic 'Continued on Page Five) Subsiding Waters Expected to I Reveal Only Minor Damage to KittyHa wk-RoanokelsleRoad But The Northeaster That Blew From The North cast Innundated Most of Dare Coast and May\ Have Filled Up The New Inlet Cut by March| Southeaster Daily newspaper reports of damage to the paved road' on the Dare coast between Kitlv Hawk and the Roanokej Island causeway have been highly colored and when the water'piled upon the beach by Sunday's storm subsides,! on!v minor damage to the roadbed will be revealed in the opinion of 1). R. Fearing, prominent Roanoke Island busi i noss man. This newspaper got in telephone communication with Mr. Fearing j Wednesday afternoon in an effort to j get exact farts. "Saturday and Sun- j lay's Northeaster seems to have in- ( undated the beach from Kitty Hnwki o Hatteras." said Mr. Fearing, "the water in many places being higher j han old residents have known in 35 J >r 40 years. The State highway be tween Kitty Hawk and Roanoke Is j land was two feet tinder water in ' j places. At the curve at Chuck j I Collins' Carolina Beach pavillion I the wind piled sand several feet deep j on the road, making it impassable., I "But trucks are running over the j read to-day and truck drivers re- I >crt that the road bed is sound, j Jaltho there is evidence cf crumbling' in the sides of the road in some places. The water is rapidly reced- | ng and "normal traffic should be underway the latter part of the week. [ Mr. Fearing's statement may be j iccepted as authoritative and de- ' j oendable. [ But it was a nasty storm. It be ! .tan about noon last Friday and I there was no let up until Sunday, j tight. Northwest storm signals ! were displayed at Elizabeth City and | it Norfolk, but it was a Northeaster | hut swept the Dare coast. The I wind reached a velocity of 46 miles ! in hour, which is not a high wlncfc j to coast people who are familiar , vith blows of 65 to 75 miles an | hour. But it brought higher water j han many of the old timers have ;een, even piling water on the high ' ? beach at Caffey's Inlet. The water ' j .oming up to the floors of many cottages along the beach is believ ed to have wrought a lot cf minor damage. Mail service was inter ! rupted and ferry service between Manns Harbor and Roanoke Island 11 temporarily abandoned. ? But it is an ill *ind that blows , no good and the effect of this North ^ easter may have offset the effects of 11 the Southeaster that opened a new i inlet between Pea Island and Chic j j amiccmico last March. The March i storm cut a new inlet that isolated 'j the people cf Rodanthe, Salvo. Avon, i Buxton and Hatteras. For nine ? i ^ | . nioiuns tney nave Deen cu: ott iro.nl the outside world except by water, j But Saturday and Sunday's storm j filled the new inlet with sand and I Wednesday the new inlet that has| caused so much inconvenience to the coast people was crossed by pedestrains wearing hip boots. And They Still Shoot Swan In Currituck Sound j A flock of swans, hundreds of ( them, settled in the waters of Cur rituck Sound between Monkey Is- j land and Swan Island last Friday j afternoon, over near the beach, op posite Churches Island. The big. white, graceful birds evi dently found the grasses good near the shore, for they moved nearer and nearer the shore, so near in fact that they came within gunshot range. Blup! Blup! Blup; B-l-l-up! The muffled sound of automatics fire over water; and all but five of the swams took flight; the five that were left were dead or crippled. Scofflaws concealed in the marsh grasses on the beach shore had laid in wait for the forbidden birds and made a killing. It is unlawful to kill a swan. There are seventeen game wardens on the payroll in Cur rituck; not one was seen in the part of Currituck Sound referred to all day Friday. The writer knows be cause he shot from a blind in that part of the Sound on the day in dicated and never saw a warden from whom to purchase a licence. ! He had to leave the money for his 1 license with his host of the day. ?A budget calling for the expendi l ture of $17,583,834 by the State Highway Department for the 1933 11934 fiscal year was presented to | the advisory budget commission 'Tuesday. The department estimat J ed its revenue for the year would be j $17,457,715. which, with a balance of $1,707,313 left over from the cur | rent year, will leave a surplus of 'more than $1,000,000 at the end of the next fiscal year. c-r Wi e/h?<BANK CLERK ???? THE SODA JCRKE.R WE MAY, ALL, GO BROKE PAYING DUES 1 "What is this National Economy 1 League that so many members of ^ The American Legion are raising the devil about?" asked the Soda e Jerker. 2 "The National Economy League - is an organization to secure the - elimination of wasteful or unjusti o fiable governmental expenditures, -1 Federal. State and local," replied the e ] Bank Clerk. >? j "Well, what's wrong with that?" I asked the Soda Jerker. "From the - Veterans' viewpoint, it means the - elimination of 450 million dollars d the government is paying annually a for benefits to veterans of the Span s I ish and World Wars who suffered e | no disability in fact thru war serv - j ice. It must be remembered that - the government is now spending this t amount in addition to and entirely i. apart from 'bonus' payments. In e other words, as things are now any - chap who was in the army in war o time, regardless of whether he ever il saw a day of service in the field, can it by a little pull make the govern - ment support him for the rest of his o life. It is a form of graft, pure and - simple, costing the tax payers of - this country nearly a half billion - dollars a year and it operates under a the cloak of the American Legion. <s "The American Legion is rap'dly becoming the most powerful poli e tical organization in the United is j States because it is thoroly organiz >f I ed and its membership includes d j many of the finest, most vigorous, n most intelligent, most patroitic and ie most highly respected men in every n community in which it operates. 'The very heft and respectability of I its outstanding members makes it I an almost irresistible power in the j hands of less respectable, less I patriotic and altogether self-seek - ] ing noise makers who make up much jof its rank and file. "The better element of the Amer ican Legion are so occupied in busi nesses of their own or in their em ployment, that there is a very grave j danger that leadership in the Legion will inevitably fall into the hands of irresponsible loafers and busy bodies whose sole interest lies in getting glory and pelf at the ex j pense of the already overburdened tax payers. And so it was neces sary to effect another organization in America to resist the forces of nepotism and graft that threaten | to run away with the American ! Legion. Many of the most out | standing Legionnaires in North Carolina are members of the Na tional Economy League. In fact, Frank Page who was a Colonel in ;the World War and who is no pen ? sioner, is at the head of the League I in North Carolina." ' "Well, all I know." said the Soda !jerker. "is that we have so many 'organizations in this country now | that everybody will go broke trying j to pay their dues." I "Yes," said the Bank Clerk woe fully, "The great American slogan seems to be, 'When in Doubt Or j ganize," THE AIR WILL SMELL BETTER IN THISCOIIRT Six years of unethical judicial practices and miscarriage of justice in the Pasquotank Record er's Court come to an end to-day Friday, Dec. 2, when P. G. (965-10) Sawyer Trial Justice si (nee 1926, sits in the Recorder's seat for the last time. W. Clarence Morse, ! Jr., Trial Justice-elect, takes office | on Monday, December 5th, ending i the Sawyer orgy of injustice and ! crookedness. Philip Grady 8awyer (he did not J acquire the numerical cognomen until 1930), a progeny of a former! political boss, was elected Trial Justice of the Pasquotank Record er's Court in 1926. The subsequent six years have seen more peculiar practices, maladministration of j justice and evidences of general cor- ' ruption and dishonesty in the Pas-1 quotank Recorder's Court than ha.; j been seen in any public office in the j ?ounty in decades. That the prac tices of this man Sawyer have been! tolerated for six years is but anoth-1 er indication of the general apathy of the County Commissioners and the voters of Pasquotank County. Among-the practices he has follow ed during his six years in office are the following: il) Collecting fines, pocketing them and forgetting all about them until checked up by this newspaper. Over a period of two or three years he pocketed fourteen fines amount ing to $965.10. Arraigned by the | Board of County Commissioners on charges of misfeasance, nonfeasance and malfeasance in office at the in sistence of this newspaper, he was j given a "whitewashing"' after prac I tically every attorney in the city had I pleaded in his behalf. The Inde ] pendent then labelled him 965-10 i Sawyer, in order that the people of i Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County might not easily forget his sins and that the stigma of his wrongdoing might remain upon him. (2) Imposing just sentences in open court and later, in private, suspending the sentences or chang ! ing prison sentences to fines and 'large fines to small fines. (3? Discrimination in sentencing ' defendants; for example, the im ! prisonment of one man and the 'acquittal of another when the evi | dence against each is practically | identical. '4) Failure to roiiow tne letter ox | the law in such matters as suspen j slon of driver's license upon ccnvic ! tion on a charge of driving while I intoxicated. <5> Changing warrants in order j that he might try cases supposed to j be tried in Superior Court. ; ?6> Holding court only three days a week instead of six. as prescribed . by the law, during the last eighteen I months he ha3 been in office, j It also is notorious that a large | per cent cf the persons carried I before Sawyer charged with crimes other than petty misdemeanors have I been represented by an attorney ! with whom Sawyer is very friendly and that these persons invariably escape with much lighter penalities than do other persons charged with I the same crimes. , But all this will be past history after Friday morning. The reign of corruption and injustice comes to an end when P. G. (965-10) Sawyer steps down from behind the Re | corder's bench Friday morning. A {regime of scrupulous honesty, con j scientious performance of duty and [ proper administration of justice is I expected to begin on Monday morn I ing when Clarence Morse occupies I the Recorder's seat for the first time. J Young Morse may have some perti I nent and interesting remarks to j make Monday morning and a large crowd of court spectators will be on hand to hear him. There also will be a new and I younger man officiating 33 Prosecut jing Attorney in Recorder's Court j Monday morning, for Friday like {wise is the end of Larry Ennis I Skinner. Jr.'s six years in the office | of Prosecuting Attorney for Pasquo itank County, and Monday will see Walter W. Colioon acting as prose cutor in the County Recorder's Court. Mr. Skinner sought the of fice of Trial Justice this year but j lost out to Morse in the Democratic primary. Young Cohoon defeated [John B. McMullan and Jack W. 1 Jennette in a nip and tuck race for the Democratic nomination to the office of Prosecuting Attorney. There has been no intimation that Mr. Skinner has been anything but honest and capable, but there has been considerable criticism of the indifference with wfoich he has con ducted the affairs of his office. When the police or some citizen 1 wanted a warrant, it was seldom j easy to locate Mr. Skinner. It seem | ed that he never stayed in his office, j His neglect in this respect resulted I in the creation of a Warrant Officer l m the police department. Also, it I was he, as much as 965-10 Sawyer, 1 who was responsible lor the holding Can Beer and Light Wines Be BroughtBackWithoutBringing The Saloons Back With Them? Congress Faces a Knotty Problem When It Attempts to Live Up to What Turns Out To Be Two Highly Conflicting Campaign Promises Congress will find itself lip against a knotty problem when it tackles the job of modifying the Volstead Act to satisfy the national mandate for light wjnes and beer and still hold to platform promises of no return of the open saloon. There seems to he 110 way to bring hack beer and light wines under the Eighteenth Amendment without bring ing the saloon and the wine parlor hack with (Item. You May Dance' Without Permit! From City Mgr.! It no lunger is unlawful lu wash I a hsne or mule cu the streets of j Elizabeth City, to let one's dog j j run at large at night, to stage a j 1 dance without a permit from the I j City Manager or to drive a horse | I mote than 10 miles an hour, fcr C. j E. Bailey, local attorney, has .just ! I completed a revision of the Eliz- J | abeth City ordinances in which all | | obsolete ordinances have b?en i deleted and many new ones in- 1 sorted. About a year and a half ago the; I City Council decided it was a'oout; time to have the City ordinances j Lrought up to date, since the last j compilation was published in 1323.! Aware were the Councilmen of the \ fact that in the 1923 ordinance book, I there were many old and ob-olete! ordinances and also that many new ordinances have been enacted since' 1923. It was voted to have some! local attorney revise the ordinances,j deleting the obsolete and superset!-j eft ones and putting in the new j ones. The job was given to St. Clair: Bailey. In the old ordinance bock there i were 303 ordinances. Some few of j these were like the ones cited above | ?utterly obsolete. There were local j speed limit laws which now are un- j necessary because of the State laws on the subject. There were ordi nances pertaining to cows kept in the city limits, and these ordinances are out-dated because it no longer | is lawful to keep cows within the' city limits. There were ordinances concerning milk in the old book, but these have been superseded by the Standard Milk Ordinances adopted by the Council a few years' ago. Standard ordinances affect-' ing plumbing and sewerage also jhave been adopted here since 1923, i rendering the old ordinances on j these subjects obsolete. A few old, ordinances relating to the location j i of blacksmith shops and filling sta , tions have been superseded by the | ' City Zoning ordinance. And so forth | ! and so on. The result of Mr. Bailey's [ j work is the deletion of dozens of , ordinances and the addtiion of i scores. There were 303 ordinances ! in the old book and there arc 505 | in the compilation completed by Mr. Eailey last week. j Copies of the new compilation cf local ordinances are now being read by C. W. Overman. C. V. Ballard and C. M. Griggs, the Ordinance committee of the City Council, and these men will make what changes they see fit to make and then sub mit the whole to the Council for adoption. After adoption, the new ordinance book will be printed and distributed. There are fifteen chapter head ings in the book. There are 33 ordi nances affecting Municipal Services, 69 concerning Health and Sanitation. 64 about Streets and Sidewalks, 37 Miscellaneous, 97 regarding Public Safety, 24 dealing with Public Morals and Conduct, 23 relating to Public Conveyances. 25 about Pub lic Welfare. 60 on the Building Code, 12 about Licenses and License Tax es, 32 regarding City Planning. 15 affecting Public Amusement. 7 about Wharves, Docks, Bridges and Har bor and 2 relating to Franchises. of court only on Mondays. Wednes days and Fridays, instead of daily, from June, 1931, to the present time. All in all. he has not been so at tentive to his office as he should have been. Young Walter Cohoon is a thoro ly likeable young fellow of unusual capabilities and oratorical ability. Elizabeth Citizens and Pasquotank ers feel that a good combination ha; been found and they are expecting Messrs. Morse and Cohoon to con duct the Recorder's Court in strik ing contrast tc the manner in which , it has been conducted during the ; past six years. Everybody has been saying, give us real beer and light wines, but we don't want a return of the saloon. Oh, no! We've had a bellyful or the saloon. We want light wines and beer, but the sale and distribu tion of them shall be strictly regu lated. Now. in order to brin back light wines and beer Congress must re interpret what constitutes an alco holic beverage within the meaning cf the Eighteenth Amendment. The Amendment prohibits the manu facture, possession, sale and trans portation of intoxicating beverages without attempting to saw how much alcohol makes a beverage in toxicating. The definition of an in toxicating beverage was left square ly up to Congress and Congress adopted the Volstead Act which de clares any beverage intoxicating if it contains so much as one tenth of one per cent alcohol. It is within the power of Congress to rescind or amend the Volstead Act and declare that beer contain ing 2.75 or even 5 per cent alcohol is non-Intoxicating, which would permit the manufacture, sale and transportation of such beer under the Eightenth Amendment. But if Congress declares that 2.7.? or 5 per cent beer and 16 or 18 per cent wine are not intoxicating, how is It going to regulate their manu facture and sale any more than It can regulate the manufacture and sale of ginger ale, coca-cola. milk, or any other non-intoxicating bever age? There is where Congress runs into a snag. If the manufacture and sale of . tv? i? pc.-rr.lfV-! under an Act which declare.-- tilt.' are non -intoxi cating (and it can not be |>ermittcd under any ether Act so long as the 18th Amendment exists*, then what is to prevent the return of the beer saloon? What can Congress do In the matter of regulating the sale of an intoxicating beverage which it has declared is non-intoxicating? Doesn't it make your head ache? And Then The Supreme Court And then too. overshadowing Con gress is a Supreme Court with pow ers to undo anything that Congrc?; may do in the matter cf attempting to allay the great national thirsl. Brigadier General Samuel T. An sell, a native of our own Currituck county, but now a prominent Wash ington. D. C., attorney, having con siderable Supreme Court practice, writes hopefully of the flipreme Court's probable reaction, in a re cent issue of the Baltimore Sun. General Ansell doesn't think the Supreme Court will upset any Con gressional action that meets with public approval, assuming that 'supreme Court judges are human. , General Ansell says: ! "Congress must necessarily dctcr j mine what alcoholic content of wine 'or beer makes these beverages in itoxicating; intoxicating, one would ! assume, when consumed by the avcr j age person in the usual manner. . Whatever content common sense j may dictate, there will be those who .differ, for instances of drunkenness ! resulting from permissible liquor will certainly follow. Such difficulty Is inherent in any attempt to reconcile ! human conduct with the purpose of j the Eighteenth Amendment. Legis- ? ! lation is a matter of practical gov ernment. Beer and wine of alco holic content within certain general ly understood limits have been drunk iby men (and woment throughout j the ages without producing general {personal debauchery or debasement ! of the state. ! "Whatever the alcoholic coment Congress may permit, the Supreme Court must view it with a respect and favorable presumption almost controlling. The court could annul the legislative judgment only by so far differing with it as to find it arbitrary, without reason and with out appropriate relation to the pur poses of the amendment. But, in its many decicicns upon the Voistae-I act and kindred legislation, the i court har. without exception regard ! ed the judgment of Congress as con clusive and has given its coucur ' reuce to facts and considerations re j sorted to by Congress to justify its ? Continued on Page Two; | 85 per cent of all people have de < fectlve vision. Are ycu one of these. I Have your eyes examined today, i DR. J .D. HATHAWAY, Carolina i Building. a^v'
The Independent (Elizabeth City, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 2, 1932, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75