I ... ?_ fi J Jtate Library Raleigh IT C ?' > . ^ ^s'? The Independent ?eet 17. If, 337^"= SINGLE COPY 5 ClU Government Relieving The Farmer of Last Hope for A Fair Return for Potatoes '/7,r last rest>at of hope for a curtailment of the /,?;<;< potato acreage has vanished with the avail kilit'l "r more Fe(leyal millions for loans to fann fl.v prospect* now are for an increased acreage and %'?('tlook for anything like a cost of production price 'orthis years spuds has gone a glimmering. Another Lot government relieving the fanner until it will Jiece him of everything he hasf 'lite Federal government tnru mei Agricultural Credit Cor-: offering millions to 'bi?3r and bi?-er; :n foe lore of a farm com jlodrv surpluses tin: have already! brikrup:'-" agriculture. Hundreds! 0; ;y):.uo arc.vers who of necessity j ;)d banned to curtail their acre- ? i;e. are preparing to avail them- ; .e'ves a: "nv offer of loans and j c^pcraify till the ground with: plaices. with a small hope' ?a: dWter may happen to the crop in some ether section cf the courirv ami give them a break a: . har.es: time. Thousands of small farmers who. txiic have planted no po.atocs at . j!! :r._v year, will avail themselves ' c: :r, :::rr.::ir loans, content to eive iieir labor in return for the pota toes they may eat and for the pocket j ciunge mat will come from picking i ;.> and eating the potatoes to the! Iwdair sheds. ; . :.us :.??.? paper's information I ? a:; E-tern Shore of Virginia panter who had planned to aban t? potatoes this year, has applied ? :x a government loan of S90.00-) : rJ put it ail in potatoes.' Lead.ng tvr.fizer manufacturers in, a::; around Norfolk are imploring i heir b.g accounts to gamble on .-iraeh this season, if they must nmbie. The fertilizer men know i ic.a: is in store for the potato grow er and are fearful of the conse quences. I." the government could 4; credited with so much foresight, or: might suspect that it plans to cere larger food surpluses this j T? v for the benefit of the pcor in j s:;e>. In the meantime the R. A. C. C. ?:'n millions to lend is setting uj>, :.i: machinery in every county to! Esse loan, easily available to ali 1 ir.o win; them. Lrry E Skinner. Jr.. of Elizabeth C v. ha sheer, designated as attor ? Pa- uxanlc county whose I certificate of title for liens, chattels I regales till be accepted by IReg.cn.il Agricultural Credit I Crporatioa of Raleigh. N. C.. for I :o b.' made to the people of I John P Stedman. exe lc.:.. president and manager, ltxucccd tliis week. I It Stedman also announced that I V.'.lma Sample of Elizabeth I' l to aid .itosc cf this eelnr.3 :o borrow- money I '--z the corporation in making out ? Stir applications in proper fo.m. ? facilitating the preliminary: I' g save time anil Bosnia:? red tape" in getting the I has through. I Ftts for attorneys, paid by the I "PpltCar/-. are limited to one-half I o: one ;>?;? cent of the loan, with a I i-rimuT. <>: SI and a maximum of H SU..30. oa chattels and liens, while I -n i'K or. real property will be I i'-'.emed by the amount of work in I *v>'ed m preparing the abstract j I ad mortgage. Attorneys, as well , I a- county farm agents, are agreeing ? I 'JJ perform the duties connected I making loans largely ior' I and community reasons.' ? Jar. St trim .in states, pointing out I -tot county agents are cooperating I -iplend.aly. j I ^ferey 011 '-he loans is at the rate : I ^ 3 - i)r: cut and a small inspec I if*1." ^-'.'??r.ding on the size of I ?:lar' *'iil be added, Mr. Stedman ? states 1 Liar., uiii be confined to actual I " ^"firmer-" whose main liveli -rom farming, poultry, ? ^?"-.ock and dairy operations. Mr. ? ^ -state. It is the farm ? too. and not the tenant j I ?>r 'v:'t 1)0 the beneficiary | I R A- C. C. assistance. T'noce j fl ai Producing crops, raising t I?*', 0perat*uS dairies and raising! I fx'o ' '^~*r ov'" *anc* be j I ?'was under the rcgula?. I ? of the corporation. oa"; ate made direct from the. offi'-e and do not have to be elim U1 Washington. thus, ".vir.g lime and trouble and borrowers to get their i tnucii earlier than otherwise! be the case. C m ^ u:ie;tPectedly. the House j J_. ?lttee ?? Judiciary No. 1 re-j bill-n i ?rabiy tiie Bowie-Murphy! Ijp ' '^lize t;ie sale of wine and! uuon m *sort:l Carolina contingent' ?o i? ac[icn by Congress and! a, whatever tax tc-"ma' J-? c Building. ^ _ adv. * I Prohibition Enforcement Meets Its Supreme Challenge; j A Fight to the Death or Quit That the Prohibition Bureau of the U. S. Depart-j ment of Justice either must lay down on the job and] admit itself "licked" in its enforcement activities in this part of the country or must wage a fight to the finish with daring and dangerous gangsters seems to be the almost inevitable result of the treatment receiv ed by Prohibition Investigators J. L. Lancaster and' E. A. Booth at the hands of certain bootleggers near! St_. Brides, Va., last Thursday night. Tne iacts maae puonc conjsnu?ss the case have been very meager. Lancaster and Booth, acting under orders from their superiors, could not say much about the affair. But P. M. Caudle, deputy prohibition administrator for the Eastern Caro lina district, gave to a reporter for this newspaper ali the facts in the case which he could divulge without hampering his investigation. Here's what happened: Investigators Lancaster and Booth last Thursday night gave chase to a Master Eight Buick sedan which, according to their information, was carrying a load of liquor. The Buicl: outran their Dodge coupe and elud ed the agents somewhere between the Carolina-Virginia line and Great Bridge, Va. After failing to pick up the trail of the rum-runner's car, the officers turned their Dodge around and headed back toward Elizabeth City. It was then around 10:30 P. M. Shortly after passing Hickory Grounds and before reach-1 ing St. Brides' the officers heard a high-powered car bearing down on them from behind. As it passed ; them, they saw it was the Buick | which they had chased. Just as they thought of giving cl-.asc to it, again, the Buick swung across the road in front of them, leaving them the alternative of taking to the ditch or smashing into the Buick. They ran the Dodge into the ditch. Drawing their guns, they ordered j the driver of the Buick to surrender ? himself. Offering no resistance whatever^- -tie 8?t ?ut of the Buick ^ lift him "uti** der arrest. The officers were very well-pleased with their night's work, and were delighted at the ease of, their capture. Bui they did not know what was in store for them: , they had not stopped to consider j that their prisoner might be a "de- ; coy" sent after them to lead them i into a trap. They quickly found I out. tho. for they had hardly arrest ed the driver of the Buick before another high-powered automobile arrived on the scene and a force of armed men got cut and quickly sur rounded the officers. These men. a tough-looking, powerful set. fully j armed, did net have much trouble in persuadnig Lancaster and Booth to release their prisoner. The of-; fleers were then disarmed and or dered to get into the rum-runners car and ride down the road with ;hem. What happened thenceforth is merely rumor, for neither the of- j [icers nor Mr. Caudle would give ( out the facts as to the treatment! recorded the officers. It is reported ; ;hat Booth fled across a field 2nd ivas shot at several times and that Lancaster was released after being | treated roughly for some time and i oeing made to get down on his knees | md plead for mercy. Anyhow, the J ;wo officers escaped injury. It is thought that these agents, [ cither thru daring or ignorance, gave. ;hase to a liquor car belonging to a highly-organized and dangerous | jand of rum-runners, who decided | ;o teach the officers a lesson by i throwing a genuine scare into them, i Whether this "scare," coming on the i aeels of several clashes between the i llicit liquor forces and the prohibi- | ion enforcement officers in this sec- j ,ion in the past year, will result in ) icknowiedgment of defeat by the i >fficers or a clean-up of the law- j ess element remains to be seen. "If the Government ever purposes to do anything to check the bootleg- i jers, it would seem thai now is the. ;ime to do it." says J. P. Thompson, i Jnited States Commissioner. "Every ; ;ime these fellows pull off such a | vanton stunt as this and get by [ vith it, they become more and more f awless and are encouraged to try i iomething more daring and more mtrageous." Deputy Prohibition Administrator ?. M. Caudle hastened here on Sun lay when he learned exactly what lad happened, and he spent the' irst part of the week in investigat-1 ng the case. His report has been j orwarded to district headquarters. >ut its contents have not been di- j 'ulged. Asked if he knew the names . >f any of the men who took part in j he affair, he would not commit j liraself. Asked what course the gov rnment will pursue in the matter.; ie was silent. The only intima-' Ion he gave as to what may he ex- j >ected was the solemn statement, hat "The law must be supreme" rhis might be construed to mean j hat the government purposes to> ? I ; ; put an end to disregard of the lav; and bulldozing of officers of the i lav; in this section. The govern : ment may stand for a certain amount of this sort of stuff, but the.e must be a limit, and it is just ; possible that the St. Brides affair I rr.a'y have aroused the government's "dander" to the point where action will be taken. If so. there's trouble j in .' tore for this section. There will : be fireworks when and if the gov I ernmcnt agents close in on those Norfolk county gangsters. Reported That Rum Cars Escaped Law A reliable citizen of Eelcross re-, ported to this newspaper that offi cers sought to block five Virginia i liquor cars in Camden county Mon day night but that all five cars went by the officers at an amazing rate of speed, leaving them empty-hand ed. i Federal prohibition investigators i stationed in this city deny that they j had any such experience on Mon : day night, and Camden county of- i ficers likewise disclaim any know- j ledge of such an occurrence. It i may be that the gentleman who: brought the news to this newspaper j was misinformed, and again it might be that officers really did let rum-runners get away from them and were ashamed to admit it. j 'T. T: with 'Bill C \ i ii i 'TIIE Sawyer Co. (Bill C.>, Elizabeth i City's exclusive gents furnishers I have added a new department, made ; to measure clothing. And it isn't [just a gesture on the part of Saw 'yer Co.; the firm is going to push men's made to measure clothing and has secured T. T. Turner as man ager of the new department. They ' would have had to look far to find I a more popular or experienced i salesman. T. T. Turner came to '? Elizabeth City 30 years ago and got jhis first experience under that old! time maker of merchants, the late i Chas. H. Robinson, in what was j known as the Fair Store. When Mr. ? Robinson discontinued his retail I ' business about 1908 Mr. Turner had j already shown such aptness in fit ting and selling men's clothes, that Mitchell's Department Store im mediately employed him as manager of its clothing department. He was] withMitchell's seven years, later going in business for himself. Balance The Budget Without a Sales Tax By W. O. SAUNDERS j?|X a desperate endeavour to meet a State Treas 111-v ()' million to 15 million dollars, pePH abolish the 15 cent ad valorem tax on property and balance the budget for the next biennium, many members of the (ieneral Assembly are saying that a sales tax is inevitable. A sales tax is a levy upon the pay envelope of the working man who must spend the greater part of every dollar he receives, for food, clothing, fuel and medi- J cine. It removes a burden of taxation from more fortunate members of society who have a surplus over and above living expenses which they may invest in stocks and bonds that pay no lax. There might be some justification for a Federal sales lax. but as a Stale measure it is iniquitous and without juslilicalioii; because it threatens the business structure of the State in which it is imposed, to the enrichment of the business structure of contigous slates that have no sales lax. One way North Carolina may avoid a sales lax and yet balance its budget; that way is to lop two or three months oil' the public school term for the next two years, halving, if necessary, the cost of public education until we can afford to do better. This is no argument against public education; I am in favor of all the public education, within reason, that we can pay for. BIT Ti IK BP,HAD AND BUTTER OK THE MASSES MUST NOT BE JEOPARDIZED; j THE HOMES OF OUR HUMBLE CITIZENS MUST NOT BE SOLD FOR TAXES TO MAINTAIN SOME THING WE CAN ILL AFFORD AND CAN NOT PAY FOR. Our children would not suffer from a curtailment of the school term for the next two years. It might delay the college entrance of u few embryo lawyers, doctors and school teachers, who Would make better college students if given a little more time 16 mature, j If, as our friends the pedagogs argue, it would throw i' thousands of youngsters out into a world that is un- r prepared to absorb them into industry, why worry about j, a little thing like that in a land in which 12 million adult I workers are without jobs? What the General Assembly of North Carolina i needs to-day is sanity and courage. We folk hack home 1 are balancing our budgets hv denying ourselves many j tilings we need and many luxuries we would enjoy, AND, BY THE ETERNAL, THIS STATE MUST WAKE UP TO THE FACT THAT IT IS BUT THE FOLKS 1 BACK HOME AND NOT A MONEY-SPENDING j BUREAUCRACY WHOSE SOLE PROBLEM IS TO j, DEVISE NEW TAXES. What North Carolina most j needs and must have is lower taxes; lower taxes are [j possible only thru a curtailment of a lot of State activi- C ties. We won't lose our schools by a reduced term; we j| won't lose the benefit of public education; hut most of j us are going to lose our homes and our businesses if the quest for more and more taxes continues. i l?mBunxaaamMiwmmmmM Money For Hall For Dr. Sunday Is Big Problem If a committee composed of three local ministers and two laymen can, between now land Sunday afternoon, decide I what type of auditorium, | tabernacle or shelter shall be provided for the proposed Billy Sunday revival here and can discover means of financing this shelter, a un animous invitation from the min isters and boards of the various churches of Elizabeth City will be forwarded to Dr. Sunday and the five-weeks campaign will probably get underway late in April. The plan to bring Billy Sunday to Elizabeth City to arouse the dor mant religious instincts of the popu lace, to return the back-sliders to the churches and thereby increase shrinking revenues, to throw the fear of the Lord into the hearts of thQ,usat>ds and . .to nis vigorous antfcs and mannerisms was first brought up by Rev. J. C. Wicker, pastor of the First Baptist church, at a meeting of the Eliz abeth City Ministerial association. The ministers were unanimous in favoring a Billy Sunday religiiusj campaign in Elizabeth City, but they wondered where the necessary funds, to provide an auditorium would come from. So a meeting of all the i ministers and their various boards I of deacons, stewards, vestry and so; forth, as well as interested laymen, i was called. The meeting was held! at Fiist Methodist church last Sun- j day afternoon. At that meeting, there was con- j siderable dicussion about the pro- j posed revival, and when a vote was: called for on the question of derir- j ing to invite Dr. Sunday to come to j Elizabeth City the vote was unani mously affirmative. But there still remained the problem of providing | a place in which to hold the cam- j paign. There is not a hall or ani auditorium in the city that could I conveniently be made to accommo date more than 1,000 or 1,200 per sons, and it is estimated that twice that many should be accommodated j if Billy Sunday is to be brought here. A committee composed of Rev. G. F. Hill, Rev. J. L. Carrick, Rev. J. H. Lannmg, w. T. Love, Jr., and L, | R. Foreman was appointed to in- ] vestdgate the cost of renting a tent, i providing an auditorium of a perma- j providing an auditorium of a prema- j nent nature and to try to work out j a plan for the financing of the type I of meeting place decided upon, j This committee is to report back at j another meeting at First Methodist \ church Sunday afternoon at 3 o'clock. The plan of having the City pro vide the funds for the erection of a five or six thousand dollar hnll for, the Billy Sunday campaign and' later to be used as a sort of city j auditorium and convention hall! evoked no enthusiastic response from city officials and seems to be out of consideration. The plan now Seemed most feasible is that of bor rowing $7,500 or $10,000 with which to finance the Billy Sunday cam paign. Finding signatories for a note and finding that much avail- j able money are problems to be con-j sidered. Dr. Sunday is ill at present and. las been advised by physicians to >ake a rest for three months, but lis wife, to whom Rev. Wicker talk ;d over long distance telephone Sun iay night, said he would more than rikely be ready to begin a campaign lere on April 23, the proposed date, rhe revival, if it should materialize, will begin April 23 and continue thru i Vlay 28. We're all fed vp with that word! ?Depression." Why not call it "The j Predicament" or something, just for i change? Electric Light Rates Can Be Cut One Third, Says This Committee Report Despite a general skepticism on the jxirt of the townspeople, despite the assertion of a member of the Public Utilities Commission that they were a "bunch of damn fools" and despite Superintendent J. C. Park er's statement that they were unqualified to criticize the Public Utilities Commission, the utilities commit tee of the Young Men's Civic Club last week com pleted its investigation of local utility rates and sub mitted to the Club on Monday night a report showing how local light rates can be reduced by 33 1 3'c ivitli out affecting the tax rate or affecting the operations of the utilities. mi? t- x i.i r* . iuc uigu ugai 01 me oununuics [report, which was adopted unani ? mously after lengthy discussion by the Club members, was the recom jmendation that the Public Utilities i Commission, Instead of carrying more than $22,000 annually to its surplus account after paying all operating expenses and fixed charges and donating lights, water and cash to the City for tax relief purr poses, should return this amount to the electric consumers as a divid end in the way of a lower light rate. In the language of Norman N. Trueblood. author of the report, "Public utilities belong to the publle and should be operated so as to benefit the public. When a big corporation makes certain earnings over and above all expenses and fixed charges, these earnings are passed on to the stockholders as dividends. The people of Elizabeth City are the stockholders in its pub lic utilities, so why should they not receive the benefit of the annual surplus?" The findings and recommendations of the committee which investigated ; local light and water rates with the purpose of showing how the 12c light rate could be reduced, were as follows: L Findings: "The operation of the public utili ties of Elizabeth City was takeii bttr fsy tfrePubht! Uttnty CommLs |sion on February 1st, IMS. Upon I examination of the records of the {Public Utility Commission by the j Civic Club committee, it was found [that for the period that the Public ; Utility Commission has had charge icf the operation of the public utili I ties, that is, from February 1st, '1925 through June 30th, 1932, the total net income, or profit, has been $403,923.21, or an average of $55, 105.48 yearly. Of this net incbmc, $165,547.88 has been given to the city in the form of lights and-water service rendered to its various de partments, while $74,990.01 in cash has been turned over to the general fund of the city for the relief of the tax burden of the city, making a total of $240,537.89 that has been furnished by the users of the public utilities for the relief of the tax burden of the city. The remaining $163,385.32 has been carr'id lo the surplus account, and represents the total operating surplus as of June 30th, 1932, the date of the last audit. "For the last fiscal year the total operating revenue was $226,790.38, as compared with the average tbtal operating revenue of $247,045.68, yearly. For this same period tire net income was $53504.82, which compares very favorably with the i yearly average as shown above. Dur ing this period, $26,119.26 was given to the city in the form of services rendered, and $4,490.01 net in cash was donated to the city, making a total of $30,609.27 donated to the city. The remaining $22,895.55 was carried to the surplus account. "This committee finds that the current furnished the city is charg ed at regular rates instead of at actual cost. In this connection, it may be said that it should be im possible to arrive at the actual cost, since there is a certain amount of overhead including maintenance in volved. Since the expenses incur red relative to all overhead is car ried in the proper expense account, it is not necessary, in the opinion of (Continued on Page Six) Assassin Tries To Kill Roosevelt! While aboard his special train in a Miami railroad station. President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt was fired upon Wed nesday night by a would-br as sassin and narrowly escaped fatal injury. Mayor Anton Cer mak of Chicago was shot in the chest and was not expected to live. Pour others were injured but were reported as having a chance. The gunman, one Joe Zangara of New York City, fired a iUtim of bullets into the pre sidents! party during its recep tion at the station.