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<JU?r*^ No i
tae ar' Vere made ugamst!
i
|?An ancient collir^ with a tree,
growing thru one side was washed
frcm the ground near the Oera
ccke Coast Guard station during
a recent oto ni when 30 feet of shore
washed away. A human skeleton
lay inside the coffin. The siz? of
the tree indicated the coffin to be
mere than 100 years old.
Corn Champ
I??? ?Wl
i
HERS he is. folks?State 4-H corn I
club champion for 1932. a Pasqeo-1
tank product. Alvln Sample, 19- j
ysar-c'.d son cf Mr. and Mrs. Henry
F. Sample of Providence Township, j
competed with more than 1.800 corn |
club members last year and won the
State Championship by raising 113
bushels cf corn on an acre of land
a: a total cos: of $37.47. Photo b5
Zoeller.
THIS REPORTER
WAS IRKING
NO MILS GUESS
By \VM. KEITH SAUNDERS
Alllio professing to know
very lit lie law, 1 nevertheless j
j must take issue with County
Auditor C. C. Pritchard when
'that worthy county official
?asserts that I "was guessing
and making a had job of it"
I when I stated in last week's
issue of this newspaper that
: he is receiving $3(50 per year, J
i as compensation for fulfilling the
'duties of county auditor to which)
jhc has no legal right.
J The office of County Auditor for
Pasquotank county was established
! by Section 19. Chapter 61. Page 76.
! Public-Local Laws of 1915. This
jlaw set the salary of the County
'Auditor at $1,600 per annum, and
j enumerated the various duties to!
! be performed by this officer. Sec- j
; tion 25 of the same chapter asserts
! in unmistakable language that "It I
shall be the duty of the said auditor i
j to act as accountant for the County J
I of Pasquotank." Neither cf these j
'sections has been repealed, amend-'
jed or altered. Therefore, when, in i
perusing the County Auditor's re
port for the fiscal .year ending June
30. 1932. I noticed tnat County Audi- j
; tcr Pritchard was drawing $30 per.
month salary as Comity Accountant |
| in addition to his salary as County1
; Auditor. I took this to be irregular.!
t Perhaps I was guessing when I j
charged that Auditor P.itchard is j
I not legally entitled to extra com-'
I pensation as Gour.iiy Accountant,!
j out ^ am inclined to believe my |
|guess was better than that of the'
'Beard cf County Commissioners!
| which voted this salary to Mr. Pric- ?
| chard under the provisions of Chap- j
Iter 146, Section Three, Public Laws!
of North Carolina, 1927.
This law. which Auditor Pritchard
uses as his defense and basis for his |
assertions tegarding my "guess-;
wcrk." is a part of the "County j
Fiscal Control Act." Here is whati
_the..iaw says: "It shall be-iha.
of the board of county commission
| ers in each county in the State, on |
or before the first Monday in April,;
one thousand nine hundred andj
twenty-seven, and biennially there-!
after, to appoint some person ofj
honesty and ability, who is experi- 1
(Continued on Page Six)
i ^ ^ I I'
e/h?<BANK Cl?QK TWL SODA dORKLR
THE BANK CLERK FORGETS HIS AGE j;
? I thought I was getting old." said
th" Bank Clerk to his friend the
Scda Jerker.
? Well, aint you getting old?" re
sponded tne t'izzic water vendor.
"Not as old as I was beginning
to think I was." replied the Bank
Clerk. "I began to worry about ray,
age when I began to attend some of'
thc^e dances around town. They
start about 10:30 at nigh: ana finish
about 2 A. M. and then it's so nearj
breakfast time that you got to go
to a restaurant and get something
to eat. You get to bed about 3|
o'clock in the morning and when j
ycur alarm clock calls you to work ;
you feel like 'ell.
"Arid I stay thru one of these |
dances feeling like a no-legged man
a: a kicking frolic. These young j
bucks and buckerinos around town |
can out dance me, out smoke me j
and out drink me. They may not |
have a dcrn thnig in their heads j
except a sponge, but they can get |
more action out of their legs in one ]
dance round than I can get out of j
mine in a night of it. I find myself j
tiring down after two or three sets j
and go out with a party to take a
drink for sociability, and maybe to j
revive my spirits The party laps up j
several rounds of drinks and gets;
peppier with every drink; while!
after the second drink I'm ready to i
stretch out and go to sleep. These
dances leave me with a feeling of i
great sadness; I'm a back number,
an old fogey, a fossilized hunk of {
obsolescence. I was born 30 years j
too soon. That's the way I've been!
feeling; but I've found a dance ciubj
that has put the skids under my in- I
feriority complex and given me a!
better opinion of myself and of folks'
who like to dance.
"I owe a lot to Virginia Edwards, i
You den't kiwr Virginia; she's that:
smallish, old maldlsh looking little |
Home Derajpmptton Agent over in
Currituck, taf looks awfully prim j
and schootpjBM^but when you
come at Coinjock!
SaturdajqfiHjfct 8:30. The mvita-j
ticn appealed to me because I al- i ?
ways thought 3:30 a sensible hour j'
to bi.gin a dance; that gives a fellow I1
a chance to get home at a decent j'
hour. And so I attended the dance j1
at the H. D. Club at i oinjock Sat- j1
urday night. Sure enough, the folks 11
began to drop in at 8:30. Young)1
folks, old folks and middle aged! 1
folks, with three or four pretty girls j'
and young women for every man. '
For music they had a two piece j'
orchestra for square dances and a |
I phonograph with an amplifier for j(
j the round dances. None of the girls (
l smoked, there was no drinking, and
' I sauntered around the club grounds 1
during an intermission, pried into 1
every automobile and didn't find a '
single necking couple or drinking
I party. Now most of you young 1
bucks will think that there's no ?'
fun at a party like that, but I j1
haven't had such a good time at a j1
dar.ee in years and I came home j1
without a headache cr a leg ache, jc
And before the evening was over I 1
found myself in one of these old
time barn dances or square dances, *
swinging my partners like a very !
devil and without a thought of my!1
middle age." I'
"And you mean to tell* me they''
can have a dance in Currituck with- }
cut liquor?" asked the Soda Jerker. }
I "It's a fact," said the Bank Clerk: *
"In fact I created much confusion *
and caused a lot of good ladies to c
blush when I observed a puddle of
water on the dance floir and mads
a wise crack about it. I sniffed the J
air and asked 'Who did it?* I *
thought somebody had spilled their j
liquid corn. But those good women 1
don't think in terms of liquor at all
and thought I was implying that
seme one had suffered a renal re- v
laxation, or something like. You ^
should have seen the dear girls give 1
me a wide berth until they recover-,
ed from their shock."
;
85 per cent of all people have de
fective vision. Are you one of these? I
Have your eyes examined today. *
DR. J .D. HATHAWAY, Carolina ?>
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.