North Carolina Newspapers

VOL. -XLVII Taxes Amounting to $3,000,000 Involved In Aetion oJ Railroads Against State Commissioner of Revenue—Three Issues I nvolved —Railroads Claim Reductions Like that Given Other Properties. FIRE LOSSES $36,000 A DAY. An Interesting Usury Case—Teachers Must Pay Income Tax, Says Corn- Commissioner. , 5823 (By Maxwell Gorman.) " Raleigh, Feb. I.—Attorney Gen eral Manning, former Supreme Court Justice Brown, Hon. Thos. D. Warren, of counsel for the state, in the hearing at Greens bjroofthe railroads against the State Commissioner of Revenue, have returned from Greensboro, where the case was heard by three federal judges. It will be at least a month be fore the decision is announced to the public. About three million dollars in taxes are involved. Judge Waddill announced the decision to take at least thirty days before passing upon the three issues. If the railroads lose, the next move will be .theirn, Lackiog any stay against the col lection of taxes, they are expect ed to appeal to a higher court and are expected, if they lose ihere, to carry their case to the Supreme Court of the United States. If a temporary injunction against the collection of taxes in question is granted, the cases will be heard on their merits, with evidence presented. The South ern and Atlantic and Yadkin will be heard in that case, in Western North Carolina Federal District Court, and other cases will go be fore Judge H. G. Connor in East ern North Carolina Federal Dis trict Court at Raleigh. The Three Issues. First, were the railroads dis criminated against by the reve nue commissioner of North Caro lina, A. D. Watts, when he re fused ft) reduce appreciably or to reduce at all the tax valuations of the Southern, Atlantic and Yad kin, Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard, and Norfolk Southern, in view of horizontal reductions made in other real estate in sixty-seven countifes of North Caroliua? Second, is the state corporation franchise tax as it applies to rail roads constitutional? Third, is the state corporation income tax as it applies to rail' rojids constitutional! Valuations Assessed. What are the valuations assess ed by the state and the one foughl for as "fair" by the roads? They are: Southern, assessed, $90,300,357; admitted, $59,904,438. Atlantic Coast Line, assessed, 851,104,717; admitted, $34,645,345. Atlantic and Yadkin, assessed, $4,104,710; admitted, $1,999,000. Seaboard, assessed, $34,708,440; admitted, $27,119,384. Norfolk Southern, assessed, 822,215,032; admitted, $14,522,200. The railroads have paid taxes for 1921 on the admitted value, but have not paid anything on the franchise tax and the income tax. Heavy Fire Loiwes. Thirty-six thou Hand doll&rs a day lire loss in North Carolina during the inoulh of January, run ning the aggregate up to within a few thousand of the million mark and establishing a new record for monthly losses, has puzzled anu alarmed the State Department of lusurauce. Investigation of a number of the larger fires ha» been ordered by Commissiouer Wade. AD Interesting I'sury Case. A* a penalty for collecting an nually, in advance, iuteves. at the THE ALAMANCE GLEANER. rate of six per cent on a note which ran for seven years, R. J. Whilley, well known business man of Zebulon, will be required to pay $1,020, unless a judgment signed by the clerk of Wake Coun ty Superior Court be reversed. Action to recover money alleged to have been paid in usury, with an added penalty of 100 per cent was instituted on September 28, 1921, by I. M. Deaton, Raleigh. Complaint was filed on November 4, 1921, and no answer has been recorded, judgment having been ordered yesterday by default, upon motion of attorneys for the plaintiff. However, the defend ant has engaged counsel, and the question may yet be threshed out in'the courts on an appeal from the judgment of the clerk. According to the complaint, Deaton * borrowed $1,500 from Whitley, executing a mortgage on his home. The complaint alleges that Deaton received only $1,410 in cash, collecting a year's interest in advance. The complaint al leges that when the note fell due in 1915 Deacon was able to pay only SSOO, paying S6O interest in advance ou the remaining 81,000. The cojpplaint alleges that in each yearftbe time was extended, in-j i elest for one year being paid in advance in each instance until 1920, when a bonus of 860 was oaidiu addition to the interest payment. The note was finally settled and the mortgage dis charged in April, 1921. In his complaint the plaintiff sets up two causes of action. In the first, under which judgment was signed, he demands double the amount of all interests pay ments and the bonus. In the Becoud cause of action, only re payment of the 8450 paid as in terest is demanded, while double the amount of the bonus is asked, the whole being $570. Teachers, Also, Must Pay Tax Revenue Commissioner Watts has ruled that school teachers, state highway engineers and .all other state, municipal and county emp'oyes must pay taxes on their incomes just like any other class of people who work for a salary. There is no exemption of a person from taxation for the simple rea son that he draws a salary from the state. The state is not allow ed to tax employes of the federal government, who get their sala ries direct from some local dis bursing office of the federal gov ernment. The commissioner has found some misunderstanding about the income tax.. Many people believe they hiive paid the income tax for 1921, when as a matter of fact they have paid the taxes due the state on the incomes they made in 1920. This income was listed with the county list-takers in May of last year, and has been due since the fall. Some these taxes have not been paid, and some people paid them only this year. The fact that income tax blanks may have been received soon after the person had paid an income tax to the state caused the cdnfuston. The commissioner reiterates that the counties will not collect the income tax for 1921, which will be due on or before March 15th, after which date penalties accrue. This tax will be collected direct by the state through the Revenue Department. >■ "There is an apparent contra diction in the income tax law," Col. Watts says. "In one section it seems not to provide for a re turn from corporations having less than SI,OOO net income, while in another section section it taxes all corporations on their entire net income. The commissioner has had the matter up with the attorney general, wtio advises that all corporations are required to make returns on their entire net income without exemption. This course will be taken until a de termination by the court is had. All the net income of partnerships is taxable in the individual re turns of the partners whether sucb profits have been actually paid to the partners or continued in the business. This ruling conforms to the federal law in this respect." Tanlac is one medicine that does what they say it will do. Sold by Farrell Drug Co., Graham, N. C. Ancient Greece made demi-gods of her scientists and physicians. GRAHAM, N. C., THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 2. i 922 L*ST NIGHT OF LECTURE COURSES, FEB. Bth. Several Games Basket Ball Scheduled This Week and Next. ; Cor. of The Gleaner, Elon College, Jan. 31 —Mr. C. E. W. Griffith, reader of Shakes peare's plays, is scheduled to., ap pear in the College auditorium on next Wednesday night, February Bth, at 8:30 p. m. This is the last number of the concert and lecture course for this college year. ' Mr. Griffith holds that it is the Reader's art to illumine literature; to popularize what is good in modern writing, and to revive the priceless treasures of the Only a few of Shakespheare's plays will be presented on the stage, but the reader qiakes it possible to realize dramatically all of his mighty creations. Two games of basket ball are to be played on the Elon court this week, Thursday, Feb. 2nd-, Elon vs. N. C. State, and Feb. 4, Saturday night, Elon vs. Wofford College, South Carolina. For the following week —Feb. Bth, Guil ford at Elon, game called at 7:30 o'clock, and Feb. 10, Davidson at Elou. All games called at 8:00 o'clock except the game with Guil ford on the Bth, on account of the Foch And Lee Louisville Courier-Journal It is hardly to be wondered at that the greatest soldier of the twentieth century should take occasion to pay his tribute of ad miration and affection to the memory of one of the really great commanders of modern times, a soldier whose military genius was equaled only by the parity of his purpose and the splendor of his character. Soldier-like, Marshal Foch em ploys few words in answering the anonymous "American Patriot" who had telegraphed hini at a Virginia town that Robert E. Lee was "a traitor". If Qeneral Robert E. Lee was a traitor, said the marshal of France, Napolean Bonaparte was a coward. If General Lee was a traitor, I wish France had more of them. He was one of the gieatest mili tary leaders the world has ever known. In winning the World War, Ferdinand Foch leaned heavily upon the Bhoulder of Robert E. Lee. It was "the sword of Lee" that flashed on every battlefield in France from the first Battle of the Marne to Armistice Day. Lee's strategy, revived and em ployed first by Joffre and later by Foch, held the Ilun along the French front, swift to attack, wary to retreat only to attack again, until at length theUinden burg Line was pierced and the enemies of civilization sued for peace. In this estimate of Lee, Marshal Foch takes bis stand beside Vis count Wolseley of England, who declared that Lee was the greatest soldier given to the world since the days of Marlborough. Spending Less Than One Earns. James Rolph, Jr., Mayor of San • Thrift—the spending of less than one earns, the putting aside each week of as much as can be spared from one's income—is a basic element in the career of every man or woman who has, by his or her efforts, attained success in life. Being thrifty, a most commend able attribute, the problem of in vesting one's savings wisely aud profitably arises. To those versed ia business and finance the matter is a simple one, but to man}' others the possession of means, however slight, exposes them to the insinuating advances of un scrupulous promoters of crooked investments. We are all units in the most stable, the most honest Govern ment on earth, aud nothing is more safe, for an investment, than oar own Government's cer tificates and bonds-Treasury Sav ings Certificates. I would counsel the small investor to boy of these securities as many as he can afford, to hold them once they are purchased, and thereby to feel secure in receiving reasonable returns on his money. Some Aspects of the Farmers' Problems By BERNARD M. BARUCH (Reprinted from Atlantic Monthly) I The whole rural world Is In a fer ment of unrest, and there Is an un paralleled volume and intensity of de termined, if not angry, protest, and an ominous Swarming of occupational con ferences, interact groupings, political movements and propaganda. Such a turmoil cannot but arrest our utten. tlcm. Indeed, It demands our careful study and examination. It ta not like ly that six million aloof and ruggedly Independent men have come togethei and bandad themselves Into actlv* unions, societies, farm bureaus, and so forth, for BO sufficient cause. Investigation of the subject conclu sively proves that, while there Is much | overstatement of grievances and mis conceptfon of remedies, the furmer* are right in complaining of wrongs long endured, and right In holding that It Is feasible to relieve their Ills with benefit to the rest of the community. This being the case of an Industry that contributes, In the raw material form alone, about one-third of the na tional annual wealth production and Is the means of livelihood of abouk 48 per cent of the population. It Is ob vious that the subject is one of grave concern. Not only do the farmers make up one-half of the nation, but the well-being of the other half de pends upon them. So long as we have nations, a wise polltclal economy will aim at a large degree of national self-sufficiency und self-containment. Rome fell when the food Supply was too far removed from the belly. Like her, we shall, destroy our »wn agriculture und extend our sourqes of food distantly and precari ously, If we do not see to It that our farmers ure well and fairly paid for their services. The farm gives the nation men as well as food. Cities derive their vitality and are forever renewed from the country, but an Im poverished countryside exports Intelll- j gene* and, retains unlntelllgence. Only the lower grades of mentality j and character will remain on, or seek,i the farm, unless agriculture Is capable j of being pursued with contentment and I adequate compensation. Hence, to em- j bitter and Impoverish the farmer Is to | dry up and contaminate the vital j sources of the nation. The war showed convincingly how j dependent the nation Is on Ihe fail productivity of the farms. Despite herculean efforts, agricultural produc tion kept only a few weeks or months j ahead of consumption, and that only by increasing the acreage of certain staple crops at the cost of reducing that of others. We ought not to for get that lesson when we ponder on the farmer's problems. They are truly common problems, and there should be no attempt to deal with them as If they were purely selfish demands of a clear-cut group, antagonistic to the rest of the community. Itather should we consider agriculture In the light of broad national policy, Just as we consider oil, coal, steel, dye stuffs, and so forth, is sinews of na tional strength. X»ur growing popula tion and a higher standard of living demand increasing food supplies, and more wool, cotton, hides, and the rest. With the disappearance of free or. cheap fertile land, additional acreage and Increased yields -an come only from costly-effort. This we need not expect from an Impoverished or un happy rural population. It will not do to take a narrow view of the rural discontent, or to appraise It from tlie standpoint of yesterday. This la peculiarly an age of flu* and change and new deals. Because a thing always has been so no longer means that It is righteous, or always shall be so More, perhaps, than ever before, there Is a widespread feeling that human relations can be Im proved by taking thought, and that It is not becoming for the reasoning ani mal to leave his destiny largely to chance and natural Incidence. Prudent and orderly adjustment of production and distribution In accord ance with consumption Is recognized as wise management In every business but that of farming. Vet, I venture to say, there Is n» other Industry In which It Is so Important to the pub lic—to the city-dweller—that prodnc tlon should be sure, steady, and In creasing, and that distribution should be In proportion to the need. The un organized farmers natnrnlly act blind ly and Impulsively and, In conse quence, surfeit and dearth, accompa nied by disconcerting price-variations,, harass the consumer. On« year pota toes rot in thi flelil* tyecaliae of excess production, and there Is a scarcity of the things that have been displaced to make way for the npamrioa of t>e potato acreage: next year the punish ed farmer* mass their fields on some other crop, and potatoes enter the class of luxuries; and so t«. Agriculture Is the greatest and fan dnmontu'ly the most important of our American Industries. The cities are but the branches of tne tree of na tional life, the roots of which go deep ly into Ihe land. We all flourish or decline with the farmer. So, when we of the cities read of the present uni versal distress of the-farmers, of a slump of six billion dollars in the farm value ■>{ their crops in II single year, of their imtlHllty to meet mortgages or to pay current bills, and how, seeking relief from their ills, they are plan ning to form pools, inaugurate farm ers' strikes, und demand legislation abolishing grain exchanges, private cattle markets, and the like, we ought not hastily to brand them as economic heretics and highwaymen, and hurl at them the of being seekers of special privilege. Uather, we should ask If their trouble Is not ours, and see what can be done to improve the situation. Purely from self-interest, If for no higher motive, we should help them. All of us wunt to get back permanently to "normalcy;" but Is It reasonable to hope for that condition unless our greatest and most basic In dustry ean be put on a sound and solid permanent foundation? The farmers are nut entitled to special privileges; but are they not right in demanding that they be placed on an eqOal foot ing with the buyers of their- products and with other induatrleaT Let us, then, consider aouie of the farmer's grievance*, and see how far they are real. In doing so, we should remember that, while there have been, and still are, Instances of purposeful abuse, the subject should not be ap proached with any general Imputation to existing distributive agencies of de liberately intentional oppression, tut rather with the conception that the marketing of farm products has not been modernised. ' An ancient evil, and a persistent one, Is the undergradlng of farm prod ucts, with the result that what the farmers sell as of one quality Is re sold as of a higher. That this sort of chicanery should persist on any im portant scale In these days of busi ness integrity would seem almost In credible, but there Is much evidence that It does so persist. Even as I write, the newspapers announce the suspension of several firms from the New York Produce Exchange for ex porting to Germany as No. 2 wheat a whole shlplosd of grossly Inferior wheat mixed with oats, chaff and the like. . Another evil I* that of Inaccurate weighing of farm which, It Is charged. Is sometimes a matter of dishonest Intention and sometimes of protective policy on the part of the local buyer, who fears that he maj "weigh out" more than be "weighs In." A greater grievance la that at pres ent the field farmer has little or no control over the tlma and conditions of marketing hla products, with the result that he la often underpaid for hla products and usually overcharged for marketing service. The differ ence between what the farmer re celves and what the consumer pays often exceeds all possibility of Justl flcatlon. To cite s single Illustration Last year, according to figures attest ed by the railways and the grower* Georgia wuteriiielon-ralsers received on the sverage 7.5 cents for a melon, the got 12.7 cents for carry Ing It to Baltimore and the consume) paid one dollar, leaving 79 8 cents for the service of marketing and Its risks, as against 20.2 cents for growing add transporting. The hard annuls of farm-life are replete with such com memories on the crudeness of prea ent practices. Nature prescribes that the farmer's "goods" must be finished within two or three months of the year, while financial and .storage limitations gen erally compel him to sell them at the name time. As a. rule, other Industrie* are In a continuous process of finish ing goods for the markets; they dls tribute as they produce, and they can curtail production without too great Injury to themselves or the coramu nlty; but If the farmer restricts his output. It la with dlaastrous conse quences, both to hlmxelf and to the community. The average farmer la busy with tr«dactl* t9T tH P-ntor psrj of jht year, and has nothing to" Hell. Tin bulk of his output comes on the mar ket at once. Because of lack of stor age facilities and of financial support, the farmer cannot carry his goods through the year and dispose of them as they are currently needed. In the great majority of cases, farmers have to entrust storage—ln warehouses and elevators—and the financial carrying of their products to others. Farm products are generally nur keted at a time when there Is a con gestlon of both transportation and finance—when cars and money are scar-e. The outcome, In many in stahces, is that the farmers not >ni> sell under pressure, and therefore ai a disadvantage, but are compelled to take further reductions In net returns, in order to meet the charges for the service of storing, transporting, flnunc lng, and ultimate marketing— wjilcl. charges they claim, are often ex'ce* sive, bear heavily on both consumer and producer, and are under the con trol of those performing the services It la trt»a that they qre relieved of the risks of a changing market, b> selling at one* ; but they are quite wlli lng to take the unfavorable Chnnce. If the lavorableiWe also Is' theirs and they can retain for themselves a part of the service charges tbat are uni form, In good years and bad, with high prices «nd low. v While, In the main, the farmer must sell, regardless of market conditions, at the time of the maturity of crops, he cannot suspend production In toto. He must go on producing If he Is to go on living, and If tiie world Is to exist. The most he can do Is to curtail pro duction a little or alter its form, and that—because lie Is In the dark as to the probable demand for his goods— may be only to Jump from the frying pan into the fire, taking the consumer with him. Even the dairy farmers, whose out put Is not seasonal, complain that they find themselves at a disadvantage In the marketing of their productions, especially raw milk, because of the high costs of distribution, whlcb they must ultimately bear. S£XT WKEK ) Statue of Christ at Peace Symbol. Archbishop Glennon.of Kt. Louis, In a sermon the other day, said that the Christian people of the world should construct a huge statue of Christ, us ing material from scrapped battle ships and cannons, and place It upon a mountain top to stand as a symbol of lasting peace. "The nations of Christ endom," lie said, "should ut this time, when the armauii'iU conference af Washington Is attempting to prevent future wars, express their unanimous longing for pence by planning the erec tion of the statue to the Prince of I'eace.", • Brilliant Sign Has Few Lights. An electric sign recently tried out with success replaces the individual Iniups In tlie rim of the letter with 1 junull mirror reflectors, according to Popular Mechanics Magazine'. These ' reflect the light supplied by two 2i»- i watt lampM, placed near the center of ' the letter and fitted with opaque cups, •o ux to 'je invisible from the front. i| An hrn '.ißciiient of this kind will effect a considerable saving In lamp renewals and cut rent consumption. Tip for Lloyd*. Subhead —"Bridegroom buys Insur- ; ance against rain on wedding day." How about a policy against squall* later on? someone up and asks,—Eos- J ton Transcript. Soma Coppsr In All Plants. A small amount of cop|»er I* pres ent In all plants grown in natural soil. It seems to have some nutritive func- 1 tlon but not to be an essential element. New Idea for Keeping Fruit Fresh, To keep fruit fresh for months nf- ! ter It Is picked an Argentinian has j patented a device that liohTsthe sleuis water. As In Football. Life Is full of ttpx and dotvns and It takes a wise fellow to mykc Ids downs help hlin toward his iji>nl.—Hoston Transci Ipt. V'orth Remembering. Doi.'t worry If you stum r«rn> Is about the* on I) tlilnj. that can't fall dowa. The True Teet. Tlie true test of civilization is not the census, nor the size of cities, nor the crops—no, but the kind of n man the country turns out. —Enierson. » V/aehing Umbrellas. L'uilirel'a* should be washed occa sionally. Stand them, open, In n bath tub. scrub with a small hand brusi and rln*e with u bath spray. Mummy's Wisdom. "Mummy, may I hove that choco late you promised irte now?" -Blesi the child"!' Mdn'l 1 tell you you shouldn't have any at all If yoe didn't lee', qtlet?" "YC4. .numrny." "Wei 1 , the longer you kee;> qu'et the Hooer yoa'U net It"—Brooklyn liagla. 1 NO. 52 PROFESSIONAL CARDS THOMAS D. COOPER, Attorney and Counsetlor-at-Law, BURLINGTON, N. C, Associated with W. S. Coulter, Not. 7 and 8 First National Bank Bldg. S. C. SPOON, Jr., M. D. Graham, N. C. Office over Ferrell Drug Co. Hours: 2 to 3 and 7 to'J p. in., and liy appoiii'ineiii. I'houe !»7 GRAHAM HARDEN, M.D. Burlington, N. C. Office Honrs: 9 to 11 a. m. and by appointment Office Over Acmu Drug Co. Telephones: Office JiH— Residence '264 JOHN J. HENDERSON Attorney-at-Law GRAHAM. N. C. mice over National Bank ol Alaasaae* T. SL COOK, rtttornay-at- Law KAHAM. • N C OBleo Pattnraon Building fm-ond Ki»or. • . m. VfrLLjUJINLJI. . . DENTIST . : : ir*Hevt .... Nsrlh Carolina )'sTICK in HJMMONH BUILbINO J. KLHRR Lowe LOUIM C. ALLEN Durham, N. C. Oraham, N. C. LONG & ALLEN, > i uirruifSiind ConnsxlorSHl 1 iw r.HAHtM ■« C PATENTS OBTAINED. If you have an invention to patent please semi as a model or sketchr witli a letter of brief explanation for pre liminary examination and advice, Your iliscloture and all business is strictly con fidential, and will receive our prompt and personal retention. * D. SWIFT & CO., PATENT LAWYERS. WASHINGTON. D. C. Sale of Real Estate Under Deed of Trust. Under and by virtue of a cer tain de*d of trunt executed by Charlie Wilson to Graham Real Kstate Company on the Hth day of August, limit, securing the payment of certain bonds de scribed therein, which deed of trust is duly probated and re corded in the office of the Reg ister of Deeds for Alamance county, in Book of Mortgages and Deeds of Trust No. 87, at page 170, default having been made in the payment of said bonds and interest thereon, the undersigned trustee will, on MONDAY, FEB. 6, 1922, at 12:00 o'clock, noon, offer for sale at public auction to the highest bidder, for Cash, at the court house door of Alamance county, in Graham, North Caro lina, the following described real estate, to wit: Beginning at a stake, corner with Monroe Harding and. run ning N 87 deg W 120 ft to a stake in said Harding's line; thence S 'Jj deg W 111 ft to a stake; thenceS 8"> deg E 120 ft; thence. N 20 deg E 114 ft to the beginning point, containing .31 of an acre (thirty-one hun dredths of an acre), but to be tlie same bo there more or less, the same being a tract of land : purchased by Giles Tinnin from ' Mcßride Hjt and wife, Etta A. 1 Holt, and sold by said Giles Tinnin to Anderson Newlin by deed dated 11th January, 1901, aud recorded in Book No. 22, and on which there is a frame dwelling. This sale will be made subject to increased bids as provided by law, and will be held open ten days after Isale to give oppor tunity for such bids. This Jan. 2nd. 1922. GRAHAM REAL ESTATE CO., Trustee. I