Trailer Mahers Vote To Help i
In Building Regulatory Laws
CHICAGO, Dec. 14. — With the
^ng of the trailer house into the
jj,. 0f traffic, new problems of
Wh»a.v legislation, of camping fa
cilities, "and of merchandising, peer
the hoilaon. Trailer coach
manufacture™ discussed these pro
at their association meeting
j ' tlir flrst full-fledged conven
tton of the trailer makers to talk
mtr the problems of this latest ln
„n, of the motor industry, the
manufacturers were reminded that
ajte legislatures would probably
-trodace laws bearing on highway
regulations for house trailers this
(inter, The manufacturers, howev
,r decided to recommend reason
lb!c legislation as to safety and
nation, as It becomes necessary,
tl'her than fight any or all legls
ation. according to W. Russell Wil
,sy secretary - manager of the
iYaiior Coach Manufacturers Asso
tiation.
B\ offering constructive legisla
tor. as the need arises, the manu
lactUrer, felt they will be contrib
itins more to the public welfare and
tiso help to prevent the passage of
harmful and unconsidered laws,
dr, Wilday points out.
Laws Already In Effect
Many states already have laws
fgarriing commercial trailers. These
ittlc shops on wheels which move
rom one town to another to set up
idvertlslng and demonstration
leadquarters for their commodities
iave had legal restrictions in the
arious states for some time, it Is
ound Such laws already in exlst
ire now apply to house trailers as
fell.
But the difficulty is that each
(ate has its own regulations con
ning the length, width, height,
ighting arrangement, braking
qulpment. and other physical
biraeteristlcs. The result is. as
nanufacturers see. that a home on
rheels moving through many states
nay have been manufactured ac
ording to restrlctleons in its own
(ate but finds itself woefully out
rf-step in other localities. More
miformltv in state laws appears
herefore to be one of the flrst re
unites.
One of the flrst laws which is ex
uded for the home trailer is some
■epilation about the tall light. The
■(d stop light which now flashes on
aisenger cars when brakes are ap
)!l«d Is missing on the back of
trailers. Manufacturers anticipate
that laws will probably be enacted
requiring this regulation soon. As;
far as cluttering up the highway
and slowing down traffic is con
cerned. It Is believed by the manu
facturers that this will be a minor!
problem Inasmuch as trailers travel;
; along at the usual speed of the j
\ average car and not so slowly as
trucks.
So many new’ manufacturers have
| taken on the trailer as a side-line
I in their business that it is esti
mated there are now some 500
j firms turning out homes on wheels.
| Of these only 50 really have enough
j production to be called national
I distributors, it was reported, while
; the other 450 are special manufac
turers usually of some of truck
j bodies who have added trailers to
j their production. Only one of all
i the automobile passenger car
! manufacturers is now making trail
ers. This company has a complete
steel construction trailer like a de
1 luxe Pullman on wheels.
Trailer Sales Soar
The number of trailers being sold
j is going ‘‘sky high," the manufac
turers find by comparing notes.
Each year since 1931, which is be
lived to be the year when commer
cial sales actually got a good start,
the sales have quadrupled over the
previous year. In 1936 they were
four times of those in 1934, and so
on. It is estimated that 150.000 of
the new models shown at the re
cent automobile shows will be sold
next year.
Additional trailers traveling about
as well as those stationed tempor
arily in parking spaces and camps
open a new question of camp sani
tation and of camp regulations, it 1s
found.
Trailer colonies for workers are
springing up. In Akron, Ohio, a
colony for rubber workers now has
11 trailer*. In a suburb of Cleve
land and in Detroit there are sev
eral camps where workmen live in
their trailers and travel back and
forth to work from them. In
Charleston, W. Va., two years ago
on of the supervisors on a PWA
project bought a trailer to live near
the site W’hile the work was pro
gressing. Now there are more than
70 trailers forming a colony there,
it was said. The Ollie Trout camp
in Miami is preparing to handle 400
house trailers this winter to take
care of the influx of winter tourists.
Old Homestead Now Passe,
Housing Officials Declare
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 14.—Three
dess were strewed at Anal meet
n?s of the National Association of
Sousing Officials conference here.
Homes should be built for one
imeration instead of for several, in
hese days of rapidly changing con
ations.
Government housing must be
“•tie a career service, for efficien
T and safety, both physical and
inancial.
Housing officials should find out
'hat prospective owners or renters
rant and what they can afford to
»? for it, before starting on new
rejects— Instead of going ahead
nd building what they believe
h«e people ought to want and be
Me to pay for.
A. C. Shire, technical editor of
he Architectural Forum, pointed
5 the advantages of prefabricated
“uses, which can be enlarged to
'eet the needs of a growing fam
or can be taken down and mov
d If environment changes make
his desirable.
Mrs. May Lumsden, director of
he bureau of tenancy of the New
'°rk Housing Authority, discussed
he problem of “model” projects
hich remained unfilled—or are oc
upied by wealthier classes than
’0fe they were intended to help.
Model houses have been planned
’ '•how their intended tenants how
hev should live—without consider
how they might like to live, or
an afford to live,” Mrs. Lumsden
eelared. “It. seems to me that it
,(m'd be better to consult the
respective tenants and then work
ut * building plan which would
" Adapted to their pocket books
r,d to their desires.”
s"dney Maslen, secretary of the
rnement House Committee of the
■narity Organisation Society of
"" York City, said official hous
hf inspectors should be specially
ta‘nw1' not politically appointed.
Demolition of slums without pro
non of better housing accommo
*tlons for their dwellers was de
“ed by Landon Post, tenement
<mse commissioner of New York
Y who predicted early develop
ed of an acute housing short
c..m ,hat and other 'arge cities
,ere slum clearance is proceeding
>lriv quickly.
Bct^ppn the meetings the hous
officials discussed the growing
. fr""v °f people of more or less
*pendent means, whose jobs do
, ’* *hem down to any partte
sr> ***** *re able to
. th-«lr home* in automobile
auerj These trailers, It wa* said,
^ Possibly be the new type of
le for a new age for which ear
speakers had pled.
tr,,'rir«n *n(j European housing
| lunch and at a dinner, by Ernest
I M. Fisher, director of the division of
| economics and statistics of the Fed
eral Housing Commission, and by
Sir Raymond Unwin, respectively.
Mr. Fisher showed a number of
motion pictures, which he brought
back from London and Stockholm
after his inspection of housing work
in and near those two cities.
J. P. Warbasse, chairman of the
Cooperative League of the United
States, emphasized that coopera
tive ownership of housir#? facilities
makes for permanence of occupancy
and values by creating a sense of
pride and ownership.
Edward H. Foley, Jr., director of
the legal division, Public Works Ad
! ministration, discussed the probable
effects of decentralization of gov
ernment housing work, pointing out
that in view of benefits and sav
ings—such as the marked reduction
in crime—which result from Con
struction of low-rent housing pro
jects to accommodate slum dwell
ers. it is desirable to exempt such
projects from taxation in order to
make the rents as low as possible.
Files Damage Suit
Claiming $50,000
RUTHERFORDTON, Dec. 14 —A
$50,000 damage suit has been filed
with clerk of court here by Mrs. i
H. W. Helmbold of Lake Lure against!
Chimney Rock company. Dr. L. B.j
Morse, Lake Lure inn, Stanley Gres- (
ley. Chimney Rock camp, Recce j
Combs, Lake Lure camp, H. D. War- j
ner. Lee Powers, and J. T. Arnette.
' The suit is the outgrowth of a
paper said to have been written by
the defendants, circulated in Lake,
Lure and Chimney Rock and later |
mailed to Mrs. Helmbold, accusing j
her and her husband of circulating!
derogatory and untrue reports about
the sanitary conditions of Lake
Lure bathing beach for the purpose
of injuring the parties and their
business.
Mrs. Helmbold asks $25,000 actual
damages and $25,000 punitive dam
ages. The suit is expected to come;
up at the next term of civil court'
of Rutherford county next April. ;
LAWNDALE YOUTH ENLISTS
IN THE U. S. NAVY
Mr. Vance Lee Carter, son of Mr.
and Mrs. J. C. Carter of route 1,
[Lawndale, was enlisted in the U.
8 navy in Raleigh on December 7
and was on that date transferred
| to the U. S Naval Training station.
Hampton Roads, Va„ where he will
undergo twelve weeks of Initial
training prior to being transferred
to duty with the U. S. fleet.
I'M
I
DAVIS AND LINCOLN TOGETHER
" '7 <THF-~~rr- ...
In life. Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis were as fur apart per
■onaliy at the diffe-enees t>'»t caused v»r between th; Nerth and the
South. But In death, thc’r statue* stand together ir the rotunda of
he state c.?3:to| at f->ar,Kf<irt, Ky The statue ot Davis president of the
Southern C*nfjJjracy, '» shewn jtist i.ehii-d that of Lincoln shortly be
fore it* deduction December 10- .'Associated Press ohotnt
TORRANCE SCORES KAYO IN DEBUT
Displaying a devastating wallop and surprising speed, “Baby Jack"
Torrance, Olympic track star from Louisiana State University, got off te
a flying start on his pro boxing career by scoring a one-round knockout
of Owen Flynn, eastern heavyweight, In New Orleans. Flynn is shown
on the canvas after Terrance cut him down ,/i‘h a left to the chin,
(Associated Prn*, pi.ciui
Demonstrations On Eleven
TVA Farms Show Results
The advantage of fertilizing
properly, the use of superphosphate,
and the advantages of rotation of
crops is being demonstrated suc
cessfully on eleven Cleveland coun
ty farms under the supervision of!
the Tennessee Valley Authority. I
' Demonstrations are held In each
of the eleven Townships, directed
by the TVA, in conjunction with
county agent J. S. Wilkins and the
extension department.
Triple phosphate or superphos
phate furnished by the TVA was
placed on the land of clients whose
farms total 1,528 acres. Approxi
mately 3,716 pounds was applied.
The drought and the exceptional
season has robbed the farmers and
the TVA of many results expected,
but some of the things found out
were that peas showed from 15 to
25 percent Increase and that les
pedeza, during the last two weeks
cf growth showed a gain of 33
pounds of hay per acre.
Rotation of crops, soil condi
tions, complete records and pic
;ures of crops at various times are j
Peing effected by the growers. The
results will be a “yardstick” for
progress.
Farmers, their township and
icreage of land follows:
Gilbert Jones, No. 1 Township, 56
wres: J. A Lattimore. No. 2. 132 j
»cres. W. L Sutherland. No 3. 55
seres; Wayne L. Ware. No 4. 107,
icres, T. F. Sellers, No. 5, 111 acres;
rom Cornwell, No. 6, 335 acres; R.'
3. Adams, No. 7, 122 acres; H. H. j
3old, No. 8 215 acres; R. W. Wilson,!
No. 9, 145 acres; F. A. Boyles, No j
10, 30 acres; J. R. Price, No. 11, 220
acres.
The farm of H. H. Gold is not
necessarily better than the others,
but its size and proportion may
show what the TVA is seeking to
do. The 215 acres are 12 miles from
Shelby; there are 115 acres crop
land, 2 in pasture and 60 in wood
land.
He used 2,976 pounds of the tri
ple phosphate on 13 fields, under
crops such as soy beans and les
pedeza. the latter being a two year
crop.
On three representative fields Mr.
Gold planted and will until 1940
plant the following: First field,
1936, cotton, vetch, crimson clover;
137, cotton, wheat; 1938, wheat, les*
pedeza; 1939, cotton, oats; 1940,
oats, lespedeza
Second field, 136, corn, soy beans;
1937, cotton, oats; 1938, oats, lespe
deza; 1939, cotton, oats; 1940, oats,
lespedeza.
Third field: 1936, corn, soy beans:
1937, cotton, vetch, crimson clover;
1938, com, soy beans; 1939, cotton,
vetch, crimson clover; 1940, corn,
soy beans.
Brooches, bracelets and necklaces
have been forbidden to girla attend
ing Newcastle. England, municipal
high school because such display
makes less fortunate pupils feel
‘outrivalled.’’
A stone coffin, believed to be more
than 1.000 yean old, has been un
earthed at Coombe Down, near
Bath, England. It is believed to be
a relic of the Roman occupation of
England,
es
Van Sweringen Death Transfers Rail
i Empire to ‘Outsiders’ in Unique Deal
Manufacturer,
Shipping Man
Are Heirs
/CLEVELAND, O — A 74-year
old fruit jar manufacturer
and a 70-year-old Great Lakes
shipping magnate find them
selves “heirs" today to a 23,000
mile railroad empire they once
bought to save it for its owners,
threatened with its loss through
financial setbacks.
.The “heirs” are George Alex
ander Ball and George Ashley
Tomlinson, To them passed full
control of the vast Van Swerin
gen interests when O. P, Van
Sweringen died in his private car
on route to New York over his
own line, about a year after his
brother had passed. Therein lies
one of the strangest stories of
modern high finance.
The Van Sweringen brothers,
O. P. and M. J., pyramided one
of the great financial empires of
the ’20s. Railroads, mines, and
colossal real estate developments
came under their control. They
were Cleveland's “empire build
ers.”
Then came the depression,
undermining the whole Van
Sweringen holding company
structure. The brothers owed
the Morgans $48,000,000, which
they couldn’t pay. And so the
Morgans proceeded to “sell them
down the river."
* * •
L'ORTUNE MAGAZINE'S cur
rent issue recites the engross
ing story. The controlling stock
was sold by auction in New
York. The Morgans, naturally
expected to bid it in to protect
their loss of $43,000,000, did not
do so.
Instead, Midamerica Corpera
tion bid in the Van Sweringen
controlling interest for $3,121,
000. And Midamerica Corpora
tion was none other than Mr.
Ball, Muncte, Ind , fruit Jar
manufacturer and philanthropist,
and Mr. Tomlinson, once a news
paper reporter and former wild
west show performer.
The Van Sweringen*. says
Kxtrnt or the vest railroad Interests of the Van Swerlnren brothers la shown by this map. "Heirs"
to the empire. G. A. Ball. rl(ht, and G. A. Tomlinson, left, are shown In Inset.
Fortune, hadn't a cent in Mid
am erica. And though Ball and
Tomlinson owned control ot
Midameriea, they Immediately
gave to the Van Sweringen
brother* the right to vote their
stock, and a 10-year option to
buy 55 per cent of the common
stock at co*t plus 5 per cent a
year.
Here wa* certainly one ot the
strangest arrangements of mod
ern business. Ball and Tomlin
son apparently had deep faith in
the ability of the Vana to come
back and in the last year the
vast interests have been doing
that.
• * •
rPHB new financial backers
J were not even long-time
friends of the Van Sweringens.
They had first met in the 1928
hootn, when O. P. had aaked
Tomlinson to buy the Cleveland
Plain Dealer lor him. The Vans
were buying everything in sight
then. That deal didn’t g<»
through, but the business con
nection lemained.
In 1030 the Vans put Tomlin
son on the board of directors of
ihe Missouri Pacific. Two years
later Bali was named to a simi
lar post on the Nickel Plate road
also a Van Sweringen enterprise
Then came the Waterloo in
1085 and Bill end Tomlinson
were ready to do the bailing out
They did Now, with both M. J
and O.- P dead, this fruit Jbi
manufacturer and his steamboat
magnate partner find themselves
in the driver’s seat with 23.000
miles of railroad ahead. Anri
neither has ever been primarily
interested in railroading,
e • •
rI',HE Van Sweringen interests
* are fundamentally in rails.
Today the groat empire they
founded includes the Chesapeake
At Ohio, the Nickel Plate, Per*
Marquette, Missouri Pacific,
Wheeling & Lake Erie, Chicago
St Eastern Illinois, and Erie
railroads.
Ball, active despite his 74
years, is Munde’s "First Citi
zen." Besides his Interests in the
well-known fruit Jar company
which bears his name, he has In
terests in more than a doten
other large business enterprises,
lie owns one of the great private
library collections in the coun
try.
Tomlinson heads a fleet of
Great Lakes boats. Ha is also
director of the Goodyear Tir*
and Rubber Co. Like Ball, he ta
a book collector. But rate now
apparently will allow little time
for the hobbies of either men.
i
■-- --
Divorce For Bessie
| Bessie Love, the screen actress fa
! mous in the days of silent films. Is
j shown In court at' Los Angeles
where she was granted a divorce
from her husband, William Hawks.
She testified he told her he no
longer loved her. (Associated Press
Photo)
Piedmont P.-T. A.
Meeting Is Held
(Special to The Star.)
LAWNDALE, Dec. 14.—The execu
tive committee of Piedmont P. T. A.
met with Mrs. R. A. Warllck Wed
nesday evening and made some def
inite plans for programs to be given
throughout the school year. After
discussing, pro and con, the social
needs of the school boys and girls,
refreshments were served and a de
lightful social hour was enjoyed.
On Wednesday night, Decern *«v
16, the P. T. A. of Piedmont high
school will sponsor an Interesting
Christmas program consisting of a
play and Christmas carols in addi
tion to their regular business meet
ing, after which refreshments will
be served. All friends and patrons
! of the community are urged to be
present.
PAINTING & PAPERING
I B. MEETZE
Phone 121, Shelby —
715-W, Gaffney.
••Better Be Safe Than Sorry”
HI •
FOURTEEN PERISH IN BRITISH PLANE CRASH
-... . ..—L.
Fourteen pereone, including Juan de La Cierva (left), Inventor of the autogyro, met audden and terrible
death In tha flaming rulna of a great “K.L.M." air liner which crashed a few momenta after taking off
at Croydon airdrome near London. No Americana were aboard. The ill-fated plane waa similar to thte
sister ship shown at Croydon. (Associated Press Photos*
SHIRLEY APPEALS TO SANTA - FOR OTHER CHILDREN
I
DjCOA,
*1 n
jkibJrtAt &iaAAtiriaj^
J/ise/u
M'UA&ly v b
' r
.. -mi fa i".
Maybe It* true thet Shirley Temple, the little film eter, het Juet ell the toye end things ehe wants. Or
meybe ehe * growing quite wiee e* ehe grow older. Any wey, she thought only of other children when ehe
let down to write Sente Claus her usual Chrstma* letter. “Cive all the boys and girls the best Christ
mas ever," she Implored. (Associated Pres* Photos)