Newspapers / Forest City Courier (Forest … / Oct. 3, 1930, edition 1 / Page 7
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SECOND DEBATE ON POLITICS HELD ——— f (Continued from Page 6) mands for more and more bond is sues and more and more expendi tures. v , * For the information of those who Hid not hear my Rutherfordton speech will state that from September 24, 1024 to December 6, 1928, the out binding indebtedness of Rutherford rnuntyincreased from $902,000.00 stated above, to the sum total of «« 6Q ? '>24.00, an increase of nearly S'ooo 000.00. Counting the increas ed'indebtedness, together with the expenditures of taxes collected and rthor revenues received, the Board of Commissioners during that period of four years spent approximately sl,- 250,000.00 each year of the four yC The^e l figures themselves speak n -, o re loudly of the extravagance gen- Hv than any words that I can ut- Lv I see no use therefore in re hashing any further that portion of 111 Sonieone has suggested that I did not cite any records.. I have in my f lps copies of the audits showing rh ' p fibres which were taken from the' files of the office of the County Accountant. I will be very glad to Vhow ihese audits to anyone inter ested". or you can verify my state ments by calling on Mr. Reid, who I am sure will be glad to show you the orieinal statements. | Aic o in my Rutherfordton speech, I showed that during the latter part of 1926 and during the year 1927 lai'cre sums of money derived from bond sales were kept on deposit m the Farmers Bank and Trust Com oanv and the Commercial Bank, sometimes exceeding in amount a million dollars, and so far as I have been able to ascertain over a per iod of at least twelve months was not less than $600,000.00. Thfese banks paying the county interest on the money were forced for selfprotection Anight of broken rest followed by hours of mental or physical strain; nerves tensed almost to the breaking point; irritable; unable to concentrate—an other hectic night and mis erable day ahead of you. Why endure it? Df. MBes* Nervine quiets the nerves, brings calm and poise, and permits re freshing sleep. Dr. Miles' Nervine is now made in two forms—Liquid and Effervescent Tablet. Both are the same therapeutically. ) Large Package SI.OO I MRS. Cora Moshier, of 601 8 North New Orleans Ave., gjc Brinkley, Ark., writes: 1 was BO conatipated'until Bl I was just sick. I could not 9E stand to take strong medi- UU cine, so I decided I would take VP Black-Draught, and I found |gn it to be all right. "I would have such dizzy 11 spells, and such bursting I headaches, until I could han£ 11 lv go. But after taking a few II doses of Black-Draught, I n would feel just fine. It is a 1 good medicine, and I recom- i mend it to all who suffer | ae I did. It is very easy to K recommend a medicine that j« has done as much for me as |J Black-Draught has done." J _THEDFORD'S for CON^O^^N, i L - A-jypi. tTaed over 50 years. to loan the money out in order to break even. During that period my investigation discjloges that 'piracti (cally every worthless loan was made by these banks and the money tied j up in frozen assets. I charged that • this method of procedure and reck- | - less use of the county's credit result- j ed in finally closing the banks al- J ■ though that did not occur until last j • February 4th. The banks did not, have the money to pay the county j , back when called on, could not col -; i lect the outstanding notes and were , forced to appeal to other banks to j . borrow the money to replace the' [ county funds. From the time they i i paid the bulk of the county funds j " bank in January, 1928, until these . ' banks closed about the only value i • the banks were to the community was j > as a clearing house for checks. I I also thoroughly presented to the i ' people the action of the commission- j ' ers in building at the expense of the j taxpayers the road known as Buffa ' lo Road for the benefit of Chimney Rock Mountains. The principal officers of "the banks; were promoters of Chimney Rock \ Mountains. With the same law firm j representing Chimney Rock Moun-, tains, these banks and Rutherfordj County, obviously these | ac^s i closed that the county's credit was j used to inflate the finances and great-. ly increase the banks' deposits; the j banks were used to help put over; the Chimney Rock development. This > cotfld never have occurred if a dis- j interested attorney or firm of attor- J neys had been looking after the af- j fairs of Rutherford County. Although Mr. Hamrick had one or two hours to speak in and consumed practically the full time, he did not undertake to defend anything ex- j cept the building of Buffalo Road; j and his statement that under similar j circumstances and conditions he ( woUld again advocate the building; of that road went without a single; hand- clap or cheer, even from one , of the contractors, a Republican, j who appeared to be cheer leader on j the Republican side. So with this preface to my remarks j tonight and brief summary to what was touched upon last night, I will J proceed to accommodate my friend, i Mr. Hamrick, who so valiantly work- j ed and argued to show to the people J I present that he had absolutely noth ing to do with the affairs of Ruth erford County during that period, J that his memory does not seem to i extend very far back. Mr. Hamrick j in his argument said that his part-1 ner, N. C. Harris, a Democrat, yras employed by a Democratic Board of Commissioners to advise as to county affairs; that he, Hamrick, never had anything to do with any of those matters and never at anytime under took to advise with the commission ers. Mr. Harris verifies him in this assertion and I notice in the three local papers this week that the three members of the County Board of Commissioners have likewise, in a page of advertisement, made an af fidavit to the same effect. It would look therefore that I am in a rather close predicament but I think the people of Rutherford coun ty know me well enough to know that there was something on which, to base the charges made by me or I never have been so foolish, as to make the assertions. Remember that Mr. Hamrick, Mr. I Harris and the Board of County { Commissioners all assure us that N. C. Harris, and N. C. Harris only, I looked after their affairs except in the Henrietta Mills case. I have in my files certified copies of all the fee bills paid to this firm from January, 1927, up to the pres ent time. I made a search for fee bills prior to 1927 but only succeed ed in finding one bill which was dated August 1, 1925. Everyone oi these various statements are made out to the Board of Commissioners for Rutherford County and recite "In account with Quinn, Hamrick and Harris, Attorneys." The billheads do not limit the matter to N. C. Har ris. The August 1, 1925, statement shows one item dated July 6, 1925, Expenses F. D. Hamrick trip to New York Re: Courthouse bonds includ ing Railroad and Pullman fare and hotel bill. So far as I can ascertain, never until the sale of the Court house bonds amounting to $250,000,- 00 was it necessary for any attorney to go to New York to sell bonds, i Gallert and other attorneys hand ling bond issues always succeeded in j completing the sales and handling! all matters connected therewith from their law offices in Rutherfordton. I wish that I had time to go over the entire statement of accounts rendered by the firm of Quinn,- Ham rick and Harris against the Board of Commissioners for Rutherford County but time will not permit. There are many items of charges in those bills which would interest the voters of Rutherford County, and since the demand for my proof has been so strong I have decided to pub lish these certified copies of these bills for the benefit of the voters. I will touch upon the bills again later on in my argument but must now proceed to connect up Mr. Fred D. Hamrick as actively participating in the affairs of Rutherford county. Take The Sun, a newspaper pub lished at Rutherfordton, dated July 21. 1927, in column three the head ing to Comply with Law Must Sell sub-heading I "County Attorney Explains." It seems that some of the citizens had protested the the issuance of bonds amounting to $841,000.00. Listen to Mr. Fred D. Hamrick: "County At torney pro tern Fred D. Hamrick clearly explained that the money had been borrowed to build roads and bridges and for the necessary opera tions of schools throughout the coun ty; that notes representing the funds were coming due and the only way they could be met was by the sale of bonds which would in no way in crease the existing indebtedness. He pointed out the transaction must go through because the law instructed HE FOREST CITY COURIER, THURSDAY. OCTOBER 2, 1930. the commissioners to sell bonds to pay off the notes." Does that connect Mr. Hamrick up with the affairs of Rutherford j coifnty during that eventful period j or can he lightly say in his rejoinder ! that he never heard of that publica tion before? I Frankly, I am very much disap ! pointed in Mr. Hamrick. In the first j place I believe he ought to have been | willing to shoulder his responsibili ty during that administration instead ! of attempting to blame it all on the Commissioners and on his partner, jN. C. Harris. If the administration is all right why should he undertake to shirk the responsibility; if the ad- I ministration is all right why should not he be willing to defend this administration when his firm col lected as a result of their employ i ment directly from Rutherford county more than $9,000.00 in fees and expenses, of which I am sure he will not undertake to deny get ting his proportionate part of the division. However, I find there are a good many instances where Mr. Hamrick has not either conscientiously or un conscientiously been fair with the people of Rutherford —rather it would appear that is perfectly willing to state a half truth and mislead as to the facts. - In his speech last Monday night he understook to present in his ar gument that the tax rate in Cleveland County was only 70c on the hundred dollars compared to the present tax rate in Rutherford county. In part his statement is correct, but my in vestigation discloses that in Cleve land county the roads and bridges are handled by the township system and therefore the road and bridge tax is not included in the 70c refer-, red to. I am informed by a good citi zen of Cleveland county who is in ■ a position to know that the average j road and bridge tax amounts to fifty j to sixty cents on the hundred dol- j lars. Therefore if the tax rate in j Cleveland county was figured on the same basis as in Rutherford county the tax rate would be from $1,20 to $1.30 on the hundred dollars. Mr. Hamrick, why did you not tell all of the facts; and why were you un dertaking to mislead the people ot Rutherford county? While we are on the tax proposi- I tion permit me to go a little further .into the records and say to you that in the year 1924 the tax rate amount led to 95c on the hundred dollars. 'The first year of this extravagant administration I am talking about saw the rate jump 14c and stood at $1.09 for 1925 and 1926; in 1927 it jumped to $1.46, but in 1928 was reduced to $1.44 on the hundred dol lars. Permit me to say further that ac cording to the records of the Audi tor's Office but for the failures oi the banks in Rutherford county the tax rate in Rutherford county today would be $1.21, the difference being the levy made necessary by virtue of the money being tied up in the banks of Rutherford county. So that but for the bank failures Ruther ford county and Cleveland county would, today be on about a par as , to tax assessments. Regarldess of who is elected there will be a reduction next year, as it will not be necessary then to levy any tax on account of the bank fail uies; and not only that, but it looks now as if a considerable portion o 1 the money tied up in the banks will be recovered during the coming year and will be made available to apply on debts or other county ne cessities. Mr. Hamrick, perhaps you can ex plain to the people of Rutherford County why under your administra tion there was an increase of 37c on the hundred dollars in 1927 when there had been no buildings burned, nothing destroyed and no bank fail ures. You were County Attorney pro tem (we'll call you that if you dont want to be called County Attorney) during that time, and on July 21, about the time the levy was made, you had evidently familiarized your self with the laws governing the county and with the financial condi tions ofi the county so you could thoroughly explain to the protesting taxpayersMhe necessity for issuing these bonds. I question the neces sity of issuing the full amount ot bonds advertised. At the very mo | ment you were so strongly assuring 'the people that the bonds must be I issued to pay county indebtedness 1 already outstanding, and dufcing the period of negotiating the issuance ol these bonds from July to December or January following, there was the ! sum of $80,000.00 road and bridge money in hand for which the Board of County Commissioners in a reso lution drawn by your firm recited that they had no earthly use what ever. I have a copy of the resolution taken from Minute Book 10, recit ing that the Board has found that $80,000.00 in the road and bridge fund on July 1927, will not be needed for construction of roads and bridges during the fiscal year begin ning July 1, 1927, and ending June 30, 1928; and providing in the reso lution that the said sum of $80,000.- 00 be set apart as a reserve fund ana held and not spent until on or after July 1, 1928. . . If you were so interested in tne welfare of the taxpayers of Ruther ford County as you now appear to be and as you are proclaiming your self to be interested in their behalt, kindly explain why that $80,000.00, which was not needed for any pro per purpose should not have been ap plied on the bond issue you assured the people had to be issued amount ing to $625,000.00, which would have reduced that series of bonds to $545,- 000.00 thereby relieving the tax payers of Rutherford County of an $80,000.00 indebtedness. Again, Mr. Hamrick, your memory does not seem to serve you so well. When I asked you on last Monday night to explain to the farmers and working people of Rutherford county, >\vho have to economize and cut cor- 1 °i^. er to a l°ng> while -«r e^ e - llvm & in luxury in the city :,oi Washington for a period of eight ; days at a cost for hotel bill, taxi 'Ji are ' *; C * amou nting to $105.00, more ■ an $13.00 per day, what the "etc." i me ant. I am frank to say that I did , not know then nor do I know now. xou replied that that covered Pull , man fare, railroad fare, meals on j train and other incidental expenses. I fy reference to certified copy of your (bill dated March 10, 1930, I find ; that in addition to the $105.00 item ( for eight days hotel bill, taxi fare, etc., there is a charge of Seven Dol lars for Pullman fare; railroad fare $34.00, meals on train $7.50, and ; fee for admission to Supreme Court i of United States $15.00, which add i ed to the item of hotel bill, taxi fare, j etc., amount to a total of $168.50. | Did you not recollect these items or were you merely attempting to make your expense account look smaller ( than what it actually was? 1 And again, Mr. Hamrick, you ralk j ed at great length about the Henriet jta Mills lawsuit and I would not dis credit you one iota for your valauble services in that case, but you assur !ed the people of Rutherford county |at Rutherfordton last Monday night I that you only got $5,000 fee for j your services in that case, and told ! them about how many days and J weeks you worked on the brief, con i feq-ing with the Commissioners and | others and getting! up all the neces ; sary facts in order to win that case, j Did you not recollect your fee bills jor were you willing in another in stance to mislead the people of Ruth erford county? By reference to your bills I find that you have charged at the rates gf $40.00 per day and upwards for time put in conferring, briefing, looking up the law, etc; that you charged as high as $200.00 per day in addition to your expenses for two days time in Raleigh; that you charged for the time of your clerk, Mr. John R. Chambers, sever al days at the rate of $20.00 per day (and right here let me ask you if you are willing to tell the people here that you nay him anything like Twenty Dollars per day for his ser vices, or will you not admit that you profiteered on his time more than. 200 percent? So that in all, Mr. Hamrick, the total amount charged Hy you for time put in working or the case, expenses and fees, amount ed to $7,030.90. You missed yourj guess just a little more than $2,- 000.00. but I am sure that a little item like that in your estimation, dtfring the period of progress so won derfully described in your famous j Buffalo Road speech, and when thou sands and hundreds of thousands of dollars, yea, a million and a quarter dollars a year were spent, that this j little $2,000.00 meant nothing to you. I insist, Mr. Hamrick, that you-ought to stick to the facts and you ought to be willing for the people to know these facts. Oh, I remember vividly the doctrine advocated by you in your Buffalo speech! And permit me to quote from your speech as reported in The Sun of Rutherfordton, dated September 29, 1927, where you say: "Unless you can pjit your finger directly up on any item the commissioners have misappropriated do not criticise or try to stop them." In my speech last Monday night you gave me my text, which was "An Aroused Electorate." I took it from your famous "Moses Letter." Once again, your same letter gives me a text: "The 'lode star' of the great masses of the people of this county of both political parties in the ad- , ministration of county affairs is 'ln tegrity and Efficienty in County Gov ernment' ; and when they are convinc ed that public servants or those as piring for public office or party What Will When your Children Ciy for It Th»n is hardly & household that hssn*| faftrd of Castoria! At least five million bogits are never without it. If thers an children in your family, there's almost daily need of its comfort. And any night Slay £nd you very thankful there's a bo4le in the house. Just a few drops. |q4- that colic or constipation is relieved j or diarrhea checked. A vegetable pro duct; a baby remedy meant for young folks. Castoria is about the only thing POT* have ever heard doctors advise giv ng to' iw-fantr Stronger medicines ars dangerous to a tiny baby, however harmless thay may be to grown-ups. Good old Castoria! Remember the name, jlnd remember to buy it. It may spars you a sleepless, anxious night. It is always ready, always safe- to use; in Emergencies, or for everyday ailments. Any hour of the day or night that Baby becomes fretful, or restless. Castoria waf Hever more popular 'vith mothers than if £s today, fivsry druggist h*a It. prominence are unworthy of public confidence our people of Rutherford County will arise and smite these unworthy aspirants at the polls no matter what their political affiliations may be. I think beyond question , the rec ord of the administration with which you were connected, together with your many attempts in the course of these debates and at other times to prevent the people from finding °* t> A. a, c^s » wiM justify the people of Rutherford County in arising and smiting you as an unworthy aspirant at the polls in the coming election. You made that jab at me, but, as you yourself so often say, 'You were measuring my corn in your half bushel." The aroused electorate in every fairminded person in Ruther ford County knows the reason you opposed the investigation of the County Commissioners at the road meeting was because that you knew of the situation then existing with reference to the numerous and large bond issues and with reference to the huge deposits left in the banks without a bond and you did not want the people of Rutherford County to find out these facts. A Dishpan is Good. Pop—Say, whar's thet cuspidor 'at used to set here? I miss it a lot. Mom—That's why it's gone. You missed it too often.—N. Y. C. Mag^ azme. THINK Cardui is a wonderful medicine, for I improved greatly after taking it," says Mrs. A. W. English, of R. F. D. 4, Roanoke, Va. "When I was just a girl of 13, my mother gave this medi cine to me, and it did me a great deal of good. I was weak and run-down. After I had taken Cardui awhile, I felt much better. "In 1924, my health was poor. I felt miserable, and hadn't enough strength to do my house work. It took all my willpower to keep up. I was pale and weak. "I got Cardui again and took it. My improvement was wonder ful. I can recommend Cardui to others, for my health was so much better after I had taken a course of the Cardui Home Treatment." for Constipation, Indigestion, | I Blllouan—a. Only 1 cxnt a dose. ''■ 1 r ! ' c • I Quotations Are Down | Q Buying in the open market enables us a S to bring to you food bargains from day to | | day. They are the delight of thrifty house- S | wives and the envy of our competitors, g a Save money on food every day of the a a week in this progressive store. S a S I Not Complete 1 meal is complete without meat, but still if the 3 meat is not good it might be incomplete. Our g meat vHll add the final completeness to any meal. We S have a fine selection of fresh meats that will make 3 ' meals a success. > jjj Phone 80. g Jones Grocery Co. I The House of Service S Phone 80. Forest City, N. C. § PAGE SEVEN FERRY NEWS j —■ , i Kerry, Sept. 29.—Cotton is open ing very fast through here and the jtarmers are badly behind with pick ing It is thought most all the crop. W mi. °P en before October is past. Ihe Rutherford County Fair was attended by a number of our people last week in spite of the busy sea son. All seemed to enjoy the attrac tions this year. Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Hames spent Sunday as the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Geo. T. Bailey at Greer, S. C. Mr. Moses Henson who has been with the U. S. Army stationed in the Hawaiian Islands arrived home re cently having received his discharge. Mrs. Oma Moore is seriously sick at the home of her son, Mr. Perry Moore with whom she lives, she has j suffered two strokes of paralysis and is not expected to live, she is ! eighty-six years of age. | Mr. Taylor Alexander of Duncan, S. C., spent Sunday with his father here Mr. W. P. Alexander. | Mr. R. E. Honeycutt and son, Mr. j Otho Honeycutt visited. Mr. and Mrs. ' Deane Shehan near Cowpens, S. C., I last Sunday. I j French fliers land in Brazil, I spanning Atlantic with mail. Lasky to produce foreign lan guage talkies in France. I FAMILY DOCTOR j MADE MILLIONSOOsF s Fifteen after his Dr. CalducJ became famous for a single prescription, which now, aftetf iorty years,» is still making' friends* foday Dr. Caldwell's Syrup Pepsnf. is the world s most popular laxative* Millions of people never think ofj using anything «!sc when they're! constipated, headachy, bilious, feverish) or weak; when breath is bad, toncfilei coated, or they're suffering from 1 nausea, gas, or lack of appetite orri energy. ■ j Dr. Caldwell's Syrup Pepsin is made today according to the original' formula, from herbs and other puro ingredients. It is pleasant-tasting; thorough in the most obstinate cases; genrly effective for women and chil dren. Above all, it represents a doctor s choice of what is safe for the bowels. ?
Forest City Courier (Forest City, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 3, 1930, edition 1
7
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