(Ebu Zclmlou SU'rnrb
VOLUME IX.
MORE GRAFT IN CWA
IS, THAI
AND IDE OTHER
B* MRS. THEO. B. DAVIS
I would be willing to do practi
cally any honest work that was
necessary to make a living—but 1
do hope never to have to raise
white rats.
Do you get all jittery when a cat
winds slitheringly around your an
kles when you are cooking? It
drives me almost into a frenzy.
And can anybody tell me why it
more often happens that cocoa is
spilled on a span clean tablecloth
inst* ad of one that is already soil
ed?
Las: Friday night was the first
time our group has ever been acute
ly uncomfortable while serving the
Rotary Supper. At that time how
ever, cold weather and frozen pine,
did their worst for us and to us.
When 1 reached the kitchen Mrs.
Vaiden Whitley and Mrs. Creech
had already brought a bucket of
water apiece from the Chevrolet
place across the street. By having
to fry corn fntters I didn’t have
to bring water, Mrs. Whitley saying
that the first Rotarian to arrive
would have to take the bucket and
go for more. That Rotarian hap
pened to be Mr. Moser, and he went
quickly and willingly. The stove in
the main room was red hot, the
supper was hot and was served on
warm plates. The Rotarians were
both hungry and appreciative. Their
praise of our dependability did
much to make us forget that there
was only an oil stove back in the
kitchen.
And the dishes! Mrs. Whitley i
chairman of our group, and with
her there is no compromising when
it comes to dishwashing. Every
piece must not only be washed
clean, but must be scalded and dried
and put away, even when watei
splashed on the table freezes as
one works.
But after all, such cold as we
had last week comes only once in
years. We may have a good, warm
kitchen in the Woman's Club be
fore it is like that again—or 1
may bp too old to help with Rotary
suppers.
Don’t make the mistake of think
ing t.hf>t those present are always
mo:e religious than some of # the
ab nice*. It may be that many
mothers were too tu.shed trying to
bund’e up .mall pupils to have time
to get themselves ready; and we do
need hot food in cold weather,
which means that some one must
prepare the meals. The real ques
tion is what kept folks away. For my
own part I never feel justified in
staying home from church for any
weather that would not keep me
from going to a job that paid for
my time.
ZEBULON, NORTH CAROLINA, FEBRUARY SIXTEENTH, 1931.
ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-FIVE
DOLLARS FOR A PRIVY
Sometime ago we saw a sign by the roadside reading “men
working.” A little farther along we saw a number of men at work.
Someone said they were working for the CWA and the sign was
to inform the public that the men were actually at work, since one
could not know otherwise. From later observation, we decided
that there was considerable truth in the remark.
Since that time it has been observed and remarked on by the pub
lic that those directing this relief work had not yet learned how to
get work done. It appeared that the people employed felt that al
though they were getting two or three times as much as private
enterprise could pay, yet, because it was a sort of charity from
the government, they were not expected to earn their wages.
The other day we saw the weekly report sent in by the several
bosses in charge of building privies for the public in Wake county.
Any one wanting a privy, gave his order to the local CWA. The
lumber was purchased, the house built and the one giving the or
der paid only the actual cost of the materials used. Work of this
sort is being done at Apex, Cary, Knighdale, Wendell, Milbrook,
Wake Forest and perhaps other places. Usually a dozen men with
a foreman work a specified number of hours each week. They get
from 45 cents to sl.lO an hour —the foreman’s pay. A full report
of the number of men, hours worked, privies built and total cost
of the same for the week is made. It was the writer’s privilege to
iook over one of the reports a few days ago. And this is> what he
saw: It took a dozen men over two hundred hours to build one
privey in a certain town. But that was good compared to others.
In one community it took twelve men two hundred and two hours
to build one privy, at a total cost of $130.00. In a second place, the
same number of men worked the same length of time and the
privy cost $135.00 just to build it. The cost of material which was
paid for by the one ordering it was paid by him. $135.00 is what
it cost Uncle Sam in good money to build a little rough frame
house a few feet square. To Zebulon’s credit the report showed
that the total cost of building one privy was only about SB.OO.
A carpenter who has done considerable work of this sort told me
that he could build houses exactly like these being built by the
CWA for $5.00 a piece and that he could moke good money at
that price. A great many things might be said further about this
extravagant spending of the people’s money, but it is not neces
sary. The facts will ultimately reach the people who pay the taxes
that provide funds for CWA work, but it will be too late to save
what has been spent wastefully. As news for the serious con
sideration of our readers we gave these facts. When an ordinary
privy costs $135.00 to build by money provided for sweet charity’s
sake, there is something wrong or rotten, not in Denmark, but in
the whole of the good old U. S. A.
RICH MAN, POOR MAN
This great national game is being played by Uncle Sam and
most of us. For want of a better name we suppose* no better one
could be found than “suckers” for the thousands of people in the
United States who are being wet-nursed by the government—peo
ple who might very well provide for themselves if they were forc
ed to do so. To illustrate: Go to headquarters of these several
employment and relief departments and you will find at most any
time of the day those who are supposed to be out investigating
eases, sitting back in a warm comfortable room with a string of
white and colored people waiting to present their appeals for
assistance. Visit a place where work is being done and you will
find a foreman in charge of less than a half-dozen men. And this
foreman is getting perhaps more than a dollar per hour for boss
ing men whose salaries, when totaled, equal little more than the
boss gets.
(Continued on page two, editorial column)
NUMBER 34.
YE FLAPDOODLE
f 1 M » vJf m
By Th*
Swashbuckler
“Seed falling in unfertile ground”,
-dates a nationalist known horticul
urist, “seldom grow, especially
hose seeds which are unfertile”.
Seems as though we heard some
hing about unfertile eggs not
latching, and rotten eggs being
n a state of decompose. Oh well—.
“Warm weather not only favors
he nudists,” says one young and
ovely lady of our town, “but it
isn’t unwelcome to us neckers.” So,
to the school grounds she went. Tsk
Tsk. Now when I was young
Bill Fletcher says that is cer
ainly is nice now that the cold
nap is over and the water pipes
lave thawed. ‘lt certainly was cold
it behind the bam”, comments
Helen’s Iloney-bunny-boo.
Professor Brookbank, of the
Wakelon Schools faculty, at Zebu*
'on, North Carolina, U. S. A., NRA
md PDQ receives a sugar report
very day. The strange thing is,
hat Brookie has never played the
dock-market in his life! Further
ing his statement he cooed, “And
sugar’s goin’ up every day.’ Hotcha!
Who was the young lady seen
n the post office one cold morning
this week with a goodly bit of her
'ungs exposed. These Mae West
lecked dresses certainly do take
our mind off what it should be on.
Little Evelyn, the big moment of
my hour told me this one the other
night:—
There was a small town office
man who loved to grow vegetables,
or ly he couldn’t get the vegetables
to grow. Every year he would plant
his seed in the spring, and when
they did not come up, he would dig
hem up and save them until the
next spring and plant them again.
One morning the cabbage seed
mid the orchid seed happened to be
ir. adjacent bins and were overheard
in an interesting conversation.
Said the cabbage, “Is the boss
going to plant you again this
year ?”
Haughtily the orchid replied,“How
dare you, a mere cabbage seed, the
1 lowliest of all vegetables speak to
m?, the aristocrat of all plants? 11l
have you to understand that my
' family are only of the best.”
“Well,” came back the cabbage,
“if you’re so dam good, why don’t
yuh com’ up sometime.”