spearing Hoove is a picture m
North Carolina’s Capitol building.
The original Capitol of North
Carolina was destroyed by fire on
June 21, 1821.
At the session of November,
1832, the Assembly resolved to re
build on the old site, and $50,000
was appropriated for the purpose.
Commissioners were appointed to
have the work done. The rubbish
was cleared away, the excavations
made and the foundation was laid.
On July 4, 1833, the cornerstone
was sft in place.
After the foundations were laid
the work progressed more slowly,
and it was so expensive that the
appropriation was exhausted. The
Legislature at its next session ap
propriated $75,000 more. To do the
stone and finer Work many skilled
artisans had been brought from
Scotland and other countries. The
Building Commissioners contracted
■with David Faton to come to
Raleigh and superintend the work.
Mr. Paton was an architect who
had come from Scotland the year
before. He Was the builder, the
architect, and designer.
The stone with which the build
ing was erected was the property
*>f the State. Had the State been
•compelled to purchase this mater
ial the cost of the Capitol would
fciive been considerably increased.
’n the summer of 1840 the work
was finished. At last, after more
than seven years, the sum of $531,
674.46 was expended. As large as
the sum was for the time, when thp
State was so poor and when the
entire taxes for all State purposes
reached less than $100,000, yet the
people were satisfied. The building
had been erected with rigorous
-economy,, and it was an object of
great pride to the people. Indeed,
never was money better expended
than in the erection of this noble
Capitol.
The first Capitol of North
Carolina was in New Bern, but
later it was removed to Raleigh'.
North Carolina, often called the
«Tar Heel” state, was the scene of
the first attempt at colonization in
America by English-speaking peo
ple. Under a charter granted to
Sir Walter Raleigh by Queen Eliz
abeth. a colony was begun on Roan
oke Island. This settlement how
over, was unsuccessful and later
became known as “The Lost Col
ony.”
North Carolina, on April
1776, authorised her delegates in
the Continental Congress to vots
for independence, and oh Decem
ber 18, 1776, adopted a constitu
tion. Richard Caswell became the
first governor under this constitu
tion. On November 21, 1789. the
state adopted the United States
Constitution, being the twelfth
state to enter the federal union.
North Carolina, in 1788, had re
jected the Constitution on the
grounds that certain amendment*
were vital and necessary to a free
people.
A new state constitution wai
adopted in 1868 and since that date
the governor has been elected bj
the people for four-year terms and
he cannot succeed himself. There
since 1868, but numerous amend
ments have been added to it.
North Carolina has been demo
cratic since 1900, during whicl
period it h*« made its greatest
progress.
North Carolina has had twe
permanent capitols—New Bern sne
Raleigh — and there have beer
three capitol buildings. Tryon’i
Palace in New Bern was construct
,ed in the period, 1767-70, and the
main building was destroyed by
fire February 27, 1898. The firai
- capitol in Raleigh was completed in
1794 and was destroyed by fire oa
June 21, 1881. The present capitol
was completed in 1840.
Nertfa Carolina supports a nine
month? school for every child of
school age and maintains a fleet
of 4JB00 buses by which it trans
ports 348400 children to school
each school day to tbs year. During
I nine months term these 4,800
buses travel approximately 31,000,
400 mik*.
Unions Help Hold
Off Business Drop
Washington. — The high-wage
policy of American labor helped
check a business recession in the
United States last year, according
to an article in the current issue
of The American Fedeiationist.
The article was written by George
T. Brown, research director of the
Plumbers and Fitters Union. It
was based on President Truman’s
recent economic report to Con
1 gresa.
The presidential report showed,
according to Mr. Brown, that a
postwar recession in the United
States was halted in mid-1949. To
ward the end of the year, industrial
production, construction, employ
ment and sales began to inch slow
ly upward. Specifically, wages were
kept oh a relatively even locel. -
Mr. Brown said this report tells
a “dramatic story, a story in which
organised labor played a major
role ... This quick end of what
could have become a full-sized de
pression occurred principally be
cause the historical rush to wage
cutting did not take place.”
“Organized labor,” he said, “was
the bulwark behind which the
wage-earners of the nation defeat
ed their standard of living. Aa a
consequence of this show of
strength, the vast number of the
employed wage-earners continued
to buy.”
Mr. Brown Mid not only Ameri
ca, but most of Europe, will bene
fit from the fact that American
purchasing power cushioned a pos
sible depression.
“Had there not been solid re
sistance to wage cuts,” he warn
ed, “the pattern of life not only in
America, but in the rest of the
world would now be on its way to
a debacle that would be more pleas
ing to Moscow than to any capital
in the free world.”
Mr. Brown cautioned labor that
their job is not finished; that “the.
future well-being of organised
workers — and therefore of all
American wage-earners — lies in
more efficient work and better
collective bargaining.”
He pointed out that increased
efficiency roust result in “wage
increases and therefore increased
purchasing power,” adding:
“To insure that increased produc
tivity will be passed on to wage
earners in significant amounts, ef
ficient and intelligent collective
bargaining is necessary.”
Beck Soys Hawaii
Unions Will Grow
Honolulu, Hawaii.—Dave Beck,
executive vice president of the AFL
Teamsters Union, said that the
labor movement in Hawaii “has all
of its future before it and the
ground has hardly been scratched.”
Mr. Beck made several speeches
during a visit here to advise Team
sters locals and get acquainted
with the economic setup of the
islands.
“1 am certain,” he said in a
statement, “that time will assist
in changing the minds of those
who are set against us now into a
full realisation that only by tbe
fullest cooperation of capital and
1 labor can the economics of the
islands prosper into complete suc
cess and gainful occupations for the
people of this garden spot.”
Speaking to the Rotary Club, he
boosted free enterprise, endorsed
statehood for Hawaii and Alaska,
and called upon capital and labor
to fight the common enemy of
communism. He said he was disap
pointed at seeing Pearl Harbor and
other military installations cut in
strength.
Mr. Beck was accompanied to
the islands by his wife, Mr. and
Mrs. Norman Gessert, Seattle,
Wash.; Sinar Mohn, Teamsters re
gional director; Ray Lehaney, pub
lic relations officer, and William
E. Franklin, Teamsters dairy coun
cil director.
Edward Arnold Stars
In Gompers Role
New York. — Eu’ward Arno'd,
screen and radio star, acts the
role of Samuel Gompers in a new
radio play based on the career of
the founder and first president of
the AFL.
The play is one of a series en
titled “Turning Points” depicting
decisive moments in the lives of
great Americans. It was written j
and produced by Nathan Zatkta|
and will be beard on many local
radio stations.
“Turning Points" is the second
radio dramatisation of Gompm’
life broadcast this year. The first,
entitled “The Education of a Labor
Leader,” was presented by The
Eternal Light program over the
NBC network.
Plan Apprentiae
Training Meets
Washington.—-James A. Brown
low, secretary-treasurer of the
AFL Metal Trades Department,
urges members and other inteiest
ad in apprentice training to attend
one of a series of three conferences
scheduled in May and June.
Mr. Brownlow said the confer
ences, sponsored by the Federal
Bureau of Apprenticeship, - are
held to interst—nnrre~people from
labor and management in sound
apprenticeship.
The confeiences will be held May
3-5, Miami, Fla., for Southern
States; May 22-25, Seaside, Ore.,
covering 11 western states; June
8-10, Poland Springs. Me., covering
the northeast section.
“These conferences,” Mr. Brown
low said, “are open for participa
tion by anyone interested in ap
prenticeship and should be widely
attended as the considerations and |
results directly affect every a,p-1
renticeable craft within the AFL.” !
Heads Show s
Waskiag taa.—> AFL Vke
President Matthew Wall who has
takca over direction of tko AFL
Union Industries Show achodalod
for Philadelphia May «-l>. Mr.
Well, president of the AFL Unioa
Label Trades Department, replaces
the late Ira M. Orabara.
Upholsterers Get
Pensions for 3,000
_
* Chirrg^-Agrcemcnt in principle
on a new employer-paid pension
plan was announced by the Kroeh
>r Manufacturing Company and
Sal B. Hoffmann, president of the
AFL Upholsterers International
Union of North America.
Mr. Hoffmann said the union's
negotiating committee would rec
ommend that its 3,000 members en»
(A
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jffe . .
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*
_
ON RAPIO STATION
WAYS, 10 P. M.
IHHWJ
BBK_________
ployed in Kroehler plants ratify the
plan. He said the union hoped
eventually to apply it to some 50,
000 members and 3.000 employers
in ail phases of the furnishings in
dustry. v
The union president said the plan
eaHed for contributions of a fixed
percentage "of the employers’ pay
rolls into a single fund to be ad
ministered by 5 union and 5 em
ployer trustees.
. Employes, although not contribu
ting to the private pension fund,
would continue to take part in the
federal social security program.
AMERICA
is the one place where they have
. ever existed in combination ...
we talk about our Ameri
can system, we're talking about
something more productive, more
promising, more thrilling than any
system the world has ever seen.
• And we’re strong because we
enjoy the unique combination of
qualities that make our nation the
most productive of any country
on earth. Why? First, because
we’ve built our whole system on a
solid faith and belief in the dignity
of the individual.
Out of our belief in the dignity
of the individual has evolved the
wonderful pattern of America.
Our policy of free markets and
free collective bargaining. Our be
lief in competition. Our adherence
to the principle of constantly better
quality at consistently lower cost.
Our emphasis on research—on
invention—on new and better
methods.
Our faith in g>e future and our
desire ever to advance—ever to
improve the lot of everybody, re
gardless of race, creed or color.
These—tit combination—are
America. And nowhere else in the
world is there such a combination
—that’s your U. S. A. Let’s keep
it this way. Sure our system has
its faults such as sharp ups and
down in prices and jobs but we
are trying to correct those faults
—and with even better team
work, the future is unlimited.
THE BETTER WE PRODUCE
THE BETTER WE LIVE
“Know-how—and inventiveness.”
“Sound use of machine power.**
"•V •’ • M
--- A
p 4Sgg£f »
—of the people l
Approved for the
PUBLIC POLICY
COMMITTEE
of The Advertising Council
by: !
EVANS CLARK
BORIS 8HI8HKIN A
PAUL G. HOFFMAN
L- Published in the *
public interest bu
§
“Our willingness to invest**
“REWARD for initiative."
V
“Mon goods of better quality at
lower costs, paying higher wages.**
■
'VniilUkctnK*
" 1 l‘^jk
’