r
ESTABLISHED 114 1ES5
CUest North Carolina Newspaper
West of Asheville
DEDICATED TO MACON
County and the Wt'Jare
of it Good People
MM, i
' y ' 7 M
" " FE0GEES3IVE
LIBERAL
INDEPENDENT
FRANKLIN, N. C, THURSDAY, APRIL 14. 1932
$150 PER YEAR
VCL. XLVII, NO. 15
Si
Birmingham Explains that
He Isn't County
v Accountant ; ,
'WIRESCROSSELV
Declares Administration
In Macon Is 'Most
Economical' '
R. C. Birmingham, of Charlotte,
is Macon county's auditor-j-ather
than its county accountant, and as
such he is to receive $750 for his
work instead of $2,420, the amount
set aside in the budget for the
"county 1 accountant," according to
abetter from Mr. .Birmingham- to
the editor of The Press, ' "
Mr. Birmingham's fetter," explain
ing the difference between , the
"county accountant" and thHgun1
iy-auauor, -. ' ,
"I
lJiZ
list ultimo, the news item
relative to my- report under .date
cif March 12, on 'the financial posi
" tion of Macon county, and - also
' note your 'editorial comment there-
"I believe the , policy of ; your
paper is one of absolute - fairness
td everyone, therefore I wish to
correct an impression that might
be gained by the people of your
county and.arr impression that evi
dently has already been "gained,
according to the recent resolu
tions of the Republican party in
Macon county. - . , .
"The news item 'referred to is
headed 'Report of County Ac
countant.' This is- in error as I
am not the county accountant.
The report I should have , been
headed 'The Report of the Audi
tor ' The office, of county ac-
counta'nt has no more -relation to
i,. iiiHitor than has any other
subdivision of county government.
Th law reauires that each county
establish and maintain the office
of county accountant, the same
law requires that the accounts of
countv shall be audited by
...a miblic or. certified public ac
countant. ,The latter is to whom
T rpfr when I mention 'the audi
tor. , ;
"Wire Croed" j
" "In your editorial you state 'but
it does seem that the county books
could be audited for less than $2,
420.00.' You evidently have 'cross
ed your wires'-and have confused
the cost of the office of county
accountant with , that of the cost
of audit. Macon county has a con
tract with me, as a certified pub
lic accountant, to" soidit the . ac
counts of the county for the year
" ended I Tune 30. 1932 for the sum
'of $750.00 and -not $2,420.00, and
insofar as I know, this is the low
est figure of the cost of the yearly
audit in any county in North Caro
lina.
Say Salary Small J
" "Tocover the cost of the county
accountant's office, the sum of $2,
420.00 was appropriated, this amount
hiner divided, county accountant
$1,600.00, clerical , assistance $600.00
. and supplies $220.00. Likewise, in
sofar as I know, this is about as
: little in this regard, as any county
in the state. The office of county
accountant, is in my opinion, the
most responsible office, at least
with regard to rigid laws, dire pen-
. allies etc, within the range of gov
eminent and its political subdi
visions, and personally I would not
have the office for twice the salary
naid bv any" county in the state
Prrtainlv no one will say that an
nnnnal snlarv of the county ac
rmihtant b $1,600.00 is excessive
"With regard i to that part of
your editorial relating to public
hcahh. I quite agree with you that
this activity of government is one
of the most vital importance on
the other hand, a constitutional
limit of fifteen ,' cents levy has
1 heen Dlaced on the governmenta'
function known as 'For General
.County Purposes' and I believe
iha-t Macon -county is about the
only one of the smaller counties of
: " the state that will be able to stay
: within the budget allowance of fif
, teen cents as referred to above.
This, in itself is clearly indicative
of a most -economical and conserv
ative administration. If the scope
of the health" activities is to be
broadened, it means only one thing
an additional tax -kvv for this
purpose.
"In the issue of your paper un
der date of April 7 the resolutions
of the Republican party contain
. criticism of the present administra
tion of Macon county to the effect
(Continued eil f"g Wttr)
NEWS' SUMMARY
A Survey of State and National Events Concisely
-v Told in Brief Up-to-Date
' - News Reports
KIDNAPERS DECEIVE
LINDBERGH
Coli Charles A. Lindbergh,
on Saturday night, issued' a
statement that ransom of
$50,000 ha recently been paid
kidnaper of hi small, son,
after - they had positively iden
tified themselves a holding the
boy, and that they' have vio
lated their agreement to leave
the boy at a designated spot.
Circular giving the atrial num
bers of the five, 10 and 20
dollar notes paid to the kid
neper' have been distributed
throughout the country. ... .
, - Killed by Train
"David Walker, 20, of Old Fort,
was killed Sunday afternoon near
Qnwood. bv 4 Df. O. train
which struck him" from: the rear.
Chatham Bank Reopen
iThe Chatham bank, Siler City,
which closed December 30 with
deposits of $340,000, reopened Mon
day after 95 per cent of the de
positors had agreed to a plan which
makes 75 per cent of deposits avail
able in cash. ,
LIVESTOCK DAY
BEING PLANNED
, An invitation to attend the an
nual Livestock Field Day at Moul
trie, Ga., on May 4, has been" ex
tended , to- Macon county farmers by
Major . S. A. Harris, former publisher
ofThe Franklin Press, who is now
secretary of the Moultrie chamber
of commerce. Goyertior Russell of
Georgia has accepted an invitation
to address the gathering, which is
expected to attract cattle and pig
growers from all over the south
east,. Major Harris said in a com
munication to The Press.
"This is the second livestock field
day to be held in the southeast,
the first having" taken place here
last year," the Moultrie commerce
secretary said, "The Georgia, ex
periment station at Griffin original
d this plan to develop interesL-in
the livestock industry in the south
east and to disseminate information
among the growers and breeders of
livestock. The field day, last , year
proved such an outstanding sue
cess it has been decided to make
the affair an annual' event each
spring. Last year hundreds of
livestock enthusiasts from all parts
of the southeast and from as far
west as Texas were present. A
much larger attendance is expected:
this year. The experiment station
slogan for this occasion is as fol-
ows: 'FOR THE FARMER WHO
MEANS BUSINESS.'"
Various livestock experts will be
on the program at this year's field
day at Moultrie,: Major Harris .said,
and herds of swinen,d Hercfords
will be shipped from the Georgia
experiment station at Griffin to be
used as object lessons in the ad
dresses of the (livestock men.
BieederW of Poland China pigs
from all parts of the Southeast are
expected to attend and it is plan
ned to onranize a Poland China
Breeders association.
Major. Harris complimented the
farmers of the county on the prog
ress they are making under the
Western North Carolina 5-10 Year
Farm Program and said he hoped
to see a number of his old Macon
county friends at Moultrie on
May 4. . ,
500 B. Y. P. U.'s Expected
At Regional Convention
The regional convention of
the 'Baptist Young People's
Union will be held at the First
Baptist church here Friday' and
Saturday. - The initial session
will open Friday afternoon at
2:30 o'clock. ; Five hundred del
egates are expected to attend
from churches in Western North
Carolina.
An interesting program ha
been arranged. Among the
speaker "will bei the ! Rv. "
Frtnk Leavel, of Nashville,
Tenn.; Mi Wlpnie Rickett,
tt Ralalgh, UU Mcratary of
the B. Y. P. U.j now of
AlhlVllllt U Rv, J, C. Tow.
BONUS PETITIONS PRE- t
SENTED i
A truck load of petition
bearing 2,240,030 signature of
veteran asking an immediate
cash bonus payment, wes es
corted to the door of con
gress, FridayT by . l,' -3 veter-
Appeal Case Against Cannon
The federal government on Mon
day filed in the District of Colum
bia court of appeals, its appeal
from the ruling of the federal dis
frict court in February that in
dictments brought against Bishop
James Cannon, J r.r and Miss Ada
Burroughs, for violation of the cor
nipt practices act,, were improperly
drawn and; could not be brought to
trial. " The charges were in connec
tion with alleged failure to report
election fimds secured by Cannon
in' his anti-Smith fight in 1928.
- Veteran Ask Cash Bon(us
A .thousand. or more war vetex
an j met in Greensboro Monday
night and asked congressional ap
proval of a full cash ' payment of
adjusted service compensation cer
tificates. James E. Van Zandt, Al
toona, Pa., junior vice-commander
of Veterans of Foreign Wars, and
Wade-H. Phillips, Lexington, were
speakers.
131 Cars Stolen In March
There were 131 automobiles stol
en in North Carolina in March, the
motor vehicle bureau reports. There
were 117 cars recovered for own
ers. .
Stock Market Probe Starts
The senate's , investigation of
short selling practices on the stock
market got underway Monday with
the banking committee calling
Richard Whitney, president of the
New York exchange, to appear with
records.
Fawn Board To Continue
The federal farm board, by vote
of 152 to 23, on Friday, won the
lower house's approval for a con
tinuation, of the board's work. Ap
propriation of- $1,000,000 -was made
for its operation next year.
SOUTH'S BUILDING BOOM
Above $80,000,000 in construc
tion contract were placed in
It southern state in the first
quarter of 1932, with the March
showing of the couth com
paratively Ihe best in the en
tire country.
CROWDS MARVEL
AT FORD'S NEW
8-CYLINDER CAR
Upwards of 1,000 persons mar
veled at the new V-8 Ford on dis
play at the Joines Motor and Trac
tor company Tuesday.
The new Ford, also available in
four-cylinder models, is quite ;
departure from the old ones. I
The body design is the very lat
est in automobiles and the quality
of the materials has been improved
Evidently. Henry Ford intends not
only to put out a cheaper car but
also a better one. The new car
has automatic spark control,
downdraft carburetor, silent second
gear, synchronized gear shift, self
i adjusting shock absorbers and is
capable of a speed of 75 miles an
hour.-
You won't know it's a Ford.
ell, a missionary in Africa for
years, now at home on vaca
tion; Mrs A. L. Crowley, les
son writer for the Baptist Sun
day School board, Nashville,
Tenn.; Coy Muckle, president
of the. State B. Y. P. U. con
vention ; Ralph Ramsey, of Bre
vard, regional president; and
Miss Cleo Mitchell, of Greens
boro. Students of Mars Hill col
lege will have an important part
. on the program.
Miss Virginia Cunningham is
president and Miss Eloise Jam
erson secretary-treasurer of the
B. Y. P. U. of the Franklin
ehurehi
PRIZE WINNERS
miim
Elizabeth Poindexter and
Ted Eaton Given
U. D. C. Awards
The Macon County Chapter oil
the Daughters of the Confederacy
held their April meeting with Mrs.
T. J. Johnston and Mrs. T. J.j
Johnston, Jr., on Monday afternoon.
After , a short business session
the meeting ' was turned ; over to
the program committee. The first
number was the singing of America
followed by the president's wel
come to the visitors.
The high light of the program
was the delivery ot casn awaras
offered by the chapter to the two
high school pupils who wrote prize
winning essays in a contest re
cently conducted by Mrs. Helen
Macon among her history classes
on the subiecf of General Lee's
surrender at Appomattox. -It
Was most fitting that these
papers should come at this tunc,
as Saturday marked the A)7h an
niversary of the surrender at Ap
pomattox. "
Prizes were awarded to Elizabeth
Poindexter, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Robert Poindexter. and Fred
Eaton, son of Mr and Mrs. S.
Edward Eaton. Mr. T. J. Johnston,
Sr.. made the presentation; with
very fitting remarks.
Elizabeth and Fred read their
essays and. they were enthusiastical
ly received.
Mrs. John u. Byrne read, a pa
per on uenerai ue as a coiiegc
president, dealing with his life and
career from the time of the sur
render to his death. This was
followed by Father Ryan's glow
ingly beautiful tribute to Robert E.
Lee.
After the nrocrram tea was
served. " V
An invitation was extended from
Mrs. C. F. Moody to meet with
her at the Moodv Farm for the
May meeting.
DEATH CLAIMS
MRS. PENLAND
Funeral for Prentiss
Woman Conducted at
Baptist Church
Funeral services for Mrs. II. K,
Penland, 29, who died at her home
near Prentiss. Friday about 12 :30
from a sudden heart attack, were
held at the First Baptist church
at Franklin Saturday afternoon at
O'clock with the pastor, the Rev,
E. R. Eller. assisted by the Rev
C. Umberger, pastor of the Ma
con circuit, ana tne Rev. j.
t . . r t
Tcague a retired Methodist minis
ter . and a life long friend of the
family, conducting the services.
The deceased, before her mar
nacre, was aiiss Annie ceii worn
ack, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S.
W. Womack , of East Franklin.
She was a member of the First
Baptist church at Franklin, hav
ing joined the church at the age
of 14. and-was always a faithful
attendant and a very loyal mem
ber.
Mrs. Penland is survived by her
husband, H. R. Penland, and four
little daughters, Dorothy, Frances,
Annie Jean and Louis Raymond;
her parents, Mr. and Mrs. S. W.
Womack; four. brothers, Otto, Koy
and Dewey Womack, of Franklin,
and Lyman Womack, of Andrews;
and one sister, Mrs. Wade Elliott,
of Asheville.
The out-of-town relatives and
friends attending the funeral in
cluded Mr. andMrs. Wade Elliott
and children, of Asheville, Mr. and
Mrs. Lyman Womack, of Andrews,
and Mrs. L. P. Baarrington of
near Richmond, Va.
APRIL TERM OF
SUPERIOR COURT
TO OPEN MONDAY
. The regular, April term ( of
Macon county superior court
will open Monday morning with
Judge A. M. Stack of Monroe
presiding. The first two days
have been set aside for the trial
of criminal cases, with trial of
civil cases scheduled to start
Wednesday, .
MAKES HONOR ROLL
N. . Blame, ,ot franklin, was
among the students at the Univers
ity of Jtforth Carolina at Chape!
Hill reported to' have made the
honot roll. .for the ti&oad quartet.
ARE ANNOUNCED
Pyesbytery Votes To Close
Masiwell Farm Home at End
Of Current School Session
Miss Kelly Gets
Of Flour for
Through Red
Through the efforts of Miss
Elizabeth Kelly, chairman . of
the Macon county chapter of
the American Red Cross, a oar
load of flour, weighing 42,000
pounds, has been obtained to
help the needy in. Macon coun
ty. The flour is ' expected to
arrive this week. Miss Kelly
said.
t Miss Kelly said the flour
probably , would be stored,
through the courtesy of Sam '
L. Franks, in the storeroom
back of the Star Market.
The flour is to come out of
the wheat surplus bought by
the government and being dis
posed of through the national
Red Cross organization.
'The purpose of this flour
is to help those who need some
assistance while they are grow
ing crops," Mis Kelly said.
"It's not meant for habitual
MRS. J. T. HENRY
DIES SUDDENLY
Funeral Services Held at
Ellijay Baptist
Church
Funeral services for Mrs. John
T, Henry, 66, of Ellijay, who died
of paralysis about 1 o'clock Sun
day morning, were held at the El
lijay Baptist church Monday after
noon at 2 o'clock, with the Rev.
James Vinson, pastor, conducting
the services.
Mrs. Henry apparently was in
good health when she retired, but
was later taken with a severe pain
in her head, and death came about
two hours later.
The deceased had been a mem
ber of the Ellijay Baptist church,
since early life.
She is survived by her husband,
three daughters, Mrs. Royal Ives
ter, of Winston-Salem; Mrs. Col
umbus Ammons, of Murphy;
and Mrs. Clyde Dills, of Pine
Grove; six sons, Lee and Louis
Henry, of California, Napoleon
Henry, of Detroit, Mich., "Will,
Robert and Frank Henry, of Elli
jay; one sister, Mrs. Jake Henry,
f Ellijay ; . and three brothers,
David Moses, of Ellijay, Zach
Moses, Bakersfield, Calif., and Na
poleon Moses, of Baker City, Ore.
C. C. Poindexter Here
For Superior Court
C. C. Poindexter, Asheville at
torney, will be, in franklin tor
the two-week's term of superior
court opening Monday. Mr. Poin-.
dexter has just returned from a
ive-days hiking trip in the Nan-
tahalas and the Great bmoky
mountains. He reported a fine
time but much cold weather. Mon
day night, he said he and his com
panions encountered two inches of
snow on top of the Smokies.
No. 282 To Be
Engineers
Work is ' expected to start
soon, probably within the next
few days, on the surfacing of
state highway .No. 282 from
Highlands toward Walhalla, S.
C. Fourteen thousand dollar
recently wa allotted for this
work by the state highway de
partment. No. 282 has become known as
the Three States highway. It
is an important feeder for No.
28 and is the nearest route
into the Smoky Mountans Na
tional Park for a large part of
South Carolina. It also is a
link in a short route between
Augusta, Ga., and KnoXtUU,
Tenth '
Gar Load
Distribution
Cross Chapter
paupers; they are the county's
obligation and the county should
continue to look out for these
people. But there are many
other persons and families in
Macon county who, due to tem
porary conditions, need some
help, especially at this time
while they are trying to plant
a crop. It is these folks that
the Red Cross wants to help,
and these are v the folks who
will get flour."
Disposition of the , flour will
be handled' through the town
ship committees of the Red
Cross, Miss Kelly said, and al
lotment will be made only on
presentation of requisition ap
proved by chairmen of the
township committees. Persons
wishing to obtain flour are re
quested first to see the chair
man of the township in which
they live.
Missing Aquone Girl
Found in Dearborn
Hatel Maybelle Totherow, IS,
daughter of Glenn Totherow, of
Aquone, this county, who had
been missing from her home for
a week, has been found by po
lice at Dearborn, Mich, near
Detroit, according to a telegram
received Tuesday by the girl's
father.
Dearborn police were Reported
holding Mrs. Eva Byrd Maren
koff, 22, who was alleged to
have enticed the Totherow girl
to leave her home, and Pelos
Kaxarkian, 45, thought to be an
accomplice.
An investigation by Dearborn
police, instigated by Mr. Toth
erow, resulted in the finding
of the girl in an apartment with
Mrs. Marenkoff.. Screams of
the girl, heard by persons pass
ing in the street, resulted in
her discovery.
Mrs. Marenkoff was reported
to have come to . Aquone from
Durborn and made offers of
work in a Dearborn factory to
several girls in the vicinity of
Aquone, htpt only the Totherow
girl was induced to accept.
FUNERAL HELD
FORCW.H'GEE
Mr. C. W. McGee, born June
12. 1854. died April 6, 1932, with
influenza, at the home of his son,
E. S. McGee, at Copperhill, Tenn.,
where he had been making his
home for some time, The body
was brought here last Friday and
the funeral was held at the Mt.
Zion church Friday afternoon with
the Rev. J. C. Umburger, pastor,
conducting the final rites.
The deceased was marjied. to
Miss Jennie Potts in 1875 and to
this union were born four children,
as follows: E. SJkGee, of Cop
perhill, Tenn., Miss Betty McGee,
of Franklin, and George McGee
of Franklin, Route 1, and Mrs. J
M. Harrison of Franklin, deceased.
Surfaced;
Busy Near Here
About 50 men are expected
to be employed in the surfac
ing of No. 282, part of them
on the road and part at the
rock crusher. No regrading is"
to be done. The road will be
given a rock surfacing of six
inches for a width of 14 feet.
An asphalt binder may be plac
ed on it later. "
W. A. MacNeill, resident
highway engineer who has
been located at Highlands for
several months, is now in
charge of surveying a link of
No. 28 west of Rainbow Springs,
between Wallace Gap and Byrd
Cap, known the switchback.
(Contimie4 ea pie four)
Boys To Be Transferred
To Orphanage Near
Black Mountain
PRESS "CRITICIZED
Editorial on Dr. Campbell
'Heartily Condemned'
In Resolution
The Asheyille Presbytery, in 72nd
session at the West Asheville
Presbyterian church, voted 27 to 17
Wednesday afternoon to close the
Maxwell Farm Home for boys near
Franklin at the end of the present
public school session. It was de- .
cided to remove the 16 boys now
being cared for at the, home to
the Mountain Orphanage near
Black Mountain.
Disposition of the Maxwell Home
property, most of which was given
to the Presbytery about 20 years
ago by Mr. and Mrs. Tt M. Slagle
as a memorial to a deceased son,
was left open until the fall meet
ing of the Presbytery to be held
at Mills River church. The Pres
bytery was described as holding
the property "with no strings at
tached," but it is known that there
is considerable sentiment fn favor
of returning it to Mr. and Mrs.
Slagle.
Discussion of the Maxwell Home
problem was, brought up by Dr.
R. F. Campbell, chairman of the
home missions committee. While,
some contended that the home
should be closed, due to financial
conditions of the Presbytery, oth
ers claimed that the home had
practically been self-supporting in
recent months and could continue
to be. -Crockett
Makes Plea
The Rev. S. R. Crockett, superin
tendent of the home, made a strong
appeal for its continuance, declar
ing that suspension would "hurt
terribly the Slagle Memorial church
and would retard the growth of
the Presbyterian denomination in
Macon county.
A number, of persons, Mr. Croc
kett said, were praying that Max
well would remain open.
"Why sacrifice one work for .
others when the gain to be had is
so doubtful?" he pleaded.
L. M. Mtorchison, elder from
Hazelwood, supported Mr. Croc
kett's plea. ,
Mr. Crockett's report showed
that since the last meeting of the
Presbytery at Highlands last fall
the school had reduced its indebt
edness $500 and that it had about
$700 more to apply on this.
The Rev. H. B. Dendy, pastor
of the Weaverville Presbyterian
church, and a member of the home ,
missions committee, , was one of the
leaders of the group favoring sus
pension ol tne nome. ne saia
Maxwell had been given a better
chance than any other work in the
Presbytery and that "No place
in the Presbytery had had more
money lavished upon it than Max
well." Delegates from Macon county at
tending the Presbyterial session
were J. E .Rice, representing the
Franklin church, and Thompson
Brown, representing Morrison
church. Rev. J. A. Flanagan and
T. M. Slagle also attended, , but
were without voting authority.
Editorial Condemned
: "The headlight of ' the opening
session Tuesday," according to The
Asheville Times, "was the adop
(Continued on page four)
Co-op Poultry Sale
Set for Next Week
A cooperative car-lot poultry
sale will be held In Franklin
Monday and at Otto on Tues
day, it was announced yesterday
by F. S. Sloan, county farm
demonstration agent. Mr. Sloan
aid the following prices would
be paid:
Colored hens 12c
Leghorn hens 9c
Colored frys ............... 20c
Leghorn frys 18c
Roosters 5c
Ducks , 10c
Stags 10c
Geese , 5c
Turkey ISc
Eigi, per dot. ...1014c