Newspapers / The Franklin Press and … / Oct. 26, 1933, edition 1 / Page 2
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PAGE TWO THE FRANKLIN PRESS and THE HIGHLANDS MACCHIAN TliUlwDAY, CCTCI mxit Published every Thursday by The Franklin' Press At Franklin, North Carolina Telephone No. 24 VOL. XL VII I BLACKBURN W. JOHNSON . . Entered at the Tost Office, Franklin, SUBSCRIPTION RATES One Year .. Six Months Single Copy WEEKLY-BIBLE-THOUGHT- "For he shall be great in the neither wine nor strong drink." A Wise Move DRKSIDKXT Roosevelt's executive order exempting small towns and villages from the provisions of the XRA was a wise move, one which should facili tate rather than hinder advancement of the national recoverv nrosrram. . . l o . . .- - Small towns have peculiar conditions. They can not be standardized like the larger towns and the great cities, for they have entirely different problems and their modes of living are even more variable than the topography of the country. ' . Strict ril"nrcpiii(jnt l" t lio in emrtll tfiwtm lutein uavv. i in.n i.iciuv wi i iiv. iii kii. mv.. iwa'. ii .VDukLhave.beeii-jdealJCtveri4r-Ulaffe4nhe4)untrv could have been raised to that is the ultimate aim of alas, this is impractical, if Some press reports say that the President's action was motivated by the "pressure of adverse farm sen timent." This, doubtless, had something to' do with his decision; but we hardly think this was his prin cipal motivating reason. Rather, we believe, the chief executive realized, after trial, that the XRA imposed a burden on small towns which was too heavy for most of them to carry. He must have come to be lieve that, after all, the best' way to influence con ditions in the smaller communities is through the in direct effect. which the recovery program in the more densely populated areas rural sections. It would be a fine thing could pay the wages advocated -by -the -XRA, but to do this would mean bankruptcy or else the employ ment ni fewer oersons -for manv of them. -Certainly this would not serve the It is to be hoped, : .'however, that although small t own; e m p 1 o ve r s ha v e be en . 1 Ml . .... iney win coiiiniuc to i(miim, a iu i pumijil-, vvmi tYin cnint- .I tui i-ui'iinrv An Opportunity Worth Taking ' THE Press-Maconiaiv is strong! v opposed to the is suance of unnecessary bonds: but, after careful investigation, this newspaper has decided that the Town of Franklin would portunity if it should fail plan for financing long needed public improvements through the federal Public Under the plan proffered by the Public Works agencv, the federal government will make an outright grant of 30 per cent of the of approved public projects. I he rest ol the -money advanced will be secured - bonds, -What better -financing-cfHiUPbe-obtained ? ri.Z. Of co u r se, . i t . . vv o u h ll )ef uuli sh -4 1 a cce t a -1 oa n even on this basis if the iniprovemeiits were not iiirrrA Rut . FnnL-1 i nc irclv- i wol - ' i "1 1 1 rv;i 1 JIVVVIV.11. 111 t I 1 UI1IM ill .'.'iv- i i v v 1 ..' i'v n U,S .iii'v.'iii plant; in fact, the state board of health probably will require the installation of such a plant within the next few years. The town's streets are in miserable condition; repairs cannot long be avoided. Engineers have informed town authorities that in all likelihood they will have' to look for a new source of water sup ply if the town grows. The two wells which now furnish us with water would be insufficient for a larg er population. Then, too. mountain wells, the engi neers say, have a way of exhausting' themselves. Per haps one of the most needed -improvements is larger water mains, which not only would afford better ser vice to consumers, but also would improve fire pro tection tacuities and pave the way lor lower insurance rates. Would it not be wise to take' advantage of the Public Works financing plan, rather than to wait 'several .years .and issue bonds bearing higher interest rates? Would it not be better to do this work now, before the cost of materials reaches its peak? Would n't it be better-to , spend thisjnoiicy now, when em ployment is sorely needed by hundreds of our citizens? Furthermore, we are ""reliably" informed, there is a strong probability thai if the Ioavii kdls bonds to the Public Works commission it will never have to pay them back, at least not in full. Officials of the North Carolina Public Works board intimated ibis as forc ibly as they could, without -making a .direel promise, in explaining how to obtain loans to a group of county and town officials meeting recently in Aslie ville. In all likelihood the federal government will assume responsibility for the bonds after the national recovery program-has achieved its purpose. , Number 4.5 .EDITOR AND PUBLISHER N. C, as second .class-matter. $1.50 .75 .05 tight of the Lord, and shall drink Luke 1:15. the hidi standard of living the recovery program ; but. not impossible. . will eventually have .on the if small town employers aims of the program. cxcmpi ed -lronf the X Ri i r J 4 i L 1irii(ri"nn be missing a marvelous op to take advantage of the Works commission. cost of labor and materials on four per cent long term The Prohibition Forum Be Sure To Register T'HEdate' of -tfie Eighteenth Amendment referen dum in North Carolina is drawing near and, let us remind our readers, Saturday is the last day for unregistered. 'voters to qualify. On that day the reg istrars ' be at their appointed places to list new voters. There is no need for those already registered to do so again; but all who are interested in the pro hibition problem who are not registered should not fail to appear before a registrar on Saturday. Occasionally one hears some voter comment that he will. remain away from the polls. Such' an attitude is difficult to defend. Certainly, ihe man who re fuses to take the trouble to vote his convictions -should-not-eomplain-about- It is a clean-cut issue and rove a true reflection of no post-election alibis. For Repeal BY BLACKBURN W. JOHNSON O EORGE J. Burnette, on the paid propagandists of the pro hibition forces in North Carolina, made votes for repeal at the dry rally held in the Macon county courthouse Wednesday afternoon. A few more addresses like the one Mr. Burnette delivered .and Macon county will go overwhelmingly wet. No anti-prohibition orator the re- pealists-xould bringhcTTwould serve their cause better than did the -arid .gentleman from Raleigh. It is too bad for the drys that their principal scheduled speaker, Dr. Zeno Wall, of Shelby, failed to appear,, for he might have saved the day. We understand he is a good speaker; but even the mighty Clyde Hoey, he of the long-tail coat and medicine man haircut would have found it difficult to smooth over the blunders of Mr. Burnette. Evidently the Raleigh propagan dist thought he was speaking in a rampant Republican community, for he lambasted the Democratic party and its leaders without restraint. When he made the utterly baseless charge that the government at' Washington was being Tammany ized we fancied Alex Moore,' head of the anti-repeal fight in Macon county, turned just a little bit red der and squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. " ,' The speaker ripped North Caro lina's two senators. Aipihe. back. lor their declarations and predicted they - would be defeated when they come up for reelection. - tfsA Baselew Charge His sta tement s were so rash th a t even a dry zealot would have dif ficulty, in accepting, them.. For in stance, he charged that the press of the. nation was subsidized by the brewery and distillery interests. Such a statement is utterly base less on the face of it. Imagine trying to bribe the thousands of newspapers and periodicals of this country i to change their editorial viewpoint! In the first place,' it just couldn't be done. In the sec ond place, the wet interests know that "bought opinion" loses its in fluence and is practically worth less. In the third place, it would require billions, not just millions, of dollars, far mure than the brew ers and the' distillers would be willing to advance. Newspaper opinion is molded, not by.-.editors, -but by- readers.-- I f - a newspaiu'r fails tn reflect the opin ion of its"i-1icntc1Ie"itwon goes ,out of business. Yes, a newspaper canJ)dulea(L4ublicjopiuian.;.but it cannot consistently go against it. The reason why a majority of the press of the nation is wet is that a majority of the readers of the nation are wet. One charge Mr. Burnette made in his address, we' challenge him to prove. He made the flat state ment that Arthur Brisbane, whose syndicated column appears in hun dreds of newspapers throughout the country, had been paid "a cool five hundred thousand dollars by the brewery interests to color his writings" in favor of repeal. That is an allegation, which unless prov ed, constitutes a slander, a libel. The speaker said he could prove his charge, hut he failed to do so. Such an accusation, made without giving supporting evidence, mani fests an utter, disregard for truth aod fair dealings. Let Mr. Burnette produce the proof, if he values his honor. Against BY MRS. J. W. C. JOHNSON T1IF record of crime and cor ruption in connection with en forcement and lack of enforcement of prohibition laws, cited in last Week's editorial in favor of repeal, is a s;ul chapter in our nation's history. But brought forward as an excuse for repeal, we believe I tu-re word is (insufficient ground. The "excuse" is used advisedly, because corrupt and insincere of- tieers of the law and crimes com mitted by such officers cannot con stitute a sufficient reason for .re peal of any law. the outcome.1 the election count should public opinion. Let's have The editor of this newspaper holds noi brief for Arthur Brisbane; but we feel we would be derelict in our duty and out respect for the "Fourth Estate" to' allow such an accusation to go unchallenged. . It is against the law for a news paper or a newspaper man. to sell its or his influence, except through the medium of paid advertising. If any newspaper, or newspaper man hairicen -subsidized' byihe-wet-in terests, the drys have means of prosecut.ingjtMther.or. both in the courts. But we have not heard of a single conviction in this connec tion. Certainly, if the press is so widely subsidized as the paid pro hibition propagandists would have us believe, they could bring at least a few of the offenders to bar. The fact is, we believe with good reason, that the drys are 'far more highly organized than, the wets, and are spending considerably more money. Any newspaper editor will tell you that lie receives two or three times as much propaganda, in the form of press releases, from the United Dry Forces, the Metho dist Board of Temperance and Morals and other prohibition agen cies than he does from repeal or ganizations. The United Dry Forces have a number of paid speakers going about the state addressing mass meetings, - but -we- know;-ot not - a single man who is paid to make addresses for repeal. - 'Against Re- peal Column," our friend, the Pres byterian . parson, takes us. to task for .the. statement.. we. recently made in this 'column to the effect that when the drys run out of argu ments in defense of their cause thev Usually . begin "prating of idealism and righteousness." He seems tn have gotten the opinion that we do not value' these sterling qualities; but we must remind him that we expressed no such view. What we did say was that the wets seemed to think they had a "mo nopoly on these worthy attributes." And, too, we cannot refrain from saying that many of the drys con fuse "righteousness" and "self righteousness," which arc entirely different. We also repeat that "idealism" without -realisin'' isn't nvorth much It takes .practical realism to make idealism effective. The . trouble with the' prohibitionists is they re fuse to face- the-facts Like-ostriches, they hide their heads in the sand. They still hope vainly that prohibition can be made suc cessful, despite the fact that it has proved a miserable failure for twelve long years. Wisdom lies in recognizing error before it is too late to correct it. . Thank goodness, the majority of American nun and women possess this ability. Alter a fair trial, they have come to realize that, the "noble experiment" has proved an ignoble failure and that it is time to try other means .of coping with the - liquor problem' and promoting temperance. By the million in all sections of the country, sincere men and women, earnestly desirous of remedy inn the present situation and bettering conditions, are vot ing to do away with the present ing to do away with the present j system so that a new and more practical one may be tried. Repeal The situation existing in Albany, New Vork.'orany other large city, where police go through the pre tence of enforcement once ever so often, but "wink at" the break ing of the law is not a reason' for. repeal of the national prohi bition law. Police are known to "wink at"" the breaking of other. laws. And, in the case of the Republic an politician, who was personally dry because he "had to stand bv his party's platform," but invited his friends to liquor parties where he dispensed a famous brand made by his father's distillery being lat er appointed to direct the national enforcement agency (with the aid, presumably, of his father's liquor) we see, not a good citizen gone wrong, but a corrupt politician ex ploiting a high office. In Defense of Police The fact that policemen sample seized liquor cannot be advanced as a reason for repeal. Policemen are only human, and many have a thirst. We remember, however, one noble gesture by a group of policemen, that we must cite to the credit of policemen in general. The incident occurred in Gastonia about ten years ago, and is related here to "point a moral and adorn a tale." When our son Billy, then ten years old, heard his father tell how he had just witnessed the pouring of 75 gallons of corn liquor into the sewer on Main Street by the police department. Billy, try ing to grasp the significance of this action, inquired, "Father, do people ever drink corn liquor?" Perhaps there are those of us who still admit cherishing the dream of a corn-liquorless world, when not only one little boy, but many, could grow to be ten years old without even knowing that 'people ever drank corn 'liquor.' It has been suggested by a good citizen of Franklin that a woman's voice against repeal is "futile." Some of - us can remember when the passage of the 18th amendment was considered so .impossible that any effort supporting it was re garded as futile. We can remember when the fight for equal suffrage was thought to be worse than futile by all save a few courageous women who even tually . led th e fo rlorn h ope to v 3c tory in the lth amendment to the constitution. There was a time when any op position to the institution of slav ery was thought (utile by wise men. A Salutary Effort Far from being futile, we judge an articulate and intelligent opio sition to so serious ' a proposition as nullifying a constitutional amend ment to- be most salutary at this time. - ' ' While we are receiving assur ances from many who will vote against repeal that they are voting for "temperance" and "law enforce ment,", we believe that a strong stand taken now by those oppos ing repeal will have a tremendously wholesome "psychological effect" upon unchastened repcalists. The buga-boo of the politician will not be entirely removed when liquor flows freely and legally, once more. There will be, we -venture to -predict," an uncomfortably large part of any constituency who will not forget that less boot-legging, less jriTfkiTigTIless crime, are promised "after repeal Those who doubt- the efficacy of repeal to bring about the improve ment in morals and social condi tions promised by the repcalists, would do well during the next few weeks to roll up as large a vote as possible against repeal. It will stiffen the backbones of the pow ers that be to live more nearly up to their pledges to the people, and will help all tbose sincerely desir ing a strong public opinion, back of their efforts. While pleading guilty to the al legation of "idealism," we rejoice to acknowledge that the anti-re-pealists have not a monopoly on that virtue. Still, we deem it wise for the opponents of repeal to register siif ficent "realism" by going to the polls and - voting-theirennvictions. Do not place too much faith and trust in the idealism voiced by proments- of repeal. The Prohibition T-'orum, The Franklin Press. 1 would like space in your col umns for a few comments on the situation that confronts us, and a word in answer to some of the arguments advanced by the repcal ists. 1 want to begin by "prating of idealism and righteousness" and as sure our editor "For Repeal" that 1 am for both of these as strongly as I know how - to" be, for "where there is no vision,, the people per isheth," and righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." I do not know that God is on the side of the prohibition forces, but I do know that lie is NOT on the side of the forces that would license alcohol and turn it loose upon a people who do not know how to control it. He is NOT on the side of a nation that would go in-to the liquor business in -order that it might prey-upon the weak nesses and indulgences of its people,- lie is NOT on- the side of a nation that would relieve the in come taxes of its richer citizens in order that the citizens of mod erate means might assume these taxes. There is no place in all of God's Woul, so far as I know, that He ever placed His stamp of approval upon liquor in any form, but He does pronounce tVe direst warn ings to those who would "tarry long at the wine." His Word to ! them is WOE! WOK! WOE! And any nation that will make it easier for men to drink than to stay JUST HUMANS ;. "zS. :iv "Wher Are Y'runnin' To , "Home to Get th' Money sober is assured of God's disapprov al... "..:'':.".'..,. ' Junsmmtrhr for -thatT-f "wanted to speak more directly to some of the arguments -of the repcalists, and toi. consider what. I believe. to be their best arguments. The argument most used and for which the repcalists have the best statistics on their side, is that there is more crime under prohi bition than previously.. The anti repealists grant this. But we would remind you that there was a World War, which closed in 1918. No nation has ever been able to sow the seeds of malice, and hatred, and ill-will without reaping the harvests of murder, and homicides, and every other form of corrup tion. The crime of today is the backwash of the great World con flict. If this were . a valid argu ment, we would find the crime wave appearing only in the United States. But the other nations of the earth have felt the same thing. It has been equally true in Can ada, in England, in France, as well as in the U. S. j Tbis crime wave has always - been the - after math of any great conflict. And those of us who have given the matter any thought,- are - grateful to Almighty' God that we had pro hibit foTrartcaT?rTSHrallyf fcrtiv-F, in these days. Who can visualize what might have happened in this country if alcohol had been allow ed to - flow in unmeasured quanti ties throughout our land? The second argument which the repcalists use, is that there is more liquor in the land today than ever was known in the old days; Those who say this arc unwilling to ac cept the available figures. In pre prohibition days, according to gov ernment figures, the per capita consumption of alcohol was 22.4 gallons, or an average of more than 112 gallons per family. Un der prohibition the estimate has been made (about the only ,ig ures I have are those of the Wickersham report which you quot ed Jast jvcck)..lhat probably -25. to 30 gallons, per family was being used today. - This would mean that prohibition Was .75 per cent to 80 per cent effective. And this is ap proximately teh figure "given by'the Salvation Army, the Associated Charities,' and other relief organ izations, who perhaps have a bet ter chance of learning the actual facts as to the effect of prohi bition upon the land. They deal with the actual cases, and keep records from which to draw their conclusions. In 1908, there was one retailer for each 333 persons, one for each 7-t families, with a drink bill three times that of our national school bill, and twice that of the Federal government. If this argument were true, Why do the government figures show that the deaths from alcohol drop ped from 5.2 per 1(X,000 to 1.0, in face of the fact that the report is that the liquor of today is far in ferior to that of the old days,? While, mi the other hand, in the states where the law has no co operation froni slate officials, the deaths from alcoholism are 116. per cent greater than in stales having conperaiton.-- iV: S. Census le porl & Vote Record). And further, if this argument is valid, why has the number of Keel ey Institutes decreased from 08 to 12, and the Neal Institutes from more than 100 to non-eiistence ? You set forth in your columns that in the state of North Carolina "thousands of men and women have been treated for -alcoholism in (In state institutions for . the insane," I challenge that statement. I am told by some of the doctors thai our hospital has only a very small space reserved for these cases and that only a very few can be and are cared for there. (I am get- Oy GEN'S CAna Y'broke My Window!'; T'pay For. It!; ting additional figures on this point.) Ahother 'argument being used by the tepealists, is that there will ' be less b(xitlegging under the li censed system than under prohi bition. No one can say what shall be. We don't know. We only know what has been and what' is, . and the records of the past and present are absolutely opposed to this" argument. U was not true in South Carolina, my native state, under the dispensary system. I can remember the . time that, in an , adjoining community to my own, t,he pastor of the' church in that community made the state ment from his pulpit) that he was informed that there were 13 stills in operation within -a mile radius of the. church, and that he had had pointed out to. him the smoke from five stills in operation, by a respectable and truthful member of that community. My uncle was for many years the state constable in the upper part of South Carolina, and I can still remember his la bors in the .. destruction of stills and arrests of bootleggers. The reports from the Canadian system ibuiot:beatj3Ut this , argument, Jut ; report rather, that bootlegging has increased. And why should there not be an increase? A bootlegger who, cannot make and sell his wares for less - than the proposed -tax upon whiskey is not efficient and deserv es no sympathy from anyone. -The repeafists are deluding themselves with the same misconception that ensnared the -prohibitionists after they had secured the passage of the prohibition law namely, that all that is necessary for the en forcement and success of a law is simply to have it placed upon the statute books, and people will obey. That is a snare and a delusion. I am with the repcalists in say ing that T do not believe that we have found (he best and most ef fective means of controlling Demon Alcohol, but I do believe that we have the best that has as yet been discovered,.' and that untiL tire., re-, pealists or someone else offers a I better one, 1 am going to vote to retain-the prohibition law. Yours sincerely, J. A. FLANAGAN. Baptist Church Notes BY REV. EUGENE R. ELLER . Sunday school will meet at 9 :45. A special offering for state mis sions will be taken. All who did not come prepared for this offer ing last Sunday, please try to do so this Sunday. We have an im portant lesson Sunday on the great subject of temperance. All teaehi ers are urged to work for 100 per cent attendance on the part of their pupils. The morning worship will meet at 11. The pastor will preach on Hie subject, "A Great Crisis Fac ing Our State;" text, "He that bid deth him 'Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds" 2 John:ll. Those attending the Macon Coun ty Singing Convention are most cordially invited to attend the 11 o'clock service, also the evening service at 8. The B. .Y. P. U.'s will meet at 7 and I he evening worship will be al 8. The pastor's subject , for the evening will be, "Jesus ' On the Cross." . . . wmri . ' .- Extension Circular No. 34 on "Killing and Curing Meat on the harm is now ready for distribu tion and -copies may be obtained by writing the Division of Publica tions, btate College, Raleigh.
The Franklin Press and the Highlands Maconian (Franklin, N.C.)
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Oct. 26, 1933, edition 1
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