PAGE TWO
THE FRANKLIN PRESS and THE HIGHLANDS MACON IAN
THURSDAY, SEPT. 13, 1934
AGAIN, the chase is on
by A. B. Chapin
kt pigbkttits Mattxttinn
Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press
At Franklin, North Carolina
Telephone No. 24
VOL. XLIX Number 37
BLACKBURN W. JOHNSON EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
Entered at the Post Office, Franklin, N. C, as second class matter
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Who Are the Capitalists?
PAPITALISTS who are they ? We often hear
the word applied as an anathema and, doubtless,
some capitalists deserve a cussing in even stronger
language. But let us see who and how many capital
ists there are.
It has been said that everybody who has a dollar
not in use or an interest in any kind of tangible
wealth is, to some degree, a capitalist. There are ten
million individual stockholders all capitalists in one
sense of the word in the 9,000 corporations whose
shares are traded on the public exchanges. Eight
million individuals own government or corporate
bonds. Twenty-odd million persons have life insur
ance policies. Eleven million Americans own shares
in building and loan associations. More than twenty
million people own automobiles. Two millioii families
own their homes free and clear and two and a half
millions own mortgaged homes. There are six mil
lion individual farm owners and fifty-three million
persons who have savings bank deposits.
Of course, some of these groups overlap; but the
total of capitalists runs into many millions, including
the two and a half millions who paid income taxes in
1933. In view of this, there is not much danger of
extreme radicals persuading the folks of this country
to abandon the capitalistic system.
"It is not the system that is at fault," Josephus
Darnels once remarked. "The trouble lies in the abuse
of the system."
And, thanks to Mr. Roosevelt, many of the abuses
are now being corrected.
Social Insurance
W7E read a great deal these days about plans for
what is generally called "social insurance." Un
der that heading are included all sorts of schemes
for health insurance, unemployment insurance, acci
dent insurance, widow insurance and maternity in
surance, as well as old age insurance. None of the
plans seems to have been worked out very fully as
yet. Most or all of them involve contributions by the
state or Federal government. Some apply only to in
dustrial workers, some do not discriminate between
one class and another. Some have provisions for con
tributions to the insurance funds by the workers
themselves, or by employers, or both, and some would
have Government take care of everybody.
The subject is very much alive just now, and we
have no doubt that vigorous efforts will be made this
coming Winter to get some legislation for the Federal
assumption of some degree of responsibility for some
of these projects. It seems to us to be something to
be looked into very carefully.
The most interesting of all the old-age insurance
schemes of which we have heard originates, like so
many other social innovations, in California. Dr. F.
E. Townsend of Long Beach, a retired physician, first
broached the idea of having every person over 60
years old, whether in want or not, receive a pension
of $200 a month from the Federal government. The
idea has caught on like wildfire, and .organizations
have been set up in twenty states, we understand, to
get signers to a great petition to Congress for such
legislation.
As there are about 10,000,000 persons over 60 in
the United States, and the proportion of elderly peo
ple is increasing, this would mean about two billion
dollars a month or twenty-four billions a year, to be
provided out of tax income. But the advocates of
the plan have attached to it a provision that the whole
$200 must be spent each month, and contend that put
ting so much money into circulation would imme
diately restore prosperitv and make it no burden at
all.
If that theory is right, why not go the whole hog
and make it $1,000 a month? Selected.
I
THROUGH
CAPITAL
KEYHOLES
BY BESS HINTON SILVER
HIGHWAY ENGINEER-
By the time you read this the
State Highway and Public Works
Commission, with approval of Gov
ernor Ehringhaus, who really does
the picking, may have named a
chief engineer to succeed the late
John Waldrop. It's a closely guard
ed secret of the Executive Offices
but Charles Upham is the man the
Governor first selected. Upham,
who held the chief engineer's, post
several years ago, now has a more
lucrative position in Washington.
Yet he was interested enough to
make a visit to Raleigh to discuss
the proposition and the administra
tion is hopeful he will accept. He
is an engineer of national reputa
tion and if the Governor can get
him back to North Carolina it will
be a ten-strike for J. C. B. E.
VANISHED HOPE-
One of Governor Ehringhaus'
idealistic ambitions was to be Gov
ernor of North Carolina without
having to call out the military to
preserve order in industrial warfare.
The day the Flying Squadron of
strikers was making things hot in
this State the Governor was sweat
ing blood. To call or not to call
troops was the big question. He
delayed until the roving bands of
strikers forced his hand and then
issued the call that dashed his hope
of becoming a troopless Governor.
The textiie strike has caused more
than a little official headaches in
North Carolina.
JEFFRESS
The State Capital has been much
disturbed by the critical illness of
E. B. Jeffress, chairman of the
highway system His position is al
most that of a second Governor, so
vast is the highway and prison
system as so great is the annual
expenditure of more than $10,000,000
outside of debt payments. It's a
key position and one that's hard to
fill for the simple reason that men
shouldering similar responsibility in
the financial or industrial worlds
usually get three times the nav of
l the highway chairman. The wrong
man might easily enrich himself
and wreck the administration and
the State.
CONSTITUTION-
It looks like the issue of the
proposed revised constitution for
North Carolina is going to be
fought out on partisan political
lines. The line-up of proponents
and opponents is almost identical
with that in the Ehringhaus-Foun-tain
gubernatorial campaign in 1932.
Make your own comparisons in
your own community.
AUTO TAGS-
The movement to lower the cost
of automobile license tags is almost
certain to get away to a good start
in General Assembly next January.
But it will have a lot of hurtles to
clear. Strong sentiment in some
quarters for further diversion of
highway funds will bring pressure
on the lawmakers and thousands of
North Carolina motorists want their
roads put in better condition. If(
diversion comes it will make lower
license tags and -better roads more
difficult. . The finest cow can be
milked dry.
ON THE JUMP
About the busiest person in Ral
eigh during the past week wasj
Miss Mamie Turner, chief clerk in i
the Governor's office. What with
strikes and appointments and Char
les Powell, private secretary away!
on vacation Miss Mamie was kept!
on the hop, skip and jump by
scores of telephone calls and tele-!
grams daily. Ben, the colored jan
itor was also away on Vacation and
Miss Mamie was doing the errands
to boot. Having served under five
different Governors Miss Turner is
one of the most widely known
women in North Carolina.
FORESIGHT
Some Tar Heel political iprognos
ticators read in the stars) further
indication that Governor Ehring
haus intends to oppose Senator Jos
iah Bailey in the Governor's ap
pointment of his personal friend
Harry McMullan as Chairman of
the Industrial Commission to suc
ceed Major Matt H. Allen who re
signed. These astrologers point out
that if Mr. Ehringhaus had elevat
ed Dewey Dorsett, representative of
capital on the Commission, labor
would have been offended. By the
same token, promotion of T. A.
Wilson, labor's representative, would
have offended capital. By naming
an outsider as chairman the Gov
ernor may have disappointed both
groups but neither can be offended.
Figure it out for yourself.
FLASH
Tarn C. Bowie, the perenial Rep
resentative from Ashe county and
considered a threat in the 1936
gubernatorial race, is telling his
close friends that he has made un
his mind not to move to Raleigh'
for four years and will support,
Lougressman K. L Doughton
(Farmer Bob) if the latter wants
to be the next Governor of North
Carolina. Mr. Bowie expresses con
fidence that he could be the next
occupant of the Mansion on Blount
street, Raleigh, but says he enjoys
his own home enough. His burn
ing desire is to control the 1935
session of the General Assembly.
He didn't control the last one but
he was a man to be reckoned
with.
DOUGHTON-
There is no longer any doubt in
Raleigh that Congressman Dough
ton now intends to be a candidate
for Governor in 1936. The Capitol
Hill fortune-tellers have discovered
a couple of reasons for this and
both can be classified under the
word "pressure." First, the grape
vine reports, there is super-pressure
from people who would like to see
him out as chairman of the power
ful House Ways and Means Com
mittee that writes the nation's tax
laws. Next, there is a strong
group that wants to see in the
next Governor a man who has not
been mixed up in State politics in
recent years. That's powerful com
bination. Capitol Hill believes that
if Mr. Doughton doesn't run for
Governor it will be because of
something yet to happen.
PERSONAL MAGNETISM
Senator Robert Rice Reynolds is
one politician who plays the game
according to his own rules. Last
fall when everybody in North Caro
lina was on one side or the other
of the repeal fence the Junior Sen
ator took off for a European tour.
This fall when the proposed revised
constitution for North Carolina is
dividing political lines sharply Sen
ator Reynolds is off for a trip to
Mexico to study the tourist traffic.
It's a known fact that the other
politicians didn't help Mr. Reynolds
swamp former Senator Cam Mor
rison in 1932 and apparently he
thinks that there is little to be
gained from affiliation with fac
tions. Senator Reynolds' ability to
attract votes has long been the en
vy of many a North Carolina as
pirant for public office.
DOESNT LIKE ITr-
Close friends of Lieutenant Gov
ernor A. H. (Sandy) Graham report
that he is not carried away with
the suggestion that he run for At
torney General against the present
legal head-man Dennis G. Brummit
instead of opposing Clyde R. Hoey,
of Shelby, or Congressman Dough
ton for Governor in 1936. Some of
his closest friends believe that Mr.
Graham has already made up his
mind to run for Governor or break
a trace. They are not so sure of
the outcome of a race between the
Lieutenant Governor and the two
gentlemen mentioned.
When you are boiling potatoes,
add salt to them when they are
nearly done and you'll prevent them
from going to pieces and make
them lighter and fluffier.