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PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL INDEPENDENT
VOL. XL1X, NO. 42
FRANKLIN, N. C, THURSDAY, OCT. 18, 1934
$1.50 PER YEAR
JOINT SPEAKING
TOUR PLANNED
Republicans, Democrats
To Hold Debating
Campaign
Details of a joint speaking cam
paign between Democratic and Re
publican nominees for Macon coun
ty offices were worked out Thurs
day morning by the county exec
utive committee chairmen of the
two parties, Dr. W. A. Rogers,
Democrat, and Walter Dean, Re
publican. A challenge to a oint campaign
was given to the Republicans Sat
urday following a caucus of Demo
cratic leaders in the county court
house Friday night, at which time
the Democratic speaking tour plan
ned by the Young Democratic or
ganization was called off. It was
decided that greater interest could
be developed in the campaign and
larger crowds gotten out to hear
the candidates by a joint campaign
and the Democratic nominees, con
fident of their ability to state their
cause attractively, agreed that they
were willing to meet their oppon
ents in open forum.
Metiag .-Scheduled
A schedule of joint speakings to
carry the candidates into every
voting precinct, in the county was
mapped out by Dr. Rogers and
Mr. Dean. The schedule follows:
Monday, Oct. 22, Millshoal town
ship. Tuesday, Oct. 23, Higdonville
school in EHijay township.
Wednesday, Oct. 22, Pine
school in Sugarfork township.
Thursday, Oct. 25, Highlands
sAool.
riday, Oct. 26, Flats school.
Saturday, Oct. 27, Otto school in
Smith's Bridge township.
Monday, 'Oct. 29, Slagle school
in Cartoogechaye township.
Tuesday, Oct. 30, Aquone in
Nantahala No. 1.
Wednesday, Oct. 31, Otter Creek
school in Nantahala No. 2.
Thursday, Nov. 1, Burningtown
school.
Friday, Nov. 2, Cowee school.
Saturday, Nov. 3, courthouse in
Franklin.
All of the speakings in the coun
ty are to be at 7:30 p. m., except
the one in Franklin on Saturday,
Nov. 3, which is scheduled to start
at 1 :30 p. m.
The registration books were open
ed for new registrations last Satur
day and will remain open through
Saturday, October 23. The regis
trars will be at their polling places
in each precinct on Saturdays, but
they may accept registrations dur
ing the week if a person qualified
for voting applies for registration.
Persons already registered need not
do so again. Saturday, November
3, has been set aside for challenge
day, when any names appearing on
the registration books may be chal
lenged. School Fair To Be Held
Saturday Afternoon
The annual vocational fair of the
Franklin high school will be held
Saturday in the high school audi
torium and the public is invited
to attend between noon and 4
o'clock in the afternoon. Interest
ing exhibits for the fair are being
prepared by the agriculture and
home economics students under the
supervision of E. H. Meacham and
Miss Florence Stalcup, respective
teachers of the classes. Prizes for
the fair have been made possible
by the merchants of Franklin and
:i donation by the county commis
sioners. A list of the prizes, their
donors and winners will be publish
ed in nejt week's Press-Maconian.
KICKED BY HORSE
Robert Fulton of the Bethel com
munity was kicked in the stomach
by a horse Saturday. His con
dition was reported serious.
Petitions Circulated
To Keep Hands
MeDon or TVA?
AN EDITORIAL
Leaders in the movement to obtain signa
tures to petitions informing the Tennessee Valley
Authority that it is persona non grata in the be
nighted territory of the Nantahala Power and
Light company are doubtless motivated by good
intentions. Doubtless, too, the hundreds of in
dividuals who have signed these petitions have
done so in the sincere belief that it was all for
the best in this and future generations.
But we wonder how much the leaders in this
movement know about the purposes, plans and
policies of the TVA, and how much less they
know abput the purposes, plans and policies of
the Nantahala Power and Light company, a sub
sidiary of the Aluminum Corporation of America,
whose virtual monopoly has made untold millions
for Andrew Mellon.
Do they know that the Aluminum Corpora
tion of America is primarily interested in the
manufacture of aluminum? Do they know that
the main object of the Nantahala Power and
Light company is to develop current for the
manufacture of aluminum? Do they know that
the electricity retailed by the Nantahala com
pany is only a "drop in the bucket," to quote
Mr. J. E. S. Thorpe, Mellon missionary, as com
pared with its total output? Do they know that
the future development of the many undeveloped
hydro-electric properties, owned by the Mellon
interests in Western North Carolina will depend
largely upon increasing demand for aluminum?
We wonder if Mr. Thorpe could inform us
when this demand will be sufficient to warrant
construction of the Fontana d$m, the Needmore
dam, the Nantahala dam? As far as we know,
he has never- stated when, if ever, these dams
will be constructed.
The TVA has done nothing to obstruct com
pletion of the Nantahala project, upon which
much work already has been done. If the Mel
lon interests need more hydro-electric power, why
can't they proceed with the Nantahala dam in
stead of setting up a great howl about interfer
ence by the TVA in the Fontana basin?
It is very evident that the immediate need
for more power is not the cause of the Nantahala
Power Company's alarm. Officials of that com
pany, we venture to say, will admit that they
have more power than they need and that it will
be a long, long time before they will fully develop
all of their great holdings in this area.
Nevertheless, the petitions being circulated
contain a cleverly veiled inference but, mind you,
no promise that only the TVA's action in mak
ing two small land purchases in the Fontana bas
in is holding up construction work on this and
other hydro-electric projects of the Nantahala
company, The impression is unmistakably giv
en that if the TVA will get out and stay out of
this territory, the Mellon crowd will turn loose
millions of dollars on these projects, put thous
ands of men back to work and add many mil
lions of dollars to the taxable values of Macon,
Swain and Graham counties, whereas the TVA,
should it come into this territory, would greatly
diminish tax valuations, supplying nothing in its
place, and send taxes sky-high on all privately
owned property.
In areas where the TVA already has begun
its work local economic conditions have improved
greatly. Not only have electricity rates been
greatly reduced and many men put to work on
(Continued on Page Ten)
Urging TV A
Off Mellon Interests
Power Case
Petition
Here is a copy of one of the
petitions circulated in Franklin, to
gether with the signatures appear
ing thereon:
NORTH CAROLINA
MACON COUNTY
PETITION TO TENNESSEE
VALLEY AUTHORITY FROM
CITIZENS OF MACON COUN
TY, NORTH CAROLINA
Honorable Harold Ickes,
Secretary of Interior,
Washington, D. C.
The citizens of Macon County,
North Carolina, do hereby respect
fully call the attention of Tennessee
Valley Authority to certain con
ditions arisintr from the recent ac
tion of the Authority, in its
chases of land in the Fontana basin
of the Nantahala Power and Light
Company; which, in the opinion of
these citizens, will adversely affect
the interest of the county.
The company owns large areas of
xeservoir lands included in the
Nantahala and Needmore basins in
Macon County.
In 1930, the Company commenced
the construction of the Nantahala
Development and, before it sus
pended operations, had graded a
nine mile railroad from a connec
tion with the Southern Railroad to
the dam site at Aquone; had driv
en one and one-quarter miles of
a five-mile tunnel; had relocated
the government highway, taking it
out of the proposced basin; built
bridges and cofferdams, and acquir
ed more than ninety-five per cent
of the area needed for the develop
ment. In addition, it had completed
transmission lines for the transmis
sion of power from the site when
completed.
We, the citizens of Macon Coun
ty, are anxious to have the Com
pany resume construction and com
plete the development at an early
date, and also to continue its pur
chase of land for the acquisition of
the remaining area for the Need
more Development, so the construc
tion of it can be undertaken.
We look with disfavor upon any
action of our government, or its
agents, that would in any way ham
per or discourage the Company
from carrying out its plans to com
pletion. We have faith in the integrity
and ability of the Company to go
forward with its plans.
Macon County urgently needs
more taxable assets from which to
obtain revenue to meet its several
outstanding obligations.
We do not send this petition
with any intention of expressing
disfavor with the policies of TVA
as enunciated by President Roose
velt; or, as we understand, were
the intentions of Congress, when
it passed the act creating the Au
thority. Respectfully submitted,
Walter Dean, Chmn. Republican
Ex. Comm. Macon County; W. A.
Rogers, Chmn. Democratic Ex.
Com. Macon County; Walter Gib
son, E. W. Long, Gus Leach,
County commissioners; George B.
Patton, County attorney; C. T.
Bryson, register of deeds; Harley
R. Cabe, assistant clerk of superior
court; A. B. Slagle, sheriff; M. D.
Billings, county superintendent of
schools; J. Frank Ray, mayor,
Town of Franklin; R. D. Sisk,
member of board of aldermen; J.
H. Fouts, member of board of al
dermen; J. B. Pendergrass, mem
ber of board of aldermen; R. S.
Jones, town of Franklin attorney;
R. F. Henry, chief of police of
Franklin.
Highly Organized Cam
paign Launched in
. Three Counties
A highly organized campaign got
under way in Macon, Swain and
Graham counties this week to ob
tain signatures to petitions which,
in effect, call upon the Tennessee
Valley Authority to "play hands
off" in these counties.
The Press-Maconian was unable
to learn who started the movement
or who wrote the petitions, which
varied somewhat in their phrase
ology in each of the counties. It
did learn, however, that plans for
a campaign to get signers in Ma
con county were discussed at a
meeting in Franklin last week and
that J. S. Conley, local agent of
the Standard Oil Company of New
Jersey, was made chairman of the
committee to push the drive.
A statement emanating from
pur-'Bryson City, headquarters of the
Nantahala Power and Light com
pany, a subsidiary of the Melfcm
controlled Aluminum Corporation
of America, declared:
"It is understood that the Nan
tahala Power and Light company
is taking no active part in respect
to the origin or circulation of the
petitions."
Many Signers Reported
Circulation of the petitions be
gan in Franklin Tuesday or Wed
nesday. In Wednesday morning's
Asheville Citizen it was reported
that 2,000 signatures had been ob
tained in Macon county, 700 in
Graham and 800 in Swain county.
R. D. Sisk, Franklin attorney and
a member of the petition commit
tee, said it was planned to get at
least two-thirds of the voters in
this county to sign.
Mr. Sisk said two men had been
put to work circulating the peti
tions in each of the 11 townships
in this county and, upon investiga
tion, The Press-Maconian learned
that in many instances one was a
Democrat and the other a Republi
can. Some Circulators Hired
Asked whether anyone was being1
paid for their activities in the cam
paign Mr. Sisk replied:
"Well, nothing about money was
said to me. It is purely voluntary.
Yes, I did hear Jess Conley tell
some of the men carrying the pe
titions that he personally would see
that they were paid for their time."
It was reported that some of the
men had been promised $4 a day;
but this statement could not be
confirmed and it could not be as-
( Continued on Page Ten)
Artists Paint Scenes
In and Around Franklin
Mr. and Mrs. George Melville
Smith, of Chicago, and Dr. George
Lusk, of Wilmette, 111., have been
recent guests at Kelly's Tea Room.
Mr. Smith and Mr. Lusk are artists
and while here made a number of
crayon sketches and oil paintings,
including a crayon sketch of the
county courthouse which attracted
much attention among the guests
at the tea room. The visiitors were
delighted with the scenery here and
expressed a desire to return later
and paint other mountain scenes.
Betty Tippett Winner
In Baby Contest
Betty Jane Tippett, 2-year-old
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar
Tippett of Route 3, was one of the
babies winning a blue ribbon and
a large natural color reproduction
of a picture of her submitted in
the recent Sears, Roebuck baby
contest. Pictures of more than
100,000 babies were submitted said
to be the largest baby contest ever
held.