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THE FRANKLIN PRESS and THE HIGHLANDS MACON1AN
THURSDAY, OCT. 19, It
A Silent Autumn Movie
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Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press,
At Franklin, North Carolina
Telephone No. 24
VOL, XLIX Number 41
BLACKBURN W. JOHNSON ...EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
Entered at the Post Office, Franklin, N. C, as second class matter
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Obituary notices, cards of thanks, tributes of respect, by individuals,
lodges, churches, organizations or societies, will be regarded as adver
tising and inserted at regular classified advertising rates. Such notices
will be marked "adv." in compliance with the postal regulations.
The New Absentee Regulations
THE State Board of Elections has acted wisely
in prescribing regulations to prevent a recur
rence in November's election of abuses of the ab
sentee ballot law which in the past have caused
many unnecessary election rows and brought a
measure of disrepute on the state's election sys
tem. How effective the new regulations will prove
remains to be seen, and will depend to a large
degree on the honesty of election officials. Any
one who has studied the new provisions, how
ever, cannot help feel that on their face they
are sincerely motivated and well designed. Hence
forth a written application must be signed by a
voter before obtaining an absentee and local elec
tion officials are required to keep a record of all
absentee ballots issued. In voting an absentee
the voter is required not only to attach his signa
ture to a properly qualified absentee certificate,
but also to sign his or her name on the ballot
itself. Thus, a method is provided for keeping a
complete check on the voting of absentee ballots,
and should a dispute arise it can be justly settled.
A ballot may be challenged and, if found irreg
ular, cancelled. Furthermore, election officials
will be enabled to trace a bogus vote to its origin
and place responsibility for its slipping through
the election machinery.
It is sincerely to be hoped that these safe
guards will achieve their purpose; but if they
fail, there should be no excuse for continuation
of the system. The absentee ballot is fine in
theory, but the theory does not justify its con
tinued use unless it can be made practically operative.
Hooray for the Joint Campaign
TTHE candidates for office in Macon county have
decided to fight it out in the open. The Dem
ocrats have thrown down the gauntlet and the
Republicans, we are informed, have accepted the
challenge. Now in a few days the Democratic
nominees and the Republican dittos will appear
in public debate in various sections of the county.
All the voters will have an opportunity to hear
both sides of every political question, to say noth
ing of a lot of timeworn jokes and anecdotes.
As the world series is over and there is noth
ing else to detract the attention of the public,
the boys ought to draw pretty good crowds.
And, we believe, they will put on a good show.
We pay a lot of money for elections, so we might
as well get all the entertainment we can out of the
hustings. We doubt if anybody will prove any
thing other than the strength of one's lungs, but
nevertheless the joint campaign should prove
beneficial. Folks will have an opportunity to
get better acquainted with the various candidates.
Then, too, some of them might be pinned down
on a few important points upon which the public
would like to know their attitudes. But most
important of all, there will likely be far less hit
ting below the belt when the fighting is done in
the public view,
The Better Housing Program
IT IS NOT necessary to make a detailed, statistical survey to
determine that Macon County has its full share of homes, busi
ness buildings and farm structures badly in need of repairs and
modernization. It is all too obvious to a casual observer.
The reason for this state of affairs is very evident. Folks
just haven't had the money to make necessary repairs and im
provements and, furthermore, in the past few years there has
been no way to finance such work, even though one's credit might
be rated A-l.
Now, through the Federal Housing Act, means have been
provided for extending credit to worthy individuals whose property
needs repairing or justifies remodeling. Uncle Sam stands ready
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! Aort I I N
to help the community that is willing to help itself and do its
part in combatting the depression bogey by putting men hack to
work and dollars back into circulation.
If the people of Macon County individually and collectively,
will apply both their brain and their brawn to the Better Housing
Program, they can make their homes and their business houses
better places in which to live and work, and their county a com
munity in which they can take greater pride. Better homes
mean healthier, better children, and better communities mean
finer, better citizens.
Of course, credit is not offered heedless in this Better Hous
ing Program. It would be foolish to allow a man already heavily
burdened with debt to take on an additional load, to assume obli
gations for which there was no hope of repayment Before one
can borrow it must be ascertained that his taxes are paid, that
his mortgage is in good standing, that he is a good moral risk
and that he has an income sufficient to warrant the amount of
his loan. These provisions preclude loans to a number of proper
ty owners, but there are many others who are in position to
qualify. If those so situated will take advantage of their oppor
tunity, we do not believe they will ever regret it. Money spent
wisely on necessary repairs, even though it be borrowed money,
will prove an economy in the long run. And money lent wisely
for such a good cause will yield other profits in addition to in
terest That is why Uncle Sam has put his shoulder to this
wheel.
THROUGH
CAPITAL
KEYHOLES
BY BESS HINTON SILVER
EXPANDING'
Raleigh politicians see in Con
gressman R. L. Doughton's decis
ion to go afield outside his own
district to make campaign speeches
this fall further indication of his
desire to occupy the red leather
chair in the southwest office of the
State Capitol after Governor Eh-
ringhaus vacates it. Mr. Doughton
has not made a habit of campaign
ing outside his own playing field
in the nast. Some -of the dooers-
out think he wants to become per
sonally acquainted with more of
the natives in preparation for his
primary campaign in 1936.
JUICY PLUM-
The grapevine reports here that
Barber Towler, of Raleigh, has
notified Chas. H. Robertson that
he will resign his post with the
Internal Revenue Department, of
which N Mr. Robertson is head man
in North Carolina. Towler was one
of the many employes of the of
fice who were forced to move from
Raleigh to Greensboro when the
Fourth District's new Congressman
Harold D. Cooley was unable to
prevent removal of the office to
national committeeman C. L. Shup
ings home town. Mr. Towler's
resignation will leave a $3,600 a
year job open for some promising
Democrat.
TIT-FOR-TAT-
The General Assembly has been
annexing $1,000,000 each year from
taxes paid by people who use auto
mobiles and trucks for general
State expenditures. Now along
comes Uncle Sam and says if you
divert your highway funds we will
penalize you thirty per cent of
your federal aid road money. North
Carolina is to get about $3,000,000
per year in federal aid money dur
ing the next biennium and if the
diversion is continued the State
will lose a million bucks through
penalties each year. Which means
a loss of $2,000,000 in highway con
struction that can be obtained if
the one million iron men taken
from motorists are used on roads
and your Uncle Sammy comes
across with the full allocation for
this State.
GOOD STORY-r
Former Governor O. Max Gard
ener tells this one about Death
Row at State's Prison in Raleigh.
He said he received a note from
a doomed Negro reading: "Dear
Governor. I understand I am to
be electrocuted Friday and here it
is Tuesday yours very truly." He
did not disclose the man's name
but said he granted the prisoner a
thirty-day reprieve after receiving
the pathetic note. Governor Gard
ener was just that way.
ABSENTEE VOTING
The State Board of Elections got
an eyeful in recent investigations
of irregular absentee votinar in the
June primaries and now plans to
launch a campaign to cleanse the
system. The next session of the
Legislature is sure to witness stren
ous effort to repeal the absentee
ballot law and it is not at all cer
tain that the movement will fail.
especially as the law applies to
primaries. The 1933 session raised
a lot of dust in its war on ab
sentee voting but failed to get a
State-wide repealer approved, al
though many counties were exempt
ed upon insistence of their Sena
tors and Representatives.
LIVELY SCRAP-
Senators Paul Grady, of Johnson,
and Carl L. Bailey, of Washing
ton Counties, are staging intensive
campaigns for the post of Presi
dent Pro Tern of the 1935 Senate
with few persons drifting into the
Capital City willing to make any
predictions on the winner. Both
men were popular in the 1933 ses
sion and Capitol Knoll considers
either one of them excellent ma
terial for assistant to Lieutenant
Governor A. H. (Sandy) Graham
in presiding over the Upper House.
Senator Grady, as you remember,
has announced his intention of run
ning for Lieutenant Governor two
years hence.
HONORABLE MENTION
Thad Eure, of Hertford County,
principal clerk of the last session
and an announced candidate for
the post next January, has been
mentioned for more high State po
sitions than any other man since
Albermarle gave the State John
C. B. Ehringhaus as Governor
but mentioned is about all. Mr.
Eure has an inconspicuous post
with the escheates department of
the University at Chapel Hill but
almost every time a prominent and
lucrative State position is to be
filled, up pops the name of Thad
Eure. Mr. Eure finds it all slight
ly embarrasing to say the least.
JOB WAITING
An attache of the Federal Re
employment Office at Raleigh re
ports that he has a $1.10 an hour
job for a skilled carpenter that is
almost always begging for a man
to fill it. Plenty of carpenters are
available but they can't produce the
kind of "trim" work needed on the
job or are too old and too slow
for the contractor's close bid.- The
reemplyment department finds it
difficult to secure fast "trim" car
penters for contractors on PWA
projects.
SPEAKER
While most ear-to-the-ground
politicians deny they can find any
trace of partiality on the part of
Governor Ehringhaus in the race
for Speaker of the next House ses
sion now being run by Robert
Grady Johnson, of Pender, Laurie
McEachern, of Hoke, and W. L.
Lumpkin, of Franklin, other finger-"
in-the-pie boys testify they can
sense a nod of approval in the
direction of Johnson. If the Gov
ernor is pulling any strings for the
next Speakership. they are invisible
ones.
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