PAGE TWO i
THE FRANKLIN PRESS and lHE HIGHLANDS MACONIAN
THURSDAY, JULY 1. IMS
tat
ON THE GASOLBC
O and
Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press
At Franklin, North Carolina
Telephone No'.'2f
Number 29
BLACKBURN W. JOHNSON. .. EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
I t II ' , 1 1 i i ! '
Enttrrfcd at thfr Post Office, Franklin, N. C, as second class matter
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An Explanation for Senator Bailey
HE following letter, dated July 12, 1935, was received
this week from Senator J. W. Bailey:
have read your editorial entitled 'Another Vic
Hoty for the Power Interests.'
'promptly upon finding that the appropriation
-x: for building the Hiawassee Dam had not been in
deluded in the House Bill, I appeared with Mr. Weaver,
.-Mr. Reynolds and one or two others, before the Sub
. Committee of the Appropriations Committee in the
t Senate, -and I have assurances that the Hiawassee
t Dam has .been included in the report of the Com
mittee; and I think when the seeond Deficiency Bill
shall pss,, t)iis project will be properly provided for.
. .Tail very greatly interested in it and am doing all
I, can. You are entirely mistaken about my stand
here. You imply that there is some opposition by
-me to TVA. I voted for TVA on every occasion and
Tarn now trying to get it extended into North Caro-
Jina."
v We are happy to acknowledge this letter and are glad
of the opportunity to congratulate the senior North Caro
lina; senator on his stand in regard to TVA. We are ex
tremely sorry that he misinterpreted our editorial, "An
other Victory for the Power Interests," as an accusa
tion that, he had not stood by the administration's pro
gram for development of the Tennessee Valley, and we
sincerely hope that none of -our other readers received
this impression. We did not state or intend to infer
that Mr. Bailey , had not supported TVA legislation. Let
lis clear the atmosphere by quoting a paragraph from
the editorial referred to:
"Congressman Zebulon Weaver of this district, . who only a
1 few weeks1 ago sponsored legislation directing the Tennessee
Valley Authority to play hands off in areas such as Macon,
! Swain- and Graham counties, where the Mellon-controlled Alumi
num Corporation of America owns hydro-electric properties,
manifested- surprise and concern when he learned that the
Hiawassee Dam appropriation had been killed in committee.
.. Now, with the aid of Senators Reynolds and Bailey, he is en
' ' deavoring to have this appropriation restored in the Senate.
-But .neither of North Carolina's senators has been wholehearted
ly in support of the Roosevelt program to bring the power
companies under proper control, and many of their constituents
are wondering how effectively they will go to bat for it in this
particular instance."
In making this statement we had in mind, not the
record of the two' North Carolina senators on TVA meas
ures, but how they voted on legislation to abolish "un
necessary" public utility holding companies. The Wheeler
Rayburn Bill, with the "death sentence" clause included,
was, in our humble judgment, equally as important as the
TVA in the administration's program to put the big
utility companies in their proper place. The power com
panies have fought it tooth and nail and, unless the
situation changes in the House of 'Representatives, it
looks as if they have succeeded in defeating the purpose
of the bill.
Press dispatches from Washington stated that both
Senators Bailey and Reynolds supported the Dieterich and
Lonergan amendments to the Wheeler-Rayburn bill,
amendments whieh the administration strenuously op
posed as they would have virtually emasculated the bill.
The amendments were defeated by the barest of margins
and the bill itself was passed, 56 to 32. Senator Rey
nolds voted in opposition, stating later: "When I take
a side I go the whole, hog." Senator Bailey voted for the
bill; but prior to the final vote he supported the amend
ments which evoked from President Roosevelt a pencilled
note holding them "contrary" to his recommendations.
In view of this, we think we were justified in our state
ment that "neither of the North Carolina senators has
been wholeheartedly in support of the Roosevelt program
to bring the power companies under proper control."
There has been so much erroneous information dis
seminated by press agents, so much pressure brought to
bear by lobbyists at home as well as in Washington
that we are not surprised that congressmen and sena
tors experience considerable difficulty in determining the
desires of their constituencies in regard to holding com
pany and TVA legislation, or, for that matter, in ar
riving at their own conclusions as to the merits of such
legislation. As General .Johnson, of NRA fame, might
put it, "the Jiir is filled with dead cats."
It is encouraging to know that a busy man like Sena
tor Bailey has his ear so close to the ground, or his eye
so close on the newspapers, that an editorial in a com
paratively obscure weekly newspaper has attracted his
attention. We feel flattered; but what pleases us most is
that he certainly must be on the job. He has his finger
on the pulse, of the folks back home. He may be. fooled
sometimes ; the best are. But he won't be fooled for long. ,
Though we may differ with Mr. Bailey on some things,
ATiue
BAD Jjfcj
CUT TO TU'
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iMJ'DOTUtt;
ilOW. IAY IDEA IS
lb HEAP HOtflW WEST
WttERE THE
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TO PRNE UP
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we have long been one of his admirers and supporters.
We wish there were more lawmakers like him in
Washington. If they will follow his example and keep
close contact with the people back home, lending their
ears to the voters instead of to lobbyists, they, as the
sailors of old, will be less likely to be led to destruction
by the wails of the sirens. And, what is more impor
tant, we will have government more representative of the
will of the people.
Story
eV Calib Johnson
THIRTEEN FREE AND INDEPENDENT NATIONS
WHEN we start to study any
thing, we must begin at the
beginning. The Constitution of the
United States begins with a Pre
amble. A Preamble is intended to
explain the purpose of what fol
lows. The Preamble to our Con
stitution does that in 52 words.
"We, the people of the United
States, in order to form a more
perfect Union, establish justice, in
sure domestic tranquility, provide
for the common defence, promote
the general welfare, and secure the
blessings of liberty to ourselves and
our posterity, do ordain and estab
lish this CONSTITUTION for the
United States of America."
That explains what the Constitu
tion was expected to do. It does
not, however, -explain why it was
necessary to draw up a Constitu
tion, eleven years after the English
Colonies of America had declared
their independence of Great Britain.
The Declaration of Independence
was signed in 1776. The Constitu
tion was adopted in 1787. Before
we can understand the why of the
Constitution, we must understand
what kind of a government we had
in America before there was any
Constitution.
The very first phrase of the Con
stitution raises questions. "We, the
people of the United States." How
were the States united before there
was any Constitution? What had
kept them together throughout the
War of the Revolution? What had
held them together after the Revo
luntion and before they adopted the
Constitution? For, as they express
ly stated in 4he Declaration of In
dependence, they were not only
free states, but independent states.
For that matter, what did they
mean by the word "states," in the
Declaration of Independence and in
the Constitution itself? When the
Founding Fathers of the Republic
said "state" they meant exactly
what we mean today when we say
"nation." In the 18th century the
word "nation" was seldom used ; the
word "State" was always understood
as meaning a nation. The Declara
tion of Independence, after declar
ing that "these United Colonies' are,
and of right ought to be, free and
independent States," continues : "and
that all political connection between
them- and the STATE of Great
Britain is, and ought to be, dis
solved." "United States," then,
meant "United Nations."
Thirteen independent nations,
seeking to free themselves from
the domination of another nation,
fought the War of the Revolution.
They called their union a "Confed
eration of States." Exactly the
same meaning would nave been
conveyed if they had called it a
"League of Nations."
In the beginning, this union of in
dependent states was nothing more
than a mutual alliance to carry on
the war. It was almost exactly the
same sort of a "union" as that be
tween the allied but independent
nations of Europe, for the conduct
of the World War from 1914 to
1919. The American States had the
common background of having all
been subject to the same domina
tion by another nation. But the ut
most their leaders had in mind in
the way of a union, at the begin
ning of the Revolution, was an al
liance of independent nations in
what they explicitly termed a
"League of Friendship."
The only central government that
existed in America for the first five
years of the war with Great Britain
was the Continental Congress, com
posed of delegates from the thir
teen states. It had so little power
or authority that it could hardly be
called a government at all. The
Continental Congress could borrow
money, if anyone would lend it, but
could not levy taxes to repay such
loans. It could issue requisitions to
the separate states for supplies and
tropps, but it could not make its
acts effective.
(Next week: The Seed From Which
Grew the Constitution)
FRANKLIN METHODIST
Cheeley C. Herbert, Jr., Pattor
(Each Sunday)
9:45 a. m. Sunday school. -11
a. rri. Morning worship.
7:15 p. m. Epworth League meet
ing. 8 p. m. Evening worship.
Carort' Chapel
(Each Sunday)
2:30 p. m JSunday school.
(2nd and 4 Sundays)
3:15 p. m. Preaching service.