LIBERAL
INDEPENDENT
VOL. L, NO. SO
FRANKLIN, N. C, THURSDAY, DEC. 12, 1935
$1.50 PER YEAR
PROGRESSIVE
H.P.RAY.WrLA,
ENDS HIS LIFE
Despondent over 111
Health, Fires Bullet
Through Head
A pistol in his hand, H. P. Ray,
well known Iotla merchant and
postmaster, was found mortally
wounded in a smokehouse at the
rear of his home shortly after 3
o'clock Sunday afternoon by a
daughter, Miss Louise Ray. He
was broufht to Angel hospital in
Franklin, but died shortly after ar
riving. Mr. Ray is believed to have shot
himself in despondency over ill
health. The pistol evidently had
been placed at the temple and dis
charged. He was found seated in
an old rocking chair in the smoke
house. An inquest was deemed un
necessary. Mrs. Ray and her daughter had
been in the kitchen of the resi
dence, but they said they did not
, hear the pistol discharge.
News of Mr. Ray's death brought
sorrow to the whole county. A
kindly, genial man, he had many
friends. i
Funeral Monday
The funeral was held at 3 o'clock
Monday afternoon in the Iotla
Baptist church, which was filled
to overflowing. The funeral was
conducted by the Rev. A. S. Soles
bee, assisted by the Rev. W. M.
Burns, pastor of the Franklin Bap
tist church. Burial was in the
church graveyard.
Pallbearers were Dutch Mason,
Ed Duvall, L. B. Liner, Robert
Bennett, Jim Morrison and George
Brendle.
. Mr. Ray was born February 13,
1872, in this county. He was a
member of the Iotla Baptist church
and for many years had taught a
Sunday school class at the church.
In a note left to his wife Mr.
Ray said he was going "to meet
my God," and left instructions for
his son, Glenn Young, to manage
his estate. The son, who has been
living in Asheville for thd past
eight years, is expected to return
to Macon county to fulfil his fath
er's request.
Mr. Ray is survived by his wid
ow, who before marriage was Miss
Minnie Younce; four daughters,
Mrs. Louis Young, of Clayton,
Ga.; Mrs! Lee" Mason, of Iotla;
Mrs. C., C. Poindexter, of Cullo
whee; and Miss Louise Ray, of
Iotla; two sons, Jack Ray, of Iotla,
and Glenn Ray, of Asheville;
three sisters, Mrs. H. J. Bryant,
Mrs. John Baldwin and Mrs. Lank
Barnard, all of Macon county; and
two brothers, E. M. Ray and Rufe
Ray, of Macon county.
New Cafe Opens
On East Main Street
David Sutton 'has opened a cafe
and restaurant, called Zory's Cafe,
on east Main street. The new
eating house, which began doing
business this week, shares the
building occupied by the City Shoe
Shop, of which Charley Sutton is
manager.
Do it now
SHOP EARLY
Only 10
Shopping Days
till
Christmas
Hiiia
Adult Education Classes
Resumed in Macon County;
WP A Employs 43 Teachers
Forty-three unemployed teachers
were given work this week under
the Works Progress Administra
tion as teachers of adult classes
throughout Macon county ;
The teachers, each of whom is
expected to organize his or her
own class, began work Monday
after having been placed on the
WPA payrolls through the county
office of the National Reemploy
ment Service, of which Frank I.
Murray is manager.
The adult education program in
this county will be under the di
rection of Mrs. Ada Trotter and
Miss Mildred Moore, who, as co
supervisors of this work, have of
fices in the WPA headquarters in
the former W. L. Higdon residence
on east Main street.
The WPA teachers are required
to conduct classes six hours a day,
five days a week, and they are
paid $37 a month.
This is a resumption, under a
new set-up, of the ERE (Emer
gency Relief Education) program
which ended last June.
Besides the three R's, courses
in home management, sewing,
handcrafts and current events, will
be taught in the WPA classes.
COUNTY NAMED
IN BOND SUIT
Woodmen of the World
File Claims for $15,287
And Interest
Suit was filed in the United
States district court at Charlotte
Tuesday by the Sovereign camp
of the Woodmen of the World
against Macon county and trustees
of the Franklin school district for
$15,287.80 and interest, according
to a news dispatch from Charlotte.
The complaint, it was reported,
stated that in 1922 the Woodmen
of the World purchased $50,000
worth of school bonds from the
defendants and had been unable to
cash them in at scheduled maturity.
Further details were not given in
the news report, and county of
ficials here said papers in the suit
had not been served.
Earlier this year Jefferson Penn
filed suit against Macon county in
superior court in Guilford county
seeking payment of $1,980 and in
terest which he claimed was due
on unpaid coupons. He set forth
that in 1926 he .bought 19 one-thousand-dollar
road and bridge im
provement bonds issued by Macon
county and that he had failed to
receive payment, when demanded,
on coupons 4ue in September 1933
and subsequent thereto.
C. Tom Bry6on, clerk to the
county board of commissioners, told
The Press-Maconian today that
the county commissioners already
had taken steps in cooperation with
the State Local Government Com
mission looking toward a readjust
ment of the county's bonded in
debtedness Mrs. Lassie Cunningham
Reported Improved
Mrs. Lassie Kelly Cunning
ham, who has been in ill health
for several months, developed
pneumonia Friday night. Her
condition aroused concern among
relatives and friends Wednes
day, but this morning she was
reported as somewhat improved.
Mrs. Cunningham returned to
her home the early part of last
week after undergoing an op
eration in Angel hospital and
in a few days she was feeling
so much better that she under
took some dictating. In her
weakened condition it proved
too much of a strain and
pneumonia set in Friday night.
Stress will be placed on the teach
ing of reading and.writing to adult
illiterates and it is hoped that
through this program illiteracy will
be practically wiped out.
Following is a list of the WPA
teachers for this county:
Miss Dess Bradley, Mrs. Maude
Baldwin, Mrs. Arthur Bryson, Mrs.
Fred Bryson, Mrs. Fannie Bur
rell, Rev. J. F. Burrell, Mrs. Grady
Connor, T. G. Dean, Mrs. Leona
Duncan, E. N. Evans, Miss Grace
Fouts, Mrs. Earl Harrison, Miss
Zelma Jenkins, Miss Edith Long,
D. C. McCoy, Miss Stella Mc
Coy, Mrs. F. D. Morrison, Mrs.
Joyce Parrish, Miss Rebecca Ray,
Miss Susan Rice, Mrs. Myrtle
Roane, J. L. Sanders, Mrs. Brown
Setser, John Slagle, Miss Inez
Smart, Louis J. Smith, Austin
Spyder, A. S. Solesbee, Mrs. Max
ine Sprinkle, G. W. Steppe, Miss
Trula Vinson, W. E. Welch, Mrs.
Gracie Welch, Mrs. Ralph West,
Mrs. Annie Westbrook, Mrs. M.
A. Woodard, Mrs. Arthur Kins
land, Miss Allie P. Wood, Miss
Hazel Norton, Mrs. Nettie Hurst
Hyatt, Mrs. Homer Norton, Miss
Allie Bradley, W. B. Harper (negro.)
Big Payroll
Expected Next Week for
WPA Workers
r A payroll amounting to $6,000 or
more is expected to be received
sometime next week for payment
of approximately 600 WPA em
ployes in Macon county, according
to J. R. Morrison, WPA labor
assignment clerk.
This will be the first general
WPA payroll received in the coun
ty since the Works Progress pro
gram got under way in October.
Workers on some of the first pro
jects started in the county already
have received part of their pay;
but others are yet to receive re
muneration for their first two
weeks of labor.
With placements this week of 18
additional men on road work on
the Wayah road, under supervision
of the Forest Service, and 43 men
and women as teachers of WPA
classes, Frank I. Murray, manager
of the local Reemployment office,
said today that WPA jobs had
been supplied to more than 900
men and women in the county.
TOclmcrs
ARE CAPTURED
Escaped Prisoners Taken
Into Custody Near Horse
Cove Camp
A posse headed by Deputy Sher
iff John Dills and Joe Setzer, act
ing superintendent of the state con
vict camp near Franklin, captured
two men last Friday night near
the Civilian Conservation camp in
Horse Cove who had escaped from
the camp the previous Sunday.
The escaped prisoners were Do
rus Sisk, 25, of Cherryville, and
Olin Ferguson, 31, of Rocky
Mount, Va. Both were Grade B
prisoners serving terms for bur
glary. The two men escaped Sun
day afternoon by donning Grade A
uniforms, which are not striped,
and "walking off."
Members of the CCC camp were
reported to have tipped off of
ficers as to the presence of the
convicts in the Horse Cove vi
cinity. Earlier in the week the
escapees had been reported in the
Cartoogechaye and Skeenah sec
tions of the county. When they
were caught they were near the
South Carolina line southeast of
the Horse Cove CCC camp.
'Bruce Barton
Says"
Bruce Barton, (above), noted au
thor and highly successful business
executive, comes back as a regular
member of this newspaper's staff,
with a new and current .series of
articles which we are confident will
meet with the approval of our
readers. Barton is one of the most
interesting and forceful writers of
the day. His comment on events
paralleling the news is always well
worth reading.
FARMERS' LOAN
GROUP TO MEET
Macon Farmers Invited To
Production Credit
Meeting
An invitation to all farmers of
this county to attend the annual
meeting of the Asheville Produc
tion Credit association at Asheville
on January 17 in the courthouse
was extended this week by W. H.
Overall, secretary of the associa
tion. The Asheville association serves
16 counties and this year made
loans to farmers in these counties
totaling $38,590. Every farmer who
borrowed money through the as
sociation is a stockholder and is
expected to attend this annual
meeting of stockholders, which is
held for the purpose of hearing a
complete report on the year's work
of the organization, the election of
officers and the transaction of
such other business as may come
before the body.
"We will be delighted to have
all farmers who are not stockhold
ers also attend the meeting," Mr.
Overall said, "in order that they
might learn of the credit service
which is offered to the farmers of
this section by the association.
"Interest on loans made by the
association is payable when loans
are due and the borrower pays 5
per cent interest only for the time
he actually has the money. Each
borrower is required to take out
Class B stock in the association in
an amount equivalent to 5 per cent
of the loan when he gets his in
itial Loan and may obtain new
loans without purchasing addition
al stock.
"Thousands of farmers all over
the country are now stockholders
in production credit associations
and are thoroughly sold on the
idea of cooperative credit. Wc are
anxious that every farmer in this
section shall at least have the op
portunity of knowing of the credit
service that we offer and we cor
dially invite all to our annual
meeting."
The officers of the Asheville as
sociation are: John A. Hudgens,
president; A. J. Dills, vice presi
dent; W. H. Overall, secretary
treasurer; Billie West, assistant
secretary-treasurer. In addition to
the President and Vice President,
other Directors are: Harry L.
Nettles, R. R. Ramsey and S. C
Bennett.
FARMERS' STORE
TO OPEN DEC 14
Public Invited To Inspect
New Federation
Warehouse
The Macon county warehouse
and store of the Farmers Federa
tion, Inc., will be formally opened
Saturday in the Franks building
on east Main street. A number
of officials of the federation, in
cluding James J. K. McClure, pres
ident and general manager, and R.
Church Crowell, vice president, are
expected to come here to take
part in the celebration of the
opening.
A meeting of the Macon county
stockholders in the organization is
scheduled to occur at 10:30 a. m.
in the store and arrangements
have been made to have a group
picture of the membership made
in front of the store at 2 o'clock
in the afternoon.
Public Invited
An invitation has been extended
to the general public as well as to
members of the federation to at
tend the opening and inspect the
warehouse and store, the 14th
established by the farmers' organ
ization in the eight western North
Carolina counties which it serves.
The store this week was being
equipped with fixtures and a stock
of merchandise. Lawrence Ram
sey is manager of the store and
E. B. DeHart, assistant manager.
To Buy and Sell
The store will sell groceries,
feeds, fertilizers, seeds, farm im
plements, spray materials and gen
eral farm supplies, including some
hardware. It plans to buy chick
ens, eggs, black walnuts, potatoes
and other farm products. It oc
cupies the main floor and base
ment of that part of the Franks
building formerly occupied by the
Ledford Furniture company. The
rooms have been refinished for
the federation and new shelving
and counters installed.
The federation plans to have a
display of Oliver farm implements
on hand for the opening Saturday.
An address will be made by Mr.
McClure and music will be furnish
ed by a string band.
New Federal Building
Nearing Completion
Finishing touches were under way
this week on Franklin's new fed
eral building and the structure was
expected to be ready for occupancy
about the first of the new year.
Interior trim is being finished and
fixtures installed. No date, how
ever, has been definitely set for
removal of the postoffice to the
new building.
Off the Florida Coast between
Miami and Key West there arc
600 known varieties of fish.
Three-Color Christmas
Edition Planned
The Preas-Maconian next week
will publish a special Christinas
shopping edition in three colors
green, red and black.
Preparation of this edition
wfll require more time than us
ually necessary (or production
of the regular weekly edition of
your favorite county newspaper,
and the management kindly re
quests advertisers to submit
their copy as early as possible.
Advertisements received by
Monday night will be given pre
ferred space.
A special page will be set
aside for letters to Santa Claus
and, as this page must be closed
not later than Tuesday night,
parents desiring to have their
children's Santa letters printed
are requested to send them to
this office not later than noon
Tuesday.