PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL INDEPENDENT
VOL. LI1. NO. 6
FRANKLIN, N. C, THURSDAY, FEB. 11. 1937
$1.50 PER YEAR
JONES PRAISES
NURSES' WORK
Spikes Rumor Regarding
Split-up in Flood
Relief Unit
Gilmer A. Jones, who returned
, Thursday of last week from Louis
ville, Ky., where he headed a'flood
relief unit dispatched from Frank
lin, explained in a letter to The
Press-Maconian this week why
some members of the unit returned
home shortly after arriving in the
flood zone. ,
Mr. Jones gave unreserved praise
to three nurses from Angel hospital
for their work in Louisville, stat
ing that through their untiring and
efficient services they won the
commendation of Louisville doctors
and Red Cross executives. The
nurses were Miss Clyde Berry,
.'. Miss Louise Roberts and Mrs.Her-
schel Bennett. They, together with
Mr. Janes and his' son, Andrew,
remained in Louisville for nearly a
week. ,,
"Those girls worked plenty hard,
Mr. Jones said. "Some days they
got only two or three hours sleep.
The doctors and Red Cross offi
cials were mighty appreciative of
their work and hated to see them
leave."
'Split-Up' Spiked
The letter explaining the early
return of some members of the re
lief unit sets at rest various rumors
concerning a split-.up in the relief
unit. It follows:
rbince '".my return irom jlouis-
vine i nave learucu umi iwi
been some criticism offered in re
gard to the return of some mem-
, bers of the party before the re
mainder of the unit came in.
- "The telegram requesting us to
come, directed us to report 'to Dr.
Darwick at Mory.' There was no
'Mory,' neither was there a Dr.
'Darwick.' As it was impossible to
communicate with legion headquar
ters, this left us ythout anyone
to report to, and each one had to
pick out his own work and db it.
Later we learned that the telegram
as sent was 'Report to Dr. Tra
wick at the Armory'
"As to why some .of the men re-
, turned, this was done upon my ex
press advice. These boys left
Franklin preparedj to stay for a
few days, and as ft became appar
ent that s certain sections : of the
town would be! quarantined, it
seemed . rather fdolhardy for them
to stay there and take the risk of
being quarantined for an indefinate
time, leaving their families at home
to get along for themselves the
best way they could. This quaran
tine was actually placed upon cer-'
tain . sections of - the city the day
after they left. Some of these men
. , were very reluctant to leave, and
would only do so when it was,
pointed out to. them the .serious
. consequences that their staying
. might cause.
"Those who did stay did splendid
(Continued j on Page Eight)
Fatally Shot
Lonnie Dills Wounded by
New York Police
Franklin
Produce Market
LATEST qUOTAT1QNS
(Prices listed . below are1 subject
to change without notice.)
Quoted by Farmer Federation, Inc.
Chickens, heavy breed, hens 13c .
Chickens, light weight, lb, , 9c
Eggs, doz. 17c
Corn, bu. )....... 95c
Wheat, bu. ,..J ...$1.15
Potatoes, No. 1, bu. ..$1.25
Field peas, bu. $1.50
, Crowder peas, bvi. ...$2.25
Yellow Mammoth I Soy
Beans, bu. .... J ... ....... .$1.50
Lorida Beans, bu.1 .$2.00
Onions, bu. J 60c
Quoted by I Nantathala Creamery '
JJutterfat, lb.
30c
Lonnie Ellis Dills, 3-year-old
native of Macon county, died
Thursday in Nassau hospital at
iMineola, Long Island, froVn wounds
received on January 27 in a pistol
battle with New York policemen.
Dills, who was the son of Mr.
and Mrs. L. D. Dills of the Car
toogechaye community, was re
ported to have left the county
;about 10 years ago after skipping
bond on a liquor charge.
Press dispatches from New York
said that Dills,' who had been em
ployed as a gardener, shot his
estranged wife, Charlotte, 28, in
January after she had refused to
return to his home in New Hyde.
Park.
Officers who went t6 investigate
the shooting found Dills in a ga
rage and he fired at them when
they approached, wounding two
policemen, Christopher Wyep and
Sgt. Charles Snyder. The policemen
recovered. r
Dills was seriously woijnded and
his death cheated Nassau ' county
authorities, of an opportunity to try
him on a charge of attempted
murder.
RELIEF FUND
TOTALS
55838
Macon Far Exceeds Quota
For Aid of Flood
Victims
Contributions of Macon county
people for relief of flood victims
in the Ohio and Mississippi river
basins reached a total of $838.21
yesterday, it ' was reported by the
Rev. J. A. Flanagan, chairman of
the Macon county chapter of the
American Red Cross.
""Thanks a thousand ' times for
the superb efforts of your chapter,"
said a letter received by Mr. Flan
agan from Cary T. Grayson, na
tional Red Cross chairman, who
added that in 16 days a total of
$18,778,474 had been contributed
through the Red Cross for work
in the flooded areas.
The Flood Situation
"While the waters of the Ohio
are falling," the letter continued,
"the flood is still running high on
the Mississippi. Everything that is
humanly possible is being done to
avert further disaster, but, of
course, it cannot now be definitely
known what the future" may bring."
He urged that every chapter
meet its quota, but the Macon
county chapter already had nearly
trippled its allotment of $300.
The past week has brought many
new contributions, large and small.
The Civilian Conservation Camp
at Coweta sent in $69.06; employes
of the W. H. Ritter Lumber com
pany at Rainbow Springs, who al
ready had made up a large "jack
pot," ent in another donation of
$30. Scaly school contributed $5,
Cowee school $5.20, and Chapel
(colored) school $5, the 6th and
7th grades of the Highlands school
$2.59.
The Horse Cove CCCcamp dona
tions of $32.25. A crew of workers
on a WPA project in Burningtown
township raised $22.15.
-'- Forest service employes raised
$50 and postof f ice ' employes con
tributed $21. .
Other Contribubori
Other contributions not previously
reported include:
From Highlands $25 contribu
tion, Miss Lilla A. Nourse; $10
contribution, Miss Mary B. Elliott;
$5 contribution, Col. and Mrs. Se
well, H.' M. Bascom. '
Other contributions: Mr. and
Mrs. W. S. Davis, Mrs. Carl Zoell
ner,' Miss Sara Gilder, Mr. Willie
(Continued on P ight)
Marriage" of Child Bride, 9, Denounced
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Filth - IcVO-X 1
Mint Ml 'vj ' i I'll MMfcB liiiilhilli ---'"w-"-0-r-w---
)...v.mv.1...wa1
KNOXV.ILLE, Tenn. . . . Bitterly assailing the mountain marriage of
S-year-old Eunice Win stead to 22-year-old, 6 ft., Charlie Johns, January
Xi, Tennessee club women, ministers and jurists are asking the state
legislature to act to prevent such 'disgraceful unions' in the future.
Photo shows 9-year-old bride (arrow), with her father, mother and
other members of the family, before their mountain home. The father
and mother said "they planned no interference with the children" whea
asked if they would seek annulment of the marriage.
More Correspondence
With Representative Patton
Patton Charges Forgery
Mr. Blackburn Johnson,
Franklin, N. C
Dear. Sir:
I am writing you this letter and asking you to print the same in
the next issue of the Franklin Press, together with the letter from
Mr. C. L. Blaine which is self-explanatory.
I again desire to say to you, and to the other tax payers of my
county, that when the time has arrived in a political situation that
citizens or office holders stoop' so low as to forge names to tele
grams and petitions to the members of this Legislature in order to
thwart my;bills which 1 have introduced for the sole purpose of sav
ing money for the tax payers of my county, then I think it is time
that all loyal and honest citizens should march under the banner of
a new regime or a new set up of some kind that they believe tc be
honest and sincere.
To be perfectly frank with you, ,1 was astounded when I made the
discovery that the petitions and telegrams sent to Mr. Bennett were
acts committed by one who is supposed to be a man of better judg
ment, if not of "better! principle. I shall keep my feet pointed in the
same direction that I have started, which is to represent the inter
est of all the people of my county, and I have the utmost confidence
in the honesty and integrity of the citizenship of Macon County to
believe' that they stand for an honest and fair square deal and,
since the day has come that a part of our Democratic organization
and a part of our Democratic office-holders show by their acts that
they oppose fair and honest legislation ; then I, for one, shall not
stop and shall lead the fight to purge our party of any such unfair
and dastardly conduct. , -
I have received more than a hundred letters from my good friends
through out the county" commending me for my. acts and assuring
me of their loyal support in my undertakings. 1 sincerely hope that
you will print this letter, together with the letter attached from Mr,
C. L. Blaine, and I respectfully ask. you arid anyone else who may
chance to read it, to draw their own conclusions.
I am,
1 Most Respectfully yours,
R. A. Patton .
House of Representatives,
Raleigh, N. C , ,
February 5, 1937 .
The Supporting Evidence
Mr. R. A. Patton,
House of Representatives,
Raleigh, North Carolina.
Dear Bob:
I received a letter a few days ago from Senator Kelly E. Bennett
in regard to a wire received from me about the jail fees bill. 1
could not understand why Senator Bennett would write me in re
gard to a telegram that I had never sent or heard tell of. Today
is, the first time I have been able to be in Franklin due to sickness
and condition of roads. 'I found out today that some one had sent
the telegram and signed my name to.it without any authority. I1
had no intention of making any kind of recommendation in regard
to this bill. If I have any recommendations to make, I wilj make
(Continued on Page Four)
PATTON NAMES
TAX ASSESSORS
Also Introduces Measure
To Bolster Absentee
Voting System
Three bills relating to Macon
county were introduced in the gen
eral assembly Saturday by Repre
sentative R. A. Patton:
1 Concerning absentee voting.
2. Placing a bounty upon preda
tory animals and birds.
3. Relating to the quadrennial
reassessment of property, and ap
pointing tax assessors and listers
in each township.
i The first measure would bring
this county under provisions of a
law applying to Jackson county
which prohibits withdrawal of an
absentee ballot once it has been
delivered to a precinct registrar.
It is interpreted in political circles
as an effort to strengthen the sys
tem of absentee voting and to
place another weapon in the hands
of the controlling faction or party.
Astertora Named
The quadrennial reassessment bill
calls ior a revaluation of real prop-,
erty starting in April, and names
the following persons for apprais
ers of real property in the various
townships:
Burningtown : Jud Wilds, W. R
(Bill) Parrish, J. R. Ramsey.
Cartoogechaye : Robert Southards,
John Roane, Oscar Lewis.
Cowee: John H. Dalton, Johna
than Morgan, Carol Gibson.
Ellijay : Sam Bryson, Andy Evans,
John T. Henry.
Franklin: (1) W. H. Roane, C.
L. Garner, Robert Shook.
Franklin : (2) Frank Moody, .
Walter McConnell, J. O. Harrison.
Flats: H. O. Penland, Ray Dry
man, Miller Ritchie.
Highlands : Porter Pierson, Fred
Edwards, Frank Potts.
Millshoal: Jerry Franklin, Lee
Dills, J. M. Raby.
Nantahala: (1) George Steppe,
Lee Baldwin, Luther Jacobs.
Nantahala: (2)' Jim Shields,
James Grant, A. L. Wilson.
Smith's Bridge: Robert Cabe,
John Brabson, Charlie Norton.
Sugar Fork : Alex W. Shook,
Charles Henderson, Olney Moses.
(Mr. Shook, the Press-Maconian
is. informed, is dead, and Olney
Moses has been a resident of an
other county for several years.)
The bill provides that the first
named person in the above listing
for each township shall serve as
chairman for that township, act as
list taker for personal property
and gather farm statistics for his
township.
A statewide law provides for ap
pointment of tax assessors and per
sonal property listers by the county
board of commissioners.
Mr. Patton's bill also would sup
plant the present board of equali
zation, consisting of the county,
commissioners, by a new board .
comprised of the register of deeds
and the chairman of each town
ship assessment group. The register
of deeds is to serve without addi
tional pay as tax supervisor, Re
muneration of the assessors is set
at $3 a day.
Mr. Patton's bill creating a jury
commission for Macon county as
signed to the duty of drawing
juries for the superior court, and
a companion bill repealing the all- ,
year grand jury act, were enrolled
and ratified 7 Friday of last week
after passing both houses. The first
measure appoints Alex Moore, .of
Franklin; Charles Rogers, of Pren
tiss, and Sam Gibson, of West's
Mill, as members of the commis-'
siori. : '
Mr. Patton's bill relating . to
bounties on predatory animals and
birds directs the county commis
sioners to pay $10 for coyotes, $3
for wild cats, and 25 cents each
for crows and chicken hawks killed
in the county,
. ....j ....