Net Paid Circulation
THIS WEEK
2,210
LAST WEEK
2,206
YEAR AGO THIS WEEK
, 2,088
Ifiaconian
PROGRESSIVE
LIBERAL INDEPENDENT
VOL. LXII? NO. 36
KKANKLIN. N C.. THURSDAY, SEPT. 4, 1947
82.00 PKK YEAH
PARKING METER
DEPOSITS TOTAL
$85 FOR 3 DAYS
T own Officials Pleased
At Cooperation Shown
By Motorists
Deposits hi Franklin's 115
parking meters Tram Friday
noon of last week, when they
went Into lise, until Wednesday
noon totaled $85.02, an average
of about ^4 certs per meter,
town . oificlals announced.
Since the meters are not In
use on Sundays, under provis
ions of the parking regulations
adopted when they were In
stalled, and since Monday was
a holiday, when business houses
iiere were1 closed, the collections
actually cover only about three
lull days.
On a basis of # three full days,
the collections averaged nearly
25 cents per day per meter.
The parking meter ordinance
applies only on week days from
it a. m. to 6 p. m.
During the first five minutes
after the ordinance went into
elfect last Friday at noon, 31
cents was deposited in those
meters situated between the
courthouse and the post office,
a survey showed. Many motor
ists, in fact, seemed to seek a
parking space in front of a
meter, so they could try out the
new devices.
Town .officials Wednesday ex
pressed satisfaction with the co
operative spirit generally shown
by the public. Only a few police
summonses for violations of the
r.ew parking ordinance have
been issued, it was said.
At Monday night's meeting of
the board of aldermen, Town
Clerk E. W. Long was authorized
to hear cases where motorists
are given tickets for overtime
parking. In cases where a war
rant is issued, however, the case
must be tried before the mayor.
Under terms of the town's
contract with the meter manu
facturers, all money collected
goes to the manufacturers until
the fee of $5 per meter for in
stallation 1$ paid. After that,
one half the collections go to
the town, and one-half to the
manufacturers, until the pur
chase price of $62.50 per meter
Is paid. Thereafter, all the col
lections will go into the town
treasury.
Do You
Remember . . . ?
(Looking backward through
the files of The Press)
50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
Mr. C. C. Daniels left last Fri
day morning for Wilson after
spending two weeks with his
family here. His wife and chil
dren will join him when the
weather grows cooler.
A subscription is being raised
to build a good wagon road
from Nantahala gap to the top
of Wayah Bald, and W. B. Mc
?Guire Is the contractor. This Is
a good move and we wish it
success.
J. L. Barnard bought the
stock and merchandise of Dr.
W. H. Higglns Wednesday and
moved Into his store.
25 YEARS AGO
The Community club of Hlg
donville proposes to have a
community fair this fall, and
asks all the schools and good
citizens of the township to co
operate with them In making It
a success. In addition, they ask
the Mountain Grove school of
Millshoal township to cooperate
with them. Mr. T R. Gray asks
us to announce that they would
like some representative from
each school to meet them at
Hlgdonvllle school house on Fri
day, Sept. 15th, at 4 p. m. to as
sist in working out the details
and fixing a time.
10 YEARS AGO
Franklin will play host to
hundreds of visitors attending
the dedication exercises of the
John B. Byrne Memorial Tower
on Labor Day, Monday, Septem
ber 6. Knitted to the rock mass
of Wayah Bald, the new Byrne
Memorial Tower rises 53 feet
above the summit and seems to
stand guard over the vast
stretch of tlmberland cherished
by the late John B. Byrne, a
former supervisor of .the Nanta
hala National forest.
10 Macon Taxpayers
Own 44 Per Cent Of
Listed Wealth Here
Ten corporations and individ
uals pay 44 per cent of the
taxes collected by Macon Coun
ty, records in- the office of
Lake V. Shope, county tax su-?
pervisor, reveal.
Put another way, these 10
firms and persons own nearly
half of the tax-assessed wealth
in the county.
The county's total property
valuation is $10,767,645, and $4,- |
730,070 of this is listed by these
10 taxpayers.
The largest taxpayer, of
course, is the Nantahala Power I
and Light company, which owns j
38 per cent of all the property
listed for taxes. Nine other tax
payers own the next six per
cent.
The power company's assess
ed valuation is $4,121,027.
The Southern Railway, for
many years the county's largest
single taxpayer, stands second
with a valuation of $'60,918. Its
Macon County property is a
stretch of about two miles of
the Murphy Branch which
passes through the edge of this
county.
The county's eight largest
single taxpayer?, In order, and
the assessed valuations of their
property, foltow:
English Lumber company,
$73,485.
Charles V. Rainwater, $67,450.
A. B. Slagle, $60,000.
Zickgraf Hardwood company,
$56,270.
Bank of Franklin, $50,000.
Dr. Edgar Angel, $47,450.
W. C. Burrell, $47,320.
O. C. Bryant estate, $46,150.
'Paws' Blistered,
Lions Emerge From
'Jungle' 'Roaring'
Some 15 members of the
Franklin Lions olub moved
"labor day" three days ahead ,
of the calendar when they gath
ered on the county's Main
street vacant lot late last Fri
day afternoon.
They were there to clean off
the lot, which was covered with
a dense grtjwth of weeds and 1
bushes, so that they could see
just how the land lays and thus j
plan the best way to turn the 1
space intp a community play
ground and park.
While much of the- labor ex
pended definitely would have
had to be classed as "unskilled", !
the Lions ? by virtue of much
brawn, considerable sweat, and '
a good many nicks in axes and
brush hooks ? got the lot clear- -
ed. As darkness fell, the Lions
were "roaring" over the fact that
It looked like the lot, with the
'"Jungle" removed, would make
a fine playground.
Detailed plans for developing
the recreational area will be dis
cussed at an early meeting of
the club. '
Lynch Case
Defendant i
Reared Here
Joe Cunningham, who this
week was ordered held for ac- 1
tion by the Warren county
grand Jury September 15 in con- .
nection with the alleged at
tempted lynching of a North
hampton county Negro, form
erly lived here.
Mr. Cunningham, who is an
assistant theater manager at
Rich Square, Northampton
county, is the son of the for
mer Miss Hattie Cunningham,
of Franklin. Her father is Rob
ert Cunningham, of Bryson City.
The parents now make their
home at Rich Square. *
Mr. Cunningham is one of
seven men originally charged
with the attempted lynching,
but Tuesday Judge J. Paul Frlz
zelle, sitting as a committing
magistrate on a commission is
sued by Governor Cherry, dis
missed the charges against the
other six. At the same ti^ie
Judge Frlzzllle ordered the
Northampton ? county jailer ar
rested, after he had testified
that he made no attempt to
prevent the removal of the Ne
gro, Godwin Bush, from the
Jail.
In releasing the six men,
Judge Frlzzelle told them they
were permitted to go free solely
because a confession purported
ly given an F. B. I. agent by
Mr. Cunningham, was Incompe
tent evidence as to them, due
to a legal technicality.
Judge Frlzzelle was ordered by
Governor Cherry to sit as a
committing magistrate, after the
Northampton county grand Jury
last month failed to return a
true bill against the seven men.
The Jurist bound Cunningham
over to the grand Jury of neigh
boring Warren county.
He is charged with conspir
acy to break and enter a Jail
and with breaking and entering
a Jail with Intent to kill or In
jure the Negro Bush ? the same
charged originally preferred
against all seven defendants.
Each of the two charges carries
a maximum penalty, upon con
viction, of IS years. He and the
?Continued on Paft Tan
ONE IS KILLED. 7
HURT IN WRECKS
Miami Woman Under
Bond In Mishap Fatal
To Highlands Youth
Automobile accidents in Ma
con county over the Labor Day
week-end resulted in the death
of one person and injuries to 1
seven others.
Sheridan N. Reid, 17, received |
fatal injuries when the car
which he was driving collided
with a car driven by Mrs. Kath
erine Otto, of Miami, Fla., in
the center of Highlands, about
1:30 o'clock Sunday morning.
Reid, who was the son of Mr.
and Mrs. Lester Reid, of High
lands, died at the Angel hos
pital In Franklin early Monday
morning as the result of Injur
ies received in the accident.
Mrs. Otto, charged with in
voluntary manslaughter, was re
leased on bond, pending the
hearing which is expected to be
held at an early 'date.
The car which young Reid
was driving was owned by Odell
McCoy, of Gneiss, who was rid
ing in the car at the time and
is now In ' Angel hospital suf
fering with serious injuries.
Funeral services for young
Reid were held at the Gold Mine I
cemetery Tuesday afternoon at |
3 o'clock, with the Rev. A. T. !
Abbott and the Rev. Virgil '
Niamey officiating.'
Mrs. Bertha Queen, 40, of
Clayton, Ga., and Mrs. Will J.
Smith, 44, also of Clayton, both
received serious back injuries
Sunday afternoon when a truck
in which they were riding was
sideswiped by an automobile at- I
tempting to pass on the Dills- !
boro highway, near the home of 1
R. D. Brendle, at the foot of
the Cowee mountain. The car
was driven by the Rev. Robert |
? Continued on Pace Ten
: I
Highlands Board
Discusses Town's
Sewer Situation
Chlel topic or discussion at
the monthly meeting 6f the
Highlands town commissioners !
last Monday night was the sew- |
er problem.
Following a long discussion, it '
was decided to employ an en
gineer to furnish an estimate 6t '
the cost of sewer construction
needed in the town.
It was announced by the may
or that he had sworn in the |
new cleric Varnol McCall, last
Saturday. Mr. McCall has assum
ed the duties which have been
filled by Robert Dupree, who
resigned as cleric to take up
his teaching duties In the High
lands school. ?
?noteacher.no
SCHOOL' BOARD
TOLD BY GROUP
Flatly Refuse To Send
Children On Bus To
Higdonville
A delegation from the Gold
Mine section Monday flatly told
members of the county board of
education and the county super
intendent that, if the officials
persist in consolidating the
small Gold Mine school with
that at Higdonville, Gold Mine
parents will not send their chil
dren to school.
The ultimatum was issued
only after members of the 15
man delegation had" discussed
the situation at length with the
superintendent and board mem- j
bers at Monday morning's meet
ing. j
When the group of patrons
found they were making no
progress, members of the dele
gation withdrew from, the room
fir a few minutes, and then re
turned with their announce
ment, #no teacher, no. school".
"You'll have to send us a
teacher to Gold Mine", W. L.
Harper, the delegation's spokes
man declared, "if our children
are to go to school. No reason
able man would expect parents
to send six-year olds out at 6
o'clock In the morning, with a
lantern, to walk two miles tq
catch a school bus. No reason
able man would even consider
that In wintertime."
And the delegation of IS
marched out of the room.
Earlier in the meeting, they
had suggested that the school
officials had voted to close the
Gold Mine school and send the |
children by bus to Higdonville
without knowing the true situ
ation, and urged them to go1
study it. Supt. G. L. Houk and ,
Chairman C. Gordon Moore*
both said they never had been
to Crow Creek, the community
worst hit by the move, and, at
the conclusion of the meeting,
? Continued on Page Ten
Queen's Creek
Contract Let
By Nantahala
Contract for the construction
of the Nantahala Power and
Light company's Queen's Creek
hydro-electric project has been
let to T. M. Strider and Com
pany, of Andrews, it was an
nounced this week by officials
of the power company. Work is
expected to get under way im
mediately.
The contract calls for the
construction of a dam 65 feet
high and 405 feet long, to be
built of rock arid earth, in the
Winding Stairs section of Ma
con County; a one-unit power
house at Beechertown; and a
6,500-foot line of 24" steel pipe
to convey the water from the
dam to the power house.
The dam will create one of
the highest head units in East
ern America, it is said. The
water- in the reservoir will be
1,005 feet higher than the pow
er house.
The dam across Queen's Creek,
tributary of the Nantahala riv
er, will create a lake about a
mile long. The dam will be sit
uated approximately 800 feet
upstream from the Queen's
Creek falls.
The output of power from this
unit will supplement the electric
energy generated at other plants
of the Nantahala firm.
Construction workers on the
project will be employed by the
Strider company at Andrews or
on the site, power company of
ficials explained.
Macon Readers To Get Press
Hereafter Thursday Mornings
Starting with next week's
issue, The Press will be
"put to bed" each week 24
hours earlier than hereto
fore.
Hereafter it win be pub
lished late on Wednesday of
each .week, instead of on
Thursday, and will reach
most Maoon County readers
on Thursday. It will, how
ever, continue to carry a
Thursday dateline, the day
it reaches most readers ?
like ? moraine dally,
? The pajjtr* wW 1m pat In
the Franklin 'post office
Wednesday nights, and will
be delivered to moat Macon
County subscribers Thurs
day moraine* ? about the
same hour Franklin readers
are getting their copies at
the post office here.
The eartier publication
date also will have the ef
fect of getting the paper to
many distant readers the
week it is published, instead
of the following Monday or
Tuesday, at Is often the
cm hv,
MISS ANNE RAY
Miss Ray, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. J. B. Ray, of Franklin, .has
accepted the position of assis
tant hame demonstration agent
in Macon county, and assumed
her duties Tuesday. The position
has been vacant since the re
cent resignation of Miss Joyce
Sutherland. Miss Ray, who is a
graduate of the Swain county
higfh school, received her B. S.
degree in home economics fiom
the University of Tennessee list
Friday.
VETERANS CASH
$41,099 BONDS
186 M#con Ex-Servicemen
Swap Leave Paper For
Cash At Bank Here
Macon county Veterans of
World War 2 exchanged termi
nal leave pay bonds totaling
$41,000 for cash at the Bank of
Franklin Tuesday and Wednes
day.
Tuesday morning the bank
lobby was crowded, shortly
after the opening hour, with
veterans who had brought their
bonds to the bank to get the
cash on them, and when the
banking day was over, 128 vet
rans had obtained $28,000, Hen
ry W. Cabe, cashier, said. Wed
? Continued on Page Ten
Baseball
Team Moves To Second
Place With 3 Wins
The Franklin baseball team
forged its way into second place
In the Smoky Mountain league
by winning three games in three
days, over the Labor day week
end.
Saturday the local team de
feated Hayesvllle, 9 to 8, In a ,
hard-fought game. Lyle Raby
was on the mound for the
Franklin players.
Sunday's game, with Hia
wasse, Ga., also was a close
game, with Franklin coming
from behind to win 7 to 6.
"Britches" Poindexter, after
seeming to weaken in the
seventh inning, rallied and
pitched fine ball through the
final innings. The Franklin
club showed power at the plate
by clubbing four home runs in
the contest.
On Monday, behind the ex
cellent pitching of young Har
ley Stewart, Franklin defeated
Marietta, Oa., 11 to 2. This last
win placed Franklin in second
position in the league, with a
record of 9 wins and 6 losses
for the season.
Next Sunday Franklin will
play Sylva in a double header
on the Franklin school diamond.
The game will start at 3 o'clock.
Grants .One Beer
.License, Defers
Action On Second
Requests for two beer licenses
were the only matters, other
than routine business, to come
before the county commissioners
at their monthly meeting Tues
day, at which all members were
present.
A beer license was granted to
Mrs. Clara Morgan, authorizing
her to sell beer In Morgan's
cafe, which is situated near the
depot.
An application was presented
by Oeorge Henry requesting that
he be allowed to sell beer in the
establishment formerly operated
by Warren Quest on the Cowee
mountain. Quest received a sus
pended sentence at the August
term of superior court for vio
lating the prohibition law.
The board held their decision
on this matter In abeyance.
TOWN TO PAVE
DEPOT STREET:
SEEKING BIDS
Aldermen Discuss Water
Problems, Will Have
Pumps Checked
The Franklin board of alder
men, at Its' meeting Monday
evening, voted to advertise for
bids for the paving of Depot
street and a section of Wayah
street, decided to have the
town's three water pumps
checked to determine if they
are delivering maximum output,
and made minor alterations In
the business district parking
regulations.
Decision to go ahead with the
paving of Depot street, without
waiting further for the State
highway commission to do the
job, was taken upon motion or
alderman L. B. Phillips, second
ed by Alderman E. J. Whitmlre,
Jr. The town has been negotiat
ing with the State Highway
commission for the paving of
this street for the past year and
a half, and repeatedly has been
given to understand that the
state would do the work.
The sections to be paved are
Depot street from East Main to
Wayah, and Wayah street from
its intersection with Depot east
to the railroad.
Most of the meeting was de
voted to hearing delegations and
to discussion of the water situ
ation and parking problems.
After George Reece, E. A.
Stiles, and John Bulgin had
complained about the taste and
odor of town water since in
stallation of the temporary fil
tering and chlorinating plant on
a creek Just west of the town
limits, the board members open
ed a discussion of the water
probtem.
Mayor W. Angel, Jr., told
the delegation and the board
that samples of the water are
sent weekly to the State Board
of Health. He added that the
water meets the states' health
specifications, and that the state
board has reported that, except
for the first sample received,
no odor has been detected.
Alderman W. C. Burrell sug
gested that perhaps the cause of
the trouble in West Frantyin is
the fact that, when the new
water main in that section was
installed, a heavy chlorinating
solution was used to disinfect
the pipe. He suggested that the
fire hydrants be opened and
water pumped through the main
at high speed, to thoroughly
flush the main and' remove the
remaining solution. Other board
members expressed doubt of the
feasibility of this plan, due to
the relatively small amount of
water available.
At this point Mayor Angel an
nounced that a new pump and
motor have been installed at
the emergency pumping station,
thus relieving the fire truck,
which has been used for that
purpose. He added that, at pres
ent, water is being pumped
irom the creek only about two
days a week, and that it was
hoped that it would not be nec
essary to use this temporary
water supply for more than one
more month.
Mr. Phillips suggested that, if
people were stopped from wash
ing cars and watering lawns,
the temporary water supply
booster might not be necessary
now. Alderman Russell Cabe
commented that something
should certainly be done.
Residents of the Murphy road
section said, due to the odor
and taste of the water coming
through the main directly from
the emergency plant to the
spigot in their houses, several
wells are being dug in West
Franklin.
Mayor Angel pointed out again
that it was hoped to be able to
discontinue the temporary plant
soon, but that he felt it is nec
essary to continue the present
pumping to Insure fire protec
tion, and he added that filling
station operators have a rigiu
to be able to wash cars and
that it was a hardship on these
business men to limit their
water supply.
Following Mr. Angel's com
ment, Mr. Phillips suggested
that the present system be con
tinued until a surplus of water
is accumulated, and then that
the pumps and line be checked
for defective machinery and for
leaks In the line.
A letter was read from the
McBumey Stoker and Equip
ment company, of Atlanta, Oa.,
?Continued on Paf* Tan