Highway Safety
Rteord for l?At to Dati
<1 tool Sum KH'tl
KILLED ????? ?
INJURED ?
Do your Part to Keep
These Figures Down!
?be 4fctit|Iitt
i2Ef|e ISjigWanlM JUacotxtan
VOL LX1II? NO. 59
FRANKLIN, N. C- THURSDAY, DECE..BIR 9, 1948
TEN PAGES
Beer, Wine Will Be
Illegal Here After
Midnight Wedns?:ay
The sale of beer or wine
anywhere in Maoea County
will become Illegal alter
midnight Wednesday of oext
week.
Legal beer and wine were
voted out by margin* of
about II to 1 in t county -
wide election last August
28, and the effective date
M?s fired as midnight, De
k 'nber IS, by Jiudge H.
Jr Sink, when he dia
led a. restraining order.
,he temporary restraining
?er had forbidden the
fintjr board of elections
certifying the election
suits. At a hearing in
aynesA ? September tt,
ge Sinl dissolved the In
ion Aiui gave the *11
'/ttlen in this county
ember 15 to d fa
ir stocks.
W E HONOR
henson
Otto Man At U. N. C.
Qualifies For Phi
Beta Kappa
n - ?
Perry Cleveland Henson,
Macon County student at the
University of North Carolina,
has qualified for election to
membership in Phi Beta Kappa,
scholarship fraternity, accord
ing to an announcement re
ceived he:e from the University.
Membership in Phi Eet
Kappa, one of the oldeest col
legiate organizations in t t.t
country, is considered the high
est scholastic honor that can
be won by an undergraduate.
It is a mark of distinction
awarded tor excellence in
scholarship.
Mr. Henson, who is the son
of Mr. and Mrs. Thurmond
Henson, of the Otto community,
attended the Otto school and
was graduated from the Frank
i lin High school in 1M0. Now 26
years of age, he served, it is
understood. In the armed force
between high school and college.
His first two college years,
friends here said.Mie made all
"A's\
Presbyterian Youth
Plan Program Sunday
The Presbyterian Youth Pel '
lowship will present a program
on 'Origin and Use of the Bible"
Sunday night at 7:30 at the
church. This program will take
the place of the usual Sunday
evening worship service, and
the entire congregation is in
vited to attend.
50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
"Bony" Ridley was In town
Saturday and became hilarious
as usual when he comes to
town. But "Bony" was more hi
larious than usual and the
Marshal packed him In the
cooler where he had time to
reduce the degree of his hilarity
and to meditate on the fra tittles
of human nature In general and
town marshals In particular.
25 YEARS AGO
The chestnut blight, a de
structive fungous disease, has
been steadily spreading south
ward as well as northward and
westward since its lntorductlon
into this country from Asia.
Representatives of the Depart
ment of Agriculture have given
most exhaustive study to the
question of controll of the dis
ease, but Its character U such
that all efforts to develop any
way to stop it from spreading
have been without avail.
10 YEARS AGO
The residential decorative
lighting contest sponsored by
the Nantahala Power and Light
company will begin on Decem
ber 17 and end on the Mth. The
first prise will be $11 In cash
and the second prise 110. Judg
ing will be made on originality,
L artistic arrangement, and beauty
k of display. There will be three
'its, who are In no way con
. -4 with the company, in*
^tfeeiaicm wlli * flail,
SAYS ALDERMEN
MIGHT BE DUE
BLAME FOR FIRE
doard Asked To Cut Two
.i xil) Install
New Traffic Light
In the course of an action
packed session Monday night, a
member of the Franklin board
jl aldermen told the board that
it would be responsible, sh uld
Franklin have a serious busi
ness district fire originating In
the Mrs. Kansas Stewart hous
(the old Love , house), situated
lust off the square.
The assertion was made by
Alderman E. J. Whltmire, Jr.,
luring a discussion of the build
ing, which has been condemned
by state and town authorities,
ind of the alleyway which ru ts
in the rear of the business
juildlngs on the south side of
jptown East Main street. *?
The board also adopted a
-esolutlon favoring extending
the city limits to include the
ran kiln cemetery and the
.ilghway adjoining it, and re
lueslng C. 8. Slagle, repres.n
catlve from Macon County, to
introduce a bill to that effect
at the coming session of ths
general assembly.
This action was in response
to a request by Ollmer A. Jonej,
ecretary of the Franklin Ceme
tery association, that this prop
erty be put In the corporate
limits In order to extend police
jrotection over it.
Requested by Carl Tyslnger
ither to cut, or allow the tele
hone company to cut, two
trees on Main street, the boarc
referred the matter to the
treet committee to determine
if the trees were dead, and
needed removing. The trees re
.'erred to by Mr. Tyslnger are
the maples standing by the
southwest corner of the cou.t
house and a maple which stand*
In front of the telephone office
The committee is composed o
L. B. Phillips, E. J. Whltmire.
arid Erwin Patton.
Upon the recommendation o
the street committee, which at
a previous meeting had been
?Continued on Page Sb
Penland Wins
Kansas City Stock Show
Gold Medal
Lewis Penland, '17, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Pen
land, of Scaly, won a gold
medal? the highest of five
awards? and $67.50 as a cash
prize at the National Livestock
Judging contest in Kansas City.
Official results of the event, held
in October, have Just been an
nounced.
Penland and three other
Macon FFA boys, coached by
E. J. Whitmtre, Jr., vocational
agriculture teacher, competed In
a field of 102 boys from 34
states.
Each of the boys and each
team was given one of five
ratings, gold, silver, bronae
medals, honorable mention or
participation.
Foy Dryman, 19, son of Mis
Bellle Dryman, of Otto, won
the second high rating, a silver
medal, and Billy Teague, 14
year old mm of Mr. and Mrs
Wilbur Teague, of Prentiss, was
given the participation rating.
The team, on which two sub
stitutions were necessitated by
circumstances, won a bronze
plaque.
Eveiy Official,
As Court Ope is,
I* Macon Pe.scn
When the December term
of superior court opened
here Monday morning, it
was an all-Mac-n tribunal
Every official of the court
? judge, solicitor, juror ,
clerk of court, sheriff, and
court reporter? was a Macon
County person.
Later in the day, out-of
town attorneys appeared,
but when the co-rt conv ned
e?en all the lawyers present
were citizens of this county.
A Little Bit
Of Bull, A
Worthy Cause
This is a "bull story".
And there's a little bit of bull
here for everybody who's In
terested.
But the story will have to be
good If it measures up to Its
subject.
For the bull in question was
the finest one raised ln West
ern North Carolina this year.
That's what the judges at the
Weestern North Carolina Fat
Stock show said.
It's about the' Macon County
produced grand champion prize,
bull, Ln other words; and, like
the other variety of "bull",
here's enough of this one to go
around.'
For Hayes Gregory's prize
winning calf is going to be cut
up into five pound packages,
labeled as to cut. And the
packages are going to be sola
to the highest bidders at en
auction set for 7:30 o'clock
Saturday night, December lc,
at the Slagle Memorial. B. W.
(Bennle) McGlamery will be
auctioneer.
It's customary for locsB peo
)le Ln a community to pay a
premium price for a prize-win
.lig animal, In order to encour
age the raising of fine stock
by the youngsters. A group ol
otarlans here felt that Greg
ory's calf ought to bring 7.
ents a pound, so the under
wrote the purchase of the 930
pounds of bull at that price.
By cutting the animal up and
auctioning it, it is felt, every
body will have a chance to get
;ome prize beef; every body
will have a chance to d
its bit toward encouraging live
stock farming here; and, most
mportant of all, perhaps, at
the same time everybody c n
lelp a worthy cause.
For It is hoped the bidding
will be spirited enough to brin^
n a lot more than enough to
jay for the calf. And the over
age will go toward purchase of
the furnace for the Slagle
Memorial building.
Yule Cantata
A Christmas cantata will be
presented at the Franklin
Methodist church at 8 o'clock
Sunday night, December 18.
It will be the fourth succes
sive year that members of the
choirs of the four Franklin
churches have Joined for a pro
gram of Christmas' music. The
event always draws an attend
ance that fills the church.
Between 25 and 30 persons
are practicing for the cantata,
which this year is under the
direction of Mrs. Clarence
Henry.
Members of churches through
put the county, regardless of
denomination, are Invited to at
tend, it was emphasized
Benefit Musical Program
At Highlands Nets $182
i
The musical show, with all
local talent cast, given last
Thursday night at the High
lands school auditorium, drew
a record crown. The entertain
ment was held under the spon
sorship of the Highlands Par
ent-Teacher association for the
benefit of the school gymna
sium fund, and netted approxi
mately $119,
The Re*. R. B. DuPree, with
silk hat ?ad can*,, under whose
direction the entertainment was
given, wu master of cere
monles, assisted by Wllltrd
Crttp,
The pffifram opMwd With
nwyberi h*> the Qunfe band,
which is composed of "Leg O'
Lamb", "Ram's Head", "Wooly
Sheep", "Lamble Pie" and "Black
Sheep". Members of this musi
cal group are Floyd Lamb, Wil
lard Crisp, J. C. Hicks, Wayne
Hicks, Bill Wilson, and Olenn
Wilson.
Included In the program were
numbers by the Wallard crisp
band, the Eugene McCall group
singers, vocal and stringed In
strument solos, duets, trios, and
quartets, and a saw special by
the Rev. Paul B. Nix. A barber
shop quartet, ootnpoeed of Dr.
W, M. Mathews, W. A. Hays,
?Continued on Pafi sit
Garland Given 25 Years
In Highlands Robberies
Judge Urges Full-Time
School Attendance
Officer Here
Terming Macon County's rate
of Illiteracy "alarming", especi
ally among young people, Judge
George B. Patton told the grand
Jury Monday that this county
should have a full-time school
attendance officer.
Charging the grand Jurors at
the opening of the December
term of superior court, Judge
Patton said:
"I think we should have some
Individual in Macon County to
devote full time to the school
attendance problem. That indi
vidual", he added, "should be
such an individual as under
stands the difference between a
legitimate excuse for absence
from school and truancy, or
deliberate failure of the parents
to send the child to school.
"I hope that in future", he
continued, "in Macon County It
can become reality that every
child has an equal opportunity
to have at least a high school
education. But it is a shame to
have the schools and not take
advantage of them.
"Under the law as it Is now",
he explained, "the question of
compulsory school attendance is
in the lap of the welfare .de
partment, unless the ounty pro
vides an attendance officer, and
the welfare department has
plenty of problems of its own".
Judge Patton explained that
what he said was not Intended
as a reflection on the welfare
department, adding that It has
many duties, and is handi
capped by lack of personnel.
Turning to another angle oi
education, Judge Patton com
mented that "the state says we
have a state-wide school syste.i.,
but actually we don't", and he
explained that, while the state
provides the teachers, it is left
to the counties to provide the
ouildlngs and methods of get
ting the children to atte.d
school.
Commenting that the $400,000
;chool building bonds voted by
the people of this county in
1945 "is only a drop in the
and that issuance of enough
bucket" compared with needs,
bonds to do the job would re
sult in an almost hopelessly
high tax rate. He urged the
people of the county to "exert
themselves and let this county's
representative in the legislature
know they want him to fight
for adequate state aid for a
school building program.
Dry Forces Here
To Hold 'Victoiy
Parade' On Dec. 18
The Dry forces o f Macon
County will hold a rally De
cember iff at U o'clock. While
all details have not been com
pleted, one of the main features
will be a "victory parade" tn ,
celebration of winning of the
election last summer when the
sale of beer and wine was voted
out in this county.
The parade will begin at the
school building and continue to
the courthouse, where a short
program will be held. Transpor
tation will be furnished those
wishing to attend.
The Rev. C. E. Parker Is
chairman of the rally day pro
gram.
Guild Will Hold Bazaar,
Food, 'Parcel Po?t' Sale
The Wesleyan Service guild
of the Franklin Methodist
church will hold a combination
bazaar, food sale, and "parcel
post" sale at the Nantahala
Power and Light company of
fice Stfturday. The benefit event
is set for 10 a. m. It was ex
plained that, In a "parcel post"
sale, donors send In packages by
mall, and they are sold, un
opened, for 29 cents.
SEAL SAME OPENS
The annual tuberculosis seal
sale got under way this week,
undsr the chairmanship of R. S.
(Tony) Welch. The sale Is
sponsored by the Franklin
Lions club. Three-fourths of thl
funds raised will be kept In
Maeon County.
Developments
looking to improvement of
Macon County school at
tendance :
Judge George B. Patton
spoke out strongly on the
problem in his charge to
the grand jury.
The county board <f
education moved to cm
ploy an attendance officer.
Supt. G. L. Iioiik made
public detailed instructions
sent to all principals.
The Maco n County
grand jury's report urged
action by all officials re
sponsible.
Attendance
Officer May
Be Employed
Macon County school author
ities have taken action looking
to improving school attendance
and enforcement of the com
pulsory attendance law.
The county board of educa
tion. at Its meeting Monday
discussed a proposal that it em
loy a school attendance of
ficer, and Supt. Guy L. Hsuk
distributed to boaid membe.:
copies of a 1,200-word mimeo
graphed memorandum on th(
subject which, he explained, he
has sent to all principals in thi
county.
Employment of an attend
ance officer was proposed bj
Board Member Bob Sloan.
Some months ago, at the re
quest of the board of educa
tion and the county welfare
department, the board of county
commissioners appropriated
funds for an additional case
worker in the welfare depart
ment, which now has the re
sponsibility for prosecution ol
compulsory attendance law vio
lation. The purpose was to gi.e
the welfare department suffi
cient personnel to push for
better school attendance.
The worker employed, how
ever, soon resigned, and the
welfare office, it Is explained
has been unable, with the funds
available, to employ a person
meeting federal-state qualifica
tions.
Mr. Sloan proposed, therefore,
that the commissioners be re
quested to transfer this addi
tional welfare department ap
propriation to the school board
so that It could employ an
attendance officer, an arrange
ment that has the sanation 01
the attendance law.
His suggestion appeared to
meet with the approval of other
board members, and he was
delegated to take the matter up
with the commissioners.
Members of the latter board
indicated that they favor such
an arrangement, but polntid
out that the county has to pay
only a part of the salary of a
w e i t a r e department worker,
while an attendance oMcer's
salary would all have to come
from county funds. The com
missioners agreed to take the
matter under consideration
Youth Breaks Down W'h.xi
Attorneys Mint.in
Wife, Parents
In a tensely hushed court
room, Berne Arch Garland late
Monday was sentenced to 2i
years for his part In last sum
mer's robberies of three High
lands places of business.
It was not a question of a
jury's verdict, for the youth
had entered a guilty plea. Then
he had taken the stand ai d
told his story of what happened
during his some six weeks' as
sociation with Floyd Philpotts,
43, who has a long criminal
record. Finally, Garland's at
torney, appointed by the court,
had plead for mercy. Duri.g
those six weeks he told the
court, "about all the boy got
was heartaches, for himself,
and his wife, and his father
and mother".
It was to learn, therefore,
what the sentence would be that
the spectators listened so in
tently as darkness fell outside
the courtroom.
Garland, red-haired and
slight, wore a hard mask ol
apparent indifference as he
chewed gum while sitting in
the courtroom for his case to
be called.
But he lost that mask as t.ie
case progressed.
On the stand, he told a stoiy
of youth succumbing, lirst to
the lure of easy money as a
chauffeur, then to the dominat
ing personality of an older man,
and finally to fear.
He declared Philpotts, whom
he knew as Phillips, posed as
an insurance adjuster and of
fered htm $75 a week to drive
Philpotts' fine new car, instead
of the $27 Garland was then
easing as a laborer at Lincoln
Memorial university. He said he
did not know Philpotts' busi
ness until after the robbery of
the Spruce Pine Laundry. He
declared all he got out of the
$2,000 Potts store robbery was
$75. And he said Philpotts re
peatedly threatened him. When
the two broke jail in Bryscn
City, he said, Philpotts sawed
the bars, and threatened him
with a knife Philpotts had
made from a putty knife when
Garland at first refused to
leave the jail.
Mrs. Garland, Who previously
apparently knew nothing of her
"husband's activities, was in the
automobile when the officers
arrested the two men and their
wives, and officers said that
Mrs. Garland, while she was in
jail here, and her husband at
Bryson City, wiote him dally,
urging him to tell the truth,
and then "build" his time; that
she would wait for him, and
they would start life over to
gether when he was free again.
And when he took the stand,
Garland several times hesitated
at a question, then made dam
aging admissions. Asked, for
example, if he knew, when Phil
potts gave him a shirt and
pair of pants after the Spruce
Pine Laundry robbery, that they
were stolen, Garland swallowed
hard, then said. "Yes, sir". And
when he denied entering any
of the Highlands places of
usiness, saying he had se: ed
as 'a lookout for Philpotts, he
added: "Bat I know I am just
is guilty as If I had gone In".
Later, when his attar.. ey,
? Continued on Pace Sis
Grand Jury Report Urges
Better School Attendance
The Macon County grand Jury
Tuesday called an the officials
responsible to do everything
possible to improve school at
tendance In this county.
Prior to making and filing
their report In superior court,
the grand Jurors called In the
county superintendent of
schools, the superintendent of
welfare, the chairman of the
board of county commissioners
and questioned them about the
problem of school attendance
and the related problem of Il
literacy.
The grand jury report closed
It* report with this paragraph;
"We the grand Jury, do rec
ommend that the board of edu
cation, county commissioners,
and county welfare board do all
they can to encourage school
attendance and enforce the
(compulsory school attendance)
law were necessary".
The report was signed by
Walter Bryson of . Highlands,
who was appointed grand Jury
foreman by Judge George B.
Patton, presiding, shortly after
the grand Jurors were drawn
Monday morning.
Other members of the Jury,
whose names were drawn from
? Cantlnued on h|< III