Community Club WiU Meet Friday Night, August S, at 8 o’clock
hoes,
ns,
eters
and See Us
OMPANY
INA
VOLUME
THE PILOT
NUMBER
36
Devoted to the Upbuilding of Vass and Its Surrounding Country
SUBSCRIPTION $2.00
VASS, N. C., FRIDAY, JULY 29, 1921
PRICE FIVE CENTS
FOR THE COMMUNITY CLUB
THE FAYETTEVILLE ROAD
The News Letter, of Chapel Hill,
oflfers the following for the considera
tion of the community club, here as
well as elsewhere:
(1) Determine the level of the
streets and begin to grade them and
to lay curbing and pavements.
(2) Extend the sewer and water
systems throughout the town, and
compel the people to connect there
with.
(3) Provide a good lighting system.
(4) Provide a decent, well-kept
lockup.
(5) Increase the fire protection and
put it on a paid basis.
(6) Purchase an incinerator.
(7) Lay out a town square and pro
vide a band stand.
(8) Build a town hall, or a communi
ty building, with adequate facilities
for the production of plays, communi
ty sings, and other public entertain
ment.
(9) Provide a market-place for farm
produce, with public hitching and
camping ground for the farmers, and
a drinking fountain for man and beast.
(10) Provide a rest room for the
farmers’ wives when they come to
town.
(11) Furnish free tuition for the
children in the surrounding trade area.
(12) Provide ample play facilities
for the children on the school grounds.
(13) Provide while land is cheap
for playgrounds and parks that are
likely to be required in the future. A
well-equipped playground should in
clude a baseball diamond, tennis
courts, a swimming pool, swings, sand
piles, and so on. It should be located
near the center of the town.
(14) Provide an adequate health de
partment, which should include a
whole-time health officer and a public
nurse.
(15) Pay sufficient salaries to en
able the town to secure competent
employment in all its paid offices;
employ enough people to transact the
city’s business after the best and
most efficient methods.
COTTON CROP SHY
The figures from the government
show that the cotton crop will be the
smallest harvested in about thirty
years. The acreage was decreased,
and with that goes a poor year in
most sections. More corn and wheat
will probably be harvested than last
year, not two-thirds as much tobacco,
and nothing like as much fruit. Hogs
and cattle on the farms are not quite
up to last year which was below the
year preceeding. It looks as if the
country is going to pay for cutting the
farmer down to bed rock prices and
not giving him a low price for what
he buys. Many things will be short
this year.
Never judge the merit of a joke
by the laugh of a woman who has a
pretty dimple or pretty teeth.
The talk last week about the road
from Vass way of the camp to
Fayetteville has been the cause of
considerable talk along this line. D.
T. McLauchlin called attention to the
fact that this is the shortest possible
route from almost any part of Moore
coimty to Fayetteville, and much the
shortest from the larger part of the
county. While talking of this matter
he referred to the older days when
the road from Carthage to Fayette
ville passed just above Vass and led
down to Morrison’s Bridge and thence
out to Longstreet and Fayetteville.
This was the outlet for all the upper
part of the county above the Yadkin
and the Morganton roads. These
roads are now shut off by the camp,
and to get to Fayetteville from Moore
county now it is necessary to go by
Aberdeen and Raeford, and Aberdeen
is as far from Fayetteville going by
Raeford as going by Vass.
The old sign up near the Presby
terian church says that Fayetteville
is 28 miles distant. It is about 12
miles from Aberdeen to Vass, making
40 miles this way from Aberdeen to
Fayetteville. From Aberdeen to
Fayetteville by Raeford is 40 miles.
From all of the county above South
ern Pines, Pinehurst, and Jackson
Springs, it appears that .by Vass is
the nearer route to Fayetteville, now
that the camp shuts off the Morgan
ton road from Southern Pines and the
Chicken road from Aberdeen.
Years ago Fayetteville was the
marketing town of all this territory
away up beyond the Deep River. It
ought to be yet, and wduld be if the
people could get there, but they can
not. And this fact Mr. McLauchlin
thinks ought to interest Fayetteville
in getting this proposed road through.
The road as planned would follow
an almost direct line from Carthage
to Fayetteville, making a route from
one county seat direct to the other,
and one that is desirable on this ac
count. On the way it would touch
Camp Bragg, and afford short and
easy communication between the
camp and Pinehurst and other Moore
county winter resort centers. The
road is already buiit most of the way,
as it goes out from Vass to Morrison’s
Bridge, and from this side of the
bridge the route would be down by
the McQueen power plants to Lamont’s
Bridge, where it could cross the river
to the camp side; or it could continue
on down this side of the river and
cross at the bridge on the road from
Fayetteville to Manchester. From
that bridge the road is built to Fay
etteville.
The route is a good one to build on,
as it is right free from hills, and the
grade would be easy all the way. It
would travel a territory that is of
much importance all the way. Leav
ing Vass, where the traffic from Moore
county would convene, it would go
down through the Lobelia countryf
and there strike on the settlements
LAKEVIEW
between Vass and the lower power
dam. There is no better farming
region in the state, and it is filling up
pretty fast with good farmers. But
the power development down that
way is of consequence, and a road
into the industrial section is desirable.
The road that goes to the lower dam
and fit for travel, and is used all the
time. From there to Fayetteville by
Overhills is a road that is frequently
used, but it is a little farther around
than a road by Lamont’s Bridge, or
even straight down the north side of
the river to the Manchester Bridge
would be. After crossing the river
the road would enter camp territory,
and bring Camp Bragg into short
touch with all the Moore county re
sorts that the officers and men would
be interested in.
From all points of view this road
would be valuable. As a developer
of trade between Fayetteville and all
of Moore county it would be worth
building. As an open way to the
camp it would be worth while, and
even for fhe sake of opening the way
down to the big river dams it would
be an attraction. Mr. McLauchlin pro
poses that Fayetteville be asked to
lend some ijifluence at that end of
the line and that the people of Moore
go at this end, and see if the unim
proved section of the road can not
be made fit for a more extensive
travel. Carthage and Fayetteville he
thinks should have a through road
to connect the two' county seats, and
this old route is the only available
one, and it has so many things to
justify it that he believes it can be
done.
TOBACCO HARVEST BEGUN
The tobacco harvest has commenced,
and the leaf is coming off in pretty
good condition. More heavy tobac
co was planted this year than last
year, and that is showing as it goes
into the barns. It too soon to pre
diet yet what will be the character
of the crop, but planters say the yield
to the acre will be bigger, but that
the* acreage will be off at least a third.
Prices on the South Carolina markets
indicate a low figure, and especially
for the poor grades. But as all the
tobacco made this year had been made
at lower cost this is not so painful
as it was last year when the cost of
making the crop was so high.
Inquiry among the best posted
authorities says the farmers are not
m bad shape this year. Most of them
around Vass bought their fertilizer
for cash, and are not confronted with
debts. Many of them have much ol
'their last cotton crop still on hand,
and they are putting into practice the
lesson of economy that was taught by
last year’s experience. With a
reasonably fair crop this season bring
ing any decent price at all the farmers
of this part of the country, according
to current report, will be in good
shape.
Mr. J. R. McQueen made a busi
ness trip to South Carolina last week.
Mr. Upchurch, of Raeford, was a
business visitor in our village Tuesday.
Mr. and Mrs. Knox Carrol, of Mt.
Gilead, spent part of Monday at the
Gardner House, the guests of their
grandparents.
Mr. Murdock and family, of Dur
ham, are spending this week at Camp
Overlook. They come each summer
and it seems good to see them back.
Little Miss Evelyn Gardner spent
last week with little Miss Mary Ruth
Harrington, at her home near Glen-
don.
Rev. and Mrs. J. A. Wood, of Wor
cester, Mass., are passing some time
with their children, Mrs. S. J. Stutts,
and Mr. A. C. Wood, of this place.
Mr. Lloyd Gardner, of Pinehurst,
spent the week-end with his parents
here.
Mr. and Mrs. O. H. Stutts are spend
ing their vacation in Atlantic City.
Mrs. W. J. Harrington and little
girls, Mary Ruth and Lucille, spent
ast week at their country home near
Glendon.
Mr. and Mrs. M. T. Driggers and
Mr. and Mrs. Howard, of Hamlet, '
were Sunday visitors in town.
Mrs.. Nearing, who has been the
guest of Mrs. A. S. Newcomb, left
last week for her home in New York.
Mrs. Nearing is very much impressed
with the Sandhills and has purchased
a home in Pinehurst.
Everything is lively at Lakeview
this summer. All the cottages ar.
full and booked to the very last of the
season. We have large crowds all
the time and the dances are well at
tended, with a picnic from some
source almost every day. These hot
summer days finds the lake full of
bathers and everything is going
well despite the hard times and money
scarcity.
Mr. S. H. Gardner, of Orangeburg,
was in town Monday, visiting his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. S. H. Gardner.
WHAT IT COSTS
According to figures just given out
it’s going to cost each citizen of the
United State's the sum of $82 to keep
the government running next year.
That doesn’t mean that every man
and woman in Vass, for instance, will
ay that sum, because not all of them
are taxpayers. But it means that
those who do pay taxes will have to
make up an amount equal to $82 for
every man and woman living in this
country. This is based on a budget
of $6,500,000,000, which would mean
i ^.er capita of about $60. But state
and county taxes average up another
$22, so it really means a tax of $82
on every citizen to run his government
one year. It’s a lot of money. There’s
no getting away from that fact. But
when we stop to compare this nation
with any or all of the others we*re
forced to admit that $82 a year is
pretty cheap for the privilege of living
in the best coruntry on earth.