COMMUNITY CLUB Meets Tonight, Friday, at the School House
VOLUNE
2
THE PILOT
NUNBER
21
SUBSCRIPTION $2.00
Devoted to the Upbuilding of Vass and Its Surrounding Country
FINE NEW DRUG STORE
The first of next week the Wiggins
Drug Store will open for business in
the new Beasly building in Vass. The
building has been so far completed
that business can now begin in one
of the best buildings in the county.
The Wiggins Drug Store is equipping
its room with the modern appliances,
and will be another credit to this live
community. • The manager is D. G.
Ridenhour, a druggist of experience.
The store will cary a full stock of
drugs and druggists sundries, and will
operate in addition a soda fountain
and prescription department that will
give Vass the equal of anything in
this section.
EULOGY ON THE DOG
VASS, N. C., FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 1922
JACKSON SPRINGS
By U. S. Senator Geo. G. Vest, on
September, 1870:
“Gentlemen of the Jury: The best
friend a man has in this world may
turn against him and become his
enemy. His son and daughter that
he has reared with loving care may
become ungrateful. Those who are
nearest and dearest to us, those
whom we trust with our happiness
and our good name, may become
traitors to their faith. The money
that a man has he may lose. It flies
away from him when he may need it
most. Man’s reputation may be sac
rificed in a moment of ill considered
action. The people who are prone
to fall on their knees and do us honor
when success is with us may be the
first to throw the stone of malice
when failure settles its cloud upon
our heads. The absolutely unselfish
friend a man may have in this selfish
w'orld, the one that never deserts him,
the one that never proves ungrateful
or treacherous, is his dog.
“Gentlemen of the Jury: A man’s
dog stands by him in prosperity and
poverty, in health and in sickness. He
will sleep on the cold ground, when
the wintry winds blow and the snow
drives fiercely, if only he may be
near his master’s side. He will kiss
the hand that has no food to offer,
he will lick the wounds and sores
that come in encounter witk the
roughness of the world. He guards
the sleep of his pauper master as if
he were a prince.
“When all other friends desert, he
remains. When riches takes wings
and reputation falls to pieces he is as
constant in his love as the sun in
its journey through the heavens. If
fortune drives the master forth an*
outcast into the world, friendless and
homeless, the faithful dog asks no
higher privilege than that of ac
companying him, to guard against
danger, to fight against.his enemies,
and when the last scene of all comes,
and death takes his master in its em
brace and his body is laid away in
the cold ground, lio matter if all
other friends pursue their way, there
hy his graveside will the noble dog
he found, his head between his paws
and his eyes sad, but open in alert
The farmers in this section are be
ginning to plant their crops. A large
acreage will be planted this year, and
a large amount of commercial fertili
zer will be used.
The local high school will hold an
athletic field day event on Easter
Monday. There will be an egg hunt
for the little ones and the high school
will hold their class meet. Much
friendly rivalry is among the high
school students, and each class will
try to Win more points than the other
classes. The regulations for the track
meet will be the same as at the
county field day.
There will also be a baseball game
in the afternoon between the local
highs and the Ellerbe highs which
will be interesting, for the locals will
try hard to win over a team that won
their first game of the season.
Although there has been no build
ing goin on in the village the past
few weeks, several houses have been
remodeled or had some repair work
done and local carpenters have not
been idle, for there has been some
building going on in the country.
There will soon be some new houses
and cottages built here, for nearly
all the summer cottages have been
turned into residlences.
The officers for the next year for
the Presbyterian Sunday School are
Lonnie Blue, superintendent; W. E.
Blue, assistent superintendent, and
J. P. Clark, secretary and treasurer.
This is one of the best Sunday Schools
in this section of the state. Usually
young men and boys are not very
careful about a perfect attendance,
but not with this class in the local
Presbyterian Sunday School. On last
Sunday there were thirty-one present
with several visitors in George Ross’
Class which speaks well for the young
men and their teachers.
The whiskey business has not ap
peared to be as bad here the past
several weeks as it was a few months
ago. A still was found Thursday but
was idle, and the worm was gone. It
is now rumored that some negroes
who have been staying around here
for several weeks have disappeared.
Drowning Creek was again taken ad
vantage of, the still being near the
creek on a lake, and could be run at
night so as to make people think
it was fishermen, but citizens will be
more careful to watch their swamps
hereafter.
Dr. and Mrs. A. A. McDonald and
their son, Carlton, were Charlotte
visitors Friday. We are glad to state
the latter’s eyes have shown some im
provement under the treatment of Dr.
Garrett, of Rockingham.
Mrs. T. J. Holt, of Spfencer, has
rented the Shamberger house from W.
L. Holliday and will be here with her
stepmother and daughter until fall.
Editor D. S.Poole, of Raeford, spent
Sunday with relatives here.
watchfulness, faithful and true even
to death.”
DID LAND SALE AT ABERDEEN
SET A NEW PRICE LEVEL
Since the days of the deflation there
has not been much activity in Sand
hill land and we have been bluster
ing about in what little buying and
selling we have done. There are
those of us who predict that Sand
hill land has not yet reached its top
notch. On the other hand there are
those who contend that prices are
entirely out of line with present con
ditions and that a new level must be
established in order to again start
the ball rolling. There are any num
ber of buyers who are holding back
hoping that they will be able to buy
cheaper later on. On the other hand
there are plenty of owners who hesi
tate to turn loose now, anticipating
a further advance.
If the Blue estate Auction sale
can be taken as a criterion, it would
seem that those who hold that there
must be a r^^-adjustment in land
values before there will again be
brisk trading, and that those who
hold have a right to be heard,
for here was a well advertised
sale with a good sprinkling of buyers
from this section, and elsewhere, who
were able to buy. The property itself
was above the ordinary. Aside from
other points in its favor it had lo
cation. None of it sold at anything
near one-half of what it would have
brought two years ago. Yet it must
be assumed that it brought considera
bly more by the auction method than
it would have done by private sale.
The inference is that the bulk of
Sandhill land is held at prohibitive
figures. It is undoubtedly true that
perhaps after the trading once again
starts our old scale will be re-estab-
lished. There are, of course, portions
of Sandhill land to which this does
not apply. These are affected purely
by local conditions and they have had
a big enhancement even in spite of
the general deflation.
Money is tight, of course, and there
is not much of it available to the
prospective land buyer but banks
might take a different view of the
matter and money again come out of
its hiding place' if we would more
quickly readjust ourselves to the new
conditions.
PRECINCT MEETING
The democratic voters of Vass pre
cinct met in The Pilot offidc last Sat
urday and elected the folloWing com
mittee: Stacy Brewer, chaii’man; W.
D. Smith, J. A. Keith, W. B. Graham
and W. C. Leslie.
The democratic county convention
will be held at Carthage Saturday,
the 15th.
PRICE FIVE CENTS
BILLY
By Helen Mar D’Auby
You haven’t seen Billy?
I’m sure you have not.
When he’s off on a canter,
Or maybe a trot.
With his pretty young mistress,
Whose willowy grace
Seems only a part
Of Billy’s best pace,
As she sits in the saddle,
The to^ch of her hand
On Billy’s proud neck,
Is his word of command;
And to 5illy, her voice
Is as sun to the shade,
Or as light to the dark.
When the world was first made.
If you could but see
How his lovely face glows,
And the soft little twitch
In his velvety nose,
As he feels her soft pats,
And the love in her tones,
Trickles down through the marrow
Of his muscles and bones,
You wouldn’t take time
To eat, or to play.
Or lie in the shade
Through the heat of the day;
You’d get up and work
Till you had the hard pelf,
To buy a horse like him.
For your very own self.
But you haven’t seen Billy,
Or you’d s*urely know
That to find such another.
You must travel, you’d go
Over Araba’s plains,
To the East, and the West, i
Wherever the pastures
Were greenest and best;
And then, when at last.
Your long quest was done.
On the earth, you would try
The moon and the sun,
You’d search through the stars.
And all spaces on high;
But, you haven’t seen Billy,
Or you wouldn’t try. :
THE EMPTY GUN
DEATH OF COLORED CHILD
The three year old daughter of
Neill Tucker, colored, died Monday
and was buried Tuesday at Lillington.
Bring us your Job Work.
Trite as the saying is about the
empty” gun being the most deadly,
and as often as the explanation that
he “didn’t know it was loaded” has
been given following a tragedy, the
careless handling of firearms still con
tinues. Hardly a day passes in
America that some one is not fatally
shot by a supposedly empty weapon.
The fatal business goes on as though
no warning had ever been issued. We
once knew of a father who instructed
his children never to point a gun of
any kind AT ANYBODY. Doubtless
the rule seemed rather foolish to the
young folks, but he insisted upon its
observance. In later years these chil
dren acknowledged the value of the
rule. It would be advisable, v,^e be
lieve, for Vass parents and teacl.ei-s
to impose a rule and, as far as possi
ble, convince boys and girls that it
is much the safest way, except in
self-defense, NEVER TO ATM A
WEAPON AT ANY PERSON.