Page Two
THE PILOT, a Paper With Character, Aberdeen, North Carolina
Friday, April 24. 193^
THE PILOT
Published every Friday by
THE PILOT, Incorporated.
Aberdeen, North Carolina ^ *
NELSON C. HYDE, General Manager loUS than North Carolina. As
debt as ours, no state has so
large a debt for education, and
no state so large as ours for wel
fare institutions. Yet there are
eleven other states more popu-
BION H. BUTLER, Editor
JAMES BOYD STRUTHERS BURT
RALPH PAGE
Contributing Editors
debt creator we rank among the
first three.
The only way debts are paid
is by taxation. We have borrow
ed and spent money that has to
Subscription Rates: |be paid In addition we arc
onp Year ' |2.00 levying taxes for more money
Six Months “T ‘ f 1.00; to be spent to keep up our pro-
^ree Mrnths':;:....:.... - .50 gram of great expenditure. .
^— Now, beyond a doubt, it is
Address all communications to The
Pilot, Inc., Aberdeen, N. C.
wise to spend money to get the
things we should have, always
Entered at the Postoffice at Ab«- provided, we can provide the
deen, N. C., as second-class mail mat
ter.
IMPRACTICAL
SENATORIAL DISTRICTS
As this is written five differ
ent projects have been presented
to the legislature for new sen
atorial districts. It is unfortu
nate that the districts <are cre
ated for the reasons that usually
determine them, our own dis
trict being an example. We have
had four counties in the district,
which is open to no ob|ection as
long as the population is fair as
money and that it is to be spent
judiciously. It is wise to^ spend
money if we can afford it. The
answer to whether we can af
ford it may be found in the pro
test against taxes. It may be
found there, or it may be an un
due alarm. That is for the peo
ple to determine. We are spend
ing a tremendous lot of money.
We owe a tremendous lot. In ad
dition to st/ate debt and state
taxation we owe a great amount
in county and town, and we
spend a great total in those de
partments las well as through
state disbursements.
The trouble with taxation is
regards the other districts of 1.
the state. The misfortune is that 1 that as a state, as
in the four counties we have I a community, all of North Caro-
been allotted two senators, and | lina is clamoring for money from
through some mrious notion ' the public fund for this and "hat
curious notion
those senators are alternated,
two given one pair of counties
one session, and two to the other
pair of counties at the next ses
sion. Of course if the purpose
of a senatorial district is to per-
public
and innumerable things. If we
are to have what we demand we
have also to see the tax collec
tor. If we are to reduce we must
quit holding out our hands for
everything under the sun, and
mit as many men as possible to j Quit insisting that we must huve
occupy the senatorial seat the 1 everything that is held be^^ore
scheme is effective. But if it is 1 ,, , , ,
at all for the purpose of use- | There is the whole story We
ful and efficient legislation it is have to pay for what we have
an absolute failure. This district bought with the money borrcw-
is represented now by two men, ed. We will have to pay for all
one being Murdoch Johnson, the other things we buy. We will
who, thanks to a previous op- jhave to pay with taxes. We may
portunity to know something of j lessen taxes a little by stopping
legislation through a member- | some of our expenses, but not
ship in South Carolina before
coming here, is much better
equipped than a new man for
the work of the place. But no
many people are calling for re
duction of anything. We can’t
lessen the taxes where debts are
owned, for bonds have a way of
sooner does the average senator j demanding money or repud la
in a district like this acquire a 1 tion. Before we can settle tne
knowledge of the fundamental tax situation we have to settle
at the time as to its manner of
conduct. Its purpose is a study
of the Bible which is plenty
broad enough to occupy an hour
or so of a Sunday morning, and
with a man like Mr. Waldie to
lead the study many of the top
ics that are presented send the
attendants home with something
to think about any time they
want to think. Topic and talk
er next Sunday are worth com
ing out to hear. Open to all men
who are interested.
FEELING THEIR
GROWING PAINS
Much to the surprise of every
body when the census man
counted the folks in Southern
Pines he found some three thous
and souls. With the annexation
of the colored settlement the
number rises close tow;»rd four
thousand, and in the winter sea
son the population climbs up to
ward five or six thousand, and
becomes a definite and progres
sive member of the group of
smaller cities of North Carolina.
One of the problems of life is
for mother to keep little Willie
in proper clothes, not because he
wears them out so fast, but
rather because he does not wear
them out fast enough. Before
he has thoroughly gone though
the kne^s and the sit-down area
of his trousers they will not
reach from east to west or from
north to south on his anatomy,
and must be discarded for a
larger equipment, to the dis
may of the family exchequer.
Towns are like boys. They out
grow their facilites.
Mr. Allen’s school population
at present time in Southern
Pines is much bigger than the
things are included in the state
and county and town budgets
that have no business there, and
many are included in the nation
al budget. But unhappily nearly
all of us are eager to have more
things put there, overlooking
the fact that taxation must pay
all the expenses and outlays.
The first needful thing to do
with tax schemes is to look over
the budget and get rid of use
less expenses. Then we arrive at
the point of providing for the
things really justified.
Any logical and fair system of
taxation would consider an equal
responsibility of every citizen in
bearing the burden of govern
ment. Here is encountered the
most formidable obstacle. Near
ly everybody wants the tax
loads laid on shoulders other
than his. Until we frame a tax
measure that honestly calls on
all of us for a fair proportion of
only fair, but no other scheme
can ever work out. If the small
man dodges he is caught in some
of the ramifications of taxa
tion, and usually he is caught
for more than his fair share.
That the rich pay the taxes is
one of the most positive delus
ions. Rich and poor alike get
their money from others. And it
is the others Who provide the
money to pay the taxes and
everything else. We may think
we can dodge taxes, but if we
do not pay one way we pay
another, and in paying through
the nose we pay in the most
expensive way.
So we will never have a satis
factory or a fair tax system un
til we make a schedule that will
tax every citizen in accord with
his ability to pay, his abilty
resting on his earnings, in no
matter what form. No matter
what the bill accepted by this
the expenses of government we legislature the next one vnll have
are building a tax law that can ’ a tax job on hand. Too many
not survive. It is fair to all that | conflicting opinions are calling
the man of limited means pay for different things in the mix-
his great proportion.. It is not ture.
GFiAINS OF" SAND
of blame as well as opportunity
are all in it. ‘ ^
“Are we getting
think so.”
S-nywhere ?
New York as a whole is prettv
gloomy. It was, therefore, somethin
of a silver lining to the cloud to bear
the head of one of the world’s lar
est corporations sound a note of 00^
fidence in the future. Frederick W
Ecker, president of the largest finan
cial institution in the world, the
Metroipolitan Life Insurance Company
also voiced optimism in a talk be'
fore company agents while we were
north. “We are six months ahead of
where we think we are,” he said
“just as we were six months worse
off than we thought we were when
this wave of depression hit.”
Among North Carolinians we saw
at the Associated Press meeting were
John Park of the Raleigh Times, Jo-
sephus Daniels, Jr., of the Raleigh
News and Observer, and Talbot Pa-
trick of the Gioldsboro News-Argus.
New York is about the same.
■ the metropolis. Ernest would quickly
: acquire a stiff neck.
Of course they’ll never get it fin- 1
ished, and we don’t see how they’ll ^ .Li. j xi. i
V, , We went up to attend the annual
ever solve the traffic ,problem or how . - j -«rr 1
,, , XT. • T. 1.1.1. •i.i. n 4.1, meetmg of the Associated Press. Wal-
they keep their health with all the ^ , -j j. a
-J i-i- u XI- 4? tei* S. Gifford, president of the Amer-
carbon monoxide they breathe from , r,, , , « rr, 1 ^
the exhausts of motor vehicles, but y-
that-s their look-out. We only run up 7" the prme.pal speaker at the lun-
T, , . J 4. J -J. cheon. He seemed optimistic of the
about twice a year and can stand it , ^ ,
for a few days.
That new Empire State Building,
country’s ability to recover from the
present economic depression if we
will all keep our heads, resort to no
The weather in New York was fine
the girls as pretty a? ever, the taxi
cabs run faster than ever, and all
in all it’s a pretty good place to
come back from.
—N. C. H.
From the State Press
LINGERING IN THE SANDHILLS
tallest in the world, is worth a trip sensationalism, avoid hysteria.
‘I believe in the common sense and
to see. A1 Smith is president of the
entire population, adults, babies, | company that built it on the site of I ability of the American people,” and
school children and every thing j the famous old Waldorf-Astoria Ho- I have, therefore, no fears of the
else when Allen was first given | tel, and it looks as if it would hold present or the future. The immediate
practices of legislation than he
is set aside by our peculiar cus
tom to permit a newcomer to
take up the work at the next
session.
There is one of the great dif-
whether we are to spend less
money. If we are not the tax
burden is perpetual, and we, the
whole people, have it to carry.
Some hopeful philosophers think
it can be shifted, but it car’t.
ficulties North Carolina enconn- That has been tried for ages by
ters, and that all the states con- ^ all people, but never with suc-
tinually face, and that makes ^ess. We can’t dodge the tax col
our federal Congress much less i Sector, no matter what scheme
efficient than it ought to be. | you think you have found.
When a good m'an gets into leg-1
i.«^lative work he should be i- ! EDUCATION AND
there. Not that it is a desir ible HOME LIFE
job, for it is not. But as long as Last Sunday was not avery
a good man will stay in le^isla-1 ^ay for folks to get out
ture or Congr^'ss thp peoole are j religious missions, which re-
the better <=5erved for having i suited in a small number attend-
him there. Johnson and Spence, | B>ble Forum in South-
by reason of their experience in * Pines. T. C. Waldie had been
previous sessions, have been of j "the Forum
far greater use to the state this some educational influences
winter at Raleigh than is often 2^ ancient Jewish life, but be-
TDossible for a new m*an. The ex-
charge of the schools of the as
piring village. When he came to
the community not a school
house in the county could com
pare with the colored school in
Southern Pines at present.
Steadily the school population
is encroaching on the room, and
teaching force, and financiall
provision to carry on. It costs
more money to build the side
walks of Southern Pines now
^ _ _ fore he got underway the meet-
perience thev have gained this i seemed to develop a sort of
winter should be available for | Question and answer session,
the county and state welfare at; there it stay^ until ad-
the coming two years from now. time. But not until
Rotation in office is a delusion. was dated for next
If a man is not fit to be trained i ^ , sarne subject,
for service longer than sixty i appeared to be of more
davs he is not fit to have the ordinary interest to those
job at all. If he is worth train
ing it is an economic waste to
who were present.
It is said of Mr. Waldie that
train him even sixty days and! experience
then let him get awav. If our! ?P^cialized fields and that
state was a business organiza-' ^ thinker pd student who
tion Johnson anrl Soence would, something to say to others
be in the next le?i.«!lature if they current prob-
could be drafted there. Two'!™®' However he may t^kle
years from now we will need in- IPi’OKram next Sunday is of
telligent and trained men in Ral- io K ‘^®*’|sequence, for his last
eigh as much as we need them. |
now. Firing the experienc^ shows that he has it like the
hand is baby play.
the trouble
WITH TAXATION
mariner hias his compass, so
that he can box it coming or go
ng. An especial point that should
be of interest at this period of
restless life is Mr. Waldie's em
phasis on the importance of
home life that the Jews of Bibli
cal days encouraged and which,
among the Jews, holds good to
According to fisrures from the
recent ipsue of the New York
World Almanac. North Carolina
has a bonded debt of $165,000,-
000. This ’ does not include | this day.
county and municipal debt, I The Bible Forum is a proper
which niles np enormously be-1 place for Mr. Waldie's talk, for
sides. Two other states, Illinois! it permits discussion of the sub-
with $201,000,000, and Newjject at any point by anyone
York with $250,000,000, have a | who feels disposed, and when a
bigger bonded debt than North ! man like Mr. Waldie presents
Carolina. New York is four times !a new idea he is usually called
as populous as North Carolina, | on to elaborate on any phase of
Illinois two and a half times as | it that excites question or com-
large as this state. Pennsylvan-; ment. The Forum is held in the
ia, the second state in the union. I basement of the Southern Pines
has a debt of $91,000,000, Ohio Baptist Church at 10 o’clock
$8,750,000, and our neighbor, Sunday morning. It is a sort of
V irginia has a debt of $25,000,-! go-as-you-please affair without
000, or little more than a sev- i much rule or regulation, depend-
enth of ours. Illinois is the only ] ing on the judgement of those
state that has so big a road who constitute the 'assemblage
all the people who voted for A1 a present, statisticians of the telephone
couple of years ago. We want Ernest company tell me, shows signs of im-
Woodward of Southern Pines to run provement. How fast that improve-
up and look at it, and we want to be ^^ent will be, measured in weeks or
there when he do§s. Ernest told us ”ionths, I don't know. But in the tel-
a while back that the last time he ephone company we have every con-
was in New York the dome of the fidence in the future—not only con-
New York World building topped all i fidence, but the keenest interest in
metropolitan -structures. The World the possibilities ahad of us.
building today is hardly distinguish- ' “Whose depression is this,” he
able among its neighbor skyscrapers. ! asked. “If, as has been said, a fun-
. . . . . nearly as tall as buildings in damental cause of it is greed, who
than it did to build and maintain i Charlotte and Winston-Salem. There are they that did not add their part
the streets a few years ago. The lare prabably 1,000 taller buildings in to the picture? This is a democracy
water question, the sewers, the j
police, the various things in a !
growing town, call for money. |
And of equal importance they |
call for capable supervision, j
They call for policing, and for |
court administration, and for a i
thousand things that few people
know of.
You can’t grow and have the
same trousers serve you. South
ern Pines grows at more than
ordnary gait, hence its growing
pains are more severe. Some of
the folks make the mistake of (
thinking that a few individuals i
are responsible for these grow
ing pains, for the cost of the
new clothes, for the policies that
are pursued, for all the unex
pected problems that follow.
That is a misfortune. The man
who lends a hand in the admin
istration of affairs in a growing
town needs to be as wise as the
serpents of Biblical day, as tact
ical as a commanding general, as
untiring as a waterfall, and as
diplomatic as a prime minister.
For there is only one thing he
can do, and that is to buy Willie
a new pair of pants when his
feet stick down too far through
the old ones. Southern Pines is
like Mr. Reilly, who kept the ho
tel. He kept it dam well. But
the town has its growing pains
and they cannot be stopped. No
matter who rules Willie must
have his pants according to his
growth.
What has been known as “the
Winter season” in the resort towns of
the Sandhills has been gradually
lengthened in recent years so that it
now extends well into the Summer.
The “peak,” or “height” has been ex
tended a few weeks longer with ^^ach
rrecurring season and the hotels that
were usually closed at this time of
the year are yet humming with ac
tivity, with the golf links, polo
grounds, rate tracks, archery grounds
and all out - of doors looking like cir
cus day. More than that, the number
of homes built by Winter tourists,
but converted into all-the-year-
around residences, has been multi
plied to material increase of the per
manent population. This is particu
larly true of Southern Pines, which
has been built up largely by home
owners attracted by the advantages
offered in climate and civic beauty,
for the original population made it a
(Please Turn to Page Three.)
Midland Farms
Home Sites
TOO MANY COOKS
SPOIL THE BROTH
Much of the excitement of the
peopte over the tax measure be
fore the legislature is needless.
It is not very material which of
the many bills proposed becomes
the tax law, for neither of them
is sufficiently near perfection to
be permanent. We are in the
midst of a gigantic experiment,
which will be nothing more pos
itive than an experiment when ,
it is put in practice, for it is a i
makeshift at the best, and a
compromise, which is the name
for a thing that never-yet work
ed.
Only a few people have given
to taxation enough thought to
have a clear understanding of
its principles. Yet th«y should
be simple enough. They are
grounded on the need of money
to carry on the public affairs.
First of all considered should be
the limit of public demand. Some
It is plain as the nose on your face
that all the work of planning for new
home sites in the Midland area is not to
stop at the engineering- stage.
Folks who come to the Sandhills for
a winter residence or for more temporary
stay will be interested in the advance
ment that each new step suggests.
Ten years ago the Midland section
was almost an undiscovered country. Ten
years from now can be estimated by the
ten years that have gone.
Midland Farm home sites‘will be in
the heart of all of it in the next few years.
tion.
Now is a good time to secure a loca-
MIDLAND FARMS, Inc.
Pinehurst, N. C.
or accredited Real Estate agents in Pinehurst or Southern Pines.
3