Page Two
THE PILOT, Southern Pines and Aberdeen, North Carolina
FridAy, Pebrnary 22, 1935^
THE PILOT
Published every Friday by
THE PILOT, InoorporaUHl,
Aberde«‘n and Southern Pint's, N. C.
NEL.SON C. HYDE, Muna^^tnK- Editor
BION H. BUTLEK, Editor
JAMF:S BOYD STKUTHEKS BUKT
Contrilmting Edit-orH
SubM'ription Kates:
One Year
Six Months
Three Months ....
Address all communications to The | them.
Pilot, Inc., Southern Pines, N. C.
selves to produce the things we
need, mighty few people will go
out of their way to work for us.
What is produced in this world
is what we will have. And as one
Cl tne fundamentals of nature
is “root hog, or die,” it is The
Pilot’s guess that in spite of the
current theory that we are go
ing to quit working, we will
ipresently find out that the hog
{ that doesn’t root is going to be
$2.00 I hungry when :^upper time cornea.
$1.00 j Nature works things out accord-
.50; injjr to her own plan, and man
will find he has to conform to
Ehitered at the Postoffice at South
ern Pines, N. C., as second-class mail
matter.
THE SOUTHERN I’INES
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
In the older days when the
women reached a point where
they had to talk and eat they had
^ quilting bee or a sewing bee
jJiUiN H. liL iLfcK where they could gather around
Little Nancy scratched at the chatter and lead up to a
door as was her wont, but there dinner that was a work of local
was no answering word for the skill. In the^e day^ they play
little Sealyham on Thursday bridge, and the men gather to
morning. talk and eat. The gatherings
All was quiet at Valhalla. , take various forms. One of the
Bion Butler had gone on his most interesting, perhaps, be-
last assignment. such affairs as the Cham-
And bequeathed to others the Commerce dinner last
task of writing the story of this i kind is
dav long dreadecl in The Pilot of-; wholly serious, not a matter
lice, his Pilot office. , of eating as you might imagine
a bit social in its way, and yet
Grains of Sand
WEST END
ruary, March and April, and every
one is smiling again.
Mr. and Mra. J. F. Sinclair and
j small daughters spent Saturday and
Folkd are starting to flock into the j Sunday in Chapel Hill visiting Mrs.
Sandhills for the mild months of Feb- | Sinclair’s mother and sisters.
B. W. Pulliam whose business head
quarters are in Charlotte, spent Sat-
j urday night and Sunday with his
A lot of them stayed up north ' family here,
awaiting the gold decision, and hur-1 Ralph Wallace of the. high school
ricd down a,s soon aa the Supreme | faculty spent the week-end In Lake-
Court upheld the government’s mon- j view.
etary program. j M. C. McDonald, Jr., spent from
Seven extra Pullmans, just for Friday until Sunday in Davidson with
Southern Pines and Pinehurst, are ar
riving this morning for the Washing
ton's Birthday week-end, and there
were two extra cars on yesterday
Allan McDonald, who is in school
there.
The West End Book Club met in
the home of Mrs. W. A. Johnson
morning’s train, which means that i Thursday evening with Mrs. B. U.
more than a dozen carloads are here j Richardson as hostess. The program
10 help swell the population.
The Sun Life Assurance Company
of Canada makes a fine annual re
port, covered in an advertisement in
this issue of The Pilot. This is one ol
the big substantial financial organi-
gations and Southern Pines is proud
to have it represented here by a lo
cal agent. '
Building activities in North Caro
lina in January increased ,51 percent
over January, 1934, figures released
by the State Department of Labor
show.
was in charge of Mrs. Hogwood with
Thomas Dixon as the subject.
June Currie, son of Mr. and Mrs.
James A. Currie of Cameron died ear
ly Sunday morning. The funeral was
conducted by the Rev. Lacy McDuf
fie from the Presbyterian Church at
Candor Monday afternoon at 2:00
with burial at Jackson Springs. Rel
atives from here attended.
SILVER TEA WEDNESDAY
KE.\L ESTATE TRANSFER
W. G. Smith to W. H. McNeill,
property in Sandhill township.
A silver tea will be given at the
home of Mr. and Mrs. George C. Abra
ham, corner of May street and Con
necticut avenue on Wednesday, Feb
ruary 27 at 3 p. m. There will be a
short musical program and a talk on
Chinese art will be given by Mrs. H.
H. Pethick. There will also be an
exhibit of porcelains and other Chi
nese curios.
IHIigliland. l_jo<lge
A Quiet Home-Like Family Hotel
Pleasantly Located on Vermont Avenue Near the Pines
SEASON OCTOBER 1ST TO JUNE 1ST
Nicely furnished comfortable apartments for rent
MRS. W. N. GREARSON
Telephone 6933 Southern Pines, N. C.
Sun
under all of it is the feature that |
has to do with the welfare of 1
the community.
Southern Pines and vicinity
An army aviator, trying to find
Fort Bragg, was forced down in a
field on U. S. Highway No. 1, this
i side of Sanford, Sunday afternoon,
and said thu.t his plane may have to
remain in the field a week—waiting
tor the ground to dry out.
The aviator, whose name was not
learned, left Charlotte for Fort Bragg,
Bion Butler made The Pilot.
And more than any other one
person, Bion Butler made the
Sandhills. Here was his. heart
for more than forty years. Here, , , , , , , ,
with never a thought of self, of largel\’, through
personal gain, he told the story '
of the pine trees, the birds, the'.^‘"'^ ^veek. \\hile woik-
sprouting little villages, the far- ^ same line as Pme-
mprs thp srna.ll industriGS thG wnlCn Wfls plott6cl 1 intending to follow the Southern
Ss,” ^fSends ot-^ He started following the
matter of what walk of life,' Soi^thern Pines to be planned [ seaboard Air Line tracks by mistake,
good part of
up and down
the Seaboard looking for Fort Bragg.
He tinally ran out of gas, and
had to iiind in the I'jpld. The pilot
soon had the tank filled with gas,
but when he tried to take off, the
what condition of servitude. He
loved us all.
No man ever heard Bion But
ler sayi an ill word of anyone.
Through his newspaper years he
fought many a hard battle for
those things he believed in. He
pitted himself against many a
worthy foe. But he never left
an enemy in the wake. Gentle,
and carried out by mass action. i however, and spent
Which is as a rule more difficult i the afternoon riding
of accomplishment than indivi-'
dual action. The remarkable re
sults of voluntary mass effort on
the part of the people of this
. communit.7 is rather surprising
if we turn to analyze the results. ' muddy field gripped the plane’s tires
Here is one of the most attrac-, caused its nose to tilt into the
tive human neighborhood organ-1 ground.
IfinHlv fVinticrVitt’iil urp vvnrrlc Ithat Can be imagined, j Disgusted, the pilot gave up and
kindlj, thoughttul aie \\ords | intelligently planned, effi-ly^.,
It's there now, unless some one has
swiped it.
SLXTEEN T.VBLES OF BRIDGE
AT THISTLE f'Ll B PARTY
there, discussing with the oth
ers the shape in which to turn
affairs, each stimulating the
rest, advances the community
and in the desirable direction.
which come to us. His fairness directed financiallv an ' , u
in -,1] hvnno-Vif mpn in .ill tureciea, iinanciaiiy an , plane in the mud.
in ail thiiii,.'? brought men in example of good management,
walks of life to that little and what is best of all, a foun-
strewn study ot his out tit y^l~!dation that is a model for the
halla, men seeking counsel; ban- future
kers, politicians, business men, | ' . . , affairs a^ this
the clergy, the colored man with ' \ ^ ^ \ '
, . I-.., 1, rn. uj- that shape the future. Each in-
his little problems. They sought, Lndintr a hand here and
out a friend and they found a ‘Uncling a nand nere and
philosopher, a mind always clear,
always able to grasp the sub
ject and render a .I'ust verdict.
He has seen the Sandhills
grow from the days '.vhen pigs Southern Pines is only at the
Of its development.
All those natural factors that
I have induced the present popula-'
to the communitji of fine homes
and hotels and shops and comely
thorofares of today. His fluent
pen has guided its destiny and
heralded its glories; the world
knows of us today because of
Bion Butler.
tion permanent and transient
are still influential. In addition
to the natural resources the at
tractions have been increased
through the work of the stead-
Our heart goes out to those [\y increasing population. More
sterhng characters most vitally land more the community will ex-' b Gifford
affected by his going away. ; pand. The Chamber of Com-
The Thistle Club gave a Valentine
party to its members and their
friends last Saturday afternoon at
the Southern Pines Country Club.
Sixteen tables of bridge were in play,
and several members came in later
for tea. The tallies, prizes and all
details carried out the Valentine mo-
tiff.
Prizes for high scores went to
Mesdames Tracy, Pethick, Cray, Pri-
zer, Hoag, Smith, Baker, Wiley, Ever
est, Andrews, Davis Loeb and Wood
ruff and the Misses Eddy, Riggan
and Campbell. The door prize, heart-
shaped box of candy, went to Mrs. J.
Ours is a great loss; theirs im- merce will stimulate the expan-'
measurable. I ,,ion and Kuide it in the right di-, ™ wL„
THE quarrel
WITH WORK
The Pilot has many times re
marked that people are funny
cattle. To read the papers these
dajis and notice the constant ef
fort to dodge work, the clamor
for shorter hours, for a lessen-
; rection. The stimulation is im-
I personal for the common welfare
and the work of the common ef
fort. The effort is largely educa-
tional which encourages further ““J’ i;™,' ^
development and on broader
and more interesting basis.
Fortunateli(< the foundations
have been well laid. The ground
on which to build is intelligently
ed necessity for individual exer-1 year the work of
tion, would incline a visitor from proceeding years adds its cumu-
some other planet to suspect that! resuK in making the Sand-
our earth is a vast prison where \ attractive place. Those
everybody is sentenced to hard i backward
labor for life. I ten, twenty, thirty or forty
Work is merely the means of | ^ realize what has elected, remember thatS;he
producing something. We are all | ®V ‘^one and how mu^ faster
nois:< enough in our clamor for today. The Chamber
the results of work, but a short-1 ® Commerce is doing a marvel-
sighted proportion of the people j -^nd no man can for^
seem to think it is a virtue to j ma^itude of the fruition
acquire the things wanted and | those extorts,
let somebody else do the work. | '
In the older generation a pride XHE ELECTION
of creation seemed to follow the
results of work. The mechanic
was interested in the thing he
turned out, the mowers in the
meadow pressed on the heels of
the man who led them in the
swath, workers competed with
tions come up for the increase of
the number of names on the elec
tion ticket. This at the present
time is brought to the front by
each other in the volume and the' the proposal to elect county tax
OF MORE OFFICERS
•e in har-
mon,'# with them than over an
outsider placed in authority
above them. The Pilot is not
persuaded that a general elec
tion would have given the pres-
better chairman
with the possibilities of one not
so capable.
As for tax collecting, it seems
doubtful if in choosing a man in
a general election the voters of
the county would give such study
to the general quaJifications of
the candidates as the board of
commissioners will give. Those
familiar with the choice of Mr.
Huntley, when he was first
can
didates presenting themselves at
that time were carefully^ analyz
ed by the board individually and
inquiry was made bji representa
tive persons over the county as to
the fitness of more candidates
than many people were aw'are
of. An effort was made to get
the best available man and the
decision was not made until all
From time to time sugges- possible information was obtain-
quality of their product. But to
day one of the chief ambitions
seem to be to lessen our hours
of production and efforts and to
interfere with the men or wo
men whose interest in their work
inclines them to be friendly to
ward it.
ProbabljT if idleness is what
the world wants, that’s what it
ought to have, always remem
bering that if we are not inter
ested enough to work for our-
collector and chairman of the
board of county commissioners.
The theory is that every) citizen
should have a voice in the selec
tion of the officials. It is The
Pilot’s opinion that the best way
' to select a chairman for the
board of commissioners is by
the commissioners itthemselyes.
For they have the responsibility^
They have the close acquaintance
with the members v/hose num
ber will contribute the candidate
ed concerning every; prospect.
Names were entertained of some
men who had not the faintest
idea they were being considered.
It is impossible to make as crit
ical a selection by popular vote.
In the first place only a limited
number of candidates v/ill appear
and possibly on the list is not
one who maj7 be most available.
Collecting taxes is a job that re
quires a man highly adapted for
the work. It is perhaps the most
essential outside the office of
commissioner, one that needs ab
solutely the best that can be
picked, and not a man that is
merely accepted as a candidate.
(An Editorial in the Montreal Gazette of February 13, 1935.
Mr. Arthur B. Wood, president and
managing director of the Sun Life
Assurance Company of Canada, was
able to present a highly encouraging
statement to policyholders and share
holders at yesterday’s annual meet
ing of this great Canadian institu
tion, a statement no less gratifying
to the general public than to those
more directly concerned in the com
pany’s operations, since there is evi
dence in it of the industrial improve
ment for which all have been anx
iously waiting. The Sun Life con
ducts a world-wide business but the
three chief countries in which it op
erates are Canada, the United
States and Great Britain, and im
proved conditions and increased bus
iness activity in each of these coun
tries are reflected in the statement.
Life insurance had stood as a bul-
walk of security in these and other
countries during the years of depres
sion, protecting many thousands of
people from the worst effects of the
adverse condition.s that have pre
vailed, and now that the worst of
these conditions has been passed,
public appreciation of life insurance
and life i.nsurance services is being
demonstrated upon an impressive
scale. One of the most striking evi
dences of industrial recovery is to be
found in increased group life busi
ness in the three countries already
Mentioned, a development which in
dicates clearly a renewal of confi
dence in the future of indu3try and
a natural increase in the number of
persons employed. In the case of the
Sun Life alone this group life busi
ness in force increased by approxi
mately $25,000,000 while new group
life business increased by nearly 100
per cent. Still another encouraging
factor is found in the reduction of
loans applied for and in the repay
ment of old loaJis, the cash repay
ments being 31 per cent, greater in
1934 than in 1933. This chiefly im
plies that the policyholder, as a rule,
is in easier circumstances.
While governments are experiment
ing with social legislation of various
kinds, and notably in the insurance
field, it is interesting and instruc
tive to note the scale upon which
the needs of persons in moderate
means have been met and are being
met through the regular sei-vices of
established companies. For example,
the Sun Life Company last year paid
out $88,000,000 to policyholders and
of this great sum 85 per cent, was
in amounts of under $5,000, with an
average under $2,000; in other words,
the benefits of this enormous outlay
were spread over a very large field of
comparatively poor people, certainly
of peo.'^le who could not be classed
among the rich. The company itself
has strengthened its position mater
ially, taking full advantage of the
betterment in general conditions. The
assets of the company now stand at
$665,378,716.34, an increase of $41,-
232,681.14. New paid-for business exr
ceeding $236,000,000 represents an in
crease of approximately $20,000,000.
Cash in banks amounts to another
$20,000,000, while fourth among the
outstanding features of this sixty-
fourth annual report is an excess in
come over all disbursements of more
than $43,000,000. With an increase of
business in force amounting to more
than $309,000,000 since 1929, and a
total now standing at $2,748,000,000,
the Sun Life more th£Ln maintains
its position in the front rank of the
great insurance institutions of the
world.
In his annual address, Mr. Wood
struck a very confident note, observ
ing that the hopeful pronouncements
of financial and induetrial leaders
are being confirmed by statistics and
that, what is of even greater impor
tance as practical evidence of re
turning prosperity, there is a gen
eral improvement in public confi
dence. The president spoke of the ex
tent to which this betterment has
been reflected in the business of the
Sim Life Company and pointed out
that there is a similarly close asso
ciation between assurance companies
and business through the wide diver
sification of the former’s investments.
Mr. Wood gives a very clear idea of
the general movement of business
when he says that insurances in force
were at their peak three years ago,
that reductions of approximately 5
per cent occurred in each of the
years 1932 and 1933, and that the
downward trend was arrested last
year when the decline was under 1
per cent., and he identifies as the
most significant factor in the im
proved situation the marked decrease
which took place in lapses and sur
renders of policies, these being 18
per cent less than in 1933 and the
low'est since 1929, while reinstate
ments and revivals were the highest
in the company’s history. At the
same time, substantial savings have
been effected in the cost of manage
ment and operation without impair
ment of the high standard of serv
ice to policyholders. There has been,
concurrently, a further reduction in
death claim.s, these being among the
principal sources of profit earnings
Dy life companies. The third important
■si/urce is the excess of interest real-
ired on investments over the rate
required to maintain policy liabilities,
and, as Mr. Wood points out, this
factor is inevitably affected by
changes in ge:ieral investment ex-
' perience. The policy ui-'UG.lly pursued
is to invest chiefly in long-teim se
curities corre.spondins' to the long
term nature of the policy contracts,
and as a rule the annual income of
an established company is substan
tially in exces.d of all obligations that
arise. Conditions of two or three
years ago, however, were abnormal,
with an extraordinary demand for
policy loans and surrender values,
and the problem of the companies be
came that of maintaining sufficient
liquidity to meet these demands fully
and promptly. This involved maintain
ing substantial cash balancfes and in
creasing holdings of short-term
bonds. With the passing of this phase
consequent upon a general economic
improvement the companies are again
turning to long-term investments.
Rates of interest, however, are at a
low level and these conditions create
the most exacting current problem
with which the companies have to
deal. Nevertheless, the experience of
the Sun Life during the past year was
very satisfactory, while new invest
ments were limited to bonds and oth.
er high-grade securities. With a f ir-
ther improvement in conditions the
mortgage field may again become
available, the company, as Mr. Wood
states, being desirous of extending
and enlarging this valuable form of
public service.
Mr. Wood discussed briefly the
present tendency to discriminate
against life insurance companies in
the field of taxation. Taxation, as he
points out, falls upon the average
equity of the individual policyholder,
and is imposed, therefore, upon the
finest type of citizen, the man in a
modest station of life who is seeking
to protect his dependents. This is a
matter which governments would do
well to consider in view of the fact,
wuich Mr. Wood emphasizes, that the
burden falls always upon the policy
holders, Other features of the presi
dent’s address, if somewhat more
technical, are scarcely less interesting
than these which have been mention
ed, and a careful study of the com
plete address will more than compen
sate the reader, whatever his station
in life may be.
The Sun Life Assurance Company is Represented in
the Sandhills by
E. C.
SOUTHERN PINES,
STEVENS
NORTH CAROIJNA
I