J 1 Ml. f j J jui i IL.
Volume XXXIX.
FRANKLIN, N. C, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1924.
Number 8.
IN GOVERNI-IENT
McLean Says Current Oper
ating Expenses Should Not
Exceed Budget Speaks at
Thrift Week Exercises.
Concord, N. C, Jan. 18.-Watch the
tax spenders as well as the tax col
lectors, urged Angus W. McLean, of
Lumberton, N. C, here tonight,
speaking before the Kiwanis Club at
its Thrift Wek exercises. The
practice of thrift in private and busi
ness affairs: is highly commendable,
he" said, and should be encouraged
hut the situation which facest the
American people today relative to the
waste of money in Governmental af
fairs is serious and should be given
earnest consideration.
Mr. McLean spoke on the question
of thrift as applied to various classes
of Americans, in their private, and
business lives. He declared that the
abnormal period of the World War
was partly responsible for the ex
travagant, habits of the Americans,
though the nation always had had a
reputation abroad of being extrav
agant. Coming to the subject of thrift in
affairs of the government, State, Lo
cal and National, Mr. McLean as
serted that "while tnere has been
much lack of thrift in personal and
domestic affairs, and to some extent
in private business affairs, that lack
of thrift in affairs of Government has
been, from the foundation of Government-the
most widespread and most
difficult to control and eliminate. .
"There is no reason in principle,"
the speaker continued, "why we
shoujd not be able to apply the same
theories and methods of thrift and
business economy to affairs of gov
ernment ' as to our private affairs.
The only reason why this much de
sired result has never been accom
plished is due very largely to the fact
that the people themselves have not
demanded of their public servants a
greater degree of business prudence
and frugality in the conduct or pub
lic affairs."
Summarizing the prerequisites of
thrift in affairs of Government, Mr.
McLean mentioned the following as
of prime importance:
, "The balancing of the budget to the
end that current operating expenses
of government whether it be .natioirrff,
State or local; shall not exceed cur
rent revenues.
"That every item of expense should
be scrutinized and subjected to the
test of public welfare and necessity,
and if it cannot meet such a tesj then
it should be eliminated, just as quick
ly and effectively as a thrifty business
man would eliminate it in the hand
ling of his own private business.
"There should be an elimination of
all duplication in government depart
ments. This, is perhrps the most
prolific source of a lack of thrift in
the management of our public busi
ness and is due most often to our
uneconomic system of government,
nhere bureaus and commissions are
too frequently to be found. There
should be in every government 'de
partment a . modern system of ac
counting, equal in 'all material re
spects to that maintained by the besjt
managed business concerns and this
system should be so set up tha the
public can always understand what
their government is costing them,
and particularly the Sources of in-'
come and how the money is spent.
"We should realize that we Cannot
have real thrift in government, un
less we watch the tax spenders as
well as the tax-, collectors. -
"It must be manifest to every in
telligent cjti zen that thrift in gov
ernment is nothing more nor less
than the constant application of the
best known principles' and methods
of business conduct, to the financial
-affairs of the nation, the State, or
the locality, with the additional re
quirement that' there shall.be a never-ceasing
endeavor on the -part of
the electorate to keep these princi
ples and methods in operation by se
lecting public, servants who arc
trained in . sound business principles
and methods."
Board of Trade Meeting.
The Board of Trade will meet at
the Court House at 2:30 f M.. on
Washington's Birthday,. Friday; Feb
ruary 22, 1924. A complete reorgani
zation of the. Board of Trade will be
attempted at that time election of
. officers, changes in Coristtitution and
JJy-Laws, etc.
5. A. HARRIS, Sec.-Treas.
How Can Farmer Profitably
Market What He Grows?
The farmer i& doing a lot of think
ink these days. The papers are full of
schemes to help the farmer and even
the government at Washington enter
tains ard debates proposals suggested
in the hope of bettering the farmers
condition.
The farmer is a good buyer. The
quantity of goods sold to the farmer
is enormous. When the farmer stops
buying, the wheels of industry slow
up and depression covers the land.
The farmer is in trouble now be
cause he finds that the costs haVe ad
vanced on the things he must buy. but
the things he has to sell have a low
value. '
How can this condition be changed?
There are certain facts that stand out
first and foremost is this fact: The
products of the farmers toil have not
been marketed to the best advantage.
The farmer has some tough diffi
culties to contend with. What he pn
duces must be transported sometimes
great distances to the city markets.
In spite of telephones, roads and wire
less he is still not in close association
with his market.
Each farmer has for sale only a
small quantity of farm products. He
is not a salesman and cannot afford
to get the necessary market informa
tion because of the small amount of
products he has to sell. His business
is the business of production aiid to
this he should be able to give his un
divided attention. ,
i
The farmers crop is all ready to
market at one time. The, consumer
wants it a little at a time and spread
out over twelve months. The market
is often a long way from the farm.
The individual farmer is not able to
attend to the processes of transport
ing, storing and supplying the con
sumer when he needs it and a little at
a time. ,
Marketing what the farmer pro
duces can be done only by one offour
agencies: (1) By the government
(2) by private enterprise; (3) by the
consumer; (4) by the farmer. Of
these four the, only agency that will
rwarket what the. farmer produces in
1r way to encourage the producer is
the farmer himself. ,
A combination of farmers or in
other words a marketing organization
can help the farmer out of the trouble
he is in.
A co-operative marketing organiza
tion can find out what the consumer
wants, and pas; the' word on to its
members. It can see to the packing
and grading.
It can develop brands and packages;
and make the farm'pro.ducts more at
tractive to the consumer. It can mar
ket n an oraviy market an3 prevent
dumping.' f :
The more deeply the subject is
"studied, the more surely will a farmer
come to the conclusion that co-operative
marketing promises the only way
out of the problem of marketing.
Farmers Federation News, Ashevillc.
Methods Now Devised for
Detecting Renewed Eggs
A new deception practised on the
consumers of eggs is now attracting
Considerable interest from the united
States Department of Agriculture
which, by the authority cf the food
and drugs act, insists that the product
of the hen, when sold as fresh must
be fresh ' and not merely look the
part if it is to enter .Into interstate
commerce. Large quanfitits of eggs
are now preserved by first -dipping
in hot oil to seal the pores in the
shells and are then immediately
placed in cold' storage. There is no
objection to-'the practice, but recently
it has been found that a number of
egg concerns have been treating these
eggs on removal from storage so as
to give them the. appea'rancc of hav
ing been, laiil lately..
The treatment to remove the tell
tale oil gloss consists in "manicuring"
the shells with a blast of fine sand or
in treating, them with a bath in an
alkali solution, after which they arc
dried and rubbed with French chalk
or talc. '
Chemists of the department have
devised a method for detecting eggj
which have been treated with oil and
then subjected to-the .restoration
process. ' ; ,
NO PROSPECT OF
STARTINGPLANT
Champion Fibre Company To
Remain Closed Indefinitely
According to General Man
ager Robertson.
, Canton, N. C.,. Feb. 15. There is no
immediate prospect-of the Champion
Fibre Company starting up its Can
ton plant within the near future de
spite rumors to the contrary, ac
cording to Reuben Robertson, gen
eral manager of the plant, who said
Thursday that the situay'on is the
satre now as it was when the plant
dosed early in January.
It was announced at that time that
.market conditions were such as not
to iuslifyycontinued operation and
the fimwas compelled to shut down,
bpetfusc it could not pay the wages
its workmen felt, they were entitled
to have. Shortly thereafter a union
was organized. Officials were asked
if the plant would recognize the union
when the plant did reopen and when
told they probably would not, the
union men declared a strike.
Mr. Robertson said Thursday that
the plant desired to open and pay the
scae of wage's it has been accus
tomed to pay, but at present' there is
no prospect of it being able to do so
any time soon. The market situation
is still bad with a big supply of pulp
and extracts on hand with small de
mand for the surplus, he states.
GIVE CHILDREN
EQUALCHANCE
Miss Elizabeth Kelly Sees'
Nothing Great in the Edu
cational System of North
Carolina. .
Greensboro, N. C, Feb. 16. "I don't'
know what we are going to do about
the elementary school system in
North Carolina," said Miss Elizabeth
Kelly, of Raleigh, president of the
State Educational Association, in' an
address'before the Greensboro branch
of the American' Association of "Uni
versity Women here this afternoon.
"But I do know if we don't under
take to do something to give all the
children of the State a fair chance,
we at least ought to stop people from
talking of the wonderful equal edu
cational opportunities, for I' tell you,
there is no such animal in North
Carolina."
. Miss Kelly had as her topic "The
Elementary School of North Caro
lina," and she flayed the system gen
erally. She said that the good school,
about which North Caroina. boasts, is
the exception rather, than the rule;
surveys made by her showed poor
buildings, poor equipment and poor
teachers general throughout the
State. Politics play a part in the
educational system,, having a retard
ing effect on equal advantages. What
progress "has come is from the col
leges downward.
"What happens. in. the Legislature
when you begin taking about equal
educational rights for all children?"
she asked. "I'll tell you what Imp
pens. Delegations from VVitisfmr
Salem, Wilmington. . Charlotte,' Ashe-
ville and the like come down there!
and block any' such. They don't want
to distribute what they have."
"The big need," she said, "is, to
make the child comfortable with a
teacher who has a 'small' .enough
group to come into personal contact
with the child; inspiration -teaching is.
what we need."
We Get Our Name in
Jie New York Papers
'
Over $100,000 has been subscribed
for the formation, of a textile mill
company, with the object of erecting
a cotton mill and a power dam at
Franklin, N. C. The proposed dam
across the Little Tennessee river will
develop 1,500 horse, power. The'cot
ton mill is. expected to consume not
more than MO h. p., leaving 1,200 h. p.
for otheryactories, which it is ex
pected wifl locate in that section.
"Commea-e and Finance," New York.
Watauga Ships First Train
Of Mountain Seed Potatoes
The first train load of sued potatoes
to be. shipped froth the mountain
counties of .Western North Carolina
left Boone today. The lust Tennes
see and Western North Carolina rail
way ran a special train, loaded with
nothing but seed potatoes grown in
Watauga, county. This train' was
made up . of nine cars loaded with
Irish Cobblers and headed"., for
Charleston, S." C, and the eastern
counties of North Carolina.
For a number of years the depart
ment of agriculture has been experi
menting with' mountain grown seed
in Eastern North Carolina. This seed
was planted alongside certified seed
from Maine, Vermont' and northern
New York, end each year the Blue.
Ridge potatoes have made a better
yield with fewer culls than was har
vested from the northern grown seed,
Now that the-experimental stage is
passed, and -the fact is demonstrated
that the Blue Ridge country can grow
seed that is better than the coastal
counties can secure from ' other
sourjes Watauga county is beginning
to develop the business.
These seed 'potatoes are grown
from the best of selected seed and ac
cording to the approved method of
growing high quality seed potatoes.
They are properly dipped,- fertilized,
sprayed, harvested, graded and
bagged. The bags are stamped with
the name.of the Mountain Seed Pota
to Growers' Association and bear the
certification tags of. the North Caro
lina department of agriculture." As
proof of the high quality of seed that
is being produced "in Watauga and
Avery counties the buyer for the
South Carolina Produce Growers'
association', in, making personal ex
amination of tljis stock, pronounced
it the best bf any that he had been
able to find in any state, and was
therefore willing to pay a higher
price for them .than for Maine certi
fied seed.
tl. ' '.i ' f l.i :.-
tne time Kidge country was started
by District Agent John W. Goodman,
in Avery county, but County Agent
John B. Steele has found .'that the
rich coves' of Watauga county is the
place, to' produce these cobblers to
perfection. He states that the train
load shipped this year is only a small
!)'ginning. i That next year he expects
to nave three times as many and so
increase from year to year as he was
able to supply only a small fraction of
the demand for seed this year. .'
Watauga county has also built a
kraut factory this' year and is manu
facturing the cabbage, that has long
been famous, into the best of sauer
kraut. The output of this factory for
the present year is something over
400 tons. With the coming of good
roads North Carolina will find that
the mountain counties have a higher
producing capacity than anyone has
dreamed of.
Live Stock Growing
Increasing in South
Atlanta, Ga., Feb. 11. More cattle,
hogs, and other animals A cre' handled
by the Southern Railvav System in
192.' than in any previous year, the
increased number of animals shipped
showing'-- the - greater attention- now
beng given to the live stock industry
in' the South.
. The annual report of the Southern's
Live Stock Jiepartment shows that
2A.62Q .carloads ofive stock were
moved in 1923.. an increase of 2,481)
cars over 1922. , There were "012,634
hogs. . 248.647 sheep, 253.326 cattle,
J'01,524, calves, 50,679 mules,: and 22,299
horsey. ' ." . :;"':";: '. .
Shipments of hogs over the South
ern have been increasing iram, yeai'
to 'year,- the new high record for 1923
comparing with 377,953 hogs shipped
In 1920. 411.075 in 1921, and 003.202
in 1922. ..-'.'''",'.. ,.''. '
Cattle shipped numbered 195,771 in
1920. 189.200 in 1921, and 219,177 in
1922, Sheep numbered 167,953 in 1920.
210,495 in 1921, and 230,542 in 1922.
Although live stock is handled in
special equipment and requires un
usual attention with special facilities
for feeding and watering en route,
the report points out that the average
receipts of the Southern from live
stock shipments in 1923 was only
7 AS per car.,.-
EVERY CITIZEN
ASKEDT0 HELP
The Only Way We Can Hve
1 a Power Plant and Cotton
Mill at Franklin Is toButl
It Ourselves.
The power plant and cotton mill
idea.' is not' tone which has .recently
sprung up and bloomed out like a
summer flower, under the hot sun of
enthusiasm. On the contrary, the
idea has been in the rqjnds of several
men for a period covering a number
of years. It is true that the idea has
has a different form in the mind of
practically -every man who has been
at work, but in substance the idea
was the same. There are a number
of men who have, in the past few
years, given a great deal of time and
study to the present industrial sit--'
nation in Macon County., and who
have actually expended aconsidera
ble amount of energy, time and money
in the effort to relieve the industrial
situation. Heretofore the main idea
has been to try to induce outside
capital to locate here, and at times
it has seemed that this object has
been accomplished, but it always
turned out "that for some reason or
another thet outside help failed to.
materiahYeT
Heretofore practically every indus
trial proposition for M aeon County
has failed to go to the right source
for its material, its, capital and its
support ; that is, the citizenship of '
ilacon County, and for that very
reason these enterprises have neces
sarily failed to materialize. This sit
uation is well illusrated by one if"
Aesop's fables in which two young .
birds were very much distressed be
cause they heard the farmer in whose
field they were nesting say that htf
was going to call in the neighbors on -the
following day and harvest the
grain. The mother of the brlod as
sured them that there was no cause,
for alarm, and sure enough, on the
following day the neighbors did not
appear to harvest .the grain and de
stroy their nest. The same thing oc
curred from day to day until finally
they overheaftl the farmer say that
on the morrow he was going to. har
vest the grain himself, whereupon
the wise old bird told her. young that
it was high time to be moving; that
the farmer was now going to use the
only effective method of accomplish
ing his object, and that was by doing
it himself.
The citizens of Macon County who
through the past years have been
tacking their brains trying to devise
some effective method to cope with
the industrial situation, which has
steadily been going from bad to
worse, have at last adopted the only
method by which the trick can be
turned, and that is by turning it them
selves. The men who have been try
ing for years to work out some sort
of scheme by which Macon County
could have some sort of industry and
a pay roll have leagued themselves
together, so to speak, on the propo- "
sition. with the determination to put
it over if it lies within mortal power
to do so. And this is no, small'task.
There are men who, unknown to the
public, are working night and day
on the project, without reward or
hope of reward other than the
good .that this proposition will do
tfle public generally. But the public
is beyond all question behind them.
This movement does not seem to be
confined to any particular group, but
generally speaking, the entire citi
zenship of the county feels that it is
a matter of --,vital 'importance to all of -u.-.,
and know that if i should fail to
he cii'sumn1;tcd that it is. hardly
probable that an en, -prise bf this
sort, will'-he underta1" r again in the
present generation. . i other words,
the people of Macon County seem to '
'ahVe the actual facts of the casc-
that it . is simply a matter of self
preservation. . They . realize 'the cold '
fact that the timber supply upon
which they. have relied to a great ex
tent for their source of1 revenue is
rapidly becoming exhausted; that the
present market .conditions are such
tha't their 'farms are b'iiiging th.enV
only, a fractional part, of wlur- hey
should in ready cali,"uud that the
burden of taxation is steadily moult
ing with the-wealth of the county at
a; standstill' and with the', population
steadily decreasing so that .the bur
den falls mor.c heavily each year up
on cach.onc's shoulders. They realize
that, thyc have simply been fighting '
losing battle, and that their only ,
hope is in the realization of this pro
ject, aud if by any means its should .
not be accomplished, that the outloolr
r
V ,
"A