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KEY CITY OF THBMOUNTAtNSj
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VOLUME XLI.
FRANKLIN, N. C, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1926
NUMBER THIRTY-SIX
i
!
JAIL "CAUSE FOR
SHAME" REPORTS
GRAND JURY;NEW
UILDING URGED
Recommends Courthouse and
' Jail Be Combined m Mew
j i Building Courthouse Is
"Dirty" Says Judge
,, , ; , '
"' 1 . "Our jail might have teen satis
iactory in the dark ages," but now it
is "a cause for shame to every citi
i zzn of Macon county," declared the
J Macon county grand jury in its re-
! port to the August term cf Macon
f, ' Superior court-' -1
The grand jury recommended the
erection of a new building with court
house and jatl combined.
Until that is done, two changes at
"V' the jail should be made at once, the
report declared : a new porch should
ht, erected along the front, and not
Jess than three windows, opening
V into the prison cells, should be cut.
The men's toilet on the first floor
of the courthouse is in "a disgrace
fully unsanitary condition," said the
j-eport, which recommended that the
-county commissioners employ a full
- time janitor to keep the courthouse
clean.
The county home was reported in
good condition, the only recommen
dation being that the road to the
V home be improved and that a tele
v nhnn hit installpd The. convict camo
is also in good condition, the grand
jury found. -".'---.
In discussing the report, Judge W.
F, Harding, presiding, called attention
to the fact that a similar report had
been made by a grand jury when he
lield court here ten years ago, and
again 5. years . ago. : Someone stated
that the same undesirable conditions
liad been poined out by grand juries
-practically every year, and the judge
turned, to the solicitor with the sug
gestion that it was time the county
commissioners did something about it.
Judge Harding characterized the
court house as "dirty" and the jail as
"inadenuite." The county records,
V ' lie pointed out, were piled up in two
back rooms.. He thought, ne saia,
that the county commissioners ought
to . be willing to pay enough to keep
thecbtrrthouse clean and sanitary.
The text of, .the grand jury's report,
signed by Ray "N. , Moses, foreman,
follows: ' , , ,
""We have examined the county
home, the convict camp, the court
house and-the county jail. ,
"We find the county home to be in
good condition, the inmates, on being
questioned, say they are well cared
tor. We recommend that the road to
the county home be put in better con
' dition, and that a telephone be m-
stalled in the home.
"We find the convict camp to be
kept in a sanitary condition, the con
1 -victs are given plenty of plain food,
ft "and in our opinion, the convicts are,
I treated in a humane way. .
v "The rooms in which the Clerk of
, Court and the Register of Deeds
" ' work are too small for the proper
tansaction of business; but this Re
fect, cannot, it appears,, be remedied
until a new courthouse can be
erected. . , ,
"The men's toilet m the lower
part of the courthouse is in a dis
gracefully unsanitary, condition. Evil
odors insult the noses of those who
pass through the hall. It is recom
mended that the county : commis
sioners employ a man as full-time
"' janitor " of the court" house T with
special instructions to keep the
court house in a sanitary condition,
and to prosecute every person who
does anything that causes tne
toilets to be unclean or untidy. ; It
s rrtmmpnflpd that Vthe cbmmiis-
"X ;Ar. all necessary steps to
ClAVrtlV if - - , 4
tout the tdilets in proper condition
and to keep them so.
"A separate toilet for colored per
sons is recommended. . .
"The present management ot tne
;i ...m. ,ha rpasnnahlv crood.
jail
jail S5,t"a w - , "
TD..t t,. ioit KnilHincr itself is a cause
UUI Hit J" D ---- f r
for shame to every citizen of Macon
county. The floors 1 of the cells
in which prisoners are kept ; cannot
be washed because .water will leak
through into the rooms below. The
wall shows a serious crack at one
c;Ha the trao door-' There s
neither sufficient light or fresh air.
"Right thinking people will re
alize that innocent persons are often
confined in jail. .Our ( jail might
have been satisfactory in the dark
ages. Christian American citizens
cannot allow the torture of darkness
and foul air as part of the treatment
r-vf nitm tinman - KplflCT
QUESTIGNAIRE
IS ADDRESSED TO
CANDIDATES
Knowing that th3 citizens of the
county are deeply interested in the
questions appearing below, .the Press
has taken the liberty to address the
following letter to each candidate for
county commissioner ;
Dear Sir :
You are a candidate . for' county
commissioner and if elected will prob
ably be called upon to take action in
many cases in which the public is in
terested. That the public may know
your position on the following ques
tions, we shall be pleased to publish
your replies :
1st. Are you .in favor of issuing
bonds to build a new court house and
jail combined?
2nd. Are you in favor of a county
ifish hatchery to restock our streams
and attract the tourists?
3rd. Are you in favor of the
county's lending the money to the
State to hard-surface Highway No.
28?
4th. Are you in favor of a county
agent ?
5th. Are you in favor of a home
demonstration agent?'
6th. Are you in favor of employ
ing a county school supervisor?
7th. Are you in favor of placing
the chairman of the county commis
sioners on a full time salary?
Very truly yours,
S. A. HARRIS,
Editor, Franklin Press
Candidates' replys will be published
in subsequent issues of the Press.
Child of Franklin Man
Severely Burned
The many friends of little Mary
Joe Conley, the attractive child of Mr.
and Mrs. John Conley of -Winston-Salem,
will regret to learn that she
was severely burned Saturday after
noon at Magnolia Terrace, the country
home of her grandparents, Mr. and
Mrs.; WH A.Hall.
The little child turned over a pan
of hot chocolate, scalding her entire
breast, stomach and left arm. It is
not known just how serious are the
injuries. ...
Mr.-Conley is a native of Franklm.
He has been connected with the
Lentz Transfer Company at Winston
Salem for, the past several years.
Negroes Bound Over to
CourtLiquor Charge
Charles A. Foster and Solomon
Casey, Waynesville negroes were
arrested here , Monday by Chief of
Police Coffey on a charge of trans
porting liquor. The arrest was made
on Main street; the negroes had a
pint can, half full, Mr. Coffey said.
The preliminary hearing was held
before Mayor R. D. Sisk and the
negroes were bound to Superior
court. Bond was fixed at $200 each,
and $300 for the car which they were
driving. .
a building for both jail and court
house should be erected.
"But at least two changes in. the
jail should be made now. A new
porch should be constructed at the
front of the building.; and not less
than three new windows should be
made in the rooms occupied by the
prisoners." .
PALMER FINED
$500 AND COST
Given Choice of Four Months
Or Fine Motion Made to
Set Verdict Aside, But No
Ruling Wednesday.
Jim Palmer must pay, a fine of $500
and the costs f or violating the pro
hibition law, unless Judge Harding
should grant the motion ot defense
counsel to set the Verdict ot guilty
aside. Palmer was convicted in con-,
nection with the disappearance from
the liquor car of J. M. York of one
gallon of liquor. . Paimer helped to
make the capture; the liquor disap
peared before the car could be taken
to the jail, according to testimony.
Judge Harding guve the defendant
his choice of a four months' road
sentence or payment of a fine, and
Palmer took the latter. It was only
consideration for the man's wife and
children, Judge Harding said, which
caused him to, allow him an alterna
tive otherwise, Palmer would have
gone to the roads.
The motion for a new trial, made by
defense attorneys on a basis of al
leged newly discovered evidence, was
made Monday, but late Wednesday
Judge Harding had not ruled upon it.
Harry Brown, , who runs a filling
station near the State line, testified
that on the day York was bailed out
of jail he gave him a ride to the State
line, "and that York said that the last
time he came that way it cost him a
gallon of liquor to get out of a mud
hole. The defense sought to show
that this was the gallon of whiskey
which disappeared.
Brown's testimony was flatly con
tradicted by York, who was brought,
from Georgia' to testify, and three
other witnesses gave testimony tend
ing to prove that York's statements
were correct.
JUDGE HARDING
PHILOSOPHIZES
Opening Superior Court in Frank
lin the other day, Judge W. F. Hard
ing delivered a very thoughtful and
able address to the Grand Jury on'the
law and the tendency among . too
many people to feel that they have
done nothing wrong if they "don't
get caught" trespassing against the
law.
Judge Harding charged the jury to
"go after the representative citizens
who are law violators." He warned
them that lawlessness can never be
checked so long as men of influence
and standing are allowed to break
statutes and rules while men of small
place in the social organization are
given severe sentences for misde
meanors. Taking up a number of subjects.
Judge Harding found occasion to de
fend youth of today from the criti
cisms leveled against it. The boy
and girl of today are better than
those of a generation ago, he de
clared. They interpret life differently,
the girls dress differently, but essen
tially Judge Harding finds them sound
and fine young Americans.
Macon county citizenship, by the
way, came in for praise from the
Judge. Of 18 men summoned for
grand jury duty, noone asked to be
excused. It was an unusual experi
ence for a Judge who has ridden all
the circtiits.-AsheyiJkJEilttCs. I
2,000 EXPECTE
SEPTEMBER 15
INTEREST IN
A-F-A GROWS
Franklin and other Western North
Carolina towns have the full cooper
ation, of towns and cities in Georgia
in preparing for the highway 'cele
bration and motorcade September 15,
according to information reaching
the Franklin chamber of commerce
office.
Mayor Mealor, of Gainesville, and
H. H, Estes of the Piedmont Air
Line highway, have pledged their
fullest support and cooperation. A
representative of the Franklin cham
ber of commerce and of the North
Carolina arrangements committee was
given a most cordial welcome at the
meeting Wednesday of last week of
the Cornelia Kiwanis Club, and the
club unanimously endorsed the pro
position to hold the celebration and
promised to see that Cornelia and
nearby towns were . represented
And now Colonel R. E. A. Hamby,
of Clayton, in pulling- for a booster
organization on highway No. 15,
which extends through "Georgia from
the North Carolina line, just south of
Franklin, to the Florida line north of
Jacksonville, is cooperating toward
making the celebration here a-succss.
Colonel Hamby has called a meeting
of members of the legislature and
other officials from the counties
through which No. 15 passes, and in
sending out the letter calling this
meeting he attached a copy of the
circular which is being used to adver
tise the celebration in .North Carolina.
His meeting is to be held in Clayton
September 13, 14, 15, the letter says;
but on the fifteenth he plans to bring
Clayton's guests to Franklin to par
ticipate in the celebration and join
in the motorcade over the Asheville-Franklin-Atlanta
highway to Ashe
ville. ,
The interests of those pulling' for
the Asheville-Franklin-Atlanta high
way and No. 15 are practically iden
tical, Colonel Hamby has pointed out,
since these roads arc . one and the
same from the North Carolina-Georgia
line, to Cornelia; and since it is that
portion of the road which all good
roads enthusiasts in North Carolina
and Georgia are desirous of seeing
completed at the earliest possible
date. .i
- Olive Hill S. $. Picnic
. The picnic held at Olive Hill on
Sunday of last ' week was a decided
success, both from the standpoint of
the number attending and the enjoy
able time everyone had. No special
program had been arranged as the
purpose of the occasion was just to
get together and have a good tim
Ernest Roper and his Har
Harm
Makers furnished the.
nished therny
In the after
favbred
talks
Josep,
was,
r
To Be Franklin's Greatest
Day Committee Asks Co
operation of Everybody
Big Men Coming.
September 15, when Tar Heels and
Georgia Crackers gather here to cele
brate the opening of the Asheville-
Franklin-Atlanta, shefrt-eut . highway,
will be the biggest day in Franklin's
history. If this town ever "spreads
itself," that is the time to do it. And
there is little time left to complete
preparations.
That is the substance of what those
at work on the celebration are saying
this week and they are working,
too. .
But, with the big men of two states
roming, and with 2,000 guests ex
pected, the whole town must work,
if Franklin shows up as it can and
should. That is not only what is
being said, but it is a self-evident
fact.
The program committee is putting
the finishing touches on the program,
and expects to have it ready by the
last of this week. In the main, it re
mains unchanged.
Tentative plans call for the lunch
eon to be served the visitors to con
sist of fried chicken, ham, chicken
salad sandwich, potato salad, , bread,
pickles, coffee, ice cream, cigars and
cigarettes. In this connection the
committee points out that the 2,000
visitors expected is a pretty large
crowd to be fed in a small town, and
home folk are being asked not to exx
pect to take part in the, dinner
order that Franklin's guests may be
given a complete and satisfying lunch,
and that there may be no crowding
out of visitors. 5 .
, Visiting cars are to be tagged, prob
ably at the Georgia line and at the
top of the mountain on No. 285.
Committees on parking, on financ
ing, on the luncheon, on car decor-,
ations, and on seeing that the towa
is spotlessly clean and properly decor
ated will each be charged with these
specific duties; ' ,
These committees will work in con
junction with and under the arrange
ments committee which has charge of
the entire celebration.
But regardless of the number ot
committees, there is to be work tor
all chamber of commerce ofnetaw
say; and only through the hearty co
operation of everybody can the cele
wion he made a complete succew
and Franklin's visitors go away as
I I -1J ...alii rlt'Vfe .
pleased as f ranKiin wouiu wuu
their v" W-
a ueiau
r Xout by
. "As soon as it is found practical!