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VOLUME XLIJ
FRANKLIN, N. C, THURSDAY FEBRUARY 24, 1927
NUMBER EIGHT
DEATH TAKES
ISAACKEENER
xricu a i. ins name an caujay
Last Week Was Prom-
: inent and Respected Citi
zen. - '"
Isaac Ulric Keener, prominent and
"highly respected citizen of this coun
ty, died at his home at Higdonville,
Thursday morning of last week about
7:30 o'clock, following a serious ill
ness of only a brief duration. "Death
was attributed to asthma, from which
Mr. Keener had been suffering for
years.
; Mr. Keener was a merchant, and
had been postmaster at Higdonville for
the past lfi, months. He took a primi
nent part in the affairs of his com
munity and the county, and was
highly respected as a man of charact
er and integrity.
Born in Rabun county, Ga., and
reared there, Mr. Keener moved to
Macon county nine years ago, and
lad made his home at Higdonville
since that time.
; He is survived by his widow ; two
daughters, Misses Maud and Lois
Keener; his mother, Mrs. M. J. Keen
' r, of Thompson, Ga. ; four brothers
Emory, of Otto, this county, Ed, o
Chicago, Claud, of Albany, Ga.; and
Oscar, of.' Thompson, Ga.; and four
sisters', Mrs. Maud Greer, of Atlanta,
Mrs. Parrie Smith, of Washington
Ga., Mrs. Belle Thompson, of Thomp
son Ga., and Miss Mollie Keener, of
"Greenville, S. C.
The, deceased had been a member
of the Methodist church since he was
16 ; years of age, and was also a
memberof ' Higdonville cotincil of the
Junior Order of United American
Mechanics.
' Funeral services were held from the
Sugarfork Baptist church at 3 o'clock
Friday : afternoon, and interment was
In the Sugarfork cemetery. ..
The funeral service's were conducted
"hv the Rev. T. C Strickland. Metho
dist minister, and the Rev. G. C
Steed, pastor of the Franklin Baptist
church.
CRAW COUNTY
First Issue to Appear Feb
ruary 28 C. B. Lane Edi
' tor and Manager Called
' Graham County News.
Graham county, until only ia few
years ago, isolated from the remaind
er of the world, a "lost province" in
ftiA most literal sense of the word.
is lost no longer; and Graham is
celebrating the end ot its isolation
with a remarkably rapid progress.
A few years ago the first step was
taken, when the State highway sys
tem penetrated the fastnesses of
rim and htiilt road from Ton-
toh to Robbinsville, a road offering
scenic effects of grandeur and variety
hardly equalled anywhere in an west
ern North Carolina.
Then came the railroads almost
simaltanciously , lines entered Graham
from Maryville, Tenn., and from Top
ton the county's first railroads. It
ie tii Tnnrnn road, however, that
means most, for it goes directly to
the countyseat. , ,. . .
Next came the county s first bank,
opened a few weeks ago, with de
posits in coin and currency of $15,
000 the first day. And, along with
its other progress was the building
of two fina new school buildings,
together with consolidation as rapidly
as road and housing facilities would
permit.
The latest , Step is a newspaper
Graham county's first journal.
The sheet will make its initial ap
pearance on ' Monday, February 28,
it is announced, and weekly there
after. It- was felt ..by progressive
citizens of the town of Robbinsville
and of the county that the time had
come to advertise the advantages of
the town and county to the people
of Graham itself, as well as to the
world. And such the Graham County
News will seek to do. its management
announces. ' .,. t ,
C B. Lane, Robbinsville real estate
man, is editor and manager.
The paper will start with 400 copies
fcreekly.
IIASIESPAPER
THREE INJURED
IN AUTO WRECK
Car Leaves Highway and
C u t s Down Telegraph
Pole--Bob Smart Serious
ly Injured.
Robert Smart, injured, possibly fat
ally, it . was at first thought, in an
automobile wreck near Otto last Sat
urday afternoon, is on the road to
recovery, and Harry Brown, also tak
en to a local hospital as a result
of the wreck, is improving. , Brown
was less seriously hurt. ' Sam Jacobs,
the ; third occupant of the car, was
only slightly injured.
The wreck occurred about two miles
south of Otto. The Hudson coach,
property of Smart, in which the three
were riding, left the pavement at a
point where the highway is approxi
mately on a level with the field ad
joining. Careening down the field, the
car cut down an eight-inch telephone
fole, and continued its course for
from ISO to 200 yards, finally turning
back toward the highway, and crash
ing into a fill, in which it practically
buried itself. -The
car did not turn over, and was
not greatly damaged, it was said.
As a result of the accident, Mr.
Smart suffered a broken thigh and
a fractured skull, it was stated at
the hospital, while Brown's face was
badly lacerated. Jacobs was not hurt
seriously enough to make it necessary
for him to go to the hospital.
The accident occurred at 2 :30 Sat
urday afternoon, when the car was
coming in the direction of Franklin,
over highway No. 286.
Mr. Smart left the hospital Tuesday
and returned to his home on the
Georgia road.
BELGIAN CITIZEN
STUDIES THE
CHEROKEE LANGUAGE
. Cullowhee, N. C, Feb. 21. Dr. -and
Mrs. Frans Olbrechts, of Belgium,
now staying at the home of a Chero
kee,, Indian in the Cherokee Reser
vation, visited Cullowhee Normal
School Thursday afternoon and Fri
day morning. Dr. Olbrechts gave an
interesting talk before the Cullowhee
Community Life Club upon the sub
ject of The Educational bystem o:
BelKium.
Dr. and Mrs. Olbrechts have been
at Cherokee for several months. They
are interested in- phililogy, and are
making a thorough study of the
Indian language. Dr. Olbrechts is
graduate of Louvain University, to
which American students have con
tributed a million dollars, ' and has
studied at Columbia University.
Truck Gets Bullet,
The fourth vehicle to reach Frank
lin from the direction of Georgia, in
recent months bullet punctured, was
the truck in which Ed. Curtis and
Connie Rice, who gave their address
es as. Asheville, were riding when the
truck was stopped and searched for
liquor here Mondav night, according
to Chief of Police R. M. Coffey.
A bullet hole through the right front
ltrht attracted the officers' attention
- Thev had been "tipped," they said,
that the truck contained 160 gallons
of liauor. but no liquor was found.
the truck, however, bore no license
plate, and the two men were arrested
oh this ground.
The shot was fired before the mtcK
Carolina, the officers were told, they
said. .
Tt wax the firing into the car " m
which three vouths were riding re
cently which resulted in the issuing
of warrants tor umey anq two qiik
officers bv Zeb Shopc. The warrants
as yet, have not been served. The
boys charged that one oi tne oincers
firiwf intn the car.
The offrers hare have intimated
th-t it is their opinion that cars are
being fired into with a view to cit
ing the blame upon the officers, be
cause of their activities in enforcing
the prohibition law.
Hogs! Hogs'.
The countv aeent is contemplating
the shipment , of a carload of hogs in
the near , future. Those having hogs
or sale are requested to communi
cate at once with the county agent
number of hoes, approximate
weight and conditio. Recent market
quotations were approximately n.
cents for corn iattenca nogs, several
firmer have recently stated their
desire to sell their swine, consequently
the cmintv aeent is desirous of as
certaining whether or not there are
sufficient hogs in the county, ior a
car shipment. Write at once.
LARGE NUMBER
FISH COMING
Macon County Streams to
Be Restocked With Speck
led Trout Highlands
Lake Gets Portion. -
Between 50,000 and 100.000 speckled
trout will be placed in the Mountain
streams of Macon county, as. a re
stocking preject, sometime next month
The fish have been ordered from
the 'government hatchery at Erwin
Tenn., by Z. B. Byrd, forest ranger,
connected with the office here of K
W. Shields, supervisor of the Nanta
hala National Forest, and Mr. Byrd
anticipates that the hatchery will sup
ply. between 5,000 and 10,000 for each
of the nine of iy .sereams.it is pro
posed to re-stock.
Streams to be re-stocked from the
supply of government fich include
Wayah, Winespring, Peek's, Tesenta,
Loweeta, and lellico Creeks, as wel
as Horse Cove Creek, southeast of
Highlands, the lake to be created
by the Highlands municipal power
dam, and the head of the uillasaja
River.
The fish will be distributed by in
terested citizens from various parts of
the county, co-operating with Mr
Byrd. Individuals from the different
sections, under the arrangement, wil
meet the car of fish here at Franklin
take them to the specified streams
and turn them loose.
Every effort will be made, following
receipt of the fish, to give adequate
protection to the sereams re-stocked
LADIES OF WESTERN
MISSIONARY ZONE TO
MEET AT ANDREWS
The first meeting of the women of
the Western Missionary Zone of the
Waynesville district. Methodist tpis
copal church, South, since the district
was divided into zones.'will be held at
the Methodist church at Andrews
Friday, February 25, according to an
announcement just received here from
Mrs. J. R. Long, of Bryson Lity
zone secretary.
The Wavnesville district was di
vided, in so far as missionary work
is concerned, at a conference at
Waynesville last fall, and the women
of the western zone will organize
and take part in a missionary pro
gram at the Andrews meeting friday
The Western zone embraces Macon
and Cherokee counties.
The meeting will be opened at 1
uxlock, with the devotional services,
to be conducted by the Kev. J. k
Church, pastor of the Andrews
Methodist church. Other features of
the mornine session will be a talk
by Mrs. T. Dale Stentz, of Ashe
ville, v district secretary, and the or
cranization and election of officers.
Following a recess for luncheon and
a social hour, the afternoon session
will be .opened with devotional ex
ercises, led by Mrs. Geo. A. Jones,
of Franklin, to be toliowea oy s
talk on stewardship bf Mrs. W. B
Fisher, of I Andrews. Other talks will
include one on social service, by
Mrs. Weaver McLean, and one on
mission study and publicity by Mrs
Elkin.
;nria1 music and an open discus
sion will be other features of the af
ternoon session.
All ladies of the zone and others who
are interested are being invited to at
tend the meeting.
The program follows:
MORNING
11:00 Devotional, by Rev. J. R
Church
1 1 .?n Talk bv Mrs. T. Dale Stentz,
11:40 Organization and election of
officers.
Hymn.
12:30 Lunch and Social hour.
AFTERNOON
1:30 Devotional, by Mrs. Geo. A.
Jones. k'vr
1:45 lane on siewarusiuji, uy ..
W. B. Fisher. . . ,
2:00 Talk on social service, by Mrs.
Weaver McCleanv
2:15 Special music.
2!30 Talk on mission, study and
publicity, by Mrs, Elkin:
2:45 Upen torum.
3:00 Benediction.
Reservations At Cullowhee
President Hunter announces that
reservations for room at Cullowhee
State Normal School for the spring
quarter promise to go far beyond the
reservations for any previous spring.
It now appears that the two dormi
tories will be taxed to the limit,
and that rooms may have to be se
cured in the community in order to
take care of the new students. The
authorities are planning to make every
possible effort to accommodate all
who may wish to attend. The spring
quarter begins March the seventh. -
SOLESBEEBILL
PASSES HOUSE
Bill Would Have One Man
Responsible For Roads In
County . Delegation In
Raleigh to Defeat Bill.
A bill which would give practically
unlimited powers, in so far as roads
in Macon county are concerned, to
one man, to be appointed every two
years by the legislature, has been
introduced in the legislature by Rep
resentative A. S. Solesbee, passed by
the house, and held up in the Senate,
at the request of various individuals
here. '
The bill was first introduced with
the provision that S. A. Munday
should be the highway cimmissioner.
At the request of citizens here, the
bill was withdrawn by Mr. Solesbee,
and an almost identical bill was later
introduced. The second measure, how
ever, would name W. D. Barnard
highway commissioner, instead of
Munday. (
A large number of telegrams went
to Senator- R. J. Roane on Monday,
requesting him to ' kill the bill, and
a delegation of citizens, of both po
litical parties, left Monday afternoon
for Raleigh to further urge upon Mr.
Roane that the bill was not what the
citizenship of the county desired.
The opponents of the measure
voiced their opposition without re
gard to. personalities, they said, but
simply .on the belief that the bill, as
drawn, was unworkable, that no one
man should be given the authority
the bill would grant a county high
way commissioner, and that in no
event should an official so empowered
be appointed by the legislature
where politics would be likely to en
ter into appointments, and where the
people would have no direct say-so
in the matter.
Information from Raleigh Tuesday
afternoon indicated that the measure
would not oass the senate.
Briefly, the bill would provide for
appointment by the legislature ot
countv highway commissioner, for
term of two years, at a salary of
$1200 per yeaor, and five cents per
mile traveling expense ; it would trans
fer to him all authority with reference
to roads . and road funds now exer?
cised bv the county commissioners,
the township road trustees, the county
treasurer, and other officers : and
would leave to him. practically with
out check, authority to handle the
highway business ot the county.
The bill's opponents argued, in dis
rnssintr the measure, that the highway
commissioner, under the provisions of
the law, would be subject to no ot
f irial or body, and subject to no
check as to how or why he spent
the road funds of the county and
townships. They also asserted that
the bill was contradictory, pointing out
as one example of this that it pro
viHp for the contracting ot road
building and road maintenance, and
elsewhere provides tor supervision oi
such - work.
Chevrolet Trucks
Attaining a production of 112,499
commercial venicies during an
increase of more than 132 per cent
1 ' I J. 1IW.
over the Drecedinir Vear. the Lhevro
let Motor Company is now the world's
lareest . manufacturer of gear shift
trucks, according to figures just an
nounced bv company officials.
The increase is a gain of 64.200
over the 1925 production of
trucks.
This enormous increase is attributed
in no small degree to the. numerous
refinements and lowered prices of the
new trucks. Dealers everywhere re
oorted an enthusiastic reception by
the public of these new models
The 1925 production in its turn had
more than doubled the 1924 out-put
nf 2.1134 trucks.
Accnrdine to present manufacturing
schedules an even greater mommy
production is contemplated for the
truck division during the coming
months to insure dealers a sufficient
supply to meet the growtng demand.
Production durinc Tanuary, 1927,
totalling 15,927 trucks, also broke all
truck nrofluction records for a single
month in the history of the company.
The previous high mark was in Sep
tember, 19ZO. when liHS trucKS were
manufactured.
County Agent Arrives
Mr. Lyles 'Harris, the newly chosen
county agent, arrived here last Sunday
and assumed his duties Monday. Next
week the Press hopes to publish an
interview with the new agent, out-
ming his plans for demonstration
work, in this county. Since his ar
rival Mr. Harris has been exceedingly
busy making himself acquainted with
the work of the former county agent,
and getting acquaint ;d with the farm
ers of the county. '
861 PRISONERS
ARE ILLITERATE
Church Members and Non
Members Equally Divided
Among 1, 486 C rime
Headed by Manslaughter.
By Brock Birkley
The state prison's population of 1,
486 contains almost as many church
members as non-members and almost
as many married persons as single
ones, but it rates low in education.
Statistics included inthe prison's
biennial report, which was delivered to
Governor McLean today, classify the
population as follows:
Illiterate
The population has almost an even
break as between those classifications,
but in education the illiterate have
a biy majority. Of the 1,486 in con
finement at the time the report was
prepared, 861 could neither read nor
write; 115 could read but could not
write, and 510 could both read and
write.
The statistics show, however, that
the educational opportunities of the
great mass of the prisoners were ex
ceedingly poor. Only one college
graduate is listed out of the entire
population, five prisoners went
through the junior year of college,
eight went through the sophomore.
year and 16 finished the frechman
year. Four are high school graduates,
64 finished the first year of high
school. Of the rest of the population,
only 415 went as far as the second
grade of grammar school, .while 494 .
never attended 'school.
Many Drinker
The whiskey drinkers far out-num- -ber
the abstainers; 1,020 -used whis
key prior to their commitment 425
listed themselves as abstainers while
41 used drugs.
Nearly half the population, or 776
prisoners, were common laborers in
their days of freedom. The report
lists 16Q farmers, eight merchants,
two preachers, two . doctors,' three
traveling salesmen, two printers, three
bookkeepers, one clerk of superior
court, three bankers, One lawyer, 10
barbers, one insurance. agent, one en
gineer, one real estate dealer and one
teacher. Other trades also are repre
sented. Manslaughter First
Manslaughter heads the list of crimes
for which prisoners were committeed,
137 now serving for this offense. Sec
ond degree murder stands next with
132 prisoners, 126 are serving time
for larceny, -32 for attempted criminal
assault, 49 for forgery, 19 for burglary,
21 for robbery, 22 for highway rob
bery, and 40 for storebreaking. All
the other cirmcs in the classification
of felonies are also represented.
Overhalf the population is composed
of persons under 30 years of age.
Three hundred and ten prisoners are
between 14 and 20 years old, 495 are
between 20 and 30; 240 between 30
and 40; 85 between 40 and 50; 48
between 50 and 60; 12 between 60
and 70: while two are over 70 one
of them being nearly 80. Charlotte
Observer.
SMOKY MOUNT AIN
PARK ASSURED
The Smoky Mountain Natonal Park
bill became a law Tuesday, when the -
house of representatives passed the
measure. It had already passed the
senate.
That the bill would pass the lower
house was. definitely indicated Mon
day, when the bill passed on second
reading by a vote of 78 to 6.
lhe enactment of the measure, in
fact, became practically a certainty
when its proponents adopted certairt
amendments suggested by Governor
McLean, and the executive stave the
bill his approval.
ihe bill carries an appropriation of
not to exceed $2,000,000 for. the pur
chase of land in North Carolina to b
given the national park for develop
ment as a park. The amendments
suggested by Governor McLean pre
vent expenditure of this money until
it is an assured fact that, sufficiet I
additional funds have been raised
purchase enough land to assure ac
tual developmental work by the fede
ral government.
By a strange co-incidence, the rep
resentative in the house from Franklin
county bears the name of Macon;
stranger still, he was one of the s; v
opponents of a measure in. which.
I-ranklm and Macon county arc to
vitally interested.