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VOLUME XLII
FRANKLIN, N. C, THURSDAY JULY 28, 1927
NUMBER THIRTY
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1:1 r;. gray dp
LAST THURSDAY
Was Pioneer Citizen of the
County, Highly , Honored
and Hespected Served in
Civil War.
T. R. Gray, beloved Macon county
citizen, died at his country home
the home that was his parents', and
where he was reared at 1 :30 last
Thursday afternoon. Funeral services,
were held Friday afternoon at 3
o'clock, at Salem church, of which
Mr. Gary had been a member for
more than 60 years. " The service was
conducted by the pastor, the Rev.
H. Stcickland, and interment was
in the church yard. ' "
His death followed an illness of
about two and a half years. He had
been confined to his bed. almost con
stantly for more than a year. Kid
ney, and heart . affections were said
to have been the cause of his death.
Mr., Gray was 80 years old.1.
Surviving are his ' widow; one son,
James M. Gray, of Raleigh; three
daughters, Mrs. Horace Hurst, of the
Cartoogechayes community . in this
county; Mrs. F. 0. Dryman, of Mdr
ven, N. C; and Mrs. -David Willis,
of New Bern; and 12 grandchildren.
Not a man of great wealth, nor one
who had held high office, Mr. Gray,
nevertheless, stood out prominently in
this county and region as a man of
high integrity and strong character.
The son of James K; and Matilda
Lowry Gray, Thomas Robinson Gray
was born in Franklin November 4,
1846. While he was still an infant,
his parents moved to the farm, about
six miles east of Franklin, and there
he was reared, later making his
parents' home his own.
Of interest is the fact that a part
of the present beautiful Gray home
was there when Mr. Gray's father
bought) the place, -nearly 80 years
ago.
Though a mere lad, Mr. Gray en
listed in the Confederate army and
served . the last . 18. months of the
war, under General Johnston.
He was with Johnston's army at'
the time of the surrender, near Dur
ham.. His rank at the end of the war
was corporal. -
Mr. Gray was said nver to have
forgotten his army experiences and to
have been much influenced by them,
and it was remarked of him, in the
later years of his life, that he "look
ed like a soldier."
Mr. Gray's public life was com
prised in a single brief period during
the World War, when he again ans
wered the call 6f country, this time to
serve on the county draft board.
But in his church Salem Methodist
church he was a steward and super
intendent of the Sunday school for
the 50 years or more preceding his
illness.
; Another office held by him for
more than a half century was that
of secretary of the Siler Family re
union. The family, a few years ago,
at the end of his 50 years' service,
presented him a silver loving cup, as;
a token of appreciation. '
During his illness, his son has
served as acting secretary of the re
union. After he became ill, Mr. Gray
insister that a new secretary be chos
en, but the family steadfastly de
clined to elect anyone else during his
lifetime.
He was married three times. His
first wife was Miss Ellen Crawford,
a daughter of Mrs. Virginia Crawford,
of Franklin. The single child of this
union survived its mother only a
few months. '
He was married the second time to
Miss Maria Miller, of Haywood, coun-
tv, who was the mother ot the tour
children surviving . Mr. Gray. . She
died in 1903. ' .... ' .
j The widow surviving was, , before
her m'arriage,' Miss Mary Slagle.
Assets Rapidly Increase
' That the " assets of the Citizens
Bank are rapidly increasing Can be
readily ascertained by glancing at the
Advertisements of this institution,' ap
pearing in last week's Press and in
- this issue.
The ad last week carried total as
sets of $127,317.54. This week's ad
shows total assets of $134,40494,. r
gain of $7,087.40 in one week.
, The officials of this bank are nat
urally elated at this evidence of confi
dence on the part of the public
Commissioners
Raise Lumber
Company's Taxes
The appeal of the W. M. Ritter
lumber company to the Macon county
commissioners for a cut in the valu
ation for taxation of its property ii
this county more, than 14,000 acres.
of virgin timber, an uncompleted rail
road, a band mill, and other personal
property proved an enpcnsive move
The commissioners have announced
that, while they found the personal
property valued at too high a figure,
and have cut that assessment from
$129,650 to $105,000, they found the
timber assessed at too little, and have
raised the assessment on it from $12
to $14 per acre.-
.The net result is that the concern
will pay taxes on several thousand
dollars more than they would have
at the original figures.
The concern,' at the hearing before
the commisisoners, sought to show
that the personal property band mill,
etc., was old and about worn out,
and that the timber's location made
it of comparatively small worth.
. They asked that the personal prop
erty valuation be cut to about one
tenth of the original assessment, and
that the timber be valued at a total
figure $135,000 tKat would have fig
ured about $10 per acre.
The Tallassee power company fared
somewhat beetter. The $17 an acre
valuation for the 11,000 or 12,000 acres
in Nantahala township was unchanged,
but the' S4.7 acres' in Cowee town
ship was cut' down to the same valu
ation. It originally was valued at a
total of $5,000. The company sought
to have the valuation on all its
property in this county cut to $10 pel
acre.
MAKE USE OF
AGENTS OFFICE
The county agent's office a place
where the people from the country
may rest in the cool; a market place
for the exchange of ideas, on agri
culture; the place where farmers and
their wives may come, to make in
quiries of their county agent; a refer
ence library for the farmer; and in
cidentally a ' place where the county
agent does, his work.
That, in the opinion of Lyles Har
ris, .Macon county agent, is what the
county agent's office should be. He
is seeking to make of his office such
a place.
There is ample table room, should
a farmer's wife wish to cat her lunch
in the office; plenty of chairs pro
vide, for a comfortable gathering
place; the county agent or his steno
grapher is always there to answer
questions; and as an agricultural ref
erence library, Mr. Harris' office prob
ably is unique.
More than 500 subjects are treated
in government and state agricultural
bulletins, filed so that the farmer can
easily find what he keeks. There arc
all sorts of reference books; plans
for ideal barns, hog houses, chicken
houses, etc., may be studied. A"
sorts of ' conveniences constructed in
cement are shown by picture and dia
gramspecifically, . concrete dairy
houses. ; ,
And soem dozen newspapers and
farm oeriodicals are always on file,
for those who desire to read them.
. The countv aeent's office, Mr. Har
ris says, is primarily for the use of
the farmers, and he is inviting them
to utilize it.
Among the periodicals, the latest
issue of which may be consulted at
the agent's office at any time, arc:
American Farming, Southern Ruralist,
Hoard's Dairyman, Farm and Fire
side; Southern Planter, Farm Journal,
Southern Cultivator and Farming,
Rural New Yorker, Suthern Agricul
turist, Capper's Farmer, and the
Progressive. Farmer..-
Mrs. McGuire Entertains ,
Sunday School Classes
The Sunday school classes of Mrs.
J. A. Flanagan and Mrs. W, B. Mc
Guire were delightfully entertained at
the home of the latter, onSaturday
afternoon, July 9th. Games were en
joyed on i the spacious lawn until a
rain chased' the happy little players
into' the house, where more quiet
games were engaged Jn until the hos
tess dispersed these with delicious
refreshments of . cakes, candies and
ice cream. Little boxes containing
candy and balloons, were given each
as favors. All had such a good time
they are looking forward to another
party real soon.
DEATH CALLS
DAVID A JACOBS
Killed by Cave-In, Back
Broken Was Highly Re
spected Citizen Inter
ment at Iotla.
David A. Jacobs, 78, was almost
instantly killed on Iotla street, just
north of the Macon county court
house, Monday morning about 11
o'clock, when' the bank along the
street, caved in, and dirt and stone
estimated to weigh two tons struck
and covered him.
He was said to have sat down
for a moment to rest, when the cave
in occurred. When extricated, his
head had been bent down between his
knees, and physicians said his back
was broken.
Rescuers were about ' five or 10
minutes getting him out, and he lived
about 10 minutes afterward.
The bank was some 10 or 12 feet
high. George Wurst was removing
dirt from this bank, to be used else
where, and Jacobs and Paul Carpen
ter were employed. A blast had been
set off earlier in the day, and it
was believed that this had loosened
the entire bank.
The dead man was working at the
bottom of the bank, while Carpenter
was shovelnig surface dirt off the
top.
At first, it was not posible to tell
just where the man was buried, and
Carpenter, Parker Moore, who hap
pened to be near, and numerous wom
en living along the street, worked
farntically with what tools they could
secure and their hands to find and
extricate the elderly man. When he
was found, J. J. Conley saw he was
still breathing, and held his head out
of the dirt, while the remainder of
the debris on his bodv was removed.
He is survived by eight children'
Mrs. J. E. Myers, Mrs.- R. L. Hall,
Mrs. John Cunningham, and Joyce,
J. I). and Mary Elizabeth Jacobs,
all of Franklin, Mrs. Jim- Calloway,
of Burton, Ga., and Fred Jacobs, of
Winston-Salem; and two brothers,
Jute and Sol, both of Franklin,
Funeral services were held at Iotla
.u,..; ..v.....(t runners werc almost overtaken.
&?krLZte ffi "XlBut they reached the . top of a long,
The services were conducted by the
Rev. J. If. Strickland, pastor, with
the Junior Order of United Ameri
can Mechanics, of which Mr. Jacobs
was a member, taking part in the
service. Kev. George Steed preached
the funeral oration.
Mr. Jacobs was well known through
out this county, and was highly re
spected as a good citizen and man.
TAKES ANDVANTAGE
OF CORNFIELD
Officers Saturday werc seeking the
man who Friday fled his brand new
automobile, which contained a small
quantity of liquor, and out ran them
on foot through a corn held, and
escaped.
The car contained 16 pints, the of
ficers reported.
Seeing officers on the bridge, the
man left his car at the Indian Mound,
nearby, and started on foot, straight
across the mound arid through the
corn field, up the valley, and dis
appeared.
Sheriff Ingram "knows " the " man'?
identity, he said today, but he did not
divulge the name:
A Fifty Dollar Hen
An uncut ruby, the size of a pecan,
well rounded and half polished by
constant rubbing against other and
smaller stones, was found the other
day by Lec Mason, of the Cowcc
community of this county, in the
craw of one of his hens, when the
chicken was killed for Sunday din
ner. Though the . stone is uncut, held
to the light it" is revealed as a re
markably beautiful gem. That fact,
added to its size makes it of con
siderable Value, according to the local
collector, who immediately .purchas
ed it from Mason.
How- the hen manged to swallow
so large a stone, how long she had
carried it, and how large it was origi
nallythese are questions that Mason
was unable to answer.
He pointed, however, to the fact
that all rough corners had been worn
away as indicating that it had lair
in the hen's craw for a considerable
time. ,
Great Rally of Junior Order
Takes Place at Franklin Today
TRIED TO GIVE
FISHA DRINK
Rum Runners Attempt to
Flood Lake Emory With
Carload of Liquor Fail
ing, One Tries to Sneak
Liquor Into Jail.
The deliberate, attempt of rum run
ners to drive their car straight off
a precipice into Lake Emory, about
two miles east of here, at daybreak
Saturday morning, ' climaxed what
Sheriff C. L. Ingram termed one of
the "wildest liquor races of his ex
citing career.
With the officers upon him, the
driver of the liquor car threw it
"wide open," headed it off the bluff
overlooking the lake, and he and
his companion jumped for their lives.
Thus, they told ' of ficers after their
capture, they expected to leave their
captors without evidence, unless the
latter could manage to fish the two
barrels, containing 10 gallons each,
out of the water.
The attempt was unsuccessful. At
the lake's edge, the r car struck a
rock, and turned off into a corn field,
miraculously still upright:
For the capture, Ingram had one
car to pass and then turn and follow
the runners, thus cutting off their
retreat. Two other cars, facing each
other, were placed at opposite ends
of the bridge just as the liquor car
approached, thus, effectively blocking
the bridge.
But the driver of the liquor car
was too fast for them. Seeing the
trap, he struck the bridge at. 45 mils
an hour, swerved around the first
automobile, careened to the right and
around the second, before the two
had time, to reach each other and
make- the blocking effective, and tore
down the highw.ay toward Asheville
n. . ;..n -.1 a ,.:.,
Steep hill, down which the highway
winds around curves, and they dashed
down, this at a rate the officers dared
not duplicate.
Again, the officers were almost
alongside them, when the pursued
suddenly turned into a. side road, and
toward Lake Emory. A short dis
tance further on, by mistake or not,
they took the wrong road, which led
to the top of a knoll overlooking the
lake, and suddenly ends there. It
was here, with the officers upon them,
that they headed their car for the
lake's bottom.
Still game, according to Ingram,
one of the men, handcuffed to a car
while officers sought his companion,
consumed a bottle of whiskey. The
second, after his capture, was caught
in the attempt to "bootleg" one of
the gallon cans into the jail under
his coat.
' The haul was 32 gallons. The men
gave the names of Sam Allison, of
Marion, and Jerry Ferguson, who de
clined to name his home town.
FRANKLIN FURNITURE
COMPANY MOVES
The Franklin Furniture company
announced early this week that it will
abandon its old, place of business on
Palmer street and move its entire
stock to the recently enlarged store
room on Main street in the McCoy
block. This change will take effect
at once. . According, to an offi
cial of the company its constantly
growing business demanded the con
struction of large warehouses on the
railroad and a convenient display and
store room on Main street. The
warehouses are now completed and the
display . room on Main street will be
in full use by next Monday. -
: PROF, tl. L. HOUK RETURNS
-1 Prof." G.r L. Houk, who has been
taking a special course at N. C. State,
in ministration under Dr. High
smith, has returned to his home at
Franklin. Dr. G. A. Bowden, of the
University School, Cincinnati, who al
so took a course at N. C. State this
summer, returned with Prof. Houk
and was a week-end guest of Prof,
and Mrs. Houk.
Mayor Patton to Make Ad
dress of Welcome Hugh
Monteith of Sylva to Re
spondBig Picnic Dinner
at Noon.
Hundreds of members of the Junior
Order of United American Mechanics
are expected in -Franklin today for a
district-wide meeting. District No. 1
comprises the six counties of Chero
kee, Clay, Graham, Swain, Jackson,
and Macon, and there are 21 councils
in the district.
The meeting will get ' underway at
10 o'clock at the Macon county court'
house, with Jack Stribling, of Frank
lin, councilor of the local lodge, Cul
lasaa Cwncil No. 158, presiding.
The meeting will open with the
singing .of "America : followed by
the invocation, by J. W. Street, chap
lain of the local lodge.
Visitors will be welcomed to Frank
lin by Mayor George B! Patton, with
Hugh Monteith, councilor, Sylva Coun
cil No. 144, responding.
The chief address will be made by
Dr. Ashley Chappell, - pastor of Cen
tral Methodist church, Asheville. Oth
er features of the morning's program
will include singing by John DaltonV
singing class, ot iotla, attd by the
Angel. boys' auartette, of Cullasaja.
There will be sessions in the after
noon at 1:30 for the councilors of
the district, the financial secretaries,
and the recording secretaries. Harley
annah Council No. 282, will preside
at' the councilors meeting. Over the
meeting of the financial secretaries,
T. M. Rickman, of West's Mill, finan
cial secretary of Cowee Council No.
485, will preside. And at the record
ing secretaries' session, the chair will
be filled by B, W. Justice, of Frank
lin, Route No. 4, who is the record
ing secretary of Mill Shoal Council
No. 246.
The farewell charge to the members
will be delivered at the courthouse
at 4 o'clock in the afternoon by
Mr. Stribling, and the Rev. Alvin
Solesbee will pronounce the benedic-
UUil. .
An important part of the day's pro
gram will come at noon, when, just
back of the Masonic Hall, lunch
baskets from the different sections
of a half dozen mountain counties
will be opened and spread out to
make a picnic dinner of such variety
and size as, perhaps, to surpass any
thing of the kind ever held in Macon
county.
The nine councils in Macon county
will be hosts at the day's events.'
The local council will hold its regu
lar meeting in the lodge hall at 8
o'clock tonight, and visiting Juniors
are being given a very cordial invi
tation to attend.
Bible, Poker Chipps, '
Butcher Knife, Liquor
Two men, Jerome Ganich, white,
and- Julius Franklin, negro, a Ford
coupe, 16 gallons of liquor, two butch
er knives, a liiDie, ana a Dox ot
poker chipps such was the assortment
captured by Sheriff C. L Ingram
and deputies, on the Franklin-Dills-boro
highway, a few miles cast of
Franklin, late We hicsday of last
week.
The sheriff's- fores ran around the
rum running car to make the catch.
The men said i'lcir home is in
South Carolina, but they are vacation
ing in Asheville, they said.
A The liquor was carried in a barrel
and 12 half-gallon fruit jars. Lying
On the scat between the two men,
was a huge butcher knife, while
another was found in the barrel of
liquor. ' " ,
In one of the men's pockets was a
piece of literature, headed : "Lost
or saved? Hell or heaven? life or
death ? Which?" and on this was
noted a name and address: "A. C.
Thompson, T. & T. Service Station,"
believed by Ingram to have been the
destination of the intoxicants.
The liquor was poured out, but
latest reports indicated that Sheriff
Ingram had not found any law with
reference to how he should dispose
of the Bible found alongside the
poker chipps.