FACE roun
the r?.AU. :uu rnr.zz,
i RAu::un, u. c.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, IZl?,
The Franklin Press
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY
S. A. HARRIS... Editor
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
(Subscriptions Payable in Advance)
One Year $1.50
Eight Months 1.00
Six Months 75
Three Months 40
Single Copies 5c
ADVERTISING RATES
Very reasonable, and will be made known
npon request.
We charge 5 cents a line for Cards of
Thanks, Resolutions of Respect, and for n
tices of entertainments where admission is
charged.
Entered at the post-office at Franklin, N. C,
for transmission through the mails as second
class -matter.
Foreign Advertising Representative
THE AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION
THE FRANKLIN PRESS PLATFORM
. Extension of the sewer lines.
Beautify the school grounds.
Two hundred summer cottages.
A sewage disposal plant.
More official activity in the sale of sur
plus power.
The construction of business blocks.
Plant trees along the State highways of
the county.
Make white Way of Main street.
An excellent school library.
Courteous treatment for visitors.
Improvement of county roads connecting
with State highways. I
A fish ladder at the municipal dam.
Co-operation, vim, push, work-every thing
for the good of Franklin and Macon county.
New court house and jail combined.
How About It?
Those desiring a quick trip to China may
drive into the daddy mud hole down at the
station.
,
' The public is greatly pleased with the quick
dispatch of court business and the high sense
of justice manifested by Judge Moore.
Read-the contract between die town and
t, lit tit ir(it-f t t Ik-".' (
town thoroughly.
MTi ' ' i 1. .. 1 ...Wl Kitrt. ii holc
Jl WOU I Uc IIUW UlllH-UUiJJ-vvw.
spin round and smiles take the place of sour
looks.
:
( It is not often that a small town like Frank
lin gets within smelling distance of millions,
tut unless. all -sign fail, this'town will soon be
rubbing shoulders with the toad skins.
' Three members of the town board that sold .
the powfir plant wore members of the board
that built the plant. They were thoroughly
justified in both instances.'
. ? .
''. The rural teachers,- so we understand, are
acting , as 4-11 club leaders. They do this
cheerfully and thus show a mighty fine spirit
bf co-operation.
When the sale of the power plant is con
firmd by the voters we believe that the farm
ers who want elect, icity on their farms will
have no difficulty in getting it.
Aside from the benefits, expected to accrue
from the sale of the power dam it now appears
that a big real e:;u.: development is in the
' offing.
Locate one. industry here and another comes
. almost automaiicaily. Soon the community
will -probably - iiec,d more power than-the pres
ent plant can develop.
y
In our opinion the town board has made no
mistake in agreeing to sell the power plant t(o
Mr. Mead. When his present '.plans are car
ried out r the towjH will ; realize-that .aincw.era,
of prosperity for this community has arrived..
.
Since learning of the virtual sale of the
municipal power plant, at least fifty farmers
have been to the county agent's office to
learn what farm machinery can by run by
electric power.-
Now watch '.'he tojtvn grow. For; several
months The l'rescs has advocated selling the
power' plant. Now that this is an accomplish
ed fact this paper is extremely -. ratified at
the part it has taken toward this end.
j
Mrs. Mollie Angel w ho lives ji:st east oi
Franklin, has some of the best peaches seen
in Franklin this season. These peaches weigh
more than half a pound ach. So Macon coun
ty must be sbmewhat of a peach, county after
all. v !'. .-'
. ,
' To carry the election in favor of selling j
power plant a majority of the qualified voters
is necessary. Such being the case a new
registration should be made as mar.y now
carried on the list have; moved away. We
believe also that the county should have a
new registration. -
Probably 99 per 'cent of the voters are in
favor of confirming' the action of the town
hoard in selling the power plant. The trouble,
if any, will be in getting a majority of the
(nullified voters out to the pulls. Hut it is
either come out or continue to dig down.
The citizens can take their choice.
A carload of lumber recently shipped to
Johnson City netted the shippers slightly over
thirteen dollars per thousand. This lumber
vas suitable for making a good grade of
flooring worth at Franklh $55 or $00 per
thousand. This shows the necessity, for a
planing mill at Franklin.
It's the same old thing each court week
fakers selling worthless articles to the suckers
on the public square. "A fine fountain pen
for the insignificant -sum of fifty cents." And
the faker was raking,, in the coin at the rate
of about fifty dollars .per hour. No wonder
tax money is hard to get.
3n so far as the extension service is con
cerned Macon county is making one of the
best records in the state, but if this county
expects to get any publicity from the exten
sion highbrows down at Raleigh, it will have
to move down- among some of the pet
counties in the eastern part of the state.
Judge Moore was emphatic ,in his remarks
about making the highways safe for the traveling-public.
We hope that the officers of the
county will take to heart these remarks of the
Judge. In this connection it has been report
ed that some hotel lobbies, in Georgia con
tain posters advising tourists to stay away
from Franklin.
At the chicken sale Monday and Tuesday
3600 pounds of poultry brought $828,00. At
the car door some of th'e farmers sold their
poultry to peddlers. Sooner or later this will
result in no more co-operative sales and then
the peddlers can buy poultry for half price.
It sometimes seems useless to (try to help the
farmers. .
The town has called an election for Sep
tember 25th to vote for approval or disapproval
of the sale of the power plant. A majority
oi the qualified- .voter&.aridota-JtnajQrityoi,
those voting;iir:detcrminc thc saler Wr be-
favor of the "sale. ' If so, they "must turn "''but
and vote. OtherwiseFranklin will continue
to own the plant. . . '
We understand that someone has dumped
a lot of cans containing spoiled blackberries
near the spring on the camp site. This has
ruined the place for camping purposes and one
or two. parties of campers have already left
Franklin and gone to other places to pitch
their tents. The person responsible for put
ting these cans on Franklin's only camp site
should be required to remove them at once.
This county will never prosper as it should
as long as Democrats and Republicans, as
such, strive for office. It is a bitter pill for
a self respecting man to play the political
game in order to be elected. Some, of course,
do so, but under present conditions there are
many able men in the county who refuse to
sacrifice their honor by entering a political
scramble for office.
Judge Moore hit the nail on the head when
he advised the farmers. of the county to quit
sending money out of the County for bacon,
hay, flour and meal. Probably trie judge did
not know that as much' as $400,000 or $500,000
is sent out of the county each year for pro
ducts that can be grown here. The value of
Macon crops is less than $500,000 each year.
Just keep this up for a few years longer
and the county home of which Judge Moore
spoke will -have to be enlarged.
-
Do not forget the Dairy Picnic at the cream
ery on August 30th. This Will be a great day
for Macon county. . In the near future The
41rv.ssJiop&-lajuak.cmm
good things for the. farmers of ., the ; county,
among them electrification of the rural homes.
Still and all, it would not seem just right to
have lights in the home while the good lady
of the house continues t6 tote that cold spring
water. So electric lights will just about force
The Old -Man to pipe that water to the home
and the usual traffic, and now Franklin can
boast of the biggest and handsomest mud
hole in the entire Southland. In fact this
mud hole may be considered another "First"
for North Carolina. Franklin can also lay
claim to the honor of being the first town
in the state to usct red clay as a substitute
for rock in repairing bad places in the streets.
The county now receives $45,000 per year
from the state cquali:'alin fund. Jf we have
been correctly informed the treasurer of the
county receives 2 per cent for paying out this
money. . Under the law we presume that he
is entitled to this percentage, but just why
should an official, even though the law say
he may, deprive the school children of Macon
county of $900 per year? The fee system
pre-supposcd that the paying official had the
trouble and expense of collecting the money,
but the treasurer is put to np expense in
collecting . the equalization fund and therefore
should have no commission for disbursing the
fund. The candidate for sheriff who will pledge
himself not to accept a commission for dis
bursing the equalization fund will win many
votes in this county. If no candidate will so
pledge himself, then the voters should find a
man who will. Even with this amount deduct
ed the commissions of the sheriff will probably
amount to more than $6500 per year which is
salary enough for any county officer.
Some months ago an announcement appear
ed in this paper to the effect that land would
be sold for unpaid taxes on a certain date.
This was not done. A . short time later a
similar announcement appeared but no action
was taken. On the appearance of the first
announcement a man living in Smith's Bridge
township, evidently -assuming that the an
nouncement meant what it said, sold all his
corn, so we are told, at one dollar per bushel
to raise tax money. Sometime' later this
corn was worth around. two dollars per bushel.
Jn effect this man was doubled taxed. In
discriminate announcements concerning the
sale of land for taxes should not be made.
The law should be followed to the letter and
all tax payers should be treated alike. Forc
ing an honest man to sell his produce at a
low price is not calculated to leave a good
impression, unless all other delinquent tax
payers arc forced to do the same. In other
- words-the- collection. o-v taxes- should-, not . be
, iiidc:raTiprtf:t't Vm,' ilnzz. perns-.- c
and barn.
. ,
Macon county is ideal for raising sheep.
iriKsc who have sheep had better increase
their flocks. The Press hopes to have an in
teresting announcement for sheep raisers in
the near future. However', dogs and sheep do
not go well together, it is against the law
for dogs to run at large at night, but no at
tention is paid this law in Macon, county. The
next legislature should be asked to pass a law
permitting any citizen to kill a dog found
running loose at night in this county. With
such a law on the statute books, more people
will raise sheep. '
. -
The daddy mud hole down at the station
evidently diln't sait. .the- authorities it. was,
net half big enough . 'nor half deep enough.
Consequently someone with a bright idea filled
said hole-with. rod clay. Then came 'the -rain?
ter, have bought the Franklin power plant
with the end in view of operating the plant
and building up the-community. His organiza
tion specializes in small properties and ovns
plants ' throughout the eastern part of the
United States. Mr. Mead already has plans
underway that will mean much to the town.
News of these plans as they develop will be
carried in the columns of The Press,
Before Mr. Mead would submit a proposition
to the town he furnished references to the
town board. Inquiries from those whose
names were submitted by Mr. Mead indicate
that he is a man of sterling character and
that his organization is financially able to
carry on with any proposition it undertakes.
As a result of thesalc of the plant it now
appears that Franklin is on 'the eve of a
period of great prosperity. Nothing spectacul
ar,' perhaps, but a steady and constant growth
that will result in a few years in a larger town
and lowered taxes.
Of course the sale of the plant will have
to be submitted to the voters of the town for
approval, but the sentiment in favor of the
sale appears to be. almost unanimous.
Industries
IT7 TS CLAIM ED, - and perhaps rightly, ' by
many that industrial plants do not like to
locate on branch railroads and that, con
sequently,. Franklin can' never hope to amount
to much from an industrial viewpoint. This
will no doubt hold true where it is necessary
to ship -in -the- raw material and to ship out
the manufactured product. However, industries
will locate where the raw material is at hand.
Such being the case there is no reason to
suppose that wood working manufacturing
plants will not be glad to locate at Franklin.
The electric power is here. The climate is
ideal. Shipping facilities are ample. Labor
conditions are excellent. Sites for plants can
be had at reasonable prices. There are good
schools and good churches and fine hospitals.
Within easy reach of Franklin there are avail
able each year for an indefinite length of time
more than three million board feet of lurh
ber. So wood working plants will find Frank
lin an ideal location'. This county also has
inexhaustible supplies of Kaolin, mica and asbestos.
Preserving Gifts
WHEN ONE receives a gift of any kind
from a friend the recipient generally
takes steps to care for the gift or to use it
wisely at least. In every home , in the county
one can find articles that were deceived as
gifts years ago. Even useless things received
in this" way arc treasured as mementos. Ar
ticles given by one person to another are al
ways considered valuable ' in one way or an
other. But the gifts bestowed by Nature are
considered in a" different light. Man seems
to take a peculiar . delight in destroying suclT
gifts. In Macon county, for instance, Nature
clothed the .mountains in forests which man
has ruthlessly destroyed. Nature placed in the
soil of this county almost every element neces
sary for man's existence, but man in his folly
or in his ignoraacc, has worn out the soil.
He--has-been-con tinually-receiving-t-and -Seldom-giving
untilL with some exceptions, the farm
ers of the county are hard put to it to make
their lands produce just a bare living. Until
the people of this county treat the gifts be
stowed by Nature with the same love and re
spect they show the gifts received from friends
and' loved ones, the county Will never, become
favorably known.
A Wise Move
THE TOWN BOARD deserves the thanks
of the., community . for agreeing 'to sell
the power plant. The price agreed upon is
$341,000 which was $18,000' more than the next
highest bid. Not only did the board act wise
ly in selling the plant, but it used good judg
ment in selling to Mr. Head. Air. Mead's
organization does not make it a custom of
buying- and . selling power plants at a. profit. .
The Mead 'interests, as we understand the mat-
Vote to Sell
NOW and then one finds a citizen who is
in doubt about the wisdom of selling the
power plant. It is well to look at this matter
from all angles and after having done so we
do not believe that there will be a dozen votes
cast against the proposition. For the, past
several months The Press has been giving
reasons why the plant should be sold, but it
is perhaps. just as well to rehash this, matter.
In the first place municipally owned public
utilities' is wrong in principle. No city govern
ment is going to concern itself with the sale
of power. No comprehensive plans can be
carried to a sucsessful conclusion due to the
fact that the administrations change every
two years. The plant at Frankljn has been
in operation for more than three years and
with the exception of the mica mines there
are . no industrial plants to use the surplus
power and there never will be so long as the
plant is owned by the town. Counting de
preciation, on the. plant the town has been
losing around $20,000 per year for the past
three and a half years. This, within itself, is
sufficient reason for selling the plant. Under'
private ownership : industrial concerns-will -lo-
cate in Franklin to utilize the surplus power-.
lV.'t -l'- V''r" ' nrr.tvjlvU. t..j Kaulihi.. uvkA4.K ,
uraT "communitiesT"" Fay6nr"wiri'helpn'biis-
iness . conditions. New property includingthc
power plant will be placed on the tax books
of the. county. Tares can be lowered in both
town and county.
If there be those who want to carry the
bond burden for the next 32 years, who want
to continue to pay high taxes, who do not
wish to see the town grow, who want. no out
side capital to come in and develop the com-
(munity, who 'want to continue along in the
same old ruts for the next generation if there
be such, they will bf course vote against sell
ing the plant.
Others' Comments
A TERRITORY'S NATURAL DEVELOP
MENT '
WHAT arc ' the natural industries of 1 a
section? What are its natural crops?
The answer to these two questions is the key
to the logical development, both industrial and '
agricultural, of that territory.
The word "natural,"1 here used in its large,
liberal sense, can be translated "profitable"
without doing injury to its true significance.
There are certain .industries which, through
native supply of raw material, available labor
of the proper type, transportation both by
rail and water, and reasonable proximity to
large markets, are the logical, basic manufac
turing industriesof a section.
Agricultural crops are a matter of selection
and of experiment, always, the essential ele
ment of a market being kept in mind. Thus,
cotton for many reasons is an agricultural
.staple igr-.thc. Southern states. But it is only
one of many crops which can be grown easily
and profitably in this section of the country.
The survey is half the battle! When a
town ascertains what it can profitably man
ufacture, and a territory learns what it can
profitably grow, then the lines of battle have
"been definitely pitched and local capital and
farmers can have the comforting thought thaT
they arc not proceeding blindly, but according
to a chart Which presages success rather than
failure. ' - . '
There is such a difference in a community's
just ''going after factories," than in going
after that more restricted line of industries
which, in thati community, Will have their
birth in an atmosphere of logical success.
Too, .mere "diversification" of crops is not
enough. Unless the right crops are grown it
is simply -more wasted energy.
Communities and sections are Koing about it
more intelligently. The "tendency more and
more is to get down to an absolutely common
sense basis. And on such a schedule the in
dustrial development of .Southern towns and
cities will proceed steadily, surely, and on a
bedrock basis,, and agricultural development
will have Hhe same firm foundation. Industrial
Jndex. ' .,-' '.'
O
(
o