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Entered at the post-office at Franklin, N. C,
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ry t.T h ,r r!:;;!;i to o:.c j,.; c (,f f,t,:t
highway if a r 1 system is properly developed
and tax funds equitably distributed.
THE FRANKLIN PRESS PLATFORM
Extension of the sewer lines.
Beautify the school grounds.
Two hundred summer cottages.
A sewage disposal ' plant.
Tk mnti-ii-tinn of business blocks.
' Plant trees along the State highways of
t2i county.
Make a white way of Main street.
An excellent school library.
fmirtAona treatment for visitors.
Improvement of county roads connecting
with State highways. -A
fish ladder at the municipal dam.
10,000 Dairy Cows, 50,000 Sheep, 400,000
11n. 4.000 Brood Sows and ZO.UUU Stand
f IW in Macon county. The above will
in wtr anil liirhts in each farm home.
3.000 Acres in Improved rascurage in
Llacon county. '
Co-operation, vun, push, work-everytning
for the good or hranium ana wtcon coumyf
New court house and jail combined.
No Politics Under ity Manager
!IIE elimination of politics from govern
ment! Can it be done? "Yes", replies
Auburn, Maine.
The experience of other communities are
always worth observing, even though they
make no direct application to Franklin at the
moment. '
Auburn, for instance, has had the city man-'
ager form of government for the .past ten
years. ' '
Writes- W. R. Ludden of the Auburn' Free
Press: ' .
"It has practically eliminated the element of
politics from city elections. The councilmen
serve without compensation, appointing a city
manager, who is a salaried official. The mayor
was originally elected to, serve without pay,
but more recently has been voted a small
salary. His duties are largely honorary. '
"Under this form of 'government, it has
been Auburn's experience that the city mana
gers have been well qualified to perform their
duties, that they have" constantly reduced
the city debt without raising the tax - rate.
and at the same time have been able to give
the city more permanent improvements than
have ever been made in a similar length of
time. "
-"Several. years ago an attempt was made bv.
a faction hr-Auburn to return, to the mavor-
alderman-councibnanic form of government and
a set of candidates, ran for office on that
platform. They were thoroughly defeated and
no opposition has appeared since."
attr.uted ly tic county's li.Incr.-.l v.cal; ex
pressed their admiration for the high quality
of the musical programs, especially the charac
ter of the church music. And so it happened
that "Professor" Burke, the old German music
teacher, found a fertile field of labor in Frank
lin, a generation ago.
College graduates manned the "subscription"
school in Franklin many years before the
state high school system was begun. Frank
Siler of later years, an apostle of education
for women before he entered the ministry,
sent many Macon girls to Greensboro.
Such in sketch were the people who laid the
foundations of Macon County. Their natural
environment" must have had it wholesome in-,
f luence, too. The county seat is set on a hill
where the old Cherokee Indian toW of Nik-
wasi stood, the' Little Tennessee flowing "around
it through a wide valley, the 'mysterious mound
between town and river, built by Jhe Chero
kees or possibly by the legendary ' Mound
Builders. And all, around a circle of mountains
some of the peaks going up 5,000 feet. Rich
grass lands, timber and game in plenty ; it
was a land to draw a pioneer.
The isolation of those shut-in valleys lasted
over long despite the sternuous efforts of the
peope. Now the pioneer ife has become a
proper subject for the, pageant's reproduction.
The original spirit and power of the people
are at last reinforced by the devices and con
veniences of science and industrial genius. And
Macon, picturesque, sturdy and of adventuring
spirit from the first, turns now into the broad
highway of twentieth century advancement.
Asheville TirnK '
f-Ufuciit Soir'.!rrn -(-". -;;cs, j-jv-
.ct J1.-..T Chicago's first, included the famous
Baylors in Texas, in 1815 Baylor College for
women and Baylor University.
"Today, ther arc in the Southern States 189
recognized colleges and universities. The Mid
dle West has only 116. The remainder of the
country has 275.
"In justice to the Middle West, the North,
and the East, it should be understood and
stated that this ridiculous editorial in the
Tribune does not reflect the attitude "and
opinion of, the public in thos sections toward
and regarding the Southern States, but is
.actuated probably by jealousy and is indicative
of a narrow policy that has. characterized the
Tribune's attitude toward the South for many
years. Business men in Chicago and the Mid
dle West know its utter falseness, and it is
to the , interest of those same business men
many of Whom seek . Southern patronage to
see' that such misstatement? are not circulated
in, the future, -
"If the editorial writers for the Tribune are
weary of recording murders, gang fights, and
bootlegging in Chicago as they have reason
to be and are merely seeking a new project
we suggest that they, choose one on which
they have more information. A little knowl-:
edge is a dangerous thing, but none at all
is gross ignorance." Holland's ' Magazine.
ARE SOUTHERN STATES THE "SHAME
OF THE NATION?"
How About It?
Raskob appears to be the best Democratic
party boss the Republicans ever had.
Murphy is having a time, but which time?
The centennial was a big success and the
U. D. G's deserve much praise. ,
The Reds down in Gastonia are making
some of the citizens of that town see red.
, :
For it's always fair weather
Till Congress gets together.
, , Senator Borah wants to adjourn, but the
corn borer can't see it that way. '
e
The entire county regrets that Unclie Johnny
. Crawford was unable to be present last Satur
day. ': .
, .' " : '
Mrs. McKee made a brilliant and touching
address to the old Confederate Veterans. It
is. evident, that her heart is in this work.
.'.
, . Now that Congress has relieved the farmers
. the tillers of the soil will perhaps have time
do a little work. '
,
la placing the negros on a social equality
with the whites Beal, down at Gastonia, might
learn a lot at the White House.
It is a mystery to us just how Mr. Pritchard
gets the idea that the measley increased tariff
on mica is going to work wonders in the
nuca industry.
Finish the Grading
UrfERE is some talk of stopping the
il grading work on Highway No. 28 when
this task-is completed as far as Highlands.
In our opinion this would be a serious misstake.
The same "opinion is held by hundreds of
other citizens in Macon county. While the
machinery and the men are available the
grading work should continue through High
lands and on to the Jackson county line. When
the highway is graded there will be nothing
to hinder the paving work when that starts
within the next 18 months or two yearB.
Common Sense Road Building
rjjTrIE solution of the automobile accident
ii problem is within the control of . the
peopje and state road building authorities.
Narrow pavements, sharp unbanked turns and
worn and rutty surfaces take toll of thousands
of lives each year. Main highways riould
be wide enough for several cars to pass.
It is now necessary to build secondary -oads
not only to relieve traffic on the main high
way uui to give a tair distribution ot road
tax funds and to develop the. back country.
Secondary roads increase the value of farm
land, put -new life into smaller towns, relieve
congestion of traffic in the larger centers bv
finishing better distributing and marketing I
..vu.ihj vn.umS ucn avenues ,io iranuc. 5
Improvement of secondary rbads can be ac
complished at moderate expense through the
scientific use of asphaltic materials ; and road
ells which can be utilized to give a water
roof surface that eliminates mud and "dust,
"ach state probably needs ' 10 miles of sec-
Others' Comments
MACON COUNTY THE OLD AND THE
' NEW
With pageantry reconstructing the times
and customs of pioneer days Macon 'County
yesterday ' celebrated the centennial of the
county's organization. As an ox wagon led the
procession through the principal street which
is now ,a part of the interstate highway from
Asheville to Atlanta, many of the spectators
thronging Ttlie sidewalks recalled the days
when that street in winter was deep in red
mud and Franklin's nearest railway station
was 20 miles away across a mountain divide
As hosts and guests drove by automobile
over Highway No. 28, from- Franklin to High
lands, the. older days and their modes of trans
portation came back to mind, almost now
however, like a dream; It was hard to believe,
seeing all this progress, that Macon was ever
shut in by its encircling mountains, set apart
in many ways from the life , of other sections
of the state. (This highway is one of the
state's scenic attractions). " '
In 1929 the county government was estab
lished and the county , named for Nathaniel
Macon. Little did the progressive citizens who
formed the first Board of Magistrates realize
that the county would be forced, by natural
conditions, to wait 78 years for its first rail
road. Rather too literally Ma'con had to live
the life of isolation which was dear to Mr. Ma'
con, who advised his countrymen never to
build a house where they could hear the
barking of the nearest neighbbr's dog!
Behind the covered, pioneer ox-wagon, many
watching the parade, seemed to see also through
the procession of the years the train of
schoonef wagons that in thes old days brought
to Franklin the merchandise of the outside
world. There might well have been a float
representing William Guest with his muleV
teams, master of Macon's freight transporta
tion for so many years. '
'First, Georgia and later South Carolina
towns were Macon's freight terminals Turn
ersville, Walhalla. Then the Western North
Carolina Railroad, was extended from Asheville
to Murphy; D.plsboro became the freight and
passenger station for Franklin, and Almond,
Bryson City and Nantahala for other sections
of the county. .
But let it , not be forgotten that without
good roads fpr those days they were good'
Macon would have been doomed even till now
to stagnation of its economic life. Dr. D.
Smith wrote in his history of Macon :
As an illustration of the spirit of the
men who first settled Macon, it was agreed
that the county should build a road leading
from Franklin down the Tennessee river to
the mouth of the Tuckaseegee river- to.
. connect with a turnpike for which Joseph
. Welch had a charter to the Tennessee
state line.
That was the work of Macon's first body of
"magistrates; that spirit has lived-on and today
it has brought the county into the fullness of a
new day. ... " '
There were other things those pioneers did
not forget to bring with them, as they followed
where Jacob Siler and William, Britton had led.
Even in those early days Macon citizens had
some of the .best private libraries in the state
It is not strange; then, that Macon a'dopted
the first compulsory school law in the state,
and that Franklin is said to. have more college
graduates, population 'onsidered, than any
other town in North Carolina. : ,
The Macon settlers loved good music. In
vestors of tie old days in Macon who came
In a scathing reply to - the editorial of a
Chicago newspaper, quoted as pointing the
finger of shanw at the South, Holland's The
Magazine of the South, in the current issue
says : "Utter and amazing ignorance, -' not
only of ' the South but of our country' as
a wholeV is revealed in a recent editorial in. the
Chicago Daily Tribune entitled 'Public Life
in the Sticks States,' which talks not of
Louisiana and her political problems, of Okla
homa's impeachment trials, of the 'Ma' Fer
guson episode hi Texas, and of Bilbo of
Mississippi but which does not mention, oddly
enough, Al .Capone or Len Small of Illinois
and goes on to say that the Southern States
are remote from centers of commercial ac
tivity, culturej and learning, and : are the
'shame of the nation.' ' -' ' .
, "After the first wave of surprise at a so
crass display of sheer ignorance, we are
amused at being termed the 'shame' of any
thing' by av newspaper in such anabattoir as
Chicago, with its putrid politics, its guarded
elections, its 'gangster-ruled streets, its St.
Valentine's Day slaughters; . its beer "barons"
and its neighboring, He'rrins and Ciceros.
Political disputes : in the Southern States at.
least are 'settled in courts of law, and not
with machine guns. . The Southern States
liave no unseated United States senators, nor
does any of their senators send a floral offer
ing and his personal card to a gangster's fu
neral. "The South, in six years, increased its manu-factured-products
values $567,000,000. In .those
same six years, manufacturing values in the
rest of the country decreased $279,509,000.
Southern ports handle 42 per cent of the
country's water-borne tonnage. Over 61 per
cent of all active cott6n spindles in the nation,
are in the South. Such facts as these are
endless. If this be remoteness from Commercial
activity, make the most of it.
"The South was steeped in culture and learn
ing, and its cities were the sites of recognized
colleges and universities, more than three
quarters of a century before Chicago came
into existence. Its first college founded over
140 years before Chicago. In fact, when
Chicago was founded, there already were 40
universities and colleges in the . South as
against only 20 in the Middle West and 36
in the, remaining states. Two of these South-'
ern. colleges were in Louisiana and Mississippi.
"The secopd college founded on American
soil was in a Southern state the colleere4 of
William and Mary, at Williamsburg, Virginia,
m 1693, " Only one other university was foun
ded in America during that century Harvard,
in 1636, located in Massachusetts, which is
not a middle wfcst state. '
"In the eighteenth century, beginning ' with
the founding of Washington and Lee Univer
sity at Lexington, ' Virginia in 1749, the South'
saw 13 colleges and universities founded within
its borders, and 14 founded in the rest of the
country. No college or university was founded
in the Middle West during that , century.
"The first American college established in
the, nineteenth century was the University of
South Carolina, at Columbia, in 1801 the
fifteenth Southern university to be founded
prior to the establishment of any such institu
tion in the Middle West. Before the found
ing of Chicago's first university, the. South
had 58 colleges and universities. Of these,
three were in Texas, two in Louisiana, and.
one in' Mississippi states according to the
learned Tribune, : 'remote from culture and
learning.' ' - . ...
"Of the twoscore Southern universities foun
ded while Chicago" was still but an idea of a
trader's mind, one was Wesleyan, in Macon
Georgia, the oldest woman's "college in the
world, and the. first to award a degree to a
MACON COUNTY'S CENTENNIAL
This is to be a great day in Macon County,
the one hundredth anniversary of the county's
establishment in 1829. Eleven years be
fore that time, in 1818, Jacob Siler and Wil
liam Britton had crossed over the Balsams and
the Cowees and settled in, the valley' of the
Cartoogechaye. All that country was then
primeval forest. It abounded in fish and
game of all descriptions. Siler and 'Britton
resisted every effort of the Indians to dis- ;
courage their making it their hme and in the .
face of threats established themselves in the
territory, which had been newly acquired. from"'
the Cherokee Indians by treaty. Other settl-'
ers followed, the town of Franklin was organ
ized in 1820, and nine years later Macon
County was duly created by act of the Legis
' lature. . ' ,
For a long period, and down to the very re
.cent past, Macon as The Franklin Press re
minds us,, was pne" of the "lost provinces?' It
was cut off almost completely from the rest of
the world until the completion of the Tallulah
railroad in 1907. That tied it with Georgia
rather ithah North Carolina.' It was not until
the building of , the concrete road 1 across the
county three years , ago, connecting with - No.
10 at Dillsboro, that Macon was linked with -the
State; of which it. is a part. . ., : . ;
During all these years, however, again to
quote The Franklin Press, the heritage of
courage1 and high ideals handed down by the
sturdy pioneers has been illustrated in the lives
of the inhabitants of th county. The Press
points out that Macon, County was the first
in the State .to make education compulsory
and that Franklin "in proportion to its popu
lation has more college graduates than any
other town in the state." The forests which -the
early settlers found there have - disap
peared. The-game and fish were destroyed,
the one-crop system wore out the soils; but
these losses are well - repaired. Macon is
today one of the most progressive counties in
Western North Carolina. Its people are alive
to the importance .of diversified agriculture,
they are developing "their resources, restocking
their streams with fish and their mountains . .
with game, and they look to the future with
the same bold confidence which marked the
county's earliest ' settlers.
No " part of Western North Carolina has
benefited more from. the. improved .. highways
than Macoti, Franklin is the Southern gateway
to . the Land of the Sky. Highway No. 28
which leads through it from Asheville to At
lanta is fifty-seven miles shorter than any
other road between the two cities and the '
scenery through which . it passes is beautiful
arid grand beyond description. A. fine program
has been arranged for the centennial celebra-r
tion today and a great many visitors from far
and' near will be on hand to help make the
occasion orfe long to be remembered. Ashe
ville Citizen. ,
MISPLACED ZEAL
One of the worst advertisements a town or
country can have is indiscriminate searching
of automobiles without warrants. Every law
abiding citizen in the land wants prohibition
enforced: . They want the real boot-leggers
and rum runners stopped from plying their
nefarious trader but this business of eternal
Searching of automobiles is distasteful to the
people.
Jf all we hear is true, or .if half we hear
is true, officers of the law make a practice of
searching automobiles on the bridge on this
side of Franklin. Ladies and gentlemen out
71 uVTT the Splendid the
state has bmlded, connecting Sylvaandthe Geor-
gia; line, are held up and submitted to the
indignity of having their private business in:
quired into and their automibiles searched.
, ,Some of the PeP'e made angry,' some x
L u- v.,huge j0ke ?n. the town of
5" f k 10th?rs are it plain disgusted
vith the whole biismessV . However, it all works'
tothe injury of the good name, of our friend
and neighborly town; across the . Cowees.-The
Jackson Co- t ...-1 '