)
ESTABLISHED IN 1883
G.dcst North Carolina Newspaper
West of Asheville
-
DEDICATED TO MACON
County and the Welfare
of itt Good People
((
PROGRESSIVELIBERAL INDEPENDENT
$1.50 PER YEAR
VOLUME XLVI, No. 10
FRANKLIN, N. C, THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 1931
7
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1 I I f - ' ) ., - v)
7
qn a Cffi
TO
r r r
OUTLOOK HOOD
FOR ACID PLANT
McCoy Makes Public His
Survey of Timher
Resources
ANNOUNCES PLANS
Seeks To Have Bridge
Funds Diverted To
Paving No. 28
W. L. McCoy, Franklin attorney,
in a sratcment to The Press, an
nounces the results of his survey
of tia:bcr resources of Macon
county and expresses the opinion
that llic prospect -is bright for
bringing an acid wood plant to
this section.
Mr. McCoy reveals that he has
taken steps looking toward per
suading the federal and state au
thorities to divert funds, for build
" ing a new bridge over the. Little
Tennessee river on Route 28 to
hard-surfacing of the highway west
of Franklin into the Nantahalas.
He . points out that the present
bridge is serviceable and expresses
the opinion that improvement of
Route 28 west of Ashcville would
prove of more value to Franklin.
Reviews Progress
Mr. McCoy's statement, follows:
"Manyhave requested a state
ment as to the progress made to
ward the sale and manufacture of
our acid wood, pulp wood, tan bark,
poles and ties.
"Replying briefly we desire to
say the, progress so-far is satis
factory in view of the fact that
such aft undertaking cannot be ac
complished in a day. The owners
of the acid wood ' tO"iabetrK 4hree
hundred have responded by re
porting the amounts they have and
the Forest Service Department,
Hans , Rces and company, large
owners and others, and the list
ings of all to this date show ready
for market now 1,156,245 cords o
acid wood, 114,481) cords ot pulp
wood, 110,000 chestnut poles of
all sizes from 20 feet inclusive up,
and 896,400 cross ties, all timbers
included, and more than 20,000
cords of tan bark, and the , value
at the present market prices is
more than $10,500,000.
"This material -could be easily
delivered by truck to Franklin on
our hard-surfaced roads, of which
our already enter Franklin, and
the fifth. Number 28- West of
Franklin, his been graded, but
needs the better improvement for
the heavy hauling necessary to
move the large holdings of the
government and citizens of Car
toocechaye and Upper Nantahala.
"With this in view, our efforts
have been directed toward the im
provement of Number 28 West of
Franklin and the matter has. been
taken up with our Representatives
in Congress, and Mr. Stikelcathcr,
of the State roads organization, and
workine with these gentlemen,
movement is under way to induce
the government to cooperate in the
improvement of Number 28 to and
through the U. S. Forest Reserve
and to Hayesville, and to divert the
moneys planned to be used in the
cement bridge at Franklin to the
improvement of No. 28 in coopera
v.ith the State Highway De
nnrtment: To that end, it. is" felt
tint this ran be 'done and is neccs
sary to be done to1 handle the ton
nage of 'the western part of Macon
county and eastern part of Clay
county. We feel that the old
bridge at Franklin, in its present
condition, can serve us a while yet
and the new improved "highway
would be very valuable to Franklin
and Macon county.
"Further .'investigation' shows
large stocks of tannic acid on hanA
and' very little protection Irom im
nortation and so very little en
courag?ment to manufacture other
stocks of tannic acid. Our unpor
"tation duty on tannic acid is only
fifteen per centum advalorem and
is insufficient to protect our mar
ket a'ong' this line. For the in
formation of those interested, we
quote paragraph '8 of the tariff
act of IVjU. . which is m wonis an
fieures. as follows:
'Extracts, dyeing and tanning
Chestnut, cutch, chlorophyll,' .divi
liL fistic, hemlock, logwood, man
rrrove. mvrobalan: oak, Persian
berrv. quebracho, sumac, saffron
safflowcr, saffron cake, valonia,
80 Per Cent-of
In Bank Reported 'Frozen;'
Reopening Still in Doubt
Persons engaged in efforts to
reopen the closed Bank of Frank
lin reported Wednesday that slight
ly more than 80 per cent of the
institution's deposits had been
"frozen" through agreements of
the depositors. . The Corporation
Commission, which has supervision,
over state banks," has stipulated
that 95 per cent of the deposits
must be tied up before it will sanc
tion reopening of the bank.
Contracts signed by depositors
agreeing not to withdraw their
funds from the bank until October,
1933, arc now coming in slower
than when the campaign to reopen
the bank was started three weeks
ago. Those who arc taking an ac
tive part in the project, however;
are still pushing for more contracts
and arc hopeful of fulfilling the
Corporation Commission's require
ments. But they emphatically
pointed out that unless the de
positors cooperate with them their
efforts will be in vain and the
whole proposition will fall through.
Lawmakers Quit Loafing
And Enact
ROAD, SCHOOL
BILLSMSSED
Legislature Must . Find
Way To Finance New
School Program
RALEIGH, March 4. Final
steps in legislation in regard to
schools include the passage of the
Johnston-Jolly bill to set up ma
chinery for the operation of a
State-supported six months school
term and consideration' of com
mittee reports providing vays and
means to provide the $19,500,000
necessary to carry out the adopted
program.
, Some differences are to be set
tled between the houses in regard
to amendments to the Conner road
bill which provides for the state's
taking over, of the county roads.
Constitutional Bill
The administration constitutional
convention bill was reported un
favorably, but measures to allow
the state to rewrite its constitution
by the commission method received
favorable Senate committee en
dorsement. The administration bill to bring
about a consolidation of the Uni
versity of North Carolina, North.
Carolina State College and North
Carolina College for Women has
been given a unanimously favorable
report. An amendment by- Dr.
Frank Graham, president of the
University of North Carolina, was
adopted making it mandatory that
experts be employed to study the
matter of consolidation and report
to the governor's commission of
nine. 1
Other Measures Up
A bill to regulate buses and
trucks was favorably reported by
committee to the House. A bill
for the state to handle workmen's
compensation insurance and a bill
to allow counties to levy a tax to
establish a fund to purchase text
books for - rental to public school
pupils were among other measures
under consideration.
The joint appropriations com-j
l'nittee has approved a measure to
reallocate $400,000 for construction
of a new state central prison at
Cary prison farm, near Raleigh,
the money having been appropriat
ed by) the 1927 general assembly.
Plans for this construction would
include v the abandonment of the
present state's prison at Raleigh.
A number of bank bills have
been passed.
FURM" HENRY IMPROVING
R. F. Henry. Sr.. better known
as "Furm" Henry, one of the
oldest citizens of Macon county,
is reported to be recovering from
a serious illness at his home' in
the Watauga section on Highway
No. 285. -
Deposits
This would leave the situation
just about ,what it was shortly
after the bank failed and deposit
ors would have to wait for the
slow process of liquidation before
receiving any of their money. It
is also felt, that if the bank is
not reopened liquidation not only
will be slower but that payment on
deposits will not be as large. Re
opening, by restoring business con
fidence, would enhance values of
the bank's paper and thereby en
able full payment of deposits in
due time, possibly .before October,
1933. The conditions laid down by
the Corporation Commisison for re
opening arc based on the anticipa
tion of full payment to all credit
ors. Unless' those who have not sign
ed contracts- to "freeze" their de
posits hasten to do so, it was
pointed out by persons .intimate
with the situation,' reopening may
be jeopardized. The sooner the
full 95 per cent of deposits arc
tied up, it was emphasized, the
sooner the bank will be reopened.
Gardner Plans
Things Look Brighter
With Legislature
Nearing End
By Carl Goerch
RALEIGH, March 4 Virginia
sent its. former governor, Mr, Byrd,
to talk to our legislature, and
New York sent its former gover
nor, Mr. Smith to da the same,
but things around the capitol don't
seem to have improved materially.
What most of the legislators prob
ably are hoping for is a visit from
the Governor of South Carolina to
the Governor of North Carolina.
Some important legislation has
been acted on during the past
week. The boys ar,c beginning to
do themselves proud. The gover
nor's road bill has gone through
a-kiting and there is no ..question
or doubt about most of the other
legislation he recommended at the
beginning of the session. Of
course he probably won't get
through . everything he advocated,
but his baying average is going
to be mighty good, nevertheless.
And while we're on the subject
of the governor, let me tell you
a little secret.
Max Has Sense
The old boy's got sense. Plenty
of it. I don't pretend to know
all of the inside workings of our
state politics, but I'm willing to
bet dollars to - doughnuts that two
weeks before the legislature met
Max could have told you the fate
of each measure to come up during
this session. In other words, it
looks to me as though he's got
Napoleon, Alexander the Great and
George Washington completely out
classed when it comes to skillful
maneuvering. .
There s another thing to be con
sidered, too. You vc heard of the
expression that Sofand-so knows
his onions? Well, Max knows
his legislators like nobody's busi
ness. He s got cm card-indexed
and cross-indexed.. He knows what
each one of them likes for break
fast, what" kind of ' cuff-buttons
they wear, whether they are ad
dicted to halitosis or the seven
(Continued on page six) ,
Rotary Governor Visits Franklin Club
J. Boon Aiken Says Two
Carolinas Need
Leaders
The biggest need of the two
Carolinas today is leaders, men
who can lise to the situation and
point the way for others, the
Franklin Rotary Club was told at
its regular weekly, luncheon at the
Scott Griffin hotel Wednesday noon
by J. Boone Aiken, of Florence,
S. C.t governor of the 58th district
of Rotary International.
"The kind of leaders we need,"
FOREST ROAD
WORKSTARTED
75 Men To Be Employed
On Nantahala River .
Project
EQUIPMENT7 BOUGHT
Horse Cove Road and
Others Also Are To
Be Improved
There has been a feverish rush
of activity for the past several
weeks in the Nantahala National
forest in preparation for extensive
road and trail improvements, a se
quence of Congressional appropria
tion to provide employment relief
on account of the drought of the
past year and the financial depres
sin. Perhaps thex major project, ac
cording 'to advice . f forestry of
ficials, is the Nantahala river pro
ject extending from Queen's creek,
on the present unto, from Nanta
hala to Aquone along the river to
a poin, south of Kyle, where the
proposed lake of the Nantahala
Power and Light company will cov
er the old Toad.
Much Equipment Purchased
Several thousand dollars worth
of equipment has been purchased
direct by the Forest service, which
includes a rock crusher with a
rated capaci of 20 yards per
hour, two air compressors, two
jackhammers and various other
ininor equipment. Seven three and
one-half tqn trucks have been ob
tained from the Corn Borer Di
vision of the Department of Agri
culture to use on this and on other
Nantahala and Pisgah forest im
provement projects.
Surfacing Road
Extensive improvements of the
section of the road described arc
under way. This will consist prin
cipally of surfacing with crushed
stone. The road camp is establish
ed one mile north of Kyle oh
White Oak creek and across the
creek is the rbek quarry, the cen
ter of activity at this time. Rock
is being crushed there and hauled
to the various places of distribu
tion on the road. Where the pow
er company's proposed lake will ex
tend the present road will have to
be relocated. When this construc
tion project is completed, from a
few miles south of Nantahala .sta
tion on Queen's creek to Aquone,
il will open up a means of trans
portation from Nantahala station
to Franklin, via Nantahala Gap,
Aquone-Slaglc road and Route No.
28. It is expected to condition the
Nantahala river road equal to
the Wayah creek road. This will
give opportunity for timber opera
tions on the Nantahala river side
of the Nantahala forest which has
heretofore been more, or less iso
lated, and it will provide many oth
er opportunities for recrcational.de
velopmcnt, as the route traverses
perhaps one of the most scenic sec
tions of Western North Carolina.
The construction project is just
now getting under way. .
To Employ 75 Men
The plan is, when the project is
fully manned, to have a night crew
consisting of about 25 men, and a
day crew of approximately fifty
Sufficient electric lights are being
furnished by Forest service equip
ment to enabled the work to con
tinue over night.
Supervisor A. A. Wood, of the
Franklin headquarters, states that
the completion, i this project will
provide the most adequate means
f egress and ingress to this part
(Continued on page, six)
Mr. Aiken declared, "must have
ll.j ::ud to serve for the love of
service with sound views, backed
by experience and performance;
the kind who can aris to an
emergency and express their con
victions earnestly, frankly and forc
ibly men who are willing to be
patient and wait for the right to
prevail, striving all the while to
bring it about as fast as possible.
"How are we to get this kind
of leader? Why, train them. And
how train them? Through such
organizations as Rotary. Rotary
has no selfish purpose to advance.
If its club leaders do their part
COUNTY'S DC-SERVICE
M
EN ENTITLED TO
LOANS OVER
School Teachers Receive
$13,000 in Back Salaries
Approximately $13,000 . lias
been paid to school teachers of
Franklin and Macon county
since, last Friday, according to
school and county officials. In
addition, $3,578.83 had been
paid out at the close of busi
ness yesterday on the county's
.January and February road
and bridge account
A large part of this money
already has been put into cir
culation and Franklin merchants
report a marked improvement
in business activity as a result.
This, with money World War
veterans of the county soon
will be obtaining on their bon
us certificates, is expected to
accomplish much in restoring
general financial stability. Hun
dreds of folks will be able to
pay their bills and buy the
Harbison Asks Aid in
Listing Macon's Plants
APRIL COURT
JURORSDRAWN
County ' Commissioners
Give out Names; Two
Terms Scheduled
The jury list for the April term
of Macon County Superior court
was drawn by the County Com
missioners in session here Tuesday.
The list was divided in two parts,
one for the criminal term and one
for the civil term, The criminal
term will be held first.
For First Week
Following is a list of those drawn
to serve the first week :
A. C. Holt, Highlands; J. M.
Smith, Flats; O. C. Corbin, Gneiss;
George Stepp, Nantahala ; S. D.
Frizzle, Route 1; Clyde Shepherd,
Lcalhcrman; E. O. Rickman,
Leathcrman; D. J. Moses, Higdon
ville; H. H. Cole, Stiles; Monroe
Strain, Gneiss; Joe Bell, Smith's
Hridge township; Sam Cunning
ham, Route 2; J. . E. Lancaster,
Franklin; W. I). Welch, West's
Mill; E. B. Picklesiroer, Route 2;
Jonas Tallcy, Highlands; Gilmer L.
Crawford, Franklin; N. H. Thom
as, Route 2; Jud Tallent, Burning
town township; Claud Roper, Route
3; J. B. Reeves, Route 3; Jess
Ray, Franklin ; Don Raby, Etna;
Homer Norton, Dillard, Ga Route
1; W. L. Willis, Route 3; Blimey
Henderson, Cullasaja; J. E, Woot
en, Route 2; J. E; Lakey, Etna;
C. M. Moore, FranKlin; Greely
Shepherd, lotla; M. D. Edwards,
Highlands; W. O. Swanson,v Route
I; Z. V. McKinney, Highlands; W.
H. Patterson, Route 2; Ralph l'ar
rish. Franklin; J. S. Anderson,
Stiles.
For Second Week
Following is a list of those drawn
to serve the second term: : Levi
(Continued on page six)
with the programs, week. by week,
many an individual will be trained
for the challenge and the task of
tomorrow. The process is so slow
that it is sometimes hard to realize
that progress is being made, but
many of us can look back over the
past and sec."
Mr. Aiken then reviewed the
growth of Rotary and the effect
the Rotary spirit has had on its
members and their communities.
He stressed the importance of
each Rotarian attending meetings
regularly as one means of extend
ing the good influence of the organization,
things they have had to do
without for so long.
All of the teachers in the
county have received payment
of 'one month's salary. In the
case of most of the rural teach
ers, this represents payment
for the full term. In the
Franklin school, however, tne
teachers had not received any
pay since November and they
still have salary for January
and February due them.
Most ' of the money with
which the teachers were paid
came from Macon county's al
lottment from the State school
equalization fund. The balance
and the money' paid for main
tenance and repairs to county
roads came from the county,
which was . enabled to apy off
some, of its obligations through
recent tax receipts.
Botanist Seeking Rare
Species Believed
. Growing Here
Professor T. G. Harbison, widely
known botanist in charge of the
Highlands Museum and Biological
Laboratory, in a letter to The
Franklin Press, asks the coopera
tion of the people of Macon County
in completing a list of the various
species of trees,, shrubs and vines
in Macon County.
A list of plants found in the vi
cinity of Highlands has been com
piled - by Professor Harbison, who
for many years a botanical collec
tor for the Biltmore Harhariiim
and the Arnold Arboretum, and
copies of this list have been dis
tributed. As' a result, scientists
and botanists far and wide are be
coming interested in the flora of
this region. ..
Asks Cooperation
Having published a list of plants
in the Highlands area, Professor
Harbison now intends to make one
for the whole county. He knows
most of the 'species that grow
hereabouts, but there are a few lie
believes should be found' in this
locality which he has not been
able to locale. -For this ' -reason
he is asking persons interested
in such matters to coperate with
him. His letter to The Press fol
lows :
"Highlands, N. C,
- "February 2K, 1931.
"Editor of The Franklin Press:
"I have just received a letter from
the Director of the municipal Ar
boretam at Aloniouc, Czecho-Slo
vakia asking me whether I can send
him a few seeds of Pyrularia puhera,
a shrub growing about here an
listed in our check list of trees
and shrubs, I shall be glad to
accommodate'. him.. I suppose some
persons' will imagine that there is
'good money' in such things. It
would not be considered good form
to take pay', for this kind of work
List Nearly Complete
"When 1 visited you in your of
fice a few days ago you generously
offered me the use of your paper
to further the work of completing
a check list of the trees, shrubs
and vines. -'of Macon .county, sim
ilar to the list recently published
of; the Highlands region by the
Highlands Museum and Biological
Laboratory. This Macon county
list has been 95 per cent complete
for several years but the other 5
per cent remains incomplete for
lack of time to do the exploring
necessary to finish the task. This
is purely a labor of love without
any pay except the satisfaction that
comes to one who loves such work.
I am hoping that there may be a
few. persons in pur county who
are interested in such things. Any
help to locate any of the few rc
, (Continued on page six) '
GET
$100,000
Officers of Legion Offer
To Help in Securing
Loans
BLANKS OBTAINED
Over 400 Ex-Service Men
in County Can Now
Get Money
More than $1()0,(XX) in cash will
be brought into Macon county in
the mar future by loans to ex-
srrvicc men under the veterans'
loan bill enacted by Congrss ,ovcr
the veto of President Hoover. This
is the estimate of officers of the
Macon Post of the American Le
gion. This money will come as much
needed relief to many of the vet
erans and in some cases where
veterans have been without work
for months and are penniless it
will amount almost to a lifesayer.
It will also have the effect of
improving general business con
ditions, -wherbye the whole county
will profit indirectly, by putting
more money into circulation.
. Expedite Loan Relief
Already some veterans have filed
their applications for loans and
machinery has been put into mo
tion to take care of the many
veterans who arc expected to seek
loans in the near future.
Dr. Furman Angel, commander
of the Franklin post of the Le
gion, issued the following state
ment yesterday offering assistance
to veterans in filing loan applica
tions :
Assistance Offered
"To the Members of the Amer
ican Legion of Macon County;
"1 have on hand the proper forms
for obtaining a loan on your cer
tificate. I will be glad to furnish
any veteran with these forms and
will assist in every possible way
in obtaining your money on your
bonus certificate.
(Signed)
"Dr. Furman Angel,
"Commander, Macon Post,
American Legion."
Dr. Angel estimated that the
veterans of this county would be
entitled to borrow approximately
$1(K),()(K). Some other estimates
placed the figure at about $150,000.
The general opinion is that prac
tically all of the veterans will take
advantage of the opportunity and
borrow on their certificates.
Interest Rate Low
Under terms of the loan bill, a
veteran may borrow up to 50 per
cent of the face value of his cer
tificate, granted by congress seven
years ago then over the veto of
President Coolidge. The interest
rate on these loans is set at 4 1-2
per cent. It is estimated that
there are something over 400 vet
erans in Macon county and the
average face value of their loan
certificates ranges about $1,00. On
this basis they would be entitled
to borrow an aggregate sum of
$2(X),0(K) or more; but many of the
veterans have already obtained
loans to the amount of 22 1-2 per
cent of their certificates, under
previous elgislation. Then, too,
there will be some who will not
file applications for loans at this
time : .....
Several other persons besides Dr.
Angel have offered to assist vet
erans in filling out the necessary
forms and sending them to the
proper authorities. Postmaster
Rickman, Frank I. Murray, clerk
of court ; Henry W. Cabe, acting
adjutant of the local legion post;
Alfred Higdon, former adjutant,
and several others have taken steps
to secure the proper blank note
forms and have offered their ser
vices to veterans without charge;
Mr. Murray, with a small number
of blanks on hand, stated doing
a land-office business Tuesday but
by Wednesday noon the forms
had given out.
WALTER ANDERSON INJURED
Walter Anderson, who lives on
Cartoogcchaye, seriously injured
himself Sunday afternoon when his
axe slipped while he was chop
ping wood and cut his foot.
(Continued on page six)