'
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THE NEWS-RECORD
""-V RECORD
PRICE A YEAR
18. 1901.
FRENCH BRdAU NEWS
i
The Progressive
Established May 16, 1907,
THE NEWS-RECORD
Consolidated November 2, 1911
BOTH A YEAR
THE ONLY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN MADISON COUNTY
v: wv wi v. wy..
i
VOL. XXI
LOCAL HISTORY
MADISON COUNTY
TO BEDESIRED
n . r. 1 TL 2
JU, State Presents His View
On The Subject And
They are Good.
The letter below is perhaps
the most important bit" of" cor
respondence carried recently
by the News-Record. (See issue
of June 3, 1927). The letter, a
copy of which was sent to every
city and county board of edu
cation in the State of North
Carolina by the secretary of
the State Historical Commission
suggests the appointment of a
county historian and stresses
the importance of preserving
all local history material. Prac
tically every daily and weekly
.. i-i cu.i. n..ki:v.
newspaper in uie outre puuuon
ed the letter many accompa
nied by a long editorial, some
converting the letter into
news item of considerable
length. The News-Record com
ments as follows : "The follow-
inor letter explains itself and
we pass it on to our readers
SUGGESTS COUNTY HISTORIAN
ImpoHanee-ef PrMervlnl AU HiaforL
''-"feal Material
May 24th, 1927
To Chairman of County Board
of Education:
North Carolina has a history which
surpasses both in scope and in rich
ness that of many of the States in the
American Union. But whereas state
history has been preserved and made
available by the State Literary and
Historical Association and the North
Carolina Historical Commission, local
history in North Carolina has not
.ym Avails hnH - that avatamntif nrft.
A.tJ U1U11 t. . W a,fw whuw www
What has been done, for state his-
wry Biiuuiu ttitu van uc uuuo ivi iumu
history by local agencies. In New
York, a state law requires the ap
pointment of a local historian in eoch
town and city has stimulated great
ly the preservation and writing of
local history.
In every county in North Carolina
there exists historical material with
out which ail adequate county his
tory cannot be written; yet if not coL
lected and preserved, its destruction
is certain. In every county there has
been a record of achievement whioh
if written and published, would stimu
late local pride and achievement and
add to hte knowledge5 of North Caro
lina history. In every county there is
someone already experienced in his
torical work or deeply .interested
therein, who, if given the position of
local historian, would be honored and
stimulated to greater ecorts in col
, lecting material, writing history, and
organizing a local association. In
the face of these conditions, there is
no need for those interested in the
' cause of education and historv to a.
wait the legal establishment of the
office of county historian If "results J
can De achieved independently, the
MAanant will kM I I.
lative. co-operation two years hence.
- nui you not consult with your
Board and perhaps with the -County
Commissioners, and select someone to
serve, unofficially of course, as coun
ty nisronanr The person of your
choice should be interested, capable,
and, wherever possible, trained or ex
perienced ;ln historical work. If yon
wian, tne oacrviary. oi ,toe JNOITO viar
elina Historical Commission can Le
of assistance in the final-choice; and
when the choice is made, he will be
glad to advise with and assist the
county historian1 in every way pov
Ton are in position to make a dis
tinct contribution to the history and
education or your community and
state; and the Historical Commission
be sufficiently interested to cooperate
prove thepreject, hope that you will
together with others who already ap
effectively...'' ,
Very truly yours, t
' ' A. R. NEWSOM, Secretary,
Every community whatever: Its
typeis historical In eharcter, and is
partly what it is because of the ideas
struggles of the past., Persons,
events, conditions, developments, in.
fluenees of various kinds, have con
tributed to give. the community Us
characters.. ' The community of lladi
son county is no excert;on Certain 'y
oiottr vt!!"rs sni r.7"- s-.-.
and resources have influenced the
location of settlemeuts.v The Indians
roamed "over Madison ilntil far into
th nineteenth century s The history
of their occupation might be picturel
from archeological and ethnological
remains. Biographical sietcnes oi
the early pioneers and knowledge of
the Scotch-Irish, German, Welsh,
English, and other racial strains in
the population of the country furnish
excellent background material. Re
lations with other communities have
been affected by the old trails, roads,
ferries, bridges, stages and tavern
It is an interesting fact in the history
hof the county in the early part oi the
nineteenth cenurv. Marshall was a
restinsr noint on the ilone hog-drive
from Kentucky and Tennessee to the
coastal cities. Other feuds for study
inMadison county, largely a land own
develonments such as the transfor
mation of agriculture, the absence of
the nesrro tenant, the farmers of
Madison county, largely a land own
ing class, theintroduction of the tex
tile and other industries the pro
gress of governmental and education.
All institutions, of religious and phil-
anthrotihic societies, and fraternal or
ders; art, folk songs and music, and
literature: the contributions oi com
munity builders; and the influence of
Madison county m state ana national
history.
There are a number of good rea
sonBwhy such a history of Madison
county should be written. Among
other values of local history is the
strictly cultural value. Local history
is worth knowing, if merely for the
sake of knowledge. Yet from a study
of one's community may be gained a
better understanding of both the
home community and the world in
which he lives. The average man is
comparatively ignorant of both. Is
not each community something of the
world in miniature? It is true there
may be found representative institu
tions of many kinds, persons with an
the varying types of personality,,
nearly all the types and tendencies
of mankind. Certainly here is a mas
rocosm of ideas a sort of univesality
of mind. Life, in any one community
is a microcosm, an epitome a replica
of life in many other communities,
and to understand one is to know
much about every social group. The.
community is playing a part .ow-.
ever.signiflcatoc-inBMMnt in
tbAt-grefttest dfUUieh,Ue-
evolution of ideas, institutions and
cultures everywhere.' i-.And how
bloody" and "muddy' Madison has
changed to "a progressive, peace-loving
community, is a scene which can.
not be omitted without impairing to
some extent the whole of the drama.
In the third, place, local history
furnishes the substance from which
is developed pride in the loyalty to
the community the qualities of com-
munity patriotism and community
.consciousness not acommunity con
sciousness and admiration that leads
to a narrow "provincialism" but, on
the contrary, one inspiring to great
er progress. Madison county saw an
exhibition of local pride when a
young attorney caned attention to
the fact that one lone portrait graced
the walls of the Madison county court
room. This was a portrait of the
speaker's father, Judge Peter Con ley
Pritchard, and he was urging the
placing of the portraits of three oth
er distinguished, sons of Madison in
the court room. Three distinguished
sons named by him were Colonel J.
McElroy. Judge Hesekiah Gudger,
and X M. Gudger. He .declared hat
Madison county "owes it to these de
parted and distinguished sons to place
their portraits in a place where it
will serve as an Inspiration to attor
neys following in their footsteps, the
three havinsr -at one time sracticcd
law in the Madison County Superior
Court t It was an v unusual cornel
dence, that the Judge presided in the
court as the resolution was presented
was Judge Pender A .McElroy, a son
of Colonel McElroy named above and
father of John .McElroy who . was
practicing law inthe - same court
room. There are few communities
which do not recall with similar pride
the achievements of its sons .who are
called great. '
A fourth value migty be attributed
to a history of Madison county in the
usefulness of such, a . volume is the
solution of the present problems of
Madison county. James Harvey Bob'
inson insists that only through his
tory can we understand the world in
which we 4ive. There is a school of
writers which insists that V history
should be utilitarian. Professor Ghas.
A. Murray declares that, the aim of
history is f 'to taiHg ' the past into
manifest relation -to the present."
Another professor,.!. G. deft. Hami
lton maintains that in history need be
included only, events, persons and de
velopments which have been, vital in
shaping the conditions, present and
future, of the generation in which we
live. Professor Herman Harrell Horne
insists upon the functional, pragmat
ic, utilitarian view of historical re
search, and Dr. E. C. Eranson that
we should ."Let history work for the
present welfare of the. community."
PMadison countians would, understand
present social, political and economic
conditions much, more clearly if they
knew facts of how they had develop.
In Europe, KLtory of province and
eity has long been an essential lactor
m even an elementary education.
Nearly every intelligent peasant boy
is fairly well Informed in the annals
of his locality: its heroes are lis otm,
ts glory Is rejected ia.tae e
MARSHALL, N. C, FRIDAY, JULY 22, 1927
asm with which he recites their deeds
to the passing stranger. But where in
America is Buch true? It is true that
local tradition and history does mean
much in some sections of the country
and that in New York, a state law re
quires the appointment of a local his.
torian in each town and city. Gener
ally speaking, however, in the United
States too little attention is paid to
this phase of history writing. The
value of the letter quoted above lies
in the fact that North Carolina is
beginning a movement which will
likely spread to other states where the
value of community history has not
been appreciated. Another genera,
tion may see a hitherto most neglec
ted field of American historiography
raxAivs ita Him rpincnitinn and an A-rfi
merican communities profiting there-de
by. . ...v
Questions which Madison county)
must solve in the connection are threat
fold: who will be appointed county,;
historian? Where will the material of
local history be placed for proper!
preservation? When will local history?
clubs be organized to study the varif
ous characters and institutions and;
the development of Madison county?,;
Will the people of Madison county
exhibit a spirit of cooperation in this
program of preserving history mai
terial and of picturing the county's
past? !
ALL DAY SERVICE
AT COUNTY HOME
An all day service was enjoyed af
the County Home, the third Sundays
The Walnut Creek choir was present
and did some good singing which was
enjeved by all. i
The welcome address was given bf '
Miss Nellie (jrough ana then some
WUHMCIJ.U1 tamo weic uiauc .
N. H. Griffin, Rev, Burgin Robertson
and Mr. R. V. Deaver. fc;
J -11-- . K Db
After these talks Rev. A. P. Rich,
of West Asheville preached a wondtt
ful sermon at eleven o clock. After
a song by Walnut Creek and Davis
Chapel choirs, the meeting adjourned
for dinner. -
A nice dinner was spread with
plenty for all, by the following: Mrs;
R. H. Clark, Mrs. Sallie Payne, Mm.
Elteiv tAUeWMravTexanria pav
Mrs. It-L. Orough, MravOrC Davit
and Mrs. Clemet Henderson and Mrs.'
Burin Price.
Mr.' and Mrs. Clark, Supt of the
Home, had a kind word for all and
tried to make everyone welcome.
After dinner two good talks were
made by Mr. Smiey and Mr. Tom
Ball of Walnut Creek church. The
remainder' of the afternoon was spent
in singing and the meeting adjourned
at four o'clock.
Madison Short Term
Schools Start Aug. 1
Superintendent Carl M. Blankenship
announces that the short term schools
for Madison county will start on Au
gust 1st. instead of July 25 as pre
viosly announced. Notices are now
being sent to the different teachers
who are employed to teach these
schools, and a Teacher's meeting is
being called for Saturday July 30.
Professor Blankenship has gone to
Raleigh to attend a meeting of super,
intendents and auditors of the state.
which is being held at State College.
He was accompanied by J. N. White,
auditor of Madison county.
' Asheville Times.
Madison's Banks
Place Resources At
$1,784,542 Figure
The Madison's county's four banks,
the Bank of French Broad and the
Citizens Bank of. Marshall; the Citizen-
Bank of Hot Springs, which is a.
branch of the Marshall Citizens Bank;
and the Bank of Mars Bill, w a state
ment to the Corporation Commission
made' at the close ef business, June
80, 1927, placed their resources as
follows:. --. -WS ,'X'-i'.,.
Bank of French Broad. $724,199.-
83; Citizens Bank, local and Hot .
Mtert Hill institution, $176,674.68,
making s total -of $1,784,542.46.
Asheville citizen.
' ' " i, 1 i 1
SCHOOL OF- IN3TRUCTIOI FOR
i-l MASONS
j-.i'i'i-' .
On Wednesday .Aogust 8rd from
2-8 and7:30-10 P. M.li 1n the Masonic
Lodge at Canton will be held the first
of three day's meetings for the pur-
pose of reviewing the secret work, 1
... ..... -JZz-t. w At-: . i
uu.WT.cwon in ouw luaucauon, ana,
the Interpretation of symbolic and
ritualistic work in Masonry. . These
meetings Will be held by Dr. W. C
Wicker, Educational Field Secretary
t)f the Grand Lodge of this State,.
On Thursday August 4th there will
be a meeting held from 2-6 in the
afternoon and 7:30.10 P. M. t night
in the lodge at Waynesville.
On Friday August 5th, there will!
v - j. ... 1 1 , ... - . - .i
uts a uujinct meeting ox tne ljOdges In
Haywood County of the- 41st Dis
trict This District. Heetln will be
held in the Lodge at Waynesville, and
all of the lodges of the District are
urged to be well represented.
jThough only the lodges of Hay
wood county are being served this
week, Masons of the lodges of Madi
son county are quite welcome and
requested to attend where possible.
Madison County Lodges will be serv
ed at an early date which will be
announced a little later on. , '
Cornel Attend the meetings near
est, you, especially the Friday Dis
trict meetng t Waynesril!)f. Dr.
Wicker is able to help you. Come and
take advantage of the free service
offers
Camp View Meeting In
Full Swing
I am sure the readers of your pap
er, especially the sick, who saw the
testimony of Mrs. J. G. Ramsey, a
bout her healing last August will be
interested to know tha tMiss Matlie
E. Perry, whom, the Lord used to
praylfor Mrs. Ramsey, is attending
the camp meeting at Camp View,
West Asheville, which began July 17,
and continues until the 31st. Miss
Perry came Saturday and already
the sick are coming to the Camp for
prayer or healing and some have been
healed in answer to prayer. See James
5:12-16.
Thousands of sick and suffei-ing
have been healed as
a roenlt f ATiua
Perry's prayers, because God ha
made abundant provision for the
whole man in His plan of redemption
(Isaiah 53:4-5 and Matt. 8:16-17.)
A large congregation attended the
opening of Camp View meeting last
Sunday, and the meetings are to be
heard during the two weeks, including
Rev. Raymond Browning, evangelist,
of Asbury College; Rev. J. S. Hodges,
of the New Bern Baptist Tabernacle;
Rev. S. H. Styron, who is president
of the Free Will Baptist State Con
vention; Prof. R. F. Pittman, of
Eureka College, who has charge of
the music and many others. All per
sons are invited regardless of denom
ination and room and board can be
had on the grounds.
Writea by Rev. R. V. "Bob" Self,
ouader to'd president f CampView
camp ground, West Asheville, I.: C
Mrs. Ponder Was
Church Worker
Late Mars Hill Resident Form
ed First Mission Society There
Mrs. Cornelia E. Ponder, age 64,
who died at her home at Mars Hill
Monday night, was the daughter of'-
the late Rev. John Amnions. She was
a devout Christian, and much beloved
citizen. She organized the first Wo
man's Missionary Society of Mars Hill
and was the able president of it for a
number of years. She was an active
member of the Mars Hill Baptist
Church until the last years of her
life when she became an invalid.
Beautiful floral offering and
many telegrams of condolence at the
funeral Wednesday, attested the love
and esteem of her host of friends.
The deceased is survived by ono
daughter, Mrs. Ralph Monger, of
Sanford, N. C. ; three sons, Max L.
Ponder, of New York City; J. F.
Ponder, Of Wheeling West Va., Louis,
of Mars Hill; also one sister, Mrs. L.
M- Allen, Mars Hill and five brothers,
W. C, L. G., J. M., Ammons of Mars
Hill, and E. E. Ammons of Asheville,
and J. J. Ammons of Stocksville.
Asheville Citizen.
- ; . .. - ;-
MADISON BOYS OFF FOR HAWAIf
Garland P., and George W. Go-
forth sons of Mr. George Goforth,
of Barnard, N. C.,, who recently en
listed in-the Regular Army, sailed
to-day ,f rom the ; Brooklyn Army
Base with 516 soldiers on the
United States Army Transport, Cam
brat, for Hawaii.
( The trip will include a cruise
long the ' Atlantic coast to Colon,
ranama uanai, the greatest engv
neering feat in history, up the PacifU
coast, and through the world-renowned
"Golden Gate?., to San Francisco.
. A week's voyage across the two
thousand, miles of the placid waters
oi tne jfacific will then bring them to
ueir port of debarkation at Honolulu
elected jthe Infantry branch of the
iteguiar Army lor service, 'will be
assigned by Major-General, Edward
M. Lewis; commanding the Hawaiian
on ' e regiments
stationed a Hawaii; v '.;;- t
- Before sailing, too, the Goforth
brothers were members of tha rnrl.
son at Fort Slocum, N. Y an his
toric army post On Long Island Sound
where the received training as sold
iers under the supervision of Colonel
J. 3a Bradley, the post commander,
';. .: " ' . " ; '
Jennie Dick didn't blow his brains
out when you rejected him. He came
Touna ana proposed to me.
rid of them some other wavi - f
1 a ATI e ft Ham Iia., ennai ' w.
t
Workman on ground (to nnfortunl
ate brick!yer) Fall on your he
Jim you'll get more eoirpenrr
!more about your
BIG TAX PAYING
By IRA PLEMMONS
The State of North Carolina em
ploys more than 1600 people who
draw approximately, $235,000.00 per
month, or $2,820,000.00 per year.
'I)us'does not include tha officers,
and those appointed as heads of the
departments at Raleigh, to this sum
must be added whatever the elective
officers receive.
The elective officers and the de
partment heads receive much higher
salaries than those included or und
er the supervision of the salary and
wage commission. The Salary ond
Wage Commission raised the salaries
of a number of State employees in
the total sum of $70,000, this year.
Has the farmers and business men
had any raise this or last year? Yes;
their taxes ras raised.
If our county is on an average, we
have sixteen townships and hte state
would have sixteen hundred town
ships; each township in the state is
spporting one state employee at a
salary of between seventeen and
eighteen hundred dollars a ytar,
keep in mind that no elective officers
e mcjuded, no county or city omcer
is fncluded. The tax payers must have
another raise very soon, unless some
thing is done and is done very quickly
The state bonded debt is ?158,1,
491 bearing interest at four percent
and this enormous sum goes to, are
I most of it goes to New YorK Dangers
land very lew u any oi aw uy.
iret back to the state unless it is rc
borrowed. You note that the interest
we are paying out on the state debt
itfone will pay and buy our entire
county, covering all the real and per
sonal property in it.
It's hardly possible to find out
what the total indebtedness of the
state, counties, and towns are, but I
suggest that a very good guess is
that it is very near to one billion
dollars, or a payable interest of forty
millions each and every year. It is no
wonder that the taxing agencies arc
schaoinir as with a fine tooth comb
for , taxables. and that assessments
and rates are going higher and high
er, every year. Keep in . mind, that
most of this money goes back to Wall
Street,-and very little gets back only
as it is borrowed again, except lor
that amount of tax that Is collected
from the people outside the state, and
that is comparatively small the bat
ance of the money necessary to meet
interest, salaries, and other expensts
must come directly from the pocKers
of tax payers of the state.
No one denies that we are receiv
ing some benefits from our taxes, but
are we receiving what we should for
the money it costs. I claim we have
too many officers, and that the sys
tems under which we are operating
is crude in the extreme, and that
crudeness equals extravagence, was to
equal to unreasonable txes.
Mark that I have not charged any
one with graft, I do not want to be
lieve that anything of that sort is
going on, and hope that it is not. Dm
system we have is wrong, too much
duplicity of work, and no coordi
nation of efforts each taxing agency
operating with its own little schemes
in view without trying to find out
what the other taxing agencies are
doing.
. . Is our roads costing too much, we
all ' think' yes whether we say so or
not. Is our school system costing too
much? Well, yes. Books are changed
every few years, perhaps some should
be but not .all. and the parents are
paying hundreds of dollars for books
that are not necessary. Just another
form )f extracting money from the
people;;. , ,
s Wh" in our county must we have
six paid men on the Board of Educa-
cationi Not one of them is elected
by the People. But the system is such
that' we must have them or whether
they are competent or good citizens
or not I do not mean to convey the
idea; that . some of the men on the
board are not good citizens are com-
not," .', '
.We four men in the state that draw
the. neat sum of $23,220.00 for the
service that two men could do for one
half that sum, i and then draw about
as much pay as one hundred farmers
can make, on their farms. (These far.
men and business men must pay the
tax for these extra men and that
without Voice in the matter. Is it
right . .:. .l-vv;:,? ' :''-,; r-ffv
LARGE DOCKET
FOR AUGUST TERM
' Mr. 3. Hubee Davis tells a News-
Record reporter that there 108 cases
filed for the August term of court
which convenes the 22nd day of Aug.
He says that by the time that court
starts there will'be at least 150 eases
on the? Docket I . ;; v.4 ,;:4 v;
CRADT GRIFFIN
Mr. Grady Griffin, aged 21, died at
4 his - home on Walnut - Creek after
f about two weeks Illness. Borial was
j m t Chandley cemetery. His father
several brothers and sisters are
i.tt to mourn his loss. ;
CIRCULATION-1975
KEEPING AWAY
SNAKES
Traditions handed down by the Ind
ians and superstitions traceable to
negro slaves during the early settle
ment of this country, says the bio
logical survey, have credited certain
ornamental plants with remarkable
attributes as snake repellents. The
odor or emanations from the tree and
from its dead leaves on the ground
have been held to make the mountain
ash obnoxious to snakes. In the south
ern states, colored people for gener
ations have planted the snake cala
bash and the snake gourd and trained
the vines to grow over their houses
and along their garden fences in the
belief that the odor of these gourd
vines would repel snakes.
The pungent fishy odor given off
by fullgrown leaves of the horseshoe
geranium is also thought by some to
drive away snakes. Various other
plant are supposed to possess similar
powers, but careful investigation has
failed thus far to corroborate, any
potency of this sort on, the part of
any plants. So far as known, no North
American plants will drive away
snakes or cause snakes to avoid
areas on which they are growing.
None of the various repellents, such
as cavenne pepper, fresh siaKed ume,
or powdered sulphur, which have been
suggested from time to time, have
been found to possess any particular
merit.
In many parts of the West the old
time horse or cow-hair ropes, about
30 feet long, were and still are used
by cowboys, ranchers, and prospec
tors to surround their Deds wnen
sleeping on the ground, in the belief
that they would exclude snakes. Ex
periments with rattlesnakes as well
as with harmless snakes have shown
that no protection is afforded by a
hair rope. Repeated trials have prov
ed that a rattlesnake will crawi over
a hair rope without hesitation.
HEAD PIERCED FOURTEENTH
TIME BY RED HOT STEEL ROD
INDIANA MAN IS ALIVE
HAMMOND, Ind., tfuly 9 Paul
Kostv was still cheating death in a
hospital -her to-day. the fourteenth, .
"f since liii uea&iwas pierced by' ft Vky
inch red hot steel rod. - 1
Kosty,37; foreman in the LaSalie
Steel company here, was brought into
the hospital to die two weeks ago af fe
ed he was struct by the steel rod
while at work on his straightening
bench in the steel plank
The rod struck him in the neck
on the left side, passed through his
mouth And protruded twenty-two feet
on the outside of his head. Still con
scious, he shouted for help and with
the assistance of fellow employees,
pulled the remaining portion of the
rod through his head.
Kosty who has been conscious
ever since the accident, ate his first
full meal yesterday. Propped up on
his cot the injured man consumed
a bowl of tomato soup, a dish of
mashed potatoes, string beans, apple
pie, custard pudding and two glasses
of milk.
A jagged hole in Kosty's neck more
than an inch in diameter is rapidly
healing. Surgeons removed two
square inches of bone from his skulL
X-ray examinations showed four defi
nite skull fractures. A wife and three
children are constantly at his bedside,
whilehe talks, eats, laughs and tries
to allay their fears. Spartanburg
Journal
ORTHOPAEDIC CLINIC TO BE
HELD ON SATURDAY, JULY 23
Editor News-Record,
Marshall, N. C.
Dear Sirs
The orthopaedic clinic for the free
examination and treatment of indi
gent cripples being held under the
auspices of the Rotary Club in the
BiItmeWBoapital..'at UeWwOIe) will
be held again on Saturday, July 23rd. ,
We should appreciate your giving
notice of the time and place of the
clink to the residents of your commu
nity in' the next issue of your iaper.
Yours very truly,
A ';..,h;lvstant0n,
Supervisor, Vocational Behabllation
COLONEL CHAS. A.
LINDBERGH
M Raymond Staples,
Southern Baptist Assembly,
Rldgecrest,N. C.
Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh has
requested the St Louis Chamber of
Commerce to reply to your congratu
latory communication of recent date.
The great ydlume of mail address
ed to Colonel- Lindbergh, makes it
physically impossible for him to per
sonally reply to same. However it
is his desire that all be acknowledged
and that thanks be extended to the
thousands Who have so generously
felicitated him on his flight to Paris.
Very, respectfully, .....
HAROLD M. EIXCT,
President St Louis Chamber of Com
merce.
. i;
- A