Editorial and Opinion
A Good Man Passes .
This section of North Carolina and the state as a whole
lost a good friend and wise counselor in the death of Rev.
N. N. Fleming, pastor of the Hawfields Presbyterian Church
in Alamance County and moderator of the Presbyterian
Synod in North Carolina.
One of the best known rufal ministers in the state, his
loss will be felt keenly by citizens in all walks of life.
In his long period of service to rural people, he became
well known and rejected not only in his own community
and county but in the state and the South. Just recently
he was named chairman of the executive committee for
the North Carolina Rural Overseas Relief program for
North Carolina. * •
" Only a month ago/he was elected moderator of the North
Carolina Synod, one of the highest honors the Presbyterian
Church can bestow.
We know of the tremendous good, that Mr. Fleming has
-done ahd of the exemplary life he led. It is good to know
that his teachings and his influence will endure for gen
erations.- --V
Truly he yvas a good man and a great Christian.
Government As Price Fixer
There‘ is much- to be said both for and against the gov- J
ernment’s direct support of agricultural prices, which makes
it impossible for them to fall below some prescribed level.
But, whether you are for or against the policy, you should
understand the influence it has. on. keeping the cost of food,
According to Senator Williams of Maryland, the govern
ment recently • spent $32,000,000 to hold up egg prices- •
and disposed of the. eggs it bought a..!,oss.5?? over; f 24’0.~’"
ooo. Parly 111 the yeai it bought potatoes at' $2.7“, pet hun
dred po#id bag and sold them back to farmers'for almost
nothing, with the stipulation that they could not be used
for human consumption. It bought large quantities of
raisins and honey to keep the price high. And it has spent
hundreds of millions to prevent major farm crops, such as
grains and cotton, from falling in price below a. fixed level.
Price support will be continued as both parties have
endorsed it. However, those who blindly blame processors,
manufacturers and retailers for gouging the public should
raleize how potent an influence it is on the cost of living—
particularly on the necessities of life. So, next time you
go into a food store and feel like denouncing the operator
as a burglar, keep that in mind. I he government is the
most powerful price fjxer there is. ^ , ,
Value bf Organization 7
The North Carolina Farm Bureau is reporting consid
erable success in its drive for 80,000 members this year.
Since its establishment in North Carolina in 193^* the
Bureau has made remarkable progress. As late as 1940, it
numbered on its rolls not more than 1,726 members. How
ever, beginning in 1941. its growth has been almost
phenomenal.
Last year, at the end of the membership.campaign, a total
of 70,633 had joined to rank North Carolina fifth in the
„ nation in Farm Bureau membership.
However, other Southern states have not been asleep in
seeking members, and unless this state’s goal of 80,000 is
reached, North Carolina may lose its place as the leading
Farm Bureau state in the South.
There can-be
organization has accomplished for North Carolina farmers,
particularly the tobacco farmers.
The Farm Bureau was started in this state principally
to aid the growers of tobacco, and its battle for fair prices
for our No. 1 crop has continued since.
Without the national organization’s active interest in the
welfare of Southern tobacco growers and its growing influ
ence in Washington, the situation of the flue-cured leaf
farmer migght be considerably worse today.
Farmers will have to carry on an organized fight when
the next Congress convenes if they want to retain their
hard-won gains. This they cannot do unless their efforts
are directed through strong farm organizations,, ,
~ Labor, industry, and professional groups have long
banded, together, in their respective fields for the .general
welfare of their individual members..
The farmer has no tightly-knit union. But he can have
spokesmensin places of influence.
Thus the small amount of money required for member
ship in -a farm organization has paid and will continue to
pay handsome dividends to all farmers. .
THE NEWS of Orange County .
Published Every Thursday by
THE NEWS, INCORPORATED
Hillsboro and Chapel Hill, N. C.
Entered at the Post Office at Hillsboro, N. C., as second-class matter.
Edwin J. Hamlin. ... .Editor and Publisher
Awarded First Place General Excellence by North Caro
lina Press As«oc: non for 1946.
Community Representatives—Elizabeth Kirkland, New
■ Hope; Mrs. Ira Mann, ~Carrboro; Mrs. C. H. Pender, Cedar
Grove; Mary Wilkinson, Mebane; Marinda McPherson,-Hills
boro 'Negro representative.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES -;~r-—
1 Year (in North Carolina) .$2.00
6 Months (in North Carolina) .....$1.50
1 Year (outside North Carolina) ......$2.50
6 Month* (outside North Carolina) ..$2.00
Member North Carolina Press Association
THE NEWS, Thursday, October 21, 1948
PRESS COMMENT
Fair Chance
For Tobacco
The Patriot Fanner
Congressman Graham Barden,
from down New Bern way,
complained bitterly at a meeting
in Washington the other day
that “somebody is beating hell
out of the tobacco industry.”
His complaint was voiced dur
ing a meeting of Southern con
gressmen and tobacco growers
with European Aid Administra
tor Paul G. Hoffman..
The group from below the
Mason-Dixon iine was in the
nation’s capital to protest “dis
crimination’’ against American
tobacco, arguing that aid offi
cials were encouraging countries
receiving aid to make.purchases
of Greek and Turkish tobacco.
-— The group urged that these
countries be allowed to take the
tobacco they wanted, and then
pointed out that the sd-called
pressure for foreign-grown leaf
will,eventually wreck the export
market for American tobacco.
The delegation pointed out to
Mr. Hoffman that Congress
amended the European Recov
ery Act to include tobacco in
the list of goods that may be
shipped abroad to stimulate re
habilitation. The group argued
tha^ it was "the intent of Con
gress” that the ECA prevent the |
development of foreign trade ,
patterns unfavorable to Ameri
can •producers..,
To this argument, Mr. Hoff
man answered with a big “no.”
Here are his words: “I would be
opposed to distorting the his
toric trade patterns of Europe
in favor of. American industry.
I’m sorry, gentlemen, if you
don’t like that, but thatrs where
I stand.”
He added: “I don’t believe that
American industry and agricul
ture are entitled to a subsidy j
under this program.”
“Now, then, Mr. Hoffman, '
American growers aren’t look- |
ing for subsidies in the foreign
market, and they wouldn’t be
disturbing historic patterns by
insisting that American leaf be j
given a fair chance n European i
couiftres.
American growers are looking
into the future. They would like
to hold their foreign markets,
because the flue-cured tobacco
on export trade. If European 1
industry has been built largely
countries are deprived of Ameri
can tobacco now, by being “pres
surized” t6 take Turkish, Greek,
and Rhodesian leaf, a‘Sad day is
sure to be in store for a sizable
segment of our Southern farm
population.
J. B. Hutson, president of To
bacco Associates, asks only for
free «competition among the
tobacco-growing countries of.
the world. If American grow
ers are assured of this fair play,
he says, they ask nothing more.
“We don’t want special ad
wantages because of the Euro
pean Recovery Program,” he
says.- “On the other hand, we
do not think that other people
who may be competitors of ours
should have special advantages
because of the ERP. We want
free competition.”
Mr. Hoffman’s attitude is not
helping American tobcaco grow
ers and the future of the Ameri
can tobacco industry. We hope
that sufficient evidence can be
produced to cause him to have a
change of mind.
Property Tax Limitation Another
Amendment To Be Voted On Nov. 2
Editor’s Note: Following is the
third of four informative arti
cles on proposed constitutional
amendments to be voted on by
the people of North Carolina on
November 2.
By ALBERT COATES
'Director, Institute of Government
On Tuesday, November 2, the
people of North Carolina will vote
for or against an amendment in
creasing the amount of total •state
and county tax which may be
levied on property by changing
the limitation on said tax from 15
cents on the $10„Q valuation to 25
cents.
Article V, Section 6, of the North
Carolina Constitution provides:
“The total of the state and county
tax on property, shall not exceed
15 cents on the $100 value of prop
erty, except when the county prop
erty tax is levied for a special pur-*
pose and with the special approval
of the General Assembly, which
may be done by special or g4>tfal
act: Provided, this limitation shall
not apply to taxes levied Tor ihe
maintenance of the public schools
of the state for the term required
by article nine, section three, of
the Constitution: Provided, fur
ther, the state tax shall not exceed
five cents on the $100 value of
property.’’
The proposed amendment would
lift, this constitutional limitation
from 15 to 25 cents on the $100
j value of property. It would notrj
lift the tax; it would simply au
I thorize county authorities to lift
it—if, as and when county needs
require it for general operating
purposes.
The Constitution authorizes’^fiSe
county authorities to exceed the
15-cent property tax limitation
for special purposes. And this ex
plains the difference between the
present 15-cent limitation on taxes
levied for general county purposes
and present county tax rates rang
ing from 55 cents in one of the
richer counties to $2.25 in one of
the poorer counties, representing
general and special purposes com-1
bined. This 15-cent limitation for
general purposes appeared to give
the counties plenty of operating-!
leeway when it was imposed in j
1920, coupled with the special pur- '
pose exceptions whicl\ had been |
in force since 1868.
If the 15-cent limitation on
property taxes for general operat
ing purposes was fixed and static,
the special purpose loophole with j
equal constitutional recognition
was flexible and dynamic, and
could be expanded to cover ex
panding county needs. “It was in
serted in the Constitution of 11168,”
said the Supreme Court of. North
Carolina, “for the purpose of pro
viding for an emergency that
could not be reasonably antici
pated, and as a safeguard against1
increasing taxation hastily and1
without due consideration. When1
the sum raised by the ordinary ]
rate is not enough to pay the cur-J
rent expenses, the only relief is to
apply to the Legislature for au
1 thority to excee<J the limit... 4nd
this has ben the course pursued
this has been the course, pursued
was adopted whenever the current
receipts of a county have not been
sufficient to pay its current ex
penses.”
This inflexibility began to fade
as the legislative practice of per
mitting special taxes for special
purposes yielded to the court’s
authority to say what a special
purpose is. “If the General Assem
bly can authorize the levy of a
tax in excess of the Constitutional
limitation for the ordinary ex
penses of a county,” said the
! Court, “Article V, Section 1, which
was intended to protect the people
against excessive taxation, would
on a far broader scale than they
were called upon to render back
in those days.” ... “I know it to
] be a ‘dead letter’ and of no effect.
! Accordingly, the Court, on tax
payers’ protests, has pronounced
against the practice of absorbing
| “floating indebtedness,” incurred
i in ordinary operating expenses of
the county, as a special purpose
'for which taxes may be levied in
excess of the 15-cent limitation,
against the practice of budgeting
the maintenance of jails and the
j care of prisoners, county commis
| sioners’ pay, expense and board,
j county courthouse and grounds,
and county'attorney’s fees, etc., ^
I as special purposes instead of gen
eral operating expenses.
This fading flexibility has left
the counties under growing pres
sures from expanding needs, in a
strait jacket between the 15-ceht
limitation—fixed and static in the
Constitutiori—and the' ever: .tight
! enng limitation of the special pur
pose doetrne, crystallizing in .the
Court’s decisions. Local biddies
hatched out in first Monday sit
tings of county commissioners- are
being driven from the sheltering
wing of “special purpose”- to seek
standing room in the “general
county fund,” and find no room
for sanctuary there. The counties
are seeking to raise the general
fund property tax limitation in the
'Constitution from 15 to 25 cents
on the $100 value of property as (
one way out of this dilemma.
In many counties commission
ers with heads buttiiTg' against
revenue ceilings are - forced to
choose between cutting..to- the
q*liick, and sometimes to the. core,
of local services they feel are
worthwhile and which the people
want, and beating the devil around
the stump by levying general fund
taxes under a special guise, or by
transferring funds from the spe
cial purpose ledger to the general
fund, or by openly dispensing with
the special purpose law in the
effort to administer justice as they
see it in their localities.
Keasons cited for and against
the -proposed^ -amendment. Some
officials seek to’avoid the neces
sity of this increase: by insisting
that “the state assume its full
school obligations as it should and
that counties be allowed the fines
and forfeitures to be added to the
general fund ... by cutting ex
penses down, and out, if necessary,
in view of the fact that the more
services rendered by a governing
body to its people the more serv
ices are demanded.” Others write:
“If this ceiling were raised to 25
cents, within ten years there would
be a clamor that it be raised still
higher.” . . . “We have got to stop
somewhere and let’s stop where
we are.”,,... . “If you raise the
constitutional limit .most of the
counties will go the limit and as
sess the whole rate.”.
Other officials favor lifting the
rate: “The present cost of every
expenditure, is practically double
what it was four or five years
ago.” . . . “Since the present limi
tation was written into the Con
■stitution, the counties have been
forced to take on and furnish serv
ices to the people 01 the counties
be a fact that the majority of the
counties with lower property valu
ations can’t possibly operate with
; in the 15-cent limitation. Various
I and sundry means are resorted to
j get around this limitation but
I think it would be better to face
the issue squarely and permit
counties to levy a rate sufficient
to take care of necessary ex
penses.” #. . . “Only the'richer
counties can operate on the 15
SOMEBODY SHOULD HAVE STOPPED THE PAP£(Ki I
<£jT**'£s
4
y
cent levy.” . . . ‘‘It is practically j
impossible to operate the depart-,
merits and functions which come !
under the general fund on a 15- I
cent tax rate unless counties have
A. B. C. store profits or other
sources of revenue.” . . .
Another writes: “Having expe
rienced the difficulty of the county
operating on tfie-lB-cent Constitu
tional limitation, and knowing that
it-is impossible to run a county as
desired on this rate, I naturally
hate the subterfuges that are re
sorted to .in order to give the
people what they desire. It is a1
Question of higher valuation which !
the taxpayers seem to despise and
do not understand, or a raise in
the county purpose rate which
they can understand.
“The failure to adopt this
amendment in my opinion would
throw many counties practically
into bankruptcy, unless the vari
ous subterfuges are upheld where
by additional taxes are placed in»
the general fundi I ydnk that this
amendment is essential to the
proper legal functioning of county
government. I think the voters
should honestly realize that condi
tions require a larger expenditure
for county purposes and that these
are the foundations of our demo
cratic system.”
More pork and Wbeefijtj,
prospect for 1949. Total meat sup.
plies will be close to the l«
pounds per civilian estimated te
this year.
----
World demand for wool is q.
pected to continue strong i
1948-49.' '
—— o
Prospects are that support pries
for the 1949 Irish potato crop wi
be lower than for the 1948 cr^.
As a result, prices to farmers prob
ably will be substantially low
than this year.
mm
INSURANCE
Automobili, Life, Fire—
Any Insurance
Ig at Any 'lime
Pan! H. Roberts*
6576
9S11
Chapel Hill
Here’s How Throat Specialists Proved
in 30-Day Smoking I$st! .
# In a recent test, hundreds of men
and women smoked Camels - and
only Camels—for thirty consecutive
days. Smoked an average of one tp~ ■
two packs a day. Each week, the ■
throats of these smokers were ex
amined by noted throat specialists- <
a total ot 2470 examinations. These
throat specialists found NOT ONE
CASE OF THROAT JRRITA
TION due to smoking CAMELS!
/pr>0>. (fjfiuesefp/Mah> & ,
Came/30-Vay ISst-inlfarT^Zone
No Blocked Sales
WE CAN SELL YOU ANY DAY AT
VIRGINIA-CAROLINA
*
—In—
DANVILLE, VA.
Prices Speak Loader Than Words.
Here Arc a Few*
sale Made for
BROWN A WILSON
Hurdle Mills
140 lbs. at .91 . $ 127.40
182 lbs. at .90 . 163.80
32 lbs. at .66 . 21.12
156 lbs. at .68 . 106.08
100 lbs. at .65 . 55.00
138 lbs. at .91 . 125.58.
748 Total $ 598.98
Average 80.06
Sale Made for
BROWN & BROWN
Hurdle Mills, N. C.
26 lbs. at .67 . $ 17.42
104 lbs. at .70 . 7?.80
164 lbs. at .70 . 149.24
146 lbs. at .91 . 132.86
188 tbs~ at~£8 . 161.88
88 lbs. at .65 . 67.20
716 Total $ 591.20
Average $82.56
Sale Made for
WILLIE HORNER
Hurdle Mills, N. c.
154 lbs. at .68
196 lbs. at .92
152 lbs. at .92
128 lb*, at .67
194 lbs. at .6.5
108 lbs. at .65
104.72
180.32
139.84
85.76
126.10
70.20
272 lbs. at .68
98 lbs. at .92
136 lbs, at .66
218 lbs. at .90
1556 Total
Average 76.57
184.96
90.16
89.76
196.20
31268.02
Sale Made for
FOWLKES & BARKER
Caawell County, N^C.
300 lbs. at .68
300 lbs. at .68
300 lbs. at .67
300 lbs. at .67
lbs' at -68
"“80 lbs at .68
>760
$ 204.00 "
204.00
201.00
201.00
204.00
176.80
Total 61190.80
Sale Made W
WHITE & FORB
Madison, N- & j,
300 lbs. at .67 • »
write#, at .67
250 lbs. at .67 •
150 lbs. at .67 •
230 lbs. at .44.
1230
Total
W. Nat Terry, Mgr.
fe'sa
"Courteous and Dependable Service?
Bud Chandler, Auctioneer