Jf: RECORDING HOKE COUNTY'S PRESENT. WITH JUSTICE Journal THE HOKE COUNTY NEWS VOLUME 5^XVII—Number 19 RAEFORD, N. C. IHIDAY, AUGUST 14th, 1931 THE HOKE COUNTY_^WRN^ $1,50 YEAR IN ADVANCE ■I ■ Government Estimate Places 1931 Cotton Production at High Figure North Carolina Crop For Year Estimated To Be 713,000 Bales; Condition For This State Is Best For Country; Highest August 1 Condition In 16 Years, Board Reports. CUN IH W MIEIIL CHOSEN HUNTING SEASON TO Local Citken Onlliiies Phn Hiat Wod4 SANK PHESIBENT OPEN ON SEPT. FIRST E. B. McNeill, Prominent Busi ness Man, Chosen President Of Banh of Raeford; Suc ceeds Late J.W. McLauchlin'^ If* /*'■ 4V. n P’0 1 Wasliington,—With Carl WilliaiBS, cotton member of the farm board, insisting there is no reason at aR for a panicky sensation in the cot ton trade, since there is a prospect of greater consumption this year, the market nevertheless broke baSly Saturday in Chicago, one of the larg est markets remaining open, when a bearish report was Issued by the government, the New York and New Orleans markets being closed early. Many 'growers followed the advice of the officials here to reduce acre age; hht stm they may suffer, for ■a very large yield Is in prospect. A cotton crop of 15,5S4,00T) taies is indicated by conditions as of August 1, an increase of approximat ely 1,650,0X1(0 bales over la^ year. North Carolina’s crop is placed at only 713,060 hales, a redncfion of 62,000 hales, hy the crop reporting hoard of the United State,? depart ment of agriculture, in the first of Its seasonal estimates. The condition of the North Caro lina crop on August 1 was 78 per cent of normal, 4 per cent bStier than on the same date last year, and 6 per cent better than the aver age for the 10 years CTded with 1929, while the indicated yield per acre is 255 pounds, an increase of 30 pounds over last year and eight pounds better than the 10 year av erage, Indicating that the state’s T^i'aced crop will he due entirely to reduction of acreage. The condition of the North Caro lina crop is considerahly above that of the country as a whole, which was 74.9 per cent, and which, the hoard commented, is the highest August 1 condition isiince 1916. The present high condition, it wae stated, seems 'to indicate that the distribu- Ttlcm of rainfall has been such as to make possible the maximum utili- -zation of plant food by the cotton plant. “In Interpreting -conditions as ^an indication of probaMle yield,* 31 Twas .explained, “the board has made an ;allowance for crop Joss ■due to the 'b.dll weevil, on the baaiB of Teporte received qoncei^iing- weevfl pijes-! ence und activities.' These ngiorts indicate that if usuafl weather pre vails during the remainder at the iseason weevil damage will be seme ’What higher than last year for the iCQuntry »s a whole, hut stiD eon- :Blderably less than the average loss (during. the last 10 .y«»ra. the, aoutbsastern states weevil dam-i age is indicated to he about egual; lo laut year, and for the etates it is indicated to be some-i what greater than last year." • Comes As Surprise The high estimate of the crop re-i porting board came as a surprise toj aU eottop interests, altMongh It has been known for sojie time that the condition of the crop was ex- ' oellent, and gave promise of reach ing high proportions. Neither mem bers of the federal farm board nor the cotton trade expected* such a figure, however,, it was indicated by Mr. Williams, cotton member of the board. “When the trade is laced with a 1*500,000 bale increase, as is indicat ed by the report, it Is natural lor i* to become panicky, but it will recov er,” Mr. ' Williams declared. "The ti^rd can see no sound reason why cotton prices should go lower. “While it is true the crop, on the basis of this report, is larger than ex pected it Is also true that consump- J^n is going to be much larger than generally looked for. My opinion is that consumption of American cotton throughout the world, during the curren crop season, will be at least 2,009,000 bales higher than last year, and possibly as much as 3,000,000 bales higher.” October Under 7 Cents Chicago reports reaching here put October cotton at a fraction under seven cents, and there was some re cession in other commodity prices. “Strangely .enough, coincident with this break in prices came reports from Berlin to the effect that Ger many would renew the offer to buy American cotton, and would suggest a somewhat better price. But prices i decreased after the first tentative of- h fer from. Berlin, and now there is a prospect that the same thing will (Continued on Pag© 2) Annual Reunion Is Held At Riverton, Oti Lundber River, Last Hbursday; Over One Hundred Fifty Attend! County Game Warden, H. R. McLean, Gives Summary of Game Law, Open Seasons And Bag Limits. Dispose of Cotton Surplus and Weevil: The M'cThaul Clan, a Scotlish family that has been prominently identified with this section for many generations, held its annual reunion on the historio . banks of the Lumber River at Riverton last Thursday, July sixth, with a-large attendance of members and gnests, estimates placing the number at about one hundred and fifty. Under the leadershiki of the president of the Clan. F. F. McPhaul, Chair man of the Hoke County Board of Commissioners, the usual perfect dinner was *. arranged »hd about everything that the iimer man could desire, Was there. A feature of the dinner was a barbecue, which is also the custom when the clan assembles. Speeches were made by Solicitor; Tom McNeill, of Lumherton, prom inently mentioned as 'a lanididate for governor. Rev. G. W. Hanna, J. M. Wiliiams, J. A. McGoogan, W. P. Hawfield and H. F. Cnrrie. ‘ The younger portion of those present . enjoyed a swimming party in the river in the afternoon and those of more mature years renew ed old friendships and made new ones during the ufternooii. ^ Officers for another year were elected as follows: F. F. McPhaul, President^ W. D. 'MdLeod^ yice- president, and Miss Kathrine Me-, Phaul, Secretary. The Board of Directors of the Bank of Raeford. at their regular monthly meeting on August 6th, elected Mr. E. B. McNeill, of this city, president of the bank, to fill the vacancy caused by the death on June 24th, of Mr. J. W. Mc- Lauchlln, who was the bank’s presi dent for many years. Mr. /McNeill has been closely asso ciated with the Bank of Raeford since its early days and has been one of its directors since 1910. He is one of the leading business men of Raeford, and Hoke county, and In addition to being president . of the bank, he is vice-president of Raeford Power and Manufacturing Company, vice-president of Up church Milling and Storage Com pany, vice-president of Hoke Oil and Fertilizer Company, and gen eral manager, of McLauchlin Com pany, all Raeford institutions. Present officers of the Bank of Raeford are: E. B. McNeill, presi dent; T. B. Upchurch, vice-presi dent; H. L. Gatlin, vice-president; R. B. Lewis, cashier, and G. D. Mc Queen, assistant c^hier. Members, of the Board of Directors are: E. B. McNeill, T. B. Upchurch, H. L. Gatlin, F. B. Sexton, C. W. Seate, J. B Thomas, R B. Lewis, and J. L. McNeill. The Bank of Raeford was organized in 1903, and is Holce County’s oldest bank. Its statement published on June 30th, 1931, show ed deposits of $317,988.41 and n sources of $395,184.95. SurplAis and Undivided Profits were' $52,136.54. Its Capital is $25,©00.00. SQIIIH ASREB TO DEBEBOY COnON MANl MOT mil 'Shoes, Underwear, Steed Auto Parts And Macliinery Are Included In Letting; State Saves "Money. The North Carolina Game Law. passed by the 1927 Legislature, and amended hy the 1929 and 1931 Leg islatures makes it unlawful to hunt or trap without the proper license; to take or kill game birds and ani mals out of season; to take in one day, or In one iseason, more than the bag limits; to kill a female deer; to buy or sell any game except rab bits and squirrels; to take game by trap or poison, to hunt by auto or boat, or to bait for upland game. Fur-bearing animals may be trapped in accordance with laws and regu latlons. , Open seasons and Bag Limits are as follows: Squirrel, from September 1st, to December Jlst; Bag limit, ten in one day. Rabbit, from November 20th, to February 15th; no bag limit. Deer (Buct), September 15th, to January Ist; limit two in one day, four in one season. Deer (Doe), season closed until September Ist 1933. Fur-Bearers: Coon, ’Possum, Mink, Skun'k, Otter and Muskrat, may be hunted, with dog and gun, from Oct ober Ist, to February 15th. Trap ping from November 15th, to Feb ruary 15tli. Federal Farm Board Calls Upon Farmers To Plow Under Every Third Row; Offers Hold Carry-Over,^ -■‘#1 ______ Dr. A. C. Bethune Tells How -^^; Division Of Cottem Belt Would Cause Big Reductiois In Production, Also Com plete Eradication Of The Dreaded Boll ^Vecvil. AT THE CHURCHES Washington, Aug. 12.—The Farm Board todayj called upon Southern planters to destroy one-third of their cotton crop now under cultivation, promising in return to hold stabili zation surplus stocks from the mar ket for one year. / Telegrams were dispatched to the governors of the 14 cotton growing states urging them to enlist the cooperation of every available agen cy, including farmers and bankers, in this dramatic step to increase the low price of cotton. Chairman Stone, of the Farm Board, said if the Governors prom ised *0 plow under every third row of cotton no-w growing, the cotton cooperative would be asked also to withhold the 2,000,000 bales it owns, from trade channels. “This program,” he asserted, “if fully carried out by Southern Farm- The contract Tor 16,600 -pairs dt s’hoes 'to be used 'in the State penal and correctional institutions was awarded Tuesday to. Efird’s Depart ment Store, Huid^lin.' 'Blelk Gom-j. pany and the Asheville Army Store, at the letting oT the State TJivisloni of Purchase and Uontract at -whiebj a variety Of other contracts were| awarded. # , Director R. A. Brower said that! bids on the Shoes, all of -whiih had| been rejected at -a previous ■lettlug,i were very satisfactory yesterday. Efird’s low 'bid was that of the Asheville Army Shoe on a bet-( ter -grade of shoes '$1.64, and that of Hudson-R«Tk Tl-66 and t2.10. The last -named prices were on 600 -pairs of hoy's Shoes to be use! at the Jachson TiaSn’ing School. The contract for 276 tons of “pickled” sheet -steel to he used in the mairafilctnre of the 1932 auto license tags -was awarded to the American Hardware and Equrpmenti Company, of Charlotte, at '$3.16 pen htmdred pounds, the total contract price was $16,880 less $92.64 dis count. Samples of enamel to be' used on the tags, on which bids were' also received, are to he run through the process at the Staten’s . Prison and the award made at -the next letting. Contract for 20,000,000 fertilizer tags was awarded to the Reyburn Manufacturing Company at 18 cents .per thousand. , Moore and Sons of Wadesboro se cured the contract for 1,660 dozen pairs of long underwear for pris oners at $9,067.63. Repair kits for use hy all State motor vehicles went to the Firestone and the Goodyear companies at nine cents and 65 cents for the large and small sizes. The Texas Company secured the con tract for a year’s supply of fuel oil at ■ seven sents per gallon, while the N. C. Equipment Company of Ral eigh secured the contract for 25 road graders to be delivered as needed at $502 each. Contracts for pressure grease guns and fittings went to the Corbitt Truck Company. The Dixie Culvert and Metal Com pany secured the contract for cor rugated metal pipe at prices vary ing with the size, and Gray and (Continued on hack page) Rev. B. P. Robinson, of Hamlet, will preach at the regular momjng service at ^ the Methodist Church, Sunday. His subject will be “Clothes Make the Man.” Rev. Robinson is a former pastor of the church. There will be no preaching service in the evening. Young People’s Service At; 7:30 p. m. Sunday School at 9:45 -a. m. There will he no preaching ser-i vice at the Presbyterian Church,| due to the absence of the pastor,| Dr. Fairley. Sunday School meeds, at r9:'45 -a. m. Rev. J. R Miller, pastor of the; Baptist Church, preaches in Wagram, Sunday, so there will he no preach ing service at the local church. Sunday School is at 9:45 a. m., and B. Y. P. U. at 7:00 p. m. In the absence of Rev. A. D. Carswell, there will be no preach ing service in the churches which he rserves, Bunday. Quail, from November 20th, to February 15th; Bag limit, ten in one day. Wild Turkey, from November 20th to February 15th; Bag limit, two in one day, five in one season. Dove, from November 20th, to January 31st; Bag limit twenty-five in one day. Pheasants (all species) Season closed until September 1st, 1933. Fees for hunting liscenses are as follows: County Resident, $1.25; State Resident, $3.25; Non-Resident, $15.26; , County Combination Hunt ing. and Trapping Liscense, $3.00; State Combination Hunting a.id Trapping liscense, $5.25; State Hunt ing and Fishing License, $4.60. Wildcats, English Sparrows, Great Horned Owls, Coopers and Sharped Shinned Hawks, Crows, Blackbirds. Jays abd Buzzards, are unprotected. Hunters and trappers will sav? money by getting the Combination Uicense. Pur-bearers may be taken with dog and gun, beginning October 1st, but no trapping will be allowed until November 15th. Trappers will note this change in the law for (he coming season. (Warden McLean also advises that Licenses are now on hand, and will he placed with selling agents thru- out the county before the season’s opening date. HA« BIRTHDAY PARTY 'Kenneth McNeill, young eon -of Mr. and Mrs. John K. McNeill, en tertained -a number of his little friends last Saturday afternoon, August 6th, in celebration of bis sixth h'fathday. Gaines -and refreshments were en joyed hy all those -present. PAY YOUR 1930 TAXES ers as well as by ourselves, will niean reduction of total supply by at least 4,000,000 bales, and with holding from this year’s market 3,000,000 bales more.” The proposal to’ plow- under every third row of cotton was advr.-.-.ced yesterday by Governor Bilbo, of Mississippi. SIOTS HIS WIFE FORABIlROEAR Mrs. W. C. Hamer, Of Moore County, In Pinehurst Hos pital; Will Recover But Loses Arm. On page six of this issue of ’The News-JouritAl, appears an ad hy D. H. Hodgln, Sheriff of Hoke County, In ufKlch all those who have not paid' their 1930 taxes, are requested to. do so immediately. Property on which these taxes are unpaid by the first Monday in September,^ will be advertised. POLITICS AND PERSONALITIES There are few skeletons' left in the nation’s secret closets after those trotted out lu a bright red book labeled “'Washington Merry-Go- Round” recently published hy Live- right and dedicated “To those ufho still reach for the brass ring." Every: one from the President ,^p and down is stripped. No au thor’s name appears, however. Those familiar with the writing manner isms, of Capital news reporters guess the anonymous work to be the product of a group who did not choose to remain Inactive and bored when the Seventy-first Congress passed on. - There is a good deal of back stairs gossip in the first two chap ters headed “Boiled Bosoms” and “Starched Futility”, but the hook gets down to paragraphs on econo mic conditions and so-me challeng ing criticisms In the chapters on the Senate and the House. The latter is treated with real humor under the title “The Monkey House.” Qur relations with Europe and South America are well aired in pages on the State Department and various ambassadoYrs and min isters. How Mellon’s rule has resulted in more than three billion dollars In rebates to corporations, huge es tates and wealthy -taxpayers, and has lopped about $1,600,000 off his own Income tax; how the Secre tary of the Treasury divorced his wife by pulling wires for an enact ment of a special law, which was repealed “under cover” when he no longer needed it; how one Senator plays “footle” under table with his dinner hoc^ss; how Llndy’s court ship progfessed uncertainly; how Dawes and Stimson behave in Lon don; how the personalities of the press react to and write ,up the scene—all dished up In chapters with such titles as “The Man Who Stayed Too Long” (Mellon), “The Court Jester” (Dawes, “Egg Char ley” (Curtis), “Little Nemo, the Wonder Worker” (Morrow), “Wrong Horse ftarry” (Stimson). If some details among so many light and serious facts are muddled, there is undoubtedly revealing truth In the book. Coming at this time of economic and disarmament confer ences and of tuning up for the circus that is a presidential cam paign, it will serve as text-book In spite of its well-splced flavor. CJ0thage, Aug. —Mrs. W. C. Hamer, of the Hemp section of Moore county, is in the Pinehurst hospital recovering from wounds in flicted by her husband several days ago when he mistook her for a burg lar. It was necessary however to amputate one of her arms where the load of shot took effect. Mr. and Mrs. Hamer had retired and were later awakened hy a sus picious noise, which they thought originated in the vicinity of their garage near the house. Mr. Hamer arose from bed and procured his gun befo:;^ going tout to Investigate. Finding nothing amiss outside, he returned to the bedroom. As he walked into the door of the room, he saw a figure outlined in the light streaming in at the window. He at first called his wife, but receiving no answer, and thinking that the figure -s’hich he saw outside the window was that of an intruder, he fired twice. With a fearful shriek his wife fell to the floor and it was then that he learned of his tragic mistake. To the Editor: All my Ufe I have worshipped at the shrine of Old King Cotton; like wise have all my people for two or three generations. We have beeti told that the old gentleman wa* sickly, and subject to spells, especi ally sinking spells, often followed hr some kind of fits, terminating in a coma that would last for days and months. The old gentleman, how ever, has always been attended by- sundry doctors, each of whom had an infallible cure; but the old mam has grown worse as time passed by- Personally I have seen these sun dry doctors go into a huddle, and after much time and hard worfc bring forth a prescription, in the form of the Farmers’ Alliance—this, of course, was to be a cure! I have seen similar groups after much de liberation bring forth the coopera tive movement, covering both the holding and selling of cotton, and I have heard much about coopera tive production, but so far I can not say I have seen any good re sults follow the use of these pre scriptions. It seems to me that our cotton- growing South, while ^ontinuing to worship the old King, continues to wallow in its poverty, and that all of our high-browed efforts, whether political or in the name of. business, have acted only like a dose of suits, ending in a washout that has in creased our miseries, and reduced the strength of our King to a stf.ce - of utter weakness. Aboift as far back as I can re- 1 member, I have been told that tho ■ I cause of the old man’s trouble was ^that he had been fed cn over production; or in other words, too much cotton. It seems that cur production has increased from year to year faster than our consumption, so that we have, held over our heads 4very year, a great bogvcy in the form of a carry-over, a thing: that Col. Hester begins to tell us about aroimd June 1st each year. Thfe overproduction or carry-over, back in the old days when America ■ used about 3,000,000 bales of cotton a year, was about 1,000,0000 baleSv. but now, with us using around 6.'- 000,000 bales and producing around 15,000,000 bales a year, this carry over reaches the appalling figure of some 9,000,000 bales, so no won- ’'ll der the old King finds hitnself bed ridden from having to ftod a way ! to rid himself of this vast amoanit of cotton. Now, it must be plain to anybody, even to a country doctor like my self, that there is something wroos with the King, and this something must be too much cotton—more than the cotton consuming world wan*3 or can use. It doesn’t matter what the world conditions may be. it is a fact that if the world cannot consume the cotton w^e produce, then we just have too dad-blamed much cotton, and should do something about it. That’s the question: do something about it! But what is that some thing? Through congressional enact- , ments we have cut out most of the It is believed that his wife was information that used to go out to merely looking out the window while he was investigating the noise at the garage, and that she failed to hear him re-enter the house and call to her. The shooting occurred about the middle of the night. The Hamers live at the talc mine of the Standard Mineral Company, where he is employed as a book keeper. Night workers at the mine heard ike two shots fired. When Mrs. Hamer screamed, they rushed to the hume to find her wounded twice at the hands of her own husband. She was rushed to the hospital at Pine hurst. One load took effect in one of her arms and the other In her back. attend convention Sheriff D. H. Hodgln left Tues day for Rutherfordton, where he will attend the State Sheriffs Asso ciation meeting Tuesday and Wed nesday. ‘ Mr. J. A. McGoogan, County Ac countant, left Tuesday morning to attend the County Commissioners and Auditors Convention, held this week in Asheville. the people from our agricultural bureaus, and we have tried to put our exchanges out of business with investigations and congressional re strictions, none of which has helped the conditions of our very sich King. Like other nostrums, these have only made him worse day by day and year by year, and now the King seems to ^ growing weaker and it may be the end is not far off. I My he is better dead, than always sick and threatening to die. With these congressional inves tigations, and with laws restrict ing the New York and New Orleans exchanges, with tariffs and boll weevils, with cooperative marketing and Federal Farm Boards and their holding schemes and other helpful aids, and especially our reduction in acreage, the old King continues on the down-grade. Now. I ask, what are we going to do about it? Texas says she is going to re duce her acreage. This is one of the same old useless remedies that we have threatened to apply for years, but never did. and never will. Somebody wants Congrem to pass laws controlling acreage* but (Continued on Page Two) ■m