F .. 16 PAGES TODAY By mail, per year (in advance) $2.50 VOL. XXXV, No. 149 THE CLEVELAND STAR SHELBY, N. C. FRIDAY, DEC. 14, 1928. Published Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Afternoons LATENEWS The Markets. Shelby Cotton Market t8'/5c Cotton Seed, per bu.__ 64 l-2c Cloudy And Colder. Today s North Carolina Weather Report: Partly cloudy and some what colder in west and central portions, and rain In northeast portions tonight. Saturday fair. “Flu" Is General. The influenza epidemic, which closed the city schools here today, is not confined to Shelby but seems to be general over the coun ty. In the county the Stubbs school has closed, while numerous teach ers and students are reported sick with influenza at Lattimore, Earl, Belwood, Dover mill and in other sections. In several business houses of Shelby clerks and employees are out with attacks. MR. GARDNER WILL NOT ALLOW RAISE OF PRESENT SILK Governor-Elect Halts Rumor That Salary Of Governor May Be Boosted. “I will not under any circum stances permit my salary to be raised by the next legislature," de clared Governor-elect O Max Gardner when asked concerning re ports that the delay in his inaug uration from January 1 to January 11 might be accompanied by an increase in his salary at the hands of the general assembly, which will convene January 9. “I consider the salary of the Gov ernor and all other constitutional state officers entirely too low. and I should like to see them all in creased. but I shall hold the office of governor for only one term and I should not be willing for any ac tion to be taken at this time which would affect me personally and shall so inform my friends in the general assembly." The definite announcement by Mr Gardner put an end to rumors as far as he is concerned, and leaves as the most likely salary measure for the two-day period be fore the constitutional officers will be sworn in action in regard to the salary of the attorney general. Under the constitution the salar ies of the governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, superin tendent of public instruction, and attorney general can not be chang ed during their terms erf office, and any action to affect any of them before 1933 would have to be taken during the first two days of the ses sion. as was done in 1921. the time of the last general increase for such oiilcer;. At present the governor receives *6,500 a year, plus a travel allow ance of $600 and free use of the executive mansion, which is main tained by the state, the superin tendent of public instruction re ceives $5,000. the attorney general *4,000 end all the others 4,500. Funeral For Mrs. Dover On Saturday Young Matron . Passes At Hospital. Funeral To Be Oq Saturday. Mrs. Brady Dover, 17-year-old wife of Brady Dover, died at the hospital here this morning about 8 o'clock. The young matron, who was well known and popular in the southern and eastern sections of the county, was brought tc the hos pital yesterday. Funeral services will be held ' Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock at Pleasant Hill church with Rev. Mr. Lowe officiathrg. The deceased is survived by her young husband, a week-old infant, and her father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Ben Gold, of the Grover section, and five sisters and three brothers as follows: Mrs. Coy Phil beck, Mrs. Sam DePrlest, Mrs. Fitz Morehead, Mrs. Lee Hamrick, and Miss Elizabeth Gold: Messrs. George, B. M„ and John Gold Mrs. Dover had been a member of the Grover Baptist church for five years and was highly respect ed and loved in her home com munity. Since her marriage she and her husband had been living with his father, Mr. R. M. Dover, a brother of Mr. John R. Dover, of Shelby. The news of her death will come as a shock to those who knew her as she was in the prime of young womanhood, graduating last spring from the Grover high school. Christmas Tree On Court Square City workmen, under Electrical Supt. Ted Gordon, yesterday com pleted the erection of the commun ity Christmas tree on the north west side of the court square. The tree when lighted and decorated will be under the supervision of the Woman’s club, of w'hich Mrs. Fred Morgan is president. The Woman’s club is also one of the big aids to the community Christmas fund for the poor fts raised through The Star. “Flu . " ■ ■ — — ^—i———————iJ ' *■** auvauto 9J.UU Closes Shelby Schools; 887 Pupils Are Sick MULL DOUBTS IF STATE WILL PASS LONG TERM IDEA If Not No State Aid Can Be Ex pected For Shelby Schools Under Present Tax. In an interview with The Star today, O. M. Mull, Cleveland's rep resentative, declared that he doubt ed the passage of an eight-month school term bill by the next legis lature. Mr. Mull, a close personal and public friend of Governor elect Gardner, was asked about the likelihood of the bill passing in connection with the problem here of shortening the school term of the Shelby schools.. ay some it was thought that per haps the passage ’ of eight month schools for the entire state would make it unnecessary to raise the tax levy here to keep the schools open nine months. Mr. Mull's view, as expresesd below, casts cold water upon that hope: "A number of voters In the Shel by school district have asked me what school legislation would like ly be enacted by the approaching general assembly. The iinancing of the public schools of the state will be one of the most important questions before the legislature. What will be done, no one can de finitely foretell. "The public schools in Cleveland county school tax of 62c on the money from three sources. Our six months term is paid for by our countyschool ta x of 62c on the hundred plus $47,000 which we drew from the state as our share of the 3 1-4 million dollars state equaliza tion fund. The town in Cleveland 1 county by a local tax run their schools three additional months while a number of other districts run their school, some two and some three months additional by a local tax. "Prof. Allen, our state superin tendent of public instruction and a large number of others are asking the legislature to provide the Money to rim the public schools for eight months instead of six. If this should be done the town of Shelby would only have to finance one ad ditional month and there would be no need to increase our local tax from 30 cents to 40 cents as the thirty cents would be more than ample. I do not believe the state will finance an eight months school term. A large number of the coun i ties are finding the tax burden for the six months term very heavy and are clamoring for more help on the six months term. I believe the legislature will provide further help on the six months term. If it adheres to the present method of giving held by the state equaliza tion fee, I believe the amount will be raised from the present 3 1-4 million to five million dollars, If this method is not accepted I be- j lieve some other method will be adopted to furnish state help on the six months term. “If state aid is limited to the six J month term, as I believe it will be limited, it will be left to the local school districts to provide by local tax an amount reasonably neces sary to run the schools the three additional months or shorten the length of the term as they see fit," he stated. Shelby Boys Named Other Elevens Shelby high football players con tinue to be named on the various mythical high school elevens. The Hickory Daily Record in an All-State recently published placed Capt. Milt Gold, of Shelby, at left end. a beith he has been placed on in two crher All-State elevens and on the Ail-Southern. The Concord Tribunes All-Western eleven nam ed Zeno Wall, Of Shelby, as quart erback. It was the second eleven on which the wiry little field gen eral of Shelby high has been men tioned. Campbell And Davis To Preach In County Rev. R. C. Campbell pastor of First Baptist church of Hickory will be with Rev. J. W. Suttle and preach at Double Springs next Sunday afternoon at 3 o’clock. Mr. Campbell is-a native of this county and goes to one of the largest pas torates in Texas the first of the year. Dr. J. B. Davis, president of Boil ing Springs junior college, will be with Rev. J. W. Suttle and preach at Waco Sunday night at 7 o’clock. More Whiskey Smuggled Into United States Now Than Three Years Ago—Tough Problem Attorney General’s Report Shows It 75 Percent Increase In 3 Years. (Special to The Star.) Washington. — The attorney-gen eral of the United States is in the unevitable position of a man who has finally succeeded in solving a tough problem only to have it go all to pieces on him and present it self in an entirely new way. The annual report of Attorney General Sargent, just made public, sheds a new and interesting light on the trial.; and tribulations that attend the efforts >"* prevent the smuggling o. intoxicants into this country. It reveals that whereas the smug gling of liquor in from the high seas has been got pretty well un der control, the flood that seeps in across the Canadian border is steadily increasing, despite all ef forts to check it. “The problems of the liquor smuggling traffic directly from Canada into the United States Across the international boundary line continue to be unsolved,” ad mits the report. “Indeed, while tne record ot ioreign ship seizures would seem to indicate that the smuggling traffic from the high seas through the aid of hovering vessels is diminishing, such traf fic across the international boun dary on the north is increasing. The great bulk of this trade is car ried on through the waters of the Great Lakes and their connec tions." To begin with, as the report points out, it is possible to esti mate the amount of liquor smug gled in from Canada a little more accurately than that which comes in from other places, because much of the Canadian liquor passes through the Canadian customs, and official record is made of it. These Canadian official records show graphically the increase in the amount of liquor sent over from the dominion. The following table shows the total number of gallons exported in the last four years: 1925 ....665,898 1926 . 983,152 1927 ..-.1,053,213 1928 ..--1.169,002 Futhermore, the value of the smuggled product keeps going up. In 1925^the Canadian value of the exported whisky was $10,772,988. This year the sum rose to $18,883, 541. The report goes on to add: ‘‘These figures thus given cover the exportations of whisky only, and the same records show that the total value of all alcoholic bev erages exported from Canada to the United States during the year end ing June 30, 1928, amounted to $24. 397,958. As observed heretofore, these records show only the liquor which was regularly cleared through Canadian customs. “Some of it may be short circuit ed for consumption in Canada. On the other hand, it is believed a sub stantial amount of liquor enters the United States across the north ern border, of which the Canadian customs has no record. Based on the figures supplied by the Cana dian department of trade and com merce, it will be noted that in the course of three years the volume of this traffic has increased more than 75 per cent.” School Election “Talk Of Town” The special school election for the Shelby district is at present "the talk of the town. Today on the business streets and in all gatherings the proposed increase of the tax levy for schools to 40 cents is being discussed. Supporters of the measure argue that a shortened school term will give the town a black eye, while those oppos ing declare that some way can be found whereby the schools can be operated for nine months on the present levy. To date, with the election just around the corner, opin ion seems to be pretty evenly ! divided and the outcome of the measure cannot be pre- j dieted to any accurate extent. One thousand six hundred and forty-eight people are registered, and with those who are registered but not voting against the measure the ruling is that 825 must vote for the levy if it passes the electorate Monday. Taxpayers Can Get Any Informa tion They Desire From School Officials. ■When a request came several times this week from voters in South Shelby asking that The Star publish the salary schedule of teachers in the city schools, the re qi*st was transmitted to the school ' officials who hate this information. A member of the school board was seen and had the following re sponse to make to this request. “Any information which the tax payers wish about the finances of the school, including the salaries of teachers can be secured from any member of the school board or from John Shannonhouse who made this audit. The men who seek this information have never asked the members of the school board or the auditor, so far as 1 have been able to learn, but have questioned folks who they knew did not know, hence exaggerated reports have gone out. “The school board has nothing to conceal. We have this information and it is to be had for the asking and not only that. but we are planning to publish a full and complete statement in a short while. We feel that the matter of teachers salary is just one of many interesting items in the report and the taxpayers should know the sources of revenue, the deficit and other things as well as teachers salaries.'’ 25 Babies In 28 Years. Manuel Fernadez. 47, and his wife, Teodula. 45, who have been married 28 years, are celebrating at their home in San Jose, Costa Rica, the birth of their twenty-fifth child. All the children, including three sets of twins, are healthy and normal. CLEVELAND MOVES TO A BIGGER LEAD IN MAKINC COTTON Johnston County Supplants Robe son In Second Place. Behind Cleveland 7,702 Bales. When the last cotton ginning re port for North Carolina was issued i Cleveland county gained over her nearest rivals in cotton production in the- state. Wh -n the November 14 report was made this county was only three or four rhcAirend bales of Robeson, then second in cotton production. But with the December 1 report Cleveland with 45,343 bales was the only county in the state to pass the 40,000-bale mark and was leading | Johnston, which supplanted, Robe son by 7,702 bales. Robeson with 36.945 bales ginned to December 1 was 8,398 bales behind Cleveland. Behind Last Year. The majority of the large cotton counties of the state are behind last year in their ginning this year. Johnston county to December 1 was nearly 11,000 bales behind the ginning of 1927, while Robeson was i about 3,000 behind. This county up to December 1 was about 1,000 bales ahead of the 1927 crop to the same date. Halifax with 33,826 bales gin ned to December 1 was the only other big cotton producing county ginning more than in 1927 with an increase of about 1,000 bales over the previous year. The five leading cotton counties with their ginning figures up to December 1, this year and last, fol low: County Cleveland Johnston Robeson Halifax Nash 1928 1927 45,343 44,568 37,641 48,356 36,945 39,545 33,826 32,101 31,963 36,107 AUTO 110 WAGON PLANT OPEN HERE W. H. Blanton, Jr„ To Rebuild Wrecked Cars And Truck Bodies. A new industry for Shelby is an nounced in the opening of the Shelby Auto and Wagon company by Mr. W. H. Blanton, jr„ in a new building or South Morgan street. The new firm will rebuild wreck ed cars, build bodies for trucks, wagons, and other automobiles, as well as operate a general paint and blacksmith shop. To supervise the building depart ment the new firm has one of the most expert auto body builders in the south in A. A. Odell, who was formerly with the Southern Wagon Works at Charlotte. Christmas Cantata At Boiling Springs A choir of fifty well trained voices will sing “Chimes of the Holy Night," .a Christmas cantata at the First Baptist church at Boiling Springs Sunday evening Dec. 16 be ginning at 7:30 o'clock. Miss Kath erine Holmes Groggans is organist and choir director. The fifty voices will be made up of students and "members of the faculty of the col lege, in addition to the regular com munity choir. Star Starts Christmas Fund For Poor All #Ter Shelby “Christmas is in the air,” and here, there and nearly everywhere prepa rations for the holiday of holi days are being made, but in some homes in and about Shel by there is very little being done in the way of getting ready for Christmas, because of unfor tunate circumstances which make it so that there is no money with which to partici pate In the good cheer of the season. For that reason The Star again hangs out its Santa Stock ing for the pobr and unfortu tunates of the city and section. The appeal for gifts for the poor was delayed this year due to the influenza epidemic which has confined lenders of several civic clubs and organizations who have always aided in The Star’s appeal for contributions. However, despite the delay Christmas is yet 10 days off and enough money to take a ray of cheer into many homes can be raised it the people of Shelby respond as heretofore. As before, understand that none of the fund will go for trivial things, toys, and such, but will instead be used to pur chase shoes for little girls and boys, coal for ill and stricken families, and groceries for homes where the head of the house is sick or dead and there is no one to provide. On Christmas eve when the fund is complete the money will be turned over to a special com mittee, which Is investigating needy eases and will t*e u-ed to pnrc’\a~e clothing, fuel and groc eries. In compiling the list of j needy cases the committee will work with J. B. Smith, welfare officer, who is in daily touch with the unfortunates, and who during- the flu epidemic receives scores of appeals for aid from homes of the less fortunate about the town. Help make it a livable Christ mas for some of the unfortu nates about you. While the ma jority enjoy trinkets and gifts they are in actual need. Last year the fund carried a touch of the Cnristmas spirit into scores of homes. Make your contribution now1, since the appeal has been de layed and it is only a few days until Christmas. Contributions may be left at The Star or with the county welfare officer at the court house or Rush Hamrick. Remember wha* Christmas represents—and GIVES* Local Manager Of Penney’s Benefits In Aladdin Style Penney Employees Get In On Stock Cut. Manager Scott Gets Reward. _ j Here's a yarn out of the book of Aladdin. It has to do with the J. C. Pen- i ney company in general, and E. E. Scott, the manager, in particular. Recently the Penney company made an announcement to the ef fect that they were putting into effect- a plan for further distribu tion of the Penney stock amongst the present stockholders. It was announced that owners of stock in the company would be en abled to purchase additional stock at a cost of ten dollars per share. That doesn’t sound so hot. until the matter is explained. Hero is an explanation that brings out the Aladdin quality of the plan. Mr. Scott, ( and this information came to The Star without the manager’s knowledge)—Mr. Scott originally owned 27 shares. This year he acquired 35 more. (You see, it was a good year.) So he owns roughly speaking, sixty shares. He will be able to buy, under the Penney plan, two shares for one, so that his quota will be 120 shares. Now the plot begins to thicken. He will be able to buy the 120 shares for $1,200. And here steps in Aladdin. The stock was selling this week pm the market fof $343.00. So that Mr. Scott will clean up the neat sum, through this company transaction, of over $41,000. Which means a clear pick up. The sum hasn’t anything to do with profits. It hasn’t anything to do with other phases of his earn ings. He just found, so to speak, | forty-eme thousand dollars through j the Penney plan of finance, i And his friends tell him he is getting nice and round and fat. And that is the other side of the CHiTfiroFF with m era Kiwanis Launches Charity Fund For Needy During The Holi days. Help Is Asked. The Kiwanis club members last night started the Christmas Chari ty fund with a donation of $94, with more to be reported later. There are many needy cases in Shelby, young and old who do not have the bare necessities of life and will have no Christmas cheer unless the charitably inclined peo ple of the community contribute to them. In the years gone by, neat sums have been raised through the columns of The Star for the poor and needy. Food, clothing and fuel have been distributed where they were greatly needed. The poor chil dren have had some touch of Santa's generosity, so again this year the Charity fund is started with the hope that the people in better circumstances will be charita ble and give as freely as they have in the oast Contributions will be duly ac knowledged in the columns of The Star. Make your donation to Rush Hamrick, Kiwanis treasurer, who has been appointed to act as treas urer of the charity fund, The ministers of the up-town churches, J. B Smith of the wel fare department and Mrs., Fred Morgan of the Woman's club will supervise the distribution of charity and see that there is no duplica tion of gifts. County’s Famous Dog Case Closed At Last Cleveland county's most widely heralded dog case is at end—for the j present at least. Thursday the North Carolina Su- | preme court handed down a de- I cision affirming the Superior court j decision here in the case of Blan ton vs. Bridges. The suit originally was brought by Bate Blanton against Charlie Bridges, asking $50 for the running over of a Blanton dog known by the name of “Lucy." The first hear ing was held in the magistrate's court. The case then moved on to Superior court, resulting in a mis trial. The second trial in Superior resulted ir a decision for the de fendant. then the .appeal was taken to Supreme court where the de cision was affirmed. Physicians Think Move Best; Lose Only Three Days 183 New Cases Among School Children From Thursday Until Friday. One-Third Of Pupils Now Out. Move Taken As Pre caution By Board. i Beat One Cave-in 1 Died In Other One Cave-ins seemed to be the hoodoo of Damon Jenkins, 28 year old colored workman, who was smothered to death in the seed house of the oil !| plant here late Tuesday j ; j night. Only four months ago the ■ | colored man was working in i the excavation work under the McKnight building when it tumbled in upon him and a score of others, seven deaths resulting. Jenkins, however, escaped with his life in Shelby’s major disaster, ^ but at midnight Tuesday when he whs buried in his j j! second cave-in he was dead n ij when reached. Wherever He Goes There’s A Governor Mr. Woodward Has Lived In Towns With Four North Carolina Governors. It's right much of a boost for a town when Mr. John F. Woodward, 76-year-old Morganton citizen, be comes a citizen, even temporarily, thereof. Mr. Woodward, who is spending several months here with his daugh ter, Mrs. Columbus Andrews, wife of the Shelby High principal, has lived for short or long periods in i four North Carolina towns, and 1 every one of the towns had a citi j zen who was or had been governor j of the state. For 49 years Mr. Woodward was I connected with the State hospital j I at Morganton, for many years be ing in charge of the construction there. Visiting the office of Gov ernor-elect O. Max pardner here recently Mr. Woodward was remind ed of the fact that by chance the towns he had lived in were homes of governors. In his boyhood days at Statesville, his native home, he lived near the home of the war governor, Zeb Vance. Later as an apprentice in woodwork and construction in Char lotte, Mr. Woodward lived in the same town again with the Vance family. When he became connects ed with the State hospital he lived in Morganton, the home town of the late Gov. Todd Caldwell. In more recent years Mr. Wood ward has spent much of his time with two of his daughters, Mrs. Andrews of Shelby, and another daughter at Lumberton. The latter town is the home of Governor Mc Lean and while in Shelby Mr. Woodward is living in the home town of Gov. McLean’s successor. Mrs. Stiefel Funeral Here This Morning Mother Of Mrs. Honeycutt taken To Concord For Interment. Today. The funeral of Mrs. J. H. Stie tel, mother of Mrs.. D. E. Honey cutt was held this morn at 10 at the home of Mrs. Honeycutt on N. Morgan street by Dr. H. K. Boyer. Mrs. Stiefel was 75 years of age and a member of the Methodist church, a devout Christian and greatly beloved by all who knew her Her remains were taken today to her former home at Concord for interment beside her husband who preceded her to the grave thirteen years ago. The following Shelby friends served as pall bearers: Will King, Will Arey, E. A. Hudasill, Basil Goode. Charles Hoey and T. J. Sabington. Surviving Mrs. Stiefel are two children. Mrs Honeycutt of Shel by and Mr. Clarence Stiefel of Jacksonville, Fla. The Shelby city schools will close this afternoon and remain closed until Monday, December 31, thus taking the annual Christinas hoH days a week earlier than planned due to the spread of the influenza epidemic over the city and among the near 3,000 students. ! The move was taken by the city j school board, Supt. I. c. Griffin stated today, after being advised by the county health officer and phy sicians of the town. The medical men recommended the course as a wise one to prevent the further spread of the epidemic in the city, noting meantime that 183 new cases had developed among school chil dren here over night. The Rapid Increase, There was some discussion of closing earlier Wednesday and Thursday, but no definite decision was made until today when actual tabulation of attendance and reports were compiled. From Thursday morning until this morning 183 more pupils wne listed as absent due to the epi demic. Thursday morning 704 stu dents were out with influenza and other sickness, and this morning 887, children, or more than one third of the average attendance were out. More pupils than 887 are now out bdt only that number have been reported as sick to their teachers. The “Flu" Figures. The following table showing the number of children reported absent from the eight schools due to sick ness is given for Thursday and Friday, thus revealing the spread of the epidemic: School T. F. N. C. Central High _ _ 99 134 35 Graham . _.. 57 83 26 Marion _ 56 92 36 Morgan . ...... 164 200 36 LaFayette _ _ 53 83 30 Washington . ._ 68 89 21 Jefferson . . 38 31 7-d Colored . . 169 175 6 Totals.. 704 887 In. 183 Little school work will be lost, Supt. Griffin says, and the early closing may prevent hundreds of cases in the opinion of school board members and physicians, who urge that those who take a cold or seem to have the "flu” should go to bed immediately. By dosing this after noon an-t opening on December 31, it is said that the students will only be out of school three more days than they would have under the ordinary holiday period. These three days will be made up next spring, Supt. Griffi nstates, as is required by law. Even if the move had not been recommended by physicians and the health officer so many students are now absent that it would have been near useless to attempt to carry on a class program as such a large number would have been be hind with their work. Teachers Sick. Prof Columbus Andrews, princi pal, and four teachers of the high school were out today with in fluenza, with one to two teachers out of each of the seven other schools. Go To Bed, Is Advice Raleigh, Dec. 13.—Dr. Cliarles Laughinghouse, state health officer is urging county health officers, county commissioners, city aider men and teachers to insist that people who contract influenza go immediately to bed in a well venti lated room, put themselves under the care of a physician and remain in bed under their physician s care until, In the judgment of the phy sician, it is absolutely safe for them to be up*and out. Rei*. R. C. Campbell To Preach B. Springs Rev. R. C. Campbell,,pastor of the First Baptist church of Hickory will preach Sunday morning at 11 o’clock at Boiling Springs church, filling the pulpit of the pastor, Rev. J. L Jenkins. Many members of the congregation expressed a desire I to hear Mr, Campbell before he leaves tor his new charge in Texas.