TODAY’S THOUGHT
Nothing great was ever
achieved without enthus
iasm.—Emerson.
any Times
Want To Sell
Something?
Try a Want Ad
DEVOTED TO THE CIVIC, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF ALLEGHANY COUNTY
Vol. 13
GALAX, VA. (Published for Sparta, N. C.) GALAX, VIRGINIA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 1938.
Number 34.
(Hugo S. Sims,
Wai.'iiingticta Correcpowient) '
CONGRESSIONAL TANGLE
The regular session of Congress
-which began this week finds it
self confronted with the same sit
uation and the same problems
that it contended with during the
special session. One finds it dif
ficult to agree with rosy predic
tions that the two houses will
.speed up their business and ad
journ early in the summer. Noth
ing has happened in the past two
weeks to justify a belief that the
recess has changed the general
legislative situation, and such
speculation as exists revolves
around the probable attitude of
the President towards Congress
during the winter months.
ROOSEVELT WAITING
Undoubtedly the Chief Execu
tive is being advised by his “lib
eral” friends to become a more
active participant in the legisla
tive struggles in order to secure
results. Recent events, including
speeches of Administrative offi
cials indicate that Mr. Roosevelt
will launch a vigorous offensive
to secure desired legislation. The
only uncertainty is when the Pres
ident will “turn on the heat.”
With an election confronting the
members next fall, the power of
the President will be enhanced
and he may be able to get much
of what he wants from the some
what rebellious and independent
Democrats.
IT’S UP TO BUSINESS
Another interesting speculation
center*, around the business sit
uation which is the cause of con
siderable study on the part of of
ficials. The belief is that the Ad
ministration will continue a pol
icy of conciliation toward busi
ness and demand economy from
Congress. However, this is a cal
culated policy, designed to permit
business to show what it can do
in meeting the resession emer
gency and unless there is an up
turn, the Chief Executive is ex
pected to meet the situation by
governmental action.
Some commentators believe that
business is scraping the bottom
now and that there will be a slow
upward movement. If this is not
a fact and the recession hangs
on until the end of spring, the
President is expected to use dar
ing methods to bring about a re
covery. At this time the Admin
istration is hopeful that industry
and business will be able to bring
about the improvement desired
but unless convinced that this is
to be accomplished, the President
Is expected to go into action vig
orously and positively.
RAILROAD REPRODUCTION
It would cost $26,238,856,914
to reproduce the railroads of the
United States, except land and
rights, according to the Interstate
Commerce Commission. A feature
of the report is the estimate that
original costs, except land and
rights is $22,796,994,893 or $3,
331,962,121 less than the cost of
reproduction new. The figures
are interesting in view of the
President’s recent campaign for
substitution of the “prudent in
vestment” theory of valuation as
a basis for rates instead of the
method heretofore laid down by
the Supreme Court. The prudent
investment valuation is based on
all investments made prudently
while the traditional method re
quires that consideration be given
to reproduction costs.
RECEIVERSHIP TRICKS
Assailing railroad receiverships
which he called “ the greatest
racket on earth,” Senator Tru
man of Missouri, said that in the
two receiverships of the Chicago
Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad,
“the highest of the high hats in
the legal profession” had “resort
ed to tricks that would make an
ambulance chaser in the corner’s
court blush with shame.” The
Missouri Senator presided at hear
ings in which the receiverships
were investigated and declared
that “The same gentlemen will
come out of the pending receiver
ships with more and fatter fees
and wind up by becoming attor
neys for the new and reorganized
railroad companies at fat yearly
retainers.” He asserted that a
committee compilation of St. Paul
receivership fees and other costs
totaled nearly $7,000,000; that a
New York law firm arranged
through a Chicago lawyer to have
a certain judge take charge of
the receivership in 1925 and that
later the Chicago lawyer’s firm
received $247,000 and the judge
had a private car of the railroad
company at his beck and call “in
which to take his pleasures.”
VILLAGE LIFE SURVEY
The Bureau of Home Econom
ics of the Department of Agri
cluture recently made public the
results of its study of 140 villages
selected as representative of
American village life. The report
showed that half of the 22,644
native white families studied, liv
ed on incomes of less than $1,000
(turn to page eight, please)
Doughton Was
| Surprised To Hear
Roosevelt’s Words
—on the budget in the Lat
ter's annual message to
congress delivered in person
on last Monday afternoon
in which it was intimated
that the budget might not be
balanced as soon as expected.
Congressman Doughton, who as
chairman of the ways and means
committee of the House, is play
ing a prominent role in tax re
vision activities, praised the
Roosevelt speech generally.
“The president made a very
able speech,” Representative
Doughton declared. It’s tone was
very encouraging,. I think the.
President’s message indicated a
friendly attitude toward legiti
mate business. We don’t expect
business to run the country, but
on the other' hand, the new deal
means also a square deal—to
business. bo labor and to agri
culture.
“I am hopeful that business •
will pick up. I was surprised
and disappointed to hear that the
president’s hope of balancing the
budget in 1939 has diminished.
Unless a national emergency ne
cessitates the expenditures of
large funds for rearmament and
larger navy, however,, I am still
hopeful that the budget will be
balanced by means of rigid
economies and reasonable taxes.
Even though I was disappointed
to hear that the President did
hot .anticipate the budget’s, bal
ancing, I am condent that what
deficit we incur will grow con
tinually smaller. But I believe
the budget will and should be
balanced at an early date.
Senator Josiah W. Bailey said
he regarded the speech as a
“good omen.”
“I was glad to see the Presi
dent looking so well and evident
ly in vigorous condition,” he said.
“His address was the longest he
has made to Congress, but no new
matter was presented. This is a
good omen. We ought not' to
confuse price with value, of vol
ume of income with purchasing
power. More annual wealth, not
more figures, is what we need.
Senator Robert R. Reynolds
praised the message for its. reas
surance to legitimate business and
to the country “not to let the
people down.”
A New System Of
Planned Output
Is Being Studied
—■-by President Roosevelt,
according to information
disclosed Tuesday by the
nation’s chief executive,
who told reporters, in connection
with the new system of planned
industrial production that he is
considering that there has been
much discussion of a proposal to
ha;ve industry and government sit
around the conference table to
gauge future purchasing power
and consumers’ needs.
Emphasizing that he was not
advocating reenactment of the
national recovery act, the presi
dent nevertheless pointed out
that under the NRA codes it
was legal for industrial heads to
figure out probable demand with
government experts and plan pro
duction accordingly.
He expresseo Denef mat so
long as this were done without
price-fixing and without eliminat
ing competition, it was an intelli
gent way to figure out needs.
He said there had heen a lot of
discussion as to whether' this
would be legal under the anti
trust laws and many people were
afraid of it. No decision hadi
been reached as yet. adding it
would be two or three weeks be
fore he sent his special message
to Congress urging a revision or
the anti-trust laws.
The president prefaced his dis
cussion with reference to specific
cases of the high pressure sales
manship to which he objected in
his message to Congress yester
day. He also spoke of the need
for ending the jurisdictional dis
pute between organized labor
groups. However, he said he
wanted to give capital and labor
a chance to put their own houses
in order before making any new
legislative moves.
)
Thumb-Nail Sketch of Roger W. Babson's
1938 OUTLOOK
Roger W. Babson
Business:
Trend:
Congress:
Prices:
Farms:
Labor:
Strikes:
Retail Trade:
Living Costs:
Building:
Real Estate:
Stocks:
Bonds:
Foreign:
Summary:
Big Gain, Over Current Levels
■jt-■
Strong Uptrend: Average Below 1937
Will Give Business Needed Relief
5% Gain Over Present Level At Wholesale
Income Down; Profits Slightly Lower
Few Wage Changes; More Jobs In Fall
Big Drop In Strikes Feature of Year
Sales Below 1937; Price Tags Lower
Clothing, Food to Lead Minor Decline
Good Pickup To Begin By Midyear
Values, Activity to Improve; Rents Firm
Strong Rise As Business Picks Up
Substantial Advance in Medium Grades
Trade To Slow Down; No European War
1938 To See Resumption Of Recovery
N. C. Received
More Money For
Aid Of Jobless
—in a recent additional
grant of $20&,425.32 by
the Social Security Coard
for administrative expfase
of its compensation certificate.
At the same time of receipt of
the grant, it was. pointed out by
the board that the- state was one
of 22 in which the unemployment
compensation law went into full
effect Tuesday.
North Carolina workers- invol
untarily unemployed may begin
to seijve their waiting period foi
unemployment compensation bene
fits now. If after three weeks
no jobs can be secured for these
workers, they will be entitled to
weekly benefits.
i In commenting .oti the program,
getting under way in North Caro
lina, as well as in other states
today, Arthur J. Altmeyer, chair
man o:f the Social Security Board,
said that unemployment compen
sation is to the advantage of not
■only workers but of business and
society generally.
“Its stabilizing effect on busi
ness is of the utmost importance,’’
he added. “The benefits to the
jobless spent in the purchase of
food and clothing.
Van Devanter Went
Back To The Bench
And Drew A Case
—•t'r-, • trial, after having- re-igr.ed
several months ago from his seat
on the United States Supreme
court. at the height of the, con
troversy over the proposed re
organization of the high court.
The case drawn by Van Devanter
was for petty criminal offense.
Justice Van Devanter, whose
votes had helped determine great
national policies for many years,
was assigned the- case of the gov
ernment versus Earl Frederick
Palmer and (iahriei Marosi, both j
charged with possessing and- pass-:
ing a stolen and forged $10,000
treasury note.
Under the terms of his retire
ment from the supreme bench,
Van DevanteiV did not wholly
quit the federal service and is
subject to occasional service in
the lower courts.
REV. HOWARD J. FORD WILL
PREACH At'bAPTIST CHURCH
—next Sunday morning January
9, at eleven -o’clock.
MOTHER OF SEN. BYRD WAS
INJURED IN AN ACCIDENT
—Tuesday when the automobile
in which she was riding was for
ced from the highway, in Loudon
county, Virginia. The woman,
Mrs. Richard Evelyn Byrd, Sr.,
received medical attention.
World Hailed New
Year With Very
Few Regrets
—as the ioId year died Fri
day night and the new one
was begun with gay toasts,
in many parts of the globe,
and millions hopefully welcomed
the dawn of 1938. Apprehension
was an undertone of the New
Year’s eve gayety of many na
tions. While bells pealed 1937’s
passing war machines, roll
ed on in Spain and China, and
vast plans for increased arma
ments were underway in a num
ber of other countreisv
Shanghai—the. New Year dawn
ed at 11 a. m,, EST, Friday, in
gloomy contrast to former happy
celebrations of “the Paris of the
Orient.” The U. S. flagship
Augusta and other foreign war
ships tugged silently, /at they
moorings on the muddy Whang
poo. The usual curfew was sus
pended, but there was little revel
ry. In Shantung and Chekiang
provinces. Japan’s army con
tinued its advance.
CALIFORNIA WON THE GAME
-—played New Year’s Day in the
Bose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.,
over Alabama’s football team by
the score of 13-0.
Business and Financial Outlook
for 1938
by Roger W. Babson
Babson Park, Mass., Dec. 31, 1937.
We iare not entering a major depres
sion; 1938 will see a resumption of the
upward trend which began in 1933.
The first quarter may be poor—much
worse tfhan the early months of 1937;
but later in the year 1 look for a sub
stantial revival. Do not confuse this
current sharp recession with a major
depression! Payrolls, prices, stocks,
real estate, and jobs should all be on
their way to new highs by the end
of 1938.
This December presents a tremend
ous contrast with a year ago. Then,
the old year was riding into the history
books on a great wave of optimism and
hope. “Good times” lay over the ho
rizon of 1987. The dark years of
1929-1936 were drowned out in a hurri
cane of wage boosts, dividend extras,
and gigantic Christmas trade. My
forecast at that time was: “1937 will
be the first year of real prosperity since
1929. . . The entire year’s gain should
average seven to eight per cent above
1936.”
1937 YEAR OF PROSPERITY
Prosperity did come. Business did
average 7 per cent above 1936. This
past August the Babsonchart stood at
8 per cent above Normal, higher than
it had been for seven years. But after
Labor Day the squall, which had been
brewing all year, suddenly struck. High
taxes, political muddling, labor agi
tation, and thin stock markets created
a tornado of distrust and fear. The
result has been one of the sharpest busi
ness declines on record. The Babson
chart is now 19 per cent below Normal.
The current gloom will continue to
hurt business during the early months
of 1938. But while activity will aver
age at least 15 per cent below the first
quarter of 1937, it should not fall much
below current levels. During this dis
couraging period the base for a resump
tion of the upward trend will be laid.
The Spring rally in 1938 will be much
stronger than seasonal.
GOOD 1938 TREND
By next Fourth of July, business
should have recovered from a third to
a half of its late 1937 loss. The revival
will pick up momentum during the
second half. How far it will go, it is,
of course, impossible to say now.
Nevertheless, as a long shot, it would
not surprise me if the 1937 peaks were
equalled before next Christmas!
Because of the poor first quarter
of t!he new year, the average of general
business for 1938, however, will be
slightly under—roughly 10 per cent
below—the average of 1937. The im
portant point next year is the trend.
A poor start (but not much lower than
current levels), an improving second
quarter, and then a sharp upward surge
during the final four or five months is
my idea of the 1938 business pattern.
BUSINESS NEEDS “RELIEF”
In making these estimates I am
counting on cooperation from Wash
ington. A year ago my optimism for
(continued on page four)
Bill Payne Was Captured
Mon. Night In Sanford By
G-Men As He Sat In A Car
Roosevelt Was
Given Figures On
Jobless In U. S.
—Saturday by national un
employment census ofiicials,
showing that the number
was at least near 8,000,000,
and that the figure.- might , reach
a possible maximum, of 10,870,
ooo;
The fi nd mgr- were based upon
the fact that a Voluntary regis
tration of the unemployed ton-,
■ducted lictvv'ei; November l(> and
. November 20, .1937 showed. 7,
j 8,22,0.12 to be, by. their -awn t'esti
i m-ony.j out of work and wanting
i work, while, a simultaneous house
to-house can van- in select, d are: -
indicated that this tote we bin
72 per c.r nt ( ema;"te.
In making the report to the
chief executive, John' D. Bigger--,
administrator of the census, said
; it is not to be assumed that “be
j cause a certain number of people
I are jobless, the same number of
; jobs must be created to bring a
1 return to normal conditions.” He
| added:
j “When the usual family bread
I winner is idle, two or perhaps
more members of the family may
ly, when the breadwinner is sat
j enter the labor market. Convedse
; isfactorially reemployed other
! members of the family may with
draw from the labor market.
“Then, too, you recognize, but
it should be emphasized, that
the number of people who re
ported themselves as unemployed
should not be confused with the
| number of people who need fin
I ancial assistance or relief. Many
people consider themselves un
I employed who are financially not
compelled, to work.
“Irrespective of their need,
when they seek employment, they
enter the labor market and coin
1 pete with others who have jobs
or vitally need jobs. They are
I therefore, a factor in the un
j employment problem though they
may never seek relief.”
Of the 7,822,912 who reported
! themselves unemployed, a total of
2,001,877 were emergency relief
workers.
HEFLIN CONCEDED DEFEAT
TO HILL IN BAMA PRIMARY
] —held Tuesday for the Demo
cratic nomination to fill the U. S.
Senate seat (vacated by Hugo L.
Black when he was named to the
nation’s highest tribunal several
! months ago. ^
Representative Lister Hill con
tinued to hold a more than 2 to 1
lead over Heflin,
—on a downtown street,
along with his companion
in crime, Wash Turner, no
resistance being offered.
j The . two surrendered to FBI
! agents. It was much different
| from the way they had lived) since
they escaped from Caledonia
prison farm last February—al
most one year ago. Fort during
the eleven months that have
passed .since that event they had
j lived in a welter of blood and a
j hai) of bullets, leaving behind a
series of bank robberies, kid
naping.- and a killing.
Special- Agent in Charge Ed
ward Scheldt said Monday night
. that he. had Payne and Turner in
custody in Cha •tott*; it’ was not
revealed whether the. two a.es
. t raders were in the city or
-CdulTty jail. ; - .
Pho.tographe.rs were barfed
from taking, pictures of the two
men.
hi eanwhil . G-Men questioned
• ' yn • rn.l Turner regarding their
e u. ational trail of crime.
SehcMt. confounded rumors
which have prevailed that Turner
bora tatooed on his chest the
words: “Too tough to die.’’ ■
Payne and; Turner wrere down
cast and moody as they sat be
fore federal agents.
“At first they had little to say,’’
Scheldt said, “but We, learned that
Payne and Turner have been liv
ing during the past .several weeks
in the. woods through the section
in which they were: captured.”
Scheldt said his men foumfc
blankets in the automobile in
which the men were captured. He
added that the car was a stolen
machine.
. “It looks like that it had got
to be too hot for Payne . and
Turner,” said Scheldt/ “and that
a- a last resort to steer clear of
the law they had taken to the
woods. They had been eating
out of cans ., and sleeping on the.
ground at night,"
Payne and Turner both wore
a heavy set of ' whiskers.
Payne_ the man who has been
the object of one of the, greatest
manhunts since John Dillinger
was shot to death by G-Men, was
attired in a pair of riding breech
es, leather boots and sweater.
Turner wore rough "trousers
and an ill-fitting coat. Both
men w.ere armed with revolvers.
“But,” explained Scheldt, “they
made no attempt to use them.”
This was contrary to the repu
tations that Payne and Turner
had carved for themselves in their
race with the law.
Payne and Turner were wanted
on charges of bank robbery, mur
der kidnaping and highway rob
bery. Officers said they also
wanted to question them in con
nection with more than a score
of other crimes.
President Roosevelt Struck
At Bad Business Practices In
Congressional Message Mon.
—and asked the newly
convened congress for legis
lation to prevent such ac
tion iat any future time.
In a personally delivered mes
sage broadcast to almost the en
tire world he promised business
that if it would cooperate with
government in this way, it could
count upon government to coop
erate with it “in every way.”
After the recent, vehement at
tacks upon some sections of the
business community by high ad
ministration advisors, the presi
dent’s address was generally re
garded in congress as unexpect
edly conciliatory.
But opponents of the adminis
tration were still wary, neverthe
less, and before determining their
course of action preferred to wait
a second message on the subject
of business reforms which Mr.
Roosevelt said he would send to
| congress later.
Otherwise today’s message:
1 Noted a troubled and tense
world situation which he said
made it necessary that the na
tion be “adequately strong in
self-defense.”
Reported that the budget
which would be submitted this
week for the next fiscal year
I would not show a balance between
income and outgo but would re
veal “a further decrease in the
deficit.”
Called for wage and, hour leg
islation as “ a problem which is
definitely before this congress for *
action.”
Expressed the hope that con
ference committees working out
a crop control bill would confine
the cost to what is now being
paid for that purpose—$500,000
000 annually.
The president said that the peo
ple “by an overwhelming vote are
in favor of having the Congress—
this Congress—put a floor below
which industrial wages shall not
fall, and a ceiling beyond which
the hours of industrial labor shall
not rise.” The assertion evoked
prolonged, appalause, notable, too,
for an absence of southern “reb
el yells” which had accompanied
previous ovations.
N. C. EMPLOYMENT SERVICE
WILL HAVE AN AGENT HERE
—on the first Thursday in each
month, from 10 a. m. to 3 p. m.,
for the purpose of registering
applicants, filing claims for up
j employment insurance and filing
' employers’ orders.