Newspapers / The Alleghany News and … / June 29, 1939, edition 1 / Page 2
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The Alleghany Times Alleghany County’s Ohly Newspaper Published every Thursday by the Gazette Printing * Publishing Co. 117 W. Grayson St. Galax, Virginia Sparta Office In Transou Building H. B. Zabriskie _v_....._ Editor Mrs. Robert M. Gambill . Local News Editor Subscription Rates—Strictly In Advance In Alleghany County .. One Year $1.00 Six Months $ .60 In North Carolina (outside of Alleghany County) and Virginia _ One Year $1.25 Elsewhere in United States _ One Year $1.50 ^ ____ v __ This paper charges for the insertion of Obitu aries, Resolutions, Cards of Thanks, etc. Obituaries occupying not more than eight inches of space, $1; longer ones in proportion. Cards of Thanks, 55 cents. Cash or stamps must accompany the copy. Entered at the Post Office at Galax, Virginia as Second Class natter under tbe Act or Congress of March 8, 1872. Sparta, N. C., Thursday, June 29, 1939. Soil Erosion By Kelly O’Kelly I ■■ .. Civilization has flourished, declined, and disappeared in various parts of the world. Babylon, Greece, Southern Italy, Central Asia, and many other sections had a day of greatness. Scientists have been at a loss in many of these cases as to the cause of the fall of these peoples. Some attribute the decline to war, disease, moral decay, poor government, or the immigration of other nations. 1 There is one aspect, often overlooked but probably fundamental, to this prob lem of the decline of nations, and that is the depletion of the soil—-the mother of all races. The intelligence and growth of a people depend to a great extent upon their physical welfare which in turn de pends upon the food supply. Civilized nations tend to deplete the soil of its all-important mineral food substances which are available to plants. Trees are cut; land is intensely cultivated; rains leach and wash away the valuable top soil; the quality of the food goes down, and the health of the people deteriorates with the consequent moral decay and loss of an adequate intelligence to cope with the problems of life. The finale is written by war and invasion by a more healthful tribe, and a once-great nation is no more. This is the history of many countries. It would seem, then, that soil erosion is the most fundamental problem America has today. Especially is this true of the South. All one has to do to see the results of erosion is to look at the many tree denuded hill sides of Alleghany County. Gullies are cut; topsoil is gone and grass will not grow. Will erosion be permitted to work to its natural end in this, the fairest of lands? Fireworks Dangerous Early next month the people of the United States will celebrate Independence Day. Some of them will give vent to their feelings through the use of fireworks. It may be worthwhile, in this connec tion, to point out that in 1938 there were eighteen deaths due to the celebration of the Fourth of July with fireworks and other explosives and seven additional deaths indirectly due to the same cause. In addition, the records of the American Medical Association show nearly 8,000 serious injuries of all kinds from fireworks accidents during the observance of In dependence Day last year. Among the accidents were 300 eye injuries, 43 of which resulted in blindness in one or both eyes. The indiscriminate use of fireworks, particularly by young children, is danger ous. The explosives used are powerful; enough to maim and injure human beinvs.! Because of this fact, hundreds of cities and towns have laws prohibiting the sale ! of fireworks. It has been suggested that the people ! of a community celebrate the Fourth of July, if they desire to do so. with com- \ munity celebrations, including pyrotech nic displays under the supervision of ex perts. This will eliminate most of the accidents in connection with fireworks, give the people of the community a more entertaining spectacle and do as much to observe the day that marks the anniver sary of American independence. t What Other Editors Say Payment Without Work From The Christian Science Monitor Some of the good will among nations which the New York World's Fair was designed to pro duce seems to have been dissipated temporarily when commissioners for foreign nations checked up what it had cost them to install the exhibits in their buildings. These costs in the aggregate are said to have run millions of dollars over the estimates, and one of the principal, or at least most protested, items was the American workmen who under union rules were required to stand around and draw their pay while native workers did special jobs for which they had been brought over. Of course, it may be that the commissioners forgot the premiums they paid willingly in attract ing workers to finish up their buildings iq time for the opening. But American employers have had experience with union rules which require payment not for work done but as an assertion of right to particular jobs. Like monopolies of special advantages in many fields, this preroga tive is often abused. Trade unions in the United States could do with a little more friendly public understanding than they seem to have enjoyed the last two or three years. Perhaps a self-help ful course for' them to take, as for manufacturers, merchants and professional people, would be to lay emphasis on giving full value for every dollar j along with getting the dollar. . -. — ., I I The Low Down From Hickory Grove — ii — -——... A feller does not need much of a memory to hark back to when it was next door neighbor to being a disgrace, to be a beggar. But this world, she moves, and fast. And, times change. And now, being a beggar, it is .a j badge of distinction. Like if you are a Mayor , of some city and you go down to Wash, and you ! tell ’em there how many votes you can scare up j for them, and they give you 2 millions to build j a bigger fish-pond in your park, you are some ! pumpkins. And you get re-elected your ownself ; —at next election. And if you only get one million instead of 2 j million, you are a poor excuse of Mayor. And with Governors, it is likewise. And the money they dish up down there in I Old Bazoo City, it is our own money in the first t place. We are a great outfit, thinking we are | getting something from the other guy. It is a kind of ring-around-the-rosey—like i back in P. T. Bamum’s time; and when we get | home, we are the yokel again—and our watch \ and chain, they are missing. Yours, with the low down, Two Sides To Every Question b* L?tle HuM , NEUTRALITY Congress wants to go home, j but they've got to pass some | “must” legislation before they j leave. That’s tough on Congress! i When the American citizen first ■ reads, ‘ each year, that Congress is beginning to make noises like a | homing pigeon; upon that instant j said American citizen—if he cares > anything about what happens to his country—should start paying careful attention to the matters which are being discussed by our lawmakers in Washington. Usual ly at this time there is some vital bill under consideration and Congress has often rushed such bills through without the thorough consideration which they deserve. This is not from lack of patriot ism but usually from sheer fa tigue, boredom and the prospect of the joys of home, holiday and rest. The Congressman is an ordinary, normal human being— not a super-man. And that’s tough on us! At this moment, the “Neutral ity Act of 1938” is the fly in the late Spring ointment. This Neu trality Act however, is no “fly” to the people of this country—it is a great big American Eagle. It is so vast in fact that it casts a shadow over every other inter est which we have today, for upon this act, when and if it becomes law, may depend the future of our country and of everyone in it. Unfortunately this law is being formulated in a time of great •tress—when the nations of Eur ope are rattling sabers and beat ing war drums. But even if this were not so and peace prevailed all over the world, this law— which is to govern the actions of the United States toward other nations in time of war—is of the utmost importance to us and to others and embraces within its scope possibilities of terrible im port. The preamble to this so-called Administration Act — which was first introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Bloom on May 29th—reads as fol lows: Whereas, The policy of the United States, in foreign wars not affecting the defence of the Unit ed States, is a policy of neutral ity in accordance with the rules of international law; and Whereas, The United States stands for restating and strength ening the rights of neutrals at the earliest practicable time; and Whereas, It seems advisable, until these rights can be restated, to diminish the risk of this na tion becoming involved in for eign wars by restricting the exercise of certain neutral rights of our citizens; therefore, be it resolved, etc. And so, to all appearances, the intent is to be honestly neutral and keep this country out of other people’s wars. At the time of this writing the Bill has just come out of com mittee and is before the House. Already the fight has centered upon certain main phases. First: —the duty of the President in event of a war—in which we are neutral—to define certain com- j bat areas into which American ships and American citizens would penetrate only at their own risk. Second:—the requirement that foreign purchasers take title to goods before those goods leave this country, which, to some ex tent, re-enacts the “cash and carry” provisions of the old law. j Third:—the repeal of the em-; bargo on the shipment of arms and munitions of war. Fourth:— the contention that the entire act places our neutrality in the hands of the President instead of in the Congress. Because of the explosive con ditions abroad the passage of a neutrality law is one of the most complicated and vital piec es of legislation ever to come be fore our Congress. Every citi zen of this country should ob tain from his newspaper a copy of the proposed Act and should follow every move which is made in connection therewith; and if he believes that a fatal error is about to be committed, he should wire or write his congressman i and state his views in no uncer tain terms. It will be a cruel act toward the people of this country if their representatives in Congress allow partisan politics or a de sire to end the session and go home, or any other conceivable reason, to rush them through this legislation without giving it their most ardent, intense, and un biased concentration and their most patriotic judgment when they vote upon its final passage. The BeM Still Rings II ■■■■l .11II..’in. III. ■■■ nil- ■ . ill II. i A * -*«Si**V .* ■ I ■ v £t«* F*«*w i:‘T V * / , V* / / ~\\ « dii Weekly Washington Merry-Go-Round (Trade Mark Registered) by Drew Pearson and Robert S. Allen Anti-Roosevelt Leaders Wiant Silence On Third Term Issue Till 1940; Wallace Winning In Cabinet Battle With Hull Over Export Subsidies; Fascist Influence In Mexico Increasing As Oil Controversy Worsens; Maverick Finds Texas Company Loyalty To Garner Less Than FDR’s Popularity. WASHINGTON—They are not advertising the fact, but both Re publican and anti-Roosevelt De mocratic leaders in Congress are trying to put a quietus on blasts against a third term. The boys are afraid that too much argument over the issue now will detract from its effec tiveness next year, should the President run again. Their idea is to soft-pedal third term dis cussion so as to keep it fresh for campaign purposes. The decision to lay off was reached at a secret conference several weeks ago in the Senate Office Building. It is significant that since the meeting, there has been a marked decrease in anti third term talk in both GOP and anti-New Deal Democratic quart ers. Not an important figure in either group has sounded off pub licly on the subject. I Texas Maverick When Mayor Maury Maverick of San Antonio was in Washing ton recently, he went around to see some of his old Texas friends in Congress, among them Sam Rayburn, astute Democratic lead ed of the House. “M au r y,” counseled Sam, “you’d better quit kicking Jack Gamer around. It isn’t going to do you any good if you want to go places in Texas.’ “Listen,” replied the hard-hit ting new Mayor, “you’re up here in Washington and I’m down in Texas. Ydu know what’s good for the nation, but I know what’s good for Texas. “When I was a baby Congress man and had my first diaper changed, Gamer started fighting me, and he’s been fighting me ever since. Now I’m fighting him. “Furthermore,” concluded Mav erick, “the people of Texas aren’t particularly for Garner. Natural ly they’re loyal to any Texan. But first, last and foremost they’ re for Franklin D. Roosevelt.” Hull va. Wallace A significant intra-Cabinet row has developed over the question of export subsidies. Chief oppon ents are Cordell Hull on one side and Henry Wallace on the other. Other members of the Cabinet have also taken sides—largely supporting Wallace. Seeds of the row were planted a long time ago when George Peek, AAA Administrator and later Export-Import Bank head, wanted to subsidize cotton and wheat exports to foreign coun tries. Hull vigorously opposed— and won. However, Henry Wallace has been more subtle in his opposi tion, and gradually has won where Peek failed. First Wallace secured an ex port subsidy on walnuts. Hull op posed this, but because it was relatively insignificant, finally yielded. Then Wallace got a tem porary subsidy for wheat, now plans to continue it another year. * Later came the export subsidy for cotton, and, then as a climax, Wallace prepared an export sub sidy for lard. Pressure within the Cabinet be came so severe that finally Hull and Wallace patched up a tem porary truce, by which Hull agrees that the cotton subsidy may be necessary as a temporary expedient but emphatically does not endorse subsidies as a gene- j ral policy. The truce was inspired ■ by fear that continued inner Cabinet hostilities would prejudice the agricultural appropriation bill i still before Congress. Meanwhile, Hull’s friend, Hen ry Grady of the Tariff Commis sion, has written an opinion—at Hull’s request—emphatically sup-1 porting him. Grady has reported that extension of export subsidies would wreck Hull’s trade agree ments, would be utterly inconsist ent with U. S. policy during the past six years, and that if there is to be any change of policy it should be frankly recognized as such, instead of camouflaged. Grady has gone even further 1 and suggested that export subsi dies make Uncle Sam a two-faced Janus, since we penalize other countries for doing what we do ourselves. However, Wallace maintains that he must get rid of farm surpluses, and that he is going to continue subsidies until he has won back part of this country’s farm markets. ,_ . Third Term Teaching The teachers of the District of Columbia may not have realized what they were doing, but they have stepped squarely into the third term wrangle. A text prepared by some of them for use in Washington, D. C., civic classes discusses the executive branch of the Govern ment and states, “Length of Term—‘Unwritten law’—, no pre sident runs for a third term.” Under The Dome Federal Theatre got the axe in the new WPA appropriation part ly because Mrs. Hallie Flanagan, Project Director, made a poor im pression before congressional com mittees .Henry Alsberg, Director of Federal Writers Pro ject, saved his bureau from the axe, then offered his resignation . . . . Support of Senator Cotton Ed Smith is less of a blessing than a curse to Charles E. Jack son, Deputy Commissioner of Fisheries. A South Carolinian, he was appointed to the'Bureau with Smith’s backing, has proved a good man, and could fill the now vacant job of Commissioner. But the White House is reluctant to boost any appointee of unpurged Cotton Ed. Crownless King The recent, royal visitation may have been the thrill of a lifetime to the rest of Washington, but to seven-year-old Patricia McDowell, j daughter of Pennsylvania’s young: Republican Congressman, it was a terrific flop. The one thing above all else that interested the young lady in the King and Queen was their crowns. She was sure they would wear them and couldn’t wait un til she had witnessed the breath taking spectacle. So it was with great excitement that she accom-i panied her mother to Capitol Hill! the morning their Majesties came i to the Rotunda. Seated with her mother with the “families of members” in the Plaza facing the Capitol’s main stairway, Patricia impatiently pop ped up and down in her chair. Finally she spotted what she thought was her father in striped trousers and cutaway at the top of the steps. At that moment the King and Queen arrived. Taking a good look at the royal i couple, Miss McDowell jumped up, pointed an accusing finger at Their Majesties, and cried at the top of her lungs: “Oh, Daddy! You were all wrong; they aren’t wearing crowns at all!” It was a toss-up whether Patri cia or the King and Queen car-1 ried off the honors as far as the congressional reception was con cerned. Poor Neighbor Policy Donald Richberg sat in a State Department anteroom the other day waiting to see Cordell Hull. His coat was hanging on a chair and he was smoking a cigar, but he was. far from comfortable. His discomfiture was a symbol of the crisis which has come about in U. S.-Mexican affairs. A few weeks ago a settlement of the oil controversy seemed im minent. Today it seems further off than ever. Simultaneously, there are signs of a Fascist move ment in Mexico, plus increased sales of oil to Germany, plus a move to build a railway across lower Mexico to the Pacific in order to sell oil to Japan. It was these factors that caus ed Roosevelt to jump into the Mexican situation with both feet the other day. Summoning the Mexican Ambassador to the White House, the President expressed keen concern over the oil con trovery. He admitted Mexico’s right to expropriate the wells, but insisted that she pay for the wells after taking them. This is the chief stumbling block between / Mexico and the oil companies. The latter want a long term lease during which part of the profits would go to them, part to Mexico. Cardenas, how ever, wants to talk about an im mediate payment, which the oil companies shun, knowing that Mexico has no money to pay. Meanwhile it is a sure bet that relations between the United States and Mexico—already a blot on the Good Neighbor policy— will get worse before they get better. ■Trade Secrets ifost candid witness so far ap pearing before the monopoly com mittee was Robert L. Cooney, Atlanta, Ga., inspector of agen cies df the New York Life In surance Company. A w i 111 y t:. .tea Southerner, he talked with such frankness that the committe was able to uncover certain secret insurance practices. One of these was the interest “You say Myrtle inherited her beauty?" “Yes, her mother left her a cosmetic shop.” ing custom of retaining, for local court cases, “smart lawyer” mem bers of state legislatures who had displayed friendliness toward leg islation favoring insurance com panies. Senator Joe O’Mahoney, chair man of the committee and one of the ablest legal minds in Con gress, evinced great interest in this canny practice and question ed Cooney af length about it. The exchange between them was as follows: O’Mahoney: “Do I understand that it has been your practice on occasion to attempt to work out an arrangement which will give legal business to some member of the legislature in order that you may win friendship?” Cooney: “When we find a smart lawyer in the legislature and we are unable to show him that our particular proposition was correct, [ have told our General Counsel to take that man into any local litigation that we might have.” O’Mahoney: “Do you find a smart lawyer there very often?” Cooney: ‘When I say a smart awyer, I mean one that agrees with me.” O’Mahoney: “Do you regard Jiat to be a sound principle for nsurance companies, to retain awyers in their litigation because of t,he influence they are going to exert in future legislation be fore the legislature? You can answer that question yes or no.” Cooney: “I don't think i can . . . if your question is, do I think it is a proper thing to do, I am compelled to answer yes, from my standpoint.” u ivianoney: "mat is what 1 thought you would answer, and that is exactly the point that I wanted to bring out. Not only is it true that you regard that to be a proper method of influencing legislatures, but that is true of the entire national industrial sys tem. ...” Cooney: “I can’t argue that with you, sir.” O’Mahoney: “Of course you can’t argue it, because that is the fact and we all recognize it.” (Copyright, 1939, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.) -TBE_ DOCTOR If WE AUGHJNBAUGHm TUBERCULOSIS FVxr more than ten years the Henry Phipps Institute outpatient department has been making a study of tuberculosis in families and the manner in which it is spread. One thousand families were studied and every member exam ined and tested for tuberculosis by being given a tuberculin test to define the incidence of infec tion; a roentgenological examina tion to show the anatomic extent to which the disease had progress ed, as well as for the purpose of studying the lesions, and a phy sical examination to observe func tional disturbances. The doctors conducting this test took into consideration the number of tubercle bacilli in the sputum and the manner in which the victims coughed and disposed of the expectorate. it was dehnitely established that inadequate food "and over work favored the development of this disease. In one family where the father had tuberculosis and died, the mother and daughter contracted the same ailment, but proper treatment arrested its going into the dangerous stage and they are now well. In nine families in which the fathers had consumption, none of the children, due to proper sani tation, food and exercise, develop ed an acute condition but five exhibited preliminary symptoms, with infected lungs which were ultimately healed. It was also definitely- establish ed that tuberculosis was not in herited, but transmitted by the victim, to others, through ino rnate contact. Where patients had heavily infected sputum, the young contracted the disease at an earlier age than similarly in fected families, with no tubercle bacilli discoverable in the expec torate. The absolute value of a nega tive tuberculine reaction was most convincing.' In one series of su^h patients 29 out of 677 person!^ had recognizable lesions. \ Approximately one-third of the\ children exposed to open tuber- V culosis acquired calcified nodules of lungs or lymph nodes apparent during life. It was also ascer tained that the spread of tuber (turn to page 8, please)
The Alleghany News and Star-Times (Sparta, N.C.)
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June 29, 1939, edition 1
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