The independent. [volume], December 29, 1933, Page 4, Image 4

About The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936

Image provided by: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, Chapel Hill, NC

                
The Independent
W. O. SAUNDERS, Senior Editor WM. K. SAUNDERS, Junior Editor
Published Every Friday in the Year by W. O. Saunders and his son,
E. Colonial Ave.. Elizabeth City, Pasquotank County, North Carolina.
Geo. W. Haskett, Superintendent of Plant
Subscription rates in First Congresslbnal District of North Carolina: 1
year ?1.50; 8 mos. $1.00: 4 mos. 50c. Single copies 5c. Subscriptions
outside First Congressional District 1 year $2.00; 6 mos. $1.00
Entered as 2nd Class matter at the P. O., Elizabeth City, N. C. June 9, 1908
VOL XXV. FRIDAY. DECEMBER 29, 1933. NO. 1,359.
No Regrets
I yjff j () say that tla* year ahout to come to a close will go
down in history as the most eventful year in the
|2aJ history of the human race, would he to assume
that we are familiar with all the million years or more of
human history. The discovery of the fulcrum, the inven
tion of the wheel, the domestication of the cow and the
horse, the invention of gun powder, the invention of mov
able types, the battle of Marathon, the birth of Jesus, the
Sovietization of Russia any number of tilings have been
epoch making events in human history. But this may be
safely said: 1 WA'A PROBABLY SHALL BE RECORDED AS
THE MOST EYEXTITL YEAR IN .MODERN HISTORY.
llk'k'i has been a year marked with poverty, distress,
bankruptcies and suicides. Humanity not only in Amer
ica but thruout the world has paid a fearful price for the
follies of Capitalism and .Mammon Worship. To-day the
world is stripped, humbled and disillusioned. Here in
America we are feeling our way toward a form of Socialism
' 11 ' ?"<iirifv to everv manj
HUH SHOIUU ^lliliailliv nwin/iu.v .? --- - - - ?
woman and child; free the human mind of the fear ol j
poverty and old age; abolish inheritancies and so cheapen
the hitherto Almighty Dollar that no one will worship it any
more. Instead of being the saddest year in modern history,
1933 may he ultimately regarded as the happiest year in
modern history, because it may be, for all we know, the!
threshold of a new and better era than human kind has ever
known. I, for one, am not weeping over the misery and I
distress to which I have been subjected in this gruelling year.
Like so many spoiled children, we needed a good licking. |
We got it. Now, forward about the business of reconstruc
tion, the making of a new and better world!
i
A Resignation In Order
r^SrjlllS newspaper is glad to quote Superintendent .1. C.
U|?y Parker of the Public I tility Commission in denial of
rumors that the Commission is contemplating put
ting the city on a flat rate of 12 cents per kilowatt for elec
tric current. The effects of any raise in electric light and
power rates would be to destroy every electric consuming
industry in the city and diminish rather than increase the
city's revenues from the sale of current for light and power.!
Your gas company, privately owned, bids for more
business and enchancement of its revenues by offering the
people cheaper gas. Your Public Utility Commission has
driven dealers in electric ranges in this city out of business
by service charges that make ownership of an electric range
a luxury, stubbornly and stupidly driving business to the
gas company. Merchants in Elizabeth City can not light
their stores properly or use elaborate electric signs because
of the prohibitive cost of electric current. Instead of trying
to make the use of electricity attractive and profitable to
the citizenry, your Utility Commission persists in a short
sighted policy of depreciating the consumption of electric
current.
Klizal?eth City needs a new Public Utility Commission
The present Commission which seems to consists of Dr. A.
L. Pendleton, Dr. A. L. Pendleton and Dr. A. L. Pendleton
should resign.
An Old Time Store-Keeper
j
jM) so a lot of consumers of electric current in F.liz
aheth City are taking advantage of the cheaper rales
' for "domestic" service, by plugging their electric
hgnts into sockets provided for their electric ranges and
electric refrigerators! That's just too had!
The Public Utiiltx Commission, with its usual purblind
greed for immediate profits can think of no other way to
correct this situation than to raise its rates for "domestic"
current. This it contemplates doing. The etl'ect of such a
raise would be to boom the sale of gas ranges and gas refri
gerators. The city makes a handsome profit on the current
it sells at o'.c per kilowatt for Domestic purposes. It would
wipe out tins business and its profits.
If anything but a greed for immediate profit motivated
the chairman of the Public Utility Commission, a better way
would be found to reduce the possibilities of consumers
taking an undue advantage of the lower "domestic" rates.!
For instance: ttie City might well employ its own service
department to make free installation of meters and outlets
for use in connection with electric appliances. The city's
electricians would see to it that those outlets or connections!
would be con lined to the kitchen where they belong, with j
ttie possible exception of a single socket elsewhere in the'
house for attachment of the radio and vacuum cleaner. In
this way the city could control the use of its current sold for
"domestic" purposes and at the same time encourage and
boost the sail* of more "domestic" current. As it is, the
city compels a purchaser of an electric range or refrigerator
. to employ inde|>endcnt electricians at, in many instances, a!
prohibitive cost. And the independent electrician, interest-j
eel in stretching every job, will obligingly provide as many
sockets 011 the "domeslie" current line as the customer will
pay for. 1 his newspaper is convinced that commonscnsc!
and business sagacity will not prevail in the handling of our
public utilities until (.hairman Pendleton, with a mind key
ed to immediate profits, is replaced by a man with a better
ULitiook. 1 he chairman of the Public Utility Commission
should be a live and progressive merchant. Dr. Pendleton
has been a good an useful citizen in his day; but he has
i?ad his day; to-day he is but an old-time store-keeper out
of step with modern methods of merchandising ami salcs
UUiivhlp.
;The Coast Guard and The Navy j
J _ F President Roosevelt transfers the Coast Guard to
the Navy, as now seems iinmiment, it is common
I judgment that such action will not be for the best in
terest of the Navy, the ("oast Guard or the country. Con
gress, by its Acts of June 10, 1932 and March 3, 1933, grant
ed to the President full power to eliminate and consolidate
executive agencies and functions in the interest of economy
land efficiency. Much was expected but the truth is little j
| has been done and little can be done. Instead, Federal
activities have greatly increased.
If the President could give more of his own clear-head
ed consideration to the question, less influenced by a few|
Navy department admirals intent on a big navy, he would j
doubtless find that the transfer will not result in efficiency:
[ economy, or satisfaction to the two services, or the public
?good. On the contrary that, the transfer having been|
I made, within five years another Coast Guard, under a dif
ferent name, will be organized under the Treasury and other!
j civil departments to make them to perform their requisite'
1 functions.
The truth is, that the primary functions of Navy and i
|Coast Guard are essentially different. That of the Navy is!
[preparing for and waging war, while the mission of the'
| Coast Guard is to exercise the national police power over
I the navigable waters and high seas, protecting the revenues,
! preventing smuggling, enforcing navigation laws, and sav
jing life and property. Their chief functions being so dif
ferent, their training is necessarily different. Eff icient naval
training does not specially tit naval personnel for the per
formances of the police duty required of the Coast Guard,
and to use the Navy for such purpose would result in dc-j
creased efficiency in the performance of both classes ol'j
service. In addition, our people do not lake kindly to police I
supervision conducted by the regular naval and military
establishments.
Of course, the (".oast Guard and the Navy have one
thing in common?seamanship; but under existing law the
President has full authority temporarily to transfer the1
Coast Guard to naval protection and control whenever war
or other national emergency makes such transfer advisable.
Thus the Coast Guard is a powerful and eff icient adjunct to
the Navy without normally being a part of it; quite in line
with the American policy of maintaining the national de
fense.
The transfer will be unpopular throughout the country,
particularly along our great coastline, where the people
best know the Coast Guard and the Life Saving Service.
Men of the Coast Guard do not want to be transferred to
the Navy and be subjected to the exigencies and far-from
hoine service that characterizes naval service. The great
coastal cities and communities and the shipping inlerescts
oppose the move. There is nothing to be gained and much
to be lost by the contemplated transfer. It would be better
to have the two services as they arc.
TttiOkK
by Arthur Brisbane j
Spies Not Needed
What Kind of Dollars?
Her Bullet-Proof Car
French Hunger Army
Two Americans, Mr. and Mrs.
3wi;z, and two Canadians, Mr. and
Mrs. Bercowitz, with others, includ
ing several women and Frenchmen,
are arrested in Paris as members of j
"a huge international ring of spies (
operating in France." The spies are
.uppoted to have revealed the plans
if French frontier forts
When the next war comes French,
frontier forts, like our coast defense'
guns, will not be important, and
.:p:es will not be very valuable.
I: needs no spy to point out the |
big cities. Paris. London. Berlin, and
war planes would fly straight to,
those big cities.
Washington says this year's farm'
crops are valued by the Department
of Agriculture at four thousand and 1
rev;nty-six million dollars. Last
year's crops were worth only two
thousand eight hundred and seven- 1
ty-nine million dollars. A big im
provement. but some, hard to please,
will ask "what kind of dollars?'" i
The possessions of the late Texas
Guinan are sold at auction. The
jewelry and other things on which
the late night c'.ub expert concen
trated her interest amount to little,
Eut there was one mcst interesing
item in the auction?the "Texas Gui
nan bullet-proof limousine." That
car, in which the tody who knew
the underworld of New York and
other places and the character of
night club habitues, was built so that
bullets could not hurt those that
traveled inside of it. The glass and ]
the metal of the limousine were bul- J
let-proof. She knew that her night j
crowd did not all come under her
favorite heading, "Hello, sucker." j
While other countries have gene:
through serious after-the-war trou-;
bles?millions in England on the I
dole, mere millions in America on j
a disguised dole?France has been j
the most prosperous of nations
Now even in France distress and;
hunger at last appear. Photographs.
of a great army of "hunger march
ers" merging on Paris from all
parts of France show many of the',
marchers carrying shoes tied around:
: their necks to save the shoes.
i It is a depressing sight, yet. view-(
jed historically, how encouraging!)
There was a day in France, before |
the revolution got rid of the kings'?
and the parasite nobility, when'j
remistarvation was the normal con- i
dition among French peasants.
j The dalai lama, supreme religious j
[fcttii t-h: ci ?4j
other Buddhist population in Asia. '
is dead, aged sixty. His followers
believe that he is a reincarnation of.
the original Buddha, the young i
Prince Gautama, who left his danc- j
I ing girls, his new wife and baby and
went into the world to make it bet
! tor.
A small boy. carefully selected,
will take the place of the lama,
whose spirit is supposed to take up
I its residence in the boy's body.
T;betan Buddhists believe that the
lama is not dead and has imply ,
"discarded his mortal envelope to
be born again."
How interesting if that should j
happen to all of us and let u.s watch
this earth in its future career of j
hundreds of millions of years.
Governor Myers of the federal
farm credit administration says fore
closures of American farm mortgages
have practically stopped, and that
stoppage will be permanent.
Farmers will be g'.ad of that news
and taxpayer will hope that the ,
government will meet some obliga- '
tions by printing some nice new
money, rather than keep pouring out
bonds on which somebody must pay
interest
The total expense of the United
States government used to be $100,- i
000.000 a year. Now the interest cn
bonds alone amounts to SI.000,000.
000 a year.
|
j A drop in stocks at this time of
! the year does not mean th.it .stocks 1
are less valuable. It means that
many are trying to fell stocks all
at once to "take losses" to offset
inccme tax charges.
. To develop United States trade J
' with South America, this country :
may oiler special inducements to J
i Argentenia. Chile and Mexico wine
1 growers. Plans arc made to popu- !
I larize the wines, but it is almost as j
1 difficult to change fashions in wine ;
as in dress.
For a long time the Romans would
I drink nothing but Greek wine. Later
aristocratic Romans would drink.
only Roman wines, although Gauls, J
in their wanderings, settled in j
France because they cou'd not l ave j
the wines of the Bordeaux and Bur- j
gundy regions.
In Pennsylvania 35.000 candidates!
for state liquor jobs, protest because
the examination is difTicult and j
foolish. Truck drivers are asked to j
parse and spell. They might better j
be asked to back up, turn around;
and prove their acquaintance with j
truck machin:ry.
Tne question much resented was j
"Four times nothing equals what?" j
Many applicants answered "Four." '
They might have answered that, in j
politics, "o'nee nothing" often equals j
a good salary and the right to help I
make foolish laws.
(Copyright 1933. by King Features
Syndicate. Inc.i
.? i
SOY BEANS wanted. Top market |
prices; spot cash. W. C. GLOVER,
City, N. a- cDS-tf
New Year Song, to 1933: j
"I'll Be Glad When You're j
Dead, You Rascal, You"
?_ i
Bruised, battered and harrassed by the vicis
situdes of one of the darkest and most trying
years in the city's history, Elizabeth City on Sunday
night at 12:00 midnight will gleefully administer a
swift kick in the pants to the departing year 193d J
and will eagerly welcome a New Year which holds
hope of seeing business recover completely from the
illness which nearly killed it this year.
The year 1933 has truly been a
hectic year for local business and
industry. Particularly trying was
the bank holiday, when E.izabeth i
City was without banking facilities |
for nearly a month. Banks were j
closing all over the country, and col
lapse of the private banking sys-1
tem seemed imminent when Pre
sident Roosevelt took office. On
Saturday, March 4, a quiet run on
the First and Citizens National Bank j
of this city was already under way.
When the bank closed for the day,
officials hastened to obtain all the
cash reserve they could and hoped
for the best on Monday. By a Presi
dential order issued on March 5, all
the banks in the country were for
bidden to re-open on Monday. It
was not until April 1. just 15 minutes
before three o'clock, that the word
came from Washington that the I
local bank could be re-oponed with-}
out restrictions. During those in- j
tervening weeks the local merchants (
caught hell. Business suffered
general paralysis. Finally, after the
.stockholders of the bank had rais
ed an additional $115,000 in capital j
and had written off the bank's;
doubtful loans, the government;
ckehed the re-opening
The NRA brought more troubles [
,o lecal business when it increased
?overhead and brought about no ap
preciable increase in business to off
set this. Hardest hit were the
hosiery and lumber mills, which are
the city's chief industries. They
stuck it out as long as they could
but the end of the year finds most
of them operating only part-time.
The redeeming feature of the year
for Elizabeth City was undoubtedly
the CWA. During November and
December, more than 200 men were
put to work at wages of from 45
cents to $1.10 an hour. These jobs,
putting money into the pockets of
scores of the town's needy for the
first time in many months, served
as balm to the town's merchants at
the end of a hard year.
Another bright incident in 1933
,va.> the organization of the Elizabeth
City Crop Production Credit Asso
ciation. which has a lending capa
city of nearly half a million dollars
to help the farmers of the Albe
marie finance their own crops.
Other events of importance in
Elizabeth City and the Albemarle
in 1933 were:
Chowan Riv:r bridge toll reduced
to 25 cents
Grandy-Point Harbor sector of
Virginia Dare Trail paved.
Bill to legalize horse racing and
pari-mutuel betting in Pasquotank
rejected in special election. July 11.
Mayor Jerome B. Flora, re-elected
without opposition.
J. C. B. Ehringhaus of this city
became Governor of the State, and
R. Bruce Elheridge of Manteo was
named Director of the State De
partment of Conservation and Deve
lopment
City and section swept by severe
..terms on August 22 and September.
16. the damage to crops and prop
erty amounting to several millions. |
New entrance to city provided by
;.aving cf Ehringhaus Street, ex
tended. from city limits to Wood's
Corner
Application made for a loan o'
570.0J0 to tap a new water supply '
for the city. Loan not yet approv- '
ed.
Application for loan of $50,000 for J
construction of new primary school!
bui'ding sent to Washington, where |
it now awaits approval. J
Effort to establish ferry service (
between Pasquotank and Tyrrell j
counties reached final stage and;
failed. Plans laid for construction i
of a bridge across Albemarle Sound 1
Caro'.inas District Kiwanis Con-1
vention. North Carolina Pigeon I
Show. N. C. Negro Volunteer Fire- j
men s Association and the First
National Moth Type Sail Boat Re-1
gatta held here during the year.
Federal government allocated $90,-1
500 for work on the Kill Devil HilLs:
Reservation. I
Frank Stick's idea of a coastal
park greeted enthusiastically in of-j
licial circles and plans made for.
carrying plan to fulfillment
E. C. H. S. Yellow Jackets won
Class B High School football cham
pionship. the first State title ever
won by a local team
The year now ending has seen
little new construction in Elizabeth'
City. An addition nto the Avalo'
Hosiery Mill was completed last! I
month, several new homes have been i
built, and there has been consid-l
enable remodeling in the business,
district.
It has been a dull and dark year,
here, and Elizabeth City will be glad
to see it come to a close.
Father and Son, Presidents
John Qtiinc.v Adams was (he only
son to follow his father, John 1
Adams, as President of the United j
States. Benjamin Harrison was a j
grandson of President William j
lleury Harrison. ? - - I _
"BEAR TRAP" MAN KNOCKS
WIFE OUT AND RAPES IIIS
STEP DAUGHTER
(Continued from Page One)
Gcrapes. Several bad highway ac
cidents have resulted from the
drinking at the dances there. The
little tourist cabins to the south of
the station have been used almost
continually for immoral purposes.
It was at this station that Thelma
Gray, pretty 16-year-old New Hope
girl, was employed when her un
doing occurred, which drove her to
a criminallyvfcperation resulting in
her untimely and tragic death.
Coincident-ally, Ben Gray, her father,
and Johnnie Gray, her brother, are
witnesses in the Crane case. The
filling station- came into more
notoriety last month when Stuart
Thornton was ordered to sell the;
business or go to jail after evidence j
was introduced in the County Court
to show that immorality was exist
ing at the place. Thornton, inci
dentally, was another principal in
the Thelma Gray case, being indict
ed for manslaughter in confiection
with the girl's death because he was
operating the filling station where
the operation occurred. VV h e n
Thornton left the "Bear Trap" sta
tion. Crane, took it over.
After probable cause was found
against Crane in this case, he con- [
sentcd to withdraw his appeal in the
assault case if allowed to serve the
30 days in the county jail while!
awaiting trial. Judge Morse agreed
to this and the appeal was with
drawn.
i
Wrote Battle Hymn in Hurry
Inspired by the trnnps marching
to tlie tune ot' "John Brown's
Body," Julia Ward Howe went to
bed with it ringing In her ears, and
awoke the next morning to write
her "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
as fast as she could wield her pen.
Beavers Return
The familiar sight of beavers after !
an absence of 73 years is reported j
in Tioga county. X. V. It Is believed
a process of migration is taking
place.
????
The Yahgans
The Yahgans are the most south
ernmost people in the world and
they are feared near extinction. I
They inhabit the southern island
which lies at the extreme end of i
South America.
I
Discretionary Power
"Carte blanche" means uncondi- j
tlonal permission or authority to do '
what one pleases in a matter. Lit
erally it refers to a blank paper
duly signed by some person and
given to another to be tilled up at j
Ids discretion.
^r*orrcl^s ?i\\ is to tin*
CLII' THIS COUPON ??
IT IS WORTH EXACTLY WR.tfU
This coupon will bo accepted for cnc dollar en the pur-.,
pries of any pair of shoes in our store if pre-eated
Jan. 7, 1934. Only one coupon on any one pair of
Sky-Rider Shoes for boys S'3.30 ;
Fortune shoes for men S3.93 a.ii yi?^
Friendly .shoes for men $1.98 arri S3.ps
High top lace boots for men and boys Sg.jo ;
Less $1.00 with this coupon
Sawyer Company j
The Man's Store East st,
Selig's Christmas Gifts Given Awav
SATURDAY
Al three o'clock Saturday aft'Tiionn I!
winners of Selig's Free (llirisliuas (oils will he
announced.
Come if you wish?allho il isn't necessary
lo he present. Winners will he notified.
LOUIS SELIG
"Your Jeweler Since 1882"
j- _ _
11934 mm TRUCKS
The 1934 Dodge Trucks will differ only in minor cI-'juA
from 1933 models. Dodge has already built the grca-.'
valuo ever offered in a truck in its price class. But DJi
prices will bo higher. Take a tip and buy one cf til .:.v.
Dodge Trucks now on our floors at the old price.
WILLIS S. WRIGHT
DISTRIBUTOR
For Camden, Currituck, Pasquotank. Dare,
Perquimans, Gates and Hertford
17-19 McMorrine St. PHONE 101 Elizabeth City
"THANKS?OLD'33
. . . for a good lesson!"
This would not he America if Americans failed to yet up
on their feet after a knock-down and tight back. Hut it -
still America, for, already the end of the year, the neces
sity of getting new calendars is all that brings '33 to mind.
We're mentally in '34, ready to profit by our lesson and
turn the score in our favor. With American Business, this
bank greets the new year, confidently.
The
First & Citizens National Bank
ELIZABETH CITY, N. C.
Member Federal Reserve System