McCormick messenger. (McCormick, S.C.) 1902-current, April 25, 1935, Image 1
Mr, Middleton Says
National Forest Will
Cause the Abolishment
Of McCormick County
McCormick Messenger;
The people of McCormick and
adioining counties should £et to
gether in meetings and decide
whether they wish the Govern
ment to create the national forest
proposed out of the counties. TTiere
are many reasons why they should
oppose it and few that I can see
favorable to it. If they do not
wish it, the legislature could, and
should, be asked to pass a measure
at this session, prohibiting the fed
eral purchase of lands for this pur
pose, in the state, similar to the
laws in some other states. Such
an act should stop purchasing at
once in the proposed forest out of
McCormick and other counties. Or
(and) the congressman from the
district and the two U. S. Senators
should be petitioned and written to
by all interested citizens at once to
have the forest project stopped.
Undoubtedly the forest will
cause the abolishment of McCor
mick County. There are only
238,000 acres in the county I am
told by county officials. The Gov-
arzunent proposes ,to buy and turn
inta forest 178,000 acres of this,
leaving only 60,000 acres in the
hands of the farmers. That small
acreage in .private ownership can
not pay the expenses of the. county
and the county very soon will have
to be abolished. 'Remaining own
ers will tie overcome with high tax
es. The ^government doe^ npt pay
' /fend. I am tpld that
__ is being pur-
iB TO'OOO reserved area,
mjbitre people,wi# seJl. Ai The object
of the U. S. forestry .pepple, o*
course, to make the wnole area for
est as far as the people Win., seU.
So that you may. ludk^to the coun^
lyto
• isL
less. T$pse ,, v .v ..
seU a part of their lands will find
the taxes increasingly unbearable
an what they "keep.
The county bonds, interest and
principal, will still have to be paid.
They constitute mortgage on all
the property of the county. How
they be paid without confisca
tion of the small remaining prop
erty? Ask a government agent
vhat will be done about that and
tie win tell you he does not know—
that nothing has been done about
it. And my information is noth
ing is ever done about that feature
—the government "does not pay any
indebtedness. Some of the school
iistricts have bonds. In Washing
ton township the school levy is 17
nffls. Those bonds are a mortgage
OPERA HOUSE
ABBEVILLE, S. C.
Thursday, April 25th,
“THE LIVES OF A
BENGAL LANCER”
Friday, April 26th, Only,
Minna Gombell and
Gavin Gordon
in
“WOMEN MUST DRESS”
; It mav be worth $15.00 to
you to be in the Opera House
before '9:00 o’clock Friday
night.
Saturday, April 27th, Only,
Fighting Bob Steele
in
“BIG CALIBRE”
Saturday Night, 10:38, Only,
Lew Ayres, Claire Trevor and
•i Zasu Pitts
in
“SPRING .TONIC”
V I
Mon.-Tuesw, April 29th-30th,
' A1 Jolson and Ruby Keeler
• • . in
, “GO INTO YOUR DANCE”
Don’t miss this musical pic
ture.
Wed,-Thun., May lst-2nd,
... Lilian Harvey and Tullio
, . Carminati
’** in
“LET’S LIVE TONIGHT”
Iil5—7j
an all the property of the township.
Whpn half of the property in that
township is sold to the governmen
the annual taxes will have to be
doubled on the remaining ones
This will force others to sell. The
same facts face all townships as
well as the county. Is it well to
sit idle and not consider these
things?
In my opinion this forest is the
very worst thing that could have
possibly happened to the territory
to be embraced in the forest, all
the result of the theory of taking
“marginal lands” out of cultivation.
Out of Edgefield 108,000 acres are
to he taken. Can Edgefield peo
ple stand the increased taxes? In
Abbeville 49,000 acres are to be
taken; Greenwood 64,000 acres;
Saluda 12,000 acres. McCormick
is the hardest hit. There will be
no McCormick town in a few years;
no Willington, Mt. Carmel, Bor
deaux, Plum Branch, Parksville,
Modoc, Clark’s Hill, Meriwether. It
will be wilderness except the 60,000
acres or less reserved around Plum
Branch and McCormick. But that
will not support those towns. Even
McCormick and Plum Branch will
have to go through miles of unin
habited area to reach Greenwood,
Abbeville, Edgefield or Saluda—the
inhabited land will be like an island
confined to the vicinity of McCor
mick and Plum Branch with only
distant contacts. Will that be a sat-
isfactory situation? You can do
something about it if you do not
wish it.
The arguments that no one need
^ell if he does not wish is plausible
but will not work out. Rapidly
dimir^ishinjg neighbors; growing
isolatipn; abolition of schools and
churches because of inability to
support them for lack of popula-
tjpn, .will rapidly force all to sell and
leaye their homes. All that coun-
ir/ wih invert to original wilder
ness. Gur ancestors founded a
civilization and a culture, consist
ing of neighbors, schools and relig-
ious irfstitutions, and met all kinds
of privations and dangers and we
ars surrendering ah.. Was that
their spirit? Will they not turn
Wer in their graves at our de
sertion?
Our people, families, relatives,
friends will be separated and scat
tered to the four winds. Life will
never be the same to our people.
The forest authorities have an
nounced repeatedly that the aver
age cost of all the lands must not
be over $5.50 per acre. Where there
is no timber as low as $2.50 per
acre is being paid. Government
agents tell me they have options on
much of the land at $2.50 per acre.
This is ruinous. But there is no
way to get the price raised—the
government prices for these forest
lands are fixed everywhere. Our
people cannot reestablish them
selves at these prices. Where can
they buy lands at these prices else
where? Many of them will be ruin
ed for life. Rather, our people
should be admonished to hold to
their lands and homes; to improve
them; continue to live on them and
fight it out. Get government farm
loans and stick. Improved roads
are just beginning to help. Rural
electrification is going to help. Our
soil is good; we are established,
with court house, good schools and
churches, towns, stores and we
should not allow all this to be de
stroyed nor go elsewhere to help
other people do what we have al
ready done. We have a glorious
future if we will fight for and re
tain our country. The state is now
considering a $5,000,000 rural elec
trification plan. , It will not, it
cannot, cover this territory if we
are going to let this forestry project
prbceed.
HUGH C. MIDDLETON.
Citizens’ Meeting Called For At
Court House Saturday, April 27,
To Discuss Long Cane Forest Project And See
What It Means To McCormick County
At the request of numerous citizens of McCormick and
various sections of McCormick County, a meeting is called for
Saturday afternoon, April 27, 1935, at 2 o’clock, at the court
house at McCormick, to discuss the Long Cane Forest project
and see what it means to McCormick County.
The citizens of the county are cordially invited and earn
estly requested, to attend this meeting.
Sees Mistake
In Land Sales
Middleton OF Augusta Holds Move
Dangerous.
GIVES HIS VIEWS.
Mtisieal Comedy At
High School Here On
Wednesday, May 1st
r ** ■• ^ . *
“The Misplaced Decimal”, a rol
licking, musical comedy, will be
given at McCormick High School
Auditorium on Wednesday, May 1,
1935, at 8:15 o’clock. This play is
presented by the Junior Class of
Lander College and is under the
auspices bf the Senior Class of Mc
Cormick High School.
Admission, 15c for all school stu
dents, and 25c for adults.
Believes Residents Now On Tracts
Will Leave Land Permanently.
The State, Mar. 31.
“I believe the idea of the pur
chase of vast areas of land in our
states by the federal government
for national forests is a bad one,
and that if carried out, will soon be
regretted,” declared H. C. Middle-
ton of . Augusta, in Columbia last
week on a visit.
Yesterday, Mr. Middleton sent a
telegram to The State from Au
gusta saying that Governor Tal-
madge of Georgia had prohibited
by veto, the formation of the Sav
annah river forest. He gave out his
statement prior to the action of the
Georgia executive.
“It is proposed,” he said, “to buy
7,000,000 acres in Georgia and 7,-
000,000 acres in South Carolina and
turn it back into original wilder
ness on the submarginal land the
ory.
“South Carolina has only 19,000,-
000 acres; here is between a third
and a half of the state to be taken
from cultivation as submarginal
and to be depopulated. Many of the
people will go to other states, caus
ing great loss of population to the
most of the state, counties, towns
and cities. Many of the people will
leave the land permanently and
many will go on the relief rolls. On
the theory of home building this is
destructive of this principle. The
average price, including timber, of
$5.50 per acre, much of it at $2.50
per acre, is very small.
“Rather I believe our states
should take the position of aiding
the farmers to terrace and mend
their eroded lands and to keep
their homes. F’ar better than for
so much area to pass from state
sovereignty to national and to go
off the present and future tax books
and control. Rural electrification
and good roads are just now com
ing to rural aid.
It will be hard to say where rural
electric lines shall go since many
areas are to become forests.
“A statute in Georgia prevents
the national government from ac
quiring lands for such forests—a
special permit is required from the
legislature for each proposed forest
area land. Otherwise it is entirely
arbritrary with the federal forest
division how much land shall be
embraced and where to create these
areas. Counties can be and ar(
being demolished, arbitrarily.
“Governor. Talmadge has an
nounced that he is opposed, on
principle, to their forest creations
in Georgia. . . . . ”
Beginning To Hurt
Greenville News, Mar. 25.
Several Southern communities
are beginning to protest against
loss of local taxes resulting from
acquisition of property by the fed
eral government and the conse
quent removal of this property
from local tax rolls. And, as the
Wkll Street Journal puts it, “the
public ownership chickens are com
ing home to roost.”
Atlanta wants Senator George to
do something about the , loss of
municipal revenues suffered by
reason of two large PWA housing
projects that are supplanting a
hundred or more pieces of property
that have been paying taxes.
Swain county, North Carolina,
thinks Congress ought to grant it
some return on a huge acreage
withdrawn from its tax rolls for a
public park. Hyde county in the
same state has suffered the loss of
taxes from 52,000 acres because
Uncle Sam wanted a refuge for
water fowl.
Six Tennessee Counties are be
coming excited because the gi
gantic TVA developments there are
taking from the tax books from
five to thirty-five per cent of the
total realty valuations. All these
counties are heavily bonded for
roads, bridges and other local im
provements. And they need every
tax dollar that has been coming in
to their treasuries.
The question naturally arises:
Will the federal government make
good these losses, or will the re
maining properties have to submit
to heavier levies because of these
tax-free government holdings?
— v
Local Better
Housing Program
To Be Launched
. Card Of Thanks
* *, •
We wish to thank each of you for
the many*'kindnesses shown us
during this Illness and at the death
of our dear mother and wife.
Mr. J. F. Langley,
And Family.
L. A. Moseley, Federal Field Rep
resentative of the Federal Housing
Administration, Washington, D.
C., with state headquarters at
Charleston, S. C., announced today
that Mr. J. O. Patterson has qeen
appointed as general chairman of
the Local Better Housing Program
for McCormick and. county to be
launched in the next few days.
Up to $2,000.00 may be borrowed
under the first phase of the Fed
eral Housing Program for repair
ing and remodeling all types of
town and county property at a rate
of interest not to exceed 5 per cent
discount per $100.00 borrowed, an
nually and this type of loan may
be repaid over a period up to 5
years.
Under the second phase of the
program, the long time insured
mortgage plan, up to 80 per cent
of an existing house or a proposed
house, may be borrowed and repaid
monthly over a period up to 2D
years at a rate of interest not to
exceed 5 1-2 per cent. Under this
plan a home may pe built, an ex
isting mortgage maty be refinanced
or a home may be purchased and,
the borrower will only have to es
tablish 20 per cent equity in the
property.
175 Attend County
Council Meeting
At Willington
The Spring Meeting of McCor
mick County Council of Farm
Women was held in the Willington
Presbyterian Church on April 20,
with one hundred and seventy-five
members and visitors present.
After registration, the meeting
was opened with assembly singing,
after which the Rev. A. F. Doty
conducted the devotional. Splendid
reports from the different commit
tees were read.
The main address of the morn
ing was given by Miss Clara
Cerveny of Winthrop College. Miss
Cerveny brought greetings from the
State Staff, and then using as her
subject/“The Development of the
Child through Play, from the
standpoint of Toys”, gave a very
interesting and helpful address.
The afternoon address was made
by Mrs. J. L. Williams, of Ninety-
Six, S. C., who is the State Presi
dent of the County Council of Farm
Women. Mrs. Williams gave a
splendid address, using as her sub
ject, “The Informed Rural Woman
and Her Job.” During the after
noon session, Mrs. Williams deliv
ered thirty-seven Council Members
Certificates for having completed
one-year Project Work in their
club. Seven diplomas were deliv
ered to members having completed
four years’ club work. Twelve clubs
received diplomas for having done
four years’ club work.
During the day, special music
was furnished by Mrs. C: W. Brock-
well of Plum Branch, Miss Louise
Bracknell of Plum Branch, Mr. and
Mrs. Virgil Dean of Willington, and
the Willington Chorus Club.
During the business session, Mrs.
Lewis C. Rich was elected first
vice-president, and Miss Susie Pat
terson, director. The time and
place committee reported that
Parksville had extended a very
cordial invitation to the Council
to meet with them in the Fall.
NOTICE
Beginning May 1st and continu
ing through the summer months
until September 1st, the undersign
ed merchants, of Plum Branch, will
close their places of business at 6
p. m., Saturdays excepted.
We will appreciate the co-opera
tion of our customers by doing
their shopping before 6 p. m.
J. L. BRACKNELL,
J. J. COLLIER,
W. M. FREELAND.
txi
Home Demonstration
Agent’s Schedule For
April 26th To May 2nd
Friday a. m., 4th and 5th grade
4-H Club, McCormick; Office, p. m
Saturday a. m., 4-H Club, Will
ington; Office, p. m.
Monday a. m., Conference with
Emergency Workers; Office, p. m. j
Tuesday a. m.. Office; Office, p.
m.
Wednesday a. m., McCormick Stb
and 9th 4-H Club; Plum Branch
H. D. C. p. m.
Thursday a. m., Office; Willing
ton H. D. C. p. m.
Dow tin H. D.
(Hub Meets
The EvjjwMn Heme Demonstra
tion Club held its regular monthly
meeting v/ith Miss Annie Chiles cn
April 2nd.
The meeting was called to order
by the president, Mrs. P. W. Roper,
who gave the Scripture reading;
prayer was made by Mrs. J. C. Dow-
tin, and the roll was called and
minutes of the last meeting were
read by the secretary, Miss Chiles.
“Steal Away” was sung in unison
by the club. Three new members,
Mrs. Buel Smith, Mrs. Mabiu
Gable and Mrs. Moss Ellenberg*
were welcomed into the club.
Miss Harvey gave an interesting
talk on children’s clothes made
from sacks and from left-overs;
she displayed some garments made
from such, which were both eco
nomical and attractive.
The hostess, assisted by Miss
Temple Reynolds, Mrs. J. C. Dowtin,
Lucretia Roper and Hallie Dowtin,
served a tempting salad course
and iced tea.
The next meeting will be with
Mrs. P. J. Dowtin.
txt
T. W. Morgan Made
Assistant To Director
CLEMSON, April 20.—Director D.
W. Watkins of the Extension Serv
ice announces the transfer of Trios.
W. Morgan from Aiken to Extension
Service headquarters at Clemson
College where he will serve as as
sistant to the director. The trans
fer takes effect immediately'.'
Mr. Morgan, who is a graduate of
Clemson College, has had varied
experiencer He taught vocational
agriculture two years in the Or
angeburg high school,. 1922 to 1924;
was then county agent in McCor
mick county until 1931 when he was
transferred to Aiken county where
he served as county agent until re
cently. Several months ago be
was appointed acting district agent
for the Aiken district in the ab
sence of District Agent A. H. Ward
who is on leave Of absence with tbe
FERA.
The position, of assistant director
is not to be filled at the present
time, according to Director Wat
kins’ announcement.
State Theatre
GREENWOOD, S. C.
PROGRAM WEEK
APRIL 25TH THRU MAY 2ND
Rev. Jackson To
Speak At Rehoboth
Next Sunday
J
The Rev. J. E. Jackson, a return
ed missionary from China, wil
speak at Rehoboth Church next
Sunday afternoon at 3:45 o’clock
The public is most cordially invitee’
to attend the service and hear Mr.
Jackson.
G. W. GURLEY,
Pastor.
Thursday, April 25, Last Day
Lilian Harvey and Tullio
Carminatti
in
•“LET’S LIVE TONIGHT”
Friday and Saturday
April 26th-27th
Lew Ayres, Claire Trevor,
Zazu Pitts and Jack Haley
in
“SPRING TONIC”
W. M. U. Meets
At Parksville
.. On April 27lh
The 3rd Division of the W. M. U„
Edgefield Association, will meet
with Parksville Baptist Church Sat
urday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock,
April 27th.
MRS. S. J. KING.
Monday and Tuesday
April 29th-30th
v- * - ' ■
Dick Powell and Gloria Stuart
.50 Beauty Contest Winners
and 300 Gorgeous Girls
All In
“GOLD DIGGERS OF 1935”
Wednesday and Thursday
May lst-2nd
ON THE STAGE
The Great Lester Presents His
“20TH CENTURY ARABIAN
NIGHTS REVUE”.
21 Eye-Filling Scenes
Featuring
' “The Mystic Maidens” e
Dancing-Singing-Comedy .
• ON THE SCREEN . •
Robert Montgomery and ,
Helen Hays
• in * ;
“Vanessa-Her Love-Story?’
ADMISSION: 10c and 25c