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Saturday, June 22, 2019

Editor Favors Setting Up Recorder's Court, Profitable City Water and Sewer, June 20, 1919

From the editorial page of The Franklin Times, Louisburg, N.C., June 20, 1919, A.F. Johnson, editor and manager.

A friend of the Recorder’s Court jumped us as being unfair the past week by saying that the Recorder’s Court of Nash County only cost $1,000 without saying this was practically offset in the saving of jail fees. These statements are taken from a letter from Mr. J.N. Sills, C.S.C., of Nash County. We did not intend to leave anything unsaid and especially from this communication we view the whole letter as a strong argument against the Recorder’s Court. If a County the size of Nash County can’t make a Recorder’s Court more than self-sustaining with a cost of only $1,000, how on earth can Franklin County hope to do so with a cost of approximately $4,000, remembering that Nash County being practically twice as large as Franklin it is only reasonable to expect it to have twice as much court work. Again we don’t believe the actual expenditure of Franklin County for expenses of prisoners held for trial will average $500 a year, for the past five years, even including the past 12 months when we had only two weeks of court when we should have had 10. Mr. Voter, this is your right. You should inform yourself and use common sense.

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The Town Commissioners of Louisburg are up against an exceedingly embarrassing conditions just at this time and every individual citizen should be especially careful of letting his momentary feelings be heard in expressions that will case the commissioners lot to be any heavier. The question of lights and water for Louisburg is a much more serious proposition right now than ever before. The plant has done bad and some change has got to be made. The Board feels it is their duty to do the best possible for the town but it also feels that it should at least show some respect for the wishes of the people. On account of the system of bookkeeping management, location of the plant, it has never shown up successful to the public. It has always taken the shape of a bugaboo or (words obscured) the average voter is more or less sore on the subject. Therefore a great desire to have the town sell out to the Carolina Light and Power co. is being expressed. This sounds too much like a parallel to Esau selling his birthright for a mess of pottage. At least it is a deal that should be handled slowly and carefully. Every means of production economically under the town’s management should first be considered. And then an actual cost of street lighting power for water pumping and other expenses the town would have to pay should they sell should be ascertained and figured. One of Louisburg’s most successful citizens stated to us this we he would not want any better business than to have a franchise to furnish light for Louisburg. It is a profitable for an individual why shouldn’t it be profitable for the Town? We are reproducing a letter elsewhere in this issue from the Mayor Southport, N.C., which shows that by changing their system the town saved about $700 a month. Louisburg can do the same thing. At least it is worth investigating. Therefore we should be more guarded in the expressions of our opinions until we have instituted an actual investigation that will substantiate our idea and then let’s take it to the Board and present our figures in a spirit of helping them to do the right thing for the town rather than to tell them what to do.

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