IN THIS ISSUE

•I*

FIXING FAIR UTILITY RATES-By R. O. SelfBEAUTY, CHARM AND EFFICIENCY

IN PINEHURST

NEW TAX SYSTEM BRINGS RESULTS INWAYNE COUNTY-By Charles Nash

CIVIL SERVICE FOR CHARLOHE POLICEAND FIREMEN-By C. C. Beasley

FORSYTH CLERK RE^ARRANGESRECORDSTO SAVE TIME, SPACE AND EXPENSE

PLANS TO RE-ORGANIZE BARASSOCIATION

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT FOR THERELIEF OF THE SUPREME COURT

By D. S. Gardner

TAKING THE GUESSWORK OUT OFPARDON AND PAROLE

By M. R. Alexander

RELATIVE COUNTY DEBT LOADSBy J. L. PEELER

MAGISTRATES FORMULATE PROGRAMand

NEWS AND RULINGS OF INTEREST TOPUBLIC OFFICIALS AND LAWYERS

POPULARGOVERNMENT

10c A COPY MAY, 1936

The

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CHARLOTTE. N. C.

County Record Books

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and commend it to all

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Chapel Hill, N. C

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FOR MENAND BOYS

FOR EVERYSEASON

POPULAR GOVERNMENTVOLUME 3NUMBER 8 PUBLISHED MONTHLV BY THE INSTITUTE OF GOVERNMENT

MAY1936

Fixing Fair Utility Rates"Electric rates slashed 20%," a

bold headline almost hits you in theeye, or "Telephone tolls orderedcut." The consumer, struggling ina day of talk of fabulous utilityprofits and advancing prices tomake both ends meet, reads andbeams ; the stockholder, reelingfrom the blows of the depressionand hopeful of making up for losttime and profits, only groans. Thenewspaper headlines speak a lan-guage that each alike understands.But how many of them take thetrouble to look beyond the result tothe numerous factors which deter-mine rates, the various and oftenconflicting interests which are in-volved, and the knotty problem ofbalancing the welfare of investor,

consumer, community, and generalpublic which rate regulation givesCommission and Court? Let's takea look behind the scenes at some ofthe chief broad principles; it i-eally

The conclusion in May, 1936,after a 16-months legal fight,

of the Southern Bell Telephoneand Telegraph case, makes thisdiscussion of the general prin-

ciples involved in utility valua-

tion and rate making particu-larly timely. It is estimated

that the compromise ratesagreed upon by the TelephoneCompany and the Utilities Com-mission will save 78,000 NorthCarolina customers around$250,000 annually. Nor doesthe adjustment of rates neces--sarily mean a loss to the com-pany; at least two North Caro-lina utilities ordered to reduce

rates in 1935 reported increased

consumption, revenue, and prof-its as a result of the lower

charges.

By R. O. SELFSecretary, State Utilities Commission

... as told to M. R. Alexanderof the StaFf oF the Institute of Government

isn't half so complicated as itsounds, and it is one of the chiefsubjects of great public importancetoday, this determining clearly ofthe true relationship between thepublic utility and the community itserves.

The authority for the regulationof Public Utilities lies in the fact

(1) that they may require rights ofeminent domain for the develop-ment of natural resources, rights ofway over, or the acquisition of pri-vate property; (2) that they mayrequire franchise rights for opera-tion without competition, and (3)that their products or services enterso fully into the public life that the

mutuality of interest is inseparable.The reason for regulation followsthat, having acquired certain mo-nopolistic rights and privileges, theutilities owe a duty to the publicwhich includes adequate and properservice and reasonable rates.

"A Reasonable Rate—"The determination of a "reason-

able rate," of course, depends, first,upon the percentage of income al-lowed on the investment and, sec-ondly, on the valuation of the pi'op-erty of the utility. The former, ofcourse, may be definitely and ai'bi-trarily set according to prevailingopinion and investment returns, butthe regulatory commissions are stilllaboring after 40 years for a simplerule to fix a fair valuation by whichto measure reasonable rates to theconsumer and fair compensation tothe utility and stockholder.One of the difficulties lies in the

fact that we have one valuation for

this purpose and another for that.Thus, you may value your cornerlot at $7,500 to the tax lister and at$10,000 to a prospective purchaser.Just so, in the utility field there arevaluations to fix a price or basis for

(1) taxes, (2) purchase or sale, (3)issue of securities, and (4) ratebase, and each may follow a differ-ent method to a different result.Valuations for taxation purposesare usually made only in sufficientdetail to fulfill the requirements ofthe law. The next two must be morecomprehensive, and a valuation tofix a rate base must be made in theminutest detail of all. To the publicthis is the most important of allvaluations and is, therefore, subject-ed to a thorough analysis by regu-latory bodies.—"And a Fair Return"The Supreme Court of the United

States has held that the investor isentitled to a "fair return on the rea-sonable value of the property at thetime it /.s being used for the public."As the last clause implies, the con-trolling factor is not the historic

cost or estimated original cost

(which are practically obsolete to-

POPULAR GOVER\ME\T, the journal of The Institute of Government, is published monthly at Chapel Hill, N. C. Editorial, business and advertisingaddress: Box 352, Chapel Hill, N. C. Subscriptions, per year: $1.00. Single copies, 10 cents eacli. Advertising rates will be furnished on request. Editor,

Albert Coates ; Associate Editors, Henry Brandls, Jr., Dillard Gardner, T. N. Grice, M. R. Alexander, and H. W. McGalliard. M.inaging Editor andBusiness Manager, M. R. .'Mejcander. Address all communications to Box 352, Chapel Hill, N. C. Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office atChapel Hill, N. C. Copyright 1935 by The Institute of Government. All riffhts reserved.

Page Two POPULAR GOVERNMENT May, 1936

day) but the cost of reproduction.

The yardstick is not the dollar butwhat the dollar will buy, as anyonecan vouch for who recalls the wayin which prices have changed andthe value of the dollar has fluctuated

over a period of years. A plantwhich cost $1,000,000 in 1932 mightcost $2,000,000 today, shrinking a

6% return on the 1932 figure to 3^

May, 1936 POPULAR GOVERNMENT Page Three

Eiitrancr in flic faiiiOHS Crnnliiiii Hotelin Pivehionf.

PATCH of gi'een and charm onwinter's map, Pinehurst is known

far and wide as one of the State'sshow places and the nation's mostpopular winter resorts, but it is noless distinctive for its unique gov-ernmental organization. A commu-nity with a permanent populationof 600 rising to 3,500 at the peakof the season, having a propertyvaluation in excess of $3,000,000,

Pinehurst provides streets, side-walks, sewers, parks, lights, water,

police and fire protection, and othergovernmental services not cus-tomarily expected outside a city.

Yet Pinehurst remains a village,having stoutly resisted every sug-gestion to incorporate as a munici-

pality; its affairs remain in chargeof a village council, and measuredcharges for governmental services,provided for in the property deeds,take the place of taxes.

The charges are low, too, as low,in fact, as the service is high or theorganization unique. But to under-stand the present, it is necessary to

know something of the backg) -^undout of which this spot of charm andbeauty flowered, of its founder, andof its development. It is necessary togo back to a certain spring day in1895, when James W. Tufts of Bos-ton, with a heritage of village or-ganization to his back, purchasedapproximately 6,000 acres of land

in Moore County and drove a statuein the ground which was to be thecenter of the town he planned tomake.

This was to be, in his words, "aplace for men and women to fleefrom cold, weariness or worry, lospend the time by resting in the in-vigorating air and sunshine, or topass the time with outdoor activity."

The difference between the develop-ment of Pinehurst and most resorts

Beauty, Charm

and Efficiency

in Pinehurst

has been that in others the principalpurpose is frequently the sale ofreal estate. In this case, however,Mr. Tufts' main principle seems tohave been the ideal quoted above;apparently he wanted to remain theowner of the land, and not until1911 was there a real estate agentin the community. The demand forthe purchase of land grew, however,and the first plot was sold in 1905.At present there are about 300 prop-erty owners, including residencesand stores.

During the early development ofPinehurst, Mr. Tufts maintained hisown water and sewer system, a lightand power plant, and police force ofone. This man was paid by Mr.Tufts but was also deputized forcounty duty.

It was felt that the propertyowner should pay a certain percent-age of the cost of utility main-tenance and services which areborne by the municipality in othercommunities. In the first deeds afixed amount was set; at presentthe deed reads, "the party covenants

and agrees to pay. annually, a sumnot to exceed one percent of the tax-able value of the premises as fixedfrom time to time by the constitutedauthorities for County and Statetaxation, for the maintenance andcare of the roads and sidewalks, fireprotection, police and such other ex-penses as would be properly charge-able to a municipality until suchtime as said Pinehurst shall l)ecomea regularly incorporated village,town or city." Acting in an advisorycapacity in the assessment are tenfreeholders who compose a villagecouncil.

There are many restrictions inthe property deed: the party mustconform to restrictions on what thebuilding is to be used for, must not"erect or maintain any barn, stable,store, shop, factory, hennery, pig-

Pinehitist'n niodern tvafcr }vnrkn (nid fil-tration plant.

Court and commnniti) meetings are heldin the handsome Comnuiniiy Buildiny,ivhieh also houses the poliec and fire de-partments.

gery, sanitarium, public garage,boarding house ... or any mercan-tile business of any description."The purpose behind these definiterestrictions is to retain a strictlyresidential atmosphere.

The third generation of the Tuftsfamily is now at the head of thePinehurst organization. Severaltimes since the sale of property wasstarted here, the Tufts' have feltthe urge to incorporate the town.However, the winter residents, whoown the majority of the property inactual value, have strongly opposedthe idea. Their objection lies in thefact that they want a word in thegovernment, and not being resi-dents and voters of North Carolina,they would not be entitled to a vote.

Since Pinehurst started, no spe-cial legislation, which would seeminevitable in a resort like Pinehurst,

has ever been necessary. Countylaws, in force commonly in all towns

Page Four POPULAR GOVERNMENT May, 1936

ill Moove County, have been suitableto Pinehurst.

A recent study lias been made ofthe comparative cost of owningproperty in seven different winterresorts fundamentally similar toPinehurst. This showed that,whereas the light rate in Pinehurstis higher than the rate in all buttwo of the other resorts studied, thecharge for governmental services isso much lower in Pinehurst thatproperty owners in Pinehurst payless in the way of taxes and chargesfor water and light than any other

HERE AND THERE

of the resorts listed. The figuresgiven below are based on a study ofreal estate having an actual valueof $20,000, occupied for six monthsduring the winter and using 10,000cubic feet of water, 100 kwh. oflight and 350 kwh. of power permonth

:

Place Tax Water Electric TotalPinehui-.-^t, $262 $38.00 $126.00 $426.00Resort A 546 25.00 162.00 733.00Resort B 302 35.50 142.00 479.50Resort C 326 34.50 120.00 480.50Resort D 560 24.00 79.50 663.50Resort E 430 23.00 75.60 528.60Resort F 468 34.00 61.50 563..50Resort G 548 54.00 03.90 695.90

"With Progressive Officials

The Florida Association of TaxAssessors has passed a resolution to

seek cooperation with assessors in

other states in exchanging informa-tion about intangible personal prop-erty of wealthy nomadic Americans.They offer to furnish taxing officialsany "reasonable information" aboutFloridians who seek exemptions byclaiming Florida citizenship. Alongthe same line is Detroit's action insending a member of the assessor'sstaff to Washington to study recordsof the Securities and ExchangeCommission for information on thestock holdings of Detroit corpora-

tions and wealthy individuals.;!: :1; *

An amendment to the Detroittraffic ordinance permits police to

"ticket" illegally parked cars in theabsence of their owners, saving a

great deal of time and permittingone policeman to handle the parkingfor a much larger area. A questionhas been raised as to the constitu-tionality of the new practice, andplans are being made to bring a testcase.

:ii * *

Whitesboro, Texas, invests thecity's cash surplus in United StatesGovernment "baby bonds" ratherthan to allow it to lie idle on depositin banks.

:;: * *

Traffic can be controlled and acci-dents minimized, is the assertion of

officials of Palo Alto, Cal., which hasjust been awarded first place in astate-wide safety contest, and the

way to do it is to clamp down onspeeders and eliminate "tag-fixing."The city's record, before and after"clamping down," would seem tospeak for itself: 1933—four trafficdeaths, 22 serious injuries, and1,075 arrests for speeding: 1935

—

one death, three serious injuries,and 5,219 arrests for speeding.

The State of Texas has, by con-stitutional amendment, abolishedthe fee system as a method of com-pensation for all district officers inthe State and for all county officersin counties with 20,000 or more pop-ulation. In counties with smallerpopulations the governing organ ofthe county, the commissioners'court, is given the power to deter-mine whether county officials will becompensated on a fee or salarybasis.

New York City has declared waron false alarms with their attendantdanger and waste of money. Offi-cials have stamped this form ofmoral pervert as a "dangerouscriminal," and placards have beenput up throughout the city, includ-ing each of the 5,000 fire alarmboxes, bearing the warning that thepunishment is a fine of up to $500and a jail sentence of up to one year.

* ;|: :!<

It is not likely that the officials of

Hamtramck will overspend or exceedtheir budget allotments. A charteramendment, approved recently,makes the official personally respon-

sible for such overdrafts, and pro-vides that he may be removed fromofhce by action of any citizen.

^' t- ^

"Driver's license restored on con-dition Defendant shall install aspeed governor which will preventhis car from running faster than40 miles an hour." The order of theNew Jersey motor vehicle commis-sioner was promptly accepted, andwhat is believed to be the first in-stance of mandatory installation ofa governor on the car of a chronicspeeder was written into the books.There is no law covering the situa-tion, but the driver having agreedto the installation the issue is notexpected to come 'before the courts.All of which may suggest to thecourts a new use for the old condi-tional sentence device—and perhapsa more effective means for curbingspeed and the accidents it causes.

* * *

A small Texas city cares, to someextent, for its own unemployed byproviding a small area of land forgardening. The unemployed aregiven an opportunity to work thisland and thus provide for the pro-duction, in part, of their own food.The same city also works with thefederal farm bureau in the rehabili-tation of farms. Many families mi-grating into the city from farmshave been returned to their homesthrough this means.

* * :1:

A new quarterly tax collection planhas been put into operation in Nor-folk for 1936, calling for four equal

payments on March 31, June 30,September 30, and December 5. Ifany installment is not paid on thedue date, a 4^r flat penalty is addedto the amount for that quarter and6% interest per annum chargedthereafter until that quarter is paid.

Failure to pay one installment in noway affects payments for subse-quent quarters; each installment

stands on its own bottom. The newplan is expected not only to assist

the taxpayer and decrease tax de-linquency but also to enable the City

to operate without current borrow-

ing in anticipation of taxes.

Kentucky is to have a state labo-ratory of criminal identification andstatistics as a result of legislation

passed by the Legislature this term.

May, 1936 POPULAR GOVERNMENT Page Five

New Tax System Brings Results in Wayne CountyUnder our former system, the

tax scroll was made up and kept inthe County Auditor's office, andready-made receipts for the taxesdue by the 15,000 taxpayers of theCounty were prepared from thescroll and handed to the tax collec-tor. These receipts showed only thetaxpayer's name, the total valuationof his property, and the total taxesdue. Such a system is worl^ableenough in the case of taxpayers whopromptly pay their whole bill atone time. But suppose a taxpayerwith several pieces of propertyraises a question about the correct-

ness of the total valuation or wantsto make a partial payment and re-lease a particular tract from the taxlien ? Or suppose a lawyer checkinga title inquires if the taxes havebeen paid on a certain lot? Quite

obviously, the old system providedno means to secure the informationwithout going back to and makinga tedious check of the tax abstract

or scroll in another ofiice. More-over, the old system failed to pro-

vide the auditor an adequate system

By CHARLES NASHAssistant Tax Collector

of control or check over the tax col-lector or the tax collector over hisdeputies.

"All on One Sheet—"Under our new system we have a

ledger sheet for each taxpayer, set-ting out on one card, his name, race,age, and occupation, value of per-sonal property listed, and a sepa-rate description and valuation ofeach parcel of real property, andcalculating the amount of his gen-eral county tax and of his school(in two city districts), poll, and dogtax, if any. This information pro-vides us with a ready description ofthe property and tax items of eachtaxpayer, and eliminates the needof going back to the abstracts inanother office to straighten out pay-ments made on a specific parcel.

I understand that this problemhas been met in many places byshowing each parcel of realty sepa-

-Anl-.\o 1332 'AME Kirdllng-er. .Vre. R. S. I JuMfl )

RACE White AGE

OCCUPATION'Goldaboro Xownsliiii. Conmv ot Waym

REAL ESTATE OV/NEODESCRIPTION OF PROPEHT-

NO. LOTS CATION AND DESCmPTION

1 1+19 S. Front St. 33332 5O8-5IO E. Chestnut St. ^1001 K.& L. Edmundson Kill 233

l\.ljl V..IUI- l\T. Pr.,|.. S

V;,lu.- uf St,

Total V.iluo All U.ul Estalf ^ 7,666

Tol^l V.ilu. \1I I'r.,[..rlv 7.666

Il.n.r.il C..KI1IV l.i-v

Al li'N lU I.W

76.66

Schuol Tax .>. 19.16Poll 1 ri> 5;

l),.t.- n.x ?

T.-tal Value Real Em.hc - 7666 rOTAI,T.W j^.^sg_

OLD BAU^NCC OiTC MEMO FOLIO CHARGES TOTAL BALANCE

3 0.09 5.8 2 wc; 2S PP 7 7 3

Payment to apply on 1*19 Front Street1 1 -. ^ _

6 5.8 2 "i'sc 823 it-Balance releasing l^lj Front Street, By l.'rs . R. S. :;irdllncer

5 4.1 6 :--' 9 " 2 1 1 1 , 5 1.00-

>!07 9 2 111 .2 5 —

Releasing 101 4 5IO E. Chestnut Street, By Crs . Nlrdlinger

6 5.8 2 *

5 4.1 6 It

2.9 1 *

New taxpayers' ledger sheet worked out by Mr. Nash, featuring description (didvaluation of each item of property, and showing the method for crediting partial paij-vients and releasing particular parcels from the tax lien.

rately on the tax scroll, and in someplaces, as Guilford and Mecklenburgcounties, by describing each parcelseparately on the receipt.

We use blank receipts made upin triplicate. The original goes tothe taxpayer, the second copies areturned over to the County Auditorwith each day's bank deposits, andthe third remains bound in thebook. The receipt books are kept bythe Auditor, and only two or threeare turned over to the Tax Collectorat a time, making it an easy matterfor the Auditor to check the receiptsturned over to him against thoseleft in the Tax Collector's book, andgiving him a well-nigh infalliblecheck.

I am told that one of the reasonsthat other counties favor the use ofpredetermined receipts is that onecopy may be used for a notice. How-ever, we have found blank receipts,with a postal card notice, to be moresatisfactory. We use for this pur-pose a printed form card, whichmay be mailed for Ic, and whichtakes no more time to prepare thana copy of the receipt, as it requiresonly addressing and insertion of thetotal taxes due.

No More After-ListsOur new system completely elimi-

nates the after-list for items whichthe taxpayer lists or which the TaxSupervisor discovers and places onthe 'books after the scroll and prede-termined receipts are completed.This had always been a source oftrouble and worry in this county,requiring an extra check of theafter-list book to make sure thetaxes of a particular taxpayer or aparticular piece of property werepaid, although the number of namesand parcels after-listed was rela-tively small. Now when there is anafter-list charge, the ledger sheet

(if a new account) is placed in itsproper place in the ledger and giventhe proper number indicating thatit is an after-list. If the after-listcharge is to an account already inthe ledger, a typewritten notation is

made exi^laining just what thecharge covers. In either event, theseparate checking of an after-list is

(Coittinued )i page eif/ht)

Page Six POPULAR GOVERNMENT May, 1936

Notes from the Cities and Counties

Spring- elean-ups, tax listing,

street and highway improvements,refinancing arrangements, andbuilding- programs shared the topspot on the North Carolina localgovernmental calendar, as spring-

burst into bloom, with special school

elections and preparations for thebigger contest to follow—the Juneprimary. Anti- rabies vaccination,

street and highway safety efforts,and drives on slot machines wereother important items on the broadand many-sided program for TarHeel officials.

The special tax elections held dur-ing the month resulted in a cleansweep for the school forces. Con-cord. Reidsville, and Lenoir joinedRaleigh among the units voting sup-plements this year, and the holdingof elections in several other units

received the approval of the School

Commission. Meanwhile prepara-tions for the State-wide primarymoved forward with the opening ofregistration books on May 9. andthe political pot, simmering- for

some time, began to boil with allindications pointing to one of the

most interesting gubernatorial con-tests in years.

Winston-Salem aldermen have

met the taxi traffic problem bythrowing open the officially desig-nated zones to each company alike,without granting exclusive parkingrights or spaces to any. Officials

feel that this best provides for the

convenience of the portion of the

public which patronizes taxis, avoidsthe risk of charges of discrimina-

tion, and least aggravates the traf-fic congestion problem.

Beaufort County, in cooperation

with the W.P.A., is beginning theerection of an agricultural building,which will provide offices for theCounty and Home DemonstrationAgents, the American Legion, andCounty officials who have heretoforeoccupied rented offices, and whichwill house the Curb Market. Thelatter has developed into an impor-

tant institution, of substantial bene-

fit to the town people as well as tothe country people having produce

to sell. Other counties going aheadwith plans for agricultural build-ings under the W.P.A. include Cum-berland, Johnston, Lee. Robeson.Union, and Wilkes. — Junius D.Grimes, County Attorney.

^ :; :;

After two years of negotiationsofficials of Henderson County haveworked out the details of arefinancing plan with the LocalGovernment Commission which iscalculated to put the resort Countyback "in the black" and enable it tomeet all obligations. If approved bythe bondholders, the County wouldrefinance its bonded debt of $2,800,-000 over a period of 30 years, withinterest scaled down to 2'^c . risingto 4% over a period of 16 years,and then i-everting to the originalcontract rate of 5io9f. Back inter-est, up to July 1, 1936. would bepaid at l'^ i^c with funds owing theCounty for highway advances to theState. It is estimated that the plan

would save the County $1,300,000 ininterest over the life of the contract.

^ ^ ^

Davidson County's Court House,one of the South's most admiredarchitectural structures, graces the

pages of the current issue of Hol-knid's magazine. The picture, whichappears in a collection of historicalbuildings of the South, also showsthe Confederate monument andgives full display to the Corinthian

design.—P. V. Critcher, County At-torney.

H: :•: *

Under the supervision of GeorgeB. Lay. of the U. S. Biological Sur-

vey. Roanoke Rapids recently com-pleted its first rat eradication cam-paign. Every home and businessestablishment in the city was treat-ed with Red Squill bait, and millareas without the city were alsogiven a liberal distribution. Ap-proximately 1,000 pounds of baitwere put out by work crews of theCity, while the local Merchants As-sociation footed the bill for foodmaterials and rat poison.—MissRuby Wood, City Clerk.

Charlotte officials are staging anAuto Safety Drive aimed principally

at the inspection and correction ofdefective brakes. The move was ini-tiated by City Manager J. B. Mar-shall and Safety Inspector B. At-wood Skinner by calling in and en-listing the assistance of the garage-men of the city. The inspection willbe entirely voluntary, but a wideappeal will be made to motorists torealize their responsibility and co-operate, and windshield stickers willbe used to designate drivers whohave fulfilled their duty. The cam-paign may be extended later, it wassaid, to include other auto safety de-vices.

Non-profit electric membershipcorporations are being formed inWilson and Pitt counties to expediteapplications for federal Rural Elec-trification loans to build power lines.The areas would be served by mu-nicipal plants of Wilson and Green-ville, which have already applied forloans for the same purposes. TheWilson plant set a new productionrecord recently, generating 753,740kilowatt hours during April.

=i= H^ *

The first year's experience with aCounty Criminal Court found Burkeofficials well pleased with results.The extra court, it was stated, notonly relieved congestion on the Su-perior Court docket and saved thecounty many hundreds of dollars byeliminating jury trials in caseswhich would otherwise have gone tothat tribunal, but operated at a netprofit of $3,004.30. Total revenuefor the period was $13,096.58, totalexpenses $10,092.18, total criminalcases tried 950. S. J. Ervin. Jr., isJudge and Gordon Boger Solicitor.

* * ^

Tarboro's new water plant wascompleted, formally accepted, andput into operation last month, alongwith the new Hickory filter plantand the Oxford sewerage disposalplant, to take the lead among thepublic improvements completed inthe State so far this spring. TheTarboro plant is the largest of thethree projects, having been builtwith P.W.A. funds at a total cost of$280,000, and being equipped tosupply 1,500,000 gallons of water aday. Two other municipalities soonto have new water works are Con-cord and Mount Pleasant, the workon these two projects being rapidlypushed to completion.

May, 1936 POPULAR GOVERNMENT Page Seven

Chart showing organiza-tion of Charlotte Police De-jiartment under neie CivilService set-up.

Radio OpfOATm

^ir«

Page Eight POPULAR GOVERNMENT May, 1936

out of their duties, after which timethere is a round table discussion ofthe problems which have come be-fore them, with each member bene-fitting from the experience and prob-lems of his fellow officers. Therehas also been prepared a hand-bookof rules and regulations for mem-bers of the Police Department,which rules are stated in plain andsimple language, and which each of-ficer is required to study and under-stand. From time to time, examin-nations are held, at which the of-ficers are questioned as to their

knowledge of the rules and regula-tions, and the promotion of officersis largely dependent upon, not only

the efficiency with which they dis-patch their daily duties, but also

upon their standing in these exam-inations.

The present Board has endeav-ored to raise the standards of the

department under its jurisdiction,by means of special instruction onthe technical side of Police adminis-

tration; also, it has established pe-

riodic physical examinations, andrequires, within reasonable limit,

that the applicants for positions in

either department be of a uniform

height, weight and age. It requiresapplicants to successfully pass a

mental examination, which exam-ination is prepared by three disin-

terested citizens, and the officers'grade, in this initial examination, is

kept along with the results of other

examinations, and this factor also isconsidered when promotions arebeing made.

Although the present Board hasbeen in office but a short time, wefeel that some of our efforts are al-ready bearing fruit, and we believethat the continuation of the princi-

ples which we have endeavored tooutline in this article, will tend for

a betterment of the departmentsunder our control, which are so im-portant in the life of any city.

We wish to take this opportunityto express our appreciation of thecooperation of Chief E. D. Pittmanof the Police Department; ChiefHendrix Palmer of the Fire Depart-ment, and City Manager J. B. Mar-shall, without whose cooperationand untiring efforts our ideas andplans would have been withoutwhatever success they may nowhave had.

Charlotte's re-organized Civil Service CoDiuussion i.t credited by citij employees,officials, and citizens alike as having done an excellent job. Left to right: 11'. \V. Kale,0. W. Patterson, and C. C. Beasley, Chairman.

WAYNE'S NEW TAX SYSTEM(Continued from page five)

eliminated, saving both time anderrors.

In the case of an allowance to anaccount a notation is made on theaccount giving in detail just whysame was made.When the time comes to advertise

unpaid taxes, the information isavailable without referring to thetax abstract to ascertain the descrip-

tion of the property, thereby savingtime and expense. After the sale isheld, the account will be stamped"Land Sale" giving the date ofsame. Should the taxes remain un-paid and a tax foreclosure suit bebrought, the number of the tax suitand the court costs will be shownon the account, giving a completerecord on one sheet of all taxes andpenalties against all property of the

taxpayer for the year, and elimi-nating a great deal of trouble anduncertainty in the future.

Provides Instant Check

The ledger sheets for our 15,000taxpayers are filed by townships in

one cabinet of five drawers. The ac-counts for each of the 12 townships

are numbered beginning with 1. Wehave a control sheet for each town-

ship and a grand control sheet forthe county. Each day's collectionsare posted first to the individual ac-

count and the total to the controlaccount, providing a daily, in fact,

an instant check on our collections

and financial position, and permit-ting us to tell exactly where westand at all times. Other tax offi-

cials secure the same result by keep-ing a running total of their reportsto the Auditor, but we figure thatour system reduces the work andthe chances of error to the mini-mum.Someone has raised the question

as to whether single ledger sheetscould not be easily mislaid or re-moved as compared with largebound records or scrolls. The possi-bility is slight, as no one outside theoffice is allowed in the ledger sheets.If this should happen, however, thesheets could be duplicated from thetax scroll, which is kept in the Audi-tor's office as before, and the recordof any payments secured from thereceipts retained in the Tax Collec-tor's book.

As will be gathered from theforegoing, the new system makesour task of searching the recordsfor current taxes on behalf of law-yers checking titles vastly simpler,easier, and quicker. This work inour County has always been done bythe tax force, although I under-stand that some of the counties haveworked out a system whereby thelawyers may do their own searchingfor unpaid taxes by tracing theproperty through the scrolls for thevarious years. The working out ofa similar method remains a problemwith us for the future; likewise theperfection of a system for the con-solidation of delinquent taxes fromyear to year so as still further toconsolidate our records and reducethe number of places to look insearching for taxes.

May, 1936 POPULAR GOVERNMENT Page Nine

Forsyth Clerk Rearranges Records

to Save Time^ Space and ExpenseUNLESS his county is one of the

fortunate few which eitherhave a new court house or whichmade adequate provision for futureexpansion, every official who hasanything to do with the recordingof deeds, wills, judgments, and thehost of other papers required bylaw, sooner or later runs directlyinto the problem of additional vaultand storage space. For it is esti-mated that these records will in theaverage county double in size every20 years. If additional quartersmay be provided for the office ofClerk of Superior Court or Registerof Deeds by adding a new wing,cutting off a part of another officeor closing up a corridor, well andgood. But what of the great num-ber of counties with court houseswithout a foot of space for expan-sion and without funds for addi-tions?

"Make one record book and onefile do the job of two," is the adviceof W. E. ("Bill") Church, and thehustling, young Forsyth Clerk ofCourt, by rearranging forms, con-solidating records, and generallyre-organizing the traditional sys-tem, not only for the present butgoing back over a period of years,is doing exactly that.

Eliminating Waste Space

Take the Docket, for instance, inwhich the Criminal Judgments ofSuperior Court are recorded. TheCounty formerly used the small sizerecord book (10ioxl6 ins.), al-though its steel shelf frames weremade to hold the large type (11^2 x18). Mr. Church has gained 11,700square inches or approximately 70pages to each 300-page book by thischange alone, yet the books are nothicker and the shelves therefortake up no more room. A similarsaving has been accomplished by re-vising the rulings on the pages toeliminate waste space and unneces-sary margins. In some of the oldbooks a whole column was left forthe number of the judgment, andthe width of the margins and wast-ed columns was as much as fourinches. The number of the judgment

is now put at the top, taking oneline instead of a column, and themargins are held to one and a halfinch. Result: A Criminal Docketnow lasts Forsyth a year instead ofsix months.

Space Saver No. 2 was the con-solidation of County Court civiljudgments, Superior Court civiljudgments, liens, transcripts, andlis pendens. Up until the re-organ-ization these five types of recordswere filed separately by terms ofcourt with the result that many ofthe drawers were only partiallyfilled. They have now been consoli-dated into two files numerically,criminal and civil (for both courts),eliminating the waste space, andeach paper has been given a per-manent number in the index so thatit may be located even more readilythan when filed by court term.New Indexes Also Time-SaversThe volume of mhcellaneovs pa-

pers in the Clerk's Office has beenconsolidated and re-arranged withthe same result, and the process isnow being repeated for estate pa-pers. The latter were scatteredthrough a number of files—as inven-tories, annual reports, final reports,inheritance tax certificates, etc.

—

up to as many as 15. They are nowbeing consolidated into one file witha permanent number for eachestate, conserving not only space

but also the time of the staff andproving a source of great conven-ience to attorneys and citizens hav-ing to look up records of estates.

Mr. Church has also gone backand compiled indexes for Partner-ships, Corporations, Foreclosure

Sales of Real Estate, and Miscella-neous Papers. These references, af-forded by few record offices in theState, are said to have proven in-valuable to members of the Bar aswell as to the office. The Miscella-neous Index deserves special men-tion. North Carolina Clerks haveexperienced much difficulty in filingand, more important, in locating thehundred and one miscellaneouspapers from pistol permits to Den-tist's certificates which the law re-

quires them to keep, but the prob-lem gives the Forsyth office no con-cern. With the aid of the new indexany such miscellaneous paper maybe produced at a minute's notice.Another service to attorneys foundin few counties was the annotationof the Civil Judgment Record withreferences to the Lunacy File, avoid-ing much grief for the title lawyerwho in the maze of records in theaverage Clerk's office, might other-wise let escape him the record ofsanity proceedings against any ofthe parties.

The revision, consolidation, andextra-indexing of the Forsyth rec-ords has been accomplished withoutadding to the regular staff of ninedeputies. This by taking advantageof free labor afi'orded by the W.P.A.and by the number of high and busi-ness school graduates desiring theexperience to fit them for places inlaw offices.

On the Financial SideAlthough the various improve-

ments were designed with a viewchiefly to conserving space and timeand pi'omoting public service andconvenience, some of them haveresulted in substantial financial sav-ings. Thus the new size recordbook with revised rulings costs only$2 more than the approximately $40which was the price of the old stylebook, yet it holds twice as much.

The Clerk's office uses so few ofsome record books, it is impossibleunder an annual budget to buy inquantity. However, Mr. Churchfound that he could use a plain,standard marginal ruling for sev-eral books, as the long form CivilJudgment Docket, the five MinuteDockets, and Orders and Decrees.The savings on the last order, sixbooks, was enough to pay for twoadditional books.

Mr. Church sticks to uniform sizesheets and forms with uniformpunching (5-post), permitting himto use different types of binders in-

terchangeably and so switch coverswith any changes in quality orprice. He has also dispensed withindex tabs, which cost $5 a set, onseveral books where there is noneed therefor, due to the fact that

everybody uses the cross-index.These include the Civil JudgmentDocket, Liens or Lis Pendens, andFiduciary Qualification Records.

Page Ten POPULAR GOVERNMENT May, 1936

Plans to Re-organize A. B. A.

Around State Bars Laid at Meet

"Madison wffs a smuU man, too."—Xcir-ton D. Baker in Convention Address.

THE structure of the AmericanBar Association would be de-cen-

tralized and re-organized with theleadership in the hands of the statebars, if plans formulated and dis-cussed at the first regional meetingof the Bar of the Fourth FederalJudicial Circuit, held in Richmondlast month, are carried out.

Under the proposal presented In-tall, white-haired, bespectacled

American Bar President William L.Ransom, the officers of the Associa-tion would be elected and its policiesdetermined, not by the relativelysmall group of members who attendthe annual meetings, but by a fixednumber of delegates selected byeach of the state bars, thus makingits leadership both local and repro-sentative.

Although the need for change mthe structure of the Association wasthe theme and, in fact, the occasionfor the gathering of 600 attorneysfrom the Carolinas, Maryland, and

the \'irginias, a keynote as fre-

ciuently struck in the addresses anddiscussions was the opposition tosuggestions of change in the UnitedStates Constitution. It ran like a

thread through the whole meeting

;

scarcely a speaker failed to mentionit in one way or another, and dimin-utive ex-War Secretary Newton D.Baker received prolonged applausewhen he declared in the Conventionaddress on ^Madison that "before v;echange the Constitution we shouldunderstand its very soul by learningof the men who wrote it, theirknowledge and opportunities of ob-

OFFICIAL STATE BARNEWS AND VIEWS

Editorial Co)n)»itfec: Julius C.

Smith, President, Henry M. Lon-don, Secretary : Charles A. Hines,

Councillor, and Dillard S. Gardnerof the stafi:' of The Institute ofGo\'ernment.

servation, their powers and capaci-ties, the problems they faced andforesaw, and the conclusions theyreached."

"Madison, like myself, was asmall man—and correspondinglydignified," Baker solemnly observedin one of many humorous asides.

Of particular interest to theyounger lawyers were the discus-sions of the Junior Bar Conferenceby the President and Secretary ofthis Section of the Association. This

section has increased from 300 to3,000 members since its organiza-tion in 1934. Its general programseeks to interest the younger law-yers (under 36) in bar activities intheir communities and states; itsspecific program at present focusesupon bar co-ordination and thedrafting of proposed legislation byexperts. Typical recent activities of

stronger groups include preventionof ambulance chasing and ex^Dosureof election frauds in Memphis; themerging of the Association and theState Bar in Louisiana ; revision ofthe probate law in Virginia, and the

control of publicity at criminal trialsin New Jersey.

Senior Circuit Judge John J. Par-ker, who headed the delegation of43 prominent attorneys from NorthCarolina, laid the background fordiscussion of the proposed new or-ganization in his address of wel-

come. The tendency toward special-ization on the part of lawyers inrecent years has caused the Ameri-can Bar Association to break upinto groups of specialists, he ob-served in welcoming the regionalmeetings as off'ering to lawyers in

a wide area an opportunity to meettogether and discuss general prob-lems common to all.The logical unit of bar organiza-

tion is the State, President Ransomdeclared in explaining the reasons

for the ])roposed change. Lawyersare ofiicers of the .-state courts, not

Tar Heel Bar OfficialsJ. M. Brought on (left) and Julius C.

Smith (right) head the North CarolinaBar Association and State Bar, respec-tively, while Henry .1/. London (center).serves both organizations as Secretary.

I. M. Bailey (third from left) is a formerPresident of the State Bar.

May, 1936 POPULAR GOVERNMENT Page Eleven

"Changes in s-tatHtory law bitt nof infitndawental constitutional principles."—North Carolina's John J. Parker.

the federal courts ; there can never

'be an all-inclusive national organ-

ization of lawyers. The national or-ganization must remain a voluntaryorganization, selective in member-ship, and can function most effec-tively as the unifying agency of the

state bar organizations, responsible

to them.

There are 110.000 lawyers in the

national, .state, and local organiza-

tions, it was pointed out, but only28,000 belong to the national asso-

ciation, and of these only 10 per

cent attend the A. B. A. annual

meetings and direct the policies of

the organization. The proposedplan, he emphasized, is an effort to

make the national organization morerepresentative of the 175,000 law-

yers in the country, to decentralize

the oi-ganization, and to place its

leadership in the hands of the state

bars.

Although the action of the A.B.A.

would not bind the state organiza-

tions, he explained, it would offerthe advantages of a permanent bodycontinuously studying the national

problems of the bar, and would pro-vide an agency for keeping beforethe lawyers the traditions, obliga-

tions, and opportunities of the pro-fession.

Law Lists and

DirectoriesRecently the Supreme Court of

Oklahoma amended one of the Rulesof Professional Conduct governinglawyers of that state so as to definereputable law directories and lists,prohibit listings in other lists anddescribe what information may begiven in such listings. The Courtalso ordered that the Governors ofthe State Bar be empowered to de-termine what publications are suchreputable law directories and lists.The Bar Governors immediatelydrew up standards and regulationsto aid them in the task. To datethey have approved only one, astandard and well-known directory,and only two law lists.

Earlier, under similar rules andproceedings the Missouri Advisory

Committee also approved two ofthese three lists and directories and

added two others to their approvedlist. Missouri went even further.The Attorney-General of the Statewith the aid of several bar organiza-

tions has instituted a number ofsuits prosecuting collection agencies

for the unauthorized practice of

law. In one of these cases—theDudley case—the special commis-sioner named to hear the case hasfiled his report holding that the re-

spondent agency had been engaged

in practicing law. His report shows

that he was impressed with the find-ing that more than 10 7

Page Twelve POPULAR GOVERNMENT May, 1936

employees of state hospit-als for in-sane, (8) active firemen, (9) funeral

directors and embalmers, (10)printers and linotype operators,

(11) g-rist millers, ("12) U. S. rail-

way postal clerks and R. F. D. car-riers, (13) locomotive engineers,

brakemen, and conductors, (14)active members of the NationalGuard, (15) contributing membersof the National Guard, and (16)ex-Confederate soldiers upon re-

quest exempted by county commis-sioners.

Jury exemption by statute whichbegan as a desirable concession, not

to classes of occupation but in the

interest of the general public good,

has come to be almost a mark ofclass distinction. Too general by far

is the idea that jury service is a bur-

den to be avoided rather than the

privilege of free men to be proudlyborne.

Case and CommentTax Listing—Solvent Credits—

Deduction of Debts—A mutual fireinsurance company, collecting thestandard premiums in advance,maintained an "unearned premiumreserve fund," representing the ad-

vance premiums paid by policy hold-ers but not yet earned, and paid anycancelled policies out of this fund.

The company in listing its 1934 and1935 taxes deducted this fund, as a

debt from its solvent credits, andupon the county's refusal to deductthe amount, paid the tax under pro-

test and brought an action demand-ing its return.

The Supreme Court held that theinsurance company was entitled todeduct unearned premiums asagainst solvent credits on the theory

of a liability. This greatly extends

the doctrine of deductions from solv-ent credits, which has been limited

very closely in the past to bona fide

indebtedness, as distinguished fromliabiJities which may arise. In fact,the holding may go beyond the in-tention of the statute providing for

such deductions, C. S. 7871 (47),which specifically reads "all bona

fide indebtedness owing by any tax-

payer as principal debtor," and

there is grave danger that the de-

cision may open the way to numer-ous other deductions.—HardwareMutual Fire Insurance Co. v. Stin-

son, Treasurer-Tax Collector, and

Mecklenburg County (to appear inAdvance Sheets for June 1 or there-abouts) .

Tax Listing—Installment Con-tracts—Business Situs—A Delawarecorporation with its main office inKnoxville, Tenn., owned and operateda store in Charlotte, selling furniture

for cash and on conditional sales

contracts. The latter were retained

By M. R.ALEXANDER

of the Staff of

The Institute of

Government

and collected in the Charlotte office,and the funds deposited in a Char-lotte bank subject to withdrawalonly by the home office. Local oper-ating expenses, exclusive of rent

and purchase of merchandise, werepaid by checks drawn by the Char-lotte branch on another Charlottebank out of an account supplied bythe Home Office out of its generalfund. The que.stion was whether theinstallment accounts, which werenot listed in Tennessee but whichthe company claims were taxed in-directly through Tennessee's capitalstock tax, are taxable in Mecklen-burg Countj'.

The Supreme Court affirmed thedecision of the lower court in hold-ing that the contracts were solventcredits, subject to taxation on the

theory that they had acquired abusiness situs in ilecklenburg Coun-ty, making an exception to the gen-eral rule that intangibles are tax-

able at the domicile of the owner.The chief factors which the courtlooked at seem to have been thelocal situs and control of the prop-erty, the fact that they were an in-tegral part of the business, and thefact that the property enjoyed the

protection of the laws of Mecklen-burg County. "If the Defendant wasallowed to escape tax in this juris-diction, under the facts and circum-stances of this case," the Courtadded, "a foreign coi-poration by

estabhshing a "business situs,' as inthe present case, would have a spe-cial privilege over other installment

stores of like nature located anddoing business in" this county.

—

Mecklenburg County v. SterchiBros. Stores, Inc. (to appear in Ad-vance Sheets for June 1 or there-abouts).

Building Permits—Xew Hearing—Res Judicata—An application fora permit to erect a filling station

was denied by the city Board ofAdjustment in 1932, but granted in1935 on the ground that conditionshad changed and the property hadbeen zoned for "neighborhood busi-

ness." The Superior Court, review-ing the action, held that the Boardof Adjustment was precluded, onthe principle of res judicata, fromapproving the issuance by reason ofits previous denial. The SupremeCourt reversed the decision, holding

that traffic conditions, as found bythe Board, had materially changedsince the former application wasacted on, and that there was errorin holding the principle of res judi-

cata applicable to the facts of the

record.—In Re Broughton Estate(to appear in Advance Sheets forJune 1 or thereabouts).

Streets and Sideu.-alks—PersonalInjuries—Actionable Negligence—The C.W.A. was filling in a ravinein a city so a street could be extend-

ed across it. A small foot bridge,not maintained by the city and used

only by the residents of the vicinity

for their convenience, was movedduring the course of the work, and

a passer attempting to cross one

night fell and was injured. Held,that the evidence failed to make outa case of actionable negligence

against the city, and decision of

non-suit affirmed.'—Duren v. Char-lotte (to appear in Advance Sheetsfor June 1 or thereabouts).

Streets and Sideicalks—PersonalInjuries—Actionable Negligence—The PlaintiflT sued the city for in-

juries sustained in a daylight fall

on a rough driveway crossing a

sidewalk. Held, it was error not togrant the city's motion for non-suit.

Conceding there was a material de-

fect, it was broad daylight, and

Plaintiff was charged with the duty

to use due care.—Burns v. Charlotte(to appear in Advance Sheets for

June 1 or thereabouts)

.

May. 1936 POPULAR GOVERNMENT Page Thirteen

The Proposed Changes in the State ConstitutionSuppose an "inquiring reporter"

should halt you on the street and,without warning, demand, "Whatdo you think of the proposed consti-tutional amendment affecting theSupreme Court?" Unless you arefar better informed on such mattersthan most of us, you would probablybe as completely at sea as if he hadasked you about the price of rice

in China or the form of governmentin Morocco. To the average citizenthe Supreme Court is an institutionwhich is both remote and aloof, in-sulated from contact with the citi-zenship by the lawyers of more thana century, veiled from popular com-prehension by the mysterious prac-tices and language of the law, andhallowed with a sanctity born ofgenerations of public respect. Tothe layman the Supreme Court is asort of legal Mount Sinai to which,at rare intervals, a judge or a law-

yer is lifted. Thereafter, he dwells

apart, absorbed in his duties. Thepublic usually thinks of the Court

only when, from time to time, ithands down its mandates command-ing that men live or die, go free orspend their lives in prison, receive

money and property or have thatwhich they possess taken away.

The Chief Justice and the fourAssociate Justices rose to our high-

est court either directly from thepractice or by way of the SuperiorCourt bench. Having forged to thefront in a profession which has al-

ways demanded rigorous intellectualdiscipline and sustained mental ef-

fort, they came to a Court noted forthe industry of its individual mem-bers. By personal habit and profes-sional tradition their lives are domi-

nated by work. Whether a legalquestion is first raised before a mag-istrate at the foot of Mount Mitch-ell, a recorder near the Great Dis-

mal Swamp, or a Superior Courtjudge holding courts in the Pied-

mont, that same question may ulti-mately be laid before these five menfor the final answer. In an endlessstream there pours in upon themthe issues of law debated in the

State's one hundred SuperiorCourts. Theirs is a continuous task

of "finding answers."

Is the Supreme Court over-

No. 5—The Relief of theSupreme Court

ByDILLARDGARDNERof the Staff of

tfie Institute of

Government

worked? To this question, ofcourse, no member of the Courtitself gives answer, but for yearsthe leaders of the North Carolinabar, noting the ever-increasing

pressure of work upon these men,have given a most emphatic answerin the affirmative. If a poll weretaken of the entire bar today, it isprobable that a substantial majorityof our lawyers would express theopinion that the duties of the Su-preme Court are too heavy for fivemen. Yet, the present Constitutionlimits the membership of that Courtto five. When the Constitution of1868 was adopted, the number ofthe Supreme Court justices was in-creased from three to five. TheState was then almost entirely ruralhaving a population of barely onemillion. The Convention of 1875again reduced the number of jus-tices to three, but hy 1889 anamendment had carried which in-creased the number again to five;at that time the population of the

State was about one and one-naifmillions and the problems beforethe Court were almost entirelythose of a nature traditional to a

rural state. Today the Court stillhas only five justices, although our

population is nearly three and one-third millions (more than a fourthof which is urban) and the indus-trial development of the state is welladvanced, bringing with it a train

of novel and important legal ques-tions.

Miss Susie Sharp in a study pre-pared for the Constitutional C'orn-mission of 1931 found that, in 1929,the individual justices of our S i-preme Court wrote more opinionsthan those of Georgia, a third morethan those of South Carolina and ofWest Virginia, more than twice asmany as those of Tennessee, andabout four times as many as the jus-tices of Virginia and of Maryland.During the discussion of the pro-posed Constitution of 1933 the state-ment was frequently made, in publicaddresses and in the press, that theSupreme Court was overworked ; sofar as is known there was no publicintimation to the contrary. A countof the opinions written by the Courtduring the year ending with theSpring Term 1935 revealed that thenumber of opinions by individualjustices had increased 'by 50% overthe 1929 figures and the number ofper curiam, unsigned opinions hadincreased 100% ! It seems only fair,therefore, to assume that the Courtis in need of relief and that withinthe next few years it will becomenecessary for the General Assemblyto adopt some ]ilan which willlighten the labors of the individual

members of the Court.An overworked Supreme Court

may be aided in several ways. Anintermediate appellate court mightbe set up, but this would result infurther delays and greater expenseto litigants and would render ourcourt system more complicated andexpensive to operate. Superior

Court judges might be called in tosit as members of the SupremeCourt, but even with our special andemergency Superior Court judgesthere are scarcely enough to keepthe trial dockets cleared. A CourtCommission might be appointed, butthe Court would have to review its

recommendations and write theopinions in the cases, and the extentto which a Commission would op-erate satisfactorily or reduce the

Court's labors is problematical. Oneor more research counsel might beprovided, relieving the justices of

much legal research. However, theuse of research counsel or assistants

is primarily regarded as a means ofrelieving the members of detailed

Page Fourteen POPULAR GOVERNMENT May, 1936

research and improving the qualityof written opinions rather than as

a direct means of reducing the la-bors of the members. Although itnaturally reduces to some extent thework of the members of the Court,it does not reduce the number ofopinions to be written by the mem-bers.

The most direct and generallyused means of aiding overworkedappellate courts is to increase their

membership. An increase in mem-bership, particularly if the court

has power to sit in divisions, defi-nitely and materially reduces thepressure upon the individual mem-bers. It is this latter plan Avhich the

proposed amendment offers.

The Proposed ChangesThe proposed amendment seeks

to make the Court's duties less ardu-ous : ( 1 ) By permitting the GeneralAssemblj' to increase the member-ship from five to seven, and (2) bypermitting less than the full mem-bership to sit, as the Court, in divi-

sions. A similar proposal was em-bodied in the Proposed Constitution

of 1933, drafted by the Constitu-

tional Commission of 1931, butthere are two important differencesin the proposals. The first is a limi-tation upon the number of addi-tional members, and the second isan increase in the number of jus-tices who would have to agree inevery case: these differences will be

mentioned again. Both the formerand the present proposals are adap-tations of a section of the ModelState Constitution.

Increasing the MembershipA recent study showed that the

highest appellate courts in four

states and the District of Columbiahave three justices, those of sixteen

states including our own have five,three states have six, eighteen stateshave seven, three states have eight,

three states have nine, and one statehas sixteen. Thus only four stateshave fewer justices on the highestcourt, while twenty-eight states have

a greater number.

The section in the Proposed Con-stitution of 1933 placed no limit

upon the number of justices whocould be added to the court. A latejustice of that Court remarked thata limitation should be provided to

avoid any possibility of the GeneralAssembly increasing the number on

the Court at a given time in orderto procure a favorable opinion onparticular goverimTental questions

before it. The present proposal lim-its the increase to two additionaljustices, and it appears probablethat these justices would be addedshortly after the amendment car-ries. Even if they should not be.however, the most that could be ac-complished by way of legislativecontrol of the judiciary would bethe change of a three-to-two judg-ment to a four-to-three decision.Thus, the present proposal has re-

duced to a practical minimum thedanger adverted to in the previousproposal.

The present proposal embodiesthe requirement that at least four

judges shall agree in any judgmentof the Court. This gives a greater

protection to litigants than at pres-

ent, as the agreement of only threejudges is now sufficient. Too, theexpress requirement that at least

four judges must concur will pre-vent a minority of the Court fromever acting for the full Court, as,

for example, when only a bare ma-jority of the Court is sitting but theopinion of those sitting is divided.

With our present five-memberCourt, there is no constitutional

limitation which prevents threemembers, in an emergejncy, fromsitting as the court : if, while three

are siting as the Court, there is a

division of opinion, the decision

would" be rendered by only two mem-bers. The present proposal wouldrequire the agreement of at least amajority of the membership of theCourt in all cases.

The division of the work of theCourt among seven instead of fivejustices would be expected to ma-terially reduce the delays, whichusually run to weeks and sometimesextend over a period of months,

from the argument of the cases tothe rendition of the decision.

The larger tribunal will appeal tomany lawyers and clients merelybecause they prefer seven justices

rather than five to pass upon theircases, feeling that over a period of

years seven justices must necessari-ly represent a greater store of legal

wisdom than five. However, it mustbe remembered that the full Courtwill necessarily sit only on consti-

tutional questions ; to what extent

W, p. StacyChief Justice of the North Carolina

SHpre)ne Court.

the Court would sit in divisionswould be determined 'by the Court.

Sitting in Divisions

The full Court, except in emer-gencies, as when a member is ill oron leave, now sits in all cases. Theclear implication of the presentConstitution that the full Courtshall sit in all cases now prohibitseven a single justice from absentinghimself from the oral arguments forthe purpose of doing legal researchor writing opinions. The smallnessof the Court also makes it impracti-cable for a division of a portion of

the membership to sit as the Court.Of the fourteen states permitting

the highest court to sit in divisions,

three have six justices, eight haveseven justices, and three have ninejustices. Of the nine states whichactually use the plan, three have sixjustices, four have seven justices,and two have nine justices. Five ofthese states require that four or

more justices serve in a division;the other states permit fewer thanthis number. The proposal forNorth Carolina requiring four jus-tices to concur in every judgmentwould make it necessary for at leastfour to sit in a division. Each ofthe nine courts using the divisional

plan have two divisions.

The use of the division plan wouldbe left to the discretion of the Court

itself "when necesary for the properdispatch of business." It might never

be used : it might be used only as an

emergency measure; it might be

May, 1936 POPULAR GOVERNMENT Page Fifteen

used as the regular and usual pro-cedure of the Court. Whether therequirement that at least four mem-bers shall concur in each case willso narrowly restrict the use of thedivisional plan as to impair its use-fulness is problematical. However,those who lack enthusiasm for thedivisional plan will see in the re-

quirement a guarantee that no casewill be determined by fewer thana majority of the Court. How manywould sit in a division, how oftenthe personnel of the divisions wouldbe changed, whether the Chief Jus-tice would sit with one or both orneither of the divisions, how thecases would be assigned to the di-visions, whether there would becriminal and civil divisions orwhether each division would hearall types of cases, whether the divi-sions would sit simultaneously oralternately—these, and similarquestions, would all be determinedby the Court.

Apparently those Courts whichhave used the divisional plan e.xpe-

rienced no increase in motions tore-hear cases decided by a division,

and since the present proposal re-quires that a majority of the Courtmust concur in every judgment, theadoption of the plan in this State

should cause no increase in motions

to re-hear. In practically all of the

states the increase of inconsistent

and out-of-line decisions has beenprevented by having the Chief Jus-tice sit with both divisions, by hav-ing the full court decide the ques-

tions in conference, or by havingthe opinions circulated to each mem-ber of the court for his approval or

disapproval. As an aid to the morerapid disposal of cases, the divi-

sional plan has been almost univer-

sally successful, enabling several

courts to clear up dockets nearlythree years behind, and enabling thecourt in one state to handle with

equal dispatch twice as many casesas formerly. As to how the divi-sional plan would probably operatein this State, we may get some ink-ling from the following statementof Chief Justice Stacy (both he andJustice Schenck served on the Con-stitutional Commission of 1931) be-fore the Joint Senate and HouseCommittee in 1933 : "One sectionwould hear arguments, while an-

other wrote opinions. This would

take care of the situation for thenext hundred years."

The five states providing for butnot using the plan regularly do useit to some extent as an emergencymethod enabling the courts to catchup with their dockets. The chief ob-je.ctions in these states seem to bethe opposition of the lawyers, thedissatisfaction of litigants, the diiS-

culty of securing in all cases theagreement of a sutficient number ofjustices to obtain a majority of thecourt, and the fear that the planwould tend to encourage a lack ofconsistency between the decisions ofthe different divisions of the court.These objections do not appear tobe fatal, having been largely over-come in the nine states whichuse the plan regularly and whichhave found it quite satisfactory.Some of them, in fact, are quite en-

thusiastic in their endorsement of it.

From the several methods which'have been used or suggested as waysof relieving overworked courts, itseems to be a fair statement thatthe amendment has adopted two ofthe more desirable and widely usedmethods. The proposed amendmentwould not make either the increasein the number of justices or the useof the divisional plan mandatory.On the one hand, it would permitthe General Assembl.v to add twoadditional justices when convincedof the need, and on the other hand,it would allow the Court itself toadjust its procedure so as to reducethe labor of its individual membersor to accomplish the same workwith greater dispatch, both of whichare impossible without an amend-ment.

^10.00 CitpofBurljam .iUi:^—I •"HARTIAI. PAYMENT TAX RECEIPT

W 4474The City of Durham, for value received, hereby promiaes to accept thia receipt for Its fnee

value. plu3 mtero.'

Page Sixteen POPULAR GOVERNMENT May, 1936

Taking the Guesswork out oF Pardon and ParoleThe North Carolina parole sys-

tem, both in the laws as passed bythe Legislature and in the adminis-tration of those laws, is based uponthe very close cooperation of theParole Office and local welfare andlaw enforcement officials.

The State's new Parole system isstill in the transition stage, the old

system and its limited procedure be-ing changed or supplanted by thenew. New methods are constantlybeing adopted during this experi-

mental method, making it impos-sible at this time to give a summaryM'hich would codify the procedureused by the Parole office. As thenew system progresses. The Insti-tute hopes to be able to publish fur-ther articles dealing with parole inthis State.

L'nder the system which hasevolved the Parole Commissionerand his staff investigate the casesof all persons sentenced to theState's Prison as well as all casesin which application has been madefor executive clemency. The actualsupervision of the paroled prisoneris not a function of the Parole Office,

but is entirely a function of the localwelfare officer.

Five men have been appointed bythe Governor as Parole Supervisors.The name "Supervisor" is a mis-nomer; these men do not have cus-tody of parolees, but are the liaisonofficers between the Office of theCommissioner of Paroles and thelocal welfare and law enforcementofficers.

Splendid cooperation is given bythe existing local agencies from theday the subject enters prison untilhis parole is ended through execu-tive order or revocation. This canbe illustrated best by taking a t\'pi-cal case and tracing its developmentfrom the day of commitment of theprisoner until the culmination of the

parole.

The following example is indica-tive of the pi-ocedure in investigat-

ing and supervising a parole case.However, it is not applicable to allcases. Each case varies from thelast because of the human elementand, although the mechanics might

By M. R. ALEXANDEROf the Staff of the Institute of Government

be essentially the same, the proce-dure is elastic and is made to con-form to the case at hand.

A Typical CaseJohn Doe is convicted of robbery

in X county and is sentenced to.serve not less than four and notmore than six yeai's in the State'sPrison. Upon arriving at the Cen-tral Prison he is finger-printed, pho-tographed, given a physical exam-ination, and "put through the mill.''

After -John has been assigned anumber and cell, a representative ofthe Parole Office, whose sole busi-ness it is to interview all prisoners

•upon their commitment, calls himinto the interview room, where heobtains certain information fromthe prisoner. The purpose in thisinitial inter\-iew is two-fold : to gain

information and to implant somehope in the man.The information gained from the

prisoner includes his admitted crim-

inal record, his own story of thecrime, fraternal and social orders towhich he has belonged, the extentof his education and the schoolswhich he attended, former occupa-tions and names of employers,names of persons on the outside whomight act as first friends.

In addition, the Parole Officer ob-

tains all of the information possible

about the prisoner's family, both his

dependents and those upon whom heis dependent.

-John may be transferred fromthe State Prison to any one of theseveral felon camps in the State.

Dependents Not OverlookedThe Parole Officer who has held

this interview studies the informa-tion which the prisoner has given.A memorandum is .sent to the Com-missioner of Public Welfare, in the

event John's family will need aidwhile he is in prison. The Commis-sioner of Public Welfare relays thisinformation to the local welfare of-

ficer, who carries out the sugges-tions made and sends the Commis-sioner of Public Welfai'e an account

of what has been done in the case.A copy of this information is placedin the prisoner's file.

The Parole Office contacts John'sformer employers and the personswhom he has given as references,the principal of his school and teach-ers who have had him in charge.These persons are asked to givetheir impressions of the subject.

For each person committed to theState Penitentiary, the Parole Of-

fice has set up a file in which goesall of the institutional and otherdata. Under institutional data isincluded the physical report, a fin-

ger-print record, obtained by thePrison Department from Washing-ton, a prison record sheet, and atyped copy of a report based on the

first interview. A number is as-signed each file and a date is setwhen that file will be studied and ahearing given the prisoner. This

date is set by law as being afterthe prisoner has served one-fourth

of his minimum sentence.

Every Case Heard AnnuallyJohn has been sentenced to four

years, so his case will come up atthe end of his first year in prison.( In cases where the sentence is overfour years a hearing will be givenannuallv. The Parole Commissioner

Attorney General Cumviings (right),snapped by the candid camera on his re-cent visit to this State, paused m hisaddress before the North Carolina Con-ference for Social Service to praise theState's nev: parole system.

May, 1936 POPULAR GOVERNMENT Page Seventeen

has made this a rule in order thateach case shall receive the mostcareful consideration possible.) Atthe time John's case gets its firsthearing- the law enforcement andwelfare officers, as well as other

local officials, are asked to give whatinformation they can obtain about

the man.

If John's conduct has been goodand he has attained the honor grade,which information is supplied bythe Prison Department, social atti-tude reports are requested from thePrison officials who have had him intheir personal charge. These re-ports give the particular official's

estimate of John's attitude and thelikelihood of his being a good paroleprospect.

Provided all these State and localofficials have supplied informationfavorable to recommendation forparole, the trial Judge and Solicitorare contacted for their views. In

many cases the Judge or Solicitor,on their own volition, will have sub-mitted a contemporaneous memo-randum, made at the time of thetrial.

John does not, unless he is an ex-ceptional case or person, get a pa-

role upon his first hearing, but allthe information possible will havebeen obtained from both State andlocal officials. His case is then con-

tinued until a later date to enable

the Parole Office to give a further

study of his case and to allow Johnto give further signs of reformation.

Finding a Job

If John is deserving, as the timeapproaches for parole, the investi-

gation shifts to the all-important

problem of finding gainful employ-ment and a community willing toreceive the prisoner. This part of

the investigation is carried onlargely by the welfare authoritiesunder the direction of the ParoleOffice.

The Parole Commissioner, if thiscooperative investigation has im-

pressed him with a belief that theends of justice have been met, thatreformation has taken place, andthat the prisoner has a place to go

and a job waiting for him, recom-mends to the Governor that hegrant a parole. If the Governorgrants John a parole, an officer ofthe Prison Department takes him to

the Welfare Officer in the county inwhich he is to reside.The original of the Parole Order

is sent to that Welfare Officer, andJohn is placed in his custody, to re-main for the duration of his parole.John must i-eport to the Welfare Of-ficer once a month until he is re-leased from reporting or his paroleis ended by executive order.

A Supervisor from the Parole Of-fice goes to each County once everyninety days to confer with the law-enforcement officers. Court officials,and Superintendent of Public Wel-fare regarding each man on parolein the county. Court records aresearched and officers and citizenscontacted to determine whether ornot parolees are conducting them-selves according to the terms oftheir paroles. If John is found tohave been of good conduct, to havesettled down to gainful employment,to have shown every sign of refor-mation, his parole, on the recom-mendation of local officers, will beended through executive order.

In the event John's conduct has

not been up to the standard requiredof parolees, his parole will be re-

voked and he will be returned to fin-ish serving the remainder of his sen-tence. In these cases, too, the local

law enforcement and welfare of-ficers cooperate in giving informa-

tion upon which revocations arebased. As a matter of course, thePrison Department informs the Pa-role Office of all parolees who havebeen sentenced to another term, andthe paroles are promptly revoked.

The "Short-Termers"

John's case is one indicative of

the handling of a felony case. It is

impossible to interview all persons

sent to the roads for the relatively

short sentences given misdemean-ants. This is true not only because

of the great number of that typeprisoner, but also because the mis-

demeanants are sent directly to the

many camps and county farmsthroughout the State. They are notcleared through one central place,

as felons, who are cleared throughCentral Prison.

In order that these "short term-

ers" will not go unheard, the Com-missioner of Paroles, through co-

operation of the Prison Department,

has provided for the camp superin-tendents to send in reports known

as Prisoner's Progress Reports, inthe case of each man whom thesuperintendent believes worthy of ahearing.

The Parole System in North Caro-lina differs from systems in otherStates chiefly in the fact that it

utilizes all existing local agencies,

both for the investigation of prison-ers and the supervision of parolees.The success of the system dependsupon the close cooperation of theseagencies with the Parole office, andthe response is said in every caseto have been splendid.

Relative County

Debt LoadsBy J. L. PEELER

Statistician, KirchoFer & Arnold, Inc-

The business vicissitudes of thepast few years have brought un-wholesome reactions to practicallyevery form of economic endeavor.Not only have these adversities beent'elt by the less stable businesses, butthey have permeated the financialstructures of municipal corporationsas well, long regarded as almost im-pregnable.

Municipal bonds, i.e., bonds ofcounties, cities, towns, districts, andtownships, prior to 1930 passedthrough investment channels andwere generally regarded as soundinvestments under two conditions.First, that the bond be accompaniedby an opinion of a bond attorney,approving its legality, and second,that it was a full faith and creditobligation of the issuing unit whoseofficials had the power to levy a taxwithout limit as to rate or amounton all the taxable property within

the unit, for the payment of bondprincipal and interest.

It is perhaps natural, therefore,

in view of the experiences of mu-nicipal investors during the past

few eventful years, that this senseof false security has been cast aside

to a marked degree and a more real-istic attitude adopted by them. Lit-

erally thousands of investors are

a.sking themselves today, "Howmuch indebtedness can this munici-

Page Eighteen POPULAR GOVERNMENT May, 1936

pal corporation safely issue withoutendangering its credit?" Increas-ingly they are scrutinizing the abil-ity of the issuing unit to carry out

the terms of its loan contract.There are obviously many factors

to be considered in approaching anadequate appraisal of municipal ob-ligations. However, among these,debt ratios and per capita figuresare the yardsticks most commonlyemployed by the average investor.

In considering the analysis of

municipal obligations it should beborne in mind, however, that com-parative debt statistics are not all-

embracing and hence should not beused to the exclusion of many otherpertinent factors. Too, a set rule

for debt ratios and per capita fig-ures can not be made to apply toall units, for what might be consid-ered a conservative basis of ap-

in-aisal for one unit might be ex-

cessively high when applied to an-other.

In a recent study, some interest-ing light was shed upon the relativedebt burdens of the 100 North Caro-lina Counties. Partial results of this

analysis are presented and expressedin debt ratios and per capita figures,because only when reduced to a vis-ible yardstick of comparison do debtstatistics lend themselves to fullinterpretation.

A.lamanc€

Per CapitaCounty-wideDistrict &

Tup. Net Deb

$ 48

P^ri LiipUa 1 o[;il

Ratio of Net Debt Lo:iA Ratio ofCountv-wide (Including TotalDist. i: Twp. Municipalities Net DebtNet Debt t.> i Special Char- Load to.\ss'd \'al. ler Dislricisl .-\s?'d V:u.

6.8', $101 14.2',7.8 52 9.54.5 25 4.54.9 35 7.

38. 68 39.16.9 64 17.38.9 66 12.9.3 41 11.

11.6 56 12.537. 155 38.826.6 425 51.95-8 38 5.83. 38 4.44.8 62 8.76.2 34 6.2

53. 347 75.6.4 25 6.46.1 78 9.38.2 62 9.9

14.8 88 19.36.6 43 7.4

24.6 88 26.63. 30 5.39.1 52 10.5

29.1 147 36.916.3 81 18.41.4 10 1.4

14.6 83 17.3.5 76 11.34.1 37 4.8

13.8 66 15.42.2 138 9.96.6 40 8.41.9 143 10.5

11.8 57 15.52.9 70 7.14.3 22 4.76. 78 6.76.2 53 9.4

11.5 46 13.53.5 211 18.23.5 47 8.49.1 56 11.58.1 89 11.3

14.3 265 30.27. 36 8.4.1 29 5.8

18.6 80 18.610.4 93 13.812. 61 13.6

11.9 72 14.

subject to the following explana

s used, equals county-wide, towi

?d by deducting from gross debt,revenues would service and ret

ere made from estimated debt bias infallible. They are sufficien

Jones

PerCouDib

Twp.

Per ^.ipita riital

Ratio of Net Debt Load Ratio jCapita County-wide t Including Totalily-wide Dist. & Twp. Municipalities Net Debttrict &: Net Debt to i; Special Char- Load toNet Debt .Ass'dVal. ler District- ) .Ass'dVaL

46 12.4 50 13.244 7. 62 9.954 11.4 68 14.333 6. 41 7.356 13.6 62 15.140 11.1 50 13.948 11. 61 14.59 7.3 78 9.529 2.8 90 8.652 11.9 56 12.8

108 13. 151 18.126 3.6 49 6.924 5.3 30 6.326 2.2 83 6.923 6.5 23 6.548 10.9 51 11.724 3.5 46 7.99 30. 102 30.942 6.6 115 18.238 7.9 42 8.757 11.3 60 11.836 8.2 63 14.446 8.8 49 9.480 14.9 125 23.353 11.2 66 13.925 3.9 48 7.435 7.6 46 9.761 8.1 92 12.331 3. 91 8.576 13.8 114 20.31 7.4 38 8.925 4.3 33 6.53 6.9 56 7.247 12.9 60 16.440 6.9 66 11.3

154 30.4 181 35.5217 47. 299 65.63 12.8 78 15.731 8.7 36 10.230 4.9 49 7.926 3.3 99 12.514 3.6 15 3.966 13.5 90 18.233 6.8 56 11.336 6.3 63 11.37 11. 47 14.263 11.7 65 11.923 5.6 24 5.876 23.5 95 29.4

proximate.

,plus the net debt of special chartered

case of cities and towns, that amount. No deductions were made of special

ts as of June 30, 1935, in most cases,serve the purpose for which they wert

\l6'\an

May, 1936 POPULAR GOVERNMENT Page Nineteen

Magistrates Formulate ProgramPresident J. M. Brougiiton, of the

N. C. Bar Association, suggested acomprehensive program for theState's Justices of the Peace in hisaddress before the Second Annualmeeting of the N. C. Association ofMagistrates at Salisbury, April

24th. After commenting upon thevalue of the organization as a meansof promoting fellowship, of ex-changing experience and informa-tion, and of elevating professionalstandards, he suggested the follow-

ing as objectives: (1) seeking a bet-•''

ter method of selecting Justices ofthe Peace, (2) placing limitations

upon their numl>er, (3) the fixingof fee schedules and the eliminationof price-cutting, (4) a positive andconstructive legislative program tosupplement the present negativeand defensive one, (5) the eleva-tion of the dignity of magistrates'

courts by conducting them in a dig-nified manner and by compellingpublic respect of them, and (6) in-dividual and collective aid in the im-provement of law enforcement.

President H. A. Bland, of Ra-leigh, in his report recommendedthat: (1) Magistrates be given ju-

risdiction of more minor offenses,particularly traffic violations, but

opposed any change of the constitu-tional status of the oflSce, (2) the

numbers of magistrates be reduced,(3) cooperation with constructive

suggestions for improving the office

and unqualified opposition to anyattempt to abolish it, and (4) thecontinuation and expansion of theprogram (begun three years ago bythe Judges', Solicitors', Local BarOfficials' and Magistrates' Divisionsof The Listitute of Government) ofholding local and district schools ofinstruction for Justices of the

Peace.

Several magistrates recommendedto the group the regular study ofthe State Department rulings car-ried monthly in Popular Govern-ment, and President Broughton'srecommendation that they shouldregularly inform themselves con-

cerning new decisions affectingtheir duties was so enthusiasticallyreceived that this publication is ex-

panding the regular bulletin service

to include brief abstracts of all re-

cent decisions particularly affectingthese officers.

Secretary-Treasurer Berch C.Willard, of Winston-Salem, report-ed a continuing but decreased defi-cit and a membership of 207, aboutthree-fourths of whom joined thefirst year. The President, Secretary-Treasurer, and three of the Vice-Presidents, C. E. Fesperman ofSalisbury, G. W. Denny of Char-lotte, and H. L. Jenkins of Green-ville, were re-elected, and H. H.Brown of Goldsboro was electedVice-President to succeed T. A.Henley of the same city, who re-signed. C. E. Fesperman, the host,delivered the welcome.

Officers of Mugitittatea' Association \

Recent Decisions of InterestACCOUNT STATED

When Considered Admitted (Evidenceshowed that on several occasions defend-ant was informed of the total of the ac-count and that he did not deny that he hadreceived the merchandise, although he in-sisted upon certain credits.) Held, an ac-count rendered which is assented to ascorrect, or to which there is no objectionwithin a reasonable time, may be treatedas admitted, and judgment upon such averdict is approved. Stephenson v. Honey-cutt, 209 N. C. 701.

BAILLimitation on Appearance Bond (The

appearance bond limited the liability ofthe surety to a trust fund the amount ofwhich was not stated but I'eference wasmade to the trust instrument as being ofrecord in a foreign county. Personal liabil-ity of the trustees and beneficiaries wasdisclaimed in the bond and the instru-ment.) Held, (!) The actual and con-structive notice to the State, when thebond was accepted, that the trustees werenot personally liable was binding on theState. (2) If such a bond is void asagainst public policy the State can notrecover on it. In neither view is there anyliability beyond the trust fund. State v.Thomas, 209 N. C. 722. (Note: Whethersuch a view is not a denial of the doctrinethat estoppel does not operate against thesovereign, or whether such a provisioncould not be void without invalidating theentire instrument, are not discussed.)

BILLS AND NOTESExtension of Time on Note (Note stated

that extension of time of payment was

waived