The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1934-11-19
COUNTY CONSOLIDATION

It is probable that one of the questions
- which will come before the next session OF
the General Assembly for serious consid-
Grafton is that of county consolidation. The
.,,natter is receiving more and more cOnsid-
Grafton from the people and some OF the
States most progressive leaders have en-
" .dorsed the consolidation principle. One OF
u the latest additions to the ranks of those
. who declare themselves publicly in favor
of consolidation is Representative-elect
Raul Erwin of IIecklenburg.
Mr.. Erwin says that the number of North
F'Garolina counties must be reduced and
! that the action must be taken in an orderly
and systematic manner that will make 1t
apostolic to reconstruct the county divisions
tlof the entire State at one time.
~ As The Times-News probably is the
IaYiginal newspaper advocate of county
iiconsoldation in North Carolina, all devel-
t,opments in that direction are of interest
Tin this quarter; but this newspaper does
f$abt have any delusiOns in regard to the
,,niatter, as far as possibilities for voluntary
county consolidation are concerned, and
would be slow to approve arbitrary rear
.rangement of county lines according to
r3he views of some of the advocates of con-
Esolidation.
"a Some of the advocates of consolidation
,6eleve that all county lines should be OBJ
~ JoJ ;,,+o fov
>eeunties or districts similar to Congress
SfOnal districts. It viii be long time be-
fore a majority of North CarOlinians will
voluntarily adopt this plan, if ever they
ado. Local self government is in a terribly
Iemaciated and weakened condition in,
North Carolina, but it is not yet dead. It
|, will be long time in the future, if at all,
that the people of Cleveland, CASTOR and
, Lincoln counties will be willing to have
Charlotte for their county town.
"a The Times-News' ideas of county cen
solidatiOn do not run to the congressional
Idistrict plan and we do not believe more
sthan an insignificant minority of the peo-
bple would approve this plan. The county
aconsolidation advocated by this newspaper
swOuld not reduce the number of counties
ITO less than sixty or seventy-five, but that
,sstep would bring about improvements in
County government in the State as a whole
kand would reduce the cost of county gov
sernment in a large measure.
= There is ample opportunity for county
heonsOlidatiOn in Western North Carolina
aand the same is true of the eastern section
'of the State. Not so many opportunities
'aEe presented in the central section OF
North Carolina, where there are many
@Farge and pOpulous counties There are
twenty or more counties in the mountain
country which could be reduced to one
third of that number. Great savings in the
ebSt of county government would be Ell
fected and such action would be progress
sive movement which would, no doubt,
greatly encourage and facilitate the devel-
opment of Western North Carolina.
AS previously stated, however, The
Times-News has no delusions as to the diff
fculties to be encountered in a voluntary
county consolidation movement which
would be by far the most satisfactory
method for accomplishing this purpose;
and the arbitrary redistricting of the State