April, 1955
THE FEDERATION JOURNAL
Page 5
TRAINING IN A SAFER
Continued from Page 3
own little grand daughter met an un
timely death simply because of a driver’s
recklessness. The horror and sadness re
sulting from the tragic event made me re
solve to seek opportunities to exemplify
careful driving and to literally beg, in the
memory of my grandchild, other motor
ists to obey the traffic laws and to prac
tice the Golden Rule on the highways.
Many other people are becoming alarmed
over the human slaughter on the high
way. One H. H. Smith of Ashland, Vir-
vinia, has studied and pointed out this
fact: “In 1952 38,000 people in the United
States were killed by motor vehicle ac
cidents.” Think of it! Enough people killed
by motor vehicles in one year to populate
a city. Mr. Smith states in the magazine
The Biblical Recorder that “very nearly
all motor vehicle accidents are avoidable
because they are the result of carelessness,
recklessness, drunkenness, indifference,
and lack of skill in adverse physical con
ditions on the part of drivers and
pedestrians.” Highway safety officials say
that there is a human fault somewhere
in 999 out of 1009 so called accidents.
Mr. D. C. Phillips, district representa
tive of a manufacturing concern and an
active layman in the Chapel Hill Baptist
Church recently spoke before some 300
safety directors and industrial engineers
assembled in Raleigh. His article in part
is as follows: “We stand terrified today at
the reports of atrocities coming from Ko-
I'ea; the barbaric, brutal treatment our
boys have received at the hands of the
Communist is deplorable, and those re
sponsible should be punished. But let’s
not overlook the stark truth that we are
killing more people in our own land than
were lost in all three wars of this genera
tion—World War I, World War II, and the
Korean War. Many a person has tried to
put his finger on the real cause of this
slaughter in our land. Some have his finger
on the real cause of this slaughter in our
land. Some have said this and some that.
But what is actually now happening is
that we are reaping the whirlwind of a
generation untrained in habits, manners,
customs, courtesies, and attitudes. There
is no other answer.”
Aside from the 38,000 deaths previously
mentioned, an additional 1,350,000 persons
were injm'ed in automobile accidents.
Here is the pictui-e we must grasp. The
grand total from all causes is 96,000 kill
ed and 9,600,000 injured, almost double
the number of people living in this state.
According to national figures, one person
out of every 1,000 in the age bracket of
24 and under will die in an accident this
year and 45 will be critically injured. For
tunately in our state and some others,
there are centers set up in high schools
and other places for drivers’ courses. Do
you take advantage of such services?
You might ask, “What has this picture
of tragedy to do with our present day
religion? Are we not admonished by the
Scriptures to be our brother’s keeper?”
With this in mind, we can, on the high
ways as well as in the temple, seek God’s
presence and protection for ourselves and
others as we travel along. Is it not a sin
to be careless, intemperate, indifferent
and ignorant of available skills in any
case? Such qualities are more deplorable
where human lives are at stake. What does
God think of human life? He created us
because he thought it was good for us to
be created. In his own image a little lower
than the angels He fashioned us with a
personality for each and services for each
to render. Every human being is of in
finite worth—the most sacred object of all
creation—and the life He gives us here
upon earth is not in any way to be wan
tonly sacrificed through any inexcusable
conduct on the part of any one.
The road to safety is a long arduous one
and requires patience, diligence and un
derstanding as well as preparation and
training. Our young people should be
trained thoroughly how to handle heavy
dangerous machines. They should have at
least 12 one hour lessons of instruction by
some responsible person then several
hours of driving time under super-vision.
Young people should not only be taught
the proper maimers of the home, but em
phasis should be placed upon their atti
tudes toward laws: why they exist and
why they should be respected? Most of
all, I am referring in this discussion to
one of the Ten Commandments: “Thou
shall not kill.” There is no freedom save
within the laws of our land and the divine
laws of God.
Yes, we live in a changing world. Since
the invention of the automobile about a
half century past, we have seen many
changes in transportation—bicycles, bug
gies, wagons, automobiles, trains, air
planes, and ships. If it were possible for
our foreparents who have gone on to re
turn to this world, they would not rec
ognize the place. The modem develop
ments and complexities of the age have a
marked effect on the home training of to
day, but all these changes have not les
sened the powerful influence we have
upon our children. Adult attitudes to
ward others, toward laws and their en
forcement, toward spiritual outlook, or the
disregard of these are reproduced by our
children and reflected back upon the
world in almost a carbon copy of our
selves. So let us hold to the right stand
ards of conduct, so that the reaction will
be good and acceptable in the sight of God.
Finally allow me to review briefly what
we can actually do to aid in avoiding this
awful massacre of human lives and po
tential, useful personalities:
1. Set a good example by driving care
fully within the law.
2. Speak to others about the danger of
Workshop Subjects and
Leaders
Combatting Alcoholism
and Delinquency
Mrs. L. G. Marks, McCain, Chairman;
Mrs. Margaret Williams, Concord, Co-
Chairman; Mrs. Carrie Mayfield, High
Point; Mrs. Lois Harmon Reeves, Salis
bury; Mrs. Jane Melton, Winston-Salem;
Mre. Julia Bitting, Lexington; Mrs. Mamie
Gore, Fayetteville; Mrs. Bessie Lawrence,
Statesville.
Financing Our New Project
Mrs. E. R. Merrick, Durham, Chairman;
Mrs. L. B. Yancey, Wilson, Co-Chairman;
Mrs. Lucille Bingham, Lexington; Mrs.
Kathleen Randall, Salisbury; Mrs. Emma
Stubbs, Southern Pines; Mrs. Laura
Plummer, Warrenton; Mrs. Letitia Smith,
Hickory.
Promoting The Junior Federation
Mrs. A. B. Byrd, Rocky Mount, Chair
man; Mrs. Cora Hawkins, Warrenton, Co-
Chairman; Mrs. Mai'y Biggers, Salisbury;
Mrs. Ruth King, Asheville; Mrs. Thelma
Henley, Fayetteville; Mrs. Lillie B. Gib
son, Shelby; Mrs. Cornelia Keeble, High
Point; Mrs. Willie Wright, Nashville.
Our Relationship With
Other Organizations
Mrs. E. D. Moore, Hickory, Chairman;
Mrs. Sara Clarke, Kinston, Co-Chairman;
Mrs. M. A. Hauser, Salisbury; Mrs. E. R.
Anderson, Charlotte; Mrs. L. S. Cozart,
Concord; Miss Connie Young, Durham;
Mrs. Pauline Pharr, Salisbury.
Suggestive Programs for Clubs
Mrs. Hardy Liston, Charlotte, Chairman;
Miss Rosebud Aggrey, Salisbury, Co-
Chairman; Mrs. C. H. Bynum, Kinston;
Mrs. Nettie N. Scott, Wilmington; Mrs.
L. Y. Brown, Rocky Mount; Mrs. E. B.
Wilson, High Point; Mrs. I. E. Webb,
Shelby.
Home Ownership:
Its Problems and Advantages
Mrs. Hattie Hughes, Greensboro, Chair
man; Mrs. Ethel Hines, Wilson, Co-Chair
man; Mrs. Marguerite Frott, Salisbury;
Mrs. Odessa Davis, High Point; Mrs. Fan
nie Kelsey, Salisbury; Mrs. Phyllis Hay
wood, Raleigh.
Books as Life Savers
Mrs. Isabelle T. Smith, Laurinburg,
Chairman; Mrs. Dorothy Crawford, Salis
bury, Co-Chairman; Mrs. L. B. Curtright,
High Point; Miss lone Henderson, Hick
ory; Ml’S. Makepeace Long, Landis; Mrs.
L. S. James, Concord; Mrs. Pauline Mor
ton, Salisbury.
drinking and driving.
3. Start to work or appointments on time.
4. Bs courteous toward other drivers and
pedestrians.
5. Avoid a gambling risk in passing.
6. Use at all times good judgment and
practice the Golden Rule, a good religi
ous creed for all times.