Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / Aug. 12, 1972, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
2A ■"THt CAWOUWA TIMES Saturday, Aug- 12, 1872 EDITORIALS & COMMENT IS THE HATCH ACT OUTDATED ? • w..n millions of Americans now on government payrolls, it would seem that the current provisions of the Hatch Act is far outdated and possibly may not even be needed. It will be recalled that such Act was put into law during the days of the Roosevelt Administration by the Republicans to cut down on the political activity of many of gov ernment workers. It would appear that thought* prevailed that most campaign activity would be geared to Democratic progress and as such, the Hatch Act could cut down on the activity. However, interesting arguments are being proposed now to either liberalize the Act and perhaps, cut it out entirely. During the Demo cratic convention recently, one of the delegates was informed that she no longer held her job since she was in Miami, carrying out her so delegated responsibilities. In fact, she received a telegram in forming her that she had been fired from her job. This right of American citizens This interesting little question may be heard over and over again whenever anything does not go light. This becomes especially true when things that we can't pin down are given this nebulous en tity. For "they" are likely to get the blame. Presently "they" befoul the en vironment. Consumers say "they" build faulty appliances or sell us faulty cars. At the moment the tax increasers become "they" as well as the utility companies seek ing increases. As the typical executive of a power company looks out of his window, perhaps he is thinking of power failures and other awesome expanses of the city. He wonders whether or not the millions of ser vice requirements which his com pany must meet during these un APPOINTMENTS MAKE HISTORY The involvement of women, blacks and other minorities in the Democratic National Convention appears to have culminated in his tory making appointments this week. A woman, Mrs. Jean Westwood of Utah, was chosen to become the party's national chairman, and a Black, Basil A. Patterson, was se lected as its vice chairman. The lessons in political expedi ency shows that despite the many bruised feelings and what not on the part of many who were so in volved at the convention, the po litical future at hand was to choose a Black and a woman to serve in those capacities. We are proud that the political expediency makers so followed this route. With all the talk about the "new elements which controlled Tilings You Should Know BROWN BORN IN LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY; KJJA | N 1816, OF A SLAVE MOTHER AND A SLAVE " OWNER PAT HER, HE BECAME AN 1 ACTIVE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD WORKER/ HE LECTURE D FAR AND WIDE FOR THE AMERI CAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY FROM 1843 TO 1849, THEN TOURED ENGLAND AND FRANCE./ HE WON ! INTERNATIONAL FAME ALSO AS A WRITER AND AS ONE OF THE EARLIEST AND GREATEST HISTORIANS OF THE NEGRO.' V/SU P- to participate more fully in the election process ought not be de nied them. Ways must be found to give them wider leeway in seek ing offices or supporting their choices. If such cannot be achieved, then we handicap rather than improve the quality of our rep resentative form of government. We need all sorts of diversity among the electorate. We find that other major west ern governments have found ways to limit the restrictions on their Civil Service employees who de sire to support candidates or even seek office themselves. We also! recognize that safeguards must be assured that higher-ups in the gov ernment do not take unfair ad vantage of their employees. Such safeguards must be assured and perhaps they are now available. Certainly it would appear that the millions of Americans now on governmental payrolls ought not have to give up their basic Consti tutional rights in order to work for their governments. WHO ARE THEY seasonably hot periods if the energy will hold up. Further, in his mind, he must plan and show the popu lation that somehow abundant energy is the basis of a wholesome environment as well as convince the public of the need for rate in creases. There are a lot of "theys" like this typical executive, both large and small. All are faced with the same problems that are the out growth of expanding services, ur ban renewal and crowded city areas, educational facilities and many others. But, then "they" are also among the doers and achievers who get the blame whenever anything goes wrong. However, the task still must be completed and "they" will move ahead despite critics. the Democratic convention as being "ungrateful" toward the party stalwarts who had worked faith fully for many years and deserved recognition, it was a wise choice. The element of change is in the wind and has been for some time. Further, critics forget that women and many minorities have been the unrecognized people in the party (in fact, in all parties). So in or der to be felt within any organiza tion, there must be some displace ment of the old. We see that the Democratic Na tional Committee has further car ried the party's reforms to its logi cal conclusion. It is now up to many State and other local organ izations to try to further the re forms as well, both in fact and by deed. The Choke Is Yours For A Cleaner __ Community >. \. * \ jMHrSBfIF \ \ ' VftraMs *" STUDY SHOWS THAT JOKES ABOUT ELDERLY USUALLY PORTRAY NEGATIVE ATTITUDE by Vance Whitfield Conjure up an image of an old person and what do you get? Chances are the picture will characterize the senior citizen as feeble, senile, unattractive or someone to be avoided. Dr. Erdman Palmore, a pro fessor of Medical Sociology at Duke University Medical Center who has done extensive re search in the Held of geron tology, proposed to document society'B general outlook about elderly people by taking a close look at humor about them. Proceeding on Plato's theory that "humor reflects basic at titudes" and a classical theory of humor by the Greek philo sopher, Jamblichus, thatcom edy emphasizes the ugly in order to demand a chande for something preferable," Palmore studied hundreds of jokes about old people. He concentrated on 264 and analyzed the point of their humor. He found that more than half the jokes reflected a neg ative view of aging and that those dealing with physical ability, appearance, age con cealment, old maids, mental LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PUBLISHES JULY ISSUE OF QUARTERLY JOURNAL A tribute to Frederick Doug lass, an essay about author Owen Wister, an article on measuring mountains and rivers, and a summary of the recent acquisitions of the Rare Book Division are found in the July 1972 issue of the Quarterly Journal of the Library of Con gress. On January 17, 1972 when the papers of Frederick Doug lass were transferred from the National Park Service to the Library of Congress, Benjamin Quarles, Professor of History at Morgan State College in Balti more and Honorary Consultant in American History to the Library of Congress, delivered a tribute to the famed aboli tionist, orator, and journalist. The speech, "Frederick Doug lass, Black Impreishable," re printed in the Quarterly Jour nal, discusses Douglass' career and his contributions as a social critic and an activist. Douglass, Mr. Quarles says, was "a man of no mean stature, (who) cast a long shadow because of this sense of huamnity and his wil lingness to battle for his con-, victions." Julian Mason, Professor of English at the University Of North Carolina at Charlotte and former Specialist in Amer ican Cultural History in the Library's Manuscript Division, explores the background of a turn-of-the-century author in the article, "Owen Wister, Champion of Old Charleston." A popular writer of fiction about the American West, most notably The Virginian Wister eurtiriard his audience with the publication in 1906 of Lady Baltimore, a nostalgic novel about Charleston, South Caro lina, state bulwark of the gra> : us old South. Mr. Mason / ability, retirement and death were also mostly negative. Palmore found that the most frequent joke subject was long evity followed by physical ability, sexual ability and age concealment. Nearly ail of the age concealment jokes-dealt with women and reflected neg ative views. The jokes about older women tended to be more negative than jokes about older men. For example, the term old maid has a negative connota tion, but there is no corres ponding term for men such as "old bachelor." The one liner, "my wife hasn't had a birthday in six years," is illustrative of the types of comments about age concealment. An old maid was referred ta in some of the jokes as an evaporated peach, a lemon that had never been squeezed. "Un married elderly women," said Palmore, "are thought of as lonely and frustrated as indi cated by the humor about them." One joke about old maids speaks eloquently of how the older unmarried woman is re garded. The 80-yearold spin ster, the joke goes, complained traces Wister's frequent trips to 1 the city and his visits with' elderly aristocratic family friends who inspired his book. Wister years later wrote of his novel, "In Lady Baltimore, my portrait of Charleston, the em phasis is laid upon the passing elders more than upon the coming youth, for the sake of a precious thing that was never to return." Mr. Mason's article which also discusses Wister's friendship with President Thdo dore Roosevelt and Henry James and their visits with him in Charleston, is documented with excerpts from correspond ence, much of which is con tained in the Owen Wister Pa pers in the Library's Manuscript Division, and is illustrated with photographs of vintage Charles ton. In the third article, "The Heights of Mountains and the Lengths of Rivers," John A. Wolter, Assistant Chief of the Geography and Map Division, traces the historical develop ment of the profiling conven tion—the use of profiles to depict the earth's surface or underwater features, particular ly to compare heights and depths. The technique orgin ated in Egypt, was revived in the late Renaissance, and has passed with modivication, parti cularly in accuracy of measure ment, into our own time. Mr. Wolter's article concentrates on the development of the illus trative and scientific profiles drawn during the 19th century and describes the various styles ; which evolved, among them the center peak style with moun tains clustered in the middle and rivers shown on either side, and the double hemisphere style in which the two hem spheres are shown with com to a neighbor that she had trouble during the night be cause a man kept banging on her door. "Why not open it?" the neighbor inquired. "What, and let him out?" she replied. Retirement jokes were euqal ly divided between positive and negative attitudes. One with negative connotations is about the mother who told the elder ly teacher that her son was unhappy because he had to remain in school until he was 15. "That's nothing," snapped the teacher, "I have to stay here until I'm 65." A definition of age also re flected society's general atti tude toward old people. Age: 'That period of. life in which we compound the vices that we still cherish by reviling those we no longer have the enter prise to commit." Other jokes Palmore cited as reflecting societal attitudes were: Sexual ability: A 90-year old man was married to a 20-year-old girl and four days later he died, but it took the undertaker a week to get the smile off his face. Longevity: You are as old as you feel but seldom as important. parative heights arranged below and rivers above. The article is accompanied with repro ductions of atlas plates, notes, and two diagrams showing the chronology of the profile tech nique and the evolution of style of comparative atlas plates. In the final article, "Recent Acquisitions of the Rare Book Division," Frederick Goff, who retired as Division Chief June 30, describes the past year's additions to the rare book col lections. The wide variety of items include sermons and novels, chronicles and poems, proclamations and missals, and range in subject matter from a poem commemorating the death of a pet parrot to an attack on medical quacks, from the Republican platform of 1860 to an act of Parliament changing the calendar, and from the moon as it appeared to 17th-century astronomers to the view it presented to the Apollo-Saturn V astronauts three centuries later. The addi tions noted were made to the Lessing J. Rosenwald Col lection, the Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana, and to the Library's holdings related to the American Revolution. , The July issue of the Quar terly Journal is available by mail from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Govern ment Printing Office, Washing ton, D.C. 20402, or in person at the Information Counter, iGround Floor of the Main Building of the Library of Con gress. The price of this issue is 65 cents. Subscriptions are $2.50 per year domestic, 75 cents additional fqr foreign mailing. To Be Equal BARRIERS TO BLACK VOTING By VERNON E. JORDAN, *. 1 could be one of the most crucial of the century, an election in which decisions will be made that could affect the courst this nation takes for the next decade or so, but millions of citizens will be robbed of their right to participate in the vital electoral process that affects their lives. This is because the right to vote has been burdened by complicated and cumbersome procedures that, in effect, exclude poor people and minorities from the ballot. The South has always been pointed to as the region that kept black people from voting. The landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped to change that, although some parts of the South still set up road blocks. But a new research 6tudy by the National Urban League, "Abridging the Right to Vote," shows that many northern and western commun ities arc just as reluctant to encourage full citizen participa tion in elections today, as the South has been historically. It is well known that there is a smaller voter turnout for American elections than for other Western countries. The popular explanation for this has always stressed voter apathy, but it is now apparent that the real reason is the external im pediments placed in the path of many people. These barriers are especially significant in the inner-city and in smaller metropolitan areas. Residency requirements are among the most effective means of keeping citizens away from the polling booth. Some 33 states have rules requiring one year's residence in the state before one can vote, and most states have the same one year rule for residence in the county or the precinct. It is well known that we are the most mobile country in Happiness: A 90-year-old man was asked how he felt. "Great," he said, "when you consider the alternative." Death: As two old men watched a friend getting buried, one observed that they were both 90. "Hardly worth going home, isi it?" the other re marked. The fact is, says Palmore, studies indicate many older people actually look forward to retirement years. REV. JOSI AH HEN S0 N WHO WAS RECEIVED BY ENGLAND'S QUEEN ■VICTORIA IN 1677 WAS BORN A SLAVE MFgBSjTSIM IN MARYLAND. FOR 41-YEARS HE LIVED IN SLAVERY. DURING THOSE YEARS HE MARRIED AND PREACHED THE GOSPEL • TO HI? FELLOW SLAVES.LATER TO MIXED CONGREGATIONS UNTIL HE [ WAS FINALLY ACCEPTED AS A f' l PREACHER IN THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. IN 1828 HE W SOUGHT HIS FREEDOM BY PURCHASE KMHHB BUT AFTER GIVING HIS OWNER MONEY HE REALIZED HE WAS \ BEING A VICTIM OF FRAUD AND % 7 W " WAS TO BE SOLD. HE ESCAPED IN 1830 : Ow Cargii^aCintgg L. I. AUSTIN i Editor-Publisher. 1827-1971 Published every Saturday at Durham, N. C. . by United Publishers. Inc. MRS VIVIAN AUSTIN EDMONDS. Publisher CLARENCE BONNETTE Business Man dps* 1. ELWOOD CARTER Adoertistaa M—ac»r Second Class Postage Paid at Durham, N. C. >7701 SUBSCRIPTION RATES United States and Canada 1 Taw HM United Statea and Canada a Years SIIJB Foreign Countries 1 Year S7JJO Single ,Copy * W Cants Principal Office Located at 430 East P*ttlgrew Stfee*. Durham, North Carolina 37701 the world, but election officials still cling to residency require ments more suited to the old New England town meeting style of government. It is clear that such unreasonable residen cy requirements prevent mil lions from voting and fall dis proportionately upon minority groups that have high mobility rates within states or cities. The registration process it self is a formidable barrier to voting. In many states, regis tration ends two months or more before the elections—that is, well before the publicity of the campaitn stimulates voter interest. In many states, regis tration ends well before the primaries, cutting even more potential voters from the rolls. Most year-round registration offices are only open from 9 to 5, thus effectively preventing working people and the poor from registering. Not many people are willing or able to lose a day's pay to register. Many cities open temporary registration offices with evening or weekend hours for a limited period, but these are open for only a few days and there is so little publicity that most people never even know about them. Since registration offices are located "downtown"—far from the ghetto, distance is ef fective barrier as well. Few cities have really attempted to open temporary offices in the ghetto during registration per iods, utilize mobile units and | neighborhood registrars, or make other efforts to reach po tential black voters. Literacy tests long used against blacks in the South, are now used in some states, in cluding liberal ones like New York, to keep Spanish-speaking citizens and some blacks from registering. And many states bar convicted felons from the ballot, a rule that is said to result in disqualifying over 1.5 million people, many of whose convictions were for relatively trivial offenses. There are plenty of other administrative regulations and local laws that keep people out of the system when they should be used to include them in. It looks like the biggest reason not enough citizens par ticipate in the electoral system is the system itself.
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 12, 1972, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75