Newspapers / The Franklin Times (Louisburg, … / Feb. 23, 1967, edition 1 / Page 4
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The Ff^klih Times Kv?ry Jyesdey A TlwrWiy !?*>?*? All O# Frmklin Cmm^I LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENT A Job Well Done For years, this writer, like most citizens had little cause to follow fire trucks, rescue wagons and such. As a result, like most citizens, we thought kindly of the men who serve in these capacities, but we really had very little first-hand information of this service. But, during the last few years, it has been our business to report the actions of groups such as these and we have seen some of the things these men go through in serving the community. Tuesday night was a case in point. In twenty-degree temperatures, we watched as ordinary citizens, with nothing to gain personally but self satisfaction, risk their very lives climb ing ladders and stairways in smoke so dense they could not see beyond their noses. These were the firemen from Louis burg and other communities in the county fighting the blaze which threa tened a large portion of downtown ' Louisburg. We did not hear the first complaint. This in itself is somewhat remarkable, since we ourselves were complaining about the bitter cold and the lateness of the hour. It is difficult to say in so many words what one feels about such ser vice as these men performed Tuesday night. All were volunteers and many came from several miles away. The building stands today as testimony to the efficiency of these firemen, who did a remarkable job of saving the structure and the businesses inside. i We've said it before and we'd like to say it again ... it is very comfort ing to knaw as we go to bed each night, that there are such dedicated and un selfish men standing by to rush to the aid of all of us in case it is needed. A large tip of the old battered hat to the firemen of Louisburg and Franklin county for another job well done. Proud Of Our Youngsters We have said og many occasions that we have, in these parts, the finest group of young people to be found any where. Most of us are indeed thankful when we read about the actions of youngsters in other parts of the country and compare these actions with those of our own. As proof of the responsibility of our young people, the Louisburg High School Student Council has taken action designed to put a halt to dangerous dri ving by a few when leaving the campus. The Council has requested the assis tance of the local police department. It is heartening to us all to see these youngsters recognize some un desirable actions by their friends and fellow students. It is even more so when they take the initiative in solving the problems. Youngsters such as these are a cre dit to any community and Louisburg should be very proud of theirs. NATIONAL EDITORIAL COMMENT Ignorance On China Although we have in this country columnists writing frequently about the Communist regime in China, some living in Hong Kong or Formosa or Japan, the truth has been strik ingly revealed in recent days ? that we know almost nothing about what goes on in this vast country. As an example, it has just been learned that back in 1958 and 1959 there was a rift in top leadership circles in Red China, and at that time the man we have accepted all these years as the virtual dictator of RedChina was, in effect, rebuked. For eight years we knew almost nothing about this vitally important event! In more recent weeks and months stcries have followed stories? from the Far East, and one usually contradicted the other. The corres pondents writing them knew almost nothing about actual events inside * Red China. They were speculating or writing heresay. This is one good reason the State Department should relax its oppoei Eating & Dining It was once said that most of us eat and some of us dine. Ih a sense, there is a lot to that statement. What it points to is'that fact that some of us appreciate foods, proper cooking and seasoning, and so on, more than others. All of us have to eat to live whether we are happy with plain food, prepared with little effort, or whether we are gourmets, appreciating the fine points of taste and seasoning. It is probably true that those who study the world's best recipes and know something about the dishes of the peat restaurants, and who appreciate the varied possibilities in food preparation enjoy meals more than those who have little time to g iw to this trend of thought. Americans are too prone to eat in a hurry, swallow it down and get on to work or some other pursuit. Europeans, on the other hand, will take from an hour to an hour and a half ending up a splendid meal of several courses with cheese and . wine, or cheese and fruit. If you don't know how to start buy a couple of cookbooks preferably one or two describing foreign dishes M and begin by preparing several of the recipes yourself. tion to an exchange of visitors and newsmen with China. Only if we have professional newsmen in that vast land can we get some of the truth about events there back to the people. Since the Chinese are the most populous nation in the world it is in the long-term strategic interest of the United States to develop liason, contacts and sources of intelligence and infcr mat ion in that country. The Chinese can already And out just about anything they need to know about the United States by reading the newspapers. v Poa or \AioR?Yf > )M ia 7&U6H SP?TS LlKe K(is r ^ Tax (Continued from Page 1) sensus that taxation of prop erty has reached Its limit. Land-owning farmers are al ready burdened about as much as they can stand, one Com missioner commented, and more taxation on other prop erty owners, such as business and Industry, is likely to deter expansion and growth. Under the present rate of 91.56 county tax levy, It would take an additional property levy of 47 cent to bring Into the county till tbe same 9138,040 and somewhat more If the municipalities received their share. According io the county tax supervisor and as sistant county accountant this 9139,040.00 represents 16.9 percent of the present tax In come. There are other ways for the * county to gain revenue. Some advocate that the State return some of the present taxes col lected to the various counties for local use. Just how much support such a proposal has among State legislators Is un certain. This would perhaps be the best way and certainly the easier method to gain ad ditional revenue for the coun ty. The Tax Study Commission has recommended that each county be allowed to decide for itself whether or not to levy the If sales tax. The Commission suggests that the Commissioners be given the authority to levy with or with out a vote of the people. In the event that the Board would decide not to levy, the people could ask for a vote on the matter when 15% of the voters petitioned for a referendum. However, before any decis ions can be made locally, the legislators must act on the recommendation. Thus far, there has been no sign ot any activity In this area, although It Is far too early to discount their doing so. Until they do, and perhaps after any action is taken. Franklin County like many other counties, will have to continue to search for new ways of raising money to fi nance the ever-growing needs of its people. Most everyone is opposed to Increased taxes, but at the same time, most everyone Is in favor of continued services by county government. One or the other Is going to have to give. If Franklin County Is to take care of its needs, more money is going to have to be made available to the county government. One way or another, it will have to come. It seems the only question remaining to be an swered is, How? Weather Clearing, rather cold and windy today. Friday, fair and somewhat warmer In after noon. Low today, 31; high, about 45. Louisburg College The First Hundred And Eighty Years PART IV There are many other names closely associated with the beginning of Franklin Academy. Some of these per haps did as much or more than those already mentioned. However, history affords them less space than Hill, King and Seawell. It is significant that the names of William Green and John Hunt appear on both the school charters and as commissioners in the deed directing that the town of Louisburg be built. The names of William Lancaster, Francis Taylor and William Green appear on both the 1787 charter and the charter of 1802. Another Trustee was Judge John Haywood who was later elected Solicitor General of North Carolina, At torney General apd Judge of Superior Court. He was also a Trustee of the University of North Carolina. He moved from Louisburg in 1807. Archibald Davis, Jordan Hill, William Green, and William Williams, all Trustees and all served in the General Assembly from Franklin County during the late 18th century and early 1800's. Joshua Perry, Jeremiah .Perry, Jr. and Major Jeremiah Perry, prominent land owners, were members of a family which ardently sup ported the Louisburg school in the early years. There were perhaps many others, though not trustees, who certainly contributed to the establishment of Frank lin Academy. Early accounts of the area, point to the support given the school by local people. This same support prevails today. Among the founders of Franklin Academy -Louis burg College, we are sure there were a number of people who have been overlooked by history. These, to us, are also founders even though they for ever remain anonymous. Franklin Academy, first chartered on January 6, 1787 and later chartered again in 1802, actually began to operate as a school on January 1, 180S. It was not the first Junior College chartered as often stated. In 1784, Leicester Junior College, Leicester, Mass. was charter ed. Its growth has never reached the success of Louis burg College and little is known of it in this area. The University of North Carolina was chartered in 1789 but did not open until 1795. Salem College in Winston Salem was established in 1772 and grew into a four year college. A bill was introduced in the legislature as early as 1749 and again in 1752 to establish "free schools" in North Carolina. Both times the bill went down in de feat. In 1754, however, the legislature appropriated 6,000? for use in public schools in the colonies, but most of this was later borrowed for the military. The first successful attempt to establish a college in North Carolina was made in 1770 by the Presby terians of Mecklenberg County. They persuaded Gover nor Tryon to recommend to the General Assembly that a "public seminary be established in some part of the back country for the education of youth". An Act pass ed January 5, 1771 incorporated Queen's College at Charlotte. This was the first time the word "College" appears in the records. This law was disallowed by King George III on April 22, 1772 and the College continued to operate without a charter until 1777. At that time it was char tered as Liberty Hill by the General Assembly ' of the independent State. By 1780 it had fallen into "an en tire state of decay" and with a new charter in 1784 moved to Salisbury as Salisbury Academy. These were some of the schools struggling at the time Franklin Academy came into being. The actual construction of the building to house the Academy probably began shortly after the 1802 charter, although there is no record of this having been the case. The Raleigh Register of December 17, 1804 informed the public that Franklin Academy would open its doors less than a month later on January 1, 1805. As the building was being completed in 1804, a young man was completing his education at Yale Col lege, later Yale University. How he was contacted, who suggested him for Franklin Academy remains a mystery, ftis name, Matthew Dickinson and he was to become the first of a long and illustrous line of Head masters, Teachers and Presidents of Louis burg College. ? v ? . ... . ? . Blood And Dust Editor's Not#: Hundreds of sheets of material, pertaining to everything from mountain people in Japan to political speeches in Kansas, cross our desk each week. Once in a long while, one single article or written word merits our attention. When iuch happens, and we feel that the particular writing will interest our reader, we publish it on these pages. This is the case with BLOOD AND DUST, o booklet on high way safety distributed by Employers Insurance Company of Wausau (Wis* consin). We are happy to publish here, with permission of the company, ex cerpt from this booklet. ". . . . the Angels, Throw down their pens in a divine disgust- ? The page is so besmeared with blood and dust." -Bryon: A Vision of Judgment. 0h( sure; we say the auto death toll is awful, just as we say that an earthquake in China or a war in Viet Nam or eight nurses murdered in Chicago is awful. And having said so, we turn to the sports pages. We treat the very streets in front of our homes as if they were as remote from us, as far beyond our control, as a hurricane in the Caribbean. Until they were made stan dard equipment, seat belts at $15-20 were far outsold by auto mobile radios at or close to the hundred-dollar level. Driving after drinking is a crime. But we line our highways with roadhouses which can sur vive only by selling liquor to patrons who must get to them and leave them by automobile. (How many take taxis?) * Speeds over 65 miles per hour are permitted on only a fraction of jl per cent of our traveled ways. How fast can your car go? (And how fast is it driven?) Despite our sophisticated weaponry, we have yet to invent a means of killing people on purpose as efficiently as our motor vehicles do by accident. Statistically, American soldiers are safer in Viet Nam than they would be on American highways. There is a taste of hypocrisy in our hand-wringing and easy tears over the blood spilled in our streets. It looks very much as if Americans want to drink and drive; want to share their roads with operators who ought to be de-licensed; want to hurl their chariots at 100-mi le speeds at the peril of anybody who can't jump out of the way fast enough but lack the honesty to admit it and pay the butcher's bill. Reading the bad news beside the mailbox that morning, sup pose somebody had asked us "Which troubled you the most? Six hundred traffic deaths over the Fourth of July weekend? Or this $26 hike in your personal automobile premium?" ...x There are three broad pos sible approaches to the problem of automobile mayhem. Stated in the proper order: 1. You can try to stop the accident from happening. 2. You can try to build auto mobiles and highways of ma terials which will protect acci dent victims by cushioning the the physical effects of the acci dent. 3. You can try to compensate the victims adequately. The seeming public indif ference as to the causes of high way injury and death undergoes an instant and radical change when the time comes to assess their results. We can't do enough for the victims of the accidents that we could and should have prevented. Our courts are crowd ed with the people who survived automobile injuries (and with heirs of those who didn't). The Jrouble is not with the tool, but with its users. The fault, dear Brutus; * lies not in our automobiles but in ourselves. Why is it that so many of us, so much of the time, undergo a complete change of personality #?when we climb into the driver's seat? What makes us saunter, as if we had a week to spare, three blocks to an automobile, only to drive it as if harried by every imp in hell? Watch any two men reach a door together; how they compete for the privi lege of holding the door and be ing the last one through. Watch the same two men driving in parallel traffic lanes; how they jocked for position and exchange sour looks. By the way, how does Ralph Nader square this record with his theory that it is the condi tion of our automobiles, rather than the condition of our opera ors, that cause injuries? The under-25 group drive the dsam cars that their seniors do.) Drivers under twenty account for only 9.8 per cent of the mo toring population - but they ring up 16.5 per cent of the acci dents and 15 5 per cent of the fatalities.. Operators from 20 to 24 compose only 10.4 per cent of the driving public, but man age to involve themselves in 16.7 per cent of the smashups, and in a whopping 17.2 per cent of the deaths. Taking these two age groups together, youngsters under 25 make up only 20.2 per cent of the drivers on the road, but contribute 33.2 per cent of the accidents and 32.7 per cent of the fatalities. In the 'teens and early twen ties, a car and the right to drive it is in our society a highly valued status symbol. Most objectionable youthful driving practices are nothing but status asserting devices. Discarded mufflers, gunner motors, musical horns, smart-alecky stickers, souped-up engines, skidding starts and gravel-throwing stops these are all variations on the ancient cry of "Lookit, Ma - no hands!" After all, the underlying wish of the adolescent is to appear grown up (the one adjective which no normal child will tole rate is "childish"), and we must convince him that reckless driv ing is simply not grown up. But we must practice what we preach. We can't teach our . juniors what we have never learned ourselves. When you can't move a jack ass with a carrot, it's time to look around for a club. If we are sincere in our determination to stanch this flow of blood and money, and if some operators won't respond to the techniques of persuasion, they must be hauled from behind the wheel by the scruff of the neck. To cite a great and particular peril, let's consider the lethal combination of drinking and driving. How lethal is demon strated by a study in Wisconsin. State coroners made tests in 250 driving fatalities. Alcohol was present in the blood of 165 - that's two-thirds - of those drivers. And 157 of them - about three-fifths of the total - disclosed alcohol at levels con stituting drunkenness under Wisconsin law. Is there any reason to suppose that the situa tion is different in other states? When automobile operators know in advance that violations will result in stiff ftnes, sus pension or loss of their drivers' licenses, and in extreme cases hoosegow time, the majority of them will not risk it. What are the legal maximum and minimum penalties for speed ing In your jurisdiction? For operating to endanger? For driving under the influence of liquor? Are the penalties im partially enforced? How easy is it to fix a ticket? You needn't feel embarrassed if you don't know the answers to half of those questions (or any ? of them). If you don't, you are only in the same boat with most of the rest of us. But we think the time has come to reverse the old warning. I We think it's time to rock the boat. i RAMA
The Franklin Times (Louisburg, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 23, 1967, edition 1
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