Times
fen** AN Of Pr?*K? Cawtfy
LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENT
j ? Srl? .? ? WtW- R ' . ?
Sportmanship
Today, when the major colleges and
universities are plagued with the lack
of good sportsmanship in many areas, it
is heartwarming to witness the display
of this most valued commodity in the
recent basketball tournament played
here.
Spectators, coaches, school officials
and team members could not have ex
emplified the true sportsman and the
true meaning of sportsmanship more
than was done in the past week.
At Louisburg College and at Louis
burg High School, in both the Junior
College Tourney and the County Tour
ney, sportsmanship was excellent.
Basketball games, especially, when
championships and trophies ride on
almost every shot, can be a nerve-rack
ing experience for players, coaches and
fans. Anyone would be hard put not to
show some degree of displeasure when
things are not going to suit them. This,
of course, is part of the game and can
be done, as it was in these tournaments,
without being poor sports.
The fact that such good clean fun
can be enjoyed by people of all ages in
our county, is one of the high marks of
the people here and the caliber children
being reared in this area.
The tournament is a wonderful way
for people in one section to visit with
those from other sections of the county.
To be able to do and to be able to take
defeat and ta accept victory is a mark
of good citizenship.
We're proud that we have so much of
this in Franklin County.
Where There's Smoke
We have no way of knowing just how
much fire New Orleans District Attorney
Jim Garrison is hiding, but one thing
for sure, he has raised a great deal of
smoke in the matter of the Kennedy
assassination.
The killing of the President con
tinues to be surrounded in a sea of un
answered questions. The Warren Com
mission, which was established in the
hope of forevermore disquieting any
suspicions and doubts connected with
the slaying, has proved unsuccessful.
Over three years later, there remains
much doubt in the minds of the Ameri
can people that things happened exact
ly as the Warren Commission reported.
The Manchester book, which has
drawn so much publicity of late, has
also managed to keep alive some of the
controversy shrouding the death of
President Kennedy.
If there were a plot, as Mr. Garrison
implies in New Orleans, it would seem
appropriate to us that every arm of the
country's investigative agencies be
thrown into the search for the truth. Mr.
Garrison, apparently pleased that he
has something hot, seems to want to
keep it to himself. He is perhaps justi
fied in view of the recent mysterious
deaths of at least two persons he says
were involved. However, the American
people want to know just what it is that
Mr. Garrison thinks he has uncovered.
They have a right to know.
It is a sign of our times that the
public will no longer take at face value
the statements of federal authorities
as being accurate or indeed true. It is
not surprising that the public in general
holds some doubts about the Warren
Commission report. The public has
been fooled before by federal officials
and in matters far less intriguing.
Someone, perhaps Mr. Garrison,
should put the public mind at ease and
disclose once and for all, everything
known about the assassination. Some
answers perhaps will never be forth
coming, but those in the possession of
the few should be made public for all to
see and hear.
NATIONAL EDITORIAL COMMENT
Mansfield's Warning
Majority Senate Leader Mike Mans
field has issued another warning to
the nation on the Vietnam war. Last
year, at the close of 1965' s fighting,
he urged President Lyndon Johnson
to seek peace. In a recent assess-;
ment of the situation exactly one
year later his advice was much the
same. t
Speaking of Thailand, j where
Communists are now fighting the _
legal government, Mansfield says
we might be in the initial stages of
another Vietnam. "Our policy in
Thailand seems to be treading the
same path," he said, noting that we
were now supplying advisers and
transportation to the Thais, just as
we did in Vietnam. -j
Mansfield says efforts in behalf
of peace in the past year have pro
duced "no progress toward a just
settlement" and he believes the
danger of an expanded conflict has
increased in that time. "It's a war
which could get out of hand through
miscalculation or accident, "he added.
</
He says the war "has escalated
gradually" and points to certain
facts which made stronger peace or
compromise efforts desirable. "The
world at large is not on our side
in thia. struggle," he cwjtjflivi. In
addition, continued escalation and
fighting will inevitably make North
Vietnam more and more dependent
on Red China, he warns .
Mansfield says we now have be
tween 35,000 and 37,000 men in
Thailand, a major increase since a
year ago, and the danger of a new
Vietnam-type war in that country, as
well as an expanded war in Vietnam,
are dangers we should avoid by
every possible means. His new
warning (he issued a similar one
after a study on the scene in
January of 1966) is certain to in
crease pressure on the Johnson
Administration for sdme kind of
settlement.
It is a grim note for the new year,
one which must be considered by all
thinking citizens.
The Fr
n Times
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x\ ..Take A Giant Step,./'
CQEEUVgOOO WV1LW UB IMS
Rep. Fountain Introduces Bill
To Strengthen Federal Govt.
Representative L. H. Foun
troduced a major bill to fur
ther strengthen our federal
system through policies and
tain (2nd District) today ln
coope ration, and the coordlM
tlon of Federally-aided activi
ties, between the Federal,
State and local levels of gov
ernment.
The Fountain bill, called the
"Intergovernmental Coopera
tion Act ot 1967," deals with a
number of Important problems
examined by the House Inter
governmental Relations Sub
corn mlttee, of which Con
gressman Fountain Is Chair
man, and by the Advisory
Commission on Intergovern
mental Relations, on which he
serves as a Congressional
member. The Advisory Com
mission, which brings togeth
er representatives of our Fed
eral, State and local govern
ments for the consideration
Of common problems, was es
tablished In 1959 as a bipar
tisan body through the enact
ment of legislation sponsored
by Representative Fountain.
The bill Is Intended to ac
complish these eight objec
tives:
(1) Provide that Governors
and State legislatures be ful
ly Informed, upon request,
about all Federal grants made
to their States, and that grant
funds be more uniformly and
efficiently administered;
(2) Permit State and local
- governments to contract with
Federal agencies for special
ized technical assistance and
training which the State and
local governments themselves
cannot economically provide.
However, Federal agencies
may not perform these ser
vices if they are reasonably
and expeditiously available
through ordinary business
channels;
(3) Establish a coordinated
Intergovernmental polled on
the administration of grants
for urban development, with
Federal agencies taking into
account all viewpoints? local,
regional, State and National?
In ths formulation and evalua
tion of programs and projects.
S also favors the eligibility of
cities, counties and towns as
recipients ot Federal urban
development a s s 1 stance in
preference to special purpose
units of local government
which are not directly res
ponsible to the voters;
(4) Provide for periodic
Congressional review of new
Federal grant-in-aid pro
grams to Insure that such
programs are examined in a
systematic fashion and are
reconsidered In the light of
changing conditions;
(5) Authorise the President
to submit plans to the Con
gress for the consolidation ot
individual categorical grants
within broad functional areas,
subject to the same kind of
Congressional veto proce
dures that apply to executive
reorganisation plans. The
purpose ot this provision is to
help control the proliferation
of separate grants and to pro
vide greater flexibility to the
States In the use of grant funds;
(6) Require that the Federal
government, to the extent pos
sible, acquire, use and dispose
of urban land In a way that Is
consistent with local planning
objectives;
(7) Establish a uniform po
licy for fair and equitable
treatment of owners, tenants,
and other persons forced to
relocate as a result of the ac
quisition of real property for
Federal and federally-aided
public improvement pro
grams, such as highways;
(8) Establish a uniform pol
icy for the acquisition of real
property by Federal agencies
and by State agencies using
Federal funds for public im
provement programs.
"This bill," Congressman
Fountain said, "seeks to har
monize the many lndependent
. administered Federal as
sistance programs for their
more effective and coordina
ted implementation at the State
and local levels where such
programs are" actually trans
lated Into projects and ser
vices for the benefit of our
people."
Congressman Fountain fur
ther stated: "While the grant
in-aid has been a valuable In
strument for facilitating In
tergovernmental cooperation,
it has, nevertheless, created
problems for the State and
local governments whose
strength and vitality we seek
to nourish. Problems have re
sulted from the rapidly accel
erating trend In recent years
toward the enactment of a
great many new and varied
grant programs. We now have
over 220 Federal grant pro
grams administered by no
fewer than 16 Federal depart
ments and agencies. Pro
blems have also resulted from
a lack of effective coordination
at these activities 4t the Fed
eral level, and with respect to
their Impact on local com
munities and on the structure
ot State government."
It is toward the solution of
these Important Intergovern
mental problems that the
Fountain bill is directed.
No Beauty Parlor
Briolyn (la.) Sentinel
Time may be a great healer, but it cer
tainly is no beauty parlor.
Lyndon's New Tune
Changing Tint**
Now Lyndon's singing a new tune: "The
Rise of Taxes Is Upon You."
A Squeaking Contest
With A Mouse
BY JESSE HELMS
Among Evangelist Billy Gra
ham's lesser worries we
would suppose, is the cri
ticism of him by first one
official of the National Coun
cil of Churches and then an
other. Insofar as we know,
Dr. Graham haf not digni
fied the criticism by respond
ing to It, and he Is wise In his
silence. There 14 no point In
becoming Involved In a
squeaking contest with a
mouse.
Still, there Is something re
vealing In the nature of the
latest criticism emanating
from 'the National Council of
Churches, this time voiced by
a Rev. Colin Williams who,
by the way, made his com
ments while the NCC's Gen
eral Assembly was holding
Its annual meeting at a plush
Miami Beach hotel.
The Rev. Mr. Williams com
mented that Billy Graham Is
"obsolete". Dr. Graham em
phasizes the personal nature
of Christianity, Mr. Williams
said, and that? he added? "Is
no longer an adequate symbol
for the contemporary world".
It Is small wonder that the
reporters present found It
necessary to ask Mr. Williams
to explain a bit. Well, said the
Rev. Mr. Williams, Dr. Gra
ham "has lost sight of the so
cial dimensions of sin and the
way sin Is to be overcome."
The Reverned still wasn't
getting through to the repor
ters, so the questioning was
pursued. And then the usual
National Council of Churches
dogma began to come forth.
And the more It came, the
stronger Billy Graham loomed
as a dynamic central figure In
the preservation of the Chris
tian gospel.
Dr. Graham's trouble, ac
cording to the National Coun
cil of Churches official, was
that he hadn't marched In the
streets, he hadn't picketed the
Congress, he hadn't participa
ted In the various movements
that have led to anarchy and
destruction and violence.
Rather, Billy Graham has been
speaking to the hearts of Indi
vidual men and women. He has
preached that If mankind will
take care of Its Individual sins,
social reform will take care of
Itself? and In the proper man
ner.
It Is not difficult to under
stand that the National Coun
cil of Churches objects to Bil
ly Graham's refusal to follow
the NCC format of disguising
Its own brand of politics and
sociology with pious labels.
It the National Council of
Churches Is Interested In sav
ins souls, it has not been ap
parent. The NCC has resem
bled nothing In recent years so
much as a giant political lob
bying mechanism. It presents
Itself as the last word on eco
nomic and social problems,
and no discernible good comes
to mind that the NCC has ,
achieved. It may be that
what the officials of the NCC
need most to do is to attend a
Billy Graham rally when Or.
Graham Is emphasizing the
importance of personal re
sponsibility and individual
Christian concepts.
Billy Graham, as a preacher,
may be in the minority, but his
principles are far from obso
lete. A backsliding American
cannot charge its travail to
Billy Graham, for he has been
sounding a warning?to indivi
duals ? for a quarter of a cen
tury and more. As J. Edgar
Hoover observed the other
day, there is today a depar
ture by growing numbers of
Americans from the recogni
tion of an objective, or abso
lute, norm of personal moral
ity. We are substituting, In
stead. what Is called a "so- ?
daily acceptable" pattern of
behavior. In the course of this
displacement, Mr. Hoover
said, we have- -In his opln- v
ion? "lost sight of two vital
elements? the nature of God :
and the nature of man." There
was a time, he said, when so
ciety demanded law and order.
The average citizen refused to :
tolerate those who lacked per
sonal integrity. Loss of honor ;
meant total disgrace. Today, ~~
there Is a national attitude of
"it's all right if you can get by
with it" ?particularly if some
excuse, such as race or pov- j
erty, can be dredged up as a
defense.
Billy Graham, In the eyes of
the National Council of
Churches, probably is Indeed
guilty of preaching the old- :j
time religion, and this reach- ?'
lng for the personal con- /
science and the Individual soul
of man. This seems to be
neither the Interest nor the
purpose of the National Coun
cil of Churches. Billy Gra- V
ham's old-time religion may
be obsolete to the NCC, but we
suspect there are millions who
remain willing to say that "it's
good enough for me. "
Income
(Continued from Pas* 1)
wonder crop. Plantings have
more than doubled the post
three years to a total of 17,000
acres which yielded an ave
rage of 24 bushels an acre and
grossed 9962,500 to farmers.
Farmers' cash receipts
from livestock and livestock
products reached a record
total of 93,288,190 last year.
The gain of $200,000 over the
previous year was a result of
continued good prices for beef
and hogs, an Increased number
of hogs produced and better
milk and egg prices.
We have predicted a gross
term Income of $2S million by
1971, says Dean. This Is one
-,of the goals set by farmer
groups In preparing a five
year growth plan called "Tar
get 2." Farmers are expected
to reach their goal by higher
crop yields, more livestock,
Schools
(Continued from Page 1) :;
as possible.
School Board members and
school personnel are prohibit
ed by law from Influencing
anyone In the choice of :
schools, It was stated, al
though questions on any other
aspects of the plan should be ?
directed to the school office.
Forms are also on hand at
the school office and In local
schools for those who will
enter the system after the
30-day choice period ends.
These also Include complete
Instructions In a letter to
parents and the Notice of the
plan.
and by higher prices received.
"Yes, you can still say, when
agriculture grows, the Frank
lin County economy usually
grows with It," said Dean.
Gift Horse
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