The Ff
Pwfclit*** i.t'f T^, A ThwfW?v
Times
Your Award Winning County N ewspaper
LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENT
Something To Think About
Franklin County experienced its ^
second drowning of the year and the
second in 47 days last week when a
12-year-old boy perished in a farm
pond. Like so many such tragedies,
there wasn't much anybody could do.
Many other areas of the state have had
similar tragedies. It's that season of
the year.
There have been twelve drownings
in Frgnklin County in the past five
years. Half of this number were adult
men, two were young male adults and
four were young boys, three 14- year
olds and now a 12-year-old.
All of these twelve deaths took
place in farm ponds. Unguarded and
many without any life saving 'gear,
these ponds present a real hazard to
young boys. They are convenient
cooling off places afters hot day in
the field and many youngsters do' not
realize the danger. Parents and friends
should constantly stress to young
children the ever present danger of
water. Children should never swim
alone. Some capable swimmer,, prefer
ably an adult, should always be on
hand.
^ Four of the six adult viclwis in the
past five years were operdftiwj boats.
3oating safety is certainly something
that should be studied before taking
to water, even on-small farm ponds.
Accidents happep-and often times
tMteyi*??ujnexplaine\iaWi leave ques
tions as to what might hive~been done
to avoid them. The curren^vuhway
toll is a tragic example.
However, twelve deaths attajffgic
and even though water danger ?ti<?
perhaps as evident as that of hiwiwayL
traffic, it nevertheless is great*^nough
? that all should pay attention to it.
Children should be taught to swim
at an early age and should be con
stantly reminded of the dangers faced
in the water. Adults should know and
observe every precaution when boat
ing, fishing or swimming. Water sports
are fun and they should be encourag
ed, but all of us need to take note that
twelve persons are dead in just five
years from drowning in farm ponds in
this county alone.
It's certainly something to think
about.
Do For All Alike
They renamed D. Ci Stadium Sun
day in honor of the late New York
Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Appro
priately enough, it wa$ done on the
anniversary of his death. And it was
accomplished with the solemnity be
fitting the occasion.
The youthful Senator's death was
indeed an American tragedy. Like him
or not, no man should be taken by
assassination and the country mourn
ed his passing.
It would appear that now, twelve
months since the fatal shots were fired
and milljpns witnessed the long fun
eral procession from New York to
?Washington, ,that the shock would
have worn. It would seem that .those
who tend to martyrize the Senator
would reajiie that after all, he was
nothing more than one human being.
The fact that his death was more
tragic than hundreds of other Senators
in our history is not enough to single
him out for laurels which have not
and never wMI be given to so many
who are far more deserving.
There were many things for which
Senator JCennedy should be noted. He
was an outstanding successful cam
paign manager for* his brother in the
1960 presidential elections; he was an
adequate Attorney General although
many differed with his policies while
in that office. His magic name, the
tragic death of President Kennedy and
his father's money made him a Sena
?tor. Had he been poor, had his brother
not been President, had he not pos
sessed the Kennedy name, chances are
that he would have been struggling in
the practice of law.
Honoring him is, of course, some
thing every American would want to
do. He was a United States Senator
and a prominent figure. But beyond
this, what actually did Robert Ken
nedy do for his country? .
V Without any desire to strip away
any of the things for which he should
be remembered or honored, the ques
tion remains unanswered as some of
his followers continue today in their
attempts to make of him in death
aomething he never was in life. Un
' doubtedly, he was a fine, well-educat
ed man and devoted husband and
father. But to tack greatness on him is
grossly unfair to so many other Amer
icans.
For example. North Carolina has
had several United States Senators
who served their country -in our
mind- far more than did the Senator
from New York. Hoey, Broughton,
Scott, Smith to name a few.
Although not particularly popular
in this section of the country, the late
Ohio Senator Robert Taft, by any
measure, was a far greater American
than Senator Kennedy. Tennessee's
late Estes Kefauver was another ex
ample. There are many others.
D. C. Stadium is now the Robert F.
Kennedy Stadium and we can live
with that provided the efforts stop
there.
One passing note of interest might
be included here. As with the Senator,
a great cry went out last year to name
a number of things for the late Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Other sugges
tions for honoring the late civil rights
leader were also advocated and many
are still insisting that more of this be
done. The interesting question in this
case is why the FBI found it necessary
to plant a bug on King's telephone
from 1964 to 1968, if he was serving
his country so well? And you may
recall that flags were flown at half
staff when he was killed. They were
American flags. Tapping his phone in
1964 would <h?ve been one thing but
surely, the FBI found something of
interest to have kept it tapped for
four full years, if one is to believe the
latest reports.
King, like Kennedy, was well liked
and even adored by some followers.
They, like everybody else, have the
privilege of holding their own me
mories of the man. Let them both be
honored where honor is due them.
But, let's be gone with this business of
changing the name of just about
everything when some prominent citi
zen meets with tragic death. Let's
honor Americans for what they do for
their country and let's do it for all-'"
alike.
Raid
(Continued from Page 1)
Ions of non-taxpald whisky, about
5.700 gallons of mash, about a ton of
sugar and 500 pounds of "ship Stuff"
uaed In making. mash., i
Officers pointed out that the big
operation actually made uae of four
submarine type stills, two of 1,550-gal
lon capacity each The liquor tank
used to catch whisky as It game from
the distilling operation was dcacrlbed
as of 500-gaDon capacity, enough to
handle approximately one day's pro
duction capacity.
Fifty-gallon barrels were in use as
stUI caps and doubter equipment with
the plant fired with bottled gaa. Offi
cers said they seized 19 gas cylinders.
along with a gasoline pump.
Other equipment selntd or destroy
ed at the site Included about 100 caaea
- of one-gallon plastic jugs. 38 cases of
half-gallon glass Jan, and two radiator
-type condensers
'When I said, 'Senators have to eat, too,' I didn't mean
like common folk.'
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
To The Editor:
We all know the old ex
pression "Everybody is talk
ing about the weather, but
nobody Is doing anything
about it." This adage might
be adapted for our purposes
in discussing an observable
human phenomenon in that it
appears that everyone is talk
ing about community pro
blems, but very few people
are doing anything about
them. We all get together on
the job, at church, at social
events and on street corners
to mouth the standard woes
about the kids going to the
dogs, the price of living and
taxes going up, people not
being neighborly like they
used to, parenti not setting
right examples for their child
ren, too' many drunks being
on the streets and highways,
kids matrying too early, too
many people on welfare,
couples who cannot make a
go of it in marriage, the go
vernment telling everybody
what they can or cannot do,
and so on and on. We usually
end up saying, "If something
isn't done about the mess, I
dont know what the world ,
will come to." In terms of
responsibility for doing some
thing we usually refer to '
"they". By "they" we all too
often are referring to any one
other than ourselves, and are
I
usually implying that respon
sibility lies with the "govern
ment" even though in the
same breath we condemn that
same government for its inter
ference in our affairs. Very
seldom do we find com
munity people coming toge
ther to evaluate community
problems in any purposeful
or systematic way to really
identify the real "down to
earth" issues and problems
that are tending to over
whelm individuals and com
munities and producing un
happy, unproductive or even
disturbed persons. Very sel
dom do community groups
organize to discuss and devise
some simple, practical begin
ning steps to solve or modify
some of these problems. How
often do we hear people ask
ing Such questions as these:
What can I as an individual.
What can we as a church,
What can we as a club. What
can we as a community do to
make the Uves of the lederly
less lonely, to keeps kids sup
plied with useful work or
recreation, to prepare young
people to be better parents,
to determine why people
wish to escape so often in a
bottle, to find out why
people place so much em
phasis on materialistic re
wards, to insure that our
children have the education
suitable to equip them ade
quately to meet current de
mands as well as to fulfill
adult roles?
We would probably agree
that such questions are not
asked often: yet when any
significant change for the
better comes to a com
munity, it usually comes as a
result of community people,
in some degree of despera
tion, resorting to their own
talents, resources, and in
genuity to do those things
which have to be done or to
seek any necessary source of
assistance to supplement local
efforts.
If community groups can
be made aware of the self
help potential existent in
their own neighborhoods and
be trained to organize *nd
systemize their methods of
identifying problems, discuss
ing solutions and implement
ing program activities, the re
sulting insights will not only
be reflected In increased per
sonal growth and usefulness,
but will result in group action
toward solutions to human
living programs having com
munity wide impacts.
Sincerely,
Talmadge Edwards, Jr.
Route 1
Louisburg, N. C.
7
The Fr&jjffcjin Times
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Other things press for space,
but. for the life of me. I can't get
? out of my mind Nixon's nomina
tion of Judge Warren E. Burger to .
become Chief Justice of The
United States. It could prove to
have been the most momentous
single act of this age.
I say it could. If Dick Nixon
spoke from a solemn and truthful
heart when he told reporters of
his philosophy as it pertains to
the judiciary, if he did. gentle
reader, we are on the road back.
The President said he will be
governed in his nominations to ,
the Federal bench by how the
prospective appointee regards his
role as an interpreter of the Con
stitution. If it is not as a "strict
interpreter", so the implication
was, he will be passed over.
That attitude is close to per
fect
What keeps hammering in my
head, you see, is the method that
the fabians Roosevelt through
Johnson - employed to work
their misbegot magic on the
American people. They relied,
in the main, on a Supreme Court
that would "legalize" their novel,
unconstitutional concepts; their
court appointees debased the
Constitutional phrase, "general
welfare": Anything, pillage to I
?i <* -t I.,.',.
| ' ? Tr T'lMfffggt" 'TH 'if
ANOTHER THOUGHT
ON JUDGE BURGER
I
JOHN J. SYNON
'COME^
TO
THINK
OF IT..."
r
by
frank count
A whole heap of you folks can remember when we use to
walk to town on Sundays and watfh the trains come In. Man,
wasn't thafexciting, though? Wjfl. that's been some time ago,
of course, and trains don't Mild no interest for most of us
nowadays. Besides, there ain't been a train come in these parts
in some time, interesting enough to turn your head let alone
walk anywheres to see it.
But. I found me a new thing. It's called golf. Now dont go
getting excited, I don't play it. I just watch them that does.
And ir you lined
trains coming in,
you ought to see
some of them golfers
when they come in.
I I found out about
it purely by acci
j| dent. I nearly run
over one Sunday. He
' was standing in the
road trying to hit
that little white ball
which was knee deep
.in the weeds beside
the road. I thought
he was a horse when
I first seen him. He was too big for a deer and them short
britches didn't help his legs neither.
When my bumper hit his belt button and his eyes stopped
di-lating, I recognized him. I never would have. Not on a golf
course. He ain't done that near like work since I known him
almost thirty years. And amazements of all amazements, he
was sweating. Now, you doctors know how valuable that stuff
is, if you could of bottled it.
But, even though I didnt believe it, there he stood. Old
Fatso Bean, with his stomache hanging almost to his knees and
covering more of him than them shorts.
"Fatso", I said, "Them other fellows are playing over there
where the grass is. Won't they let you play with them?"
He didn't answer the question. "Frank", he said, "You
almost run over me. Man you could a kilt me. You oqght to
watch where you're going." s?
"Don't get so excited, Fatso", I said. "You was standing
right smack dab in tfie middle of the road. Now, I ain't no
golfer, a cour*, but, this here's a highway and I ain't sure you
got no right playing in the middle of it. Besides, Fatso, I knew
I could stop. All I did was skin your belt buckle. If you'd a
sucked in a little, I'd a missed you altogether."
"I declare, Frank", he said mopping his brow, "You done
upset my concentration. I dont know if I can even hit the ball
now".
"Well, Fatso, I don't mean no harm by it but you didn't do
to good hitting it before I killed your concentration from the
looks of where you're standing. Any snakes in that patch?"
Man, I hadnt ought to have said that. If hitting him with
the car upset his concentration that little remark shook his
shorts. He jumped six feet high-and that ain't no mean task
for a man who can't weigh on a penny scale. He has to go to a
meat market and let them hang on one of them that goes over
300 pounds.
'Bout ttiat time I really though I seen a black one but I was
scared to tell Fatso. Then, I think he seen him, too. Hi started
beating away at them bushes like there won't no tomorrow.
One of his buddies was standing on the smooth grass saying,
'Two strokes, three strokes, four strokes". That was before he
started counting faster, of course. ?
Well, to make the long story short, I gotta tell you that
Fatso won't the only weird thing I seen Sunday. There was
some with hats. There was some with caps. There was some
bow-headed. There was fat ones and skinny ones and some
carrying heavy bags over their shoulders. In 98 degree weather,
but they's alright. Ii aint nothing wrong with them. I asked
one fellow and he said there aint nothing wrong with them.
He said a bug had bit 'em. He said aint none never died from
it.
So, if you're locking something to pass away a Sunday
afternoon and you don't mind the heat ps some pretty curious
language at times and if you ain't scare of that bug biting you,
go watch the golfers on a Sunday. It beats watching trains
coming in by a mile.
arson, under a liberal interpreta
tion can be construed to be for
the "general welfare" And if one
will but read the Constitution,
the common sense ot it wherein
that phrase is employed, the ex
tent of the perversion of today's
Supreme Court will become ap
parent.
? ? ? ? ?
And now President Nixon says,
in effect, he is going to put a stop
to that. That is what he implies.
He will have to do it, actually,
before I become a believer. I have
too many scars to be taken in by
the first role of summer. But
with thr nomination of Judge
Burger, Nixon has in fact given,
ut a rose of no mean esaence. Aa
I I My, I can think of little else.
Think with me. then, what this
nomination, and successive nomi
nations of a like order, can mean.
Take that notorious Brown
decision, the one that forced in
tegration onto our public-school
systems, integration now descend
ing into academic chaos. It was
achieved through trickery, you
know, the NAACP played a Irick
on the Court. The late Federal
Judge Sidney C. Mia*, in the
Ever s case - on rehearing the
evidence presented (and not pre
sented) in Brown ? said the
facts (i.e. the trickery employed) '
"cried out" to be reheard. But
the judge himself lamented, what
if they do "cry out", ao long as
the Supreme Court refuses to lis
ten, the facts will "cry" in vain
As indeed they are "crying",
i
have "cried" every day of the 1 5
yean since that Black Monday
ruling.
? ? ? ? ?
Nobody I know wants Nixon's
judicial appointees to be segre
gationists any more than any
body I know wants them to be
integrationists. What my kind of
person wants as his judge is an
impartial arbiter, an intelligent,
honest-minded man who will de
cide cases on the merits, that is.
according to the Constitution.
Nothing more; nothing less.
The Brown case comes first
to my mind as an error the
Burger-Court-to-be can cotTect.
Perhaps- there is some Warren
Court error that bothers you even
more than Brown. That is quite
probable, there are many such.
Let your mind run back, then,
over the years. Trace, if memory
holds, our slow descent into this
day of riot and violence, how we
have come to this sorry pass and
know that every knot tied by the
stupid, the venal and the malign,
every knot can be untied by an
nonest -minded court.
Think and you will understand
why I lend such weight to the
Burger nomination. It is a mean
ingful portent.