The Fr
PwMnfc*#- Cxry Tweedef A TliwuJiy
Times
Your Award Winning County Newspaper
LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENT
Reason Escapes Us
Lait week the Industrial Develop
ment Commission received a letter
from the highly respected firm of
Peirson and Whitman, Consulting En
gineers, which serves the county and
the Town of Louisburg. In the letter,
written by Mr. Troy A. Doby, it was
sSid: "It is our considered opinion
that the Board of Commissioners of
Franklin County should take whatever
action necessary to properly zone the
developed corridor along Highway 56
between Louisburg and Franklinton."
The reference is to the area where
industrial plants are locating and
where county taxpayers have a
quarter million dollars invested in
water lines. Taxpayers in the Town of
Louisburg have an additional
$50,000.00 invested in the corridor.
The area is also reported to be the
only in the county when a major
highway, a railroad, water lines and
soon, gas lines run along together.
Representatives of the Commission
and the county's Planning Board ap
peared before the Commissioners last
week to request that the Board pass a
resolution requesting that a bill be
introduced In the General Assembly
to have Franklin included in an al
ready existing law. Such action would
give the Commissioners the authority,
if ever needed, to zone and thereby
protect the people's interest.
Although these representatives re
port a favorable reception from the
Commissioners, the minutes show that
the matter, was tabled. It was also
noted that a meeting set for Monday
afternoon excluded the discussion of
any matters other than the budget
which precluded any action on the
zoning matter.
A reliable source told The Times
Monday night that the resolution may
gain approval Wednesday when the
Board meets again.
It is regretable that the seemingly
non-controversal resolution was not
adopted last week so that it could
have been introduced in the House
Monday night. It is equally regretable
that it was not adopted , Monday so
that it could have been introduced
today. Adoption of the resolution
Wednesday will time it for Thursday
when the House will take up the
Governor's tax bill again. And so rt
appears, even if Representatives James
Speed is willing to introduce the bill
and if there is sufficient time remain
ing to get it passed, the Commission
ers have waited too long.
There must be some reason the
Board does not want the power to
zone areas of the county. If there is, it
certainly escapes us.
Pain Reaches The Brain
Sooner or later, it had to happen.
Members of the United States Con
gress have sat in their hallowed halls,
twiddling their thumbs, taking care of
their conflicts of interest and allowing
the Supreme Court to legislate. One
would suppose that members of the
Congress, grossly underpaid at
$30,000 per year plus fringe benefits
before giving themselves a raise to
$42,500 in order to fight inflation,
might have deserved some respite
from their tedious labors. Thus, in
their minds, a little help here and
there from the judicial branch of
government seemed in order.
Comes now the give-'em-an-inch
and-they'll-take-a-mile development.
The Supreme me Court has obviously
tired of just legislating and now has
started dictating. This comes as no
surprise to many Americans to whom
the Court has long been dictating.
But, this time the shoe fits another
foot, this time,, the Court says the
Congress it without power, except
that given it by the Court's interpreta
tion of the Constitution.
This waafc, the grand old men have
decreed that Congress had no authori
ty to rirfuse to seat Adam Clayton
Powell at a Congressman from New
York. The Congress had, mistakenly,
believed that it could run the
Congrett. That's what school boards
thought for years and a number of
private businessmen to say nothing of
a few law enforcement agencies.
Powell, said the Court, it qualified
under the Conttitution and therefore
could not be refuted hit teat, even by
an act of Congrett. At one startled
Congressman remarked, the Court it
laying that Powell, a fugitive from
juttice at the time of the Congrettion
al action, is qualified to sit and pass
laws ordering other men to enter the
armed services when as a fugitive, he,
himself, would be unacceptable. He
questions the reasoning of the Court.
Haven't we all?
It will be interesting now to watch
what happens next. If the Congress
refuses to back Powell's back salary, it
will be in contempt of Court. Just
what this will entail, nobody seems to
know. If it pays Powell's back salary
as ordered, it will be surrendering to
an equal partner in the three-branch
governmental system under which we
live.
Under the Court's apparent reason
ing in this decision, one would suspect
that any action by the Congress is
subject to approval of the Court. If
the Court decrees a man qualified -re
gardless of his record -can it not rule
the President must appoint anybody
to a cabinet post? Can it not overrule
such an appointment by the third
branch of the government if it over
rules the second branch? Everyone
realizes the Court is now and has been
for some time, the first branch of
government.
The Congress represents the
people. Government, it has been said,
derives its power to govern from the
consent of the governed. The Supreme
Court does not represent the people in
any such terms. Its rulings in recent
years has brought this country to the
brink of disaster. It is time the Con
gress showed that it is an equal
partner in the business of governing
this nation.
Now that it is its toes that are
being stepped on, maybe it will. The
pain reaches the brain quicker when
the toes are on one's own foot.
The Fra^ih Times
EaUMlahad 1870 - Published Tuaadayt & Thuraday* by
The Franklin Times. Inc.
Btekatt Bhd. Dial OY6-8283 Louiabur|, N. C.
CUNT PULLER, Manafinf Editor
ELIZABETH JOHNSON, Bualnaaa Manafcr
NATIONAL EDITORIAL
AdmtWng Ratal ^JL, | ASSOCIATION
Upon Raquaat
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
1 Out of State:
Six Montha, 92.88 On* Yaw, #6.50; Six Montha, $4.00
?M INaMi, 11.06 Thraa Montha, $8.50
daw mdl millet ?nd poyUge paid ?t tht Port Offlc? at Lou Mhi n. N. C. 2JS49. ^
la N?rU CaroHna
OatMI. 94.44; SI
'Hope
1 WW
pWftf iff
He's Readv For It When It Comes'
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING
Cherish Them Forever
The News Reporter, Whiteville, N. C.
The logistics, tactics, and casualties
of the epic Normandy Invasion, June
6, 1944, are common knowledge and
inspiration. The valor of the American
citizen-soldier on that day still brings
tears to honorable men and women.
Near Saint- Laurant-sur-Mer, above
Omaha Beach, 9,300 of the boys who
died in the first assault wave are
buried in a hauntingly lovely 172-acre
cemetery. If every war, even one that
ends the curse of Hitler, utimately
becomes a national calamity for every
participating nation, we must keep a
special place in our hearts to cherish
those boys who are buried above the
beach they won with their lives. If all
war is a horror, we must never forget
the courage and sacrifice of the slain
of all our wars.
Historians, experts-after
the-facts, tell us why certain things
occurred at certain times. As a people,
we learn, later on, why and how we
were wise or foolish at a specific point
in history. But the young men who
storm beaches, hills, and rice paddies
stand alone with their personal joys
and sorrows. At' the inexorable mo
ment of flaming climax they dream of
home, of wives and sweethearts, of
cruising down the river, of first frost,
and the sound of church bells. They
smell forgotten Maytimes and they
reach for loving hands that aren't
present.
As Francis Bacon (1561-1620) said
long ago, the insanity of war is that
fathers bury their sons. But historical
and political sanity are not the citi
zen-soldier's portions. A young man, a
bright-eyed boy, does the best he can
even when hell comes to earth in form
of war, Jf the boys who are buried
above Omaha Beach could speak, they
would say, with A. E. Housman:
"Here dead we lie because we did
not choose
To live and shame the land fr<Jm
which we sprung:
Life, to be sure, is nothing much to
lose;
But young men think it is, and we
were young."
Name Change
The Nashville (N.C.) Graphic
What's in a name?
County welfare departments in
North Carolina will become known as
"social services" departments begin
ning July 1.
But as far as we know, the name
change will be the only thing different
about welfare operations.
The new name is supposed to
sound better than "welfare".
The name change was authorized
by the General Assembly on the basis
of recommendations submitted by a
legislative research commission ap
pointed by the 1967 Legislature. It
seems that the name "welfare" has
come to have a "negative connota
tion" in the public view, and the
commission thought "social sen/ices"
might be a more positive description
of welfare operations.
Perhaps so. But what happens
when the term "social services" deve
lops a "negative connotation"? Wijl
there be another name change?
Welfare activities were first ad
ministered by a "Board of Public
Charities". Later, the name was chang
ed to "Board of Public Charities and
Public Welfare." Still later, the "pub
lic charities" part of the name was
dropped, presumably because this
phrase suggested a handout program,
and the State Board of Public Welfare
came into being.
Now it will be the State Depart
ment of Social Services. No charity.
No welfare. Just social services.
And the presumption that taxpay
ers will feel less resentful about foot
ing the bill for social services than for
welfare or charity.
OCALA, FLA., STAR-BANNER:
"Does the wide disparity of welfare
fundi made available by the various
states encourage would-be recipients
to move from state to state seeking
larger handouts?. . . Just the other
day. . . (the New York City) welfare
department denied welfare benefits to
"Not much doing oround
h?r? oflar 9 p. m."
a woman with 12 children who had
migrated from Mississippi. If her ap
plication had won approval, she would
have received $745 a month in wel
fare, tax free and not including free
medical available under the Medicaid
program. Multiply that $745 by 12
and it comes out to a cool $8,940 in
relief payments."
To The Editor:
Your editorial comment J
entitled "If It's Good Enough ;
For Other*, It'* Good Enough
For U?" In your June 12,
1969, lame was very interest
ing. A* you pointed out, and
I agree. Franklin County
teemed to miss highway im
provements for many yean.
Political appointments never
come from Franklin Cbunty.
Franklin County has been ex
cluded horn a number of laws
paaed In the General Aa
sembly which hare applied to
the majority of the state I
also wonder why Franklin
COME
TO
THINK
FT OF IT..."
by
frank count
Anytime there is a political crisis going on. I make it a point
to head for Peahead Turtle, my political adviser. All colum
nists have advisers on the side and Peahead is usually on his on
some couch Someplace.
I found him just as I expected stretched out on his living
room couch, chewing his tobacco and reading the want ads.
Peahead says you can learn more from reading the want ads
than from reading the front pages. I sometimes agree with him.
"Peahead". I said. "I hate to bother you, but I got to git
sume ituviur.
There is a politi
cal crisis growing
and I need your
thinking."
"Frank", he
said, "I'm power
ful busy as you
can see, but 1 sup
pose 1 can inter
rupt my thoughts
long enough to
straighten you
out. What's yore
problem?"
"Peahead", I said. "It's the Governor. I'm right worried
about him and his tax thing. Them critters in the legislature
might not give him the money to operate on. It tears me up to
think of his wife and youngins staying there in the mansion
without no heat. Them Raleigh winters gits mighty cold, as
you know, Peahead".
"You got a point, Frank", he said. "I been giving that some
studying. I can understand he wants to give them teachers a
raise and I kinda agree with him that there ought to be a
school for doctors in the east. We ain't getting no younger,
Frank. This could help us. More doctors, I mean. If we can last
'til they get their learning, that is. I reckon I know what he
means when he asks for more entertainment money for hisself.
It ain't easy keeping all them youngins in coloring books. And
beside, the soft d(ink bill has gone up since Dan left. He didn't
have all them youngins. I reckon the milk bill's gone up, too,
Frank. Them youngins been used to getting free milk up at
Haw River".
"That's my point, Peahead. All them things is needed.
That's what he's been saying and just about everybody agreed
with him 'til last week. That's when he got in trouble,
Peahead. Last week. Yep, that's when he done it".
"I musta missed last week's classified page. Frank. What did
he do?"
"Last week, Peahead, he asked for the money to do all
* these things with. That's when the fat flew. That's when he got
oTf on the wrong foot. He was alright so long as he just said he
wanted all them things. Everybody agreed with him. He was
the most popular man over there. He should a quit when he
was ahead, I always say."
"I reckon you're right, Frank. It ain't easy beipg everything
to everybody. Promising is one thing. Delivering is another,
alright. He made his mistake when he decided to keep his
promises. Frank, I been saying for years, politicans can't do
that. They, cant expect to promise things and then do it. It
upsets the whole system. It makes it hard on everybody."
"You're right, Peahead. But, it ain't the money. Them
fellows don't mind taxing the people. They done proved that a
long time ago. It's the way the Governor wants to do it. I
believe they'd go along with him if he's use more sense in
asking. Now everybody knows'Chere ain't no need of taxing
tobacco. Too many folks make their living on tobacco. You
cant tax soft drinks. Who ever heard of such a thing? And
ain't nobody for taxing more of their income and we already
got a sales tax. County kings wont let him tax no property.
That's theirs. And they done taxed gas and cars and trucks and
things like that. That's why I say, it aint the money, Peahead.
So's I come to you. What can I say in the column that wont
make nobody mad and can maybe help the Governor since
he's a regular reader? That's my problem Peahead. What can I ?
say?"
"Well, Frank. You know I always try to help you when I
can. But I'm afraid you aint gonna like my advice this time."
"Why come, Peahead. You always been good before. What's
yore advice this time?"
"Frank, it hurts me to say this, but yore Governor got to
do some serious thinking. He got to cpme up with a new way
to git his money. He got to tax something aint nobody else
taxed and something everybody wants taxed. That's the only
answer."
"Well, hurry up. Tetl me what it is, Peahead. Hurry up so I
can tell my readers."
"They might not be ready for such a thing, FYank, but, as
much as it hurts me to even suggest such a thing, the Governor
got to tax that other fellow. That's my answer, Frank. Long's
he taxes the other fellow, he aint gonna get no mouth from
me. Tell him that, Frank. If hell do it, he'll git his tax. If he
dont, he's In trouble."
I knowed I could rely on Peahead to come up with the
solution.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
County seems to be the red
headed stepchild when
goo diet are passed out.
As a Franklin County na
tive, I would like to point out
one more reason for our
County's misfortune. On the
front page of this same issue
there was an article entitled
"House Narrowly Approves
Violence Bill". H>e article
mentioned that Representa
tives James D. Speed and
John Church, representing
Franklin. Vancc and Warren
Counties failed to vote for or
against the bill. Elected repre
sentatives have a responsi
bility to the people they re
present to at least act on a
bill. Perhaps neglect on the
part of our repreaentatlvea to
reprawnt. the people by at
least voting la one more rea
son for our sad itate of af
fairs.
It would be well for the
people of Franklin County to
>it up and take note of the
lack of Intereat displayed by
their elected repreeentatives
In their failure to vote on
Important laauea which artae.
It might be well for you to
urge Franklin bounty voter*
in forthcoming election* to
elect reiponaible men who
will properly discharge the
dutlea of their office, men
who win stand up and hp
counted
Sincerity,
(Mrs.) Rose W. Marshall
Route 7, Box 224G
Greensboro, N. C.