The Fr
Cwry T. M4tv * TWafey
Times
Your Award Winning County Newspaper
LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENT
I
t
? Trust , Reason , Cooperation
And Understanding
When the Senate passes the amend
ed Louisburg annexation bill today, as
it is expected to do, it should bring
the Heated controversy to a halt for
the time being anyway.
The amended version represents a
compromise and as is so often the
case, this action will not totally please
either side. There have been some
harsh words and some misleading in
formation spread around town for the
past several days and some feelings are
now in need of time in which to heal.
However, on^e the healing takes
place and reason begins to rear its
head, the entire matter should be
worked out in an atmosphere of
cooperation for the common good.
Opponents pf the bill which would
have given town councils, including
Louisburg, absolute right to annex
under certain conditions, have ex
pressed a number of fears -some real
and some apparently imagined. Little
has been done by proponents of the
measure to quiet all of these fears. It
seems some fuller explanations on the
part of the proponents is now in order
and more understanding on the part
of opponents would be advisable.
It would serve no purpose at this
time to go into all the misleading
statements and accusations heard and
reported in the last few days. The
sooner most of them are forgotten,
the better.
The accusation by at least two
opponents of the annexation issue
that this newspaper had been asked by
the Town Council "to keep it quiet"
is without any foundation whatsoever.
The reference is to the request by the
Council to have the bill introduced a
coijple of weeks ago. Not only was
this newspaper not asked by anyone
"to keep it quiet", it would not have
done, so had it been asked. Respon
sible people, paying any attention to
this newspaper's record for' the past
99 years would haye discounted such
a rumor at the outset.
So it is now time for reason to
reign. As the Council moves ahead
with its plans for annexation of what
ever area it may first choose, the
people of that area should be kept
fully informed. The people affected
should also withhold any criticism of
the Council's actions until they have
all the facts.
Trust, reason, cooperation and un
derstanding can and should replace
the arguments of the past several days.
If they do, this community-including
any annexed or unannexed sections
-will be a better place to live because
of it.
Senatorial Courtesy Should End
' Hopefully the annexation fiasco
will be settled today in the General
Assembly. Whether or not it is, there
is one aspect of this entire matter
which should be.
Representative James Speed oppos
ed the bill. He has a right to oppose or
to support a bill as he sees fit
On the other hand. Representative
John Church, after first opposing the
bill because Louisburg happens to be
in Mr. Speed's county, later supported
the bill. He has a right to change his
mind and he, like Mr, Speed, Jias a
right to oppose or support this or any
other bill.
Senator Edward F. Griffin intro
duced the bill in the Senate as request
ed by the Louisburg Town Council.
He has a right to do this.
?However, there appear to be in
herent dangers in the procedures fol
lowed by these three representatives
the past several days in this matter.
Some very serious questions beg for
answers.
Did the Senator introduce the bill
because it is the best interest of a
sizable number of the people he repre
' sents? Or did he introduce the bill just
because he was requested to do so?
Once it passed the Senate, sponsored
by hin\ did he have an obligation to
continue support of it? w
Did Mr. Speed oppose the bill
because, while good for 93 counties,
he believed it bad for his district? Or
did he listen only to those who
supported him in his opposition?
Did Mr. Church oppose the bill
because it was a bad bill? Would he
have supported it from the beginning
had it been applicable to his home
county of Vance?
A compromise has apparently been
worked out among these three gentle
men and it may prove in the days
ahead to be a good one. There is
nothing wrong with the three men
working together in an effort to settle
the issue. This is good.
However, there should no longer be
a Rep. Speed of Franklin County and
a Rep. Church of Vance. Both are
elected by and represent the people of
the Sixteenth District. Neither is a
first man and neither is a second man.
Both are voted on equally and both
should represent all the people of the
entire district. It should make no
difference whatsoever where either
lives.
The day of senatorial courtesy
should be ended in the Sixteenth
District. Having representatives from
Vance and Franklin .honoring this
outdated practice should bring many a
wrinkle to Warren County brows, the
third county in the District.
Each should represent the entire
district and if they happen to differ
on an issue, so be it.
The Fr^^in Times
Eatabllahad J 870 - Publlahad Tuaadaya fc Thunfrya by
The Franklin Time*. Inc.
Bickatt Blvd. Dial GY6-3283 Loulibuif. N. C.
CUNT FULLER, Manaf ln| Editor ELIZABETH JOHNSON, BiulnM Manafar
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'Stop Shootin Bick ? You'll Spoil Everything'
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING
A Willingness To Do Our Part
VIEWPOINT
By Jesse Helms
The young Marine, writing to us from
"near the demilitarized zone in South Viet
nam," began with an apology (or the smudg
ed paper on which he wrote. "This ball-point
leaks," he said, "and my hands are muddy
and wet." He had just come in from patrol
duty and, as he put it, "you'd better believe
that it's dark and wet out there."
Such letters come to us now with increas
ed frequency, and they are always heart
rending. These are the gallant men of the
"younger generatidn"-and, in a tragic sense,
they are the forgotten men. Never once do
they complain about the sacrifices they are
being called upon to make. But they resent -
and they have a right to-the news they
receiv* from home. They dont complain
about their having been sent around the
world to risk their lives for their country,
but they do mind-and they have a right
to-that they are being asked to fight a war
which their country still does not intend to
win.
The young Marine, writing to us from
Vietnam, remember the June night two
years ago when he was a member of the
senior class of a rural school in Eastern
North Carolina, and a fellow who does
editorials on a Raleigh television station
came down to deliver the commencement
address.
"I remember," the young Marine wrote
from Vietnam, "that you asked a question
that night about the war in Vietnam. You
said, 'Why not win?' I remember thinking,
surely we're not over there not trying to
win".
Then, the young Marine added, "I've
been over here seven months, and now I
understand what you were talking about."
Maybe you'd be interested in the re
mainder of the young man's letter: "I wish I
were in a position to make a few statements
on this war in Vietnam, and the so-called
'peace plan' which the present administra
tion has put up: Please do not use my
name-and you obviously know why.
"Over here," he continued, "you cannot
find one Marine who supports the so-called
peace plan. It Is unanimous among us that
the bombing of North Vietnam should be
resumed, and this time bomb the right
places. Right now, as I write this, I can hear
the enemy mortar fire less than a half-mile
away. Their rocket fir* has been increasing
steadily since the so-called peace plan was
announced."
The young Marine in Vietnam continued:
"Every man over here knows that the
communists are using the time we are giving
them by stalling, to build up their reserves.
They are just waiting (or the Americans to
pull out, then they're going to really hit
South Vietnam. Their objective is still the
same-the complete takeover of Vietnam and
then world conquest."
The concluding paragraph of the young
Marine's letter brought memories of that
sultry evening in early June, two years ago,
when the piano in the school auditorium in a
rural community not far from Raleigh burst
forth with Pomp and Circumstancec-and a
line a fresh young faces marched down the
aisle amidst the assembled proud but misty
eyed parents, and the scores of other rela
tives and friends. Was this young Marine
who today serves his country in the swamps
of Vietnam-was he the tall boy that night
with the wide smile? Or was he the heavy-set
young fellow who appeared to have the
makings of a tackle for the Green Bay
Packers?
Never mind. It doesn't matter. What
matters is that today he is one of those
largely-unsung, gallant young Americans,
one who willingly interrupted his future
and maybe even gave it up-to do his part for
his country, leaving behind the long-haried
and smelly characters who make the head
lines at home. It seems an irony that he is on
the other side of the world, fighting to
preserve the liberties of that kind, also.
That last paragraph? Oh, yes: "Please, Mr.
Helms, make our views felt back home. Ask
the public to write their Congressmen and
Senators and demand that those of us over
here be allowed to "win" this war and come
home. Let us," he said, "have no more of
this business of fighting and dying without
meaning, and without hope of victory. If die
I must, let it not be said that I died in vain."
The past two years have taken this young
man from the commencement exercises at
his rural high school in Eastern North
Carolina to the swampy, steamy jungles of
Vietnam. Let us hope that the next two
years will bring him home safely, in victory,
and in honor. He has proved his willingness
to do his part. How about us?
EROSION
COME
} TO
THINK
W minm
OF IT..."
r by
frank count
I was getting along juit fine last Saturday. There I was
minding my own business, working in the yard, doing what I
was told by the little woman. I was doing fine that is, until
George come over. George, for the benefit of you newcomers,
is my neighbor. And if you know George, you know he always
comes over when I'm in the yard. He ain't got nothing to add
and he don't come to get involved in the work. He just comes
over to . . . well, come to think of it ... I ain't sure what
George comes over for.
"Frank", he said, "You ought not to be out here in the hot
sun working. It aint good for you."
"Aw, George, it
aint so hot. I'm do
ing alright. I got to
git this yard fixed
so's I can go fishing
this evening".
"But, Frank", he
said, "Don't you
know it's supposed
to git up to 97 to
day. That's hot,
Frank. And you
aint got no business
working out in this
sun. Think of your
age, Frank. You
ain't getting no
younger." Now,
why'd he have to say
that? Don't take no
college education to
figure I aint getting
no younger. The
way I figure it, ain.'t nobody.
"George", I said wiping sweat, "I appreciate your concern.
I know you mean well, but I was alright until you come over
here talking about how hot it's supposed to git. I hadn't even
thought of the heat".
"Well, you ought to think about it, Frank. You ain't getting
no younger and I hate to see you go too soon. I knowed a
fellow back home once, wont nowhere's near your age that
just fell over one day. Blop. He just fell over. Working in the
yard. That's what he was doing when they come and carried
him off. Wont this hot either, as I remember."
With that cheerful bit of news', George finally walked back'
to his chair under that big shade tree. He had done his good
deed for the day. And there he set. In the shafle. Just waiting
for me to blop over. I wondered if he's help carry me off, ifn I
did.
But I had to admit, George had something. It shore did get
hot in a hurry. I decided to take a little break. I went into the
house and pulled off my overalls and put on them shorts
somebody give me last Christmas. The legs ain't nothing to
look at, but the rest of me come on right strong when I
checked the looking glass.
I got me a drink of ice water and went back to work. That
sun sure was getting up there by now. It was hot. I took
another break. This time I decided to carry my radio back in
the yard. This way I could keep up with the tem'perature while
I worked.
Then the music come on. Taste that beats the others cold.
Cold. Man, that was a pleasant thing. I was getting thirsty and
the music was playing. In the good old summertime. That was
better. I like the good old summertime so I worked some
more.
I wu getting on fine again when Clyde come up. Now
Clyde Is new In my neighborhood. He ain't exactly a neighbor.
Then again he alnt exactly not a neighbor either. I aint
figured out just what Clyde is yet. He aint lived here but five
years. He's still a outsider. He was a stranger until a few
months ago. In my neighborhood, folks dont take to strangers
and newcomers.
But, being the friendly sort, I tried to make Clyde feel at
home in my neighborhood. I shouldn't a bothered. He's a
busybody just like George.
"Frank", he said, getting doWn to a first-name basis, "You
?>ught not to be out here working in the hot sun. It aint good
or you. You aint getting no younger."
"Clyde", I said, "I wish you'd mind your own cotton
picking business. I know I alnt getting no younger. You aint
got to tell me. And I know Its hot. George done told me that"
"Well, Frank", he said sadly, "If that's the attitude you're
gonna take III be leaving. But I k no wed a fellow once who just
fell over. Yes, sir. Blop He was working In the yard and just
fell over. He wont old as you are Frank and It wont at hot a*
It is today, beat I remember."
Well, to make the long story riiort, I decided that It might
be a bit too hot. I didnt have no business working in the hot
sun. I wont getting any younger, you know. So, feeling all
pooped out I went In and aet down In front of the tan and
started counting my days. I aint getting no younger, you
know.
Andrew Mellon, the famous tycoon, was once approached
by an unbalanced individual who railed against the in- *
justice of one man's having so much wealth. He insisted
it should be more evenly distributed. Mellon cut him
short by asking his secretary for ? statement of his posses
sions and holdings, at the same time looking up the world's
population. He made some notes, figured awhile and then
told his secretary, "Give this gentleman sixteen cents.
That's his share of my wealth."
Teenager writing home from boarding school:
"Send food packages! All they serve here is break
fast, lunch, and dinner."