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VOL. LXVI Number 33
Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press
At Franklin, North Carolina
Telephone No. 24
Entered at Post Office, Franklin, N. C., as second class matter.
WEIMAR JONES .....Editor
BOB S. SLOAN. .....Business Manager
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ance with the postal requirements.
No Compromise
With the smoke from newspaper headlines and
political leader^' utterances beginning to fade, the
true picture of the situation at West Point is be
coming a little clearer. It now appears, that there
are certain facts arising from this unfortunate inci
dent which should hearten the American public, as
well as several which undoubtedly create fear and
misgivings in the average mind.
These salient facts stand out:
1. Upon finding that misconduct did exist in vio
lation of the honor code at the military academy,
Wes-t Point officials were not content to gloss over
or dodge the issue. A board of prominent men
headed by Judge Learned. Hand, distinguished jur
ist, was called in to investigate the findings of the
army officials and to recommend what action be
taken. The Academy then accepted the unanimous
recommendation of this board. It should be heart
ening to the public that the heads of an institution
which has such an effect upon the character of the
leadership of our military forces had the courage
to take .strong action against conduct which is be
ing passed over by many institutions of higher
learning in this country today.
2. There can be little doubt that the collegiate
athletic system in vogue in this country today play
ed its part in contributing to the misconduct of the
90 cadets at West Point. Athletics in college today
is so close to professional athletics that to call it
amateur sport is obliged to create in the minds of
those who take part a spirit of cynicism, followed
by hypocritical action. West Point officials were
wrong as other college and university officials to
let themselves be swe,pt with the tide which de
mands a winning team at any cost. This idea has
also penetrated our hjgh schools, as we have seen
locally. Athletics should be used to teach physical
skills and build better bodies of those who partici
pate. Instead, we use the athletic program to furn
ish entertainment for the spectators.
3. The cadets who violated the honor code can
not be excused. One of the most .sickening things in
the entire incident is the efforts of some of the
guilty ones, as well as their parents and political
leaders, who would curry political favor, to justify
cheating by saying, "Well, John did it, too." This
might be said as a warning to us, however: If these
cadets are true products of our society, then the
American people and their institutions of church
and schools should accept this incident as a grave
warning of their failure to do a thorough job of
building character.
4. The decision to drop the cadets from the ac
ademy should be carried out. To compromise will
only weaken the character of both West Point and
the guilty cadets.
The Courts, Politics, And Religion
It is common knowledge that the general public
is fast losing its respect for the federal judiciary ?
the district judges on up to the Supreme Court.
Americans are losing respect for the federal courts
for the very good reason that many federal iudves
warrant no great respect. And unquestion?b,y, the
explanation for the large number of small cal bre
men on federal benches is the way they are se'ccled.
A cas? in point is the current struggle between
President Truman and Democratic Senator Paul 'I.
Douglas over federal judgeships in Il!ino:s, "Mr.
Douglas' home state.
Senator Douglas recommended men to fill two
vacancies. President Truman ignored the recom
mendations, and nominated two of his own choos
ing. Senator Douglas retaliated by declaring the
Truman nominees "personally obnoxious" to him.
Now the decision is up to the senate, which con
firms those appointed by the President to federal
judgeships.
On the appointment of a third Illinois judge, the
President and the Illinois senator are agreed.
Whoever may be at fault in this controversy ?
and the surface evidence is that the President, at
least, is using his appointive power for purely po
litical purposes ? it is unfortunate. It is another in
ft long series of incidents that are destroying the
conception of American Courts as tribunals above
and beyond politics, and therefore impartial and
just.
This and other incidents in the .series inevitably
raise the question in the public mind: If politics de
termines who shall serve on a federal bench, then
what is there about a federal judge, or his rulings,
to warrant respect?
Even more unfortunate, however, than the con
troversy is the revelation of the one thing upon
which the President and the Illinois senator are
agreed : That the three vacancies in Illinois must
be filled by a Catholic, a Protestant, and a Jew.
Why?
What has a man's religion to do with his knowl
edge of the law, with his fair-mindedness, or that
first essential of a good judge, his character?
Mr. Truman and Mr. Douglas are saying, in ef
fect : We agree that the American people will de
mand that the three religious groups be represented,
without reference to the fitness of the individuals
chosen from those groups.
If the President and the senator from Illinois are
right in that assumption, then the President and the
senator are criminally wasteful in spending billions
for national defense. Because if the time has come
when most Americans think of themselves as Catho
lics or Protestants or Jews, first, and Americans
afterward, as whites or Negroes, first, and Amer
icans afterward, as capitalists or laborers or farm
ers, first, and Americans afterward? if that time
has come, then any national defense is hopeless. If
that time has come, then American character and
patriotism and unity ? and the American sense of
proportion ? have so deteriorated that all our bil
lions can create, at most, another Maginot Line.
Has that time come?
If it has, then the people of this country are fools?
If it has not, then Mr. Truman and Mr. Douglas
have been foolish enough to underrate the Amer
ican people.
One of those two things obviously is true. Which
one?
'it would be our guess that the vast majority of
good citizens in thi.s country have been libeled by
two of their most eminent servants.
Creditable
?
Franklin and Highlands last week held flower
shows that would have done credit to ?
We almost said "credit to much larger com
munities", but what has the size of a community
to do with the beauty of its flowers?
The shows, in any event, were highly creditable,
in the quality of the flowers, in their profusion and.
variety, and in the taste and originality marking
the entries. Such events may have little effect on
growth in either population or wealth, but they
definitely effect the quality of a community.
Congratulations are due to the many who con
tributed?these who entered exhibits, the sponsor
ing organizations, and of course the hard-working,
show chairmen in the two towns, Mrs. B. L. Mc
Glamery and Mrs. Byron Simonson.
Deep Subject
Said Franklin people to their officials : : "Water're
gonna do about it?"
Said the mayor to the aldermen: "Well."
Said the aldermen : "Let us dig".
* * *
And all the while the good pure water of Wayah
Creek was running away to the sea.
But how, after we attain our goal of a "position
of strength", will we use our military might?
Our American Civilization
Giving everybody ? the manufacturer, the labor
er, the farmer ? a raise. Calling it inflation control.
Working ever harder and harder, to earn more
and more money, to spend to cure more and more
evils ? creatcd by the way we live and work.
Arguing with the farmer's wife, in the morning,
about the price of a head of lettuce. Paying eight
prices, in the evening, for a meal at a swank restau
rant.
America, traditionally the land of religious free
dom, permitting its armed forces to deny that
freedom to those whose religion condemns any
form of war.
? Others' Opinions
QUALITY COUNTS
... It Is to be hoped most earnestly that the prime consid
eration In future elections will be the quality of the men who
offer themselves as candidates. As we have said so often, only
those men to whom we would entrust our own business should
be entrusted with public affair*.? Whltevllle News Reporter.
OUR DEMOCRACY? -***]'
WHAT FREEDOM BRINGS ""75
FREEDOM, AS WE HAVE COME TO
KNOW IT IN AMERICA, BRINGS
INDEPENDENCE OP MIND AND
SPIRIT, SECURITY PROM OPPRESSION,
THE OPPORTUNITY TO Uve WHEKt WE CHOOSE AND WORK WHtKC HC WILL .
Irf y ww \\ ?" i
MATERIALLY, FREIOOM RRINGS GREATER REWARDS FOR INDIVIDUAL t
ENDEAVOR. THAN ANY REGIMENTED SYSTEM HAS EVER BEEN ABLE ID
PROVIDE. W/S MCANS HIGHER. UVINS STANDARDS FOK AU OPUS.
AND FUEEDOM 8R.IN6S WITH IT THE. OBLIGATION TO MAINTAIN i
OUR. DEMOCRACY AS A FORCE FOR. SPIRITUAL ACHIEVEMENT 1
AND MATERIAL ACCOMPLISHMENT ! 1
__ EDITH DEADERICK ERSKINE <
Poetrv Editor
* j Weaverville, North Carolina ^
Sponsored by Asheville Branch, National League of American Pen Women *
THE SONG OF THE HILLS
To some the hills are obstacles
For the stout of heart to climb,
To some they are masters' paintings,
To. others, works of rhyme. ;
But It seems I hear them singing
In harmony sublime,
The songs of the hills eternal
Clear as a temple chime.
Each mountain sings its sonnet,
Each crystal stream its rhyme,
Each hill that stands eternal
Sings its song sublime.
Sing on, oh crags and mountains,
Oh, sing your song sublime!
Sing on, oh, streams and valleys,
Sing, till the end of time!
? GILMER A. JONES in Scimitar and Song,
Charleston, S. C., publication.
HERE'S TEXAS
We saw the other day where a Texan who was in a rifle
match, unaccountably missed every shot at 100 and 200 yards.
He scored bull's eyes, however, with every shot at 500 yards.
A bystander asked him how this happened to be the case.
"Well," said the Texan, "back home we never bother to shoot
at anything less than 500 yards. We just throw rocks."
? Camden Chronicle,
i \
DARE WE ADMIT A SOLUTION
Reaction of both cadets and outsiders to the expulsion of 90
West Pointers because of violations of the honor system has
been more disgusting than the charges.
Cadets, interviewed since the army announced that It will
drop 90 students, have expressed gloom over the hopes of the
school in intercollegiate football. Congressmen have called for
a halt to football and the man on the street "Is feeling sorry
for the grid hopes of the school on the Hudson."
Not a single statement has been published relative to the
moral sin that has been committed by the cadets. That phase
of our thinking has apparently become a victim of the same
crazy trend toward placing emphasis on "big things" and dis
regarding the principles upon which "right" Is founded.
The real crushing strike created at West Point has been
against character, not the football team. The suggestion that
parents may seek legal action for their "kicked out" sons, is
more evidence that Americans are losing or have lost their
sense of values. Where do we want to place our emphasis ? on
winning football teams or stronger characters?
The decision must come from the parents, not only those
with sons expelled from West Point, but from all men and
? women \tfho have been charged with the responsibility of guid
ing youngsters into a path that leads to strong adults. We can
eliminate football at West Point, but that action will fall far
short of building character among the cadets. The parents must
a first have a strong sense of character responsibility, the in
structors must maintain and teach moral codes as the most
important, and violators must be given full punishments.
We fear the 90 expelled cadets may yet become greater
heroes than those young men who tramp through the rice
fields of Korea, defending our right to-be free.
The solution lies in building character, not football teams. .
?Hartford County Herald.
Business
Making
News
? By BOB SLOAN
Two weeks ago I attended the
>penlng of a new produce mark
it at Dlllard, Ga., which was
milt to handle products from
forth Georgia and Western
?Jorth Carolina. I meant to w.ite
his article last week but was
lick a couple of days and the
leadline passed m; by. Sum
ner vegetables are d Vicious,
>ut sometimes disastrous. The
>pening of the farm market was
he occasion of a very info ma
ive talk by Paul Dcchman, Flor
da produce grower concerning
he possibility of improving our
) oduce market. Mr. Dechman
jointed out that he believed
.hat there were many new crops
vhich could be grown in this
irea with work end &tudy.
Imong the possible crops Mr.
Dechman mentioned were caul
flower, broccoli, and brussel
sprouts. He pointed out that our
[rowing season was such that
le believed that we could place
,hese crops on the market at a
.ime when other areas were not
[rowing them. This prominent
Tlorida produce specialist stress
id the fact that one of the
nain things a produce grower
ihould do is to grow the vege
tables in his fields that the
Jublic wants. "If you like some
Jther variety better to eat", he
>aid, "raise it in your garden,
jut keep it out of your fields,
they belong to the public." The
Dillard market can mean quite
a bit to the farmers of our sec
Jon. It represents a saving of
200 miles of trucking for the
:abbage grower who has been
selling on the Atlanta market.
We wonder what effect the
town water supply might have
an Insurance rates if the state
Insurance commission knew just
how much water we have on
hand. If a large fire started
here, there would have to be
some cry other than the old
song, "Pour on water, Scotland
is burning."
The Powell bill will enable
the town of Franklin to spend
more than $9,000 on its streets.
There are a good many people
here who need to be brought
out of the mud and they should
be watching with interest to
see how this money Is used.
For those who are making
a sport of keeping tabs on our
rapidly changing filling station
(Turn to Back Page 1st Section)
Do You
Remember?
(Looking backward through
the files of The Press)
50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
The editor of the Clay County
Courier does not want any more
apples on subscription. Perhaps
Jamaca Ginger would relieve
him.
Highlands is merry, and her
visitors are from many quarters.
The landlords and boarding
house keepers wear a smiling
face. Our streets are dally
promenaded by strangers,
sprinkled with old and familiar
faces.
Rev. E. A. Sample preached
an interesting sermon Sunday
on the Wayah Bald to a con
gregation of over 60 persons.
25 YEARS AGO
There is no shortage of water
in Franklin. But as a precau
tionary measure, the washing of
the streets will have to be pos
poned until some arrangement
can be made to secure a bigger
flow of water from the munic
ipal well on the east side of
town.
The good people of Higdon
ville intehd to have a barrel of
fun Friday at Higdonville school ~
when Mr. Isaac Keener will be
brought to trial on the serious
charges of stealing watermelons
from Mr. John Cunningham.
The Republican convention of
Macon County was held In the
court house last Saturday after
noon. State Chairman Brown
low Jackson was present and
made a good speech.
' 10 YEARS AGO
About 50 people attended the
Mirror Lake first Annual Horse
Show held here on August 6,
staged by Dorothy Cable and
Lewis Doggett, with six entries.
Mrs. George Brantly acted as
ringmaster as well as judge.
We wish to extend our thanks
to the Franklin ball club for
the swell entertainment during
the game between prison camp
and Franklin last Saturday aft
ernoon. We won after a hard
fought game but the score was
very close at the end. (Prison
News, by Hambones).