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VOL. LXVII Number 3
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
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
One Year 1 $2.00
Six Months {. $1.25
Three Months * 75
ingle Copy i. ; ? .06
Obituary notices, cards of rhanks, tributes of respect, by individuals lodges
urches, organizations or weieues, will be regarded as advertising and inserted at
nlar clarified advertising ratrs. Such notices will be marked "adv." in comoU
tie with the postal requirements.
Mayor Dillard
Ivobert M. Dillard spent only three of his 67
years in Franklin. But that brief period was high
lighted by a dream, a dare, and a sacrifice. ?
lie dreamed of a finer town. He dared death in
an attempt to make his dream come true. And he,
iike many before him, quite possible gave his life
fo his community.
With his dreams and his courage, he combined
rare common sense, patience, and a Lincoln -esque
sense of humor.
Retired because of il! health, Mr. Dillard came to
Franklin to spend the remainder of bis days in
jUiet ajid rest. But he caught a vision of what
rranklin could become ? a better -place to live, a
more beautiful community, a CLFAXHR town.
The dream haunted him. and be ignored the heart
ailment that had forced his retirement and offered
his services as mayor. It was perhaps the first time
in the history of this community that an "outsid
er" who had been hetje barely long enough to qual
ify was elected to public office.
He could have been mayor in name only. But his
passion for improvement and for cleanliness drove
him to volunteer to devote his full time to the job
of mayor. By that act, he may have signed- his own
leath warrant.
In the few short months he served, he accom-i
plished much. With his patience and good humor,
he wrought miracles in persuading people to do
things they never had done before; lots that had
been littered for decades, for example, were cleaned.
But he had only made a beginning. It is for us to
.go on with the job.
And This Is America!
L. Much has been heard from the Truman adminis
tration about civil rights. But civil rights, like
charity, begin at home. And it is about time for
lome civil rights within the government itself.
A case in point is the dismissal of two women em
ployes of the army as bad .security risk. That hap
pened four >"ears ago. The women were denied
knowledge both of the charges against them and
the identity of their accusers.
It took the efforts of North Carolina's Senator
Hoey, plus an order from a federal court, to force
the army to reveal the charges. When it did, the
two women were able to disprove them. And
now, belatedly, they have received from the army
an apology and an offer of their jobs back.
This is only one case. There undoubtedly are
scores, perhaps hundreds, of others ; cases in which
ioyal employes were robbed of their jobs and their
?eputations ? and given no chance to prove them
selves innocent.
> If anybody thinks Americans are in no danger
>f losing their freedoms, and to their own govern
ment, let him ask himself this question: Could this
lave happened in America 10 years ago?
? ? ? ? ?
It Do You Disagree?
' Is it the function of a newspaper editor to try to
mould, .single-handed, the public , opinion of his
community? to convert all his readers to his way
of thinking?
Many persons seem to think that. We do not.
It is our conviction that an enlightened public
opinion develops only in an atmosphere of honest
disagreement and argument ; that it is a growth ;
the result of the thinking of many minds.
Because of that conviction, we always welcome
short letters on matters of public interest. Letters
that disagree with viewpoints expressed in Press
editorials are especially welcome : for we conceive
it to be t! f role of a newspaper to try to tell the
ti -ith, and by so doing to stimulate public thinking.
Generally ? peaking, the editorials in this news
paper are the opinions of one man ? and he could
be ???rong.
When you think he is, you are invited to say so,
through the Letter? column if the paper.
Beg Your Pardon
The signature on the letter, "Contributes To
Nation", which appeared on this page last week,
inadvertently was omitted. The letter was from the
Rev. J. A. Bryson, of Columbia, Mo., formerly of
Macon County.
Our American Civilization
Taking it for granted \Ve are prosperous as long
as our credit is good.
Assuming that the voters run the country; for
getting that the two major parties offer the voters
little or no choice on many issues.
Building bigger and bigger endowments for our
colleges; finding that the larger the endowment,
the higher the cost of education to the student.
? Letters
THANKS ? AXD A PLEDGE:
Dear Mr. Jones:
Tlie teachers of Macon County read with gratitude the letter
you printed January 2 from Mrs. Shuford, in which she stated
that the quality of teaching in Macon County schools helped
them to decide to settle here.
Just as we have always found it so with our children, so
with teachers, "a little praise goes a long way", not only be
cause it gives us more will to do a good job when we know we
are appreciated by parents, but also because this constitutes a
real challenge. We do not want to let Mrs. Shuford down, nor
Macon County, and. so to them we pledge our best efforts to
uphold and improve the quality of our teaching.
Also we ar? not unmindful of your interest in better schools
and Ve appreciate the plugs you are constantly giving* them
in your paper. Your editorial on "The Virtuous Circle" seems
to bear out one constant goal of teaching: those better com
munities, in which our students will play a more active part
soon, certainly will want the best schools they can possibly
provide for their future leaders.
Sincerely yours,
ROBERTA ENLOE,
4 " Local unit president,
North Carolina Education Assn.
Franklin, N. C.,
January 9, 1952.
? Others' Opinions
GERMANIC REDSKINS
Many of the Indian craft shops at Cherokee feature small
figures of Indian warriors in traditional fighting pose. If you'll
turn these figures over, you'll notice these three words on the
base ? "Made in Germany." ? W&ynesville Mountaineer.
, , - I
NOT THE ONLY WAY
But surely It is not necessary to destroy our magnificent
medical system ? and to undermine our national fiber and char
acter ? to aid fTte very small percentage of our people who are
indigent. Britain's sad experience should be our guide.
? Columbus County News.
NO CORRECTION
Words fascinate this scribe and a trip to the dictionary to
make sure of a spelling is apt to turn into an evening of
definition reading. On one such occasion recently your reporter
was intrigued to find the definition for a word spelled "chorea"
but pronounced "Korea." The definition was a nervous disorder
characterized by convulsive twitchings." What's going on in
Korea is more than "twitchings" but it's convulsive, all right,
and Korea has become the world's nervous disorder. Of course,
there isn't any connection between chorea and Korea.
? Sarah F. Halliburton, in Belhaven Pilot.
FIELDER'S CHOICE
Add the name of John Chapman to those who stuck to their
post In defiance of death.
One doesn't ordindrlly think of a railroad brakeman holding
a Job that calls for heroism. Plenty of hard work and a devo
tion to duty, we knew were required, but most of the heroics
we thought, were left to other callings.
But not so Brakeman Chapman.
A freight train slid backwards out of control on ice covered
rails In a Michigan blizzard after a frozen air line made brakes
useless.
Chapman coul have Jumped and probably saved his skin.
Instead, he elected to climb to the top of the careening cars
and attempt to apply hand brakes.
Faster and faster the train moved backwards until It reached
a Kxce"hlng speed of 90 miles an hour. The hand brakes failed
too and Thapmar. 1' st his life as the cars piled up at a curve.
This .r.an stuck his post of duty while the earth rocked
Miss Betty Lou Fouts is shown above at her desk at The
Press reading proof. Beside her are two books she finds indis
pensable in her work, the dictionary and the U. S. Postal Guide.
The first contains the answer to the constantly recurring ques
tion, is that word-spelled right? She refers to the second for the
spelling of the names of towns, and to check their locations ? Is
that town in New York or New Jersey?
Newspaper Shop Talk
Mostly About Us
To try to say what particular
phase of the work of publishing
a newspaper is most important
is a little like tryihg to decide
which came first, the. egg or the
hen. Each phase is important
in itself, and if any one phase
is le t undone, it tends to make
the others useless.
Cne of the most important,
certainly, is the proof-rerMing.
"To err is hum? n"? and even
machines occasionally make
mistakes. Yet accuracy is1 one
of the first things a reader de
mind; of his newspaper.
Proof-reading is one of the
measures newspapers employ in
their quest far the ideal of all
newspapermen ? an issue of the
paper that is without an error.
It is an ideal rarely achieved.
After the news is written, ed
ited, and headlined, it is set in
type by the operator. It is plac
ed in a galley ? something re
sembling a long, rectangular
shallow pan? and put on the
proof press. A roller is inked
and run across the top of the
type. A piece of paper then is
placed on top of the type, and
a heavy roller is run across it.
The same method is used with
advertisements.
The proof, together with the
"copy" ( the news story or ad
vertisement as written), then
goes to the proof .reader, who
compares copy with proof as
the latter is read, so as to catch
omistions or mistakes in names,
figures, etc., as well as typo
graphical errors. In complicated
oofs, where a lot of names or
figures are involved, it is neces
sary for someone to "hold copy"
?that is, one person holds the
copy, the other holds the proof
and reads it aloud, to make
sure the two correspond.
A good prooi reader looks not
just for typographical errors.
First of all, what is read must
make sense; sometimes a line
of the original copy is left out
? this is especially likely to hap
pen when two lines end or be
gin with the same word, thus
causing the operator to lose his
place as he sets the copy into
type. A good proof reader is on
the lookout for errors of fact,
and when something is in
doubt, re.'ers it to the editor or
the person who wrote the copy,
to make sure. And of course a
good proof .reader is constantly
on the alert for misspelled
wo'ds or wrong initials.
When an error is found, the
correction is indicated on the
margin of the proof, which
then goes back to the operator
for 'correction. The new lines,
containing the correction, are
placed, with the proof, on
the type dump. Any incorrect
line is taken out, and the cor
rect one is inserted in its place.
One of the reasons it is so
hard to eliminate errors in
newspapers is the fact that it
is very easy indeed to make an
error in correcting one. To
start with, whei\ there is an
error in a line, the entire line
must be reset, and it is easy,
in correcting one error, to make
another.
Then, when this corrected line
is inserted in the type in the
galley, error again is easy. The
incorrect line must be taken
out, and sometimes the wrong
line is taken out; sometimes
the corrected line is placed in
the wrong position; or occa
sionally the new line is inserted
without taking out the incorrect
one.
This explains why the reader
sometimes finds the same line
appearing twice, one correct and
one with an error; or why
sometimes a line of type is
missing, or why a line is out of
its proper order.
Most of The Press proofs a^p
read by Miss Betty Lou Fouts.
That, however, is only one of
her many duties. In addition,
she handles subscriptions, serves
customers who come in the of
fice with news, advertising,
printing orders, or to buy office
supplies; is office secretary;
and, in her "spare" time, keeps
books!
and shattered about him. We know of a lot of places we had
rather be on an Icy night than on top of a galloping box car.
But that was where Chapman was of his own free choice.
He didn't save the train, nor the life of the fireman who was
also killed in the wreck. However, when the Great Scorer of
this life's game comes to make a mark by his name, we think
Chapman will be chalked up with a noble effort on a fielder's
choice. ? Shelby Star.
THRHE GOOD REASONS
A lad tells the Colby Free Press he had three good reasons
for Joining the army ? he wanted to fight, thought the experi
ence would jnake him physically fit, and ? they came and got
him. ? Emporia (Kans.) Gazette.
HOW IT STARTED
Bill Arp Lawrence, writing In the Mecklenburg Times, says
that when he was a bey on the farm, there were three pastures
fenced in with rails. Later, as the chestnut and oak rails rotted,
they used the good rails from the three pastures to fence In one
pasture.
Bays Arp: "The broken and rotting rails were used for fire
wood. Having a fence made It necessary to move every rail. In
doing this, the rail on the bottom of the moved fence got on
top of the newly made fence. Likewise the rail on the top of
the fence got on the bottom of the new fence.
"The bottom aad top rails were usually the largest in the
bunch, and It was In this process that was created the saying:
The bottom rail will some day get on top.' "?Horace Horse In
Stanly News and Press.
WNCAC
To Meet At Cullowhee
January 24
Civic leaders of Macon Coun
ty, and their wives, are being
Invited to the quarterly meet
ing of Western North Carolina
Associated Communities, to be
held at Cullowhee Thursday,
January 24. Dr. Paul Reld, who
is president of the college and
also president of the Western
Carolina booster group, is Issu
ing the invitation.
The program will begin at 1
o'clock with a "Dutch" lunch
eon in the college cafeteria, with
the business session to follow
immediately. Matters pertaining
to summer tourist business and
other projects of Interest to the
11 -county area will be taken up
during the afternoon session,
which is scheduled to be over
by 4 p. m.
President Reid also invites all
those attending the afternoon
session to remain for the eve
ning, when a concert will be
given by the Longines Sym
phonette in its first appearance
in Western North Carolina. Vis
itors will be guests of the col
lege and tree tickets will be
issued at the afternoon session.
Arrangements are being made
for those remaining to get the
evening meal at 6 o'clock in the
college cafeteria.
Mrs. Early Member
Of Week's School
Faculty In Miami
The Rev. and Mrs. Robert E.
Early left Thursday for Miami,
Fla., where Mrs. Early is a mem-,
ber of the faculty of the great- ?
er Miami Training School for
Christian Workers for a week.
Mr. and Mrs. Early will be house
quests of Dr. and Mrs. Claude
G. Mentzer while they are in
Miami.
No further services will be
held at the Highlands Metho
dist church dilring January be
cause of the construction work
that is in progress. Mr. Early
said.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hopper are
staying with Eleanor and Dickie
Early at the Methodist parson
age during Mr. and Mrs. Early's
absence.
Hensley Attending
School In Indiana
The local army and air force
recruiter, Sgt. Clay Hensley, i?
attending an army school in In
diana and will not resume his
duties here as recruiter until
about the first week in Febru
ary.
Persons desiring information
concerning enlistment in the
army or air force may write to:
U. S. Army and U. S. Air Force
Recruiting Station", Post Office
Building, Asheville, and a re
cruiting representative will be
sefit here to discuss the ? pro
gram, Sgt. Hensley said prior to
his departure.
Do You
Remsmber?
(Looking backward through
the files of The Press)
50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
Rats in a printing office will
not eat ink rollers except as a
last resort. They have attacked
our rollers, and somebody would
better bring in some grain or
meat on subscription pretty
soon, or we may have to sus
pend for want of rollers.
Messrs. George and Erwin
Patton left yesterday for th?
Southern market with about 41
head of horses and mules.
Mrs. Sallie Sellers arrived
yesterday afternoon from Crip
ple Creek, Colorado.
*T. J. Johnston has moved hi?
law office into the courthouse,
occupying the room recently
vacated by R. D. Slsk.
35 YEARS AGO
Two men and a 25-gaubn
capacity still was the haul mad*
by local officers last Friday
afternoon In Kelly Orove, Briar
town township, near where of
ficers took a 100-gallon still a
short time ago.
Mr. R. F. Culbertson has just
completed the installation of a
Frlgidaire at the City Market
and Grocery.
10 TEARS AGO
The first service of worship
will be held In the new Asbury
Methodist church on Sunday
morning.
Allen J. Green, who has been
with The Franklin Press since
last June, left 8aturday for
Suffolk, Va., to accept a posi
tion with the Dally New?-Her
ald of that city.
The annual meeting and
church supper of the congrega
tion of the St. Agnes church
was held at the home of Mr.
and Mrs. Ben W. Woodruff on
last Monday evening.