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VOL LXVn Number 34
Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press
At Franklin, North Carolina
Telephone 24
Entered at Post Office, Franklin, N. C., as second class matter.
WEIMAR JONES .Editor
BOB 8. SLOAN _ - Business Manager
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AUGUST 21, 1952
i Bad News
The news that the American Federation of
Labor (AFL) is about to throw its strength be
hind one of the Presidential candidates and the
party he heads is bad news.
For a quarter of a century the AFL has regard
ed itself as strictly non-political : has taken the po
sition that it is for each individual, acting' as a
citizen, to decide how he shall vote.
It is not surprising that the AFL is about to
reverse that policy ; for its arch rival, the Com
mittee for Industrial Organization (CIO) long has
been active politically. Thus the AFL is put' in a
secondary position, as far as political influence and
power are concerned, and it is not surprising that
the younger element in the AFL is insisting that
the organization take the step that will tend to
give it equality with the CIO as a .purely political
force.
So we are about to have not one, but two,- major
labor organizations attempting to deliver their
members' votes in blocks. That these two organi
zations, vieing for power, will deliver that vote
only for a price may be taken for granted.
That is "bad.
Not because labor is wicked. Group selfishness
and vote selling with a labor tag are no worse
than, when they bear the label of capital or agri
culture or the Negro or any other group. But these
political sins likewise are no better simply because
they are committed in the name of labor.
The outlook for democratic government is far
from good when large groups vote, as groups, to
obtain selfish group ends.
It is even worse when a few leaders can deliver,
as these labor leaders seem to think they can, the
votes of the members of their organizations en
masse. What, after all, is the difference between
a few labor leaders telling their members how to
vote and the old disgrace of another tiny minority,
the industrialists, telling their employes how to
vote?
The whole philosophy of democracy is based
upon the conviction that the people, each man think
ing fd,r himself, and voting his own convictions,
usually will reach a wise decision.
When a few- think for the many, we have the
very antithesis of democracy.
When Can They Dream!
Dreams are, the stuff achievement is made of.
Every great achievement, even every small ac
complishment, first was a dream.
And most of man's dreaming is done by youth.
Youth is the time of dreams ; maturity, the period
for carrying out those dreams. Thus our achieve
ments of today are the product of, and are great
or small in relation to, our dreams of yesterday.
And what we achieve tomorrow will be determin
ed by what are the dreams of today's youth.
Which raises the question:
When, in today's mad rush, does youth have a
chance to dream?
II
No system is fool-proof that is operated by
fools.
And now the Yankees, who 20 years ago poked
fun at the South as a land where people went
barefoot, have invaded the South? and adopted
barefootism as a fetish.
WHO'S ZOO ? ON THI HIGHWAY
A Fundamental Service
Sometime ago this newspaper went on record
as opposing the Town of Franklin's new policy
of making a charge for sewer service. We took
the position that providing sewer service is a basic
obligation of a municipality, and that the just way
to pay for it is by a property tax.
From several sorrces has come this reply:
Many people in Franklin do not have sewer
service ? and are not likely to have it soon. So
long as that is the case it is unfair to levy an ad
valorem tax, which would apply to all property
owners within the town, to provide sewer service
for some. Since only a part of the people have
sewer service, the just way to finance that service
is to make a charge upon those who have it.
That argument is logical.
But has this town, or any other, the right to
take property into its corporate limits if it cannot
provide the fundamental services that are the
whole reason for the creation of a town govern
ment? And no municipal service is more funda
mental than sewer lines.
'They'
"They" werfc the talk of the annual Farm and
Home tour last Friday.
?"They" have transformed Holly Springs and
Carson into above-the-average. eyecatching com
munities.
"They" are uniform white mail boxes ? projects
of the two communities in the \Y. X. C. Rural
Community Development Contest.
Why not a game of follow-the-leaders in the'
rest of Macon's communities?
Our American Civilization
Taking out all the life-giving qualities nature
put intju wheat; paying extra for "enriched" bread.
Printing more and more trivia in our news
papers. magazines, and books; wondering why
there is a paper shortage.
jff
Boasting of our American culture and what it
does for the individual ; finding it ever more un
usual to meet an individual who can enjoy his own
company.
Other's Opinions
THEY COME BACK
(Kannapolis Independent)
There are two reasons that North Carolina's population is
difficult to predict: the State's birth rate is something higher
than expected and North Carolinians have a tendency to re
turn home after they have been officially recorded as lost to
the State by migration.
AGAINST AUTOS
(Forsyth Motorist)
An extreme example of farmers' antagonism to the motor
cars was a determined group reported formed in Pennsylvania
around the turn of the century which called itself the "Farm
ers Anti-Automobile Society" and formulated the following local
ordinances:
"1. Upon discovering an approaching team of horses, the
automobllist must pull his vehicle off to the side of the road
and cover It with a blanket to correspond with the scenery.
2. The speed limit on country roads this year will be a secret,
I ? '' ?* ? '
and the penalty for violation will be $10 for every mile an of
fender is caught going in excess of it. 3. In cam an automobile
makes a team run away, the penalty will be $90 for the first
mile, $100 for the second, $200 for the third, etc., that the
team runs, in addition to the usual damages. 4. On approach
ing a corner where he cannot command a view of the road
ahead, the automobllist must stop not less than 100 yards
from the turn, toot his horn, .ring a bell, fire a revolver, halloo,
and send up three bombs at intervals of five minutes."
Another called for automobilists running on the country
road at night to send up red rockets every mile, wait ten min
utes for the road to clear ,then proceed carefully blowing their
horns and shooting off Roman candles. Yet another ordained
that in case a horse would not pass an automobile, th? motor
ist should "take the machine apart as rapidly as possible and
conceal the parts in the grass."
INSULATION
(Ginny Shankle in Morganton News-Herald)
A young couple sent a friend of theirs ? an Australian woman
living in this country ? a playpen upon the arrival of her fourth
child. When her thank-you note arrived, it left them some
what astonished. "The pen is a perfect god-send." she wrote.
"I sit in it every afternoon and read ? and the children cant
get near me."
Let each man resolve that the right of self government, lib
erty, and peace, shall in him find a defender. ? Robert E. Lee.
? .
No race can succeed permanently that is always moving from
place to place. The individual must choose whether he will live
in the city, or in the country. But wherever he decides to make
his home, let him stay there, and grow with the growth of that
community, and have a definite part in its future develop
ment. ? Booker T. Washington.
STRICTLY
PERSONAL
By WEIMAR JONES
So you think the churches
are dying?
You might have changed
your mind, had you been pres
ent for last week's youth meet
ings (for young people of both
county and town) at the Frank
lin Methodist church.
The attendance approached
the 100 -mark; the interest was
keen; and there was lots of pep.
Incidentally, these young peo
ple had a lot of fun, following
the worship services and class
periods.
If these meetings are in- j
dicative, tomorrow's churches
will be far livlier than today's.
? SP
How is it that Franklin can ,
support so many public eating
places?
Off hand, I can -count eight
or nine. That that number is
almost phenomenally large, for
the size of the town, is sug
gested by a comparison with
other towns and cities. Take
Asheville, as an example.
Franklin's eight or nine res
taurants mean that we have
one for about every 200 popu
lation. The same ratio would
give Asheville, with its 50,000
population approximately 250 ?
and it probably hasn't one- j
fifth that number!
Are we hungrier than the
people of most towns? Do a
larger proportion of the
home-makers here work out
side their home, and thus
they and their husbands eat
out? Do we have a larger
, influx of rural folk to town
! for lunch?
One factor is the fact that
most Franklin restaurants serve
unusually good food ? try eating
in other small towns, or even
cities, if you doubt it. Another
is the fact that they have kept
their prices moderate.
But that is hardly the* whole
explanation.
SP
We put people in jail for
stealing the property of others.
Why not for stealing the beauty
and cleanliness and order that
belong to others?
Instances of such thievery
can be found on almost any
Western North Carolina high
way or public playground.
Few views in Western North
Carolina equal that, on the
Franklin-Bryson City highway,
where the Little Tennessee river
forms a horseshoe, against a
background of towering moun
tains that range in shade from
brilliant green to purplish-blue.
For the convenience of the
Continued On Page Three ?
Mrs. Porter Writes
Siler Family History
(THE FAMILY OF WEIMAR
SILER ? '1755-1831. By Leona
Cornelia Bryson Porter. Printed
by the Stephens Press, Asheville,
under sponsorship of a Siler
Family publication committee.
T listributed by The Franklin
Press. Price $3, postpaid.)
Into this volume Mrs. Porte.r
has packed an amazing amount
of information, gathered by her
over a period of years.
The book Is broken up into
three parts, 115 pages of text,
a geneological table of, the de
scendants of Weimar Siler, cov
ering 52 pages, and an exhaus
tive indert that adds greatly to
the value of this historical
work.
While it is devoted to the
Siler family, the book contains
much material of interest to
students of the history of Ma
con County and Western North
Carolina.
An interesting feature Is the
reproduction of a score of old
photographs, several old letters,
and a number of documents.
The text also includes a dozen
old letters, going back as far
as 1815, in full, accounts of
early family meetings, and ar
ticles relating to the early his
tory of the Siler family and of
Macon county, where the four
sons of Weimar Siler settled.
The book traces the Slier
family from 1741, the year Plik
ard Dederlc Siler, father of
Weimar Siler, left Germany for
America, down to today. Chap
ters are devoted to the early
history of the family; the fam
ily of William Slier, one of the
Jour brothers; the family of
Jesse Richardson Slier, another;
the families of four other chil
dren of Weimar Slier, Jacob
MRS. T. W. PORTER
Slier, Margaret Slier Gash, John
Siler, and Mary Slier Henley;
the families of Col. John Pat
ton and of Caroline Lane;
Thomas Swain Siler's story; old
letters; and the author's con
clusion.
Mrs. Porter this week called
the attention of those who al
ready have obtained copies of
the book to an error, with the
request they correct their copies.
On page 148, she said, the year
of the marriage of Frances
Gertrude Nolen to H. A. Wil
hide should read, 1931, not 1934.
Mrs. Porter also asked that
persons who discover errors
send her corrections, in writing,
to be entered In a key copy
she will keep. She asked that
corrections not be given ver
bally, since word-of-mouth In
formation often is misunder
stood.
News Making
As It Looks
To A Maconite
? By BOB SLOAN
One of the weakest argu
ments I have heard advanced
In a long time Is the argument
being proposed by. Governor
Byrnes of South Carolina who
says that a third group of elec
toral college nominees should
be placed on the ballot in his
state of South Carolina. He
says that this is to allow the
voters in his state to vote for
Eisenhower without voting und
er the Republican party label.
No matter how you sugar coat
it or what legal didoes you cut
to attempt to hide it, Mr.
Byrnes, if you vote for Mr.
Eisenhower you are voting Re
publican. There is nothing
wrong with voting for the Re
publican party if you think it
offers the platform and candi
date you want to support. But
let's not try to claim to be
Democrats and vote Republic
an. If as you say, Mr. Byrnes,
you can't stomach the Repub
lican party in your state then
use your vast influence to clean
up this party if it is the one
which most nearly represents
your views. But if you feel that
through the years gone by and
in the years to come the Dem
ocratic party is the party you
want to support (I do not say
Run, Mr. Byrnes) then be a
Democrat. But be something
instead of wolf in sheep's cloth
ing.
? * *
There is something wrong
with our county tax collection
system? not the officials but
the system under which they
work. For one thing, year after
year many of the same names
are listed for delinquent taxes.
For example a check of the rec
ord in Franklin township shew
ed that of the 388 names listed
for taxes 98 of those same
names were posted last year.
While we did not check it, we
feel reasonably sure that you
would find more than half of
the 98 were listed at least five
times in the past 10 years. We
noticed also that many of these
names are business firms or
people who at least appear to
be in fairly good circumstances
who could pay. Quite frankly
we do not understand just ex
actly how the law works but we
feel that if so many people
can continue to flaunt it year
after year it must not be strong
enough. We don't particularly
like paying taxes but if we are
going to pay, ours we want a
law strong enough so that the
Continued on Page Three ?
Do You
Remember?
(Looking backward through
the files of The Press)
\
50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
Ex-Governor Robert L. Taylor,
of Tennessee, has been invited
to be present at the veterans'
reunion and deliver an address.
Frank Curtis returned home
Friday from Hayesville where
he had been working on the
Courier for five months.
i
N. S. Thomas and Co. started
their locust pin mill last week.
25 YEARS AGO
Macon county ranks eighty
second among the state's 100
counties as shown by an index
of the total buying power of
the various counties.
Robert Cansler. mechanic of
the Nantahala National forest,
has been transferred, temporar
ily, to the Pisgah forest, where
he holds a similar position.
Mr. JJimrod Stiles, of Haines
City, Fla., is spending a two
week vacation with his father,
Mr. George Stiles.
Miss Olive Patton entertained
last Saturday afternoon with
bridge in honor of the coun
selors of Camp Taukeetah.
10 YEARS AGO
They say nothing is impos
sible. Have you ever tried
squeezing shaving cream back
into the tube? (Frankie Macon).
W. H. Finley, principal of the
Franklin schools, received a wire
last Saturday calling him to
active service In the army.
OUR GRATITUDE
For the sympathy and many
thoughtful acts of kindness of
neighbors and friends during
our recent bereavement, we wish;
to express our heart-felt thanks.
Mrs. Robert Fulton
The John Fulton Family.