Newspapers / The Franklin Press and … / July 19, 1956, edition 1 / Page 2
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8Cit t ffltnnklitt tyttzs unit Cbtf MtgWanits JUaruttiatt Entered at Post Office, Franklin, N. C.. u second class matter Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press Franklin, N. O. Telephone 24 VDMAR JONES , Editor BOB 8. SLOAN Advertising Manager j. f. BRADY News Editor-Photographer MBS. ALLEN 8ILER Society Editor-Office Manager MBS. MARION BRYSON Proofreader fi*nr P. CABE Operator-Machinist frank A. starrette Compositor O. B. CRAWFORD Stereotyper CHARLES E. whtttington Pnmmmn DAVID H. SUTTON Commercial Printer SUBSCRIPTION RATES Ocrrsnc Macon County Om T ear Mb Mont ha . Ttrac Months TWO Years . flaw Tears . $3.00 . . . 1.75 . . . 1.00 5.25 . . . 7.50 INSIDE MACON V/OulVTY One Year ...... $2 M Six Months 1.79 Three Months .... 1.00 Two Years 4-25 Three Yean 6.00 JULY 19, 1956 What Is Our Goal? For this newspaper to try to tell the General As sembly, as it .prepares to wrestle with the difficult problem of race and public education, just what specific measure should be adopted ? to do that would be gross presumption. It is not presumptuous, though, for a newspaper or any citizen, to suggest to public officials how the problem should be approached. And we believe most thoughtful citizens, if they could talk to their legislators, would offer substantially these general suggestions : f 1. The Legislature should not be in too great a hurry to accept the program .proposed. It may be, as it has been described, "the best we can do under the circumstances" ; but it should not be adopted until the legislators have convinced themselves no better program is possible. 2. Toward that end, there should be full, free, open debate. Moreover, the public hearings to be held on this legislation should be utilized to the best possible, advantage. Instead of being mere gestures, they should be the vehicle for bringing out every shade of opinion ; and each opinion should be examined with open minds. 3. What is our long-range goal, gradual integra tion or continued segregation? When that ques tion was asked at a press conference last week, the answer was, the decision is left to individual com munities, the state has no policy on segregation. Well, it's time it had a policy ;?time the state pro vided some leadership in determining where we are heading; and time the people were told plainly what are the state's ultimate aims. 4. Finally, if we are determined to retain segre gation, there seem only two roads to that goal, evasion or defiance. And if that hard choice must be made, we hope it will be the latter. For evasion is essentially dishonest, and so tends to destroy the character of the evader. Defiance of constituted authority, on the other hand, when the citizen is convinced the authority is wrong, at least has the virtues of candor and courage. It is, too, in the best American tradition ; without it, there never could have been a free America. Let's Name The Babies For the town development program, Franklin is divided into five zones. And how are those' zones designated? By numbers: Zone 1, Zone 2, etc. That is about the least satisfactory of all ways to designate areas. To illustrate: Ask yourself, "Where is Zone 3?" If you can answer promptly, you are the exception; the chances are half the people who live in that zone don't know its num ber. And it's important that we be able to identify the zones, because the success of this promising project will depend largely, on competition. And who can get steamed up about competing with Zone 3 or 4 or 5, if they don't even know where those zones are? Let's give the babies names. Here's how that would help: Few of us know instantly which is Zone 1, but everybo.lv would know if we called it "the Fast Franklin Zone". All five could be identified by their directions. Better still, we could use a little imagination and give them Indian names, or name them for some well known landmarks, or in some other method. But by all means, let's name them! Nothing means so little to so nianv as mere numbers. Trail never witness a more exciting and unpredictable than the human. ? Decorah (la.) Public -Opinion Federal Aid To Schools ii For this session of Congress, federal aid to edu cation seems dead. But the question remains: Should congress appropriate funds to be distribut ed among the states for the construction and/or operation of the schools? That question boils down to two others: (a) is federal aid to education desirable? (b) is it necessary? There seems general agreement that it isn't de sirable if there is any danger of federal control. Schools are different from such things as roads and public health. Education, by its very nature, requires the maximum "of freedom, and freeflom means diversity. Furthermore, to be effective, there must be some control of the schools at the local level, to insure the local interest and support so essential in such a three-way human situation, in volving children, parents, and teachers. So the most enthusiastic proponents of federal aid qualify their support ; "federal aid without fed eral control", they say. Isn't that a contradiction in terms? Surely any appropriation bill providing federal aid to schools should carry the provision that the funds must be used for education; yet that itself is control. The question is not whether, with federal aid, we would have control ; the only question is, how much ? If the bill recently defeated is typical, we'd have a lot. For it placed stout strings, tightly tied around the money, in the hands of both the U. S. Commissioner of Education and the Depart ment of Labor. And even if it ever were possible to get a bill through giving aid without control, who can say that later Congresses ? after the states had adjusted their economies to federal aid ? would not write in more and more control provisions? Recent history provides two examples of what state government control can do to the schools; and if a state government can engage in thought control, why is it so improbable that sometime the federal government might? In the cases of the states, it was possible for those demanding free dom of the mind tp flee Louisiana and Georgia,. but where would we flee, once any form of thought control was nation-wide? * * * Is federal aid necessary? It would be "nice"; Macon County, for example, would find it mighty pleasant to get a few hundred thousand dollars from the federal government, and there are plenty of places where we could spend it to advantage. But we have to look no farther than Macon County to get the answer to the question: Is it reallv necessarv? / In the past decade, this county has spent a mil lion and a half dollars for new school facilities. We are still crowded, we still need more facilities ; but the casual reading of any article about school facilities, nation-wide, suggests that we are far bet ter off, in this respect, than the average county over the country. And while it has taken effort and some sacrifice, it has been done without real hard ship to anybody. It is true that approximately a third of the mil lion and a half spent here was in the form of state aid, our share of the money raised by sale of state bonds. That, however, hardly proves the necessity for federal aid ; for North Carolina itself is one of the so-called "needy" states ? near the top in pro portion of children and near the bottom in per cap ital income. In other words, one of the poorer counties in one of the poorer states has lifted itself well above the national level; so long as that is possible, federal aid is not a necessity. The situation suggests, on the other hand, that poor schools result not so much from a lack of financial ability to do better, but lack of desire. ? Letters Protests Against School Situation Editor, The Press: The last link of the Wayah Road Is to be paved, and It Is coming In close by the school. We have been a long time waiting for it; and we are proud we are going to get it at last. On the rther hand, we are all very sorry to see our school get In the mess It Is in. In the last school, we had the best group of teachers we have ever had, but just before school closed the superintendent fired part of them, and most of the rest quit. Mrs. Sursavage was one of those fired. I was one of a delegation of four that went before Supt. McSwain. We took a petition signed by 148 citizens and pa trons of the Nantahalas, asking that Mrs. Sursavage be kept, but he ignored the petition. * Mr. McSwain promised us he would stand by whatever the local school committee did, but he did not do It. All the evi dence we have indicates there was no basis for discharging her. From what we can learn, it was nothing but politics ? ,ln Andrews, where she lives. All the high school students also signed a petition that she be kept; now several have said they are going to quit school. This school is hurt and hurt badly. I am sorry we did not take that petition before the County Board of Education; I am sure it would have acted on it. J. R. SHIELDS Nantahala, N. C. (EDITOR'S NOTE: It has been the long-time policy of The Press, when a public official is attacked, to give him the op portunity to reply, in the same issue of the newspaper. In line with that policy, Mr. McSwaln was shown Mr. Shields' letter, and made the statement that follows.) "Although I dislike newspaper controversy, the information contained in the letter from Mr. Shields is so misleading I think an explanation is in order. The statement that I fired a part of the school teachers at Nantahala School is absolutely untrue. Under the school law, the local school committee, upon recommendation by the principal either fires or elects school teachers. With respect to the Nantahala School, I made no recommendation to the committee or to the principal as to whether or not any of the teachers should be dismissed or re hired. "In regard to Mrs. Sursavage, the committee at their first meeting reelected her. Later the committee held another meet ing, on May 14, at which time they went on record as asking the County Board of Education not to approve the election of Mrs. Sursavage. This action was taken after receiving some information from the new principal, who had been employed to succeed Mr. Pipes, who had voluntarily resigned. "Later, members of the committee stated that they did not believe a school principal should be required to take a teacher in whom he did not have confidence. "From what I have heard about Mr. Shields, I believe he is a fair-minded person and, on the basis of this, I will state that if he had received the same information that I have received from school teachers who have taught in the Nanta hala School for the past four or five years, he would never have written the letter." 'Transition' (New York Herald Tribune) A social system, whatever Ills may be Imbedded In it, can not be struck down overnight without a kind of chaos that must be avoided. The Supreme Court recognized this practical fact; it did not call for Immediate desegregation in the schools, but a "transition to a racially non-discriminatory school system". KUFOK'l t'KVM MOSCOW Many Sweeping Changes In Soviet Russia - Do They Mean Reform? Edmund Stevens In Christian Science Monitor (EDITOR'S NOTE: The fol lowing dispatch to the Mon itor Vas written by that news paper's Moscow correspond ent.) In the general astronomic in crease in volume of cultural ex changes and travel to and from the Soviet Union is per haps one of the most striking features of the "new line." Apart from statesmen, Moscow currently welcomes an endless procession of visitors from many lands and of every con ceivable category. VlPs and nonetlties, with in termediate gradations ? natural scientists, musicians, artists, writers, journalists, business men, tourists, students, dilet tantes, and an infinite variety of delegates and delegations ? have crossed the Iron Curtain border. Picking at random the copy of Pravda for June 6, one finds on the same page the following items: Members of the Brazilian Par liament arrive in Stalingrad; the secretary-general of the In terparliamentary Union leaves Moscow; triumph of Soviet pi anists in the Brussels Interna tional competition; an interna tional soccer meet; Turkish soccer players take off for Mos cow; American singer Jan Peerce arrives in Moscow; and a long article on the improve ment of Soviet-Argentine rela tions. The practical effect of all this activity has been to reduce International tension to the lowest postwar point. It is a far cry from the Stalin days, when contacts with the outside world were literally cut to the bone. Nevertheless, official Ameri can opinion apparently is re luctant to accept any of this evidence as meeting the re quirements of Mr. Elsenhower's previously cited stricture. American spokesmen have tend ed to discount each Soviet "deed" and to cast doubts on its motivation, usually on the grounds that It furnished the Soviets' own interest ? the infer ence being that the United States would consider the Sovl ets "sincere" only If they went against their own Interests. By the same token, much is made of the fact that the Sovi et leaders still proclaim their faith in the ultimate triumph of communism, with the para doxical implication that Ameri cans will believe the Soviet leaders only when they cease believing in themselves. The men who head the Soviet regime do not dissemble their conviction that their economic and political order Is superior and better attuned to modern technology than private enter prise, and therefore in the long run Is destined to prevail. But ? and this but is of immense Im portance ? during and since the 20th party congress they have repeatedly stressed that war can be avoided and that com petition between the two rival systems should take the form of peaceful coexistence, with no time limit involved. If the people of the West are likewise confident of the super iority of their way of life, It Is felt by some observers that they Should be ready to accept the challenge without qualms while stipulating certain ground rules for the contest. Instead, clear-cut official dis cussion of the terms of coex istence has so far been avoided In the West, and the five prin ciples of coexistence set forth at the Asian-African conference at Bandung, Indonesia, last year, have been largely Ignored. Far from welcoming the trend away from the cold war, some Western quarters seem more alarmed than ever over the ap parent success of Soviet efforts to win friends and influence people in newly liberated col onial countries through econom ic and technical aid, compared with the setbacks sustained by Western efforts to involve these same countries In political and military commitments. Perhaps the major obstacle to understanding of what Is happening In the Soviet Union is adherence to fixed Ideas and static concepts. Westerners oft en overlook the underlying dy namism of Soviet society which has been evolving steadily ever Continued on Pace Three ? VIEWS By BOB SLOAN In the Steel Strike now go ing on most people expect the same old pattern to be follow ed. Several weeks of negotiation will be followed by a settlement In which Labor will receive most of the benefits for which they have been asking. The companies will then raise the price of steel to take care of the Increased labor cost with a little extra profit added in. The manufacturer, who buys the steel, and all the various mid dlemen who handle the product, add to the price enough to cover the increase in cost plus a little extra profit. Thus, quite a bit will be added to the price of articles containing steel by the time it reaches the ultimate consumer. The Irony of all this is that the price added to the articles, because of the strike may take more away in the end for the working men in steel than the benefits he thought he got at the conference table. Of course, leaders of labor, will try to make him believe that he received considerable benefit, but the fact remains that if there is a wage increase in a basic industry like steel a round of price' increases will follow and I believe that practically always the price increases will more than take care of the wage cost. Another thought too. Think of all the people who don't work In the steel Industry and haven't received a wage in crease yet. They will have to pay more for many many arti cles, yet, their income remains the same. Perhaps it should be a law be fore a company can grant a wage increase they should grant a similar reduction in the price of the commodity they are sell ing. I am no economist, but I am pushed harder to make ends meet than ever in my life on what I once thought would be a fine salary. I think that may be what has happened is that on so many items the profit has been increased "just a lit tle" to take care of an even smaller pay raise that we poor devils are caught in the mid dle. Do You Remember? I Looking: backward through the files of The Press) 50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK Miss Hannah Lee Hughes, of Greenville, S. C., arrived Friday for a visit of five or six weeks to her aunt, Mrs. A. L. Leach. The first sound of the whistle of the work train on the Tallu lah Falls Railway, so far as we have learned, heard in Frank lin, was on last Saturday, July 14, 1905, when it was wafted on the south winds Into the Press office. The Slier family meeting will be held this year at the home of Mr. Henry Slagle, and they hope the friends frojn far and near will be present. They will meet on the first Thursday In August instead of the first Wednesday, as heretofore. 25 YEARS AGO The Rev. Raymond McCarty, of Highlands, the Rev. J. A. Flanagan and the Rev. S. R. Crockett, of Franklin, motored to Asheville to attend Presby tery, which met there recently. Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Young, of Portland, Oreg., arrived in Franklin last week for an in definite stay with .Mrs. Young's parents, Mr. and Mrs. C. T. Blaine. Mr. W. L. Hurst, of Toccoa, Ga? spent Sunday here with his mother, Mrs. Ivalee Hurst, at her home on Harrison Avenue. Mrs. W. A. Rogers and little daughter, Betty, left last Wed nesday for Canton, Ohio, where she will visit her sister, who is seriously ill. 10 YEARS AGO Mr. and Mrs. John C. Fergu son, of Franklin, Route 4, left Tuesday f?r a two weeks' trip to Washington, D. C., .Camden, N. J., and Philadelphia, Pa., to visit relatives and friends. William T. Russell, a native of Franklin, who has made his home in Klngsport, Tenn., for the past 30 years, is here for a 10-day visit with his uncle, George Mashburn.
The Franklin Press and the Highlands Maconian (Franklin, N.C.)
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July 19, 1956, edition 1
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