? J
fill t Ifirnnklin ?ftrtts
and
Che Highlands i&dratxian
Second class mull privileges authorised at Franklin. N. C.
Puollshed every Thursday by The Franklin Press
Telephone 24
WEIMAR JONES Editor
BOB 8. SLOAN ? Advertising Manager
J. P. BRADY News Editor-Photographer
BOLPE NEILL . . .. Reporter
MRS. ALLEN SILER Society Editor Office Manager
MRS. MARION BRYSON Proofreader
CARL P. CABE Operator-Machinist
PRANK A. STARRETTE - Compositor
CHARLES E WHITTINGTON Pressman
O. E. CRAWFORD Stereotyper
DAVID FT SUTTON Commercial Printer
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Outbid* Macon Coontt Inside Macon Countv
One Tear ... $3.00 One Year $2.50
Six Months .
Three Months
Two Tesra
Three Years
1.75 Six Months 1.75
1 00 Three Months . . 1.00
5.25 Two Years 4.25
7.50 Three Years 6.00
KKBKL'AKV 28, 1957
Road To Poverty
We're hearing a lot about legislative appropria
tions for the public schools. But that isn't the only
education problem facing the General Assembly. It
also must provide for the University of North Car
olina and other state institutions of higher learn
ing.
Exactly what proportion of the funds set aside
for education should go to the public schools and
what proportion to the colleges is a somewhat
technical question that the legislators must settle.
But any layman knows that there must he adequate
funds for both. For why train citizens for a de
mocracy if you fail to train someone to lead them?
It is worth noting, too, that there should be ap
propriations for capital improvements, .such as
buildings and equipment', at the colleges. The last
Legislature .provided little or no money for this
purpose. No private enterprise can stay in business
unless it makes improvements; and the same is true
of education.
i As a matter of fact, there is no good reason why
this should be a question of either or. For all this
talk about North Carolina being such a poor state
is pure bunk. By pom.parison with Aycock's day,
when it really required sacrifice to provide educa
tional opporUinity, we arc a rich state, a very rich
state.
We can become a poor one, though ; and the sur
est way to start down that road is by being nig
gardly with money for education.
Evidence Of Faith
That's a fine new store Belk's is formally open
ing this week.
Spacious, efficiently arranged, the latest in com
fort and convenience, and pleasing to the eye, it is
a credit to this community ; it would, indeed, he a
credit to any community.
Its completion surely must he the fulfillment of
a dream, for the Belk Company and especially for
Manager Troup Callahan and his staff. To the
latter, it also must come as something in the na
ture of a reward for hard work and intelligent mer
chandising during the decade since the opening of
a Belk store here.
Beyond all this, though, there is a significance
about the handsome new building and the modern
store it houses. For it stands as tangible evidence
of the faith of hard-headed businessmen in the fu
ture of Franklin and Macon County. Mr. W. C.
Burrell, who built the structure, ^nd the Belk Com
pany have gambled dollars, a lot of dollars, that
this community is on its way.
Jordan's Suggestion
Representative J. Y. Jordan, Jr., who was a mem
ber of the Tax Study Commission that recommend
ed lopping some H million dollars off the taxes paid
by corporations, has a suggestion on how to get
the money to raise teachers' salaries.
Eliminate all sales tax exemptions, Mr. Jordan
suggests. That would mean putting a 3 per cent
sales tax on all food bought for household con
Modern Definitions
* 7 ?
Progress ? motion.
Tim ? what we have less and less of as we get
more and more things to save it.
Objective ? what the fellow who disagrees with
you isn't.
Organization*? what we have too many of.
sumption, on every prescription, and on medical
aids, such as spectacles, hearing aids, crutches, etc.
Now either of those programs might make sense,
by itself.
If we had the money to spare, it m'ght be all
right to reduce corporation taxes. And if we
couldn't get the money for schools anywhere else,
it would be worth-while to tax? food, medicine, and
medical aid.
But to propose both . . .
Tar Heel Greats
I' or a recent special edition. The Washington
Post asked the noted biographer and historian,
Claude G. Bowers, to name the Presidents he con
sidered greatest, and to give his reasons for select
ing them.
Of the 11 he chose, Xorth Carolina lays claim to
three ? Andrew Jackson (who was President from
1829 to 1837), James K. Polk (1845-1849), and An
drew Johnson (1865-1809).
While there is dispute about whether Jackson
was born in this state or South Carolina, there is
no question about the other two; Polk was born
in Mecklenburg County, and Johrison first saw the
light of day in Raleigh. The three are honored by
a monument on Capitol Square in Raleigh.
Interestingly, all three "went west" to Tennes
see as young men, and were elected to the Presi
dency from that state.
Here are Mr. Bowers' reasons for selecting these
as among the few really' great Presidents:
I
Andrew Jackson's presidency was great in that he gpve ac
tuality to Jeffersonian democracy, against a trend toward
plutocracy, toward the subordination of men to money.
The National Bank, holding the people's money, was using
it to corrupt the press and the public service. Its power was so
great that, when Jackson and the head of the bank gave a
reception at the same hour, members of Congress snubbed the
President of the United States in deference to the president
of the bank.
Fearing a future awakening of the people, the bank de
manded a new charter long before the old one expired. Con
gress obliged, and Jackson met it head-on with a veto mes
sage that smote it hip and thigh, and the chips were down.
The bank's one hope was to defeat Jackson's re-election. It
was using the people's money on deposit in its vaults to con
fuse and corrupt the electorate. With daring, Jackson remov
ed the deposits, and the most ferocious struggle in our history
began. Jackson emerged triumphant, and the man in the shop
and at the plow became factors in our political life. Jackson's
greatness was in making democracy a reality at a critical
hour.
II
The next great President was James K. Polk, whose almost
incredible achievements have been ignored by many partisan
historians.
On his inauguration, Polk outlined a program that seemed
fantastic. He would settle the northeastern boundary dispute,
where his predecessors had failed. He would settle the ex
plosive Oregon dispute, and he dared to modify his party's
platform declaration of the "54-40 or fight" to reach a com
promise.
He moderated the tariff controversy so well that the tariff
act of his administration was untouched until the Civil War.
He ended the confusion In federal finances which had baf
fled Van Buren and Tyler.
He promised to and did end the controversy over Texas by
acting decisively on the Texan petition for admission to the
Union. When negotiations failed, he fought a successful war,
and brought Arizona and New Mexico under the American
flag. Through negotiations and purchases, he then added Cal
ifornia.
The man who brought Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Cali
fornia, Oregon and Washington into the national domain was
a great President. When he took office, this country had no
unquestioned foothold on the Pacific Coast, and when he re
tired after four years of herculean labors, the entire coast
from Mexico to Canada was secured. . . .
III
When the banner fell from Lincoln's hand and Andrew
Johnson took it up, Johnson was besplattered with filth from
the gutter, but he waged the most Homeric battles any Presi
dent has ever fought for the preservation of constitutional
government.
Threatened and Indecently assailed, Johnson fought every
Inch of the way for Lincoln's goals. His messages vetoing de
spotic measures are among the classics of Americanism
Johnson's supremely heroic fight for the Constitution makes
him one of the great Presidents.
DO YOU REMEMBER?
Looking Backward Through the Files of The Press
60 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
Dr. Brabson's old horse, Alec, Is 28 years old and now on
the superannuated list. The Dr. has ridden him for 25 years
in practice.
Mr. N. E. Llttlefleld left last Wednesday for Washington to
attend the Inauguration of President McKlnley. He will be
gone about a month.
A petition was being circulated and numerously signed by
our citizens last week against the establishment of a dispen
sary in Franklin. The sentiment of our citizens Is almost unan
imously against the legalizing the sale of spirituous liquors
in any form in Franklin, and the legislator who would cham
pion such a bill would receive the Just condemnation of our
community.
25 YEARS AGO
"Uncle Johnny" Crawford, who was 102 on Christmas Day
and one of the oldest men in the United States, is a man of
unusual character and many qualities. He was born on Wayah
Creek, Macon County, but has spent the greater part of his
life in Clay County.
The 26th still broken up by officers in the last eight months
was destroyed In the Rose Creek section last Thursday. Four
barrels of mash and two boxes of beer felt the weight of the
law.
Angel's Drug Store is making room In the balcony of Its
store for the soda booths, etc., which have become Increasing
ly popular.
It YEARS AGO ,
Lewis Penland, 10th grade student at Franklin High School,
won first place at a public speaking contest held last week at
Waynesvllle by the western district of F. F. A.
Construction of the Nantahala Power and Light Company's
proposed hydro-electric project on Queen's Creek will begin
as soon as materials can be assembled.
"Oh, It's Very Pretty, Sire But Those Foundations r
ISrJ
m
STRICTLY
Personal
By WEIMAR JONES
Down at Cowee school, the
other night, it was the parents
who did the learning.
The school has a new cafeteria
that the folks down there are
justifiably proud of, so they
planned to inspect it, following
the meeting of the P.-T. A. Then
they went a step farther, and
really did the thing up brown;
they opened the classrooms for
the parents' inspection.
The teachers were on hand to
greet the parents as they visited
their children's rooms, and to
answer questions. Much more im
portant, the children's work was
on display ? on blackboards, in
cabinets, in wall displays, and on
their desks.
So parents not ony saw what
little Johnny is learning, but how
he is being taught; and on his
desk they saw, clipped together,
the work he has done in recent
weeks or months.
In too many schools, the par
ents are expected to send their
children, assure them the teacher
is always right, and pay the taxes
to keep the schools running ? and
do and know nothing else. No
wonder there often is apathy a
mcng parents!
Well, my guess is there won't
be (if there has been) any apathy
at Cowee for a while. For, taken
into the teacher's confidence
about what is being done, and
how and why it is being done,
most parents appeared pleasantly
surprised.
* * *
And if they had the experience
that I, present as a visitor, had,
they learned a lot.
I'd never heard, for example,
of "finger painting", for small
children. And I could hardly be
live my eyes when I saw what
these Youngsters, with a dab of
paint, a piece of paper, and their
fingers, hands, and arms as
"brushes", had done In creating
pictures.
I was impressed, too, by the
way, in learning art, the children
learn other things.
I didn't know that small chil
dren, as a rule, read books, much
less report on what they have
read. But, even in some of the
lower grades, there were neat
racks In which was placed each
child's record of the books he had
reported on. And some of them
listed as many as 14 books read
this year!
And I was interested in a
method used to teach reading.
Each child tells the class a story.
The teacher carefully prints the
story in a few simple words. Then
they learn to read these stories.
Little Johnny might take a long
time to learn to read a story out
of a book, but his own story ?
of course he's eager to learn to
read that!
And I admired the way the
school library is operated. Each
year two sixth grade students
are selected to learn to be library
assistants. By the time they are
seventh graders, they really can
help, and when they get to the
eighth grade, they have become
something like professionals. Of
course the next year, they have
been promoted to high school ?
but two others, started a couple
of years earlier, are ready to take
their places.
For this adult, at least, these
and scores of other things made
the evening a real educational
experience.
* ? ?
The approaching membership
campaign of the Franklin Cham
ber of Commerce makes this story,
told by E. C. Kingsbery, timely.
It's about a man who really ex
pected advertising to get results.
It was back in 1926, Mr. Kings
bery recalls, that a chamber of
commerce was organized here,
chiefly for the purpose of adver
tising for tourists. Since many
farm homes took paying guests
during the summer months, people
throughout the county were In
vited to join the new organization
and help bring tourists to Macon
County.
One rural resident, with a big
house, accepted the invitation,
sending this note with his con
tribution:
"I am sending you 4 dollars.
Please send me 6 summer board
ers."
/S IT TRUE...
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA?
Is it true what they say about
North Carolina ? what they have
said In all the romantic, senti
mental, ornamental, sometimes
hard-bitten portraits of a state
from the time of William Byrd
down through the latest ode by
Ovid Pierce in Holiday?
Sometimes It is. Even a patrician
Byrd gazing haughtily across the
border, seeing only shiftless
pioneer outcasts from a noble
society of Cavaliers, provides an
insight. The first North Caro
linians (after the ill-fated Lost
Colony) were no better or worse
than most American immigrants;
they came to the wilderness be
tween Virginia and South Carolina
for the usual reasons ? for religious
freedom, for more room, for ad
venture's sake, to escape debtor's
prison. They were not all from
the Mayflower, neither were they
all renegades.
It Is established, as W. J. Cash
told us two decades ago, that
they had no extensive moonlight
and magnolia tradition. A bit of
the Old South as dreamed up in
movies oh the coastal rivers, yes:
but mostly they were good pioneer
stock. A really successful man
rarely departed European shores
for the mysteries and hardships
of a new continent.
In the beginning they were most
ly plain, unpretentious people.
They had their spats with Gover
nor Tryon and the royalists who
tried to reimpoae Old Warld way*.
They spoke up lustily when George
in proposed an outrageous tyran
ny.
One peculiar tradition came of
their fierce love of freedom: All
through history they feared the
strong executive. North Carolina
would not ratify the U. S. Consti
tution because it contained no
bill of rights; North Carolina re
luctantly broke with the Union
in Lincoln's time, but once it
broke, sent more foot soldiers to
civil slaughter than any other
Southern state.
Out of the tragedies of Civil
War and Recor.svructlon, as Arnold
Toynbee noted. North Carolina re
covered faster than its sisters; un
like Virginia and South Carolina
it was not frozen In worship of
the Old: it had fewer losses to
mourn, and so It turned more
readily to straightening up its
wrecked house. It strode forth
more hopefully into the 20th Cen
tury. more unencumbered by the
shattered Image of "godheads of
heroes rising through the moist
mists of hero worship".
? ? ? .
The distinctive myth of individ
ualism and independence prevail
ed. Even in its 20th Century
growth. North Carolina did not
suffer domination by any single
large metropolis; It built a dozen
smaller cities, and a hundred
villages; many of its people stayed
near the land ? In cabins hugging
the anciant mountains, in pleasant
Greensboro Daily News
groves of the Piedmont, beside
furowed fields of the Piedmont
in tiny houses over-looking the
coastal rivers and ocean.
? ? *
Would this North Carolina, once
called the "Rip Van Winkle State,"
make something of itself after all?
Surely it would. Pervading its
contrasting coastlands, foothills
and mountains was a curious kind
of unity. Jonathan Daniels, one
of its troubadour sons, observed
this spirit of togetherness in his
book of portraits. "Tar Heels". The
people, different as they seemed
to be. had a unifying spirit, a
love of the down-home place called
North Carolina.
But what have they achieved?
Thay gave the nation three home
spun Presidents ? Jackson, Polk
and Johnson ? alike and yet vastly
different. On a gentle hilltop In
Orange County they built a great
state university, devoted to the
fires of freedom and receptive of
the love of the people: they saw
sprung up in their midst a com
pany of entrepeneurs ? Duke, Can
non, Reynolds ? who transformed
the old agricultural fabric of the
Piedmont Into the industrial main
street of the 8outh; they produced
an Ay cock who saw, a vision of
universal education for a people,
white and black; they looked at
the stars with a Prank Oraham
and went home again to Tom
Wolfe's lovely mountains.
At the mid-point of a century
Continued On Page Seven?