(The franklin ^rrss
a it it
(Thr It Initios Jjlnrmunu
>e. ouct ilass mail privileges authorized nt Franklin. N C
F i- .isi.ed even Thursday by The Franklla Press
TIU KSDJWtf. AUGl'ST 7. 1958
What Docs It Mean?
What is the meaning. a'nd what will he the ef
fects. t?f tin 4'\eiit> thai transpired at the Swain
County courthouse a week ago today ?
Th most obvious effect, of course. is that this
district has a new Democratic nominee for.Con
'gre--> How strong a candidate Mr. David M. Hall
will prove and. if he i- elected, how good a con
gressman, remain to he seen. To even the most
skeptical, though, he has at least two things in his
favor. Xo man could achieve what Jie has. in the
face of a crippling disability, unless he Were a
fighter. And at 40. he is voting enough ? if the
voters think he is good enough? to stay in Con
gress a long tiijie. and thus gain the influence sen
iority gives iij that body.
The second, and almost equally obvious conclu
sion. is that a long dominant political organization,
alreadv discredited bv its own actions, now has
been soundly thrashed. Thus its aura of invincibil
ity ? an aura that gave great weight to its prom
ises of reward and threats of punishment ? has been
dest roved.
The mountain people are long-suffering, but once
they are aroused, they fight hard. And possibly
more significant than either the new nominee or
the defeat of the Buncombe organization is the
vivid demonstration to the people of the. six coun
ties west of the Balsain Mountains of what they
can do, once the\# unite. This area is a unit. Its
people are homogeneous; it has common traditions
of independence, courage, determination, and good
neighborliness, And. beinjjf relatively unspoiled, i;
has almost limitless possibilities. The Brvson Citv
meeting illustrates what we could accomplish, if
we worked together along economic, social, arid
cultural lines as we did last week, politically.
WHAT ABOUT ROLLMAN?
Xo honest discussion of what has happened can
ignore Mr. Hein.;' W. Rollman. H'c 'cannot he ignor
ed, hccnttse he .got nearlv 19,000 votes. Yet he wr.-s
ignored ii. iVyson City.
That is significant, it seems to us, not because
of its effect on Mr. Rod-man's personal political
fortunes; but because, when the committee ignored
him, it also ignored nearly 40 per cent of those
who cast ballots in the primary.
It can be argued, of course, that, while Mr. Roll
man grot nearly 40 per cent of the vote, a man of
a totally different political complexion got a majqr
ity; thus the committee was merely carrying out
the wishes of the majority in selecting someone
other than Mr. Rollman. ?
That ]>erhaps is a valid argument. But, frankly,
we doubt if- it was such philosophical reflections
that influenced the committee. The evidence is they
wanted none of Rollman ; that they might, pven,
have accepted an Asheville-dictated candidate ?
?provided he was "regular" ? w:th better grace.
That, it seems to us, points to a serious crack
in the Democratic party's armor: Nearly 40 per
cent of the Democratic voters are unrepresented in
the councils o! the partv.
One thing more about Mr, Rollman. If every
criticism that has bfcen made of him is 100 per cent
true, it remains a fact he has done this region and
the Democratic party a great service by restoring
* to the political vocabulary such almost forgotten
terms as "decency", "honesty", "fairness", and
"good sportsmanship". ?
CONCEPTS CONFLICT
Two conflicting concepts met at Bryson City.
Most of those who set up our government had
scant faith in the people. They carefully provided
that the people ? and the franchise was narrowed
to a relative few ? should select representatives,
every four years, who, in their greater wisdom,
would elect a President. It also was provided that
members of the important U. S. Senate should I be
elected not by the people, but by the wiser heads
of the state legislatures. A primary election was
undreamed of.
Today we have moved far toward democracy.
And in doing so, we have been inclined to sweep
away as "undemocratic" the regulations that seek
to guard minorities from the majority that can
sometimes be so tyrannical. *
The rule that, when a congressional executive
committee meets to replace a nominee who has died
or resigned, a little county like Clay shall have an
equal vote with a big one like Buncombe, is an ex
ample.
We'd do well to take note of how that apparent
ly unfair arrangement protected the minority that
lies west of the Balsams. In the 150 years since this
region was settled, it never has had a member of
Congress. Without this regulation, it probably
would have been another 150 years before it got ?
one.
We aren't suggesting a retreat by democratic
governnyent. If a primary is a good thing in May,
it would be a good thing in August or September,
and we think a committee of 20 should have neither
the power nor the responsibility of picking a nomi
FrohaMy no point in Westerm North Carolina is more photographed than Macon County'
Bridal Veil Falls. Above is an unusual shot of the waterfall over a highway.
Strictly Personal By WEIMAR JONES
When I found I was going to
have a three-hour layover at
the air terminal at Paducah.
Ky? the other day, I was pre
pared to be bored.
The fact I couldn't buy a cup
of coffee didn't help my dispo
sition; and to that was added
annoyance at myself that I had
neglected to provide myself with
even so much as a newspaper
to lead.
I was going to have a long,
tiding three hours, I knew, with
nothing to do of interest; noth
ing. period, in fact.
Well, you never can tell. That
layover made possible for me
two of the most interesting
conversations I've enjayed in
many a day.
The first was with a mature
woman, a teacher in a Mid
Western university school of
nursing. In her case, the stimu
lation came from her personal
ity; she had read widely, travel
ed much, and reilected often.
A lot has happened sfnce
then, and I don't recall exactly
what was said, except that she
knew a lot about? and was en
thusiastic on ? the subject of re
habilitation of the physically
handicapped.
And while i can't repeat any
thing that was said, two impres
sions remaii): First, the thrill
she gave me in telling of the
heroic and successful efforts to
rehabilitate persons who 25
years ago would have been
considered better off dead; the
second, what interesting talk
one can have with a perfect
stranger | you never expect to
see again ? both of you forget
inhibitions and the urge to
keep up, or make, a goad ap
pearance.
In the second case, the con
versationist was interesting be
cause of his experiences: He
was a member of the Arkansas
National Guard called out by
President Eisenhower to open
r
nee for Congress ? except on the very eve of a gen
eral election, We think, in a case like this, the law
should provide for another primary to pick the
nominee.
Rut we do think, in this and other areas, it's
important: to hold on to these rules that safeguard
minority rights.
>? * *
As the curtain goes down on this drama, tnere
stands in the wings a tragic figure, the man whose
break-down in health precipitated such heated con
troversy.
In all the discussion, this newspaper has directed
no criticism at Rep. George A. Shuford. personally.
It has no word of criticism now. Instead, it goes
along with a recent comment of the Greensboro
Daily News, that how that Mr. Shuford has re
signed, he "is entitled to rest and recover in peace".
Friendly Franklin
(Asheville Citizen)
A New. Yorker, entering Franklin by car recently, was stop
ped by citizens, given a cordial handshake and was handed a
special "Welcome to Franklin" packet.
It contained gift certificates valued at some $25 and Cham
ber of Commerce literature.
Thei visitor was astonished. He said:
I'll tell you this much. I've never had anything like this
happen to me before. I've heard you Southerners were
friendly, but this beats all.
Maybe it does beat all. Franklin hopes it does.
It's a phase of that fine community's "mountain friend
ship" project that is sponsored by the merchants with an
assist from the Chamber of Commerce. The official designa
tion is "Welcome to Franklin." Unofficially, we'd call it
"Friendly Franklin Welcomes You."
One day each week, volunteers set up a road block on one
of the highways near the town limits. Each out-of-state car
with three or more persons in it is stopped and a little wel
coming ceremony, with the gift package presentation as a
feature, is held.
The visitor reaction is described as one of amazement. But
the people of Franklin, friendly as they are and want to be,
are not seeking Insolvency by giving away too much. The
project builds good will and it serves to stimulate business
by getting visitors into places where wares are for sale.
But, whether there are sales or not, Franklin does want its
visitors to feel they are welcome. It is a good example.
Press Comment On Hall Choice
Outcropping In 12th District
(Greensboro Dally News)
What happened up in North Carolina's 12th Congressional
District Thursday was but an outcropping of the same spirit
which is making itself felt throughout the world. The little
or have-not nations are rising up against the big powers and
the status quo and making their influence and their power
felt as never before.
The little counties in the 12th District ganged up on Bun
combe County and the forces who had long been pulling the
political strings.
As a consequence Asheville's candidate, City Manager J.
We(don Weir, was whipped from the outset, despite the cam
paign which had been waged for him from the moment Rep.
George .A. Shuf.ord formally announced his withdrawal, after
having won the Democratic nomination only a few short weeks
before, on account of ill health.
The very first ballot gave ample evidence of what was com
ing. David M. Hall, Jackson County attorney, former state
senator and presently a member of the State Board of Water
Commissioners, received nine votes, only two short of the re
quired majority. After the deadlock was broken on the sixth
ballot, Weir supporters took the lead in moving for unanimity.
On the surface all ended happily after a hassle which began
when the Shuford health issue and its handling were brought
sharply into the open in an editorial in The Franklin Press
by Weimar Jones. ,
Looking back now, it is obvious that personalities were
involved and that political forces were churning violently be
neath the surface. Resentment built up Over the years broke
through; the socalled "Asheville machine" of other years was
on the ropes. At Thursday's committee meeting, it was no
longer able to hold on. The stir which began as an editorial
comment ended in an upheaval whose political significance
and implications are recognized throughout the state.
While Nominee Hall may be relatively unknown outside his
own district, he is patently held in high regard by home
folks, especially as a party stalwart and leader. His courage
and his fighting qualities are attested by the battle which
he has waged down the years against a crippling bone disease
and the accomplishments which he has made despite his
great handicap. A man who has fought back against disease
as he has is likely to be mighty tough for any opposition.
Nominee Is Free
^Charlotte Observer)
For the second time in the last quarter century an executive
committee Of Democrats has chosen a nominee for Congress
in this State.
The committee of the Twelfth District has made a com
'LET'S SERVE SOTICE '
This Region's 'Disfranchisement' Pointed Out 12 Years Ago
Editorial Reprint
(EDITOR'S NOTE: It takes
a long while, sometimes, to
get anything done. It has
been more than 12 years since
The Press pointed out that, in
a period of 150 years, the
region west of the Balsam
Mountains never had had a
representative in Congress.
But it was not till last week
that anything was done to
right that geographical bal
ance of representation. What
follows Is ain editorial that
appeared in this newspaper
April 4, 1946.)
About 25 years after Amer
icans took up arms In protest
against taxation without repre
sentation, white men began
settling that part of North Car
olina that lies west of the Bal
sam Mountains.
That was about a century and
a half ago, and In all the 150
years since, this southwestern
part of North Carolina never
ha? had a representative In
Congress.
In the early days, of course,
it was part of a vast congres
sional district that stretched far
eastward; but as the popula
tion has increased, the area of
the district repeatedly has been
reduced. At one time, Rowan
County (Salisbury I furnished
the congressman, and as late
as the 90's Caldwell was in
this district, as is attested by
the record of the election of
William A Bower, of that coun
ty, as the district's representa
tive.
Even before the Civil War,
however, Buncombe had begun
to dominate the situation, with
her Thomas L. Cllngman, her
Zebulon B. Vance, and others.
And Buncombe and two popu
lous counties adjoining her
have dominated it ever since.
In the 46 years since the
turn of the century, whether
It was the Democrats or the
Republicans who won the elec
tions, every man sent to con
gress from this district has
come from one of three coun
ties ? Henderson, Haywood, or
Buncombe. ,
And in this year's election,
what choice have the voters?
Of the two men aeeklng the
Democratic nomination, one is
from Henderson, the other
from Buncombe; and a Bun
combe man has been nominat
ed by the Republicans. Hender
son and Buncombe again!
Why this disproportionate
representation?
In the past, we have been
reminded of the greater1 popula
tion of the eastern end of the
district. But today this trans
Balsam region, comprising
Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Swain,
Macon, and Jackson counties,
contains more than half the
district's land area, six of Its
10 counties, and 30 per cent of
its population.
If the representation In Con
gress Is to be passed around
on the basis of population ? and
that apparently has been the
theory ? then this western reg
ion is entitled to name the dis
trict's congressman for the
next 50 or 60 years.
This newspaper has no can
didate In mind, and It certainly
will not advocate the election
of a man solely because he
comes from a certain region or
strictly on a basis of popula
tion. The character, ability, and
views of the man always
should be the prime considera
tion. It does believe, however,
that this forgotten land to the
the west is entitled to represen
tation.
And it refuses to subscribe to
the thesis? ^apparently held far
ther east ? that only the popu
lous counties are capable of
producing men of congressional
stature.
Congressional filing time has
passed. It is too' late for us,
here in what seems to be con
sidered an unimportant appen
dage to the Buncombe-Haywood
Hendtrson district, to do any
thing about this year's election.
But it is not too late for us
to start thinking about 1948.
And it is not too late for us
to serve notice, now and
throughout the next two years,
on both parties ? notlco that
we are a part of the district,
too; that we have nearly one
third of the district's popula
tion; and that. In future, we
must, and will, be consulted.
the doors of Little Rock's Cen
tral High School to Negro chil
dren.
A young man, a very serious
minded young man,, he appear
ed to have considerable educa
tion and evidently held a po
sition of responsibility.
Among his opening remarks
was an apology. I asked the
conventional question: "Where
are you from?", and he replied.
?Little Rock ... I guess you've
heard of it.'" The apology, I
learned later, was not so much
for what had happened at Lit
tle Rock, though he didn't by
any means defend all that hap
pened there; it was. instead,
because of what he knew had
been said and written' about
Little Rock, and what he took
it for granted people thought
of Little Rock.
" How did it feel to be on
armed guard duty, among your
own people? I wondered.
"I've never In my life seen
such bitterness as among Ar
kansas National Guardsmen,
ordered to Little Rock", he saM.
"Even among moderates and in
tegrationists? and we do have
some of both ? there was the
feeling they were being forced
to take up arms against their
own people.''
Apparently trying to be fair
minded, he suggested that both
Governor Faubus and President
Eisenhower were wrong when
they oidered troops to Little
Rock.
He found It hard to see both
sides, though, when it came to
the picture that has teen paint
ed, the world' over, of the Ar
kansas capital; a picture he
feels was colored, distorted, and
sometimes downright untrue ?
especially as it was painted on
television and in the news mag
azines.
Noting his apologetic, defen
sive attitude, I recalled the Su
preme Court's concern with the
psychological effect of segrega
tion, and I wondered if the pop
ular reaction, in most sections
of the country, to what hap
pened in Little Rock has not
hai on even more pronounced
sychclog ca! effect on the peo
-!?? of ft v, hole state.
? * *
That experience in the Pa
ducah air terminal, I hope,
taught me something: There
are interesting things and peo
ple all about us, all the time,
if we'll just take the trouble
to sea them. Boredom, that is,
usually comes from the inside
out, instead of the other way
round.
mendable choice in its selection of David M. Hall of Sylva as
ths party's candidate to succeed the stricken George Shuford.
Mr. Hall is held in considerable esteem by the Democrats
of those far western counties. His victory in the committee
was decisive. That N victory was greeted warmly by the vast
majority of the 300 Democrats who were on hand for the
proceedings at Bryson City.
Mr. Hall may be handicapped physically, but he will not be
handicapped politically as he enters the fall campaign.
He is his own boss. He owes nothing to any king-maker or
political machine. HIS nomination was achieved in spite of,
not because of, the exertions of Don Elias and Company, or
what remains of a once powerful Western Carolina political
organization.
He can enter the campaign knowing that he is not held in.
mortgage by any individual or by any unit or units of big
industry in his district. He was nominated by little Demo
crats, not by big Democrats.
If elected, he is free to represent all the people of his dis
trict. The fact that this has not always been the case in the
Twelfth District was an important element in his nomination.
We can readily understand the disappointment of Heinz
Rollman in the committee's decision. He piled up almost 19,
000 Democratic votes in the May primary against Rep. Shu
ford, and those votes were totally ignored at Bryson City.
Mr. Rollman fled Hitler's Germany; he has an almost child-,
like faith in democracy and the processes of free election. He
feels, only naturally, that the votes of the people should
command more attention in a meeting of party officials.
He will learn ? he is already learning ? that the facts of
power are almost as important in the United States as in the
Germany he left. Our rules may be much fairer, but there is
often a very considerable difference in how the game should
be played and how it actually is played.
For all his disappointment, Mr. Rollman would be wise to
abide the decision and work to improve his standing at all
levels of his party. ,
Two Davids And Democracy
(Raleigh News And Observer)
It has been a long time since there has been so much
snarling and snafu surrouhding the nomination of a Demo
cratic candidate as has just taken place in the 12th District.
Now alter primary and post-primary charges about news sup
pression, after the resignation of Congressman George Shu
ford following his renomination, a nomination that will stick
has been made. And Democrats should fall solidly in line be
hind it.
Of course, if it was known that Congressman Shuford was
as sick as- it now turns out that he is, that fact should have
been made known before the primary. If Congressman Shu
ford knew he was as sick then as he now realizes, he should
have withdrawn' before the primary. Whatever the facts" may
be about those suppositions, they are now part of the past.
David M. Hall, of Sylva, has been duly nominated by the party
committee set up to act in such cases as this one. He is en
titled to the support of all good Democrats in his district.
?Certainly Heinz Rollman, who ran second in the primary
against Congressman Shuford, should promptly disavow any
suggestions that he might run as a write-in candidate. Mr.
Rollman is a newcomer to North Carolina but he has added
liveliness to Democratic politics in the mountains. He put his
money and his energy into a vigorous campaign. Perhaps if
the facts had all been known about Mr. Shuford's health be
fore the primary, he would have made a better showing. The
fact is that he lost and his defeat was hardly a basis for his
selection after Shuford's resignation. Nevertheless, the Demo
cratic Party , in Western North Carolina ? and everywhere else
? needs such ardent newcomers as Mr. Rollman. Having made
a good showing in his first political race, more success in
the politics of North Carolina may be his in the future. Any
hopes of that, of course, would be thrown away if having! only
? lately entered politic as a Democrat he undertook a write-in
campaign against the regularly chosen Democrat candidate.
All Democrats, Including Mr. Rollman and his friends, should
join to give Mr. Hall an overwhelming majority. This is a
Democratic year. It should be celebrated as such by the elec
tion of all the Democratic nominees, including the two new
faces among the Democratic nominees for Congress, David
Hall in the 12th and David Clark in the 10th District.
These two Davids strengthen the ticket and deserve the ac
tive support of all North Carolina Democrats.
i '
DO YOU REMEMBER?
Looking Backward Through the Files of The Press
65 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
(1893)
Be it known far and wide that The Press will take wheat
at cash prices in exchange for subscriptions.
Postmaster Frank Smith has been absent from the office
during the past week on account of sickness.
Nearly a dozen of our young men and young women will
leave for college about the first of September.
25 YEARS AGO
(1933)
The Macon County Baptist Association, meeting in its 30th
annual session at the Briartown Baptist Church, elected the
Rev. A. S. Solesbee as moderator.
"Bobby" Jones, the finest golfer of them all, is scheduled
to play In a exhibition golf match at Highlands Saturday.
The annual Macon County farm tour, sponsored by the
Franklin Rotary Club, will be held Wednesday.
10 YEARS AGO
Homer Cochran was employed as night policeman by the
Franklin Board of Aldermen, at its meeting Monday n^ht.
The board of trustees of the Highlands Community Hos
pital has announced the purchase of a combinatioh X-ray
and fluor.oscope unit.