e ftmtfclitt f i tU
and
OIJ?f Highlands fflanmian
WEIM.HI JONES
Editorial Page Editor
AT OUR DOORSTKI'
Help In Planning
For years, this newspaper has been pointing' to
the need for long-range community .planning by
Macon County and its two towns. That need, of
coarse, is most obvious in dealing with such things
as water supply, sewage disposal, and streets ? 1
where to put new ones and how to widen old ones ;
but it is by no means confined to those fields.
Because of Franklin's rapid growth, the need
here is urgent and acute. P>y planning, we can make
Ihc most of, rather than spoil, what nature put
here. Furthermore, it is far more expensive to cor
rect mistakes already made than to avoid making
them.
Most persons probably have agreed, in general,
hat have been inclined to raise such questions as
these: How do you start planning? Who's to do it?
And, especially, who in Franklin is equipped by
training and experience to make intelligent, long
range plans?
Well, we'd say that amateur planning is much
better than no planning at all. But now it doesn't
have to be amateur. We have technical assistance
right at our own doorstep.
We refer to the Western North Carolina Region
al Planning Commission, authorized by the 1957
<?cncral Assembly for the state's 12 westernmost
counties, and now active, with a full-time, trained
tnan. Mr. John R. Ham.pton, available to make
recommendations to both the region and its conn
tics and towns.
The commission's work is supported, on a basis
population, by 11 counties and some 20 towns ?
ancludmg Macon County, Franklin, and Highlands.
And it is already at work on problems submitted
Ko it by Brevard, Hendersonvillc, Asheville, Mar
shall, Hot Springs, and Highlands. How such help
can be obtained and used was explained by Mr.
Hampton in a talk at last week's meeting of the
Franklin Rotary Club.
We have always been doubtful about the wisdom
of letting the expert make the final decision ; his
vision is too narrow for that. Rut the ex, pert def
inite!} has his place, and the Western North Car
olina Regional Planning Commission is wisely set
up to take advantage of the commission expert's
knowledge and skill, but leaving the final decisions
to the people's duly elected public officials. In short,
a plan submitted may be adopted, rejected, or modi
fied, as the people of the community and their of
ficials think best'.
For a relatively small investment, recommenda
tions may be obtained for meeting the longe range
problems of this county and of Franklin. We sug
gest the opportunity is. worth the' careful consid
eration of the board of county coinmissmtiers and
especially of the board of aldermen of fast-growing
Franklin.
Lower Phone Rates
The eha:>L.e over irom'the "number, please" to
The. dial telephone system here c- 1 1 a 1 > I c- s the Western
Carolina Telephone Company to operate with few
er employe-., t h lis cutting down costs. ,
Presumably, that means' more profits, for the
company. We hope so; because it is always good
news for the entire community when, any business
in the community prospers.
The telephone company, though, like any public
utility, falls into a somewhat different category
from competitive businesses. In the first place, it
has a monopoly ; in this case, a dissatisfied custom
er cannot transfer his patrpnage to another, com
peting conccrn. In the second place, the company
is virtually guaranteed, as competitive business
never, is. -of a fair return on its investment ; when
it isn't getting such a return, the state allows it tu
increase its rates. i '
? " " < ? ? I
That being true, it occurs to us that perhaps
the public is entitled to share in the savings made
possible by this technical advance. We would be
the last to deny the company higher profits as a
reward (Or its enterprise; all we suggest is that
the .public get a share? in the f<nm of lower rates,
v' f
If this change to the dial system had made oper
ation more expensive, the State I'tilities Coinntis
siou almost certainly would have granted the com
pany a compensating raise in rates. Its' a poor rule
IT'S SWIMMIV TIME AGAIN! And from now tUl cool
weather, the Uds ? and many adults ? will splash in the pool
(above) at beautiful Arrowwood Glade, at the foot of Wayah
Bald. Sometimes as many as 500 are there in a single day.
ril aft rhoto)
It and the pool at Cllffside, near Hifhlamds, are maintained
by the Forest Service, and swimming is free. These are the
only two areas developed primarily (or swimming anywhere
in the entire Nantahata National Forest.
that doesn't work both ways. Since the change en
ables the company to operate at lower costs, why
not a reduction in rates?
'Visitors'
We like that suggestion of Franklin's Mr. Ted
Reber, made in a recent letter to The Press, lie
thinks we should call the persons who come here
(or stays of a week or a season not "tourists", but
"visitors". Mr. Reber makes the point that a tour
ist is someone who is just passing through.
Technically, such a change could be called retro
gression instead of progress, because it goes back
ward ; a generation ago, the folks who came to the
mountains for visits were called "visitors", usually
with the addition of the seasonal adjective, "sum
mer visitors". <
Actually, though, the word "visitors" not only
is more accurately descriptive of those who come
for visits; it also better reflects the Macon County
atmosphere many of them have found so delight
ful ? the feeling they are not strangers merely pass
ing through, but are honored guests? that is, "vis
itors";
Lesson For Us
Morganton, a town several times the size of
Franklin, has streets that, by comparison with ours,
seem wide. But they are too narrow for today's
Mordant 011. and will he even more crowded as
Morganton continues to grow.
The Mordant oi'i Xews-1 lerald. ;n an editorial ire
, printed at the hottom ol this page., regret > I hat
someone didn't have the foresight, hack when Mor
ganton was small, to .establish ?building lines. set
back from the sidewalks, for n?.\ l.i'Min ;-. ll-ad
that been done then, it would be r-.'hii," -. e v u^v'-t'i
widen the streets now. Since it v t, tb'.-. c - of
a widening project now would, !>.- j >r?->hil >? r i \ e.
franklin, winch also is grown. might w.e!' 'in-if
?it 1 > \ .Morgantoii's experience. 1 do, son:- Vng
now about the street-widening !?- c 1 1-: a ?. .?
to come in the next few years.
Eternal Imma ity
(Kokomo, Ind., Tribunet
You are only young once, but you can stay immature In
definitely.
Needed: A Sense Of Humor
(Franklin, La., Banner-Tribune)
One of the world's great tragedies is the fact that too
many of us take everything too seriously. Being funny is a
declining occupation ? not enough folks have a sense of humor
any more.
Brief, Clear Writing
(Publishers' Auxiliary i
At a recent gathering of newspapermen, discussion cen
tered on well written news stories. Richard Applegate, for
mer UP correspondent and present NBC commentator, .show
ed a clipping of an AP story which he thought was an ex
cellent example of clarity and restraint. So do we:
"KANSAS CITY. Mo? (API ? Burglars entered a- paint store
here and knocked the combination off a sale.
"That released tear gas which chased them out.
"Returning, they dynamited the safe open.
"It was empty.
"Besides that, said store manager Harold Swafford, it
wasn't locked. t
DO YOU REMEMBER?
Looking Backward Through the Flies ot The Press
?5 TEARS AGO THIS WEEK
(1894)
Frost was very plainly discernible in and around Franklin
the morning of June 1.
Mr. H. G. Trotter is putting in a new skylight and im
proving his (photographic) gallery.
The Board of Town Commissioners held a little meeting
Wednesday evening,. The property tax was laid at 30 cents
on the hundred dollars' worth of property. It was ordered
that a number of hitching racks be put up with guards to
prevent the horses' getting on the sidewalks. Shooting was
forbidden on the streets.
35 YEARS AGO
(1924)
Mr. Haskell Arvey is wearing a big smile. It's a girl. ?
River View item.
The MacDowell Music Club last week elected the following
officers: Mrs. R. W. Shields, president; Mrs. A. J. Smith, first
vice-president; Mrs. W. H. Crawford, second vice-president;
Mrs. Smith Harris, recording secretary and reporter; Mrs.
A. J. Pipes, corresponding secretary; Mrs. Henry Cabe, treas
urer; and Miss Irene Weaver, librarian and junior director.
15* YEARS AGO
(1944)
More thaw 400 men, women, and young people answered
tiip call of Franklin church bells on Invasion Day, and filled
the Captist Church for the union' prayer service at 3 p. m.
All business closed, and workers came, some in overalls, some
from desks and stores, women from home and office, to of
1 ;!? prayers for all in danger, as the greatest liberation in
history began,
5 YEARS AGO
(1954)
G. A. Jones, Jr., of Franklin, recently was promoted to the
rank of commander in the Navy Reserve.
DELAY IS COSTLY
Morganton Has Street-Widening Problem, Too
Morganton News-' Herald,
A drive around Morganton
offers many reminders that build
in1; lines established some years
ago would have avoided bottle
necks which /will prevent street
widening for the next generation.
There's no blame to property
cwfiet-i who constructed buildings
; . i ..i to existing streets as possi
ble, because there was no apparent
ason for them not. to make maxi
nvrviise of their lots.
But there will be blame in fu
' ?!'" years if business buildings
iiiiU (.wettings are allowed to br
constructed so close to the street
that it will be impossible ever to
broaden the street for whatever
traffic demands may be in the
next 25 or 50 years ? perhaps an
expressway where a narrow stre<
now runs.
Establisliment of setback lint
is a delicate and explosive matte
When somebody representing tf
town, apparently without prop*
explanation, drove up stakes alor
King Street some time ago to ii
dicate the farthermost point
building might be constructed, th
reaction was terrific. Hctee-ownei
seemed to think the town planne
to take over a considerable sectio
of their front lawns immcdiatel:
That reaction is understandabl
but Morgaryton needs to look fs
ahead to some distant time whe
street widening will be conslde
ed desirable, except by an o
casional and stubborn proper!
;t owner. But if buildings stand flush
with the , present sidewalk, it will
;s be impractical even then to do
r. anything about it.
iii That's why the Morganton
;r Planning and Zoning ComnYTsSTOr) ,
i? backed by the city council, should
n- figuratively set up stakes along all
a principal streets, saying, in effect:
le "We don't want to broaden your
is street now but because it may be
d necessary in the future, we are
n serving notice that any future
y. buildings can come this far and
e, no further toward the present
iv street line."
n For whatever complication may
r- arise now, there will be multiplied
c- thanks which officials will learn
?>' from future Morgantonians.
STRICTLY
PERSONAL
By WEIMAR JONES
The other day. I nicked a fel
low's fender.
That'll happen to the best of
us. sometimes; and in this case,
it was, if not unavoidable, at
least not entirely my fault.
I parked in a space marked for
parking. The other fellow came in
later, parked in a non-parking
space, behind me, and at such an
angle I was hemmed in. When I
was ready to go, he was nowhere
in sight.
I knew it was going to be a tight
squeeze, but thought, by repeated
backing and pulling up, I could
get out. When It looked as though
I could make it. I eased out, very
gently. I touched his rear fender
with my rear bumper, though; felt
the touch; and pulled up and
backed again, this time extricating
myself.
The touch was so light, it
didn't occur to me It could possi
bly have done any damage; but
when a man I took to be the
owner showed up and stood star
ing at me, I stopped and asked:
"I didn't hurt your car, did I?"
"Yes, you did."
"If I did, I'll have It fixed."
"It'll have to be fixed."
I parked again, got out, and
came around to see what I'd done.
I had to get close, bend over, and
look twloe before I saw it, a tiny
place at the bottom of his fender.
"Five minutes with a hammer and
a little polish", said an automobile
man who was standing by, "will
make it good as new."
I explained I had Insurance ?
that every car owner in North
Carolina Is required to have in
surance ? and volunteered my
name.
The other fellow demanded to
know where I lived, who carried
the Insurance, and where the
agent's office was. "And how am
I to know you have insurance?"
Well, we got it straightened out
with the Insurance company.
But the point of this story is
not that I nicked somebody's
fender, nor even whether I was
partly or wholly at fault
The point Is, It seems to m?
big, shiny automobiles, plus liabili
ty insurance (and of course liabil
ity Insurance is a fine thing) is
making snarling beasts out of a
lot of us Americans.
More and more of us are ready
to Jump down the other felloes
throat if he so much as touches
our cars; fewer and fewer of us
are ready to admit maybe we are
partly at fault. Instead, we try to
cover up our own mistakes by
loudly damning the other man.
Many people, in fact, frankly ad
vise: "Never admit you're in th?
wrong; that gives the other fellow
Just the opening he's looking for."
(Wonder what the folks of a gen
eration ago, who taught children
to generously take the blame for
a mishap, would think of that!)
Don't misunderstand me. I'm
quite human. And the chances are,
if I were financially able to driv?
a big. fine car. I would; chances
are, too. it would make a fool of
me, Just as it does of so mapyt
people. I
I hasten to admit, too, that I
often wish I could drive one of
those beautiful new automobiles.
But. occasionally, as in a casa
like this. I'm thankful mine is a
beat-up 1950 Jalopy. Happily for
me. It can't be hurt, so it's not
something I have to worry myself
sick about.
If somebody scrapes my fender,
I can say ? not, mind you, be
cause of any special virtue on my
part, but because the car isn't
new and shiny ? if somebody
scrapes my fender, I can say;
"So you scraped my fender.
Well, what does one more scratfch
matter? Forget It! ? just as I'tm
going to."
And of course, because human
nature is a strange combination
of contradictions, when I say
something like lhat, they always
insist on fixing it!
WHAT IS EDUCATION?
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Professor
Adler is editor of "Great Books
of the" Western World".
By MORTIMER J. ADLER
Being liberally educated does
not assure success; nor is worldly
success the aim of liberal educa
tion.
Its aim is to help men in their
pursuit of happiness, which re
quires them to cultivate the moral
virtues and achieve a little wisdom
in the course of a whole lifetime.
In public lectures over the
years, I have told audiences of
teachers and parents that the
?worst enemy of liberal education
in this country is the widely pre
valent notion that its goal is earn
ing a better living instead of liv
ing a better life.
The educated man may have
certain practical advantages over
his neighbors, but that is not th#
right reason for becoming edu
cated.
Reading the great books year
after year is the best way to ac
quire some understanding and
wisdom. , *
But that cannot be don* with
out hard work ? hard because all
genuine learning involves think
ing, and thinking is the most
difficult thing for any of us to
do. It can't be done In 10 easy
lessons or by any other 'get-learn
ing-quick' scheme.
These are the books which are'
over everybody's head all the
time, and that is why they are
good for us ? because they can
help us lift our owk heads up.
little by little, in the long pull
of learning during a lifetime.
COFFEE CUSTOMS
It's No Longer 'Saucered And Blowed'
, W. E. H. In Sanford Herald
Surprising how many people
you visit these days who offer
you a cup of coffee. Mary Lee
Phillips and Esther Cooke seem
always to have a pot on the front
burner; hot and ready for serving.
Coffee's always been a popular
social drink, but the large num
ber of folks who served in the
armed forces probably account for
its every-day popularity. Boys in
the navy especially keep a pot of
coffee hot; no matter what portion
of the ship they're stationed in.
or what land billet they have,
there's always a pot of coffee
simmering nearby.
Most of the coffee nowadays
comes without a saucer. Just a
cup or a mug, and truth to tell,
that's all that's needed.
Back in the olden days, though,
a saucer always went with the
cup. The saucer wasn't just a place
to set the cup. It was if or more
than that. It w^s a receptacle into
which coffee was poured and then
cooled, either by letting it sit for
a few minutes or by the simple
expedient of blowing on it.
That's where the phrase
"saucered and blowed" comes
from.
Maybe it was just a figure o
speech, but I've heard dinner tabli
hostesses say, "Here's your coffee
and if you want I'll saucer am
blow it for you." Meaning the:
were volunteering to pour somi
of the cup's contents in a sauce
and cool it for the taste by blow
ing on it.
"Please saucer and blow mine,
is an instruction to the hostes'
or waitress that's gone out c
style, but the wordage remains.
HOW TO MOW
LAWN, SAFELY
i
The appalling fact about th
high rate of injuries resultir!
from power mower operation I
that most of the accidents cou)
be avoided. To prevent such 1.
juries, power mower operate
should follow these simple ruK
of safety:
?Before mowing the lawn, cler
it of stones, wire and other debri
? Check fuel supply before y<,
begin. Never refuel a hot engir,
? Don't use an electric mow
when the grass is wet, even if t>
mower is grounded.
?Keep children away when.t!
mower is in operation.
? When starting the engii
stand with your feet firmly plai
ed in a safe place. When open
ing, keep in step with the mow
Don't lag behind or let it pull yt
? Learn to disengage the cliit
or stop the motor quickly. Shut c
the motor whenever yo\i leave t
mower. ev?n for a short perioc
- ? Be sure chain and belt guai
are in place white the engine
running. Reach under the deck
change and adjust belts only af
the engine has come to a full sti
r-On inclines and. terraces,
sure of your footing and balan
i Your foot can accidentally s
under the mower before you kn
what's happened.'
? Don't tamper with the gov
nor or try to speed up the engi
of a rotary mower. (Excessive c
ting speed is dangerous.) ?
formation.