ftye franklin and QTItr Highlands fflaromatt WEIMAR JOXKS Editorial Page Editor The editor controls and takes full responsibility for this pa^e. He has no control over or responsibility for what appears elsewhere in the paper. TIMK FOR ACTION" On The Courthouse The three public meetings, on Macon's court house problem seem to have shown two things: 1. While there may he disagreement 'about what should be done, there is virtually unanimous agree ment that something, must be done. 2. We've been trying to reach a decision on a basis of much opinion, but few exact facts. There hasNteen the quite positive opinion, for instance, that we can build a new courthouse for $300,000. Maybe so. But what kind of courthouse? How big would it be. What materials would it be built of? What would it look like ? would it be a cheap imitation of thousands of little courthouses from one end of the land to the other, or would it be a structure of beauty and dignity that we could be proud of? Nobody knows ! And there has been the even more positive opin ion that the present courthouse never can be made adequate. Maybe not. But if you have a plumbing problem, you don't decide what can be done till you've consulted a plumber, because, knowing all the tricks of his trade, he may come up with ideas you never would have thought of. If you think you need an operation, you don't decide to have it till you've consulted a physician. If you have a tooth that's giving trouble, you don't decide to have it pulled till you've consulted a dentist to see if it can be saved, and will be satisfactory if it is saved. To many laymen, the evidence is that even a thoroughgoing remodeling of the preseat court house would still leave us with something inade quate and unsatisfactory. Maybe they are right. But it would seem to make sense, before we spend the far larger sum a new courthouse would cost, to be sure. And, just as with the plumbing and the operation and the tooth, the only man qualified to tell us yes or no ? and why ? is a first-class archi tect who has. carefully studied the problem. Because of his training, a good architect might see ways, that the layman wouldn't, to make better use of the space that's there. f The chances seem to be he would say no. But even if he should sav yes, we ought to know, be fore deciding what to do, how much it would cost to remodel, and exactly what we would get for the money, and how much it would cost to. build a new courthouse, and exactly what we would get for that money. It was right and proper for the county commis sioners to seek the opinion of the public. But you can neither remodel nor build a courthouse by mass meeting. Now the time has come for some body to pick up the ball and run with it. That somebody is the county commissioners. It's time they submitted something definite to the pub lic. And it's time, so they can have something defi nite to submit, that they went out and hired a top notch architect to give them facts and figures. Mrs. Freas To her friends, Macon County will never he quite the same without Mrs. Esther Morgan Freas. But it is also true that Macon County would not he quite the same today withotit the beneficent influ ence of her spirit. Nowhere do people pet to know each other so well as when they are thrown together in a hos pital, and a woman who once shared a hospital room with Mrs. Freas said of her: "She was the most selfless person I have ever known." With her selflessness, Mrs. Freas combined other winsome characteristics' that made her beloved. In her nature, there was a nice balance of strength of character and kindly tolerance, of usefulness and a never-flagging zest for living, of hujnor and a quick and deep sympathy. To the end of. her long life,' she kept her youthful enthusiasm ? espe cially fof nature and its beauties. i "Being with her,, even for a brief time", someone has said, "left you with the feeling you had just been touched by a gentle, scented breeze from a ' blossoming apple orchard." "Don't Disturb T V Lady, We're Working On A Top iViority Project!" NEW STATEHOOD J BUILDINO^ m A KM? yJtlfARf I i weeps Why The Delay? It has now been six weeks since announcement of the proposed sale of Nantahala Power and Light Company's retail distribution system to Duke Power Company. But, as this is written, there still has been no petition filed with the N. C. Utilities Commission for approval of the sale. Why the delay? Are Nantahala and Duke wait ing for the opposition to die down? waiting for some new issue that will take people's minds off > this one? ' ' ' * The Juvenile Problem Most of us have been horrified by accounts of the juvenile crime, hoodlumism, and gang wars in America's big cities. Now we are shocked to see evidence that no community, not even ours, is im mune to the disease. It has been only a few weeks since juveniles stole and wrecked an automobile here. More recently a young woman was shot from a passing automobile filled with young men. It is true her injury was not serious, and it may be the weapon was not a gun. But the injury could have been serious: and it is only, a step from using a pellet gun to using a rille or shotgun. * V These and other incidents in recent months cer tainly are not numerous enough to suggest the problem here is desperate, calling for panicky mea sures. But they do serve as a warning. And perhaps the most encouraging feature of the situation is that a group of interested citizens is studying the problem. Why is there a problem? The chances are there are a number of causes. Part of the trouble probably is contagion ; young people read and see on television about the "ex ploits" of "tough" youths elsewhere, and imitation' gets in its work. Part of it is due to the filth con stantly fed youth via television, the movies, and the printed word. Part of it may be due to lack of wholesome recreation. Part of it may be lack of discipline, particularly lack of self-discipline, among adults as well as youths. Part of it undoubtedly is a nation-wide atmosphere of- "I have a right to whatever I want". (That would tend to explain the disturbing attitude of most juvenile delin quents ; an attitude marked by total lack of either remorse or shame.) At bottom, though, the big fac tor almost certainly is the emphasis of adults, over a period of decades, on the wrong values. What can this community do to make sure the situation here does not become serious? It can see to it that juvenile crime is promptly detected and that punishment is sure and swift. It can seek ways to occupy the leisure tim'e of youth. More effective than either of those would be to find ways to mobilize the extraordinarily fine peo ple who make up the vast majority of our youth here. All young people seek the approval of their group. To make the public opinion of youth itself articulate would be effective. Basically, though, this whole problem, whether in Franklin or Atlanta or Washington or New York, is due tp a general break-down in moral standards. And the only real and lasting solution lies in a shift of emphasis. \ For decades, we've put first emphasis on mate rial things. To get them, we've sacrificed whatever stood in the way. The result has been a demand for more and more jobs for more and more people at better and better pay so they can buy more and more things. And ,one result of that has been an ever larger number of women working outside their homes. That has meant the inevitable deterioration of home. And that explains ninety per cent of our social problems. Nobody likes a funny story bel ter than I do. And I'm no prude about stories I've enjoyed, and told, many that were on the risque side ? not be cause they were slightly risque, but because they were funny. But some of the stories going the rounds today ? going the rounds among supposedly intelli gent, cultivated people ? ' leave me gagging, not laughing. That experience, repeated time after time, over a period of many months, has set me wondering : Where do you draw the line? There was a time, of course, when you could say: If it's O. K. to tell in mixed company, it's O.K. anywhere. Well, that time has gone. What is involved here? Is it a question of morals? Isn't it. in stead, a matter of good taste? And do not the canons of good taste demand, at a minimum, two things: Consideration of others and respect for ones self? Consideration of others, it seems to me, would bar any story, no matter how innocent it may seem to the teller, that would be likely to offend the sensibilities of even one of his hearers: for surely it is unkind ever to offend anybody, any time, needlessly. . All You Can Do (Ault., Colo. Progress) Human nature changes slowly; about all that you can do, In the effort, Is to improve yourself. A civilized man is one who conducts himself as a consider ate guest during his years on the face of the earth ? Archibald Rutledge. 'CLEVERNESS WITHOUT WISDOM' j ? Had First Better Set Our Own House In Order BERT RAND RUSSELL in Saturday Evening Post The modem study of the atom has made it possible to manu facture new elements which do not occur in nature. It is a regrettable feet that all these new elements arc deleterious and that quite moderate quantities of them can kill large numbers of people. In this respect recent science has not been beneficent". Per contra, science has achieved what might almost seem like miracles In the way of combating diseases and prolonged human life. We have become able, as never before, to mold life on earth, or to put an end to it if the whim should seize us. But, unless by some such whim we put an end to man. we are on the threshold of ? vast extension of human power. i To quote Senator Johnson's re ? cent words. "Science could have the powei1 to control the earth's weather, to cause drought and flood, to change the tides and raise the levels of the sea, to di vert the Oulf Stream and change temperate climates to frigid." Man htfs survived, hitherto, by virtue of ignorance and inefficien cy. He is a ferocious animal, and there have always been powerful men who did all the harm they could. But their activities were limited by the limitations of their technique. Now. these limitations are fading away. If, with our In creased cleverness, we continue to pursue alms no more lofty than those pursued by tyrants in the past, we shall doom ourselves to destination and shall vanish as the dinosaurs vanished. They, too, were once the lords of creation. They developed In numerable horns to give them victory In the contests of their day. But, though no other dino saur could conquer them, they be came extinct and left the world to smaller creatures such as rats and mice. We shall court a similar fate If we develop cleverness without wisdom. I foresee rival projectiles landing simultaneously on the moon, each equipped with H bombs and each successfully en gaged In exterminating the other. But until we have set our own house in order, I think that we had better leave the moon in peace. As yet, our follies have been only terrestrial; it would seem a doubtful victory to make them cosmic. If the Increased power which science has conferred upon hu man volitions is to be a boon and not a curse, the ends to which those volitions are directed must grow commensurately with the growth of power to carry them out. Hitherto, the harm that we could do to our neighbors has been limited by our incompetence, but In the new world upon which we are entering there will be no such limit, and the indulgence of hatred can lead only to disaster. Strictly Personal By WEIMAR JONES And I think we're allowing our selves ? and that's the other reason for this piece ? to be bullied into listening to and laugh ing at things we don't like and don't find funny; being bullied by grown-up adolescents who'll go to any extreme to attract attention to themselves. And it's nobody's fault but our own! If we weren't so darned afraid of being impolite, and, more to the point, if we weren't so darned afraid of standing alone, we pointedly not laugh at stories th really aren't funny, but are on suggestive. And If there are as many i us as I believe there are, tl silence would quickly get result But does all this matter? Hi it any significance beyond tt matter of personal taste? I think perhaps it has. Becau: it's always true that a pretty goc index to the character of a coi munity is the type and qualil of its humor. t 4 Needed: Proofreader 'VIRGINIA PUBLISHER & PRINTER The American Press recently published a story In which all the typos common to wedding write ups were included. It reads: "The bride was given in mar riage by her father, wearing her mother's wedding gown; the couple went to high school to gether and their marriage will stop a romance begun there; the bride wore a strand of tiny matched pearls; her gown was of vile green: her accessories were plain punk; the bridegroom's mother was attired in a lace dress which fell to the floor. "The maid of honor wore ye low tulle; the bridesmaids carrie tiny nosebags; the flower girl woi a maise gown with puffed sleev( touching her ankles; the bride mother wore a dawn blue chiffo and black stray hat; the nuptia took place in a setting illuminate by lighted Roman candles; ti couple exchanged their cows; tt bridal couple then passed out ar greeted the guests; the ceremor was attended by only a few lei); friends and relatives." ' TAKE NEAL HILL Teen- Age Pace Setters WINSTON -SALEM JOURNAL Coming onto the scene to calm a public mind filled with misgiv ings about the waywardness of American youth is an 18-year-old Rutherfordton boy. He Is Neal Hill. Jaycee teen ager of the year. And what a boy! He talks like a man. He believes in parental disci pline: "Children ought to be taught to respect and obey their parents . . . Folks our age might not want more guidance than most of them get, but we need it." He believes In work: "A job teaches you responsibility and helps you grow up and find out what living is all about." (Neal worked 41 hours a week all last fall, has been on a 30-hour week since January, still managed to maintain an A average in school.) He believes in marriage at the proper time: "I don't think there is any one age that you can set to get married. Some folks are ready for marriage at IS or 19 ? others aren't at 30". (He's en gaged.) He believes In self-reliance: "You can make of yourself pretty much WORDS THAT USE ALL 5 VOWELS For readers who like word oddi ties, we quote these words, all of which use all five vowels (thanks to "The State" magazine) : ab stemiously. arsenious. facetious, nefarious. ? Southern Pines Pilot. what you want." There is little wonder that th boy is saving his money and considering becoming a medic: missionary. The Jaycees seem to have h on the right boy. But Isn't he moi typical than exceptional? H ideas may be a little more matiu than his age. And he may be mo; articulate than most of his ft' lows. But his habits, principle and goals are not far differed from those nurtured by a va majority of our teen-agers. If the state of youth has fall* to the near barbaric levels son observers claim, how have we si vlved to talk about It? Wh.' society could survive a de termini onslaught of an army of tee agers bent on mischief. Me adults could never match th< energy. That teen-agers are for the mo part a decent, law-abiding lot evidenced daily. Witness the B< Scouts, high school debatii teams, scholarship winners, P ture Farmers, 4-H, the Y'a. and host of other youth activity High schools and college campus are full of promising you people. Look at four Wlnstc Salem teen-agers turning th? energy to the development of rocket which has the experts mi vellng. Boys like these and Neal H are setting the pace for teen-age Theirs is the pattern of youth t nation has become accustomed And it's by comparison that t small but ragged pattern juvenile delinquency is so hard take. DO YOU REMEMBER? Looking Backward Through the Files of The Press 63 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (1894) Road wagons, $26; farm wagons, $43; top buggies, $37.50 surreys, $75. Elkhart Carriage and Harness Mfg. Co., Elkhar tad.? Ad*. Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Hill, of Horse Cove, are visitors L our town this week. Mr. Erwln Patton returned Monday from Richmond, wher he took a drove of beeves last week and disposed of them. S. P. Ravenell, Jr., a young attorney of Highlands, is attend ing court. 35 YEARS AGO (1924) Beginning Oct. 11, the Public Library In the Masonic Ha will be open each Saturday afternoon from 2 until 4 o'cUxlj Mr. Jeter Hlgdon is wearing a big smile. It's a boy.-^Etn item. L The Jule Slier farm, 3/4 of a mile west of the courthouaB on the Murphy road, will be subdivided into lots and smaj farms and sold at auction Oct. 13. Bob Davis, owner. 15 YEAKS AGO (1944) Cpl. Dean Carpenter, radio gunner in the Army Air Corpfl son of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Carpenter, of Franklin, is reported stationed in England. 5 YEARS AGO (1954) A hosiery plant Involving an ultimate Investment of so ml three mlltioir dullais is tu be erected just outside Franklin bT Burlington Mills Corporation, world's largest textile conceal It was announced yesterday. I Mrs. C. Tom Bryson is In New York this week, as Macon| "delegate" to the United Nations.