Page Two
THE PILOT, Southern Pines, North CaroBna
FViday, December 12, 194T.
THE I^ILjOT
Our reluctance is understand
able. All we want is to be let
alone, to go our own way. This
mess is not of our making. At
least .so we like to think, though
our iK>licy since the last war, of
ten selfish, self righteous and
Published each Friday by
THE PILOT, Incorporated,
Southern Pines, N. C.
JAMKS BDYD, I*ubllsher
CARL G. THOMPSON, JR., Editor
CHARLKS MACAI'LEY, Advertlslm;
Dan. S. Riiy. Mary Thompson. Helen K-' stUpid ,huS added itS SOrry illflu-
liutler, KeKHie Camtrim Snnlh. Lhurlei , xi • m i* •
cuiiiimfotd. Asaocmtes |ence tu the Similar policies of
lOther countries in iiroducing the
SubHc-ription Rate*. ' present chaos. Hut whatever our
One Year
Six Months
Three Months
00 share of the blame, very great
50 or very small, it has come to the
’ i point where a.s Clevelaiui said.
TRIAL BY FIRE
Our entrance into this war be
gins with a disaster. It is true
that the Japanese attack was
despicable in its treachery. But
it was not unparalleled. By now
we know the Axis method of
making war and we should have
been prepared. Details as yet
are lacking but it is clear that
the enemy has been able, across
a thousand miles of ocean, to
raid the United States battle
fleet and the strongest fortified
area under the American ilag.
This bitter and humiliating les
son will only unite us and harden
our determination to face the
heavy ta.sk that lies ahead.
FoV this task we must set our
house in order.
We must set up a Supreme
Defense Command with author
ity to coordinate all our armed
services.
We must create a Supreme In
dustrial Command with author
ity to unscramble the present
chaos and coordinate all produc
tion.
We must immediately declare
war on Japan’s master, Ger
many, and on Germany’s other
satellite. Italy.
The first shot caught us half
asleep. Now let us clear for ac
tion. Let us take our stations.
Let us man the guns. Let us
show both our friends and our
enemies what we can do.
FREEDOM
TO MOVE
Last year in California a man
named Fred Edwards helped his
brother-in-law to move from
Texas into California. The bro
ther-in-law had no money and
the next thing Edwards knew he
himself had gotten six months
in jail under the so-called Anti-
Okie law for helping an indigent
person to come into the state.
Last week the Supreme Court of
the United States ruled that this
law was unconstitutional.
This may be bad news for
those of us who have indigent
relatives that may move in on
us at any time. But it is a vic
tory for freedom. It means that
any American citizen, whether
he is rich or poor, is equally free
to move anywhere in this coun
try. It checks once and for all
any attempt to set up immigra
tion barriers inside our borders.
Instead of cutting up our
Entered at the Postoffice at South-;“It is a condition that confronts
em Pines, N. C., as second class mall us and not a theory.” The work!
matter. ' jof the
world. It is no use to debate
whether the world should be on
fire or whether we should be a
piirt of it. P'aceil with this terri
ble reality, we have compromis
ed. hav’o split the difference bo-
tueen the best we mig'ht have
done and the worst. The worst
would have been to play po.s-
sum and let the crash come. If
we had, by now Britain would
have gone under and we would
stand defenseless and alone. The
best woulil have been to go on
an immediate total war footiiif;-
so that whether we fought or
not the nations of the world
would have had to listen to us.
Instead w6 have ‘had two ideas
that cannot be worked together.
One was to pull Britain through,
the other was not to fight. Hut
to pull her through we had to
send her supplies. Naturally the
Germans .sank the supplies. They
are in the war to win, too. There
was no sense in making supplies
if they did not arrive. So we es
tablished bases and extended our
patrols. Naturally the Germans
try to cut off Britain’s supplies
and the only way they can do so
is to attack our system of pro
tecting them. Anybody who
knows war knew this would be
bound to happen. But without
ever facing thi.s reality we have
backed into the war. It is a war
we would give much, have given
too much perhaps, to avoid. But
once in we will meet the issue,
like the British, no less firmly
because we .iie reluctant. On
great issues democracies are
moved most strongly by a com
bination of .self-intere.st and
ideals. They cannot be expected,
since they are collections of or
dinary mortals, to act for the
sake of ideals alone. And since
man has need of faith and at
least a rudimentary sen.se of dig
nity and justice, they will not act
with unity or conviction for self-
interest alone.
Today both those influences
are working on us. As the situa
tion grows more intense and
clearer most of us fel that the
course which Lindbergh and his
backers urge both undermines
our security and violates our
sense of right and wrong. We
are not complaisant we have
been chastened by troubles with
in and by the danger without and
we are conscious of our present
shortcomings and past mistakes.
But in our hearts we know that
not to oppose the Nazi system
would be a betrayal of our coun
try’s history and of all that is
Great Britain’s colonies.
The Colonel does not explain
w*hy he is so agitated about the
unhappy state of Britain's over
seas possessions, why, in short,
he is so much more agitated
about them than they are about
themselves. For though it is
against the Colonel’s principles
Ut fight for them, they seem suf
ficiently satisfied with their
own situation to be willing to
fight for themselves. Since
troops from New Zealand, Aus
tralia, Africa and India, most
ly volunteers, are saving the
Em})irc in Lybia and .saving
fheni.selves too, it is hard to see
why the Colonel disapi loves.
.■\l)parontly, however, he feels
that though they don’t know it,
they arc exploited and oi’iiressed
and that therefore he should do
nothing to help them. For the
sake of the (’olonel's high, moral
scruples, they should be allowed
to be conquered. They should be
l^ermitted to lose their govern
ment for which they are willing
to fight and permitted to pa.-?s
under the domination of a gov
ernment which they detest. We
would like to hear the Colonel
explaining to these people who
are desperately engaged in tho
defen.se of their freedom just
w*hy it is to the best interests of
the world that they should lose
it.
But suppose that the Colonel’s
position is really wise and no
lle, suppo.se that it is logical to
defend Great Britain, as the
Colonel proposes to, but not to
defend her colonies, the ques
tion then ari-ses at what point in
the de.struction of the British
Commonwealth of Nations, the
('olonel proposes to come to
Great Britain’s aid. Will he
fig'ht for her when she has lost
India, or must .she lose Au.stralia
and New Zealand too? Or must
she lose all her colonies before he
starts to work?
Then when the Colonel has
answered that, there is one more
question. If he means to help Bri
tain. when she has lost some or
eCAINS €F SAND
LOCAL AUTHORITY ON
French-Canadians is Arthur S. New
comb, who wondered all through ma
neuvers if there weren't any French-
Canadians among our armed forces.
When, the other day, he ran up with
the first one in U. S. uniform, he was
inspired to write this tribute, in the
hard-to-captiire dialect of our nor
thern neighbor:
Down Canada w'ere I was born, I
live on beep, beeg farm.
I nevaire lak dat farm at all, but I
don’ mean no hnrm.
Ma frien’ up dere mak fon of me
an' call me "bum" an "shirk"
Dey fink I'm lazy jus’ 'cause 1 don'
lak'dat kin’ o’ work
So don I come down here for live in
les Etats Unis
By gar! I’m diffrunt feller queeck:
beeg change come over me
I'm git me job in cotton mill, an'
marry nice French girl.
An' we bot' teenk Petals Unis is bes
place in de Worl'
An' w'en 1 git my papier for mak'
me citizen,
Ma femme an' me, we's proud of dat.
It mak' US happy den.
But bimebye w'en de Army come an'
say “You come too, Joe,”
Dat mak’ us sad ’cause we bot’ know
of course I got to go.
Clarette, she’s pretty good ’bout dat,
she’s smile an’ sing a song
An’ kees me queeck an’ say "Good
bye, it won’ be very long."
But w'en I git my uniform, we bot
feel glad, monjeei
For have de chance for do soniethins
for les Etats Unis.
ABE21DEEN FOLKS THOUGHT
they were experiencing a trial black
out Tuesday. For about an hour, ear-
I ly In the morning, all the power was
' shut off and industry was at a stand-
’ still. Of course, the streets weren't
darkened, but the interior of stores
were grim and solemn and dark.
all of the dominions, which now
arc fighting for her, would it not
be better, would it not be less
costly to us, in material and in
blood, to help her while her do
minions are in the battle line,
I'ather than w-ait until she has
lost all of that great strength
and stands alone with no one to
save her but ourselves and Col
onel McCormick?
Though this editorial was
written before the present cris
is, it still holds true. In fact, its
principles are more vital to
America than ever.
INDIAN SUMMER IN THE SAND-
hills brought and kept forth blooms
which ordinarily would long since
have died. In front of the Bank and
Priscilla Scofield's shop in Pinehurst
are beds of pansies, petunias and nar-
rlsRUs, blooming as merrily and a.s
prettily as if it were spring.
the word "victory.’’ A better word had
been spoken in Washington Monday.
Whatever happpened In Pearl Har
bor that day, Sunday, December 7,
the sum total was clearly for Japan
"The Day of Infamy.’’
Ups and downs in many details
must occur throughout the conflict
now under way which must specialize
In "blowB in the dark." Please God,
this conflict which began in infamy
lor Japan will end in Victory for free
men everywhere,
—WARREN F. SHEUX>N.
Snhscrihe to The Pilot, Moore
County's Leading News-Weekly.
The
PUBLIC SPEAKING
To The Editor; |
Tuesday evening, December 9, John
W. Vandercook, over the radio, said:
‘■Whatever happened in Pearl Harbor
Sunday, the re.sult was clearly a vie-,
tory for Japan." I protest such use of
ETCHINGS
and
Long: Leafed Pine
Christmas Cards
By
Ruth Doris Swett
at
The Sandhills Book
Shop
Evening and Dinner Gowns
Evening Coats, Wraps, Skirts, Jackets
and Bags
Make Ideal Gifts
New Tailored Suits, Dresses, Hats, Hose,
Gloves, Bags, Handkerchiefs and
Costume Jewelry
Atlractively Priced
ALL WINTER COATS REDUCED
Mrs. Hayes’ Shop
SOUTHERN PINES
freedom into small chunks we
would like to .see this country i best in our spirit
head the other way and extend
it. For a starter we would like to
see an arrangement between our
selves and the British Common
wealth of Nations by which a
citizen of any of those countries
involved could move as freely
about the whole area as he does
in his own country. In the end
we would like to see a world
where a man can go anywhere
and never be bothered by an of
ficial unless he breaks the law.
BACKING
INTO A WAR
No nation except Germany
wanted this war. She walked into
it. Her neighbors, both allies and
enemies, were hitched so close
ly to her that they were dragged
in with her. But we are so far
away, the rope connecting us
with Germany is so long that it
has only now become taut.
The sensible thing would have
been, as soon as we saw the in
evitable, to have gone in volun
tarily with all our force. Suffer
ing all over the world will be in
creased and prolonged because
we did not do this, just as it is
now being increased and pro
longed because none of tthe
other nations opposed to Ger
many saw fit to do it in
time. Instead we have compro
mised, have tried to get the war
fought for us, have tried to eat
our cake and have it too, to in
sure the survival of Britain and
our own safety on a part-time
So we shall move into the un
known future with a .sombre un
derstanding of how uncertain it
is and how grim it may turn out
to be. But we shall move be
cause we have made up our
minds and if we are less happy
than before we shall be more de
termined, more united and,
above all, more at peace with our
selves.
TFIE COLONEL TANGLED
IN' HIS SWORD
Even before the Japanese at
tack the isolationists are drop
ping away one by one. Some ol
them read the handwriting or
the political w'all; some wert
getting disgusted with the com
pany they are keep; and some
had become alarmed at finding
that their movement receives the
bless"ing and the financial sup
port of enemies of this country.
Those who hung on found it in
creasingly hard to justify their
position. Events have moved fas
ter than they have and their ex
theories which were never
particularly logical have now be
come nonsensical.
The latest to involve himself
in his own explanations is Col
onel Robert McCormick of the
Chicago Tribune. The Colonel in
an open letter to Lord Kemsley,
owner of the London Sketch,
has come out and said that he
would be willing to fight him
self for the defense of Great
Britain but he will not fight for
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