North Carolina Newspapers

PAGE TWO THE PILOT, Southern Pines. North Carolina FRIDAY. JANUARY 14. 1955 Southern Pines mm ILOT North Carolina “In taking over The Pilot no changes are contemplated. We will try to keep this a good paper. We will try to make a little money for all concerned. Where there seems to be an occa sion to use our influence for the public good we will try to do it. And we will treat everybody alike."—James Boyd, May 23, 1941. A Start That’s Full of Promise Of necessity, due to the circumstance of being a weekly newspaper, the Pilot frequently is forced to join the chorus of s’.ate papers in. a regrettably “me, tco” fashion. This is the case right now as this newspaper adds its voice to the editorials all over the state acclaiming the speech of Gov. Hodges at the opening of the Legislature. The speech has been called states manlike, brilliant, inspired. It wa.s‘^11 of these and highly deserved such praise./ Actually, this was an occasion when the Pilot might well have taken a chance and had the editorial ready in advance. .For everything in the present governor’s career and character, as we know it, pointed to the fact.that he would be fully capable of what has proven to date to- be true. It is only the start, of course, of his career as governor. But ever since he started to help the late Goveinor Umstead, he has shown the same sort of wisdom and level-head ed clear-thinking as was exemplified in his ad dress. Luck favoring him, there is every chance, we believe, that he will prove to be an out standing governor. Particularly reassuring was the evidence of his grasp of administrative procedure. Having several capable committees working on some of the state’s most difficult problems, he showed fine judgment jn his acceptance of their findings and recommendations. The Special Advisory Committee on Educa tion, which brought in the school segregation Right On Southern Pines may congratulate itself on the responsiveness of its representatives in the Legislature. The first bill to be introduced in both the House and Senate was the one from this school district asking for permission to reallocate^- school funds. Representative Blue introdiilced the bill in the House where it was .'passed on to the Committee on Education.''and, in the Sen ate, the bill was p^rege^J^d by Sen. Hawley Poole, where it.-'was promptly passed. We have a fjfeeling this may be the first .time this town h^^ led the list at Raleigh and such expedience^-^and alertness on the part of those responsiWe deserve acclaim. It is a good feel- Uig-tag 4 community to know that it has repre sentatives who are o-n the ball and awake to the needs of their constituents. Furthermore, the fact that both these items, in the House and in the Senate, were well received shows that the men from Moore County have the respect of their co-lleagues. Of course, this latter point is nothing new for Moore County. Both men have long been rec ognized as able and responsible servants of their constituency and of the state. Their rec ord is a long and a good one. This community of Southern Pines, and the report, was appointed by the late Governor Umstead but was given full backing by the new Governor. That is not to comment on the actual reports of these committees. There is considerable ques tion in our minds, for instance, as to the rec ommendations on the implementation of the Supreme Court decision. We cannot imagine that the method suggested will be anything but a block to carrying out of what is now the law of the land. For surely there will be few local boards who will not be far more fearful of local opinion than a Supreme Court edict. If the law is to be carried out it will need the force of the whole state behind it. But Gov. Hodges was wise to accept the committee’s report and plan, as he doubtless will, to go on from there when the time is ripe. The committee’s report, and the Governor’s comments on it during his message to the Gen eral Assembly, appear in the news columns in today’s Pilot. We’d be interested in hearing, via our “Public Speaking” column, readers’ reactions to the committee’s proposal to give county and city school boards authority to con trol the assignment of pupils to schools. This proposal of course, is embodied in one of the first bills to be introduced in the House and Senate and appears to be rather favorably re ceived by members of both bodies. Without qualification, we add a “salute‘tb you, sir!” to the chorus of praise for. tb-j'new governor of North Carolina. • The Ball Sandhills in generfi, is one which is now ex periencing much, new growth. While develop ment in this Section has been comparatively steady, it seeihs, of late, to have taken on new ■ activity. It is to be expected that a good many items Tieeding legislative action will come up ■fiuring this term, and it is reassuring to feel that they will be in good hands. But the legis lators will not be able to do a good job unless the work cut out for them has been. well thought out and well prepared. It will be the responsibility of the citizens to see that they are not bothered by foolish and short-sighted re quests for action, and that all requests made to them shall be truly necessary, well-planned, with the benefit to the section cleairly evident. Too many inconsequential or hastily conceiv ed bills block the legislative wheels: too much time has to be spent for little sensible purpose. It is up to the citizens to see that their represen tatives, able and conscientious men, are spared such tim.e-consuming but wasteful efforts. There will be plenty of worthwhile projects for them to undertake. For the efforts of Rep. Clifton Blue and Sen. Hawley Poole in the legislature now in ses sion, Moore County people are sincerely grate ful. They got off to a fine start. It is a good omen for the future. So-Called Security Program Due For Overhaul The New Year saw a great burst of happy oratory from Washington. One statesman hailed the fact that no major war was in process and another claimed a great advance on the roaa to peace; the President’s “atoms for peace” plan was held up as a major step in the establish ment of this longed-for state. But at the same time, in other newspaper columns considerately, for the New Year’s Day, relegated to back pages, were the stories telling of further firing of government employees of honorable record and long service, of sneers at the United Nations voiced by eminent men-at- arms and powerful isolationist leaders of gov ernment. Factual accounts of the precarious state of things in Indo China yied with com ments of responsible observers who fear for the future in Europe now that Germany is free to arm and, therefore, bargain with either side for the prize of a unified country. Which side, the writers ask, wUl she choose? Only one, they point out, can give it to her. In the waters be tween Formosa and China neither the New Year nor the treaty with Chiang seem to have lessened the activity going on there. That no major war is going on, that the UN is still meeting and talking, with all its original members present, that the president made his gesture towards peaceful use of the atom: these are great gains. We should and may rightfully be thankful for them. But it is unwise to close the eyes to the threats to peace and progress that continue as powerful as ever. Some of these, in fact, badly need examination and re appraisal, some of them need immediate change if the gains are not to be lost. Of these we would concentrate, right now, on the President’s security program, and all it in volves. It may well be the most important. For there seems to be little doubt that under it the country has lost valuable men and that, be cause of the program’s ruthless character and injustices, it has now become almost impossible to get able, intelligent, independent-minded men to work for the government. That is why it is so important. In the last analysis, the coun try must depend on the men who are running it and those given the job of carrying out their decisions. Incompetence in a critical position can be as dangerous as treachery. Furthermore, the spectacle of fear, suspicion, stupidity and injustice which this security pro gram has created is dangerously harmful to the nation. How can the United States pose as the leader of the free world, when Uncle Sam ap pears to be afraid of his own shadow? Take the Republican leaders’ statements about “20 years of treason” made during the campaign, made not by underlings or political stump speak ers, but by the Vice-President, the leader of the Senate, the Attorney General? Take the Oppen- heimer case, the Kennan retirement, the Bohlen delayed confirmation, the McLeod firings, the present Wolf Ladejinsky affair. Anyone who doubts their seriousness should read the article in the current “Harper’s” entitled “We Ac cuse,” by the Alsop brothers. We wish for Americans in the New Year an end of fear and a return of confidence in each other. Only so shall this nation inspire that con fidence in others which may, in turn, bring about the strong growth of friendship and goodwill which alone can find a way to peace. We should like to see the Democrats put reap praisal of the President’s security program as the first, item on the calendar of the new Congress. Words For the New Year “We have (lately) shifted emphasis from crea tion (of the new country) toi preservation of ‘the American way of life’. Our way of life has great value. Yet its unique quality has been its hospi tality to change. We can, not only truthfully, we should, logically, admit publicly that we intend to remain a dynamic people . . . “We should cease to fear, and rather to wel come contact with our adversaries, relegating the problem of spies and traitors from the po litical to the criminal plane. We might modify the McCarran-Walter Act so far as it applies to transients. Abroad, we might encourage our people to seek out Commies and ‘neutrals’, whether at the diplomatic or the ‘cultural’ table. “Have we no faith in our beliefs? I never yet met a Communist to whom I could not stand up in argument. “We might even drop our childish suspicion of the United Nations. With the world’s ultimate choice—^I say UL’TIMATE—so clearly between enforceable world law for everybody and wars ad infinitum, which do we prefer?” —^Edgar Ansel Mowrer Crains of Sand Polio Hitting Hardest In Small Counties Hulas But No Signs We have never thought much of the idea of making Hawaii the 49th state. In fact, but for one re cently learned circumstance, we are firmly against it. Too far away, too “different”, too much the picture of this continent en croaching beyond all reason into places far from its natiural habitat. And the circumstance that might change our opinion? It came in the form of a postcard from Voit Gilmore, sent from that far land of enchantment. It said, among other enumerations of the delights to be found there: “No roadside signs in Hawaii; so re freshing.” We’ll bet. Must be sensible people out there. Would Hawaii be able to maintain the good sense that prompted it tb pass such a law if it became a state? Or would the outdoor advertising boys be too strong for it? Early-Blooming Camellias Seems a few eyebrows were raised at this column’s mirations over K. McColl’s early-blooming camellias. Mirations in order but they might have had a wider scop^ so to speak. We find that Net Tliompson and F. Morell also have early-blocni^ on their bush es. . . not to iiiention a few oth ers, here ind there. Da'^igerous business, mention- ’■'■r, n,^mes, they say. Oh well, alter all the McColl camellias were the only ones this column ist had a personal acquaint ance with. We just HEARD about the others. And not from the own ers, either. Woes of the TV Fixer According to Will Stratton, there’s just one thing worse than putting up a high TV aerial: it’s rescuing the man who is supposed to be putting it up for you, and gets up there and then freezes in terror. Will has had to unfreeze and get down a few of these non flagpole-sitters and it’s quite a job. Why Don't We? Met a lady the other day who’d been coming down here from New England for 14 years, and asked her how she felt about this grow ing metropolis. “It’s fine,” sail? she, with heart- warminji enthusiasm. “The town is most attractive, but. . .” and the warmth started to cool. . “Why don’t you folks DO some thing about the outskirts of the town? Why don’t you clean it up, pass some zoning laws, do SOME- 'THING? I guess it’s better than a lot of towns I see in the state, but you could make it just a LITTLE attractive. Those rows and rows of filling stations! Why do they need so many? And the neon signs at night; you can’t tell where you’re going! And all the ugly bare ground and the bill boards! You know that just drives folks away. Why don’t you people DO something?” That Hazel! Anybody who thinks Hazel wasn’t quite a girl take notice: From JeiTy Healy, no spinner of tall tales but a man with both feet set firmly upon the good ground, comes what is, to this col umnist, to date, the prize Hazel story. It seems that the Healys sold their beach cottage last July. ’The first, to be exact. A good start, you’ll admit, to a good story, see ing what followed. After the hur ricane, Jerry went down to see what had happened to the house. He managed to get out to what had presumably been his lot, to find it swept clean. Not a sign of the house. Several weeks later, he drove Mrs. Healy down to show her the sad spot. They pok ed around a bit but found no trace of their attractive house. And then. And then, two months later, Jerry met up with the man he’d sold it to and the two went down to talk to the insurance people. They werg standing on the beach. In recent years citizens of small counties have been stricken by polio more often than their big-county cousins, according to ‘data released by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Statistics just compiled for the five-year period 1948-52 show the average, annual polio attack rate in counties with a population of under 50,000 to be 27.4 cases per 100,000 people, while the average annual rate in coun ties of 50,000 or larger was 24.0 cases per 100,000 popula.- tion. POLIO AFTERMATH VICTIMS NEEDING AID AT START OF EACH YEAR 70.000 67.000 60.000 46.000 issa 1953 1954 1955 JOIN THE MARCH OF DIMES JAN. 3 TO 31 Each year sees an Increased number of polio patients from previous epidemics who can be helped by long-term care paid for by the March of Dimes. As the proportion of deaths decreases, the cost of mending lives for the thousands who survive steadily Increases. , Final incidence figures for 1953 show the average an nual attack rate for the entire United States was 22.3 cases per 100,000 population. 'They also shbw unusually high at tack rates in many small counties. Here are examples of high incidence counties in the 3,500 to 38,000 population range. (Figure following the county is the number of times its attack rate exceeded the national a.verage): Golden Valley, N. D., 13; Washington, Va., 8; Polk, Wis., 8; Avery, N. C. 8; Pope, Minn., 7, Schyler, N. Y., 7; Del Norte, Calif., 5; and Rich mond, Va., 4. No one knows just why this pattern exists, the National Foundation reports. Scientists are analyzing data on case rates among different popu lation groups, but have not come up with any answers as yet. Among “guesstimates” advanced is that improve ments in sanitation among rural communities may have reduced “silent” infections in infancy which are believed to give natural long-term im munity. Whatever the cause, more and more small communities are seeing at first hand how their March of Dimes contri butions aid polio patients. This may be one reason why such areas lead the ho^nor roll in their per capita giving to the March of Dimes. Some of the records set in 1954 by counties with a popu lation under 15,000 were Al pine, Calif., where residents gave an average of $4-16 per person; Pulaski, Mo., where citizens averaged $3.16 each; Mineral, Nev., with $2.32 per capita, and Jeff Da,vis, Tex., with $2.22 per person. The School Segregation Decision This Is A Time For Greatness discussing things, when a man called to them. “You looking for your house, Mr. Healy?” he said, “It’s back in the pine woods.” Jerry and the others walked to where the man pointed and there, comfortably , installed behind some tall pines was the house. It had been lifted off its foundations by the tidal wave, carried four blocks up the road and two blocks back from it, swooped up over the trees and settled down behind them coming to rest on just about an even keel. Feeling that they were taking nart in some kind of a fairytale, the men got out the key, unlock ed the front door and went in. There the enchantment became really unbelievable. Beyond a certain amount of wetness, every thing was as they had left it. Fur- (Below is another excerpt from “A Report to ’The Gov ernor of North Carolina,” a special study of the U. S. Su preme Court’s school segrega tion decision, made by the In stitute of Government of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This excerpt is the concluding portion of a section titled, “Where Do We Go From Here?” in Part I of the report called “The Back ground of the Decision.”) Sburces of Ligbl Accredited leaders wrestling with this question may find inval uable sources of light: in state and local school officials and in local school boards with members chosen from the rank and file of the people in every rural and urban district in the state. The;5e school administratiors and offi cials have been working with white and Negro principals, teachers, and children for years and have in their heads and head quarters—facts, knowledge, and experience at the start that com mittees starting from scratch could not accumulate in years. With this background, they can foresee the multiplicity of prob lems which will be involved if, as, and when mixed school attend ance is invoked—^from the time children get on school busses to go to school in the morning, through classroom hours and school recesses and student ac tivities during the day, till the end of the bus ride home in the afternoon. Many local school boards and officials scattered through the state have started on this task in a spirit expressed in a resolution by one of them: “’This board is confident of its ability and that of local citizens to face any problems which may be occasioned by this Supreme Court ruling with level headed realism and sobriety. . .and it is the intent and purpose of this board. . . to conduct a preliminary ap praisal and analysis of this rul ing to the end that when final decisions and policies are made, any necessciry adjustment in the local school system may be effected with a minimum of difficulty and a maximum of patient under standing, vision, good will, and cooperation.” Realistic local appraisal of these United States can afford to take into consideration the constitution of human nature. Here are pressing and persis tent factors—no less psychologi cal, sociological and legally sig-' nificant in their nature than per sonality development considera - tions referred to by the Court in reaching its decision. A Time for Greatness Abiding answers to these mys terious and tormenting questions, if found at all, will not be fojund in fighting phrases, or in stirMng slogans, or defiant gestures. Tjhey will be found in the diffeAing viewpoints and clashing opinions coming out of the mind and hefert^ and conscience ot our leaders an problems and ways of meeting i ourselves, colored with somethin them, fairly made and thorough- j of the gall and gorge of all niture was in place; in the kitch en dishes were on the shelves There were even the cups hang ing from their individual ho6ks under the shelves; not one had fallen. As they came out in{o the living-room again, feeling a bit dazed, they saw, on the table, an ashtray with two cigarette stubs and some ashes in it. It was the v6ry one they had used, and those were their stubs and their ashes deposited there when they had' left the house after closing the sale in July. We’d say the above firmly es tablishes the reputation of this community’s newest realtor. Any man who can sell his house in one place and have it show up a few months later in an entirely different location is some opera tor. And have it all in apple-pie order, too. Minus a foundation, of course, but what’s a little thing like that? Forgot to ask about the man who owned the lot the house landed on. Finders keepers? ly documented by local scnool •of ficials in every district in the state, under the direction of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, might inform and il luminate the deliberations of our leaders, and strengthen the arm of the Attorney General in giving the Court sources of light it needs and wants and ought to have in formulating decrees affecting North Carolina. Live and Let Live For if the invitation to the At torney General to assist the Court in formulating its decrees means anything of substance beyond the shrewdness of tactic, strategy and device, it must mean a rec ognition of the “problems of con siderable complexity” growing out of its decision in a “great variety of local conditions,” and a willing ness to listen to advice and coim- sel. Surely it must mean that the Court will allow for time with healing in its wings; that it will allow more time and wider lati tude of local discretion within and between counties with less than ten per cent Negro population and counties with more than fifty per cent; between states with five or ten per cent Negro population and states with twenty, thirty, or forty-five per cent; between states and commimities with over nine-tenths of the Negroes con centrated in urban areas and less than one-tenth in rural areas, and states and communities like North Carolina with one-third of the Negroes concentrated in urban areas and two thirds scattered throughout rural areas. Surely it must mean that the Court will allow more time and a wider latitude of local discre tion between states and communi ties with long traditions of few Negroes and mixed schools, and states and communities with many Negroes and long and sepa rate school traditions which, if they can be reversed at all, can not go into reversal without long, careful, and painstaking adjust ment; and that the Court feels that the Constitution of the us, and tempered with the sa^ ing grace of a charity that su fereth long and is kind. Let us pray that it is not tool much to hope that the children] of a people who found resources* in themselves to build the foun-i" dations of a new civilization out’ of the ruins of the Civil War and the bitterness of Reconstruction; who in 1865 let the dead past, in part at least, bury its dead, and in 1869 found a way to open the doors of public schools to white and Negro children and build in steadily equalizing measures our state-wide system of separated schools; let us pray that it is not too much to hope that they will bend all of their energies to find a way, if there is a way, within the framework of the 17th of May decision—to save the solid values which three generations have built into those schools, that they will avoid the losses which for the moment appear both frightful and inevitable to all too many people, and that in good faith and in good humor and without vio lence, they will dissolve corroding and disruptive issues as fast as they arise. We cannot keep the schools if we do not keep the peace. The PILOT Published Every Friday by THE PILOT, Incorporated Southern Pines, North Carolina 1941^AMES BOYD—1944 Katharine Boyd Editor C. Benedict News Editor Dan S. Ray Gen. Mgr. C. G. Council Advertising Mary Scott New;ton Business Bessie Cameron Smith Society Composing Room Lochamy McLean, Dixie B. Ray,. Michael Valen, Jasper Swearingen Subscription Rates: One Year $4. 6 mos. $2; 3 mos. $1 Entered at the Postoffice at South ern Pines, N. C., as second class mail matter Member National Editorial Assn, and N. C. Press Assn.