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Page TWO
THE PILOT—Southern Pines, North Carolina
THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 1962
ILOT
Southern Pines ^ 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. Wherever there seems to be
an occasion 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.
Needed: A Public That Cares
Only if the citizenry is informed and
wide - awake, ready to take an active
interest in their government, can a
democracy function in line with its
highest purposes and commitments. How
to awaken such interest is and always has
been one of the greatest problems facing
this nation.
If you look at it from a local angle the
picture is especially clear. The subject of
government or politics meets with a sort
of bored apathy on the part of the aver
age citizen. There is not only a lack of
ordinary curiosity about the way town
and county governments are run and the
whys and wherefores behind the things
that happen or don’t happen, but there is
also, as a rule, a very definite shying
away from the whole thing. With many,
“Politics,” clearly, is still a mean word.
Added to this is the quite evident and
prevalent fear of taking a stand that
could be unpopular. This attitude of
aloofness and timidity on the part of the
voting public joins with a similar attitude
of the politicians to form a vicious com
bination. Those holding office, or aspiring
thereto, are only too pleased to go their
own sweet way in peace and privacy. The
less people know about what they do or
think the better.
So things drift along until election time
when few voters know enough about the
candidates or their duties to make a wise
choice and, as a result, the Machine,
which has the organization and generally
the money, too, has a clear field and an
.easy victory.
This means, as a rule, that the incum
bents remain in their accustomed govern
mental posts. They may be good men but
who doubts that it takes a bit of competi
tion to keep the average man on his toes.
It also takes the knowledge, on the part
of the office holder, that a lot of people
who care are watching him.
Why do we get sloppy, inefficient
government? Simply because the voters
don’t care enough about good govern
ment. Their interests are focussed on their
businesses, their homes, their organiza
tions, their pleasures. They have no time
or inclination for the governments, local
or national, under which they live. And
so those in government have little feeling
of responsibility towards the public as
they would have, with correspondingly
good results, if they knew that those who
elected them were watching and expect
ing them to do a good job. The power of
this sort of absentee-public government
can be great; in national affairs it can
constitute a massive danger. On the local
level the danger is not great but there
can be muddles of sometimes vast pro-
portions..
Two such muddles in county govern
ment come to mind. The most recent is
the hospital muddle when the cause of
building up the efficiency of an organiza
tion that serves and has the devoted back
ing of a large majority of Moore County
people—as evidenced by the success of
the recent fund drive and the ever-crowd
ed conditions at the institution—became
somewhat jeopardised.
The other county muddle occurred at
the time that county officials turned
down the state offer to build a health*
center in Carthage. Only quick action on
the part of citizens, rallied by the Moore
County Maternal Welfare Committee,
who went over the heads of the local
board to state authorities and, with this
as a lever, persuaded the county board to
reverse its ruling, secured the present
fine building.
These two examples of muddled hand
ling of county affairs illustrate clearly
the need for more citizen information and
active interest in this entire field, starting
right at home. To help this cause, this
newspaper will attempt to print in ad
vance the agenda of town meetings, held
on the second Tuesday nights, and other
happenings in the field of government
whenever possible. Unfortunately, there
is no formal agenda for the meetings of
the county commissioners, except for the
fact that all county officials report
at the meetings, held all day in the
courthouse the first Mondays. But it must
be noted that, all too frequently, impor
tant decisions are taken at special meet
ings held without notice and sometimes
without a formal recording of the pro
ceedings.
Congratulations, Cliff
The Pilot’s congratulations go to H.
Clifton Blue of Aberdeen on what seems
to be his certain election as Speaker of
the House of Representatives in the 1963
General Assembly at Raleigh.
With the third longest period of service
of any member of the House (eight two-
year terms) and with a background of
steadily increasing accomplishment and
prestige as a member of that body, Mr.
Blue well deserves the honor that will
be accorded him.
His opponent in the Speakership race.
Rep. Tom Woodard of Wilson, conceded
defeat last week and pledged his support
to the Moore County man, drawing from
Mr. Blue a gracious statement of appreci
ation, that was directed both to Mr.
Woodard and to the winner’s supporters.
It is good to see Moore County continu
ing to provide its share, and more, of
outstanding men in State government.
Other Side of the Coin
Again and again, in Congress, we have
seen representatives and senators take
the short view, the expedient view and,
they no doubt feel, the “popular” view on
complicated matters in which an entire
ly different kind of approach is needed,
if the long-range interests of the nation
and the world community are to be
served.
Illustrating the point are amendments
to the Export Control Ac^^ sponsored by
Rep. A. Paul Kitchin of this Congressional
District. Designed presumably as a
method of further containing and con
trolling the power and spread of Com-
munisum, by cutting off the sending of
anything of economic value to Red-domi
nated nations, the amendments—combin
ed with proposed tariff changes and
drastic limitations on foreign aid funds—
may have exactly the opposite effect with
at least two of the nations affected, Po-
Fortunate Disposition
News that the Watson and other pro
perty, totalling over 1,000 acres, is being
purchased by a group of North Carolina
business and professional men, for a
private country club and residential de
velopment, is welcome in the Sandhills.
The fate of the Watson lands of nearly
900 acres, containing a large lake and
some of the finest timber stands in this
area, had been a matter of concern to
many Sandhills residents since it was
known th&t the property had been put on
the market, following the death of its
longtime owner, John Warren Watson,
several months ago.
While members of the purchasing group
have not been announced, it is understood
to include prominent and responsible
men in business and government—^men
who are said to be determined to pre
serve the natural beauties and resources
of the Watson tract- and other lands
bought, consistent with their plans fot
club and residential development.
This section is fortunate that such a
promising disposition is being made of
this large and beautiful area that is with-j
in almost a stone’s throw of both South-!
ern Pines and Pinehurst.
“It’ll Be A Great Trick... If You Can Do It!’’
Sc^
Jr"*
-so.!.. ..
GREENSBORO D,\1LY NEWS
NO WELLBEING WITHOUT EFFORT
An American Awakening
(From The Christian Science
Monitor)
land and Yugoslavia.
Officials of the State and Executive de
partments in Washington fear that the
changes would drive these countries
which are not now wholly dominated by
the Soviet Union into a closer and more
binding relationship with Russia, thereby
increasing rather than diminishing Com
munist influence.
As the Export Control Act stands,
nothing that would add to military po
tential may be sent to Poland, Yugoslavia
or other Communist bloc countries. Under
Mr. Kitchin’s proposed changes, the send
ing of anything of economic value would
be prohibited, so that economic as well as
military expansion would be curbed.
Other effects of the proposed export
controls; of the ending of favored treat
ment under the Reciprocal Trade Agree
ments Act; and of the limiting of foreign
aid to surplus farm shipments would very
likely be, points out the New York
Times:
1. Abrocation of an agreement whereby
Poland promisled last year to pay $2 mil-
lifl^ y year for 20 years in compensation
f®[^itionalized property of American
2. End of negotiations for a $40 million
settlement'^wth American holders of de
faulted^ pre-S(^ar Polish Government
bonds.
3. The freezing >s5_,some $350 million in
Polish currency, in P<^land, representing
payment for American surplus farm pro
ducts—money destined, before the aid
bah, to be spent for Polish internal de
velopment projects.
There is no question that U. S. aid,
along with preferential tariff treatment
(a policy followed by this nation con
tinuously since the 'Truman administra
tion) and non-militarv exports have done
much to permit, in the words of an Ad
ministration spokesman, “some freedom
of maneuver against the Kremlin” by
Poland and Yugoslavia.
It is too bad that Rep. Kitchin has
chosen to play a major role in tiding to
scuttle measures that both the State De
partment and the President believe to
be in the best long-range interests of the
United States and the world.
Far too much attention is be
ing devoted to the emotional dis
turbance caused by the steel crisis
and the stock market setback; far
too little to what needs to be done.
Both incidents are symptoms,
nothing more.
The substance behind them is
the awakening of the United
States from a comfortable delu
sion, into a hard resolve to face
actuality and to do what needs to
be done.
The delusion is that prosperity
feeds itself by spreading comfort,
ease, and always higher wages,
profits and prices.
The actuality is that hard work,
self-discipline and honest compe
tition are necessary to keep the
American people—all of them—
from going soft; that the object
of healthy business and labor is
to lower costs and prices for the
competitive position of the United
States in an international world
that means business.
What needs to be done begins
with a change of attitude—with
the awakening. Prosperity is not
indolence and will vanish like
sand through the fingers unless
the American people—again, all
of them, not just business or just
labor or just government or even
just the consumer—are willing to
work and'think hard.
For government it means quick
release of incentive to modernize.
Example: those larger deprecia
tion allowances in which fast
moving Western governments are
far ahead of the United States.
This means renouncing a political
hostility which is the easy way
for a leftist government to bid
for votes: cut incentive for the
businessmen and then blame him
for not showing enterprise.
For labor, it means attention to
what labor is. It means the mo
tive, the muscle, the devotion of
the craftsman to a job well done.
This involves disenchantment
with the merely political way to
get more pie: show your power
and take it from the man who has
plenty.
For business, it means—to
quote the scorned platitude of
Calvin Coolidge—^business. Large
segments of American managers
will have to show the courage and
the quality of decision to lead in
change rather than comfortably
falling behind it. This involves
an end to the luxury of blaming
everyone else for failure to get
out of old, routine ruts and into
the adventurous struggle for
modernizing.
For the consumer—^why should
she escape a scolding?—it prob
ably means a less placid accept
ance of whatever is dished out.
Less of buying just anything, so
long as the decor is as fresh as a
new dress and the cellophane glit
ters. Why should business concen
trate on value if packaging and
chichi can be sold more effortless
ly?
This is a national awakening.
Americans have had it too good,
most of them. They are beginning
to realize it, A certain lack of
confidence which shows itself in
questioning from all segments of
the economy as well as from the
stock market, could. be a good
thing if what is shattered is con
fidence in an illusion of well be
ing without effort. The sooner we
get rid of that the better.
The Decisive Ground Is Here
(From an address by James
Reston, head of the Washing
ton bureau of the New York
Times.)
military jargon, it is no wonder
that the spirit of the day is,
“Leave it to the President.”
I feel that our reporting, like
our economy, has developed a
kind of a limp, coming down too
heavily on the violent happenings
abroad and too lightly on the de-
V'olopments and achievements
within our own country and the
rest of the free world.
One important effect of this,
I believe, is that it has encour
aged a feeling in the country that
events are too far away, and too
complex, and too dangerous to be
understood or even followed.
When the news deals with Laos
and the balance of payments, and
a baffling jungle of scientific and
Now, I have spent a quarter of
a century reporting on and argu
ing for collective security over
seas and I am not suggesting that
we do not continue to lead in the
development of a concert Of free
nations. But I think the time has
come to re-examine our news val
ues, and to pay more attention to
what is going on in the peaceful
transformation of our own socie
ty.
We have heard a lot about what
Lenin thought about where the
fate of the world was going to be
settled and a lot more about the
importance of Germany, Britain,
France, Algeria, the Congo, and
all the rest.
The Public Speaking
Suggestions Made
For Public Officials
To the Editor:
I have read with interest the
recent editorials and letters car
ried by your paper on the subject
of the need for citizen interest in
local government. I couldn’t agree
more.
To start with, I have two sug
gestions. One:that .the county
commissioners hold their meetings
in a laijger room.
Nothing could be more discour
aging to citizen participation than
the present arrangement. The two
rows of seafe are crammed so
close together it is almost impos
sible to get into them and, as a
rule, much of the space is neces
sarily taken up by county depart
ment officials making their re
ports or by delegations. Opera
ting in that room, the commis
sioners could hardly make it
clearer that Visitors are not wel
come if they put a sign to that
effect on the door.
As to town meetings, I wish the
Pilot would print the agenda of
the meetings the week before as
it used to do. And I wish the
Town Council would show more
activ^! interest in citizen attend
ance and participation. After all,
the Welcome Mat and what that
implies ought to be a Must outside
every door of our Town Hall.
Yours truly,
INTERESTED CITIZEN
Sandhills Has Lost
A Valued Citizen
To the Editor:
The Sandhills lost a valued
citizen, and many residents a
dear friend when Mrs. Jane
Towne died last Thursday. Few
women so well combined feminine
charm with a first class mind.
Also, she was a lady born. To all
these qualities she added a genius
for friendship. Her circle of
friendly acquaintances included
men and women and children of
almost all ranks of society, almost
every kind of American except
the vile.
I think it incorrect to say that
in this community she will be
mourned: instead the memory of
Jane Towne will remain a green
and fragrant thing.
DONALD G. HERRING
Southern Pines
Grains of Sand
That Friendly Service
“Hey, Patf! the filling station
attendant called to the owner,
“your doctor is in here with a flat
tire.”
“Good!” was the reply. “Diag
nose the trouble as puncture
wounds resulting in a prolapsed
perimeter. Prescribe plastic sur
gery followed by complete treat
ment with inflatus windus. Then
charge him accordingly!”
Help? Well . . . yes and no.
We hear a lot these days about
the great assistance parents can
render teachers in helping the
children with their home-work.
For instance; as illustrating paren
tal help and the influence of the
home:
A mother was surprised, to say
the least, to hear her six-year-old
son, busy with his arithmetic
lesson, mutter to himself: “Two
and two, the sonofabitch is four.”
She came closer to where he
was bent over his book and waited
to hear the next sum. “Three and
three,” he son went on, “the son
ofabitch is six.”
The mother could stand this no
longer. “Son!” she broke in,
“where on earth did you get such
ideas?”
The boy looked up, “In school,”
he said happily. “That’s what our
teacher says.”
The mother gasped and prompt
ly called the teacher up. She was
bewildered for a moment and
then light dawned.
“I can’t imagine where he got
that language,” the teacher said,
“but what he’s trying to say is:
‘Two and two, the sum of which
is four.’ ”
“I can’t imagine where he got
that language either,” said the
mother.
“Of course not,” said the
teacher sweetly.
Only In England!
“Glyndebourne” is the name of
the great estate in the south of
England where the yearly music
festival featuring the compositions
of Mozart is given. In a recent
letter Nancy Boyd Sokoloff, who
with her husband, Noel, and two
little daughters, is spending the
summer in London, writes ecsta
tically describing going to a con
cert there.
“The Gyndebourne perfor
mance of ‘Figaro’ was the best
production of ANYTHING I’ve
ever seen. Unbelievably, the sun
was shining, casting long evening
shadows; all the May was in
bloom. It was lovely to see the
ladies in their evening dresses
sweeping through the formal
gardens. Six feet from the ladies,
over the box hedges, cows and
sheep were munching contented
ly. Only in England!”
Ah Wilderness!
Not long ago J. Donald Adams,
who writes the . “Speaking of
Books” page in the book section
of the New York Times every
Sunday, entered the current battle
for the conservation of the few
remaining wilderness areas of
the nation. At the close of his
eloquent plea he added a bitter
ly meaningful paragraph;
“Several years ago, shortly be
fore dusk on a calm and lovely
evening, I stood on the porch of
a small lodge on Two Medicine
Lake in Glacier Park. A man
came up to me, looked about and
said: ‘What a dump!’ I asked him:
‘How far did you drive today?’
‘Better than 500 miles,’ he said.”
And Mr. Adams added: “He
could enjoy nothing and drove
on, God knows where, early the
next morning.”
But the decisive element in the
Western struggle lies here in
America in what we do to create
a modern competitive, industrial
plant, full employment, good, ef
fective, modem instmction in our
schools, a high rate of growth, de
cent conditions between the races
and tolerable living conditions in
what will soon be, not Xdr. Jeffei^
son’s agrarian society, but a vast
teeming urban society.
If we argue in good faith and
with a sense of history about our
social and economic problems at
home, I don’t particularly care
how lively the argument is, but
the decisive ground I suggest to
you is here in America and not in
Vietnam or the Congo or even in
Europe.
This Union has lasted a long
time and will be around a long
time after we are gone. The war
we are going to have is not an
atomic war, I feel sure, but the
war we have right now.
It can be simply stated: It is a
war to see which of the two sys-
I terns, the free or the communist,
can adjust to the new scientific,
social, political, and economic
'revolutions Of our time, and if
I we can discuss these things with
fair and open minds, I have no
doubt about the results.
Those Gals Again
For future reference by hur
ricane buffs here are the Weather
Bureau names for storms of the
1962 season which has now of
ficially begun: Alma, Becky,
Celia, Daisy, Ella, Flossie, Greta,
Hallie, Inez, Judith, Kendra, Lois,
Marsha, Noreen, Orpha, Patty,
Rena, Sherry, Thora, Vicky and
Wilna.
The PILOT
Published Every Thursday by
THE PILOT, Incorporated
Southern Pines. North Carolina
1941—JAMES BOYD—1944
Katharine Boyd Editor
C. Benedict Associate Editor
Dan S. Ray Gen. Mgr.
C. G. Council Advertising
Mary Scott Newton Business
Mary Evelyn de Nissoff Society
Composing Room
Dixie B. Ray, Michael Valen,
Thomas Mattocks, J. E. Pate, Sr.,
Charles Weatherspoon and John
E. Lewis.
Subscription Rates
Moore County
One Year $4.00
Outside Moore County
One Year $5.00
, Second-class Postage paid at
Southern Pines, N. C.
Member National Editorial Assn,
and N. C. Press Assn.