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'*^60 WEEKLY
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VOLUME 7
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1964
NUMBER 30
There may be prettier trees
than the dogwood, but we can’t
think of one offhand that gives
you as much beauty to behold
both In springtime and autumn.
Drive around New Bern and
you’ll be proud (or should be)
of the countless homes sur
rounded by well kept grounds.
Make no mistake about It, this
old town has thousands of nature
lovers who are willing to toil
long hours In the sun to achieve
attractive surroundings.
Appreciation of trees and
flowers doesn’t necessarily
indicate that a person has other
commendable qualities. Some
mortals, for example, steal
floral wreaths from graves. And
yet, we Invariably get the felling
that people worth knowing
reside in houses where flow
ers bid you welcome before you
reach the door.
Nikita Khrushchev’s promise
to “bury” us notwithstanding,
we’ve encountered no New
Bernian who seemed happy over
his departure from the Kremlin.
It appeared evident to most of
us that come what may he never
would have Inltated nuclear
war.
There is little reason to be
lieve that his successors will
be less concerned with the om-
nlous threat of Red China, but
under pressure they may
knuckle under and adopt a more
aggressive attitude toward the
West. This has been the chief
bone of contention between the
two Communist powers.
Ex-president Herbert Hoo
ver’s death removed from the
American and world scene a
man who had outlived the tre
mendous condemnation heaped
upon him In the heartbreak days
of the Great Depression. Years
of -prosperity have dimmed
memories of bread lines, bank
closings and the W.P.A.
Whatever may have been Hoo
ver’s limitations as a national
leader, following the Wall Street
crash, we’re inclined to feel that
blaming him for theDepression
was less than fair. His sin, if
any, wasn’t the bringing on of a
financial collapse, bur prolong
ing the distress of it by stand
ing pat and promising that re
newed prosperity was just
around the corner.
To his everlasting credit, he
took the abuse leveled at him
without flinching, and emerged
from the merciless barrage
showing no trace of bitterness.
As best we can remember, he
didn’t whine or complain of
unjust treatment, and in the
years that followed he served
his nation with distinction
and dignity.
Among other things, he ably
filled the job of chairman ofthe
Commission on Organization of
the Executive Branch of the
Government, receiving his ap
pointment from a Democratic
Administration in 1947.
His so called Hoover Com
mission, established by the
Eightieth Congress, brought
about sweeping changes aimed
at eliminating wasteful methods
of operation and improving the
efficiency of the executive
branch of our Federal Govern
ment.
His thoroughness In this ca
pacity was not unlike his expert
raising and handling of a bil
lion dollars during World War I
to feed Europe’s starving vic
tims. Historians say he estab
lished a record for honest use
of public funds to good ad-
(Contlnued on Page 2)
GOOD LIKENESS—Robert L. Pugh, past master of
New Bern’s Doric Lodge and past grand master of the
Grand Lodge of North Carolina, stands beside the
portrait that Doric’s members will officially add to
their lodge room Friday night. Pugh received the hon
orary degree of 33rd degree Mason in 1945 as a
member of a distinguished class in which President
Harry S. Truman was the active candidate. An or
dained Baptist minister, he has been Superintendent
of Craven County Schools since 1937 and lecturer for
New Bern’s Scottish Rite Bodies since 1938. Appropri
ate ceremonies have been arranged by Doric Lodge
for Friday night’s gathering.—^Photo by Billy Ben
ners.