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The NEW BERN
^ PUBLISHID WIIKLY
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VOLUME 11
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 1969
NUMBER 43
Ponce De Leon searched in
vain for the fountain of youth,
Attorney General Bob Mor
gan, eternally boyish in ap
pearance, seems to have locat
ed it. Having found the magic
spring, he apparently took a
mighty big swig of the water
flowing from lt
Women place top priority on
being visibly young, as do many
vain males. However, Morgan,
probably didn't consider his
"little boy" look an asset as a
practicing lawyer, and no doubt
would like to be several inches
taller and appear several years
older in new role as the State’s
Attorney General.
Age is no guarantee of wis
dom, and the young aren’t
always foolish, but in the legal
profession it usually helps to
look like you’ve been around for
quite a spell. Instinctively,
prospective clients lean toward
the seasoned attorney, and
we’re convinced Jurors are apt
to be more Impressed by the ar
gument of a lawyer who has been
through the mill.
Bob Morgan is by no means as
young as he appears to be. As
for experience, he is a veteran
of the General Assembly and
served five terms in the State
Senate before seeking hi^er
office in the last Democratic
primary and the election that
followed.
As politicians go, he is far
more popular than most. The
voters like him, other politic
ians like him, and newsmen
like him. Bob has endeared
himself to members of the press
because he always levels with
them, appreciates their prob
lem in providing accurate and
informative coverage, and
doesn’t regard them as bt>ni
enemies.
Down in this section of North
Carolina his stock rose might
ily when he put his .shoulder to
the wheel and pushed hard to
help East Carolina College be
come East Carolina University.
His zeal didn’t set well with
some very powerful and influen
tial leaders up Raleigh wiy.
Even so, Morg-.in has estab
lished himself as a vote getter
beyond the bounds of Harnett
county, should prove to be a good
and maybe excellent Attorney
General, and has the markings
of a future Governor. Maybe
by then he will no longer look
like a little boy.
Speaking of the Governor’s
office. Bob Scott is naturally
cungnizant of the fact that Lieu
tenant-Governor Pat Taylor is
only a heartbeat away from the
Executive Mtmslon. In fact,
Scott is credited with .saying that
Pat is the only man he knows
who can shake hands with you
and feel your pul.se at the same
time.
Luther Hodges, whose ven
ture into the political arena was
a major surprise, was Lieu
tenant-Governor for just a short
time before Governor William
B. Umstead’s death elevated
him to the State’s highest office.
Umstead, a fine and competent
gentleman, never had a chance
to get his Administration going.
Hodges, for years before he
sought public off ice, was an out
standing executive in the busi
ness world. Had Governor U m -
stead lived to serve out his four
years as Governor, it is not un
reasonable to assume thatHod-
(Continued on Page 8)
THEIR FAVORITE — Lawrence Welk flashes his en
during smile for New Bernians past 45 or 50 who
wouldn’t think of missing his Saturday night programs
on television. Their loyalty has remained steadfast
through the years, and apparently his sponsors aren’t
disturbed by the fact that younger viewers destest
his nostalgic music. No one in show business except
Welk thought a dance band could survive more than
a few weeks as a weekly offering on prime time, but
that was long ago and the skeptics have been as dis
credited as the sports experts who said the Baltimore
Colts would murder the New York Jets. Clinging to
his accent like a hungry flea clings to a hound dog,
and equally resistant to altering his tempo, the wily
maestro is in tune with the audience he makes a pitch
for, and in their eyes he can do no wrong.