Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / Dec. 14, 1957, edition 1 / Page 2
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PAGE TWO THE CAROLINA TIMES SATURDAY, DEC. 14, 1957 SAME OLD DURHAM DRAMA WITH SAME OLD CASI Qn Monday night, December 2 progressive citizens of Durham witnessed a reshowing of this city’s same old timeworn and moth-eaten drama when a group of Durhamites from the Club Boulevard and Duke Street section appeared before the City Council to oppose the location of a modern shopping center to be located in their area. This stupendous spectacle, as now, has always b^en played by the same old formidiable cast of “Aginits” and “Prevenits.” Its members stalk and often retard every effort of progressive citizens to make Durham a growing and modem city. The “Aginits” and “Prevenits” were there nearly a century ago and defeated efforts of progressive Durhamites to have the main line of the Seaboard Air Line railway come through Durham. Their objection then was that the smoke from the “infernal engines” would mar the beautifully painted houses of the city and the faces of its fair women. The “Aginits” and “Prevenits” were there a few years ago and came near defeating efforts of progressive citizens to construct an airport for Durham. It was the “Aginits” and “Prevenits” who made life almost unbearable for the Durham City manager, who was responsible for the construction of the city’s present waterworks plant. It was the “Aginits” and "Prevenits” who opposed the construction of the bypass at the northern section of the city and the widening of Alston Avenue. Members of this group are only at ease when Durham is at a point of stagnation or do-nothing. They hate progress, they hate advancement and would enjoy seeing cobwebs hanging across Main Street. We would like to commend those members of Durham’s City Council who voted to go ahead with the construction of the shopping center. Without such progressive action dn the part of persons of vision in Durham, this city would still be a one-horse town like it was when the “Aginits” and “Prevenits” ruled in all their power and might. Life Is Like That NEVER GOT CAUGHT By U. ALBERT SMITH THE PRINCErON REPORT The findings of a Princeton University itudy on attitudes toward desegregation in North Carolina, reported thia week in the daily press, confirms some ideas which have occured to and received expression from many sensitive obwrvers. The study is pri* ouuiiy concerned with the thinking of in dividuals widely accepted as leaders on the question. Thus, by its own approach to the issue and by the investigation it makes, one important conclusion made by the report is thait leadership is of crucial importance in the question. Ol course, this assumption is one which has been considered beyond question for a long while by a iarge number of people. But even so, it IS worth repeating, ii for no other rea son than the fact, as the reports states, that the quality of leadersliip on tiiis issue will y, determijM to n» smaii extent what price South will eventually pay for the inevitable change in • ■ocial custom of long standing. The South cannot win the final battle in the segregation struggle; it can only set the price to be paid. And no one who is interested in the continued growth of the region can be unmindful of what the sthiggl^ between the newly emerging pattern of social behavior and the old established custom of segregation is doing and can do to other values which the region would do well to maintain. For instance, as the report points out, it is up to the leadership to determine how much the Negro must suffer, how much hate must be generated, how much physical prop erty destroyed, how much national and in ternational respect lost, anc|, finally, how much the South itself must suffer, before full political democracy is established. It is obvious that the term leaders cannot be restricted to public office holders. Un fortunately, they are too often interested on ly in leading themselves back into office rather than their constituents to the truth. The real burden of leadership must be borne by the laymen, the businessmen, the church men, the union men, the teachers and all others with an interest in and a love for the region. One other point which the report makes. though not new, is nonetheless discouraging. It finds that the main weapons which the liberals or those who favor compliance with the court rulings on segregation have are the weight of national opinion and the tradition of respect for law. Of course, these serve well, and it is a good thing that we possess them as this instance shows. But we wonder if preponderance of opinion and tradition are enough to really cope with the kinds of com plex problenns which desegregation poses. It IS obvious tiiat to be reaiiy meaningtul the South must solve the problem for itself even though that solution must be made in line with the Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court The rehance on national opinion and the tradition of respect for the law are obviously reactions to outside pressures. And though we realize it^ia perhaps idealistic — almost academic — to hope for something lietter, we cannot rid ourselves of the notion that the search for something better must be made. To our way of thinking, the leaning upon outside pressures even by those wlio favor the change indicates a basic weak ness, moral and intellectual. If we do not possess enough strength as^^ region to coip duct a critical self-examination of our social customs and come at the validity of them by our own efforts, how do we propose to meet other problems which will be thrust upon the region and which the region itself must solve? How do we propose to come at reality and the truth for ourselves? A case in point is the fact, according to the same Princeton report, that the issue of ur banization and industrialization, almost upon the South, has not yet been seen as a prob lem of far more significance in the long run than the immediate problem of desegre gation. The fact that the region has refused so far to face up to its problem of desegrega tion and (o get at the truth on its own is in some way responsible for its failure to see the larger problem of industrialization. Thus, it is imperative that we in the South stop acting like adolescents and grow up to the responsibilities which are rightfully ours. LEARNING MADE UNNECESSARILY HARD Several years ago, a proles- sional man then well known in this city and, by reason ol his position, wielded no little in- Uuence, facetiously or jokingly said to me that there is one commandment, appearing nei ther on our law books nor in biblical record, which one must always be careful not to violate That he designated as the eleventh commandment: Thou Shalt Not Get Caught. * ANCUaJT PRACTICE This man, ol course, was not commending as a desirable way ol lile the implications involved in this so called eleventh com mandment. But, nevertheless, be pointed out as vividly as it is possible to point out a principle ol action and behavior as old as the eternal hills, or, 11 not that old, as ancient as the taboos and circumscriptions, written and un written, imposed by men to safe guard themselves under condi tions ol community lile against lorces posing a threat both to the individual and society. In all societies, both ancient and modern, there have always been two classes ol men who have found the laws written upon statute books, both legal and moral, in conllict with th^ desires and ambitions and against which they found them selves in rebellion. The lirst represents a small minority constituting the crimi nal element many of whom go to extreme lengtlu to satisly themselves despite law. The other is made up ol the respec table residue ol any given so ciety who seek, olten with suc cess, to circumvent without de tection the laws and regula tions at cross purposes with their desires. To draw a strict line ol de- markation between the two classes, or to say who belongs to which, is quite impossible. But, in general, the nature ol the oUense, the length to which ol- lenders choose to go, and their attitude both toward written and unwritten law serve as criteria lor classilication. WIDE COVERAGE Sometime ago, the Reader's Digest carried an interesting item significant lor our thoui^t here. A mai^was answecing a questionaire siibmitted bjr the government. Over against each ol various questions he was re quired to write yes or no. One question read: ‘‘Have you ever been arrested?” The answer was no. A loUbw-up question read, “Why?” He wrote in the space set lor the answer: “Never been cau^tf'^ Whether such an answer was prompted by repugnance or aversion to telling untruth or not, we do not know. But the lact remains that .c covers the status of millions jl highly re spected citizens. Some are guilty of serious legal oUense and others ol “indiscretions” at odds both with Ictv and custom. Yet, they have been lortunate enough to escape detection which would have brought pro secution with probable convic tion and a crushing load ol pub lic disesteem, not to mention disgrace. DIFFERING ATTITUDES Some of these persons are very humble and grateful. They realize that some one moment in. the past that lound them out of line with what is supposed to be could have had consequences of tragically serious moment 11 it had been dramatized by public exposure, whether it involved legal apprehension or not. And, being gratelul, they have re solved never again to risk so much. But, there are others, who stake all on that dubious eleven- According to news reports, the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, which held its convention last week in Richmond, chose for its theme, “Improving the Quality of Education.” We commend the organi zation for being interested in raising the standards of education in schools largely at tended by Negroes, for we can think of no greater need for schools serving the race. Somehow, the statement made by a Fisk €ltfCai§3U€l«g0 PubHtk04 •tMry iMunlati mt PurMw, H. C. by Untttd Inc. L. ■. AUnrOI. U. K. JOHMBON, CmmtnUT Prtnoipid ornm heamtmt At 4M PKttlcrMr St.. OMm; SM N WIlutMI- Duriuun. N. C. tmttr Am Aat af ■■>* *. ISTt SUBSCBIPTION BATM: «SjM KX IMAM University professor some weeks ago relative to the status of science education in this coun try keeps coming back to us. He said that so many youngsters are prevented from achiev ing any worthwhile success and interest in science and mathematics because their pri mary and secondary teachers, themselves un versed in the subject matter, make these two subjects out to be actually harder than they are. Then, in addition to this comment, we must add our own experience in school, when only a precious few subjects were not approached by teachers and students alike with a kind of odd “fear and trembling.” To too many youngsters, the educative and intellectual processes have become synony mous with difficult, unpleasant tasks. Now we don’t want to infer that learning is all easy; it can hardly be. But we wonder if it is as difficult as it is made to be by inept teachers. Certainly, it is too much to expect that a youngster who has been made to fear books and the learning process in general will ever develop into a first rate scholar. th commandment—thou shalt not get caught. And, because they have never been caught, they ligure they never will. Thus they operate on the basis that, regardless as to what the codes set lorth, il you can “get away with it”—break law without de tection—all is well and good. They substitute lor conlormity carelulness. And that is to con done any law-breaking that is so done as to permit no detection with its inevitable penalties. STILL COSTLY There are some instances in which this be-carelul-not-to-get caught piuiosophy may not seem to have any serious moral el- lect upon tne law violator. Take traffic regulations lor instance. One violatoin, driving at more than seventy miles an hour, means a thirty-day suspension ol driving privilege. Two convict ions lor the same oHense within a year involve a sixty-day sus pension ol one's license. But, la the light ol the inconvenience and costs involved, the observa nce ol law maxes lar more sense than operating on the principle ol thou shalt not get caught. And, even il not caught, the lear, needless watching lor law- enforcing ollicers, risks taken, the possibility ol a smash-up en tailing property loss, serious or latal injuries—with an alter- math ol costly lawsuits, painful memories and the poignantly re- gretlul hmdsight which vainly visualizes that what is written in the record cannot be erased—all this, I say, should cause one to shy, or skrink back Irom this widely accepted philosophy and practice ol violate, but be care- lul not to get caught. MORAL ASPECT But, there is a moral aspect to this way ol lile such a philoso phy advises. A thief Is a thiel whether his activities lall under the detection ol policemen or judges, whether he spends a lile time in prison or out, or whether he walks with a high head among the aristocrats ol the earth, or men ol lesser social sta ture, yet haUed as an honest person. Two instances come to mmd. One involves a churchman known lor his piety, especially as e^ced by lerv^t prayers and testimonies. A few months ago, he was arrested for shoplifting, stealing cigarettes and tobacco with which over the years, he had kept himself ade quately supplied. The other, a churchman, too, enjoying esteem and honor among Jus peofl& held a high position m a bank. Investigation revealed him to be an embezzler who over the years had stolen thousands of dollars. Had either of these men died belore the day ol “revelation,” his minister would have pulled out all stops in eulogizing (igno rantly, ol course) a nonexistent integrity. But detection or no., each ol these men is a thiel. Not getting caught may not allect one’s position among men. But silently and unseen, a destruc tive corrosion ol soul is the price paid by the dishonest man. UNSEEN MONITORS From a moral point ol view the man answering the question-> aire referred to earlier gave two wrong answers: one when he answered no to the query— “have you ever been arrested?” the other when to question why, he answered, “Never been caught.” That is true because there are unseen monitors who both catch, arrest and pronounce judgement upon us with every inlraction ol law. And we pay whether conscious ol penalty or not. The Thistles And Thoms Must Not Be Allowed To Spoil The Crop By Robert Spivaek Watch on the Poto] BIG TIMES, LITTLE MEN— Lyndon Johnson and other spokesmen for the Dixie De mocrats have made a decision. They’re going after the Ad ministration on foreign policy Soviet science and the decline in our military prestige. But they’re going to ease up on domestic aHairs,, including even civil rights. Tight money, business lavori- publ|fj ‘Ssm, and the “Junior reces sion” are topics to be abandon ed m favor ol loltler discus sions about Soviet Sputniks, ICBMs and the revival of NATO. Speaker Sam Rayburn has already given the signal on the new Dixie Democratic line. The Russians, he said, have “humiliated” us with their recent accomplishments and even 11 it means higher taxes we have to catch up. In keeping with the decision ol the Texas leadership we may soon expect to witness a display ol verbal pyrotechnics ol a magnitude usually associ- ated*bnly with Fourth ol July oratory. There is going to be a lot ol "tsk, tsk” and “how horrible” talk. There is no denying the ser iousness ol the present world situation, but -there are several points to bear in mind as th^ new “Texas line” imlolds in the coming session ol Con gress. First, the mood of the Old South is an angry one since Little Rock. The Russells; Tal- Success Of New Auto Loan Depends On State Motorists within a few weeks North Carolina’s new compulsory au tomobile liability insurance law will become effective. Whether or not this experiment enforced financial responsibility succeeds or fails depends upon the tem per and common sense of both the Tar Heel motorists and the State Department of Motor Ve hicles. The motorists, who must ope rate under the new law for at least a year, should insofar as is humanly possible keep ap open mind until they see how well, or how poorly, it works. The De partment, insofar as the law al lows, should be as considerate m possible of the thousands who don’t understand the new law if, indeed, they realize that such a statute is on the books. Actually the words "compul sory insurance" do not appear in the law or its title. Individuals who wish to post 111,000 in cash or a $19,000 bond are not com pelled to buy Insurance? But for all intent and purposes this is a compulsory insurance law; and all of us would do well to re cognize the lact. Tur Heels never have liked compulsion in anything. For that reason, many were surprised that North Carolina was the third state in the union to pass such a law. But the lact is that North Carolinians and their legislators like irresponsibility toward the injured even leas than they like compulsion. They are sick and tired ol the number of traffic accidents in which people meet death, injury and property damage at the hands of financially irresponsible motor ists. Some years back the Legislature passed a “financial responsible law” but that did not me«V the problem. Actual ly the old law did not be- (ContiniMd on Pac* S) madges andt their lesser- known adherents are out for blood. Their only regret is that Herbert Brownell, Jr., didn’t stay around to get what they think is coming to him. The word "Republican” has become a dirty name—not be cause of McCarthylsm or Nix- onishi—but because it has be come associated with civil rights. Second, it’s important to re cognize that much ol the cur rent agitation over the low state of our defense is coming from the big aircraft manu facturers and missiles men. They really don’t care how much military hardware we build and abandon. These arms manufacturers have big plants in Texas, New Mexico and other areas from which the right wing democrats come. Third, the Texas “leaders” are sore at the Adminisrtatoin because the Justice Depart ment has instituted a suit to keep the oil companies Irom extending their “tidelands grap” some 10.5 miles out to sea. PLIGHT OF THE LIBERALS There is plenty ol ammuni tion to throw at the Adminis tration, as we have had occa sion to remark in this space belore. But it does not fpllow that the ineptitude of the Ad ministration automatically en dows the Texas leadership with angelic qualities or ex ceptional political wisdom. II the Northern Democrats buy only the Johnson-Raybum bill ol goods, X think one place where the Dixie Democrats can’t hit the Republicans is the one issue on which they ,are really vulnerable — subser- ^vience to the banks and Big Business. The reason is simple: the legislators from below the Alason-Dixon line, with a handlul ol exceptions, are even more subservient. There are many responsible observers who believe the first order ol business. lor the Northern Democrats Sfibt to seek the ouster of the pte- sent party leadership in Con gress. After that’s done they can define a party position that has some meaning in so cial terms. Until that happens the Demo crats need not be surprised if their criea of outrage and protest are met with wide yawns. ONE MINUTE AFTER NOON II Vice President Nixon should become President be fore noon of Jan. 20, 19M, he can only serve one full elected term in The White House. That’s provided under the 22 amendment to the Constitu tion, the so-called antl-Third Term amendment. If Nixon can hold his ambitions in check until then, he can serve 10 full years—^that is if he gets himself reelected. Ever since the possibility of a decade with Dick was point ed out, several wits at the Na tional Press Club brought out of mothballs those 1956 cam paign buttons which read: “SUck with Ike.” Spiritual Insight “THE WONDER OF COMMON MEN” By REVEREND HAROLD ROLAND Pastort Mount Gilead BaptUt Church “They saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived they were common men, they, wondered..."Acts: 4:13. It is indeed a wonder what Christ Jesus can do with com mon, ordinary human betogs. Chrirt at work m the common clay of humanity can do great wonders. God’s spirit can work wonders in this common, marred clay of human flesh. The Miracle of miracles is what God can do in this sinful flesh ol ours. The Magic touch of Divme power and loye can lift and exalt this common clay of ours. Look what God in Christ did with Peter and John. The word tells us “they were uneducated, common men...” Common men redeem ed and sanctified become UN COMMON MEN. A Holy flame had awakened them to the NOBILITY OF THEIR LATENT DIVINITY. Look at them how they are now act- Ing..." Wtaao they saw the boldness of Peter and John... that they were common men they wondered...” Christ gives a rare dignity and power to common men. What is the secret of this no bility in common men? Yes, Jesus makes the difference. In Christ common men have for giveness, redemption, peace, joy, faitii and Love. These spiritual graces received from Christ give us the wonder ol common men. Christ come to teach us the wonder and no bility of our common clay when'touch by the magic of Divine Love. He takes a liar and makes him tell the truth. He purges the poison of hate and gives the power of love. He takes the warring restless soul and gives it peace. He takes an old dirty sinner cleans him up and makes him a saint. Indeed Christ is the secret of the wonder of com mon men. Christ came into the' lives'of common men and ••• them turning the world upside down. How is it done? The secret is...“They recognize that they had been with Jesus...” Christ cleanses and enriches this old house of clay. Truly it’s a wonder what Christ can do in our soul. The Holy spirit is a deep mystery in the sin ful souL The love of God Is a wonder in our sinful souls. It heals and sweetens the 4K>u1 Love gives meaning and pur pose to life. It is the light and the joy of life. And without love life is cold, empty and meaningless. And what is this old house of clay without the beauty of Christ and his spirit? It is nothing until re deemed from sin and indwelt by the spirit of Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ is still taking so- called common men and rais ing them to the level of righteous power to change the world God works wonders through socalled common man.
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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Dec. 14, 1957, edition 1
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