The Fran'kiin Times
~ ? ^ . ZX ^ i . ,
Thursday, November 4, 1965
Where Now For Roads?
In light of Franklin County's
negative vote in Tuesday's Road
Bond election, the logtcal ques
^on arises: Where do we go
now for roads?
. Having the dubious distinction
of being one of the only two
counties in the state to oppose
the five-year plan for better
roads, how do we justify our
. ne'eds for road Improvements
in the days ahead?
Have we not acted like the man
whose house is burning down
saying we don't want water? Or
like the irate employee who
slapped the boss In the face?
He got a lot of satisfaction but
Ntery few more pay checks.
T^e Franklin County voter,
long^ufferlng from complete
lack of\anythlng in the way of
road improvements from past
Highway Commissions, chose
this time and Nnethod to voice
their dissatisfaction. Ironi
cally, it came at a time when
we had the best chanbe to get
help we've had In twenty^years.
Franklin, fortunately, wllKget
the $943,200 from the Bohd
money In spite of Itself. It will
also get the Highway 56 project,
although maybe not as quickly
now as It would have. But what
about the 88 Highway Commis
sion priorities of unpaved roads
in Franklin County?
Th'ese 88 projects, rangiag
from distances of 0.3 miles to
4.9 miles and expenditures of
$3,000 to $150,000, are gone by
the board. The .folks living
along these dirt roads, having
waited for years, might as well
settle down to another long
wait.
It is these projects which us
ually take some action by the
power structure in Raleigh.
Who, now, can go to the highway
officials and ask for roads?
Who can say, "I'm from FrankT
lln County, and I'd like a road
Improvement?" The answer is
sure to be, "From your vote,
we thought you didn't want road
improvements in Franklin
Co anty."
Where, then, do we go now for
roads?
Too True To Form
As one observer put it late
Tuesday night, after the elec
tion results were tabulated,
"Franklin County has run true
to form. We've voted on the
wrong side again."
This observer was somewhat
of a prophet as the state-wide
totals showed ? Franklin and
Greene to be the only counties,
in the state to vote against both
Issues.
Some understanding can be
found in a negative vote on the
Road Bond; there are a lot of
disgruntled citizens and with
Justification on the question of
roads, but why the negative vote
on the Appeals Court amend
ment?
This amendment only author
izes the legislature to establish
such courts. It was an imper
sonal amendment. It only light
ens the load of the State Su
preme Cpurt and speeds up the
dispensing of Justice. It
curtails long and costly delays
in settling cases. The cost o'f
such a court Is negligible.
What was the opposition to such
an amendment?
Whateyer the reason, surely
each votfer was entitled to vote
as he saw It may have been
an expression of opposition to
present administrations locally
and In Washington. Manypeople
don't like the things being done
and are fast taking on an atti
tude of being against practically
everything. Unfortunately, this
attitude usually leads to being
for nothing, as well.
But, whatever the reasons, one
point Is clear. Franklin County
now stands out like a sore
thumb. And like a sore thumb,
it does notpresent a very pretty
sight to the beholder.
We, have voiced our dissent.
We have said what we are
against. Now, maybe we-"Should
declare Just exactly what we
are for. Those who w;lll read
and heed this action by Franklin
County voters will feel we are
for the status quo, based on this
vote. But who among us Is
satisfied with things as they
are? A
The 4600 citizens who voted
last year and didn't bother
Tuesday might have the answer.
/>y I he Company You Keep
It's been said that men are
\)tnown by the compahy they
keep. This probably applies to
counties as well.
Had there been a large num
ber of North Carolina counties
In the position of opposing the
Issues which other counties
approved, the question might
not be so critical. But there'
are only two counties In this
position, Franklin ami Greene.
All other 98 counties are keep
ing company with each other.
Who, or rather what, Is this
political bedfellow we find our
selves with following Tuesday's
elections? Are we to be known
by this company? If ^o, we neech
to know about Greene County.
First, it is located east of us.
It's about half the size in land
area. Franklin has 494 sq.
miles and Greene has 269 sq.
miles. Franklin has almost
twice as many people, 28,755,
* Jiagalnst 16,741. Franklin Coun
ty has shown a growth economi
cally of plus 60% In the past
five years; Greene County is
less than 50%.
Franklin has almost twice as
many business establishments,
sold twice as much merchan
dise In Its stores last year,
three tiroes as many automo
biles, six times as much build
in?' material ind four> times as
as much furniture. ?
In short, Franklin County has
shown far greater progress than
Greene, and, for that matter,
a number of other eastern coun
ties.
Certainly, one does nqt Wish
to cast any reflections on the
good citizens of Greene Ct>unty.
They voted, as did everybody
else, exactly like they wantSd
Vj. The question is, if we are
to be known by the company w^
keep, would It not have beeA
far better to have beien with the\
other 98 instead of with the otve?
The Frapfcjin Times
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"Come, Let Us Reason Together..."
4RtfcWSBoCo BMW
"Takes One To Know One"
VIEWPOINT - By Jesse Helms
There is Justified amusement
to be found In the angry pro
tests being registered by ^The
News and Observer against
some sort of recorded telephone
announcements which, In the
newspapers view, are "hate
messages'* being distributed by
"character assassins." r We
haven't heard the messages,
and have no particular Interest
In hearing them. Still, when
The News and Observer com
mences to talk about character
assassins^ there will be many
to suggest that It takes one to
know one. We may be witness
ing th6 ultimate In the pot's
calling the kettle black.
Apparently the recorded tele
phone messages have been di
rected at certain activities of
the National Council of Church
es. The Information contained
in the messages may indeed be
false and unfair. If so, It is
regrettable that the sponsors
of the messages did not choose
to select valid information about
the National Council of
Churches. Much careful re
search has been done, and many
thoughtful evaluations have been
made of the Council's role, and
many thoughtful evaluations
have been made of the Council's
role in stirring up unrest ? and,
yes, hatred ? across the land.
We have in mind, for example,
North Carolinians such as Dr.
G.? Aiken Taylor and Dr. L.
Nelson Bell, both Presbyteri
ans, both religious editors. Dr.
Bell, by way of further Identi
fication, is Evangelist Billy
Graham's father-in-law.
But men like Dr. Taylor and
,Dr. Bell have been almost to
tally ignored by the "liberal"
press. These men, too, voice
modern ^liberalism" ? in the
press, in tt*e clergy, and In
politics ? rejects the counsel of
the Dr. Taylors and the Dr.
Bells of our time, for they,
you see, point to the errors and
frailties of all ? of liberals as
well as of conservatives.
If one accepts the theory that
there *ls a reaction for everv ;
action, the turbulent dial
of our day becomes some
more understandable. Those i
about "hate." But
who have encouraged the dis
orders of the civil rights dem
onstrations engage In pious
pretense as they protest the
night-skies' being reddened by
flaming Ku Klux Klan crosses.
What did they expect? Who
will assign all justice to one,
a'nd none to the other?
The liberals who today cry
about character assassination
and hate and "half-truths" have
convenient memories. What,
one might ask, will objective
historians have to say about
the conduct of the liberals in
the 1964 Presidential cam
paign? Who called whom a
war monger? Who persuaded
the American people that the
election of one candidate would
result in certain destruction of
Social Security? Who, as a
matter of plain fact, built such
a climate of hate and distrust
that Lyndon Johnson's opponent
was never able to .obtain from
the American people a reason
able evaluation of his prin
ciples?
For whatever it Is worth, we
too regret the present posture
LETTERS?? EDITOR,
' * V
.
To The Editor:
Just a few days ago I heard
the remark that we had reached
the point where Lyndon Johnson
could decree that every tenth
man In California have his left
ear cut off and that we In North
Carolina neither would nor4
, could do anything about It.
Perhaps they are not yet cut
ting off ears In Chester, Penn
sylvania, but the educators ? j
of America, for the nation is
Indeed hoisted on the petards
of emotional and therefore often
unreasonable conflicts of opin
ion. But the simple truth is
that the people are beginning
to feel that they have nowhere
to turn^ They have learned
that those who most often cry
out about character assassina
tion are themselves character
assassins. The news media
have too often traveled a one
way street in the discussions
of America's problems. The
Congress has become, except
in rare instances, a rubber
stamp for a master politician.
Clergymen are busily engaged
in marching In picket lines,
or in creating confusion about ?
the birth and existence of -
Christ, or in defending the po
| litlcal activities of the National
Council of Churches.
Our courts appear to be !
more Interested in protecting
the guilty than in protecting
the Innocent. Moral codes are i
being redesigned, working for :
a living has been declared old
fashioned. Old truths are being *
discarded in favor of what lib
eralism chooses to call "new"
truths.
Yes, there Is Indeed charac
ter assassination going on In j
America. Our national char ac- <
ter lies bleeding and dying In
the gutters of apathy and deceit.
It may be that all of us deserve \
to go on trial for first-degree t
murder.
those great champions of free
dom (academic and of speech)?
are doing the next best thing
with their Infringement upon
44 freedom -of-lunch" In their
school cafeterias.
This brings us to North Caro
lina, where we are under threat
from an out-of-state group
called the Southern Association^1
Very much after the bureau
cratic fashion of the homefolks
at Chester, these out-of-staters
are telling us what we^milst
and must not do. They are not
LBJ, and, unlike the federal
bureaucrats, they dpri't even
have any of our money that
they can take away from us ?
although they did try to make
it appear that some funds were
available only to those who re
mained in their good graces.
They are not even our own
educatorlal bureaucrats/ but
they menace and threaten us.
I cannot believe that the people
of North Carolina have fallen
to so low a condition of pusil
lanimous nincompoopery that
they are prepared to surrender
their ears, their "freedom-of'
lunch", or their right to exclude
communists from their uni
versities, to an out-of-state
group of extra -legal bus ybodies
whose claim to any virtue or
useful function Is disproved by
their colossal effrontery In
presuming to dictate what laws
North Carolina may or may not
have, and by either lack of
good faith or ignorance in the
false representation that com
ihunlsm Involves truth or free
dom of any kind anywhere.
Walter C. Green
Burlington, N. C.
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