Newspapers / The Franklin Times (Louisburg, … / Aug. 8, 1968, edition 1 / Page 4
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The Frl3||fi& Times Publi?h*d Every Tu?t4?v A Thwrt*y farm* ? AN W Pr??fcl.? Cw*hl Your Award Winning County Newspaper LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENT A State Of Shock Many Franklin citizens are in some what of a state of shock following the ruling by the U. S. Eastern District Court this week calling for total dese gregation of the county schools this fall. There have been reports of some youngsters breaking down in tears at the prospects that they would be transferred to schools other than the ones they have been attending. Parents across the county are disturb ed and all are seeking some answer to the problems created by the court order. Meanwhile the Board of Education, facing an almost impossible task in complying with the order in the short period of three weeks before schools are due to open, has filed an appeal. The Board is also seeking a stay of the order. At this point no one knows what will happen. County school officials have been swamped with phone calls and visits from parents seeking infor mation. Local school advisory coun cils have reported the same. The ruling in the case here in Franklin County, while more far reaching and certainly much harsher than' those issued in similar court cases, is another example of the courts taking over the powers of local school boards. The courts take into consi deration only the law as they interpret it to be. Local school officials are far more aware of the needs of the community and more importantly, far more aware of what the community will support or be able to live with. In this recent ruling, it is apparent that parents of Franklin County child ren are finding it extremely difficult to accept the fact that their children are to be transferred to achieve racial balance while children in the northern section of the country continue to attend segregated schools because it is unlawful to bus them in order to gain racial balance. it is also difficult tor most parents to understand how neighboring sys tems are being allowed to continue free choice plans or ordered to trans fer only one or a few grades while Franklin is being ordered to accomp lish all in a three-week period. There has been no consistancy in the execution of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by HEW and the courts. While some systems right here in North Carolina will open schools with as little as 0.4 percent integration this fall. Franklin must operate on a total integrated basis. It is the shame of our society that in an all-out effort at social reform, it is our children who must suffer. Must Be A Better Way There has to be a better way to select nominees for the high office of President of the United States than in the juvenile, carnival manner in which Richard Nixon was selected to repre sent the Republican party early this morning. The long drawn out oratory ex pounding the merits of the Governor of Alaska, who is still an unknown to most of us and the childish marching around in circles wearing silly hats and blowing on assorted horns and whistles does absolutely nothing to instill confidence in the American people. The sight of state governors, large city mayors. Congressmen and U. S. Senators acting like five-year-olds while selecting a man who could lead this country for the next four years gives most of us the shudders. While the world seems to be falling down around us, this is hardly the image we would wish to implant in the minds of our people. Jo us, nominating a person for president is a most serious matter. There is nothing funny about it and the wildness of party conventions leave a great deal to be desired. Truely, there must be a better way. From The Office Of Congressman Fountain Howe Under Investigation Washington, *>. C. . . .Another invests ; ion by the House Intergovernmental Re lations Subcommittee, which I have the privilege to serve as Chairman, has turned up new evidence concerning the per formance of U. S. Commis sioner of Education Harold Howe II and some of his top assistants. The latest report, which was approved unanimously by the parent House Govern ment Operations Committee, deals with possible conflict o' interest on the part of one of Commissioner Howe's asso ciate commissioners. Commissioner Howe, in stead of being concerned about the conduct of his subordinate, defended and encouraged it. Briefly, the background of the case was this: In August 1966, a school board in Wisconsin asked the office of Education for a 2.9 million giant to finance a proposed 15-student "com puterized" clasaroom system. Of the total, $2.6 million would have gone to the West inghouse Electric Corporation for writing couiv m&terial tnniing teachers and provid ing the electronic equiDment expected to be used. The proposal ran into heavy criticism from Office of Education Personnel and outside reviewers but never theless it was, in effect, en dorted by the associate com missioner in charge of re search. Fortunately, the proposi tion eventually was disap proved after the subcommit tee investigated the matter. The subcommittee found that the associate commis sioner in question, before joining the Office of Educa tion in January 1966, had been director of instructional technology for the Westing house Corporation. He had helped prepare an earlier proposal for a $2 mil lion grant from the Office of Economic Opportunity which had been turned down. The subcommittee also discovered that some of his earlier ef forts were included in he pro posal made to the Office of Education. The most serious question, however, subsequently arose when the investigation reveal ed that this official had ex ercised options to acquire some 1,300 shares of Westing house stock valued at more than $75,000 when he took the government job. What is more, he held this stock during the time when discussion' and decisions look place involving the pro posed gram. He aid sell all hut 50 shares in May 1957, lung after the Wisconsin school board sent in its re quest. Although these circum stances raised an obvious question as to whether Fede ral conflict of interest laws had been violated and should have been expeditiously call ed to the attention of the Justice Department, the Of fice of Education did not do so. Months later, in March of this year, the Justice De partment began an inquiry into the matter on its own initiative. That investigation is still going on. The subcommittee took no position in its report as to whether or not a criminal violation had occurred. It did conclude, however, that the Office of Education "totally disregarded its responsibility to take appropriate action to protect the public interest." The subcommittee also found that instead of the associate commissioner's con duct being questioned, it was encouraged and defended. It is exactly this sort of thing that makes it difficult sometimes for individual citi zens to have confidence in their government. Let me has ten to add, however, that, notwithstanding the waste and extravagance our com mittee discovers from time to time, and highly questionable conduct such as this investiga tion revealed, the vast majori ty - in fact, probably 98 per cent, of all Federal employees are hard-working, con scientious, and faithful public servant*. 'Nice talking to you Mr. Fortas. We'll look forward to seeing you again next session /' WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING We Think Of Frank Merriwell THE WARREN RECORD We may have a perverted sense of humor that causes us to look forward to the position papers Issued weekly from the office of Republi can Gubernatorial Candidate Jim Gardner, but the reason for this state of affairs is that the papers remind us of Frank Merriwell, fic tional character of our boyhood and remembered by many older citi zens of the town and county. Maybe we are being unfair to Mr. Gard ner, but the more position papers he issues, and the more he talks, the more often we think of Frank Merriwell and his brother, Dick. We simply cannot help it. Frank Merriwell was a student at Yale and the hero of thousands of young readers of the days of our boyhood, as well he might be. For Frank did not smoke, he did not drink, he did not use profanity, and he explained his reasons for this lack of evil habits in almost every one of the many volumes about his adventures. In addition Frank was the best pitcher at Yale, captain of the boxing team, and naturally the best boxer; and he was also captain of the fencing team, and naturally the best swordsman at Yale. In ad dition, he was well travelled, and in Europe he proved to be the best mountain climber; and in Japan he not only learned Jujitsu, but the more advanced Judo. We almost for got to mention that he was also the best wrestler at Yale. We were first reminded of Frank Merriwell in a statement released on Friday, July 19, reading as fol lows: "As part of my Crusade for pro gress in our state, my Administra tion as Governor will immediately come to grips with one of the major problems confronting North Car olina?highway safety. . . . ."As governor, I will seek to bring this problem under con trol as quickly as possible; but I will need the support of every citizen in this endeavor." In a release from his Congres sional office In Washington on Fri day, July 26, Candidate Gardner says in part: "Appointments to the Supreme Court are political and will re main so until some changes are made. "To correct this situation, I am introducing a House Joint Resolu tion proposing an amendment to the Constitution to provide a method for nominating and electing Justices at the Supreme Court." We are looking forward to Gard ner's release of Friday, Aug. 2, with some anticipation. Maybe he isn't climbing mountains and learn ing Judo, but he is certainly In - there pitching. "COMeI T0 I THINK I OF IT..." frank count Husbands . . according to Dagwood Bumstead ... are a sorry lot. Wives seldom agree on anything . . . but on this subject . . . they get over anxious to vote "aye" . . . We naturally don't buy this theory. We think husbands are the finest . . without any doubt .-. thing that ever happened to wivess . . . We find instead that the wives are the ones so difficult to understand .... Ask any husband . . . Take our little woman . . . and we wish somebody would . . . just the other day made a cardinal case out of our ICIIICIIIUCllUg . . mind, you not forgetting . . . our anniversary ... as if I could ever ... All I said was . . sure I re member the day ... it was the same day I shot a ninety on the golf course . . . Now why should that make her mad? She never shot a ninety. And she al ways insists on telling about her sister . . . who was smart enough never to marry ... to hear her tell it . . . Sister always says ... the little woman repeats over and over . . . that she's got a dog that growls ... a parrot that swears ... a fireplace that smokes . . . and a cat that stays out all night . . Why should she want a husband? Ain't sisters grand? She ain't never got around to telling me how she keeps her feet warm, though . . . Then the other day we just casually said "Your mother's been living with us for forty years . . . and you know what she said? "My mother . . . She yelled . . I thought she was your mother" . . . Ain't that just like a wifefe . . . don't even keep up with her own mother . . . And 'they're always finding fault with other women's husbands ... it ain't' enough that they find fault with their own ... As 1 walked in the door just the other day ... the little woman siaid ... all out of breath . . she gets out of breath when she gets excited . . . and she gets excited anytime she has any kind of bad news . . . and she's been breathless for weeks now . . . "George, she said ... has been taken to the hospital ..." she screamed. "George ... we said . . . good old George . . . why we saw him just a little while ago talking to a beautiful blonde .. It just can't be that old George is laid up" . . . "So did Myrtle" . . . she beamed . . she always beams at times like that . . . Myrtle is George's wife . . . poor George . . . Everybody ought to have a wife like Myrtle . . . and a gravel drive . . . But before we were married things were different ... She and her sister talked . . . and sometimes I listened. Her sister always said . . "Men are all alike" . . . And what did the little woman always say to this? . . . In her adorable southern drawl ... she always said . . . "Men are all Ah like, too" . . . But mostly . . it is the comeback they always seem to have . . . When you least expect it . . . bam . . they slap you with one . . . Take last Monday for example . . . just as I got home for lunch . . . bam . . . she hit me with ..." "One of the ducks you were hunting last weekend just called and left her number" . . . Now ... I ask you . . . How in con-son-nation are you gonna answer a question like that? Come to think k of it ... we didn't . . . The doctors say we might get out by Christmas . . . Husbands are a sorry lot, indeed ... VIETNAM WAR Longest in American History The Vietnam war has become the long est war in American history. On Dec. 22, 1961, the first American soldier was killed in Vietnam, according to records in Saigon reported June 22 by the Associated Fress. On June 22, 1968, the war, as meas ured from the time of death of Spec. 4 James Thomas Davis, Livingston, Tenn., was 6 years, 6 months, and 1 day old. Thus, the present war became the long est in our history; previously, the longest war involving American fighting men was the War of Independence. It is measured from the skirmish at Lexington, Mass., April 19, 1775, to the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Va., Oct. 19, 1781. On June 20, the American command in Saigon reported the combat death toll of United States forces had passed the 2S.000 mark. More than 155,000 Americans have been wounded. The war in Vietnam is: Loafer than the 3 years, 1 month of the Korean war. Longer than the 3 yean, 9 months of World War II. Lonfer than the 1 year, 7 months of World War I. Loafer than the 4 years of the Civil War. Longer than the 2 yean, 6 months of the War of 1812. Other facts: It was estimated in the Senate June 21 the Vietnam war was costing the United States more than $10,000 per second and rising. From the time President Johnson took office in November 1963, to the present time, it has cost the United States about $110 billion, the Senate was told June 21. Total of American casualties in Viet nam now exceeds the total of French casualties, killed and wounded in combat, in the 7VS years of the Indochinese War. In addition to the 533,000 U.S. troops in South Vietnam, there are about 2,866 foreign aid and other U.S. civilian per sonnel in South Vietnam. The United States also pays the entire cost, exclusive of salaries, of 4S,000 South Korean troops in South Vietnam. (And the United States also maintains about 30,000 American troops in South Korea and spends about one-third of a billion dollars per year in civilian and military aid to South Korea.) The United Nations has 27 persons in South Vietnam to operate its humani tarian programs. 'Wh* Han'i ?. ? ? , . Sl Louil Slob. Democrat ymj dont wt start a aick and tirid people's march?' fhe Ffajjj^n Times
The Franklin Times (Louisburg, N.C.)
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Aug. 8, 1968, edition 1
4
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