The Fr
I ??' r A Tkwrtrtty
Times
Your Award Winning County Newspaper
LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENT
The Passing Of Two
Two deaths marred the Labor Day
news-in addition, of course, to the
hundreds killed on the highway,
which most of us now seem to take
for granted.
Former heavyweight boxing cham
pion Rocky Marchiano died much as
he had lived -violently, in a plane
crash. Noted columnist Drew Pearson
died of heart trouble at the age of 71.
Except that the fates brought their
lives to an end on the same day, these
two well-known Americans had little
? in common. Yet both played an im
portant part in the time period in
which they lived.
Marchiano fought his way from the
bottom to the top with his fists.. He
never lost a fight and he had the good
tense to retire a champion. In retire
ment he resisted huge offers of wealth
to prove himself a wise champion and
negated efforts to have him attempt a
comeback. His private life-what the
public knew of it- indicated that this
man who died one day short of his
46th birthday, was a true champion in
every sense of the word. No scandal
ever attended the Rock. He personi
fied an American boy's dreams come
true. He reached for the stars, grabbed
them and hung on until his untimely
death.
Drew Pearson, once the champion
of servicemen everywhere and always
the antagonist of public officials, serv
ed his country well. Long before the
phrase became popular, Pearson was
telling it like it was.
His swing toward liberalism in re
cant years dropped his stock in the
Sguth, but his writings were neverthe
less widely read. He fought the inte
gration battle long before the New
Left and militants hopped on the
wagon. And one suspected that Pear
son's motives were at least sincere. He
uncovered xandal after scandal
among some of the country's highest
public officials. Many politicians are
today in retirement because Drew
Pearson had the courage to disclose
their short comings.
He was often sued by those who j
had been the object of his intensive i
reporting. He never lost. When he did
make a boo- boo, he was always fair in
his corrections.
Observing and concerned citizens
however wide their differences might
have been with Pearson -must now
realize that this nation might have .
been far worse off than it is had he I
not passed this way. Or had he not |
possessed the outstanding courage to
report the news as he found it to be.
Few men could boast that they had
been slandered by Presidents. Pearson
dished it out and often times he took
it in return from the highest sources.
The passing of these two great
American figures saddens us all. Marc
hiano -the Horatio Alger story in true
life. He showed that here- and perhaps
only here- a young man can, by his
own efforts, rise above his beginning
and in the end can touch the stars.
Pearson, entirely different, showed
that America still produce men with
unfaltering courage, willing to stand
before the world and be counted,
criticized, knowing that in the end, he
too, would reach the stars.
In their lives -and now at their
passing- both showed vividly and elo
quently what's good about this coun
try of ours.
Louisburg Navyman Subject Of Praise
Editor's Not*: Copt. Barrow it a
native of Louitburg. having attended
tchool here. He it the ton of the late
M r. and Mrs. IHUi am T. Barrow and he
hat a number of relative! and friends
in this area.
Aboard the USS Bennington off
California ? Here is a story about
patriotism (or the Fourth of July.
It is good news.
And it comes from the U. S. Nary,
which has been making the other kind
of news lately.
First, there was the nightmarish
Pueblo incident which ended in a
court of inquiry that teemed to be
trying the men who had been put on
the spot instead of the men who put
them there.
Then there was the Evan* collision
with the Melbourne which cost the
Ihres of 74 U. S. sailors.
My news is that the Navy, at least
M I saw it in a five-day cruise aboard
this World War II aircraft carrier,
??ems to be a good deal healthier than
much of the rest of the country.
I am not speaking, of course, of the
Pentagon naval brass who presumably
must share tome of the onus presently
falling on the military-industrial com
plex for wasteful spending, escalation
of armaments for their own sake, and
the like.
I am speaking, nther, of the work
ing Navy u I saw it. In the role of a
Chilian observer, during an uound
the-dock exerdie to qualify piloti for
day and night carrier landings in their
ftasi training before being sent to the
Tonkin Gulf off Vietnam.
This was no conducted tour, no
now job. I had the run of the ship at
aQ times
In my judgment, the great majority
th* officers and men on the Benning
ton personally believe in the patriotic
doty of their Navy service. Its danger
and difficulty are Illustrated by the
tact that one pilot was lo?t in this
?xarcise through equipment failure.
The commanding officer, Capt. W.
B. Barrow, summed up the most im
portant trend In today's "new Navy"
by saying the emphasis now Is on
trying to understand men instead of
manly commanding them. He gave
?pacific illustration*
On hi* *hip the Navy'* old "chic
keo" rituals, such a* excessive saluting,
whidi have always griped moat men,
h*?a been eliminated.
Inaofar an he can, Capt. Barrow is
>*fu*ing to consider a sailor'* liberty or
By M. EDWARD MURRAY
Managing Editor
Republic, Phoenix. Arizona
free time as a reward or denial of it as
a punishment; he thinks such liberty
should be a right, and never denied
except to accomplish necessary work.
The Bennington crew is between 4
and 5 per cent Negro. When a delega
tion of blacks asked to see him recent
ly, Capt. Barrow talked with them for
two hours.
"They talked about many things,
and so did I," he said. "But what they
really wanted was the right to wear
their hair Afro-style. I said okay. They*
were surprised."
After all, the crew cut is an old
tradition.
I asked the captain If he had a drug
problem.
"There are four push en aboard,
and we know who they are," he said.
"We are watching them. We would
have to catch them In the act to charge
them formally. But we control the
problem, which is slightly, by keeping
track of all their contacts on the ship."
I talked to a score of crewmen
about drugs.
They said that, although a few men
use marijuana and even stronger stuff,
the problem is minor because drugs are
openly condemned throughout the
crew as too dangerous for the 4ilp.
One man who was hyped up could fail
In a vital task and endanger everyone.
Reports I have received from many
states suggest that any U. S. high
school these days would be lucky to
have no more of a drug problem than
the Bennington.
"We try to brief the crew on drup
as often as we can," Barrow said.
"And we dont lie to them. That
helps."
The Navy undoubtedly has always
had some men like Chpt. William B.
Barrow. I'm not really a judge. But I
believe it is such men who determine
whether any Institution succeeds or
fails. The Navy is lucky to have the
current skipper of the Bennington.
He is s sandy-haired Annapolis gra
duate who started as a fighter pilot. He
is just a cut leas formal, easier with
himself and others than moat military
men. Neither responsibility, nor au
thority nor the Navy has stiffened
him.
He plays golf in the low 70s. And
he has that invaluable breadth of mind
which allows him to meet Issues on
their merits.
I watched him with officers, non
coma and ordinary seamen. And I
argued with him on iocUI issue*.
He doesnt pull rank, even with the
loweit ranked crewman. And he
doeant hide behind the shibboleths so
dear to those over 30. He listens and
reasons And he has a naval officer's
traditional courtesy.
It was not surprising that he could
think under prefcure on his own
bridge, as he did during much of the
18 hours spent searching for the lost
pilot.
But I at least was surprised to hear
him discuss the subject of campus
turmoil with more understanding of
both the nature of the academic com
munity and the nature of the police
than some university presidents have
demonstrated.
"I would try to laolate the tiny
handful of hard-core destruction! its
bent on chaoa by any legitimate au
thority available to me," he said in
anawer to my question as to how he
would handle campus dissent.
"And then I would talk and talk
and talk with the rest, yes, with the
sctiviats and militants. I would try not
to resort to force."
The skipper invited me to sttend
his "Captain's Mast," which amounts
to an Intermediate court aboard ship.
He heard a dozen cases, all of which
had been carefully prepared through
preliminary inveatigatlon and earlier
hearings.
Th* cases ranged from a conscien
tious objector over the Vietnam war,
who had been absent without leave
and also refused to pull his weight
?board, to an apparent saboteur, who
allegedly let 600 yarda of heavy cable
out In front of the moving ship hoping
to entangle its screws.
He handled them all with fairness,
with compassion, with respect for con
stitutional righta, with an ear for the
accused's point of view, and with a
sense of Justice both for the defendant
and for hia sometimes victimized ship
nates.
It's no wonder his officers assured
me that he la no ordinary captian; no
wonder the three sailors from Phoenix
with whom I had dinner one day in
the General Mess told me:
"Well take the captain. He knows
what he's doing with the ship. And he
gives you a fair ahake even when
you're wrong."
So, admittedly on the baaia of only
one short experience, I concluded thst
the Navy still represents one of the
best ways for a young man to spend
his transition yean from youth to
adulthood.
LATEST FROM WASHINGTON
M
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING
Could Happen Here
The News Reporter, Whiteville, N. C.
It happened in Kannapolis a few
weeks ago:
A neatly dressed young man in a
late model automobile drove up in
front of a home and informed the
couple he was from the Internal Reve
nue Service.
He said that in checking their
returns over the past few years a
mistake made by the couple was
discovered and they were entitled to a
big refund.
The man then asked that the
couple go with him to a downtown
bank to sign necessary papers.
When they reached the bank, the
man told the couple to-wait in front
while he found a parking place.
After a considerable wait, the
couple went inside the bank and told
a representative their story. A call was
then made to the police department
and a couple of men were dispatched
to the couple's home.
They found the young man had
driven back to the couple's home,
ransacked it, and made off with $550
while the couple waited patiently in
front of the bank for his return.
It could happen here.
Bridges
(Continued from Page 1)
need", Scott added, "We want our
children to attend school and to bene
fit from a sound education. At the
same time we want to make sure our
children go to school safely and across
bridges which have been carefully and
thoroughly inspected."
All of the bridges are located on
secondary roads and almost all of
them have school buses crossing them
daily.
The governor announced that more
than $2 million dollars will be required
for the work.
"Crime In The Streets"
...?
... ....
BISSELL. N*?hvill? 7 ?noNIlM
'COME
TO
THINK
OF IT..."
by
frank count
I aint never seen Melvin as deep in the dumps as he was last
night when I went over to borrow his youngin's bicycle to ride
to the store.
"Melvin," I said, "How come you're so down in the dump*.
Yon even looked peaked around the eyeballs, boy."
"It's the world, Frank", he said. "It's the world. It's done
passed me by, Frank."
"Well", I said, "Tha
world done passed ?
whole lot of folks by,
Melvin. What makaa
you feel so bad that
one of them's you?"
"Frank, I been sK
ting here thinking
??
"Cussit, you know
blame well that always
gits you in trouble.
Dont you remember
the teacher use to say
to you, Melvin if you
think for one minute . . . and then she'd always stop. She was
trying to warn you, Cussit. She was trying to Ml you
something. I been trying to tell you the same thing for yean.
As a friend, Cussit, I feel I ought to come right out with If.
Thinking aint your thing, Melvin. You ought to stick to
whittling or maybe fishing."
"You're just trying to make me feel good, Frank. Bringing
up old times. Them was the days alright. The good old days.
You know, Frank, I kinda wish we'd a stayed in school for tba
fourth grade. I bet them fellows had a ball".
I could tell I was cheering him up. I told him about how ha
got the nickname of Cussit when his name was really Melvin
Sue. He never did take to that middle name so good. I wished I
hadn't mentioned that.
"Frank, it aint you. I know you're my friend but the world
done passed us both by. We ain't getting no younger, Frank. 1
can see you changing ever day, Frank. First your hair turned
white. Then it started falling out. Then your teeth come out
and I can tell you aint walking like you use to."
"You got another chair, Melvin. I believe I'd feel better
setting down."
"Frank, we got to face it. We're the missing link in the
generation gap. I aint been arrested for setting down in the
middle of nothing and you ain't neither. I ain't been asked to
boycott nothing. I ain't even been asked to join nothing ..."
"You know you're right, Melvin. You're absolutely right. I
aint accomplished nothing neither. I ain't even getting food
stamps. I did try though but they found out I had a mule. I
kept telling 'em I won't going to eat old Maude, but that
didnt change their minds. They just kept saying you got a
mule so you cant have no food stamps".
"Frank, I even tried to grow a beard last week and that
didn't even work. I've over the hill, Frank. I cant even grow a
beard".
"Melvin. you know I never even got a parking ticket. I liked
to got one the other day. I thought sure I was and that I might
get my name in the paper, but this pretty leggy girl with ?
pretty short mini-skirt come along. I ain't sure that she got ?
ticket but she sure musta been doing something Illegal. I seen
Ave cops looking her over. 1 figured she must a double parked,
Melvin."
"I aint never been interviewed on no radio or television
neither, Frank. I aint never been asked no questions on no
polls. I aint never won nothing at the store like Zeke. He won
a transistor radio off'n the punchboard. You heard about that.
They're gonna investigate, Frank. Some say Zeke didn't win It
fair. Some say Zeke's gonna git hisself in a lot of trouble. Hi
punched the wrong hole some say."
"But even Zeke's better off than you and me, Melvin. At
least he might git investigated. That's something, Melvin. {
been doing some thinking since I seen you so down in tha
dumps. Melvin. Maybe if we won't so successful, we'd know
how to join things. Why dont you and me quit working snd
go to loafing fulltime. I don't know how I'd feed the little
woman and the youngins without my $15 a week, but they '4
just have to learn to live like we was brought up, Melvin. They
aint always had it so food. They can learn to do without."
"That sounds a little bold, Frank. Before we take that big ?
step let's think about some of the'good things. Let's see If we
cant git out of the dumps without all that. Heard any bright
news lately?"
"Well, you might be right, Melvin. Somebody could ask us
to join In a demonstration any day now. I hear the boy* are
gitting up one In the lower end of the county agin rabbty
tobacco. They might let us join. But until then, we can IM
thankful for one bright spot I seen in the news today".
"What was it, Frank?"
"I seen where it says Joe Namath is gonna play football for
three more years. Melvin. Now there's something you can
shout over."
Ex-Ram Star Arrested In Raleigh Hotel
Potter Junius Brodle, 18, Negro
athlate from Frankllnton, was arrested
in a Raleigh hotel early Thursday
morning and charged with "uaing a
hotel room for immoral purpom"and
"registering under an assumed name",
according to a Raleigh newspaper re
port. A Raleigh white woman was also
arrested and charged.
Brodle waa an outstanding basket
ball player at Frankllnton the past two
yean and waa voted the Most Valuable
Player In the 1968 Franklin County
tournament. He was chosen All Con
ference the two years he played for
Fnnkltnton High School. He waa a
transfer student from B. F. Person- Al
bton in 1967 wh?n Franklinton began
to deeegrefrte the Negro school.
The report, aa It ippeared in The
Carollan, a Raleigh newspaper serving
the Negro community, follows:
"James B. Durham, white official
of the Carolina Hotel, 228 W. Hargett
Street, called "the law" at 3:30 a.m.
Thursday and asked someone to check
room 910.
"Upon arrival, Detective Captain
Larry Macon Smith checked and
found Foster Junius Brodie, 18, color
ed male of Route 2, Box 98, Franklin
ton, registered In the room under the
name William Wade Boweti of Fort
Lewis, Virginia.
"Also discovered In the room waa
Miss Patty tola Murphy, 20, white
female, 629 Georgetown Road, this
city.
"As a result of the Investigation,
Officer Smith reported, Brodle and
Miss Murphy were both arrested and
charted with using a hotel room for
immoral purpose. Brodle also fscea a
falae registration charge.
"Assisting in the arrests were U.
John Smith and Sgt. A. E. Morris."