THE ZEBULON RECORD, ZEBULON, NORTH CA ROLINA, FRIDAY, MAY 13,1938
THEZEBULON RECORD
MHMBER NORTH CAROLINA PRESS ASSOCIATION
Published Every Friday By
THE RECOUP .PUBLISHING COMPANY
Zehalnn. North Carolina
THEO. B. DAVIS, Editor
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" ON V OTING
o
The most sacred human right and privilege
outside one’s duty to his Creator, is that of vot
ing. A man who cares not for suffrage rights
cares not for his country. He lacks apprecia
tion of the finest things of life offered by his
government. In the best democracies laws regu
late preliminary preparations for this a sacred
duty. The man who does not appreciate his
duty to qualify and express his convictions in
the operation of government must be beyond
the law or a slave to the law.
In the local election to be held May 21 each
citizen of Wakelon school district has a duty
and a privilege that he should not shirk. We
have as registrar, one who we believe
will try to legally do his duty in registering the
citizens. We are confident that there have been
irregularities in almost every registration in the
past, either wilfully or thoughtlessly. Accom
modating a neighbor by taking his name on the
street, accepting it on the word of another, we
are told is not regular. The registrar must have
the voter to come to the legal place of registra
tion or the registrar must take his book to the
individual to register or it is not legal. I have
been informed that citizens have registered
without going to the school building by giving
or sending their names. The registrar was told,
I am informed, that this had been done in the
past and was legal. As soon as he found that he
did not have a right to so register voters, he
stopped and corrected all the mistakes he had
made wherever possible.
We hope the registration will be so regular
and the voting so legal that when the election
is over, no matter which side wins that the ver
dict will be accepted by both sides without pro
test of irregularity on the part of any one —
registrar, voter or poll holder.
I have decided how I shall vote. (If any
one wishes to know how I shall vote, I shall be
glad to tell him personally). Yet I shall not use
the columns of the Record to attempt to influ
ence any citizen directly to vote either for or
against the proposed school tax. If he wants a
better school for his and his neighbors’ child
ren and is willing to pay the price, 1 commend
him for it. If he objects to paying more tax
even for the sake of his child, that is his right
and I appreciate his following his own judgment
as a tax payer in a matter of such concern to
his financial as well as other interests. That is
his business alone.
This question from the first years of our
country’s history has been one of serious con
cern. The patriots fought for their right to say
whether taxes were necessary or just and the
rights which they purchased with their own
blood are a precious inheritance to us to be safe
guarded and used for the best interests of all
the people. I trust there may be no rancor of
hate and bitterness to lift its head out of the
results of the election on May 21. Let each
citizen vote on that day and whatever the result,
let us accept it as the voice and verdict of all the
people.
oOo
CALLING A PASTOR
o
Having been in the active ministry most of
my life 1 have known something about being
called by a church to its pastorate. In late years
I have also been engaged in business and filled
the place more or less of a laymember. Thus I
have had the opportunity of observing and ex
periencing in some measure both sides of an in
teresting and important procedure—a church
calling a pastor.
We say with preachers it is a call to ser
vice; with others it is a look for a job. When
a pulpit becomes vacant, the church appoints a
committee whose business it is to invite man
after man to give a sample sermon till they are
satisfied or the supplies are exhausted. Each
visitor leaves a following who want him or are
willing to accept him. When a half dozen or
even a dozen preachers come before a church
as prospects, naturally there will be some in ev
ery congregation who would like one or the
other best. So, the result would be that it
would be exceedingly hard for members to unite
on any one man and be pleased or even satisfied.
If I were a member of the committee seek
ing a satisfactory pastor, I would by inquiry
and otherwise learn of suitable men. I would
first of all want to know if they were consecrat
ed men, if they were lazy, if they paid their
debts, if they were good pastors and fair
preachers at least, if they were meddlers in out
side matters, if they took an interest in every
phase of community life, if they held short or
long pastorates and various other things that
would indicate their fitness as pastor of my
church. Then when I had found out who was
the best available man, I would want to visit his
church some Sunday and hear him preach an
average sermon and also talk with some of those
who knew him best.
And I would not get a boy preacher, one
fresh from college or the seminary. They may
be as consecrated as others, but in every profes
sion outside the ministry, the man of ripe
scholarship and experience is preferred. These
are worth more than the pep and energy of
youth to the sin sick and soul hungry.
I do not mean to be unfair to the young
preacher. I have in mind only churches re
quiring a broad service from a man who has
training, scholarship and experience that fit
him for a task that requires these qualifications.
I understand that a number of preachers
have made direct application for the local pas
torate, even visiting the town and interviewing
members of the pulpit committee. When a
minister thus stoops to almost common political
methods to get a call, I believe he is lowering the
dignity of his calling and reveals elements of
character that unfit him for the finest service.
It is true that the Lord uses human instrumen
tality in all matters pertaining to his work, but
I believe such methods as these should be dis
couraged and as a rule if a church knows it will
defeat them. We get things by asking for them
and seeking them, but I do not believe this is
the way to get a pastorate.
When all this has been done, I would ask the
church to definitely decide on what salary it
would pay and make a canvass of the member
ship for pledges if this had not previously been
done.
An ounce of investigation is worth a pound
of hearing when it comes to getting an em
ployee in business or the pastor of a church.
oOo
A CANDID CANDIDATE
o
A few days ago a gentleman (he looked and
acted like one) came into our office and intro
duced himself. He told us that he was a candi
date for the office of coroner in Wake county.
He also stated that he was running because he
wanted the job and not because of the earnest
and continued solicitations of his friends. He
said he felt he was qualified for the position
and also that he believed the position had been
held long enough by the present incumbent.
Then he gave us an ad. concerning his can
didacy to run for several weeks, paying the cash
for this service. Now this is another thing
that’s different. We have had sundry candi
dates to come into our office, shake hands,
give a long-winded announcement for publica
tion, accompanied by—no, not the cash but pic
tures of their honest faces, to run in the Record.
But we have had even a sadder experience with
candidates than that. They have asked us to
run ads. totaling more than a
score of dollars. Then, waiting till
they ran again for office, they
came in, paid up and repeated the
previous credit course. In some
cases we still wait for the prodigal
that cometh not to pay up when
the election is past.
Perhaps our readers would like
to know who this unusual fellow is.
You may want to vote for him. His
name is Roy M. Banks.
JjetterjcSoy
A STATEMENT
By request I wish to say that
when I w'ent to register for the
election in Wakelon school district
for a special school tax, that, after
registering my name, the registrar
asked me if I wanted him to reg
ister my wife’s name. I told him
that I did, so he registered her
name on his books.
K. P. LEONARD
Mr. Editor:
Why should the property owners
of the Wakelon School district vote
a tax on their property to have an
additional grade taught there,
when they do “hot know whether it
will increase or decrease property
values to a prospective purchaser
when it may be offered for sale?
We do not know when tax rates
may be raised, nor when the State
wpl have to go back to property
for more money for taxes.
I say we should demand from
the state a high school that
trains its graduates so that they
may at least enter our state-sup
ported colleges without the handi
caps claimed. And if it’s the
fault of too much teacher load, let
the State furnish sufficient teach
ers, and then don’t turn out any
high school graduates with just
passing grades. I agree with a
farmer writer to the Forum'—have
the grades we now have adequate
ly taught.
Therefore, I urge the land-own
ing and home buying, overall
wearing, mule plowing farmers of
this community who pay their
taxes every fall as well as land
bank notes and Production Credit
Association loans and time prices,
to think carefully before they vote
more taxes on their land and fu
ture, and not to be misled by those
who are advocating this property
tax.
And it is a fact and can be veri
fied by the Wake County tax
books that one who is urgently
advocating this tax listed less
than $1200.00 for taxes last year.
Another one who is able to pay has
unpaid taxes against his property,
and for a number of years he has
not even so much as listed his per
sonal property for taxes at all.
So, Mr. Mrs. and Miss Voter,
think before you vote on May 21
for more taxes on your home.
A Tax Payer,
K. P. LEONARD.
TO THE FORUM:
I heartily agree with the ‘‘Pat
ron of Wakelon School” in regard
to the fairness or justice of per
sons voting a tax that will not af
fect them, but will put a burden
on another.
And I wonder if all those who
are -so eager for this tax, those
who so strongly advocate it, have
kept their taxes paid all through
the years. If not, how do they ex
pect to meet increased taxes?
Or perhaps, they intend to con
tinue to spend for themselves all
that comes into their hands and
leave it for the economic, hard
working citizen who has always
paid his taxes, to meet this added
expense, also.
Then, too, if this election is
carried by “what is called” & ma-
jority it will not be constitutional,
| for it most certainly will not be a
majority of the qualified voters of
the district.
Then, if I could only believe that
an added grade would make for a
stronger Christian citizenry, I’d
want every one to vote for it.
They have more grades now than
they appreciate, or, of which they
take the proper advantage. This
is how I think and feel about this
matter, and I make no apologies
for saying so.
MRS. W. N. PITTS.
Dear Editor:
On April 23rd I went to Wakelon
school to register in the forth
coming school tax election for an
increase of 15 cents on the hun
dred dollars. After registering, I
asked the registrar if I could re
gister my wife who was sick at
home in bed and not able to come
to register. He replied that I
could not do it, that she would
have to come and register for her
self.
W. N. PITTS.
SEEN & HEARD
AIR MAIL WEEK 15-21
Postmaster Sexton has had the
postoffice windows cleaned and
polished and has decorated them
with posters advertising Air-Mail
Week, May 15-21. Special envel
opes bordered with a design of
blue and red are available and all
who will are urged to co-operate
with the government in making
the week a success by using the
air-mails for carrying letters.
This will cost for each letter only
three cents more than regular
postage.
CLEAN, SO CLEAN.
Have you been on the Wakelon
school grounds since commence
ment? And were you there in the
afternoon during the last day of
commencement? If so, then you
appreciated the difference. I was
up at the school building last Sat
urday and was impressed very
much with the cleanliness of things
inside and out. That man Bowling
has done a good job and it looks
like he’s the man for the job till
he goes where things stay clean
and spotless all the time.
GOT HIS NAME IN THE PAPER
A short time ago our fellow
townsman, Mcßae Faison, (I am
sure “Mac” must be Scotch), gave
up one position to take a better
one. He went up to Columbus, 0.,
to learn what it was all about.
And the head of the Farm Bureau
Mutual Insurance Co., asked him
to tell of his impressions of his
new business. And he did in a
short article. The May issue of
The Challenger gives his whole
story. And it is good reading, too.
‘ Mac” is a good salesman and he
is selling what is said to be the
best mutual automobile insurance
on the market.
BORN—A COLT!
Have you or have you not seen
that brand new colt at M. B.
Chamblee’s stables? What’s cuter
than a colt? Go see for yourself.
IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE
Phillip Massey, who sells a fine
line of feeds and seeds next door
to the Record office, felt that busi
ness was so poor in 1937 that lte
could not afford to advertise. Thre
Record offered to advertise hi s
business through 1938 for one-halt
the profits beyond what his busi
ness brought in during 1937. In
stead of accepting our offer, he be
gan running four inch ads each
week. Now he says his business is
so much better this year than last
he is afraid to stop advertising.