Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Sept. 20, 1960, edition 1 / Page 2
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Page Two THE DAILY TAR HEEL Tuesday, September 20, 1C"0 0 i C ' J T O 'fiTI ;0! i II:! II b P :: M The official student publication of the Publications Board of the Univer sity of North Carblina,""where it is published daily except Monday examination periods and summer terms. Entered as second-class matter in the post office in Chapel Hill, N. C, under the act of March 8, 1870. Subscription rates: $4.00 per semester, $7.00 per year. The Daily Tar Heel is printed by Colonial Press, Chapel Hill, N. C. Editor Jonathan Yardley Associate Editor . Wayne King, Mary Stewart Baker Assistant Editor '. . Ron Shumate Managing Editors Bob Haskell, Margaret Ann Rhymes News Editors Ienry Mayer, Lloyd Little Feature Editors .... Susan Lewis, Adelaide CromaRtie Photography Editor Bill Erinkhous Sports Editor .. : Ken Friedman Asst. Sports Editor Frank W. Slusser Contributing Editors . John Justice, Davis B. Young Business Manager - Tim Burnett Night Editor 1 Bill Fackert 5 ? It Was Quite A Day' (The following is a series of impres sions gained by this wriler on a trip throughout North Carolina last Satur day in which he saw, heard and fol lowed Democratic Presidential Nomi nee John F. Kennedy. (In no way is this article to be con strued as editorial comment on the candidate, nor as editorial endorsement. It is merely a collection of impressions of a man, of the political animal, of practical politics, of the American or at least North Carolina voter and of campaigning, a new and exciting phe nomenon for the writer.) Following a presidential candidate through a day of heavy campaigning is a little like stalking a lion in the African jungle; never a moment's peace, always on the alert, always on the go. Because of this, and because it was the first time for this writer, it was quite a day. We arose Saturday morning at the un godly hour of five-thirty, pulled a sleepy and somewhat unhappy roommate out of bed, and informed him that he was to be the chauffeur to Raleigh-Durham air port. Striking out in blerry-eyed resigna tion some of your enthusiasm is bound to be in bonds at pre-sunrise hours we struggled the Tar Heel truck over to the twin city airfield.. There we found a group of sleepy men, numbering perhaps thirty, two women and a harrassed tour director. He was Graham Jones, publicity direc tor for the Democratic Party in North Carolina. All of these people were reporters and all, like us, were to board the special Piedmont plane which was to pick up the Kennedy caravan in Greenville and fol low the rest of his North Carolina barn storming trip. The special plane was the idea of state party headquarters, and was a good one. It enabled the North Carolina press to give the trip the same coverage afforded by the national press, members of which were in two immense airships immedi ately preceeding the private Kennedy plane in flying order. They served what is euphemistically called a "continental" breakfast pre sumably because it has been flown over cold from Bulgaria on the plane and had us in Greenville in less than thirty minutes. The trip was short enough to stall any ill effects of the unAmerican breakfast. Since we were in Greenville an hour and a half before the candidate was sup posed to arrive, the little country airfield became a meeting place for North Caro lina reporters and stray dignitaries who began to wander in around eight o'clock. A primary source of interest was the state gubernatorial campaign; little if any concern was expressed over the "Republi-t can threat' being imposed by candidate Robert Gavin. Terry Sanf ord arrived, looking as though the mantle of the gov ernorship had already, fallen upon his shoulders. ' Governor Hodges looked as though he was about ready to quit the State House and move his belongings to Washington. He met this student's inquiries with con summate grace and courtesy, comment ing that the University of North Carolina budget requests "must be considered along with every other budget,' but add ing a little wryly that "the University has lots of friends in the Assembly." Senators Ervin and Jordan were there, looking benevolent in the way that ' only Southern Senators can look benevolent. ' As the nine o'clock arrival hour drew near, the crowd began to grow and anti cipation, as they say, "filled the air." Police stretched so many ropes in front of the crowd that we began to wonder whether this were to be a reception or a lynching. As the hour passed the crowd grew more restless. The two or three bands gathered at the airport played futile and rather disarming marches -every time the band started playing everyone looked around for Kennedy. Suddenly the first of the three planes appeared. All eyes strained toward the sky. Another appeared. The first landed,; unloading a motley group of ' corre spondents, photographers, and cam paign aides. Their primary interest seemed to be in iinding bathrooms and asserting a kind of visitor's supremacy. Those of us from the North Carolina press swallowed our pride and met their challenge with equanimity. The second plane carried more of the same mold. Then came the third plane. A large white two-engine job, it cruised, in ef fortlessly. The door opened, and at least twenty photographers this neophyte in cluded surged toward the plane. Out came Pierre Salinger, James Hagerty in Democratic guise, followed by a few aides of uncertain purpose. Then the door was empty; we all waited. Finally he appeared. Looking as though he had just returned from a three-week stay in the Bahamas, John Kennedy blinked at the crowd which was a good deal smaller than he may have expected managed an uncertain and halfhearted smile, then solemnly came down the ramp. Someone rushed into his path and, en gulfed in the glamour of it all, shoved an immense key to the city of Greenville into the hands of this Yankee from Mas sachusetts. Again came the grin, but it was getting "a little less forced now. The crowd cheered with what might be de scribed " as enthusiastic reserve. Kennedy forged his way through a wel ter of hands and faces, all of which were heading for him, and somehow made it to the flashy convertible which awaited him. He climbed in, waved to the crowd, and was joined by Sanf ord. Representa tive Bonner, and John Clark, Pitt Coun ty Democratic Chairman. We got into a bus, fighting for seats with guys from the New York Times, the Associated Press and every conceivable sort of news media. We, somehow, got a seat, next to a reporter from' the Times. While a friendly reporter from the Greenville paper told everyone in the bus about the peculiar characteristics of the region, the man from the Times quizzed us about North Carolina. He, being from the ' Times, ' was very thorough. ' We went to a mock tobacco auction at Tripp's Farmers' Warehouse, the largest under one roof in the world. People in Greenville seemed intent on having all reporters repeat that fact, as apparently the 13 -acre barn is a great source of local pride. The whole trip seemed worthwhile if only because of the laughs afforded us in the warehouse. First of all, no one from the city limits of Greenville seemed to understand anything about selling to bacco, and the stupid questions came fast and furiously. While all of us stood around wondering what in the devil was happen ing a man started talking gibberish to Kennedy, fists started flying in efforts to get near the candidate, and a merry time was had by all. The upshot of it all, as fax as our ears could tell, was that a pound of "Nixon tobacco sold for five cents and a pound of "Kennedy tobacco" for ninety dol lars. The market price Friday was ap proximately sixty-two cents' a pound. The most interesting sight of trie day was that of the Governor of North Caro lina standing off to one side completely ignored by the crowd. He signed his au tograph for a little girl who had riot lost her perspective on state affairs in the hustle and bustle of this visit. Kennedy seemed a little impatient to leave; Back to the bus and ovsr to the stadium of East Carolina College. The rush was so great that a middje-aged man fell and broke his arm, dampening the enthusiasm of at least this reporter for all the excite ment that was going on. No one seemed to give him very much attention. The working press "rushed to the tables up front and the working candidate got up to tKe platform. After a series of ra ther dull pronouncements of welcome and an invocation by the minister of the Black Jack Free Will Baptist Church this ' was a primary source of amusement on the press plane the candidate got around to speaking. : ' ''5 Ii was not a good speech. Billed by the Democratic Headquarters as a "major speech," it was largely a col lection of cliches about the need for a strong America, references to Roose velt and Wilson and Jackson and Jeff erson and Truman, and a couple of siy little jokes. A cheering section shouted "K-E-N-N-E-D-Y" and the man from Back Bay kept right on going. He said that "to be an American citizen in the 1960's will be a difficult and hazardous occupation," and that he thinks that "we can do better." Judging from the applause, everyone seemed to agree. After the speech the crowd of some 12, 000 milled around the field while Ken nedy, honored guests and the press made a fast getaway back .to the airport. Five minutes later all were in the air heading toward Greensboro. .The ride to Greensboro was not very much fun. The pilot, realizing that we had taken off after the Kennedy plane and that it was necessary for us to be at Greensboro-High Point airfield be fore the candidate, decided wisely to make up for lost time and to beat him there. In order to do this we flew at about 800 feet, under the clouds and through what seemed like an. endless series of air pockets. ' Air travel has never bothered us very much, but this was not fun. As we bounc ed along through the merry air waves the old stomach grew more and more in dependent of its master, and tension mounted. Somehow, by the grace of God, we made it with only a case of shaky knees, intact otherwise. The pilot was in formed by a less fortunate reporter that this was not to happen again. It did not We made the 150-mile trip in about thirty minutes, a cause for great admira tion for air travel, and beat Kennedy by three or four minutes. The crowd was murmuring excitedly. It was a good crowd, and a pretty big one. Kennedy drew about eight thou sand people all the way out to the air port, a fine showing. And they were enthusiastic people. A huge roar went up when the candi date arrived. "We want Jack, we want Jack" they screamed. Teen-aged girls seemed to be chewing at the bit as the tanned Senator headed straight for the ropes to shake a few hands. How many hands have since gone unwashed? . . . Anything that was wrong in Greenville was rectified in Greensboro. The speech was moving, exciting and well delivered. From the moment Kennedy mounted the platform until the plane was no longer visible in the sky he had the crowd in the palm of his hand. If he wanted them to cheer, they cheered. If he wanted re spectful attention, he got it. e 'Again,' the theme was weakened foreign policy and the decline of American pres tige abroad. But this time the point was well made and seemed worth consider ing. The remedies seemed possible. And, somehow, the references to the five great Democratic presidents seemed almost per tinent. As the Senator finished, the latent desires of the crowd burst into fruition. Police lost control of the crowd as he walked toward the plane after another handshaking lour. Girls, shrieking in a manner reminiscent of an Elvis rally, headed for the political dreamboat. For about a minute it was Newport. Sinatra at the Paramount and Jazz at the Phil harmonic all rolled into one tanned political bombshell. And then the plane took off. As we soared into the hinter and yon we could see grinning policemen banding together to send the screaming crowd home. The visit was a real success. And Kennedy didn't do anything to his knee. Off to Asheville. The resort- town in Western Carolina had been a question mark all day, since the new Asheville Hendersonville airport was a question mark itself and the weather had been rather uncertain. But off we went to Asheville. At one-tweniy-five the pilot an nounced that we would circle over the airport until one-forty and then land. We circled for fifteen minutes and then headed for Charlotte. Apparently a Delta Airlines plane had made three unsuccessful attempts at land ing and it had been decided that if he couldn't land then neither could the Sen ator. The weather was bad also, further inhibiting possibilities. We made Charlotte a little after two: an hour and a half ahead of schedule. This was another interesting part of the day. We were standing with Roy Parker of the Raleigh News Observer when Kennedy landed. As soon as the Senator disembarked Parker asked whether it were true that Kennedy forces had con tributed to the Sanford campaign. Ken nedy replied in the negative and then, as he was swept past us, turned around, grabbed Parker by the arm and said with astounding firmness: "Print it like this a categorical, flat denial. Right?" We were a little taken aback. Kennedy went off to make a telephone speech to the gathering in Asheville and the rest of us went to have something to eat on the Democratic National Commit tee. All's fair in love, war and the politi cal ratrace. In the airport dining room this re porter had the good fortune to be able to talk with Mrs. Martha MacKay, national coramiiteewoman from North Carolina and a Chapel Hillian, Mrs. Gladys Tillett, a former national com mittee vice president from Charlotte and Mrs. Margaret Price, present na tional vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee. We asked Mrs. Price about the influ ence of the candidates' wives in the cam paign, to which she replied that a good many people are interested in the ' can didates families and that "never before have candidates families made them selves so available for campaigning." She cited the recent Kennedy-Johnson Women invasion of Texas, but added that the Democrats, unlike the Republicans, have given no consideration to a separate cam paign for the "office" of First Lady of the nation. She also said that a trend toward more campus volunteers for political help has been noticed and that a large number of college students are eligible to vote but have not registered. She mentioned the Kennedy appeal to youth, giving some credit for this to the fact that "young people feel in him a vitality. The next ten years will influence their lives. He sees ahead of us the prospect of improv ing our world position and economic sta bility at home." At three-thirty the "Motorcade" formed where this so-called "word" came from the Good Lord only knows and turned toward downtown Charlotte. The crowd along the airport road was scattered; more people began to appear on Wilkinson Boulevard and Morehead Street. We wondered what the Senator was thinking as the parade passed through the run-down Ne&ro section of Graham Street. A bus was stopped somewhere along the way, and the entire busload, driver and all were leaning out of the windows grinning at the Senator as he drove by. They were four deep along Trade Street and the Square at the intersection with Tryon Street was jammed. Inde pendence Boulevard was a little less crowded, but the outside of the Coliseum was a madhouse. Kennedy's entrance into the Coliseum was one for the books. When he appeared the crowd burst into a frenzy. For ten minutes the people screamed, shouted and cheered for their man. It was a moving spectacle, even though the 10,000 people did not quite fill the huge building. The invocation was delivered by Dr. Charles Stoffel, minister of Charlotte's First Presbyterian Church. Kennedy was introduced by Mrs. Til lett, who was as gracious and gentle as a Southern hostess can be. She scored heavily with the crowd by saying of Kennedy: "He is a man who was not denied because of religion the right to fight for his country." Kennedy's speech was not ; as good as the Greensboro talk, but it was good. His primary emphasis was upon the nature of the Democratic Party; he emphasized not its appeal to local interest groups but to the nation as a whole. He was not con tent merely with saying that the party is now a national party; he called for the help of the people of North Carolina in making it a national party. Kennedy also emphasized the "forward-looking" aspects of the Demo cratic Party, comparing such campaign slogans as "Keep Cool With Coolidge," "Back To Normalcy." "Had Enoguh?" and "You Never Had It So Good" with The New Freedom, The New Deal, The Fair Deal and The New Frontier. It was a point well taken, and duly im pressed the audience. At last the speech was over. The re porters broke for the press buses and Kennedy, guided by a belligerent guard, was hustled into the waiting convertible to "motorcade" back to the airport. The Charlotte show was over. Raleigh lay ahead. We decided to stay in Charlotte, hav ing finally succumbed to the rigors of campaigning. The day was over for us. For Kennedy, there was more to come; and many more afterwards. It was quite a day. s. i6..t-:i ? v:,:;: --J.'-; :v : : ? - :'.': .-. . k .? irr.. .... I-:-: :-:-;-:-:-:-:-;.. --. -: :-.-.-.-: :- :- . ; t ' -:::: ; --:-:-:-:-:-::-:-:-:; : .- i , I . I V v ' : : , - :-.x-'- ::-:-::: : ::: ? ': '""V. ?j - yV ' ft 'J III V f f J'5?:- " ' . . -. I r ft ? :.; - l . f f , f i m.wsfr -. 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Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Sept. 20, 1960, edition 1
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