Page Two
The Chapel ffiUWeekly
Chapel Hill North Carolina
12* E. gMMitn Telephone »-1271 or Mil
PtM»M Every Tweaday and Friday
By The Chapel Hill Publishing Cowpany, 1»*
Lons Gslaves _ Contributing Editor
Joe Jonts _.. Managing Editor
Be-ev Ajtthcf. . AttocvUr Editor
Chtcx Ha USB Associate Editor
OriiUJE Cawpbk.: General Manager
O T Watkins Advertising Director
Fan Daii .. Circulation Manager
Chariton Campbiii Sup:
fcr.verec *1 tecma-cuM matter February 3t \Vti »i
the por.cff-.rr v. Chape. H:.. Nortf. Carolina under
O-.t act of Matr .» trrs
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
It Orange Ccur/.y. Year Si.oo
<6 month* l—2b, £ months. SIM
Onaia* of Orar.pt County fcy the £ tar
State of N C., \ a., ar.c S. C tM)
Other States anc Dus: of Columbia bM
Canada. Mexico, South America 7-W3
Europe 1
What* Inflation Mean- to the Jndi'idual
No matter how much is published
auout inflation. and is spoken awat
it m Congr- - - and th*.*r public gather
ings and over the radio, it is hard
for mo.-: of u> t< realize its meaning
to the individua Ever, tn ugh it biter
you crueliy by driving price- up, you
do not become readily aware of it
full depressing effect on the value of
your money. Out of long habit, un
consciously. you ar>- apt to keep on
looking upon a dollar a something
that s the same at one time a- at
another, something stable and depend
able. It takes a considerable effort for a
person who is not unusually firrance
.minded v gra ■; th< imple truth that
the dollar has no meaning at ail ex
cept in terms of what it will buy. IP
j- merel) a measuring unit for th<
amount of food or .meat or clothing
or anything else tha* you ten get in
exchange for it.
If you bought fifteen years ago a
bond, or placed your money in a sav
ings; bank or in life insurance, your
investment may show today an in
crease of 25 per cent in face value—
that is. in the number of dollars it
is worth; but in real value, by the
measure of what it will buy in the
stores, it has actually decreased.
There are some people-clever spec
ulators, producers who benefit from
rising prices, working inert who are
able to get their wages raised—who
do not lose, or may even gain, from
inflation, but it bears down heavily
upon a vast number of men and women
who are unable to increase their in
come.
Almost everybody prefers not to
think of anything disagreeable, even to
the extent, a good part of the time, of
pretending it doesn’t exist. Just as,
for example, you ignore the need of
going to the doctor or the dentist for
an examination and won’t go until you
are in pain. So with inflation. You
like to ignore it by not reading about
it or by moving away, when anybody
begins talking about it, to a more cheer
ful segment of the company. But some
times your attention is re-drawn to
it in such away that you find your
self getting interested in it again.
So it was with me today when I
was reading a bulletin from the Ameri
can Institute for Economic Research
announcing its latest book, “What Will
Deflation or More Inflation Mean to
You?”
Here are some lines from the bul
etin’s introduction:
“Jyost: 360 billion dollars in pur
chasing power by you and others who
lave put money in savings: banks, life
nsurance, U. S. Savings bonds, and
it her supposedly safe investments since
1939. This is the actual cost to people
n the United States of the great tidal
vave of inflation that has been re
arded but not by any means stopped
is yet ... If inflation continues in
voming months by means of rapidly
ncreasing real estate and installment
oans, the cyclical recovery of business
nay become a major boom. Invariably
n the nation’s experience the aftermath
f such a boom has been a deflationary
oust.' "
The American Institute for Econom
t Research is plainly pessimistic about
he financial situation, and it may be
ssumed that anything it punishes has
he same slant. I have no sympathy
dth that [joint of view, but neither
' o I have any sympathy with the op
osite one. I don’t know enough about
ae subject to have any opinion on
one way or the other. I am not even
guesser about what’s going to hap
en.
But the book commends itself to
me because, as I read the table of con
tents, I find that several chapters are
devoted to explanations of financial
procedures and to the history of in
flations in the United States, France,
Germany, and elsewhere. Here is fact
ual material that 1 would like to ex
plore. The author, Edward C. Har
wood. is an economist of good repute,
who. whatever conclusions he may draw,
car. be trusted to give an honest pre
sentation of the facts. I am about to
send for a copy of the book. The price
js 81,'’postpaid, and the order is to
be mailed to the American Institute for
Economic Research, Great Barrington,
Massachusetts. —L.G.
The Past of Tuscalo<*-a
7ascaioosa, Alabama, ha- a pa«t. a prt
scnv and a future.
The future i*. shrouded in *n>*i*r>. No-.
b<Kp ran sa* an> thine certain about it
except that it ie dreaded
About the present. beginning »ith the
mob action four week- aeo. there t* nothing
new to lie revealed 7he More of bitterncfia
and violence ha* been told to the public
through million- of word- printed and spok
en and through picture- in magazine- and
ne-w-paper* and on television screen.-.
Rut of the pa-t eif Tuscaloosa, in respect
to the relations of the rare*, the only com
prehensive review ha- be-er. the one in an
article bv Wayne Phillip- in la-t Sunday s
New York Times Magazine Here are some
of the historical passages from that article;
: u.-caioosa i- a City ' • •> 5 1 Kh)
jK-r.-f.n- at the- headwate r- >5 the- War
rior Biter. It in cour.tr) first seen
,bv white- explorers in I*lo, settled in
1816. Until the Civil' War it was little
more than a trading center for the sur
rounding 'cotton plantations, and it was
1920 before its population passed 10,000.
In Tuscaloosa, the Negroes and
' white- hav«• lived .-ide by side in peace.
Here the- Negro may register and vote
a*- freely as. the white man. Here
“separate but equal” mean- just that
—in education, transportation, recrea
tion. and housing. Here. Negroes and
whites work side by side, sit down to
talk together, occasionally worship to
gether. take part in programs in each
other’s schools and, until recently, re
spected each other.
Iri part, that has been because of
the presence here of the University
of Alabama, a 125-year-old all-white
institution with a magnificent campus,
good professors, and an academic stand
ing betty than its reputation as the
country club of the South would in
dicate. 'The university has done much
through the classroom to break down
blind prejudice, and it has brought into
the community a leavening influence
of Northerners who have made this
their adopted home.
Between them, the educated South
erner and the transplanted Northerner
have worked cautiously and diligently
in years past toward harmonious rela
tions between the races, breathing life
into Christian platitudes about brother
hood and respect for man.'
Much of this was done through the
Interracial Committee of the town’s
Religious Council, a small but potent
group of Negro and white leaders or
ganized eleven years ago by J. T. Mc
. K<-e, a retired educator. Its chairman
today is Ur. K. K. Tidwell, who was
from 1927 to 1831 the State Super
iritendent of Education. He retired in
August, 1954, as dean of the University
of Alabama’s important extension di
vision and immediately moved to the
other side of Tuscaloosa, to become the
assistant to the president of Stillman
College, an institution for Negroes sup
ported by the Presbyterian Church of
the U. S.
Among the white members of the
council are the president of Stillman
College, the Young Men’s Christian
Association secretary, a hardware store
owner, ministers, a rabbi and univer
sity professors. Among the Negroes
are a newspaper publisher, an import
ant property owner, the high school
principal, ministers and educators.
Through the efforts of this council,
its members and those sympathetic to
it, a quiet revolution was going on.
White staff members of the Univer
sity of Alabama became part-time
members of the Stillman College fac
ulty. Negroes became members of the
directing boards of the Red Cross and
the United Community Fund. A Negro
recreation center was set up under the
United Fund. Negro recreation was
given a share of the city’s recreation
funds, proportionate to the population.
The Chamber of Commerce sponsored
an annual dinner for the best Negro
farmer. A completely modern $2,000,-
000 high school was built for Negroes.
Similar things were going on in
areas unreached by the council, In the
C. 1. 0. unions Negroes and whites be
longed together, met together, sat
THE CHAPEL HILL WEEKLY
sfgjlPy- i Like Chapel Hill
-■ By Billy Arthur
“Clowns are funny, and
■Undertakers solemn; s
A pet pig is lousy
And so is your column.”.
We plead nolo contendere. This column is placed in
the paper for good reason. Because The Weekly long has
been noted for excellent reporting and writing, it was
deemed wise to have just one little teeny bit of output
with which the usual good writing and reporting could
be compared. Contrast, mind you.
Therefore, were it not for the quality of other ma
terials which appear on this page. I'd suggest that the
first thing one do upon receipt of this issue would be to
rip off this page.
And another thing: The Weekly appeals principally
to a high class of readership. There are some readers of
The Weekly, however, to whom such poetic drivel as
that above appeals. And if they can iro for that, they cer
tainly ought to be able to digest what 1 type.
* * # * ’
The freshest of intelligence: When you phone Sears
Roebuck in Durham and ask for the typewriter depart
ment. vou are connected with the lingerie department.
*-* * *
Hap Perry is a smart one. He’s started playing it
safe at the coffee club. He moves from table to table
and asks. “Is anyone saying anything worth hearing'.’”
He sits only at tables where he gets an affirmative
answer.
* * * *
Joe Jones i- a man to be envied, especially by news
papermen. He wear- a white shirt daily, pulls and cor
rects galley proof-, oftimes puts type in the paper, and
never gets ink on the shirt.
If I were to wear one to work and never get within
30 vards of ink. the shirt would be blotched by 11 a. m.
‘ « *
An Open Letter to Mayor Cornwell
Dear Mayor Cornwell:
I Relieve that everyone who
attended the hearing Monday
night on the proposed annex
ation agree;- with you that
it was characterized by intel
ligence good faith and good
humor. Jf I have some second
thoughts on the proposal, it
is because the meeting was so
well-informed as to leave food
for thought.
I believe that most of the
resdents of the area proposed
for annexation feel themselves
to be Chapel Hillians, and
want to assume the rights and
responsibilities of full citizen
ship. The proposals outlined
by Mr. Rose seemed well
thought out and fair to the
area proposed for annexation.
I may add that enlargements
in the police and fire forces,
while intended primarily to
service the new area, would
be beneficial to the present
town as well, since they would
be better able to handle calam
ities anywhere in the enlarged
town. And I take in good faith
Mr. Rose’s estimate that the
town could maintain its en
larged services without any in
crease in- the present town
tax rate.
Nevertheless, the carrying
out of Mr. Rose’s proposals
hinges upon the approval, by
a vote of the enlarged town,
of a large bond issue. With
down together at the bargaining table.
In the A. F. L. unions there were Ne
gro locals and white locals—but the
representatives of each sat together in
the Tuscaloosa Central Labor Union
and were equally vocal. J'ay for Ne
groes and whites was equal. White
local members resjH'cted the picket lines
of Negro locals. And white workers
went out on strike to preserve the jobs
of Negro employes.
There are Negro and white Roman
Catholic Churches in Tuscaloosa. Rut
isolated Negroes can worship unno
ticed at the white church. And a few
whites, for convenience, will go to
mass at the Negro church. The white
priest at the Negro church is aiso the
chaplain of the all-white Knights of
Columbus. Ry working conscientiously
and diplomatically he has persuaded the
Knights to make the Negro parochial
school their meeting place.
That school, at the edge of a Negro
section, is across the street from a row
of expensive, upper middle-class homes.
The close proximity, which has both
ered neither the whites nor the Negroes,
is typical of the mixed-up racial pat
tern in Tuscaloosa housing.
The Annexation Question
John I,eGrand, 13-year-old son of
Mr. and Mrs. Jack Q. LeGrand, dis
cusses the proposed municipal annexa
tion in the following talk he made re
cently before the Rotary Club and the
Kiwanis Club as one of a series of
talks on community problems made
before the civic slabs by boys in Mrs.
Louise Lamont’s public speaking class:
“Mr. Chairman, and members of
Chapel Hill’s civic organizations:
“You men, I know, are vitally in
terested in the growth and development
out the bond issue, most of the
advantages of annexation would
disappear for those in the area
proposed for annexation. Even
the enlarged fire force would
be of greatly reduced value
without the investment in a
new fire house and new equip
ment. Since -everal probable
immediate capita-1 expenditures
were mentioned at the meeting
that were not listed in Mr.
Rose’s figures, it seems likely
that the amount of the needed
bond issue would be even larg
er than Mr. Rose’s estimate.
This is, I am sure, the largest
increase in the town’s debt
ever proposed, just as the an
nexation is much the largest
in area ever proposed, dwarf
ing the annexations of the past
few years. This is not another
cautious step forward, but a
fall broad jump *
Speaking as an advocate of
annexation, I am not certain
that the citizens of the pre
sent town are as aware as they
should he of the implications
of annexation in the approval
of the bond issue that would
be needed to implement it if
it is to be fair to the new
area. I would like to feel that
the annexation is, approved by
the citizens of the present town
with a full understanding of
all that it involves.
I would therefore urge that
the Council submit the proposal
of Chapel Hill. One of the most im
portant questions now facing the Hoard
of Aldermen is whether to enlarge tin
town’s limits to include the Glen J> n
nox area, the- Greenwood section, and
the Country Club-Laurel Hill Road
area. Only twice since the town was
incorporated has its limits been ex
tended, the last time being in 11)53.
The present population is 7,b00, with
a taxable property valuation of $16,-
000,000, covering 1,100 acres. The sug
gested extension would increase the
population by -1,520 persons, the tax
value by $6,000,000, and its area by
528 acreas. The increase in tax money
would equal the rise in operating costs.
“It is impossible to extend the town’s
limits to the west without joining with
the Town of Carrboro. The areas to
the north and south of the present lim
its have not developed as rapidly as
the area to the east. It would be a
calamity as far as Chapel Hill is con
cerned if the continual growth in the
Glen Lennox and surrounding areas
should result in the incorporation of
that section into another town. Chapel
Hill would be land-locked both to the
east and west, with no room for ex
pansion in either direction.
“Now there are those who would pre
fer that Chapel Hill remain a small
village as it did for many years, but
that is now impossible. It has grown
tremendously in yie Jast ten years,
and the surrounding area will continue
to grow.
"Careful consideration should be giv
en now to the proper solution of this
problem. Delay may prove costly. I
earnestly urge you to give immediate
thought to this question and to give
the Roard of Aldermen the benefit of
your fine judgment.”
Chapel Hilt Chaff
(Continued from page 1)
the announcement* was the
title of his Sunday sermon
topic. Whereupon we exchang
ed a few remarks' upon how
his profession and mine re
sembled each other in one
respect: that many people
thought ■ a clergyman could
write off his sermon easily
and rapidly the day before it
was to be delivered, without
having had to bother to think
about it before, just as they
thought a newspaper writer
could dash off any sort of
job, an editorial or essay or
anything else, on demand, in
a few minutes before going
to-press time,
* * *
An article by Don Bishop
about the success of Eugenia
Rawls (Mr*. Don Seaweiii a
a member of the cast support
ing Alfred Lunt and Lynn
Fontanne in "The Great Se
bastians” in New York wa
published iri the newspaper
last Sunday. Toward the end
of the article wa- a paragraph
about Brook, the Seawe.
eight-year-old daughter. She
i- well known a.- a child a
- and has a rt-gulaf en
gagement on television.,
Reading about her, 1 re
membered that a year or so
ago 1 had heard of Brook
coming here sometimes to vis;*
her grandmother, Mrs. A. A. h
eawe 1 telef honed. and a i
ed when -he would he coming
a^ain.
**l arn hoping she will be here
on her birthday, March 31 *
said Mr Sea well.
When she mentioned her
granddaughter's television en
gagement she said that the
parents were careful to sl-e
that Brook'- acting was not
allowed to interfere with her
school work. This recalled to
me the discussions I used to
hear and read, in New York
fifty-odd years ago, about chil
dren's pursuing a life on the
stage without proper regard
for their health and their
schooling. The New Y'ork State
Legislature enacted laws to
prevent such neglect arid the.-e
afford good protection. But. no
laws take the place of watch
ful parents.
Mrs. Seawell’s two sons, Mal
colm, a judge, and A. A. ¥.,
a lawyer in one of the military
departments in the Pentagon
in Washington, were here on
a visit to her a few days ago.
She hopes Don will be able to
come when his daughter corne
as; 1 believe it has the power
to do—-to the voters of the
present town as well as the
voters of the area proposed
for annexation with full pub
licity as to all the costs in
volved. A favorable vote in
both areas could then he taken
in good faith as assurance
that annexation would he fol
lowed by appioval of the bond
issue.
We would like to come iri,
hut would also like to he sure
that we are welcome.
Faithfully your.-,
Earn he rt Davis
TTH Greenwood Road
On the Town
*'■■■• ** By Chnrk Hauser , .:■> s,. .. <
THE UNIVERSITY DEAN OF Student Affairs,
Fred Weaver, would profit, I think, from a careful
reading of the report of the Visiting Committee of the
Board of Trustees. That report, turned over to the
full board in Raleigh on Monday, included the fol
lowing comments, as quoted by the Daily Tar Heel:
“The most annoying matter affecting student
life, and, indeed, the entire campus and community,
is that of the increasing number of automobiles . . .
The problem is one rather of traffic than of the effect
of automobiles upon student morale and scholastic
standing. • Except in isolated instances, whether or
not a student possesses a car does not seem to affect
his college career. In Chapel Hill, through the co
operation of the office of the Dean of Student Affairs,
the town officials, and the students themselves, gen
uine and sincere efforts are being made to handle
the whole problem . .
The second sentence in the excerpt above is the one
to which I would particularly like to call Dean Weaver’s
attention.
Now let me say at the beginning that Dean Weav
er's position on one facet of the automobile problem
is quite clear: he has gone on record as firmly op
posing any restriction on student ownership of auto
mobiles. 1 appreciate his candor, but I am not in sym
pathy with the lofty and unrealistic reason Dean Weav
er gives for his position: that any such restriction on
ownership would violate traditional principles of student
freedom.
The important thing here—and I wish to again
point to the second sentence of the excerpt from the
report—is that the automobile problem is a traffic
problem. High-sounding ideals about student freedom
haven’t got a cotton-picking thing to do with the
fact that Chapel Hill’s streets are jammed with more
cars than they can handle. That is why I say Dean
Weaver’s position is unrealistic. It is fine for him to
defend student freedom, but what is he going to do
about the traffic problem?
That brings us to the last sentence which I quoted
from the report—the sentence which says “genuine
and sincere efforts” are being made to handle (I hope
that means “solve”) the problem. I say that genuine
and sincere attempts are not being made to handle
the problem—at least not by ihe office of the Dean
of Student Affairs. The reason I make that rather
strong statement is that Dean Weaver has refuted
the “genuine and sincere” proposition by his own state
ment that his mind is closed to the suggestion that
student ownership of automobiles be restricted.
Any genuine and sincere approach to the traffic
problem in Chapel Hill must include serious con
sideration of restriction of ownership of automobiles
by students. I am not saying that such restriction is
the only solution to the problem; I am saying that
it is a possible solution, and it cannot be ignored by
anybody who claims to be making a genuine and sin
cere effort to solve (pardon, the word was "handle”)
the problem.
♦** * ‘
I HATE TO BE BIC’AYUNISH about these things,
but it does seem that members of the Board of Trustees
of a great state university could use the English
language properly. 1 quote two brief excerpts from
the Visiting Committee report:
“• • • One in every five students now in attendance
is married—and the concensus of opinion is that the
number will increase . . The error hepe is, of course,
the use of the redundant phrase "of opinion” after
the word “concensus.”
“. . . Except in isolated instances, whether or not
a student possesses a car does not seem to affect his
college career . . .” There may be room for debate on
this [stint, but it is my impression that here we have
a redundancy in the phrase “or not” which follows
the word “whether.” It is correct to say, “I don’t
(Continued on Page 8)
fJWi 6oos f0r. ...
SAVINGS ?
•
Are you*getting your fair share of the money ynu
earn.' Or do you pay somebody else . . . the butcher,
the baker, the electric-light maker . . . and fail to
keep a cut of your paycheck for yourself? Start
now to make sure you do get your share . . . save
before you spend. First thing every payday, deposit
a part of your earnings with the Orange County
Ruilding & I-oan . . . get the habit of saving regu
larly, and see how fast your money grows. Open a
Savings Account with us, soon.
Deposits Made By 10th
Barn Interest From Ist
ORANGE COUNTY
■W MB MM MSMUTUM
West Franklin St. Tel. 9-8761
' 1 -.■ . ii i lilt iin iiiiinif—wtrmm
Friday. March 2, 1956