Page Two
The Chapel Hill Weekly
Cfcape! Hifi. North Carolina
hHUMi Ewry MaaSa; mad TkarMby
% TW Ck&pr HiE PaMbtog Cww, Hw-
Louis Guvc - Ccmrnbtmng Editor
Jot Jokes Me Edam*
ri-Ti -i Campbell Sraertl
Juib E Cktchd Acoert tlancfft^
Chaklto* Ci-*o*BELi Afechcmcof Sip:
Mammrtic m aoM-cMi ir.. *ur F*t«ru«ry * MS w
Ohs poer afjir* at CSxipe. HiL Noru Jmraimm. imtm
She- at- rr» ».*--•* : IX7V
St BSCEimO?* RATES
lx Oraxgt C-ouiitj Year ~ J4.OC
<€ tf.ortt tL2i- ; t in amt*. HJbf >
Outtiot of Orsngt County by ti»e T «*r
Stole* of X C. ai*c E C. A.W
Other Stale? «.<c Dart of Golntnoi* _ fc.W
Coahos. Mexiec feouii A Aeries . —_ ’i-W*
Eorop* _ '*W
Too Mtnuf>c£j!t Events
It 1 sometimes said. "The UrJvereuty
of Son: (arolmt if fam out beyond
the border* of in* rtau. >r. tin nation
al and international scene, much m r*
sc- than n *? famous tr:inm h-> rtau.",
That ma;> or may not > .<*.• The
companion if com; • >.
However, it is true that the t‘ni
versity hat big- standing among in
stitution* of higher learning the
world, ai.u tvi * ,er.t- wmor. «. -x ;r
her' during the first
provide am pi* . .
In the fir ft puace. a c-oiigre,-, 4 of in
ternationi scholar* in the field of com
parative irteraturt will come here. To.*'
is a Eigna. indication of the nature of
the humaa ti' • the ciaetiice the langu*
arec in the Vmveri.ty. Mo-re than 200
specialist* in literature will convene
here. M r *re thar. twenty nations of the
earth w..\ he re;ir< -ented. In the i<-o
toref. in the pa;-ers to be presented and
in the planr»“d discussions, several
member* of the faculty here have been
selected to piay leading roles Berner
Friederich is the American Secretary;
be is largely responsible for the con
gress *a being neid here, Ik.* is a <- • -pic
uoub figure in ntemationa! group- 'if
learned scholar'- and he is a m<mber
of our faculty ■ Germanic languages.
In the second paace, the University
has been put on the itinerary for a visit
tv 15 British Commonwealth university
chancellors or educational leaders, be
ginning September 16 A large number
of British educators will come to
America, and tours have been project
. ed, so that the visitors may see uni
versity life in the United States. The
fact tnat the University of North Caro
lina has been put on th* program as
one of the host institutions .« the oc
casion for quiet pride and a challenge
to us to shew the visitors that we in
tend to ask as well &<- answer questions
about educational systems, to remain
open minded and to prof.t by the ex
change of information when our own
faculty members her* meet with the
British visitors and difc' u*s ideas with
them.
Favorable Judgments on Uongr«*»
Newspaper and magazine editors,
Washington correspondents, columnists,
political lea/J**r«, and other j>ersoris who
make it their business to tell the world
have been pronouncing their judgments
on the recent Uongrt,-.-. 'i'here has been
lamentation in this or that comment
over the defeat of this or that bill, but
on balance the judgment have been
distinctly favorable.
"By any yardstick,” . avs th** Christ
ian Science Monitor, "this was an ex
traordinary Congress. Some critics
charge that it did not sufficiently face
up to a new age. Even so, it broke
much new ground a space agency,
the first civil rights legis ation in HO
years, the first admission of a State
since 1012, a major men-ure revising
farm policy, a new accounting method
for the budget, a humane slaughtering
bill, new controls for air traffic, a
measure checking billboards on the new
federal highway system, tax relief for
small business, higher postal rates,
higher Social .Security taxes.”
The Raleigh News and Observer
says: “This Congress was far above
the average . . . The list of important
measures passed in a satisfactory form
is a very impressive one ... On matters
affecting international affairs and na
tional security the Congress acted with
rare unanimity ... 4km, the 86th Con
giea acted responsibly and obtained
worthwhile, results in the field of in
vestigation . . . The 86th Congress was
a food one by any standard."
The New York Times thinks Con-
gresf made "a creditable record of leg
islative accompushmer.ts ... It pursued
a middle-of-the-road course which just
about represent? the temper of both
the Administration and the American
people ... It passed highway and emer
gence housing Jegssiatjoo . . . The ad*
miaslon : Alaska was an act of major
important-- .A number of important
lavs tout’' . p on extraterrestrial and
foreign affairs were enacted. . . It fa.ied
to act ■>: Presidential disability
(though die pas.- a needed pension
bi:. 1 for cx-Prv-.dezf.- .It failed to take
effective act;•• v p'-.ice the ethics of
o«*n jr.' mberfhip These are serious
omission?* But a', tnings considered,
the 85th < =ngr<-s> c . remarkably v *."
The Chari *r.e News says: “The 85th
Congre*-- » r.stc’t -a remarkable amount
of con strut t,". - o-g.-.at. t. . . . There
wa- an ab— rv*- ■>* exercise ir. partisan
ship ... It fa.i* ' pass corrective
legislation ir. th.- «ab r fie.d It a.*-"'
fa. .ed v i:a - *-t - * f.e cau,>*. f'-r uix
ethical Ft&r.uards government, in
cluding it v .rtrlbßtion* to tr.is
iax:ty .. . But erail the record wa-
Kubstant.a . Tr* ' r.grt-- reacted b
< r v * ■ v respon. »-
ties.”
“Erten- /•!, .f r*- .procai trade
thorizati r. • wa.- ;.*• rhrps the r/ .-t c' r.-
struct.-ve accorr.p...-: men*, of the se-
Sid®,” say- tr* Isurhami Herald. •'Th
failure to era*-* .av ;r- vidlng f- r the
better reguiat: r. of .abc-r union* »u
--the most con-; ?/u- failure. Now that
t rie se* no -n of the Xsth Congre--
has adjourned a;; •...-a. of .t- record
shows in s.ev»ra ar* u- .-o!.d, construc
tive acme'. em<: t.
Here I have gr.en examples of fav
orable judgment- on the 85th Congr* --.
I expect to give .*. a later issue one or
more exam; < - cf unfavorable .:udg
ments. — Lb
FerKimmori' Kipe
Proof tnat pers.mjTiOhs don't have
t/j Ik.- fro-'t-Ltten lx*fore they are r.
is evident or. the tree n front of Phil
lips Hall.
The phy.-icu.-ts:, ma‘ hematicians and
statisticians who work in ti.at building
can walk out in thia early September
warmth and bee rijK- persimmons fall
ing to the ground, and other i.scioua
persimmons browning and gingerly
ready to fall.
The ones that are ripe now—and
d'/zens of them are ready for plucking
—are tangy and good.
Jt will Ik* weeks before the frost
bites, and meanwhile there are plenty
of good persimmons to b< had.
The Boisterous Students of 1856
(from Hemp S'. BtUir’t Hiktory of Ihe
l el**-r*il> of Nurtfc ( arolmal
It was in the year of 1856 that
the Executive Committer* of the Trus
tees passed a resolution that they beard
with deep regret of gross irregulari
ties by students on railroad cars and
at circuses and other places. The specifi
cation in regard to misconduct on the
railroad cars was that once when a
large number of students were travel
ing together in the rear coach their
conduct was so boisterous that the con
ductor switched it off on a siding, un
coupled it, and started off with the
rest of the train. The coach was recoup
ed to the train only afti-r distress sig
nals and promises of reformation of be
havior.
How much of the bad conduct was
due to the natural buoyancy of spirits
at release from duties, and how much
to the artificial buoyancy of John Bar
leycorn, is not known.
The incident was widely publicized
and the ha/1 conduct was asserted to
be the habitual behavior of University
students when traveling The Faculty
and especially President Swain were
greatly moved by the censure of the
committee. The President drew up a
paper, which was passed by the Facul
ty, declaring that the stories were great
ly exaggerated; that all diligence was
used in carrying out the laws of the
University; that it was absolutely im
possible to prevent sporadic breaches
of discipline; and that punishment was
duly inflicted for all detected infrac
tions.”
The Tastes of a Brest Scientist
(Kroon Chart** Darwin’* Autobiography)
Up to the age of thirty, or beyond
it, poetry of many kinds, such as the
works of Milton, Gray, Byron, Words
worth, Coleridge, and Shelley gave me
great pleasure, and even as a school
boy I took intense delight in Shakes
peare, especially in the historical plays.
But now for many yean I cannot en
dure to read a line es poetry. I have
THE CHAPEL HILL WEEKLY
“Any Good Leads On Those Bank Robbers. Omm?”
Now and Then
Next Monday Chapel Hill'- young
ster.-. bke those of every other t* •*. r;
in, the United States, win be going
back to school. Some of them v.. be
eager to ret ,rn, to see again their
friends of last year and to find out
what they’ve been doing throughout
the summer months. Some will be a
little reluctant to give up the glorious
fre«* hour of the summer holidays.
O 1 h'-rs, perhaps only a few, will be
downright unhappy about tne whole
b isinef s.
But no matter what their attitudes.
Jhe-e youngsters are extremely fortu
nate*. They are, though they don’t rea
li/.<* it of course, taking an active part
ir. one of the great -'biological experi
ments of all time- the free public
school.
And while there are some who
would doubt the practicability of an
absolutely free and compulsory edu
cation for all children regardless of
their abilities and aptitudes, no one
can deny the obvious advantages of
the system, or, perhap even more im
portantly, the kindrn - - represented by
this opportunity for all children to
avail themselves of a free education.
No single year in this great Ameri
can experiment is as important as the
first, nor any day a* exacting or as
adventuresome for youngsters and par
ents alike as the opening day of the
first year.
tried lately In read .Shakespeare, and
found it intolerably dull. 1 have also
lost my taste for music. Music general
ly sets me thinking too energetically
on what I have been at. work on, instead
of giving me pleasure.
On the other hand, novels have been
for years a wonderful relief and plea
sure to me, and I often bless all novel
ists. A surprising number of novels
have been read aloud to me, and 1 like
all if moderately good, and if they do
not end unhappily- against which a
law ought to be passed. A novel, accord
ing to my taste, does not come into
the first class unless it. contains some
person whom one can thoroughly love,
and if a pretty woman all the better.
This curious and lamentable loss of
the higher aesthetic tastes is all the
odder, aa books on history, biographies,
and travels (independently of any scien
tific facta which they may contain),
and essays on all sorts of subjects in
terest me as much as ever they did.
My mind seems to have become a kind
of machine for grinding general laws
out of large collections of facta, but why
this should have caused the atrophy
of that part of the brain alone, on
which the higher tastes depend, I can
not conceive.
1 he first day of school is one of the
greatest events in t.c< j life of any child
a day he may we . remember with
mixed emotions, but a day he will never
Jor/et. And no matter how well he
has been counseled by his parents, he
wo, rn«-et some startling new situations,
thrusting problems upon him that he
mu-t ~olve for the first time, prob
lems that he had heretofore handed
bo with a passing thought to mom or
dad.
or will the “advantage-’’ the pres
i nt-day child has over kids of other
generations, such as knowledge gained
through radio, TV and an inexhaustible
■ upply of children’s books, make the
experiment for next week any easier
or le • - mysterious for the present-day
first graders. His is not a problem that
worldim -Ail] cure. His is a matter of
adjustment, of subduing, voluntarily or
otherwn -e, his ego for the benefit of the
group. He must change his role from
that of principal actor to that of a min
or part, or even an “extra,” and it must
be done 'puickly if h<- is to get along.
Yet every year thousands upon
thousands of American youngsters in
our first grades do adjust themselves
to this departure from their former
way of life.
That they do so with such facility
and with so little fuss is an accolade
to the first grade teachers in our public
school system. At no other time in
the life of the school child is he so
pliable in character or is he in such
great need for wise and loving counsel
as he is in the first grade. This is in
no way, of course, meant to minimize
the importance of the other teachers
in our public school system, or to im
ply that they are not fully as com
petent as the first grade teachers.
Hut to the first grade teachers goes
the responsibility of becoming the first
great influence upon our children out
side their homes. It is an awesome
responsibility; and without exaggera
tion, it isn’t too much to say that the
future of America (the country of uni
versal public schools) depends to no
little extent on the competency and in
dustry of the handful of first-year
teachers in our public schools.
And yet there seems to be no parti
cular anxiety on the part of parents
who will enter their children in our
first grades this year as to the ability
or conscientiousness of the people who
will teach these sections.
This shows, it would seem, either
an unwarranted apathy, or a profound
and abiding confidence in our public
school system. It must be the latter, for
•vary year our schools are becoming
more and more an inextricable part of
our way of life.
B> Bill Frouty
1 Like Chapel Hill
By Billy Arthur
Robert Burns said something about "the best-laid
schemes o’ mice and men gang aft a-gley.”
Now, I don’t know what that “gang aft a-gley” means,
but Kay Kyser, Vic Huggins, Sarge Keller and I could
tell ole Burns something about plans going snafu.
At the Chapel Hill Athletic Club’s welcome party
for the football team, we planned a bang-up skit. Bang
in more ways than one.
Sarge Keller was to dress as an N. C. State cheer
leader, carrying a tremendous red balloon with the
score of last year’s UNC-State game emblazoned upon
it. I was to chase him through Lenoir Hall, comer him
on the stage, fire a blunderbuss which would make a
terrific noise, and State’s balloon would burst. That was j
to start the "beat State” tempo.
Well! About 15 minuter before time for us to “go
on we began looking for the props, hidden in a dark
room with painters’ supplies on the south end of Lenoir
Hall. ,
First, we couldn't find the big red balloon. Then, I
-tarted hunting for my shotgun. It was missing, too.
'Continued on Page 3'
CHAPEL HILL CHAFE
(Continued from Page 1)
physical education faculty, that he wanted to get the
book, "General Uhemistry,” by E. ('. Markham and
Sherman Smith. (One of the authors is on the faculty
here now, the other used to be here but is now in the
J ?1 versity of New Mexico.) Mr. Konrnan asked the
advice of Mr. Martin of the chemistry faculty. Mr. Mar
tin said that this “General Uhemistry” was a college
textbook and was far too advanced for an 11-year-old
boy. When Mr. Ronman reported on his talk with Mr.
Martin, Pete said:
“Well, I’ve already got tin* book. It cost $7.80 and
I paid for it out of my own savings.” His savings were *
made up of his pocket money allowance and money he
had earned cleaning up around the house and yard,
washing dishes, and other chores. He had already
bought, from the same treasury, "Introduction to Or
ganic Uhemistry,” by Fieser and Fi.eser, and “Peace
time U-es of Atomic Energy,” by Martin Manning.
He has a laboratory in the Ronman basement and
i thoroughly competent, his father tells us, not to brew
any mixtures that will cause an explosion and wreck
the house.
* * *
One of the most entertaining books I’ve read in a
long time is "Horse and Buggy Days at Hatchet Creek,”
by Mitchell B. Garrett, who retired from the Univer
sity faculty six years ago and is now living in up
state New York.
Mr. Garrett is distinguished as a historian. "The
Estates General of 1781” won for him the Mayflower
award, and he is the author of "The French Colonial
Question,” "Europe Since 1815,” and various mono
graphs which have appeared in scholarly journals. I
don t know whether or not he is still concerning him
self with the affairs of the great world; if so, I am glad
he has turned his attention from them long enough to W
write this history of his boyhood in Alabama.
The vividness of the picture he gives of the life led
by the Garrett family and their neighbors, his simple,
direct style, and his humor make this a delightful story
indeed.
The time was the 1880’s, the place was the little
community of Hatchet Creek in the foothills of east
Alabama, and the people were farmers, storekeepers,
grist millers, preachers, school teachers, housewives,
boys and girls.
The chapter headings indicate the character of the
book. Among them are “Land-Owners and Share Crop
pers,” “My Experience as a School Boy,” "Animal Hus
bandry or What You Will,” and “Community Activities.”
The chapters I like best are "Shelter, Food, and Cloth
ing,” “Mow We Made a Living,” and “Churches and
Religion and Practices.”
Mr. Garrett tells of visiting, with his brother War- *
ner, the place where they had been born and brought
up: “ As J sat musing on the broken sill of the old
milldam, the idea of writing a book about our way of
life began to take shape in my mind. It was away
of life well worth looking back on—no housing short
age, no fuel shortage, no atom bombs, no haunting fear
of a third World War. Why not escape from the worries
of the present to the peace and simplicity of the past?’
Mr. Garrett names some of the topics of conversation
at gatherings of neighbors in these days in upstate New
York, "the existing international tension, the possibili
ties inherent in nuclear energy, the danger of creeping
inflation, the corruption jn politics, the wickedness of
people in general," and so on. One favored topic is
the shortcomings of the rising generation, boys and
girls who flee from towns to the city in quest of easier
work and shorter hours.”
“As I listen to such talk,” writes Mr. Garrett in <0
his final paragraph, “1 recall having read somewhere
about a cuneiform tablet dug up by archaelogists in
the ruins of an ancient city in the Near East, a city
which had ceased to exist two thousand years before
the birth of Christ. When the inscription on the tablet
had been deciphered it was found to read as follows:
‘Children no longer obey their parents; the world ia
coming to an end; everybody is trying to write a book.’ ”
Mr. Garrett’s book was published by the University
of Alabama Press.
I ■III | 1 —MB || J| M
ntOMToMMiaauutA*^
vr w^%wf Lev*9nKHßwjPt- UKfIBCHHL-dH'IKMJM 'i
Thursday, September 4, 1958