5 it t? Ifl r i h k 1 i ti p r r * s
and
<Lkr itttijltlmtfts iftacaitinn
Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press
At Franklin, North Carolina i .
Telephone No. 24
VOL. LXI Number twenty-one |
WEIMAR JONES Editor-Publisher |
S North Carolina yk
/mss ASS0CiAn<?jj9j
Entered at the Post Olfice, Franklin, N. C? as second class matter
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?ingle Copy 05
Good News
A .WOl'XCI.MKXT In the Van Raalte compam
that it has decided to come into Macon County
- to start a relatively small glove-making opera
tion immediately, and to build a textile plant in
Hast Franklin as soon as building materials can l)e
obtained ? is good news. While it is good news on
all counts, a particularly gratifying feature of the
announcement is the statement that 3D to per
cent of those employed in the plant will be Macon
County ex servicemen.
And it is no mere gesture of politeness to say
that a warm welcome from the people of this com
munttv. awaits the Van Raalte firm; it is simply a
statement of fact.
Not jus1 because the decision of the firm to build
a plant here means another Macoji County payroll,
desirable as another payroll may be. For a payroll
alone is" not enough: there are payrolls, in fact,
that might be brought here which would be of ex
tremely doubtful value.
Hut the Van Raalte name is widely and favorably
known, and local officials, during the negotiations
with the company, found abundant evidence that
the Van Raalte company will do more than bring
additional business to Macon County; that it's
? oming will mean the addition to the communitv
of a good citizen ? in its personnel, in its labor re
lations. and in its civic attitude.
There was nothing sudden or accidental about
the company's selection of Franklin for one of its
new plants. The decision to come was reached only
after months of investigation, study, and negotia- ?
tion. I'nder the leadership of Mayor T. VV. Angel,
lr? local official's, with the cooperation of certain
organizations and individuals, have been working
quietly but tirelessly on the project ever since early
last fall. One difficulty after another arose, and one
after another, they were surmounted. For their suc
cessful efforts, these individuals and groups are due
the gratitude of the community,
i
Who's To Blame?
"I'mlitics is rotten."
H nv often that remark is heard ! with the added
com 1 ent that, because it is rotten, the person damn
ing i will have nothing to d?,? with it /not even to
votii . ? tj. - .. '?
Ai 1 1 if it is rotten, what made it ye?
ii our system .of government^ If it-' is, the
; have the power, to change tha't syfeMiu'.,
the polit fetalis? If it is, the vtiWrs gffi'e them
power. The. voters are- the op who "create
jnliticians; the voters are the ?pnes who put
office fit' defeat them : the 4&ters are the
in fact.'fo' whose prejudices atpl imKffqreiiee
the ijilitician appeals, when he "plafS poHtk'S"1Nt
is til/
sarv.l
"'J
contq
il is,
I he ,s|
It
and
is
vote
Is
theji|
the
men
ones
Voters who make it profitable, even neces
or ihe pfjACQ scejvcv to stoop to petty politics*
lis it the indifference of the voters who are
i|t to damn politics and let it go at that? If
he voters, and the voters alone, can remedy
(nation.
boils down. Mr. and Mrs. Citizen, to you
e. If politics is rotten, the fault is ours.
Register Saturday for Bond Election
Th ? best laid plans of mine and men often ? go
SN A V. ' ? ?
Bei ; use. 'iff a technicality, the Town of Franklin
must lold another election, in order to authorize
bond ssues for street improvements and extension
of \vi er ajid .sewer lines.
Th ? voters overwhelmingly favored issuance of
bond: for these purposes when the question was
prese 1 cd to them last December. Today, the need
is ever more acute, for the town is growing. If it is
to rortinuc to grriw? and all the evidence is that
little (snort of a disaster of some sort can prevent
its continued growth ? it must be prepared t.o pro
vide t"hese public services for its new, as well as its
old, businesses and homes. Viewing the growth of
the past six months, and considering the indications
LETTERS
? UAXGKR AHKAD
Dear Mr. Jones:
Regardless of one's views, it seems to me that the inclosed
letter, clipped from The Clayton Tribune, contains food for i
thought, and x suggest you reprint it.
Very truly.
Inc. W. C. ZICKGRAF.
Editor of The Clayton Tribune:
You will perhaps recall that I wrote an agonized article for
your paper in June, 1940, when Trance fell. I thought then,
and think now, that our country and world democracy was
in grave danger at that time. However, the tremendous
weight of the industrial might of the United States pulled us
safely through that danger. Pulled us through to what?
Once again I am alprmed, since I feel that the country is
drilting almost unknowingly ' toward confusion and anarchy.
After V-J Day all thought of co-operation was thrown to
the winds, and grab, graft and selfishness became the order
of the day. We beat the Germans and -the Japs, but to what
end if we cannot rule our own house rightly and decently?
There is strile and dissension among us; the causes are deep
seated and ? we must realize? they are almost insoluble.
All over our broad and once prosperous land, there are
strikes and more strikes. Whenever one section of labor de
mands a raise of 30 per cent and gets I6V4 per cent, we hestve
a sigh of relief, but no sooner is that group satisfied than an
other group strikes for more pay. They get more pay, because
there does not seem to be anything else the frightened nego
tiators can do. But no principles are settled, and the same
group will soon be asking for more money. To satisfy the
labor bosses, who make more and more demands, the big cor
porations just raise prices and the deienseless public pays the
bill.
When is all this going to stop? Will labor ever be satisfied?
Will prices ever stop l-ising? How long will the public be able
to pay the bills? What's going to happen to the vast middle
class, lying prostrate and helpless between organized labor
and concentrated Wealth, controlled and operated by a icw
large corporations?
This country is drifting towards anarchy and civil war, un
less a major operation is soon made upon our body politic. It
is only natural that labor should demand higher wages and
better working conditions. It is only natural that stockholders
in large corporations should want and demand a fair profit
on their investments. If the corporation does not pay interest
on the investment, the corporation will go broke, and soon
there will be no capitalist and no corporation. What would
that leave? Perhaps labor could take over the corporation and
run it for its own benefit, but in such a case you would still
have a corporation, operated for the benefit of stockholders,
all of whom would be the laborers. Perhaps the laborers
would decide to take all the profit for themselves and not
have any dividends declared on the profits. Perhaps, the
Labor Corporation would eliminate all profits. What would
we have then? Why, we would have a collectivist state. The
central government would then fix hours of work, rates of
pay, and the laborers could take it or leave it. If all labor was "
regulated by law, very soon the lives of all citizens would be
regulated as to hours of work, and rates of pay. All citizens
would level off to one class as in Russia, have the same work
ing hours, the same rates of pay, the same living conditions,
the same lack of incentive to work more, or to strive to better
their own living conditions.
Let us by all means be honest and frank with ourselves. If
we are drifting into another form of government, or no gov
ernment at all, let us realize it, and know what we are going
into. If our elected leaders in congress and in the executive
department realize the dangerous potentialities of the situa
tion, they do not publicly show much concern over it.
Frankly, I do not know the answers, but I hope there are
others who do. I hope there are wise men, and public spirited
men in our public life who know the answers. Certainly, it is
true that individual selfishness is at the bottom of all our
troubles, and men being what they are, I could not change
them, if I would.
The fabric of our daily living in this country is closely
woven. There may have been a time in the early days when
an individual could be an individual, living alone, every man
for himself, the devil take the hindmost. But that time is
past, now it is diflerent in that every citizen is in a way
dependent upon every other citizen for his daily bread. We
are dependent upon the coal in the ground, the oil in tanks,
the electric power in our rivers. We must have these things
in our daily lives, or return to the primitive life of savages.
Trying to look at this serious matter in an impersonal sort
of way, trying to be unbiased and unprejudiced, and being
isolated as I am, I can see from afar no good of it, only
danger and disaster in these labor wars. There is no good in
it even for the laboring man, for if our capitalistic system
goes down, so does the laboring man go down. There won't be
any employers with whom to bargain, only a dictator to give
orders to work.
Now, L am not blaming anjf in
men for our unfortunate situatlo
man, or any organized band of
Ion. I am merely trying to raise
the <Ja.nger signal, so that disaster may be avoided in some
Way? by the concerted action
private life. It's too much foi
but I do know, where, we af
?towards nationaY tsonfiision. diarchy and civil war. We failed
to avoid one civil' v/aif; whal
avoid another one: -Qfcajoe si.
ning, watcbii?8 and^Shting ({:
live- with ouyselvj^,
. (Editor's N0te:' A ?few of trtd
West's tettt H' hav'e TfeSfT omittT
of our leaders in public and
me; I don't know the answers
headed, and that very soon:
a pity it would be to fail to
ilin sits on the side lines, grin
the outcome of our effort to
J. Q. WEST.
less important sections of Mr.
f In the interest of space.)
in the immediate future,
s become convinced that
iginally was proposed to
!e for today's increased
has suggested to the
ids should he authorized,
e held that, for the elec
tof the voters registered
e bonds, and that there
of what may be expecte
the board of aldermen 1
the $W,<XX) in bonds' it <
sell would hardly prov!
yeeds. Looking ahead,
people that $120,(X)0 in b
The bond at.torifdys h;
ti.6n to be valid, a major
must ballot in- fav<>r< of
must be a new. special jijegistration for the bond
election of June 2.x iTh^b special registration will
Ik* held from May 25 through June 15.
It is to be hoped, tHat tf ere will be a heavy regis
..i t;v..~i.i: ? ? regardless of their party
jS, and that they will reg
i clin voters who are Dein
| particularlv convenient
day for registration; for they can register for the
bond election when they go to the courthouse to
vote in tl .-o primary.
tration of Franklin vote^
or their views -on the bon
ister early. For those Frah
ocrats, Saturday will be
A good thing to remember,
And a better thing to do,
Is to work with the construction gang
And not with the wrecking crew. ? Anon.
Judge not thy friend until thou standest In his place.
?Rabbi Hlllel.
The Rev. Charles E. Parker,
pastor of the Franklin Baptist
church, returned this week froin
Miami. Fla., where he attended
the Southern Baptist conven
tion. He spent the week-end vis
iting the Baptist mission field
in Cuba.
Average depth of oil wells
drilled in the United States in
1945 was the greatest in his
tory ? 3,469 feet.
Chapel Ichool
Presents
I EMMANUEL MANSFIELD
I
Famous Negro Tenor
in Concert at
4 I
Franklin Courthouse
"
May 26 and 27 ? 8 p. m.
.
A Section of Seats Re served for White Persons
Admission 50c and $1.00
totken
Tt
7/ie Beat Pant
of- the Meat"
NOTICE
To men interested in pulling
Rhododendron and Laurel
BURL
We are again buying the top grade of burl
at a slightly reduced price.
SEE US FOR SPECIFICATIONS
BEFORE PULLING ANY STUMPS
? i
Highlands Briar, Inc.
Franklin, N. C.
BECAUSE IT'S FULL-STRENGTH ? this active fresh
Yeast goes right to work. No waiting? no extra
steps! And Fleischmann's fresh Yeast helps make
bread that tastes sweeter, is lighter, finer-textured
every time. |f YQU BAK? AT HOMg
?be sure to
get Fleischmann's active fresh Yeast
with the familiar yellow label. Depend
able ? America's time- tested favorite
for more than 70 years.
L ? HtUSt
HI