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?very Thursday by The Franklin Press
At rranklln, North Carolina
Nyaber t
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We A re Honored
The announcement last week of William B. Um
stead, who had . been expected to oppose Senator
Frank P. Graham in this spring's primary election,
that he will not be a candidate removed all foresee
able opposition to Senator Graham's renomination
|nd reelection.
! In doing so, it also removed any possible political
lificance from Senator Graham's visit to Macon
junty next week to address the annual dinner
leeting of the Franklin Chamber of Commerce
Wednesday evening. Before the Uinstead announce
ment, some i>ersons might have seen Senator Gra
as here in the role of a candidate seeking votes ;
mv there can be no such thought in anyone's mind,
istead, he will be here as the junior representative
the .people of North Carolina in the United States
enate.
In having him as our guest, we in Macon County
kHll be honored. We will be playing host not only
tto a man who holds high public office, but to a
person who is a great human being; for Dr. Gra
lam, had he never held office, would stand out
(among his fellows. His mind, his personality, his
courage, his honesty, and his humility make him a
great American, quite aside from position.
And like all great men, he remains simple and
^unassuming. To thousands of average citizens who
Tinew him a quarter of a century ago, he still is just
plain "Frank Graham", and to tens of thousands of
[former students at the University he remains simply
"Dr. Frank".
Bouquet
Bb It is always easy, after a thing is done, to , point
Bout how jt could have been done better. And nobody
f would have difficulty in pointing out mistakes that
Lhave been made in connection with Macon County's
fcpchool building program.
g It is obvious, now, for example, that the original
Building program, as it was outlined by school
^authorities in 1945, was unbalanced. It is even more
Rpbvious that the $400,000 with which, it was pro
posed to complete the program was far frojii
Penough, even for what it was proposed to build in
F 1945.
f But the point is not that mistakes have been
made. The point is that school authorities have rec
ognized them, and have taken steps to> correct
them. Instead of $400,000, it is now proposed to
spend $875.000 ? $361,000 to come from the state,
and $514,000 from a county bond issue.
There have been occasions when this newspaper
was critical of local school authorities ; it may be
critical again. But now it wishes to be the first to
congratulate the county superintendent, the board
of education, and the board of county commission
ers for facing the facts as they are, and trying tcx
do something about them.
. And because it takes courage to admit mistakes,
it suggests that bouquets are especially due the
county superintendent and those members of the
'board of education who were on the board four
years ago.
Once Again
Once again the National Foundation for Infantile
Paralysis, with, its annual March of Dimes, appeals
to the American people for money to carry on the
fight against polio ? money to seek the causes of
this dread disease, money to find, and apply, better
methods of treatment, and money to help ameliorate
poJio's crippling effects.
And once again the people of Macon County will
respond. For nothing so touches us all as tragedy
in the life of a child ; and nowhere, perhaps, are the
hearts of men and -waiuMUofter, when it comes to.
children, than here in tn?lWn?^ins of Western
North Carolina.
The March of Dimes, as always here, will swiftly
become a March of Dollars.
Tempus fugi t s and fame is fleeting : Chancel are
there are thousands of young Americans who had
never heard of Herbert Hoover until he came for
ward with his government reorganization plans.
Mr, WUtmift ImIhi
ftinifollriitlMi In Mtcon County farmihg in
" Hie p&st ckeitffe h&i bfefcHh'ftthing ihort of r?V6lu
tionary. And nobody, With the possible exception of
County Agent S. W. Mendenhall an<f his able asso
ciates in the Extension Service here, has idone more
to change the face of rural Macon than E. J. Whit
mire, Jr.
As a teacher of vocational agriculture in the con
solidated school at Eranklin, and Later both as a
teacher and as director of the veterans' farm train
ing program, Mr. Whitmire has helped to bring
about % radical change, first of all, in the atttitiule
of farm folk. For he has shown these young people
how to bring scientific management into their farm
ing operations, and in so doing he has given them
new hope.
The time was when a man farmed only if he
couldn't do anything else. That time has passed.
Atvl the old attitude which counted on failure, or,
at best, moderate success, is gone. In its place has
come a "success complex". These young men expect
to be successful? and they are.
His friends will wish Mr. Whitmire success in his
new field, but that wish will be tinged with sadness,
for he will be sorely missed in Macon County educa
tion and Macon County agriculture.
Formosa: An Election Issue?
A hundred miles off the east coast of China lies
the island of Formosa. Studded by peaks that tower
uj> to 13,000 feet, cut by deep, heavily forested
gorges, down which swift-rushing streams hurry
to the sea, and on its eastern side dropping preci
pately 6,000 feet to the Pacific, Formosa to the
Chinese is Taiwan ("the beautiful").
One-fourth the size of North Carolina, with a
population double that of this state, Formc.sa has
been a battleground since prehistoric times. The
Chinese finally conquered it in 1683, but in 1895, at
the end of the Chinese-Japanese war, they were
forced to cede it to the Japanese. Fifty years later,
at the end of World War 2, it was returned to
China. Now indications are it will pass to the con
trol of Soviet Rusia, via the Chinese Communists.
It is on Formosa that the Chinese Nationalist
government of Chiang Kai-shek proposes to make
its last .desperate stand. And it was about this
island that President Truman last week made his
blunt statement: "The U. S. government will no.t
provide aid or advice to Chinese forces on For
mosa".
Whether this government is right in writing off
China, turning it over to the Communists without
further effort, is a question that only history can
settle. Dorothy Thompson, one of the best inform
ed .persons in America on the situation, says our
policy toward China has been hopeless ever since
the Yalta conference ; that our final abandonment
of China is in keeping with the decisions at Yalta.
And whether we can afford, for our own safety,
to permit Formosa, on the road from the Philip
pines to Japan, and a bare 200 miles north of the
Philippine Island of Luzon, to fall into Communist
hands is a strategic question for the generals and
the admirals.
There are two other disturbing questions, how
ever, that lie nearer home, and that are not so tech
nical.
The first involves the bi-partisan handling of
foreign policy. This abrupt decision of the Presi
dent oji a major foreign policy was announced with
little or no consultation with senate leaders of either
party. The President gave as his reason lack of
time ; but that explanation is a little lame ? any
newspaper reader has known for weeks that the de
cision had to be made.
The other question has to da with motive.
"The United States", Mr. Truman said, "will not
pursue a course which will lead to involvement in
civil conflict in China'^That is to say, we are going
to stay out of war in the East ; the implication is
that we are going ta stay out of war, at all costs.
Nobody, of course, wants war. But coming in an
election year, and coming at a time when leading
Republicans haw been clamoring for action to pro
tect Formosa, the President's statement sounds sus
piciously like an effort to put the Republicans in the
wrong.
Maybe the President's decision on Formosa is
right ; we.do not pretend to know. But we do know
it would be tragic for him to scuttle the laboriously
developed bi-partisan foreign policy, and to himself
fix a foreign policy, on a basis of vote-getting in
next fall's election.
Letters
. ADDRESSES HOMEMAKERS
Dear Homemakers of Macon County:
What have we achieved as homemakers? This year of 1840
has ended, and we should evaluate our accomplishments as
homemakers.
1? Is our home a better home aplrltually? Have we put
first thlnga first, so that those around us may know we
are living a more Christ-like life?
3? What kind of a home demonstration club members have
we been? Have we attended the meetings regularly and
cooperated with the program for the county?
1? Are we interested in our church, school, and community?
4? Art we Interested In better health for our county And
state?
I hope you attended the club meetings during November, for
It was a very Interesting discussion on improving the hea'.th of
our people. Much time was given by our home agent, Mr*.
Florence Sherrlll; our public nurse, Mrs. Gladys Mae Shope; and
our county sanitarian, Mr. H. T. Collins. Films were shown dis
cussing the prevention of different diseases that are talcing
the lives of our people each year.
May I ask that you take advantage of the good books that
are being delivered to the communities by the bookmobile.
When we read good literature, we are filling our minds with
something wholesome to be passed on to neighbors and friends
Let us all do our share, and maybe more, in all activities
that make our homes, our communities, our state, and our
world a better place for our families to live.
" Let me wish you happiness In the New Year.
MBS. J. S. GRAY.
Franklin, Route 2.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Mrs. Gray is president of the N. C. Fed
eration of Home Demonstration Clubs. She recently attended
a Family Life Conference in Raleigh, and In the above letter
passes along to readers of The Press, and especially home
makers, some of the Ideas brought out at that conference.)
TITHING AGAIN
Editor, Franklin Press:
Perhaps I should apologize for causing you so much trouble.
A few weeks ago I asked a question concerning tithing and the
New Testament church for which I have never received an
answer, although I have received a couple of lectures on tith
ing, one from Hoyt Evans and the other one from Paul Nix.
Paul Nix states that I have raised the question of whether
tithing was taught by Jesus and his disciples. I have never
asked that question because there is only- one reasonable an
swer to that and all well informed and honest Bible readers
know what that is.
I have my question before me in print and here it is: If
the Old Testament plan of tithing was to be continued in the
New Testament church, how are we to account for the fact
that they never preached it? and there is no record of where
any of the New Testament churches ever practiced tithing?
I wish to commend Brother Evans for honesty. He was hon
est enough to concede that the New Testament does not ex
plicitly teaqh that men ought to tithe and that he finds no
record tc indicate that those early churches continued In the
practice. However, he does go on to state his position, which
he has a perfect right to do.
But I consider Brother Nix a little unfair. He seems to take
the position that the New Testament does teach tithing, and
refers to some New Testament Scripture In support of his
theory that has no reference to tithing and, as for myself, I
don't be!leve that Is right. It has always been my conviction
that a preacher ought to use Scripture as proof texts that
apply to his subject.
REV. T. C. McCALL.
Highlands, N. C.
Others' Opinions
MACON SETS A GOOD PACE
Macon County, which had a school bond election bounce
back on It, will try again. The county commissioners have
approved a new election, this time for $514,000 In bonds, to
confirm a decision made earlier but Invalidated by bond at
torneys.
In voting a second time, Macon will raise its sights to pro
vide an additional $114,000 in local funds for a new high
school building at Franklin. Another $360,000 will come to
the county from State building funds. Thus in all Macon will
have some $875,000 for new school plants. This Is on the as
sumption, of course, that the bond issue will be approved.
Macon's situation, which is a good example for the rest of
the mountain region, points up the Importance of local par
ticipation In the school building program. The State of North
Carolina Ls providing $50 million to the 100 counties for their
school plants. However, as the State Education Commission
pointed out last year. North Carolina must spend three times
that much to realize a "minimum" standard of school build
ings.
The rest cf the money will have to come out of local com
munities. Macon is willing to do its share. Other mountain
counties could do no better than to follow Its progressive
lead.? Ashevllle Citizen.
MOUNTAIN SPEECH ON WAY OUT?
Burke Davis tells In The Baltimore Evening Sun of the
gradual extinction of the colorful speech of the Tar Heel
mountaineers, caused by visitors to the Blue Ridge, roads
opening to the Innermost recesses and radios In the homes
which causes some of the "yung'-uns" to Imitate the mellow
rounded speech of the announcers.
Though the speech may change, the !ove of the mountain
man for the hill* remains strong, says Burke Davis, formerly
of Charlotte. A mountaineer went to Piedmont North Caro
lina during the war and when he returned from the flat
lands he told a friend:
"Hit's a downright fright. Why, a body ha* to throw back
hU head to let the iky."
Maybe now l* the time for the ballad singers, the tpeech
preservers and the anthology gatherer* to lncribe the moun
tain speech in history before the radio ahnounoer* and the
tnurUts play hob with the hill country dlaHet*? Twln-Clty
Sentinel.
A> , , .
? V.
NORTH CAROLINA
MACON COUNTY
Under and by virtu* of the
power of sale contained In A
certain deed of trust executed
by 'George Houston and wife,
Iva Mae L. Houston, dated the
12th day of July, 1947, and re
corded In Book No. 40, page 207,
In the Office of the Register of
Deeds of Macoiv County, North
Carolina, default having been
made in the payment of the
indebtedness thereby secured,
and said deed of trust being by
the terms thereof subject to
foreclosure, and the holder of
the Indebtedness thereby secur
ed having requested foreclosure
thereof, the undersigned Trus
tee will offer for sale and sel
at public auction to the highest
bidder for cash at the Court
house door In Franklin, Macon
County, North Carolina, at 12:00
noon, on Monday, the 16th day
of January, 1950, the property
conveyed in said deed of trust,
the same lying and being In
Highlands Townsh p, Macon
County, North Carolina, And
more particularly described as
follows:
BEGINNING at a stake on
the East bank of a creek
and In the West boundary
line of a tract of land deed
ed to C. L. Wood and wife,
by A. R. McGuire, by deed
dated June 8, 1938, recorded
In Deed Book B-5, page 356,
Records of Macon County,
North Carolina, said stake
being situated South 72 deg.
West 2(H) leet trom a stake,
the Northeast corner of the
above-mentioned tract; runs
South 41 deg. East 116 feet
to a stake in the center of
the road; thence, with the -
center of the road, South 40
deg. 45 mln. West 160 feet
to a stake; thence North 55
deg. 05 mln. West 79 feet to
a stake in the creek; thence
with said creek as follows:
North 3 deg. 05 min. East 68
feet; North 55 reg. 50 mln.
East 90 feet; and North 18
deg. 22 min. East 48 feet to
the BEGINNING. Being the
same land described in the
deed from C. L. Wood and
wife to George Houston and
wife dated 3 Ju'y, 1947.
ALSO the road right de
scribed in said deed from C.
L. Wood and wife to George
Houston and wife, dated 3
July, 1947.
This the 13th day of Decem
ber, 1949.
J. H. STOCKTON,
Trustee.
D21 ? 4tc ? J 12
ADMINISTRATRIX' NOTICE
Having qualified as adminis
tratrix of W. A. Huggins, de
ceased, late of Macon County,
N. C., this is to notify all per
sons having claims against the
estate of said deceased to ex
hibit them to the undersigned
on or before the 17 day of De
cember, 1950, or this notice will
be plead In bar of their recov
ery. All persons indebted to said
estate will please make imme
diate settlement.
This 17th day of December,
1949.
MRS. ETHEL HUGGINS,
Administratrix.
D22 6tp ? J26
ADMINISTRATRIX' NOTICE
Having qualified as adminla
lstratrix of Margaret Lorene
Dills Menlrlch, deceased, late of
Macon County, N. C., this is to
notify all persons having claims
against the estate of said de
ceased to exhibit them to the
undersigned on or before the
20 day of December, 1950, or
this notice will be plead In bar
of their recovery. All persons
Indebted to said estate will
please make Immediate settle
ment.
This 20 day of December, lMt.
EXIE DILLS,
Administratrix.
D22 ? 6tp ? J26
Macon
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