?itr jfinutlclin ^Jrrss nu?? (lite .Hi tjhlrtii iWnrmtiitit VOL. LXVII Number 7 Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press At Franklin, North Carolina Telephone No. 24 Entered at Post pffice, Franklin, N. C., as second class matter. WEIMAR JONES - Editor BOB S. SLOAN Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES One Year Six Months Three Months Single Copy ..., Obituary notices, cards of thanks, tributes of respect, by individuals, lodges, oburches. organizations or societies, will be regarded as advertising and inserted at regular classified advertising rates. Such noticea will be mariced 'adv." in compli ance with the postal requirements. Merely Big? The bloodmobile of the American Red Cross, which visits Franklin and other small communities in Western North Carolina, by-passes Briston, Va. Tenn. When citizens of Bristol protested against being denied an opportunity to give blood, the first ex planation offered by the Red Cross was that Bris tol (population 32,000) was one of the smaller com munities it could not get around to. Later, what appears to be the real explanation came out. The bloodmobile, a Red Cross official explained, will not visit a community unless that community has a Red Cross chapter. And Bristol, though it pre viously had a very active chapter, has none now. The reason it has none now is that the Bristol chap ter's charter was revoked by national headquarters of the Red Cross. And the reason it was revoked was that the Bris tol chapter joined other agencies in Bristol in a one-package fund-raising campaign. The Red Cross insists upon conducting its own, separate fund-rais ing drives, and it revoked the Bristol chapter's char ter for violating that rule. Whether the one-package, community ch'.st-type of campaign is desirable is a debatable question. But is it the business of the national headquarters of the Red Cross to tell the people of Bristol, or Asheville or Franklin, how they sh?!l raise the funds for the various agencies they contribute to? Who, after all, owns the R^d Cross ? the people who contribute to it, or its, national officials? And, which is more important, the regulations and prestige of the Rei Cross or blood for the men in Korea? The American Red Cross in the past has been a great agency. It has the opportunity to be a great agency again. But to do so, it must recapture the self-forgetfu'ness that is the basis of all real service. without th'it .self-forgetfulness, it will be merely big. ? ? ? ? ? $1.25 .75 .06 Congratulations ?The move of the Nantahala Power and Light Company into its fine new home is the occasion for felicitations all around. The company, of course, is to he congratulated Upon the completion of such attractive and well-de signed quarters. Whether it he a business or a fam ily, it always is a delightful experience to move into a new home, built to our own specifications ; and the entire community is happy that this pleasant experience is being enjoyed by the Nantahala com pany and its employes. Franklin and Macon County are to be congratu lated, too ; for the construction of this handsome structure means much to town and county. Not chiefly because a valuable piece of property will go on thci tax books, or even because this beautiful new building so greatly improves the appearance of Main street, important as both of those are. The really .significant thing is that this building is the material evidence that the Nantahala company plans to make its headquarters here for a long, long time. That means a .steady, permanent pay roll of no mean importance ; even more to the point, it means the permanent location here of a business that, by its very nature, attracts a high type of personnel. Finally, the power company is to be congratulat ed for showing discrimination in selecting for its headquarters what both observation and experience' lead us ? and, obviously, lead them ? to believe is one of the finest eonnnunilies to be found anywhere. A Lift For Today it Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.? Matt. 5:9. THE PEACE to which Christ refers is not merely the cessa tion of fighting and forcii.;' other peoples Into subii -"-ion; w< .xrjft replace -nmlty wi'b understanding an ft hate \ li love. Are we malr.ag as complete sacrifice to preadlng ~ve anci 4 peace, a? we dl- to w:> up the war? May we. O Lord, as a nation dedicate ourselves to walk in the "iji of peace aid Juatio that otbtr, may toVjr until Peace Ml come to *11 mankind. Today Is Momentous Day Today is the day ! Will the groundhog see his shadow? or won't he? On the answer to those momentous questions hangs the problem of whether it's going to be nec essary to buy more coal or fuel oil, or chop more wood, to last through the winter. And on whether it's time to get down the seed catalogue and start planning this year's plantings and sowings, or whether spring is so far away that nobody could really get interested in a seed catalogue. Yes, sir, today is the day. For today is Ground Hog Day. February 2 Ground Hog Day? It's nothing of the kind! That's a Yankee notion. Maybe they think, in Maine or Illinois or Kansas, that the Groundhog comes out on February 2, but .shucks! anybody brought up in the mountains knows better. It's February 14. And just to prove that those Yankees don't know what they're talking about, they call fhe groundhog a woodchuck ! Our American Civilization Mistaking cleverness for humor. Virtually deifying a hero today ; completely for getting him tomorrow. Professing impatience with anything but democ racy ; reading every line the newspapers print about royalty. ? Others' Opinions SCRATCH AND GROW THIN* L. A. Burr Is was talking one day about guineas: Turn a nock of guineas out with a flock of chickens and the chickens would likely starve. Guineas work all the time, hunting and finding what there Is to eat. Which may be why they don't grow big and fat, but keep lean and rangy. Chickens might do the same, If they had to forage, instead of being penned and pampered ... So might people. ? Stanly News and Press. DEMOCRACY MOURNS PASSING OF KING Most of us Americans think kings are relics of the ancient past, though we have to confess that we like to read about the doings of members of royal families. But despite our anti-king bias, we have managed to hold a warm spot In our hearts for the King of England, whoever he may be. Perhaps we have felt we could afford to look with favor on the British monarch because out school teachers have told us repeatedly that he Is a harmless ruler ? a mere symbol, a figurehead, a concession to tradition, a king in name only, without power to overrule the democratic processes in his kingdom. And so it Is that we can and do, deeply and sincerely, share the sorrow of the people of Britain In the hour of the passing of King George VI. There are Americans who insist that George VI has- been famous chiefly as the brother bf the king who abdicated his throne for an American divorcee. Thare are those who predict that his future fame will rest upon the fact that he was the father of the second 'Queen Elizabeth. But the British people will tell us that George VI is entitled to an honorable place in the annals of Britain In his own right. The British monarch symbolizes the unity of the people of the British Commonwealth of Nations. But his- function is more than symbolizing the ties of divergent peoples. He is a force, for strength or weakness, In the important task of maintain ing national morale. He Is a reminder that the true character of a nation Is above partisan politics In meeting his responsibilities of holding high the British esprit de corps, George VI was glowingly successful. His .reign lasted only 15 years, but they were 15 of the most strenuous years in the history of Britain. George VI moved in and out of armament factories during World War II, cheering the workers and stressing the Import ance of every job in overcoming the grave emergency. In the days of the heavy bombing attacks by Hitler's planes, the King refused to flee from the danger and stuck to his post of duty, thus setting an example that was needed in Britain In the fearful days. If there is such a thing as a democratic king? and the Brit ish insist that there is ? then George VI will go down in the record books as exactly that, for in war or peace he seemed to be embued with the democratic spirit in his relations with h's people. And they loved him for his attitude. ? Thus does the passing of a king become a blow to a demo cratic people. But if the spirit of the father has been captured by the young daughter who succeeds to the throne, the crown will continue to serve a useful purpose in Britain even if to most Americans the recognition of royalty in the middle of the twentieth century seems an anachronism. Long live the Queen! ? Smithfleld Herald. ? ? ? ? ? ES I ES AND THE FAVORITE SONS Undau' 't by P' ^ident T.ruman's multiple maneuvers to sew up Democratic delegations through manipulations of "fa ? i rite sons," ui : 1 he makes up his mind, Este Kefauver Is re .'.'nuinp f ' v't~orous pre-convent!on campaign to take the ? i - -Hf.r. r h? T>r>. cratlc party's nrtnln ss to the > ^ople, where it rus'I t,luay be ngs. Tin lanky Tt/ ,e.