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Mmd at FM Office. Franklin, N. C., as second elaat matter.
?OL LXVUI Nuba 4
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JANUARY 22, 1953
The Law And The Man
Charles E. Wilson, head of General Motors, un
questionably can bring great ability to government
service. And nobody questions his honesty.
But Mr. Wilson betrays slight regard for the fit
ness of things when he insists on retaining his stock
in General Motors while serving as Secretary of
Defense.
As a matter of fact, the law specifically forbids a
public official to do business with a firm in which
he is financially interested ? and the Defense De
partment buys more from General Motors than
from any other corporation!
But even if there were no such law, Mr. Wilson
should recognize that it does not make sense for a
man, in his capacity as an office holder, to trade
with himself, in his capacity as a private business
man.
What is perhaps most disturbing is the proposal
? which may have been acted upon before this is
published ? to so amend the law that Mr. Wilson
can hold his office and have his stock, too.
It is not for the law to conform to the wishes
of the individual, but for the individual to conform
to the law. Mr. Wilson's acceptance of the office
under such an arrangement would, in itself, be
strong evidence that he is unfit for a position of
public trust.
Rural Fire Protection
Frequently Franklin's volunteer firemen roll out
of the city limits and into the county to extinguish
a fire ? an illegal maneuver, if one wants to adhere
strictly to the law, for fire protection in the coun
ty is an obligation of the county.
But Macon County provides no such protection,
for its citizens and, to quote Franklin Fire Chief
A. C. Tysinger:
. . it's hard to tell a man who is pleading for
help that you can't go outside the city limits."
Although Franklin, with its one fire truck, is
left without protection when the truck answers a
call in the county, the firemen consider giving help
a moral obligation, regardless of the legality of the
move.
Recently Franklin aldermen visited the board of
county commissioners and suggested a joint scheme,
involving the purchase of a fire truck by the coun
ty, to provide fire protection for both the county
and the town. Nothing definite was agreed upon.
So Franklin's lone fire truck continues to faith
fully roll out into the county on "moral" missions.
But who is really morally obligated to give fire
.protection out in the county, the town's volunteer
firemen or the county government?
Presidential Headgear
General Eisenhower's departure from the tradi
tional wearing of top hat and formal dress at his
inauguration Tuesday (he wore a homburg and
dark flannel suit) came as a refreshing change to
many. All too frequently tradition can border on
the ridiculous.
But please, you future Presidents, no "beanies"
and blue jeans !
Had the doctrines of Jesus been preached always as pure as
they came from. His lips, the whole civilized world would now
have been Christians.? Jefferson.
V
? Letters 4
ADVISES YOUTH: STAY WHERE YOU ARE
Dear Weimar,
Very frequently I receive clippings from The Press showing
the progress of Macon County and Franklin. This has been a
source of pleasure to me 'to note what great strides have been
made In the past 25 years, and still on the upward grade. It
is amazing what new and young blood have accomplished.
I left the county in 1900, as many other young men did, not
to seek wealth elsewhere, but to make a living. Those condi
tions do not exist in Western North Carolina today.
My suggestion to the youngsters is, remain at home. They
have unlimited opportunities, if only they apply themselves.
From my observation, they have one of the most progressive
states in the Union.
CHAS. T. ALLMAN.
Baltimore, Md.
Lost A War . . . Won Immortality
EVEN AMONG the free, it is not always easy to live together.
\
There came a time, less than a hundred years ago, when the
people of this country disagreed so bitterly among
themselves that some of them felt they could not
go on living with the rest.
A test of arms was made to decide whether Americans
should remain one nation or become two. The armies of
those who believed in two nations were led by
a man named Robert E. Lee.
What about Lee? What kind of man was he who nearly
split the history of the United States down the middle and
made two separate books of it?
They say you had to see him to believe that a man so fine
could exist. He was handsome. He was clever. He was
brave. He was gantle. He was generous and charming, noble
and modest, admired and beloved. He had never failed
at anything in his upright soldier's life. He was
a born winner, this Robert E. Lee.
Except for once. In the greatest contest of
his life, in the war between the South
and the North, Robert E. Lee lost.
Now there were men who came with
smouldering eyes to Lee and said:
"Let's not accept this result as final. Let's keep, our anger alive.
Let's be grim and unconvinced, and wear our bitterness
like a medal. You can be our leader in this."
But Lee shook his head at those men. "Abandon your
animosities," he said, "and make your sons Americans."
And what did he do himself when his war was lost? He took
a Job as president of a tiny college, with forty students
and four professors, at a salary of $1500 a year. He had
commanded thousands of young men is battle. Now he wanted
to prepare a few hundred of them for the duties of peace.
So the countrymen of Robert E. Lee saw how a bom
winner loses, and it seemed to them that in defeat he won
his most lasting victory.
There is an art of losing, and Robert E. Lee is its finest
teacher. In a democracy, where opposing viewpoints regularly
meet for a test of ballots, it is good for all of us to know
how to lose occasionally, how to yield peacefully, for the sake
of freedom. Lee is our master in this. The man who fought
against the Union showed us what unity means.
? From an advertisement of the John Hancock Mutual life
Insurance Company.
Others' Opinions
WE NEED AN INSPECTION LAW
(Chatham News)
With the statistics of holiday tragedies still . fresh in our
minds and the next session of the General Assembly upcom
ing in a matter of days, public awareness of the need for a
motor vehicle inspection law is a "must" on the agenda.
V
Since the repeal of the 1947 law there has been a constant
increase in the accident rate on North Carolina highways.
There has also been a corresponding Increase in the casualty
insurance rates.
It is not being claimed in this corner that a motor vehicle
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OUR DEMOCRACY i?m* 1
OH Bui ld me a hoi*e~~ ,k
In colonial times our. forefathers built their own
HOMES WITH THE HELP OF THEIR NEIGHBORS. THEY CUT
TREES INTO LOSS, STRIPPED THEM, PLANKED THEM, NOTCHED
AND LASHED AND PEGGED THEM INTO WALLS, FLOORS, ROOFS.
Thc price of a home was rum prick or an axc. , .
.. J/
In THIS MOOERN AGE OF SPECIALISATION,* HOME HAS become
the UMUT SIN6LE EXPENSE M THE LIFE OF- THE AVERAGE
AWKKAM FAMILY. VET MOKE THAN HALF THE POPULATION
OWN HOMES TODAY AND THOUSANDS OF OTHER FAMILIES
Ml WORKING AND SAVIN* TO BUY ONE. AT THE SAME
TIME , rauk OUT OF FIVE AMERICAN FAMILIES ARE PUTTING
A KOOFOVE* THEIR FUTURE TOO, THROUGH INCREASE?
UFE INSURANCE AND WVWM.
law is the answer to our highway Ills. It will help, however, as
it has in other states where a similar law has been in effect
for many years.
No one claimed perfection for the 1947 law. Its administra
tion, we admit, was poorly handled. Main opposition, we be
lieve, stemmed from the public being subjected to a great deal
of bureaucratic inconvenience such as long hours in line, ar
bitrary actions by inspectors and various other things of a
petty nature that tended to lessen public favor therewith.
Despite all this there still seemed to be sufficient of a ben
eficial nature in the law to assure its retention. Its repeal was
largely contrived for reasons of political expediency.
Since repeal of the first law there has been a continuous
build-up of public sentiment in favor of a new law; one that
will be free of the petty annoyances that killed the first one.
Thus far the public hasn't been sufficiently vocative for its
sentiment to be heard in Raleigh.
Motor vehicle Inspection can be effected with a minimum of
bureaucracy. Surely there are a sufficiently large number of
garages in North Carolina that could be charged with the re
sponsibility for inspection. The procedure could be worked out
so that Inspection could be routine.
Any new law may or may not sharply curtail the accident
rate on our highways. But surely it is a beginning.
NO UNDUE DELAY FOR THIS DIVORCE
(Smithfield Herald)
Governor Umstead seems to have pleased most hearers and
readers with the positive proposals of his inaugural speech,
but one portion of it raises a question. That was his proposal
that the divorce of the State Highway Department from the
prison system be deferred for further study of the financial
aspects of the situation.
There can be no reasonable objection to further study of
all that such a divorce would entail, and yet there is no dodg
ing the fact that this involves delay. What all good citizens
will demand is that this delay does not eventulate In a shelv
ing or shunting of the whole idea of divorce.
The people of the state are pretty well convinced that the
shotgun union between highways and prisons is an artificial
and political one, and one that is not working out well In prac
tice. There Is an uncomfortable feeling that highway prison
camps, with a few exceptions, are grisly affairs, and that all
is not well within the prison system itself. It would seem to be
common sense to expect the best efficiency when there Is the
best concentration on highways on the one hand, and on
prisons on the other hand; and that there should not be any
confusion, or overlapping, or divided attention.
The constant parading of convict work gangs along our
highways does not present a pretty sight to tourists, or make
a good impression on visitors. And the whole state will feel
better when a better disposition is made of beardless youths,
offenders though they may be, than to put them on such
gangs under a grim display of guns and guards.
Let the prison system be conducted by trained and experi
enced men, and let the highway system enjoy the same kind
of leadership. A separation is called for, and Governor Um
stead will make a good impression by favoring it and push
ing it.
I . t
COURTESY FOR COURTESY
(Rocky Mount Telegram)
We recognize the fact that a certain amount of carelessness 1
must be expected from the school age child. They cannot be
expected to remember the rules of safety that they are asked
to abide by. Nevertheless, the child who rides a bicycle on the
public streets has a duty to the motorist, just as the motorist ,
recognizes a responsibility toward the children.
That duty Is to ride and walk carefully, observing the rules j
of safety that are designed to protect the child. The children I
should also recognize their responsibility to the driver and re
turn courtesv for courtesy.
NeWs Making
As It Looks
To A Maconite
Tomorrow (this being Monday
morning when I am writing) a
new president will take office.
With the Inauguration of Dwight
Elsenhower there will be a new
administration and a "new
look" at the problems of run
ing the the government of the
United States
It will not be, as the most
rabid republicans (included in
this group are many of the
democrats for Eisenhower) hop
ed, a complete turning back the
clock to the days of high tariff,
no minimum wage, and farm
prosperity only when all con
ditions such as market, supply,
and weather were just right.
However, there will be more
curtailment of government ac
tivity than had 8tevenson been
elected president.
The foreign situation ? who
knows? There are too many
question marks. For example,
will Stalin continue his recent
policy of keeping pressure on
the free countries of the world
by fermenting trouble at every
spot possible? Or will he extend
the dove of peace seated on an
olive branch in an effort to
again lull us into a sense of
false security only to club us In
the head 10 years hence If we
go to sleep?
I think that the new presi
dent will do all in his power to
hring peace, but I do hope that
he will not become so intent
in this effort that he will give
up any of the principals for
which American soldiers have
died for on any battle fields.
Remembering the talk (this was
not campaign talk) that Elsen
STRICTLY ?
PERSONAL
B y WOMAR IONICS
"Where would the South be
today, if there had been no
Civil War.." a Mend asked
the other day.
The question, provokes inter
esting speculation.
Nearly \a century after the
Civil War, the South is only
now about to catch up with the
rest of the country. It took this
region almost a hundred years
to regain the ground lost in the
sixties'.
At first thought, then, it
would seem reasonable to say
that, had there been no Civil
War, the South today would be
a century ahead of the country
as a whole.
That assumption, however,
fails to take into account a
lot of factors.
rne two most important
ones, perhaps, are: Slavery;
and the FAVORABLE effects,
on the Sooth, of the Civil}
War and Reconstruction.
No one can study American
history without reaching the
conclusion that, as far as slav
ery was concerned, there was
no reason for the war; that it
was a needless tragedy, brought
about by the fanaticism of ab
olitionists, plus the hysterical
fear of Southern extremists.
For slavery was on the way
out long before the outbreak of
war. The moral conscience of
the South recognized that the
institution was wrong. Perhaps
even more effective was the
economic consideration. The in
creasingly industrialized North
had learned, early in the nine
teenth century; that slavery Just
didn't pay. And by mid-century,
the fact that it didn't pay, even
in the largely agricultural
South, was being recognized.
The result was the freeing of
more and more slaves.
Without a war, slavery
would have disappeared in
the South, long before this.
But it would have disappear
ed far more SLOWLY.
And that fact would have
served as a brake on Southern
progress. The South not only
would have borne the economic
burden of slavery longer, it al
so would have borne the moral
burden longer ? for slavery prob
ably was an even greater curse
to the Southern white man
han to the Negro.
The Civil war left- the South
economically bankrupt. Furth
?rmore, the war that freed a
?ace from slavery brought .slav
ery, in a different form to a
whole region. For 15 or 20 years
the South was in political slav
ery to the re?t of the country;
its economic slavery is ending
Dnly now.
But the war and what fol
lowed did something to South
ern character that explains
Better than anything else 1 the
Dhenomenal progress of the
South since 1865; the poverty
and hardship and difficulty of