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fctoiid at Port Office, Prmnklln, N. C., u second class matter.
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Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press
At rrankttn, North Carolina
Telephone St
WEIMAR JONBS. Sdltor
BOB 8. SLOAN Business lltniiv
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A Gangster Dies
In Russia last week there died a gangster whose
record, by comparison, casts an aura of something
suggesting saintliness around A1 Capone and all
his .predecessors, back as far as recorded history
goes.
For, forgetting for a moment his role as a mur
derer, consider this:
In ancient times, the most cruel thing an enemy
could do was to poison the welLs. Joseph Stalin
poisoned men's minds.
He did it so ruthlessly and so completely that all
indications are that he is genuinely mourned by the
people of Soviet Russia as a kindly little father ?
almost as a god.
Today the Russian dictatorship is headed by an
other gangster; one perhaps even more cruel and
ruthless than Stalin.
So much are ruthlessness and cruelty and physical
force taken- for granted in Russia, in fact, that it
would not be at all fantastic to learn sometime that
Georgi Malenkov murdered Stalin, in order to
give Malenkov the advantage of timing the crisis.
What the effect of Stalin's death and Malenkov's
rise to power may be on the West is anybody's
guess. About all that seems even reasonably certain
is this: There seemed no hope of peace with Stalin
in power. With a change, things could improve.
But it is equally true ? perhaps more than equally
true ? that they may get worse. For in many men's
minds there is a growing feeling that they can
never be really better until they first grow worse.
* * *
. Two things are worth pondering:
1. It was a cruel despotism and dire poverty, in
a period when nobody had even heard of Commun
ism as we know it today, that produced Joseph
Stalin.
2. Can freedom and dictatorship ever find the
basis for a working agreement? ? is the world big
enough for both?
It is to be hoped that the Eisenhower adminis
tration, like the Truman administration, will seek,
at all costs, to avoid all-out physical war. But that
should blind none of us to the fact that there is,
and of necessity must be, eternal war between
freedom and slavery, as long as either survives.
Each is too great a danger to the other to be per
mitted to .survive.
It may take a generation, or a thousand years,
but the free peoples, if they would stay free, must
destroy dictatorship, wherever it rears its head.
And somehow ? and this, .perhaps, is the most dif
ficult of all our tasks ? we must find a way to do it
without surrender of all our freedoms in the pro
cess.
Marked Others
Somewhere, at some time, in almost every life
there not only is the drama of hope and fear, suc
cess and failure, hut also high courage and selfless
devotion. It is there, if we could but see and read
the whole record of that life.
But we cannot. And so when a man dies, even
his best friends find it hard to describe in words
the innate goodness and nobility, often the innate
greatness, that emanated from his spirit. At most,
we usually can pick out one or two qualities or
characteristics so marked in him as to have left
their mark on others.
That is true of two men who died here last week.
Both comparative newcomers to Franklin, each had
a characteristic so marked as to have made an im
press, directly or indirectly, on the whole commun
With Roy Geoghegan, it was a quiet, unassum
ing courage. It was so characteristic of him that
close friends and casual acquaintance alike came
to expect him to laugh at misfortune and illness ?
and he always did. Though he lived in a world filled
with people who indulge in self-pity, Roy Geog
hegan never bored anybody listening to his com
plaints. Friends think of him, in fact, as having
laughed, not at, but with death.
With St. Clair Anderson, it was devotion to per
fection. In his case, that devotion was emphasized
in his work as mechanic. It was not enough that a
part for a machine fitted "well enough to do"; it
must fit perfectly. It was not enough that he had
ground a piece of steel to within a hundredth of an
inch of the size required ; it must be within a thou
sandth of an inch. In a Western North Carolina still
influenced by generations of having to get along
with makeshift, that demand for precision is a
legacy badly needed.
An Open Letter
to
Mr. Walter Dean ?
Macon County Representative
in the
?
N. C. General Assembly
Dear Mr. Dean :
For the first time in my life, I am writing a legis
lator to . suggest the introduction of a local bill.
From the fact that it is something I have never
done before, you can judge how important I con
sider the bill I am suggesting.
Never in the memories of most of us have so
many people been so deeply interested in Macon
County's schools. That, I believe, is an extremely
healthy sign; because the effectiveness of a public
school .system is just about in proportion to the
public's interest and the public's support.
I am sure we should all like to have the public
stay interested, and I believe the only way to ac
complish that is to make the public feel the schools
are their schools, and to give the public a part in
their operation. How can you accomplish those two
things better than by letting the public name the
men who make the policies of our county school
system ? the members of the county board of edu
cation?
As you know, under the present set-up, members
of the board of education are nominated in the pri
mary, in early summer, and appointed by the leg
islature in the late spring ? nearly a year later.
As Mr. Gash, the Democratic senator from Tran
sylvania county, so well said recently, such an ar
rangement is a "farce". The members of the coun
ty board either should be elected outright or ap
pointed outright ? -not chosen in a half-way-between
method such as we now have.
This letter is to suggest a bill providing for the
election of the members of the Macon County board
of education by the people of the county.
It would be for you, possibly in consultation with
school authorities, here and in Raleigh, to work out
the details of such a bill. I take the liberty of offer
ing only a few general suggestions :
1. Five men have been nominated to the local
board under the present set-up. Bad as that set-up
is, they should be appointed and should serve their
terms. In short, the bill should provide for the fir^t
election to take place approximately two years frpm
now.
2. There is nothing partisan about the schools ;
they .serve the children of Democrats and Repub
licans alike. Furthermore, there is nothing political
about school problems. For those reasons, members
of the board of education should be elected in a
non-partisan election, without reference to their
party affiliation.
3. A provision for staggered terms might be
wise, thus making sure that one or more members
with experience were on the board at all times.
I am making this letter public in the belief that
it will prompt Macon County people to write you
about this matter. I believe the vast majority, with
out reference to party, favors such a change, and
it will be surprising if you do not get many letters
urging it. ?
Respectfully,
WEIMAR JONES.
Any fool can cut prices; but It takes a man of brains to
make an article of quality and sell it.? P. D. Armour.
? Letters
NEED TALENT, TOO
Dear Mr. Jones:
Answers to the question, "What are Macon County's great
est needs?", as given by the Rotary Club, vary widely; such
answers are wrong ? and yet they are right. Wrong because
the Franklin Chamber of Commerce Is trying to do much more
than any one of these limited tasks, and right because they are
all included, along with many others, in the overall program
of the organization.
I maintain that our greatest need at present is talent In our
civic organizations such as \he Chamber of Commerce. We are
In need of the rolled-up sleeves. The faithful, hard slugging
"Georges" In any organization movement cant do it all. Talent
used to mean a unit of money. Some people still think so.
They may be generous with their checks? but woefully stingy
with the talents in themselves. Even with a very small budget
we could accomplish near wonders in this county, because we
have access to all the natural resources and natural beauty
that are essential to the making of a fine business or tourist
center. On the other hand, organizations with an unlimited
budget will only be going through the motions unless they
have manpower and talent to back them up. We need to bring
these two factors into balance, and here we will need the
widespread support and power of the whole county, before we
glide smoothly and speedily toward our goals.
The usefulness of the Franklin Chamber of Commerce in a
positive way is undeniable, as a review of its past accomplish
ments will show, but any measure of success of these organiza
tion or any other organization should be preceded by a ques
tion: How many members of this organization have been un
sparing with their talents?
What we need now are libraries of men ? who are willing to
work. I would suggest that every citizen of Macon County re
view the past accomplishments of the local Chamber of Com
merce, then take a look at the goals set up for 1953; they are
broad and ambitious but without the support and endorsement
of all our citizens, these aims and ambitions will never be
realized.
Sincerely,
Franklin, N. C. (MRS.) LASCA E. HORSLJ5Y
Newspaper Shop Talk
Mostly About Us
This is the saga of a Wed
nesday afternoon.
Now Wednesday afternoon is
a very special time at The
Franklin Press. Because, at The
Press, as at most country week
ly newspaper offices, Wednes
day afternoon, rather than Sat
urday, is the end of the week;
the paper is "put to bed" on
Wednesday, and Thursday morn
ing work starts on next week's
issue.
With the paper gone to press,
you'd think things would quiet
down somewhat. That's exactly
what The Press editor thought
last Wednesday. (Though, after
seven years' experience, he real
ly should have known better.)
It was mid-afternoon. From
the shop came the roar of the
press, the click of the folder
as it merrily turned out the
finished 12-page issue, and the
rhythmic thwat, thwat, thwat
of the mailing machine as it
slapped name and address labels
on the papers.
The editor was indulging in
that rarest of luxuries around
a weekly newspaper; feet on
desk, he was doing exactly
nothing.
The phone rang . . .
Was it too late, the phoner
Wanted to know, to get a pic
ture in this week's issue.
The Press some day hopes to
have its own photo engraving
plant. Until then, though, all
pictures must be sent out of
town to have ?uts made, requir
ing a time lapse, usually of o
or three days. So the regretful
answer had to be that It was
too late.
Feet went back on desk and
the pleasant occupation of do
ing nothing was resumed.
The phone rang again . . .
This time it was a telegram
from a man in a distant state.
Please try to get the want ad
he ran last January back in
this week's issue.
Once more a rather discour
aged pair of feet were raised
from floor to desk.
Then there came the coinci
dence of the little pigs . . . (See
"Meandering" oil page 1.)
A man, obviously in distress,
entered the office to ask, Was
it too late to get a want ad in
this week's issue? He'd lost a
Pig
How?
He'd been to the weekly sale
at the Macon Livestock Auction
yards and had bought a six
weeks old pig. Paid $10 for it.
The pig was tied in a sack ?
securely tied, he thought ? and
placed in the back of his truck.
But somewhere between the
railway Depot here and Pine
Grove the pig had managed
not only to wriggle out of the
sack but to escape from the
truck. At Pine Grove there was
no sign of the pig ? only an
empty sack . . . ?
Hardly had he left the office
before another equally distress
ed man entered. He, too, hoped
it wasn't too late to get a want
Continued On Pare Eight?
STRICTLY
PERSONAL
By WEIMAR JONES
"Do two things, ud yon
would do It."
That was the comment. In
the course of a conversation, of
a young man, formerly In busi
ness in Franklin, on the list, 1
published on this page last '
week, of "This Country's Great- i
est Needs".
"First, you've got to have ]
money to do anything. You can i
get it by a fair, honest, intel- <
ligent assessment of property 1
for taxation. Bring in some one i
from outside the county, who
knows property values ? but who
does NOT know anybody here. |
"Second, what is everybody's i
business is nobody's business. )
We need a city manager in
Franklin ? somebody who knows (
what he is doing to devote his (
full time to the job. And by <
all means it ought to be a |
YOUNG man. ,
"Get those two ideaa at
work in Franklin, and they
soon would be adopted by the
county."
Also discussing "This Coun
try's Greatest Needs", a woman,
who prefers to remain anony
mous, writes:
"For years I have been im
pressed by the haughty coldness
?f many who walk the streets
sf Franklin. Common courtesy
would help Franklin tremen
dously.
"Second, this town is so lit
tered with trash surely passers
Iky must call Franklin 'the
l verturned, wind-swept Waste
Masket'.
"Third, more steady pay
checks are needed. More plants
similar to Van Raalte
would solve that problem. If
that problem were solved, there
would be more money available
Continued On Pace Eight ?
News Making
As It Looks
To A Maconite
? Br BOB SLOAN
The death of Joseph Stalin
may provoke events which will
provide a real test as to the
greatness of President Elsen
hower. The following is suppo
sition, but It could come to
pass; and besides It's Interest
ing to speculate.
There are indications that
Oeorgl Malenkov, Stalin's suc
cessor, might be less inclined
to try to spread the communist
doctrines and rule throughout
the world and will concern him
self more with bringing econom
ic stability and better living
conditions to the people within
the present Soviet. This new
relatively unknown Russian rul
er is first and foremost a party
man. There have been reports
that there is considerable dis
content In Russia today. There
fore, Malengov, being a party
man, first and last, may decide
the best way to remedy this
situation is to repair fences at
home. This may even lead to
the search of foreign markets
and certainly a more friendly
attitude toward the free nations
of the world.
Tnis in me long run wui cre
ate a situation in which the
President of the United States
could be confronted with one
of the hardest decisions of his
life. It won't be a matter of
what to do but how to do it.
With a seemingly less danger
ous Russian the hue and cry
will arise to reduce military
spending and to cut our mili
tary forces in half or more.
First, the president will have to
decide if we can afford to drop
our guard. With memories of
Hitler and Stalin fresh in his
mind I do not think that Eisen
hower will be caught in the
trap, but I am afraid that his
pleas for military preparedness
will fall on ears no more recep
tive than those who listened to
Franklin Roosevelt, in Chicago
in the late *30*8, urge our na
tion to gird Itself against the
threat of Hitler's legions. De
spite his eloquence and logic
the great Democratic leader
was called a war monger, and
we refused to listen. Will Eisen
hower be able to provide lead
ership that will cause a democ
racy to keep its guard up even
Continued On Page Eight ?
Do You
Remember?
(Looking backward through
the files of The Press)
50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
Messrs. Lawrence Sellers and
Samuel Bryson left Monday for
Oregon. We wish them success
in the Far West.
Mr. J. A. Pendergrass, of Nan
tahala, was here yesterday and
called in to pay his dues, he
being a Confederate veteran.
He is a zealous .reader of The
Press.
A crowd of young men from
Smith's Bridge expect to leave
next Monday for the State of
Washington. They are Wm. Hol
brooks, E. N. Bates, Barnett
and Robert Garland, Jim Van
hook, John Beasley, John
Young, Javan Gray, Homer
Rhodes, and Robert ?Curtis.
25 TEARS AGO
A dental bill of 37 years
standing was recently paid by
Mr. J. H. Worley, of Clay Coun
ty, to a Franklin dentist. It
perks lis up considerably to
realize that our descendants, 4(
years hence, may collect a few
bills now due The Press.
Mr. O. V.'Mlncey has just re
turned from California, where
he had been seeking work. He
says that California is over
estimated and that the moun
tains here are much better for
the average man than Califor
nia.
Mr. Lawrence Holt, of High
lands, and his grandmother,
Mrs. Martha McCloud, made a
trip to Franklin Wednesday.
Mrs. W. T. Moore has return
ed home from New Orleans
where she attended Mardi Gras.
10 TEARS AGO
Henry Stockton, of Greenville,
S. C. was in Franklin on busi
ness Friday. He visited his cous
in, Mrs. M. A. Sanders, on the
Georgia road, who has been ill
for the past six weeks. It had
been 35 years since they had
seen each other.
Mr. and Mrs. R. L. Bryson
celebrated their 54th wedding
anniversary Sunday.
Mrs. Anne C. (Mrs. A. R.)
Hlgdon was elected worthy ma
tron of Nequassa chapter No.
43, Order of Eastern Star, at
a meeting held at the Masonic
hall on Thursday evening.