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Published every Thuradey by The Pnnklln Preea
N. C.
DECEMBER S3, 1953
Toward Peace On Earth
11 may be that a woman in a little North Carolina
?* town has done what all the statesmen and diplo
mats and military men have failed to do ? pointed
the way toward world peace.
The trouble, of course, with the statesmen and
diplomats and military men is that they try too
hard. Because international problems are compli
cated, they assume the solution must be compli
cated ? the more complicated, the better! And so
they set up one complex procedure to handle this
phase of the situation, and another complex pro
cedure to handle that phase, and still another to
handle yet another; only to find that each proced
ure creates a new problem of its own, requiring yet
another complex procedure to cancel out the evil
brought into being in the effort to eliminate the
original one. They forgot what both history and
the personal experiences of most of us teach ? that
the tougher the problem, the simpler the solution.
How terribly entangled they become in their own
solutions is illustrated by the fact that virtually
every plan seriously considered, by either the Tru
man or Eisenhower administration, has at its heart
a common factor: the proposal to rearm Japan
(which we fought a world war to disarm) and
Germany (which we fought two world wars to dis
arm). And what makes it all so ironic is that we
propose to rearm these nations just when their
peoples, for the first time in modern history, have
turned away from militarism as a curse.
Mrs. Ernest M. Reagan, of Weaverville, on the
other hand, did not try at all. Indeed, pointing the
way toward world peace was the thing fartherest
from her mind. All she did was perform an act ?
probably an impulsive act ? of Christian sympathy
.and understanding.
What Mrs. Reagan did was duly chronicled in the
?daily press several weeks ago and is no longer
news ; but the spirit of her act is ever new ? as new
and as simple and as miraculous in its effect as the
spirit of Christmas, and of Him whom Christmas
celebrates.
' Mrs. Reagan had sent two sons to war. While they
were gone, she wrote them every day. And when
the names of the 22 Americans in Korea who re
fused repatriation were made public, Mrs. Reagan
wrote each of them. The one-page letter to those
"lonely boys" in Korean prison camps were just
like the letters "I would have written my own
sons".
She tried hard, she said later, to write nothing
that would offend even the most orthodox Com
munist. She merely "tried to thank each one for all
they had done for us in the war and asked if they
would please come home and make their relatives
happy".
Just a little act of Christian kindness, with no
thought of its ever being known by any but those
"lonely boys".
But this was a simple, a natural thing ? and so
incomprehensible to the Communist mind ; it was a
thing of the spirit ? and so a deadly dangerous
thing to a regime that puts its faith in physical
force; it was a kindly act, performed without
thought of propaganda value ? and so, to the Reds,
an act that must hide a particularly powerful pro
r?o (to rwl o
V.
Thus tlic Communists, using their "brain-wash
ed" victims as vehicles, emitted a roar of anger and
fear that was perhaps more genuine than any that
has greeted a formal proposal from the United
States government.
Does not this incident point the way for Chris
tians?
F.ven such programs as the feeding of the East
Germans have had a profound effect in the cold
war ; these acts of kindliness have been effective,
even though they could be discounted as propagan
da weapons ? which theV are.
Rut suppose Christians in the West should write
personal letters to individual men and women be
hind the Iron Curtain ; just such simple, sympathe
tic letters as Mrs. Reagan's ; letters written with no
motive other than to be helpful and understanding.
Enough letters like that ? each different, because
-each would be a personal message from one indi
vidual to another ? would break down the Iron
Curtain as surely, if perhaps not so swiftly, as did
the sounding of the trumpets bring down the walls
?of Jericho.
But, to be effective, they could not be written
I
The First Christmas
-
AND there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse,
and a Branch shall grow out of hi* roots: and the spirit
of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little
among the thousands of Jud&h, yet out of thee shall he come
forth unto me that Is to be ruler In Israel; whose goings
forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and shall
call his name Immanuel.
For unto us a child Is born, unto us a son Is given; and the
government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall
be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty Ood, The ever
lasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
? ? ?
*1*HE angel Gabriel was sent from Ood unto a city of
1 Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man
whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the
virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came In unto her,
and said, "Hall, thou that art highly favored, the Lord Is
with thee; blessed art thou among women."
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying,
and cast In her mind what manner of salutation this should
be.
And the angel said unto her, "Fear not, Mary; for thou
hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive
in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name
Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the
Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne
of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of
Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."
Then said Mary unto the angel, "How shall this be, seeing
I know not a man?"
And the angel answered and said unto her, "The Holy
Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest
shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which
shall be bom of thee shall be called the Son of God. And
behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son
In her old age; and this Is the sixth month with her, who
was called barren. For with God nothing shall be Impossible."
And Mary said, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be It
unto me according to thy word." And the angel departed
from her.
V * * *
KIOW the birth of Jesus Christ was on this viae: When as
his mother, Mary was espoused to Joseph before they
came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Then Joeeph her husband, being a Just nan, and not willing
to make her a publlck example, was minded to put her away
prtrtly. But while he thought on these things, behold, the
angel of the Lord appeared unto him In a dream, saying,
"Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary
thy wife: for that > which is conceived In her Is of the Holy
Qhort. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call
his name JBSU8: for he shall save his people from their
sins" . . . Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel
of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn
son: and he called his name JKSUS.
? ? ?
AND It came to pass In those days, that there went out a
decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be
taxed. . . . And all went to be taxed, every one Into his own
city. v
And Joseph alsp went up from OalUee, out of the city of
Nazareth, Into Judea, unto the city of David, which Is
called Bethlehem, (because he was of the house and lineage
of David), to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being
\ great with child.
And so It was, that, while they were there, the days were
accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought
forth her firstborn son and wrapped him In swaddling
clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no
room for them In the inn.
And there were In the same country shepherds abiding In
the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo,
the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of
the Lord shone round about them; and they were tore
afraid. And the angel said unto them, "Pear not: for, behold
I bring you good tidings of great Joy, which shall be to all
people. For unto you Is born this day In the city of David a
Saviour, which Is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign
unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling
clothes, lying In a manger."
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the
heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to Qod In
the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
And It came to pass, as the angels were gone away from
them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, "Let
us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which
has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us."
And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph,
and the babe lying In a manger. And when they had seen
it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them
concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered
at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them In her
heart.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising Qod
for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was
told unto them.
MOW when Jesus was born In Bethlehem of Judea in the
days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men
from the east to Jerusalem, saying, "Where Is he that Is
born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star In the east,
and are come to worship him."
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was
troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he bad
gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people to
gether, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
And they said unto him, "In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus
It is written by the prophet, 'And thou Bethlehem, In the
land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda:
for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall "rule my
people Israel."*
Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, in
quired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And
he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, "Go and search dili
gently for the young child; and when ye have found him.
bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also."
When they bad beard the king, they departed and, to. the
star, which they saw In the east, went before -mem; all it
came and ?tbod over where the young child waa. When
they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great Joy.
And when they were come into the house, they saw the
young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and wor
shipped him: and when they had opened their treasures,
they presented unto him gifts; gold and frankincense, and
myrrh.
And being warned of God In a dream that they should
not return to Herod, they departed into their own country
another way. And wben they were departed, behold, the angel
of the Lord appeareth to Joseph ih a dream, saying, "Arise,
and take the young child and his mother, and flee into
Bgypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod
will seek .the young child to destroy him"
When he arose, be took the young child and his mother
by night, and departed Into Egypt: and was there until the
death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken
of the Lord by the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt have I
called my son".
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise
men. was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the
children that were In Bethlehem, and In all the coasts
thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time
which he had diligently Inquired of the wise men. . . .
But when Herod was dead, behold an angel of the Lord
appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Arise,
and take the young child and his mother, and go Into the
land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young
child's life". And he arose, and took the young child and his
mother, and came Into the land of Israel. . . . And he came
and dwelt in a city called Nazareth.
with that chiefly in mind; for if our purpose were
simply victory over our enemies, the letters would
be nothing more than a new kind of propaganda,
and the insincerity of the writers would be appar
ent.
To grain (his end, they would have to seek anoth
er; the test of whether they were written in the
true spirit of Christianity would be whether the
writers were as deeply interested in saving the
young men of Russia from war and death as they
were in saving American boys.
An impossible attitude?
It wasn't to the Christians of the First Century.
An impossible task?
It wasn't impossible to create the atom bomb.
Then there was the man who was confident he
wore the pants, but who, whenever he went out
with the Mrs., found he had nothing to say about
which pants.
If Americans really are interested in saving the
American Way of Life, they would do well to bal
ance their constant concern about the danger of
"creeping socialism," with some worry about the
danger of "galloping fascism".
STRICTLY
PERSONAL
By WEIMAR JONES
Dear Santa Claus:
I am home for the Christmas
holidays; and to be with my
family, and In Franklin, ought
to be Christmas gift enough.
But, like all boys, of six or sixty,
I find myself writing to ask for
something else.
I once knew a little boy whose
letter to Santa asked for two
things? the opportunity to go
to the North Pole and work
with you and Mrs. Santa In
making toys for good little boys
and girls; and then the pleas
ure, on the trip Back home, of
helping you distribute the gifts
from your pack.
I hardly hope for a trip to
the North Pole, or a ride back
via sleigh. But I do ask for
something of the spirit of that
little boy at this Christmas sea
son?the spirit of giving happi
ness rather than getting it.
Christmas deepens the yearn
ing in the hearts of millions of
men the world over for peace
on earth, good will toward men.
Could )ro? do something, Santa,
to remind me, along with the
other millions, that at Christ
mas, and through the year, the
good will that can make pos
sible peace on earth must first
be felt in the hearts of individ
ual men and women; that I can
be at peace with others only 11
I have peace within.
Finally, as the Christmas sea
son wanes and the New Year
begins, I'd like a faith tonic
(I'm sure you must be a phar
macist as well as a toy manu
facturer). I'd like to start the
New Year being adult enough
to really believe in the things
I say I have faith in ? in the
power and the force of things
like right and truth and justice.
These things I'm asking for I
know you cant put in my
stocking. But maybe you could
tuck in a little note that would
give me the mental push I need
to go out and try to get them
for myself.
Respectfully,
A Grown-up Little Boy.
P. 8. You'll find tba place ol
fruitcake we alwajra put out fat
you on the mantel, right where
you can gat It aa aoon m you
come down the chimney!
: News Making
; At It Looks
To A Maconite
? Wr MB SLOAN
It has been a fast year. Not
so much on the local scene, but
nftttnn^l ftnrf
events have transpired with such
rapidity that one could hardly
get a prespectlve on one situ
ation before the picture was 4
1 changed and you had to take
an entirely new look. ?
In a column of this type one
more often than not writes per
sonal opinion rather than stick
ing to strict news accounts.
With this In mind, I would
like to indulge In a small bit of
speculative writing. ItoUow me,
if you care to.
The biggest disappointments
to me in the past year are the
record made by William Um
stead as governor of North Car
olina, the failure of the North
Carolina Highway Commission
to get anything done about the
construction of a all weather
hard surfaced road to Nanta
hala, the failure of President
Elsenhower to take over the
leadership of the party which
he pulled into power. Those
aren't events of the same mag
nitude but I feel equally bad
about each of them.
At the time Governor Um
stead was elected I thought
that it didn't make much dif
ference since it seemed that
both he and Judge Hubert Ol
ive were both well qualified
men. However since the elec
tion 1 have not felt that I
could speak with pride for the
governor of my state. After
coming In office he took a more
vindicative attitude and re
placed more key state person
nel than did his predecessor
Kerr Scott. Terms of the Con
servation and Development
board were shortened so that
Umstead men could be put In
there. A competent prison of
ficial was run over roughshod
and removed from office. There
seems to have been one big dif
ference In Scott and Umstead.
With Scott the hand was bare;
Umstead wore a glove. I had
Continued Oh Pace Fhve?
M TEAKS AGO THIS
We dont care for Christmas
presents, Just send us the price
of a year's subscription to The
Press Instead.
The envelope containing the
lucky number In the organ con
test was opened this morning
by a committee composed of
Messrs. E K. Cunningham. T.
W. Porter, and J. O. Slier and
the number is 444. The holder
of card No. 444 Is Mrs. Lou Coal
man.
Mr. Eugene Campbell return
ed home Saturday from St.
Louis, Mo. He has been absent
several months In Nashville and
St. Louis.
Mr. D. L. Guy having resign
ed his position as principal of
the Franklin High School, the
trustees have selected Mr. M. D.
Billings to take his place for
the spring term.
10 YEARS AGO
Miss Hazel Ammons, who is
employed in a textile mill at
Bessemer City, is spending the
holidays with her parents, Mr.
and Mrs. Alex Ammons. (Elll
jay).
The Rev. C. C. Welch preach
ed his farewell sermon Sunday
at the Briartown Baptist
Church. We are very sorry to
give him up, but he feels that
he is more needed at Glenville.
(Flats).
Jack Wood, Marvin Wilson,
and Arthur Younce went coon
hunting Wednesday night and
got a large coon. (Kyle).
Miss Amelia Poindexter,
daughter of the Rev. and Mrs.
Robert Poindexter, has return
ed from Charlotte for the holi
days. (Iotla).
Betty Horsley and Barbara
Stockton have returned from
i Brenau College, Clell Bryant
1 from Chapel Hill, Merrily Brooks
I from St. Mary's, and Dorothy
Reld from Meredith College,
Raleigh, Lane Porter from Pea
, body College at Nashville, Tenn.
Home from Greensboro are Dor
I othy Sloan, Marjorie Blumen
thal, Imogene Landrum, Kath
ryn Long, Louise Pendergrass,
and Mamie Addlngton. From
W. C. T. C. at Cullowhee: Carl
yne Jamison, Hazel Morgan,
Margaret Cor bin, Thelma Bald
win, Mary Raby, Evelyn Norton,
Jack Angel, Fred Houk, Clay
i too Ramsey, Merle Klnsland,
I Mildred Shope, Loulae Klns
land, and Harry Cor bin.