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entered at Post Office, Franklin. N. C.. as second class matter
Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press
- Franklin. N. C. Telephone 24
WEIMAR JONES . . . / Editor
BOB 8. SLOAN Business Manager
J. P. BRADY News Editor
MISS BETTY LOU POUTS Office Manager
CARL P. CABE Mechanical Superintendent
FRANK A. STARRETTE Shop Superintendent
DAVID H. SUTTON Stereotyper
CHARLES E. WHITTINOTON Pressman
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Outside Macon County Inside Macon County
One Year $3.00 One Year $2.50
Six Months 1.7S Six Months 1.7S
Three Months 1.00 Three Months 1.00
' ,'r
Lennon vs Scott
It would be hard to find two men as different as
the major contenders for the Democratic nomina
tion for U. S. senator.
Mr. Lennon could be counted on always to do
the respectable thing; North Carolinians would
have little reason to fear he ever would make a
spectacle of himself. But even his best friends would
hardly claim that he ever would greatly distinguish
himself in the Senate.
Mr. Scott, on the other hand, is unpredictable.
He would be quite likely to do the unorthodox
thing; it is conceivable that he might sometimes
make a fool of himself. But it is entirely possible
that he would become a great senator. i
, >
So you can pay your money and take your choice. !
Could It?
With the highways in the shape they are in. !
Franklin's tourists this summer may be few and i
far between. f
But some people will come through Franklin.
Will we keep those who do come? ? for a few 1
days, or even a few hours?
When you or I want to make a good impression 1
on strangers, one of the first things we do is to
clean up and dress up. I
!
And the same is true of a town. A town that is j
spic and span ? clean streets, sidewalks, alleys, and
vacant lots, attractive yards, neat stores and busi
nesses ? is the kind of town in which a stranger is <
C nklin stand a first class spring cleaning? <
tempted to tarry.
A Hard Decision ;
i
Is the United States going to become engaged in <
another interminable Korean war, this time in Indo
china?
The Eisenhower administration faces a hard de
cision. Nobody wants a war, and even less does
anybody want another "police action". But are we <
going to sit idly by while the Russians take over i
all southeast Asia?
It is a tough decision in any case. It isn't made
any easier by the Republicans' campaign cry, back
in 1952, that the fighting in Korea, under almost
identical circumstances, was "Truman's war".
. i
American troops may be fighting in Indochina
within a few months, if that possibility were not 1
under serious consideration in Washington, Vice
President Nixon never would have said, as he did
the other day, that that was a possibility.
And Nobody's Voted On It
Nobody has voted to do it, but it is entirely pos
sible we have adopted universal military training
as permanent U. S. policy.
Such a policy has not been approved by Congress, .
and certainly it has not been submitted, directly or
indirectly, to the voters. But whether it actually
is called universal military training or goes under
some other name, it is a fact that we are fast ac
customing ourselves to the idea that most young
men must serve a stint in the armed forces.
That matter of gradually coming to take some
thing for granted can be very effective in fixing
policy. Add to that the spreading sense of fatalism
in America, and it is obvious that not just military
service for young men, but many other policies may
be fixed without anybody's voting on it.
This sense of fatalism, this feeling that the in- 1
dividual is impotent to influence his own future, 1
seems especially marked among young people, and 1
The Daily Tar Heel, University of North Carolina 1
student newspaper, the other day commented on
"how conditioned we have become to accepting the
Government's word : about Korea, Indochina, Com
munism, atomic energy ? in other words, those vital
areas that mean our lives. Accepted it not because
we agree with it (we often don't), but because we
feel compelled to. How little we express ourselves
in our democracy. Some of us, silent because we are
incapable of articulation, more of us silent because
we have become accustomed to feeling that the
Government, in matters of war or national emer
gency, is all wise; when not wise, at least invin
cible."
The remedy? The Daily Tar Heel suggests:
"Protest. Challenge. Question. Accept nothing
solely on the basis of its genesis."
That attitude once was commonplace. The strange
sound those phrases have today suggests how far
we have gone toward letting the government make
all the decisions ? often without even our knowl
edge.
Others' Opinions
AT LEAST CURTAINS FIT
(Richmond Times-Dispatch)
One thing about moving frequently? you may not have many
friends, but you end up with curtains that will fit almost any
kind of window.
JUST GOING ISN'T ENOUGH
(Lexington Dispatch)
"Every year of schooling increases adult income," says For
rest H. Shuford, state commissioner of labor, who bases this
statement on comparative "figures of income and education.
Mr. Shuford uses these figures as an argument for better en
forcement of the compulsory attendance law than the state
has ever had as a whole.
The commissioner quotes 1950 census figures as showing
that men high school graduates 25 years old and over averaged
1753 more income in 1949 than did eighth grade graduates,
and the difference in women was $675 in favor of the high
school graduates.
A good many eighth graders reach 16 during or before the
tirst high school year and do drop out of school and go to
work. The four years of high school therefore appear to be the
most profitable public school years of all as measured by fu
ture incoipe.
Of course, there are some who drop out of school In or after
the eighth grade who really never graduated from anything.
Some of these were just pushed along to make room, in keep
ing with a general public school policy In North Carolina.
There are also high school students who are going to school
>nly because their parents insist, or simply because It seems
;he thing to do. Surely Commissioner Shuford would find that
;ven the census figures hold little promise for those who
;hoose to drift through these golden years.
Not many high school diplomas are awarded to those who
Merely "stayed" In school. These are supposed to go only to
Ihose who work enough to deserve them, and the drones usu
Uly fall out ere their due commencement day arrives. But the
:ensus figures do show that working in school really pays.
CALL FOR DETAILS
(Greensboro Dally News)
The SBI should release the full evidence on which it con- '
:ludes that the suicide of George Henry Smith justifies the !
writing of "closed" after the case of the booby-trap bomb
murder of William Homer Cochrane, Jr., at Mount Airy in 1951
and a similar attempt upon the life of his widow at Edenton
last week.
SBI spokesmen had previously revealed that they had a lead
on these cases and intimated that an arrest was about to be '
made. They subsequently announced that Smith had been j
under suspicion ever since the Mount Airy blast, that two j
agents had questioned him for the first time Thursday and
that he disappeared shortly thereafter. It was next morning
that his body was found in a thicket near his home. The t
suicide, following this series of events, must necessarily enter I
the picture and have decisive bearing In the SBI's final con- '
elusion. ,
1
But at that It Is only circumstantial evidence. As far as we
have noted, the SBI has not as this is written revealed suffi- <
cient evidence, In our thinking, to win a jury verdict. SBI Chief 1
James Powell, however, seems quite positive. The bureau has ^
"sufficient evidence," he told reporters, to support its conten- <
tion that Smith was responsible for both the Mount Airy and '
Edenton bombings. Then why not go ahead and release it? 1
If the SBI did not consider the case closed ar had any idea 1
that there might be an accessory, then its withholding of evi
dence which might be used to complete Its Investigation and !
bring any other guilty party to justice would be imperative. <
But if the SBI considers the case closed, why suppress any of
the evidence which led it to brand a dead man a murderer and J
end its own responsibility in a long-standing mystery? i
i
There is one other question which is likely to stick in the '
public mind : If the SBI felt so strongly about Smith, had dam
aging evidence against him and believed his arrest imminent, ,
why did it not go ahead and take him in custody for further 1
and prolonged questioning or at least place him under the sort 1
of surveillance which would have prevented his disappearance
and suicide? Thus whether solution was far ar near, the SBI i
In its public accounting still appears to have some details to '
fill In.
? Letters
THE HULLS REMEMBER
(Editor's Note: The Her. and Mrs. R. H. Hull were Amer
ican Sunday School rural workers In this area for 15 years.
Mrs. Hull served as pastor of the Methodist West Macon
Circuit from 1947 to 1952. The couple left here in February
for Missouri, where Mr. Hull is serrinf as acting superin
tendent of the A.S.S.U. south-central district.)
Dear Friends of Macon County:
Should we remind you how beautiful are your mountains,
how enjoyable your climate, and of the blessing of abundant
rainfall? No, we are not homesick, but If we can remind you
of your blessings and help you to be more thankful for the
garden-spot you live in ? we are glad to do that.
We are liking Springfield, Missouri? the people are friendly,
and the country interesting. We really have the wide open
spaces, although a few miles north brings us into rolling coun
try, and to the south, the Ozark Mountains, and the Shepherd
of the Hills Country, made famous by Harold Bell Wright's
book by that name. There has been a drought in this area;
for over two years the rainfall has been very scant, not suf
ficent for garden, pastures, or crops. There has been a few
Inches since we came, and everyone Is hoping the drought Is
over, but still at this season they say there should be more.
We have some garden stuff planted ? hoping.
* Soon after coming, we met a retired minister who told us of
a closed church about fifty miles north of Springfield. In his
early ministry he served there, but for about a year now there
has been no Sunday School or regular service. We called In
the homes, announced a service, and started a Sunday School
with eight that first Sunday. Now our enrollment Is 25, and
we believe interest will continue to increase. This is a .rural
community centered around a Post Office, two stores, filling
station, school and church. Farming and cattle are the chief
means of livelihood both of which have been greatly affected
by the drought.
Our work here Includes the supervision of nine men working
in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Most of these
are located in the Ozark Mountain area, but we believe there
is a need for many more, in the other areas of our district.
We shall be speaking in churches, seeking to secure support
for the maintenance and expansion of the work. Last year
there were 174 active Sunday Schools with around 9,000 teach
ers and scholars under the ministry of our Sunday School
workers.
It is difficult to say just what you friends in Macon County
have meant to us. We came to Franklin in 1938, as strangers,
not knowing a soul. You .received us into your churches, wel
comed us, became interested in our efforts to organize Sunday
Schools where they were needed, willing for us to have chapel
devotional services with your children in the schools and in
many other ways encouraged us. Many times we felt the
poorer by not being able to participate in town and county
activities for our work took us over eight counties, and some
of the time we were working in 30 or more communities. But
we appreciated your willingness to overlook our absences, and
to excuse our failure to contribute to the local community life,
and to be the personal friend, we would have liked to have
been.
The Franklin Press will continue to be on our reading table,
but personal letters are so much better. So if you will write
us, we would be so glad to hear.
Ycrnr friends in the land of "Show Me", '
RONALD AND ISABELLE HULL
Box 2155, National Station
Springfield, Missouri.
STRICTLY
PERSONAL
By WEIMAR JONES
CHAPEL. HILL. ? Perhaps the
most revolutionary change that
has ever taken place in Amer
ica is the change in farm
methods and farm Jiving dur
ing the last half-century. It has
gathered momentum as it has
gone along, and today appears
ts be moving faster than ever
oefore ? or certainly so, in West
?rn North Carolina.
To cite only a few of the
scores of illustrations that could
be cited: '
Plowing no longer must be
ione with horse at one end
3f the plow and a man at the
ather ? we use a fuel-driven
tractor instead. The farm wom
?n folks no longer must turn
:ream into home-made butter
to be taken to town and there
turned into money ? Instead, the
farmers sell cream wholesale
to the milk processors. And the
famil^ cow no longer is an ani
mal pet, almost a member of
the family ? she is, instead, one
af a flock of milk machines:
5fou put in so much protein,
Eat, roughage, etc., at a cost
5f such-and-such and you get
so much butterfat, to be mark
;ted at such-and-such a price,
with a net profit of such-and
such ...
Farming is fast becoming a
scientific operation, an indus
;ry, much like the manufacture
?nd marketing of any item
made in a factory.
Along with that have come
nodern conveniences; electric i
ights in the home and the i
Mirn, mechanical refrigerators,
v ashing machines, vacuum
cleaners, and a host of other
gadgets.
And gone is the old isolation
in which the farm family lived.
The farmer and his family ride
in motor-driven vehicles, over
good roads, to visit the neigh
bors, or to town on business or
pleasure. And, when they stay
home, they are In constant
touch with the whole world via
radio and television.
Industrialization of farming,
plus good roads and modern
inventions, have changed ? in
truth, they have Just about de
stroyed ? a way of life. There is
very little difference in the way
the person on the modern farm
lives from the way his cousin
in the city lives. Compare life
on the farm today with rural
life even twenty-five years ago,
and it is easy to see that a way
of life ? and a way that, in .
many respects, was a good way
? is gone.
Don't get me wrong! I'm all
for the farmer's making a
handsome profit on his labors.
I'm all for the farmer's wife
having every modern conven
ience possible. I'm all for an
easier farm life, for, goodness
knows, farm life in the past j
could stand some easing.
The point is we are losing a 1
way of life out of which have 1
come some of the finest values i
we have in America, some of
the sturdiest character this na- I
tlon has had. Oone are many I
of the difficulties the family <
shared in common? young peo- .
pie In the old days on the farm l
Continued on Page Fire? I
New/ Making
As ft Looks
To A Maconite
? B f BOB SLOAN
I can't decide which I think
is the more out of place, the
McCarthy - Schine - Stevenson -
Army affair or the overplay It
is being given by the press
radio- and television. I cant
see why the various publicity
mediums don't realize that in
so publicizing McCarthy that
they are helping to build some
thing which in turn may de
stroy them. How long doe*
anyone think this three ring
circus now going on in Wash
ington would be continued if
the affair were given only nor
mal coverage or underplayed
a little. I believe that Mc
Carthy would fold his tents
and steal away.
Speaking of McCarthy, be
fore Senator Lennon spoke at
the dedication the other day
over at Sylva it was announc
ed in the paper that he would
have something to say con
cerning his position and views
toward McCarthy. So far as I
have been able to learn he
made no mention of it. Why
did he change his mind? It
seems strange to me that the
newspapers would say before
hand that he was going to
comment on it and then fail
to mention it, if he had stated
clearly his position on McCar
thy.
? ? ?
If there is dissatisfaction in
the school system here there
are generally a large number
of candidates to file for the
Board of Education. Judging by
the small number that filed this
year the public must be better
satisfied with the way the
schools have been operated than
they have been in a good many
years. Congratulations to all of
ficials concerned.
? ? ?
There is a strong probability
that work on the road through
Wayah Gap will be begun this
fall. Everyone here should sure
insist that this project is
started as soon as possible and
also that as soon as the money
can be obtained that the proj
ect which now stops at Fiesty
branch be completed on to Nan
tahala station. Also let's be alert
to see that the funds now set
up are not shifted to some
other project.
Continued on Page Five?
Do You
Remember?
(LooUnc backward through
the files of The Press)
50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
We had snow and sleet last
Wednesday.
Mr. Charlie Roper, of Burn
ingtown, killed a 22 Vi pound
turkey gobbler Thursday and
sent It to Mr. H. G. Trotter
Friday.
Mr. Harve Mashburn Is build
ing on his lot on the ridge be
tween Mr. A. W. Horn's place
and Mr. J. T. Moore's. He has
the frame of his dwelling up.
The Monument Fund restau
rant seems to be well patron
ized this week, and will add a
neat little sum of cash to the
monument fund.
25 YEARS AGO
The late George Carson, grand
father of Mrs. J. P. Conley, is
said to have driven the first
wagon brought to the county by
white men. His descendants do
not know the route over which
the wagon was driven, but from
all reports, Mr. Conley expe
rienced considerable difficulty
in getting the wagon across the
mountains. In those days only
Indian trails crossed the Co
wees and the Nantahalas.
Plans for the Centennial are
progressing nicely. Among the
interesting features of the cele
bration will be a general roll
call of the old Confederate Vet
erans, who will be the guests of
Attorney and Mrs. T. J. Johns
ton.
It is said the road up the
Cullasaja to Highlands will be
opened to the public early in
June. We predict many tour
ists will travel this section of
road. From the scenic stand
point, it perhaps has no equal
in the South.
10 YEARS AGO
Mrs. Charles Hunter and two
small daughters, Jean and Joan,
have returned to their home in
Knoxville, Tenn., alter visiting ? 4
Mrs. Hunter's parents, Mr. and \
Mrs. W. C. Zickgraf.
The Rev. H. M. Alley an
nounced his resignation as pas
tor of the Highlands Baptist
Church Sunday morning. Mr.
Mley has accepted a call to the
pastorate of the Baptist church
n Burnsville.