Newspapers / The Franklin Press and … / May 13, 1954, edition 1 / Page 2
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*1 HI xt ffltnttklin tyxts a attfr Highlands jUatmuait Entered at Poet Office. Franklin, N. C., as second class matter Published every Thursday by The Pranklln Press Franklin. N. C. Telephone 24 CAR JONES . . ? E 8. SLOAN Business Manager J. P. BRADY News Editor IdSS BETTY LOU FOUT8 Office Manager CARL P. CABE Mechanical Superintendent PRANK A. 8TARRETTE Shop Superintendent DAVID H. 8UTTON Stereotyper CHARLES E. WH11TINOTON Pressman SUBSCRIPTION RATE8 Outside Macon County Inside Macon County (tee Tear $3.00 One Year $2.50 Biz Months l.7? Six Months 1.79 Three Months ? . . 1.00 Three Months 1.00 Who's What Now? At long last the State of Georgia is going to do something about that hump-backed, roller coaster, broken and oft-criticised stretch of US 23-441 from the North Carolina state line to Clayton, Ga. Georgia's approach is simple enough. The state is going to build a new highway ? a super-type 24 foot highway, with the first section from the state line to Mountain City scheduled to be let to con tract sometime in June. This puts North Carolina in a rather embarrass ing position. For years citizens of this state, par ticularly of this county, have practically sneered at the broken and worn stretch of highway that is part of our "tourist lifeline". And they've quipped, "You can close your eyes while riding and tell the minute you cross the state line into North Caro lina." Well, don't look now, but your "quip" is just about showing! Last June, Highway Commissioner Harry E. Buchanan "borrowed" the $450,000 allocation for a new highway from Franklin to the state line ? this state's tie-in with the proposed Georgia project ? to complete US, 23-441 from Franklin to Dillsboro. His action seemed feasible and we can pick no quar rel with it. However, last week, the commissioner confessed he had no idea when funds would be available to repay the "debt". * So, it now appears that Georgia is going to have a new highway and North Carolina, at le^st for the time being, is going to have to be contfent with the present crooked highway from Franklin to the state line. See what we mean? The shoe's on the other foot now ! The Mess We're In Perhaps the best way to understand the mess we are in in the United States today is to try to see how we got into it. And perhaps the best way to see how we got into it is to consider two sugges tions made by a great American on how to get out of it. Dr. Harold C. Urey, Nobel prize-winning nuclear chemist of the University of Chicago, in an address in Chapel Hill the other day, suggested two very simple remedies : 1. "Calm thinking". 2. "Stop accusing each other of being criminals just because we do not agree with each other." It was our failure to do those two things that got us into the mess. Maybe doing them will get us out of it. Korean War Echo This newspaper is all for the campaign to cut down on the number of persons killed on North Carolina highways. We venture the suggestion, though, that high way safety, in the long run, will depend not so much on strict enforcement of the traffic laws, im- , portant 4s that is, as upon the attitude of individ ual drivers. City and town after city and town have proved over and over that there is a close correlation be tween courtesy on the road and safety oh the road. Not only is the courteous driver almost invari ably the safe driver, but an atmosphere of courtesy reduces the tension that is a major cause of acci dents. \ What do you have to do to be a courteous driv er? The same ?ort of thing you have to do to be courteous in any other conditions. Here, for ex ample, are half a dozen rules for courteous driving; they are the Knights of Pythias highway safety code: ? 1. Think of others walking and driving on the highway. 2. Share your part of the road whenever necessary to avoid an accident. Remember, you can be right, but dead. 3. When following an automobile, be courteous to the driver In front of you; no bright lights; no unneces sary horn blowing; don't Imperil both cars by getting too close. 4. When an automobile Is following you, appreciate the perils ahead of you that the driver behind you may not see and do him the courtesy of signalling to him in apt time. 5. Do not drive so fast that you can not stop In the safe, clear distance ahead. Remember: SPEED is the great est killer. 6. Remember: a courteous driver is always a safe driver. Safety And Courtesy Some months ago the U. S. government was beg ging 23 American prisoners of war, held by the North- Koreans, to come, back home. Presumably "brain washed" by the Communists, the 23 had refused repatriation. This wasn't good propaganda for the United States ; it was fine propaganda for the Red. We pleaded with the 23, and at last two of them agreed, and in due course they returned to the United States. Last week, one of them was tried, convicted, and sentenced, and the other is in custody, awaiting possible trial. The man already tried is Cpl. Edward Dicken son, 23-year old Virginia farm boy. He was charg ed with informing on his comrades in a prisoner of war camp and currying favor with his Red captors. Convicted on these charges, he was sentenced to 10 years at hard labor. ?. . ? Assuming the correctness of the court martiaPs verdict of guilt, the case raises some other ques tions : 1. How extenuating a circumstance is "brain washing"? Men twice and thrice the age of this country boy have broken under it ; Communists and non-Communists have "confessed" to crimes they obviously never committed. Among those who have succumbed have been men of great minds and char acters, including high government officials and high dignitaries of the Roman Catholic church. 2. The American military men quite properly feel they must maintain discipline, even in a prisoner of war camp ; hence this trial. But has the American government played fair with these men? In the ra dioed messages to the 23, were they not repeatedly given to understand that, if they accepted repatria tion, they would not be punished? (The military may be able to show itself .technically in the clear; morally it is not.) Even in a cold war, is our word to be meaningless? ? meaningless, even when given to our own men? 3. If we win the cold war with the Communists, we almost certainly will do so by persuading those under Communist control to desert to our cause. Is the trial and sentencing of Cpl. Dickenson likely to encourage others to come to us from the Red side? Others' Opinions NOT GOOD (Christian Science Monitor) The new home owner and amateur gardner soon learns that the mulch left by the builder ? consisting of plaster, bent nails, sand and torn cement bags ? doesnt promote the growth of shrubs and flowers. CAN'T STOP IT (Spruce Pine News) An Illinois woman sued in the Supreme Court to hare teach ing of religion barred in public schools. No matter bow the case is decided, they won't be able to keep the kids from pray ing at exam time. ROSES ON THE ROAD (Memphis Press-Scimitar) Important news comes from New Hampshire. Research conducted by Motor Vehicle Research, Inc., indi cates that multlflora rose hedges planted along highways may save many from traffic deaths. These matted hedges absorb the shock when an auto runs off the road. Test cars crashed into the hedges at 30 miles an hour, were stopped within 11 feet without harming driver or passengers. One estimate indicates that these hedges may be planted at a cost as low as 5 cents a foot. Mid-South landowners who followed the advise of Louis Bromfleld and planted multlflora roses for "plg-tlght, bull strong" fences take delight not only In the beautiful blooms but in the fact that they are well nigh perfect protection for birds. ? OUR BEST WEAPONS Patience And Humility By BARRY BINGHAM (EDITOR'S NOTE: These are excerpts from a speech by Barry Bingham, president of the Loaisrllle Ooorter Jouraal and Louisville Times, to the Pinehurst Forum, Pinehunt, N. C.) Patience and understanding, not bombs and bullets, hold the key In America's contest with Communism in Asia. The Com munists are counting on lack, of patience to send Americans rushing to hide ourselves In the cyclone cellars of Kansas. On that day, Communism will win all of Asia by default. Military victory, bought at no matter what price of human sacrifice, can serve no purpose by Itself. It must carry the colors of political victory high upon its standard. No Asian country will stay liberated unless the liberator brings an al ternative leadership the masses of the people can accept and respect. We demand that every nation make an immediate choice between oranges and lemons, so that we can line everybody up on one side or another. We are sure our oranges are more wholesome than the Communist lemons, but we must leave free people to make the decision on their own. ^ There is a saying in Asia that when elephants struggle, the ants are crushed. The passion of many Asians is to keep clear of what they believe is an inevitable battle of the ele phants. America has not succeeded In convincing them that we are determined to avoid a struggle by every human means short of giving up our freedom. The living standards of most Asians are desperately low, but they are simply not interested in our tales of autos and re frigerators and television sets. They Inherit a culture which was producing the world's most beautiful ' and elaborate tem ples, exquisite miniatures, carvings of Jade, and manuscripts of lofty learning when America was still in howling wilderness. Our best weapons are not bullets or bombs or even money bags. They are the qualities of patience, understanding, and humility. 'ESSE QUAM' ? HOW'S THAT AGAIN? (Greensboro Daily News) "I was both amused and shocked," said Miss Cornelia Love to Editor Louis Graves of the Chapel Hill Weekly about a radio program on North Carolina history emanating from a school in Burlington, "to hear one of the children end a translation of the state motto, 'to be rather than to think.' Alas for the present-day study of Latin!" Alas, we have suspected for sometime that our motto has somehow changed from Esse Quam Videri to Esse Qnam Cogito. Otherwise how explain the fact that we retain our justice of the peace system? That we refuse to replace our long-out moded, unwieldy and cluttered-up state Constitution with a new model? That we hide our scenery behind a conglomera tion of billboards? That we have not yet discovered that sup port for a public library is a "necessary public expense"? That we lead the nation perennially in "aggravated assaults"? That our highway department runs our prisons? And that we allow our streams to be polluted to the point of no return? It occurs to us that that Burlington kid could put op a pretty good argument for his translation. STRICTLY PERSONAL Br noui jonks CHAPEL HILL. ? A long smoul dering controversy between stu dent organizations and the Uni versity administration has been at white heat ? and has come out in the open ? in recent weeks. It is over whether women students here should be per mitted to drink while visiting fraternity houses. < Is drinking permitted at Chapel Hill? the reader may be asking In surprise. The answer, of course, is no; drinking definite ly Is frowned on by the Insti tution's officials. But there Is drinking here ? Just as there al most certainly Is on the campus of every college in the state. But surely coeds are not per mitted to drink? Again, the answer Is, no. But again, the fact is some of them do ? Just as some young womeq almost certainly drink at every other college that admits girls. I personally question the statement, often made, that to day more young women, In and out of college, both smoke and drink, than young men. But I suspect the day has passed when it could be truthfully said that the majority of women ? young or old? wexe teetotalers. In the controversy here, the students are quite honest ? in one particular, at least. They say some coeds drink, anyhow ? In downtown establishments, In automobiles, etc. ? and wouldn't It be better to face the facts, and arrange for them to drink under respectable circumstances, while enjoying a social occa sion at a fraternity house? To pretend there Is no such thing as coed drinking Is pure hypo crisy, runs the student argu ment. I suspect the students are a bit less honest ? though I am convinced they are not being consciously dishonest ? about their motives. It Is noteworthy that those most vecal about the matter are male students. Thsy say that to forbid coeds and other women visitors to drink in fraternity houses is to dis criminate against the girl stu dents. My guns would be that their real ? though perhaps un conscious ? concern is not dis crimination, but Interference with their own pleasure. It would be gross discourtesy for the boys to drink in the presence of the girls, when the girls are forbidden to drink. Thus this "silly rule" actually prevents the boys' drinking while girls are In their fratern ity houses. Forbidding drinking on what they would say is the most Important occasion of all for taking a drink? at a social event ? undoubtedly must irk the boys. I do not say that is the only reason for their argu ment that coeds be permitted to drink at fraternity houses; -I would guess It is an important one. Their argument Is very well put in a purely fictitious letter, purporting to be from a male student to his girl friend, ap pearing in the student news paper: "There's been a slight change of plans since I invited you to the Germans (dances). The University says (women) can't drink in the fraternity houses ... so I figured there wasn't much advantage in getting you here for the week-end." That brings us smack up against something today's young people didn't invent; an atti tude they absorbed at home (if not actually in their own homes, at least in their home towns); an attitude that has become common among their elders. It Is the assumption that it isn't possible to have a good time without first having a drink. Aside from moral or social questions that may, or may not, be involved, that attitude is Continued On Par* Thm News Making As It Looks To A Maconite 4 B r BOB SLOAN The fall ol Dlen Blen Phu brought"*- over me a feeling ot ( great sadness and some shame. The gallantry of those fighting there has been wasted other than It shows that there are those still In the world who are willing to stand up and fight. Could the outcome have been different? Can the farces of Democracy and the Free World defeat Communism or Is it too late? Our radios and television sets bring to our living rooms the spectacle of Americans bellow ing against the evils of Com munism and how we must re sist its advance. Our govern ment rattles sabers, talks tough, and proclaims that we have a "New liook" to our foreign pol icy; that we will not be content to follow in the future a policy of containment, but that we will be dynamic and take the offensive against communism. But 12,000 men were left to stand alone against the advanc ing hordes. For fifty-seven days they held back by sheer cour age the advance of communism. But they stood alone. Here in America, we should decide if we want to resist this menace to our way of life. Surely we do. But let's don't become known as the nation that talks a good fight but fails to back it up. Our herit age In the past has been filled with more deeds than words. We must face the fact that it will take sacrifices, and not stand around and whine that no one is helping us. It is our way of life we will lose. Isn't it worth fighting for? ? ? ? It seems that commissioner Harry Buchanan is going to have to hustle on his bustle if he makes good his promise that U. S. 441 from Franklin south to the North Carolina-Georgia state line will be improved by the time Georgia has their sec tion of the road ready. Georgia is on the move, so Mr. Buch anan, let's get rolling. Do You Remember? (Looking backward through the file* of The Press) 50 TEARS AGO THIS WEEK Prof. J. J. Britt arrived Thursday evening to deliver the address before the Macon High School on Friday. 1 Mr. H. o. Trotter photograph ed the Macon High School fac ulty and pupils, lined up against the side of the court house Friday morning. A few days ago a darkey, while cleaning up the back part of the lot on which the masonic hall stands, found an old can non ball, which had been lying around ever since the war, and picked it up and threw it into a heap of burning brush. After several jninutes there was an explosion and a scattering of brush and fire and dirt and a badly frightened darkey. No damage was done, however. Rev. T. E. Winecoff and Messrs. T. W. Porter, Sam L. Kelly, and H. O. Robertson and wife went out to Nantahala last week, trout fishing. They rep6rt a catch of 658. 25 YEARS AGO Now that the new town board is in the saddle, how about the elimination of a few mud holes, here, hence, thither and yonder. The Myers Brothers, familiar ly known as To be and Bill, > have leased the building for merly occupied by the Sludger - Garrett Furniture Company. Misses Hope Solesbee and Ruth Still well, who have been j working In Hopewell, Va., for ^ the past several months, are here on a visit to their parents on Iotla. 10 YEARS AGO The charter for the Cub Scouts was presented to the Lions Club, the sponsoring or ganization, In a meeting held In the basement of the Frank lin Methodist Church on Friday night. The Highlands Baptist Church has called Dr. Thomas N. Car ter, of Arizona, as supply pas- ji tor for the four summer month*. Mrs. Comer L. Vandlver, enf- , ploye of the Nantahala Na- I tlonal Forest Service, gave a farewell party at her home In the Leach Apartments on Fri day evening, honoring Mr. and Mrs. Clyne Woody, who have recently been transferred to Lufkin, Tex.
The Franklin Press and the Highlands Maconian (Franklin, N.C.)
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May 13, 1954, edition 1
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