Newspapers / The Franklin Press and … / June 17, 1954, edition 1 / Page 2
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(lit* $\tnnklin tytts* anit Che MigManits J&armriatt Entered at Post Office. Franklin. N. C- as aeeond claas matter Published every Thursday by The Franklin Pram Franklin. N. C. Telephone 24 WEIMAR JONES . . . BOB fi. SLOAN .... J. P. BRADY toss BETTY LOU POUTS . CARL P. CABE . . . . FRANK a. starrette . . OA VI D H. SUTTON . . . CHARLES E WHTTTINOTON Editor . . . . Business Manager News Editor Office Manager . Mechanical Superintendent . . Shop Superintendent Stereotyper Pressman SUBSCRIPTION RATE8 Outside Macon County One Year $3.00 Six Months . 1.79 rtiree Months 1.00 Inside Macon County One Year $2.50 Six Months 1.75 Three Months 1.00 Request For A Subsidy H. L. Brewer, receiver and general manager of the Tallulah Falls Railway Company, is "alarmed" by the railroad's dwindling freight receipts. Quoting income and outgo figures for 1953, he points to an operating loss for last year. Then he hints operation of the line may be discontinued un less the public gives it more support. The hinted threat leaves us cold. In the first place, people along the T. F. have been hearing that "wolf, wolf" cry for something like a quarter of a century. In the second, the time when a town had to have a railroad if it was to survive long since has passed. We do not have the figures at hand, but we suspect more freight is hauled today, the country over, by truck than by rail. In any case, it can be hauled by truck. The Tallulah Falls Railway can survive, Mr. Brewer suggests, only if shippers along the line give it preference. That plea may get the T. F. some additional freight ? but that plea, too, leaves us cold. Most other businesses do not rely on "please help me out" subsidies. Most other busi nesses get customer preference by giving better rates and improved service. We know of no reason why the same rule should not apply to the T. F. "But maybe we do need rail freight service", someone protests. Then we ought to be able to get it by means other than a subsidy, paid out by shippers. Because to what end are public service institutions given protected monopolies? To the end that the public may be served. Under that theory, the good years are supposed to take care of the bad. Has the T. F. always lost money? Mr. Brewer did not give the figures for the years, back when this region was dependent on the railroad, and the railroad used that situation to exact exhorbitant rates ? in exchange for poor service. It may be true that the T. F. no longer has such profits as may have been made in fatter years. But didn't the Southern Railway System ? which we understand is the real owner of the T. F. 1 ? get them? And the Southern is not bankrupt. Again, under the public service-monopoly theory, the paying lines are supposed to help keep the non paying lines in operation. And obviously the South ern has some lines that pay. George Dalrymple Cieorgc II. Dalrymple was a study link between the complicated, raucous today and a simple, quiet yesterday. His youth is removed in time by only | some 75 years ; it is removed in change by at least He grew lip in Macon County where communica tions were few and slow; neighborliness was a ne cessity as well as a virtue; money was scarce? and valuable; and great store was put on character. Mr. Dalrymple carried over into the 1950's the respect of the 1X70' s for such homely virtues as thrift, independence, honesty and truthfulness, courage, and loyalty. How far will the influence of his attitude on these things carry? To try to answer that would be like trying to say where the ripples, started by a stone cast into a lake, come to an end. "U. S. Would 'Consider' Intervention in Indo China, If 1'eiping Acts Openly", says a headline. That "would 'consider' " probably sets a new record in under-statement. All the evidence is the administration has defin 750. ! 'Consider'? * Consider? itely decided to intervene in Indo-China. It is just a question of when ? chiefly of when sentiment in the Congress and in the country will permit it. s 1 Bouquet Congratulations to County Supt. Holland Mc Swain on obtaining State Board of Education ap proval of the "immediate needs" program of Macon County schools he submitted to the state agency. The program calls for construction of 18 class rooms, two lunchrooms, and a gymnasium at Franklin. Especially noteworthy is the approval of the gym and lunchrooms, f^he state board is under stood to have frowned, in most cases, on applica tions for bond funds for anything other than class rooms. Mr. McSwain's success in getting approval of the full Macon program probably can be traced to his earlier success in getting two groups of state school officials to come here and see for themselves the school needs in this county. \ Morals And Security Dr. Oppenheimer was not "enthusiastic" about building the H-bomb. And so, says a loyalty board, he is a bad security risk. Well, maybe. But we'd say if he had been en thusiastic about this type of mass murder, he'd have been a bad moral risk. And the time was when Americans would have said that being a bad moral risk itself made a man a bad security risk. Others' Opinions PARTY LINE (Marion Progress) We have often wondered why telephone companies designate a single telephone circuit connecting several subscribers with the exchange as a "party line." Now we know. A party is defined as: "A company or association of persons, as for social enjoyment." Yep, some of the subscribers on a party line certainly derive social enjoyment and bring into being association of persons by this very means. STRESSING THE WRONG THINGS? (Smithfield Herald) The Charlotte News sent one of its writers, Lucien Agniel, over to Chapel Hill to find out what the University folks think about the graduates which our North Carolina high schools have been turning out. What the Charlotte writer learned Is worthy of our best thinking lest we put the emphasis on the wrong things in public education. Here are some of the composite views of eight University of North Carolina instructors and deans: One freshman out of every four fails to pass college mathe matics placement examinations and one of every three can't satisfactorily complete an English test of second year high school level. "Goodly numbers" of the freshmen can't read with either speed or comprehension. "Our high schools put too much stress on teaching how to make a living instead of teaching our young men and women basic subjects." "Many students aren't prepared to read, think and work. . . . They had little or no home work in high school. They expect the same situation to prevail (at UNO." The public schools should get back to basic reading, writing and arithmetic. Many "fringe" subjects should be de-empha sized. A good start toward these objectices could be made through relaxation of the state's rigid certification standards for teachers. "There is too much concern with teaching teachers how to teach, instead of teaching them what to teach." These views expressed by the University folks will be resisted or shrugged off by many professional educators who are so obsessed with standards and accreditation and uniformity of methods that they have lost sight of the heart of education. And what is the heart of education? It's that old idea of a teacher on one end of a log and the pupil on the other, it's a spirited individualistic teacher trying to stir individual pupils to explore the expanses of knowledge. It's teaching the young to read and to understand to express themselves. It's teaching the young to use their thinking processes and to use them logicaly. It's teaching the young to study and to plan that they may know how to approach their future problems of family relationships, of work, of citizenship. The heart of real education is not cramming a multitude of facts about a multitude of subjects into the minds of pupils. It is teaching them fundamentals which will enable them In their post school days to assemble facts about a personal problem or a Job or a political issue, and to understand what the facts mean, and to act Intelligently In making decisions or perform ing assignments. Teachers who have had a multitude of courses In educa ' OUR DEMOCRACY ? Wku> AS DAY IS FROM NIGHT A LA BSC P+KT OF Twe TWCNTlffTM CCMTUftY MA* SrCN TOTAUTAHUSM svrrsms tricp in wuoos fa*ts of thc world . QAftKNCt* MAS PCSCCNDCO UPON THOSE PKOPL.CS.ANO CLOSE P OFF THC BORDERS OF SEVERAL FORMERLY FMI AND inpcknpcnt nations. \v . \ II / i / / / / /. I IN OUR DEMOCRACY, Wf STRIVE EVER TO BROADEN THE ML SPIRITUAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC RASE ON WHICH WE STAND, 5 AND 10 ARIGNTEN THE RAYS OF ENLIGHTENMENT INSTEAD % OP DARKENING THE MINDS OF MEN. ? AS DE WITT CLINTON SAID IN I6Z6: A GENERAL OlFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE IS THE PRECURSOR. ANO PROTECTOR, OF REPUOUCAN * INSTITUTIONS; AND IN IT WE MUST CONFIDE AS THE CONSERVATIVE POWER THAT WILL WATCH OVER OUR LIBERTIES.' tional methodology, school curriculums padded with fancy "fringe" courses, schools that have met all the requirements of present-day accreditation aren't guarantees for an effective system of education. The test of public education is still the caliber of the graduates. And North Carolina isn't passing the test so well if we can accept the verdict of the University in structors and deans. By MARY COTTEN DAVENPORT * In Pleasant Places In Chape! Hill News Leader (EDITOR'S NOTE: The au thor, Mrs. Davenport, of Plv mmnh, N. c., a grandmother, enrolled as a coed at the Uni falT) ?f N?rth Carolina d0 you think you can make it alone?" Bill looked worried as he stood by the waiting bus. i look what T^onoH lm and gave him wnat i hoped was a good ver sion of the nonchalant smile of jaunt tr?tter ?ff on a The smile might have reas sured my son, but it did noth ing to reHeve that sinking and f aS the bus moved off I was on my way to Chapel Hill. Six months ago a voulH HMarS bv rocket ^P would have seemed just a? ?3!w\? "" i smsx? " " "" " von01}1 g,et the idea- I told my self sternly as the miles of con home UthTnd ,between me and nome that you're the only wid ow who has ever set feet upon a strange path which leads the pleasant places she has always known; or th? only grandmother, i also re" minded myself, who ever left ? u !mney corner to see the orld. Look at Grandma Moses! But contemplation of Grand ma Moses was no boost for my rapidly falling morale, o?e tl tu ,at her wa* enough to oalibPrsT weren,t of the same hnri h, W3S a w6mnn who t^ntioHH and 311 the Po tentialities of a modern woman which only needed unleashing. I, on the other hand, was a relic of the Victorian era? "a sheitered woman", one of those helpless creatures, afraid s;: -r a. citv street without someone to pilot me. bewild of^yH VeHn* respectful hL f , ll.r,vers. impressed- by hotel clerks, overawed by head waiters, and completely at the mercy of porters and bel| And here I was embused unon an adventure that would fright thnn more intrepid soul mieht h Cn Grandma Moses aittw hlf a. w qualms about cutting herself loose from her emWe 'f h?U|t h6r barnside mast P to 8ive her an impetus WOrk of art' no "est seller not even a blue ribbon f?r baking to my credit al though I'd been turning' out bakery products for family con sumption for forty years* The only compliment i ever receiv c.d for my culinary art was a lefd.e(d|y left-handed one. My daughter-in-law frequently told for mil- C0Uld say one thing r Bin. as a husband, he'd ln?VeLrU1 her feellngs "y tell ing her she wasn't as good a cook as mother was. My only qualifications for en trance to the University was that I was aware of my limita tions. I had been blessed with a family that kept me well posted on the subject of my shortcomings. I also knew that these limitations not only pre cluded my learning anything 1 hadn't learned forty years ago, but reduced my chances of ever arriving at Chapel Hill, al though I was actually on my way. . Bill had given me detailed instructions as to when, where, a-nd how to get off the bus He had even driven up to Chapel Hill with me a week or two before to show me _ the lay of the land, as he couldn t come with me when I left for school. The last thing he said befor( the bus pulled out was to cau tion me against my failing oi getting so absorbed in a boop that I'd go by the station. Determined to get off at th< ?i<rht place, I laid my boot aside at Raleigh and was alerl for the next stop which I wa: sure was Chapel Hill. Assoor as the bus stopped I gatherec up my things and stepped off Assuming the bored expressioi of a seasoned traveler, I startec up the street at the gait of s person who knows just when he is going and why. "No, thank you," I said non chalantly to a taxi driver wh< opened the door of his car in vitingly, "I'm just going to th< University." I knew it was with in walking distance. "To the University! You mean Duke, ma'm?" "Certainty not," I gave hin a how-can-you-be-so-dumb loon "The University of North Caro lina of course." "You've quite a distance ti walk, ma'm," he smiled am tipped his cap. "You're in Dur ham now." I was glad he couldn't see m. face, when X turned and ran t( catch the bus that was jus pulling out. I did just as I had been tol< from then on, sitting on th edge of my seat until we reach ed Chapel Hill and making i bee line for a taxi which pu me out in front of South Build ing. With the help of almost everv*\ody in the building eventually found my way to the Admissions Office and to the desk of the director, Roy Armstrong. "We won't tell your son i word about It,"* he chuckled when I thawed under the spei of his geniality and told hUn o mv misadventure at Durham. I hive found that once mor "My lines have fallen Into pleasant places." News Making As It Looks To A Maconite ? Br BOB SLOAN The other day a citizen stop ped me on the street and said, "What Is wrong with Franklin, dont they have enough wat$r to occasionally have the street^ washed?" Continuing In the same somewhat irritated vein he added, "They use to wash the streets even in the winter and we need It much worse now. Why, If something Isn't done Franklin will become the dirtiest town In Western North Carolina." I don't know whether the full extent of the criticism is true, but It does seem to me that In the Summer the business sec tion streets would be washed at least once a week. It Is about the only way to remove the dirt and dust that accumulates. More tourists will stop In a clean town than a dirty one. ine memucrs ui tuc uuaiu ui commissioners for Macon Coun ty have a bear by the tail it seems to me. They can't hold on and they can't turn loose. The question (or the bear) is taxes and the schools. People continually clamor for better schools, but at the same time most of them shudder at the thought of an increase in taxes. Now even though it is expected of them the commissioners can't work the miracle of giv ing better schools without spending more money. The tax payers owe it to the commis sioners to tell them that they think the present facilities are adequate or that they think taxes should be increased so that better facilities can be purchased. Each citizen should think it over and decide do I want to spend more money on the schools and have higher taxes or do I think our school facilities are adequate. There is one thing just as certain as the proverbial death and taxes and that is that in this world you don't get any more than you pay. for. There is one other possibility and that is a revalu ation of the assessed value to the taxable property in the county, but no one seems inter ested in that. What this is in tended to say is let's help the 1 commissioners do something with that bear. It's our problem, not theirs alone. ? * * Friends of Weimar Jones ? Continued on Page 3 Do You Remember? (Looking backward through the files of The Press) 50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK R. T. Sisk, the shoemaker, moved his shop Into the little . red house alongside of E. H. . Franks' store last Friday. [ Workmen commenced tearing " down the old Pendergrass store building yesterday morning. i J. F. Ray moved his law of t fice Saturday from over Pen s dergrass' store to a room over i E. H. Franks' store. The move I was necessary in order to take . down the old Pendergrass store i house to erect a new brick 1 building on the site. t 25 YEARS AGO According to an announce . ment made here Monday by 3 George Johnston, manager of the Western Carolina Telephone ? Company, this organization has I just completed^ new telephone system at Highlands, which is now in operation. No doubt the cannery can can i what you can't can. " The California flyers remain ed in the air for more than 10 days. Ten minutes will be suf j ficient for us. Uncle Charlie Slagle has in vited the editor over to the Slier y reunion. It is needless to say j that we will be there provided t our 1918 Ford will climb the Nantahalas. I Mr. Jas. Ramsey, of Tellico, e made a trip to Bryson City last " week and came back in a new * Whippet. 10 YEARS AGO / Miss Emogene Landrum, stu dent at Woman's College, Greensboro, has joined the of fice staff of The Franklin Press for the summer months. Gladys Hannah has accepted a position with the F. B. I. in j1 Washington, D. C. II Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Smith, f with their two children, Billy and Pat, have moved to Baton e Rouge, La., where Mr. Smith Is ? employed as safety Inspector by the DuPont Steel Plant.
The Franklin Press and the Highlands Maconian (Franklin, N.C.)
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June 17, 1954, edition 1
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