j I
UJi t Jfimnklin tyrts a
aiti*
?1* t Migklaiiits JttnrjmiRit
Entered at Post Office, Franklin. If. C.. u second elm matter
Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press
Franklin. N. C. Telephone 34
WEIMAR JONES Editor
BOB 8. 3LOAN Business Manager
J.P.BRADY News Editor
MRS EDWARD CRAWFORD Office Manager
CARL P. CABE Mechanical Superintendent
FRANK A. 8TARRETTE Shop Superintendent
DAVID H. SUTTON Stereo typer
CHARLE8 E. WH1TT1NOTON Pressman
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Outside Macon Countt Inside Macon County
One Year $3.00 One Year $2.50
?lz Months 1.79 81x Months 1.75
Three Months 1.00 Three Months 1.00
Strange Paradox
Where does Senator McCarthy's strength lie?
The vote in the U. S. Senate last week, when
that body censured the Wisconsin senator, casts
interesting light on the question.
The crucial test came not on the censure motion
itself, hut in an earlier vote on a substitute motion
made by Senator Dirksen, of Illinois, a McCarthy
supporter. Senator Dirksen's motion would have
had the effect of clearing McCarthy of the charges
against him. That motion was defeated, 66 to 21.
An analysis of the roll call vote on the Dirksen
motion shows that :
1. Voting against that motion were such conserva
tives as Ferguson (R.-Mich.) and George (D.-Ga.)
and such liberals as Morse (Ind.-Ore.) and Doug
las (D.-Ill.) Thys the censure motion brought to
gether conservatives and liberals of both parties.
2. The 66 senators who voted against McCarthy
on the Dirksen motion come from 41 states. That
is, opposition to McCarthy's ideas and methods, as
expressed bv the senate vote, is widespread.
3. The only states from which there were no
anti-McCarthy votes are Maryland, Idaho, North
Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wisconsin (and
in the case of Wisconsin, neither senator voted).
With the exception of Maryland, all these states lie
in one region ? the Midwest,
4. While there were pro-McCarthy votes from 16
states, 15 of the total of 21 senators who voted for
McCarthy come from only 11 states ? Idaho (2
votes for McCarthy), North Dakota, Nebraska (2
votes), Nevada (2), Wyoming, Arizona, South Da
kota, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa. All of
those 11 states that furnished nearly three-fourths
of the pro-McCarthy votes lie in the Midwest.
5. Of the 22 senators from those 11 states, 15, or
nearly three fourths, cast pro-McCarthy votes.
(And the figure really should he 16. because Sena
tor Capehart, of Indiana, was "paired" in favor of
McCarthy ? that is, he was absent and did not
vote, but was recorded as favoring McCarthy.)
If the senators' votes represent the sentiments of
their constituents ? and senators stay in office by
doing just that ? then it seems pretty clear that
Senator McCarthy's strength i.s largely sectional,
and that the section that gives him his strength is
the Midwest.
That presents a strange paradox. Because it is
that same section in which isolationism has flour
ished for half a century. And isolationism and mc
carthyism arc in sharp conflict.
Isolationism grows out of the conviction that
America is the best of all lands; that it has the
best people, the best ideas, the best government,
the best economic system. Furthermore, your isola
tionist would be among the first to say that the
thing that has made it the best is its freedom.
Mccarthvism ? and the senator is only the sym
bol of a philosophy ? on the other hand, is a denial
of all freedom. The McCarthvites are not the only
Americans who recognize that there always have
been spies and traitors and that todaV is no excep
tion. The difference is that mccarthvism grows out
of the conviction that the only way to have secttr
.itv is to abolish freedom.
S-D Day
Most of us have had the experience of setting
out, some one day or week or month, to see just
how much we can do along a certain line. Usually
we surprise even ourselves. Then, having; ,prove<
to ourselves how well we can do, we have before
us a reachable goal 1(1 shoot at ? and possibh
pass ? in the future.
That is the thought behind S-l) Day, next Wed
nesdav (December 15). S-D Day has been suggest
ed by the President's Action Committee for Traffii
Safety, and it will be observed next Wednesday al
over the United States.
Of course every day should be Safe-Driving Day
But the idea is if we will set out, just one day, to
see how much we can do about the needless killing
and maiming on streets and highways, we'll do so
well we'll be challenged to keep on doing well on
succeeding days.
Goodness jcnows it's time we did sometihng about
traffic accidents; because in last year's traffic acci
dents, we Americans killed one person every 14 sec
onds. And for every fatality, one man, woman or
child was totally and permanently disabled.
It's a national problem, of course. But whose job
is it ? in the nation? The answer seems to be that
the nation is made up of states, the states of coun
ties. the counties of neighborhoods, and the neigh
borhoods of individuals. Thus, boiled down, the re
sponsibility is that of individual men and women ?
of you and me.
And the solution really is simple. It doesn't cost
anything, and it isn't hard or complicated. All you
and I need to do is :
1. Observe the letter and the spirit of all traffic
regulations.
2. Be courteous to every driver and pedestrian ?
just practice the (iolden Rule.
3. Give our full attention to driving and walking
? be as careful and considerate as we'd want the
other fellow to be.
Let's try it next Wednesday. Let's hope it will
be a successful demonstration all over the nation.
But let's prove we can eliminate traffic accidents
here in Macon County. Xext Wednesday let's not
have so much as a scraped fender !
'? /
A Good Job
North Carolinians have good reason to be proud
of their Senator Sam J. Ervin, Jr.
Senator Ervin, a member of the committee that
recommended Senator McCarthy be censured, has
handled himself well throughout the entire proceed
ings.
He had the courage to .stand up to McCarthy ?
without losing his temper.
He had the intelligence to state the censure vote
issue clearly and simply ? without over-stating it.
And he had the good sense to laugh at McCar
thy ? without losing his dignity.
ASK ME ANOTHER!
? How Many Can YOU Answtr? "
Here's a game to test your
family's knowledge of the facts
about automobile accidents and,
at the same time, familarize
everyone with those facts.
The quiz is distributed by the
State Department of Motor Ve
hicles and was adapted from a
pamphlet issued by the Lum
bermens Mutual Casualty Com
pany.
Check your answer; then turn
to back page, secorid section, to
see how many you got right.
1. What is the minimum safe
distance, in dry weather, at
which to follow another car?
a. 10 feet for each 10 miles
per hour
b. l car length for each 10
miles per hour
c. 20 feet
d. 3 car lengths for each 10
miles per hour
2. What was the condition of
the streets or roads on which
at least SO per cent of last
year's North Carolina traffic
fatalities occurred?
a. wet
b. dry
3. Do more accidents happen
in good weather or bad weath
er?
a. good
b. bad
4. What is the safest proced
ure to follow if you become
fatigued while driving? .
a. Speed up to make your
destination before falling
asleep
b. Pull over to the curb and
rest awhile
c. Stop and eat a heavj
meal
d. Take some pills
5. What is the fastest, safes!
way to stop a car?
a. Slam the brake peda
hard
| b. Ease the hrake pedal t<
, / a deliberate stop
c. Pull up the emergency
brake and depress the
foot brake pedal
d. Pump the brake pedal
gently but firmly
6. When a tire blows out,
what is the most advisable
thing to do?
a. Apply the brakes quickly
b. Apply brakes gently, or
not at all
ri Pull off the highway
d. Speed up to counteract
effect of blowout
7. There are four specially en
graved invitations to death on
the highway. Which is the
greatest cause of death?
a. Reckless driving
b. Not having the right-of
way
c. Wrong side of the road
d. Excessive speed
8. Where is the best place to
put an old tire which you
think might blow out if driven
far?
a. Either front wheel
b. In the garage
c. Spare wheel
d. Either rear wheel
9. Drunken drivers, or driven
who have been drinking, ar(
involved in orne out of how
many fatal accidents:
a. 24 ?
b. 6
c. 18
? d. 106
10. In addition to the specif!
wording on the signs, the shap<
of highway signs has signifi
' cance. Indicate the shape of th
signs which have the followin
meanings.
t a. Stop
b. Caution
. c. Railroad crossings
d. Reduce speed
3 Correct Answers on Back Pagi
Second Section.
/
'MEN OF DISTINCTION'
(Christian Science Monitor i
Yet another portrait which the distillers who sponsor the
series of big whisky ads will never seek: The Oregon youth
charged with setting seven fires, one of which caused $100, 00(
damage. Detectives say that after signing a statement admit
ting his responsibility he explained: "I had been drinking al
night long ? and if I hadn't this wouldn't have happened."
I
OUR DEMOCRACY
R/SKS OF THE ROAD
In me EAUiy dwc or out country, thc cmi*f oangus
Or THE ROAP WrU HOSTILE INDIANS ANOMOCO-UP MEN.
? A*3m ,| _ u, . . . . ? ? ?.
TDOAV.THE CHIEF DANGER IS THe PERSON WHO DRIVES
CARELESSLY ? ^PEEDING, WEAVING, FOLLOWING OTHER CArjS
TOO CLOSELY, CUTTING IN, DROWSING AT THE WHEEL.
AS MOTORISTS, WE CAN HELP REDUCE HIGH WAV ACCIDENTS
BV OBEYING* THE TRAFFIC LAWS. LIGHTS AND SIGNS.
SAFE DRIVING DAV- DECEMBER. IS
COMMUNISM AT THE UNIVERSITY?
(U. N. C. Daily Tarheel)
Batten down the hatches, men, we're heading full into a hard
hot wind from the South. Ralph Long, a former campus Com
munist who is at present busily engaged in saving humanity
from the Red scourge, showed up in Miami Tuesday before the
touring House Un-American Activities Committee.
And what revelations did he make? He said there was a
small Communist cell here in the late 40's, something every
body knew at the time. He named five part-time instructors as
"faculty Reds." All five were known to the FBI then and' still
are; all have long-since left Chapel Hill. He exclaimed the
University "made no investigation, did nothing about it." There
was nothing illegal about being a Communist at the time, and
by Long's own testimony the group operated openly, not as a
secret conspiratorial organization.
Long and his Communist friends in Chapel Hill in the late
40 "s succeeded only in drawing a few chuckles from the com
munity. Now that he is a professional testifier, however, we
suggest he is doing more harm to the University than he coulc
ever have done as a Communist. He has revealed nothing thai
the FBI and, hi most cases, the public, did not already know
Unfortunately for the good name of the University, he ap
pears to be enjoying the role of anti-Communist crusader ant
between him and Nell Battle Lewis, we are likely to be breath
ing a good deal more of this hot air for some time to come.
STRICTLY
PERSONAL
By WEIMAR JONES
It is my strictly personal
opinion that Franklin has some
streets and sidewalks that are
mighty dirty. And Christmas is
coming!
With the holidays will come
a lot of our young people. Will
their home town look unkempt
and down-at-the-heel by com
parison with what they've been
seeing elsewhere? And will their
opinion of their home town go
down in proportion?
Suggestion: An old fashioned
Saturday night scrubbing be
hind the ears for Franklin right
now would pay handsome divi
dends in the future.
? * ?
I have never seen Mr. Vernon
r Ward, of Ransomville. I do not
know who he is. Until last week,
I had never heard of him.
But my hat is off to him.
Because Mr. Ward has said,
and said well, something that
once was taken for granted in
. this "land of the free", but
? which a lot of people seem to
. have forgotten of late.
s In a letter, published in the
5 Greensboro Daily News, Mr.
Ward said, in part:
"I wish to protest the arrest
of Junius I. Scales. I am not
now and have never been a
member of the Communist
!, Party, but I respect the demo
cratic right of Junius Scales to
be a member of the Communist
Party and his constitutional
rights to speak, publish, and as
semble freely and thus to per
suade as many people as he can
to adhere to his movement.
"Under the first amendment,
Junius Scales has a perfect
right to teach and advocate
anything under the sun, includ
ing the overthrow of the United
States Government by force and
violence, for the Constitution
specifically states that the
rights of free speech, free press,
and free peaceful assembly may
not be abridged. Thus, only
when Junius Scales and other
Communists commit acts of
force and violence can they be
legally restricted. Those who in
terfere with the political free
dom of a Communist or anyone
else are themselves overthrow
ing the Constitution and are
themselves traitors to American
democracy.
"Since every officer of the
United States Government has
sworn to uphold the Constitu
tion, including the first amend
ment, he perjures his oath of
office and becomes a traitor to
the country if he arrests any
one at all, whether Communist
or McCarthyite, for 'teaching
and advocating' or (an act even
further removed from violence i
'conspiring to teach and advo
cate' anything the human mind
might conceive.
"It is impossible to conspire
to teach and advocate in a
country wherein teaching and
advocacy are themselves consti
tutional rights. So the Smltli
Act, under which Junius Scale:
was arrested, is obviously un
constitutional, and the only waj
it can be made constitutional Li
by amending the U. S. Consti
tution."
In other words, Mr. Ward, ir
the realms of religious, political
and economic thought anc
speech, we either are free or wi
are not free.
And It might be added tha
we cannot be "half free an(
half slave". Either all of us
even Including the Communist
? must be free to think wha
we please and say what w
think, or none of us can b
free.
News Making
As ft Looks
To A Maconite
? Br BOB SLOAN
J
Adlal Stevenson got to the
root of the problem racing us
In Asia when he said:
"The number one problem In ?
Asia today Is not communism
but that millions of people want
a better life and have discover
ed that poverty, hunger and
pestilence are not the immu
table destiny of man.
"If they can't make progress
by the voluntary democratic
methods of consent, they will
turn to the Involuntary methods
of coercion, as China already
has."
The titular head of the Dem
ocratic party made this state
ment in an address to a group
of Democrats at a party meet
ing last Saturday night, but the
nation as a whole would do
well to ponder its substance.
We must recognize the fact
that for years, since even be
fore America was a nation, mil
lions of people lived in Asia in
serfdom ? a life little better
than that of animals. In recent
years these people have learned
that life can be different ?
that it can have a meaning.
Each taste of a better existence,
no matter how slight, has
brought an increased appetite
for more. Just as the American
people were determined to gain
freedom and later the countries
of Europe revolted to change
their forms of "government, the
people ? and we mean the
masses ? are determined to
find some way to exist in a
better way and pull themselves
from the mire of serfdom. They
will do It by some means.
The real job of the United
States is to show these people
that the real way Is the path
of a democratic government
and a free enterprise system.
Russia will do her best to lead
them along the quicksand path
of Communism.
inese people are gviug w
nove. America, more than any
?ther nation, must be blamed
( the merits of our system are
tot made to shine so clearly
tnd brightly that any other
vay will appear as darkness.
We must reach these people
ind show them the way. They
ire a mass of millions, and
which path they take probably
rill determine the kind of life
>ur children's children live.
? ? ?
Now that the McCarthy hear
ings are over it seems to me
that the two outstanding men
in the arena, were Republican
Senator Arthur Watkins and
North Carolina's own Sam Er
irln. Senator Watkins displayed
terrific courage and Senator
Ervln, though new at the game,
handled the Wisconsin pug in
such fashion that he had no
come-back. Few have been able
to do that.
Do You
Remember?
(Looking backward through
the files of The Pre" i
50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
The lower room of Mr. J. B.
Pendergrass' new store building
is practically finished, and he
moved his stock of goods into
it last Wednesday.
Dr. W. H. Higgins made a
business trip to Clay County
last Wednesday and returned
Sunday.
25 YEARS AGO
Messrs Raymond Dalrymple
and Norman Blaine attended
the Mercer-Wake Forest football
game in Asheville on Thanks
giving and while there, visited
Harold Dalrymple.
The Rev. and Mrs. L. B.
Hayes, of Shelby, spent Thanks
giving with Mrs. Hayes' mother,
.Mrs. Sam L. Rogers. !
Bill Moore, Dean Sisk. and t
Frank Murray are guests of
Judge J. B. Willis at Crystal
Springs, Fla. They have gone i
for a two weeks' fishing trip.
10 YEARS AGO
Mrs. Ella Siler Freeman of
West Asheville, spent the past
week visiting Miss Amy Harri
son at her home on Harrison
Avenue.
Pvt. Clyde J. Holland, who Is
stationed at Fort McClellan,
Ala., is spending a 10-day fur
lough with his parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Harley Holland and fam
ily, at Cullasaja.
Mrs. T. M. Keener left Mon
day to spend several weeks in
Washington, D. C. ? Highlands
item.