Newspapers / The Franklin Press and … / April 5, 1956, edition 1 / Page 2
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?ht Sltnnklin nnb ?1 xt Highlands JEnrmtmn Entered at Poet Office, Franklin, N. C., as second class matter Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press Franklin, N. C. Telephone 24 WEIMAR JONES Editor BOB S. SLOAN Advertising Manager J. P. BRADY News Editor-Photographer MRS ALLEN SILER Society Editor Office Manager MBS. MARION BRYSON Proofreader CARL P. CABE Opera tqr-Machlnlst FRANK A. STARR ETTE Compositor O. E. CRAWFORD 8tereotyper CHARLES E. WHITTINGTON Pressman DAVID H. SUTTON Commercial Printer SUBSCRIPTION RATES Outside Macon Countt One Year $3.00 8lx Months . Three Months Two Years Three Years Inside Macon County One Year $2.50 1.75 Six Months 1.75 1.00 Three Months .... 1.00 5.25 Two Years 4.25 7.50 Three Years 6 00 APRIL 5, 1956 After 50 Years It is a matter of regret that a large number of young men of Macon County are going west. It is estimated that over 300 have left this county within the last two or three years. Docs that sound familiar? Well, the quotation is from The Press of 50 years ago this week. In other words, we still have the same' problem today we had hack in 1906. After 50 years, it's about time we did something about it. Maybe we don't have enough opportunities here; if not, we'd better provide more. But the first thing would seem to be to take a hard look and see just what we do have. And probably what is worst needed of all is a combination of a vocational counseling service for our youth with a sort of clearing house to bring the opportunity and the youth together. But We Did It! The Franklin District school now has as large and as fine a gymnasium as is to he found any where in the entire mountain region. That, of course, is news, and has been duly recorded as such in the news columns of The Press. That, though, is only half the story. The other half is how we got it. By all the rules, we aren't supposed to have a gymnasium at all ? it's supposed, by the rules, to be several years in the future. For, a couple of years ago, all the facts said it was out of the question to build a gymnasium at this time. The county long since had gone to its legal limit in issuing bonds for school purposes, and there were other pressing needs. But there the gym is, over on "Knowledge Hill"! To begin with, when it was put into the con struction program, along with 18 classrooms and two lunchrooms, to be built out of this county's share of the first 25 million of the state's school building bond issue, local officials were assured it wouldn't be approved : the state was approving only classroom construction, they were told. But Supt. Holland McSwain and Allen Siler, then a member of the county board of education, when they appeared before the state's review panel, used this argument : "Other counties have built gym nasiums and now were getting money to build classrooms. This county had put classrooms first, and done without a gymnasium. As a result, we now have fewer classrooms to build, so it seems proper to put a gymn into this program. 1 he panel members agreed, and the program was approved. It looked like a gymn for Franklin was in the bag. Well, it wasn't. For when the bids were opened, it took the entire amount allotted to Macon to construct the IS classrooms. There was nothing left for a gvm. Most people would have given up .in despair; hut not the folks here! The county did have $105, (XX) insurance from the old building, which had burned. That, of course wasn't enough ; it lacked about $60,000 of being enough. So the school authorities started all over again. Where to get that $60,000? A loan from the State Literary Fund provided $28,000, and the county commissioners agreed to put up the remainder, out of local tax money. And what we have is not just a gymnasium, but one of the finest ! That we have it is due to the faith and the de termination and the community pride of a lot of \Goy% IBUWET ubieL. i " <>? "-? They're Pulling Together people. Among- them are past and present mem bers of the county board of education ; the county superintendent ; the county commissioners ; and, of course, the taxpayers, whose attitude was^the final factor. And it's a better gym than we otherwise would have had because local contractors, the Ma con Construction Company and James P. Wurst, went beyond the literal requirements of their con tracts to do an A-l job. ^ 3?C There're some old verses that start something like this: I "It couldn't be done ? But he did it !" It was that spirit, applied to the need for a gym nasium here, that made possible what seemed im possible. The same spirit can ? and undoubtedly will ? provide for another long-time sore need, a school auditorium adequate for the needs of the com munity and the county. ? Letters Says Love Is The Answer Editor, The Press: Of late many have given their views on segregation, some going back as far as in the beginning to get their viewpoint. One said, "God made in the beginning five races", I am wondering in what book that was found? The Bible tells that in the be ginning God made two people. Adam and Eve, and made them of one blood and from that one blood all the people of the earth came. This being true (because it is Bible), fthy not see God as the Father, and we the children? Some of us white, black, brown, red and yellow, yet one big family well scattered over the face of the earth. Now I would ask all Christians ? and the reason I say Christians is because I am one, and I know something about the duty of one ? to erase the word segregation 'from their minds and hearts and fill the empty space with love, in ac cordance with the first and great commandment, and the second like unto it, both hinged on love. Therefore every Christian should have enough love to keep from worrying about segregation. Segregation, as I /see it, is wrong; for anything that sepa rates and causes one group to think it is better than an other is wrong from the Christian's view point of right. It has served to keep the Negro from having a fair chance for a good education. When by chance he learned to do many kinds of labor, he was and is denied' jobs because of segre gation. I think that the ruling of the Supreme Court was a wise and just one. Let us solve all our problems with love. NEWTON G. GIBSON Franklin. Others' Opinions You-Pay-As-They-Go (Washington Daily News) If your vehicle possessions consist of the family auto, chances ire you will get only rare, if any, use of the proposed 40,000 nlle superhighway system urged by President Eisenhower and sow pending in Congress. If you are in business and have one or more small truoks [or local delivery of laundry, groceries or other goods, you cer tainly never will get any use of the superhighway system. But Chums, the way the tax bill Is being rigged in the House rou are going to pay for these new roads. Big trucks and buses will be the main users of the new highways. They will use them for profit. But the pleasure car owners will pay most of the bill. The President asked for this road program last year. But the big truck lobby killed It because they didn't want to pay a lair share of the cost. Now House leaders have fixed up a new bill, which will let the big trucks off easy and sock the motorists right In the gas tank. This happens because the truckers have a rough and bois terous lobby here. The congressmen hear from the truckers, often and loud. ? ? ? * These new highways will be built for big trucks and buses. That's why they will cost so much ? $50,000,000,000 In the end, It's estimated. Big trucks and big buses beat the day-lights out of a con crete road. This has been proved by many tests. Every engi neer knows It. For instance, New Jersey ran some tests a few years ago which showed that maintenance costs on truck routes ran from 27 to 566 per cent higher than maintenance costs on purely- auto routes. All of which Is ignored in the new highway tax bill ? which levies on the auto owner the same as It levies on the big truck. But there are more family car owners than big truckers. And if the family car owners holler long enough and loud enough, Congress will hear them, too. There is still time to do it. Awe lnspiring Cullasaja Gorge (Greensboro Dally News) We're all for these travel tours for North Carolina as en visioned by the newly formed North Carolina Travel Council, the Conservation and Development Department, the Depart ment of Archives and History and other public and private organizations. There could be short tours and long tours, tailored to fit the wishes, schedules and pocketbooks of Tar Heels and vis itors within our gates. , Consider, for instance, the Outer Banks and the Albemarle territory; the more southerly coastal or tidewater area, with New Bern coming more sharply to the fore as Tryon's Palace becomes a reality; the seaside playgrounds from above More head City on down to the state line; the sandhills area with its mild temperatures and its emphasis upon sports and easy living; the great educational triangle embracing Duke; State College and the University at Chapel Hill, with the capital's other attractions embodied in the tour; the industrial Pied mont with a glimpse of tobacco cultivation, marketing and processing and visits to other manufactories which are na tionally or even world renowned. Guilford and Kings Moun tain battlefields and Old Salem should not be overlooked. As we move into the mountains, any number of trips are there for the taking. No one should miss stretches of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the trip up Mitchell, a look at the Sap phire country, a swing into the Great Smokies, and an awe inspiring ascent up the gorge of the Cullasaja from Franklin to Highlands. Then there are the pageants at Cherokee. Boone and Roanoke Island. We could go on and on as the projected tours take shape. So, go to it, boys and girls, and bring all the folks you can with you. They'll be the gainer and so will North Carolina. In Defense Of Sambo (Greensboro Daily News) By way of the Milwaukee Journal we learn that "Little Black Sambo", ,that delightful classic of childhood, has been ban ned by the Toronto public schools. The reason: Protests by Negro groups who say it causes them anguish and holds them up to ridicule. Now what is the ultimate end of such censorship? The end, we think, would be elimination of about 80 or 90 per cent of our literature, child and adult. Fagin, in Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist", is an obnoxious character, but shall we also ban him because he brings anguish to Jews? Shall we abolish the Prussian general from the pages of books because he pains Germans? What about Tamburlalne, The Great, does he mock more of the Oriental peoples whose favor we now curry? What of Willie Loman in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" ? will he be banished from the boards, because his play says uncomplimentary things about businessmen? A classic is a classic. It endures because it says something profoundly true and touches the hearts and minds of men. "Little Black Sambo" is a Joyful tale, first spun in India, about a warm-hearted little boy who saved himself from the tiger by his wits. He is a lovable character. Won't somebody stand up in his defense? Subsidized Occupation (New York Herald-Tribune) That agriculture requires protection and help is a fact, which cannot be doubted, and therefore it would be more political prudgery to try to hide the reality ? which is that agriculture must be a protected and subsidized occupation. Poetry Editor EDITH DEADERICK ERSKINE Weaverville, North Carolina SEA DAWN I saw the old moon dying In the morning mist; Heard the cold sea crying. Disconsolate ? the tryst Of moon and sea had ended ? Now they two must part; Who understands their anguish? None but the anguished heart. Highlands and California BESS HINES HARKINS. VIEWS By BOB SLOAN As a person who expects to live In Franklin for the next twenty-five years here are a few random thoughts on some of the things I hope to see hap pen In that period of time: The construction of a first class airport capable of hand ling both passenger and freight air traffic. The population not Increase to more than ten thousand peo ple, but the city limits extend ed one half mile In each di rection. The spread of the clean-up idea to such extent that Frank lin becomes known as the clean est town in North Carolina at least. The continuation of the de velopment of progressive mer chants who will give Franklin the name for being the finest shopping center anywhere near. The establishment of a small four-year college here. The development of local cul tural groups here such as com munity orchestra or dramatic clubs. The continuation of the li brary. The construction of more and better recreational facilities for youth and tourists. The adoption, by both the town and county, of a tax structure that will make It pos sible for both to maintain their present facilities and each year lay aside some for constant im provement. For example, the county should be able to prop erly equip the schools without the P. T. A.'s having to hold suppers and rummage sales. Also the town should have a tax structure that would enable them to furnish water at low, low rates and meet the de mands of any potential new customers. And they should be able to do this from their tax revenues without having to sit up nights cooking up such schemes as sewer charges or tap on fees. Franklin gain an increasing reputation for being a prosper ous town where everyone has equal educational and economic opportunity. The continued growth of our churches with an ever Increas ing spirit of cooperation beT tween them. Do You Remember? (Looking backward through the files of The Press) 50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK It was a matter of regret that a large number of young men of Macon County are going west. It Is estimated that over 300 have left this county within the last two or three years. Miss Mattie Love returned from Alabama Saturday, after an absence of several months. Mr. John W. Adams, of Chat tanooga, Tenn., arrived here Saturday evening, looking after timber and mineral interests. 25 YEARS AGO Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Root, who have been spending the winter in Dillon and Charleston, have returned to their home here. ? Highlands item. Miss Mary \Bissell, who spent the winter in Clearwater, Fla., returnejl to her home here last week. Judge and Mrs. John Awtrey and Mr. E. E. Sypher, who have been in Havana, Cuba, and oth er points, returned to Franklin last Saturday. " 10 YEAR AGO E. J. Whitmire, agriculture teacher at Franklin High school, was elected president of the North Carolina Association of Teachers of Agriculture at a meeting of the state group in Asheville. Mrs. T. M. Keener, who has been in New York City since the first of January, has re turned to her home on Flat Mountain. ? Highlands Item. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Kelly, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, have been visiting Mr. Kelly's aunt, Mrs. J. B. Stallcup, and cousin, Mrs. Hyldah Shepherd, at their home on Iotla Street.
The Franklin Press and the Highlands Maconian (Franklin, N.C.)
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April 5, 1956, edition 1
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