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(lit t Jfitnttklitx |ms anit Cite Jftigitlartbs jUatstuati Entered at Post Office. Franklin, N. C., ss second claas matter Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press Franklin, N. C. Telephone 24 WIDIAH JONES Editor BOB 8. SLOAN Advertising Manager J. P. BRADY News Editor-Photographer BOLFE NEILL Reporter MRS ALLEN 8ILER Society Editor-Office Managsr CARL P. CABE Opera tor -Machinist MANE! a. 8TARRETTE Compositor O. E. CRAWFORD Stereotypsr CHARLES E. W Ill'lTIN OTON Pressman DAVID H. SUTTON Commercial Printer SUBSCRIPTION RATES Ocrsos Macon Countt Inszds Macon Countt One Tear $3.00 One Year $2J0 4Ux Months . Three Months T^a Years . Three Years 1.75 Six Months 1.78 1.00 Three Months .... 1.00 5.25 Two Years 4.25 7 JO Three Years 6.00 NOVEMBER 1, 1956 Who Elects Bad Officials? This idea, suggested by the Indianola, Iowa, Her ald, is both sensible and timely: Bad officials are elected by the voters who stay at home on election day. Not Quite True "New and expanding industry is the answer to North Carolina's greatest economic problem ? which is lower per capita income than 42 other states". So reads an advertisement (captioned "Blessed With Opportunity"), signed by the State of North Carolina, that appears in this issue of The Press. The advertisement is one of a series that mem bers of the North Carolina Press Association are publishing without charge. ' This newspaper is glad to have a part in this ?project> in helping to tell the story of industrial opportunity in North Carolina. It does not follow, however, that we necessarily indorse what the ads say, or are under obligation to keep quiet about what may appear to us to be less than the full -truth. The quotation above is an example. The unqual ified statement that "new and expanding industry is the answer" to North Carolina's low per capita income just isn't quite true. And it has been proved untrue by North Carolina's own experience. For North Carolina, 43rd in per capita income, is even lower down the scale in average wages paid by in dustrial plants. In other words, the low wages paid by many industrial plants in North Carolina have lowered, not raised, the per capita income. More of the same kind of industries would not .solve our low per capita income, therefore, but would aggra vate the problem. , Which brings us around to saying something that has been said bv this newspaper before, but which cannot be said too often: (a) North Carolina's economic objective should be not industry per se, but an economic balance. (b) The best industrialisation, however desir able, is no cure-all; indiscriminate industrialization is more likely to prove a curse than a blessing. (c) We should be as discriminating about our industries as industry is about its employes. We don't want too many industries, just as an industry doesn't want too many employes ; and we should select our industries with as great care as an in dustry selects its employes. For Western North C arolina, we suggest these tests : 1. Our industry should be home-owned; not nec essarily by the people who now live here, but by people who will live with and in the industry. Ab sentee factory ownership is quite as great an evil as absentee land ownership. 2. Western North Carolina industries should be small ? so that no one can dominate the commun ity; and diversified ? so that a single shut-down cannot paralyze the community's economic life. 3. They should fit into the natural economy of the community, preferably manufacturing raw ma terial already present; that would seem to make sense economically, and socially it would create fewer changes and frictions. 4. They should employ local labor. There cer tainly would be little advantage in a factory that brought its labor from elsewhere, with our own leaving home in search of employment. .4 The community should select the management Mm paying caoh in an ? Mn b Nl m England Itcktd 7< ol having (dough monay . . . olfaiad to naU ap JiBatanca will <nt 34 postaga dampt Conductor accap*ad damps and gava passangar 2< cfcanga . . . awaryAing all squara A private car used by David H Moffat, om lima grocar - latar a pion?r Danvar bankar and famad radroad buddar - now Kousas tfta offtcas of lha Chambar of Comroaraa in i* miU high town of Gaig, Colorado He built the early railroads from Dtnvar to 4m golden gulches o I Cripple Creek end Leedvdle . . . later the Moffat Line tfwough tfte Colorado Rockies including the greet 6-mile tunnel that beers his name. ?? - of its factories as carefully as it selects the type of industry. It is not enough that the plant manage ment should be a good citizen ? in its labor, as well as in its . community relations ; the management should be able to understand and fit into the com munity. 6. Our industries should be those that will not de story the God-given, irreplaceable things we have here in Western North Carolina. Our mountains have been marred and our air and water polluted enough already. 7. Each industry should be fitted carefully into the particular community it is to serve, and each should have just enough to give a proper balance with farming, the tourist business, etc. Too few would be much better than too many. 8. The final test, in every instance, should be the Question: Will the coming of this industry make a better community in which to live? It Is only the very wisest and the very stupidest who do not change.? Han Suyin in her novel, "A Many-Splendored Thing". Others' Opinions (Opinion* expressed In this space art not necessarily those I of Th? Press. Editorials selected for reprinting here. In feet, ' are chosen with a Tlew to presenting a variety of viewpoints. They are. that Is. Just what ths caption says ? OTHIBV Opinions.) What! No Index! (Platteville, Colo., Herald) The Oxford University Press Is still trying to figure out how to answer a letter they received six months ago complaining that their new Universal Dictionary does not contain an In dex! Problem There, Too (Windsor, Colo., Beacon) We sympathize with merchants along the South St. Vraln highway who complain because road construction has reduced their slimmer profits. But Just what do they expect roadbulld lng authorities to do about It? It's too bad that mountain roads can't be rebuilt during the winter when tourist traffic Is low. But that's one of the haz ards of the tourist business. When the new road opens, In creased traffic will soon reimburse the merchants for their summer losses, whereas if the road had not been rebuilt, their business would have dwindled year by year as travelers learned to avoid the old road. A Modern Courthouse (Greensboro Daily News) The world Is full of contrasts. And for North Carolina's con tribution this month we nominate a scene depicted in a pho tograph in the Hertford County Herald. 0 On one side of the picture was the new Hertford County courthouse at Winton ? low pitched, flat-topped, ultramodern, largely glass fronted ? and on the other side the traditional monument of the Confederate soldier at port arms. To those who remember the present courthouse's white por ticoed predecessor, built to replace the one burned by Yankee marauders, the contrast Is startling. The new building has the appearance of so many of the new classroom additions and county health centers one sees about the state or the factories Shown in ads put out by the State Department of Conservation and Development to pub licize North Carolina's "accessible isolation." Not that we're one whit critical. Hertford County citizens have the fullest right to choose modern architecture even in ancient Winton. One must keep up with the times, and in the contex of modern architecture the new Hertford County Courthouse is a beautiful building. But we Can't help wondering what that Confederate soldier thinks of it all. A CHALLENGE TO LEADERSHIP: 4 FRIGHTENING TRENDS (EDITOR'S NOTE: The fol lowing is from an address by the Rev. James Perry, Jr., rector of Grace Episcopal Church, Waynesville, to the Franklin Rotary Club October 11.) The qualities of leadership is something that interests me tremendously because I feel that our world, our nation and our communities need it so desper ately that unless it appears soon in sufficient measure, it will be the undoing of us all. We do not need to be reminded that we are triggering a global earth-quake, that the age of science has placed in man's hands power to destroy him self, that we have a lot of ma turing to do morally and spirit ually if we are to walk away from the brink of disaster where we now stand, and feel that there will be a tomorrow. In our honest moments, we know all of this ? infact I be lieve the edge of It has been dulled because we have been told it so much. And yet although our dilem ma, our predlctament has been analized and re-anallzed as to location and danger, we have not been told much why we are there and how to get out of it. Although the location has been charted, the map out has yet to be drawn. I want to share with you a few trends, a few Indexes of our society that we need to be aware of as trends that do not build those qualities of leader ship necessary if a society is to be virile instead of decadent, if a society is to be healthy in stead of sick. The first is that we have pretty well come to the conclu sion that the possession of ex ternals is to be equated with an ennobled character. We are a nation of new-rich all dressed up and no place to go because we have become satiated with material goals that can't take us beyond our own noses. A full fist indicates to us a fine spirit. Prestige is interpreted in terms of who owns a Cadallic and distinction in terms of who drinks Lord Calvert whiskey. The spotlight is on wealth, or who we happen to know who is wealthy, with the rags to riches dream deeply entrenched in our slide-rule of success. Our town's leading citizens are usually interpreted to mean those who bulk largest at the bank and wield the most influ ence. This has led us to read worth and value entirely from a material way of looking at things. The second trend is that our culture seems to be based upon the conviction that to be com fortable is utterly indispensable if man is to fulfill his destiny. The philosophy of ease has per meated to the roots of our thinking and to the point where we can be completely thrown off balance by a several mile walk if we become stranded on a highway, our telephones go dead lor an hour or two, or the furnace breaks down and we become chilly for an hour or two. It occurs only to a few that this whole cult of comfort is petty, ignoble and unworthy of human nature. All too few ask whether it can possibly be that since our primeval ancestors crawled from the slime of the sea, first in the animal world, then in the human race, men , have fought, bled and died, suf fered pain and hardship, been through, all of this merely that modern men can sit down and be comfortable. And it occurs to a very few that comfort has moved Into our lives as servant but has remained as master. The third trend is the redicu lous notion that whether a man be good or bad, wise or foolish, matters less than that he should conform to the pattern set by the over-grown and de personalized masses. We live in an age Where it seems to be a sign of good mann?rs and mag nanimous tolerance for a per son to say, "I never argue with a man about his religion and politics" and thereby relegates two of the most vital topics of conversation and ideas to the hazy background of vague and wooly thinking. , We have gotten to the place where we abhor the very idea : of being different, or redlculed, and much prefer to submerge ourselves into the colorless mass and remain unnoticed. There is no value put on being indepen dent any more and most of us don't even have the guts left to wear a suit of clothes that hap pens to be out of fashion. We all know in dealing with our children that everybody goes through a period when we have to dress, look, talk and think alike. But never to get beyond this Is a definite sign of imma turity. The fourth trend is that our crowd-ipindedness makes us suggestible, manipulatable, easy meat for almost any propagan dist who is willing to flatter, encourage animality, promise ease and opulence with a min imum of labor and freedom from responsibility. It is a very explosive thing to say, but I am going to say it anyway, that it is very possible that the com ing national election will be won by the party that can promise the most in material rewards to this or that pressure group rather than any Ideals of political philosophy it cares to promote. These conditions and more which one can find from read ing a daily newspaper make it an absolute necessity for groups like Rotary to exist and more over to realize their responsi bility and potential good in so ciety. Without too much flat tery, you represent a privileged class of men and you are daily making the decision by your lives whether higher privilege means greater responsibility or freedom from responsibility. Now let us look back over these trends we have mention ed and see how the qualities of leadership react to them. Leaders of men have never been primarily interested in possessions. They never make the fatal mistake of swapping their manhood for thinghood. Leaders of men know that no society of men and women, common or preferred, can exist on bread alone, or even cake, no matter how widely distribut ed gadgets and trinkets are. The heaven of washing ma chines, deluxe driers and fast moving automobiles of them selves never have made a man nor never will. Our Lord wouldn't swap his Cross for a bake-shop no matter how much men needed bread, for he knew that there were some things more valuable than that, and principle was one of them. Leaders of men have known that life read from a material view-point always ends up in a glorified ten-cent store no mat ter if there is wall-to-wall car peting. Leaders of men never seek comfort for themselves. Though We might question his objectives, Alexander the Great showed this Indispensable qual ity of leadership on one of his campaigns to conquer the then known world. Going through Macedonia, his army had been without water for several days when they met up with some traveling Macedonians who had several goatskins full of water. He was such a revered leader, such an idol of his men, that they, seeing that the water was not enough to quench their thirst, brought it to Alexander for him to drink. Looking into their haggard eyes, their drawn faces, their parched lips, he took the water and poured it on the ground, saying; "if I alone drink, my men will lose heart". Leaders are always willing to identify themselves with those they seek to serve. Leaders are non-conformist, for they are never satisfied with things the way they are. They are willing to be different. I get amused sometimes at our organizations founded to prepetuate the memory of our country's founders and fathers, for they tend to forget the rev olutionary aspect of their lives. Can you imagine what would happen If old Samuel Adams, slovenly dressed, would appear at some meeting of a patriotic group of professional descend ants and spurt forth of the blessedness of rebellion! Or Tom Paine, stone bruised, come upon a meeting which was trying to lash the present to the past, losing sight of the spirit which was the cause of their forma tion in the first place. Leaders are not those who are easy meat for fast talking demogagues, for they have in tegrity of thought, a capacity for dreams and vision, and they refuse to be strapped by the thought patterns of the masses. VIEWS / By BOB SLOAN The football game with Swain High will be a landmark In my memory for many years. First, It was one of the best played football games I have seen In the best traditions of sport. It was flercly competitive and yet cleanly played for the most part. Although outweighed on an average of from 15 to 20 pounds to the man, a game Franklin eleven played Swain High to a standstill, barely los ing 13 to 7. Something that happened that filled me with as much of that warm glow of pride as the fine display of spirit by our own team, was the attitude of the Franklin fans after the game. It was a tough one too, and with a few breaks we could have won, but the fans came away proud, and Justly so, of our boys. In the past, however, some times we have been poor loosers, prone to cry after such a game that the referees cheated us, or some other excuse. I believe that the recent lean years have caused sportsman ship to grow at Franklin and this was a fine example. * ? ? Soon Christmas shopping will be in full swing. Let's buy at home. Remember that to have a better shopping center here we must shop more here. Also remember that it is the local merchants who support the county fair, put the roofs on churches, and help hundreds of other local causes. ? * ? ?My only prediction concern ing the election is that there won't be one hundred twenty five electoral votes difference between Ike and Adall, and that's way out on a limb be cause many things can happen in two weeks and I am writing this October 24. Do You Remember? (Looking: backward through the files of The Press) 50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK A short cut and good road up the river to Highlands, assures to Franklin a prominence as a center of trade and influence. Let the present opportunity pass and she must be satisfied with second place in the grand march of prosperity, which is sure to come in time, with the railroad. Automobile owners in Frank lin are advised to steer clear of Lyle Street in rear of the Methodist Church. 25 YEARS AGO The Angel Building on Main Street has been sold for "one dollar and other considerations" by Dr. Furman Angel to M. L. Dawdle. It is regarded as one of the most valuable pieces of business property in Franklin. Franklin High School football team tasted its first blood of the season last Friday, defeat ing Hayesvilie, 26 to 6, on the local gridiron. Touchdowns for Franklin were made by Stewart, fullback; Hauser, quarterback; Vinson, halfback, and Barnard, right end. Coffee, 25 cents for two pounds; heavy brooms 30 cents. ? Farmers Supply Company ad vertisement. 10 YEARS AGO The Macon County 669-pound Aberdeen Angus steer that won the reserve championship at last week's Asheville Fat Stock show brought the highest price ever paid for a steer in N. C. Owner Hayes Gregory received $1,169.60 for it from the Bank of Franklin. Henry W. Cabe is the new president of the Western Caro lina Telephone Company. Spare Stamps No. 9 and 10, used tor home canning sugar, will continue good throughout November Instead of expiring Oct. 31 as scheduled.
The Franklin Press and the Highlands Maconian (Franklin, N.C.)
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Nov. 1, 1956, edition 1
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