jflntttklitt press atti? Migblaniis JttnrxmroB 8eoond class mail privilege* authorized at Franklin. N. C. Puollshed every Thursday by The Prank 11b Press Telephone 24 WEIMAR JONES . . . . BOB S SLOAN . . J. P. BRADY .... ROLFE NULL MRS. ALLEN SILER , MRS. MARION BRYSON CARL P CABS , . PRANK A. STARRETTE CHARLES E. WHT1T1NOTON O. E. CRAWFORD Editor Advertising Manager News Editor -Photographer Reporter 8oclety Editor Office Managei Proofreader . t . Operator-Machinist . . Compositor Pressman Stereotyper DAVID H. SUTTON Commeiclal Printer SUBSCRIPTION RATES Outbid* Macon County One Year $3.00 Six Months 1.75 Three Months .... 1.00 Two Tears 5.25 Three Years .... 7.50 Inside Macon Couwty One Year $2.5# Six Months 1.75 Three Months .... l.fO Two Years 4.25 Three Years 8.00 JUNE 13, 1957 The Basic Need Congratulations to the board of county com missioners for facing up to the long-apparent need for more money for the county's schools, ahd for the courage tgf levy taxes to raise it. Our guess is there'll he little criticism of the 1U cents increase in taxes. We suspect, instead, there may he a question as to whether the increase is enough. And we're not talking about the extra 5 cents Mr. Bueck, incoming school superintendent, asked for maintenance and operational costs. That other 5 cents may be needed for those purposes ; and of course operation and maintenance are necessary. But not important. They aren't, for the reason that there is little connection between how many paper towels are used, or how much wax is put on the floor, on the one hand, and how much the children learn, on the other. It is that latter that is important. What we need in this county is a tax levy to pro vide a supplement to the salaries of classroom teachers. Because, generally speaking, schools are good or bad in ratio to the quality of the teachers. And surely one way to attract the best teachers is to pay them more. There are some who immediatelv will say : "But we can't afford it." But can we afford to give our children any education but the best? Battles And Bottles The Rutherford County News tells of recent edi torial troubles, all because of the omission of the one little word, "not". It seems someone gave the Rutherfordton chap ter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy the flag carried by that county's unit during the War Between the States ; and a member of the U. D. C. wrote a piece about it for the paper. Here, according to The News, is what happened: Included In Mrs. Williams' article were the proud words, "Four years It waved Its precious folds over a righteous cause, and when we furled It, it was because we were overpowered, not because we were conquered." Well, the worst happened. The line came out In the paper, ". . . because we were conquered . . ." The UDC has not recognized anyone as conquerors of IMPROMPTU VISITS BEST the Confederacy, of course, so the error In the paper amounted to heresy. It was also libelous. And shameful. And downright disgraceful. Among other things. We managed to get the line corrected in about one third of the paper. But two-thirds got Into the malls and on the news stands. So, If your News of last week said the Confederacy was conquered, don't believe It. It alnt so. And we've got a file copy at the office (a corrected copy, that is) to prove It. Well, the Rutherfordton paper is not the first to have such troubles. We could cite a few of our own. Perhaps even more appropriate to this situa tion, though, is the old storv that so well illustrates how typographical errors, once made, stubbornly, refuse to be corrected. In this case, the newspaper, referring to the serv ice of a war veteran, sought to use the high-sound ing phrase, "battle-scarred". But alas! when the paper came out. an "r" had been dropped, and the newspaper's readers were told that the old gentle man was "battle-scared". Next week's issue carried humble apologies, an explanation about the dropped "r", and, to make the situation abundantly clear, a repetition of the phrase. But this time an "o" got in where an "a" should have been, and the old man was called "bot tle-scarred". They'll Be; Missed Some ten days ago, when Mr. Holland McSwain, retiring county superintendent of schools, entered the Franklin High School gymnasium to confer diplomas, something a bit unusual happened. There was no particular occasion for applause, but there was applause ? a spontaneous applause that swept the crowd and continued from the time he entered the door until he reached the platform. Why an ovation for a man just discharged? In part, it undoubtedly was in appreciation of his six years' labors for better schools in Macon County ; in part, it probably was an expression of affection for the man; but most of all, we suspect, it grew out of a new, widespread respect Mr. Mc Swain and members of his family have won for themselves. Because, in a period that must have been difficult and embarrassing, they have borne themselves with a quiet dignity both admirable and rare. The McSwains have been good citizens. TWiir quick willingness to help with anv worth while cause will be srirely missed. That, plus the spirit in whicl\ they have met a trying experience, as sumes them of the personal good wishes of everyone who has had the good fortune to know them. Letters Cowee or Watauga? Editor, The Franklin Press, What is the correct name of the gap on Route 23 at the Macon-Jackson line? The historical marker in the gap refers to it as "Cowee Gap". A few personal inquiries have disclosed that many citizens of Macon County call it "Cowee Gap". Most of the Forest Service and other federal maps which I have consulted show it as "Watauga Gap". The extremely valuable "Vacation Map" published by the Stephens Press and widely distributed among visitors follows this listing. Far be it from me as an outsider to say what the correct name is. I do venture to suggest that the existing confusion should be removed and that one universally accepted name should be adopted For any name to become official, it would have to be approved by the National Board on Geographic Names. But my understanding is that this federal agency is disposed to attach much value to the wishes of the citizens of the primarily interested community or communities in determin ing what name shall be established as official. Certainly the gap is too historic and too important to suffer from a duplication of names. D. HIDEN RAMSEY Asheville, N. C. Going Home; It's Stepping Back Into Stream Of Love DORIS BETTS in Sanford Herald On Saturday we bolted home from the office with the sud den thought that we'd like to go home and see the folks ? home being always the town you grew up In, In our case, Statesvllle, N. C. We hadn't made It for Mo ther's Day and here was a Saturday full of sun that seem ed too golden for using up on television or yard work, or even reading. runny how the Impromptu trips are always the best. The children spring to such excite ment at the surprise announce ment of a trip to Grandma's; the clothes are not all clean and ready; no advance arrange ments have been made for the dogs; the car needs gas and otl; did we promise anyone we'd be at home? The hour between decision and departure Is a hectic one, and you ride off on a ttde of mutual excitement. "Can I swing In Grandma's ?wing? Do I have to take a bath at Grandma's tonight? I don't have to take a nap this afternoon, do I?" So home we went ? home to because Mamma cooked It In stead of you, and back inside the walls where ? so short a time ago, It seems you were wealing saddle oxfords and tle ing up the telephone all hours. Or, to hear your parents tell it, where very recently you were climbing up on the furni ture and spilling jam on the living room rug. And coming back Sunday, after a scurrying overnight visit which seemed crammed full of cousins and aunts and aliments and recent funerals and lots of little children who are sudden ly your contemporaries, we had the sense of having been "nourished" In some obscure way by being home again. We'd seen our children on the lap of our grandmother, who'll be their great-grandmother, and we'd had again that sense of both time and timelessness which comes from watching one generation blend Into the next. Thinking about the time home, and the loved ones seen again, we thought this about a sense of Family: We thought that here Is the one place In the entire world where love Is not dependent on approval. 10 YEARS AGO R. N. Dupree has been chosen by the Highlands board of commissioners as town clerk to succeed Mrs. Virginia P. Merrill, who resigned He was sworn in by Mayor James O. Beale. Mrs. Lee Leach and grandson, Nat Macon, an instructor at the University of North Carolina, visited relatives over the week end.