(Sit t Iflnroklm ^ress
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Second class mall privileges authorized at Franklin. N C
Puollshed every Thursday by The Franklin Press
Telephone 24
WEIMAR JONES . . Editor
BOB S SLOAN . . . Advertising Manager
J P BRADY . News Editor-Photographer
ROLFE NEILL Reporter
MRS. ALLEN SILER Society Editor Office Managei
CARL P CABE .* Operator-Machinist
FRANK A STARRETTE Compositor
CHARLES E WH2TTINGTON Pressman
O E CRAWFORD . . "x Stereotyper
DAVID H. SUTTON Commeiclal Printer
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Outside Macon Countt Inside Macon County
One Yesr $3.00 One Year $2.50
Six Months 1.75 Six Months . 1.75
b ix Monuis
Three Months 100 Three Months .... 100
5.25 Two Ye
7.50 Three "i
JULY 4, 1957
Two years ... 5.25 Two Years . . . ? ' ? * 23
I'hree Year* ..... 7.50 Three Years . ? ? ? ? . s"?
Ought To Come Down
Tourists arc a major crop for Franklin an. I its
environs.
But summer after summer after summer, I*rank
lin has had to cultivate that crop under severe acre
age reduction. The reduction was imposed by de
tours, necessitated bv highway construction.
We are happy to get the highways. And we know
we can't get highways without some minor incon
veniences.
W'e think, though, those inconveniences should
be held to a minimum ; and we feel Franklin should
not be required to operate on restricted acreage
still another summer, if there is any possible way
to avoid it.
The. latest of our new highways is the fine one
toward Georgia. That highwav is now complete,
except for some minor work. The motoring public
is traveling it every dav : to -all intents and pur
poses. it is "open".
Yet detour sign's still route the tourist headed
toward Franklin' via Highlands. Since others use
the new highway,' why can't he? If he must come
the long way 'round, he often doesn't come at all :
if he does come, he is irritated when he get.s here
and learns the new road is open. He is likely to ask
just what We ask: Is it necessary to keep the de
tour signs up another five or six weeks? If this is
required, why not "Open, But Travel At Your Own
Risk" signs?
We do not doubt there are technical reasons. But
we wonder if they aren't just technical.
Both common fairness to Franklin and its tour
ists and common sense seem to suggest that those
detour signs ought to come down? now.
Progress: Zero?
The United States has gone 95 per cent of the
way toward building a "clean" hydrogen bomb ?
that is, one free from radioactive fallout.
J
Such was the announcement that came ojit of
Washington last week.
It sounds wonderful, doesn't it? But let^s do a
little arithmetic on it. All of u* were taught in
school that if you multiply zero by something, the
result is zero. That is, 2 times zero equals zero, 4
times zero is zero, and so on.
Well, this reassuring statement came from the
government agency ? the Atomic Energy Com
mission ? that all these years has been reassuring
the public that there was no danger from fallout.
No danger. That is, zero danger. So if you multiply
zero danger by 95 per cent reduction in the danger,
what do you get? You get zero improvement.
If that sounds a hit crazy, remember it deals
with a situation that is crazy. Because first the
A. K. C. covered up the fact there was radioactive
fallout: then it denied there was danger from this
fallout : now it maintains it has eliminated 95 per
cent of the danger that wasn't there in 'he first
place.
One detail in the dispatch carrying the announce
ment underlines the ; o:nt. The announcement came
immediately after detonation of a might \ bomb.
But the blast was postponed 24 hours from the
time originally set. Why? Because of "unfavorable
winds". And what have winds to do with it ? Winds
determine whether and which wav and how far
radioactive fallout is carried. If there was virtual
ly no radioactive fallout.' whv bother with the
winds?
The plain fact is the A. ! .. t\ has been persistent
ly dishonest with the American people. It has inis
represented, suppressed non-security information,
and. on occasion, done even worse violence to the
truth. Why. then, should anybody take its latest
statement at face value? %
The truth is ? and nobody could read the con
flicting statements, of scientists on the subject
without reaching thix conclusion; the truth is, no
body knows just what the danger is. or how great
it is. A government that was completely honest
would tell its people just that.
From The Heart
About a month ago we remarked in this space
that
. . . the thing Macon County needs worst right now is a
brand new word ? one that will combine the ideas of "we're
proud of you" and "congratulations" and "good luck".
All this is prompted, of course, by the latest in a Ion?
string of firsts by Macon County young people, the dis
trict win by Macon F. F. A. boys. For if we say "congra
tulations" now, what '11 we say when these youngsters
bring home the state championship ? again?
A new word? We're starting to work right now to try
to coin one, because it's our guess we'll need it.
Well, the Macon' County hoys not only have
brought "home the state championship ? again".
They have gone on 'to win what tnav he an even
higher honor, the $5( M ) state prize for "cooperative
activities," which means general excellence.
Xow we need that new word even worse than
we had thought we would. But ii is yet to he coin
ed! What the English-speaking peoples of the
world haven't come up with in several centuries, of
course we failed to find in a few weeks.
So we say, quite simply, all 'those things ; and we
speak, we know, for everyone of us who can claim
you young fellows as belonging to our Macon
County.
We do congratulate you. And we do wish you
luck as you move on to new achievements. And we
are proud of you ? plumb proud.
And whatever those terms lack in originality is
more than made up for by the fact they come from
the heart.
Where Advertising Is Welcome
(Shelby Cleveland Times)
An impressive evaluation of the merits of newspaper ad
vertising as compared with television advertising has been pro
vided by Robert J. McBrkie, director of research for the De
troit Free Press. He says:
"People watch television because of the entertainment ?
commercials actually are intruders. A survey by Northwestern
University shows that 61 per cent of housewives would prefer
TV without commercials.
"At the same time, advertising is an integral part of the
newspaper. Readers buy the paper for the ads as much as
for the editorial matter. Both men and women readers plan
their Shopping from the newspaper. The Northwestern survey
shows that 92 per cent of the respondents want their news
papers with advertising."
This brings Mr. McBride to his completely logical conclusion :
"The advertiser gets the best results when his message is
welcomed and desired."
XEW SEC CJUTY PROPOSALS
REVIEWERS OF PROBLEM STILL SEEM RULED BY FEAR
Christian Science Monitor
Americans of an earlier age
would be amazed at this gener
ation's attention to "security."
Twenty years ago the depres
sion evoked a revolutionary new
Interest in economic security.
The war emphasized military
security, and the cold war
aroused great concern with pro
tection against Communist in
filtration. This last called forth
the survey Just made public by
the Commission on Government
Security.
The 12-member bipartisan
group set up In 1955 by Con
gress has done a tremendous,
thoroughgoing job. The 800
pages of Its report deserve wide
attention and study. Some of
Its findings should serve as the
basis for Important legislation
to simplify and regularize fed
eral security measures But we
trust that Congress will take a
very hard look at some of the
proposals which enter the vital
field of individual rights.
For anyone centering atten
tion on one type of security and
measures for attaining it can
easily lose perspective A banker
may see security largely in fi
nancial terms, a military man
in armed might, a policeman in
effective surveillance. But fun
damentally for the nation, as
for the individual, security lies
primarily in spiritual and men
tal factors. The practice of Jus
tice. freedom, and equal oppor
tunity which fosters loyalty Is
a primary bulwark of security.
A prosperous, well-Informed
people are not easily subverted.
Of course, the Communist
conspiracy is something new In
American life, and new defenses
must be erected against It. And
order should be brought out of
the hit-and-miss improvisations
set up in various federal agen
cies to deal with a suddenly
perceived danger. The core of
the commission's recommenda
tions is for a central security
office to train personnel and
advise on uniform practices. It
would also maintain a three
member review board to which
loyalty cases would be appealed.
There are plain advantages in
this proposal. But Congress may
not be in a hurry to s?t up an
other potentially powerful
agency.
The commission has shown
that it is aware national secur
ity cannot disregard civil liber
ties. It rightly recommends
separating security from loyalty
cases and permitting the accus
ed to confront accusers. Wise,
too, is the warning on over
classifying technical Informa
tion.
But many thoughtful citizens
will question other proposals,
such as those on the Attorney
General's list and the delicate
problem of unintentional dis
closure of security material by
newsmen. Why should security
procedures be extended into a
horde of nonsensitlve posts? On
the whole, the commission ap
pears to reflect the state of fear
which ruled when It was ap
pointed but has now eased vis
ibly. The Supreme Court's re
cent emphasis on constitutional
rights appears more in tune
with the times.
It was Herbert Hoover, we be
lieve, who once warned those
who put economic security
ahead of economic freedom that
security could always be found
in a Jail. The warning applies
when political freedom and
security are In conflict.
STRICTLY ? ? - ?
Personal
? ? ? _ By WEIMAR JONES
This week's column is going
to be a potpourri.
' What is that?" did you ask?
You really don't know? Well,
it's a? a ? ah ? um ? ah; why it's
a?; well, it's a . . why it's a
potpourri, of course!
What was that? Oh, that ,
doesn't answer your question?
Well, all right, all right; I'll
go see what the dictionary says.
.Mr. Webster defines a potpourri ,
"as a medley or mixture".
Understand now? O, you do?
Well, X don't.
But if you want to know what
I mean when I say potpourri,
it's what you'll have when you
finish reading this.
* ? *
In this space last week, I was |
talking about good manners.
And, as always happens, when ,
you get interested in a subject,
you bump into a lot of things
bearing on it. ^
The type on that column had
hardly dried before I found two
excellent definitions of good
manners or courtesy or polite
ness or whatever you want to
call it:
"There are two kinds of po
liteness: one says, 'See how po
lite I am'; the other, 'I would
make you happy'."
The second definition:
"True politeness . . . consists
in treating others" just as you
love to be treated yourself."
In other words, it's simply the
Golden Rule, especially in little
things.
* ? *
When I was a boy here, there
was an expression current
among the unlettered? and like
so many other expressions used
by the unlettered, accurate and
to the point ? about good man
ners. Children were told by
their elders: "Now, be pretty".
I remember wondering then
why anybody would say that,
because obviously nobody can be
pretty merely by deciding to do
so; either you are pretty or you
aren't. I know now, though,
that what these elder people
were saying to the children was,
"pretty is as pretty does". That
is, people size you up by your
good or bad manners.
? ' * ?
One of the finest illustrations
I know of politeness ? in its real
sense of wanting to make the
other fellow feel at ease and
happy ? was in a story an old
man told me many years ago.
Out in the country, late one
hot summer afternoon, he stop
ped at a farm home for a drink
of water. He was Invited in, and
he and members of the family
engaged In a pleasant conver
sation.
At length, his host paid the
visitor a compliment so delicate
it would have done justice to
a Chesterfield.
Leaning toward his wife, he
whispered ? but whispered loud
enough for the guest to hear:
"Do you suppose we could per
suade the gentleman to spend
the night."
? ? ?
Now for a bit of shop talk:
We here at The Press were
mighty proud to be able to an
nounce last week that, the week
before, our paid circulation had
passed the 3,000 .mark, for the
first time in the paper's history.
I remembered having written
a similar announcement when
we hit 2,500, and got to wond
ering how long it had been. I
found it in the issue of August
2, 1951.
From 2,500 to 3,000. a gain of
20 per cent, in a little less than
six years. There is nothing sen
sational about that. On the
other hand, it has been the
natural, normal kind of growth
that is healthy. And we'd rath
er have a normal growth of 20
per cent in six years than a 40
per cent forced growth in half
that time.
The purpose of these com
ments, though, is not to boast,
but to express appreciation. Be
cause nobody knows better than
we that though this growth
represents approval of our ef
forts to publish a good news
paper, it is cause for gratitude
more than for gratification. For
it was made possible by the
cooperation, charitableness, and
the loyalty of our readers.
And so, to our readers, we
say, "Thank you!"
We shall continue to try to
publish the truth, without fear
or favor? but with fairness.
* ? *
Speaking of our readers, a
letter received the other day
gives an idea of how people
away from here see Macon
County, as it is reflected in The
Press. This comment is from
one who has never been here,
but reads the paper regularly:
"The Franklin Press gives me
the feeling that you Maconians
do not live at the point of ut
ter exasperation. From what
realm do you draw your relaxed
existence ? the physical, mental,
or spiritual? Could it be the
mountain air?"
DO YOU REMEMBER?
Looking Backward Through the Files of The Press
65 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
(1892)
The plank sidewalk on West Main Street is in bad condi
tion, broken in holes in many places and dangerous to walk
on after night. There is also a hole in the culvert near Mr.
Geo. A. Jones' that should be repaired, as one horse has al
ready fallen into it and has been damaged to such an extent
as to require killing. It is the duty of the town council which
persists in collecting heavy taxes to put the streets and side
walks in proper condition, and the citizens should demand
they do it.
The mail service on all the routes leading from Franklin,
under new contracts, commenced last Friday. The following
are the sub-contractors on the routes: From Franklin to
Andrews, J. S. Waldroop; Franklin to Bryson City, G. W.
Dean; Franklin to Clayton, J. W. McCurry; Franklin to Dills
boro, D. C. Cunningham; Franklin to Walhalla, W. T. Potts;
Franklin to Burningtown, Tuck Davis; Franklin to Roane's Mill,
J. 8. Waldroop. They all work cheap and this great govern
ment saves money by it.
25 YEARS AGO
(1932)
On account of the inclement weather on July 4, the annual
picnic dinner given by the Macon County U. D. C. chapter in
honor of the few remaining veterans was curtailed. There
were only three veterans who braved the elements and came
out. These were given a delicious hot dinner at a local restau
rant. The honor guests on this occasion were Mr. and Mrs.
R. H. Hall, of Etna; Mr. and Mrs. T. W. Rhodes, of Otto; and
Mr. A. M. Shope and daughter, of Prentiss.
On Sunday, about 50 relatives and friends gathered at the
home of Mr. and Mrs. B. C. Buchanan, in honor of Mr. Buch
anan's 72nd birthday. It was the fourth reunion of the fam
ily held at his home. He is a prosperous truck farmer of the
Watauga section and is always among the first to have vege
tables on the market.
Miss Arie Belle McConnell and Mr. Jack Gribble were mar
ried in Clayton, Ga., Saturday. Mrs. Gribble is the daughter
of Mrs. Ida McConnell Evans, of Franklin, Route 2, and Mr.
Gribble is the son of Mrs. William Gribble, of Prentiss.
10 YEARS AGO
The value of taxable property within corporate limits of the
Town of Franklin has increased by more than $400,000 during
the past year, records in the town office show. This repre
sents slightly more than half of the increase for the county
as a whole. Thus, during the 12-month period, the town's
tax valuation has grown by 27 per cent, boosting the town's
taxable wealth to close to two million dollars.
Franklin town authorities hope to be pumping creek water
into the water mains within a few days and temporarily re
lieve the acute water shortage from which the county has
been suffering In recent weeks. The water will be chlorinated
by two mobile filtering units.
Radford Jacobs, who is employed in Chicago, is visiting his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Gene Jacobs, of Franklin, Route 3.