Newspapers / The Franklin Press and … / Feb. 27, 1958, edition 1 / Page 2
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Ifirankliit prrs? attit Cii t Mighlnnbs iHnrmiinii Second cUm mall privileged authorized at Franklin. N C. Pu oils lied every Thursday by The FrankUa Preaa Telephone 24 "Established In 1US At The Franklin Pre**" BOB S. SLOAN Publisher J. P BRADY News Editor WE1II \R JONES Editor BOB S SLOAN Advertising Manager ICRS. ROBERT BR Y SON Office Manager MRS. BOB SLOAN Society Editor CARL P CASE Operator- Machinist FRANK A STARR ETTE . . Compositor CHARLES K. WHITTINOTON Pressman O E. CRAWFORD Stereotyper DAVID H SUTTON . Commexclal Printer SUBSCRIPTION RATES Outbid* Macon Co^tcrr One Year "$3 00 Six Months . . % . 1 75 Three Months 1.08 5 25 750 Inside Macon County One T ear $2.99 Six Months ITS Three Months .... 1.09 Two Year? 4-21 Three Year* fl.Oi Let's Show Our Pride For Maconians, Sunday night will be "our night" on TV. For it is Sunday night (at 8 o'clock) that ojir own Macon County group, the Smoky Moun tain Coggers, will appear on Ed Sullivan's show. It'll l>e a proud moment in the lives of these youngsters from the Otto community. It'll he a proud moment, too, for all the rest of us ; for &e can he proud of these youthful products of Macon County, and of the recognition they have won. _It is a deserved recognition for a Macon County (and Western North Carolina) art. But it is not the only thing we have in this area that warrants recognil ion'. Let's show our pride? afid our appreciation of the recognition ? by telephoning, telegraphing, or writing Mr, Sullivan to tell him we're proud of our boys and girls and grateful for the big chance given them. Fortunate We here in Macon County are extremely fortun ate ? more fortunate than mo^t of us realize. We are. blessed with weather that usually, sum- . ntfer or winter, is mild. While this has been a severe winter here, compare our situation with the tre mendous economic losses and personal suffering this season has brought to other areas. Wc are fortunate not to be beset with terrible problems of unemployment. In Detroit, one man ofi.1 of eight is without a job ; for the entire state o | Connecticut, the figure is one out of twelve. It is true there aren't enough jobs here to go around ; byt we are not so narrowly specialized here that, if a man loses his job, he is unfit for any other. Fur thermore, most of us here can count on our own gardens and deep-freezes or can-houses, milk our otfra cows, anditat our own chickens and eggs. By comparison, the man here who hasn't a job is still independent. I And we are doubly fortunate in our young peo ple. To us, it seems incredible there could be such conditions as those in the New York schools, where the crime ? not simply delinquency, but the crime ? among children has become a national problem and disgrace. Almost equally incredible is the situation reported: in Washington, where teen-age toughs make it dangerous to go on the streets at night, even in the shadow of the capitol. , Our weather is an act of God. We can't control it, and so we are not responsible for it. But that isn't true of the other two. For we can avoid acute problems of unemploy ment by making certain we never over-industrialize. (Wonder why we hear so much about "under-in duslriali/ation", but never any mention of the evil of "over industrialization" ?) And the problem of juvenile delinquency defin itely is the effect of cause. There probably are many causes, but the major one is in the home. Where most mothers of young cljjldren devote their time and attention to making a home and to rear ing the children ; where there is discipline and a sense of responsibility; and where there is stress on honesty, loyalty, and consideration of others, things that usually grow out of an atmosphere of religion ?where these things exist, there is no problem of juvenile delinquency. And so long ? and only so long ? as we give our children these things, we will continue fortunate in our young people. Bouquet Thirty years is a long time. It is a long time to do the same job. And when the job is done without financial remuneration, it could be an interminably long time. For James L. (Jimmy) Hauser, though, the thirty years he has worked with Boy Scouts has not been long, we are sure. Because he did the job for the love of it ; he must have, since it was entirely vol untary. , This long-time service to this community places the community deeply in Mr. Hauser's debt. And it was fitting that he was given a standing ovation at a recent Scout court of honor. It will not be that well-deserved tribute, though, that will linger longest in Jimmy Hauser's memory. For, like all those who work with youth, his most genuine satisfaction has come from seeing, and helping, boys grow into men ? in the finest sense of the latter word. Letters Promote Athletics Editor, The Press: At the outset, I want to say that as chairman of the Athlet ic Committee, which, along with five other committees, is to start operating soon, I am answering last week's letter to The Press with what I believe in my own mind, not necessarily that of my fellow committee members. Our committee has not as yet been called into action by Mr. Bueck. Obviously, it seems to many people that high schools throughout the country are providing everything but the cur riculum that prepares the students to enter one of the many engineering fields. I am the first to agree that many, many courses seem somewhat trivial in comparison with mathemat isc, for example. However, because of the tremendous amount of publicity given to athletic endeavor, quite naturally that portion of the high school program has received the brunt of the criticism. I " The big question in my mind is this: Is that criticism justi fied? "De-emphasize athletics, emphasize mathematics" may sound easy, but is that the solution? It seems to me that if this were the solution, then such colleges as Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, North Carolina State and North Carolina Uni versity are not turning out engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc. You must admit they emphasize athletics to the very hilt. It must also be admitted that these schools are also turning out a host of excellent men, well prepared to enter their chosen fields. It is my contention that you cannot take a plug out of the back part of a boat to plug a hole in the front part. About the only thing accomplished is confusion. To further illu strate, there is no mathematical formula that proves that high schools with high won-and-lost percentages are gradu ating poorly prepared students while, at the same time, schools with low won-and-lost percentages are turning out well pre pared students. You might be able to prove quite conclusively that schools that emphasize subjects of the "progressive edu cation" nature ARE sending students to colleges poorly equip ped to become engineers. Now getting back to this Latin word, curriculum. I know it must be very exasperating to college professors to get a gang of students with a very meager knowledge of pre-engineering subjects. But shouldn't the artillery that Is being blasted at athletics be directed to the bulls-eye instead? Richard M. Nixon, Vice President of the United States, re cently made a statement that is being widely quoted and it goes something like this ? We must not allow the Sputniks to suddenly divert us from our good, sound basic American way of life into a frenzied rat race that would make scientists of all of us ? Our American heritage is much too rich. Athletics Is a vital part of our overall high school programs. More college scholarships are provided by athletics than any other source. Think of the thousands of educations that are provided every year, educations that might otherwise go down the drain. So we must realize the tremendous amount of good that is derived from an athletic program and look to state education departments, school boards, superintendents, and the people who are responsible for what is being taught in our schools. Locally, we are fortunate In having a man of high calibre, Mr. Allan Brooks, as chairman of the curriculum committee. I am sure his committee's report will be of great interest. I hope that I can provide at least a similar degree of leader ship to my committee on athletics. BOB CARPENTER, Chairman, Athletic Committee Citizens Committee for Better Schools. Franklin. rtendersonville Times-News Are There Any Really Good Children's Books Today? Speaking to the Friends of the Library at a meeting here last week. WinsUin Broadfoot of Duke University lamented the absence of any good literature in the cur rent production of children's books. Mr. Hroadfoot can be consider ed something of an authority on books, because he is director of the George Washington Flowers Memorial Collection of Early Americana at Duke. Though the manufacture of children's books Is at an all time high, (heir is precious little of lasting value In it. Today there are no great authors of children's books and no classics for children. Authors like Lewis Carroll, Mark Twain, Louisa Alcott and books like Black Beauty. The Land of On and Peter Pan. This Is a par Hal list of the greatness that was the latter part of the nineteenth - century. The present century Is more than half over, yet we have not a single author or title com parable to those named," he said. Mr. Broadfoot thinks that "young people's books today preach and moralize so much there isn't room left for a good story. I'm sure moralizing is good for the soul but it makes for lousy literature." With Mr. Broadfoot's sentiments we are mostly in accord. We' do think, however, that he proves one thing of value. If the pro duction of children's books Is at an all time high, this must be because children, pre-teen chil dren, are reading more. We agree that much of what they read Is of no lasting value and that much of It is turned out at the rate of about a book a month by authors, < but some encouragement can be taken from the fact that small children are forming the habit i I * of reading. Whether it Is good or not, it must be interesting to keep the audience. We feel that what Mr. Broad foot has to say about children's books might also be said of those produced for adults. In the field of fiction, we doubt seriously If anything that stands a chance of becoming a classic has been pro duced in quite a few years. In the field of biography and history, yes, but in the field of fiction, no. There are exceptions; such as Carl Sandburg's Remembrance Rotk. Much of what is written today (and of what becomes best sellers for a time) is produced in the name of realism, but is actually a glorification of rot and filth. Even the critics, who have de voted a great deal of lavish praise to this type of stuff in the past, Beem to be becoming a little upset In the stomach. James Jones' Some Came Run ning was reviewed by one critic who titled his piece "By Sex Ol sessed" and Time Magazine title Its review "Life Is a Four-Lett* Word." Unfortunately, such crl lclsms usually result In large sales, which may In itself be condemnation of our readlr habits. Many books that have becom classics have been realistic, ha\ looked unpleasantness In the fac and have moralized and crusadei But even some of the more ardei supporters of this new reallsi have begun to wonder If enougl after all. Isn't enough. The publishers take what a] pears to be a realistic vlewpoli ? the stuff sells, so we publish I Whether the public would bu something else If it were offers we would not know with any moi certainty than whether the pu 11c would buy a shorter, hlghe narrower and cheaper automobl with less chrome, if one wei offered. "Just Be Calm, Men And For Goodness Sake Don't Bare Your Fangs" Strictly Personal By WEIMAR JONES X had the privilege last Thurs day of being a guest at a county wide home demonstration club meeting to discuss world peace. That discussion prompted these strictly personal musings: I am just one citizen of Macon County. And Macon County is but a fraction of North Carolina, but an lnfinitestimal part of the United States, and not even a speck on the map of the world. So what can I (or any other one citizen) do toward promoting world peace? The answer appears to be, noth ing. And the temptation is to ac cept that answer, and so be re lieved of the burden of thinking about so big and so complicated a subject. But, in the light of what a war would do to our chil AN ARCH A Thought for Today (From yesterday'! talk by the editor on The Press' weekly 12:25 p.m. Wednesday prorram, "A Thought for Today", over Station WFSC). Henry Adams said it: "All experience is an arch, to build upon." Most of us never think of ex perience without putting the word "sad" before it ? "sad exper ience". Some of it is sad, of course; be cause all of us make a lot of mis takes. But why cry over the split milk of mistakes that are in the past? They are made ; we can't rub them out. But, if we are wise, we can use them ... by learning from them. We can learn not only not to make the same mistake a second B time: we can learn to understand the other fellow, when he makes the same or similar mistakes. How much charity would you and I have for others, if we had never made mistakes? And we forget, when we raise . doleful voices about sad exper ience, how much of it Is happy: ' The experience of good times had, of successes, of mastering a ' new skill, of leorninf that we can do something well. It takes both kinds. The child never would learn that fire burns ie without the experience of feeling re the heat. And you and I, without all kinds of experience, good and bad, never would know anything, never be able to do anything. n never understand anything. Experience Is something we can't avoid getting: something we P- can't give away, and can't ever it use up. There is nothing so many :t. of us have so much of ? and use ly so little. Tet that's what we got id it for ? to use. It's an arch, to ?e' build upon. b- And so, :nstead of being un r, happy about all this wealth we've le accumulated, shouldn't we feel -e grateful for it . . . and show our gratitude by using it? dren or grandchildren, has any one of us the right to just lean back and be comfortable, accept ing no personal responsibility? Sometimes the best way to find out what we can do is to list, and eliminate, the things we definitely cannot do ? and see if anything is left. Well, the average citizen is neither able nor equipped to have much say-so about what machin ery is best fitted to bring about peace. How many of us, for ex ample, have the time to study the situation and reach an intelligent opinion about whether the United Nations Charter needs amending, and if so, how? And no one of us, alone, can ap preciably influence the course of even?s that will decide whether the future shall bring war or peace. Finally, you and I surely can do little about what happens to morrow or next week or even next year. But if you and I can do noth ing about determining what the peace machinery shall be, we can contribute our bit toward creating the spirit that is the first es sential to peace. And if we, as single Individuals, can do nothing effective, we can, as members of small groups, help Influence public opinion. And pub lic opinion Is powerful ? even the Kremlin has shown It has a healthy respect for it. And, if we cannot as individuals, or as groups, work miracles today or next week or next year, it Is worth remembering that nothing of value ever yet has been ac complished in a hurry. All true progress has been slow; what you and I think or say or do today may have its effect five or ten or twenty years from now. Today we have some things to build upon that no past gener ation had: Never before has war been so. senseless. In a war today, there might be a vanquished, but there would be no victor ? everybody would lose. There ie abundant evidence even the rulers of Russia realize that. There is abundant evidence, too, that the people of no nation, want war. If there should be war, it would be the rulers, not the people, who would start it, and you and I have no quarrel with the John Smith's of Soviet Russia, and they have none with us. Some how, some way, it must be possi ble to get that idea across to the people of Russia. And if they really are convinced of that, it will be hard for the men ih the Kremlin to persuade them to fight, and put their hearts in it. One more thought. Many of the actions of our government, as well as those of the Russian rulers, are dictated by a single emotion, fear. And that is the - most demoralizing, the most para lyzing, the most unreasoning of all emotions. We call ourselves a Christian nation. And if there is any one characteristic of the true Chris tian, it is courage. The real Chris tian is so sure of the ultimate triumph of such things as truth and right and Justice, he Is una fraid of the immediate danger, be cause he recognizes It as but a single incident in the long war. the final result of which is in the hand of God. In no way. perhaps, could you and I better strengthen our own government, as it seeks a road to peace, than to give it courage, by letting it feel our own courage ? and such things are felt. DO YOU REMEMBER? Looking Backward Through the Files of The Prase 65 TEARS AGO THIS WEEK (1893) The town of Highlands desires to engage two teachers for a graded school for the year 1893. Go to Thos. L. Slsk if you want your boots and shoes re paired. He is located in the late Dr. Love office. ? Adv. A runaway team caused Mrs. William McKee and Mr. Will Waldroop to be thrown from a wagon last Saturday. Mrs. Mc Kee's ankle was dislocated. Another boy baby at Mr. T. R. Gray's. 25 YEAR8 AGO . * (19S3) A new musical composition, "Under the Light of Western Stars", by Miss Carolyn Nolen, of Cartoogechaye, is to be broadcast from Hollywood, Calif., March 2. It is now possible to reach the top of Satulah Mountain, pear Highlands, by motor. The forestry service has had a gang of men at work on the trail, broadening it into a road, and it i|was opened about ten days ago. 10 TEARS AGO During the year 1947, a Press survey shows, at least 18 new business firms began operations within the Franklin city limits. Only twice during the eight-day period ending yesterday (February 25) did the temperature drop to the freezing point, and twice during that period the mercury soared to 70 de grees or higher. Two Ellijay boys, Sanford and Billy Peek, aged nine and 11, had the thrill of their lives recently when they brought home a four-foot long bobcat, which they had killed with ft shotgun.
The Franklin Press and the Highlands Maconian (Franklin, N.C.)
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Feb. 27, 1958, edition 1
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