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THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 6 1?>58
That Football Incident
In the trouble that followed a recent Brvson
Cit v Franklin football game here, it is quite pos
sible the fault wasn't all on one side; it rarely is.
It is possible, too, that the worst offenders were
fans, rather than players.
However that may be, the incident is one Frank
lin can hardly take pride in.
This newspaper believes in athletics. A long
series of similar incidents, though, seems to point
up two things that arc becoming increasingly ap
parent.
First, the so-called "physical education" program
in the high schools is not designed primarily for
the physical education of all .students, but chiefly
to produce winning teams. That being true, the one
educational function of high school athletics would
seem to be to teach sportsmanship. If that is not
learned ? and these incidents suggest the contrary
? is there any real connection between high school
athletics, as presently organized, and education?
Second, hi^'h school athletic contests are becom
ing more and more spectacles, staged for the en
tertainment of the public. And it is the fans' pres
sure for victory that creates the tension among
players, a tension that too often explodes into
violence. By just what process of reasoning have
we ;>rrived at the conclusion that it is a function
of an educational institution to entertain the public?
W e wonder if confining high school athletics to
inter mural contests might not be at least- a part
?)f I lie solution.
Try The General!
Abuse <<f recruits in the armed forces has popped
into the news again, this time at Fort Jackson, S. ('.
Thcie two sergeants have been tried, convicted,
and -entenced for Mich brave exploits as having re
cruits dipped in the slime of the kitchen grease pit
and lorcing them to shout obscenities.
The significant feature of the storv is the pun
ishment. The sergeants were not dismissed from
the service, they were not "busted" to privates, they
were not given prison terms. Thev were let off with
fine and the loss of one stripe each.
Fven more significant, there is no indication
whatever that these two will be relieved of their
duties of "disciplining" recruits.
That suggests that their attitude represents the
official attitude; that their real crimes lay (a) in the
form of sadism they selected; and (b) in getting
caught. That conclusion is reinforced by the effort
of the post public inlormation otlicer to make it
appear that the 5 />? X > parents' letters received at
the post run "about halt and half" for and against
the "disciplinary" tactics used.
Ai any army post, the top officers, since they are
possessed of something approaching absolute pow
er over those under them, inevitably set the tone,
the atmosphere 01 the post. The real responsibility
foi what happens is theirs.
We suggest, the''elore, that the next time a case
like this arises, r. might be a good idea to start at
tin inp instead of tin- bottom, to put the command
in;- general on t I
Honor For County
When Nori an A < .?cl<e re' unl u-'etitlv as pres
idctil of the lml. i- I'own ( ompanv, that sprawling
business turned to a I ranklin native to take over
the leitis, electing VV. IV M (iiiire.
It probably i~ the heaviest business responsibil
ity ever given a Maconian. In winning this high
honor for himself, Mr. Mrtiuire reflects honor on
his home coin ty, and the people here take pride in
tin* recognition of the ability au<l <haracter of a
product of Frank: in
'"Tliauk You, Bui It Doesn't Fit Our Symbol '
Now ;Let's Spread It
"A better place to live."
That phrase kept recurring as competing com
munities made their reports at last Thursday's an
nual Rural Community Development awards din
ner.
That phrase, plus accounts of specific efforts to
ward building better churches, better schools, and
better homes, with emphasis on youth.'
Those things are not always spectacular, because
they often are not tangible. But they are basic. Be
cause, without discounting the importance of other
worthwhile activities, the real test of a community
is whether it is a good place to live. As one report
put it, if there is "a good spiritual environment, all
these other things will be added".
This stress on fundamentals is a healthy sign of
genuine progress. And what is more, it i,s a hearten
ing sign that we have in rural Macon a good sense
of values.
All we need now is more coninuinitWi in the
program. Nine active community development
organizations is good, but it isn't good enough. The
goal should be: I ".very community in Macon Coun
ty a good place to live.
One Consolation
(Fort Myers, Fla., News-Press)
The administration Is reported planning to ask another
postal rate increase next year. It this keeps up, college boys
won't be able to afford to write home for money.
Should Be State -Wide
(Mooresville Tribune)
Several weeks ago, Rep George Watts Hill, Jr., of Purham
announced that he plans to introduce a bill In the 1959 legis
lature calling lor direct election of school board members in
his county. ,
We think this Is an excellent idea and we commend Mr Hill
for recognizing the Injustice of the present method of naming
school board members.
But if such a bill would be good for Durham county, why
wouldn't it be just as valid for the other 99 counties in the
state?
Off hand, we can't at the moment think of any situation
that begs a remedy more than this one
Under the present system, school board members are nomi
nated In the primary with the names of the Democratic and
Republican candidates being sent to the legislature the fol
lowing year for confirmation.
And with an overwhelming number of Democrats in the
legislature, the Democratic school board candidates are always
confirmed
This is the situation that Mr. Hill wants to change for his
county Evidently, he realizes that the county is being robbed
of some excellent material simply because a candidate's
political persuasion is of the opposition party.
There has been a great deal of comment in the press of
the state about Mr. Hill's proposal, and all of it that has
come to our attention has been favorable. J
Some papers ? this one among them ? believe that the law 1(
should be made state-wide
As a matter of fact, we hold the same thesis as The Pilot
of Southern Pines who says that election of school board j,
members should be on a non-partisan basis as arc most muni- ,
clpal elections.
The Pilot declares that it is of the opinion that North Caro- s
Una towns and cities are better off because of this and we ?
agree And If such elections make for better city government, t
why wouldn't they make for better administration of schools?
Every election year there are school board candidates who ^
plaster the papers in their counties with ads declaring "let's w
take the schools out of politics."
But suggest to these candidates that school board members 7
be chosen on a non-partisan basis and see what happens Why, n
that almost amounts to treason! I,
Mr Hill's bill Is something we have favored for a long time rr
But unlike Mr Hill, we would make the measure applicable to <1
the 100 counties of the state, not just one A
STRICTLY PERSONAL By WflMAK JONES
The passing last week of Mrs
J S Sloan and. a few hours later
of Mrs. T W Angel severed twc
of the last remaining links thai
bind today's Macon County to a
sturdy past
Their backgrounds were quite
different. Mrs Angel, to cite just
one example, spent her entire
years in this county Mrs. Sloan,
on the other hand, was born and
grew up in the much less isolated
atmosphere of Walhalla. S C. ?
yet became as fiercely loyal to
her adopted home as any native
But despite their dissimilarities,
they had much in common Both
reared big families Both did it in
a time of make-do-oi -do-without
Both put their homes and families
ahead of all else. Both were
realists, seeing things exactly as
they were; who. growing up in
the South immediately after the
Civil War. could be anything else,
and survive! And both carried
over into the Mid-Twentieth
Century traditions and ideals and
traits that were a bit anomalous
in today's world ? a world that,
by contrast with that of their
childhood, must have seemed to
them alien indeed.
? ? ?
Carl Sandburg tells the story
of how. when a woman presented
her baby to General T ee for his
blessing, Lee tolc! h.r: "Teach
him to deny himself". (How in
congruous that injunction sounds
in today's world of such an over
abundance there seems little oc
HERE'S ONE WAY
TO SEE TOWN
Best way to see your town Is to
cruise around it about dawn. After
that, people get in the way.
? Tallahassee Democrat
McGuire To Carry On
(Charlotte Observer)
Announcement of the retirement of Norman A. Cocke as
president of Duke Power Company removes from the business
and Industrial scene an executive who has had an intimate
view of the Piedmont Carolinas development from a one
industry, one-crop area into the diversified, economically
booming land we know today.
In more than 50 years of service to the interests founded
by the late James B. Duke, Mr. Cocke's influence has reached
into agriculture, education, forestry, and land conservation.
His personal qualities, rare wit, and his brand of leadership
have been more than significant in turning into reality the
dreams James B. Duke dreamed when he invested his tobacco
millions in his native region.
And as we salute Mr. Cocke for his achievements, we con
gratulate his successor, William B. McGuire, whose youth,
background and training eminently qualify him to carry on
In the same tradition set out in Duke Power's motto ? "Citizen
ship-Service.''
Letters
Hauled First Log
Editor, The Press:
Will you allow me a small space in your paper to say a
word about Franklin and the Zickgraf Lumber Co.
I was raised ten miles west of Franklin in the Upper Car
toogechaye community. When just a small boy, I started driv
ing a mule team into Franklin hauling telephone poles. At that
time we didn't see the large trucks we see on our highways
today; in fact, we had no highways then.
I was in Franklin about a month ago and I feel sure there
isn't a town anywhere that is growing any faster than Frank
lin. And as for the Zickgraf Lumber Company, I think it has
done a great part in helping Franklin to grow so fast.
I wonder if Mr. W. C. Zickgraf remembers who sold him the
first log to be sawed when their mill started operation at
Franklin in 1933 It was my brother and I. This was a large
white oak we cut on the Poplar Cove Creek in Sawmill Cove.
We hauled it to the Zickgraf Mill with a team of mules.
HOMER LEDBETTER
East Canton, Ohio.
The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to pre
serve and enlarge freedom . . . Where there is no law, there
is no freedom ? John Locke.
. casion for self -denial ! ) That was
, a lesson these two had learned
i well All their long lives they
, denied themselves; and, in so
, doing, found their greatest hap
piness
In both cases, the self-denial
' centered about a single goal
1 Somehow, an opportunity must
be made for their children to get
a college education. How they and
their husbands managed it, they
themselves probably could not
have said But this is true: Those
who whine about the cost of edu
cation today have no conception
of the high value that earlier
generation put on schooling.
? ? ?
Always I had great respect
for Mrs. Angel, and my respect
grew as I learned to recognize
her worth and her achievements.
But I cannot write about her
Intimately, because I never knew
her well.
About Mrs. Sloan, I can Be
cause not only was she my "Aunt
Georgia"; as a small boy, I spent
almost as much time at her house
as at ours.
? * ?
From those childhood recollec
tions. two pictures stand out.
The first is of a person who
could face disaster with serenity
I remember, for example, the
atmosphere of despair when one
calamitous fire followed another
? in a day when almost nobody
had insurance. How her courage
and hope and determination light
ened that atmosphere!
The second is of the good times
I had at her house, and of the
way her presence made things
bright and happy. She was obey
ed, of course, and instantly; by
me as well as by her own. But
she had a way of making us want
to do the things we were told
to do.
At "Aunt Georgia's", there al
ways seemed something pleasant
and interesting. There were the
chores, of course; and they had
to come first. But there were the
outdoor games of "antne-over"
and "kick-the-can". Indoors, we
put on "shows"; and it seems to
me she managed it so that I
BUT WHAT DID HE
DO YESTERDAY?
The fellow Who boasts about
what he's going to do tomorrow
usually Is quiet about what he
did yesterday.
?Eaton, Colo., Herald
frequently had the stellar role.
Maybe it was to teach her
own children the lesson of self
denial she had learned so well;
maybe she was wise enough to
know how badly I needed my
self-confidence boosted. In any
case, she gave me a sense of im
portance, of progress.
She always seemed to have a
suggestion of something Interest
ing to do, and somehow, no mat
ter how small it was, she made
it seem an adventure ? a trip
up on the mountain back of the
house, for instance, to gather
moss and pretty stones.
And *hen I spent the night,
there were the wonderful break
fasts I'm sure they were sub
stantial breakfasts; almost cer
tainly grits, and probably ham
and eggs. But the one thing I
remember was the biscuits, pop
ped right out of the oven on to
our plates, to be spread with that
wonderful combination, great
hunks of butter mashed with a
fork into thick sorghum molasses.
If there hadn't been anything
else on the table, those would
have been memorable affairs; be
cause "Aunt Georgia'' had a way
with her that would have made
a meal of crusts and water a
feast, a gay occasion.
The thing I remember best of
all, though, is how she always
stood ready with encouragement.
One little cheerful word could
make us forget our tears before
they were dry; in her presence,
quarrels changed quickly into
laughter; and, when she stood
by, the biggest difficulty became
a challenge that it was fun to
meet, and to conquer.
? ? *
At her funeral, when the or
ganist played "Rock of Ages", one
of her most ardent admirers lean
ed over and whispered to me:
"That hymn fits her best of all.
She was a rock".
And she was.
UNCLE ALEX'S
SAYIN'S
Some folks can't seem to learn
a man can be honest and still
be polite.
Ain't nothin' like a little frost
to ripen the persimmon ? ?r
a little trouble to meller a man.
They's an old sayin' that the
race ain't always to the swift.
A lot o' tore up automobiles
shore bear that un out.
DO YOU REMEMBER?
Looking Backward Through the Files of The Press
65 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
(1893)
If you are a gentleman you will never find it necessary to
say so.
The Public school term, taught by Rev. J. R. Pendergrass and
Miss Anna Wtoodfin, cited last Friday.
Geo. A. Jones, Esq., has bought Mr. J. G, Siler's mill, to
gether with all his land on that side of the road.
The last two weeks have afforded fine weather for gather
ing corn, but the ground is becoming dry and hard for wheat
sowing.
25 YEARS AGO
(1933)
Macon County piled up a surprisingly large prohibition ma
jority in Tuesday's election, voting more than four to one
against repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment. The drys had a
majority of more than 150,000 in the state.
The S & L Five and Ten Cent Store and Sloan Brothers &
Co. will open for business in their new quarters in the Ashear
Building Saturday, it was announced by Harold Sloan. The
building, a handsome modern brick structure of two stories,
is now completed, except for a few finishing touches.
10 YEARS AGO
Miss Nora Moody, Macon County teacher who is now study
ing at Peabody College, Nashville, Tenn., has been named
president of Peabody's elementary council.
Macon County voters, following the national trend, Tuesday
gave majorities to the Democrats for every office on the na
tional, state, district, and county tickets. In one of the great
est upsets in American political history, Harry S. Truman was
reelected President.
fcvvrr of won us
South Has Something That Cannot Be Taught, Must Be Cauqht
(EDITORS NOTE: This is
from an address at the recent
convention of the I'nited Daugh
ters of the Confederacy at Eliza
beth City. Mr. House, r<ttred
chancellor of the University of
North Carolina, is remembered
here as the principal speaker
at the 1957 dinner meeting of
the Franklin Chamber of Com
merce.)
The Conferderacy is not a lost
ause. It is an immortal Greek
ragedy with a Christian conclus
>n. viz. spiritual triumph through
uffering. I think the South has
omething in this to teach the
forth. And since the North has
learly demonstrated that it will
iot do without us, I hope it will
umc day learn to do with us.
omething it has not learned in
liree hundred years.
General lee. his Confederate
:>ldiers, and the Confederate
omen <*r<? the heroes and the
eroines of our immortal tragedy
"here were just not enough of
nem to force their point on the
attlefield. But their quality has
lade its way into tlte American
*irit, and when that is lost, all
rtierica will be lost too
1
They stood for three things
more permanent than nations:
1) Love of Home; 2) Love of
each other; and 3) Love of God.
They were not talkers. They ex
pressed their spirit In deeds. It
was the talkers who launched the
conflict they had to endure. In
our day of confusion I fear only
the extremist talkers who have
all the answers and loudly give
them. Some things can be seen
and fought for more clearly than
they can be expressed in words.
"Young man", says the hero of
Thomason's "Lone Star Preacher",
talking in 64, "When I came up
here in 61 I had State's Rights
on my mind. I never gave much
thought to the politics of it. I'm
a minister of the Gospel when
I'm home. Now. I don't know. I
hear the boys talk. Reckon, if
we're fighting for anything, we're
f.ghting for General Le*. A man's
bound to fight for what he be
lieves in. He's bound to keep on
fighting ? that part of it's with
him. But whether he wins or not
? that's with God. I reckon we'll
keep on fighting, while there's
any of us left."
The South had its small quota
of pillared mansions. It had a
much larger quota of simple frame
houses and log cabins.
"Father," writes a North Caro
lina soldier, "I have seen right
smart of the world since I left
home, but I have seen nothing to
come up to Henderson County."
Of course this is provincial. But
Hector was provincial, Demos
thenes was provincial, Clemen
ceau was provincial. General Lee
was provincial. A man had bet
ter be sure that he now loves
something, lest he fool himself
with the idea that he already
loves everything. At least General
Lee. the Confederate soldiers, and
the Confederate women saw to it
that no Yankee would take over
without a fight.
Our homes are not so much
in danger now from military in
vasion as from the invasion of
false standards in religion, edu
cation. and government, because
church, school and state are de
moralized. Once again the home
is our rallying point.
It is no virtue that the South
has always been short on the cul
ture that can be taught. But it is
a virtue that the South is long on
the culture that can not be taught
but can only be caught in a long
person to person feeling of neigh
borhood. It is the wonder and
envy of outsiders that more
people, white and black, greet
Robert 11. House
each other with a smile and
chuckle of complete mutual un
derstanding in the South than
In an other region of like size
in the world. Perhaps this feeling
of neighborhood is our most
unique achievement and the great
thing we have to teach America
and the world. Perhaps it Is a
result of our tragedy. We have
seen folks stripped of everything
but what they couldn't lose. We
have had to make do with this
residue and have found it lovable
There was no union before the
war. The South fought for its
ideal of what union ought to be
no less than the North fouRht
for its idea. I have heard the
deeply humane poet, Carl Sand
burg. sny that the conflict was
inevitable. Certainly a clash of
ideals is never settled by human
contriving. The settlement is with
Ood who never seems to be in a
hurry.
While General Lee, the Con
federate soldiers, and the Con
federate woman never talked
much to man. they did talk on
their knees much to Ood. And,
better still, they listened. Perhaps
they can still teach that to con
fused America, until we can hear
the still small voice out of the
present whirlwind.