?hr Jttgklaititg ^fHnrflxmut
8wod4 class mall prtrtlagss authorised at Pranklln. N C.
Puoliahed every Thursday by The Pranklla Proas
Telephone 24
KstmbUshmd in 1999 as The Franklin fre?i
Member: N. C. Press Association, National Editorial Association,
Omrolinas Press Photographers Asportation. Charter member. National
Conference of Weekly Newspaper Editor t.
BOB 8 SLOAN Publisher and Advertising Manager
WEIMAR JONES Editorial Editor
i. P BRADY News Editor
MRS ROBERT BRYSON Office Manager
MRS BOB SLOAN Society Editor
CARL P. CABE Operator Machinist
CHARLES WHTTTINQTON A Operator
FRANK A STARRETTE Compositor
a. E CRAWFORD Pressman
HOWARD JOHNSON . . . . Susrotyper
E CLEVE KINGSBERRY . . . Salesman
DAVID SUTTON Commercial Printer
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
INSIDE MACON UUUWTI
One Year $3.00
Six Mouths 2.00
Three Months ... 1.25
Two Tears 5.25
Three Years T.50
One Year
Six Months
Three Months
Two Tears
Three Tears
THURS., NOVEMBER IS, 1*58
Why Not?
With the election over, the 1959 General As
sembly is just around the corner. And that means
there's talk of money in the offing ? how much the
state should spend on schools and other services,
and where to get it.
There is a widespread belief that new or higher
taxes may be necessary; and the suggestion has
been made that the 3 per cent sales tax be broad
ened to cover food and medicines.
That, of course, isn't necessary. There are other
tax sources it is more logical to tap. For surely
there is no fairer tax than a tax on luxuries.
If we have to have more tax money, why not
tax soft drinks, theater admissions, and tobacco?
In the past, it has been considered something ap
proaching treason to even mention a tax on to
bacco in North Carolina, for tobacco is a big North
Carolina industry ; and the theory is, if we tax to
bacco, the tobacco plants might go away. It's the
old idea, a hold-over from another age, that the
man who provides jobs is a public benefactor, and
therefore should be handled with tax kid gloves.
Ntrth Carolina and Virginia arl the only two'
states in the Southeast that levy no tax on tobac
co. The others raise an estimated $115, OCX), 000 a
year from that source.
If and when we have to raise more tax money,
let's get it from those who have enough to buy
such luxuries as soft drinks, theater admissions,
and tobacco.
Hard Job Done Well
A county superintendent of public welfare has a
difficult job, at best. And it is doubly difficult be
cause welfare funds, since they come from federal,
state, and local taxes, are administered under the
strictest of strict rules. Sometimes rules made in
Washington don't seem to make sense in Macon
County; but the county welfare superintendent
has no choice but to abide by them.
It was inevitable, therefore, that often the de
cisions Mrs. Eloise G. Potts has nad to make dur
ing her 21 years as head of welfare work in this
county should have seemed arbitrary. But because
Airs. Potts always was ready to take time to ex
plain just what could be done under the rules, and
what could not, and why, and because her complete
fairness was so obvious, it has been rare indeed
that any resentment of the disappointed has been
directed at her personally.
A woman of remarkable executive ability ? the
facility for getting the most done in the least time
and with the least friction ? Mrs. Potts has won
state wide recognition in professional welfare cir
cles as an A- 1 county superintendent.
Beyond that, she is a woman of warm sympath
ies. She likes people. She is interested in their
problems. She delights in their triumphs. And she
is never happier thjn when she can help people find
a way to help themselves. And that, of course, is
the only help that is permanent.
In her job, she has often had to say, "no". For
many of us, the longer we held such a job, the
fewer friends we would have had It is a tribute
t? the character of Mrs. Potts', the individual, that,
after 21 years, she is held in greater respect and
has more friends than ever before.
In fair weather and foul ? and there's been plenty
that was foul! ? she has done a hard job, and done
it Well.
in the late election, most candidates, we suspect,
stood for anything they thought the voters would
fall for.
*4 And 20 Tailors Went To Hunt A Snail. The Bravest
One Among Them Dare Not Touch His Head Or Tall"
Courts Not Supreme
In the American government, is the judiciary the
final authority? Here is an interesting argument to
the contrary:
The doctrine ef judicial aopraoMf wma made In the ease
ef Mirbury t. Madison by Chief Justice jB?nh>W The doc
trine ni shrewdly set forth in en obiter dictum; that to,
in an opinion that did not call for am execution of any
mandate of the court, for he knew that Thomas Jefferson,
then President, would not recofnise the validity of the
opinion or put it into execution. A few yean later. In the
matter o i the Tasoo claims, when the eourt, through the
same chief justice, held an act uncemcUtutional and di
rected the Issusnce of a writ In accordance with the opin
ion. Andrew Jackson, then President, pithily said, "Jfha ?
Marshall has made his decision, has heT Now let as see /
him execute it" It wss accordingly never executed, and to
this day ha^ remained a blank piece of paper.
This power when assumed by judges in Marbury v. Mad
ison was without a precedent in any other country. It bad
never been dreamed of before In any other country that
the judges would assume the lawmaking functions. It had
been attempted once In England and then they promptly
hung the chief justice (Tresllian) and exiled his associates.
There is not a line in the constitution which authorises
the assumption of this unlimited power by the court. Nor
Is there a line in any state constitution which so author
ises it.
If I were to quote to you the comments made by Thom
as Jefferson, by Andrew Jackson, by Abraham Lincoln up
on the exercise of this usurped power, it would make your
ears burn.
Special Interests assert that we have followed Marbury
v. Madison and that we will go to ruin if we dispense with
it. Of course we shall, unless our people are capable of
self-government, as we asserted in 1776.
i That, incidentally, is not the argument of some
present-day .segregationist. The words are those
of Walter Clark, late chief justice of the North
Carolina Supreme Court ; and they were spoken in
an address in New York in 1914.
Southern Accent
(Jackson, Miss., State Times)
When the typical movie player tries to talk with a southern,
accent, he sounds as If he were speaking with a dentist's suc
tion pump In his mouth.
What! No Auditorium?
(Fayetteville Observer)
Horrible circumstance of a high school without an auditor
ium has become a reality in Greensboro where the school
people have erected a $1,350,000 educational edifice which, ac
cording to the description of the Greensboro Daily News, con
tains a gymnasium, a band room, a glee club room, and "all
sorts of rooms for extracurricular activities"? but no auditor
ium. '
With education people continually screaming about "stand
ing at the crossroads" and the shortage of people who know
how to teach scientific subjects, and the poor pay of teachers
in general, we see no need for anybody In Greensboro to fall
down on the floor in a fit because one high school does not
have an assembly room where the pupils can meet together
once a week and where the seniors can get their diplomas once
a year.
Well not debate the question of how much school esprit de
corps compares with the value of a good math teacher and a
good physics teacher, the best of which could De hired, both
of them, for more than ten years for the price of a first-rate
auditorium.
Nor will we debate the question of how much "leadership
potenital In a student body" Is developed by the existence of
an auditorium, although we have a sneaky feeling that if the
students can't find leadership potential In their clubs and
athletic teams they are not likely to discover It between their
yawns underneath the benches in chapel period.
Our general Impression Is that the basic needs of public
schools In North Carolina today are classrooms and teachers,
and that until classrooms and teachers are In plentiful and
effective supply, any school board Is excused for constructing
a building minus not only auditoriums but glee club rooms and
band rooms, yes even minus gymnasiums
Let'i get plumb realistic about the school auditorium.
In a great many cases, perhaps the majority of the cases,
It Is more a community asset than a school asset. It Is more
STRICTLY PERSONAL
(NOT*: This I* from a talk
k 7 the editor Um CttteMkl*
Into Training School held
km nnilfr.)
Do you *et discouraged some
times, about clUaemhip?
Do you ask yourself: What dif
ference will my one rote make?
Do you feel frustrated, outraged
almost betrayed, when your repre
sentatlve In the Legislature or li
the Congress votes on some lssu<
exactly the opposite of the waj
you think he should vote? Be'i
your representative, representing
you In the law-making body; yel
his vote violates your convictions!
And do you get outdone with
the people, because they seem tc
take forever to make up theU
minds, to act?
Of course you do! All of us do
And we are partially right.
Because, after all, your ballot
Is Just one among many. And youi
representative will cast a vote
sometimes, that Is the opposite
of what you think Is right. And
democracy Is slow ? exasperat
lngly slow, at times.
LOBBYING OF THIS
KIND IS O. K.
And then there's the young lady
who thinks lobbying Is all right
If you're really staying at the
hotel. ? Arcanum Bulletin.
TEACHERS' PAY
AND MAID SERVICE
Did you know? ? Substitute
school teachers in North Carolina
make three dollars less per day
than the average colored maid In
Washington. D. C. And they say
the progress of the world rests
on the effectiveness of our edu
cational system. ? Tabor City
Tribune.
of a convenient and desirable public gathering place for the
area than a tool of public education.
And If the people of a school district, through their repre
sentatives, wish to tax themselves for the construction of a
convenient gathering place, after all, it's their money they're
spending.
a ;
Letters
Disagrees With Editorial
Editor, The Press:
Sound, constructive difference of opinion has helped solve
. many problems in this country. I hope this letter is taken as
. just that, and nothing personal.
Your editorial in last week's Press, "That Football Incident",
is well taken. However, as so often is the case when all the
facts are not on hand, a "whipping dog" has been created by
your comments. Right away an "over-emphasized athletic pro
gram" is insinuated. Now, I am the first to agree that the
aftermath of the game was a most tragic and miserable scene.
The fact that most observers did not realize was that the
brief skirmish between the players was over the football Itself
and not the outcome of the game. The fracas between play
ers was very brief and ended In the dressing room With hand
shaking and apologies a-plenty with the coach and school of
ficials doing a good job.
What does deserve criticism was the bunch of roughnecks
who have been running wild around Franklin for several
months. They were in the midst of the brawling. They openly
made boasts of other violence and succeeded In their hoasts
sometlme after the "fans" were home in bed.
The faithful followers of the Panthers were, as a whole,
well behaved and aghast at the carryings-on of those mistaken
for Franklin fans.
So In conclusion I would like to disagree with your editorial
and offer as a suggestion a couple of Ideas which might pre
vent future Incidents of this nature. First, there should be a
more careful and comprehensive police, coverage at the games,
there should be available better trained officials who are able
to keep the game under control and finally more people un
willing to sit on their hands during such incidents, people who
should chase these vandals off the scene during such happen
ings.
No, please don't make it any harder than it is for a high
school trying Its best to run its inter school athletic program
completely without tax money. Schools with a one-game-won
and five-games-lost in conference play can't be accused of
over-emphasizing sports. They need help . . . manpower,
money and plenty of moral support.
BOB CARPENTER,
Ch. Ath. Comm.
But let's turn the situation *
round and look at It. Would you
want it the ottMr way?
Would rou want your rote to
count far more than somebody
else's? More to the point, suppose
the vote were tied on some Im
portant Issue, and you had to
break the tie ? and occasionally
? that happens. Would you welcome
- the responsibility of having to
> decide the issue? Or would you
'? prefer to share the responsibilty
' with all the voters?
1 Would you want your repre
; sentative to be a mere automaton.
' a kind of applause-measuring ma
chine. voting in response to pres
1 sure, voting with the side that
> could write more letters and send
' more telegrams. Or do you want
a repreesntative who will vote
. his honest convictions ? even
though, on occasion, you may
. think those convictions wrong?
And would you want the people
to take snap judgment? Or is It
! better the way It is. with the
I people ? you and me and the other
. fellow ? slowly, and Imperfectly,
absorbing some of the Information
about an Issue, a problem; labor
iously trying to analyze the pros
and cons; and then letting most
of the problem sink, like an Ice
berg, below the surface of the
mind? Down below the surface,
a strange and marvelous chemis
try takes place. Down there In
the subconscious, logic and con
science and horse sense ? yes,
and Intuition ? battle with ignor
ance and prejudice and selfish
ness. And at last something
emerges; out of the thinking of
many minds, there crystallizes
the thing we call public opinion.
The people have come up with
a solution.
It may not be my solution or
yours. It may not seem to us the
best solution, often not the Ideal
solution. But usually It has one
great virtue; it works. Because
the average plain citizen is a
practical realist; and so, while
he demands a solution that is
honest and one that Is Just, he
also insist* It must be one that
will work.
A good Illustration of that. It
seems to me, is the Pearsall plan.
North Carolina's effort ?o meet
the situation created by the Su
preme Court's desegregation de
cisions. I'm sure thousands had
the same experience I had on
YES, THAT MUST BE
QUITE A MACHINE
Now a vending machine
been Invented for dispensing gro
cery items which can take dollar
bills and give change. It must be
quite a machine If it can produce
any change from a dollar bill on
a grocery purchase.? Fort Myers
(Fla.) News-Press.
that. I studied the Fearsall plan
carefully; I did considerable soul- <
searching. But I couldn't so along
with It; It lust didnt seem right
to me. So I opposed It; I opposed
It. as strongly as I knew how.
In the Franklin Press. But the
people of North Carolina approv
ed It, overwhelmingly ; and In this
county, the margin was something
like 12 to 1.
Well, I still have reservations
about the Pearsall plan. I still
feel it doesn't shoot quite straight
from the shoulder.
But I have to admit that, under
it, North Carolina, so far. has got
along pretty well, with no serious
Injustice to anybody. And so I
find myself conceding that maybe
I was wrong, and the people were
right.
Give them the facts, and time. '
and the people usually are right.
Sometimes, of course, they are
wrong: occasionally, terribly
wrong.
And when a mistake is made,
how do we correct It? In just one
way. We correct a mistake only
If there is a courageous minority
that will speak out; a group with
the courage to be a minority; the
courage to say, before the decision
Is made, "This Is wrong!"; the
courage to say, after the decision
Is made, "This Is still wrong";
the courage and perserverance *o
keep on saying "This Is wrong!"
And after a while. If It is wrong, >
the minority grows Into a major
ity, and the wrong Is righted.
Surely, we can truthfully para
phrase: The'minds of the people
grind slow, but they grind ex
ceeding well.
STOMACH STATIC
SERIOUS SYMPTOM
Medical science's latest achieve
ment Is a radio that can be swal
lowed in pill form. It is supposed
to be a valuable aid In the study of
gastro-intcstinal disorders.
Fine and dandy, but the stom
ach specialists will really have
more business than they can han
dle If wave lengths get switched
to a rock and roll channel.? Ma
oon. Oa, News.
UNCLE ALEX'S I
SAYIN'S I
TeUtn' the truth ain't always
the beet way to win a popular
tty contort.
Havta' folks compUment you
Is aorta like sasoUn'; once yon
set Med to It, yea cant harflr
stt along ?Wheat it.
Heap o' times, thar alnt no
body as rfcimb, toetotolly wrong
as the feller that's shoreat he's .
dead risht.
DO YOU REMEMBER?
Looking Backward Through the Files of The Press
63 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
(1893)
We learn from the Ashevllle Citizen that on the openlhg
day of the United States court that the train from the west,
on the Murphy branch, carried five cars Jammed full of
humanity on Its way to court. By actual count, there were
485. Most of these were witnesses and a large number of
prisoners .bound over for alleged blockading and dealing in ,
Illicit whiskey. These are mostly of the poorer classes of ' ?
people from the rural districts. Their expenses in attending
court and lawyer's fees and loss of time represent a loss of
hundreds of dollars. It also reveals a wretched state of morals
that pervades our section.
25 YEARS AGO '
(1933)
Jobs have been found for 225 men out of 1,291 who have
enrolled at the Franklin office of the National Reemployment
Service.
Jobs for several hundred more men in Macon County are
expected to be made available in the immediate future on
road maintenance projects, proposed by the federal govern
ment In its campaign against unemployment.
10 YEARS AGO
A furnace for the Slagle Memorial Building has been bought ,
by the Franklin Rotary Club. The equipment will represent
an Investment of approximately $1,750.
The grosS receipts of the Otto school Halloween carnival
amounted to $382.45, according to E. O. Crawford, principal.
\
RACISM HIS 'POLICY
Harlem's Rep. Powell Cracks Whip Over N. Y. Leaders"
William S. White
KurruH's nun: nr. nuw,
WublziitoD columnist, Is the
author of "The Citadel" and
other books. The column below
Is reprinted from the Raleigh
News and Obeserrer.)
WASHINGTON? Among politi
cians tolerance Is a long rope,
but a rope that somewhere has
an end. This thought Is now In
the minds of many, as Rep. Adam
Clayton Powell, of New York, con
tinues to flex his muscles before
both nervous political parties in
that state and Its bosses and sub
bosses.
Mr. Powell already had drubbed
Tammany Hall by winning re
nomlnatlon In Harlem over its
opposition. Now to this necessary
Injury he has added a curious
Insult. He has agreed to support
the general Democratic ticket
after requiring Gov. Averell Harrl
man and Tammany Leader Car
mine de Saplo to Issue servile
guarantees to him.
The Oovernor has given "specif
ic pledges" that Powell will be
granted patronage ? political jobs
to nana out. ait. ae sapio nas
solemnly promised to "Insist and
urge" that Powell's seniority be
respected by the Democrats in the
House of Representatives even
though Powell Is running as the
Republican as well as (he
Democratic nominee and even
though he supported the Republi
can Presidential ticket in 1956.
Mr. de Saplo's influence on the
House Democratic leadership on
what is totally Its own business ?
what members shall have what
committee assignments ? Is less
than vast.. It would be about as
welcome and effective as a claim
by a union shop steward of the
right to pick for General Motors
the next man to go on Its board
of directors.
Mr. de Sapio himself, who Is
neither arrogant nor foolish, is
quite aware of alL this. It is plain
that he has accepted a public
humiliation for the good of the
Democratic slate in New York.
No doubt he knew also that
Powell's seniority would be main
tained by the House in any event.
He is by no means the first de
reeling Democrat to be forgiven;
a whole string of Southern bolters
have been allowed to keep their
committee places. Thus nobody
here knows any reason for Pow
ell's presumed fears of hostile ac
tion by the House. His seat as
ranking Democratic member of
the House Committee on Edu
cation and Labor Is safe anyhow.
That Is to say, it Is safe for
him, though the Democratic
party and the nation will hart
rather less reason to feel safe
with him there.
In the meantime, the principal
meaning of Powell's triumph is
this: He has now openly oofne
forth as the first truly powerful
and frankly racist .politician In
the North In generations. It might
be said, indeed, that he is the
first In any section to make
racism a total policy.
For while the South has suffer
ed from many politicians who
have been basically racist? the
late Sentor Bilbo Of Mississippi,
for an example ? none has made
racism his sole effective plan.
Even Senator Bilbo ofter took
political actions not connected
with race on matter* like (arm
legislation. Even former Repre
sentative John Rankin of Missis
sippi did some useful work In .
public power whenever be could
get his mind off his racial ob
sessions.
Mr. Powell, however, has worked
tha racist line so unashamedly
and so successfully as to terrify
both the Democratic and Repub
lican parties In New York ? and
also to overshadow such respon
sible and valuable fellow Negro
politicians as Rep. William L.
Dawson of Illinois. And, Incident
ally, Mr. Dawson has done far
more for his people ? everywhere
except In the headlines and In
party organizations which have
panicked in the face of Mr. Pow
ell's agitating skill.
Mr. Powell. In a word, has been
Infinitely more successful In pro- '
motlng Mr. Powell than In actual
ly easing the lot of his race,
(NOTE: Rep. Powell was re
elected last week, in a vote laod
slide.)