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Second class mall privileges authorized at Franklin. N. O.
Puollshed every Thursday by The Franklin Press
Till RSDAY, JANUARY 22. 1959
Problem For All
Then; is no reason why use of the basement
space in the Town Hall, now occupied by ^ the
Youth Center, should be confined to that one
organization. It easily could be used by a variety
of young groups for a 'variety of -activities. And
the trend is in that direction; already it is the
meeting place for several (lirl Scout troops.
As long as we have youth, we shall have the
problem of providing an outlet for youth's ener
gies; and that problem has been multiplied many
times by the fact that mechanization has eliminated
many home chores that once kept young people
busy. Too, it's a problem for town authorities, as
well as private citizens; because it's a form of in
surance against juvenile delinquency.
Bui the town has asked the youngsters to vacate
the space by February 1, to make room for an
other, adult organization. Kven it that were neces
sary and desirable, at the least, it seems to us, the
young people should not be turned out until an
other, satisfactory place has been found for them.
Why Not?
In connection with the Civil Rights Commission's
investigation in Alabama, U. S. News & World Re
port has come up with some interesting facts about
the qualifications for voting set up by the various
states. They are interesting without respect to
racial problems.
While the 15th and 19th Amendments to the
U. S. Constitution forbid a citizen to be denied the
vote because of race or sex, there is no constitu
tional guarantee of the right to vote to anybody,
the magazine points out; and each state fixes its
own qualifications.
The significance of the facts, it seems to us, lies
not in what is required to be ncrmittcd to vote, but
in the laxness of the requirements in many states.
Forty-one states, the magazine ponits out, for
bid insane persons to vote. Then seven (before
Alaska) do not. In seven states, it would appear,
anybody can vote, without reference to sanity;
theoretically, at least, the inmate of the asylum
has an eqtyd vote with the president of a university.
Forty-one states forbid criminals to vote. That,
surely, i> not significant. Hut it is significant that
seven states allow criminals to vote.
And 1') states have literacy tests for voters. That's
right ; ohTv 19. The other J9? 2.^ of them outside
the South ? have no educational standards what
ever. The illiterate can vote along with the literate.
. ? . . f.
Voter regulations, says I . S. News & World Re
port, are beipg tightened all across the South. Well,
the absence of qualification requirements in many
states would seem to suggest they need tightening
elsewhere.
For surely voting is not an inalienable right ;
instead, it is primarily a sacred responsibility.
Before a youth ? or an adult? is permitted to
drive an automobile, he is required' to pass an ex
amination, to make sure he understands the mech
anism of the car well enough and has a sutlicielit
sense of responsibility, to be trusted to drive a car.
Whv would it not be equally sensible to make sure
the citizen (since he is the ultimate "driver") has
some understanding of the mechanism o! govern
ment and some sense ol responsibility, belore al
lowing him to register to vote?
Do You Remember?
A portion of an <>1<1 photograph, found at The
Press, has been made into a cut ami is being used
for the first time this week to illustrate the, widely
read feature, "l-)o You Remember ?", that appears
regularly 611 this page.
When wa> the photograph made? We don't
know, but would like to. Who can tell us?
Here are some hints that tend to place the time:
The location is the .south side of .Wain Street,
where the Carolina Pharmacy is now.
''The stairway, just to the ri^ht of the oil street
lamp, is still there; it is between the two entrances
to the pharmacy.
Note the size of the maple tree. That tree, long
gone, had a good big trunk when it was cut.
Appearing in the picture, but not shown in the
cut, is an upstairs window bearing the lettering,
, AJOG&
w >
W
/??!, CM/CAtSO SC"- T/A4?X
TWO f=C>fZ -rH? SEE-S^\*S
"W. H. Higgins, Dentist".
Also not shown in the cut is a board walk cross
ing the street.
N'ote th&t the building just east of the pharmacy
(now housing Dryman's and the Quality Shop)
hadn't been erected.
Who can give- us the date, or even the approxi
mate date, this old photograph was made?
Write us a letter, saying about what year you
think this' picture was made, and why you hit on
that year. Let's get this bit of local history pinned
down. v
Thomas C. Harbison
Thomas C. Harbison was one who thought in
terms of the general welfare. A man of high stand
ards, fine mind, and broad interests, he was always
read}- to give his time, his thought, and his energy
toward the building of a better community and
county ; and he served often and well in local gov
ernment, in civic affairs, and in his church.
It is doubly tragic for Highlands and Macon
County that the life of so useful a citizen should
have been cut, short at the relatively early age of
49. He will be sorely missed.
Uncomplimentary Conclusion
(Oowa State Traveler)
A lady motorist was driving on a country road when she
noticed some telephone men in the- act of climbing telephone
poles.
"The fools," she muttered to herself. "They must think I
never drove a car beiore."
Love Affair
(Wall Street Journal)
He looked out of the window and called to his wife, "There
goes that woman Bill Jones is in love with."
She dropped the cup -she was drying in the kitchen, hurtled
through the door, knocked over a lamp and craned her neck
to look. "Where?" she panted.
"There," he pointed, "that woman at the corner in the tweed
coat."
"You idiot," she said. "That's his wife."
"Well, of course it is," he replied.
Looking Beneath The Surface
i
(Southern Pines Pilot)
There is always much more to a news story than is re
vealed on the surface. When people get into trouble with the
law and are brought into court and tried, for instance, re
porters normally can put little more than the facts of the
case Into their stories. The nature of reporting and the re
quirements Imposed on a reporter by time, space In his paper,
and other considerations make It practically Impossible to get
into print one-tenth of the drama or the social significance
of actions or attitudes that were revealed during the trial.
We have been led Into these thoughts by a statement sent
to North Carolina newspapers by Blaine M. Madison, commis
sioner of the State Board of Correction and Training, which
has Jurisdiction over the Morrison Training School for Negro
boys, at Hoffman, and other state correctional institutions.
Two Negro boys from Union County, James Thompson and
David Simpson, were commited to that school in October by
a Juvenile court for assaults on seven-year-old girls, the boys
now being aged 10 and 11. Mr. Madison notes that he has seen
newspaper reports that the NAACP plans legal action to obtain
release of the boys from the school. He says that some out
of-state newspaper accounts reported the action of the Juve
nile court as a "criminal' conviction" ? which under law it Is
not ? and that the boys had been "sentenced to prison for
life."
Then Mr. Madison goes beneath the surface ? that surface
on which newspaper reporters work and from which so many
Inadequate Interpretations are made.
He cites the case histories of both boys as compiled from
welfare, police and other sources by the Board of Correction
and Training.
Neither of the boys has been encouraged by their families
to go to school and both have been frequently picked up by
police, while roaming the streets at night, and returned to
their homes. The mother of one of the boys had one legiti
mate child about 1940 and then had nine other children
while living with a succession of men.
Of seven children born to the other boy's mother and fath
er; four have court records. The boy's father died several
months before he was born ? and the mother was then already
married to another man. The children rarely attended school
and the mother apparently permitted them to come and go
at will. Prior to the assault Incident, both the boys had been
arrested for stealing.
At Morrison Training School, however, both boys are at
tending classes regularly, and progress for both Is reported
good. ,
Observes Mr. Madison: "While the training school is never
an acceptable substitute for a good home, it Is definitely
better for the child than a poor home, with irresponsible,
and often immoral, parents." Under laws covering the com
mitment of children, the school cannot release them, until
"It is determined that the child's family will not neglect him
and will give reasonable protection, guidance, and home care
for the child."
Have these boys been unfairly treated by the authorities?
We don't think so. Such cases should not be ballyhooed into
a cause celebre ? though, having been allowed to look beneath
the surface, people of good will should do all that they can
gradually to eliminate the causes of such a way of life as
that to which the two boys have been subjected.
DO YOU REMEMBER? ,
Looking Backward Through the Files of The Press
65 'YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
(1894)
Sheriff and Mrs. C. T. Roane came over from Aquone last
Monday.
The weather has been so warm during the past we?k that
we actually heard the old familiar chir-rup of one or two Sons
of Rest on our sidewalks.
Col. L. Howard, ex-County Commissioner, who lives in
Smith's Bridge Township, called in to see us Friday. The Col.
pays for three subscriptions to The Press, sending two of
them to relatives in the West.
35 YEARS AGO ^
(1924)
Miss May Carpenter, who is teaching at the Black Place
on Nantahala, spent the last week end with her parents here.
Professor M. D. Billings his returned from a several weeks'
trip to Florida.
The Highlands bank reports total assets Dec. 31, of $51,228.70.
15 YEARS AGO
(1944)
Mr. and Mrs. Lex Penland have five sons in the armed
forces.
?
In a simple ceremony in Clayton, Ga., Miss Mabelle Bryant
and Dr. Edgar Angel were married Tuesday evening, Janu
ary 16.
Allen Siler has moved his family from Asheville to Blue
field, W. Va., where he will take charge of a large contract.
5 YEARS AGO
(1954)
J. P. Brady was named Macon County's "Young Man of the
Year" Monday night at the local Jaycee annual awards dinner.
Adolph Zoellner has retired after 31 and a half years with
the Nantahala National Forest.
II. I HI) (JIESTIOXS
This Congress Faces Major Responsibilities And Decisions ?
Smith field He rah
Unusually heavy responsibility
rests upon the 86th Congress ?
a Congress which will be domi
nated by Democrats (there arc 64
Democrats and 34 Republicans 'n
the Senate: 284 Democrats and
152 Republicans in the House).
Strong leadership in the White
House is lacking. It has been lack
ing since Mr. Eisenhower became
President six years ago. It is not
likely to show itself in the remain
ing two years of Mr. Eisenhower's
term. For we now have a "lame
duck President." He is constitu
tionally barred from running for
a third . term. His political influ
ence is. thus curtailed.
The 86th Congress must go be
yond the traditional responsibility
of the legislative branch of the
government. It must move into the
area of leadership vacatea by the
presidency under Eisenhower. And
it must provide unusual national
leadership 'fit a critical time In
U.S history.
The Russians have Just accom
plished the most astounding feat
of the space age. They have sent
a huge rocket Into space beyond
the moon They have moved well
ahead of the United States In the
conquest of outer space. And their
demonstrated superiority has Riven
them at least a psychological ad
vantage in what has come to be
known as the international "strut!
ule for men's minds."
The achievements of the Soviet
Union space science Indicate that
the Russians havt developed
powerful machines that are cap
able of launching deadly missiles
and directing them to targets
across continents and oceans. Air
plane warfare seems destined to
become outmoded.
There is fear in the United
States of Russia's growing military
power. But fear of communism
is not confined to the military
realm. Communism holds out hope
to backward countries (those still
"living in the middle ages"', prom
ising to provide them a short cut
to the twentieth century. Com
munism employs the technique
of dictatorship in ushering in
revolutionary economic develop
ment. but this does not seem bad
to the oppressed of backward
countries who have never experi
enced any economic or political
liberties to speak of. Communism
thus does not have to rely on
military might for expansion.
There is also fear In the United
States, though it is often sub
dued. that our own capitalistic
system might not be strong enough
to stand up under the stresses of
modern society. Even as we take
pride in the unprecedented pros
perity which Americans have ex
perienced in the Fifties there is
a widespread feeling of insecurity.
There is suspicion that our eco
nomic system is propped up un
naturally by our enormous mili
tary spending. There is also a
great dread of sickness, not simply
because of the personal discom
forts of bad health but because
disease is costly and is a threat
to economic security. Amid all
the comforts of middle twentieth
century living, there is much, dis
comfort that stems from the mad
race to keep up with the standard
of living exhibited by the Joneses,
or from the even more madden
ing race of the business world to
"keep up with itself"? that is,
the anxiety-ridden struggle of
business to keep sales from falling
below the level of the preceding
year.
How should America meet the
challenge of Russian science? How
should America meet the threat
posed by Russia's growing militar
might? Should we put our fait]
in an ultimate U.S. triumph i;
the aramaments race? Or shoul
we work harder for internatiom
disarmament, for peaceful settli
ment of issues between us and th
Russians, for international ci
operation in Using scientific di
coveries for the enrichment rathe
than enslavement or destructio
of humanity?
How should America deal wit
the popular appeal that commi
nism makes to backward coui
tries? What do we have to off*
the backward countries that wi
work better than a communi!
economy?
Is the U.S. economic system 8
healthy as the statistical reporl
indicate it is? What do we nee
to do to strengthen our econom;
system, to reducs the tensior
within the system, to lessen th
anxietiei that are widesprea
among us even in times of pro
pejrity?
These are among the lmportar
questions that confront the natlo
in 1959, and they are questior
that the 86th Congress cannt
evade If it Is to fulfill its extri
ordinary r^sponslbllty.
STRICTLY
PERSONAL
By WEIMAR JONES
There's a tiny minority here
that still holds out against TV.
Two or three of them were
discussing their situation, and
the problems It presents.
Said one: "Without a TV, you
don't know what people are talk
ing about. You just can't enter
the conservation."
Replied another: "And with a
TV, there is no conversation."
? ? ?
After making a study of Ameri
can high schools. Dr. James Bry
ant Conant confirms the wide
spread popular suspicion that our
high schools aren't all they should
be.
First of all, he says, most of
them are too small. To make it
possible to offer the necessary
variety of courses, he thinks every
high school should be large
enough to have 100 in its gradu
ating class each year.
And he believes the course of
study is too easy. He'd raise the
curriculum standards. For gradu
ation from high school, he would
require :
Four ' years of English.
Two years of history.
At least one year of mathe
matics ? usually algebra.
At least one year of science.
Well, all that reminded me of
my own high' school days; and
that recollection set me wonder
ing.
I attended a tiny high school
that, the year I finished, had ex
actly four in the graduating class.
Only 11 grades were provided, and
the school year was eight months.
Too, the school lacked, in plant
and equipment, nearly everything
that today is considered absolute
ly essential.
Yet more was required scholas
tically even than the tougher
course Dr. Conant proposes. For
we had to take substantially every
thing he suggests, plus. Over and
above his suggested minimum, we
were required to have two years
of Latin, one year of a modern
language, and more mathematics.
As I recall, we had not one year
of algebra, but two; then we had
to go on and do both plain and
solid geometry.
And that represented a retro
gression !
Because I recall that my older
brothers and sister had to meet
an even higher standard. For
them, the curriculum Included
still more math ? trigonometry.
And. in addition to two or three
years of Latin, they studied
Greek!
All of which leads me to wondei
not if we are progressing, but in
which direction? '
* ? ?
I have always believed that one
of the truly great Americans was
Charles B. Ay cock.
Usually referred to as North
Carolina's "education governor",
he is known, of course, for the
magnitude of his achievements
in that role, despite the state's
dire poverty at the beginning of
this century.
He would have been a great
man. though, had the opportunity
for these achievements never come
his way; the greatness lay with
in.
How true that is is illustrated
in this brief word picture of him,
drawn by Isaac Ervin Avery in
The Charlotte Observer half a
century ago:
"I have seen him in an old
dressing-gown, smoking a short
clay pipe; have seen him sur
rounded by flattering women;
have seen him stand within four
feet of the President of the United
States and make a speech that
was admittedly better than the
speech of the President; and yet
I could see no difference in the
Governor or the man. He is a rare
being who is absolutely devoid of
pretense or affectation, and this
is so simply and strongly marked
in him that it must immediately
impress a stranger or a child. . . ."
UNCLE ALEX'S
SAYIN'S
Want a youngrun to remember
somethin'? Then let him work
hard a-l'arnin' it.
A man does best what he
like3, and he likes what he's
learned to do best by a heap o'
try in*.
AT TOP ...
Macon Native Heads Duke Power
. . . He's Unpretentious
( EDITOR'S NOTE: This
sketch of a Macon native who
made good is written by a
former Macon resident. Mr.
Neill for a year was a reporter
on The Press. The article ap
peared in The Charlotte Ob
server January 11. Mr. McGuire
is the son of Mrs. W. p. Mc
Guire, of Franklin.)
The mountains' finest products
are not handicrafts. They are
people.
W. B. McGuire comes from the
mountains.
At 48, the youngest president
ever to head Duke Power Co., he
is a man Who likes to hunt, enjoys
Mr. McGuire
L'
. the creative solitude of the West
em North Carolina hills, and puts
j emphasis on the rewards of fam
,1 ily life.
His mother remembers well
e those formative days when Bill
>? McGuire was growing up in Frank
s' lin, a county-seat town that lies
c on a bumpy but beautiful valley
ii floor southwest of Asheville.
"We spent our winter Sabbath
Ii afternoons reading aloud, gath
l- ered around a blazing fire witn
l- a basket of apples, a bag of chest
r nuts, and our books and papers,"
II she says.
And Duke President McGuire
remembers, too ... of building
s forts in the backyard, of break
s ing a pair of calves and being
d dragged through the dirty bam
c yard on a winter's day.
s And the good times at the farn
e ily camp over in the Nantahala
d Mountains. It required three
s' fourths of a day's journey to get
there and offered a youngster
it adventures Tom Sawyer would
n envy.
s At 16. there was Davidson Col
it lege. The high school year book
i- had sent him off with the esti
mate: "An outstanding student, an
orator, and a friend to all."
Ironically, some of McGuire's
classmates in Franklin remember
him by the nickname of "Duke.*
He doesn't recall it at all.
As might have been expected
of a high school valedictorian.
Bill McGuire left Davidson with
a Phi Beta Kappa key. In hii
sophomore year he'd come to the
decision that ultimately led him
to Duke Power, via Duke Univer
sity:
To major in a pre-law course
with emphasis on economics and
political science. He chose law,
he says, because he felt it offered
the best entry into the maage
ment field.
After getting his law degree at
Duke, he went with the company
for whose founder the institution
is named. For 23 years (until
1956) he was assistant general
counsel. Then, after a break-in
period of two years. McGuire was
named president to succeed Nor
man A. Cocke.
He and his fourth floor office
in the Duke Building go together
? both;. are unpretentious. He's
likely as not to answer his own
phone. His business suits are neat,
conservative. The plain glasses he
wears do not hide the sparkle of
his eyes when he smiles, which
is often. He speaks quietly.
Off the Job, McGuire likely will
be found at home with Mrs. Mc
Guire and the four children,
three boys and a girl betwefen
10 and 16. A mechanical inclina
tion leads him to the tool chest,
maybe for a repair or perhaps
for a simple piece of furniture or
a cornice board.
The chiel pleasure of his ele
vation to the presidency, he says,
was the "renewal of so many
friendships which had fallen into
disuse." Congratulatory letters fill
a file nearly the size of an un
abridged dictionary.
One of his interests outside the
home, and beyond the dove field,
is the church. He is an elder at
Myers Park Presbyterian.
How can a young man entering
corporate management today ex
pect to get to the top?
"Work hard and tend to his own
business."
McGuire's business involves re
sponsibility for nearly 6.000 em
ployes in two states with an
equipment investment of $118,000
for each employe.
How will achievement affect
him?
His mother remembers the first
successes of his teens: "When
honors began coming his way he
said. 'Mother, if I show any signs
of becoming cocky will you please
take me flown.'
" 'I will certainly take you
down, good and hard,' I replied.
But it was never necessary."