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WEIMAR JONES
Editorial Page Editor
THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 1958
NEED NO. 1
Never Have So Many .
Never have so many sat so long on anything
half so hard.
That paraphrase of the famous Churchill expres
sion in most cases would he something of an exag
geration. It was definitely an exaggeration, applied
to the program presented here last week by the
Concert Choir of North Dakota State College. For
that 65-voicc choir gave such an excellent program
the audience could almost forget how uncomfor
table are the backless benches at the high school
gymnasium; almost ? but never quite!
I . . ..
That concert underlined what is this commun
ity's No. 1 civic need, a good auditorium. The very
fact that such a program is so rare in Franklin
emphasizes the need; few such organizations will
attempt to perforin in a place as unsuitable as the
school gymnasium, (iiven a good auditorium, we
could have such programs often.
Nor wutild it have to be devoted exclusively t<>
music ; it could serve for every type of public
gathering. <
A good auditorium is Franklin's No. 1 need. It's
been our No. 1 need for years. As the town grows,
the need becomes more acute.
Here's One !
The stale income tax withholding plan, the As
sociated Press reported the other day, is favored
by most North Carolina newspapers. (
Well, just for the record, here's one that is not
in favor of it.
Under the plan, proposed by Governor Ifodges
and now pending in the General Assembly, em
ployes would be required to withhold state income
tax from pay checks, just as they now withhold
federal income tax.
Here are some. of the reasons we oppose it.
First of all, the state government has no moral
right to force employers to serve, without com
pensation, as its tax collection agents. That requires
something of employers that is. required of no other
group, and so is clearly discriminatory. And the
fact that it is done by the federal government in
no way affects the right. or wrong of the question.
Second, the argument that only through the
withholding plan can the state collect income taxes
from all who owe such taxes just doesn't hold
water. The state has access to information on the
income of those who pav the federal tax ; all it has
to do is cross check on that information, and then
go after, those who should pav but do not. Inciden
tally, the statement of the State Department of
Revenue that 32.0W North Carolinians are dodging
the state income tax seems includible it suggests
incredible dishonest v among North ( arolina citi
/.ens. as -well ;i> incredible JaxitV in1, the Revenue
Department. It the department knows there arc
32,(X)0 t'ix dodi'.Ci . wh\ <Joes"'l it J^et busy and
KCUMD AHO ROUND HE <So?S . . .
collect from them, instead of waiting for their em
ployers to do it?
Then there's the reason for advocating with
holding at this particular time. It is proposed now
so the state can have a "balanced budget". And
how can withholding balance the budget? In a very
simple way. It can do it, because it is proposed to
collect two years' taxes in one ? this year's in a
lump sum April 15, 1960, next year's in weekly or
monthly withholdings throughout that year. It is
exactly- as if an individual drew not only this
Week's pay check, but got next week's in advance ?
.and then congratulated himself that now he could
balance his personal budget. That's a sort of fiscal
juggling, a kind ofyintellectual sleight-of-hand, "that
is as childish as it is dishonest.
But the strongest argument of all against the
withholding .plari is the very one advanced in its
favor ? it will make taxpaving easy. If his state
income tax is withheld, a little at a time, the tax
payer will not feel the bite, will never know how
much his state government is costing him. That's
right ; he won't. (Every employe knows exactly
how much his take-home pay is, but how many
could say how much they pay in federal income
tax?)
Rut why shouldn't the citizen know what he is
paying for government? Why .shouldn't he know
what government costs him, just as he knows
what rent and food and fuel cost him?
Taxpaying should never be either indirect or
easy. It should not, for two reasons: First, it is
the citizen's right to know how much tax he pays ;
and it is only through knowing that he will be able
to control the Cost of government.
And surely he should have such control. For,
after all, it is his government.
A Fighter
When youthful William Friday was elected pres
ident of the Consolidated University of North Car
olina, it was only natural for people to ask: Is he
big enough for the job? Is he seasoned enough?
Only time will answer those questions fully. But
in one respect, Mr. Friday is giving emphatic
?answers: lie i< a fighter.
When the Advisory Budget Commission, headed,
by the Governor, cut sonic 10 million dollars off
ill;' requested budget of the three institutions (at
Chapel Mill, Greensboro, and Raleigh) ? cut 10 mil
lions off before the request ever got to the Legis
lature, a timid man would have accepted the cut
with such grace as he could? or sought a compro
mise.
But not Bill Friday! He is insisting on the full
amount originally requested.
Every item can be justified, he declares. Then he
points out that "we are a university ? not a college ;
a great university in fact and in name, comparable
with universities, great universities, of the world;
and we must have the funds to maintain that
stature, for our own good and for the good of fu
ture generations."
And Chancellor Aycock, of Chapel Hill, adds:
"We are asking for every nickel we originally re
quested".
The University is appealing, over the heads of
the Budget Commission members, to the legis
lators. Indirectly, it is appealing, bver the heads of
the Legislature, to the people. If it gets its story
to the people, it will get the money.
'Spitting Image'
(T&T Monitor)
If you want to know what Is meant by a spitting image,
try feeding cereal to a baby.
DO YOU REMEMBER?
Looking Backward Through the Flies of The Press
65 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
(1894)
Mr. Alex Howard is painting the roof, window blinds, and
doors of the courthouse.
Franklin suffered a great calamity last Friday night. About
12 o'clock flames were discovered by a young man, Tom Porter,
issuing from the roof of the old store building belonging to
Mr. E. H. Franks on East Main Street. Soon the whole town
was aroused and ladders and buckets brought into service, and
by almost super-human efforts a more extensive conflagration
was prevented. As it was, these buildings were burned: J. M
Williams' "Store-room, the Franks-Lyle block of three store
rooms and offices above, the old Franks store-room, D. C.
Cunningham's livery stables, and R. H. Jarrett and Sons' hotel
and store. Mr. and Mrs. D. L. Garland and brother, asleep on
the second floor of the old Franks building, were awakened
by Porter barely in time to escape In their night clothes.
35 YEARS AGO
<1924)
NOTICE? The examination for teachers' certificates will be
given April 8. M. D. Billings, County Superintendent.
The Woman's Club will meet April 4 In Miss Weaver's studio
in the school building.
15 YEARS AGO
(1944)
J. J. Mann has been elected chairman of the Macon County
Board of Elections to succeed R. S. Jones, resigned.
Sgt. Edwin Stiles, son of Mr. and Mrs. T. W. Stiles, of Pren
tiss, Is stationed at Camp Breckinridge, Ky.
Increased postal rates went into effect this week. Local let
ters remain at one cent, but letters to rural routes have In
creased from two to three cents. Post cards and V. S. postals
remain at the one-cent rate.
5 YEARS AGO
v (1954)
A fund raising campaign for the Franklin High School Band,
which lost its instruments in last week's school fire, will be
discussed at a special meeting of the Band Boosters Club
tonight.
Money and time are the heaviest burdens of life, and the
unhappiest of all mortals are those who have more of either
than they know how to use. ? Samuel Johnson.
. IB OUT Til hi. Til-. /. \ (I H(>M I' IIS * . ' , ,
Provocative Pronouns For Precise People; A Little Grammar Is A Dangerous Thing
" , Shall (Or Will; One.'
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The auth
or n S this article, reprinted from
the Raleieh News and Observer,
is head of the Department of
English at N. C. State College,
Raleigh.)
By LODYVICK HARTLEY
A little grammar, like a little
learning, a dangerous thine.
And people who know least
about how the language really
operates are often those who are
most positive about the way in
which it should be spoken and
written. ,
Incidentally, in my very first
paragraph I have alieady violated
a principle 'syntactical, it is true,
rather than grammatical < dear to
some pretenders to competence in
the language. "Never begin a sen
tence with, 'and,' 'but,' or for ."
the rule runs. And it may even
be extended to "because" and
other conjunctions. But is there
any reason or authority for such
a rule? Not so far as I can tell.
Because there i,s not. then, I
think that we can quickly rid our
minds of another taboo.
Clearly, thus kind of false notion
is in the class of the taboo about,
ending the sentence with a prep
osition. Both are classic examples
of ideas promulgated by people?
who think that they know mam
mar and syntax but who in
reality have only a smattering of
each.
There is another class of people
?or is it merely a sub-class?) who
have a strong faith in the "nice
ties" of grammar and who insist
upon demonstrating their famili
arity with them on every possible
occasion. These include. I am
afraid, the same people who think
it elegant to hold a tea cup with
the small finger of the right hand
in a delicate curve outward.
For them the linguistic equiva
lent of the curved little finger is
? amonu other things ? a de
votion to constructions involving
the auxiliary verb "shall." as well
as to an overuse of the pronoun
"one."
Now shall" and "will"* have for
so long been baffling to speakers
of the English language that many
people have despaired of making
any distinction in their use.
'Some valid distinctions do exist,
of course.)
Observe the friend of yours who
says with what used to be called
old-maidish precision, "Yes, I
shall be at home when you call,"
and "I shall do what you have
requested," and "I shall see you
later."
Naturally, all the handbooks of
usage say (but should not I have
fused "state"?? that "shall" with
the pronoun of the first person
indicates simple futurity. At the
same time, they do not give
license for riding a good horse
to dpath. Once in a while, "will"
is much better, and eveh more ac
curate ? as in "I will do what
you have requested" and "I will
certainly meet you for golf next
Wednesday." Indicating a willing
ness or promise to perform an
act and not merely the likelihood
of its being performed.
But the "shall" addict persists
in thinking that there is some
thing inherently fashionable about
his consistency. Very few people,
of course, confuse "shall" i in
dicating determination on the
part of the speaker i and "will"
(indicating simple futurity) when
they air used with pronouns of
the second and third person:
"you" or "he" or "they".
The partisans of "one" are
equally numerous: and because
?they somehow think that they are
fashionable, they are at least
equally ridiculous. One has only to
listen to one's pseudo-educated
and super-precise friends to get
one's ear full. However, "one,"
like "shall," can be perfectly
proper when used, like one's dress
clothes, with taste and discretion.
Perhaps, after all, the most
flagrant offenders among people
who have learned a little grammar
are the "I" and the "whom" ad
dicts.
For some undetermined reason,
the average child doggedly insists
on saying "me and Jim" rather
than "Jim and I" regardless of ,
the grammatical context of his
statement. It seems to make little
difference whether the youngster
lives in the local Mortgage Hill
area or in Shanty Town.
When the child goes to school,
however, he is cajoled, admonish
ed, and threatened enough to con
vince turn that he has committed
a mortal sin "pride leads the
"Seven Deadly Sins") by naming
himself before he names his play
mate and that he has committed
a grammatical sin by using a
pronoun in the objective form as
the subject of a sentence. So he
learns to say, "Jim and I are
going to play together." Unfortu
nately, however, the experience
becomes traumatic, and our young
man is afflicted with a fixed idea
for the rest of his life.
Listen to your friend who says
"Mr. Jones invited my wife and
I to his country place for a swim."
Nine to one. he glows inwardly
because of his altruism in putting
his wife first and because of his
discrimination in using "I" instead
of "me." He thinks, of course,
that he has fully demonstrated
his worthiness to '.move in the
society of a man fashionable
enough to have a private
swimming pool. But he has a rude
surprise awaiting him. Mr. Jones's
wife will assuredly know that he
should have said "wife and me,"
since both words are the' objects
of "Invited"; and she will have
her own opinion of whether he is
deserving of associating with her
set.
Our poor fellow will also be
afraid to say, "You're being unfair
to us Smiths. After all, we live
in as good a part of town as you
do." Had he not once been told
that he could not say "Us boys
are going" and that he should
have said "we boys"? So he timidly
Bays, "You're being unfair to we
Smiths": and he is ever so irre
trievably back on the wrong side
of the grammatical railroad tracks.
After all, a preposition is relent
less in requiring an object in all
the socially-acceptable parts of
town,
%
The "whom" addicts are not in
the same class only because there
are not quite so many people who
can catch them in their errors.
But, like the "I" addicts ? sincc
they have learned through dint of
considerable effort that "wh,om"
is the right form for certain situ
ations ? they insist o|n getting
more than their money's-worth
out of this hard earned knowledge.
Thus they indulge in such con
structions as "Whom do you think
will be the next president of the
Country Club?" Or "There has
been a lively discussion as to
whom will marry Mrs. Walsing
ham Cartwright next," or "She is
the one whom we all supposed
was slightly inebriated at our last
club dance." Of course, the speak
er \vho really knows his grammar
? and does not merely think that
he does ? will see. that "who" is
the right form in all three sen
tences as the subject of "will
be," "will marry," or "was inebrl
ated."
Very well, you may say, but some
highly-placed people will be found
in the above categories. Indeed.
I remember something of the cold
chill that ran over me when, In
a news reel of fairly recent issue,
a Very important personality said.
"Thank you for all you've done
for Esmeralda and I." (I have
sufficiently disguised the name so
that it should not possibly be at
tached to the wife of any great
contemporary American political
figure, i
And there was John Milton (rest
to his puritanical bones!) who re
ferred to. a hero (that some say
he may have admired) as "Satan,
than whom none sat higher." Why
"whom"? Only Milton could an
swer. At any rate, one of the
greatest English poets said it; and
he did so in such a resounding
way that "than whom" is the ac
cepted idiom to thig moment.
It Is better to be president than
right, as any sensible man knows.
And poets have a special license
of their own. But as for us ordi
r-ny human beings, we'd better
not attempt to display learning
that We do not have. TOO martf
people will know just enough to
catch us.
STRICTLY
PERSONAL
By WEIMAR JON1S
We are the inheritors of the
civilization of all the world, and
our primary aim in North Caro
lina should be the development of
a people who understand the
things of the spirit.
We have wonderful assets. If
we'll just hold on to them. One of
them Is the rural character of our
state, and the things that go with
rural living; we must hold on to
the faith of our fathers In simple
honesty and in living life at its
highest.
We seek and welcome new in
dustry.
But ?
We do not want Industry at any
price.
We do not want Industry that
will destroy another Industry, such
as our tourist business.
We do not want industry which
is unsulted to the community.
We do not want Industry which
comes in to exploit our resources
and our people.
And we are not in favor of offer
ing gratuities (such as tax ex
emption) to get industry to come
to North Carolina; that would
be unfair to the industries that
have been here for, maybe, 50
years.
We do not want an industry that
seeks a gratuity. It is smarter for
North Carolina to hold high its
standards and treat everybody
alike ... It is a high honor to
come to North Carolina and share
in its upbuilding.
Those are not my words ?
though they say the tilings I have
been trying to say, on this page,
for a dozen years.
They are the words of one pf
the brainiest and most highly re
spected men in North Carolina.
And they were spoken at ? of
all places! ? a chamber of com
merce dinner. Yet the ideas were
presented so clearly, so logically,
that what was said seemed com
pletely appropriate to the oc
casion.
They are the words of a man
often mentioned for governor.
State Treasurer Edwin M. QUI.
They are from his speech ? the
highlight of an excellent program
? at the recent annual dinner
meeting of the Jackson County
Chamber of Commerce. And his
words fitted right in with the
theme of the meeting, as an
nounced on the printed programs
? "a people working together
for a better community".
Mr. Gill went on to say that
the industry that is most desirable
is not looking for gratuities; that
it is much more interested in less
tangible things.
Industrialists, he said, are im
pressed by the rural character of
North Carolina; enlightened in
dustry is looking for wide open
spaces. They are impressed by
such things as the fact that North
Carolina has an art museum, as
evidence that the people of this
state value and appreciate the
beautiful. They are interested in
a balanced state, which puts a
premium on such things as moral
ity and religion. They are interests
ed, most of all, in a good place
to live.
Many of the things that make
North Carolina desirable, a good
Place to live, he added, grow out
of the rural character of the
state; and Governor Hodges is
seeking to preserve that rural
character by encouraging the de
velopment of small industries,
especially those that process
foods, in the rural areas.
. If all that sounds familiar to
readers of this newspaper, it's be
cause The Press has been saying it
? though not so well as Mr. Gill
? over a period of years.
Here In North Carolina, in this
mountain region, in Macon Coun
ty, we need some industry, of
course; enough small industry
that, along with farming, tourists,
and other businesses, we will have
a balanced economy.
But we do not need Industry
at any price, and we do not need
just any industry.
As far back as 1&46, this news
paper suggested that we should
select our industries. Then it list
ed eight basic standards for
measuring the desirability of an
industry. In the light of those
recent remarks of so wise and
prominent a man as Mr. Gill, that
1946 list still seems to be a pretty
good yardstick; ? -
1. Industry should be heme
owned; not necessarily by people
who now live here, but by people
who will live with and in the In
dustry. Absentee factory owner
ship is quite as great an evil as
absentee land ownership.
2. Industries should be small
? so that no one can dominate
the community ? and diversified
v? so that a single shut-down can
not paralyze the community's
economic life.
3. They should fit into, the
natural economy of the commun
ity, preferably manufacturing raw
material already present; that
would seem to make sense econom
ically, and socially it would create
fewer changes and fric* . ns.
4. They should employ local
labor. There certainly would be
little advantage in a factory that
brought its labor from elsewhere,
with our own leaving home in
search of employment.
5. The community should select
the management of its factories as
carefully as management selects
its labor. It is not enough that
the plant management should be
a good citizen ? in its labor, as
well as in its community, rela
tions; the management should be
able to understand and fit into
the community.
6. Our industries should be
those that will not destroy the
God-given, Irreplaceable things
we have here in Western North
Carolina. Our mountains have
been marred and our air and water
polluted enough already.
7. Each industry should be
fitted carefully Into the commun
ity It is to serve, and we should
have Just enough to give us a
proper balance with farming, the
tourist business, etc. Too few
would bea better than too many.
8. The final test, in every in
stance, should be the question;
Will the industry make this a
better place to live?
How To Assure A Life Of Grief
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is re
printed from the Franklin, La.,
Banner-Tribune, which credited
it to a Miss Landers, writing
in a religious bulletin.)
1. Beginning with infancy to
give the child everything he wa!nts.
In this way he will grow up to
believe the world owes him a liv
ing.
2. When he picks up bad words,
laugh at him. This will make him
think he is cute. It will also en
courage him to pick up "cuter"
phrases that will blow off the top
of your head later.
3. Never give him any spiritual
training. Wait till he is 21 and let
him decide for himself. . '
4. Avoid use of the word
"wrong". It may develop a guilt,
. complex. This will condition him
to believe later, when he is ar
rested for stealing a car, that
society is against him and he is
hetng persecuted.
5. Pick up everything he leaves
lying around , ? books, shoes, and
, clothing. Do everything for him
?o he will be experienced in throw
ing all responsibility on to others.
6. Let him read any printed
matter he can get his hands on.
Be careful that the silverware and
drinking glasses are sterlized, but
let his mind feast on garbage.
7. Quarrel frequently in the
presence of your children. In this
way he will not be too shocked
when his home is broken up later.
8. Give the child all the spend
ing money he wants. Never let
him earn his own. Why should he
have the things as tough as you
had them.
9. Take his part against neigh
bors, teachers and policemen.
They are all prejudiced against
your child.
10. When he gets into real
trouble, apologize for yourself by
saying, "I never could do anything
with him."
11. Satisfy all' his cravings.
Denial may lead to frustration.
12. Prepare for a life of grief.
You will be apt to have it.
WHY FOLKS GO IN DEBT
Nothing makes some people so
into debt like trying to keep up
with people who already are ?
Holyoke, Colo., Enterprise.