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WEIMAR JONES
Editorial Page Editor
THURSDAY. JUNE t, 196*
ON WATER ISSUE
Think, Then Vote
This Saturday (June 4) the voters of Franklin
will decide whether the Town shall or shall not
issue $350,000 in water bonds.
There are three facts every voter in Franklin
should remember:
1. If the bonds are approved in day-after-tomor
row's election, the money will be spent on the Car
ioogechaye project.
2. The question will be decided by a majority of
the votes cut.
3. If you don't go to the Town Hall Saturday
and vote your convictions, you may get the oppo
site of what you want. Tf you favor the Cartooge
chaye project but don't go vote for the bonds, the
proposal may be defeated. If, on the other hand,
yotl oppose the Cartoogechaye project, but don't
go vote against the bonds, you may get a water
system you don't want but will have to help pay
for.
Usually, the people are right. But they arc right
?only when they, first, do their own thinking, and,
second, vote the way they think.
If all Franklin voters do those two things Sat
urday, the decision, whatever it may be, undoubt
edly will be the wise one.
Those Census Figures
How explain those Franklin and Macon County
wensus figures?
A good many people here feel there is 110 satis
factory explanation. A number of responsible pub
lic officials and private citizens say of the figures :
"l just don't l>elieve them !"
What the preliminary figures show is a popula
1tion gain for Franklin, in the decade 1950 to 1960,
<of only 168, and a loss for the county as a whole
of 1,327.
A little comparison and analysis make the fig
*ires even more startling than they appear on the
surface.
Take Franklin first. In the ten years between
1940 and 1950, the town grew from 1,249 to 1,975.
"That was an increase of 59 per cent. The gain of
168 in the last decade represents an increase of
less than 9 per cent. What happened that Frank
lin's rate of growth slowed down to a trickle from
one decade to the next?
Take the county as a whole. The loss of 1.327
.spells a percentage decrease of nearly 10 per cent ;
a loss of one person out of every ten in the last 10
years. That is in contrast with a modest gain in
the 1940-50 decade, when our county population
increased by nearly 2 per cent. What happened to
reverse the trend?
Most startling of all is the drop in population
in rural Macon. To arrive at that, it is necessary
:to add to the net county loss the Franklin gain
((Highlands figures arc not available) ; that is, 1.
327 plus 168, a total of 1,495.
Nor docs that figure tell the full story. For the
number of people who have moved from rural Ma
?con during the last 10 years would be this total
plus the scores of families who have moved into
the rural areas in the past decade.
How exrplain these figures in the light of shop
ping crowds in Franklin, particularly on Satur
days? How explain them in the light of the ever
growing traffic?
Even considering the usual explanation ? the
failure of this area to industrialize ? how explain
them? Because this county's biggest industry by
far ? Burlington, which employs some 450 ? came
in I the 1950's.
Without Burlington, the town showed a phenom
enal gain in the 1940-50 decade, arid the county a
modest gain. With it, the town's gain slowed to
near the zero point, and the county (including
Franklin) had a 10 per cent loss.
* * *
The figures may be correct. Until and unless they
are shown to be wrong, not only must we live with
them ; the world will assume they are correct.
Isn't there enough reason to question them to
seek a re-count? ,
Why wouldn't it make sense for the County
Commissioners or the Franklin Board of Alder
men or the Chamber of Commerce ? or all three ?
to take steps to get a re-count? We couldn't lose
anything; we might gain.
Maybe the smart step would be to have our own
count made in Franklin. If it indicated a gross er
ror here, we might convince the census folks the
figures for the county were wrong, too.
Quality, Too
Since most American industry is set up on a
mass production basis, it necessarily must empha
size quantity. For that reason, it is always refresh
ing when industry makes a point of stressing qual
ity, too.
A case in point is the comment of Mr. Stephen
A. Bundy, superintendent of the Franklin Hosiery
Company, in the folder distributed to visitors to
the plant at its fifth anniversary celebration last
week :
"We are aware of our role as an industrial citi
zen in this fine community, and, as such, constant
ly .strive to put a 'dedicated to quality' motto to
work in all our civic, social and religious activi
ties ? as well as in our work."
If more individuals, as well as industries, were
"dedicated to quality", especially in their relations
with their fellows and their communities, many of
our major American problems would disappear.
And For Girls?
Nobody could or would deny that development
of the bodies of young people is desirable, or that
competition and teamwork are good training. And
of course physical games of skill provide these
things.
I*"or a long time, ? though, many people have
wondered how much connection there is between
education, on the one hand, and present-day high
school and college athletics, on the other. Because
the contests are between single teams from differ
ent schools, instead of between a number of teams
from within the same school, only a tiny minority
of the student body benefits from these athletic
competitions. And because they have become spec
taclcs for the entertainment of the public, instead
of centered about the welfare of the students, they
have tended to become more and more profession
alized.
, A few persons, probably a very few, have won
dered, too, about the more rigorous forms of athle
tics for girls. The image of a girl as a shrinking
violet, a fragile bit of china, has long since de
parted ? and good riddance! But it remains a fact
that the girl's physiological mechanism is far more
delicate than the boy's.
Light on both those questions, especially the lat
ter, is cast bv a recent exchange at a meeting of
the Asheville City School Board. That exchange, as
reported by The Asheville Citizen, brings out in
teresting differences of viewpoint:
The exchange on competitive athletics started when
board member Traynham Houston asked (City Supt E. C.)
Funderburk "why they are no athletics for girls at Lee
t Edwards High School?"
Funderburk answered. "Athletics for girls are a thing
of the past except in rural schools," and Houston coun
tered with "Why?'1 Funderburk said, "You won't find a
city in North Carolina with competitive sports for girls ?
the experts believe such sports aren't good for girls."
Houston said. "Then why not cut them out for the boys
too? If they're not good for the girls why are they good
for the boys?"
Dr. Michael F. Keleber of the board then joined in by
saying, "My position on competitive sports in which only
perhaps 100 of 500 to 600 boys take part is that they're
not essential to education. I'm in favor of eliminaUng
competitive sports from the junior high schools entirely.
Interschoiastic team sports have a great deal against
them."
Funderburk said "The thinking of the experts is that
the competition is good." He said efforts are being made
to spread team sports out so that more of the boys will
be able to take part.
LETTERS
What Bond Interest Would Do
Editor, The Press:
I would like to say a few words about the proposed water
plant.
I think everybody like* good water, and well water U the
best, outside of a good cold spring. If the water bond Issue
carries, and I hope It doesnt, the taxpayers In Franklin will
pay at least 5% Interest on the $350,000. This would be $17,500
per year. Just two years' Interest would be $35,000, or enough
money to drill ftae new wells. If the average cost per well Is
$7,000, as I understand It has been In the past. Five new
wells and a large new stand pipe would give the town an
ample water supply.
J. FRANK JAMISON
Franklin.
Better Be Sure
Editor, The Press:
In regard to more water for Franklin, we have several good
watersheds not far from here that could be put to use, with
gravity flow. Why would we even think of getting water from
the worst polluted stream in Macon County, when we have
good watersheds available? The State Board of Health repre
sentative stated that filtration does not take out detergents
and other chemicals that pollute the stream from farms,
barns, etc.
Why did New York City spend millions of dollars to bring
water 96 miles from watersheds in the Catsklll Mountains for
their use? Greenville, S. C., obtains its water from a shed in
the Blue Ridge Mountains, miles away. The City of Ashevllle,
towns such as Waynesville, Sylva, Andrews, also Western Car
olina college, and most sill towns In our section that have
access to a watershed are utilizing it, and I feel like it is best
for Franklin. We want water that we won't mind to tell our
tourists, visitors, and prospective property owners where it is
obtained.
I have read carefully every letter that has been in our
paper, all editorials regarding the matter, and the watershed
has not been given the attention by our Town Board that It
should. Before we make a debt of $350,000, we should be sure
we are right. I think it Is to our interest to give this very
careful and honest consideration, and our source of water
supply should be one that we can safely recommend to any
one.
E. A. STILES
Franklin.
The Difference
(Holyoke, Colo., Enterprise)
Difference between gossip and news depends on whether
you hear it or tell it
DO YOU REMEMBER?
Looking Backward Through the Files of The Press
65 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
(1895)
Last Thursday morning was nearly cool enough for frost.
The blackberry is in bloom and the crop promises to be
bountiful.
Messrs. Pomp Anderson and Wm. Shanks are mica mining
on Mr. W. R. Stallcup's lot just west of town.
Too much promiscuous and unnecessary swearing is heard
on our streets and sidewalks for decency and comfort. Is there
no way to put a stop to it?
35 YEARS AGO
(1925)
On Friday of last week the municipal well being bored near
the home of Mr. T. W. Angel was tested and found to yield
100 gallons per minute, at a depth of 706 feet. This well when
used in connection with the one already in service is destined
to yield an abundant water supply for years to come.
15 YEARS AGO
(1945)
Mr. and Mrs. John Z. Holland celebrated their fifty-fifth
wedding anniversary recently at their home in the Gneiss
community.
5 YEARS AGO
(1955)
Governor Luther H. Hodges this week officially accepted
Franklin's invitation to attend and take part in its 100th in
corporation birthday June 15, 17, and 18.
E. N. Evans, of Bryson City, formerly of Nantahala, is win
ner of the first prize of $25 offered by The Franklin Press
for the best. article on life here in the old days. Second prize
goes to Mrs. T W. Porter, and third to Mrs. Zeb Cansler.
STRICTLY
PERSONAL
Down the state, I tutve a widely
traveled and perceptive friend
from whom I receive a personal
letter occasionally.
In the most recent one, he com
mented, in his usual colorful style,
on the drive to Industrialize North
Carolina:
"We are being rushed by Hodges
and Co. into a sort of new Jeru
salem that wont be at all like
the rosy vision. You have only to
look at the well industrialized
regions of New Jersey and Michi
gan.
"Moreover, imported industries
will be dictators. Small shops,
manned by natives, that will grow
as needed" should be the aim.
? ? ?
This is the Saga of the Silver
Spoons.
It's a story with a moral; maybe
two morals. But first, the story
itself.
One morning some ten days
ago, Mrs. Jones asked me:
"Have you seen those two .old
desert spoons?"
I knew immediately which ones
she meant. They were her great
grandmother's, or maybe they go
back even farther than that. But
because they seem indestructible,
and because they are of a size
and shape, no longer made, con
venient for such things as cereal
and soup, we use them often.
"Sure: we used them yesterday
at breakfast, didn't we? . . . Why.
what about 'em?"
"I can't find them."
When I came home to lunch
that day, she was doing what
most of us do under such cir
cumstances; she was looking, over
and over and over again, in the
same places.
When I came home to supper,
she remarked:
"Those spoons are not in this
house."
My answer was what almost
any man's would have been: "Stop
worrying. They'll show up. They're
bound to be here."
Her answer to that was what
almost any woman's would have
been- "Where?"
She'd looked in all the likely
places, so I started looking in the
unlikely ones. I looked in the
yard ? "might have been thrown
out with some crumbs". I took all
the garbage, piece by piece, out
of the garbage can. I looked In
the refrigerator, and got down on
my knees and felt under It. I
looked in the linen closet and the
medicine cabinet. Finally, I in
sisted she take everything out of
her handbag.
Sure enough, it appeared the
spoon* were "not In this hous>.
Had she loaned them? NO.
"Maybe you've forgotten."
"I wouldn't have forgotten since
yesterday morning."
Then we remembered that the
day before we'd been out of town
most of the day, but left every
door wide open. ?
I found it hard to believe there
were sneak thieves in Franklin.
But where else could the spoons
have gone?
Maybe. I thought, somebody
who badly needs money took
them. Maybe, if we offer a reward,
with no questions asked, we'll get
them back.
So I put a want ad in last week's
Press to that effect.
Came Thursday night and the
phone rang.
It was Mrs. L. J. Neal calling.
What kind of spoons was it Mrs.
Jones had lost? Hiey were de
scribed in detail.
"I have them here at my house," '
said Mrs. Neal.
What had happened was that
Mrs. Neal and Mrs. Jones were to
be joint hostesses, at Mrs. Meal's
home, to the Music Club last Fri
day evening; and Mrp. Jones, who
never puts off till tomorrow any
thing she can do yesterday, had
taken some things to Mrs. Neal's
a week In advance, including a
dozen ice-tea spoons. In picking
them up. she also had picked up
the heirloom desert spoons.
Mrs. Neal, when she read the
ad, had a hunch. She ijent to the
unopened package of things Mrs.
Jones had taken to her house, and
took a look. Then she telephoned.
The moral?
Things usually will show up.
give 'em time; for there's no tell
ing what any of us may do, in
advertently, sometimes.
And the other moral, it seems
to me. is this one: Don't be in
too big a hurry to think the worst
of folks: to assume somebody has
stolen something, for instance.
I really am ashamed of myself
for thinking that was even a pos
sibility. And Mrs. Jonep and I are
just as relieved to know It wasn't
a case of theft as we are to have
the spoons back.
? ? ?
P. S. After the Music Club
meeting was over and Mrs. Jones
had all her things gathered to '
take home, I suggested to Mrs.
Neal (who didn't claim the $25
reward) :
"If I were you, I'd make a
point, this very night, of counting
my silverware."
Spring Migrants
? CHICAGO TRIBUNE ?
By the thousands, bodies ol
migratory birds were found strewn
on Indiana beaches following a
recent storm at night. Exhausted
by wind and battered by rain and
hail, the migrants were forced
down and drowned.
This is a sad reminder of the
spring migration, now mounting
to its annual dramatic climax in
these latitudes. For the most part,
the estimated seven billion birds
in the United States come and go
without front page attenion. Yet
the occasional specific disasters
are just episodes in a continuing
story of great majesty and mys
tery.
Normally, a wild bird's life is
short and dangerous. Weather is a
PILLS TO MEET
TODAY'S NEED
Our nomination for the quote
of the month:
Dr. William Menninger. saying
that people are swallowing too
many tranquilizers: "What the
world needs is some 'do give a
damn pills.'" ? Greenville <Miss>
Delta Democrat-Times.
By Ray TUCKKR
G. O. P. May Have Lost First Half Of 'Peace, Prosperity' Issue
Reprinted From PUTNAM COUNTY (Trim.) HERALD
WASHINGTON ? President
Eisenhower may have to perform
a diplomatic miracle to preserve
the "peace" issue as a Republican
asset in the presidential campaign.
And an angry Nikita Khrushchev
will have to cooperate to streng
then Vice President Nixon's new
position.
Until May Day. when the
Powers plane was shot down and
oiy International spying activities
belatedly conceded by the White
House and State Department. !
President Elsenhower had oeen i
hailed throughout tne world as i
the foremost champion of world i
peace. 1
Even Khrushchev had differentl
atefi him from the individuals and
circles whom he insisted on brand
ing as "American militarists."
Eisenhower, and inferentially Vice
President Nixon, was heralded as
the simple and friendly man who
miRht terminate or alleviate the
"cold war," as he had helped to
wind up the Korean conflict In
his first term.
That was studied G.O.P.
strategy, along with prosperity.
The Republicans had entertain
ed the hope that he could jive
Nixon a great send-off by match
ing his 1952 promise that "I will
to to Korea" with a similar state
ment concerning our far more
dangerous differences with the
Russian and Chinese Communists.
Assuming that domestic eco
nomlc conditions remain stable
until late October, the Republicans
had planned to run ? and win
? on the attractive slogan of
"peace and prosperity." They
would have appropriated the
chant of "He kept us out of war,"
which won for Wilson by a hairs
breadth in 1916, and of Truman's
1948 argument that "You never
had it -so good," and "Don't let
them take it away."
Political technicalities and de
ficiencies aside* the Republicars
felt confident of victory because
of these emotional and economic
assets in the foreign and domestic
fields, respectively.
But the sensational develop
ments on May 1. the Communists'
historic holiday for celebrating in
advance the crackup of the
capitalistic system, has tarnished
the colors of this, picture of peacc
and possibly prosperity.
Barring a softening of the new
spy-in-the-sky crisis. President
Eisenhower may be forced to ask
Congress for larger military and
satellite-spy appropriations (the
Samos and Midas. > and also for
higher taxes to finance intensified
preparations for war and the
promised - defense of our Allies
against Moscow's threatened re
taliation.
Thus, unless President Eisen
hower can calm Khrushchev and
the latter's "militarists" in the
grumbling army, the presidential
campaign will be conducted in an
atmosphere of tension approxi
mating the strains of the Wilson
Hughes contest in 1916 and the
Roosevelt-Willkie struggle in 1940.
Although the Democrats are
generally backing the Administra
tion's strong stand, they cannot
but hope and believe that history
will repeat. They recall that Wil
son's "He kept us out of war" was
a winning cry in 1916. And so was
FDR's "again and again and
again" assurance In 1940 that
"Your boys will never be sent to
fight in a foreign war."
War came to our shores soon
after these pledges, but they
served their political purpose.
Meanwhile. Republican brain
trusters and ghost writers now
are Uying to think up a new and
more timely slogan.
constant hazard. Unseasonable pro
longed ice and snow are killers.
For countless numbers, the Gulf
of Mexico is a far greater hurdle ?
than Lake Michigan ever is.
Predators and bad luck account
for many. Infant mortality is tre
mendous; a British study esti
mated that the number of young
birds leaving the nest was only
about half the number of eggs
laid. Small birds who do get
launched have an expectancy of
only two to six years, thd large
birds in captivity may live longer
than many men and women. One
owl of record attained the age of
68.
Then man presents further diffi
culties. He does away with more
birds by destruction of habitats
than by outright deliberate killing.
Especially on nights when the
cloud ceiling is low, birds collide
with high structures, especially ir
they have fixed lights. A number
of New York skyscrapers turn off
some of the most 'alluring lights
during migrations. During one
brief period one autumn not long
ago, an estimated 100,000 birds,
forced down from normal half
mile high flight lanes, perished
in collisions with structures along
our Atlantic coast. Most menacing
of all. chemical pesticides take a
tremendous toll. Allan D. Cruick
shank, a noted authority, has pre
dicted "disastrous effects on the
birdlife of the entire nation" un
less use of these poisons is soon
strictly controlled by law. ?
So the pathetic windrows of
little bodies on the Indiana
beaches represent the loss of lives
destined to be short in any event.
Surrounded from the egg by ap
palling dangers, both natural and
artificial, a bird can well do with
out awareness of its dangers. How
ever gorgeous the plumage, beau
tiful the song, enviable the move
ments on the wing, wild birds arc
unaffected creatures, innocent
alike of the pride and worry that
characterize us people.
Being a wild bird Is a short but
intense experience A rapid heart
beat packs a deal of living Into
every day. The vital spark burns
brightly if briefly. Persons who
study birds, especially if they gA
beyond mere recognition to some
knowledge of bird behavior, have
a heightened interest in the an
nual returns of spring.