Page Two THE PILOT—Southern Pines, North Carolina Friday, May 23, 1952 THE PILOT Published Each Friday by THE PILOT. INCORPORATED Southern Pines, North Carolina 1941--JAMES BOYD. Publisher—1944 KATHARINE BOYD Editor VALERIE NICHOLSON Asst. Editor DAN S. RAY General Manager C. G. COUNCIL Advertising Subscription Rates: One Year $4.00 6 Months $2.00 3 Months $1.00 Entered at the Postoffice at Southern Pines, N. C., as second class mail matter Member National Editorial Association and N. C. Press Association “In taking over The; Pilot no changes are con templated. We will try to keep this a good paper. We will try to make a little money for all con cerned. Where there seems to be an occasion to use our influence for the public good we will try to do it. And we will treat everybody alike.” —James Boyd, May 23, 1941. The Last Lap As the state swings into the last lap of the gubernatorial oompaign, a good deal is being whispered about, and not only whispered, as to dark and dire facts that will soon be revealed. It should be noted that those whispers are, to date, coming just about exclusively from one side of the political fence, that occupied by the Olive forces. North Carolina had one bloody bout of smear campaigning. Then, as now, the smears came from one side of the fence. The system worked that time, to our shame be it said, and that could happen again, but somehow we do not think it will. The memories of that other cam paign are not happy ones. A smear campaign is a campaign of weak ness; it is a confession that it’s the only way you can win. Because a man can’t win on his own merits, he has to do it by tearing down the other fellow. It is a destructive, as opposed to a constructive cEimpaign. ' That’s the sort of campaign that Judge Olive has been waging against William Umstead. From the Olive headquarters come a fusillade of digs and barbs, rumors, and accusations, with the constant innuendo that more dirt is to fol low. From the Umstead headquarters, on the Other hand, come .clear and factual accounts of what the candidate stands for, what he has done already and what he hopes to do if he gets elect ed. His opponent is hardly ever mentioned. There’s no doubt which of the two kinds of tactics is the more dignified or sincere, or straight forward and decent; there is no doubt which is the more commendable, and, to our mind, no doubt which are the more effective tactics in this campaign. Un^tead has been our man from the first, but'he has grown in stature with us because he has not stooped to below- the-belt fighting. He has let his opponent waste his energy thinking up smears against him while ho has gone quietly and earnestly about the business of doing a good honest job to the best of his ability. In his way of carrying on his campaign for the office of governor Bill Umstead has shown, unmistakably, what sort of man he is and what sort of governor he will make. We believe that’s the kind of governor this state wants. Waich That Zoning Plan Last week at the town board meeting a re port was made of action taken previously that, while perhaps acceptable in itself, opens up ' disturbing possibilities. It had been decided, at a special meeting held May 5, to allow a restau rant to open in the former Elks clubhouse on May street. In many ways this building lends itself ad mirably to such a purpose and we are not aware that the clubhouse, a bustling place when the Elks had it, ever proved in any way objec tionable in the neighborhood; nevertheless this part of town, from one end of May street to the other, has always been restricted for residential purposes. This would be the first timfe that busi ness had been granted a foothold along this main route, and surely a move of this sort, to break restrictions long in effect, should not be taken without considerable study. It seems, also, as if the property owners, who bought their homes in a residential section, should be con sulted before such a change is made. There is a way provided for just such cases, but in this matter it was apparently not followed. We have a zoning board and a board of adjust ment. Ordinarily matters like this are refenred to one or the other; and if citizens object to any ruling they may appeal their case. As we under stand it, the board may grant permits at their discretion in restricted areas and the objections of the citizens are not necessarily binding on the board, but, actually, a public protest of any strength would seldom be over-ruled. In this case, of issuing a permit for the res taurant on May street, the town did not follow the accepted procedure. We imagine this was simply due to the fact that, as the building had been used in a semi-public capacity, as a club house, th,; “residential” label appeared to have been already lifted and it was not thought nec essary, therefore, to go through the usual chan nels. This may be all right, but we incline to think that a matter of such importance should not be passed over so lightly. It would create a prec edent for allowing business establishments on May street and that is something that needs considerable thought. The beauty of this tree- bordered avenue is one of the town’s major assets. It evokes constant comment from our visitors; passing motorists remember Southern Pines, they tell us, because it is different from other towns. The route, instead of being lined with restaurants, signs, shops, and garages, is attractive with planted parkways and charming homes. They say: “It makes you want to come back and stay.” That is an asset of advertising value we should be very slow to change. The restaurant that is considering this loca tion would, we feel sure, do credit to the town and be a welcome addition. That is not the point; or even whether or not May street shall be opened to business, though about this angle we feel strongly. .-The point is that matters af fecting the zoning restrictions of the town, should proceed according to the accepted meth od with the people given ample opportunity to make their wishes felt. Faithful Service The resignation from the school board of its chairman for many years. Dr. George G. Herr, takes from this position of responsibility one who has ever given it his best efforts. There have been few to hold official position in South ern Pines whose record for earnest endeavor could surpass that of Dr. Herr. Wle feel that he deserves the thanks of this entire community for his long and faithful service. Dr. Herr has seen many changes come to our schools and has helped materially in bringing th?m about. He has seen changes in superinten dents, in curricula; the increase in athletics and extra-curricular activities has come about dur ing his term in office; the fine new buildings are a tribute to his efforts and interest as lead er of the board. Always he has placed the needs of the schools uppermost and has fought many a battle to awaken interest and to secure need ed appropriations. Those who have worked with him, both members of the board and teachers, have appreciated his never-failing cooperation. But beyond aU that have been the children themselves. Dr. Herr’s interest in them has been constant and untiring. He has followed their progress through school and thfeir careers after graduation with enthusiasm and sympathetic understanding. Their needs have always come first with him, and close behind have come the needs and problems of the teachers. Our children come first, in this town, with all of us, ai is the case, we imagine, in most towns. Dr. Herr’s work for them and his understand ing of them and their needs has given him an abiding place in the hearts of his fellow-towns men. Time To Calm Down The incident of the Koje prison camp and the capture and subsequent release of General Dodd has thrown the country into a case of the jitters. It is probably temporary and not serious, but it is symptomatic of the state of nerves we are in. The wave of criticism that has hit the Defense' Department comes as the aftermath, springing largely from nervous reaction: things should never have gotten into such a state. General Dodd should never have let himself be caught, and so on. The army is called stupid and the general idiotic and the climax is the charge it must all be a plot of the Kremlin. It is time, now, to settle down and take a calm view of things. We agree with the critics that the way the army handled the release of Dodd was inept beyond words. But here was a matter that wasn’t in the books. None of those manuels they go by told what to do if your gen eral got into a POW camp and couldn’t get out. There was no way to look up what Washington or Grant or Lee or Pershing or even Von Claus- witz or Napoleon had done in similar cases be cause there had been no similar cases. All of them had, apparently, kept at a safe distance, or if they hadn’t, they never told. When Gen eral Dodd got caught, the army had to act all new, making it up as they went along, and do it fast, with their man, for all they knew, in mortal danger. It may have occurred to some of those harried officers, too, that behind One general’s peril was the vast smoldering inter national bonfire. Would his death, if it occurred, be the spark to set it off? Perhaps we shouldn’t blame them too much for getting rattled. Yes, .'t looks as if a good many people had been stupid, as the critics are saying, but it’s time we let it pass and went on to more impor tant matters. We would be a lot stupider than those we criticise if- we allowed their blunders to stampede us into irretrievable errors of judgment and action, and that could happen. It’s time to calm down. Town Signs Again It appears that this may be the time to ac complish something definite in the way of im proving the sign situation at the entrances to the town. Long a subject of criticism by large segments of the population, the signs, the town board has now discovered, cost a goodly sum to keep up, paid to an advertising company every year. They are coming arormd to the opinion, also, that they are not suitable to this sort of town. They represent the commercial type of advertising, now going into the discard all over the country in progressive communities. So there is a move to make a change in signs. This is not a new move: our readers will rec ognize, in fact, that the title of this editorial has grown to be almost a perennial with The Pilot, so often has it appeared in these col umns, but now it looks as if something were going to be done. t With the “Finer Carolina” plan under way through several projects, one of which is the planting and beautifying of Southern Pines, this is the prime irioment, it appears to us, to capitalize on the wishes of many people and get the signs changed. Reasonably large signs, instead of gigantic billboards, attractively de signed, these are, we submit, what this town needs to show the way to its attractions and hold out a hospitable hand to our visiting pub lic. No. 5—Do You Know Your Old Southern Pines? Here’s a snappy scene of Southern Pines around the turn of the century—a Sandhills Cadillac with hay-burning motor. Who of our local old-timers remembers such scenes as this? And can they tell us—is that really Broad street which the vehicle is cruising? Someone might even recognize the gentleman at the steering wheel, or whatever you’d call it. The Public Speaking Mrs. J. S. Reynolds identi fied Old Picture No. 4, pub lished in last week's Pilot, as Jefferson Inn in its early days. Jefferson Inn. of course, still exists, in greatly enlarged and improved fomr, and is now, as it became when owned by Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds, one of the best known resort hotels in the east. It is now owned and operated by Mrs. Oscar Holtz claw. The original building, a cot tage with a store in front, was built by Mr. and Mrs. Rey nolds in 1898. Three years lat er they had it pushed back from the street, bought the Hayes building next door and added it, gave the Inn its present n^^ne and took a few boarders. Later (about 1910) they added the dining room and Annex, and turned it into a real hotel. Charles Macauley, in the letter below, identifies the building, and gives additional information * on Pembrooke Lodge and its companion Ivy Lodge (Picture No. 2); To the Pilot: In answer to a letter asking for additional details relating to Ivy Lodge and Pembrooke Lodge, and at the same time inquiring why I did not contribute an article on th^ story of Ivy Lodge so incor rectly identified in letters to the Pilot, my reply must be that I as sumed that Mrs. R. F. Barkmer, daughter of the late Dr. H. E. Foss, would give the story of her fath er’s house. For the same resison I am not contributing anything about the Jefferson Inn, pictured in last week’s Pilot, as the builders, own ers and longtime. proprietors of that hotel, Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Rey nolds, know far more of its story than I do. However, to give publicity in the Pilot, and to separate the two houses involved as a matter of historical record, I have to note that Pembrooke Lodge (of which house the Pilot has, or did have, a plate) and Ivy Lodge were built by Chatfield and Messer—^who, by the way, were oUr earliest fu neral directors—the former, for Dr. C. H. Hildreth of Pembrooke, N. H., in 1900, and the latter for E. M. Fulton, in 1898. It had sev eral owners before Dr. Foss, who acquired the house in 1906 and lived there until his death Novem ber 30, 1920. Owing to a fire in April 1916 which destroyed the upper portion of the house, its ex terior appearance is somewhat different from that appearing in the old plate. Pembrooke Lodge, purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Wilson in 1932, is located on the northeast corner of Connecticut avenue and Bennett street, and was given by Dr. Hildreth to his daughter by adoption. Miss Angie Gordon, and by her advertised as a boarding house from 1902 to 1909, when upon her marriage to the late George Malonzo the house was leased to other proprietors. CHARLES MACAULEY SUPPORTED SCHOOLS To the Pilot: May I commend you on last week’s editorial urging grass-root participation in the coming elec tion. Wholesale disclosures of mis management and unethical prac tices in high places alert us all to the need of GOOD government. Now is indeed the time to do more than talk! GREEN PASTURES May 14, 1952 To the Pilot. I read with interest and no little pleasure your editorial “The Passing Horse” in the May 9th edition. M!r. Charles Yeomans and you, I fear, have no belief in a here after for the iron horse. That “cortege going north,” which Mr. Yeomans gazed upon, was no trek to oblivion; it was rather trans portation to a loftier plane. I have no doubt those eight or ten “horses” were en route to an open hearth furnace at some steel mill a crematory as it were; from whence they would be poxired as pme and molten steel, later to be transformed into plates, sheets, bars, pipe or tubes. It is possible those same "horses” could be re-bom to live as part of a new Diesel assembly. Would it be too fanciful to sup pose they even may return to the Seaboard tracks to glide swiftly with a modern grace and beauty to and from The Sandhills? Could not the scene of which Mr. Yeo mans wrote so eloquently—even though sadly—^be but advance ment toward an ultimate reincar nation that would transform the “horses” into spaceships, left to zoom about in the far reaches be yond our atmosphere, or to pre scribe a regular orbit beyond the pull of gravity. But what is more important, is being completely removed from the stupid motorist, who looks for conquest at every grade crossing? This would be paradise enough for any iron horse, but to have all the outer regions in which to cavort would be green pastures indeed. The scrap yard is no lim bo but just a port of call for metal on its way to greater service! Jack’s Grill and his food nor mally is conducive to more cheer ful thoughts—Mr. Yeomans must really have been deeply grieved. I hope I have given him some consolation. Sincerely, EDWIN A. REGAN New York City. LIKED FORUM To the Pilot. Like Oliver Twist who had the temerity to ask for more', in re gard to the recent Forum on Ko rea—“May we please have some more?” MERTA UNDERHILL It is fitting to reward with our ballots those who have served us faithfully and well; to place a high premium on honesty and con scientious service. “Let him who is to be elected be proved” is an accurate and trustworthy gauge for judging office seekers. Being a teacher, my primary in terest is the school—the welfare of its children encompassing the welfare of its teachers. In this connection, I feel extremely grate ful to Cliff Blue for his loyal sup port in every battle waged for the betterment of the school program. His voting record in each session of the legislature proved him to be a very real friend of education. The teachers of Moore county, as well as all the teachers of North Carolina, owe a debt of gratitude to him and to other men of his caliber. In this category, I place Bill Umstead, who lent his very able assistance to the cause of educa tion in the days of its darkest needs. These two candidates helped me personally in a drive for better conditions in the public schools of North Carolina at a time when it was extremely unpopular for po litical figures to do so. Believing that “a friend in need is a friend indeed,” my loyalty prompts me to recommend Wil liam B. Umstead for Governor and Clifton H. Blue for Representa tive. Sincerely yours, RUTH W. SWISHER. PIANOS Cole Piano Company NelU A. Cole Prop. Plano Sates and SerHee Phone 92