North Carolina Newspapers

♦4 PAGE TWO THE PILOT—Southern Pines. North Carolina THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22. 1955 ILOT More Stringent Standards Assure Salk Vaccine Safely SouthnnPinM North Carolma "In taMng over The Pilot no changes are contemplated. We will tpr to ^eep ^ a paper. We will try to make a Uttle money for all concerned, mere Ihere seems to be “ ^n to use our iXence for the public good we will try to do it. And we wiU treat everybody alike.”^-^ames Boyd, May 23, 1941. Why aren’t young people interested in poli tics? The question arises this year, as it did a year ago, after the annual meeting of the Moore County Young Democratic Club at which only a small sprinkling of the persons present were in the 18 to 40 age range to which these clubs are expected to appeal. One answer may be the one-party aspect of poUtics in North Carolina, although it ap pears there is plenty of room for partisan politi cal activity in this county that went for Eisen hower ii;i 1952, as did many counties of the state. Another reason for youthful complacency about politics may be prosperous times. Many a young person, pinched by the depression 20 years ago, turned to an active interest in the Democratic party because the party was doing something about the great problems of eco nomic recovery, not to mention poverty and the insecurity that was the lot of all too many of the nation’s families. On the national scene. Young People And Politics at least, voting fpr k Democrat 20 years ago ap peared to have a direct relation to how well you were going to eat in the futme. The con nection between politics and the quality of everyday life is not so apparent today. The over-40 Young Democrats who are the backbone of the organization in Moore County have a responsibility here, we believe, to bring younger persons into the club. This is going on to some extent but must be vastly stepped up if the club is to fulfill its intended functions as an active force for the advancement of the party and a testing ground for the party’s future leaders. As to meeting the challenge of youthful po litical apathy, in whatever party, we believe there should be more political discussion in homes and in the schools, too, where, on a non partisan basis, the methods and meaning of po litical activity could, by a skilled teacher, be brought to life out Of the realm of theory and into the realm of everyday living as essentials of good citizenship and maturity. What Can Help Johnny Read? says the superintendent, the author ignores the fact that countries he mentions are interested primarily in education of the upper 10 per cent of the population and that "our schools have many children who never can learn to read very successfully. . . all degrees of ability are present in our schools.” Here is the educator’s summary of his attitude toward "Why Johnny Can’t Read : “Reasonable conclusions are: that we do have a real problem of reading which is not confined to the United States alone; that we need to give much attention to word sound as well as to word meaning; that we need many more good primary teachers; that we need to keep class size in primary grades small enough to enable children to have much individual attention; and we need, finally, to have infinite patience with the child, with the teacher and the parent. We have a problem which requires cooperation, not vituperation.” These conclusions make sense and reveal that parents are not helpless in the face of this crisis and that their cooperation is essential in solv ing it. What it boils down to is that people get.the schools and teachers they demand and are will ing to pay for and that Johnny won’t learn to read any better if Johnny’s parents simply sit back and cuss the schools. ‘ Why Johnny Can’t Read” is the name of a book that has been giving parents and educators the creeps—perhaps for different reasons. The book has been condensed in popular magazines, articles have been written about it and persons who have read it come away feeling that a school is a place where a monstrous fraud is perpetrated at the expense of pupils. If one s own child is in school, one begins to think he’d be better off if he were hidden in the attic until he is past college age. All schools, aU teachers and all textbooks are totally wrong in their teaching of reading, the book either states directly or implies. We found at last some glimmer of hope and reason in the words of a North Carolina scl^ool superintendent who was questioned by his home town newspaper about “Why Johnny Can’t Read.” Any reasonable and honest educator will ad mit there is a grave reading problem in the public schools, he says, and the schools have a share in the responsibility for this situation, but it is unreasonable to contend that the schools can solve this problem by the adoption of some single method Of teaching reading. Rudolph Flesch, author of the controversial book, compares reading problems in the United States with the absence thereof in Europe, but. Republican Skeletons Begin To Rattle Some of the skeletons in the Republican clos et were rattled last week by State Treasurer Edwin GiU in his address to the Moore County Young Democratic Club, giving a preview of issues that will play a part in next year’s cam paign. Some of these issues are: 1. A lack of clear purpose or direction in the Republican Party, now and in the past, and the party’s dependapce on the personality of Presi dent Eisenhower—!‘the mahout with the hook who alone can lead' the lost elephant out of the wilderness.” 2. The failure of party leaders to repudiate McCarthy—^their tacit acceptance of him— which was termed “one of the most disgraceful chapters in American history.” 3. The devoted support by Democrats of Re publican foreign measures, as contrasted with GOP treatment of Democratic measures in the past—^notably the scuttling of Woodrow Wil son’s “dream o'f peace.” 4. President Eisenhower’s lack of political background—the fact that he “waited 55 years to find out whether he was a Democrat or Re publican.” 5. 'That the Republicans have not dared to repeal a single measure of the New Deal pro gram for human welfare and security. 6. Republican emphasis on “good administra tion” as contrasted with “the Salk vaccine mess” and Secretary Hobby’s statement that Vast Improvement In Service Stations no one could have foreseen the demand for the vaccine. 7. Awarding of the Dixon-Yates contract without open competitive bidding. 8. Contrasting philosophies of government in the background of the two major parties, trac ing from Alexander Hamilton’s fear Of the peo ple, in the case of Republicans, and Thomas Jefferson’s faith in the people, in the case of the Democrats. While some of these points are not specifically related only to the 1956 campaign, but play a part in all campaigns, all of these points will no doubt be made over the course of the months to come. One big issue—a drop in farm income and ap parent indifference on the part of the Republi cans—was barely touched by Mr. Gill. Oppo sition to farm subsidies by the Republicans has a hollow ring in view of the propensity of the GOP to subsidize business. Some observers also see Vice-President Nixon as a major issue, if he should again be Presi dent Eisenhower’s running mate. “What he really stands for,” says The Smithfield Herald in a recent analysis of Nixon as a threat to GOP victory, “is as hard to discover as the cause of polio. He leaves the impression that his sole aim in politics is to push Nixon ahead. . . The thought of Nixon as a potential president of the United States is nightmarish to millions of Americans who like Ike.” New service stations are a feature of the land scape everywhere, it seems as one rides through the state these days; In the Sandhills, several are under construction and a number of others have had major face-liftings, remodeliijgs or even ail-new buildings during the past few, years. Service stations are one of the most-seen type of structures on the American landscape—^rural or urban. They are everywhere. Constructioii of well designed, if also some what depressingly uniform, service station structures in recent years has done much to re move those unsightly stations which were so familiar even a few years ago. A few of such places, of course, still exist—identified by heaps of used oil cans and other trash, jii^ all stages of disintegration, pooj pery gobs of grease underfc dirty windows and a gei mosphere in and out. *56 Polio Battle Can Be Won In Fall, Winter (“Second” shots of polio vaccine for the second and third grade youngsters who received their first shots in the first and second grades last spring will be given soon through the Moore County health department. The fol lowing information about the Salk vaccine will be of wide interest to parents.) By HABT E. VAN RIPER. M. D. Mied&cal Director National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis Almost all of us are infected by the polio virus at one time or an other. Generally, we don’t even know we have toe infection. We may feel perfectly well, or we may have a sore throat or an up set stomach. Sometimes, however, the poHo virus does serious damage. It at- tacks the central nervous system, destroying nerve cells and caus ing paralysis. If almost everyone is attacked by the virus, there, must be an im portant .reason why some people succumb and some do not. There Critical Baltic The critical battle in the fight against polio takes place as it always has, in the bodies of hu- School-bell Rings State Treasurer Edwin Gill, who spoke at the Moore County Y. D. C. meeting at Carthage last week, waxed solemn over the school problem. The GOP school problem, that is. He shook his head earnestly. It’s too bad,” he said, “And it’s something to worry about. You know, the party in (Siarge of the government is confused. It’s igno rant. It doesn’t know where it’s going. Why they had to send all the chairmen of GOP state com mittees out to Denver to go to school. They spent a whole week there, trying to find out what it was all about.” Said the President, addressing the gathering of GOP committee chairmen “attending school” out there: “Now as long as we have a man in the leadership position, why, of course, as a party we are going to be loyal. We are going to help in the fight. But humans are frail and they are mortal. “Finally, you never pin your flag so tightly to one mast that, if the ship sinks, you cannot rip it off and nail it to another. It is sometimes good to remember that.” Ike did not indicate where the other mast is or how you get there. By Bridges’ buoy? No type of business establishment dealing constantly with the public has improved so much in the past decade as have service sta tions. And we feel sure that the motoring public feels a vast gratitude for the revolution in cleanliness and sightliness that the stations have been through. Last week, it was announced by the North Carolina Oil Jobbers Association that service stations throughout the state are being enlist ed in a clean-up and road beautification pro gram and that its 400 members would start by seeing that the premises of their own stations and others they serve are kept free of litter and trash piles. The Association is asking major oil companies to cooperate by extending the cam paign to company-controlled stations and others using their products. More power to the Oil Jobbers in this task! pthing will make for more good will toward |1 communities and the State than clean, at- live service stations everywhere. Ignorant Man Looking out at the tossing branches Monday morning as this section was brushed by the hem of lone’s garments, as she rushed on her way, we were moved to wonder. . . and not for the first time. . . at the great gaps in knowledge that still exist. Why the hurricanes? Has any one given a reason? As far as we have seen nobody has come up with any very sensible one. “The atom bomb”, some say. They claim it has disturbed the at mosphere. It seems queer that the air would be disturbed along the Eastern coast and not out there in Nevada where most of the ex perimenting is being carried on. But who knows? The bomb may be developing more than physical powers (Heaven knows it has enough of them). It may have thought up a little scheme to dev astate through lone and her sis ters, along the coast where the idea of its own creation was first worked out. Anchors Aweigh! Our President clearly is no sea man. He never claimed he was, of course, but we think he would at least be wise to check up with the Navy boys before launching into sea-going similes. A recent burst of eloquence from Denver brought forth the following. Which ipigkt well be labelled: “Neatest Suggestion of The Week:” s. o. s. If a Democrat might suggest: It is good to remember to make sure your second string mast is of sound timber, Mr. President. As for us, we say: Nix on the whole idea. But it’s clear Ike is no Navy man.4 There the tradition is: Never give up the ship. As for striking your colors. . . shades of John Paul Jones! In Praise of Dormancy Somebody is always taking the joy out of things. Now is the time. . .” how we dislike that phrase. As one soft early fall day drifts into another, with only an lone or two to create diversion, we’ve been rejoicing in the belief that now is not the time for anything. Especially, we had thought, in ithe garden. Oh, maybe a little trimming here and there; pull off the dead zinnias, kick back the pinks that have spread their green mats out over the path. Maybe you’ll divide them up a bit later, make a double row or even give §ome to the neighbors, with all that extra growth. But: time enough for such decisions. They can stay where they’ve spread. You did the iris last spring; that ought to do for one year. These days: just wander happily about, happily and slowly. And then someone says: “Now is the time. . .” “Now is the time,” says the Garden Man, “to plant annuals to come up in the early spring.” So what? Maybe you don’t want annuals to come up in the early spring. Maybe you’d rather let the bulbs take over then, and no funny business about carrying through the hot summer and all such. “If you sow them in No vember and December,” he goes on, “they will remain dormant as they are supposed to do.” And why shouldn’t they do what they are supposed to do? Why this persecution of the an nuals? “Now is the time. . .” say the paint people and the furniture people and the car people and all the rest of that razzle-dazzle out fit, when you ought to make your plans: look over your house for signs of paint-wear; your furni ture for repair-needs, your car for that tired feeling that means. . . you know what. Why? You know already what you’ll find. In any of these de partments, and a lot Of others, ‘you know what will'show up if you start getting energetic. And once you start, how are you going to stop? It’s a mistake; all this prying and pushing. It’s against nature. And Lord knows we’ve done too much of that already. There was a word back there in that garden article we liked: Dormant. We’re in favor of Dor mancy. Hibernation, in fact. Or maybe that’s too strong. We don’t want to go curl up in a cave; granted you could find one here abouts. We don’t want to shut ourselves away from the light on the pines and the piney air and the tanager still dropping his summer song through the branches. We don't want to miss that. We just want to be dormant. We want to go slowly, happily, wandering around, doing nothing pf any purpose at all, while the soft warm sun sifts down on the soft warm sand. We want to just wander around scuffing the few dry leaves out of the path, maybe, and maybe nudging back a few of those pinks. Or does it matter much where they are? Now is the time for Dormancy. We’d start a club, if we weren’t too dormant. man beings. It is a battle between the polio virus and tiny particles, called antibodies, which can des troy the virus in the blood stream. Now—^for the first time—^we have an effective means for con trolling polio. The Salk vaccine, in the most extensive and careful tield trial ever given a vaccine, was shown to be 60 to 90 per cent effective in preventing paralytic polio. The vaccine now being manufactured is even more ef fective. In most parts of the coimtry we are now at the tapering-off part of the 1955 polio season. We have the fall and winter months and ,the early spring to prepare for 1956. There is no doubt that we have it in our power greatly to reduce polio incidence next year. Row well we succeed will depend largely on how many children re ceive vaccine. First, of course, the vaccine must be manufactured and dis tributed. During the fall and win ter large supplies will be made available for use. It is too much to hope that all of the 165,000,000 people in the United States can be vaccinated before next summer, but many millions of children wiU surely be inoculated, including almost all in the highly susceptible five- through nine-year age group. Grealesl Effecl Since polio attacks more chil dren than adults, it is hy vaccina- ,ting children that the greatest ef fect can be achieved, in terms of preventing cases of paralytic polio. Every parent naturally has questions about the vaccine. Fore most is the question: Is the vac cine safe? The answer to this is yes. Last spring, according to a U. S. Public Health Service re port, live virus was found in a pmall amount of vaccine that had been released. More stringent government safety standards were promptly established to pre vent a recurrence of this incident. The difficulties of a single man ufacturer do not, of course, re flect on the safety of aU commer cially produced vaccine, any more than the existence of one contam inated source of water suggests that water itself is unsafe. During the summer there have been suggestions that a single shot of the vaccine might give some protection against paralytic polio, and so parents may wonder jf such an injection is pot enough. The answer is that it is not enough for full and lasting pro tection. What Happens Here is what happens when a child is ^iven vaccine. Some seven to 10 days after his first phot he begins to develop polio- fighting antibodies. These help strengthen his defenses against paralytic poho. When he receives his second shot, the number of antibodies again rises. Then, ap proximately seven months later, when he receives his third shot, there is a further rise in anti bodies, and he then has the full protection of the vaccine. Thus, the child with one shot has some help in defending him- gelf against paralytic polio. The child with two has even more help. The child with three, proper ly spaced, has the full protection of the vaccine. The body tries to defend itself against paralytic polio even with out vaccine. What the vaccine does is bolster natural defenses. How Long Last? , Everyone would like to know how long the effect of vaccine lasts. And no one can give a hard and fast answer, because we hfive not had the vaccine very long. A number of children who have re ceived it will be followed through the years until we do know how long it protects. However, because the level of protection after the third shot is so high, there is reason to hope that it will last for many years. The third shot is in a sense the (Continued on Page 6) The PILOT Published Every Thursday by THE PILOT, Incorporated Southern Pines. North Carolina 1941—JAMES BOYD—1944 Katharine Boyd Editor C. Benedict News Editor Dan S. Ray Gen. Mgr. C. G. Council Advertising Mary Scott New^ton Business Bessie Cameron Smith Society Composing Room Lochamy McLean, Dixie B. Ray, Michael "Yalen, Jasper Swearingen Subscription Rates: One Year $4. 6 mos. $2; 3 mos. $1 Entered at the Postoffice at South ern Pines, N. C., as second class mail matter Member National Editorial Assn, and N. C. Press Assn.