Newspapers / The Pilot (Southern Pines, … / Nov. 22, 1956, edition 1 / Page 2
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22. 1956 Page TWO /KuMOijc i>ILOT Southern Pines North Carolina “In taking over The Pilot no changes are contemplated. We will try to keep this a go^ paper. We wiU try to make a little money for all concerned. Wherever there seems to be an occasion to use our influence for the public good we will try to do it. And we wiU treat everybody alik6.”—James Boyd, May 23, 1941. The Building And The Need The action of the Grand Jury in perhaps overstepping their assignments and paying some calls on the boarding homes of the coun ty ihay well have been a very good idea. Cer tainly it was well-meant. Any interest shown 'by conscientious, public-spirited citizens in such institutions cannot but be beneficial. Given this interest and the calibre of the Jury, it seems to us that it was inevitable that the conclusions reached should have been as they were; conclusions with which this newspapei; is in full agreement. The jury reported that the boarding homes were in good condition and that “the patients seemed happy, well fed and well taken care of.” Then the suggestion was made which has occurred to many interested in the county welfare work; that the now largely unused county home should be renovated and put to use. The idea would be to rent the building to a qualified person, who would then operate it as a home, a plan frequently urged by the State Department of Public Welfare, but never adopted by the county commissioners because of the expense of renovating the old building to come up to state requirements. It would seem that there is room and need for both the present boarding homes and the county building. For there are still indigent elderly people being taken care of outside the county, who could and should be in homes in the county, for both economic and humane reasons. It is surely adding greatly to the loneliness of the aged and unhappy to place them far from their homes and t^e environ ment in which their lives were lived. Also the old building is well-planned for this pur pose. This idea of putting the building to use is an excellent one, but it had better be ap proached with eyes wide open to the diffi culties. They involve, first and foremost, the expense to the county of fixing the building to meet State requirements, for all such homes come under state licensing and super visory regulations. It may well be possible to show that the money spent would be re turned through future economy effected in the welfare setup, just as the present system of boarding homes has proved infinitely cheaper than keeping these people at the county home under the old system of county operation. But, just as the past change was resisted, so we believe, would this one be resisted by a board that will, apparently, spend any amount of money for school gym- nasium^s and cafeterias and athletic fields, but restricts welfare and health, outlays to the bare minimum or below it. The attitude is understandable. The “school lobby” includes just about ewevy voter, and school buildings are a fine sight, here and thdre about the county, but you can’t see the old people, tucked away, wait ing the years out from chair or bed, and few speak for them. It is good, now, to know that the members of the Grand Jury have them in mind. Industry Committee Brings Enthusiasm - _t i The business crisis brought on by the cur tailment of operations at Amerotron in Aber deen and, to a lesser extent at Robbins, has brought forth good fruit in the Moore Coun ty Business Development Committee which is fostering a vigorous new county-wide inter est in the part industry can play and should play in this area. This spirit o^ hospitality to industry was reflected in the keen interest expressed in the committee’s work by the board of county commissioners recently, culminating in the board’s appropriation of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 to help finance the com mittee’s work. The Pilot has previously expressed its en thusiasm about the work of the committee and the general prospect of more industry in the Sandhills. Three weeks ago we explor^ various aspects of the industrial outlook in an article on this page and last week w^ published a list of those qualities which some 500 businesses found desirable in places where they would locate plants. The more the public knows about what in dustry wants, the better a community is pre pared to examine itself in the light of those requirements. It appears to us that Moore County and Southern Pines stand up very well under the test of these various require ments—but we would not minimize the im portance of what might be called an atmos phere of hospitality. This is something that comes from an adequate understanding of the importance of industry to a community. The Failure of ‘Brinkmanship’ Events of the past few weeks in the Middle East have opened the eyes of the American people, as few events of recent years, to the complexity of foreign affairs—^the chain re action, the sequence of events that can be traced back to this or that move by diplomats. Suddenly, it seemed to the public, this na tion found itself separated from other mem bers of the Western Alliance and in a position where, on the surface, our policy coincided’ with that of the Soviet Union. The direct action by Britain and France at Suez might never have been taken had the United States exercised the leadership incum bent upon this nation by virtue of its power and prestige in the Alliance and had Secre-, tary Dulles formulated, with Britain and France, some policy that would have curbed the ambitions of Egypt’s President Nasser. Thanksgiving: A Unique Holiday “It’s A Fine Shield. But This Sword- .9” m "i - Sf V\ V.? V’;, '-i I 'THE LAW IS ALWAYS TO BE OBEYED' Pearsall Plan And The Future Mr. Dulles seems not to have gotten along with either our allies or with Nasser, nor ap parently was it made clear to Egypt, France or Great Britain what the United States would do—except, as usual, try to slide along from one conference to another. Nasser’s ac tion at Suez went to one of Mr. Dulles’ “brinks” and beyond and the initiative was taken out of our hands. It is recalled that Adlai Stevenson, a yea? ago, proposed United Nations patrols for the Israeli-Arab border. Whether such a move would have averted the present crisis we do not know, but we do know that the Steven son proposal was in line with a foreign policy based on imagination, boldness and consis tency—the kind of policy that the Dulles State Department seems to have been inca pable of conceiving or carrying out. One of the prominent and out spoken opponents of the Pearsall Plan for the North Carolina public schools—prior to the referendum at which the Plan was approved by voters of the State in Septem ber—was Irving Carlyle, Winston- Salem attorney. His opposition drew praise from The Pilot, when he pointed out the legal pitfalls and moral inadequa cy of the legislation that would allow closing of public schools by majority vote in individual “local units” of the school system and would appropriate state funds for the maintenance of private schools to be attended by children of those parents who objected to mixing races in any school. Respect For Law Recently, in a panel discussion before the North Carolina State Bar, Mr. Carlyle continued to ex press his misgivings about the le gality and morality of the Pearsall Plan, pointing out to the assem bled lawyers their responsibility “to lead the people towards re spect for law and order.” According to Mr. Carlyle, “Law yers have a peculiar obliga tion to speak out at times of crisis when law is on trial before the bar of public opinion . . . The superior knowledge of the lawyer about the law gives to him a unique and privileged role, to be played fear lessly for the public good. His silence at a time like this is a be trayal of his trust.” Following are portions of Mr. Carlyle’s ^statements during the panel discussion—worth ponder ing, we believe, by both those who disapproved and those who ap proved the PearsaU Plan: During the campaign for the adoption of the Pearsall Plan it was referred to by the proponents as safety-valve, stop-gap, and time-buying legislation. From this accurate description, and for other reasons, it seems to me to be ob vious that the adoption of the plan has not yet settled the legal prob lems in the field of school segrega tion. The solution of those prob lems has merely been postponed to some future time. Our concern about the constitutionality of the plan is stiU with us. Hence, one of our functions is to prepare our own and the public mind for the day when the time bought by the plan will have run out. ■We do great injury to ourselves when we seek to bolster our claims to superiority by compell ing others to surrender their leg^ rights. And the damage done is far greater when the surrender is coerced by punitive measures tak en under color of law. The use of intimidation by law is a backward step unworthy of a great profes sion that is committed to improv ing the administration of justice for all men. And this is so, be cause respect for law should not be predicated upon fear but solely upon a sense of justice, and for the further reason that we profane the law when we use it as a weapon against the legal rights of others. Certain To Backfire The usurpation of law by a ma jority to deprive a minority of constitutional rights is certain to backfire. That is the verdict of both history and common sense. Temporizing is overlooked in poli tics and sometimes tolerated in government but it has no place in the law. Popularity No Test The law is always to be obeyed regardless of the cost. The belief that the people are justified in dis obeying laws which they do not like and their censure of the courts for unpopular decisions do great harm. That is not the pro cess for changing the law. The test of the law is not, is it iwpular, but is it in accord with basic prin ciples, and when that test has been met,the attitude of the people and not the law must change. The thing that will matter the most for all of us in the next 10 or 50 years is that democracy shall win out over Communism and that victory will only happen if democracy is stronger than Com munism in its support of moral principles. And a moral principle of the first order is that men obey the law and that they give to each other equal justice under law. Heavier Penalty Frankness requires me to say that one of the penalties inflicted for 58 years of widespread viola tion of the “separate but equal” doctrine of the Plessy case was the decision of the Supreme Court- of the United States in the Brown case. And with equal realism we should remind ourselves now that the penalties we and our children and grandchildren will pay for not obeying the law of the land as laid down in the Brown case will be heavier than we now foresee, and one of them could well be isola tion from the rest of the free world and the ultimate destruc tion of democracy. Crains of Sand Those Nuts . Be glad when a big wind comes and blows all those wal nuts bff The Pilot-plus-Town-of Southern Pines trees. The sound they make when they hit the ground shows what they could do to dent the head of the stoutest newsman. (Do the local insur ance boys sell policies against nut damage?) Did somebody say: “when nut hits nut?” Perish the thought. Telephone Snafu The other day we wanted to telephone . Mrs. Rudel in Pine- hurst. A voice answered and just then we realized that we had been dialing instead of calling the long distsmce operator. But we had to say something. So we blurted out: “Uh ... is this Mrs. Rudel?” Knowing of course it wasn’t. The voice came right back, “That’s right.” ■We knew it couldn’t be right, so we said; “Mrs. R-U-D-E-L?” “Oh,” said the voice, “No, this is Trudell.” • Then, just as we were saying, “Excuse it, please,” the voice went on. . . “This is Trudell. The RUdels left town a few months ago.” We hung up quick. Music Hath Charms A group, preparing to start on a safari in Africa, were disgust ed to see that one of their num ber, who was a musician, had brought his violin along. "What do you want to bring that thing into the wilds for?” they asked. “You wait and see,” said the musician. Well, they waited and after so long a time of stalking and hunting all of a sudden there was a roar and here came a great lion charging over the veldt. Everybody grabbed a gun but the musician. He grabbed up his fiddle and started playing for dear life. The lion slowed up, stopped, listened: a beautiful look came over his angry face. Swaying to the rhythm of the tune, he turn ed and, tail in air, waltzed away out of sight. The hunters were impressed; so the next time they spotted something, they watched again. With a terrific trumpetting, a great angry elephant came hurt ling down upon them. The vio linist started fiddling again and the same thing happened: the great elephant paused, a sweet smile took the place of the fe rocious glare. He turned and, waving his trunk, went sunbling off into the jungle. ’Then the hunters were really ^lmazed. They congratulated their friend, but, just then, there was another roeir and rush, and here came a mighty rhino charg ing through the grass. Up went the fiddle again and the hunters drew back to watch. But the old rhino just kept on coming. He charged right over the poor fid dler and squashed him to a pulp. The hunters had to run for their lives. The elephant and the lion had stopped to look and were aghast at what had happened. •■‘What did you go and do that for?” the elephant called to the rhino. The rhino looked at the two animals. “Eh?” he said. “What did you say?” Southern Pines must surely be one of the pleasantest places—one of the easiest places in which to be thankful—to be on this Thanksgiving Day. As we write these words, early this week, it is the kind of day we hope Thanksgiving Day will be—a crisp, cloudless, sunflooded day. There is, only enough air stirring to gently tweak the remaining unfallen leaves and to make the longleaf pine needles flash and glisten as they move in the sunlight. But so must it be nearly everywhere in our nation which today marks a holiday that is unique among the national observances over the world—a holiday commemorating a state of mind, an attitude, an emotion, rath er than an event of history such as a victory in war or the birthday of a national hero. In its material prosperity, this nation is blessed. Barring the ups and downs of per sonal good’ or bad fortune, which are al ways with us, it is easier perhaps than ever before for Americans to be thankful, so far as material things are concerned. It is really quite, wonderful that this United States, which is pictured by our for eign detractors as so crassly material and unfeelingly arrogant, should designate as one of Its chief holidays an observance dedi cated to the humble emotion of gratitude. And we have faith enough in the United States to believe that Thanksgiving Day is not an empty observance, to believe that it means a great deal more to the average American than a day Off from work and a chance to stuff turkey. Thanksgiving Day links Americans to a past that plays a larger part than we might think in the national inspiration, the na tional conscience. Americans have worked hard for their material wealth. This humb ling of ourselves in gratitude each year re minds us of the mighty efforts that produced a great nation out of a wilderness. It re minds us of the men and women who had a vision of what the nation could be and who made that dream come true with infinite faith and toil. Gratitude is a peculiar emotion in that it is both self-effacing and self-strengthening. In our humble thankfulness for our bless ings, this day, we are made aware of our shortcomings, but are mysteriously given the strength to continue our striving to build still a better nation. Yes, Thanksgiving Day brings out the best in Americans. We wish the spirit of Thanks giving Day could be more widely known and understood by those people over the tvorld who think we are blindly selfish, proud and ungrateful for the great good, fortune that is OUTS. The Public Speaking Army Recruiter Sends Words of Appreciation To The Editor: During the past four years. The Pilot has been most helpful to me in carrying out my job as the U. S. Army Recruiter in this area. The people of Southern Pines and Moore County have joined you in assisting me in many ways. As Thanksgiving Day, 1956, approaches, I want to take this opportunity of thanking you for all you have done to express your interest in the US Army and the future of its members from this area. I trust that the upcoming year will be prosperous for you and that we can continue to work to gether in defense of our country by helping to keep the US Amjy strong and combat-ready to meet any emergency. SERGEANT PAUL H. HA'WKS U. S. Army Recruiter 234 Carthage Street Sanford, North Carolina From 'The State' Magazine THE ABERDEEN STORY So, after all, just any kind of industry isn’t good for a town. It may be poison, and communities ought to examine both the labels an antecedents of the medicine they are begging for. North Carolinians are accustomed mostly to dealing with home folks—with people having old and strong roots here. The leaders of most of these industries are just as devoted to their homes as you and I are, and most of them are men of civic as well as industrial respon- sibihty. ^ „ We should be on our guard against a happily less famili^ type the hard entrepreneur, the economic adventurer, the grandiose pro moter. . "When a community or state tugs at the sleeve of every passmg stranger, it may be striking up some undesirable acquaintanceships. ■We don’t believe Aberdeen could have guarded itself against dis aster, because its industrial expansion probably started off in good faith on both sides. ^ ^ But in the course of time, the original Robbins Mills got into the hands of Amerotron. According to the excellent series by Jim Chaney in the “News and Observer,” this concern has been expanding and contracting feverishly, and its gyrations resemble some hu^e indus trial crap game. Th^ chips in this game have been tax refunds, fac tories, machinery, ships, whole divisions, and, alas, also employees and communities. EventuaUy Aberdeen became one of the cSiips tossed aside. . . j When we see some of these industries going through manic-de- pressive spasms, it makes us sorry for the communities which happen to be in the vicinity. And it makes us real proud of our own home grown conservative, human and responsible industrialists. Highline Of The Week By Prof. Alec Heard of UNC: “If the Republicans can’t carry the House and the Senate and can’t win a majority of the gov ernorships with Ike. . . when can they?” The PILOT Published Every Thursday by THE PILOT, Incorporated Southern Pines, North Carolina 1941—JAMES BOYD—1944 Katharine Boyd Editor C. Benedict Associate Editor ■Vance Derby News Editor Dan S. Ray Gen. Mgr. C. G. Council Advertising Mary Scott Newton Business Bessie Cameron Smith Society Composing Room Lochamy McLean, Dixie B. Ray. Michael Valen, Jasper Swearingen Thomas Mattocks. 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. r>*
The Pilot (Southern Pines, N.C.)
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Nov. 22, 1956, edition 1
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