Newspapers / The Pilot (Southern Pines, … / Sept. 26, 1957, edition 1 / Page 2
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Page TWO raURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1957 ItUA V\ ILOT Southern Pines North Ceirolina “In taking over The Pilot no changes are contemplated. We will try to keep this a good paper. We will 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 will treat everybody alike.”—James Boyd, May 23, 1941. PTA Off To Good Start The Southern Pines Parent-Teacher Associ ation appears to have gotten off to a fine start for the coming school year. Attendance was good at the first meeting last week. A novel program presented by members of the executive board indicated that officials of the group are undertaking their duties with en thusiasm. In Doint of tangible service to the local schools, the PTA has accomplished a good deal ill the three years of its existence in Southern Pines. Out of the small, 50-cents per person dues—of which 35 cents is retained by the local organization—the PTA has bought valuable equipment for the schools and has helped pay for hard-surfacing play areas. Intangible benefits include the bringing to gether of parents and teachers in an atmos phere of mutual interest in their children and pupils. Meetings have helped to acquaint pa rents with school problems and have given them facts or opinions that have been val uable in helping them judge and evaluate the school’s program—a procedure that is diffi cult at best when parents’ only contact with If They Only Knew If the haters and race-baiters could only knov/ this one fact: that it is their own peace of mind—you might even say their own souls —which they are putting in jeopardy when they curse, taunt, jeer or spit on another hu man being. For they are not pure savages. You can’t grow even to teen age in the United States today and not have absorbed some tiny notion of Christian ethics or have been afforded some fleeting glimpse of the democratic dream: attitudes, beliefs, practices that recog nize the dignity of man. How many of the boys and girls who screamed at the Charlotte Negro girl as she left Harding High School that first day, who pelted her with debris and—most revolting of their follies—spit on her, how many of them have not already felt the twisting knife of shame and guilt? And how many of them will not feel it, again and again, into the hun dreds and thousands of times, as long as they live? Who has been hurt—they or the girl who held her head up, looked straight ahead and walked unhurried through the jeers and the spittle? Foi those' in the mob, the danger is that, when conscience speaks, they will drown its voice in more hate. That is the easiest way, once an evil deed is done. For some, this may hanpen and they may never see the light. For others, there may be a change of heart, a rec ognition that they are hurting no one but themselves and that nothing but their own repentance can bring them ease and happi ness. In these days, we don’t often see naked evil in the streets. The happenings in Char lotte and Arkansas may shock many persons into a revival of conscience, a realization that this is a nullification of 19 centuries of Christian teaching and several centuries of slowly developing respect for law, order and the rights of the individual. Those who view other human beings with contempt, for racial reasons, even though not jeering and spitting in the street, may also take warning from what happened at Char lotte and elsewhere. If these sad and terrible events which are taking place in racial relations serve to fan a spark of conscience in members of the mob or ir others, what happened will not have been entirely in vain. Farewell To Finlandia The death of Jean Sibelius must bring a pang to the hearts of all who love his music' and honor a great man. To the people of Fin- lathe pang must be close to heartbreak. Sibelius has .stood for Finland, for her very self; in something the same way that Win ston Churchill stands for England. For, by his music and by his unconquerable spirit, Sibelius heartened his people during the ter rible days of war, as Churchill held England together by his valiant words. For Finland’s music is her very lifeblood, and it may be imagined tha.t the simple knowledge that, during all those years the creative spirit in the great composer was strong and live, brought added strength to the whole nation. Finland is a remarkable country. She was the first nation, it will be recalled, to pay off her debt to the United States following World War 1. When, in the early days of World War 2, the Russians over-ran the border, the case looked hopeless; the world waited for Fin land to surrender. Instead Finland fought. She held the Russians at bay, inflicting great losses on her foe; it was not until completely overpowered by hundreds of times her num bers that Finland sued for terms. And those terms were the most crushing burden of repa rations ever demanded of a conquered coun try. The world thought the country was fin ished, crushed under the Soviet tyranny. But Finland went to work. She rebuilt her coun try, and, a veritable miracle of sacrifice and endurance, she paid up every penny of the sum demanded. Living since then under the very guns of the Soviets, she has maintained her own sovereignty, her complete indepen dence of Moscow. Communism is not feared in Finland; arid not only because the Finns know it and the Russians too well. Commun ism, with its collectivism; its denial of free dom and justice, is completely alien to the strongly democratic, fiercely independent Finnish people. Evidence of the highly civilized spirit of this individualistic nation in its practical idealism and vision is graphically shown in the way the nation treated her greatest citi zen and composer. Recognizing his talent for what it was, recognizing at the same time the practical aspects of a composer’s life, the Fin nish government voted Sibelius a yearly sub sidy which enabled him to devote his entire energies to his work. A recognition of the arts and of the human spirit rare in these days. Music in Finland is the national pastime. the national love. Almost it is the national sport. In the words of a Yale man, in Finland with the Yale Glee Club several years ago: “In Finland, instead of the Giants, or the champion football team, they have the Uni versity Chorus. The people are just as proud and go just as crazy over the singing of their great chorus as our people do over their fav orite teams.” And the Finnish chorus of Hel sinki is probably the finest men’s chorus in the v/orld. This same man described the evening when the glee club went out to the home of Sibelius and sang for him. He came out on the bal cony of the old, thick-walled square country- house and stood there in the moonlight lis tening. And after they had serenaded him with some of their songs, the Yale club sang for him the Finnish national anthem. They sang it in Finnish and the old man was deep ly moved. He thankee^ themi and wayed good bye to them as they left. A great memory for those American college boys: a meeting there of age and youth, of the old land and the younger, newer land, of greatness and the hope and promise, perhaps, of greatness. A picture of last years lived in a beloved countiy, lived in simplicity and courage and, one would believe, in the serenity of the knov/ledge of a course well run and the deep companionship pf music. Required Reading We have from the North Carolina Depart ment of Motor Vehicles a short course in traf fic safety—required reading for motorists, parents and children: MOTORISTS: Be alert for children at all times, but especiaRy around school zones, playgrounds and other places where children gather. PARENTS: Teach youngsters to obey the traffic safety rules at all times. The habits can be formed before childfen are old enough to understand the reasons behind them, and it is important that the rules be definite and unvarying. You owe it to your child to send him out into traffic equipped with the knowl edge to keep him safe. CHILDREN: Obey the rules learned in school and at home about crossing streets and playing only in safe places. The car drivers are counting on you to stay where you belong —don’t let them down. ‘‘May I Make A SuT!;,westion, Friend?” the school is indirectly through their chil dren. All parents, as school opened, were given an opportunity, on slips brought home by children, to indicate their preferences for PTA program material—and the answers to these queries are helpful in making plans for the meetings. A very careful study was made this year, through the Chamber of Commerce, to try to find a meeting night that conflicted least with othei meetings and events regularly sched uled throughout each month. The time chosen —the second Monday night of each month— may allow more persons to come to PTA meetings than have attended heretofore. Our best wishes go to this organization. We urge parents to join, to attend meetings and to take an interest in the schools beyond that of inspecting report cards and occasionaUy praising or grumbling, as the case may be. No community service is more intimately bound up with parents than the schools. And we know of no better way to develop or express intere st in the schools than to be active in the PTA. H01>GES ft •i- m-: f 4 tec c. BEHIND THE GIRARD TRIAL IN JAPAN Punishment Should Fit The Case By KATHARINE BOYD The world seems a very small place when you read about Specialist 3c WiUiam S. Girard, on trial in Japan for the slaying of Naka Sakai, an impoverished Japanese woman, killed while trying to pick up the brass shell casings on the range where Gir ard, the American, was on guard. And, in another sense, it seems very queer and far apart. As reported by novelist John Hersey, the Girard case, which came close to turning into one of those “international incidents” that can lead most anywhere, actually should have been con ducted and settled quietly and properly as all the other cases where Americans have run afoul of the law while serving in for eign countries have been settled. It would have been but for head strong and ill-advised actions. Many Other Cases In Japan alone there have been 460 such cases of which 435 have been tried. There has never been adverse comment about any of them. They have been settled justly in seemly fashion satisfac tory to all concerned. This would undoubtedly have been the case with the Girard case, had not his brother started a fuss. According to Hersey, Girard is a pretty poor speciman of American soldier: weak, dull- v;itted. Writes Hersey: “He drank quite a bit and ran up petty debts in the small Japanese shops near camp; he is taciturn to the point of woodenness. . . He didn’t even tell his girl he had killed a Japanese woman; she heard of it on the radio three days later.” Careless and Cruel It looks as if the soldiers had been careless and cruelly reck less, making a game of hazing the poor people who made a practice of scouring the firing range for the shell cases which they could sell for a pittance. Girard may or may not have meant to hit the woman he kill ed; probably he was just “hav ing fun” by seeing how close he could get. But he did hit her and killed her. Concerted Howl His brother, like himi a truck- driver, sparked the furore to have Girard tried by U. S. court martial instead of by Japan. When the story got into the pa pers, there was a concerted howl from all the “patriots” and a fight started to bring him home. It is to the credit of the War De partment and the Administration that the effort was resisted and the U. S.-Japanese agreement on Japanese sovereignty and extra territorial rights, or non-rights, v;as respected. ’ How has the affair reacted on feeling between Japan and the U. S.? Over here the whole thing seems to have pretty well blown over, but in Japan that’s not the case. While the original anger against what was felt to be an insult to Japanese justice has perhaps lessened since the action of the government in turning Girard over to the Japanese for trial, there are matters here in volving national tradition and points of view so different that it is to be feared the memory of this case will linger long. And it is here that the two worlds seem so far apart. Propriety Outraged Hersey describes how the strong Japanese sense of propri ety has been outraged by Gir ard’s attitude in court. Ife sits, lolling in his chair with his mouth hanging open, seeming to pay little attention to the pro ceedings. He has acted as if all this was beneath him, almost as if he were a hero. It didn’t help when the Japanese noted that Girard left the court room in the company of a Brigadier General sent from Washington to observd How Guernsey Lilies Came To Chapel Hill Southern Pines is a town of many gardens and much enthus iasm about shrubs and flowers. A refinement of gardening is interest in the origin of plants w’hich often turn out to be among the best-travelled of earth’s living things. Here, for instance, is the story of how red lilies came to grow in profusion at Chapel Hill—as told by Louis Graves in the Chapel Hill Weekly: TJhis is the time of year when the Guernsey lilies, sometimes called spider lilies, are in bloom. I feel that I ought to issue a no tice about them so that the peo ple who have been living in Chapel Hill will be reminded of where these exquisite coral-red flowers can be seen in their greatest beauty. You may be lucky enough to come upon them in yards and gardens, but the most splendid display of the lilies is in the Ar boretum. They border the path just inside the east wall, opposite the women’s dormitories, and then when you turn west along another path you still have them alongside. There are thousands of them. Besides growing in bor ders, here and there they are spread into carpets stretching out o'ver the grass. The Guernsey lily is an orien tal plant. It gets its name from the fact, or legend,- that several centuries ago a ship from Japan wms wrecked on the island of Guernsey and the lily bulbs were washed ashore. However they got to Guernsey, they grew and flourished there. Descendants of these bulbs were brought to New , Bern, North Carolina, by a sailor who had been on Guernsey. Some time after that, when the North ern troops were about to capture New Bern, many of the people of the town “refugeed” westward. Mrs. Taylor, the great-grand mother of Dr. Isaac Taylor and Dr. Charles Vernon who live here now, and her sisters. Miss Katherine Cole and Miss Harri- ette Cole, came to Chapel Hill. They brought along some of the lily bulbs and the bulbs spread over the village. That is how we happen to have Guernsey lilies in Chapel HiU today. the case. He failed to address the' judge as “Sir,” until apparently given some coaching in courtesy. Hersey explains that if a Jap anese were iri such a position, he would admit his error in almost a ceremony of repentance and apology. The Japanese speak of Girard’s “lack of sincerity,” when he admitted responsibility of the accident, the vast majority, presumably, not understanding that Americans act differently; don’t go through “ceremonies.” They were upset, too, when Gir ard married the Japanese girl following the incident. She is six years older than he and a woman of very dubious, background. The Japanese wonder if he did not marry her just to help him along in the trial by showing that he was a pal of the Japanese. He married her when he did at the advice of the same brother who started all the fuss, so that sup position seems rather likely. Maybe Too Lenient? Mr. Hersey says the general feeling in Japan is that Girard will get off with a light suspend ed sentence. Certainly, the Jap anese will treat him easily if it is in any way. possible. But, with American legal and journalistic opinion much impressed already by the fairness, dignity and jus tice of the trial to date, it would seem unfortunate if Japan should stoop to too much leni ency in this case. Americans everywhere have been shocked and, disgusted at many aspects of the case. It is unthinkable that friendship between two great na tions should be jeopardised by the' cruel callousness of such a poor specimen of a United States soldier. Surely, there is now complete confidence that the verdict reached will be more than fair; it is only to be hoped that it is sufficiently severe to instill better surveillance and stricter discipline among the troops now in Japan. Grains of Sand Lucky Dextex'! A male has succeeded in gain ing official permission to reside in WAC quarters at Fort Bragg. Pvt. Defrter, as he is addressed, H has been under the direct com mand of Sp-3 Dorotjiy Rechel since his arrival at Fort Bragg 14 weeks ago from “Operation Al ley.” In the short period of time he has lived in the women’s quarters he has gained the adoration of all the girls because of his distin guished grey hair. Dexter is a cat. i Klap-irap. We Call It Recently, GRAINS quoted The Post at Lumberton on the “childish antics” of the Ku Klux Klan, giving their greeting and response in gibberish by which they establish their identity when approaching one another. The Post also prints a chart to show the KKK “chain of com mand” which is about as fantas- tic a collection of nomenclatures as one could hope to find. According to The Post’s chart the top man in a “Klavem” is the Grand Dragon (executive branch). The Exalted Cyclops corresponds to a president, the Klaiiff to a vice-president. Under them are the: Klokard (lecturer), Kludd (chaplain), Kligrapp (sec retary), Klabee (treasurer), Kladd (password guardian), Klaragos and Klexters (guards), Klokan Klan (investigators), and Knight- Hawk (initiation chairman). Beneath these worthies come ■‘ordinary Klansmen • and the Women’s Auxiliary Branch. “The uniform is not limited to white sheets,” says The Post “There are robes of gold, purple, red, blue, green, yellow and A black.” ^ Oh yes, we almost forgot: At meetings, members sing “klodes” (anthems), collect “Klectokon” (dues)— we’re sure that is not omitted—and go through the “nrystic signs and symbols of ‘Krancraft.’ ” We keep wondering who in the world ever sat down and thought all that up. Kan’t imagine; kan you? Carolina Moon Further evidence that there is some connection between the moon and human behavior comes from Rockingham where, during the recent full moon, 37 persons filled the Richmond County jail to overflowing over the weekend, twenty of the 37 were drunks, ac-— cording to information from® Rockingham. Law enforcement officers have noted this phenomenon before: when the moon is full, jails are likely to get full, too. We recall reading somewhere that firebugs are likely to pick the time of the full moon for set ting fires. Wonder if the moon business works when the moon is full but#f the skies are cloudy and you can’t see the moon. Is it the sight of the moon or only some mysteri ous influence from it that causes unbalance in human emotions and actions? 'Come and See Us' Harry Golden, a New Yorker who moved to Charlotte many years ago and has become one of the best known men in Northi*i Carolina, sending his Carolina Is raelite newspaper aU over the United States and to some foreign nations, writes that it took him a long time to understand the old Southern custom of saying, on taking leave of somebody, “Come and see us.” He recaUs that for a few times, v/hen people would say, “Come and see us,” he replied, “When?”^ This, he says, “threw them into*^ such confusion that they looked at each other in utter amaze ment.” Then he learned that “Come and see us” is “merely the South ern way of saying goodbye, which carried with it its own charm, of course.” The PILOT Published Every Thursday by THE PILOT, Incorporetted Southern Pines, North Carolina 1941—JAMES BOYD—1944 Katharine Boyd Editor C. Benedict Assodiate Editor Vance Derby News Editor Dan S. Ray Gen. Mgr. C. G. Council Advertising Mary Scott Newton Business Bessie Cameron Smith Societjr* Composing Room Lochamy McLean, Dixie B. Ray, Michael Valen, Jasper Swearingen Thomas Mattocks. , Subscription Rates: One Tear $4. 6 mos. $2; 3 moe. $1 Entered at the Postoffice at South ern Pines, N. C., as second class mail matter ^ Member National Editorial Assil and N. C. Press Assn.
The Pilot (Southern Pines, N.C.)
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Sept. 26, 1957, edition 1
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