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A Page TWO THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1959 ‘‘We Appreciate Your Do-Or-Die Spirit, Flash, But- 99 Southern Pines North Carolina “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. Keep Open Mind On New Constitution The report of the North Carolina Constitu tional Commission, on which proposals for re-writing the State’s Constitution are based, offers 146 pages of detailed histciry, proposals for changes and explanations of the Commis sion’s conclusions. It is an impressive job and reflects the painstaking care with which a group of 15 judges, lawyers, Legislators, edi tors and others studied the present constitu tion of 1868 (135 times amended by vote of the people) and the changes proposed to make it a clear and more serviceable document for the guidance of the State now and in the fu ture. Today’s cartoon pictures the Constitution as about on its last legs—an impression that for the purposes of the cartoon is justifiable but which might be misleading. Even the men charged with the job of revising and re writing the 1868 constitution say of it in their report: “Surprisingly enough, and despite the un savory label of ‘Reconstruction Constitution,’ that instrument was, for its day, a remarkably sound, progressive document. For the first time, such topics as taxation, local govern ment, private corporations, public welfare and debtors’ homestead exemptions, were brought into the constitution.” ^ What was to us the most disturbing pro posal of the Commission—deletion of the requirement for state operation of a “gen eral and uniform” public school system—has been eliminated, as, following protests, the chairman of the Commission, the Governor and the Attorney General have all agreed to let the school requirement stand in the pro posals ' submitted to the General Assembly. We do not propose here to go into the de tails of the proposed changes, all of which have received much attention in the daily papers. We urge readers, as we would urge the legislators in Raleigh, to keep open minds and tq, measure the proposed changes against the standard voiced by the late Judge John J. Parker: ‘The purpose of a State Constitution is two-fold: (1) to protect the rights of the in dividual from encroachment by the state; and (2) to provide a framework of govern ment for the state and its subdivisions. It is not the function of a constitution to deal with temporary conditions, but to lay down gen eral principles of government which must be observed amid changing conditions. . .” Elevating Prestige Of Scholarship American interest in education, which was given such a big boost by Russian achieve ments in space flight, has—as we noted last week—become more balanced and less hys terical in recent months. One real accomplishment of all the furor is to elevate scholarship to a higher place of honor in the public mind. How lasting this elevation will be remains to be seen, but it seems to be true that millions of Americans are giving at least lip service to the notion that training young brains is at least as im portant as having a good time. One manifestation of this outlook is the proposal to honor outstanding scholars with some of the tangible decorations that for years have been going to athletes in Ameri can schools and colleges. One specific proposal is to give ‘letters” to outstanding students, just as they are given to athletes. This is actually being done in some places over the nation and the idea is being discussed by officials of a number of .North Carolina schools. There are few schools that do not recognize scholarship in some way. What is sought is a way that “rates” in prestige along with ath letic letters, in the minds of the students themselves. At the schools using the scholar ship letter system, presentations are made at ceremonies rivalling athletic award presen tations in impressiveness. Once again, then, we are led back to the point to which all discussion of high school education returns: schools are a reflection of a community’s adult interests. Until students encounter in their homes a stronger interest in scholarship and in the discipline that it implies, no amount of superficial efforts by the school will avail. The primary responsibility of parents and the adult community is therefore apparent. Television, Violence And Responsibility Having met with the argument that vio lence on television is no worse than the real- life violence reported in the newspapers. The Charlotte News kept tabs on both types of violent deaths. Checking only the 7 to 11 p. m. hours on television, the newspaper’s investigation showed that there were'83 violent deaths in seven days on TV programs, as compared with 36 “real” violent deaths reported in both of Charlotte’s newspapers during the same period. One popular TV program that usually pro vides one or more violent deaths during each of its Saturday night showings is watched by some 47 million persons. Does the public pro test? The program’s producers say it draws about 25 letters per program, coming from a percentage of its audience which the News’ editors had the ambition to figure as .0027 per cent. The public loves this program. And the TV industry gives the public, including countless impressionable youngsters, what it wants. The News questions the television indus try’s responsibility in this matter asking, “. . Shall television, a great potential force, re main merely a mirror of society? Can it af ford to sit in the audience of public influence and never take the stage to speak? ... It is to be hoped that the spirit of television will be changed one day, that there will be an industry desire to lead, strong enough to con vince sponsors and public alike.” We saw an account of a PTA meeting in Beverly Hills, Calif., where everything is bigger and more elaborate than anywhere else, this meeting being attended by more than 1,000 persons. There was a panel dis cussion, in which nationally known film act ors, actresses and writers—some with tele vision connections—took part. The topic was “Crime Time—Six to Nine,” meaning the hours when American youngsters are accus tomed to a parade of violence and murder on assorted TV shows, just prior to their bed time. The actress Bette Davis, one of the panel members, said that children do not have to look at crime pictures and that at her house “television isn’t the end-all for children.” More important, she made the recommen dation that parents start writing protest let ters. The panelists agreed that parents should not become a “pressure group,” but thought it would help the situation if many of them ex pressed their views. One of TV’s most famou.s personalities, Ed ward R. Murrow, addressing the Association of Radio and Television News Directors re cently, had something to say, too, about the ‘r / ’■ J «.c. c ONE REASON WHY CHILDREN LACK RESPECT Too Many People Dread Old Age responsibility of the TV industry itself to lead rather than follow the public’s taste. Mr. Murrow thinks the public is more ma ture than the program planners think. He sug gested: “Just once in a while, let us exalt the importance of ideas and information. Let us dream, say, that on a given Sunday night the time normally occupied by Ed Sullivan be turned over to a clinical survey of the state of American education, and a week or so later Steve Allen’s time be devoted to a thorough going study of U. S. policy in the Middle East.” Would the sound of television sets being turned off create a mighty roar across the face of the United States if such experiments should come to pass? Perhaps—but we are pleased to see that more and more observers are coming, to think that television should —and this is the same point we have made about the film industry—exert more respon sibility and at least attempt to lead, rather than slavishly follow, a public preference that both reflects and inflames a taste that seems to be constantly becoming cruder and more degraded. National Wildlife Week We are pleased to call the attention of readers to National Wildlife Week, March 15- 21, an observance that was first proclaimed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938 and has since been sponsored annually by the National Wildlife Federation to focus public attention on the importance of our national resources. The land on which we live and, more im portant, on which our descendants, must live, should be the concern of responsible people. And this concern, it seems to us, is a basic concern for the well-being of others. Conservation, in the sense that we are being asked to consider it during National Wildlife Week, is a way of living. It calls upon us to care for the resources we need in order to live: crops from the soil, lumber from forests, cattle from range lands, water,'wild life and even the outdoor places where peo ple go for recreation and relaxation. With more leisure and better transportation, these sites of natural beauty are becoming, more accessible and also more sought-after by the people of the United States each year. Conservation is also a way of thinking— and for this reason we think conservation has a place in every classroom of the nation. In deed, many schools in North Carolina are presenting special conservation programs to their students. How do young people view old age? A few respect it, even antici pate it as a happy period in their own lives. But too many dread it—like going to school on Sat urdays. And small wonder, the way adults try to hide their age. Women plaster their faces with pancake cosmetics to cover wrinkles. Some tint beautiful gray hair with dyes. Men fret about being bald,, a few wear toupees. ♦ Elders in the 40’s and 50’s when asked their age by curious children often reply with “Oh, I’m over 21.” Parents teach off spring that it’s impolite to quiz grown-ups about their ages. Wrong Concept The concept of showing shame for the aging process is wrong, believes Marshall L. Walters, of Appalachian State Teachers Col lege at Boone. Children sense this, even though not told, which detracts from their enjoying life at its fullest. Youth should be taught that old age is the fruition of life and should be anticipated with pleas ure, not lament, Walters thinks. The 65th year should be prided as much as the 21st. Gray hair and wrinkles, when worn with dignity, can be a person’s most handsome features. Walters is an expert on ger ontology, a technical term for the study of the aging, and geri atrics which concerns medical aspects of aging. The professor is now completing a three-year research on “Concepts of ‘Aging’ and ‘Old Age,’ an Historical Study.” His findihgs are due for release next year. Today many elderly pieople are throwing away the “cream” of their life because they grew up under the philosophy that old age signals the time to cease ac tivity. Need Not Fear Science has revealed that peo ple need not fear “40” as the time they must let up in living and be careful, Walters advises. It’s the point when an individual has achieved enough maturity of judgment and vigor of life to enjoy the richest and most in teresting chapters of his life— up to the 80th and 90th years. And the child should be taught this concept, believes the professor. He indorses the Orien tal philosophy of teaching chil dren to respect and revere elders for their wisdom and accom plishments. A youth with such an outlook views old age as a symbol of prestige and glory, and through his own life strives to attain the status Himself. One scientific study showed that bright people get even brighter as they age, according to an article in a national maga zine. Two California psycholo gists, Drs. Nancy Bayley and Me- lita M. Oden, gave “concept mas tery” tests to 1,103 highly intelli gent adults, some of whom have taken part since childhood in the continuingN study begun by the late Dr. Lewis M. Terman of what happens to gifted children when they grow up. No Limits The results, according to the magazine, “indicated that the mental capacities of these gifted adults had been steadily increas ing between ages 20 and 50. No limits to improvement are yet in sight.” Another study in Florida of elderly people whose intelligence in the past had been only aver age revealed that some of these men and women kept on scoring higher right through their 70’s ' and 80’s. Scientists investigating aging agree that even though one’s body reaches its physical peak between 20 and 25, the mind—if it continues to be used—can in crease in power throughout, the later years. This is the positive concept of old age that should be taught to' children, they believe. INDIAN LEGEND ABOUT A SANDHILLS FLOWER Arbutus Grows Where Spring Goddess Stepped One of the many Spring time beauties of the Sand hills—and perhaps the first to arrive—is the trailing ar butus, a ground-hugging woodland flower with rough greenish-brown leaves ' and wonderfully delicate, sweet pink and white flowers. It is often found on sunny slopes half hidden under pine needles, leaves and wire grass. When picking it, care must be exercised that the roots are not torn up. The Indian legend appearing be low is taken from “Wildlife in North Carolina,” the mag azine published monthly by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. In the moons of long ago, there lived an old man alone in his lodge beside a frozen river. Long and white was his hair. He was clothed, too, in rich snowy furs, for it was winter every where. Snow and ice covered the ground; the chill winds wailed through the forest. The birds had flown away, and the animals were hidden in their holes to es cape the bitter cold. The old man sat gloomily in his wigwam by the side of his dying fire. Suddenly a warmer breeze ^ew aside the flap ffom his doorway, and into his lodge step ped a most beautiful maiden. Her cheeks were like wild roses; her eyes twinkled with star light; her hair, which hung over her shoulders in rich and silken tresses, was deckled with bright blossoms; her dress was woven of dainty grasses and trimmed with bursting buds; her mocca sins were white lilies. In her breath was the mingled perfume of the most fragrant blossoms. The old man rose to greet her as she entered: “Welcome, my daughter,” he said with a trernb- ling voice. “My lodge is cold and cheerless, but it may give you some shelter from the biting blast. Be seated here on my mat of furs and tell me who you are that dare to enter thus my snowy realm. “Did you not know that I am a Manito—Peboan, the God of Winter?” ‘‘1, too, am a spirit with pow er,” returned the maiden. “The Goddess of Spring. But I came, Peboan, to hear of your mighty deeds.” “When I blow my breath,” re plied the Winter King proudly, “the rivers and lakes stand still.” “When I breathe,” returned the maiden laughingly, “flowers spring up o’er all the meadows.” “When I shake my hoary locks” the old man boasted, “snow comes falling and drift ing to cover all the earth.” “I toss my tresses,” said the maiden, “and warm showers sprinkle all the thirsty plain.” “When I wander o’er the world,” said Peboan, “the leaves fall, the animals run to their holes, the birds fly in haste to realms of sunshine.” “When I come dancing o’er the earth, blossoms deck the naked trees, birds return with joyous songs, and all the world grows glad again.’’ While they talked, the air be came warmer; the old man grew drowsy; his hoary head dropped on his breast. He slept, and as he slept, the maiden passed her hands above his head, and he be gan to dwindle away. His cold body gradually melted into streams, which laughed and glis tened as they danced along. When he had completely van ished, the maiden, kneeling, took from her bosom the most deli cate of white flowers and hid them under the leaves. Then she breathed upon them and said, “I give thee all my virtues and my sweetest breath. Let him who plucks thee do so upon bended knee.” When this was done, the Spirit of Spring tripped away over the plains and through the woods, and wherever she stepped, there and nowhere else, grew the ar butus. Crains of Sand Oh-oh Said a League of Women Voters member at a recent meet ing; “We don’t need to send post cards about the next meet ing; we can put it in The Pilot.” Replied League President Mrs. William O. Spence: “Oh, we’ve got to send post cards! So many people don’t read The ” and then she noticed who was sitting beside her. “Just for that,” said her neigh bor,” you go right at the top of the column! And just see if peo ple don’t read it!” Signs of Spring Crowd of men and boys gath ered around a parked car on Connecticut Avefiue last week. The car was a nice one but it was what reposed on the trailer back of it that was attracting the attention. Theref it sat: a bran-new, shiny, long-linied out board motorboat. Just waiting to go spring fishing. And out towards Eagle Springs^ way you can spot just the faint est tinge of pink halo around the tops of a few peach trees. Just as well it’s still only barely vis ible. March is sure to have a few more roars {o 'let off before the last cold night is over. Peach trees, you all lie low a bit long- er. Spring means racing times are here. Out Young’s Road the thoroughbreds are tipping along every sandy trail. Exercise boys crouch on their withers, knees and chins almost touching. Gay, bright horses sidle and shy as a bluebird bursts from a clump of flowering plum bushes. “Ah, you. . .!” chides a rider, and the group takes off in a slow canter between the pines. Spring race meet next Saturday! Good News From Walter DeLong, manager of Aberdeen’s Belk-Hensdale, comes welcome news: the store’s records for this past January show sales 14 per cent higher than in January of last year. And there’s a distinctly visible brightening of faces around lo cal emporiums, too—The sight of William Donovan, of Trimble, Inc., this area’s newest industry, busily striding down Broad Street, adds another cheerful note to the scene. Sw«et And Sour Then there’s the fact—^wel come or unwelcome, as you look at it—that you can’t find a place to park any more. Scared Hog Writing in the Monroe Jour nal, John B-sasley recalls an in cident out of Moore County his tory—“what happened to a big old pine rooter hog down in Moore County when trains be gan running through there be fore the days of the stock law.” The item continues: “There was a certain big old fellow in the neighborhood that was well known both on account of his size and coal black color. One day while he was crossing the track, an engine came along and picked him up on the cow catcher. “The old fellow was either dazed or had sense enough to lie still until the train stopped at the next station, which was ten miles away. Here he was seen to get off, by a man who recogniz ed him and put him up and noti fied the owner. “The singular part of it was that the hog lost his rich dark color and turned as gray as a rat. Like a man who has seen a ghost, he was just turned gray by fright.” Just d thought: are there any younger readers who don’t know what the term “cow catcher” means? Modern diesel monsters of the tracks have something or other up there in front as a kind of bumper, but we doubt if it’s still known by that grand Old descriptive name. 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 Dixie B. Ray, Michael Valen, Jas per Swearingen, Thomas Mattocks and James C. Morris. Subscription Rates: One Year $4. 6 mot. $2. 3 mot. $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.
The Pilot (Southern Pines, N.C.)
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March 12, 1959, edition 1
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