Newspapers / The Pilot (Southern Pines, … / Aug. 4, 1960, edition 1 / Page 2
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I Page TWO THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 1960 ILOT 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 aU 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. Coroner System Should Be Improyed What happened after a prisoner died at the previously when the jailer called the physician •Moore County jail in Carthage last Thursday morning shows why there should be a revision of the coroner system in North Carolina. The prisoner, according to what other pris oners told the jailer, was taken with some sort of seizure and apparently died. The prisoners called the jailer who telephoned a physician who did not come to the jail but advised the jailer to call the coroner. The coroner, who is not a physician, arrived, pronounced the pris oner dead from natural causes, found no evi dence of foul play and later presumably sign ed a death certificate. At no time, therefore, had a medically train ed person seen or examined the prisoner. There was nothing whatever illegal about all this. No North Carolina statute was viola ted. A coroner, in this state, does not have to be a physician. He does not have to call in a physician when he is summoned in a ease of death. He does not have to consult a physician. He can pronounce a person dead and he can sign a death certificate. There is no evidence that the prisoner in the jail at Carthage last Thursday morning was not dead when the coroner arrived or even who chose not to go to the jail. Yet there could be a margin of doubt, a margin that would torment any member of the family of a person dying under those circumstances, we would think. The doubt is double: (1) Might immediate medical attention have saved a life? and (2) Might examination by a physician after death have revealed some aspect of cause of death that would be overlooked by a non-medical person? The fault is with the system. The law should require that a coroner be a physician and, preferably, a physician specially trained in medical criminology. At very least, the law should require that no person should be offi cially pronounced dead by some one other than a physician. We do not think that a coro ner who is not a physician should be permit ted to sign a death certificate. Revision of the laws governing the office of coroner is one of the reforms that we hope the upcoming forward-looking Sanford adminis tration can -accomplish. The situation as it stands is a neglected dark corner of life in North Carolina today. ' No Need for Private Defenders Further details about the meeting of the board of directors of the North Carolina De fenders of States’ Rights, which was referred to in an editorial on this page last week, have reached The Pilot in a publicity release re ceived more than a week after the meeting. We noted last week that this segregationist group is doing a disservice to the state and nation by comparing alleged possible results of the NAACP’s integration plans with “con ditions in the Congo,” setting a mood of fear and (jlread that can only result in worsening of racial relations. The full text of the publicity release, which we had not seen when we wrote the editorial on the basis of a summary in a daily news paper, contains two other disturbing items^. The release says that the board of directors “authorized the County Committee on Organ ization, working with the Rev. J. S. Jones, re tired Presbyteriah minister of Morehead City, N. C., and with a public relations expert of the State who was present at the meeting, to be gin work at once.” If “a public relations expert of the State” means some one who is employed by the State of North Carolina, we would say that this per son is very much out of line to lend his serv ices to the Defenders, an organization that is rejected and detested by a large proportion of the taxpayers who, if this expert is on the State payroll, are paying his salary. The other disturbing item in the statement is the naming of the Rev. Alphonso Jordan, chaplain of the State House of Representa tives, as one of the several other persons at tending the board of directors’ meeting, al though apparently he is not himself a director. It is not that this gentleman had no right to be there, but that it seems to us he showed bad judgment to align himself, if only as a spectator, with such a radically biased group. The members of the House of Representatives —who presumably take inspiration from pray ers offered to a God vmrshipped by both white and Negro citizens of North Carolina—repre sent a constituency which is about 25 per cent Negro. The legislators’ spiritual leader, under those circumstances, could well refrain from showing sympathy with a race-centered organ ization. States’ rights and every other right, for white and Negro citizens, are amply protect ed by the Constitution and the courts. We see no need for private defenders. OPEN LETTER TO SENATOR KENNEDY Stevenson for Secretary of State August 2, 1960 Dear Senator Kennedy: May I tender most sincere congratulations on your nomination? I feel that our Party is lucky indeed to have a man of your high cali ber heading the ticket. Since my return from the Convention, I have been asked by several people to write you urging your consideration of the appoint ment of Adlai Stevenson as Secretary of State in your cabinet. Your past words, as well as the fact that Governor Stevenson is one of your present ad visors, show that he is in your thoughts for this position. I hope he is and I believe this to be the hope of a vast majority of Americans. This is a moment when, above all things, the world needs to renew its confidence in the United States. It is essential that the present image of this country as rich, complacent, heedless, blundering and blustering, should be replaced by a picture that truly represents the deepest sentiments of a people thrown temporarily off balance by bad leadership, and no leadership, who want desperately to help and who CAN help, if given half a chance. The world needs reassurance that the nation which conceived the Marshall Plan that saved Europe from Communism and chaos, has not changed. In my estimation, nothing would so quickly give this reassurance as the appointment of Stevenson as Secretary of State. That he is supremely qualified is obvious but I believe thh point to be less important than the fact of the extraordinary faith people all over the world have in him. He is known and well known everywhere, in the waste places and the jungles as well as in the seats of government; everywhere he is looked up to as a man dedicated to the best for his fel- lowmen. I believe that the appointment of Stevenson as your Secretary of State would reassure the world, as nothing else could, of the good faith and good will of this nation and the wisdom of its new leadership. This is an asset, a qualification, for this post that no other Atnerican possesses. A few oth- -Mr. Bowles among them—are, I feel sure. faith in the validity of those truths in which most people everywhere have been taught to believe: in honesty and justice and decency and freedom. Your appointment of Stevenson in this critically important post would be such a shot in the arm. I do not pretend to any political wisdom, but I cannot forebear to express my conviction that if this announcement could be made soon, it would, besides helping the immediate^world situation, help our campaign. I know that here in North Carolina—and I feel sure that my friend Terry Sanford would agree—the ranks would close behind you with added enthusi asm, were the people to know that Stevenson was your choice. With all good wishes, I am Y ours respectfully, KATHARINE L. BOYD (Mi-s. Janies Boyd) The Same Sun.. ers- as able and as informed and as trusted by those who know them, but this is a very small group cdmpared to the worldwide circle of confidence and admiration that Stevenson • commands. In this time of hopelessness and confusion, the world needs desperately a shot in the ami: a shot of hope, of courage, bringing renewed “Yes Sir, Friend, That’s A Sho’ Nnff, Full Blooded Hound-Dog!” lA % -/i'i 'r O' S .i \\ \ 4ry riNiO' A A' k !i- \\,i TO EXAMINE THE NEW, RE-EXAMINE THE OLD To Find Truth, Men Must Be Free Chancellor William B. Ay- cock of the University of North Carolina, speaking at an alumni luncheon, has reaf firmed the importance of academic freedom with in sight and eloquence that should inspire alertness to the threats that face the ideal of liberal education. A portion of the address follows: A letter to his wife from Francis G. Powers, the U2 spy plane pilot who is now in a Russian prison, makes an eternal human plaint that all of us, in or out of prison, can understand. A page of the letter was reproduced by the Associated Press and published in daily news papers. On the page shown. Powers notes that he is taking walks every day and is getting a suntan. He says he would rather be getting his suntan on a beach with his wife—and then come the striking words: “It’s the same sun but it looked much better before all this happened.” Nobody knows how many millions of hard- pressed humans, from the dawn of history, have had that thought. In the thought there is glowing a spark of wisdom on which civilized life has been built: man, with his mind, de termines what the world about him is, what it means. “April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead ground. . So wrote T. S. Eliot in the now-famous lines. Other poets hadn’t seen April that way, but Eliot did and he had to tell the world how he felt. Like the sun to Powers, April had “looked much bet ter” to poets before 19th century materialism and early 20th century complacency had re volted them. Then Eliot and others saw April —and man—with different eyes. “It’s the same sun. . .” So runs the lot of man eternally. On a co6l October day in 1957 when I took the oath of office of chancellor, I deemed it important to express my convictions about the importance of freedom. I was aware that during the long his tory of the University there were periodic attacks on its freedom. In 1925, as some of you will re call, opposition arose in the state to some of the lecturers who ap peared on the campus and to cer tain articles published in the Journal of Social Forces. Moreover, in the same year a resolution was introduced in the General Assembly which was des tined to restrict the freedom to teach and publish. The alumni and friends of the University joined hands with Pr^ident Chase and the faculty anG saved the institution from a sentence which would have imposed a slow death; a death even more horrible than the tragedy of 1871. It is far better to close the doors of a University than to kill its spirit. ' Today I feel impelled to repeat the substance of what I said in October, 1957. On this camnus and throughout North Carolina we have certain fundamental free doms including freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of religion. These funda mental freedoms protect teachers, authois, broadcasters, and motion picture producers from controls and regulations which interfere with Iheir mission to seek and to state the truth. Indeed, they pro tect each of you and every citizen throughout this commonwealth. These freedoms are not abso lute. There are limitations, such as the laws of libel and slander which apply to all and statutory prohibitions against the use of public buildings, by any person for the purpose of advocating, ad vising or teaching a doctrine that the government should be over thrown by force, violence or any unlawful means. In addition to legal limitations, there are pressures of various types — economic, social and po litical—both direct and indirect— which can be brought to bear on people engaged in seeking and stating the truth. We recognize and accept the legal limitations such as the laws of libel, slander and the use of public buildings, but we reject economic, social and political pressure which would fetter re search, publication, teaching and learning. If we do not reject these pressures, we forfeit our claim to be a university. A true university must seek out, examine, assemble and interpret facts. It must seek new ideas, new forms of knowledge, new values; and new artistic standards in or der that mankind inay continue to grow in understanding and wis dom. A part of this creative mis sion is the duty to examine the bases, the foundations, and the assumptions on which present knowledge rests. This duty is not limited to certain categories of knowledge but extends to all. executiveo. An institution engaged in high er education cannot be a univer sity if it undertakes to fix or freeze knowledge or doctrine merely because it is suitable to some individual or group, how ever highly placed. By what au thority, may I ask, can a person say that he has found the final truth for the youth of our land? History does not record a single successful effort to fix or freeze knowledge or beliefs. A university must provide an environment in wilieh diversity, controversy and tolerance prevail. It is not expect ed that every person within or without a university will agree with the views of every speaker or teacher who appears on the campus. It is imperative, how ever, that the university be free to listen to differing views on controversial issues of the day. This institution was fathered by rebellion against oppression and mothered by a vision of freedom. It has become an instrument of democracy and a place in which the weak can grow strong and the strong can grow great. The pro cess of youth maturing in an en-' vironment of freedom is always an erratic one, sometimes a tur bulent one, and frequently a dis turbing one to those whose mem ories of their own youth have faded. Yet generation after gener ation of young men and women have gone forth from this campus to provide sound leadership throughout the length and breadth of this land. Parking: No. 1 Headache A committee of businessmen appointed by the town council is studying parking needs in the Southern Pines business section, with particular attention to po tential off-street parking space that v.ull be needed in the future. An item appearing in a publi cation of the North Carolina League of Municipalities points out tne “conflicting interests of those who Use the streets,” con tinuing: Decline of the Corn Crib (W.E,H. in The Sanford Herald) Fooling around a farm the oth er day, I noted an old corn crib. Apparently it hadn’t been used for many years as it had been rotting and falling to pieces for quite a spell. Time was when every farm had a corn crib. It was one of the buildings kept in good repair, with a weather tight roof and a chain and hasp and lock perhaps on the door. Mechanized farmirig helped sound the knell of corn cribs. For tractors don’t eat corn. There’s only a very occasional farm these days which boasts a mule or horse; far too few even have a milk cow. Corn is still grown on most farms, but usually it’s hauled away to the mill pretty soon after it’s gathered and either ground for home use cwr sold to the ihiUer. Result of all these factors is a steady demise of corn cribs. Looking at this particular corn crib, however, reminded me of another use of corn cribs besides storing corn. I never saw this par ticular usage but once, and that was when as probably a 10-year- old I was visiting on an uncle’s farm. Somebody, I don’t know who, was locked temporarily in a corn crib there. My recollections are hazy; I remember the fellow was bois terous and hard to manage. Prob ably he’d got hold of too much Lebanon county corn which had been transformed into liquid. I’m sure it was nothing like shooting a fellow. As I remember it, the men folks on the farm let the guy out of the crib after four or five hours. Probably after the heat of that summer day sweated the squeezings out of his bide and he got back to normal. “The traffic engineer wants movement. The. public transit in terests v/ant freedom from inter ference and adequate curb space for bus stops. Truckers want load ing and unloading zones. Retailers want customer parking. Employ ers want employee long-time parking. "‘Real estate owners want sta bilized values, while tax assessors want rising values, both affected by parking. Drivers desire to park as long as they want, when they want and at no charge. Private garage owners and parking lot operators want curb parking re duced or eliminated. “Police departments want park ing which is simple to enforce— without reducing their manpower for other purposes. Fire depart ments want rapid access to the hydrants, alleys and buildings. Taxi operators want curb space reserved for them. “Out of this welter of conflict ing interests it is only natural that parking issues become cloud ed with emotion and that the in terest which makes the most noise too frequently gets the most concession.” Crains of Sand Foresight During the Sandhills “season,” The Pilot tries to keep a calendar of coming events at the office, in viting persons planning public gatherings to cheek with us, to help prevent conflicts in sched uling. Imagine our amazement at picking up the telephone the oth er day and hearing a voice ask: “Does your calendar of coming events show anything scheduled for Friday night, February 3, 1961?” “For WHEN?” “For Friday night, February 3, 1961.' Is anything scheduled for that night?” “Madam,” we replied, “we don’t even have a 1961 calendar in the office. Can’t imagine that anybody is looking that far ahead.” “Well,” came the reply, “St. An thony’s Church is. We’re planning our annual charity ball for that night. Will you put it on your list?” It’s on the list. And looking very lonely, too. But we admire the foresight of the St. Anthony’s folks. They’ve really got that night nailed down. . Watch" Those Laws! Thanks to the Bulletin of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, we can pass on to you this week intelli gence showing that vacationers this summer can run afoul of more than the traffic laws. The Bulletin graciously points out some unusual provisions of the laws in various states which might affect visitors. Maybe you plan to visit Con necticut. But don’t bring a wild hare with you and set the crea ture loose there because it’ll cost you a $100 fine. And don’t cross the line into Delaware with a load of garbage unless you have a permit. - In Arkansas, watch it if your engine conks out or you have a sudden flat. Swearing in the presence of women or girls in the Bear State means they can lock you up for six months. Up in Michigan it’s illegal even to use insulting language around wom en. If you have a teen-ager along on your vacation journey, don’t let him or her smoke in Indiana. You may believe teen age smok ing is strictly a Mom and Dad problem but Indiana authorities think different; they don’t even allow youngsters under 21 to pos sess, much less smoke, a ciga rette. In Maryland, keep your slingshot out in the open—it’s il legal to conceal one there. Back in Arkansas again, it’s verbotten to drive blindfolded cattle down a highway, so if your vacation plans call for driving blindfolded cows down the road, don't do it near Little Rock. Care must be taken not to sell a book with the title page re moved in Illinois, nor should you encourage mutiny among the crew of ships docked along the coast of Maine. And, heaven for bid, don’t incite Indians in Mich igan to violate a treaty. All these are forbidden. Don’t carry a red flag in Iowa. Worse still, don’t carry either a red or a black flag in Minnesota. It’s not likely you’ll be opening someone else’s mail on vacation, but if you do slip it will cost you $250 and three months in jail in Kansas. Louisiana law makes it illegal to row a party across the Mississippi for pay within two miles of a public ferry. And you might get your palm read in Indi ana, but you’ll be breaking the law. Finally, don’t light a duel in Arkansas or unhitch a stranger’s horse in Michigan. The Bulletin concludes with a happy little paragraph that in forms us that if you’re traveling in Colorado and encounter a sick bee, state law requires you to get in touch with the Commissioner of Agriculture and tell him. Happy vacation! The PILOT Published Every Thursday by THE PILOT, Incorporated Southern Pines, North Carolina 1941—JAMES BOYD—1944 Katharine Boyd Editor C. Benedict Associate 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 mos. $2. 3 mos. $1 Entered at the Postoffice at South ern Pines, N. C., as second class mail matter. Member National Editorial Assa and N. C. Press Assn.
The Pilot (Southern Pines, N.C.)
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Aug. 4, 1960, edition 1
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