-59 tr Page TWC THE PILOT—Southern Pines, North Carolina THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 1963 liy 'Tin- Southern Pines ILOT North Carolina (Jtrrt “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. Evading The Capital Punishment Issue The Pilot shares the conviction of many North Carolinians that bills proposing abolition of capital punishment in this state were given inexcusably high-hand ed treatment in the General Assembly— killed in committee and not permitted to come to the floor of either the House or Senate for debate. Presumably the question is, for this session, closed. Careful and prolonged consideration of any great moral issue is painful—especi ally when the issue involves cherished notions that do not hold up under the test of either Christian doctrine or mod ern scientific investigation. The capital punishment issue seems to have been swept under the rug in such a hurry largely because the members of the General Assembly simply didn’t want to face it squarely. Knowing that many of their constituents have an equally press ing aversion to thinking about capital punishment, except in the most super ficial way, the legislators apparently felt safe in avoiding debate. Some of them, of course, were of another mind. On this page last week, an article about George Randall, the state’s director of prisons, quoted him as saying that murderers make the best risk for parole and that many people who have killed are making good, even exceptional, citi zens today in North Carolina and every where they have been given any oppor tunity for rehabilitation. This is an argument not only against capital punishment but against prohibit ing the parole of persons convicted of capital offenses—the point that Mr. Ran dall made, saying, as he did at the hear ing before the Judiciary Committee in Raleigh, that his own thinking on the question had changed as result of evi dence his experience as a prison official had presented to him. The moral or religious question of whether society is justified in taking lives as punishment, as contrasted to sav ing and reshaping lives, can, so far as we’re concerned, have only one answer, in the light of both religious conviction and modern psychiatry: humanity’s goal must be to heal, not kill. That North Carolina capital punish ment sends only the poorest, least intelli gent and less -well defended of its capital offenders to the gas chamber—as the record shows—is enough in itself to cause public revulsion against the law. We are confident that capital punish ment eventually will be ended by this state. It’s a pity that the General Assem bly has seen fit to evade the issue in the current session. Women Due Praise For Antiques Fair The Antiques Fair which is taking place at the local armory is surely one of the most successful promotional ventures around here. Twenty-five dealers from nine states have brought their wares here to show and sell. Along with them have come potential buyers from far and near. The result has been more people here to patronize the restaurants and motels, to stroll our streets and shop here and there, to view our pretty town and its many attractions and to go home and tell the folks about it. Word of mouth is recognized as the best possible advertising. That is what this area is getting, free, that and the up surge ill local business and a welcome sight of strangers strolling our streets and obviously enjoying themselves. This A.ntiques Fair, with all it brings in its train, is the work of women. It will be followed, in a few weeks, by another work of local women, the Garden Club tour, that impressive project which has brought, through the years of its exist ence, a good many thousand people here to view homes and gardens and, once Rate Essential To Judge Valuations It doesn’t make much sense for the coun ty commissioners to offer property own ers an opportunity to complain about their new real estate valuations—as set by professional appraisers—unless pro perty owners know what the tax rate is going to be. How can anybody have a basis for complaint, unless he knows how much his new valuation is going to make him pay? Until the rate is set, there is no true basis for judgment. While it is true that the tax rate is seldom determined this far ahead of the start of a new fiscal year (July 1) and that the commissioners must know the demands of their new budget before they can set a rate, we don’t think they can The Symphony And The Sandhills We look forward with interest, as always, to the annual visit of the North Carolina Little Symphony to Southern Pines, to take place this year on the week end of March 29. Again, also, the musicians will be spending the week-end here, following their concert at Weaver Auditorium Fri day night—last in the 1962-’63 series sponsored by the Sandhills Music Associ ation. We are pleased that they have chosen Southern Pines for their weekend rest—a well-deserved break for orchestra members who perform a demanding takes them, as members of the Little Symphony or the full N. C. Symphony, to every corner of the state. Dr. Benjamin Swalin, the indefatigable and talented director of the orchestra, and Mrs. Swalin who is an indipensable member of the symphony organization, will be here also over that last week-end in March. To the Swalins, as every Tar Heel knows, goes a very large share of the credit in making the Symphony a well-loved, highly-respected and univers ally accepted fixture in the cultural life of the state. We welcome the entire Symphony schedule of traveling and playing that organization again to Southern Pines Road Sign Ban: A Change of Heart? As this is written early this week, the billboard lobby was descending on the General Assembly, determined that HB 269, a bill that would control roadside advertising adjacent to the interstate highway system, not be enacted into law. Under the bill, no advertising signs vrould be permitted within 660 feet of the highway right of way, except by written permission of the Director of Highways. For compliance with this reasonable re quest (the N. C. Motor Club’s poll of members showed overwhelming support for the regulation of sign^), the State would receive about $1 million more from the federal government to apply to its interstate highway work. We hope that the legislators in Raleigh have progressed enough in their thinking since 1961, when a similar bill was killed in committee, to give the current bill a better chance. We have long been con vinced that many more motorists than popularly supposed enjoy driving on sign-free highways. If it is not already too late (we have seen no news of the bill yet this week), Moore County’s re presentative should be apprised of local support for the sign ban bill. Thou ShaU IGll!” T 'i fi,