Page TWO
THE PILOT—Southern Pines, North Carolina
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 196S
Southern Pines
ILOT
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 Jo do it. And we will
treat everybody alike.” — James Boyd, May 23, 1941.
Welcome Town-County Cooperation
Last week, in these columns, we prais
ed the spirit of cooperation evidenced in
the efforts of Southern Pines, Aberdeen
and Carthage town officials to work out
a mutually advantageous linking Of their
water systems. Further evidence of this
same valuable willingness to cooperate
is shown in this week’s news that the
town council here will invite the county
commissioners to a dinner meeting to
talk over matters that concern both town
and county, principally the use of the
town’s landfill waste disposal area, but
also likely to include zoning and perhaps
other subjects.
^is is not an effort on the part of the
.. Whoso Offends..
It is almost more than one can bear to
read the court testimony, in a news story
in today’s Pilot, on how three young
Moore County children attended their
dying mother, when she was shot by
their father, and were then left alone
with her, after her death.
This matter of children tragically
caught in the cross-fire of violence has
come up before in assault and murder
cases, in Moore County and elsewhere.
The daily papers frequently carry har
rowing accounts of such events involving
children—not to mention the ghastly acts
of violence committed directly against
them, down to the infant ag©) % adults.
Such incidents reaffirm the dark Com
plexity of man’s natinre; and they give
new force to the ancient Wbrds of Jesus:
. . But whoso shall offend one of these
little ones which believe in me, it were
better for him that a m|illstone were
hanged about his neck, and that he were
drowned in the depth of the sea. . . ”
Animals, it has been observed, are more
consistently considerate than human
beings of their young.
town council alone. It was noted at this
week’s council meeting that the county
commissioners—who for years seemed to
take little interest in cooperating with
towns in the county-wide garbage and
trash disposal problem—are now anxious
to confer with the town council about
the town’s proposed ordinance which
would set fees for out-of-town users of
the local disposal area. This ordinance,
readers will recall, was proposed only
after long efforts to enlist the county’s
financial aid in operating the landfill had
failed to produce results. (The county did
appropriate, last year, $2,000 to help the
town finance the landfill—but this did
not approach the estimated cost to the
town of the heavy usage of the landfill
by out-of-town residents.)
According to a discussion by the coun
cil at this week’s meeting, the county
commissioners—after hearing the pro
posed local landfill ordinance read at
their meeting last week—^have asked the
town to hold off on its adoption until
there can be further discussions. This
could mean that the commissioners are
realizing that full cooperation and finan
cial aid to towns may be the answer,
after all, to the county-wide garbage and
trash disposal problem,
We have long thought that there should
be more direct contact between town and
county officials and that, too often, there
is misunderstanding, on both sides, of the
needs and problems that face each group.
We would like to see municipal-county
conferences become a regular feature of
the county’s government, including other
towns as well as Southern Pines. As
population increases, city limits expand
and areas of interest overlap, such town-
county cooperation, in fact, will become
almost a necessity if full efficiency in
government is to be obtained.
Looking Ahead In Education
As word comes that Sandhills Com
munity College is receiving half a million
dollars in state aid, plus virtual assurance
of another half million or so in federal
funds—with a full million dollars al
ready available from a county bond
issue—we are again impressed with the
tremendous commitment to education
that is becoming an increasing feature of
life here and over the nation. Moore
Coimty’s vast high school building pro
gram—three million-dollar-plus schools
and the end not in sight—is further evi
dence of what’s happening.
What interests us is the public accept
ance of these big expenditures which rise
into a range of taxation and debt that
would have been viewed with shocked
amazement by both citizens and school
and county officials, even so short a time
as a decade ago. Now, if not viewed cas
ually, these astronomical amoxmts of
money poured into education are quite
generally assumed to be evidence of a
right and natural course of events.
A fascinating article in the current
Harper’s magazine by Peter F. Drucker,
a professor at the Graduate School of
Business Administration of New York
University, puts into national perspec
tive the phenomenon we are witnessing
in Moore County: the grip that education
has and will increasingly have on peo
ple’s interests and pocketbooks.
Mr. Drucker, who already has a reputa
tion for predicting the course of events
in the United States, says that the focus
of domestic politics is likely to shift to
two areas—^the metropolis and the school.
He notes that within a few years, three-
quarters of the American people will live
in less than 200 metropolitan areas and
that, as soon as in the early 1970’s, one
out of every three Americans is likely
to be in school. ’Three years from now
(an astounding thought), the AVERAGE
Age of ALL Americans is going to be
around 25 or less, dropping from 33 in
1960.
It is the increasing concern with educa
tion that we are considering here. Listen
to Mr. Drucker:
“Altogether our society will be school-
centered. At least one third of the Ameri
can people will be in school a few years
hence. (Only one fourth is there now.)
Pre-school children, ready for nursery
school or kindergarten, will make up
another tenth of the population. Teachers
are already the largest single occupational
group in the country. Total school ex
penditures, a few years from now, will
exceed our present defense budget by a
substantial amount. (Today they already
nm aroimd thirty billions a year.) At the
same time, the structure of American
education, its purposes, values, content
and direction, will all become hot issues.
“Education is about to take over from
the Welfare State as a basic commitment
of the American people. One might call
this new phenomenon the Knowledge
State. Education is bound' to become a
focus of political life and political con
flicts. So far, however, we have not even
begun to think through national policies
on education, let alone a national com
mitment to educational values and pur
poses. All we have so far—and it is a
great deal—is a national commitment to
education in quantity and for everyone
ft
Incidentally, Professor Drucker goes
on to point out that this predicted change
in political issues could prove a golden
opportunity for revitalizing the Republi
can Party, if the party can provide the
leadership—in organizing the metropolis
and education—that vast numbers of new
young voters, well educated themselves,
will be demanding in these fields.
What the Drucker analysis of the pro
bable course of events in the remaining
years of this century means to us in
Moore County is that we here are on the
right track and that our extensive, in
tensive commitment to education points
the direction in.which we must continue
to forge ahead.
If what the professor says is true, we
have started none too soon.
Horses In Spotlight
After the Hunter Pace and Point to
Point events scheduled for a few weefe
ago were cancelled because of bad weath
er, Saturday’s upcoming Himter Trials
sponsored here by the Moore County
Hounds becomes the year’s opening
equestrian event.
The Hunter Trials provided almost a
full day of entertainment for spectators,
starting at 10 o’clock in the morning and
featuring, before the Itmch break, the
three classes for junior riders of whom,
we’re pleased to note, there is an increas
ing and enthusiastic group in the Sand-
hiUs.
We welcome the many visitors who will
be here Satimday, bringing horses to com
pete in the trials or coming as spectators,
including the riders who spend so much
time here during the fall, winter and
spring that they can hardly be classed
as visitors any more.
Sandhills residents who have no direct
association with the nearby “horse coim-
try” and its steadily increasing activity
—bringing more and more people and
horses to the area—^need some reminding,
now and then, of what is. happening and
the im^rtance of this activity to the'
economic development and general at
tractiveness of the area. As the focus and
organizing force for much of the actmty,
the Moore County Hoimds deserve the
community’s gratitude.
Best wishes for Saturday, then, and
may the sun shine all day!
General Assembly Time
/
WHY IS ACADEMIC FREEDOM IMPORTANT?
Free Disciission Catted Essential
In the following interview.
Dr. Gordon Blackwell, who
became president of Furman
University on February 1,
goes to the heeut of the prob
lem that has been ;a burning
issue in North Carolina since
enactment of the "Speaker
Ban Law" by the 1963 Gen
eral Assembly. The inter
view first appeared in the
Alumni Bulletin of Florida
State University where Dr.
Blackwell w.as president be
fore going to Furman. He
had previously been chancel
lor of the University of
North Carolina at Greens
boro. The ideas discussed in
the interview, of course,
have much wider significance
than their relationship to the
Speaker Ban Law.
Question: Dr. Blackwell,
how do you answer the sugges
tion that Florida State has a
"liberal" climate?
ANSWER: I believe it is an
essential part of becoming a un
iversity to have a climate of free
and open discussion. Of course,
we have many members of the
faculty, perhaps 750, and we have
more than 12,100 students. These
people come from many parts of
the country and bring many dif
ferent ideas. Also, I think one
should note that members of a
university faculty and the stu
dent body are generally quite ar
ticulate. You always hear from
them! Now, given this situation,
I believe that no real university
can escape this kind of criticism
for having a liberal climate as
the pendulum of American opin
ion swings back and forth be
tween the left and the right.
We tend to have periods in this
country when the criticism be
comes more acute and then in
time it dies down. We had a
period of this in the early 1950s.
Now we have it again.
I am convinced that it is nec
essary on a university campus to
have a broad spectrum of opinion
among both faculty and students
and to have the right for these
opinions to be expressed.
Today we are in real danger
because many people are equa
ting the liberal point of view
with something they call the
pink or Communist front. I
would remind you that the lib
eral point of view of one genera
tion may become the majority
view of the next. . . Our position
is that a college or university
should tolerate no teaching
which is inimical to the security
of the United States and that we
should tolerate no behavior
which is illegal or immoral. On
the positive side, I believe that
the goal of a university should be
to teach the light of truth and
the way of honor.
QUESTION: Do you think the
issue of acAdemie freedom is a
proper one for the administration
of the university to consider?
ANSWER: I think it is not only
a proper issue but a necessary
and inevitable one. It cannot be
escaped, I think, because there
are always some who, because of
vested interests, for political gain
or due to ignorance of what a
university must be, will claim
that a certain point of view
should not be espoused by a fac
ulty member or a student organ
ization.
I maintain that practical
ly all of our students are prepar
ed to evaluate false claims and
untenable doctrines for what
they are. We should not sell our
students short in this regard.
Now we have laws and the Fed
eral Bureau of Investigation to
protect this nation against the
threat of communism. Here at
Florida State we take these laws
seriously, and we also cooperate
in every way possible with the
FBI. Our criterion on this free
dom issue is this: What is legal
and what is moral? And we are
willing to stand on that basis.
QUESTION: Just what is the
essence o£ academic freedom?
ANSWER: Well, over the cen
turies it has been found neces
sary to protect an educational in
stitution from pressures which
sometimes are designed to achi
eve some selfish end desired by
an individual or group, be that
end political, economic or ideo
logical.
Now, you may ask, “What
about tenure for the faculty? Is
this necessary?” First, let me say
that there is always a trial period
NO REASON FOR
THIS COMMITTEE
From The New York Times
There has been a tendency in
some quarters to criticize the
Committee on Un-American Ac
tivities of the House of Represen
tatives because it has given more
time and attention to extremists
of the left than to extremists of
the right. This is a valid criti
cism, but not the basic one that
can and should be made.
This basic criticism has been
restated in a petition to the
House, signed by a hundred or
more attorneys and professors of
law in leading universities. It is
that the existence of a legislative
committee empowered to inquire
into ideas and opinions is irrec
oncilable with a system of free
expression.
There exists in Washington a
Department of Justice, equipped
with the investigatory arm of, the
FBI, which has ample authority
to institute procedure in all cases
of subversive activity. There ex
ists, within the House of Repre
sentatives itself, a Judiciary Com
mittee competent to draft any
new legislation needed in this
area. These agencies provide am
ple protection. The Un-American
Activities Committee is unneeded,
untrustworthy and basically un
constitutional. The new House
could not make a better start
than by getting rid of it.
before a member of the faculty is
granted tenure which means that
he can keep his job as long as he
likes unless he should' be re
moved for lack of capability in
his teaching or for some type of
malfeasance. Generally, he has
been a college teacher for some
years and almost always he has
been in this institution for some
time before he is awarded ten
ure. Now the reason that tenure
is extended to faculty members
is to protect their freedom to
teach the truth as they see it and
to pubhsh the results of their re
search within the area of their
competency. It is designed to
protect the professors from the
pressures of individuals or out
side groups with vested interests.
Now it should be clear that re
sponsibility must go along with
this freedom for the faculty.
QUESTION: Just why is aca
demic freedom so important?
ANSWER: I think it’s impor
tant not so much for the factulty
as for the students. The freedom
of the student to learn would be
denied him unless faculty mem
bers have the freedom to teach
the truth as they see it. We main
tain that the students should not
be denied access to a broad spec
trum of ideas and that they
should not be denied an oppor
tunity for free and open discus
sion of all types of issues. This,
we think, is the real essence of
education.
Furthermore, academic free
dom is important so that we not
allow a small group with vested
interests at a particular period of
time to take over the university
for their own purposes.
Also, unless academic freedom
is protected we will find that we
cannot keep many of our best
professors and we will not be
able to attract competent people
from other parts of the country.
Finally, especially at the grad
uate level, we would find that
the quality of our students who
elect to come to this institution
would decline if it should become
known that we have not protect
ed academic freedom.
QUESTION: May we have
your views on the need, if any,
for a truly independent govern
ing board for the state university
system?
ANSWER: I believe it can be
documented that we have no
truly distinguished state univer
sities in this country which have
not had an independent govern
ing board. I think of the Univer
sity of California and the Uni
versity of Minnestoa which
have constitutionally established
boards and which, therefore,
have considerable independence.
I feel that a state university
should be free from the fluctua
ting winds of politics, free from
the pressures of the moment.
This is aided when you have a
truly independent governing
board.
A Time For Work
“The finest workers in stone
are not copper or steel tools, but
the touches of air and water,
working at their leisure, with a
liberal allowance of time.”
--THOREAU
Good Work, Officers!
Seems as if Moore County law
enforcement officers, a term we
mean to include local police and
the SBI, too—have been doing
some mighty effective investiga
tive work.
They nabbed the young fellows
who hauled off that safe, be
tween here and Aberdeen. They
traced down, in Greensboro, the
men allegedly responsible for the
Westbrook Market robbery, link
ing them with a man in Moore
County charged with the Moose
Club and another break-in.
And there have been other
cases in which results—arrests
and convictions—^have been ob
tained.
Of course, there was that fel
low who slipped away from offi
cers and everybody else, right in
the courthouse.. .
But they cau^t him again, in
a few days. . . and we’ll bet
THAT doesn’t happen again.
It Makes A Difference
Ike and' George were talking
and Ike was very depressed:
“The world’s in a mess,” he
said, “business is terrible, every
thing’s going to the dogs.”
“Oh, come on,” said George,
trying to cheer him up, “things
arent so bad. Look what Johnson
says; he says everythings’s fine!”
Ike scowled: “Johnson!” he said
“He can talk! Look at the loca
tion he’s got!”
Last Word
When Libby Rudel Gatov de
cided to accept the invitation of
the Marin County, Calif., radio
station to give a weekly broad
cast, she asked Lawrence Spivak
for some advice.
The noted broadcaster comi-
plied in detail, stressing the need
for personality, ease of manner,
charm, and then Spivak added
one last trenchant word: “What
ever you say, don’t ever let your
self sound like every man’s nag
ging wife!”
Mrs. Gatov told the story to
Sandhills friends when she was
visiting her mother, Mrs. C. M.
Rudel, in Pinehurst recently.
Too bad radios here can’t pick
up the California station, so we
can see how she’s doing!
A Mountain Gels A Name
A great soaring mountain has
been named for President Ken
nedy.
Its perpendicular cliffs rise
terrifyingly into the air; perpetu
al snow covers its sharp crest. It
rises 13,900 feet, a giant peak in
the range that follows the Yukon
Frontier.
It is high, beautiful, majestic:
a fine mountain to honor forever
the name of John F. Kennedy.
So now there’s a mountain
named for him, and a great in
ternationally - oriented airport;
and there’s Cape Kennedy where
the rockets rise, the spot from
which the astronauts took off.
And there’s a square in Berlin
and a statue of him being erected
in London. There will probably
be many more memorials.
In London’s St. Paul’s recently
they sang the Battle Hymn of
the Republic. ’The first and last
time, until then, that it had been
sung there was in the memorial
service to the late President.
Never "Succeed"!
I dread success. To have suc
ceeded is to have finished one’s
business on earth. I like a state of
continual becoming . . . with a
goal in front and not behind.
'Then too I like fighting success
ful people, attacking them, rous
ing them, trying their mettle,
kicking down their sand castles
so as to make them build stone
ones and so on. It develops one’s
muscles. Besides one learns from
it.
—GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
THE PILOT
Published Every Thursday by
THE PILOT. Incorporated
Southern Pines. North Carolina
1941-^AMES BOYD—1944
Katharine Boyd Editor
C. Benedict Associate Editor
C. G. Council Advertising
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Composing Room
Dixie B. Ray, Michael Valen,
Thomas Mattocks, J. E. Pate, Sr,
Charles Weatherspoon, Robert
Coffin.
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