North Carolina Newspapers

[Editorial And Opinion rther Encroachment ie state income tax withholding plan, we gather from ,e read, seem* to be gaining favor among legislators ssage is now more freely predicted. ,t, for the record, we reiterate our opposition. ■re are some of the reasons: e don’t feel the State government has the moral right r employers to serve, without compensation, as its tax ons agents. Such a requirement is clearly discrimina d the fact that it is now done by the federal govern n no way affects the essentia) rightness of the issue. :ondly, the big reason those advocating withholding ng so at this particular time, is to bring about a “bal judget” through the use of a so-called financial -wind iined through the payment of two years taxes, or a* big ereof, in one year—that is, this year s in the normal jayment and next year’s in weekly or monthly pay from whenever the law takes effect. This device ob is as unsound as it is devious. rially, it is argued, it will make taxpaying easy, if it is Id a little at a time. And this may be the most insidious of all because it tends to lull the taxpayer and obscure iwedge of what government is really costing him; dulls Fntive to curb and control. ilhholding by the state will constitute another en nent by big government on individual freedoms. In hese are disappearing with alarming speed. Let's hold we can. lion's Significance the Hillsboro town election, Mayor Ben Johnston, 2f» n office, and the three incumbent commissioners who reelection, have been ret tu ned to, office, but not with ions challenges from opposing candidates. While the * will hardly be regarded as a mandate of overwhelm oportions, the size of the vote and of the opposition he viewed as other than significant. his newspaper, while maintaining its traditional neu* as to individual candidates, nevertheless, is encouraged evidence of renewed interest in the town government, rated by probably the largest vote of local record. he election past, let us now get on with some of the problems, attempt to meet the needs and eliminate equities which have long been evident. For instance, ke a long look, and stop running away from such prob s (t) municipal expansion, (2) equal sewage facilities, llution and sewage disposal, (4) insufficient sidewalks, or traffic control, (6) cleaner streets, and others. s time for some town-wide, beyond that, community tlanning and esprit de corps. The issues are not for the toard alone. They belong to all of us. Real Problem - any of the readers of this page will remember when the le "diner” first appeared, and that it actually resem ie much-admired, rolling, railroad refectory. This was 0 surprising, of course, since it originally consisted of rannuated street car equipped with a kitchen and a counter. Sometimes it retained even its' wheels in this ary reincarnation. it these old-timers have passed from the scene, giving absurd creations of concrete-block or what-have-y.ou ve no more hint of adventure and movement and the y of what’s on the other side of the mountain than does ge warehouse. early, it is time for a change. td, for alert operators, concerned over a jaded and dh> ied public, t!he solution is just around the corner. U. S. reign airlines and U. S. military services, we read, are g how to dispose of 1,693 surplus piston-engine air by 1961. Unless something “constructive' is done, say lerts, the problem will become critical within the next lths. bile we were never any star at arithmetic, our figures e (hat, on the basis of the 41,000 mile national high stem alone, these obsolescents would provide one ex customer-attracting, almost-modern diner every 24.9 Before they could be established and operating, there be a potential of 170 million customers, or over 100, ■ccel And, as we all know, with the completion of the 1'network, eating at home will be impractical sin<e le will be on the highways. for those ultra-modern operators who associate piston planes with Darius Green, they can enter the«Space merely sawing off the wings and venting the ocffee rough the tail. z / he real problem of the jet era, as we see it. is what to 1 the old diners. __ bej®etas of (Grange Count? Published Event Thvndsv »t THt NSW9. IMCORPORATBD ttllftovo and Chapel Hill, N. C. BaMUN Editor e*d Publisher - - -mmmm aees Matter at the Pait Office •* j**<Ut>ar0, N°nh Centime, under the Act of March 3, W* SUBSCRIPTION RATES **** doaide North Carolina) -■ ‘JWTHS (iaaide North Carolina) — Tear (outalda North Carolina)-— __ «2.90 _ 91-79 _ JMO Umstead's Column (Continued From Page 1) hastily by the Senate but held up for its third reading by the House would allow members of the Na tional Guard when called out to suppress a riot or unusual disturb «nce to make arrest just as the Sheriff, the Deputy Sheriff or Con stable could do at the present time This Bill was introduced by Sena tor Blackburn and came as g. re sult of the unfortunate disturb ances at the Henderson Cotton Mill, it was stated by the propon ents^of.tho, measure that conditions have become almost intolerable in Henderson, in Vance County and that some drastic action must be taken. The Bill will come up for its third reading in the House Monday night and it looks like it will be passed and become a law. Another measure that is certain to cause long arguments and take up much time is the Bill introduced by Representative High of Cumber land, and Representative Horton of Chatham. This would ban the ad vertising of alcoholic beverages in newspapers, magazines, radio and T V. As stated above both the pro ponents and opponents will be act ive when this legislation is taken up by the Committee to which it was sent. The Sub-Committee on Approp riations et on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons and con-,, sidered a number of items in the Budget and tentatively made their recommendations to the big Com mittee. Of interest to people in Chapel Hill will be the fact that on my motion Memorial Hospital was given $50 000.00 each year of the biennium for equipment and $5,000.00 each year of the bien nium to adjust certain salaries. The Hospital had asked for $106, 000.00 each year of the biennium and I was very much pleased to secure more than one-half of the requested additional funds. It was the first itemjif any size that re ceived tentative-approval of this amount of money. The Jones Bill to increase the number of Highway Commissioners was again postponed due to the ill ness of Representative McLaughlin, one of the co-sponsors of the BilL The Bill will be taken up on Thurs day of this week and again will have a long debate and a long ses sion before the matter is finally disposed of. When it comes up for action many thing that it will be a test vote on the Governor’s pro gram which will be the first time' that we have had a test vote in the House. ^The Minimum Wage Bill is set for Tuesday for it’s third reading in the Senate and it is tlrtT opinion of all who have talked with the members of the Senate that the Bill will pass as it came from the Committee. This will make N. C. the first state in the south to pass a minimum wage law. The members of the Assembly are eagerly awaiting the report of Revenue Commissioner Currie on the income tax figures and his esti mate of revenue for the next bien nium. When this report is receiv ed the Committee on Finance will be faced with the job of deciding how much additional taxes should be raise. Jack Gilmore's Garden Gossip When the iris have finished blooming, and even when they are stiHj^n flower, they may be moved to a new location in the garden. Cut off any unsightly fol iage on the clumps left intact, and all the foliage from the ones you have moved. Watch for bor ers or root rot. Many of the best iris in Hillsboro have been dam aged by disease. Our visitoe&_.af. last week re marked that we did not have the nice iris that we once so proud ly displayed. From my own garden 1 miss the Baptisia that was my pride and joy for many years, Last year it suddenly disappeared as did the Stokesia. I must start new plants for next spring’s bloom. This year my pink peonies are blooming white. What a delight they are! They must have heard me say how much I lov white flowers and tried to please me. The new hybrid petunias are proving very popular in Hillsboro and since the advent of Mrs. Wat kins and her “jiffy pots" we are having full-grown plants very early._;_ , School And Your Child Curriculum Vs. Buildings (Appalachian State Teachers Cel.) By JOHN COREY Do rural schools prepare farm boys and girls for college? A few years ago the general answer would have been "no.” The reason: Too many schools of the one to two-room variety existed which, despite excellent school masters .and ma’ams, could not offer the advantages of larger institutions such as science laboratories, li braries and skiNed teachers in languages and technical subjects. As a result, hundreds of small schools consolidated into large plants with modern facilities and well-trained faculties. Distances naturally increased from home to school, but the State eared for this by furnishing free bus trans portation. The consolidates now dot Caro lina from mountains to sea. Many are beautiful examples of the best in architectural design. Some beam such modernity that class rooms and desks are painted bright circus colors to make 4he kids feel gay.; Yet high numbers of rural youth coming out of them still flunk college entrance exams, states Dr. Herbert Wey, former dean of the Graduate School, Ap palachian State Teachers College, now education professor at the University of Miami, Coral Ga bles, Fla., and an authoritative and extensive writer on educa tional subjects. One reason: Pupils move into the new large buildings but get, the same old courses of study. Modern plants are important but it's the curriculum that’s most important, says Dr. Wey, who’s studied curricula for years in Indiana, North Carolina and Florida. ~ Curriculum, meaning the var ious courses of study offered by a school, makes the student. To keep pace with the modern, ever changing needs of young people, the curriculum, like old school buildings, must'undergo overhaul ing and revision. For example, more rural stu dents than ever, whether they stay on the farm or not, want to attend college. They should be offered courses grooming them specifically- for this purpose which would include courses like foreign language and advanced history, according to Dr. Wey. On the other hand, Dr. Wey thinks that students not interest ed in college shouldn't be overly burdened with this type of study unless their selected vocation re quires it. They should be school ed more in mathematics, business and mechanics, knowledge of which is as important to success ful farming as industrial work. And, then again, t|je fact that a youth attends a rural school doesn’t necessarily mean that he wants to be a farmer. "Some schools assume as much—voca tional agriculture is required for all boys in many of them. If a youngster knows he won’t enter agriculture, his time can be spent better in other study. Charles C. Erwin, superintend ent of the Rowan County, N. C., Schools and J. F. McKnight, chair man of the county education board, recognized the problem and did something about it. Last fal1 500 - Nort h Rowan County high schoolers moved in to the ultra-modern, million-dol lar consolidated North Rowan High School at Spencer. To make sure the building ranks among the best in modernity. Architect Leslie N. Boney of Wilmington, N. C., brought in a national ex pert to do the color sememe. When the kids arrived in Sep tember, Superintendent Erwin and the newly-elected Principal - J'.-H; -Steelman served -them-up- a curriculum equally as up-to-date as the building. Their offering met the needs of all students— from those who want to farm, work in the near-by railroad shops or attend college,, to those asipring to become executives, scientists and secretaries. There were special classes for slow readers and others need ing remedial help. For the cul ture-hungry, the curriculum menu offered the usual band, chorus, music, art, ‘languages" ands~peeChr No pattern for a pre-consolida tion curriculum existed at the time for Superintendent Erwin to follow. So he cut his own. The able educator enlisted aid from 318 parents, 91 students, 97 teachers and 26 of Carolina’s top education experts. They made an 18-months-long study, carried on simultaneously with construction of the new plant. Hired t« direct the study was Dr. Wey, at the time dean of the Graduate School at Appalach ian State Teachers College, Boone, N. C. The new and unusual pro ject had the full support of the State Department of Public In struction. Coordinating the stiidy were two Rowan County school super visors, Mrs. Beatrice Amendola and Ganelda Sowers. The county board of ,education underwrote all expenses and par ticipated actively in discussions. Nine committees, working in all fields of education from science to guidance, consulted with ex perts and studied their respective problems in 126 meetings, each averaging three hours in dura tion. The committees’ findings, pre sented in 10 general meetings, were revealed last spring. From these the total curriculum for North Rowan was molded, design ed to meet the needs of every stu dent. * To pinpoint the needs, the committee conducted extensive research to (1) determine the abil ities and scholastic achievement of*the students who were due to enter the school, (2) establish the interests a n d post-graduation plans of students and the wishes of their parents, and (3) deter mine the employment possibili- , ties in the Rowan County area. The vocation committee found that Rowan County was moving rapidly toward industrialization. Further, surveys revealed that fewer boys were choosing agri culture as a vocation, indicating a need for industrial arts, dis tributive education and certain trade courses—all of. which have been added. Tests also revealed too many pupils left high school lacking basic arithmetic fundamentals. As a remedy, a two-track mathema tics program with one year of math required of everyone in the ninth grade and the passing of a math proficiency test was initiat ed. Students are guided either in to general math or algebra during . the ninth grade,_based.upon placement tests, grades in math in elementary school and future goals. The new curriculum places def inite emphasis upon reading. Stu dents handicapped with reading deficiencies go into special classes an hour daily where a skilled teacher helps to remove the de ficiencies. The classes carry regu lar high school credit, and every effort is expended to prevent their being earmarked “dumb - bell" classes.- — Scientific tests showed that the average intelligence of the entire student body ranked slightly above the national average and that 60 to 70 per cent was potent ial college material. The data justified stronger emphasis on advanced courses in math, science, languages and social studies. A survey of employment op portunities in Rowan County and a follow-up study of past grad uates pointed toward a need for both men and women in the dif ferent business trades, necessitat ing more advanced typing, shor* h a n d, and office machines courses, as well as on-the-job training with local concerns. A full-time staff member join ed the faculty to survey oppor tunities for on-the-job training and to supervise boys and girls placed in positions. From where there was former ly little guidance, the new curric ulum emphasized guidance, with teachers taking the leading role in a program coordinated by a trained guidance director The schedule abolishes study halls but students receive free time for study in each class un der direction of its teacher—made possible through the lengthened period. , £ North Rowan High’s graduation requirements were upped from 16 to 18 units with all 9th and 10th graders carrying five units each. Permitting pupils to carrv five units each year enable* them to get needed college pre paratory courses and at the sam» time take a course or two in areas of special interest. Another important outcome of the study was the careful selec tion of faculty members for the new consolidated school. When T«H—t PEOPLE & ISSUES By Cliff Blue HODGES . . . Governor Hodges and North Carolina were featur ed in last week's issue of Time Magazine. The article was very complimentary to Governor Hod ges and to North Carolina. How ever. there was one noticeable error in that article in that it stated that segregationist die hards were lined up against the Governor’s program in the Gener al Assembly. There is no subject to this statement whatsoever. We learned that Time had planned to run Governor Hodges’ picture on its front cover, but the Hen . derson strike caused the magazine to change its plans and reduce the space originally intended for North Carolina and its business man Governor. PINEHURST . .„. The Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst is probably the mo6t popular place in North Carolina for holding spring con ventions. The stately old wooden structure can take care of a larger group under one room for all its convention activities than any other hotel in North Carolina. People like the atmosphere of the Carolina Hotel. Most of the groups meeting at the Carolina Hotel have been holding their conventions there for many years, which sometimes makes it hard for new groups to meet there, due to long-standing schedules of its old customers. N.C.E.A. DIRECTOR : . . Since Mrs. Ethel Perkins Edwards an nounced some days ago that she would retire as Director of the North Carolina Education Assn ciation on July 1. several names have been mentioned as possi ble successor. Among the names mentioned is that of Dr. A C. Dawson, Superintendent of the Southern Pines City Schools. Dr. Dawson served for several years as Chairman of the N. C. E. A. Legislative Committee and is fa miliar with the ditties of the of fice. o 6TH DISTRICT . . . We hear the name of freshman Represen tative Hubert Humphrey of Greensboro being mentioned as a possible candidate for the Demo cratic nomination for Congress in the 6th District if Representative Carl T. Durham decides to call it quits and not seek another term. TEACHERS ... H now looks like the school teachers in North Carolina may receive an increase in salary which would amount to approximately 5 per cent. BENSON FORI) ... One of th“ top speakers at the North Caro lina Automobile Dealer’s conven tion held at Pinehurst last week was Benson Ford. Benson disap pointed his audience a little in that he talked to them about the ever trained faculty for a certain course was not available, good teachers were selected and sent to summer school at colleges for special training. Teachers have agreed to an ex tensive in-service education pro gram for themselves which will be continuous. necessity of businessmen partici pating in politics and had little to say about the automobile busi ness in which he has been born and bred. ''- 4 ALASKA . . . The Alaska Gen eral Assembly has set the salaries of its members at $3,000 yearly and a per diem allowance of $40 while in session. This is quite a bit more than the $1,800 receiv ed by the Tar Heel lawmakers and their $8.00 per day expense allowance. FARM PRODUCTS . . . Tobac co in recent years has been the number one farm money product in North Carolina, with its 19M sales amounting to $433,980,143. This is more than half of the $751,108,884 received for all Tar Heel crops. Cotton, which at one time was “King'’ in Dixie, ranked third in Tar Heel money crops, with its 1958 sales amounting to $48,214,295. Corn was in second place, bringing in $49,079,174. In livestock production, poultry and eggs ranked first, with the total 1958 sales amounting to $153, 484.983, a gain of $34,437,072 over 1957 The total livestock and live stock product sales in North Car- — olina amounted to $331,099,315 in 1958, almost half of the amount of field crops. Total farm sales in 1958 amounted to $1,062,208,199, - an increase of $261,308,523 over 1957 sales, according to figures supplied by the Extension Farm Management, North Carolina Ag ricultural Extension Service. .v AUTO SALES . . . Foreign auto sales are soaring in North Caro lina as well as the nation. In new car registrations for March, for eign makes were in third place. New registrations by makes in March were: Ford 3006, Chevro let 2427, Foreign 933, Pontiac $08, Oldsmobile 650, Plymouth 570, Buick 523, Rambler 351, Mercury 250, Cadillac 211, Dodge 194, Studobaker 183. Chrysler 97, Ed se! 85. DeSoto 63, Lincoln 37, Met ropolitan 24, Imperial 14, Willys 6, Packard 1, Miscellaneous 1. Total 10,328. New truck sales in Matf& werd Chevrolet 707, Ford 607. International 182, CMC 150, Dodge 92, Mack 54, Foreign 45, Miscel laneous 35, White 32, Willys 20, Studehaker 13, Diainon T 10, Div ert 9 Autocar 4, Keo 3, Federal 0. Total 1,903. CHURCH INTEGRATION . . . The churches have had much to say about the integration issue. Recently a Negro student at the University of North Carolina was accepted as a member of the prev iously all white Olin T.. Brinkley Baptist Church. Several years ago, we understand a' Baptist Church near Hickory accepted a Negro member. . % • - UNWED MOTHERS . . . Despite all the talk in the General As sembly over bills dealing with un wed mothers, we do not think that any of the proposals will have any appreciable effect on the birth of illegitimate children. The Luckless Legion | by Irwin CapUa Ik. bmln SoMy W*« 'weu, rHants a switch for you.'* Driver error wee responsible for 15% of the motor vehicle accident casualties in 1958.