EDITORIALS, FEATURES ; . .
of orange county
THE NEWS—THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 1962 SEC II, PAGE 1
More income by itself
may not help farmers
Efficient v and not production, logically continues as
the primary objective for agriculture in Orange County.
Ibis is clearly seen in the report for 1961 rendered
last week by County Farm Agent Don S. Matheson. It
would be simple and nice just to boast of the accomplish
ments bv farmers in the Land of Orange last year. Simply
cite some glowing statistics and let it go a*t that.
Agricultural inconte goals have l>een exceeded in re
cent years, and may well be outstripped again before
the new five-year program is up. An 8.6 per cent in
crease was included in the estimated $7.6 million realized
by Orange County farmers during 1961.
But this is not the full picture. The age-old High
Cost of Living makes achievement'of higher gross income
goals easier than they might be. But too often higher
prices are accompanied by still higher expenses, and this,
in a nutshell is the problem plaguing farmers universally.
The year 1961 in Orange County saw an upswing in
money from important commodities such as tobacco, beef
cattle, and vegetables (a 2o per cent increase in the lat
ter, though it’s yet a modest $65,000 total). But 1961 also
saw every independent broiler grower in Orange put
out of business, victim of falling prices in the industry.
Milk prices also dipped and hog production was down.
It is clearly pointed up in the county agent’s report
that farming is big business in Orange, that it is going
to be a bigger business, and should be a better business.
But the key to the situation will clearly lie not only in
-=gre®teF-ineome^Hbratdn greater g^CCTcy^MJlncoine/ ^"
Another step yet due
in industrial growth
North Carolina set an all-time high in 1961 for new
industry, according to an announcement mailed out to
the newspapers of the state last month by the Governor’s
office.
This press release quoted Governor Terry Sanford as
reporting that “Our state established a new record for
investments in new plants,” and that new and expanded
industries invested “well over a quarter of a billion dol
lars in new plants.”
Comparing this recora to i960 figures provided in the
release, it is interesting to note that the growth in new
industry for the .-first year of the Sanford administration
topped that of i960 by the “industry governor,” the now
L'. S. Secretary of Commerce Luther Hodges.
Well, Governor Sanford has a right to be proud of the
Old North State for its great industrial expansion in
1961. He points out that this growth created 3.5,000 new
jobs for Tar Heel workers.
One thing not shown ...
On thing not shown in these figures, though, is how
much of the new industry was from without North Caro
lina, and how much was “home-grown.” A fine thing it is
for 35.000 new jobs to be created. It must be remem
Cfje J^etos! of (Grange Count?
Published Every Thursday By
THE NEWS INCORPORATED
Hillsboro, N. C. Chapel Hill, N. C.
Box 647 Box 749
Telephone 968-4444, Chapel Hill; 4191 Hillsboro
Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at
Hillsboro, North Carolina, under the Act df
March 3, 1879
EDWIN J. HAMLIN .Publisher
roland GXDuzr:TT:T:;;.... Editor
Hillsboro Office _— ———-N. Churton St
-■ Chapel Hill Office __— 311 E. Main St., Carfboro
- SUBSCRf^TIOM bates $2.50, m> yur,
$1.75, six mo. (Iraida N. C.); $3.00, on* y**r, outside N. C.
1
Values and values..
-Walt Partymiller, York Gazette * L)gih
bered, though, that some employer is making a profit on
the yearly salary, he pays each of these 55.000 workers.
(At least he had better make a profit on them if he ex
perts to continue in business.)
In too many cases this industrialist is a non-Tar Heel
—an out-of-state firm that: has been attracted to set up a
plant in North Carolina. The profits are going out of
state. North Carolina is pleased to have new jobs, but
this is only one side of the coin.
As noted by Sam Ragan of the News and Observer,
and the Wake Forest College Professor he cites in the
reprint below', North Carolina is still subject to the
grievous fault of luring outside capital and industry and
exporting the profits to other regions. “. . . The profits
seldom stay in the Souh but go back into the pockets
of the North.”
Too much going out. . .
Far too much food and fiber grown in North Caro
lina. is yet dripped to- the north and midwest foT process
ing. And while this is going on Tar Heel industry
hunters still make junkets to those states for the purpose
of wooing these plants to expand in North Carolina.
The next logical step of the Hodges-Sanford industrial
juggernaut must he to free this state from its “economic
bondage to other regions,” as the Raleigh newspaper
editor has phrased it. If North Carolina is such a good
place for investment of capital from other states, it ought
to be thr-t much better for the building of home state
industry by home folks.
Why can't Tar Heels
build North Carolina
(By Sam Ragan in The News and Observer)
• In last Sunday’s News and Observer Dr. David L. Smiley of
.Wake Forest College wrote about another persistent Southern
illusion—“The New South.”
In the article he pointed to one of the grievous faults of our
economy, a fault still practiced and preached. That fault is in
the luring of outside capital and industry and the exporting of
profits to other regions.
We have been putting all our effort into attracting business
and industry, too. and profits seldom stay in the South but go
back into the pockets of the North.
In North Carolina little effort has been made to develop our
own industry. The practices of the Hodges administration to
dash hither and yon in search of industry from other places
have been continued by the Sanford administration. If we are to
accept the contentions of Dr. Smiley and there seems to be no
good reason why we should not, this practice offers no real
solution to our economic problems, In fact, they tend to main
tain our economic bondage to other regions.
There is wealth in the South. There is capital for investment.
Hut where does Southern capital go? It goes to industry' in
- other parts of the country. A look at the stocks and bonds he’d
and bought daily by North Carolinians will show that a majority
of Tar Heels are not ihvesting in native developed industry but
in industry elsewhere.
There is no reason why North Carolinians cannot build in
North Carolina. Our State government should take ’a look at
what it is doing, and move away from the myth to the reality.
This lesson is seen
What remains in the Chapel Hill controversy over lo
cation of Duke Power Co.’s new Morgan Creek high ten
(Editorials continued on Page 2) • /
Newsman's Note Dad . . *
'Escaoe valve'
■ t
prime example
of bad faith
in Pearsall plan
TUESDAY MORNING — (Ran
dom reaction'to the news in the
rnoring paper). . ."Local Sehool
Disapproved For Pearsall Plan
Grants.”
The "inspector” tor the State
Department of Public Instruc
tion is making a recommenda
tion against, approving the Twad
dell Private School in Durham
tor state-paid tuition grants
under the Pearsall Plan.
And the story goes on to give
the inspector's reasons tor dis
approval. It-<would disqualify the
application of Caryboro jeweler
Reece Birmingham for the grant
as a result of .his daughter's
being assigned to a public school
attended by children of another
race in Carrboro.
The reason given for disap
proval is that the school does
not have a full six-hour day for
its pupils. (Albeit the school
cerator offered to remedy this
variance from accreditation re
quirement, be it necessary for
her situation or not.)
But the real key to the whole
deal is several paragraphs down
in the story. Mrs. Vera C.
Twaddell, operator of the school
tells a reporter “The state said
they didn’t think anyone would
make application for the money
(tuition grants). They don’t
have the money and if they give
it to Mr. Birmingham everyone
in Orange County could get it.”
f -So there’s the real truth,
smokescreen removed.
And the truth is that what was
sold so vigorously to the voter*
in the t9S6 Pearsall Plan referen
dum as an “escape valve” is in
truth an outright lie and was
never intended as a matter of
good faith.
He's seeking his fee
instead of the truth
. . . Well, now, that lawyer
certainly hasn’t helped his cli
ents.—That is. the Rhode Island
attorney, William Grande who
stormed down* fo Ta¥ Heelia to
check up on prison brutality
charged by two N. C. escapees^
that Rhode Island is holding.
After looking over' 'three other
state prison camps Monday he
was urged by the N. C. Prisons
Director to go and inspect the
prison camps from which his
clients escaped. "I'm not inter
ested in Jackson or Ashe,” the
lawyer declared, referring to
the camps his clients lied.
„■ That, to this reader, is a right
telling slip-up which pretty ef
fectively says “I’m not interested
in the, truth.” The lawyer, (who
violated the rules of the inspec
tion tour to which he agreed) is
obviously interested only in veri
fying the reckless charges made
by his clients, two felons who
are trying to thwart justice and,
use official Rhode Island to
keep from having to serve out
prison sentences in North Caro
lina.
GOP charge in expose
is sheer opportunism
Here’s a little item relating
to the lead story on page one—
the firing of the State Highway
commission engineer for irregu
larities in the purchases of road
sign materials.
It seems the State Chairman,
William Cobb believes this ex
(See NOTEPAD, Page *)