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NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
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NNA SUSTAINING
MEMBER - 1973
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RRES S
ASSOCIATION
Published Fvery Thursday at Raeford, N.C. 28376
119 W. Elwood Avenue
Subscription Rates In Advance
Per Year - $5,00 6 Months - $2.75 3 Months - $1.50
PAUL DICKSON Publi*er-Editor
SAM C. MORRIS General Manager
MRS. PAUL DICKSON Society Editor
MARTY VEGA Reporter
Second Class Postage at Raeford, N.C.
Ford's Hard Line
President Ford is playing good politics when he refuses to help
New York City avert a financial default. His bankruptcy plan will
find many supporters in Congress and across the nation, especially
in nonurban areas, who like the idea of teaching New York a lesson.
The President, it must be said in his favor, is being true to his
convictions. No doubt he is genuinely concerned about fiscal
integrity in government. But is his plan the most constructive
course?
There is certainly no justification for the profligacy and fiscal
mismanagement practiced by New York down through the years.
Nor is it the responsibility of the federal government to relieve the
city of all the anguish and pain it must endure to put its financial
dealings on a sound basis. But punishment for punishment's sake is
not a constructive approach to the problem.
A matter of risk is involved here. Why take a chance on a
bankruptcy by the nation's largest city at the very time that the
national economy is registering some encouraging signs of growth?
It is possible of course that a bankruptcy would have nowhere near
the calamitous impact, nationally or internationally, that many
forecast. Undoubtedly some of the dire prognostications are scare
talk. Since New York's troubles came to a head a number of
communities and states have managed to sell low-interest bond
issues, although communities with marginal credit worthiness are
having a harder time.
In any event, President Ford's comment that New Yorkers would
suffer only "temporary inconveniences" from a default seems a
failure to define the magnitude of the problem honestly.
A sounder and more humane approach, in our view, is being
taken by the Senate Banking Committee under the chairmanship of
William Proxmire. The committee is not trying to "bail out" New
York or give away money to poor fiscal managers. It would simply
provide a $4 billion loan guarantee to enable the city to borrow
money.
In return - and this is the important point - New York would be
placed under the fiscal control of the federal government. A
three-member federal board would have power to lay off city
workers, end rent control, and take any other steps deemed
necessary. Pension reforms and a restructuring of the city debt
would also be required.
Such a program appears to answer Mr. Ford's charges that a
federal loan guarantee would reduce rather than increase the
prospects of the city putting its fiscal affairs in order. The Senate
committee's proposals are so stern, in fact, that many New Yorkers
are criticizing them. Although there now appears to be little
expectation that the Congress could override a presidential veto of
the loan-guarantee bill, it is to be hoped the committee presses
ahead with the legislation.
At the same time, the Congress will now have to tackle the Ford
proposal for changes in the federal bankruptcy laws as possibly the
only feasible alternative. Such reform would give federal courts the
authority to preside over a reorganization of New York's fiscal
affairs.
Meanwhile, another plan is under discussion that may hold some
promise. According to the New York Times, it involves the use of
municipal union pension funds to guarantee S4 billion in loans. This
plan, however, raises certain legal questions.
One thing remains clear: Whichever way is chosen to ease New
York's difficulties, the city will have no choice but to make further
cuts in spending and exercise greater financial responsibility. - The
Christian Science Monitor
Browsing in the files
of The News-Journal
25 years ago
Thursday, November 2, 1950
Speaking to a meeting of the
precinct chairman of Hoke county
at a meeting at the K & M
restaurant Tuesday, Congressman
Charles B. Deane urged each
chairman to return to his precinct
and do all that he could to get the
people to take their part in their
government and going to the polls
and voting in the general election
Tuesday.
John Cameron of Raeford, Route
3. farmer and landowner, died
Sunday night at his home as a
result of a heart attack.
Major Lee M. Kirby, Regular
Army instructor for the 130th
National Guard battalion for al
most three years, left last week for
Japan.
From Poole's Medley:
Yea." ago I went to a small town
to teach in the public school. I
asked how many people lived in this
town and a merchant reported four
hundred ? and "we all speak."
Younger Snead and Lewis Up
church, chairmen of the Boy Scout
fund drive, said yesterdav that the
response, while good, was far short
of the goal of SI.000 which had
been set.
The Hoke High Bucks played
their best and hardest game in
losing to Massey Hill High school
here last Friday night. 7-6.
15 years ago
Thursday, November 3, 1960
Neill L. McFadyen has an
nounced his resignation from the
Hoke County Board of Education
after eleven years of service.
William Lamont. Jr. United
Fund Chairman, was pleased to
report today that Hoke County had
more than surpassed its I960 goal
for worthv Charities.
'We haven't got a rope, but here's a life jacket'
?by Marty Vega
Latest Farm News
The answer to last week's
Question of the Week was barrow.
Two persons had the correct winning
answer, so in that event, we could
not award the grand prize of S500
cash. Actually, we couldn't award it
anyway, because the winning answers
were provided by Frank Jeter, Jr., of
Raleigh, who has a good job with the
state and probably doesn't need the
money, and Wendell Young, Hoke
County extension agent, who
probably is the one who started all
this trouble by sending the man into
the office to talk about swine and try
and catch me ignorant.
It didn't work, though, because it
the cost of raising February pigs is
getting so high. I told them straight,
you may have to consider growing
them in April and save two months
on feed. Farming and livestock isjusl
like anything else, if you use your
head, you have to cut your overhead,
if prices arc declining.
You take your average crops here.
Rice, artichokes, pineapples. You
might lake a loss on your rice, but
pineapples might go high that year
and you're out ahead.
(Incidentally, pineapples are
PLANTS, not trees.)
Too often we read of gloomy
reports on the small grain situation.
Don't let anyone discourage you.
Grow big grains, if you're losing
money on the small grains.
Don't fail to have adequate hail
insurance, even if you have to
borrow, which will protect you from
huge losses on the artichoke acreage
and your pineapple poundage.
You have to be resourceful. If the
Cabieviston should suddenly go off,
you don't sit and curse the darkness,
do you? You get to work with two
coat hangers and a FM antenna,
right?
So it's the same with anything else.
Refuse to give up. preserve your
dignity and self - respect always.'
Puppy Creek.
Philosopher
Dear editor:
According to an article I read in
a newspaper last Monday night in
between plays to keep from having
to listen to Howard Cosell. most
oeoole now get their news from
television.
This was stated as a confirmed
truth and 1 got to thinking about it.
Possibly it's true, considering how
uninformed most of us are about
what's going on in the world,
although that's no test: most of us
were in that shape even before
television was invented.
Now I'm not berating television
news. For example, the other
evening during the TV news 1
marveled at the fact that man has
put a satellite into orbit to bring a
live picture from Japan to Raeford
to tell us that Nancy Kissenger has
bought a shaving brush for Dr.
Kissenger. when all along I'd
thought television commercials had
persuaded everybody to use shaving
cream from a squirt can. unless of
course they'd tuned in another
network and were persuaded to use
an electric shaver. It's clear the
Kissengers don't watch much tele
vision. but that doesn't explain why
he has to keep flying back and forth
between those mid-east countries to
make sure what he found out
yesterday is still true today, which
most of the time it isn't.
But back to the notion that most
people get their misinformation. 1
mean their news, from television.
It's true they get the big news there
first, like when Patty Hearst is
captured or when the President is
fired at by a woman, whom TV first
reported was a man. But to say
people get most of their national
and international news from tele
vision 30 minutes a day, take away
5 minutes for commercials, and
most of their local news from
television another 30 minutes a
day. take away 10 minutes for
commercials and 5 more for car
wrecks, is to be uninformed on how
human nature operates.
Newspapers, which now have
more circulation in the U.S. than
ever before in history, furnish I'd
say 50 times more news than
television, and word-of-mouth
beats both, if you're on speaking
terms with your neighbors.
When the country was young it
sometimes took two months for a
speech by some Congressman in
Washington to reach the outer
parts of the nation, and sometimes
you get the feeling those were
bound to have been the good old
days.
Yours faithfully.
J.A.
CLIFF BLUE ...
People & Issues
SANFORD -- When Terrv San
ford criticizes President Ford for
the president's stand on busing and
when he criticizes the president for
his stand on the New York City
financial crisis the former North
Carolina governor is hardly adding
to his popularity in North Carolina
and in the nation as a whole. Ford's
stand on both issues appear to be
popular with people in North
Carolina and mavbe in the nation.
"TJTILITY OFFICES -- The cost
ly manner in which the offices of
the two new public utility commis
sioners have been out-fitted and
refurbished may remind many of
the manner in which former Post
master Klassen spent taxpayers
money for his office in the nation's
capital.
The two new commissioners are
Barbara A. Simpson and W. Lester
Teal. In addition to their salaries
and secretaries it is reported that
the commission also ordered
$11,233 worth of new office furni
ture and equipment for the new
commissioners. That included
51,433 to install new carpeting in
the two small offices and reception
area. According to the Raleigh
News and Observer the offices,
previously used by commission
attorneys, were already carpeted,
but that carpeting was replaced.
The new desks for commissioners
Teal and Simpson cost $760 each.
Book cases were ordered totaling
$3,160. Five lamps for them cost a
total of $255. The commission
spent a total of $35.67 for ashtrays
for the two new commissioners.
Just who is responsible for this
spending, we are not sure. The
General Assembly appropriated the
funds. The Governor is the director
of the budget. Anyway, we doubt
any elected official will be rushing
out to share the responsibility for
this most generous use of taxpayers
money when it appears that the
governor will have a hard time
meeting current expenditures au
thorized by the General Assembly.
Under the State Executive Bud
get Act adopted under the adminis
tration of the late Governor Angus
Wilton McLean, if authorized ex
penditures amount to more than
the revenue it is mandatory for the
governor who is the director of the
budget to cut salaries across the
board to bring the budget into
balance.
CAMPBELL COLLEGE -- Last
week in this column we gave space
to the outstanding stewardship
being done by PfeifTer College ? a
Methodist institution located in the
heart of the piedmont. Misen
heimer in Stanley County. This
week we want to mention another
college that is doing an outstanding
job in the eastern part of the state,
Campbell College, a Baptist insti
tution of higher learning located at
Buies Creek in Harnett County.
The occasion of our visit to this
ud and coming senior folir-vear
college was a press dinner given
Thursday night of last week.
Campbell, a fully accredited
liberal arts senior college that
meanders over 850 acres of hill and
forest in the peaceful community of
Buies Creek, a little east of the
center of North Carolina with the
vigor of a rebirth given it under the
able and energetic leadership of its
president. Dr. Norman A. WGg
gins, who in 1967 became the third
president of the college now serving
more than 2.000 students.
Established in 1887 in a orffe
room building under the name of
Buies Creek Academy by J.A.
Campbell who was its first presi
dent, the institution was trans
ferred by its founder from private
ownership to the Baptists of North
Carolina in 1925 and in 1926 the
State Baptist Convention autho
rized the advancement of the
institution to the rank of junior
college. With this the Convention
changed the name to Campbell
College in honor of its first presi
dent who died in 1934. and was
succeeded by his son, Leslie Camp
bell who served until 1967. In 1958
the college was converted to a
senior co-educational Baptist
college.
Dr. Wiggins, prominent lawyer
and Baptist layman is leading the
college onward and upward as the
institution readies itself to add law
to its majors. At the press dinner
Dr. Wiggins told of the need for
country lawyers in small towns like
Coats in Harnett County. The
academic program at Campbell is
backed by an endowment of over
$4,000,000. With a faculty-student
ration of ? to 18, the more than
2,000 student} get personal atten
tion as they pursue their studies at
Campbell College.
Report
To The
People
by Senator Robert Morgan
New York City and its problems
remain the principal topic of
debate and discussion in Wash
ington.
Officials from both the city and
the Sate of New York have visited
Washington and lobbied vigorously
for federal funds to aid the nation's
largest city, which may be forced to
default on bond payments within
the next few days. The Governor of
New York paid a personal call at
my office to plead the case for
assistance. But the weight of the
evidence, in my opinion, is against
them and I believe that the majority
in Congress feel this way.
Nobody wants to kick New York
City while she is down. No matter
what she is today, she has been a
proud pan of our history -- the
gateway where millions of im
migrants. later citizens, entered
this country to start new lives.
But the hard facts are that she
has mismanaged, overspent, and
wasted her resources and now she
must pay the price.
If she does default, there cer
tainly must be provisions made to
continue the services that will
insure the social structure doesn't
break down. Functions such as
those of the police and fire
departments must continue, and
probably the best way to do this will
be to place the city under control of
the courts.
Some changes in the bankruptcy
laws could allow a federal judge or
a court appointed trustee to pay the
salaries of policemen, firemen and
sanitation workers before meeting
obligations to creditors, in this case
the bond holders. Unless these
services are continued on a day-to
day basis the result would be crime,
large losses by fire and possible
serious health problems.
And if the city goes into
bankruptcy, it won't be the end of
the world for the people living there
or for the city itself. Other cities
have defaulted, among them our
own City of Asheville which could
not meet its debts during the
depression, but which has since
come back and is on a sound
financial footing.
New York City can come back,
also, but she will have to make
some sweeping changes. She will
have to start living on what she
takes in and start eliminating some
of the waste that has been going on.
Some of the best advice I have
seen on the New York subject was
contained in a letter I received
from a man who resides in that city.
"Don't come to the city's rescue
with federal money," he said,
"because if that happens then
nothing will change. The people
who are running New York will get
the idea that they can go on just as
they have done and there will be no
end to the problem." r
This has been my feeling and no
one yet has come forward with any
facts to cause me to change it.
This Is The Law
What is the legal responsibility of
an owner or occupant of real
property owes to a social guest in
respect to the safety of the
premises?
The owner or occupant of real
property is under no legal duty to
maintain the premises in a safe
condition tor his guest. Jhe guest
must, in general, assume the risk of
whatever he may encounter, and
look out for himself.
The guest is legally nothing more
than a mere licensee, to whom the
possessor owes no duty of inspec
tion and affirmative care to make
the premises safe for his visit.
As stated by Professor William L
Prosser in his treatise on the Law of
Torts: "The reason usually given is
that the guest understands when he
comes that he is to be placed on the
same footing as one of the family,
and must take the premises as the
occupier himself uses them, with
out any inspection or preparation
for his safety; and that he also
understands that he must take his
chances as to any defective con
ditions unknown to the occupier,
and is entitled at most to a warning
of daggers that are known."
The occupier is under an obliga
tion to disclose to the guest any
concealed dangerous conditions of
the premises of which he has
knowledge.
A social guest, no matter how
cordially he may have been invited
and urged to come, is technically a
"licensee". A "licensee" is to be
distinguished from a "business
invitee", a legal term to be
discussed in this column next week.
The term "licensee", as dis
tinguished from "invitee", is used
to describe persons who enter upon
property with nothing more than
the consent of the possessor.
The fact that a social guest in the
course of his visit gratuitously
performs incidental services, such
as picking fruit or washing dishes
does not thereby improve his legal
status.
Stories Behind Words
by William S. Penfield
Last-Ditch Effort
The old castles were more than
places to live. They were built in such
a manner that they provided
protection from marauding bands of
armies.
A castle built on the plains was
enclosed by a wall. The wall was
encircled by a moat - a broad ditch
filled with water. Attackers had to get
across the moat before they could
attack the wall.
Some castles also haden inner moat
and wall, a further | obstacle to
attackers. The inner moat, or ditch,
was the last line of defense. If the
attackers got past it and the wall, they
were in the courtyard. Hence, the
expression 'last-ditch effort" means a
final one.