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PAUL DICKSON PubiiAer-Editor
SAM C. MORRIS General Manner
MRS. PAUL DICKSON Society Editor
MARTY VEGA Reporter
Second Class Postage at Raeford, N.C.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1975
Well Done, Mr. Douglas
To err on the side of freedom. That was the risk William O.
Douglas was always ready to take. As the prevailing winds on the
United States Supreme Court shifted several times during his 36 -
year tenure - the longest in history - he went his own bold,
dissenting, controversial way.
There is no doubt that President Ford, the man who once tried
to impeach him, was right in his acknowledgement to the retiring
Associate Justice that "future generations of citizens will continue
to benefit from your firm devotion to the fundamental rights of
individual freedom and privacy under the Constitution." Indeed,
the Douglas influence has been long evident, sometimes in
unpredictable ways - such as when a Douglas dissenting opinion
against the use of illegally obtained evidence led to a state court's
deciding to exclude such evidence, thus overruling its own prior
decision which the Supreme Court majority had upheld.
With the spirit of a mountain climber who had overcome physical
adversity before, Mr. Douglas clung to his judicial responsibilities as
long as he could under his present illness. Then as his wife put it, his
regard for the court prompted his withdrawal when he became
convinced he could not work full - time at it. It was a statesmanlike
response, too, to the growing concern of others' about the
effectiveness of the nation's court of last resort when the public
perceives the capacities of one of its members to be impaired.
President Ford's challenge now is to nominate a replacement
worthy to sit in Justice Douglas's seat - not that he or she must
share Douglas's interpretation of the Constitution but rather his
fierce and professionally brilliant defense of and dedication to it.
Ideological assumptions about candidates often have to be
modified once they become justices. Even the Nixon legacy of four
appointments - the closest thing to a bloc on the bench - is not a
monolith of conservatism, though it is seen to support something of
a pro - business trend, for example, and a tendency toward restraint
in opting to let lower civilrights decisions stand.
One of the latter was in Boston's courtordered school busing
case. Now that a Pasadena, California, busing case has been
accepted, the replacement for Justice Douglas might be casting a
crucial vote. Even with the dissenting Douglas, along with two other
justices, the court has just refused to hear two wire - tapping cases
raising the privacy issues close to Douglas's heart. Capital
punishment, "reverse discrimination," and racial discrimination by
private schools are other matters on which the Douglas absence -
and replacement - could have specific impact.
But nothing was more important to Douglas than the American
heritage of free speech, an underlying protection of other liberties
to which we hope his successor will be equally sensitive. Only the
"extreme case of peril from the speech itself" could inhibit this
freedom, he said.
"The First Amendment is couched in absolute terms - freedom of
speech shall not be abridged," he wrote in one of his dissents.
"Speech has therefore a preferred position as contrasted to some
other civil rights ... There is room for regulation of the ways and
means of invading privacy. No such leeway is granted the invasion
of the right of free speech..."
?The Christian Science Monitor
Browsing in the
of The News-Journal
25 years ago
Thand*;, November 16, 1950
A group of 12 Hoke county men
went to Fayetteville yesterday for
induction into the Army brining to
20 the number of men from this
county who have been called to
active military duty through the
draft since it became active again.
Last Thursday morning Frank
Blue, colored, 10-year-old son of
John Robert Blue, who lives on the
Lentz farm was hit by a gravel
truck from Cumberland County
and killed.
H.L. Gatlin, Jr., chairman of the
merchant's committee of the Rae
ford Chamber of Commerce, an
nounced yesterday that arrange
ments had reached the stage where
it could be definitely announced
that Main Street at least of Raeford
would be lighted for Christmas this
year.
The lone-awaited Bookmobile of
the Hoke County Library will start
a regular schedule of county visits
next week.
? ? ?
At the morning worship service
at Antioch Presbyterian Church
next Sunday, November 19, chimes
will be presented for dedication to
the church.
Funeral services were conducted
yesterday morning for Dougald
Alexander McFadyen at Cypress
Presbyterian Church.
1 5 years ago
Thursday, November 17, 1960
The resignation of Angus F.
Currie was the chief item of
discussion at the monthly meeting
of the town board here Monday
evening.
Undaunted Raeford, only six
point shy of a conference cham
pionship unleashed one of their few
passes of the year and blitz Krieged
their way to a 20-14 victory over the
Wilson Cyclones here last Friday
night with less than a minute and
half remaining in the game.
Tragedy struck the home of Joe
and Louise Scott of Antioch town
ship Friday night when their young
son, Billy Ray Scott, was killed
instantly from the discharge of a
shotgun which he had been
handling for his brother.
'Fooey, this is going to fly just like an old one dollar bill'
t d
by Marty Vega
Free Enterprise Failing
The subject of this week's
column is the free enterprise system
in America. Pay attention. There
will be a quiz later.
We have an abundance of
stealth. 1 mean wealth, and a man
can go into any business he wishes
under our system of free enterprise.
Think of all the things we enjoy
today that we didn't have years ago.
Like TV Guides, free checking,
electric backscratchers. Think of
all the home conveniences we have.
Now you can easily hire someone
to cut your grass. You can hire
someone to shovel snow off your
walk. You can pay someone who
will deliver your newspaper. But
why can't you find someone who
you can pay to start your car every
morning and get the heater on?
You can put an ad in the
classified for HELP WANTED:
Man to warm car. Good pay. and
what will happen? Nothing.
You see. the trouble with people
these days is nobody wants to work,
people are just getting lazy and you
can't find someone to perform a
simple service anymore that is very
much needed.
I can't understand this attitude
of laziness, it seems to me there
would be some enterprising young
persons, maybe high school stu
dents, who could earn a lot of extra
money and it would be good
healthy, exercise too, to go from
house to house in the brisk morning
air, doing this chore. They could
bill people by the month, like
Cablevision, right?
The other part of this lesson
deals with products, not services.
The doghouse industry is big
business, you can go anywhere and
buy a doghouse for your dog in any
size, color. They sell them every
where.
But what if you want a little
house for your kittycat? Some
where, they do make such little
houses for felines, but just try to
find one when you want it!
You can call every store in town,
including the catalog section, and
say "Do you sellor, you might
say. "I'm interested in a ....?, or,
"Where can 1 find a andypu
will get nowhere at ail.
So it seems clear there are some
very basic problems here that need
to be resolved, through Congres
sional action, if necessary .
Puppy Creek
Philospher
Dear editor:
Some people are always lambast
ing the school system, saying it's
not meeting the demands of mod
ern times, there are too many
drop-outs, too many absentees,
that kids can finish high school
without being able to pass a test in
reading, writing or arithmatic.
Well. I just read an article about
how one big city school - Dallas.
Texas, to be exact - is solving the
problem and heading off such
criticism.
It has abolished exams for most
kids.
That's right. It has a rule that if
a student is not absent more than 3
days in a quarter he doesn't have to
take that quarter's final exam.
Gaze out the window if you want to
but answer present to the roll call.
Anyway, it's an invasion of privacy
to try to find out if a kid can read or
write.
This seems to be the answer on
how to attain universal education.
Thus I suppose if a kid will go
through grammar school and high
school without missing more than 3
days every quarter, he gets a
diploma unexamined. If he'll make
the same record 4 years in college,
he gets a Bachelor's degree. Go
another year and he has an M.A.
degree. Stay in there 3 more years
and he has a Ph. D.
So to reach the pinnacle in
education all he has to do is stay
healthy and not play hookey,
provided his cross-town bus doesn't
break down more than 3 days in a
quarter, although I can't believe
the Supreme Court would rule a
person un-educated just because
his bus had a blown gasket 4 days
in a row back in the eighth grade.
In this connection. I read that an
industrial leader in Japan has
complained that his country is
turning out so many educated
people that they are "bogging down
the country's decision-making
process with their suggestions."He
said Japan's colleges nave increased
from SO during World War II to
1,000 now, and everybody is so
informed everybody has his own
answer to every problem, plus
thinking up new ones, and nobody
can decide which is right.
If Japan will adopt this new
system, it won't have that problem.
Yours faithfully,
J.A.
CLIFF BLUE ? ? ?
People & Issues
WE CHOOSE AMERICA --
From our friend, Dr. Leo Jenkins,
Chancellor of East Carolina Uni
versity at Greenville we received a
very interesting little red, white and
blue book ?? "We Choose America"
which is a special ECU publication
and dedicated to the Nation's 200th
birthday.
In his "Foreword" Dr. Jenkins
said, in part: "Many outstanding
individuals had a hand in the
preparation of this publication.
Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist
Eugene Payne did the series of
remarkable drawings which illus
trate the text. Professor Thomas A.
Williams, of our Department of
Foreign Languages and Literature
and Editor of Era Press, researched
and wrote the text. Dr. Kenneth R.
Whiting, a highly respected U.S.
Government expert on Russian
affairs, generously reviewed the
final manuscript. We are especially
indebted to Mr. A.J. Fletcher of
Raleigh who through his love for
America and his dedication to
public services provided invaluable
spiritual and material support for
this project."
Without hesitation we recommend
this little book which can easily be
read in less than an hour to the men
who gather at the service stations
and meeting places as well as to
those who dine in style and fashion
in the most elegant homes. And, it
could be a "must" reading in our
grammar and high schools
throughout the state as well as in
our colleges and universities ? yes,
even at Chapel Hill where a
communist is said to sometimes
roam the streets and campus.
JIMMY CARTER -- It is
reported that former Governor
Jimmy Carter of Georgia will enter
the presidential primary in North
Carolina which will be held in
March, 1976, which will tend to
divide the anti-Wallace vote in the
state. Carter, by the way, seems to
be moving up among the Demo
cratic contenders for the presi
dential nomination, and more par
ticularly so in regard to the vice
presidential nomination. His entry
into the North Carolina race will
hinder rather than help Terry
Sanford who has been right much
on the move in his home state in
recent days.
REVENUE SHARING -- While
county commissioners and town
commissioners have their hands out
for revenue sharing funds, we feel
that the communities throughout
the nation are in a much better
shape. I hope, to provide necessary
services and projects than poor old
debt-ridden Uncle Sam, who, if he
keeps on could find himself in
somewhat the same shape as New
York City!
NEW YORK CITY -- Lots of
people are concerned about New
York City, probably more so than
many of the New Yorkers who are
still riding high and looking for a
continued hand-out!
DEFAULT & BANKRUPTCY -
Talk about New York City de
faulting or going bankrupt. Hun
dreds of towns and counties
throughout North Carolina and the
nation "defaulted" back in the
days of the "Great Depression" of
the 1930's. Thousands of Tar Heels
and millions of American citizens
have defaulted. "Default" means
unable to pay a debt on time. It
doesn't mean the debt will never be
paid. For a city to "default" if
something to be concerned about,
but not something to go wild about.
And about bankruptcy. Busines
ses over the country go bankrupt i
every day. New York City is in fact
already bankrupt but has not been
officially so declared.
OHERRON -- Ed OHerron,
unannounced candidate for the
Democratic nomination for Gover
nor in North Carolina admitted last
week that he had contributed to the
Nixon re-election fund in 1972. It
was also reported that he had
contributed to the Jesse Helms
fund. The question is: How much if
any will his contributions to Nixon
and Helms help or hurt in
O'Herron's gubernatorial candi
dacy.
A check with the 1972 election
returns would indicate that it might
not have much, if any effect.
George McGovern, the Democratic
candidate for president received
only 434,705 votes in North Caro
lina to 1,054.889 for Richard Nixon
and 25,018 for John G. Schmitz,
the American Party candidate.
With Nixon receiving considerable
more than double the votes received
by McGovern it must be granted
that about half of the Nixon votes
came from registered Democrats as
the Democrats greatly out-number
registered Republicans in North
Carolina.
Report
To The
People
by Senator Robert Morgan
The investigation being con
ducted by the Select Committee on
Intelligence on which I serve is, in
my opinion, one of the most
important presently underway in
the Congress. In addition to
inquiring into possible unethical
and illegal activities of the in
telligence agencies, the Committee
has spent numerous hours ex
amining more than 100 witnesses in
an effort to get to the bottom of
allegations that the United States
was involved in plots to assassinate
leaders of several foreign govern
ments. The Committee has finished
the major portion of its assas
sination investigation and will issue
an interim report in the very near
future.
Because of the extremely sensi
tive nature of much of the work of
our intelligence agencies, the Com
mittee voted to conduct that
portion of its investigation dealing
with assassinations behind closed
doors in executive session and to
afterwards issue its report detailing
the facts revealed in those hearings
and to make public its recom
mendations and conclusions.
The decision to make public the
report on our country's involvement
in assassinations was a very diffi
cult one. It was necessary to weigh
the public's right to know about the
actions of its government with the
public's right to be secure. The
Committee and agencies involved
have gone to great lengths to insure
that extremely sensitive matters,
which could have an adverse effect
on the security of our country and
safety of some individuals, have not
been inadvertently revealed in the
report.
While I have voted to conduct
some aspects of the investigation in
executive session in the interest of
national security, I feel that the
only way the record can now be set
straight as to our involvement in
assassinations is to publish our
findings and make them available
for all to read. This is necessary
because already reports of alleged
assassination plots have been
broadly circulated and printed.
The report will confirm some prior
public allegations and will disprove
others, and by making it public,
many unfounded rumors will be
finally laid to rest. It is my hope
that the report will clear the air, to
the end that our intelligence
agencies can get back to their
assigned tasks.
I feel that we, as a nation, can
take great pride in our ability to
closely examine our own conduct
and to look at errors we may have
committed in the past with the view
towards strengthening our ideals
and country.
It is my hope that those who read
and review the Committee's interim
report will share that view and
recognize that in time of continuing
world tension our need for strong
intelligence agencies is apparent.
In addition to investigating the
assassination issue, the Committee
has examined the intelligence
gathering activities of the Internal
Revenue Service, the opening of
mail by the CIA. and alleged
improper activities of the FBI,
among other things. The Com
mittee will continue to hold public
hearings when there is no danger of
compromising the effectiveness of
our intelligence agencies, with
hearings on the FBI scheduled to
begin soon.
This Is
The Law
What ts the Statute of Frauds?
The Statute of Frauds is a law
requiring certain types of contracts
to be in writing. Each state has its
own Statute of Frauds. For the
most part, these statutes are literal
copies of the English Statute of
Frauds, which is enacted by
Parliment in 1677, during the reign
of Charles II.
There is a great temptation on
the part of a dishonest person to
manufacture testimony to support
his claim after time has dimmed his
memory and that of the other
party. In England at one time there
was a great deal of false testimony
concerning certain contracts. The
members of Parliament felt that if
these particular contracts were
required to be in writing that much
of the fraud by perjury could be
eliminated. That is why the statute
became known as the "Statute of
Frauds."
What contracts are required to
be in writing under the Statute of
Frauds?
Broadly speaking, the only con
tracts required to be in writing in
North Carolina under the so-called
"Statute of Frauds" are contracts
concerning an interest in land and
contracts of suretyship.
North Carolina has enacted
fewer of the provisions of the
English Statute of Frauds than any
of the other States.
What types of land contracts
must be in writing in North
Carolina?
_ All deeds, executory contracts to
execute deeds, mortgages on land,
and easements must be in writing.
Certain types of express trusts
relating to land must also be in
writing.
All mining leases of whatever
duration must be in writing.
All other types of leases of real
property exceeding in duration
three years from the making
thereof must be in writing.
?oUJr/o.