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NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
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PRES S
AS S O CI ATIOW
Published Every Thursday at Raeford, N.C. 28376
119 W. Elwood Avenue
Subscription Rates In Advance
Per Year - $5.00 6 Months - $2.75 3 Months - $150
PAUL DICKSON PuNiAer-Editor
SAM C. MORRIS General Manager
MRS. PAUL DICKSON Society Editor
MARTY VEGA Reporter
Second Class Postage at Raeford. N.C.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1975
Creating An Anticrime Climate
The FBI's latest report on crime in the United States should give
every American the deepest cause for concern. The growing
incidence of crime points to a serious strain of disorder in society and
calls for no less than a moral and spiritual arousal to the need for
healing.
The statistics are sobering. Crime rose 18 percent in 1974. It
claimed 20.000 lives and a $2.6 billion loss of property. Especially
saddening is the sharp rise in crimes committed by teen-agers:
Almost one-third of those arrested for robbery, 17 percent of those
charged with assault, and about 20 percent of those charged with
rape were under 18.
In the wake of the FBI's latest disclosures, there are bound to be
further appeals for a reexamination of the nation's system of
criminal justice. Some will want better police protection, others
tougher criminal laws, and still others reform of penal institutions.
Much will also be said about eliminating the unemployment, poor
social conditions, and racial tensions that contribute to crime.
All of this will be constructive and helpful. But. over and above
the pragmatic measures that can and should be taken to combat
crime, stands a greater imperative. It is to stir the nation out of
moral lethargy and into a perception that crime cannot be lessoned
without a rejuvenation of spiritual and moral values on the part of
society as a whole.
At its root, crime is a moral problem. It is in a general climate of
indifference to high ethical standards that the criminal thought is
given free rein. A willingness to tolerate a disobedience of rules,
however minor, demoralizes the atmosphere and gives encourage
ment to those inclined to break the law. Even such seemingly
innocuous things as taking home a box of paper clips from the office,
overestimating deductions on one's income tax, and running
through a red traffic light affect the total public consciousness.
The link of law and morality is fundamental. The very inception of
the nation and its political philosophy were rooted in the moral law
as embodied in the Decalogue and the Sermon on the Mount. Surely
those underlying moral principles have contributed to the country's
astonishing growth and progress in 200 years.
Today, can it not be seen that the disintegration of morality in
recent times -- the obsession with materialism, the sexual
permissiveness, the addiction to drugs, indecency, greed, dishonesty
in business, and so on -- have been accompanied by increased
lawlessness in the streets? That the lowering of moral standards has
destabilized families and left many young people rubberless and
confused?
The great demand of the hour is to lift the moral tone of the
nation. Encouragingly, this process of rejuvenation is already talcing
place as the scandals of Watergate have awakened moral sensitivities
to wrongdoing in government, labor unions, and corporate life.
Hardly a day goes by without some exposure of illegal conduct and a
new effort to improve laws and their enforcement. This, too. is an
aspect of these morally turbulent times.
It is thus to be hoped that Americans not give in to a feeling of
helplessness in the face of rampaging crime. They can even rise in
indignation at this bald imposition on the peace and order of their
lives. Above all. they can resolve to strengthen their own standards --
in their personal lives, in their homes, in their public conduct -- and
foster that climate that will antidote criminal instincts and help keep
them in check. -The Christian Science Monitor
Browsing in the
of The News-Journal
25 years ago
ThuruUy, November 23, 1950
Police chief H.M. Meeks has
asked The News-Journal to publish
some rules which are effective in
Raeford regarding children skat
ing. a problem which has increased
somewhat due to the recent paving
in town.
Funeral services were conducted
at the Raeford Presbyterian church
at 11 o'clock yesterday morning for
Mrs. Neill A. McDonald. Sr.. who
died early Monday of a heart attack
at the home of her son, Neill A.
McDonald, here.
From Poole's Medley:
The news of today shows that
children are being arrested and
jailed for stealing, which was
unheard of in my youth.
Open season for rabbit, quail
and wild turkeys arrives today and
many people in Hoke and elsewhere
will spend the Thanksgiving holi
day hunting.
19 more Hoke men have been
ordered to report to the Fayetteville
induction station for pre-induction
mental and physical examinations
tomorrow. Mrs. J.M. Baker, clerk
at the Hoke county draft board,
said yesterday.
Ben Hurley, local representative
of the Carolina Power and Light
company, said yesterday that the
power would be off in part of
Raeford from 1:30 to 4:00 o'clock
next Sunday afternoon.
15 years ago
Citizens throughout the State are
being urged by Governor Hodges
and officials of the Department of
Conservation and Development to
participate wholeheartedly in In
dustry Appreciation Week in North
Carolina November 28 - December
3.
The Just-A-Minute Man
Canooruat t?? on vacation
-by Marty Vaga
Call To Action Sounded
Although we don't as a rule use
this forum for editorilizing. the
events of this past weekend were so
shocking and far-reaching in ser
iousness, that we are forced to
speak out and denounce this
treachery leveled against us. For
the inalienable rights we are
granted by the Constitution, we
must still vigorously fight to guard
against any intrusion or compromise
that poses a threat to out
pursuit ot happiness, and let us
pledge our unwavering loyalty to
these principles, no matter what
the cost, in whatever terms, so that
our descendents are assured their
legacy and proper place in history
and thereby escape the unseen
enemy which seeks to destroy us.
The issue confronting us is clear,
the question is now where do you
stand?
The urgency of this cannot be
emphasized too much. Action is
needed NOW to avoid a repeat of
the dreadful event of last Sunday,
which nobody needs reminding
caused a terrible toll in unnecessary
and unneeded suffering and
anguish.
It was terrible to witness. The
first reports came over a distant
radio station some 100 miles away,
and when that awful four letter
word was first mentioned we shut
off the offending set. indignant,
but too naive to be alarmed.
Later, the curtain was drawn
back, and the awful, naked truth
was unfolded. It was bizarre, we
were like characters on a late show
science fiction feature who see a
spaceships ftom Mars land and
menacing creatures emerge, and
who are helpless in their feeble
attempts to save themselves.
And the children! It was terrible
to see the little innocents frolicking
w ith their laughter and gleeful cries
filling the air as they actually
PLAYED IN IT! The final, utter
degradation to mankind, and they
cavorted like it was a national
holiday or celebration.
Do you realize that some de
praved persons were out with
Polaroid cameras, actually taking
pictures of it? Detestable, isn't it?
Time is growing short, what
happened Sunday may only be a
w arning for us. Do you want to end
up like New York City, who became
broke because of the high costs
associated with snow?
Puppy Creek
Philospher
Dear Editor:
After thinking long and hard 1
have come to the conclusion that
the main problem with the world is
that it spends too much time trying
to solve problems for which there
aren't any solutions.
For example. Secretary ofState
Kissenger has spent the last two or
three years flying back and forth
between half a dozen countries
while we spent 150 billion dollars in
viet Nam -- which is enough money
to tide New York. Boston. Phila
delphia. Los Angeles. San Fran
cisco and several others over till at
least Christmas - and as far as I
can tell the problems he was trying
to solve are still there.
There are 142 countries in the
United Nations, and probably a lot
more out there somewhere we
haven't heard of who haven't heard
of us or the United Nations, and for
anybody to try to keep up with their
internal problems, not to mention
solve them, is like asking you to
keep up with the name and
character of every office-holder in
every county within 200 miles of
Raeford.
If Congress in Washington and
the Legislature in Raleigh would
confine their attention only to
problems capable of being solved,
their meeting time could be
reduced by about 75 per cent. It
doesn't follow that taxes would
thereby be reduced, as reducing
taxes is one of the problems that
can't be solved.
Moreover, this theory doesn't
apply just to governments. It
applies to all sorts of institutions
and categories, and here's a list of
some of the problems that can't be
solved:
College students.
Busing.
Teen agers.
Your neighbor's dog.
Television programs.
Cars.
George Wallace.
Ronald Reagan.
Ireland.
The Mid-East.
The national debt.
Family squabbles.
I'm running out of space. I
started to list the CIA and the FBI.
but there is a solution to those. As I
understand it. both outfits have
claimed they've been doing what
they've been doing because Con
gress hasn't set up any guidelines
for their conduct. Therefore Con
gress should pass a law making it
against the law for the CIA and the
FBI to break the law.
'yours faithfully.
J. A.
North Carolina, more than any
other state, has been getting short
changed for years in its federal
highway money, and as a member
of the Public Works Committee I
hope to be able to do something
about this.
We were able to make a start
recently that will result in over $4
million in federal funds to the state
than it would have received had we
not gotten a change inserted into
the Federal Highway Act which
came before the committee. But
that barely scratches the surface.
One has only to look at the
figures to understand our state's
penalty situation as far as highway
funds are concerned. The Federal
Highway Trust Fund is made up of
money that you and I pay at the
gasoline pump. Every time we buy
a gallon of gasoline for our cars,
four cents in federal tax is collected
and goes into the fund that helps
finance the construction of the
Interstate System and other high
ways on the federal network.
Last year. North Carolina moto
rists contributed, through this tax,
a total of $174.4 millions to the
Highway Trust Fund, Under the
formula used to distribute the
funds back to the states, we
received $98 million. This amounts
to about 56 cents on the dollar.
I am told this is because the
money is allocated back to the
states according to the amount of
miles needed to complete the Inter
state System.
North Carolina does not have as
many miles of Interstate Highways
as many other states because back
in the 1950's, the State Highway
CLIFF BLUE ...
People & Issues
A READER WRITES... This
column receives numerous letters
commenting on subjects mentioned.
A couple of weeks ago we wrote
about our schools, commenting on
Teacher Tenure and SAT scores.
On the subject discussed we have
received an interesting letter on the
subject from Pitt County Schools
Supt. Arthur S. Alford, which we
are happy to pass along to our
readers from Murphy to Manteo:
"Recently you wrote about
teacher tenure and SAT scores. I
wanted to share with you an
observation or two, and first on
teacher tenure:
"1. There was a need for some
orderly procedure for dealing fairly
with school teachers, for 1 have
found too often in the past this was
not the case. 1 would agree that
possibly more has been written into
GS 115-142 than was necessary to
insure fairness to school teachers.
"2. Notwithstanding some of the
technicalities and difficulties in
administering the statute, it is my
opinion that administrators who
infer that poor teachers cannot be
released from employment are
simply "copping out." It takes
work -- work at helping a teacher
become a good teacher ? with the
same efforts sufficient to document
any need to relieve a teacher of her
duties should this be the case.
? "3. The real problem lies in the
fact that too many teacher dis
missal cases go into court, and
federal court at that, rather than to
state court as is called for in the
statute. This is not to say that there
is no justice in the courts, but
rather, that it is a slow process, a
costly matter even when the school
board wins the case.
"To rectify or modify some of the
problems mentioned above 1
would:
"1. Require that the professional
review team (outside evaluators)
function in an informal manner,
rather than a court of law. Pitt
County spent over $4,000 on one
case that has not even gotten to the
courts yet.
"2. Require those persons taking
school boards to court to pay the
legal fees incurred by the boards of
education should they lose their
case. This often is the decision
rendered against the school board
should they lose, and what is fair
for the goose should be fair for the
gander. The courts then would not
be tilled with cases that should not
have gotten there.
"Now. on the SAT question. I
agree basically w ith the comments
and only want to make two points:
"1. The lack of discipline, if this
be the case, is primarily the result
of a weak principal, supported by a
weak superintendent. Discipline
can be maintained, although,
again, it takes some work.
"2. In Pitt County at least, the
strongest teaching corps ever as
sembled (1 have reference here to
all members, not just one race of
teachers) is now at work.
"My approach to an increase,
rather than a decrease, in SAT
scores is tied to the strengths')!'
character of this country, "itie
schools more than any other insti
tution reflect society. When society
is more responsible, less wasteful,
and better disciplined, then we will
find school personnel doing an even
better job. and more than anything
else students who go to school will
be there for a purpose -- eager to
learn, which unfortunately is not
the case today with many stu
dents."
LIEUT. GOVERNOR... Word
front down east in Camden County
is that former State Rep. and State
Senator George Wood is everything
but an announced candidate for the
Democratic nomination for lieuten
ant governor. Announced candi
dates thus far include E. Frank
Stephenson. Jr.. of Murfreesboro.
Waverly Akins of Fuquav-Varina.
State Rep. John Jordan of Ala
mance County. State Rep. Herbert
Hyde ot Asheville. House Speaker
Jim Green of Bladen County.
Mayor Howard Lee of Chapel Hill
is an un-announced candidate and
there are ahout a half-dozen or
more in the wings who would like to
be lieutenant governor with the
office paying a good salary along
with office help plus the spring
board it affords for a leap towards
the governor's mansion. -?
This Is The Law
Artificial Insemination
The General Assembly of North
Carolina in 1971 took a bold step
forward in the area of artificial
insemination of human beings.
A statute was enacted which
Report
To The
People
by Senator Robert Morgan
Commission acted very conserva
tively in requesting interstate mile
age. The Commission at that time
thought it would have to match
dollar for dollar federal funds on
the system and they feared over
extending the state's commitment.
It later turned out that the high
ways were built on a 90-10 basis, so
this was one case in which we were
perhaps too prudent.
But an action taken 20 years ago
shouldn't penalize us to this extent
today, and I hope that in the future
we can work some changes in this
formula. We need a better break.
However, last week working with
State Highway Administrator Billy
Rose and his staff, we were able to
get !4.5 million more in federal
funds in the 1975 Highway Act by
proposing a simple change in the
apportionment formula.
We also got an amendment
approved which will require that
the state has to concur on any
Federal Aid Urban project if the
state matching funds on that
project equal 50 percent or more.
This was something that State
Department of Transportation
officials and the professional en
gineers there said they needed in
order to spend state highway funds
to the best advantage. It seemed to
me that it was desirable.
But the longer range problem of
getting more of what we send to
Washington in gasoline taxes is the
really important thing.
We ought to be gating back
"ar |fer
more than 56 cents for qrery dollar
we send to Washington for high
ways.
renders legitimate any child burn to a
married woman as the result ol
artificial insemination with the ^
semen of some male other than her
husband. Both the husband and the
wife must in writing request and
consent to the use ol such technique.
lite sponsors of the statute in
North Carolina succeeded in a
sensitive and controversial area in
which legislators ol other states had
failed. Prior to l*'7| only Oklahoma
has passed a statute similar to the
one enacted in North Carolina.
The North Caiolina law is a
one-sentenced statute leading as
follows: "Any child m children born
as the result of heterologous artificial
insemination shall be considered at
law in all respects the same as a
naturally conceived legitimate child
of the husband and wile requesting
and consenting in writing to the use
of such technique."
The phrase "heterologousartificial
insemination" simply means taking
the semen from the third-party
donor and subsequently injecting it
through a syringe into the wife's
reproductive tract. This process is
also frequently referred to as A.I.I).
(Artificial Insemiiution. Donor).
The opposite procedure to
heterologous artificial insemination is
''homologous artificial
insemination." In this situation, the
husband's semen is taken and
injected - by the same process - into
his wife's reproductive tract. This
procedure is frequently referred to a!
A.l.H. (Artificial Insemination,
Husband). Since there have been few
difficult legal questions arising when
the husband's own semen is used
artificially to impregnate his wife,
there was enacted in North Carolina
no statute governing homologous
artificial insemination 01 A.l.ll.
The legitimation of the child
under the North Carolina law seems
to imply that the child will share in
the normal inheritance rights of his
family and that his mother's husband
will be required to support him
during his minority.
When the semen of a third person
is used, most physicians insist that all
three parties consent to the
arrangement, but the identity of the
donor is kept an absolute secret by
the doctor from even the husband
and the wife. The donor, of course,
does not know the identity of the
couple.
This secrecy is important to
protect the reputation of all three
parties, to eliminate the risk of the?
donor blackmailing the couple, as
well as the risk of the wife
transferring her affection to the
donor, and to protect the donor
from possible legal proceedings.