Published Em; Thundaj at Raeford, N.C. 28376
1 19 W. Etwood Avenue
Subscription Rales In Adduce
Par Year - U.00 6 Month. ? $4.25 3 Month* ? $2.25
PAUL DICKSON
Publisher? Editor
SAM C. MORRIS
General Manager
? ? . Society Editor
MRS. PAUL DICKSON
MARTY VEGA
Reporter
SUZANNE APLIN
Reporter
Second Class Postage at Raeford, N.C.
THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1977
A test for the President, too
President Carter confronts Americans with one of the greatest
tests ever: to tighten their belts and reorder their way of life in order
to help lick the energy problem. But he, too, now faces a test. That is
to demonstrate that he has the political skill and goodwill to work
with Congress to push through a strong national energy program --
even if it does not parallel his own in every detail.
For it will take the closest cooperation and give and take with the
lawmakers to get a program adopted. Mr. Carter is looking to the
American people for a "supracongTessional" source of support for
what he is trying to do. That support will be essential, and the
President will need to continue exerting pressure in this direction.
But if he fails in his diplomacy with the legislators and alienates
them, the whole effort to forge an effective energy policy could be
jeopardized.
So far Mr. Carter's working relationship with Congress has not
been the best. Some disturbing questions are asked in Washington
these days. Does Mr. Carter have an adversary approach to
Congress? Does he sometimes invite a battle even when a battle is
not necessary? If so, such methods would certainly not serve the
national interest.
We would not have Mr. Carter compromise substantively on what
he thinks is the best course for the nation as a whole. We applaud
and support many of his policies. He displayed precisely the needed
leadership, for instance, in challenging the time-honored practice of
pork-barreling of water projects. He was right to subject to stern
review the many dams, canals, and other projects under
construction, to rule out those that are not economically and
environmentally justified, and to lay down stronger guidelines for
future programs.
However, Mr. Carter caused much unnecessary resentment in
Congress by the way he went about things; for instance, failing to
notify and consult senators whose projects were affected. He angered
Morris Udall and Edmund Muskie, two powerful environmental
advocates whose backing he vitally needs. Yet, in the end, Mr.
Carter restored many projects.
The President has seemed to spark gratuitous irritation on some
other issues, too, including executive appointments and the
economic executive appointments and the economic stimulus
package. Although cool to the idea of the $50 tax rebate, for
example, many Democrats in Congress went to bat for the President,
cajoling colleagues to support it in the interest of party harmony. Yet
when Mr. Carter decided to stop the idea, he did not consult with A1
Ullman of the House Ways and Means Committee, who had done so
much to promote the President's program despite his own
reservations.
Much can perhaps be forgiven the President because his
administration is still young, both in time and experience. Mr.
Carter is surely learning. Presumably he is aware of the importance
now of enlisting both Democrats and Republicans in his massive
energy drive. The other night he himself spoke of a "partnership"
with Congress.
It will be up to both - the Legislature and the President -- to make
that objective a reality, especially in an area of such overriding
importance to the nation's welfare. -- Christian Science Monitor
Browsing in the files
of The News-Journal
25 years ago
Hnmday, April 24, 1952
The Raeford Junior Chamber of
Commerce held its charter night
program Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at
the Benton Thomas Pond.
* * *
Funeral services for John Frank
McPhail, 88, who died at his home
in Hoke County last Wednesday
night, were held Friday afternoon
in the Raeford Methodist Church.
? * *
R.R. Potter, Jr., new Hoke
County farm agent, will begin his
duties here tomorrow.
* * ?
Tentative plans have been drawn
up to start a city baseball league in
Raeford this summer.
? * *
From Poole's Medley:
Think of buying two frying size
chickens for a quarter, and four
dozen eggs for a quarter.
? ? *
Included in the last of 43 projects
released last week by the State
Highway Commission was a high
way project for this county. The
Hoke project will involve construc
tion or a bridge over Raft Swamp
and elimination of dangerous
t at Antioch or Highway 211.
15 years ago
Thursday, April 26, 1962
In the sustaining gifts division of
the Moore Memorial Hospital
Building Fund, Raeford now ranks
a close second behind Southern
Pines, chairman Neil Senter report
ed this week.
? ? ?
George C. Wilson, 83, longtime
resident of Ashley Heights died
Monday at Moore Memorial Hos
pital.
? * ?
Mrs. Callie Sessoms Currie of
Raeford. Rt. 1, died Friday at the
age of 75.
? ? *
From Rockfish News:
Herman Koonce didn't say that
he would get even with me for
saying he didn't mash the dog food
cans, but now he has the German
Shepherd back and she is taking
such good care of the remaining
puppies 1 can't get to his home to
see whether he's doing things right
or not.
* ? ?
* '
Mrs. R.E. Neeley has announced
her resignation from the presidency
of the County Council of Home
Demonstration Clubs.
<
Anybody want to change places with grandpa?'
I by Martf Vtga
Idea For Petition
I
Since one thing that Raeford
lacks is citizen petitions right now,
we would like to offer a helpful
suggestion. Since you hardly ever
hear about the petitions about
anything these days, it seems like a
good idea to start one up.
c ?"r idoa is to Petition the
southern Restaurant to publish a
newsletter daily, or if that is too
much, say three times a week
giving a summary, or a digest, or
whatever, of what was said about
whom every morning by the cus
tomers.
This would certainly serve the
community and would be very
beneficial to large numbers of
people who want to get the facts
straight.
Since the Southern is a regular
a.m. hangout for the influential
and not-so-influential locals, there
is a great deal of discussion going
on down there every morning. And.
since everybody who has to work for
a living can't be there constantly
from 6 a.m. on to 9 or so, the
situation is getting serious.
PuPPy Creek
Philosopher
Dear Editor:
One of the troubles with high -
powered newspaper and television
reporters is they re too superficial,
5 l?n l 8? de?P enough into the
important news stories of the day
Cnu?nT h.\-mp,e' the Supreme
Court, but a vote of 5 to 4. has
naHHi * v0t ""constitutional to
paddle a school kid.
The wire services and the
networks reported this, along with
reports on why some members
voted for, some against.
But they left out what I wanted to
Know: How many members of the
supreme Court were paddled when
they were in school? If a member
was paddled, did it. now years
a r' re^Lect tee'f <n how he voted
?u e constitutional crisis? Did
n/nn. ^houvoted for paddling get
anH Y **** ^hoo!.
o' 4 who voted against
?cape? Or was it the other wav
around. That is. from which end
did they approach it? While of
course getting to the seat of the
problem. c
bal^EI!??" ?Ught ,0 *et on ^e
ball and give us the news we re
really interested in. like does
getting a paddling in school make a
liberal or a conservative Supreme
Court judged? H e
Some people don't think times
have changed, but they have. Years
8 kid got Padd'ed for
misbehaving in school, it went to
hit C?Urt- 4,1 ri8hl- b"t
that court wasn t located in Wash
ington. it was much closer. It was
ma^?Me' Where the kid auto
matically got another paddling for
SEP - P'dd,in? in ^hool Vou
tn ?h iS ? double i?epardy. but
to the kid it was a signal of clear
da"?CT thtt if he didn't
<^)n t "no* whether this
zsft&r ta' h wre ?
Si b."'
was. more or leu, It sure w??
quiter. Oh. occasionally an erasure
was thrown through a window, but
never a teacher.
Yours faithfully,
J. A.
I
The situation is getting so bad. in
tact, that one well-known figure
said last week that he had regular 9
a.m. briefings in his office to learn
what was said about him that
morning by a certain customer
down there.
Others who are regular fixtures
down at the restaurant, have in the
past admitted quite candidly that
they go there to keep their detract
ors from making them the topic of
conversation.
The solution seems simple. A
regular news digest that the South
ern customers, and others for a fee.
could get along with the morning
paper. 8
The mechanics of this could be
quite simple. Microphones would
be placed at each table, between
the salt shaker and the ashtray, and
3 i!"aSt?.r tape reco?"der would
collect all of the conversation. After
the breakfast rush is over and
before the lunch crowd arrives, the
tape would be played back and one
of the girls could jot down all of the
essential information and type it
Hp* Xefy ^ndy to the restaurant is
the Quik- Print plant, so the news
digest could be gotten out the same
day.
This added service would be a
real boon to the restaurant as
consumer acceptance would be very
nigh. For customers who were sick,
or had another appointment, or for
any reason skipped their morning
visit, it would be a way to keep up
on what they missed. And it would
help the non-customers, too. Es
pecially the ones who can't stand to
6 u about -- but would
probably wither up and die if they
'dn t get somebody to talk about
them.
Letter
To The
Editor
To the Editor:
The recent controversy over the
decision of the board of education
to dismiss Allen Edwards as hioh
school principal brings out several
points to the citizens of Hoke
County.
First, all elected and hired public
officials are extended a special trust
and confidence by the voters. When
these officials are in their own self
interest or that of a small group or
individual, this trust has been
violated. - In other words, these
officials should do their homework
before extending snap decisions
based on the prejudices of one
individual.
Second, when the public asks
questions, evasion is not the avenue
for these officials to take. This
being the case at the Board of
bducation meeting on April 21. I
re*]'2e that there are many cases
where certain information should
3 not be publicized, however in my
2^ ?f ^""tion
?ced 1 itself above questions from
ine ordinary citizen.
in?w!iild' th,t this
incident does not just "Blow Over".
Wemurt become more aware of the
county *nd
certainly take a more active part.
.Vhi.it?"*. Ieave our respon
sibilities at the voting booth.
G?raTd Sappenfield
309 Old Farm Rd.
)
m.TM
As I travel about the state and
listen to North Carolina people talk
about their government, I hear
them voice their concerns and
worries about many things that are
happening in Washington and at
home.
Some worry that we are losing
ground in defense and believe that
Russia is getting ahead of us
militarily. Others worry about in
flation and still others about un
employment. There seems to be a
general agreement that the govern
ment has grown too large and is
interfering too much with people's
private lives and the way they run
their businesses.
But the one thing that seems to
concern people most is the huge
deficits that are being piled up each
year and the growth of the national
debt. Many persons look to the
plight of New York City which for
months has teetered on the brink of
bankruptcy and ask if this could
happen to the national govern
ment.
Most economists think that what
is happening to New York couldn't
happen to the United States,
because of the latter's immense
taxing power and it's ability to
print money, but a continuation of
these large deficits could bankrupt
the people individually through the
loss of buying power of their
inflated dollars.
I. too, have been troubled by the
red ink that permeates Washington
and which continues to flow be
cause no one seems to know how to
put the cap back on the bottle. Last
year's record budget deficit will be
followed by another one this year,
and although the President has said
he will have the budget in balance
by 1981. there are few in Washing
ton that believe this is possible.
Report
To The
People
by Senator Robert Morgan
The President acted responsibly
in deciding to cancel his call for the
S50 tax rebate. This would have
added over S8.6 billion to the
already large deficit.
For one thing, the rebate would
most certainly have been inflation
ary. To finance it. the government
would have had to borrow the
money and the increased demand
in the money market would have
driven up interest rates, because
the money market operates on the
principle of supply and demand
just the same as coffee and wheat.
While many people would have
welcomed getting their hands on
the rebate now. inflated taxes and
prices in the future would probably
have cost them more and the effect
on unemployment would have been
minimal.
Our national debt is now more
than $600 billion and interest along
in 1976 was over 535 billion. Those ?
sobering facts should give any
thinking person cause for concern.
According to the most recent
Harris poll, a 70 per cent majority
of the people sampled feel that
taxes in this country are "unrea
sonable" and fully two-thirds say
they have "reached the breaking
point" on taxes they can afford to
pay.
A tax rebate, financed with
borrowed money could only in
crease future taxes, as we would
have to pay it back with interest.
Even the supporters of deficit
financing have to hope for a
heated-up economy to pay the
increased debt -- and that can only
mean more inflation.
Just as we are being called on to
face the energy situation. 1 think
the problem of red ink is one that
we must confront and we must not
be too long in doing it!
CUFF BLUE...
People & Issues
HEALTH CARE COSTS. ..It is
hard to think of anything that has
increased in cost percentage-wise,
more than health -care costs, which
is one place where exorbitant prices
should be guarded against.
We applaud President Carter's
proposed plan to control health
costs by placing a ceiling on
increases in hospital charges. Few
laymen can see the reason for
medical costs to rise so much faster
than run-away inflation in general!
We have long opposed socialized
health-care by government which is
creeping in on us pretty fast and
unless the cost is kept more in line
with the average run of inflation
socialized health care will follow as
night follows day.
We have just received a notice of
rate increases for Blue Cross-Blue
Shield hospital charges which is
operated on a non-profit basis and
the new rates are scheduled to
increase by approximately 27 per
cent from the last increase two
years ago.
If any costs should be held in line
it should be health-care costs, for
the pain of the poor is just as severe
and agonizing as that of the more
affluent who can provide medical
care.
COLLEGE B I LI In recent
days we have been reading and
hearing right much about the State
Board of Education. Well, any day
now. you can expect a bill to be
introduced in the North Carolina
General Assembly to create a
"State Board of Community Col
leges and Technical Institutes.
Since the passage of the legisla
tion in 1963 providing for the
comprehensive system of com
munity colleges and technical insti
tutes, these institutions have been
operated under the State Board of
Education. There are now 57 of the
institutions, forty technical insti
tutes and 17 community colleges.
The feeling among quite a few is
that a separate board could serve
the institutions better at no in
crease in cost as the division of
community colleges ot which Dr.
Ben H. Fountain heads under the
State Board of Education is suffi
ciently manned to carry on a
separate board.
HUNT & GREEN. ..It seems
that Governor Jim Hunt is not
having quite as easy sailing as he
would like in the General As
sembly.
Some people feel that Lt. Gover
nor Green is crossing up the
governor when possible. Others say
not, that lim Green is his own man
just as Hunt is.
For 18 years the writer was a
member of the General Assembly
and we have seen significant pieces
of legislation enacted into law
without due and thorough process.
This kind of roller-coaster legisla
tion ceased with the Holshouser
administration because Holshouser
was a Republican and the General
Assembly was Democratic by a
Substantial majority.
The Holshouser Administration,
being Republican, caused members
of the General Assembly not to
accept legislation just because it
was "the governor's bill." It put
steel in the back of legislators that
had not been in evidence in over 70
years. Now. even with a Democrat
governor, some of that steel is still
there and may show up from time
to time.
In the by-gone years we have
observed recommendations of the
governor for appointment to the
State Board of Education sail
through, without even going to a
committee, which in actuality was
making a farce of the Assembly's
authority and responsibility in the
matter.
Having tasted a little more
authority, some members may be a
little reluctant to give it up.
REFERENDUMS...When it
comes to referendums, people can
generally justify or oppose it by
their stand on the issue. Take
liquor-by-the-drink issue. Advo
cates would oppose a state-wide
vote because they would fear that it
would lose. They would favor local
option because they feel they could
win in many areas.
Take ERA. Opponents would
have been glad to put it to a
referendum. Proponents, fearful
that they would lose in a popular
vote, were against it.
MKPCNOCNCC HALL
Builda
great
future.
Ikke stock in America.
Buy U& Savings Bonds.