I CARTERET COUNTY NEWS-TIMES
|| Carteret County'* N?w?p*p?r
EDITORIALS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1954
i r m
He Founded Industrial America
February as a month is unique. From
the viewpoint of both quality and
quantity it has given America a dis
proportionately high share of her great
est sons. Although our shortest month,
no other can lay claim to having given
us so many with so much ? George
Washington, Father of our Country;
Abraham Lincoln, Saviour of our
Union; and Thomas A. Edison, God
father of our leadership in science and
industry who was born Feb. 11, 1847.
Sufficient years have passed so that
a proper appraisal may be made of
Edison, who served his country so well
with his 1,097 patented inventions and
epoch-making research techniques.
,The United States has been molded
into the greatest nation on the earth by
two types of men, each providing di
vergent but equally essential leader
ship. There are the men like Washing
ton, Jefferson and Lincoln whose in
spired military and political leadership
have formed the framework of freedom
upon which has been built a mighty
nation. And there are the builders,
chief among them Edison, whose minds,
sparked with the genius of invention,
ignited into being an industrial empire.
Just as the measure of a man is in his
achievements, the measure of a nation
is in its industrial development and
progress. A nation does not become
great because of high ideals, freedom
and justice alone. Our ideals and our
industries, providing mass-produced
goods for domestic use and exporta
tion, for peace and war, have made the
United States a top world power.
The growth of America has parallel
ed and been the result of her technolog
ical evolution. Our* ability to build and
operate machines has made possible
a vast production resulting in making
more jobs available and a high level of
living. A nation's magnitude and wealth
are dependent on the volume of its
manufactured products.
America's master builder has been
Thomas Alva Edison. To him more than
any other man belongs this honor. He,
<1 lore than any other single individual,
may be regarded as the Father of In
dustrial America.
Edison's discovery of the basic prin
ciples of the science of electronics made
possible an "age of miracles," and be
got the giant electronics industry. He
found that an independent wire or
plate, placed between the legs of the
filament of an incandescent lamp, act
ed as a valve to control the flow of cur
rent. He patented an invention using
this principle the same year of his dis
covery, 1883 ? the forerunner of the
modern electronic tube and what sci
ence now knows as transistors.
Eight years earlier, in 1875, Edison
had discovered a strange and unique
manifestation of electricity which he
called "etheric force." This phenome
non was later recognized to be due to
electric waves in free space ? the
foundation of wireless, radio and tele
vision.
The phonograph, motion pictures,
the microphone and the carbon tele
phone transmitter are numbered among
Edison's great inventions, but it is the
incandescent electric light to which his
name is most often linked in popular
thought. This year marks the diamond
anniversary of its invention. The first
practical light made history on Oct. 21,
1879 by completing a burning test that
had lasted 40 hours. This invention, to
gether with the systems he designed
for the generation, distribution, regu
lation and measurement of electric
current, made possible the age of elec
tricity.
Perhaps of even higher rank than
any of his accomplishments listed
above, is Edison's revolutionary method
of invention. He has been called the
Father of Organized Research. This
experimental technique is the corner
stone of American industry today, and
leads to the vast majority of modern
inventions.
This month, when we honor the
statesmen who cast the mold of Ameri
ca, we must not forget Edison, her
master builder.
The Prophet Appears
Last Tuesday was Groundhog Day.
Groundhog looked at his calendar
and said, "Hmm, Feb. 2. I must bestir
myself and look out my front door be
cause the human beans expect me to
tell them whether or not to keep on
wearing their long drawers."
So he ambled to his front door,
shoved some dried leaves and grass
aside. - He stepped out on the frosty
ground, wiggled his whiskers in the
crispy air, cocked his head, saw his
shadow and said to himself as he re
turned to bed, "Good, six more weeks
of winter."
On a nearby hill sat a human bean.
He saw Groundhog look at his shadow.
Then he rushed back into town, scram
bled into his house and put on his long
drawers.
Groundhog has the better idea. Just
go back to bed.
Salute to Boy Scout Leaders
One of America's far-reaching organ
izations, the Boy Scouts of America, is
marking its 44th birthday this week.
At this notable milestone we find the
Boy Scout movement at its peak in
membership.
Today 2,440,000 boys are enjoying
the "game of Scouting" in its three dis
tinct programs, Cub Scouting, Boy
Scouting and Exploring, each appealing
to boys of various age levels.
We seldom stop to think that this
great work is made possible largely
through the active sponsorship of the
church, the school and other commun
ity institutions. But perhapp even more
significant is the fact thfet some 860,000
adults share their time as volunteer
leaders with the boyhood of America.
Theirs is a devoted service. A large
number have served many years.
Boy Scout Week this year has been
dedicated to honoring the Cubmasters,
the Scoutmasters and the Explorer Ad
visors ? the men who bring Scouting
directly to the boys.
To them has been entrusted the care
and guidance of our boys and young
men. It is their influence upon the
Scouts of today that help mold these
boys and young men into better citizens
and better proponents of the American
way of life.
These unselfish men who give leader
ship in Scouting are performing an out
standing act of citizenship. Our nation
owes them much.
Are We 'Over-Extending'?
We've been wondering for a long
time why the word "extension" is not
dropped in giving addresses of persons
who' live along the east ends of Front
and Ann streets in Beaufort.
Most of those houses now have num
bers. For example, 1505 Ann St. is sim
ply 1505 Ann. What's the need of hitch
ing "extended" on the end of it? For
the houses at the far eastern part of
Front which are not yet numbered, "ex
tended" tacked on to "Front" has a rea
son for being. It lets a person know that
the house is beyond the numbered
section.
In telephone directories or lists of
addresses of other types, we say let's
use the house number and the street
and get rid of this superflouous "ex
tended" business.
Carteret County Newt-Times
WINNER OF NATIONAL EDITORIAL ASSOCIATION AND NORTH CAROLINA
PRESS ASSOCIATION AWARDS
A Merger of The Beaufort Newt (Eit. 1912) and Tbe Twin City Times (Est. 1836)
Published Tuesdays and Fridays by tbe Carteret Publishing Company, lac.
504 ArrodeH St.. Morehead City, N. C.
LOCKWOOD PHILLIPS ? PUBLISHER
ELEANORE DEAR PHILLIPS - ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
RUTH L. PEELING ? EDITOR
Mall Rates: In Carteret County and adjoining counties, *8.00 one year, $3.50 six months,
I1.2S one month, elsewhere <T.0> one year, HOP six months, 11.80 one month.
Member of Associated Pram ? Greater Weeklies ? N. C. Press Association
National Editorial Association ? Audit Bureau of Circulations
The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to uae for republication of local news
printed In thM newspaper, as well as all AP news diepotcboe.
Entered as See? d Clan Matter at Merebesd City. M. C? Under Ad at March l UTB.
^ ^ ? i i
r
WHAT DO WE HAVE AGAINST IHt WPS?
?araRWS. ? -
Your Income Tax
Experts Answer Questions
(Last of Six Articles)
By FRANK O'BRIEN
Washington ? (AP) ? The Rev
enue Service has been keeping
track of questions most frequently
asked by income tax payers. A
number of these have been ans
wered in earlier articles in this
series. Here are answers to some
of the other leaders:
1. What is my tax position when
1 sell my home?
If you lose money you are out
that much. It is not a deductible
loss.
If you make money you pay taxes
on the difference between what
the house cost you plus permanent
improvements (like a new bath
room) and what you get for it, ex
cept:
You do not pay any tax if,
within a year before or after the
sale, you buy and occupy a new
home which costs an amount equal
to or more than what you got for
the old.
If the costs of the new home is
less than the sale price, you
pay taxes on the part of your sale
profit you did not reinvest. (If
you sold for $15,000, making $5,000
Jane Eads
Washington
Washington ? Ezra Taft Ben
son, secretary of agriculture, has
one of the most closcly knit fam
ilies in Washington officialdom. It
includes wife and mother, 4 daugh
ters and 2 sons. They are all Mor
mons from Utah.
Home for the holidays was
the eldest daughter, brunette Bar
bara, 19. She's a sophomore maj
oring in home economics at Brig
ham Young University at Provo,
Utah.
The family was in communi
cation with the two sons as is
their weekly custom. Army Chap
lain Reed Benson, the eldest, re
mained at San Antonio, Tex., "to
cheer up his men." Mark Benson
and his young wife were in Cal
ifornia where he is doing graduate
work in business and public re
lations, and where they are ex
pecting a baby.
"It will be our first grandchild,"
Mrs. Benson told me.
The three younger daughters,
Beverly, 17, also brunette, and
blonde Bonnie, 13, and Bess, 9, all
attend public school here. Barbara
has a fine soprano voice. She had
her own TV program in Salt Lakt
City. She is also t member of
the famed University Madrigal
Singers, who will come east on a
roncert tour in the spring. Like
her brothers and sisters Beverly
and Bess, she plays the piano and
is an accomplished dancer.
"Beverly also loves to sing and
hopes to take voice lessons later,"
her mother said. "8he designs
and makes clothes including coats
and their linings. She's also a
good cook and paints well In addi
tion to making the honor roll at
high school, where she's a junior."
Bonnie is the sports lover of the
family and is fond ol ice skating.
"I think . 1 have the most won
derful husband and family in the
world," Mrs. Benson said. "We
have everything we want in each
other. Material things haven't
meant a thing in our lives. We
have a home evening once a week
with a program and refreshments
and each of ua participating. W#
play together, sing together and
talk over all our problems togeth
er. The children are familiar
with their father's Job, the family
budgeting, my homeaaking plana
and each other's problems, hopes,
and happinesses.
"We (? to what parties we can
tuck la."
profit, and bought for $13,000 you
pay on $2,000.)
If you build rather than buy a
home ready-built, you have
18 months instead of a year to re
invest tax free.
All this applies to your home,
not to rental or business property.
2. Can a working mother de
duct costs of maid, baby sitter, or
sending hcl* child to nursery
school?
No. Congress is considering giv
ing relief, but it will not apply
to 1953 taxes.
3. Are pensions and retirement
pay taxable?
Yes, except:
You don't pay on social securi
ty benefits.
Veterans' benefits for sickness
or injury resulting from active ser
vice arc not taxable. (But taxes
are due on retirement pay based
on age).
You don't pay a tax on the part
of your pension (or othen annuity)
that you contributed ? that is, the
amount you paid into the plan ov
er the years. You can pay taxes
on only 3 per cent of your pension
until you have charged off all
you put into it.
4. What kinds of taxes are de
ductible?
Nonfederal income, personal
property and real estate taxes (ex
cept what you pay for improve
ments like paving assessments);
nonfederal retail sales taxes if they
are passed on to the consumer and
stated separately on the bill. Gas
oline taxes of some states, for in
stance, arc deductible. Others are
not. Federal gasoline taxes never
arc dcductiblc. Auto license costs
arc.
You may not dcduct for hunting
or dog licenses, auto inspection
tees, water taxes or taxes paid by
you tor another person.
5. What taxes do members of
the armed services pay?
They pay taxes on base pay, spe
cial duty pay, longevity pay, re
enlistment bonus and retirement
pay, exccpt:
Enlisted men are not taxed on
pay for service in active combat
zones or while hospitalized from
combat. Officers get combat pay ex
emption up to $200 a month.
Those stationed overseas have
until June 15 to file returns but
pay ?interest from March 15 on
what they owe.
Unpaid taxes of men who die in
combat or from combat injuries
or sickness are forgiven.
6. Are repairs to business prop
erty deductible? ?
Yes, but repairs are not improve
ments. The court ruling is
repairs keep property "in ordinar
ily efficient operating condition."
7. How do I figure depreciation
on a rented dwelling?
It's best to get expert advice
on this, but depreciation usually
is figured on the expected useful
life of the building ? usually 40
years.
8. Are scholarships, fellowships
and the like taxable incomc?
You pay if you did something to
get it ? like entering a contcst
or doing special research to qual
ify. You do not pay if its is a
free gift to you just because some
one thinks you merit it.
Smile a While
A canny Scot was engaged in an
argument with the conductor on
what the fare should be. Finally,
the disgruntled conductor picked
up the Scot's suitcase and tossed it
off the train just as the train was
crossing a bridge. It landed with
a splash.
"Hoot mon," screamed Sandy.
"First ye try to rob me and now
you have drowned me boy."
MMMnmm?MKY 1954
^BOY SCOUTS OF AMI RICA
OOcUl B*y Stoat Wnfe Mot
I
Ruth P?eling
Credit for a Successful
March of Dimes is Yours
I'm going to try to put into
words how thrilled and pleased I
am with the way all of you re
sponded to the March of Dimes ap
peal of the Business and Profes
sional Women's Club.
Last August while I was still in
Tallahassee 1 received a letter
Irom Florence Beam, president of
the club, saying that I was to be
chairman of the March of Dimes in
January. 1 wasn't asked if I would
be, 1 was told!
About the first of December I
began to stew about it. 1 looked
at the mountain of literature that
had boon ciumpod in my lap,
studied the deposit slips from pre
vious years that showed where
money in previous campaigns came
from, and finally took the plunge.
I lined up events to be sponsor
ed with the advice of Mrs. Beam,
Mrs. (khrmann Holland who is
head of the Carteret County Chap
tor for Infantile Paralysis, and the
members of the B&PW Club who
sponsored events last year. At a
committee meeting the whole busi
ness was plopped in the hands of
club members who had been made
committee chairmen.
Believe it or not, my work was
done. All I had to do was sit back
and do the worrying. The commit
tee chairmen, the community chair
men in every nook and cranny of
the county and the countless num
ber of people who lent a hand when
we asked them ? to them and to
all of you who gave, goes the credit
for making this year's March of
Dimes the most successful ever
sponsored in the county.
When folks said to me, "You'll
never make $6,000. there just isn't
that much money around," I laugh
ed at them and said, "Sure we
will." When only Florence, treas
urer for the campaign, was around
to hear, 1 expressed a different
opinion! Yet somehow I felt that
you'd all do at least as well as you
did last year.
To mention by name everyone
who performed superbly in this
campaign would mean listing at
least 300 persons. As for contri
butions. we welcomed everything,
from the thin dime to the fat
check.
During the Block of Dimes in
Beaufort, an old colored man came
up and very carefully handed me
a shiny dime. To me, that lone
dime that came from his frayed
pocket symbolizes the spirit in
which everyone cooperated.
I'm especially proud of the
school children and the residents
of our Negro communities. The
youngsters (with your help) came
through with more money than we
dreamed possible. The Negro civic
organizations who planned special
events to raise money, the folks in
Negro neighborhoods who stuffed
money in the coin collectors ? all
of them deserve very special com
mendation. For the large collec
tions in the rural areas, much cre
dit goes to members of the Home
Demonstration Clubs. Mothers
March solicitors braved the cold to
make door-to-door visits. Beaufort
and Morehead City willingly gave
their parking meters as collection
boxes.
The churches, Sunday Schools,
lodges and other civic organiza
tions who supported the drive dis
played the spirit of sharing their
own good fortune to help others.
All signs point to eventual con
quest of polio. I am confident that
soon there will be a vaccine that
will be used to prevent polio as
now there are vaccines to prevent
other diseases such as small pox
and diphtheria.
Every person who has con
tributed to the March of Dimes can
say when the announcement comes
that polio is no longer a scourge
on the earth, "If it hadn't been for
me, infantile paralysis would still
be taking its toll." And they may
say that proudly, for it's the truth.
In the Good Old Days
THIRTY TWO YEARS ACiO
There was a possibility that Car
teret County might have two good
roads whieh would conncet with
the State Highway system.
County commencement exercises
would be held in March. This
would be the first time the county
schools had held these exercises
since lWlb*.
Dr. C. S. Maxwell was elected to
the Beaufort board of commission
ers to replace Commissioner Gard
ner who had resigned.
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO
Beaufort town commissioners
made a change in the fire district
on the east side of Turner St., to
permit D. M. Denoyer and Rich
ard Chadwick to erect buildings
there which did not comply with
the State fire laws.
Beaufort town commissioners
awarded the contract for 30 pairs
Author of the Week
By W. G. Roger*
Grace Carstens, author of
"Born a Yankee," writes in this
first novel about the Cape Cod
country, where she has spent
many summer months, and writes
too, perhaps, about Cape Cod
people as she has known them or
as she has imagined them A na
tive of Orange, N. J.. she lives
in East Orange. She is married.
of rubber boots lor firemen to I.
N. Moore.
W. P. Smith was advertising a
clearance sale. Men's suits with
two pair of pants were selling at
$22 50, ladies' dresses. $4 and $5
and men's shoes, $2.95.
TEN YEARS AOO
Fire destroyed the roof of th?
Walter Moore house on Ann street,
Beaufort.
Shelby Jean Wiley, 6, died of
burns received when her par
ents' apartment at the renovated
County Home on the New Bern
road burned.
The Rev. L. D. Dayman of At
lantic had been transferred to
Whiteville.
FIVE YEARS AGO
County commissioners approved
a request for an assistant county
farm agent.
The County Board of Education
recommended the leasing of the
Beaufort ball park to the Beaufort
Athletic Association.
Highland Hark residents in Beau
fort were reminded that they could
have mail delivery service if they
would placc mail boxes on their
houses.
Today's Birthday
RONALD <01. MAN. born Feb. 9,
MM, in Richmond, Surrey, Eng
land, son of a silk importer. Thii
iamous acior i
made his stage 1
debut in l.on- '
don, 1914, then 1
came to the
New York stage
in 1920. First
Hollywood film
(1923) was
"The White Sis
ter." Served in
British Army
during World War I and was dee
orated for bravery Won Academy
Award in 1947 for "A Double
Life."
Captain Henry
Sou'easter
Marshall Ayscue. the ABC offi
cer, docs have his troubles. Most
of these contraptions that are used
to cook garbage for hogs are steam
rigs. The garbage is cooked by
shooting hot steam through it.
Marshall was riding around the
county not so long (go and he saw
one of those garbage cookers.
He scratchcd his head and said,
"This does it. Now they're even
putting their stills right out in the
front yard." Later Dr. Paden, the
veterinarian, explained to him that
the* garbage "distilling" busineM
wai on the level.
Marshall still isn't sura. He
thinks maybe tbey run Um nfash
through at nigM.
Arfi ati
From what I can gather those
who live by politics don't know
whether to support Scott or Len
non for Senator. The statement
most common among them is: I'm
going to vote for Lennon bat Scott
will win. That kind of talk could
very easily put the county In the
Scott ramp. Nobody's told me yet
how Judge Hamilton feeja about
the former Governor, but, as my
friend Captain John Nelson once
told me: "Politics makes some
very strange Ded fellows."
Piggy Potter's bought the old
Dey house from Mrs. Edmund
Jones I bear. Op tag to Mar K down
and use the lliepatf as a busioav
?it*.
J -A ??! i A ?i _ . . t.l