CARTERET COUNTY NEWS-TIMES
Ctrtenl Coumty'i Ntwiptpw
EDITORIALS TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 1954
New Highway Means New Opportunity
i . ?
Many of the people in Newport are
probably not happy about the state's
final word on the highway going around
the town. And it's unfortunate that
things don't work out in this world to
suit everybody. However, we can't help
but feel that Newport will not lose, but
gain through the move.
The biggest complaint, as far as we
can determine, is that the new highway
will lure business away from the pres
ent business section. That seems to be
a short-sighted view of the situation.
The Newport trading area is tremen
dous. Centered in a rich farming area
and near Cherry Point as Newport is,
a new highway will serve as a key to
open the door to MORE business for the
Newport section.
It isn't as though the proposed new
route will lie miles away from Newport.
It's almost a stone's throw from the
present highway. A service station or
beer-selling place will probably be built
along it, but the Newport business sec
tion as it is now will remain the heart
of the town.
Folks who want to buy groceries or
gas will still go there. The better high
way won't lure them away from New
port any more than the present high
way 70 does.
It's ironical that larger towns are
PLEADING for by-passes and little
towns cry out against by-p^sses. It's all
a case of evolution and the gears of
time not meshing.
We recently made a trftj upstate and
were most put out when the main high
way route directed us through the
MIDDLE of town instead of on an un
cluttered side route. People living in
small towns located on a through route
may have some reason for thinking that
tourists or travelers are going to Btop
on their way through and spend 10, 20
or even $100 but we have yet to hear
what the reason is.
A traveler going from Beaufort to
Durham sets out for Durham. His rote -
thought is to get to his destination. Un
less he has hours to dilly-dally away,
he's not going to stop in Smithfield, for
Why the Fast Exit?
Most of our folks need training in
audience etiquette. Whether it's a movie
or stage play, their most unforgivable
sin is jumping up and running out be
fore the last scene ends.
The few people who want to see a
show to the bitter (or pleasant) end
usually have to stand or else have their
view obscured by people popping up
and tearing out of the theatre as though
the Old Nick himself were after them.
For folks who usually take things
calmly and seldom move fast for any
thing (except maybe to get out of the
rain) we are stumped when it comes to
trying to explain this phenomena of a
fast exit.
< Maybe the men don't care for the
traditional man-gets-girl clinch in the
final scene. Maybe both men and
women don't want to see Jeff and Rita
ride off into the sunset. We don't know.
We do know that their rushing out is
most irksome to folks who want to
squeeze every penny's-worth out of
their admission price. Furthermore, it's
downright discourteous to leave a thea
tre or auditorium when a play still has
a few minutes to run. Even if the play
is no good, the cast deserves at least
one curtain call.
We don't recommend putting glue on
the seats. But we do suggest that peo
ple be a bit more considerate of other
folks around them, and, in the case of
a stage play, indicate their appreciation
by staying AT THE VERY LEAST un
til the curtain closes.
i
example, and wander around spending
money. Nor is he going to stop in More
head City or Newport He's going to
Durham and that's that.
We believe that people in a small
town like to have a main highway run
ning through the middle because it
makes them think they're a busy place.
They look at all the cars whizzing by
and feel important. Psychologically, it's
probably a wonderful thing. From the
cash register viewpoint, the cars whizz
ing by don't mean a thing.
? We would be interested in seeing a
survey made of a small town, about the
size of Newport and located on a main
highway. If accurate facts could be ob
tained, they would show that the major
part of the business comes from people
living within 15 and 20 miles of the
town and NOT from the people passing
through.
Right now the traffic problem on
highway 70 through Newport is far
from ideal. People wanting to go into
stores along highway 70 have to be
doubly cautious in parking and pulling
out; the school is located right by the
highway and everyone lives in dread of
the day when some youngster, in spite
of all precautions, may get struck by a
car; the trees along the highway are
terrible hazards ? one caused the death
of a state highway patrolman not many
years ago (we don't blame some folks
for not wanting the trees removed,
they're a fence to keep automobiles
from climbing up on front porches) . All
things considered, we believe Newport
residents should be thankful that
they're getting a by-pass.
It means an EXPANSION of the busi
ness section. Wouldn't Beaufort be
happy if another block could be opened
up to the south of it so that business
places could be located there? Beau
fort is bottled up on Front street. New
port doesn't have waterways in its "ex
pansion." potential ? it can spread out
in almost any direction.
We're willing to bet that in just a
few years Newport, growing as it is,
would be clamoring for a by-pass. The
State Highway Commission, experi
enced in this sort of thing, happens to
be able to see a little more clearly into
the future.
We believe that the new highway
will benefit the town and hope that the
Newport folks will view it, before long,
in a more kindly light.
Farewell, Dobbin
This is the shed-a-tear-for-a-passing
era department:
After 65 years at the same hitching
post, the Saddlery Manufacturers Asso
ciation has given up and disbanded. Its
membership had dwindled to 17 firms,
but even more important, annual busi
ness of its members had shrunk from
$60 million in 1910 to $3 million last
year.
Dobbin also got a rude jolt from an
other front. In Lansing, Michigan, the
State Agricultural Commission an
nounced its intention to quit putting up
prize money for county fair horse-pull
ing contests.
These popular exhibitions, which pit
team against straining team to see
which can pull the most the farthest,
are "nothing but entertainment now,"
the commissioners said. "Our prize
money must go to further the Interests
of agriculture, and it doesn't look like
horse-pulling contests do that any
more."
Meanwhile, one of the nation's oldest
glove makers closed in Milwaukee with
the comment, "Making 'gloves is a
horse-and-buggy business."
i
Carteret County News-Times
WINNER OF NATIONAL EDITORIAL ASSOCIATION AND NORTH CAROLINA
PRESS ASSOCIATION AWARDS
A Merger of The Beaufort New? (Est. 18X2) and The Twin City Timei (Est IBM)
Published Tuesdays tad Fridayi by the Carteret Publishing Company, Inc.
BOi Are Udell St, Morehead City. N. C.
LOCKWOOD PHILLIPS ? PUBLISHER
ELEANORS DEAR PHILLIPS ? ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
RUTH L PEELING ? EDITOR
Mail Rataa: la Carteret County and adjoining counties. $6M mm year, $3 50 all month*.
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Member of Associated Preaa ? Greater Weeklies ? N. C. Press Assodattoa
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printed tt this nwpner, as well aa all AP news i
latter at Mars** dty, N. C, Under Act of Marsh S. 10A
T
THFCHtRAMAN'S CHANCE
- * i Zl, ? i k ? 1
Today's Birthday
DESI ARNAZ, born March 2, 1917
as Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y dc
Acha, 3rd, in Santiago, Cuba, son
oi me city s
mayor. Musi
cian, actor and
TV producer,
he teams with
wife Lucille
Bali in televi
sion's popular
"I Love Lucy."
One - time fea
tured vocalist
with Xavier Cu
Kdi& uaiiu, ne later lormcd own
orchestra. Desi and Lucille first
started their domestic comedy ser
ies in October 1951 and are co
producers of the filmed show.
Poetic Musings
(It has always been a rule of
THE NEWS-TIMES not to publish
poetry. This rule was put into ef
fect because everyone at some time
during his life believes he is a
poet. Rather than hurt folks' feel
ings by rejecting their works, we
felt it better to publish no poetry
at all.
However, we are going to relax
the ban. We will consider for pub
lication poems submitted to us, but
reserve the right to reject any or
all. ? The Editor).
THE WILD SEA
By Linda Kay Salter, Beaufort
Age 12
High in the air
Went the salt spray
High in the air
I watched it today
Up on the shore
Softly it ran
Up on the shore
Across the white sand
Now swiftly now swiftly
It hits the gray rocks
Laughingly, cunningly,
Loudly it mocks
Oh, how I wonder
That it could be
That man ever thought
He could tame the wild sea.
Author of the Week
Louis Kronenberger is the author
of another book, "Company Man
ners: A Cultural Inquiry Into
American Life." Moat of the obser
vations in it arise from the fielda
with which the author haa long
been Identified.
He haa been Time magazine dra
ma critic since 1938; he teaches
the theater arts at Brandeia Uni
versity and Engliah at the College
of the City of New York. He haa
just adapted Jean Anouilh s "Col
ombo" for Broadway.
He haa edited and written sever
al other hooka, mostly so the sub
ject of the theater, two chapters
from the new work appeared orig
inally la The Americas Scholar
magazine A husband aaj ? father
fcOBsatafas Uvea talMrVerfc
Ruth Peeling
National Guard Unit
May Be in Town's Future
I was surprised to note in the
report of the Conservation Board
meeting at Raleigh in January that
the "National Guard unit in More
head City" had asked the commer
cial fisheries committee for a lease
on one of the buildings at the sec
tion base for use as an armory.
It's logical that one of the build
ings could be used for an armory
but what amazed me was that the
story inferred there was a National
Guard unit in Morehead City.
I checked with two of the men
who had been members of the
guard unit here a couple years ago.
Lonnie Dill and Ben Alford, and
Ben said that evidently the request
must have come from the higher
ups in the Guard, with a vjew per
haps to re-establishing a National
Guard unit here. One unit is func
tioning in Beaufort now.
Regardless who requested the
lease. Ben Douglas, director of the
C&D board, was told to go ahead
and issue it.
Final decision on whether to sell
off all of the section base build
ings except two is expected to be
made at the C&D board meeting
March 22-27 at Wilmington.
I'm all in favor of a school for
the fellows who are given a red
flag to wave on construction jobs
along highways.
A motorist sees a man ahead of
him with a red flag. His reaction
of course is to slow down. Then
comes the problem of deciding
whether the fellow is trying to stop
traffic or wave it on.
The gestures used by flagmen
range all the way from a desultory
wafting of the flag to the flapping
of it as though it were a baton.
Some will wave it back and forth
when they want you to stop and
others wave it back and forth when
they want you to go on. Regard
less what they want, 1 inevitably
do the opposite.
I've read quite a few highway
rules as to what different shaped
signs mean, what you should do
when about to make a turn, but I
have yet to see flag-waving signals
defined.
Judging the various ways men
wave the red flags, their methods
defy defining. That's why I'm in
favor of a set of rules on flag wav
ing and a relay of the meaning of
flag signals to the motorist.
It never ceases to amaze me what
some of our oldsters come up with
once in a while. It makes us re
member that many of them were
once young and their memories
aren't as dim as we may think.
This came from .a grand "young
woman" who is 80 years old:
"When a Chinaman first saw a
trolley car not pulled by horses,
he declared, 'No pushee, no pullee,
goes like hellee all samee.'"
From the Bookshelf
By \V. G. ROGERS
THE HORSEMAN ON THE
ROOF, by Jean Giono, translated
from French by Jonathan Griffin
(Knopf).
All across the Midi, in Orange,
Aix, Avignon, Nimes, cholera mor
bus strikes vilely. Just at this time
of the great plague of 1838, An
gelo. hero of this novel, sets out to
cross Provence to his native Italy.
He would like to help free his
land from Australia, but on this
grisly trip be will have no leisure
to think of that. He travels through
a Provence turned into a pest
house. Bodies rot in highways, at
tract swarms of birds worse than
harpies, pollute air and water. You
constantly fear for Angelo aa he
runs all the risks yet keeps on
evading the expected penalty. His
experiences become so real you
step as warily as he through a hor
ribly stricken countryside. You
understand superstitious peasants
who hear of a dog that talks, a
shower of toads, a snake which,
pulled from a child's ear and cut
up with a meat chopper, tries "Ave
Maria."
This is a different kind of novel
? and in this day when almost
everything has been tried, differ
ence is a distinction. Giono takes
a sort of very parfit gentle knight
and confronts him with the deadli
est enemy, the spirillum eholerae,
the cholera bug. Against this ter
rifying foe, pistol, sword and brav
ery avail nothing, though Angelo is
armed with all three.
There are stark emotions, a va
riety of fantastic characters and a
stink of pestilence. Of it all, and
yet above It, we see Angelo, bear
ing a charmed life, hia innocence
and goodness set off dramatically
against the grim and hideous rav
ages of the plague. The jacket cor
rectly notes a Stendhalian quality
about this book by aa author whom
we best remember perhaps (or bis
"The Baker's Wife."
THE PINAL HOUM. Jm
Hnani Carnao, traaalated (M
SpaaJah by Aathsay Kenigaa.
(Kaapf).
( The saa is down, sad lights an
on in the apartments, streets and
squares of Madrid as this novel
opens; and it is almost sunrise as
the story comes grimly to a close.
In these few hours Manolo meets
his friend Amalia. and Carmen goes
to dinner and to dance hall and
bar with Angel Aguado ? for as
Carmen's mother reminds her when
Angel telephones: "Don't forget
that we have to pay the rent to
morrow." In these few hours in the
clubs and bars, along the walks,
under the forbidding shadows of
park trees, night creatures stir and
waken, scurry about to pick up food
and find furtive embraces.
El Condenas tells how, surpris
ing his wife with another man, he
stabbed her with a kitchen knife.
El Gomas spies on a couple making
love on a bench and swipes the
fellow's hat. which he can sell for
a few pennies. There is a scheme
to steal supplies from a construc
tion job while the watchman is en
tertained by a girl. In the end poor
Angel, to whom love is a wretched
ness and an anguish, gets together
with Carmen and Manolo for the
settlement of problems they never
can settle.
Angel says in one place: "The
length of time the human race haa
lasted weighs on some men;" and
Carlos, Carmen's lost love, once
told her: "The human race haa
been on earth too long." It's the
point of view of this Spanish
writer, or at least of his queer
creatures Carreno turns over the
stone, his sorry people crawl out,
run here and there; they are not
evil, not good perhaps, yet they
definitely are expendable. But I'm
glad they survived until 1 read
their book.
"Poetry," the magazine of vers*
founded by Harriet Monro* some
40 years ago. will be printed and
distributed henceforth bjr the Uni
versity of Chicago Press. This
magaiine with Ita illustrious his
tory will continue to appear under
the editorship of Karl Shapiro and
the Modera Poetry Association, of
which Mrs Elton Bordan Stev
?aaon is prwidaat
| ? . - 1 :? ' ,
In the Good Old Days
THIRTY TWO YEARS AGO
The State Highway Commission
had decided to build two roada into
Carteret County. One leading to
Beaufort and the other to More
head City.
Mr. F R. See ley was presented a
loving cup by the members of his
Sunday School class and the Young
Men's Christian Club.
Beaufort was now receiving elec
tric current in the daytime so the
Sea Breeie theatre would give
matinee performances every Satur
day afternoon.
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO
W. C. Matthews and O. G. Ed
wards of Spring Hope had pur
chased the Morehead City Drug
Store. The store would be under
the management of Mr. Matthews.
S. W. Davis and Brothers, whole
sale fish dealers, had moved into
the Charles Hancock building on
Front street, Beaufort.
Mr. R. A. Cherry of Morehead
City had purchased the Charles
Hotel in that city for $12,500.
TEN YEARS AGO
The Red Cr?M Roll (Ml itirM
March 1 and wta to i willil
through the month.
Beaufort Boy Scouta had a father
son banquet in the Ann Street
Methodist Church Sunday School
noma.
Beaufort Jaycees honored tM(
president, Walter Morria, who waa
leaving to join the army.
FIVE YEARS AGO
Lipman's Department Store hi
Beaufort waa aerioualy damaged by
fire. Fire departments from More
head City, Cherry Point and New
Bern assisted Beaufort firemen in
confining the blaze to that building.
The Little Theatre presented
Joan of Lorraine in the auditorium
of the Morehead City Recreation
Center.
D. E. Taylor, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Maltby Taylor of Sea Level, had
purchased the .137-room Palm
Beach Biltmore for about $2 mil
lion.
Long-Eared Owl Gets Rid
Of Ravenous Rats, Mice
It is unfortunate that this 16
inch owl with a 42-inch wingspread
resembles superficially its close
relative, the great-horned owl, that
has a length of 23 inches and a
wingspread of 52 inches. In spite
of the fact that the gieat horned
owl may feed heavily on rabbits
and on rats and mice that feed on
agricultural crops, hunters gen
erally kill the bird because it does
take game birds and mammals now
and then and sometimes domestic
Long-Eared Owl
poultry. The food record of the
long-eared owl is such that there to
little excuse for its being killed.
The food of the long-eared owl is
overwhelmingly mice and rat* and
similar harmful, small mammals.
The long-eared owl is about the
same size as the short-eared owl
and each is slightly shorter than
the 21-inch crow. While the short
eared owl commonly seeks its food
of mice during the daytime, the
long-eared more commonly feeds
at night. Both are friends of the
farmer and for that matter of all
of us.
Aside from the difference in size
between the long-eared and the
great-horned owls, the long-eared
seems to be streaked lengthwise
while the great-horned seems to be
barred crosswise. Both may (how
conspicuous ears at times. The
long-eared owl weighs only about
11 ounces while the great-horned
owl may weigh to 3 4 pounds.
The long-eared owl breeds from
central British Columbia to New
foundland and south to California,
Texas and Virginia. It winters from
southern Canada to Florida and
central Mexico so it may be found
at some time of the year anywhere
in the United States in suitable
country. Given a choice this owl
favors evergreen forests but In mi
gration It may be seen almost any
where.
The nest of this owl is usually
found from 1 to 30 feet up in an
evergreen tree and frequently is a
remodelled nest of a crow or heron.
The three to seven eggs afe white
and smooth. They measure 1* by
14 Inches and are laid on alter
nate days. Incubation begins, im
mediately so it is possible by the
Captain H?nry
Sou'easter
Quo Vadis is having aa many
"last runs" in the county aa Pader
e wild had farewell concerts.
T.' T. Tom Potter, that eternal
optimist, arrived at the playoff
basketball game Saturday night at
7:48. There wasn't a seat to be
had. While he made a big fuss
about It, Big Tom happily stood up
throughout the proceedings.
Spectators began arriving at the
gym about 6 o'clock. At 8:30 a
queue had already formed Big
city folks get to be what's known
as "blase." They are too, too
something to get excited about any
thing. Hence they miss moat of
the fun io life.
Not so the folks around hare.
They throw themaelvea, heart and
soul, into everything that's going
on football, basketball, fishing,
loll.
time the last egg hatches the young
owl must compete for food with a
brother or sister who ia two weeka
older.
This probably means starvation
{or the youngster unless food is so
abundant that the older brothers
and sisters just cannot eat alt
brought to them. It may be seen
from this that the more mice and
rats an area may have, the more of
these owls are likely to be pro
duced and the greater is the need
for these birds. This story is oM
of the most interesting things
find in nature illustrating how
numbers lake care of themselvan
if man will only give nature a
chance. Fortunately, these owla
are protected in moat parts of tlM
country.
The National Wildlife Federa
tion recognizes as one of its obli
gations the development of an in
formed public that will be ration*}
in its relations with wildlife. Thera
are those who seek the protection
of this owl for sentimental reasons,
but this kind of support should not
be necessary to any sensible person
who recognizes the destructive ca
pacity of rata and mice.
Washington
Washington? Way back in 1929
wives of new members of the 99th
Congress organized a club to keep
each other company while their
husbands were busy politicking on
Capitol Hill.
New clubs have been formed
with each new Congreaa. Organ
izer for all has been Mrs. Albert E.
Carter, whose husband, now prac
ticing law in Washington, served in
Congress 20 years.
"We came here from California,
and I didn't know a soul," Mrs.
Carter explains. "I found other
wives in the same boat ? some
so lonesome they were even talk
ing about going home. We met
once a month, shared our prob
lems, went sightseeing together
snd became good friends. It realty
got to be quite a thing."
Mrs. Fred Vinson, wife of the
late chief justice and long-tin*
Democratic member of Congress,
from Kentucky, was also one of
the organizers. Mrs. Walter
George, wife of the Democratic
senator from Georgia, now dean
of the upper house, was another.
With Mrs. Carter's help, they
formed the Senior Congress Club.
Mrs. Vinson was the club'l
first president She wss follewed
by Mrs. Carter Glass, widow of the
Democratic senator from Virginia
whom President Roosevelt called
"The Unreconstructed Rebel." Mrs.
Dolly Curtis Gann, sister of form
er Vice President Charles Curtis,
was president until her death last
yesr, when Mrs. Maurice II. Thatch
er took over. Mrs. Thatcher's hu?
band was a member of Congress
from Kentucky snd later governor
of Panama.
Mrs. Carter is the new president
Vice presidents include Mrs. Burton
K. Wheeler, wife of the former
Democratic senator from Montana,
and MrkClsrance Cannon (D.-Mo.)
and Mrs. August H. Andrcsen (R.
Minn.), whose husbsnds are still
members of the House. Other offi
cers Include Mrs. Tom Connolly,
wife of the former Democratic
senator from 1>exas; Mrs. Charles
L. McNsry, widow of the Repub
lican senator from Oregon; Mr*.
Jesse P. Wolcott, wife of the Re
publican congressman from Michi
gan, and Mrs. William E. Hess,
wife of the Republicsn congress
man from Ohio.
First meeting of the organisa
tion will be a luncheon for bono*
ary members, to which Mil
Eisenhower, Mrs. Richard Nixon,
Mrs.' Karl whrren, wife of the
chief justice; Mrs. Woodrow Wit
son, widow of the former Presi
dent, and Mrs Harry Tmsssn, Mrs. .
? E. Laurence Palmsr
Jane Eads