Forest That These Editorials Are The Opinions Of One Men, And He May Be Wrong.
It has been argued most t ,
lengthily at every level from
to the United States-“
and the attitudes and
ed are as vast and varied as —
of the desert. Very fee1, people, at
either end Of the line view the Question
in exactly the same light and such
varied* reflections will continue for
many years to come; no matter what
the decisions of the court may he on
the matter of segregation in the pub
lic schools of our nation.
This, of course, is an extremely un
happy situation and for a great'Tnany
widely different reasons. It is unhappy
to the white Southerners whose born
prejudices and practices cannot he sud
denly erased by legislation, executive
order Or Judicial sentiment.
- It Is unhappy to the negro South
erners, the ping-pong ball batted in
nocently bade and forth between the
principles of religion and the Constitu
tion and the Inherent prejudices prac
ticed In the South.
It is an unhappy situation in that
the present efforts to force the end of
segregation do not take fnto consider
ation the tremendous forward strides
that have been taken in the direction
of a better, if not ‘happier way of life
for the Southern negro. Steps that have
been taken without coercion or violence
but taken in a cooperative manner by
two proud people who have worked and
Hved together in basic harmony' for
two hundred, years.
It is an unhappy situation in that it
ignores the lessons of history which re
veal for all to see that some changes
in the field of human relations must
be evolutionary rather than revolution
ary. •
In three generations the negro of the
South has made greater forward strides
than any people in the history of man
kind. Still today the principle seats
of negro finance, culture and freedom
are in the South. ' This has been due
largely to the hardwork of the Negro
himself but it could not have happened
in a hostile atmosphere.
The only times in the history of the
relations between the negro and the
white man in which there ever loom
ed a possibility of an end to this coop
erative climate have been when outside
pressures stemming from even the loft
iest principles have attempted to ac
celerate by force this matter 61 racial
, im
SE»L
latlonshlp exists is that ...
years passing since the end
Between The States—#8
there have been NO restriction* on the
free movement of the negro, the vast
majority of the negroes still remain
where it was when the war ended.
The glories of Northern equality, of
Northern non-segregation, of North
ern love and adulation posed as they
have been beside the .“brutal, bigoted”
negro abasement In the South have
not been sufficient to materially change
the racial population patterns of the
South. True, many have migrated to
the metropolitan areas but In no great
er number and for no different reason
that the millions of white boys and
girls who have also moved in the same
migration toward the brights lights and
industrial emnlovment.
Different States of the South will take
different steps when and if the pressures
of politics force the Supreme Court into
making a ruling that It cannot enforce
In North Carolina, in spite of some
centralization, the school systems Is still
basically an organism financed and
managed at the county level. Each
county will perhaps seek the answer to
Its problem In a different direction.
It Is most unlikely that a majority of
these will move in a happier direction.
Chaos In the entire Southern public
school system is about the best that can
logically be expected to come if sep
arate but equal schools are ruled out
by the nine men on the nation’s high
est court.
This paper ffeely admits that the prin
ciple of segregation is most certainly
wrong from a Constitutional point of
view and no where In the Bible have
we been able to find any mention of a
segregated Heaven with separate but
equal facilities. And so far, as we’re
concerned we plead guilty to being vic
tim to those prejudices and practices
that we learned from the cradle up
ward.
We recognize the wrongness from a
theoretical point of view of segregation
but from every practical point of view
we also fully recognize that the South
is not yet ready to end it and very
likely will not end it, even If this prej
udicial attitude means the end of pub
lic schools In our section.
The Christmas Spirit
Each year at this time toll many an
empty sermon Is preached from the pul
pit and the editorial column, as well, on
tiie awful commercialization of the great
est of all Christian Holidays, that com
memorating the Birth of Jesus Christ.
To such' sad sermons we say, “He.”
Something more than 1600 years
passed between the birth of Christ and
this writer, so our knowledge of Christ
is secondary to say the least. The Bible
must be the only key we have to the kind
of man he was during hi* brief years In
this veil of tears.
But from our reading of the Bible
we have come to believe that Chrifct was
the kind of fellow who would get a big
ifW-k out of the celebrations we hold to
day in memory of his birthday.
If the clang of cash registers is of
fensive to the ears of some of our cur
rent Christians we doubt that it would
have been to Him. For the sound of
those little bells ringing in the cash reg
ister Is a sound of beauty and a Joy
forever, at least to the shop owners
across the land, even more they
To the best of our knowledge they do
iot have to indulge in this happy sea
son by have every opportunty to re
sire to their cloister and meditate curd
last and pray and be “happy in their
nm way.”
If we, and the vast majority, do hot
[eel that away inclined but prefer the
|oys of company, singing, brightly light
ed trees, prettily wrapped presents and
r sip at the cup that cbeereth that is
trot felt off the prayer rugs of those
who think we are wrong.
And so with this thought we extend
to each' of you the most sincere wish
for a Happy Christmas, observed to the
way that will make YOU the happiest
and not observe In the manner that
will please somebody else who quite
likely will have a far different taste and
a far different notion of just what really
tooacco
__—Lennon’s reelec
tion
petlon j
Governor
borry for Little Old Lennon. Scott, In
the past has always run as an "under
dog” but this time ha'll be running as
the “top dog” and we wonder how the
Man from Alamance will run in this
position. . .V
Of course, there’s still a chance that
there may be more monkeys trying to
climb that senatorial tree.
Short Snorts
elevation of nake Shaw to the
executive board of directors of the Am
erican Federation of Farm Bureaus is
not only a recognition of the greater
part of North Carolina is playing in na
tional farm affairs but is also a further
recognition of Flake Shaw, the Man, who
has perhaps done as much for the wel
fare of the average North Carolinian as
any single person in the history of our
state.
President Eisenhower is, indeed, living
in a “fool’s Paradise” if he thinks he
can implement his legislative program
with the scant Republican Majority he
now has in Congress. We think that
Ike will realize this, perhaps too late,
once the session begins and he will see
that he made a grave mistake in not
asking congressioal leaders from both
parties to work with him in his recent
legislative
. .
Mount OlIveAl
ingly against thesale of!
Wonder how’ many of those good and
righteous brethren who voted the bone
dry ballot have a nip or two in the
house, or out in the garage hidden from
the preacher and mama?
For once we agree with the Nuisance
& Disturber, sometimes called the News
& Observer of Raleigh, which has sug
gested after reflecting on the recent
double murder in South Carolina of *a
spooning couple and the more recent
robbery-rape case in Lenoir County that
“public petting areas” be set up under
police protection. But peculiarly enough
that’s what we already thought drive
in theatres were prtmariy buUt for.
We spend nearly as much time at drive
in theatres watching the show going on
around us as the one on the screen,
But, of course, they close after 11 and
we recognize the need of other faculties
of this nature.
"4 -T
The Port Office Department could
Easily balance Its budget by raising the
price on mailing Christmas cards One
cent. And they could even show a prof
it if they’d up the rates on all this di
rect-mall advertising that gluts up the
postman’s sack. They might even de
clare dividends If they would boost the
second class mailing rates to nerispa
JONES JOURNAL
la one of
best farmers.
•WlTjTrl^Trn .— — -r -■—--W ’ *TJ*
•for some of the things rye
column and on the radio about
For one thing he ribbed me _ „
strongly about trying to get farmers to
cut their tobacco stalks as soon as the
last priming Is off,
Herring, of course, Is as familiar with
the reason offered for this as I am.
The disease students say that catting
the stalk and turning the roots up to
the sun is one of the best ways of con
trolling nematodes. BUI Is not an ex
pert ' on tobacco diseases but he will
argue this particular point. At least
he did to me.
He says that his reason for HOT cut
ting his tobacco stalks Is based on
something taught him by his iB™"
That is the need of all land “tc
B1U says his father always told
that if land was not given a
rest It would do it by Itself. w.
method Is to not touch a tobacco field
from the time the last pulling Is off
until just before It is time to start
transplant!^ the next spring.
eye on
keep up with the
—especially in disease--r
long survive in the complicated farm
ing of the present. Bill says that Oils
made him feel particularly bad because
at the time I was writing and holler-*
ing on the radio about this he didn’t
have a single stalk cut on any of his
several farms. And he, says he most
certainly does not want to sell any land
at this time, but to the contrary, is
in the market for more. He says he
might get some too from these folks -
that cut their tobacco stalks in Aug
ust and plough up their land.
This, he points out, does not give a
full year rest to the land but it does give
it from late July or early August until
April which is about two thirds of the
year. Herring points out that thin
gives all of the vegetable matter on top
of the soil plenty of time to rot and re
turn what strength it has to the soil.
He points out that a stalk above ground
rots far more quickly than one plough
ed in. Leaving the vegetation also
eliminates a large part of the wind and
water erosion,that can take place dur
ing the stormier parts of the season be
tween growings.
I’ll now turn him over to Joe Koonce
who knows more about this subject than
I do and if Joe can’t convince him,
maybe Bill will lead Joe to the mourn
er’s bench. At any rate, if I was so
luckly as to own some good farm land,
I think I’d out the stalks, turn the roots
up to the sun for a few hot days In
Aupust and September and then put
some rye or oats on It to hold It down
dining the winter storms. But that
that would not fit Bill’s philosophy of
giving the land time “to rest.”