The Name Is Familiar
EDITORIALS
Never Forget That These Editorials Are The Opinions Of One Mon,
--- -.—. ■ And He May Be Wrong.
School Bus Malpractices
Nothing to toe said in this piece should
be construed us any indication that this
paper does not 100 per cent support the
present laws giving protection to school
busses; what we are to attempt to say
here is aimed at giving these school bus
ses even more protection.
The terrible tragedy that struck down
the two tiny Craven County students
last Wednesday highlights the need tor
a re-examination of some of the present
practices.
Of course, the reports state that the
two boys frere killed as they violated a
standing regulation, to wit, always to
cross in front of the bus. Reports indic
tate that they ran from behind the bus
and into the path of a Pamlico County
woman who was 'also violating, in spirit
If not in letter, the law, by not slowing
down. She maintained that the bus was
pulling away, and even if she is correct,
she should not have been travelling at a
rate or speed sufficient to cause skidd
ing of 120 feet and instantly killing
these two 'boys.
Of course, whether punished in the
criminal courts or not, this woman will
carry to her grave the terrible memory
or what she has done, and there is not
too much more can be done by the law
to add to her punishment.
But a word of criticism to the child
ren who ride these busses and the
Students who drive them: We have
watched tor many years the operation
of local school busses. The children and
driver too smugly safe behind the law
often invite disaster. They become so
over-sold on the protection they are
given toy the law that they (fall to ex
ercise due caution themselves. A very
small percentage of school children pays
any attention to oncoming traffic from
either direction but most frequently
marches across the road very thinly ar
mored in the protection of the law.
We do not want this law weakened,
for even at its strongest it is very small
protection as so tragically proven last
week between Dover and Oove City, but
we would like the children more tho
roughly and frequently reminded that
they ALSO have some responsibility for
their safety.
And quite often the drivers of school
busses contribute to this danger by vio
lating a regulation they are supposed'
to abide toy, to wit, stopping too fre
quently. They are not supposed to stop
more frequently than each 300 yards,
yet we have Inched along behind many
who stopped every 50 to 100 feet. This
adds to the numbers of crossings by
students. The bus driver is in a hurry to
get one group out and move on a few
dozen feet to permit the next group to
dismount and at the same time the dri
vers behind get anxious to strip their
gears and roar by the bus in a cloud of
gas fumes and vile language.
School officials, bus drivers and bus
riders, give attention to this reminder,
for the life you save may be your own.
An Order L. H. Fountain
It certainly Is not customary for bush
league newsmen to give orders to Mem
bers oif Congress, but this situation
which causes us to be so brash Is so
brutally wrong that It needs investigat
ion and since bur only direct line to the
investigative powers that b e lines thr
ough L. H. Fountain wedirect this or
der: li# / . ■ ■ 'V-:'
Congressman Fountain, as soon otter
Congress has reconvened as practical
Ig inrttinn. miring
i of the so-called
has resulted lh
WnMkMzmwaM
the following grossly unfair findings by
recent court martial boards.
1. A Maxine colonel was found guilty of
cooperating with the /enemy and drew a
“Stiff” reprimand tod a soft Job at
Camp Lejeune to recuperate from bis
sore wrist, where he was slapped.
2. An Army colonel has been found
guilty of trafficking with the enemy and
for his abuse of oath and country he has
been "catoiered”. In other words, busted
te> the rank of civilian, which to many
of'j*s is more reward than a punish
'" ’ "''' ■
aohlng about the Various ‘^weeks’’ that
are foisted off on the suspecting pub
lic. This, however* is «. different kind of
week. St Is both. National Newspaper
Week and National >ire Prevention
Week. Both of which seem a little stupid
to us. We try to sell newspaper every
week In the year, and hope that all
“night thinking” people try to prevent
fires every week la the year. But for
what It’s worth, this Is our reminder of
each. Newspapers are good things to
build fires with, but everybody has
automatic stoves now. They still wrap
fish in newspapers, however, so perhaps
none of ns should argue that newspapers
are hot good for something.
- There are many things about woman
that we don’t pretend to understand,
but perhaps foremost among .these my
steries Is: Why do woman appear to be
pffemded and often embarrassed when
men stare at the bare skin they expose
with these plunging-neckline dresses,
shorts, halters etc. It seems to us that
when a gal equipped like Marilyn Mon
roe puts on a sweater she does tt to ad
vertise and it would be downright mean
of us men not to look, Nay, Stare. We
do.
Which thought leads us to repeat:
Pie, on Thee, Monsieur Dior.
And while on the subject of clothing.
For many anxious years we studied,
from a scientific point of view, that
phenomenon: What holds a strapless
evening gown up? Now, another less
interesting but equally puzzling cloth
ing mystery iswttth us, to wit: What
holds the pants up that these high
school boys slink around hi?
It may be old age creeping up on us—
or running up on us, or It may just be
the miserable, sticky, sweaty, stinky hot
weather that this first week in October
hats brought; but at any-rate, something
seems to have caught us with just about
the amout of spade that these words fill
short of enough to fill up this page. And
these words are being put down, not to
educate, amuse, or antagonize, but mer
ely to fill up this hole so we can get out
of the office and away from these
blankety-blank gnats. Maylbe it’ll cool
off next week and we’ll have something
better in this hole.
3. A Crackemeek, Va. corporal was
convicted of trafficking with the enemy
and he drew 10 years at hard labor in a
federal prison.
4. Most recently a Texas corporal has
been convicted of a similar charge and
has been giving LIFE AT HARD LABOR
In fereral prison.
In conducting, or causing to be con
ducted an investigation into these gross
instances , of military injustice, Con
gressman Fountain you may* lose a few
friends in the armed fences but you will
endear yourself to millions of us plain
citizens who KNOW that justice was, in- ,
deed, blindfolded when these crimes
were committed by military courts.
JONES JOURNAL
JACK RIDER, Publisher
Published Every Thursday by The Lenoir
County News Company, Ine., 408 West
Vernon, Ave., Kinston, N. C., Phone 6415.
( State Senator Htaton Godwin QfOab
esvllle recently made a speech before
(the AhoSkle Rotary Club that certainly
was not calculated to win friends in the
North Carolina Education Association;
tor Godwin tons said In a very public
manner some things that have been
whispered around for a good many
years now. Most of it was not nattering
to the present educational set-up In
the'state, and nation. *
Godwin, among other things, accused
the present school system of “putting
more emphasis now on quantity rather
than quality”. Godwin asserted that “in
North Carolina a high school diploma
means only one certain meaning—that
a student has been enrolled tor at least
12 years”. Godwin reminded that he
had “personal knowledge of several
students graduated tram high school
under the progressive {dan of operation
who are hardly above the grade of mo
ron”. And Godwin wound up by saying
that he does pot “believe that North
Carolina taxpayers ale getting their
money’s worth In education and that the
taxpayers should demand the reestab
lishment of a school system which would
provide at least the fundamental ele
ments of a liberal arte high school edu
cation”.
As Harry Sutton says, “Everytime you
make one mad, you please one”, speak
ing of the public, and it would, seem
flalrly certain that Senator Godwin has
grabbed himself a crowd of friends and
enemies with this (Ahoskie speech.
Same might say that Godwin is just
another headline hunter and a rabble
rouser, tout I happen to know the fellow.
He is an arch conservative of the Gates
County variety. I used to edit the Gates
County Index, arid our office was Just
across the street from Godwin’s father's
bank. Senator Godwin is a mature, in
telligent man: He made this speech in
Ahoskie, perhaps, with the idea of caus
ing a few raised eyebrows in education
al circles, but knowing him the little
that I do, I also believe that he was do
ing his best point up what many consid
er a pressing and dangerous situation of
our times.
Collier’s Magazine, one of the giants
in circulation, has been running a series
of articles on the overall educational
system in the United States, and it has
reached some conclusions and found
some facts that are as unhappy to read
as Senator Godwin’s speech.
I recently had a matter in this veto
called to my attention in Kinston. The
son of a friend had failed to be promot
ed) from the fourth to the fifth grade
last spring. His mother said that she
had made so many complaint-trips to
the school house that she finally got
ashamed to go. But all of her worried
trips over her backward son did not
seem to concern his teachers, and each
year he made his grade; that is until
this year.
Then his mother did become most!
concerned. She had felt In the past that)
maybe the problems and methods of
present day schooling were beyond her
understanding and since her boy made
his grade each, year, She felt that he
must be about the average student. But
this spring she sat down and tried to
find out what had happened. She found
flhat her son, after four years of school
could notread! So she spent several
dollars this pest summer having Mm at
tend private classes and learn to read.
But still he is having to repeat the grade
that he failed last year. $ '*■' ■■■