How Much Mora Will Ha Take?
$E9
EDITORIALS
Never Forget That These Editorials Are The Opinion Of One Man
. — And He May Be Wrong
Negative Politicking
have probably
the voters in
decided majority
negative politicking
lates Beverly Lake
sharping on the fact
1 Bert Bennett are
not selected the;
this spring's
doubtedly many
waged.
We believe
on the part off)
and Dan Mooyfe
that Terry
backing . Richardson'
they will vote for in
■rial primary. Un
it it is for that un
the battle is being
What this paper «■ -interested in knowing
is not who is supporting whom, but what
each candidate stands for in several very
specific fields.
What, if anything do they plan to do to
correct the terrible, abuses of Eastern Caro
line in die allocation of road building funds?
What do they plan to recommend for high
er education in this area of these state
where we are repeatedly told the greatest
Xdo they plan to do
i ? What do they
ignorance exists
for our deej
plan to <}o for
Hast Carolina? Wfeat do they to dot*
encourage greater tourists usage of the
state’s most unique tourist attraction, The
Outer Banks?
We could go on and on with a list, hut
there is no need to labor the point What
we want to hear is some brass-tack lan
guage that will- nail down such issues, and
put the candidate on record to such an ex
tent that ht. cannot repuditate such promis
es without completely dishonoring himself
once he is elected.
. And we don't want to hear these prom
ises from aides, state or county campaign
managers. Bert Bennett said categorially
that changes would be made in the alloca
tion of highway funds. when he was man
aging Terry Sanford’s campaign. All' who
keep up with such matters know that this
promise was not kept in any degree.
We recognize the inherent right of can
didates to use the political platitude as a
stepping stone to high office, but we also
reserve our own inherent right to vote for
the man who refuses to hide behind rhet
oric.
" 11
ad Chicago
■'■*■• "v-.,'t& -,,'r
Many of us may think the stories coming
out of Chicago about thfc power of the crime
syndicate are sometimes exaggerated. But
in recent weeks two -toon have been attack
ed outside the same Chicago court house.
One was killed and- the other was badly in
jured. ' ” J
The assassins in broad daylight not only
had the opportunity, but the time to- hook
up a bomb under: the hood of the car/ of
this last victim. 'flhSt 'this man had a bad
record has nothing to 4° .with the fact
that he was testifying for the police and
the attempt on hisj&feuwas a direct result
of this. ■' '
This it would,seftn.:should have been
enough to have convinced the police that
the man’s life might*82T*Si danger, and even
more so since another man had been Shot
down so recently when he walked out of the
officials and to corrupt the very heart' of
such a rich city.
Chicago has hired a man who is supposed
to be one of the world’s greatest crimino
logists to run its police department, but he
has been there several years now and on
the basis of this week’s news it doesn’t ap
pear that bringing such talent in lias im
proved the situation greatly.
Back in the 20’s when Philadelphia fell
into the hands of hoodlums they sent a
regiment of Marines in under General
Smedley Butler, and they cleaned up the
City of Brotherly Love in short order. We
don’t know if it was legal, but we do know
that .it was done.
This is stern medicine, it is a last ditch
effort to turn to martial law when civilian
law enforcement has proven to be a failure.
Whether something this drastic is in Order,
or if it is possible in this time of milk and
sweetness for the criminal is highly doubtful,
steadfastly and stupiaiy reruseu
nice the biggest governmental fact of life
on this troubled globe- today: The govern
ment of China. Kai-shek no, more represents
the real government ofChina than Napol
eon represented the government ' “
when he was exiled to Saint Helena.
De Gaulle has broken no new ground since
the mainland Chinese government is recog
nized by 48 other nations, among whom are
many for whom the United States officially,
and perhaps actually has the highest regard:
England, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, In
dia, Pakistan, Holland, Denmark; to name
a few that are not among the Iron Curtain
group.
But De Gaulle has committed the earlier
unpardonable sin in the eyes of the United
States; that is exhibiting independence of
and almost total contempt for the Santa
Claus game that passes for American dip
lomacy.
The United States refuses to recognize
mainland China, but it lends money to Red
Russia to buy American wheat so that Rus
sia can give Castro Cuba more economic
support. This is a kind of fantasy land that
Walt Disney wouldn't dare depict. So
criticize De Gaulle for being a f realist
Neither the recognition nor the refuse
recognize the government of China is going
to alter to any considerable degree the
status of Asian politics, which are very
largely at the belly level rather than
egghead level.
The United States has been doped into
believing that a wild exhibition of so-called
foreign aid will substitute for common sense
U|g with problems of poverty, both
ie and abroad. -4
Hocus-Pocus Reasoning
The Christian Science Monitor again this
week (see page 3) exhibits its lack of reas
oning depth by heralding anti-poll tax;
amendment to the constitution as “Tax
Free Voting.”
The most certain way to assure higher
and higher taxes is to hide by any subter
fuge the long, greedy hand of the tax col
lector. Perhaps the most insidious instance
of this kind of hocus-pocus reasoning is the
income withholding <4$ The socialist pun
dits who concocted this bit of thievery reas
oned; correctly, that-tfae' ignorant working
classes,” who lack '{t&Tftt£|iS$fjl!nce to budget
their own money, would -nevw miss money
that they had never gotten into their poc
kets.
And sp it is; that the worker has little
or ho consciousness of the money that is
taken out in advanceand lulled to sleep by
this ophite-he relaxes and lets government
rape him to a degree that would have caus
ed revolution a Century ago. ^
To decry payment .of a one or two dollar*
“poll tax” as a requisite to casting a vote is
to play directly into the hands of the dem
agoguery which is the hallmark of our time.
One has to pay hundreds of dollars per year
for the right to drive a car, has to pay thou
sands of dollars per year for the right to
earn a living in this country; so what is so
terrible about paying a pittance for the
right to vote.
But the car tax is hidden,, except for the
license tag. Hus tax is extracted at the
rate of more than 10 cents for each gallon
of gas one uses. But the average stupid
user of gasoline cusses the rich oil compan
ies, rather than the extravagant government
that cause the price of gasoline tp be so
high.
For a paper of such international reputa
tion as the Christian Science Monitor to
there must
JACK RIDER
Since I have been serving on this steer
ing committee that is studying the poverty
problem I have taken a lot of ribbing, and
I'm sure the other members of the com
mittee have been the butt of some of the
same kind of bantej-. One answer I have-is
that after all these years and servihg on
countless committees I have finally found
one that I am very well equipped to serve
upon.
,
But seriously, I hope no one is naive,
enough to presume that this committee, or
any committee is going to put an end to
poverty. Poverty is such a complex and
practically indefinable condition that none
but the wildest dreamer could ever declare
that he had a plan to end it.
Poverty is best compared to disease.
There are thousands of diseases, and they
art caused by different germs, viruses and
perhap even by factors not yet discovered.
There may not be thousands of different
kinds of poverty, but each individual who
suffers from One or more of the symptoms
of poverty is different. As with disease
there are very few of us who are in abso
lutely perfect health all the time. We have
a headache that calls for aspirin, and oth
er illnesses that really do not greatly Up
set us and do not materially concern anyone
except ourselves.
So it is with poverty; few if any of us is
free from every sympton of poverty. We
may have plenty of money and be poor in
friends; or the other way around. We may
have an elegant sufficiency of education
and a poverty of common sense.' We
may have the highest “IQ” in the block and
the lowest “MQ” (Motivation quotient) in
town. Wfe may have ambition, brains, educa
tion and . never really have a decent oppor
tunity to exploit such virtues. And there
are some who have opportunities by the
bucket full and lack the ability to cashin
when Lady Opportunity keeps knocking on
their door. 1 .
The same treatment that will cure a dis
ease in one man may not work with an
other; ^and so it is with poverty. For those
who scoff at any effort to control poverty
or to cure it in specific individuals surely
would not say, “Do away with medicine, be
cause we’re always going to have disease!”
Surely, we’re always going to have pover
ty, just as we will always have disease and
injuries. Those wfio are chronically sick from
the pains of poverty have to be given cus
todial treatment through welfare programs
as we treat the mentally retarded, the in
curables in other organic ailments. But those
who have acute attacks, or injuries that re
sult in the pains of poverty deserve a chance
to recover — if they have the will to re
cover.
As any medical doctor will tell you, the
most difficult person to cure of even the
slghtest illness is that one who doesn’t care
if he gets well, or that peculiar person who
enjoys poor health — in fact, wouldn’t be
happy if he got well.
Everyone who "suffers from the ills of
poverty cannot be cured because some don’t
want to be cured, some have the disease
to such an advanced stage that cure is im
possible, some simply do not have the abil
ity to survive the medication — medication
that might cure, or might not
The project recommended by the Jones
Lenoir County steering committee to the
North Carolina Fund is one that MAY open
up new job opportunities for people; one
that may add to the cash income of East
ern North Carolina, hut it is not a project
simply aimed at extending the arm of wel
fare aid to people who either cannot or will
not make the effort to heal themselves.
Published Every
County News C
Vernon Ave., Kii
2375. Entered as
5. 1949, at the Po