Newspapers / Jones County Journal (Trenton, … / June 22, 1967, edition 1 / Page 1
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. . ;V Ml THE STATE WE'RE IN' - AN APPRAISAL OF AN APPRAISAL OF OUR ECONOMY By Jack Ridar fince the establishment of the North Carolina Fund in 1963 I have kept reasonably close tabs on this effort to break the cycle of poverty that binds so many people. I have read the frequent reports and watched the experi ments conducted in pilot pro jects in this end of the state. It is difficult to criticize chari ty or to cuss Santa Claus, but a large part of the effort of this Fund has been spent on hiring sociology majors to write theses that reflect mountains of desk acquired statistics and precious little practical research, v The latest in a long line of these theses is “The State We’re In”, called by its author, Carol Van Alstyne, “a candid appraisal of Manpower and Economic De velopment in North Carolina”. What it really is, is another typical desk survey which com pares North Carolina with the other 49 states and the District of Columbia. I suppose the state can stand another of these “Thank God for Mississippi” pieces, but they shed very: littte new light, and offer no help to ward greater utilization of our state’s basic resources. At the risk of sounding too theoretical, I declare the goal Miss Alstyne has set for North Carolina is impractical and pos sibly impossible. Her goal, “Simply stated, is to close the income gap”. Between what? Miss Alstyne, suggests, between North Carolina and the other 49 states. But is income the only factor to be used in a formula for deciding how well off or how bad off a state, or an in dividual happens to be? None of the many graphs and statistical charts used by Miss Alstyne shows accurately what the per capita income of North Carolina really is. She uses the same tired, in accurate figures that have been waved in the face of our state, since a department of sociology was pet up at Carolina. All such collections of figures overlook a primary considera tion: That much of North Caro lina’s income is from farming, and no statistician, nor internal revenue agent knows how many pigs a sow has or how many bushels of corn are grown on every acre of North Carolina soil. Some farmers report every penny of their farm income, but most of them are just as honest with their income tax report as the average non-farmer, which leaves something to be desired, from the government’s point of view. Miss Alstyne touches lightly on another aspect, which is the cost of living in North Carolina compared with other states: She says, “The income which we have used for setting economic development targets is money in come. The value of such goods and services as home-grown food or rent-free tenant houses is not included. A full measure of eco nomic well-being, however, must include not only the goods and services consumed but also the resources devoted to producing them. Thus, if we were to bal ance adding in the value of home-grown tomatoes, for in stance, we would also have to take into consideration the labor time spent and LEISURE FORE GONE to produce them.” Well! And with such a well manicured brush of the statisti cal pen Miss Alstyne wipes out all the smoke houses, freezers, pantries, hen houses, milk cows and vegetable gardens in the State of North Carolina. But Miss Alstyne doesn’t hesi tate to set North Carolina be side Alaska in her statistical tables, when she in “Table 4” shows Alaska ranking 1st in the nation in hourly wages to fac tory workers and North Caro lina ranking in flat last-place tie with Mississippi. And in another sentence of “sodalese” she says, “Taking both the positive and negative non-monetary factors into con sideration, state comparisons of relative well-being using per capita income may not be ma terially altered”. I haven’t seen so much horse manure since the livery stable was torn down. To even infer in this high blown special language that a family living in town is as well off as a family living on a farm if each family has the same cash income is too ridiculous for seri ous rebuttal. But quite aside from Miss Al styne’s desk survey of warmed over statistics, she has missed the most basic point. Which is that North Carolina more than any other state has passed through a fantastic agri cultural revolution in the past 20 years and this has cast up on frequently hostile shores people who lack the skills for much of modern industry. Among the facts of North Carolina’s economic life that Miss Alstyne overlooks, or ig nores is that a far higher per centage of North Carolinians live on the farm than in any other state in the union. In addition to unjointing us able income comparisons this al so creates a considerable reser voir of labor that is productive at a lower wage than in urban areas. The farm wife, whose children have all reached school age and whose husband is able to handle the farming opera tion can and does often take a job in town. In textiles, gar ments, chemicals, clerking, nurs ing and practically every other area. The income she adds to that of her husband is the dif ference between borderline and prosperous living. It adds the second car — or a car to sup plement the farm pickup truck. It means college to their child ren, a new home and pursuit of the leisure activities that the sociologists love to sprinkle their dreams with. Miss Alstyne dwells at length on the fact that much of the in dustry added to North Carolina in recent years has “exploited” this reservoir of cheap labor. This is ridiculous. Nobody has seen a chain gang working in these industries but on the oth er hand these industries have been the only ray of hope for many families whose farm-in come has been hedged ever more (Continued on page 8) :THE JONES COUNTY T O U RNAL NUMBER 8 TRENTON, N. C., THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 1967 VOLUME XIX Jones Representatives to Girl State m Pictured here are Annette Lowery at left, and Claudia Armstrong, the two Jones County delegates to Girls' State being held in Greensboro June 25 to July 1. The two rising seniors will study government and citizenship at the univer sity of North Carolina at Greensboro. Claudia is the daugh ter of Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Armstrong, and Annette is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Lowery. The girls will attend the District Demonstration Day at North Lenoir High School on Tuesday, June 27. Claudia will compete in the Dress Review and the Home Improvement Demonstration. Annette will compete in the sewing and talent demonstrations, and is a candidate for district reporter. They wilt return to Greensboro the same day to finish out their stay at Girl's State. Two Jones Count) Boys on DOonfs List at Stats Ut Educators at North Carotins State University have honored two Jones County students whc achieved high academic honors in the demanding study of eleo Wifliam Clay Adams of Tren record number of NGSU men and women to win places on the Dean’s List. Tb qualify for the honors, NC SU students must compile scho lastic averages of “B ■ or bet ter. . Adams, a junior, is the son of Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Adams of Trenton. Noble, a sophomore, is the son of Mr. and Mrs, Clifton Noble of Rt. 2, Dover. They are both graduates of Jones Central High School. Beth were on the Dean’s list Recorder Becton Lets Drunken Driver Off With Costs Clerk of Court Walter Hen derson reports eight cases tried in recorder’s court in the past week, the majority of them traf fic violations. German Lindell Johnson of Washington, and Carl Weldon Franks of Rt. 1, Pollocksville paid fines for not having inspec tion certificates on their cars. Dennis Ray Stilley of Comfort and Elmo Jones of Route 1, Maysville paid $26 dollars for reckless driving. James Carrol Sanders of Route 1, Edward, N. C. was found guil ty of drunken driving, received a prayer for judgment continued on payment of the court costs. Clifford Ross of Cherry Point was found guilty of failure to yield the right of way from a private drive and paid the court costs. David Larnell Barfield of Route 1, Trenton paid $13 for failure to report an accident. Julius “Baby Ray” Jordon Jr. of Pollocksville pled guilty to damaging personal property and was given thirty days to work the public roads suspended on the condition he pay for a brok en windshield and the court costs. Nellie Ruth Batts on Dean's List at Bob Jones University Twenty-two students from North Carolina are included on the Dean’s list of Bob Jones University at Greenville, S. C. Students listed earned at least a B average during the second semester. Nellie Ruth Batts, daughter of 1^. and Mrs. Cyrus Batts of Pol locksviUe Route 1 was among this group. _ Suits Totalling $160,000 Filed in Jones Court from Lenoir Accident A New Year s Day accident in Lenoir County has resulted in Memorial Baptist Bible School Has 85 Daily Average The Vacation Bible School of Memorial Baptist Church was held during the week of June 12 18, with an average attendance of 85. ■ Every day each department had a Bible story and a character story told by their teacher. Af ter the Bible study, the different departments worked on creative activities. The teachers for the Vacation Bible school were: Nursery De partment, Mrs. Helen Mills, Mrs. A. J. Jones, Charlotte Gardner, Linda Philyaw; Beginner Department, Rebec ca Parsons, Mrs. Dorothy Mor ton, Sonda Rowe; Primary Department, Mrs. Elaine Kellum, Mrs. Sam Moore, Mrs. Virginia Freeman, Mrs. Ethel Humphrey, Betty South ard; Junior Department, Mrs. Grace Monette, Mrs. Peggy Bond, Jane Buck, Mrs. Pauline Davis; Intermediate Department, Mrs. Frances Hughes, Mrs. Sarah Jo Meadows. Pianist was Ann Strobel. Re freshments were served daily by Mrs. Guy Eubank and Mrs. Robert Gerock. two law suits being filed in Jones County Superior Court during the past week. James Nelson Basden, admin istrator of the estate of Mary B. Basden is asking $150,000 damages in the death of his wife. Basden is suing for another $10, 000 as next friend to a minor, Rose Marie Basden, who was in jured in the same accident. The actions are brought a gainst the drivers and owners of both cars that were involved in the accident. The Basdens were riding in a car owned by Corace Lee Bas den and driven by James H. Bas den that collided with another car owned by Frances Dudley and driven by Judy Lawrence Dudley. The accident happened at about 2:30 p.m. New Year’s Day five miles north of Kinston on the Greenville Highway. Mrs. Basden lived for about five days after the wreck. At the time of the accident Miss Dudley was charged with failure to yield the right of way and manslaughter, but the man slaughter charged was dismissed in a preliminary hearing in Le noir County Recorder’s Court. ARTHUR BACK IN STATES Signalman Third Class James M. Arthur, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Arthur of Pollocksville, recently returned to Newport, Rhode Island, aboard the de stroyer leader USS Willis A. Lee, after a six-month Mediterranean cruise. Son Undergoing Psychiatric Tests Following Slaying of His Father Jones County authorities have taken 32 year-old Manley Camp bell Jr. to Cherry Hospital in (Joldsboro following his arrest Saturday for murdering his fa ther at their home on Trenton route 2. The younger Campbell was arrested last Wednesday on a simple assault charge that grew out of a family argument. After his release from custody on the assault charge he went back home and he and his fa ther got in a fight which re ' suited in the father’s death some hours later from head injuries he suffered. After brief detention in Tren ton Sheriff Brown Yates decided it would be ih the best interest of the accused man to take him to the mental hospital for treat ment and examination. Other arrests in the past week included that of James Carroll Sanders of Edward who was charged with drunken driving and Graham Hill Jr. of Stella who was also accused of drunken driving. —
Jones County Journal (Trenton, N.C.)
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June 22, 1967, edition 1
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