1970 Census Will Determine Many
Governmental Actions
When their first census was
taken Jones County had a
larger population than Lenoir:
4,339 for Jones County ahd 4,005
for Lenoir County, and this was
,the census of 1800.
- Lenoir County was part of
Dobbs County in the first offi
cial United States Census in
1700, but Jones was.an estab
lished county in that first nose
counting and at that time in
1790 there were listed 4,882
1 Jones Countians.
From their first simultaneous
taking of population Lenoir
County bus grown rapidly and
Jones County has grown very
slowly. The slowest period for
Jones County was the 10-year
period between 1950 and 1960
when the official census showed
a net gain of just one Jones
Countian, moving from 11,004
to 11,005. :
Lenoir County at the last
official count had 55,276 citizens.
Each year on the basis of
births and deaths in each coun
ty the State Board of Health
makes an estimate of each
county’s population and the most
recent of these estimates still
gives Joqes County 11,005 cit
izens but Lenoir County in this
fairly accurate estimate had
grown to 62,965.
This year with the official ef
fort being made to count every
possible citizen it will be able
to determine the efffects of mi
gration into and out of these
counties, since the health board’s
educated guess is based simply
on births and deaths.
Educated guessing is pushing
the total Lenoir County popula
tion close to the 65.000 mark
since it is a reasonable assump
tion that the county with more
industry and expanded commer
cial and service businesses has
gained more than it has lost
in this 10-year from migration.
V Another key figure closely
watched by population experts
and government planners is the
flow of ethnic groups, locally,
this of course, means Negroes
since they comprise the only
ethnic bloc of citizens.
The health board estimates
that the current Negro popula
tion of Jones County is 5,332
with a white population of 5,
683.
In Lenoir County the health
board estimates the population
to be 39,402 white and 23,563
Negro. For Kinston, the ratio
is estimated in these same fig
ures to be 19,001 white and 11,
171 Negroes.
For the past 25 years with
rapid mechanization of farming
there has been a steady stream
of displaced farm workers —
largely Negro — moving first
from the farms to the nearest
large communities and then the
younger of these move rapidly
into the large metropolitan areas
of the north, north central and
western states.
In 1960 the census indicated
that 52 counties had gained in
population in the period since
1950, which of course mean that
48 lost population and it was
this agricultural revolution that
caused this expensive phenom
enon.
Greene County’s population
dropped in that period from 18,
024 to 16,741, Duplin County’s
fell from 41,074 to 40,270, Pam
lico County’s dropped from 9,
993 to 9,850.
Since that time an all-out ef
fort has been going on to stop
the flow of displaced people into
the troubled major population
centers. Such programs as the
Appalachian Program have been
aimed not only at keeping the
residents of those many sections
at home But to attract others
to come in with new industries
that would turn the tide of mi
gration around.
The Coastal Plains effort in
Georgia, North and South Caro
lina is another program of, the
same variety but it was started
long after the Appalachia ef
fort so the net effect on these
coastal counties is expected to
be less than the mountain areas
have already experienced .
The federal, state, and local
governments are spending a
great deal of money to reverse
this human flood that threatens
to drown nearly every major
city in the United States.
This 1970 census will tell of
ficials all along the line how
well this effort is succeeding or
how badly it is failing.
THE JONES COUNTY
NUMBER 48
TRENTON, N. C., THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 1970
volume xvn
Help Provide Lower-Cost Housing
Development Program Announced for
Rural Homebuilding Sites by FHA to
A new program to help devel
op home building sites in towns
and countryside of the rural
United States has been launch
ed by the Farmers Home Ad
ministration, Walter. L. Pipin,
Lenoir County Supervisor, an
nounced this week.
Loans will be made to local
public agencies and private non
profit organizations to buy and
develop land as homesites for
sale to rural people of low and
moderate income. The program
was authorized in the Housing
Act of 1969.
The program is another step
forward in solving the enorm
ous problem of inadequate hous
ing in rural areas. In many
rural communities, adequate
home sites served by roads and
utilities must be developed be
fore modern housing can be sup
plied.
It will enable rural communi
ties to ease their problem of
homesite development, either
through their local public agen
cies or through private nonprof
it organizations devoted to that
purpose.
The agency can lend qualified
agencies or organizations up to
$100,000 for buying and devel
oping tracts that can be sold as
homesites within two years. Sit
es may be sold to applicants
who qualify for loans from the
FHA and Department of Hous
ing and Urban Development to
_ build housing for rural, .people
of low or moderate income.
Sites developed under the pro
gram can be used for individual
family-owned homes or for rent
al or cooperative housing.
Development organizations will
be expected to repay their loans
within two years from proceeds
of the sale of lots. The interest
rate usually will be 614 percent.
Assistance in developing proj
ects and applying for loans will
be offered through local coun
ty offices of the FHA. The agen
cy administers housing credit
for both farm and non-farm rur
al people, including those liv
ing in rural towns of 5,500 pop
ulation or less.
Mrs. Lottie Carroll
Heads Quaker Neck
Girls' Golf Group
Mrs. Lottie Carroll leads the
new slate of officers of the
Quaker Neck Ladies Golf As
sociation. Their regular month
ly meeting was held at Quak
er Neck Country Club on Satur
day, April n.
Officers include President
Mrs. Carroll, Vice - President
Mrs. Betty Ipock, Secretary Mrs.
Mary Anna Dixon, Treasurer
Mrs. Peggy DuVal and Touma
New Voting Place
Jones County Election Board
Chairman Mrs. Kay Koonce King
announced this week that this
year Chinquapin Township vot
ers will be voting in a new lo
cation. The new polling place
is Tommy Smith's workshop just
west of Phillips Crossroads.
ASSAULT CHARGED
Jesse Rouse of LaGrange has
been charged with assault with
a deadly weapon with intent to
kill after a Sunday night knife
assault on Henry Wooten Jr.,
also of La Grange, who under
went emergency surgery Sunday
night for numerous stab wounds
over the upper part of his body.
ment Chairman Mrs. Qincey
Parham.
The fallowing committees were
appointed: Hospitality Mrs. Jer
ry Phillips, Mrs. Myrtle Mallard,
Mrs. Bonnie Weskett and Mrs.
Amy Kolb. Those serving on
the Ways and Means Committee
are Mrs. Lela Pollock, Miss Ma
vis Koonce and Mrs. Peggy Du
Val. Mrs. Virginia Booth is in
charge of the Special Events
Committee, and Mrs. Alyene
Pollock is in charge of publicity.
Members of the Ladies Golf
Association will be notified of
club meetings and special events
by piembership chairmen ap
pointed from each community.
Plans have been made for a
steak supper on May 16th, spon
sored by the Association_
Representatives Race Offers District
Voters Excitement in Spring and Fall
by Jack Rider
The voters of Jones, Greene
and Lenoir Counties have a gooa
many other races for purely
county offices to get excited
about in this election year and
for extra added1 attraction this
year there is spice in the fight
for one of the two seats in the
state house of representatives
allocated to these three counties,
which comprise the Ninth Dis
trict.
This year, however, Elliott
faces very strong competition
from two of his fellow Lenoir
Countians: Deep Run Business
man Harold W. Hardison and
Kinston Businessman John T.
Capps.
Incumbent Guy Elioltt is fac
ing the first strong competition
since he was elected to his first
term in the house in 1964 over
LaGrange Publisher Paul Bar
wick.
Elliott will be 75 years old on
May 10th, just eight days after
the election, and his age and
poor health are the basic reas
ons why he has this strong com
petition. He was unable to at
tend many of January sessions
of the 69 session of the assem
bly, only a part of the February
sessions and even then was not
able to take a full committee
load during the period of his
out-patient convalescense.
Elliott has a long and distin
guished record of service to the
voters of Lenoir County, and it
is from this deposit of service
that he is having to draw large
ly now as he faces much young
er competition.
Elliott says his health now is
fully regained and that his doc
tor had told him that he was
able to make the campaign and
to hold the office if the voters
re-elect him. No one discounts
Elliott’s vote-getting capacity
since he served longer as Mayor
of Kinston than anyone in the
town’s history, holding that of
fice from 1945 until 1963 when
he resigned because of his
health.
Neither of Elliott’s competitors
has any previous formal record
upon which his vote-getting abil
ity can be judged.
Hardison has been very ac
tive politically, but never as a
candidate himself. He is hard
working, aggressive campaigner
who has been hard at work at
this new job since a group of
about 40 Democrats persuaded
him to run against Elliott.
The basis of this party plea
was the fear that Elliott be
cause of his age and health
would not be able to stand up
against the determined cam
paign of newly annointed repub
lican candidate Fitzhugh Wallace
in the November General Elec
tion.
The search was to find a can
didate strong enough in the first
instance to beat Elliott in the
primary, wfhich wjas no easy
chore, since everyone realized
that Elliott would not be easy to
beat, and no one has yet been
reckless enough to presume
that he is beaten in this primary,
and of course, in the second in
stance, to find a candidate who
could make things lively for
Wallace (Fitzhugh, that is, not
George) in November.
Capps is running simply as
an energetic young man; inter
ested in public affairs, who has
the backing of the youngest bloc
of voters, but no largely organ
ized effort.
It is generally conceded that
the race is between Elliott and
Hardison, with the outside pos
sibility that Capps might snare
enough votes to deny either of
the other a majority, which
would force this race into a sec
ond primary: —
Congressman Jones Explains Why He Voted Against Guaranteed - Income Welfare Plan
by Congranimii Walter B. Jonas
Last week the House took ac
tion! on President Nixon’s “guar
anteed income welfare propos
al.” This involved long debate
and strong statements from both
the proponents and the oppon
ents. The bill passed by a vote
of 243 to 155. All member Of
the North Carolina delegation
voted no on final passage, ex
~ JPreyer and
exceptions in this part of the
bi& that it will be most difficult
to enforce.
It has been established that
it will add approximately 12 mil
lion people to the present wel
fare rolls at a cost of $4 billion
annually, which in my opinion
is an extremely low estimate. I
can only conclude that this ap
proach to our low income citi
zens will end to destroy the
ittve to do for themselves
an all too benevolent gov
case under the terms of the Act,
which is as follows: A man and
his wife with seven children on
welfare would receive $3,100 a
year, in addition to $2,352 in
food stamps. Also, a total of
$720 earned income is exempt
ed from marginal taxation un
der this bill.
In certain states there are sup
plemental benefits increasing
this amount to a total of approx
imately $6,800 per year. None
of this income would be taxable
by either the Federal or State
government.
Taking the same example of
a regularly employed man with
a wife and seven children, to
have a net income which would
provide $6,904.80, he would
have to be employed in a job
paying approximately $7,400.
The figure of $7,500 per year
presently covers half of all Am.
erican families now employed.
In addition to the objections
to this bill stated above, this is
in direct contrast to President
Nixon’s repeated promises to re
turn to the states, a greater par
ticipation in the State-Federal
relations. This uniform welfare
approach represents one more
step towards the centralization
of government, rather than the
decentralized federalism.
The House also passed the Ed
ucation; Appropriation Bill for
fiscal 70-71. In spite of the ef
forts of some of us, this bill
provides for ’$440 million for
impacted areas, which is a re
duction of $80,567,000 over last
year’s figure. An undesirabe
part of the bill was the fact
that no funds were provided for
academic facilities; neither were
there funds for higher educa
tion instructional equipment