PERSON 1 COUNTY TIMES
A PAPER FOR ALL THE PEOPLE
J. S. MERRITT, EDITOR M. C. CLAYTON, MANAGER
THOMAS J. SHAW, JR, City Editor.
Published Every Thursday and Sunday. Entered As Second
Class Matter At The Postoffice At Roxboro, N. C., Under
The Act Os March 3rd, 1879.
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News from our correspondents should reach this office not
later than Tuesday to insure publication for Thursday edition
and Thursday P. M. for Sunday edition.
SUNDAY, JULY 28, 1940
Without All The Facts
In Granville’s dignified Oxford last week Judge
Henry L. Stevens, Jr, according to the Oxford Public
Ledger, is reported to have adjourned a mixed term of
Superior court on Tuesday after completion of trial of
criminal cases. On the court calendar for Wednesday
and Thursday were trwelve civil actions, including five
divorce cases, but Judge Stevens, one-time national Com
mander of the American Legion was not present. He
had gone home to Warsaw, making as the Ledger re
ports, “No explanation in open court for his decision to
continue the civil cases, but privately telling a member
of the bar that he had planned to take his wife and son
to the beach for a few days.”
Getting the worst out of the way by method of quo
tation, we are inclined in first instance to disagree with
the implications thrust into the story by the Ledger re
porter. No judge worthy of the name would deliberately
“close up shop” and leave unfinished business in order
to take his wife and son “to the beach for a few days”
unless there was strong provocation for such an impul
sive action. Knowing the snail’s pace slowness indulged
in by some courts, we are of the opinion that Judge
Stevens must have had some good reason for cutting
short Granville’s week of court. It would appear, how
ever, that he' has been indiscreet in not publicly assign
ing a better reason than has been attributed to him by
the Ledger.
But that is not all. As a footnote to the story the
Ledger reporter adds that irate Granville citizens, gath
ered in the empty Granville court room voiced indigna
tion b}r talking of presenting to the next legislature a
bill “providing that Superior Court judges assigned to
a county must remain in the county of their assignment
to discharge duties of the court until 6 o’clock on Friday
of the week of assignment.” An extra provision of the
proposed bill would provide penalty of $lOO per day for
“failure to comply”.
The mere suggestion of the introduction of such a
bill is a patent reflection of the dignity of the Superior
courts and an insult to the memory of those judges who
literally gave their lives to the state’s administration
of justice. It is not practical to assume that the business
of the courts can be governed by set rules as to the time
a judge shall spend in the county of his assignment.
Court business just does not w’ork out that way and it
never will, not until there is a complete revision of the
complicated machinery for delays now permitted to oper
ate in the “alleged interest of justice” by lawyers and
their'Clients.
This much can be said now, although complete facts
in the Stevens incident are needed before other North
Carolinians can be expected to join his Granville casti
gators, the maddest one of whom appears to be the wo
man whose expectations of a quick divorce and re-mar
riage were so abruptly checked.
o—o—o—o
America’s Mortal Storm
In Roxboro drug stores, cases and hotel lobbies
young men not yet within the age limits of the proposed
Burke-Wadsworth compulsory military training bill, as
well as those who will be directly affected by the pas
sage of such a measure, are wondering if they will not
be able to gain more favorable places in the ranks by
voluntary enlistments in the regular branches of military
service, and in places of business and in homes men and
women are pausing to consider economic and domestic
upheavals which may come to them in event of adoption
of even so limited a period of military service as is pro
vided for in the Burke-Wadsworth regulations.
To all these questions Americans have as yet no
answer. The idea of peace-time conscription is so new
to the American way that few of us can have any con
>3eption of either the national or personal consequences
involved. As one American, as a member of the editorial
staff of the Person County Times, we can only say that
we shall be glad if militarization in America does not
have to become an octopus of European proportions. We
know that increased militarization is coming. It has to
come unless appropriations recently made for the manu
facture of instruments of war remain in the appropria
tions stage.
And we have no fear that the good aspect of mil
itary' training—physical fitness on a universal scale—
will be ultimately beneficial to the youth of the land.
What we do fear has nothing to do with physical pro
wess. «
As a reasonably close observer, however, we do
know that armies are susceptible to mass influence, phy
sical as well as mental and we are concerned because of
the fact that a concomitant of militarization is all too
frequently mental rigidity passing as patriotism. The
consequences of such patriotism in Germany, Italy and a
score of smaller nations are apparent to all of us and we
have yet to see what may come in France, or even Eng
land. Having committed themselves to militarism these
nations will not for generations be able to overcome its
evil effects.
PERSON COUNTY TIMES ROXBORO, N. C.
1 Good Will Stressed at World’s Fair
L_i: : 1
" ' ' ' ‘ ' *;l . A |.j(, t, - V ■ .
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K ENSURE HORINOUCHI, Japanese Ambassador to the United
States, and Representative Hamilton Fish of New York chatting in
formally during ceremonies marking Japan Day at the World’s Fair.
Celebration was attended by more than 5,000. The Japanese Ambassador
and the New York Congressman, along with other noted speakers, lauded
friendship binding Japan and the United States.
And just as surely Americans who are now being
forced to adopt a system repugnant to their national
traditions will have to pay in human character and in
subtle changes of private and public life, as well as ip
money, for all of the benefits and evils of the revolut
ion brought about by increased concentration of good
but not too intelligent young men in large groups devot
ed to military service, but in saying this no criticism cf
the highest traditions of that service is implied.
In the United States these highest traditions are
today intact. We must exert ourselves to preserve them,
seeing at all times that the right to free speech and per
sonal liberty so tragically lost in Europe shall be pre
served, Tor unless we make an effort to preserve free
speech and personal liberty we shall become shadowy
figures in a storm like that conflict which Phyllis Bot
tome .chose to designate as mortal.
4 -
Now For The Facts
News and Observer
After two years of investigation of price fixing
charges in the tobacco industry, the U- S. Depart
ment of Justice has filed criminal charges of violation
of the Sherman anti-trust act against 34 corporations,
including the eight major companies, and 33 individuals,
officers of those companies in the federal court at Lex
ington, Kentucky.
The proceedings are based on allegations charging
price fixing at both ends of the line, in the purchase of
raw tobacco from growers and in marketing of products
to consumer.
There are old charges, particularly in the tobacco
belt. The proceedings are welcome, because they offer
opportunity for the finding of the facts.
There have been suggestions, because of the long
time consumed by the investiation, that the whole mat
ter was being hushed up. Those suggestions have been
shown to be groundless. The Department of Justice has
found that the facts supporting the charges are suffi
cient to justify prosecution and has instituted the pro
secution.
There should be no delay in bringing out the facts
in open court so that the public may have the benefit
of such facts as the Department of Justice has collected
in two years and so that the courts may taka appro
priate action, whatever that may be.
Certainly, if prices for leaf tobacco have been held
down and prices for tobacco products have been held
up by processes both artificial and illegal, such prac
tices have already been tolerated too long. On the other
hand, if tobacco companies have for years been the vic
tims of unfounded rumors, they should welcome the op
portunity to replace rumors with facts in open court-
O—O—o—o
Facing Realities
Durham Morning Herald
In her approaching death struggle with Germany,
England will have one thing in her favor which unfor
tunate France did not have.
She does not underestimate the foe.
France did. Look where France is now.
It’s understatement to say that France was sur
prised at the force of the German attack launched
against her. It v. r as an aggravated form of surprise
which approached complete confusion. One can trace
this to the entirely unexpected tactics Germany used—
a swift war of movement in contrast to France’s plan
ned-for war of position—but with more truth it can be
traced to complete surprise at the power of the German
attack, which resulted in confusion and*steady retreat
and then in rout.
Germany, once she had an initiative, employed it to
such advantage that France was never able to regain
her balance and offer stationary resistance, much less
progressive resistance.
The entire war before the invasion of France had
been based on an underestimation of the power at Hit
ler’s command. England managed to escape the conse
quences of this mistake, fofr the time being, only be
cause of her insularity.
Because of the things which were revealed in the
Battle of France, England no longer underestimates Ger
man rpwer, and equally as important, Gorman ingenuity.
Gone are the old ideas of economic strangulation of the
Reich. England is on the defensive, and she realizes that
Germany is going to carry the battle all the way. She is
preparing to resist, with the vague hope that she may
at the least take the initiative herself.
Gone are the old delusions. England is facing real
ities today. * v ;
From
The Adult Student
j »
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Ignoring Consequences
When we see any person con
stantly making decisions without
considering the results which
will follow, we naturally discount
the worth of his judgment. To act
without giving any attention to
the consequences of one’s deeds
is to disclose a kind of thought
lessness which can result only in
some kind of misfortune. Every
decision and every deed definite
ly influences one’s life.
There are entirely too many
people who act as if the deeds of
their lives were unrelated. As
one observes them, he is led to
believe that they must think that
any decision is like a separate
package which one can put up
on a shelf by itself. No act of one’s
life, however, can ever be a sep
arate entity. To forget that there
are consequences that follow in
the wake of every decision is to
incur damage to one’s self just
because one refuses to consider
an inexorable law of life.
What Makes Personality Possible?
Personality is itself possible
only because there is continuity
between the various choices and
deeds of one’s life. Yesterday is
vitally related to today. That is
the only way one can be the same j
person today as yesterday. What
happens tomorrow will be de- j
finitely influenced by what oc
curs in the immediate present.
Human personality would be im
possible without this inner unity.
Every movement we make al
ters our inner spiritual world.
When an engine backs into the
front car of a freight train, the
impact is relayed from car to car,
on to the caboose. It may, of cour
se, be only slight at the last car,
but some force is felt. That is
how inevitably decisions and
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PICNIC
SANDWICH -
BREAD, ROLLS
and PIES
Even the laziest summer appetite wakes up
to a picnic meal of sandwiches made on our Parkerhouse Rolls for cheese
l airy, flavor-full sandwich loaf! ?
And if you're making ’burgers or hot dogs— spreads
we’ve rolls custom-fit to their size and shape,
delicious toasted!
“Mahers of Sunrise Bte 2d J'
chokes affect our lives.
We may think we arefree from
the past, .<£ut we never are. The
past, follows us, grips us, and mov
es along in the present with us.
That is because each of us is a
continuing personality.
We have heard of the fact that,
in the Alps, a single shout has
been known to shake loose an
avalanche. It sometimes happens
that way with us. Decisions and
deeds do shake our lives with a
mighty force. Always we feel
their effect.
Groups Reap What They Sow
Nations reap what they sow. It
is not easy for the average per
son to believe this. Somehow we
feel that nations, or large groups
of people, are above moral laws.
They are not! When nations call
evil good and good evil, they pay
the price. When nations sow evil
they inevitably reap evil. When
nations fail to reason wisely and
thus choose wrongly, they reap
the inevitable harvest. This is a
law of life that affects all of us—
individually and socially.
More than fifty years ago some
miners in the Midwest decided to
satisfy a grievance—one that was
real or imagined. They ignited a
carload of coal and then pushed
it down the long shaft of the
mine. When it was all ablaze, it
struck the bottom. The flames
leaped to the layers of coal and
set them on fire. For more than
fifty years now this fire has
burned. It has been estimated that
more than four million tons of
coal have been consumed. Those
men simply did not look ahead.
Possibly they did not want to do
so. They did not consider the re
sults of their act. Nevertheless,
the consequences followed. They
always do.
The Allies forgot to show mer
cy to the defeated enemy twenty
years ago. Even after the war
they continued a seven months’
blockade, in which it has been
estimated that three hundred
thousand women and children
died of starvation. Reduced to
importance and economic sevvi-y
SUNDAY, JULY 28,1940
f n ,
tude, a nation once great, no# la
den with reparations and indem
nities which simply could not be
paid, turned in desperation to a
deliverance which has meant that
the rest of the world has been
anything but delivered. We are
now reaping what we have sown,
and the end of the harvest is not
yet.
Palace Theafre
Monday - Tuesday, July 29-30tb.
i
lgether I
I He* Y ° l . lu dysings’- 1
1 The r* ata ' ie tnei- 1
I adventures ate I
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HP
—lwfpiffgl
a
Special Morning Show
Monday 10:30;
Afternoons Dally 3:15-3:45;
Admission 10-30 c.
Evenings Daily 7:15-9:15;
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