Weekly Perspective
Other views
F arm Bureau trip
draws attention
By JOHN SLEDGE
N.C. Farm Bureau Federation
Last spring, a delegation of Farm
Bureau leaders went to Japan on a
trade mission. Their task was to try
to convince the Japanese to open up
more of their markets to American
beef, citrus and other products. On
that trip, they found steaks selling for
$15 per pound in supermarkets and
cantaloupes at $20 each.
Although the mission may not have
accomplished all it had hoped for, it
did receive tremendous media
coverage in Japan and it is believed
that Japanese consumers began to
take a look at just what their
government was doing to them.
Consumer attitudes in Japan as a
result of that trip may be measured
in a recent poll taken by a Japanese
newspaper. The resutls of the poll
were sent to this country by the
American embassy in Tokyo to the
U.S. Secretary of State. The three
points of the poll are heartening to
American farmers who desperately
need more markets for their
products.
(1) There was strong support for
liberalization of farm imports. Fifty
two percent of those surveyed sup
ported liberalization of beef imports,
while only 23 percent were opposed.
(2) The survey also supports U.S.
contention that lower prices would
result in expanded consumption.
There were 56 percent of those who
had tasted U.S. oranges who said
they would eat more if prices were
lower, while 45 percent said they
would eat more beef if it were
cheaper.
(3) While previous results had
shown strong support for protection
of Japanese farmers, the recent poll
shows that support is waning. While
not a majority yet, 42 percent fully
agreed with the statement, "Japan is
freely exporting automobiles, TV
sets, etc., to the U.S.; and, therefore,
Japan should also liberalize the
imports of beef and oranges from the
U.S." There were 48 percent who felt
that rejecting U.S. requests for
liberalization would worsen U.S.
Japan relations.
It takes time to wear down old
rules and tradition, but it just may be
that there are better times ahead for
Japanese consumers, and for
American farmers who want to sell
more of their products to Japan.
T arif f s constant
through history
In the continuing interplay of
economic, social, and political
concerns, there are some issues so
basic and so constant they every
period of American history has dealt
with them.
One of those issues hinges on
protective tariffs. Self-interest im
pels a manufacturer to support any
measure which enlarges his market,
raises his profit and stifles his
competitors. Consumers, on the
other hand, naturally desire
whatever leads to less expense and
greater choice in goods.
experienced heated, often bitter,
controversy on the tariff question.
Pro-tariff elements, especially
Northern woolen manufacturers,
secured passage in 1828 of legislation
so detested by Southern agricultural
interests that it became known as the
"taraiff of abominations".
Dependent upon agriculture and
virtually lacking manufacturing
enterprises, Perquimans County not
unexpectedly had many citizens
opposed to tariffs. Why should a
planter, often selling to a foreign
market, be prohibited from getting a
bargain on foreign goods? Why
should he pay more for the items he
must purchase, to the enrichment of
manufacturers in other states?
Feeling against the tariff ran so
high that a public meeting was held
at the Courthouse in the town of
Hertford on August 18, 1831. As
reported by the "Edenton Gazette",
the meeting was attended by "a
respectable number of the citizens of
Perquimans county."
Thomas Long, a leading
magistrate and Register of Deeds,
was chosen to chair the meeting,
while lawyer and legislator Joseph
W. Townsend was appointed
secretary.
The principal object of the meeting
was the election of delegates to at
tend an Anti-Tariff Convention in
Philadelphia in September, 1831. The
delegates chosen from Perquimans
were all men of note, including Genl.
Jonathan H. Jacocks, prominent
planter and legislator and Charles W.
Skinner, the county's foremost
Baptist layman.
The delegates included Miles
Elliott, tavern owner and sometime
Sheriff; Edmund White, planter;
Josiah T. Granbery, planter and
future legislator; and John E. Wood,
Clerk of Surerior Court.
Perhaps as a result of such
organized opposition, a milder tariff
was passed by Congress in 1932. This
did not suit many of the agricultural
interests, however, and a
"nullification" crises ensued. South
Carolina, following a constitutional
philosophy articulated by John C.
Calhoun, declared its right to nullify
any act of Congress and to prohibit
its enforcement within the state's
boundaries.
President Andrew Jackson was
determined to enforce the tariff laws
and to maintain the authority of the
Federal government. (Jackson was
not popular in Perquimans, where
only about 20 percent of the elec
torate favored his Democratic
Party.) South Carolina finally
backed down, and the start of civil
war tarried another thirty years.
Americans still face the tariff
question whenever they must choose
between goods made abroad and
those made domestically. Jobs,
balance of trade, price, self-interest,
and national interest still compete as
factors in determining attitudes
toward tariffs.
Looking back
90 Years Afo-1963
By VIRGINIA WHIT* TRANS EAU
1M FARMERS SIGN UP IN
COUNTY FOR '13 FEED
PROGRAM : Corn, barley and grain
sorghum producer* on 164 (anna in
Pnrqoimnaa County have filed forms
indicating their Intentions to par
ticipate la the 1N3 Feed Grain
Program. In an effort to increaae
(ana income and to a top the buildup
of feed grain supplies, the program
provides special payments to corn,
bortoy and grain sorghum producers
who agree to divert a portion of the
ncrango formerly planted to these
crops to an approved conaervatton
""jay DILLON BREAKS ARM: Jay
Dittsa. aw of Mr. and Mrs J.W.
Dtfta. sugared a broken arm on
Monday at the gym in Pw*d>ans
High School. Dillon was taken to Dr
T.P. Brinn who lent him to the
Albemarle Hospital where his arm
was set and put in a east.
BROTHER OF LOCAL
RESIDENT BURNED: Frank
Biggers, vice president of Gast Heat
Engineering Corp. of Charlotte, N.C.
and brother of J.T. Biggers, waa
critically burned in an explosion at
aa industrial plant in Charleston,
S.C. last Sunday.
BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT: Mr.
and Mrs. Ray Perry, Jr., announce
the birth of i m born Tuesday,
February It, IMS. Mrs. Perry and
new aoa have returned to tbetr home
on Route 3 from the hospital.
ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCED:
Mr. and Mrs. Adds* L. Gregory of
Route 2, Elisabeth City,
marriage of their
Fay, to Arlaad
i Joy for winter weary souls!
I ? ? 1 1 ? JJIULUM .
Chamber requires strong commitment
I had the pleasure last week of
attending a meeting of the mer
chants of the Perquimans County
Chamber of Commerce out at
Angler's Cove.
I'm sure I was among many of
the 50 in attendance who left the
meeting with feelings of unity,
excitement, hope and enthusiasm
about the future of Perquimans
County.
If the merchants and Chamber
can move forward with the same
momentum that was created at
the meeting, Perquimans County
will have taken a giant step
toward progress.
Mary Livengood, director of the
Elizabeth City Chamber of
Commerce, led an enthusiastic
brainstorming session which
highlighted the needs of the
merchants in Perquimans
County. The technique was ef
fective and helpful in stimulating
thought and discussion as well as
enthusiasm in the crowd.
Goals were established and
priorities set, giving the Chamber
a direction and strategies for
action for the future.
Livengood stressed to the group
that the Chamber of Commerce is
not a charity or a civic group ?
but a volunteer organization in
which members invest in the
future of Perquimans County.
Membership in the Chamber calls
for an investment ? not a
donation.
Some of the needs mentioned by
merchants at the meeting last
week included beautification,
jobs, promotion of the waterfront,
brochures and historic materials,
unity and loyalty among retailers
and consumers, advertisement
and promotion, communication
and more.
But the one idea mentioned
which really made an impression
upon me was simply and aptly
expressed in this way by one
Chamber member ? "You've got
to start with yourself ? the
biggest potential industry is the
people."
To say it another way, what we
have to do first is sell Perquimans
County to Perquimans County
people. This is easier said than
done and requires committment,
accomodation, caring, com
munication and investment on the
part of the consumer, the retailer,
the Chamber ? everyone in
volved.
The Perquimans Weekly has
made an investment in the
Perquimans County Chamber of
Commerce and is committed to
the growth, progress and
development of Perquimans
County. We have a representative
on the Chamber merchant's
committee and both the ad
vertising and editorial depart
ments actively promote and
participate in Chamber activities.
We have made the investment
and the committment and we
challenge you, the retailers, the
consumers, the citixens of
Perquimans County to also make
a committment for a prosperous,
progressive Perquimans County.
( Facing South
a syndicated column:
voices of tradition
in a changing region
During the racial upheavals in the
Watts community of Los Angeles
during the 1960s Ross and his wife
served as peacemakers by
"Reporting both sides of the story,"
Ross recalls. "The Watts people
needed someone to believe in, and
Willa and I went out and broadcast
live from the scene." He went on to
comment, "Sometimes you need to
get both black and white together and
spank them!'
Part of Ross's effectiveness as a
reporter came from the network of
unpaid reporters he established on
both state and national levels-people
who would call him with news of
otherwise unreported events, or
whom he could call to get another
perspective on a news story. "I
scorched a lot of people in my
career," the white-haired journalist
admits, "but most of them needed
scorching."
Ross also served as a sports
broadcaster; he broadcast the first
report in the state of a black football
game. During the game he coined a
new term, "self-tackle-isation," for
which he received a $25 bonus and a
good ribbing.
Another important aspect of
Abram Rom's career is that he was
among the first DJs to back rhythm
and blues musicians. A number oi
them appeared as guests on his show,
including Louis Armstrong, B.B.
King, Little Richard, Duke Ellington
and Ross's favorite, Nat King Cole
"a marvelous person," he says.
blowing fuses. "The telephone
company expressed concern," he
says. "Things got so bad that Ma Bell
finally asked me to close down
because I was playing havoc with her
system."
Today, Abram Ross is still on the
air with a program . focusing on
religious music and his "Negrocn in
the News" show. A clown at heart, he
is constantly pulling someone's leg.
Every year he gives himself a
"suprise birthday party" attended
by hundreds of friends and fans; like
Jack Benny, Ross always claims it's
his 39th.
Oklahomans recently
acknowledged Ross's contributions
to the state by changing the name of
his street to Abram Ross Avenue. He
has seen many changes during his
long and active career, and he ex
plains his ability to maintain his
Mrentiy through thick and thin by
commenting, "Peace and happiness
come to those who look tor it I carry
mine with me."
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -
Abram's Rom's broadcast signture is
"The Sweetest Ttfng This Side of
Heaveu." The 71-ytar-old self
proclaimed "old youngster" has
b?tn blazing new trails in radio
Journalism for KS years, winning
many awards and gaining national
recognition as one at the first black
radio newscaster* and an out
nalism in stead of theology. He says,
"the black man needed someone to
focus on his day-to-day fight against
a hard way of life."
After finishing his studies Ross
moved back to Oklahoma to look for
a job. He got his start in 1948 working
for Oklahoma station KLPR, now
mostly a country and western
station. Ross was the first to realize
he was the only black man on the air
in Oklahoma. He pieced together his
format-which he still used today
focusing on "the little man apd the
whole community."
Keeping his show on the air proved
harder than getting on in the first
place. Ross's program ran into the
red the first year. But then he talked
a local sponsor into giving him a one
month trial. After only a week they
were ready to sign a year's contract.
Ross's popularity grew and in 1954 he
was named one of the top ten black
DJs in the nation.
Ross's show included atr unusual
news segment call "Negroes in the
News" which gave a daily up date of
news in the black community, both
local and national. "I found th*t any
time a black man hit the news, it was
spread all over the front page, and a
lot of the time without much attention
given to detail and truth," he ex
plains. Aside from listing church
activities, most news coverage of the
black community focused on violence
or other negative images of blacks.
Ross's wide-ranging career as a
news reporter has taken him across
the nation. He has interviewed
national leaders like Martin Lather
King, Jr.; after King's assassination,
Ross kept his listeners posted with
bulletins telephoned directly from
Memphis.
THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Published Every Thursday
By Advance Publ., Elizabeth Qty
I
Vol T. Short
Editor
K9kH
Pat Mansfield
Circulation Manogt
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