The Kings MoantaJn Herald
??* ; Established 1889
A weekly newspaper devoted to the promotion of the general welfare and published
for the enlightenment, entertainment and benefit of the citizens of Kings Mouatain
and its vicinity, published every Thursday by the Herald Publishing House.
Entered as second class matter at the po*toffi?e at Kings Mountain, N. G? under Act
of Congress of March 3, 1873
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Martin Harmon Editor- Publisher
Charles T. Carpenter, Jr. Sports, Circulation, News
Miss Elizabeth Stewart . ... Society
MECHANICAL DEPARTMENT
Eugene Matthews Horace Walker David Weathers Ivan Weaver*
Charles Miller Paul Jackson
( ?'Member of Armed Forces)
TELEPHONE NUMBERS? 167 or 283
SUBSCRIPTION RATES PAYABLE IN ADVANCE
ONE YEAR ? $2.50 SIX MONTHS ? $1.40 THREE MONTHS? 75c
BY MAIL ANYWHERE
TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE
, , I
Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither bo partaker of other men's sins.- keep thyself pure. 1 Timo
thy 5:tt. -"'""V :
Let's Buy Knowledge
To put it mildJy, Mayor Glee A. Brid
ges' pronouncements about the spend
ing of portions of the $600, (XX) bond
money voted on January 16, did not
sound too good, and may have had some
people regretting, in retrospect, that
they supported the bond issue elections.
Particularly distressing was the state
ment concerning the employment of a
salaried engineer to supervise the work.
The indication here is that the city will
have a glorified foreman handling the
work, and not a licensed, responsible
engineer. W. K. Dickson who supplied
the estimates for the recent bond issues,
may not be the desired expert but he
has already collected $2,200 off ihe city
for engineering work, and that amount
is a big down-payment on the percen
tage fee his original contract stipulates.
Mr. Dickson has done a great amount of
public works, and our guess would be
that he is competent.
The same situation exists with respect
to Recreation Engineer Charles Graves,
of Atlanta.
Some people in this community have
never n&fl much respect for experience
and education. They feel they can do a
Job better and cheaper themselves, and
their patchwork results have been no
boon to the welfare of the community
nor the public treasury.
The Mayor's plea concerning employ
ing local labor is good vote-getting talk,
but there is no reason to assume that
private contractors, knowledgeable in
the field of big construction, can't nor
won't employ local folk.
Last year it was quite hard for Char
les E. Wilson, now Secretary of Defense,
to understand the. impropriety of own
ing stock in General Motors Corporation
and still doing business with General
Motors.
Now, it appears, we have a compara
ble small-scale situation here. The city
administration could pull off its project- ?
ed purchase of the Lynch-Cox-Granth
am private club much easier if Commis
sioner Grantham were not a party to the
ownership. Our understanding is that
this private lake now represents a total
investment of not more than $7, (XX). In
deed, the increase of the supply of water
in this manner may be quite in order,
but, like Mr. Wilson and his General
Motors stock, it just doesn't look good.
The really important matter, though,
is competent supervision o t spending of
the bond money, via contracts to low
bidders.
It is now possible to buy stocks on the
installment plan, just as it is possible to
buy refrigerators, television sets, auto
mobiles, homes, or anything else. The
stock brokers, squeezed between rising
costs and lower volume of sales, hope
their installment plan will increase their
profits and will also provide a great res
ervoir of cash for the expansion of
American business. Undoubtedly, the
monthly or quarterly stock investment
plan will have much appeal for many
people, including those who lack the
nerve to "plunge" with the more conven
tional purchases in 100-share lots.
The United States Public Health Ser
vice representative told Grady Howard,
the hospital manager, last week, that
the over-riding consideration on adding
beds to Kings Mountain hospital should
be the need for beds, and he tended to
poor-pool, as irrelevant objections voic
ed in some quarters on grounds of re
quired increase of operating room facili
ties, kitchen, and other allied quarters.
The inspectors found the hospital not
only full ol patients but over-full. If the
state officials take the same attitude,
then it would appear that further hos
pital expansion here is quite possible.
School Space Needs
On Monday, the county board of com
missioners is going to be asked to offer
a county-wide bond issue election of $2,
500,000 for school construction funds.
The amount is about all the school
boards of the three county districts
think they can ask as the present time,
if not all that they need.
Kings Mountain's part would be 12.04
percent (the percentage of Kings Moun
tain district school pupils in the coun
ty) or $301,000. That amount is insuffi
cient, but it would be a great help.
According to the school folk, the
county tax rate would have to be in
creased 24 cents per $100 valuation to
take care of the principal payments and
interest charges, based on the county's
present taxable valuation of $82 mil
lions.
Some think it is a bad time to be up
pi ng tax bilJf, and, of course, there are
many who feel there is never a good
time.
They may be right, but the facts of
crowded classrooms are staring the peo
ple in the face. One way to handle the
problem would De to put SCftOOl opera
tions on a two-shift basis, but the only
time such a method has been used is
during a real emergency, such as occur-*
red here in 1932 when the Central plant
burned. Our guess is that the parents
would rather pay a bigger tax bill for ex
panded plants.
Ike's First Budget
President Eisenhower has presented
his first budget, at least his first from
the standpoint of having sole responsi
bility for it. Last year, just in office, the
President presented his quickie version
of Harry Truman's budget.
Of the huge total of $65.8 billions for
1954-55, two dollars of every three is
earmarked for national security, includ
ing planes, guns, atomic weapons, ships,
shells, and servicemen's pay.
The other biggest lick is for interest,
10-plus cents of each dollar going to pay
interest on a menagerie of government
obligations, including the familiar "E"
bond almost everyone has held at some
time during the past dozen years.
Generally, President Ike is being cred
ited with presenting a "tight" budget.
Certainly it is a reversal of the trend
which found each succeeding budget
bigger.
If there is any particular "fat" in the
budget, the North Carolina Congression
al delegation would have us believe it is
in foreign aid, which is becoming a very
popular whipping boy indeed. If other
Congressmen feel the same *ay, then
President Eisenhower's budget ? which
allows for another $2.9 billion in red ink
? might wind up balanced.
The language of the North Carolina
Utilities Commission order granting a
certificate of convenience and necessi
ty to the City of Kings Mountain fbr dis
tributing natural gas was definitely
"reluctant." The commission, most ob
viously, favored Public Service Compa
ny of -North Carolina, a private utility,
but was confronted with the refusal of
the city to grant Public Service a fran
chise and with the tentative allotment
of natural gas to the city by the Federal
Power Commission. While some citizens
declined to get particularly excited a
bout the matter, it does seem logical for
the city, already in the utilities business
with its water and power distribution,
to distribute the additional, and in some
measures competitive, utility tural
?as. The certificate should ease <?rea'iy
the task of the city's MifcineerT
mayor and city attorney, in .'h?: ?
ary 8 hearing at Wasliingtoi . ,
seems that the tentative aj/otn.i?i.. ...
become permanent.
10
YEARS AGO Item* of news about U&91 Mountain area people and rrmti
THIS WEEK taken from the 1944 filet of the Kings Mountain Herald.
Dr. V. A. Neasham, htead of
the Kings Mountain National
Park, will address members of
the Kiwanis club at their regular
weekly meeting this evening at
the club house.
A total of $191,200 00 in bonds
had been sold up to yesterday af
ternoon, according to Chairman
J. R. Davis.
Social And Personal
Honoring their pastor, Rev. P.
D. Patrick and Mrs. Patrick on
their twenty-fifth wedding anni
versary, members of the Wo
man's Auxiliary o? First Presby
terian church entertained at a re
ception at the home of Mr. and ,
Mrs. Paul Nelaler on Gaston
street last Saturday night.
Mrs. A. H. Patterson and Mrs.
C. E. Warlick entertained at sup
per last Wednesday night Guests
Included members 6f the Senior
choir of Central Methodist church
and- their organist, Mrs, Aubrey
Maunfey.
Mrs. S. R. Suber, Jr.. of Rock
ingham. spent the weekend with
Mr, and Mrs. Sam Weir.
\
MARTIN'S
MEDICINE
By Martin Harmon
tpgredienta: bits of new*,
uAadom, humor, and comment.
Directions : Take weekly, if
possible , but avoid ?
overdosage.
If this pltece had a title, which
it doesn't anymore, it could be
called "Cleaning the Hook",
meaning the stick-hook which
serves to protect many items
from the wastebasket until
they finally get handled, or,
due to old age, finally dfeserve
wastebasket treatment.
m-m
On the bottom of the pile was
an interesting item I clipped
months age, fiom another
newspaper, which, in turn, had
clipped it from the Chapel Hill
Wetekly, obviously from the
personal column of some staf- ?
fer. If was an Interesting story,
in its own right, but is even
more timely here at the mo
ment for February is just
around the corner, and Febru
ary in Kings Mountain is. ban
quet season.
m-m
, "Onte of the most satisfying
after - dinner speeches I ever
heard," the story-teller relates,
"was delivered by Maryon
Saunders a few weeks ago at
the dinner celebrating the 25th
anniversary of the Chapel Hill
Kiwanis Club. Mr. Saunders'
assignment was to welcome the
guests from out of town. When
his tutn camfe a.nd he was intro
duced by "foastmaster Roy
Armstrong he rose to his feet,v
said "Welcome!' and sat down."
Just that one word was his
speech. The diners were so as
tonished that for a few seconds
they didn't make a sound. Thten,
when they realized that the
speech was all over, that not
another word was coming from
Mr. Saunders they burst into
ecstatic applause."
m-m
I don't suppose the one-word
welcoming speech would work
all the time, but quite frequent
ly the No. 2 and No. 3 speakers
on a program over-do It, when
a few words would be suffi
cient. .
A neighboring newsman
wrote a pitece like this several
months ago, if the tattered,
yellowed clipping I have on my
Hesk la any tnrtl^attnn Anrt thg
general theme was on the won
derfulness of being able to for
get.
m-m
Thfe thesis developed Is that
hardly a week, or an Issue,
passes but that some member
of the staff, publisher or er
rand boy, doesn't get a good
cussln', for some mistake he
made, or some mistake he
didn't makte. The neighboring
editor notes: "One lady called
me up reeently and said 'you
handle the news too tlarn fast',
and a man wanted to know Just
last week how long it took us
to find out the news and print
it. Still another chap couldn't
understand why -his name was
left out of a list who had re
ceived honors, and one who had
been required to appear In
court wanted to know if his
name could not be omitted.
Still another, due to a mess-up
In the addressograph arrange
ments. did not get a newspaper
after leaving the money for his
subscription. We explained that
the addressograph tab change
had been Inadvertently missed,
that we were sorry, and he as
surfed us it would never happen
again with him. We are always
happy to learn of reasonable
men who Inhabit this earth "
mm
Newspaper folk can think of
nothing worse than falling to
mail a man a paper after he's
put his money on the line, un
less it be failing to mail a paper
to a LADY aftfer she has paid .
her 'script.
m-m
On the other hand, a certain
illustrious citizen dictated a
sarcastic tome the other day
after his paper had been stop
ped for non-payment of dues.
Hfe accused us of trying to be
big, hard boiled businessmen.
It wasn't that at all. All circu
lation men know, and experi
ence proves, that a flabby dr>
culatjon policy breeds extreme
waste In the billing department
and disrespect for the publcia
tion. It does help to forget.
as*m
Cigarette sales aren't doing
too well these days, due the
dire medical implications, the
Increase in cigar purchases, or
somfe reason, but it reminds of
a comment I ran across recent
ly, which may or may not be
true: "If you see a package of
chewing tobacco In a man's
back pocket you can be pretty
sure that he's free from sto
mach trouble and ulcers; for
hat reason yoa may fenvy him."
And from the same source,
"Next to being young and
pretty, the best bet is to be old
and rich."
m-as ' ,
Pick-ups: Friday night's
snow was the first In somfe sea
sons to hang around long
enough to see it. and
really accommodating 19^|||U
school youngsters, coming on a
Friday night, and being ready
for a tree Saturday. . . .
city's new street signs look
pretty good,
slble to And one's way about
the community .big man
boxfea being posted around in
dicate that the expanded dtf
carrier Mrvto* la Just around
the corner...... S
CROSSWORD
By A . C. Gordon
Viewpoints of Other Editors
> ACROSS
1 ? Ancient Rmiu i port
in j arena
? ? Action oi th? roulette
wheal.
10 ? Outoui element
? 1 J? To atorm
16? Tikn la ? popu
lar indoor "eport"
If ? Parlor poaint came
11 ? Compaq direction
12 ? In the neighborhood
i*-&y
? _atcher of lamprera
26? Latin "and"
11? educational Canto ta
(abb.)
H ? Abbreviated apart
31 ? Rate epoetin
33? Partook in ? i
IS? United India (abb.)
?7? Bncliah title (abb.)
58 ? Previoua (toot)
to ? Daaerlptl?a of m
?s
The Sporting Side
*S ? Proaecutfai* officer of
a diatrtct (atvb.)
a? Th* Want Ad SK?oa For
L^Vm (mbb >
Completed runto
TH PoSP?St: NO haven
FOR SWEATSHOPS
cJthe ^?AIdfent ot the New York j
State CIO Council and those
Southern industrialists who don't
? ?hoineW indU8tries established
n their communities have some
thing in common. They are in
o feCsLSi^ngthe.nl"? the position
n P ^dustry in the
South. But not only that, They
TIIM. * stand against
sS 1U'M'K aiaiiUaida in the
South generally.
<j. J.he President of the New York
Holltnn Council is Louis C.
\ st week Mr. Hoi
lander cried out against the
movement of Northeastern lndu*
areas" nnH HSouth?rn sweatshop
nor nma demanded that Gover
Sf something ,o h?lt
JKs
e?n> livings to the sLm Zk
fhl ^7VL8Weat8hop industries in
the Southern states. But the real
SSuSTSS ta our
Jrom sweatshop status unde^an
taCTeasingly enlightened leader
riiip. Burlington Mills, which has
fi^M f n wonders with its Smith.
SSiSSr^1? a prime example
of enlightened leadership in Sou
Ss'SP' T?? once back
^f0?Lf^th 18 coming of age. In
Rm nniy6 f8 wel1 as otherwise,
o? way to retard our
h,^^?SS 011(1 glve sweatshop in
dustry a new lease on life is to
keep new industries from coming
Hurti^6^ .h' We need more in
dustry to give employment to
displaced farm workters. A large
SSfiSTl. plUs sweatshop
wage scales adds up to an econo
mic drag that Is felt in te?, of
a lower living standard by every
the Sh?r Profe??ionai i*an S
fnr or.by GVery Southerner
for that matter.
H York 010 official un
derstandably is worried by the J
North^? %,*dUMtry 0114 of th6
Northeast Every time a factory
worker^ Jl ??* ?Dd move* on
workers are thrown out of em
?SEnfndh d,,flcUlt gnomic
have to. ** ma<Je. It
tire* fog remaining expand
"Jit Industries of the Northeast
ButatlLUOTneienipIoym*nt glack
woU?? need not be
22F&2** a growth of sweat
the^*ervU?hJn ft the South- Rj
win ? ?? h? compWns of
SLS&L?* b,/m,nat* Southern
2 ? expands South
ern employment.
One can readily understand
why gome Southern Industrialists
n?h2tTa1i *?CW industries estab
communities. They
take a short view, and all thfev
can see in the new-lndurtty movZ
ment Is a dwindling labor supply.
Lack of a labor surplus, thev I
7111 b"n* on worker unrest I
aUrf ^l??ands fo,T h's^er wages!
and better working conditions.
v,ew which
? J!? . , defended, certainly not
ZSXSJT"*- Nof it edsl
v defcmied on economic grounds.
g?JP? P?y ?nd bad working
condHIons don't stimulate pro
? and unproductive fac.
to P??r Invest
; *2* J*?** ?cales have
^ m*in 'actors in
Pw*n* Prosperity.
Factories illce stores and farms,
Work<'rs S*nera?y
are wel paid antl unemployment
wat a low Abb.
'"..il1* South should wel
c^wne solidly . financed new In
SE* it comet by mig
ration from other regions or
9^?? ,rom local capital. The
of fh<* Southern
^talmovement will be a fur
ther decline of the sweatshop a
FORECASTING FEMALES
Two of this newspaper's re
porters in Los Angeles have come
up with some happy news lor
husbands. The forecast Is that
feminine fashions will cost less.
This new year's prophecy is
based on the opinion of some five
thousand experts on what women
want and what they are going to
do; they are the manufacturers
of milady's clothes and the buy
era who will guese which ones
will sell best in the nation's re
tail stores. The Messrs. Retes and
Webster, who interviewed these
experts for us at the Los Angeles
fashion showing, report that quot
ed prices are from ten to twenty
per cent below a year ago. The
reductions seem to apply to
everything from distantly admir
ed- mink coats to aprons for the
kitchen.
The basis lor this price fore
cast is a forecast on what thte
ladles will do. This year will see
some snappy changes in styles ?
hemlines and necklines will ap
proach each other and shirts and
skirts will break out in a rash of
color. Nevertheless, and herb we
quote, "The experts think the fe
males in your family will buy
fewer duds than in 1953."
Now any ordinary husband can
see a certain logic in this fore
cast The closet, at last glimpsb,
has absolutely no more room.
And while the closet is full the
pocketbook is empty. . No busi
ness prophecy we have seen all
year sounds more rational.
Still, we gretet the opinion of
these experts with as much re
serve as all the other prophecies.
Experience counts tor nothing
with an expert because as soon
as hte has had some he knows that
he isn't. Bur experience in a fami
ly with fer tdes of assorted ages
induces a certain humility about
forecasting they will acquire few
4r duds, especially if they are
markted down twenty per cent. ?
Wall Street Journal.
WIDER UNDERSTANDING
OF SECRECY TREND IS
NEEDED IF EVIL IS TO BE
ABATED
North Carolina's Conference
on Freedom of Information, held
last Thursday In Raleigh, can be
considered successful If measured
only by the intense interest dis
playted by the people who attend
ed the all-day session. But there
is more to it than that; the con
ference marked a beginning In a
battle tor wider acceptance of the
people's right to know what is go
ing on In governmfent at every
level.
The theme of the meeting deriv
ed from a commencement ad
dress made last June at the Uni
versity of Virginia by Governor
John S. Battlfe. Said Mr. Battle:
"Our fundamental freedoms
Girl Scout News
The Brownie Troop 1, of Cen
tral Methodist church, met at the
church Thursday, January 21.
The roh was called and dues
collected. Then vw practiced the
investiture which will be held
Thursday, February 4.
We did the Hokey Pokey, the
Bunny Hop and Here We Go To
Zoodeo.
Then the refreshment "commit
tee served ropcorn. We sang the
Brownie Goody-bye song.
Leaders of the troop are Mrs.,
Madge Rhea and Mrs. Paul Hen
dricks. v . - * -U ? g* f ?
Reporter, Cattey Shore
are meaningless without the |
means of obtaining knowledge.
Freedom of thought, of expres
sion, of the press, together with
freedom' of worship, arte basic
tenets of our way of life and each
and all of these are predicated
upon the individual's opportunity
to obtain and evaluate informa.
Representatives of the Judici
ary and of law enfordement offl
cers combined with members of
the press, radio and television, to
keynote before those in atten
dance the realization that secrecy
In government is an encroach
ment on our fundamental liber
ties; that free access to informa
tion is vested in the people and
not, as some may believe, in
newspaper, radio and television
commtentators.
The meeting was impressive in
that there seemed to be few ar
eas of disagreement among those
represented on the two panels
that took up the major portion of
the day. There seemed also a
willingness to Iron out what mis
understandings may have been
built up in recent years largely
through lack of public interest
It appeared, too, that there was
a general agreement that secrecy
has crept into every level of gov
ernment often uncfrr the guise of
being in the interest of either na
tional security pr greater effi
ciency.
_ Of all the quotable "quotes"
that came out of the meeting pro
bably the most penetrating was
that voiced by Federal Judge
20f.J' nayes who said that
publicity is the terror of tyran
ny.
One did not have to be afTas
tute student of history to recog
nlze thfe significance of Judge
^mark. One could simply
recall the sorry history of totali
tarianism to realize that evil men i
to ? PQWcr onrv ? th?y hava i
for men's nilnds |
truth ^ oU access to the
This conference can only 4*
\ ,s"cce88ful beginning
since Its deliberations were con
fmed to relations between the
Judiciary and law enforcement
?r?nd PuMlc information
mfedia. There are other fields
equally as important and equally
as needful of thoughful explore
tion. But it was a beginning and
those in attendance came away
with the belief that there will be
other conferences out of which
will conn; a more widespread un
derstanding of the underlying
principles of the people's right
to know. ? - Chatham County
Newc
^ytrou
a23?s54rS^ m??f *?&
F'aSdy Coil
vOtl
KING of the beasts but he's
just as scared of fire as we
all are.
Fortunately, you can do
something about it. First.
you can eliminate the fire
hazards in your home . . .
and second, you can protect
your home values with
strong insurance.
Call On Us.
C. E. WARLICK
Insurance Agency
Phone 9
203 W. Mountain SL
mBEGRlb
T&a
SMART LOOK"
This family's got itl They look smart
because they ARE smart . . . and one
of the smartest things they do If to
send all their clothes to us for our
thorough, but-oh-so-gentle dry clea
ning . . . which always brings back
that like-new snap and sparkle!
WEAVER'S CLEANERS
910
* mo
ONALLOCC^siq^j
CHEERWINE ISGOODt/kSTEy
CMIttWIHl is a moI teste ItwINei
Energizing, too. You wflt Irke it's dl*l
twctive tang. Graft wM? or
r/"!| BRINK , ^
jjeemne
if U 1