s2L\ Established 1889
The Kieyt Memtafa Herald
A weekly newspaper devoted to the promotion of the general welfare and published
for the enUghtment. entertainment and benefit of the citizens of Kings Mountain
and its vicinity, published every Thursday by the Herald Publishing House.
Entered as second class matter at the post office at Kings Mountain, X. C.. 28085
under Act of Congress of March 3, 1873.
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Martin Harmon ..... Editor-Publisher
Gary Stewart .Sports Editor
Miss Elizabeth Stewart.Circulation Manager and Society Editor
Miss Helen Owens . Clerk
Douglas House;
Paul Jackson
MECHANICAL DEPARTMENT
Zeb Weathers
Mike Camp
Allen Myers
Steve Ramsey
TELEPHONE NUMBER — 739-5441
SUB9CRIPTION RATES PAYABLE LN ADVANCE — BY MAIL ANYWHERE
ONE YEAR .. $3.50 SIX MONTHS .. $2.00 THREE MONTHS Si
PLUS NORTH CAROLINA SALES TAX
TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE
Moreover, it is rrqitiirsi in ntnvnrtn, that n nmn be found faithful.
I (hnnl limns 4.
No Shock
If anyone fell over from shock on
the news of the United States Supreme
Court’s decision reported Monday on
legality of the public accommodations
section of the 196-1 civil rights act it is
surprising.
In decisions on two cases the Su
preme Court affirmed legality of the
1964 act.
While It is customary (as the Court
did) to rule on a case on basis of the
particular facts, it is safe to assume that
the rulings 1) will dissuade future court
actions and appeals in related cases and
2) will encourage compliance with the
act in these directions.
In the instance of the Atlanta motel,
located near an interstate highway, 75
percent of its temporary tenants were
non-Georgians. In the instance of the
Birmingham restaurant, the bulk of its
supplies came from out-of-state. The
power of Congress to regulate interstate
commerce was used by the Court as rea
son for certifying the judgment of the
Congress.
There has long been legal question
as to whether a person or corporation
could choose his customers, provided the
would-be customers met the cash test.
Can a merchant decide who shall buy a
pair of pants, or a newspaper or radio
station who can buy its space or time —
provided, of course, he meets the firm's
credit tests or provides the long given
on the barrel-head? None or these wish
ed to deny these sales.
The bars have been up where the
character of the business had social
overtones.
The civil rights story has been THE
news story of the South, perhaps of the
nation, since the Supremo Court decision
of 195-1 which ordered desegregation of
public schools.
It was quite apparent then that,
though the Court specified “within rea
sonable time", the question was “when”
not “if”.
Monday’s decision is plain; "when"
is now.
Those shocked by the decision com
pared to the tabled ostritch who in face
of unpleasantness allegedly buries his
head in the sand.
Tame To Eliminate
While the work and conversation of
almost all General Assemblies include
myriad items, the major ones are ap
propriations and revenues, the two quite
interrelated.
Under the North Carolina Constitu
tion, the cash must come in before it
can be paid out. Should revenues fall
short of estimates, the Governor is di
rected to pare expenditures accordingly.
Seldom are taxes removed, unless
replaced by new ones.
In Depression *33, North Carolina
swapped the state property tax for the
sales tax. In 1941, the state was prosper
ous enough to forswear (with aid of
Governor Broughton’s arm-twisting) of
the home table food sales tax. In 1957,
the sales tax was expanded to include
many items (building materials, job
printing) formerly considered strictly
wholesale and exempt. Meantime, there
was a small wholesale sales tax of one
twentieth of one percent on a few speci
fied items.
In 1961. the sales tax returned to
the home table, but the General As
sembly eliminated the wholesale sales
tax, largely because it returned very
little cash and was regarded as unprofit
able from the revenue stand-point.
One item of the wholesale sales tax
the General Assembly forgot was the
wholesaler's license tax, $10 per year.
Which had been enacted as a reference
K)int for collecting wholesale sales tax.
obody thought about it in 1963 and it
is still extant.
It is worthy of removal.
Another tax the state would do well
to eliminate is the poll tax, charged by
most counties and some cities — though
the poll tax has long been divorced from
its name and original purpose. It has
been many years since paying a poll tax
Was pre-requisite to voting In North
Carolina.
The City of Kings Mountain ceased
levying the poll tax on the grounds of
Practicality. Its revenue return was no
where commensurate with the troubles
Connected with collecting it.
Handsome Gift
Many were skeptical of the effort to
raise §80.000 by public subscription to
afford the school system a new. modern
and adequate football stadium.
They had reason, looking both at
the amount and at past history, in which
raising of large sums from gifts had
been limited largely to the building of
churches.
Then came last week’s announce- !
ment that several Mauney plants and i
their officials have pledged gifts of §20,
000 for the proposed Gamble Stadium,
a munificent gift and a quarter of the
minimal goal.
The Mauney group, as one citizen
remarked, has certainly done its part in
assuring a needed area asset.
He added, "If we don't succeed, it’s
our lault."
Nor does he think the community
will fail.
Happy Birthday
Superior Stone Company, an im
portant Kings Mountain industrial citi
zen for 23 years, is celebrating its 25th
birthday.
When it opened its Kings Mountain
operation. Kings Mountain, like the na
tion, was out of the Depression, but not
too far out. There was still an undue in
cidence of unemployment and wages
were minimal.
The Superior opening provided
needed employment for many.
Obviously, since Superior is a min
er, her locating here can be labeled an
“act of God". Had not her product been
here, she would not have come.
But Superior has been and con
tinues to be a responsible industrial
citizen, always willing to shoulder her
load — and more — in community mat
ters as w'ell as in company operations.
Congratulations are in order on Su
perior's silver anniversary along with
best wishes for many future and equally
happy ones.
Buy items for Christmas: a fruit
cake from a Lion, a Christmas tree from
a Jaycee.
Ttague Philosophy
Eddie Teague, head coach of The
Citadel, provided some worthy philoso
phy to the Kings Mountain football
squad last week at the annual Lions
Club football banquet that is equally as
worthy for any and all.
He did not claim originality as he
delineated a friend's contention that the
population includes three groups: 1) the
w inners. 2) the shoulder-shruggers. and
3) the losers.
Mr. Teague assigned ten percent
each at the bottom and top of the scale,
with SO percent in the vast shoulder
shrugging group. The winners show
imagination, determination, and react
well to crisis, while the losers are Alibi
Ikes, propping on excuses and blaming
others for failure.
He held out hope for the shoulder
shruggers who mend their fateful atti
tudes and realize they, too. can be win
ners by the same formula.
It was good advice.
Connected with football, too, is the
nation's major candidate for “winner of
the year". Honored at the Football Hall
of Fame banquet recently was the high
school youth who made all-conference.
He was determined to play football —
in spite of loss of both legs — and he
did.
Best bows to the high school foot
ball honorees: Richard Gold, most valu
able; Lyn Cheshire, best blocker; Pat
Hord, most improved; Pat Murphy, top
leader; and George Plonk, top scholar.
MAR'TIN’S
MEDICINE
•y MARTIN HARMON
Inoradirnt*. bit* of nrton
wisdom, humor, and comment*
Directions: Taka werklg, I, i
possible, but avoid
oxrrdoaage.
Superior Stone Company has ;
just published a handsome re
pori in celebration of its 25th
anniversary. The 52-page booklet
makes liberal use of color as ;
well as photographs of company j
employees, past ntul present, anti :
summates the firm’s history in
interesting fashion.
During the quarter century, j
the report relates. Superior has j
quarried, processed to exact cus
tomer specifications, and gold !
mote than 130 million tons of ,
rock to meet construction needs ,
throughout the Southeast. If the !
130 million ton figure is unimag
inable, it would be enough crush- !
ed stone to fill a freight train j
24.500 miles long * isn’t the
earl h ’ s circumference 25.000
miles? i, or to pave a concrete i
road. 21 p-et with* and nine 1
inches thick 25,000 long Addi- ;
tionally. Superior has sold 20
million more tons as sales ageri
for other quarries i
mm
The (Wit of I ho booklet lea- j
lures a beautiful photograph of I
Superior's first quarry, ealletl
Riil Hill, near Charlottesville.
Va.. a mountain-side operation. I
The quarry was opened to sup- :
ply Southern Railway. Superior's j
first major customer, the South- j
fern requiring stone ballast for :
its main line Washington -Char- !
lotte track. That is particularly i
interesting as. during the course ,
of its 25 years of growth. Super- j
ior has been one of Southern's j
major shippers.
Kings Mountain's limestone
quarry, now known in company
lingo as "Kings Mountain Num
ber 1”. was the company's sec
ond plant, to be followed by op
erations in Cumberland county
and Harnett county.
Today's company operations
map is dotted heavily over North
Carolina, from westernmost
Hickory to easternmost Belgrade,
stretches north-south to Danville.
Va.. and Augusta, Ga.
“Kings Mountain Number 1”,
opened in 1911, has produced
more crushed limestone than any
other Superior quarry. "Kings
Mountain Number 2”. built in
1939. crushes stone from Super
ior’s neighbor. Foote Mineral
Company, the lithium producer,
limestone being a by-product of
the Foote mining operation.
Superior's Kings Mountain pit
covers more than 45 acres, is 230
feet deep and a mile long. How
deep d >es the rock bod go? All
the way to China?
Kings Mountain Manager Jay
Powell is successor to Jim Ar
thur. now retired, atttl to Carl
Mayes, general superintendent of
the Western division and a com
pany director. The report men
lion's Carl's upcoming retire
ment. which comes as a surprise
as I had not realized Carl to be
anywhere near retirement age.
\V. R. < Red * Herndon, of Kings
Mountain, superintends the Pine
ville and Gaston operations,
while Don Winchester, son of
Sam Winchester, of Kings Moun
tain. superintends the big Bakers
Quarry near Monroe Another
son. Robert Winchester, is in
charge of the Asheboro opera
tion.
In the section on shipping.
Clyde and Jim Kerns are pictur
ed. and it is noted that Superior
contracts its Kings Mountain and
Augusta trucking requirements
to them.
Most laymen. I take it. would
think rock rock, but not to the
professional. The booklet pic
tures mbrely eight ‘‘numbers" or
types of the many crushings Su
perior r> reduces
Superior president is Trent
Ragland. Jr., a friend of long
standing. Over his signature he
states appreciation to the em
ployees. customers. suppliers,
friends and neighbors who have
enabled Superior to grow. Merg
ed some years ago with Ameri
can Marietta Company, a subse
quent merger with the Martin
Company was effected to form
Martin Marietta Corporation. The
Mg Martin complex made the
Martin bomber for World War II
use. now is involved in the space
program and many others. In
deed. a back cover relates that
the booklet itself was printed
with Sinclair ft Valentine inks.
Sinclair ft Valentine being a
Martin Marietta division.
President Ragland enclosed his
card with the book and on it is
the note “no acknowledgment
necessary or expected" Super
ior's contribution to Kings Moun
tain’s welfare In 33 years of its
8 deserves more than a little
acknowledgment.
Silent Night
IMthMiCtaA
U Focal Poinl
Americans who dream of a
white Christmas with Santa
1 Claus popping down the chimnej
to the tune of "Jingle Hells ean
! thank assorted winters and poet a
and the northern climate. Christ
mas in the land of Christ s birth,
i however, is another matter.
What is Christmas like in Beth
I lehem
Thoie's generally no snow, for
i one thing, for winters are mild in
the Judean llills around Bethle
hem. reports World Book Eli. ye
, lopedia. No Santa Claus listens
to children’s pleas, for lie’s an
American invention bas»*d on a
European saint. And there’s pro
bahlv no dec.raied Christmas
tree in the village square; that
custom originate*! in (Jermany.
Instead, the final poinl of
Christmas in Bethlehem in the
Church of St Mary of the Nativi
ty, supposislly built over the spot
where Jesus was born. Here pil
grims from all over the world
gather on Christmas Eve. First
; there is carol singing in the
i square faring the church. Then
all enter for the solemn midnight
. mass. After the service, an im
age of Christ is carried in a pro
cession down into the grotto, ami
is placed in a manger where it
lies until January fi. the Feast of
the Epiphany.
j After this ceremony, some may
! wander into the fields outside
the town, where perhaps shep
' lii-iils long ago heard the news of
the birth of Christ.
] All this takes place, of eourse,
1 on the eve of December 25. Bui
that's not the end of Christmas
in Bethlehem For the Eastern
Orthodox churches celebrate the
holiday on January 6. and the
i Armenians observe it <>n January
: IS. which is January 6 according
to the old style, or Julian calen
' dar.
viewpoints ot Utter tditors
NEED SOLOMON'S
WISDOM
One program connected with
motor vehicles in North Carolina
that has had a few smooth mo
ments is the compulsory auto lia
bility insurance program into cf
feet was never intended to please
everybody concerned — and it
certainly hasn't.
The latest squabble has to do !
with "assigned risk" rates. In- '
sura nee Commissioner Kd La
nier reveals that he is being
•‘clobbered over the head" by in
surance companies for a rate in
crease in assigned risk auto lia
bility insurance. He said he has
been getting a large number of ;
complaints of cancellation of pol
icies “without obvious reason” in
the last few weeks.
Lanier intimated that the in
surance companies were concel
ing to dramatize their desire for
a rate boost. This may or may
not be the case, but the insurance
companies have been complain
ing about the program which
they insist is causing them to
lost- money.
A rate increase was sought last
year but it was denied by Lanier.
Under the state’s compulsory' in
surance law motorists unable to
buy insurance on the regular
market are assigned as risks to
insurance companies These cost
the motorists more, but the com
panies Insist they are losing mon
ey nonetheless.
Vestal Lemmon of Chicago,
general manager of the Nation
al Association of Independent In
surers. has again criticized the
compulsory program. Last week
he asked for abandonment of the
compulsory plan in favor of “un
insured motorist’’ coverage.
Lemmon presented figures
showing that, nationwide, only
3.9 per cent of motorists have as
signed risk insurance. This con
trasts with a percentage of 15-20
percent in North Carolina, he
pointed out These figures were
questioned by Lanier.
If the state of North Carolina
is to continue its compulsory lia
bility insurance program it is
going to have to worn out some
thing satisfactory with the insur
ance companies involved and the
motoring public. The insurance
firms do have a great deal at
■take in the program, and for
them to continue to lose money,
if that is the case, is not fair.
On the other hand, the motor- ;
ing public would like to see the
line drawn on the premium rates.
It. too. feels it is already paying
sufficient rates. Ed Lanier, the
rommissioner, hac a thankless
task. He is an able administrator,
employing as much diplomacy as
»ny man can. But it appears that
Lanier is going to require all the
.visdom of Solomon to come up
with a solution to this issue that :
will be satisfactory to all hands. ]
Rorky Mount Telegram
TEENAGERS IN BOSTON i
Teenager* in Boston mrefer to I
keep to the meet it* and have no •
un*h to npeak to their elder*. —
Letter in ta Boston newspaper..)
Teenagers in Boston art* shock
ers.
With manners both haughty
and odd.
For the Best, there, speaks on
ly to Rickers.
And the Rocker speaks only to
Mod. i
Christopher Hoi Ms. in The
Bpaetafor, (London)
LOBSTER! ARE YOU j
KIDDING?
Here in New England, where
tradition clings like burdock in
your kid sister’s Ion* hair, we
have always held that Thanks
giving was established by the
Pilgrims of Plymouth in 1621.
and that on that occasion their
stomachs were with good turkey I
lined
Here in New England, mind
you. We insist on this distinction
because a heresy being propound
ed by the state of Maine shows
that Maine has seceded from the
brotherhood. The Department of
Economic Development (press
agents, you can't fool us — and
probably city slickers) in Augus
ta claims that the Popham colo
nists, who settled in Maine 13
years earlier than the Pilgrims,
when Plymouth Rock was just
another pebble on the beach,
were the original Thanksgiving
hosts. According to this tale their
guests were the Abnaki Indians,
and lobsters were* the fart*. Ugh!
Not the Indian word, but the
Yiaitkee expletive.
Now. Fellas, this wouldn't be a
pitch to sell Maine lobsters,
would it? Because if it is, we like
the way the Irishman put it bet
ter. Asked if they have lobsters
in the old country, he said
“Shure, and the rivers is red
with’em!” Straight and to the
point, and not stepping on any
one else’s toes. Because when
they hear of this in Plymouth,
you men of Maine had best run...
No. Augusta, don’t apologize.
We New Englanders are deeply
hurt at this attempt to snatch
the turkey from the table. Do
lobsers have wishbontes? Do lob
sters have a succulent part that
goes over the fence last)...Can
a lobster say “Gobble, gobble,
gobble?”
Sure, lobster is fine-But not
>n Thanksgiving.
Hartford Cour ant
TEARS AGO
THIS WEEK
Items of news about King
Mountain area people and
events taken from the 196A
I files of the Kings Mount ait
Herald.
First Baptist church is coir
pleting arrangements to pur
haso adjoining property on S.
Piedmont Avenue including pur
?hase of the Kings Mountair
Herald building, owned by tlu
Herald, and adjacent lot. owned
»y D C. Maunev
Rev. H. Gordon Weekly, pastor
if First Baptist church for th<
l»st 30 months, resigned that
pastorate on Sunday to accept
he pastorate of Prov.tfrnce Bap
1st church. Charlotte.
SOCIAL AND PERSONAL
Duplicate Bridge club members
not Monday afternoon at the
tome of Mrs. Fred Plonk.
The YWA of Temple Baptist
“hurch hel dtheir December meet
ng Tuesday night at the home
if Jayne Yartbroogh.
Holiday flies . . .
Take a big toll of lives and property each year. Take
every precaution to keep your home safe from fire ...
and always be adequately insured.
THE ABTHUB HAT AGENCY
"ALL KINDS OF INSURANCE"
PHONE 739-3659
KEEP YOUR RADIO DIAL SET AT
1220
WKMT
Kings Monntain, N. C.
News & Weather every hour on the
hour. Weather every hour on the
half hour.
Fine entertainment in between
... .iViY ‘fr |
HARRIS 9urural9&me
KINGS MOUNTAIN. NORTH CAROUNA
Hear friends,
. A wrat«r suggests that we
sit down at Thanksgiving tiJ.
Hat the things ^
th^w **bclieve
I£d e ■°re ^PPiness *
and auch less coapiaiat
r.r J£ SLS^Lhr*
tStktai f°r th* UMnua
£t* «.r*.C°“ * - «*
. i»mr«JE:r Thanksgivin‘ ■»
Sincerely,
LAjtbyfri^
!:+:■