Established 1889 The Kings Mountain Herald A weekly newspaper devoted to the promotion of the general welfare and publ.shed for the enlightenment, 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, N. C., 28086 under Act of Congress of March 3, 1873. EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT . Editor-Publisher . Sports Editor Circulation Manager and Society Editor . Clerk MECHANICAL DEPARTMENT Bobby Bolin Dave Weathers, Supt. ’Alien Myers Paul Jackson Richard Blanton Rocky Martin Dave Weathers, Jr. ’On leave with the United States Army SUBSCRIPTION RATES PAYABLE IN ADVANCE — BY MAIL ANYWHERE ONE YEAR .. $3.50 SIX MONTHS .. $2.00 THREE MONTHS ,. $1 25 PLUS NORTH CAROLINA SALES TAX TELEPHONE NUMBER — 739-5441 TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. Psalm 89;7. Martin Harmon . Gary Stewart . Miss Elizabeth Stewart Miss Lynda Hardin .. Buffalo And Overlaps Governor Robert McNair of South Carolina recently appealed to the fed eral government to instruct us agencies to utilize more extensively exisiting ad ministrative organizations of the states in federal programs. Governor McNair’s remarks were in friendly vein and in the category of “constructive” criticism. Said the Governor, his ideas, if fol lowed, would result in much more good ; from the federal dollars spent with many more people benefitted. President Johnson, in his State of the Union address, referred to the same problem, both on over-iapping programs to which Governor McNair referred and to another area in his recommendations to merge the Departments of Labor and Commerce. An immediate sample of specific im portance to Kings Mountain and the '.whole area of Eastern Cleveland Coun ty is the Buffalo Creek watershed proj ect. Kings Mountain, with more treated water only a figurative day or two away from “must,” finds various agencies ' with an integral stake in planning and financing this project. First business ' was with the Department of Housing , and Urban Development, but close aboard were the Soil Conservation. Ser vice ad Farm Home Administration. It became apparent in sort ordeRihat __ cooperation between the several agen i! cies, including the City of King Moun 1 tain, was imperative to bringing the • .project to fruition and nearing fruition date. The cooperative venture is under way. Let it proceed with all haste. Legisla&ive Forum Cleveland County’s legislative dele n gation has scheduled a forum for Feb ruary 2 with a public invitation to all Cleveland citizens to attend. Specifically, the five-member dele gation wants citizens’ ideas on issues facing the General Assembly which con venes a few days later. The purpose: “in order that we may serve them bette:’”. a ' Certainly there are sufficient is sues apparent, as is customary at the bi 1 ennial session. All, of course, citizens and legisla tors alike, await with more than pass ing interest Governor Dan K. Moore’s detailing his ideas about paring taxes. How much and in what direction are the two major questions, allied as both are with the size of the surplus up coming on June 30. Guesses vary from $150 to $200 million. Citizens should avail themselves the . opportunity of conveying to their legis lators their wishes. Bullets P What is the productive capacity of the economy of the United States? Very great, says President Lyndon Johnson and his budget planners, as rep • resented in the proposed budget sent to ' the Congress this week. The unpleasant features include the previous call for imposition of a six per cent surtax on regular income tax bills, recommendation for increase in postal rates (20 per cent for first class surface 11 mail, 12.5 percent for air mail, and in creased payroll taxes for employees and employer. Some decry an unwillingness to pare some of the social programs in cluded in the “Great Society” program, particularly when the cutbacks have al ready been ordered in the highway and other construction programs. The borrowing bill (interest) must be paid, but the growing total of an esti mated $14.2 billion alarms some. Here in, “tight” money has taken its total. The late Governor-Senator Clyde R. Iloey seldom made a speech \\ lien he failed to call attention to the fact that the nation didn’t need to worry too much ’ about the growing national debt be cause the carrying cost was negligible. The same situation does not obtain to day. Alamance Bid At a time when education leaders are pushing for big increases in North Carolina teacher pay and anticipating use of a major portion of the indicated biennial surplus, Alamance county’s board of commissioners have sought to put sand, rather than grease, in the gears. Alamance wants the General As sembly to outlaw the paying of local supplements to teachers. Alamance ob viously does not, nor wishes to pay. The Burlington city district does pay a sup plement. Herein the situation compares with Cleveland County’s, where both Shelby and Kings Mountain districts pay basic supplements to all classroom teachers, and the County district does not. Alamance war ts to impose its nig gardliness on the rest of the state. Had the appeal come from one of the poorer counties, which obviously have trouble employing teachers due to differentials imposed by the supple ments, it would have been understand able. But Alamance is one of the state’s richer counties and is sixth in per capita income. Alamance wants the state to say, in effect, “You can’t spend your money as you wish.” The Kings Mountain district is hardly in a position to boast too highly. The supplement of §90 per year (in vogue for a long time and only recently doubled) was the lowest of any supple ment paid in the state. But it was and is that much. In turn, there has been no suggestion here that Mecklenburg, if its people wish, should not pay $800 or more minimum supplement. The big quarrel this newspaper has with the school people, boards of educa tion and administrators alike, is not minimal-maximal supplements, but an unwillingness to 1) adopt merit pay plans whereby more able teachers win larger supplements and 2) unwilling ness to go into the open teaching market and pay the price required for teaching excellence in fields where teaching per sonnel is short. The later problem has been with all since the Russian Sputnik shocked the United States from its head-in-sand superiority conceit in 1957. Teachers of science and mathematics have been in insufficient supply since. Merit pay differentials would com plicate administrative problems. But the policy is followed on limited scale in other agencies of state government. It is followed in industry. It is real and it is truth. Many in tangibles mark the differences between the teachers who are excellent, good, adequate, and poor. Liid Butter Members of Congress, some within the President’s party, promise cuts in the proposed budget. The size of the social security benefit increased they would pare. Some domestic programs w ould be emasculated. There is acclaim on both sides of the aisle for some in crease in social security payments and expansion of medicare benefits to the disabled. A pet peeve with this newspaper is the continued upswing in postal rates, and vain effort of both the Congress and succeeding Postmasters General to make the postal service a break-even op eration. Congress likes, yea loves, to in crease postal salary and wage scales, the postal union fights automation. It’s a continuing and never-ending upward cycle. Both the postal department and Congress should forget the foolishness and categorize the postal service for what it is: a mandatory, if costly, ser vice of government. Meantime, additional weekend duty in speeding the mail would be a worth while expense. The President may not enjoy the high batting average (about .900) with the Congress this year, as last, but odds are the bulk of his recommendatilons will be honored. MARTIN'S MEDICINE Ingredients: bits of news, wisdom, humor, and comments Directions: Take 'weekly if jiossible, but avoid overdosage. By MARTIN HARMON The Heerald staff has noted through the years that news events run in cycles and often concentrate in particular editions Sometimes there is a charity is sue, sometimes an issue filled with tragedy- sometimes a | "roads” issue, sometimes a "City I Hall' or "schools” edition. Since the news pages reflect the activ ities of the citizens, last week found finance emphasized, m-m First Union National Bank was holding open house at its new building a half-biock north of the venerable corner location, with such added attractions as Miss North Carolina, a ribbon of hun dred dollar bills, a treasure chest, and refreshments. Not everybody’ of course, a great portion of everybody in the Kings Mountain area accepted First Union’s invitation to at tend, and here for the occasion I was a goodly portion of the First Union “brass*, including Chair man Cliff Cameron and Senior Vice-Presidents W. J. Smith and C. C. Hope, managing vice-presi dents of other units and direc tors were present, not to men tion Charlie Smith, the public relations specialist, who this week, was adjudged one of North Carolina’s three top Jayeees of 1966. m-m Mrs. Bonnie M. Summers, daughter of the first president of former First National Bank, and wife of that bank's third president, and Dr. 'L. P. Baker, Kings Mountain branch director enjoyed a laugh when J. P. Setd man, First Union director and president of the former Scottish Bank, now merged with First Union, sought to introduce Miss Bonnie -to Dr. Baker—a day or two too late for these long-time friends, neighbors and fellow Kings Mountain Lutherans. m-m The visiting dignitaries were happily surprised at the number of open house visitors, estimated at 5,000. Chairman Cameron com mended Vice-President Elmore ; Alexander afterward by mail ! labeling the Kings Mountain opening the best organized of his experience. m-m That evening the subject was “How to Make a Million in the Market,’’ as Mrs. Devere Smith began the first of a three part course on investments. Actually, that wasn't the subject though a desirable end, perhaps, for all. Among nine basic rules of in vesting most important were: don’t over-diversify investments, (too many eggs); don’t over-con centrate investments (too much hen fruit in one basket); retain a reserve; invest in firms show ing strong and consistent earn ings increase; and keep one’s sense of humor (laugh, if hollow ly- when investments sour tempo rarily, as in 1966). m-m The finance business continued with Chapter II of Mrs. Smith’s course on the recent Tuesday night, when Phillip Small, a spe cialist in the field, discussed the relative merits of mutual funds, where the investor buys mutual fund shares and the professionals managing his $40 billion industry buy portfolios for the sharehold ers. A believer in his specialty, Mr. Small pointed to the record of mutual funds (better than mar ket averages on upswings' less average losses during down trends) as well as some personal experiences in which he acknowl edged he would have fared much better had his investment been in the hands of the mutual man agers, rather than in his own. m-m Much in the news recently has been Securities and Exchange commission efforts to clip the commission fees of mutual funds. Small contends the mutual fund pack is fair and reasonable, says ; every portfolio, whether for youths or retired folk, should contain a Dercentage of mutual fund shares. m-m I have teased Rev. Bob Haden as seeking locks on the board of Kings Mountain banking institu tions. First Union’s John and Lynda Ross are Episcopalians Then came the Milton Single tarys. at First Citizens, also Epis copalians. When- I asked, is the Episcopalian building program be ginning. m-ra After Tuesday night’s invest ment session, I found it has be gun. My wife was complaining to Bob she had bought a share of stock in the Greek Orthodox church, accompanied by oppor tunity to win a color TV set. Her Investment in Bob’s Episco pal organ fund carried no side benefits. Bob indicated she oould play the organ. PUT UP YOUR DOOKS, BUSTER! '? lr. ~ ■ - 1 . ■ * ' Viewpoints of Other Editors This Week In Tar Heel HISTORY By ED H. SMITH • On January 25, 1781, British j General Cornwallis halted at: Ramsour’s Mill (near Lincoln ton) j in his pursuit of General Dan. Morgan after the Battle of Cow-1 pens. He camped on the site of i the Battle of Ramsour's Mill,; where local Whigs had defeated the Tories a year earlier. Discouraged by the slowness of his march, Lord Cornwallis determined upon the drastic step of burning his wagons and much of his supplies. The Redcoats re mained at Ramsour’s for two days, while huge bonfires con sumed enough food and clothing to have kept the entire area in comfort for months. • On Jan. 26 — while the above was taking place — the General Assembly convened at j Halifax. Due to the hazards and j exigencies of the war, it had tak- j on 26 days to assemble a quor- i um. On Jan. 28, two days later, British ships dropped anchor at Wilmington, and troops under the command of Major James Craig seized the town of 200 homes and 1,000 population. After years of relative peace, North Carolina was finding it self a battleground in the Rev olution, invaded simultaneously in east and west. . Other events concerned with the American Revolution occur red in January: • On Jan. 27, 1788, William Tryon died in England. As Royal Governor he had left his mark in North Carolina — principally through the construction of Try on's Palace at New Bern, and his involvement In the Regulator Rebellion in 1771. Tryon also served as Governor of New York after leaving this state. • On Jan. 23, 1730, Joseph Hewes, one of the three signers of the Declaration of Indepen dence from this state, was born in New Jersey. He moved to Edenton around 1760 to establish a mercantile business. Biiihs and Deaths • On Jan. 22, 1789, Samuel Price Carson was born. His prin cipal connection with history comes from a famous duel at Saluda Gap in 1827, where he killed Dr. Robert B. Vance, U. S. Congressman and close kin of Zebulon B. Vance. Carson’s sec ond that day was Davy Crockett. Dr. Vance was Carson’s congres sional predecessor. • On Jan. 23, 1857, Miles Dar ; den died in Tennessee. Known as the "World’s Largest Man", Darden was born and raised in the mountains of western N. C. At the time of his death he was 7 feet, 6 inches tall, and weighed over 1,000 pounds. His coffin was 8 fg«t long, 35 inches deep and 32 inches wide. Over 24 yards of black velvet were required to cover it IN THE LIGHT OF MIRANDA New York City plans to experi ment with round-the-clock sur veillance of police interrogation. The police hope that this might prove a way to protect the state’s oase against a charge that police questioning of a suspect violated his constitutional rights This matter has come to the) fore because of the Supreme' Court’s ruling in the Miranda case; which prohibits questioning j unless the suspect specifically and voluntarily waives his rights i to counsel and to remain silent, j at present, authorities dispute; both the importance of confess- j ions in obtaining convictions and also the effect which Miranda has had on the ability of the po lice to get confessions. The difficulty since the Mi randa decision, as Judge J. Skel ly Wright has pointed out, is that the circumstances under which waivers are obtained resemble those under which confessions j were procured before Miranda i was decided: the suspect and j several policemen alone in the j interrogation room. Thus the vo- j luntariness of the waiver, like the confession in prior times, i becomes the word of the police j versus the word of the suspect. | In the light of the Miranda decision, the New York City po lice will set up a six-month pi lot project to deal with persons who have committed certain ma jor crimes. One interrogation! room will have a tape recorder and television camera on at all times ansd their contents sealed at the close of each day. In addi tion, a civilian observer will be present who could serve as an impartial witness. This, the police reason, should provide fair observation of police interrogation—its lenght and the way in which it is conducted. If this