PAGE 2, KINGS MOUNTAIN MIRROR, WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 1972
Who’s Attending
The Convention?
Who’s minding the store??? In a pres
idential electloo year, during convention
week - which for a politician Is second only
to dying and going to heaven - It only fig
ures that the party organization on the
county level would be closely attuned to
all the buzzing on the convention floor In
Miami, espec^ly with a delegate and al
ternate from the county attending.
I called Cameron Ware, former County
Chairman from KM on Monday to see what
be had beard from Miami. He referred
me promptly to David Beam, County Ch
airman. Mr. Beam supposed that delegate
Jack Palmer from Shelby was at the con
vention, but he wasn’t sure, as he hadn’t
heard anything, and suggested I call Mr.
Palmer’s place of business. They, In turn,
referred me to...guess who! His motherl
I wouldn’t gosofarasto say that there’s
an apatbetlcal attitude toward the conven
tion from the grassroats level In this state,
but It doesn’t seem that many North Caro
lina Democrats feel they have much at
stake at the convention. The state’s fav
orite son candidate, Terry Sanford, failed
In his attempt to ^op George Wallace In
the May Primary. State party people are
afraid to closely align themselves with
either Wallace or McGovern both of whom
have dared to give some straight talk on
the Issues.Humphrey may seem the lesser
of four evils since be has modified his
stands on some Issues over the years, and
Mr. MusUe, the champion of just a tew
months ago who was going to walk away
with the nomination, and who had the early
support of Governor BobScott, dropped out
of the primaries after some poor show
ings.
The majority of North Carolina’s dele
gates are pledged to Wallace on the first
ballot at the convention this week, and it’s
interesting to see where they will go from
there. It Is an open convention, even with
McGovern being clearly ahead, and there
is certainly a clear cut choice of candid
ates intheofflng, butat this point it doesn’t
appear that Norte Carolina delegates have
a champion to rally to at tee convention.
-R.D.
Perspective
by Jay Ashley
Being new tea town can often
be handicapping. Various Is
sues of government and many
organizations can be very
confusing without a sufficient
background to tee situations.
The unfortunate thing about
some Issues is that no one
understands. Life time res
idents may not have knowledge
enough to talk about the sub
ject much less object to It or
agree with It.
Luckily my line of business
keeps me in contact with
departments of local govern
ment and other outlets of
public service. In this busi
ness one has to stay abreast
of everything that happens In
tee community. Thsmn^tu-
tional right of a newpaper to
keep tee public Inform^ has
been upheld since Its inception
and, not only should the press
exercise this right but the cit
izens must also retain their
rights to know.
In this vein I would like to
Initiate a question and answer
segment to this page. If any
thing bothers you about Kings
Mountain or policies of tee
city let us know and we will
try to give an Informative ans
wer to tee questions. It will
also give me a chance to keep
an open line to tee various
agencies in tee city or county
and give better reports to tee
readers of tee MIRROR.
The trouble with question and
answer columns Is teat people
always think tee other person
will wrlteandask. This should
not be the case. The more
questions I receive on one
subject, the more I will know
It Is on people’s mind and at
tention can be concentrated
vigorously to receive a proper
answer.
Also It should be noted that
tee questions do not have to be
about Kings Mountain or Clev
eland County. If you have
questions on any topic just let
me know and an answer will
be forthcoming. Write Kings
Mountain MIRROR, Box 345
or call 739-3851. A people
who do do not want to know may
soon lose that right.
Kids at the age of 11 are at
the peak of childhood. Unfor
tunately this age factor In a
car does not Indicate peak. An
eleven year old kid will see
better days so why can’t an
eleven year old car have bet
ter days a cornin’? What this
counti7 needs Is not a good
nickel cigar but a car that like
wine andwomen, mellowswite
age. Although tee car as it
gets older may not be able to
frolic with the others on the
super highway it still should
be able to traverse tee sec
ondary roads by experience
alone.
For those of you who are
are probably wondering why I
am writing on such a ridicu
lous line obviously did not see
me pushing my car down tee
center of King Street one day
And don’t tell me there is no
such thing as nostalgia. This
past weekend I went to Six
Flags over Georgia. As we
walked around tee grounds we
saw signs pointing to tee car
ousel. My mind reached back
a few years and tee memories
were pleasant as I made my
way to tee merry go round.
Even before I could see it I
could hear the music and
shouts of people havlngagood
time.
The best part actually about
the carousel Is watching tee
other people. They came In all
sizes from infant to senior
citizen. Some were standing
beside tee horses holding tee
children on but If you looked
close enough you could detect
a hint of yearning to jump on
a horse themselves. The ones
who dared to ride carried a
smile permanently plastered
on their face as they too re
membered a time long past.
Even the rough and tumble
men were grinning despite
themselves and tee sullen fac
ed teenagers laughed with the
rest of the riders. Mirrors
were hung on tee inside track
and faces saw their own self
and tee incongruity of a man
beside a boy was almost sad
dening.
Suddenly tee carousel came
to a slow halt and reluctantly
tee people dismounted and
casted a longing eye over their
shoulder and made their way
back down tee hill. They had
gained a little yesterday In a
three minute ride today.
How Will 18-21 Year-Olds Vot^
Holshouser Plans Rigorous Campaign
Against Bowles For Governor
last week. As I left work to go
home tee 61 VW, which I af
fectionately callteeRedLem-
on, Barbara calls Total Dis
aster and my dear sweet
mother maliciously calls Hit
ler’s Revenge, finally gave up
tee ghost. It sputtered and
emitted an expensive sounding
“Whrrrr” as It slowly came
to a halt. I have treated that
car as though it were a Rolls
and what does it do but quit.
It could have died In a more
accessible spot than tee mid
dle of NC 74 by no - It had to
spend its dying day among its
counterparts on tee highway
who sneered as they passed
by. I was always under tee
impression that cars, like
elephants, instinctively me
andered to that old car burial
ground.
So I had to get out and push
tee car to a service station.
Well at least it happened near
one and not In tee middle of
tee Gobi desert. As I was
pushing I could almost hear
tee other cars give a metallic
chortle through their grlllbox.
The attendant at tee service
station tried to save tee car
but instead decided to admini
ster last rites. So we pushed
old faithful, turned old Bene
dict Arnold II Into a cubbyhole
beside a car wash and left it
there until I could find an un
dertaker-—I mean a repair
man.
By John KHgo
KQ SYNDICATE
Jim Holshouser, tee weary
and ambitious champion of the
Republican Party’s fight for
Governor, says without blink
ing an eye; “Skipper Bowles
Is very definitely a part of the
political establishment In this
state.’’
With that, Holshouser gave a
clear indication of how he pl
ans to campaign against De
mocrat Bowles in this fail’s
gubernatorial battle.
Many politicians Interpret
tee mood of the country and
this state as being one of,
’’turn tee Rascals Out." Na
tionally, you need only lookat
the many successes of George
McGovern and George Wal
lace. They campaigned aga
inst tee Establishment (what
ever tee Establishment is)
and they did very well.
The mood spills over Into
Norte Carolina. How else co
uld you explain George Wall
ace and NlckGailflanakls win
ning seperate campaigns be
fore tee same voters? Wal
lace and Galiflanakis were bo
te on tee outs, so to speak, and
the voters aren’t happy with
people in power.
political activities since 1960,
his voting record since he’s
been In tee Legislature, and
It’s easy to see that he Is a
member of the political Es
tablishment’*
Holshouser Isworldng on po
litics now but he plans to get
his campaign In full swing by
August or early September,
He believes be has a good cha
nce to win and he’s an energe
tic campaigner. But It lakes
money to nm tor Governor
these days.
cans in tee East don’t seem to
be mad at me anymore and I
think Frnak’s return to tee
chairmanship helped heal so
me 111 feelings left over from
tee primary."
Brock feels that tee 18 to
21-year-olds wlU continue to
vote with an independent
mind and will not be consid
ered as a sure thing for any
candidate.
With that In mind, Holshou
ser plans to be as tenacious
as a bulldog In tying Bowles
in with tee Establishment of
Tar Heel politics.
“Skipper did a very good job
in tee primary of selling the
idea that he was not a member
of this Establishment,” Hol
shouser told me In an Inter
view, “He went to great pa
ins to divorce himself of Gov,
Scott and others In power.
“But you can trace Bowles’
“We're not discouraged by
any means," Holshousersays,
“but when it comes to raising
money, we have a longways
down tee road to travel yet.
The Bowles campaign will sp
end a great deal of money in
tee fall race. There’s noway
we can match blmdoUar-for-
dollar dan we won’t even try.
But It’s Important that we’re
at least In tee ballpark with
him.”
Bowles listed expenditures
in excess of $800,000 In de
feating Pat Taylor for the De
mocratic gubernatorial nom
ination. Holshouser believes
that big spenders In prlim-
les are hurt by tee money Is
sue in general elections a^ be
plans to talk a great deal about
Bowles and money.
Holshouser continues to feel
that President Nixon is strong
In Norte Carolina and maybe
he’ll offer some GOP candi
dates a coattail to ride on In
November.
As for himself, Holshouser
admits to being “Ured in
side."
He just came back from a
week’s vacation at a lake ca
bin, seven days when be did
n’t see anyone. It recharged
his battery but be still hasn’t
recovered completely from
tee rigors of tee hard-fought
campaign.
But a politician, like a pri
zefighter, must recover be
tween rounds. There seems
to always be someone around
who would like to knock your
block oft.
“Skipper was smart in tee
way he ^nt his money In tee
Democratic primary," Hols-
houser said. "A greatdealof
what he spent wasn’t visible
to tee average person. If
you’re on radio and TV and In
tee newspapers all tee time,
or If you have your picture on
every corner blUboard, peo
ple can tell teat costs a lot of
money.
“But Bowles did some other
things that were quite costly
that weren’t really visible.
For Instance, be sent out let
ters toreglsteredDemocratlc
voters on several occasions
and people might not recog
nize teat that Is a very expen
sive campaign tool."
All evidence seems to In
dicate that newly-enfranchi
sed 18 to 21-year-old voters
in Norte Carolina did not
vote In greater numbers or
any differently from other
age groups.
“When It comes to the re
gistration and voting pro
cess," Brock said, “weare
hurt by Ignorance and ap
athy,”
Brock feels that too much
emotion, and too much time,
energy and money Is used to
register voters. And not en
ough Is used to get register
ed voters to tee polls.
“People are computer and
statistic crazy these days,"
Brock says. “They wa^ to
see more people on tee
roUs. But I would like to
see an 80 or 85 percent pa
rticipation by tee voters on
tee books and alter we reach
this, then go out andlookfor
new voters. Some people
call this a regressive aW-
tude butldon’t believe It Is."
Brock says there is also ev
idence that a lot of people 50
and over haven’t bothered to
Income eligible to vote. Ma
ny of these, he says, are just
ashamed that they’ve never
registered and don’t want to
make tee move for the first
time this late in life.
Holshouser told me that tee
reappointment of Frank Rou
se as chairman of tee Repub
lican Party seems to be work
ing out very well.
“I’ve met with Frank acou-
ple of times since he went back
In as chairman," Holshouser
said, “and he seems tobedo-
ing quite well. The Republi-
That’s tee word from Al
ex Brock, executive secre
tary of tee State Board of
Elections, who has carefully
studied tee returns from tee
May 6 primary and tee June
3 runotf.
“The general consensus Is
that the newly-enfranchised
young voters did not vote to
gether as a bloc," Brock to
ld me In an Interview.
“There Is absolutely no In
dication that teeyoung voters
voted for one csuxlidate. No
candidate got tee overwhel
ming majority of the young
vote, as iu as we have been
able to determine."
Brock says tee new young
voters voted as their elders
did. This doesn’t mean they
played follow tee leader. It
means they made up their
mind Independently, as old
er voters did, and that they
weren’t “In tee bag’’forany
particular candidate.
The Elections Board hopes
to be able to reach these pe
ople with some king of apo-
sltlve message.
And with young people, tee
Elections Board wlU help
with a course In 100 state hi
gh schools, trying to Im
press on young people tee
Importance of voting In pri
maries and elections.
. “Low voter turnouts such
as we had this q)rlng make
a mockery of tee Democratic
process," Brock said. “A
majority Is supposed to rule
in a Democracy. But with
low turnouts such as we had
In Norte Carolina this sp
ring, a minority of our peo
ple are making tee decision.
That’s slmidy not healthy.”
“The young voters--naany
of whom were voting for the
\
\
(k
\
LOADING
FOR
BATTLE
first time—probably did like
other voters," Brock said,
“and that Is they made up
their minds how they were
going to vote on the way to
tee polls or after they got
into the voting booth. I’m
not saying tee trivia handed
to voters at tee voting place
makes a difference. I’m ju
st saying most voters wait ^
until the last minute to really
decle which candidate they
are going to vote for,"
The Norte Carolina Elec
tions Board recorded the re
gistration of 214,000 new vo
ters between Jan. 1 and Ap
ril 7. That’s more than th
ey usually register over a
two-year period.
“In addition to this high re
gistration, ’ ’Brock said,' • our
board had been sued 15 tim
es lor various reasons. All
Indications were that tee
primaries were attracting
keen interest and the turn
out at the polls was going to
be high. But It was not.”
Brock says the Democra
tic process is still suffering
from two diseases. He says
election officials must so
mehow get across the point
to pe<^e teat registering to
vote Is extremely easy, not
difficult, and that votlig is
more thu a right. It Isa re
sponsibility.
MNAN LUNtC IN Lire MCAZINC
f
Reflections
by Rodney Dodson
BULLETIN; Just prior to
press time Tuesday evening
Mirror Co-Publisher Lem
Lynch had awreck...that In It
self Is not so unusual since It’s
at least his fourth during the
past year...but It wasteeHrst
In his brand new blue and white
Olds, with only 1000 miles on
It. Lem wasn’t hurt. I’m glad
to say, but tee king of tee road
will be seen for tee next few
days' In tee Mirror truck un
til they put his car back to
gether again.
ready to retire, she becomes
wide-eyed and alert, hiccups
alter taking her milk, stirs In
her crib and makes funny
little noises In tee night.
Either she’s got to get her
time straight or I’m going to
have to Etot working on a
third shift operation.
1 was surprised by a visit
from my go^ friend Maurice
Duval Sunday evening. I hadn’t
seen liim in over a year, as
he’s been finishing up his de
gree requirements at Caro
lina, and pursuing his hobby
of skydiving. He came out (rf
tee woodworkto see little Hol
ly, tee latest addition to the
Dodson household. He was
very Impressed with her, and
was always sort of a dare
devil, and so It was no sur
prise when I learned he had
taken up skydiving, or teat he
Is working as a security of
ficer and policeman this sum
mer. He has ambition of
becoming a sky-marshal, no
less, for tee government.
Which ties In with a story
Sylvia Holmes related about
some of tee red tape her fam
ily went through leaving New
York for their flight to Eng
land. She says her son Chris
was quite excited about being
frisked, along with all the
other male passengers, be
fore boarding the plane.
I’m fast becoming a believer
In do-it-yourself around tee
bouse. ^ house has these
alumiram roll-out windows,
which play havoc with Instal
ling an air conditioner. I
surveyed the situation, and
decld^ It was a job lor a pro.
When tee pro came out to give
an estimate, apparently be
decided that itwasn’t a worthy
job, and gave an estimate of
$50 to Install tee $150 air
conditioner. He and I bote a-
greed that It wasn’t worth It,
so I dropped the Idea until tee
humidity rose and I decided
that tee thing was going to be
Installed In spite of every
thing. So I proceeded to take
out tee window, and with a
little help and alwut 15 min
utes tot^ work time, the
condlttoner was securely In
place, and I was $50 better
off, but I’m still upset about
having to pay $7.50 to get a
screw tightened on my water
beater last winter.
Tet
Jamc
ounci
ddey
Clev(
mans
Broy
elect
Repr
“la
Rodd
posit
“Hel
thush
lence
that I
tee ci
Mr
and h
binw(
Clevt
mana
Broyl
avlng
Greei
sumn
press
hard
Dysa:
publii
Counl
ey wl
many
Things are gradually return
ing to a state of normalcy at
our house, in spite of tee fact
that our little girl has her
nights and days reversed.
During tee day she sleeps,
taking her Intermittent feed
ing, and telling Immediately
hack into slumberland for 4
or 5 hours. At night It’s a
different story...When we get
I bad promised myself and my
wife a picture of little HoUy
in last week’s Mirror, but In
tee midst of all tee chaos of
coming home from tee hos
pital, it just didn’t materhU-
Ize, so I tried again this week.
I was just thinking about one
night 1^ Vinter wbenSueand
I were talklnr with Larry and
Evelyn Hanuxat tee church.
When they learned that Sue
was pregnant, Larry com
ment^ that he hoped It would
be a boy, because tee girls
grossly outnumber tee little
boys being bom In Kings
Mountain.....! guess we just
added to tee future female
competition for boys.
Washingi;ton Report
l»y ('.oiiiiroEiiiiun T. Krovliill
Social Security
P. O. Box 345 — PtKMM (704) 730.3851
Long overdue action to pro
vide an Increase In Social Se
curity benefits was taken by
the Congress last week In an
amendment attached to the
bill temporarily increasing
tee national debt limitation.
This measure was signed Into
law by President Nixon on
July 1. An Increase of 20 per
cent was provided for all Soc
ial Security beneficiaries, to
be effective September 1,
1972. The Increased payments
will be received In tee October
Social Security checks.
In addition, this amendment
provides tor future Increases
in Social Security benefits to
occur automatically each Jan
uary, provided the cost of liv
ing has Increased by three
percent tee previous year. To
finance these automatic In
creases, tee wage base on
which Social Security taxes
are paid will go up proportion
ately. This provision will
bring some regularity to the
scheduling of Social Security
Increases, which have previ
ously occurred whenever the
Congress approves teem. Un
der this new system, if tee
Congress falls to act, and tee
cost of living Increases, Soc
ial Security beneficiaries will
not have to struggle along on
payments which have been re
duced In value by Inflation.
Legislation to provide an
Increase In Social Security
benefits has been pending In
tee Congress since last year.
Because tee legislation also
contained provisions tor other
changes In tee Social Securi^
and Medicare programs, as
well as a controversial wel
fare reform proposal. It has
been subject to many delays In
the legislative process. This
bill, H.R. 1, was passed by
tee House of Representatives
last June and, since t^ time,
has been stalled In tee Senate
Finance Committee, Because
of the urgent need for an In
crease in Social Security pay
ments, this provision was
seperated from the rest of the
bill and added as an amend
ment to tee debt llmllatloo
measure.
The provisions to make sub
stantive changes In tee Social
Security and Medicare pro
grams, as passedby tee House
of Representatives, would be
beneficial to all who are cov
ered by Social Security. One
change would increase bene
fits for widows and widowers
to 100 percmit of tee benefit
due tee deceased husband or
wife. Under present law, wid
ows and widowers receive
only 82 1/2 percent of this
amounL Another change would
provide Increased monthly
payments for those who delay
retirement beyond age 65.
They «:'ould receive an Incre
ase of one percent above their
normal rage for each year of
normal rate for each year of
continued work past age 65.
For those whoare already re
tired, tee bUl would provide
an Increase In tee amount they
may earn and still receive full
benefits. Presently, this a-
mount Is $1680 per year; It
would be Increased to $2000.
A significant change In tee
Medicare program would be
provided by opening the pro
gram to those under age 65
who receive Social Security
disability benefits. In addit
ion, those age 65 and older who
have not attained SoclalSe-
curlty eligibility could enroU
In M^lcare by paying a spec
ial premium, which would In
itially be set at $31 per
monte. Bote of these groups
have difficulty in obtaining
health Insurance through tra
ditional means and would be
greatly aided by being made
eligible for-Medlcare.
TheSoclalSecurlty program,
which began In 1937, now
touches tee lives of practic
ally every American family.
Approximately 91 percent of
tee elderly are either receiv
ing Social Security payments
or will be eligible for teem
when they or their spouses
stop worldng. Of those who
reached age 65 last year, 93
percent were eligible for cov
erage.
The Medicare program, a
part of Social Security, pro
vides hospital Insurance for
almost all of the twenty and
one-half nnilllon people In tee
country who are age 65 and
older^ Inaddltlon,aboutnlne-
teen and one-half million (95
percent of the aged) have Med
ical Insurance under tee pro
gram. Overall, Medicare pay
ments for hospital and physic
ians’ care are estimated to
account for more than 67 per
cent of expenditures for hos
pital and physicians’ services
provided to tee aged.
Social Security and Medicare
provide Invaluable programs
to assist our older citizens.
In addition. Social Security
programs are avallaUetoas-
slst those under age 65 who
become disabled, as well as
providing benefits for their
dependents. While Social Se
curity Is not designed to
assure total family coverage
It does provide a solid base
of protectloa for loss of In
come due to retirement, dis-
AblUty, or death of tee temlly
wage-earner.
Prloi
Clan
Dona
Mad
Mrs.
Mrs.
K.M.
Thon
K.M.
Mrs.
Mrs.
Walt(
Ivey
Non
tonia
Mrs.
tonla
Matt
Mrs.
Mrs.
K.M.
July
John
Nann
• •
July
Mrs.
July
Mrs.
tonia
Mrs.
Mrs.
July
Mrs.
Mrs.
tonia
Mrs.
Mrs.
Mrs.
Mrs.
tonia
July '
Mrs.
Mrs.
WUlli
July
Mrs.
July
Mrs.
Mrs.
tonia