4
THE CASOUSII&K
RALEIGH, N. C., SATURDAY, JANUARY t, 199»
Editorial Viewpoint
The CAROLINIAN'S
WORDS OF WORSHIP
Many people have missed the curative in
fluence of the New Testament because they have
been concerned primarily with Its religious sig
nificance, They have regarded it only as a revela
tion of Christ, the Saviour, and in doing so have
overlooked the ministry of Jesus, the man of
GaJiiee.
Without debating the theological import of
the Gospels, which varies according to our sec
tarian interpretation, there is In it the psycho
logical message of Jesus, a meeting point for those
of every faith- For the Bible is the greatest hand
book of mental hygiene available to mankind, and
the life of Jesus constitutes the record of a phy
sician of the soul who brought health and un
derstanding to the multitudes.
Apart, then, from its religious teaching, which
thoughtful minds must revere, the New Testament
Fate can often alter ones plans Such is the
ease of Charlie Thompson who lives in an old
granary near Putnam,
A good family man. a hard worker while in
his health, Thompson laid plans to remodel
the barn into a home for bis family. He had
acquired much of the lumber before he was
taken ill.
How long this man will lay sick in his bed.
we do not know. But we do know that he will
get the new ? home he has dreamed of.
Recently the Robbins Merchants Associa
tion called an emergency meeting, laid plans
to build the house that the Thompson family
needs. Then the merchants drove ten miles to
tell the Thompsons the good news.
The days between Christmas Eve and New
Year's Eve have been called the Season of Vis
ions. On Christmas Eve there is the vision
back across the many centuries to the begin
ning of the Christian religion. On New Year's
Eve there comes tire vision of a new tomorrow
whose days hold the fulfilling of our wishful
hopes and dreams.
Traditionally, the beginning of a new year
ks the time for turning over a new' lefcf. for
.bring a clean slate, for starting all over, A
n.,w year means a new opportunity for all of
us. If is especially a great opportunity for
those who have failed or have stumbled along
the wrong road during the past year. The main
thing to remember is that the past year is gone
and ail the sins and failures that occurred dur
these twelve months are gone with it
Cyrus H. K. Curtis, of Saturday Evening
Post fame, kept a large sign hanging in his of
fice. It read, "Yesterday ended iast night.”
This is the inspiration for us to forget the de
feats and hardships of the past as we look foi
ward to victory in the future.
The prize fighter may have his face batter
ed by bloody blows and be knocked to the
canvas in one round, but the next round offers
a new beginning in which he may come back
to win the bout. A oaseball team can have bad
Students Lack Writing Skills
Most. North Carolina high school graduates
lack one of the bread-and-butter skills of learn
ing—the ability to put their ideas on paper
logically organized and in correct Eng -
lish” This is the opinion of 56 per cent ol the
college teachers surveyed by the North Carolina
Curriculum Study in a review of the deficiencies
el incoming freshmen.
This is nothing new, for Associations of Eng
lish. Teachers have been saying this tor years
and they are not wrong either. No one has yet
answered why our high school graduates and
college freshmen can’t write.
We do know that, a student enetring college
ought to be able to spell correctly, punctuate
simple and compound sentences, capitalize cor
rectly, and use words with clarity. However,
more than 75 per cent of them do not do these
things.
If students haven’t learned to write in the de -
wentary and high school, then our colleges must
undertake the task with great vigor and sin
fierity. These deficient students—the majority
of them—can be taught to write but not with
the methods now employed.
The average college freshman is required to
take an English composition course which
meets three times a week during a period of 36
weeks for 6 semester hours credit. There are
few students who can actually learn how to
write by attending a class three hours a week.
We suggest that, in addition to attending the
Since three Negro day laborers were cited in
City Court for violating a city ordinance which
forbade soliciting employment on the street
near the West Hargett Street employment of
fice, the city has been giving some thought on
what to do with a situation which has been a
thorn pricking the City Council in its side.
At its last meeting, the City Council agreed
that the old sheds on the East Davie Street lot
owned by the city can be used as an employ
ment office for the workers Tht Employment
Security Commission is to supply personnel
to run the office at the city sheds.
The workers over the years have travelled a
long way. Moved from Nash Square where
they used to sit in the sun and rain waiting to
be picked up for work the day laborers now
have to go to West Hargett Street. Here the
complaint is that the workers do not use the
Employment Office nearby, but loiter on the
sidewalks and in the streets waiting for work.
There must be a reason for not using the Em
ployment Office as a source for getting work.
The Yule Spirit Rings Out
The Year 1959 Moves On
Is This The Answer?
contains a second value, a therapeutic purpose
Intellectually, we can learn from it theological
truth and ethical wisdom. Emotionally, if we yield
ourselves to it. it is the greatest “self-help'’ book
of all time, written with many formulas and full
of practical dramatizations of how health can be
restored and happiness can be found.
No one has spoken in such simple language as
did Jesus, nor with such persistent appeal to our
hidden depths- Here is no intellectual disquisi
tion. cleverly sardonic. A child understands these
human pages quite as well as, and perhaps bet
ter than, the most erudite ol minds. In fact, one
might well quote the Master of Galilee: “Except
as ye become as one of the little ones,” adding
that you cannot really understand the Bible un
less you have the wonder and responsiveness
which is in the heart of youth.
Building supplies have been ordered and
carpenters hired. Work began on Monday. The
members of the Robbins Merchants Associa
tion —fifty in all—will work on the house on
Wednesday afternoons when the stores are
closed. If need be. they plan to work at night.
This spirit of cooperation is the same one
that prompted the angels to sing "Peace on
earth and good will toward men.” It is helping
■the man farthest down.
The people of Robbins have named their
tow r n (population 1.500): “Robbins, A Friend
ly Little City, Still Growing ”
May God add His bjessings to the efforts
of these merchants.
innings while the opposing team goes ahead in
the score, but the next inning offers an oppor
tunity for a new beginning No man is really
licked until he thinks he is.
The new year offers a challenge It is such a
challenge as always reminds us of the old story
about the shepherd who one day caught a
glimpse through the clouds of the place on top
of a mountain where the gods dwelt.
The shepherd determined to leave his hum
ble abode and make his way over the rough
road to the lofty peak. With great exertion and
effort he accomplished his ambition. Finally
he stood on the heights and the gods congrat
ulated him on his efforts and determination to
overcome all difficulties
The poor shepherd, exhausted, lay down to
sleep. When he awoke he was alone in the cold
mist of the mountain top. He caught a glimpse
of the gods now on a distant and loftier peak.
He cried out his disappointment and a voice
called him, saying, "Foolish mortal, does thou
not know that he who would dwell in the
heights with the gods must not sleep but must
forever climb higher and higher?”
In turning over a new leaf, we show that wr
have learned a sermon that is good for us all.
If we work every day the best we can, we can
sleep at night when the wind blows. This is e
sure formula for happy and contented life
English composition class tlire hours per week,
a student should be required to spend four
hours in a writing laboratory where an instruc
tor would supervise no more than ten students
at the time. In this setting, an English in
structor would require the student to revise
and revise his theme to the point of actual
learning how to write.
Such a plan would require a student to re
main in the English compostion course until he
has met rigid standards—-even if it takes two
years.
Next, we recommend that no English in
structor be required to teach more than'- four
classes per week with the class maximum limit
being ten students. This would permit the Eng
lish teacher to become a “drill sergeant.”
Finally, we suggest that in each English
classroom there be placed ten writing tables
each with three drawers where students may
place their unfinished work The room should
be elaborately equipped with encyclopedias,
dictionaries, magazines of all kinds, newspap
ers, publications on current questions, refer
ence manual, and what-bave-you.
When the college has done its best, then it
ought to drop all students who cannot learn
to write effectively. The attack on the poor
English problem cannot be “'mealy mouth.”
We must back up the attack with a suptnik
thrust and blitskrieg.
No doubt the workers have found the red-tape
procedure too slow for effective results. An em
ployer seeking workers may not have time to
go into offices to get a crew, and he perhaps
prefers to get together his workers quickly by
picking them up on the street. At any rate, this
apparent preference should be investigated and
studied.
We aren’t saying that workers are right in
breaking an ordinance that forbids soliciting
work on the street. But we are questioning
whether the Council showed wisdom in pass
ing such an ordinance. We hope that the pre
vision of an employment office in the city
sheds will stimulate the City Council to rescind
the ordinance.
Whenever the new employment office is put
into operation, there should be efforts on the
part of the city to make the place (in which
workers may wait for employment) a decent
one for human beings. At present the sheds are
not fit for human occupancy.
The Fight For Civil Rights in 1980
Should Be ft Full Time Job.
* I THINGS./# \
ymYl w V-- AN MtPUL STATE GP AFFAIRS—
NntJL f •ft '~l RACE ~ReUetOUS~ANP COLOG j
OH T»F 2UIPACE
Along The Colonial Front
BY A. J. SIGGINS
(British Journalist for A.NT>
President Eisenhower, on his
Grand. Tour is everywhere
greeted by cheering crowds'
“Mwenya, robo ka.ia” as the
Wa-Mwani sailors (home-coin
ing shanty goes, it means ' the ,
"Cloth bringer has come "
Truly the President is ex
pected to live up to his name as
the biggest Goth-bringer ever-
Mr. Dillon. U. S. Under .Sec
retary of State for economic
affairs, has completed talks in
London: an overhaul of the
Marshal Plan and aid to back
ward undeveloped areas have
been discussed, among other
matters.
Mr. E. Black, of the World
Bank, may send a small group
to Indie, to study her needs- »
U.8.A., it appears, is being
isolated by dollar discrimina -
tiorr. But what has happened is
that U S.A. is being pulled back
by the Gresham Law.
Now the top strata are won
dering how to create purchas
ihg power for their too-highly -
priced commodities.
Just like T raid they would.
What Other Editors Say
A TIME TO BURY
SECTIONAL HATREDS
The last man who could
claim any participation in A
merica’s bloodiest, war is dead
He died at this season when we
celebrate the birth of the Prince
of Peace, and in his dying he
stirred up again controversy.
Some say that old Waltei
Williams never was ir, the Con
federate Army, that he uncon
sciously in his old age super
imposed on himself the biogra
phy of a brother who actually
was. Others say that he really
was ® Confederate.
This post-mortem controver
sy is typical of most things con
nected with, our American Civil
War. It was a war of controver
sy from the very beginning.
The controversy raged oft the
battlefield almost as much dur
ing the war as it did on the
front lines, and the post-war
controversy was even livelier
as generals re-fought battles
with pen and ink. Even today,
countless books centering on
this or that controversy roll
from the printing presses, fur
thering not only controversy
but also the bank rolls of theii
authors.
tt is appropriate, too that
this reminder of our own great
war comes at this time of peace
and good wilt to all men. For
in the fighting of that war. we
did assure to our own America
* unity and a peace that never
could have come without being
tried and tempered in some
great and hot fire such as that
war. ,
The old Confederate from
Texas is dead. And, in the bu
rying of him. it would be won
derful if we could bury more
of the sectional hatreds which
still arise on occasion to plague
all of us.
Such burying would truly
honor Walter Williams and the
other millions who fought with
him, and against him, in the
time of our great national test
ing.
—RALEIGH TIMES
A CASE FOR RESPECTABLE
TSOPUi:
The white mar, who attacked
and beat up r< Negro woman
because she sat down on a seat
beside him on a city bus in
Charlotte was wrong. 'The Neg
ro children who spat on white
children or pulled their hair on
baaea in the Mime city were
BY A. J. SIGGINS
And my plan was designed to
meet such an occasion.
In U.S.A.'s New Deal they
gave the stuff away, primed
the pump, and boosted the na
tional income back-
But that, was a trifling do
mestic matter compared with
what has to be done now.
Too many toward nations
have accumulated too many
commodities, too many produc
tionary plants and too much
money and both workers and
employers have never had it so
good.
They’ve got the lolly and the
goods, but- markets are too fai
beneath their level to reach.
INDIA AND PARK IST AN ARK
FIGHTING ON SIX
FRONTS
Walter Lippmann discovered
sometime ago that India was a
key to something. I've forgotten
what and President Eisenhow
er's advisers have evidently
been fooled by that kind of talk
India’s dilemma is even worse
than that of the Sugar-Daddys.
Indians are fighting a Colour
War against all colourphobic
nations, among whom are U S -
A.. Canada, ail the Colonial
wrong. Such incidents need not
only the heavy hand of the lav
but the moral oposition of every
respectable citizen of both ra
ces.
We would like to see every
decent white citizen of Char
(otte. put his foot down against
the cowardly white man who
attacked the Negro woman,
who. under the law was abso
lutely within her own right.
Likewise, wc would like to ser
every decent Negro citizen of
Charlotte put his foot down a
gainst the uncouth Negro child
ren who spat on the children or
pulled their hair. Concerted
action on the part of respect
able people of both races can
nip in the bud all such future
incidents which if left alone are
sure to develop into those of a
graver nature.
Only the lowest type of male
will attack a female in such a
brutal manner as did the white
man in Charlotte. Only the low
est type of person will spit on
another. All such people should
be made to understand that
they are not only opposed by
the court but by decent people
everywhere.
—CAROLINA TIMES
COST OF EDUCATION:
FRILLS Vs NECESSITIES
The high cost of education
brings a comment from Chan-
INSIDE WASHINGTON
PRESIDENT’S COMMITTEE
ON GOVERNMENT
CONTRACTS
WASHINGTON, D. C. (ANP>
A substantial increase ir. the
Negro segment of the nation’s
job seekers during the next ten
years and a concurrent short
age of trained Negro workers,
particularly in the white-collai
field, were pictured in the ann
ual report of presidential com
mittee released Saturday by the
White House.
A highlight of the report of
the President s Committee on
Government Contracts is a
statement of the Committee's
intention to concentrate its ef
forts on the integration of Neg
roes into the white-collar job
category, where the greatest in
creases in employment are ex
pected during the coming de
cade.
Powers, Australia. New Zea
land, South, Central and hast
Africa and all Latin American
nations which bar Indian im
migrants: any U. S. aid she
gets will help India to fight her
Colour War: Will U-S.A. give
that aid? India has been fight
ing a cold war against Pakistan
for years: Pakistan is one ol' the
Centro Powers and an ally of
U.S.A., a link between NATO
and SEATO and the uttermost
bastion of U.S A. India is fight
ing famine, unemployment, lack
of living room and Communism
aming her own people-
India is also fighting Afri
cans now in East and South
Atnca: Pakistanis are also en
gaged in that fight.
India has started a fight with
China and, the worst, war ot
the lot, India is lighting a war
against Time, Discovery and
Science: Analysis Synthesis
and Automation will reduce
India’s exports, offset any ad
vantages sire may have in her
cheap labour and force her ex ■
parading population into great
er misery with less chance of
employment than ever.
cellor John T. Caldwell of N C
State College that now is m
the time to be adding any nv >
expenses to be the business of
getting a higher education
Amen-ing Chancellor Cald
well. the estimable Raleigh
News and Observer suggests
that the college people wou'd
do well to take a second and
closer look at what the N &■ O
calls extracurricular fees, also
the cost of expensive and often
changed textbooks.
in other words going to col
lege is like an automobile:
there should boa basic model
you can buy if you want with
out shelling out for a radio, a
healer, rising and falling win
dows, white sidewalls and nil
that chrome.
If you wapt to go to collect
without joining the glee clui
and subscribing to the campus
paper and chipping in on tin
concert series, that should b<
your business and not the bu
ness of the college fee colled m
You should not even be re
quired to pay for' tickets to th<
football games, unless that i
your desire.
Life at college might but a
dulkl place without ati the ex
tras but what is the student
after: education or entertain
ment
—FA YETTEVILLE OBS EP VLB
VICE PRESIDENT NIXON
SUBMITS REPORT
The report, submitted to Pre
sident Eisenhower by Vice Pre
sident Nixon, Committee chaw
man, cited Department of La
bor projections for the 1960’s to
point up serious problems
which will confront Ne.nroot
during that period in their ef
forts to compete for employ
ment with the white Jahoi
force.
“Our labor force will prob
ably expand from 73 6 million
workers to 86.1 million in tin
next decade,’’ the report states.
“In this net addition of 13 c
million workers, the major pro
portion will consist of you up
workers, under 24 years, arid
older workers, over 45. A small
component of this increase act
ually fewer than a million will
fall into what statisticians call
B¥ M ' HUE'S) SS SOLI IV AKt
THE NEW YEAR'S BALL
Without the special in-the
know contacts, 1 never would
have received an invite to the
Froggie Bottom annual New-
Year's Strutters Bail, Tills 1?
the event of the year for those
who want to be themselves —
hence, those "snutly" higher
ups can't get in on the ground
floor.
Usually this event is held in
the Old Wagon Wheel Hall—a
somewhat famous tavern and
dance hall which keeps up
some appearance of gaiety and
high life, but hardly frequented
except at this time of the year
At this ball, people wear
what they want. Some come at
tired in full-dress, tails and
evening dresses. Others wear
street clothes, slacks, costume
and ail that:
Mr. Cornyard engaged a
t taxi, for this - was an occasion
’a! which you came in “hid:
style."
As we st> oped from the cab,
T was impic.-red b> the scenciy.
Up from the dark the full
moon came. Glowing like a
fil'd pine-knot, it' illuminated
the ri ;at door and soft showei -
ednthe party-groups making
their way to the door. The full
moon in the great dooi was an
ornen. Women improvised son;;:
during the affair, and these
were—according to a legend
effective against its .spell.
Already the dance had been
going on for an hour, and the
atmosphere was filled with
white corn. ABC stuff, snioki .
and delicate perfume .-nug'n
of sickening but in away de
lightful.
PRETTY SOON it v a,- tin.,
for the floor show. The pro
gram was filled with acrobatics,
special dance numbers- partial
strip-tenses, female impel sena
tors. and what-bavc-vou.
However, the number that
caught All. Corn;, ard's eye v.
the appearance of young lass
billed as’ "tbe Lov cable Tei l a
Gordon B. Hancock s
THE POJT! ATIOXAL
EXPLOSION INTERPIU TED
In 1798 there appeared on
the horizon ot economic litem -
iutu ar essay on the Princi
ple of Population by one Rev
erend Thomas R. Malthus, an
English clergyman, whose close
contact with tlv- hungry masses
led him to the serious study
of population.
His work has become a class
ic and its fundamental thesis
that population tends to out
run the food supply has never
been successfully controverted.
Because his outlook was pessi
mistic. there have arisen many
economists who sought io dis
credit his findings and conclu
sion, but without success.
The current talk about pop
ulation explosion is but the
vindication of this economist
who wrote more than a hun
dred and fifty years ago. As
a student of economics, thi
writer has been Malthusian in
his populations! outlook but
has always looked askance at
the birth-control remedies pro
posed as an answer to the ques
tions population “explosion"
raises.
Many years ago the Hears:
newspapers had a celebrated
columnist, the late Arthm Bris
bane. who once wrote that all
of the people in the world could
be placed on Long Island, and
enough food raised In the siati
of Texas t-o feed them.
That was another way of say
ir.g that there was room in tin
world for billions add billion:
of people then unborn.
The real trouble then, is not
that the present world is over
populated, but that the mean;
of subsistence arc not properly
distributed. If it were possible
to distribute more equitably the
means of subsistence available
the poplations would not he in
a state of “explosion.”
ft, is explosive because some
arc getting tco much and some
getting too little! Moreover this
nation has made a fetish ol' tin
high standard of living.
We have made obsolescent
the ideal of plain living and
high thinking and have ideal
ized the notion of plain think
ing and high living and com
mended such ideals to the world
through our example.
The high living standard
which we have sei before the
world docs not answer the
deeper question the souls of
men have asked, are asking
now and will ever ask.
The misery of mankind is not
much a matter of over-popula
the prime working group, those
in the age group 25-44 This
primary working group is the
one which has had the most
training and possesses most of
the skills we need.
TRAINED WORKERS NEEDED
“Since we will have to de
pend upon very young as well
as older workers, the problems
of vocational guidance, of train
ing and retraining are of para
mount importance.
“Our non-white population
increased mot o rapidly between
1940 and 1950 than our white
population. The former increas
ed 22 tier cent: the latter 14 per
cent. Census estimates on the
composition of our tabor force
in 1958 show a very high pro
portion of Negro men under 20
and ever 45. Further, Negro wo
men of all ages "have a high* r
rate of participation in the la
Teresa came out over a scenic
hill singing. Her skin was the
color of oak leaves on young
trees in the fall. Her breasts,
firm and up-pointed like ripe
acorns And her singing had the
low murmur of winds in fig
trees, and the appeal was tha,
of a Clyde McPhatter.
Cornyard was transfixed, for
be did not know that such a
damsel lived in F:oggie Bot
tom.
AS THE SHOW ENDED, the
Royal Rhythm Makers, a popu
lar band in these parts, struck
up music. Lights which had
blazed in spots nowfaded into a
dimness just as the orchestra
burst into an ungodly rumpus
The dance moved into high
gear around 11:90 p. rn. and, at
midnight everything stopped for
the eatings to take place for
the next hour. There were chit
tiings, yarns, fish turkey, chick
en. hush puppies, potato salad
punch and egg nog. tea and
coffee.
Yes sir, the Froggie Bottom
gang was there —Speedbali Ed
die, Big Di.-ty Rod, labe Wright,
Annie Belle Loretta, Joy
Brandon. Dec Jay. Pop Tappen.
Oliie.
Around 2 a m. the orchestra
■ topped, then the hall lighted
up, the curtain rose to reveal
a cotton-field dawn. Pickers in
blue overalls, bandanas, and
wide-brimmed straws, or in
gingham aprons and sun-bon
nets were singing as they v, ork
ed. Their voices from clearest
soprano to richest bass, blended
in low concordances, first simp
ly humming a series >f harmo
nies, until gradually, carne
words, like figure forming in
mist. As the sound grew, the
mist cleared, the words came
Pound and full, and the sun
rose bringing light ns if in ans
wer to the song.
When the finale came, tv
a hole crowd sang, Auld Lang
Sync And Happy Now Year
choed through the hall.
tion as a matter of inequitable
distribution of wealth The
ratio at which this, world
wealth is distributed is the
crux of the situation and
if this could be properly adjust -
ea th.c world could clothe and
feed billons more than now live
up the earth.
Improve the lot of the mass
es ,o a stage of decent living
and the population automati
cally checks itself, so the ques
tion arises why we do not ap
ply this method of chocking the
population instead of going di
rect-ly at. matter of disseminat
ing birth control propaganda
and teachings?
When we go in for birth con
trol we are tampering with Hie
biological balance instead of
adjusting the-matter of wealth
disti ibution, which is the real
cause of our present popula
tion:;) uneasiness
The late Dr. Norman* Himes
of Colgate University was lect
uring before my classes in eco
nomics at Virginia Union and
was advocating the dissemina
tion of birth control informa
tion
We differed sharply on
wnether we approach the mat
ter from the indirect way of
finding another ratio of wealth
distribution, or go in for the
spued ol birth control infor
mation, the direct way.
He admitted that the chan
ces of eel ting another ratio of
wealth distribution were so re
mote that the direct, approach
would be more hopeful My
opinion then as now is that we
ought to dr: l with Hie cause
and not the effect.
It matter- litlo whetbei we
have three billion people in the
world as of now, or ten billion
as of tomorrow, we run into
the same trouble unless men
become brothers with the live
and let live spirit, of the Gol
den Rule of the lowly Nazarine.
Moreover, if we study the
birth control movement and its
advocates wo find that at its
heart is the white supremacy
ideal The white supremacists
know that the multiplication of
the colored peoples with their
low living standard will in time
take over the world if allowed
to go unchecked, as against the
whites with their higher living
standards and lower birth
rn t es
With the white supremacists
il is far easier to recommend
birth control than to readjust
the ratio of wealth distribu
tion. Birth control is also the
line of the plutocrats.
«
bor foro . If these trends con
tinue, there will clearly be a
substantial increase in our non
while • labor force. This increase
will be concentrated in the
younger and older Negro work
or groups, both male and f
male.
“Employers Vim v.-ill still
looking for male, white, und
age 45 workers will be in tror
ble in the next decade. The
soughl-for types of worker
simply will not be available in
the numbers required."
ROSES SPECIAL PROBLEMS
for negroes
Continuing on this theme, the
Committee report stales that
anticipated changes in the com
position of the labor force pose
special problems for Negroes
which will underscore the im
portance of education and train
ing.