PAGE SIX THE COASTLAND TIMES Published Continuously at Manteo, N. C., Since July 4, 1935 THE WEEKLY JOURNAL OF THE WALTER RALEIGH COASTLAND OF NORTH CAROLINA. FOREMOST REGION OF RECREATION AND SFOKT. HEALTH- FUL LIVING-A*D HISTORICAL INTEREST ON THE ATLANTIC SEsBOARD Entered as Second Class Matter at the Postoffice in Manteo, N. C. Subscription Rates: Yearly $3.00; Six Months, $1.75; 3 Months, SI.OO PUBIJSHED EVERY FRIDAY BY TIMES PRINTING CO.. INC. AT . 505 LODGE STREET. MANTEO. NORTH CAROLINA VICTOR MEEKINS Editor CATHERINE D. MEEKINS Secretary-Treasurer FRANCIS W. MEEKINS Advertising Manager VOL. XXIV MANTEO, N. C., FRIDAY. AUGUST 15. 1958 NO. 7 THE PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO KNOW The law gives to all citizens the right to know about their county affairs. They employ public servants to do their work and have a right to expect all such employes to render prompt and detailed information about any and all things that concern the conduct of the people’s business and the management of their money. Yet it is a most amazing circumstance in this enlight ened age, to find in some counties officials who are so lit tle informed, so unconcerned about their jobs and their duty as to think they have a right to withhold such information from the people. There are still people holding office who say the people are not capable of understanding such infor mation when they get it- The trouble people don’t understand about their public affairs is that officials don’t follow a consistent practice of keeping the public periodically informed about all that goes on. While it is their duty to do so, they refuse to do for var ious reasons of their own. It is time that people demand more and more a regular accounting of their affairs. When officials withhold information the people have a right to know, the situation is always well worth watching, for out of such conditions have grown many scandals among “pub lic servants,” which have brought untold hardship and suf fering in many counties of this state. AN UNHEALTHY INTEREST IN POLITICS The conditions which surround financial contributions to political campaigns are not what they ought to be. Re cently published figures indicate that all the money comes from only about two per cent of the voters. Os a half million dollars given during a recent campaign, and principally to the Republican party, only six families participated. In the Democratic campaign, the Reynolds family of North Caro lina, and the Kennedy family of Massachusetts gave close to SBO,OOO. With the affairs of this country in the hands of 800,000 (close on to one million) elected office holders, it is not a healthy situation when only two per cent of the people are doing all the financing of their campaigns. It is a situation to arouse the patriotic interest of all well-informed people who at heart have the welfare of their country, and their own well-being as well. POST OFFICE EFFICIENCY UNDER FIRE. For quite a long while now, there has been mounting complaint across the nation at lack of efficency in the post office department. That criticism is now being doubled, now that postage rates have been sharply increased. With postal workers having just been treated to a raise on top of a heavy deficit in the department, they will do well to look to their affairs, for there is such a thing as the business being re volutionized and put out on private bids, and then indeed would vanish many fine jobs which are spread out to bene fit every community. Typical of much of the criticism seen daily in the pub lic press is the followng comment from a recent issue of the State Magazine in Raleigh: “It takes first-class mail around 30 hours to go from Raleigh to Southport, a distance we cover in 3 hours in a car. Nobody expects mail to travel as fast as a passenger car, but this is a ridiculous pace. “Unfortunately, it is merely a sample. Two and three days often are required to get a letter from Raleigh to Ashe ville, whereas a letter to New York —twice as far—requires only overnight travel- “It is a strange thing, but increases in postal appropri ations, salaries and rates have been accompanied by a steady deterioration in service, morale and attitude toward the pub lic. We believe every large user of mail will testify to this. It has been a long, long time since we heard anyone brag on the post office, which used to be the pride of this country. “We hope the latest rate and salary increases will not be accompanied by further deterioration in service and dis position.” ON SPURNING THE GIFT OF A PIANO. .. . There is something in the story of the little girl in Cat fish Corner, and the piano that was offered by a well-mean ing neighbor to aid her in her ambition to learn music. It reminds us a great deal of the spirit that sometimes meets generous gifts to the people of the coastland. In this case the piano had to be taken back to the donor, because no one was sufficiently interested to help take it in the house, and the parents of the little girl got into a bitter dispute as to which room should contain the piano. In the end, the needy little girl was the loser. How many times have we seen this same thing parall eled in our own coastland. MIDDLETOWN PERSONALS Mr. and Mrs. Claude D. Davis, Elaine, David and Mrs. Mattie Davis of Asheville are visitins here. Mr. and Mrs. Edward Carawan visited Mr. and Mrs. R. B. Burrus' Jr. and Mr. and Mrs. Emmitte Carawan Sunday at Swan Quarter.' Mr. and Mrs. Osman Cox Jr. of New Bern and daughter, Alta Jean ■ Cox, of Kinston, are visiting Mr. I and Mrs. Osman Cox Sr. and Mr. I and Mrs. Burnell Gibbs. * Mr. and Mrs. Lee Thomas Car ter, Vann and Sallie Marie, were the week end guests of the Carters and Spencers. Mrs. Eugenia Marshall and Mrs J Tom Sanderson visited Mr. and Mrs. W. P. Burrus and R. E. Car-i ter . Mr. and Mrs. Tommie Spencer visited Mr. and Mrs. Reggie Spen cer and Tommie in Norfolk re cently. Mr. and Mrs. Joe Cox, Richard and Redin, spent the week end at Washington with Mr. and Mrs. Jessie Rawls and Jessie, Jr. They. i also visited Mr. and Mrs. Jack Os- i bron and Mrs. Lillie Cox in Eden-j ton Sunday. i 1 I DOCKET (Continued from Page One) each were paid by Vernon E. Davis jof Moorestown, N. J.; Ralph Bar ■ rielo of Caldwell, N. J.; Charles C. Dewey, Memphis, Tenn. Fines lof sll each and costs were paid by Harvey McClaude of Swan ' Quarter; John H. Bully, Warwick, iVa.; and Carrow W. Jordan, Whaleyville, Va. Fines of of sl7 each were paid .by C. Cooker Jr., Murfreesboro, N. C.; Howard J. Cooke, Hamp ton, Va.; and H. M. Thrasher Jr. of South Norfolk; sl3 fines were paid by John M. C. Walsh. Nor i folk; Chas. R. Hassell, Va. Beach; i Thos C. Whitaker, Waynesboro, I Va.; sl2 fines were paid by Jas. ,B. Winstead, Norfolk; John B. i Turner, Pine Island, Rue, N | Jas L .Turner, Martinsville, *Va.; Worth B. Elkins, Clarkton, N. C.; Norman June Hatcher, Elizabeth City; T. J. Howett, Suffolk; and Edwin B. Robertson, Richmond. The Marine Corps reached a maximum strength of 75,101 dur ing World War I. World War II peak strength, reached Aug. 81, 1046, was 485,118. RECALLS ANECDOTES OF NOTED CAROLINA JUDGES Judge He Meekins Ran His Court Until Water From Home Gave Out (From the Mooresville Tribune) New Bern attorneys complained about the way Federal Judge I. M. Meekins of Elizabeth City ran his court by a water bottle. The judge didn’t like the New Bern wa ter and always brought a five gallon demijohn of water from home. When his water gave out, he adjourned the term. Judge Meekins always visited his brother in Washington, N. C-, several days at the end of New Bern court. One term, however, had run into Thursday and it looked as if the visit was impossi ble. That is, to court observers. They couldn’t see how a case being tried could be finished. But Attor ney Will Dunn bet Lawyer R. E. Whitehurst he would be non suited before 3 o’clock. Whitehurst called the bet be cause, he said, “There is not a bit of law or evidence on which he can do it.” At 2:30 Judge Meekins inter rupted the trial. “Mr. Clerk, enter a verdict of non-suit against the plaintiff. Mr. Marshall, adjourn this term of court.” Attorney Dunn explained how he come to be prophetic: “I overheard the judge ask the clerk to find out what time the last bus left for Washington so he could get there in time for supper, and the clerk told him 3 o’clock. So I knew he was going to be on that? bus.” Stories of Other Judges Judge Frank Armstrong of Troy, resident Judge for this district, has served notice that he wants a bet ter atmosphere for dispensing jus tice. He has ordered there shall be no reading, talking, or babies permit ted in his court. That’s the word we get from press carrying some of the Judge’s recent remarks. Judge Armstrong is one of our favorite pillars of the law. We don’t always agree with some of his ideas about things, but there’s no impugning his sincerity or his motives. And so, when he says he wants peace and quietude around the halls of justice, we know he wants just that. It is nothing new in North Caro lina courts for a Judge to impose his personal opinions on the court. When Judge Romulous Saun-' ders tried a rape case in Harnett county, he opened his charge to the jury thusly: “Gentlemen of the jury, female virtue is as lovely in the cottage as in the hall. I tried a case of this sort in Rockingham county, and the jury convicted the defendant, — convicted the defendant, gentle men! Now, it will be for you to say whether female virtue is as highly prized in Harnett county as it is in Rockingham county.” Governor T. W. Bickett told of the justice of the peace who lived on a farm, and his fence was right on the North and South Carolina line. One day his son and the hired man got in a fight. The old jus tice mounted the fence and in his duty called out, “In the name of the State of North Carolina I com mand the peace.” The fighters didn’t stop, and the hired man seemed to be getting the best of the boy. The old man jumped from the fence into the State of South Carolina and shouted, “Give him hell. Jim. I’ve lost my jurisdiction.” Judge David F. Caldwell once fined a defendant, who had ap peared without a lawyer, the odd sum of $10.05, saying, “He ought to have paid a lawyer $lO to ap pear for him, and I should have fined him ony s<‘. As he would not employ a lawyer, I was determined he should not profit by his failure to do so.” Judge Mike Justice was trying a case in which Col. Martin Kelly of Richmond county was appearing as an attorney. The colonel’s first wife had died and left him 12 chil dren and he had married a widow with six of her own. He asked that his cases be continued because the 19th child had just arrived at his house, and he wanted to go home. “Well,” said Judge Justice, “I think he ought to be kept away from home!” There was a Judge Cloud of Asheville who also gave advance notice of his holding court. He sent word to Yanceyville that he would “be there next week and am hungry for bear meat. Bear hunt ers of Yancey will please take no tice.” And in the new Buncombe Court house he said, “There’s a cowbell over on Turkey Creek mountain in Ashe county that’ll ring a durned sight louder than the new fangled one just tied up in the new court house.” The bell was changed. In Union county, however, the Monroe Enquirer had the last word about Judge W. L. Norwood who was too drunk to hold the January term of 1897. “Our people prefer the old fashioned way of opening court rather than his way of open ing it with a corkscrew,” said the Enquirer. In February it compli mented him: “His honor, Judge Norwood, is conducting court this week in a manner entirely satisfac tory to our people. He has been sober all week." —, .. , THE COASTLAND TIMES, MANTEO, N. C. !NO FUNDS IN HYDE CASE UNTIL ADVICE IS GIVEN LEGALLY State Board Will Not Be Caught Issuing $19,000 Illegally Again RALEIGH—After having been stung to the tune of $19,000 of state money illegally issued and disbursed on the construction of a school in Hyde County, the State Board of Education has taken a formal step to not be caught again. The board decided it would con sult with the State attorney gen eral in the future before it makes any funds available for the school. It did so after hearing a spirited plea from Attorney John Wilkin son of Washington, N. C., asking that the “status quo” be main tained pending the outcome of liti gation that grew out of the case. Construction of the new school to replace present schools at Engel hard and Swan Quarter has been halted by a restraining order; Four school officials, including tw o members of the State board’s staff, were ordered into court in June to show why they shouldn’t be held in contempt of the order after $19,000 was made available for the job. Meanwhile, Earl Tonping of western Hyde County last week appealed to the State Supreme Court from another order by Judge Paul allowing the Hyde Board of Education to let the contract for the job. Topping’s suit contends the con tract was let illegally because the Hyde board had not obtained title to the entire 15 acres in the new school site at the intersection of Lake Road and US 264. The board has purchased three of the 15 acres and is seeking the other 12 by condemnation. Judge Moore halted the con struction because the entire 15 acres had not been obtained. “We’re tangled up in a legal snarl,” Wilkinson told the board, and school officials “might find that the contract has been let il legally.” Wilkinson, who represents En gelhard school patrons, said the merger “leaves unsolved some very considerable problems.” He said plans for the $175,000 plant do not include funds for an assembly room or gymnasium and additional funds presumably would have to be raised locally. “It’s a hard fact of life,” said 'Wilkinson, that Hyde people aren’t of a mind to raise funds for the school. Wilkinson said the “crowning thing” in the whole case was using! $40,000 requested for the Negro . school at Engelhard for the con-, solidated white school. “Thurgood Marshall himself couldn’t have set up a better situ ation,” Wikinson said. He said this action “opens the door”- for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peonle to make an integration move in Hyde. Marshall is chief counsel for the NAACP. Wilkinson said Hyde County is “too big geographically” for the consolidated school and it is “an escapable conclusion” that school bus operations to and from the school will work a hardship on some students. He said every school in Hyde County “needs some money spent on it.” FURTHER HEARING ON SCHOOL LAND IN HYDE AUG. 22 Attorneys for Manns To Be Heard By Hyde Board of Education A hearing has been scheduled in Swan Quaj-ter as a result of a court ruling last week by Judge ! Malcolm Paul, so that attorneys I for Carroll and Eugene Mann may present arguments against the con- I demnation of a tract of land for school purposes at the price set by a board of appraisers recently ap pointed. Leßoy Scott of Washington who is attorney for the Manns appealed to Judge Paul, alleging that the Hyde County group had refused to give him a hearing to present ar guments in behalf of his clients, and they went ahead the next day and made their report.' Judge Paul heard the case Fri day of last week and ruled they were in error. The hearing at Swan Quarter whereby Mr. Scott is to present his argument is to be held Friday, August 22. Mr. Scott has been active in rep resenting several interests in the much famed Hyde County school controversy which began out of the vigorous action taken by two mem bers of the Board of Education to abolish the Engelhard school, whose patrons claim it to be the largest in the county. Patrons of the school have spent many thous ands of dollars in an attempt to save their school, and a large amount of taxpayers money has been spent, the total of which has not been made public. The Engel hard patrons pay their share of this tax money too. It was Mr. Stott who appealed from a former ruling of Judge Paul dismissing an action brought STATE BOYS WIN AWARDS ... V J Mr "juz' | ■ ... ■ NORTH CAROLINA WINNERS in the, 1958 Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild model car competition designed and built these miniature dream cars. They won $l5O in cash for their efforts. Upper car was built by Jerry M. Cebe, Durham. Lower car was created by William C. Wisely, Goldsboro. by Earl Topping to restrain the letting of any contract for the building of a central school until the full amount of land needed had been acquired by the county. After contract had been let, and a restraining order issued by Judge Clifton Moore against paying out any money on such contract; and following the obtaining of some $19,000 by Supt. Tommy Gaylord, in violation of this order, Mr. Scott reinstated his suit, and got it be„- fore the Supreme Court. The mon ey has been paid out, however. Meantime, work is stoppped on the building, apparently for a long time, for in the ordinary course of events the case may not be expected to get before the court until late in October or later. It was Mr. Scott’s representa tion that had the Board of Educa tion been businesslike, open and aboveboard all the way along, the entire controversy might have been settled. It is the widely ex pressed belief, that had the board begun its program in a businesslike way some two years ago; had it taken the people in their confi dence, and not have kept any of it in the dark, the controversy so costly to everyone, wouldn’t have come up. Hi I' Help stop senseless killing on our highways. Drive safely yourself. Insist on strict law enforcement for your own protection. Work actively with others to support your local Safety Council. Remember—where traffic laws are strictly enforced, deaths go down. in an effort to save lives, •tn cooperation u ith The National Safety Council and The Advertising Council, by • The Coastland Times SHRIMP FISHING HASN'T SHOWN ANY PROFIT YET Belhaven.—These are tense days for men who make their living at! shrimping. A slight increase in the, run of shrimp in the last few days has brought hope to the shrimp-1 ers; but now they, can only wait; to see if it is a false hope. Some individual boat owners have al-1 ready given up in this area and! left for more southern ports; but, C. R. Potter, owner of the Bel haven Fish and Oyster Company , has kept his fleet boats at home in hope of an improvement in the situation. If the weather continues, as calm as it has been in the early part of the week, little hope is seen right away, as shrimp are! taken in rougher waters. The general theory among ex perienced shrimpers is that the extremely cold weather of last winter killed the first run of shrimp. Heretofore however the latest date on which the shrimp started running was July 27th. There is a theory that the illusive little creatures really come from the ocean into inland streams. If they start running soon that theory will be proved. Shrimpers who depend for a living upon the FRIDAY. AUGUST 15. 1958 iMH WANTS TO KNOW WHY TAXES AREN’T COLLECTED To the Editor: What in Heaven’s name is wrong in Dare County? What ails its people ? I notice that something like 700 names are advertised for non-payment of the 1957 taxes. Don’t you have anyone in Dare County who will collect the taxes? I have been told that some of the county officers don’t pay their taxes, and some of those even who set themselves up as qualified to value other people’s property and say how much ail of us shpuld pay are themselves advertised for their taxes. In this list I notice numer ous other ]KK>ple drawing salaries from Dare County. Why don’t your officials take their taxes out of their salaries? How can you con tinue to give taxes I pay, to peo ple who won’t pay their own tax es? Going further into the list, will be found the names of many men drawing salaries from the* Gov ernment, all coming from taxes of course. Isn’t there any shame in the people of Dare County? Do you pay people to just sit around in the courthouse, draw their pay without doing anything for it? How about all these big, promi nent people who permit themselves to be advertised for not paying? Let’s hope something will be done soon about a situation that keeps on milking so many people who are willing to pay, and allows anybody who doesn’t want to, to keep his taxes in his pocket. Leave my name out if you pub lish this, for fear they will raise my taxes again. DISSATISFIED Nags Head, N. C. August 13, 1958. whims of the creatures are not much interested in theory—what they want to see is shrimp and to date the largest hauls have been one or two hundred pounds. The scarcity of shrimp in sea son is a serious threat to the economy of this section and could mean a lean winter for many indi viduals as well as for- the seafood dealers.

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