PAGE FOURTHE DAILY REFLECTOR. GREENVILLE, N. c.

Monday, Sptenil>er 7, 1989

Monday, September 7, 1959

Capital Punishment Doubts Raised

If Youre Not Careful

Difficulty encountered in Pitt Superior Court in obtaining a jury for the recent Stocka murder trial ficcentuated what appears to be a growing objection to capital punishment in North Carolina.

If there is as much conscientious objection to capital punishment throughout the state as was indicated by the cross section of prospective jurors examined in the case, North Carolina might well review its official position in respect to requiring the life of people found guilty of certain crimes.

Many members of the special venire called from Pitt County expressed conscientious or religious objections to capital punishment. The most .striking display, however, came from members of the sj^iecial venire called from Martin County. Of that gro&p 25 of the 27 prospective jurors examined expressed opposition to capital punishment.

** it could be that a few of the prospective jurors expressed opposition to capital punishment because they would not be accepted for jury duty if they expressed such opposition. If, on the other hand, opposition to capital punishment expressed by those examined for jury duty represents a cross-?ection of the genuine feeling of the people of North Carolina, certainly the state should review its position.

There has been a gradual decrease over a period of years in the number of instances in which persons found guilty of capital crimes have actually been sen-

3ig Problem In 3iahts Of Wav

Bv LYNN NISBET

RIGHTS OP WAY Immediate interest in news about highway commission meetings centers in construction of roads new contracts, status of existing Jobs, prospects for additional mileage of paving and bridges. The meeting at Washington last week produced news on all these points, and added the feature of a comprehensive status report of all projects. This included time-table goals, rather than assurance as to when jobs would *bc let to contract or completed. Director Babcock said that similar progress or status reports will be made every 60 days in ;the future.,

By all odds the biggest problem in highway buUding is location and acquisition of rights of way. The place to put a road takes every yew a larger percentage of the,total investment in the finished highway. In many instances the right of way cost equals construction cost, and in some cases exceeds it. An im-,portant, but sometimes over-

looked, item of cost is in legal 'procedure. In answer to a question on a TV panel at Washington, Director Babcock said the tremendous increase in allocation to the legal department during the past two years is due largely .to the fact that right of .way claims are being settled more 'promptly. To considerable degree the almost doubled engineering administration cost is

^ due to the same factor.

So it was that while immediate interest, particularly at locad level, was in when Uie Alligator River and Wilmington bridges .would be built, when the Raleigh belt-line would get under .construction, and similar projects throughout the state, the highway commission regarded pro-.gress toward establishing basic 'right of way policies as most significant.

OPTIONS The commission ^ approved the plan to obtain ad-, vanee options on property which ^Ihc highway folks think might 'be required for roads. These options would run for a year or more, and the commission could exercise them, extend them, or abandon the idea of that looation as developing con-

ditions seems to warrant. The

plan implies iat alternate routes would be determined, so that if excessive cost or other

impediments occurred on one route, the alternate could be used without undue delay. Heretofore, negotiations for rights of w'ay have been conducted with Individual property ownersai-

' ter the road had been located by 'engineers. This has resulted in what the commission regards as hold-up attitude on part of some individual owners of key tracts of land. Taking options on the entire route before a deal had been closed for any . part of it, will alleviate this pro-

blem,

MUNICIPAL Perhaps of

greater importance is proposed revision of the policy affecting co-operative agreements between the State and munlcipsdities for acquisition of rights of way through incorporated cities and towns. For many years it was mandatory that the municipality pay one-third of the right of*way cost. That was changed several years ago to a minimum requirement of 20 percent from the municipality. Under a 1959 act the ratio of cost is to be determined by negotiation.

Director Babcock presented a tentative formula, but said he did not want action until after the League of Municipalities meeting at Asheville the last of this month. He suggested two basic points for consideration in determining the fair sharing of rights of way cost through incorporated places, both contemplating numerous variables.

BASIC The first consideration should be the degree to which the State or the municipality would benefit. If the proposed road would benefit the State greatly, the municipality very littleif any, then the State should bear most of the cost. (Tbis situation often occurs in very small towns.) If it would help the city a lot and the State through-traffic situation very little, the municipality should pay moat of the cost. That is the sound theory of the proposed plan.

But there is the practical side, Involving ability of the town or city to pay. After the ratio of benefit has been established, there may be cases where the municipality cannot meet its share of the cost. One instance was cited where the 20 per cent required participation in a right of way that did not benefit the town amounted to four times the total municipal budget for all purposed. Such cases often develop where by-passes of through routes touch the perimeter of incorporated limits. Same thing happens when primary highways constitute the main streets of small towns, where widening costs are high.

To meet this situation Director Babcock suggests the amount allocated to the municipality under the Powell plan as a criterion for arriving at the towns share. That is one of the points to be threshed out as the League of Municipalities meeting.

Prospects are bright for a fair and reasonable working agreement between the State Highway Commission and the several incorporated cities and towns. In striking contrast to the idea that prevailed some years ago" that the State had no resporLsi-bility for public roads inside town limits (remember the old signs State Maintenance Ends Here) there is recognition now that a public road is a public road, and that the part of it which runs by the city hall is just as Important as that which runs by a cow pasture.

tenced to death in North Caolina. Attorneys and other court officials alike apparently agree that it is getting more and more difficult to find a jury which will actually sentence a person to death for a crime.

If capital punishment, long accepted as just for specific crims, is no longer acceptable to the vast majority of the citizens of North Carolina, steps should be taken by the state to bring its code of punishment for criminals in line with the -hinking of its people.

If, from the practical standpoint, capital punishment is no longer acceptable in this state, perhaps justice would better be served by making life imprisonment without parole the maximum penalty that can be imposed by the state.

Realistic Labor Bill Is To Serve Public

Passage of a realistic and positive measure to curb racketeering and gangsterism in labor unions is a major victory for the public and for members of organized labor who have been victimized by such abuses.

The measure which was finally approved by Congress Friday is the most comprehensive labor legislation since the Taft-Hartley act was passed in 1947. It represents the results of a growing public demands for more realistic checks on labor organizations for the protection of union members, businesses upon which unscrupulous labor leaders might prey and the public generally.

included in this new legislation are reforms which long have been needed in federal labor legislation. Also provided are additional safeguards to deter abuses which has been evident in some unions.

While as a whole this new legislation w^as opposed by most labor leaders, it contains several amendments to old laws which have long been sought by organized labor.

This new legislation promises to end a good many of the abuses in organized labor which have been brought to light in recent years. While it will curb the activities of some unscrupulous men both in organized labor and in industry, it obviously will give members of unions a greater voice in the affairs of their organizations that in the long run will make them better organizations.

This new legislation as a w'hole is a measure which will stand the nations as a whole in good stead in the years ahead.

Steel Strikes

When

By HAL BOYLE

Onen The Mail &.

Learn

::fect Growing

NEW YORK (AP) - .Thin&s a columnist might never know if hedidnt open his mail: Theres probably something wrong with you if you dont get smarter as you get older. You may reach a physical peak at 26. but you dont hit your menta! prime until 50.

Can you name any animal beside the camel that cant svgim?

Remember when the center of home life used to be the kitchen?

A recent survey showed 81 per cent of American families now eat some of their summer meals outdoors.

Whats in a name? John Papa-lexopoulos told a Detroit judge he wanted to change his name because his customers couldnt pronounce it. The judge approved the change to Papa-lexiou.

Fuljiyama, Japans famous volcano, has been sacred since

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By RALPH ROBEY

It is trite to say that the steel strike is beginning to become serious. For the 500,000 who walked out on July 14 it was serious on that first day, and for the approximately 125.000 to 150,000 workers who have been laid off since then it has been serious from the date they were out of jobs. But there is another sense in which the strike is beginning to bite. This is the effect It is about to have on the economy as a whole.

For the first half of this year steel production was artificially stimulated by feverish buying In anticipation of the strike. No one knows exactly how much Inventory was accumulated, but it w'as largeprobably the greatest volume ever held by steel users and warehouses. It was generally estimated that there was enough inventory to last for up to eight weeks before other industries would be hurt. We are now in the seventh week of the strike and, except for relatively few items, there still are no serious shortages. But this situation cannot last much longer.

Secretary Mitchells Findings

Secretary of Labor Mitchell, w'ho Is acting as a one man fact-finder, says by mid-Septem ber many industries will begin to feel the shortage. He mentions specifically freight car manufacturers and producers of machinery and chemicals. Railroads, coal mining, some construction , trucking , and ore shipping already have been adversely affected. In the automobile industry there is enough Inventory to bring out the 1960 models in substantial volume. Military production has not yet been curtailed, and the Government stands ready to give priority to the needs of this field.

What are the prospects of an early .settlement of the strike? At the moment they appear bleak.

Payroll losses are running about $70 million a week, but there has been no move on the part of the workers to return to their jobs. As a matter of fact it Is almost impassible for such a move to develop. The union is all-powerful and it would necessitate a repudiation of the leaders to go back to work. That is a serious step and conditions will have to get much worse before it is even a possibility.

The struck industry companies are losing money, because they have to maintain their plants even while they are not operating. But there is no evidence that the companies are on the verge of capitulating to the demands of the union. Presumably their offer of any increase in wages which does not force up the cost of production still stands, but the unions will have none of this offer because it means that steel management must be given the right to eliminate certain featherbedding practices.

Governments Role

Ls there anything the Government can do? At the moment the answer is No. The only power the government has, apart from proviijing a federal mediator, which it did weeks ago, is to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act. Before it can invoke that there must be a declaration of emergencya declaration that the public welfare is being adversely affected. There is no basis yet for such a declaration. Further, the Administration is determined to keep out of this controversy until it becomes certain that collective bargaining wUl not, or can not, work. Should it be necessary for the Taft-Hartley Act to be invoked, all it would mean is that the workers would have to return to their jobs for 80 days while a fact finding commission studied the problei. This commission is not authorized to make recommendations, and the facts are already pretty well known. At the end of the 80 days the strike could be resumed.

Should the Government be given more power tp settle strikes Or more specifically, should it be given the power of compulsory arbitration Again the answer is No. Compulsory arbitration is used extensively in disputes over the meaning of an existing contract, but that is as far as the practice should go. There are many reasons for thi.s but two are of particular importance: first, it is a (lenial of the ba.sic freedom of indlvi-duaLs, both labor and management, to handle their own affairs; secondly, it is contrary to the public interest because, as a matter of practice, compulsory arbitration always results In t'onlinurd on page 6

Other E(ditors Saying The Rotation System

(Washington Daily News)

Unl^ some real understanding forthcoming soon. Eastern North Carolina may well see the day in the not too distant future w'hen the leading state political figures will all come from the Piedmont area of our state.

We have had some requests to explain the nature of this rotation- system. As we see it, there is nothing except an unwritten tradition upon which to base any agreement today. It has been broken several times recently. and each time the personality involved has lived outside the Eastern North Carolina area.

Tradition has it that one United States senator came from the Western half of the state and one from the Estern half. Tradition has it that one governor shall come from the Western half and the next one from the Ea.stern half. The same is true with the Lieutenant-Governor. And it is tradition that the Speaker of the North Carolina House of representatives shall come one term from the Western half and one from the Eastern half.

In recent years geography has played a tricky part in this unwritten tradition. There is no agreed-upon dividing line between the East and West. Some people say any dividing line between the East and West. Some people say any dividing line should be based on population, while others day it should be based on geography.

At the present time the governor. lieutenant-governor, and both United States senators from North Carolina live in Piedmont North Carolina. The Speaker of the House. Addison Hewlitt, is from Wilmington.

There is no law to prevent elected officials from living

where they wish to live. There is no law which says one senator must come from the East and another from the West. The entire premise has been based upon an understanding arrived at no doubt many years ago. Today it seems to have less meaning than ever.

There are many people in North Carolina today who want some concrete understanding regarding the geographical location of elected officials in the top bracket. "A better understanding is how one political leader put it sometime ago. We dont know how an agreement with teeth in it could be arranged, but if we are to maintain any line of division, then the line should be clearly drawn.

The fact remains that so long as any agreement is unwritten, there is nothing to prevent an Easterner from breaking the line when the unwritten agreement Indicates the elected official ought to come from the West. And a Western candidate might be elected when it is the Easts time for the office.

Somehow, there must be a closer alliance between the mountain and coastal people of North Carolina. Unless there is a closer association, then the time is fast arriving when our major state offices will all be held by the populous Piedmont area located inwhat is normally considered the Western half of the state.

Some may feel any agreement is unwise and impractical. They will say a good man will be eliminated by geography and a man of lesser ability elected to high office.

Look at it as you wish, but this newspaper feels it unwise and impractical to turn over the political leadership in North Carolina entirely to the politicians of the Piedmont area.

antiquity. No woman was allowed to climb it until 1868.

If the average mans beard were concentrated into a single whisker, it would grow 42 inches every 24 hours.

Executive sign: Promptness is the ability never to be as late as the person youre going to meet.

A small town on the line dividing Georgia and Tennessee is called Plumnelly because its plum out of Georgia and nearly out of Tennessee.

Our quotable notables: A casual acquaintance. says Kathryn Murray, is someone you know well enough to talk about but not to,

Having trouble learning the names of new cais introduced this year? Well, back in 1914. nearly 120 new makes were put on the market. Altogether, some 2,000 different brand of autos have been made in America, ranging alphabetically from the abc in 1906, to the ZIP in 1913.

Advice to parasites: Next

time youre looking for a helping hand. suggests Grace Downs, remember first to look at the end of your own arm. Household hint for summer bachelors: After scrambling

eggs, youll find it easier to clean the frying pan if you fill it with salt water and let it stand a while.

It was Oscar Wilde who observed, As long as war is re garded as wicked, it will always have its fascinations. When it is looked upon as vulgar, It will cease to be popular.

Opinions '.n Brief

Aside from stimulating the economy, Postmaster General Smithflcld has merely made himself look foolish. Lady Chatterlys Lover Is definitely not for children.^ The kids, In fact, would be bored to tears by most of it. But adults hardly need to be protected from the facts of life by a Michigan Clievrolet dealer who also happens to be ill the Cabinet. Mr. Lawrence.s book is a literary classic Competent critics -throughout the world have found it to be a novel of serious intent and artistic achievement whose predominant appeal could by no .stretch of the' imagination be called prurient, The Charlotte News.

By ROGER BABSON BABSON DISCUSSES GRAVITY

NEW BOSTON, New Hampshire When I wax at Capo Canaveral. Florida, in the spring, I was convinced that the nation which first discovers a partial insulator for gravity can conquer the world.

WINNING WORLD WAR IH

I have kept well acquainted with the progress which has been made along such lines in this country through the Gravity Research Foundation of New Boston, New Hampshire, but I am not familiar with the state of development abroad, especially - in Denmark and Germany. In Copenhagen, where I haY been invited to visit the Mayor of Copenhagen, is located the Bohr. Institute. I therefore am leaving for Copenhagen on the nineteenth of this month via the Swedish American Line.

Not only would a partial insulator of gravity add greatly to tiie safety of all airplane travel, but It would add greatly to the power, the range, and the guidance of missiles by which World War III will be fought. Hence, all nations are now desperately at work seeking to find a partial insulator of gravity.

GRAVITY INSULATORS MUST NOT DEPEND UPON POWER

You may think that an elevator is an anti-gravity machine, but it is not. An eleVator needs outside power with which to operate. Therefore, I ellnadnate all schemes to overccxne gravity by any form of electrical ray so long as they must be developed by an outside power which man must produce. If some natural power such as magnetic rays from the sk^. or possibly the suns rays could be used, these would be satisfactory for the harnessing of gravity.

An anti-gravity paint would be ideal. Now, while so many synthetic products (.from antibiotic medicines to anti-flammable paints) are being made from petroleum, it seems possible that an anti-gravity coating will some day be developed from petroleum. The metallurgists are also carefully watching for some antigravity product. Personally,

I feel that gravity will be harnessed in conjunction with the suns rays. I have recently returned from Phoenix, Arizona, where Mr. Walter T. Lucking, President of the Arizona l^blio Service Co., has gathered together a group of men to harness the suns rays.

EVERYONE SHOULD OWN

SOME VERY CHEAP LAND

When a partial gravity Insulator is some day discovered, there could be a great Jump in the price of all vacant land, especially land in a semi-tropical region such as Florida, or in any bf our Southwestern sutes which have long days of sunshine. Persons buying such land should insist on very cheap acreage and not buy land which might be desirable for possible later subdivision. For harnessing gravity. swamp land, mountain land, wood land, or even desert land could be equally valuable. Such land should be property that is no good for anything else and which now sells for a few dollars per acre.

Of course, when buying acreage for possible subdivision or farming, there are many other considerations. The nearer such land is to a eity or town, the more one can afford to pay, probably up to $100 per acre. Let me finadly add that a person should never buy any land ~ In Florida or elsewhere without first seeing it. Moreover, the best bargains may be within a few miles of where you are now reading this' column. Remember the story of the man who hunted all over the world for a certain large diamond, then finally found it in his own backyard!

Quote...

Nevr have we been so proud of our teenagers as this morning ^hen they set an example for the whole community In the quiet way they aooepted the challenge of changing conditions rhat brought two Negro children to hitherto all-white high and junior high schools. High Point Enterprise.

More Lookaheads For Business

Strength For Today

Bv EARL 1.. DOtGLASS

Has God's revelation to mankind ceased?

By no means. God is continually revealing Himself to us in the natural world around about us. Furthermore, the very spirit of God seems to be active in our hearts, directing us. providentially removing us from danger and that. The truest thing in all the world is the fact that God Is still amongst His people. He has not created us and left lis alone to work cut our destiny. He sent Jesus Christ as the greatest of all personal manifestations of divine intent. But through Christ, through the Holy Spirit, through the very presence of God in our live.s, God continues to reveal Him.scif. to His people.

It would b unthinkable, and

life would lase all Its hope and relish, it for a moment we became convinced that God is not in the world at this very moment revealing Himself to His children.

But there will also probably be great revelations of divine truth in the future. This revelation may come accompanied by miracles. It may come in the form of a book which will be supplemental (but subordinate) to the Word of God. It may come In the form of great divine servants' of such w'isdom and significance that by their teaching the world will be raised to new heights of spiritual understanding and humanity given new powers of mind and soul.

God is a revealing God and His revelStioa is continuous.

By ELMER ROESSNER

Here are more business lookaheads. based on analyses of developing trends and some advance information;

A cool i960 boom. Wor.se than normal hot and muggy weather In many parts of the United States this summer has stripped many distributgr.s and dealers of .stocks of faas and air-condition-ers.

This Ls reverse of recent years when summers end found many overly optimistic merchants overstocked. With inventories clean (a low inventory of salable goods is a clean one> dealers can count on good sales next year at close to full markups.

However, some observers say there Ls always the danger that manufacturers will move into the situation and overdo production with the result tjiat toward tlie end of I960 there will be a glut of fans and conditioners. as tliere was in 1958.

Some other industrie.s tend to pet into this two-year cycle, notably the television .et industry, tber* have been alternate

years of overproduction and price breaks, followed by alternate years of limitedtiproduction and crisp demand.

NOW S TIIE TIME TO BUY

Abundant auto bargain.*!. With new cars racing to market, some of the finest buys of the year are available in 1959 models. Savings are great for families buying for several years use; less for those planning trade-ins on 1961 models.

Speed-up of steel negotiations. Heres why: The strike has tied up shipments of ore across the Great Lakes. If the strike continues much longer, there wont be time enough to move the spring supply of ore before the lakes freeze over. Without that ore. assuming that the strike will be over before spring, there wont be enough to maintain production. There will be shutdowns and lay-offs. Both sides know this.

SLOWDOWN IN HOME BUILD-

ING

A drop in housing .starL*:. With tighter money, mortgages art

rapidly getting harder to negotiate and even Congressional action and Presidential acquiescence cant make new housing legislation effective in time to avert a sharp slump this month. Eliot Janeway, clever economist who has been warning against a decline in housing, now states: No matter whether a housing bill is enacted during the present session, or how soon, its axiomatic that unfavorable money conditions result in unfavorable housing conditions.

New Japanese tensions. Japanese interests are eager to develop timber, coal and mineral resources in Alaska. Nearby sources of coal and iron ore are desperately needed by the Japanese economy.

Most Alaskans .welcome Japanese capital and laborand almost all otherto build the new states economy. But trouble is brewing. Many others, some In Alaska but more in the older and more racially-conscious states, view the situation with alarm. An influx of Japanese, plus the Eskimas and Indians already there, might tnd to malts

Alaska another state with a non-whide pluraUty. Agitation can be expected.

SUGGESTS. PRIVATE, ENTER-PRISE PLOW THROUGH HAIL, SNOW, ETC.

When* the Old Promoter dropped in today there was a bright light about his head. Its a new idea, he explained. It glows. A closer look showed it was cffty the ceiling light playing n his bald spot, but he went on: The government s t a r t e (I the TVA to be a yardstick for private power companies. Whether it is, (s-ill be debated from here to Hell, which is a village in Norway. But why shouldnt the government now start a private postal system to serve as a yardstick .for mail service It could ask for bids for the mail rights to Tennessee, for example. Maybe a private corporation could deliver the mall for two cents a lettar. We commented that it was an interesting idea but would never be tried out as long as we had a Republican or Democratic party in chargs of Federal patron-