PAGE POURTHE DAILY REFLECTOR, GREENVILLE, N. C

Friday, Aprfl 8, 1980

Friday, April 8, 1960

Beware The ^Unloaded Gun

Autonomy Issue Has Been Injected

The mattr of greater autonomy for local governments throughout the state that has been injected into the gubernatorial campaign is an issue'' which should not be shelved and forgotten after the campaign is over.

Whatever the' method used to accomplish this worthy goal, county and municipal governments in North Carolina should be given greater autonomy in handling their own affairs than now exists. It is utterly ridiculous that county and city governments have to look to the legislature every two years to handle matters that could better be handled by the locally elected governing boards of cities and counties.

From the legislative standpoint it is ridiculous that more than half the bills introduced and handled during a session should pertain to only one county or city. By tradition, the legislators from each county determine whether the proposals for local legislation pertaining to their respective counties is approved or rejected. So far as local legislation is concerned, it is not a matter of consideration of the proposal by the entire General Assembly, but rather consideration by one or two legislators.

In far too many instances, the local government finds itself unable to do what it should for the county or city because too many matters that should be decided by the local governing board are, by law, decided by legislative action. When the legislature is not in session important matters to Individual local governments are often long delayed because local officials do not have authority to make final decisions which are required to resolve local problems.

Certainly the elected officials of local governments should have the authority to determine the policies of their own governments, and they should have the authority to carry out programs to meet the needs of their people so long as these programs do not conflict with individual riglits, the best interest of the state or other local governments.

!E!rvin Reportec, jeading Fight

By LYNN KISBET

ERVINVolunteer scout* for this comer who have been on the Washington scene recently report that for nearly all prsc-tcal purposes Senator Sam Er* vin of North Carolina has replaced Senator Richard Russell 0 Georgia as the recognized leader of the Southern group in the dv rights fight. That is particularly true with respect to the floor debates and much of the leg work. The Georgia SenatOT is still regarded as the astute old fox in mapping overall strategy.

His Southern colleagues have one criticism of Senator Ervin. He is t(K> much a gentleman, and has almost been tipped once or twice by being over nice and courteous to opponents.

COLLEGE DISQUIETTime

was, and not so long ago. when the college and university communities were divided into three distinct branches, each with recognized obligations and privileges. The administratlTe officers had certain resp<msi-biUties for financial and business nuumgement. with some necessary cmitrol over faculty and student body. The faculty had specific responsibility for proper instruction of students, both in textbooks and discipline. within the overall framework established by the administration. The student body had obligation to conf(H*m to disciplinary and instructional rules it>muglated by the administration and the faculty.

In recent years there ha* been definite trend toward self regulation" on part of student bodies. and for faculties to invade the policy-making areas previously resawed exclusively to the administrative officers.

INCIDENTS No attempt is made here to document exact time and place oi incidents. The pattern is fairly distinct and graeral. Students at Chapel Hill and Duke openly resented efforts of the administration to keep student sponsored publications within tht realms of what the administration regarded as proper and decent.

Faculty members at East Carolina College and State College amcmg State tax supported institutions, and at Davidson and Duke among non-tax units.

have carried tiieir objections and protests against actions of the administration and the boards of trustees directly to the newspapers ttnd radio stations. Numerous other incidents could be cited, but these should suffice to make the point.

RESEARCH Before passing Judgment on faculty members for stepping outside their traditional field into the area of administration, it should be remembered that the professors have been fwced out of their long time roles by the present emphasis on research. The duties of a college president and those of a classroom professor are pretty well defined. The field of research 1s as wide open as the meaning of the word. There are no rules, no limltaticms, no restrictions else it would not be honest research.

It is understandable that the emphasis on research in chem-IstiT. electronics, nuclear energy, etc., should inspire research into sociology and government. That explains the open resentment of faculty members against administration policies in many

of the colleges. It explains, too, the concern shared by patrons and trustees of these institutions as to where final control authority will be vested.

BUDGET CONTROL It is known that the Advisory Budget C(xnmission is showing keen interest in these faculty revolts in State tax supported colleges and universities. Information is t|iat trustees and bud get groups in non-tax institutions are similarly concerned, and are looking to see if professors employed to teach are devoting undue attention to administrative policies.

It is axiomatic that the person or agency which holds the purse strings can pretty well call the turns for any institution. It is axiomatto, too. that privilege implies responsibility. The question now is whether the apparent extremes to which students and faculty members have gone in exercising their privilege of independence and self - determination, may result in re-imposition of restrictions by the administrative agencies which in final analysis the public holds responsible for efficient operation of the educational institutions.

rmm--i-'il iilTiMilBgBgaWBr.

There is no good reason for local governments in North Carolina being as dependent as they are on the legislature for final decisions on purely local matters. The present method of operation which requires local governments to await legislative-approval for literally hfUidreds of decisions has long outlived its usefulness ... if inded, it ever was in the best interest of the local government.

North Carolinas cities and counties should be given more autonomy in handling their own affairs. The legislature should be relieved of the responsibility 'of acting on hundreds of purely local bills every session.

In the best interest of local governments and in the best interest of the state, it is a problem that should be resolved by the legislature next year.

Big Give-Away Part Of Election Strategy

The big give-away always seems to be a part of the election-year strategy in Congress as the major political parties and members themselves prepare to tell the voters what has been done for them before they go to th polls.

In this national election year, the trend in Congress appears to be to provide another major federal outlay in the form of health insurance for older citizens.

Last week the House Ways and Means Committee turned down the Forand bill which would have provided federal-financed health insurance for retired persons. This week Republican members of Congress have come up with another proposal for a state-federal program to provide similar health insurance at the cost of the taxpayers.

Such a" program, of course, would have a great appeal to many voters that will go to the polls in November. The politicians in their campaigning could point to another example of what they had given the people of the country. That would be fine for the politicians.

But what about all this that would be given away? This new GOP proposal is estimated to cost the federal government some $480 millions in the first year, and once begun, the cost would increase by millions every year. And that money, of course, would come out of the pockets of the taxpayers. On top of the federal funds that would be put into such a program, state funds amounting to between onerfourth to two-thirds of the total cost would also have to be put into the program. That too, would come from the pockets of taxpayers.

The politicians could take credit for providing the program for the group of citizens who would benefit by it, but in reality it would be the rest of the citizens who would be providing the funds with which to operate the program. The officials, while they would be giving the people a federal health insurance program, would also be giving the people a bill for hundreds of millions of dollars in extra taxes each year to pay for the program.

Wisconsin Vote

About

mem

By DON SCHLIENZ

Small Doas & Bia Barks

The Daily Reflector

INCORPORATED

Published Every Afternoon Except Sundkj Established 1882 DAVID JULIAN WHICHARD, PubHshw

entered st Post Office, QreenvlUe, N ts second

matter.

SUBSCRIPTION RATES By Carrier Week 30c

(BY MAIL, Payable In Advance^

Three Months ....._______________________________________ $ 3.50

Sw Months____________________________________$ 8.50

One Year ------------------------------------------ $11.50

MEMBRR ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Aasoclsted Press 1* eichjRlreiy entitled to use for publiestlon iH nevs dispttehes credited to it or not otherwise credited te this jMiper and also the local new* pubilsbed herein AH liffhts of iiniblloatloD of special dispatches here are also reserved.

NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRRSENTATIVIt Thomas P Clark Oo , Inc., New York, ChlcSfo. Atlanu Member Audit Bureau of Clrculattoci

All adreitlsinf copy must be reeelred at least on# day before pubUcatioa date.

Proved i

By JAMES MARLOW

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Wisconsin primary was a mishmash.

It proved nothing. Yet all three entries, no matter how they finished, said they felt encouraged. That ought to set some kind of reoord for American politics.

Take Sen, John F. Kennedy ass), who ran first in the states Democratic presidential primary with more than 478,000 votes.

He was described as elated although he had been favored to win and could have done better.

Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey (D-Minn), his rival in the Democratic contest, got about 372,000 votes, or more Uian 106,000 less than Kennedy.

But he was encouraged because he hadnt done worse.

Vice President Richard M. Nixon, unopposed in the Republican presidential primary part of the election, got only 341,000 votes.

Nixon interpreted his third-place vote as surprisingly large,

He went even further and told Republicans around the country to look for a Republican victory in the presidential election in Wisconsin in November.

Then guess what Paul M. Butler, chairman of the Democratic National Committee said.

He said Wisconsin would go Democratic in November.

And his opposite number. Sen. Thurston B. Morton, chairman of the OOP National Committee, said the vote for Nixon was the greatest vote ever given an unopposed candidate in the Wisconsin primary.

What does it all add up to? Nixon might have done much better if he had gone into Wisconsin to campaign for himself. But he didnt and it was the Democratic contest which got the attention.

Under other conditions In the same statewith Just one Democratic entry who, like Nixon, didnt campaign Nixon might have done far better.

Small dogs appear to have a common attitude toward people, cars, trucks and. bicycles; all are good subjects for barking.

Larger-size dogs are generally m<M^ benign, .> .more placid... less inclined to badger a malf-man, milkman or paperboy. Perhaps with their extra height and poundage they feel less put-upon and fewer infiingemrats on their dignity.

On the otb* hand, small pooches take out tiieir frustrations on anything and everything bigger than they. Size, it seems, does make a difference.

Dogs in our neigbboriiood run small.

They are also big barkers. . . which figures.

In a way. this might be a good thing; no stranger can approach without a noisy alarm being sounded. It is idso a drawback; because some of these self-appointed guardians are obviously unable to determine stranger from friend Until well after a frantic neighborhood has rushed out-of-doors to see what the commotion is about.

Once identities have been established the harking is replaced by hearty-tail-wagging. . .wagging that extends up to the shoulders.

Our smi^ dog was tagged

with the unlikely name of Cotton while very young. Small-dogUkc, hes friendly, attentive and patient. He is also persevering in his small dog ways.

Unless Cotti is incredibly stupid, he knows by now the miUanan isnt going to try to make off with the house. . . and I'm ire he recognize the milkman, the mailman, and sundry others who have business with the house-thats-guarded-by-otton; but the dog is an opportunist at heart.

Its his big chance to prove he earns bis keep; so to all he becomes a furry satellite of teeth and barks. . .deaf to all commands and blinded by his sense of histrionics. In short, he poses as a frantic Fury; and though he hasnt bitten anyone since be was a pup. any onlooker would fear Cotton might be carried away by his role.

One day. I fear, this friendly little busybody with an overpow-Ing sense of theatrics is going to forget hes Just a small dog in a big world and will try to swallow a truck. . .front first.

He wouldnt even make a large grease spot after such an encounter.

Where was the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Yet. theres a chance the big Democratic vote and the low-man-on-the-totem-pole spot Nixon landed in may indicate broad Wisconsin discontent with tiie Republicans and be the forerunner of a nationwide discontent which csuut be expressed till November.

On the other hand Kennedy, a Roman Catholic, o doubt owes a big part of his vote to Catholics, both Democrats and Republicans, since Wisconsin is 30 per cent Catholic.

But when he runs in West Vir-xiginia May 10 against Humphrey, in the presidential primary there, therell be very little Catholic vote to help him since the Catholics in West Virginia- total about only 5 per cent of the population.

Perhaps Kennedy would have won the way he did in Wisconsin even if he had been a Protestant and maybe the anti-Catholic sentiment that showed itself against A1 Smith in 1928 has died out in this country.

And a heavy vote against Kennedy in Protestant West Virginia might not prove any anti-Catholic sentiment at all but something unrelated.

For instance: West Virginia Is not a prosperous state and the people there might feel a clos^ kinship to Humphrey, a relatively poor man, than to the young millionaire. Kennedy.

What the Wisconsin vote he got means for Humphrey is hard to say. Perhaps, since he got a good turnout in many rural districts. the nations farmers are fed up with the Elsenhower administrations farm policies.

Or, It could mean only that the farmers felt Humphrey talked language better than Kennedy, since he comes from next-door Minnesota.

Actually the Kennedy-Hum-phrey race was more a personal popularity contest than a choice between the different ideas the two men stand for. They stand for pretty much the same ideas.

Other Editors Saying... Character References

when Oscars were bqing vot^ upon?

The results seem to indicate they were all sitting through Ben Hur.

I cant understand bow they overlooked The Mouse That Roared. Presumably, a lot of our local entntaimnent-seekers missed the pictiire, too. They tnlssed a delightful little movie.

"Die Mouse was an dff-beat piece that Ignined s-e-x and gave ti love interest only passing mention. But the story was fanciful. the humor was consistently at a high level and the actora were conscientious in their rt^. They, and the st<M7, were funny.

It wasnt a siapsthik brand of humor and the double-entendre studiously avoided. In short, it was a remarkable product. Hollywood turns out this kind of movie maybe once every five years (ot late, ansrway). Television hasnt come close, yet.

Over the weekend, hundreds of people may be expected to be watching Gina and a lot of chariots; but I fear most of them overlooked the movie which, holds all my Oscars. . sad. isnt it?

Opinions

(Elizabeth City Advaace)

In the Ivy League and elsewhere in the more select circles there is a great hue and cry over the requirement of a loyalty oath and non-Communist affidavit in parceling out federal scholarships. The gist of it seems to be that it is undignified, not to say niggardly and demeaning, to attach any conditions to a federal grant in aid. Just give 'em the mon^ and stop asking all those fool^ questions about who gets it.

Well, maybe so. We must admit that we dont like the idea of taking an oath every step of the way or of having to demonstrate our fealty every time someone strikes up God Bless America. One of the things which irks us Is this: How do we know our interrogators arc as true-blue as they say they are?

But with this minor reservation. we can see no reason to get so upset about it. The oath is nothing new in American life. Every public official from a justice of the pace up to the President must take one before he

can get on the payroll. It is a way of reminding them and contracting with them to serve the state and the nation.

Every witness at a trial proceeding must take an oath to tell the whole truth and nothing but. There is an ugly implication here that, except for the oath, the witness might lie In his teeth. Never mind; he takes it anyhow, and there is no indignity.

There are, you may say, compulsory. In the case of the college student who seeks federal aid there is no compulsion. If he finds the oath offensive to his pride, his integrity and his sense of honor, he is perfectly free to decline. But if be asks the American people to put him through college, he shouldnt mind too much when they asked for a few character references.

Millions of Americans have sworn to millions of oaths for many years and seen nothing onerous in the requirement. Going to college, even in the Ivy League, doesnt make a* much difference as all that.

In Africa, some of the native tribes practice the strange custom of beating the ground with clubs and uttering wild, blood-culdling yells. Anthropologists call this a form of primitive self expression. In America, we call it golf, Memphis Pres-Scimitar.

"After next January when President Ike becomes Parmer Ike he can raise his own hot potatoes."Miami Herald.

"In worship. In religion, lies the only strength that mortal man can find to fit him fully for the life he lives amidst the awesome majesty of creation; and for the eternal life which that majesty demonstrates must be his destiny. Quakertown (Pa.) Daily Free Press.

"Many a wife has helped her husband to the top of the ladder and then decided that the picture would lo<A <> better on the opposite wall."Wall Street Journal.

By GEORGE E. S0K0L8KY IMO Ktag Feaiorat . Syadleaie, Inc.

^ All of ft sudden, there bis ben I deluge of UspAphies of Pres^ dential hopsfola. thmm have been at, least books oq

Richard Nbtod alone, n<e of tim porfriying the man as a human being because no one can be eith so perfect or so unsulted.

Apparently, each candidate tor the Presidency finds it necessary to prove that be has dmio great things, that hs has a common toih, that he is tupolor in mwln-powt but is not snobbish about It. Little is aaid to establish that imponderable described as character.

In the old days, befon X.B.1I. machines did our thinking, bankers lent money on character * rather than on pledges. Pawnbrokers insisted on iriedges and that differentiated one from the other. Character to a banker meant that the borrower possessed a quality of personality, an ^ethtc, a morality which was so perifectiy geared tiiat evra If he failed in tiie venture, he would somehow pay his debts. In fact, the man of character had aoch standing that a banker might, in those distant days, put good money after bad.

Curiously, character as a word started out to mean something else altogether. E was ort-ginaUy an instrument for graving. In China, it is an English word for ideographs which ars the symbolized figures they uss for words. This second use also came down into English back in the 15th Century when character meant a distinctive mark, a stamp. The word then went through many developments, mostly figurati^, until today, it means really that which marks otl one person trtxn another.

When a w(d has so many different and confusing meanings, it is probably true that when on# speaks the word, characto. h# has a different portrait to eon-vey than hit liener receives, but this all understaiMi: If on# says that a man possesses character. it is a favoratUe remark. He is marked out as a decent person who is to be tmsted.

Presidential candidates requir# not only character but rep utation. 'That Is something alto-geUier different. Reputation means the estimate or esteem in which a person Is held.

A person may have a good or a bad reputation. For instance. President Eisenhower had a good reputation when he ran for President and stfll has mt# but A1 C^poi never had a good reputation. No nma ia likely to b# nominated for the Presidency unless his reputation at the moment is g^. What hia reputation win be whi the MsUnr ot the period is written, no on# knows. Mi who were outstiuid-Ing while they lived sometime# receive only a footnote ia history or are not even noted.

The various candidates' bio^ graphics are campaign literature. They are designed to depict an individual as poseesslni a superior r^utatioQ for wonderful achievement azul for not^ a#* ptrations. The reading is generally for Juvenilet, lor truly few men are worthy of Mographical study until many decades alter they have been laid to rest. Then thetr deeds jmd their character may be atiidicd ob-.,,Jectivcly. RnaJly, a biograjMHy 'must be written by < who ha# no interest, vested or hopeful, in the career of the subject. For instance, s<Hxie of the various Nixon biography sound a# though they hope that when Nixon shall have achieved hia ambition, he will deign to remember the biographer.

Politician# never rememb^ their benefactors. It is unethical. Politician* are pragmaUats. They do what Is necessary. They associate with those who can at Um moment pnunote tbraa. It is wiser to serve God than a poUtician; one is not likely to suffer heartaches. Socrates in his last moments said;

. .And the difference between him (the partisan) and me at the lu^ent moment la merely thisthat whereaa he seeks to c(xivince his bearera that what he aays is true, I am rather seeking to e<mvince myself; to convince my hearers is a secondary matter with me. . .

But Socrates was no politicians it is suffident to know that (Contiimed oo Page 6)

Civil Service Pay Boost Talked.

OPERATION

4-7-12

"A DOZEN DOES ITi

By ELMER ORESSNER

A pay rise for Federal civil service workers, including postal employees, is a strong possibility.

Not much is being said about It in Washington. The Republican Admlnlstratioi has publicly opposed a general rise. Nevertheless, a quiet campaign is being organized, and when the proposal comes before Congress it may be passed smoothly, with a minimum of opposition. And unless the increase is startlingly exceasive, President Eisenhower is expected to approve it.

The reasons for expecting passage are these:

1. Federal employees outside civil service, who arc paid rates of pay prevailing in their communities, have been getting steady increases Since the last civil service boost in 1958,

2. Workers in private industry have been steadily increased since then, making It constantly more difficult for the government to recruit Employees.

3. This Is an election year

and few Congressmen want to go on record against such a pay rise. The 2,000,000-plus Federal employees control more than 4,000,000 votesa bloc not to be nose - thumbed in an election jear.

4. Such a pay incrase. will increase the spending power of government employees, providing an added dash of prosperity to the already prosperous economy. A pay rise mi[ht increase the Republicans chances in November. ^

MAY BE retroactive

This added, dash may be even more important if the pay rise is made retroactive to January 1, 1960. There's ample precedent for this: the 1958 increase, was made retroactive to January 1, 1958. The retroactive bit was paid on July I. pouri ing about $380.000,000 into the economy. The 1958 rise was 10 per cent, but since it is* believed htat the President will not consent to a rise of more than 7 per cent Ihis year, the windfall will be less..

There will be oth^r consequences:

. 1. The Federal rise will exert a slight upward push on other wages. Private industry will have to top government salaries to win personnel with desired skills.

2. The rise Will have special consequence* In tate and local civil servlcee, first, because they and the Federal service are intensely competitive in seeking career-minded employees and, second, because Federal service standards are often followed by states and subdivisions.

3. Federal employees will again be better prospects foi-sales; many businesses will soon be re-activating civil service mailing lists and special civil service discount offers. INFLATIONARY ASPECT

The expected rise will not be seriou.sly inflationary of itself: rather, it is just a small whorl in the broad pattern of Inflation. It. is inflationary only to the extent that the increase in pay Is greater than the Increase ir productivity-. Where productivity "has been increased around

7 per cent, tha incraase win

be non-lnflationary. i

The increase prolNtiily will not cause any Immediata increasa in tax rates but, of course, it must eventually ba figured in taxes. This will ba aspeclally true after the Increasa is apread to state and local civil sendee.

Total Federal state and local wage and salary payments ara now running around $47 billion a year. An tvuAge Vise of only 6 per cent would mean $2.8 billion a year, which would come out of your wallet. .TEXAS TOWERS PART OF UNITED STATES The Internal Revenue Service considera Texas Towers. offshore defense Instalations, as part of the United States even though some are located 150 miles off the coast. It turned down the request of a manufacturer who wanted to sell pianos to men on the towers without the Federal tax. The IRS held that the towers are neither a foreign country not a possession of the United State*. (Rev. Rul. 60-107.