Tuesday, January 30, 1962

The Same Standard For Everyone

The hassel over whether property owners along wiseto participate a second time in the cost of

the new Elm Street thoroughfare will or will not paving the street. It should also be pointed out,

elect to pay a portion of the cost of tl\e curb and however, that the section of Elm between South RV''

gutter installed along the street is an outgrowth of Oveilook and the 264 bypass was not paved before '

an unfortunate combination of circumstances that the thoroughfare was undertaken. "

has caused considerable controversy. ^ n ,

Generally it has been the policy of the city for

At the outset, let us point out that the city property owners to pay the city a portion of the attorney has asserted that the propery owners are cost of installing curb and gutter in front of their not legally responsible for defraying any part of property, recently at the rate of $1 per lineal foot, the cost of the curb and gutter installation, or the Generally where curb, and gutter work has been paving of the street because a proper petition was done in the city in recent years property owners not secured before the project was undertaken, have participated directly with the city in defray-Obviously sufficient care was not taken at the be- ing the cost of the projects.

ginning of the project to see that this legal point is r.;* i xi. oi. i.

cleared as is customary in such projects. The quee- i Council, the Elm Street

tion of the legality of the decision of "most of the T" ^ Participating m

property owners not to participate in the cost of rounds that the

the curb and gutter should, therefore, be removed 1*1 Paved before the improvement project

from any discussion of the incident. underteken. It was not until after Oty Attorney

Lee brought up the legal point of the petition

Because there was already a paved street along which included curb and gutter as well as paving most of the portion of Elm before the improvement that the property owners involved voiced objection project was begun, it is fair fo assert, we think, to the Council about participation in the cost of that property owners along the previously paved curb and gutter.

portion should not be requiredlegally or other- our opinion it boils down not to a question

of whether the property owners involved along Elm

Street are legally required to participate in the cost, but whether they have a moral responsibility to participate in the curb and gutter cost along their street in the same proportion that property owners on other streets have participated in the cost of putting curb and gutter in front of their property.

It is a question which each of the Elm Street property owners must answer for himself.

Aside from these considerations, the overall incident points to the need for greater care in seeing that all the legal requirements are met so far as property-o.wner participation is concerned in future projects of this nature. The incident also suggests the need for more clear-cut requirements to be

Home to Roost

!-^ublic Not Yet

Fully Intormed

By LYNN NISBET

BUSINESS There remains a lot In the Brewer-Burch sign affair that the pablic does not know about. Such information as has been published by the Governors office, the SBl and the district solidtor falls to make very cleam whether there was any violation of criminal statutes. Disclosures have clearly Indicated that certain procedures in the highway department, at Duke University and perhaps other places were irregular and not routine. To what edgrec they might have been Illegal has not been so clearly established.

Chie Interesting point in the whole matter has not been developed. That is the times when the nm-routlne proceedini^ took place.

It Is a favorite pastime of eealots. including some editors and educators, to bewail the crookedness and venality of politics and politicians. The recent incidents In the highway sign matter have been used to further emt^msiae the cro(dtedness of polities. The (^n forum and letters-to-tie-edltors sections of daily newspapers are filled - with suggestion.s that the only unusual thing about the highway deal is that It was discovered and publicized. Implications are numerous that diU-tent search would uncover der-elictlOTs all through State government.

In view of that rather general attitude it interesting to note that the inddcots about wMch complaint la registered In the highway flffo matter, however Ulegal w Immoral they may or may not be. occurred during the period when poUties wu taking a recess from aetlvlty in North Carolina State governmentespecially in the highway depait-ment. Practically all of them' occurred between 1955 and 1961. which coincides exactly with the business num adminlstra-ticm d government, when politics and political considerations were relegated to the background.

POUnCALo Your reporter Is reminded here, as he h^ been on many occasions, of comment by the late Roland Beasley, editor of the Monroe Joumd for many years. As a very young man Over in Union county your reporter was enthusiastic for Max Gardner for Governor in 1920. Beasley put the Influence of his paper behind Cameron Morrison. He gave this reason: The office of Goveracnr. of North CaroUna is not a business office; tt is wholly pcditi-cal. Young Gamder sbowa promise to develop into a master politician, but be haant reached there yet. He is talking about a business administration. Cam Morrison is frankly a politician. His approach to and handling

of problems has definite poUtl-^ coloring.

Morrison was elected Governor and had a good administration. Eight years later Gardner, who haid matured In poIiUcal science, was elected and also had a good administration.

Review of history will show that in most instances of malfeasance, misfeasance or any kind of scandal in government, a business man or a business deal Is involved. So long as pol-tticians as such handle affairs they move noothly and in order. There are business men who have successful careers as politicians, and politicians who do well in business. But the smart ones do not mix the activities.

Nobody would suggest that business men in government intentionally encouraged or permitted ^-regularities in handling accounts. But the record seems to prove that business administrators do not prevent things going wrong sometimes. It Is unfair to blame politics for the misdeeds of business men.

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established by the City Council to avoid in the future Ux DriK? TTPTVTf/

similar situations in whirh thp rtinnricihHfv nf L/V-ZlN

Dear Fairy Godmo

If I were allotted a few

FLOWERS Saw a notice in a newspaper the other day asking that no flowers be sent to a funeral, but instead that a donation be made to a certain special health promotion campaign. A good friend who is in the florist business saw the notice at the same time and he hit the ceiling. His reaction is understandable, as is the attitude of the family that requested no flowers. The florist is in business to make money be selling flowersand through the years funerals hsve afforded a major maiicet. Families receiving the flowen sometimes are burdened wltn handling them when they might rather rest, and the idea of promoting a charity of the deceased is mi^ivated by generosity.

Memorial gifts are always In order and there is much satisfaction in feeling ttiat the con-tributicm is serving people who need help. In most Instances the donor prefers to make his own choice of recipient. The practice, however, is growing for survivors to suggest the charity which should receive a gift in lieu.of flowers.

Another flower problem often arises over what kind of plant or arrangement should be sent to a tick friend. There are some who Insist that a living plant Is more appropriate; othera hold that cut flowers more nearly express full sympathy. Argument there is that the cut flowers give all they have, everything they are or can ever be. to the purpose of brightening up the sick room. The living plant is less bright although it survives much longer:

similar situations in which the responsibility of property owner may be beclouded by technicalities or extenuating circumstances.

The establishment of more specific policies and requirements would give every citizen of the com-

"being ask- by * fairy godmother,

ed to do more or less than every other when it came with some asurance of their to the matter of participating with the city in the being granted, at least one of

cost of street paving or curb and gutter projects. ^

for a continuous trickle of let-

ters-tothe- editor.

Not a flood, mind yod . . .

Just a nice,, steady, well-paced

stream.

Why?

Because they often Include gems of the finest type of writing and the sharing of ideas.

What better mirror of public thinking than the Public Forum spaces made available by hometown newspapers?

Every community has within its ranks representatives of

Liier

Others Prepare Their Speches

By JAMES MARLOW

WASHINGTON (AP) - One of the key questions not emphasized so far in the Senate inquiry into censorship of military officers, speechesis how many of them actually write their own speeches.

It can be reliably stated that few do although the Senate subcommittee got top-b r a s s complaint about the kind of censoring they got and the fact that low-ranking subordinates used the red pencil.

It is doubtful that many of the military speeches written for them before they are submitted to the Pentagon censors; the Defense Departments Security Review Office.

Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara not long ago ordered officers to initial their speeches, as evidence that they at least looked at them, before sending them to the Security Review Office.

Adm. Arleigh A. Burke, retired chief of naval operations, complained to the subcommittee against review by Pentagon subordinates to w hat the top officers are going to say.

So did Lt. Gen. Arthur G. Trudeau, chief of Army research. Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent the subcommittee a statement saying: Let our Informed military speak."

But Gen. Thomas D. White, retired Air Force chief, said he didnt mind being reviewed by Pentagon underlings because most speeches are written by Junior officers and reviewed by Junior officers of similar rank.

I rarely personally wrote a speech myself. he said. There were relatively low-level persons who write the speeches In the first place.

This Is the usual procedure; A speech to be delivered by, say. an Army officer goes first to the Army security review to be sure it reveals no secrets and is in keeping with presidential policy.

From there it is sent to the Defense Departments Security Review Office.

If along the line there is any conflict, the speech can be submitted to Arthur Sylvester. McNamaras assistant secretary In charge of public affairs or if there Is still conflict to McNamara himself.

President Kennedy backs the present policy, which was also Elsenhower's policy although now Eisenhower seems to be having second thoughts about it.

Backing it also are Gen. Lyman L. Lemnltzer, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Robert A. Lovett, defense secretary under Presiden Harry S. Truman.

This Inquiry Is the result of chgarges by Sen. Strom Thurmond, D-S. C.. ihat the military was being muzzled when it wanted to make antl-Cora-munist talks.

One thing upon which everyone is agreedincluding Thurmondis that the military must be subordinate to civilian control.

The French have been cited as the prime example of the danger that can be created for a republic where the generals go from open opposition to the government to conspiracy against it.

So what the Senate subcommittee hearings boll dovni to after a week of testimony is not whether top government civilians have a right to censore military mena speeches but only how it should be done.

This then becomes a matter of judgment. That leaves the door wide open for a lot of wrangling but hardly for explosions.

Opinions In

a host of professions, trades and fields of work. Within each there is available a wealth of" viewpoints and observations, colored by a variety of backgrounds and experiences, which are worth sharing.

Occasionally in the course of conversation, somebody will break off to say Schllenz, why dont you include this in an editorial or a story?, and then sound off on an opinion that has obviously been formed over a period of time, dammed up and waiting for a listener.

. So I listen, and nod, and at the end say Good . . , write a letter. Something like

Other Editors Saying... Drift Toward Secrecy

'Brief

The fellow whos sitting on top of the world these days Is in a precarious position.". Wall Street Journal.

The trouble with doing nothing is that you cant stop and rest.Carlsbad Current-Argus.

The new woman driver has it almost made when the road begins to turn when she does. Anderson ' B.C.) Independent.

"The more grain we raise here in North Carolina and convert Into feed the less worry well have about grain shipment rates from any other part of the country.Greensboro Dally News.

(Rocky Mount Telegram)

As State Treasurer Edwin Gill noted recently, there seems to be a drift toward more secrecy in government, and this drift has some officials worried. Gov. Sanford himself, taking note of the situation following a recent Incident involving the State Banking Commission, said that generally speaking, we are strongly in favor of all meetings being held in the open.

What precipitated the views of these two men was last Wednesdays action by the State Banking Commission to meet In closed session on a proposal to approve a branch bank in High Point by the Scottish Bank of Lumberton. The commissions vote was taken at the closed session of the commission held after a public hearing.

Gill is chairman of the Banking Commission. But he fails to see the need for secrecy in meetings of his group. His opposition to executive sessions is not new. But while he concedes the right of others to differ with him and while he respects their right to do so, he deplores the drift toward secrecy.

The motion to hold a secret meeting was made by Banking Commission member Charles Johnson of Raleigh. Johnson contended that somebody may say something here that if put into print may be misleading. At least one of his own suggestions, made previously at a meeting, is the best argument against secret meetings. Last year he said he saw no harm in allowing commission members who have a personal or business stake in interpreting

and making public to the matter before the commission, to participate in discussions and votes. It is well that there are laws that forbid such conflict of Interest.

The secrecy vote by the majority of the Banking Commission does not reflect the views of Gov Sanford. There are occasions when an open meeting may hamper free discussion of a project which is in its preliminary stages. As Gill pointed out, both the law and common sense dictate there might an occasion when you ought to go into executive session. As examples, he cited Banking Commission discussions on an individual banks solvency or the character of its officers.

The commissions members have been informed by Gill on previous occasions that within the limitations of the law, the publics business should be public. All such business as belongs to the public, all pertinent information about the status of the state funds should be disclosed, and Gill points not only to the careful handling and accounting of public funds which is basic, but also candor and frankness in people the true facta about their government.

Public officials must be ready at all times to account not only for the funds but for the policies, withholding nothing that Is vital 50 that the people themselves will know how to evaluate clearly the issues. Candor is the best way to avert public suspicion. To attempt devious and secret meetings, to plot--6ecrecy, is the surest way of arousing the public ire and suspicion that some kind of hocus pocus is going on.

that Would be welcomed on the editorial page.

This display of Interest is met by a sheepish pause, a shrug, and no letter.

Ill bet every member of the news staff has had the same experience.

There are a number of presumed reasons, but probably the foremost are a feeling of a lack of time and a bit of uncertainty about putting their thoughts on paper.

As to time ... a person may devote five minutes or twenty minutes to composing a letter ... it neednt be long; we prefer them reasonably brief, anyway.

Nine times out of ten the subject matter would be something preying on the writers mind for hours or days, and there is little or no need to formulate a chain of thought (which kills so much of this writers time).

Nor does The Reflector . . . as a matter of policy . . . editorially comment upon, n( answer, views and position* taken by individual writers; such things being accorded a degree of sanctuary.

Of course, a challenging position should expect to be challenged . . . but if convictions are strong enough to warrant their expression, then they should be prepared to withstand the (so far unlikely) prospects of counter-arguments.

Sure, The Daily Reflector would profit by a rich and varied exchange of ideas in The Public Forum. Its one of the best-read and eye-catching features of any good magazine or newspaper.

But the community of readers is the real beneficiary in any such sharing of criticisms, assajrals, challenges, viewpoints and argument*.

For, lets face It, the beginning and end of opinions and wisdom does on rest in the few heads that write for an editorial page.

I dont really expect a rash of letters resulting from my wishful public dreaming; the letter-writing front hereabouts rarely sees activity unless wrtthfully stirred by burning issues. But if Ive made any converts, heres a couple of points that help the cause; keep It reasonably brief and dealing with one topic at a time; avoid the rocks of libel; sign it and give your address.

Well, Ive wished.

Is there a fairy godmother In the hou**?

Women

By GEORGE E. SOKOLSKY Copyright, 1962, King Features Syndicate, Inc.

I must say that at my age mo^ womens clothes look as though the designers and dressmakers and such had been off on a twist. The skirts are too short. The knees are too sharp. The legs are too skinny.

So the conflict between Mrs. Clare Boothe Luce and Mrs. John F. Kennedy as to what a First Lady should wear seems to me a wasted effort. A woman generally wears what she chooses and what her husband can pay for.

Many years ago, I was discussing the Chinese custom of concubinage with my ancient friend, Tong Shao-yi, and he insisted that polygamy was not a matter of morals but of millinery.

Mrs. Luce* objection could be justified had she said that tte First Lady should encourage mass production and buy her dresses at Ohrbachs or Kleins or some such store where you help yourself and pick and choose until you have discovered what becomes you. Clare, who is.a lady of extraordinary beauty, does not look as though she bought her dresses where a young stenographer does. As a matter of fact, the females In my family tell me that most of the so-called French dresses are made In New York.

Oleg Cassini, the White House dressmaker, is not really an Italian, as most think. He Is of Russian origin, his ancestor having been a great figure in the Czars Court when he ne^ gotlated treaties with the master of diplomacy, Li Hung-chang. who knew how to get something for China under any circumstances. The Cassinis, It is true, were brought up In Florence where one learns many tricks of life and they have done very well in this country, Igor, as an Informant on the ways of females under the astounding title of Cholly Knickerbocker and Oleg as a dressmaker which has ever been a masculine trade, have become part of the White House personnel.

The politics of dressmaking are probably as confused as any other politics. I read in the newspapers all about the First Ladys clothes, whether they were made in Paris or New York. Actually, the man most Interested In the subject is Davis Dubinsky who runs the dressmakers union and must be fearful lest we Import saris from India and tight Chinese dresses from Hongkong, which if Oleg did not know it,

I helped to design in Shanghai, and then Daves union will lose members and what will he do? It is like Alex Rose, the members of whose union left him when men and women stopped wearing hats. So Alex went into politics, manages the Liberal Party and Is becoming the iwlltlcal boss of New York. One has to do something if hats and cap* are not worn.

The virtue of a free society is that one enjoys freedom of choice. If the present First Lady chooses to devote herself to things of beauty, who shall say her nay? Not even the glorious Gare who is beautiful In her own right. On the other hand, the erstwhile First Lady, Eleanor, preferred politics and was in this and that and gave the pundit, Westbrook Pegler, much to write about. In fact, and he will forgive me for saying so. he got so in the habit of referring to Eleanor, her ancestors, and descendants, that he cannot get out of the habit, albeit the lady has aged and may be forgiven her days of yore.

The years pass and one mellows and cares little whence the covering of the female torso come, so long as It does not add to the richness of the slaves behind the Iron Curtain whom we boycott for their sins which we do not forgive. I, in fact go so far that I will not buy a Polish ham, although I must admit that my ancestors forbade all consumption of ham and other parts of the beast that fools mankind by advancing its cloven hoof as proof of virtue.

True I have wandered much today and into many fields but one does weary of Khrushchev and Castro and such horrors and It is pleasant to think about feminine beauty and what goes (Continued on Page 5)

New Data On American Farmer

One of the troubles about teaching Amerlcanism in the schools is whose version are you going to teach.Raleigh News and Observer.

Strenath For Todav

By EARL L. DOUGLASS

THAT SECOND CHANCE

One of the four Gospels bears the name of Mark. This Important'figure in Christian history got off to a bad start. He was a nephew of the Christian leader Bamabts, and when Paul and Barnabas made their first mlsslCnary Journey Mark went with them. When the going got tough, however, Mark. lit out for home. Paul was furious over the young mans defection and held it against him for some years. There must have been a reconciliation, however, for at the close of Pauls second epistle to Timothy we find the words: Take Mark and bring him with thee: for he is prof^ Itable to me for the ministry. Here was a young man who

started out by showing the white feather and ended up a hero. Tradition has It that Mark founded the Christian Church In Alexandria. He is referred to In early writings as Peters interpreter, who wrote down accurately as many as he remembered of the things said or done by the Lord. His (3ospel Is believed to have been the first one written and is, therefore, of vast Importance.

The lesson would seem to be first, that we should not be too harsh in our Judgment of youths follies. Again, we should always be willing to give anyone-old or younga second chance. Those who have apparently failed should further remember that we have never really failed until we have acknowledged failure and quit.

By ELMER ROESSNER

A picture of the American farmer has been painted by the Department of Commerce in some new statistics. The picture is a little fuzzy because some of ths data go back to 1959.

Commerce Department has just released figures from the 1959 Census of Agriculture showing that the total value of products sold by 3,708,000 farms that year was $30,625,000,000. The figure was probably higher in both I960 and 1961, since personal income of fanners rose about $1 billion in each year.

Census divided the farms into 2,416,000 commercial and 1, 292,000 noncommercial enterprises.

A noncommercial farm? Its a part-time, part-retireraent- or abnormal farm. An abnormal farm? Thats an Indian reservation, or a farm operated by a hospital, penitentiary, school grazing association, government agency or the like. Thats what Commerce says.

COMMERCIAL FARMS SOLVENT

The commercial farms sold $29,463,000,000 worth of produce in 1959, which accounted for all but about $1 million of the total. Commercial farms made about 96 per cent of all farm sales.

The average commercial farm sold $12,195 worth of products; the average noncommercial sold $900 worth. If you feel sorry for the retirement farmer, you cant feel quite so sorry for the commercial agriculturist.

Commercial farms with sales of $10,000 or more averaged $27,661 a farm. That includes some $1 million enterprises. Sales include purchases by the government.

Sales, of course, are not net farm income. Farmers had to spend more than half their receipts for seeds, equipment, stock, fertilizer and the hundreds of other things, farms must have. Another series of Commerce figures .shows that the personal agriculture Income for 1959 was $15.2 billion, about half the gross sales.

Thus, the average farm pro

duced about $4,100 In net personal income.

HOW MUCH PER PERSON?

Good or bad? Figures dont tell. Some commercial farms are operated by one man, some by large famlUei, and some by giant corporations.

While there is a wide variation in Income, ranging from less than nothing to enormous sums a year, the typical farmer seems to have a pleasant life even with the average net income of $6,000 a year, which was the 1959 figure.

Farmers got a good tax break. The food they grow for themselves or swap with neighbors for other vittles is rarely recorded as income. The electricity and oil they use is usually charged off for production, even when used In the home. Farmers charge their families no rent, although farm living quarters arc worth millions of d(rilars a year.

At a rough guess, a fanner with a $6.000-a-year net income may be as weU off as a city dweller with an income of $10-(KX) a year.

FINAGLING

In addition, there is a bit of unreportlng of income, which may fatten farm finance even more. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Mortimer M. Caplin recently declared the government may be losing millions of dollars a year In tax revenues because of substantial understatements of farm Income, If this is true, the average farmer may be doing even better than the preceding figures indicate.

HOUSEWIES WANT SIZE,

not flavor

A study by the Department of Agriculture shows that as far as frozen Prench-fries go. housewives are most Interested in size of the pieces. Pour packs of fries were rated by what the Department calls homemakers. As the proportion .of uneven pieces Increased, their rating of the fries decreases. Copies of the report, Market Research Report 514, are free for asking theOffice of Infor-niaUon, USDA, Washington 35, D. C.