Henderson daily dispatch., 1946-12-28
See Problem
Over Dividing
States Money

many others not SO obvious but o
equal or greater impact upon tn
States future development.
The immutable natural law Of at
triton has been at work in the &c
onomic and industrial developmen
Of North Carolina. AZ a result ricl
communities have grown richer
poor sections have grown poorer
at least on comparative basis
There are some notable exceptions
but they serve merely to prov,
the general rule.
Several surveys of Industrial de
velopment made by State and pri
vately financed agencies show tha
new industries coming into eX,s
tence during the past few year:
have been concentrated largely il
already highly industrialized areas
That Is natural and logical, how
ever unfortunate for balanced pro
gress 1t may be. To Offset anc
combat this trend. the State ha:
become aroused TO the need for de
veioping lot OF small rural indus
tries. not dependent upon the ira
ditional sources OF labor and mar
ket outlets.
Even in this venture il has beer
found necessary to maintain somt
intimate relationship between pro,
posed and established industries
Wood toy making, for instance
needs 10 be situated near large
woodworking plants as source
OF material from waste products.
Rug making requires easy access
TO textile mill scrap.
One small Mississippi outfit is
doing a good business in produc.
ing souvenir bales Of cotton. The
little bales weigh about half a
pound each. are hand-fashioned
true to scale and style OF regula
bales. wrapped IN bright cellphane
and retail for about a dollar apiece
PROXIMITY to a cotton gin prere-
Guisite for such an operation.
Better Schools. Hospitals.
OF more immediate concern to
North Carolina is the dire need for
more and better schoolhouses and
hospitals. Here again il is found
inat the already serviced communi-
ties Jared much better in the allo-
cation NJ Federal aid funds during
the pre-war New Deal era. This
was due to the fact that prosperous
communities had the cash to Law
on the barrel head TO match FEEDER
n offerings; SO they got first claim
on Federal aid money. The poorer
communities. where actual need
was greater. could not meet match
ing requirements and so came in
FOR later consideration or no help
at all.
"a
chain Is no stronger than its weak
est link. many leaders insist the
state has an obligation to extend
a helping hand to these less for
tunate communities. Consequently
tentative plans for State aid in
school house and hospital con-
StTuction call for much larger par
uc!pation in poor counties than in
richer ones. There is no DISPOSE
t"n to have the state do the whole
Job, but current thinking ranges
i;om rs per cent state money in
prosperous areas to rs percent in
the poorest sections. With some
oi:!erential in percentages propos-
cd federal aid 10 hospitals and az
rtcu!tural marketing research is
based on the same general princi-
pal of doing more for the less for
tunate states than for the richer
commemorative.
Abnormal Need.
Admittedly 1t is hazar dous to
project future commitments on ha-
sis of present conditions: but the
thing has 10 start somewhere and
sometime-and there is no other
place or time than here and now.
Necessary changes can he made
later. At the December meeting OF
the State Board of Education. DR..
Clyde Erwin. State superinteu dent
Of public instruction. presented
some comparative figures on needs
and accomplishment in the edu-
cational set-up. Board Member Ar
chic Graham Interposed the obser-
walton that your comparisons are
abnormal DR.. Erwin answered
the times are abnormal"
That reminded your reporter of
an episode at Waxhaw more than
forty years ago. There was a
Methodist preacher. Rev. Eli
Richardson. who needed n new
suit Of clothes before going to the
annual conference. The preacher
wasn't very high but he was
plenty big around. and no stock
suit would tit him. He went into
Waxhaw store to he measured
for a tailor-made-swa stuff in
them days. Time was short and
the suit order had to be tele-
graphed to the tailor. Measure
ments were roughly So inches
waist. % inches in-seam. The or
der was wired to Baltimore.
Next day came back the cryptic
telegram: "Richardson measure
ments out Of proportion: send re-
vision Whereupon the late Earl
Heath, manager Of the store. then
In his early twenties. grabbed a
sheet OF paper and scrubbed this
message to the tailors: Richard
son man out Of proportion; send
tho britches." The suit came: the
Reverend Eli went to the confer
ence-and got good appoint
ment; everybody was happy.
This story II apropos only az IL
Illustrating that abnormal condi-
tons require abnormal measure
ments. That suit would not have
fitted the preacher five years lat
err. He had lost about 50 pounds
In weight. Neither would measure
ments taken OF North Carolina
five years ago fit present needs.
BY the same reasoning II would be
foolish to expect present meas
urements to tit needs two or five
or ten years from now. The state
may gain or lose weight" in
that time. Guessss are about
evenly divided as to which wsy
the change will 20.
Legislative Outlook
Illustrative OF the prevailing un-
certainty 10 the attitude Of two
membsrs-eleet Of the next legis-
latfirA OnA UatAra1 - n.,.