The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1955-12-09
sSEE17s9|51535iJ5i9
MaS43IlTa
THERE'S NO SUCH THING
AS SOMETHING FOR NOTHING

/ L
Federal income tax notice for 1855
last night l read about a town in
New England which was so devas-
tated by the recent hurricanes that
its chances for survival are small
indeed, and this morning there was
an article in the paper that SILL
676.20 has been allotted to the
Town of Kill Devil Hills out of
Federal Disaster Relief Funds. To-
day l keep wondering if my wife
and l are the only people in Dare
County who see a connection be-
tween these three items, and who
are ashamed because of it.
The connection comes, of course,
from the fact that the term Fed
eral Funds" is not an abstract one,
designating some vast reservoir of
green bills and silver coins, per-
petually replenished like a flow
ing spring; rather, Federal
Funds" are our funds, the taxes
We pay and the money we loan the
government through bond pur-
chases, and when extra Federal
Funds are dispensed we must come
up with extra tax payments OF
buy extra bonds.
The connection comes too, from
the fact that in times of dire nee
essity in a family or community
or area, it is the responsibility of
the rest of US to freely pay those
taxes and buy those bonds so fed
eral funds can be made available
for disaster relief. And certainly
the plight of thousands of people
in Pennsylvania and New England,
and in the more southern coastal
areas of this State legitimately
qualities them for such relief as
the result of the five hurricanes
which have struck them during the
past two years.
The final connection stems from
the fact that we have been fortu-
nate along the Dare County coast
during this period of unusual hurri-
cane activity, to have escaped the
fury of those blows, and to have
emerged with nothing more than
inconvenience and minor damages,
and less of both, really, than our
neighboring inland counties to the
west and north.
| felt shame first on this score
when | read in the Times of Octo-
Der 7 that Dare County had asked,
among other things, that $63, 10000
be allotted out of federal disaster
relief funds for what was described
as "a breakwater around the shore"
at Kitty Hawk, a project which
may or may not be advisable, but
which under no stretch of any
ones imagination could be classed
legitimately as relief of disaster
caused by the hurricanes of 1854
and 1866 which had struck below
and above and besides US, but
which had passed US by.
! And there was shame at the
same time over the request of Kill
Devil Hills for funds to open drain.
age bitches which had been cloggeC
up since soon after their construc-
ton during WPA days. There may
be places in Dare County where
these sideswiping hurricanes
caused damage which cannot be re-
paired by the community involved
or by the County, and would result
in a genuine disaster if not immed-
lately attended to with fedora
funds, and if there are, then these
legitimate projects should be pre-
sented to federal authorities fol
consideration along with the dew.
astated communities in New Eng,
land. But breakwater at Kitty
Hawk and drainage bitches at Xii
Devil Hills are not IN this cate,
CORY.
have already expressed my dis
gust at this brazen grab into the
federal pot, in conversation will
county and town officials, an;
understand from both that the!
did not intend to make such absurC
requests, but were urged to do 81
by officials who came down from