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The following is a Counterpoint.

By Robert Cone

I write to express my disappointment with the Jan. 23 editorial in this newspaper criticizing the late Horace Kornegay, a native North Carolinian who spent 15 years as a lobbyist for the tobacco industry in the 1970s and 1980s.

Regrettably, the editorial focused mostly on his tobacco advocacy, despite his long record of service in other areas, including as a prosecutor and congressman.
The evils of tobacco are — and certainly were 25 years ago — much more debatable than it would appear from the editorial.

If not for tobacco money, much of the wealth of the state would not be here. Duke and Wake Forest universities, and their hospitals and medical schools, all were made possible by tobacco.
Many of the charities and foundations that enrich the fabric and culture of our state are also the products of tobacco. The Duke Endowment, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and the Kate B. Reynolds Foundation are examples.

Thirty and 40 years ago, what was good for tobacco was good for North Carolina. Besides, what we define as evil is relative. Unlike in the financial services industry, tobacco executives have not pursued insider-trading schemes or used company money to pay themselves huge bonuses while seeking bailouts on the eve of bankruptcy.

Banks and insurance companies brought us to our current economic crisis, not tobacco. Largely because of tobacco wealth — much of which was donated to charities — Horace Kornegay’s beloved North Carolina is positioned to weather the financial storm. The universities that tobacco built will, no doubt, lead the way forward, attracting students, scholars and grant money from across the country.

As a lawyer, Horace was a tough advocate but honest and fair. Upon returning to Greensboro in the mid-1980s to resume his law practice, he served his profession and his community with countless hours of volunteer work and as a mentor to dozens of young lawyers. He chose public service for many years when he could have engaged in more lucrative endeavors.

Wounded in battle during World War II, Horace Kornegay was a shining example of the best of our Greatest Generation. Upon returning home, he studied hard, earned a law degree, married the woman who would be his wife for nearly 60 years, raised a loving family and worked to improve the community where he grew up.

His was a life worth emulating. In death he deserved a better shake from his hometown newspaper.

The writer is a Greensboro lawyer.