Newspaper Page Text
17 l VENEV good P \jr
i
By Quimby Melton
__
• “Almanac for Griffin”, a da
ily feature on the editorial page,
tells us that it was on March 23,
1775, Patrick Henry told the Vir
ginia Convention: “I know not
what course others may take,
but as for me, give me liberty,
or give me death.” The fiery
Virginian will always be remem
bered by this one sentence.
This bold speech helped set
aflame the smoldering d e s i r e
for freedom from the English
Crown, and helped bring about
the break with Mother England,
the Revolution and birth of our
nation. Patrick Henry’s state
ment was hailed by the masses
‘but considered little less than
treason by the big land owners
and those who traded with Eng
land. But Patrick Henry did not
fear charges of treason — for
some years earlier in a speech
opposing the British “stamp act”
he concluded an eloquent speech
with “If this be treason, make
the most of it.”
+
At a time when Congress is
considering appropriations for
carrying on the Viet Nam war,
promotion of the Great Society,
etc. another appropriation is up
for action. This is money with
which to finance the 100th cele
bration of the purchase of what
is now the 49th state of the Un
ion — Alaska.
Ninety-nine years ago Secre
tary of State William Seward
paid the Russian government
$7,200,000 for what is now Alas
ka. The purchase immediately
was known as “Seward’s Folly.”
1 The measure that would ap
propriate money for (he Cen
tennial asks for $7,200,000, the
price paid Russia for this land;
but Congress has cut the amount
down to $4,800,000.
Anyway you look at it what
was considered “Seward’s Fol
ly” was one of the greatest
things that has happened In Am
erican History.
+
Now the purchase of Alaska is
not the only real estate transac
tion that played an important
Part in the growth and develop
ment of America.
In 1803, some 64 years before
the Purchase of Alaska, the in
fant United States paid France
$15-Million, for the then city
of New Orleans and all that ter
ritory west of the Mississippi
River, extending from the river
to the eastern spurs of the Roc
ky Mountains, and from the
Gulf of Mexico to the borders of
Canada. Later the extreme west
coast was acquired from Mex
ico.
Uncle Sam was quite a Real
tor in the days gone by, and
most of his transactions were
legitimate and he lived up to his
part of the contract.
However, there are certain
“transactions” that one cannot
read of without being ashamed
of those in authority. We refer,
of course, to the many and var
ious “ transactions” between
Uncle Sam and the American
Indians. Time after time, the
original Americans were moved
around like pawns on a chess
board were driven from their
homes, were promised payment
for their lands and all that. But
when the Indians got in the way
of the “march of progress” of
the white man the Indians were
doubled crossed.
If one would take the time to
research all our “transactions”
with the Indians one cannot
help but blush for shame. Includ
ed in the unfair “transactions”
were those with the Cherokee In
dians living in Georgia.
*
The Louisiana Purchase, made
during the Presidency of Tho
mas Jefferson, included land ex
tending from the Mississippi
River west to the Rockies. That
was one truly big real estate
transaction.
But did you know that when
King George granted territory
to the various colonies, he turn
ed over to the state named for
him — Georgia — all that terri
tory extending from the Atlan
tic Ocean to the Mississippi Ri
ver? What are now Alabama,
Mississippi, part of Louisiana
and part of Tennessee, were ori
ginally In Georgia.
$1,119.30 SAVINGS
TREFORD, England (UPI)
— Experts gave city officials a
$1,120 appraisal for repair of a
local church clock. Because the
, sus z
selves and repaired the clock at
a cost of 70 cents.
•tj
DAILY W
Established 1871
Just A Lot Of Bull
ATLANTA (UPI) _ A letter
In a national trailer magazine
claiming a tourist had been
charged a $15 “wheel tax” in
south Georgia led to two state
investigations and a shamefac
e( j j e tter writer,
in the letter, which appeared
m the March issue of “Trail-R
News,” the writer claimed a
motorist friend had been charg
e d a tax while towing a small
cabin cruiser. The writer, C. W.
Chaffee of St. Petersburg, Fla.,
said an “official” had told the
tourist the tax was imposed on
all visitors towing “living quar
ters,” including boats,
\ M'l
r .'■ v
\ \ ;
i
.
tew A
piisslplp ■ SI
i- v m
■ f ' '
J , .
J m ;
t * 4 IS m -4
D [ - A
I
m
: * i %
; m
r . v? ;; I
Si ! J
li i A
:m ms
I :
4Ek it
PX *
y m
" .
%■. ' ' s * v
m
X
• 1
(Staff Photo - - - Duane Paris).
Peaches Bloom
Peach blossoms are popping out all over in Spalding County with the arrival of
spring and warm weather. The blossoms on trees at the Georgia Experiment
Station here brought a big smile to the face of Lou Goldstein, sophomore at Val
dosta State. She was home for a spring holidays visit.
INSIDE
Dateline Georgia, Page 2.
Plea For Dad. Page 3.
Climber Dead. Page 3.
Editorials. Page 4.
^ Schedule, Page 4.
Hospital, Page 6.
Brown Speaks. Page 6.
Traffic Death. Page 6.
Still Raid. Page 6.
Smasher Lost, Page 8.
No Tax Hike, Page 8.
Sports. Page 10.
Girls Slain. Page 14.
Biossat. Page 14.
Cromley. Page 14.
Wage-Price, Page 14.
Comics, Page 17.
Want Ads. Pages 18, 19.
Society. Page 20.
Polly’s Pointers. Page 20.
Country Parson
K
Sq I
S Ml
“It has pleased me to see
most churches give up the
-r” of " nd ” i! ,o he !‘
a “ P er *°ns who haven’t
joined them.”
Griffin, Ga., 30223, Wednesday, March 23,1966
The letter came to the atten
tion of officials in the state
parks and highway depart
ments, both of which launched
investigations. Officials specu
lated the “wheel tax” must
have been invented by a con
man.
However when Chaffee was
contacted by the state and ask
ed to give further details of the
alleged incident for possible
prosecution, the writer reported
that his friend admitted the sto
ry was not true.
“It was just a lot of bull,”
Chaffee said.
6 Strip City 9 Coming
Griffin May Be
In Its Center
Griffin and the Atlanta area
will be the heartthrob of a city
that will stretch from Richmond,
Va. to New Orleans by 2000, Ray
Brokaw, executive manager of
the Griffin-Spalding Chamber of
Commerce, told the Griffin Ex
change Club Tuesday.
Speaking on “Our Dynamic
Future,” Brokaw said, “We ex
pect to double the population of
Spalding County from the pre
sent 37,500 to between 70 and 80
thousand people by 1975-80. The
next four years we will have a
continuous growth in our com
munity — nothing exciting —but
let’s be ready for the 7Q’s for
the big boom.”
Brokaw, said the population
explosion will create many pro
blems for Griffin and Spalding
County. He said some of the
problems will be schools, water
and sanitation, streets and by
passes, new Industrial plants,
expansion of local plants, new
post office building, expansion
of city limit, new industry sit
es and new businesses to take
care of the population increase.
He said the community is In
terested in new industries that
will be assets and become good
corporate citizens.
“We have a lot of Interest by
manufacturers to locate in our
area because of the nearness of
Atlanta and the Atlanta Airport.
We have good transportation fa
cilities serving the southeast and
the nation,” he said.
“Right now, our local manu
facturing plants have jobs beg
ging because of the lack of peo
ple wanting to work. Our unem
ployment rate is down to about
US Determined To Keep
Atlantic LBJ
GASSY STOMACH
MEXICO CITY (UPI)
Pedro Martinez attempted sui
cide Tuesday by gasoline
drinking it, not lighting it,
police said. He was reported in
good condition today in the
hospital where his stomach was
pumped.
1.9 percent of the working force
in our community," Brokaw
said.
He said one of the biggest as
sets to the community will be
the vocational-technical school.
“This school could be one of
the finest ventures and assets to
this community to help train our
people to hold jobs and earn a
living for themselves,” he said.
Weather:
FORECAST FOR GRIFFIN
AREA — Cloudy, windy and
colder later tonight and Thurs
day.
LOCAL WEATHER — High
today 78, low today 57, high Tue
sday 78, low Tuesday 55; sun
rise Thursday 6:37; sunset Th
ursday 6:51.
District Pharmacy
Meet Here
Pharmacists from throughout
the Sixth District will meet In
Griffin tonight at the Elks Club
beginning at 7 p.m.
Dr. Joe LeRocca, professor of
pharmacy at the University of
Georgia and a research chemist,
will be the guest speaker.
One of the topics likely to be
discussed by Dr. LeRocca will
be proposed legislation on drugs
for Medicare patients.
During the summer months,
Answers DeCaulle
Dismantle Attempt
Commissioners
Didn’t Spend
Any Money
The city commissioners met
for nine minutes Monday night
and didn’t spend any money.
No purchase orders requiring
their approval wer e on the ag
enda.
The commissioners authorized
city manager Jack Langford and
Mayor Louis Goldstein to exe
cute a contract with developers
of the Memorial Drive Shopping
Center for a strip of land to ser
ve as a buffer between the cen
ter and the cemetery. The city
will swap a small triangle of
land for the buffer strip.
An application for a package
beer store permit by Samuel T.
Holder at 1516 Atlanta road just
north of Riegel’s curve was tur
ned down. The city has been tur
ning down such applications in
recent months because the com
missioners believe enough pack
age store permits are outstand
ing.
A permit for a “teen age dan
ce hall” in a building next to the
Combo Grill at 1404 North Hill
street was turned down. The per
mit was sought by Johnny Phil
lips.
A resolution covering an ag
reement between the city and
the Central of Georgia Railway
involving power lines crossing
the tracks was approved.
Placed on second reading was
an ordinance to install a lateral
sewer line on Meriwether street
east to the present line, a dis
tance of about a block.
Man Arrested;
2 More Sought
In Arson Ring
ATLANTA (UPI) — One man
has been arrested and authori
ties are looking for two others
in connection with a Haralson
County arson ring, Comptroller
General James Bentley an
nounced today.
Donnie Burgess, about 18, was
held in Haralson County jail at
Buchanan on charges of arson
and murder. Police are looking
for Charles Blalock, 21, also
charged with arson and mur
der, and Orville Shealy, charged
with arson.
The warrants grew out of the
death of a man tentatively iden
tified as a member of the ring
in a suspected arson fire in Y.’a
co, Ga. The body was found in
a wooden frame house which
authorities say was deliberate
ly burned.
The dead man, whose name
was not released, was already
a suspect and a case was to
be made against him before the
Haralson County grand jury.
More than 40 fires have been
set in Haralson and Polk coun
ties since 1963 and authorities
have been on the trail of the
arson ring for several months.
A spokesman for the comptrol
ler general’s office said there
is a possibility that more ar
rests will be made.
Arson rings remove furniture
from houses, then burn the
houses to hide their theft, Bent
ley said. In the Waco case, sev
eral pices of furniture were
missing.
Dr. LeRocca is a research che
mist with the Atomic Energy
Commission at the Savannah,
Ga. facility.
Lee Roy Claxton of Griffin is
in charge of arrangements for
the meeting.
Pat Smith of LaGrange, presi
dent of the Sixth District Phar
macists, will preside. Bill Nor
ris, second vice president, wll
make a talk.
Vol. 95 No. 68
By STEWART HENSLEY
United Press International
WASHINGTON (UPI)—Pres
sident Johnson, answering
French President Charles de
Gaulles’ attempts to dismantle
NATO, said today the United
States is determined to join
with its allies to “preserve and
to strengthen the deterrent
strength” of the Atlantic
alliance.
“We are hopeful that no
member of the treaty will long
remain withdrawn in the
mutual affairs and obligations
of the Atlantic,” he declared.
“A place of respect and
responsibility will await any
ally who decides to return to
the common task,” he said.
Johnson made the remarks in
a major policy address pre
pared for the Foreign Service
Institute and the Senior Semin
ar, made up of top level career
U.S. diplomats, at the State
Department. The speech was
broadcast nationwide on radio
and television.
Focus On NATO
The Chief Executive devoted
his entire speech to the success
of the North Atlantic Treaty
since its formation 17 years ago
and the determination of this
country to keep it active.
In an obvious reference to De
Gaulle’s intention to withdraw
from NATO’s integrated milita
ry command, Johnson said:
“Some say that new circum
stances in the world today call
for the dismantling of the
organization.
“Of course NATO should
adapt to the changing needs of
the times. But we believe just
as firmly that such change
must be wrought by the
member nations working with
one another within the al
liance,” he said.
“Consultation, not isolation, is
the root to reform. We must
not forget in success and
abundance the lessons we
learned in danger and isolation:
That whatever the issue, we
share one common danger—
DMUVUSUIB—M ABD IBE
SAFETY —Unity.”
The president said the United
States views NATO not as an
alliance “to make war but an
alliance to keep the peace.”
Johnson said that NATO has
Insured the security of the
North Atlantic community and
reinforced stability elsewhere
in the world.
He said that the success of
NATO “has been measured by
many yardsticks” and added
that to him the most significant
is the most obvious: “War has
been deterred.”
French Action Perilous
Johnson added that a nation—
obviously meaning France—
“not by the actions of her
friends, but by her own decision
to prepare and plan alone—
could still imperil her own
security by creating a situation
in which response would be too
late, too diluted. Every advance
in the technology of war makes
more unacceptable old and
narrow concepts of sovereignty.
“It is our firm conviction
that collection action through
NATO is the best assurance
that war will be deterred in the
Atlantic world,” Johnson said.
Fluid Blast
Hits Student
In Face Here
The eyesight of Buddy Imes,
16-year-old Griffin High school
student, was In danger today fol
lowing an explosion Tuesday af
ternoon.
He was being treated at the
Griffin-Spalding Hospital. Rela
tives feared he might lose the
use of one eye and perhaps the
other.
The explosion occurred In the
garage of his home, 1347 North
Ninth Street. Kj was using some
type of cleaning fluid on an au
tomobile part when the fluid ex
ploded.
Imes is the son of Mr. and
Mrs. Jack Imes.
: ... m
■
£
I WM
!;S|f
1
_
1 :■
i £8
I Hill § : : f 5 ; W'
i m
i
U , j m
:
: :
£ 1
M
§1; :
»
if :: i
m n IP
1 . „ *sgj
(Staff Photo - - - James Stewart).
Jim Sullivan looks at “Jump For Jim” poster at
Griffin High.
Youth Assembly
Griffin High Backs
Sullivan For Post
By MARGARET OLSON
Assembly Correspondent
The 21st annual State Y.M.CA.
Youth Assembly will convene on
March 24 at the State Capitol.
This event is always one of the
highlights of the year for mem
bers of Griffin. High School’s Y
Clubs.
Here they are given a chance
to see how the Georgia legisla
ture operates, and to participate
in a mock General Assembly
themselves.
Donald Roberts, youth gover
nor, from Fulton High School in
Atlanta will preside over the
sessions this year.
Tension and excitement will
run high as the controversial
bills are introduced, and voted
upon. Among these bills is one
which would provide for and in
crease in the state sales tax
from three per cent to four per
cent. Another one deals with ex-
MacKinnon Invited
To Tell His
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. (UPI)
—Dr. Irville H. MacKinnon, who
resigned as superintendent of
Miiledgeville State Hospital af
ter he was accused of padding
his state-paid grocery bill, has
been invited to appear before a
House-Senate committee investi
gating the hospital.
Sen. Culver Kidd of Milledge
ville, chairman of the joint com
mittee, said Tuesday MacKin
non was invited before the com
mittee when it meets in Atlanta
Tuesday. The committee con
cluded its current investigating
sessions here.
Kidd said he saw no founda
tion for any criminal prosecu
tion of MacKinnon because the
former superintendent made
restitution of $360 to the state
after admitting he padded the
grocery bill $20 a month for 18
months. MacKinnon, whose
whereabouts were unknown, was
reported to have left Georgia
because he feared criminal
prosecution in this state.
Meanwhile, the attorney gen
eral’s office has yet to decide
on whether to prosecute Mac
Kinnon.
During the final day of the
investigation here it was learned
that two members of the joint
committee, including Kidd, and
the brother of a third member
have transacted business with
the state hospital in the past.
However, the business man
ager of the hospital, William
Crittenden, said the business
transacted was on a small scale
and done only in case of emer
gencies.
The three were Sen. Kidd,
Baldwin County Rep. Floyd Har
rington and the brother of Bald
win County Rep. Philip Chand
ler. It was disclosed that Kidd
did business with the hospital
through his drug store in Mii-
tending the school year from
nine months to 12 months.
Griffinites will be watching the
activities of Youth Assembly
closely, especially this year. Gr
iffin High student Jim Sullivan
is a candidate for the office of
lieutenant governor. Youth
Assembly officials are elected
after long hours of campaigning,
just as they are in the state gen
eral elections. Other delegates
are Gene Hayes, Emily Brisen
dine, Tommy G. Smith, Carol
Williamson, Nancy Hooper, Mar
jie Bowen, and Frank Hinson.
Margaret Olson is press repre
sentative and Mrs. Ruth Nealy
will be the advisor.
The delegates will leave Grif
fin Thursday morning, and re
turn Saturday afternoon. While
in Atlanta, the girls will stay at
the Americana Motor Hotel, and
the boys will stay at the Dink
ier Plaza.
ledgeville while Harrington sup
plied the hospital with animal
feed and Chandler’s brother sup
plied the institution hardware.
Also at Tuesday’s session Kidd
said he accompanied Milledge
ville newspaper reporter Karl
E. Hall Jr. on a checkup tour
of hospital activities about three
weeks ago, before the MacKin
non resignation. It was Hall who
provided the information that
led to the padding accusation,
according to Atty. Gen. Arthur
Bolton.
The committee said it may or
may not have to return here and
resume its investigation follow
ing its sessions in Atlanta next
week.
Miiledgeville
Probe Could
Cost Over $6,00 0
ATLANTA (UPI) — Investi
gating can be a costly business.
The admitted mlsappropria
tlons of $360 at Miiledgeville
State Hospital by Dr. Irvil’e
MacKinnon—who paid It back
could cost the state over $ 6,000
Figures released by the offi
ces of the lieutenant governoi
and speaker of the House sho
ed the two legislative commit
tees currently at Mllledgevillt
cost $400 per day. Each of ten
committee members is paid $20
a day plus another $20 for ex
penses.
Under the state Constitution,
the two committees are empow
ered to Investigate for as many
as 15 days, which at $400 a day
means $6,000. That figure does
not include travel eppenses at
eight cents per mile.