Newspaper Page Text
JLi 17 GOOD
VEND! VJ
By Quimby Melton
Weekend Notes:
India’s Prime Minister, Mrs.
Indria Gandhi, arrived in this
country over the weekend. She
spent Sunday in historic Will
iamsburg, Virginia. Today she
will make a trumphal entry in
to Washington, with a 21-gun
salute and all the trimmings.
She will spend two days in con
ference with the president.
She and the President are not
strangers. They know each
other from previous visits to
America and from a Johnson
i trip to India when he was Vice
President.
The 49-year-old widow, who
heads the government of In
dia, and is leader of some 400
million people — in an interview
Sunday said she was here seek
ing “a closer understanding of
our nations and the aspirations
of their people.” There was a
lot of propaganda in her state
ment. Some who are well ver
sed on India, its government and
Its "aspirations", are predict
i- that before the talk bet
i ween Mrs. Gandhi and Presi
dent Johnson, has progressed
very far, it will get around to
U. S. aid for India. Millions in
India face starvation. Of course
•One 1 - Sam, being a charitable
nation, will respond to this ap
peal for help. But in this lay
man’s opinion there should be
some sort of understanding. For
a nation like ours with some 200
million population to be called
on to help feed a nation with
j twice that population, would in
dicate that there must be some
thing radically wrong in India.
Another thing that this layman
dr not like about the govern
ment of India is "'at the Indians
like to “play both ends”. They
accept anything and everything
they can from Uncle Sam, and
then trot off to Moscow to get
what they can there. That may
/ be smart manipulation of friends
but someday Indian will have
to choose.
It might be a good idea at
this point in the international
diplomatic “game,” to point
this out to the lady from India.
+
Reports from up Atlanta way
tell of some 70,000 folks jam
med Into the Hampton Raceway
Sunday afternoon for the Atlan
ta 500. Also reports fro closer
to Atlanta are that only some
11,000 attended the Braves
i ball Saturday
Dodgers game
night and s r "’" 13,000 the Sun
day afternoon game.
This raises in the mind of
some, no doubt, the question:
Will Atlanta support Big Lea
gue baseball? Also,
How many years will It be be
fore the Braves are looking for
another home?
This old timer has, in years
gone by, seen more people turn
i out a* the old Ponce deLeon
ball park, when Atlanta was In
the Southern League, than at
tended either exhibition games
at the big stadium. Remember
well one spring Good Evening
took his family to the old park
to see an exhibition game bet
ween the Crackers and the New
York Yankees. That was in the
heyday of Babe Ruth and Joe
Gehrig. The park was packed,
’• Jammed and crowded.
There are several resons, in
our opinion, why pro baseball
seems to be losing out.
One, baseball has gone mo
ney mad. Salaries and bonuses
and the like have forced the
price of admission and refresh
ments to such a point that one
can hardly attend a game with
out putting out $5.00.
The ’-'ll! players, and this In
< cludes the two Dodger pitchers
who are making such demands
In the way of contracts, do not
realize that it is the fans who
have made them. All they are
interested in is getting all they
can, while the getting Is good,
even at the cost of baseball it
self. ..
There is another reason, and
this is closely tied in with
cost of baseball — there are
, few if any “farm clubs” left.
It used to be that big league
teams had farm clubs running
from Class D on up through tri
ple-AAA. Ball flayers were sign
ed up and worked their way up
—earned their way up — by the
brand of ball they played in the
minor leagues.
When, and if, baseball own
er and mana^rs and players
begin to think more of the fans,
■ then baseball with stagger back
onto its feet.
GRIFFIN
DAILY
Established 1871
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(Staff Photo - - - James Stewart).
Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Pryor watch as son, Peter, probes house ruins.
Family Of Nine
Homeless After
Fire At Pomona
A of
nine was left homeless early
Sunday morning when their
home at Pomona burned to the
ground.
The Wallace Pryor family to
day was without a home, fumi
ture or clothing because of the
fire that burned the six room
house in which they lived one
fourth of a mile south of Porno
na on Georgia 3.
Pryor told the Griffin Daily
News today he had gotten up
and started a pot of coffee for his
son who had to go to work. He
said he lay back down on h i s
bed and he and his son, John, 18,
heard a loud pop.
They ran to the kitchen to find
one wall of the house on fire.
Smoke was being blown throu
gh the house by the fan on a
fuel oil heater, he said.
Pryor said he and John ran
outside the house and turned on
the pump switch, but that the
loud pop they heard apparently
was fuses blowing. No water
came.
He said the house filled with
smoke immediately.
Pryor said the house burned
to the ground in minutes.
Country Parson
m !’I W/f) m
M
wirflufl
a € Why should it happen
to me?’ is asked about a
tragedy—1 seldom hear a
fellow wonder why some
thing good should have
happened to him.”
Object Observed
In Over Columbus Ga.
COLUMBUS, Ga. (UPI) —An
airport control tower operator
reported seeing a glowing,
oblong obect maneuvering high
in the sky Sunday. He said it
was tracked on radar.
Six Columbus policemen, and
a control tower operator at Ft.
Benning, Ga., also said they
saw the strange object.
Doyle Palmer, an air traffic
control operator at Muscogee
County Airport, said he first
spotted the greenish white,
cigar shaped object at about
5:30 a.m., and that it was
tracked on radar at Atlanta for
over an hour. He estimated its
height at about 5,000 feet.
Griffin, Ga. f 30223, Monday, March 28, 1966
th e house and got them out. He
said he ran back in and got an
armful of clothing, tried to go
in again, but could not because
of heavy smoke,
Pryor said units of the Spald
ing Forestry Unit and the Dun
dee Volunteer Fire Department
arrived too late to do anything
about th e fire,
Mr. and Mrs. Pryor are the
parents of seven sons, John, 18,
David, 17, Paul, 15, Mark, 15,
Peter- 10, Phillip four and Andy
two and one-half years old.
Pryor said they had been liv
ing in the house for about 11
months. They moved to Spalding
County from Pike County,
Mr. and Mrs. Pryor are em
ployed by the State Department
of Family and Children’s Ser
vice.
Pryor said today they are
seeking old furniture, clothing
and other things to help them
get back to housekeeping.
Mr. and Mrs. Pryor and their
two youngest sons spent Sunday
night with Mr. and Mrs. Joe B.
Smith in Concord. The other chil
dren spent the night with
friends.
Pryor said anyone having clo
thing, furniture or bedcloths
could contact Smith at 495-5216
In Concord or Doug Samsom of
820 Ray street, Griffin, at 227-
3622 and they will be picked up.
Nearly 50 Planes
Stopped In Griffin
Nearly 50 prlva'.j airplanes
from other airports landed at
the Griffin-Spalding airport dur
ing the weekend. They brought
people here to attend the auto
race at Atlanta International
Raceway in Hampton.
They came from as far away
as Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and
Florida, a spokesman for Grif
fin Aero said.
Palmer said he had first
thought the object was a star,
“but you don’t pick up stars on
radar.” He said he could still
see it clearly after the sun
came up—when stars normally
disappear—but by that time it
had shrunk to the size of a pin
head and was moving south
east.
Columbus police detective
G.H. Ferguson said he spotted
the object after hearing radio
reports about it. He described
the glowing thing as wedge
shaped and said he saw it
rising in the air. He reported it
was much brighter and moved
faster than a star. Ferguson
A
Supreme Court
Okays Trials
In Mississippi
WASHINGTON (UPI) —The
Supreme Court today backed up
the Justice Department’s use of
federal law In civil rights
murders that have gone unpu
nished by local authorities.
The 9-0 decision means trials
can go ahead in » Mississippi
case where a federal Indict
ment was thrown out by a
lower court. Justice Abe Fortas
spoke for the court.
The indictment charged 17
Mississippians, including three
law enforcement officers, in
connection with the 1964
murder of three young civil
rights workers near Philadel
phia, Miss. The victims were
Andrew Goodman and Michael
H. Schwerner of New York and
James E. Chaney of Meridian,
Miss.
When no one was arrested for
the crime by local or state
authorities, the Justice Depart
ment took action.
Since murder is not a federal
crime, the government’s only
weapons were two 1870 statutes
passed in the Reconstruction
era to protect newly freed
slaves In the exercise of voting
and other rights.
One law makes it a felony to
conspire to injure “any citizen
in the free exercise or
enjoyment of any right or
privilege secured to him by the
Constitution or laws of the
United States.”
A violation carries a maxi
mum penalty of 10 years in jail
and a $5,000 fine.
The legal Issues turned on the
meaning of the word “right.”
The department contended
that it refers not only to
federally created rights like the
right to vote, but also to
individual freedoms protected
from abridgement by the states
through the 14th amendment.
Fortas today called the
language of the law “plain and
unlimited.” He said It embra
ces “all of the rights and
privileges secured to citizens by
all of the Constitution and all of
the laws of the United States.”
said he observed the object
until after 7 a.m.
Don Haddock of radio station
WDAK also said he watched a
triangle-shaped glowing object
in the same area until about 7
a.m.
All reports concurred on the
location of the object southeast
of Columbus over an Army
restricted area.
Air Force officials have said
the UFO reports in Michigan
were caused by a marsh gas
phenomena. Palmer reported
he did not know of any swamps
or marshes in the area of
Columbus where the strange
glowing object was seen.
Revamp
Appeal
Plaintiffs Will
File
ATLANTA (UPI) — Four At
lanta citizens decided today to
appeal a federal court ruling
granting Georgia until May 1967
to reapportion its legislature on
a population basis.
Attorney Francis Shackleford
said, “It is believed by the
plaintiffs that a final decision
would be in the best interests
of the state and that reappor
tionment would provide the
next administration with four
full years of a reapportioned
legislature.”
He said the appeal would be
filed by Tuesday.
A special three * judge panel
Friday rejected the plaintiffs
suit demanding immediate re
aportionment. However, the
Office Open Late Here
Medicare Signing
Ends This Week
The Social Security Adminis
tration is sounding a final alert
this weekto anyone 65 or over
1
to sign up for the Medicare pro
gram’s voluntary insurance ag
ainst doctor’s bills.
Miss Kate McLaurin, of the
Griffin Social Security Adminis
tration office, said today that she
was “real optomisttc” about
sign-ups at the Griffin office.
The Griffin office along with
711 other Social Security offices
throughout the nation have plan
ned long hours for each day this
week to insure those who have
not sign up an opportunity
to do so.
Today, Tuesday and Wednes
day the offices will be open 9 a.
m. to 9 p.m. and Thursday, the
deadline day, from 9 a.m. until
midnight.
Miss McLaurin said sign-ups
at the Griffin office had been
moving “extremely well”. She
said those people who have not
signed up are those who are
waiting until the last minute.
She said every person who is
receiving social security bene
fits has been contacted either by
Patrol Leaves
For Washington
Tuesday
A total of 228 school patrolmen
and 21 chaperones will leave Gr
iffin Tuesday afternoon for near
ly a week of sightseeing in Wash
ington and other points of inter
est en route.
The youngsters will begin load
ing buses at 1:00 p.m. and are
scheduled to pull out at 1:30.
They will assemble at the Kro
ger and Colonial parking lots.
The group Is scheduled to re
turn to Griffin Sunday at 7:30
a.m.
Father, Son
Burn To Death
JULIETTE, Ga. — A father
av* ’ is son burned to death ear
ly Sunday morning shortly after
midnight at their home in Juliet
te.
The victims were listed as Jo
seph Lee Mercer, 57, and his
son, Horace Lee Mercer, 27.
They were the father and bro
ther of Mrs. Jonnie Campbell of
Milner, Ga.
Funeral services were held this
afternoon at Juliette.
Firemen at Forsyth answered
the alarm.
Weather:
FORECAST FOR GRIFFIN
AREA — Clear to partly cloudy
this afternoon and tonight Cool
tonight. Tuesday partly cloudy
a“d mild.
LOCAL WEATHER — High
today 60, low today 34, high Sun
day 64, low Sunday 36, sunrise
Tuesday 6:30 sunset Tuesday
6:54. Trace of rain Saturday.
Vol. 95 No. 72
court moved from 1968 to 1967
the time the state had been
given to reapportion.
But the plaintiffs decided
they still want immediate reap
portionment as the Supreme
Court recently ordered Florida
to do.
Shackleford said if the Su
preme Court rules in their fa
vor the legislature would have
to call a special session on re
apportionment. The lower court
ruling would have allowed the
lawmakers to reapportion dur
ing the January regular ses
sion.
The plaintiffs are Henry
Toombs, Mrs. George Douglas,
John Glenn and Gordon John
son.
mail, phone or In person.
Miss McLaurin said the De
partment of Family and Child
ren Services had been helping
with people who are on their
rolls who are eligible for Medi
care. She also said the people
associated with the Agriculture
Department have been helping
with the names of people who
neither draw Social Security
nor welfare payments.
“I feel that we have pretty
well canvassed our area,” Miss
McLaurin said.
Those peiple who do not sign
up this week will have to wait
until the fall of 1967 to sign up
and will not be eligible for bene
fits for two years.
The Medicare program, which
provides free hospitalization in
surance and medical insurance
for a $3 monthly fee, will go in
to effect In July of this year.
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(Staff Photo • • • Duane Paris).
Pasteboard Is Better
Little Woodie Phelps found that riding on a piece of pasteboard was just as much
fun as riding in a wagon. His brothers, Raymond (1) and Tommy are shown pull
ing their young brother near their home on Route Two, Griffin, during weekend.
4
Ruling
Planned
One Wreck In City
Traffic Moved
Exceptionally
Well In Area
Two Griffin law enforcement
officers today said traffic in the
area over the weekend moved
“exceptionally well, considering
the amount we had.”
Griffin Police Chief Leo
Blackwell said his department
turned off some of the traffic
lights in the city. Traffic offic
ials were placed on strategic
corners to direct the large am
ount of traffic passing through
town for the race at Hampton
and the ball game in Atlanta.
Chief Blackwell said his men
did a good job of keeping the
traffic moving. He said there
was one wreck in the city limits
during the weekend.
He said the only way to han
dle the large amount of traffic
was to put some of the traffic
lights on blinking and use traf
fice officers.
Sergeant W. E. Butler of t h e
Griffin State Patrol Post which
has charge of traffic at the At
lanta International Raceway at
Hampton said his men did a
good job in keeping the traffic
moving.
He said everyone had been
moved from the race track by
9 p.m.
He said this was about the
amount of time they had predic
ted that would be needed to move
the large number of cars.
Sgt. Butler said the traffic mo
ved “exceptionally well consider
ing the number of cars at the
raceway and the amount of
through traffic.” He said offic
ers of the Griffin post investiga
ted five or six accidents during
the Sunday rush.
$25,000 Ransom
Demanded In
Florida Kidnap
SURFSIDE, Fla. (UPI)—The
teenaged son of a prominent
contractor was kidnaped Sun*
day night by a gunman who
demanded $25,000 ransom by
dawn Tuesday “or you’ll never
see your son alive.”
Police said the armed kid
naper barged into the water
front home of Aaron Goldman
and took Goldman’s 17-year-old
son, Daniel.
Surfside Police Chief Wiley
Barefoot said the kidnaper, who
was wearing a baseball cap,
bound and gagged Goldman and
his wife and fled with their son
in Goldman’s car.
The man demanded $25,000
ransom in cash by 6 a.m. Tues
day, threatening that “you will
never see your son alive
again” unless it is paid.
Barefoot said the FBI in in
vestigating the case. A spokes
man for the FBI said, how
ever, they were only acting as
a “liason” case “because no
federal crime has been com
mitted.”
The FBI spokesman explained
that unless the Goldman boy or
the ransom money were taken
across the state line, it was not
a federal case.