Newspaper Page Text
E good
VENIN VF
By Quimby Melton
Today is Memorial Day —Con
federate Memorial Day!
1 And while there are those who
hold this day should be “abol
ished” we cannot agree with
them. This day commemorates
the valor and devotion to a
cause by brave men and women
who some 100 years ago sup
ported and fought for the Con
federate States of America.
There are those who magnify
the slavery issue into being the
chief cause for the War Between
the States. But they are far
from correct. The real issue was
whether the individual states
had certain rights, guaranteed
them by the Constitution. Os
course the question of slavery
played its part especially in the
north when the abolitionists in
jected this issue into the overall
picture.
Those were stormy times, tim
es that “tried men’s souls.” Men
who were devoted to the nation
were torn between emotions—
love of nation and love of
ideals they thought were more
important. Families were divid
ed. This was a highly emotional
era in our national life, and
there were those, in high place,
on both sides of the Mason Dix
on Line, who used this emotion
al era to feather their own
nests, both financially and polit
ically. It was not until after the
war was over, after the Confed
erate forces had been reduced
to such weakness they could no
longer fight, after the surrender
of Robert E. Lee. and the col
lapse of the Confederate govern
ment, that this time in Ameri
can history was termed “The
Tragic Era”—which well des
cribes the better part of the
Nineteenth Century.
— —
Shortly after the end of the
war the women of the South held
the first Memorial Day. If our
memory serves us correctly the
very first such was observed at
Columbus, Georgia; and Mem
orial Day was quickly observed
in Griffin. The Daughters of the
Confederacy took the lead in this.
Incidentally, Griffin has, stand
ing in Stonewall Cemetery, the
first Confederate Memorial Mon
ument erected in Georgia. This
is not the one of a Confederate
Soldier, now on Hill street, but
one erected long before that.
There’s an interesting story
about this monument.
Before the war broke out a
wealthy Georgia family ordered
a marble monument from Italy.
It was carved and shipped by
boat to Savannah; arriving there
after the war had broken out, it
was stored in a warehouse until
it could be transported inland.
When the war ended the mon
ument was still there, but the
family that had ordered it had
lost all they had and could not
pay the transportation charges
from Italy, so they gave up the
monument to be sold for the
charges. The Griffin UDC raised
the necessary money and it was
brought here and placed in the
Confederate Cemetery.
— + —
There are some things that all
should remember especially
those of us who are native born
sons of the South.
We should never forget the
bravery and devotion to a cause
of our forebears. (Both my
grandfathers fought, one in the
Louisiana troops, the other in
Alabama troops.)
We should keep alive their de
votion to “states rights” but not
try and cover everything we fa
vor under this label.
We should honor the Confeder
ate Flag and never use it as an
emblem of hate, as some people
seem to do. It should wave in the
breeze as a flag of honor and
never be waved like a “bloody
shirt” of hatred.
Let us continue to celebrate
Memorial Day, and then let’s al
so join in celebrating the nat
ionwide Memorial Day on May
30.
Country Parson
, 1 “j"|
staS'J ■■^§=S?’ ! ->
“I wish everybody could be
as critical of their own vices
as they are of their neigh
bors’.”
- —
i 1 » .>; «I--•« $
I * t fl! mB?-* >?' I .• ■»<tiM -
■r JHMHm
cSflßb 1 ■ Bf ’vw t ; i-.
IT*" y T BL. IB' T' i i •'
w / V Haft. t Br w•-
OiL *• 3 W' r * fallsqiMfe... JmP 1 ’ j : -1, :jo
Wl/ w i 188 WF ; M
r Jill &
IX3SmIKh i ■ * * Huumßl
(Photos from File of Sheriff Dwayne Gilbert)
Robert Lindsey Smith Joseph Floyd Anthony Winfred Johnny Parham Jackie Wayne Martin William Lamar Clontz
Sheriff Announces Identity
Os Five Robbery Suspects
Phones Ready For Word On Search
1 z '
I *
if
L | ...r
(Griffin Daily News Staff Photo)
Al Police Department. At Sheriff’s Office. At State Patrol.
Viet llombiiig Near
World War II Scale
SAIGON (UPI) —U.S. jets [
bombed the Hanoi-Haiphong |
area of North Vietnam for the ’
third consecutive day today
despite intense anti-aircraft and
(Earlier story page 24.
missile fire and swarms of MIG!
jets. The ground war erupted
into a series of heavy Commu
nist attacks just below the
Demilitarized Zone.
The Communists claimed
heavy American losses in the 1
dogfights over the North but
there was no American confir- j
mation.
U.S. military spokesmen and [
frontline UPI reports said North
Vietnamese troops attacked
U.S. Marines at both ends of the
DMZ and inflicted heavy
casualties in a series of battles.
The fight was so intense enemy
groundfire drove off U.S.
helicopters trying to pick up the
wounded.
The Communists have massed
at least five divisions along the
border for a major attack and
Marines have battled them for
days to stave off an invasion.
Today large forces of Commu
nists attacked near the Laotian
border and again a Marine and
: South Vietnamese force trying
1 to build a fortified barrier near
■ the coastal end of the zone.
Radio Hanoi said 11 American
GRIFFIN
DAILY W" NEWS
Established 1871
planes and a rescue helicopter
were shot down over North
Vietnam today—two over Hanoi,
six and a helicopter over
Haiphong and three others over
the provinces. It brought to 37
the number of jets claimed
down down by the Communists
in three days.
The Communist broadcasts
are usually exaggerated but do
indicate fierce aerial resistance.
The United States disclosed two
more planes were shot down
Tuesday to bring the total for
Monday and Tuesday to six and
raising the total to 516 lost over
Vietnam.
It was the most intensified
bombing of the war and on a
scale fast approaching that of
the World War II bombing of
Nazi Germany. Only last week
an Air Force spokesman
reported the bombing gap
closing swiftly with end of the
monsoon rains.
FORECAST FOR GRIFFIN
AREA — Showers ending to
night. Thursday partly cloudy
and cool.
LOCAL WEATHER — Maxi
mum today 72, minimum today
50, maximum Tuesday 63, mini
mum Tuesday 47. Total rainfall
.20 of an inch. Sunrise Thursday
5:59 a.m. sunset Thursday 7:17
p.m. ;
Griffin, Ga., 30223, Wednesday, April 26,1967
Revamp Plan
Attacked In
Federal Court
ATLANTA <UPI) — Rep.
' Preston B. Lewis Jr. of
’ Waynesboro, Tuesday filed a
! motion in federal court attack
’! ing the Georgia Legislature’s
newest reapportionment plan.
. The court had given the Gen
, eral Assembly until May 1 to
come up with a plan that satis
, fies the Supreme Court’s “one
, man one-vote” mandate.
Lewis contends his county,
i Burke, was indiscriminately
, lumped with Jenkins and Screv
en counties to form one district
with two representatives in the
I House plan.
He said Emanuel County,
• home of House Speaker George
• L. Smith, had been given one
: representative with only 17,815
i citizens while the combined
i Burke-Jenkins - Screven district
i has a population of 44,663.
which he said was 10 per cent
above the norm.
. Under ideal conditions, each
I lawmaker in the House should
1 represent about 20,000.
The House plan reduces the
■ size of the chamber from 205
• to 195 members and requires
■ runoffs between rural incum
bents in several areas. Lewis
■ had attempted unsuccessfully to
’ i have the plan amended on the
i House Floor.
Spalding County
Prison Is Okay
A group of Georgia legislators
inspected the Spalding County
Work Camp Tuesday afternoon
and said it was in good shape.
“Tell Warden Floyd Wilker
son to keep up the good work,”
one of the committee members
said.
The warden was not at t h e
prison wfhen the committee
made its call.
Joe Greenway, an employe at
the prison, said the committee
told him “things look nice here.”
State officials are conducting
inspections of all county work
camps in the wake of some
charges against Wilkinson Coun-
Viet Debate Hay
(■et More Bitter
By WILLIAM THEIS
WASHINGTON (UPD —The
Senate’s acrimonious Vietnam
debate, fueled by the new
escalation of the war and Gen.
William C. Westmoreland’s
criticism of dissenters, threa
tened today to become even
more bitter.
The new element added to the
burgeoning wringle comes from
one of the Senate’s own military'
Vol. 95 No. 97
ty camp.
Four prisoners escaped from
that camp and surrendered to
Gov. Lester Maddox at the man
sion in Atlanta during an open
house affair.
Their surrender prompted a
state wide investigation into
prison conditions.
The incident brought to the
light for the first time that a
prisoner at Wilkinson had drown
ed last December while retriev
ing ducks for a prison guard.
Gov. Maddox has promised to
clean up or close any public
works camps found to be below
standards.
experts, Sen. John C. Stennis,
D-Miss., who predicts that U.S.
forces in Vietnam will reach the
500,000-man level by the end of
this year.
Stennis chairman of the
Military Prepardness Subcom
mittee, told the House-Senate
Economic Committee Tuesday
that year-end troop level would
(Continued on Page Five.)
Wide Search For
Them Continues
Spalding Sheriff Dwayne Gil
bert today announced the names
of five youths wanted In connec
tion with the robbery of a church
and the alleged rape of two
girls, both 18.
The five were identified as:
Robert Lindsey Smith, 20;
Winfred Johnny Parham, 19,
William Lamar Clontz, 18, Jos
eph Floyd Anthony, 18, and
Jackie Wayne Martin, 17.
All except Anthony are Grif
finites. Sheriff Gilbert said An
thony’s last known home ad
dress was LaGrange, Hl., but
that he was a former resident of
Griffin.
Anthony was a visitor in Grif
fin last weekend.
Sheriff Gilbert at a news con
ference at his office In the
county jail said that he was re
ceiving excellent cooperation of
the FBI and hoped to have the
suspects in custody soon.
The Spalding Sheriff’s office
has been the center of activity
since Sunday night when the five
struck at the Pleasant Grove
Methodist Church south of Grif
fin.
Special investigators from the
GBI, FBI, as well as the city
and county law enforcement of
ficers have been in the sher
iff’s office constantly.
The sheriff has been kept close
to his telephone, day and night,
awaiting some word on the wide
spread search for the five
youths,
The vast communications of
federal and state crime fighters
has been placed at the disposal
of the Spalding Sheriff in his at
tempt to find the young men.
Four youths Sunday night en
tered the Spalding County church
and took money given as an of
fering as well as money from
some 18 people in the congrega
tion.
They took two Negro girls from
the congregation as hostages and
left the church in darkness, turn
ing out the lights.
Later the two girls were found
a few miles from the church.
They reported they had been
raped.
Phone Rates
May Go Up
ATLANTA (UPD—The Geor
gia Public Service Commission
has been asked to approve rate
increases in the Atlanta area
for Southern Bell Telephone Co.
to help pay for a S9O million
expansion program.
Frank T. Smith, Southern Bell
vice president, outlined the pro
posed increases Tuesday:
—SO cents monthly for indi
vidual and two- party resi
dences.
—25 cents monthly reisdential
for four and eight-party lines.
—s2 monthly for individual,
two and four party business
lines.
—sl.lo monthly for eight-party
business lines.
Church Replaces
Money Taken
In Robbery
Orchard Hill Baptist Church
has made a check for $25 to the
Pleasant Grove Baptist Church
for themoney taken from the
church in a robbery Sunday
night.
The collection had been taken
at pleasant Grove Sunday night
before four armed men robbed
the church of the money. Sev
eral members of the congrega
tion also were robbed.
Two girls, both 18, were taken
hostages by the robbers and rap
ed before being released.
The Rev. George Phillips is
pastor of Orchard Hill Baptist
Church.
City Approves
Regulations
For Streets
The city commissioners Tues
day night adopted an ordin
ance regulating the use of side
-1 walks, streets and driveways.
Until now the city had been
• using policies adopted by city
commissioners. The ordinance
1 will give the city the legal au
-1 thority to enforce the regulat
' ions, a spokesman for the city
said.
The ordinance covers streets,
sidwalks and drives as to their
construction, repair, grading,
etc. It sets up provisions for per
mits for such work. The law out
lines the responsibility of the ci
ty engineer regarding such
work.
It prohibits advertising or sale
. of merchandise on public pass
ageways, protects trees and
shrubs and prohibits sound am
plifiers on public streets. ’
The ordinance was patterned
after ones used in other mini
cipilities similar to Griffin, the
commissioners pointed out.
In other business, the commis
sioners put on final reading an
ordinance to pave Upland drive
from Ridge street to the Upland
drive paving already in place.
The commissioners okayed the
purchase of a tractor, back-hoe
and loader for the street depart
ment for $5,600.