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About Griffin daily news. (Griffin, Ga.) 1924-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 1967)
E good VENIN VT By Quimby Melton > Christmas is a time for “Joy to the World”. And how best one can express one’s joy than by music? Either > song or instrumental. It has been our good fortune to attend several Christmas ga therings where group singing ■ and singing by choirs and glee clubs have been featured. And have enjoyed them all. We have also heard Christmas > music over radio and T-V and piped into the streets by loud speaker from stores. Then Fri day morning we heard more fine , Christmas music, when we at tended Griffin High’s weekly chapel service. The feature of the program was a concert giv en by the Griffin High Eagles Band under the direction of Ri chard Turner. The young musicians opened their program with two march ’ es that set this old timer’s feet to patting in time. Then they went into their program of spe cial Christmas music, winding • up with a medley of Christmas carols, some familiar, some not carols that they played expertly. Every member of the band t and their director is to be con gratulated on the polished, pro fessional performance. Merry Christmas to these yo t ung musicians and to everyone who loves music — and who doesn’t? We are often told that it’s the girls “who notice the boys” be fore the boys seem to know the female of the species is alive. This may or may not be true! But Friday morning, when we went to the bank, saw a little drama of life—young life—that > would seem to refute this state ment. A mother was making a depo sit and by her side was a pretty , little girl, we’d say she was ab out three or four. At a nearby window stood another mother who had her two little boys with her. One was about three, the other five. The actors in this little play were dressed in their best, for they had come up town with 1 their mothers to “see Santa Claus.” The little girl even wore a small corsage and a dainty lit tle hat that set off her costume. >i The little boys had on coats, of all things, and wore hats. The older of the two boys left his mother’s side, sidled up to , the little girl and said "hello”. She turned, looked him up and down then turned her back not saying a word. Then the other little boy tried his luck — but the little lady “paid no tench”. The mothers started out of the door, their children following. The older boy walked up to the little girl and took her by t h e hand. She pulled away and cool ed his ardor with one word — “fresh”. Maybe the little girls do no tice the boys first and all that; maybe the dainty little miss was trying to “play hard to get" and all that; But this little drama in the bank brought smiles to a lot of older folk who were there. Good Evening got a rather un usual Christmas message this week. It was a copy of a hand written message put out by a gr oup of students at Wesleyan College in Macon. Here is what one of the Wes leyan girls had written: May your holiday be a joyful and blessed one. Christmas is a time of giving. It is a time of wrapping gifts and making cookies. . a time of presents tucked in secret places. . . and of childlen waiting. It is a time of toys and drums and dolls. . . a time of holly and lights. . . and golden tinsel and green pine boughs. It is a time of stars and midnight. . . and soft prayers whispered in the dark. Christ mas is a time of family. . . and good friends meeting once ag ain. It is a time of song and ca roling. For some people Christmas is a time of remembering other happy days filled with laughing voices. . .and other treasured ti mes now past. But for everyone it is a time of magic. . . when troubles melt and once again the world is yo ung. It is the time above all others when peace may visit earth and find a dwelling place in every heart. Christmas is a time of giving ... a time of hope. . . a time of joy. Christmas is a blessed time ... of love. -wKHk -I ■ ' s | E jEB« ■J (Griffin Daily News Staff Photo) Bell Ringer Funds are being raised for the Salvation Army Christ mas program through the kettles in downtown. The funds will be used to purchase food for needy fam ilies. Virgil Ergle, a member of the Salvation Army staff rings the bell at Hill and Solomon streets. River Searched After Bridge Falls POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. (UPI) —Coast Guardsmen and civlian workers began damming the rain-swollen Ohio and Kanawha rivers in a race against time today to recover victims trapped by the thunde rous collapse of a 39-year-old suspension bridge. Six bodies were recovered in night rescue operations, but an official feared the death toll would rise as high as 60. Another official said the actual number of dead may never be known. There were 18 known survi vors in area hospitals. The 100-foot high, 1,750-foot long Ohio River suspension bridge which connects West Virginia and Ohio, gave way at dusk Friday under the weight of bumper-t'o-bumpter commuter and Christmas shopper traffic. An estimated 100 cars and trucks were on the steel span when it broke up with a roar that sounded “like a sonic boom” and tossed the vehicles “like childrens’ toys” into the swift, murky waters and frozen river banks. The tragedy • occurred just three days before a new bridge was to open up river to help relieve the traffic congestion. Divers Help Divers with full gear and boatmen with dragging appara tus resumed at daybreak the rescue efforts which were curtailed Friday by darkness. Men with torches began to slice through the grotesquely twisted steel beams which wrapped around the vehicles and carried them on their 100-foot plunge. Sheriff Denver Walker of What’s Ahead In Legislature? Battle Os Budget To Rage in 1968 The Georgia General Assem bly, which meets Jan. 8, in At lanta, faces a tough calendar of issues ranging from daylight saving time to teacher pay rais es. United Press International staff members have prepared a series of articles on the prob lems and legislation the law makers will face. 'Hiis first of the series deals with money problems. By DON PHILLIPS ATLANTA (UPI) — The 1968 Georgia Legislature is caught in a squeeze between increasing costs and sluggish revenue. The lawmakers’ plight is com plicated by disenchanted tax payers, especially property own ers, who wince at the thought of paying more of the bill. The issue of a tax increase of any kind is all but dead for the GRIFFIN DAILY NEWS Daily Since 1872 Gallia County, who was direct ing operations from the Ohio side of the bridge, said of the known dead: “This is just a drop in the buekct. I’m afraid there are about 60 dead.” Chief William Jones of the U.S. Coast Guard station at Huntington, W.Va., said “We may never know how many of those poor people were actually killed.” He said the fast-moving waters—swollen by two days of rain—may have swept away many victims. Point Pleasant, a community of 7,000 persons, is the bridge’s eastern terminus, connecting with Kanauga, a hamlet of 350, on the Ohio side. Paul Crabtree, executive assi stant to West Virginia Gov. Hulett Smith, said locks would be closed on the Ohio River at Belleville and Gallipolis, Ohio, and the Kanawha River, which empties into the Ohio, at Winfield, W.Va. He said the task, which would lower the normal 30-foot pool stage of the Ohio, would take at least 24 hours but hoped it could be completed sooner—before cars, trucks and bodies were washed away. Sank Like Dock One of the survivors, William M. Needham Jr., 27, of Ashboro, N.C., said from his hospital bed that his tractor trailer hit the water and “sank like a rock.” Mrs. Ann Davis, a clerk in a Kanauga store just 30 feet from the end of the bridge, witnessed the collapse. session beginning Jan. 8, but the money problems remain. The problem is simple, al though the reasons behind it are complicated. Money is not coming into the state treasury at the rate predicted by the state’s fiscal experts. The State Budget Bureau pre dicted almost a year ago that revenue for the fiscal year be ginning July 1, 1967, would come in at a rate 9.3 per cent higher than the last fiscal year. But a combination of fiscal problems plunged the state into a slump. Revenue for the first three months of the year amounted to an increase of only 5.3 per cent. October and November fared better, but the average for the last five months still stands at only 7.6 per cent. There is nothing the legisla- 5-STAR weekend Griffin, Ga., 30223, Sat. and Sun., Dec. 16-17, 1967 Regents Chairman Says: Wo Intention To Diminish’ Georgia Experiment Station ‘’Greater Results* Under Overall Plan The Chairman of the Board of Regents has assured Spalding County Representative Quim by Melton, Jr., that “there is no Intention on the part of the Re gents to diminish the program” at the Georgia Experiment Sta tion at Griffin. Chairman John W. Langdale of Valdosta wrote Representa tive Melton, “I believe that through greater cooperation In the plans for the overall pro gram we are going to see much greater results at all of the sta tions.” Major stations in the system are located at Griffin, Athens and Tifton. Earlier this week the board at its regular meeting in Atlanta voted to stand by action taken two months ago which transfer red control of federal funds from the Experiment Station in Grif fin to the College of Agriculture of the University of Georgia. The station in Griffin is part of the college and of the Univer sity. The Spalding delegation to the Legislature, which includes Re presentative Clayton Brown and Senator Bob Smalley as well as Melton, asked the Regents last month to leave control of the funds in Griffin. Senator Smal- Burson Says More Troopers Are Needed ATLANTA (UPI) — Georgia must double its highway patrol force if it is to make a dent in the soaring roadway death toll, according to the state’s chief law enforcement officer. Public Safety Director R.H. Burson told the first annual Governor’s Conference on Traf fic Safety Friday the current patrol force of 500 troopers “is not enough." Burson said at least 1,000 pa trolmen are needed and they should be part of a separate in terstate highway police force. SHOPPING O DAYS IEFT I f CHRISTMAS SEALS fight TB and | I other RESPIRATORY DISEASES f iemiijmiiAii; ley’s law partner, Regent Jim Owen of Griffin, moved at that time that the transfer of control to Athens be rescinded. His mo tion was delayed until Wednes day of this week when the Re gents voted 11-2 against Mr. Owen’s motion. Greece Invites Constantine To Return Home By JOHN RIGOS United Press International Tire military government of Greece announced today it is ready to accept the return to the throne of King Constantine who tried to overthrow the regime Wednesday and then fled to Italy. Deputy Premier Stylianos Pattakos told newsmen in Athens Constantine can return ”of his own free will ... the throne belongs to him. He has not abdicated. He has not been persecuted.” Patakos spoke shortly after -the Greek Orthodox primate of Greece, Archbishop leronymos, flew from Athens to Rome in a personal mission to bring back the young king and make peace between the monarchy and the military regime. The Archbishop joined others including the foreign minister of Greece who were trying to mediate an end to the crisis that has rocked the nation and caused alarm to the United States and Greece’s other North Atlantic Treaty Organization partners. Pattakos in Athens told the newsmen of the would-be peacemakers, “we do not take the Initiative. But we did not try to stop them.” He made it clear the door was open for the return of the 27- year-old monarch. “We have not driven him out,” he said. In Rome, lights flickered on in the Greek embassy where Constantine was staying even as Pattakos spoke and the archi bishop’s plane sped toward the Eternal City. Well-informed sources in Ath ens said the government was banking on leronymos. Panayotis Pipinelis, the foreign minister, conferred with Constantine at length Friday in Rome en route home from a NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels. Gen. George Spandi dakis, a key figure in the military unta that seized power April 21 and that the king tried vainly to overthrow, also talked with Constantine in the high walled embassy in Rome. tors can do about fiscal 1967-68. The $785.5 million budget is al ready appropriated and being spent, using all the estimated $735 million in revenue plus SSO million of the sll7 million bud get surplus. But the lawmakers must now stare at an uncertain 1968 - 69 and must appropriate money which they aren’t sure will even be there. Budget director Wilson Wilkes estimates the legislature will have $795 million in revenue plus $67 million surplus to spend. A total of $772 million has been appropriated under the biennial budget plan, leav ing S9O million to spend in a supplemental budget. Wilkes says SSO million will be needed for normal growth items, what he calls a “stand still budget.’’ That leaves S4O Yule Mail Bums In New York Post Office Fire NEW YORK (UPl)—Fire today raced through the lower four floors of a huge midtown Manhattan post office building, destroying millions of Christmas letters and packages. The building was the same one in which a bomb exploded last week. Firemen were still on the scene hours after the blaze erupted Friday night and swept through the basement and first three floors of the 10-story building, fed by most of the 11 million pieces of mail in the building. At least 12 persons were injured, including several fire men overcome by smoke. Five postal employes were rescued from upper floors by firemen on ladders whipped by 32-mile-an hour winds. Firemen led many of the other 2,000 postal employes, blinded by smoke, down stair wells and into the frigid night. Some 600 firemen and more than 120 pieces of fire fighting equipment were used in confin ing the flames to the lower floors. Fire Commissioner Robert O. Lowery said the blaze started in the basement, apparently in mail sacks, and flames spread quickly to the floors above on mail-covered conveyor belts. The explosion last week occurred on the fourth floor of the building when a bomb went off inside a package addressed to Cuba and labeled “medical supplies.” Eight persons were injured. Country Parson ■ ■ W “It’s hard to find a more common fault than that of wanting more for less?' million to spend, and there are many agencies and departments standing in line for that S4O mil lion. Apparently Gov. Lester Mad dox plans to spend the bulk of the extra money for prison re form and salary increases for teachers, professors and state employees. In fact, Maddox says he will cut the appropria tions of some departments to spend money in these areas. The S4O million would quickly disappear under Maddox’s plans. There are some highly influ ential legislators, however, who don’t want to spend all the ex tra money, including House Speaker George L. Smith and Rep. James “Sloppy” Floyd, chairman of the House Appro priations Committee. They fear not only sagging Vol. 95 No. 296 revenues, which could force Maddox to cut appropriations across the board during the year, but also the possibility the treasury could be caught bare at certain times of the month. Under the state’s present rev enue setup, money is paid out for most items early in the month while revenue comes in late in the month or year. This causes a lag in the middle of the month which is usually not a problem because the normal treasury surplus can be used temporarily to tide the treasury over. In addition, s2l million is tra ditionally frozen into an “in come equalization fund” for use when income temporarily falls behind spending. However, Treasurer Jack Ray warns the s2l million figure was Parole Mess Some Buy Freedom They Never Get By DON PHILLIPS ATLANTA (UPI) — Georgia prison inmates and their fam ilies give thousands of dollars each year to persons who guar antee convicts freedom. Some times the guarantee is met, otherwise its money down the drain and nowhere to turn for legal protection. It is a cash-in-advance busi ness, and if the inmate does not gain his freedom it’s a reply of “Sorry, I did all I could.” Guarantees of freedom that cannot be made good only add to the heartbreak and disillus ionment of the convicts and their families, many who have Invested their life savings or sold their homes on the promise of getting a loved one back. However, for some attorneys and other persons with connec tions, the parole rate is phe nomenal. Legal authorities say there is no law against an attorney charging a fee. Nor is there any law against a layman, such as a member of the General As sembly who is not a lawyer, accepting a fee to work in be half of a prisoner. No one is forced to earn the fee. Often it is accepted and the only work done is a single telephone call or a written note in behalf of the prisoner. The victims are most often the poor and the ignorant, who must sell almost everything they own and beg and borrow to raise the fee, which sometimes runs as high as $3,000. Legitimate attorneys do prac tice before the Board of Par dons and Paroles, of course, although many parole authori ties insist an attorney is not necessary. Their activities are not in question. But there is a rising tide of Indignation over the activities of the others, and some legis lation is likely to result, prob ably in the 1968 session of the General Assembly. The sad stories are many. In one recent case, for example, a young woman sold the fuel tank for her home to raise money for an attorney who promised to have her husband out of jail by Christmas. She and her baby were left without heat in the middle of the winter, but she was sure her husband would be home soon with a job that could pay for a new tank. But her hus band is not even eligible for parole until next March, and will likely be paroled then with out anyone’s help because he has a spotless record and is serving time on his first of fense. In another case, an old Negro woman gave SSOO to an attorney who is now a judge on the promise he would get her son out of jail. The old woman had to mortgage her small house to raise the money. There is no record in Pardon and Parole Board files that he ever tried to help her son, and she never heard from him again. The more fascinating of the attorneys, however, are the ones who do deliver what they promise. Atty. Gen. Arthur Bolton in an official report last Wednes day on Pardon and Parole ac tivities, detailed the case of deceased attorney Forrest C. Oats of Cedartown, who was successful on at least 29 of 34 cases before the board. Many insiders feel he bad far more clients. Oates, who charged fees rang ing from SSOO to $3,000, repre sented some of the most hard ened professional criminals in the Georgia prison system. Yet his rate of success was far greater than average. When Oates died, approxi mately $20,000 in current fees had to be returned to clients be cause he had not completed their cases. The major question now is whether members of the Pardon and Parole Board were influ enced unduly by these persons, either through favors or out right payoffs. Bolton accused two members of the board, J. w. Claxton and Mrs. Rebecca Garrett, of bend ing to influence and said the parole system “reeks of crony ism.” Bolton said he had no evi dence there have been extensive payoffs for paroles, at least in the recent past. Influence was based more on political friendships. For instance, an attorney doing an extensive practice be fore the board might spend a weekend in Atlanta with board members, buying meals and drinks, and even throwing elab orate parties. Leading the legislative pack age of changes is a proposal made by Bolton that board members put in writing their reasons for any action on a parole matter. Under present law, they may act in secret and give reasons to no one. Another change, suggested by both Bolton and the newest member of the board, J. O Partian Jr., is that a limit be placed on who may practice be fore the board and that their fees be made public. This point, perhaps more than any other, is bothering many (Continued on Page 3) formulated at a time when the budger was a fraction of what it is today, and if the surplus is drained away the time may come when state employees won’t be paid on time and the state will face financial “disaster.” Wilkes and State Auditor Er nest Davis say there are some managerial corrections that can be made to ward off the disas ter, but they too say the in come equalization fund must be increased. December revenues will have a profound effect on the budget, especially if there is a sudden drop in financial growth. Mad dox’s exact budget will not be known until early January. But it is a safe prediction that the battle of the budget will rage for much of the 1968 session.
