Newspaper Page Text
E good
VENIN VF
By Quimby Melton
“They’re off and running” and
they will be running down to the
wire — 7:00 p.m. tonight.
That refers, of course, to the
nationwide and local elections
being held today.
But there is another most ex
citing race being run that may
be overlooked. We refer to the
exciting, thought compelling mo
tion picture “For Pete’s Sake”
now showing at the Imperial
Theatre. And there are just a
few more times one may see
this show.
Tonight the picture will be
shown at 6:00 o’clock and again
at 8:30 p.m. And tomorrow the
engagement here will wind up
with shows at 6:00 and 8:30 p.m.
Good Evening urges everyone
who can possibly do so to attend
one of these performances.
Those who have seen it are loud
in their praise. This is not one
man’s opinion, but the opinion of
many.
— ♦ —
Speaking of the election, and
everyone is doing just that, there
already is evidence that the to
tal vote cast, here in Spalding
County, in Georgia and through
out the nation, will break re
cords.
Here in Spalding County there
are nearly 16,000 people eligi
ble to vote. An early check at
several polling places Indicates
the total may go as high as 12,-
000 or even more. This would be
a 75 percent turnout.
The very fact that nearly 900
absentee ballots have been is
sued is in itself an indication of
the Interest.
Polling places in this county,
as well as throughout Georgia,
opened at 7:00 a.m. and will re
main open until 7:00 p.m. And
those who arrive at the polls be
fore 7:00 tonight, though they
may not have been able at that
time to cast their vote will do
so; 7:00 p.m. is the deadline for
arriving at ths peite, -not for
voting.
Naturally everyone will be in
terested In learning the outcome,
both in local and national races.
It is probable that it will be
many hours after the polls are
closed before any authentic news
will be available. Os course
there are those old timers who
will look for “trends”; but in this
day and time with as much in
terest as is manifested and with
the record turnout that is expec
ted the old idea of "trends” may
be out of date.
So don’t be disappointed if by
the time you are ready to retire
you know nothing about the out
come.
Speaking of “trends”.
Each state sets the hours for
opening and closing their polls.
Up in New Hampshire the
polls open very early and in
some sections close early. Re
ports from two small communi
ties in this state, “normally”
Republican showed in one Hum
phrey 8 and Nixon 4. However
in a second it was all Nixon —
all 11 votes. This gave Nixon a
15 to 8 total.
In these two early N.H. returns
George Wallace did not rescue
a vote. And this certainly is not
a "trend” that can be taken ser
iously, for George Wallace and
his running mate, will receive
millions of votes nationwide.
Then there is another “trend”
that for many years was consi
dered "fool proof.” For years
political observers would say
“As Maine goes, so goes the na
tion.”
Then came the 1936 national
election when Alf Landon was
the man who ran against Frank
lin D. Roosevelt. This was the
election when Jim Farley, chair
man of the Democratic National
Committee, said FDR would car
ry every state but two. Landon
carried just two states and Ma
ine was one of them; thus wip
ing out the old idea "As Maine
goes, so goes the nation.”
So don’t count too much on
what may be “trends” in the
voting in 1968.
Be patient. The final outcome
may be hours, even days, late
in being known.
Weather:
FORECAST FOR GRIFFIN
AREA — Fair to partly cloudy
and mild tonight and Wednes
day.
LOCAL WEATHER — Maxi
mum today 68, minimum today
52, maximum Monday 70, mini
mum Monday 58. Sunrise Wed
nesday 7:01 a.m., sunset Wed
nesday 5:46 p.m.
r-"- '
I 'l'' o Ota IKIli!
I? 4 > BbTWI
| ” 1 HL
(Griffin Daily News Staff Photo)
WAfc* Will It Be?
The nation’s voters today made their mark. They went to the polls by the millions
to elect a president, vice president and many other state and local offices. Voting
was heavy early today in Griffin and Spalding county, indicating a possible record
turnout.
Chances Os Early
Cease-Fire In Viet
Are Fast Receding
By K.C. THALER
PARIS (UPD—The chances
for an early cease-fire In
Vietnam are fast receding.
Diplomats close to Hanoi are
hinting strongly it will be a
question of “negotiate as you
fight,” or a scaled down repeat
of Korea.
The fighting can be expected
to be on a slower and more
limitted scale, as the talks
proceed—if they proceed suc
cessfully.
With Hanoi insisting that the
American bombing halt be
"unconditional”, the Commu
nists do not consider themselves
bound to reciprocate. Neverthe
less, diplomats close to Hanoi
are confident of some degree of
North Vietnamese de-escalation
—imperceptible at first, and
more noticeable as the Paris
talks develop, if they develop.
First Returns
Give Nixon
15-8 Lead
By PATRICK MALIN
DIXVILLE NOTCH, N.H.
(UPD — The almost deserted
Balsams resort hotel had a
festive glow at midnight. A
huge log fire kept out the chill
and damp of the White
Mountains as the nation’s first
12 voters cast their ballots.
Ordinarily a Republican
stronghold, residents gave De
mocrat Hubert H. Humphrey
eight of the 12 votes.
But as returns flashed in
from Ellsworth, another tiny
mountain community, Richard
M. Nixon took a slim 15-8 lead
by getting all 11 town ballots.
George C. Wallace was
blanked by voters in both
hamlets.
Allie Bachelder, 72-year-old
Ellsworth town moderator and
a rugged Yankee, said, "Nixon
will have to do, but I would
rather of seen someone like
Teddy Roosevelt, someone with
guts. We’re in an awful mess.”
In the Canadian border
hamlet of Dixville Notch
population, 19—the nation’s first
man to cast a vote was Neil
Tillotson, owner of the Balsams.
"This is the third time I’ve
done it,” Tillotson said of the
distinction. It’s nothing new.”
He added with chagrin, “Weve
always been wrong.”
Tillotson, who helped arrange
the old-fashioned wooden ballot
boxes and makeshift polling
booths, voted for Barry Goldwa
ter in 1964 and for Nixon in 1960
when the former vice president
ran against John F. Kennedy.
When the results were an
nounced, the town’s 12 regis
tered voters applauded, stood
around for a brief chat, then
disappeared into the chilly night
for their homes.
DAILY
Daily Since 1872
The talks so far remain under
a large and dark cloud, both as
to their proper start, their
scope and their goal.
Those among the Communists
with some knowledge of the
broad designs and strategy of
president Ho Chi Minh insist
Hanoi is keeping all options
open.
Hanoi, they said “means
business,” in the sense that it
wants a settlement, but only on
its terms, with the least scope
for concessions on its part.
It distrusts the United States
and therefore Intends to keep
fighting, just in case. It hates
the Saigon regime and wants to
destroy It, or at least weaken it
Hijacker Says
More To Come
By MATTHEW KENNY
MIAMI (UPD — Passengers
aboard a hijacked airliner said
today the gunman who seized
their flight warned that “black
nationalists are going to hijack
a plane every day for the next
100 days to show the White
people they can’t keep us
down.”
The flight, a National Airlines
Houston-to-Miaml jet diverted
to Cuba Monday, was the “first
for new Africa,” according to
the black-clad hijacker.
The gunman, a Negro about
25, tentatively was identified by
the passenger list as “Mr. H.
Jackson of Baton Rouge, La.”
He was the only one of 58
passengers on the jetliner who
remained in Havana.
"He was a kook,” said M. R.
Garrison, a Vernon Tex.,
oilman, who was among 57
passengers returning to Miami
aboard a special flight from
Cuba chartered by the State
Department.
Cuban officials allowed the
seven-member crew to return
the Boeing 727 jet to Miami
Monday night, but the passen
gers were detained until a
special flight brought them back
later. The Cubans contend it is
unsafe for a big jet, loaded with
passengers, to take off from the
Havana airport.
It was the 12th hijacking this
year of an American plane,
three of them from National
Airlines.
The hijacker, wearing a navy
blue blazer, entered the airli
ner’s rest room 10 minutes after
it left New Orleans. He
emerged in a black leather
Jacket, black shirt buttoned to
the neck and a black beret.
"He pointed a gun at my head
and just said ‘Havana’,” said
Sandra O’Brien, a slender,
blonde stewardess.
Capt. Antone Hunter, 50, the
pilot, said the hijacker, wielding
a .38 caliber revolver, was
GRIFFIN
Griffin, Ga., 30223, Tuesday, November 5, 1968
as far as possible.
Hanoi’s emphasis in the talks
is expected to focus on the
struggle against the South
Vietnamese government whose
erosion, if not all out overthrow,
remains one of the key targets
in North Vietnam’s strategy.
The fact is that in the view of
Informed Communist diplomats
Hanoi does not want to
negotiate the future of Vietnam
with the United States. This will
soon become clear, once the
talks get under way here.
With the United States, Hanoi
intends to negotiate chiefly the
withdrawal of American troops
from Vietnam—a phased opera
tion on agreed terms.
admitted to the cabin and said
“If we didn’t do what he said,
he was going to shoot one of the
stewardesses. He was very
nervous.”
He called for "donations” of
money—"a contraband of war”
—from the passengers and
ordered stewardesses to go
down the aisles with paper
bags. He collected $405, which
later was returned by Cuban
officials in Havana when they
were told of the robbery.
r " * may, ym & ■ dfwy
c'' - '
. .............*
BUDDY SYSTEM in Vietnam, where a Marine helps
another cross a small river. Although the leather*
NEWS
Paris Peace Talks
Off Indefinitely
New Congress May
Select President
By FRANK ELEAZER
WASHINGTON (UPD—Amer
icans today elect a Congress
that ultimately may have to
choose the next president.
With the public opinion
pollsters rating the presidential
contest too close to call, the
House and the Senate could be
called upon to select a president
and a vice president if no
candidate gets a majority of
electoral votes.
Advance indications were that
Republicans would pick up
strength in the House and
Senate, but not enough to wrest
formal control from the Demo
crats, who have held a majority
in both houses since 1954.
A closely divided House,
whether under Democratic or
Republican leadership, almost
certainly would have trouble
electing a president, if that
becomes .necessary.
No Landslide expected
Barring a landslide for
Richard M. Nixon not foresha
dowed in any poll, even some
GOP leaders said privately they
did not expect to pick up the 30
qjetra seats they needed to put
the House under GOP manage
ment starting Jan. 3.
There was some speculation
that In that event, and if
Republicans lacked only a
handful of the needed majority,
some junior Democrats from
southern states might bolt their
party when the new Congress
convenes and tip the House
balance to the GOP.
As for the Senate, where only
34 of the 100 seats were at
stake, the Republicans needed a
net pickup of 1* seats to take
the leadership. Most surveys
gave them a prospect of
narrowing the party gap by
about half that number of seats.
The Senate would elect the
vice president in the event
today’s popular vote, and the
balloting of electors on Dec. 16,
proved inconclusive in picking a
new administration team.
Senate Choice Fossible
And if the House had not been
able to agree on a president by
Jan. 20, the man picked by the
Senate would take office as
acting president.
As for the legislative outlook,
it appeared certain the 91st
Congress would take a more
conservative tack than the 90th.
With all 435 seats up for
election, the House contests
offered a few nationally known
names.
Both Speaker John W. McCor
mack, D-Mass., and GOP leader
Gerald R. Ford, R-Mlch., were
among those assured easy re
election.
Marines Cross River
Vol. 95 No. 264
Record Vote
Predicted
For Georgia
By DON PHILLIPS
ATLANTA (UPD — A record
1.3 million Georgia voters,
spurred by a suddenly close
presidential race, a host of
heated local contests and a list
changes, were expected to cast
their ballots in the general elec
tion today.
A fair, crisp autumn day—
"good election weather,” said
one forecaster—was predicted.
Polls were to be open from 7
a.m. until 7 p.m.
Secretary of State Ben Fort
son predicted that between 1.2
million and 1.3 million of the
state’s 1,950,000 voters would go
to the polls.
Independent candidate George
Wallace, who capped his drive
for the presidency with a rally
at the Georgia capitol Monday,
was considered the front-runner
in the presidential race In
Georgia. But Republicans pre
dicted that Richard Nixon would
nose him out, and even though
Democrats conceded that Hubert
Humphrey had little chance in
Georgia, he was expected to
take most of the state’s Negro
votes.
Democratic leaders were not
optimistic about Humphrey’s
chances In Georgia, but state
party secretary Joe Sports pre
dicted a Democratic sweep of
congressional and legislative
races.
Humphrey apparently wrote
Georgia off when Lester Mad
dox stalked out of the Demo
cratic convention in Chicago, but
both Nixon and Wallace wooed
the Georgia vote.
Maddox campaigned for Wal
lace, and five prominent Georgia
Democrats bolted the party and
threw their support to Nixon.
Interest also was heightened
by a number of heated congres
sional and legislative races.
In the Senate race, Democrat
ic incumbent Herman Talmadge
hardly campaigned against Re
publican challenger Earl Patton.
GOP gep. Fletcher Thompson
and former Democratic Rep.
Charles Weltner, who quit the
1966 race rather than support
Maddox, fought one of the hot
test contests in seeking the sth
district congressional seat.
necks made no contact with enemy troops, the rapids
gave them another kind of battle.
Saigon Refuses
To Meet Cong
By RICHARD HUGHES
PARIS (UPD—The United
States announced today the
Vietnam talks scheduled for
Wednesday had been postponed
indefinitely following Saigon’s
refusal to sit down with the Viet
Cong.
U.S. spokesman William Jor
den said “as soon as a date has
been decided for the next
meeting we will announce it.”
There was no indication when
the substantiatlve talks would
begin.
"We continue to consult with
the government of the Republic
of South Vietnam in this matter
and we are hopeful that its
delegation to the forthcoming
talks will arrange to arrive In
the future,” Jorden said.
South Vietnam President
Nguyen Van Thieu was dis
closed today in Saigon to have
agreed to Paris meetings before
President Johnson announced
the bombing halt of North
Vietnam last Thursday night.
But Thieu repeated today that
he would not send a representa
tive to the Wednesday talks
because the Viet Cong was
represented as a separate
political entity. He left the way
open for some future meeting in
Paris when he said he "had not
yet made a decision.”
With Saigon throwing one
monkey wrench after another
into the negotiating machinery
the United States began secret
talks with the North Vietnam
delegation today seeking a
postponement of the crucial
Wednesday session.
The U.S. statement announc
ing the cancellation was the
Record Vote
Expected In
Spalding County
A record turn out of voters was
expected today as Griffin and
Spalding citizens went to the
polls to help elect a new presi
dent.
A check at noon showed the
voting was extremely heavy in
all precincts.
Election observers predicted a
record vote in Spalding County
spurred by the presidential race
and several local contests.
Long lines had formed at sev
eral precincts before polls open
ed at 7 o’clock.
Polls will close at 7 p.m.
The counting of ballots is ex
pected to take a long time be
cause of the size of the ballot.
However, returns in the city
commissioner race should be in
soon after the polls close.
only reference to the South
Vietnamese refusal to attend
any conference that Includes the
National Liberation Front, poli
tical arm of the Viet Cong, as
an equal partner.
Jorden said, "representatives
of the United States and North
Vietnam delegations have been
meeting to discuss” procedural
questions relating to the first
meeting of the expanded talks
since President Johnson stopped
all U.S. bombing of North
Vietnam.”
A North Vietnamese source
said the meeting was cancelled
at the request of the United
States.
The source said Hanoi agreed
to "readily” because it did not
want to embarrass the United
States.
But the source said "Hanoi
will make no concessions to
help Saigon save its face and
come here.”
The North Vietnamese added,
however, “we are ready for
four-cornered talks any time
even tonight—as soon as the
Americans also are ready.”
Jorden would not elaborate on
the secret meetings being held
North Vitnamese and Ameri
can delegations.
His statement, however, was
the first public and official
acknowledgement that behind
the-scenes talks have taken
place between the two sides.
Jorden said that "procedure
for the first meeting has not
been agreed upon.”
Thieu and Vice President
Nguyen Cao Ky spent an hour
with representatives of South
Vietnam’s militant Catholics
who figured heavily in a 6,000
person demonstration in Saigon
in favor of Thleu’s stand. Well
informed sources said Thieu
told them he had agreed
initially to “the United States
package deal with Hanoi.”
But he said he and U.S.
Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker
were still at odds over
American inclusion of the Viet
Cong in the talks as a full
participant and that he “would
have to be assassinated” before
he would agree with the present
U.S. peace policy.
The sources said Ky told the
Catholics there would be
“another Dien Bien Phu”
because intelligence reports told
of an increased Communist
build-up and Increased infiltra
tion.
Thieu in a nationwide speech
said a Viet Cong attack on the
Mekong Delta village of My Tho
Monday night showed the
Communists were not negotiat
ing in good faith and he urged
his nation to fight on. Zut as for
entering talks at a-later stage
he said he had “not yet made a
decision.”
Informed sources in Paris
said the United States was
secretly negotiating with North
Vietnam to delay the formal
opening and continue behind
the-scenes talks with Hanoi
diplomats on arranging proce
dural details for the sessions.
U.S. delegation sources in
Paris said secret talks were
under way with North Vietna
mese diplomats on whether to
open the talks on schedule.
Country Parson
Ji
Th Al
"A fellow ought to live so
that when he’s all alone he’s
in good company.”