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VENIN VF
By Quimby Melton
President Richard M. Nixon in
n nation-wide broadcast Wed-
* nesday night told the American
people the war in Vietnam,
which he inherited from Lyndon
B. Johnson is now his war "for
» good or for bad” and expressed
hope that within a year the
fighting would end "with an
honorable peace” and pledged
> to the people that the United
States will never agree to
any settlement that is "only a
disguised defeat.”
, The President outlined what
might be called the platform on
which he hoped to work out a
settlement with North Vietnam.
I.— The United States will
' withdraw troops from South
Vietnam in stages over the next
12 months IF North Vietnam will
do the same.
> 2. — The United States will
accept whatever government the
South Vietnam people want in
cluding possibly reunification of
, the two Vietnams into one gov
ernment.
Those two statments s u m up
what the United States will do to
( bring about peace.
The third thing President Nix
on told the American people was
what the United States will NOT
DO.
' We will never pull out of Sou
th Vietnam unless North Viet
nam does the same, and we will
never accept a settlement, at
> Paris or elsewhere, that is no t
fair and honorable, but is only a
"disguised defeat.”
Tire first plank in the platform
'• —we will not withdraw unless
i North Vietnam does the same—
will meet with loud opposition
from the enemy which has insis
; ted the peace talks cannot “get
• down to business” unless we fir
| st withdraw
The second plank may or may
not suit the government of Sou
th Vietnam. The "ins” may be
more Interested in the status quo
than a settlement.
The third plank assured the
American people that Uncle Sam
will stand firm for an honor
able and fair settlement of the
differences between us and the
enemy, but that as much as we
desire peace we will not camou
flage a dishonorable agreement.
First reaction to the Nixon
speech has been favorable, even
enthusiastic among some. Many
have felt Nixon did a courage
ous thing by accepting the war
"as my war for good or bad”
and did not spend his time whin
ing that he had Inherited it.
Many see in it the opening of the
door to a settlement of the whole
I mess.
Former President Lyndon B.
Johnson did not comment direct-
I ly on the Nixon speech. But a
spokesman called attention to
; an earlier release by the for-
I mer President, "As President
■ Johnson previously stated, he
I wholeheartedly supports Presi
dent Nixon in his efforts to br
ing peace in Southeast Asia.”
May all Americans join the
former President and "whole
heartedly support President Ni
xon in his efforts to bring pe
ace. This is no time for a divid
ed nation.
There was something that in
terested Good Evening as he sr.t
before his TV last night and lis
tened to the President and then
to the men who commented on
what the President had said.
There were five men from NBC
on this program.
One of them was a native of
Spalding County — Douglas Ki
ker, a graduate of Spalding High
I School, who has worked his way
! up in Television circles to t h e
| top. He was on the panel of NBC
I commentators to discuss the
speech from the angle of a
| Congressional reporter. He
handled himself ■well and we
could not help but think that he
is an example of what a young
man can do if he is willing to
work, to study, to dedicate him
self to his profession. Remem
ber it wasn’t so many years ago
when Doug Kiker was a high
school boy. And look where he
is today.
Weather:
FORECAST FOR GRIFFIN
AREA — Partly cloudy and
I mild with occasional rain to-
I night. Friday partly cloudy and
I a little warmer with chance
I of showers.
I LOCAL WEATHER — Estl-
I mated high today 72, low today
I 67, high yesterday 76, low yes-
II terday 58. Total rainfall 1.74
-4 inches. Sunshine Friday 6:41,
I sunset Friday 8:32.
INSIDE TODAY
Hospital. P a ge 2.
Stork Club. Page 2.
Funerals. Page 2.
About Town. Page 2.
Nixon Backed Page 3.
‘Beg For Peace’. Page 3.
Editorials. Page 4.
Television. Page 4.
Billy Graham. Page 4.
Vietnam War. Page 5.
Social Security. P a ge 5.
Woman’s News. Page 6.
Fashions. Page 6.
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(Griffin Daily News Staff Photo)
A Real Buzzer
A swarm of bees settled on a small foreign car on East Solomon street. The Grif
fin Daily News camera caught them before they were taken away to a hive.
Rain Cools
Pike Marches
ZEBULON, Ga. — It was pe
aceful in Zebulon last night and
Sheriff J. Astor Riggins and
State Troopers relaxed for the
first time since the Sunday lull
in the racial turmoil that has
gripped Pike County for three
weeks.
The heavy rain last night help
ed cool the situation following a
day that included a march on
Pike County High School, an
other run-in between Supt. Har
old Daniel and civil rights lea
ders and the arrest of Willie
Bolden and John Bascom, Sou
thern Christian Leadership Con
ference (SCLC) field represen
tatives. They were charged with
disturbing the conduct of a pub
lic school while in session.
They were taken into custody
about 9 a.m. and later released
on SSOO bond.
Bascom led the march of
Iraq Executes
10 For Spying
By United Press International
Iraq, today executed 10
persons, all Iraqis, accused of
spying for Israel, Iran, and the
United States, Baghdad radio
reported.
Five were military men and
five were civilians, the official
Iraq radio said in a broadcast
monitored in Beirut. None was
described as Jewish.
The five civilians were
hanged in the Central Prison of
Baghdad, the broadcast said,
and the five military men were
shot by firing squad at the
military area of Maidan Al-
Basmayah in Baghdad. It said
their bodies were not put on
public display as in previous
cases.
DAIKV
Daily Since 1872
Bruce Biossat. Page 7.
Ray Cromley. Page 7.
Hollywood. Page 8.
Israeli Premier. Page 8.
News Quiz. Page 10.
Presidential Toll. Page 10.
Pollution. Page 11.
Sports. Pages 12, 13.
i Youth Page. Page 14.
Moon Shot. P a ge 15.
\ Comics. Page 16.
\ Want Ads. Pages 17-19.
! Water Pollution. Page 20.
some 100 students on Pike
High, the predominately white
school in Zebulon.
Helmeted State Troopers stop
ped the marchers before the y
reached school property.
The demonstration broke up
when school dismissed. There
were no incidents.
Negro students are boycotting
Pike Consolidated High at Con
cord and Pike Elementary in
support of Negro principal D. F.
Glover, whose contract was not
renewed by the Pike Board of
Education.
The Georgia Teachers and
Education Association (GTEA)
and SCLC charge Glover was
unjustly dismissed.
Supt. Daniel and the school
board say they will present their
reasons for not re-hiring Glov
er in federal court.
Five girls arrested during a
Today’s executions brought to
36 the number of persons
executed by Iraq on spying
charges since February.
An Israeli spokesman said
today Egyptian troops shelled
the Israeli side of the Suez
Canal Wednesday night, wound
ing five Israeli soldiers. An
explosion in a market place in
the occupied Gaza Strip wound
ed 25 Arab refugees.
Six other explosions went off
in other parts of the Gaza
Strip.
Western diplomats said today
Egypt was considering a raid
across the Suez Canal in
retaliation for an attempted
Israeli commando raid which
Egypt said its troops repulsed.
GRIFFIN
Griffin, Ga., 30223, Thursday, May 15, 1969
Fortas Resigns
Supreme Court
confrontation between lawmen
and demonstrators last Friday
were released yesterday on
bond.
They had been held on char
ges of disturbing the conduct of
a public school while in session.
Some of the girls partici
pated in yesterday’s march on
Pike High.
Four Negro men arres
ted Tuesday night and charged
with malicious mischief and
destroying private property were
freed yesterday on S4OO bond.
They were arrested after a
bottle was hurled from a pass
ing car at a car owned by Joe
Mangham. It was parked at a
Zebulon service station.
The bottle smashed a window
in the Mangham car.
The four men arrested in the
case live in Griffin.
Ballard Named
President
Os Kiwanis Club
Larry Ballard, farm equipment
dealer, was elected president
of the Griffin Kiwanis Club for
the 1969-70 year yesterday.
He will succeed Lon Knowles,
bank president. Knowles and the
officers serving with him w 111
complete their terms in Septem
ber. The 1969 Kiwanis year was
nine months instead of 12 be
cause of a change in Kiwanis In
ternational policy.
Other officers elected to serve
with Ballard include: Sonny But
ler and George Lynch, vice pre
sidents; Ken Ford, treasurer;
and directors Blake Brantley,
Larry Hewlett, J. P. Jennings,
Flynt Langford, Vance Sharp,
Henry Smith, and Guy Wood
roof.
Nixon Accepts
Immediately
WASHINGTON (UPI) —Abe
Fortis announced todny his
resignation as an associate
justice of the Supreme Court
and President Nixon accepted it
effective immediately.
Under fire for taking, though
later returning, a fee—said to
be s2o,ooo—from the family of
now-imprisoned financier Louis
Wolfson, Fortas chose to quit
rather than face possible
impeachment proceedings in
the House.
Fortas’ letter of resignation
to Nixon was delivered to the
White House Wednesday night
and the President signed a
letter of acceptance and sent it
to Fortas shortly before 10 a.m.
EDT today, according to Press
Secretary Ronald Ziegelr.
Ziegler refused to answer any
questions about the contents of
the exchange of letters.
He said Fortas’ letter was
received by the President about
5:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday.
This was 4>/2 hours before
Nixon’s major television ad
dress to the nation on Vietnam
Wednesday.
No word leaked of the action
until this morning.
The 58-year-old Fortas made
the announcement through a
Supreme Court spokesman.
Banning E. Whittington, a
Supreme Court spokesman,
telephoned news media about
8:45 a.m. EDT to report:
"Associate Justice Abe For
tas sent his letter of resignation
from the Supreme Court to the
White House last night and at
the same time sent to the chief
justice a letter of explanation
about the Wolfson family
foundation fee.
“Both were delivered last
night, and he is announcing his
resignation from the court this
morning.”
Fortas’ resignation will give
Nixon two Supreme Court seats
to fill at almost the same time.
Chief Justice Earl Warren
plans to retire at the end of the
current court term—in about a
month. He had intended to step
down last fall but stayed on
through an earlier furor over
Fortas—President Lyndon B.
Johnson’s abortive attempt to
name the one-time poor boy
from Memphis to succeed
Warren. The senate balked at
confirming Fortas and Johnson
withdrew the nomination.
One of the leaders of the
successful fight to block Fortas’
ascendancy to chief justice,
Sen. John L. McClellan, D-Ark.,
said the justice’s resignation
was “long overdue.” He said
Fortas should have stepped
down when the Senate blocked
his chief justice nomination.
Anothed Fortas detractor.
Sen. Clifford P. Hansen, R-
Wyo., commented, "history
may well record Jus" re Fortas’
resignation as the most com
mendable signle act of his life.”
Fortas quit the court as
support for him, even among
some of his strongest backers
in last year’s fight, continued to
dwindle and as reports surfaced
Registration
Opens Today
For New School
Registration opened today for
the fall term of the all new
Griffin Christian School. Griffin
Christian is the consummation
of previous public meetings here
in Griffin.
Registration will continue
through Saturday. The Rev. Cl
aude Johnson, pastor of the Fir
st Assembly of God church, said
applications for admission may
be obtained at the church office,
1411 Atlanta road.
The opening of Griffin Chris
tian School is the third step of a
12-year program which began in
1966. The kindergarten, first, se
cond and third grades are to
open this fall. The Rev. Johnson
said higher grades are under
consideration if the demand
warrants them.
Vol. 96 No. 114
of other revelations concerning
his relationship with Wolfson.
The Los Angeles Times said
today the Justice Department
has evidence that Fortas had
agreed to accept not a one-time
$20,000 fee, but an annual
$20,000 fee from the Wolfson
Foundation.
The Times also said Justice
Department officials were in
terpreting certain documents,
together with a reported
statement by Wolfson to the
FBI from his Eglin AFB, Fla.,
prison cell to mean Fortas had
agreed to try to assist Wolfson
during an investigation by the
Securities and Exchange Com
mission of the financier.
Life magazine broke the first
report of Fortas and the fee on
May 4. It said he received a
$20,000 check from the founda
tion Jan. 3, 1966, three months
after becoming a member of
the Supreme Court.
The Life account said Fortas
deposited the check in a
personal banking account and
did not return a $20,000 check
to the Wolfson Foundation until
Dec. 22, 1966. This was shortly
after Wolfson was indicted on
charges of violating federal
securities regulations and alleg
edly manipulating stocks.
Wolfson was later convicted
and given a year’s prison
sentence. But appeals—carrying
all the way to the Supreme
Court—delayed imprisonment
until last April 25. This was 25
days after the high court —with
Fortas not participating in the
decision—turned down Wolf-
Continued on page two
Cong Reject
Nixon Plan
By RAY F. HERNDON
PARIS (UPl)—Tire Viet Cong
today rejected President Nix
on’s call for a mu;ual
withdrawal of U.S. and North
Vietnamese troops from South
Vietnam, calling it "unjust and
unreasonable.”
The statement did not men
tion other points in Nixon's
eight - point peace prrposai
made on television Wednesday
night.
“In fact, the United States is
still sticking to its old. unjust
and unreasonable proposal in
changed form,” an official
statement from the Viet Cong’s
National Liberation Front said,
"calling for mutual withdrawal
of troops, putting onto the srme
level the aggressor and the
victim who is resisting aggres
sion—a proposal we have
rejected many times.”
An agreement between Com
munists and the Allies on a
mutual pullout still appeared to
hold the key to settlement in
the talks.
The Viet Cong accused Nixon
of pretending to display good
will.
Nixon did not reject outright
the Viet Cong’s peace package
S. ('. Solons Warn
Japan On
WASHINGTON (UPD — The
Japanese refusal to broaden
present textile trade agree
ments brought warnings from
South Carolina lawmakers
Wednesday.
Sen. Strom Thurmond, and
Sen. Ernest F. Rollings said the
action could force Congress to
enact protectionist legislation.
Representative W. J. Bryan
Dorn also blasted the Japanese
action.
“Failure could only lead to
mandatory quota legislation and
a general rise in protectionist
and even isolationist sentiment
in the United States,” Dorn
said.
Nixon Offers
Peace Plan
By EUGENE V. RISHER
WASHINGTON (UPI) — Pres
ident Nixon, asking the Ameri
can people to hold him
accountable for whatever hap
pens in Vietnam, has offered
the Communists a new peace
plan designed to end the war
within one year.
In an effort to nudge the
Paris talks into action, and in
response to the 10-point Viet
Cong peace proposal made
earlier this month, Nixon went
on radio and television Wednes
day night at what he called a
“critical turning point” to
offer:
—Withdrawal, in stages, of
U.S. and Allied troops from
South Vietnam over the next 12
months, provided the North
Vietnamese do the same. After
12 months, fighting would stop.
—A promise the United
States will accept whatever
government the South Vietna
mese people w’ant, including
reunification with North Viet
nam if necessary and full
participation of the Viet Cong,
the Communist guerrillas, in
the government.
—A warning the United
States will never pull its 540,000
troops out unless the Commu
nists do likewise, and a pledge
the United States will not
accept a settlement at Paris
that is only a “disguised
defeat.”
Nixon’s War Now
Nixon’s 22-minute address
combined a flexible peace
of last week although h- made
it clear some parts of it were
unacceptable. His mutual with
drawal point was a basic part
of his proposal.
The two main points of
Nixon’s statement ran in
opposition to the two main
provisions of the Viet Cong
plan.
Tire Viet Cong had demanded
unconditional withdrawal of
U.S. forces as well as
replacement of the South
Vietnamese government by a
provisional coaliti >n govern
ment.
There was no immediate
official reaction to Nixon s
statement from the North
Vietnamese delegation. But
there was little doubt the Hanoi
delegation fully backed the Viet
Cong brushoff.
The 17th session of the peace
talks will be held Friday this
week rather than the normal
Thursday which this week is a
French holiday.
Henry Cabot Lodge chief
U.S. negotiator at the talks,
was expected back in time for
Friday’s session. He returned
to Washington Wednesday hours
before President Nixon's
speech.
Honings, who pushed control
legislation through the Senate
last year, said he has backing
of Republican and Democratic
leadership for the same bill this
year.
Commerce Secretary Maurice
H. Stans is now visiting Japan
to seek an extension of negoti
ated quotas on Japanese cotton
shipments to include wool, syn
thetic fibers, and blends.
Dorn said Stans planned to
propose an agreement whereby
Japan would voluntarily limit
woolen, synthetics and blend
shipments to 1968 levels plus a
percentage of later market
growth.
proposal with a reaffirmation of
U.S. resolve and acknowledge
ment the war he inherited from
President Johnson is now his
war, for good or bad.
"If I fail to do so,” he said of
his campaign promise to
achieve peace, "I expect the
American people to hold me
accountable for that failure.”
The initial congressional reac
tion to Nixon’s speech was
generally favorable, even opti
mistic in some quarters. Sen.
Jacob K. Javits, R-N.Y., one of
a cluster of GOP lawmakers
whose criticism helped prompt
Nixon to make his move, called
the message “a real step on the
road to peace.”
Ambassador Henry Cabot
Lodge, Nixon’s top negotiator
at the Paris talks, conferred
with the President before the
address and scheduled another
meeting today before returning
to France. He will place the
new proposals on the table
before the Vietnamese on
Friday.
Nixon took note of renewed
attacks in South Vietnam and
warned Hanoi: “If the enemy
wants peace with the United
States, this is not the way to
get it.”
The troop winarawal by all
parties, Nixon said, could start
as soon as agreement is
reached to do so. Units left at
the end of 12 months would
stay temporarily in noncombat
bases. The North Vietnamese,
he said, would have to pull
back from Cambodia and Laos
as well.
International Body
Nixon said an international
supervisory body should stand
watch to make sure all sides
are withdrawing their troops.
That same body, he said, would
oversee the elections.
Tire plan also called for an
early release of prisoners of
war, by both sides, and an
agreement to observe the 1954
Geneva Accords on Vietnam
and Cambodia as well as the
Laos agreement of 1962.
Because the Viet Cong’s 10-
point peace proposal insisted
the United States simply
withdraw, without any condi
tions, there was a gap between
the two peace offers.
But White House sources said
the Nixon offer contained two
specific points that might
increase chances for peace. One
is the abandonment of U.S.
efforts to make the North
Vietnamese admit they even
have troops in the soutn.
Combined with that is the fact
that the United States is no
longer insisting Hanoi begin
pulling out first, before the
Americans make any move.
Added to that, the sources
said, is the fact the United
States is now prepared to
discuss the political situation, in
addition to the military situa
tion, as Hanoi has been
demanding.
Country Parson
‘‘Friends are folks who don’t
believe what others say about
you.”
Copyright 1969, by Frank A. Clark