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' By Quunby Melton
* With a new decade “just
around the corner” numerous
commentators, in newspapers
in magazines, and on radio and
* TV. will be choosing who in
their opinion have been the
“Ten Most Important Men”
, who lived between 1960 and
1970. These will be the men,
whom they think most influenc
ed what happened then and
t what may happen in the 19705.
The first such “selection”
that we have seen comes from
• England where the British
Radio asked its listeners to cast
ballots as to their choice for this
list. The report says that 1500 of
* their listeners voted.
Each listener was asked to
vote for ten and to list each of
them in the order of their im
portance. Naturally there was a
certain local influence evident.
When all the votes had been
, counted it was found that Prime
Minister Harold Wilson led,
Enoch Powell, the Conservative
leader of Parliament, ran
♦ second.
President John F. Kennedy,
assassinated before he had
completed his term, was third;
Rhodesian Prime Minister
lan Smith was fourth; The late
, Pope John XXIII, fifth; and
assassinated Dr. Martin Luther
King, sixth.
Seventh was Prince Philip,
» husband of Queen Elizabeth;
Eighth Dr. Billy Graham;
ninth American Astronaut Neil
Armstrong; and Tenth General
t Charles deGaulle. .
It is interesting that the En
glish people lis'.ad four Ameri
* cans; President Kennedy, Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., both of
whom were assassinated;
Evangelist Dr. Billy Graham;
and Astronaut Neil Armstrong.
Also during the coming days
, there will be many commenta
tors who will seek to character
ize the decade just ended as be
ing the ten years when there
» were marked differences when
compared with other decades.
They cannot list “wars” as
• one— for there have been wars
somewhere on the earth since
the earliest days.
Some years ago the great
* American Catholic leader,
Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, in his
book “Life Is Worth Living”
, quoted a Belgian scholar who
had studied all the wars from
1496 B.C. to 1861 A.D., 3,357
years of history. During those
• 3,357 years there had been 3,130
years of war; only 227 years of
peace. This is a ratio of 14 years
of war for every year of peace.
Since, 1861, when America
bled in the Civil War, until today
t we doubt if there has been a sin
gle year when there has not
been a war somewhere in the
world.
, There will be those who will
seek to call the present decade
one in which there have been
great changes in governments,
• in legislation, in customs. But
such has been the case in every
decade. Some will seek to com
pare the economic development
• but there has always been ups
and down in the economic struc
ture of every nation.
4 This layman, for we certainly
do not consider ourselves an
authority on history, believes
that the one chief difference
• between this and other decades,
as far as America is concerned,
is the increasing hatreds that
have marked our people, and to
* bear this out we call attention to
the number of American lead
ers who have been assassinat
ed.
The three outstanding ones
have been the assassination of
President John F. Kennedy, of
, Dr. Martin Luther King, and of
Senator Robert Kennedy, who
during his brother’s term as
President, was attorney gener
» al. There have been other
assassinations but the killing of
these three leaders, in their
respective fields, is sufficient
* to cause us to believe “vio
lence” was the difference in the
60s and other decades.
~Year 1969 In Review™—^
I Groundwork Laid For Future Progress
The Griffin Area Chamber of
Commerce figures the com
munity reached several signi
ficant milestones in 1969, and
set in motion some projects
which will spell progress for the
future.
One that has been in the lime
light for the past several
months has been the effort to
get the second Atlanta Airport
located in neighboring Henry
County.
The drive was spearheaded
by the Mclntosh Trail Area
Planning and Development
Commission with the help of all
county and city members.
The Griffin Area Chamber of
Commerce, under the leader
Armon B. Neel Jr.
Is Proud Os Griffin
Because - -
In reviewing the reasons why one should be proud
of living in Griffin, I can’t help but think about our
superb medical facilities and the highly specializd
and qualified medical personnel to staff them.
From the physician or dentist, of which we have
specialist in most any field, to the hospital, to the
extended care facilities, to the pharmacist, a patient
can rely upon receiving the finest in medical ser
vices of anywhere in the state of Georgia.
Therefore, it is understood, with such complete
medical coverage, I or anyone should be proud to
live in Griffin.
Armon B. Neel Jr.
Ship Goof Cost
$96-Million
WASHINGTON (UPI) -Sen
ate investigators disclosed to
day that the Navy paid out an
Griffin Center
Registration Set
Registration for University of
Georgia courses for the Griffin
Center will be held on Wednes
day, Jan. 7, beginning at 6 p.m.
at the Griffin High School.
High school graduates and
adults are eligible to register
for the courses to be offered
during the winter quarter.
Courses will include English
121, 122, Western World
Literature, Math 100, College
Algebra, Sociology 105, In
troductory Sociology, History
111, 112, History of Western
Civilization, and History 251,
252, American History. Students
may register so. two courses
with each course carrying a
credit of five quarter hours.
Classes meet on Monday and
Thursday evenings with the
first period class begiinning at
6:00 p.m. and the second class
at 8:20 p.m. Tuition is due on the
night of registration at $55 per
course plus a registration fee of
sl.
Mrs. L. C. Olson, University
Representative, may be con
tacted for information.
Weather
ESTIMATED HIGH TODAY 66,
low today 60, high yesterday 66,
low yesterday 42, sunrise to
morrow 7:47, sunset tomorrow
5:38.
“A flash of anger is alll
that’s needed to make trivial!
things take on importance.” I
Copyright 1969, by/rank A. Clark [
DAILYf’NEWS
D*ily Sines 1872
ship of President Gene Cook this
year, joined in the drive for the
airport.
The fruits of the effort may
not be realized for another
month or two when a final de
cision is made on the location.
But the push has resulted in the
Henry County site’s being
recommended by an en
gineering firm as the best, when
weighed against others.
Working on the airport
project has not been the only
major community project
during the year.
Gary Powell, executive vice
president of the Chamber of
Commerce here, pointed out
that during 1969 the city and
extra $96 million in excess
claims to a contractor for a
new destroyer escort but still
wound up with a defective and
underequipped ship.
Chairman William Proxmire,
D-Wisc., of a Senate subcom
mittee confronted a Navy
witness, Gordon W. Rule, with
the figures at an inquiry into
shipbuilding practices.
“. . .We goofed,” Rule
acknowledged. The cigar-smok
ing civilian is director of
procurement control for the
Navy Materiel Command.
Rule confirmed that the
vessel, the DE 1052, originally
was budgeted to cost slsl
million. But the Todd shipyards
filed a claim for extra expenses
totalling sll4 million and the
government awarded the firm
$96 million over the original
contract.
But, Proxmire said, despite
the extra cost, which the
contractor attributed to various
problems such as sonar specifi
cation changes and out-of
sequence construction, at least
one commander of the escort
complained of leaks in some of
the equipment and troublesome
deck machinery.
In addition, the subcommittee
said the Navy accepted the ship
without proper equipment. It
came without torpedo tubes and
self-defense missile systems,
Proxmire said.
Rule blamed the problem on
Navy procurement practices.
When the contractor originally
advised the Navy of its
problems, he said, the Navy
took an attitude of ‘‘drop
dead.”
By the time the excess costs
became a reality, Rule said, it
was too late to negotiate an
adjustment and the government
was forced to pay for the extra
expenses.
The disclosure came on the
heels of a General Accounting
Office complaint that “serious
shortcomings” in Defense De
partment contracting proce
dures have permitted final
costs to run over their original
budget by nearly s2l billion for
weapon systems.
GRIFFIN
Griffin, Georgia 30223 Tuesday, December 30, 1969
county made available 70 acres
of industrial land. Land availa
bility has been cited as one of
the prime needs for this area in
its push to attract new industry.
Homer Sigman who will be
president of the Chamber of
Commerce in 1970 already has
set in motion the wheels for
getting more industrial land.
He named banker C. T.
Parker, past president of the
Chamber of Commerce, to head
a committee to secure land for
an industrial park.
One possibility Sigman has
suggested is a committee of 500
with each member contributing
a SIOO toward a $50,000 pool for
industrial land.
President Nixon Signs
New Tax Reform Bill
I DETROIT - Vietnam veteran I , v
I Michael Sharp, decorated 23 H 1
I times for bravery in Vietnam I
I and wounded twice, faces up to R
I 15-years in prison for the SBO p
I holdup of a gas station. I
I judge curtailed sentencing nPPMRKf v
I order for Sharps'attorney to get ■
I Sharp admitted to a Veterans’ I
| hospital. (UPI)
Wm IBPMHk SB S
||| jags
/‘IL ' *SP T —\
:.W N *
Experts Predict
State’s Economic Boom
To Level Off In 1970
ATLANTA (UPI)-Top busi
ness leaders in Georgia predict
Georgia’s economic boom will
begin to level out, but prices
for consumers will continue
their slow climb.
Spokesmen for companies
represented in the 1,500 mem
ber Georgia Business and In
dustry Association noted, how
ever, 1970 should be a record
year in consumer income.
Dillard Munford, chairman of
the board of Jackson-Atlantic
Co., Atlanta, said Monday retail
food prices would be a victim
of inflation. “People are going
to continue to eat, and they are
going to pay a little more for
the product,” Munford said.
The Southern territory vice
The industrial park project
will be one of the major em
phasis by the Chamber next
year.
The Chamber of Commerce
often finds it frustrating to have
to tell people who want to move
here that there is no housing for
them.
Announcement by Fickling
and Walker Company that it
would build a 132-unit rent
subsidy complex plus other sub
stantial apartment construction
by private investors was a start
toward providing more housing
here.
The emphasis on the need for
more housing, stressed in 1969
will be a carryover project by
president for Sears, Roebuck
and Co., A. Dean Swift, said he
believes consumers are “in a
relatively strong financial posi
tion, and we can expect that in
comes will continue to advance
to another record high level in
1970, although the rate of
growth will be less than in the
last few years.”
The business analysts saw in
terest rates remaining high dur
ing the coming year as infla
tionary pressures remained the
influencing factor on the econo
my.
Clifford M. Clarke, president
of the GBIA, said federal re
straints applied by the Nixon
administration to combat infla
tion have been felt in Georgia
Vol. 96 No. 306
the Chamber next year.
Another milestone which the
Chamber noted was reached in
1969 was announcement by the
State Highway Department that
a connector road would be built
to 1-75. This will not become a
reality for several years but
plans for it already are in
motion.
City voters approved a bond
issue for sewer improvement
and expansion, and additional
fire protection, in a summer
bond election.
Although the bonds have not
been sold, the city pointed out
that his has not slowed work on
the long range program. City
Commissioners believe the
in 1969—but in varying degrees.
Notwithstanding those re
straints, 1969 “was one of the
state’s most prosperous years,”
Clarke said.
As inflationary curbs contin
ued to take hold in the coming
year, however, “minor disloca
tions in some industries” would
be felt, Clarke said, resulting in
a “leveling off” of the Georgia
economic boom.
John H. Woodall Jr., presi
dent of Woodland Furniture
Manufacturing Co., in Wood
land, echoed Clarke by calling
1969 sales "unbelievable,” while
adding “we are grooming for a
rather slow six months in 1970.”
funds will be available when
they are needed.
Establishment of a Small
Claims Court which the Cham
ber long had backed became a
reality during 1969. Voters in a
referendum approved the plan
which had been recommended
by several grand juries. Judge
John O. Clements was ap
pointed judge and the court
began operating early last fall.
The Chamber of Commerce
believes that the County Com
mission approval of a zoning
ordinance for mobile homes and
mobile home parks was a signi
ficant step in the orderly growth
and progress of the com
Calls New Bill
‘lnflationary’
By MICHAEL L. POSNER
WASHINGTON (UPl)—Pres
ident Nixon signed into law
today the most sweeping tax
measure since the enactment of
the income tax in 1913 but
declared the bill was inflationa
ry.
“Congress has passed an
unbalanced bill that is both
good and bad,” Nixon said in a
statement released by the
White House. “The tax reforms,
on the whole, are good; the
effect on the budget and on the
cost of living is bad.”
Nixon said he approved the
measure because the improve
ments in tax fairness through
the reforms outbalance the
inflationary impact from the
$9.1 billion tax cut the bill
carries.
The bill provides tax relief
for 63 million Americans and
includes a 15 per cent boost in
social security benefits and
loophole-closing reforms.
The first time taxpayers will
see the effects of the bill will
be in their paycheck for the
first week of 1970 when the
present 10 per cent tax
surcharge goes down to 5 per
cent. That will diminish the tax
withholding slightly. The surch
arge is scheduled to expire
completely June 30,1970.
The tax reduction results
chiefly from a three year
increase in the S6OO income tax
personal exemption. It will rise
to $650 in July to S7OO in
January 1972 and to $750 in
January 1973. The bill also
grants special tax relief for 12
million poor and near-poor
taxpayers.
Treasury Secretary David M.
Kennedy told newsmen at the
White House after the Pres
ident signed the bill that the
measure made Nixon’s budgeta
ry problems even more severe.
But Kennedy sidestepped
questions about whether the
President would ask Congress
neat year to increase taxes,
possibly through a “value
added tax.” This is a form of
excise tax on manufactured
goods.
At his last news conference
Nixon said he would veto the
Senate version of the bill
because of the inflationary
impact. But a House-Senate
Conference Committee scaled
down the cuts and delayed
them in the final compromise
version of the bill which
Congreee sent to the White
House before adjourning.
Nixon’s signing capped a
year-long tax writing effort by
Congress. It came after a
threatened veto because of long
range revenue losses.
Inside Tip
Eagles
See Page 11
munity.
Establishment of an area
nlanning commission (Mcln
tosh Trail) was nother signi
ficant step which will have long
range benefits for this com
munity as well as this area of
the state, the Chamber believes.
These are a few of the high
lights of 1969 as viewed by the
Chamber as the year draws to a
close.
President Cook stated that the
groundwork for much progress
has been laid this year through
the Chamber. He said it may not
all be apparent right now but
the work done this year will
show fruit in years to come.
The tax relief provisions start
becoming effective in 1970—but
the relief provisions don’t apply
to salaries earned in 1969. The
full effect won’t be felt until
1973 when the last provisions
become effective.
A 15 per cent across-the
board increase in social securi
ty benefits for 25 million
persons becomes effective Jan.
1. However, bigger checks
won’t show up until checks are
mailed next April. A subsequent
check will go out to pay
January and February benefits.
In 1970, the S6OO personal
exemption for each taxpayer
and dependent goes to $625. The
exemption rises to S7OO on Jan.
1, 1972, and $750 on Jan. 1,1973.
The higher exemption, a
higher minimum standard de
duction and a higher maximum
standard deduction are de
signed to remove 7.6 million
poorer taxpaying families from
the rolls by 1973, and reduce
taxes to another 55.5 million
taxpaying families by that
year.
Here are the major provi
sions of the measure:
—Standard deduction: Now 10
per cent of the income of a
taxpayer who does not itemize
expenses with a ceiling of
SI,OOO. It rises to 13 per cent
with a $1,400 ceiling in 1970,
then to 14 per cent with a $1,500
ceiling in 1971, to 14 per cent
with a $2,000 ceiling in 1972 and
to 15 per cent with a $2,000
ceiling in 1973 and thereafter.
— Low-income allowance:
Equal to a minimum $l,lOO
personal exemption effective
Jan. 1, 1970. This drops to
$1,050 on Jan. 1, 1971, and to
SI,OOO on Jan. 1, 1972 and
thereafter. It drops as the
personal exemption rises.
—Social security: A 15 per
cent increase in benefits. The
minimum benefit for a single
person rises from its present
$55 to $64 a month.
—Single persons: Special tax
relief is granted unmarried
people so that in no case would
a single taxpayer pay more
than 20 per cent more in taxes
than a married couple with the
same income. The gap now is
as much as 40 per cent.
—lnvestment credit: The 7
per cent subsidy to business
men and farmers on their
expenses for new equipment,
expansion or modernization, is
eliminated, effective last April
18.
—Moving expenses: Deducti
ble expenses for moving are
liberalized for moves of 50
miles or more to include house
hunting trips and expenses
arising from the sale of a
house.