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VENIN VJ*
By Quimby Melton
“The military is traditionally
unimagnative, blunt, hard, con
cise. But when it comes around
to saying farewell to one of its
beloved, it can do things that
bring: tears and make the
tenderest of Broadway’s plays
seem like a peep show.”
That’s the way Bob Considine
sums up what happened in May,
1962, when West Point conferred
its highest honor on one of its
most distinguished and beloved
sons, Douglas MacArthur.
Bob Considine during his life
time as a newsman — sports
editor, special roving reporter
for the Hearst newspapers and
for International News Service,
Radio and TV commentator —
has probably interviewed more
“big time” figures round the
world than any of his con
temporaries. He had the
remarkable ability of getting
exclusive interviews that comes
as the result of the person he
wanted to interview having
confidence in him,j
Douglas MacArthur was one
of the American whom Consi
dine respected most.
But to return to that day at
West Point, when General
MacArthur was presented “the
highest honor West Point can
bestow on one of its graduates.”
MacArthur was eighty-two
years old.
After the parade in his honor,
the general went with the
Cadets into the V-shaped dining
hall which was built when
MacArthur was the youngest
superintendent to ever serve
West Point. In what was to be
his farewell address to the
cadets he said:
“Duty-Honor-Country. Those
three hallowed words reverent
ly dictate what you ought to be.
They are your rallying points;
to build courage when courage
seems to fail; to regain faith
when there seems to be little
cause for faith; to create hope
when hope becomes forlorn.”
There were tears in the eyes
of big strapping Cadets who
wouldn’t have shed one before a
firing squad, as MacArthur
concluded:
“You are the leven that binds
together the entire fabric of our
national system of defense.
From your ranks come the
great captains who hold the
nation’s destiny in their hands
the moment the war toxin
sounds. The Long Gray Line has
never foiled us. Were you to do
so, a million ghosts in olive
drab, in brown khaki, in blue
and gray, would rise from their
white crosses thundering those
magic words ‘Duty-Honor-
Country.’
“This does not mean that you
are war mongers. On the
contrary, the soldier, above all
other people, prays for peace,
for he must suffer and bear the
deepest wounds and scars of
war.
“The shadows are lengthen
ing for me. The twilight is here.
My days of old have vanished,
tone and tint; they have gone
glimmering through the dream
of things that were. Their
memory is one of wonderous
beauty, watered by tears, and
coaxed and caressed by the
smiles of yesterday.-I listen
vainly for the witching melody
of faint bugles blowing reveille,
of for drums beating the long
roll.
“In the evening of my
memory I always come back to
West Point. Always there
echoes and re-echoes ‘Duty-
Honor-Country.’ Today marks
my final roll call with you.”
Today when the Army, The
Navy, the Air Corps and other
branches of our Armed Servic
es, the agencies that are “the
leven which binds together the
fabric of our national system of
defense,” are being criticised
and their very existence
threatened, this message of
Douglas MacArthur should be
remembered and cherished.
“Dufy-Honor-Country.”
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Watching for visiting Griffinites from atop the Camp Thunder lookout tower are Griffin Toop 10
Boy Scouts (1-r) Tim Alford, Charles Nash, and James Corley. Wednesday was set aside as Griffin
Day at the regional camp. Staff members such as Explorer Base Director Randy Piland (on
ladder) goes about business as usual (Lodi for picture page on camp this weekend in the Griffin
Daily News).
Pafford battles to keep
Zebulon freight station
An attempt to close the Zebu
lon freight station was labeled
Wednesday as “a profit seeking
venture by Southern Railroad
and giving” no consideration to
the people.
Bobby Pafford, Public Ser
vice Commissioner, at a
hearing made the accusation in
Atlanta after Southern asked to
close the Zebulon station and
have its customers served from
Roberta, 38 miles away.
PSC members pointed out
freight stations at Griffin, 13.6
miles away and Barnesville, 10
miles distant could serve
Zebulon. The PSC then asked,
why did Southern want to
handle Zebulon traffic 38 miles
away?
The freight agent at Roberta
“has only two accounts” and
needs the work, answered
Southern Trailmaster H. K.
Maddox.
Pafford then accused South
ern of “making Zebulon people
go 38 miles” to Roberta for the
railroad’s convenience and giv
ing “no consideration to the
people.”
Maddox answered that he had
contacted all of Southern’s
Zebulon customers “and none
voiced an opinion against it.” In
addition the Roberta office will
accept collect calls from South
ern’s Zebulon patrons, he said.
The Griffin and Barnesville
agents are employes of South
ern’s subsidiary, Central of
Georgia, Gerald S. Williams
testified. Williams is a Georgia
assistant superintendent for
Southern.
The Zebulon business could be
moved to Griffin or Barnesville,
he contended, but only after
“negotiations” with the unions
which represent freight agents
on the two railroads.
Pafford tried a new tack when
GRIFFIN
DAI IJV #NEWS
Daily Since 1872
Southern statistician R. A.
Robb, from Washington, D.C.,
took the witness stand.
Robb said the Zebulon station
lost $1,730 in 1969 and $1,726 in
1970.
In other words, business is
getting better in Zebulon,
Pafford asked?
By $4, the statistician an
nswered.
Is it Southern’s policy to dis
continue a station when “its
Keeping health costs down
major problem in Georgia
Dr. Beverly Forester told the
Griffin Kiwanis Club yesterday
feat delivering health care at a
price people can afford is one of
Georgia’s most pressing pro
blems.
The Macon physician is chair
man of the State Health Board.
He and 10 of the 18 members on
the board were at the Kiwanis
Club for the meeting.
Georgia has a chance to lead
the nation under a pilot pro
gram through which the medi
cal profession will monitor
medicaid in an effort to hold
down costs, he said.
He said as far as he knew,
Georgia was the only state so
far to get approval of such a
plan.
The medical profession and
government must find ways to
deliver health care services at
minimum costs if they are to
head off a tax rebellion, the
board chairman said.
Government and the medical
Griffin, Ga., 30223, Thursday, July 15, 1971
financial position is im
proving?” Pafford asked.
Southern closes some stations
which are making a profit,
Robb answered.
Otis Weaver of the Griffin
Traffic Bureau says this is the
third time Southern has tried to
close the Zebulon Station. He
feels the companies concerned
could intervene and halt the
closing as was done on the first
two occasions.
Chairman talks here
profession must seek ways to
reduce highway deaths, he said.
He suggested that helicopter
teams might be formed to serve
congested metropolitan areas.
He said it takes at least 30 minu
tes for an ambulance to make it
to a traffic wreck in downtown
Atlanta during rush hour
traffic. A helicopter team could
get there in six minutes, he said.
Dr. Forester said helicopter
teams trained to handle battle
field wounds could be employed
as they return from Vietnam
and fill this need. He predicted
surplus Armed Forces heli
copters could be purchased at
reasonable cost.
Dr. Forester also said that
Georgia should make use of
armed forces personnel with
medical training as they return
from Vietnam.
Doctors have learned they
can assign some medical duties
to people with such training and
the doctors can be freed to see a
Strike would halt
rail traffic here
A nationwide rail strike,
threatened to begin tomorrow,
would halt shipments to and
from Griffin, a freight traffic
expert said today.
However, shippers here held
hope that President Nixon
would intervene and prevent the
rail strike.
Griffin along with other cities
over the nation already was
feeling the pinch of a nationwide
telephone strike and the rail
strike threat added to business
men’s problems here.
Talks continued between the
union and Southern Bell but
picket lines continued in Griffin
and over the nation as the tele
phone strike went into its
second day.
A Southern Bell wage offer
made yesterday was rejected.
0. H. Weaver of the traffic
bureau here which handles
most commercial freight ship
ments for business and industry
in this area, said that a rail
strike would tie up shipments
here.
Southern Bell management
and non-union personnel
manned the switchboard
system as the telephone strike
continued.
One company spokesman
said, “All in all, things are
rocking along pretty good.”
Southern Bell’s last proposal
was an increase of % per cent
over an earlier offer, but a
CWA spokesman—without elab
orating — said the union was
seeking a “substantial” wage
increase.
Southern Bell argued that the
rejected proposal meant an in
crease of about 30 per cent
over a three-year contract peri
od — raising salaries $24 per
week for plant craftsmen.
The offer, spokesmen said,
also included an earlier effec
tive date for company - paid
health insurance plus second
and third year wage increases
and a cost-of-living formula.
While the parties were trying
to reconcile differences, work
ers established picket lines.
Some were sporting T - shirts
carrying the slogan, “Ma Bell
is a cheap mother.”
No serious incidents were re
ported along the picket lines.
Southern Bell said 15,000 of its
19,000 Georgia employes were
under the CWA contract, though
some are non-union. Potential
strikers also included 5,200
workers at Western Electric
and AT&T Long Lines.
greater number of patients, he
said.
This is one answer to the
growing doctor shortage, as Dr.
Forester sees it.
He said that the junior college
program being pushed in
Georgia could be encouraged to
offer extensive nurse training.
This would help alleviate the
nurse shortage in Georgia, the
doctor went on.
Decentralized care for mental
patients will become a
necessity, Dr. Forester said. He
said the state cannot continue to
treat all mental patients in one
or two central hospitals. He
suggested clinics in cities and
towns throughout the state as a
solution.
Dr. Forester said that the
state now spends about SBO
- annually on care for the
mentally ill. This is a consider
able increase over the amount
being spent annually five or 10
years ago, he said. Yet, he said,
Vol. 99 No. 166
Craig says CWA union
bargains in good faith
B. E. Craig of McDonough,
president of Local 3215 Com
munication Workers of Amer
ica, said today that the union
would continue to bargain in
good faith until the strike is
settled. The Local 3215 includes
Southern Bell employes in
Griffin.
“Our present contract expir
ed May 14, 1971. We bargained
before the expiration date, and
we are continuing our effort to
negotiate a fair contract,”
Craig said.
“We did not want to strike.
We wanted a fair and just
settlement. But unfortunately
we failed to get it. We feel all
our demands are fair,” the
president of the local CWA
chapter said.
“For the past three years we
have documented and advised
the management of Southern
Bell on the inequities which
must be corrected in 1971. We
gave them hundreds of pages of
thoughtful, reasonable and
factual information, prepared
by outside specialists as well as
our Development and Research
Department,” Craig stated.
The three main disagree
ments between management
and union right now are wages,
pensions and union security.
Management’s latest offer
was 11% percent pay hike for
the first year.
“We have facts and figures
showing we are entitled to 25
percent right now. In the second
and third year, our main dis
agreement is the cost of living
adjustment. The system wants
to compute it annually and we
feel it should be computed
quarterly,” the union spokes
man said.
Craig said the pension plan
now is one percent of the aver
age pay for the last five years of
employment plus the number of
years service.
As an example, Craig said an
operator, who retires with 30
years service, is entitled to
$117.50 per month.
“We want, we need and we
deserve 1.5 percent across the
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Claxton, Dr. Forester and Kiwanis President James Roddy (1-r)
the state is treating only a few
more people with such distur
bances than it was a few years
ago. He said community clinics
is part of the answer.
An educational program that
warns youngsters on the fifth
and sixth grade levels about the
dangers of drug abuse is desir
able, Dr. Forester said.
He said people in the 18 to 21
year range and over beyond
reach of drug warnings, if they
already have been hooked.
An educational film program
available to the Griffin-Spald-
board in formula.
“At the present time the
system has $8.3 billion in the
pension fund. We have proposed
to take the pension fund out of
the hands of the system and
place it in a public body,” the
local CWA president said.
Speaking of union security,
Craig said:
“We are legally bound to re
present every person in the unit
for which we hold recognition.
Being required by law tc
represent everybody, we simply
say everyone should pay for the
services rendered.”
Peach crop
ATHENS, Ga. (UPI) - Esti
mates for Georgia’s 1971 peach
crop have now fallen 22 per
cent below last year’s crop, the
Georgia Crop Reporting Serv
ice said Wednesday.
Save Gordon,
regents asked
ATLANTA (UPI)-The state
Board of Regents called
Wednesday for a study to de
cide whether the University
System of Georgia will take ov
er operation of the 118-year-old
Gordon Military College in
Barnesville.
The privately owned institu
tion is seeking to become part
of the university system to save
itself from serious money prob
lems. Peter Banks, a trustee of
the junior college, told the Re
gents they could save the insti
tution from being closed down.
The university system staff
was ordered to study the pro
posalsand make a recommenda
tion within 60 days.
Also at Wednesday’s meeting,
University System Chancellor
George L. Simpson announced
that Dr. H. F. Robinson, vice
chancellor, is leaving to become
provost at Purdue University in
Lafayette, Ind., in September.
ing School System and others
would help slow the number of
drug abuse cases in Georgia,
Dr. Forester believes. He urged
such a program be used in
Griffin. He said the films are
available free.
Dr. Forester praised the work
of Lee Roy Claxton and Carl
Pruett, both Griffin men, on the
board of health.
He said one reason he and the
other members of the board
came to Griffin was to show
publically the appreciation of
Inside Tip
Sickness
See Page 16
Weather
ESTIMATED HIGH TODAY 90,
low today 68, high yesterday 92,
low yesterday 70. Total rainfall
.09 of an inch. Sunrise tomorrow
6:45, sunset tomorrow 8:42.
■O
“Tragedy comes to men in
many forms, but the cure is
always the same — hope.”
Robinson, 53, will join former
Georgia Tech President Dr. Ar
thur G. Hansen, who resigned
earlier this year to become
president at Plirdue.
In other action, the Regents:
—Announced a pilot project to
promote a closer working rela
tionship between the university
system and the state’s area
planning and development com
missions.
—Authorized a contract with
the Southern Regional Education
Board to provide medical train
ing for up to 20 students per
class at Emory University Med
ical College in Atlanta. The pro
gram will begin next fall, when
the system will allocate $6,500 a
year for 15 Emory med stu
dents.
—Appointed Dr. Thomas E.
Stelson, currently dean of engi
neering at Georgia Tech, to
serve in the newly-created post
of vice president for academic
affairs at Tech.
the board for men Griffin has
sent into state and national ser
vice.
He said he didn’t know of
another city the size of Griffin in
Georgia which had produced so
many outstanding leaders.
He clicked off the names of
Atty. Gen. Arthur Bolton, Rep.
Jack Flynt, Rep. Quimby Mel
ton, Jr., Rep. Clayton Brown,
Sen. Bob Smalley and Georgia
Municipal Association director
Elmer George as examples of
Griffinites who are in top
leadership spots.