Newspaper Page Text
/HaiftSr
Shamed soldiers are casualties
(EDITOR S NOTE: This is
another in a series of re
ports by Vietnam combat
correspondent Tom Tiede
on the prospects and prob
lems of returning sol
diers. )
By TOM TIEDE
WASHINGTON — (NEA)—
Thomas Thompson, 21 years
old, has just returned from
the war in Vietnam as an un
counted casualty who has a
wound that can’t be seen.
He has been kicked out of
the Army.
What he did was break the
rules As a front-line combat
soldier, early this year, he
became depressed to the
point of not thinking and not
caring. He felt it was wrong
for him to be fighting while
others like him, back home,
were not. He felt he was be
ing picked on. not only by
the military in general, but
by his own unit in particu
lar. So he went AWOL, for
six weeks, to brood.
He didn’t hurt anyone. He
didn’t steal anything. But he
erred too seriously for the
Army to forgive. And he was
THE
SOLDIER
COMES
HOME
“gotten rid of" for the good
of the service.
“U.D."
Undesirable discharge.
And so now, for him, the
world is made of ice. "I keep
moving but I don't get no
where." He has become
somebody for the local po
lice to keep their eyes on.
He is not officially eligible
for any of the federally
“guaranteed" benefits for
veterans. And whenever he
tries to get a job, as he says
he does every day, the fore
man looks at his papers,
head shaking, and says in a
tone that would freeze Flor
ida: “Sorry, we don’t have
anything available for your
kind.”
Understandably. Thomas
Thompson is again de
pressed. But this time, per
haps, with more justifica
tion. “I don’t like all this
talk about my kind,'" he
the rii
FAMILY LAWYER A
Free Speach: The Outer Limits
At a large public meeting not
long ago, about 25 dissenters sta
tioned themselves near the back
of the hall to heckle the speaker.
Shouting slogans in unison, they
made him almost inaudible to
many members of the audience.
II
Someone asked an usher wheth
er anything could be done.
"Not a thing,” he replied
gloomily. ‘They’re just exercising
their freedom of speech under the
Constitution.”
But the usher was wrong about
the Constitution. He was making
the all-too-common mistake of
thinking that whatever is oral is
lawful. The freedom of speech
guaranteed by the Constitution
does not mean that at all. Many
kinds of oral conduct are un
lawful.
Here are some examples:
1) a moviegoer, just for kicks,
yells that the theater is on fire;
says. T did wrong, maybe,
but that don’t mean I’m any
‘kind.’ like a crook or some
thing.”
He’s right of course. If
fairness is the criterion,
Thompson’s "kind” should
not be readily labeled. The
public idea that anything
other than an “honorable”
military discharge is con
temptible is inaccurate and
often, damaging.
Last year, according to
the Department of De
fense, 1,156,558 men were
discharged from military
duty. Os these, 54,502 were
released under conditions
“other than honorable.”
This doesn't mean, however,
they were all creepy crawl
ers.
The services have five
forms of discharge. Honor
able. general, undesirable,
bad conduct and dishonor
able. Only the latter pair are
punitive; they usually in
volve felonious wrongdoing
and comprise only a tiny mi
nority (4,049 last year) of all
military releases. The other
discharges are all adminis
trative. This means they are
nonjudicial, or catch-all.
Ergo, a man can be released
on the general or undesir
able clause for such “of
fenses” as being a homosex
ual, taking part in political
activism, or, as is by now
well known, smoking mari
juana.
Thus it should be clear
that a man with a less than
honorable discharge isn’t
necessarily a baddie.
As it is, however, much of
the public feels otherwise. It
is no secret that a "shamed
soldier" has an uphill time
of it in the nation. Employ
ers often withhold jobs be
cause “we don’t want any
body the Army doesn't
want.” Landlords hesitate to
rent living quarters for the
same reason. Depending on
the severity of his discharge
reason, a drummed-out sol
dier is not classified as a
veteran by the Veterans Ad
ministration, is not eligible
for disability benefits from
the military, will not be ac
cepted for membership in
most civic-fraternal organ
izations, and in the overall
is effectively locked out
from any sympathetic pub
lic sentiment.
"I’ll tell you how bad it is
for me,” says a sad-faced
Thompson. "I ain’t even had
the guts to tell my dad about
the discharge yet. Like, he
was in World War 11, and
that kind of thing. If he knew
about me. he’d kick me out
of the house.”
As harsh and (often) un-
2) an envious spinster falsely
informs the man next door that
his wife is having an affair with
the milkman;
3) a hardware dealer, selling a
stepladder he knows is defective,
tells the customer it is safe;
4) a drunk warbles “Sweet
Adeline" outside a hospital win
dow at midnight.
Each of these actions is oral—
and each is unlawful. Further
more, they were unlawful when
the Constitution was adopted. So
is the deliberate disruption of a
public meeting, whether by shout
ing slogans or blowing whistles or
ringing cowbells.
What the Constitution does
guarantee is the freedom that
really counts: the freedom to ex
press and advocate ideas, however
unpopular.
In fact, it is to safeguard this
primary freedom that the law im
poses reasonable limits on the
time, place, and manner of speech.
Judge Curtis Bok once put the
mailer in a nutshell:
"In the whole history of law
and order, the longest step for
ward was taken by primitive man
when, as if by common consent,
the tribe sat down in a circle and
allowed only one man to speak
at a time.”
It is this kind of common sense
that enables a free society to func
tion. It is what the law is all
about.
justified as the public atti
tude is toward men like
Thompson, it is not likely to
change anytime soon. Oh.
there is some movement for
fairness: Some few men
within the Veterans Admin
istration are quietly working
toward relaxation of the
VA ban against shamed sol
diers. and new rules are be
ing written to help men dis
charged from service for
narcotics involvement.
But in the main the pub
lic’s hard attitude remains
stiff. With all the current
congressional interest in vet
erans, for instance, there is
no hint of extending any
rights to vets with black dis
charges. Says an aide to
Sen. Alan Cranston (D-
Calif.): “The public wouldn’t
Hand still for it. Neither
would the veterans groups.
The idea prevails that if a
man can’t get clean marks
in service, he doesn’t de
serve help."
Therefore, back to Thomas
Thompson, at age 21 a man
on the outside of oppor
tunity. He doesn’t deserve
help? He’s a former soldier
who in many instances of
combat, gave the nation the
best he could give. He’s a
young man who before he
entered the Army was never
in any serious trouble. He's
a worried human being who
wants to get married, to get
a job and live in some secu
rity. Granted he made a
Wl'.
£4 11'
Young visitors discover creative design at the Georgia Museum
of Art in Athens. (PRN)
TOUR
GEORGIA
ATHENS, Georgia—Once
upon a time the University of
Georgia was given one
hundred paintings by one
hundred American artists
covering one hundred years of
American art. And that
marked the beginning of the
Georgia Museum of Art.
The original gift came in
1945 from Alfred Heber
Holbrook, a New York lawyer
who elected to retire and
move south with his art
collection-the Eva Underhill
Holbrook Memorial Collection
of American Art.
Twenty-six years later, the
Museum’s collection is
stronger than ever in 19th and
early 20th century paintings
and includes more than 1,500
fine prints, over 500 paintings
and an equal number of
drawings.
Students from
kindergartens, elementary
schools, and high schools all
over the State have visited the
Georgia Museum. And the
Museum has visited them. By
arrangement with the Georgia
Center for Continuing
Education, the Director has
traveled with some 20
paintings to 180 communities
around the State and made a
number of trips to the larger
cities.
During the past three years,
six exhibitions organized or
initiated in Athens have been
shown in approximately 42
mistake But it still will be
cruel, if usual, to condemn
him for it forever.
(NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN.)
N
OUTSPOKEN critic of
union politics, attorney
Kenneth J. Yablonski has
charged the Labor Depart
ment with bias in favor of
incumbent union leader
ships. Yablonski is the son
of the late Joseph A.
Yablonski, union dissident
murdered, along with his
wife and daughter, after an
unsuccessful campaign for
presidency of the United
Mine Workers.
cities throughout the United
States and Canada.
The 1971 exhibition
schedule for the Georgia
Museum of Art includes the
following:
-La Belle Epoque, now
through August 15—Art
Nouveau drawings and prints
from a Belgian collection, with
an emphasis on posters.
—Master Printmakers from
the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of
Decorative Arts and Design,
October 24-November
14—Prints ranging from the
Renaissance through the
Baroque and Rococo eras.
—Rediscovered Printmakers
of the 19th Century, October
24-November 14—Prints from
the collection of the
Minneapolis Society of Fine
Arts.
(In conjunction with the
above print showings, there
will be an Albrecht Durer
anniversary exhibit.)
—John Sloan, November,
20-January 15—A major
exhibit organized by the
National Gallery in
Washington, consisting of 100
paintings, 70 etchings and
drawings.
The Department of
Industry and Trade, Tourist
Division, suggests you jot
these dates on your calendar
and plan a visit to the Georgia
Museum, on the University
campus in historic Athens.
Hollywood’s new guessing game
Carolyn writes a sexy who-is-it
By DICK KLEINER
HOLLYWOOD - (NEA) -
Some months ago, when I
had a small part in the big
TV movie, "Vanished,” a
few of the actors gave me a
joshing hard time. They kept
accusing me of taking a job
that a real actor could have
used.
"Stay in your own racket."
they said.
But for every bit part a
writer has, there are lately
more injustices the other
way—actors who are writ
ing. Latest is Carolyn Jones,
with a sexy novel called
"Twice Upon a Time.” It’s
bad enough when actors
muscle in on the writing
territory, but when they’re
beautiful, it’s downright un
fair.
She says she had two rea
sons for turning writer. The
first is boredom.
Since The Addams Family
quit—she played Morticia—
she hasn’t done much acting.
She says, frankly, she wasn’t
getting many parts offered
to her.
“And I’m not the kind of
person to sit around and
tend my roses,” she says.
“So I started to write a book
—out of boredom.”
Then there was something
else.
"I’d recently gone through
a sexual crisis.” she says.
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1 'I
31 J
■ • .<OMF i
.MM 11 " B
MODERN SOVIET ART is going some place, it would seem, if this is any exam
ple. Wood and metal sculpture capturing wanderlust spirit of young travelers the
world over starred at a Moscow exhibition, “Physical Culture and Sport in the
Fine Arts.
Apartment rents
keep going up
By JAMES M. WOODARD
Copley News Service
Apartments — why aren’t
there more of them and why do
rents continually go up? This
general question is being asked
by many present and potential
apartment tenants.
True, most areas of the
country need more apartment
units. Many communities
report vacancy factors as low
as 2 per cent, or less. That
usually means many folks
cannot find the type of apart
ment they need and desire, due
to lack of choice in current
availabilities.
New construction of
multifamily units has produced
690,000 to 700,000 units per year
over the last few years. But this
is not enough to satisfy the
demand in most areas.
Some communities ex
perienced a brisk upturn in new
unit construction last year, due
to an improved financing
picture. Many of these units are
just now being completed and
offered for rent, which tends to
increase the vacancy factor in
their area and put brakes on
rising rents.
This year, money has again
become more expensive
(higher interest rates and other
loan costs), greatly reducing
the number of new apartment
construction “starts.” This will
probably lead to less choice in
selecting apartments and still
“and there was a therapeu
tic effect in putting it down
on paper.”
"Twice Upon a Time" is
a set-in-Hollywood story, full
of people you may recognize,
or think that you do. It’s got
ten to be quite a game
around town, to read Caro
lyn’s book and try to figure
out who’s who.
She admits it is, at least
in part, autobiographical.
And she further admits that
there are some real people
walking through her pages.
“Several people have
stopped talking to me be
cause of it,” she says.
“Some are insulted because
they’re not in the book, and
some because they are. And
the funny thing is that one
person was very upset be
cause she wasn’t in my
book—but she was. She
didn’t recognize herself.”
Her family’s reaction was
curious.
“My sister was very nega
tive,” Carolyn says, “but
that was predictable —we
never got along. She’s crazy.
I’m neurotic, but she’s crazy.
“I sent a copy to my
mother and I kept calling
her every day, to see what
she thought, but she never
said a word. Finally, she
said she’d read it and it had
upset her because I’d made
the mother in the book a
woman with a lot of wrin-
higher rents in future months.
Other, more basic reasons
for the inevitable increases in
rents relate directly to the costs
of owning and operating
apartments. Property taxes,
costs of maintenance, repair
and operation have been
steadily increasing in most
areas. These increases must be
passed along, at least in part, to
the tenants if the owner is to
remain financially above
water.
In new apartment con
struction, we must also con
sider the skyrocketing price of
land, building materials, labor
and financing. The composite
picture shows a continuing
rising curve in rents across the
country.
Q. When we purchased our
home, we financed it with a
Federal Housing Ad
ministration loan with an in
terest rate of 8 per cent. Is it
possible for our lender to
reduce the rate to the current
interest charge for FHA loans?
A. Yes, so far as the FHA is
concerned it is possible.
Recently a letter was sent
from the FHA office to all its
approved mortgagees (lend
ers). It stated they could
reduce the interest rates on
FHA-insured mortgages they
hold, to the level of rates
currently charged. It also
allows the lender to work out an
agreement with the borrower
to later increase the rate if the
Griffin Daily News
kies. That was all she cared
about, those wrinkles.
"But that’s my mother—
the same lady who called
me, after my first TV part,
and scolded me because I
didn’t wave at her.”
She and her husband, ex-
Broadway conductor Herb
Greene, are holding out on
a movie sale, they say, until
the book shows up on the
best-seller list. They figure
that will boost the ante. And
she wants to write the
screenplay herself.
"I know how it should be
done,” she says, “Nothing
explicit, sexually."
Meanwhile, Carolyn and
Herb are combining on some
other writing projects, thus
depriving working writers of
their livelihood. (Take that,
you “Vanished” actors).
First is a diet book, “Mar
ried or Single, It’s Better to
Be Rich Than Overweight.”
And they’re writing an
other novel, plus a book
about Carolyn’s experiences
in writing and promoting
"Twice Upon a Time.” She’s
had some funny things hap
pen to her, such as the time
when she got into a New
York elevator and there was
a woman in it who looked at
her and said, accusingly,
"Your book is sexually pro
vocative.”
That, lady, was the whole
idea.
(NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN.)
FHA maximum rate should
again increase.
The FHA, however, will not
permit a lender to increase the
rate over the level stipulated in
the original loan. Also, no fee
can be charged to the borrower
for having his rate reduced.
Policies of lenders on these
points vary greatly. Check with
your loan officer or mortgage
banker.
Q. We live close to an airport,
and the aircraft that regularly
roars overhead shakes our
home to its very footings. What
can be done about it?
A. Aircraft noise is a problem
in many households. A study of
the situation and possible
solutions is now under way by
the Department of Housing and
Urban Development.
The first report issued by the
study group recommended a
variety of steps to minimize the
problem, including installation
of noise mufflers, developing
quieter engines and better
soundproofing of residences
and other structures.
Better and more strategic
land-use planning, with more
compatible development in
high noise areas, was also
recommended in the report.
Questions from readers are
invited. Address: J. M.
Woodard, P. O. Box 1026, Santa
Barbara, Calif. 93102.
15
Wednesday, August 11,1971
JtebJHO
L J
i
Carolyn Jones
Boredom and a sexual crisis.
Lindsay’s
year to be
tough one
ByHERBSTANTON
Copley News Service
QUESTION: ‘‘Has John
Lindsay passed his peak?”
ANSWER: The mayor of
New York City was born with
tremendous star-potential. His
horoscope is heavy with planets
in Fire and Water signs, we all
know that fire plus water
equals steam.
After years of studying birth
charts, an astrologer, begins to
think of each planet as if it had
a personality all its own. It is
not difficult to picture John
Lindsay’s planets as part of a
miniature Gotham.
The Sun represents the life
force; here we have the bust
ling, noisy heart of the city.
Lindsay’s Sun is in early Sagit
tarius. His physical appear
ance and boundless energy are
typical of this Zodiac sign.
Jupiter rules prosperity, it
becomes Wall Street in our
horoscope city. We find Jupiter
in Libra. Its message for us:
despite the people milling
about him, Lindsay is basically
a solitary man. Mentally, he
often retreats to a mountain
top.
Mars is the hectic garment
district, aggressive and pushy.
Part of the powerful lineup with
Jupiter and Saturn, Mars gives
Lindsay the stamina needed for
his high office. The man is
courageous.
What of Saturn, the discipli
narian? We can picture Saturn
as Lindsay’s police depart
ment, for Saturn in Libra shows
that Lindsay desires justice for
all minorities.
Neptune is the waterfront
district — mysterious, some
times violent, always fascinat
ing. Neptune here is in Leo, in a
Zodiac degree which denotes
an eager, questing imagina
tion.
Venus, surely, rules over the
theater district, and all the
lively arts. On the day Lindsay
was born, Venus was in
Scorpio. From this, we judge
that our man has a keen appre
ciation for the creative arts,
plus a profound love for his fel
lowman.
Mercury represents the mind
in a horoscope, and it governs
transportation. Let’s assign it
the subways and underground
cables in our Zodiac city, for
Mercury is in Scorpio, signify
ing one who delves deeply.
Lindsay wants more than a
smattering of knowledge about
his problems. He would never
tell an aide, for example, to
"give me the gist of it.”
Uranus is the unexpected,
and new York (like Lindsay) is
full of surprises. This tells us
Lindsay is willing to try unor
thodox methods in solving his
city’s woes. Placed in Pisces,
Uranus forms an anchor for a
starry triangle in this chart.
Astrologers call such an aspect
a Grand Trine, and nothing
could be finer. We find Pluto
(which has much to do with
politics) in the upper right
corner of the triangle, while
Venus and Mercury are joined
at the upper left.
All these planets work har
moniously to open doors and
ease situations for John Lind
say.