Newspaper Page Text
Forecast
Cool
Map Page 14
VENIN VJ
By Quimby Melton
Monday night President
Nixon told the American people,
as well as all the world, of a
drastic change in the strategy
that he hoped and believed
would windup the war in Viet
nam and bring about a lasting
and honorable peace.
He said he had ordered all
harbors of North Vietnam be
mined and rail connections
from North Vietnam to China be
destroyed. Closed down ports
and destroyed railroads would,
he maintained, stop the flow of
supplies from allies, supplies
absolutely necessary to con
tinue the war. (Following this
message it was announced that
the President did not expect
“immediate” ending of the
fighting, since it would take
some time for North Vietnam to
feel the results of a shortage of
necessary war material.)
Following the President’s
message — which is probably
the most important one he has
made — reaction was varied.
One of these reactions was
“such tactics” are too late. Had
President Johnson listened to
Georgia’s Senator Richard
Russell and used them the
fighting might have been over
even before President Nixon
took over.
There was also veiled reports
of the reaction in Russia and
China, the two nations that
supply all of the war material.
One question was asked, “Will
this new plan for winding up the
fighting cause either President
Nixon or the Russian authori
ties to cancel Nixon’s visit to
Moscow? This visit is scheduled
for May 22.
Here in America reaction
came quickly. Many sharply
criticised the President. Among
those most critical were
Senators Humphrey and
McGovern. Both cut short visits
to states where they were
campaigning on the eve of
Democratic Presidential
primaries. They both loudly and
emphatically assailed the
move. To this layman both
Humphrey and McGovern
hoped to make political hay out
of the situation. If this be true,
both these aspirants for the
Democratic nomination slipped
further down the political totem
pole in our estimation. This is
far too serious a situation to
boost the political aspirations of
any man, be he Democrat,
Republican or what not.
This is no time for a divided
America. We have for many
years held the idea that the real
danger to our nation is not from
foreign nations but from forces
inside our own country.
And this calls to mind a state
ment made by our good friend,
the late Rev. Pierce Harris, who
in a speech compared America
with ancient Rome. Harris said
the same things that ended the
Roman Empire were evident in
America today. Then he told of
a 400 year old giant tree that
had fallen in Colorado.
Harris said “Scientists, by
processes known to them, can
estimate the age of a tree. They
estimated this tree was over 400
years old. When Christopher
Columbus landed upon these
ores, it was a slim young tree.
When the War Between the
States was fought, it lifted its
branches far up towards the
heavens. During its long life
that tree had been struck by
lightning fourteen times. It had
withstood the storm of four
centuries. Then the giant fell.
Examination and study
revealed to these scientists that
none of these’had caused it to
fall — but something inside —
beetles had killed it.”
Americans who love our
country and want to see it
continue! Beware of the beetles.
The “betties” Harris referred
to were not a long haired British
singing group, but insects that
bore from inside and destroy.
Russia demands U.S. stop
blockading North Vietnam
VW
CHINA
\ n.vietnam
\ Nanning zz
••UA \ Thai tte
•&L \ Nguyen
CHINA
l . aos .M : I ill
\o' jiflWOwWWhA J
HAINAN J
Sketch shows port cities where U.S. mines were activated today. (UPI)
Facing death
See page 15
Former test pilot has
Griffin Daily News route
After 20 years as an Army and
Air Force test pilot, Harold Lee
Morris found a new and reward
ing life as a cattle rancher and
as an independent distributor of
the Griffin Daily News.
A crash in 1962 at the Atlanta
Army Depot while testing
special experimental landing
gear left Morris with an injuried
back. Then a heart attack in
1963 left him with what could
only be described as a bleak
looking future.
“I thought my active life had
ended, but I found I could live a
useful and full life delivering
papers and operating my cattle
farm on a small scale,” Morris
said.
A daily route of 420 sub
scribers attests to Morris’ suc
cess as a newspaper distributor.
His run is from Poplar street
extension to Williamson, Ga.
Although the three hour trip
each day is a large part of his
job as a newspaper distrbutor,
Morris quickly points out that
good record keeping and proper
vehicle maintanance also take
up a good bit of his time.
‘‘The kind of stop-and-go
driving a carrier does is really
hard on a car that has to go
every day. Most of the repairs
like brakes, tires, universal
joints and transmissions I do
my self,” he added.
His wife, Helen, helps by
taking on the record keeping
duties of the business. He relied
heavily on Mike Whitfield for
seven years, and now depends
on Paul Druver to help shoulder
the load.
Mr. and Mrs. Morris make
their home on Route two, high
way 155, Griffin and have three
daughters, Peggy Jo, 27;
Rhonda, 19; and Donna, 11; and
one son, Harold William Morris,
29.
Most of his spare time is
GRIFFIN
DAILY&NEWS
Daily Since 1872
fl Bvßl
H < wWI
|M
■ * «
I Hk -
■ w
r
taken up by his favorite hobby
— salt water fishing.
“Most people don’t realize
Griffin, Ga., 30223, Thursday, May 11, 1972
Morris
how much time and talent go
into putting together each days’
paper,” he said.
By United Press International
The Soviet Union demanded
today that the United States
immediately stop blockading
North Vietnam. But the mines
sewn in Haiphong and other
North Vietnamese harbors be
came active at 7 a.m. EDT and
the U.S. 7th Fleet moved in to
enforce the American ban on
war supplies for Hanoi.
The Soviet statement, first
official Russian reaction to
President Nixon’s Monday night
announcement of the blockade,
gave no hint of direct Soviet
retaliation nor did it mention
Nixon’s scheduled May 22-30
visit to the Soviet Union.
The Soviet statement, drafted
afer rounds of conferences in
the Kremlin by the Soviet
leadership, reiterated the Soviet
Union pledges of “necessary
support” for Hanoi and urged
the United States to return to
the Paris peace talks.
Moscow warned that the
blockade “is a dangerous and
dippery road” and said “it can
lead only to another aggrava
tion of international tensions
and lawlessness in international
relations.” It branded the
blockade a “gross violation” of
navigational freedom of the
seas.
In Saigon, the U.S. command
reported that several freighters
including at least one Soviet
vessel steamed out of Haiphong
harbor Wednesday about 36
hours before the mines automa
tically activated themselves.
The mines were laid Monday
and the 36 ships in port were
given until dusk today, Hanoi
time, to leave.
Navy sources said there was
no word on whether the mining
had actually become lethal, but
technical information distribut
ed in Saigon indicated once
they were set and dropped
there was no way to change
their instructions except by
fishing them out of the water.
There were no reports of mine
sweeping activities.
U.S. sources in Saigon said
President Nixon ordered a
sharp cutback in American air
raids over the north today and
only 200 planes crossed into the
area in daylight hours as
contrasted with the 300 or more
that struck the Hanoi-Haiphong
area Wednesday.
Those raids produced the
biggest aerial battles of the war
between supersonic U.S. F 4
Phantoms and supersonic
MIG2Is. The U.S. command
reported 10 MIGs shot down
and three American planes lost
with four pilots missing and
two rescued. Hanoi claimed 16
U.S. planes shot down and
“many” pilots captured.
The battle produced the first
aces of the Vietnamese War-
Pilot Lt. Randy Cunningham of
Weather
ESTIMATED HIGH TODAY
73, low today 51, high yesterday
73, low yesterday 50, high
tomorrow in mid 70s, low
tomorrow in mid 50s. Sunrise
tomorrow 6:46, sunset
tomorrow 8:22.
vii
([
■Hf
“You can kind of figure that a
fellow’s belief will be those
which will help him keep his
position.”
Vol. 100 No. 11l
Mira Mesa, near San Diego,
Calif., and his radar officer, Lt.
JG William Discoll, of Fra
mingham, Mass. They were the
first to shoot down three MIGs
in the same day, but their own
plane was lost and they
parachuted into the China Sea
and were rescued.
Saigon reports said as many
as 60 ships of the U.S. 7th Fleet
were off North Vietnam to
carry out Secretary of Defense
Melvin promise that no
supplies would reach the North
Vietnamese military. Both de
stroyers and cruisers bombard
ed targets in the Haiphong
area.
The American actions
touched off angry reactions in
Moscow, in Peking where the
Chinese called the blockade a
“flagrant provocation” and in
Hanoi where the North Vietna
mese called the mining a
“crazy act of war escalation”
and called on their Communist
allies to stop it.
The blockade and the bomb
ings touched off angry protest
demonstrations throughout the
United States.
Temporary
light
ordered
Bert Lance, Department of
Transportation director, today
ordered a temporary traffic
signal installed as soon as
possible at the Griffin By-Pass
and Highway 19 intersection.
A permanent traffic control
light is to be installed there.
Mr. Lance ordered the
temporary light after two more
people were killed in a collision
at the intersection last Friday
afternoon.
Lance recommends
4-lane right-of-way
Bert Lance, Department of
Transportation Director, said
today he would recommend that
right-of-way be secured for four
lanes for the connector between
Griffin and 1-75.
A two lane route is planned
for the project at present. Mr.
Lance’s recommendation
suggested the possibility that it
might become a four-lane
project.
He met with a Griffin-Spald
ing delegation in Atlanta today.
Carter believes
North Viet to win
ATLANTA (UPI)-Gov. Jim
my Carter said today he be
lieves North Vietnam is headed
for an “inevitable” victory in
Southeast Asia.
Carter, a former Navy of
ficer, at a Capitol news confer
ence said the effect of mining
North Vietnamese ports will be
“long delayed and its effect
has been overestimated.
“I have to be frank and say
my overriding decision is the
President is obviously telling us
we are in great danger. This is
a moment of great danger. The
possibility of defeat in Vietnam
has become apparent to the
American people for the first
time.”
While saying he backed the
I I
Hi
Jr
KrjLz -si
■if I
Ik . J/* Jg
'r* < bbSf
WASHINGTON—Ross Mosier, 4, of San Jose, Calif., found a
new friend when he visited the White House—First Lady Pat
Nixon. Ross is the 1972 Poster Child for National Cystic
Fibrosis Foundation and Mrs. Nixon is honorary national
chairman. (UPI)
Rep. Quimby Melton, Jr.,
made the presentation on behalf
of the delegation. Attending also
were Sen. Robert Smalley, City
Commissioners Louis Gold
stein, Scott Searcy and Ray
mond Head; County Com
missioners David Elder and
Jack Moss; Chamber of
Commerce President Jerry
Savage and Executive Vice
President Dee Simonton.
Mr. said the connector
President’s stand, Carter added,
“I think we are headed for a
major defeat in South Viet
nam.”
He said the blame for the
war falls on the incumbent
President. “Ultimately an ad
verse occurence or a continua
tion of the war will fall on the
4ioulders of President Nixon,”
he said.
He said the decision to mine
North Vietnamese ports opens
“a major possibility of a con
frontation with Russia or China
or some of our own allies.”
Carter also announced the
purchase of a recreation area
Douglas County, a new appoint
ment to the State Personnel
Board and an economic study
Inside Tip
Bears
See Page 20
route target date is 1975 for
letting the contract.
He said present plans call for
the route to be four-laned in the
Griffin urban area then become
two lanes to the 1-75 and Route
16 intersection.
Mr. Lance told the Griffin
delegation that present highway
construction costs run about a
million dollars a mile for four
lanes and about half of that for
two lanes.
of U. S. Highway 301.
Carter said the state intends
to purchase 867 acres of land
around Sweetwater Creek in
Douglas County for a state
park.
He said “Sweetwater Creek
is beautiful and undisturbed to
a remarkable degree. It will be
a valuable recreational asset to
the people of Georgia.”
He named Mrs. Barbara Bent
to replace Dr. Hugh Goodwin
whose term on the State Per
sonnel Board has expired. Mrs.
Bent, 32, is a graduate of
Emory University Law School
and is a practicing attorney in
DeKalb County.