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The Augusta News-Review - October 25, 1973 -
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by Al Irby
THE RESIGNATION OF EX-VICE PRESIDENT SPIRO AGNEW
SAVED THE NATION A BATCH OF CONSTITUTIONAL
HEADACHES, AS CONGRESS PUSSY-FOOTS AT ITS
RESPONSIBILITY. ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION,
AGNEW SHOULD HAVE BEEN IMPEACHED, TRIED AND
JAILED. SINCE 7 HIS COUNTRY HAS A NATIONAL
WEAKNESS OF ELECTING A RASH OF POLITICAL
CHICANERY ARTISTS TO HIGH OFFICES, ONE OF THESE
DAYS, THE PRESIDENT OR THE VICE PRESIDENT WILL BE
INDICTED, TRIED AND CONVICTED FOR A FELONY
WHILE IN OFFICE.
Then our sluggard Congress will begin impeachment proceeding
in the House, then judgment in the Senate. But knowing the
Congress as we do, the snail-pace will take ages to do what it has
to do. While this creeping procedure is taking place, the nation
will have a convicted felon in the powerful position of the
presidency.
Suppose Mr. Agnew had not resigned, and he was indicted by
that federal grand jury; in the meantime President Nixon was
incapacitated, just like that, Agnew would be President. Would
the country then wait for his case to be tried? For a possible
conviction and sentencing? Many people think a position like that
would be rediculous, but that is exactly the position Speaker Carl
Albert set up, by his refusal to investigate the Agnew’s legal
labyrinth. Mr. Albert and associates reasoned that the case in
question was in the courts, and there is where the real danger
exists. Since it was before the courts, it could linger in the courts
for a very long time indeed, and there is how the possible
ridiculous could become the reality.
Laying all the fancy constitutional legality aside for a moment,
and putting a bit of earthy common sense in action, when a
President or Vice President are accused of crimes, the Congress
should take over, and move swiftly. That’s the quickest way to
clear the confused air, both in justice to the accused and the
American people. Grand juries have become a national joke, in
keeping testimonies secret; newspapers have their contacts in
every grand jury in the nation.
The Constitution of the United States basicly supports
common sense. All citizen should read it carefully, then maybe
we would be inclined to respect all persons’ rights. Pedantic
lawyers always try to interpret its broad sweep in obscure
sophistry. The Constitution plainly states in criminal trials, for
example in (Art. HI), “The trials of all crimes, (except in cases of
impeachment), shall be by jury.” - Not all crimes or all accused,
criminals, notice, impeachments of high offices of state are
clearly excepted.
Article 1. is also very plain. The House shall decide on a bill of
impeachment, which is not a conviction but an indictment on
probable cause.” Here the House acts like a grand jury. The
Senate serves as jury to convict or acquit. Constitutional lawyers
were arguing the point whether impeachment proceedings should
come before or after the criminal trial in Mr. Agnew’s case. Some
lawyers were hinting that there was a maneuver to let him off the
hook.
Again, the framers of the Constitution were foresighted and
precise (section 111 of Art. I states: “Judgment in case of
impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office,
and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust
or profit under the United States; but the party convicted shall
nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment
and punishment, according to law.’
Impeachment does not invalidate a criminal trial, if such is the
case. And with all the panoplies that an impeachment proceeding
brings to the surface, it would be clear to everyone, that a
criminal trial was warranted. There was an irony in the fact that
here was a Congress most eager to investigate everybody that
passed along, including the President, yet they refused the
Vice-President, when he asked it to do so. Os course there were
reasons that it prefered to keep hands-off this hot potato. One
cardinal reason for ducking Mr. Agnew could be that the
law-makers are famous for by-passing real responsibility, it dreads
the agony of facing up to hard decisions. Then he Congress is
predominately Democratic, and they would just love to leave the
Republican hatchet man hanging in some of his own hard-nose
“Law and Order” hypocritical nooses.
The Democrats supported a fallacious argument, that the
drafters of the Constitution didn’t really mean what they said.
They had worn the old cliche thin, that, “no man should be
above the law” - as if subjecting a Vice-President to public
impeachment trial before the Senate while still keeping him in
jeopardy of a criminal trial and possible jail, would somehow be
telling the public, that he was above the law, but that would have
been giving the old Baltimore bully-boy a double lesson in ethics
and legalism.
Well, Mr. Agnew has used the famed legal phrase, “Nolo
contenere”. He talked big and loud before the Republican ladies
in California, until he had almost convinced everyone he was
going to stay on, indictment or not; but the walls began to close
in upon him. The brillant Federal Attorney James R.Thompson
of Chicago was brought in on the case at the last minute to
augment the legal fire-power, summed up Mr. Agnew in these
words: “The man is a crook,and the country is better off to be rid
of him.”
It was also said around the cloak rooms of Congress that if Mr.
Agnew was convicted, and the conviction upheld, then it would
be time for Congress to act. But how fast would Congress act?
Remember the accused had told those cheering Republican ladies
in California, that he would stay-on indictment or not. The
Senate would have to hear long testimonies, and defense; and all
tiie while Mr. Agnew would still be Vice President of the greatest
and most powerful nation on earth.
If Congress continues to wait on other branches to carry out its
duty and responsibilities;one of these bright mornings, the nation
will awake, and have a “Jail-Bird” in the office of the Presidency.
B it since this column was prepared, the Agnew story has become
moot and hypothetical, because the President has gone berserk
and fired Watergate prosecutor, Archibald Cox ams his Deputy
Nixon’s mess and resigned as Attorney Genera
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Bsswumhiimmh. <
I R
■ Speaking | <
xx I
Out 1 <
By i
Roosevelt Green, Jr. S&.
The victory of Maynard Jackson in Atlanta’s mayoralty race is
a good sign in the South. While not giving in to ignorant optimism
it is necessary to see this victory as a new opportunity for whites
to overcome their belief in the inferiority of Blacks. Mayor-elect
Jackson is a very intellignet and articulate Black man who has a
golden opportunity to make Atlanta a truly democratic city.
Mayor Sam Massell’s efforts to holler “nigger” in a
sophisticated manner was soundly defeated by sensible Blacks
and whites. His appeals to the racist fears and prejudice of some'
Atlanta whites did earn him about forty percent of the total vote
count and that was disappointing and tragic.
It was disappointing but not surprising to see a former so-called
white “liberal” turn his back to Blacks. Mayor Massell’s
Chameleon politics is nothing new in the South and it did serve to
strengthen the belief of many Blacks that white politicians cannot
be trusted. This country has a long way to go before Blacks and
whites mature to the point of race or ethnicity becoming second
to ability to serve.
The most encouraging thing about the Atlanta election was not
only Vice-mayor Jackson’s victory but the viable coalition of
Blacks and whites. Perhaps Augusta can learn from the Atlanta
experience since it is now time for a Black mayor of that city.
Black Athenians can now cheer Black players on the University
of Georgia football team. Black players are now a valuable asset
to that team. Horace King, Gene Washington, and Richard
Appleby are stars onlhe Georgia team, giving Blacks something to
stand up and cheer about. It is unfortunate that Washington will
be out for the rest of the season with a broken ankle. We have
waited a long time for the day when Blacks could play vital parts
on the fairly recently desegregated team.
Athens is a very oppressive community for Blacks to endure.
There are several Uncle Toms who play an effective role in
delaying Black progress in this town. They are on all kinds of
community committees and organizations as a result of being
handpicked by whites in the so-called power structure. Local
Blacks have no faith in those misleaders who profess to speak for
the Black community.
Black ministers, with few exceptions, continue to preach a pie
in the sky gospel of accomodation while church members kick
over benches. The hang-up on heaven is no doubt reactive to an
oppressive climate which negates the existence of Blacks.
The drug abuse problem is increasing along with the crime rate
among Blacks. There is n<f much of a future for college educated
Blacks in Athens if one rules out public school teaching. Housing
and employment discrimination is widespread here in this college
town.
The sense of powerlessness and alienation is tremendous in this
town where Blacks represent a small minority of the population.
One does not have to be in Athens long before learning that this
is truly a “white” town. Minority business is limited to
occupations such as morticians, barbers, beauty shop operators,
service station operators, and a few insurance men.
Social Service programs abound here but they define the
situation as a Black problem. The focus is on individual pathology
rather than systems or community pathology. The goal here is
similar to the rest of the country in terms of helping clients to
adjust to maladjustment. No effort is made to organize and
educate clients politically and economically to deal for
themselves.
I have seen progress in Athens but it has come so slowly
because of a lack of Black and white positive leadership. There are
some whites and Blacks who are concerned about the basic social
problem but their influence is limited. Black rage is tremendous
and often erupts in public situations where Blacks and whites
congregate such as local high school football games. The mayor of
Athens somewhat recently announced a “get tough” policy in
dealing with the violence of Blacks toward whites at those games.
The most positive force for change in Athens is the university
community in a limited sense. Blacks are generally accepted on
the university campus where Black faculty and students are few
and lily white social fraternities still prevail. A Black mayor or
sheriff could proprobably be elected in Athens with the
development of a coalition of Blacks, students, and liberal white
university faculty members.
I want to close by citing the often used quote of Edmund
Burke who said, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is
for good men to do nothing.” Race relations will never improve
in this country or on the fifty plantations until concerned and
committed Blacks and whites do more than think about doing
something that is right and just.
Many whites and Blacks who are in positions where they could
bring change prefer to meditate on job security and the art of
playing it “safe”. Blacks do not do needed things because of the
fear of being regarded as Uncle Toms. Whites do not do good
things because they do not want to “rock the boat” or be seen as
“nigger lovers”.
Blacks and whites are going to have to summon up what the
late philosopher-theologian Paul Tillich called “the courage to
be”. It takes an awful lot of courage and love to “be” what we
ought to “be”.
Harambee
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THE AGNEW CASE
All the glitter and ceremony of the White House annoucement
of Gerald Ford’s appointment to the Vice Presidency cannot
cover the deep shame the Agnew case has brought to Washington,
or can it obscure the serious questions it raises about current
political morality and the system of justice in America.
Coming on top of the Watergate scandals and the continuing
battle over the secret White House tapes, the Agnew case is a
terrible blow to the country’s self-confidence and to the average
citizen’s faith in his leaders. ,
Black citizens can take no satisfaction from Mr. Agnew’s
removal from office Although he was clearly one of the most
unpopular national leaders in the view of Black communities,
there is no joy in a situation in which our national leadership,
which should be strong and just, is instead shaken by corruption
and greed.
From the time Mr. Agnew justified his refusal to visit and
campaign in Black neighborhoods by saying “once you’ve seen
one slum you’ve seem them all”, and continuing through his hard
law and order stance and his position as a symbol of negativism
on a national scale, the former Vice President has been a thorn in
the side of people who hoped for policies of reconciliation
instead of further divisiveness.
Now, according to a meticulously detailed bill of particulars
compiled by the Justice Department, it seems that this champion
of law and order was taking bribes not only as Governor of
Maryland, but while occupying the second highest office in the
land, one breath away from the Presidency itself. In exchange for
his resignation, the government decided not to press all of these
charges, allowing him to plea bargain his way out of jail by
accepting one count of tax evasion, a felony that would put lesser
mortals behind bars.
I can fully understand the government’s position that it is
better to allow Mr. Agnew to resign in humiliation rather than
put the country through the long ordeal of a trial and the
resultant verdict and sentencing, but very few Black Americans
can readily accept the two-tier system of criminal justice this
reflects.
High officials ought to be held to higher standards of behavior
than the rest of us. Those who would lead must be worthy of that
leadership. Opinion generally is that a public official on the take
ought to have the book thrown at him, rather than get off with a
light tap on the wrists. Most people feel that when government
office becomes a license to steal then the guilty ought to suffer
the full penalties of the law, especially when they’ve hidden their
own corruption behind a screen of charges of “permissiveness
and pleas to get tough with criminals.
Why, so many people are asking today, should a high official
who has been on the take get off with a lesser sentence than some
poor kid who took a joyride in someone else’s automobile? How
many thousands upon thousands of people are locked up in
prison today whose crimes are so much less than those of former
Vice President has been charged with?
How many thousands upon thousands of people are today on
parole or probation and are forced to inform correction officials
of their every movement while the former Vice President was
released on his own recognizance? And how many petty criminals
are caged up for months just until their trial comes up and what is
their reaction to a betrayer of the public’s trust getting off
without ever seeing the inside of a jailhouse?
Just as the charges against Mr. Agnew corroded faith in the
government, his light sentence has corroded faith in the system
of criminal justice. 1 myself don’t feel that anything would be
served by locking the man up, but then justice is rarely served by
locking anyone up, except perhaps for the most retrograde and
violent criminals. If anything good at all is to come out of this
shameful story, it is for the country to learn to extend the
leniency given Mr. Agnew to the faceless thousands of accused
persons whose crimes were less than his and whose fate has been
far, far worse.
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IF THE BLACK COMMUNITY CARES ABOUT THE BLACK FUTURE,
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|[GoiNG~^rl l
!PLACES 411 I
■ with Philip Waring B|
HISTORY-MAKING JACKSON ELECTION BODES WELL FOR
SOUTH
As I write this colum (7 A.M., Oct. 21) the nation is being
bombarded with news of the Constitutional Crisis brought about
by President Nixon’s cruel firing of top Federal legal officials.
Major news of the week for me and millions of Black Americans,
however, is the smashing election victory for mayor of Atlanta
won by Maynard Holbrook Jackson.
Most important, however, was how he won. Despite the crass
attempts by Mayor Sam Massell’s to divide the city along racial
lines, Mr. Jackson won 97 percent of the Black vote and almost
25 percent of whites. The Atlanta Journal editorial commended
the voters for repudiating Mayor Massell’s attempt to “bring Ku
Klux Klan politics back to city hall” and hailed the city’s
“flexibility and broadmindedness”. Gov. Jimmy Carter said that
there was no real polarization in “the city too busy to hate”.
MAYNARD LOVED BY URBAN LEAGUE MOVEMENT A
close personal friend of Vernon Jordan, Maynard was invited to
speak at the NUL’s 61st anniversary conference dinner in 1971.
Later that year 1 shared a platform with him as he spoke at the
Westchester County League’s 55th anniversary program. Upon
our introduction at a cocktail party held at one of the Rockfeller
homes, he responded most warmly upon learning of my Augusta
and Georgia background and involvement. We spent a pleasant
seven minutes talking Black politics but a great part of the time
was used by this brilliant attorney talking about “his good friend
Ed Mclntyre” of Augusta.
Some 15 different local Urban Leagues have invited Maynard
Jackson to speak at their annual dinner programs. He is highly
regarded by the entire Urban League Movement. Atlanta, which is
a model city both for the South and the nation, did well by itself
in electing him mayor. He will carry on its many human, business
and physical progressive programs.
WHAT ABOUT AUGUSTA?
Many students of race relations hail Maynard’s victory as
mayor of a large Southern city as the beginning of the “Second
Reconstruction”. This has been moving along slowly for several
years as witnessed by election of Black mayors in ome forty
Southern towns including Chapel Hill, N.C. Tallahassee and
Columbus, Ga. and Congresspersons from Atlanta and Houston.
And let’s not forget vice mayors in Miami (a woman), Richmond
and Atlanta. Let’s not go off on “cloud nine” because these
achievements are long, long over due and represent less than one
percent at that. So we will have our work cut out for us.
This brings up the question “What About Augusta?”. When
will it get a state senator? What about a better spread of only
three out of sixteen city councilmen in a city over 50 percent
Black? Scores of Southern cities have Black judges sitting in
courts of record. But what about Augusta? Is “Going Places”
pushing too hard?
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RE ELECT 1
I JL } JOHN D. CHAVOUSJ
f TO THE ■
1 BOARD of education!
S ztC COUNTY WIDE ELECTION 9
NOVEMBER 6, 1973 >
K HBI HHB Punch ■
V “The First Responsibility of Our Schools Is To w
J EDUCATE ■
W Our Children: Mentally Physically Morally” 9
Physically Morally”