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3arkson Tragrcss-^rgus
J. D. JONES PUBLISHER
(1908-1955)
DOYLE JONES JR Editor and
Publisher
Published every Thursday at 129 South Mulberry Street,
Jackson, Georgia 30233. Second Class Postage paid at Jack
son, Georgia 30233.
Address notice of undeliverable copies and other corre
spondence to The Jackson Progress-Argus, P. O. Box 249,
Jackson, Georgia 30238.
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER TELEPHONE 775-3107
MtOCUTIDW Hn**t iitt OFFICIAL ORGAN
frssMMEJ NNA SUSTAINING BUTTS COUNTY AND
MEMBER —1971 CITV OF JACKSO n
Subscription Rates in Advance, Tax Included:
One Year $5.00
School Year $4.00
Six Months $2.75
Single Copy 10c
IT’S THIS WAY
BY DOYLE JONES JR.
Jest of the Week: A man who lost his last penny in Las Vegas
was really desperate. He even lacked a dime to get into a pay toilet.
He approached a likely looking prospect, stated his plight and got a
•lime.
It so happened that the stall for which he headed was not locked;
someone had neglected to close the door firmly. He slipped his dime
into a slot machine and hit the jackpot. He took the proceeds and
tackled the roulette table. He simply couldn’t lose, and by dawn’s
early light he had won himself a million dollars.
ltich and famous he went on a lecture tour, telling his remark
able story. At the conclusion of each appearance he expressed
gratitude to his benefactor and declared if he ever found the man
his would split his million with him.
He got no response to the offer until his final appearance in
St. Paul. There a man in the audience jumped up and cried: “I’m the
one in Las Vegas who gave you the dime!’’
“Not you,” the other said, “I’m looking for the guy who left
the door open.”—Troy Gordon in The Tulsa World.
• • •
THIS AND THAT ABOUT THESE AND THOSE
In this, the first full week of the New Year I would like to
begin this column by extending heartiest best wishes for a Happy
New Year to every subscriber and to every reader. Peace, the elusive
goal of mankind is sought for with great fervor by peoples of the
world, but it appears increasingly difficult to attain with wars and
strife in many lands of the globe. We all begin anew chapter in our
lives and we will be the ones to write upon its pages. May we in the
new year achieve those things we hold closest to our hearts as we
resolve to hold our fellowman in higher esteem in the 358 days
ahead in 1971. Again, Happy New Year! . . . We trust that Butts
County, as it is drawn inexorably into the orbit of Metropolitan At
lanta, will not become the dumping ground fo r victims of the At
lanta criminal element. Last September the body of a young Atlanta
Negro woman was discovered badly decomposed in an isolated wooded
area off the Buster Brown Road in the northwestern portion of the
county. Last week the body of a young Virginia man was discovered
on. Woodward Road in the western area of the county. He had been
shot, stabbed, beaten and tortured. A companion, who was like
wise assaulted, regained consciousness and summoned help. Last
week he lay in a Griffin hospital fighting for his life. Three men
have been apprehended and charged with the crimes. We trust that
the dumping of victims in the county will abruptly cease. Enough
is enough and three in less than four months is too many . . .Joe
Taylor Pittman says he has a cat that trees squirrels, goes up the
tree after them, and makes them jump into another tree at the
peril of being caught if they refuse to take the leap. Joe reports his
smart cat also knows how to make the squirrel turn on the tree to
present a target for a hunter much as a good squirrel dog will do.
There's a lot of squirrels about the Pittman yard so his cat gets a
lot of practice in making life miserable for his furry friends . . .
And how about this for a cat story with a happy ending? It seems
that Sonny and Carolyn Robison and children, Rose and Jim Howell
and children and Mr. and Mis. Dan Fretwell had gathered for a
Christmas dinner at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Fretwell
in Atlanta. Now Richard and his wife are cat fanciers of the first
water and they have two Siamese cats of whom they are inordinately
proud. One, "Martini” by name, is nervous and shy and does not
take to strangers The other cat whose name escapes me is more
gregarious and allows a little petting. During the family reunion,
Martini stayed under the beds and in remote places most of the day.
Carolyn Robison, who recounted the details of this amazing true
story, said you can imagine their surprise the next day when they
received a call from Richard asking if they had seen Martini or
by chance had Tom, Janet or Charlie perhaps become so enamored
of the shy cat that they had brought it home. Carolyn, of course,
replied that they had not seen her and that the children certainly
had not catnapped the Fretwell pet. Another day passes and ap
prehension and anxiety mount in the Richard Fretwell home over
the plight of the missing Siamese. Enter the hero of the affair, the
Robison dog who for more than a day had been barking at something
in a bramble thicket in the rea r of David and Lynn Black's home on
Ball Street. His back yard borders a lake and the foliage is abund-
Guest Editorial
THE MACON TELEGRAPH
MANY STATES STYMIED
ON NEW CONSTITUTIONS
In approving anew state constitution the other
day, voters in Illinois defied what has seemed to be
becoming virtually a national political tradition.
The political scientist fraternity in this country
is overwhelmingly of the opinion that with the ma
chinery of American government in general needing
updating the level most desperately in need of atten
tion is the state. Yet, when proposed new constitu
tions have been placed before state electorates in re
cent years most have been rejected by the voters.
Most state constitutions are
products of the 19th century and
are cumbersome with no longer
desirable detail. Most of these
charters served at the time they
were drawn, but are sadly out of
date today.
To their credit, many states are
aware of the problem and have
sought to do something about it.
In many, including Georgia, com
missions have labored long to
bring forth new documents.
But too often their efforts have
failed in the legislatures or, more
often, been bombed at the polls.
In recent years, voters in seven
states—Arkansas, Idaho, Mary
land, New Mexico, New York,
Oregon and Rhode Island —have
rejected new constitutions. Ac
ceptances—such as in Michigan,
Florida, Virginia and now Illi
nois—have been the exception.
Most constitution revisions are
similar in several basic points.
They stress greater home rule for
the beleaguered cities, smaller
legislatures to de-emphasize local
at the expense of state interest,
and above all, shorter constitu
tions. Louisiana’s constitution,
which is 30 times longer than the
U. S. Constitution, may be an ex
treme but is by no means an ex
ception.
While these points may sell
the political experts, they are
usually lost on voters. Then, too,
the fear of change, possibly lead
ing to more government spending,
accounts fop some of the basis of
voter negativism.
In such a situation, the Illinois
vote comes as a much needed
morale booster for advocates of
revisions of state constitutions. It
is not likely to start a reform fire
that will sweep the country. But
it does tell the reformers that
even on an issue that turns off
the public as thoroughly as this,
they can’t lose them all.
PERSONAL
Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Marchman
and S/Sgt. James C. Moss, Jr.
and family were dinner guests
Christmas Day of Mr. and Mrs.
R. G. Armstrong in San Antonio,
Texas. Mrs. Armstrong is the sis
ter of Mrs. Moss.
Ed Martin, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Harold Martin of 366 Covington
Street, is home for the holidays.
Ed has been living in Grass Val
ley, California and working for
the U. S. Forestry Service.
antly thick. Finally, the Robison children and David investigate
the barking and lo and behold the object of the dog’s wrath is the
missing Martini, wet, cold, frightened, bedraggled and sporting an
injured leg. The assumption is that the frightened feline escaped from
the Fretwell home as goodbyes were being exchanged at the door and
had somehow secreted herself beneath the car of the Robisons on
their trip home. Upon arriving here she had sought refuge in the briar
patch which afforded her scant cover against the cold rains and below
freezing weather. The missing pet was retrieved, administered to, fed,
watered and closeted in the Robison utility room until such time as
she could be reunited with her happy owners. Truth is indeed stranger
than fiction and this saga of a cat who trifled mightily with some of
her nine lives fortunately had a happy ending . . . Congrats to
Tom O'Dell, chairman of the International Relations Committee of
tlie Jackson Kiwanis Club, for the splendid program he arranged
last week when Bob McFarland of the Downtown Atlanta Kiwanis
Club presented a program on Spain. In a town of Jackson’s size,
it is difficult indeed to arrange a good program of international
scope, but Tom came up with a home run . . . Hats off also to
Ray Reece and Southern Bell for the cut-in of the new system here.
It was d<j|||||B!n December 27th in the wee hours of the morning and
though there were some bugs, as expected, the hard working crews
had most of them conquered in a day or so. Jackson is proud of its
new million dollar plus Southern Bell building on College Street. Ac
cording to Mr. Reece, a public open house will be held soon, probably
in late January. The new electronic equipment is ultra modern and
perhaps beyond the layman's comprehension but most of us will
want to look anyway. Congratulations, Ray!
THL JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA
Letters To
The Editor
Am enclosing a check for my
subscription to the Jackson Pro
gress-Argus.
I still enjoy my home town
paper although I’ve been away
since 1931 —forty years this next
May.
I still read about a few dear
friends and the students, (their
children and grandchildren) that
I taught the fourteen years I
was a teacher in the county.
I enjoy the Editorial page and
appreciate the space given for
church announcements.
May 1971 be a good one for
you and all who read your paper.
GEORGILU MEHAFFEY
(Mrs. C. R. Mehaffey
1616 May view Rd.
Jacksonville, Fla. 32210)
PERSONAL
Bob Prater of Warm Springs
returned to his home Sunday fol
lowing a visit of several days with
Miss Gloria Williamson and Mrs.
Jessie Mackey. Rev. Prater was
guest speaker during the worship
hour at the Jackson Church of the
Nazarene Sunday morning.
Christmas Day guests of Mr.
and Mrs. A. V. Maddox were Dr.
and Mrs. Wayne Maddox and
sons, Joel and Lamar of Macon,
Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Weaver,
George Weaver and Miss Mary
Parham.
Mrs. Ruby Singley and Miss
Doris Singley had as their guests
ove r the weekend Mr. and Mrs.
A. F. Singley, Mr. and Mrs. Ed
win Manley of Macon, Mr. and
Mrs. Danny Hall and Heather of
Athens and Mrs. Bernard Thax
ton of Atlanta.
New Year’s Day guests of Dr.
and Mrs. Wayne Maddox and
sons, Joel and Lamar, of Macon
were Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Weaver,
George Weaver and Mr. and Mrs.
A. V. Maddox.
Mr. and Mrs. Larry Letson,
formerly of Jacksonville, Alaba
ma, moved the first of last week
to Route 2, Jackson, their many
friends will be interested to
know.
Miss Kiki Carmichael and Allen
Byars attended the Peach Bowl
game in Atlanta the evening of
December 30th.
‘Whatsoever Things’
BY DONALD E. WILDMON
PAY THE PRICE OR FORGET THE CAUSE
Gerald LePage is a pacifist. He is a pacifist
I admire. For he is one of thousands who claim
that title who is fit to wear it.
LePage, a 26-year-old Specialist 5 from
Waterbury, Connecticut, was arrested by military
police shortly after attending a midnight Christmas
service. The MP’s didn’t have to do that because
he was on his way to turn himself in, he said. Le-
%Wjjk.
Page had served 10 months as a clerk in Vietnam. He told newsmen
he would be a hypocrite if he continued to serve the military. He
would have been eligible for an honorable discharge in a couple of
months.
A Deserter
He had earlier said he would
remain AWOL at least 30 days—
long enough to be classified as a
deserter —and then would turn
himself in. At the Christmas ser
vice LePage read a statement
saying, “this sanctuary is just the
beginning the commitment of
love and freedom and life will en
dure.” Four blocks from the
church after the service, MP ve
hicles stopped a ca r LePage was
riding in and he was arrested.
LePage said he could have used
underground connections to get
to Canada, as literally thousands
of others. But LePage didn’t
want to go. “Canada is a cop
out,” he said. And he is right,
that’s exactly what it is.
Here is the reason this man
gained my admiration: “It’s my
right to speak out and then take
the punishment for it,” he said.
That is a sign of bigness in a man
—to go against that which he be
lieves is wrong and then to be
willing to pay the penalty. Le-
Page asked no favors. He knew
the punishment. But he believed
something, believed it enough to
pay the price of punishment. That
man I admire.
If you will recall, there was
another Man some two thousand
years ago who felt the same way.
There was wrong in society, He
said, and He set out to correct
it. He walked the hillsides of that
little provience of Galilee teach
ing men anew way of living, a
new way of worshipping, anew
way of serving. He went from
Jerusalem to Jericho to Sidon
teaching those who wpuld listen
about anew way of life.
Prepared To Pay
And when it came time for Him
to face the authorities concerning
this new way of life He preached,
He did so fully prepared to pay
the penalty. And so the powers
that were took His life on a Ju
dean hillside, hanging Him on a
tree between two thieves.
I admire a man who stands up
for that which he believes to be
right, and then is willing to take
the punishment for his belief. I
have nothing but disgust for that
person who knowingly breaks the
law and then tries to escape the
punishment. While they both do
the same thing, there is a world
of difference in their methods
and reasons and in themselves.
With one I will stand, with the
other I have nothing in common.
If there is an unjust law, first
make up your mind that you will
pay the penalty for breaking it.
And if you aren’t willing to pay
the penalty, forget it. You do the
cause more harm than good.
It is a pretty little person who
wants the benefits without the
Cross.—FlVE STAR
Boys in Service
Robert H. (Bobby) Greer re
cently received his Sergeant pro
motion in the Air Force and is
now stationed for a tour of duty
of 12 months in Tan San Nbut
AFB, Saigon, Viet Nam. Word
received from him by his parents,
Mr. and Mrs. Howard J. Greer,
is that he is fine and wishes each
one a Merry Christmas. His wife,
Betty Jo, is now residing with
her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ward
Wilkie, in Atlanta.
I as*
I RENT-A-CAR
DANIEL FORD SALES
Jackson, Ga.
Phone 775-7872
PERSONAL
Saturday night guests of Mr.
and Mrs. B. O. Williamson were
Miss Gloria Williamson and Bob
Prater of Warm Springs.
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*•*.*.*.*■*. o4.
For Your Insurance Needs
Call 775-3129
• FIRE * AUTOMOBILE
* LIABILITY
Carmichael Insurance Agency
JACKSON, GEORGIA
Photographed at Emory University. Atlanta
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Make the
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Switch to a
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Ducks escape the heat with a splash and a dive. Escape
the cold beneath soft down. And they love the rain
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Escaping the weather is enjoyable for people, too
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you like best and set the thermostat. Automatically, the
neat pump maintains that temperature, winter or summer,
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clean roost year ’round.
And maintenance is carefree. For just a small monthly
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Your comfort’s not built-in. So build it in. With a
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A citizen wherever we serve ®
THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 1971
PERSONAL
Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Marchman
of Jackson spent the Christmas
holidays with their son and
family, S/Sgt. and Mrs. James C.
Moss, in San Antonio, Texas.
S/Sgt. and Mrs. Moss have just
returned from Elieson Air Force
Base, Fairbanks, Alaska where
S/Sgt. Moss has completed 20
years of service with the U. S.
Ai r Force. S/Sgt. and Mrs. Moss
will make their home in San An
tonio, Texas. While visiting
S/Sgt. Moss, Mr. and Mrs.
Marchman took a tour of Laredo
and Mexico on Monday, December
29 th.
Mrs. Howard J. Jolly was the
guest of Mrs. Leland Bagwell of
Canton on a trip to Orlando, Fla.
and Cape Kennedy, Fla. last
week.
Miss Wanda Arthur of Bogart
spent the New Yea r holidays as
the guest of Vick Smith and his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. A.
Smith, at Flovilla.
