Newspaper Page Text
laxksmx Tragrcss-^rgus
J. D. Jones Publisher
(1908-1955
Doyle Jones Jr. Editor and Publisher
( 1955-1975)
MRS. MARTHA G. JONES PUBLISHER
VINCENT JONES EDITOR
Published every Thursday at 129 South Mulberry Street, Jackson,
Georgia 30233 by The Progress-Argus Printing Cos., Inc. Second Class
Postage paid at Jackson, Georgia 30233.
Address notice of undeliverable copies and other correspondence
to The Jackson Progress-Argus, P.O. Box 249. Jackson, Georgia 30233.
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
ASSOCIATION Furtrt IHi
•rt* pmi sn NNA SUSTAINING
gj MEMBER-1975
One Year $6.24
School Year $5.20
Editorials
Say It Again, Abe, For
Gerald and Jimmy
Some of the most sound economic
advice this nation ever received
from the White House came from
Abraham Lincoln, who was a
lawyer not an economist, but whose
common-sense advice is still sound
after 110 years of testing, and being
ignored, by today’s wild economic
buckaroos. How long has it been
since you heard an economist
speak in these terms:
You cannot keep out of trouble
by spending more than your
income.
You cannot establish security
on borrowed money.
Let's Tax All Alike
One of the contentions of the
Butts County Taxpayers Protective
Association in its mandamus
petition filed recently in Superior
Court was that property is not
taxed in Butts County on the same
basis it is in adjoining counties.
Members of the Association
who own property with boundaries
common to another county can cite
cases where Butts County land is
being assessed at a rate five or six
times that in a contiguous county.
Allowing for the very obvious
conclusion that either taxes in the
one are too high or in the other too
low, the inequity of the assess
ments raises an even more serious
question.
How can the State Revenue
Department, which allegedly is
striving for a 40 percent fair
market valuation on all real
property, permit such gross
discrimination and approve tax
digests from adjoining counties
with such a wide variance of
assessments, especially on proper -
Camp Meeting Is Good
For What Ails You
Beginning next Thursday, the
Indian Springs Holiness Camp
Meeting will begin its 86th
convocation.
This takes it back to the horse
and buggy era, with dinner on the
grounds and the saints and sinners
alike jammed under the open
tabernacle to hear messages
liberally sprinkled with hope of
salvation and threats of damna
tion.
People were the same then as
now. Only the sinners had not
learned to live so comfortably with
their sins as they have today and
loud was the wail and great the joy
when one of them finally saw the
light.
Advance Subscription Rates, Tax Included:
TELEPHONE 775-3107
OFFICIAL ORGAN
BUTTS COUNTY AND
CITY OF JACKSON
Six Months— $3.91
Single Copy 15c
You cannot build character
and courage by taking away a
man’s initiative and independence.
You cannot help men perma
nently by doing for them what they
could and should do for themselves.
You cannot help the poor by
destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the
weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot help small men by
tearing down big men.
You cannot lift the wage earner
by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot further the
brotherhood of man by inciting
class hatreds.
ty common to both counties, with
boundary lines traversing both?
Is the State Revenue Depart
ment playing footsie with some
counties at the expense of others?
Or could it be that some of our
adjoining counties are guilty of
gross understatement of property
values?
There is simply no way that a
field in Butts County can be
assessed at $1,200 an acre and, five
feet across a hedge row, the
adjoining land in another county be
assessed at S2OO an acre and both
counties comply with the same
common law.
What’s sauce for the goose is
sauce for the gander. If Butts
Countians are going to be stuck
with, and forced to live with, tax
assessments that comply with the
State Revenue Department’s re
quirements, then let’s feed the
adjoining county the same bitter
dose of inflated assessments, or
let’s get on with the business of
bringing our property values down
to their level.
Camp Meeting annually brings
into Butts County some of the most
able evangelists in the world with
messages that are nondenomina
tional in character but full of the
Holy Spirit and God’s saving grace.
For those with cabins and
others who use hotel accommoda
tions, it offers 10 days of rest for
weary bodies and healing for
sagging spirits.
For the occasional visitor, it
offers the opportunity to hear some
of the greatest preaching this
nation can offer.
For whatever ails you, or just
from thanksgiving that nothing
does, it is a prescription with a
never failing record for a cure.
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA
The Last
Straw
BY
VINCENT JONES
One of the most poignant
editorials we have read
lately and which has been
widely quoted, deals with the
death of a teen-age driver of
17. As no one seems to know
precisely who the author
was. we will have to attribute
it to that greatest of all
writers. Anonymous, who is
more widely quoted than
Shakespeare. We hope its
message will penetrate the
minds of those who need it
most. Here it is:
"The day I died was an
ordinary schoolday. How I
wish I had taken the bus. But
I was too cool for the bus. I
remember how I wheedled
the car out of Mom. “Special
favor." I pleaded, “all the
kids drive.” When the 2:50
bell rang. I threw all my
books in the locker. I was
free until 8:40 tomorrow
morning. I ran to the parking
lot. excited at the thought of
driving a car, being my own
boss. Free!
It doesn't matter how the
accident happened. I was
goofing off-going too fast.
Taking crazy chances. But I
was enjoying my freedom
and having fun. The last
thing I remember was
passing an old lady who
seemed to be going awfully
slow . I heard the deafening
crash and felt a terrific jolt.
Glass and steel flew every
where. My whole body
seemed to be turning inside
out. I heard myself scream.
Suddenly I awakened: It
was very quiet. A police
officer was standing over
me. Then I saw a doctor. My
body was mangled, I was
saturated with blood. Pieces
of jagged glass were sticking
out all over. Strange that I
couldn’t feel anything.
Hey. don’t pull that sheet
over my head. I can’t be
dead. I’m only 17.1 got a date
tonight. I am supposed to
grow up and have a
wonderful life. I haven’t lived
yet. I can’t be dead.
Later I was placed in a
drawer. My folks had to
identify me. Why did they
have to see me like this? Why
did I have to look at Mom’s
eyes when she faced the most
terrible ordeal of her life?
Dad suddenly looked like an
old man. He told the man in
charge. “Yes, he is my son.”
The funeral was a weird
experience. I saw all my
relatives and friends walk
towards the casket. They
passed by. one by one, and
looked at me with the saddest
eyes I’ve ever seen. Some of
my buddies were crying. A
few of the girls touched my
hand and sobbed as they
walked away.
Please . . . somebody ...
wake me up. Get me out of
here. I can’t bear to see my
Mom and Dad so broken up.
My grandparents are so
racked with grief they can
barely walk. My brothers
and sisters are like zombies.
They moved like robots. In a
daze, everybody. No one can
believe this. And, I can’t
believe it either.
Please don’t bury me. I’m
not dead. I have a lot of living
to do. I want to laugh and run
again. I want to sing and
dance. Please don’t put me in
the ground. I promise if you
give me just one more
chance, God, I’ll be the most
careful driver in the whole
world. All I want is one more
chance. Please, God, I’m
only 17!”
For all of you 17 and still
alive and driving, there is a
message here put just about
as bluntly as words can spell
it out. If this doesn’t make
you a better, more careful
driver, nothing else would.
. tL U 1 MUTT t JEFF
So says the V* ... ky AL SMITH
WAR'iME VETERANS]
s5 or older /s' \
ARE ENTITLED f / VEH- '
TO PENSIONS IF \J BUT
THEY HAVE WHERE S
■ >mited incomes youß
AND ASSETS. 1 J income
... AND
A Sfi*n im |
Memory Lane
News of 10 Years Ago
The four-room frame
dwelling on North Oak Street
of Riley and Nathaniel
McClendon was destroyed by
fire Tuesday night.
The Exchange Club of
Jackson celebrated its 19th
birthday Tuesday night with
a steak supper at the cabin of
Frank Moore on Jackson
Lake.
Donald B. Montgomery
was elected Justice of the
Peace for the 612th district in
Wednesday’s special elec
tion, receiving 317 votes to
287 for Richard D. Johnson.
Butts County Sheriff J. D.
Pope and his deputies
destroyed two 1,000 gallon
stills during raids last week.
A $75 reward is being
offered for information lead
ing to the arrest of the person
or persons who killed and
butchered a 400-lb. calf
belonging to Kyle Mc-
Michael.
Miss Nellie Singley enter
tained members of her
family and friends with a
delightful barbecue chicken
dinner on Saturday.
Deaths during the week:
Grady W. Lunsford, 76.
News of 20 Years Ago
Michael Gray, 17-year-old
son of Mr. and Mrs. David F.
Gray of Jackson has been
awarded "a four-year appren
ticeship in electronics by
Lockheed Aircraft Corp. of
Marietta.
Will Brooks, former janitor
at Jackson Public Schools
during the 1920’s and 30’s,
died Saturday at his Jackson
home.
Grover Arline has begun
construction on his home in
Jackson’s new Alta Vista
subdivision.
The annual Rosser reunion
will be held Saturday at the
home of Mrs. Mattie Lou
Grant.
Thirty boys and girls
helped Gail Carter, daughter
of Mrs. J. W. Carter and the
late Mr. Carter, celebrate
her sixth birthday in a party
Thursday at her home.
Deaths during the week:
Mrs. Della Newton, 80.
News of :S0 Years Ago
Jackson Lake Inn has been
acquired by J. T. Dailey of
Butts County from its former
owners, two ladies from the
Atlanta area.
Incumbent Judge Ogden
Persons, of the Flint Judicial
Circuit, has defeated Solici
tor General Frank B.
Willingham by a majority of
400 votes, 4,387, to 3,987.
Three Butts County
soldiers and ex-schoolmates,
Pvt. Russell L. Price, Pvt.
Thomas L. James and Pfc.
Henry L. Gilbert are all
stationed at Fort Lewis in
Washington State.
Fourth District Congress
man A. Sidney Camp has
been nominated without
opposition to anew term in
Congress.
Clyde Herbert, of Com
merce, has been named
manager of the A&P store in
Jackson and will succeed
Clarence Whiten in that
capacity.
It was said that Bob
Thomas sat up all night
listening to election returns
on his car radio and had to
drive all over the county the
next day to charge its
battery.
News of 10 Years Ago
J. A. Dodson has released
the results of his political
street poll which showed
Richard B. Russell leading
Eugene Talmadge for the
THURSDAY, JULY 29, 1976
' U.S. Senate by 89 to 28 votes
and Ed Rivers handsomely
ahead of Charlie Redwine in
the Governor’s race, 54 to 24.
The Butts County tax
digest for 1936 showed a total
evaluation of $1,461,078, a
gain of $8,555 over the 1935
digest.
H. G. Drake, of Barnes
ville, has opened the Jackson
Ice Cream and Candy Shop in
the Fuqua building on the
north side of the court
square.
Mrs. J. M. Finley was
complimented with a delight
ful surprise birthday party
Friday on her eighty-fifth
birthday.
Mr. and Mrs. L. L. Colwell
entertained members of their
family and a group of friends
at a delicious barbecue on
Saturday.
News of 50 Years Ago
Woodrow Hubbard, aged
14. driver of a truck for the
Johnson Candy Company of
Griffin, was killed Saturday
morning by a northbound
train at a Jenkinsburg rail
crossing.
Hon. Walter F. George, of
Vienna, junior United States
senator from Georgia, was a
distinguished visitor in Jack
son Saturday.
Kev. G. W. Gardner, 75,
died in his Greenwood, S.C.
home. He was pastor of the
Jackson Baptist Church in
1894-95.
Miss Bessie Waldrep has
been appointed postmaster
at the Jackson office.
The Jim Maddox family
will have its annual reunion
at Barnes Spring on the South
River.
Deaths during the week: E.
1. Lindsey, 72; Mrs. Alice
Stevens. 40; Mrs. W. J.
Weaver. 67; Levi Marlin
Ball, 35.
To the Management and
Staff:
On behalf of the Butts
County Jayeees we would
like to say thank you for your
fine coverage given to us in
the past and during the
Bicentennial Week, July 4th
through the 10th.
The Jayeees had an
outstanding turnout. This
was possible only with your
cooperation and help. We are
proud to know we have a
newspaper of your stature in
Butts County. Thank you
again.
Robert C. Swearingen
Sec. &Treas.
Butts County Jayeees
on h thc <•,%,
'W
In a world that moves swifter
than sound ihe only document
published in tune with the
times, but which submits to
being mulled over, is the news
paper. It stretches and gives
permanence to immediacy.
And always it has a definite, if
sometimes subtle, bearing on
our lives. Bob Considine.
ftjfTOURRI
By Mrs. Cindy Brown
I.I'CKY PEOPLE
Everybody get ready now,
'cause I am fixing to tell you
something! If you are one of
those people who were born
with a silver spoon in your
mouth. I want you to know
something I HATE YOU,
I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU.
I hate your mama, your
daddy and your obstetrician.
(I hate your dentist, too.) I
am for the little people - the
ones like me who are
struggling to live in an
over-priced, falsely adver
tised, computerized society.
I DON’T like being Account
Number so and so -1 want to
be SOMEBODY. The Word is
out that people are things of
the past and numbers are
things of the future. Why, I
can hear it now: “Do you, 1,
2,3, take this man, 4,5, 6, to
? TT
*lippSSbMf
ON TAKING THINGS FOR GRANTED
If you will read the newspaper, you can usually come up
with some interesting, often humorous, information. One
such article, which I clipped, I think is worth sharing. It was
datelined Hartland, Vermont. It was released by UPI.
“A Massachusetts man left his wife stranded on
Interstate 91 here. She wasn’t happy about it.
“State police said the unidentified couple from
Northampton was headed south with the husband driving and
the wife asleep in the back seat.
“He pulled off the highway in Hartland to go to a rest
room. She woke up a moment later and decided to do likewise.
“Returning to the car, the man headed on down the
highway without noticing his wife was no longer in the back.
“She borrowed a dime from a sympathetic motorist
and called state police, who flagged down her unsuspecting
husband 35 miles away in Bellow Falls.
“State trooper George Strong declined an invitation
from the irate woman to ‘stick around and watch the
fireworks when he gets back’.”
You know, sometimes life works that way. We grow so
accustomed to taking things for granted-even good
things-that we lose them. That was the thought which entered
my mind as I read that article-that we get so accustomed to
things that we take them for granted.
I wonder how many things we have lost because we
have taken them for granted. I can remember that as a
youngster growing up I use to go swimming in creeks and
rivers. They were clean, and since we had very few
swimming pools, they served as a great cooling off spot.
But we took for granted our clean streams and we have
really lost them. There aren’t many streams around now
where I would be willing to take a dip. Many of them are too
dirty. We took them for granted only to wake up one day and
find that they no longer existed.
Quite often, we take too much for granted. We even get
the feeling that things we take for granted are ours
automatically and that we have to do nothing to preserve
them. Then one day, quite unexpectedly, we discover that
they are gone.
For example, we take our family and friends for
granted. We put off doing some things with them and for them
under the assumption that we can do it at a later date. But
somehow that later date never arrives and then one day it is
too late to do those things we had planned.
More often than we think this business of taking things
for granted can do us great harm. It tends to make us less
appreciative than we should be toward those things which are
important, things which matter the most. And when we fail to
fully appreciate the important things in life, it dulls our living
to the point that we are less than we should be.
I hope you haven’t gotten into the habit of taking for
granted the important things of life. Because if you have, it
has taken some of the joy out of your living which you need.
Take time to appreciate the good things in life.
And by all means, never start up without checking the
back seat!
ruth at random
By Ruth Bryant
TEACH US TO PRAY
After this summer therefore pray ye!
Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kindgom come
They will be done
In earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our debts
As we forgive our debotrs.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom,
And the power,
And the glory,
Forever,
Amen.
be your lawfully wedded hus
band?" “8542 - your car
payment’s overdue.” “My
name is 85463210, what’s
yours?”
Give me yesterday, give
me merchants who know
their customers by name;
banks that are NOT.
concrete computers; grocery
stores that don’t know the
metric system. May rust
destroy Tillie the all Wonder
ful Teller. Tillie can’t smile
and say “Good morning,
Mrs. Brown.”
Maybe I am just having an
identity crisis, but there ARE
somethings from the past
that were good - milk men,
paper boys, real live meat
butchers. Me thinks Amer
ica should slow down long
enough to remember her
most important asset: the
people.
‘Whatsoever
Things'
By Donald E. Wildmon