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Haxfesßu Trogtxss-^rgus
J. D. Jones Publisher
(1908-1955
Doyle Jones Jr. Editor and Publisher
(1955-1975)
MRS MARTHA G. JONES PUBLISHER
VINCENT JONES EDITOR
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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.
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Editorials
What a Bicentennial
Present for All Georgians
As most Georgians sat in awe
before their television sets last
Tuesday night and watched the
election returns being posted for
the 50states, they slowly but surely
became acutely aware they were
witnessing the single most historic
event in the 243-year history of the
state.
Jimmy Carter, from Plains,
Georgia, was being elected
president of the United States, the
first Georgian to ever even
seriously aspire to the office, if the
foreordained failure by the late
Senator Richard B. Russell is
discounted.
A president from Georgia.
Why, there were people from
Harmony, Minnesota and Summit,
South Dakota who didn’t even know
where Georgia was located,
whether east or west of the
Mississippi or south or north of the
Mason-Dixon line.
Georgians were people who ate
corn pone and chitterlings, picked
cotton and tobacco, kept their
wives barefoot and preganant and
spoke with a sirupy accent as thick
and slow as blackstrap molasses.
Within 22 months, a Georgia
peanut farmer, former governor
and nuclear submarine officer,
changed enough of the widespread
misconceptions about the South
and its people to receive a majority
of the popular vote in his bid for the
presidency.
Jimmy Carter thus becomes
not only the first president the
State of Georgia has ever
produced, but he also becomes the
man most responsible for getting
Georgia readmitted to full mem
bership in the political mainstream
of the country. He changed almost
single handedly the State’s position
on the national political scene from
that of observer to one of
full-fledged participation.
And in this magnificent,
unparalleled achievement, he gave
the State of Georgia a Bicentennial
birthday present that will forever
be enshrined in the history and
hearts of the American people.
It was not an easy win for the
south Georgia farmer. Final
returns showed a victory margin in
A Need for Clarification
There surely must be a better
way to elect a .chairman of the
Butts County Commission than the
present law which has been
interpreted as awarding the office
to that candidate receiving the
largest number of votes in the
election.
The candidates have fought
hard political battles to win their
respective posts on the Commis
sion. To ask them to fight another
battle in November to determine
which member shall be the
chairman seems superfluous and
unnecessary.
There was no indication on the
ballot Tuesday to indicate that such
a contest was being entered into. If
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popular votes of between two and
three percent. In his own state,
one-third of his fellow Georgians
voted for President Ford.
There were lingering doubts
about his administrative ability,
his fiscal responsibility, his
political sagacity, and one heard
them voiced even after his
opponent’s concession had been
made.
It seems rather odd that
Georgians trust their political
heritage to men from such faraway
places as Massachusetts, Minne
sota, Illinois, New York or Texas
without question and then stand
open-mouthed at the idea of a
Georgian attaining the nation’s
highest office.
Of course, there are honest
doubts about the stature of the man
from Plains. But many raised
similar questions about the
qualifications of the man from
Hyde Park, or the one from the
Kennedy compound, or the
California-New York lawyer, and
others when they ascended to the
throne of American political
power.
But aside from his obvious
strengths, and weaknesses, in the
political arena, Jimmy Carter
possesses some personal charac
teristics that the American people
were sorely missing and looking for
in a candidate.
He is a man of great
intellectual capacity; he identifies
himself unashamedly as a Chris
tian in a nation where disbelief has
become increasingly popular; he
stands tall as a good, decent, moral
man and the nation was looking for
such a leader, after some of its
bitter disappointments with the
character, or lack of it, of its
former presidents.
Clearly, the people will be
looking to the Administration and
the Congress for results without
excesses that sometimes accom
pany political control.
In the meantime, Georgians
everywhere should rejoice in the
election of a native son and pledge
him their efforts to assure a
successful administration.
the chairman was to be determined
in such a manner, the ballot should
have been worded to request voters
to state their preference for the
Commission chairman.
Surely, a legislative act could
straighten out this confusion and
prevent candidates nominated in
August from having to run again in
November. Why not let the most
popular vote getter in the primary
be declared the chairman, or let
the three nominees select their own
chairman, or let one post be
designated the chairman’s post?
The present system would seem to
place a burden on nominees who
should be spared the traumas of
another political campaign.
The Last
Straw
BY
VINCENT JONES
With the Thanksgiving and
Christmas seasons rapidly
approaching, twin holidays
that always send traffic
deaths soaring, perhaps it is
appropriate to reproduce
again a straight-from-the
shoulder editorial written by
an adult incensed at the
senseless highway death toll.
Here is what he wrote, harsh
words but with a ring of truth
to them:
“The facts are in, boys,
and you just don’t make the
grade.
Asa group between 16 and
25, you think you’re the
world’s best drivers.
But the low-down is
this-you’re the country’s
worst.
The facts are in and your
insurance rate has gone up
by anywhere from 20 to 50
per cent.
Think it over, lads...and
dads.
The insurance people are
no dopes. They don’t care
whether you are handsome
and have the females in a
dither, they don’t care
whether you have a piece of
junk lovingly tuned to a
raceway song.
All they care about is poor
performance on the road.
Frankly, sons, your per
formance as a group is a
menace to society.
Who says so? Not us. .
The insurance companies
say so and they know; they
don’t know your name and
address. They don’t know if
you own a Ferrari or a Ford.
All they know about is facts.
The facts are you have the
worst road record of any age
group in the country. And
getting worse!
You are still boys, bdys.
You are not men unless you
can handle cars, among
other things, and you aren’t
handling them properly,
though you have plenty of
know-how to do so.
It isn’t only you who gets
killed or hurt...it’s the girl
with you, it’s the guy down
the street, or the lady in the
next county who trusted you
to act like a man.
You wouldn’t let a guy hit
you over the head with a
hammer; why let him drive
you into a post? You wouldn’t
let him steal 50 bucks out of
your pocket, Yet he’s already
done that this year, boosting
your own cost of driving a
car.
And you, the worst of
fenders...you spoiled brats
thinking you can handle 200
horsepower when you can’t
hapdle one boypower, what
are you going to do about it?
Brother, get the lowdown...
the girls in your age group
have it all over you. Not only
in looks, but in intelligence,
in self-control, in fair play,
and in their ability to handle
that horsepower you can’t
handle.
That’s not our opinion; it’s
the considered opinion of the
insurance companies.
The rates for girls in your
own age groups have gone
down, not up. They are
getting to be better drivers,
not worse. How does that
make you feel?
You haven’t yet learned
that champs are not chumps.
And if you don’t believe the
insurance companies about
what lousy drivers you are,
ask a champ someday...if
you can face it.
Don’t fool yourself about
the cheap adulation of the
kids around you who don’t
know any better. And don’t
think your girl is impressed
by your hot-rod antics the
next time you take her out.
She, and most of your
buddies, have you tabbed for
just what you are, a chump.
They’re just too polite or too
scared or disgusted to tell
you.
Nobody else will tell you, so
we’re telling you. We’ll take
it back when the insurance
rates come down.”
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1976
| A Stroll Down
Memory Lane |
News of 10 Years Ago
Miss Yvonne Scott, of Crisp
County, has been named the
new Home Economist for
Butts County and will suceed
Miss Elizabeth Wilson, who
retired December Ist after 15
years with the Agricultural
Extension Service.
Rev. Jerry L. Tabler,
pastor of the Jackson and
Fellowship Presbyterian
Churches, has been admitted
by the faculty of the
Columbia Theological Semi
nary as a candidate for the
Masters Degree in Theology.
J. M. Kitchens and C. S.
Sims, of Griffin, reported a
successful fishing trip to
Suwanee, Florida. The pair
boated 175 pounds of Reds
and one lone speckled trout,
with their largest fish
weighing in at less than eight
pounds.
The family of Mrs. Callie
Lunsford was hostess for a
dinner at the Stark Commun
ity House Sunday afternoon
in honor of M-Sgt. Morris A.
Young who will be leaving
soon for Viet Nam.
Deaths during the week:
Mrs. Lunie Minton Bedsole,
78.
News of 20 Years Ago
Incomplete results from
Tuesday’s presidential race
showed Butts County giving
Democratic candidate Adlai
Stevenson a 5-to-l majority
over his Republican op
ponent, Ike Eisenhower.
Across the nation, it was
evident that Eisenhower had
been swept into office on a
tidal wave of Republican
votes.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert
Taylor entertained Sunday at
a spend-the-day affair for
their son, Bobby Taylor, who
left Monday for the U.S.
Army.
The Mimosa Garden Club
has announced that it will
again sponsor the Christmas
door lighting contest in
Jackson.
Miss Tommie Jo May and
Mr. Warren Randolph
Hodges were united in
marriage at a double ring
ceremony at the Jackson
Baptist Church, with the
Rev. G. A. Briggs officiating.
Deaths during the week:
Melanie Kim Atkinson, in
fant; Mrs. Eula Hodges
Thomas, 86.
News of 30 Years Ago
The Butts County Commis
sioners have voted to support
a state-sponsored program to
stamp out the dangers of
rabid fox in the County.
Purchase by Allen’s Hom-
Ond Grocery of the business
of A. A. Fuqua and Company
has been announced, posses
sion to be taken about
December Ist.
Ginnings of cotton in Butts
County through October 18th
were down to 1,883 bales
from 2,432 bales at the same
time in 1945.
At the Jenkinsburg Garden
Club flower show, Mrs. M. B.
Farrar won first prize, Mrs.
C. H. Farrar, second, and
Mrs. W. J. Saunders, third.
Miss Miriam Evans, a
student at Mercer Univer
sity, has won an important
role in the play, The Man
Who Came to Dinner.
Mrs. Annie F. Meadors has
sold to Dr. Mary J. Edwards
the Emmett Wallace place on
the Jackson-Griffin highway.
Consideration was listed at
$6,000 for the 220 acres.
Deaths during the week:
Berry O’Neal, 78; Peggy
Laverne Pace, infant.
News of 40 Years Ago
H. G. Wiley, County Agent
in Butts County for eight
years, and more recently in
Monroe County the past six
years, will become the
County Agent in Crisp County
on Nov. 15th.
Mrs. Freeman Land has
accepted the chairmanship
of the Red Cross roll call
campaign in Butts County.
Mrs. J. W. O’Neal of the
music department and Mrs.
Marlin Spencer of the
expression department will
present their pupils in a
recital Friday night.
The Mimosa Garden Club
will sponsor a Tom Thumb
wedding and Beauty Pageant
on Tuesday evening. Miss
Annie Watkins and Mrs.
David Leach are directing
the shows.
James D. Watkins, of
Jackson, has been appointed
an aide on the staff of
General Lawrence, com
mander of the Army of the
Philippines.
Deaths during the week:
Alex Saunders, 75.
News of 50 Years Ago
Officers to serve the Butts
County Education Associa
tion were named recently
and include Mrs. J. M.
Currie, president; Mrs. E. R.
Edwards, vice president;
Miss Georgialu Gibson, se
cretary and treasurer. The
officers, along with Miss Mae
Childs and Prof. R. I. Knox,
compose the executive com
mittee.
The Indian Springs Im
provement Association has
been formed with Mrs. Willis
B. Powell, president; Miss
Carrie Collier, vice-presi
dent; Mrs. Bessie Bryans,
secretary and Mrs. W. B.
King, Treasurer.
The Woman’s Club will
meet Friday with these
hostesses, Mrs. I. M. Craw
ford, Mrs. Otis Ball, Mrs.
Emma Mallet, Mrs. George
Mallet, Miss Pauline Mallet,
Mrs. Albert Finley, Miss
Hattie Buttrill and Mrs. Add
Nutt.
Deaths during the week:
Mark Twain Phinazee, 16;
William Harvey Foster,
infant.
(TKil LETTERS TO |
THE EDITOR I
To Whom It May Concern:
The people of Jackson and
anywhere that the Jackson
Progress-Argus goes:
Americans, we need to get
ourselves together. I’ve had
this on my mind ever since
election and things that press
on my mind I have to speak
out so bear with me. You
know during the campaign
people were saying - don’t
vote for Mr. So and So, he
used to drink; he did this;
he did that before he entered
this, what I would like to
know is who hasn’t done
certain things.
Okay they say, Mr. So and
So has been to a Mental
Institution; don’t elect him.
Mr. So and So been married
10 years or possibly 30 and he
has an outside lady. Okay, if
something is wrong with all
of them, who in the heck am I
supposed to vote for. People
judge not, we’ve all got a day
that it’s not going to take but
one to judge all of us.
Everybody needs to clean
theirfront and back yard
before they come to someone
else’s cleaning theirs be
cause - stop and think - if
yours is not clean why you
want to clean mine.
If what I do or someone
else does don’t turn you on,
people wonder if what you do
or have done would have
turned me on or give it some
thought as to regard as to
Jimmy Carter as President-
A Gesture Toward Leadership
by
Dale Whiten
Regardless of whether
you’re for or against Jimmy
Carter, it is generally
conceded that the election of
the man from Plains,
Georgia to the Presidency of
the United States is in itself a
political phenomenon which
has taken over a century and
a quarter to transpire.
But now that we have him,
the question uppermost in
everyone’s mind is “What
can we look forward to?”
Carter is indeed a political
enigma. He emerged from
relative obscurity, except in
his home state, and took the
Presidential primaries by a
storm with his flashy smile
and his familiar, “Hi, I’m
Jimmy Carter, and I’m
running for President.”
It seemed like overnight
that it was Jimmy Carter,
the Democratic candidate for
President, and then in a
victory which separated him
and his opponent by only two
million votes, it was Jimmy
Carter, President-elect of the
United States.
Carter’s victory state
ments and his first press
conference following the
election are the immediate
clues to study in order to get
an idea of what the next four
years hold in store, but these
elements show no basic
departure from Carter’s
campaign which lasted for 22
months and thousands of
miles and speeches.
As President-elect, Carter
obviously appeared more
relaxed in contrast to the
final hectic weeks of a
campaign marked by mis
takes and misstatements.
But he accepted his victory
modestly and philosophical
ly. He continued to speak in
his soothing, halting ap
proach and left the rhetoric
where it belonged-on the
campaign trail.
He said he feels that the
people in giving him 51 per
cent of the vote assured him
a mandate to carry out the
programs he has advocated
and endorsed.
Jimmy Carter will no
doubt bring to the White
House an energetic, innova
tive, and aggressive admini
stration which will be
committed to bring about
changes in the government
and American society rather
than allowing the status quo
to drift along without the
leadership a President
should offer. As his cam
paign signaled, a Carter
administration will probably
be one which will not follow
trends but one which will set
them in motion.
Carter’s apparent chief
commitment is to get people
back to work and to cut the
rate of inflation. He has
hinted a tax cut may be in
order if the economy has not
risen from its stagnant
doldrums by the time he
takes office.
Carter has said he will
balance the budget by 1980
and will work with the
Congress to devise and
implement a national health
insurance plan.
He has maintained that
this country needs an energy
policy, one particularly con
cerned with nuclear energy
and the safety factor con-'
comitant with such a
program. In this instance
Carter apparently under
stands the subject rather
than just talking about it.
One is reminded of the two
opposing campaigns follow
ing the first debate which the
incumbent President was
thought to have won. Presi
dent Ford, in true fashion,
came to Dixie delivering loud
protestations against a fede
ral gun control law, asserting
naively and irrelevantly, that
Mr. Carter wanted to take
away guns from hunters.
Meanwhile the Democratic
what you do would I do it
because Mr. So and So has
been to a Mental Institution.
Wonder if it would help if you
or me were to go and be
better people.
Belinda Bostwick
130 Court Street
Jackson, Ga. 30233
candidate had taken his
campaign to San Diego and
delivered a speech on
nuclear energy and safety
and how this country lags
behind the more advanced
nations in this area.
Here is a good example of
why the people voted for a
change. However, one must
be cautious in making such
an assertion. Then you look
at the vote and you see that
Carter scored heavily with
all the voters even though his
strength lay primarily in his
home territory and with
minorities and labor. He lost
California by only 54,000
votes, and it was also close in
Illinois and Michigan.
Other Presidents were
elected by closer margins:
Nixon in 1968 and Kennedy in
1960, and whether they had
received mandates from the
people was as equally
debatable.
How Jimmy Carter per
forms in office remains yet to
be demonstrated, but his
accomplishments to date
cannot be diminished. He has
shown that a man from a
region as progressive as his
own state can be elected to
the highest office in the land.
He beat out noteworthy
competition in the primaries
and stood head and shoulders
above his Republican op
ponent who is truly a nice guy
but who truly lacks states
manlike qualities.
James Earl Carter has
changed the map of Ameri
can politics forever. He has
reforged the old coalition of
New Deal Democrats while
bringing the South into the
mainstream of American
politics.
Who would have ever
thought just four years ago
that Plains, Georgia with
hardly more than 600
residents would suddenly be
the center of world attention
and the town’s tiny post
office would suddenly be
handling letters and tele
grams to a President-elect
from well-wishers in places
such as India and Japan and
a special one with the
postmark of the Vatican.
Who would have consider
ed these possibilities?
Jimmy Carter did, and it
paid off. It paid off basically
because of hard work,
dedication, and an unflagg
ing determination to achieve.
Perhaps now anew wind is
really blowing across the
Southland, and we and the
rest of the nation can truly
say that the war is finally
over.
At no point in any of the 56
short stories and four novels
that Arthur Conan Doyle
wrote about his famous de
tective does Sherlock Holmes
say "Elementary, my dear
Watson."
A Classic Symbol
for a
Modern Disease
For 70 years, the Cross of
Lorraine has symbolized the
fight against tuberculosis. It
still does, and will, until the
battle is won.
Now,, the double-barred
cross also symbolizes the
effort against other, 'newer'
diseases that are increasing
as fast as our technology.
Like emphysema. A disease
that literally takes your
breath away. That costs
more than SIOO million
each year in disability pay
ments.
CHRISTMAS SEALS
FIGHT EMPHYSEMA
contributed by the publisher
as a public service