Newspaper Page Text
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J. D. Jones ? Publisher
(J9OB 1935)
Doyle Jones Jr. Editor and Publisher
(1955-1975)
— ■
MRS. MARTHA G. JONES- PUBLISHER
VINCENT JONES EDITOR
OFFICIAL ORGAN BUTTS COUNTY AND CITY OF JACKSON
Published every Thursday at 129 South Mulberry Street, Jackson,
Georgia 30233 by The Progress-Argus Printing.Co., 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.
One Year, in Georgia $6.24
Six Months, in Georgia $3.91
Editorials
Justice Demands Payment
The system of criminal justice
in this country has just about made
the full circle. All of the way from
the inhumane prison camps of 50
years ago to the apologistic
attitude of today that blames
society for the actions of its social
miscreants.
We have come from leg irons, a
cornpone, peas and water diet and
bull whips to private rooms,
sirloin steaks and color television.
The electric chair is burdened only
by the dust of the passing years
since it was last used and the
hangman’s rope is frayed and
rotten.
Our prisons have abandoned
their chief purpose, which is
incarceration, in pursuit of a
caprice known as rehabilitation.
Our penologists are more con
cerned with the civil rights of their
wards than they are with the
responsibilities the criminals owe
society to right the wrongs done
their fellowman.
But whatever the arguments
advanced for or against capital
punishment, for or against cod
dling of prisoners, or for or against
our penal system as it is
constituted today, there is one
simple facet of criminal justice
that could, and should, be instituted
universally.
The criminal should be made to
pay for his crime.
Not with his life, necessarily,
or even with 50 years of
imprisonment, but with money.
Forty per cent of our states, 20
in all, already have laws requiring
that a criminal be held financially
responsible for the\:onsequences of
his acts.
Crimes against property result
in damages that can be easily
assessed. The destruction, or loss,
of property through theft or arson
can quickly have a price tag
affixed and it should be the thief, or
the firebrand, who eventually pays
for its restitution.
Crimes against a person would
Happiness Isnt Guaranteed
It is awfully easy to misread
The Declaration of Independence
so that life, liberty and happiness
would seem to be assured us. Not so
at all. It is the pursuit of happiness
that we are guaranteed and no one
of us, with much self respect, could
ask for anything more.
Our forefathers found happi
ness in accomplishment. George
Washington was pursuing happi
ness on a farm, but he found his
true happiness as the founding
father of anew nation.
Abraham Lincoln was pursu
ing happiness as a young lawyer
until fate made him a war-time
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be more difficult, but not
impossible, to affix proper values
to. The insurance companies can
place a value on a fractured leg, or
a broken jaw. Why couldn’t the
state do likewise?
Injuries resulting in hospitaliza
tion, such as bullet wounds or knife
thrusts, could easily have a price
tag affixed and why should the gun
toter or the knife wielder escape
scot free and let the victim’s
hospitalization policy pick up the
tab?
Even deaths resulting from the
commission of a criminal act
should result in a repayment to the
victim’s family by the murderer,
based on actuarially sound princi
ples of computing liability in such
instances.
But pure justice cries out that
it is the criminal, not society, who
should make restitution for the
commission of his criminal act.
Under such a program, state
prisons could offer opportunities
for inmates to make decent
salaries while engaged in produc
tive work, a part of which could be
set aside to repay society for the
wrongs they have done.
Work release programs outside
the prison could be offered the
emotionally stable to not only
assist them in repaying their debt
but to better prepare them for their
release.
We have carried this whole
matter of civil rights to an
extreme. It is high time the
emphasis was shifted to civil
responsibilities.
Making a criminal pay for his
crime is a basic move towards
pure, unadulterated justice. Work
ing out the methods and the amount
of reparations is a matter for the
penologists.
But we submit that a start and
a genuine effort to make such a
program succeed is far better than
the no-sense policies prevalent
today in too many of our
incarceration centers.
president and the great emancipa
tor.
Thousands of settlers pursued
happiness across the open plain
and founded the great West. Would
they have left home if Social
Security checks, or welfare checks,
or food stamps had been available?
Security is a lure that takes us
away from the pursuit of
happiness, which is to be found only
in accomplishment and challenge.
You have not been guaranteed
happiness. Only the pursuit of it.
But if you don’t mistake security
for happiness, then the freedom to
pursue is all you really need,
anyway.
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA
The Last
Straw
BY
VINCENT JONES
While reflecting one day
upon the promise of Easter
as 1 languished beside a
murmuring brook in the
broad valley, I drifted off into
a deep sleep only to be
startled by a vision of three
angels.
The mightiest of the three,
his gold sword hanging from
his side, stepped forward to
vent his wrath against the
evils of the earth.
“The just are too meek and
the unjust grind them
beneath their feet. Cruelty is
stronger than kindness; the
peace-loving people of this
earth are overriden by the
wicked who conquer them
and pirate their treasures.
Violence can deflower purity
and stealth overcome
honesty and there is no hope
for the righteous unless force
of arms is greater than that
of the enemy,” he said.
Strange words, I thought,
for an angel but ringing with
truth.
Then the second spoke with
a voice not so commanding
as that of the first, or a
presence not as dynamic, but
with an intellectual depth
that placed emphasis on the
mind rather than the
strength of arm or sword.
“Might cannot save a
nation, for the power to win
battles carries within itself
the seeds of destruction. Did
not the children of Canaan
overcome their conquerors
only to embrace the idols of
their enemies? How often
have you seen those who
championed liberty, and
fought for it, become tyrants
of those whom they have
freed? Might cannot conquer
the world, but wisdom can.
Wisdom to instruct the
ignorant and set our young on
the right path. Then, and only
then, will the peace of God
come to us.”
Two angels, one represent
ing Might, the other Wisdom.
Both making strong cases for
their positions. What would
the third prescribe for the
world’s ills? I waited
breathlessly, but not for long.
With a reproachful glance
at his friends and with a face
wreathed in a smile and lit
with the knowledge of the
ages, he said:
“Might corrupts and
knowledge is a wraith. Men
pursue either, or both, at
their peril. Love is the only
force under Heaven that can
conquer the hearts of men.
“For man is born to
trouble. Disease hounds him;
the forces of nature shake his
dwelling place; the tempests
of life test his spiritual
foundations. Violence dogs
his feet; his pride blinds
him; his folly deludes him;
his possessions enslave him.
The curses of his life are
distrust, conceit, envy and
immoralitv.
“There is no hope for him
save love and the power that
comes from God to both
receive and give it.”
The sword of the mightly
rose from its scabbard. “But
how,” asked the angel of
Might, “can love endure
when pitted against might
and wisdom?”
“Because,” replied the
angel of Love, “love cannot
be destroyed. You can kill
men, or crucify them, even
as I was crucified, but you
cannot destroy love. For God
decreed that when he sent me
into the world to live, and die,
that all men might live and
know the love that God first
showed to them.”
The clatter of the gold
sword on the pebbly brook
bed awoke me from my
reverie. But not before I had
discovered again the mean
ing of Easter, the power of
God’s love and the certainty
of the resurrection.
Editor’s Quote Book
Democracy is the worst
form of government except
all others.
Winston Churchill
& 'X) ffs-fTI ■
Ii "~Ty v
iNUu kf jjPi f ix —^
| A Stroll Down
Memory Lane
News of 10 Years Ago
Jackson High delegates to
the 22nd Youth Assembly at
the State Capitol included
Judy Smith, Carole Leve
rette, Dorner Carmichael,
Debbie Nelson and Ellen
Payne. Miss Carol Mask and
Mrs. Roy Prosser were
advisors.
Rev. Bill Thomas, pastor
at Macedonia Baptist
Church, will make a trip to
Kobuk, Alaska as a member
of the Southern Baptist Home
Mission Board.
Wendell Edwards, son of
Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Edwards,
Jr., was one of 12 West
Georgia College students
saluted by the Chieftain,
college yearbook.
Mrs. Gussie M. Cawthon
has been named to the
Dean’s List at Tift College.
Fred M. Hoard, of ABW
Chevrolet Cos., has been
tapped as one of the four top
salesmen in the Atlanta zone.
Mary Ruth Martin, daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. George
N. Martin, Jr., has been
elected vice president of the
new West Georgia College
4-H Club.
Deaths during the week:
Daniel Walter Fogg, 85; Rev.
Johnnie Allen Terrell, 85;
Charles W. (Chuck) Shields,
41.
News of 20 Years Ago
Mr. and Mrs. Elwood
Robison, Jr. are on an all
expense paid trip to Havana,
Cuba, a gift from General
Motors honoring Mr. Robi
son's sales ability.
T. E. Robison announced
this week that Grady O.
Jackson has joined the sales
force of Settle & Robison,
Inc.
Miss Susannah Ridgeway,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C.
L. Ridgeway, will represent
Jackson High School in the
Fourth District music finals.
Butch Miller celebrated
his ninth birthday with a
wiener roast enjoyed by 53 of
his friends. His grand
mother, Mrs. Gay Pitts, and
mother, Mrs. Frank Miller,
were co-hostesses for the
event held at Indian Springs.
Cub Scouts of Den 3 made a
tour of the newspaper office
on Tuesday, led by Mrs. J. D.
Pope, Den mother, and Mrs.
J. W. Carter, assistant Den
mother. Den members in
clude Lindsey Powell, New
ton Etheredge, Ricky Lewis,
Bill Kitchens, Johnny Carter,
Mark Ingram, Bryan Howell,
Carey Pope and Gene Pope.
Mr. and Mrs. S. H.
Eiseman, of Metter, former
residents and merchants of
Jackson, died last week
within three days of each
other. Miss Sylvia Eiseman,
of Atlanta, survives. A son,
Teddy, was killed in World
War 11.
Deaths during the week:
Mrs. Otis E. Leverette, 81;
David Obe Woodward, 71.
News of 30 Years Ago
The City of Pepperton is
installing anew sewerage
system, the work being done
by the Pepperton Cotton
Mills.
The Board of Education
has voted to install a twelfth
grade in the Jackson High
School, effective this Sep
tember.
Members of the Jackson
Kiwanis Club have elected S.
W. Causey, president, and
Vincent Jones, vice presi
dent, to attend the Kiwanis
International convention in
Chicago in June.
Recently named to head
the Jackson High 4-H Club
girls were Harriet Buchanan,
president; Hazel Turner,
THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 1977
vice president; Eugenia Ball,
secretary, and Emily Far
rar, treasurer.
Members taking part on
the Towaliga 4-H Club’s
March program were Gene
Maddox, William Smith,
Billy Hammond, Marlyn
Welden, Lela Pelt, Wallace
Caldwell, John Pettigrew,
Janice Brooks and Nancy
Duffey.
S. H. Thornton, funeral
director and licensed em
balmer, this week observed
his 43rd anniversary as a
Jackson business leader.
Deaths during the week:
William Troy Lofton, 72.
News of 40 Years Ago
The City of Jackson has
been allotted $28,875 in WPA
funds to assist with street
and sidewalk paving.
P. H. Weaver, president,
and Eugene Daniel, vice
president, have been named
as delegates from the
Jackson Kiwanis Club to the
Kiwanis International con
vention in Indianapolis in
June.
President Roosevelt re
commended to Congress on
Monday, the fourth anniver
sary of the CCC, the creation
of a permanent Civilian
Conservation Corps. Under
present law the Corps will
expire on June 30, 1937.
A heavy trailer truck
crashed into the bridge at
Indian Springs during a rain
storm Monday night, scatter
ing cigars, chewing gum,
groceries and feedstuffs
across the road and into the
creek. One enterprising
citizen recovered over 500
rainsoaked cigars.
Work has begun on the
Snapping Shoals Power and
Light Company project
which will serve many
residents in the Worthville,
Fincherville and Stark areas.
A wind storm that struck
Jackson early Monday lifted
the roof of the Jackson school
auditorium, blew down the
garage of R. P. Sasnett and
toppled several trees on the
J. W. O’Neal property.
News of 50 Years Ago
Prof. R. I. Knox, superin
tendent of the Jackson public
school system since 1922, has
resigned to accept a similar
position in Hartwell, Geor
gia.
W. F. Duke, Sr. reports on
the heavy freeze of March 28,
1894 when there was ice four
inches thick and all fruit
trees were killed for the year.
On SaMfday before the third
Sunday in May there was
snow and all cotton was also
lost for that year.
At a public sale Tuesday,
Mrs. J. M. Leach sold a
one-half undivided interest in
242 acres in the 610 district,
the property of S. J.
Carmichael, deceased. This
acreage was bid in by H. D.
Russell for $1,700.
In the Sixth District
declamation contest at Bes
sie Tift auditorium, Miss
Lucile Brown won first place,
Miss Frances McKibben,
second, and Miss Edna Allen,
honorable mention.
Prof. D. V. Spencer, 1913
graduate of Emory Univer
sity, has been elected
superintendent of the Jack
son public school system
Mr. and Mrs. S. B. Kinard
and Bert Kinard entertained
members of the Emory Glee
Club Wednesday evening
after their performance at
the auditorium.
Deaths during the week:
Roy Stodghil), 10.
ftiiroußßi
By Mrs. Qlidy Brown
I am trying to find out if it’s
o.k. to feed my family eggs.
Does anyone know? I think I
better check it out, because
eggs are about the only thing
left that we can safely eat.
Pork is out; succaryl is
out; mushrooms are out;
tuna fish is out; diet-free
drinks are out; everything is
out. Do you know that I heard
over the radio yesterday that
bluejeans are unsafe? That’s
right. Some German scientist
has taken it upon himself to
decide that the nickle in the
waist-button on bluejeans
can cause a severe skin rash,
which in turn causes hos
pitalization! Now, I know
that may be hard for you to
believe, but it is the
honest-to-goodness truth.
When I was growing up, or
back in the “olden days” as
my children say, we ate
anything we wanted and felt
safe doing so. No one was
warning us about red dyes,
cancer or skin rashes. Why,
‘Whatsoever
■ ijqfr Things’
By Donald E. Wildmon
SALTY, THE DOG
Out of the papers came the story of Salty. Salty is a
21-month-old mongrel. Not an average dog, mind you. But a
determined dog nevertheless.
Salty belonged to Mrs. Margie Labeff of Detroit and was
her pet. She kept Salty for some time, and then gave her to
some friends in the suburbs because, she said, “My place is
so small I thought it wasn’t fair to keep her here.”
The new owners kept Salty until she gave birth to a litter
of puppies, and then they gave Salty to a family in
Cheboygan, 272 miles northwest of Detroit. Mrs. Labeff gave
Salty away in August, and Salty stayed with the second set of
new owners until around the middle of December. Then Salty
suddenly disappeared.
For the next two weeks Salty traveled - over 272 miles of
woods, fields, streams, roads, and towns from a place where
she had never been before. And although Salty perhaps didn’t
know where she started from she did know where she wanted
to go - home. Back to Detroit and to Mrs. Margie Labeff. On
New Year’s Day, Mrs. Labeff went downstairs to take out the
trash and there stood Salty! “She knocked me down and
started licking my face and kissing me,” said Mrs. Labeff.
“She was wet and tired and so dirty that it was difficult to tell
what color she was. Her paws were bleeding and she was
starving,” continued Mrs. Labeff. But with tail wagging,
Salty was home - home at last! The journey was over.
Salty set out for something she wanted - wanted more
than anything in the world. And she got it. It’s a story about a
dog, but if you will raise the level just slightly you will find
the same truth about humans. For we humans, like Salty the
dog, usually get to the place in life where we want to go. The
reason many of us never get any farther than we do is simple
- we never really want to get any farther.
I can recall the story of one Man Who set out to
accomplish something in life - something He wanted more
than anything else. And the road that led to His dreams
wasn’t an easy one, either. But He wanted to go, and He paid
the price. Through towns where He wasn’t wanted, over
roads where He was spat upon, through valleys that echoed
the hatred that the “good” people had for Him - He traveled.
When He finally arrived at the place, accomplished that
which He wanted to accomplish, He was bloody and bruised
and weak from a merciless beating -but He was not beaten.
In His hands were huge holes, caused by the metal spikes
with which he was suspended in the air. And as if this was
not enough, someone slashed a hole in His side to see more
blood flow.
While Salty came home dirty, tired, bloody and shaggy,
she got what she wanted - to see her master again. And the
Galilean accomplished His goal, also. To make it possible
for us to see our Master again.
And because of His journey, for many of us the journey is
over.
WHO ARE
THE HAPPIEST?
Who are the happiest
people on earth? This
question was asked by an
English newspaper, and
prizes were offered for the
best answer. There were four
prize-winning answers:
“A craftsman or artist
whistling over a job well
done.”
“A little child building
sand castles.”
“A mother, after a busy
day, bathing her baby.”
“A doctor who has finished
a difficult and dangerous
operation and saved a human
life.”
No millionaires among
these, one notices. No kings
or emperors. Riches and
rank, no matter how the
world strives for them, do not
make happy lives. A sand
my grandmother used arti
ficial sweeteners all her life
and lived to be a ripe-old age;
my forefathers lived on
pork; and I intend to keep up
the family traditions by
eating what I want and loving
it! Frankly, the only thing
which has affected my eating
habits has been cost. For
instance, we now grow our
own coffee beans and we’ve
started speaking Spanish and
Portugese a lot.
One night a miracle s going
to happen: when the six
o’clock news comes on,
there’s not going to be one
warning about any food item
that is dangerous to anyone’s
health. What a landmark
newscast that one will be!
Just out of meanness
towards the FDA, I am going
to the Grocery store right
now and buy jello, colored
hotdogs, sweet ’n low, Diet
Pepsis and a jar of
cholesterol. Reckon they’ll
arrest me before I check out?
castle does that far better
than a palace. It would be a
sad day on earth if only the
rich and great could be
happy. But happiness is for
everybody, hot for a few.
-Selected
Viewpoints
Labour to keep alive in
your breast that little
spark of celestial fire,
conscience.
George Washington