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PAGE 10
THE COVINGTON NEWS
BELMONT DENNIS
Editor And Publisher
LEO S. MALLARD
Assistant to Publisher
OFFICIAL ORGAN Ob
NEWTON COUNTY
AND THE
CITY OF COVINGTON
Perilous "Savings"
Civilian workers at military installa
tions over the nation are holding their
. collective breath at this writing, awaiting
official announcement from the Pentagon
1 on the “phasing out”, during the next three
years of from 25 to 35 Army, Navy and Air
Force establishments in the US and the
'■termination of a possible 75,000 jobs. A
'comparable number of overseas bases and
“installations are also reported to be marked
“for extinction.
While President Johnson hinted at the
^closings in his news conference of De
-cember 7 as a means of reduced Federal
spending, it should be recalled that the
- survey of our 6,700 military installations
-over the globe was undertaken by Secre
“tary McNamara in the spring of 1961 —
within weeks of the Kennedy Inauguration.
The Defense Department has already re
ported savings of about $316 million a year,
as a result of shutting down or curtailing
- activities of over 400 foreign and domestic
?. establishments. Nearly a year ago Secre
tary McNamara told Congress he planned
continuing reductions that would bring
savings up to $442 million by June 30, 1965
Reports that the Pentagon plan calls
for the closing of six Government ship
yards, including the Navy Yards at Bos
ton, Philadelphia and San Francisco, re
. minds us that a Navy - sponsored survey
group reported earlier this year that pri
vate yards can do the Navy's shipbuilding
and repair work cheaper; also that the Bos
ton, Philadelphia and San Francisco es
tablishments were saved from extinction
by the personal intervention of President
Kennedy two years ago.
It seems odd, to say the least, that we
would be pruning our world-wide defense
establishment at this critical period for a
saving of less than half a billion dollars
when we could save several times that
much by merely slashing the foreign aid
spending that has proved more of an em
. barrassment than a help in our global re
lations.
And somebody would seem to be out
; of step with the Administration in pushing
a program that would eliminate 75.000 jobs
when the President had stressed in his ap
pearances before business and Labor
groups our vital need of five million more.
" Is it only a coincidence, then, that this
new emphasis on further drastic reduction
■ of our military establishment follows on
the heels of the Senate’s confirmation of
“ Paul Nitze as Secretary of the Navy
-the one-time State Department official
* whose ideas “renhrased a bit” are promul
gated in the infamous “State Department
Publication 7277“ —a blueprint for hand
ing over our armed forces to the UN?
And by the way, what about Guanta
noma in these latest “phasing out’’ plans?
Self-Defeating Regulation
Regulation can become a serious bar
rier to progress and achievement.
Take, for instance, new regulations as
- feeling the pharmaceutical industry which
2 were imposed some months ago.' These
nave to do with clinical investigations
-investigations which are essential to de
termining the worth and safety of new
2 drugs.
These new regulations are extremely
■rigid in some instances. Vast amoun s of
paper-work and reporting are demanded
in the name of safety. The result, as the
-head of the Pharmaceutical Manufactur
ei s Association put it, “. . . drug research
-. . . is replete with examples of dismay and
“Clanged plans for drug producer and re
searcher. In case after case, leading drug
producers have curtailed or abandoned
■projects — and this includes projects for
w’hich very high hopes were held.
Those who imposed these regulations,
bv their very zealousness, are depriving
the public of developments which might
- prove of utmost value to sufferers from
disease and disability. Everyone is in favor
of safe drugs. But to attempt to achieve,
by regulatory order, total safety is to close
tne door against sources of' knowledge,
there is no human activity without an
eiement of risk. The drug industry, work
ing under older regulations, reduced t h e
risks to a minimum. The odds are very long
against failure in this regard. But the one
chance in thousands exists. Unless that tiny
risk is accepted, the researcher, dealing
; with elements of the new and unknown, is
t 5 ’ a hopeless disadvantage.
It has been wisely said of drugs. “We
Mhust be carefully safe, but we can never
absolutely safe.” That is the principle
allow maximum progress a', mini
risk.
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Look Before You Leap
It would be a tragic thi,ng indeed if the
assassin of President Kennedy —by the
fact of having used a gun, rather than a
bomb or a knife or poison, in committing
the deed that has revolted the civilized
world — should also have accomplished the
disarming of law-abiding Americans.
Perhaps it was inevitable that there
should be, in the wake of this fiendish kill
ing, a demand that ownership and posses
sion of firearms be denied to all private
citizens. But this reaction, like other emo
tional storms that have swept the nation,
requires calm examination.
Laws to restrict or control guns are not
new, but none — including New York’s fa
mous (or infamous) Sullivan law — has
ever accomplished its avowed purpose.
They have not disarmed the crooks; they
have disarmed honest citizens. And now
anti-gun hysteria threatens the rights of
all — including our 20 million hunters and
target shooters.
As competent testimony, we quote that
of Washington's superintendent ol police,
Robert V. Murray, given recently before a
Congressional Committee:
“If I felt that we could take the guns
out of the hands of the criminal with this
bill or any other bill,” said Chief Murray,
“1 would be a hundred percent for it. But
if a criminal is going to set out to hold up
a place or assault somebody with a gun,
the (law against) carrying of a gun is not
going to deter him. He is a criminal any
how. and he cannot lawfully possess a gun.
So a law on the books that he cannot have
a gun in his possession is not going to de
ter him.’’
Chief Murray went on to point out “two
.mistaken premises” for the belief that
fewer pistols in circulation would mean
fewer aggravated assaults. “First,” ne
said, “it assumes that restrictive legisla
tion will prevent criminals from obtain
ing guns. The fact is that experience has
shown that legislation such as the Sulli
van law does not reduce the number of
pistols in the hands of criminals. Second,
the argument assumes that hand guns are
used in most aggravated assaults, whereas
the fact is that pistols are used in only a
small percentage of assaults.”
It should therefor be apparent that pas
sage of more laws of the infamous Vol
stead Act type could only increase our
peril, violate the Second Amendment of
the Constitution that “the right of the
people to keep and bear arms shall not be
infringed', and dangerously extend the
authority of the policeman to include those
of judge and jury.
Finally, it would be a sad reflection on
the spirit of the American people if our
1 hirty-fifth President — who was a very
brave man, an indomitable fighter and,
incidentally, a member of the National Ri
fle Association — were to .be remembered
by posterity by a panicky and senseless
dismemberment of our Bill of Rights.
We should support our representatives
in Congress and the State Legislature
against any such temptation.
"Dear Mr. President"
HUMAN EVENTS, the “weekly Wash
ington report’’, devotes the front page of
its December 14 issues to a letter to the
President. It says in part:
“Human Events joins in the unanimity
of applause for your eloquent Thanks"iv
ing address. But one section bothers us.
“You mentioned five past Presidents
whom you have known well - Herbert
Hoover. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S.
Truman. Dwirht D. Eisenhower and John
F. Kennedy. You said the greatest burden
each had to bear was ‘his own country
men s unthinking and unreasoning hate and
division.’
ou asked ‘all who speak and all who
teach and all who preach and all who pub
lish and all who broadcast and all who
lead and listen ... to banish rancor from
our words and malice from our thoughts,
to close down the poison soring of hatred
and intolerance and fanaticism. . . !
Every responsible American agrees
wholeheartedly with that thought
A quetstion, however, arising from this
beautiful sentiment.
F rom your conspicuous mention of five
Presidents and the accusations directed at
them could be read an opinion that criti
cisms of Presidents are more objectionable
than criticisms hurled at - shall we sav -
aspirants to the Presidency.
“Once the American people accept t h e
idea that there is a difference, even in de
gree. between the two categories of criti
cism. the foundations for totalitarianism
in the United States have been laid.
MABEL SESSIONS DENNIS
Associate Editor
MARY SESSIONS MALLARD
Associate Editor
Entered at the Post Office
at Covington. Georgia, as
mail matter of the Second
Class.
THE COVINGTON NEWS
SOUR WEEKLY
UNDAY
Dimensions of Freedom
Bible Material: Mark 10:32-
45; Galatians 5-6
Devotional Reading: Romans
8:1-11
Memory Selection: The fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self- i
control; against such there is
no law. Galatians 5:22-23
Intermediate - Senior Topic:
Dimensions of Freedom
Young People - Adult Topic:
Dimensions of Freedom
Last week’s lesson dealt—as
Christmas lessons always do—
with the coming of Christ into
the stream of history. It was
entitled. “Born to Make Men
Free.” Today we define, mea
sure, and describe the nature
of that freedom.
For we never understand the
true nature of our faith until,
we realize that it embodies both
complete freedom and strict
adherence to the law of God.
Through the ages, Christian
thinkers have found it hard to
keep the.se two apparently op
posing truths in balance. But
they do balance. They balance
perfectly in Christian faith.
This lesson for many reasons
(some of which will be dis
cussed in Hints to Teachers)
is a fitting one with which to
end the year. It closes a series
of lessons on a lefty plane. It
emphasizes truths to which we
have to give considerable
thought and upon which we
have to reflect with all the in
telligence and faith we pos
sess.
The dimensions of Christian
freedom are extensive. They |
are as great as the God and
Saviour who are the objects of
our devotion.
The word “liberty” is derived |
ultimately from a Sanskirt;
word which means “to grow
up.” Liberty, or freedom (for
the words are synonymous),
means an opportunity to ma
ture.
There is no word in the
whole of Christian doctrine
more consistently misunder
stood than the word liberty.
Paul found it so in his day.
This misunderstanding contin
ues to the present time. Liber
ty is usually considered the op
portunity to do what one wants!
to do. This, of course, is not j
liberty. This is license. And i
just as liberty is derived from j
a word which means to grow I
up, license is derived from a
word which means to permit.
We do not indulge in liberty
when we abandon ourselves to
doing whatever we want to do. ■
Under such circumstances we
hand ourselves over to license.
We permit our fancies, moral
weaknesses, selfish purposes to
dominate us.
In reading the New Testa
ment we need always to keep
in mind the age in which it
originated. Rome with its pa
ganism ruled the world. The
great Empire had begun its
moral decline. It was still re
splendent with military glory,
but historians today point to
the inner moral decay that was
beginning to destroy both in
stitutions and people.
Accordingly New Testament
writers found it necessary to
differentiate continually be
tween the gospel teachings and
freedom and the pagan prac
tices cf license. Christian con
gregations caught up in the ex- '
hilaration of a new spiritual I
experience were declaring their ;
freedom in exaltation and
sometimes in unwise and un- '
becoming behavior. Paul, whose
continuing theme was that '
men were free in Christ, was '
often compelled in his epistles
to warn men against an abuse
of their freedom.
There is a mighty restraint ■
in divine love. The yoke of!
Christ is easy and his burden '
is light—but it is still a yoke.
Christian living involves re
straint, effort, and sacrifice— j
but it is worth what it costs.
The commandment, “W a 1 k
in the spirit. ’’ is a forceful one.
It brings Christian faith down
into the circumstances of
everyday life.
To be a Christian means
more than just to subscribe to
a creed or to believe certain
things about Christ and the
Bible. It means to walk in the
Spirit— to walk in love, to walk
in spiritual freedom, to walk
in glad triumph over sin.
The difference between
Christ and the Pharisees was
not primarily a difference in
belief but a difference in spirit, i
So far as the letter of the law
was concerned, the men who
brought Jesus to his death were
as religious a group of individ
uals as ever lived. They be
lieved certain things and they
believed them deeply. But they
had lost the spirit of true re
ligion. Jesus attempted to re- !
store this spirit. “Think not,” i
S LESSON FOR
CHOOL
he cried on one occasion, “that
I am come to destroy the law,
or the prophets: I am not come
to destroy but to fulfill” (Mat
thew 5:17).
Christian leaders often speak
of life as a glorious adventure.
When rightly lived, life is in
deed a glorious adventure; but
it is something more. Life is a |
pilgrimage. We start from a
certain place and attempt to
reach a definite destination. It
is a struggle. “The flesh lusteth
against the Spirit, and the
Spirit against the flesh: and
these are contrary the one to
the other: so that (we) cannot
do the things that (we) would.
But if (we) be led of the spirit,
(we) are not under the law.”
Not under the law? We must
not mistake the meaning of
such a statement. We certainly
are under the law in that we
must obey the laws of God. But
for a person really living his
life in Christ and according to
Christ’s spirit, the constraint of
the law has ceased to exist. He
lives a life of righteousness not
because the law compels him
to do so but because the spirit
of Christ leads him to do so.
The more we ponder the
Christian gospel, the more are
we aw'are of the apparent di
lemma that liberty and law
erect in the life of every be
liever. Liberty we indeed have
in Christ, else we do not have
Christ. But we have law in
Christ also. There have been
those who claim that because
they have freedom in the gos
pel, no laws either of God or
of man have any hold upon
them. These people are called
“antionmians” —defined in the
dictionary as those who hold
that under the gospel dispen
sation the moral law is of no
use or obligation but that faith
alone is sufficient. The trouble
with this mischievous doctrine
is that it attempts to erect an
edifice without foundations, to
have a body without bone
structure, to have moral life
without moral purpose.
Antionmianism was an an
cient heresy but it stalks the
modern church as brazenly as
it did two thousand years ago.
People still substitute license
for Christian liberty and have
j the effrontery to call it true
' and orthodox faith.
NOTICE!
SECTION 13-1, CODE OF ORDINANCES, CITY OF COVINGTON,
GEORGIA: (THE CHARTER OF THE CITY AS ENACTED IN 1961).
*
"It shall be unlawful to bring or carry on within the city any of the
occupations, uses or businesses hereinafter mentioned in this chapter with
out first applying to the Clerk and obtaining a license for carrying on each
said business or occupation as may be subject to the city business license
tax, occupation or use license, or license tax for the current year".
YOUR COOPERATION IN SECURING YOUR BUSINESS LICENSE FOR
THE YEAR 1964, AT ONCE, WILL BE APPRECIATED.
J. H. BRYAN
CITY MANAGER
(Best Coverage: News, Pictures and Features)
Extension Agent’s Column
By Mrs. Sara Groves, HD Agent
TOY SAFETY
Christmas toys certainly
bring pleasure to children.
They can also bring much un
happiness as past records in
dicate.
National Safety Council rec
ords show that hospital files
swell with reports of accidents
involving toys during the days
and weeks immediately follow
ing Christmas.
There is almost no limit to
the different types of accidents
children can have with toys.
Care in selecting the toy
should have been the first step
toward preventing such acci
dents. An equally important
step now is supervision by
adults, especially for a poten
tially dangerous toy.
« • • *
HOLIDAY DRIVING
Holiday driving and long
hours of winter darkness mean
extra hazards for all of us. Let
me note a few tips that may
make your holiday driving
safer:
Darkness quadruples driving
danger. Although only one
third of the nation’s driving is
done after dark, two-thirds of
all traffic fatalities occur dur-
“Now the works of the flesh
are manifest. . , .”
Indeed they are. They scar
cely need to be enumerated,
yet Paul goes to some length
to enumerate them. He speaks
of “adultery, fornication, un
cleanness, lasciviousness, idol
atry, witchcraft, hatred, vari
ance. emulations, wrath, strife,
seditions, heresies, envyings,
murders, drunkenness, revell
ings, and such like. . . .”
The meaning of most of these
words is entirely evident, but
a few need to be examined. A
belief in “witchcraft” is some
thing the modern world has
entirely renounced. But we
would do w’ell to ponder the
fact that Jesus evidently be
lieved in evil spirits. We do
not take a step backward into
ancient superstition and evil
when we remind ourselves of
this fact. We are not entirely
sure how much truth there was
in the ancient belief in evil
spirits, but there was some
truth which in this present
time needs the most penetrat
ing insight that psychiatry and
| science can give it.
ing this period.
Clear windshields will help
you make the most of availa
ble light. Service station at
tendants and automatic wind
ow washers simplify keeping
the outside clean. The winter
film that accumulates on the
inside of windshields and rear
windows can cut visibility and
turn approaching headlights
into a blinding glare. A de
froster will help with this
problem.
Snow during winter evenings
may further reduce visibility.
Avoid the temptation to use
your bright lights as they
create a glare for you and ap
proaching vehicles. In snow
and fog, normal driving lights
and reduced speed are your
best aids.
The Christmas Holiday Sea
son may bring snow and rain,
resulting in slick streets and
highways. These adverse driv
ing conditions reduced visibili
ty and increase braking dis
tances and may cause rear-end
collisions. Reduce speed to
lower braking distance, in
crease the distance between
you and the vehicle ahead to
allow more room for stopping,
and keep alert to traffic ahead.
“Tailgating drivers” who fail
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In 1963 s
General Advertising Excellence
Local Sports Coverage
Thursday, December 26, 1303
to follow you at a safe distance
can be a serious problem.
Some measures you may take
to avoid trouble with such
drivers are:
Pull to the right, if possible,
to encourage the “tailgater” to
pass.
Increase the distance be
tween you and the car you are
following to avoid the neces
sity of stopping suddenly. The
slower you stop, the more time
the “tailgater” has to get his
vehicle under - control.
Signal your intention to turn,
slow down or stop well in ad
vance and as emphatically as
possible so that the “tailgater”
will know what you plan to
do.
Know what traffic around
you is doing so that if neces
sary you may use evasive ma
neuvers to avoid being hit from
the rear.
Even though the “tailgater”
who hits your car will likely
be held legally responsible, this
will be little comfort when a
family member has been in
jured.
• • ♦ *
FOOD ASSISTANCE
One out of six persons to
day reap direct benefits from
the U. S. Department of Agri
culture’s food distribution pro
grams. «
Some $900,000,000 worth of
federal food assistance was giv
en during the last fiscal year.
This will be exceeded in the
current fiscal year, the USDA's
Marketing Service estimates.