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Editorials
Public Apathy in Elections
The light vote in last Saturday’s mu
nicipal election reveals an alarming
lack of interest by the city’s voters in
affairs of city government. The total
vote cast was only about one-third of
those eligible to vote.
Why is there such widespread pub
lic apathy in political affairs?
One thing to be learned from such
a light turnout of voters — in any
election — is that a small, determined
group —a minority — could easily
A Safe Holiday
Since Christmas is traditionally a
season of joy and happiness, special
consideration should be given to the
"do” and “don’t” safety rules we
should observe year-round. Don’t get
carefree and increase the possibility of
an unhappy accident.
First, decorate wisely. Do not use
cotton, paper or any flammable ma
terial when you trim the family tree.
Choose only electrical toys and tree
lighting sets which are laboratory ap
proved.
Be sure that all toys are of nonflam
mable materials. Some imported toys
A Spiraling Crime Trend
With both the quantity and quality
of crimes committed in America at an
unbelievably all-time high, at least one
public official is alerted to the danger
faced by our nation in this regard.
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover has
made a strong appeal for “concerted
action” by citizens as well as govern
ments at all levels to combat this
“spiraling" national crime trend.
Mr. Hoover revealed the alarming
fact that during the first nine months
of 1967, crime in the United States in-
Another Hoover Commission?
Many years ago, the Hoover Com
mission saved taxpayers millions of
dollars by pinpointing wasteful or un
necessary federal spending. Rep. Wil
bur D Mills, chairman of the House
Ways and Means Committee, has re
peatedly expressed alarm over uncon
trolled government spending. He now
calls for a new Hoover-type commis
sion to make sweeping reviews of do
mestic spending programs, old and
new.
One question that Rep. Mills believes
Other Editors Say:
(South Fulton Recorder)
Extremism. During the last several
years this label has been liberally plas
tered against many persons, ranging
from Barry Goldwater and the John
Birch Society to anyone who happens
to disagree with a particular point of
view.
As it now stands, the updated defi
nition of an extremist is a person who
happens to disagree with so-called
moderate intellectuals.
But, as we can look at the world
around us via newspapers, radio and
television broadcasts and see evidence
of real extremism. As examples, recall
the recent riots at the Pentagon, weird
rulings by the U. S. Supreme Court re
lating to rights of criminals, ‘‘peace
ful" demonstrations which were actu
ally direct violations of law, entire
cities almost burned to the group by
Communist-inspired radicals, and en
trenchment of the Great Society,
which could more accurately be spelled
s-o-c-i-a-l-i-s-m
Often as not, we label a person or
organization as extremist because we
have heard the term used on television
broadcasts or in the national press.
Usually, we never try to determine if
the description is accurate.
And. in most cases, the term ex
tremist is synonomous with conserva
tism. It’s very rarely that you hear a
person with liberal learnings described
as an extremist.
If you will notice, the persons most
©he Summpnrilk Npuib
JAMES D ESPY
DAVID T. ESPY JR
WINSTON E ESPY
WILLIAM T ESPY
WOODROW W ESPY
elect whom they please and control
the affairs of government if a majority
of the voters stay away from the polls.
The right to vote is one of the most
cherished privileges accorded to citi
zens of a democratic community. This
privilege has been most zealously
guarded during our nation’s history.
Why do people show such a lack of
interest in something they would be
willing to fight for if it were suddenly
taken away?
are made of nitrocellulose (which
looks like celluloid or plastic) and this
material burns with surprising feroc
ity-
Do not use lighted candles near the
tree, or in windows. Keep curtains or
any other flammable material at win
dows pulled back at least six inches
from any electric candles or wreaths.
On Christmas Day, keep a carton
handy and dispose of all gift wrap
pings promptly. Don’t let them pile up
around the tree, near the fireplace or
any heating device.
Have a happy, accident-free holiday.
creased 16 per cent over the same pe
riod last year.
The director pointed out that pro
jections indicate that by the end of
1967, violent crimes will have in
creased 72 per cent and property
crimes 90 per cent over the figure for
1960. If the trend continues, there will
be 3.75 million crimes by the end of
1967.
We agree with Mr. Hoover when he
says: "The time for concerted action
cannot be delayed any longer.”
should be considered by his proposed
investigative commission is: “Whether
state governments and private enter
prise should take over some of the
chores Washington does . . .” As far as
many millions of citizens are con
cerned, the answer is already plain
without the help of a commission.
The trend toward centralized govern
ment and government in business
threatens both economic and political
liberty — and should be reversed now.
frequently described as moderate in
the national press are anything but
moderate. For example, Ralph McGill,
Martin Luther King, Atlanta Mayor
Ivan Allen, presidential hopeful
George Romney, President Johnson;
Hubert Humphrey, who founded the
socialistic Americans for Democratic
Action organization; Robert Kennedy,
the transplanted New York senator,
and scores of other liberals.
But, if you will check recent events,
no conservative or so-called rightist
organization has advocated burning a
city. They have never pushed for more
privileges — not rights —for crimi
nals; never pushed for a 1964 Civil
Rights Act, which was an avowed goal
of Communism 10 years prior of en
actment and never declared that Com
munism is mellowing and capitalism
should meet it halfway by a gradual
slip into socialism.
Conservatives did not establish a
‘‘Communist training school" in Ten
nessee. The Highlander Folk School
was chartered in Fulton County by
several “moderate” Atlanta citizens,
prominent in religious and newspaper
fields.
We acknowledge that there are
right-wing extremists — such as the
Nazi party — but charge that the left
ist influence in America today has be
come tremendously dangerous under
the guise of moderation. We would be
the last to support extremism, wheth
er it comes from the left or right . . .
Managing Editor
General Manager
Publisher
Advertising Manager
News Editor
COMMENT
By WOODROW ESPY
Santa Claus: A Universal Symbol. . .
Is it true, as some claim today, that we really do
not need good old Saint Nick? Some of our educa
tors, with a nodding assent from “modern” parents,
would put an end to the Santa Claus myth. Confus
ing to young minds, they say.
Perhaps the Santa Claus idea has been abused
and over-commercialized; yet, it is doubtful if any
child has ever suffered from the grand illusion. In
fact, childhood memories of Santa’s visit remain with
most of us throughout a lifetime.
A Santa on two different street corners? Why not?
Isn’t Santa a universal symbol, typifying generosity
and thoughtfulness?
In the imaginative mind of a child, Santa is the
symbol of Christmas.
He’s Santa in America, but he has many different
names around the world. He is called “Father Frost”
in Russia. Children call him “Kriss Kringle” in Ger
many. “Nice Old Father” is what the Chinese call
Santa Claus and in Norway children expect gifts from
an elf called “Jul Tonten.”
“Pere Noel” is who the French youngsters receive
presents from and in Holland the name is “Sinter
klass 99
The world has many more “Santas,” but whatever
his name—wherever he exists—he brings happiness
to children.
* • ♦
Back Pay Unclaimed . . .
The nearly $12,000 in back pay that Sen. Herman
Talmadge refused to accept as Georgia governor 14
years ago is still waiting in the state coffer in the
event he should ever change his mind.
When Talmadge was governor in 1953, the Leg
islature voted him a salary increase. He refused to
accept it, contending he wanted only the pay pre
scribed when he was elected. He insisted that the in
crease should become effective with the next gov
ernor.
This fact was brought to light in a routine audit
of the governor’s office. The state auditor said the
state can do nothing with the money, at present, ex
cept to hold it for Sen. Talmadge or his heirs to col
lect—without interest.
* ♦ ♦
Moonlighting on Increase . ..
Either the cost of living has reached an unpre
cedented level or more people are demanding a high
er standard of living.
The National Consumer Finance Association re
ports that an increasing number of workers are re
sorting to “moonlighting” to boost their earning
power.
A typical moonlighter is a family man who has a
full-time job and works 13 hours a week at a second
line of work.
Among unskilled workers earning less than S6O
per week, the report shows, the rate of those holding
two or more jobs is more than twice as high as men
earning S2OO or more per week.
For most workers the primary reason for moon
lighting is economic. SomS choose to earn additional
income to enable them to afford a comparatively
high standard of living. For others, a second job may
be an attempt to maintain their present standard of
living after a sudden increase in expenses or a de
cline in earnings or simply to cover the basic needs
of a growing family.
Financial motivation, however, is not the only
reason why workers take a second job, the report
finds. Some want to continue the security of their
current job while they try working for themselves on
a part-time basis. Others are interested in going into
another line of work and experiment with part-time
jobs to find new fields suitable to their talents and
to gain useful experience.
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Sensing the News
I
&
The Quality of America
When the “Census Clock” reached a
count of 200 million in recent days,
Americans understandably took pride
in the growth, size and wealth of their
nation. In population and territory,
the United States exceeds the wildest
dreams of any of its Founding Fathers.
But there is a danger in a people
thinking about their country simply
in quantitative terms. It is marvelous,
of course, that this once almost empty
continent has become the home for so
many people. Nowhere else on earth
are there so many material rewards
and so many opportunities for person
al development.
Nevertheless, Americans have to be
concerned about the qualitative as
pects of the republic in the final third
of the 20th century. They owe a duty
to their forebears and to their descend
ants to ask about the quality of patri
otism and the strength of constitu
tional government in this land. The
American heritage is not simply one of
living space and material wealth. It is
a spiritual hertiage—the heritage of
individual freedom. And to many
thoughtful citizens there seems rea
son to be troubled about the state of
this heritage in our times.
Certainly, patriotism is alive; it is
vividly alive in the young Americans
who fight so bravely in Viet Nam, even
when the political leadership at home
is grossly inadequate in spelling out
the reasons for the conflict. But some
of our institutions and part of our way
of life are in difficulty these days.
The Founding Fathers created this
republic as a bulwark against all
forms of tyranny. In their time, they
saw the tyrant at work through the
agency of the British Crown. But
threats to liberty also have their con
temporary manifestations.
Today, for example, we have the evil
of Big Government—a mammoth bu
reaucracy that inhibits the individu
al’s exercise of personal freedom and
eats his substance through oppressive
taxation designed to reward one seg
ment of the population by robbing an
other.
The Founding Fathers could not
have envisioned the emergence of Big
Unionism —a virtual state within a
state that often operates as though it
were not answerable to the law or to
the legitimate demands of the public.
By Thurman Sensing
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Southern States Industrial Council
Today, American freedom is restricted
by the bold maneuvers of Big Union
ism, which—like some robber barons
of old —attempts to stop transporta
tion of people and goods.
Americans have not thought deeply
enough about how their rights have
been eroded in the last 30-odd years by
the government that is supposed to
protect them.
In the early days of this country,
the right to work was unimpaired. A
man could take any job for which he
was qualified. He did not have to seek
the permission of any organization or
group. Today we find a vastly different
situation. In less than half the states
is the right to work guaranteed by law.
In the other states, a citizen is not
wholly free to get a job. The union
power structure in effect “owns” the
jobs in many industries and lines of
business. An employer is not free to
select his employees, he must adhere
to conditions laid down by the union
bosses. This situation is one of the big
gest threats to freedom in America
today.
The United States also has within
its midst a small minority that seeks
to promote a new kind of revolution
that has nothing to do with the con
servative American Revolution of 1776.
This minority is bent on shattering
the social order of the United States
by campaigns of lawlessness, by riots
in the cities, by sit-ins on the cam
puses, and by bully-boy tactics of in
timidation against officials of the law
and the government.
As Americans take pride in their na
tion on reaching a population of 200
million, they must remember that the
worth of a country’s heritage always
has to be proved by the actions of the
living. This nation cannot live off the
brave deeds of men in earlier times.
Citizens of today have to stand up and
be counted against the forces of bu
reaucracy, labor totalitarianism and
anarchism that would wreck the ex
periment in freedom by action from
within the republic. If citizens of today
uphold the qualitative aspects of the
national life they need have no fear
about the material success or security
of the country. In the American Way
of Life, freedom is the vital ingredient.
Its protection, as our ancestors have
told us, requires eternal vigilance.
GRASSROOTS OPINION
from the nation’s press
EVERETT (WASH.) HER
ALD—The apathy of the
American people toward
spending today seems to in
dicate that the myth of the
federal solution is still
strong. When the people re
ject this myth—and other
myths of federal spending—
they will again speak up to
Congress. After more than
30 years of experience with
centralization, with bureau
cratic red tape, with waste
and duplication, there is a
stirring in the grassroots.
The possibility of a better
way is being weighed.
A woman came in dragging
her husband to the psychia
trist's office. ‘‘l can't stand
it,” she told the doc. "Every
Sunday he thinks he’s
Johnny Unitas!”
“He’s such a big fellow,”
the doctor said. "How did
you ever manage to get him
in here?"
“It wasn’t easy,” the wife
said. “I had to red-dog
him." — Kentucky Irish
American
HOT SPRINGS (S. D.)
STAR — Business people
know that the one thing
which constitutes the great
est loss for them is shop
lifting. This trend has
caused many a businessman
to wonder whether or not he
could stay in business . . .
Previously, a person with
unpaid merchandise had to
leave the store before the
proprietor could stop him.
Now the store owner can ap
prehend shoplifting s&spects
when they are still in the
store.
The auto industry has
taken some tentative steps
to develop and market elec
tric vehicles with limited
range and power. Several
bills were introduced in
Congress this year to finance
and speed up research into
electric car batteries, but
nothing came of them.—
Beatrice (Neb.) Sun
Convalescence: That vague
time when you’re better than
you were but still not as well
as you were before you were
as sick as you are now.—
Wall Street Journal
Wife to irate husband:
“Normally I wouldn’t dream
of opening a letter addressed
to you, but this one was
marked ’private’." — Brooks
(Alta.) Bulletin
The most tactfully am
biguous reply to a bad au
thor was given by Disraeli
to an author of meagre tal
ents who had sent him an
advance copy of his book.
“Many thanks,” responded
Disraeli, "I shall lose no
time in reading your book.”
—Salt Lake City Deseret
MEMBER