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'77m Pacesetter of the Seventies"
MEMBER
GARY JOHNSON
Editor
JOHNNY TURNER
Associate Editor
Citizen Soldier Is
American Tradition
CARL BROWN, Buiinass Manager
LYNDON MAYES, Managing Editor
Asst. Editor*: John Tyler Hammett Ron Child*
Executive Editor*: Tom Cauthorn, Bobby Phillip*
(Unsigned tditonals ire tht opinion of the Clutter end thould not be confuted with
newt ttpritt Signed columns end cartoons art the opinion* of the author* and not the
Cluster I
Is Money The Answer ?
by Johnny Tumor
Ever since the moon landing this summer,
there has been much debate around the coun
try over the vast amount of money spent on
the space program. Since John P. Kennedy set
the target date for the moon, many people
have argued that the money should have been
used to settle the problems on earth rather
than send two men to the surface of the
moon. Mo6t of the supporter* of this argu
ment come from the ranks of the poor and
disenfranchiaed people who have been ignored
for so long. These people are right to point
out that there is a desperate need in America
for massive attention to our social ills. And
they are right when they contend that these
problems could be fatal if they continue much
longer.
However it seems that many of the more
vocal people who oppose the space program
on these grounds have been taken In by the
Great American Delusion — If enough money
is poured over a problem for a long enough
period of time, the problem will wash away.
It does not quite work that way.
Early in the sixties John F. Kennedy gave
America a goal to reach for and most Ameri
cans accepted it. The problem was to get a
man on the moon and bring him back before
1970. The basic theories that were needed
were already in existence. The industries and
technicians were available. The only thing left
to do was design and build the hardware and
the execute the mission. The taxpayers provid
ed the money and American technology tri
umphed right in front of our eyes.
Now look at our social ills. If President
Nixon set 1980 as the target date for the era
dication of crime, poverty and slums, segrega
tion and racial tension, pollution and Infla
tion, and Congress provided the necessary
amount of money, how would the problems
be solved? If the leading sociologists and edu
cators were asked to solve these problems the
odds are very good that they would provide
many different answers. The theories needed
to solve these problems are in their Infancy.
All of this boils down to the fact that It is
not hard to agree on how to get a man to the
moon. The problem is a technical one exclu
sively. But the problem of crime or proverty
is a sociological, psychological, political, eco
nomic, educational and historical problem. It
is infinitely more Involved than Apollo 11
was. But It involves such things as changing
deep rooted attitude* and ways of life. It
means building such things as pride and inte
grity. It means convincing politicians, indus
tries and landlords to change radically. AD this
must be done and It must be done now. But
to believe that all that is necessary to eradi
cate these problems is a few well placed bil
lions is to dream.
Within the mushroom
cloud of disaant that has
arisen In protest of the war In
Viet Nam, than is a little
billow which Is calling for the
immediate re
moval of the
ROTC “war
m achine”
from the col
lege campus.
Fortunately,
the segment
Sr h I c h e n-
doraes this proposal is small
and hopefully, It wUl remain
so.
The war in Viet Nam Is dif
ficult to justify. I, for one,
feel that we should get out as
quickly as possible. However,
this Is not the issue that wa
are dealing with here.
The issue, sa I see it, con
cerns America’s contingency
for defense. This contingency
is necessary and will be neces
sary until man can find and
effect some other solution to
his problems than force.
Whether we are Involved in a
major war oversaw or not, it
la necessary that the officers
who guide our military estab
lishment be well trained.
Indeed, the concept of the
ctthen soldier is baalc to the
American tradition. And this
is good, net only bacauaa it
helps to preclude the poaribi-
ttty of a recalcitrant military
eatahiWunent, but also be
cause it plaeee the responsi
bility for the defense of this
country in the hands of thorn
who are most eonosrned with
this country ... Its citizen*.
But going a little further, It
Is necessary to look at the
potential backgrounds of these
reserve officers. One amply
does not have the opportunity
in baric training or Officers
Candidate School that one has
on the college campus to
come to gripe srith moral
issues. Time and the discipline
required does not foster this
Dy iyam rramiuwsi
ft
LITTLE MAN ON CAMPUS
An Unpopular
Man — Gatch
by Ron Childs
Hunger and malnutrition became the target
_jof Donald Gatch, for he was determined to
speak out against them even in the face of
harsh repression. In 1967 he testified against
hunger before the Citizen’s Board of Inquiry
into Hunger and Malnutrition in the United
States, using ten years of experience as a gen
eral practioner In Beaufort and Bluffton, S. C.
as his credentials.
He told of widespread malnutrition, scurvy,
rickets, pellegra, and intestinal parasites, which
he said were responsible for eight deaths in
the area. He told of one Black child who was
brought in for a ruptured appendix. The child
was rushed into the emergency room, where
one of the other surgeons noted that the child
had rickets. When the surgeon reached the
abdomen in doing the appendectomy, he
found some round worms. One surgeon noted,
“Of course, In these colored children the
closer we get up to the ilium in the stomach
the more worms we will find because these
kids don’t have much to eat,” “And this is
where they head, they get the food before the
When Gatch returned from the hearing* he
found that he was an unpopular man. His
white patients left him, his rent doubled, the
town newspaper wrote editorials about him,
charging him with a disservice to the commu
nity. He suffered open assault by five whit*
men, and his wife suffered a miscarriage Re
fusing to move out of town as he Was asked
to do, he was charged with violating the state
narcotics law. Gatch turned himself over to
the authorities voluntarily to answer the
charges which he labeled “without foundation
and politically motivated.” Gatch also noted
that he was told that if ha would leave the
state there would not he any prosecution.
These charge* could bring him up to six and
one-half years in prison, and a fine of $6,500.
An unpopular man, out of place and lonely,
soon to pass Into oblivion.
' Ju4T m I re***
From The Editor
confrontation.■
officer who volunteers
selected for OCR smm
from his training with much
the same preconceived pate
ljudtoes that he bald whan he
entered the ptoeam.
This Is not (me of the-eob
lap ROIC student .. „ or at
doaan’t have to be.
WheoHH
place on
the military student is]
to think^HHH
both military andH
subjects And In (he academic |
atmosphere, he hat dare to re
flect on the alternatives offer
ed by each discipline, fa there
any better piece for such re
flection? And when at last the
ROTC student shoulders the
responsibility for the defense
of bis country as he goes on
active duty, he does so with a
much deeper par appetite than
he could probably haw achi
eved had he not taken his mil
itary course* at the same time
that be took hk othsr college
courses, especially if he has
taken courses In the Liberal
Arts.
Hopefully, after careful
conridsration of the Issues,
the potential officar white
committing himrelf to defend
his country hi time of war,
can become an advocate of
peace. Indeed, them should bo
no greater advocate of peace
than the officer who shoulders
his rifle, looks back at his
men, and says “Follow Me”.
Cluster Policy
Signed tettess and columns
are the opinions of the respec
tive rignee or columnist and
do not necessarily reflect the
opinion of The Ouster. Un
signed editorials reflect the
opinion of the majority of the
editorial staff
The Chtster welcomes tet
ters from Individuals express
ing their views and opinions
on any subject The tetters (1)
must be 500 words or leas, (2)
must be typed double pace,
(S) must be aipaed by author,
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the ri^ht to re edit or not to
publish any tetter not ka good
journalistic form and style.
Educational Complex
Must Become "Life"
A Message From President Nixon
Within
I've
The following message from President
Richard M. Nixon was sent to the 1969 gra
duating class of Columbia University.
Each generation, shaped by forces outside
and within it, asks the question it must ask.
Some generations, concerned with the building
of a nation, ask “How?” Other generations,
needing tc set priorities for the future, ask
“What?”
Your generation has asked “Why?”
As Americans we must together ask all of
the big question* and seek to find answers.
How we build a better America, what kind of
nation we want, why we pursue certain gosh
Instead of others — these am not problems to
be faced by one generation and Ignored by an
other. All of us must fece them.
education in the humanities and
teaches ua that the reel power to deal endure: he will pmvaiL
with theee problems comes out of the human
mind and the human heart.
AU power must be disciplined by trained
intelligence and tempered by compassion.
Each of you tea'" *
professional or social or
activity wiD determine tin
of your nation and of the
The question asked by your
Why? — is one that muat be
only by the quality
the quality of your
leg* years that we
those “people
people hewing without
What you have
to bring to American me is not use sou no or
silence, but the sound of a pnengine which
win work to ensure that, la the words of
William Faulkner,
THE MERCER CLUSTER * January 20,1970 • 2