The Charlotte News
Friday, October 13, 1950
FOUR EDITORIALS
Site Ed. Note: The front page reports that 37 bombarding warships, South Korean ground forces, and allied planes struck at North Korean supply lines out of Soviet Siberia. There was still no evidence, however, of an allied amphibious landing in the area of the east coast. Instead of moving west toward Pyongyang, the South Korean forces had proceeded three miles north from captured Wonsan, encountering only light resistance.
Stubborn resistance was expected at the next targets, Mamhung and Hungnam, both industrial centers.
North Korean Premier Kim Il Sung said via radio that the "motherland" was in "a very dangerous position", his most candid and least defiant pronouncement to date during the war.
At the U.N., the U.S. and its allies sought to retain Trygve Lie as Secretary-General, against Russian opposition, utilizing the previous day a Security Council veto to block a second five-year term. Most delegates believed that the matter was left to the General Assembly to resolve. The U.S. wanted to extend the term for three years and there appeared to be general consensus for the proposition.
Selective Service director General Lewis Hershey, in a speech to the American Veterans Committee, proposed to lower the draft age from 19 to 18, to add more available persons for the armed forces.
The President was en route to Hawaii, for his planned rendezvous with General MacArthur at an undisclosed location in the Pacific, thought to be Wake Island, to discuss the strategy for the final victory in Korea.
The President is liable to be kept waiting on the tarmac by His Highness.
In New York, Alger Hiss's attorneys presented oral argument in his appeal of his perjury conviction and five-year prison sentence before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that Whittaker Chambers had provided only "psychiatric testimony" without corroboration and that the second trial, following the mistrial after a hung jury in the first case, had taken place with the jury in the peculiar position of knowing from publicity attendant the case that the first jury had been unable to reach a verdict. The defense also argued that two psychiatrists had testified that Mr. Chambers was a psychopathic liar and that his testimony was the sole evidence inculpating Mr. Hiss in perjury.
In Los Angeles, the American Legion convention elected a new national commander who vowed to support universal military training, a shakeup in the State Department, and outlawing of Communism, all of which had been embraced by the delegates. The original proposal to favor ouster specifically of Secretary of State Acheson had been amended to favor reconstituting of the Department, while condemning it for not meeting adequately the dangers of Communism.
In Long Beach, California, an inquest was scheduled in the death of a ten-year old girl. Her female music teacher was being held on suspicion of murder, even though an autopsy had revealed that the child died by strangling on chunks of food. The child had been living with the teacher, learning to play the accordion, since July, when her mother began training as a student nurse. The autopsy had also shown evidence of bruises and bites, as well as sexual abuse, but that none of those factors had contributed to her death, except that possibly regurgitated food on which she choked may have been the result of the injuries. The music teacher claimed that the child harmed herself often and believed herself to be possessed of occult powers of self-healing which she sought to prove by cutting herself repeatedly. The child's mother confirmed some of that behavior pattern, saying that the girl deliberately bumped her legs against furniture and believed she received messages from beyond saying that she would be a great accordionist.
Fulton Oursler, in chapter 5 of his Why I Know There Is a God, tells of the danger of zeal outrunning common sense, that zeal without knowledge, as Dean Swift had said, was the sister of folly. But there was also a moderate, understanding zeal of the true Christian, which, he professes, was needed in the world more than treaties, hospitals, pensions, or hydrogen bombs. All Christians had to be born again.
On the editorial page, "Unity in the Americas" tells of the former editor of the Louisville Times, Tom Wallace, presiding over the Inter-American Press Conference in New York, designed to encourage uniform standards of professional and business conduct, and the exchange of ideas and information contributing to cultural, material and technical development of the press of the Americas, to guard the freedom of the press, plus the overriding purpose to foster wider knowledge and greater interchange among the peoples of the Americas in support of the basic principles of a free society.
It suggests that journalists were an apt group for the discussion as they could effect great strides in dispelling the ignorance which stood as the only barrier to hemispheric unity. In so doing, the threat of Communism in Central and South America would be reduced.
The News co-sponsored the conference and believed that it would help foster better relations with hemispheric neighbors.
Nah, let's build a wall and have them people pay fur it so's all the murderers and rapists can't get acrost thur.
"Recorder Wilson Guillotined" tells of the test case in Durham, challenging the order of the Recorder for the arrest on a charge of vagrancy of anyone caught distributing the petition for the Soviet-backed Stockholm peace treaty, having concluded with the Superior Court judge having dismissed the case, finding that the defendant was gainfully employed and thus not a vagrant. The judge had implied, however, that if he had his way, he would deny the First Amendment rights to people as the defendant.
The piece reminds that neither the Recorder nor the judge had their way when it came to the Bill of Rights, guaranteed to everyone. It suggests that actions such as those of the Recorder only played into the hands of such "leftists" as the defendant, who would seek to test such edicts and draw in the process attention to themselves, arrogating to themselves the "precious privilege of defending the Bill of Rights."
That is the right result but smacks of the wrong approach, lending some credibility to those who would deny the Bill of Rights to some, impliedly suggesting that but for their Fascism they were "good people".
"Bob Ruark and the Veep" agrees with the piece by Mr. Ruark on the page, regarding the state of the vice-presidency and how it had come to be occupied by men who seemed ill-fitted to the task of the presidency, judging by their pastime spent appealing to the press photographers with such frivolous activities as bussing female celebrities. Although it finds Vice-President Barkley to be a fine, genial gentleman, it thinks the Vice-President ought be constantly at the right hand of the President, as in a business, ready, if the occasion arose, to take over the head job.
"Farewell to Diplomatese" finds that Secretary of State Acheson, in his speech on Sunday night, had said something important, that there was hope for peace with Russia, and had said it simply, without the usual "diplomatese" characteristic of most such addresses. His basic message was that it required a strong defense capability to deter Russian aggression.
A piece from the Frankfort (Ky.) State Journal, titled "Sound of Morning", finds the milkman's horse replaced by the gasoline engine, the clinking glass bottle giving way to a cardboard container, the milkman, himself, no longer arriving before breakfast. The policeman on the beat had been replaced by the squad car. The iron-tired wagons had vanished from the paved-over streets of brick and cobblestone. Even the rattling tin garbage can might soon be replaced by a rubber one. Indeed, in short order, it concludes, it would be so quiet in the nights and mornings that no one could sleep.
Drew Pearson provides his third column on the Mafia, stressing how it pulled strings in high places. Carlos Marcello, Mafia chieftain of New Orleans, who had managed to stay in the U.S. on a visitor's visa despite being associated with Frank Costello in gambling operations, had a hatchet man, Sylvestro Carolla, who had an extensive criminal past, including conviction for attempted murder, for which he had been pardoned a year afterward by the Louisiana Governor. Two years following that pardon, Mr. Carolla went to prison again on a Federal narcotics violation and the Federal Government finally decided to try to deport him. But then Congressman James Morrison of Louisiana intervened on his behalf, introducing a series of private bills to protect him. Eventually, however, he was deported in 1947. But in 1949, he turned up in Acapulco, operating for Lucky Luciano, and then the prior summer was back in New Orleans.
He provides background on more Mafia leaders in the country. Frank Cappola had been prominent in the New Orleans Mafia and then was sent to Kansas City, where he was linked to Charles Binnagio, murdered the prior spring in a gangland slaying. He had been deported but returned with the help of Mr. Binaggio and set up headquarters in Tijuana.
Sam Maceo, of Galveston, Tex., had started out as a barber but then moved into bootlegging and subsequently narcotics smuggling, now owned Galveston nightclubs, bars and two hotels, plus was a power in state politics.
Biaggio Angelica, of Houston, was Mr. Maceo's subordinate in the Mafia and had a lengthy criminal record.
Joe Di Giovanni, aka Joe Church, of Kansas City, had been the boss of such subordinates as Joe De Luca and the late Charles Binaggio. His front was a liquor wholesale company and he had a long history of arrests for serious crimes, including murder and rape, though never convicted.
Joe De Luca, of Kansas City, was in charge of the local narcotics branch of the Mafia, had a long criminal history, had been paroled twice through the intervention of former Congressman Tuck Milligan.
Anthony Gizzo, also of Kansas City, was a close friend of Mr. Binnagio and had been arrested with him as far back as 1930 in Denver. He worked for Canadian Ace beer to persuade tavern owners to carry the product.
Give 'em a package deal.
Hey, where's Tony De Morona on that list?
Whether Godfather IV will be coming along soon, we shall have to wait and see.
Marquis Childs, in London, tells of the British, with the disintegration for the most part of its empire, having changed by skillful policy from the once proud imperial master to friendly partner. They were amazed at the success they had enjoyed in the latter role as part of the British Commonwealth. Just concluded in London was a Commonwealth conference on Southeast Asia, operating under new rules, which appeared to have been successful. Present were representatives of India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Australia, New Zealand and Britain, with other Commonwealth countries participating sporadically.
Their mission was to create a prospectus for the underdeveloped areas of Southeast Asia, including Burma, Indonesia, and other countries not part of the Commonwealth. The prospectus included a technical assistance bureau to provide technological aid, including a schedule of repayments of debt on the sterling which Britain had borrowed during the war. It also contained a provision for capital investment, with developmental loans from the International Bank. It was hoped that American efforts would become part of the cooperative policy. An unofficial observer from the State Department was present at the conference.
Prime Minister Nehru of India had warned three years earlier that one could fight Communism in Asia but not both Communism and nationalism. He believed that with a moderate Western policy in place on Communist China, it would move away from the Soviet Union, despite being Communist in orientation, following the independent course set by Yugoslavia.
Mr. Childs finds it, along with the President's Point Four program, to be a signpost to a decent and peaceful world through moderation.
Robert C. Ruark finds that Vice-President Alben Barkley had done very little since coming to office in January, 1949, beyond attending parties, getting married and kissing every starlet and celebrity female who offered her lips for a publicity photo. It was a typical role for Vice-Presidents.
During the 1948 campaign, Governor Earl Warren, running mate to Governor Thomas Dewey, had said that he intended to be vital in the role of Vice-President. It appeared a fresh approach to the position on the ticket, which previously had attracted mostly piano players, poker players, cowboy singers, devotees of Oriental rope climbing, and practitioners of spin-the-bottle.
He finds a man in his seventies, as
Vice-President Barkley, who made a point of kissing young women, to
be more a bore than disgusting. Every family usually had one. But he
does not think that the reserve President ought be involved in a
public kissing contest with all its attendant press agentry. If that
were the qualification for the job, he prefers hiring Bobby
Clark
A letter writer finds Charlotte's property taxes essentially to be at the same rate of several years earlier, thus finds no merit to the argument in opposition to the coliseum and auditorium that the project would raise property taxes.
A letter writer opposes the same project for placing the burden on the taxpayers to fund it, hopes the small number of voters who would inevitably turn out the following day for the bond election would vote against it.
A letter writer urges passage of the bond issue, that the new facilities would lend additional progress to the community.
A letter writer opposes the bond issue as he thinks that it would raise property taxes so high that he would lose his home.
If an additional three bucks per year is going to break you, assuming your house is worth $5,000, you might think about asking for a raise of about a seventh of a cent per hour. Just think of it this way: don't buy tickets to about six events and you will be breaking even on the year.
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