The Charlotte News
Wednesday, February 26, 1958
THREE EDITORIALS
Site Ed, Note: The front page reports from Havana that Cuban rebels had made a daring raid on the National Bank of Cuba in the heart of the capital this date, tying up the bank's employees and setting fire to thousands of checks, but making no effort to take any of the bank's cash. Between four and six men had mingled with about a score of employees and businessmen entering the bank at its opening during the morning, and once inside, had brandished pistols and entered the bank's check clearing room where they herded the employees into a room, tied them up and proceeded to set fire to freshly delivered pouches containing the checks. The rebels had then fled without any money. Police on patrol in the street noticed smoke pouring from the building and called firemen, and the blaze had been quickly extinguished. One report said that most of the checks had been destroyed, with the bank reporting that there was no damage to the premises.
Senator John McClellan of Arkansas ordered immediate public hearings by the Senate Select Committee investigating misconduct of unions and management, regarding the four-year old Kohler strike.
The President, defying Midwestern Republican demands that he fire Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson, praised the Secretary this date as a man of courage and honesty.
Secretary of Defense Neil McElroy said this date that the Administration soon would ask for another increase in defense spending, indicating that plans for high priority military hardware would increase the initial 40 billion dollar defense budget sought by the President early in the year.
The President said this date that a tax cut was a possibility if there was a deepening of the business recession.
A price war on small electric appliances had erupted in the metropolitan New York area this date after G.E. had scrapped its "fair trade" program, with leading retailers slashing prices by about 30 percent during the morning.
In Algiers, the French had announced this date that the Algerian rebels had launched a major new offensive. The French admitted that 82 of their men had been killed and 11 were missing in four days of fighting, reportedly more than they had lost all winter.
In Chicago, Stephen Mitchell, former DNC chairman, urged a Congressional investigation into the postponed appearances of four state officials in a Federal grand jury probe of Illinois toll highway contracts.
In Des Moines, Ia., a cab driver had been shot to death early this date when trapped between gunfire of two policemen and two teenagers after a gun shop robbery. The gun battle occurred in the downtown portion of the city within a block of police headquarters. The patrolmen and the two boys who engaged in the gun battle were wounded. Two other teenagers, one of whom was a divorcee, were held for questioning. The cab driver had been shot five times as he sought cover. One of the wounded teenagers, 17, had been wounded critically. He was the son of a man who had been arrested recently for possession of burglary tools. The two patrolmen were less seriously wounded.
In Toulouse, France, it had taken a ten-ton tank, hand grenades and squads of French police to finish off a 50-year old bachelor who refused to quit his barricaded farmhouse. The police had driven the tank through the house the previous night and then lobbed hand grenades inside, ending a four-day standoff in the man's attempt to remain on the farm which he had sold the previous December. One police officer had been killed and another seriously wounded. The man refused to leave the farm when the new owner showed up four days earlier, had barricaded himself in the kitchen and threatened anyone who came near. Attendants sent to take him to an insane asylum had fled when he waved one of his three rifles out the window. The police charged into the farmhouse on Monday, but the man's gunfire had hit two of them, killing one. The police commander ordered his men to retreat, leaving the body of the dead officer inside, giving the shooter a submachine gun. Then the police tried throwing in the grenades, only to be answered by submachine gunfire. The previous night, the commander ordered the tank to smash through the house with grenade-throwers following. The police waited until daylight before returning inside the wrecked house, where they found the man's dead body.
In Palo Alto, Calif., a Stanford University sophomore had shot to death a 17-year old Palo Alto high school girl "to satisfy an urge" the previous night, according to police. A desk sergeant said that the student had acted as if he were reporting a minor traffic accident when he walked into the Palo Alto police station shortly before midnight and said: "I want to report a killing. I shot a girl and she's out in the car." The girl's body was in the seat of his car with a single bullet wound to her head. A captain of the inspectors bureau indicated that the student had told the police an incredible story, that he had bought a .22-caliber rifle the previous afternoon for the express purpose of picking up a girl, killing her, raping her, and leaving her body in the foothills. The 19-year old said that he "just had the urge to do this", an urge he had experienced previously. He told the police he had bought the rifle and ammunition at a Palo Alto sports shop the previous afternoon and had driven around, looking at random for a girl, until he finally gave up and had gone home. Late the previous night, he had telephoned the victim and told her that he had to take a trip and asked her if she would drive him to the station and bring his car home. After she agreed, he picked her up, slid into the passenger seat, and told her that he had to return a rifle to the ROTC armory on the Stanford campus, to which she then drove the two miles and stopped in front of the armory. He told police that he had then fired once point blank into her head and then took the wheel and drove into the Stanford foothills, but had a change of heart and had driven directly to the police station after a few minutes. He claimed not to have raped her. An autopsy was scheduled. He was booked on suspicion of murder. An electrical engineering student at Stanford, he lived across the street from the family of the girl. Her parents said that she and the boy had dated only once, but that it had been some time earlier and they were considered to be just neighborhood acquaintances. He appears to have some problems which need sorting out.
In Gastonia, N.C., an 18-year old unemployed boy who thought that highway robbery would solve his financial problems, had gunned down a 58-year old night service station attendant early during the morning, according to police. The victim was in a Gastonia hospital in critical condition from four bullet wounds to his abdomen. The boy was in police custody with a bullet wound to his leg, received when the service station attendant had shot him before he had been gunned down during the wee hours of the morning. The boy told police that he had stolen an automatic pistol from a home which he had been visiting on Tuesday night. He said that he left the house and was thinking that he was broke and wanted some money, and so walked into the service station and pulled the gun on the attendant, announcing that it was a hold-up. He said that the attendant had given him three one-dollar bills and a quantity of coins in wrappers, at which point the boy told the older man that he would have to drive him out of town, and as they started to get into a service station truck outside, the attendant suddenly pulled a handgun and fired, at which point the boy shot him.
Near Tryon, N.C., two masked,
cake-eating bandits bound and gagged the manager of a grocery store,
gathered up available loose change and escaped. The manager told
police that he had opened one drawer of the safe in the A&P store
a mile south of the city early in the morning when the two armed men
had grabbed him, struck him on the head, tied him with rope, stuffed
a gag in his mouth and laid him on the floor, an hour before the
store was scheduled to open. The men had their faces covered by
cloths. They obtained bottles of milk and a cake, consumed them while
examining the safe. They were able to get into only one drawer of the
safe and obtained only a small amount of money in coins. After the
bandits had left, the manager said that he rolled about on the floor
until he was able to spit out the gag and whistle, attracting a man
from the produce department when he arrived shortly thereafter,
releasing the manager from his bonds. Police said that the bandits
had entered the store by prying off a side door lock and breaking a
panel from the door. They needed to use the money to print their own newspaper
Ann Sawyer of The News reports that the first "grass roots" expression on City-County school consolidation had been relayed to County school officials this date, to the effect that they would rather remain as they were, but that since consolidation was inevitable, it was best to understand how they were going to consolidate. That expression had come from a local school committee and the executive boards of the PTA's of Oakdale and Paw Creek schools the previous night. The County superintendent, J. W. Wilson, had asked similar groups throughout the county to let the Board know their feelings on consolidation. The Paw Creek School meeting was the first of which he had heard.
In Troy, N.Y., Airman Donald Farrell, who had made the first simulated flight to the moon, had once been married to a Troy woman and had a four-year old daughter from the marriage. She said that she had sent a letter to the New York Daily News telling of her marriage to him. He had recently spent seven days in a simulated rocket as part of an Air Force experiment. The newspaper said that Mr. Farrell had admitted to the marriage in early 1952 when each had been 17 years old. Their marriage had been annulled in April, 1954 on the legal ground that they had been too young when married. Terms of her parting had been that Mr. Farrell would provide $10 per week for his daughter's support, his former wife indicating that he had paid $150 about three years earlier but nothing since. She said that she did not want money and that her main motive in making the disclosure of the marriage was to induce him to allow her present husband to adopt their little girl legally. Mr. Farrell said that he had not realized that he was supposed to continue the support payments for the little girl after his former wife had remarried.
In East Orange, N.J., where they give four pawns, two bishops and a rook for change, it was reported that a group of motorists were fined for overtime parking when they could not move their snowbound cars. The session of court the previous night had started with lawyers for the defense claiming that the 13.4-inch snowfall of February 15 was "an act of God" and that their clients had been "entrapped by nature". Four hours and thousands of words later, 156 motorists were convicted, 14 cases were dismissed, 500 of the defendants were absent and subjected to contempt of court citations, and one lawyer had been evicted from the courtroom. The motorists who jammed the courtroom were among 1,500 who had been ticketed in the wake of the near-blizzard. Seven of the 14 dismissals were for tickets issued by one patrolman, who admitted writing them in a time when he had known that the cars were snowbound and could not be moved. An attorney told the acting magistrate that East Orange was the only city from Maine to Florida which enforced parking regulations in a snowstorm. The fines issued totaled $830.
In Cleveland, O., a woman, 39, and her daughter, 18, both had been in the hospital the previous night and given birth less than three hours apart. The new fathers were unemployed.
On the editorial page, "Should the Supreme Court Be Curtailed?" indicates that one of the angriest and most irresponsible legislative moves aimed at the Supreme Court in the country was being plotted recently in Indiana, as Senator William Jenner had proposed a bill to deprive the Court of jurisdiction in five categories.
The Senator, upset by a series of liberal decisions, wanted to bar the Court from appellate jurisdiction in all actions taken by Congressional investigating committees and in internal security matters, including citations for contempt against witnesses. His bill would also cut off the right of appeal to the Court for any person dropped from the Government payroll because of alleged subversive connections.
It finds that while the effort was being made in the name of conservatism, it would actually alter rather than conserve a time-tested institution, the keystone of American liberty under law, thus being an act of disturbing radicalism and quite undesirable. It would lessen the judiciary's independence and subject it to the control of one or more of the other branches of the Government, and no one who believed in the system of checks and balances would want that to happen.
It indicates that criticism of the Court and its decision was quite appropriate as no institution of government stood beyond the reach of criticism. In 1898, Justice David Brewer, said: "It is a mistake to suppose the Supreme Court is either honored or helped by being spoken of as beyond criticism. On the contrary, the life and character of its justices should be the objects of constant watchfulness by all, and its judgments subject to the freest criticism. The time has passed in the history of the world when any living man or body of men can be set on a pedestal and decorated with a halo. True, many criticisms may be, like their authors, devoid of good taste, but better all sorts of criticisms than no criticism at all."
In 1957, ABA president David Maxwell had said that the emphasis ought be on the "constructiveness of the criticism".
It suggests, however, that when the attacks were so reckless in their abuse and heedless of the value of judicial review that they tended to undermine the public's confidence in judicial remedies, then they ought be repudiated by thoughtful citizens.
It shares the opinion of many critics of the Court that politics had played too much of a factor in Federal judicial appointments and shares the widespread doubts about the wisdom of certain of the decisions of the Court through the years, but also shares the uneasiness of many political scientists over the prospect of hasty legislation to alter the Court's appellate jurisdiction.
Senator Thomas Hennings of Missouri had recently drawn an important distinction which it suggests ought be observed scrupulously by the Senate subcommittee presently conducting hearings on the bill proposed by Senator Jenner. Senator Hennings had said that while he thought free and open criticism of the Court's decisions and opinions was healthy and desirable, he deplored and cautioned against any hasty or ill-considered attempt to limit the powers of the Court by changing its basic structure. He said that the system established by the forefathers almost 170 years earlier had served the nation well and ought not be changed except in unusual circumstances, and then only after the most careful study and thought. He found that it should not be tampered with in a moment of passion or temporary pique.
The piece indicates that men would come and go and issues would come and go and that which had to remain constant was a democratic system which guarded deeply cherished constitutional rights regardless of the stress and strains of the times and the passions of the moment, true conservatism.
"Sen. Byrd Brings Honor to His Breed" indicates that Senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia, being essentially an aristocrat, had no defense against widespread pleas that he forgo retirement for another term in the Senate. Arguing against his acceptance of a fifth term was a six-year old pledge to his wife, an invalid, that he would not run again.
It finds it possible that there was also a personal desire to quit, from the fact that his philosophy of government was in general decline in Washington, with either reason being a substantial argument but neither compelling enough in the face of his state's obvious and earnest desire that he continue as Senator. It finds it an accurate measure of his strong devotion to public service and his conscientious regard for duty that he was going to run again and that the Senate would have been weakened as a deliberative body by his retirement. It suggests that there would undoubtedly be rejoicing over his decision among both liberal and conservative Senators.
The Senate, at its best, functioned as a place where ideas were put to tests other than that of shifting popular support. By reason of his sincerity, intelligence and industry, Senator Byrd had been able to serve responsibly and honorably those who agreed with his views and, by putting opposing philosophies to the test of his arguments, had serve the general welfare also.
While aristocracy had its vices as well as its virtues, by the Senator's willingness to serve at personal sacrifice and his abilities, he had brought honor to his breed.
"Judge Parker: A Wrong Remembered" indicates that the excess of political fanaticism which had cheated Charlotte's Judge John J. Parker of a Supreme Court seat in 1930 and denied the nation the full benefit of his great competence and character had been an old and bitter tale in and around Charlotte.
It finds it illustrative of his character that the judge had not become old or bitter by his disappointment.
Recently, the Washington Post, in congratulating the National Conference on Citizenship for selecting Judge Parker as its new president, had remarked: "Twenty-eight years ago, when Judge Parker was nominated to be a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, he was made the victim of one of the worst psychological lynchings in which the Senate has ever indulged. Because he had followed an unpopular decision of the Supreme Court and because certain factions were determined to embarrass President Hoover, Judge Parker was pilloried as a foe of labor and minority groups, with virtually no regard for the distinguished record he had already made on the bench. Rejected by a vote of 41 to 39, the judge accepted the decision without bitterness and continued to gain stature as a liberal-minded jurist of rare quality. Over the years he has won the respect of even the groups who fought him the most bitterly. As he presides over this far-flung conference of citizen groups, he will have the satisfaction of knowing that the conscience of the nation has reversed the narrow, politically inspired decision of 28 years ago."
It finds that the editorial judgment would likely find no dissent.
A piece from the Raleigh News & Observer, titled "Inflation in Brass", indicates that a transatlantic news dispatch recently had brought word that some Britons bemoaned the growth of bureaucracy in the armed services. The Sunday Graphic had pointed out that there were 144 admirals, 132 generals and 100 air marshals, which seemed like a lot of brass.
It suggests, however, that the British did not know anything about inflation in rank, as the latest figures from the Pentagon showed that the Army had 508 generals, the Marines, 63 generals, the Air Force, 424 generals, and the Navy, 297 admirals. It offers that the U.S. might lack missiles but certainly had no insufficiency in brass to argue about them.
Drew Pearson indicates that White House press secretary James Hagerty had been having one of the roughest times of his five years in that position as the President was no longer worried about what the public thought, as he had been in his first term. Mr. Hagerty had been fully aware of the bad public reaction to the story of First Lady Mamie Eisenhower and her sister-in-law taking a detour of 3,000 miles to go to a slimming salon in Arizona, but the press secretary had nothing to say about it. He knew that the President's sister-in-law was in the public eye because of the Congressional investigation of the Miami television channel awarded to a subsidiary of National Airlines, and her husband, Col. Gordon Moore, having been mentioned in connection with the Civil Aeronautics Board award of a route to his old firm, Trans-Caribbean Air Lines and in connection with deals with Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo.
A guest of Mrs. Eisenhower was Mrs. Ellis Slater, whose husband, former head of Frankfurt Distilleries, a Seagrams subsidiary, had been given credit for helping influence the oil leasing of a wildlife refuge in Louisiana. The latter lease had been given by the Administration to Mr. Slater's subsidiary company, Frankfurt Oil Co., and had set a new precedent for oil leasing on Government wildlife preserves. Previously, Democratic Secretaries of the Interior Harold Ickes and Oscar Chapman had zealously refused to allow oil companies to lease game refuges. Republican subordinates in the Interior Department had also vigorously opposed opening up the Louisiana preserve to Mr. Slater's oil company, but had been overruled by those higher up.
Mr. Slater had contributed $2,500 to the President's re-election campaign in 1956 and had been one of his closest bridge-playing partners. He had been with him most of the time at Thomasville, Ga., during his quail-hunting expedition recently, and was a member of the executive group which had built the Augusta golf quarters for the President at no expense to him.
Elizabeth Arden, who was giving the First Lady and her friends the non-paying guest treatment at her Arizona slimming resort, also had contributed $2,500 to the President's 1956 campaign.
An interview by the News with Charlotte City School superintendent, Dr. Elmer Garinger, appears on the page, asking whether the schools in the community were ready for the space age in terms of teaching science and mathematics and whether enough time was being spent on teaching fundamental subjects. Because of its parochial nature, specific to its time, you may read it for yourself to determine his answers.
It might be suggested that the emphasis on science and mathematics during the cold war period in the country led to an unfortunate de-emphasis on basic civics and appreciation for how government works, what services it performs and does not perform, and what role the Constitution plays in governance of the whole country, down to the local level, how the Constitution and its Supremacy Clause relates to state laws, how state laws relate to local laws, with the notion of the big dome of the Constitution under which all of the laws must be subservient and with which they must be compliant, with the system of checks and balances present at the Federal level to prevent despotism by any one branch, even if working slowly and never providing everything desired by any special interest group or subset of the population, no matter how vociferously demanded, the omnipresent need always for compromise to effect general respect and support of any governmental entity, lessons visibly taught during World War II and in its immediate aftermath but gradually lost with the dissipation of time since, failing in the process to check the tendency toward respect for a form of despotism to satisfy all whims and fancies of a decided minority while marginalizing those with differing points of view as being others, outsiders of one sort or another deserving of rejection and quarantine. Judging by the results in our present daily life in the United States, the omission through time has had disastrous results in terms of the ordinary citizen's understanding in those fields, with the present Trump virtual dictatorship, without any real checks and balances from a spineless, cowed Republican majority in each house of Congress, being the unfortunate outcome, leading to the present chaos, just as did a limited version of the same type of governance in Trump's first term in office. Perhaps a separate course in science and social studies devoted entirely to memory development and preservation might also be in order, as well as a course in current events and media studies, stressing how to read news and interpret media generally, discriminating between editorial comment and reporting of facts, and hidden editorial comment within the reporting of facts by dint of the editing and choice of words, especially adjectives, to describe certain events, along with the overall tone of the report, as a means of a checking filter.
Framed Edition
Links-Date — Links-Subj.