The Charlotte News

Thursday, July 31, 1958

THREE EDITORIALS

Site Ed. Note: The front page reports from London that British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan had announced this date that he was calling for a special meeting of the U.N. Security Council to occur on August 12 and that he would personally attend. He told the House of Commons that he had advised Premier Nikita Khrushchev that New York, Geneva or any other place generally agreeable would be suitable as a site for the special conference regarding the Middle East crisis. He had read a text of a message which he had sent to Mr. Khrushchev this date, indicating hope that Mr. Khrushchev would also attend and that he was instructing the United Kingdom permanent representative at the U.N. to propose to the president of the Security Council the special meeting pursuant to Article 28 of the U.N. Charter. He also indicated that meanwhile, the permanent representatives ought discuss arrangement for the special meeting and decide where it would occur. He said that the conference he had in mind would allow "less formal meetings of the heads of government" to be arranged, in addition to the formal sessions of the whole 11-nation Council. Mr. Khrushchev had expressed a desire for such informal meetings of the heads of state of the major powers apart from the Council. The Prime Minister dismissed, almost contemptuously, Mr. Khrushchev's charges in his letter of the prior Monday that the British and Americans had been trying to maneuver out of the projected conference. Mr. Khrushchev had also repeated accusations that both nations were guilty of aggression in the Middle East and were planning new ventures. Mr. McMillan said: "I will not reply to its many accusations against allied policy in the Middle East. None of these has any foundation in fact."

In Beirut, it was reported that Lebanon's top soldier, General Fuad Shehab, had been elected the new president as a compromise choice to end the rebellion against the pro-Western President Camille Chamoun. The Lebanese Parliament had elected the 56-year old nonpolitical Army commander in chief on the second ballot, receiving 48 votes to seven for his only opponent. The election would not automatically solve the strife, which had been ongoing for 83 days, bringing the small country to the brink of economic ruin and resulting in the landing of 10,000 U.S. Marines in Beirut. Observers, however, believed that the General's control could provide a breathing spell during which peace and order might be restored, generating an atmosphere of hope and expectation among the Lebanese people, who had lived amid intermittent bombing and shooting for almost 3 months. Both rebels and Government supporters appeared tired of the struggle. President Chamoun's six-year term would not end until September 23, and a U.S. Embassy spokesman already had said that the election of the General as a compromise candidate between the warring factions would not, by itself, clear the way for the U.S. troops to withdraw. A withdrawal would also depend on re-establishment of internal security and a U.N. guarantee of Lebanese independence, according to the spokesman. The heart of Beirut around the Parliament Building was sealed off by security troops, as deputies gathered for the election. A curfew was imposed in that area and even holders of gun licenses were forbidden to carry weapons in the area, with deputies warned that cars would be searched. The only opponent of the General, the head of the moderate National Bloc, who had tried without success to negotiate a political peace earlier, had claimed control of at least a third of Parliament's votes, but observers had never expected him to come close to election, receiving only the seven votes. On the first ballot, General Shehab had been one vote short of the necessary two-thirds majority, but thereafter only a simple majority was required. The deputies broke into cheers on the announcement at the end of the second ballot, and the opponent congratulated the General. By agreement in the half-Christian, half-Moslem nation of 1.5 million people, the president was always a Christian and the Premier was always a Moslem, to maintain a balance between the religions. General Shehab belonged to the Maronite sect of the Roman Catholic church, respected by both religious groups.

In Jerusalem, it was reported that U.S. troubleshooter Robert Murphy had arrived in Israel this date and that the situation in Lebanon was "greatly improved".

In Ankara, Turkey, the close ally of the fallen regime of King Faisal III of Iraq, had recognized the new republican governor of that country this date.

In Nicosia, Cyprus, four British soldiers had held off a mob of 300 Greek Cypriots the previous night in a village near Famagusta, killing two of the villagers before order was restored.

The House called up for action this date a bill to increase Social Security pension checks, the chief provision of which called for a 7 percent increase in old-age, survivors and disability benefits.

The Government trimmed its civilian payroll by 34,560 persons during the fiscal year ending June 30, according to Senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia.

In Atlanta, a HUAC subcomittee, investigating un-American activities in the South, this date would conclude its three-day probe, marked by reluctant witnesses claiming the First and Fifth Amendments and references to racism. A 22-year old camera plant worker, William Matthews of Brooklyn, was the only one of 11 witnesses called who had denied any connection with the Communist Party, while the others had refused to say. Among those declining to answer the previous day had been Hunter Pitts O'Dell, an insurance man of Montgomery, Ala., the Detroit-born witness having been described by Richard Arens, the staff director of the HUAC subcommittee, as a "zealot of the Communist movement." Mr. O'Dell, black, had been ruled out of order when he sought to inject a discussion of mistreatment of blacks in the South into the hearing, trying to read a statement but being told that a Committee rule provided that such statements had to be submitted 24 hours in advance. Also appearing was Carl Braden of Louisville, a proponent of racial integration, indicating that the Committee ought be looking at violence against blacks and Jews in the South. Another witness, Frank Wilkinson, had refused to provide any information about himself other than his name, saying that he did so in cooperation with the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee, to make a legal test of the constitutionality of the Committee's mandate. Madge Spurny Cole, a textile worker from Greensboro, N.C., had relied on the First and Fifth Amendments in refusing to answer numerous questions, one having been whether she had known former FBI undercover agent Armand Penha and if he had lied in identifying her as a Communist colonizer. He had said that the party had sent highly educated persons into Southern textile mills, concealing their educational background, to obtain jobs and cultivate workers. Mrs. Cole had two college degrees.

The House Commerce Committee had discussed possible contempt of Congress action against Bernard Goldfine, the friend of White House chief of staff Sherman Adams, for about an hour this date, but had recessed without taking action. Indications were that the Committee would vote on the matter late this date.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia had directed the Federal Communications Commission this date to find out whether improper influence had figured in the award of a television channel permit in Boston.

In Detroit, a wildcat strike at two Detroit Cadillac plants had come to a quick end this date as 4,600 General Motors employees reported to work.

In Newark, authorities were conducting an investigation this date in the the crash of two trolleys packed with homeward-bound commuters. The rear-end collision the previous day had injured 35 persons, none seriously, and had set off near-panic. Four of the injured required hospitalization. The accident had occurred at rush hour in the City Subway System, a few hundred yards outside the tunnel which ran beneath the business district. The scene was a blind curve at a point where the trolleys left the tunnel and came into the open. One of the trolleys had stalled when its pole carrying power from the overhead wires had become detached, prompting the motorman to jump out of his cab to reattach it. As the trolleys ran at 90-second intervals during rush hours, time was of the essence and the motorman was still working on the pole when he heard a second car coming. He yelled a warning and then jumped clear just as the second trolley rammed into the first, with the impact causing those standing in the two cars to be thrown to the floor while those in seats were violently hurled forward. People were screaming and shouting, according to one passenger, who credited the motorman of the second car with calming the passengers. The crash had occurred at a point where a ten mph sign was posted. The motorman of the second car, who had suffered superficial injuries, said that he was traveling at about that speed when he spotted the second car, had slammed on his brakes but had skidded into the rear end of the other trolley. A captain of detectives said that the state of equipment on the second trolley and whether a signal had been ignored would be among the points to be investigated by police. For those students of physics, is Einstein's theory of relativity pertinent also to their inquiry, to determine whether the people sent flying in the cars were moving at ten miles per hour at the point of collision? How about those in the second car just prior to the collision?

In Indianapolis, the 54-year old executive vice-president of Eli Lilly & Co. pharmaceutical firm had been shot to death early this date in a shopping center, and witnesses said that another car had sped away from the scene. Police found few clues except the disheveled condition of the victim's clothing and tire tracks of a car which had driven away at high speed. He had been the top sales executive of the firm, which had a 200 million dollar per year business. He was married with a 14-year old son. An autopsy was scheduled to recover the three small caliber bullets which had gone into his throat, right side and right hip. Police said that his white Cadillac had backed out of the driveway of an office building, then circled over a lawn, ran across a street divider strip, over a curb and hit a utility pole, with the victim apparently unconscious at the time. The shooting scene was located between a large shopping center and a huge apartment area. Witnesses said that two men had driven away from the scene. A homicide captain said that it was too early to say what the motive had been for the shooting, which had occurred about 5 miles from the victim's home. A friend at the home said that the man had called home the previous afternoon saying that he would not be home for dinner and that his family had not known where he was going. Police found a full case of Scotch whiskey in the trunk of the car and in moments of consciousness after he had been found shot, he had been asked who had shot him, after which he murmured four times, "Hospital." By the time the ambulance arrived, he was dead. The deputy coroner said that the victim's billfold contained two $100 bills and $10 in smaller currency, leading police to believe that robbery had not been the motive. He had previously been the president of the Eli Lilly International Corp., until he was made executive vice-president in charge of marketing operations and was also a member of the board of directors.

In Charlotte, two reporters for The News had been the first witnesses called to testify during the morning before a local grand jury investigating alleged irregularities in City Recorder's Court. John Kilgo, who had covered the story for the newspaper, had been the first witness, testifying for about an hour and 20 minutes. Ann Sawyer, also a reporter for the newspaper, was the second witness. A reporter for the Charlotte Observer, L. M. Wright, Jr., had also been called, having written most of the stories for that newspaper. Two SBI agents had spent Wednesday morning with the grand jury, one of whom had also testified on Monday afternoon and all day on Tuesday. A third agent investigating the court irregularities was also set to testify. Others had also been subpoenaed to testify, including fired police Capt. Lloyd Henkel, the solicitor of the court and two defendants in cases which had been delayed in the court. The problem of about 200 mishandled cases in the court remained also, as did the problem of some $30,000 worth of forfeited but uncollected bonds.

John Kilgo reports that veteran News reporter Dick Young had written the previous week that he had recalled when Police Chief Frank Littlejohn had first threatened to resign 20 years earlier. Now, Chief Littlejohn was head of the police department and still threatening to quit, saying, however, that this time he meant it. Most of those in the Department agreed. A majority of the City Council had been ready to demand his resignation, but at the last minute, changed plans prevented them from doing so. Two weeks earlier in the Civil Service hearing regarding Capt. Henkel, he had said to a crowded courtroom that he took orders only from the residents of the city who paid his salary, not from any member of the City Council or the Mayor. Several members of the Council had been in the courtroom and did not like that comment, deciding then to fire him. They had the necessary four votes and were ready to act, when a story in The News had changed their plans. The chief had never turned his back on a fight and appeared to welcome controversy, despite resenting being called controversial. He often referred to himself as "that big-nose so and so", referring to his prominent proboscis. He and his wife had lived in a modest duplex for several years. He had been in many battles since coming to the Department in 1928, but considered the present one involving the Recorder's Court as the most crucial. It was no secret that he and the judge of the court, Basil Boyd, had been feuding for years. The chief had been an outspoken critic of the court since Judge Boyd had become its judge about three years earlier, and he was mainly responsible for finding irregularities recently discovered in the operation of the court. Even the critics of the chief, who were many, admitted that he was one of the outstanding policemen in the nation. A remark often heard was, "If I ever did anything wrong, I would hate for Littlejohn to be after me." At 73, the chief still had plenty of fight. One of his attorney friends had said during the week, "Most men when they reach chief's age will lose that fight, but that's not the way with Littlejohn. He'll still fight you tooth and nail." He had said the previous day that he would become "one of the biggest politicians in town" following his retirement, intending to tell the public all about the present City Council. He had moved many of his personal belongings from his office at police headquarters and had already filled out his retirement papers, and so it appeared on this occasion, he really meant that he was going to take a rest.

The Associated Press reports that an escaped lion had met a group of children playing in a Malibu, Calif., street the previous night, but the lion had run away, jumping through an open window into the house of its owner, an animal trainer who exhibited the lion at carnivals. For two hours, the lion roamed around inside the house, ripping up furniture and draperies, before the trainer lured it into a cage.

In Boston, it was reported that a vicuna coat was resting in a post office, lost in the mails, bearing no tag, wrapper or other clue indicating who had sent it or to whom. The superintendent said that if the claimant did not claim it, it would be placed up for sale in the ensuing quarterly postal auction.

In Detroit, the first man whom anyone could remember refusing to be paid for jury duty, according to Recorder's Court officials, had been on duty for 20 days with the normal pay of eight dollars per day. He had said that accepting pay for jury duty "would be like getting paid for voting."

In Pontiac, Mich., a woman had cast an absentee ballot in the following Tuesday's Michigan primary election and voting officers said that although she would not be out of town on election day, they had let her cast the absentee ballot because she was 100 years old. Republicans, take note! Time to send in the National Guard from every other state, the entire complement of the Army, the Marines, the Navy and Coast Guard to stop this political violence! Let it go and anarchy will be next! Defend the ramparts, men! Radicalism is just around the corner! Let someone 100 vote like that against the rules and the doors are swung wide open to everyone over 90, then over 80, and finally over 10. It's those radical Democrats, always looking for an edge to foreclose Republicans from having any power!

Secretary of Defense Neil McElroy had met Secretary of Defense Judy Wingel of Salt Lake City the previous day, who had been named to the honorary position in the "Girls Nation" meeting in convention in Washington. Who did they name Secretary of War? The primary criterion had to be the girl who drank the most when the girls went partying at the bar. She also needed to have plenty of tattoos in various places, to be, you know, like cool, daddy-o.

On the editorial page, "Bondsman's Trade Should Be Probed" indicates that the bondsman trade in the state was regulated by few laws enabling them opportunities to prey on the helpless and ignorant. The public provided opportunities by locking up people accused of violating the law, for whom a bondsman was available to bail them out of jail pending trial because nobody else would put up their bail. Without the bondsmen, jails would be overflowing with people awaiting trial and so there was no doubt that the bondsmen performed an essential service.