The Charlotte News
Wednesday, May 16, 1956
FOUR EDITORIALS
Site Ed. Note: The front page reports that in St. Louis, a close friend of former President Truman had testified that a $750 loan had been obtained by Matthew Connelly, former appointments secretary to the President and under indictment for conspiracy to defraud the government, along with defendants Lamar Caudle, former head of the tax division of the Justice Department, and attorney Harry Schwimmer, who had represented an alleged tax evader and was accused of providing oil leases to the other two defendants in exchange for lenience for his client. The witness testified that Mr. Schwimmer had said to him during a plane ride to Washington in 1949 that he would like to do something for Mr. Connelly who had been "so wonderful and nice" to him, with the witness saying that he had replied that there was nothing the attorney could do. But Mr. Schwimmer had later suggested buying an oil lease which would produce about $40 to $50 per month for Mr. Connelly. He had then purchased a $3,600 lease in Mr. Connelly's name, with the witness saying that he had told Mr. Schwimmer that Mr. Connelly would repay the loan, but that Mr. Schwimmer had replied that he, himself, would repay it, as he wanted to do a favor for Mr. Connelly. The witness said that after the indictment against Mr. Connelly, he had received a letter from Mr. Connelly's attorney enclosing a cashier's check for $750 "for purchase of an oil royalty through Harry Schwimmer." The letter said that both the witness and Mr. Connelly had been of the opinion that the latter had paid the loan, but that after looking up the records following the witness's testimony before the grand jury, the witness had discovered that it had not been paid, that they understood that repayment had been made by Mr. Schwimmer, but that the repayment had not been authorized by Mr. Connelly.
In Norfolk, Va., an accused female embezzler pleaded not guilty this date to the first of a series of indictments involving her in huge shortages of nearly three million dollars, which had wrecked a building and loan association. She had once been known for her charity and kindness, but was almost devoid of expression when she entered her plea in court. Other indictments on which she would be tried subsequently charged her with embezzling the money over a period of 28 years while she worked for the association.
A photograph appears of a 15-year old Chicago schoolboy shedding a tear as he testified before a coroner's jury regarding the fatal stabbing of his mother, the youth having told police that he stabbed her with a butcher knife because he wanted her car and that he knew she would not give it to him. The coroner's jury recommended that he be charged with murder.
Dick Young of The News reports that a parking ban during morning and afternoon peak hours on Trade and Tryon Streets in midtown Charlotte would become effective on July 1, the City Council having this date approved the ban for a 90-day trial on the recommendation of City traffic engineer Herman Hoose.
Julian Scheer of The News reports that Linn Garibaldi, campaign manager for former Charlotte Mayor Ben Douglas, running for Congress, might quit following the May 26 primary, having told the newspaper this date that he was seriously considering doing so because he could not see how he could work with the new party line-up in the county. That included the new chairman, W. M. Nicholson, and his supporters. The latter had been a former U.S. Attorney, a former assistant U.S. Attorney and had defeated Mr. Garibaldi the previous Saturday at the county convention for the chairmanship of the executive committee. It was considered a clear-cut victory for a new faction of the party, and Mr. Garibaldi said that in view of the opposition he had encountered in some precincts, he did not see how he could work well with the new people.
Mr. Scheer also reports that backers of three leading presidential nominees would not attempt to push for a delegation commitment at the State Democratic Convention, opening the following day in Raleigh. Supporters of Adlai Stevenson, Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee and Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri had indicated they would do a lot of talking on behalf of their favorites, but without any assurance of a pre-convention package of delegate votes. The delegation would likely be free to vote as they wished at the convention in Chicago in August, but that if there would be an attempt to instruct the delegation, it would favor Mr. Stevenson, followed by Senator Symington and Senator Kefauver. Mr. Stevenson had the strong support of Governor Luther Hodges.
Harry Shuford of The News reports that Charlotte and Mecklenburg County tax offices had launched a sweeping new program aimed at getting at delinquent taxpayers.
In Charlotte, the Southern Railway passenger station, which had been an eyesore for many years, would still be standing for several more, according to the president of the Railway, as construction of a new station could not begin until after the City had raised the tracks at the West Trade Street crossing to permit an underpass to be constructed there, and City Manager Henry Yancey had said that the project likely would be initiated within the ensuing two or three years.
Emery Wister of The News indicates that a new multi-million-dollar paper mill appeared assured for the state this date, to be located in the eastern section. There was no confirmation but reliable reports said that it would be on the Neuse River in the New Bern area and was believed to be a part of the Union Bag Paper Co., though a representative of that company in New York declined to confirm or deny the reports. Bagism, smagism...
In Oakland, Calif., a taxi driver
had driven his cab from Waukegan, Ill., to California, with his fare
having been a woman in her fifties who was a millionairess, paying
him the $1,350 fare. He told police officers about the trip after
asking their advice on a good place to stay. He refused to reveal the
identity of the passenger, saying that she had called him to take the
trip
On the editorial page, "The Better Business Opportunity—I" tells of the expansion of business progress in Charlotte, while public confidence in business, in protecting the citizenry from chiselers and con men, and in squashing unfair competition was in question.
Boosters pointed to the Better Business Bureau and its valuable services to the public and business community since being founded in 1948, but, nevertheless, it was not doing the best job possible and did not have maximum support from the business community. The Bureau was undersold to the business community, with the result that the public and increasing business activity were demanding more services than it could perform under its current budget, with the remedy being for more business firms to become members and help it to spread further its protective services to the community.
It indicates that some 343 businesses were members of it, but roughly 1,000 other eligible firms were not. The following week, the member firms would seek to encourage membership by those who were not members, and it wishes them well, as membership in the Bureau was a good investment, paying off in self-interest, the public interest and the interest of a self-regulated free enterprise system.
The following day, it would cover the self-interest part.
"Grin and Win vs. Bluff and Bluster" quotes the late George Orwell as having said in 1943 that he believed that in the future, people would come to feel that Stalin's foreign policy, instead of being so diabolically clever as it was claimed to be, had been merely "opportunistic and stupid". The piece says the opinion was shared at present not only by most Western diplomats but by the new rulers of the Kremlin as well.
The hindsight offered no small comfort to the West, as Stalin's heirs had profited from the stupidity he had exhibited, with the "grin and win" line being the result, far more dangerous than Stalin's bluff and bluster.
An example was the Soviet announcement that it would cut its armed forces within a year by 1.2 million men and use the manpower in "peaceful" endeavors, while at the same time it was announced that the Soviet Union would put 375 ships of their Navy in mothballs. The announcement had come at the time when Russia's most powerful opponent, the U.S., was involved in a great debate over defense, when increased appropriations for air power was one of the hottest issues before Congress.
The Soviet Union had said that other governments, such as those of the U.S., Britain and France, wishing to contribute to the strengthening of peace, could follow their example. It finds that it was diabolical and opportunistic, but not stupid, that even in an election year, when budget balancing and tax cuts were popular, it would be tragic should the U.S. succumb to Soviet temptations and relax.
It finds that there was no promise of a Soviet slowdown in the manufacture of long-range bombers and missiles or in the production of new nuclear weapons, that those were important areas where the U.S. had been in danger of falling behind, and where the Administration's economy efforts had been extended beyond prudent limits.
It urges that Congress had the right and duty to evaluate often the demands for military strength and that the temptation at present to pause in the efforts to arm the nation adequately ought be resisted, that disarmament without adequate safeguards was unthinkable.
"Ugly Entrance" tells of city officials, bent on impressing Baltimore Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr., and his entourage with the city's new Auditorium and Coliseum, had to apologize first for the sickly sight of its dilapidated railroad terminal, which provided a sadly misleading introduction to visitors. Southern Railway president Harry DeButts had promised the previous night to "do something about" the structure, commenting that the railroad had a reputation for progress to protect. It hopes that the promise would be fulfilled without unnecessary delay.
"Eisenhower and the Book Banners" indicates that according to Newsweek's report on the President's reading habits, "reference works" in the Presidential offices included the writings of Karl Marx, Georg Hegel, Sigmund Freud, Charles Darwin, Immanuel Kant, Leo Tolstoy and Adam Smith. He had told journalists recently that he was thoroughly familiar with Problems of Leninism, by the late Joseph Stalin. He had also read controversial books, such as Profile of America, and recommended them to his friends.
It comments on the report because of the reemergence of book banning as a political sport, with a typical example having passed the South Carolina Legislature, asking the State Library Board to remove books and screen future books which were "antagonistic and inimical to the traditions and customs of this state."
It finds that the action itself had been antagonistic and inimical to the traditions and customs of a democratic society, that any attempt to censor reading material made available to the public through libraries was based on the assumption that the citizen was not fit to be free and responsible, a nonsensical position, as it was a fundamental premise of democracy that some responsibility was vested in the individual citizen for his or her own behavior.
William Chenery had pointed out in Freedom of the Press that reading was a voluntary act, that if a man found that a book contained offensive matter, no one commanded that he read it, saying, "The assumption by an individual that he is fit to decide what other men should be permitted to read or to know or to think is obviously impudent, impertinent, and un-American."
It concludes that book banners had been perfectly correct when they said that ideas could be dangerous, that of course they could, but that in a democracy, the suppression of ideas was fatal.
A piece from the Wall Street Journal, titled "Sad, Sad Life", comments on news that charcoal broiled steaks would cause all manner of ills, according to the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. It had also learned that milk and eggs were depositing fats and waxes, lining the blood vessels with lesions.
It finds that the report made grim reading, showing that even young Americans had signs of arteriosclerosis which could lead to ulcers, thrombosis, damage to the brain and any number of other maladies. It was the result of a high-protein diet, "too much cake and ice cream for Junior."
It found that everything good was bad and that about the only thing which had cheered it lately had been poet Carl Sandburg, who had told a birthday interviewer that the trouble with Americans was that they were too happy. It suggests that he need not worry, as life was getting into such a sad state that pretty soon there would be nothing left about which to be happy.
Drew Pearson tells of the welcome accorded foreign dignitaries as they drove down elm-shaded Constitution Ave. having never been more important than at present, when the President was receiving the President of the youngest but third-largest republic in the world, Soekarnoe of Indonesia. The latter had been somewhat nervous about the trip. Before his departure for Washington, he had gone to his birthplace in East Java to ask for his mother's blessing on the pilgrimage, visiting his father's grave to pray for success and strengthen friendship with the U.S. It had been the U.S. which had played a large role in winning independence for the republic. The battle cries which had inspired the revolution there against long colonial rule of the Dutch had been similar to those of 1776, as Indonesian patriots had featured pictures of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson on banners and postage stamps.
The final coup de grace in winning independence had occurred when Matty Fox, a New York motion picture executive and friend of Indonesia, together with Joseph Borkin of Washington, had persuaded various Senators to cut off Marshall Plan aide to the Dutch unless the funds were used in the war against Indonesia. Since that time, Mr. Borkin had sometimes been called by Indonesians "the American father of Indonesian independence." He shared paternity with retired Senator Owen Brewster of Maine, who had circulated the Senate petition to cut off Dutch funds, part of the story behind the President's gesture in sending his personal airplane to Hawaii during the week to bring President Soekarno to Washington.
Senator Lyndon Johnson had returned to Washington with new stature, even if his staff had to enlist elevator operators and hired help from the Capitol to obtain a welcoming crowd at the airport. He was full of fight and when the Senator fought for the U.S. rather than just the state of Texas, he was superb. He indicates that it was when he forgot that Texas had joined the U.S., rather assuming that the U.S. had joined Texas, that he got into trouble. His first test over whether the home state or the country came first would face him immediately, with the appointment of a Senator to fill the vacancy left by deceased Senator Alben Barkley on the potent Finance Committee, which passed on tax laws and could change the 27.5 percent oil depletion allowance, so prized in Texas by the oil and gas producers. The top Senator with seniority to take Senator Barkley's place, among those desiring the post, was Paul Douglas of Illinois, a former economics professor at the University of Chicago and the most skilled economics expert in the Senate. But he had been opposed to tax favors given the oil and gas industry and previously, Senator Johnson had managed to keep such opponents off the Finance Committee. At present, Senator Johnson was discreetly sounding out other Senators to see if they could find someone with more seniority than Senator Douglas who would take the job.
Mr. Pearson concludes that seniority was a time-honored custom in the Senate, the reason that race-baiting Senator James Eastland of Mississippi had become chairman of the Judiciary Committee when all Democrats knew it would lose them votes nationally. Thus, Senators were watching to see whether seniority or Texas oilmen would rank first when it came to filling the vacancy on the Finance Committee.
Walter Lippmann, in Paris, discusses the French problem in North Africa, in which he says he could not see far into the problem for which there was not, as far as anyone knew, any example of a successful solution. It was plain, however, that a crucial test was about to begin about four weeks hence, as the French Government by then would have deployed in Algeria about 400,000 men which it judged to be necessary to pacify the country and contain the active rebels in their mountain redoubts. After that was done, the French Government planned to hold elections, from which would emerge Arab leaders willing and able to negotiate a peace, based on the concept of autonomy for the Algerian Arabs within the framework of the French state.
There were some who believed that the official policy would be tested by the following fall. He says that a visitor learned not to think of Algeria as another in a series of countries to be evacuated, as with Lebanon and Syria, Indo-China, Tunis and Morocco. The French thought of Algeria as a national interest because at least one-seventh of the people were French. It was not an economic asset, but rather a liability. But it was to the large community of French to whom those at home felt bound, with a growing popular will to stand by them and not allow them to become a helpless minority in a sovereign Arab state.
Two questions would be tested in the ensuing months, as to whether the rebellion could be subdued by a dense concentration of troops in the main populated areas, and if they were subdued, whether the Arabs could be induced to participate in elections, ignoring Cairo, to negotiate for something less than sovereign independence. The prospects of a negotiated settlement on French terms were not very good. If the rebellion could not be restrained, the French would have to offer concessions at the expense of the privileges of the French community in Algeria and it was doubtful that the French Government was strong enough to impose a military victory over the Arabs while also negotiating a political settlement regarding the French community. It was that weakness which accounted for the growing desire for drastic constitutional reforms in France.
He says it would also be a mistake, however, to suppose that the lack of success of the present policy would lead to abandonment and evacuation. The French interest in Algeria was real and the French Army, though it might not pacify all of Algeria, could not be defeated. There was at present an organized army opposing it, as there had been in Indo-China and if the official policy did not succeed, the issue might become one of holding more firmly the coastal region where the French community was predominant, rather than pacifying the Arab hinterland.
He concludes that there was no great likelihood of a clear solution and a full settlement, that there were too many Frenchmen settled among too many Arabs for that to take place, and in certain ways, the basic problems of racial equality, cooperation and coexistence were even more refractory than in the Deep South of the U.S.
Robert C. Ruark says that he was heading home with tattered clothes, frayed shirts, a frayed temper and indigestion, having spent the previous six months on a walkabout, not caring whether he ever saw another airplane, customs official or excess baggage check as long as he lived. He says he did not travel on an expense account and so had been taking his holiday on the boss, spending his own money on the off-chance that one day he would get it back if he knew a few more things about a few more places. But for the present, his pocketbook was wrecked, as was his digestion.
He concludes that he was heading home to face fresh problems after sleeping a week and locating a fresh pair of pants with no airplane shine on the seat. "Farewell world. You're on your own for a spell."
A letter writer from Rock Hill, S.C., says he was getting a belly full of the letters regarding the performance of the opera by Giuseppe Verdi, Aida, in Charlotte recently. He did not think that the performance was up to the laudatory adjectives being heaped on it, finding that the "lack of melodic expressiveness, in the so-called performance would have turned Verdi and librettist Antonio Ghislanzoni away from music had they the misfortune to hear their work done by the well-meaning but inadequate Charlotte group." He suggests emulating Atlanta by inviting the Metropolitan Opera to the city, an annual event there for nearly 70 years. It would only take some money to do that and he says that he would sit in the balcony and cheer if Charlotte were to do so.
A letter writer from Cheraw, S.C., discusses the pending farm bill in Congress, saying that he was a Democrat who believed in the right of Republicans when they were correct in legislation which concerned all of the people, such as the farm bill. He wants to know why Washington wanted to pay farmers for doing nothing at the expense of all taxpayers. Small farmers, put out of farming by the large farmers, were getting paid not to plant their acreage and then used the money to go to the city and obtain industrial jobs, keeping someone else from making a living. He says that he needed a job but could hardly find one for the farmers coming in and taking over, that if he were an employer, he would never hire anyone who could live without the work. He urges not continuing to cry on the shoulders of the President, seeking a handout at the expense of others.
A letter writer comments that often one read of a special favor or kindness shown a black person, finds that good, provided the kindness was done in humility, as kindness was "love in action." Christ had spent a large amount of his time making people happy and she urges that people could be much kinder, especially toward the poor and the rich, as well as to equals. There should be no chance lost in giving pleasure. She ends by quoting, "Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up."
Framed Edition
Links-Date — Links-Subj.