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Gamecock Monday, April 23, 1973 Opiions 77leW# HoUgE A"ZR WrPVTA60V AW, $TAFF FVRN/WR . . AF7M7? ITT, AF)Z7R WATRTE. WATERGATE In a clear rebuke of White House counsel John W. Dean III (right), President Nixon announced on April 17 he was personally con ducting a new Watergate investigation. He implied that some of his own aides may have been involved in political espionage. Water gate East is shown in the photo at left. 'WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT.. THEREFORE IT'S UJNNECESSARY TO DISCUSSR THEM! Ix r President Stoo< Aloof From Wc BY JOHN S. KNIGHT Charlotte Observer One day last week, a grey-haired gentleman strolled into a private downtown luncheon club and inquired: "Is this where the Republican fund-raising meeting is being held?" When the chuckles subsided, he was politely informed that he had the wrong room number and that he had better check with the informa tion desk. And then someone quipped: "The Republicans sure have a great sense of timing, don't they?" For that was the day when former presiden tial assistant Jeb Stuart Magruder allegedly implicated former Attorney General John N. Mitchell and White House counsel John W. Dean III as the chief plotters in the sordid Watergate case. It was also the day after President Nixon, shaken by the findings of his own personal investigation, made this announcement: "If any person in the executive branch or in the government is indicted, my policy will be to immediately suspend him. If he is convicted, he will, of course, be automatically discharged. The judicial process is moving ahead as it should; and I shall aid it in all appropriate ways and have so informed the investigative authorities.... I condemn any attempts to cover up in this case, no matter who is involved." Was Nixon Aware Of Deceit? That was indeed a splendid, forthright state ment. This entirely new position, along with the President's willingness to have members of the White House staff testify before Sen. Sam Ervin's investigating committee, is most helpful in clarifying administration policy. Yet the nagging question persists as to why President Nixon had previously maintained that no one on the White House staff was involved in the espionage campaign against the Democrats, and secondly that no past or pre sent White House officials would ever be allowed to testify before a Senate investigating committee? President Nixon, apparently relying o1n reports from White House counsel John W. Dean III, reiterated his faith on March 2, March 15, 20 and through Attorney Gen. Richard Kleindienst as recently as April 10. Was the President deceived by his own staff? Or did he know what was going on, but hoped the Watergate affair would blow away with the post-election November winds? I t cannot be said that the President wasn't warned in time. As this column stated on October 29, 1972: "I like Richard Nixon and respect him for his achievements. But the time has come for a friend to cry out against the cynical disregard for truth and honesty by the e Mitchells, Haldemans and other members of Ithe unscrupulous palace guard who apparently are utterly lacking in principle. The President Icannot stand aloof, as his surrogates violate all tenets of decency in public office. We do not have an 'open administration,' as pledged by President Nixon in 1968." Press Brought Truth To Light In this context, the much maligned Wasing : Too Long itergate Issue ton Post performed a magnificent public ser vice by its persistent and effective investiga ive reporting of the Watergate scandal. The press was made a whipping boy during the campaign and thereafter by critics - mostly Republican stalwarts - who charged 'he newspapers with sensationalism and other various and sundry crimes. Yet it was the press, virtually alone, which brought the truth to light and thus served our nation's best inter est. This fact was finally recognized by even such :onservatives as Sen. Barry Goldwater, and Republican leaders who perceived the great lamage being done to their party, and what that could mean in the state and local elections in 1974. As the pressures mounted, President Nixon )rdered a sweeping reversal of policy to clear, ks Barry Goldwater said, "the smell of Water gate." We applaud what the President is now doing. Ne cannot explain why he delayed so long. Perhaps Martha Mitchell can add something to our store of knowledge when, and if, she is permitted to testify. Views On The News Quotations to remember: "I will never, never ask the United States to send troops back to Vietnam."-President Nguyen Van Thieu. "We're not telling you anything and if you don't like it, impeach us." - Attorney Gen. Richard Kleindienst. "I am fond of the President, but he is sur rounded by a bunch of kooks." - Martha Mitch ell. Railways Are Trouble The plight of railways is not confined to the United States where the bankrupt Penn Central is most frequently mentioned as a horrible example of how not to run a railroad. U. S. News & World Report says that British Rail will lose $90 million in 1973; West Ger many's nationalized carrier lost $800 million in 1972; government subsidies cover losses by the French National Railroads; Italy's 1973 railroad deficit may be as high as $1 billion, and the Japanese National Railways may show a $1.2 billion deficit in the current fiscal year. The moral seems to be that governments do no better at running the trains on time and mak ing a profit than private enterprise. Why Bomb In Cambodia? Question: Why are we bombing Cambodia to support President Lon Nol and his brother, smnce there appears to be no legal justification under any interpretation of international law? And where are our bargaining chips if and when -God forbid - American planes are ;hot down and U.S. airmen taken prisoners? The bombing attacks are now in their 46th lay. How will we bring home the next POWs? Pity Poor Congressmen Rep. William Lehman of Miami's 13th Cong 'essional district, a new member of the House, See WATERGATE, Page 7