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> I 1 > A "Drat it all! The news is still bad-even after Spiro chewed out those newspapers and TV guys... AGNEW STOPPED SHORT Vice President Spiro Agnew’s re cent remarks about the New York Times need a little clarification. He said the New York Times suf- fors from a lack of competition. He said the Times was a much better newspaper when it was butting heads with the New York Herald-Tribune. We share the Vice President’s ad miration for the now-defunct Herald- Tribune. We felt it was the beet newspaper in New York and one of the best in the world. It was inform ative, interesting and lively. It also provided a balance to the Times’ gen erally liberal coloring. However, Mr. Agnew stopped short of going to the crux of the i: matter. Why isn’t there another newspaper in New' York which can command the status of the New York Times? It isn’t because the owners of the New York Times bought out the com- jletition. It isn’t because the Times An the Herald-Tribune out of busi ness. it isn’t because the publishers . got together and made some clandes tine deal to establish a New York f' .Times monopoly in the morning ?.• newspaper market in New York, tIt is because labor unions forced the New York Herald-Tribune out of business. 1*4*4 ., v Labor unions killed the Herald- . ■.Herald-Tribune—and the World Tele gram and Sun and well as the Jouroal- h American along with it — with un- y yielding positions and costly strikes. -The union leaders refused to let the Heraki-Trkbune modernize its equip- tnent at a time when mere automation was necessary. The union tried to iorce the Herald-Tribune to continue its old methods which were too costly and would not allow the Herald-Trib une to be competitive. In his book entitled “The World of Jimmy Breslin”, the former Herald- Tribune columnist publishes a col umn which the Herald-Tribune re fused to run the day before a strike began. Breslin wrote: “The printers, for whatever rea son, want to preserve the system that has been killing newspapers in this city. They do this by putting shylock prices on any modernization which can save the papers from which they draw’ their pay. Two years ago, the printers, about 2,000 of them, went on strike for 114 days in order to keep the past alive. In the process, the Daily Mirror became a place where people used to work. Now . . . the printers axe ready to strike again . . . Fortune magazine says that three pa pers in town could fold in a strike . . .” (They did eventually). Breslin also wrote: “To compound this, the union seems to have some leadership trouble. There is no logic when men reach for power. Further more, Bertram Powers, the head of the New York Union has in the past made a point of saying that he doesn’t care about newspapers.” Breslin said someone asked Powers “What if some newspapers fold dur ing the strike?” He quotes Powers as replying, “Oh, if papers fold that’s all right with me. The men will go out and print Chrstmas cards. We don’t care.” Breslin also quotes Powers as saying one night, “There will be only three papers in this city and that’s the way it is going to be and I don’t care about them ...” When Vice President Agnew com plains about a handful of men making decisions about what people will read and how they will be informed, he is derelict in his duty if he doesn’t carry his complaint all the way back to the source of the trouble. He implied that he was talking about editors and publishers. But we can point him to one man who stilled the voice of th< New York Tunes’ major competition And it wasn’t a publisher or an editor It was a union leader. PIGS IS BEAUTIFUL One of the tactics of the radicals of the left during demonstrations and riots is to attempt to harass the police into using force to put them down. This makes it easier for the trouble makers to raise the tiresome cry of “police brutality”. The u s e of the “oink, oink” is the most often used method of attempting to accomplish their goal. We noted a letter-to-the-editor in th« Cortland, N. Y., Standard on this that we would like to pass along to our readers. "I have questioned the wisdom > of many of our laws and the strained interpretation lent them by our courts. Yester day, in our City Court... a de fendant . . . was charged with Harassment for allegedly say ing ‘oink, oink’ to a uniformed , member of our police depart ment. “He was found guilty after trial. Now 1 tell you, some thing is dreadfully wrong with our laws and courts when some one can be convicted of a crime for standing on his hind legs and talking in his own native tongue. “What do you think?” “The Court Observer” Satire is an excellent weapon to use against these attacks on our law officers. But, as fine as the above letter is, the Kansas City, Mo., Offi cers’ Association deserves the award for the best come-backer yet, as far as we’re concerned. They have adopt ed a two-week-old piglet as their mas cot. And oetter yet, they now have T-shirts with a drawing of a pig in uniform, complete with badge, sun glasses and cap with the caption ’’PIGS IS BEAUTIFUL.” What bet ter way to blunt Hie attacks of the attackers could there be? We hope that the idea spreads. Humor is a powerful tonic for any kind of belly ache. 2-B—THE CHRONICLE, Clinton. S. C., Dec. 4. 1969 Commentators And Agnew BY THURMAN SENSING Executive Vice President Southern States Industrial Council For years, millions of Ameri cans have been hoping that some one near the top of the govern ment would speak out against the appalling misuse of broadcasting freedom and cite the censorship and thought-control attempted by the liberal commentators who dominate the “news"programsof the networks. At last, the peo ple have found a spokesman in Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, In one of the clearest, most accurate and well-documented speeches by any national leader in years, Mr. Agnew described the way in which a handful of arrogant commentators exer cise unconscionable power over opinion-making in the United States and how they have become a force with which to reckon. The networks have replied to the Vice President by charg ing him with asking for censor ship. He did no such thing, of course. On the contrary, he de monstrated that there is today a very real censorship in effect on television and radio -- a censorship exercised by the newscasters who are liberals al most to a man. of a vicious stereotype, as a drawling illiterate. The news di rectors; use of isolated, sleepy hamlets to portray the towns of a modern, hard-working region of the nation — this is part of the shameful story of television. No one expects newscasters to be men without personal convic tion. They have a right to their views, as do reporters on news papers. But a newspaper report er strives to keep his personal views out of accounts of actual happenings. The rules of printed journalism stress the importance of objectivity, but the newscas ters apparently don’t believe that objectivity is an important jour nalistic virtue. \ The networks have an obliga tion to the public, an obligation they have not met. The refer ence here is to the duty to tell things as they happen without run ning the facts through a filter of prejudice. In the case of the speeches of the President of the United States, no matter who may occupy the office, decency and re spect for the elected leader of the American people requires that he be allowed to speak to the nation without being followed up immed iately by an assembled band of critics who ire primed to go to work on the Chief Executive’s address. The arrogance of the liberal commentators long has troubled thoughtful Americans. Year by year, this arrogance has increas ed to the point where a Presi dent of the United States cannot communicate with the American people without an anvil chorus of liberal critics immediately chopping up his talk with instant criticism. M;. Agnew didn’t ask that the networks abandon criticism. He simply stated that it is proper for the networks, however, in variably mix opinion with the news. They have the capacity to discredit a proposal by a lifted eyebrow or a half-smile on the commentator’s face. They also have the power to take a non entity such as Stokeley Carmi chael and make him into a major public figure. Southerners have not forgotten how the television newscasters have abused and distorted their region over the last 15 years, presenting the South as a back ward region of heartless people. Today, on television, only the Southerner is presented in terms Beyond this, the networks must police themselves so that there won’t be any more of the type of thought-control they have en gaged in for years. Examples of this are the coverage of the war in Vietnam and the handling of the Chicago riots in 1968. Insofar as the Vietnam Wat is concerned, the newscasters played a major role in causing many people to believe the U. S. couldn’t win. Innumerable tele casts stressed what the news casters regarded as the hope lessness of the conflict. These reports engendered defeatism and encouraged the New Left at homo. With regard to the Chicago riots, the police were virtually on trial on the networks. So- called “news" reports on TV became occasions for downgrad ing law enforcement agencies and for presenting street revolution aries as idealists. That sort of thing has got to stop. In his criticism Vice Pre sident Agnew was articulating the deeply held beliefs of mill ions of viewers. PARSON JONES SAYS Younguns Just Like Government Dear Mr. Publisher: I reckon most folks are getting ready for Christmas right about now. We’ve already started at our house. Like the federal govern ment our younguns have a bud get demand that far exceeds our income. And, the only way we can meet the kids demands is to foUow the government again and go in the hole. Only trouble is we ain’t got taxes to get it back. It seems like the more money I get the less it’s worth. 1 read where one fellow had $50 worth of groceries stolen from his car last week cause he forgot to lock his glove compartment. I reckon this is what experts mean when they say we’ve devalued the face of the dollar. That’s where a dollar still looks like a dol lar, but It ain’t worth a dollar. I reckon this move had to come sooner or later. It’s kinda like the second stage of a rocket. Our first stage was to devalue the face of man. I don't know whether Darwin’s theory that man ain’t nothing but an over-sized bull frog had anything to do with it or not Or maybe Henry Ford start ed it when he made man an as- sessory to an automobile. (He’s now the nut that holds the wheel.) Or, maybe industry started it when man became the gimraic that pushes the buttons. I doubt if we’ll ever be able to capture the real culprit, but if somebody don’t soon come qp with the answer everything is gonna be de-valued. Our cit ies are cluttered, our air is pol luted, and our food is infected. I reckon AlbertSchweitzer was right when he said we should have ‘reverence tor all life*. That means looking at everything like it was holy. And the first place to begin is with man. We gotta get over this idea that man is a coat-hanger tor the lastest fash- (EDITOR’S NOTE: 'Parson Jones’ column will become a re gular feature of The Chronicle's editorial page. The column is written by a Lutheran minister from Kentucky.) ions, a garbage can for food-fads, and a large eye-ball for TV view ing. Maybe we did a bad job when we took the Bible outa public schools, cause it was the one book that says man is created in the image of God. If a fella believes he’s the first cousin to a billy goat, chances are he’s gonna act like a billy goat. Or, if he’s from the same line as a skunk, there ain’t no wonder he goes ar jund polluting everything. Well, so much for inflation. Parson Jones WORTH ABOUT It has become unfashionable to say this; it may be embar rassing to hear it; but I believe that America is the most lovely and livable of all nations. I be lieve, that Americans are the kindest and most generous of all people. I believe that there are no underprivileged Amer icans ; that even the humblest of us are born with a privilege that places us ahead of any one else, anywhere else; the privilege of living and work ing in America, or repairing and renewing America; and one more privilege that no one seems to get much fun out of lately—the privilege of loving America. —A1 Capp Cambridge, Mass. Clinton Needs Overhead Crossing The plan proposed by the Engineering Department of tt»e Seaboard Coast Line for the removal of the C. N. & L. tracks from certain crossings and the sale to the City of Clinton of the land abandoned by the railroad offers Clinton one of the finest opportunities to get an over head railway crossing, wider streets and more down town parking space. Eye-Opening Trip To Kentucky BY CARSON RHYNE President Westminster Fellowship The Westminster Fellowship, 21 strong, of Presbyterian Col lege left Clinton on Friday, Nov. 29 and journeyed to Walker, Ky., thus fulfilling the promise it had made with two groups in that re gion. The over head crossing would involve the widening of East Carolina Avenue from the railway over pass to Adair Street at least to the extent of the width of the present sidewalk on the south side of East Carolina Avenue. Then at some point possibly in front of the First Presbyterian Church a ramp should be built for about three lanes of traffic that would reach the necessary height for crossing of the Seaboard Coastline track across from McDaniel’s Service Station. There would be a very slight bend in this ramp as it crossed this track. Then the ramp would descend to ground level on the land the City of Clinton would purchase being the C. N. & L. track bed. The Highway Department should have its best engineers select the beginning and the ending of the ramp and over head crossing to provide maximum safety. The present Woodrow Street crossing should be moved West, possibly to meet Clay Street. As I understand the statement was made by the Engineering Department that the removal of the tracks would depend upon the City of Clinton purchasing the real estate and that the cost to the Railroad to make the changes would be about $100,000. I believe this would be a fair appraisal of this property as I understand the area, but we should ask for a map which would show the measurements of the land to be conveyed to the City. It should be appraised by competent appraisers. If we can get the ramp and over head crossing it would be of great benefit to the railroad as well as to the County, to the City of Clinton and indeed to the r -tate of South Carolina. J. F. Jacobs II F our car loads of students and the college’s pick-up truck load ed with books, gifts, and clothes left the campus at 5 p.m. to be gin their journey. The first stop was Black Mountain,N. C., where the group stayed nrerniftit at'the Black Mountain Presbyterian Church. Just 24 hours prior to leaving for Kentucky, the group had to make a last-effort telephone call to the Black Mountain Church asking for a place with heat, kit chen, and bathrooms for them to lodge. The Rev. R. G. Shelor re sponded to the plea and assured the group of a place to stay. The church even provided mattresses for the group to use, instead of the hard floors. On Saturday, the caravan left Black Mountain for Kentucky at 7:30 a.m. and arrived in Walker around 12:30 p.m. They exchanged the clothes they had brought for mountain greenery from the Eli Carnes family. A very appre ciative and thankful family meant much more to the group than the token assortment of mountain greenery. * * * Lindsay Victory Hollow Dear Editor: I was sorry to see your car toonist, Mr. Zschiesche, mis represent John Lindsay’s hollow victory as mayor of New York. The farther away from here you get, the better Mr. Lindsay looks. Please inform the public that the 58% who voted anti- Lindsay were also anti-Liberal. In fact, a three-way race is about the only way Lindsay can win. Sincerely, Mrs. J. W. Dillard 140 West 10th St. New York, N.Y. 10014 Thanks To The Editor: As president of the Westmins ter Fellowship of Presbyterian College I would like to thank all the people of Clinton for their tre mendous response to our recent drive for clothes, books, and gifts for the causes in Walker, Ken tucky. The response of the people on such a short notice was over whelming. In fact the response was so tremendous that we had to leave half of the items behind. These items will be put to use through the Laurens County Wel fare Department The response of the people be nefited the following groups: the Ell Carnes family of Walk er, Kentucky; the Lend-a-Hand Center, Walker, Kentucky; the New Careers Center, Laurens, S. C.; and the people of Laurens Cocmty. Again on behalf of our group, let me say a special “THANK YOU’ to everyone tor all contributions that were made. Clinton Sincerely, H. Carson Rhyne, Jr. President Westminster Fellowship Presbyterian College Clinton, S. C. 29325 * * * How lovely is they dwelling place.—(Psalms 84:1). Our immediate environ ment is an extension of our selves. We help create it. If there is inharmony in the home, office or plant, we should do something about it. We have the ability to bring about har mony, if we work at it. If there is discord we can be peace makers. We can rebuild the trust; and work to come into agreement with others. From there, the caravan traveled the next mile to the Lend-a-Hand Center where it had a picnic lunch with the people there and unloaded the pick-up truck. After lunch, the group di vided into two groups and jour neyed through the region under the direction of Irma Gall and Peggy Keraner, the center’s di rectors. Through these brief trips up some "hollars," the eyes of these students were op ened to the unpleasantries and crude ways of living. One group discovered one “hollar" that just received electricity during the past summer (1969) and a child that did not speak during her first 7-8 years of life. After ap proximately two years of work with people from the center, she is able to babble like a child. Following the excursions and a brief visit, the group began its return trip. Arriving back in Black Mountain Saturday night was a very tired but quite ex posed and thankful group. The students spent Saturday night in the Black Mountain Church and arose early In order to clean up and move out before church school. Because of busy sche dules and prior engagements to meet, the group had to return to Clinton before church. Through the generous response of the people of Clinton and of the Presbyterian College Com munity, a truck load of goods was taken to Kentucky. However, an additional truck load had to remain at PC because of lack erf space. Working with the Laurens County Welfare Department, the Westminster Fellowship will see that all clothes given will be put to good use.