Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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The Newberry Sun, Newberry, S. C., Thursday, August 8, 1968—PAGE 3 SENATOR STRO URMOND Reports PEOPLE FORTAS ON FILTH The nomination of Abe For- tas as US. Supreme Court Chief Justice has run into un expected trouble. Initial hear ings by the Senate Judiciary Committee established that his court decisions had freed crimi nals on technicalities, allowed Communists to work in defense plants, and invaded the rights of the States. NEW ISSUE The closing hearings, how ever, brought forth a new issue whose significance had not yet penetrated into the general awareness. It is now clear that Fortas has been the swing vote in ruling that materials determined to be hard core pornography by lower courts were protected by the U.S. Constitution. Since Fortas has been on the Court, State restrictions on filthy books and pictures have been virtually swept away. In May and June of 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed 23 of 26 State and Federal ob scenity determinations. The community obscenity standards of 13 States were upset. Eight findings of fact by juries were reversed. In 20 of the decisions, no written opinion was handed down to explain the extra ordinary actions. Fortas participated in every one of these decisions, and in each instance voted to reverse the findings of the juries and lower courts. The matter of obscenity is clearly a matter of local concern, in which local standards should apply. Yet in the precedent-setting case of Redrup v. New York and in the cases that followed, Fortas ruled that the States were powerless to determine the ob scenity of the materials in volved. SWING VOTE In one case, for example, a California judge had ruled that a certain film had no redeem ing social or artistic impor tance, that it appealed solely to the prurient interest of the viewer, and that it was noth ing but hard-core pornography. A special showing of the film shocked Washington’s hardened press corps. Yet Fortas was the swing vote in an amazing 5-4 decision which reversed the California obscenity conviction without explanation. The effect of the Fortas de cisions has been to unleash a floodtide of pornography across the country. Those who ex ploit youth and human weak ness now have no fear of con viction, and openly distribute and sell the grossest materials. This is not a question simply of girlie magazines and salaci ous literature. The new era of pornography features photo graphs which leave nothing to the imagination, and which ap peal to the most perverted in stincts of mankind. Fortas’ ambivalent attitude towards pornography is of long standing. In 1957, when he was still a private lawyer, he repre sented a client who is a well-known distributor of por nographic material. Fortas sub mitted a brief on behalf of this client as a friend of the court when the obscenity issue came before the Supreme Court in Roth v. U.S. Fortas argued that the obscenity statutes were vague and invaded the Constitutional protection of “free expression.” CLIENT APPEARS Ten years later in 1967, the same client appeared before Fortas, although Fortas was now an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. The former client had received an obscenity conviction affirmed by the Georgia Supreme Court, a case knowm as Corinth Publications v. Wesberry. Despite the fact that it was a former client before him at the bench, Fortas failed to dis qualify himself. Instead, he overruled the Georgia Supreme Court, and reversed the con viction of his former client. This is another of the cases in which no written opinion was handed down, so one is left only to surmise why Fortas reversed the conviction of his former client. It is fortunate that the framers of the U.S. Constitu tion saw fit to have the U.S. Senate give its advice and con, sent to the judicial nominations submitted by the President. Such a procedure gives the op portunity for extended exami nation of a nominee’s judicial philosophy and character, test ing whether every facet can stand the glare of scrutiny. The Judiciary is a separate branch of the government, and is not an extension of the President’s office. The procedures of nomi nation and confirmation are two separate checks provided bv the Constitution to ensure that only men of the highest ideals and character occupy the highest bench. ,^-fc^T-OVvs.. Your Social Security Social Security now provides pay me n .s to women between the ages of 50 and 60 who are dis abled and whose husbands have died according to J. C. Bagwell, District manager of the Green wood Social Security Office. Mr. Bagwell explained the basic requirements for this new benefit are twofold: (1) The widow must be unable to do any gainful work because of her dis ability, and (2) she must have become disabled within seven _\ cars aftrr her husband’s death. If she received benefits for her self and children after her hus band died, the second require ment may be met within seven years after she last received these paynv .'.to. He added that this provision also applies to some disabled widowers and surviving divorc ed wives in this age group who meet the support requirement of the law. Persons who feel they might qualify for these benefits should contact the social security of fice. The office serving this area is located at 219 Magnolia Avenue in Greenwood. Office hours are from 8:45 A. M. to 5:00 P. M. Monday through Fri day and from 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 Noon on Saturday. County Permits Dorothy M. Gordon, Colum bia, 4-room stucco frame cabin, $4500. David R. Nichols, 1320 Whee ler street, 4-room brick veneer dwelling $16,500. Fred Hawkins, Rt. 3, 5-room brick veneer dwelling, $9500. Robert Earl Gilliam, Route 2, 6-room brick veneeer dwelling, $17,000. FOR SALE — DONAR - ANN KENNEL has nice selection of German Shepherd dogs, AKC registered. Ideal for protec tion, show or family pet. Lo cated only 15 miles south of Newberry, just off Hwy 121. ANN GIDDINGS, SALUDA, S. C. Ph. 445-5067 J18-3tc. Hunt schedules are released COLUMBIA—The 1968-1969 hunt schedule for the game management areas in the Pal metto State has been released by the S. C. Wildlife Resources Department. Archery hunts, gun hunts, and small game hunts have been slated for approximately 1 1-2 million acres under the Department’s game manage ment program. The upcoming season’s small game hunt opens on Hunt Unit III, Sept .15 The first deer hunt has ben set for Sept. 24 on the Bonnie Doone area. The archery hunts open Sept. 30 or. the Waterhorn Unit of the Francis Marion Forest. As in the past, free permits must be obtained prior to hunt ing on both big and small game hunts. All bagged deer and turkey must be shown at check stations for weighing and measurements and must be re ported immediately after being killed. A complete hunt schedule for all game management areas may be obtained by writing to S. C. Wildlife Resources De partment, P. O. Box 167, Col umbia, S. C. 29202. Take A Moment Out and Think for A Change of Your Own Personal Interest... Not since the “roaring twenties” have savings earn ed as much as they can today . . . and of course, that was before today's government-sponsored insurance to guarantee the safety of your funds. Safety of your savings is guaranteed to the full le gal limit by Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, an agency of United States Government. Never before has it been so simple, so easy, so con venient to build savings as it is here, right now. Save or withdraw as much or little as you please, whenev er you please. Your passbook savings earn per annum, com pounded quarterly. For instance, if you saved only $5.00 weekly at the end of five years you would have $1,456,58. Save, surely—safely—profitably. And, remember, where you save does make a difference. NtV AVINGS AND LoAnAsSOCIATION NSTITUTION FOUN D*E D 19 3 5 DIRECTORS John F. Clarkson J. K. Willingham E. B. Purcell W. C. Huffman A. E. Morehead P. M. DeLoache, Saluda, S. C. Robert M. Owen, Batesburg, S. C.