Newspapers / The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.) / March 15, 1973, edition 1 / Page 2
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>4 - journal ASSOCIATION MkM Ewy Tfcunday at Raafoed, N.C. 28376 ?19 W. tlwood Awnue Subscription Rates la Advance Nr Year - $5,00 6 Month* - $2.75 3 Months - $1.50 PAUL DICKSON Publisher -Editor SAM C. MORRIS Gmnl Manager SLAY PIOTRZKOWSKI Reporter MRS. PAUL DICKSON Society Editor Second Class Postage Paid at Raeford. N.C. Population hold down Despite the fact that there were nearly 900,000 more women of child-bearing age in America last year, the actual number of children born dropped 9 percent. The 1972 crop of babies was actually the smallest since World War II years. Population experts caution that the stabilization in the American population that seems to be occurring could be temporary. Nonetheless, such a stabilizing is seen by almost every reasonable person as vital to heading off serious environmental pressures. There are negative sides to the current trend, which we will take up in a moment. But raw statistical effect is encouraging. Crowding on the American continent is now what crowding is in India, or even Italy. There are vast stretches of open space in the United States, even excluding Alaska. Urban crowding along the East Coast and along the underbetlv of the Great Lakes is a problem. Still, the American population issue is more one of a massive appetite for resources and energy than a lack of space. It stands to reason that if the American appetite for available resources continued to increase at its recent rate?and if that pattern is copied by all other developed and developing nations as indeed it is - then stabilizing the number of people is one vital step toward limiting the environment-degrading trend of modern economic history. This isn't to say that even a stable number of people couldn't do increasingly greater damage to the globe's ecology. Or that other nations will necessarily follow American population patterns as they industrialize, Nor is it to ignore the political and immediate food need pressures of global population growth. As indicated earlier, the generally positive American population downtrend may be the result of party negative factors. The high divorce rate makes many couples want to avoid an early family which may complicate a later separation. Many couples are worried about the economy. They think society and even their own neighborhoods too violent for safe child-rearing. The high cost of housing makes them want to limit the size of house they buy. ? - *. i v ? . A & "* 1 A fourth of the decline in births is attributed to liberalization of abortion laws. Without at this point going into the ptos and cons of such liberalization, one can still hardly include such a birth control recourse a wholly positive factor in population stabilization. The heavy dependency on the automobile in suburbanized America is making many families want to limit the number of children they have to drive hither and yon for. One can say, however, that limiting family, size is being used by more Americans as one line of defense against social and economic change. Without an ability so to temper population growth, prospects for adjustment to the future would be grim indeed. (From the Christian Science Monitor) One for the Indians It would have been ludicrous as well as tragic had the Wounded Knee, S.D., demonstration ended, in violence. The idea of 300 federal officers surrounding 250 Indians and engaging them in rifle fire in 1973 would have been outrageous. The federal government finally withdrew its roadblock, and in so doing prevented anything like another Kent State fatality. Under the agreement, law officers will be able to get evidence for illegal acts by the town - occupying Indians. This will be similar to the legal clean-up action that has followed other forms of demonstration in recent years. And the demonstrating Indians 'will get a chance to take to the mat their grievances against the federal and Indian establishment. Thus the Wounded Knee episode is not over. It is fortunately moving past the gunshot phase-though, unfortunately, the federal bureacTacy may prove harder for the Indians to face down than did the 300 federal lawmen. (From the Christian Science Monitor) Browsing in the files of The News-Journal 25 years ago Thursday, March U. 1948 Carolina Power and Light Company's postwar rural line building program has brought 21 miles of new rural lines to Hoke County, furnishing electricity to 170 rural homes for the first time. * ? ? Of the S83 cars processed at the motor vehicle inspection lane here since it opened last Thursday afternoon, roughly half have been rejected and one - half of these have been caused by headlights being out of focus. ? ? ? From Poole's Medley: The first locomotive I saw on the A4R R.R. was about ten feet long, and was fueled by wood placed on scaffolds by the railroad track. ?" ? ? ? Id The statue of Battery A, local auto - ?- and of the North Carolina Guard wit changed recently, lo^nrorrtw.loeueteased by the the Adjutant General of North Clyde Upchurch, Jr., commander of the Fllis Williamson American Legion post said yesterday that equipment was on hand and that work on the lights for the ball park here was expected to start around the last of this week or early next week. m * ? Miss Blanche Owen, director of music in the high school, will present the members of Glee Club in a spring concert Thursday evening. 15 years ago Thursday. March 13. 19S8 F.lmer Pamell, manager of Home Furniture Co. and chairman of a group of businessmen who have been for some time investigating ways and means of getting a Credit Bureau in operation in Kaeford, announced this week that the problem of financial backing had been solved and that the bureau would be put into operation in tht next few weeks, e e e ' Kifes have made their annual appearance in the Carolina dtiee, wafted on the winds of March. THE CHMCTIAM tCSMCC yOMTOA Kay's Column By Kay Piotrzkowski Citizen-Government Dialogue I'm comparatively new in Raeford and Hoke County but there is one place I can go and know I'll see the same old familiar faces -- the regular monthly meeting of the board of county commissioners. The county manager is always there, most commissioners, the county attorney, the county and home extension agents and often heads of some county departments. But interested citizens? Hardly ever! Sure, I'm there because it is my job. And when not working, I'm as guilty as the next person - too busy and too concerned with my own personal life to take the time to become involved. A reporter covers these meetings as a stand - in for citizens who are unable to attend. But a reporter's role is limited - she is an observer and a recorder who should not become a contributor in the workings of the board. As a result the conversations which flow from these meetings are one sided -- from commissioners to the people via the newspaper. If the commissioners talk to the people often enough and long enough and the citizens don't participate in the dialogue, eventually the conversation will die. That may well be the point reached between members of the community and governing bodies both at city and county levels. Granted, the commissioners have been holding special meetings without notifying the public. Now they are Puppy I .reek Philosopher Dear editar: As everybody knows, Russia had a crop failure last year and consequently had to buy over a billion dollars worth of grain from the United States, and I have now found out another result of that failure. Despite the fact the failure was caused by the weather, the Russian leaders took what for them was the logical step. They fired the Minister of Agriculture. I don't know how such things work over there, but I have an idea the next candidate for the job, before he accepts, will be giving close study to the long - range weather forecasts. And even then his future may be shaky. I was listening to a weather forecast out here the other day and the forecaster, in explaining why a cold front with rain didn't show up as he had predicted the day before, said "it didn't move in according to schedule." That's one way of putting it. Whose schedule? Under that system no forecaster can ever be blamed for being wrong. All he has to do is set up a schedule and if the weather goes the other direction it's the weather's fault, not his. But back to Russia. When she decided to buy all that grain from the U. S. she sent her buyers over here and they quietly and cannily bought up all they needed at modest prices before the world found out how bad the weather had been over there and how short their grain crop was and how much U. S. grain farmers could have gotten for it if they'd known about it. This year, reports are that the weather again is off schedule in Russia and the grain crop again may be short. But nobody knows, and this is what gets me. You mean to say that with our far ? flung and expensive C.I.A. spy system we can't find out what the weather's like in a country that big? You mean the C.I.A. can tell us how many missile ? firine submarines Russia has but can't tell us if she needs a rain? What have our meil been doing, listening to Russian weather forecasters instead of looking out the window? Yours faithfully, J. A. posting meeting notices on the courthouse bulletin board. But will it make any difference? Will any citizen bother to attend? There are many ways to make democracy work but apathy, indifference and silence are not among them. Recent decisions of the commissioners and councilmen provided a lot of grist for the gripe mill. Hoke County phone lines are burning up with discussions pro and con among citizens. Bridge table and coffee break conversations zero in on use of revenue sharing funds, law enforcement salaries and personnel problems, the Health Center crisis, traffic bottlenecks, lack of recreation facilities and other subjects which affect the quality of life in our community. All this discussion is good. It shows a renewed concern for the well being of the community. But the conversations flow without direction, spinning off on all sorts of tangents which accomplish little. When was the last time any of us attended a county commissioners or city council meeting - just to keep ourselves informed? When was the last time any of us felt strongly enough about an issue to circulate or even sign a petition? When was the last time any of us wrote a letter to the editor to let our fellow citizens know how we feel about important issues? Let's try it -- we might like it! Senator Sam Ervin Says WASHINGTON - Last week I introduced a bill entitled the Newsman's Privilege Act of 1973, which is designed to protect the free flow of information to (he public. This new bill represents my third attempt at drafting legislation which will accommodate both the interest of society in law enforcement, and the interest of society in preserving a free flow of information to the public. I have been attempting to draft a bill which would strike this balance. As everyone who has attempted the task knows, this is no easy exercise. While I am certain that this bill can be improved, in my judgment it strikes a reasonable balance between necessary, if at times, competing, objectives. The bill provides qualified protection for a newsman's source and for his unpublished materials. A newsman, under the bill, is entitled to refuse to reveal to a governmental body the name of his source of information if he gave a contemporaneous assurance to the source, either expressed or implied, that the identity of the source would not be disclosed. Furthermore, the information must have been obtained in the course of the newsman's occupation. Unpublished information is also protected from disclosure if it was gathered in the course of the newsman's occupation. It is important to note that, despite these provisions, the newsman is not excused from testifying to the identity of any person who commits a crime in his presence. This provides a clear standard which puts both newsmen and sources on notice that where the newsman hat viewed a criminal act, whether or not as a pledge of confidentiality, he may later be compelled to identify the perpetrator of that act. This provision provides a small qualification to the general privilege conferred by the bill. But it lea necessary and reasonable exception. No newsman would take lightly concealing a crime from public authorities, and no newsman should have a right to keep this information from the police. Yet to conform to the exception will require little imposition on the part of the ' * ? tell his newsman. He need only teu his source: "The law win protect against my having to discloss your name. But I cannot hide your identity if you are committing a crime." These terms are reasonable to any man, and will not interfere with the normal and necessary reporting and informing function of the journalist. The provisions of this new bill would apply to both federal and state governments. This represents a departure from my earlier bills which applied only to federal jurisdictions. I have been convinced during the course of the hearings on this subject by the Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights that inclusion of the states is within the power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce and. moreover, is desirable. A shield law which onlv applied to the federal courts would not fulfill its objective of protecting the free flow of information, if a uniform shield law were not. in effect, neither sources nor newsmen could be assured that they would not be subpoenaed before state tribunals where the testimonial privilege was different or did not apply. Under my bill, the states would be free to provide greater protection for newsmen if they so desire. My bill only sett minimum standards. This legislation represents an attempt to reconcile two sometimes competing interests of society: the preservation of a free flow of information to the public, and the administration of justice. Giving the newsman the right to withhold the identity of all sources of information, however obtained, would seem to wiegh the balance too strongly in favor of the newsman and carry the potential for abuse. There is no need to allow the newsman to protect a source if the source did not ask for protection. Nor is any Interest served by allowing a newsman to refute to testify about an event which he taw while not performing his job. Similarly, the interest of society in identifying and punishing violators of its law It too vital to allow newsmen to testify about a crime committed In their presence. , TMs bill takes a balanced approach to resolve this issue. Its provisions are simple and direct. Under it, newsmen and their sources obtain protection which they can rely upon, and law enforcement officials are not uisduly restrained. CLIFF BLUE... People & Issues WASHINGTON ... Wife Gila and I tpant the pa it weekend in the Washington area visiting our daughter and son - in - law and family - Patsy and David Bailev, and attending the 1973 National Newspaper Association's Government Affairs Conference held at the Washington Hihon Hotel. Speakers at the Government Conference with questions and answers following the talks were Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota on "Saving Rural America"; William W. Erwin, Assistant Secretary for Rural Development, on "Rural Development Programs"; Senator Henry M. Jackson on Energy Crisis"; Senator Jennings Randolph, "Transportation"; Secretary of Agriculture Earl L. Butz on "Rural Deveopment"; Postmaster General E.T.' Klassen on the "U.S. Postal Service"; Ms. Mary C. Lawton, Deputy Assistant Attorney General on "Freedom of the Press"; Herb Klein, Director of Communications for the White House was assigned the subiect: "President Nixon - Four More Years". Representatives from several Departments were on the panel discussing "International Trade and Economy." AU the discussions were interesting. Secretary of Agriculture Earl L. Butz impressed us as being very alert and capable. Postmaster General Klassen appeared to have the most troubles as most anyone who does much mailing could imagine. He called upon all people having postal problems to let the postal officials know about it. He had just come through a bruising encounter with the Senate Postal Committee on the conduct of his department. Last week Mr. Klassen underwent a grilling experience before a hostile Senate Committee on the manner in which the mail is being handled. Herb Klein, President Nixon's Director of Communications made an interesting presentation, followed by frank answers to questions. Klein is a veteran newspaperman who started out as a reporter for a weekly newspaper in Temple City. Calif., who has been associated with Nixon since the President's first campaign for Consress in 1946. Klein seemed to think that Nixon's trip to China might well turn out to be a high watermark in the President's Administration. Commenting on Nixon's battle with Congress over "impounding" of fund Klein said that the people had spoken in the 1973 presidential election, and if Congress had its way in spending a minority would almost be dominating the majority. While in the Nation's Capital we dropped by the State Office Building for short visits with Senator Ervin, Senator Jesse Helms and Bill Cochrane, Former Administrative Assistant to Senator Jordan and now Administrative Director to the Senate Rules Committee. Senator Ervin in recent weeks has become one of the most publicized senators in the U.S. Senate, having recently been named Chairman of the Senate Watergate Investigating Committee. He has also been in the forefront as an advocate of a moderate and reasonable law to shield newsmen from having to testify under certain circumstances. When questioned as to whether he would be a candidate for reelection in 1974 Senator Ervin indicated that he had not made a decision of the matter. Senator Ervin had just named a member of his staff. Miss Pat Shore of Yadkin County as his administrative assistant, succeeding Jack* Spain who retired from the position recently to return to his home town of Greenville in Pitt County. W. Hall Smith is his public relations assistant. In talking with Senator Jesse Helms, North Carolina's freshman senator said that he had already had some hard votes to cast. He indicated that he had been keeping a low profile, although he had presided over the Senate the day before when Senator Hubert Humphrey challenged and criticized President Nixon's efforts to curtail spending. Humphrey, Nixon's 1968 presidential opponent now appears to be on the rise as a Democratic spokesman in opposition to the President s spending proposals. Helms indicated that had he not been presiding when Humphrey spoke that he would have engaged the Minnesota Democrat in debate on the issue. Bill Cochrane went to Washington following Kerr Scott's election to the Senate in I9S4, serving on Scott's staff. When Scott died, Cochrane stayed on as Everett Jordan's administrative assistant where he did an outstanding job, working long hours and attending to the details of the office. When Senator Jordan lost out in the primary last year, Cochrane was then named administrative assistant to the Senate Rules Committee which pays $30,000 per year, the same salary he was drawing as Senator Jordan's administrative assistant. In his new position he served as director of the Presidential inauguration ceremonies this year and maintains a suite of offices in the Senate Office Building. Just One Thing After Another By Carl Goerch Recently I was reading what the late Robert Benchley said about what he called "that grandstand act". You remember Bob - the man who wrote the hilarious "My Ten Years in a Quandary," to say nothing of other riproaring books and articles and stories. His reactions appear to have been somewhat akin to my own - that is why I was interested in what he said about the following. "I have always secretly admired people who could read a newspaper while eating. It bespeaks co - ordination, desterity and automatic digestion, none of which attributes I seem to possess. In the first place, I can't seem to get the newspaper fixed right, even in one of those racks provided for the purpose. One comer gets into the butter, another one into the marmalade, and even if 1 do manage to fold it so that certain headlines are visible, I have to unfold the whole thing in a minute or two in order to keep reading. "In the meantime, what of breakfast? 1 like my breakfast, and I like it hoi. While I am folding and unfolding my newspaper, and knocking over cream pitchers and saltcellars, the Grim Reaper has stalked in among my breakfast dishes, laying his icy hand upon egg and muffin alike. There is no news story in the world that is worth that." Not to many of the present generation will the name of Elsie Janis mean anything, but SO or 60 years ago she was one of the big headline names on the stage. The other day I came across this piece of verse she wrote and pass it on to you as as good a piece of homely philosophy as I have ever seen. Compensation When my luck seems all out * And I'm down in the mouth I'm up in the North And I want to go South; When the world seems a blank, And there's no one to love. And it seems even God's Not in Heaven above, I've got a cure for mv grouch And it works like a shot - I just think of the things That I am glad I am not: A bird in a cage, A fish in a bowl, A pig in a pen, A fox in a hole, A bear in a pit, A wolf in a trap, A fowl on a spit, A rug on a lap; A horse in a stable,' A cow in a shed, A plate on a table, The sheet on a bed; The case on a pillow, A bell on a willow. A mat on the floor. When I think of the hundreds of things I might he, ? I get down on my 'knees and thank God I am me: Then my blues disappear when I think what I've pot, And quite soon I've forgotten the things I have not. i" I
The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.)
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March 15, 1973, edition 1
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