Newspapers / Jones County Journal (Trenton, … / Sept. 10, 1964, edition 1 / Page 3
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held for the past 3% years and U announced hell try for senator ■ front New York. Count 10 for each correct choice. A wore of 60 is excellent; 60, good; 40, fair; leas than 40, poor. Decoded Intelligram •uonifui zt ®8|#H—f -MBT—£ ’OOIo—Z OTHER EDITORS SAY ■ ftllA r>rihhA>n 3—The |M7 WRAU-TV VIEWPOINT One Man's Courage A week ago we mentioned that we had been thinking of placing a call to Wichita, f^ansas, to ascer tain whatever happened to Thomas K. Waller. At the time, the last we had heard, Mr. Waller was in jail. Well, ,wt made the call — two of them, in fact — and we can re port with much satisfaction that Mr. Waller is no longer behind bars. Whether he is out of trouble remains to be seen. For those who may have missed our first comment about the gen tleman, let us summarize quickly the plight that befell Mr. Waller beginning last December 4 when .he opened his mail. On that date, he found a notice from the Internal Revenue Service ordering him to appear in its offices 12 days later, bringing with him all of his books and records from 1960 to 1962. Mr. Wallace is a 56-year-old disaibled veteran of World War II. At the time his troubles began last De cember, he operated a little one man radio and appliance repair business. The best year he ever had, he says, he grossed $3,3Q0. Mr. Waller quickly reflected upon the fact that he has always care fully obeyed the law requiring the filing of tax returns. He had al ways paid his taxes. In fact, he had overpaid them by $165. Upon inquiry, he was told that the In ternal Revenue Service had no charges aganist him, and no evi dence that he had violated any law. The IRS, he was told, was merely making a routine audit. That did it, insofar as Mr. Wall er was concerned. He did not pro posed to subject himself voluntarily Frosty Mom Meats Inc. “Helping to build a better Livestock Market for Eastern North Carolina » Top prices paid for i w '■ : ski ~ ' No Commission Charge No Wai • - ■m* m*k mi ? vA, 4 :; JA 3*5103 Kinston, N. G. - V : v7 U ( to an examination of his own per sona^ private records. If the gov ernment wanted to see them, he said, kt the government come forth in a lawful, constitutional manner with a warrant. Otherwise, he said, he would stand on the Fourth Amendment which, to support the soundness of Mr. Waller’s’ position, let us examine for a moment. The Fourth -Amendment reads as fol lows : “The right of the people to be Secure in' all their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreas onable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probabk cause, supported by Oath or af firmation, and particularly describ ing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” That, to Mr. Waller, seemed to be very clear ..language. So, he stood his ground. As weeks passed, he Was summoned to appear in fed eral- court — with his records — under penalty of contempt. He tes tified under oath that he had al ways abided by the law and asked for evidence to the contrary. The court had none. Very well, said Mr. Waller, if he had read his con stitutional rights correctly, tfife court could not summon his records simply because the tax collectors thought it might be interesting to look at them. U. S. District Judge Wesley E. Brown heatedly dismissed Mr. Waller’s arguments and sent Mr. Waller off to jail until such time as Mr. Waller yielded and produced his records. For 25 days Mr. Wall er sat in jail, contemplating his misery. But he refused to yield. Finally, on June 2, Judge Brown directed that the jail open it doors. Mr. Waller once again was free. Deputy Clerk of Court Jack Craw ley told us by telephone that the court order reads simply, as fol lows: **It is hereby ordered that Thomas K. Waller be discharged from further punishment and re leased forthwith.” There were no more demands that he produce his records. Mr. Waller told us by telephone that he sought no notoriety, that all he wanted was his constitutional rights. Said he, rather sadly: “If we dont start standing up against the petty tyrannies of the federal government, we all will end up in • slavery.” ' It was a costly experience for Mr. Waller. During his 2S-day absence, his one-man business collapsed. And the threat of a new and dif ferent governmental action persists. But even about that, Mr. Waller is philosophic. Said he;.“Every man must decide for hiniseff whether he will stand up and be counted. I saw something that I could do that I thought ought to he done.” In response to an offer of a bit of financial help in his hour of need, he said: “No, thanks; 111 make out somehow. There’s plenty of oppor tunity in this country if we don't stifle it by compromising the prin ciples that made it great.” So, we made that call to Wichita. Needless to say, we’re glad we did. If you are planning to build a new home. If you are planning to aell your farm. If you are planning to buy or tell any kind of real ettate. Contact the real ettate man who wanta'to make juat a a tmall profit. M. BAILEY BARROW REALTOR REAL ESTATE SALES - BUILDER - BROKER 2004 N. Queen Street Kineton, North Carolina Phone JA 3-6981 Think of All the "Hellos”... in This One Good Buy A lifetime of hellos—of visiting, sharing, laughing, surprising, caring. All on your phone. What else giv6s you so much pleasure and trouble-free service for the little it costs? It’s a bargain! Even more so when you consider that no matter * ' dw often you use it, there’s never an extra charge for maintenance. Sr ' your phone often—fpr all it’s worth. Wm I H *• * i wBm « Y ' ■ > ■ .W i
Jones County Journal (Trenton, N.C.)
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Sept. 10, 1964, edition 1
3
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