If only we’d get
FIDEL CASTfcO.
r M6T *
King Features Syndicate, lne., 1968.
I JOHN J. SYNO
Some weeks ago, I received an
invitation to speak in Jackson,
Mississippi, to the 12th Annual
Leadership Conference of The
■Citizens Councils of America.
I accepted.
On my way home I stopped
off to pay hand-washing obei
sance to one of the 300 pub
lishers who run this column.
My crusty friend asked what
brought me to this part of the
country. When I told him his
eye-brows shot; he wanted to
know if I were comfortable a
mong “those people.”
I thought about that a mo
ment, then gave him an absolute
ly truthful answer. The Citizens
Council people, as those like
them, are the only people I
know in whose company I am en
tirely comfortable. They are
my people and my admiration for
them is almost unlimited.
There were about 400 dele
gates in attendance, as I counted
them, from 29 States, and if ev
er a group represented “middle”
America, what I would call ordi
nary decency, it was this one.
first off, there was not a trace
of alcoholism anywhere. I didn’t
say “alcohol”; I said, “alcohol
ism.” There was the scent of
soap and of shoe poHih. Every
coat had three buttons, their
shirts were white and their ties,
with an exception or two, were
conservative.
teenagers, of whom there were
a surprising number, no lady’s
dress was cut above the knee, or
below the ridgeline. .
• » ••• -
with
the busi
with
than ode
True enough, these people are
about a serious business. They
mean to fight indiscriminate race
mixing until their battle is Won
— none need ever doubt that.
But they mean to enjoy them
selves all the while. If the meet
ing had a common denominator
it was this determination leaven
ed with laughter and outspoken
admiration for George Wallace.
They are certainly proud of
The Little Judge. Proud on
three counts: They are proud of
him because he represents so
well their own belief (free
dom of choice), because he stood
four square on this principle
throughout the campaign, and
because he polled so many votes.
The Citizens Council people look
upon the 9.7 million votes Wal
lace garnered as the potential
membership of their organiza
tion. And they may be right.
Though they come from all
sections of the nation, it is fair
to speak of them as Southern-J
ers simply.. because they reflect
the traditional Southern position
on the race question: Never.
They deeply believe both races
do better when neither is forc
ed to rub noses with the other.
And so do I. That is why I think
of them as my people, why I
am entirely comfortable, and
comfortably proud, when in
their mid
ried a Teature on Vietnam and
the dirty work our Green Ber
ets are engaged in at the mom
ent, digging the enemy out of
granite burrows. The reporter
fellow gave us a picture of the
grizzled major in command and
said, he came from Greenwood,
Mississippi. He gave his name,
too, the same as that of a man/
old enough to be the major’s
father, whom I had met while
in Jackson. He hailed from
Greenwood, too, and the reason
1 don’t identify them is because
I don’t know, for sure, that he
is the major’s father. Though
he must be; Greenwood is a
mighty small town.
I do know this: Both the ma
jor and my friend have the same j
calm look of determination, the
demeanor I have come to associ
ate with my people of the Citi
zens Council. And to picture
them as anything other than
what they are, decent, concern
ed Americans, is to do a dis
service to them and to theh
country. But no matter. You
can’t beat ’em. Not now; not
ever. As they say, Never.
Steven Garner is
Sent to Texas Base
Airman Stephen F. Garner, son
of Mr. and Mrs. F. A. Gamer Jr.;
Of 1704 Windsor Dr., Kinston,
has been graduated at Sheppard
APB, Tex., from the trainini
course for Air Force
mechanics.
Airman Garner, a 1908 gradu
ate of Grainger High School, is
^assigned ;to
. .. W^ere Your Trust Is Sacred
And Your Wishes Cared For . . .
Some time ago, suspicion was
cast on the back yard barbecue
as a possible ,|o*trce of cancer.
The charge had remarkably lit
tle impact on the al frdsco cook
ing habits of Americans.
Nevertheless, It’s a pleasure
to learn that charcoal • broiled
meat has been given a clean
bill of health, even though it
does contain a carcinogen (can
er - causing agent) called Ben
zpyrene.
nut omy aoout one microgram
of benzpyrene gets on your av
erage charcoal - broiled steak,
and at -that .tare, says, IJealth
News, a person would have to
>eat 30 million Of them to be in
danger.
Lest we allow ourselves to be
lulled into a false sense of se
curity, however, from another
source comes the warning that
Unless man stops polluting his
enviroment (with, among" Other
things, smoke from back yard
barbecues, presumably)* he can
not survive on earth for more
than five more generations.
That encouraging word comes
from Dr. David M. Gates, direc
tor of the Missouri Botanical
Gardens in St. Louis, who got
it straight from a computer’s
ctinn
The first
be awarded co;
state received
iipal expenses.
17, otlS' '
of a crime to
by the
for med
Eobillard,
;ej?’ suffered a
fractured jaw when he tats as
sault by eight youths last July.
His assailants have not been ar
rested. A law that went into ef
fect July 1 makes it possible for
victims of violent crime in Mass
achusetts to receive up to f 10,
000 for lout wages and medical
expenses not covered by private
or public insurance programs.
The law was passed after a spec
ial legislative commission had
concluded that the state “owes
compensation to the people it
fails to protect from crime.”
Three ot^er states, California,
New York, and Maryland, have
sfinilar programs as does New
Zealand.
V'./' ;
Farm and Home Requirements
Of Petroleum Products
m—
OIL CO., INC.
Phono JA , P. 0. Box 666
U. S. 70 East of Kinston, N« C.
—
_
ra* ' v «
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