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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 12, 1951)
EDITORIALS HIGHWAY FATALITIES RIVAL WAR While we are concerned about those who die in warfare, it might be a good idea for us to think about the hundreds of Americans who die terrible deaths ev ery day in automobile accidents. This is a feartful price for a nation to pay for transportation. Naturally, some citizens will be killed on the highways, due to causes that are not preventable This does not excuse ,us for ignoring the death of those who die from human care lessness and individual acts that are re prehensible and criminal. Most of the American states have competent highway patrolmen. They do their best to make highway traffic safe for everybody. Frequently, they arrest speeders; at times, they apprehend driv ers operating vehicles under the influence of alcoholic beverages. Formal charges are made against the offenders and many are convicted and punished. It happens occasionally, however, that one who violates the highway law de mands a trial before a jury and the men sworn to try the case, out of sympathy or other mauldin excuse, turn loose individ uals, who, they are convinced, have vio lated the law. The jury in such case ex ercises its right and there is no appeal from the verdict rendered. Frankly, a man or woman, who sits on a jury in a case involving the opera tion of a motor vehicle by a driver under the influence of alcoholic beverages, has a responsibility to society. He, or she, should not hesitate to join in a verdict that will speak the truth, regardless of what happens to the accused.. Other citizens, using the highways, have a right to pro tection and it should not require a fatality, upon the main street of a town, to create a sentiment that demands enforcement of the law. DOES TV INFRINGE PRIVACY? An interesting question has been raised by a nationally-known betting com missioner, who recently refused to testify at a Senate Crime investigating committee hearing in St. Louis, on the grounds that television invaded his constitutional right of privacy and subjected him to ridicule and embarrassment. It seems that the committee, headed by Senator Estes KefauverT of Tennessee, permitted the hearings to be carried by a television station in St. Louis, where many public places have receiving' sets. The question raised by the betting commission er may present a legal test of television as a means of reporting a public event. The same protest was probably 'made when the first hearing of any kind was at tended by reporters from the press. While the issue raised by the betting commis sioner may cause some delay in connection with his testimony, there is not much Purse's Fresh Flashes The man who is always trying to get something for nothing usually winds up getting free board and clothes. If you cannot write it and sign it, don't say it. It is said that the American people squander ten billion dollars a year on games of chance. We wonder if they in cluded getting married, starting up in business, or buying television sets? One reason a local man has never married is that every day he gets more particular and less desirable. Our sheriff asked a guy pinned un derneath his overturned automobile if he was married. The fellow replied, "No, I'm not. This is the worst fix I was ever in." A friend of ours has an income tax blank and now he would like to meet a nice young lady with an income- If a rich man wants sympathy he must get it from other rich men. That's ,probably why they have clubs. j j. ucj oaj iiic xn- v uao iui inia v;uuu- try millions of dollars through favoritism in loans. After taking a second look at the gang that has been heading the outfit, we'd say we got off cheap. Flipper Fanny, our dainty little con tour twister, thinks its foolish for our legislature to investigate lobbyists. She says lobbying is alright if you are really staying at the hotel. CIVIL DEFENSE A-Bornb Not Only Home Danger We Must Be on Guard Against By Walter A. Shead (This is the third in series of five articles on the Civil Defense Protram.) With an enemy which places no value whatever upon the lives of individuals, which has no moral scruples as we know them, an atomic bomb is not the only peril faced by the American people in an all-out war with Russia. xsioioncai warxare aaamst peupis: a.nu agauisc animal is j present crop varieties cannot American to support the present effort and to cheerfully accept temporary in conveniences. After all, the security of this country in a troubled world is more important than the immediate possession ' of insect pests and plant dis one ux uiesc perns, 'iiua sort vi wanart; wnicii can spread a Wide vaueiy 01 uioea.se including a nuiiiuer ox viruses, riCKeuisae. uacttrxa. luiiui. protozoa ana boiuuic cuauis, may De waged Hum wiaiiu oy sabotage, or xvoui Wnauut uy enemy pianes ana can ue disseminated unuusii a variety 01 media, ciiiei ui vvmcii are food, air and water. Tiiese miectious aiseases taKen in Dy numans tnrougn lnnaiauon. absorption tnrougn me stun or Dy iooa. could De disseminated oy aerial bomos ana otner munitions, by release 01 miecuve aerosols irom planes or irom ground devices. taKing advantage of iavorabie winds, or by release in ventilating sys tems of large auditoriums. Par ticularly enective is contamin ation oi water sources. In addition to humans, bio logical wariare against animals can be ettective since meat, aairy and poultry products are an important source of diet for both military and civilian per sonnel. Production of wool and leather, might be curtailed and important biologicals and phar maceuticals such as adrenalin, liver extract and insulin, entire ly dependent upon animal glan ds and organs, could be cut off. Such animal diseases as foot-and-mouth disease, rinderpest, fowl pest and foreign types of Newcastle disease appear to have greater possibilities for damage in this country. Then there is biological war fare against crops in the spread resist, may De lntroaucea. even in Deace lime, and herbicidal cnemicais mignt be dissemina ted openiy over these vast crop areas where hostile planes might t;ain access. Probably one of the most in sidious and dangerous methods oi cuemical wariare is the dis WASHINGTON REPORT tf $ Howard Buffett Congrennn 2nd NebruLa District "We're getting ours while the eettin' is good. We've cot two more years to clean up. What happens after that doesn't wor ry us." Who said that? The speaker was a contractor in the Pendergast crowd visiting with another Congressman. He was talking freely after a few drinks. But he wasn't talking idly. The RFC graft recently in the news was bad even though only the surface was scratched. But the defense program now ( starting will plunder the Amer ican taxpayer like he has never fHE PLATTSMOUTH, NEBRASKA, 8EMI-WEMKLY JoUrtitAC PAGE FOUR Monday, March 12, 1B51 seminaLion ot so-called nerve - iVdll tiCkAJJClJ VI J-li. Alt- uao 1 V LI gases, developed in Germany Deen robbed before unless a aunng woria war xj.. iuete miracle happens. nerve gases are more iuaic iimn of the luxuries that we have become ac customed to consider necessary to our standard of living which continues to be the envy of all intelligent people through out the world. DOWN MEMORY LANE 1A YEARS AGO 1U The one act play "Happy Journey" presented by the P.H.S. Dramatic Club was given superior rating at the Tarkio College speech and music festival. The cast comprised Jacqueline Wetenkamp, Edward Gradoville, Georgia Carey, Geo rge Jacobs, Rachael McMaken and Gerald Hennings . . . Supervisors of the Cass County Soil Conservation District announ ced inclusion of 7,664 acres additional to eases which constitute a threat to our food supply. It would be comparatively easy for low fly ing planes to spread such crop and animal diseases across the vast stretches of-' the country's great plains where wheat, oats, and the meat animals are rais ed and where population is comparatively meager. The de partment oi agriculture knows about many of these foreign pests such as Japanese beetle, European corn borer. Mediterr anean fruit fly, citrus canker and other pests, and most suc cessful method of keeping down losses is development of strains resitant to specific diseases, wmcn taxes time, uui it is nue ly that hew organisms which any previously known war gas es and are nearly coioness and odorless. They are liquids which yield toxic vapors wnen they evaporate and are laid down near the ground. These gases cut off breathing and blood cir culation. Action is prompt and lethal and inhalation tor a few seconds may cause death. Ex posure to mild traces of the va por causes bronchial restriction with diiiiculty in breathing, coughing and a water discharge of the nose. A slightly greater exposure induces painful con striction of eye muscles, terrific pain back of the eye-balls. Lar ger doses cause rapid and sev ere broncho-spasms, preventing both inhalation and exhalation. The victim becomes confused and cyanotic, may have nausea and vomiting and falls uncon scious. The blood pressure falls, heart beat is slowed and may or may not start again. The U. S. public health service has worked out treatments for all these inhuman forms of mo dern warfare in the biological and chemical field. The point is in learning how to combat it; what treatments to give in em ergencies and in the long pull for recovery: to pile up stocks of the right kind of medicines, particularly atrophine and Tri dione. plenty of gas masks, pro tective clothing, how to prevent contamination, hospitalization and a dozen other necessities in case of such an attack. Doctors and veterinarians must take special courses in how to combat the effects and this professional manpower received by the University of must come from the private i Nebraska poultry husbandry de- President Truman budgeted 52 billions for all defense spend ing. He gave no details "Everything must be secret, of course keep the Russkys in the dark, you know. All hush-hush can't trust even Congress just vote the money save the free world." So the great steal begins. Here's a sample say six more military bases are planned in Africa. "Yes, sir, there's no rea son for us not to have the con tracts. We're Fair Dealers! If a job costs 5 million, we'll put in a bill for 10 million it's 5,000 miles away perhaps we'll have to bribe a few inspectors well, what's the difference? Tru man rewards his friends." "And those poor suckers in Congress what can they do about it They've got to vote the money, or we'll smear them as Stalin's helpers. If they show signs of balking, we can always invent a new Communist war scare. Yep, we've sure got Congress on the hook." Yes, friend, part of this dia logue is true! The rest of it is coming true, unless your Con gress andor the American peo ple can find a way to stop it. Here is my tough problem and yours! Oood Fortune Smiles on Non-Worriers fJERfi'S A STORY about a couple of people who started out in life as Non-worriers. It wasn't that they had conquered worry; they never had worried, says Mrs. Alan Longacre, Rich mond, California. Their marriage was happy. Good fortune came to them with her choicest gifts. It looked for a time as if they would have no children, but they didn't worry about that. Within five years came three love- ly cnuaren. mey had everything, but what was more important they realized it, and didn't fret their lives away over petty matters. Then: their house burned down with all their personal belongings. CJL. Carned Bat they took advantage of having no home for George Allen to go back to school and get his degree in chemical engineering, thus turning that sour lemon into lemon ade. Suddenly their little three-year-old son de veloped Leukemia. The doctors gave him one weeK to three months life expectancy. But th6 doctors at a well-known medical center asked to hospitalize him for three weeks for an important experiment which might save him. They consented and for weeks after he left the hospital they took him to the hospital daily for treatments. This meant rising at six in the morning and working until after mid-night. But hope was enshrined in their hearts. Everything went well for six months, then the doctor said Mrs. Allen's heart would not continue to stand the pace she was going! Their budget was already so overburdened that there was nothing to be applied to even inefficient help. So she had to handle her relaxation herself. She spent two hours on the bus to and from the hospital. During that time she learned to absolutely relax, let her mind go blank. Today she can carry out her daily program with no strain on her heart, and the doctors are grateful to them, the while they are grateful to the doctors, because their young son is the "star" in his group at the medical center and is responding wonderfully to treatment "We still believe that good fortune favors us," says Mrs. Allen. I am proud to write in this column of people who just natural ly count their blessings. They are the salt of the earth. , Hatching Eggs Are Scarce, Report Shows LINCOLN There is a short age of hatching eggs in the na tion, according to information ranks therefore full cooperation of the various state, county and local medical and related pro- jfessional groups is essential. Be reaay to volunteer. the district, most of trip lnnH hpincr in chance that the courts of this country will Plattsmouth and Eight Mile Grove precin bar television as a means of reporting ct . . . Chief of Police John Jordon tender public matters. Certainly, if newspapers ed his resignation to Mayor Arnold Lillie can print ana radio commentators relate to take up work with the engineers on the the details of a hearing, there is no more objection to a television record than to any other photographs that might be ta ken in connection with the news. BRIGHTER DAYS PROMISED Calling attention to the "temporary curtailment" of civilian goods, Defense Mobilizer Charles E. Wilson emphasizes the productive capacity of this country and expresses the opinion that increased pro duction will make it possible, in two or three years, to take care of the defense and civilian needs of the country. Mr. Wilson points out that production has doubled since 1939 and cites the fact that restricted production in 1951 will still give Americans more motor cars than they had in 1948. He envisions a three-year plan of mobilization, with the increased facilities and skills eventually becoming to the "building of a better nation and a better world." We call attention to this viewpoint because it is vitally important for every I THOUGHT FOR TODAY ! The host is happy when the guest has gone. Chinese Proverb river . . . Carl D. Ganz of Alvo, W. B. Hughes of Omaha and H. A. Schneider of this city motored to Excelsior Springs to attend bankers regional meet being held at Elms Hotel. OA YEARS AGO The Plattsmouth Journal Official County and City Paper ESTABLISH KO IN' mi Published Bemi-weekly. M n.lays nn.l Thursdays, at 409-413 Main Street. I'leUs mouth. Cass County. Xebr. RONALD R. FURSE Publisher HARRY J. CANE EditoJ FRANK H, SMITH News Reporter BERNARD A. WOOD Advertising Mgr. Helen E. Heinrich & Donna L. Meisinger Society - Bookkeeping & Circulation bstocifiTion I U Entered at the Tost Office at J,lattnmoy,th, Kebraska. s second class maU matter in accordance with the Ai t of Congress of March 3. 1S79. SUBSCRIPTION RATE: $3.50 per year in Cass and adjoining: counties. $4.00 per year elsewhere, in advance, by mail outside the city of Platts mouth.. By carrier in -Plattsmouth. 20 cents for two weeks. Principal R. F. Patterson received notice that seven members of the 1930 football squad had been elected to mem bership in the National Athletic Scholar ship Society of Secondary Schools. Those honored were Jack Troop, Francis Yelick, Henry Donat, Clarence Forbes, Mott Frady, Sam Am and Francis Warren. The local chapter was founded in 1928 . . . W. T. Distell was named Exalted Ruler of the Plattsmouth Lodge B.P.O.E. No. 739. (Copyright, 1949. By the Bell Syndicate. Inc.) DREW PEARSON SAYS: PRESI DENT TRUMAN'S TEMPERAMENT IS MAJOR TOPIC ABROAD; HAS TY REPLIES TO ORAL QUESTIONS AT PRESS CONFERENCES WORRY EUROPEANS; IMPACT OF AMER ICAN WAYS NOTICEABLE IN GREECE. (Ed. note: Drew Pearson is on a flying tour of Europe and the Middle East, surveying the world situation.) Athens. The chief subject every American is asked about, no matter What country he is traveling in, is Harry Tru man's temperament. Why, you are asked, does your president write so many letters? Why does he call people so many names? Why does he make so many quick state ments in press conferences? Few people in the United States real ize how widely the president's letter to Paul Hume, Washington music critic, was published from London to the smaller cities, of. the Balkans. In Turkey some newspapers,, having. heard that the presi dent once hurled an uncomplimentary epithet in my direction, got mixed up and thought the Hume letter had been writ ten to me. Leaving personalities strictly aside, however, the net effect of the president's mercurial disposition is to give the rest ! tii f of the world an impression of American wnereuDon the State - Depart unsteadiness and a feeling that we are ment had to rewrite the entire likely to fly off half cocked. This i applies to press conferences just as much as presidential letter-writing, as two cases will illustrate. A couple of weeks ago, Mr. Truman was asked at a press conference whether the United Nations forces in Korea would cross the 38th parallel. He re plied that he was leaving this entirely up to General Mac Arthur. Now, it so happened that this was not true. But true or not, nothing he could have said could have injured our relations more with other U.N. nations, for several rea sons. ; First, they feel important political decisions of this kind involving further embroglio with China and Russia are not up to the American Military Commander but to the entire U.N. Second, both the French and the British repeatedly urg ed, requested and begged us not to ro above the 38th parallel prior to MacArthur's previous disastrous advance. Third, we are now demanding that Eur ope rearm under an American ground commander, an Ameri can -Naval commander and air commander. Unfortunately. Mr. Truman's hasty press-conference statement makes them think twice about who would decide political matters regard ing European defense. The other Truman press con ference boner was his famous statement that we are consid ering dropping the a-bomb on Korea which brought British Prime Minister Attlee hotfoot ing it to Washington. Questions Sometimes Loaded Most people don't remember that the three most recent Re publican presidents refused to answer oral questions at press conferences and that it is only a man of extraordinary versa tility, such as Franklin Roose velt was. who can get away with it. Every week, as 200 newsmen face the president, they come armed with questions which either they or their editors have concocted on a score of diffi cult, sometimes intricate, prob lems. Some are friendly, some are calculated to embarrass. some merely want information. Presidents Coolidge and Hoover found it wiser to answer these only when handed in in writing in advance, and this system of written questions began through the same kind of boner as that which Mr. Truman has occa sionally been guilty of. During the Washington Arms conference in 1921 President Harding, who then permitted oral questions, -was asked whe ther the treaty banning forti fications applied to the Japan ese mainland which, of course. included Japanese islands. He in the affirmative. treaty to clarify this issue. After that Harding permitted only ouestions in writing. AMERICAN IMPACT ON GREECE You don't have to read the signs at the railroad stations to sense the difference between the Communist and capitalist countries when you pass a bor der in Europe. The minute you get into Greece from Communist Jugoslavia you can tell the dif ference in a dozen different ways the availability of taxi cabs, the speed of doing busi ness, the vigor of the atmos phere. Part of this is due to American money and American methods, which have had a ter rific impact on Greece during the last three years . . . Greece now rates as one of the most efficient countries in Europe. Gen. Reuben Jenkins, a 'former Georgia national guardsman, deserves great credit for train ing the Greek army into an ag gressive, compact fighting force which could throw 10 divisions into battle overnight with 10 more divisions available in a week . . . Greek airways now cover the country. Whereas it once took days to get around Greece by boat, airplanes now reach almost every corner in a matter of hours. Much of this enterprise is due to American aid and encouragement. U. S. Ambassador Jack Peurifoy had a lot to do with persuading the Greek government to open its border to Jugoslavia at Salonika. thus permitting American food shipments to enter by the short est route. I was on the first train from Greece into Jugoslav ia carrying American iooa. marking a new milestone in Jugoslav-Greek friendship. Most people wouidn t realize the sig nificance of this first pioneer train unless they remembered that, only brief months ago, Jugoslavia was still the chief source of arms for Communist guerrillas which had kept Greece in a state of bloody revolt for three years.. - In contrast, Jugo slav officials, with U. S. Ambas sador George- Allen, came from Belgrade to the Greek border to participate in a friendly cere mony with Greek officials and the U. S. consul a't Salonika, Glenn Abbey . . . The greatest contribution to people-to-people friendship in the Near East over a long period oi years has been supplied by Roberts College in Istanbul and the American farm school in Salonika, under Char les House. Both have turned out thousands of youngsters who not only have improved their , own .country . but . nave strengthened the friendship be tween the United States, Greece and Turkey. Wherever you go in the Near East, you bump into Roberts College graduates who are working for this better un derstanding. . partment Hatchery . men are having trouble locating enough hatch ing eggs to keep up with the de mand. Chicks are moving fast now, after a rather slow month in February because of the ad verse weather conditions. Many sources in the poultry business feel that the season is two weeks late this year, due mainly to the weather. Coal is consumed in greater tonnage than - any other com modity produced by man. Buffet's Bill Would End RFC Howard Buffett, member of the House Banking and Curren- cy committee, today introduced j a bill providing for the liquida-! tion of the RFC. A similar bill j was introduced at the same time by Congressman Robert Kean of New Jersey. Buffett and Kean are the only two members of the present House who voted to end the RFC in 1947, when its life was being extended. Buffett said: "The RFC was set up as an emergency agency almost 20 years ago. It has out lived both the emergency and its usefulness. It has degenerat ed into a bucket shop for po litical favors, sale of influence, expense-free trips, expense-free suites in luxury hotels, and an inside track for mink coats. It should be abolished." I nsure Now RESIDENCE BURGLARY and Theft Insurance will reimburse you for valu ables stolen and damage caused to your property. Stephen M. Davis Second Floor Plattsmouth State Bank Bid;. Phone 6111 . A Classified Ad in The Journ nai costs as little as 35c. Wttdflo ise.es bom row you II still say Y Specifications and equipment subject to change without notice. engineering advancements make traditional Dodge dependability GREATER VALUE WAN EVER The dodge reputation for dependability and long car life is a matter of record . . . a record of thirty-seven years ... a record no other car can match. And with the many new advancements engi neered into the great '51 Dodge, this famous dependability makes Dodge an even bigger value, an even bigger dollar buy. Yes, everything about this great new Dodge the, way it looks, rides and handles tells you that here's a car built o deliver years and miles of dependable, low-cost service. 5 minutes tells why. Give us just five' minutes. Let us show you how you could pay up to $1,000 more-and still not get all the extra room, handling ease and rugged dependability of this great new 1951 Dodge. 195 f DepuHtM IE?- I? fust a 'few dollars more than tU towni-prKeefeinf m V. mWK AWT RHOTOIk S)o: 125 North 5th Street Plattsmbuth, Nebr.