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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1954)
EDITORIALS Furse's Fresh Flashes VWfNS BATTLE AGAINST CUTS : . VV j. js reliably reported from Wash ington that General Matthew B. Ridgway, ; Army Chief of Staff, has won his battle against further manpower cuts in the Ar- my. The present strength of the Army is somewhat above 1,173,000 to which figure manpower will have to be cut by July, 1955. Originally, when the "new look" de ' fense program was outlined, it was planned that the Army would be reduced ,. further after July, 1955. Ridgway has been strongly protesting these planned cuts for - some months now: As a result, he has been given at least a tentative indication that the Army's strength may not be cut further than tho 1,173,000 limit. One of the reasons for this is Ridgway's excellent record of. increas ing, combat divisions, while, at the same time, reducing manpower levels. For instance, the Army is attempting to maintain twenty-four or -twenty-five tactical divisions in this country and abroad, as against seventeen which was the originally scheduled number. The larger number of divisions is being main tained even though manpower is not being increased and will be cut down to the , 1,173,000 limit by next July. Of the twenty-four or five divisions, it is expected that two will be stationed in Korea, one or two in Japan, one in Hawaii, one in Alaska, one in Panama and Puerto Rico, thirteen in the United States and five in Germany. One of the factors which will make this plan possible is the decision: to maintain only several divisions to be kept in the United States in a high degree of combat readiness. The others will have a limited combat effectiveness, but they will be di visions capable of rapid perfection. A NOTHER WAR RECORD HOAX : " Representative Douglas R. String fellow, Utah Republican, recently resigned -his candidacy for reelection to the House of Representatives after admitting he made up a fantastic story of his alleged heroic exploits as an O. S. S. agent. Mr. Stringfellow wowed audiences for some time with stories about how he and some thirty-seven other O. S. S. agents were - .dropped into Germany to capture a Ger man nuclear scientist. " He reported that he captured Otto Hahn, a famous German physicist, and sent him back to Allied territory. He elim inated corroboration by the other members of the O .S. S. band by reporting that they were captured or killed by the Germans.' He, himself, he related, had escaped a con centration camp where the Germans were torturing the Americans. During the recent campaign for re f. election rumors began to circulate in Utah rthat Stringfellow could not back up his story. The Army Times debunked his story and a why service reported the Ar my Times' charge. The question whether the story was true or not reached all the way to the White House, where White House officials would not comment. When confronted with many doubts, Stringfellow had asked President Dwight Eisenhower to unlock secret O. S. S. files, so that his story could be verified. The case also reflects the desire of the red-blooded Americans to have performed heroic services for their country when its existance was threatened in the war of 1941-45. This desire is very commendable, but much sympathy has been expressed for Representative Stringfellow, who has now confessed his mischief. But a desire to have been a hero should not be allowed to play havoc with the facts, although it freauent ly does, not only in Utah, but in all the other states. CD CD CD CD a no CD CD CD CD (J CD CD CD CD CD CD It's pretty hard these days to tell whether the perscn you're walking behind j is a man who needs a haircut, or a, woman who just got one. Most right handed women become left handed as soon as they get a diamond. - it it ir A Kansas editor thinks what this country needs is more automobiles for the kids to drive to school and more gymnas iums for them to exercise in. Most any married man can tell you why weather men use women's names when they refer to those big winds such as hurricanes. There are two tilings right now that you can't depend on the signal given by a woman driver in the car ahead and promises of politicians. Flipper Fanny, our dainty little contour ; twister, says she wouldn't care a rap about i going pheasant hunting, but she would go for a tramp in the woods. it it it If all the candidates for office in this country were laid end to end, they would still point in .all directions. -4? 4- A local man under the wea'ther put in an emergency call to his doctor, said his wife had one of those books, "What To Do Until the Doctor Arrives," and he was afraid she was going to do it. Down Memory Lane mfRFGS "Lipsiickl 20 YEARS AGO Vandals overturned all the tomb stones in Young cemetery south of town. The cemeetry is the last resting place of some of Cass county's pioneer residents . . . Democratic candidates touring the county included Fred Carsten of Avoca, for state senator; George Nickles of Murray, for 'representative; Bernard G. Wurl for clerk; Lillian G. White for register; Hom er Sylvester for sheriff; J. L. Stamp for treasurer; Harry K. Dwyer for attorney; W. H. Puis for assessor; E. B. Chapman and Fred H. Gorder, commissioners; and R. D. Fitch for surveyor. it 1 f YEARS AGO Vr Mrs. R. A. Bates, owner, and pub lisher of -the- Plattsmouth Journal since 1934. when her husband died, sold the newspaper to Lester A. Walker. Walker is publisher of the Fremont Guide and Tri bune . . . "Lindy" Wolever shook loose down the sidelines for 31 yards and a touchdown to lead the Platters to a 32-6 win over Wahoo. Other TDs were on a pass from Joe Gradoville to Livingston; Grad oville on the ground; Gradoville on the ground; Gradoville in the air on a pass to Bud Eaton . . . Miss Katherine Rosine Meisinger and Henry Hobscheidt were married in St. John's CathoUc church. it it it The Washington Merry Go -Round THOUGHT FOR TODAY Submit, and thou conqucrest; serve, and thoipt command. Ovid The Plattsmouth Journal Official County and City Paper ESTABLISHED IN 18S1 Published Semi-Weekly, Mondays and Thursdays, at 410 Main Street, Plattsmouth, Cass County, Nebr. Three Times Winner Ak-Sar-Ben Plaques for "OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE" . 1949 1951 1952 "Honorable Mention" 1953 Presented Nebraska Press Association "GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD" First in 1952 Second in 1951 and 1953 (In Cities Over 2,000 Population) RONALD R. FURSE . . . , DICK HOWE..-. VERN WATERMAN SOPHIA M. WOLEVER. .Editor and Publisher . News Editor Advertising Soeiety Editor unciui uucsitt ftWim Entered at the Tost Office at Plattsmouth, Nebraska as second class mail matter in accordance with the Act 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. (Copyright, 1954, By The Bell Syndicate, Inc.) DREW PEARSON SAYS : TEXAS RE PUBLICANS FLIRT WITH HATCH ACT; FEDERAL JOB -HOLDERS TOLD HOW MUCH TO GIVE; CON GRESSMN. BLATNICK CAN CLAIM SOME CREDIT FOR TRIESTE SET TLEMENT. WASHINGON Jack Porter, the charming and energetic Texan who first I lumped for Eisenhower, has sent out an amazing letter demanding money from federal job-holders in his state. The letter comes close to the border line drawn by the Hatch Act against "macing" ford ing contributions from officeholders. Porter is a wealthy Houston oil man and Republican National Committeeman who went to see Eisenhower in Paris in the spfing of 1952 and brought back word that Ike would be against the Supreme Court on Tidelands Oil. Despite the fact that the Supreme Court had ruled against Texas, Louisiana and California, General Eisenhower wrote Jack Porter a letter taking the opposite stand. This was one reason why Texas went overwhelmingly for Ike two years ago and why so much Texas money has poured into the GOP campaign chest. Today Porter is writing letters to every federal officeholder in tho Lone Star state demanding more money on the excuse that it is costly to "process" a federal job. Just what Porter means by "processing" a job is not explained, but .some office holders have construed it to mean that if they don't contribute Porter will "process" them out of their jobs. Furthermore, he names the exact amount he wants them to donate. One postmistress who makes only S150 a month was told she would have . to contribute $175. U. S. attorneys, collectors of internal revenue and other top officials are being told to kick in for as much as S500. Getting Around Hatch Act Lawyers who have examined Porter's unusual demand say that it-definitely vio lates the spirit of th Hatch Act, if not the letter. The Hatch Act prohibits ; any official from soliciting po- , litical contributions on govern ment premises. ; Porter got around the ift.f- j the law by using the U.-S. Mails, ' not soliciting on the premises. , The wording of his letter, how ever, as publishsd below, seems ' to come awfully close to the J Hatcn Act. written on station ery of th2 "Republican Party of Texas" and dated Sept. 28, 1954, the letter follows: "As you are probably aware, our state headquarters, which processes all of the appoint ments to federal positions in Texas, must be supported by contributions. In i addition to that, we have to raise funds for our Congressional and Legisla tive candidates. It is vital that wre give President Eisenhowrer a Republican controlled Congress, ana we nave an excellent cnance to elect some Congressmen in Texas. "The actual cost of processing an anoointment in Texas is sub stantial and must be paid for out of party funds. Our only source of revenue is contribu tions,. and we do not feel that we are asking too much in suggest ing a contribution from you in th amount of "Contrary to widespread mis interpretation, there is no re. sineuon in the so-called Hatch Act or, any other Federal regu lation against making contribu tions to a political party in a federal officeholder's name. There is, however, a restriction against soliciting such contribu tions at a Federal place of em ployment. Officeholders are also prohibited from soliciting such contributions themselves. "I will appreciate it if you will give us a prompt reply, as only a few weeks are left before elec tion day. Please make checks payable to: Harris. T. Gregg, treasurer, 4019 Montrose Boule vard, Houston 6, Texas. "Thanking you, and with best wishes, I am "Sincerely, ' S . "H. J. Porter" News Through "Straws" There's been a lot of prompt ing among the staff of the Atomic Energy Commission as to how they should pronounce the name of their chairman, Adm. Lewis Strauss. The Kuhn Loeb banking partner, who now runs the AEC in such a highhanded manner, does not like to have his name mispronounced. He de mands that the pronunciation be as in "Straws." The other day, Mary Smyth, wife of the famed scientist, Hen ry D. Smyth, who has. just re signed from the AEC because he could not take Admiral Strauss 's domination, was sitting at din ner beside New York Times cor respondent Arthur Krock, chief apoloeist for Admiral Strauss. "How do you feel?" She asked Krock. "T feel fine," was the reply. "Are you sure?" pressed Mrs. Smith. "Yes, w7hy do you ask?" "Because I heard you were ill." "What made you think that." "I heard you had been taking all your .nourishment through 'Straws'." Congressman Diplomat Though it didnt get into the headlines, one of the unofficial diplomats who helped to smooth out the important Trieste prob lem was Democratic Congress man John Blatnik of Minnesota, an American of Yugoslav de scent. Three times during the war, Mai or Blatnik was parachuted behind' German lines into Yugo slavia where he worked with the Yugoslav underground against the Nazis. Last year Congressman Blat nik happened to be in Yugoslav ia at the time the United States and England pulled their tragic boner demanding- without ad vance notification that Tito evacuate Trieste. Following that ultimatum, Tito mobilized troops around Yugoslavia, and Yugo slav public ooinion reached a fever pitch. Blatnik, who was on the scene, immediately called on Ti to, persuaded him to enter into diwet negotiations - with Italy. Then he flew by military plane 'to NATO headquarters in Paris j tc leport to Gen .Alfred Gruen ther. His conferences helped to get Yugoslavia back irfo -the 1 groove as far as diplomatic talks were concerned. By Melvin Paul Statehouse Correspondent The Nebraska Press Association LINCOLN The politicians put the finishing touches on their campaigns this week as the jnov. 2 election day had all but ar rived. . On the congressional level Ne braska Republicans appeared confident that Nebraska would do its share to comply with President Eisenhower's request for a Republican Senate and Congress. But the Democrats felt they had a better than even chance of taking at least one congres sional seat away from the Re publicans. They hoped James Hart, Omaha lawyer and pro fessor, would be able to defeat Jackson Chase, Omaha Repub lican and former Douglas Coun ty District Court judge for the Second District Congress seat. This would capture the seat now held by Congressman Roman Hruska, Omaha Republican, who is running for the Senate. Democratic leaders said there was an outside chance James Green, Omaha lawyer, might be able to defeat Hruska in that race for the unexpired term of the late Sen. Hugh Butler. They were also placing some hope in Frank Morrison, McCook lawer, winning over Phil Weaver, Falls City automobile dealer, in the First District Congress race. The best Democratic hopes lay in a revolt by the farmers against the Eisenhower admin istration farm policies. Eut there didn't seem to be many outward signs of this as election day drew near. Congressman Carl Curtis of Minden seemed to have no ob stacles in his way to defeat Dem ocrat Keith Neville of North Platte in the six year Senate term race. Republican Mrs. George Abel, Sr., of Lincoln ap peared likely to triumph over her opponent, William Meier of Minden, in the curious two month term race. Two incumbent congressman, Robert Harrison of Norfolk from the Third District, and Dr. A. L. Miller of Kimball from the Fourth seemed to face little dif ficulty in shrugging off chal lenges by Democrats Ernest Lu ther of Hooper and Carlton Laird of Scottsbluff. - Best concensus seemed to be that all the Republicans would win with the possible exception of Chase. State Ticket The Republicans seemed on even surer ground in the races for state officers. Despite all the furor caused by tax equali zation last; year, no Democrat seemed a serious threat to the present GOP dominance of the Statehouse in Lincoln. Some political observers said that Gov. Robert Crosby has been the scapegoat for all this. With, him defeated in the U. S. Sen ate primary, the angry voters have subsided, and aren't look ing tor any more scalps. , This is said to be true in sev eral legislative races also where the incumbents, with a few ex ceptions, seem to be weathering the storm. Constitutional Amendments Not much attention has been ; paid to the cpnsLiiutionai amendment . proposals on the November ballot. But some are the most important in years, es pecially those which will clear away roadblocks to any real tax reform. Herj briefly is a rundown of the proposals as they will ap pear on the ballot: ' Prcpcsal 1: Would change the provision that salaries of execu tive state officers can't be changed oftene.r than every eight years. Reason: Because in these times of inflation salaries haven't been realtistic for top officials and somt good ones have been lost. Proposal 2: Would change the makeup of the State Board of Education Lands and Funds to an appointive board. Reason: Would put men on the board who would make it their main duty. Present board consists of gover nor and other busy elected offi cials. Note' Various school or ganizations have" fought this, fearing what an appointive board would do to school lands. Proposal 3: Would change the provision that members of ex ecutive boards must live in Lin coln. Reason: This has blocked setting up highway commission and other boards because it would mean they would all have to live in Lincoln., . r Proposal 4: Would relax pres ent rigid requirements for as sessment of real estate. Reason: This is called the "heart" of the tax reform proposals. If home owners are to get any kind of relief, the "strait jacket" in the constitution must be changed. Pioposal 5: Would allow the appointment of county asses sors. Reason: To get better tax assessing at local level, many states have found it is better j to appoint assessors rather than elect them as Nebraska now does. The Nebraska State Association of Assessors has endorsed this move. Proposal 6: Would allow ex emption of household goods from taxation. Reason: It takes about 90 per cent of the assessor's time to count pots and pans, dishes and mops, yet they bring only 3 per cent of tax revenue. The idea is to allow assessors to spend more time on the real revenue producers. v . , Proposal 7: Would place a re striction in the constitution that if the Legislature passes a sales or income tax, the revenue must replace the property tax that supports state government (about 10 per cent for the aver age tax bill). This is the most controversial of the amend ments. Reason for: This would make sure that any new kinds of taxes would be replacements and not "just another tax." Rea son against: Would place another strait jacket in constitution when a major cause of the tax troubles has been that there were too many already. Proposal 8: Would allow set ting up a state tax commission of appointive officials. Reason: Experts say one of the reasons Nebraska has had so much prop erty tax trouble has been lack of attention by seccessive state board of equalization, composed of elected officials such as the governors. This would tighten administration at the top. University Budget The University of Nebraska is asking a 25 per cent increase in the part of its budget which .comes from the state general fund supported by state proper ty tax money. It wants an $18, 830,299 general fund budget, or $3.8 million above the $15 million it got for the current two year period. - From tuition, fees, federal funds, and its share of the build ing fund levies, the University would have weir over $37 million to spend. The University's new chancel- THE PLATTSMOUTH, NEBRASKA, SEM j-WEEKLY JOURNAL PAGE FOUR Monday,, Novembsr 1, 1951. 1MJ3G1AM Check the correct word: ' 1. Russia (is) (is not) building a spare rail road which parallels the famed Trans Siberia line. 2. The Philadelphia A's (will) (will not) move to Kansas City. 3. Need for improved roads is greatest in (city) (inter-city) areas, according to the A.A.A. 4. The most recent hurricane was nicknamed (Hazel) (Gloria). 5. Hail is (usually) (seldom) accompanied by thunder and lightning. 6. Louisiana is the (Pelican) (Magnolia) state. 7. If it's noon in New York, it's (5 p. m.) (5 a. m.) in London. 8. Sir Winston Churchill will be (75) (80) in November. 9. There (are) (are not) railroads in Alaska. 10. Business heart of Pittsburgh is the (Golden) (Keystone) triangle. Check your answers, scoring yourself 10 points for each correct choice. A sore of 0-20 is poor; 30-60, aver age; 70-80, superior, and 90-100, very superior. X Decoded Intelligram transit Cnensn s -iazBHt sstjtD C ')ou htm Z 'sI I c.v.v.v.w.. Legislative SIDELIGHTS.. i ... ;-' by , BERNIE CAMP Information Director Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation .... . . .."...V. .,..,..,.......,...............",...,..".",...,,.",.. Roads to Quality Nebraska poultrymen are faced with the choice , of up-grading the quality of their egg produc tion or losing in competition with poultry producers in other areas who do produce quality eggs. , There are two routes pro ducers may take to up quanty. One route is through organiza tion in which a substantial ma jority of the egg producers agree to cooperate, even to the extent of cooperative marketing. Such an organization would set up standards of acceptability and find quality outlets for cooper ators. Second, the poultry industry can ask the Legislature to " pass an egg quality law, providing the establishment of certain minimum grades below which there will be no legal egg mar ket. Such action is justifiable on the basis of being in the public interest. . ' The cooperative industry route would be preferable, but many poultry industry leaders feel that the quality of Nebraska eggs has reached a position which requires drastic and im mediate action. ' - The legislative route is the quick way to egg quality im provement. It is not a new type of legislation because similar legislation, has been developed for the grade A dairy program. Nebraska poultry . industry representatives farm flock owners, commercial poultrymen, lor, Clifford Hardin, explained these reasons for the requested increase: 1. The necessity to pay higher salaries to top flight faculty members to Tceep the core of a high type University staff. 2. Plans for a "short course" in agriculture for boys who don't plan- to go to college. 3. Placing more emphasis on the. freshman English program. 4 Money for developing the College of Agriculture and the Ui,i-". rsity College of Msdicine at Omaha. 5. A half -million, dollars alone is slated for 'maintenance of new buiidings. hatchery operators, poultry processors and others interested should develop for presenta tion to the 1955 session of the Legislature an egg quality law fair to - producer, processor and consumer all groups having an interest in improvement. Such a law should provide that the minimum standard will gradually increase over a period of two or three years. Producers thus will have warning that egg quality must improve and can make adjustments to the law without great hardship. The law too should provide a representa tive group from the poultry in dustry to oversee fair and indis criminate administration. Unless the segments of the poultry industry are willing to wrork together, cooperatively or with a minimum standard law, it can be expected eventually that consumers will demand a law to protect quality. A con sumer inspired law might ' not be the same sort of lav; poultry men themselves would want. A good egg quality law is in the general welfare and to the best interest of the poultry in dustry. ' LETT Dear Sirs: I wish to thank you for the prize which I received from your paper. The essay of "What My Local Newspaper Means To My Com munity," was easy to write about such a fine paper. Thank you also for the invi tation to visit the Journal of fice. Sincerely. Connie Land Dar S'rs: I wish to thank you and the staff and also the judges for picking my entry as second place. My entry took three hours to write and organize but I was completely surprised when I received the check. Writing is one of the things that I love to do but most of my interests lie in music. I want to tell you and the staff .that I greatly appreciate the reading of the Plattsmouth Journal and have enjoyed itev-' er since I could read . Thank you very much for the invita tion to visit the Journal offices. Thank you again very much for the honor, and the check. Very Sincerely Yours, Merilyh. Koop co Allen Koop Louisville, Nebr. MY, HUNK. TriW WESTERN frr-jr-MOVIE. WAS REKLLY mcccotMT' ' j USUALLY THE HERO IEWES J I THIS ONE HAD THE W T -vl THE 5RL AND RIDES OFF IVi MOST STICKING ..NEARLY . I 7 DIFFERENT.' 'irfly n-V INTO THE TWILKSHT ONI 3 f LOVE SCENE I'VE 1 MADE ME ? , FSJL- YEP.' ) FAITHFUL HOK&t.'y fevcK SEEN; CRY, MSS lci 1 M ' " --r--.f-.- r ' " 7 T ' II "" 1 I ' wmm m&wemsm-i MP i a j ifigjy. mi has BOY VO L MATE 1 TH'i? JOB'.TAiCNS MV-BTOTHEB AVJP TWEE LITTLE PUSJK TSICK-OR- TREATiM'-KIP LOOK, W5VE MAPE TWO BUCK ALREAPV -Awp WE'VE OWiy TA3TEPj mirm 7 :Y' Maw ? LATER -n f I FELT AWFUL SOCRV P 2LY . V' THAT POOZ. z. ME HOfcSE.'. Jf mss V--! g ":imS : wmtwm U;Ma Jl: I-
