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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1955)
EDITORIALS "" """" "" "" "" THE MUNDT-COUDERT AMENDMENT There is good evidence that the Mundt-Coudert Amendment, which would amend the Constitution to change the Electoral College system, is gaining favor in many parts of the country. When the Electoral College was first set up, it was composed of men selected in the respective states, and these men exer cised their own judgment. The men chosen were men of standing and reputation and were selected on the assumption that they could and would make a good choice in casting their votes for President. However, through the years, this system has changed until today a situation exists which the founding fathers did not envision. Slates of electors are run by par ties and are automatically pledged to vote for a candidate before they meet to cast their ballots. Since they are pledged by parties, the presidential candidate in any state who receives a plurality (not neces sarily even half of the votes in that state) gets all of the Electoral College votes of that state. So, the situation today 13 that a presi dential candidate can win a presidential race and become President even though he receives less votes than an opponent. The Mundt-Coudert Amendment to the Constitution would provide that electors are elected as are members of the Con gressional delegation from each state. In other words, an elector would be elected by the people in each Congressional Dis trict, and two would be elected as are Senators by the electorate , of. each ' state. , The object is to remove the complete ly unjustified excessive influence of splint er parties and groups, especially in metro politan areas. The splinter parties and or ganized groups are now able to control the entire electoral vote in their states, and if it is a state like New York, they are controlling forty-five electoral votes. Nat urally, every Presidential candidate mak es concessions to them out of proportion to their importance to our country. ; That is possible because the Presi dential candidate who receives a plurality in the state of New York or any other state, gets all of the electoral votes. Un der the Mundt-Coudert Amendment, once adopted, the electoral votes of the state would, be split according to Congressional districts and the vote for the two men who ran in a statewide election as electors. it it 1? pOSTAL RATE FIGHT COMING Postmaster-General Arthur E. 'Sum merfield says the Administration will probably ask the second session of the Eighty-Fourth Congress to increase postal rates for all classes of mail. Mr.Summer--field made this statement after he had 'conferred with President Eisenhower in Denver. Summerfield justified his position by saying that he and the President favored a pay-as-you-go operation for the postal service. It is being speculated that Mr. " . Eisenhower will include such a request in his State of the Union message which ! will be delivered before a joint session of Congress in January. Summerfield says his department is . running a deficit of about $500,000,000. annually and that, since 1945, this deficit has amounted to $4,600,000,000. We believe postal increases may be necessary in some classes but we are solid ly opposed to increases which would hike the mailing cost of books, newspapers, and magazines. Increases in these categor ies have been made recently and one of the greatest traditions in the United States 1 is the average citizen's access to low-cost THOUGHT FOR TODAY Thrice is he arm'd that hath his quarrel ' just. Shakespeare The Plallsmoulh Journal Official County and City Paper ESTABLISHED IN 1881 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" 1049 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. ...... .Editor and Publisher WM. L. MURDOCK News Editor MARGARET DINGMAN Society Editor JANET PTAK Bookkeeper VERN WATERMAN .... Advertising PHONE A I I Vv m M S CBiS' Bauicssm,. ,.j Entered it the Post Office at Plattspiouth, Nebraska as second class mail matter in accordance with the Act of Congress ot March 3, 1879. 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. , Furses Ftesh Flashes Try praising your wife, even if it does scare her a little at first. It is better to give than to lend and it costs about the same. . ic ic Flipper Fanny, our dainty little con tour twister, got some of that new per fume at a local drug store and now warns the local gals not to use the stuff if they!re . just bluffing. Read there are just two Confederate and one Union old soldiers left. Now would be a good time for the Rebels to at tack they've got us outnumbered at last. Try to save a'little money if you can someday it may be valuable again. If 'you expect your wife to be an angel, you'll have to wait until you are a widower. c -Speaking of wives .reminds us to tell you about the Plattsmouth husband now in a hospital recovering from a shock. He came home from work the other night and found his wife in the kitchen. This weather we're having right now seemed a lot more pleasant last July. Publishers of those pocket books never seem to run out of material until they get to the girl on the cover. delivery of educational and informative material and news. - We believe the Postoffice Depart ment may be justified in seeking to keep the postage increases for first class and air mail. No doubt added revenue from hikes in these two first-class mail services and economics in the Post Office Depart ment could reduce the postal service's def icit greatly. Down Memory Lane YEARS AGO Married at Plattsmouth were Miss Mary Jane Lindeman and Gerald W. Shrader by Judge C. L. Graves; Miss Jean Fitch of Plattsmouth and Clifford Troy Jewell of Scottsbluff by the Rev. V. C. Wright. . . C. A. Wetenkamp was elect ed president of the Mynard Community Club . . . Lettermen on the Plattsmouth basketball squad were Jack Forbes, cap tain; Raymond Wooster, Mason Wall, Max Seitz, and Joe Hendrix . . . Frank Gradoville of Plattsmouth, who was en gaged in educational government work in the Philippine Island, won the Islands golf championship ... John E. Downing was installed as commander of the Louis--ville. American Legion post. i ic ic Sf YEARS AGO Albert Cotner was the high bidder with $650 on a $739 Overland sedan which was sold by T. H. Pollock who won it at a Plattsmouth Legion-Elks carnival. The $650 along with $500 Mr. Pollock had already contributed made $1,150 he gave to the Community Building fund. . . Mrs. E. J. Richey was named president when the Order of Does was new formed at the Plattsmouth lodge room of the BPOE . . . George Conis taking a few steps to the Charleston and singing gaily at his shoe shine parlor, told a Journal reporter why a new daughter, Miss Catherine, had just been born. ic tAt it Washington erry-Go - Hound jty DREW PEARSON (Copyright, 1955, by the Bell Syndicate, Inc.) DREW PEARSON SAYS DEMOCRATS RENEGE ON THEIR BALLYHOOED CONGRES SIONAL INVESTIGATIONS; DE MOCRATS TALK ABOUT PRO - TECTING SMALL BUSINESS BUT DON'T DO MUCH; BIG TV BUSI NESS SCORES BIG VICTORY WITH FCC. Washington There's one thing the Re publicans can usually count on from the Democrats : They yell more than they pro duce. Last winter the Democrats, assuming control of Congress, bragged about the probes they were going to stage. Then they got bogged down in the congressional routine, staged no probes, but bragged about the probes they would stage when Congress adjourned. Came the congressional adjournment. The Dems proceeded to go touring. They flocked all over the globe, from Helsinki to Buenos Aires. They probed the tourist offices, they probed the restaurants, they probed the night' clubs everything ex cept affairs of Congress and all at government expense. Estes Kefauver, who had promised a big probe of Dixon-Yates and juvenille delinquency took a leisurely Holiday Tree loll around Asia though he's getting down to work on Dixon Yates this week. Sen.' Warren Magnuson of Washington who was voted $200,000 for a probe of TV-r a d i o-communications found himself busy in the northwest. . Some solons have stayed at home arid done fine jobs Sen ators O'Mahoney of Wyoming, Sparkman of Alabama, Hen nings of Missouri, plus Con gressmen Manny Celler of New York and Wright Patman of Texas. But other widely advertised probes have flopped. Their De mocratic chairmen have just been too busy touring or mend ing political fences. Little TV Squashed While Democratic leaders have been castigating the Eisenhower administration about playing up to big business, the Dems in turn have taken a runout pow der on ' protecting one of the most important small business groups in the nation '; smaller TV stations. This nation was built on the principle that any country edi tor could set up a printing press inj any town of hs choosing and publish a newspaper at his own risk. Today, the same principle does not apply to one of the great modern mediums of com munication television.. j And a few days ago the big busness-minded Federal Com munications Commission slap ped down the country.-editor tyue TV stations. The little UHF stations had had a chance to compete with giants of the in dustry until . two "weeks ago when ,the FCC slapped them down with the "Deintermixture" decision permitting potent VHF stations' to be opened in areas hitherto reserved for small UHF stations, thereby putting them out of business ' "What the commission has done today," said Rosel Hyde, a Republican and - former FC Chairman, "May deal a death blow to" UHF TV service. 'The majority opinion,' he said "is permature, ill-advised and wholly inconsistent." Commissioner Robert Bartley, Democrat and Sam Rayburn's nephew, agreed with Hyde Re publican. The other Eisenhow-er-a ppointed commissioners concurred in the ruling that Iwill probably plow under 100 small UHF stations, and will limit future telecasting to a relatively few big stations. Freedom to Advertise Effect of the decision was not unlike having the government tell the little suburban news- See By The Papers . . . . By Bill Col. Harry Atkinson of Offutt Ailr Force' base told financeers from the area that Offutt needs 120 1,200 rental units to serve personnel at the base. This brought a pledge from an Oma ha builder who said he wTould build 60 houses for individuals who would in turn rent them out, says the Bellevue Press. Sarpy county gained an ally in its court battle against the Offutt Housing company seek ing to gain taxing privileges on housing being" built at the base by the company. The company has appealed a Nebraska Su preme County decision giving the county the right to so tax. Now the attorney general's office of California has notified Sarpy County Attorney Dixon Adams that it wishes to appear as a friend of the court on the side of Sarpy county, reports The Papillion Times. Alvin Weil, wife and daugh ter, lifted an irrigation pipe to dump out a rabbit which had taken refuge inside. The metal pipe touched a high voltage electric line and knocked both the women down, but only tin on the Highway papers that flourish on Long Is land to move over because the powerful New York Times and Herald Tribune would be given special concessions in that area. FCC's decision not only af fected freedom of communica tions modern version for free dom of press but freedom of business to advertise. For 16 TV stations owned by major net works brought in 60 percent of all, TV advertising last year. This means that expensive TV advertising has so pre-empted the major stations that little advertisers can't get on the air. And the ability to advertise is the life-blood ; of American business. The men who put this FCC decision across officially were Chairman McConnaughey, former lawyer for the Bell Tele phone interests in Ohio; Com missioner t John Doerfer, friend of Senator McCarthy's in Wis consin; Commissioner R. L. Lee, another pal of McCarthy's and Commissioner Richard A. Mack, the Eisenhower "Republican" from Florida. Unofficially and operating be hind the scenes, were network bosses David Sarnoff of NBC and Frank Stanton ' of CBS. Both talked to Chairman Mc Connaughey on the side. This brought caustic comment from GOP Commissioner Hyde. Dec. 15 D-DAY H The jittery Federal Communi cation has not set Dec. 15 as D-Day for the future of educa tional television. Having about bumped off small UHF stations, the FCC, is under pressure from the net work and from Sol Taishof f , who tries to be unofficial czar of the industry, to take back the channels previously allocated to colleges and universities. Taish of f even wants the FCC to take back some of the TV channels allocated to the military. All this and -more will be de bated by the FCC on or after Dec. 15. In fact, the future of television for the next genera tion may be thn decided. The commission "has .gone through the routine of inviting colleges, educational and public-service groups to send in their views, though the unobtrusive FCC no tice in the federal register, which few people read, has brought little response. Meanwhile the Democrats who talk big about protecting little business have done noth ing about investigating the for ward march of big business on TV communcations. Senator Magnuson of Washington, who was voted $200,000 to investi Murdock gled Mr. Weil who had on rub ber overshoes, reports the Cust er County Chief. Two families escaped injury at Albion when a bomb or dyna mite exploded near a street in tersection, says the Albion News. This shattered two windows in one house and blew a hole in another. Noboy was hurt. . The Missouri river retained its secret at Blair when at tempts to raise a submerged car out of or Muddy failed. The top was pulled off, says the Piot-Tribune, and it could be seen the car had burned before the plunge, but no bodies were around. . The Wymore Arbor-S t a t e published its Christmas issue on Nov. 24. Ord voted a $320,000 school bond issue in by a sizable mar gin for building purposes, re ports the Ord Quiz. Also says The Quiz, an 35-year old recluse who died there had $6,000 stashed in his clothing. gate, Is still sojourning on the pleasant shores of Puget Sound, Congressman Joe Evins of Ten nessee, also supposed to investi gate, can't be enticed out of the mountains of Tennessee. AV4ViVAV.V.V.V.V.V.V,VAVAV1V,V.V.V.VAV,V,V, JW.V.V.V.V.V.V.VASV.W.V.'.V.WAW.V.W.V.V.X Capitol News By Melvin Paul Statehouse Correspondent The Nebraska Press Association LINCOLN Some observers have wondered what was behind the sudden resignation of M. L. Wimherly as superintendent of the Men's Reformatory here. Wimbley threw in the towel at the Kearney Boys Training after 71 days at the institution. He previously had been 28 years School, the last five as superin tendent. ' A quiet, soft-spoken man, Wimberly would say only: "I just didn't like the work.".- Others, however, said he quit reluctantly for a number of rea sons, including difficulties with the Board of Control and prob lems at the reformatory left over from the regime of George Mor ris. Wimberley said he. did not apply for the reformatory job, but was asked to take it by the board. This the Board confirm ed. The 49-year-old Wimberley sent a-letter of resignation to the board three days before his resignation was announced. In the meantime the Board con ferred with a legislative com mittee studying the Board of Control system of managing state institutions. Sen. Donald McGinley, Ogalla la, committee chairman, prompt ly said the board had withheld information from his group in that it was not informed of the resignation. But Board Chairman Thomas Dredla said the committee was not informed because Wimber ley twice before has said he would quit but changed his mind because of talks with, the board. In a statement, the board said it had not made public the let ter which was not a 'definite" resignation "in view of the fact that Wimberley had 28 years of valuable service to the state and we wanted to make another ef fort to keep him." "A few hours after Wimberley assumed command of the refor matory he had two inmate re vlots, causing $35,000 damage. The board named Sgt. Robert Nichols, 31, head of the State atory, ' as new chief of : the re Safety Patrol Criminal Labor formatory. Nichols said he took the job because : : ever since . I started on criminal investiga tion, I've been interested in pen al work. There's a lot that can be donie in rehabilitation."' Nichols is .the third superin tendent at the reformatory since September. Blind School The Board of Control has had mof e to say about the State School for Blind at Nebraska City. - The board said plans for re constructing the school have not been drawn but : that the work would be done. Some opponents of . keeping the school at Nebraska City, a fight that developed in the 1955 Legislature, said they do not believe the lawmakers set the site of the school at Nebraska City. But the board said the Leg islature, by killing three bills, did pot call for the school to be mov$d. An it said a legislative resolution called for improve ments at the school. The board has $600,000 it can use for fixing up he old school. Heart Deaths Lead Heart disease continues to be the main cause of death in Nebras ka. Reports prepared by the State Bureau of Vital Statistics show 2,344 persons died in Nebraska the first, six months of this year from the disease. Ranking second wras cancer, with 1,019 deaths. . The total number of persons who died was 6,172. But the bureau said during the same period, there were 15, 896 births. No Segregation There is no segregation in the Nebraska National Guard, ac cording to Maj. Gen. Guy N. Henninger, state- adjutant gen eral. Henninger was asked for com ment on an order by Maryland Gov. Theodore . . R, . McKeldin, abolishing segregation in that state's national guard. The Nebraska general said state law indicates there be no segregation. He said there are several units whose personnel is made up . of more than one race. Prison Attitudes Favorable Warden Joseph" Bovey of the State Prison got some kind words from Dr. James Rein- hardt, University of Nebraska! Criminologist. Reinhardt was a member of i former Gov. Robert Crosby's three-man committee wrhich in vestigated state penal institu tions. The group severly critic- THE PLATTSMOUTH, NEBRASKA, SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAJ PAGE FOUR Section B Thursday December 1, 19ao By Stanley James, Journal Washington Reporter WASHINGTON Dec. 1, The '- visit- of Premier Bulganin and Party Chief Khrushchev in In dia, wrhich is now in progress, is a journey of historic signifi cance. When v viewed with the knowledge that " neither Joseph Stalin nor Georgi Malenkov would have made such a trip, even in the interest of Russia's foreign' relations, one can see the departure from expected procedure Bulganin and Khrush chev are making. , Malenkov never went outside of Russia in all his years as par ty chief and then Premier. Stal in would journey just outside Russia's borers on rare occasion, but only when his trips did not take him .out of the effective area of control of the Red Army. Bulganin and Khrushchev are thereby striving harder for in ternational understanding and good will. Moreover, they are less suspicious, and more flexible in their approach to foreign re lations. They hope to convince the world that Russia really wants peace, and that Russia's leaders are eager to cooperate toward that end which they probably do at this particular stage of affairs. President Eisenhower cannot match the Russians at this junc ture, mile for mile. The pace the two leaders of Russia are setting is a fast one and there are signs that it might be telling on Bul ganin. But the Russians might be making progress. This is the opinion of some diplomaticof ficals in Washington. - The Red leaders made some progress in Yugoslavia. They are expected to visit England next spring and are visiting Burma and Afghanistan after complet ing their 18-day Indian visit. The current trip they are on will take them over 5,000 miles, to Asia and return. But even if the Russians im prove their stock with some ized the penitentiary in its 1954 report. Reinhardt said he had visited the Nebraska prison and said Bovey is : "really - studying the problem and trying to. make a good prison." The criminologist said, he is "very favorably im pressed" with attitudes of men and guards at the prison.. The criminologist said he not ed an improvement in the atti tude and efficiency of employes. Driver 'Point' Law If. you drive a car you could well watch the points you are collecting by violating the law if .you have done so. . That's the word of advice from Dale Rogers, chief of the State Motor Vehicle Division. Rogers said in the two months since a legal loophole in the point law has been closed, more than 150 drivers licenses have been suspended for a year. " Suspension follows accumula tion of 12 points. Rogers esti mates before the next session of the legislature about 2,000 Ne braska drivers will have lost their licenses. mm i WEEKLY CROSSWORD PUZZLE Pretty Posy HORIZONTAL 1.8 Depicted posy 13 Hero's lover (myth.) 14 Lubricator 15 Auricle IS Mountain nymph 18 Fruit drink 19 Doctor (ab.) 4 Symbol for manganese 5 False god 6 Roman emperor 7 Thrived 8 Turfs 9 Wrought iron (ab.) 10 Palm leaf 11 Communists 12 Sketched 20 Least rapid 22 Compass point 17 An (Scot.) 23 Mixed type 20 Courtesy title 24 Bone . 21 Garden 26 Mix 28 Gudrun's husband 31 Paving ! substance 32 Act C3 Arabian 35 Scottish, sheepfold 36 Evaluate 37 Weight of India (pi.) 33 Eye (Scot.) 39 Hawaiian bird 40 Pronoun 42 These are a delicate red 48 Hebrew letter 50 Artificial language 52 Musical drama 53 VVinglike part 54 Dispatches 56 Covets 58 Play the part of host 59 Asylum VERTICAL 1 Vanished Z Shakespearean king 3 Swiss river amphibian 23 Freebooter 25 Solid body (comb, form) 26 Heavenly body countries, the very fact that they are striving to create friends and improve the Soviet position in world affairs seems to some an indication that they are not expecting any major war With the western powers soon. They are obviously looking to a long-term struggle with the U. S. In this long-term 'struggle they will need friends and they will have to expand trade with various countries of the world. It could be that expanded trade is the real purpose of the pres ent Soviet trip. In the case of India a coming great power the motive is probably twofold, bettering ties between the coun tries and opening up new ave nues of trade. The Administration takes the view that war is not probable with the Russians in the near future. That is why defense cuts will stand and why the President has instructed his Secretary of State not to do anything which would indicate that the United States believes the cold war will be intensified as a result of the failure of . the Geneva Confer ence. ' At the same, time, there is little chance India will be able to pressure the U. S. into agree ing to anything like -a $1,500, 000,000 loan as has been sug gested at New Delhi in recent days. The first hint of such a desire came from the Indian capital just a few days before the Rus sian delegation, including Bul ganin and Khruhchev, arrived for its visit. If the Indians hope to play the U. S. against Russia, and see which power will pro mise her the most, Washington will not be caught in such a game. The Eisenhower Administra tion is still concerned that the present business boom could get out of- hand. That explains the recent interest hike by Federal Reserve banks in all parts of the country. This action came as business records continued to topple and as job totals reached an all-time high. Wages are also at an all time high. Business and corpor ation profits are at a high. Con duction next year is expected to exceed 1955 construction and automobile makers are even now saying that 1956 auto sales will surpass sales' this year. With all these factors going, with a record Christmas buy-, ing' boom certain and with stocks at peak or near highs, the government sought to brake the momentum a little, in an effort to prevent a boom and let-down and spread out the high level of business activity over many years. There are actually three poles in Antarctica: The geographic South Pole; the magnetic South Pole; and the "pole of inaccessi bility," at the center of Aurora Australis. Journal Want Ads Pay Here's the Answer jl vi3iajj.j2ial ixv3lfeij V V VI3 c5 a T 3!ir" gj'3!Mlo nl'ri T lyv gsP ob mm fflfi mmi s3l 3 o v IfoN 3 a oirl a v laifcjio!Mi5 R1n! t liNlyn"? 27 Ancient Irish capital 29 Sly look 45 Have on 46 Gaelic 47 Enthralled 48 Entreaty 49 Direction 30 Roman date 34 Flesh food 37 Distress signal 51 Individual 40 Haze 53 Exist 41 German river 55Ambary 43 Misplaced 57 Symbol for iridium 44 Opera (ab.) t Z 13 4 r"?"! a 9 io"" li jii- 5 ziip ri zclizzizzIzBzl 1111 IT Tj