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An Independent Newspaper
A4
Urgent Need: A Specialist!
It is not simply that we, bursting with local pride, think
Montgomery County is one of the finest, most unique
communities in the United States. Every statistic in the
book backs us up on this.
Our physical size (500 square miles) and our popula
tion (380,000) make us one of the biggest counties in the
United States, the United States Government says we have
the highest median family income ($9317) of all of the
counties (3072) in the United States, figures show our av
erage education is the highest or close to the highest in
the country, our schools enjoy a national reputation, the
excellence of our local goverment’s fiscal management is
well-recognized nationally, we have pioneered in many
goyemmental fields, and our police, health and other gov
ernmental services are recognized both at home and na
tionally as being of extremely high caliber.
I Furthermore, we are in the shadow of the nation’s
capital, a distinctly unique advantage that we have over
other communities making this a more desirable place in
wljich to live and work and bringing with it all of the many
advantages of being within a stone’s throw of the vast
legislative and executive complex that is the United States
government. Within our own borders are key military
anß civil government agencies and the huge National
Bijreau of Standards operation is already under construc
tion here.
* This being the case, and we believe all of the fore
going is undeniable, our county should be an almost
irresistible magnet to new, high caliber people and thriving
new industries. This presents a golden opportunity to our
County Council.
Some effort has been made on industrial and economic
development here but the primary responsibility has been
assigned to Jack Hassett county director of information
and economic development, who has had many additional
duties. Now Mr. Hassett is leaving and the Council must
reappraise the crucially important economic development
situation.
When Mr. Hassett was hired early last year 100 ap
plicants were carefully screened by the county’s personnel
department. The same procedure—as a result of the job
being nationally advertised—will, no doubt, be followed in
the near future and while this is a time-consuming job it
is one that offers substantial rewards in recruitment of
high caliber personnel.
One thing stands out crystal clear—the economic
development function for Montgomery County is vital and
all-important. It is a highly specialized field. Many well
educated, highly capable men devote their lives to it. The
county, in view of its golden opportunity in this field, must
have a trained, skilled specialist handling this function.
And the salary we are prepared to pay ($14,000), the
national prestige we enjoy, and the rare opportunity that
exists here to attract desirable Government-oriented new
industry that will enrich the community financially and
otherwise are such that Montgomery County could attract
a top specialist in the field—one whose skilled know-how
would bring incalculable benefits to all of us.
This should be the high priority goal of the County
Council in selecting Mr. Hassett’s successor.
Public Accommodations
Hearings have now been concluded on proposed re
peal of the county’s public accommodations ordinance and
the County Council has before it staggering evidence that
of those willing to state their views, a vast majority op
poses repeal of the ordinance.
An estimated 1800 persons probably the biggest
crowd ever to turn out in Montgomery County on a public
issue—attended the hearings. Public interest in the ques
tion is intense. The Council obviously should proceed on
this question only with extreme caution.
Legal opinion on the question of whether the county
ordinance is in conflict with the state law is strongly di
vided—among lawyers. Obviously then, in such a case, the
answer is to be found in the courts. That’s why they were
created. If the Council repeals the ordinance what can the
public possibly think, other than that their reason was
prejudice? The ordinance should be kept on the books and
any doubts about its legality or possible conflict with the
state law should be resolved in the courts. Personal pre
judice on the part of an office holder cannot be the reason
in a democracy for enactment or repeal of legislation.
Educational Feat
Those who still have confidence in our public school
system despite the heavy attacks it was subjected to in the
last School Board campaign can take heart from last
week’s announcement that 10 of Maryland’s 25 merit schol
ars hail from Montgomery County.
This is a fine achievement and it will be interesting
to see how the school system’s perennial critics will be able
to tarnish the lustre of this feat. The four-year, up to
S6OOO college scholarships established in 1955 by the Ford
Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York
have come to be the most coveted in the nation by
high school seniors. A county that has only 8 per cent
of the state’s population but manages to produce 40 per
cent of the winners in this intense scholastic competition
cannot, surely, have the worst school system in the state.
HEA&QUWTRS I
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“What a catchy little slogan. I know we’re going to
win this time. A good slogan is half the battle in an
election!’'
Thursday, May 2, 1963
•. ■ . . .
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The Public Forum
Giles Case
With the recent United
States Supreme Court dismis
sal order in the Giles brothers
appeal the last hope of legal
recourse vanished. Three in
nocent boys may go to their
death unless the citizens of
Maryland en masse express
their outrage now to Governor
Tawes at this miscarriage of
justice. These Negroes are
“guilty” of having intercourse
with a white girl, but they are
not guilty of the charge of
criminal rape. The legal con
cept of rape is "that force is
an essential element of the
crime.” No suggestion of vio
lence to the white girl was
substantiated by the prosecu
tion. In fact the girl flatly
stated that no violence or
threat of violence to her was
committed.
The girl admitted in court
that she did not resist and ac
cording to her own testimony
invited the intimacy of one of
the boys. How then can a
rational human being, having
studied carefully such testi
mony, cognizant, of the legal
concept, charge rape? For
those of us who have worked
with the facts in the case, stud
ied and pondered the evidence
pro and con, the court proceed
ings is one big nightmare of in
credibility. Many who joined
the Giles-Johnson Defense
Committee were struck initial
ly by the horror of the imposi
tion of the sentence—death—
yet soon it became evident that
there was no support for the
charge of rape and the efforts
became not merely a fight
against the sentence as unduly
harsh but against a miscar
riage of justice.
New evidence was submit
ted to the Montgomery County
Judge (by a white girl who
knew the escort’s family)
which contradicted the white
escort’s testimony completely.
This new evidence was never
considered by the Judge. Why?
Because under Maryland law
new evidence must be sub
mitted within three days after
a verdict.
Imagine, will you, how
many more deplorable contra
dictions contradictions be
tween the actualities in this
case and our idealized legal
principles. Doubters are en
couraged to read the court pro
ceedings and judge for them
selves.
Requests for information
may be made to the Giles-
Johnson Defense Committee,
Box 772, Woodmoor Station,
Silver Spring, Md.
Two of these boys have
already served two years on
death row for a crime they did
not commit. Don’t let them
die, sign and circulate peti
tions for clemency now. You
are their last hope.
•lane Thayer,
Silver Spring
School Dilemma
I wonder if you realize how
well you have analyzed the
community disagreement con
cerning the amount of taxes of
collected locally for the opera
tion of the Montgomery Coun
ty Public School System, in the
last sentence of your editorial:
"And that every adult in
Montgmery County with chil
dren in public school is willing
to shoudler the tax burden
necessary for superior educa
tion.”
Every citizen of the County
is in favor of the best in ed
ucation. But at the same time
every citizen has a limit in
mind regarding his or her
share of the cost of the Public
School System.
Each year brings into Mont
gomery hundreds, perhaps
thousands, of new residents
who do not use the Public
School System and never in
tend to; and at any given time
we have many, many thou
sands of residents in that cate
gory: single persons, married
persons without children, re
tired persons with grown chil
dren, parents using public (and
parochial) schools, parents
with children in college, etc.
And yet, ALL of thes non-
Public School users are taxed
year after year, along with
commercial enterprises, at an
increasing rate (1963 will be
the first year without an in
crease in a long, long time),
with about 80% of the taxes
going toward this Public
School System.
I wonder if it isn’t time npw,
as a result of taxpayers’ revolt
in the last election, for sensible
persons to get together and
plan an educational program
comprising:
a. A good basic education
to be paid for by taxes.
b. ANY OTHER courses
or training, elective or com
pulsory, to be paid for by
the parents of students in the
Public School System, or,
only by parents of students
taking such courses or train
ing.
Unless such a program is
worked out, by reasonable per
sons, we will continue to have
taxpayer revolts at the polls
in the future. I hope the
P-TA’s realize that the very
reason for the taxpayers’ in
fluence is the great wealth in
this County: which permits
and encourages parents of
school age youngsters to select
the best education for them:
private (and parochail) school,
public school, and even com
binations of both (using public
schools in winter, private in
summer). Therefore, we un
doubtedly have an unusually
high percentage of non-public
school users.
Emery Hertelendy
Asks Apology
We attended the public
meeting held by the County
Council on its proposed re
peal of the "Public Accommo
dations” ordinance Friday
night in Rockville. I am mad
as hops and just hope you will
print this letter.
Contrary to reports in this
morning’s paper the crowd
was orderly and good natured.
The applause that so infuri
ated Mr. Floyd was set off by
high school students, who,
coming in late, had heard
nothing about no applause
and were doubtless simply un
aware of such a rule.
I hired a baby sitter so we
could attend this meeting
since we feel that people
should take an intelligent in
terest in county affairs. We
arrived about 15 minutes after
it had started and I never
heard one word about any
“no applause” rule. I as
sumed such an announcement
had been made, but Mr. Floyd
never once repeated it for the
benefit of late comers (and
there were dozens of such).
When he ordered us all out,
we left, and so did many
others. A third or a half of
the people there must have
left. It wasn't until this morn
ing that I learned Mr. Floyd
had changed his mind and let
a lot of people stay on. What
kind of a “public” hearing
was that?
As a reasonably well be
haved adult I am simply not
used to being scolded like a
naughty child over events
over which I have no control,
and being rudely ordered out
of a public place. But I left
peaceably and so did many
others. I think the County
Council owes us an explana
tion and perhaps even an
apology.
Elaine Johnson,
Silver Spring
Overt Effort
The overt effort of Council
man Thomas M. Wilson to
place on referendum the Mont
gomery County Equal Service
Act seemingly offers a sharp
contrast to the blunt repeal
advocated by Councilman John
Henry Hiser.
Motivationally, however,
both proposals unquestionably
are derivatives of a common
malignant pathology racial
bigotry. Hiser, at least, iias the
courage to make his segrega
tionist stand openly.
Virtuous pretender Thomas
M. Wilson, M.D., on the other
hand, makes the invidious ap
proach of the recognized hyp
ocrite.
Clive E. Jackson, >l.O.
Rockville
Cerebral Palsv
Lectures Begin
This Saturday
*
A special training course to
acquaint teenagers and young
adults with the conditions of
cerebral palsy will be launched
by the Cerebral Palsy Associa
tion of Montgomery County
Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Jesup
Blair Building in Silver Spring.
Entitled “Pals for Palsy,”
the course will include four con
secutive Saturday morning
classes during which lectures
and films will be used to teach
the students just what palsy is,
and what can be done to help
the victims lead as normal life
as possible. They will be open
without cost to persons 15 years
of age and over.
Lecturers will include Mrs.
Therese St. Hilaire, psycholo
gists; Mrs. Helen Goldberg, a
teacher; Mrs. Percy Poulos, phy
sical therapist; Mrs. Clara Sil
ver, speech therapist; Mrs. Jane
Marvin, occupational therapist,
and Fred C. Lasch, director.
ifaflfpitty
(TfltJirfjjffnffaf!
Established 1855
by Matthew Fields
Published bv
MORKAP PUBLISHING CO.
ROGER B FARQUHAR
Editor
LEONARD KAPILOFF
Publisher
BERNARD KAPILOFF
President
MICHAEL R. Me DADE
Circulation Manager
Member Audit Bureau of Circulation,
Maryland Press Association. Affiliate
Member National Editorial Association.
Published every Thursday at 215 E.
Montgomery Ave., Rockville. Md.
Entered as second class matter at
Post Of!ice, Rockville, Maryland, under
Act of Congress. March 3. 1879.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
One Year $4.50 Two Years $7.50
Telephone: GArden 4-7700
Mailed in Maryland and the
District of Columbia
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Welsh Rare Bit
November People
by Barney Welsh
Were I the planet Earth, I would tell my
people to pause and watch me change my
spring dresses and make up my face with
tulip dust and weave long grass and branches
of new leafed trees into my hair.
I would ask them to sit still upon their
particular part of the Earth and listen how
it is that I kept my promise.
I would tell them to remember the dark
days of November after the fruit trees had
been picked clean, the grass had withered
and all seemed dying, that I covenanted with
each withering stalk and falling leaf to bring
them back in springtime again.
I would point out that the withered stem
now has life, and the bare fruit tree has
blossomed and that all of this came from me;
the planet Earth.
And then I would ask of my people, if
this was promised to the lowly weed and the
small dry leaf, how much more carefully
will I keep my promise to bring a perpetual
spring to my November people.
And, if I were a Star which looks down
upon the planet Earth, I would tell how it
From This Angle
Murderers Who Failed
by Les Kimble
His parents moved to Mississippi when
he was three. He grew up there and came
to love the quiet courtesy of the people and
the lush lands of the state. At 18 he was with
the Marines on Guam, liberating that island
from the Japanese. After the war he entered
college and obtained a degree. Somewhere in
these experiences came the wrenching, twist
ing distortions of the emotions that produced
a mental breakdown. He spent two years in
an asylum in Binghampton, New York.
After leaving the asylum this man became
increasingly concerned with the injustice dealt
out to the Negroes of the South. He knew
this injustice from first hand as a boy grow
ing up in Mississippi. He moved to Baltimore
from New York State, worked as a mailman,
and joined the Congress of Racial Equality
and the American Civil Liberties Union.
He finally decided on a personal mission
through the South to the State of Mississippi.
He would carry placards on a hike through
the South. He wrote letters to President Ken
nedy and to Governor Barnett. To the Gover
nor he wrote, “I have always had a warm
place in my heart for Mississippi. I dislike
the reputation this State has acquired as
being the most backward and the most bigoted
in the land. Those who truly love Mississippi
must work to change this image.”
He carried two placards. One read “Eat
At Joes Both Black and White” and the other
“Equal Right For All Mississippi or Bust.”
He was found lying in the dust along a
lonely stretch of road in Alabama. He had a
bullet in his brain and one that had gone
through his neck was found in his clothing.
The coroner’s report read, “. . . the bullets
were probably fired from an automatic rifle
at relatively short range.” He was only 25
years old when he died.
©OP Views
House Bill 374
by Gerda Crow
Dear Gerda,
In reply to your question, perhaps the
most important single piece of legislation
returned to Montgomery County by any dele
gation since the adoption of the County
Charter, is House Bill 374. It gives the
County Council the power to tax to the same
extent as the State—with certain exceptions.
The purpose is to lighten the tax load
presently placed on the property owner by
finding new sources of revenue for the in
creasing expenses of a growing community.
Similar taxing powers are currently being
used by Baltimore City and Baltimore
County.
Montgomery County, first county to be
chartered under the Maryland Constitution,
was restricted to grants of express powers
provided by the General Assembly. The
charter confined taxation to the property tax.
All other taxes used by Montgomery County
are either shared (States Grants I or express
grants authorized by special legislation.
Revenue needs for the County have in
creased more rapidly than the tax base. The
high rate of growth in the primary and sec
ondary school enrollment, as well as rising
school costs, have been the major cause of
the increased property taxes over the years.
Reassessment and inflation point clearly to
the fact that other sources of revenue must
be found.
With the Governor signing H 8374 into
law, the Council tan direct the Financial Ad
visory Committee to look for new taxing
areas. These could be, for example, service
charges, occupancy (motel and hotel rooms),
sales and use tax, business licenses, excise
(other than tobacco), severance or production
charges, tax on commercial use of electricity,
gas or steam, parking permits, etc.
One area, the enactment of an energy
tax of 4 per cent recommended in 1960 by
the Financial Advisory Committee, would
is that I and my brother, the Sun, nightly
pierce long holes in the coverlet of darkness
that earth people call the night.
I would speak to them of the Astropeople
who live beyond the stars, in a place where
the ancient gods reside, and how it is that
they live by dimensions apart from the four
square earth bound race.
I would take them out to escalator lead
ing from the clouds to the stars, and show
them how it is, when evening comes, that
the star people slide down the subtle shafts
of starlight and light upon the springtime
pastures of our county, and while here make
merry and sprinkle star-dust upon those who
are able to pause a moment to catch the
freshness of the day and believe in things
like this.
I am not the Earth, nor am I the Stars,
and yet there are times when I feel that I
am part of both: and it is in the springtime
that I feel this most strongly.
And that is one reason why I believe we
are immortal and I just wanted to pass the
thought along to you: but watch out for that
star-dust; it will make you hook and slice.
The last entry in William L. Moore’s diary
gives the real reason for his death. It reads,
"A couple of men who had talked to me before
drove up and questioned my religious and
political beliefs. And one was sure I’d be killed
for them . . . feet sore all over. Shoes too
painful, walking without them. Adopted by
hungry, thirsty road foolish dog. Only kids
adopt dogs.”
The murderers of William Moore com
mitted the worst crime of which an American
can be guilty. Their crime was far worse than
that of a vicious thug who murders for money
or that of a passion -crazed rapist who mur
ders to satisfy animal Instincts. In a nation
founded on and presumably devoted to free
dom, they murdered a man for expressing an
idea. No lower criminal exists in this land of
ours.
It’s too bad that the murderers of Moore
did not have a chance to read the obituary of
Alfred Whitney Griswold, President of Yale
University, who passed away last week. In
many of the obituaries, President Griswold's
statement about book banning was printed. It
reads, “Ideas won’t go to jail. In the long run
of history the censor and the inquisitor have
always lost.” Perhaps even the little minds of
Moore's murderers could have translated that
statement to read, “You can murder men, but
you can’t murder their ideas.”
If, as some believe, the spirit of William
L. Moore looks down on America tonight, he
must regard his murderers with a gentle sat
isfaction and great gratitude. For by killing
William Moore, those murderers gave the
cause to which he was so devoted a boost and
publicity that he could never have accom
plished by himself. It must be with great con
tentment that the spirit of William Moore
says, “You can't murder ideas.”
yield about $3 million. This includes taxing
the Federal Government installations use of
public utilities within the County and is a
supplement for property removed from the
local tax rolls by Government occupancy.
The present delegation to Annapolis does
not claim authorship of this legislation.
Credit goes to the League of Women Voters
whose study papers on taxation paved the
way. Other organizations have been search
ing diligently for several years for new reve
nue sources. These include the Montgomery
County Civic Federation and the Allied Civic
Group. The Financial Advisory Committee
made up of Clark Fauver, chairman, Walter
Gardner, Leonard Hoyle, Warren Lasher,
Fred Lutes and John R. Steelman, deserves
much credit for its efforts in this direction.
Delegate James R. Miller Jr., Sen. Gilbert
Gude and County Attorney Robert Tobin all
are to be commended for the able manner
In which HB 374 was drafted, guided through
the necessary committees of the legislature
and successfully passed. The Democratic
members of the delegation rose above parti
san politics to join with the Republican ma
jority in helping to bring to Montgomery
County this vital taxing legislation.
It is now up to the Council to ask the
Financial Advisory Committee for prompt
action in finding tax relief for property
owners.
I hope this answers your questions sat
isfactorily.
Sincerely,
Charles S. Bresler, Delegate
P.S.: It should be clearly understood, Gerda,
that H 8374 has not enacted any of these
taxes. This is legislation which authorizes
the levy of taxes by the County Council only
after public advertisement of intent and
public hearings.
Charlie
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