Asheville Citizen-Times from Asheville, North Carolina • Page 4

1HFH THE ASHEVILLE CITIZEN Dedicated to the Upbuilding of "Western No? th Carolina LUTHER B. THIGPE.V, Executive Editor WILLIAM M. MEBANE JR. and BOB TERRELL, Associate Editors JOHN Q. SCHELL, General Manager Monday, August 26, 1974 City's Censors Afraid Of Ideas And Freedom Son Hopes To Follow Pat Brown By MARIANNE MEANS LOS ANGELES Four years ago.

a group of prominent California Democrats secretly telephoned former Gov. Edmund "Pat" Brown and asked him to run once again for his old office. They had taken a public opinion poll which showed that Brown was more popular than any other possible Democratic contender and running neck-and-neck with incumbent Gov. Ronald Reagan. They had also quietly collected pledges for a half-million dollar initial campaign kitty.

Brown was greatly tempted. But his wife was horrified. "You can't interfere with your son's career." she said firmly. In this time and place, it passes comprehension that citizens and leaders would so fear ideas, free expression, and freedom of choice that they would seek to impose the tyranny of censorship. Yet those are precisely the issues involved in efforts to close two so-called "adult" Book stores in Asheville.

When will people understand that ideas, no matter how repugnant to some, cannoi De Kiuea oy censorsnip: When will those self-proclaimed guardians of the public morality understand that they ill serve both morality and freedom when they seek to muzzle? One man's liberty ends when it begins to infringe on the rights of The Service Academies And Honor idea, he believed, is either moral or immoral, but becomes so only in how it is handled. By comforting censorship and all that it implies we are demonstrating to ourselves and others that we as a community are afraid of ideas and more so of allowing people to examine them. If the ideas are shallow, and some of them are. they should be challenged on their merit. Still, the issue is not the Tightness of the material; it is free choice.

One of the problems with censorship is that it feeds on itself. One cause leads to another, until every institution within a community is endangered. It is too easily forgotten that when the freedom' of one citizen or institution is threatened everybody's is. In this situation, if the are permanently closed by the courts, the next object of the censors will be the movie theaters. What then? The stakes here transcend the nature of the visual and printed materials.

Beyond that, it is time this city showed its belief in freedom of choice and abandoned the call of those who would abuse both reedom and choice. It is time we turned our attention away from provincial impulses that seek to ban books, close stores and theaters. There are more pressing matters before us as a community. motner. Ana mat is tne case conrronung Jhis community today.

No one is coercing citizens to buy the materials ottered by G's Book Store at 5 Pack Square and on U.S. 70 at Swannanoa. But someone is attempting to curb the rights of people to read, write, and sell. That is not the kind of community or society we want to live in. No matter what is contained in the books and films, the ideas will not lead to the ruin of the community.

Far from it. But if censorship is allowed to prevail and triumph a spark of what is good and free wjll vanish, and make no doubt about ii. Justice Hugo Black was right. No surgeon wielding the scapel had cribbed his way through medical school, so would a soldier hate to think that his commanding officer was a charlatan who had cheated his way to a commission. "To be sure, in times of war the rapid expansion of the officer corps introduces something less than the best into command echelons.

But the service academics have never been compelled to sacrifice their high standards of honor. One graduating officer may be better endowed with intelligence and academic prowess than a less fortunate classmate. But no difference in intelligence levels should make one cadet or midshipman less honest than another. Honor isn't a function of intelligence it is a function of decency. "A young man entering any of our service academics is old enough to know the meaning of honor.

He is old enough to take certain oaths that are a part of an officer's living credo from then on. Unlike men in civilian life or in public office, the military honor system makes no provision for lenient treatment of those who lie. steal, or betray a trust. "To the future officers who safeguard the integrity of their honor systems, to the military authorities who demand total integrity, a nation owes its thanks." academies' honor systems be revamped to conform to the twisted moralities of these times. "The ranking officers in the armed services fortunately are not always versed in either the niceties or duplicities of public relations.

When scandals and dishonesty appear, such men find little room for compromise deserved punishment and it is deserved must be swift and sure. "There is something even inspiring, about the honor systems of the Military Academy, the Naval Academy, and the Air Force Academy. If a false official statement has been made, a devious half-truth resorted to. a technical evasion of honesty used in lieu of complete candor, the authorities don't equivocate. They insist that the cheaters and liars be booted out.

Those same authorities deserve the thanks and commendations of every civilian. "If we could be assured that there would never again be cause for young Americans to go forth to war. we wouldn't need any military' establishments. But so long as there must be armed forces, there must be only one honor coae for the officers who will lead those forces a code above reproach. Just as a patient on the operating table would hate to think that the By ANTHONY HARRIG.VN James S.

Metcalfe is a business executive and radio editorialist who is deeply concerned about the state of the nation. He grew up in a service family, graduated from VMI and the Army Command and General Staff College, and served with distinction in Europe. In short. Jim Metcalfe of Nashville. is well-qualified to speak on the issue of military education.

It is a pleasure, therefore, to offer him this space today as a guest columnist. He writes as follows on a nationally important subject the role of the service academies: "Too often of late, there have been news accounts of cheating or other acts of dishonesty by a few young men enrolled at our-fine service academies. While it is distressing to learn of such violations of the honor code, some solace can be found in the alacrity and firmness with which the authorities act whem such offenses have been fully proved. "In this permissive age, however, there are those who leap to the defense of the wrong-doers. They are described as 'poor boys who are no more than innocent victims of hidebound brass, pompous militarists who lack understanding or The authorities are criticized for failing to understand that Protection For Jurors HARRIGAN everybody fudges a little.

Even members of Congress get into the art and assure the voters back home that an investigation will be launched. "The American Civil Liberties Union becomes involved and informs the news media that the accused will not be left to the mercy nf military justice, but will have all the protection of civilian court procedures. Liberal columnists compare the diflerent concept of honor as evidenced by Watergate with that established for young men upon whom the defense of our country might someday depend. Emotional letters are written to editors and the dismissals from the academies are deplored. "BAtremists demand that the guilty cadets or midshipmen be given the opportunity to make amends, be forgiven, and reinstated.

Worst of all, some critics even urge that the fellows and in the bargain may lose their jobs. Sen. Richard Schweiker. has introduced a bill that would give state and federal jurors job protection. It is modeled after the law covering military draftees.

Society should not penalize Americans for participating in democracy. As Sen. Schweiker said in introducing the legislation, "The jury is an institution which not only protects the legal rights of defendants, but government by the people." The bill is timely because there are many cases yet to be tried involving high political scandals, and they are likely to last for weeks. But over and beyond this, the measure represents an equity that should be public policy. The Schweiker bill should be promptly enacted.

When a draftee returns from military service, he Jias a legal right to reclaim his preservice job. His employer cannot deny the veteran his old position. Yet this equitable policy is not written into the law for men and women who perform their patriotic chore by serving on juries. In the vast number of cases, there is no problem, since jury duty usually takes no more than a week. But what about jurors in those cases that linger on for weeks and even months? Two jurors in the Mitchell-Stans case lost their jobs as a result of the protracted proceedings.

Two Watergate grand jurors were fired and two others asked to be relieved to protect their jobs. It is little wonder that citizens shy away from jury duty in the current wave controversial trials. They realize that they have to sit in judgment on their Backtalk Marijuana And Fear Of Epidemic Amnesty The Gentleman From Montana MARIANNE MEANS Edmund "Jerry" Brown, was then a candidate for secretary of state, a relatively unimportant office he meant to transform into a springboard toward bigger things. So Pop declined to run. And Brown.

won his race by a huge margin, partly because many voters thought he was his father making a comeback after his 1966 defeat by Reagan. Today Jerry Brown. 35. is the Democratic nominee for governor and appears to be comfortably leading his GOP rival. Controiler Houston Flournoy.

By now. most voters here know young Brown is not the former two-term governor, who nearly sidetracked Richard Nixon on the way to the Presidency by defeating him in the 1962 gubernatorial race. The elder Brown is enjoying it all immensely. He stays in the background to allow his son to develop his own independent image. But he is active in raising, money, planning strategy and bringing around the older pros, who still tend to remember "Baby" Brown as a kid with a lot to learn.

At 69. Brown. is leaner than he was as governor and just as vigorous. His law firm is thriving. Re is writing a book about politics and is looking forward to visiting his son in the governor's mansion, where he has not set foot for eight years.

Brown. did not originally intend to follow his father into-' politics. He studied to become a Jesuit priest and then went to Yale Law School. But he became involved in Sen. Eugene McCarthy's presidential campaign and that did it.

He was hooked. Jerry Brown is a liberal, like i father. In personality, however, the two men are vastly different. Brown, is amiable and outgoing, given to uninhibited remarks that were refreshing for their candor but sometimes got him in trouble. "I was always popping off about something and regretting it later." he chuckles.

"Jerry doesn't do that. He plans ahead of time. He's much more precise." Most of the objections raised about Brown. during the primary were personal ones. No one has seriously questioned his intellect nor his judgment.

But some feel that he is too single-minded in his ambition to be governor, too reserved and controlled. Those qualities, however, may turn out to be political assets. He is so serious and intense that one forgets how young he is. He projects an aura of competence, which is more important than getting a lot of laughs. Jerry Brown is running on the theme that eight years of Republican rule in the statehouse is enough, which is roughly the same pitch Reagan used successfully against his father.

Without mentioning Watergate, he is counting on the anti-Republican disenchantment it has generated. "We need a new tone, a new philosophy and a new political 'will to solve the problems of California." he says. He supported the sweeping campaign reforms approved here recently by the voters, in the face of massive union opposition. He stresses consumer issues and plumps for better education. He points out that among Reagan's top 100 appointments there is only one woman, no black person and one union official: and he promises to change that.

He advocates a strong state government, the opposite of the Reagan rhetoric of limited government. He wants to spend money lor the social good and the quality of life, which is the area conservatives see as best to cut back in the fight against inflation. Mike Mansfield, has served as Senate majority leader for nearly 14 years, which happens to be longer than any senator in the history of the Republic. He reached the mark earlier this month, breaking the record' of Sen. Joseph T.

Robinson of Arkansas, who died in 1937. There are those who contend that Mansfield should not be majority leader, that he is too gentle, that he is not partisan enough, that an arm-twister like his predecessor, Lyndon Johnson, is They are wrong. Mike Mansfield has ushered more solid economic and social legislation through the Senate than his predecessors combined. And when you think of all the turmoil the country has experienced since 1961, when he assumed the leadership, his accomplishment is all the more meaningful. He has done it in a quiet, candid, and thoughtful manner.

The test of leadership, Walter Lipp-mann once said, is whether a man instills in others the will to carry on. Mansfield has been doing that for years. The U. S. Senate Internal Security Subcommittee held hearings in May on the marijuana epidemic now sweeping the country.

The subcommittee says that the frightening expert testimony it heard is now available to the public. Copies of the document are free as long as supplies last. Requests should be directed to: Chairman, Senate Internal Security Subcommittee. 3224 Dirkson Office Building. Washington.

D.C. 20510. Ask for the hearings on marijuana and hashish. The evidence (in layman's terms) is taken from testimony presented by more than 20 top scientists and medical researchers from around the world: the findings show long-term results, which have not received much prior attention, involving birth defects, mental addiction, and sexual disorders. The experts collectively discovered: 1.

Mnriajuana reduces D.N. A. synthesis and thereby the cellular reproduction rate evidence of impaired health and irreversible brain damage; 2. Even minor usage results in broken and malformed chromosomes possioie ao-normal births and mutants: 3. Chronic usage leads to severe reduction in male hormone level and sperm count damaged' THE ASHEVILLE CITIZEN Strictlv Personal Upgrading The Legislatures dodgers who refused duty's call may have been motivated by conscience: while others, no doubt, acted in their own sell-interest.

There is no justice in sending men into battle to sacrifice life, and to indulge lightly the misdeeds of those who declined to discharge their obligation to the country's service. Thousands of Americans paid the supreme sacrifice in Vietnam. The veterans who returned must be outraged in the yielding of the amnesty policy to oblige the minority. draft resisters who chose flight rather than to fight should accept the lawful consequences of their decisions. Would we want the unpatriotic evaders to return to America when they would not heed the call to service? Kliabelh Radford 80 Farrwood Avenue Asheville Ridiculous It seems ridiculous to urge people to keep their thermostats adjusted to conserve energy and then for those in charge of playgrounds to leave those tremendous floodlights burning far into the night.

Isn't there a city ordinance playgrounds close at ten o'clock? And who's responsible for seeing that the lights are turned-off after the people finally go home? Mrs. J.H. Hall 151 Clinton Ave. Asheville A Little Truth It seems there must be something to the saying that truth is stranger than fiction. Just as quick as a little truth came out of the White House, we had a new President and a new Vice President.

Claude Hyde Circle Street Robbinsville reproductive system, sterility, intermittent impotence: 4. Marijuana smoke causes greater lung damage than cigarette smoke: and 5. Large dosage (even with single exposure i may lead to psychotic episodes, while chronic use leads to symptoms of paranoia, distorted reality, and mental deterioration. These important findings deserve widespread T. Russell m.

Candler To Larry Pope Haven't heard from friend ol Larry Pope since the dust settled on the gridiron last season. Excuse my mount'n accent folks, just wondering if Howard Cosell an ol' Frank Howard are doing a fine job like Larry Pope reporting the sport news. I'll bet ol' Larry is pleased to 'know that the Tennessee Volunteers and Frank Howard's ol' Clemson Tigers has got mountain boys from Western North Carolina to beef up their lines? The boys down around Charlotte way has got a trick they use to make those mountain boys cough up that football. Now former ol' Ninth Avenue High head coach Eugene Hammond can probably tellya 'bout that. Hammond's Ninth Avenue Tigers went 9-0-1 around '61 losing only to Newton N.C.

by 12-8. The visiting mount'n boys ran that football all over the field but couldn't get into the in zone. They -fumbled the ball about six times inside Newton's 30 yard line seem like. That little trick those Newton boys used was about as slick as Eugene Hammond's ol' reverse kick-off return. So.

Larry, tell the mountain coaches to teach their boys how to hold on to that football the next time they go down east to play those lowland boys. They may have copied that little trick from that ol' Newton High School. J. M. Hopper Rl.

5. Hendersonville By SYDNEY J. HARRIS My practically favorite columnist, Bill who writes those incisive "Senator Soapcr" paragraphs, had an item not long ago that I particularly relished. It went: "Standards of humor are so often a regional matter. Everybody, for example, thinks his own state legislature is the most hilarious in the country." The following comment on amnesty should be of interest in view of the President's timely remarks on the subject.

It was published in "The American Way in Church. State and There is a story of Abraham Lincoln visiting Richmond after the fall of the Confederate capital. Mrs. Pickett, wife of the Southern general who led the fateful charge at Gettysburg, told it. The fate of other cities had awakened my fears for Richmond.

With my baby on my arm. I answered a knock, opened the door and looked up at a tall, gaunt, sad-faced man, ill-fitting clothes, who with the accent of the North, asked, "Is this George Pickett's place?" "Yes. sir." I answered, "but he is not here." "I know that, ma'am." he replied, "but I just wanted to see the place. I am Abraham Lincoln." "The I gasped. The stranger shook his head: "No.

ma'am: no. ma'am; just Abraham Lincoln. George's old lriend." "I am George Pickett's wife, and this is his baby." was all I could say. My baby pushed away from me and reached out his hands to Mr. Lincoln, who took him in his arms.

As he did so. an expression of rapt, almost divine, tenderness and love lighted up the sad face. My baby opened his mouth wide and insisted on giving his father's friend a dewy kiss. Mr. Lincoln gave the little one back to me saying: "Tell your father, the rascal, that I forgive him for the sake of that kiss and those bright eyes." Dr.

Lemuel Hall 46 Forest Hill Drive Asheville No Amnesty President Ford in his address to the VFW convention favored a limited form of amnesty. The many thousands of draft miLrrii i Hdm I read this just after a lady I know told me she had paid her first visit to the Illinois legislature for a social welfare organization she represents. "You know," she said, "I always thought that tiie City Council of rhirapo was a sor posture of our public life are modeled more on these sleazy prototypes than we know, or care to think. If we seriously want to avoid the kind of mentality that led us into Watergate, we must begin at the bottom, not at the top, lor the retuse rises to the surface from the brackish waters flowing beneath. While it is superficially true that the Watergate conspirators themselves were not political ligurrs.

it is equally true that they took their cue from the kind of machinations all too common in state and county houses. Too often, what we think of as "grass roots" is merely the muck. What kind of people offer themselves, in the main, for state legislative office? What are their qualifications? W'hat are their motivations? What are their characters? I would suggest they are not even "average" or "representative" citizens, but people far more interested in using the machinery of government than in serving the public interest. Politics is a craft, or occupation, but it must also be a calling. Like teaching, or preaching, it must summon those who not only wani to 'make a living but who want to help us live a little better.

State legislators need not be superior to their electorates: but surely they should not be interior to them in basic human decency. Just as we can't have an improved educational system until we recruit better teachers, so we can't have an improved political system until we recruit candidates at the local and state levels who aren't in the game simply to rake off a percentage-of the house take. Published each weekday morning at 14 O. Henry Asheville. N.

C. ROBERT BUNNELLeTchalrmeti RICHARD B. WYNNE, Second clan postage paid at Asheville, Nor th ar hn aJ MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The associated Press it entitled exclusively to the use lor republication ot an the local news printed in this newspaper, as well as all AP news dispatches. we are not responsible tor nor can wt return unsolicited material. "carrier subscription rates ry, collection of HARRIS public officials, But after a day or two watching the Illinois legislature in action, Chicago's City Council looked like a high-level UN deliberation.

I couldn't believe the kind of men down there from both parties and their conduct." It is, as Senator Soaper suggests, hilarious but it is also pathetic and more than a littln nminniie Vnr it ic tarffplv nut Daily 4 Sun. S4J 20 122 10 111 OS I 170 Daily Only S26 00 SI3 0O a so 2 20 so Length Ot Time I Year a Months 3 Months 1 Month 1 week Mail Subscription Rates Furnished Upon Request Newstand and Street Salt Price-IOc Daily, 30c Sunday. Mail subscriptions are subiect to N. C. State and County Sales Tax.

ALL TELEPHONES Ui-Mll of (he moral and intellectual atmospnere ot legislatures that national politics is and from which much of our "leadership" emerges. The content and..