The Charlotte News

Tuesday, June 2, 1959

FIVE EDITORIALS

Site Ed. Note: The front page reports that the President had told Republican Congressional leaders this date that he had no intention of withdrawing the nomination of Admiral Lewis Strauss to be Secretary of Commerce, even if the Admiral would request it. Senate Republican Minority Leader Everett Dirksen of Illinois reported that the President had also advised the leaders that Admiral Strauss would not ask that his name be withdrawn. Senator Dirksen talked with reporters after he and other party leaders from the Capitol had concluded their regular weekly meeting with the President. The President's stand-pat position meant a showdown fight in the Senate regarding the Strauss nomination, having been under heavy fire, mainly from Democrats. Senator Dirksen, however, predicted that the Admiral would be confirmed. He said that he had talked to the President at this date's conference about speculation that the nomination would be withdrawn and that the President might accede to such a request. The President had authorized him to say that the Admiral's name "will not be withdrawn" even if the Admiral requested it.

It was reported from Washington that Able, one of the two monkeys which had ridden into space 300 miles and touched down safely in the Atlantic the previous week near Antigua Island, had succumbed and died the previous night while undergoing surgery for removal of her recording instrument. The Army said that the death did not result from any ill effects of the flight, itself. The seven-pound Rhesus monkey, which had been a passenger in the nosecone of a Jupiter rocket on a 1,500-mile space journey on Thursday, had died at the Army Medical Research Laboratory in Fort Knox, Ky. The Army said that the electrode used in recording the monkey's physical condition during the flight had been implanted under the skin of the simian—not of San Simeon. It was decided that the electrode should be removed and the Army said "there was no indication that the animal would not be able to withstand such a minor operation." During administration of an anesthetic, however, it was noticed that Able suddenly had developed a rapid and convulsive heartbeat. Attempts had been made at artificial respiration but the monkey had died, with the official cause of death having been stated as "rapid and convulsive movement of the heart, following the administration of the light surgical anesthesia", unrelated to its recent flight. Able's body was being sent to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology for study. The other monkey passenger, Baker, an eleven-ounce squirrel monkey, continued to be in good condition. Let us pause for a moment of silence for the deceased Able, undoubtedly slain by Citizen Cain. Shame on you. The next time you see us coming, you better run.

In Galveston, Tex., it was reported that Louisiana Governor Earl Long was still resisting psychiatric treatment, according to his doctors this date. There were unconfirmed reports that his family might formally commit him and thus force him into treatment. A spokesman for the hospital said that the Governor cooperated with doctors making physical examinations but continued to resist certain lines of psychiatric questioning. Under Texas law, a patient could be held against his or her wishes for only 96 hours, which would expire at noon the following day. The hospital would not disclose what lines of questioning the Governor was resisting. A hospital bulletin said this date that the Governor had "slept some without medication" the previous night, contrasting with the night before that when he had been restless. The formal morning hospital bulletin was terse, saying only: "The Governor had a reasonably peaceful night, slept some, and without medication. Observation tests will continue today." A probate judge said that he had signed no documents which would hold the Governor against his will, with any such papers having to come before that judge. A hospital spokesman, installed after the Governor's illness had hit the headlines, said that he had two male nurses during the daytime and one at night. He also pointed out that the hospital and its affiliated psychiatric clinic were not commitment hospitals, indicating that if an actual commitment were made, it would have to be made at another place. Sources, however, both in Galveston and elsewhere, indicated that the Governor's family could, through legal channels, request his retention for further observation. Under Texas law, the Governor's family had until sometime the following day to sign papers formally committing him to a hospital, which could be done against his will.

In Schuylkill Haven, Pa., it was reported that a propane gas truck had exploded on a heavily traveled eastern Pennsylvania highway this date killing at least 11 persons, some of whom were as far away as 100 yards from the blast site. State Police said that a tractor-trailer had rammed the rear of a gas truck, setting it on fire, and a half hour after the collision, while firemen fought the flames, the truck had exploded. Motorists who had climbed out of their cars to see what was holding up the early morning traffic, as well as the idly curious, had been watching at distances of between 100 and 300 feet up the highway, and some of them, plus a number of the firefighters, had been killed. At least 15 others had been injured, five of whom seriously. A reporter for the Pottsville Republican said that parts of bodies were strewn over the highway. His partner, a photographer, said that the site was as sickening as anything he had seen during his military service. A State Trooper, an eyewitness, said that "the tank of the truck funneled the flaming gas out the front of the tank. The flames shot up the highway with the speed of a jet, carrying debris and parts of the truck, striking spectators and cutting them down like shrapnel." Another eyewitness, a police chief, said that he was on a hill overlooking the highway, which was a busily traveled route 100 miles northeast of Philadelphia, when the explosion occurred. He said that the flames had shot 100 feet in the air from the gas truck and that there was a terrific explosion. He said parts of the stone wall outside an historic church had been blown forward and groups of spectators about 200 to 200 feet away from the fire had been cut down. The tank of the truck landed in a field 220 yards away. Several school buses were on the highway near the scene just before the explosion and the highway was jammed with people heading for work early in the morning. The State Trooper said that a school bus had stopped to pick up children when the propane gas truck had pulled in back of it and that the tractor-trailer then smacked the rear of the gas truck, and the school bus had immediately pulled away. Firemen battled the flames for about half an hour before the explosion. The State Trooper said that when he heard the roar, he ducked down behind his police car and was showered with pieces of rock when a boulder smashed through the rear window of the car. A school bus driver said that he saw the tanker and the propane gas truck collide and that when he saw the flames shoot up, he swerved his bus, with 40 children aboard, across a field to safety.

In the first of four articles on the Allied landings on D-Day, June 6, 1944, Don Whitehead of the Associated Press, a double Pulitzer Prize winner, had re-created the drama as he had lived it as a correspondent with the 1st Infantry Division. He indicates that "the first soft layer of dusk had fallen over drab, war-weary London, dropping a veil outside the patched windows of my Chelsea flat. The telephone rang and when I picked up the receiver [I heard] Ernie Pyle's voice saying: 'Hey, Don, come on over and bring your hitters. I'm lonesome.'" He had left the flat and found a cruising taxi which took him through Hyde Park to the Dorchester Hotel where he found Mr. Pyle in his room finishing a column. He helped him edit the story and then they sat and talked of the coming invasion and the chances for success. Even then, Mr. Pyle had a premonition that he would not live through the war, as he would be killed in the Pacific in the latter days of the war, shortly after being transferred from the European theater, struck by a lone sniper on the islet Ie Jima. Mr. Whitehead indicates that Mr. Pyle's face was sad in unguarded moments and that he did not like to be alone, "drew his friends around him as though they were a shield against a dark fear that was closing in." He told him about a talk he had that afternoon with General Omar Bradley, in which the General said that the casualties "won't be as bad as most people think. He's not buying the prediction that we're going to have up to 80 percent of the first waves killed or wounded. He made me feel a lot better." He had drawn the blackout curtains and switched on the light and they had a drink from the bottle of bourbon which someone had given to Mr. Pyle. He told Mr. Pyle, when asked, that he did not know with which group of troops he was landing, that he hoped it would be the 1st Division. Mr. Pyle said that the red one was still his favorite division but that he would be with General Bradley's headquarters. Later, they joined a group of correspondents at the Savoy and made a round of London nightspots. Behind the blackout curtains, there was music, laughter and a reckless sort of gaiety which overlaid the tension and the loneliness. Dawn was near when the party ended. It seemed that he had hardly closed his eyes when the phone rang and a voice ordered him to report with his field equipment to an address near Hyde Park, and somehow he had sensed that it was the beginning of the great adventure. When he reached the address, he found Mr. Pyle, Jack Thompson of the Chicago Tribune, Tex O'Reily of the New York Herald Tribune, and friends from other campaigns unloading their gear from taxis. The date was May 28, 1944. They loaded into jeeps and were driven from London toward the English Channel. They spent the night in a dreary temporary camp and then had bid each other goodbye. As Mr. Whitehead was taken to Weymouth, he realized suddenly that he was entering the assembly area for the 1st Infantry Division with whom he had campaigned in Sicily. Maj. General Clarence Huebner, the Division's commander, had greeted him, indicating: "We're glad to have you with us, Don. We'll do everything we can to help you get your stories out. If you're hungry, we'll feed you. If you are wounded, we'll put you in a hospital. If you are killed, we'll bury you. So don't worry." The hours had moved swiftly and troops had filed onto the invasion craft packed into the harbor. Bells had rung and chains had clanked, booted feet had clumped onto steel decks. Ship loudspeakers blared commands and then General Eisenhower had made his decision, and the great invasion fleet had moved into the Channel. Not until they were underway aboard the Chase did Mr. Whitehead know their destination, the coast of Normandy. Col. George Taylor, commanding the 1st Division's 16th Regiment, had unfolded the invasion plan, saying: "The first six hours will be the toughest. That is the period during which we will be weakest. We've got to open the door. Somebody had to lead the way—and if we fail. Well, then the troops behind us will do the job." As dawn arose, they heard the bombers roaring overhead and saw the faint flashes of exploding bombs on the unseen shore. The loudspeaker voice called a boat number and their group silently clambered over the rail and down the rope net to the little invasion craft bobbing in the high waves. The storm which had swept the Channel the previous day was still causing trouble. A cold wind blew salt spray into his face "like pellets of ice. The water soaked our clothes and ran into our boots." Then they saw the beach, Easy Red Beach, as it was dubbed, as shells exploded in the surf and machine gun bullets whipped up ugly little spouts of water. The roar of naval gunfire engulfed them and there were vicious hisses from shells whipping by their craft. The ramp of the craft lowered and they jumped into the surf and waded ashore, throwing themselves behind a slight bank of shale where thousands of troops were huddled. "It was the only protection against the blast of fire from the German positions on a bluff not more than 200 yards from the water's edge. Many officers were killed before their craft reached the beach." The remainder of the first account is on an inside page.

John Kilgo of The News reports that an Alexander County man had been injured during the morning when his souped-up jitney had flipped and burned after he had led local ABC officers on a chase at speeds exceeding 110 mph. The 24-year old man was treated for his injuries at Mooresville Hospital and turned over to local police. He would be given a hearing during the afternoon before the U.S. Commissioner on charges of violating the Internal Revenue Code. He had lost control of his car on a curve just inside Iredell County and it had taken three officers to pull him from the flaming wreck. An ABC agent, who was driving the ABC car, said that the 1949 Plymouth of the young man was equipped with a Chevrolet V-8 engine and two 4-barrel carburetors. The agent, and another agent, had first spotted the car on Highway 21 North, just inside Iredell County. They had pulled up beside him and sounded their siren, and "he kicked it". They chased him into Mecklenburg County over most of the northern part of the county. The agent who was driving was not looking at the speedometer, but the other agent said that they were going more than 110 mph several times on straight roads, and that the pursued man was pulling off and leaving them behind, but they managed to gain ground with him on the curves. "That car he was driving will really move out." The agent said that soon after the man's car had re-entered Iredell County, it had gone out of control on a curve, flipped and caught fire. They said they had a Federal agent in the car with them and that it had taken all three of them to lift up the car door and pull the man out. He was pinned in the burning wreckage and the agents got some water from a farmhouse to extinguish the fire. The agent said that the car was loaded with 136 gallons of white whiskey.

Bob Slough of The News, in the second of a series on drownings during the summer months, relates of an eight-year old boy who had taken off his shoes and waded into a creek on his way home from school, before eventually drowning. Tom Merrell, deputy chief of the Myrtle Beach Rescue Squad, was an expert on drownings, as he collected data in the form of newspaper reports for each drowning in North and South Carolina each year. He said that safety officials feared that the current season might set an all-time record for drownings because per capita income was at an all-time high and more people would be on vacation, with shorter work weeks meaning more time for recreational swimming, waterskiing, boating and fishing. Modern earth-moving equipment had made it possible for every farm to have its own irrigation pond. Backyard swimming pool sales had skyrocketed. More river cabins and beach houses had been constructed. There were more boats on rivers and lakes than ever before. All of those factors added up to a potential record number of drownings for the year. Many drowned because they were not careful. Mr. Merrell had related some of the reasons for drownings, such as falling out of a boat when it made a short turn, a leaky boat, a son falling out of a boat after which the father had jumped into the river in an attempt to rescue him, causing both to drown. A boat had smashed into a bridge. In another incident, someone had drowned after they apparently stepped from one boat to another. Waterskiing, a pylon had been struck while going under a bridge. Not all of the drownings the previous year had come on hot, summer days. At least three cases of drowning in the state the prior year had involved falls through ice. Mr. Merrell had said that the normally mild winter climate of the Carolinas did not often permit the freezing of water hard enough to allow for ice activities and it was natural for children who did not see ice often to want to go onto it when icing did occur. When they got onto the ice, the trouble often began, as the ice would shatter and a child would slip through into the cold water and another accidental drowning case was reported. But Mr. Merrell was more concerned with the "drowning season" of the summer months because that was when most of the lives were lost from drowning. He said that a large proportion of the boating and fishing accidents resulted in drownings the previous year had occurred on rivers. A contributing cause in some of the accidents had apparently been the currents and rain-swollen conditions of the streams, but most had been preventable accidents. A number of persons engaged in swimming activities had drowned in lakes, as many as those in ponds and rivers, caused by apparent unfamiliarity with the waters, carelessness, horseplay, rescue attempts and panic.

Julian Scheer of The News tells of Harry Golden, editor and publisher of the Carolina Israelite, who said that he had received a coat, pants, shirt, bow tie, a cumberbund, and that the staff of his publication had squeezed him into it, donning a tuxedo for the first time in many years. He said that a year earlier he would have had to rent one but now could purchase one. His best-selling Only in America had produced an active schedule of speeches for him, having made 101 of them coast-to-coast since the beginning of the year, with more than 100,000 people having heard him. He had typically addressed them in a rumpled blue or black suit. He was scheduled to speak before the ritzy Temple Emanu-El in New York City, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary celebration of Missouri's School of Journalism, as well as a speech at the University of Michigan, at Loyola University of Chicago, at Davidson College, at fancy-dress affairs given by actor Paul Muni, Eve Arden, and George Jessel, as well as the annual banquet of the Charlotte Rotary Club. Mr. Golden said, "Once I wore the black coat and the blue pants and nobody knew the difference." On this night, however, he would speak at the graduation exercises for Myers Park High School, a pretty fancy school, and the students wanted Mr. Golden to come combed, scrubbed and in "white coat". A special committee had dropped by a month earlier and asked him please to come in fancy dress. He said that, of course, he did not mind, that it was "the most important speech of my career. Imagine being asked by the schoolkids in your own home town. They voted for me. For them, I'd do anything." When asked whether it was the beginning of a new way of life for him, he responded: "If you know anyone who wants to borrow a nice, new 48, short, stout, it's available. I won't be wearing it for a while…"

On the editorial page, "Will Schoolmen Bury Their Own Baby?" indicates that if Mecklenburg County voters failed to approve the proposed merger of the City and County school systems on June 30, the school officials of each system would only have themselves to blame. Having wisely agreed to consolidation for the good of the community and its children, local educators, administrators and school board members had failed miserably to communicate their reasons to the people and, consequently, some voters were confused while others were suspicious.