The Jamestown Journal, Volume 77, Numbers 17-52

Thursday April 29, 1954 THE JAMESTOWN JOURNAL PAGE THREE ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ This column was to have appeared in the April 22nd issue of* The Yellow Springs American, Rom’ H k kU /d f/,„/■<• We'd rather, write about how much work the local boys did getting ready for the plowing contest than devote so much space to the evil of Communism. The plowing contest is nn entertaining subject , , , an American subject. Why . . . y’know . . . Just practicing for that plowing contest... Ivan Tidd... Warren Long and Ken Gordon plowed,,, free for nothin’, a b o u t fifteen acres of. a twenty acre field for E. L. and Robert Ritenour, Ivan even changed his tractor tires and "hot-rodded" that gasoline “mule" In his all-out desire to win. Ivan Tidd placed second but we sorta have a reelin' that the “big winners" were none other than E. L. and Robert Ritenour. - o - There arc so many things like that In the life of the Jamestown urea to give you a lift and . . . sometimes . . . a chuckle. But there are other forces and events in Greene County which give neither a lift nor a chuckle. Antioch College for example . . . The small clique that runs Antioch College has risen up in its power and struck what may be the death blow to the Yellow Springs "AMERICA’?!” . . . a weekly paper which we’ve been trying to get on its feet. Spokesmen for Antioch College . . . so some of our advertisers tell us . . have warned them that they will be “boycotted” if they continue to advertise in the “AMERICAN." No advertising . . . no "AMERICAN.” - a - The Yellow Springs “AMERICAN” was started just a year ago by n small group of Yellow Springs and Miami Twp. citizens who were fearful of what seemed to he a dangerous influence in their midst . . . Loyal citizens who were tirccl of the “Communist” and “pink” labels which had come to be applied to the Village of Yellow Springs and adjacent territory. Little businessmen , . , farmers . , . Just folks . . . they pitched In as many dollars as they could to start a newspaper thinking Hint maybe they might thereby correct the situation around them. Then . . . they could tell people they were from Yellow Springs without being greeted with the usual “raised eyebrows" and supercilious snickers. What has happened to them since should be told , . . but another time. Today . . . their little weekly paper Is dying . , . dying because it dared to tell the truth. If it dies . . .we’ll be rovin' on because there is no place for us In a community where a newspaper can die from the “disease” which has hit the Yellow Springs “AMERICAN”. Mrs. Mildred Pruitt . . . the plucky red-hended women’s organizer for the Greene Co. Democratic Committee . . . had this to say in a speech at the courthouse in Xenia last night: "Greene Co,, Ohio is permeated with an atmosphere of fear. This fear is an outgrowth of a sinister, menacing, creeping 'something' created by a group of people In Yellow Spring*, Ohio.” So . . , if this should be our last chat with you . , , we’re going to relate some of what wo've found out thru the plain unglamouroua dig­ ging which is the everyday lot of a news reporter. We’d planned to reveal the story In more detail with greater documentation. But you have to pitch while you still have the ball so . , . briefly . , . here It is: - o AntlochCollege may hsva bsen fa the past , . . may new he and could be In the future one of the most dangerous and productive Com­ munist espionage centers to be found anywhere In the United State*. , - o - When wc accepted this most unprofitable assignment . . we knew a little about the Communists and their methods of operation. We’ve seen them In action In Washington, D. C„ Columbus and Cincinnati. We’ve tangled with them at the University of Pensy^vanla and Ohio State U, Among the few .things we’ve learned about them are these: They have a purpose for each move' they make . . , and , . . they’re experts at getting their spies and saboteurs In key positions. It would take a lot of men quite a while to destroy your water supply by going from house to house and breaking each connection but one man at the main valve at the pumping station can cut off your water supply In a matter of seconds. The Communists go for the "main valve/* - o - Why would the Communists be Interested In a Midwestern college located in a quiet little village with rural surroundings? The Reds more i commonly prefer cities where their scurvy operatives are not so notice­ able. We looked for the "main valve” In Yellow Springs. - o - Antioch College is a “main valve” for vital national defenae and industrial research Information. - o - As you know . . . under the Antioch co-operative system . . .stu­ dents study on campus for a few months and then work at some Job for a few months . . . usually a Job related to the course they're taking. In the manufacturing field . . , they get Jobs as "factory workers and Inspectors; draftsmen; .surveyors, engineering aides-aeronautical, chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical, and radio; biochemists, chemists, physicists, etc.” And a list of the manufacturing firms now employing Antioch “co-op” students reads like an excerpt from a "Who’s Who In U. 8. Defense Industry.” The following are Just a few typical firms. Aircraft-Marine Products Inc., Harrisburg, Pa. Bell Aircraft Corporation, Buffalo. Bendlx Aviation Corporation, South Bend, Indiana. Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Michigan. General Electric Company, Lynn, Mass.; Schenectady, N, Y.; Erie, Pa. Monsanto Chemical Company, St. Louis; Nlt.ro, W. Va. In the words of the Antioch College Bulletin, "Through their Jobs, physics students have opportunities to assist In research in electronics, television, aircraft engine design, electrical instruments, accoustlcs, biophysics, and chemical physics.” The physicists played an essential role in the development of the atomic and hydrogen bombs . . . Dr. Allen Nunn May, a nuclear physicist, was sentenced to ten years Im­ prisonment for his part In the Canadian Communist spy ring of which Dr. Arthur Steinberg, a former Antioch professor, la reported by the Canadian Royal Commission to have been a member, - o - Let's go back to the Antioch College Bulletin which says; "Before he leaves campus, the new student attends discussions about what he may find in his Job experience. When he comes back to campus, he trades ^experiences with other students.” The student may be as loyal as George Washlngtoif or General Douglas MacArthur. But . . , "he trades experiences with other stu- dents.” Antioch spokesmen admit that Communists have been at Antioch. Tlius we have the definite and dangerous possibility that perfectly loyal students may have "traded experiences” with trained Communist esplon- , age agents planted at Antioch, The Young Progressives of America . . . commonly known as YPA . . . are organized on the Antioch campus today. Asked about the YPA, former FBI undercover agent Malt Cvotic said: "That Is the youth arm of the Progressive Party In the United States, which Is under the direction of the political commission of the Communist Party.” Again . . let’s go back to the Antioch College Bulletin. We quote: “Written^reports'about each Job experience arc designed to further the student’s growth. These may describe and evaluate the Job Itself , . . He may gather first hand material for a course project." The’student is required to make these written reports. Under “Co-Operative Job Regulations,” the Antioch College Bulletin reads, in part, as follows: "Antioch asks the student to help maintain the best possible Jobs and satisfactory relations with employers by bringing significant facts and suggestions about his Job to the attention of the placement Department . .". The student Is expected to write a full, descriptive Job report (or an alternative kind of field or experience report) each work period In order to obtain co-operative credit . . .’’ .It is, therefore, obviously possible for an absolutely loyal student to reveal vital Ihdustrial and defense Information to a Communist sympa­ thizer or spy who might be on the Antioch College staff. Do you want to run that risk? - o - If you believe that your own welfare and tho security of our nation call for a thorough congressional investigation of the Yellow Springs area and Antioch College . . . including some of the characters who are no longer on the college staff . . . write a letter or postal card * . today . . . to one or all of the following: Senator Thomas Burke, Senate Office Bldg., Washington, D, C. t Senator John W. Brlcker, Senate Office Bldg., Washington, D. C, Rep. Clarence Brown, House Office Bldg., Washington, D. C. - o - If there are Communists or dangerous fellow-travelers in Yellow Springs or at Antioch College, they should be exposed. If. as some say, Yellow Springs and Antioch College arc free of Communistic influences that fact should be revealed and that blot of suspicion and "gossip” wiped off the records of the village and the college. A congressional investigation Is the best available instrument with which to do the Job that should be done . . . now. / TURNPIKE THREATENS CITY PLANNING PRIN CIPLE The Ohio Turnpike Commission’s feud with the city of Elyria comes up for a hearing before the Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday, March 24. The issue at hand, technically, is whether Elyria shall be forced to turn over to the Turnpike Commission the plans of its sewers, streets, public utili­ ties, ect., so the Commission can go a- hcad with its plans to build the toll road through Elyria. But there’s more involved in this bat­ tle than the question of whether the Ohio Turnpike Commission can succeed in ramming jt turnpike through the city of Elyria without consent. Also involved is the future worth of planning commissions and the master plans of cities throughout the state. An Ohio law (Revised Code 713,02) requires that an organisation like the Turnpike Commission must submit in ad­ vance its plans for the approval or dis­ approval of city planning commissions in cities which have such master plans. Elyria, which has had a master plan in effect since before the turnpike route was established, claims it can prove the Turnpike Commission didn’t adhere to this law. Ignored it, in fact. And Elyria claims if the Turnpike Commission had submitted its plans in accordance with the law, this dispute probably never would have blossomed forth, The city of Elyria, one of the first municipalities in the nation to be forced into such a battle, also charges the Turn­ pike Commission with arbitrary action, and claims the Commission won’t even discuss an alternate route which would iron out the difficulties. The main reason for this long-con­ tinuing dispute, both sides agree, is a bridge site which the city of Elyria now owns over the Black River in the north- era reacher of the city. The Turnpike Commission wants it because it’s the most economical place* to put a span across the river. The city of Elyria wants it because it fits in with its master plan calling for a cross city roadway needed to solve the ever-grow­ ing traffic problem.. The Turnpike Commission claims that to remove the road outside the city limits (to the north) would add approximately $1,000,000 to the cost of the super road. But Elyria officials say it’ll mean a loss to the city of $1,437,360 in tax revenues from some BOOplots of real estate which would be involved. The city also sees loss possibilities as high as $5,000,000 if the road goes through and it has to change the city’s plans, build a more expensive bridge eleswhere,ect. They see it also as a barrier to the city’s future natural gro­ wth. Irate Elyria citizens feel itVmore im­ portant for the state of Ohio to worry about the loss to Elyria than the loss to "a bunch of Eastern bankers” who have invested in turnpike bonds. The financial aspects are* of course, a cause for great concern to the citizens of Elyria. But the threat to the principle of city planning is a cause of concern to virtually every city in the state. If the Supreme Court should ignore Elyria and uphold the Turnpike Commis­ sion in this pleading* then for all practi­ cal purpose those cities in the state with planning commissions and master plans can never he sure of the future stability of the hopes and dreams they’ve drafted for their cities, For nn outfit like the Turnpike Commission could come along and condemn school sites, churches, park or anything else it pleased, (And such properties arc involved in Elyria.) It’s within the Ycalm of imagination, how­ ever unlikely that under such a ruling the Ohio liquor department could take over a church for a state booze store. There is no irreconcilable issue con­ fronting the court in this case. I t’s pos­ sible for the Turnpike Commission to take its road north of Elyria even closer to the profitable traffic flow from Lorian — and still build its road in_time to meet the scheduled opening in Octo­ ber of 1955. Elyria officials have hired experts who claim the commission could re-route the road with little if any additional ex­ pence, but they say it’s now become a matter of principle with the Turnpike Commission, which hasn’t ’exactly be­ come .known as a great compromiser in its dealings to date along the road’s 240- mile route. This seems like too big an issue to be settled on stubborn principle, and we’re sure the Ohio Supreme Court doesn’t have to be cautioned about that. Whatever happens, this hearing sch­ eduled before the state’s highest tribu­ nal March 24 is one which city planners schould be watching with keenest in­ terest for don’t forget th'ere’s a second .turnpike in the works be watching for the state right now. And maybe more in the futifre; who knows? I JAMESTOWN JOTTINGS: . . . Gee . . . it’d bs so much ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------- more fun to be out hunting mushrooms than battling with « 1 1 H r f t T A I I I I I m i l l ) I I I I Red infiltration into our educational system. And what a JAM l UI Unn JUUnNAL pleasure it is to note and acknowledge the works of folks * like the Silver Boosters . . Lions . . . American Legion. . . . Phone 4 - 9031 Grange and the others who keep the wheels of community Jamestown Ohio u*e turn,nK uPWBr<1, Bul • • *we’re In a fight which we * ’ honestly believe we should win. What our status Is . . . we RALPH SHUPE ................................ Editor & Publisher don.t know. ,t wiU ^ ( p . we don’t know. However THOMAS J. WELLS ............................Production Mgr. «*««*» trutt>** . . __ ”Wln out even tho it often takes quite a kicking around before the day of final victory. Whether wc stay here from now MRS. WILLIS GLASS ......................... News Editor on or leave next month . . . we want you to know that we --------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- respect this community most highly as the kind of com- . ............................................................................................. . munlty which has contributed so much to the maintenance of a degree of stability during the hectic years Just past and we nppenl to you to make the comtnonscnse and . y • ■w f loyalty of this community felt even more strongly during W l t t i A L/UCKCyG the troubled years which lay ahead. Win or lose . . . . to all _ of you , . . Thanks a loti I n C o n g re s s . ♦. Bp CLARENCE J. BROWN M ~ - - M MS*. Ma< The Defense Department Appropriation Bill, carrying funds for the armed'services, is scheduled to come before the House for debate on Wednesday, April 28th, The measure wilt carry new appropriations of approximately 828,6000.000. In addition to this amount of nefrly appropriated money, there will be approximately _$12 billion of un­ obligated funds carried over from previous appropriations available for use of the armed services, The new Defense Department Appropria­ tion Bill totals about 85,5 billion less than appropriated for this fiscal year. o o o Last week, as the House and Senate Committees on Agriculture continued their hearings on controversial farm legislation* Secretary of Agriculture Benson told a news conference he Is confident President Elsenhower would veto any extension of the present high rigid farm price support program and law. He referred particularly to a one- year extension of the present law, which has been suggested as a pos­ sible rider amendment to the Administration's Woo! Bill (S. 2911) com. lng up in ,the |Nnate later this week, * . o o o / Representative Fred Buabey, of Illinois, has pointed out th a t during the calendar year of 1953, there were 305 witnesses appearing before Congressional committees who refused to testify under their Fifth Amendment rights, on the basis such testimony might tend to Incrim­ inate them. Of this number, 85 witnesses had worked, or were work­ ing, for the Federal Government; 97 were engaged In some field of education: 26 were In arts and entertainment I another 26 were authors and editors; and 13 were from the newspaper, printing, and publish­ ing field. Yet there are those Who will lnslslt that Congressional in­ vestigating committees should be. abolished. o o o If the Department of Agriculture Is right, there will be 925 million bushels of corn from the 1964 crop to carry ever. The fo rm a l com carry-over! Is 200 million bushels—which means the United States will have a corn surplus of 725 minion bushels this year, Total corn on hand as of October 1* 1962, was 487 million bushels; and on October 1, 1963* 78# million bushels. o o o Those citizens who have the hydrgen bomb Jitters—and there are many of them—should not forget that, In the past, Man has been able to develop a defense against almost every weapon of war. America already Mui radar screens to detect and locate enemy bombers long be­ fore they,reach the United States; Jet fighters and intercepter planes based Tth«Whout the world, to intercept arid attack enemy bombers; jdeadfjr guided missiles which will automatically seek out and vadtaf planes; and a huge 40-wlng bomber plane force on | ni alert ready to retaliate against any enemy by counter-at- i * o 0 O ' l i Jne»l.a reminder-all Government Departments In Washington, ch»dlng.*Ahe Congress, started functioning on Daylight Savings T im e * ■ (wwitijBW; ah iM ffi Ohio time) on last Monday morning. H ENCAMPMENT FOR CITIZENSHIP A drive is being made though the mid­ west to enroll Boy and Girl State dele­ gates in the ENCAMPMENT FOR CI­ TIZENSHIP this summer, For example Mrs, Mary Radin (wife of Alvin Radin* a Wright Field employee) at the March meeting of the Yellow Springs Commun­ ity Council (this council votes on the al­ location of Community Chest funds) spoke briefly on how wonderful it would be to send some young person to t)u! ENCAMPMENT FOR CITIZEN­ SHIP, A follow up report was read on this camp from the “Firing Line” which goes to American Legion Rosts all over the county, Another questionable or­ ganization has been brought to light. The ENCAMPMENT FOR CITIZEN­ SHIP, which was founded in 1946. is sponsored by the American Ethical Un­ ion. . . . Five members of the staft ofEN- CAMPMENT FOR CITIZENSHIP have left wing affiliations.. . 9 officials of the organization have extensve front affili­ ations. (Records are available on re­ quest to Americanism Commission.) Also planned is a documentary film on the „ENCAMPMENT FOR CITIZEN­ SHIP which would be available to high school, colleges and teachers training institutions. . . Patriotic citizens will not wish to have their children influenced by the thinking which apparently predom­ inates this organization. Its investiga­ tion by a Congressional Committee wolild be worth while. Our American youth are our most priceless possession, ~gpT why not protect them.