Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 6

DEC UK HtKALU Decatur, Illinois, Saturday, April 0, IVOtt King's Death Strengthens Doubts Editorials mions Europe Views U.S. With Intense Horror, Fear TV'S" www. All America's to Bear iMiBiiiisii David Felts' Column WHEN we read of the death at 85 of Elly Ney, the concert pianist, our thoughts turned back, irreverently, to the years when we were fairly proficient in Pig Latin. Few of us who spoke Pig Latin fluently attempted to use it in written communications. Another "language" was used in writing.

That was script laboriously written upside-down, to be read in a mirror. Some of us learned to write backward. But such a code was too easily broken for writing notes to the girls. Elly Ney. Squares would have said "Nelly." LUTHER I Km America, Martin Luther King never lost his faith in the white Americans who had the power to change the system.

Impatient with his nonviolent methods, many bitter young Negroes have turned to violence to protest white racism in America. Dr. King fought black violence as passionately as he fought white racism, and risked his life far more than the fiery spokesmen who preach destruction and separatism for black Americans. His death, ironically, came in the South even though the scene of racial confrontation had moved North. Even more ironic that it happen in Memphis, a city which had done more than most Southern cities to lower the bars of discrimination in education, housing and political leadership.

And sadly, his death may en 'hot dead 3l LUTHER KING FURY FLARES SHOT DEAD QY SNIPER The Shame Is HE WAS the symbol of nonviolence in an increasingly violent world. He died in an act symbolic of the violence he opposed. Martin Luther King Jr. was only 39. He seemed older, perhaps because he had been in the front ranks of the drive for Negro equality for so long.

Many Americans were surprised to learn he was so young; their reaction is testimony to the nature of his leadership. Under him, in black Americans moved closer to real freedom than they had in the preceding century. The conscience of America especially of white Americans-must be stricken by the murder of this gentle man. Despite his setbacks and the agonizing slowness of breaking down the walls of racial inequity in Stock Market PRACTICALLY every news story reporting the trading of 17,730,000 shares on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, April 1, noted that the total was a new record, exceeding the trading volume lor October 29, 1929, the day of the stock market collapse. The record Monday trading was attributed to the Sunday evening announcement by President Lyndon Johnson on network television that he was ordering a cut-back in U.S.

bombing over North Vietnan, and that he would neither seek nor accept a nomination for another term as President. But when that new record for volume was broken again on Wednesday, following a report that Hanoi might come to the peace negotiating table, there was only occasional mention of 1929. Figures on stock market trading are a part of the numbers game which Americans love to play. Greatly Changed Since '29 jrS'ift By Anthony Lewis (c) 1968 New York Times London The murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

evoked in Western Europe Friday a reaction of intense horror at the deed and fear for the stabiuty of American society. In governments, in the press and among the public there were expressions of sympathy that went altogether beyond formalities. King was deeply admired in Europe, and was sees as a symbol of hope for America. All the concerns about the United States and her leadership that' have grown here in recent years concerns especially about the Vietnam war and the internal violence of America were fed by the killing. Everywhere in Europe, people connected King's death with the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963.

That two men so admired here could so similarly be killed intensified doubts about the character of America today. "From John Fitzgerald Kennedy to Martin Luther King," Le Monde, the leading independent newspaper of France, said, "a common tragic link, indeed, unites men devoted to a common struggle." The story of King's murder dominated newspapers, radio and television across even to the extent of subordinating Vietnam developments. Political and religious leaders- expressed sympathy and concern. The following were some of the principal developments in individual countries. Italy Pope Paul VI was described as personally and deeply grieved.

He sent a cable to the apostolic delegate in the U.S. saying he was "profoundly saddened" at King's death "in such tragic and deplorable circumstances." The Pope's cable, 'speaking of himself in the third person, continued: "He prays that the virtues of justice and fraternal love, for which Dr. King stood, can come to be respected everywhere. His holiness implores the omnipotent God to give the consolation of divine grace to his family and friends desolated by his death." King saw Pope -Paul in a private audience in 1964, and the Pope was reported to have been greatly impressed by him. President Giuseppe Saragat of Italy cabled President Johnson: "Speaking for.

all the Italian people, I join in the mourning of free America for the death of its great son, Martin Luther King, victim of racist barbarities." France The news dominated the state radio network, which among ether things deleted an interview with a cabinet minister to make way for a tribute to King. One headline in Paris-Presse, read: "America is frightened." Le Monde- said editorially that King "knew very well the limitations of his program ana headlined the assassination of placed inside the main door with a picture of King and a simple vase of flowers. Many persons came in to sign, among them the chairman of Britain's race relations board, Mark Bonham Carter. The Evening Standard said in an editorial that "America is indeed a violent land." Comparing the event with President Kennedy's assassination, it said: "Once again, one of its greatest citizens has been cut down by an act of pointless and irrevocable violence." The Times of London called his death "a great loss to all Negroes, to the United States and to a world that had come to love and respect him." Both houses of Parliament in Bonn stood in silence to pay tribute to King, the Foreign Letters to Editor ys peace mission: toy 'tfr- a fox 4 -iAf Dr. Martin Luther King minister, Willy Brandt, spoke for the government and called the murder "a real tragedy." The left-leaning Frankfurter Rundschau, in an editorial for today's editions, said "America's prestige, damaged as it is already through her brutal warfare in Vietnam, just slips further when her prominent personalities can no longer be sure that they cannot be hunted down and killed like rabbits." Die Welt of Hamburg, conservative, said "nothing worse could have happened to the United States in this election year." But it added that "other nations ought to refrain from giving unsolicited advice in view of the great portion of guilt they incurred themselves in the past:" tarded) without any consideration of himself, his time or his rewards.

He is surely to be commended and should be given a medal of honor. As contrast, the strikers are only thinking of themselves when they join the picket lines and turn their backs on these unfortunate children of God who now more than ever need their help and guidance. The strikers have rejected the state's proposal for $15 per week and are using the term "iffiness." This should have been spelled "stiffness" because they are very stiff whea Budgetary Commission Makes courage those Negroes who preach destruction and death, for if a man who lives and preaches non-violence is not safe, can any Negro who seeks freedom feel safe? The shame is all America's to bear, for too few are willing to stand up and be counted in favor of justice and freedom. Non-involvement is a vote against extending freedom in America, for the millions of apathetic Americans have no power against those who would perpetuate the second class status of black Americans. Words are a poor substitute for deeds in mourning the loss cf a Martin Luther King.

All Illinoisans indeed, all Americans should join to erect a monument to Martin Luther King by dedicating a small part of their lives to the cause for which he died. Other comparaitve figures for 1929 and for 1968, including gross national product, wage scales, the work force and price levels must be considered with the population differential in reading meaning into stock exchange trading volume this week. That is to say, Wednesday's 19 million shares, while greater than the 16 million traded on October 29, 1929, are less significant in the national economy. The very fact that 24 million Americans, representing almost as many households, own common stocks is the most solid reason for believing "it can't happen again." Indeed, all those millions of Americans, including hourly wage earners, would not be in the market at all if they did not have confidence in laws and regulations which protect mere humans from the consequences of their own frailties. Bad Choice 1936 wars to meet last year's confrontation with Israel.

The choice of leadership need not have been inevitable. Several promising legislators sit on the commission (Sen. William Harris, R-Pontiac, for example) and any one of them would have given this orphaned creature of the legislature a better chance to justify its existence. It may be, however, that legislative leaders do not want it to exist any more. If so, then they are on the right track in the election of Sen.

Peters as chairman. The most conservative man on our block cashed his paycheck at the bank and took his dollars to a speculator, hoping to get 90 cents apiece for them. Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey is planning to send a second circus on the road, but not until after the presidential election campaign. Sen. Everett Dirksen suffered a sprain while replacing a light bulb in his home.

Where were all those $20,000 administrative assistants? Robert Kennedy undoubtedly will allow his opponents to keep their horses. They will need them for the spring plowing on their retirement farms. IN THE HERALD 25 YEARS AGO TODAY MACON COUNTY authorities launched an investigation into circumstances surrounding the finding of a baby boy at a city dump yard west of the city. PERMITS FOR 859 tires were issued by the Macon County War Price and Rationing office during March. ABOUT 50,000 empty tin cans will be needed this week to fill another car load of tin collected in Macon County.

CLAIMING THAT many of Illinois' farm to market roads will disintegrate unless sufficient road oil is made available for oiling purposes, a special committee created by the Legislature will go to Washington to discuss the problem with federal officials. Illinois Strikers Criticized AMONG the obituaries we read in a stack of daily issues of The New York Times which had accumulated while we were away from our home desk was that of Lawrence B. 70, founder and operator of the Hanover Shoe Farm, internationally known breeding establishment for standardbred horses. If you read the sports pages at all or attend Grand Circuit harness racing at the Illinois State Fair, or the DuQuoin State Fair, you are familiar with horses named "Something" Hanover Dean, Bret, Titan, Bullet, Sampson, Nibble and Norris Hanover, among many others. Sires standing at Hanover Farm, in addition to a lot of Hanovers, include Adios, Billy Direct, Hoot Mon, Hickory Smoke and Star's Pride.

In the last 16 years the foals of Hanover stallions won more than $71 million in purses and last year 189 Hanover-bred trotters and pacers sold for $2,282,800, for an average of more than $12,000 a horse. Lawrence Sheppard manufactured the Hanover line of shoes and the horses from his breeding farm advertised around the world the products of his shoe factory. OF THIS Oh Yes AND THAT: Twice within a week Americans were startled by prime examples of "spot news," happenings for which there had been no preliminaries no rumor, no speculation by columnists, no veiled hint from an informed source, no trial balloon and no deliberate leaks. In most cases spot news deals with death or disaster, such as the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.

But President Johnson's renunciation of another term was spot news, for it was unexpected. It was not mentioned in the advance text of his address which was printed on the morning after in the New York Times. So much of the news these days is more of the same in continuing stories, with events following educated guesses by newspaper, radio and television commentators. The American people are not told too much, but they surely are being told the same things too often. The electronic media must keep talking; must keep on showing pictures for 18 of the 24 hours each day, some of them around the clock.

We watched a couple of the state high school basketball tournament games on television while visiting relatives in Peoria. There was some talk of where the high school players would go to college. The Peoria resident observed: "I hope those Galesburg cheerleaders enroll at Bradley." S. C. Johnson Son of Racine, uses three advertising agencies to handle its various wax products which should be names familiar to all television viewers.

The Johnson people recently switched Bravo from Foote, Cone and Belding to Benton Bowles, the agency which already handles Pledge, Jubilee, Beautiflor, Paste Wax and Cream Polish, along with Glade and Sun Country, the air fresheners. Foote, Cone Belding keeps Klear and Pronto. Glo-Coat is handled by Need-ham, Harper and Steers. President Johnson's Sunday night announcement made most of us neglect to note whether March went out like a lion, a lamb or the Democratic donkey. During that glass bottle shortage the small fry who could read were emptying soft drink bottles as often as possible in the national interest.

Virginia still is "the mother of Presidents," but Minnesota makes a multiple bid with Humphrey, McCarthy and Stassen. To the Editor: In the Decatur Herald on April 4 on page 19, you carried two news items that were noteworthy regarding one person who works with consideration and dedication, and others, who apparently are not willing to devote their time and efforts to their vocation in life, namely that of staying on the job while union leaders are negotiating for them with the state to meet their demands. It is also noteworthy that the handicapped person is willing to help tiie helpless (re- i 5 London newspapers the frailty of his pacifist hopes. "Every lay," the editorial continued, "saw hatred and passion disfigure the visage of a white America that wants to be respectable and cannot help being racist. "The assassinated pastor also knew that violence unleashes violence, and he did not refrain from saying that tiie massive use of force in Vietnam encouraged everywhere the resort to arguments that are never those of reason." The chief of the Gaullist party, Robert Poujade, said no one could predict "the seriousness of the consequences which threaten." But he said "everyone must nope that the United States finds in its political resources, which are the fruit of a long democratic tradition, the possibility of avoiding an interior cleavage." Britain Members of all parties in the House of Commons introduced a motion expressing "horror at the brutal and senseless murder" and pledging to "eliminate racial dsi-crimination in this country." Edward Heath, leader of the Conservative party, called King's death "a great tragedy." He said "it cannot do anything but make racial problems more difficult." Neither Prime Minister Wilson nor the government in general made any statement, although ministers privately expressed their shock and concern for the U.

S. At the Ameriuan Embassy a book of remembrance was PECKING ORDER 5vrrr-; The population of the United States in 1929 was approximately 120 million. Owners of common stocks were for the most part people of means. Only in the period immediately before the 1929 crash did "the clerks' enter the market, buying odd lots on margin. Today the population of the United States is around 2O0 million.

Common stocks are a part of the investment program of 24 million Americans. Major investors in securities include pension funds which hold dues paid in by millions of hourly rated workers. Margin requirements and high interest on money discourage stock purchases by people who cannot afford such investments which, for them would be gambling for a quick profit. Following the 1929 stock market crash the federal government moved promptly to regulate the exchanges and securities markets. sions on the largest and most costly state agencies such as highways, mental health and higher education.

Most important, the commission has never fulfilled its legal obligation to report its recommendations and the rationale for making them to other members of the General Assembly. It merely recommends appropriations to the, governor, something which it is not legally required to do. In short, the budgetary commission had assumed de facto legislative control of the budget without being burdened with the responsibilities of a regular Senate or House committee. As long as the setup was innocuous, the commission was permitted to operate. But the growing problems of budgetary mismanagement have made the commission a nuisance, and quite possibly dangerous.

Key legislators and leaders in the executive branch were talking openly last year about dissolving the commission. They finally decided to give it one more try, "a do or die" opportunity, as one commission member explained it. And what did the commission do this week to meet the challenge? It chose its former chairman to preside again, much in the same way the Egyptians relied on the same old generals of the 1948 and Derson is buvine is a Dsvcho- path or someone who wants to use it for hunting. It should be remembered that this law will not prohibit anyone from purchasing a rifle through, for instance, a sporting goods store. As another point of irony, the Senate committee at the same time approved President Johnson's Safe Streets bill 'which will provide up to $300 million in grants for local communities to improve their law enforcement agencies.

How they can do this at the same time they turn down a measure which, perhaps only in a small way, would help make the streets safer is hard to understand. But perhaps the committee's rationale is that it's easier to spend money than risk offending the gun lobby. TP REPUBLICANS really want to vitalize the Illinois Budgetary Commission, then they picked the wrong chairman this week to do the job. Sen. Everett Peters, 73 years old and recently recovered from a heart stroke, is hardly the symbol of modern government.

Much of the negative image of the legislature has been developed by veterans like Sen. Peters, who after a 32-year tenure in Springfield remains well out of tune with social needs. Budgetary processes in Illinois today are an anachronism. The budgetary commission has been an integral part of the biennial mess of drawing up a fiscal blueprint for the state. For more than two decades, the commission has been in search of a role, groping for areas where it could be useful.

For 16 of those years (until 1913), Sen. Peters had been chairman of the commission. During this time, and later, the commission followed self-imposed rules which reduced the financial significance of its activities to negligible proportions. The commission did not review capital expenditures, the source of much pork barrel and government waste. The commission did not review any proposals for new activities; it refused to make deci Gun Control Quashed Again they neglect the retarded for their mercenary demands.

Lincoln Patient Parent Decatur COMMISSION FORM LAUDED To the Editor: I have read the article in th April 2 issue. Have you thought of the commissioner form of county government? I am a native of Morgan County and we have found that three county commissioners, elected at large have done an excellent job and at present none of them reside, in Jacksonville, the county seat. Then why should it take 33 supervisors to represent Macon County. The fact is that your form of county government ia a political hang-over from the horse and buggy era and that the public trough is a nice place to consume more taxes. I am sure the Board of Supervisors will not endorse this idea but the taxpayers should ignore their moans and groans and modernize county government in Illinois I must admit that Morgan County has the old antique township road commissioner, which is just as ridiculous and as a result, a great many of our country roads are strictly dry weather paths and this is also a hang-over from the Civil War era.

I still believe that the aver- age voter of today is very much interested in good government and votes for the best qualified man or woman regardless of their place of residence or their politics. L. C. Arnold Effingham AS A POINT of irony, on the same day that Dr. Martin Luther King was slain in Memphis, the Senate Judiciary Committee again killed a bill outlawing the sale of firearms through the mail.

At the moment there is no evidence that the slayer of Dr. King used a rifle obtained through the mail. However, this method of selling weapons is very symbolic of the violence which has become so much a part of America in the last decade. People should not forget that President John F. Kennedy was slain with mail order gun.

The arguments favoring the passage of this bill are so well known that is it almost futile to repeat them. Perhaps the most important, however, is that the seller has no way of knowing whether the.