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PAGE FOUR
EDITORIAL | off the
Sen. Casey endorsed
The Dallas Post recommends Sen. Robert
Casey as the choice candidate for Democrats in the
May 19 primary election. The reason is personality,
since both men are backing similar programs. Both
are liberal Democrats who see the state’s revenue-
problems being solved by an income tax. Mr. Shapp
would like the income tax to take effect a little
sooner than Mr. Casey, but on this—the most im-
portant issue— the candidates differ very little
from each other.
This newspaper’s feeling about the candidates
is based on having met both and watched each at
public appearances both in this election year and in
the primary two years ago. Mr. Casey is by far the
more stable personality of the two; is more predict-
able than Milton Shapp. During the campaign, Mr.
Casey’s positions were often explained on the spur
of the moment; that is, without an organization
working a year at research on every conceivable
issue. ;
The point is not that Mr. Shapp acted badly, but
that his explanations often did not reveal his per-
sonality at work, while Mr. Casey’s answers did.
At times where he was called upon for im-
mediate responses, and when hostile questions
were asked, Mr. Shapp would get angry and lose
the cool he spent so much time and money trying to
convince voters he had. Sen. Casey remained cool
under fire in his encounters with hostile ques-
tioners, and the man generally exhibited a thought-
ful approach to issues while his opponent has been, |
in some cases, wild and irresponsible.
The personality test between candidates is
legitimate because visibility was one of the iceberg
issues of the campaign. Both men ran unusually
dull campaigns. Mr. Shapp, though, more than his
opponent, expressed himself from behind press re-
leases written by others, from television spots that
selected the best of him, and as a matter of design
his public appearances were kept to a minimum.
For Mr. Shapp, it was a don’t-rock-the-boat cam-
paign to shield him from voters. Mr. Casey, mean-
while, was much more visible and certainly avail-
able to most who wanted to see him. His availabil-
ity thus brought out a truer personality picture than
the Shapp media campaign brought out of Mr.
Shapp.
Mr. Casey is from northeastern Pennsylvania
and this should count for something in the choice of
a candidate by local Democrats. But a stable per-
sonality would, in the newspaper’s opinion, be the
main reason for voting for Mr. Casey rather than
Mr. Shapp.
slow down!
“Spring,” the old saying goes, ‘‘and a young
man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love.’
Not in Dallas, though. We’d be tempted to re-
write the adage like this: “Spring, and a young
man’s fancy turns to cars. And motorcycles. And
speeding up and down the streets of Dallas.”” No,
we really don’t think it’ll sell a million copies, but
we sure do wish the young speedsters would
remember that most of the residential avenues in
Dallas are populated by little children who—in the
youthful exuberance that spring fosters in just
about all of us—forget to stop, look or listen before
darting out into the road.
Slow down!
Library Auction time
For those who plan ahead, keep on your calen-
dar July 9, 10 and 11. Those are the dates of the
Back Mountain Library Auction. Plan to be there
and or contact the committee with items to be
auctioned.
Cult stuff:
by Bruce Hopkins
My Senior English teacher had a baby.
That, I suppose, wouldn’t be particularly
significant except that after she was my
Senior English teacher, she became my sis-
in-law. And that makes me Uncle Bruce.
“Say hello to your Uncle Bruce.”
‘Hello, Uncle Bruce.”
Heh, heh. That sounds kinda neat doesn’t
it? Yes, here I am a full-fledged,
-honest-to-goodness, in-the-flesh uncle. Uncle
Bruce. Have a cigar. (They're bubble gum
cigars—they don’t give you anything except
cavities). Just like that, I'm an uncle. And I
didn’t feel a thing!
Of course, it really didn’t come as a sur-
prise. I knew I was going to be. As a matter of
fact, I've known about it for quite some’ time
now. In fact, I'd known about it entirely too
long. Every time the phone rang for the past
month, I'd answer it with, ‘Hello, is this
Uncle Bruce speaking?” My roommates’
girlfriends thought I was out of my mind.
livery time they called, I'd answer the phone
thinking someone was going to tell me I was
an uncle. After a month of this, I gave up. Ac-
tually, I'm not all surprised the kid was late—,
he gets it from his grandmother Hopkins.
Let's face it, you can’t blame him for not
heing anxious to enter the world what with the
situation the way it is. And, besides, his hair
had to get long enough to be fashionable. I
figured that he was probably waiting for the
weather to break. The weather broke on May
Ist.
Ta da! The pudgy little kid arrived on the
scene. He took one look around, and spoke his
very first words: ‘To be or not to be, that is
the question.” Oh, wow, he’s got theatrical
hlood in him—you can tell! Well how could he
help it, what with his heritage what it is? And
I really think that with all of this drama im-
nedded in his system, they should have
named him something theatrical sounding—
like Bruce. Or even Hamlet. Hamlet Hopkins.
Now there's a theatrical name if I ever heard
one! No, but really, I did inform the proud
parents that they needn't feel obligated to
name the child after his nearest and dearest
uncle. And they took my advice. They named
him Donald James Hopkins. And we're going
to call him D.J. Or at least that’s what I'm
going to call him because it kind of has a the-
atrical ring to it. D.J. Hopkins. Terribly im-
pressive, wouldn't you say?
I don’t know. I really feel as if I ought to
kind of be settling down, now that I have all of
this responsibility. I mean, it’s important to a
kid that his uncle be around. You know what I
mean?
Well, now that the ordeal is over with, the
grandparents are relaxed and resting com-
fortably. As for the parents they're comforta-
bly not resting. As for me, I'm doing pretty
well. I still wake up in the middle of the night
wondering if they know how to change his di-
apers and that sort of thing. But I guess he’s
in pretty good hands. His mother was a good
English teacher and his father’s the son of a
nurse. I don’t know what that proves, but it
makes me feel a little better. But even so, I
wake up sometimes in the middle of the night,
I think it's probably some sort of instinctive
thing. He's probably crying, and I just wake
up. But being one hundred and some miles
away, I don’t know that there’s much I can do.
I was rather proud of the fact that my
nephew, D.J. Hopkins, was born with a great
deal of hair. He takes after his Uncle Bruce in
that respect.
Babies are really a lot of fun. They're
kind of like puppies and kittens. I'm looking
forward to being an uncle. It’s so much easier
than being a father, if you know what I mean.
Welcome to the world, Donald James. It’s
nice to have you with us. If there’s ever any-
thing you want to know, you just ask your
Uncle Bruce—he'll show you the ropes!
\ a
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by Hix
My Arbutus Lady phoned the other day to
say that she had a small bunch of arbutus for,
me, lovelier than ever because of the abun-
dant moisture in the woods this year.
Each year she calls me in early spring to
say that she has found the flowers in bloom
again. She is very vague in giving directions
as to their location, but she lets me in on the
secret. It would be so dreadful, she says, if
she should move away and nobody should be
left to find the hidden spot and carefully snip
four or five little sprigs with a pair of scissors.
But she knows, and I know, that people are
greedy, and that instead of taking only a few,
ithey would ruthlessly pull the lovely things up
by the roots and then let the waxy little pink
“ Alowers dry out in the overheated atmosphere
of the modern home.
The best way to keep the cut flowers
moist and fregrant is to use for a container a
bite-size fishbowl, fill it only a quarter of the
way up with rain water, then float the little
sprigs on the surface, supported by their
leaves and taking care that the blossoms
themselves are above the surface. This pro-
tects them from dry air and drafts. Lean over
the bowl, and the scent of sunshine and piney
woods is all about you. There is nothing quite
so delicate as the scent of arbutus.
There used to be banks clad in arbutus in
the early spring, woodland spots pink with
them, just as there used to be pink
ladyslippers in such prodigal numbers that it
was impossible to walk without crushing
them. There are still places where they can be
found, but the bulldozers are on the move.
Developers care nothing about topsoil or
century-old stores of humus, or pine needles
underfoot or greening thickets where hermit
thrushes sing. Where are the bluebirds? One
of the most beautiful things I ever saw in my
life was a pair of bluebirds mating, blue wings
flashing in the sunlight, sheer ecstasy in
every lilting motion, the very embodiment of
Spring, a trembling surge of joy.
My Arbutus Lady wishes to remain
anonymous. Last year I was in japan when
the arbutus bloomed, and the year before that
I was unable, heaven forgive me for being too
busy to heed the essentials of living, to go to
her home .and ageept my:little bunch of
flowers. Some perfectly unnecessary project
interfered.
So I wasn’t really expecting that
telephone call, but there it was, “This is your
Arbutus Lady speaking, and it’s more beauti-
the right to write
To THE POST:
We highly commend the Lake-Lehman
School District for having foresight to allow
their students to view:the program “A Time
Of Your Life” on Channel 44.
We, as students of Lake-Lehman, find
nothing objectionable about these programs.
In fact we truly wish that we would have been
lucky enough to view these ourselves when we
were younger.
We feel that Channel 44 is doing a favor
for some parents who can’t tell their children;
by showing these films, erasing all doubts,
fears and questions that may arise.
Naturally young children become curious
about these phenomenon and if they have a
knowledge of sex and reproduction there
would be less worry of unwanted children,
rushed teen-age marriages and also less
venereal disease.
“A little knowledge is a dangerous
thing :”’ Let’s have more knowledge.
CONCERNED TEENAGERS
(Name withheld upon request)
To THE POST:
Hurrah for your editorial about sex
education in the schools, Thursday, May 7!
It’s about time someone had an answer for
these people who think the children of today
can afford to remain ignorant about sex until
early high school years. J
This is a program that should have been
started in our schools years ago. Any start is
Junior will have window shades
2 by Pat Gregory
I visited the Dallas school board meeting
last week and it was a “budget” meeting. We
were given yellow copies of the school budget
so we could have some detailed information
on it. The original budget in more detail will
be available for anyone to see up at the Senior
High. The school directors had a blue copy
which was more detailed than ours. But no
matter what your favorite color happens to
be, each one had the same fact that there will
be a four mill increase in our school tax this
year.
Now my question of the month is “WHAT
JUSTIFIES A FOUR MILL INCREASE,
WHERE WILL THE EXTRA MONIES BE
SPENT? OR IN WORDS OF THE AVERAGE
TAXPAYER, IT THIS TRIP NECESSARY?”
I thought to myself, at last they must be
going to resolve the transportation problem
that we have been concerned about (like kids
standing on the buses for lack of enough
room). But this is not the case. As far as I can
find out this problem will remain the same as
last year.
Oh boy, I thought to myself, at last they
realize that the heat at the Trucksville Ele- |
mentary School is not right and they are going
to remedy that situation. Imagine, our little
ones at Trucksville will be cozy and warm all
next winter. But as the president of the school
board told me, ‘“We will look into it,” and I
told him quickly (because he was about to
shut the door on my nose) it had been
reported since last October; So I realized that
this situation would be the same.
Oh, I thought, maybe it will go into the
school lunch program, but this was not so be-
cause they had just passed a resolution to
raise the price of the school lunches 5 cents
per day.
The school enrollment will not increase
that much over last year and we have no new
building program going on.
Then I had it tracked down to library ex-
penses but after looking at the budget I found
that it cost $27,962 for the salaries of
librarians to look after the books but we were
only going to spend $9,000 on new books
(which doesn’t buy many books). But, I
thought to myself as I looked around the
library, at least the books we have here will
be well taken care of. We are making a $1,000
contribution to the Dallas Memorial Library
which says to me for the beautiful library we
have at school it must not have all that the
students need.
One surprise came during the meeting
when a resolution to buy band and mojorette
uniforms for” the ‘senior high to the tune of
$8,657 was defeated, yet it popped up in the
pudget. This $8,657 was for a total of about 80
uniforms.
It just has to be in the Health Services of _
which the total is $40,644. Now I don’t know
about you, but I just received a notice from
school that no medication would be given to a
youngster from now on as they had some dif-
ficulties with children with allergies, etc. And
ful than ever this year, can you come down to
get it?"
With a glance out the window into the
gathering dusk, I temporized, ‘yfguld you
possibly keep them until morning®. I don’t
drive at night if I can avoid it since I had my
eye operated on. You won't give_them to
anybody else will you?” ¢
The Arbutus Lady cringes when a tree is
cut down, or when a bulldozer attacks a
grassy knoll to level it for construction of an-
other filling station, or when a purling little
brook vanishes from the changing landscape
as more and more houses are built side by
side where once was pleasant pastureland,
stone walls, gracious spreading oaks, a pano-
rama of peace. :
Before the term Ecology caught the popu-
lar imagination, the Arbutus Lady was a ded-
icated conservationist.
She still is. She does not share her
knowledge of the hidden places of the coun-
tryside, because to do so would invite disas-
ter. The treasures of the vanishing woodlands
are hers, because she loves them and under-
stands them, and remembers how her father
took her when she was a small child to places
in the woods where the arbutus and the lady-
slippers grew, and pointed them out to her.-
We share this remembrance, foil too, as
a small child, walked in the woods? with my
father and mother, found the ladyslippers and
the arbutus, saw the ferns unfolding against a
stone wall, set leaves afloat in a little brook,
and revelled in the soft clean scent of spring.
better than none. The children are more than
ready for it and would treat it like any other
course in biology. It’s the parents that must
catch up with the times.
Sex is not a dirty word; but a fact of life!
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DALLAS
SCHOOLS??? Learned in the classroom in-
stead of half done at home or worse yet in
church or in the street. It can be one of the
most wonderful experiences in life. Certainly
these medias can enrich on what is started in
class. The sole educator—NO!
The wonder of life! Dirty? Let’s hear
more from some of the people who are for this
program. The silent majority.
A hopeful mother,
MRS. ALICIA ZIEGLER
i Dallas
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any time my youngsters got sick 0, a call
from the school to go pick them up, so I knew
that I wouldn’t be getting more services from
that category. j
So I am very sorry about that as I com-
plete this little dialogue with you I cannot find
the answer for you. All I know is that we are
going to pay. And I for one would like to know
for WHAT.
I did see that we had budgeted $500 for
piano tuning which is important; Heaven for-
bid that my child sing off key while freezing in
the classroom.
And we also have $200 budgeted for
window shades. This is good too, for I would
not want the sun in Junior’s eyes, By
he doesn’t get mangled on the bus o
getting to school. Earl Fritzges, Bernard
Novicki, and Harry Lefko voted against the
budget. I wholeheartedly support their views.
‘Thanks guys, for a nice try. In the meantime,
IF I find out where that extra money is going
I'll let you know.’
Tir OALLASC0ST
A non-partisan, liberal, and progressive newspaper published every Thursday morn-
ing by Northeastern Newspapers Inc. from 41 Lehman Ave., Dallas, Pa. 18612.
Entered as second class matter at the post office at Dallas, Pa., under the Act of
March 3, 1869. Subscription within county, $5 a year. Out-of-county subscriptions,
$5.50 a year. Call 675-5211 for subscriptions.
The officers of Northeastern Newspapers Inc. are Henry H. Null 4th, president and
publisher; John L. Allen, vice president, advertising; J. R. Freeman, vice presi-
dent, news. .
Editor emeritus, Mrs. T. M. B. Hicks; managing editor, Doris R. Mallin; editor of
the editorial page, Shawn Murphy; advertising manager, Annabell Selingo.
{
guest editorial: ne Army becomes domestic snoopers
One of the most frightening stories in
many-years appeared Jan. 25 in the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch. The United States Army has a
staff of 1,000 investigators probing into the po-
litical opinions of law-abiding civilians. Not
only that, but the unverified, unedited file of
their diggings is available to any agency of
the government for whatever purpose it
chooses.
The information is contained in an article
by Capt. Christopher H. Pyle, who recently
completed two years’ service as a captain in
ma
Army Intelligence, and comes from briefings
he received at the headquarters of the United
States Army Intelligence Command and from
observations of friends and acquaintances
who served in intelligence units throughout
the U.S. and Europe. None of it carried a se-
curity classification of any kind.
No one can deny the Army’s need for in-
telligence of any plans for conspiracy, for
attack on an Army installation, airport, rail-
way, water system. No one can deny the
Army's need for information bearing validly
on the competence or loyalty of persons about
to be appointed to positions of trust.
But the Army’s sending 1,000 plain
clothes investigators snooping into the politi-
_cal opinions of law-abiding citizens is repug-
nant to the very principle on which the United
States of America is built—freedom of
thought.
Army snooping into personal opinion is
only one short step away from intimidation,
and intimidation is only one short step away
from dictatorship.
To the plain clothes agent of CONUS Intelli-
_ gence branch, Operaticns IV responsible for
the Newport-Lake Sunapee area: I hereby
proudly proclaim that I wrote the above edi-
torial, that it accurately reflects my views. To
make it easy to complete your dossier, I am
attaching my fingerprints. There is a set that
has been kicking around down there for near-
ly 30 years, but they’re in Washington, and I
thought it would be easier if you could have
these right there at Fort Halabird in Balti-
more. EDWARD DeCOURCY
the road
RY at wile pr Mal or
IN a ae 5 ih