Page 14 by James Malkames Exhausted and beaten bloody, scores of young men drop into the dirt in front of a bamboo chapel and pray for forgiveness. This is a scene which has been reenacted annually for 400 yrs. in the Philippine Islands as a paschal celebration, Easter is an important time to the natives of the Philippines, and the customs are quite different from those in the Medical Self-Help Course Announced Luzerne County Civil Defense will commence another of its series of medical self-help courses at the Civil Defense Control Center, court house, starting at 7 p.m., April 7. This course was initially scheduled to begin March 24 but was postponed for two weeks to avoid conflict with the Easter season. Designed to instruct in- dividuals in helping to maintain health and alleviating suffering during any period of disaster when professional care and normal services might not be available, the course covers healthful living in emergencies, artificial respiration, bleeding and bandaging, fractures and splinting, burns, shock, nursing care of the sick and injured, infant and child care, and emergency childbirth. The course is presented in eight two-hour periods of in- struction, conducted weekly, and is augmented by realistic training films in sound and color. The course is provided without cost to all enrollees. Anthony Broody, Dallas, regional first-aid instructor, provides the instruction. Cable TV (continued from PAGE ONE) Not everyone views the FCC ruling with such enthusiasm. For David Baltimore, general manager and vice president of Wilkes-Barre’s WBRE, the FCC's ruling is not ‘‘good news at all. He, and many other in- dependent station managers, regards the FCC decision as “horrendous and harmful’ and argues that it discriminates against the smaller independent stations. Cable TV companies take these distant signals out of the air for free, transmit them long distances and then go into com- petition with local stations,” Mr. Baltimore complained. “It’s sheer piracy—for the most part, cable TV imports in- dependents stations which dup- licate our non-network pro- gramming. So while we ‘pay money for these copyrighted programs—usually a substan- tial proportion of our total oper- ating budget—these cable com- panies use them free of charge. “We're still pressing for mo- difications of the ruling,” WBRE’s manager said unhap- pily, “but it’s the law and we must abide by it.” At least it’s the law for now. There is, according to Mr. Barni’s attorney, Craig McCoy of Cole, Zylstra and Raywid, Washington, D.C., a chance that the Washington court will grant the stay ‘probably by Friday, the 31st, or next Monday.’’ The court would do this ‘if it felt the petitioner were likely to pre- vail—that is, win its case and eventually have the FCC de- cision’s reversed.” Is this likely? Said Atty. McCoy: “Frankly, it’s a toss- ARNRERERR OW FF Se SHRINE SHOWING AT THE 4 ACTION PACKED APRIL 5, 6, 7, 8 {attendee United States. Work is prac- tically non-existent and during the week before Easter at- tention is = centered - on preparation for the holiday. Excitement mounts and by Holy Thursday you can feel static in the air. I' wtinessed this most dramatic Easter oriented repentance by the predominantly Catholic people in Angeles, a small barrio on the Island of Luzon. It was the middle of the Philippine summer, and the heat in Angeles was extremely bad. The sun beat down and it wanted to burn through you. The heat and the stench in the air from garbage « and domesticated animals made me a little sick to my stomach as I waited for the celebration to begin. Great clouds of dust rose from the unpaved, unrained on streets. Beginning early in the morning of Good Friday, young men repent for their sins by subjecting themselves to the tortures Christ went through. It is their belief that in punishing themselves they can banish their sins. The men also believe that the good grace of God should be repaid some way. If someone is miraculously cured or some imminent disaster is avoided by a family, one of the male members is expected to punish himself for God's good work. The penitence is split into two different actions. Each man is to choose his own path of forgiveness, some by whipping themselves during the long walk to the chapel and others-by carrying heavy crosses. The crowd in Angeles was excited and waiting for the men to pass. Meanwhile, the men were preparing for their ordeal. Some, who would whip them- selves (flagellantes), were having small cuts inflicted on their backs by one of their friends. The men who were to carry crosses were waiting to start their trek. The flagellantes finally began to whip themselves. The whips they used were strong pieces of rope with bamboo attached to the ends. Each piece of bamboo had a sharp barb cut into it, and as the men swung the whips back and forth, the barbs would dig into their already cut flesh. Their backs bled profusely as they wandered about the streets of the town. They walked for miles, beating themselves, and Tickets rere y 4 KINGSTON, PA sale at IREM STORE, rms pn ’ SPONSORED’ BY Yn barely able to stand due to the pain. As the flagellantes passed me, blood flew from their whips. The people were excited and pleased that God was being praised, and did not mind being showered by blood. The men with the crosses began their journey at the same time the flagellantes did. They staggered through the streets under the strains of their burdens. The crosses were made of very heavy wood and friends helped the men with them if the weight got to be too much. Both groups finally ended their journey in front of the chapel. The chapel was a rough affair, resembling more of a squared-off lean-to to the American eye. There were no front walls, no flooring, no benches or seats. Set up around the chapel were stands which had been hastily erected and displayed such things as cokes, rice cakes, and sweet meats. The . chapel: was = the destination for both groups of penitents. Here, the flagellantes flopped onto the dirt street and prayed. They rolled in the filth of the street and the dirt stuck to their bloody backs. After this final act of praise to God, the flagellantes went off to wash themselves in a nearby river. Their duty is over for another year, while the cross carriers still have a way to go. Arriving at the chapel about mid-day, the men who carried the crosses were now beginning the worst of their ordeal. Here they were strung to their crosses. This act symbolized Jesus’ suffering in the hands of the Romans. The men stayed on the crosses for the rest of the afternoon with nothing to drink but vinegar. Finally they were cut down and their penitence was completed. This ritual is usually followed in most of the barrios and less often in the cities where people follow more modern ways. Although the central Catholic Church frowns upon this type of repentance, the church in the Phillipines gives its approval. The long followed customs of a people are impossible to change. This leaves the church with no alternative but to accept them. (Editor’s Note: Jim Malkames, a 22-year old senior at Bloomsburg State College, spent five years in the Philip- pines with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Malkames of College Manor, Dallas. An English education major, Jim hopes to teach following his graduation in May.) “The pace of internal growth which dominated the 60's for Commonwealth appears to be even stronger as we move into the 70's. For the fourth con- secutive year Commonwealth established a new record for telephones gained. The $2.55 earned per common share marked the third consecutive year of significant progress, up from $2.30 (restated) last year and from $1.59 in 1968." This message from John B. Hibbard, president of Commonwealth, was conveyed to shareholders of Commonwealth Telephone Company and appears in the 1971 Annual Report released yesterday. According to Mr. Hibbard, Commonwealth continues to experience growth of customer demands for new and improved service, as well as an increase in customers—1971 was a year of progress in handling the Company's. basic respon- sibility—the provision of good telephone service. Common wealth Telephone is the third largest Independent (non-Bell) telephone company in Pennsylvania and the ninth largest in the United States. It serves 92,955 customers in 18 counties in Eastern Penn- sylvania. During 1971 Cof:ionwealth acquired the Leesport Tele- phone Co. in Berks County, north of Reading. David Willits continues to serve as president of the wholly-owned subsidiary. While Commonwealth's revenues rose to $16,952,012, expenses reached $9,252,426. During 1971 taxes rose to their highest level in company history—$2,974,300, an increase of 19.8 percent over 1970. Taxes amounted to 17.5 percent of each revenue dollar. Interest and fixed ey rose significantly, up 20¥ percent to $2,108,711, resulting in net in- come of $2,717,683, up 9.8 per- “cent above 1970. Record earnings per share were reported at $2.55 on the 988,326 shares outstanding. Carverton Rd. Trucksville, Pa. ERE RENT
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