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THE WEAT-HER NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI - Partly cloudy through Friday with little change in temperatures. Lows upper 50s to upper 60s. Highs upper 70s to low sos.
Tel ephone 84 2-2611 Pr.i ce 10 Cents
T upel o, M ississi ppi, Thurs. M orning, September 25, 1969
S. Green St.. East of Hospital
Vol 96 No. 152
1-Cent Gas Tax Increase OKd By 1-Vote Margin
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Measure Passes 32-19 After Senate Reiects Alternate Plan For Financing Governor's $300 Million Highway Plan
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CONSTRUCTION STARTS SOON -Work on the 260,000 square foot enclosed air conditioned Tupelo Mall is scheduled to start in about ten days on South Gloster Street just north of Sears. See additiona I oicture Page 29.
fGrour'dbreaking Held For fNew 35-Store Tupelo Mall Official ground breaking · all stores in the mall without ceremonies were held Wed- being exposed to the weather, 1 nesday for the new Tupelo Mall Mr. Solomon pointed out. shopping center, which will be Another feature is that, winter located on South Gloster Street or summer, the temperature just north of the existing Sears in the mall remains at 72 store, which will become a part degrees F the year 'round. of the mall. The 30 foot wide fully enSite preparation for this closed, weather conditioned area's first air conditioned mall shopping mall will be decorated has been completed and con- with natural and permanent struction will start within ten landscaping, benches and will days, the groundbreaking display massive laminated audience was told by Jay beams with a wood deck, all Solomon, vice-president of finished in natural wood tones, Independent Enterprises, Inc., creating a warm shopping which is developing the center. environment for the comThirty-five well planned munity, he said. retail and service stores and a The shopping center will be parking lot accommodating anchored on opposite ends by 1750 automobiles will be two full-line department stores. ' features of the new Tupelo Mall. A 60,000 square foot Britts Twenty stores that will be a Department Store, which is a part of the regional shopping subsidiary operation of the J . J . center complex were an - Newberry Company, will be nounced at the ground breaking situated on the north extreme of ceremonies. Tliey represent the enclosed mall. The existing approximately 85 per cerit of the 75,000 square foot Sears, total available rentable area. Roebuck and Company store, The developers of•:he which has been in operation at shopping center emphas1zed this location since October of their interest in including many 1967, w~ll become an integral focal and area specialty shops part of the retail complex and and service businesses to fill will anchor the south end of the I the remaining space in the I shopping center which will contain 260,000 square feet of building area, including Sears. This is about two-thirds the size of the well-known Southland Mall in Memphis. One of the advantages of an enclosed .ll)Jlll shopping center is that , no matter what the WASHINGTON (UPI) -Sen· ~ather is, the customer is ..<vays protect_ed and can visit ate Republicans shattered decades of conservative domination Wednesday by picking Eastern liberal Hugh Scott as the GOP Majority Leader . The Pennsylvanian defeatedSen . Howard H. Baker Jr ., of Tennessee, . the conservative backed candidate, 24 to 19 in a JACKSON, Miss . . (UPI) The defense supply agency of secret ballot vote to select a the U.S. Defense Department successor to Sen. Everett M. Wednesday announced a $2 Dirksen as Senate GOP leader. million contract grant to a His Senate colleagues elevatsportswear company at Amory, ed the 68-y~r;:ild Scott from the post of assistant Republican Miss . State Republican Chairman leader, or whip, to follow in the Clarke Reed said he had been footsteps of such noted conserinformed that the contract had vatives as Dirksen, Knowland been awarded to Glenn's All- Ta ft , and Bridges and Wherry American Sportswear , Inc. The who have led Senate Republifirm has been authorized to cans in the post World War II produce 590,818 pairs of khaki era. Immediately after the vote · trousers for the Defense President Nixon telephoned hi~ Department. congratulations to Scott and the
mall. A buffet luncheon was served on the site following the ceremonies and construction helmets with" ;he name of the Tupelo Mall inscribed on them , were presented to Mayor James Ballard and Tom Bailey , Community Development foundation chairman, as well as to the other participants in the breaking of the ground. Miss Linda Haas, Junior Miss of Lee County, assisted the owners of the land, Hollis Kinsey, Erin Dillard, and D. L. Collums, as they also received construction helmets and participated in the ground breaking ceremonies. Kinsey' Dillard and Collums have entered into a long-term ground lease arrangement with In· dependent Enterprises, Inc . covering the 20 acres of land on which the Tupelo Mall will be constructed. Dr. Bob Ramsey, pastor of the Calvary Baptist Ghurch of Tupelo, offered the invocation. Mayor James· Ballard .md Mr. Tom Bailey were called on for brief remarks and Mr. Continued On Page 2 7
By ANDREW REESE J R. JACKSON, Miss. (UPI) The Mississippi Senate narrowly approved a proposed one cent increase in the state gasoline tax late Wednesday after beating down an alternate plan for financing Gov. John Bell Williams' $300 million· highway program. The gasoline tax boost, requiring a three-fifths majority of 31 ·votes for passage, was adopted 32-19 following a long bitter debate on highway financing. The tax bill was called up by Sen. Ellis Bodron of Vicksburg, chairman of the Finance Committee, immediately after the Senate defeated an alternate highway financing plan calling,for a diversion of about $11.7 million in sales tax revenues from the general fund . Bodron strongly urged approval of the diversiont bill, contending it provided a "more equitable method" of financing the highway program. He said he did not believe a tax increase was necessary. The Vicksburg lawmaker, with apparent reluctance, gave his backing to the tax measure after the sales tax diversion bill was rejected. sharply Bodron , who
·u. S. Troop·s ~ncover ·Red Muhitjons Dump
SAIGON (UPI) - American soldiers, backed by supersoni~ fighter-bombers,Wednesdayuncovered a two-ton Communist munitions dump northwest of Saigon and killed its 24 defenders. Mimary spokesmen said Thursday that there were no U. S. · casualties in the 30-minute flight-one of seven that broke out Wednesday along infiltration routes within 90 miles of South Vietnamese capital. new GOP leader assured him theOne of the FlOO Supersabre the tight, two-way race had air strikes scored a direct hit evoked no bitterness among on part of the buried munitions Senate Republicans. resulting in a huge explosion "No, not at all," Scott told that sent smoke billowing 1,600 Nixon in the crowded confer- feet into the air, spokesmen ence room with reporters said. listening in. " It was all at a \ They said the cache, 47 miles high level and good spirits northwest of Saigon, contained indeed." 75 rounds of 107mm rockets, 100 Scott got support from hand grenades, 25 antitank liberals, some moderates, con- mines, six bicycles and medical servatives edgy about the 43· supplies. year;:ild Baker's lack of experience and youth and Senators wanting to succeed Scott as whip. Surrounded by his wife, Marian , his campaign manager, Sen . Richard Schweiker of Pennsylvania, and former Tupelo High School Band Penn1?ylvania Gov. William W. Scranton, Scott accepted Ba- Parents Association will meet ker 's con5!ratulations. Baker :at 7:30p.m . tonight (Thur sday) is Dirksen 's son-in-law. at the high school band hall. All parents are urged to attend. «;:ontinued On Page 27
Scott Beats Baker For Top GOP Post
Amory Firm
Win s Contract
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l!nticized the $650 million highway program recommended in 1968 by Williams, said he felt the new proposal was a "responsible" program and should be enacted. He referred specifically to the road-building priorities bill passed earlier in the special session which, in effect, nullified the massive 1968 Highway Designation Act. The priorities measure was signed Wednesday morning by the governor. The Senate killed the 1968 highway program by voting down a proposed 1.5 cent increase in the gasoline tax. Several senators had vowed they would oppose the one cent hike unless the old designation act was nullified. The House passed a gasoline tax increase several weeks ago but the Senate skipped over the House bill and acted on its own measure. The House version contained a new $5 permit on heavy trucks which was not in the Senate bill. The Senate proposal was held in the upper chamber on a motion to reconsider before being released to the House. Most debate came on the sales tax diversion bill , authored by Sen . Ollie Mohamed ofBelzoni. O~ponents
Bond Parents Meet Tqn ight
The U. S. command, which t~rmed !he cache a significant ,fmd, said 22 of the defenders were killed when the American jets swooped down on the munitions. The other two were killed in an exchange of small arms fire with· U. S. ground troops. . Spokesmen said 77 Communists were killed Wednesday in the scattered fighting around Saigon. U. S. casualties were two killed. Communist gunners shelled 17 Allied positions overnight Wednesday , including a roc~et attack on the 3rd Manne Division headquarters at Dong Ha , 10 miles south of the demilitarized zone. Spokesi_nen said . the 10 rockets hit the baseJust before midnight, but cause only light casualties and no fatalities . It was the sec«;md rocket attack on Dong Ha smc:,e the announcement that the division 's remaining 18,000 troops would be withdrawn from the war. The . first shelling Friday wounded one man. American and South Vietnamese defending an outpost 35 miles northwest of Saigon repulsed an attack early Wednesday morning and reported killing 10. Far to the north of Saigon, Continued On ~age 27
warned the proposal wou_lc( create a deficit in the state's general operating fund , possibly requiring additional taxation in 1970. "This would be taking money out of one pocket and putting it in another pocket," said Sen. Robert Crook of Ruleville. Bodron did not agree that new taxes would be inevitable in 1970 if the diversion bill passed. He added he personally would oppose any further tax increases for general fund purposes during the remaining two and a half years of the present administration. The Vicksburg lawmaker was sharply critical of the Williams• administration. He said he and
Sen . R. B. Reeves of McComb others who voted against the gasoline tax boost last year had · argued it would mean a twobeen unjustly blamed for killing year delay in implementing the a highway program. new highway program. Vol Jones of Sen. The truth , Bodron declared, was that the governor had Waynesboro, who vigorously submitted an " irresponsible opposed the gasoline tax program" in 1968 which the measure, said the rejection of a amendment state could not afford. He said constitutional he was " proud " he voted involving bond debt limitations agai.nst the 1.5 cent gasoline tax last November was a mandate from the people against new hike. The Senate defeated an taxes. He said the people "are amendment by Mohamed that <iamn tired of the legislature would have delayed the ef- J[oing wild with taxes." Several lawmakers backing fective date of the diversion bill from Jan . 1, 1970, to Jan. l , 1971. the diversion mP~sure conMohamed said this would have tended the statewouldwind up assured there was no deficit in with surplus money · in the the general fund at the end of general fund and argued it the present fiscal ye~r. ~ntinued On Page 2 7
Irregularities Unveiled In Highway Dept. Probe increase to finance a $300 million high way program. Mrs. Muirhead said rumors had been circulating but' she had not been able to get any firm information ·about the investigation. Although she opposed the gasoline tax increase, she said she purposely waited until after it had been voted on before offering the resolution to show she was not trying to use it to help kill the bill. Mccaa ag'reed to submit to questions at a hastily called news ~onference in the Capitol followmg the ·Senate action . However, he declined to identify any of the persons involved or elaborate on the purported irregularities since the probe was not complete. McCaa said the investigation pertained to actions from 1965 to 1967, before the present highway commission went into
JACKSON. Miss. <UPI) -An investigation is under way into alleged "irregularities" on the part of an undisclosed number of state highway department employes, it was disclosed Thursday night. State Highway Director Bruce McCaa said the probe, initiated by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads, dealt with a "possible conflict of interest" involving " a very small number" of highway employes. He · declined to be more specific regarding the number of persons involved. McCaa confirmed the investigation had been in progress for several months, but had not been made public because it is still incomplete and there had been no "conclusive evidence" so far of any wrongdoing. The matter came to a head when Sen. Jean Muirhead of Jackson, in a surprise move gained adoption of a resolutio~ asking the U.S. Department of Transportation to turn over its repor~s on the investigation to the Senate. The resolution was called up and approved shortly after the Senate passed a g&soline . tax
New Federal Farm Program Outlined WASHINGTON ,CUPil - The Administration outlined to Congress Wednesday its proposed new farm program to increase growers' income but reduce the government's cost. Agricul lure Secretary Clifford M. Hardin offered the program in skeleton form and proposed to cooperate with Congress to "put meat on the bones." " Our purpose is to work toward farm programs that will increase farm incomes and reduce government cost," Hardin told the House Agriculture Committee. In a r adical departure from recent farm program proposals, he suggested a cooperative approach between the Administration, Congress and farm groups in drafting new farm legislation. He suggested in the broadest terms a new, flexible fa rm surplus control program effective in 1971 with price supports intended to help put U.S. crops on a competetive basis in world markets. Committee members from both parties applauded the new
Tombigbee ·.Par k Rood Bids Set The Mississippi Park System will open bids October · 13 in Jackson for construction on 1.48 miles of road leading to the Tombigbee State Park southeast of Tupelo. The work calls for grading, draining , base and double bituminous treatment. Copies of plans a nd specificaiions on the project are available at Cook, Coggin, Kelly and Cook in Tupelo .
MRS. HARRIS FEELS FORTUNA TE;
One
Of Few Women To Hear From POW Husband
BY NORMA FIELDS Journal Staff Writer "I have been real fortunate. I have heard from my husband." Thus Mrs. Louise Harris, whose Air Force fighter pilot husband was shot down over North Vietnam four and onehalf years ago, capsules some of her feelings after returning from Washington. There, last week, she was one of 300 women who sat in the .House gallery while Rep. (°Uliam L . Dickinson (R., Ala.) 1-rlt'roduced a concurrent resolution calling on the United States government, the United Nations and " the people of the world" to appeal to the North Vietnamese to abide by the terms of the Geneva Convention and to release all members of the U.S. armed forces now held a·s prisoners of war . The resolution also censures the North Vietnam government for not notifying American women of their husbanas' fate . Mrs. Harris, whose four-yearold son was born a short time after his father was reported "missing," is one of only 90 American women who have had news of their husbands . Approximately 1,350 U.S. Ser vicemen ar e · considered "potential prisoners of war " of ,vie North Vietnamese. Heretofore, wives of these
servicemen have been afraid to talk about the situation very much for fear of reprisals against their men, should they happen to still be alive. Now , though , there are so many of them who have waited silently and patiently for their government to act that they ar e understandably desperate. And the movement is growing. If you can term a woman alone, charged with the full responsibility of r aising three children, keeping up their hopes of someday seeing their father, "fortunate," then Louise Harris is fortunate. She knows Smitty is alive, and there is the scrapbook with his few letters to fill the four and a half year void. A native of Asheville, N.C., she decided to "wait " in Tupelo where her sister, Mrs . J anice Blake, already lived.
Her husband, a Marylander, was shot down in April, 1965. The following August Louise went through the day_'s mail and absently put aside a letter with an English postmark, no return address, and unfamiliar handwriting. "About• half an hour later, I happened ' to think of it and opened this letter ," she reminisces, "and there was a
letter from Smitty. He was in a North Vietnam prison camp. I don't know how the letter got out of ther e, nor who mailed it from England, but I'm very
grateful."
The interval bet ween his letters varies from six to ten months, "and , sometimes, there will be only a few weeks between them. Sometimes they come through pretty fast , too. One letter written on March 22 got her in May. Once, a letter came on Friday, the Thirteenth. Nobody will ever convince me that's an unl~cky day!" Being made of the kind of stuff that keeps her prepared for most eventualities , she made it to the meeting in Washington lest week on five hours' notice. "They called me at 10 o'clock last Tuesday morning, and I was on the plane at 3 that afternoon," she recalls. On Wednesday morning , Sept. 17, the 300 wives who had gathered on such short notice beld a press conference in Washington ..While it did not gather as many . hea dlines as did the worldwide simultaneous visit to Paris of fo ur other American women, Mrs . Harris feels the ·Washington meeting may have
helped some nonetheless. That afternoon Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird assured the wives "that President Nixon would not pull all our troops out of South Vietnam and leave the prisoners stranded high and dry in the north. " That same afternoon, Rep. Dickinson' s co ncurrent resolution passed with a record number of co-sponsors. " It was the first time Congress has taken notice of the situation," Louise says quietly.
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During the Washington meeting, three American servicemen recently released from No.rth Vietnamese prison camps talked with the women, able to tell a few some news of their husba nds, having to ·, disappoint many others.
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approach. Chairman W.R. Poage, D-Tex., said he understood '.'you've got to build the skele.ton before you put on the meat. " As soon as the committee is ready, Hardin said, "We're ready to put meat on these bones." Hardin's proposals,calculated to leave all possible openings for Administration-congressional agreement, mentioned no specific cost figures or support levels for a new wheat-feed grains-cotton program. . The current program expires at the end of 1970 crop season. Neither did the secretary make a recommendation for or against a possible limit on yearly payments to individual far mers, a proposal that is gaining support in Congress. But he did say his proposals were intended to be workable if Congress added a "reasonable kind of payment limit." Questioned by the committee, Hardin said his proposals probably would not produce immediate cuts in the cost of Continued On Page 27
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Louise Harris- a nd others who "only stand and wait"sometimes wonders if these Americans prisoners of war are "forgotten men." ·"Every once in a while, we think that something is surely going on ...that something is in the wind," she said, "but after fo ur and a half years you begin to lose hope. " The others, the ones who don 't know anything, they are the ones who really break your heart."
· office, and dealt with the use of "privileged . i~formation" . for personal gam m highway right· of-way tr ansactions. He said the Hi~hw~y Department was conductmg its own probe into t~~ repor!s but had taken_no pos1t1ve action so far . He said s~veral persons not connected with state govern-ment were named in the confidential reports submitted by the Bureau of Federal Roads. The investigation, he said, apparently stemmed from an anonymous letter that was sent to the federal agency. Earlier, a number of senators questioned Mrs . Muirhead 's method of bringing the matter up- pointing out the new highway program still had not gained fina l legislative approval. Sen . R. B. Reeves of McComb, chairman of the Senate Continued On Page 2 7
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Letters From Citizens
Will Help ·Prisoners
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The leaders of the North-Vietnamese have shown that they are sensitive to world and U.S. public opinion. Letters from the people of this nation to the government of North Vietnam may have great influence to win better treatment for U.S. prisoners. That ·government must be made aware that the overwhelming majority of American citizens, regardless of their individual beliefs about the war, ar e deeply concerned about the treatment of prisoners. . You are urged to write a letter asking, in the name of humanity, ·that -all injured prisoners be released as quickly as possible :::: - the names of all prisoners'be published - prisoners be allowed to exchange mail with their families ..,.
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facil\~:: rtial inspections be made immediately of prisoner :.~.r.·i: -prisoners receive proper diet and medical care :-:~ Letters should be brief and to the point. They should not be :-:· abusive. Airmail postage for a letter under one-half ounce is 25 cents. Address the envelope to: LETTER FROM DAD -Mrs. Louise Harris of Tupelo' Office of the President shows her 4-year-old son, Lyle, a letter from his dad, a Democratic Republic of Vietnam prisoner of war in North Vietnam. She consider s herself Hanoi, North Vietnam (via Hong Kong) "fortunate" for hearing from her husba nd. Most of the families of men believed to be prisoners do not know their fate. Staff Photo :.i:_i:_ =:_\ .j,
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