Editorial Letters To he Editor
The State College located in Farmingdale has
an operating budget of six million dollars a year.
This figure does not include the dollars that
nearly ten thousand full time and evening students
might spend in the community. The college has
been here for so many years that most of us take
it for granted. Needless to say the local economy
is helped considerably by the presence of the
college.
The nearly 40 home development on Quaker
Meeting House Road on the former Hardwick
estate is becoming a reality. The first of the
$ 45,000 to $ 48,000 homes will be ready for
spring occupancy. The two models are already
up and look impressive especially in the wooded
setting overlooking the Bethpage golf courses.
It looks like an asset.
$$ Aid
Fifty- eight percent of this fiscal year's State Budget,
or $ 2,668,000,000, is going for aid to localities,
including support of local schools and colleges.
This State assistance total, representing increases
of $ 303 million, was a highlight of the
1967- 68 Budget Summary released this week by
Governor Rockefeller with the announcement that
the total budget as finally enacted, amounting to
$ 4,650,000,000, is balanced.
The total figure is $ 36 million less than the budget
submitted by the Governor last February 1, and,
he said, reflects a decline in yield from taxes based
on corporate profits due to the sluggish pace of the
national economy during the first half of 1967. It
also reflects a less- than- expected yield from the
newly instituted State lottery.
" However," the Governor said, " these decreases
in current revenues will be more than offset by increased
yield from the personal income tax and by
reduced expenditures for capital construction,
which will permit slightly less use of bonds overall
than was originally anticipatec^ last February."
Less than one- third of the total budget is required
for direct State operations and, in fact, the Governor
pointed out, " the cost of operating State agencies
is only slightly over 3 per cent of the personal income
of residents of the state— lower than the comparable
figure for 47 other states."
Ten per cent of the budget goes for capital construction,
and debt service continues at 1 per cent.
Sure Sign
One way you can tell that vacation time is at an
end is the resumption of many civic community and
organizational activities.
New publicity chairmen have begun calling about
how to get news into the newspaper. It's very simple.
All you have to do is spell out whatever you have
to say, following the simple pattern of Who? What?
When? and Where?
Of course, the press release, should be typewritten,
double- spaced preferred. The senders
name and phone number should be printed in the
upper left hand corner. That's all.
Published every Thursday by
THE OBSERVER, INC.
MYrtle 4- 0.567
Frank J . Klesh - Caroline B. Klesh
Editors and Publishers
Vol. 5 No. 3
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Page 4
Dear Editor:
It is interesting to observe how
Carl Gorton, an avowed member
of the John Birch Society,
conforms to the Societies
techniques of intimidation, misrepresentation
and guilt by association.
Mr. Gorton, in last week's letter
to the Observer stated that
he has studied the matter of the
Communitst conspiracy and this
serious problem threatens A-merica.
If this is true, then
what better place to expose this
" conspiracy" than right here in
the town of Farmingdale. What action
has Mr. Gorton taken to
halt this supposed insidious threat
in his own community?. . . none.
Where are they all Mr. Gorton?
I am sure our community would
welcome some substantiated proof
of this menace.
His next statement concerned
the fact that his life was spared
by God after an airplane crash
and how subsequent events in his
life have amazingly been
favorable to him. Is Carl Gorton
implying that because of his life
being spared by God that he is
now The Chosen One to lead
Farmingdale out of the darkness
and into the light?
Here's how the John Birchtac-tics
of insinuation and coercion
works as revealed by Mr. Gorton's
recent letter:
Mr. Gorton offered to supply
free copies of a book entitled
" None Dare Call It Treason"
if " you can't get them in
your public library." Does
this mean that this book might
be on loan or does this mean
that the library doesn't stock
the book?.. . clealy an attempt
to smear our library.
There is also mentioned in
his letter that restraint on
central authority is the best
safeguard against tyranny.
Yet as a trustee of the library
he uses his position
not with restraint but rather
to impose his authority on the
library staff by coercion and
intimidation.
Mr. Gorton states that " if
we can not control as basic
a unit as the Public Library,
how much less controllable
will be higher echelons of
government." Who is the
" we" that Mr. Gorton mentions
and who a re those who
want to " control the library".
May I suggest the
answer. . . . the extremist
group known as the John
Birch Society.
In his role as a poor man's
Elmer Gantry, Mr. Gorton
continues to refer to God's
helping him in his fight a-gainst
tyranny. If this is
a sincere statement on Mr.
Gorton's part, then he certainly
should respect the role
of his fellow man, in their
fight against tyranny, including
men of the cloth.
Why then did Mr. Gorton
visciously attack Pastor
Hoover with smear literature
in front of his church one
Sunday morning, when the
Pastor took a stand on
freedom to read? Why did
Mr. Gorton shout intimidating
remarks at the Ministers
meeting of a few months
ago, also devoted to the freedom
to read. After all, these
are men of God too, andtheir
views should certainly be r e spected.
In summation, Mr. Gorton urges
the reader to " search for truth".
In your search for truth, please
remember that the John Birch
technique is to divide and conquer
a community as they have
successfully done in Iowa, Missouri,
and California. This is the
time for our community to unite
in our fight against fear and
mistrust. Don't let this cancer
spread throughout Farmingdale,
for then we are all lost.
George Fain
118- B Louis Street
North Massapequa
Dear Sir:
A few months ago Carl Gorton
interpreted a vote which he approved
of as being an " act of
God." In view of last week's passage
of the library budget, which
Carl opposed with every fiber in
his body, might we assume that
God has reconsidered His endorsement?
Now that he has lost
the support of the people of Farmingdale
and the Almighty at one
stroke, poor Carl has no one to
turn to but the John Birch Society
in his crusade to save our
community from everyone but
himself.
As one of those who has consistently
opposed Carl and his
philosophy, I was personally a
little disappointed with the small
turn out at the polls. The total
number of voters was too small
to offer complete satisfaction to
those of us who worked so hard
for the victory. However, the fact
remains that Carl has lost the
initiative, and with his two trials
coming up in October, there is
reason to hope that he will have a
criminal record within the month.
Should that happen it will mean the
end of Carl's brief reign of terror.
Nevertheless, the enlightened
citizens of our community must
remain alert. It must be made
clear to all those who are not
already aware, that the John Birch
Society is behind the recent library
situation. Those who voted
against the library budget because
of economy or pornography have
been duped. The John Birch Society
has moved into Farming-dale,
and they will manufacture
any issue to win support. This
time it was pornography and the
library; their boorish bumper
sticker " Support your local degenerates
- Vote Yes on the
library budget" proves this. Next
time it will be our schools. It
could happen this way:
Carl, or one of his ladies
will run for the school board
next May.
They will snoop around until
they have found an issue on
which they feel the school
board is vulnerable.
They will spring this issue on
the voters at the last moment.
They will announce themselves
as the saviors of our
schools, and will call for the
election of their candidate
and the defeat of the school
budget to repudiate the
" country club set which runs
our schools."
Because of a small voter registration
and voter turn out,
the Birchers could be successful.
There is only way how the
citizens of our school district
could prevent this nightmare from
coming ture. We must make ourselves
aware of the goals and
techniques of the John Birch Society.
We must all expend at
least as much energy in protecting
our institutions as they will
spend in trying to destroy them.
Hillard Phillip Boss
114 Roy St.
North Massapequa
To the Editor:
After reading Carl Gorton's
ravings in the last issue of the
Observer, I can understand the
California State Senate's characterization
of the Birchers as a
bunch of " fringe lunatics". Am
I to believe it was the grace of
God that brought Gorton to our
community as he suggests, or
shall I rely on the California
State Senate? Was it God that
brought one of Gorton's cronies
to our Ministers Meeting where
he called one of our ministers
a " lousy degenerate" ? And who
shall I thank for that divine being
at Weldon E. Howitt who held up
a sign that said VOTE NO and
shouted out that she could
recognize Communists even
though they fixed their noses?
Gorton talks about an insidious
criminal conspiracy. That's a-bout
as close as he gets to fact,
but he's got his organizations
confused. Certainly he must be
referring to the John Bir h Society.
Don't they want us out of
NATO leaving Europe exposed to
Communist attack? Don't they
want us out of the United Nations,
where the loss of our veto would
leave the Soviet Union in control?
Don't the Birchers oppose our
foreign aid, just as the Russians
do? The Russians propagandize
our racial problems - the Birchers
would impeach Earl Warren because
of his anti- racist decisions.
The Soviet Union denies social
justice to its people. The Birchers
oppose civil right here.
The Soviet Union supports front
organizations to disseminate
propaganda. So do the Birchers.
In Russia, the Communist Party
is a monojithic, totalitarian
movement with no dissent permitted.
The structure of the Birch
Society is identical.
The Birch society is not a
secret organization. It is an out-and-
out Communist Front movement.
Charles Gerston
73 Third Ave.,
Farmingdale
Sargent Shriver's troops in
the War on Poverty seem to be
in retreat across the nation.
Revelations in city after city
of militant activities by em -
ployes of the Office of Economic
Opportunity have not done the
program any good and have
brought Congress to the point of
demanding that Shriver surrender
unconditionally his control
over this " war'* and hand over
operations to other government
departments better qualified to
administer the program.
The anti- poverty program has
in part had some notable successes
but its abuses have been better
publicized. An angry Congress
is questioning such incidents
as orders by The Office
of Economic Opportunity for
telescopic rifle sights, OEO financing
of trips to Washington
by protestors, the hiring of thugs
to lead the poverty war in Chicago,
the very real role of OEO
in Newark rioting, operation of
a " hate Whites" school in Tennessee
and other activities which
directly encourage defiance of
government. I think the time has
come to reexamine those portions
of the OEO program which
have proved unsuitable and to
beef up diose segments of the
Poverty War which n a v e shown
results.
The Poverty War should not
be made a victim of unhappy
headlines. We here on Long Island,
mrough excellent local programs,
have shown that the poor
can be helped. Common sense
and a spirit of dedication have
meant the difference between
success and failure.
In Congress, the Republican
side of the aisle offered a number
of suggestions in the Poverty
War which were ignored.
This year, our program for an
Opportunity Crusade is getting
a warmer reception. It may be
our efforts in the long run which
salvage riiose programs which
deserve to be salvaged and to
vastly improve the nationwide
approach. To a great extent,
better administration is die
answer.
And isn't this more productive
than the Shriver approach-promising
much, producing little
and denying responsibility tot
failure?
Farmingdale OBSERVER Thursday, September 7, 1967
