Albany Open Line
by Alex Rankin
Serving In The Armed Forces
On the day Robert F. Kennedy
died, Gov. RockfeHer he Id a press
conference in New York City to
express his grief. He made only
passing reference to gun control
legislatioa
He said the federal government
should do something about it.
He made no reference to his
own gun control legislation and
its fate during the 1968 session
of the State Legislature.
It died.
Without getting into the question
of whether or not there
should be gun control legislation
or whether it would do any good,
there is a lesson to be learned
for the voter in the details of the
death of Rockefeller's plans to license
guns.
A general conclusion from
these details might be that, more
than people suspect, the State
Legislature is government by
lobby rather than government
by the people.
The Legislature is generally
understaffed.
As has been noted before in
this column, there is a reason
for it. Without staffs of their
own, lawmakers lean heavily on
the only remaining source of
information - the administration.
As a result, the Legislature, except
in the most controversial
measures, becomes a rubber
stamp for the governor because
he is the source of the information
they need to make intelligent decisions.
Medicaid is the perfect example
of this. Even Rockefeller
has now admitted the facts and
figures his people provided legislators
were- to be charitable- not
accurate.
Before the session began in
January, Rockefeller announced
he would push for gun control
bill.
And almost before he could
finish talking, EarlW. Brydgesof
Niagara Falls, the Republican
leader of the Senate, said he was
against it.
That is unusual. Normal procedure
would have been for
Brydges to keep his opposition
to himself for a few months and
then trade it off for other legislation
which pleased him during
the annual bargaining period at
the end of every session.
In the Democratic- controlled
Assembly the bill actually
reached the floor. It was a largely
phony move, however. Instead
of calling for a vote, Speaker
Anthony J. Travia called for a
show of hands.
In this case, state government
was not so much government by
lobby as it was government by
tea party rules.
It might be a good way to find
out whether chocolate or vanilla
ice cream should be served at
the volunteer firemen's benefit
party, but it is hardly the way
for the state to deal with legislation.
At any rate, a sea of hands
went up, and without bothering to
count them, much less note if
some of the hands belonged to
any of the lobbyists or secretaries
who were on the floor at
the time, the gun bill was crossed
off the calendar and killed.
There is no vacuum in Albany.
And so, as in the Medicaid
example, the lawmakers listened
to the anti- gun control lobbyists
in the absence of any word from
voters.
One question remains unanswered.
Assuming the power of the
governor's rubber stamp machinery,
why didn't he fight for
his bill?
The answer probably is that
this is an election year, and
with the memory of Medicaid
still fresh, Rockefeller decided
not to push Brydges too hard.
THE WASHINGTON
| * | m T A I M By- Congressman
I f A I V t l John W. Wydler
I'm sick of those public figures
that keep referring to our people
as a " sick society". It is
a gross distortion and it is an
expression of meaningless defeatism
that will hinder continued
progress in our nation.
There are, to be sure, a few
sick people in our land. A
small number, but a group which
is depicted and exposed continuously.
The average clean-living,
hard- working American
is publicly ignored, as a news
item, except to be blamed by
some panelist or commentator
for the excesses of the sick.
It is a " sick" performance.
There are surely signs that
permissiveness has not worked
as a deterrent to crime. The
crime rate is going up fast.
The fact is that most crimes are
committed by past violators and
all the talk about social change
and rehabilitation, while interesting,
has proven an inadequate
means of protecting society.
1 believe that swift, sure justice
will deter crime and the criminal
and do it in time to protect
our homes and lives. Even in
the sub- world of crime, the word
gets around when crime does not
pay. Punishment is inflicted by
society not as a form of retribution
or revenge, but as a
means of protection and no
government official should hesitate
to employ its use.
It is quite clear that our cur-rent
methods for crime control
are inadequate. In addition,
we have put our law enforce-
W
ment agencies in a position of
often excusing themselves for
attempting to maintain law and
order.
It is time for a change from
theory to reality. It is time
to get the advice of experts
on law enforcement on what can
be done and what is needed to
turn the tide of crime in A-merica.
I call for a Presidential Commission
of Experts on Law Enforcement.
This time, the Commission
should be composed of
the law enforcement officers of
our Nation. The political figures,
jurists, elected officials and
social scientists have been heard
from and their suggestions made
known.
J. Edgar Hoover should be the
chairman of the new Commission
and representative police chiefs
from the 50 States and localities
should make up the membership
of the " Hoover Crime Commission."
The men we have charged with
the control of crime should be
heard from now. The Hoover
Crime Commission could do for
crime control what the " Hoover
Commissions" of the past,
chaired- by the late Herbert Hoover,
have done to streamline
our Federal government and save
the taxpayer millions of dollars.
The appeasement of criminals
and rioters is the type of domestic
Munich that will lead to a
domestic " World War" in the
streets of our land.
Captain Robert E. Gallo, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Gallo
of 65 Nelson St., Farmingdale,
recently took part in a successful
ground support mission over
Vietnam.
Captain Gallo and fellow F- 100
Super Sabre pilots hit enemy
troops moving across an open
field, eight miles west of Tuy
Hoa, at the direction of a South
Vietnamese forward air controller.
The captain, a 1959 graduate
of W. E. Howitt High School, r e ceived
a B. S. degree in aeronautics
from Parks College of
St. Louis University, East St.
Louis, Illinois, and was commissioned
there in 1962 upon completion
of the Air Force Reserve
Officers Training Corps program.
His wife, Francis, is the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Oes-chlager
of 7 Fourth St., Farmingdale.
* * *
Navy Ensign John D. Brown,
22, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert
M. Brown of 22 Cedar Lane,
Massapequa, was among the 376
new officers of an Officer Candidate
School Class who graduated
recently at Newport, Rhode
Island.
Seaman ADDrentice Kenneth W.
Davies, USNR, 19, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Edward L. Davies of 541
Seaford Ave., Massapequa has
completed his two weeks of annual
active duty for training at
the Naval Training Center, Great
Lakes, Illinois and has returned
to his local Naval Reserve unit.
* * *
Marine Lance Corporal Lawrence
T. Cosma, 21, son of Mr.
and Mrs. Charles Cosma of 467
Grand Blvd., Massapequa Park,
and husband of Mrs. Donna R »
Cosma of 255 N. Elm St., N.
Massapequa, is serving with
Headquarters Battalion, First
Marine Division in Vietnam.
* » m
Marine Private James W.
Readey, 18, son of Mr. and Mrs.
John F. Readey of 558 Rockne
Ave., Massapequa Park, is going
through recruit training at the
Marine Corps Recruit Depot at
Parrls Island, South Carolina.
* * *
Seaman Apprentice Robin T.
Seneschal, USCG, 18, son of Mr.
and Mrs. William J. Seneschal
of 89 Algonquin Ave., Massapequa
was graduated from basic
training at the Coast Guard Recruit
Training Center, Cape May,
New Jersey.
* * *
Airman John DiDonato, son
of Mr. and Mrs. JohnT. DiDonato
of 85 Hamilton Ave., Massapequa,
has completed basic training at
Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
He is now assigned as a computer
operator with a unit of the
Air Force Communications Service
at Accounting and Finance
Center, Denver. Airman DiDonato,
a 1966 graduate of Plainedge
High School, attended Nassau
Community College.
* * *
Second Lieutenant Edward Y.
Maher, a 1968 graduate of Rutgers
University in New Brunswick,
New Jersey received his
Army Reserve Commission
through the Reserve Officers'
Training Corps at the school.
As an ROTC cadet, Lt. Maher,
21, son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard
T. Maher, 358 Broadway, Massapequa
Park, was trained in
various subjects which provided
him with the skills necessary
to command.
The lieutenant is a member
of Delta Upsilon fraternity.
He is a 1964 graduate of Alfred
G. Berner High School Massapequa.
Richard B. Curtin, 21 son of
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph B. Curtin,
12 Wall St., Farmingdale, was
commissioned a Second Lieutenant
and named a distinguished
military graduate of the Army's
Reserve Officer's Training
Corps at Rutgers University, New
Brunswick, New Jersey.
The lieutenant, a 1964graduate'
of Farmingdale High School r e ceived
a B. A. degree from Rutgers
University and is a member
of the Delta Upsilon fraternity.
District 22 First To Endorse Equal
Opportunity In Education
The District 22 Board of Education
became the first school
board on Long Island to endorse
publicly a position paper before
the Nas sau - Suffolk School Boards
Association to assure full and
equal educational opportunity to
all children. A motion was passed
at Monday night's Board meeting
by a six to one vote. Trustee
Leroy Mollineaux voting in the
negative. Mollineaux said that
such a motion was not necessary
since the Constitution covered
the matter.
The position paper, which was
presented by Trustee A. Terry
Weathers and was authored by
Plainedge Board of Education
member, Robert Mackreth, urged
boards to do things, not directed
them.
The paper proposed the creation
of an Educational Opportunity
Committee within the Nassau-
Suffolk School Boards Association.
The recommendation recognizes
the importance of preserving
current district lines
and the concept of the neighborhood
school but says, " We
believe that the obligations of
educational and civic leadership
require a readiness to examine
present organizational structures
to determine whether modifications
in attendance areas,
district boundaries or transportation
policies can be made, without
sacrifice to essential education
benefits, in the interest of
further promoting school integration".
The position paper also included
the paragraph:
" The opportunity for children
to attend integrated schools bears
a direct relationship to community
and neighborhood housing
patterns. We support the principle
of open housing and, because
practice does not always
automatically or immediately
follow the passage of legislation,
we urge that public officials
and community leaders
take such local action as may
be necessary to assure full access
to housing for families that
may wish and are able to buy
or rent homes in communities
of Nassau and Suffolk counties."
The plan also suggested " imaginative
steps can and should be
taken to provide children with
opportunities for communication
and association with other children
and adults of diverse racial
background." The paper suggested
exchange programs, visitations
etc. to stimulate better
understanding among racial
groups.
The paper also stressed active
recruitment by school districts
( Continued on Page 8)
Police Recover Stolen Car,
Stripped By Thieves
The reported stolen 1966 Chevrolet
of Kenneth Kalikow of 427
Bleeker Drive, North Massapequa
was recovered by police at
Seaman Neck Road near Southern
State Parkway.
The car was stripped of the
engine, transmission, radiator
and two front wheels.
Police are investigating the
theft.
Capitol Report
By Repjames Grover
Historian Arthur Schlesinger,
writing on the murder of Sen.
Kennedy, asked the question:
" What sort of people are we?"
And then he answered the question
by calling Americans " the
most frightening people on the
planet."
Are Americans as bad as he
says? Do we all share a collective
guilt for the assassination?
Are we all responsible also for
the killing of John Kennedy, Dr.
Martin Luther King or Malcolm
X? I think not. I think those who
would indict a whole people are
wrong. I think the Liberal Left
and the leftist liberals who talk
about collective guilt and collective
evil might well look to their
own guilt in connection with our
violent society. What a dismal
picture is presented, for example,
by a county executive who
is seeking to be a UJS. Senator,
and who goes up and down New
York State calling this nation
sick, sick, sick.
We have experienced periods of
stress and distress ever since
this nation was born. Periods
of violence, both internal and external,
dot the pages of American
history, but we have always come
through.
Sen. Kennedy was killed by an
alien, a fanatic whose act reflects
no more on all of American
society than it does on all
of the residents of his native
land. It is not our entire society
which should be indicted for the
violence which has rocked this
Farmingdale 03SERVER Thursday, June 20, 1968
nation during the past decade but
rather the permissiveness which
has been encouraged and created
by out top leadership.
Let us point the finger at
some of the principles which have
been laid down by both the White
House, the various federal departments,
and many members
of Congress. When men are told
that if they disagree with the law
they have the right to ignore it,
this breeds lawlessness and violence.
When men are told that,
if they have suffered injustice,
they have the right to inflict
injustice on others, this breeds
lawlessness and violence. When
men are told that this country will
be changed by revolution, this
breeds lawlessness and violence.
I attended the Senator's funeral,
having been invited to do so.
Perhaps one of the most disturbing
parts of that terrible day,
to me at least, was the sight of
a great many men mourning an act
of violence after having spent
years in urging civil disobedience,
demonstrations and
general disregard for the law.
Their mourning came a little
late.
Our society is far from perfect
and it will change. But it
need suffer under no collective
cloud of guilt. Some of its
leaders ought to do some changing
and some of them ought to
be feeling considerable guilt.
When you advocate the breaking
of the law, can you be sure that
the violence which may result
will not be turned against you?
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