The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 16

2-B THE NA HVJL IE ENNES5EA N. nda ly 3 1966 1 WASHINGTON REPORT, Ji 0 1 out sum rSSi Bj Hitehr- Pace Slows In Congress it i inic ELLINGTON PARK I VIS I I 14Z i REAL ESTATE DEVELOPEHEIIT CORP. mm MffttKif 1 Staff photo by Frank Ritter Sign point to "Ellington Park Subdivision," on land formerly owned by Ellington and Brothers, on U.S. 431. In background is dangerous intersection of Highway 431 and interstate feeder road.

Ellington Profits on Land Deals -Bissell in THE NASHVILLE TENNESSEAN, June J8, 1966. Chandler Battles The Leapfroggers MEMPHIS' Walter Chandler'i endorsement of John J. Hooker's candidacy for governor of Tennessee "to help you get rid of 14 years of machine control" adds not only statewide prestige but national attention to Hooker's fight against "leapfrog" government in the state. meant when he said construction had already been launched when he bought his land in Williamson County. It is true that a contract was let on the interstate in the summer of 1961 prior to the Ellington-Brothers purchase of the 79-acre tract from H.

P. Minton. But this was nearly two years after Ellington and Brothers had bought the 278-acre farm from J. L. Read.

And it was nearly a year after the state highway department had been successful in altering the interstate plans to place a cloverleaf at Goose Creek Road. the record breaking pat-f the first session "the asiJJI attitude in Congress hasbcan that this has been a tirwao digest and see how the legislation is working and changes are indicated." The second reason foe tt deliberative nature of this sion, is that "the Viet situation has clouded the jt-ture so that there is a genoral reluctance to move very fjst so far as new legisIatioiL.ji concerned." "People are concerned aJt the cost of the Viet Nar-ji-tuation and are rather rgrnj--tant to bring forward -And fund any major new.ye-grams," Anderson said. Fulton said that "due ti-tfae tremendous amount of legislation passed in 1965 the committee work has "betn making necessary improvements. Viet Nam Concern I "Members of Congresslhave been Increasingly concerned with our involvement inVht Nam, particularly with tb 2n-rest in South Viet Nam," he said. "I'm confident that after July 4 recess the House wfll immediately consider impoi-tant pending bills and complete the appropriations Fulton, a member of the "Wax and Means committee, said.

Congressman Evins said th second session has kept a sharp eye on the 86 major bills enacted by the first session, studying implementation o( the new programs authorized in the bills, and generalry'de-termining which national needs have been met and which demand attention. "Another factor, of course, has been the shadow of the Viet Nam conflict," Evins said. "The needs of the effort in Viet Nam are constantly being weighed against domestio needs and there is a continuing effort to finance only essential domestic programs while sustaining the military buildup for our troops and forces in Viet Nam." "The coming weeks and months will show whether Congress will step up its more deliberate pace and enact legislation now in the mill." Little To Say Seventh District Congressman Tom Murray, who.islvl and has been in Congress since 1943 had very llttlsTtp say on the subject. Murray, who has but one office employe, and is he found in his office and 'hl-niost never on the floor of th'e House, said the reason little legislation has been passed this session is because House leaders have not proposed new legislation. "Why, it hasn't come from the Democratic leadership," he said.

When asked about committee work, Murray replied, vaguely, "Oh, about the normal amount." He then suggested questions be directed to House and Senate Democratic majority WA I The second session of the 89th Congress has devoted most of its time and energy evaluating the mass of history making legislation passed by the Johnson landslide majority in the first session last year. In the opinion of Middle Tennessee congressmen, the concern over the war effort in Viet Nam and the amount of tax money being spent there has contributed to the slower pace and the closer congressional scrutiny of federal programs. Fourth District Congressman Joe L. Kvins has called the second session a "Consolidation Congress" following the "Do Everything Congress" of the first session. Evins "Do Everything" title was an obvious reference to the caustic remark made by then President Harry S.

Truman who called the Republican dominated 80th Conjrrcss of 1947-49 the "Do Nothing Congress." 86 Major Bills And the first session of the Sflth Congress did do a little bit. of everything. They passed 86 major hills, some of them hurriedly at the urging of President Johnson. Still, the second session, pec I a I ly the House, has passed some important legislative programs such as the cold war Gl Bill of Rights. Fifth District Congressman Richard Fulton noted that "this session has not been es dramatic as the first but it has been most productive." He takes special pride in the Daylight Savings Time bill he co-sponsored and supported which passed earlier this year.

Besides the GI bill and the tax program to accelerate withholdl ng, which have passed both houses and been signed into law, the House has passed the Higher Education bill, Hospital Modernization bill, the Foreign Aid authorization, Repeal of 14b, the Minimum Wage bill and unemployment compensation. As Congressman William R. Anderson of the Sixth District notes, for the first time in 10 years, the House has recorded more roll calls votes than the Senate. Sees Acceleration After the 10-day fourth of July recess, "I expect activity in Congress will pick up considerably," Anderson said. The House has passed a "continuing resolution" to authorize federal programs tn continue at their present level but virtually all the authorization bills have to be considered before adjournment, which House leaders hope will be sometime around the first of September.

Anderson agrees that after (Continued from 1-B) sure to have the cloverleaf location changed, Cantrell replied: "Not to my knowledge." When informed by a newsman last week that the newspaper was interested in land he purchased in Williamson County, Ellington asked "Do you want to buy tome of it?" Asked if he knew the interstate was being routed through the eastern half of Williamson County at the time he bought the land, Ellington replied: "It just so happens that the road (1-65) was already under construction. The bids had already been let. I knew you had been digging around and I've been ready for you. "You just go ahead and pop your whip and then I'll pop mine." Ellington repeated several times during the telephone conversation that "I'm ready to pop so you go ahead and pop when you're ready." When asked if he exerted any pressure as governor to have changes made in the interstate system which would economically benefit him, Ellington replied: "No pressure was put on anyone although you're going to say there was." Ellington declined to make clear what he Paving Began in March of According to G. R.

Champion, construction engineer for the state highway department, actual paving on the strip of interstate near Ellington's property did not begin until March of 1964. It was finished, Champion said, in November of 1964. Repeated efforts to reach Brothers last week were unsuccessful. A call to his office was not returned. On Thursday, it was learned that Brothers was in Florida.

At that time, his son, Russell Brothers said he did not know how to reach his father by telephone. On Friday, Russell Brothers Jr. said his father "does not want to be disturbed." To fully understand what took place in connection with the interstate, it is necessary to go back to 1955 when state highway officials succeeded in moving the interstate route east of its original location. At that time, the original route for 1-65 had the road running to the west of Franklin, according to records in the local office of the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads.

i i ii h.i BEAT" vention he served on the home mle committee, the committee on elections and committee on amending. Broke With Crump He has been a lifelong Democrat. He broke with the E. H. Crump organization in Memphis in 1948 to support President Harry 8.

Truman when the Crump organization supported the He has ever been at the beck and call of his party, and has left an Indelible mark on the history of Tennessee politics and government. Ha received the award of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation in 1964, largely in recognition of his leadership in the famed Bakar vt Carr reapportionment case that modernized the legislatures of all the states in the nation. There can be no greater tribute to John J. Hooker's crusade for freedom of government in Tennessee than Chandler's whole-hearted indorsement. State Senator Ward Crutch-field'a indorsement from over Chattanooga way Is another testimonial to Hooker's fight for Independence of the state legislature and the freedom of the people from boss dictatorship In the leapfrog government of the Clement-Ellington machine.

Crutchfleld was one of the stalwart independents who fought to break the governor's hold on the legislature In its last session. He hopes to carry on that fight under Hooker as governor. Former-Gov. Gordon Browning, who teamed with the late Son. Estes Kefauver, to break the old Crump machine hold on the state, is already devoting his effort to the Hooker campaign, along with many of the others who have fought to keep the state government in the hands of the people Epithets Hurt Council Image Chandler, one of few surviv ing "Grand Old Men" of law, politics and government in the state, stands as a monument to democracy in government, both statewide and nationally.

Chandler was the chief of council In the Mate's Baker vs. Carr reapportionment case which has led to the reapportionment of more than 40 of the nation's 50 state legislatures. Debt of Gratitude Nashville and Davidson county owes Chandler a debt of gratitude because it was Chandler's amendment to the state's constitution that provided for the consolidation of city and county government, and for consolidation of agencies between the cities and counties. The Chandler amendment. In the 1953 constitutional convention, led to Nashville's METRO decision, and has mads possible other consolidations of duplicating governmental functions in other areas.

It will eventually lead to still further modernization of city and county governments. Pledging his support of Hooker the past week, Chandler said "I'll do anything I can to help you get rid of 14 years of machine control in state government. I agrea with you that it's time for a change." Chandler, a native of Jackson, Madison county, has left his mark on state and national government for BO years. In the twilight of his career, he is seeking to leave Tennessee in the hands of the people and not the machine. He will be 79 years of age in October.

Chandler started Ills career In government in 1917 when he was elected to the legislature from Shelby county. He left the legislature to serve, his country in World War serving with distinction as a captain of artillery with the famous 114th Field Artillery, a Tennessee unit. Ha was elected to the state senate In 1921 and again in 1923. He served at city attorney of Memphis, from 1928-1934, and was elected to the U.S. Congress to lerve from 1935-41.

Ha resigned from Congress in 1941 to become mayor of Memphis, where ha served for six years before retiring to practice law with on of Memphis's best known law firms. He was elected to the 1953 constitutional convention, and was the temporary president of the convention, and later the chairman of the committee of the whole. In that con 1EML FE fin, BEAT cm -W Bs Ntll'u Kmijiti Summer School Can Be Deducted State Officials Moved Route State officials successfully petitioned the bureau in 1955, however, to move the interstate route east of Franklin to its present location to provide "a better approach to Nashville." In 1957, documents prepared by the state highway department in cooperation with the bureau of public roads showed an interchange scheduled for 1-65 and U.S. 431. Going south on 1-65, the first cloverleaf is at Brentwood.

The second is at Franklin. The cloverleaf scheduled for 1-65 and U.S. 431 was nearly seven miles from the Franklin interchange. In 1960, however, the state highway department petitioned the bureau to permit a change in the cloverleaf plans locating the interchange at Goose Creek Road, less than four miles from the Franklin cloverleaf. John C.

Cobb, division engineer for the bureau of public roads, at first declined to let a reporter for THE NASHVILLE TENNESSEAN see the records involving the cloverleaf change. Federal regulations, Cobb said, forbid him from allowing anyone to look at the public records unless the observer can supply the "correspondence" or "file number." After a call was placed to the regional office of the Bureau of Public Roads in Atlanta, Cobb'a superiors, a reporter was allowed to look at the records. However, both Cobb and his superior in Atlanta, Harry E. Stark, declined to permit photographs to be taken of the maps and documents involving the interstate. The records are on file, though, at the bureau's offices at 226 Capitol Boulevard.

Since Ellington bought Brothers' interest in the farm and then sold it to Tower Real Estate Development plans have been made to put a residential subdivision on the property. The land is about half an hour's drive from Nashville. METROPOLITAN Council did little last week to enhance its public image and the city legislators have no one to blame for it except themselves. Meeting Thursday night to pass the Metro budget for 1966-67. the council was shocked when finance director Joa E.

Torrence threatened tn break the neck of Judge Andrew J. Doyle. This occurred on the council floor during a recess on debate about whether Doyle's annual salary should be cut by $2,500. Torrence doubled up his fists and rushed at Doyle, shouting: "Don't call ma a liar, Judge! I'll break your neck." Torrence was restrained by Sergeant-at-arms Tom Phelps and other, cooler heads before he could lay hands on Doyle, who made no move either toward or away from the finance director. Jucfge Was Upset The council voted narrowly to cut Doyle's salary, and the judge was understandably upset about this.

But he was even more upset about the fact that no one had informed him before last week that the salary cut was being contemplated. The cut was included in the city's $96.2 million budget for the 1966-67 fiscal year. And. apparently, nobody involved in making the salary reduction told Doyls about it. Doyle did receive a letter from Torrence some time ago which said the finance director was asking for a legal opinion on whether or not the reduction could be made.

Torrence acknowledged Thursday night that ha never got tha legal opinion but ha made tha salary cut anyway. Doyle who has been a city Judge for nearly two decades first learned of the salary cut about six hours before council met An Informant, Doyle said, told him that "they're out to cut your salary without your knowing about It" Wilson Didn't Know And even Tandy Wilson III, who Is chairman of council's budget and finance committee, didn't know about the salary reduction until 4 m. Thursday, only three and a half hours before council met. At an afternoon meeting with Torrence, Wilson said ha was informed that "something might come up" about the change in Doyle's pay. Wilson said ha had not heard of the matter before that.

Torrence told the council during debate about the issue, that he questioned whether he had legal authority to authorize payment of the $2,500 annually to Doyle. Of course, the money had been paid to Doyle since 1959 and nobody had questioned it before. Still, it is nice to know that Torrence is Interested in keeping everything legal. He has not always shown such interest Severance Pay For example, there was the time last year when Torrence fired Norman A. Thomas from his job as head of Metro's data processing department At that time, Torrence gave Thomas $3,500 in "severance pay." Tha finance director acknowledged tha payment was "unusual," but said ha thought tha payment was justified.

Torrence was criticized In the council for making the payment And there were questions about where Torrence got the authority to make such a payment. Said Councilman Glenn Ferguson at the time: "This is a startling precedent. It isn't fair to give the taxpayers money away like this. What would happen if every employe fired from the local government were paid auch a large sum?" Questions were asked about Torrence's action, but nothing ever came of it. Thursday night, the finance director demonstrated vividly why It Isn't wise to question him too closely-Several councilmen recalled that Torrence had often exploded In anger when questioned about his actions in connection with preparation of the budget But this was the first time they had seen him threaten to break anyone's neck because of a dispute about the document Some where during tha furor Thursday night Councilman Frank Griffin told the council that it could "do anything it wants to" as far as law-making is concerned.

"We don't realize what power we have," Griffin added. The councilman is right The council is a powerful legislative body. But as long as it allows an appointed, administrative official to make decisions which should be entrusted to elected officials, the council will he a good deal weaker than It ought to he. through the many years of "bossism." Two mors former mayors, both well known in the state, have given their support to Hooker's campaign. They are P.

R. Olgiatl, former mayor of Chattanooga, and William Far-ris, former mayor of Memphis. Hooker's campaign is basically a campaign of youth, vigor, of new and fresh faces, looking to the future and progress of th state as compared with the regressive, do-nothing, machine-controlled backward march to the 19th century. It has the support of those old leaders who made the fight for freedom through the many years. mmmmmmmm.

TEACHERS may deduct summer school expenses on income tax returns, says James A. O'Hara, district director of Internal Revenue for Tennessee. 'Generally, if the course or courses are taken to maintain or improve the skills required to perform their duties, or to meet express requirements of the employer to retain current salary, status or employment, then the expenses are deductible, O'Hara explained. Included In the educational expenses are amounts spent for tuition, books, supplies, laboratory fees and certain travel and transportation costs. The expenses, however, are not deductible, explained O'Hara, if the education or training is undertaken to obtain a new position, or a substantial advancement in the present position, or tn fulfill general educational personal aspirations.

Travel, he laid, as a form of education is usually considered personal in nature and the expenditures are not deductible. This is something the teachers will be thinking about especially those in Metropolitan Nashville where certain reg-ulaUons have been issued about educational training requirements for teachers. O'Hara says that additional information may be obtained from any of the local IRS offices concerning deductible expense items. Toastmcsters The Nashville Federal Toast-masters Club is planning a big meeting for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday when A.

W. Stil-well, Nashville, director of Toast masters International, will install the club's new officers for the ensuing term. Meeting in bimonthly session In the Imperial room at James Robertson hotel, the new offi cers to he Installed are Percy B. Nelson, president, a employe at the Nashville' Post Office; Lloyd F. Ledbettr, IRS, educational vice president; Tom T.

Morgan, IRS, administrative vice president; Charles Renier, IRS, secretary; Obie L. Masingale, agriculture, treasurer; and Ray T. Kandy, post office, sergeant at arms; Out going officers are Ralph Lambert, president; Ernest F. Lowery, educational vice president; Clive White, administrative vice president; Sam Beals, treasurer, and Tm Finch, sergeant at arms. Pay Raises What about the federal- amy raise bill? That is the question most frequently asked by federal employes in Nashville.

The latest news is that Mike Mansfield, senate majority leader, has announced that 'the Senate will act on the bill, the week Congress returns "'to Washington from its extended July 4th vacation. Congress returns following the vacation on July 11. Mansfield says that therpay boost bill will be acted-. later in the week of July-H. The bill provides for a July effective date.

Reports from Waehington are that this'wM be retained. Larger Benefits Congress has also passed and sent to the White House a bill providing liberalize injury benefits for disabled federal workers injured on.th job and for survivors of "employes killed on the job. The bill extends benefits paid to children of disabled employes from 18 years to 23 years, or during four years college. It removes the S525 a month limitation on compensation, and proving pigment tipto 75 per cent of the top level of grade 15, raising benefit celling from about SB.OOO 'a year to more than 116,000. Ellington Park Subdivision Signs are up near the tract, proclaiming that the farm property is now known as "Ellington Tark Subdivision." Several of the tract's lots already have been sold and others are up for sale.

Because of a shortage of water, however, development of the subdivision is proceeding at a slower pace than expected, according to lawyer Claude Callicott, secretary of the Williamson County Planning Commission. The property purchased by the oil companies is not yet under development. Sources in the industry said erection of the stations probably will not begin until the completion of the interstate nears. According to maps made public by the state highway department in February, the interstate is still to be completed between state Highway 99 in Maury County and Frankewing in Giles County. Walter Chandler and John J.

Hooker Jr. Memphis attorney agreed it's time for a change A page devoted to the impressions of reporters whose business is the affairs oi government..