Beckley Post-Herald from Beckley, West Virginia • Page 4

BEC RLEY POST-HERALD Top 0' The Morning EDITORJALPAGE R.SIOCR1M General Manager E.J.HOOEL Editor LYELtB.CLAY Pvbtither JOHNF.MeGEE Prttidtnt Underwood Looks Best As Governor Four Monday Moraine, 12, It7t Crime Odds Less With Tough Law There is no better way to find out whether itrlct laws vigorously enforced can act as a deterrent to major crime than to put one on the books and try It out. Delaware has done just that regarding first degree robbery and the results show the word has gotten around. Last August, a new law went Into effect in Delaware re- i i a mandatory minimum prison term of three years without probation or parole for anyone convicted of first degree robbery. To complement the law, the state's department of justice adopted a policy providing that only the top three legal officers of the state could approve a reduction In a first degree robbery charge. THAT SEEMS TO SEAL effectively the escape hatch for anyone convicted of the crime.

What of the results? During the first three months of 1975 before the law became effective armed robberies averaged 40 a month. In January, 1976, there were 31 armed robberies in the state. In February there were 18; in March, 15; and in April, 12. Lesser robbery charges those not Involving weapons -have continued to increase. The logical conclusion is that mandatory sentencing does dramatically reduce Incidences of major crime, at least those in which premeditation is present.

The state attorney general's office is drafting legislative proposals to extend minimum sentencing to include all forms of robbery. HEW Needs Closer Watch An example of what bureaucracy too long entrenched without adequate direction can do is provided by one of the latest directives from the U.S. Office for Civil Rights, an agency of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. That office has Issued rulings to school administrators that public schools no longer may sponsor father-son or mother-daughter events because they violate new rules against sex discrimination. Prohibiting discrimination based on sex is a valid protoctien.

But when an anonymous bureaucracy put in charge of writing the rules for such protection carries Its zealousness to an extreme, the result can be a loss of rights for all. ACCORDING TO A memorandum to school officials sent by an official of the San Francisco regional Office for Civil Rights and cleared by officials in Washington "functions such as father-son or motherdaughler breakfasts would be subjecting students to separate treatment and would not be permilted." That decision also applies, added a spokesman for the Washington office, even if school facilities are offered for separate events for both sexes. Violating the rule, it was stressed, could lead to a cutoff of federal funds or court action by the Justice Department Only one event stopped this latest form of harassment of the schools from Washington to come to pass. The President read about the directives of his subordinates in the newspapers and countermanded the order. To prevent a recurrence, it might be a good idea to assign nl least one White House aide to keep a close watch on HEW.

It is less disturbing to counter the commands before they come down from the mountain. By GENE L. WOODRUM a i a political nominees are becoming restless. It's a i a political theatre got back on the road. Most of our readers probably noticed the picture of former Gov.

Cecil Underwood gracing the front page of Saturday's Post-Herald. And we. as have probably many of our readers, have thought for a moment how nice it would be to have him back In office a person who knows how lo work effectively with the slate Legislature. Although John D. Rockefeller IV is a very wealthy person, we doubt seriously that lie has the administrative and executive expertise of Underwood.

However, it is possible that if Rockefeller could do the job. its also possible that he would make a good governor. -0- Speaking for ourselves, we can't quite agree with Rockefeller gaining executive experience at our expense, nor can we view without some apprehension his willingness lo spend such huge sums of money just for a West Virginia governor's office. Nevertheless, we have talked i i a lot of a Underwood, and nearly everyone we have talked with still has a fond admiration for the former governor one whose record speaks well enough for itself. One can always tell when a camper Is a coal miner.

We met one recently. We knew he was a coal miner when he did not search around for firewood as we did. He had a small load of coal In the back of his pickup truck. a i a a Whitlngton o( Oak Hill. Along with us, Whllington was camped at McCreery i his two sons, teaching them the Ins and outs of camping and fishing.

We found that Air Force veteran a pleasure to talk wiih. He is one of the few people we have met who had a kind word for i mines Harry works at one of those mines. According lo Whitlngton, the mine where he works is very careful with the environment. He told us how dozers would push dirt back up against the high walls, 30 and 40 feet, until it was flush i the slope. Top soil would then be added lo the fillings and some type of vegetation planted in the lop soil.

-0- We can agree with a strip mine policy like that. Our question is. however, if one mine or a group of mines can do it. then why not all? in all fairness, perhaps all strip mines arc doing It now. We have noticed many more efforts a a a a a i stripped areas.

Whilinglon was a little disappointed because there are so few military facilities in this slate ns compared to many others es- 'pwlally In a slate that has so many retired veterans. i i is interested In a slate veteran's association of sorts, and perhaps more slate benefits. Also being an Air Force reliree, we agree with Whilington, but we believe Ihls is nothing more than a shortcoming of our congressional representation. It is certainly an Indication of their lack of influence In political circles. Kaytk Trip fxriiuif We had been anticipating a kayak trip down the New River for several weeks now.

We took that trip this past weekend from Hinlon to 1'rince and it was one of the most thrilling and exciting experiences of our life. Along with our two oldest sons, Lylc and John and a hitchhiker, Delberl Cales of Brooks we took that trip with our sports editor. Robert While. White look plenty of pictures. We assume he plans to write about it.

so we won't steal his thunder. We have been on major rivers throughout the world, and many In Ihese United Slates, but we have lo admit in all honcsly there Is not one which we Ihink is preltier or more enjoyable than our own New River. The majesty of (he gorge which towers above the river makes it a a i we, as West Virginians, should think carefully about preserving. Top of Ihe morning lo you. Andrtw Tutty-Carter Not Much Of A Hero, But He's All The Party Has NEW YORK Observing Ihe anlics of Ihe performers in the a i zoo known as a national political convention.

Ihe harried journalist must acknowledge lhal New York is a most suitable setting for the quadrennial road show. This is a special cily. unique. II Jack Anderton-Carter Causing Apprehension NEW YORK Beneath the surface harmony, as the Democrats assemble to nominate Jimmy Carter, run conflicting currents of apprehension and hope. The apprehension arises from both (he nature of the victory and the character of the man who won it.

i a Democratic party by bypassing, even opposing, its traditional a i His camp a i a directed by on old Annapolis classmate, a I horn-again church brother there, and a local maverick or an enthusiastic kid over yonder. It was an effort that began in 1972 in the middle of his lerm as governor of Georgia. He gathered his tight little circle of advisers around him to discuss their next conquest. With an audacity that was breathtaking, they set their sighls upon the White House. THEY PURSUED the presidency with a doggedness lhat sent Carter to Florida 63 times before he entered the Democratic primary there.

The strategy was lo score a series of rapid, early victories and let the momentum carry them on to the nomination. Carter confidantes tell us that they concentrated their total effort on Ihe first primaries, that they had no plans beyond Ihe Pennsylvania primary. Carler conquered by indirection. A four years of ingratiating himself with the public, he remains a frustrating!) 1 elusive i to a i i a a "Here we art at the Democratic convestioc. I think we are going to tare a lot of fn btre.

There is always ei- citeineat at a Democratic "Of come it don't look like there is aoy way to keep from Dominating this fellow, but that don't nuke any difference, tkere is always ioniilMn tkat will Mir op ai gamut at a Democratic coaxatm. eveo if they all June 34, ideologists alike who require the familiar pledges ofthe flesh and spirit which he resists giving in lull measure. When Carler waxes effusive, it is about the Holy Spirit, not (fie more traditional objects of Democratic veneration like economic planning. Ihe evisceration of oil companies and the redistribution of income. HE HAS embraced his party's predilections just enough to keep his primary opponents from putting him in a box.

The feeling persists that his heart isn't in it and lhat a winnowing of Democratic shibboleths is ahead. The Carter personality is also a cause of concern. He is aloof and inaccessible even lo those who are given access. He has also acquired a palace a before he has the palace. Even more disturbing to some, those who have his ear speak i accents not of ivy but of magnolia.

There is a disgruntlement. too. about a Carter mean streak beneath the surface amiability, a hardness beneath Ihe engaging sincerity, a political purpose behind the Billy a a Democralic professional, who has come to know Carler. told us, "He's tough as a warehouse rat." But there was a note of admiration in the old pro's voice. For despite the ambiguities and Ihe remoteness, Carter also offers Ihe Democrats a new hope.

They see in him an unexpected leader possessing polilical skills unseen since Ihe great architect of Democratic supremacy. Franklin D. Roosevelt, burst into American politics. INSTEAD of mean and elusive, Ihey see Carler as tough and prudent. They sec a tactician who outplanned, oulmaneuvered, outlegged.

and outlasted successive waves of opponents, a strategist who won his victories in a way that made possible the unifying of the party and the creation of an a a i i of i i significance. These hopefuls feel thai Carter, by his aliofness from Ihe old Democralic powers and panaceas, has given the party a needed facelift in Ihe nick of time. Had the Democrats been caught a traditional conservative vs. liberal contest, it is suggested, they figured to take a shellacking. But Ihe advent of Carter has blurred the party's vulnerability without surrendering its basic goals, has held together the old constituencies while ushering in new ones.

i a evangelical Christians groups which only yesterday were rather a a Humphrey and George McGovern -are altracted lo Carter. To many. Carter's campaign as a a Ihe Yesterday And Today-Jenny Wiley Story Holds Interest II By SHIRLEY DONNELLY In yesterday's column the story of the Indian captivity of Jenny Wiley was touched upon. The late Judge W. A.

Hiffe used lo tell me about talking lo Mrs. Amy i i a i a a daughter oi Jenny Wiley, one of the second family of the I i a a i Jenny Wiley's first family of children -three in all were massacred by the savages when they captured Mrs. Wiley. According to Judge Riffe, who knew her. Mrs.

Amy Smith was a tall woman with a large frame. She was long a resident of Raleigh County. Amy Smith lived to a great age, well-up in her 90s, dying about the year 1900. When Mrs. Smith visited in the home of George Riffe, the father of Judge W.

A. Riffe, she reciled a relatives had fought "in the big Shawnee battle," which was the Bailie of Point Pleasant, Ocl. 10, 1774. ONE TIME I went to the George memory of Martin Luther King and Carter's crushing but penile defeat of George Wallace in the constituted a political masterplay. They believe it has.

wilhoul sacrifice of parly principles, saved the South tor the Democralic party. THERE IS another aspiration, a i a i a Madison Square Garden. The nomination victory, won essentially without obligation to the old power centers and special interest groups, opens up a chance for Carter to become a truly national leader, a no-soyer to the predators and parasites, a spokesman for the unorganized and reticent. There is a dawning hope among the convening Democrats lhat Jimmy Carter, by Ihe direcl link to people he forged in 20 primaries, by his reoffirmation of submerged but potent values, by defeating without estranging his opponents, by burying the old rancors and recreating his party as a Iruly national instrument. Riffe home in Raleigh County near Sophia, a big log house, just to say I had been in the house where the near relative of a Point Pleasant battle veteran had visited.

Then, loo. about the closest connection I ever had with Jenny Wiley was an associate minister I had when I was pastor of Crab Orchard Baptist Church. He was the late Rev. Henry Smith (Oct. 1889-Aug.

22, 1972), who was the great-great grandson of Mrs. Jenny Wiley. SMITH used to tell me hs had often lit the clay pipe of "Old Granny Amy's," as he called her. Henry Smith owned a home at a a a moved Beckiey. He was a hulk of a man, so huge that you almost had to make him sit down so you could see all of him.

He was born al Glen White. Jenny Wiley married Richard Williamson in Floyd Counly, 1810. The father of Jenny was Thomas Wiley. In my library is a copy of the permit for Richard Williamson lo marry Jenny Wiley and signed by her falher, Thomaj Wiley. The license for the couple to marry was issued Ocl.

9, 1810 by William J. Mayo, clerk of Floyd Ky. River. That river flows on to Amigo where Devil's Fork empties into it. The Three Forks are In sight of the Byrd Prillerman School site.

On the mountain above the gulf, on Ihe northwest side, Abraham Smith settled near Amigo. Abraham Smith and Jenny Wiley. My Answer By BILLY GRAHAM I heard you say once lhat we should never think we are better than other people. Bui some people naturally have more abilities than others, don'l they? Aren'i therefore better than other people? Mrs. O.B.

It is true a people have i i a abilities. However, the Bible teaches thai these should never make us proud, since oil lhal we have and all that we are has been given to us by God. I Ihink Paul puts it into perspective: "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with Ihe measure of faith God has given you We have different gifls, according lo the grace given us" (Romans 12:3.6 New Int'l. Version). AMY SMITH, the great grandmother of Rev.

Henry Smith of Beckiey, married Abraham Smith of Ihe Tug River country. They moved to the Three Forks of Guyandolte River, then Wyo. A a 8 5 0 I selfish desires. Pride can At Rhodell, Tommys Creek --i The Bible leaches lhal we are to acknowledge our gills, and that these gifts arc lo be used for God's glory rather than for our own joins Stone Coal Creek. These two stream make up the Guyandolte insidious thing, and ultimately ii causes us to Irust our own abilities rolher than God.

the small society by Brickman WE'LL A MwJ OF is a chic, and steeetwlsc. It is more wicked lhan even Ihe Count de Sade could have wished Paris. It is both exciting and mean, offering a breathtaking cosmopolitanism a i i a i of materialistic beauly. It is vulgar, and boasts the best restaurants. But having made Ibis curtsy lo a really may be the big (own, the temptation is strong to call (town a plague on both Democralic a i a houses and demand a presidential electoral process be abandoned in favor of a coin loss at 10 paces.

A political convention may speak for the people, but Ihe voices it uses are coarse and churlish, and the time it wastes would be an indictable offense in a civilized land. A there, counters i i reasonable men who shake their heads over Ihe oafish and outlandish spectacle and yet suggest timidly that, after all. the process works. If il does, it is only because the nation has no choice, and musl submit to this lastelcss ordeal every four years to preserve some kind of continuity in ils governing system. Still, there is something new this lime around.

The Democrats must be confused by the knowledge their nominee has been settled upon, as a breed, the party has never cared for that kind of situation. Democrats like a good fight, as some hypochondriacs like a strong laxative: they feel it drives away the vapors. Here, however, there is no place at the table for a Machiavelli or a Borgia, no opportunity for the quick of the shiv. Ihe politically poisoned i The a a been a together not to choose but to confirm MORE SO than the country- club oriented Republicans, the Democrats have always sought a hero. There is no hero on the ballot, however: only Jimmy Carter, an outsider reluctantly accepted by the kingmakers.

Carter may have the makings of a hero, but he is not one today. He is merely all that is available. Most Democrats Ihink he can win in November, but the boys in Ihe backroom are annoyed because he got where he is without their help. Out at Ihe new, new Madfioh" Square Garden, third of its kind, one senses a danger lhat if the Democrats don't watch out they will nominate Carler with merely measured passion. The party needs him.

bul the chieftains of the power blocs find ii hard lo feel at home with a man who claims important connections in heaven and, indeed, seems on good terms with God. But the show i go on. ils lyrics uttered by the molasses drawl of the South, the hearty rumble of the Southwest, the nasal whine of the Northeast. After all, whatever Carter's faults, the fact is lhat the performance of his opponents in the primaries made Warren a i in retrospect seem inspiring. SO THE oralors already have a i a i of the i a a a platitudes and cliches, stored away since 1972, fill the air like a cloying smog.

By their tedious harangues, i i speakers will be seeking to juslily Iheir presence here lo the cornbread backwalers. the stylish len- nis players, the cowboys, and the ethnic neighborhoods that make up Iheir constituencies. Perhaps, as II. L. Mencken once suggested, a monarchy would be America's best bet.

There is something in the argument that a king, having been enthroned by the Almigmy is not required to abase himself before the mob and to dispatch emissaries lo labor leaders, corporation presidents, and howling minorities i pledges of giftwranped goodies Ihe morning alter Election Day. Kings, of course, are also palpable a a a boozers and lousy public speakers, but in Ihe past they were not easily ousted from the throne room. And national tranquility might be served ii the public was not required, every four years, lo undergo the ordeal oi a presidential nominaling convention..