The Tribune from Coshocton, Ohio • 4

4 The Coshocton Tribvao Sunday, March 28, 1981 uf ering From Morale Problems Merry Go Round By Jack Anderson WASHINGTON At night, an eerie stillness steals over FBI headquarters, broken now and again by lone footsteps. There are those who swear they have heard the angry snorts of J. Edgar Hoover in the empty corridors. Even those who won't believe in ghosts admit that the late FBI director must be fuming over what has happened to his beloved FBI. He was a master bureaucrat who curried the favor and played on the fears of the nation's elected leaders.

He had them believing that he knew just how much evil lurked in the hearts of the politically prominent. Thev became a national symbol of the crusade against public enemies. The glory rubbed off on FBI agents when Hoover kept on a tight leash. He rigidly controlled what they did, where they went and even how they looked. With Hoover gone except for his ghostly influence, the rigid rules have been relaxed and some of the old standards have been discarded.

Yet the new FBI, with sideburns and patterned shirts that were once prohibted, is plagued with low morale. The Senate is preparing to investigate the ABSCAM excesses a caper that Hoover would never have permitted his agents to get dragged Into. The ex-judge who now heads the FBI, William Webster, is also more moderate in his ways and broader in his outlook than Hoover ever was. Yet Webster is losing his hold on the agents who once trembled before Hoover's scowl. J.

Edgar arbitrarily transferred agents or banished them to Butte, without an audible murmur of resistance. But today hundreds of G-men are grousing over Webster's personnel policies. They don't like the way he shuffles them whimsically among the bureau's 60 field offices across the country, stirring charges that the transfers are capricious and counterproductive. "There seems to be a real concern over the bureau's apparent lack of sensitivity to its personnel," said a circular distributed recently to members of the FBI Agents Association. "This has engendered a widespread perception amongst agents that decision makers don't feel much compassion for their fellow agents." What has fhe agents steaming is Directtr Webster's plan to transfer about 300 of them within the next year from regional offices which they thought were their permanent assignments.

They've put were fearful that their darkest deeds were on file alike in St. Peter's celestial books and J. Edgar Hoover's musty cabinets. No wonder he became the most powerful and feared bureaucrat in the history of the republic. Yet the crafty old curmudgeon never permitted his minions to conduct any serious criminal investigations on Capitol Hill unless the at- torney general ordered it and Webster Into reconsidering his new policy, or at least negotiating with representatives of the disgruntled group.

Basically, the agents feel they're being made to suffer for the bureau's own administrative blunders. By longstanding tradition, they claim, rookie FBI agents are sent to their first assignment for seasoning. This relatively brief interlude is followed by an assignment that is regarded as a permanent move. So they settle down buy homes, raise families. "Many agents believe that the new policy is an attempted quick fix of a longstanding bureau problem," said one employee circular.

In addition to the personal hardship involved in the contemplated transfers, the affected agents point out that the plan will cost the FBI millions of dollars in moving expenses. And one insider complained that some of the transfers made no sense at all. Most of them, the source said, involve shuttling junior agents from one small office to another. For example, agents have been transferred from Kansas City to Buffalo and replaced with agents from Buffalo. down roots there, both personally and professionally, and fear that the transfers will wreak havoc with their family lives and their careers.

According to several internal FBI memos examined by my associate Indy Badhwar, the new rotation policy springs from Webster's concern over a severe "staffing imbalance." The chief is troubled by a shortage of experienced agents in the FBI's "Top Twelve" offices Philadelphia, Miami, Washington, Cleveland, San Francisco, Baltimore, New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Newark and Houston. These big-time bureaus, according, to one Webster memo, are being forced to use junior agents those with no more than four years' experience "to investigate our most complex cases (while) our small or medium-sized offices are staffed with a majority of GS-13 (senior) agents." Webster's solution to this situation is to transfer hundreds of G-men to the "Top Twelve" for as long as three years. They're being picked from a large pool of agents who joined the FBI in October 1969. The affected agents are circulating petitions for signatures, hoping to pressure The Coshocton Tribune evening and undoar Migl ST Mvod around anv iwofl uonMko nc 13HT 1 TM 3M fat lnoi corner, mo: wookmlbRNtz Cothocton. Ohio 4381? A.

I A AVI I 141 wtuiAM Mccarty Crnorol Monogr PuWlihod ovonlng and Sunday morning awespt Now Yoof i Doy, Momortol Day. July 4, labor Day, Thonlttgfvfng Day and ChHitmat Doy at 1 1S North Slirth Slrool, Coshocton. Ohio 43812. Sacond Clou Pot too potd at Goohoctort, Ohio. Subscription rotw By Carrier, ft 60 a woo; by motor rout (In advanos) I month $7.60.

month. $21.70. 6 months 43.40. I yoor, $83.30 By novt day moll In Coshocton ond adjoining counties, (In odvonca) 1 month $7 00. 3 months $18 50.

6 months, $35 00, 1 yoor $65.00. Othor moll ratos ovoilobla on roquott. Mall subscriptions or not occoptod whoro carrtor or motor rout dollvory sorvico li provided. Our View Looking Back The Good, The Door jambs And Paper Once again this week, good news Items appearing on the pages of The Tribune held a slight edge over those of bad news nature. Items qualifying for this week's good news list include: Coshocton County's litter control program getting of to a solid start with several programs designed to reduce the incidence of littering and illegal dumping.

Word from Washington a compromise may be in the works concerning the federal budget and its huge deficit. Local education officials banding together to seek solutions to the current economic crisis affecting Ohio schools. Warsaw resident Thomas Cullison's appointment to the Coshocton Metropolitan Housing Authority. The first place award earned by the Tri-Valley High School Stage Band during competition at Otterbein College. Passage of a redisricting bill by a conference committee of the Ohio House and Ohio Senate.

The honoring of several area basketball performers on All Ohio teams. Dr. Stephen Dube's appointment to the Coshocton County Board of Health. Coshocton County commissioners granting approval for placement of the Hopewell School and Workshop operating levy on the June primary ballot. Sen.

Howard Metzenbaum's staunch opposition to current U.S. import practices, which often plague U.S. industry. The successful launch and mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia, despite minor problems during the flight. Announcement of the local Cancer Crusade's plans for a door-to-door campaign April 15-30.

The fan and community support evidenced by fans of River View High School's Class AA Girls State Champion basketball squad. Tentative approval of a concessions package between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers Union. The arrival of spring, even if its weather has not quite arrived as of yet. Items on this week's bad news list include: The death of Owen Manning, former genera manager of the Frontier Power Company, and noted for his spirit of community Involvement.

Word from the mideast indicating tensions again are on the rise between Egypt and Israel. Closing of two Ohio mental health agencies because of continued state budget cuts. Continued economic hardships being placed on Ohio schools by the state's budget deficit Sandusky County Sheriff Joseph Kindred's belief electronic draw poker games in his area are linked to organized crime. Indications a strike by National Football League players in in the offing for this fall. The continued delays in approval of federal aid for flood-stricken areas of northwest Ohio.

The death of William Lambert, the nation's longest surviving World War I ace. Reports from Washington indicating crimes against America's elderly are on the increase. Reports indicating malnutrition is becoming more prevalent, especially among younger Americans. A survey by the United States Department of Agriculture showing a decline in America's hog production. Evidence indicating Soviet chemical weapons may have killed as many as 10,000 people in Afghanistan and Southeast Asia.

Word the country's recession may continue through the end of the year, despite indications to the contrary. 25 Years Ago March 28, 1957 Mrs. E.C. Johns, Chapman New comers town, returned home after a visit with her son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs.

Frank Wagner and children in North! ield Center. John Buss was re-elected president of the Newcomers town Chamber of Commerce at the annual meeting of the board of directors for election of officers. the defendant's car. In what is known as the Chadwick case of 1977, the court ruled that a locked footlocker taken from a car trunk could not be opened without a warrant, even if it smelted to high heaven of marijuana. In the Sanders case of 1979, the court said that a small suitcase was similarly protected.

In the Robbins case of 1981, officers seized two obvious bricks of marijuana in the recessed compartment of a station wagon. The bricks were wrapped in a green plastic garbage bag. Because the bag was opaque, said the court, the wrappings should not have been removed without a warrant; thus the evidence had to be excluded. Finally, in the Belton case last A Conservative View By James J. Kilpatrick put it in writing.

Even then. Hoover was inclined to tip off the victim and blame the the powers-above-him for the indignity rather than risk having an agent caught snooping in congressional closets. Hoover treated Capitol Hill as a protected preserve. The long-departed FBI chief directed his battles against the likes of John Dullnger and Kreepy Karpis until Hoover's bulldog visage If Kwtn O. Coffey Bad Bishop fessor, Marc Franklin, who has done extensive research into the law of libel.

He found that out of the 136 cases ten were won by plaintiffs. In only one case, was an award of more than $100,000 sustained on appeal. I agree with the "compensatory damages" section of the law. This states that the defendant publication must pay for proof of loss of income on the part of the plaintiff, also for loss of standing (or prestige) in hiscommunity. In the field of punitive damages, juries go crazy with other people's money, the punishment section was designed to punish publications for reckless journalism.

Actual damage is one thing; punishment, in my view, is a gratuitous award for no reason at all. The "malice" section handed down by the Supreme Court in 1964 saved the media a lot of grief. It stated that public officials, criticized in the press, must prove that the story was published with malice. Such proof is difficult but not impossible. Wally Butts, a Georgia University coach, proved that the Saturday Evening Post deliberately libeled him when it stated that he had given Georgia football plays to Alabama Coach Bear Bryant.

He got These days some judges are dismissing similar cases before they come to trial because the burden of proof is on the plaintiff. Sometimes, of course, it is smart to accept the jury's verdict and pay. One newspaper lost a suit to a state attorney general, who was awarded $50,000 for an editorial that denounced him as a red. The paper appealed and a new trial was ordered. This time the jury awarded the attorney general $485,000.

The New York Times pays pighl lawyers to read its si cincs before publication. Four aitonipys read Time magazine's articles They cost money It is not the suits thai worry editors; it's the constant threat of suits that turns their hair gray. WASHINGTON The Supreme Court is at it again. In its blundering, blindfolded effort to provide understandable guidelines for' the "exclusionary rule," the court still is groping through what Justice Powell has termed "this benighted area of the law." If the nine members of the court put their minds to it, surely they can do better than they seem to have been doing lately. For those who may have just come in, the exclusionary rule is a rule governing the admissibility of evidence in a criminal trial.

If a presiding judge concludes that certain evidence has been obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment, the evidence must be excluded. The result is that in such cases, a patently guilty defendant often goes scot-free. To be sure, only a handful of cases in a hundred turn on the rule, but these may be highly significant cases; John Hinckley charged with attempted assassination of Reagan, may yet go free because evidence of his sanity was seized without a warrant. Significance to one side, the intolerable confusion surrounding the rule makes Why Editors Turn Gray life miserable for arresting officers. As an essayist in the current issue of "Judicature" makes clear, we have drifted far from the original purpose of the rule.

This was to protect the integrity of the courts, by preventing them from contributing to violation of constitutional protections. A secondary justification for the rule then took root: The rule would deter police officers from trespassing upon our civil liberties. If the cops understood that evidence wrongly seized could not be admitted at trial, the cops would be more careful. In recent years the Supreme Court has veered woozily away from both prenises. Instead, the court has become preoccupied obsessed might be a better word with the kind of jesuitical beloved of the theologians the world over.

On Jan. 13, a bitterly divided court flailed away at the 35 Years Ago March 28, 1947 The Hi-Y Club at Coshocton High School planned a scrap iron drive to raise $100 for a contribution to the World Service Program of the YWCA. 50 Years Ago March 28, 1932 The local Knights of Columbus lodge was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the organization with a meeting at the local club Bags year, an arresting officer searched a jacket on the back seat of a car and found dope in a zippered pocket. This was held to be OK, though four dissenters passionately objected. During the March 1 argument, Justice Stevens wanted to know if it would have made a constitutional difference if the paper bag had been stapled shut.

Or suppose a blanket lay over everything in the trunk-. Could the police lift the blanket? Justice O'Connor wondered if the bag had been on the back seat of the car, or in the glove compartment. What then? Trunks, Back seats. Door iambs. Jacket pockets.

Garbage bags. The policeman's lot is not a happy one, but this court is making it worse. the past 12 months was The Reporter Is This Safety? The town of The town of What Do You Think? The Tribune's 1982 Progress Edition will hit the streets on April 25. While Tribune reporters and editors are working to provide an overall view of developments, innovations and changes during the past year, we would like our readers to have the opportunity for input. We ask that you take the time to complete the form below, noting your choices and comments in each category.

Responses from "What Do You Think?" will be included in a story in this year's Progress Edition. In your opinion: What is the most encouraging thing which happened in our area during the past year? lEJrti UKK1 MW "clear view exception" to the exclusionary rule. A police officer at Washington State University, having lawfully arrested a student for openly carrying a bottle of gin, accompanied the student to his dormitory room to get the student's identification card. While standing in the doorway, leaning against the jamb, the officer saw marijuana seeds and a pot pipe in clear view on a desk eight feet away. The Supreme Court of Washington ruled that the evidence had to be excluded because the officer had paused in the doorway before entering the room.

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed. No Fourth Amendment violation here. On March 1 the court heard argument in one more case in an interminable series of cases involving the "automobile exception" to the exclusionary rule. The Immediate issue had to do with a paper bag containing marijuana.

The bag had been taken from the trunk of BuchwaU crazy, but he's harmless and except for the kids throwing mud at him because he doesn't own a gun, we leave him alone. "Don't get nervous about those shots you iust heard. That's 80-year-ola Sam Francis. Every time the postman forgets to bring Sam his Social Security check, Sam starts shooting at the mail truck. "Well, it's getting on to bedtime.

The Pntnams are having a party to celebrate the opening of a new pistol range they built in their basement. Out-Side of that, most of the people in our town are tucked into bed, their guns under their pillows, sleeping sweet dreams after another eventful day. Good night all." miracles in a manner that we would have to admit that it could be no one else but you. In your name and for the glory of God, we pray, amen. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalms 46:1 He is a present tense God with the power to do all that He has said.

"My word shall not return unto me void "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Buchwald's World Eleven years ago, Justice. Thurgood Marshall disagreed with a majority of the justices in a libel suit appeal saying that many who sue "are assauaged far beyond their wounds." It is difficult, these days, for anyone hurt by the media to think in terms under a million. Juries can afford to be lavish because it's not their money. They think of newspapers as not only powerful instruments, but rich as Croesus. Besides, the jury is certain that the money will be paid by an insurance company.

This is not to say that papers shouldn't have to pay for malicious mistakes. If you can prove the paper, or magazine, is out to ruin you call a lawyer. My objection is directed at punitive damages and frivolous suits. Wealthy organizations with lawyers on an annual retainer will sue at the drop of a comma, and drop the suit as it gets to court. In self-defense, newspapers retain lawyers.

They also pay premiums for libel insurance. Editors study every story en route to the presses for possible libel. Investigative reporters, who often spend weeks unearthing corruption, are the most dangerous. Some reporters aspire to be Woodward-Bernsteins; they want to topple a president, or at least a mayor. When they write their revelations, and By Jim editors say: "Okay.

Move the story," their hearts are in their mouths. No jury is expert in law when they are properly confused by opposing counsel, they find it easier to give than to deny. Sometimes a writer will sue another writer. Quentin Reynolds was a writer for Collier's, magazine when Westbrook Pegler was a syndicated columnist. Pegler wrote a personal attack; Reynolds sued and won $175,001.

The greatest of all awards was $9.2 million, granted to a building contractor in southern Illinois. He sued for something that wasn't printed in the Alton Telegraph. Two reporters sent a memo to a Justice Department attorney stating that their sources linked the contractors to the underworld. An investigation followed, and the contractor went bankrupt. He sued.

When the newspaper learned the amount of the award, it too filed for bankruptcy. A jury awarded Carol Burnett $1.6 million in a libel action against the National Enquirer. There was a lot of publicity about it. There was little publicity when the trial judge cut the award in half. There is a Stanford law pro- By Art Doubleday, who was practicing drawing his gun in front of the mirror and shot himself in the leg.

"Over there is the Court House. There's lots of excitement there because Betty Bentley is on trial for emptying her .45 into Lorelei Lee, who she suspected was playing around with her husband, Charles. Betty says it was an accident, and the gun went off while she was showing Lorelei how she won a silver cup at the Kennesaw Handgun church picnic last month. "Here comes Hiram Dollop, who's become the village idiot because he refused to have a pistol in his house on religious grounds, Everyone thinks he's What event during most discouraging? News Item Kennesaw, has just passed an ordinance requiring the head of every household to own a gun and ammunition. The law was prompted by a recent ordinance passed in Morton Grove, 111., banning and possession of handguns by all residents, except police officers and military personnel.

State Manager "The name of the town is Kennesaw, Georgia. It's a nice town, y'know what I mean? Nobody remarkable ever came out of it s'far as we know. We're just plain simple folk here, we can't claim to be nothing more than just another town along Route 41. "I better show you around a bit. That large yellow house with the funeral wreath in front of it belongs to the Ket-termans.

Two dnvs ago Hod-ding Ketterman shot his son. Junior, who was trying to sneak in the window at three o'clock in the morning and Hodding thought he was a thief. The town feels terrible about it, but everyone says Junior should have known better. "There's one of our leading citizens, Jeffrey Bean, on his way down to the Sear's Roebuck parking lot to have a shootout with Abel Grimstead. It seems Jeffrey's dog knocked over all of Abel's garbage, and this made Abel real mad and he took his Smith and Wesson and pumped the dog full of lead.

Most folks in town think Abel overreacted, but Abel says that's what guns are for, and there's nothing on the books says you can't shoot a dog on your property. "Here comes Doc Lafferty. He looks a little peaked. He's been at the hospital all night emoving a bullet from Hart Bible Digest What would you most like to see accomplished in the months ahead? Contact Your Legislators Tribune readers in Coshocton County wishing to contact their legislators in Washington D.C. and Columbus are to write: U.S.

Son. Joint Glenn, Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. U.S. Sen.

Howard Metzenbaum, Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. U.S. Rep. John AA Ashbrook, House Office Building, Washington.

D.C. 20515. State Sen. Bill Ross, Ohio Senate Building. Broad and High streets, Columbus 4321 5.

State Rep. James Ross, House Office Building, Brood and High streets, Columbus 4321 5. Home address of Ress is 168 Tuscoro Ave NW New Philadelphia Home address of Ross is 1629 Sleepy Hollow Drive, Coshocton. "Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We alsojjo with thee.

They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus." John 21:3,4 Jesus is always standing by to fix our failures! Today dear Christ, who died for our sins and arose from the dead and who ever liveth, turn our failures and mistakes into Replies to "What Do You Think?" will be accepted until March 28, Please address your replies to Newsroom, The Coshocton Tribune, 115 N. Sixth St, Coshocton, Ohio 43812. Name Address.