Fitchburg Sentinel from Fitchburg, Massachusetts • Page 4

4 Fltchburg Sentinel, Saturday, January 2, 1971 Fitchburg Sentinel THE ORIGINAL VOICE OF MONTACHUSETT Published Daily Except Sunday 808 Main Fitchburg, Mass. OH20. Telephone 343-6911 Cftfton f. Caldwell Publisher isl- Councilor Smith's Candidacy Around The Hall With Morgan What's Ahead For The New Mayor By EDWARD R. MORGAN Councilor C.

Warren Smith's candidacy to serve out the term of vacating Mayor William G. Flynn is a'l 'splendid gesture on his part, a 1 positive st'epUor the good of the city and the act of a devoted-public servant rather than a politician. The city can do without a skirmishing, unsettling selection of a maydr right now. Enough confusion abounds in city government without a four-way or, who knows, eventually a five-way or sixvway contest for mayor. The situation could prove debilitating, costly and embarrassing.

Councilor John Chittick's petition drive seeking an.open well- intentioned perhaps but it would not really serve the bast purposes of the city. The transition of government would be for several weeks, or longer. There are questions of legality and costs. Can Fitchburg at this particular moment afford in terms of time and money a full- dress, all-out political campaign when there's already one looming ahead in a few'short months? The voters elected the current councilors there's no reason to believe that the councilors aren't qualified to select an interim mayor. Councilor Smith's candidacy pointed a way out of the present dilemma, a step that would not only insure a smooth transferral of government but an orderly interim administration, prior to the election of a full-term mayor-in the fall.

Councilor Smith has clearly put personal considerations aside. He has asked for a year's leave of absence from his place of employment. He has flatly stated that he will only serve out Flynn's term and will not run for re-election either as mayor or councilor. As sorry as we are to lose his services in the council, we can only regard this action as further testiomny of his sincerity or purpose. From a practical standpoint, his candidacy cannot' be faulted.

As an interim mayor, he would not worry about an election campaign and his decisions could not be construed as politically motivated. Since he is a councilor-at-large, no special election would be needed to fill his place in tfce council. As far as qualifications are con- cerend, Councilor Smith can be recommended highly. Nine years of council service, with important service on vital council committees, have provided him with experience and know-how, and made him familiar with all important municipal issues. Our wholehearted endorsement of Councilor Smith as interim mayor is rot intended to slight or disparge any of the councilors interested in the post of mayor.

Our endorsement is based on what's best for the city of Fitchburg at this particular time. That is the single, most important criterion in the selection of a mayor and the council will best serve Fitchburg residents by electing Councilor Smith as a successor to outgoing Mayor Flynn. On Monday at 10 a.m. Mayor William G. Flynn will cease to function as the city's chief executive.

This is one of the few certainties in city government as 1971 begins. After 10 on Monday, a new mayor will he designated, either immediately or afle'r some floundering. Chances are an attempt will be made prior to Monday to settle on a new mayor from among the ranks of the council. a petition drive launched Thursday to force a special election will affect matters remains a topic of speculation. As the old year gave way to the new, the situation was getting whackier by the minute.

Putting aside the questions of who, when and how for the moment the decisions were all pending as this epic was being prepared we find. endless opportunities for other a a of analysis and speculation. Let's begin with issues and how they will fare in the new year City planning as proposed and almost finally approved in the Flynn administration, again appears to be doomed. It needs final vote of confirmation. But dependng- on who 1 becomes mayor, it's probable that city planning will lose a crucial one vote in the City Council or become the victim ot a veto by the new mayor.

School building will probably remain on the shelf, although problems of high school accreditation and parochial school stability are question marks. Fitchburg High's accreditation expires at the end of this year. A progress report from local school officials is now being prepared and- is due June 1. Hopefully, the high school will get an accreditation extension. Pay raises for all city em- ployes will be the first Order of business facing the new mayor.

He will also have the departmental budget requests sitting on his desk when he moves into the front office. The poor guy! What will happen to the airport industrial park, college area urban a revaluation, and building plans on the John Fitch highway? As the candidates jockey for the dubious distinction of inheriting the mayor's position, it's interesting to listen to all factors involved in speculation. One ingredient in the analysis concerns nationality. Without the benefit ot an exhaustive genealogical investigation it's not always easy correctly nail down nationalities. We wouldn't want to give away anybody's trade secrets anyway.

A little snooping, however, indicates there are four Frenchmen on the council, two Italians, two Irishmen, two French-Irish, and one Englishman. Although final decisions may be made on loftier grounds that nationality, some early alliances and candidacies were believed based on this consideration. It's interesting and instructive also to evaluate a candidate's availability, according to his occupation. Councilor Gerald Beioin, a teacher in Newton, is perhaps the least available councilor. Councilor Chittick is in some ways, the most Washington Whirligig -First Batch Of 'Classics' WASHINGTON, At popular request, the Great Classic Joke Contest continues.

A Classic Joke is one that is so good and has been around so long, it a secure niche in the Joke- Tellers''Hall of Fame. The reasons I'm giving you some of them are because (I), there's a whole new generation of people who haven't heard some of the Golden Oldies, (2) I them SO WELL and (3) it's always possible that you will send me your favorite joke and that it will lie-one I 1 haven't heard, (But, I warn you, the latter is most unlikely.) Herman, the "neighborhood practical joker comes into the bar with a banana stuck in his the bartender is hot -about to bite and ask him why he has a banana in his ear, because he knows Herman will answer, "Sorry, I can'4-hear you. I have a banana stuck in ray-ear." Day after day Herman comes into, 'bar with the banana in his ear, but still; the bartender refuses to ask Kim- about it. Finally, though, Herman comes in with a radish in his ear. too much for'the bartender, who dreaks down and asks, "All right, why havJe you got a radish stuck in your 'ear?" "Because," Herman yells trmm- phantiy, "I couldn't find a banana." Tw.o-afnateur golfers are talking and one of them says that he once beat Arnold Palmer.

The other golfer says that Arnold Palmer must have given. him a 50-stroke handicap. "No, we played even," the first golfer says, "but Palmer'DID give me Through The Years By DON MACLEAN three 'Watch it's." He didn't know what 'Watch ifs' were, since I didn't want any strokes, he said I could have them. On the first hole, he got a birdie and I shot my usual eight. "But on the next hole, just as he was about to 'putt, I shouted, 'WATCH This so shattered him that he wound up shooting a 15.

He settled down a few holes later, so I yelled 'WATCH again, just as he was bout to putt. I never even had to use my last 'Watch Just waiting for it completely ruined his game!" Two men who emigrated to America, on the same ship many years ago meet in the street. One of them is obviously prosperous and admits to being worth exactly $375,000. The other man has not done nearly so well and he asks the wealthy one for the secret of his success. "Well," the' rich man says, "you remember when we got off the boat and I used my last five cents to buy a tomato from that peddler at the dock? Later, in the day I sold that tomato for a dime.

So I bought two more tomatoes and sold them for 20 For 30 years I bought tomatoes and I sold tomatoes. Finally, I had a fleet of 86 trucks, all buying and selling tomatoes. Then, last week, my aunt died and left me exactly A woman goes up to a musician and says, "Excuse me, young man, but does the Georgetown bus run down this way?" He says, "Does the Georgetown bus run down this way? Do-dah, doo-dah!" available, having spent most of time since graduation with the now defunct McGlennon election campaign. Two weeks ago, Chittick became director of Friendship Village, an agency started by the Jewish Communtiy Center-on- Day Street to aid people In the neighborhood. Interestingly, there are five papermakers on the City Council.

Councilors Bean, King, Smith and Hamilton are employed at various levels and in a i departments 'of. Weyerhaeuser. Emile Goguen is employed at Fitchburg Paper Co. Councilor Nigro- is in a somewhat allied industry, nelng vice-president of Graham Paper Fibers. Councilor Albert works for Searstown, Councilor Bourque at Celluplastics.

and Councilor Lemay is employed at Lemay Office Equipment Co. So far we have five or six more or less Frenchmen and five or six more or less papermakers. Then there's the pro-Flynn and the anti-Flynn factions. No doubt all councilors will quarrel with labels, and it would be only fair to point out that no councilor has been all one way or the other. According to one i a they're all independent.

Rushing in where fools fear to tread, however, we can list Councilors Albert and King pretty much ahti-Flynn. You might want to call Hamilton, Chittick and Bourque neutral- anti. Councilor Lemay might be termed neutral. Make Councilor Bean neutral-pro, Councilors Smith, Beloln. Goguen and Nigro would have to be termed pro-Flynn, although a more agreeable designation to would be pro-neutral we suspect.

Each certainly has displayed independent opinions In the past three years. Haying said all this we guess we'd have to call the City Council a mongrel after all. Looking beyond the mayoralty position, the question arises: what happens to the council vacancy when somebody gets promoted into the mayor's office. 1 If it's a ward councilor, a special election will be required, as was the case Councilor Bourque was elected to fill the unexpired term of Armand B. Richard In Ward 6.

If a councilor-at-large gets the nod Lemay, Albert and Smith are in this category the council can elect a successor. This is what happened when P. Vaughan Gearan left office in 1966. Robert Bean' was appointed to take his place. Bean had run seventh in the councilor-at large election of- 1965, just behind Donald Sullivan.

If the Council chooses to select a successor from the also rans of the last election, the top man would be retired Police Capt. Herbert C. Hassett. The order in which they finished was Hassett, Porter Dickinson, John Devens, Mrs. Gertrude Hakala, and Roy A.

Kinsman. Next Week should give birth to a whole new family' of political possibilities. See you here next Saturday. Nixon Forecast -Crises To Come ly JOHN CHAMBERLAIN Give Him 2 Resolution Remarks By HAL BOYLE NEW YORK (AP) Remarks that annoy people who make New Year resolutions: "How do you feel in your new halo? I didn't think they carried them in your size." "I give him two weeks, and then he'll be worse than-ever," "What good does it. do to give up two bad habits one month if come up with three more bad habits the next month?" "I agree that you've got plenty of willpower, Harry.

What you lack, I think, is won't power." "If you were really serious about two of resolutions, you'd start right now by throw ing that carton of cigarettes out the -window and pouring all the -in the house down the "Better take it a- bit easy, Mike. If you give up all your bad habits now. what will you have left to. give up for Lent? "You know what I wish you'd resolve, Horace? I wish you'd resolve to get up enough courage to ask your boss for a merit raise. How long do you think we can' live paying' this year's prices with last year's income'?" now a follow who gave up alj his vices at the same time, arid guess what happened? The very next week he just keeled over- kerflop! His system couldn't stand 'up under the shock." thing about you, Pat-at least you won't have to resolve to get more exercise during .19.71.

You get all the exercise you need just climbing on and falling off the walenvagon." "I hear you've, made up your mind to get more culture this year, -Bill. Does this mean you're going to watch the Lawrence Welk program more often?" "All I asked Esmerelda to resolve was this: that everytime she feels like her views on the international situation at a cocktail during 197r, she'll put a clothespin on each lip until the feeling goes away." "Ever since I became head of this firm, I've hoped that at least one member of this staff would malie a resolution to do more honest work. during the coming year--but nothing ever happens." "Unless you mend your ways, dear, I'll tell you What I've decided to give up in 1971, and I do mean permanently. If you want to see it, just look in the bathroom mirror. It's the thing with red eyes staring back at you." As 1971 dawns.

President Nixori must be shedding a tear for the dear departed days when he was Ike Eisenhower's Vice President and the country was lapped in the sole interval of serenity which iUhas enjoyed since the time' of Calvin True enough, Nixon survived six crises, as he explained in one of his books, before he finally made it to the White House, This coming year he will surely double that number as crisis after crisis hits Washington. The inflationary crisis- isn't going to blow away. The country may- want low prices, but it won't take continually i a i unemployment without venting its rage on whatever political party is in office, the United Automobile Workers have already had their 'raises; the steel workers come next. Professor Milton Friedman, challenging conservative economists such as Henry Hazlitt and Lawrence Fertig. may be quite right when he says that wage, increases by themselves do not create inflation; only the government, which has the power to add to the money supply, can do that.

But you can't pay high wages to people for producing Cars, when cars aren't being sold, without -putting an unbearable pressure on the government to Letter Box 'Thank You' To the Editor: I wish to thank the Fitchburg Fire Department for being so gentle and courteous with me when they took me to the other evening. Also, I thank-the police officer for his kindness, Many thanks again. Mrs. Cecilia Karkonen 81 Edward St. Fitchburg lower interest rates and to flush the money supply.

So any time wages begin to outpace the annual increase in productivity the natural response of the politicians will be to inflate the currency. The Administration will surely do what it has to do to avoid being stigmatized in 1972 as "just another government." A. year or so ago I recalled in this column a conversation had with Arthur Burns, now the chairman of the Federal Reserve. Speaking sardonically. Dr.

Burns said that Herbert Hoover had failed In 1930 and 1931 to understand that the one thing that governments can do with some measure of success is to create money. If the Administration attempted to force an "incomes policy" on labor by instituting compulsory, wage and price 'controls, it would simply mean a crisis of a different order. Wage and price controls would mean -a suppressed inflation, with black markets everywhere. Nixon is heading into an armaments crisis. The doves want to trim the power of the Pentagon.

But the of the world situation call for rebuilding the Navy and the merchant marine. Once the 'Soviets break through from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean, as they will do if the Suez Canal is reopened under Communist auspices, control ot Western Europe's (and Japan's) oil lifeline to the Persian Gulf will shift to Moscow. Only by dealing forthrightly with the Israeli Arab confrontation can we keep a balance of power check on Soviet expansion in the Middle East, With a Joint use of Suez as the big diplomatic stake. The "Southern strategy." If it is openly junked in favor of a combination of strategies, will it enable a divisive George Wallace'to throw the 1972 game to the Nixon will continue to need Agnew or maybe former Governor John Conally of Texas? as a buffer to Wallace. Mayor Fellows 1 naugurated Compiled by SUE PERCIVAL SO YEARS AGO (19ZO) Mayor B.

Fellows-in his inaugural recommends economy during read- periods. Recommendations, covering broad fields of municipal endeavor, includes campaigns against wreckless autoists, improvements in police work, voting places and preparing for all mjajor improvements so actual work be started -when conditions become normal, Year's''Eve was celebrated, in a -joyful "manner in this city thousands of men, women and children participated in public welcome of the New Year. A double holiday gave celebrants plenty time'to rest'on Saturday and Sunday and proved an Inducement to many to wait (until after miflnight. but perhaps the I gpleadW, watch-flight program arranged for i their entertainment was the greatest (magnet. YEARS AGO (1946) GI has danced with film stars on retwgn soil But it's rare private indeed dates a top-ranking star of the screen grid Bergman: to paint her portrait, did a FUchbilrg boy, PFC Eugene K.

Parker, when he met Miss Bergman in Pilseh, Czechslovakia. 'Now awaiting discharge at Fort Devens, Parker said in reporting on his meeting with the star: "After the first few minutes she was so natural I didn't think about being nervous." Limited production of 1946 passenger cars was resumed in about half of the nation's automobile factories. Word of his safe arrival in Aubigny'Sur- France is daily expected by his relatives from Albert J. Gagne who sailed Dec. 15 on the Argentine to join his family.

10 YE4RS AGO (1911) John J. F. Moran, .60, of 261 Boutelle Street, manager of the Hotel Raymond and of the most prominent and widely knbwn residents of'this city, was stricken with a heart attack and died a short time later at Burbank Hospital, The New Year's day skidded into this city on a slippery undercoat of snow, ice, rain, sleet and freezing rain, providing the younger set with sleds and skiis but giving the motoring public a headache. Five accidents which police attributed to icy roads resulted in injuries to five soni. Decade Of Rubbish Ends N.Y.

Jnfeflecfuafs Shiff Goals By JEFFREY HART I have a sort of Key Cultural Election District af my. very own. What I mean is this: Most professional politicians have one more litmus election districts, bellwethers of larger trends. On election night you hear them say, "He came out of Sludge County with a margin of eight thousand. That means he'll carry the state." For me the quarrelsome, irrjjating, brilliant "family" of New inteBectuals, a Norman Podhoretz calls them, have played a similar role with regard to the mood of the culture at large.

I don't mean'at all that they are representative. Nor do I meafl that they create- the national mood. Far from it. But they are very sensitive, and hyper interested cultural and'so they are quick to catch the drift of things and articulate it, perhaps influence it through definition. During they were ostehsibly political, and actively disavowed radicalism.

Leslie Fieler wrote a typical book of the period, An End to Innocence, by which he meant an end. to radicalism. The Liberal Imagination' 'and The End of Ideology by Lionel Trilling and Daniel carried roughly same message, as did the works of Reinhold Niebuhr. All of a sudden, around 1960, a a a occurred. Everyone betan rediscovering the radicalism of the 1930's: Close your Henry James I Take that dusty Das Kapital down from the I remember a huge sympo-sium, really a sort of mass meeting, at Columbia at whic'h Norman Mailer confided to the admiring throng h- had -secretly fought McCarthyism all along by making the FBI agent -in Barbary Shore a homosexual.

At about the same lime, Commentary house organ of the New York circle, moved sharply Left, The old editor, Eliot Cohen, had been a tough' anti Communist. a now presided over an apertura sinistra and cultivated radical i The new cultural luminaries were C. Wright Mills, in his posthumous i Paul Goodman, Norman 0. Brown, Susan Sontag. figures quickly radicalized themselves, Fiedler grew a beard and produced a string of increasingly radical a increasinly Incoherent books.

La Sontag and Mary McCarthy trooped off to Hanoi. In many cases this radicalism was in' the nature of a homecoming. As Miss Sontag records in Styles of Radical Will, she experienced a kind of ecstatic relief in returning to the cultural style bf the days when she had read PM, the Webbs, and Corliss Lament, and campaigned for Heijry Wallace. Over the whole thing hung the perfect cultural symbol of the not JFK, far from it, rather the brooding visage of Fidel radical, violent, combining in delicious synthesis the Bohemian, the Stalinist, and, somehow, the artist. Those who did not swim with the tide, like Trilling, faded from view.

But now there seems to be occuring another sea-change in this small but fascinating group No doubt the yahoo radical uprising at 'Columbia had sqmething to do with it some things, after all, are sacred. In any case, Commentary, still under Podhoretz, has moved sharply to the "Ight. In the latest' issue, the semi-pop radicalism of the New york Review of Books has come under scathing attack. Panthers are O'ut. Campus radicalism is, Out.

Arjd other symp-. terns. Nathan Glazer, though a Harvard professor, ii very much a member the "family," and he has just i a book called Remembering the in which he asks with references to himself: "How a radical, a mild radical it is true, but still one who felt closer to radical than to liberal writers in the late 1950s, end up a conservative, a mild conservative, but still closer to those who themselves conservative than to those who call themselves liberal in early 1970?" show analogous movement. Thus Paul Goodman sends up a cloud of squid's ink: "I've always been a con- servative anarchist, a passivist a a i a decentralist." (Reported in a Times interview.) Well, what relief, to kiss. 1960s goodbye.

As far as the life of the mind is concerned it was, with rare exceptions, a decade of rubbish..