News-Democrat and Leader from Russellville, Kentucky • 2

LAND LOGAN arms up so are taxes By Al Smith i ARM land in Logan County is selling very well or the first time pur better land in south Logan is going for prices in excess of the current prices in Christian County the report of a ederal Land Bank official who talked to realtor John Moore this week A farm that was sold by Jesse 1 Riley and Son in August set the trend in motion The McIntosh brothers paid $67000 for 94 acres which was sold for John Basham on the Orndorff Mill Road Last weekend John Moore and his nephew Steve Clarke and the associates sold 35 acres of land for Sory Baldwin in the Dot community in south Logan for $1000 an acre Wade Pitt Jr was the purchaser Then on Monday American Legion Post 29 bid $46000 for 22 acres of land owned by the Martin estate on Hwy 68 west of Russellville Of course this was not for an agricultural development but over in Butler County at Davis Crossroads the Moore firm sold 98 and one half acres for the (Delbert) Carpenter estate for $49500 The Givens brothers were purchasers in what was a very pleasing sale for Butler County farm land Meanwhile other Russellville real estate men have been active with land sales Gaines Long for instance will sell the farm of Mrs Doris Appling at 10 am Saturday This 76 acre tract is two miles north of Chandlers Chapel on Sycamore Church Road On Wednesday Nov 13 at 10 am Les Newberry will swing into action with a major the Linton farm on Corinth Schochoh road This will be an offering of 71 acres The following week on Wednesday Nov 20 also at 10 am Newberry will sell the John Costellow 140 on Sharp's Garden road north of Chandlers Chapel INTEREST is high in the upcoming sale at public auction of the Roland Price farms Totaling 1314 acres these south Logan properties will go on the block at the Courthouse door at Russellville at 1 pm Monday Nov 11 The sale is expected to bring well over a million dollars Although the heirs who are putting the land up for sale are expected to be among the bidders inquiries have been made from prospective buyers in Louisville Nashville Owensboro and other areas John Moore and Steve Clarke are special Master Commissioners Jesse Riley Sr has been promoting Logan farmland for years as one of the best land buys in the south and midwest Ironically farmers who ready to sell sometimes get upset when a place near them goes for a high price It means the tax man will be along to raise the assessment on their land High prices also make it difficult for a younger fanner to start out acquiring an operation of his own Riley admits But when a farmer is ready to sell and retire to town he loves those dollars and wants us to get the highest price Riley says ALL THAT GLITTERS Sirica the unorthodox By Vic Gold WASHINGTON Watching Judge John Sirica preside with irascible vigor over the Watergate coverup trial I was reminded of what Sugar Ray Robinson once said about Randy forte as a fighter Randy declared Robinson in 1951 the year he lost and won the middleweight championship from Turpin does everything wrong right That is Turpin pursued his craft in unorthodox style yet made it work at least on his better nights On one level whether these are John better days as a jurist will remain for the appellate courts to decide But if anyone made book on such matters be willing to bet that during the first three weeks of the Watergate coverup hearings he has raised more professional eyebrows and questions regarding the possibility of reversible error than an orthodox judge would in a full court term Nor is that just one rusty opinion I took a poll of several attorneys and other experts on trial law who like me have been follow ing the proceedings in courtroom in a condition best described as disoriented bewilder ment DID THE JUDGE really say at the outset or was it our imagina tion that he intend to follow the strict rules of evidence if doing so interfered with the quest for Yes he did spelling the word out for the jury And that was only the beginning Every day has its surprises as the judge verbally flails with equal abandon at prosecutors the defense the media and anyone else who happens to have incurred his wrath during the 12 hour news cycle immediately preceding Take last imbroglio concerning former special prosecutor Leon recent utterances about the Watergate case Sirica during the pretrial period placed a ban on all par ticipants and their lawyers talking about the case But Jaworski and his onetime assistant Philip Lacovara no longer being involved in the proceedings errantly thought to exercise their irst Amendment rights by speaking as private citizens on a matter of public in terest Sirica went livid would the judge told the courtroom audience would keep his mouth shut And that includes Mr Jaworski Mr Lacovara and everybody 1 EVERYBODY ELSE? That has to be as broad and unnecessary a ban against comment on a case as was ever rendered on this side of the Atlantic After all with the jury sequestered its members very well be influenced by news papers they reading and TV radio reports they hearing Unless the judge himself brings such matters to their attention Indeed not easy to fathom the judicial style of John Sirica His method of running a courtroom to paraphrase the military observer who watched the Charge of the Light Brigade may be magnificent but it always law He at times seems the vain intemperate judicial blunderbuss pictured by his enemies (and he has many in this town) who like to cite his frequency of reversal on appeal Yet despite all this he was the judge who cracked open the Water gate coverup Would a more ortho dox jurist given the original Water gate case have been so stubborn and irascible as not to accept a disposition of the case which the prosecution and indeed the defendants themselves seemed satisfied with? I doubt it Moreover I have a theory about unorthodoxy on the bench during the current coverup trial It comes down to this: A certain centripetal logic has gone out of bringing Mitchell Haldeman Ehrlichman et al to legal account for alleged crimes which have unallegedly been pardoned elsewhere Thus Sirica considering the pardon has simply determined that whether these particular defendants go to jail is less important than spreading the full Watergate record before the public strict rules of evidence aside Needless to point out that policy along with his outbursts concerning the ex special public statements likely to improve record for being reversed on appeal This would mean that the presidential subordinates now on trial would go free just as if they had been pardoned Neither this rusty lawyer nor any trial court expert can say of course whether what Judge Sirica has in mind as he takes his verbal swings from the courtroom floor these days But if equal justice under the law is the objective a good case could be made that Unorthodox John once again is doing everything wrong right Copyright 1974 ield Enterpris es Inc Huf Erw JB1M JfA I MBEZm TTj If jjr' your bil?" LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Kids feel safe on Halloween Dear Editor: TRICK OR TREAT! It has a sound to it it? It brings back memories of when I was a child and it was fun The children got the and the adults (the ones who cooperate) got the harmless tricks of course ranging from soap on a window to a few leaves thrown in childish mischief on a porch Today the situation seems to have reversed itself On Halloween night I took my 34 year old son and my 8 year old nephew trick or treating I was very careful about where I took them because of a vague uneasiness I felt When we returned home the uneasiness was brought to surface as I watched the two children My precious son with all the innocence and trust of a small child sat gleefully gulping his candy while my equally precious nephew sat carefully examining each piece of candy gum etc seeking to insure that it contained no razor blades needles narcotics etc He was even afraid to eat some of it He conducted this process as though it were a usual everyday occurrence How very sad I felt to know that because of a few very sick people what was once a wonderful fun filled night is sometimes now a Dear Editor: not against veterans at all My husband served our country for three years He was in five major battles I am against anyone drink ing beer and whiskey It has and is ruining so many good homes The law stopped the boys from riding motor cycles to Olmstead school They were not hurting any one just using up some of their night of sadness and horror for some of our children I love my child as sure all of you love yours These are our children! it time we did something? Sincerely Nancye Carter 591 Guion Street Russellville Kentucky 42276 surplus time If the law officers would look around and try to stop this liquor sale not so many boys and girls would be hurt The boys that rode the motor cycles did not hurt anyone Most have licenses so the law stopped them Stop the sale of liquor Mrs Bobbie Lee Markham Russellville Ky If we can stop motorcycles why we stop liquor sales RANKORT WATCHLINE Coal is truly king in state but Al Smith is host on starts on TV Nov 15 LEXINGTON KY (Special) In 1927 when Al Smith was born Mac Swinford was serving the Kentucky House of Representatives Today Mac Swinford is the second oldest federal judge in terms of service in the nation having served as United States Judge for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky for the last 37 years Judge Swinford will be Al guest when COMMENT ON KENTUCKY premieres riday November 15 at 9:30 pm EST (8:30 pm CST) on the Kentucky Educational Television (KET) network In the first program of the new series Smith questions Judge Swinford on the topic of Kentucky using as a basis for the discussion Judge book Lawyer" which he published in 1963 Judge Swinford characterizes Kentucky lawyers as "colorful and gifted with a high sense of purpose The distinguished Kentucky jurist also tells stories about Kentucky courthouse lore and discusses present legal trends The COMMENT ON KENTUCKY series is one of several new KET productions emphasizing subjects of interest to Ken tuckians Each 30 minute show will feature Kentucky journalist Al Smith interviewing guests with "experiences convictions or that relate to situations pertinent to Kentucky In future weeks the semi monthly series will examine such topics as ownership of hospitals Kentucky architecture the need for a veterinary school for Kentucky fiscal courts black history disasters in Kentucky and Kentucky folklore Many of these same issues have been tackled editorially by Smith in the Logan Leader and News Democrat in Russellville however he makes it clear that his position in the series will be "a moderating and illuminating role attempting to achieve new insights and backgrounds in various subjects" Smith is also head of the newspaper company which publishes The Leitchfield Gazette the Morgantown Green River Republi can and the Cadiz Record Al Smith delights in getting debate in his editorial pages It is this same commitment to airing all sides of an issue that he brings to the COMMENT ON KENTUCKY series According to Smith "Kentuckians are entitled to lively and interesting discussions about topics of interest to In addition he said like dull talk shows" COUSIN CHARLIE Slip of Editor: Well Al I guess you Democrats got your nose up in the air this weak Wicked Cousin Odrow says that if you had a worked in Presink our Tuesday you might have had some second thoughts er some folks that might have thought a ambulance would cure iffun they took sick they wuz given out another free whiskey Odrow claims Of course I spect he sipped some iffun anybody did They talk about a veto proof state Congress Shucks the only proof that Odrow believes in is one hunnert proof Cousin Charlie Russellville Rural Rte Well Sin City aint goin to be second to nobody Con necticut gits a lady governor and the same day Russellvil gits a lady council member Uncle Edgar is the orginal male showmanist but he says that Russellville is one ship that shore needed a rudder is mixed blessing By John Nichols RANKORT with some reflection that we note the Ken tucky Attorney reaf firmation of the rights of coal counties to do what they want with their shares of the severance tax surpluses It strikes us that coal is truly king in Kentucky bourbon burley bluegrass and thoroughbreds notwithstanding or many sections of the Ken tucky mountain country coal is the only source of income the horn of plenty but a scourge too Dependence upon coal in mining sections of the state has limited the ability of communities to develop other economic interests So coal has much of Kentucky in a viselike grip We mind as long as the energy crunch brings the nation to our doorstep The price of coal will probably be high for a long time So for a long time coal oriented Kentuckians will be a happy bunch of people But attitudes toward abundance are much like earlier ideas that oil supplies would never end Now we know better And the effects of mining on the en vironment are much more telling But more to the point we look back on the pressures applied last ebruary as the tried to force Wendell ord's hand on sharing what all knew would be a large harvest of extra coal tax dollars Their initial success was but monetary and its ending so brutal that Gov ord had to come back with a plan of his own So now the coal counties share half of the coal tax collected over budget estimates on the same percentage as the coal is taken from those counties ORGET THIS the tremendous demand for coal that has ballooned the ord budget surplus The money the estimators say they ex pecting $200 million plus will have come from coal sales So as much a paradox as coal is Kms Bmnrrai ounded Nov 7 1806 Published by LOGAN INK INC Dedicated to making a great county greater Albert Smith Editor and Publisher Virgin! Pg Managing Editor Jeannie Bowles News Editor JoAnnoster Advertising Manager STA: Nelda Cage Eugene Carnall Douglas Greene Alice Humphrey Judy Johnson Virginia Lloyd Rosalie McIntosh Judy Murphy Leslie Page III William Rawls Jr John Roberts Kathy Settle Mary Jane Smith Charles Snyder Beverly Terry Jim Turner Robert Stuart and Wilnah Upton Logan Ink Inc Publishers of The News Democrat on Thursday morn ings Business offices on the Public Square Russellville Logan County Kentucky Second Class Postage paid at Russellville Ky Published weekly Telephone 726 9507 Address all mail to Box 270 Russellville Kentucky 42276 to the well being of eastern and west Kentucky coal towns so has it been for the ups and downs of the ord Administration Poor judgement on the coal issue hurt the smooth running of the Legislature the accomplishments of which the governor was depending on to mount a Senate race yet the many many dollars made it extra nice to be governor this time look to the next session With illness forcing ten year veteran Terry McBrayer to the sidelines the are without a politically sawy leader And going to need a Moses in those hills in '76 because the coal tax sharing formula is on its last legs The sleeper in the current tax return plan is the revenue estimate itself The estimates either by design or otherwise were as ord folks put it quite con servative this time heard other more colorful labels put on the budget guesses too Anyway 1976 will roll around and coal will still be king Don't believe for a moment that such high sur pluses will still be around nope that money will have been an ticipated and already budgeted Or at the very least the estimates will be less conservative If budgeted if a better estimate is used next time there goes your coal tax sharing plan out the window right? And going to come up with another one? So the mountain communities ought to use that attorney opinion to remind themselves to be frugal in the use of their severance tax returns and not to count on so much of it after the current biennium What the attorney general said was that the state cannot turn down any legal county plan for using the money rankfort has the mountain counties over a big enough barrel at least until a successor to the current coal tax sharing plan is devised so surely the ord folks tie their hands any fur ther Would they? Ab Checking the votes COUNTY COURT CLERK Marion Johnson helps election officers from left Mrs aye McPhaill and Mrs loyd Williams gather the final tally in Precinct 1 at the Court house on election night Photo by Robert Stuart 1.