The Progress from Clearfield, Pennsylvania • Page 4

PAGE FOUR THE PROGRESS, Cleorrield, Curwensville, Philipsburg, Moshannon Volley 197 WATCH ON WASHINGTON ow Nixon Asked For, Ignored Advice flU.L, U.ll^.k.il 7 r5 Good Evening! Soiretimes The Monday Wash a breeze to i of material contributed o' aug up makes the task an easy one Other times i and ideas a a and it's not so easy is one of those i i a Viaybe one reason is that icst week was a a i time 'or everyone as Washington rook over The- news Leaving tev, bright or cheerful happenings to record Requ.ery for a Cat Gato was a tiny black ball c-f v.nen we go: a' Loreac Texas just six a ago i month Sen Charles had found him at the Base for us and had hidden hirr. in his bachelor i a for a couple of weeks TO surprise us El Gato Spanish for The Car i nome with us in a oe! big enough, for a large-sized dog and took over the house as his own Gato was i a house COT and his forays into The ouTsice i were aimcs? enrirely limited TO the length of a rope and his leash attached to the breezeway logbox The few times he scooted out of the door TO freedom on his own invariably wound up with his return after a few minuTes of exploring the bushes in from of the house Probably typical of a cat, his a i outing time was OT night and he could spend hours on his rope patrolling the driveway area or lying underneath a bush watching the cars speed by on the Market-West First-Hill-West Second streets raceway Long since grown to maturity, Gato was a spectacular COT Long, silky fur, about 12 pounds in weight, a head like a lion, he was quite a sight as he sat in majestic dignity at the end of his leash Someone apparently thought so, at any rate, for last Thursday night someone sneaked into the yard under cover of darkness, untied the rope attached to the leash and made off with El Gato We hope the thief is a cat lover For Gato has known nothing but tender, loving care in his lifetime We hope that he'll continue to get TLC at his new "home" There'll be no replacement for Gato at our house The Editors Speak Act 125, the new legislation which increased subsidy payments for many schoo'l districts across the state, is a hodgepodge piece of legislation, passed at the last minute in order to go into effect before the new fiscal year July 1. It is admittedly a very political piece of legislation. The big city interests, in order to get their piece of the money pie approved, apparently threw in a lot of other things so that the bill would be approved by a majority. As a result, the legislation includes everything from increases in the base subsidy for school districts, from $665 to $750, to changes in methods of computing sparsity, density and poverty (this is where the lot of the politics came in).

We are concerned with the juggling and poltical maneuvering that has been taking place with the state subsidy formula over the last few years. You not only see poverty, density and sparsity payments given to school district, above what is in the basic formula, but now there is super povetry, super density, etc. We thought the basic subsidy formula was supposed to be an equalizer, taking account the wealth of a school district. Why, then, are all these extra payments being added? We favor changes in the base subsidy formula and elimination of all the extra payments which reek of backroom politics. We also favor the State College Area School District's proposed coalition of school districts to fight the most recent changes in the subsidy legislation.

State College Centre Daily Times Upper Room "I thank my God in all my remembrance of you thankful for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. (Philippians PRAYER: Our Father, thank You for Your great gift to us in Jesus. Teach us to rejoice in Him no matter what situation we find ourselves in. May each victory be in Christ's name and for His sake. Amen.

Yesterday 10 Ago Aug. 12,1964 Appointment of Fred L. Rhoads as Clearfield County coordinator for Pennsylvania's Comprehensive Mental Health-Mental Retardation Plan was announced today by the state Department of Welfare. Finance, investigation and public relations committees were named by the newly organized Clearfield Swimming Pool Association at a meeting last night. The 100th anniversary of the Beaver Valley E.U.B.

Church will be observed Saturday and Sunday, it was announced today. 25 Years Ajo Aug. 12,1949 The Clearfield Firemen's Band and the Curwensville Rescue Hose and Ladder Company won first places in the Central District Volunteer Firemen's parade at Kane yesterday. State Police Officer Robert Rice and County Detective Fred Mills chaser, an accused burglar down a hilly, rocky- area near Karthaus yesterday and captured him after Officer Rice had fired two shots from his revolver. 50 Years Ago Aug.

12,1924 Mr. and Mrs. William Hall and "Si" Fauzey, father of Mrs. Hall, were given a hearing before 'Squire F. G.

Chorpenning yesterday and held in $1,000 bail each for court in the kidnapping of four-year-old Billy Parker from the Clearfield Children's Home last March 5. The Clearfield Woman's Club announced today a lawn bridge party to be held at the farm home of Mrs. A. E. Aug.

27 for the benefit of the club's Soldier's Memorial Fund. by Clark Mollenhoff i Editor's Note: Clark Mollenhoff 23 years of prize- winning investigative reporting in Washington was interrupted for a year i July, 1969 to July, 1970) when he served as official ombudsman, or trouble shooter, for Richard M. Nixon. In this special "Watch on Washington" column, he recounts his experiences in the Nixon administration, his conversations with Mr. Nixon, his encounters with Nixon's staff.) WASHINGTON.

D. C. Richard Nixon was bubblingly enthusiastic as I covered my ideas of how a White House ombudsman could alert a President to budding scandals involving his subordinates. Then, in characteristic fashion, he took the initiative and explained to me what I had just told him, using President Truman and the Alger Hiss case as an example of a President who might have been saved a great deal of anguish had he been giverTall of the hard truths about the case at an early stage. "It was the cover-up that hurt," Mr.

Nixon said. "It was inevitable that scandals would arise in any administration, but the secret is getting or. top of all the facts at any early stage and cleaning them up." That conversation took place aboard President Nixon's campaign plane a few days before the election in November, 1968, as we were flying from El Paso, Texas, to Los Angeles, CaL, for his last weekend of campaigning. This perennial campaigner was to become President of the United Slates by a slim margin over Vice- President Hubert H. Humphrey.

Candidate Nixon was predicting election by several million votes, although he conceded his own private polls reflected deep in roads in his victory- margin. "They aren't going to steal it in Cook County," the President said, alluding to the fact that some last-minute hanky-panky in Cook County in 1960 had given Senator John F. Kennedy the Illinois electoral vote and the election. "We have Operation Eagle Eye watching them this time." Although a touch of bitterness was reflected on his defeat in 1960, Mr. Nixon said he was now confident of victory and found a few kind words for Mr.

Truman, saying he believed he was misled on the Alger Hiss record. "It was the bureaucracy that kept the facts from Harry Truman," Candidate Nixon said. "I have never believed that Truman was intentionally covering up for the Communists. He just didn't get the full facts until it was too late." Although Candidate Nixon said then he recognized the extreme hazards of a Chief of State failing to eradicate scandalous conditions at the earliest point, President Nixon reluctantly admitted last Monday he had knowingly tried to use the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to obstruct an FBI investigation of the Watergate burglary. The admission of guilty knowledge of the Watergate cover-up, handled directly by White House Chief of Staff H.

R. (Bob) Haldeman, Special Assistant John D. Ehrlichman, and White House Counsel John W. Dean HI, meant that President Nixon had lied to the American people for more than two years. It meant he had permitted a massive misuse of the power of the federal government that in the end destroyed him in what could have been his greatest moment.

And while he condoned and encouraged the first stages of the cover-up, President Nixon on August 29,1972, indicated he still recognized the problem as we discussed it in 1968 and several times in 1969 and 1970. "What really hurts in matters of this sort, is not the fact that they occur, because overzealous people in campaigns do things that are wrong," Mr. Nixon told his news conference with regard to the Watergate burglary. "What really hurts is if you try to cover it up." As events have unfolded on the impeachment matter in recent months, I have wondered ifjhis insecure and devious man has ever reflected on our conversations in 1968-- or our discussions in 1969 and 1970 on the evil of "executive privilege" to the nation as well as to the presidents who tried to use it to hide embarrassing scandals. Our Readers Write Condition Of Flegal Road Draws Protest We are writing about the condition of Flegal Road in Lawrence Township.

We live unfortunately one mile from Luzier's Landfill. We have so much truck traffic that it is creating a hazard to the many residents along the roadway. Why in the late fifties when they stripped along Flegal Road and later when they put concrete on 1-80 did they make the parties involved put a bond on the road? In the late sixties we had a newly paved and fairly well maintained road, until the so- called "landfill" moved in. Why wasn't there one Supervisor who would make them put a bond on the road? As long as these supervisors don't have the traffic near their neighborhood they don't care. It's been the garbage trucks over the last six years that have ruined the road.

We also have Hepburnia Coal Company trucking every few days. We ask do they have a bond--probably not. When and if Benjamin Coal starts to strip and if they haul on Flegal Road, I'll bet they will have to get a bond for the road. If they have to repair the road to its present condition, they sure won't have to worry very much. All they will have to do is throw a new patch here and there and it is done.

We also need proper drainage along the road. Last year the supervisors put shale along the berms to build them up. They used the grader to push the dirt and filled the ditches. The ditches along most of the road have yet to be cleaned. Where is all the tax money going? We have enough tax burden now and what have we to show for it--certainly not improved roads! I guess that as long as the Supervisors can make enough people happy so they can get re-elected or elected, they just seem to sit back and relax for six years.

David A. Cams Janet L. Cams The Progress A Editor A A Managing Editor A MORGAN News Editor I I A K. ULERICH, President and Publisher Published daily, except Sunday, by The Progressive Publishing Co 206 Locust Entered in the post i at a i Pfl 16830 as second a a 11 Business Office 765-5581 Newsroom 765-7813 Branch i Curwcnsville, Park Hotel. 536-035J; Philipsbgrg, 109 N.

Front St 342 0440; Coalport, Mam Street, Houtidalc, 811 Hannah 378-7344 The Associated Press is entitled to the use for republication of all local news published in this newspaper as well as all AP news dispMrhes i pr i hHonq to i I inna' 7 vpoor flph rr al Union, of at Wi the small I wonder now if there was any sincerity in his words at any point, or if he- was only saying with enthusiasm and seeming sinrenty the words he knew I wanted to hear. At this moment in liistory, it would appear this entire conversation with me in November, 1968, was a political put-on. Candidate Nixon told me he had read my books "Washington "Despoilers of Democracy" and "The Pentagon." He said he agreed with me on the corrupting influence of secrecy in government, and that Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson would have been better off if they had dug into the facts on scandalous conditions and fired a few people at earlier stages. He commented with scorn on the Bobby Baker case, and said there was no doubt in his mind that President Lyndon Johnson was deeply involved in guilty knowledge of Bobby Baker's crimes. Candidate Nixon said he recognized that "some mistakes" had been made in the 1960 campaign in dealing with Teamster Union President James R.

Hoffa, and he was personally making sure that there were no dealings with Hoffa "that might be misinterpreted" by the Democrats in connection with the 1968 campaign. Mr. Nixon assured me he had instructed his campaign fund raisers to stay away from "Teamsters cash," adding that although there were thousands of honest union members the leadership of the union was generally corrupt and looking for a deal to spring Hoffa from prison. problems. There was his usual forced enthusiasm as we me in the Oval Office on July 18, 1969, endorsing my even suggestion, throwing in many of his own, and agreeing to sei me "at any time" there was a problem 1 thought he shoulc know about.

That was the last time I saw him for more than twc months. By then I was at swords points with Ehrlichmar over my lack of access to President Nixon on what I regarded as unwise efforts by Ehrlichman and Attorney General John N. Mitchell to free Teamsters President James R. Hoffa from prison. Also, I had learned what others on the White House staff, Cabinet officers and Republican senators and representatives were referring to as "The Berlin Wall," or "The Germans." In that pre-election conversation in 1968, Mr.

Nixon said he believed that Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara had made "a political deal" on the TFX warplane contract award for Lyndon Johnson and that he was going to have the whole contract re-examined by his Secretary of Defense and perhaps cancel it. He said he hoped thet I understood why he had not been more forceful in criticizing specific defense contracts. In what I later found was his characteristic approach he commented on my "expertise" on defense waste, and said he hoped I would be available for consultation about controlling the Pentagon bureaucracy. The overdone personal flattery was what I expected of almost any political figure in the last stage of an important campaign, but Candidate Nixon handled it with a gushy awkwardness that was slightly embarrassing.

He worked too hard at trying to be a pleasant, "regular guy" politician, and it came off badly. I attributed it to an insecurity flowing from his losing campaigns in 1960 and 1962. Victory would probably remove the insecurity and he would grow with the job, I reasoned. The important thing to me was that Candidate Nixon seemed to understand the corrupting influence of secret government decisions. He said he recognized the need for a President to have an independent, nonpartisan analysis of the facts and law on potential scandals, so he would not be a captive of the bureaucratic chain of commands which had kept Mr.

Truman from knowing the facts about the Hiss case and scandals at the Justice Department, Treasury Department, and at the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. As we discussed the principle of a special counsel who would devote his time to the White House ombudsman role, I did not suggest a personal interest in such a job, nor did he indicate that he might want me to perform such a function. When I took the job of White House ombudsman in July, 1969,1 again reviewed the details of the problems of past presidents, the corrupting influence of "executive privilege," and the need for acting quickly to eradicate mismanagement or corruption. A prime requisite of effectively doing the job was ready access to the President with the warnings of impending Haldeman and Ehrlichman effectively controlled Mr. Nixon's time, and had imposed obsessive secrecy policies over the objections of Communications Director Herb Klein adn Special Assistant Patrick Buchanan.

While Haldeman had effectively destroyed Klein's influence on Nixon administration information policies, he had failed in an effort to dislodge Mr. Nixon's personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, from her office in the west wing of the White House. White House Counselor Arthur Burns, theoretically the highest ranking man on the White House staff, was sharply limited in his contacts with the President. In October, 1969, Haldeman refused rny request for a meeting with the President, and confirmed Dr. Burns' irritation over Haldeman's control.

He boasted: "Even John Mitchell has to come through me." I saw Mr. Nixon's problem as Haldeman's iron control, his passion for secrecy, and his obsession for using his Patrol" of young assistants to spy on the activities of others on the White House staff. But, Haldeman, the problem, was always present for my meetings with the President and insisting on a strict agenda. It would have been exceedingly awkward to have pointed to the ruthless and vindictive chief of staff and commented: Nixon, there is your problem." In time, I came to accept that the President either wanted it that way as a protective device, or was too weak and indecisive to break out of the Berlin Wall. By January, 1970,1 had concluded that Mr.

Nixon wanted the insulation of dealing through Haldeman and Ehrlichman, and also was probably incapable of effective action to break the control if he had wanted to do it. As I left the White House a few months later, I met for the last time with President Nixon and the omnipresent Haldeman. The Berlin Wall seemed to grow stronger and more impenetrable every week. If the President didn't understand by then what the Haldeman-Ehrlichrnan control had one to his relationship with Republican leaders in the House and Senate, I felt it would be useless to tell him. We again exchanged views on the problems of controlling the hugh federal bureaucracy and keeping it honest and I suggested that retiring Senator John J.

Williams would make an excellent permanent White House ombudsman. The President indicated he liked the idea and said he would explore it. As I left, he said he wanted to see me "from time to time" to get my advice. "If you see some problem, just call Bob. He'll set something up," the President said with a hearty handshake.

I said I would be happy to do that even though my experiences indicated it would be an exercise in futility to get through Haldeman whose inexperience and brash confidence in secrecy and tight control carried the seeds of the disaster that eventually destroyed the Nixon Administration and Richard Nixon. (Released by The Register and Tribune Syndicate, 1974) Killer of Dog Called Cruel To the person who shot a German shepherd dog named "Tramp" on July 27, I am sure you will be more than pleased to know the dog died. This was a cruel and inhumane act on your part. Anyone who would or could commit a crime like this doesn't seem to be able to use the common sense he was born with and therefore should visit a psychiatrist. Had I been in your position I would have managed to contact the owner and discuss the problem, if there was one.

Apparently you do not understand the meaning of "man's best If you have a dog, I surely sympathize with the animal. Rornayne L. Kitko Coalport by Brickman The CLASSIC offers you elegant comforts and conveniences. This car is just as handsome outside as it is inside. During our "Summer Selling Spree" at your Chevrolet Dealers come in and give yourself and family a real treat.

You will be impressed with Malibu today and we want someone else to be impressed several years from now, when you may be considering selling. CHEVROLET MAKING SENSE FOR AMERICA Chevrolel-Harpster Rt. 322, Philipsburg Fred Diehl Motor Inc. Zulick Chevrolet-Cadillac Bridge Clearfield Houtzdale Highway, Houtzdale.