The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1953-12-03

long before the woods will be DIR,
again-if past conditions con.
tinue.
So, please, use your ash tray
Let's prevent forest fires.
! have just finished reading 6
book written by Maurice M. Mil
ligan, the United States District
Attorney who helped smash the
Pendergast machine in Kansa.
City. The book, called Missouri
Waltz" when it came out, is pub.
lished by Charles Scribner's Sons
New York.
II is one Of the most revealing
works ! have ever read-and any
one reading it, l believe, will bet
ter understand just how the Unit
ed States got in its present con-
dition. Iknow. many of our read
ers have wondered how so many
mediocre people could possibly
get into places of responsibility
in our government-and stay
there. 70 say nothing of the out
right spies and Communist SYM
pathizers.
am going to try to buy a copy
OF this book and give it to the
Holmes County Library-every
American citizen should read it.
The book is not grudge thing
or political"
1t cites the record, calls names,
gives dates, places. It is q record
50 shocking the reader wonders
how conditions described therein
could possibly come about.
Its importance lies in the les
son II teaches-that such condi-
tons must not be allowed to
flourish again.
One interesting sidelight in the
book is that Judge Keeves, who
played an important part in
bringing the Pendergast hench-
men to trial and justice was the
presiding judge at the historic
Greenlease killers trials only q
few days ago.
During recent weeks much has
been said concerning the pro-
priety of summoning high politi-
cal figures, such as an ex-presi-
dent and an ex-attorney general,
and a state governor before a
Congressional committee for
questioning on matters Of grave
concern to q whole nation 4.
questions relating to their con-
duct Of the duties Of their office
while they were Theoretically
serving the people Of the United
States.
| Within the past few days a
aader Of this column has called
10 our attention a l940 newspaper
dipping in which one Of the ma
\'on's top ranking reporters, Bob
onsidine, reflects on the spec
Gle Of two members of the Su-
IRENE Court, Justices Frankfurt
Ter and Reed, testifying in open
court on behalf of Alger Hiss, a
man who was at that time under
going trial as being a perjurer and
betrayer of secret government
documents.
The two justices left their ben
ches while court was in session
and testified to the integrity of
Hiss-who was later convicted,
as we know.
Also, Mr.. Considine relates, the
Fair Deal" Governor of Illinois,
Adlai Stevenson, also testified for
Hiss at the trial by deposition.
Mr.. Stevenson signed a paper
saying Hiss was above reproach
which was presented in evidence.
Mr.. Considine comments on
the fact that the two Justices of
the Supreme Court win be called
upon, should the case ever get
70 the Supreme Court (Which it
did, Of course) to act upon a case
wherein they themselves had
given testimony.
Their appearance made trial
history.
It seems that it really doesn't
matter what you did in office-it's
what you got away with, or who
your friends were.
Any administration which can
make its own rules as it goes
along-declare all of its records
.sconfidential" and then refuse to
account for its actions at a Con-
gressional hearing has the coun-
try and its people at its mercy.
It can commit murder and do
away with the corpse without
having a funeral.