The Coral Gables Times

THE Coral Gables TIMES

Established Jan. 15, 1926 Published Weekly at Second Class Postage 364 Seville Ave., Coral Gables, Fla. Paid at Miami, Fla. ROLFE NEILL | Editor & Publisher JOHN T. WATTERS | President Robert M. Slane | Advertising Manager Roy Speier | Circulation Manager Maurice Labelle, Raymond Lang, Becky Doyle-Quinn | Reporters Mrs. Irene Stoeber | Classified Manager Miss Helen Reynolds | Society Editor Mrs. Eleanor Newsholme | Office Manager Subscription: $3.00 year by mail anywhere

The Licorice Stick- & John F. Kennedy

Is there no safety from the petticoat peeking of the press? Alas, apparently not. We are reminded of the absurd extensions of the boundaries of journalism by an Associated Press account from Hyannisport, Mass., on the Presidential family's weekend there. "The Attorney General, in gay swim trucks, was standing up in the small, blue-hulled craft, taking eight youngsters for a ride near the Kennedy pier. As he steered the craft in circles, his wife, Ethel, with two more children, swam from a tow rope behind. "After watching the scene from pier for a few moments, the President, in sports shirt and tan slacks, and his wife, in blue and white print bathing suit, came ashore and boarded a white golf cart. "Immediately his daughter, Caroline, and about a dozen other children and adults piled on. With the President driving, the cart went up to the grassy lawn alongside the home of President Kennedy's father. "With Caroline's dog 'Charlie' and another dog running alongside, Mr. Kennedy took the cart on one extra turn around the grounds for the benefit of the small fry . . ." Ad nauseum, including the effort to photograph the President in a candy store. In our opinion, the American public need not know the most intimate detail of a Presidential holiday. He is entitled to privacy. Neither snoopers on the premises nor the impersonal poking of the telephoto camera lens has any business prying. There is undoubtedly a lesson in our passion to know the most minute movement or word of our President. It is perhaps that we seek to reassure ourselves that the man who leads this country is mortal after all, and the like the rest of us must cope with an aging gall bladder, have his teeth fixed or get vexed with a boat engine which fails to start. And as for the "news" of the President buying Caroline and her cronies some candy we say to our brethren camped out at Hyannisport with their copy paper and pencil Wouldn't it be much more news if he failed to honor a request for a licorice stick?

How To Get a Job Done

We're of the opinion that the City's about-to-begin experiment of manned parking lots will become a permanent policy and in time spread to all lots. We believe this will happen because the proposal for the initial trial lot makes sense. An attendant will collect only for the time you spend there and there's no possibility of a parking ticket. This seems to us the most sensible answer to critics of parking meters and those complaining of how over-zealous enforcement riles customers who've come to the Gables to shop. The plan also has the merit of being proof positive that the primary purpose of a parking lot isn't to make money at the expense of an errant motorist who forgets to look at his watch. Parking lots exist for but one reason: to store cars. Any policy in conflict with that should be altered or abolished. To the Retail Merchants Division which worked it out and to the City Commission which accepted it, the Times says well done.

Santa Claus

We've pasted in a forget-me-not spot that clipping from last week's Times, the one which said that Le Jeune Road construction work is actually up to two weeks ahead of time. December is the scheduled completion date, you may recall. Most of the harried drivers we know had about despaired of ever seeing Le Jeune again in an undug-up condition. So we say to Troup Brothers that we're delighted our agonies soon will end. And as for Santa Claus, he's going to have a smooth Gables entry afterall-we hope.

Editor's Mailbox

EDITOR: . . . I have sent the following letter to the Mayor: As a resident, home owner, business property owner and taxpayer of the city of Coral Gables since 1952, I am writing to call to your attention a situation which I feel needs some thought and study. The advent of a major shopping center just south of Coral Gables will make this problem even more acute as time goes on. I refer to the parking meters on the streets. I feel that these meters are no longer being operated to cause a "turnover" in cars parked, but, more to derive revenue from the meters and the violations. The time is almost upon us that Coral Gables might very well find itself in the position of several of Dade County municipalities—that of removing the meters completely and literally begging the shoppers to park for free. However, in these municipalities there is little to cause the shoppers to desire parking space unless he happens to wish to rent a vacant store building. I feel that much resentment is being caused by the efficient manner Miracle Mile and the adjoining streets are being policed and, parking complaints issued. Many shoppers are extremely irritated and will discontinue their shopping in the Gables as soon as the new Dade Shopping Center in Kendall is opened. I believe that a plan could be worked out to greatly alleviate this very serious problem. If, it were attacked with the idea of providing more parking spaces for legitimate shoppers rather than with the idea of providing more revenue for the further enrich-ment of Metro Monster. I further protest the placing of meters in the vicinity of the U.S. Post Office building. This area is particularly busy in the afternoon from 4 to 6 o'clock with persons on legitimate business in this building. Usually these persons are in the post office only a matter of five to 15 minutes. As there are only a few free spaces for parking available, the overflow goes into the metered spaces, usually without paying tribute to Metro. The officers in their zeal for good, vigorous law enforcement, reap a large harvest of offenders. They are either well instructed to lurk in this area at this time of day or, they have learned from experience the possibility of making a good showing by writing many tickets there during those hours. Therefore, those meters are not being utilized to cause a "turnover" of parking spaces but, to prey on and derive revenue from the unwary. Actually, the overall problem is much more important than the particular one in the post office area. If the problem is ignored. I feel that the city and the property owners will regret it within the next two years. The merchants? They will suffer too, but, they will move to the shopping centers leaving vacant store spaces. J. CARLTON PARSONS JR. 601 Miller Rd.

Remember The Times

25 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK The "Knock Knock" jokes which are enjoying national popularity have taken hold in Coral Gables. The Times sponsored a "knock knock" joke contest, the punch line of each joke submitted had to end with the name of Gables merchant . . . The sale of the Casa Loma Hotel at 1224 Anastasia Ave. has been ordered by Dade County Circuit Court . . . Mrs. Erling Ayars, 3619 Bay View Dr. was injured when the automobile in which she and her family were riding collided with a truck and turned over in Coconut Grove. She and Miss Alice Ayars of Coconut Grove were taken to the University Hospital. 10 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK Coral Gables attorney J. Fritz Gordon has been named as new Dade County Circuit judge . . . Among the photographs in The Times were the fast growing frameworks of the new Church of The Little Flower and the Bell Teelphone Co. building on Alhambra Circle . . . An unarmed Negro stole money from the cash register of the Miami Laundry at 2413 Galiano St. while a clerk's back was turned. Two passers-by, Ben Tibma and Joe Brady, chased and caught the robber.

HARDY MACE The Christian Science Monitor "You may come in . . . but you'll have to leave the weapon outside!"

EVERYBODY'S Business By Rolfe Neill

Embarrassing Isn't there some convenient excuse a man can use — oth-er than a confession of the truth, of course — when an emotional movie compels him to walk out sniffing along with the women? * * * No Sin? There's No Sense By PHILLIPS RUSSELL Correspondent "Altogether lacking in a sense of sin." A writer on foreign affairs thus describes the people of Thailand, the ancient Siam, where the United States has long maintained a protectorate and has funneled in many millions, despite the fact that Thailand invited in the Jap-anese during the last war. How are you going to deal with a people who have no sense of sin, don't know rong from right, don't see any moral questions in human life, and live blandly from day to day? These are the questions that bother the United States of-ficials and military men who keep an eye on the Thailand government. For Western civ-ilizations; it might be said, were founded on a sense of sin filtered down into our Ju-deo-Christian culture through the Old and New Testaments. If the Thailand people read and imbibed the Christian Bi-ble we would know how and where to pin them down. But they insist on living by their own Bible, made up of the Bud-dhist scriptures and interpret-ed by yellow-gowned monks. To our red-faced officials especially when newly arrived, this is unheard of and not to be countenanced except that we have pitched upon Thailand as a bastion in Southeast Asia and don't dare offend it or let go of it. In the beginning of our mil-itary and political expansion during and after the war, mat-ters looked simple enough. We would occupy or protect cer-tain lands, lend or give the people a wad of money, and they would look up to us and say uncle when we called. England met this situation years ago. Heaven help us while we go up against the same thing with money and bludgeons. * * * Ho Hum The Publisher's Auxiliary, newspaper for newspaper peo-ple, was commenting the oth-er day about some of the pub-licity stunts of our day. Among other things, it talked about how willingly the press let itself be taken in by the Ed Sullivan-Jack Paar "feud." Well, I was struck — and so was the Auxiliary — by all this nonsense of having Elizabeth Taylor and Gin Lollobrigida show up at Mr'. Khrushchev's in identical Dior gowns, purportedly by embar-rassing accent. You could smell the Hollywood press-agent all the way from Mos-cow but nevertheless our daily press dutifully ate it up. Probably the chief obstacle in the latter was persuading Monsieur Dior himself to go along with that Ice Age stunt. * * * Favorites What are your favorite words? A couple I came across this week which please me each time I hear the ripple of their syllables are "Mississippian," "Georgian," "imbroglio," "Carolinian," "elegiac," and "gossamer." * * * Signal, Please And why is it that motor-ists pull into left-hand lanes at stop lights without giving a left-hand signal? Then, as the light turns green and you're ready to follow them ahead across the intersection, they put on their turn signal and wait out the oncoming traf-fic from the other lane. * * * For You If you've forgotten (or nev-er knew) what fine biscuits taste like, try the cafeteria when you're in Doctors' Ho pital. The recipe was obvious-ly born in a more Confeder-ate lattitude than Florida but it tastes just as good when cooked in these tropics. You have to bring your own but-termilk. * * * Turned Down Word from the First Met odist Church here is that there have been many favor-able comments upon the hymns played on the tower chimes each day at noon. There has been but one ob-jection from someone in the neighborhood "and none since the volume has been decreas-ed somewhat." The chimes are recordings made by Dr. Charles S. Kel dall, minister of the First Methodist Church of Holly-wood, Calif., and a college fraternity brother of the new pastor here, the Rev. Dr. John H. Hanger. * * * Majority of One Nomination for the rough-est portion of street in Cor-Gables: Riviera Drive fro University Drive to Bird Road. Rrrrrr.