The Coral Gables Times

THE Coral Gables TIMES

Established Jan 15, 1926 Published Weekly at 364 Sevilla Ave., Coral Gables, Fla. | Second Class Postage Paid at Miami, Fla. ROLFE NEILL | Editor & Publisher JOHN T. WATTERS | President Subscription: $4.20 year by mail anywhere

No Games, Please

The chairman of an advisory board (recreation) resigns. The Mayor refuses to state the reason. Why? The Mayor should either advance reasons of his own for the secrecy (unneeded as far as we can see) or let the light of publication fall on those given by ex-chairman Charles Rogers.

The Why of It

During the McLeod Amendment election a few months back, The Times came out against the Amendment and supported Metro. But we did so with reservations and said so at the time. We noted that later we would have something to say about changing Metro. Now a hearing date has been set in our community, Jan. 11 at the Youth Center, and citizens are invited to speak their minds. In a series of editorials on the Thursdays between now and then, we shall discuss some changes we believe need to be made. Below is the first editorial.

How to Live With a Monster (I)

We have been stuck. And the term "we" is used advisedly. Perhaps like us, you accepted the word of some respected local leader or the editorial page of the Herald or the News and were persuaded that Metropolitan Government is needed for Dade County. We were persuaded, too, in theory. Regrettably, like most people, we had neither the inclination nor took the time to read the legalese in the charter. That dull stuff was for the technicians who had to operate the grand scheme we approved at the polls. The preamble wrapped it all up for us, to wit: We the people of this county, in order to secure for ourselves the benefits and responsibilities of home rule, to create a Metropolitan Government to serve our present and future needs, and to endow our municipalities with the right of self-determination in their local affairs, do under God adopt this Home Rule Charter. Note that phrase, "and to endow our municipalities with the right of self-determination in their local affairs." This was the rallying point for the better-run communities such as Coral Gables. We were told, and told, and told, that the Gables would never be brought down to anybody's minimum standards, that we could set as high a standard as we wished for our services. We were further told that not only would services be improved on a county-wide basis but that our taxes would go down as duplicated departments were centralized. We were told that nothing in Metro could possibly be injurious to the Gables, that to oppose it would be narrow, unprogressive and a stumble stone to orderly growth. So we voted for it. And in repeated elections, we have retained it, although the last counting of the votes showed that the voter was beginning to have major misgivings about Metro. The truth is that Coral Gables has given away virtually all the power it possessed. So have the two dozen other Dade municipalities. Were Metro to exercise suddenly all the functions assigned by its charter, we could board up the Gables City Hall tomorrow. The implications for the Gables are frightening. This is not scare talk. If you will go over the charter with us in succeeding editorials we shall prove it. The title of the editorial suggests we have a remedy for "Living With a Monster." We do. Check us next week.

City Hall Saddle Sores

We don't blame Mrs. Gibby for giving up. We only marvel that in the face of monumental run arounds from City Hall this Gables family has fought this long for a simple, fair answer to a problem about building variances. What a travesty. The problem is not the Gibbys' making at all but the City's.

The trickle that became a flood is the way you might describe the steady flow of oohing and aahing youngsters who have delighted at the sight of the outstanding Christmas decorations at Merrick Park. Policemen who have been stationed around the clock to watch the sparkling display reported 200 little tots and their parents visit the park every hour. If my own little boy's reaction to the glittering decorations is any barometer, the Chamber of Commerce's Christmas Decorations Committee, headed by Robert Bradley and assisted by Al Jacobson and Mort Guilford, may take long and frequent bows. There's nothing like it anywhere in this part of the country. —ML—

OFF BEAT By MAURICE LABELLE

Have you noticed how difficult it is becoming to buy anything you don't have to put together yourself or pay extra to have it assembled? They show you a whatsit, all nicely assembled, solid and in proper operating condition. You like, so you buy it. If you don't have the extra sous, they hand you a box of parts, a bill and bid you adieu. And if you do, they tell you to come back in a couple of days when some one has figured how to put it together in such a way that it will stay put for more than 30 seconds or a child won't have it apart in half that time. We wouldn't say that the new rear view mirrors on City Manager L. W. Robinson Jr. and Commissioner Joe Murphy's cars are long, but their size and curvature almost enable you to see what's ahead! —ML— If you've got a complaint and call Mayor Robert L. Searle about it—don't get tricky. Someone recently called the mayor and gave his neighbor's name rather than his own. Searle went to the scene and found the people out. You never saw so many red faces. —ML— Reporters are often accused of digging dirt. One day last week it became literally true for me. Sgt. Leland Pluto, zealous new desk sergeant at the Police Station, had emptied the complaint baskets and thrown away all the complaints in a waste basket. Dirty business.

The Christian Science Monitor "Yes, dear, I know we need a Christmas tree but the Park has rules about that!"

MAILBOX

EDITOR: I hear that something may be done about the disgraceful condition along South Dixie Highway where only a curb separates playing children from the constant stream of fast-moving cars. That condition should never have been permitted to arise, and I do hope drastic relief will be provided. Now let's turn to the new Le Jeune Road! Certainly walking conditions are not so awful there as along S Dixie, but there are similarities! Le Jeune Road has been destroyed for pedestrians. A couple, or a mother and child can walk along the narrow sidewalks only at great peril. When they meet another couple, it's strictly Indian file; and when they come to a light pole, set into the pavement, it's a problem. In any case, a single misstep can place the sidewalk pedestrian right in the path of the fast-moving traffic; and if a car or truck has anything protruding the side, there is only the curb separating it from the walker or the playing child. Take a walk there when traffic is heavy and see for yourself. ROBERT H. THRONE 417 Santander Ave.

EVERYBODY'S Business By Rolfe Neill

Good Question A reader in North Carolina writes to ask: "Wouldn't 'Gabletonians' be a more euphonious word than Gableites? That latter one seems to cry for a hyphen." I don't know what the best word is but I do know that "Gableites" gags me to write it, much less speak it. Has anyone else any ideas for solving this? He Said It When Gulf Oil's Bob Leitch of North Greenway Drive was introduced as a new Kiwanian the other day at the Gables club, his hobbies were listed as golf and yard work. Dr. Al Mathes, pastor at Granada Presbyterian Church, said in an aside: "They can't be both; either one is full time." And He Recalls Al Jacobson and I were talking about stores staying open late in the evening. He was recalling how he worked as a youth. One employer for whom he had to work late kept him there to keep score while the employer played his endless game of pinochle. Incidentally, Al claims the reason he's in the stationery business is because he got so many fountain pens for his Bar Mitzvah. Goldberg Says So Labor Secretary Goldberg wants broad Federal financial support to the performing arts. It would include direct government subsidies and income tax relief for performers, theaters and community art centers. Will Mr. Goldberg, whose wife is an artist herself and whose paintings adorn his office, please stick to labor. There is enough mediocrity in the field of the arts now without building it in with government handouts. Coming South Chun King Corp. will open the first of its Riksha Inns, serving chow mein and what not, Feb. 4 near Orlando. The date is the eve of the Chinese New Year, year of the Tiger. The firm plans five to 10 more in 1962 and ultimately a chain. Hate to spoil your visions of Oriental imported delicacies but the celery comes from Belle Glade and Sanford. The company's entering the drive-in field because of the success of its "Old San Francisco Chinatown" restaurant opened two years ago in New York. More than a half million people have bought the 99-cent Chun King meal. More to Come Olympia Baptist Church on SW 97th Avenue is asking its members to write the A & P office in Jacksonville to protest the Sunday-opening policy which will be initiated in that company's Bird Road store. 'Tis True The Wall Street Journal says in a roundup story: "When it comes to producing electronic computers, wide-screen movies, jet airliners, electric can openers and other modern marvels, Americans are seldom rivaled. "But in such humble endeavors as cleaning a suit, repairing an appliance, making a fool-proof hotel reservation or carrying out a seemingly simple retail transaction, they have a long way to go." To that we'll all say amen. What I wonder is why more business people don't recognize the profitability of service. Service is the quality hardest to obtain. People will pay almost any price if they can be sure they are getting what they pay for.

Minnie And Her Money

Meet "Minnie," a hypothetical working girl conjured up by the California State Division of Labor Statistics and Research to show that a working girl in the Golden West can be self-supporting on less than $2,900 a year. "Minnie" has no dependents, shares an apartment with another working girl and pays half its costs which, including meals eaten there, come to $1,121.24 a year. For clothes, "Minnie" spends $283.90. The state agency says that "Minnie" can get by on this if she makes her coats do for two years, sweaters and blouses for three and a bathing suit for four — which may be why the statistical working girl is 35 and still single. For recreation, including provision for a 7-day, $66 vacation — and vacations don't come much cheaper than that—her budget is $166.36. But the tax bill "Minnie" pays comes to $520.08, of which $480.65 represents Federal income tax and Social Security. That $480.65 would buy more than 7 weeks of vacation at a thrifty $66 per week, or better than a 3-week-holiday at a more luxurious $132 per week. And that $480.65 is more than twice as much as she manages to put by for insurance and savings. "Minnie," in short, isn't much better off than the rest of us. Poor "Minnie." Reprinted from Wall Street Journal.