The Coral Gables Times

CORAL GABLES TIMES Thursday, February 15, 1962 THE Coral Gables TIMES Established Jan. 15, 1926 Second Class Postage Paid at Miami, Fla. Offices at 364 Sevilla Ave. JOHN T. WATTERS... President ROLFE NEILL... Editor & Publisher Subscriptions: $4.20 year by mail anywhere

Let's Be Men Instead of Children

We are about to go off half-cocked in Coral Gables on a matter which can ill afford the approach. Two groups of citizens, acting independently of one another, are each seeking commercial development for the city. They want to develop white collar industry here which is the natural "industrial" potential of the Gables. Despite dreamy wishes to the contrary, there is no question that if the two groups are not now in fact rivals, they soon will be. In the interest of the community and of the job that needs doing, this rivalry must be headed off. The way to do so is simple: Either disband one group or merge the pair into a single, cohesive organization. Which group should be disbanded, that of the Chamber of Commerce, or that of the Mayor? Logical, persuasive arguments can be— Made for Placing —commercial development under the auspices of either. There is a prestige which attaches to the Mayor's office and presumably that office might be less inclined to flattering over-statement about local assets than a local chamber of commerce. On the other hand, the Chamber is the natural repository of industry hunting because its whole organization — indeed its whole purpose — is related to business development. The Times inclines toward having commercial development handled within the Chamber. However, the Chamber was quite late this year in getting its committee functioning. Mayor Searle, meanwhile, moved on his own. He did so with the thought that he has a unique approach and one more likely to pay dividends for the town. (He had, however, better take all his fellow city commissioners into his confidence ere he faces problems right in City Hall itself). The Mayor's group has made a contact with the State development board and established itself as the "official" Gables industry group. It has printed literature, distributed it and is following up leads. In short, its program is underway. Let's stick with the horse that's running instead of waiting out one that's still in the stable. But there is a larger question. Now is— The Time to Think —about it. The question is: Shouldn't Coral Gables consider its own commercial development department? This would be a separate department with a budget and own staff. Neither the budget nor staff need be large — $15,000 to $18,000 perhaps would adequately cover it. A look at the successful development programs around the country shows in most cases that there is an administrative focal point. Someone must have the time to do the leg work, write the letters, follow up, make arrangements and the like. Now is budget preparation time for the coming fiscal year. Now is the hour for considering the possibilities. If the City is to pay the tab then we believe the department should be under the auspices of the City. Preferably, as we said earlier, such a department should be a part of our Chamber of Commerce. In summary: There are too many projects begging for leadership in Coral Gables for us to be juvenile and permit personal feelings to lead to the continuance of rival commercial development groups. And secondly, let's think about a professionally-staffed approach once we as a community decide on who's going to run with the ball.

We're Thankful

As we watch Metro's struggles with running a bus line (what is the county being such a namby-pamby for anyway?) we are reminded all over again: This is but another reason why we should keep Metro away from our fine Coral Gables bus line. Interconnect, yes; control, no. We recognize, of course, that Metro has some non-recurring problems in this awkward start up but it seems characteristic of much of what that body undertakes ... indecision and the public left unserved. Let us count our local transit blessings.

MAILBOX

EDITOR: Watch out for the 'fast dollar.' Property owners of Coral Gables, watchout for the fast dollar that can ruin our city. In this rocket-age, we cannot afford to sit back and bask in the satisfying name: "The City Beautiful." We have to constantly protect its high standard. When we heard of requests for variances in the building code, let us probe to the bottom to see if the motive is merely for speculation. This city is practically built on coral rock, symbol of solidarity with which we want to continue building. Let us not weaken the structure with erodable fast dollars. HAZEL S. RANDALL 5311 Orduna Dr.

FACES IN OUR TOWN by INK DR. FRED COLE

WAS BORN IN CAMDEN TENN., MARCH 15, 1916 DR. FRED WORKED HIS WAY THROUGH UNION UNIVERSITY IN JACKSON TENN. BY WAITING TABLE AND SELLING SHOES. IN HIS JUNIOR YEAR HE DECIDED TO STUDY FOR THE MINISTRY. HE BECAME AN ORDAINED MINISTER IN 1940. DURING WORLD WAR II DR. COLE WAS A NAVY CHAPLAIN... BEFORE THAT SUPERINTENDENT OF A HIGH EXPLOSIVE CENTER. HE CAME TO CORAL GABLES IN 1949. UNDER HIS GUIDANCE, THE CORAL GABLES CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH HAS GROWN TO 1400 MEMBERS. DR. COLE AND HIS WIFE SARA HAVE TWO CHILDREN, WADE 17 AND HOPE 14. FRED ENJOYS GOLF AND READING... HE READS ABOUT TWO BOOKS A WEEK.

Refreshing

Going back to school is exciting when you're an adult. Suddenly there's purpose you never had as a youth; work which once seemed dull and impossible to learn is now easy, even exciting. I'm reminded of this after enrolling in a night course at the University of Miami. There's a thrill in just walking across that campus. * * * Postscript Speaking of UM ... Realtot Delio Cruz's wife Nellie is a day student, taking botany. She had quite a number of credits back at the University of Havana 12 or 14 years ago and now plans for a degree here, perhaps in library science. Their three children are no problem. While they're in school and nursery, mom's in class, too.

Light Up

One of the Marine Council's directors is Frank Kerdyk. He and the council are interested in pushing a program to make international orange mandatory on all lifesaving apparatus used at sea. The girl who survived the Bluebelle tragedy was found in a write raft, Frank notes. Orange would have improved her chances considerably. * * *

Opinions

In talking with tablemates Tuesday morning at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast, I found myself surrounded with movers: Milton Hale, president of Fargo-Mayflower here; I. C. Smith, his general manager; and Ralph McCandliss of University Transfer. We talked about the universal gripes of people being moved which led Ralph to comment: "Anybody going into psychology should be required to spend two years as a mover." I thought to myself: "Probably anybody going into moving should spend two years in psychology." * * *

Alert

Delta Airlines' exec Ed Bishop is a close reader of The Times. He has called to our attention a minute error which we are glad to correct. He spotted that the word "Sevilla" — in our home address carried on page 4—has been appearing lately as "Seville." Must have occurred in one of the periodic resettings of that information carried in our masthead. In addition to Ed's general alertness, it alse proves he has good eyes. That misspelling is in the smallest size type we have in the paper. * * *

Everybody's Business By Rolfe Neill

Golfing News Listening in on the 19th Hole at Riviera Country Club last week I heard Warner Daniels talking with Andrew J. B. Adams about playing in the snow last month in Providence, R.I. "Oh yes," said old Massachusetts resident Adams. "I played at Framingham for years in the snow. We had red golf balls." The conversation continued about the weather. The others at the table, Pappy Coleman, Lou Johnson and Paul Woolley, agreed that this is the finest winter weather in many years. Paul, however, has that sense of foreboding you occasionally run across. "It's been so good I wonder what's coming that's bad." * * * Poor Girls I suppose we tend to assume the cast of whatever we live in the shadow of. But I find objectionable the large number of doctors' secretaries who treat callers with such disdain. They answer as if you were an Untouchable. Why the idea, that you might want to see the doctor. Frequently the answer is: What for? Or they act as if they were guarding Fort Knox or in any of a dozen ways making you feel uncomfortable. Wise docs wised up a long time ago: You do a better box office with a pleasant ticket taker.

OFF BEAT By MAURICE LABELLE

The controversy over muzzling of our military leaders is particularly interesting because of the undertones of possible and questionable motivation on the part of some of the censors. There are brass hats who say they have been muzzled and wonder why, others agree they have, but don't mind. I had the privilege of hearing some of the officials involved in the controversy when they addressed the American Legion Convention in Miami Beach last year. This has provided an additional insight into the problem of censorship. Newsmen who covered the speeches were given printed copies of the addresses, listened to them and were then given a private period of question and answer. Since it was unlikely that there would be something said of importance that would go unreported by the daily press or of strictly local interest, I had the unusual opportunity of enjoying the rare role of spectator. But the working habit proved too great and soon I found myself going over the speeches. I sat next to Lt. Gen. Arthur Trudeau as he stirred restlessly awaiting his turn to speak. The speaker was Maj. Gen. Bernard Schriever, who heads Air Force ballistics missile research. He had been preceded by Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, spearheader of the group charging that our military have been muzzled on speeches with strong overtones of anti-communism. As Gen. Schriever spoke of America's ballistic missiles program, I followed each word and paragraph as he read it. I was startled a couple of times when I found that Schriever was speaking entire phrases not included in the printed speech and also deleting entire paragraphs. Occasionally a word here and there was altered as the German-born and American educated general labored over his speech. When Gen. Trudeau's turn came, I wound up with his gold braid cap in my lap when another reporter slipped into his seat. As before, I began to compare the spoken and prepared speech. It was evident immediately that the general was paying only lip service to the printed copy. Gen. Trudeau apparently used the speech only as an outline, departing frequently from the text in what turned out to be largely an extemporaneous delivery. The reader will be able to see the various implications of these observations. Censorship, as any other restriction, means little if not enforced. Apparently, little was done under the Eisenhower Administration to force the brass to toe the party line or follow policies set up by the Executive Branch though there was censorship. President Kennedy, however, wants all his subordinates to speak with his voice and our soldiers to be in step with him. On the surface this appears reasonable enough — but just how far does this go? Suppose — just suppose — that President Kennedy were wrong just once on some vital matter and no one spoke up because of the consequences?

College-Bound Wonderers. Journey First to Library

Once again it is time for students and parents to consider: Shall I go to college? If so, what college? The Coral Gables Public Library has several books which should be of assistance. On the question of finance is "You Can Win a Scholarship" by Samuel Brownstein. The author points out that while many scholarships are awarded for scholastic achievement, the most usual basis for award is financial need by a deserving student. The first part of the book gives available sources of scholarships, and the second and third parts offer help in preparing for examinations. For those who have decided on college, but not where, "College Bound," by the same author, answers such questions as What college for me? What shall I study? How much will it cost? Detailed descriptions of over 900 colleges are included. "How an Ivy League College Decides on Admissions," by Katherine Kinkhead, is not just for prospective Ivy Leaguers. While Yale is used as an example, the author gives an idea of how admission boards of many colleges judge students.