The Coral Gables Times

Thursday, January 3, 1963, page 4 (of 20)

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Coral Gables TIMES

4 CORAL GABLES TIMES Thursday, January 3, 1963 | THE Coral Gables TIMES | Second Class Postage Paid at Miami, Fla. Published at 344 Sevilla Ave., Coral Gables 34, Fla. | JOHN T. WATTERS... President | ROLFE NEILL... Editor & Publisher | DON GUNN... Advertising Manager | Subscriptions: $4.20 year by mail anywhere in the U.S.A. | Established Jan. 15, 1926

Here Is Your Answer, Mr. Finkelstein

In a long letter on this page last week, Charles Finkelstein, a citizen and property owner of some magnitude here, keel hauled two commissioners for their views on the Rader land use plan. He also wondered where the editor stood. Well, the editor made his stand long ago. Before going on to some sundried matters, he'll restate it: The pulse of Coral Gables is its residential areas. Nothing must erode them, devalue them or intrude upon them. If a proposition is dubious, err on the side of residential zoning integrity. The Times believes that our current City Commission has a good record in this regard. Of doubtful validity is this shibboleth of Mr. Finkelstein's about all the taxes our commercial properties pay. A City study now underway will in time tell us, but the editor believes that commercial properties consume about as many tax dollars as they bring. One thing we must never forget: Lovely as Miracle Mile is, as nice a variety of shops as we have here, the homes were here before the commercial establishments. To the homes' preservation is our first allegiance. The Times, for one, does not believe that downtown business progress is incompatible with the bedroom community we have. But we do insist that it be rigidly confined to the central business area as we now know it. We have advocated 50-story buildings if the proper parking et al are provided. We think that largely the business district ideas of Rader Plan are good ones. We do strongly disagree with its nine-story limits on downtown buildings. We applaud the civic plaza idea, also the step-down zoning of big buildings, apartments and the like. We'll leave Commissioners Murphy and Evans to their own defense although we doubt either will reply publicly. Since getting the mayoralty gleam, the once-vocal Mr. Murphy is less and less to be heard from; the big stick is grown lighter and he walks so softly many times as not to be heard. Mr. Evans is a man with a good mind who freezes to positions too early. We are a bit surprised that while he and other Commissioners were busily talking to Rader and Associates while keeping the public and the press outside the barn door (until a formal report could be made), that during all this time Fred Evans didn't discover that what he was going to get was indeed recommendations and not a survey. Was he listening? And speaking of the City and its future, to end on a topical note: Why haven't trees been planted along Le Jeune Road? "City Beautiful" is a worn slogan when the main artery is as barren as the Sahara.

U.S.A.: Quo Vadis?

As a citizen who feels responsible for the United States' abandonment of the Cubans to certain defeat in the Bay of Pigs invasion, the editor of The Times willingly bears whatever his share of the ransom may be. But we cannot help but note that when ransom was first talked a year or so ago it began with 500 tractors. This soon turned into $20 million worth of equipment. There was a general revulsion at the idea and horror at the magnitude of the figure. Some men even had $100,000 put on their heads. What we formerly strained at we now gulp, as if with relish. Rather than $20 million, it's $53 million — plus transportation and handling. The most absurd individual ransom figures, even up to $100,000, have been met. U.S.A.: Quo Vadis?

A Good One

For a fine piece of entertainment see "Lawrence of Arabia," It could easily have been cut at intermission instead of going the route for 3 hours and 42 minutes. But I think you'll agree that it's movie-making at its best with color shots of the type you dream about.

This 'n That

HEARD ON THE STREET: Is it true that the City Commissioners will add the names of Jack Holmes and Nat Winokur to the bronze plaque on the abuilding City parking garage? Understand they could be listed as official sidewalk supts . . . Dr. Louis Silverman, 6845 Veronese, is bidding to buy some submerged land east of Elliot Key . . . Has Mayor Searle talked to the other Commissioner (not Murphy) who has the Mayoralty virus? In Voice A fine addition to life in the community are Cantor Richard Brown and his wife Barbara. He joined Temple Judea this fall. Until he decided to follow the tradition of his father and grandfather about six years ago, Dick Brown was in show business. He has a splendid voice which now works for the Jewish religion. The Browns live at 415 Majorca Ave. Incidentally, one of the cantor's brothers sings on the Mitch Miller show. Windup Decorating the outside of a commercial building is difficult. I don't know anyone in the Gables who did a better job—and none on as large a structure—as the handiwork at Coral Gables Federal. Modest in display and tasteful in execution. The Big Show Coral Gables certainly dominated the Orange Bowl Coaches Luncheon last Friday at the Everglades Hotel. Chairman of the event was Keith Phillips Jr. Mayor Searle was on the platform. Dr. John Hanger of our First Methodist Church gave the invocation and Jackson Baldwin is president this year (as his Pop in years past) of the OB Committee. 'Twas a good show with the emcee getting a yak to his middling-age, yet football-minded audience: "The last time most of you had body contact was on your honeymoon."

Everybody's Business

by Rolfe Neill Would You If a well-known family in the Gables came into your store and asked for credit, you'd give it. If they couldn't pay their bill and asked to borrow money, you probably would extend it. When the time came to pay the loan and they wanted to borrow again, you'd take a long, hesitant look. After several such repetitions you'd undoubtedly refuse them further credit until they cleared their account. Banks, for instance, require their commercial borrowers to pay out periodically to prove their solvency. Yet, the U.S. Government is in precisely the situation as the family outlined above. We get deeper and deeper into debt with no hope of paying out. Yet, people urge a tax cut; we budget more; we increase our public expenditures. Someday, wise men will look back to our folly and ask, puzzledly, Why? 'Tis a good question. A Comment As good an analysis as I've seen of why newspapers can never sleep when government's around is put on paper by an English Member of Parliament, William Deedes. Said MP Deedes: "The relations between the politicians and the newspapers are founded not on sympathy but on antipathy. Both to some extent are rivals for influence over the public mind, and they take good care that neither should achieve a monopoly of it. "Therein lies the incalculable value of this relationship, because in the countries where newspapers and politicians are in the same camp, there freedom is threatened." Bravo.

MAILBOX

EDITOR: We have read and enjoyed The Times for many years and had done some advertising in it. It is surely a nice weekly — in fact, I never seem to throw away one copy until the next one arrives. MRS. ADRIEN CHARRON 6311 SW 22nd St.

OFF BEAT

by Maurice Labelle What kind of news do you think ought to go into a newspaper? If you left it up to the politicians, nothing of embarrassment to them. However, if embarrassing only to a political opponent, the story is okay. A clergyman you would expect to censor a story involving wrongdoing of any kind involving his faith or a member of his faith. A policeman would eliminate any story of corruption in the ranks, unless, perhaps it had been exposed by him and might result in a promotion, praise and more money. A military man would withhold any information about a failure, though he would have no similar reservations about a success. A lawyer would just as soon forget about the case he lost. A criminal lawyer would keep out of newspapers all stories of crime generally and his client particularly until such time as the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled on the case — and you can be certain that it would be his business to indicate that it would go that far just to keep it out of the paper. A businessman would keep out all the bad news about business — whatever that means. An educator would keep out all those ridiculous ideas about teaching methods and education. And a medical doctor would eliminate all stories reflecting on the omniscience of the profession. You can imagine what kind of paper a staff made up of all these persons would put out. It might look and feel like a newspaper, but it would be unbelievable. And it wouldn't last much beyond the first editon. —ML— Reaction to a reporter's questioning, greatly depending on the subject, is usually amazing, though the interviewee probably doesn't look at it in that light. There is no diplomatic way to probe into a person's business, be it public or private. Some public officials react pretty much as if their personal business were involved when querried about political matters. Gables Mayor Robert L. Searle reacted somewhat belligerently recently when querried about his political activities and questioned the reporters' right to ask questions. The answer is obvious, of course, the reporter has every right to ask the questions. The office holder has every right to refuse to answer. Let the reader place any interpretation he might on the willingness or unwillingness of a public official to answer questions and the manner in which they are asked and answered. How would other area politician react theoretically to this type of questioning? Winston W. Wynne: Guffaw . . . What are you trying to do to ruin me, ha, ha? What are you getting at? Let me tell you about a story . . . No? How about you and me sitting down to breakfast next week and you can ask me all the questions you want. Joe Murphy: Ha, Ha, Ha. Those are real tricky. I don't mind answering them at all. But I do wish you'd get that from somebody else. George Wilson: I do think that some of these questions are rather personnal and I do recognize that you fellahs have to get the news, and I don't mind answering them, but have you checked with anybody else before you called me? Fred Evans: Wow. These are touchy questions. I can see why someone might get mad at you for asking them. Frankly, I wouldn't mind answering them, but I'm afraid they might be misinterpreted or misconstrued by your readers. For that reason I think I'll refrain. Jerry Dressel: Nah. I don't mind answering those, don't mind at all. I think you have every right to know. After all when a person runs for public office he's got to take the good with the bad. However, having said that, I don't think you'd better quote me. Bob Brake: Heh, heh, heh, heh. You know how I feel. I don't mind being quoted, although a couple of times I don't think the newspapers reflected my exact feelings. Public officials should expect to be asked these questions, though, and I have no reservations about it. Now about your questions, I have written an article on just that subject in the Weekly Blab which I would like to have you look at...

'Clowns: Herd-Bound and Habit-Ridden'

MARK TWAIN, LETTERS FROM THE EARTH, edited by Bernard de Voto, Harper & Row, $5.95. By PHILLIPS RUSSELL Correspondent After his death in 1910, Mark Twain's daughter, Clara Clemens, objected to the publication of his notes and essays now assembled under the title of "Letters from the Earth." At that time some of these papers would have been considered irreligious, blasphemmous, unpatriotic, and scandalous. But changed national attitudes have caused Clara Clemens to change her mind and we can now read these heresies without becoming red in the face. They bear out what was once not clear, that in satirizing and exposing human habits and beliefs Twain was ridiculing not merely a nation but Man. Man, in Twain's view, was essentially a clown, credulous, herd-bound, habit-ridden, and bound to be the target and victim of the preachers of orthodoxies. The fact that one section of this book is entitled "The Damned Human Race" illustrates Twain's conviction that progress is the exchange of one foolishness for another. For example, Moses and the Midianities furnished him with a sarcastic comparison of the early Israelites with the relatively considerate and merciful Red Indians of early American history. A clue to the comprehension of human history is supplied by his paper on "The Gorky Incident" in which he remarks: "Laws are sand, customs are rock. Laws can be evaded and punishment escaped, but an openly transgressed custom brings sure punishment." Twain obviously enjoyed writing these papers. But mindful of the iron custom, he refrained from publishing them during his lifetime. The world would have been horrified then; it is scarcely disturbed now. It has either caught up, or is indifferent.