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10—Nevada State Journal Sunday, August l l , 1963 Political Plums Still Ripen Where Spoils System Flowers EDITORS1 NOTE: The spoils system, based on the old maxim that “to the victors belong the spoils”—has been a fixture of American political life for more than a century. The following dispatch, based on reports from most of the nation’s state cap­itals, examines the state of the spoils system in the nation today. i f f FRANCIS X. BRENNAN United Press International The spoils system, the political plum ripened by Andrew Jackson, still flourishes in many states of the nation. Rut in no state is there much threat that the modem version of th e spoils system could ever breed the same corruption it spread in the 10th Century, a United Press International check of state Capi­tols shows, j Jackson brought the spoils sys­tem to full flower when he load­ed his adm inistration with politi­cal followers upon entering the White House in 1829. At that tim e, Sen. William Learned Marcy protested on the floor of the Senate, “they see nothing wrong in the rule that to the victors belong the spoils of the enemy”—and thereby gave the spoils system a name. Presidents and politicians after Jackson played the spoils system game far more ruthlessly. But, while the spoils—or pa­tronage- system is still common in American government, many steps i have been taken to get it out of the governors’ offices. Many states have introduced civil service or m erit systems to cut into the governor’s strength and deprive him of the power to hand out jobs. Despite the trend, the party faithful—no m atter of which par­ty -c a n still reap their reward for delivering the vote in most states. Nor is the spoils system unre­spectable. Many governors heart­ily endorse it. New York Gov. Nelson A. Rock­efeller, a Republican and a firm believer of the patronage system, has said that those who work in politics have a right to take part in government when their politi­cal efforts succeed. Gov. Matthew E. Welsh, I>* Ind., said the patronage system “gives great vitality to our po­litical parties.’’ Scranton Blasts System Others denounce the system. Republican Gov. William W. Scranton of Pennsylvania, whose state is considered to have the biggest spoils system in the na­tion, has openly criticized the Keystone State’s patronage. Scranton said it wastes the gov­ernor’s time, makes recruitment for state jobs difficult, disrupts tion is all too present when semi-i Civil service is one of the most judicial agencies...are staffed by controversial issues in the Penn-persons chosen because of service sylvania commonwealth, which to the party.” now doles out about 50,000 jobs Among states with large patron- under patronage. Scranton’s ad­age s y s t e m s are Mississippi Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ar­kansas, Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, (Louisiana, Alaska, Wyoming, West Virginia, Tennessee, Connecticut, New York, New Mexico and Vir­ginia. States where patronage handouts are practically nil include Iowa, Rhode Island1, Oklahoma, Michi­gan, California, Maine, Missouri, Texas, D e l a w a r e , Minnesota, South Carolina, Colorado, Wash­ington and Arizona. Mississippi is one of the states in which the patronage or spoils system is a tim e honored custom. The governor M s wide power and many heads roll each tim e the administration changes. Barnett Uses System Political observers have said the current Mississippi administration under Gov. Ross Barnett is prob­ably without equal in displacing employes to make room for po­litical favorites. Hundreds of peo­ple, promised jobs by Barnett, flocked to his office for months after his inauguration. Although the spoils system gives Barnett great power while in of­fice, these political bon-bons are of no use for re-election because long term programs and “the pos- the governor cannot succeed hdm-sibility of favoritism and corrupt self in office. ministration hopes to put 20,000 jobs under civil service, but his program faces tough sledding in the Legislature. Legislation Curbs Spoils The spoils system also is a sore spot in New Mexico. The 196L Legislature passed the first effective personnel act in state history but left loopholes. Al­though the 1963 Legislature han­dled a patch job to make it stronger, the politicos have found ingenious ways to get then' friends into state jobs. State jobs have always been a prime source of employment for the distressed but politically pow­erful area of northern New Mexico which is 75 per cent Spanish. Pat­ronage was a way of life there. Even if some job-seekers couldn’t read or write, they and their families were assured of jobs if they delivered the vote. The new legislation has bewildered people of the area who can’t understand why no jobs are available in the capital. But while “spoils” or patronage is often blasted by the party out of power, there are those who say the trend to civil service or m erit systems also has draw­backs. Homely Sayings By Khrushchev Dr. Charles Rozaire of the Nevada State Museum examines handprints and paintings on 100 million year old granite bouldSer near Truckee. WASHINGTON (UPI) - “God has given you Adefiauer and God has given us some foolish allies too.” The speaker was Soviet Pre­m ier Nikita Khrushchev present­ing his views on allied troubles that beset both the United States and Russia. It was one of a se­ries of quotes attributed to Khru­shchev Thursday by Sen. Hubert M. Humphrey, just returned from Moscow signing of the nuclear test bant reaty. The Kremlin leader was dis­cussing West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer by name and the Chinese Communists by im­plication. “It is like a porcupine that will continue to raise its needles.” This was Khrushchev comment­ing on the unsolved question of a divided Germany. The Kremlin leader, according to Humphrey, said that a one sided settlement on term s of either the East or West “would be foolish solutions and would lead to w ar.” He did not mention Berlin specifically. “To cut if down, you don’t do it with one slash. You cut it down bit by bit.” This was Khrushchev on the problems of the cold war which he described as having “the tough* ness of an oak tree.” Humphrey said the Soviet lead­er also used the simile of a moth­er trying to teach a child to walk in referring to the possible eas­ing of East-West tenions: “She doesn’t push or hurry him —she perm its him to walk in his own tim e.” And finally, Khrushchev on thft prospect of continued ideological differences between Soviet Com­munism and the free world dem­ocratic concept: “If it is destined that our cof­fins lie together, they will still take different positions.” Truckee Ha Secret 100 Million May Hold Years Simple Invention May Provide Key To Ocean Depths WASHINGTON (U PI)-A n geniously simple submarine pro­pulsion system invented by Cmdr. Frederick R. Hazelton Jr. of the Office of Naval Research, prom­ises to.provide a key to man’s conquest of the ocean depths. The “Hazelton Propeller” is 6nly now in the limelight because of more than three months of fruitless attem pts to locate the nu­clear submarine Thresher off Cape Cod, Mass. The Thresher foundered in 8,400 feet of w ater which is a mile and a half down but substantially less than the 12,451-foot average pth of the seas. in- He would place Ihe propulsion machinery outside the hull. Then the hull could be solidly built, with no moving parts, like the gondola of the bathyscaph. The structural engineers would still have a great deal of work to do but there is every reason to think that under these conditions the necessary strength for any depth could be achieved. Hazelton’s submarine would need no “balloon,” because it would be powered for propulsion in any direction—including up or down, and a sideways movement Alfred Sheinwold—— Bridge 'Swifties' Are Latest Craze — On Bridge Swifties seem to be the rage nobody among bridge players these days, so we’d better get our licks in before the craze dies out. They’re named after the Tom Swift books in which nobody merely said any­thing; he always said it brightly or sharply or some sort of way. The new Swifties have to con­nect the manner of the speech with the speech itself. We can see how it works by listening in at a b r i d g e game between the Smiths andt the Browns. “I wish I knew a card game,” Smith said wistfully. “Go ahead and deal,” Brown interrupted cuttingly. has suggested notrump. There’s a fine chance that both declarer and dummy will be weak S in the unbid suit, clubs. What’s more, West has K-x-x of the suit bid on his left; and this suit may furnish discards if West fails to grab his club tricks on the run. (Or so West fears*) Reasonable or not, West did open the ace of clubs. Then he switched to a trump. Declarer played the nine of hearts from dummy, and Schenken dropped the jack of hearts. The idea was to give the impression that he had started with only two hearts Goes Wrong By Stella Riesbeck On ft massive hunk of granite, two stories high and 100 million years old, in the forest near Truckee, California, are imprints of an apparently large man’s hand, and! just below, that of a woman. Both are the left hand. Above are crude outlines ap­pearing to be that of a bison, deer, rabbit, and other animals. Are these a mere prank of na­ture’s storms, or db they imply a prehistoric people once were Shel­tered by this and surrounding rocks? Was this part of a sacred area, where man in skins wor­shiped the deity? Behind School Directly behind the Tahoe - Truckee High School, about one half mile south, near the railroad tracks, stands this massive black rock formation, with many srnal-ler rocks of various shapes strewn among the trees and manzanita. Some might think the markings were made as a tourist attraction but then how to explain sim ilar evidences such as these reported oil rocky boulders higher in the Sierra, far from any road, or even a deer track? Over 25,000 years ago, a Cro- Magnon Shaman carved hand prints on the wall of a sacred cavern in France, which are still distinct today. Caves of Europe and Africa contain numerous hand figures, and almost always it is the left hand. In one cave alone, 15 etched hands in various positions, all, but one were of the left hand. Why? Probably because the right hand of the hunter held the spear or club, as' the left signaled to com­panions, to avoid frightening the prey by shouts, as they crept close to some dangerous great beast of that period. By hand sig­nal, men were superior to the animal’s thinking capacity. Thirty thousand years ago, man used his hands to communicate with his neighbor, to make ham-self understood, and this was the beginning of language.' Raphael’s Prehistoric C a v e Paintings includes a quote of Plrof. A. Johanesson concerning his in­vestigations of primitive speech1: “Of the 2,200 Indo-European roots reconstructed iby philologists, the most important class can be ex­plained! as an imitation by the speech organs of the movement of the hands, as man first began to speak.” During the Paleolithic Age the animal was the measure of all things, but as soon as man began to experiment with the power of his hands, men began to dominate the animal world. The great and decisive role of the hands was to make weapons and instruments to secure man’s life in the great struggle for sur­vival, and therefore became the conductor guiding the organiza­tion! of society, and the means of subsistence to man’s advantage. Thus, another stage of evolution began. In religion and art the hand symbolizes protection and favor. In the Stone Age, the Shaman of Holy Man engraved and inter­preted the hand prints in the sac­red room of caves. The symbolic meaning of the hand hes remained significant. God the Father has been frequently pictured as a hand issuing from the clouds; Christian and Jewish priestly bles­sings are bestowed with the raised hand; and the friendly handshake speaks volumes. The hand prints on the gigantic rock at Truckee, have now drawn the interest of archoeoiogists, and who knows what secrets may bs revealed of long, long ago? Mourns Horse SOUTHHAMPTON, England (UPI) — Marilyn Smith, 13, be­came so upset when she heard about a horse being stung to death by bees that she took ft fatal overdose of barbituates, ft coroner ruled Saturday.