May 22, 1969 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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ldmtonals.
Git them varmints
The new marshal, resolute jaw clamped on an oat
straw, cooly survey the group of nervous shopkeepers and
townspeople gathered in the foyer of the tiny bank.
The banker put down his interest calculator, cleared
his throat and addressed those assembled.
"Folks, this here's our new marshal, Slade Gorton. I
know he won't appreciate me braggin' on him, but I know
you've all heard how he run the crooks out of every place
he's ever been at except maybe the state legislature, so I
reckon he's just the man we need here."
The owner of the general store hit a spitoon at ten
feet, wiped his mouth on his coattail, then commented:
"He couldn't be no worse than the last lawman we had.
That John O'Connell didn't do nothin' but holler about us
honest merchants cuttin' the kerosene and short-weightin'
on beans and flour. I don't rec'lect that he ever caught a
crook outside a business establishment. Leastways, I nev-
er heard of it."
The new marshal shoved his white hat back on his head
with a leather-tough hand and was about to say something
when the banker cut in.
"That's right," he said. "He even accused me of charg-
ing widows sixty percent interest, which is a damn lie be-
cause I never in my life collected more than fifty percent,
except from strangers and relatives."
"And livery stable owners," added the livery stable
owner.
A hush fell over the group as the new marshal, his eyes
mere slits, leaned forward and removed the straw from be-
tween his teeth. He spoke slowly, so that no one could mis-
understand his words.
"What you do with your beans and flour don't make
no nevermindto me. I'm here for one thing and one thing
only, to wipe out crime. This is the wickedest place I've
ever seen, and I'll remind you that I've seen Winlock, Twisp
and Cosmopolis."
"It's about time," mumbled the barber, a timid man
with shaving soap on his boots. "Robbery is up, rape is up,
murder is up, the kids are tearing around with no mufflers
on their ponies. It's a mess."
"I'm not talking about those minor crimes," shouted
the marshal. 'Tin talking about crime that eats at the
very vitals of the comnmnity."
"Like what ?" whispered the barber.
"Like bingo, for instance," screamed the marshal,
warming to his subject. "Them depraved little old ladies
sittin' in the social hall all greedy-eyed, trying to get some-
htn for nothin'."
"You're a nasty man," said the little old lady who own-
ed the dress shop.
"Don't give me no backtalk. You ain't drawed a legal
breath since you played your first piece of corn on B-15."
"Like what else ?" whimpered the tonsorial artist.
"Like pinball machines," answered the marshal, curl-
ing his lip. "All them poor slobs hunched over those dev-
il's devices when they should be home spadin' a garden or
readin' the good book with their younguns, it's enough to
make a strong man retch. There won't be a wicked little
steel ball or no blinkin' lights left when I get through."
The banker, who had been mentally subtracting the
amount of the pinball machine account from his monthly
totals, turned philosophical.
"Well, I reckon it won't hurt too much if you wipe out
the bingo games and the pinball machines, so long as you
don't mess with the working man's game, card playin'. I
enjoy a little game myself, now and then."
The marshal turned livid, tearing a pearl button off his
store-bought shirt as he gestured wildly.
"Card playin'! Card playin'! That's the worst crime
of the lot. You realize there's men sittin' around dirty
green tables in the back of saloons who are actually gam-
bltn' for money on the turn of a card? I'm gonna save them
poor wretches from theirselfs. If ] 4on't do it, no one will.
There's not another lawman in the territory with guts
enough to do the job."
The banker was about to protest when he noticed the
marshal's hand was about three inches from a pearl-inlaid
gun butt.
"Well, I guess that's the way it'll have to be," he said,
in a tremulous voice. "When are you going to start, this
weekend ?"
"New," answered the marshal. "Can't do that. It's
Governor's Day at the hess races Saturday. l've gotta
git me up to Longacres."
Founded 1886 by Grant C. Angle
Mailing Address: Box 480, Shelton, Wasl 98584 Phons 426-4412
Published at Shelton, Mason County, Washington, every Thursday.
Entered as Second-Class Matter at the Postoffice, Shelton, Wal
Member of National Editorial Association
Member of Washington Newspaper Publlshers' Association
SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $5.00 per year in Mason County, in ad-
vance _L Outside Mason County $6.00
EDITOR AND PUBLISHER --- Henry G. Gay
PLANT SUPERINTENDENT ....... Jim Shrum
OFFICE MANAGER -- Lodema Johnson
NEWS EDITOR Alan Ford
OFFICE ASSISTANT Mary Kent
SOCTY EDITOR MarJ Jacobson
JLD'I"IS]LN(] MANAGER --- Don Adolson
(
'q'he,'v goe the neighlmrhood , . ."
Let's talk books:
The life of the logger
m
By LLOYD,:. (X)OK • gers., Lgggrs World, Chehalis.
Lies, ld:tga and Loggers. B.V 130 Dp..$3.95
Finh'y llayes, l)ggers Worht, Bunkhouse Halhuis. By Robert
Chehalis, Wash. 91 pp., $2.7) li:. Swanson. I)ggers Worht,
Worht of [1)ggers. By 24 log- Chehalis, $1.(D.
The perils of panic
By JUDD MARMOR
The assumption that war is indigenous to human na-
ture, that it represents a fundamental instinct toward de-
structiveness in human beings, is being increasingly chal-
lenged by both social and biological scientists. Even if we
should accept that assumption, however, the capacity for
violence does not mean that the expression of violence is
inevitable.
We know war is a complicated social institution, requir-
ing armies, weapons, supplies, recruitment, and scientific
research; as such it is capable of evolution, change, and
eradication no less than other widespread social institutions,
like slavery, human sacrifice, cannibalism, and dueling,
which also, in their time and place, seemed deeply rooted
in human nature and destiny. Modern scocieties have, in
fact, almost always had to resort to various mass props=
ganda techniques in order to "sell" war to their peoples.
The normal peaceful attitude of Western society grow
out of Judeo-Christian ethical values and rest on concepts
of brotherhood and the abhorrence of violence. To replace
it by a military super-ego which condones murder of one's
fellowman requires special training and indoctrination. To
this end war is glorified and the answer to duty described
as manly, brave, just, righteous, honorable, and patriotic;
the avoidance of war is branded as effeminate, cowardly,
weak, dishonorable, and subversive.
God is pictured as being on one's own side, and His
blessings are invoked from the pulpit. The enemy is de-
scribed as vicious, despicable, inhuman, and threatening to
all that once holds dear.
Yet, in spite of all these enormous pressures, most sol-
diers have to be drafted into military service against their
will, and world leaders, endeavoring to heighten their peo-
ple's will to fight, feel impelled to insist that their inten-
tions are peaceful. Indeed, the basic rationale of the arms
race is that only by a continuous strengthening of armed
might is it possible to maintain the peace and to deter the
aggressive intentions of the adversary.
Whatever the validity there may once have been to
the idea of man's innate aggressiveness, it is clear that
modern warfare can give little satisfaction as an outlet for
the release of aggressive impulses. With advances in mil-
itary technology, the distance betwen the individual sol-
dier and his enemy has progressively increased and in the
era of push-button warfare there is no direct contact with
the enemy at all the triggering of a nuclear attack can
be as impersonal as pulling a lever to start a production
chain-belt moving.
It is evident that the greater danger posed today is
fear; panic is a much more potent trigger of hostile be-
havior than is natural aggression, and the fear of the en-
emy is more likely to provoke a warlike act than is the
hatred of him. If it is true that wars begin in the minds
of men, then the minds of men are also capable of ending
saving what is loved
Loggers' Life, I_ve and Laugh-
ter. By Art Mackey. Loggers
WorM. 144 pp., $4.50
l)ggers' World. A monthly
magazine, edited by Finley
Hayes. Chehalis, $3.00 a year,
$5.00 for two years.
Here is as grand a collection
of logger lore as one is likely
to find. Igger experiences on
and ttf the job, many funny
t:ales and jokes, advice on living
and logging, equipment old and
new, with comic cartoons and
wx)ds photos galore. My hat is
off to Finley Hayes, author and
editor, for the job he has done
in bringing together this all-pur-
lse omnibus.
With years of reading "all man-
ner of print, with a fair memory
of things read, I have searched
my mind for a few lines that
would catch the spirit of these
books, their deepdown underly-
ing theme. Here is a verse by
Carl Sandburg :
• . . If the Old Men, My Child
Tell you no stories about rockets
Shooting stars, horses of high
ranges
Let them ask your pardon
Excuse themselves
And go away.
These logger writers do spin
out tall tales, spiced at times
with bawdy, ribald humor. What
they tell is alrout the life they
loved; maybe hat£ or feared
and yet truly and forever LOVED.
Things of the ImSt, many of
them long gone now, with a
new breed of loggers in the
wols. Writers seek to preserve
that past, to give it form and
content, thus to build a job tradi-
tion that can be passed along.
Like Sandburg, they write for
younger men, like many of my
neighbors here in Union.
That the logger of today is
pretty much a new breed of eats,
a machine-age man, goes with-
out saying. He is far more pro-
ductive than the oldtimer, far
better paid for his work, a com-
muter to the job rather than a
camp dweller, a steady family
man and, in big timber compan-
ies, a union member. It is said
that today a good man, using
a power saw, can cut 50 to 90
thousand board feet per 8-hour
day, whereas the same man, 30
to 50 years ago, with a hand saw
turtled out about 25,000 botrd
feet. Other phases olJogging
show comparable improvement,
due chiefly to mechanization.
One ix)int, not stressed in any
of these books, is that loggers
now are better educated, or more
sophisticated than were their
predecessors. They are smarter
about timber management, lum-
ber prices, ups and downs in
'the world market, housing goals
as set by Congress, and Federal
timber sales. Whether they work
on contract, for a wage, or "bu-
shel," they are better able to
guard their own interests.
I have said that logger writ-
ers, by and large, are trying
to save what they loved in their
past, a heritage for younger
men. No one, in these books,
has looked sharply at this point,
written at length about it, so
that I am left to speculate on
what it is that these men would
presel've and pass along.
There is, of course, a logger
language, a complex set of terms,
which both Hayes and Mackey
have analyzed. These are work
skills and work tcols, described
in their everyday usage, along
with work and "dressup"
clothes. There is a fine camara-
derie, a genuine feeling of
kinship when loggers get togeth-
er; and there is a rating scheme
so that each man in a crew
knows his place in the "peck
order" by reason of the job he
holds. This implies a work "lad-
der," a succession of jobs from
bottom to top, and a number of
writers tell how they have climb-
ed the ladder. Much of the writ-
ing is sheer adventure, the kind
that comes from the nation's
pioneering past.
Most of all, I think, the old-
time logger wants to communi-
cate the kind of man the logger
was, his moral (and immoral)
character. Finley Hayes has
much to say on this, much about
the logger's "Free, go-to-hell"
spirit. The logger loves his coun-
try and his place in it. He works
at as tough a job as one can
find and he has the will power
to stick it out, get on with it.
"Hcrc comes your father with the alimony!"
Page 4. Shelton.Mason County Journal - Thursday, May 22, 1969
Letter box:
Praise, not abuse
Editor, The Journal:
I would like to congratulate
the School Superintendent as well
as the School Board for the ex-
cellent job they have done in
conducting the school business of
District No. 309. Conducting a
business of this magnitude on a
sound basis deserves praise, not
abuse. These are dedicated peo-
ple serving with no pay, but de-
voting many hours of their time,
all because they have a sense of
duty to the community in which
they make their living.
I hope the indignities heaped
upon the Board members will
not in any way influence them to
vacate these positions. It would
be well for some of the bitterest
critics to turn their efforts to
the support of the Board for the
betterment of
would have to be
that all teachers
at their highest
perform to the
ty should
numeration.
system would be
It is normal
want what we
should have the
it on our own.
honorable and a
fession, but those
happy doing the
happier if they
private enterprise.
might be greater.
we are still free
like - as yet, no
to us what we
Issues confused
Editor, The Journal:
It appears to me that the is-
sues which the Joint Study Com-
mittee claimed to be concerned
with have been deplorably con-
fused. Was it salaries which real-
ly did prompt this investigation
or was it curriculum deteriora-
tion and lack of educational ad-
vantages for our young people?
Moreover, this controversy has
mired into a sump hole of per-
sonality detraction directed
against the School Board and Ad-
ministration. It is regrettable that
persons who have a moral duty
to lead youth can find it in their
conscience to act in such a dis-
respectful and ungrateful man-
net.
At the risk of being corrected
again for my ignorance of situa-
tions around me, I must confess
that I am under the impression
that these gentlemen of the Board
who were elected to this thank-
less position by
giving us the
time and
ation. I
having my
their sense
of behavior
this group than
obviously
uthority,
ation, and
of dedication to
I am not
the toll which
disrespect,
euphemistic
and progress:
attached to
take in
that we will
other
problems "
dent discipline
ation is a
either direction' a
(Mrs.) carlotte
Political free.loaders
Editor, The Jourmd:
Congratulations on your edi-
total (Miracle Workers) in the
May 15 issue of /he Journal.
I wish other news media would
follow suit. Publicity might cause
these free-loaders to get their
(:laws out of tbe public cash
drawer - though I doubt it.
Ira pretty hard. to shame a
Senator pr Representative 'draw-
ing $42,500 per year plus thoa-
sands of dollars in side bene-
fits, and yet expects the public
to pick up the tab when he eats
below cost meals and gets below
cost haircuts in the Senate bar-
ber shop. That type of person
doesn't know any such word as
shame.
A glaring example of political
thinking occured in the mid-For-
ties. I was working as a black-
smith's helper
3. My wages
Working a
ed about
Sam
$25 out of
At the same
timber failer,
rode the
year term
resentatives.
year term this
on a junket
at the
payers, rleY Ss¢'a' i
And Cha "i U' r
an )iv ,*, .
well as l y _,.K s $1
that he had a el
iness tourlr _ r.,dm
expense as a 'J
a Berkshire w . i
a synagogue" "i
[
The Flapdo:dle00r:J
Sweet A deline
from Oregon soloo00[.
By STEVE ERICKSON !|
The singing drunk is a vanishing Arelq¢ ,.
a vanishing Oregonian. . i.#yoOtli+
he's
Because the state legislature says ra=S =
song, in a tavern, is a no-no.
"To allow singing in taverns would
nothing but grief," says the state
such things.
l'll take his word for it. Most state tes
are plenty familiar with what causes t.vJ,
However, I'd like to register a mod,*
also inquire of the Oregon legislature, ^
ladies), what next ? Ban singing in the s"
Where I grew up, tavern sin
cred American institution shower
I'm not alone in my protestationS.
Club, a group of sober newsmen lik ,
to the cause, whatever it may be. _, @
"Singing is allowed in cocktail Io ungea' 00:
contends. . ,,Ott
Yes, agrees our sober senator, but "€. :
a decent cocktail lounge and start s in'
you out."
The voice of experience.
At any rate, even though Oregon
like bluenoses when they're
I'm happy to say that in WashingtO
I think. The legality of it all escap e
but I seem to recall some fairly m
raunchy, tunes pouring forth over L
please, tavernwise.
And the White Spot has been
promptu harmony on occasion, I hazily
Of course, what I remember ,as
mistaken for moans of mortal agony
keepers, for they're an unpredictable
But it seems to me that if you
(and you can't) then you shouldn't |
late a fellow who's busy
The state senator who tries it
performed---re-election wise--his swa"