The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 68, No. 10, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 7, 1957 Page: 2 of 8
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...Is County Responsibility
The Canyon Volunteer Fire Department last
week wts ordered to cease answering calls to
fires outside the city limits, according to a
report in The Canyon News, until the Canyon
City Commission can negotiate a responsibility
contract with the Randall County Commission-
ers Court.
That paragraph sums up in a few words
something that is happening in many cities
and counties in Texas right now.
For years, city volunteer fire departments
have answered calls for help at rural fires in
a spirit of neighborliness which is part of the
THE CANADIAN RECORD
(Hemphill County) Texas
BEN TVZTTT-T. - Editor
TESS WILKINSON Society Editor
TED ROGERS Foreman
newspaper
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
In Hemphill and Adjoining Counties:
One Year - $2.50
Elsewhere $3.50 per year
Entered as second class matter December 20,
1945, at the Postoffice at Canadian, Texas,
under the act of March 3, 1879. Published
each Thursday afternoon at Canadian, Texas,
by the Lockhart Publishing Company, a Texas
corporation.
Lyndon Shows Wisdom . . .
... In Senate Leadership
(From t&e Wellington Leader)
Lyndon Johnson. Senate Democratic Leader,
has been doing something that this observer
has contended have been done over
the years. He doe^'not follow the seniority
rule totally in his recommendations for com-
mittee appointments. In some instances he
has been criticized by extreme liberals and in
others by conservatives, depending on who
was affected; but he has stuck with his guns
in trying to get the best man appointed as
chairman of various committees regardless of
some slight difference in seniority. The sen-
iority rule has always seemed inefficient if
applied absolutely. Experience in any work
is valuable and should be taken into consid-
eration. But just because a man has served
thirty years in the senate does not mean
necessarily that he knows more about the
work of a certain committee than say some
more forceful and intelligent man who has
served only twenty years on the same com-
mittee. The more elderly man might be grow-
ing senile or he might be known as an ir-
responsible leader to the members of his own
party. The seniority rule should never be
rigid either in business or in government.
Senator Johnson has also done another com-
mendable thing as senate leader and it was
also a departure from the old hide-bound
rules. He has seen to it each Democratic fresh-
man senator was appointed to at least one
important committee. This will tend to in-
crease the strength and usefulness of his party
in future years. By contrast the Republicans
followed the old tradition and shunted their
freshmen to committees that are of little im-
portance. If you know anything about how
rigid those old seniority rules used to be, then
you can realize that it takes courage to exer-
cise and maintain leadership of the Johnson
variety.
western tradition of life. But the "good neigh-
bor" policy has run into some cold h^rd facts.
A few weeks ago, Canadian City Commis-
sioners reached an agreement with the Hemp-
hill County Commissioners Court by whlcfi the
County will pay the City $50 per month for
rural fire protection, and at the same time,
assume liability for accidents or injuries to
equipment or firemen during out-of-city calls.
N The County is now paying for a service
which county rural residents have been get-
ting "for free" for many years . . . and that,
it seems to us, is only fair . . . but more com-
pelling reasons than "sharing the expenses"
moved the City of Canadian to request such
a contract.
The "responsibility clause" in the contract
is the big item . . . and it was the disastrous
refinery fire at the Shamrock plant near Du-
mas a few months ago which brought it all
to a head.
Several Dumas volunteer firemen were kill-
ed in that blaze, others injured, and a lot of
fire fighting equipment destroyed. A court has
now ruled that the mayor and City Commis-
sioners of the City of Dumas are liable for at
least a part of the damages, injuries, and
deaths which resulted from that ill-fated fire
call.
That court "ruling has forced city govern-
ments all over the state to take a long hard
look at the proposition of sending city fire
fighting apparatus . . . and city firemen . . .
outside «ity limits to fight rural fires.
The result is that counties are being asked,
not only to assume a share of the expense of
providing rural fire protection . . . but to as-
sume liability for damages or Injuries result-
ing from fire calls outside city limits.
• •
Labor Is Pricing . . .
. . . Itself Out of Business
(From The State-Line Tribune)
Most of the small-town businesses in this
area are exempt from the provisions of the
minimum wage and hour law. However, from
the looks of legislation now pending in the
halls of congress, they'd better watch out, for
their position seems to be imperiled.
As a matter of fact', we have more or less
expected to see the extension of minimum
wage and hour provisions for some time. That
seems to be the trend, and there doesn't seem
to be much that can be done about it.
With the recent attention given to "do some-
thing for small business—it's dying out" in
Washington, we have never once heard it sug-
gested that the exemption from government
price-fixing be continued for small businesses.
And that would be one of the most reassuring
things that congress could do.
Incidentally, whenever we speak of small
businessmen, we do not necessarily stop at
the level of the average retail or service es-
tablishment on Main Street.
When all is said and done, farmers arc
businessmen in just as real a sense as are
the storekeepers. In fact, anyone who hires
others to assist in carrying on some kind of
operation is an employer, and all employers
are businessmen.
To judge from the present attitude of the
legislators, we would guess that within two or
three years, the average small town retailer
or service businessman will be paying no less
than $1 an hour just to have some kid burn
his trash, or some totally untrained person try
to learn the ropes of his business.
And when that happens, you may be sure
that it won't take but another session or two
of the legislature to make sure that no farmer
pays less than the minimum wage for cotton
choppers, tube-setters, and the like, regard-
less of how much the person might want for
the job.
Small wonder that the glassy-eyed business-
man, confronted with the thousands of other
things he must do for his paternalistic gov-
ernment,' is considering changes of the most
radical kind. Small wonder that he feels that
almost any machine is worth its price—if it
will just reduce the number of people re-
quired to produce the product.
With the aid and blessing of the govern-
ment, organized labor of the United States is
going to price itself right out of the business.
If the Pump Only Holds Out
i*'"'\
This to the ninth in a series ol ten articles by Now York newspaper reporters
Frederick Hodgson and Frani Rosonwald. who recently sprat several
weeks In Duval Co. and South Texas, gathering tacts lor this series.
cfiht Decline of Duval Dukedom Shows
/{mm>
How Publicity Withers Dictators
STRICTLY FRESH
rpHERE'S the bride who started
off married life by Squeezing
the tomaA juice.
• * •
Air Conditioner: noise keeps
you awake all night so you can
enjoy the cool air.
People who kick furniture
when angry probably couldn't
out-argue anything smarter.
• • e
Intelligent Conversationalist:
one who nods in agreement
while you talk.
• e
Clothes Horse: makes a $5,000
mink coat look like a warm-up
blanket,,
t * t
A railroad freight ear's aver*!
age carrying capacity is M ton
What about that onion ring
weather forecast for 19S7? Our
Perryton forecaster either did-
n't know her onions, or her
onions didn't know Panhandle
weather!
The onion rings, remember,
forecast a "dry" January, a
"dry" February, and "little
moisture" for March. Well,
January was dry enough, al-
though this area did get half
an inch of moisture during
the month . . . but February
was certainly "wet" by Pan-
handle standards . . . with
1.10 inches of rain recorded in
Canadian and more in some
sections of the Panhandle as
all of West Texas got a good
wetting.
And March came in like a
wot and woolly lamb with
well over an inch and a halt
o! moisture already on record
for its first week in this world
and more coming as this is
written. This damp weather
is positively intoxicating.
We suspect that Mrs. Cart-
wright of Perryton must have
got hold of some onions from
the 1955 crop. We just hope
that- her onion rings were as
far off for the rest of the
year's forecast as they have
been for the first three months
of the year.
"Letting well enough alone
may be the right thing to
do" observes the Second Street
Philosopher, "if only there
was a way to tell when well
enough is well enough."
Have you heard about the
careless hunter who climbed
through the fence with his
gun cocked? The Lena (111.)
Star reports that he is sur-
vived by his wife, three chil
dren, and a pheasant!
Members of the Texas Fed-
eration oí Women's Clubs (in-
cluding the Canadian Wom-
an's Club) have launched a
project to provide "Cows for
Korea." Each club has been
asked to provide one cow (of
the milk-giving variety) or
S70 in cash. Wonder if any-
body has bothered to find out
if the Koreans like sweet
milk?
That isn't just a smart-alec
question. During a World War
II tour of duty in the Far
East we observed natives ob-
taining . . . and drinking . . .
the milk of the native water
buffalo. If the Koreans have
beon accustomed to that sort
of diet, cow's milk is going to
be a pretty weak dish of tea.
Anyhow, the ladies are go-
ing into the cow business for
Koreans . . . and knowing the
ladies, we'll bet the Koreans
wind up with the cows. If
you want to contribute pain-
lessly to the project, just mail
your check to Mrs. J. L. Yok-
ley.
"Experience," says Bill Per-
kins in The McLean News, "is
the only teacher that gives us
the test first and the lesson
afterward." Bill obviously did-
n't go to school to some of
the teachers we knew.
That fellow who robbed the
bank at Follott the 'other
morning was Just trying to
float a loan to cover his over-
drafts at another bank. The
"loan" didn't go through . . .
but he probably provided him-
self with plenty of social se-
curity for the next few years.
Canadian's Army Reserve
Unit is seriously in need of a
commanding officer. Lt. "Bus-
ter" Brown, who started the
unit, has been transferred ...
and the reservists are looking
for a reservé officer with an
army commission in grade of
lieutenant or captain to take
over command. Apply at City
Hall any Thursday night.
"In this day of the atom
bomb." says the town pessi-
mist. "anyone interested in
learning about this world we
live in had bettor hurry." To-
night's a good timo to begin
... go to school (it's open
house in all classrooms from
7:30 on) and got acquainted
with what the Idds aro loan-
ing.
Tour Dollar Bay Most In
Quality Merchandise from
Tour FriendlylCanadlan Mer-
chant
By-FREDERICK HODGSON
SAN DIEGO, Tex.-What was
it that finally pulled the props
from under George Parr's politi-
cal dictatorship ? The people ? The
State? The Federal Government?
The newspapers?
They all had a hand in it!
There were also the Texas Ran-
gers, and a lot of freedom-hungry
Duval residents both "Anglo" and
"Mexican." And there were some
Texas newspapers and newspa-
permen who-risked life or libel,
or both.
Without them, former Atty.
Gen. John Ben Shepperd's assault
on the iron-clad county of Duval
might have been a grand and
valiant flop. He knew that when
he started.
As it turned out, the news-
papers were eager to print the
facts _ about George B. Parr, if
they just had some facts to print.
When they had the facts, they
pulled all the stops. That's when
the machine began to come apart.
There was a spunky newspaper
here and there tliat had been
chipping away at the foundation
all along, within the bounds of le-
gality and discretion.
The Alice Daily Echo wasn't
afraid of the Bosi. And when the
facts began to emerge the Echo's
proof-reader, a little woman
named Caro Brown, turned re-
porter and won herself a PuliUer
Prize. But not without having her
own life and that of her teen-age
daughter threatened.
There was also Santos do la Pas
ever in Corpus Christi. He ran a
little bi-lingual weekly called La
Verdad, the Truth, and that's just
what he tried to print about
George Parr. Before it was over
he wound up holding a giant libel
suit, besides going to jail for
getting over-eager and printing
things he couldn't prove about
some of Parr's friends. The libel
suit turned out to be a legal trick
to force Paz to reveal what he
knew in a court hearing. The suit
was later dropped.
Just about all the newspapers
in Texas were as eager to get the
truth out of Duval County as
those close to the scene, and
weren't afraid to print it.
That kind of spotlight withers a
dictatorship the way a lfht wind
wilts an orchid. And that, com-
bined with more than 400 separate
court actions all over Texas, is
the reason George Parr's empire
isn't the same old empire it used
to he.
Parr used to deliver 100-to-l
majorities at the polls That's why
Duval was his county. The district
judge, the district attorney, the
grand juries, the sheriff—every-
body took their orders from the
Boss. But not any more. There's
a new slate of officeholders, men
whom the Duke did not choose.
The hundreds of gun-toting
"deputies" are gone. The Commis-
sioners Court and the school
boards no longer take orders from
Parr He doesn't sign the checks
anymore, or keep the records.
There's no more easy money, no
handouts, no payoffs.
County officials don't charge
their personal household expenses,
medical bills or gasoline to the
county any more. They don't car-
ry their daughters on the payroll
ns teachers while they're away at
college They don't get their deer
rifles at county expense, or charge
their kids' cough medicine and
castor oil to the school district
Things are different in Duval.
They're different for the Duke,
too. His two banks, depositories
of county and school funds, long
Mrs. Frank Mc.Mordie sr.,
Mrs. John McMordie and Mrs.
Frank McMordie jr. attended
a shower in Perryton Tuesday
afternoon for Mrs. W. S. Cle-
ment, the former Miss Leila
Ross Barton.
A. B. Talley was in Dallas
the early part of the week on
business.
ago were taken out of his hands,
closed down, by the state. His
55,000-acre ranch, bought with
county funds, has gone back to
the county, and another 4,000-acre
hacienda was auctioned off by the
authorities to satisfy tax claims
against the Duke.
Donato Serna, the man Parr
jailed and clubbed with a flash-
light for taking a picture of
Parr's "deputies" is now County
Auditor, handling the purse
strings, requiring a sworn state-
ment from every county employe
that he did the work for which he
is paid, There are no more ficti-
tious names on the checks. Every
recipient of Duval County funds
now has to be a flesh and blood
reality with a name and a face.
When a boss loses his grip on
the purse strings, he loses friends
fast. Those who still stick by him,
and they are few, remain at his
side because they're in the same
trouble he's in.
Not all of Parr's frienda-in-
distress stayed with him, however.
County Judge Dan Tobin, long-
time Parr supporter who was
heavily indicted himself by Duval
grand juries, pulled away from
the Duke and in effect joined the
forces opposing him. In the same
way, Parr lost his control over
the Commissioners Court. That,
plus a half-dozen elections Parr
couldn't control, lined up the coun-
ty and school district offices
against the once-mighty Duke
who used to give orders to them
all.
The biggest change, though, is
in the names on the county and
school district payrolls—the many
non-elective employes who can
either serve the county or rob it,
depertding on who's in charge.
The Duval County government is
no gravy train any more.
Duvalans long ago lost count
of the more than 150 hangers-on,
parasites and "cooperative" em-
ployees who have either resigned
their jobs in panic or have been
chopped off the payroll by Serna.
His budget-trimming knife is ra-
zor-sharp. The Parr supporters
who used to be carried on the
books as "road consultant" and
"hide inspector" at two or three
hundred a month, some of them
the wealthiest men in the county,
have been relieved of their duties.
I pointed out in an earlier arti-
cle that Duval's tax rate used to
he the highest in the state. It
began to come down when the
parasites started resigning. Elec-
tion costs have been reduced as
much as 00 per cent, while th<'
number of voters has just about
doubled.
¡ County services, meanwhile,
¡ have improved remarkably. Parr
critics whose ranches were all but
inaccessible because county ma-
j chinery wouldn't gride their
roads now are getting home in .10
! minutes over country lanes that
i it used to take two hours to navi-
gate
The Renavides school kids got
; one of the biggest breaks of all.
Four Parr men resigned from th<*
¡ board three years ago when school
, records were impounded, and the
! new board found the district about
| $i!0,000 in the hole, in spite of a
\ gigantic tax intake. Many im-
\ provements had been made and
paid for on paper, hut not in ac-
tuality The new board figured
' they could make vast physical im-
■ provements and undertake major
I const ruction projects and still put
I the district back in the black with-
I out raising taxes I.ike the coun-
ty, the school districts have been
■audited and re-audited in the last
Mr. and Mrs. Claude John-
ston of Borger visited here
with friends over the week-
end.
USE VITAMINS for better
health. ABDOL Vitamins, with
minerals, are good for the
whole family. Ask your phar-
macist Canadian Pharmacy.
4-tfc
three years, after being without
fiscal check-up for decades.
AH this examing of records has
had results. George Parr's sun is
setting, and his shadow stretches
long and thin over the rubble of
his falling empire. Half a dozen
grand juries, no longer hand-
picked and controlled, have hung
hundreds of indictments around
the necks of the Duke and some
40 of his followers.
On January 29 a jury in New
Braunfels found Parr guilty of
stealing funds from the Bena-
vides School District and sen-
tenced him to five years in prison.
The previous day he was declared
bankrupt by a Federal court.
Three of his followers, convict-
ed of conspiracy to steal from
the county, have appealed their
rases. The rest have used a dozen
legal loopholes to postpone their
trials, including the hiring of a
Texas legislator as legal counsel.
A legislator, under Texas law,
can't be taken away from his
lawmaking duties to try a case.
When the 54th Legislature ad-
journed, the lawmaker dropped
out of the Duval cases without
having been in court.
Right up to the time he finished
his term January 1, Shepperd
kept men in Duval County at the
request of District Attorney Sam
Burris, to work with grand juries.
Men like soft-spoken Willis Gres-
ham, jovial Sam Ratliff, young-
ish Frank Pinedo, and efficient
Ralph Rash. Most important, he
kept bulldoggish Sydney Chand-
ler there, an eternal thorn in the
side of the Duke. Back in Austin
a battery of barristers in the At-
torney General's office worked
around the clock many times to
keep ahead of George Parr, who
was nobody's fool.
All these men have become
symbols in Duval County. Sym-
bols of the new order, of ths
democratic process, of the Con-
stitution, of the law of the land
as opposed to the law of the pis-
tol and the whip.
The presence of the Law in
Duval has changed even the con-
duct of the county's decent citi-
zens. The old fear has been lifted.
Election day used to be the day
everybody stayed indoors, while
the Duke's faithful marched to
the polls to vote as instructed by
the pistoleros who patrolled the
polling places. You didn't go near
them if you wanted to avoid ser-
ious unpleasantness. It was long
years ago that the last man was
killed at the polls on election day,
hut maybe that's only because the
machine's opposition got smart
and quit showing up to vote.
But now everybody votes in
Duval, and they vote the way they
feel. The impounding of the bal-
lot-! after each election to assure
an honest count is standard oper-
ating procedure. People know that
every ballot is now secret, and it
makes a powerful difference in
the way Duval voters mark the
little square.
In ;iny well-run dictatorship it's
th" natural leaders of a commun-
ity that fall to the bottom and
are kept there Hut when the
shake-up comes they rise back to
the top Before Shepperd had
been in the county a month, citi-
zens had formed the Duval Coun-
ty Clean Government League and
started a campaign for reform.
A hundred or so Duval women
who said they were fed up with
locking their doors at night and
wondering if th^ir husbands
would come home alive, organized
the I'nited Mothers and Wives of
Duval County
In stories to follow, we'll tike
a closer look at the "new" Duval
County, and at the proposed laws
which will help prevent another
"Dukedom" fiom springing up
within the borders of the nation's
la i gest state
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Ezzell, Ben. The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 68, No. 10, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 7, 1957, newspaper, March 7, 1957; Canadian, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth183841/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hemphill County Library.