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WILCO S Sick Leave Plan Protects You on AND off the Job! available to smdll groups of employeesfrom 5 to 50 to large groups, up to thousands . and to individuals! Western Indemnity Life Insurance Company affiliated with ‘ Home Office : 5011 Fannin, ‘Houston, Texas AGENCIES THROUGHOUT TEXAS POLITICIANS. AT THE SOAPBOX RAMSEY DENIES AUSTIN Texas politicians plugged the Cavness plan to finance higher education, probation and parole officers for, Texas delinquents, and national programs to relieve the farmers’ plight in speeches last week. Lt. Gov. Ben Ramsey signaled what –may be a conservative campaign for the Cavness plan to stave off new taxes in a speech in Fort Worth. He said citizens should give serious thought to the plan, which would take 72.5 percent of the money from University lands now accruing to higher education’s permanent endowment and spend it on the universities’ current operating costs. He said he is not campaigning for the plan at this point but that it has “merit.” Ramsey also said he anticipates no difficulty in getting “the Texas delegation” seated at the next national convention ; that Stephen _Mitchell \(Who has said he will challenge Gov. Allan Shivers’s rightto be, seated at the conhis own race for governor of IllinoiS”; and that he, Ramsey, would like to see. Texas send a “representative” delegation”one that representS the’ sentiments of a majority of Texas people.” “I can’t see where brother Mitchell would be of any help to us down here in our cause,” he said. Ralph Yarborough, speaking in Brownsville, said that TexaS has one of the most. in4Sdern prisbn plants in the nation for imprisoning men but. the “most backward” rehabilitation system in the nation: “He said it costs the state $1,000. per person -per year for penitentiary inmates but only $50 a year to supervise a youthful offender on parole. Texas is one of only two states without such supervisory officers, he said. _ The State Board of Pardons and Paroles, in its report to the GOvernor , and Legislature last week,: said that people-are being kept in jail for lack of legisltive ‘provision for parolees. !The report made the point that 95 per.. cent of present inmates will eventually be free in society and -that without rehabilitation by the state, “society is in danger of the parolee’s repeating his offenses.” JOHN WHITE, Commissioner of Agriculture, called for a three-point national program to help farmers: 90 percent of price parity,. “humanitarian use of our abundant goods in areas of the world too poor to purchase on the world market,” and “a complete brain-washing of present attitudes of the U.S. I?.epa.rtment of Cavness Plan, Parole Plan, 90 Percent Farm Parity Agriculture.” “The farmer needs leaders who sympathize with his problems, not whiprnasters ,whopreside over galley slaves,” he said in Amarillo. The farmer is on “an economic torture-rack,” White said. Republicans failed to keep their promises of 100 percent of parity, and parity is now down to 82.5′ percent, he said. Farm income has dropped 40 percent, from $18 billion “a few short years ago” to 10.1 billion now. General **Motors “takes in more money annually” than all farm people in America, he said. “The consumer needs.to be told that the wheat farmer makes a little more than two cents from a loaf of bread, that the grower of cereal grains gets From Our Correspondent GALVESTON Investigation of malpractices by former administrations drew blood last week with the indictment of a former city employee on eight counts of taking public funds. But -Galveston’s pro-sin, anti-corruption mayor, Roy Clough, came away “ex. tremely disappointed” in the grand jury, vowing he hasn’t “even started yet.” After two previous grand juries failed to take action, Elbert H. O’Pry, former water department secretary, was indicted on eight counts of misappropriating city funds in a $16,000 shortage discovered last year. Indictment of O’Pry, a one-time dice dealer, was greetedenthusiastically by his old boss, former Water Commissioner Marshall McNeel, Jr. But Mayor Clough made it plain he felt the grand jury had missed the boat. “I have been extremely disappointed by this grand jury,” he said, “and I shall use every legal means possible to bring the same evidence before, the next grand jury, and then some. The people are entitled to justice.” . Peculiarly advocating an “open, clean city,” while taking a strong stand against politiCal corruption, Clough has charged previOus administrations with misappropriation of city funds and materials, use of city em , only 1-57th of a cent from a 20 cent box of bran flakes; that if the dairy farmer gave away his milk, it would still cost the buyer about 12 cents a quart,” White said. He called for a Congressional investigation to “find out if exploitation isn’t. in evidence.” Yarborough took up the farm problem in a speech to the Harris County Democrats in Houston. He called for immediate restoration of 90 percent of parity fixed price supports “.until some more permanent solution has been agreed upon.” “We.are in an agricultural depression,” he said, and the state’s general prosperity depends on farming and ranching. He said the Republicans have written off Texas in 1952 by “chopping” Texas’ 1956 cotton acreage at the same time it has increased acreage , for California and Arizona. ployees and equipment for private work, ‘dividing contracts to avoid bid advertising, and .loss of financial records in Corporation-Court. Chief target for the mayor’s attacks has been McNeel, . whom he has atcused of illegally cancelling water bills for friends and using city workers and equipment for private work. McNeel has denied the charges and refused to pay bills for the work sent him by the mayor. Clough has also charged that certain city contracts, some let without coin mission approval, were divided to avert advertising for bids. He .claims .a “sizeable amount” of city property also is missing. The. grand jury’s failure to take any action on’these matters has made Clough. none too happy, since he has spent a, good, deal of his six months in Office investigating the activities of his predecessors. He has said the audit whiCh fixed responsibility on O’Pry for the shortage is “not worth the paper it’s printed on.” But McNeel, who ran a poor second in the last election as a result of the water ‘department scandal, voiced confidence in the aulit and declared, “In my opinion, the two previous grand-Juries were influenced and confused by George Roy CloUgh and Others, about the’16;000 shortage, for political purposes.” At any rate, the Mayor’s appearance before the next grand jury is certain. And although he will have a sympathetic ear on matters of corruption, he’ll be facing -some of his foes in the jury room. The next grand jury was chosen by a panel of Clough opponentsall of them staunch vice foes and two of them former members of the Citizens Committee for Law Enforcement organized by crusading Bill Kugle. GALVESTON L. Walter Henslee, executive director and secretary of the Galveston Housing Authority for the past 15 years, resigned last week. A federal investigation of the housin. -b authority -was launched in May after Mayor George Roy Clough turned over evidence of alleged malpractices to the U. S. Attorney’s office in Houston. It consisted mostly of tape-recorded statements by housing authority workers. One worker stated he was paid overtime for painting’le front porch and lattice work at the home of former Mayor Herbert Y. Cartwright, Jr. He also said he was sent to Texas City to paint the home of Mrs. L. W. Henslee, mother of the housing director. Members of the housing authority board of directors admitted the work was done but said money paid the men for the work was returned to the housing authority. Henslee denied any wrongdoing., The investigation is reportedly still underway. tising Insertion Orders “To all daily, and weekly newspapers serviced by TPA” and `to all newspapers serviced by TPA” for . 1×6″ and 2×6″ ads for “Advertiser, Ben Rainsey for Lt. Governor.” ‘ Copies of one of the ads said, in . part : “A statewide coordinated program … Ramsey says, is necessary to the state’s welfare and economy.” Act II, Scene 2. C. T. Johnson walks into newspaper office, hands a harried reporter a copy, of a “plea of privilege” filed by Ever. ett Looney asking Judge Harris Gardner to transfer the case of C. T. Johnson vs. Ben RamSey from Austin to San Augustine, Ramsey’s home town, “We’re gonna win this lawsuit,” johnson says. “We’re gonna win thiS’ lawsuit,” As he leaves he says : “We’re gonna wim this lawsuit.” Act LT, SCene 3. Harried newspaper reporter claps his hand to -his brow, curses, sharpens a pencil, and calls Vern Sanford, secretary, T. P. A., who has testified that he discarded t h e cancelled ‘checks and worksheets that: had on them the name -of the Missing Bene f a.ctot. Sanford’s voice comes over the tele phone: “We’ve got all the records that we had. The only things discarded are our worksheets. Records on who paid? They were on the worksheets. We clear our accounts every three to, six. in here every day during the campaign and never asked for this information when We had it …. were paid for ! We had the records during the campaign. And I didn’t `destroy’ them:like some of you said. They were thrown out in the normal course of business. “We’ve got all the checks and .de posit slips and everything you keep in the usual course of business. ‘Who’ paid; the individual, was on the work. sheet. You see, we do business with three kinds of people, Democrats, Republicans, and General. All our deposits are shown as Democrats, Republicans, and General. -The individual is on the worksheet. If we tried to keep that, why, we’d have 500 people’s checks, we’d have a multitude of records around here …” There will now be an intermission of indefinite duratiOn. Please listen for the cowbell. Liberal Young Dems Seated by Convention OKLAHOMA . CITY Texas .oung Demorcats led by Dean Johnston of Houston were seated at the League of Young Democrats’ national convention here, and the pro-Shivers Texas group led by Hall Timanus of Houston marched away from the convention protesting what they called the “affront” to the Shivers-led State Democratic Execu: five’ Committee. Seating of the loyalists w ‘ as also a slap at Texas national committeeman Ben Ramsey and Democratic National Committeewoman Hilda Weinert of Texas, who approved of the Timanus group. Speaker Sam Rayburn and Senator Lyndon Johnson supported the Johnston group. R. J. Carpenter of Fort Worth presented their endorsements to the credentials committee, which unanimously refused to revoke a charter given the Johnston group in 1954. Johnston recently testified against Ramsey’s seating as national commit . teeman. Carpenter said the group that was seated would support the national Democratic nominee, as .they did in 1952. The Timanus group. represented Young Democrats who bolted for Eisenhower in 1952. The Texas Observer ‘Page 4 . Dec. 7, 1955 A Galveston Indictment