Editorial
Farmingdale residents, like everyone else
throughout the world, were shocked and saddened
by the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
We had the privilege of meeting with the Senator
several times. Once we spent two and one half
hours with him when he attended a funeral at St.
Kilians R. C. Church in Farmingdale for a serviceman
killed in Vietnam,
Typical of his concern for people was the reply
he gave when asked why he came to the funeral in
Farmingdale of Marine Private First Class Donald
Miller in December, 1966. His answer, " because
his mother asked me." Only few of us knew he
was coming. He asked me to sit with him during
the church services. As we rode slowly to Pine-lawn
National Cemetery, he asked countless
questions. The trip to and from the burial grounds
took even longer than the Church service. ' Most
busy prominent people leave immediately after
a church funeral service,' we thought. But the Senator
was different. He was returning to Washington
that day. But he didn't cut his visit short because
of pressing business elsewhere. He was here to stay
til the end, no matter how long.
This is the way we saw him. He came and stayed
because a bereaved mother had asked him. His
concern was people.
Our first tribute to him can be to take heed of
one of his own requests.
The late Senator said, " For too long we have
dealt with these weapons as if they were harmless
toys. Yet their very presence, the ease of their
acquisition and the familiarity of their appearance
have led to thousands of deaths each year - and
to countless other crimes of violence as well.
It is past time that we wipe this stain of violence
from our land. . . All that this legislation will do
is to keep guns from criminals and the demented
and the young.
With this we certainly agree. This, despite
all the high- priced gun lobbyists in Washington.
The young people of Weldon E. Howitt who have
been working all year earning money for their big
night of bands and food In an Italian Block Party,
came to their principal this morning and said they
wanted to cancel their big night and Instead give
the money ( over $ 1,000) for a memorial to their
classmate who was killed yesterday, Alan Lazarus
and for a memorial for the late Robert F. Kennedy.
Now that the District 22 Board of Education,
has reduced the recently defeated budget by $ 280,
263 without affecting the educational program,
as one Board member put it, will the voters
have faith in the Board in future initial budget
proposals.
The May 8 defeated budget called for a tax
rise of $ 1.67 per hundred. The new budge* will
reduce that figure by 30 cents or a tax rise for
the coming year of about $ 68.50 for a house
assessed at $ 5,000.
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Vol. 5 No. 12
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Letters To
The Editor
Dear Editor:
Being a reader of the Houston
Tribune of Houston, Texas, I was
appalled to discover that Baptist
church leaders, including a number
of Negroes, are challenging
the refusal of the Interior Department
to allow them to stage a
public march and rally on the mall
during their C o n t i n e n t a lCon-gress
of the Crusades of Americas,
O c t o b e r 10th to October
13th. Thereafter, the White
House gave the green light for
the " Poor People's" army to set
up camp for 3000 of its followers
on the mall between the Washington
and Lincoln monuments. Significantly,
Monte E. Fitch, super-i
n t e n d e n t of central National
Capital parks, National Parks
Service, Department of the Interior,
who rejected the Baptist
request, is the same one who
authorized the " Poor Peoples"
permit, after it had been approved
by the White House. This
is certainly a gross inequity
to allow a militant group to use
government parks as a base from
which to pressure and disrupt
Congress and at the same time
to refuse a peaceful church group
the right to use similar facilities
to express their faith and love
in Christ. The word ' discrimination'
has been bandied about
by many of our sanctimonious
elected representatives. This
problem is right on their own
doorstep and, now, let us see
how their words match their
deeds.
Francis A. Collins
High School
Merit Roll
Names of Students who
achieved Merit Roll status at the
Farmingdale Senior High School
were released this week.
They are:
Elsie Aadahl; Shelley Abramo-witz;
Jean Albrecht; Rita Alla-louf;
Susan Allfe; Christine Am-brosio;
Lucy Anselmo; Karen
Appel; Marcia Arshansky; Joseph
Axelrod; Keith Balser; Philip
Barbaccia; Laura Barber;
Carol Barca; Charles Barnes;
Michael Baron; Carol Bartolot-ta;
Gary Bennett; Jay Berko-witz;
Andrea Berti; Seth Bloom;
Toby Bloom; Rosemari Boasi;
John Bogenshutz; Edward Bogue;
Jeanne Bogue; Marshall Bord;
June Borysewicz; Peter Bossis;
William Bowes; Patricia Bran-cale;
Mark Braunstein; Marie
Bruno; Karen Buck; Eileen Buh-mann;
Alice Burns; George
Campbell; Theodore Campbell;
Marilyn Cantor; Claire Capece;
Donna Mar Carnacchio; Dona
Cass; Anthony Chabarek; Salva-tore
Chillemi; Susan Chiurco;
Virginia Christensen; Michael
Cifaldi; K e i t h Civil; William
Clarke; Barry Cohen; Daniel Col-letti;
Karen Cremers; Jane
Crisses; Emidio Crocetti; John
Crosby; Paul Crosby; Patricia
Cuccurullo; Benny Dangelo; Daniel
Dankenbrink; Robert Danna;
Rose De Florio; Nancy Debrava;
Leonard Delalio; Irene Delper-cio;
Andrea Denny; Ian Dewaal;
Frank Dicapua; Robert Dicicco;
Elizabeth Dickinson; Anita Dick-stein;
Karen Donnelly; Lorraine
Dorenbecker; Judy Dratt; Kathleen
Dunn; Marionett Eichen-laub;
Steven Eisner; Si Fon Eng;
Denice Eppler; Doreen Erato;
Frances Esposito; Jane Esposi-to;
Madeline Falagario; Bruce
Falkenberg; Justin Fallon; Dawn
Ferro; Robert Festa; Robert
Filaski; Andrew Fischer; Barbara
Fischer; Amelia Fortunato;
Frank Franciosi; Susan Fraghi-adi;
Andrea Freedman; Victoria
Furio; George Gaberlavage; Fred
Gamba; Loretta Garone; Linda
Gelerte; Annette Genco; Laura
Genua; R i c h a r d Gerardi; Gertrude
Gerhardt; Linda Getzelman;
Carol Gherardi; Michele Giordano;
Deborah Goldberg, Marilyn
Goldberg; Richard Goldberg;
Sheila Goldlust; Karen Goldstein;
Jane Greco; Ira Green;
Jerome Green; Julia Green;
Jack Greenberg; Peter Gregor-chuk;
Donna Griffin; Christine
I Gross; Sherrle Halper; Jeffrey
As We See It
By Hillard P, Boss and
Charles Gerston
Are you one of the local residents
who recently signed a petition
circulated by an organization
known as TRAIN? Did you
pay $ 1.50 on May 29th to hear
Mr. Duane Thorin speak on
" Vietnam- Road To Disaster?"
If so, we wonder whether you are
fully aware of exactly what you
gp. ve your support to.
On page 42 in the New York
Times of Sunday, March 3, 1968,
in an article entitled " Welch
Reports the John Birch Society Is
Thriving," Rex Westerfield, the
Society's Western public relations
director is quoted as saying
" as noteworthy as the continuing
growth of membership
are the thousands of ad hoc committees
affiliated with the John
Birch Society, promoting Society
objectives, but composed primarily
of non members." Mr. Westerfield
particularly mentioned
TACT ( Truth About Civil Turmoil),
which ascribes urban
riots to the Communists; TRAIN
( To Restore American Independence
Now), designed to tell the
public about the " idiocies in our
present foreign policy"; and the
Support Your Local Police Committees.
Yes, TRAIN is clearly a John
Birch Society front organization.
But this should not surprise anyone
who has read " The Blue
Book" of the John Birch Society,
for in his masterpiece St. Robert
Welch of Belmont wrote that" We
would organize fronts- little
fronts, big fronts, temporary
fronts, permanent fronts, all
kinds of fronts.... The most effective
fronts are ad hoc committees,
aimed to accomplish one
particular purpose."
In view of Mr. Westerfield's
specific reference to TRAIN, and
Mr. Welch's general reference
to ad hoc committees, we were a
little surprised to read a story
on page 2 of one of our local
newspapers( whichcalls itself as
" An Official Newspaper for the
Village of Farmingdale). This
story, titled " TRAIN Committee
Features Speaker," described
TRAIN as a " local committee
founded by local citizens." But
then again we've come to expect
almost anything from a paper
which uses editorials to exhort
its readers to attend John Birch
Society films, and uses the former
editor of DEBT as its reporter
for school and library news.
Coincidentally, the " news" story
about TRAIN appeared in the
same issue as a back page ad
announcing Duane Thorin's May
29th speech.
For those of you who did sign
the TRAIN petition without knowing
that you were endorsing the
John Birch Society, don't be surprised
if your name is circulated
all over Long Island. This exact
technique was used recently in
Taunton, Mass., where a member
of the school board, the president
of the local bar association, the
assistant treasurer of one of the
city's largest banks, and the news
editor of an F. M. radio station
all innocently signed TRAIN petitions.
Then their names were
used to secure additional names.
When the Boston Herald Traveller
exposed TRAIN as a John Birch
Society front, the naive subscribers
blanched, one of them saying
he would speak to his lawyer
about being misrepresented as a-sponsor.
As a public service " AS WE
SEE IT" is announcing that the
Farmingdale Community Train
Committee uses P. O. Box 205,
Massapequa for its mail. We
figure that some local signers
of TRAIN petitions might wish
to withdraw their sponsorship.
Date Book
SATURDAY, JUNE 8
10 a. m. to 5 p. m. " Happening"
front green, Ma in Street School
Farmingdale.
SUNDAY, JUNE 9
National Day of Mourning for the
late Senator Robert F. Kennedy
12 noon Operation Friendship
for ACE Head Start Center,
Great Neck Road, Amityville.
MONDAY, JUNE 10
8 p. m. Commission on Mission
meeting Farmingdale Methodist
Church
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12
8: 30 p. m. Farmingdale Youth
Board, Village Hall, Farming-dale.
Hantman; Emelissa Hartfield;
Paul Haubrich; Patricia Hayden;
C l a u d i a Herrmann; Richard
Herrman; Elaine Hervey; Steven
Hill; Geoffrey Hillier; Albert
Hobesh; Jean Hodges; Janice Ho 1-
man; June Hrivnak; Barbara
Hudson; Kathleen Humphreys,
Diane Imboden; Steven Jacobs;
Nancy Jakobs; Denise Jaworski;
Lynda Johnson; Peter Johnson;
Lorrie Kajko; Roger Kaufold;
Bernadet Keck; Kevin Kelly;
Kathleen Kerrigan; Marsha Kes-nig;
Joan Kinsella; Alan Kirsh-ner;
Arlaine Knox; Robin Kolker;
Susan Korchowsky; Diane Kowal-chik;
Paul Kramer; Robin Kranz;
Carol Krumenacker; Nicholas
Lamorte; Betty Lander; Vincent
Lander; Jerome Lanni; Stephen
Laskin; Steven Lasky; Denise
Laughton; Michael Leen; Susan
Leonardi; Kenneth Lind; Mark
Lishansky; Steven Louie; Michael
Lovegreen; Frank Maglia-to;
Maureen Magner; William
Magro; Clarke Magruder; Kathleen
Mahoney; Joseph Malloy;
Carol Manning; Jane Marinello;
E d w a r d Markowitz; Andrea
Maurer; Christine Mc Kinley;
Linda McCarthy; Theresa McDonald;
Karen McGarvey; Deborah
Mc Laughlin; Natalie Meis-ler;
Robert Messina; Gail Meyer;
Ellen Miller; Henry Mindicino;
J a m e s Montgomery; Michael
Morelli; Judd Morgan; l^ ouis
Nardolillo; Douglas Noll; Thomas
O'Keefe; Wayne Olansen; John
Olsen; Stephen Opperisano; Evelyn
Panagakos; Janet Parrella;
Barbara Pasek; Joel Patlis; Joseph
Pfrangle; Ann Pickus;
Charles Pierro; Peter Pisciotta;
George Pitarra; Barbara Piatt;
Ronald Pokrasso; Maria Pontillo;
David Portner; Christine Prankl;
Antonina Puleio; Stephen Pulver;
Kathleen Redmond; Lynn Reich;
Patricia Reinhart; Michael Ricci;
Joanne Rom; Razelle Ross; Judith
Rothbard; James Sagarin;
Dennis Sagarino; Steven Sanchez;
William Sanders; Judith
Saur; Walter Schartner; Bren-da
Schefer; Martin Scheir; Leo
Schiavello; Elfriede S chilling;
Jon Schlissel; Nancy Schmitt;
R o b e r t Schneider; Stacey
Schneider; Dora Schriro; Lorie
Schulman; Michael Schulwartz-man;
Valerie Scura; Edward Sea-graves;
Robin Seegull; John See-wagen;
J o a n n e Sellitto; Jill
Selseky; Ronni Seman; Marie
Seymour; Susan Sharrot; Karen
Shenocker; George Sherman;
Frances Sicari; David Simek;
Stephen Simone; Allen Slade;
Patricia Slattery; Judith Slot-nick;
Marcia Smolin; Mary Loui
Sonntag; Steven Spiegel; Barbara
Spiegeleire; Ellen Spilker;
Valerie Spina; June Steckman;
Janet Steiner; Gary Steul; Teresa
Stonebridge; Helen Stueber;
Gary Stutgard; Patricia Szybil-lo;
Douglas Tantillo; Donald
Tarfllo; Gail Taylor; Fileen Ten-en;
Patricia Thannhauser; Barbara
Thomson; Rosina Tilleli;
J o s e p h T o m b r e l l o ; Steven
Townsend; Harold Tuttle;
. Charles Valadez; Linda Valenti;
Pileen Valentino; Diane Venezia;
Rosanne Vitale; Jeanne Wagner;
Juliann Wagner; Susan Wassmer;
Howard Weiser; Robin Weiser;
Karen Weitman; Patricia Welch;
Christine Weldon; Sharon White-book;
Carol Willenbrock; Lorraine
Wilson; Kenneth Winters;
Ronald Wodzenski; James Woods;
William Woturski; Carol Yager;
Michael Yellin; Mary lou Yip and
Bonnie Zimmerman. Also
Vincent Czerniwaski; Kathy Del-ligatti
Page 4 Farmingdale OBSERVER Thursday, June 6, 1968
