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Show Cong Abduction Led To Schoolroom Crusade Torture Prompts Vengeanc- e- v XjtA v. w A' ws to underwrite four others in island locations. Through his innearby fluence, 18 other schools have risen within the general area. owners , And Learning It demands for tax payment in this island area of Kien Phong province, patriarch known as Old but a Man Tram has never been easily frighteCong five ' ned. One evening while he was walking along a dirt path near his home, the VC paid an unexpected call. They abducted him and marched him several miles to a lonely cluster of trees. There, they had a prepared grave awaiting him. It was to be his home for three long days. They demanded that he join the Communist cause, because he was a rich farmer and a power in his community. He steadfastly refused. They removed him from the bamboo covered prison after the first day, but only for a few moments. They placed his right hand on a table. With chisel and hammer they chopped off the first joint of the third finger. The finger tip was sent to his wife, with a demand for 100,000 piasters ransom, $28,000. Upon payment she was promised the safe return of her husband. She managed to raise 60,000 piasters, which at the prevailing rate of exchange amounted to about $17,000. The amount was accepted and Nguyen Van Tram, then 68, was released. He insists he would never have paid the ransom but since his life was spared he decided he would devote his remain- - Hie Popular Force Army militia also a project promoted by Tram heard of the invasion immediately, and after Viet Cong torture, patriarch "Old Man Tram" vowed vengeance, chose education as the best method. Here he is surrounded by a group of studnets. Released in 1960 ing years to vengeance against the enemy. He had already established a tiny school near his home, and it occurred to him that education could be one-roo- the best weapon avai'able to carry out his vendetta. The single classroom has grown during the last eight years into a large com- pound. There are 793 students enrolled in grades from first through junior high school. But his work continues. He is the personal patron for four other schools on his island, 80 miles west of Saigon, and has induced other land- - Utah Development Loans Follow U.S. Trend ary, 1966, no repayments, now in liquidation; Juab County Economic Development OUR MAN IN WASHINGTON By GORDON ELIOT WHITE Deseret News Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON The performance of six companies in Utah that got Area Redevelopment Administration loans between 1962 and 1965 was bad, according to fig- -, ures that the Des- -' oberet News tained here last week, but only a little worse than the nationwide record of that prime the I New Frontier In the program. state, only United Park City Mines is current on its $1 million loan, and in 1968 there were some months when Its capital repayment installments were missed.' The other five companies are either defunct or nearly f so. the nation as a whole, 40 individual loans were made by the time the Johnson Administration phased ARAs functions into the Economic Development Ad- In ministration in the summer of 1965. A total of $176 million in loans were authorized, but only $147.9 million was disbursed. Through June 30, 1968, when the last assessment was totted up, $16.7 million in capital had been returned. An adinterest has ditional amount in low-rabeen received, though the figures on that are hazy. Nationally, the returns are about 10 cents on the dollar, but, of course, the remaining loans may still be repaid, at least in part. EDA officials note that a majority of the capital repayments have come about as an original company has been absorbed through merger, and the successor corporations paid off the ARA loans to clear their books. te In Utah, the repayments on $1,844,888 in loans amounts to a return of about 10 cents on the dollar. EDA expects to collect Park City Mines loan eventually, representing almost 60 per cent of the mondy loaned in Utah. EDA says the performance isnt too bad, considering that, to be eligible, a company had to be in a depressed area where business was bad, and had to be too risky for local banks to provide. The result, obviously, has been a lot of money poured down rat holes. Money loaned to fairly substantial outfits, like United Park City, which had other resources it could call upon, has generally been a fairly decent investment. Whether the federal government should be In the business of loaning money to questionable ventures was made moot by the ending of the program, though the idea is recurrent, particularly in the Nixon administrations black capitalism proposals. At least ghetto loans could not be worse bets than these made in Utah: Blue Flame Coal Company, Price, $81,360 loaned through August, 1963, written off as a total loss in April, 1967; Western States Athletic Equipment Co., Price, $46,000, loaned through Janu MUSICAL WHIRL and every issue of every newspaper, as well as most of the magazines, devotes space to the problems of inflation and the disaster that is sure to follow if it isnt By DREW PEARSON Community Concerts programs which the Salt Lake Civic Music Association - University Artist Series is a part now in its forth decade, continue to enrich our musical perspectives. Possibly even more than do the better publicized, higher powered protagonists of the cultural explosion. Salt Lake Civic Music Association The contained. But would presents one of the highest standards of vou believe? . any of the nations 785 Community Conthere is one place certs associates that embraces 750,000 you dont have to members with 3,000 concerts annually. worry about inflPart of this high standard is also due the ation. Can you Salt Lake Music Assocations highly The Salt guess? qualified administrators who know and Lake Civic Music and such long-timdemand the best Association - Unihard working volunteers as Miss Jessie versity Artist Series! Perry, the current president, and her dedicated staff of volunteers. And if you would challenge this obserIn my years of attending and reviewvation, consider that if you are now not a member but will join Thursday evening ing the Salt Lake Civic Music Association's annual concerts, I have only had for the 1969-7season, you will get absoand that one real disappointment lutely free a bonus of two concerts this wasnt because he wasnt a topflight artseason the distinguished American col- ist but because he really had an off oratura soprano, Roberta Peters, Thursnight (he had played, unwise1' ,nd undistinown fortunately, the same program jo times day evening, and Utahs and he had nothing left to say). of tenor guished Glade Peterson, leading And just think how many artists that the Zurich Opera Company who is singing recitals have given exciting recitals Francisco with San the Opera currently that proved to be show case performCompany in Los Angeles. Glades concert ance for their later engagements with is set for April 10. Mauthe Utah Symphony Orchestra Vladireen Szeryng, Forrester, Hendryk Lake 1969-7Salt the For its season mir Ashkenazy, just to name three that Civic Music Association is presenting, as come immediately to mind. of it always does, an exciting series Looking for an unbelievable bargain? great artists, including Andre Watts, the You cant beat a membership with the brilliant young Negro pianist who perSalt Lake Civic Musician Association, beformed at the Inaugural Concert in Constitution Hall for President Richard lieve me! Nixon, a concert in which our own Tabernacle Choir presented a major portion of the program. the small society Not only is the Salt Lake Civic Music Association University Artist Series the only recital series for Salt Lake concert-goesbut it also has another very imand nearly always very excitportant ing aspect:. You are assured an almost completely new roster of performers each season. There is nothing wrong, for sure, in hearing again favorites of previous seasons, but it is also interesting and and nearly always very exeit-timportant MERRY-GO-ROUN- D Public utility attorneys have been flabbergasted that Attorney General John Mitchell would dismiss so important an antitrust action as the El Paso Natural Northwest only six days in office, in view of the fact that the Nixon law firm was involved. Mitchell is a former senior sal." in the partner Nixon firm of Nixon, Rose, Mudge, Guthrie, Alexander and Mitchell, which between 1961-6- 7 received $771,129.83 from El Paso Natural Gas. Attorney General Mitchell could merely have said that the case was filed by the Democrats and its their baby," said William Bennett, former chairman See additional story on Page B--l. 0 of the California Public Utilities Commission. He could have let the courts de- cide it, which was the proper procedure, rather than taking the matter in his own hands. If he had left it to the courts there would have been no criticism of the Nixon Administration. However, El Paso Natural Gas made a sweetheart deal to get the case dismissed and the Attorney General who once represented El Paso leaped in to sanction 1.. Bennett is the former attorney for the state of California, subsequently dropped by Gov. Ronald Reagan, who fought the El Paso gas monopoly case up to the Supreme Court three different times and three times received a ruling that the gas monopoly must be broken up. v Some of them are performers just teaching the top, Andre Watts, for example. Ard some of them are long established artists of the stature and achieve-merib- f Miss Peters. A The Supreme Court, which three times took jurisdiction in the El Paso gas monopoly case, has received a petition from two University of Utah professors, John J. Flynn and I. Daniel Stewart, Jr., asking that the court continue to retain its jurisdiction and overrule the hasty dismissal action of the Justice Department. The two professors charge a deal by the different gas companies and the Justice Department to dismiss the case. This proceeding affects the entire industrial development of the West, as well they told Chief Justice Warren, as the integrity of Supreme Court mandates. Especially interesting is the deal by which the state of Utah finally was persuaded to dismiss its appeal, said former Chairman Bennett of California. The Utah Public Service Commission is supposed to protect consumers, not enter into deals. Yet it signed an agreement whereby Colorado Interstate Gas would deposit money in Utah banks, buy steel from the U.S. Steel Company in Provo, Utah, and place at least one Utah businessman on the board of directors of Pacific Northwest Gas after it merged with Colorado Interstate Gas. It's not the job of the Utah Public by Brickman a r, e. There were three pipelines serving the Far West," said Bennett "Now there are two. The people of California are completely at the mercy of El Paso Natural Gas and the prices it wants to charge as a result of Mitchells dismis- Gas-Pacif- Gas case after e 0 In addition to his community services, is a successful rice farmer with more than 200 acres of land. He recently introduced IR8 rice to the area, and to the further assist ,.his neighbors, 1 patriarch is selling seed from hia paddies at a negligible charge. With the new rice he can realize four crops a year, and hopes his neighbors can do the same. He pumps water in from the nearby Mekong River, and with the yield of the IR8 rice, he hopes his fellow farmers will soon be able to buy similar machin- Trm ery. Phu Loi B is a pleasant, picturesque loaned $302,000, Corporation, Nephi, hamlet with full trees and ornate homes. through August, 1963; no repayments, The people are happy, smiling, and upon the occasional advent of outside callers now in liquidation ; children seem to proliferate before the Sanpete Forest Products Company, visitors eyes. They touch, they cling to Ephraim, $79,000 loaned through June, white hands, they skip, laugh, and jump with joy. Hiere is no begging, no steal1966; $906 repaid, now in liquidation. can become noisy, as any The Columbine Coal Company of ing. They group of happy youngsters, but upon the Helper was apparently a going concern Old Man command of venerated until February, when its president, Dr. Tram, silence falls at once. F. V. Colombo, was killed in a Caribbean Trams new brick home is always plane crash and the mine was closed, to the hamlets youngsters. They open leaving in limbo a $290,000 ARA loan. are welcome as long as they behave. EDA officials are now trying to find They sit around the large center room, someone to take over the property. on chairs, floor, tables. Hiey watch their The federal government, of course, community elder as he discusses business with the visitors, but their curiosity still maintains Small Business Adminisis contained In silence. tration loans and loan insurance, but nowhere does it offer money so freely, preOld Man Tram, with his skeletal cisely where failure could be predicted. frame, his sparse beard, hair drawn Though by federal standards the ARA back in a bun, and his single eye tooth expenditure was minor, the results seem would appear grotesque to an outsider, to have been significant only in raising but in Phu Loi B, he is the revered false hopes. grandfather of all. SAN FRANCISCO of Any found the VC hiding place. One Viet Cong was confronted and surrendered, but the other three took refuge in a unique hiding place. They were discovered behind a false wall in the house and were killed. Mitchell 'Hasty' In Dismissing Gas Suit Music Bargain: Civic Series By HAROLD LUNDSTROM Dbseret News Music Editor Shop Talk Among Th' self-hel- p Development. Tram, with only five veais oi education to his own credit, has changed the entire way of life in his remote community. The area, only seven miles south of Cambodia, is not only thoroughly but tlnough the enlightenment passed along by student to parent, the district had the second largest voter turnout in South Vietnam. Ninety two percent of the eligible voters went to the polls. Although Tram has had no personal encounters with Viet Conj since his experience in 1960, four VC attempted to take root in his village two months ago. After stealing a typewriter from one family, and a sewing machine from another, they moved into a house, where they intended to establish a cell. hav&m't w& mr KWe? PeeLeV... ColW$...cWcAGoT . li in Service Commission to make deals. Its job is to protect the consumer and keep gas rates low. It has no business wanting more money for Utah banks or more steel pipe f om the U.S. Steel Corsaid Chairman Bennett poration, The whole deal smacks of the worst kind of politics and I am surprised that President Nixon, whose law firm received almost of a million dollars, would think his attorney general could get by with this without a protest from the public. three-quarte- The National Association of Broad- casters, now meeting in Washington, did not invite former Sen. Clarence Dill of Washington state, father of radio and television, to address their convention. If they had they would have received a diagnosis of the radio-Tindustry which many of them would not enjoy. Sen. Dill, who wrote the Federal Communications Act by which radio and television are regulated, has some vigorous ideas and some regrets regarding his baby. Television has made some great contributions to our civilization," said Sen. Dill, but it has also left some wounds on our society which will take many years to heal. When children sit all day glued to a TV set, watching crime and violence, its bound to have an effect on the crime rate. The mere fact that they sit, instead of being out in the open, exercising, has an effect on their health and mentality. Thousands of mothers use TV sets as babysitters instead of sending their children outdoors for recreation. March 26, 1969 om MAM JONES activities of the students parents. Assistance has been ptovided through the Ministry of Revolutionary the Viet A2V NEWS, Wednesday, According to Dr. Darnel W. Hays, chief of the educational branch of New Life Development in the Mekong Delta, 12 of the 25 schools weie built through By DOUG WARREN PHU LOI B, VIETNAM (UPI) wasn't healthy in 1080 to ignore DESERET Old-Time- j rs By HARRY JUNES Last Friday evening about 20 employ- es of the Deseret News were pinned for being engaged to the comoanv for,' 20 years. There are a lot more employes who a 1 1 a ined status r lier 't ear- . . . anywhere from last year to 25 years ago. that And speaks well oi a company, because newspaper people are a roving lot city to city. ... It, the 20 years of service comes, membership into the Distinguished Serv- ice Club. Earlier it had been called the Old Timers Club, but some in their 40s,.v, who started with the firm early, objected , to the name. The name had the connotation of the rocking chair age to them . . . some' with 15 to 20 years more to work beforei v they join the SS troops (Social Security.X And as is true with most company1'-- , dinners, the talk was all shop. do Some of the reporters were telling' their pet peeves. One objected to being addressed: III, Scoop . . , whats new? Tell me so I , wont have to read the paper tonight.'. "Dont breathe a word of it to him, or, itll be all over the front page! was the" ! phrase most heard by tl e reporter cov-ering the City and County Building. With -- -- Others mentioned: I dont mind telling you in confinot fo publi-f- -i dence, but off the cuff s cation. ... Im not sn at mad you for misquoting1 me, but you didnt spell my name right.:! You must have an exciting life. 1 I thought that was a real clever bi you had in last night . . . why did thej3 ' put it back among the want-ads- ? Im not talking, and if you quote me as saying no comment Ill deny that, too."- - Quiet, fellows, here comes Scoop. Why dont you print more good new s in the paper? I was elected third vice' president of my club last week, and not a1 , i" word.' Some of the peeves came right from. the city room: Take all the time you want, kid. The presses dont start t rolling for two,, minutes. Go out and get a good feature on4; go out and interview a tulip ' spring or something. You dont look too busy. Scoop . . 2 would you mind taking this obit?" j, "Dont just sit there. If you cant write it, get out of the business. , if Why do you get sore everytime I edit a bit of your .copy? Even the best of em h get edited. , ... ii' Who does that upstart think he . . . telling me how to write after years ... hes just fresh and 20'" out of J college. y.-- -; Jans late this morning . . . would you mind emptying the baskets?" Id send a copy boy, but they refuse . half the time. on your story, Scoop I put a e . . . didnt want anyone else to get blamed for the thing. There was also a bit of complainingv ; about money. But there wasnt one, who if they had it all to do over again, would do anything else! Because the fellow who said, YotQ must lead an exciting life," hit it right' on the head ! ' ' Wit's E.-- d ' Westley Johnson, who edits the bulled tin for the veterans of World War I, saysO heredity is what you believe in when . your childs report card is all As. iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiniiiiiiiiiminiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuini v BIG TALK v' ' V. ,v ' -- ' t(3 IpV.r Also, when the big city slum dwellers atch TV commercials, which constantly tell viewers they can buy now and pay later, some viewers get the idea they can take now and suffer the consequences w later. Im quite sure that these commercials have an effect on the young Negroes who have been responsible for escalating robberies in our big cities." When we wrote the radio act, said Sen. Dill, Congress had no idea that the licensing of the air waves would bring great fortunes to a few people. The air waves are limited, just as the numbers of hydroelectric dam sites are limited. The public has retained ownership of most of these electric power sites, but it has not retained ownership of the air waves. If I were in the Senate today I would do my best to rewrite the Federal Comnianications Act? , A f feel like' life Ktlie Indianapolis Speedway and I'm peddling a bike!" "Sometimes I S . From photos when By Lionel V. McNtely tor th De,eret News' popular deny Bsbv Birthday leeture? ' iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinifiiii |