Letters To The Editor
REMEMBERING THOSE WHO SERVED
When it was over, over there
The following was recorded by Gladys Hays on Nov. 11, 1918. While her comments describe the events as seen by a 15-year-old girl, she clearly remembers the period leading to this historic day and her feeling that “the war to end all wars” had come to an end. The Palm was a popular ice cream parlor of the time, and her grandma was in her 70s then.
“Peace Celebration. About three o’clock the paper boys were crying the extras. I woke up and heard what they said. The news was first received at 12:01 Monday morning (Sunday night). When we got the paper grandma hollered the news to me and I went back to sleep.
“About noon Edith called up and asked me to go down town with her at half past one. Then all the stores closed and they were having a jubilee down town. We were going when grandma decided she would go. We got her ready in about ten minutes and went.
“The procession was forming at the Monaghan monument. We watched it then we bought horns and blew up and down the street till dark. We got a chocolate soda at The Palm in the meantime. Grandma had left her pocketbook at the garage so we went back after it. Then we took the car and came home. I found a dime while we were standing in front of The Palm.
“We got home after dark, tired and happy. Written at the end of World War I.”
Gladys Hays tells me Spokane was such a quiet place back then that the falls could be heard at night throughout most of the city. Mary C. Bronson Spokane
Poet’s tribute heartfelt, fitting
On this Veterans Day, 1995, we pause to pay tribute to the gallantry and sacrifices of all our veterans.
There’s a small group that deserves mention in this tribute. I speak of the American Expeditionary Force of World War I, affectionately known as the “Dough Boys.”
Picture, if you will, tilting windmills and fields of waving poppies. In this field of color are rows upon rows of white crosses, each marking a fallen comrade.
A moving tribute was penned to these heroes by Canadian, John McCrae, a poet, soldier and physician:
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow, between the crosses, row on row, to mark our place; And in the sky, larks still bravely singing fly, scarce heard amid the guns below; We are the dead, short days ago, we lived, felt dawn, saw sunsets glow. We loved and were loved but now we lie, in Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe; To you, with failing hands, we throw the torch, be yours to hold it high; And if ye break faith with us who die, we shall not sleep though flowers grow, in Flanders Fields.
We, the veterans of ‘95, say in one great voice to all comrades who lie in the Flanders Fields around our world: We hold your torch, brave heroes; sleep, sleep, sleep. Don Kerley Grand Coulee
LAW AND JUSTICE
Judge likely saved woman’s life
I’m looking at the bloodied, broken face of a beautiful woman in the Oct. 31 Spokesman-Review and reading the story of how a judge refused to revoke a restraining order - a decision which probably saved this woman’s life. And she now knows it.
Praise for the judgment and character of this Idaho judge. I wish we had judges with as much character in this county.
Sadly, all it takes is a form letter signed by a wife or girlfriend to get restraining orders removed, domestic violence charges dropped or reduced, and these brutal men are back in the home where they can do whatever they want.
Women sign these forms every day. A woman in the cycle of domestic violence isn’t able to think clearly. If everyone understood that, they would realize it often takes a third party to intervene for their safety.
I would like to bring to the attention of judges and the public another part of the problem in prosecuting perpetrators of domestic violence: the lawyers who represent these men.
Right here in our county, lawyers talk to the victims and persuade them to sign papers to drop charges or revoke restraining orders. Some of these lawyers even keep a file of the form letters mentioned. I used to work in the legal field, and it disgusted me every day to witness this kind of legal maneuvering.
I would like to see more judges taking an aggressive stand against this kind of behavior on the part of attorneys. It could make a world of difference to some bloodied, battered woman. Lyssa J. Gooch Spokane
FBI threatening freedom of all
A democracy such as ours is inherently difficult to administer. Our Bill of Rights is constantly colliding with law enforcement, making its job much harder. So it’s understandable that every so often one group or another tries to fudge a little bit on the Constitution, and I’m afraid that’s what the Federal Bureau of Investigation is doing now.
Ours is a free country. There is no good reason why the FBI needs the capability to listen in on perhaps millions of private communications. The agency claims the old rules for wiretapping wouldn’t change, but with computers making it ridiculously easy, will they be tempted to listen first and get permission later? How would we know?
Maybe some country like Iraq or Libya would welcome this technology, but it has no place here.
When our national police or any other group, for that matter - cites “for the public safety” as a reason to increase its authority, the red flags should go up. More of our personal freedom is about to disappear.
I hope our politicians are paying attention. Tom Osowski Rathdrum
PEOPLE IN SOCIETY
Smoking: Teens listen only to peers
After reading the list of stores that sell tobacco and alcoholic products to minors printed in The Spokesman-Review, the consensus among teenagers was, “Which of these stores are closest to my house?” I won’t deny I thought the same thing.
President Clinton’s new smoking bill, initiated to stop teen smoking, has blatantly missed its target. Banning cigarette machines may be a start in the right direction, however, it still remains a simple task to stand outside a grocery store and get a pack of smokes through an 18-year-old.
I applaud President Clinton’s desperate attempts to halt the recent increase in teenage smoking, but teenagers today simply don’t care about adults’ opinions. Besides, young adults feel mature and sophisticated with a cancer stick between their fingers.
Many high school students began smoking because their school allows it. Does it make sense that across from a proclaimed tobacco-free zone lies a smoking section? I’m referring to Lewis & Clark High School, which has a convenient smokers’ area right across the street. If Clinton started this bill to effectively stop teen smoking, he must handle the situation efficiently and start using his head.
Teenagers listen to their peers, not adults. I suggest that the editor of The Spokesman-Review print numerous articles on the physical and social effects of smoking in the Our Generation section written by students.
Perhaps if teen smokers had enough information, reasons and excuses to quit, they would. Reagan Nail Spokane