County Man Tells of My Lai It Was at That Ditch That the Government Charges Calley FT
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'.* / Union Blames CNJ Layoffs on State SEE Cloudy, Mild THEBMLY FINAL Cloudy, mild today. Clearing, cool tonight. Sunny, mild to- 1 Red Bank, Freehold f morrow. Cloudy, mild Friday. r Long Branch J EDITION (Se« Detail!. Paw it Monmouth County's Borne Newspaper for 92 Years TEN CENTS VOL. 93, NO. Ill RED BANK, N. J., WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1970 30 PAGES County Man Tells of My Lai It was at that ditch that the government charges Calley FT. BENNING, Ga. (AP) - A machine gunner in^Lt. him and (Paul) Meadlo was firing into tiie hole. Meadlo le William L. Calley Jr.'s platoon has testified he saw Calley was crying." Asked to describe the people, Maples said: shot at least 70"pe°P - herd a group of unresisting Vietnamese into a ditch and "There were women, babies, and a couple of men." FLUSHED VILLAGERS OUT shoot at them. He said the lieutenant asked.him to use his SAW MAN CRY Like previous witnesses, Maples testified the platoon weapon on the unarmed men, women and children. How did he know Meadlo was crying? "I saw.him." was taken to the western edge of My Lai by helicopter, that "I refused," the young, ex-soldier said. Meadlo, 23, of Terre Haute, Ind., has publicly admitted the men then flushed villagers from their huts — hootches — , Robert Maples' testimony yesterday at Calley's court- killing 35 to 40 people. " pushing them forward through My Lai. martial was the first time, any witness — of 26 who Lave ap- Maples's testimony continued. "My assistant gunner, (James) Bergtholdv went into a peared — said he saw the lieutenant turn his gun on civilians Q. Did you have any conversation with Lt. Calley? hootch, got out a couple of people and shot them with a .45," at My Lai on March 16,1968. A- All I can remember is him asking for me to use my Maples said. PLAN MORE TESTIMONY machine gun. I can't remember what else. Maples' testimony was given in a monotone, sometimes A. Where was this? * barely, audible in the 60-seat courtroom. Maples was to face cross-examination when court re- l sumes today. He had been on the stand a few minutes when A. At the ditch. • . Maples, now a warehouseman at a storage firm, said ha the trial recessed yesterday. Q. What did you do? didn't know how many people were in the ditch. KEY MY. LAI WITNESS — Robert Maples, who was a The 27-year-old Calley, charged with killing 102 civilians A. I refused. Q. How far away were you? machine gunner in Lt. William Calley's platoon when in the South Vietnamese hamlet, sat unmoving, his_ eyes A. You can't remember the rest of the conversation? never leaving the witness. At times he made notations on A. No. A. I don't know. it carried out a sweep of My Lai in 1968, loaves the a pad, but mostly he sat forward, hands folded, looking Q. Were any of these people armed? Q. How long did they fire? court' martial building at Ft. Banning after testifying straight at Maples. A. No. ' . •. A. I don't know. yesterday. With 'Maples is an unidentified court of- Maples, 22, of Freehold, N.J., said he and others had . Q. Did they offer any resistance? TELLS OF ACTIONS ' Another member of Calley's 1st Platoon, Rennard Doines, ficer. Maples will talce the stand again to-day. moved through the village and had come to a big ditch. A. No. •••• • "Calley came over to the ditch," Maples told the court. Q. Was there any hostile fire? 23, of Fort Worth, Tex., said that after entering the village (AP Wirephoto) "He herded the rest of them (Vietnamese) to a hole where . A. No. • : • (See County, Page 3) •••••• mmmmurnHmmmmmmamm Critics Hit Inflation WASHINGTON (AP) - mortgages was reduced from kerage firm of Paine, Web- . heighfof the inflation, the in- oil and transit industries, two- Despite a tougher, more spe- 8^ topper cent. ber, Jackson & Curtis. flation will go on endlessly," price systems of the copper cific inflation alert, the White The higher ceiling had been "At least it's an expression the alert said. industry and wage boosts by the airlines which, it said, House still is shying away in effect since Jan. 5. The re- of the public interest in wages AFL-CIO President George from using direct presidential duction was hailed as a sig- and prices, but it's not nearly have damaged the profit- Meany lambasted the alert as ability of that industry. influence where it counts — nificant step-toward reviving enough to be effective," said one "heavily weighted on pending wage and price in- the homebiiilding industry. R. Duane Saunders, econo-. against wage increases for By implication, the council creases. ,."' The inflation alert criticized mist for the Chemical Bahk of workers, but is very solicitous criticized the states of Texas In issuing its second alert gasoline and car price boosts , New York. about profits of business — and Louisiana for Mowing yesterday, President Nixon's--' and wage increases in the au- The alert did signal a slight reporting only that profit oil production policies which Council of Economic Advisers tomobile, airline. and con- administration move , into margins increased this year hold down supplies and sup- limited criticism mostly to ', struction industries. It said "jawboning," the use of presi- and 'some further rise is to be port the recent price in- past wage and price deci- a • proposed wage settlement, dential pressure on wage and expected'." crease. sions, indicating it isn't ready in the railroad industry might price increases. He said the alert's attack Gasoline prices shot up . to go further. contribute to inflation. Aim at Expansion on the wage settlement be- nearly 16 per cent in the week , • The council said the focus Doubts Raised The council said the govern- tween General Motors and the ended Nov. 17, following a for combating inflation will be The, after-the-fact tone of ment now will aim "more vig- United "Auto Workers was un- wave of crude oil price on the government's mone- the report raised doubts in. orously at expansion" and ' tory and fiscal policies and many quarters that the ad- c auti o h.e d that its policy warranted. boosts, the council said. appeals to "increased under- ministration's tactics will would be hampered by a race "It is clear that this settle- But the council, which has REPORT ON MEETING WITH PRESIDENT — R.- - standing and voluntary coop- work. between management and la- ment," the report said, "if opposed any form of voluh- eration." bor for higher profits and ^ generalized throughout the . tary or direct federal inter- publican leaden Sen. Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania, left, 1 "The inflation alert is ana- Policy Chaltged logous to Paul Revere riding pay. "economy,! would crowd fur- vention in price-wage deci- and,Rep. Gerald R. Ford of Michigan meet newsmen One change in fiscal policy again and shouting, 'The Brit- "If everyone in his turn ther upward costs per unit of sions, emphasized that it was at the'White House after the Prasidiirt'j conference cam& yesterday when the ish have been here,'" said gets as big a wage or price output and, therefore, the not passing judgment on -with-.congressional leaders on the economy and in- price level." ^ whether any specific Wage or maximum interest rate on Robert Johnson, research di- increase as the biggest ob- flation. •':'•• . • (AP. Wirephoto) FHA-and VA-insured home rector of the New York bro- tained by others during the The council spotlighted the price increases were Justified.' JIIIIIlllllHlllllilBraillfllllEiillliilllHlllllllltllll CNJ Ills Blamed on State NEWARK (AP) — The union representing the line shut down and disclosure by the rail- two hours yesterday that he would seek a meeting 2,600 workers on the Jersey Central Railroad said road that the 450 workers would be laid off by with state Transportation Commissioner John C. Christmas. • Kohl to "seek solutions to the railroad's financial yesterday the state must share in the blame for 1 the scheduled Christmas layoff of more than 450 An undisclosed number of employes were noti- crisis. : employes of the bankrupt line. fied Monday that Friday would be their last day He described the state's promise of emergency And the United Transportation Union urged the on the job. service as "poor at best," and warned that unless state to speed up a controversial $600,000 subsidy Nathan James, public relations director for the the railroad was saved commuters, freight cus- to keep the line running at least until February. railroad, said the move was "necessary for the tomers and employes would suffer grievously. Union officials refused to criticize the railroad survival of the company." . "We've got to keep the line running this year," for the layoffs, which they described as "tern- Union officials Warned the layoffs on the state's Stout said. , porary furloughs." ' refusal to grant the subsidy and agreed with a The senator said he doubts the federal gov* "We're not happy, but what can' you do about statement by James that an immediate reduction eminent can step in fast enough if the rail line it," said union general chairman Edward Me- in service would not follow. closes down and added, "I'll continue to recom- Loughlin. However, McLougMin said the reduction in mend that the state provide all the funds neces- CONFERENCE HELD force might have an effect on long range mainte- sary to keep the Jersey Central operating." •' The statements came at a press conference nance.