August 6, 1964 (20 pages)

1 Nevada County Nugget. 1964. August 6 “ DOe e4e3e 0s 08 & DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE ©9609 09 ©0860 eo Knee GATHERING MOSS One of the perils along the path totrue democratic government is a tendency toward the establishment of a tyranny of the majority. It all begins with some specious reasoning based on the premise that anything favored by the majority is ipso facto right and desirable and should be enforced by law or custom. Columnist Henry MacArthur applies this reasoning in his asses ~ment of the current battle being waged by conservationist groups against the State Highway Department's plans to destroy redwood preserves for freeways. “More people," he expounds, “drive on freeways than walk in the woods," Therefore, he implies, the smaller number, who have travelled hundreds of thousands of miles for what is to them the supreme emotional experience of walking among forest giants, should be completely disregarded, If this reasoning were sound it might be applied tonearly all the current likes and dislikes of our people. For instance, comparatively few people read books any more. Most prefer to sprawl before the television screen and watch the good guys shoot up the bad guys. So why build libraries or stock them with books,’ Probably less than 10 percent of Americans understand, appreciate or enjoy the music of the masters, which has endured through the centuries. Most prefer rock-and-roll, jazz and hillbilly laments. Should wetear down our concert halls and opera houses, andtherecording companies stop reproducing the works of Brahms, Beethoven and Giuseppe Verdi? Most people today go to a lake or riverto pilot a speedboat at full throttle, towing a blonde on water skis. The very preponderance of these speed demons on recreation waters crow ds out those who might prefer to fish,-swim or paddle a canoe. This is majority dominance by sheer weight of numbers, but is it fair? There are more Protestants than there are Catholics, Jews or ag~nostics. Are we to consider that this is a Protestant country and forbid the beliefs, customs and desires of all minority religions? There are more voters in big cities than in small towns and ruralcommunities. Therefore should both houses of our State Legislature be apportioned strictly on a population basis, as the Supreme Court has just tuled, allowing one big city to write the laws for a state 900 miles long, with hundreds of farm, rural and forest communities of whose very existenc> many city people are The Majority Is Ipso Facto Right’.It Ain't Necessarily So unaware? Or, should people in all areas and in all walks of life, even though in the minority, have some little voice in how their state is governed? Might I suggest that a government in which the majority rides COob Cfiine FOOLS GOLD roughshod over the minority more '§ 4 resembles the dictatorship of the proletariat championed by Marx § and Lenin than the government of checks and balances which the writers of our Constitution envisioned. The founding fathers had lived under tyranny. They didn't want big states to dom inatesmall states or cities to dominate small towns. They didn‘t want an allpowerful executive manipulating a rubber -stamp congress and judicial system, or vice versa. I doubt If they would look with favor on a government that decided every issue entirely on the basis of majority preference. CAROUSEL The current exhibit atthe Nevada City Artists Gallery represents the work. of 19 members of the Nevada City Art Association. Auglst 10 through 16 . Sacramento Music Circus production of the Cole Porter comedy "Kiss Me Kate" starring Helena Bliss and Norwood Smith. Curtain time is 8:30 p.m, August 12 .-A new opera, “The Trial of Tender O'Shea” by Richard and Dorothy Swift will be premiered by the New Music Ensemble at 8:15 p.m. inthe East Hall Studio onthe Davis Campus of the University of California. General admission will be 50 cents. Through August 29 .Harold Pinter's comedy “The Caretaker", currently in its second Actor's Workshop revival at the Encore Theater has been extended through August 29. The production will be shown on Friday and Saturday evenings through that date. September 9 . American Rivet Junior College Third Annual film classics series. Twoshowingsat 7 and 9 p.m. in the Little Theater of the American film “Touch of Evil”. Admission is free. October 10 . Fall Festival of Colorsin Nevada City. Over 76 years have past since the Grass Valley-Nevada City mining district experienced its most severe surface disaster the dryhouse fire and explosion at the Empire Mine plant on Ophir Hill, It was 8:30 o'clock the morning of March 14, 1888 that the Empire whistle blew an insistent alarm of . fire. Smoke was pouring from the "dry" ~ few knowing that the next days supply of powder was storedinthe dryroom, When the fire and powder met the pictured explosion was the result, The underground workers did not know of the tragedy above ground, The-dryhouse was reduced to rubble, deaths occurred, and hundreds of windows in Grass Valley were broken. FO re Grass Valley Volunteer Fire Department in 1888 parading in their finest uniforms with hose carts in front.of the world famous Holbrooke Hotel. These tworare photographs from the private collection of Downey Clinch.

1 Nevada County Nugget. 1964. August 6 “ DOe e4e3e 0s 08 & DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE ©9609 09 ©0860 eo Knee GATHERING MOSS One of the perils along the path totrue democratic government is a tendency toward the establishment of a tyranny of the majority. It all begins with some specious reasoning based on the premise that anything favored by the majority is ipso facto right and desirable and should be enforced by law or custom. Columnist Henry MacArthur applies this reasoning in his asses ~ment of the current battle being waged by conservationist groups against the State Highway Department's plans to destroy redwood preserves for freeways. “More people," he expounds, “drive on freeways than walk in the woods," Therefore, he implies, the smaller number, who have travelled hundreds of thousands of miles for what is to them the supreme emotional experience of walking among forest giants, should be completely disregarded, If this reasoning were sound it might be applied tonearly all the current likes and dislikes of our people. For instance, comparatively few people read books any more. Most prefer to sprawl before the television screen and watch the good guys shoot up the bad guys. So why build libraries or stock them with books,’ Probably less than 10 percent of Americans understand, appreciate or enjoy the music of the masters, which has endured through the centuries. Most prefer rock-and-roll, jazz and hillbilly laments. Should wetear down our concert halls and opera houses, andtherecording companies stop reproducing the works of Brahms, Beethoven and Giuseppe Verdi? Most people today go to a lake or riverto pilot a speedboat at full throttle, towing a blonde on water skis. The very preponderance of these speed demons on recreation waters crow ds out those who might prefer to fish,-swim or paddle a canoe. This is majority dominance by sheer weight of numbers, but is it fair? There are more Protestants than there are Catholics, Jews or ag~nostics. Are we to consider that this is a Protestant country and forbid the beliefs, customs and desires of all minority religions? There are more voters in big cities than in small towns and ruralcommunities. Therefore should both houses of our State Legislature be apportioned strictly on a population basis, as the Supreme Court has just tuled, allowing one big city to write the laws for a state 900 miles long,

with hundreds of farm, rural and forest communities of whose very existenc> many city people are The Majority Is Ipso Facto Right’..It Ain't Necessarily So unaware? Or, should people in all areas and in all walks of life, even though in the minority, have some little voice in how their state is governed? Might I suggest that a government in which the majority rides COob Cfiine FOOLS GOLD roughshod over the minority more '§ 4 resembles the dictatorship of the proletariat championed by Marx § and Lenin than the government of checks and balances which the writers of our Constitution envisioned. The founding fathers had lived under tyranny. They didn't want big states to dom inatesmall states or cities to dominate small towns. They didn‘t want an allpowerful executive manipulating a rubber -stamp congress and judicial system, or vice versa. I doubt If they would look with favor on a government that decided every issue entirely on the basis of majority preference. CAROUSEL The current exhibit atthe Nevada City Artists Gallery represents the work. of 19 members of the Nevada City Art Association. Auglst 10 through 16 .. Sacramento Music Circus production of the Cole Porter comedy "Kiss Me Kate" starring Helena Bliss and Norwood Smith. Curtain time is 8:30 p.m, August 12 .-A new opera, “The Trial of Tender O'Shea” by Richard and Dorothy Swift will be premiered by the New Music Ensemble at 8:15 p.m. inthe East Hall Studio onthe Davis Campus of the University of California. General admission will be 50 cents. Through August 29 ..Harold Pinter's comedy “The Caretaker", currently in its second Actor's Workshop revival at the Encore Theater has been extended through August 29. The production will be shown on Friday and Saturday evenings through that date. September 9 . American Rivet Junior College Third Annual film classics series. Twoshowingsat 7 and 9 p.m. in the Little Theater of the American film “Touch of Evil”. Admission is free. October 10 . Fall Festival of Colorsin Nevada City. Over 76 years have past since the Grass Valley-Nevada City mining district experienced its most severe surface disaster the dryhouse fire and explosion at the Empire Mine plant on Ophir Hill, It was 8:30 o'clock the morning of March 14, 1888 that the Empire whistle blew an insistent alarm of . fire. Smoke was pouring from the "dry" ~ few knowing that the next days supply of powder was storedinthe dryroom, When the fire and powder met the pictured explosion was the result, The underground workers did not know of the tragedy above ground, The-dryhouse was reduced to rubble, deaths occurred, and hundreds of windows in Grass Valley were broken. FO re Grass Valley Volunteer Fire Department in 1888 parading in their finest uniforms with hose carts in front.of the world famous Holbrooke Hotel. These tworare photographs from the private collection of Downey Clinch.