The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 7, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 13, 1992 Page: 2 of 36
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2
RECORD
CANADIAN. HEMPHILL CO.. TEXAS
THURSDAY T3 FEBRUARY 1992
opinions expressed are those of the editors unless noted s
opinion
page
by ben ezzell
m m
There’s a sucker born every minute." The quotation is
generally attributed to Phineas T. Barnum, whose circus
sideshows took 'em in. And it might have been Barnum who
added "...and another one to take him." Barnum, a great
showman, was the acknowledged expert in that field, but
he may have underestimated the rate of production, at that.
The Federal Trade Commission doesn’t underestimate it. The
FTC issues a steady stream of warnings of a variety of scams, as
do the Better Business Bureaus and law enforcement people from
the Attorney General of Texas to the Sheriff of Hemphill County.
But con men have always been active, and will probably continue
to be in spite of the best official efforts to head em off at the pass.
One of the latest scams, currently the subject of an FTC
warning, is the "Advance Fee Loan Racket . Attorney
General Dan Morales warns that "a growing number of
companies are operating advance fee loan scams that are
ripping off consumers nationwide. These companies
promise loans to people with bad credit, or no credit, or
with other problems that make it difficult to borrow money.
They advertise nationwide in newspaper classifieds, on the
n __if ______ O radio and on television. These ads appear to be very effec-
UeatrL PCnCUnj COStS tOO TTXUCtX f tive...”one company in the Dallas area generated over 40,000
A o„iic in a turn.month norinH usinor these kinds of ads,”
^f^HE DEATH PENALTY for capital crimes
A in Texas is probably a flop as a deterrent,
but it does provide assurance to law-abiding
sdciety that the perpetrators of the most heinous
crimes will not be able to strike again. That is
some comfort to the survivors of their victims,
and for that reason we think it has redeeming
social value.
It is not vengeance against the criminal, but
security for the innocent, that is the motivating
factor here.
Nor do we agree that the mental state of the
perpetrator, either at the time of the crime or in
its aftermath, should be a mitigating factor. Vi-
cious killers are surely not "normal" in the ac-
cepted sense, but we find it hard to accept that
their abnormality should excuse them from the
consequences of their actions.
Many of us have strong reserva-
*7^ &ucacUa*t
RECORD
USPS 067-960
P.O. Box 898
Canadian (Hemphill) Taxaa 79014
BEN EZZELL Editor
NANCY EZZELL Editor
JACKIE KERRIGAN Advertising Manager
Entered as second class matter December 20,
1945 at the Post Office at Canadian, Texas
under the act of March 3, 1879. Published
each Thursday afternoon at Canadian, Texas,
by Ben R. and Nancy M. Ezzell.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
THE CANADIAN RECORD, Box 898,
Canadian, TX 79014
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
$20/Year In Hemphll ft adjoining counties
825/Yeer elsewhere
tions...religious, moral or philosophical...about
destroying human life; but in an ordered society
there must be rules in which the rights and
privileges of the individual must be subordinate
to the safety of the whole group. The death penal-
ty for criminal behavior is the most stringent of
these rules, and should be used sparingly...and
it is. But there are cases...the current example of
Amarillo’s Johnny Frank Garrett is one...in
which we believe it is wholly justified. Some
criminals, regardless of their mental capacity,
have simply forfeited their right to continued
protection of our society.
It is difficult to comprehend why this one, who
has abused his human privilege so flagrantly,
should be granted the further privilege of living
out his allotted span at the expense of his fellow
beings.
Yet "expense" has become one of the key argu-
ments in this case against carrying out the death
penalty ordered by the jury and the courts...and
it should not be a factor. Bishop Leroy Mat-
thiesen of the Catholic Diocese of Amarillo,
points out that "a New York study determines
the cost of a capital case to be $1.8 million while
the cost life imprisonment for 40 years was
$602,000.”
Bishop Matthiesen, a good and conscientious
Christian, opposes the death sentence for
Johnny Frank Garrett for other reasons also, but
declares that "the cost of the death penalty in
Texas is too high.” It is true, but the fallacy in
that reasoning is that the "cost” of the death
penalty is largely the cost of the endless legal
maneuvering and court appeals carried on by the
opponents of the death penalty, now in the 11th
year in the case of Johnny Frank Garrett...and it
is unfortunately typical.
There has never been any doubt about the
facts of this case, in which a vicious rape and
murder of an Amarillo nun was committed by a
retarded 17-year old. Bishop Matthiesen argues
Continued on Page 4
Morales says.
That may be a fine testimony to the power of advertising, but
you’re not going to find them in this newspaper because we refuse
them regularly and will continue to do so. Sucker bait is usually
easy to spot. We may occasionally reject an ad which is a legitimate
business proposal, because we can’t check out the source of all of
them from cities far away, but our theory is that if it looks like a
scam and sounds like a scam, it probably is a scam and we don’t
want to be a party to it for a few paltry bucks.
The "advance fee loan" propositions seem so transparent
that we wonder why anyone is taken in by them, but we
know that a lot of people are. A typical operation, as
described by the Attorney General: "When consumers
answer these ads the company takes a brief application
over the phone. The application rarely consists of more
information than the consumer’s name, address and in-
come. The company tells the consumer to call back in a
short period of time, usually less than a day, to learn if he’s
been accepted. When the consumer calls back he is told he
has been approved for the loan and should send in a $250
fee, and that he should receive a loan contract in a couple
of weeks and a loan shortly thereafter. He may get the
contract, but the loan never arrives and the company pock-
ets the fee and is never heard from again."
That is real sucker bait. If your credit or your security isn’t good
enough to get a loan from a legitimate lender, paying a third party
a hefty advance fee (which may range from $100 to several
hundred, depending on how much your credibility will stand) isn’t
Continued on Paae 4
f-Ca&twtyA,-v
r | ^HERE’S A SUREFIRE way to double your
A money: fold it in half and put it in your
pocket.
_J
• •
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Ezzell, Ben & Ezzell, Nancy. The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 7, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 13, 1992, newspaper, February 13, 1992; Canadian, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth736932/m1/2/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hemphill County Library.