- Collection:
- WSB-TV Newsfilm Collection
- Title:
- Series of WSB-TV clips of State Board of Pardons and Paroles member J. O. Partain being interviewed about AG Bolton's report into the board, and Governor Maddox gets into a heated exchange with the press about their coverage of the report, Atlanta, Georgia, 1967 December 13
- Creator:
- WSB-TV (Television station : Atlanta, Ga.)
- Contributor to Resource:
- Whipkey, Jim
Partain, J. O. (Jacques O.), 1918-2014
Maddox, Lester, 1915-2003 - Date of Original:
- 1967-12-13
- Subject:
- Attorneys general opinions--Georgia
Parole boards--Government employees
Governors--Press coverage
Government and the press--Georgia
Political corruption--Georgia
Parole boards--Corrupt practices
Pardon--Georgia
Parole--Georgia
Attorneys general--Georgia
Employees--resignation
Impeachments--Georgia
Government productivity--Georgia
Waste in government spending--Georgia
Georgia--Officials and employees - People:
- Bolton, Arthur K. (Arthur Key), 1922-
Maddox, Lester, 1915-2003
Partain, J. O. (Jacques O.), 1918-2014
Claxton, J. W. (Joseph Wilbur), 1911-1986
Garrett, Rebecca L.
Smith, George Leon, 1912-1973 - Location:
- United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018
United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798 - Medium:
- moving images
news
unedited footage - Type:
- Moving Image
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- In this series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips from Atlanta, Georgia on December 13, 1967, State Board of Pardons and Paroles member J. O. Partain is interviewed about Attorney General Arthur Bolton's report into the Board. Later Governor Maddox has a heated exchange with the press about their coverage of the report.
The clips open with a group of reporters standing outside the Governor's office while J. O. Partain is being interviewed. He can be heard saying "I do wholeheartedly agree with his recommendations." An interviewer is heard asking, "Such as, sir?" The interview is transcribed in full below.
Partain: "Well I think he listed 23 of them. Frankly, I might suggest all of them but they were read to me over the telephone by my colleagues and I couldn't disagree with any of them."
Jim Whipkey: "Where is Mrs. Garrett and Mr. Claxton today?"
Partain: "Mrs. Garrett is in Butler, Georgia recovering from surgery. Judge Claxton will probably be in the office today."
Whipkey: "Mr. Partain, do you think the Attorney General has said too much or too little?"
Partain: "I wouldn't want to comment on that."
Unidentified reporter: "Do you think he's minimized the situation?"
Partain: "I wouldn't want to comment on that. I'll say this: I have complete confidence in the Attorney General and his staff."
Unidentified reporter: "Mr. Partain, the Attorney General said it wasn't consistent..." [audio cuts out]
Here the clip cuts out and a wider shot of the reporters interviewing Mr. Partain is shown.
Partain: "...because this is a report involving my colleagues and I would have nothing to say other than the recommendations are measures that I have been advocating by and large, most of them, not all of them, for some time and I agree about 99% with those."
Unidentified reporter: "Do you agree that the drastic measures need to be taken?"
Partain: "Well it depends on your definition of drastic."
Unidentified reporter: "What is your definition of drastic?"
Partain: "Well, I didn't use the word." [Laughter from all]
Unidentified reporter: "In your opinion, should..." [clip cuts out]
The next clip shows the reporters gathered to interview Governor Lester Maddox. He makes small talk with one reporter about the Lions Club. The interview is transcribed in full below.
Jim Whipkey: "Governor, you've read the report of the Pardon and Parole Board. What do you think about it?"
Maddox: "Well, it covers most of everything that I knew that it would cover. You know I stated last year and earlier this year that we had several agencies of government that things were not properly run and in business manner in which they should. That there were iniquities and irregularities and so I called for the investigation so that these could be brought to the attention of the other state departments and the General Assembly and through the Attorney General and to the public in general and it bears out exactly what I...the reason for the investigation. This was my means of as I promised the people we would continue to look into the various agencies of government and so this...I think will has already proven to help our State Department of Pardons and Paroles, and I think we're gonna have continued improvement. There will be some reorganization and possibly some necessary legislation to see that every person is given an equal opportunity at his parole or pardon."
Unidentified reporter: "Are you going to ask or seek any resignations?"
Maddox: "No, sir. I don't contemplate anything like that."
Whipkey: "What about next year when Mr. Claxton's term is up? What do you foresee then?"
Maddox: "Well this is 1967. We'll wait until 1968."
Unidentified reporter: "Do you plan to reappoint him, sir?"
Maddox: "Well I'll make that decision later and not on television."
Unidentified reporter: "...report. How could you in good conscience reappoint Mr. Claxton?"
Maddox: "Well Jack, you know you're just trying to make some lotta news for your six o'clock, eleven o'clock news and you're trying to stir up some flames that we've got some small ones and the time comes we'll put them out and what you want to do is fan 'em and then get them in a great big uproar right now. And this is not in the best interests of the people or the Board of Pardon and Paroles [sic] or the state government, and I don't want to do that."
Whipkey: "The Attorney General said the problem was not with the system but with the people."
Maddox: "Well I think it's with both of them. I think the system needs some remedial legislation in order to set on certain guidelines, and they must be followed, mandatory guidelines and the system does make it mandatory at this time and I think it's going to have to be this way."
Unidentified reporter: "So for the time being the Pardon and Parole Board, the membership will remain the same."
Maddox: "Yes, sir. So far as I know at this time. You can't tell if something could happen. Sunshine in the day, it may be raining tomorrow."
Unidentified reporter: "Governor, you don't think the people are asking the same question that Jack asked a moment ago?"
Maddox: "Well you know, I think the people should be happy that under this administration that we're bringing these things to the attention of the people and we're correcting them. I think they ought to be happy...[reporter tries to interrupt] you just wait a minute. These things have been covered up in the past and the press hasn't even been uncovering them, and under this administration they are being uncovered and we are making corrections, we are making a more efficient government, a more honest government, and a more equitable government. And I think the people ought to be real happy that these things are taking place. Didn't happen last year, did it? Or the year before? Or the year before? Or the year before? Or the year before? These things are taking place because of our request and our demand that we have more efficiency in government, and I think the press ought to be happy. Maybe you won't get all the headlines you want tonight but we're doing the job and if we have your cooperation we're gonna even do a better job."
Unidentified reporter: "Are there any other agencies of government that need looking into that you know of?"
Maddox: "Well we've been looking into a lot of them, Bernie. We have now one the finest departments of industry and trade in the United States of America. We've already reached some five hundred million dollars in new and expanded industry this..." [clip cuts out]
Unidentified reporter: "...the deficiencies in the department. Do you have any legislation in mind?"
Maddox: "Well a lot of things could happen. We could, like the fact that maybe some person that's been going before the Board maybe 150, 200 times a year, we might set a limit that no person could continue to just be a full-time representative before the Pardon and Parole but this could be passed out to a lot of other people and this would cut down on possibly the chance of some particular person or a few people getting complete control of the situation like seems to have been happening in the past. Now I want to say again, Ben, I think the people ought to real be happy [sic] and delighted and pleased that we're making these accomplishments and we're bringing to light things that have been covered up by government and by the news media because they didn't want to hurt so-and-so's feelings or something but they don't mind getting on Lester and I don't mind them getting on so here we are and we're doing some good."
Unidentified reporter: "Will you leave it up to the General Assembly or the members of the General Assembly to determine if they want the Board members to continue on in their post?"
Maddox: "Well I'm going to be talking about this with the members of the General Assembly, with the Speaker, with the Lieutenant Governor, and of course our floor leaders. It's not just in this department, Ben. There's a lot of waste and extravagance and wrongdoing and inefficiency and failure to provide business-like management in a lot of government, and it's not exclusive to the state of Georgia. It's in fifty states and it's in the federal government, it's in most of our city halls, and most of our courthouses. We need more business in government and less government in business and the Maddox administration is working in that direction and we'd appreciate all the support we can get from you fellas."
Unidentified reporter: "...the Pardon and Parole Board names in the Attorney General's report."
Maddox: "Well you don't have any evidence that would, under the present law, that would say that you could remove these people from office for the fact that maybe they haven't conducted it in an orderly and properly way. They haven't had any legal charges against any member of the Board of Pardons and Paroles."
Whipkey: "That would rule out impeachment?"
Maddox: "The Attorney General himself stated that in the report. But let me say again, it bears out what I said with some of the conditions existing. But just look at our Department of Corrections--a lot of things there that haven't been corrected yet, but many of them have and we've brought to the attention of the people and the General Assembly and a lot of things that's been covered up for all these years."
Reporter: Whipkey, Jim
Title supplied by cataloger.
For another clip from this interview, see wsbn52570 on reel WSBN1425. - Local Identifier:
- Clip number: wsbn52574
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/news/id:wsbn52574
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/news/id:wsbn52574
- IIIF manifest:
- https://dlg.usg.edu/record/ugabma_wsbn_wsbn52574/presentation/manifest.json
- Language:
- eng
- Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):
- Cite as: wsbn52574, Series of WSB-TV clips of State Board of Pardons and Paroles member J. O. Partain being interviewed about AG Bolton's report into the board, and Governor Maddox gets into a heated exchange with the press about their coverage of the report, Atlanta, Georgia, 1967 December 13, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 1425, 43:24/52:13, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia
- Extent:
- 1 clip (about 8 mins., 49 secs.): color, sound ; 16 mm.
- Original Collection:
- Original found in the WSB-TV newsfilm collection.
- Holding Institution:
- Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection
- Rights:
-
