14th
Street Art Colony Urged
By BOB DeLEON
Maynard
Jackson, candidate for vice mayor, proposed Tuesday night that the 14th Street
area of Atlanta be developed into an artists' colony.
Jackson
made the proposal at a meeting of the Fulton Young Republican Committee where
he spoke along with Ald. Milton Farris, another candidate for the vice mayor
position.
Both
Farris and Jackson said they were opposed to any brutality used last Sunday in
the confrontation between police and hippies at Piedmont Park but said they did
not know all the facts in the incident.
Farris
said, "Nobody believes in brutality. Sometimes in the enforcement of the law, in the heat of
passion, men may commit brutal acts and these are the kind of people that we have
to ferret out." He said that witnesses to any police or other brutality
should be called before the grand jury for testimony.
In condemning any brutality that may have been used during the incident, Jackson said, "I can never condone violence whether it is by persons in uniform or out. I hope there will be a thorough investigation of the incident."
He
added, "I would like to see the 10th Street area developed into an
artists' colony, into an area that would enhance the artistic development of
the community." Jackson said he would favor a citizens committee that
would work toward making the artists colony at no cost to the
people of Atlanta. ''This would help arrest the deterioration of the area and
could promote the development of Atlanta as the artistic center not only of the
South but of the entire nation."
Farris
said he favors more police coverage in Piedmont Park and surrounding areas but
both candidates said they would oppose closing the park. Farris said,
"Sure, Atlanta has its hippies but the hippie problem here is not as great
as in many cities around the country.
If Atlanta is to be a national center, this is one of the things that it will have to face."