Category: Opinions

National World War I Museum observes centennial

Views
Opinion column
by Murrel Bland

The United States is observing its centennial of the country being involved in World War I. And that has boosted attendance at The National Museum and Memorial just south of Union Station in Kansas City, Mo.

That was the message that Jonathan Casey delivered to about 35 persons who attended the quarterly meeting of the Wyandotte County Historical Society Sunday afternoon, Nov. 19, at the George Meyn Community Center in Wyandotte County Park, Bonner Springs. Casey is director of archives and the Edward Jones Research Center at the National Museum.

The museum tells the whole story of the war that covered a period from 1914 until 2019. The United State got involved in 1917. Fighting stopped on Nov. 11, 1918. That date used to be called “Armistice Day.” The holiday is now called “Veterans’ Day.”

The peace treaty was signed in 1919. About 9 million persons died.

Casey said ground was broken for the museum site in 1921; a crowd estimated at 100,000 showed up. Calvin Coolidge, who was vice president, was among the dignitaries who attended. Also present were five Allied military commanders; they were Lieutenant General Baron Jaques of Belgium, General Armando Diaz of Italy, Admiral Earl Beatty of Great Britain, Marshall Ferdinand Foch of France and General John J. Pershing of United States. This was the only time that these five were together.

The museum was dedicated in 1926. Calvin Coolidge, who was president then, attended with another large crowd. Harry Truman, who was an artillery officer during the war, was also there.

Casey said that the archives at the museum has many artifacts and records including letters written to and from soldiers. Among the correspondence is that to and from Warren Shaw of Bonner Springs who was a member of an army band unit. He played the violin and clarinet. He was killed in October of 1918 and was buried in France.

The most visible part of the museum is the 217-foot tower. Visitors are allowed to travel to the top of this structure and enjoy an excellent view of Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan.

The museum has a staff of about 40 fulltime and part-time workers. About 200 volunteers help out.

According to its 2016 tax form filed with the IRS, the museum had total revenue of $9,973,623; its total expenses were $5,596,712. It attendance for 2016 was 309,288.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. For more information, telephone 816-888-8100 or see the web site www.theworldwar.org.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte west and The Piper Press.

KCK Chamber of Commerce focuses on immigration issue

Views
Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

Monsignor Stuart Swetland was a Rhodes Scholar who studied economics at Oxford University in England during the 1980s. However, when commenting about immigration reform at a recent Legislative Committee meeting at the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce, he said he depends on his compassionate views as a Roman Catholic clergyman rather than a student of economics. Monsignor Swetland is the president of Donnelly College.

His comments came after a very spirited discussion among members of the Legislative Committee. Sen. Steve Fitzgerald, a conservative member of the Kansas Senate, reminded committee members that there are laws on the books that are being violated by immigrants who have entered the United States illegally or those who are here with expired visas.

Another matter to the immigration issue concerns children who came here at a very young age with their undocumented parents and have been here for several years. Many of these persons are grown and are productive members of society.

Although I admire the comments from Monsignor Swetland in his plea for compassion, the cold, hard facts dictate that many industries would be hard-pressed to operate if all of the undocumented immigrants were forced to leave this country. So it does come down to a matter of economics. Those industries that are most vulnerable include restaurants, hotels, landscaping and construction, particularly homebuilding.

I recently had a conversation with a dry wall contractor who does extensive work in the single-family housing trade. He said most of his workers are first-generation Mexican immigrants; they are very good workers, he said.

In past years, the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce has made it quite clear that immigration is a federal problem. That is consistent with the Chamber’s Legislative Committee’s present proposed position on the immigration issue:

“Encourage federal resolution to immigration reform. Said federal resolution should compassionately address situations of individuals currently in the country. Oppose state legislation increasing penalties or threatening the business licenses of employers who have unintentionally hired illegal workers.”

The Chamber’s Board of Directors will consider this issue when it meets later this month.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is the executive director of Business West.

Letter to the editor: Municipal ID

Dear editor,

Following is a letter I have sent to the Unified Government Commission and mayor regarding municipal identification cards.

To Mayor Holland: Re: Proposed Sanctuary City ID Cards

As a Wyandotte County resident, I am strongly opposed to the Unified Government establishing a municipal photo identification card program. Doing so would make the community far less safe by facilitating criminals living in our city. That ID would be a boon to identity thieves and all those who are not entitled to government issued ID.

A website, www.ACLUKansas.org, has a page supporting Unified Government ID and I found it to be very dishonest. First of all, the author of a letter to Mayor Holland, one might assume was written by an attorney. It turns out Weber is not an attorney, therefore legal conclusions in his letter should not be taken as a legal opinion. Weber makes unsubstantiated statements throughout his letter in matters of law and fact. For example, that 1 in 5 residents lack a government ID is clearly not correct.

His incorrect or misleading statements say that the card would allow holders to:
1. Open a bank account, (not true according to Academy Bank, Community America Credit Union, (under federal law a valid state ID is required to open a bank account).
2. Cash a check, (Walmart, banks I checked, gas stations, check cashing locations all require a state ID.) it would be foolish to cash a check without getting a secure ID.
3. Get a prescription filled, (controlled drugs may not be issued without a state ID).
4. Render identification to the police, (Police would expect a state issued ID).
5. Prove residency, (Cards are apparently not mailed, so homeless people get them).
6. Access health care, (ID is not required in an emergency re life-threatening issues).
7. Secure employment, (Employment laws requires state ID to confirm legal status).
8. Report crime to the police, (ID is not required simply to report a crime).
9. Reduce identity theft, (Easy ID is going to be used to commit ID theft).
10. Photo ID would be inexpensive, (To the end user or tax payers? See below).
11. Future state and federal government funds would not be withheld from the county, (this is likely false but would depend on other sanctuary city ordinances).

Our community might welcome hard-working legal residents who want to move to our city and contribute to our economy. However, those who can’t even obtain a lawful state of Kansas ID are far more likely to be supported financially by government services. This translates into them living on our tax money rather than contributing taxes to the community.

While the main claim to fame for the current UG administration is that county taxes are held low, this will be an expensive program in numerous ways. Issuing photo ID cards will require equipment for photographing people and printing ID cards (minimum $10,000 to $20,000 or more per location, plus about $1.20 per card). The program will require staff to process ID cards (figure $100,000 per employee minimum, twice that if sworn police do it. This smacks of typical government waste. Duplicating a government service and then not doing it very well is absolute foolishness. The required documentation to receive the proposed Wyandotte County ID would be what exactly?

ID currently costs $18 for minors and elderly to obtain an official state of Kansas card. Everyone else pays $22 for Kansas State ID. Present a valid, original birth certificate, valid U.S. Passport and a social security card and the Kansas ID or driver’s license will be deemed “Real ID” under federal law. What is wrong with that? The fictional notion that lawful elderly citizens of the county can’t easily obtain a Kansas ID or INS Green Card is not supported by anything but liberal conjecture.

Illegal aliens are excluded by design from obtaining real ID. Not being able to obtain Kansas State ID without proof of legal residency is not an accident or oversight. This is not something that ought to be fixed by using taxpayer funds.

I submit that the group having trouble getting an ID are those exactly precluded by law from getting the document. Official ID is only available to U.S. citizens and legal residents of the United States. Illegal aliens will be far and away the largest group wanting to obtain the new KCK fake ID card.

Due to pending federal “Real ID” standards, getting past TSA to fly on an airplane and entering federal facilities requires secure official ID. Wyandotte County fake ID card holders would get laughed out of line at airport security.

We live in dangerous times, state and federal laws are cracking down on insecure, easily forged or false ID. Why would Wyandotte County want to issue insecure IDs? This is absolutely wrong headed. Sanctuary cities are built with a collection of policies like this. This facilitates unlawfulness through lax enforcement of laws designed to protect American citizens.

I reached out to the Kansas Secretary of State regarding using the proposed Wyandotte County ID at the polls. He will certainly advise election officials that those cards would not be recognized at the polls. Not secure for photo identification, residency, home address, air travel, banking, voting, driving, entry to federal buildings, proof or age, name, buying alcohol, tobacco, opening a bank account, cashing a check and certainly not compliant with federal Real ID, what good are they? I am opposed to the UG getting into the fake ID business.

Greg Mills