A group of the county's military veterans, enlisting the Chair of the County Legislature as unwitting foil, last week staged a gratuitous, ineffective and thoughtless political demonstration at the monthly meeting of the Sullivan County Legislature.

At the outset, we must say that there is no more suitable place for a political demonstration than a meeting of elected government officials. But the devil always hides in the details, and the details last week quickly turned into an embarrassment, certainly for those directly involved, as well as for everyone else on hand.

Chairman Pomeroy allowed himself to be baited and lost his cool under a verbal barrage from a crusty, decorated World War II vet named Hyman Smith. Smith, according to observers who have watched him at Town of Fallsburg meetings, has little use for any government and displays his feeling in various ways, including turning his back during the recital of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Smith was out to get Pomeroy's goat and he succeeded. The chairman wound up directing security to remove a decorated veteran from the room. That should not have happened.

Then the supporters of former Veterans' Services Director Al Etkin should have been aware of the way petitions work. Petitions seldom work very well unless they're in support of something elected officials already want to do. Even then, they rarely get acted upon on the day they are submitted.

Anyone who has been around county government for any length of time knows that the veterans' services job has always been a political appointment. In the days of the Board of Supervisors it usually went to a retiring supervisor from the majority party or one who had unexpectedly lost an election. The bottom line is that the position serves at the pleasure of the chairman and the chairman was not pleased.

Al Etkin should have known that you don't set out to purposely embarrass the guy who you're trying to get an appointment from. You can point out your accomplishments and support, but you probably are working against your own ends when you bring your friends in to publicly call him a corrupt politician.

Speaking earlier, Smith talked about his wounds and his Bronze Star and suggested the decoration was of little value beyond a wall hanging. Well, if the Bronze Star won't get you a cup of coffee as Smith said, it should buy you a hefty portion of indulgence from public officials in the midst of a debate on public business. Whether he had cause or not, he definitely has earned the right to speak his piece.

Pomeroy could have offered additional speaking time or a private conversation after the agenda was completed. How much longer would that have taken? All these legislators have sat through public hearings that have droned on for hours.

And if that failed, Pomeroy might have called upon Etkin to come forward and help restore order. Even had Etkin been involved in staging the confrontation as some observers suggested, he would have been hard pressed not to assist and still retain his good faith for the position he was trying to recover.

Nearly every month, the podium at the Sullivan County Legislature is used for testimony that has little to do with Sullivan County business and the delivery often runs longer than the prescribed speaking period; but we can't recall anyone being removed from a legislative meeting before. While tossing out the unruly orator can provide some immediate satisfaction, it is an unwieldy weight, once in motion.

David Hulse, News Editor