Prussian Speaks
On Communism
Page 3
OREGON
DAILY
EMERALD
Entertainment
Page
Page 6
Voi. LXVI
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, EUGENE, FRIDAY, JANUARY 2R, 1066
No. 66
Nations Poor Scrutinized
ROBEKT I.AMPMAN, University of Wisconsin economic* pro
fessor, described his "nrftallvr income tax,” Increased “trans
fer payment," and full employments solutions to the poverty
conference to a full crowd in the St' Ballroom Thursday.
Negative Income
Tax Proposed
By NOMI BOREN8TEIN
Assistant Managing Editor
"A poor person is someonr whose income is under $3,000 a
year.” according to Robert Lampman, professor of economic*
at the University of Wisconsin.
In order to rarse the income of the approximately 35 million
poor people in the United States. Lampman advocates a family
allowance, a "negative income tax" and making the present
economic system work more effectively.
The number of poor people has been going down," Lampman
said "The purpose of the poverty program is to hasten this
trend" In 1947 . 32 per cent of the population were considered
poor but in 1963 only 19 per cent could be listed as poor.
This means that approximately one million people have left
the ranks of the poor every year and now earn at least $3,000
a year, Lampman said
Lampman outlined three broad solutions to the poverty prob
lem:
• making the present economic systems work better,
• adapting the system to the needs of the poor, and
• changing the "basic culture of the poor” which would adapt
the poor to the needs of the system
lampman said that he favors "bettering the workings of our
present economic system" to best solve the war on poverty.
"People always sell our system short,” he continued and they
just don't realize how good it is.”
If the present rate of economic growth continues and the
program is supplemented with some of Lampman's "welfare
proposals," he predicted that poverty can be abolished within
20 to 35 years.
"Economic growth would insure full employment, he said,
and according to Lampman's philosophy employment is the key
(Continued on page 2)
Alinsky Assails Johnsons
War on Poverty
Theobald Talk,
Debate to End
Poverty Confab
A speakers’ debate at 1
p m, today will close the ASUO
sponsored Poverty Conference.
British economist Robert
Theobald will give the fourth
and final speech at 9 a m It
will be followed by a discussion
The speaker’s debate will
have all four speakers—Theo
bald, Saul Alinsky, Arthur
Pearl, and Robert Lampman—
debate their varying views of
the poverty problems and the
solutions to it.
There were indications at the
Thursday session that the de
bate might be heated Pearl, an
education professor at the Uni
versity, attacked the views of
the other three in his morning
speech.
And his statement that Alin
sky and conservative columnist
William Buckley are •'brothers
under the skin” because both
say the poor must solve their
own problems drew a scathing
reply from Alinsky.
I've never heard anybody
make that kind of statement,"
said Alinsky at his afternoon
press conference. "But then
I've never been inside the psy
chiatric wards at Bellevue eith
er."
He pointed out that Buckley
is identified with the status quo
while he is trying to change the
status quo.
In his short opening address
Thursday morning University
President Arthur S. Flemming
called the conference "the high
water mark for the University
of Oregon.”
He expressed his “deep ap
preciation to Steve Gold
schmidt (ASUO president, who
organized the conference) and
the ASUO for developing as
significant a program as this."
New Careers for Poor'
Pearl Suggests Solution,
Criticizes Other Experts
By BOB CARL
Managing Editor
The first of four experts to
speak at the ASUO sponsored
Poverty Conference, Arthur
Pearl, University professor of
education, explained his solu
tion to the poverty problem and
criticized the approaches that
he “expects” the other speakers
to take during the two day con
ference.
Speaking to 1.100 persons
early Thursday morning, Pearl
outlined his proposal, which he
has explained in a recently -
published book, “New Careers
for the Poor.”
He said America has “never
had a perfect society,” explain
ing that there have always been
"v e r y pronounced barriers”
which keep disadvantaged per
sons from being absorbed into
society.
Pearl described American so
ciety as “one of prejudice; one
of three hundred years of pov
erty, with a tradition of slav
ery.”
Even though the methods of
absorption into American soci
ety have always been inefficient
according to Pearl, he explained
that many of these methods
have become obsolete. "The sit
uation is worse today than ever
before,” he said.
For example. Pearl cited agri
culture—“now the most automat
ed industry”—explaining that
“in 10 years, Oregon won’t need
one bean picker.” In 10 years
"the absolute number of jobs
will have declined” in agricul
ture, according to Pearl.
"The traditional absorption
systems have disappeared,’’ he
said.
Pearl also said that "fewer
people are producing goods now
than 5 years ago—and 40 per
cent more goods are produced
yearly.” The jobs that are cre
ated call for highly skilled peo
ple, he said, as another exam
ple of an absorption system that
has failed.
As still another example to
prove his point, Pearl said that
small businesses can no longer
compete with today’s industrial
giants. “B a r r y Goldwater’s
grandfather could push a cart
from one settler's house to an
other,” he said, “but it’s impos
sible to think of a street peddler
(Continued on page S)
By PHIL SKMAS
Associate Editor
Saul Alinsky doesn’t think much of Lyndon Johnson’s War on
Poverty.
He calls it ‘a war against the poor, not a war against the causes
of poverty,” '65 per cent political pork barrel, 35 per cent chicken
salad lor the welfare industry,” and a ”a perfect piece of political
pornography.”
Saul Alinsky is the organizer of "community action groups” who
has gotten the poor together to organize rent strikes, picket lines,
boycotts, demonstrations, and sit-ins to force change in slum con
ditions in America's cities.
He runs his organization from a two room office in Chicago
with a staff of 16 people. He never sends in more than one of his
"organizers." And he never sends them in unless they’re asked for.
Alinsky, a paunchy, bespectacled, quiet-looking man in a brown
suit, yellow shirt, and purple tie, was talking at the Thursday night
session of the ASUO-sponsored Poverty Conference. And he had
some unkind words for the War on Poverty.
POLITICAL PATRONAGE
"The anti poverty program is emerging as a huge political pork
barrel,” he charged, “the wielding of funds a form of political
patronage.
"Unless there are drastic changes in direction, rationale, and
administration," he added, "it may well become the worst political
blunder and boomerang of the present administration.”
There’s plenty of dissatisfaction with the program, Alinsky says.
"I haven’t addressed a meeting on the poverty program where I
haven’t found a lot of angry people," he told an afternoon press
conference.
In his speech he said. "The American people will accept to a cer
tain degree the variance of programs from professed purposes and
a certain amount of wasteful administration. Even some plain graft.
MODERN SIR GALAHAD
His raspy drawl lowered a notch in volume. "But when this occurs
in a program that has burst forth like a modern Sir Galahad, the
American will react and is reacting in a rage.
"The American people,” he added, "are repulsed by a phony
hypocritical piety.”
The War on Poverty is the kind of program it is because it did
not come in response to a threat, Alinsky says.
"Progress usually comes in response to a threat,” he says. He
cited Lincoln’s emancipation proclamation and the American for
eign aid program ("We already have one poverty program, but it’s
called the foreign aid program.”) as examples. The threat in the
first case was the break up of the Union. The threat in the second
case was Communism.
"The threat was lacking in the poverty program." Alinsky says.
“We are an affluent society. The poor are not organized. The poor
are a small minority.
But Lyndon Johnson started the War on Poverty anyway.
"Hence out came the program as it is,” says Alinsky.
THREAT DEVELOPING NOW
"What I’m telling you,” he emphasizes, "is that the threat is
developing now. Rarely a day passes that there isn’t some scandal
about the poverty program on the front pages. I predict that there
will be sweeping changes in the poverty program as the 1968 elec
tion approaches.”
What is wrong with the War on Poverty, says Alinsky, is that
it is a program to give the poor jobs, instead of power. "I use the
word power in its strictest sense, according to Webster's,” he says,
"the power to act.”
Alinsky maintains that instead of giving the poor that kind of
power—which is what Alinsky’s own organizations have tried to
do— the War on Poverty stifles efforts of the poor to gain power.
Poverty funds, he says "are used to suffocate militant leadership
and action organizations seeking to arm the poor with their share
(Continued on page 8)
ROBERT THEOBALD, right, British economist and advocate of a
"guaranteed income” as a solution to the problems of poverty,
will give the final speech in the ASUO Poverty Conference at 9
a.m. today. His speech will be followed by a debate among all
four speakers at 2 p.m. Arthur Pearl, left, delivered the first speech
Thursday.