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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 21, 1968)
Half-Million Oregonians Live Below Poverty Line Editor’s Note: This is the first of five articles which will focus on what and where pov erty is in Oregon and who is working to alleviate it. The second part of the series in Wednesday’s Emerald will fo cus on poverty-stricken Indians in Oregon. By LINDA MEIERJURGEN and LAURIE PADILLA Of the Emerald Five - hundred twenty - six thousand Oregonians live in poverty. They have a family in come of less than $3,000 a year, which is the Office of Economic Opportunity’s break-off point between poverty and average living standards. What is poverty? Kenneth Viegas, University professor in sociology and a former worker in Lane County’s war on pov erty, thinks it is these 526,000 Oregonians who are unable to survive in present society. “When speaking of poverty, we should talk in terms of eco nomic adequacy and resources to provide for the existence of the family and/or individual,” Viegas said. Viegas sees the problem as basically whether an individual could live under present socie tal conditions on $3,000 a year. “Essentially, everyone ought to be provided with enough money with which to live,” he said. Eugene Mayor Edwin Cone thinks these are “insufficient funds to meet the needs for a reasonable level of living.” According to the Lane Hu man Resources commission “The world's toughest car." Lyle Engel, Executive Editor, lAmerican Rodding Magazine Peugeot cruises off with first place in the East African Safari Rally' Ninety percent of the cars that started this year's rally didn't make it. Peugeot came through first, just like last year, and the year before. IPs very simple. Peugeot is built like a jungle animal: lean, rugged, and graceful. No chromium frills. No excess weight No needless, horsepower. Yet underneath all that tough ness is a lifetime friend. PEUGEOT^ Win a 1968 PEUGEOT See Your Mayfair Store S-L Motors, Inc. 9th & Main St. Springfield Open Evenings till 10 p.m. (LHR) 6,132 people in the Eu gene area are unable to meet the needs for a “reasonable” level of existence. How do these people live? Poverty is people living in rat-infested, run down, antique remnants of houses, eating less food than they need to subsist and learning less than they need to be alive, according to LHR. Income is the standard way of determining those who are poverty stricken. The total num ber of low income families in the Eugene area has increased 37 per cent since 1960, accord ing to LHR. These people fall into three main groups: the aged, aid to dependent children families (ADC) and the unemployed. Part of the problem in defin ing poverty, to Elwin Grout of LHR, is that no statistics are available except those taken in the 1960 census. Lane Human Resources now has a project going to collect these statistics, but the opera tion “is hard,” Grout said. Another problem in defining poverty is the difference in peo ple’s needs. “The $3,000 may not be enough for some people cut sufficient for others,” Viegas thinks. The purchasing power of $3,000 keeps changing also, he Dinner Honors Retired Faculty An invitational dinner to night will honor four retiring University faculty members rep resenting more than 130 years of service. Special citations will be pre sented by University President Arthur S. Flemming. Paul Washke, professor of physical education; Joel Berre man, professor of sociology; An drew Vincent, professor of art; and Lois Baker, professor of li brary administration and law li brarian will be the honored guests at the dinner. Washke, who has been at the University for 39 years, “has reached 75,000 students with programs emphasizing good sportsmanship, wholesome re creation . . . through the physi cal service and intramural ath letics,” the citation reads. The citation for Vincent, whose work has been widely ex hibited throughout the North west, reads, “Through his paint ing and through a multitude of grateful students, the work of Andrew Vincent has happily permeated our region and our time.” Berreman is cited as “a vig orous advocate of social justice “For more than 30 years, Lois Baker has devoted her ener gies and wisdom to the further ance of legal education” at the University, says the citation for Mrs. Baker. said. The following are Lane Coun ty’s statistics on poverty: • In 1965 there were an esti mated 14,764 residents who were 65 years of age or over. Of these, 3,025 were low-income families. • At present there are 8,875 individuals in poverty due to the low incomes of the elderly heads of households. • LHR says they assume all ADC families can be considered low income families. In Decem ber 1966 there were a total of 817 ADC families. • In 1966 there were ap proximately 8,400 low income families in Lane County. On the basis of these sta tistics LHR concluded in 1966 that there was a total popula tion of 201,000 in Lane Coun ty, and of these 29,292 lived in poverty. This means 14.6 per cent of the people in Lane county lived in poverty in 1966. “There is no reason to be lieve these figures haven’t in creased in two years,” Grout said. McCall Plans Meeting With Poor Marchers SALEM i.'P>—Oregon Gov. Tom McCall confirmed today that he will meet with poverty marchers when they come to the capitol Saturday morning. “We want to be responsive. I believe they are genuinely concerned people,” the gover nor said. McCall, just back from a meeting of Western governors in Honolulu, said a nephew, San dy McCall of Gearhart, a Uni versity student, is among those planning the march. He described his nephew as an altruistic youth, deeply con cerned with the plight of oth ers. The governor said he hoped to talk to the march organizers Thursday about their aims, and then to be on the Capitol steps Traffic Accident Eugene police reported an ac cident on the corner of 13th and Agate on campus involving two cars Monday night. Salem March Jells By JIM SPOO Of the Emerald Twenty-five hundred to 4,000 Oregonians will assemble at Sa lem during the Poor Peoples’ March on Salem Friday and Saturday, Roy Bennett, march co-ordinator, said at a week - end news conference. Bennett, a University divin ity major, listed two major pur poses of the march in which people will march from Eugene and Portland. First, Bennett said, the march will make Orego nians aware of poverty in Ore gon. He said 25 per cent of Ore gonians make $3600 or less a year. Secondly, Bennett said, the march will be the beginning of efforts to give the poor in Ore gon a new pride in place of de pendence on others. The other march co-ordina tors, Nick Garcia, liberal arts major, Alfred Williamson, busi ness administration major, and Dick Jones, ASUO President, were at the Friday news con ference in the EMU. Jones noted his reason for the march. He said, “The oppor tunity to participate has not been made a part of education. I will do everything I can for participation.” He said sup port of the march is in line with his support of the ASUO’s Operation Citizenship and mi nority adviser. The marcii leaaers said they want the legislature in its 1969 session to address itself to the lack of jobs, education and housing that face the poor. A petition of grievances will be gathered from the poor and handed to Gov. Tom McCall after the Salem assemblage. HUNGRY? PIZZA* SOUND GOOD? PHONE 344-2453 for FREE DELIVERY ON CAMPUS * Also other delicious Italian dishes MINORS ALWAYS WELCOME # Spaghetti House I mO S and Pizza Parlor 1491 Willamette Open 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Closed Mondays Jones said he hoped the Ore gon legislature would welcome the chance to make this an inno vative state in solving problems of the poor before the prob lems are out of hand. Williamson also called for ac tion from the legislature. He said, “Where do we go from here if they don’t accept the grievances? Peopye are tired of marching and tired of talking. I can walk for days and get my feet sore but that’s not going to change the problems.’’ Bennett has been around the state organizing the poor for the march. He said he had been to many rural towns contacting the clergy for help to find the poor. He said many of the poor support the march but many are apathetic, feeling their pleas are no longer heard. The march leaders said the poor come from four groups: In dians, Mexican-Americans, Ne groes and Whites. They said the worst problems of the poor are in the migrant labor camps. PATRONIZE YOUR ADVERTISERS Saturday to give his response to their demands. He said arrangements have been made for the marchers, who are converging from Eu gene, Hillsboro and Portland, to stay Friday night on the fair grounds and to use the state fair cafeteria to prepare their food. They also will have use of an auditorium at the fair - grounds. Search Committee Requests Nominations Students wishing to nominate persons for the presidency of the University may do so by submitting the names of pros pective candidates to Ken Metz ler, executive secretary of the Presidential Search Committee. Nominations should be in writing, preferably supplement ed with supporting biographical data, and should be sent to Metz ler, 211 Susan Campbell Hall. 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