U.S. Senate candidates
Morse: running
because of age
Sen. Sam Ervin is 78 years old and he's
not running for reelection to the U.S.
Senate. Neither is 81-year-old Sen. George
Aiken, 74-year-old Sen. Norris Cotton or
75-year-old Sen. Wallace Bennett.
Why, then, is 74-year-old Wayne Morse
running for the U.S. Senate?
"The people of Oregon have asked me to
run because of my age not in spite of it,"
the gravelly-voiced tormer senator claims.
They said Oregon has an investment in my
jge, in my knowledge and in my 24 years
experience as a senator."
The issue of Morse's age has been played
up considerably by his opponent in the May
28 primary, Jason Boe. Boe, 45, claims
Oregon's senators should be young enough
that, via the seniority system, they will be
able to work their way up among the ranks.
Morse calls the seniority systenv "an
arbitrary discretionary power base.
"Back in 1946, I proposed that we abolish
the seniority system," recalls Morse.
Not surprisingly, Morse also knocks
compulsory retirement at the age of 65. He
points to excellent records of elder
statesmen, legislators and judges as prime
axamples of why compulsory retirement is
s "wasteful requirement.
"Much of their contribution is based on
the training, experience, and know-how
that came to fruition after they reached
70," says Morse, a former dean of the
University Law School.
Morse would just as soon chuck the age
issue and get down to brass tacks.
"The lack of honesty in our government is
the greatest crisis in the history of the
country," he told students recently. "It's
not only a lack of honesty in the executive
branch, but also in Congress and the
Supreme Court."
The outspoken civil libertarian lashes out
at the Nixon administration, calling it a
"government of secrecy and diplomacy."
He says Nixon should be impeached.
"He should be impeached as a war
criminal and as a shocking war criminal.
Impeaching him on domestic issues is all
right with me," says Morse.
Morse says inflation has become a major
issue because Congress has delegated too
much power to the President. "They
(Congress) have ducked the whole inflation
issue and have violated their constitutional
responsibility."
The use and abuse of nuclear power
plants greatly concerns Morse. He insists
Wayne Morse
nuclear power plants snouid be built away
from populated areas.
They've got to stop building nuclear
power plants where they've been building
them. The Trojan Nuclear Plant (near
Rainier) never should have been built," he
says. Morse says that, as a political realist,
he knows that nuclear power plants will be
built.
Morse would like to see elections
federally funded. He favors adopting a
system similar to the British system of
financing elections. The British system
includes having the government pay the
costs or television, raaio ana newspaper
campaign advertising. In addition, Morse
would favor allowing the taxpayer to
deduct up to $250 from his taxes to go to
one political candidate.
Should a general amnesty bill ever get
before the Senate —and Morse says there's
very little chance of this ever happening —it
would receive Morse's whole-hearted
support.
"A general amnesty bill is never gonna get
out of committee but let the record show
that I would vote for it."
John Knowtton
County commissioner candidates
Ply/er: legalize prostitution
Roy Plyler, 57, was prompted to
run for the Republican primary for
county commissioner partly
because he had trouble getting a
septic tank permit for some
propery he wants to build on near
C reswell.
He said his desire to run, (his first
time) for public office, was also
influenced by "the money a
commissioner makes. It's honest
money," he said.
Plyler, who teaches shop at
Creswell High School, said he
would favor legalizing prostitution
in the county to help raise tax
revenues. He said it "would cut
out a lot of graft" but would have
to be controlled by local govern
ment and supervised by doctors.
Plyler also said he'd favor
legalizing gambling as a way to
generate revenue.
An Oregon resident since 1956,
Plyler said a major issue of the
campaign is having decisions on
local issues such as zoning
decided by a local vote. He said
he'd set up guidance committees
in communities to replace the
''pseudo-hearings” the com
missioners now allow.
Plyler said some of the citizens
advisory committees are
inadequate but could not say
which ones.
Plyler said he would favor having
five county commissioners in
stead of the present three, even if
it meant a $5,000 salary cut.
"Even at that I'd be making more
Roy Plyler
Be proud of your choice
for Governor
BETTY
Roberts
betty
ropmiz
for governor committee
john I. weatherby, treasurer
517 s.w mam. Portland. Oregon 97204 may 5, 1974
than I ever made in my life," he
said.
The five commissioners should
each be elected by a district to
give people "a better assurance of
their vote."
Plyler said if he is elected, he
would spend at least 50 per cent
of his time out in the county, and
would use his own car in order to
not use up taxpayers' money for
gasoline.
Plyler said he would favor
recycling solid waste ("it's proven
that it works") but only if the
people of the county voted for it,
and then only after competitive
bidding, he said.
Regarding land use planning,
Plyler said he didn't know too
much about the 1990 plan but said
"planning would be good if we
got together on it."
"Oregon's beautiful and
Oregon's big. There's lots of
room," he said.
Plyler said he didn't see how
urban sprawl could be prevented
because people would build
where they want to, but agreed
zoning could help.
Plyler said the county should let
people know before they buy land
what they may do with it.
Plyler said that more important
than zoning is encouraging in
dustries to move in to create more
jobs for people.
Plyler said he favors a county
wide library system and bus
system, but that these things
should not be decided by com
missioners, instead "presented to
the voters."
Plyler is married and has six
children. He is a graduate of
Oregon State University and did
graduate work at Oregon College
of Education. He has been a
teacher for 11 years and lives in
Creswell.
Shelley Anderson
Pizzella:
'bigger
is better'
A county-wide sewer system, a
county-wide garbage system and
a county mass transit system are
three things which Gori Pizzella,
democratic candidate for county
commissioner, feels are a
"necessity" for Lane county.
There's no reason a man
shouldn't be able to take a bus to
go home," he says, "just because
he lives out of town a little bit."
He sees funding as no major
obstacle as it will come mainly
through taxation. "But funding
for anything that is necessary to
sustain health or to be beneficial
to the majority of the people has
always been found," he says.
Pizzella would like to see Eugene
become a big city, and he believes
it is on the way to becoming one.
The increased tax money would
balance out the problems of
increased pollution. "More people
equals more pocketbooks equals
more jobs, equals more tax
money," he says, "so to me the
bigger the better." He says the
rising crime rate would be taken
care of by having a larger police
department.
Pizzella is "100 per cent" in favor
of the $3.5 million solid waste
proposal.
He favors encouraging new
industries to come here and
possibly another newspaper
because he doesn't like
monopolies.
He favors the legalization of
gambling, and feels it is a shame
that gambling is going untaxed.
He believes that the county
should create jobs to alleviate
unemployment.
( Continued on Page 11)