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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 25, 1976)
Vol. 77, No. 160 Eugene, Oregon 97403 Tuesday, May 25,1976 Church campaign closes as polls open By TOM JACKSON Of the Emerald Idaho Sen. Frank Church made a final hour campaign appearance at the Univer sity Monday in an effort to rally support for today's primary election — a primary which he calls "crucial'' to his candidacy. Church appeared on the east lawn of the EMU at about noon to deliver a short speech and respond to questions from an audience of about 1,000 persons, most of them students. Church started his University appear ance by tossing a frisbee for a short time with some of the volunteers of the White Bird frisbee marathon. He also greeted a troupe of bicyclists. Church supporters aid ing him in his rally for Oregon votes, who Last chance Persons who have not yet regis tered to vote in today's Oregon primary election can still do so. The registration deadline is 5 p.m. Persons not yet registered should go to the Lane County Elections Office on Seventh Av enue and Pearl Street in Eugene, and should take positive identifi cation with proof of residence and date of birth. The Elections Office will then issue a card which must be pre sented to officials at the polling place. More information can be ob tained by calling the Elections Of fice at 687-4234. The Emerald will have election results in Wednesday's edition. had arrived from Portland. Rep. Jim Weaver, a Democrat who holds Oregon s Fourth District seat, introduced Church to the audience. Weaver said Americans are recovering from "an immoral war we were ashamed of and a president we were ashamed of ." He added that in choosing the next president, the people "don’t want to be fooled again.” Weaver also said that he would vote for Church in the Oregon primary. Church has also received the endorse ment of Oregon Gov. Robert Straub. "I never ask for endorsements," said Church, "I want them to be sincere. “I feel the pulse of this state," said Church, adding that although he was be hind front-runner Jimmy Carter several weeks ago, "it’s now a dead heat. Earlier in the day, Church visited the I Frank Church spent part of the last day of campaigning in Oregon at the Springfield Weyerhaeuser plant. Hhoto by Greg Clark Weyerhaeuser plant in Springfield, where he held a press conference and also re sponded to questions from employes. Later, he donned a hardhat for a tour of the Weyerhaeuser facilities. “I think this presidential campaign has been a personality parade," said Church. He said he feels that candidates “must ad dress themselves more seriously to is sues." Church said he would like to see a debate in which the candidates would dis cuss the issues. The lumber industry is one as sect of northwest life that Church sees as essential. "We must keep our forests working for us," he said. He said he believes a balance must be struck between the lumber industry and the people’s desire to maintain the quality of the woodlands. He said he feels that clearcutting "is the only way to harvest some kinds of trees. I clearly don't support a ban on clearcutting," he said, “but we must establish guidelines for clearcutting that the industry can live with and that environmen tal groups can also live with.” The defense establishment also received a blast from Church. Claiming that the Un ited States could ‘ destroy life in the U.S.S.R. 20 times,” Church called the ar gument of U S. supremacy in military might "preposterous. "We must stop this insane nuclear arms race.” he said. He also criticized the proposed B-1 Bomber program. He said he believes the bomber is too expensive and will add no thing to the defense of the United States. Church called the B-1 a "Twentieth Century edition of the Spanish Armada." He also called the military the "most top heavy, lobsided military establishment in the world, because of the large number of officers. He proposed a ceiling on the number of officers because the military is “becoming all tail and no teeth," he said. Church also supports amnesty for con scientious objectors who left the country rather than fight. "I think the best way to celebrate the bicentennial is to open up the doors and let them come home," he said. Church said he has taken "a very active role in developing national safety standards for nuclear power.' and said he feels that these standards are adequate. However, asked about Oregon’s nuclear safeguards initiative. Church said he recognizes the differences among states and believes states should be al lowed to "choose higher standards if they wish.” He also said that alternate sources of power such as solar and geothermal should be "pressed with more vigor.” Church called Senate Bill One, the revi sion of the criminal code a “dangerous piece of legislation,” partly because it "seri ously undermines the freedom of the press A free press is the foundation of a free society," he said. Church also criticized U.S. foreign policy. “Nine times out of ten we pick the wrong side” of disputes such as Vietnam and An gola, he said. “Two hundred years ago we threw off foreign intervention. We’ve for gotten what that was all about.” Eugene’s media walk tightrope between FCC and political ads v BY MARY BETH BOWEN Of the Emerald In the last few weeks before Oregon’s primary, the Eugene media have been full of political advertising. But curiously, Eugene s two television stations are not carrying advertising for state and local candidates and one Eugene radio sta tion is not advertising local candidates. The situation, which seems to favor in cumbents by denying unknown candi dates advertising time, is the result of the 1972 Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). The FECA requires broadcasters to offer political candidates the lowest pos sible advertising rates for different time slots during the 45 days before the primary and the 60 days before the gen eral election. This "lowest unit charge" rule gave political candidates a sizeable discount compared to what regular commercial buyers pay. For instance, if a broadcaster usually sells a 60-second, fixed-position spot during prime time for $15, but offers a discount rate of 500 such spots for $5,000, a candidate can buy those same spots for $10, even if he just buys one. Previously, candidates paid the same rates as everybody else. There was one hitch though. The FECA also empowered the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revoke a station s license if it failed to give “reasonable access.” in either ad vertising or free time, to all federal can didates. Before the ruling, stations were not required to sell political advertising. The result was that all candidates qual ified for lower advertising rates, but only the federal candidates were assured of getting on the air Consequently, KEZI and KVAL have stopped selling advertising to state and local candidates and KUGN has drop ped local candidates. KVAL’s advertising manager, Gordon Bussey, justifies the station's “feds only" policy by saying that otherwise, their commercial load would be too heavy. “There are a limited number of com mercials we can put on the air,” says Bussey, “and we re already having to turn down local money to get the federal candidates on. If we let state and local candidates on, we d have to turn down more.” ( Continued on Page 3)
