Watergate hero discusses party principles
Richardson says Nixon pardon justified
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Of the Emerald
Elliot Richardson, the man who
gained near folk-hero status fol
lowing the infamous "Saturday
Night Massacre," said Monday it
is not inconsistent for him to sup
port Pres. Ford even in light of the
Nixon pardon.
In an appearance at the Univer
sity law school, the present Sec
retary of Commerce, whose past
government employment reads
like a "Who’s Who" In Washing
ton, told approximately 600 peo
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side the bounds of equal justice.
“The constitution grants the
power of clemency to the Presi
dent,” he said, "and the criteria for
its application takes into account
more than just the law.”
While saying the pardon could
have been handled differently,
Richardson felt Ford could justify
not pursuing a trial unless a jail
sentence was the desired out
come, adding that a President
should not have to go to jail. “For
Nixon to resign without fulfillment
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peace,” he said, was penalty
enough.
Displaying a quick wit, Richard
son defended the Ford-admini
stration’s stand on a number of
different issues.
On nuclear proliferation,
Richardson said "It’s impossible
to put the genie back in the bottle”
on an international scale. While
the administration is doing all it
can to insure peaceful use of nu
clear fuels, he continues, "I don't
think we can make it international
law.”
Democratic fund drive begins
Lane County residents can ex
pect some visitors this week as
the "Dollars for Democrats"
fundraising drive gets under way.
Approximately 200 volunteers
will be campaigning door to door
throughout Lane County, mostly
in the metro areas.
“Some precincts may have al
ready begun the drive," says or
ganizer Mary Kronoski, “but our
big push will be this week. We’re
telling residents to look for volun
teers that are wearing red, white
and blue campaign buttons that
say "Dollars for Democrats Drive
— Lane County Democratic
Party."
Money collected from the activ
ity will be disbursed to local candi
dates after a special committee
has determined each candidate's
financial need and electabHity.
The committee was appointed
by Bill Dwyer, county chairer, of
the Lane Democratic Party. It is
currently researching local candi
dates, talking with them about
their budgets and plans for the
final two weeks of the campaign.
Those persons serving on the
committee are not directly in
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votved in any local campaigns.
"We want the money to be used
for a special effort, for instance
television or radio advertising,”
says Kronoski. “One reason for
the fundraising is because there
is no national democratic telethon
(this year) like there was in 72 and
74. We re out a few thousand dol -
lars this year because the receipts
from the telethon were shared
with state and local organizations,
so we re going directly out to the
precincts.”
Contributors to the campaign
will receive a slate card with a list
of candidates, polling places and
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election information. A temporary
receipt bearing the donor’s signa
ture will be replaced at the end of
the year with a permanent docu
ment for tax purposes.
Donors can take advantage of
the “direct tax credit law,” which
enables a person filing a single tax
return to contribute up to $50, or a
couple filing jointly to give up to
$100 and receive the full amount
back on their tax return. Half the
donation will be refunded by the
state and the other half by the fed
eral government. Those who owe
the government money can use
the donation as a credit on tax
money owed.
.
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veto of a number of social service
bills, Richardson reiterated the
theme of Ns opening speech, em
phasizing the limits of government
and the necessity of choice. "The
government cannot manufacture
money” for these programs, he
said. He believes if these bills had
passed, the resulting inflation
would have eventually put more
people in the position of needing
federal relief.
The Republican defended the
present tax policies in response to
a query about corporate tax
breaks saying, "Of $28 million in
tax cuts this past year, $15 million
went to families and individuals.”
“As long as we have a capitalis
tic system,” he continued, "we
have to reward the private sector’s
investment of capital” by offering
tax breaks on reinvested profits.
“The Ford commitment to
cleaner air and water is firm,” he
said. “We are doing a good job of
administering the present en
vironmental laws.”
He then expressed his satisfac
tion with the administration's
commitment to cleaner energy.
“I’m convinced we are (financially)
into the alternatives (to nuclear
energy) as much as we can ex
pect at this time.”
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the general meeting, Richardson
said “I don’t anticipate a veto” of
the recently passed timber man
agement bill which will affect the
Northwest timber industry. “It had
the broad bi-partisan support of
Congress and also my depart
ment.”
He also minimized the effect of
Ford’s verbal blunders during the
foreign affairs debate. “The cam
paign still has three weeks left and
these things will recede. What's
really going on is that people are
deciding which of these men they
would rather trust.”
Another recurring theme, in
both the press conference and
open meeting, was Democratic
presidential hopeful Jimmy
Carter’s inconsistency on the is
sues. When asked to define the
difference between Ford and
Carter’s economic policies,
Richardson said he couldn’t since
“I would have to decide what are
his (Carter’s) positions. He talks
about raising the federal budget
by $200 million and then talks
about reducing inflation.”
During his lengthy career in
government, Richardson has also
served as Secretary of Defense,
Secretary of HEW, Attorney Gen
eral, Under Secretary of State,
ambassador to Great Britain, plus
attorney general and lieutenant
governor of Massachusetts.
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