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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 23, 1978)
OLCC attacked, defended in public hearing By SUSAN OUDERKIRK Of the Emerald The legitimacy of state monopoly over liquor sales in Oregon was both defended and attacked during the public hearing held by the governor’s special commission on liquor control Fri day at the Lane County Court house. The public hearing was the eighth in a series of nine hearings conducted throughout the state by the governor’s commission. The commission was created in March by Gov. Bob Straub to examine all aspects of liquor control in order to determine the state’s legitimate role in regulating the industry. Four of the 12 citizens who gave public testimony before the nine-member commission said the Oregon Liquor Control Com mission (OLCC) does a good job of liquor control and that the OLCC should not be abolished in favor of private-enterprise control of liquor. Others indicated that while one shouldn’t “kill the dog to get rid of the fleas,” there are some prob lems that need to be straightened out in order to give the OLCC a more appropriate role in the Tell-tale incidents point out news leaks upset government WASHINGTON (AP) — There are signs that the administration of Pres. Carter, who took office promising to open up government deliberations, is dissatisfied with its ability to stem the unauthorized release of information. Item: A middle-level administra tion official tells his secretary not to list calls from news reporters on his official telephone log, hoping to keep his contacts with them pri vate. Item: Assistants to a senior White House aide, reacting to an embarrassing published account of a memorandum involving their boss, search for the source of the leak. Item: Since Pres. Carter took of fice 16 months ago, the Justice Department has conducted at least six investigations to locate secret sources of news stories. ing certain information, even if that person felt officials were covering up waste, inefficiency or corrup tion. • Justice Department officials, according to spokesman Terry Adamson, have taken affadavits from their own lawyers to find out how a confidential memorandum about an investigation reached the news media. • The Army ordered new restric tions to plug leaks of internal studies that could influence policies. Ironically, these restric tions were leaked within days of their distribution. • Such cases indicate “the ad ministration has taken a position that they want to stop news leaks,” said Jack Landau of the Reporters Committee for Free dom of the Press. Jody Powell, the White House press secretary and one of Carter’s closest aides, said the president has never expressed to him a particular concern about news leaks. “There’s not any organized ef fort at the White House to control ieaks,” he said. But, said Powell, “you have a legitimate right to make these people understand that if they are going to spread false or mislead ing information and they get caught, their career prospects will not be improved.” Few officials would allow their names to be used in connection with any comments about leaks. state’s effort to control liquor sales. A representative of the Oregon State Council of Hotel and Res taurant Employees and Barten ders International Union recom mended that the state should get out of the liquor business. “If it could be any way that we wished it, then I would prefer free enterprise (in the liquor business) with the necessary controls,” he said. A familiar argument for lowering the drinking age was discussed. “Eighteen-year-olds can vote, make all the laws in the state of Oregon,” said a local tavern operator. “They can do everything that you and I can in the state of Oregon, but they can’t have a glass of beer. Now that’s not right.” The responsibility of deter mining who is of legal age to drink should be “on the individual” minor, not the operator, he said. Other voiced opinions on the legal drinking age issue, urging the state to increase the legal age to drink and to increase the driving age to match the legal drinking age. Arthur “Bud” Schmidt, a Corval lis city councilmember, said “the agency (OLCC), in its 45-year his tory, has never to my knowledge engaged in ... promoting tem perance.” Schmidt said he be lieves the OLCC is not protecting the health of Oregon’s citizens as well as it should. Given the income of the OLCC (some 40 cents on every dollar of its sales), they should provide educational mater ials that would promote alcohol moderation, Schmidt said. The governor’s special com mission on liquor control, will con duct its last public hearing at the end of May in Coos Bay. A report with recommendations to the governor will be finished in Au gust. The OLCC is currently con ducting a re-evaluation of the commission. Eugene Business College 383 E llth o 345-3413 Typing and Shorthand Package $25/month for day school Classes meet 11-12 and 2-3 Mon. - Thurs. $15/month for night school Tues. night only 6:30 - 9:30 PM No evidence has surfaced to point to heavy-handed tactics to cut off information, or to a White House “plumbers” operation such as the Nixon administration set up to stop leaks. But in a city where, in the words of one budget official, “most peo ple operate under the assumption that everything leaks,” the Carter administration appears uneasy about that. 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