W.O.W. — the history of it all
See The Friday Edition
Oregon doily
emerald
Friday, October 19, 1984
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 86, Number 36
Caldicott scorns apathy; supports Mondale
By Paul Ertelt
Of the Emerald
Americans suffer from a “national
psychic numbing" when it comes to the
nuclear arms race, Dr. Helen Caldicott
told an overflow crowd in the EMU
Ballroom Thursday night.
"I’m out here to mobilize you. So if
you do nothing after 1 speak, the world
will probably die," she said.
Although 80 percent of Americans say
they back a verifiable, bilateral nuclear
freeze, we don’t have one because peo
ple aren’t committed to it, she said.
Caldicott, a native of Melbourne,
Australia, began her fight against
nuclear weapons in 1971 with a letter to
a newspaper protesting French nuclear
tests in the Pacific, eventually starting a
movement that resulted in the halting of
the tests.
She is the author two books on the
subject, “Nuclear Madness: What You
Can Do!” and “Missile Envy.”. She now
devottis her time to lecturing on the ef
fects of a nuclear attack.
But Caldicott denied being a radical.
“I'm a conservative,” she said. “I'm for
conserving life on the planet.”
Caldicott told the audience to close
. their eyes as she poured BBs into a metal
garbage can to illustrate the relative
firepower of the bombs dropped in
. World War .II, the number of nuclear
• weapons needed to destroy life on earth
and the number of nuclear weapons in
. • the combined arsenals of the United
• States and the Soviet Union.
But Americans, live in a “true
.»•■ democracy,” she said,, and have an op
portunity to change the world in the up
coming election.
“This election is a referendum on
the fate of the world," she said. Caldicott
insisted that the nuclear arms race is a
nonpartisan issue, and urged the au
dience to work for Walter Mondale’s
election and vote against Pres. Ronald
Reagan.
“We have a president who says we
can fight and win a nuclear war,” she
said, censuring Reagan for his nuclear
buildup.
At an earlier press conference,
Caldicott stressed the role of the U.S.
Congress in setting nuclear policy. She
said sf^ endorsed the re-election of Rep.
Jim Weaver, but would take no position
on the Senate race between incumbent
Sen. Mark Hatfield and his Democratic
challenger, state Sen. Margie
Hendriksen.
Drawing from Pentagon reports and
Hiroshima accounts, Caldicott described
the physical effects of a nuclear
holocaust. Although a nuclear exchange
by the super powers would cause one
billion deaths in the first 30 minutes, she
said that even a limited nuclear war
could cause a "nuclear winter.”
According to the theory postulated
by Dr. Carl Sagan and others, nuclear
blasts would force nibble into the at
mosphere, blocking off the sun’s rays
and causing a drastic drop in the Earth’s
temperature. This could mean the end of
life on the planet, Caldicott said.
Caldicott censured Reagan for not
sitting down with the leaders of the
Soviet Union and attempting to
negotiate an end to the arms race. She
said that even Pres. Richard Nixon, an
ardent anti-communist, was .able to
negotiate a treaty with Red China.
“.They're all still communists. . .so
this has nothing to do with com
munism.” she said, adding that the
Soviets have accepted the idea of on-site
inspections to ensure a verifiable freeze.
“We’re married to Russia for better
or worse... till death do us part,” she
said.
The Pentagon strategy of nuclear
deterrence has evolved into a first strike
policy, she said, and U.S. policy calls for
winning a protracted nuclear war.
“This country now has official plans
for committing suicide for the planet”
she said.
Photo by Steven Wall
At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Dr. Helen Caldicott. author of two
books on nuclear war. stressed the U.S. Congress’ role in setting nuclear policy.
Proxmire in town
to speak on Morse
Sen. William Proxmire will speak in Eugene
tonight and dedicate the Wayne Morse Free
Speech Terrace outside the I.ane County Court
House on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Proxmire. D-Wis.. will speak on “The Wayne
Morse Legacy and Today's Issues — Foreign and
Domestic” ai a dinner in the Eugene Conference
Center.
Morse, often called ‘The Tiger of the
Senate.” served in the U.S. Senate for 24 years
and was once the dean of the University’s law
school. He was defeated by Republican Mob
Packwood in 1008 and died in 1974.
Outspoken and often controversial. Morse
was one of two senators who voted against the
(lull of Tonkin Resolution, which increased the
United Slates’ role in the Vietnam War.
Proxmire. who serves on the Senate Ap
popriations Committee, is known for his ‘‘Golden
Fleece Awards.” which point out government
waste.
The dinner is scheduled for 8 p in. and
tickets are $15. Tickets for the speech only, which
starts at 8:30 pin.. are $2.
Tickets for the dinner are available from the
ACLU. 1756 Willamette St.. Democratic Head
quarters. 431 W. 13th Ave., and Republican
Headquarters at 747 Willamette St. in Eugene.
Hendriksen attacks opponent
By Thomas Henderson
Of the Emerald
Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate Margie
Hendriksen spoke to a group of supporters in the EMU
Ballroom Thursday night, delivering a heated attack on
the shortcomings of her opponent, incumbent Sen.
Mark Hatfield.
Calling Hatfield’s reputation as a liberal
Republican “a joke,” Hendriksen said the senator is co
chair of Pres. Ronald Reagan’s re-election campaign ir
Oregon and has followed the White House line on near
ly every vote. She cited a Congressional Quarterlj
report that called Hatfield “Ronald Reagan’s fool
soldier.”
Despite Hatfield’s position as chair of the Senate
Appropriations Committee and his vocal support of e
nuclear freeze, Hendriksen said he has voted for ever}
new weapons system proposed by the administration.
”1 think we need to know why he’s the president’s
man,” Hendriksen said.
She also attacked Hatfield for his failure to meel
her in debate, saying that Hatfield aides have told hei
the senator chooses to avoid debates as a campaigr
strategy, though she suspects he is unwilling to stand
by his record.
”1 don’t think we’re talking about strategy,” Hen
driksen said. “We’re talking about the great issues thai
face our state and our nation. The last thing Hatfielc
wants to talk about is Basil Tsakos,” she added, referr
ing to the Greek businessman who paid Hatfield’s wife
Antoinette $55,000 for what he claimed were real estate
fees.
At the time, Hatfield was promoting a Tsakos plan for
a trans-African oil pipeline. The Senate Ethics Commit
tee decided not to investigate charges of a possible con
flict of interest in the case.
Although Hendriksen’s bid for the Senate is largely
considered a long-shot, she said Hatfield’s use of televi
sion commercials for the first time since he became a
senator is evidence of how seriously he takes her
campaign.
In addition to the support of the national
Democratic Party, Hendriksen said she is supported by
the Oregon League of Conservation Voters and such
feminist groups as the National Organization for
Women.
Hendriksen said she is alarmed at the direction the
Reagan administration is taking the country on the
issue of abortion, citing a plank of the Republican plat
form making a “pro-life” stance a prerequisite in the
selection of federal judges.
According to Hendriksen. a proposed Constitu
tional amendment to prohibit abortion would make
abortion an act of first degree murder. Conceivably, she
said, a rape victim getting an abortion could receive a
longer sentence than her assailant. She even suggested
a women might be executed for having an abortion if
the death sentence is reinstated.
Hendriksen accused Hatfield of sharing Reagan’s
stand on abortion, adding “I do not feel convinced as a
woman that Mark Hatfield will protect my constitu
tional rights. I know he won’t.