'F
Mo
Qev.
Hults
Editorial E
Now & Then
The news that Cavenham was for sale came in a
phone call to the bookstore on Wednesday,
December 20th. Andrea Rowe said, “I have news...”
or words to that effect. What went on inside this old
twisted mind was wonderful. Thursday, the Big “O”
made it official. Yes, we did call Cavenham
Wednesday afternoon, but who do you believe? By
Thursday at vespers the plan was full blown and
variations were being considered.
First we must have a short geography & history
lesson about the land we are talking about. This is
175,000 acres in Clatsop County alone; 500,000
acres in Oregon, 290,588 in the Coast Range. This
is the forest, this is the coast range. This land
originally was watched over by various groups of
folks we call all sorts of politically vague names.
(We do this a lot.) Historically speaking, we can &
did disregard them. The folks who currently are
responsible (perhaps a bad choice of words) for this
land acquired their claim long ago. More than a
century in some cases. It seems that in 1888 the
Congress, in all its wisdom, passed a law called the
“Take the Timber and Stone Act” (no, we are not
kidding). Under this act, 3,812,000 acres of forest
were transferred into the private domain. The law
said, basically, that any “household” could claim 160
acres for their “own exclusive use and benefit” for
$2.50 an acre. And if no one complained after nine
weeks (not counting the former owners), it was
private property. Cool, huh?
Is it just our misspent youth or do others see an
opportunity for fraud, theft, bribery, corruption....?
Well, yes. It was not uncommon at the time to be
invited to the coast for a week-end and be asked to
drop by the land office with the $400 provided by
your host, to claim your fair share of timberland.
Later, you might sign it over to the aforementioned
host for a small consideration. Perhaps a few beers
and dinner in some cases. The Booth-Kelly Lumber
Co. acquired 90,000 acres in this manner. Never
heard of them ? They are called "an antecedent of
Georgia-Pacific in these parts" in Great Moments in
Oregon History, edited by Win McCormack and
Dick Pintarich (New Oregon Publishers 1987).
And, just so we don't go clucking over con artists
defrauding our government, Senator John H.
Mitchell, a Republican (regretfully) from Oregon,
refused a $500 bribe and held out for $2000, before
he allowed the land grab to proceed. The record is
clear: railroads, moguls, con-artists, politicians, the
regular suspects; and of course it is all legal and
proper, and property rights are inviolate.
So, now there is a chance — a small window of
opportunity to correct the old mistakes. The selling
of the land in the first place was as a way to raise
money for schools, for the kids. We, meaning
people, can buy back a pretty big chunk of a very
special, though a little stressed, piece of what we and
our children need to survive. The price is 1.5 big
bills (billions) for the whole thing; sawmills, trucks,
yellow gates and all. (Without an epiphany by Bill
Gates, we dare not wish for this) but there is a
chance that small parcels may be available for sale;
the Cannon Beach Watershed leaps to mind! But, of
course, the more the merrier. So, really how does
one, or even many, go about it? “The March of
Dimes” , kids, giving change, and changing kids'
lives? That works. Telathons? Well... Grants?
The State buys it? Foundations? We think lowest
common denominator is always the best. Kids;
folks; we, meaning the people who would really like
to see the forest again dominate the scene, can save
up our change and make a change we will be proud
of our whole lives. We Can Buy Back The Land!
No, we are not volunteering to organize this
effort. We suggest that the much more competent
Dennis Hayes and his Bullet Foundation, out of
Seattle; The Nature Conservancy; and/or perhaps
Chuck Willis of our own Coast Range Association,
be assigned the task of collecting the pennies and
nickels from the school children, and the big checks
from Nike, Microsoft, and Sony. But we would like
to recommend that when we do finally own the
forests again, that we do a very wise thing: that we
put these lands in the hands of the folks who took
care of them for centuries with no noticeable damage.
There are several groups of Native American folks
(the least offensive, though still arrogant name we
can think of at the moment) who have been very
successful, both ecologically and economically, in
the management of forests. Sustained yield and
organic forest practices make a lot of sense when you
are not driven by a short-term profit motive. So,
think about it. We know it sounds like a fantasy, but
as Margaret Mead was fond of saying, "Never
underestimate the ability of a small group of
determined citizens to change the world; indeed, it is
the only thing that ever has."
A year has passed - another has
commenced. These solemn divisions of
time influence our feelings as they recur.
Yet there is nothing in it, for every day in
the year closes a twelvemonth as well as the
31” of December.
- Sir Walter Scott
UPÎLK LETT D EL MNUftRY
I©
S tu ff
Dear Oregon voters within sight of this
newspaper, do us all a favor and vote tor Ron Wyden
for the US Senate. In our last editorial we strongly
endorsed Norma Paulus to Republicans. Regrettully,
she lost. We don’t recall seeing one television
commercial or even one piece of her campaign
literature, though your beloved editor is a
registered Republican, and got a ton ot glossy junk
mail from Mr. Smith. We suspect a lack ot tunds.
Gordon obviously doesn’t face that problem among
others we can and will name. We despaired when we
saw a photo in the big O of Gordon S. receiving a
congratulatory phone call from Sen. S. Gorton (R)WA.
We shuddered when we read that though he didn’t
support the OCA initiatives that discriminated
against people based on their sexuality, he telt it
was okay to deny them access to housing. He sighted
religious principles as his reason. Much like he
does for his stance against a woman’s right to choose.
We are sure that he could quote scriptures to defend
his environmental thinking.
Again we shuddered
when Senator Dole indicated that if G. S. wins he will
sit on the Natural Resources and Energy Committee.
He will be making laws that regulate his own pea
patch! We think we see a problem. The State Senator
from Pendleton, who is on record as saying
irrigation is more important than salmon, will be
deciding water and electricity rates. Not on our
dime, thank you. And another real problem for Mr.
Smith is his lack of experience in politics. He
bought a year’s worth of name recognition in a state
legislature, duh, he and some idealists consider
ignorance an asset, but when replacing Bob or Mark
it becomes a serious liability. The powers that be
will have him bent over his desk in one posture or
another before he can respond to his first roll call.
We find it somewhat amusing, being, as our
constant readers know, a Right Reverend in the
Rastified Church of the Cowboy Buddha, that Mr.
Smith as a Mormon and Mr. Wyden as a Jew, both
correctly can call each other a Gentile, and each be
wrong from the other’s point of view. Ah. Politics,
we must remember, is defined as "That which
involves people".
That being said, we encourage voters in Oregon to
take advantage of the relative simplicity of the mail-
in-ballot, to do a relatively simple thing. Elect a
real person to the US Senate.
We must in any choice of representation make
decisions on motivation. Why does this guy want the
job of US Senator? We understand and respect St.
Mark’s motivation. We regret and cannot forgive Mr.
Packwood’s well documented dreams and fantasies.
What of Misters Smith and Wyden? One fears a deal
with the Good Old Boys from Mr. Smith. He seems to
spend a lot of money to not say very much, and he
mostly wants to talk about money.
As for Mr. Wyden, well, he is certainly a human
being. We have met the gentle man, on occasion.
Once at the offices of OSP1RG where he came to talk
to the canvassers, those folks who annoy you by
knocking on your door and asking you to take
responsibility as a citizen and be involved in
democracy, the noble experiment. Congressman
Wyden was doing what he does, asking and answering
questions, and looking for solutions. No, he is not
the greatest person we have ever seen do this. But he
does it, a lot. It is difficult, tedious work; it
requires attention, thought, compassion,
intelligence, and a healthy amount of humbleness, if
it is to be done right. He often fails. But he
persists. The only other person of national
prominence we have seen who equaled his
persistence and compassion is strangely enough,
Ralph Nader, who opposed Wyden's candidacy in the
primary. Mr. Nader said that Ron was being co­
opted by Big Business, money, the lure of power; he
was going over to the forces of darkness. We doubt
it. The forces of darkness do not have the patience
for the number of community meetings Wyden has
attended in his many years as a Representative of
the People of Oregon in Congress. Mr. Wyden, after
15 years of service, has hopefully tempered his
idealism with a touch of realism, and cuts the best
deals he can for the season. This does not reflect on
him as much as on ourselves, in that we too lind it
difficult to always stand all the way up for our
ideals, or even support those who are willing to try
in the face of the reality that is national politics
today.
Never forget that Ron Wyden, like Elizabeth
Furse, entered the political arena from the
grassroots. Neither bought their offices, they were
called to serve by the people whom they served. The
Gentle Congress Woman Furse came from The Oregon
Peace Institute, which she helped found, and the
Gentle Congress Man Wyden came from the Grey
Panthers, which he helped found. Motivation is
obvious.
'“ UF’F’E.R LEFT EDGE SUBSCRIPTION”
suBsum*.
Do your beleaguered, reviled state a favor. Elect a
Senator who will work for human beings, not
conglomerates, who will listen to people, not PACs,
who cares more for a person's dignity than their
donations.
Republicans, Democrats, Independents,
Libertarians, Green and Pacific Party folks, first of
all vote, but second of all remember our future is
going to be effected by our representatives, and what
they know is not nearly as important as what they
feel. You can be briefed on issues, but you have to
know why you care.
We are reminded of a story told by Clinton’s
Campaign Manager, the Legendary Ragin Cajun James
Carville, which we happened to catch while
monitoring CNN. Speaking to a meeting of the
Democratic Party’s grassroots organizers, he related
the tale of a Louisiana journalist who had been given
an assignment to do a human interest piece on a local
priest, who ministered to the lepers in the area.
After a day of following the father on his rounds,
and seeing the rotting flesh and despair of the
victims of the disease, he commented, “You know.
Father, I wouldn’t do this for a million dollars.”
And the priest replied, “Neither would I.”
Speaking of motivation. Thanks! After our
obviously emotional cry for help last month, we have
received both financial, spiritual and physical
support beyond our dreams, if not our needs. The
letters, which we proudly print; the checks, which
we gratefully cashed; the stuff which we are and will
be using - it makes our heart soar like the eagle.
Okay, if you care about the Edge as much as we do
then it’s a deal! We pledge (Think of Scarlett O’hara
in ‘Gone with the Wind’, “I’ll never go hungry again.”
Or Chief Joseph’s, “From where the sun now stands, I
shall fight no more, forever.”) that we will put out a
copy of the Edge every month, even if it is a 8 1/2’
by 11” single sheet, until April 1997. Thank you,
we love you too. There are several folks who deserve
credit for this, they, of course, prefer to remain
nameless.
The Magi trom Microsoft; Jim, Herb,
Lucille, Gainor; all will remain nameless as well;
well, we can go on for pages; . . . thanks. We will
also hope to justify their faith by bringing our
constant readers a lot ot new stuff. In this issue, for
example; besides the second chapter from Charles Le
Guin’s novel, “North Coast”, is a timely essay on
Money from Mr. Buckley, and the second edition of
our crossword puzzle. Also, you may have noticed,
we are a bit smaller this month, and some wonderful
pieces didn't make the final cut, and some of our
regular community service ads are not in evidence.
Uncle Mike's fans, a devoted and vocal bunch, will
note his absence in these pages this issue.
This of
course is not our choice. Our dear Uncle has been
going through the trauma of moving, plus other time-
consuming distractions. Yes, he will be back next
month.
This we regret, but. . . his standard answer,
not to be shared with other contributors, is "Art has
no d e a d lin e ! ”
Confidential to Rick-O SAN in Japan: Your Yen is
sure appreciated. Hello to Takei; see you soon!
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