Page 2
In Nineteen Seventy Two,
I
The March 1$ To The Polls
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Po. tland/Observer Thuisdav Febuury 3, 1972
The N o rth w e s t’» Best W e e kly
A Block O w n ed Publication
VOTE
Published every' Thursday by Exie Publishing Company, 2
N. Killingsworth Portland, vVegon 97217.
Subscription $5.25 per year in Tri-County area by m ail. Out
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Phone 283-2486
ALFRED LEE HENDERSON, Publisher, Editor
Verna L. Henderson
Asst. Puhlisher/B usiness manager
Helen Hendrix
Personnel and Production Manager
IN P A
r»,«j siio n eo u s renection upon the character, standing or rep
utation of person, firm or corporation, which may appear In the
Portland Observer w ill he cheerfully corrected upon being
brought to the attention of the E ditor.
youth is the sea „ .
OF HOPE, ENTERPRISE,
ANDENEROY, TO A
NATION A S WELL AS
an individual :
* ff. UILH4AC
The Editor’s Desk
”
Reactions to PresidentNix
on’s State of the Union Address
to Congress were mixed.
Senator Edward Brooke
(Rep. -Mass.) said, " I think
that President Nixon’ s ad
dress was an eloquent states
man-lie and moving appeal
for prompt action on the great
unsolved problems of this
year and this generation.
" I applaud him for the tone
and substance of his remarks
and for the sensitivity which
he has shown in dealing with
the d ifficu lt and complex is
sues. Let us hope that the
promise of the new year w ill
be achieved in the months to
come and that the second ses
sion of the 92nd Congresswill
be racorded fo r us accomp
lishments.”
Representative W i l l i a m
Clay(Dem. - Mo.) disagree!,
"T he President, a great foot-
hall buff, has once ig.ir,
showed us his game plan, play
the end against the middle and
the middle against the end,
resulting In no net gain but
a lot of commotion and con
fusion, hoping that this razzle-
dazzle w ill not te analyzed
very carefully by tt« people."
As part of its long drive
to become the nationally re
cognized Democratic party in
the state, the National Demo
cratic
Party of Alabama
(NDPA) is aiming at a state-
financed prim ary election this
.May, to select an alternative
slate of delegates to the na
tional party’ s convention.
Huntsville dentist John Cash-
in, who heads NDPA, said
that a request for state funds
to conduct the prim ary in
counties where the predom
inantly black party won 20per-
cent or more of the vote in
the 1970 election would tie
presented to the A lubama sec
retary of State in early Janu
**7 ■
Representative Ralph Met
calfe (Dem. - III.) said, ’ ’ 1
was very disappointed in the
President's state of the union
message
because he was
speaking to the people instead
of the issues. He talks about
the bounties of tomorrow but
fails to recognize o r deal
with what D r. .M jrtin Luthei
King referred to as ’ the u r
gency of tlie moment.’
"These include the high un
employment rate which, for
blacks, is in excess of 12
per cent nation-wide. T he
president put the overall un
employment figure at six per
cent, hut there is a disparity
in this in that it fails to site
the gravity of unemployment
among m inorities.
“ The President failed to.
deal with a c ris is in housing-
and the deterioration of tlie
city.
"H e did not deal with the
inequities of health. Does he
not recognize that the mor
ta lity rate for black infants
is 80 per cent, as contrasted
with 20 per cent for whites:
the black women have a higher
rate of death due to the lick
To Be
NDPA seeks funds
for primary election
.3
Hatfield
Awards
senator Wayne Morse and
Senator Mark Hatfield w ill re
ceive awards fo r then work
(or peace and justice. Among
tlie sponsors on the Business
Executive Move l owanl Peace
m Vietnam, I lie American
Friends service Committee,
Clergy ami la ity Concerned,
PSI' Campus Conservatives,
Portland Chapter of United
Nations Association, P o rt
land Chapter of the Women's
International
League
tor
Peace amt Freedom, Portland
Chapter o( the World Feder
alists, USA, ami the Portland
World Wldiout War Council.
There w ill te a dinner at
0:30 p.m. m Collins Hall,
F i r s t U n ite d Methodist
Church. Uinnei is $2.50 ami
tickets can 1» obtained hum
M rs. W illiam M o rris , 5230
S.W. Burton D rive. A public
meeting w ill follow in the
sanctuary (or which there is
no charge.
power be9ins Reocti°" »0 "Sfate of Union” mixed
Nineteen Seventy-two is an election year. Not only a press ent
w ill be electee!, but a U. S.senator from Oregon, (our Congress
men, state officials, state legislators and a Mayor.
In order to have a voice in this important election, it is nec
essary (or black people to register so they can vote. The per
centage of blacks voting in Portland is noticably below that of
other voters. It is also crucial for blacks to become involved
at the local level in both political parties - to have a hand in
w riting the county and state platforms, in choosing candidates,
and in evening influence in party affairs. The firs t step to
political power is strong organization at the local level.
The Multnomah County Democratic Party has never had
precinct committeemen and women for every precinct. Just
call Demo Headquarters and tell them you are interested.
Participation in campaigns is another way to learn the polit
ical process, especially for young people.
Every candidate for each office must be questioned about
his beliefs and his plan ofaction to eliminate racism and poverty .
The time has come to let the Democratic Party know that
blacks and other m inority groups w ill not continue to vote solid
Democratic tickets when nothing is received m return. Candi
dates do not bother to campaign in Albina and learn the needs .of
its citizens and do not return to Albina after election. They don’t
have to - they are guaranteed a solid Democratic vote.
Black voters gave the Democratic Presidential candidate in
1908 twenty' percent of all the votes the Democratic Party re
ceived. l e t black delegates were only two percent of the total
at the Democratic National Convention that year. That kind of
relationship must not be allowed to continue. Oregon, for ex
ample, has never sent a black delegate to either party con
vention.
With Albina divided into four d is tric ts , election of a black
w ill be d iffic u lt at best. But this year several highly qualified
black men w ill be running for office. The black community must
stand behind them, with time, work, money and moral support.
W ith unity and effort on the part of a ll, we might put the firs t
black man in the state capital or in city hall.
4
Morse,
the Democratic candidate.
The NDPA slate w ill be
’ ’ tru ly integrated” , Cashin
said, and selected totally in
the prim ary.
By contrast,
the ‘ ‘ regular’ ’ iiem ocratics,
headed by Robert Vance, w ill
select 75 per cent of their
slate by prim ary election ami
x
the remaining 25 per cent in
a su te convention. The "re g
VERM- N JORDON, JR.
ular slate” Cashin said, is
likely to consist of Democrats
by Vernon E . Jordan, J r.
whose "tru e loyalty” Is to
Gov. George Wallace and
Newspaper
stories
and
"som e
hand-picked Uncle
Congressional hearings have
Toms” , picked to meet new
revealed a housing moitgage
rules requiring that delega
scandal in Detroit that could
tions reflect the racial com
wind up costing taxpayers $2.«
position of the states they re
m illio n . And there is reason
ary.
present.
If the Challange
to believe that sum may go
Cashin said the NDPA slate
proves to be successful. Cab
hlghei if, in ■ jape ter, o tl e r
would challenge the "re g u la r”
in would become the state
cities in the nation share tne
Democratic slate at the cru
Democratic chairman, and two
Detroit experience.
cial credentials committee
NDPA members, including his
But the real loss can't tjc
meeting two weeks before tne
wile, Joan, would join the
measured in do lla rs. The
July Democratic convention
powerful Democratic National
real loss is in the damaged
in M iam i. He expects tne
Committee. In the event of
confidence,
dashed hopes ami
challenge to be successful be
a Democratic victory in the
blunte: aspiration of more
cause of Its “ m oral’ ’ right
presidential election, NDPA
than 20,000 fam ilies who
ness, the fact that the m ajor
would "co n tro l every damn
trusted in federal programs
ity of ’ ’ lo ya l" Ilemocratic vo
bit of patronage" in Alabama.
only to be thrown to the
ters In the state are members
The NDPA attempt to gain
wolves.
They thought they
of NDPA, ami the close con
a state-supported pi lrnary has
were getting fe tte r housing,
nections between himself and
been long anticipated, but tne
but because real estate spec
way was finally cleared by a
leaders of the liberal elements
ulators were in collusion with
recent ruling by a three-
In states considered vital to
s o m e h o u s in g ir i , o . . to-1
(h e y
judge fe le ra l court ruling or
a Democratic presidential
wound
up
with
defective
hous
victory.
Should the NDPA
dering re - apportionment of
ing.
slate not be recognized, le
the state legislature in a way
Unable to afford the repairs
said, those liberal elements
that may Increase black re
or
the inflate! prices on homes
might not vigorously support
presentation by 1,000 ¡lereerit.
bought with federal guaran
tees, they lost ever ything they
had. Meanwhile, real estate
speculators made a fortune by
selling bad housing at high
prices. According to onewit-
The observer*a official position lsexpressed only in its Pul>
n«ss at the Congressional
Usher’ s Column (The Observation Post) and the Edltor*sDesk.
healing, 40 per cent of De
Any other material throughout the paper la the opinion of the In
tro it is speculator-dominated.
dividual w rite r oi submitter and does not necessarily reflect
I he D etroit disaster, whi. h
the opinion of the Observer.
affects moi e than ¿0,0)0 fam i
lies who trusted a fe.lei al
program and then lost their
of prenatal care? Black ch il
dren are suffering ami are
doomed to be scarred all of
then lives because they lack
vital nutritional care.
’ ’ 1 did not hear tlie Presi
dent speak to the inequities
in the school system which
results in black children scor
ing tar below the average of
the national norm in reading
ami mathematics.
” 1 would say that there is
not much difference in tne
state of the union message of
1971 and the one of 1972.
He seems to te more con
cerned about giving to the
wealthy than giving to those
in need.
The $15 billion
which tie is requesting for a
space shuttle plane should be
put into the services so des-
parately needed lo r the under
privileged.
’ ’ I think his veto ot the child
welfare b ill was an Inhumane
action by the Presklent o( the
United states. We can't pro
duce Ralph Bundles and M ar
fin Luther Kings if our chil
dren are not given tie r i g h t
start in life ,”
Rockefeller
impeachment sought
Assemblyman A rthur o .
E v e (Deni - Buffalo), who is
black, introduced an unjeach-
ment resolution designed to
impeach New York Governor,
Nelson Rockefeller. He was
the unofficial chairman ot tie
observers committee set up to
negotiate a leacelul settle
ment at A ttic State Prison.
T he resolution proposed
impeachment for “ following a
course of conduct which w as
responsible fo r the deaths ot
43 persons" in tie Attica re
bellion.
In a fe r y s p e e c h on tie
floor. Eve blamed Rockefeller
for not going to Attica during
the rio t, a move the lawmaker
said m ig h t have prevented
bloodshed. He also saldKock-
efellei w as responsible fo i
use of "unnecessary deadly
f o r c e " by statepol Ic e who
stormed the prison " firin g in
discrim inately into the inmate
population."
The resolution was referred
to th e Assembly Rules Com
mittee.
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
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W A S H IN G ÌO N
hon.j ,
ebeen
tro it
mortgage
scandals.
averted. A ll that was neces
Many people w .ll see tie new
sary was for adequate coun
program - as they saw me
selling to fam ilies using tlie
D etroit situation - as an un
federal programs.
regulated creation ol new de
The 1968 Housing Act pro
mand for housing. The vul
vides fo r such counselling,
tures w ill le back again -
although very Jittle money was
bilking poor people out of the
made available fo r it. But
housing that’ s r ightfully theirs
fam ilies getting federal sub
and stealing tax money to
sidy need the counselling and
boot.
other services necessary to
In dollar terms alone, a pi o
compete In the very compet
grain of counselling for sub
itive and speculator - filled
sidy recipient makes sense.
housing field.
It could have saved $200 m il
The message from the [re-
lion in D etroit. But perhaps
tio it fiasco is loud and clear:
even more important, it could
counselling is essential to the
save the experiment anil othei
success of subsidy programs.
federal programs from fa il
When it is absent, tax money
ure.
fills the pockets of crooked
Without counselling assis
speculators and poor people
tance to ensure a fall chance
s till don’ t get decent housing.
in getting decent housing,
It is important for federal
thousands of people w ill be
officials to recognize the ur
at the m e r c y of a none-too-
gent need fo r housing coun
fa ir marketplace, and w ill be
selling services,, especially
victim s of a cruel and tragic
since they are about to em
hoax.
bark on a promising new e<-
periment to subsidize liettei
housing for the poor.
ITiis nation - wide expei I-
rnent, called the Housing A l
lowance Experiment Pro
gram, w ill provide for ash
payments to about 10,000fam
ilies to help them pay me
rent on apaitments In tlie
ojien market.
fhe subsidy
w ill 1« based on the gap be-
tween what they earn and what
then rent is. I he program’ s
I fie AT l.-C K ) announcer! of
backers h o i* that such a pro
ficia lly that It w ill oppose
gram w ill piovide more anil
f ’ reskJent Nixon’ s reelect ion
fe tte i housing for poor people,
bkl t h i s year, regardless of
and at less cost than fedei al
which Democrat Is nominated.
ly - built housing piojects,
T his Is the firs t time the 13 jb
m illio n mem lie i labor organi
Whethei this program w ill
zation sa il it would try to do
prove to be an a kJ to the poor
le at M r. N'lxon for a second
fam ily’ s quest for decent
term.
housing or whethei it will
Alexander Barkan, who di
become another boondoggle
rects political and campaign
for real estate speculators
may depend upon the extent
fund raising an<i dispensing,
" I ' M I <CR | I, ,
to which adequate provision
as its prim ary political goal
fo r counselling is built into
in 1972 the defeat of Richard
tlie program.
Nixon’ s bkl for ieelection.”
The reliance upon "volun
ta ryism ” or upon the better
The union normally does
aftei the Democratic arsl Re
instincts of landowners ami
publican parties have chosen
funding developers Is mis
placed In fhe face of tie I >«- their nominees.
AFL-CIO
Opposes
Nixon
/
BRIEFS
fa-
James DePrlest, nephew of
M jria n Anderson, was iptxiin-
ted Associate Conductor of tlie
National Symphony<ircheetra.
I he 35 year-old Philadelphian
wears leg braces as the re
sult of pollo.
Democratic State Assem
blyman W illie Brown, J r., of
San Fianclsco said he wants
to become the firs t black at
torney general of tlie I ,S, lie
said, "B lacks w ill ask for a
great deal at the Democratic
National convention. I do not
believe we should settle f o r
less than a black attor ney gen
eral — I want John M itchell’ »
jo b ."
A decision by tie U„s. Dis
t i l i t Court bars Montgomery,
Alabama from allowing the
use of public athletic fields
and facilities to private seg
regateli schools. The court
sakl tie policy Is unconstitu
tional regardless of state!
admissions policies ami that
" tlie test Is w le tte r theclty* a
aid frustrates the right of
black citizens to a desegre
gated public education.”
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