Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, August 10, 1972, Page 2, Image 2

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-'kv£ H4O ALL cpUtfc? A M
fiV fci ANPfAFOfW» M>T
4L0MÛ ANE - T H A Ty THE M t
As I See It
IT QUvNT TOOE IM T H K û W r H Y '
SAIO H ß f .iTAN L,eSTMOOO.
A diabolical act
MUST «
TV6ETHEPFOR FULL
ANU EQUAL EMPLOYMENT.
T h u rs d a y ,
A ugust
IO ,
By I enwoud G. D avis
1972
The Northw est s Best W e ekly
A Black O w ned Publication
Published every Thursday by E v e P ublishing Company,
2201 N . killingsworth, Portland, t'regon 97217
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Phone: 283-2480
M a ilin g ¿dress - P . C . Box 3137, P o rtlan d , O regon 97208.
A LF R E D LEE H E N D E K S c\. P u b lis h e r,E d ito r
¿ iÍi¿
IN P A
7T T
The O bse rve r’ s o ffic ia l position is expressed only in its
P u b lis h e r's C olum n kThe O bservation Post and the E d ito r's
D esk. Any other m a te ria l throughout the paper is the opr ion
of the individual w r ite r o r su b m itte r anddoes ot ne cessarily
re fle c t the opinion of the O bserver.
Any erroneous re fle ctio n upon the c a r a c te r , standing o r
reputation of person, fir m o r corp ora tion, w nch may appear
in the P ortland O bserver w ill be che erfully co rre cte d upon
being brought to the attention of the E d ito r.
A pplication to m a il at second-class postage rates is vend­
ing at P ortla nd , Oregon.
Ì V ÍC V " »
Product of the Black Revolution?
The
Editor’s
Desk
ALFRED
LEE
By
Letters to the Editor
To the E d ito r:
Voter brings
apathy and ignorance
In recent years many have come to wonder if the rep­
resentative fo rm of governm ent can e x is t o r if it is doomed
to fa ilu re . If our system of governm ent does not w o rk, it is
not the fa u lt of the system , but it is the fa u lt of the c itiz e n .
The fa ilu re is the re s u lt of public apathy and ignorance.
The citizens of the United States hold a unique power that
many peoples throughout the w o rld are figh ting to orta in - the
rig h t to vote. Y et many A m ericans are not interested enough
in th e ir governm ent - which determ ines a ll of the m a jo r
aspects of th e ir live s, even life o r death its e lf - to bother to
vote once eve ry fo u r yea rs. In th e l9 o 8 election, which was one
of the m ost c ru c ia l of ou r h is to ry , only 60 per cent of those
e lig ib le to vote did so.
A d m ost of those who did vote, did so in ignorance. They
voted fo r the candidate because of his appearance, his p e r­
sonality, o r because of th e ir frie n d s ’ advice ra th e r than con­
sid erin g his p rin c ip a ls , his ideals, his goals fo r h im se lf and
his cou ntry. They voted w ithout understanding the position to
which he a s rire d o r the q u a lifica tio n s needed todo a good job.
We put ou r fate m the hands of a few men and women whom
we fa il to investigate u n til we find them in o ffice . We do not
rem em ber them again u n til they vote against our in te rest, and
even forge t that in a few weeks. Then we go back and vote fo r
them again ( if we vote at a ll) because they have a fa m ilia r
name. Representative E dith Green is a go al exam ple. She
has voted against ne arly eve ry b ill that would im prove the
live s of blacks and the poor, yet blacks and the poor ree le ct
h e r tim e a fte r tim e .
P arty p o litic s , which are the backbone of the electora l sys­
tem , are le ft to a handful of people who are then put in the
position to make the decisions fo r a ll of us. Of the thousands
of registered D em ocrats in Oregon, how many attended the
atate Convention held th is weekend? How many a tte d e d the
County Conventions? P a rty p o litic s are s t ill open in Oregon
and anyone who is interested can p a rticip a te . But few are.
because there is hard w ork and little glam o ur except du rin g
p re s d e n tia l election yea rs.
But th is is the reason the sy stem is not w orking, why
the common citize n re a lly has no say about who w ill run
his governme-1 o r how it w ill be run . T h is is why the large
corporations and business in te rests are in control of the
decision m aking, why a few p o litic a l leaders can make the
decisions in th e ir own in te re st instead of in the nation's,
why th e ir is secrecy and deceit on the highest le vels of
governm ent. The only way the people of the United States
can recapture control of th e ir governm ent is through the
power of the vote.
We blacks, who were fo r so long denied the vote, have
become as apathetic as the white c itiz e n s . We have seer,
t e power of the vote when it rested i the hands of others
and was used against us. Now is the tim e to seize this power
and, form ing coalitions w ith oth er oppressed groups, use it
to renew our governm ent and to bring tru e lib e ra tio n to all
A m erican s.
Breakfast all hours
5246
3940
N .E , U n io n
A v e . (P h . 2 8 2 - 3 8 4 3 )
N . W il l i a m s A v e . (P h . 2 8 4 - 0 5 5 5 )
6 am t i l M i d n i g h t
M onday
th r u
F r id a y a n d S a tu r d a y 24 h o u rs
T h u r id a y
obviously, it was not tlie
work ol needy |« o p le Ivcause
they probably would not lave
taken everything. B esides, tlv
needy know that they only have
to ask the Community C are
X ssociation to r toed,clothing,
e tc ., and tliey w ill get it w ith-
out a lot ot red ta i« . I o my
knowledge, the C .C .X . K s
never refused t help anyone.
C la ra M. P eoples. D irectoi
ol ti e Community C are \ s -
sociatio ’. l as stated ovei and
, voi a ,a
and ii'.i tl at this
o iga
ation is a . oininuiiitv
icency desig ed to se iv e I1«'
needy in and out ol the com ­
munity .
It is a sad state ot a ita u s
when society drive-- indivi
d u als ti' a pui to i desi « r a th
tl at t e y have to steal b e
a s ic e ss e n tia l . ot ujiviv.il
tio n i the pool . In an alitueni
country like \m e ric a there
really should not 1« poverty
Lenw ood
D a v is
sti n k en («opte I ven though
we S|<cnd lull ions ol d o lía is
on d e te n te , we have d o iw as
little a s p o s s i b l e to deal with
miel nal p ro b lem s, such as
(H'veity, in the United s ta te s .
I h e re to re , until the United
s ta te s Covet nnienl te d ire c ts
its p rio ritie s it will 1« nec
e s s a i y to have p ro g ra m s like
C .C .\ .
I wa . happy Io see tlie slate
and local governm ents, as
well as pi ivale citizen s, come
to ti e 1rs. ue ol C .C .4 , and
replace m ost ol ti e item s that
w ere stolen. I l u s g e s t u ie is
a
cla ssica l exam ple that
s«>MI
I’l u P I I
IX» CXRI
KlltX I I’l u l'l I .
To Be Equal ---------------
Secrecy repeats
HENDERSON
This
colum nist
rarely
w rite s about isolated incident*
that i ajx*n in tlie community .
H ow ever, since one liicaleut
that o ccu rred w as of such a
diabolical nature, I deem it
ap p ro p riate to speak out.
N am ely, the tl e tt ot g olds
Horn the Community C a re \ s -
so ciation. (C .C .V .) How any
norm al iv ia o n o r (versons can
steal trom tlie needv a d pool
is I'ey oi «J all la tiu n a le . I osay
it w as mi u.nane, unit Inkable,
uncivilized, p rep o stei ous. al -
surd, liai a io u s , c /astly * si
uncouth docs not adequately
d e sc rib e ti is uu »lent.
\ s m ost people very well
know tl« Community C a ie \ s -
sociatiou is a voluntary, o n -
p ro tit o ir.i. i ation that p r o ­
vides loud, clothing a J ot ei
item s lot the needy .i d pool
re g a td le s s ot ra c e , colot oi
cre e d , l his o r g a n atioi aJ
u st com pleted tlie m ost m a s­
sive cam paign in its e v .s le ce
to collect tl ixisands ot pounds
ot
to id ,
many lo s e s oi
clothes, many cooking uten­
s ils , e tc .
M d to r persons
to come along and steal th o s e
item s is l« y o td my com p re­
hension,
The fou rth a n d fift: a p ri mt-
ments in the past year to the
powerful hoard 0: the Cortland
Developm ent
Com m ission
were made recently — as
usual, veiled in secrecy and
with no input from the ;«ople
they serve.
Twice before — ia s tju ly a t
the e xp ira tio n of Ned Lo ok's
second th re e -y e a r te rm , and
in January w hen Ira k e l erand
H arold Halvorsen res.gned. 1
was p a n of a c o a litio n of
neighboihood groups asking
that at east one of the board
m em bers be a person livin g
r an area actually affected by
u rra n renew al. Each tim e we
are ignored by a ll but one
m em ber of the C ity C ouncil.
The c u rre n t PDC board
m em bers live in D u n th o rj« ,
Visitor
M t. I a to r, P ortla nd Heights,
and now, the lo w est a, co in tee.
D r. Jen k in s, lives m I igard'
Obviously none of these a ie a s
will 1« facing t e real prob­
lem s of urban renew al now or
.n the fo rs e e a ile future.
Is
it asking too much that
EVEN ONE ol ttie ¡« a rilm e m ­
bers know and understand
firsth a n d low the decisions
t'ley make affect the lives ot
neople in an urban renewal
reads
I .'ear M r:
D u rin g a vacation in my old
• unie state I noticed your ex­
cellen t paper. D e sirin g to
read it w tien 1 ack in M alania
1 thought it bast to give tlie
sub scrip tion to tlie Itlr a r y oi
the college w liere I teac so
P at others an share it w ith
m e.
a re a ?
\pp aren tly M a yo r schrunk
(who makes the appointments
and th ree of ou r C ity Com ­
m issio n e rs (who continually
vote to approve thenn think so.
D r . \ . B rettau er
M île s College
Birmingham, Materna
S in cerely ,
C a ry l W aters
3805 N .E . Ibth
P o rtlan d , O regon 97212
W ith Ron Hsndren
A Y O U N G V IE W OF W A S H IN G T O N
A FRESH LOOK AT TWO DIRTY WORDS
By Ron Hendren
WASHINGTON “ Juvenile" and “ delin­
quency" are words which, when used
together, are sure to arouse the passions
o f Americans in all parts o f the country
And w ith good reason Juvenile arrests
for violent crimes have risen a whopping
167 percent in the last decade, and today
almost two-thirds o f all arrests fo r serious
crimes are o f persons under the age o f 21
The picture is bleaker still. According
to a recent F B I report, upwards of 85
percent o f convicted youths who have
spent time in some sort o f reform school
end up com m itting second offenses, often
more serious than the first
This tragic ineffectiveness in dealing
with juvenile crime prompted the House
o f Representatives recently to pass H R
15635, the Juvenile Delinquency Preven­
tion Act of 1972, which promises a new
emphasis on reaching and helping trouble­
some children before they become
delinquent.
I f the b ill passes the Senate, as is
likely, the century-old era o f reform
schools w ill be on the way out o ffic ia lly
Its demise has already been heralded in
many states, including Massachusetts,
where America's first publically run re­
form school was opened I 26 years ago.
The Lyman School for boys was con­
sidered a model institution at the time o f
its christening in Westboro in I 846. and
was widely imitated here and in Europe
Today it is closed, and by the end o f this
summer Massachusetts w ill not be
operating a single juvenile prison Florida,
California and Minnesota- are among a
host o f other states which are following
suit
No one is absolutely certain why
reform schools failed Their ineffective­
ness has been laid variously to financial
c o r r u p tio n
and physical brutality
“ Stockyards for wayward children no­
body else wants," one congressman called
them
In addition to their near total failure
at rehabilitation, the costs per child in
these institutions often range from
$10,000 to $12,000 per year
more
than most families earn
Half-way houses and foster homes are
two substitutes currently in vogue to
replace reform schools Some are proving
successful, at least in attaining certain
minimal goals Libra House, an experi­
mental half-way home in Cambridge,
stresses the need fo r a highschool educa­
tion as an effective incentive to con­
tribute to society, and thus an im portant
deterrent against repeated offenses Har­
vard students tutoring convicted juveniles
report the youths generally have a strong
and sincere motivation to learn
O f the 200 juveniles who participated
during the last twelve months in the
Community Aftercare Program, a similar
effort in Boston, fewer than ten percent
have been re-arrested As Fast Boston
Parole Officer John Granara asserted
about this positive approach to rehabilita­
tion, “
for many it is the first time
they have been able to feel they are
needed by anyone ”
But these alternatives to reform
schools are not w ithout their critics, some
of whom see the end result as pampering
instead of punishing The Community
Aftercare Program, for example, has
come under strong criticism for providing
a $5-per-week incentive to delinquents
for regular attendance at training sessions
Nevertheless, most admit that these
innovative methods do provide tome re­
habilitation, and that in itself is a marked
improvement over the past Moreover, the
new Juvenile Delinquency Protection
Act, if enacted, w ill provide an additional
basis for reaching troublesome youngsters
even before they become delinquent
Preventing delinquency, coupled with
increased, effective efforts to rehabilitate
those juveniles who have already com­
mitted crimes, may provide a means to
minimize lawbreaking by youths And to
the degree that we are successful in
curbing juvenile delinquency, crime in
general ultim ately w ill be diminished
Certainly there could hardly he a more
laudable and needed undertaking
Vernon
L , J o n la 'i,
Jr.
I e su p rem e C ourt ended
its 1971-7.’ term w ith tie
d r a i iu t , e d ' e a t tem ng vei -
d iet
that ! a:,s t 1« .le a f
«nalty as it "W e x is ts . I is
is sumetl i • Io i overdue,
s in c e t l « death ,«nalty is a
c r e e l a id unusual pums ment
t; a t a
i
i J
c r im i• atory fas' i, i. C J u s ­
oi issu es ot (« rso iial uxi
civil i c' ts in favor .it pi o-
v i ty rights i d local gov-
e, m en t. I 1« c le a re s t indi­
cation ot tl« C ourt . turn-
at'o u id on equal l ights was
last ■ , tl ' ruling that p ri­
vate I . s. even w l« n I ice xsj
by state agetu les, an pra< -
tice
a ll
tie r
tell
l i e C o u rt, in a dec ism au­
thored ly J u s tic e Rehnquist,
tie u ltia cm iservative whose
appoi-tm ent was so bitterly
p ro te ste d ,
ruled against a
black man denied serv ice by a
M oose Lodge operating under
state liquor license and state
rvgulat m i.
I ’ uigood M a t s t
pom ted out, tie ¡«nalty
d isp i o(>oi lionately
on
l« o r , tie ig o ta n t, and
"tt«
the
underprivileged m e n d e r s ol
so ciety ."
t ut tie lact tlett tin s d e c i­
sion was fy a slim 5-4 m a r­
gin, and that the C ourt ten
tt e dooi o ie tin ic i slitution
of tlie death penalty hy states
wi ld provide tot u n d o n ti ap­
plication oi o tle rw isc m eet
some ol 1!« Ju s tic e s ol e
lions indi a te s th eC u u rt stop
¡«d la r sh o rt ot tl« humane
goals ot outright abolition.
It also indicates t l« t 11«
post-W arre n C o urt is less
bold in ctiarging new paths
in law . t his was esp ecially
evident by another decision
an <xineed t l« same day that
s ta rp ly lim its t l« rig h ts ol
tlie pre ss.
LI la- k lewstnen
IK irters lost t l« n suit to p re ­
vent forced testim ony le iu re
g ra id u rie s tfiat could im p e ril
th e ir sources ol i« w s in fo r­
m atio n. Since re p o rte rs have
teen called le iu re such tid ie s
as
p a rt of "fis h in g ex­
p e d itio n s " fo r evd en ce, t ic
v e rd ic t could w ild u p 'a rm in g
die p u b lic's rig h t to know
and the freedom of tl« pre ss.
T 1« Supreme C o u rt’s re ­
cord th is pest year lias, in
general, feen ot« ot re tre a t
ta mi
d is c i uti mat to •
It this decision is an in d i-
ation that the C o u rt means
to
arrow
I lack people s
rig h ts ol access to | i ivate
fa c ilitie s licensed I y tl« state,
a recent school desegregation
case
ixild n d ica te trouble
ahead in that atea as w e ll.
11« C o urt ruled, (7 a slim
5-4 vote, f ia t a sm all town
in V irg in ia whose schools
were
pied om in ately white
could not secede trom a school
d is tr ic t whose schools were
predom inately th ic k .
H e real significance ot t l« t
case is tliat fo r t l« f ir s t
tune since tt« h is to ric 1954
decision uutlaw i g school se­
gregation, t l« C o u rt was less
than unanunuus on a m a jo r
case in tliat fie ld . The firm
stand shown in j« s t cases
lias leen broken;
01« vote
sepaiated v ic to ry trom defeat
on a cru cia l school in te g ra ­
tion case.
With a num ter of vital
school cases coming up in
tlie ta il te rm , this , ould mean
that the C o u rt w ill iom o tte r
h ia n c i« s oi tl« governm ent
in re treatin g trom the e lfo it
to Im ally desegiv.'.ite \m e r i-
ca 's school*.
I ins narrow
d e, ismn rin gs .1 warning t»jll
lo t tt«* fu tu re .
t u « ot tl« t a li m a rk * of
the W at ten C o u rt was its re l-
uigs enlarging t l« protection
given the rig h ts of d c fe iila n ts
1.1 cd w ilt t l« jm wer ot tl«
•late, but two recent ru lin g s
show that tl« C o u rt is taking
a strong “ law - and - order'*
sta id against 1 d i v i d u a l
rig h ts .
In 01« case, it reled tliat
su si« ts are not e n title d to
legal assistance j t ,ml ice
lineup dent if n at ions le fo re
the
fo rm e r
c le rg e s
ate
brought. |n another, perhaps
m o te im portant , ase, it reled
that ju tie s in most c rim in a l
rases ui state cou rts can con­
v ic t de le ida nts hy less than
the unanunuus vote t l« t has
l« e n a h a llm a rk ot our system
ol ju s tic e .
I his ra ise s t l« question of
what hapiens to guarantees
tlia t g u ilt m ust le d e te rn m e d
“ le y u rd any sliaduw of a
doubt'* if |c u p lc w ill le sent
to ja il on M to 4 a id 9 to 3
ju ry votes? B lack defeidants
e s je c ia lly , an expect little
ju s tu e
a id e r
tle s e
,«w
re lin g s .
T lie sc are just a haidful
of 0 « cases tlia t, taken to-
ge ttier, indicate a tu rn a ro u id
by tt« Supreme C o u rt, 1 fiat
is w iiy we look to the coming
C o u rt te rm w ith apprehension.
OPEN SATURDAY MORNINGS
MODERN
LIFELIKE
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^Copyright 1972 by
WASHINGTON WEEKLY, Inc
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