I
As I See It
MUST HORN TOGETHERFOR FULL
ANP EQUAL EMPLOYMENT.
Portland Observer
Thursday. October 86, 19*2
The Northwest’s Bost Weekly
A Block Owned Publication
VOTE*
Unemployment :
An American tragedy
NOT TOK N O N #
MO-AIOT TO H&H
T0M iO H eH O ff$£.‘
By Lenwood G . D avis
Even though unemployment
is t t an all tim e high (5.0% )
on the national le v el, it re a lty
has not emerged as a m a jo r
campaign issue ui the forth
coming election. N e e d ie s t to
say the rtas is even higher
among Blacks (9.7% j and other
groups. It is a sad m e of
a ffa irs when B e m ost affluent
country In the w orld haa that
la rg e percentage of its c iti
zens out of w ork.
Jonh D . E h rtlchm an. an
Published every Thuraday by E vie Publishing C om panj.
2201 N . K illin g rw o rth , Portland, Gregor. 9721?
Subscriptions - $5.25 per y e a r in T r -C o u n ty area by m a il.
Cxitsrie the T ri-C o u n ty a re a - $ 6 .00 per y e a r by m a ll.
Phone. 283-2480
M a ilin g «dress - P . O . B o x 3137, P c r tla « l. Oregon 9720«.
A L F R E D L E E HENDERSON. P u t!l* ? » r E d ito r
• 'J
'
t o
Assistant to Presxlen t Nixon,
recently stated that 'unem p
loym ent is re a lly a training
problem because oblessnest
is down to teenage Blacks,
w elfare m others, and folks of
that kind...people who can’ t
hold jobs.”
1 don’ t believe
that it la necessary to go into
the dehate about Blacks not
wanting to w ork because that
has been proven to be s m yth.
F u tb e rm o re , it is a m a tte r of
inpa
The O b e e rve r’ a o ffic ia l position is e v re s s e d only in its
P u b lis h er's Column (The Observation P o s r and the E d ito r s
D e s k . Any other m a te ria l throughout the paper is the opi ion
oi the individual w r.n e r o r sub m .tter and does not » c e s s a r ily
re fle c t the opinion of the O bs e rve r.
Any erroneous reflection upon the c h a ra c te r, sta-rfing or
reputatioo of person, firm o r corporation, which may appear
ir. the Portland O bserver w ill he cheerfully corrected upon
being brought to the attention of the E d ito r.
The
Editor’s
Desk
ALFRED
LEE fC M X R S C N
We favor Walsh
M ik e Welsh brings a new breath of fresh s ir to the
p olitical scene. As aval campaigner, M ik e has met and
talked with thousands of individuals during the past ten
m onths-discussm g his p latform and requesting th e ir -Peas.
M ik e seeks the seat in C -c g res s now held by Edith G reen.
We see the m a jo r differences between the caadidaaes. as
they apply to the interests and concerns of our community,
as the following:
M ik e W afer favors program s designed to help the poor
through em p loym en t trainin g, educatio* and specia. projects
such as G EO . He supports program s that w ill aid the un
employed and the u n iire m p yed. M r s . Gres.-. has consis
tently c ritic ize d and voted against OL.ja.Td jpo-.sc . - « r t i - Green
Am mendment which taxes decision maxing fro m the p o o r
and ;wts it in the hands of local governm ent. M r s . Green
has fought the extension of scholarships to tne disadvantaged
and
voted
against extension of unemployment benefits.
M ike Wals.h has expressed concern fo r quality education
even if it means transporting students. He is spending
tim e in Albina talking with black people. He is w illin g
to le a rn . M r s . Green nas fought busing with a venom all
out of proportion to the effect of such program s to h e r
own d is t r i c t She has attempted to p rotect the wh.aes of
eastern suburbe from black school children, ra th e r than p ro
tect the interest of the black and white school children
of P o rtland. M r s . Greer, h is voted against n early e v e ry
b ill that would have benefited H ack people.
M ik e Walsh is interested x tn.e needs and the concerns
of the people of eastern Multnomah County and wianes
to
represent them in C ongress. M r s . Green has spent her
years in Congress ouLdiag an image in W ashington.
The
power she has attained in h er years B Congress hear act
been used fo r the greatest benefit of the people of M u lt
nomah C cu n ty-tt has been used fo r self interest and fo r
the
objectives
of
the
coneervattve-southern coalitio n .
The C b e e rv e r endsses M ik e Waieb fo r C ongress. M oat
blacks are D em ocrats, but we must put party a ffilia tio n
aside and look out fo r o urselves. E d ith Green nas proved
h e rs e lf to he our e n e m y -M ik e Waist* may be our in e n d .
Day workers: Forgotten?
It la a ra re thing that private employed household w o rkers
receive eucb standard benefits such, as sick leave, pekf va
cations and holidays, unemployment and w orkm en's compen
sation.
T hey a re alm ost forgotten and taken fo r granted.
L es t we forget there are m ore than 1 J m illio n dom estics
i-r
«
in the country, with a median income of $ 2 ,0 0 0 . A g re a t many
of these w o rkers are black o r m em bers of other m in o ritie s .
It Is im portant to take a look at pest h istory, a backward
glance reveals that the day w o rk e r comes to us as a proud
elem ent of Black heritage. A .heritage that must not be u x e -
ligh tly n or forgotten.
Black women suffered Incredible In
dignities as servants m id -w ives and rand-m aidens in o rd e r
to m aintain themselves and help raise th e ir fa m ilie s .
T his is a tradition which exists today; and w hile many of
us are trying to make sure that the black m ale image take
the F R O N T , we cannot forget the black wom an. We m u « salute
honor and praise h e r. .
(M an y blacks today hold good jo ts , enjoy b etter opportunities
ana in some cases have college degrees because block m others
went out everyday as dom estics (day w ork; to bring in the ex tra
money needed to help the fa m ily along.
A new day and a new deal are in sight for these house-
to-house w orkers if plans outlined a few weeks ago in Sew
Y o rk with o ve r 1,000 dom estics from 35 states m a te ria liz e .
T hey m et to voice th e ir complaints about pay and working
Condition®
2nd to l®unc^ a
4
re a n t» e n < w
tew n organization
to rep resent
th e ir interests through Involvement s.nd legislative changes.
The New C om m ittee is called the Household Technicians of
A m e ric a .
L e t us give them our support. The success w ill
depend g re a tly on the exte-.t to which our political leaders,
religious leaders, taisiness leaders and com munity activists
ra lly in support of th e ir e ffo rt.
Oregon dom estics wake up and organize
CONGRATULATIONS
TO
THE PORTLAND OBSERVER
G eraldine Irwin
APATHY
IS
A
LUXURY
THAT
BLACKS
CANNOT
AFFORD
the
W HOLE
society.
structure
of
I nemployment, m oreover,
is not only confined to Blacks;
it is affecting W hites. T ie re -
fo re. it becomes a national
p ro blem .
Surely,
-w h ite
people want to w o r k ." The
jueatlon then is why un
employment? M a in ly because
m ore people are in the labor
m a rk e t than a v e r b e fo re -87 J
m illio n people, Another rea
son is that the government
believes that if inflation is to
be curtailed tom e people w ill
have to be unemployed. This
argum ent
seems
s s lf-d e -
feating. I f m ore people are
working then prices would tw
lo w e r. Also the government
would p ro fit because more
people w ill be paying taxes. If
less people are working then
tom e (m ostly whites) would
have to go on w e lfa re public
Lenwood D avit
assistance program s o r draw
unemployment compensation.
What can be done about thia
tragedy situation? The c re a
tion of m ore Jobs by privets
industries and the F ederal
Governm ent may he one solu
tion .
P ric e control may be
o n e w a y . P rod uctivity control
by the government may he
another w ay. AI ao It could en
force job dlscrlm lnatlon baaed
on race, sex o r age.
Unemployment is an A m e ri
can paradox that haa all of the
syndromes of a neurotic soci
e ty .
The
Alameda Theater
Congratulates
The Observer
VO TE,
or shut up.
McCoy our choice
Plummer Realty
B ill M cC oy, candxlate fo r the House of Representatives,
D is tr ic t 15,
has a long reco rd of com munity service and
p olitical involvem ent. B ill has been an employee with the
Juvenile C o urt, P o rtland Public Schools, Oregon State W e l
fa re C om m ission, m d is an a d m in is tra to r fo r Prevalence
C h ild C e n te r. He has experience working w ith problems
affecting children and youth, the e ld e rly , the poor and
m in o ritie s .
Congratulates
B U I is a graduate of the U n iv e rs ity of Portland and has
done graduate w ork at the U n iv e rs ity of Oregon and U .C .L .A .
in P u blic A d m in istran o n and G e ria tric s .
B ill has long been active to the D em o cratic
P a r ty . He
’- * s
a p recin ct chairm an fo r many years and served
two term s as C h airm an of the Multnomah County [je m o -
c ra o c C e n tral C o m m itte e.
He has twice been an alternate
delegate to the D e m o c ra tic National Convention.
The O bserver
Qp the
The vete rs o f D is tr ic t 15 have the opportunity to elect
the f i r «
black to the State L e g is la tu re . T h e ir candxlate
has the in te g rity , the experience, the knowledge and the » ill
tc serve them w e ll.
second Anniversary
W th * wise investment in Real Estate
y<HJ C* n realize a h>ndtom® ’’•turn
on your dollars. Check with your
Realtor, a property expert.
4845 N.E. Union Avenue Phone 288-8442
"With Ron Hendren
A YOUNG VIEW OF WASHINGTON
THE OLD NIXON:
AN EXTEMPORANEOUS GLIMPSE
» A S H IN G T O N -T h e "O ld N ixon” sur
faced for a few moments the other day
when the President addressed a gathering
here in Washington of families of prison
ers of war
On the lpur of the moment Mr. Ninon
decided to replace the scheduled speaker,
hia chief foreign policy advisor Dr Henry
A. Kissinger Apparently the substitution
waa made so hastily that even the Secret
Service did not have time to do their
normal advance work
C ertain ly, precious little advance
thought went into the President's eight-
minute extemporaneous speech, for he
took the opportunity once again to
launch a needless attack on critics of his
Vietnam policy, those editors, commen
tators, businessmen and others who op
posed the U S mining of North V iet
namese harbors He asserted that these
opinion leaden gave him "precious little
support,” adding that “ The most heart
warming thing to me was that those who
had so much at stake, those who had
suffered so much, the great majority of
those whose husbands and loved ones are
POWj or MIAa, stood by that decision,
and I thank you very much."
All in all, the perfotmance was nega
tive and defensive, not the sort of speech
which might legit i rnately be expected from
an incumbent Chief Executive who holds
an unprecedented 28 percentage point
lead over his opponent with less than a
month left before election day
He also took the opportunity to press
his hard line against men who avoided
Vietnam duty, saying that “ those who
have deserted America will pay a pnee for
their choice ” He did not elaborate on
what he has in mind, but any way you
cut it, the policy doea not sound like one
calculated to bring together a nation
deeply split, as it has been for years, over
a war nobody understands
For once in hia life, indeed perhaps the
first time, Mr. Nixon does not have to
worry about playing the role of the
underdog. His lead is so wide there should
be no need for bitterness toward any of
those who, rightly or wrongly, but none
theless sincerely disagreed with hi* poli
cies In fact, if the lead proves to herald a
victory of the magnitude now being
predicted, the President will have a rare
opportunity to do exactly what he has
said many times is his d re a m -to bring us
together He would do well to concen
trate now on his plans for making that
dream a reality.
Unfortunately, political victories of
such wide marpns have proven to be
mixed blessings, both for the victors and
the country It wat on the heels of such a
victory that President Johnson, heartened
by what he viewed as an enormous
personal mandate, spurred American in
volvement in Indochina against consider
able advice to the contrary
Should Mr Nixon receive a compa
rable majority, we can only hope he will
realize that the vote in 1972, as it did in
1964, reflected more doubt about the
alternative than confidence in the incum
bent. Sad to say, that hope is more
fervent than realistic, as hia remarks to
the POW families only too well attest.
€(. o p yright 1972 by
W A S H IN G T O N W E E K L Y . Inc
All right« reterwd
Congratulations Portland Observer
Senior Adult Service Center
3904 N. E. Union Avenue
2 8 8 -8 3 3 8
McCOY for State Rep. Com m ,
Democrat District 15
7433 N. Lombard
Portland, Oregon 97203