Page 2
Portland,observer
Thuiadsy, December 14, 1972
THESE MURDERS CONFESS CLEARLY HON CASUAL IS THE
COUNTRY'S SENSE OF JUSTICE FOR PLACA PEOPLE, HON CARE -
LESS IT IS OF ITS OUN HUMANITY.
The
Editor’s
Desk
ALFRED
by I enwood C , Davis
The future is now
We have heard that “ the future belongs to our youth". \nd in
a sense this is right. F o r on every new generation there falls
the responsibility to prepare realistically for leadership. This
presumes that the result w ill be that youth w ill act respons­
ibly, yet when we look superficially at our black youth of today,
we might easily become frightened.
t t e see from the headlines that drugs kill a new victim every
six hours and that the average age is 25. About oO per cent of
these deaths are black.
We see that the unemployment rate among black youth with
high school educations is about twice that of white drop-outs.
Thus, our black youth are in fo r a battle unless they receive
some new forms of help to show them the seriousness of the
struggle ahead and to lead them to more responsible efforts.
We understand that the ugliness pervading our community
is symptomatic of deceipt and hypocracy perpetrated upon us.
We must therefore look at our youth from a more positive
point of view. We see them as challengers of the status quo.
we see them as students searching fo r alternatives, as future
leaders attempting to bring order from chaos, riches from
poverty and harmony from hatred.
NO-FAULT LIABILITY INSURANCE POSSIBLE IN 1973
By Ron Hendren
The Northwest's Best Weekly
A Black Owned Publication
Published every Thursday by Exje Publishing Company
2201 N . Killingsworth, Portland, Oregon 97217
M ailing address:
P .O . Box 3137
Portland, Oregon 97208
Subscriptions - $5.25 per year - Tri-County area by mail
6.00 per year - Elsewhere by mail
Telephone: 283-2486
Application to m ail at second-class postage rates is pending
at Portland, Oregon.
ALFRED LEE HENDERSON, Publisher/Editor
The Observer's official position is expressed only in its
Publisher's Column (The Observation Post) and the Editor’s
Desk. Any other material throughout t.he paper is the opinion
of the individual w rite r o r submitter and does not necessarily
reflect the opinion of the Observer.
Any erroneous reflection upon the character , standing ot
reputation of person, firm or corporation, which may appear
in tie Portland Observer will be cheerfully corrected upon
being brought to the attention of the Editor.
H ighland Com m unity Center
4635 N.E. 9th
P ortland, Oregon
Offers supervised indoor Si outdoor activities
Now:
pool, table tennis, shuffle board, table games,
tours, basketball, ice skating, ro lle r skating,
sewing, music, facilities available fo r com­
munity activities and meetings.
Things to come:
W A S H IN G T O N Since the m id-1 9 7 1
furor, very little has been heard concern­
ing the push for no-fault automobile
liability insurance. And with good reason
lawyers who have p ro fite d for years
from the present liability insurance sys­
tem have waged an effective and thor­
ough campaign against no-fault in state
legislatures across the country and, for
that matter, in Congress itself However,
1973 may prove different
States are finally beginning to see the
overwhelming benefits of no-fault insur­
ance In Puerto Rico, for example, where
no-fault has been in effect for more than
two years, auto liability insurance now
costs each car owner a mere $35 per year
This little island, a commonwealth of
the United States, is not known either for
its innovativeness or for marked industri­
ousness-everything seems to take longer
here Yet, Puerto Rico pioneered in the
no-fault concept, and today death claims
for funeral expenses are paid usually
within 48 hours and disability payments
are normally received within two weeks
Under Puerto Rico’s compulsory insur­
ance plan (policies can't be cancelled), 90
cents o f every premium dollar is available
for benefits, compared with as little as 45
cents on the dollar in many states More­
over. Puerto Rico's plan pays all medical
and hospital expenses for accident vic­
tims, as well as up to $5,000 for loss of
limbs or sight and up to $15,000 m
survivors’ benefits.
Here in the states, Massachusetts has
led the way, and while results in that
state have been less dramatic than in
Puerto Rico (mostly because the Massa­
chusetts concept is considerably watered
down), liability insurance rates have
nonetheless been lowered markedly and
on more than one occasion.
Yet, no-fault has floundered in state
legislatures aU across the country and has
failed to receive more than "study" status
in Congress Why1 The lawyers who stand
to gain most from the present sue-the-
other-guy system have declared all-out
war against no-fault proposals And they
have the money it takes to win. In
Michigan, during the heat of the no-fault
controversy in 1971, the trial lawyers
spent nearly $250,000 to defeat no-fault
Their determination is understandable,
but hardly commendable The average
trial lawyer in a liability suit will receive
anywhere from 25 to 50 percent of the
"take" whatever the court awards his
client in damages Thus $50,000 in dam­
ages, which is not an unusually high
figure in liability suits, will net the
winning attorney anywhere from $ I 2,000
to $25.000 in fees As for the injured
client, it will likely be years before he
receives any money at all, because
“ appeal” is the name of the game in
liability suits.
No-fault is a relatively simple answer
Let each driver's liability insurance pay
for hn own personal injuries incurred in
an automobile accident. Thus, in aU but
the most severe injuries (usually 70 per­
cent or more disability), liability litiga­
tion would be done away with, the
amounts of damages sought would be
more realistic, high lawyer fees would be
by-passed, long court proceedings and the
incumbent costa would be eliminated,
liability insurance premiums would go
down significantly, and damage payments
would be received promptly
With all those points in its favor,
no-fault liability insurance is certain to
make significant gains in the months
ahead And if the states do not move
toward enacting their own no-fault sys­
tems, Congress is sure to do so on the
federal level and 1973 may be the year
Syndicated by
W A S H IN G T O N W E E K L Y , In i
All righi» reserved
limited job development, boxing, weight lifting,
expanded sewing activities, instruction for musi­
cal inurem ents, tournaments, arts and crafts,
crocheting and knitting.
Monday through Friday
9 a jn . — 6 pun.
OPEN:
Director: dan frazier
288-8104
284-5480
B L A C k e ö U C A T l O K I A L C C K lT e g
B o o k S T O iie
PUBLIC INVITED
37O J
KJ. LOI LLl 2NCDS
2.E8
997I
H ets give something different for Christmas
some K N O W L E D G E
history
Black. Christm as cards
political thought
posters
novels
B R A N D S y o u It
V A R IE T IE S y o u
SIZES y o u w a n
poetry
stationery
new album by Jmama Baraka
(ZeBan Jones)
help support educational programs in the
Black. Community
•
M fV K ffc
Of
J M Ilil
l.K ifll
Public w elfare in Oregon:
Myths and realities
P art II
LEE HENDERSON
MUST M M K TOGETHER FDR FULL
AND EQUAL EMPLOYMENT.
As I See It
There are many myths
about the W elfare system all
over ttw United states. In­
cluding Oregon.
I lie time
is past due for many of these
myths to le corrected by In­
dividuals that are not con­
nected with the Public Wel­
fare Division.
One of the widely held
myths is that W elfare is just
a dole - - a handout. In O re ­
gon, as In many otlier states,
fam ilies
receive not only
money, hut also extensive
services. F o r example, tlie
Adult Services Department
provides services and pro­
grams for adults and disabled
recipients.
Social services
fo r ATX' fam ilies are pro­
vided by Childrens Services
Division.
Last year CSD
provided such services as:
Health Care Advice, Finan­
cial and Employment Coun­
seling, Services to enable
children to continue school,
and
Emepgency
Services.
Adult services for the dis­
abled and aged Include such
areas as Adult Foster Care.
Health Service, 1 egal s e r­
vice, chores services, coun­
seling, and so forth. Each
month,
according
to the
Public W elfare Division, an
average of 3,307 old age
clients and an average of
3,309 disabled clients at« re ­
ceiving some type of services
fare. Furtherm ore, the lacts
seem to indicate that the wel­
fare
illegitimacy
rate is
declining
faster than tlie
ge e ra l illegitimacy rate (or
die state-wide population. .As
stated previously, tlie monthly
To Be Equal
by Vernon E , Jordan, J r.
The myth of the American
melting pot. which blended
individuals and groups from
diverse backgrounds and in­
terests into a specific Am eri­
can type, has been laid to
rest.
The myth flourished
lo r a while, although blacks
were always considered tie
exception that proved tie
rule.
In tie '60s, wlen black
people marched and demon­
strated
for rights denied
them, o tte r groups legan to
lecome conscious of tie fact
that they, too, weren’t sharing
In the American dream.
T h e ir
d l s c l n t e n t was
largely buried in the reed to
appear to he like everyone
else,
to
te
"standard"
Am ericans.
But when tie
civil rights movement pro
tested that blacks weren't
g e ttin g
high-level
jobs,
Italian-A m ericana
realized
that they, too, were being
excluded from those jobs. As
blacks protested their under­
representation In colleges,
Polish-Am ertcans too, re­
alized they were heing ex­
cluded.
As blacks marched
against
crushing
poverty,
Puerto Ricans and Chicanos
realized that they were also
disproportionately poor.
As black people took pride
In blackness and revived in­
terest in the black traditions
and Institutions, so too did
Irish-A m ericana rediscover
th eir own particularity and
Jewlsh-Amerlcans, their own
group values and Interests,
Thia development Is a posi­
tive and healthy sign of the
strengths of our pluralistic
society.
It Is a recognition
of the healthy differences that
add to the interest and di­
versity of a healthy society.
And this development also
proved the moral strength of
the civil rights movement,
which not only won concrete
gains and recognition for
black people, hut also made
such a positive and profound
Impact on the total society.
It Is clear that unless
blacks return to the spotlight
of social change In America,
otlier minorities w ill lose
out.
To the extent that the
real needs of the new m inori­
ties are accommodated at tlie
expense of black people, real
social change w ill go by the
boards. Anythlngthatweakans
the black thrust for change,
weakens all m inorities.
Instead of falling Into the
trap of each separate group
grasping fo r its own small
advantage,
Am erica's
ne­
glected m inorities must learn
to cooperate; to coalesce on
issues of vital Importance to
■ II, and to give (till support
to the priority Issues of the
civil rights movement.
in addition to llieir cash
grant.
The Public Welfare
Division does more than give
out money . The average citi­
zen no doubt does not know
of tlie different services ami
programs ih.il lie performed
by the W elfare System.
Anottier myth about Wel­
fare Clients and that is M (iS|
of llieir children are illegi­
tim ate.
Apparently this is
not the case in Oregon lo ­
calise tlie latest M X’ study
for the state shows that only
11.61*3
** *
children
receiving assistance ate Il­
legitim ate. Moreover, many
of tliese children were con­
ceived or horn prior to tlw ir
mother's having to go on w el-
increase of ONLY $27.1X1 a
month |wi child hardly justi­
fies the charge that welfare
mothers have more children
to get more money.
Note:
Part III of “ Public
W elfare In Oregon:
Myths
and Realities'* will apjwar
next week.
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d u r in g
E x tra c tio n s
and
using
F IL L IN G S
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by 4 . m Sam. O .,
Note: Dr Philip Semler
D e n tu re
REPAIRS
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Sir» y I !.« %< !
Is Now an Associate GXNTIBT
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