PortUnd/O beerver
Nikoa supports woge minimum
Blahop Stephen G. Spottswood, chairman oí the national board of directora of the NAACP. con
gratulates Richard A .M e y e r, pre a aient of Anheuser-Busch, |nc„ upon his election to the national
hoard of the NAACP,
M r . M eyer Is the firs t husmeas representative elected to the NAACP board west of tie M is
sissippi In the history of the civil rights organization. The notification of M r . M eyer's election
took place at the NAACP Fourth Annual Pounders pay Awards Luncheon In St. Louis recently.
M r . M eyer also received an award from tie St. Louis Chapter of the NAACP for his outstanding
contr tuitions to tie chapter In obtaining tie largest number of life memberships In a crash two-
week program (oi tie chapter.
A strong recommendation
for passage by the Legisla
ture of a bill introduced by
Representative V e r a Katz
(Dem. Portland) that would
raise the amount of the
state minimum wage and
that would extend coverage
under the Oregon Minimum
Wage I j iw to agricultural
piece workers was made by
Norman 0 . Nilsen, the State
Labor Commissioner.
Nilson testified before the
House Ijib o r Committee on
HB 2079 in Salem.
This
measure calls for raising the
Oregon minimum wage from
$1.25 an hour to $1.60 an
hour. He called the present
$1.25 “unrealistic, something
which belongs in the past
and indefensible".
He said that exemption of
agricultural workers f r o m
minimum wage coverage is
“an idea of the past."
He
said that this is clearly
demonstrated in that two
nearby states, Montana and
California,
have
enacted
legislation to provide that
agricultural workers h a v e
equal protection under mini
mum wage statutes.
Nilsen said he felt “disap
pointment when I realize
that a fellow Oregonian who
earns the established legal
wage of $1.25 has to work
three minutes longer than a
Russian worker in order to
buy a pound of roast and
that he has to work about as
long as his Kussian counter
part to earn enough for a
pound of potatoes."
The Commissioner said he
was speaking not only as
la b o r Commissioner “whose
sworn duty is to assure and
to protect the right of Ore
gon s working men and wo
men to a living wage but
also as a citizen whose social
conscience is deeply troubled
by a situation wh h is un
healthy
econorr a lly , so
cially and morally.
He said that he derives
little comfort and assurance
that a majority of the people
covered by the Oregon law
earn "little more than that
pitiful, substandard wage.”
He emphasized. “In t h i s
case, even a relatively few is
too many.
I f the legal
minimum of $1.25 constitutes
an u n h e a l t h y condition,
which indeed it does, then I
don’t think we can ignore it
because there is not an
epidemic yet."
Nilson said that in respect
to those who work in agri
culture and a r e
not pre
sently covered by minimum
Fish bills progress
“Ih i W e
Really
W an t
Holiday lor K in g -?"
a
A few weeks ago we ob
served the birthday of the
late Dr. M artin Luther King,
J r„ and again we heard the
clamor for a holiday in honor
"t I >r. King
There is no doubt that Dr.
King's birthday should be a
national American holiday.
There is also little doubt
that such a reality will even
tually come, but when?
A lot will depend upon
the sense of reality and the
determination exercised by
Black |*eople in pursuit of
this goal.
As Black people we must
begin this discussion by re
aiming that we an- as far
away from a King holiday as
we are because of our mis« r
DR JEFFREY
BRADY
M OOEPN
DENTAL
PLATES
PARTIAL PLATES
AND EXTRACTIONS
Immediate
Restorations
ars
tree lad
• Partial Plates
• Dental Plates
able support of the pro
grams and dream that Dr.
King lived and died for.
We give glorified lip ser
vice to tne world about our
love for D r. King, but the
world watches and our ene
mies snicker as they see us
k-tting D r. King's organize
tion. SCLC. die. The world
watches as the King me
mortal and other tributes to
the life and testaments of
Dr. King stumble along on
white graces with little or
no Black support.
The world w a t c h e s as
thoae who rose to the center
of the national stage, with
the blood of D r. King's
elimination forever tarnish
ing their robes c o m p e t e ,
ego-trip and take rule or
ruin attitudes a b o u t the
movement he gave so much
to build. Black America sits
idly by as the whole King
movement splinters accord
ing to the whims and de
signs of King's disciples.
The first step for us to
get the King holiday is to
support the programs for
which Dr. King died.
It is difficult to get in
sulated white folks to sup
port a King holiday when
we I Blacks) don't get out
and work for i t
Talking
alone will not take us to
victory.
The point is that Black is
no longer "in" in America.
We must scratch, claw and
struggle for everything we
get.
We will not get this
holiday through half hearted
effort. We've got to k-t this
country know that we want
this day and we want it
now.
It's awfully discouraging
to realize how often we
forget. Our commitment to
Dr. King doesn't seem to go
any further than mementos
and keepsakes on the wall.
We identify with his me
mory, but we don't support
it.
It is time to do something
or get off the pot.
That
means SCLC should not be
allowei. to die. That means
that B icks should s e n d
their ni« ties, dimes and dol
lars to support the King
Memorial and the King Cen
ter in At.«nta. Support the
Ellis H. C an o n
M LK program here at Port
land State.
Yet. if we continue to
show more reverence for the
weekend Scotch than we do
for the King programs, we
can forget it.
Currently, it is not poli
tically expedient to do any
thing for Blacks no matter
how justified. A King holi
day is not one of the most
popular possibilities avail
able right now.
There is a touchy poli
tical question involved. Dr.
King was not popular with
the conservatives and right
wingers of t h i s
country.
That is the opposition that
some are afraid to buck with
the holiday thing.
I have said may times and
I say again, America is not a
democracy, it n e v e r has
been and it never will be.
America is a pluralistic so
ciety within which all in
terests must fight it out to
gel their piece of the action.
Black America can get
that King holiday - and
all it needs to do is to prove
it wants it b a d enough.
This must be proved by
action and not by words.
A fter all, if Blacks won't
support D r.
K i n g , why
should expedient white poli
ticians risk the votes of the
districts to support him?
Charity begins a home and
s p re a d s
abroad.
The
N A A C P supports the pas
sage of a bill in Salem now
asking for a holiday on
January 15th to pay honor
to M artin Luther King, Jr.
This State must act and
act NO W .
\b iir ticket to
the big game:
SLEEP
DURING
EXTRACTIONS
I tOOIVM MNY0YNAI «IVIN BV
SIBIf YIBIO ANIJTNfTIST
SABI FBII ANY SABS K
m o r to r
HOUBSi
W ook4ey> 1 :2 0 l e SiBB
S e to r 4 e y B : 2 0 t * IM O
I NO «FFOINTMINT NICIHABY
DR. JEFFREY
T7T
DENTIST
S tM ltR BUILDING
S A 3rd A M o rm o n
P or lln n d v0rpgon
Phone:
228 7545
^..including
transportation
You want lo see the big game.
So whal do you do? Just switch on your
T V set And see more of the action than most
of the men on Ihe field. You've got the
best seal in Ihe house - for about 2« worth of
electricity per game
Sound like a pretty good deal? Il is.
Electricity. Il's a bargain. And we know that
bargains are hard lo find todpy. Almost as hard
to find as enough leg room in the grandstand.
Pacific I ' m
»■Acre w* mat, the
rlrrtricirjr that makrs things merr for rvrrykodjt
Senator M ike Thorne of
Pendleton announced t h a t
hearings on a series of fish
bills, including the measure
to dose the Columbia River
to Salmon fishing from Feb
ruary 1 to June 1 and the bill
to prohibit the incidental
catch of steelhead by com
merical fishermen, will be
held on Wednesday, Feb
ruary 21 at 3:00 p.m. in the
State Capital Building in
Salem.
Senator Vern Cook (Dem.
Portland), a strong prop»
nant of tighter restrictions
on commercial fishing in the
Columbia River, said, I com
mend Senator Thorne for
this prompt action in sche
duling the hearings on these
very important bills.
The
Washington N a t u r a l Re
sources Committee, the equi
valent of Senator Thorne's
Natural Resources Commit
tee held its first hearings on
January 25.
I understand
that the Washington House
Natural Resources Commit
tee will also hear the bills in
the near future.
The Ore
gon House also has the same
bills before it and should set
hearings not too long after
the Senate hearings.
The
combination of all of these
hearings and the facts that
will be
developed
should
provide the factual basis for
rapid action by both the
Oregon and the Washington
legislatures.
"When I
attended
the
hearings held by the Wash
ington Senate Natural Re
sources Committee I was
advised by its Chairman.
Senator Lowell
Peterson,
that the Washington law
makers would welcome a
meeting with their corres
ponding Oregon
counter
parts. I hope very much that
by March I this can be
accomplished and identical
legislation adopted by both
legislatures before the final
adjournment of either."
wage legislation, they are
involved in a n
industry
which is rapidly being mech
anized and which, in turn,
needs fewer and f e w e r
people.
He said that the
number of farms of less than
50 acres declined by 68 per
cent between 1950 and 1969
while farms of more than
1.000 acres increased by al
most 25 per cent in the
same period.
“As we observe this pro
cess, similar to historical
trends in other industries
w h e r e structural changes
and mechanization have tak
en place, we must ask our
selves: Where does it leave
individual workers;
w hat
does it do to their individual
rights and safeguards?
“We find that in 1971
slightly less than half of the
nation's hired farm workers
had Federal minimum wage
protection. Also, of all the
farms which in 1970 employs
one or two hired workers,
97 per cent were not cov
ered by Federal minimum
wage provisions.
“Again we ask:
Where
The 1973 Legislative ses
sion is now concluding the
fourth week. We have got
ten off to a rapid start with
a number of important pro
grams and bills. Probably of
greatest interest and con
cern among both the legisla
tun- and the public is the
question of property tax re
lief for home owners and
renters. The committee on
revenue is presently consid
ering the Governor's plan for
property Lax relief, which is
contained in two House Bills,
No. 2005 and No. 2040 and
one Senate Bill. No. 43.
These plans would remove
the funding of school opera
tions f r o m
property tax.
The State would then pro
vide direct aid to local school
districts.
allow the state to sell 200
million dollars in revenue
bonds which would be used
to finance construction of low
and medium income housing.
It is well known that Ore
gon has a severe housing
shortage in this area and the
enactment of the bonding
program would be beneficial
from two standpoints.
It
would h e l p
alleviate the
housing shortages which ex
ist and would also create jobs
in the construction industry.
The Transportation Com
mittee is considering a pro
posal that would divert 6
million dollars from the dedi
cated highway fund for the
planning and construction of
mass transit systems.
Many legislators feel that
this is a concept which is very
much needed.
This is es
pecially true in light of the
A bill aimed at eliminating
railroad crossing hazards in
Oregon has been introduced
in the House bv Represent
ative Les AuCoin. Demo
crat of Washington County.
Under the provisions of the
bill, local jurisdictions or
groups of concerned citizens
would be able to petition the
Public Utilities Commission
er for new crossings, recon
struction or alteration of ex
isting crossings, or installs
tion of protective devices
such as gates and warning
lights.
“This measure is more than
a vehicle for reducing the
alarming number of acci
dents that occur each year
at
ra ilro a d
crossings,”
AuCoin said. “I t is a long
overdue redefinition of the
public's right to free and
unobstructed use of streets
and highways, and of the
railroad industry’s obligation
to share the moral and fin
ancial burden of protecting
the public."
increasing citizens resistence
to additional freeway con
struction and the environ
mental impart of the auto
mobile.
The Oregon Legislature has
always been considered to
be one which is open to the
public and has sought public
input.
I f you have any
questions
or
comments,
please contact your senator
or representative.
A new
feature of this legislative
session is that you can call,
toll free, for information re
g a r d i n g legislation. The
number is 1 800 472 - 0290.
During the coming weeks
the session. I will be writing
about other activities of the
legislature. Please feel free
to contact my office if you
have any questions.
306
State Capitol. Salem. Oregon
97310.
8. 1973
Pag* 3
“The idea of keeping one
part of Oregon's work force
isolated in no-man’s land
where the rule is exemption
from the rule is art idea of
the past."
SHOP
■ E N O W 'S
FOR
-B R A N D S you kn o w
- V A R IE T IE S y o u lik e
- S IZE S y o u w a n t
•
M fw h lfc O I
U’.iT fD
o s o c ik .
Binyon O ptical
Dispensers of Fashion Eyew ear
6 3 0 SW B ro ad w ay
2 2 6 -6 6 8 8
Jantzen Beach
2 8 3 -3 1 9 5
S ID N E Y THO M AS
D ISP EN S IN G O P T IC IA N
D r.
L. W e s l e y
A p la n a lp
O p to m e tr is t
Soft and R eg u lar contact lenses
Associate Optometrists:
BRIGGS, HATTEN, M ILL E R 4 STENGER
r
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L
n
DAY CARE MOTHERS
CARE FOR INFANTS
IN YOUR HOME.
$3.50 a child per day
AMA
F a m ily D a y / N i g h t C a r o
4635 N.E. 9th 288-5091
TOO M A N Y BARGAINS TO LIST!
Naturally, the money for
state aid would have to
come from other sources of
revenue.
This would come
from three sources. First, a
state wide property tax on
income producing property
with a constitutional limita
tion of $10 per $1000 of
assessed valuation. Second,
the personal and corporate
inrome tax levels would be
inrreased especially in upper
inrome tax brackets.
The
third and final source of the
new revenue, is that taxes
on businesses would be im
poaed.
Local school control
by
boards of eduration would
still apply to all other oper
ations. Boards of education
would be permitted to levy
local property taxes
for
school operations for onlv a
total amount of $2 per $1000
of true rash value. Such
taxes could only be levied
subject to a vote of the
people in the school district.
I t is strongly felt that
some form of property tax
relief is not only required
but will quickly pass the
legislature and be referred
to a vote of the people.
Several other bills and pro
grams have come up which
are of great importance to
Multnomah
County
resi
dents.
F irst is a proposal to
does this leave the indivi
dual worker?
Thoee scat
tered ones must not be for
gotten ones.
Like human
freedom, social progress and
social justice are indivisable.
Crossing bill
introduced
Report from the Senate
BY Senator Keith Burns
Thurutay. February
THOUSANDS N O K i! IF YOU CAN'T FIND
it nene, coau in ano akowss ;
STOVES,
DISHWASHERS,
ELEC. SUPPLIES
12 T a p p .. 5TO VI3
i« S SfFSIGfSATOSS
WSMWASH
ia A w c a d .
•» 1 * 1 » talo n , $ 1 4 4 w $ 1 4 4 74
SA N G f HOOOS. in Cappor S lo p
20-
M .M
24-
112JB » -
$ 1 4 All c o , and colon. (la c n c a l
CONDUIT. 14- , io-
$34 y ,- ,
10- $ 4 »
TABU LAMPS AND
HANGING LIGHT
FIXTURES
T h a t b w he n lo w e r L o n g D is ta n c e
rates b e g in o n weekdays.
T h e best time to share the good times in the
northwest is after 5 P M on weekdays. T h a t’ s when
lower Long Distance rates begin. And that’s when
you’re likely io find friends and fam ily at home
So go ahead and spread the good word.
Long Distance calls get people together.
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2-
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UOMT CHAN M U M , n g
S44 30.
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»ATM V A N fT IIS
g o ld o n tf-M »
M AAStl TY»t VANITY TOYS wHS
boun«, 1 4 ' la T2" <Hda. daaW a or
anp la bawl $21 la $ 4 0 « U K
S A T H 4 O O N CASINfTS ANO VANI
TIIS $ 1 4 to $ 2 4 14 oaty T IM A
GLASS VANITY TOTS - I * boon,
-a» S44 naw S1A.2B 12 TIM S
GLASS S H O W « ST AILS, -a» SI IS ,
naw $ 2 4
3 « m il TIMSGLASS
SH OW fS STALLS. >daal tor cabim .
bcn . i . n
b a llo n , naw $ 2 4 23
only CH IN A WASH BASINS rap
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cbaKa wbito a» coiorod S 4 .M op.
FLUORESCENT
LIGHTFIXTURES
M aaw n ao S' ■ S'. wHfc 4 Hvaroacoat
liflm ,
$ 4 SB a«Kb
SHOR RAM.Y SOW B O Y SB. ICT IO N THIS W I K I
Building Supply Discount Centers Inc.
PNctftc NorthwMt B b N
0.1 « w .w i
Tap p a a lit,. S3 «. $324 0 ,w a « n lW
J 0 H or wora Sat m a p l a Croo
raw CHandolio« n g 334 «0 naw
$ 1 » SATH ANO COACH UOHTS.
NOBODY HAS
VANITIES AT THESE
PRKES1
I4 B 5 H. Veweever Baa. « r a t i fra « Cl J e « Cafe 2 1 5 -»544
1 $122 $1 M d iw g M a i M . « r a t i fra « RkBeeeMt CME »$4-5444
Both lo c p h p n i ppp n a to 4 M y » to J S p nd pyi.
U f yowr a « T k A fliw rie « -4 * r M e • to r C h erg e.
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