Page 2
Portland'Observer
With Ron Hsndren
Thursday, May 3. 1973
A YOUNG VIEW OF WASHINGTON
Self Service Auto Repair
The
"F ix
Editor’s
Desk
WE SEE THE WORLD
THROUGH BLACK EYES
Law Day 7 3
M a y 1st is d e s ig n a te d as la w d a y th ro u g h o u t the
U n ite d States.
It is set a sid e to re c a ll to o u r
a tte n tio n th a t this is a n a tio n o f law s th a t a p p ly
e q u a lly to a ll the p e o p le ; th a t th e C o n stitu tio n
stands h ig h in the id e a ls o f those sw orn to u p h o ld
it.
But is th e U n ite d States tru ly a n a tio n o f law s?
O r is it a n a tio n o f sp e cia l interests th a t is fa st
b e c o m in g a fa cist state?
H ow e a s ily c o u ld th e g o v e rn m e n t o f th e co u n try
be ta ke n o v e r by e x tra -le g a l m eans?
W h e n th e
A tto rn e y G e n e ra l o f the U n ite d States a n d the
D ire ctor o f th e FBI, th e tw o m en m ost re s p o n s ib le
fo r th e e n fo rc e m e n t o f th e la w , a n d th e P resident's
le g a l counsel a n d p e rso n a l a tto rn e y , can be
in v o lv e d in as fa r-re a c h in g ille g a l a ffa irs as
W a te rg a te w ith o u t th e P resident's k n o w le d g e , th e n
the g o v e rn m e n t o f th e U n ite d States is in d e e d in
je o p a rd y.
W h a t if these m en had w o rk e d to
o v e rth ro w th e p re sid e ncy ra th e r th a n to e le c t a
President? W h a t if th e y had had the assistance o f
top m ilita ry o ffic ia ls ? W o u ld a m ilita ry ta k e o v e r
not be possible?
But th e su bve rsio n o f th e system o f la w can also
ta ke p la ce th ro u g h le g a l m eans. Exam ples a re the
so -ca lle d rio t acts u n d e r w h ic h yo u n g p e o p le
ta k in g d o n a te d fo o d a n d c lo th in g to In d ia n s at
W o u n d e d Knee w e re a rre ste d a n d th re a te n e d w ith
lo n g p rison sentences; w h ic h e n a b le d persons w h o
h ad n e v e r m et o r ta lk e d to g e th e r to be trie d fo r
c o n sp ira cy; a n d a series o f " la w a n d o rd e r "
le g is la tio n th a t s y s te m a tic a lly ta ke a w a y th e rights
o f th e citize n s; la w s th a t e n a b le th e te rm in a tio n o f
a n y fe d e ra l e m p lo y e e w h o o p e n ly d isa gre es w ith
his a g e n c y 's p o licie s.
There is n o w p e n d in g in th e Senate a la w th a t
w o u ld m a ke it ille g a l fo r a fe d e ra l e m p lo y e e to
ta ke a d o c u m e n t m a rke d secret a n d ille g a l fo r
a n y o n e re c e iv in g it to use it. A t firs t g la n c e this
seem s re a so n a b le , b ut n o t w h e n yo u re m e m b e r
th a t th e "s e c r e t" d e s ig n a tio n can be p ut on a n y
d o c u m e n t by a n y n u m b e r o f e m p lo y e e s fo r no
sp e cific reason a n d has b e e n used to co ve r up
in co m p e te n c e , ille g a l acts a n d b u n g lin g . This la w
w o u ld p re v e n t th e n ew s m e d ia fro m m a k in g p u b lic
a n y d isclo sure it m ig h t re ce ive .
W e h ave seen the fa r-re a c h in g te n a cle s o f
g o v e rn m e n t sp yin g a n d n o th in g m uch has been
said o r d o n e . W h e n a rm y sp yin g on Senators a nd
o th e r e le c te d o ffic ia ls w as d isco ve re d , th e p u b lic
d id n o th in g . W h e n o rg a n iz a tio n s a n d persons such
as th e Black Panthers a n d D a n ie l Ellsberg have
been syste m a tica lly p ersecu te d, th e A m e ric a n
p u b lic says n o th in g .
W hen FBI file s on p u b lic
fig u re s w e re re v e a le d , n o th in g w as d o n e .
W h e n it w as k n o w n th a t President N ix o n had
su rro u n d e d h im s e lf w ith th e m ost ruthless a id s, a nd
w h e n a ll the a g e n cie s o f g o v e rn m e n t w e re tu rn e d
in to ca m p a ig n h e a d q u a rte rs, the A m e ric a n p e o p le
re tu rn e d h im to o ffic e w ith a re s o u n d in g vo te o f
co n fid e n c e .
As he d is m a n tle s the social p ro g ra m s th a t have
h e ld th e n a tio n to g e th e r, ille g a ly d e fy in g both
Congress a r d th e p e o p le , n o th in g is said. W hen
secrecy a n d c rim e a n d ille g a l ca m p a ig n fu n d s are
fo u n d in the W h ite House, th e re is no g re a t cry o f
a la rm .
W e no lo n g e r h ave a n a tio n o f la w . W e h ave a
n a tio n o f h arassm ent, fe a r, in tim id a tio n . A n d w h o
is to b la m e ? The A m e ric a n p e o p le do not seem to
care
They re a d in th e ir d a ily p a p e r a b o u t the
in tim id a tio n o f the FBI or th e In te rn a l R evenue
System a g a in st th e ir fe llo w citizens.
In th e ir
a p a th y a n d s e lf-in te re s t th e y d o n 't ca re u n til the
te n a cle s e n tw in e th e m -
a n d th e n it s to o late.
The W a te rg a te a ffa ir a n d th e P resident's s w e a rin g
co m p le te in n o ce n ce sh o u ld o p e n som e eyes —
but w ill it?
THE HIGH PRICE OF HONOR
W A S H IN G T O N -W h at lasting affect is
the Watergate scandal likely to have on
the Nixon Presidency?
That is the speculative question
making the rounds in the nation's capital
these days. So far, the only sure answer is
that it's too soon to tell. No one knows
yet just how far up the executive ladder
the Watergate investigations will reach
Should the ugly taint reach the President
himself, the damage could escalate be
yond imagination.
Certainly the charge o f pnor knowl
edge or direct involvement on the part of
the President is not beyond the realm of
the possible. Those who follow politics
will recall that the President and his
current White House chief of staff, H. R.
Haldeman, were both officially cited by a
California court in 1964 for having per
sonally approved similar deceptive and
illegal campaign tactics in Nixon’s 1962
campaign for governor of that state.
To be sure, those around the President
are moving fast to protect him. Dr Henry
A. Kissinger, Mr. Nixon’s top foreign
affairs advisor, just last week suggested
that compassion for all those involved
was the proper approach. His reasoning,
in part at least, was that additional public
washing o f the Watergate laundry might
seriously damage the President's ability to
carry out the innovative foreign policy
programs which were begun during his
first term.
That line o f reasoning wasn't bought
any more than Kissinger's earlier plea for
loving compassion toward the President
during the Cambodian crisis, at one of the
most critical periods of the Vietnam war
Readers will recall the response of Sena
tor Frank Church (D-ldaho) at that time
What was needed, he told Kissinger, is not
an act of love but an act of decency.
That response still holds today. A l
though the President has said that any of
his staff who may be indicted will be
suspended and that anyone convicted
would be fired, that is surely the absolute
minimum that could be expected from
him Meanwhile, White House sources
have indicated that Mr. Nixon has advised
those staff members who have been
6027 N. Lombard
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implicated that he is behind them. In
deed, he has conferred privately with the
attorney representing Haldeman and John
Dean, the White House counsel who
announced to the world that he had no
intention of becoming a Watergate scape
goat.
Dean is not the only one manuevering
to save his skin. As the crisis has surged
upward, Presidential advisors past and
present have rushed to spill their personal
versions of the beans, and the result has
been a lot o f soiled fingers pointing at
each other.
It will take time to sort out the truth
Meanwhile, there is little to do but wait
and hope the President will enlighten us
with the findings of his own investigation.
Until he does make a complete and open
statement, the honor which has become
one o f the keystones in so many o f his
pleas for public support will not ring true
again.
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- 2887
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Citizens request
public electricity
To the Editor:
Laws are to protect peo
ple, yet they often result in
the opposite.
Years ago,
Oregon, s im ila r to other
states, provided for the Gov
ernor to appoint a Public
U tility Commissioner, who
takes an oath of office to
"Protect the Patrons". Many
people now think that this
protection of the patrons has
been abused by favoring
special interests. They cite
the wide differences of elec
trie rates permitted by the
Oregon P.U.C. of investor
owned utilities over those of
consumer owned.
Before the 11% rate in
crease which becomes effec
tive immediately, all residen
tial customers of PGE were
compelled to pay $11.45 for
1000 kwh, which is 50.4%
higher than the average of
eight nearby consumer-owned
customers pay, $7.61. Six of
these are in Oregon and two
in nearby Washington.
The 11% increase or $1.25
on 1000 kwh will now be
$12.61 for the All-Electric
custom ers, which is now
65.7% higher than consumer
owned customers pay. Com
mercial PG E customers for
1500 kwh who paid $27.00 or
74.2% higher, now will pay
$29.97 or 93.3% highe* than
the average of the eight
areas.
Portland is the only major
city from Eugene to Seattle
that has not been getting
Bonneville power direct to
their customers. Now with
the indignation of the con
sumers, several strong con
sumer organizations have had
meetings and will be filing a
petition with the Portland
City Auditor within a few
days- to exercise their "op
tion" to purchase Pacific
Power & Light Company
facilities within the City of
Portland at the true cash
value, with revenue bonds
only. This will entitle Port
land to be in a position to
become preference customers
of Bonneville, thereby bring
ing more of Bonneville low
cost power to Oregon, where
as, most of it is now going
into the State of Washington.
The ballot box is the only
solution.
Lane County is
preparing to set up a P.U.D.
for most of the County.
Preparation is being outlined
for Multnomah County with
an eye on a T ri County
P.U .D .
There have been
hearings on HB 2545 and
2546, which will adjust the
Oregon P .U .D . law more in
conformity with the State of
Washington, and will make it
more easy to compete for
low cost B.P.A. power.
Del Bucknam, President,
United Business Associates,
Incorporated 1958
By p o p u la r d em an d for 5 big d a y s o n ly
S tartin g F rid a y
FBI seeks EC
Dear Brothers & Sisters,
As you know, I have been
unable to be with you for the
last month or so.
The reason for this may be
obvious to many of you;
however, to be perfectly
honest, I recently learned
that I am being sought by
the FB I. When I learned of
this, about 1 month ago, I
tried finding out just what
they wanted of me.
How
ever, until the present time,
I have only learned that they
have a warrant for my a r
rest. My attorney in Detroit
has also tried, but apparently
justice does not allow one to
Academ y a w a rd nom inee
know w hat he is charged
with, until he is arrested and
put into ronfinement, where
he has little or no means of
defense.
This, brothers and sisters,
is the reason I am ap,M-aling
to you.
I need all the
support 1 ran get.
I need
letters, cards, plus any finan
rial assistance you ran pro
vide.
Please send your
cards, letters, and rontribu
tions to:
Diana Ross
Lady sings the Blues
Starring
B illy D e e W illia m A R ich a rd P ryor
F R tiM WATTSTAX
o u ts tan d in g second Co—fe a tu re
The M an
It took an
accident
to make
this man
President
of the
The U.S. District Attorney
c/o The Portland Observer
I ' l l B o x 3137
Portland, Oregon 97211
EC
What the'
do to
him now
won't
he an
accident
United States
THE EXPLOSIVE STORY OF THE FIRST BLACK
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
W alt Johnson
James Earl Jones
Coming M a y 9
Lincoln Mercury
The Mack
HOURS
Moo. - Sot.
Sunday
7:00 p j
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Approaching the end of the 73 model run, this is an
excellent time to buy a luxury automobile at a ridiculously
low price; the dealer simply cannot afford to keep them on
hand when the 1974 models arrive.
So, if you need or want a well built car which has to
a period of five or seven years before trade in, then
Lincoln Continental and the magnificent M ark IV do
take a back seat in quality and performance to any
being built in America today. W ith Lincoln, options
standard equipment, not "extras".
last
the
not
car
are
The Mercury Cougar is the O N L Y low price ear being
built today that comes in a convertible and J. Alton Page
has them. Please come out and look them over.
SHOP
W e wish to thank our many friends and customers who,
over the last 2 months, have discovered honest dealing,
fair prices, informed financing and good clean used cars at
W alt Johnson Lincoln Mercury, the Pride of Portland.
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V 8. auto. PS, A ir, Vinyl Top, Radio, (W008B
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Published every Thursday by Exle Publishing Company, 2201
N . Klllingsworth, Portland, Oregon 97217. Mailing address,
P .O . Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208
ALFRED L. HENDERSON
it y o u rs elf
Subscriptions $5.25 per year
- Outside Portland.
Telephone, 283-2486,
Tri-County area, $6,00 per year
Application to mail at second class postage rates Is pervllng
at Portland, Oregon.
The Observer's official position is expressed only in Its
Publisher's Column (The observation Post) and the Editor's
* " / ° ther matwrtal throughout the paper Is the opinion
°
ln<llvldua, w rite r or submitter and does not neceasarlly
reuect the opinion of the Observer.
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T W O
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N o r l h p ,« • f i r n . h I wv . - / ,»t f i r s i
S I 10 N o r t h I o r n b . t r r l • ?HH S? I«,
? n n *» ? 1 1