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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 1973)
I ’age 2 Portland Observer Thursday. November 8, 1978 PPS statistics WE SEE THE WORLD (Continued from ,ig. I, col. 9) f ifth grade achievement is consistently lower than third grade achievement, fo u rth graders range in achieve ment scores from 3.1 to 3.3. Humboldt is 88.3 percent Black. THROUGH BLACK EYES Woodlawn Grade 4 and 8 achievement test scores in reading and mathematics at Woodlawn are in the lower quarter of the city elementary schools. These scores are consistent with the school and the com munity socio-economic data which are mostly near the one quarter level of the city elementary school. Except in math computa tion where scores rose for 3rd and 5th graders, there is no significant raise in achieve ment and lowering of achieve ment in most areas. Grade 4 students achieved from 3.2 to 3.8 grade level: grade 8 stu dents achieved 5.4 to 6.9, W oodlawn students are 38.6 percent Black. ALFRED L. HENDERSON E d itor/P ub lish er EDITORIAL FOCUS Another Point of View N ix o n should resign A Paralyzed Nation The o n ly w a y o ut o f the n a tio n 's cu rren t lack o f c o nfid en ce in the c re d ib ility a n d ve ra city o f the President is fo r Mr. N ixo n to resign. N e a rly every d a y n ew issues arise and n e w e v id e n ce reveals its e lf th a t dem on strate s co rru p tio n th ro u g h o u t the a d m in is tra tio n . The " la w and o rd e r" a d m in is tra tio n has been u n a b le to ke ep honest leaders at the h elm o f the highest la w e n fo rc e m e n t a ge ncies a nd one a fte r a no the r o f his a p p o in te e s has had to step d o w n because o f p a rtic ip a tio n in various ille g a l a ctivitie s or obstruction o f justice. N ixo n 's closest frie n d s a nd advisors a n d som e o f his fo rm e r C ab ine t heads are e m b ro ile d in the W a te rg ate a ffa ir, its coverup, a nd va riou s form s o f se llin g g o ve rn m e n t favors. The p u b lic 's re a ctio n to the d isa p p e a ra n ce o f the tapes, w h a te v e r the true reason m ig h t be, d e m o n strates a lack o f fa ith in the President. The suspicion o f m an y th a t the N ear East Crisis was e ith e r m a n u fa ctu re d or a t least o ve rd o n e to help the President g et o ff the hook a t h om e is a no the r e x a m p le . It is u n lik e ly th a t any d ecision in a ny a re a th a t the President m akes n ow w o u ld be ac cepted by the A m e rica n p e o p le as an honest d ecision m ade in th e ir interest. The President has w a ite d too lo n g to be honest w ith the A m e rica n p e o p le . There are grounds fo r im p e a ch m e n t: His a p p ro v a l o f the "H o u s to n " plan fo r p o litic a l s u rv e illa n c e on A m e rica n citizens; his b o m b in g o f C a m b o d ia w h ile d e n y in g it to Congress a nd th e p e o p le ; his c o m p lic ity in the Ells- burg b re a k -in ; the a tte m p te d b rib e ry o f the p re sidin g jud ge d u rin g th e Ellsberg tria l; the estab lishm ent o f a secret p o lic e fo rce -- the "p lu m b e rs "; a nd his use or a tte m p te d use o f fe d e ra l agencies to his o w n a d va n ta g e . It w o u ld be b e tte r fo r the p e o p le o f the U nited States if th e ir President resign e d im m e d ia te ly . If he does not, Congress is s h irkin g its re sp o n sib ility if it does not instig ate im p e a ch m e n t proceedings. M a n y o f our Senators and R epresentatives do not w a n t to go th ro u g h the p o litic a l risk o f an im p eachm ent — th ey w o u ld ra th e r p la y it safe. Some are u nce rta in a b o u t the q u a lific a tio n s o f G era ld Ford or Carl A lb e rt to serve as President. H ow ever, if th e y do not m eet this re sp o n sib ility th ey are g u ilty o f accessory a fte r the fact. The real push m ust com e fro m the voters, fo r o n ly they can m o b iliz e Congress a nd o n ly th ey can in flu e n c e President N ixo n to resign. Prom the Atlanta Inquirer. October 27. 1973 Because A m e ric a has a vice p re sid e n, w ho resign e d u nd er w h a t a m o un ts to an a dm issio n o f g u ilt a nd because it has a p re sid e n t w h o is suspect in a ll w ave s rip p lin g a fte r W a te rg ate, o u r's is a co un try th a t is, fo r a ll p ra ctica l purposes, le a d e r less. These c ritic a l tim es a re a lm ost u n p re ce d e n te d in the history o f this D em ocracy as it ra p id ly a p proaches its 200th b irth d a y . G o v e rn m e n t o f the p e o p le , as a resu lt o f W a te r gate a n d the w ave s o f m a la d m in is tra tio n , is p a ra ly z e d — and th e re can be no g o v e rn m e n t o f the p e o p le unless g o v e rn m e n t g overns its e lf and a p p lie s the law s to its e lf th a t it d em an ds be a d h e re d to by the p e o p le . W h ich w a y , A m e ric a ? A fte r a ll the tw ists a nd turns o f the past year, w h o know s? M ost o f President N ix o n 's chosen top lie u te n a n ts are gon e. Last w e e k e n d the issue o f the W o"?r- g ate tapes resu lted in the sackings, v o lu n ta ry or not, o f A tto rn e y G e n e ra l E lliot L. Richardson, his n u m b e r tw o m an W illia m D. Ruckelshous and special W a te rg a te prosecutor A rc h ib a ld Cox. The d e v e lo p m e n ts stunned the n a tio n a nd p ro voke d screams fo r im p e a c h m e n t o f the President, w h o then p u lle d a n o th e r stunner Tuesday w h e n he, o b vio u s ly n o tin g the m o u n tin g w ave s o f calls fo r im p e a c h m e n t, d e c id e d the tapes co uld be released to U.S. District Judge John Sirica, w h o a t the tim e w as p o n d e rin g a lte rn a tiv e s on w h a t to do w ith the President. The tapes, to m an y A m e rica n s n ow , are a lm o st a secondary th in g . They co u ld have, by this tim e , been e x p e rtly e d ite d . President N ixo n is g o in g to d e p e n d la rg e ly on the w ill o f the e le c to ra te . O ne must re m e m b e r President N ix o n w o n e le c tio n to a second term w ith the greatest vo ter m a n d a te this co u n try has ever seen. He w o n 49 o f 50 states. M assachusetts a ppears n o w to be the w isest state in th e n atio n. W e th in k it is up to those w h o vo ted N ixo n into o ffic e to n o w d e c id e w h e th e r or not he should re ta in th a t o ffic e . A b o u t 24 percent o f the p e o p le d id n 't a g re e he sh ou ld be re -e le c te d last N o v e m ber. But a g a in w e ask, as w e d id last ye ar, h ow co uld so g re a t a m a jo rity be so w ro n g ? W ith so m an y p e o p le s u ffe rin g fo r a b e tte r w a y o f life a nd most e v e ry o n e w is h in g fo r a co un try that is " to g e th e r" , g o v e rn m e n t has an albatross a ro u n d its neck, a p y th o n a ro u n d its w aist, an e le p h a n t in its m o u th , concrete slabs a ro u n d its fe e t and fo g in its head. Its arm s, h o w e v e r, are still fre e a nd , k n o w in g A m e rican s w h o h ave fa ce d "W a te rlo o s " b e fo re , th ere is s till strength to ya n k a w a y a ll th e b a rrie rs to truth, honesty a n d in te g rity . W h ile th e w a lls o f the W h ite House s h im m e r a nd shake, perhaps Mr. N ix o n , in his hours o f trials, w ill re a liz e a n e w com passion fo r those w hose lives he has m ad e d iffic u lt th ro ug h le g is la tiv e vetoes, careless in s e n s itiv ity and ina ction . Through his p o litic a l ca re er he has su rvived o the r crises. H e 'll p ro b a b ly survive this one. But w h a t a b o u t the rest o f us? Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company, 2201 North Killingswnrth. Portland, Oregon 97217. Mailing address: P.O. Box 3137, Portland. Oregon 97208. Telephone: 283 2486. Subscriptions: $5.25 per year in the Tri-County area. $*>.00 per year outside Portland. Second Class Postage Paid at Portland. Oregon The Portland Observer’s official position is expressed only in it’s Publisher’s Column I We See The World Through Black Ey<**l. Any other material throughout the paper is the opinion of the individual writer or submitter and di>es not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer. MEMBER me t n le r Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association i “We’ve taken crime off the streets.” To Be Equal b.v $ ernon E. Jordan All the glitter and cere mony of the W hite House announcem ent of G erald fo rd ’s appointment to the office of Vice Presidency cannot hide the deep shame the Agnew case has brought to Washington, nor can it obscure the serious questions it raises about current poli tical morality and the system of justice in America. Coming on top of the Watergate scandals and the continuing battle over the secret W hite House tapes, th« Agnew case is a terrible blow to the country's self confidence and to the aver age citizen's faith in his leaders. Black citizens can take no satisfaction from M r. Agnew's removal from office. Al though he was'clearly one of the most unpopular national leaders in the view of Black communities, there is no joy in a situation in which our national leadership, which should be strong and just, is instead shaken by corruption and greed. From the time M r. Agnew justified his refuals to visit and campaign in Black neigh borhoods by saying “once you’ve seen one slum you've seen them all”, and con tinuing through his hard law and order stance and his position as a symbol of nega tivism on a national scale, the former Vice President has been a thorn in the side >f people who hoped for politics of reconciliation in stead of further divisiveness. Now. according to a meti culously detailed bill of par- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Nurses give TLC ticulars compiled by the Jus tice Department, it seems that this champion of law and order was taking bribes not as Governor of Mary land, but while occupying the second highest office in the land, one breath away from the Presidency itself. In ex change for his resignation, the government decided not to press all of these charges, allowing him to plea bargain his way out of jail by ac cepting one count of tax eva sion, a felony that would put lesser mortals behind bars. I can fully understand the government’s position that it is better to allow M r. Agnew to resign in hum iliation rather than put the country through the long ordeal of a trial and the resultant ver diet and sentencing. But very few Black Americans can readily accept the l * o tier system of criminal jus tice thia reflects. High officials ought to be held to higher standards of behavior than the rest of us. Those who would lead must be worthy of that leadership. Opinion generally is that a public official on the take >ught to have the book thrown at him. rather than get off with a light tap on the wrists. Most people feel that when government office becomes a license to steal, then the guilty ought to suffer the full penalities of the law , especially when they’ve hidden their own corruption behind a screen of charges of "permissiveness” and pleas to get tough with riminals. Why, so many people are asking today, should a high official who has been on the take get off with a lesser sentence than some poor kid who took a joyride in some one else's automobile? How many thousands upon thou sands of people are locked up in prison today whose crimes are so much less than those the former Vice President has been charged with? How many thousands upon thousands of people are today on parole or probation snd are forced to inform correc tion officials of their every movement while the former Vice President was released on his own recognizance? And how many petty crimi nals are raged up for months just waiting until their trial comes up and what is their reaction to a betrayer of the public's tru s t g u ttin g off without ever seeing the in side of a jailbousg? Just as the charges against Mr. Agnew corroded faith in the government, his light sentence has corroded faith in the system of criminal justice. I myavJf don’t feel th at an y th in g would be served by locking the man up. but then justice is rarely served by locking anyone up, except perhaps the most retrograde and violent crimi nals. If anything good al all is to come out of this shame ful story, it is for the country to learn to extend the leni ency given Mr. Agnew to the faceless thousands of accused persons whose crimes were less than his and whose fate has been far, far worse. SHARING NMWAw Association - Foundad 1885 The OBStav i i > _ j r- J f-Y o u r Newspaper Thonlts Dear Editor: Thanks so much to you and your staff for never ending and tiring efforts, and may you continue to do so in Portland for the State of Oregon. C o n gratu latio n s on your Award of M erit for Pro ductivity. We also wish to thank you for giving us the opportunity to take part in a movie, "Lost in the Stars”. As the result of this, a movie star has consented to come to Portland for a bene fit to help us build a better community through the arts and understanding. Sincerely, Mrs. Clara Peoples, Executive Director, Community Care In a day when nursing care seems to be deper sonalized and health care fragmented, the need for specialized bedside nursing is becoming increasingly impor tant. Although there is a need for the Intensive Care Unit, it is not the whole answer to urgent care nurs ing. Many patients complain of the lack of privacy, noise, and the activity that are part of these units. They are much happier and relaxed, and less apprehensive, when transferred to their room with a special nurse who of fers T.L.C. and reassurance, plus the technical care re quired. We believe that all of the public is not aw are th a t registered nurses are still available for ail and any type of private specialized nursing care. Many people have been misinformed that this service is unavailable, or that it is unnecessary, but this should be the patient's or the family’s perogative. We understand that frequently untrained and unlicensed per sonnel (sitters or practicáis) are being called as special nurses for some of these cases at no small fee. The Private D uty Reg istered Nurses of the Oregon Nurses Association have been aware of this misrepresents tion for some time, and have deeply regretted this situa tion. This explanation to the public is long overdue. In the years that have passed, the philosophy oí nursing has undergone many changes, but our goal re mains the same •• the patient is our first priority. Elynor Mehling Chairman, P.D.N, Oregon Nurses Official Placement Service Eliot No grade 4 current achieve ment scores are listed for Eliot since only grsdes K 3 sttend. The school snd the com m unity socio economic data for Eliot are at the low end of the lower quarter of the city elementary schools. The five-year achievement test scores in grade 3 read ing and mathematics indicste a reversal to a rapidly de clining trend from 1967 to 1970. The 1971 72 math scores have increased. The 1971 72 third grade class was the first class to have com pleted both the Headstart and follow Through pro grams. Student turnover (mobility) is extremiy high at Eliot. The ratio of pupils to certi fied teachers at Eliot is favorable. Since students in (he Headstart and follow Through programs at Eliot live within and outside of E lio t's boundaries, socio economic data may not be representative of the entire group of students. The ethnic composition of the elementary school staffs arc Boise, 17.5% Black, compared to the student I mm I v ' s 90.6% Black; Hum boldt, 23.3%, compared to 88.3%; Woodlawn is 9.9% compared to 38.6%, Vernon is 21 h'VFftttiparrd lo 52.5%; Sabin Grade 4 and grade 8 read ing and grade 8 mathematics achievement test scores at Sabin are in the lower quarter of the c ity ’s ele m e n ta ry schools. Grade 4 mathe matics is at the 25% level. These scores are consistent with the school and the com munity socio-economic data, which are also in the lower quarter of the city schools. Since 1967 there has been a decline in reading achieve ment, in math concept, math problem solving and math computation. The only ad vance was in the three math areas for 3rd graders, fo u rth graders achievement scores range from 3.2 to 3.9: Hth graders from 5.4 to 6.9. Sabin has 58.4 percent Black students. Irvington fo u rth grade stu d en t scores are at the upper range of the lower 25% of the district schools. The reading scores are slightly above average. "Community socio-economic data are vari able with some factors in the lower quarter of the city schools and some in the middle.” Achievement rating is sub stantially the same as in 1967 68 except math con cepts for 5th grades, which has dropped. Irvington has 51.2 percent Black students. Sabin is 25.5%, compared to 58.4%; King is 30.9%, com pared to 84.3%, Irvington is 41.4%. compared to 51.2%; Eliot is 14.6% compared to 59,1%. Demo Sale Gremlins Ambassadors Matadors Hornets SAVE HUNDREDS Ol- DOLLARS ALL GUARANTEED ALL WITH LOW MILEAGE AMERICAN MOTORS CARS a n d JEEPS SALES & SERVICE IS CARING 226-7711 1005 W. Burnside Dear Editor: MEMBER Vernon Grade 4 and grade 8 read ing and mathematics achieve ment lest scores at Vernon are in the lower quarter of the city elementary schools. This is consistent with ex pectation in terms of the school and the community socio economic data for Ver non, which also fell in the lower quarter of the city schools. Past fiv e -y e a r stu d en t schievement test scores in grades 5 snd 7 resding snd mathemstics indicate a de cline. Grade 3 test scores have held constant. fo u rth grade achievement scores range from 3.2 to 3.5: 8th grade scores from 6.0 to 6.9. The schievement stand ing has dropped over the past 5 years, except in 3rd grade math concepts, snd msth conputation. The Ver non student body is 52.5 percent Black. "The Bank W ith a Purpose" FREEDOM CONTACT LENSES TRY THEM BEFORE YOU BUY THEM e ith e r o u r re g u la r contacts or the n e w fle x ib le soft contact lenses DR. WESLEY APLANALP BINYON OPTICAL DOWNTOWN 630 S.W. 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