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?
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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%.
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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.
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