Portland Observer, October 13,1962 Page 5
W a s h in g to n H o t Line
by Congressman Hon Wyden
W ith the bulk o f the 97th C on-
gresi behind us, it seems a p p ro ­
priate to stop and take stock o f what
this Congress has done— and why it
has done it.
By and large, the 97th Congress
has been President Reagan’s C o n ­
gress.
U n til Congress balked a few
weeks ago and overturned the Presi­
dent's veto o f a budget that gave
more money to senior employment
programs and student financial aid
and less to the Pentagon, the A d ­
ministration had amassed a spectac­
ular record o f success on C a p ito l
H ill.
• I t had won on proposals fo r
massive spending cuts in social pro­
grams.
• I t had won on proposals to pad
the Pentagon budget.
• It even had succeeded in con­
vincing Congresss to go along with
the largest tax hd - ‘n history—only
one year after persuading it to ap ­
prove the largest tax cut in history.
U n fo rtu n a te ly , that means that
in too many cases over the past two
years the A d m in is tra tio has won
and the people have lost.
Programs that people depend on
just to survive have been cut— re­
gardless o f m erit. P o litic a l expe­
diency has become the watchword—
instead o f long-range cost-effective­
ness or human considerations. And
in the end analysis, very little has
been done to create jobs, lower in­
terest rates or pursue other steps we
need to get our economy back on
track.
The last few months have given
cause for hope.
By refusing to go along with the
President’s veto o f the supplemental
appropriations bill, Congress dem­
onstrated that it will no longer rub­
ber-stamp what the Administration
wants.
It showed that it recognises that it
makes m ore sense to pay fo r jobs
for senior citizens and student loans
for young people than to pay fo r
Darth Vader military hardware.
But the battle is far from won.
Millions o f Americans are still out
o f w o rk. H ig h interest rates have
knocked the Northwest to its knees.
T he poor have been pushed even
further into the dgpths o f poverty—
and the near poor have become
poor.
T o get A m erica back on tra c k ,
Congress must come back for the
lam e-duck session in N ovem ber
ready to continue down the path it
began on last m onth w ith its over­
ride o f the President’s veto.
It must debate proposals on the
basis o f whether they make good fis­
cal and social sense— not on the ba­
sis o f political expediency.
It must put the needs o f the peo­
ple— not the whims o f.th e W h ite
25%
House— at the top o f its list o f pri­
orities.
A n exam ple o f a measure that
Congress should enact for the good
of America is a bill I introduced to
open up pension funds for housing.
By providing the hard-hit housing
industry with access to new capital,
this legislation would mean jobs for
Oregonians and other Americans.
And because it turns to the p ri­
vate sector instead o f federal c o f­
fers, it lets the taxpayer o ff the
all New & Used
Vacuum
Cleaners
hook.
M y housing bill, which currently
has more than 265 co-sponsors, is
just one example o f what Congres
could— and should— BE D O IN G .
E U R E K A E L E C T R IC C O .
140 N .E . B ro a d w a y *287-9420
For the good of the country. Con­
gress must throw o ff the A dm inis­
tration’s blinders. I f an Administra­
tion proposal adds up for the coun­
try, Congress should follow it. I f it
does not, it should not.
-
•i
GRAND OPENING A
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL j
D ick B ogle
So, the big march against prosti­
tution is history but there are grave
doubts as to what it will accomplish.
The only thing for certain is that
U nion Avenue residents and busi­
ness people have gone on record
protesting a breakdown in the crim­
inal justice system.
1 have observed the scene closely
for months. I t ’s easy to determine
that there is a large turnover in the
street w alking women about each
month. M any o f the young women
on the streets arc from out of town.
The reason they have chosen P ort­
land to play their wares is our city
has become known up and down the
coast as an easy touch, in that few
go to ja il. O f course ja il is not the
only answer to prostitution but it is
a necessary component to make the
other parts o f the justice system
work.
For example in order for proba­
tion or a diversion program to work
there at least has to be the threat of
ja ilin g , if the convicted prostitute
fails to adhere to the rules. But here
in Multnomah County, it’s a hollow
threat.
W here is the breakdow n in the
system? Is it the police? In 1979 po­
lice arrested 493 women and male
customers for prostitution. In 1980,
the figure jumped to 701. In 1981,
1206 arrests were made. Twenty six
and a h a lf per cent o f the arrests
were o f johns. I f arrests continue
for the rest o f this year at the same
pace of the first eight months, police
expect the to ta l fo r '82 to reach
1,592.
S tre e t B eat
by Lenita D u k a and R ichard B ro w n
Sua D 'A g n m
8tudant
I do. 1 think voting is very
important. It is your civic duty.
There are a lot o f people who
are com plain in g and they
wouldn’t if they would just vote
someone in and be responsible
for their actions.
Clearly the police are doing their
jo b . Here is a quote from a memo
from the chief o f police which was
read at all roll calls and posted on
bulletin boards:
“ It is evident that leaders in this
com m unity have not been respon­
sive. In spite o f the combined sup­
port o f M ultnom ah County District
Court Judge Don Londer, M u ltn o ­
mah C o u n ty D is tric t A tto rn e y
M ichael Schrunk, P ortland Police
C h ie f Ron S till and M a y o r F rank
Ivan cie, the M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty
Commissioners decided not to open
unit two at Claire Argow. As a re­
sult, at any given time, there will be
many times m ore prostitutes on
N .E . U n io n A venue than in the
Multnomah County Jail.”
1 talked with each County C o m ­
missioner’s office about use o f the
With the general elections scheduled
for Nov. 2, the S tr e e t B e a t team
asked, “ Do you plan to vote in the
general elections, and if so, why; if not,
why not?”
Yes, I plan to vote. 1 believe I
need to. I want to help as much
as possible so that we can get
some good people in o ffic e . I
w ould like to believe that my
one vote counts for something.
Dwight Jackaon
Security Guard
E.A. Van Buaklrk
Ratlrad
I ’ m registered to vote but I
didn’t vote. Most o f the time I
don’t get a chance to. I think if
everyone started to think on one
accord your one vote m ight
mean something. It has gotten
to the place where people think
their one vote does not mean
anything.
I wouldn’t miss it. I was born
in C anada and it took me a
while to receive my citizenship.
After all that why should I miss
it?
George L. Schommar
Ratlrad
I sure do) I always vote in the
p rim a ry . Som etim es I ’ ll go
hunting and miss the general
elections. But i f I ’ m here I ’ ll
vote. I voted for our president.
M aybe 1 made a mistake but I
voted.
Donny Brawdar
Tailor
N o , 1 d o n 't. I haven’t voted
in years. I t ’s really out o f neg­
lect. I feel my vote is not at the
stage where it counts. But I be­
lieve if all black people would
band together and vote then my
vote would mean something.
Ï
«y
empty wing at Claire Argow (wom­
en’s jail).
Betsy Brumm, speaking for Com ­
missioner Gladys M cC o y says the
Commissioner doesn’t feel the ans­
wer lies with locking up prostitutes
and that government can’t solve the
p roblem alone. She along w ith
C om m issioner Dennis Buchanan
voted fo r a proposal which would
have converted Edgefield M anor to
a work release center. T h at would
have added 150 beds fo r detention
o f m isdem eanants and Class C
felons. T h a t w ould have cost
$550,000 in County funds for reno­
vation and staffing and an addition
al $350,000 in C ity funds for s ta ff­
ing. The proposal failed.
C om m issioner C a ro lin e M ille r
feels ja ilin g is not the solution to
p ro s titu tio n . She says her m a jo r
priority is to get the mentally ill out
o f jails and into treatment centers.
T h a t’ s an a d m irab le goal but the
Commissioner needs an education as
to how the com ponents o f the
justice system mesh to solve a prob­
lem.
C om m issioner G o rd o n Shad-
burne, who is currently in a fierce
election battle with fellow Commis­
sioner Dennis Buchanan fo r the
C o u n ty Executive jo b proposed
opening the second wing at Argow
but didn’t say where the money was
to come fro m . H is spokesperson
M arsh W o rlo c k told me he would
like to see possible changes in the
law regarding the johns who are a r­
rested. N o w , they can post bail and
forfeit the nominal amount.
Commissioner Earl Blumenauer
sees budget problems as the reason
for not creating more jail space. He
says the Commissioners just spent
$ 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 they d id n ’ t have fo r in ­
creases security at Rocky Butte ja il.
H e says C ounty Exec. Don C la rk
has ordered a four per cent spending
cut by all departments and if the one
and a half per cent limitation (M e a ­
sure 3) passes it would mean at least
a 25 per cent cut in justice services
pro g ram s. In other w ords, no
money, no way.
Commissioner Buchanan says the
Union Avenue situation is an unac­
ceptable one for which a solution
has to be found. He says he is w ill­
ing to consider every o p tion and
w ork w ith citizens to fin d a w ay.
However, he also points to budget­
ary problem s. H e m entions the
County is $3.9 million short in bal­
ancing last fiscal year’s budget.
So the budget problems are real
and even if the money was available
it w o u ld n ’ t necessarily mean the
C om m issioners w ould vote the
needed $235,000 to open Wing Two
of Argow.
So what did the march mean? It
means that folks are fed up w ith
whores dominating one o f the main
arterials o f the city but it doesn’ t
mean any action w ill fo llo w . Best
bet is to wait fo r the weather to
change.
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An unusual
undertaking
fo r a Sunday
afternoon.
Caldwell s Open House Tour
and Refreshments 1-3 PM
Sunday, October 17,1982
Why should we, a funeral home,
undertake to hold an open
house?
And who would undertake to
come?
(Forgive us our puns, but
humor, like death, is a part of
life.)
The “who ’ is the reason for the
“why."
And judging by the number of
queries we receive about pre­
arranging funeral services, pro­
cedures. and costs, there are a
good many people who need
information
Information which cannot be
handled adequately in an ad­
vertisement such as this
Information which is best han­
dled in person by a visit to our
funeral home
So. we felt that an open house
on a Sunday afternoon would
A Sergeants
8
i
be a most pleasant way for
people to have their questions
answered
Our own knowledgeable staff
will be on hand to assist you in
any way possible And experts
on pre-planning insurance,
social security and veteran s
benefits
You are sincerely invited to an
open house Not to a thinly dis­
guised. opportunistic attempt at
a sales pitch.
The only obligation rests with
us To make sure that the time
you spend with us now will be
beneficial to you later
To give you the facts you need
to know before you need to use
them
( AI.DW ELLS
COLONIAL
MORTUARY
20 N E 14th Avenue
Portland, OR 97232
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