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PORTLAND OBSERVER
May peace be with you
in the coming year!
Peace lobby fights M X
b\ Jame\ Ridgeway.
Pacific Neats Service
M 1 S H IN G T O N , D C . - T h e
Congressional blockage of a full-
uale startup of President Reagan's
M X missile plan— the first signifi
cant setback of a major weapons
tyslem in decades— was largely a t
tributable to an intense, behind-the-
scenes lobbying effort by the nu
clear freeze movement.
Whatever sort of compromise is
ironed out on M X funding, the ini
tial defeat for the missile in the
House of Representatives is a sign
that the freeze movement has be
come a political force with effects
reaching far beyond the non-bind
ing resolution voted on in Novem
ber. The movement proved that it
could rally its troops in a massive
congressional phone lobby to influ
ence the meaty debates over the
shape and funding of the nation’s
defense systems.
When the new congress takes o f
fice in January, freeze movement
operatives in Washington will seek
to pass the freeze resolution through
the House, but they also will be hard
at work trying to cut spending for
the M X and the so-called Euro mis-
In the f
by Bob Lothian
What can a person do when
they’ve been laid o ff, their unem
ployment benefits have run out, and
they need food for hungry children?
One place they are almost sure to
turn to is the food stamp office.
According to statistics released by
the Adult and Family Services Divi
sion, the number of inner Northeast
Portland residents receiving food
stamps has risen dramatically in ihe
last year.
From November 1981 to Novem
ber 1982, according to the "M onth
ly Food Stamp Benefit Summary,”
the total number of adults and chil
dren receiving stamps through the
Albina office jumped from 6,089 to
8,363, almost 2,300 people and
nearly a 40®, 'o increase.
During the same period for the
previous year, Nov. 1980 to Nov.
siles, the Pershing II and Cruise mis
siles, now scheduled to be deployed
in Europe
The freeze movement consists of
literally hundreds of local groups,
most o f them springing into exist
ence over the last year. They are
largely autonomous, and their acti
vities uncoordinated. Some, but by
no means all, are part of the Nuclear
Weapons Freeze Campaign, a grow
ing bureaucratic organization with
upwards of 20 staff members and
offices in St. Louis and Washing
ton. The N ational Freeze, as it is
generally referred to, is viewed
within the overall movement as
fairly conservative.
In addition to the National
Freeze, the movement includes
other prom inent groups, various
churches, and SAN E. In Washing
ton a national committee o f about
20 of these groups meets to discuss
policy, and every week a dozen or so
lobbyists from different peace
groups get together to set strategy.
Since the November election the
freeze movement has split in its
overall political objectives. The
groups centered around the Nation
al Freeze want to push the basic re
solution through the House of Rep-
resentatives where, because of the
election results, they feel assured of
passage in the spring Then, this
part of the movement would like to'
beef up the resolution, perhaps oy
tying its implementation to the bud
get process. That is, if the president
did not heed the dictates of Ihe reso
lution, the arms budget might be cut.
Another m ajor section o f the
freeze movement, however, believes
the freeze should pursue a more
muscular political approach. Led by
SAN E, the Council For A Liveable
W orld and the United Church o f
Christ, this group has sought to cut
funds for nuclear weapons systems,
with the M X and Euro missiles
heading the list. Washington politi
cians who are friendly to the freeze
argue against attacking specific wea
pons systems, and such leaders as
Senator Edward Kennedy have
maintained that attacking weapons
will result in a loss of support.
None of this has had any effect on
SANE or its colleagues in the United
Church of Christ and Council For A
Liveable World. They took the lead
in tough lobbying against produc-
tion funds for the M X and the vote
December 29, 1982
Volume XIII, Number 12
25C Per Copy
'*
against such funding in t.te House is
{Please turn to page 12 column I)
I stamp line
1981, when the recession was not yet
in full swing, there was only a slight
increase— from 5,884 to 6,089.
There were about 200 more people
receiving stamps in 1981 than 1980,
an increase of about 4 percent.
Total dollar value o f stamps re
leased through the Albina office is
up almost 70 percent over 1980,
from $267.436 in N ov. 1980 to
$454,251 Nov. 1982. At the present
rate, the Albina office will hand out
nearly $5 Vi million in stamps during
the coming year.
The increases have occurred even
though more stringent certification
procedures introduced during the
same period have made it harder, in
some cases, to q u a lify for the
stamps.
What about a family who finds it
self out on the street, maybe living
in a car or a tent? According to Ben
Talley. Portland regional manager
for the Adult and Family Services
Division, a two-parent fam ily can
receive 30 days’ emergency assist
ance. It could include food and
medical help, rent money and job
training. They will receive "some
kind of contact” within 24 hours, he
said, and get the emergency assist
ance within three to four days. Sin
gle, employable males are not eligi
ble for such assistance.
In order to get food stamps at the
Albina office, it is necessary to show
up for an orientation session at 8
a.m . on any weekday. By 7:45 on
Dec. 15th, ten people were already
w aiting. A t 8:33 Ihe door to the
meeting room was opened and the
25 or so applicants who had
gathered by then sal down around a
large table. Rules were explained by
the food stamp worker, and forms
were filled out. Then, at 9:05. it was
{Please turn to page I I column I)
KKK slogans accompany Salem home arson
The South Salem home o f M r.
and M rs. Robert T . W hite was
spray-painted with the initials of the
Ku Klux Kian before it was set afire
Thursday, December 23rd. When
Salem firefighters arrived at approx
im ately 5 a .m ., the five year old
house was completely engulfed in
flames. The letters ” K K K " were
sprayed on one side o f the house
and ” KKK M erry Xmas Nigers”
was sprayed on the back fence.
The Whites were due to return to
Salem on Tuesday, December 28th
According to the developer who
sold the home to the Whites approx
imately a year ago White is 36 years
of age, was born in Libya and grew
up in M orocco. He runs his own
carpet cleaning company and sells
vacuum cleaners, but he has not
been working recently due to an in
jury. Mrs. Betty White has worked
for a cannery but is now unem-
ployed. The Whites are said to have
an independent income from oil rev
enues. The home is located in a new
development o ff Barnes Avenue.
S.E.
The owners of the $55,(MM) home
were absent at the time of the fire,
having gone to California for a holi
day visit. According to O ffic e r
Fuhrnam of the Salem Police D e
partment. there had apparently been
a "rath er extensive" burglary. In
cluding in the missing items is the
family's car.
The fire started in a rear bedroom
where a window had been broken. A
liquid believed to be diesel oil was
spread in the house and two gasoline
cans were found at the scene.
The Salem Police Department has
the fire under investigation but has
no firm leads at this time. O fficer
Fuhrman said the next step is to talk
with ihe Whites when they return to
determ ine if they had received
threats nr have personal enemies.
"T h e re is a real good chance that
{Please turn Io ¡sage 11 column 5)