Portland Observer, August 2 4 ,1963 Page 5
Washington Hot Line
by Congressman Ron Wyden
New Bonneville Dam lock needed for revenue, jobs
The flrti bill I introduced when 1
came to Congress in 19 8 1 was one to
authorize the construction o f a new
lock at Bonneville Dam .
I made that bill my first because I
believed then — as I do now — that
creation o f jobs is the top priority
for Oregon and the Pacific N o rth
west. According to the most reliable
statistics, a new lock at Bonneville
would create thousands of jobs in
the Portland area and lead to m il
lions o f dollars o f new investment.
Unfortunately, construction o f a
new lock, which is an obvious need
to me and other Northwest repre
sentatives. was met with a cold
shoulder by the Reagan administra
tion.
I am now happy to report that
after a seven-year drought in the
construction o f new water projects,
the logjam appears to have broken.
Just before the August break. W ater
Resources Subcommittee Chairman
Bob Roe ( D - N J . ) introduced a bill
which places the Bonneville Lock at
the top o f seven high priority water
projects in the U .S. I am a co-spon
sor o f this bill which represents a
giant step toward the construction
of the new Bonneville lock.
I feel as strongly as ever that the
construction o f this new lock is an
economic necessity for Oregon and
the Northwest. Its construction
would help get workers out of the
unemployment line and back on the
job, as well as provide long term
benefits.
Estimates are the new lock would
leverage some 1500 m illion in new
private investment along the Colum
bia River. That money would mean
many permanent jobs and a sharp
boost to the economy o f the entire
formance on the entire Columbia-
Snake River transportation system
will be improved. A large, modern
lock would allow for more efficient
movement o f barges up and down
(he entire Columbia-Snake River
system.
Currently, barge traffic experi
ences costly delays from having to
break up and reassemble their large
tows at the lock. Shippers estimate
that they could save some $2.50 per
ton o f cargo shipped if the new lock
were built.
Considering those benefits, the
construction o f a new Bonneville
lock is a necessity. It is exactly the
type o f investment the government
needs to make as the money put into
the project would return itself sever
al times over in increased employ
ment and exports for Oregon and
the entire Northwest.
Colum bia River Basin — from the
docks o f North Portland to the
Wheatfields o f Eastern Oregon
The lock construction also would
help rehabilitate one o f the nation’s
most important inland waterway
transportation systems. A t present,
the lock at Bonneville is the oldest
lock in the seven-dam system on the
Colum bia River.
It was built in 1938 and, incredi
bly, has received no maintenance
since 1963. This is even more incred
ible when one considers the value of
the traffic which moves through the
lock.
In 1981, some 9.1 million tons of
cargo passed through the lock. The
value o f exports shipped through
Bonneville that year was an estimai*
ed S3.88 billion.
This is an impressive perfor
mance. but with a new lock, the per*
Bishop Tutu: A brave S. African
who knows what must be done
by Eric Robinson
Robinson is a
Methodist pastor.
retired
United
Last week Tutu came to town —
that is, he came to Portland.
No. Tutu is not a circus clown;
neither is he a cartoon character.
His full name is Desmond Tutu.
Brotherly man that he is. when I met
him last Friday, although I wanted
to embrace him and call him
"B roth er Desmond,” I felt com
pelled. out o f respect, to address
him as "Bishop T u to ."
This man, with the unlikely but
memorable name that sounds so
strange to us, comes from South
A frica, where the government re
gards him as subversive. His com
ment on this is that Christianity is
subversive o f injustice and tyranny,
and the most subversive book o f all
is the Bible — and they should ban it
if they wish to stamp out subver
sion.
“
It was touch and go as to whether
the government o f South Africa
would allow Tutu to attend the
Assembly o f the W orld Council o f
Churches in Vancouver. B.C. Ten
times previously he has been re
fused exit visas, and it looked as if
this was to be number 11. But, at the
last moment occurred what the
Bishop terms " a miracle.” The gov
ernment changed its mind and
granted him — no, not a passport,
but an exit visa valid for one month.
Brother Desmond credits this to the
prayers o f thousands o f people.
Desmond Tutu is a short man — I
estimate that he is not more than
five-feet, four inches tall — but he is
truly a giant in spirit, morale and
love for those whom he feels Ood
has called him to oppose. Have I yet
written that he is Black? I f not, by
now you have probably guessed as
much. He has a wife and four chil
dren. Long ago it was his ambition
to become a doctor o f medicine, but
circumstances drove him into the
teaching profession. However, the
pitifully inadequate Bantu schools
didn’t suit him, so. as he put it with
a smile, ” 1 looked for a soft option
from teaching and trained for the
ministry of the Anglican Church at
the Com m unity o f the Resurrec
tio n .” Having served in several par
ishes, Tutu was made a Bishop, and
since 1978 he has served on the cut
ting edge o f life in South A frica as
the General Secretary o f the South
Africa Council o f Churches, which
is presently being investigated by the
government.
At a news conference in Van-
couver, B .C ., and again in Portland
last week, the Bishop described
vividly some o f the consequences of
"apartheid” (Afrikaans for apart
ness or separation).
Asked about the effect o f invest
ing in South African businesses,
Tutu explained that it would be a
crime punishable by five years in
prison if he were to suggest that fo r
eigners should not thus invest. " I
leave you to make your own deci
sions about that. It is far more a
moral than an economic problem ,"
he stressed.
In Vancouver a reporter asked
him: "B u t will it not cause Black
suffering if we divest?" Tutu smiled
and enquired. "W h e n did you be
come so altruistic? W hat do you
think we are suffering now?”
Another
correspondent
ques
tioned Tutu as to how effective the
use o f Gandhian non-violcn, tactics
might prove in South A frica. The
bishop replied. "Rem em ber that it
is already a violent situation. A part
heid has dumped 3 t t m illion Blacks
in arid lands as if they were rubbish.
The men are separated from their
families and live in one-sex hostels,
where they are the prey o f prostitu
tion and drink. T H IS IS T H E
B A SIC V IO L E N C E . You in the
West are pacifists where we are con
cerned, but what about the plot
against Hitler? You approved that,
and Dietrich Bonhoeffcr is honored
— and rightly so. W e certainly are
not for violence. W e want apartheid
dismantled. In the summer o f 1982
the South A frica
Council of
Churches declared apartheid a
heresy. M any other churches sup
ported this statement. How could
they support a system like Naziism?
Quite a number in the Reformed
Church say. ’ Apartheid is at logger-
heads with what we profess as
Christians, but the white Dutch Re
formed Church has not in any ob
vious way demonstrated support to
us in the S .A . Council o f Churches.
“ I have told the S .A . leaders, the
S .A . Council o f Churches may be
closed and Tutu finished, but O od ’s
will for a free South A fric a will win.
You cannot stop G od. and, as
always happens, you w ill finish as
the flolsom and jetsom of history."
This brave man o f heroic stature
is sure o f O od, just as was our own
M artin Luther King o f blessed
memory. W hen asked who had most
inspired him in the U .S . he said that
when he was a boy and read in
Ebony magazine about "th e Brown
PORTLAND OBSERNER
Subscribe today!
Bom ber," Joe Louis, and Jackie
Robinson, “ I grew inches! N o w ,"
he added, "w e carry a deep hurt in
our hearts. You Americans are so
inconsistent. We have thought of
you as being champions o f freedom
and justice, but you allow your
government to support tyrants.
When asked why he did not de
fect. Bishop Tutu explained. " I t is
far easier to be Christian in South
Africa. The issues are clear cut. You
are either for or against apartheid.
I f I left, I would be unauthentic."
Then he smiled and added dryly,
"A s for the authorities, they want
me back. It seems that what they
don’t want is my going o u t!"
Perhaps Bishop Tutu best ex
pressed his faith and his theology
when he told us that whether we
were Black, white, or brown, we are
all made in the image o f a God who
doesn't wait, but who already loves
us. "W e know the white South A fr i
can« are not devils with horns or
tails. They, too. are made in his
image. W e don’t hate them. 1 al
most said. 'Some o f my best friends
are white!* (Laughter.) We are wait
ing as patiently as we can for them
to realize who they are in God's
sight.
"W h en at last they do, I hope our
people w ill choose a form o f society
that is best for them. Personally. I
find capitalism abhorrent. I myself
am a socialist. But I am not an econ
omist. W hat I most desire is a com
passionate, caring and sharing
society.”
Having listened to Desmond Tutu
some o f us. like him, know what we
must do to help him and his col
leagues in his land, while we live in
our own.
M odel Search
5'9" and over for women. 6’2" and over for men. Bring composite and
8x10 head shot to:
Cora Smith. 727 S W 12th Ave. For ’Cobl Collection Traveling
Fashion Show."
THE FUTURE
BELONGS TO PEOPLE WITH
TECHNICAL SKILLS.
ili» / .
54
I
Hl
I
You hear it everywhere.
The Electronic Age The Age of
the Computer. The Era ot
High Teen And that the future
belongs to the people with the
technical skills.
But where do you go to
learn technical skills?
Consider the Army.
We have over 300 skills
to offer, many ot them technical,
and most ot them have their
civilian counterparts.
You could learn a skill in the
Army that you could carry right into the future. It s a gtxxl chance for
you to be what you want to be. So see your Army Recruiter.
321 SW Salm on St.
221-2267
3637 NE Sandy Blvd.
232-9559
ARMY.
BEALLYOUCANBE.
Money fogo.
The economy ts up. < )ur interest rates
are down. And now is ttie best tune in years
to go ahead and borrow the money for the
major purchase you may have postponed.
I*ut pleasure back in your driving with
a new car. Sail away aboard the boat of your
dreams. Or set off on f.unily adventures in
your own recreational vehicle.
Then again, maybe you've got some
thing else in mind. That's fine. too. Because
w e're lending money for a lot of good reasons
All you have to do is decide what kind
of loan you want. With the right credit infor
mation, we'll give you an answer in only one
day. If you qualify, you’ll have cash in hand to
shop for your best possible deal.
Come into any branch of First
Interstate Bank soon. We have the financ
ing to give your
_
dreams
M
h
FlTSt
get up and go.
Interstate
Bank
t
»