Ura Frances Fehosn-I.'ewspaper Fooa
University of Oregon Library
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Jesse Owens cleared by Athletic Union
The name of the late Jesse Owens
has been cleared by the A m ateur
Athletic U nion, which suspended
the track star after he won four gold
medals in track and field at the 1936
Olympics in Berlin.
The penalty, given to Owens for
not participating in a benefit
exhibition tour in Europe, barred
him from competing as an amateur
in the U.S.
Joe Henson, national president of
the Am ateur A th letic U nion said
Paramount Studio executive*, who
recently aired a television m in i
series about Owens, made A A U o f
ficials aware of the suspension.
Circus
excitement
Central
city plan
pride
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PORTLAND OBSE
Volume XIV, Number 41
August 1, 1964
25C Per Copy
uses
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Nuclear train stopped
by Robert Lothian
tha M att Dishman Cantar. Frailer partlclpatad In
tha ralay of tha torch. Saa story on papa •. .
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
Legislature grants tax break
by Chuck Goodmacher
The Oregon State Legislature ap
proved the repeal o f the unitary
method for computing state taxes
for corporations M o n day. The
overwhelming 53 to 5 vote in the
House and 27 to 3 vote in the Senate
came after several months o f in
creasing pressure from m u lti
national corporations and from
Governor A tiyeh, U .S . Congress
man Ron W yden, and other po
liticians.
The unitary system o f taxing
multi-state and multi-national cor
porations has been attacked as being
the prim ary obstacle to economic
development here in Oregon, and
supporters hoped to, in the words of
Representative Fred Parkinson (R-
Silverton), “ signal employers that
we not only want them to come to
visit, but we want them to stay.**
C hair o f the House Revenue
Committee, Tom Throop (D-Bend),
said the repeal w ill give Oregon
nation-w ide
and
w orld-w ide
recognition as the first state to
repeal the unitary method. After the
vote Tuesday, only eleven states still
use the unitary system.
The unitary method views the
corporation subject to taxation to
be one unit rather than separate en
tities. A share of the entire unit’s yi-
come is attributed to Oregon based
on the percentage of the company’s
property, sales and payroll located
in Oregon. For example, if one-
tenth o f the corporate property,
one-twentieth o f the payroll and
one-thirtieth of the sales o f a com
pany are in Oregon, then the
averaged fraction of one-twentieth
would determine the company's tax
liability for Oregon's corporate in
come tax.
A study by staff researchers for
the House Revenue committee
found the unitary system only ap
plies to 1,405 of Oregon’s 43,000
corporations, yet it produced ap
proxim ately 70 percent o f total
revenue collected from corporations
during 1971.
The unitary system accounts for
approximately 118 to $20 m illion
dollars in state revenue per year,
and the Legislature has not yet
tackled the question of how to make
up this short-fall in the state budget.
Speaking in opposition to the
repeal of the tax was Representative
Wally Priestley (D -P ortland), who
used charts to show that of the 1,405
corporations that w ill get some
relief from the unitary system
repeal, most are large corporations.
Priestley’s chart showed 89 percent z
o f the corporations with income
over SI m illion per year getting
relief while less than 25 percent of
corporations with incomes o f less
than $100,000 w ill receive such
benefits.
Priestley said the measure
provides "tax benefits for the very
well o ff," and stands in stark con
trast to many pledges made at the
Democratic N ational Convention
not to enact such legislation. He ad
ded. the real reason for repeal
through a special session is to "get
the tax give-away on the b oo ks"
before the desperate situation of our
^state’ s poor economy and fiscal
situation comes to the fore.
t
•
The fact that all members of the
House and half the Senate is up for
re-election this November apparent
ly played a major role in the speed
with which the repeal passed. Many
legislators admitted, off-the-record,
they d id n 't fu lly understand the
system replacing the unitary
method, but didn’t want to be seen
as the person who held up the
steamroller.
"P e o p le are scared to death o f
getting tabled anti-business in this
e le c tio n ," said L arry H ill (D -
Springfield), who voted against the
repeal. H ill has no opposition in the
general election.
Oregon jobs loss continues
by Chuck Goodmacher
Despite the efforts of state public
o ffic ia ls , and despite widely
heralded claims o f an economic
recovery,
O rego n ’ s economy
remains in deep trouble, according
to facts released Monday in a report
to a Joint Legislative Committee on
Trade and Economic Development.
The report shows that although
there is a slowly increasing number
of jobs available in Oregon, they are
not in sufficient q u a n tity , or
quality, to replace jobs lost during
the 1979 to 1984 recession. " A s
Oregon recovers from the worst
economic downturn since the Oreat
Depression,” the report says, " i t
appears that most of the high paid
jobs lost to the recession are being
replaced with the lowest average
wages.” Many of the lost jobs ap-
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Oregon's situation is linked in the
report to nationwide trends toward
a service economy. "Em ploym ent
trends,” notes the report, "reveal
that jobs in manufacturing and con
struction are declining while em
-
.«
ployment in the low-wage service
and retail sectors are increasing
rapidly.”
In addition to the presentation of
d ata, the report explores the im
plications o f these trends fo r the
fa m ily , com m unity, and govern
mental levels o f our society. It
shows that the lost higher paid jobs
are those which pay wages sufficient
to support a typical family, and the
lower paid jobs in the growing sec
tors mean, said Joe Cortright, prin
cipal author o f the report, “ less of
an ability to support a fam ily.”
" A fam ily w a g e ," notes the
report, "is alsc a community wage.
Most families spend much o f their
income in their com m unities,
generating income for local
businesses, and providing jobs for
(Please turn to Page 4, Column 3)
The White T rain , believed to be
carrying nuclear weapons, came
through Vancouver Friday on its
way from Texas to the Trident
submarine base at Bangor, Wash
ington.
About 150 protestors from
Oregon and Washington were there
to greet it, and to stop it.
A spokesman for a coalition of
protest groups said the train carried
144 nuclear warheads, each with
five times the destructive power of
the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.
The policy of federal officials is to
neither confirm or deny the presence
of nuclear weapons on the train.
Protesters began gathering near
where Burlington Northern tracks
cross West I Ith Street in Vancouver
about 9 a m. As the train came
around the bend shortly after 11 a.m.
they began sitting on the tracks.
They were nearly outnumbered by
police.
Helicoptors
buzzed
o~urhead. The train rumbled up at a
good rate o f speed, then slowed,
then stopped as protesters cheered.
Plain clothes security men began
dragging people from the tracks.
There were screams, some people
cried. Those who had been dragged
away returned to the tracks. The
train backed up several hundred
yards and the protesters cheered
again.
Some protesters ran to a nearby
track thinking the train was going to
be switched onto it. As protesters
and security regrouped, the train
came back, stopped , then retreated
again. Some of the all-w hite cars
had turrets with dark slits for obser
vation and possibly for weapons.
Finally, on the third time around,
a phalanx o f Vancouver police
surrounded those on the tracks and
began arresting them. Altogether,
49 protesters were deposited on a
waiting bus.
As protesters were picked o ff by
police, the train inched forw ard,
then sped up and headed north with
protesters and police running
alongside. It had been delayed
nearly an hour.
The last protester arrested was
Kajsa Holm strom , 15, from Port
land. She confronted the huge
locomotive alone. " I 'm scared to
death for all these people here,” she
said. " I t scares me that people can
bring (his s tu ff through here and
police officers can arrest us when
this train carries so much death and
destruction."
The protesters were released short
ly after the train passed. They were
charged with obstructing a (rain and
arraingnm ent was scheduled for
August 1st.
A statement prepared by the
protesters said the White Train con-
stitutes mobilization for global war.
“ The reality is that the N a v y ’ s
Trident submarine is intended to
enable the U .S . to strike first and
actually in itiate a global nuclear
war,” it said.
Nigel G r iffith , 27, a native o f
Guyana and a canvasser for the an
ti-nuclear group NuClear Vision in
Portland, alluded to the Jonestown
massacre in saying the train sym
bolized mass suicide.
Another protester likened the
train to the N azi death trains.
" T h e y brought people to their
d eath," he said, "w hile the White
Train brings death to the people.”
I
Proteetera block tha track to atop tha Whlta Train In Vancouver,.
Washington.
(Photo: Krla Altuchar)
UF reviews Grenada, Jackson
by Lanita Duke
G R A S S R O O T N E W S , N. W —
" F o rw a rd Together, Backwards
N e v e r," is the slogan o f the
National Black United Front, whose
membership met in Chicago,
Illinois, July 19th through 22nd, for
their fifth annual convention.
Over 1,000 participated, in
cluding twelve from the Portland
area. With workshops, speeches and
an award ceremony, N B U F
reviewed the conditions of A fro -
Americans as it related to their local
communities, the national scene and
internationally.
Ronnie Herndon, co-chair of the
Portland chapter, said the conven
tion focused on the issues, such as
international affairs, law and order,
economic
development
and
education.
" T h e re are chapters of N B U F
located in every m ajor city across
the U .S . Local chapters take work
plans and try to make them fit their
own circumstances.”
W ith workshops building around
topics such as land, power and self-
determ ination, A frican women
organizing and culture, N B U F
collected reports and feedback from
each chapter.
Herndon said reflections were
centered nationally on the victory of
the Jesse Jackson campaign and
internationally on the victory of the
imperialistic overthrow of Grenada
and sorrow over the murder of
Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice
Bishop.
"There was a saddness over the
events in Grenada coupled with the
joy over the impact of the Jackson
campaign.
" In a year, we have gone from
having some interest in politics to
having a great deal o f interest.
Millions of people got involved in
primaries and caucuses. There was
tremendous political sophistication
gained through on-the-job training
We not only played catch-up, but
we caught up.”
On the 19th, a cultural explosion
occured involving the youth of
Chicago, and many Portlanders
complimented the Chicago Front on
getting young people involved in the
convention. On the 20th, NBUF in
troduced the first annual Pan-
A frican award. The first recipient
was the mother of Maurice Bishop.
"The award is given to somebody
who continues to work within the
Black
Liberation
M ovem ent.
Bishop's mother lost her husband
when Eric Gairy, Grenada's former
Prime Minister, was in power. And
later, she lost her son to those same
forces," Ben Priestley said, reflec
ting on the ceremony.
Events on the 21st and 22nd
revolved around workshops and in
ter-chapter communications.
Nia Turner attended the cultural
workshop conducted by poet Haki
M adhubuti (D o n L. Lee). " H e
discussed cultural being functional
to people. Culture leads to working
for a purpose, which leads to iden
tity , consciousness and later ac
tion,” Turner recalled.
She said M adhubuti spelled out
22 items for individuals to absorb
that will give them a revolutionary
cultural mentality. Included in these
items was: w orking for one-self,
being organized and systematic
about time, and operating from an
extended family concept.”
(Please turn to Page 4, Column 3}
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