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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1946)
I "8? 1 : SaUm. Oregon. Friday, November 1. 1H3 No Favor Sway lit. Ho Feet Shall Aw first SUlemmaa. Mares- It. 1U1 TOE STATESftlAN PUBLISHING COMPANY CHARLES A. SPRAGUE.- Editor and. Publisher . Kmbtr of the awiriHil rrw i to esetawrvety entitle UUMMbfpt Cotton and a' Free Market The Senators Claghornfrora down south have been run ning to Waxhincton to uk the government to "do something" to itop th. decline in prices of cotton. The whole south was speculating in cotton, even some members of the congress, so it is reported. They pushed the price up to about $200 a bale (40c m wv..r tkav tartH to cash in on their Daoer profits the bottom fell out of the market, which has been demoralized ever since, taking an almost vertical plunge or 10c a pouno, which still keeps the price more than twice what it was before the war. s , Southerners have been ardent drum-beaters in the attack on Washington bureaucracy, in the campaign for freedom irom Washington controls. Their politicians have used their power in the national capital to gain favors all along the line for cotton and cotton-growers. They have milked the treasury of hutse turns for price protection in the past and for export sub sidies. They pressed OPA for boosting ceilings on cotton manu factures and kept OPA from putting any ceiling on raw cotton. But when the market drops in response to.the normal, opera tions of a free market based on buying and selling in an open exchange, then they run to get under the shelter of govern ment and ask Uncle Sam to "stabilize the market. They gamb led, but don't "want to meet their gambling losses. What has occurred with cotton may occur with other farm commodities. In. fact the readjustment process is under way now. Not all the farm groups will be as politically potent as the cotton growers have been for the past 13 years. While there are government price guarantees under many crops, others do not have that support. In most instances prices could take a considerable drop before the . government support would be effective so high have farm prices been above parity. Sound agricultural policy should not rely on government guarantees. It should avoid the excesses of price speculation which invite deflation that wrecks prices. It should aim to keep production in approximate balance with demand and adjust crops to meet changes in the demand. The free- market is the Lest balancer our economy has. even though as in the case of cotton its operation may be painful to those on the wrong side In trading. Cotton has been wet-nursed by government too long. It is time te put cotton-growing on a sound basis, and that means to bring it in line with the world market. Bair School Fund and Taxes Some sincere friends of schools like C. C. Chapman of the Orepon Voter fear that by making1 the fund of $50 per census child mandatory on the state, good times and bad, the burden will roll on to real estate as proceeds of income taxes decrease, and that we might again have mounting delinquency of real estate taxes with resulting foreclosures. That is a possibility, to be sure. However, the school districts still have control of their own property tax levies; and in bad times the directors would heed the pressures of taxpayers. Also, since this is a bill and not a constitutional amendment the legislature could reduce the sum to be raided if the economy goes into a tailspin. These are real risks to be sure; but The Statesman feels we should assume the risks and then use our brains to solve our ta problems. It is time that Oregon put its school financing on a reasonably stable basis by adopting a plan of state sup port such as the pendine measure provides. 0 " J .unwittingly ' x y--3C e d i n g h In California voters have to pass on a measure which would require the legislature to provide state support for schools at the rate of $120 a year for every pupil in average daily attend ance, guarantee a minimum salary for teachers of $2400, and require the state to contribute to support of kindergartens. In ecmpariwn the Oregon bill to set up a basic school support fund of $50 per census child is modest. If Bob Hannegan runs recordings of speeches of the late FDR to influence voters in this election we suggest he rerun extracts from his 1932 speech about balancing the budget and staying on the gold standard, and his 1940 speech in Boston that our boys would not fight in foreign wars: "I say it agane and agane and agane." The government now is offering a premium of $20 a ton for production of housing nails in excess of quotas. Even the government busts ceilings to stimulate production. For an even more urgent reason to finish a house already begun the builder sometimes springs a Drice to get some badly needed items. When a black market exists it exists because the economy is not . in healthy condition. T4e Oregon City has just celebrated its 80th anniversary. To its venerabtlity Walter W. R. May. present editor and pub lisher, has added vigor and character. It has again become a voice in local and state affairs as it was for many years under the late E. E. Brodie. We tender congratulations to the .Enter prise staff and to Editor May on this anniversary. Women in Portland and Seattle are promoting a milk strike because of the high price of milk 18c in Portland. No consum ers strike has been reported on blended whiskey aged in wood chips, selling at $5 the fifth in state stores and costing 75c a gallon to produce. President Truman has canceled duties on foreign lumber. What a furore that would have caused a dozen years ago. Now it raifes no riffle of opposition, perhaps because of knowledge that there is lktle foreign lumber, to come in, so great is the demand in other countries. The Eugene Register-Guard has a picture of a cougar, measuring nine feet from tip of nose to tip of tail, which was shot five miles from the heart of Eugene. Corvallis is exhibiting another Cougar hide, but the OSC team had to journey over 350 miles to get.it. - Madame Sohiarparelli. French dress designer, came over to this country on the He de France to display a new dress design which she calls "Illusion." Her aim was to create a smaller waistline for women. No wonder it is named "illusion." Papers are telling how Molotov has "warmed up" at the current meeting of the assembly of the United Nations. Maybe some .one slipped him a copy of Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People Decontrol seems, to be rolling about as fast as the govern ment functionaries can write up the orders. If for political effect, the release is probably too late, for the voters appear determined to vote for- political decontrol of the country next Tuesday. v Just so they keep John Steelman out of the coal mined negotiations. When you hear that Steelman has been assigned Uo the case ifs advance notice 6f another government retreat and defeat on the wage front. Paul r.laIlohfo BEHIND THE NEWS 1! ; . "(DWHMdM hy thti hMni tya- WASHINGTON, Oct 31 One eminent democratic campaign contributor concedes privately the republicans should run away with the house and perhaps even maks the senate tag along slightly Tues day. H also predicts Gov. Dewey will run so strong in New York that the democratic senate seat therej will be swept surprisingly from the grasp of Lehman. , A left-letning Truman official "similarly made a fbet about two weeks before 4eleUoQ at even .money I that the r e p u b 1 ic a n s would . not gain la majoritjrof 18 'seats; in the I house f- thereby con he "pected : them to get about 17. A close Truman sympathizer made a bet at 3 to 1 that the republicans would not get control of the senate, although be would not hazard ! any per sonal' funds that his administra tion -would hold the house. But all this .is not startling news to you, if you read this 'column October 11 saying , th republicans might gain more than ther had been j claiming, pointing- out there was a split in the union backing of the administration, j and con cluding with these words: "Mr election prediction is this: The republicans will gain firm control of the house perhaps by If or 17 votes, or more, and will com close to controlling tha senate, perhaps within one or i two votes. If the , split among the unions eventuates at the polls; the scope of victory will be enlarged to the same extent as the split widens." rablished Befer rlbt All this was written .before any polls, were published or the en suing investigations of political reporters a r o u n d the country averaged up to about the same conclusion you read , here first. Republicans then were timidly awaiting -the Gallup poll, which said! last week republicans held 5 per cent of the national vote. Any republicans who ; were wait ing for this will have to wait lon ger.' It is indefinite to the point of worthlessness. No one is running nationally this year, to the nation al popularity affords no detectable suspicion of how many seats the republicans will gain ; or in what districts. It u too little too late, and merely broadly confirms bet ter detailed prognostications of fered b nearly every other au thority earlier. - Tbe knowing politico do con fess among themselves that some pro-democratic reaction set in af ter; Mr. Truman belatedly relaxed OPA controls although they do not know how much. The Gallup poll says the gain was only 1 per cent nationally, which might or might not affect some .close dis tricts, presumably not. Hannegaa ea Spot T.h c s e accumulations of evi- dence have caused the administra tion politico to assume their de featist attitude. Fingers are al ready being pointed around in various directions. The scalp of Democratic National Chairman Hannegan is being; pointed to again. Although the call is feeble so far, it will swell' into a roar if the expected happens Tuesday. Many southern demos think Han negan played too closely with CIO, while most demo-congressmen will tell you the CIO ran it self out earlier and lacked the in fluence Hannegan expected. Others blame Mr. Truman's woe ful muddling of the price-wage policies since he first astonishing-' ly, vetoed the congressional OPA bill last June. Still others con tend he did not get ; the meat out soon enough, that he gave in too easily to labor, that his Wallace fiasco was a joke, etc., etc., etc. Deepening Split Nated The truth is far more penetra ting. Not even a popular leader could have avoided suffering this defeatism in his party in this election. It is not due to any of the personalities or; reasons sug gested but to the j deeper basic cause of disunity in the party and in the movement Truman stood for CIO economic policies (spend ing, unemployment compensation, OPA, no strike curbs, etc.). Con gress did not. These; policies prov ed unpopular as soon as the war - f V fl Wit i a ' Wit'"'' J"'. Kecommendations for Ballot Measures $i The Statesman offers the following recommendations on ures to be voted on by the people at the election next TuesdayJ These recommendations are advisory only. '(Voters are urged to study the measures and the arguments tor and against then and exercise their own best judgment in voting. ; j i State M&asurea 300-301: Constitutional amendment to make the secretary of state and state treasurer eligible to succeed to the governorship in line aft er the president of the senate and speaker or the house. 302-303: Bill. authorizing levy of 43100 of one mill tax annually for ten years to be expended for constructing and equipping armories. 33 X YES 304-305: Bill to establish rural school districts and rural school board empowered to consolidate levies of school districts of county and impose a single property tax. for schools outside of first-class dis tricts. J, 34 X YES . 308-307: Repeal provision of constitution barring Chinamen from holding real estate or mining claim (now a dead letter). X YES 308-309: Amendment permitting legislative bills to be read by title only which conforms to present regular practice. SS X YES 310-311: Amendment increasing from 30 to 31 the number of members of the state senate. 319 X YES 312-313: Bill to regulate fishing in certain coastal streams. 312 X YES 314-315: Bill Imposing three per cent gross income to pay old age and disability pensions. 31S X NO 318-317: Bill to create basic school support fund of $50 per cen sus child. Ill X YES County Measure 300-301: To authorize special tax levy of $200,000 per year for three years for constructing and equipping county courthouse. 399 X YES . P.U.D. Measure (To be voted on in most of Marion county outside of Sa'-m) 318-319: To establish a people's utility dsitrict. 319 X NO City Measures 500-501: Charter amendment which would prohibit city council from installing parking meters in Salem. 591 X NO 502-503: Amendment to clarify new charter provisions for elect ing city officials. S92 X YES 504-505: Amendment to make city elections correspond with state general elections. 594 X YES DTP 65330000 (Continued from page 1) Sept. 16, 1940 came back. Some laid down their lives in the fight ing from Buna to the .Philippines One, Maj. Gen. George A. White, the commander who had led the division for many years, and trained it for battle duty, suc cumbed to illness just a few weeks before the outbreak of war. Those who witnessed the im pressive ceremonies could not but remember those who did not re turn with the colors, those whose lives had been the price of victory. I do not believe the people of Salem appreciated the signific ance of the ceremonies Wednes day afternoon. The attendance in front of the capitol and even the crowd along the line of march nf thm narad were smalL far smaller than each should , have been. In patriotic events preced ing and during the war the pop ular turnout was; large. This event, rich in its symbolism, the real crown of victory so far as Oregon troops are concerned. should have attracted a great throng of people. There was ample publicity but no attempt was made ended. Indeed his democratic congress took the opposite stand on nearly every issue, trying to make itself more popular in the face of White House vetoes and threats. This split eventually reached down deeply into the unions, as well as the party, where it was finally realized the poli cies were unrealistic and con trary to public aspirations. Truman and Hannegan tried to ride two horses going in opposite directions, with the usual result. fJRIN AND BEAR IT By Lichty fcsar i . -v -nfr It. rV. mm 1,1 f n$n v-r, yva, -w 1 I sWt ear If she east clean, eeek er sew IH be satisfied If she jest saesns weUr to exploit the occasion. Unfor tunately the people did not seem to grasp its meaning and went on bout their work and pleasure. Perhaps it is Just the reaction from the concentration and high purpose of the war. Our people have too much of a tendency to ignore .these patriotic celebrations except in the fever of wartime. That is the only explanation I can give and it is no adequate excuse for the meagre crowd which appeared to observe the formal, dignified, brief exercises which for the Oregon National Guard marked the return from federal to state authority, and marked the termination of years of difficult and honorable mili tary service, The colors are home, to be guarded as precious emblems of Tho Safety alvo LETTEES FROM STATESMAN EEADEXS '! ; : -V ' 1 y 11 1 .,...' To the Editor: i ' ' An advertisement captioned "don't you believe it," being dis tributed by the Oregon Taxpayers federation, . makes . a deliberate mis-statement.' it says, "local boards would be prohibited from using any of basic school bill's tax money to reduce- local taxes." This is not. true. .The basic school taw. would prevent the legislature from distributing the, basic school fund as a tax offset as is being done now. St would be distributed as revenue. The school board would then set the local tax levy for such local revenue as' is need ed, in addition to provide proper schools. Basic School Fund Committee, Mrs. H. H. George, Chairman, Portland. GIVES YIEWS ON BILLS To the Editor: I have been asked. to comment on the measures to be voted on in the coming, election. I would like to do so on four of the proposed bills. The first of these is No. 312 on the ballot. The purpose of this bill is to regulate fishing in coast streams and inland waters. If you wish to preserve fish life for the benefit of future generations, vote YES on this bill. Commercial fishing is the greatest threat to fish life. This bill , will give the state the power to effectively regulate that kind of fishing. The 3 Old Age Pension bill. No.. 314 on the ballot, is, I be lieve, an unwise bill and should be defeated. This will levy a 3 tax on gross income. Sure enough, it would be awonderful thing for the old folks, in fact, it would be so wonderful that it would at tract old people from all parts of the U. S., but it would not last long because the results would be ruinous to the tax payers. If a 3 gross income tax is. added to our present tax load, no one would be able to ' stay in business in Oregon. Evidently the people who prepared, that bill are not tax payers in Oregon. The school bill No. 316 on the ballot is a good bill and should be adopted. Top leaders in re ligion and science are now in unison urging that if civilization is to survive, the v world must have more of two things: Religion and Education. EDUCATION WITHOUT RELIGION IS DAN GEROUS. The Nazi regime is a sample of education without re ligion. Bill 316 will : give our schools the help they sorely need now. Properly administered, this measure should not increase tax es. Regarding the P. U. D. measure, I wish to say that when I con- sacrifice and victory. We who saw them go, borne proudly, by our fighting men, greet their ' re turn with hearts overflowing with gratitude for victory and sadness over sacrifice, and a resolution to cherish the principles of gov ernment of which these colors are the symbols. sen ted to o on the Sponsoring committee; ; I was prompted : by a deep conviction that since Bon neville dam is owned by the gov ernment (the; people) 'the elec tric energy produced there should go to the public at cost. Electri city is a God-given utility that minutely touches and gladdens every ( human being within i its reach. 'Like religion and educa tion, like the water we drink and the air we breathe, it reaches in to" and effects every human en deavor and no profiteering, pub lic or private, should 'be allowed in an element so essential to human welfare. ; , If the P. U. P. is properly man aged, benefits igained should; many fold offset taxes and franchise money paid by the power com panies, after alL taxes paid by the power companies are in fact paid by the people through the rate structure. Let your conscience be your guide when you vote on this mea sure. MAY THE BEST PLAN WIN. Respectfully, Alf. O. Nelson DOOS OR MEN To the Editor: We didn't like the apparent approval in your comments of Admiral Nimitz' praise of the medical dept., where he especial ly mentioned "experiments oji living animals." Hundreds of sig natures were, obtained here in Portland to try and save the war dog heros from bisection, but they took them anyway; all that had lost . their owners. "Sneaked them to a secret hiding place at night in trucks." Read the Read ers' Digest of Aug. '46. M. M. Allen, Portland. 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