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About Eugene register-guard. (Eugene, Or.) 1930-1983 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 1963)
, lamb cttvwn moms mi.wMi ( AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER ALTON F. BAKER, Publisher, 1927-1961 Below Olympus ALTON T. BAKER JR. Editor and Publisher . EDWIN M. BAKER . General Manager RICHARD A. BAKER Managing Editor ROBERT B. FRAZIER Associate Editor A. H. CURREY !- ; Associate Editor The Register-Guard's policy it the complete and impartial publication in its news pages of all news and statements on news. On this page, the editors of the Register-Guard offer their opinion on events of the day and matter of importance to the community, endeavoring to be candid but fair and helptil in the development of construc tive community policy. A newspaper is a CITIZEN OF ITS COMMUNITY. Published every evening end Sunday morning by the Guard Publishing Co. 4A. EUGENE, OREGON, SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 1963 Would California Sell Its Climate? It seems quite unlikely that Congress will follow President Kennedy's budget recommendation and provide some $21 million to begin construction of a federal ppwer transmission line Interconnecting the Pacific Northwest and California. .But, this does not mean that Cali fornia is not going to get power, in large amounts, from the Pacific North west. It does not mean that the threat of the Northwest's being bled of a key economic asset can be dismissed, or even discounted. : . . :: , A group of California power com panies stand ready to spend as much as $100 million to build transmission lines which, in effect, would permit them to supply customers as far south as Los Angeles with power produced in the Co lumbia River Basin. ' , , , ! Congress, in attempting to hold down on federal expenditures, and because of antipathies inspired : by private power concerns and coal and fuel oil interests, probably will balk at giving the Bonne ville Power Administration funds for ex- ' tension of its power transmission "tenta cles." But California interests can make strong economic arguments as to why they should be permitted to buy power generated at federally financed installa tions in the Columbia Basin particu larly inasmuch as the BPA is currently unable to sell all of this power in the Pacific Northwest and is, accordingly, operating in the red. It will be difficult for the Federal Power Commission to deny California power companies the right to build their own tap lines into the Northwest's great energy reservoir " Thus it is imperative now that all forces Interested in the future of the Northwest unite to press for congres sional action which will limit the inevita ble exportation of power from this region to. California. Such legislation, designed to reserve for the Northwest first call on all power marketed by the BPA and to permit only the export sale of actual surplus power, was blocked in a House committee during the last session of Congress. It was blocked despite en dorsement of its principles by Cali fornians in the Congress. And similar ' legislation may be blocked in the cur rent Congress despite its endorsement by the President, himself. There are strong forces allied against any such legislation. Public assurances to the contrary, California would, of course, like to get all of the low-cost power it can out of the Northwest. National affiliations of private power companies would like to see the BPA discredited, for this would enhance their claims that the federal government shouldn't be in the power business, period. And congressional blocs, representing other fuel industries or other regions which might profit if the industrial growth of the Northwest were curtailed, have their own obvious motives in this. If these allied forces prevail, the Pacific Northwest will lose economic growth opportunities in Just about the same way that California would suffer if, somehow, the Japanese current could be brought northward, permitting us to import California's benign climate. Low cost electric power is a regional asset based upon a natural advantage, and it must be protected as such. Texas has strict controls upon the depletion of its oil reserves. Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana should be similarly per mitted to reserve in their own best in terests ' the hydroelectric power re sources upon which their economic fu tures so greatly depend. True, hydroelectric reserves cannot be physically depleted; nor can they be considered responsive only to natural law as is the Japanese current. But, just as the prosperity of Texas or California depends upon natural endowments of oil and weather, that of the Pacific Northwest is inalterably tied to the bounty of its swift-flowing streams. Con gress must be made to recognize this crucial fact and induced to provide for prudent utilization of Northwest power, surpluses under terms which do not per mit usurpation of this region's chances for future prosperity. i & -fr -ft ft Special Day Ahead Buddy System . - To help offset losses suffered during the Columbus Day hurricane, the Ore gon Statesman in Salem is urging that schools put special emphasis upon Arbor Day this year. Replacement of storm downed trees on school grounds would be only a part of this proposed effort; youngsters also would be encouraged to carry home to their parents suggestions that tree replacements be made before spring weather forces planting delays an other entire year. : The Statesman's suggestion seems a worthy one. And particularly worthy is the Salem paper's counsel that tree plantings should not be haphazard. The right trees should be selected for various locations, and city permits should be obtained for the planting of any trees in parking strips immediately adjacent to public streets. ; - ' Arbor Day will be Feb. 9 west of the Cascades and April 12 to the east of the mountains. State law thus recognizes the climatic differences east and west of the mighty range. " Here, in the area where Arbor Day will be observed in less than a month, time is short for the planning of any mas sive tree planting program. But, for those keenly interested, there is enough time. Should it be decided that the long-established Oakridge tree planting festival should be duplicated in a number of Em erald Empire communities this year, dates somewhat later than Feb. 9 would be feasible. Youngsters participating in these programs would be benefited as have all who have participated in previ ous Oakridge festivals: They would gain first-hand appreciation of the economic value of reforestation to this area. Re turning home, they would better under stand why it is that trees within urban areas, or along county roads, are pre cious for other reasons. Swimmers have long been told that they ought to swim by the buddy system. Each swimmer takes the responsibility for one other. He keeps his eye on him. Probably many a life has been saved by' this system. It's a good system for skiers, too. A 13-year-old boy, skiing alone on Bachelor Butte the other day, was found alive in freezing weather. But he was lucky. For it wasn't until his group had returned to Bend that he was missed. If he had broken a leg high on the mountain he might have frozen to death before res cuers reached him if they ever did. It might be fun to ski alone. But it's safer to ski with somebody. Street Names In the Editor's Mailbag "l have said, 'It is pleasure to pay tax for to be free cit'zen.' S'matter, you don't understand American too good?" Doris Fleeson Several Demo Senators Looking Ahead to 1964 Corvallis is planning to rename some streets. The Gazette-Times says names like A, B, C, D, etc., are unimaginative. Maybe they are. But they are a great help to the visitor who might not be able to find Sycamore. He can find P Street. The letter system is also the system used in Washington, D. C, which is often held up as a model of planning. Wash ington carries it further, however. After the letter streets come named streets. The first scries of names is alphabetical, using two-syllable words. Then comes an alphabetical series of three-syllable, words. Thus a stranger can find Ed munds or Fessenden. He knows a street is "In the middle of the second alpha bet," or "toward the end of the third alphabet." Another idea is to use the names of Oregon governors. Most towns have a series of "president streets," as Cor vallis has. But few, especially downtown, have honored governors in this manner. Fleeson WASHINGTON The big po litical story emerging from the first few days of Senate opera tions is the effort of Democratic moderates and liberals to form a survival party for 1984. The new fight to liberalize the Senate rules is part of it. So is the leadership taken by Sen. Hubert H. Hum phrey, the par ty's liberal whip, in that fight and h 1 s candidacy for chairman of the Senate Dem ocratic Campaign Committee. The urgency attaching to it stems from a few simple facts. Of 33 senators up next year, 24 are Democrats, only three of whom are from the Deep South. Even those Southerners have problems of health and Internal politics. The other 21 can ex pect vigorous Republican oppo sition and fear a future which does not contain at least 'a few triumphs on bread-and-butter is sues. The unusual imbalance in the class of 1964 results from the great breakthrough in 1958 when Democrats won control of the Senate by a handsome ma jority despite the efforts of President Eisenhower. In con trast, the group up last fall in cluded 19 Democrats and 15 Re publicans; in 1966 roughly the same ratio will prevail. President Kennedy will, of course, seek re-election in 1964, and his standing in opinion polls is now high. But It is always a question whether presidential coattails help other candidates. Often presidents profit vitally from strong statewide candi dates, as Harry Truman did in 1948. .., The Presided will probably help some of the '64 senators and almost certainly will handi cap a few others. One experienced campaign technician estimates that the only Democratic senator as sured of re election in 1964 is Edward Kennedy of Massachu setts, who is filling out the un expired term of his brother, the President. Some of the rest, he concedes, have more ground for optimism than others, but he sees none who will not need a well-planned, well-financed campaign. Democratic leader Mike Mans field, confronted with the 1964 difficulties of so many in his flock, is showing once again his distaste for the clear-cut deci sion. He has been proposing that the present Senate chairman, Vance Hartke of Indiana, stay on another year, apparently fearing Southerners will be of fended by a Humphrey choice. Yet Mansfield has openly acknowledged that he himself could have trouble in Montana, next year. He is turning over, the chairmanship of the Rules Committee to a Southerner, B. Everett Jordan of North Caro lina, to become low man on the Appropriations Committee to tem pole so he can, as he said, do more for Montana. Liberals, wary of the move which threatens civil rights legislation, have had assurances that Jordan will play fair with them on that Important commit tee. He will certainly be under pressure from his home region. It is asking a lot of Hartke to share his political time with others. While the senator won easily in 1958, Kennedy lost In diana in 1960 by 400,000 votes. Democratic senators up in 1964 are: Quentin N. Burdick of North Dakota, Harry F. Byrd of Virginia, Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, Howard W. Can non of Nevada, Thomas J. Dodd of Connecticut, Clair Engle of California, Albert Gore of Ten nessee, Philip A. Hart of Michi gan, Hartke, Spessard L. Hol land of Florida, Henry M. Jack son of Washington, Eugene J. McCarthy of Minnesota, Gale W. MoGee of Wyoming, Mansfield, Frank E. Moss of Utah, Edmund S. Muskie of Maine, John O. Pastore of Rhode Island, Wil liam Proxmire of Wisconsin, Kennedy, John Stennis of Mis sissippi, Stuart Symington of Missouri, H. A. Williams Jr. of New Jersey, Ralph W. Yarbor ough of Texas and Stephen M. Young of Ohio. (Copyright, 1983, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc. Viewpoint tmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Ely Culbertson in "Total Peace:" The bizarre world of cards . . . a world of pure power poli tics where rewards End punish ments were meted out immedi ately. A deck of cards was built like the purest of hierarchies, with every card a master to those below it, a lackey to those above it. And there were "masses" long suits which al ways asserted themselves in the end, triumphing over the kings and aces. Letters intended ' for the , Editor's Mailbag must be signed with the correct name and address of the writer. No anonymous letters will be published. Letters of less than 300 words in length will be given preference, as will those in which the writer con fines his letter to one topic. Income Tax Repeal EUGENE (To the Editor) Liberals and conservatives ap parently now agree that an in come tax cut is necessary to advance our lagging national economy, and it is encouraging to find that liberals have sud denly "discovered" the same basic tax reduction arguments that conservatives have been ex pounding for many years. Now while both sides are ar guing as one for income tax re duction is a good time for Ore gon legislators to consider the proposed income tax repeal amendment already approved by six state legislatures. There is a bipartisan insist ence upon more revenue at the state level, and at a time when taxpayers are paying the high est tax bills ever. A recent R-G editorial pointed out that a small federal tax cut would leave a substantial sum of mon ey in the state which could be used by us to solve some of our own problems ourselves. This is timely comment in view of the reported financial problems currently confronting state government, and our legis lators would do well to keep this point in mind when con sidering suggested solutions, particularly the federal income, tax repeal proposal. Some people might hesitate to support full repeal of the federal income tax, fearing this would abolish the particular government support programs upon which they have become dependent, but this would not necessarily be true. 1 The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution reserves to the states all powers not delegated to the federal government nor prohibited to state governments. Thus, while certain government programs would be prohibited at the federal level, the states could undertake these same pro grams if the people desired to continue them. Controlling spending is the only means of controlling tax ation. The tax repeal amend ment is the only proposal to date which would cut taxes by instituting fiscal responsibility, and I believe the Oregon Legis lature should investigate thor oughly this tax repeal proposal. FRANK L. DAVIS 561 Pearl St. About Guns EUGENE (To the Editor) Regards Mr. Dudeck's letter, published Jan. 7, 1963, ."Boys and Guns." As a hunter safety instructor for several years and active in teaching safe handling of fire arms, I would like to answer Mr. Dudeck's statements and questions. No, I'm not going to teach them how to "play" with match es. But you can bet your bot tom dollar that everyone in that class I'm teaching now will have a better understanding of match es and firearms before the course is over. At first, guns were made for killing killing and defense against persons or countries that wanted to change the way an other group lived. However, to day there are a very high num ber of persons that own fire arms and shoot them that never kill a thing, unless shoot ing holes in a paper target could be called "killing." If you think not, then drop by the YMCA some Monday night and see the satisfaction and enjoyment these "kids" get' In shooting paper targets. . , If, as you say, "killing harm less wildlife is often followed by taking human life when they get older" is true, then 15,000, 000, more or less, sportsmen t are all just waiting around to kill somebody. Fishbait, 100 per cent fishbait. The "Guns & Ammo" maga zine published an editorial in the October, '62, issue that I think you should read. It might open your eyes. I'll quote only part of it: "According to a spe cial report by the FBI in 564 cities during August, 1960 . . . the following statistics were compiled: Out of 7,348 aggra vated assaults, 44 per cent were by cutting or stabbing, 24 per cent by blunt objects, 12.7 per cent by shooting, 12.3 per cent by hands, feet or fists, and 1.2 per cent were by poisoning." Now if this report is true, and I feel It is, then all knives and anything else that can cut should be removed so no one can use them. If almost one-fourth of these cases were caused by blunt objects, then these, too, should be removed. . . I could go on about hands, feet, and fists, but I feel that even the village idiot knows how silly this is. In most cases, the hunter safe- ty program is on a minimum fee basis, and in many, many cases there is no charge at all, especially if the boy or girl can't afford it. I do know that the State Game Commission is providing material, etc., at cost and many organizations are ab sorbing all or most of the cost so that it is available to as many people as possible. MURRY BROOKS 2110 W. 20th Ave.' To Prevent Tragedies EUGENE (To the Editor) I read the letters to the editor every night in order to find out what fellow citizens have to comment or criticize. I some times find that individuals are somewhat misinformed on cer tain subjects. Re: Dorvin Du deck's letter, Jan. 7, 1963, on boys and guns. To Mr. Dudeck I wish to say that you have not acquired all the information on the subject of Instruction on proper gun handling, as given by sportsmen's groups. I can understand the desire some parents have on not allow ing their children around guns. This is fine, but does not relieve the percentage of gun accidents among children. There are more accidents in the young people's group than the adults' group.' The law was put into effect Jan. 1, 1962, requiring juveniles between the ages of 14 to 17 to take the hunters' safety course before they can obtain a state hunting license. The purpose of this instruc tion is to give the student some familiarization with the fire arm and its operation and prop er handling. In 1961, out of the large number of students, state wide,, three (3) were involved in gun accidents. These were due to carelessness. I have seen and read how adults kill others in the field, merely from care lessness and ignorance with re spect to the firearm. The State Game Commission is not out to make money on this instruction. They are con cerned with the wildlife of our state as well as your life and mine. Normally this instruction is given free of charge by most groups. I have taken part in this pro gram and can say without any reservation that these young people would be a lot safer to hunt with than some adults. If this instruction is given to all young people, then maybe some day we won't have to read in the paper where some child shoots another because his par ents failed to put the gun and Washington Notebook President Took His Dips in Shark Territory WASHINGTON (NEA) President Kennedy's three straight morning swims in the ocean during his December Nassau meeting with British Prime M i n is t e r Macmillan caused some consternation among Secret Service men guarding the President. After the third swim, one of ficer telephoned David Powers, White House aide, who had ac companied the President each morning. "Do you realize," the agent asked, "that 15-foot sharks have been seen just 100 feet from shore every morning and late afternoon in the waters where the President has been swim ming?" "My gosh!" exclaimed Tow ers. After a second he went on: "The President's been going out beyond that as far as 500 feet. I guess that's why the sharks didn't see him." IMPROPER ATTENTION to Detail Department: A staff man on the Republi can National Committee, who prefers anonymity in the cir cumstances, reports that he got just six Christmas cards from GOP congressmen but 12 from Democrats. A REPORTER'S call to the office of Brooks Hays, White House aide on congressional liaison and former Arkansas congressman, brought this ex change: . Hays himself answered the telephone. Said the newsman: "Oh, sorry, Mr. Hays, I thought I would get your secretary." Replied Hays: "Oh, no. She's too busy to answer the tele phone." THE GREAT BRAINS In Washington's famous Cosmos Club also relax and have a lit tle fun now and then. An anonymous member put this bit of verse In the last club bul letin: What'll be next after Mona Lisa? Maybe the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Let's bring Europe here piece by piece. The grandeur of Rome, the glory of Greece. Throw in Stonehengs and the Holy Grail: We've got to. get culture by the tail. THE HIGH-POWERED Rand Corp. brain boys, who do a lot of expensive research for the government, have their lighter moments, too. Their latest re port, turned out for free, Is a little poster showing Fidel Castro and Anastas Mikoyan loo..ing over the wreckage of Communist Cuba. Under the picture, these lines in first grade English: See the two happy men. Who are they They are the visiting coach and the home team captain. What game are they playing? They are playing winter base ball in the Caribbean League. . How are they doing? They hit a long foul ball out of bounds and made a big error in the sixth inning. What's the score now? Two balls, three strikes, no one left on the bases. SECRETARY OF LABOR Willard Wirtz opened his last meeting with reporters by an Bouncing, dead pan: "The Empire State building has just caught fire; Congress is back in session; Mona Lisa is also in town and this press conference has been called to ammunition in a proper storage place.. So, to those parents who feel that proper gun handling shouldn't be giver to their chil dren, I can respect your feel ing and pray to God they are never involved in a hunting ac cident in their adult years be cause they didn't get this in struction. ROBERT E. RANKIN 865 W. 18th Ave. Parking No Answer EUGENE (To the Editor) I would like to point out several inconsistencies in the argument for more downtown off-street parking which was advocated in a recent Register-Guard edi torial. I agree with the editorial in its statement that the downtown business core needs revitaliza tion as the economic and cul tural hub of the city, but I find fault with the means proposed to achieve this end. The article states that since the downtown core is the city's chief source of tax revenue, we should build off-street parking facilities to prevent the values of downtown properties from being undercut, I would like to know how better to undercut the value of a property and thus reduce the taxes provided by that property than to remove structures on it and make it into a parking lot. How much taxes do parking lots pay? A further inconsistency in the editorial was the statement, "Fragmentation of the city's re tail and professional services center must lead to the tax ex pensive provision of additional traffic ways and traffic controls . . ." I cannot think of a better way of fragmenting the city's core than by peppering it with space-devouring parking lots. A basic need of all auto mobiles is the need for space. If the primary way to get to the center of the city is by auto mobile, then there is a definite limit to the number of people who can use the core facilities at one time. Simple mathematics will show that at an average of two persons per car, it would take a full city block of off street parking to provide park ing facilities for only six hun dred shoppers. The parking lots are only a beginning of a series of un pleasant events which transpire when the automobile is wel comed to the core of the city with open arms. Next comes more traffic with proportionally fewer people, wider streets with narrower sidewalks, and then the real scourge of the city, the expressways which slice it up into arbitrary sections and form unsightly barriers through previously homogenous districts and neighborhoods. The only answer to the ap parent dilemma is certainly not more parking lots, but is a more diversified transportation sys tem. At a later time in this column I would like to suggest a way that a small city like Eugene could implement a comprehen sive program for an effective, rapid, modern transportation system, JAMES M. HOWELL 2440 Alder St. Carmichael discuss a change in reporting labor statistics." A NEW BREAKFAST dish is highlighting the capital's new political social season. Pan cakes with added spice are be ing made by pouring a jigger of bourbon into the pancake mix. Then they are fried, silver-dollar-size and speared on skewers. Hostesses serving the dish call it "Pancakekebob." PRESIDENT KENNEDY has a fair number of books tucked in a bookcase in the White House "Fish Room," a sizable reception room which often serves as a holding area for groups on their way to visit him in his office. The other day a visitor, idly scanning a row of books there, noticed this progression of titles: MAYBE HEU LM ME Hl J0W SHOVEL IF i RETURN HIS CRDEM J "Sino-Soviet Conflict, 1956- 1961." "Soviet Russia in China." "The Spanish Civil War." "Roger Maris at Bat." MEMBER Oil THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Associated Press Is entitled exclusively to the use for republi cation of all the local news printed In this newspaper. MEMBER OF THE AUDI1 BUREAU Or CIRCULATIONS Services United Press InternaUooaJ WILLIAM WASMANN, News Editor DONN L. BONHAM, City Editor ROSS O. JOHNSON. Advertising Director JARL r'Uuui ClrculaUon Manager ROBERT k. BERTSCH Promotion W B. JOHNSTON JR. Auditor ARM STROMMXR Production
