t:-r:'tl GAZETTXTIMtS. Thunder, frtawzry w ,
GAZETTE-TlMJbb
lUecMf. Or ? JU
MORIOW CO0WTT1 WEWSfAfEl
Th Hrppnr Gazefe rfatli.fcH
TuJ.e. ub:uM4 November 1A
1512.
ZmP0 NlWIfAMI
fUiiilMUl
ASSOCIATION
WESLEY A. SHEIMAW
BELXN E. SHEIMAW .
ARNOLD RAYMOND
.'-hop foreman
Pr.r.ter
CAff. BURKENBINE
Society
CirruUtlon
m v.
STni Entered at t
crri-" 3 Pm..
ur.ti
r-on Saturday.
Deemed to Defeat?
A, ,t the mom,r.t the stamp
proposed tt the Wlre b
'o Mr I to prpar for an election pnr.g.
,., in rr.ar.v ouarter.
.nu .h.rcrr,
Vk
T. Iar.d v.hool board, fcr irare, to Mir-t it fc
,1 it h Wi that the iir.buwfl formula that to .r.r.d.
the property tax 6W
Fa-mef organizations t r-n 61 t..em a.c
CrearJ-4 UUr ha Indicated almost ur.ar.irr.ou v
'tr A curable strrr.t of bus.ne.
leaders are vehement in their epriuift.
Ai o .r.-e the many e.t.zen in other a.5 cf .U
uho r,nnot he convinced that the .ale, tax ..-
the odls at this time seem almost overwhe.rr.ir..,., t..at
-:llZa sad futility. The. u no ou
ttat t- iV-Wature is earnestly trying to meet the tax dilera-
J'.h hVch it -to confronted. It dedicated to the prop
ortion of bringing relief to property WW"; vve.a!
The dehuranor., on thU rr.aner durir? tne .
PSkn h-ive rovt the state a lar?e sum. and it t ima e
Maybth straws in the ind" are not reuabie bat as
-Ttrnrth id'V tho
wi?l no'add to th. taxpayer", burden Jn-.tea d of
ev"n though the tax takes a d;fferer.t form. Can the Propon
ents dprove the opponents' avsertion that an average Ore
Con hoin,r woSld pay S120 In .ale, tax to reduce his
Werrn'lnefpush by the legislature. hrgh it, Re
publan leadership, to put the sales tax
Iom"hw like the lemming who respond to some jn-
St urging, and in mas.es. plunge into the sea ,n s-
Tll.lators who are so sincerely working for the .ale.
tax are admirable Person who are worthy of high respect
ind they are a problem of great magnitude The.r earnt
desire to keep fai h with the people may impel their zeal to
war, t as it seems at this time, an ill fated proposal.
One might theorize that under the angry pressure with
whirh they have been fared from property taxpayers, they may
be partially blinded into Incorrectly reading the signs
When the voters defeated the V,"r. lim.tation. legislato s
correctly reasoned that thU consigned them the rwponibil
toto, mea,ure that would bring relief But it did not
mean that the relief was to come from a sa les tax which .
dependent-thinking OregorJana have almt traditionally
found abhorrent, even though a majority of states in the
union have such a tax.
The harassment of the legislators, too. may .: ' r
them .setting their sights for too much relief. Perhaps
in
they are reaching for a higher goal than tne people reai.y
want and need. Maybe it isn't necessary to "climo the moun
tain in one step- to achieve 50", relief, but perhaps a major
ity of citizens would be content if the sting were taken froi.i
the property tax and there were some safeguards that it
would not continuously spiral.
Despite its shortcomings, the property tax still remains
the one over which the taxpayer has the most control, and
to the extent the property tax is lessened, his voice will be
reduced. .
John Mosser, who many regard as a brilliant tax author
ity proposed an alternative to the sales tax that would im
pose a 2 net receipts tax and a 2 tax on wages and sal
aries, which would be paid by the employer, not the employee.
Since this had some appearance of "leading the bates out of
the wilderness," It brought Joyous reaction in some quarters
with the thought that this might be the "pot of gold at the
end of the rainbow," so to speak.
Reaction of some employers, though, is that the tax on
wages would be discriminatory and threatening to be oppress
ive. They cannot understand why they as employers, as on
segment of our society, should be required to pay this Us
for the relief of all, and the point is a very good one.
Particularly to be penalized under this proposal would
be small businesses, such as those which exist in our smaller
towns, that require large staffs of employees. Their salaries
take a substantial part of such businesses' gross volume. In
some retail establishments, such as grocery and drug store;,
the profit margin is a small percentage of the gross.
Imposition of such a wage tax would cut this margin
and perhaps result in an operational loss. The Mosser advo
cates declare that the property tax load will be relieved, and
the business will profit thereby. But many businesses do not
own their buildings. They rent them. Thus, they would be
required to pay an additional tax.
it seems obvious, too. that businesses seeking locations
in Oregon would think twice before they would establish
themselves In a spot where they are required to pay 2"c tax
on salaries.
The net receipts tax deserves more study, for this would
apply to all. ,
Still unanswered in the minds of many is why the in
come tax doesn't still present the best hope for alleviating
the property tax. An increase in the tax rate, elimination cf
the federal deduction, and closing the gap on exemptions
should bring considerable relief, although perhaps not to the
extent that the sales tax proponents are seeking.
If the state's economy continues upward, as is expected,
the increased incomes would bring more property tax relief
from those best able to pay it.
Only when this possibility is refuted once and for all
will many people consider voting yes on a sales tax.
In the meantime, if the sales tax is to have any chance
of passage, its advocates are going to have to make it much
clearer than is the case at present as to how this will be of
real, true and equitable benefit to the people of this state.
The legislature, if It were not of such single-minded bent,
could at least try the income tax alternatives without any
disruption of the tax structure or the great expense of In
stalling a new system. If it didn't meet the need, another
course could be followed.
fTV ' HEPPNEH
Mirth t-S2fS '
XW. Conaolldated February 15.
..'..ars
Amo&uBo ' found 1 135
EDrTCl AJIO PUBLISHES
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHES
REGGIE PASCAL
Linotype Ovror
DALE COOPER
pre, rr
KELLY GfcEEN
Apprentice
fey 10 Certs. PufcL.h
Pt C& . KepPr. Own.
Monday thrown Friday; 9 -
ept would t
nm numwrn hfritace
r
Chaff and Chatter
Wes Sherman
i ON THE RARE oceaiio.-- when
' er t.'.'&i occmj we oet
ur.dertar.: cur ieoer.de r.-T" or.
J e.tncitv and rr.ot appreciate
! h'.1r.2 st to ser.e us.
' A.r.d U't week. wher. Herjrver
L-rr.rT Ccrr.wr.v forced to
i --it dewn because cf the sr.ort
; .. ,1 rc rrs r iv.xcars. we
,xca:.
.ppreciated i
I in
HetJwT.er most afj
how important tr.e tr..on rw
trar.cr. l.r.e is to us.
It provides c-.it economic
blooi-trears here. The ra.lroad
ha.s vr.ed us well for many
years and l.ke electricity, we
a.-A inclined to take it for grant
ed, but we shouldn't.
This is the 100th anniversary
of Union Pacific, and it is fitt.ng
that we mark the occasion witn
scrr.e proper appreciation.
THE CAR CRISLS here last week
provided an opportunity to
get a little insight on some of
the problems that the railroad
faces. . .
It was just a few hours after
Bruce Malcom of Heppner Lum
r t
ber announced that ne nau iu ;
oK..t iti.-n tho mm ami i
hnt ftnwn tne mm anu
teleerams to the LI" presiaen;,
to Congressmen, and otners ap-
pealing lor aio. inai i. " i jran. mats rean c... s Qregrjn, xnls LS tor tne conven
Roberts. transportation iaspector ; one can't describe tr.eir worrf-1 lence 0f persons wishing orig
for UP. arrived. Apparently he ljy,e on(v wav to- get tr.e tnrill j . . jcenses 0r permits to drive.
1 1. i"fi u.firti ui Ki.wz
while he was at Condon. He
left so fast to get here that he
forgot his street shoes and ar
rived clad in some rough work
shoes.
It didn't take long for him to
get across the message that Un
ion Pacific is just as interested
in the shipper who loads a car
or two per day as it is in the
one who may ship 100 cars per
day.
Roberts made it clear to us
u... r-Wrt.A i verv con
cemed about keeping the flow of
' cars coming here. It is no easy
job at the moment, in tne case
I of the wide door cars, because
i of the very short supplv. A
t longeshoreman's strike on the
I east coast has thousands of
i them tied up. Weather has kept
many Irom returning 10 me
west coast, too.
Probably Union Pacific would
be fairly content if it could get
itc rai-n rar har-K. dui iron
ieallv it is having a problem i ly report in whicn i oeai w in.
m do ne so j what I hope will be interesting
K side-lights of the legislature
HAVE YOU EVER noticed, as I that don't make headlines. Here
you came up alongside a train j Ls the first:
while traveling a highway, how Secretary of State Clay My
many different railroad com- j ers. after the nightmare of the
panies are represented in a i bed-sheet ballot in the laws pri
trainioad of cars? Read the i marv. rightly brought to the at-
. u irr i-nn'll tf,r,tin t.i the legislature Si SeT-
names on iinr lan. w -
find some companies that you
V .. . n nr.. i.r heard of before
! Then you begin to wonder how
! a wandering box car ever finds
i its way home. But Roberts tells
I us that an ICC regulation re
! iuirwt that a railroad move a
car towards the line of the own
er Nevertheless, it musi k'-i
verv confusing and confounding
to keep all tne roiling muck
.rti tut and to keen an ade
i .. h rt b-0n an ano.
quate supplv of each type of
car available.
! In the current crisis, a lot oi
! shippers who ordinarily want
tho wide door box cars have
tried to get along by using
scime t at cars. However a kixju
man., hnvpnt won't accept lum
ber shipped on these, arcording
to Ed Brandenberg of Heppn.fr ;
Lumber. !
The whole community, and
not only the sawmill firm, is
,....i..f,,l fnr thf fast action of;
Union Pacific in acting on this i
....... ... - , ---
matter which is so impo..ar,t t j
our economy.
t c riinto 'v-rtain that the lo-
, s7 hiP in ret a,
l tX I 111... "vii r.--
many wide door cars as it needs
for a while, but Koix-ns maae
it clear that it will get its fair
share, considering the needs of
other shippers. Meanwhile th
milrnart is doine all it can to
! meet the emergency.
I ...
! IT WAS a privilege to hear Ed
I win D. Canham. editor in chief
t of The Christian Science Moni
j tor. one of the world's most re
i spected publications, at the Ore-
eon Press Conference in Eugene
i last week.
' He said there is a need for
-, t, i ,
throe thir.e in the field of jour
ralLsm: 1. Befer t-..r.king. 2.
Better writing. 3. Be'-er tecnnol
i cgv.
-".Ve live in the greatest age
man has ever kr.own and we
ater.t wortnv of .' ." he said.
', Tho-e usir.z the ool of the
! wTiften word should use It to
.
awaen humar.m.
He s'ruck a chord
too. when
talks too
A gab."
he said. ""Evervbod;
much. It is an a.-
IF YOC HAVE never heard the
Eugene Gleemar. and get an
opportunity to, don't pass it by.
Thev sang for the 43rd consec
utive vear at the Oregon Press
i - r-,4'..r r iinHer the
direction of Estlev Schick, and.
their music mak'rs a persons
spine tingle. ,
Director Schick states tnat
since the group was organized,
573 different men have partic
ipated but two of tne charter
members are still active in the
group. About 40 comprised the
group singing at the banquet.
Thev have sung SV) different
songs during their history.
At tries nannue. it i uai.-
At tnis banquet, it is irauu
ional lor them ta conciuue un
,he number -Ion tne Oregon
rn ii i.j ... ......
Knowing that time would not
allow me to make weekly re-
me to make weekly re-
on the legislature, as I
n the past, I have de-
i . .'... I , .r i mnnth.
ports on
have l
terminer! to shoot for a month-
i nu-.n , ,
; ies of proposals to shorten tne
kiu. trt msbo vfiiinc a shorter
process and to eliminate "voter
fatigue".
Anv such proposals are bound
in rrv- tho ceerfs of Conflict
with the American democratic
tradition that voting should be
-. an unnurrieo, ueuiwoic .v ..
; and that the more things and
; canaiaates me iatuijw ..
' tma mnrp m v neintA.iav.9
the more truly democracy is
served.
Ballet Slogans Eyed
His first proposal was to
eliminate ballot slogans. My
committee felt that ballot slo-
gans jn a primary election serve
a useful purpose out n de
cided tentatively to limit the
material to standard facts such
as age, experience, etc.. to try
to eliminate the use of the slo
gan for purposes of humor or
to mislead the voter.
The committee did, however,
agree wnn tne secieiai? mi
: lhe orK. j0,an delegates to the
i national conventions should
I . ... ... : a . . i
! nave wouia oe tne
candidate thev support or the
word "uncommitted". This is a
step toward shortening the bal
lot. Mvers and others made a ser
ies of susgestions to prevent so
manv delegate candidates
names being on the ballot in a
presidential year. Here we ran
into a real reluctance of very
many legislators to take away
the voter's right to vote on con
vention delegates. The alterna
tive is selection at state con
vention. I think a majority of the com-
I . . I
Mann !. j
to ' -" J
Man j A
By REP. 1RVIN MANN. Jr. j k g
v- -
STATE CAPITOL
Speaker Smith
States Opposition
To Fluoridation
Oregon ihim SlM-iiker Itnbeil
F. Smith null hi".! week '
ol.tH.Mil In iTiiindiilorv Hlulewlde
fluoridation of Ori-gnna linie
tic wilier oiUM'lv.
lie nh Id hi niH.hlllon did mil
....... "in i., nil nr In unit ftoill
nnv of the mvllis or "Id wlve
tales Kurrouiiillfilf '
I will not diiiirrel with H' '
ii al exM-rls who coin lud Hint
proiier nmounts of fluoride mm
scssex certain medlc iil In neflls
Smith wn ll liw npiMiHllion ws
bused on Hie iIiH'mipIiV H"l
"state Kovertiliienl should il"
only wlint lt ii-tiN e.r cniimiiiiil
lies lire tiniibli' In do fur Ihein
selves "
He nolo! Ilwil marlv 2IMMHKI
Oregonliins iireseiitlv drink
fluorldnled water. luivltlK "l
proveil It Ihroiiidl vole of II"'
people oil II I'M 111 level.
This Iim'iiI option Is iivnlliilile
In every cliv, town and rmn
munitv In He slle. sn I see
no compelling reiison lor prod
ding or Miking bv slule govern
ment," Stnllh said.
He said linn one m
strongest nrguinenls 111 beluilf
of statewide f luor Itln t im Is llml
it would gr-allv reduce dental
costs incurred l)V welliire recip
ients who are nimble l bcnr
the high costs of denial treat
ment. "Therefore, I would support
proposal whereby fluoride would
lie made available t slate ex
r.,nt. u nil tit.-ite welfare agen
cies for any low Income citizens
desiring to fluoridate their
drinking water," he said.
In addition, he said, he would
support a measure to allow the
State Health Board to set uni
form standards for communities
presently using fluoridation, and
for those which may decide to
do so in the future.
MEETING
CALENDAR
Monday, February 24
Chamber of Commerce, 12 noon,
Wagon Wheel Cafe
Volunteer Fire Dept., 7:30 p.m.
Ruth Chapter, No. 32, OES, Ma
sonic Hall, 8 p.m.
Wednesday. February 25
Roval Arch Masons, Chapter 2fi.
Masonic Hall, 8 p.m.
Willow Lodge, lOOF Hall, 8 p.m.
Examiner Coming
A drivers license examiner
will be on duty at the court
in Hnnnner on Tuesday,
February 25, between the hours
. , q.-ji a m ann j:.-ivj u.iii..
Department of Motor Vehicles of
J mittee agreed with the dean of
the House, Jake Bennett, who
j the House, Jake Bennett, who
: told us, "this is the only chance
an average voter has to express
Lr- . . nnu.;Jnn,;ql
his preference for a presidential
candidate .
Still on a strictly tentative
basis the cemmittee has decided
to deal with this problem by
having no delegates run siaie
wide and apportioning all dele
gates to one of the four con-
rrrMcinnal riictHetC fin tho has-
is of population. This should be
a step toward Danoi snonening.
Again these solutions are high-
The Rhyming
1
AMBITION
TOO MANY FUTILE THOUGHTS ENCROACH UPON
A" ACTIVE MIND;
I THINK OF FISHING. BAIT AND BOATS AND WORK
GETS LEFT BEHIND.
I ALO FALL FOR FEMALE LURE, OF GIRLS WHO
SPABK AND PLAY
A MALADY WITH NO KNOWN CURE, AND NO HELP
ON THE WAY.
I GOT MYSELF INVOLVED IN DREAMS THESE
MANY YEARS AGO
WHEN A3 A WAYWARD LAD IT SEEMS I
WANDERED TO AND FRO
BETWEEN PURSUING HOT AND HARD A LIFE OF
CRIME AND VICE.
OR JOINING UP WITH SCOTLAND YARD AND
PUTTING CROOKS ON ICE.
I NEVER MADE THE COPPERS' RANKS NOR TROD
THE GANGSTERS' TRAIL,
OR HELD UP VERY MANY BANKS AT THINGS
LIKE THESE I D FAIL.
MY ONLY TALENTS HARD TO BEAT, WHICH
NO MAN CAN DENY.
15 PROWLING UP AND DOWN THE STREET AND
WATCH THE GIRLS GO BY!
HARRY W. FLETCHER
YOUR
SENATOR
REPORTS . . .
The leKli.btllve Inoinelilum
shllled I III- week fmm
,ir In Hi und.ilif
,rsl IV Mlleiillmt HM'V.d
rmin Hie innie mlmful I'lll nl
mh edii.nllon. flu.iildiillnti nod
I.Ih.HI.111 In Hie teiilllleH of Hie
mil lr pmblelil f.iclMK Hie w-h-Sinn
. . . I'l I V 'ellef
Willi Hn week IniielV under
WiiV, Hie IIoiihc voted nut a
nlr lux P "Ill for l""IH',''V
lux relief, wllh H miiildn ' "
JH The hill wiix Hun Iniwiitd
ed In the SeniHe lr III" upier
t liiimher's I miHldetiil Inn.
The hill In H PM'xeiit form
(nines In f'nr IiumIc part. '"'V
Hie hinkrn ilnWll III Ihe follow
llil' iniiiniet:
IIJK H . . . This Is the ve
Ii It-It- fur the suit's liix. II plui-e .
the lux Into Hie cnliMllulloii lit
n flxeil rule f 3": inn! sxt Iflen
Hint the money will be used for
school suppnil, the lihllnsophv
being. If the lux Is lurked Into
the cniislltiilloil Hie rate caniiot
l. ralseil nor Hie use of Hie
iiinds rhiinged unless by a vote
of the people
House Kill 112V . . . '
llu' inmlilnerv or the plan, u
specifies III detail what Is to
be luxed mid what Is to be ex
empt. The present tax plan tax
es all commodities except pres
cription drugs, water, gas fuel,
iinliiial life, feed, seed, and fer
tilizer, plants, publicaiions, con
tainers, property used or con
i i, iniinvf rial use and 'a
of all fuel fnr Industry and ag.
ri,.,, inro Thu n an varies iroiu
I he tax proposal til last session
In that It taxes fnod. However,
to compensate, this proposal
gives a rebate to all persons
under a taxable Income of
$(i I M H)
ilouse Bill 1120 . . . This deals
with how the money will be al
located to scnooi Ul.NiriCIS, U.Y
giving the districts a new tax
base equal to the operating
budget of the previous year. It
also limits school elections to
twice a year and fixes the al
V,lo ornwlh in the buduet
to 5 without a vote of the peo
ple.
u.,i,m Rill 1(155 . . . Increases
the corporate excise taxes from
6 to 7 per cent a 16 23 in
crease. According to the architects of
the measure, it will raise some
$100 million a year. This, thev
cat will nllnw the state to car
ry 50 of the local school dis
tricts' financial Duraen rainer
than the present 23. This ad-
rlitinnul Tnnnov Kpnt hack tO lO-
cal school districts is expected
to lower property taxes some
25.
The Senate Taxation Commit
tee in a surprise move Thursday
evening, voted out of commit
tee a plan much different than
was expected by legislative ob
servers. The plan, as it now
goes to the floor of the Senate
for consideration, differs from
the House plan in two major
areas: it achieves property tax
relief by directing the money
through the property tax relief
fund, rather than through bas
ic school support suggested by
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ruggles
traveled to Eugene last week
where they "attended a mid-winter
insurance seminar meeting,
sponsored by the Oregon Asso
ciation of Insurance agents. Fol
lowing a short visit with Mrs.
Ruggles' family in Portland af
ter the meetings, the couple re
turned home Sunday evening.
ly tentative and will undoubt
edly undergo change.
Finally, the secretary suggest
ed that a physical shortening of
the ballot could be accomplish
ed by allowing delegate candi
dates to be printed in double
columns which cannot now be
done. Many printing presses
were not large enough to print
the Democratic ballot in the
1968 primary because of the
length of the single column of
delegate candidates. The com
mittee has not discussed this
yet but it appears to me to be
a reasonable suggestion.
Philosopher
y urn jtnmrzur. ,1
UTATE IENATOII j
lltli Dlnllrt. Including ' J
Mortaw county
Si-riiite' rounterpiirta. It is
difficult '"'" ,htt
t hmige Hn y t ome nbout
'''if' the lx prop I hoUd
pi,. Hie Snte. arid there ro
dtinni' IndliJitioti Hint It lU.
Hie bill will be referred bjck
ti the House for thern to con
cur on the Senate amendments.
Although there u a differer.ee
In opinion between Senate and
limine irxrnbers, It w felt that
llii MM iin In-smoothed outqunn
y so that Hie f-ople of Oregon
inuv have a chance It vote on
Hie (linkage In June.
.Slate employee are In for a
wage Increaw. Under the pay
plan approved earlier thu week,
all state workers will get an
news the board pay hike of
n on April 1; a 6'i Increase on
Julv 1. l'J70.
Also, a new system of advan
cing state workers from wage
scale to wage scale was approv
ed. The system stretches out the
length of time needed for a
worker to move up on the pay
ladder, and it Increases the lev
el of pay. This program was
adopted to help attract career
minded people to state employ
ment and to give wage incent
ives to workers on the top cf
their pay scale.
Please bear In mind that it I?
a little difficult to keep a week
ly report up to date. By the time
vou read mv column the pic
ture could change entirely as far
as any one measure is concerned.
Pioneer
Ponderings
By W. S. CAVERHILL
A Blizzard of Bills
Our coffee club, noting the
agitation for election reform,
abolition of conventions and
lowering of the voting age, is
concerned that nothing is being
done to check the blizzard cf
bills that snow our legislature
under each session. A possible
thousand or twelve hundred ot
them will drift into the cham
bers and committee rooms be
fore adjournment. That is an
average of at least ten bills for
each member of the entire as
sembly. Admitted, that most of
our member's political exper
ience is that of a city council
man, from that level we do not
see that our social and econom
ic structure has slipped up or
down or sideways in the past
two years, to an extent that
calls for such an abundance of
suggested remedies.
We have come a long way
from the position of pioneer
leader who said. "If government
will keep the peace, we'll take
care of the rest."
Coming Events
HEPPNER BASKETBALL
Friday, Feb. 21, Pilot Rock,
there
Saturday, Feb. 22, Madras,
there
Saturday, March 1, Sherman,
here
League games
Support the Mustangs!
GRADE SCHOOL
Friday, Feb. 21, lone there, 2
p.m.
BAKED FOODS SALE
Friday, Feb. 21, from 10:00
a.m.
Sponsored by LDS Relief So
ciety Next door to Gardner's Men's
Wear
4-H LEADERS CONFERENCE
Wednesday, Feb. 26, 10:00
a.m.
Home of Mrs. Wr. H. Wolff
Discussion of Club Programs
with county extension a-
gents
ELKS 72nd ANNUAL
Sat.. Feb. 22
Registration at Ford Garage,
11:00 a.m.
Entertainment for women
guests, St. Patrick's parish
hall. 1:00 p.m.
Dinner, 6-8 p.m.; dance 9:30-
1:30
TERRIFIC BARGAINS IN
HEPPNER'S WASHINGTON
BIRTHDAY SALES THIS
WEEK-END
SPONSORED AS A PUBLIC
SERVICE BY
C. A. RUGGLES
Insurance Agency
P. O. Box 247 PH. 676-9625
Heppnex
COMMUNITY U
1 BILLBOARD &