Heppner, Ore., Gazette-Times, Thursday, May I W4
Page 2
Jemstedl Mayor of Hardman
Horse sense
I ERNEST V. JOINER
I 1
That busy 1973 legislature wasn't all bad. On June 1 some
new regulations for public utility companies go into effect,
and they should gladden the hearts of consumers. One,
effective July 1, requires each utility to pay 6 per cent
interest per year on deposits. The utility must refund
customer deposits plus interest upon discontinuance of
service, or after 12 consecutive billings without having more
than two delinquent payments. This will eliminate the
practice of a utility requiring cash deposits and holding
them for years without paying interest on them, although
they have the use of the customers' money. Another
regulation sure to please telephone users is one setting
standards of service the company must meet. As of July 1, a
caller is entitled to receive a dial tone within three seconds if
the called number is busy. Attempted calls to the toll
operator or for directory assistance operators must be
answered within 10 seconds. It would have been consistent
and fair to taxpayers if the legislature had also required the
state to pay interest on the income tax withheld from
paychecks. The state has the use of this money, just as does
the utility company that requires advance deposits for
service, and is just as obligated to pay interest for the use of
that money as is the utility company. What is sauce for the
goose is not, in the legislative mind, sauce for the gander.
Morrow County has always been represented on the Blue
Mountain Community College Board of Education, but that
may change at the May 7 election. There is a good possibility
that Morrow County will lose its representation on the board.
There are two candidates running for Position 2 now held by
Bob Abrams. who is not seeking re-election-Dorothy Krebs
of lone and Irvm Kauch of Lexington. Recently a third
candidate filed, James Whitney of Pendleton. Whitney may
be expected to carry the more populous Umatilla County;
whereas Morrow County with comparatively few votes will
have them split between Mrs. Krebs and Mr. Rauch. In this
situation it is almost certain that Mr. Whitney will be elected.
There are two ways to better insure Morrow County's
presence on the board. The first is for Abrams to resign
immediately and a Morrow County member appointed for his
unexpired term. This would provide some sort of an edge, as
the incumbent usually has an advantage. The second move
would be for one of the two Morrow County candidates to
withdraw in favor of the other, thus eliminating a split in the
county vote. It would be unfortunate if, for the first time in
the 12-year history of the college, its board had no member
from Morrow County. Morrow County residents would be
taxed to support the college, but would have no voice in its
affairs.
Dr. Rodney Briggs. president of Eastern Oregon State
College, was in Heppner a couple of weeks ago to meet with
high school seniors and their teachers. In an informal
discussion Dr. Briggs said he was convinced the world is
headed for a massive food shortage and that the world
population faces starvation. This observation is based on his
experiences in Africa. There, of course, food shortages and
widespread starvation are not new. In Africa, as in most
other parts of the earth, people have always starved -even
when there were no conservationists to limit food production.
During World War II the American farmer, left to his own
devices, fed almost the entire world. And, left to his own
devices, he could do it again. But he will net be left to his own
devices. He is already a creature of the government, and his
production will be regulated and manipulated toward less
production at greater cost. The same government that is
keeping the American farmer and rancher from feeding a
starving world is the same government that brought on the
oil shortage. In the oil case, government price controls,
taxing policies and interference in management drove oil
companies overseas and into the arms of the Arabs.
Government regulation of oil inhibited exploration for new
sources of oil. The result of government meddling in the oil
business is well known. The same result is being sought in the
field of agriculture, where government says it knows best
how to farm. If there ever is a food shortage it w ill not be for a
lack of tillable land and fertilizer or because of
over -population. It will be because government regulated
and controlled the producers with punitive taxes, price and.
wage controls, allocations of supplies and market) and
economically unrealistic regulation, and all other restrictive
meddling to which all government is prone.
U.S. Sen. William E. Brock of Tennessee recently said.
"The government has so overregulated and stifled private
initiative that what should be boom-time conditions look
more like an era of oversupply. Taxes, management errors,
inflation, restrictive pricing policies and poorly drawn
environmental regulations all played a role in doing what the
prospect of 25.000 feet of hard rock could not-they have
caused the oil man to decide not to drill." The same
government policies can (and will ) cause the farmer not to
plant, the rancher not to breed livestock and the fisherman
not to fish. But if the farmer, rancher and fisherman were
left to their own devices there would be no shortages of
foodstuffs. But they will not, so long as there is government,
be left to their own devices. Which returns us to Dr. Briggs.
The professor is right. But we should know the culprit
responsible.
0 I should be over my 40-year shuddering jag about the
state of the republic, but the more I read about the State
Democratic Pre-Primary Convention held in Salem a couple
of weeks ago . . . Well, about 300 delegates at the Willamette
University conclave passed resolutions that would legalize
marijuana, nationalize the oil industry, impeach President
Nixon, continue the ban on DDT to control the tussock moth
in Eastern Oregon forests, guarantee an annual income to
replace the welfare system, allow 18-year-olds to serve in the
legislature, support a law to permit taxpayers opposed to a
war to designate that part of their taxes allotted for national
defense to be spent on alternate programs. That isn't all, but
it s enough. Fortunately, Democratic candidates are not
bound by resolutions of this group, but they are generally
regarded as guidelines in the formation of a party platform.
This political horror story will have to do us, at least until the
Republicans can hold a convention and try to top it for
asininity.
GAZETTE-TIMES
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County, the senator stated.
"It would play a vital role in
wells that go dry in this area,
and sooner or later people are
going to have to vote on the
water in the Columbia River.
At present other states are
interested in the supply of
water that could be obtained
from the Columbia. Oregon is
far behind other states in
planning for water resources
and irrigation."
Measure Five deals with the
veterans fund. This bill ac
cording to Jernstedt, would
increase the capacity of
veterans loans by $470 million
to be used for veterans farm
and home loans. While many
feel that veterans loans are
competing with private bank
ing industries, veterans can
obtain loans at a lesser rate of
interest, through the Veterans
Administration. Although
monies are on hand to handle
many loans, if this bill does
not pass the Veterans Depart
ment will be out of funds by
the end of May.
Measure Six, allows the
legislature to call itself into
special session. The governor
is the only person allowed to
call a special session of the
legislaters at present. Should
this bill pass a majority of
both the house and senate
would be required to call any
special session; however, they
could do so without the
governor's consent.
Judge Henry Kaye, Pen
dleton, will speak to the
Chamber of Commerce next
Monday.
The mail pouch
EDITOR:
My husband and I always enjoyed OPINION written by you
in the Sebastopol Times and missed it when you left.
We had no idea w here you had gone. Tuesday my husband,
while getting a haircut, was discussing your articles with the
barber and learned you are in Heppner.
Coincidently, the GAZETTE-TIMES was given the barber
by another patron. It is dated April 4, only three weeks old. It
contained several articles of interest to my husband,
especially page 4. "lone's Oldest Native ..."
My husband and his three sisters were friends of Fred
Buschke, his brothers and sisters. His sisters graduated from
the high school there Moved to Heppner in 1903 and lived
there until 1922. His father was Frank. They bought the
Stalter and Headquarter ranches. His uncle, N.E. Winnard.
was one of the doctors before the 1900 turn and on into 1919.
We have the book, "Homesteads and Heritages." a history
of Morrow County, which tells of the early days in Heppner as
well as other areas in Morrow County . . .
In reading your articles in the April 4 edition, we find them
still interesting. Please send us the paper. We visited
Heppner in 1971, and are planning another trip.
MRS. WILLIS WINNARD,
Sebastopol. Ca.
EDITOR:
Your article in Horse Sense (GT, April 18) about North
Texas State University hiring an ex -con to inspire students
was greatly appreciated by us here. It runs so close to our
views of "O tempore! O mores!"
I. too, blew by stack when I read in the Oakland Tribune of
a proposal to offer a course in belly dancing in the nearby
city's YMCA. "According to the teacher, Najia, the course
will cover the dance of the veils, history of the dance and how
to move sensuously," the article read.
You might want to join me in promoting a class in Harlotry
in our learning institutions, with the chance to "earn as you
learn" and with degrees for graduate students. . .
HARLAN D. BURBANK,
Oakland. Ca.
EDITOR:
We have taken issue with you on some of your stands in the
past but have not. until this time, felt compelled to write and
voice our objection. However, after reading your comments
in the April 25 "Horse Sense" column concerning the April 30
National Day of Humiliation. Fasting, and Prayer we felt it
was time to enter a resounding protest.
The National Day of Prayer, for the benefit of those people
who would really liked to have known about it, was a
congressional resolution very similar to the one passed over
100 years ago under Abraham Lincoln. In essence, the
resolution was calling for the nation and its leaders "to
humble ourselves before Almighty God, to confess our
national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness."
The power of genuine repentance and prayer in
unmeasureable and yet you have seen fit to make light of
what could have been a very moving experience for the
Heppner area.
Heppner has a number of people with a deep faith in the
power of God. Faith in God is a positive force and yet many of
your comments, along with most of Lester Kinsolving's are
essentially negative in nature. Please don't mock our faith by
using it for "splash" effect.
Even though the National Day of Humiliation, Fasting, and
Prayer was April 30 and will be over by the time this letter
reaches your newspaper, it is not too late for each of us as
individuals to take part in the resolutions set forth by our
congress in our hearts and in our homes.
JOHN AND RUTH MAATTA.
West Linn, Ore.
EDITOR:
In all fairness methinks you might have published the
Congressional Resolution which calls upon the people of our
nation to "humble ourselves as we see fit, before our Creator
to acknowledge our final dependence upon Him."
This might have given your readers an opportunity to
judge for themselves and make their own choice as they see
fit.
MRS. RAY BARNETT,
lone.
Bf.lCC directors Pendleton residents?
By GLENN MORRISON
Morrow County residents
may be facing the possibility
of not having representation
on the board of directors for
Blue Mountain Community
College in Pendleton.
For the past 10 years
Heppner Attorney Robert
Abrams has served on the
board, which he headed for 2
years. His position. No. 2, is
"up for grabs" due to his
retirement from the board this
year.
Three people are running
for the position: Dorothy
Krebs of lone, Irvin Rauch of
Lexington and James Whitney
of Pendleton. The election of
Whitney would remove repre
sentation from Morrow
County.
Since Morrow County
property owners pay taxes for
support of the college, it only
stands to reason that they
should be represented on the
board that decides use of the
monies.
According to Abrams, the
board has not zoned the
district and the positions are
currently "open" to anyone in
the district. Thus, this year it
will be possible for the entire
board of directors to be
residents of Pendleton, for a
community school which ser
vices a 100-mile area from
Heppner to Milton-Freewater.
If Morrow County loses its
representation it could peti
tion the board to zone the
district. This would automati
cally insure representation.
Morrow County only has one
chance to save their repre
sentation this year. That is by
showing strong support in the
May 7 election for the Morrow
County candidates.
Abrams noted that Morrow
County residents had been
strong supporters of BMCC
in the past, and always voted
favorably for the college
budgets. "With this much
support for the college in
the SOVEREIGN STATE of AFFAIRS
Morrow County it would be a
shame to lose its representa
tion on the board," said
Abrams.
Although the county may
lose its board position, it may
have a resident as college
president. Due to the retire
ment of President Wallace
McCrae the board has been
seeking a new president. A
committee has narrowed
down the group of nearly 200
applicants to about 10. Appli
cants from Morrow County
include Bob Kelly, instructor
at BMCC, and Ron Daniels,
Morrow County Superinten
dent of Schools.
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DEAR MISTER EDITOR:
The fellers still had taxes on their mind Saturday night at
the country store.
dem Webster said April 15 come and went, and In spite of
what taxpayers pcrdict ever year, the country kept right on
rolling along.
Clem said about the only thing that made this year unusual
at income tax time was the bed of snakes they plowed up
about President Nixon's back taxes.
Clem said it looks like the domino idee of foreign policy is
being put to work in the President's case. Ever time they
open a file on him, It leads em to three or four more files. If he
ain't being billed fer state income taxes in Florida and
California where he claimed deductions on his houses as
places of "primary residence," some congressional
committee is trying to git him to pay fer hauling his dogs
around on public-owned airplanes. ,
It's a sight in this world, allowed Clem, that we got
WO.OOO-a-year congressmen with nothing better to do than
figger how much it cost extry to cary a 25-pound dog from
Washington to California on a airplane that can haul 275,
people and 20 ton of freight.
Clem said he is fer Nixon paying ever cent of income tax he
owes, but it's got to where that 1,000-page report on his tax
records that sells fer $6.50 is a bigger item than that picture
show about the devil gitting into some little girl,
Actual, said Zeke Grubb, people alius is fascinated by what
they're afraid of, and fer striking fear deep in the hearts of
Americans, you jest can't beat taxes and 01' Beelzebub. Zeke
said fer what we pay our congressmen, he'd ruther see them
working on ways to change the tax laws so the working man
in the middle wouldn't be keeping up the rich on one end of
the income scale and the pore on the other end.
Zeke had saw where Senator Mondale said thousands of
people with huge incomes pay the little end of nothing, and
that 402 Americans that made $100,000 or more in 1972 paid no
income tax at all that year,
Ed Doolittie said where a column writer reported that the
16th Amendment that give the Federal Guvernment the right
to tax income was only 31 words. That was in 1913, and since
then laws covering collection of the taxes runs to more than a
million words. And Ed said a good loophole lawyer can
do more fer his client today with them million words than the
31 did fer the country.
Back when that Amendment was wrote, Ed allowed, you
could take yore gal to the county fair and buy her a pink
lemonade. All the reward you got and all you expected was to ,
take her home, set in the front porch swing and squeeze yore
lemonade. Nowadays, he said, you can charge the lemonade
to operating expenses, git depreciation on the swing and
come out ahead of the game.
Yours truly,
MAYOR ROY.
Lutheran
BY
LESTER KINSfll VI W
The whole story of Wounded Knee 1973" suggests the Rev.
Lester Heins of Minneapolis, is "a graphic history of the free
execise of religion."
The Rev. Mr. Heins is public relations chief for the 2.5
million-member American Lutheran Church, which recently
went to court and established what appears to be an amazing
new confessional criteria.
For when the Rev. Paul Boe, a Lutheran Social Service
Department director, was asked in court who it was that he
saw carrying guns during the occupation-looting of Wounded
Knee, he refused to testify.
The Rev. Mr. Boe claimed that his silence, in this regard, is
part of the traditional confidentiality which courts allow for
clergy-penitent, attorney-client and physician-patient rela
tionships. A spokesman for the Department of Justice has told this
column that Boe was not asked to disclose anything that had
been told to him in confidence. He was simply asked to testify
as to what he saw done by Indians (who were hardly penitent
or confessional) while they allegedly wrecked the town of
Wounded Knee, including the local Catholic church. , '
Since there are numerous unordained witnesses available
who cannot claim Boe's clergy exemption, the Justice
Department spokesman said that there are no plans at this
time to appeal a court ruling which has upheld Boe.
Moreover, the American Lutherans have joined, in a
38-page amci curiae brief advocating this widened standard
of clergy privilege, by the National Council of Churches, the
U.S. Catholic Conference, the Lutheran Church in America,
the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the United Presby
terian Church - plus top leaders or boards of the Episcopal
Church. United Church of Christ, United Methodist and
Disciples of Christ.
This seems, at least for the time being, to have established
the Rev. Mr. Boe's right to conceal what he saw these Indian
gunman doing at Wounded Knee (at least one of whom was
carrying a Soviet AK-47 assault gun).
If this sould really be regarded as part of the traditional
clergy -penitent relationship, no clergyman should ever again
be subpoened to testify about anything that he sees happen
within his parish boundaries (if anywhere) - whether an
automobile accident, robbery or homicide. For he, like Boe
at Wounded Knee, would be trying to relate to
non-parishioners.
The Lutherans, and their allied denominations, even go so
far as to contend that clergy are more entitled to such
privileges of confidentiality than are newsmen, with regard
to protecting their sources:
"The right directly protected by the free press clause (of
the Constitution) is the right of publication and
dissemination. News gathering is a means to that end and the
confidentiality of sources is of some utility in the gathering of
news."
SOME utility? Any newsman who reveals his sources is
finished as an investigative reporter - either in his exposing
corruption in big government, or, for that matter, corruption
in a big ecclesiastical government.
The Founding Fathers, most of whom were church
members, apparently felt that organized religion should be
no more sacrosanct from the scrutiny of a free press than
should the civil government. Hence, there is no distinction
whatsoever between the First Amendment's guarantee of
both free exercise of religion and freedom of the press.
But the Lutherans, and their allies, contend that while
courts may constitutionally force a reporter to "breach the
confidence of his source," clergy confidences must be fully
respected - even regarding armed bandits at work at
Wounded Knee.
This is clericalism hardly befitting the ecclesiastical
dependents of Martin Luther. It amounts to a proposal that
clergy should be trusted, but not newsmen. It is advocacy of a
despicable double standard whereby those of us who are
ordained, as well as professional journalists, should be
tmsted in the confessional - but not in the news room.
4