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Heppner, Ore., Gazette-Times, Thursday, Dec. 5, 1974
Horse sense
By
ERNEST V. JOINER $
There's good news. On Oct. 7. 19T4, the U.S. Senate
officially voted to end the Great Depression of the 1930s. 41
years afier it was declared. This clears the deck for
senatorial concern over the depression we're heading into
now. Inspired, no doubt, by this timely end to the Great
Depression, the senate also voted to end the mobilization of
U.S. troops to fight in Korea. Many will be surprised to learn
thai the Korean War has never officially ended, and neither
has the Vietnam War thai the president ordered us into in the
19.tis. Is would be good news if the senate officially ends both
the Korean and Vietnam Wars within the next 41 years. But
while the senate was hacking the Great Depression to death,
i' failed, to repeal the national emergency powers it gave
President Franklin D Roosevelt in March. 1933. to meet the
problems of that Great Depression, which still makes the
president more powerful than the Congress. Neither did the
senate vote to terminate the Bay of Tonkin Resolution which
gives 'he president the authority to declare war at any time,
auains' anybody, anywhere he sees fit. Now that the senate
has stirred to end the Great Depression there is hope that it
will begin the long road back to resumption of its
responsibilities instead of shifting them to the executive
department.
I hope some of our subscribers read the nationally
syndicated column by Don Oakley which appeared in the
Eas" Oregonian las; week. It dealt with the unequal
administration of justice in our courts. Oakley said a
hypo'he'ical case was submitted to New England judges
recently, and the dispari'y in the sentences the judge would
have imposed upon the hypothetical defendant was so great
ha! i- could be said there could be no equal jus-ice under the
law in 'ha' area. The same is true across the country, as
Oakley nned. Punishment for identical crime varies from
va'e s a'e. county to coun'y. cry to city and from judge to
judee. Unequal punishment results because the laws are
wri'tet and interpreted differently from one area to another,
at d because of the persona! feelings and idiosyncracies of the
judges. Killing a cow in Massachusetts isn't as grave an
offense as killing one in Oregon All of which is what I have
been saying the past few weeks is the case in Morrow County.
Mr. Oakley is fortunate in one respect. Because some
Morrow Coun'y crszens don't know his address or telephone
number he probably escaped some of the abuse I got for
having argued 'he same point
Coirempt of court is no! to be taker, lightly, especially if
the offender happens to be a newspaper reporter. In recent
years many reporters have gone to jail and prison for .
orwtp because they refused the order of a court judge to
reveal the names of their informants. But such harsh
rea'ment isn't extended to labor union members who violate
a cour ir. junction to cease picketing In Portland las: week a
judge sen'enced s:x labor union members for contempt when
they ignored the court's prohibition on mass picketing at a
North Porland plan". The judge literally threw the book at
!;en; by sentencing all six to perform 10 hours of community
service work or dor.a'e a pin' of blood to the Red Cross, At
teas' 'hey were spared the mdignry of having to stand in the
For the first year of my residence in Heppner I was a
devnu" advoca'eof the Willow Creek Dam project which has
beer kicked around for 40 years by the federal government.
Due largely to my efforts to get the dam authorized, it was
defeated in congress. Then I began a campaign to inform, the
people that the dam would never be built and that it was
never intended tha' it should be built and that the whole
piar had been a political carrot dangled before the Morrow
Cowi'y electorate at election time, i said I didn't wan; the
damn dam. and that anybody caught making plans for one
should in all Christian chanty be tarred, feathered and
dumped at the ci'y limits. Now that was something a
dillydallying congress isn't about up to be put with! No sir.
Tuesday morning .Mayor Jerry Sweeney go! a call from
Washington informing him that the Willow Creek Dam
prnjec had been revived and has unanimously passed the
House, and the only obstacle was a possible veto by President
Ford . There seems to be no end to which congressmen will go
to make a liar out of me. As long as I wanted the dam. there
was no chance. The minute I turned against it. congress
approves it unanimously! Now all I've got to do to get the
president to sign the bill is to urge him to veto it. which I
hereby do All of which reminds me of the immortal wisdom
of Mark Twain when he said. "It could probably be shown by
facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American
criminal class except Congress!"
When Gov. McCall leaves office in January the
taxpayers won't be leaving McCall. For the res: of his life the
governor will receive about 45 per cent of his $32.iXXa-year
salary, or more than SI 4. 000 a year, which is a nice deal for
him considering that he has paid into his pension fund such a
short time. The 1971. legislature passed the governor's
pension law. but it was repealed by a referendum of voters in
November. 1972. During these 17 months the governor paid 7
per cent of his monthly salary into the fund. The Taxpayers
Protective Association went to court to deny McCall the
pension, claiming that he should not be paid because the law
had been repealed. Last week a circuit court judge ruled that
McCall is entitled to his pension because he had fulfilled his
part of the agreement called for in the now-repealed law.
Oregon people are fortunate. Most states have not been alert
enough to stop the pension racket beloved of politicians, and
aresupporting ex -office holders by the thousands for the rest
of their lives. Legislatures are quick to institute such pension
funds for government employees because they, too, ride the
pension gravy train, and are anxious that this benefit be
extended to everybody who works for government. In
McCall "s case he deserves the lifetime pension because he
fulfilled the terms and conditions of a law passed by a foolish
legislature. But the rejection of the law by the people will
save them millions of dollars in the future if they don't go to
sleep and allow a subsequent legislature to pass a similar
retirement bill.
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THE GAZETTE-TIMES
MORROW COUNTY'S NEWSPAPER
Box 337, Heppner, Ore. 97836
Subscription rate: $6 per year in
Oregon, $7 elsewhere
Ernest V. Joiner, Publisher
Published every Thursday and entered as a
second-class matter at the post office at
Heppner. Oregon, under the act of March 3, 1879.
Second-class postage paid at Heppner, Oregon.
Parking . . .
(Continue from Page 1)
"The City of Eugene had a
parking problem. They did not
want meters and they did not
want any employees parking
in the spaces reserved for
customers, so they passed an
ordinance where an employee
found parking in either his
employer's or his neighbor's
parking space was first warn
ed and later cited and fined
$10. This ordinance is now
being challenged in Oregon
courts."
He also stated that as yel he
has not filed condemnation
proceedings against Mr. and
Mrs. James Hagcr for their
property on Main Street, but
hopes to do so within the next
two weeks.
The council refused to take
any action on an outdoor light
for the Heppner Child Deve
lopment Center located on
Minor Street. The center had
requested the city to install a
light in the front of the
building because it opens at 6
a.m. and many mothers
taking their children to the
center have complained of
poor lighting in the area. They
had contacted Columbia Basin
Electric and had been assured
that a pole would be installed
free, the necessary wire run
and a light installed free if the
center could find someone to
pay the monthly light bill
which would amount to $36-42
per year.
A special meeting of the
council will lie held Tuesday,
Dec. 10, at 8 p.m.
The mail pouch
EDITOR:
Since July 1. 1971. Gov. McCall has paid in $7,840 towards a
dead pension plan.
Under this brazen act of legislation called "The Governor's
Re-iremem Act ." Gov. McCall would collect 45 per cent of his
present $32,000 per year salary, or $14,400 per year, and in 15
years would collect $216,000 or 27 times more than he
pprs.maliy paid in. Some people could go to jail for pulling a
deal like that . Especially since the people of Oregon on Nov.
7. 1972. killed this "instant pension windfall" by a 2 to 1 vote,
.V5.216 ir. 2SS.934.
Ac-ma Circuit Judge Paul Jones recently protected the
Eovervor's windfall, and by going against the majority vote
of trie people, thereby marie an open mockery of the
dem.ra'ic process. Talk about a conflict of interest!
Wise 'he governor's self-interest is involved where are
all 'i-.e pious mmithings about democracy?
I" a republic the people's vote would be secure. Their
repeal of a law by majority vote means repeal period! The
pet-pie majiirry are above the legislature, or any elected or
anpoived official including the so-called "divine right of
kf-u "
Wt,a the judge should have done is ordered the money paid
if by Gov McCall to be refunded appropriately to him with
i' cres because the pension law no longer exists and tne
s a e has no authority to act otherwise.
At er all. Tmr. McCall wanted the office of governor so bad.
was well paid for any services rendered and that's that !
W'i.a' we need is a new Declaration of Independence dated
! la-er than July 4. 1976. plus a letter of protest dated
':.:. '
WALTER HUSS,
Portland.
Oregon Country . . .
French-Canadian Louis Labonte was one of Oregon's
onainal settlers. He was employed by John Jacob Aslor's
Pacific Fur Trading Company and he took himself an Indian
wife. Lntle Songbird, daughter of Chief Kobaway of the
Cia:.sup Indians.
Abandoning his trap line he decided to take up farming.
And from a choice of nearly all the real estate in Oregon he
chose 640 acres of river bottomland near Dayton.
He lived to see Oregon become a state and died Sept. 30,
I860, in St Paul. But while he was alive he recalled in a
journal of having seen grizzly bear in the Willamette Valley
and of having watched Indians stalk deer.
Deer were plentiful in the early 1800s and during the fall
bieeding season, the bucks were pugnacious. In order to get
near enough to kill them an Indian would take the head of a
deer, including the hide of the neck and place it over his head.
Then craw ling on all fours and keeping the mouth of the deer
head off the ground, as if grazing, he would creep to the .
down-w ind side of the herd. He would also, so as to more
closely imitate the actions of a deer, occasionally jerk the
head from side to side as if driving away flies.
It wasn't long before a buck from the herd would spot the
suspicious stranger. Stamping and snorting he would
approach the Indian, always keeping himself between the
herd and the stranger. Shaking with excitement of having to
protect his harem, the buck would wheel on the intruder and
challenge him to fight. Maneuvering for position he would
begin his charge seventy or eighty feet away.
The hunter in the meantime would continue with the game
until the victim was within range. Throwing the head aside
he would let fly his fatal arrow from a crouched position.
But Louis Labonte saw what happened when the Indian
chanced to miss his mark. He wrote that as often as not the
buck would continue his charge at the suspected rival and
gore him, trample him and sometimes even kill him.
EDITOR:
Your suggestion of making our congressional representa
tives "dollar a year" men would have a backlash. Who could
complain about a guy who only makes a buck a year? Even I
take home more than that. However, I do believe if a man
agrees to work for a specified salary his boss has the right to
demand he earns the money.
The Sena'e and House of Representatives are 3,000 miles
away from Oregon. The complexities of our government
have grown to such proportions that it is impossible for the
average voter to keep up with the impending bills or know
who is present to cast their vole.
There is one way the constituents could see how their man
in Washington is doing. That is by placing TV cameras on the
floor of the Senate and the House. In view of their past
ra'ings. there would be no difficulty in finding sponsors for
the program. Il would be a natural for E! Paso Gas or Oscar
Meyer Baloney. From their past TV performances we are
aware of the stellar acting ability of these great stars.
At a recent televised investigating committee, did you
observe the masque of shock and disbelief portrayed by the
senators when one of the witnesses suggested that some of
their colleagues may have partaken a bit heavily of branch
wa'er and bourbon before voting on issues of importance?
Being on TV can have a great financial benefit to these
gentlemen. The chairman of one of the committees has
published several books One of them sold quite well. It is
titled. "The Wisdom of Sam Ervin." Now there is a man who
has been in congress for over 45 years and no one ever knew
he had any wisdom until he appeared on television.
With cameras on congress there would no longer tie the
excuse of a slanted media, "No one told me" or "I wasn't
there." There would nn longer he a need for huge campaign
funds. At the end of his tenure if the congressman had
discharged the duties of his office satisfactorily the voters
would renew his contract. If he had failed, then no amount of
money could get him re-elected.
We have seen how electronic spying devices are used
against citizens. We have seen how government agencies can
tie used to break a malcontent. What we have seen only
scratches the surface of what would be done if this power
were placed in the hands of a group with dictatorial
aspirations.
Before we, the governed, find Big Brother's cameras inside
our homes il behooves us to place the cameras where they
will work for us inside the hallowed halls of government.
WALT WEBB,
Condon.
EDITOR:
A doctor was looking over our community this past
weekend in terms of possibly setting up a practice here. I w as
out of the county during the weekend but the reports I've
received on my return confirm my feelings about what a
friendly community Heppner is.
I would like to thank all of you who helped with Dr. Bezek's
weekend. Each of you went out of your way to show Dr. Bezek
around and make him feel welcomed.
On behalf of the Doctors' Search Committee, thank you to
all of you who have helped the campaign by donations of time
or money. We have a lot of work ahead of us before this
campaign is completed, but if the spirit of cooperation to date
is any indication, we will be successful in bringing more
doctors to the community.
LIZ CURTIS, President,
Doctors' Search Committee
UNLIKELY LETTERS by WILLIAMS
Santa in town Saturday
Santa will greet Heppner's youngsters with candy this
Saturday when he arrives on Main Street to open the holiday
season.
After passing out candy to the youngsters he will go to the
old library building at City Hall and youngsters will have a
chance to visit with him and have their pictures taken in
color by members of the Soroptimist Club, for a fee of $1 per
photo.
Heppner's merchants will get into the swing of Christmas
as they will have various guessing contests in their store
windows this Saturday only. Each merchant will award the
lucky winner a gift certificate. On the following Friday
nights, Dec. 13-20, merchants will remain open until 9 p.m.
1
. t'
3 Ul u & 1
m
Mayor oi Hard man
DEAR MISTER EDITOR: ' , ,
Years ago litis woman come In the store wilh this poddle ...
dog in her arms. Both of em had this puffed up poodle hairdo-.:
and they had their hair and toenails painted the same color.
I got the idee that people was trying to make their pels in
their own image. Bui snap judgements has a way of coining
unfastened. From what's been going on recent I ain't sure
who's Irving to change who.
Mister Editor, it's bad when folks eat dog food cause
they're hungry, but it's worse when they eal the stuff cause
they like it. Il worries me that some folks think it's cute to
wear a dog flea colter, but it's downright scary when they
wear em cause they got fleas. II use to be if you told a man he
was going to the dogs il was a insult, but the way things is
going now it's a compliment.
I been wondering how to explain the difference between
real horse sense and the common kind. I saw by the papers ,
where up in Canada at one of their wild west celebrations
they come up wilh a contest lo see which could walk 100 mile
the fastest, a man or a horse. It was the man, not the horse,
that thought up the contest. If you come acrosl a better way
to tell what's horse sense and what ain't, I hope you'll pass it
along to everbody.
General speaking, people git it in their heads that whatever
way Ihey do somepun is the wrong way. When we was
growing up il wasn't a shame to git lice on you, but my Ma
allowed it was a hang dog shame to keep cm on you. She
would scrub us all over and boil our clothes til we was raw
and it was loo rough on the lice to try to live around us. But
the idee of wearing a lice roller no more come to her than it
did lo put deodorunt on us lo keep us from stinking. Her
feeling was if we was clean we wouldn't stink, and if we
wasn't clean Ihey weren't no use in covering up the stink with
perfume.
Zeke Grubb said at ihe country store Saturday night that
one big mistake everbody makes nowadays is treating the
pain instead of the cause of the pain. If we hurl we take a pill
that may ease Ihe pain but don't do a thing for Ihe bad tooth.
It appears to.methal wearing flea cullers is like that, and this
piece I saw said pet stores in San Francisco now stocks
rollers with jewels on em and in all colors cause they're such
a hot item fer people to wear. One store owner said she wore
em herself, so I'll guess she put Ihe coller on to show her dogs
that people wore em so they were alright fer dogs.
Animals are gitting the worst of the image deal. I see
where a feller in Davenport, Iowa took a mitten his dog had
chewed nn lo a art show and won a prize. He better not tell his
dog or Ihe pore mult will gil nervous like that chimp in the
zoo that had a breakdown from trying to imitate the people:
that was imitating him. How many ways can a dog chew a
mitten?
Yours truly,
MAYOR ROY.
Vu
The Post's
priestess promo
By l.KSTKR K INVOLVING
In their continuing campaign to obtain official Episcopal
Church consent for Ihe ordination of female priests and
bishops. Ihe Women's Caucus of this three million-member
denomination has shown a striking kind of ingenuity.
They retained a press agent who is not only clever, but who
also has excellent connections. For Betty Bagdikian and her
husband Ben are both alumni of the mighty Washington Post,
where she once served as religion writer and he as national
editor and later ombudsman.
The P ost is owned by Katherine Graham (an Episcopalian)
who is quite probably the most powerful woman in Ihe nation,
as she is the owner, also, of Newsweek magazine, as well as
radio and TV stations along with what might be called the
first symbolic Presidential scalp in American history.
The Post's current religion writer, Marjorie Hyer, is
therefore apparently al complete liberty to identify 11
Episcopal female deacons as "women priests" hi a rather
interesting ecclesiastical venture (for a secular news
paper especially since the denomination's highest authori
ties. General Convention and Ihe House of Bishops, do not
recognize the validity of their alleged ordination to the
priesthood last summer.
Such reporting apparently has its rewards, however, as
The Post continues to be the first to know what these ladies
will be up to next. Moreover, the Betty-Marjurie-Post promo
has something of a boffo effect on the public, which is not
entirely unlike the effectiveness of the famed "Packaging of
A President" in 1968. Yet this current PR is also beginning to
show slight signs of transparency, such as the following:
When three of these priestesses violated their deacons'
ordination vows by functioning as priests at Manhattan's
Riverside Church, the first four pews, full of cameramen,
focused on Ihe communion service's breaking of bread. But
the ladies weren't equipped with priests' wafers or even
ordinarily sized bread loaves. They had bread the size of
small manhole covers, which came off well on camera.
The offering at this service was announced as designated to
feed Ihe hungry. And, quite cleverly, it was sent to the
Episcopal Presiding Bishop's Fund-instead of to a neutral
feeding agency. When Presiding Bishop John Allin
conscientiously refused to allow either his office or the
hungry lo be so used, Miss Hyers' reporting in The Post made
him look monstrous.
After all but one Episcopal bishop ignored this affair at
Riverside Church, priestess Alison Cheek of Annandale,
Virginia, announced (by way of a large photograph in The
Post ) that she would again officiate as a priest this time in
Washington's swinging St. Stephen's and The Incarnation
Parish. But the posed photograph showed Mrs. Cheek in a
chasuble of such style as lo make her resemble a giant
butterfly hovering over rector William W'endt-who looked
as if he were the mad scientist in the film classic "Invasion of
The Giant Aphids."
At each of these two services, there is Luther's hymn "A
Mighty Fortress Is Our God," one of whose lyrics is- "The
body they may kill." Since none of these ladies' bishops
appears ready or willing even to mildly rebuke, much less
kill these bodies-there is a glaring contrast between Luther
facing burning at the stake and these ladies-who face
camera lenses. There is also striking contrast to the first
Episcopal female priest, ordained more than 30 years ago in
a Japanese prison camp, under real risk, as a necessity in
order that the sacrament be administered.
The overkill in all the current show biz is the very real
possibility that the Betty-Marjorie-Post promo may have
annihilated ail Episcopal discipline, along with resistance to
female ordination, given the unwillingness of the involved
bishops to carry out their vows to "diligently exercise such
discipline."
If in the future some avant-garde young priest announces
thai his conscience has told him that he is every bit as
entitled to keep concubines as Kings David and Solomon, will
his bishop advise, or consent? ,