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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 1957)
Senator Lowry Outlines Reasons for Senate Deadlock; Gives Reasoning by Both Sides (Editor'i note: The follow ing article dealing with the Oregon legislature is by State Sen. Philip B. Lowry. Med iord. It is the first of a series of articles by members of the legislature from Jackson coun ty. All three members, includ ing Representatives Bob Dun can and Al Littrell. have been invited to use the columns of the Mail Tribune from time to time to report on the legisla ture, and to contact their con stituents.) By SEN. PHILIP LOWRY Salem The Oregon State Sen ate, evenly divided between 15 Democrats and 15 Republicans, completed the most rigorous week in its history without achieving the election of a Pres ident or the appointment of com mittees. As of Monday afternoon on the 128th roll call, all 30 votes being cast for Democrats for this high office, which fur nishes the successor to the gov ernorship in the event of a va cancy. Notwithstanding this, the deadlock has not yet been broken. The Republicans have offered to allow the Democrats to make whatever division of committes they see fit. It is to be hoped the spirited battle has left no mark of dis harmony between parties or in dividual members, and I think that such is the case. Tempers have been held well in check despite long, wearying hours of negotiations, caucusing and meet ing on the Senate floor. A roll call takes approximately one minute, and the procedure has been to take a few roll calls, re cess, negotiate and return for a continuation of the process. Roughly, the entire proceedings have been reminiscent of those of the truce teams at P&nmun- jon, Korea. Committees Named Both parties designated nego tiating committees to seek a solu tion of the division 'of committee assignments, thinking this would provide the key to the selection of a president. The bipartisan committee started work in the belief that committee assign ments should be equally divided between the two parties, but it soon became apparent to the ne gotiating committee, of which I was a member, that "equality of committee assignments" had al most as many meanings as . we have members in the Senate. The Senate has 20 standing committees to consider bills af fecting all fields of legislation. These committees differ greatly in importance. Some may be rel atively unimportant in one ses sion and have tremendous power in another session, depending upon the nature of current legis lation. Generally speaking, how ever, the taxation committee and the ways and means committee (appropriations) are considered first in rank ,as they control the method of raising revenue and expenditures. It was agreed at the outset that the Democrats should have majority control of both of these committees so that success or failure in this respect would follow the Democratic party. All revenue bills must originate in the House of Repre sentatives, and it would there fore be impossible for the Senate Taxation Committee to devise a revenue program. Seek Policy Voice As we started negotiations, the bipartisan committee was aware that all House committees, were chairmaned and controlled by Democrats, and it was the belief of a majority of the members of the bipartisan committee that the Republicans should be as signed control of certain Senate committees which would give them a voice in polcy-making de cisions and create a committee balance which would result in bipartisan support for any sound program. .Wftiaaei Why, Oh Why, Won't He Listen? You, too, will be better off if you listen to an expert when you buy fire insurance. Don Stathos, Insurer, is just such an expert. He's nearby. He's handy when you need him fast. You can talk to him any time. He will see that you have the right kind of insurance and the right amount, whether it's fir or any other insurance. So, for quality Insurance Service, DON STATHOS INSURORS Professional Insurance Protection 220 South Central Medford Phone 2-2677 Suffice to say that the biparti san negotiating committee be came a puppet for the divergent elements and was never em powered by both parties to reach a conclusion which would be binding without the ratification of all concerned. For this reason, its efforts were destined to fail despite the fact that the com mittee itself was able to agree. Heart of Legislature To those not thoroughly fa miliar with the Legislature, it is necessary to understand that the committee process is the heart of the Legislature. All bills must be referred to some committee and once there the committee, for all practical purposes, has the power of life or death with respect to any bill. Theoretically, a two-thirds vote of the entire Senate can take a bill away from a committee where it has been assigned by the President. This is extrmely rare and has never been accomplished within my legislative experience. Likeswise. it is necessary to understand that the presiding of ficer assigns all bills introduced to committee. This is a tremen dous power as a bill may relate to several different legislative fields and can logically go to any one of a number of commit tees. Actually, the President may assign a bill to any committee, regardless of its contents, and the only check on this is the integ rity of the presiding officer. The presiding officer may use one of the standing committees for a dumping or burial ground for bills he disfavors, and set up another committee for bills which he wishes to expedite. To accomplish this, the presiding officer designates members of some committee which will be in complete harmony with his views. In the past, there has been little abuse of this tremendous power. Reason for Controversy We, therefore, have a situation where by reason of the commit tee process a majority of the Senate may favor a bill but be unable to get it to the floor for a vote. This committee process has in ' reality been the reason for the controversy on commit tee division and the selection of a president. Members of both parties appear to be distrustful that the other will abuse the al ready exaggerated powers of the committees. An easy solution of the prob lem, which I greatly favor, would be to amend the rules to allow a bill to be taken away from committee on a simple ma jority vote of the entire Senate. This would put an end to par liamentary finagling, and allow the majority to govern. The only disadvantage of such a rule, which has now been adopted by the House of Representatives, would be that some bad legisla tion might sail through under the pressure of a strong lobby. Other Solutions The present deadlock suggests the possibility of its recurrence. This could be prevented by mak ing constitutional provision for a Lieutenant Governor or an in crease or a decrease in the Sen ate membership by one. The lat ter method may be preferable because no one as yet has indi cated willingness to pay a suffi cient salary to attract a Lieuten ant Governor of competence or assign him any duties other than presiding over the Senate. If a Lieutenant Governor is con ferred with executive power it creates friction-with the Gover nor, particularly if they are of different political parties. One of the ironies of this dead lock is the clear fact that neith er party has members of uni form political beliel Both the Republicans and the Democrats have "liberals," "conservatives." and "middle-of-the-roaders." The r h if r?? negotiating committee recogniz ed this by attempting to suggest personnel for certain committees which would achieve balance in this regard. My great hope is that the "moderates" of both parties will control their respec tive groups to insure a stable, progressive and nonpartisan course of legislation which is based upon sound policy rather than emotional appeal. Many Proposals To date there have been pro posals which are a lure for everybody except the taxpayer, and I am beginning to wonder who is going to represent that long suffering citizen at this ses sion. It remains to be determined which faction of what party will assume control of the Senate, and it will be a tremendous loss for Oregon if strict party discip line in either party causes par tisanship on Oregon problems which are fundamentally non partisan. In any event, it is to be hoped that all 30 members in the Sen ate will act as Oregonians rather than politicians. . The debate this week has been sharp but not acrimonious. The time loss has not been sig nificant because little is ordinar ily accomplished under normal conditions during the first cou ple of weeks as we are waiting for bills to be introduced. Disturbs Members One thing which disturbed many members of the legislature was rumor, perhaps sent up as a trial balloon, that H. G. Maison was to be removed as superin tendent of the Oregon State Po lice. I personally shared this feeling because this fine admin istrator of ability and integrity has continued to build our Ore gon State Police with the objec tive of good law enforcement with no politics involved. Mr. Maison was for a time my Regi mental Commander in the 63rd Infantry in the Southwest Paci fic during World War II, and 1 came to know his excellent qual ifications for his present posi tion. Previous Republican ideas some years ago along this same line met with the same reaction the Oregon State Police must not be subject to political influ ence or domination. We all know that we have an outstanding State Police' staff in southern $100,000 Reward Posted for Slayer Of Chicago Boys Chicago (U.R) A S100.000 re ward has been offered for the slayer of three Chicago boys in a bid by a group of wealthy men to "buy" the solution to that and other major crimes around the nation. The Chicagoans pledged the money to the newly-formed Crime Detection Institute in hopes that mammoth rewards will help stop crime in Chicago and elsewhere. Institute members said their idea was that informants would not be able to resist telling what they know of major crimes un der the impetus of such huge sums of money. First President Circuit Judge Julius H. Miner, who conceived the Institute and became its first president, said the Bureau of Internal Revenue has indicated officially that con tributions to the reward fund would be tax-deductible. The number one quarry of the businessmen was the man or men who picked up three Chi cago schoolboys on a rain-swept street a year ago last October and committed one of the most brutal crimes in Chicago history. The naked, battered bodies of John Schuessler, 13, his brother, Anton, 11, and Robert Peterson, 13, were found two days later in a forest preserve ditch. One of the greatest manhunts Chicago has ever known failed to pro duce the killer. Scientists Study Rice Paddy Snails Iowa City U.R) A tiny snail that hves in the rice paddies and irrigation ditches of the Orient is the object of an exten sive study by a Chinese scientist at the University of Iowa's col lege of medicine. Dr. Hsi Fan Hsu has been studying the problem posed by the snail since 1948. So small it can hardly be seen with the naked eye, this amphibious snail is known to carry a blood fluke in its larval stage which infects the human liver and certain abdominal veins. Any person who walks or steps in water infested with the creature is almost sure to con tract the disease. The disease, which is fatal more than 10 per cent of the time, is very hard to get rid of. Victims who don't die find it a chronic disease. Suffering from abdominal pains and enlargement of the liver and spleen, victims grad ually weaken, requiring more and more rest each day until they become bedridden. Oregon and throughout the state. Oregonians should not hesitate to let the governor know their feelings on this subject. Jackson county residents will be glad to know that our House delegation of Rep. Al Littrell and Rep. Bob Duncan are both already doing a fine job and have excellent committee as signments. It is our mutual hope that we can find the answers to some problems which peculiarly confront southern Oregon. All of us will be glad to receive your views on any subject at any time. A letter may be addressed to us at: "State Capitol Build ing, Salem, Oregon." Moving Rugged The rugged first week of the session was less hectic than try ing to move the family to Salem a week ago Saturday. The fam ily station wagon was bulging with the children (a sack of ap ples to forestall hunger pains) play pen, teeter babe, suitcases and all the other paraphernalia required to keep the family go ing for an indefinite time. Hence my absent-mindedness in an Al bany service station where I left my billfold while making change and trying to get one of the boys to the bathroom in time. The Sunday night session which lasted from 7 pjn. to 4:30 a.m. Monday was brightened by the recovery of the billfold by the Oregon State Police, who had practically no "clues." The billfold, I understand, was found in the possession of an out-of-state motorist at a point many miles south of Albany. This saved the day! Rave Bondadiffer- ,957iorea; ..for who've ben end Warmed-over ho , ,he on- ...r is sP16'' desig" 1 Ago new hroo' car i testea Don't - --111 -" : - - New Jersey Medical Society Takes Steps Against Mercy Killing Trenton, N.J. (U.R) The Medical Society of New Jersey condemned mercy killing today as a practice "in conflict with accepted principles of morality and sound medical practice." The society released a short statement adopted by the or ganization's Board of Trustees criticizing a petition in the Leg islature to legalize euthanasia. The petition, signed by 166 New Jersey physicians, was in troduced in the Legislature last week. Right to Opinions The resolution of the 6.300 member medical society said "as private citizens those physicians have the right to their own opinions and actions." However, the society said, "those opinions are not to be construed as reflecting the offi cial and accepted position of or ganized medicine regarding eu thanasia." "The practice of euthanasia has been and continues to be in conflict with accepted prin ciples of moraltiy and sound medical practice," the statement said. The petition, said to have been prepared by the Euthanasia Society of New York headed by the Rev. John Howland Lathrop of Brooklyn, N.Y., urged that "voluntary euthanasia should be permitted by law, brought out into the open and safeguarded reviews c - doubt trove! than any fea itureJ t .... .,Cciri 56, Jan. Nov. smash the To meet the landslide buyer demand, the largest manpower force in Mercury's history is working overtime in all assembly plants to produce a record 40,000 BIG m's in January alone ... a Mercury a minute, every minute of the day and night, the big m is the smash success of 1957. The reason? . . . value! Never before has so much bigness and luxury cost so little! Why not stop in and see your Mercury dealer today? miss the bis television hit, 'THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW," Sunday evening, 8:00 te : 00. Sttrion KBES, Channl S. MEDFORD MOTORS, Inc. 6th and Ivy Phone 2-6157 Tuesday, January 22, 19S7 against abuse, rather than as at present practiced illegally, sur reptitiously and without regula tion." It suggested that mercv kill ing be authorized by a court of i record after it is requested by a sufferer, and after investiga tion of the case by a court-appointed committee. Would File Petition Under such a law a person suffering from an incurable dis ease such as cancer would first petition for his own death. A physician would then submit an affidavit to the validity of the petition and to the patient's con dition, then a court order would be sought to authorize ending the patient's life to stop his suffering. Proponents of such a law ar gue that the aged arid victims of incurable diseases who fare long periods of agony, some times attempt crude methods of suicide. Some are released from the suffering secretly by rela tives or doctors who are willing to stand trial for murder. There was a similar move to legalize mercy killing in New Jersey seven years ago. It was unsuccessful. The railroad system inside the Ford Motor company's Rcuge plant at Dearborn, Mich., has 106 miles of rails, 24 diesel loco motives and over 1,200 cars. from the auto critics! . rar for you if you want a d.stmehvely "Mercury ear to 'you J cQpy styled medium-priced car that isni of any other automobile.' CAR UFEJan. '57 wl llllytJ1, ! i" " y""rT" ? leaned from ,h. t, rylino , u. .1 ! ' from new icnned ""pension, ,T, a MOTOR TREND c., D. -56. "Mercury is spectacularly different." POPULAR MECHANICS'57 CarFacf. hit with EOCUEW -for 'S"F with DREAM-CAR DESIGN Jacksont School Plans Forming Dad's Club Fathers of students attending Jackson school have been asked to attend a meeting at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23, in Paul Gandt's room at Jackson school. Purpose of the meeting is to form a Dad's club, the first in any of the local schools, it has been announced. r REMODELING or BUILDING... ... Here's Your Answer!! 11 4' -mmmm ri WiritiSM City Appliance, Inc. "Jackson County's Exclusive Hotpoint Dealer" 127 N. Central Across from Penney's Phone 3-5306 bo.. -j Ul. AW.. yon. We '""oscert ""ion he most SCulDtur.J uarl ., Jan. '57 the public! MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE TVfZ Soviet Antarctic Expedition Gets Data London (U.R) The Sov iet Anarctic expedition has col lected enough data for the first geological map of the Russian exploration site in eastern Ant arctica and will leave for home shortly. Radio Moscow said to day. ' on mi, y on 0"OoV " o'm, IOJ Book
