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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 16, 1957)
Senator ction 'Editor' bo: Thii is in ert her is a leriee of articles prepared by Jackson county legislator! discussing the 1957 legislature.) By PHILIP LOWHY State Senator We Orron:ns need to take j ior. nara iook ai ine airet-1 tion in which our executive and legislative pol icies and our resource limi tations have our state head ed. Bee a u s e the legislative results of the r e c e ntly ad- i .. -J AdiU r i session w 1 1 i ltt:r have a very real effect on each of us and our families, it is important to know what was really done at Salem. Some passage of time v)ll be required to fully evalu ate the successes, failures and mistakes of the 49th Session. This legislature set a good many "lirsts". It was the long est session in history (128 days!, and spent nearly a half million dollars more than any other session in doing its work. It passed a record budget, alone with a large tax increase. Much time was often spent on bills of relatively minor consequence Important measures sometimes received insufficient considera tion, particularly in the closing days of the session. As usual much legislation was the prod uct of well represented minority groups. Emotion rather than reason sometimes held sway Personal Politics Partisan, and even personal politics, sometimes prevented deliberate consideration in de ciding how we could give Ore- eon the best possible govern ment. Progressive legislation was sometimes confused with legislation of doubtful common sense Some of the really important bills can only be judged after they have gone through the crucible of practical operation and effect. The lobbies were more active than ever and some of them had a propaganda hey day. Republican and Democrats alike had their political head ache. Democrats were in the Juajoritj and could not fully agree on a program among teraeles. The Republican Minorite lacked sufficient mem bership to mount a program of their own. A number of promin ent Democrats frequently dis Xree4 with the Governor's pro gram. Bi-partisan Sponsorship Probably the best legislaion Was produced by bipartisan sponsorship which was directed In the interest of the general public without regard to woo ing the voters or embarrassing the other political party. The mail was approximately three times heavier than in the 1955 session, indicative of a growing healthy concern of Ore- gonians as to the doings of the legislature. To the many hun dreds of citizens of Jackson county who took the time to express themselves, I say, a grateful '-Thank You." The legislature stuck its head in the sand to ignore the cold fact that Oregon is having an economic headache. The busin ess climate for producing jobs and income in Oregon, which was none too good before, wors ened. Our seasonal forest industry largest supplier of housing raw materials, is the victim of a na tional policy to curb inflation Logging and lumbering, here tofore seasonal, have become more so as timber becomes av ailable only at higher eleva tions. Other Seasonal Agriculture and tourist trade, number two and three respec tively in our basic economy, are likewise seasonal. At least a ma joritv of the legislature seem ed to ignore the important fact that undeniable statistics show that Oregon is now below the United States per capita income average Bank debit figures show our economy is not all we wouh like. Some parts of Oregon such as Multnomah county with more diversified sources of in come, were not overly sympa thetic with the other parts c'. the state that may be confront ed with a long range economic problem. High production costs, heavy taxation and unfavorable transportation rates to distant markets pose a real problem for Oregon jobs and industry Oregonians have always lau dibly taken pride in attempting to lead the nation in a good many fields. As Oregonians we do not want and must not, sit by ' and see a situation develop where a reduction in state in come can only mean a reductiop in our standards ctf living, edu cation and humanitarian pro grams. Hard Working Above all. this was a hard working group in the 49th As sembly. Absences in the Senate were almost unknown. Com- in Legislature nnittees met on Saturdays and many nights, trying to get the job done. Taxation and educa- tion were in the spotlight most of the session. In brief, here is ; what was done: A total of 1336 bills, 136 re3 j olutions and 31 memorials were ' introduced of the total, 672 bills ! passed botn houses. Legislators referred 11 measures to the vote of the people in November 1958. All bills become law on Aug. 20 unless they carry an emergency clause or a different effective date. Appropriations Final appropriations for the 1957-59 budget amounted to $272,000,000 about $51,000,000 above the current budget. Taxation The Damocratic tax program calls for $149,300,000 from the personal income tax and about $40,000,000 from the excise tax This is about a six per cent in crease in personal income tax over the present 45 per cent surtax and about a 17 per cent increase in business taxes. Miscellaneous revenues from liquor, death taxes and insur ance taxes make up the bal ance The 45 per cent surtax was repealed in name only and the equivalent of about a 51 per cent surtax was written into Is That So? By EUGENE BURNS Rlnger-Naruralitr The names of many flowers have interesting histories. Some plants, for examples, are hy brids the word hybrid coming from the Latin hybrida which means the offspring of a tame sow and a wild boar. But now for the names: ARROWROOT: the starch ob tained from the rootstocks of 6-15-J7 this plant was used by the Amer ican Indians to take the poison out of wounds from arrows. Hence, arrowroot. ASTER: the white and pink and purple blossoms look like stars, don't they? And aster is a Latin word meaning just that. CAMELLIA: the great Swed ish naturalist Linnaeus christen ed this lovely flower in honor of a Jesuit traveler, George Joseph Kamel, who brought back the first specimens from the Orient, ent. CANTERBURY BELLS: be cause these dainty flowers re semble the bells that jangled on the horses of the Canterbury pil grims whom the poet Chaucer wrote about. DAHLIA: this flower, a na tive of Mexico and Central America, was named after Dahl, a Swedish botanist. GERANIUM: the seed pod of the geranium is thought to look like the bill of a crane and so the name of this flower traces back to the Greek word, geran os, meaning crane. GADIOLUS: because the bril liant spikes of its flowers were supposed to resemble the Ro man sword, gladius, which the gladiators carried in the arena. HELIOTROPE: the flower has the trick of turning with the sun. Observing this the Greeks called it heliortropion made up of helios, meaning sun; and tropos, turning to go with it. LARKSPUR: our bird the lark is noted for its long, straight, hind claw. Look at the spur-shaped flowers and you'll see the resemblance at once. MAGNOLIA: this plant, whose bark and flowers are both frag lant, was once used in China to season rice, states Dr. Wilfred Funk, in his new book. Word Origins (Funk. N.Y.). It was named after Pierre Magnol, a French professor of botany. NASTURTIUM: the L a ti n word means, "nose-twisters." If you chew one of the seeds the bitter taste will make the mean ing of the name more obvious. PANSY: some poetic-minded person fancied that this dainty fiower had a throughtful face, and so named it pensee the French word for thoughtful, from which our word pansy. RHODODENDRON: simply a rose tree, from the Greek, rho don, meaning rose, and dendron meaning tree. (Released by McClure News paper Syndicate) Free: By special arrangement with the editors of the Encyclo pedia Americana, my panel of judges will award each week to the reader who sends me the best true-life adventure, the best nature observation, or the best question on nature and wildlife, a complete 30-volume set of this world-famous refer- 9fe wry uiscusses the permanent rate structure, The dependency credit was raised from S500 to S600. Com plete withholding, designed to soften the blow, will go into ef ! feet in September. A few tax payers get a break under this program. Widows and single wage earners will suffer most Business subject to the excise tax lost the right to pay in in stallments. This tax program leaves us with the highest over all rate in the nation. The per sonal income tax measure was dubbed the "Rotten Apple Bill" after Democratic Senator Musa called it and the 45 per cent surtax "a small choice between rotten apples." I opposed the 45 per cent surtax in 1955 and, likewise, voted against the 1957 bill. The Interim Tax committee program designed to broaden the tax base, provided local pro perty tax relief and greater state aid to local education was kill ed in the House weeks before the amount of the budget was known. Senate Bill 92, prevent ing the state from taxing local property passed the Senate eas ily but was killed in the House Rumblings of a referendum on the personal income tax oil' have been heard. Referendum could produce financial crisis in Oregon and a special session Education This, I hope, will prove to be a bright spot. The basic fund was increased and a better for mula provided for dividing it among local districts. A school reorganization bill was passed to consolidate our haphazard school district organization with escape clauses for districts which really do not want to consolidate. Another bill provides for equalizing school finance with in counties to help locally dis tressed districts. The mentally retarded children's program was expanded. Two year community colleges were authorized, and many of the pressing needs in higher education were met. Labor Unemployment benefits were increased from $35 to $40 per week and employer contribution rates were sharply increased Workmen's compensation bene fits were increased by approxi ately 20 per cent. The Senate refused to repeal the anti-pick eting law. State employees were put under unemployment com pensation and political subdiv isions were given the option of covering their employees under unemployment compenstaion. A new state conciliation service was established. Government Reorganization The Governor's program to abolish the three-man Board of Control, create the office of Lieutenant-governor, to call an nual sessions of the Legislature, to abolish the Liquor Control : commission and to create a full 1 time paid Parole Board to re place the present voluntary, un paid board were all defeated. Senate Republicans defeated the Parole Board bill but all the i others were killed in Democrat ically controlled committees. A Planning and Development de partment was set up to replace the Oregon Development com mission which was abolished Veterans Veteran loan authorizations were increased to 85 per cen of valuation with a maximum of $13,500 for homes and $30 , 000 for farms. Elections The election bill streamlining our election procedure passed easily. It provides for a single poll book and $1 an hour for election clerks. Criminal Procedure The vice probe in Multnomah county caused a number of bills to be introduced but little ac tion was taken. The Multnomah county delegation killed all ef forts to legislate anything sub OFFICE CHANGED Starting Tuesday, June 18, a representative of the Medford Social Security office will main tain office hours in the First Christian church, 311 S. W. H St., Grants Pass, from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday and Wed nesday of each week. In the past, the social security rep resentative has maintained of fice hours in the council cham ber of the Grants Pass city hall. The change in location will pro vide ground floor space, mak ing the representative accessible to a greater number of callers. ence work in a handsome Seal craft binding. Each week new submissions will be considered. Sorry, I simply can't answer many friendly letters. Please address your letter to: Is That So: c'o Medford Mail Tribune, Box 575, Sausalito, Calif. See "SHADY" for SHADES VENETIAN and ROLL Wakefield Drapery 1100 Crater Lake Ave. SP 2-6010 stantial along this line. Local Government A measure will be on the bal lot to allow the voters to de cide on county home rule. The cities' share of liquor receipts was doubled to take care of the increasing problem of law en forcement. County court were authorized to initiate zoning or dinances and submit them for popular vote. Natural Resources No action was taken on the Columbia River Compact but the Klamath River Compact was acted on favorably. A study of the potential water uses of the Rogue river was authorized. The fishing laws were tightened up and several soil conservation measures were enacted. Welfare The Relative Responsibility law was greately modified. No support payments will be re quired where income is less than $6,000. The welfare budget was increased and a council on the aging was created. Institutions, Public Health The state building program was one place where economy prevailed but it may prove more expensive in the long run as costs increase. Compulsory statewide meat inspection was enacted together with a comprehensive program of brucellosis control. Business Regulation Senate Bills 274 and 275 to give the Public Utilities com missioner authority to reason ably regulate railroads, passed after a bitter struggle in the House. Saturday bank closing was soundly defeated in the Senate and the bill to regulate trading stamps was tabled. Two sessions of representing Jackson county at the Legisla ture have convinced me that our problems are fundamentally non-partisan and must be treat ed that way. We can and will solve our problems if we all pull together and recognize that we must act positively and con structively. A legislator is esti mated to cast about 3,000 votes during a session, in committee and on the floor. Honest mistakes, and some times, bad ones, are bound to be made and I am sure that I have made them right alon? with others. My interim assign ments include the Senate Inves tigating committee and the Tax ation Interim committee. No senator could have had finer bi-partisan support than that given me by our people of Jackson county. It has been a great privilege to work for you and represent you. Westinghouse Automatic Mew sauare element follows sauare shape of Dan, gives even heat over entire cooking surface. Thermometer - type thermostat controls heat from edge to edge, not just in one spot as m ordinary fry pans. Open Handle prevents burned fingers, permits asy balancing when filled. Look for the square pan with the square element! ton cam be sure- nfc Westinghouse Trowbridge & Flynn Electric Company 214 West Main Phone SP 3-6241 On The Side (Distributed by King I think true love is never blind. But rather brines in added llebt. An Inner vision quirk to find. The beauties hid from common sight. No soul can ever clearly see Anothers highest, noblest part; Save through the sweet philosophy And loving wisdom of the heart. Phoebe Cary Any woman who has proven herself a clever home manager has what it takes to succeed as a business executive. So says Mrs. Charles Ulrick Bay, one of this country's most successful busi ness executives. At the present time over a million women in the United States hold execu tive jobs. In many cases these feminine executives tell men what to do. There are even fore women for construction gangs I have never seen such a fore woman in action. I would like to. Must be an interesting spec tacle. Asking Queries from clients. Q. Have you a Brooklyn accent? That is do you pronounce burn as "boin," pearl as "poil," point as "pernt" and so on? A. There is no such thing as a "Brooklyn accent." The manner of pro nunciation you refer to prevails in the Greenpoint section pf Brooklyn. It is a "Greenpoint accent." I am from the Bay Ridge section of the beautiful borough across the bridge. . . . Q. Who said, "God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers"? I claim it was Thackeray. Right? A. The origin of the quotation referred to is unknown. It is a Jewish prov erb. As for Thackeray, you prob ably had in the mind his obser vation, "Mother is the name of God in the lips and hearts of little children." Divorcees Preferred In this country divorcees in the 20 tot 38 year age group continue to be preferred matri monial material. Even the fact a divorcee has two or three children does not decrease her chances of acquiring a hus-1 band. In fact, divorcees with a couple of children seem to have a strong attraction for some men seeking spouses. The divor cees appear to have a preference for bachelors, that is young men who have never been married. This is making the husband hunting situation very tough for bachelorette Please Note Do you consider yourself a well-informed sports fan? If so, state what celebrated boxer fought in the bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, mid dleweight, welterweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight classes at different times in his career. When a person yawns it is not always a sign of boredom. Excitement can make you yawn. So says a scientist. Keep that S3 Sunday, June IB, 1957 By E. V. Durling Features Syndicate. Inc.) in mind, young lady. If the fellow calling on you cut loose with a yawn, don't immediate ly conclude he is bored. He may be excited. In fact, he might be getting ready to propose. What is the dumbest or least intelligent of all animals? That's what a Philadelphian asks. I have no authoritative informa tion on this matter. Nor have I any definite ideas. However, it might be the pigeon. I heard of a pigeon that spent five weeks trying to hatch an elec tric light bulb. Get It Right Among recent interesting grounds for divorce are those offered by a California woman seeking separation from her 83-year-old husband. She said he is "a woman chaser" . . . De Wolf Hopper had eight wives, only two less than Tommy Man ville. So I note it said. That's wrong. De Wolf Hopper had only six wives. They were as follows: 1. Ella Gardner. 2. Ida Mosher. 3. Edna Wallace. 4. Nel lie Bergen. 5. Ella Furry (now known as Hedda Hopper). 6. Lil lian Glaser. SPEAKER Mrs. C. J. (Louise) Humphrey, Portland, will dis cuss "Omissions and Commis sions of the 1957 Legislature" at several meetings in Medford this week. She will meet with the governmental operations committee of the Jackson Coun ty Chamber of Commerce at a 7:30 a.m. breakfast Wednesday, and speak at meetings of the Rotary and Kiwanis clubs. A television and radio interviews have been planned. For the past 16 years she has been associated with the Oregon Tax research, a state taxpayer group, and has served on four interim tax study committees. She is a mem ber of the National Tax associa tion and various service and bus iness organizations. 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