Gleubeirgeir Flows flncome as Writer
lack into Expenses and Scholarships
By A. ROBERT SMITH
Mail Tribune Washington
Correspondent
Washington (Special)-Rich-ard
L. Neuberger, the writer,
now earns about 8,800 a year
"v, from current
i articles pub-
L ing magazines
:
it Vfc
A
ft- ifcw
and from roy-
I alties on
j books written
beforp he be-
came a U. S.
V y senator in
1 J 1955.
ftobt Smith
He plough virtually all of
his extra income back into
his job of being "a senator.
With this outside writing in
come, he pays those extra of
fice expenses not covered by
Senate allowances, and makes
scholarship contributions t o
Oregon college and universi
ties.
This, in a nutshell, is Neu
berger's answer to criticism
repeatedly made by the Re
publican state chairman of
Oregon. Peter Gunnar, who
has said of the senator's mag
azine writing: "Many people
don't understand this moon
lighting." "I don't see," said Neuberg
er, "how a senator could
have a more innocent source
of income."
He said he thought writing
" had always been considered
an honorable sideline of pub
lic men, whether they wrote
books (such as Gen. Dwight
D. Eisenhower, Sen. Robert A.
Taft and Sir Winston Church
ill) or magazine articles. He
said he never before heard
of a public figure being criti
cised for expressing his ideas
in print and earning custom
ary writing fees.
'Most Open Kind
"I feel that writing is the
most open kind of outside in
come. Everybody who sees
the article knows of it. If I
were a lawyer and shared
fees from outside private
legal work, nobody would
know it."
As for the suggestion by
Gunnar that he has neglected
his senatorial duties, Neu
berger replied, "I have never
written an article for sale at
my senate desk. I always do
it at my apartment, so it is
obvious I have not been ne
glecting my work in tht-Senate."
. ;
He noted that he works at
his Senate office until dinner
time before returning to the
Neuberger apartment, where
he said he finds relaxation in
writing during the evening.
Because he avoids the cock
tail circuit as much as pos
sible, the tee-totaling senator
said he has more leisure time
than some others after his
Senate work is through for
the day. Or be may rise early
and write for a period before
driving to the office. Speak
ing of his Senate work, Neu
berger added:
Not Enough Vacation
"My doctors say I overdo
it. They say I don't get
enough vacation."
He noted that he has the
best roll call answering rec
ord of any member of the
Oregon delegation who has
served during the same period
he has been in office. Includ
ing even the first six weeks
of this session which he miss
ed before he returned to the
Senate after his cancer ther
apy in Oregon, Neuberger
said he has answered 95.2
percent of all roll calls. He
pointed out that Oregon's Re
publican congressman, Rep.
Walter Norblad, has an 86
percent record.
"I do much less writing
than I am requested to do,"
he said. "About five or six
publishers asked me for a
story on my illness. I try to
do it in those areas where I
think it will do the most
good."
He noted that his recent
Harpers article on his cancer
bout is being reprinted (100,
000 copies) by the American
Cancer society. He has writ
ten two more articles on can
cer that will be published
later this year.
Variety of Magazines
Since he became a senator,
Neuberger has had published
articles in a variety of maga
zines. The Readers Guide to
Periodical Literature, which
checks prominent professional
and popular publications, lists
38 articles under his byline
during the past four and one
half years, through June of
this year.
The subjects have been
many: family allowances,
cigarettes and tobacco subsi
dies, resources (2), civil
rights, billboard controls (2),
power (2), the Senate senior
ity system, the Al Sarena
case, financing political cam
paigns (2), Lyndon Johnson,
political principles (2), lobby
ists, tax cuts, the no surrender
resolution (2), Oregon history,
no lottery, Klamath forests
(2), cancer, the Oregon Cen
tennial,' miscellaneous politi
cal topics (10), and three per
sonal articles - Mistakes of a
Freshman, My Wife Put Me
In The Senate, and The Best
Advice I Ever Had.
In this period, during which
time he reversed his previous
role to become a full-time
politician and a part-time
writer, Neuberger says his
writing income has averaged
about $8,800 annually. About
3,000 of this has come from
royalties on the six books he
has written, particularly the
children's books about the
Lewis and Clark expedition
and the Royal Canadian
Mounties, which continue to
have steady sales. The bal
ance, about $5,800, has come
from magazine articles.
'Have to Earn'
"I have to earn this out
side income to cover extra
expenses of running my of
fice," he observed.
Each senator is allowed to
incur certain expenses, paid
by the Government, to cover
office operations each year
Currently, the annual allow
ances are $1,800 for station
ery, $450 for airmail and
special delivery stamps, about
$2,500 for telegrams, $1,200
for renting office space in his
home- state, and $600 for all
expenses of that office, plus
20 cents per mile for one
round trip per year between
Washington, D.C., and the sen
ator's state. Long distance
telephone calls are allowed on
a time basis, rather than un
der a monetary ceiling. Each
senator is now allowed 120
official calls, aggregating no
more than 600 minutes each
month of the year.
Neuberger said that his
office regularly exceeds these
allowances except those for
telephone calls and telegrams.
When a senator exceeds an
allowance, he is billed for the
expenses. Neuberger pays
these bills out of his writing
income, so that it does not
have to come from his $22,500
annual salary as a senator.
Office Expense
He said that the bills for
100 Said Aboard
Capsized Ship
Manila - (UPD - An inter
island ship with more than
100 persons aboard capsized
and sank off the northern
coast of Palawan Island in the
western Philippines Thursday,
reports reaching here said
Friday.
The reports said only seven
persons had been rescued so
far from the ill-fated 241-ton
vessel Pilar II, and more than
93 were missing and feared
drowned.
The Philippine Navy rushed
the patrol vessel "Bohol" to
the area to help the fishing
boat Atonio ; the 12th' seek
more survivors.
An SOS message received
in Manila said the fishing boat
Fengnam Benz was in trouble
off the eastern Luzon coast.
extra office expenses, which
he pays, above and beyond
the government - paid allow
ances, mount up as follows:
Stationery - $2,100 a year.
He-said this is largely due to
his newsletter which he sends
monthly to a lost of 30,000
Oregonians. It also includes
paying for American flags,
sold in the stationery room,
when school children write
in and ask for one.
"How can a senator turn
down a youngster who wants
a flag," asked Neuberger. The
senator gets the bill - $3 for
the small ones, $6.50 for the
large.
Stamps -$300 a year. He
notes that because Oregon is
so far distant from Washing
ton, D.C., he can't rely on the
franking privilege (free first
class mailing privilege) for
correspondence on matters of
some urgency. The time re
quired by one exchange of let
ters mailed first class would
run about two weeks. To give
constituents faster service re
quires stamps, he stated. '
Photographs - $200 a year.
School children who want au
tographed pictures of their
senator can't be told he can't
afford it.
Radio and Televesion-$900
a year. This covers the cost
of periodic TV films and tapes
of recordings made in the
Senate recording studio of a
weekly conversational pro
gram between the senator and
Sheets Forwards
Mrs. Todd's Letter,
To Defense Office
Mrs. Ann Todd's challenge
of federal disaster relief funds
paid the Eagle Point irriga
tion district represents "the
first instance" in which such
a transaction has been ques
tioned, a state official has
reported.
The official, Arthur M.
Sheets, Oregon state civil de
fense director, informed Mrs.
Todd in a letter last week
that the matter would be re?
ferred to the U.S. office of.
civil and defense mobiliza
tion. Mrs. Todd, a water user of
the district, wrote Edward
Luckey, U. S. attorney" for
Oregon, Aug. 1 asking wheth
er funds paid the district af
ter the 1955-56 floods did not
benefit the California Ore
egon Power company rather
than the district itself.
Under Agreement
Under an agreement be
tween the district and Copco,
the utility company became
responsible for maintaining
the district's main canal at
its own expense. Since the
federal funds covered repairs
to this canal, Mrs. Todd al
leges, they benefited Copco.
The federal law governing
the funds' disbursement speci-J
fies they are to be allocated
to state or local governments.
Copies of Mrs. Todd' let
ter to Luckey were sent to
Sheets and to other promi
nent officials.
"Your letter," Sheets re
plied, "is very interesting and
the research ' work indicated
therein merits every consider
ation. "A great many project ap
plications resulting from the
storm and flood damages of
1955-and 1956 were process
ed in Oregon. This is the first
instance where a project ap
plication has been questioned.
"Therefore, it seems to the
best interest of all concerned
that the matter be referred
to the national office of the
office of civil and defense
mobilization for appropriate
action, and I have sent a
copy of your letter to our
federal regional office at
Everett, Wash."
Mrs.' Todd received replies
previously from Luckey and
from U. S. Senators Wayne
Morse and Richard Neuberg
er, all indicating their interest
in the matter.
Attorneys for the irrigation
district and for Copco have
declined comment.
Sharp Decline in
Green Fir Prices -
Portland - Crow's Lumber
Price Index recorded a sharp
decline in green fir prices in
the two week period ending
Aug. 20. The 25 items making
up the green segment of the
index declined an average of
$1 per thousand during the
period. Prices remain an aver
age of $7.48 per thousand over
those of a year ago, however,
with the 25 green fir items
Thursday bringing an average
price of $70.88, compared Jo
$63.40 on Aug. 20, 1958.
The market was the weak
est in random , green dimen
sion, Crow's said, with speci
fied lengths holding firm, and
heavy timbers unchanged in
price. Kiln-dried dimension
has shown ho weakness, ex
cept in straight carloads of
utility grade, according to
Crow's. Western Pine Asso
ciation species suffered an
over-all decline, with lower
prices noted in No. 2 and No.
3 common pine boards, green
Inland Douglas fir, and in se
lects. The shop grades of pine
continued very strong, Crow's
said.
Douglas fir plywood prices
failed to hold at the $76 index
for 4-inch AD, Crow's re
ported, and business was be
ing done freely at the $72
level at mid-week.
his wife, Maurine. Tapes are
mailed to about 25 radio sta
tions in Oregon who program
them as a public service.
Luncheons - $1,100 a year.
These consist chiefly of small
gatherings of several constit
uents a day who are visiting
the Senate and are the sena
tor's guests in the Senate din
ing room.
Small Parties
Entertainment-$500 a year.
This includes small dinner
parties which the Neubergers
have occasionally for Oregon
visitors and Senate colleagues.
Portland office-$250 a year
over the allowance.
Miscellaneous-$750 a year.
This includes his books, which
some request as gifts, auto
graphed, and other items han
dled from the petty cash fund.
In addition to paying these
office expenses, Neuberger
said he has contributed an av
erage of $1,500 annually for
scholarships. The latest was a
$500 grant to the University
of Oregon to honor David C.
Epps, the late Democratic
state chairman.
These various expense
items total about $8,650 a
year.
"As you can see from these
expenses, I have to have some
extra income," the senator ob
served. "How would they
want me to earn it? I think
this is the most honest way
to earn extra income."
Neuberger sees no conflict
of interest in this sort of pri
vate income while serving in
public office.
"I've never been lobbied by
magazine publishers," he
maintained.
Even when the question of
magazine postal mailing rates
was up in the Senate Post Of
fice committee, of which he is
a member, Neuberger didn't
hear from the magazines. He
points out that he cast the
deciding vote with Republican
committee members last year
in favor of higher postal rates
as recommended by the ad
ministration. This was the
largest postal rate increase
ever voted on one time, he
said the post office depart
ment informed, him.
'Bent Over Backwards'
"I feel that I bent over back
wards to be fair."
"He pointed out that in one
instance he sponsored a change
in the law to favor a particu
lar magazine, the historical bi
monthly, American Heritage,
which by a fluke in the law
was prohibited because of its
hard cover, from enjoying the
lower cost second-class mail
ing privileges ordinarily used
by magazines.
T thought this was an out
rage to discriminate against
the best magazine in the coun
try," the senator recalled, ex
plaining why he sponsored
the change.
Two months before, he said
he had finished an article for
American Heritage on the voy
age of the Tonkin to Astoria,
"Even though there was no
connection between the article
and the bill favoring the mag-.
azine, Neuberger said he gave
away the $500 payment he re
ceived from American Herit
age. It went for a scholarship
at Portland State college.
Mailing rates for magazines
are computed on the basis of
the amount of advertising and
editorial reading matter they
contain. The increased maga
zine postal rates involve
boosts for each of three years,
1959 through 1961, 20 per cent
annually for advertising and
10 per cent annually on edi
torial. "I would be for cutting out
all subsidies for magazines or
any other users of the mails,"
Neuberger said, "but Post Of
fice technicians tell us it
would result in the magazines
shifting over to Railway Ex
press. The post office depart
ment needs this second class
matter to employ postal clerks
during the off-peak hours af
'ter they have finished han
dling first class mail."
Continuing to write permits
the senator to keep his hand
in, as the saying goes, for he
has indicated he hopes to re
turn to full-time writing one
day, possibly after another six
year term in the Senate. More
over, writing now gives Neu
berger a sense of creative sat
isfaction which Senate speech
making doesn't provide him.
"My work here is harass
ing,' mused the senator, "so
MAIL TRIBUNE, MedferJ, Or.
Sunday, Aug. 23, 1959
it's a relief to get home at
night and do some writing. I
find it very relaxing. We cer
tainly haven't got rich on this
job, but we have no com
plaints." Except, perhaps, that Gun
nar's criticism is "personal
demogoguery" rather than
campaigning on the issues.
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