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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 1960)
From Oregon's Press Oregon's newspapers are, generally, vigorous and well-edited. The following are editorials, articles or column comment from various Oregon papers, quoted either in full or in part, and selected because of their general interest. Their publication does not Imply either approval or disapproval on the part of the Mail Tribune of the opinions given. 23rd Amendment Is Badly Needed This newspaper has always felt that our federal income tax was immoral. " It is definitely socialistic and is not related to actual need for financing a govern ment that follows the prin ciples of our Constitution. We have read considerably about the evils of our foreign aid program and have come to the conclusion that the only way to stop this aid was to cut off the source - the in come tax. Thus, when we were ap proached some six weeks ago. by proponents of the 23rd amendment which would abolish the income tax we listened with considerable in terest. Here were people that spoke our language. Here was a vehicle for accomplishing what we believe should be done. Here was a way to start a return to constitutional gov ernment. When Willis E. Stone, Los Angeles industrial engineer, appeared in Medford last week at a series of meetings he drew considerable support for the amendment from think ing, mature people. He started the ball rolling that we hope will eventually result in Ore gon formally approving it as Wyoming and Texas have al ready done. Stone spoke last September before members of Scottish Rite and their friends in Port land. Since that time "Volun teers for Constitutional Gov ernment of Oregon, Inc.," has been formed to carry on the work of promoting the amend ment. Each Congressional district has been organized. This, the fourth congressional district, was the last to receive atten tion of the group. Several meetings have been held in Medford and elsewhere and support for the amendment has come from practically all walks of life. Opposition to the amend ment is bound to come from those with socialistic leanings, those who want the govern ment to control our lives, those to whom freedom is an idle word. This opposition must be ex-! pected. But if facts will-kill the opposition, they'll die for 15 years of research has been put into getting the facts that will answer any fair minded opposition. Times of Bogus River. 23 Skidoo By CHARLES A. SPRAGUE A chap by the name of Wil lis Stone, said to be a great grandson of the late Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone, has been doing the luncheon cir cuit in Oregon endeavoring to build up support for the "23rd Amendment" to the federal constitution. It is quite a package. It forbids the gov ernment to engage "in any business, professional, com mercial, ' financial or indus trial enterprise except as spe cified in the constitution." All "activities" banned by this provision would have to be liquidated within three years. Tacked on is another section which repeals the Sixteenth (income tax) amendment and forbids any future levy of taxes on personal incomes, estates or gifts. We note that the Portland Chamber of Commerce gave Stone its forum lucheon per iod for a speech in support of this amendment, and some civic groups in Southern Ore gon also gave him audience. One amendment, repeal of which Stone didn't advocate, guarantees freedom of speech and assembly, so he is quite at liberty to mount a soap box and declaim. There is no re quirement that a body pro vide him a captive audience however, and it is rather sur prising that a group presum ably as intelligent as the Port land chamber would furnish the soap box for such agita tion. For who dreams the gov ernment ean- or should get along without levying taxes on personal income, estates and gifts? -Substitute levies to produce the ;. sums required would compound the burden or distribute--it . inequitably. Manufacturers' taxes would pyramid;-a federal tax on top of state, sales taxes would be so oneroits as to dry up trade: and marking up corporation raxes wouia grieve the per son backing the "23rd Amend ment." . nal, and on what terms? All the stored crop surpluses, nine billion worth, would be dump ed. Even the post exchanges at remote army posts would have to be hold. Government arsenals, like the one at Rock Island, would be disposed of, and presumably the govern ment would have to liquidate all its investment in plants for developing missiles, space engines, and advanced weap ons, leaving all this to priv ate business. Sure we could abolish all these taxes and sell or give away all these assets. We could go back a century and a half and live the simple life of our forefathers. But anyone in his senses knows we aren't going to do anything of the sort. For all their shewdness in business, businessmen are oft en both dumb and gullible in matters relating to politics. They go around weeping in their beards over the deplor able state of the union and feel themselves utterly inpo tent in influencing the course of government. Many let themselves be played for suckers for the most outland ish programs, frequently dis guised as anti-Communism, which have absolutely no chance of adoption. Really they out not. to be so dumb. Contributing money or time to promote this 23rd amend ment is a waste of both, as every sensible businessman will tell you, even though he might welcome such a revers al of policy. The signoff for this column is "23 Skidoo!" Oregon Statesman, Salem. As for getting the govern ment out of business in three years, that's a pipedream. The only business given tolerance in the constitution is the post office. Everything else would have to go. All these federal hydro-electric dams would go on the auctionblock they would have a market, but could the private capital re quired be assembled in three years? At the same time the vast federal forests would be put up for sale, and the pub lic graizing lands. Who would bid on the Panama Ca- Mathematics of Teachers' Pay Last spring we sharpened up a pencil and figured out the probable lifetime earn ings of an Oregon college teacher and a New York truck driver. . The result was worse than we expected. The truck driver starts at about $6,200. Now we have the steel strike settled. The average steelworker is to get $3.24 an hour plus fringe benefits eq ual to about 30 cents an hour. Forgetting the fringes, that's $6,739 a year if he works 40 hours each week. Concurrently we see by a report of the Oregon Educa tion association that class room teachers in Oregon have gained a new high in earnings this year. The average teach er gets $5,334 a year. He has to go back to school every third summer. But if he works the other two he may pad his annual income out to an average of perhaps $8,500 a year, if he's lucky. And $o,800 a year, although it's far below the steelwork- er's wage, compares roughly with average salaries in oth er white collar occupations demanding college backgrounds. The youth who heads for the smelters or the loading platforms when he's 18 may be a clod without prestige. And youth who sets out after his Ph. D. in hopes that he some day can contribute to science or social betterment may be a bright young lad honored by his community. But the clod would make the best mathematician, and he has the figures to prove it. Capital Journal, Salem. Idealism Vs. The Billfold The press around the nation has been complaining loudly and bitterly about a recent ruling of the Internal Reven ue Service that propaganda advertising for political pur poses can no longer be de ducted as a business expense by corporations. We will agree it's tough. It tries many a publisher's idealism. Because many a fine, crisp dollar has poured into news paper and magazine coffers from long and expensive cam paigns such as the anti-power propaganda of the private ly owned utilities, and the monumental campaign of the railroads against government regulations. We also sympathize with the agencies that obviously won't get as many such ads to handle at their usual com missions. But, and this is wrere ideal ism really hurts right in the pocketbook nerve we feel we must agree with the United States this time. -We must face it. Large cor porations do have an unfair advantage over the average citizen in having more dol lars with which to influence government decisions. And when those corpora tions obtain extra advantage by getting tax deductions for propaganda, somebody (that's usually the little guy) has to make up the difference with extra taxes. And when that same prop aganda may influence legis lators to enact laws detrimen tal to the same little guys who pay those extra taxes, we feel a little squeamish. Coos Bay World. Best Buy! In "30", a movie that play ed recently at the Rivoli The ater, Jack Webb has the part of an editor. And he says something to a copy boy that all editors would, we're sure, like to frame and hang on the wall. This is what he said: "It's got print on it that tells stories that hundreds of good men all over the world MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Or. Sunday, Jan. 17, 1960 No Progress Made In Paper Strike Portland (CPD A 3-hour meeting Friday between rep resentatives of the Oregon Journal and Oregonian and the striking Stereotypers Un ion produced "no progress" toward settlement of the dis pute. Federal Mediator Elmer Williams said, however, that both sides had agreed to meet again Monday at 10 a.m. Friday's session was the ninth joint meeting held since the strike began last Nov. 10. Meanwhile, Web Pressmen's Union Local 17 Friday filed a civil suit in U.S. District Court against the papers over disputes arising from the strike. The suit charged the news paper publishing companies violated their agreement with the union by purporting to terminate the employee status of pressroom employes. It al so asked a mandatory judge ment directing the two news papers to carry out so-called obligations of the conract and to reimburse the union for any costs incurred by the suit. JANUARY Open Mon. and Fri. 'Til 9 p.m. Crater TV Sale Scheduled Jan. 30 The annual Crater Lions club television auction will be held Saturday, Jan. 30, be tween 6 and 8 p.m., club officials have announced. Manville Heisel, Medford, will be auctioneer. Proceeds from the auction will be used to help finance construction of a wading pool at the Jack- i son st. park. Merchandise to be sold will be donated by valley mer chants, club officials said. have broken their necks to get. It gives a lot of people information who wouldn't have known these things if we hadn't taken the trouble to tell them! It's the sum total of the work of a lot of guys who don't quit. It's a news paper, that's all! And it only costs 10 cents, that's all. But if you only read the comic section or the want ads it's still the best buy for your money in the world." Pen dleton East Oregonian. 1 AMfi : I I IWl Kl IkKN wa:uuus IUiMJW : "f w LijiisraiBRi tun. ' Free Delivery to your , I wk&t - home I pj - i 9 ree Normal washer llli f'"r insrauarion i iS lili h ree year scrv'ce J Bit M 7 I (parts and labor) ' lssSBSSSSSSS SP f 1 ree ycar 9ear case gX' Guarantee Ir212 I ill HOW CHRISTIAN SCIENCE HEALS Station KBOY 730 K.C. Sundays 9:45 A.M. ?5- a V ( 1, lj &3 J WHEN YOU LOOK AT YOUR YMCA THE FUTURE LOOKS GOOD! 1 "f 1 V y Since 1844 the YMCA has been helping youth. The primary purpose of the YMCA has never changed, to help men and boys, women and girls achieve physical, mental and spiritual fitness. -7 Your membership 7 helps make this work possible. Visit the Y now, during YMCA WEEK ACTIVITIES. Bring your friends, too! January 17 Thru 24 National YMCA Week The Philharmonic Society of Southern Oregon Will Present Mendelssohn's Oratorio "Elijah Sunday, January 17 3 P.M. Soloist, Chorus and Medford High School Auditorium Orchestra Tickets Available at Box Office L Before and after your visit to either of these events have a glass of MILK. Active people know the value of good health that's why they drink plenty of MILK. Milk is nature's most perfect food and builds energy for young and old alike. You NEVER outgrow your need for milk! DRINK AT LEAST 3 GLASSES OF MILK A DAY! MILK i -v 10-LB. KENMORE AUTOMATIC WASHED H E00 II $5 DOWN $ DELIVERS Normal plus delicate cycle for dainties Full time filter for lint-free washing. 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