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.
White porcelained tub won't rust ever
WE SERVICE WHAT WE SELL
10-LB. KENMORE
AUTOMATIC DRYER
$5 DOWN $
DELIVERS
Dries everything rugs to lingerie
safely
Safety door stops action when opened
Safe indirect heat dries without
scorching
I m
3 HEAT miOflE
AUTOrJATIC DRYER
REDUCED $
Til
w II n lip, II tcnn
DOWN
DELIVERS
Dial hot, medium or warm dry
ing temperature
Safety door switch shuts off heat
when door is opened.
Dial any drying time up to T hour.
Fabrics are tumbled and fluffed in
currents of fresh tempered air...
never exposed to harsh, direct heat
from open heating elements.
They're dried softer, fluffier .. ac
tually cleaner than if dried outside
in the weather, dust and soot.
AUTOMATIC WASHER AND DRYER
PRICES START AT .. . $99
BIG 15 CI). FT. COLDSPOT
FREEZER STORES 525 LBS.
REDUCED TO
m
$5 Down on Sears Easy Payment Plan
Super-Wail construction and vacuum sealed cabinet.
Pre-set cold control, Ease-Open safety lid
Convenient, separate fast-freeze compartment
FREE 5-YEAR GUARANTEE
on the Sealed Refrigeration Unit!.
'Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back
SEARS
JACKSON AT IIDDLE RD.
IN MEDFORD
:30 a.m. t 5:30 p.m. 4Hf
Monday & Friday till .
Ph. SP 3-6661, FfM Parkin