I
I
MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Or.
Sunday, Feb. 7, 1960
MEDF0RI)&TRIBU1
"Ivervone In Southern Oregon
Reads The Mail Tribune"
published Daily except Saturday by
33 North Fir St.. Ph SP 2-6141
5aeV Tax Objections
Dennis the Menace
" ROBERT W. RUHL. Editor
HERB GREY Advertising Manager
GERALD T LATHAM. Bus. Mgr.
ERIC W. ALLEN JR.. Mng. Editor
EAKL a. uAjvia. nty Editor
TTARHY CHIPMAN. Telee. Editor
RICHARD JEWETT. SDorts Editor
OLIVE STARCHER. Women's Editor
DALE EKICKSON. Circulation Mgr
An IndeDendent Newsnaner
Entered as second class matter at
Aieaiora. uregon. under Act of
March 3. 1897
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
By Mail In Advance. Copv 10c
Daily and Sunday 1 year $15.00
Daily and Sunday 6 mos. 8.00
Daily and Sunday 3 mos. 4.25
Sunday Only One year $4.20
By Carrier Tn Advance Medford
Ashland. Central Point Eagle
Point. Jacksonville. Gold Hill,
Phoenix. Shady Cove. Rogue Riv
er. Talent and on motor routes.
Daily and Sunday 1 year S18 00
Daily and Sunday 1 mo. 1.50
Carrier and Dealers copy 10c
All Terms Cash in Advance
Official Paperof "CitiT of Medford
Official Paper of Jackson County
United Press International
Full Leased Wire
UP.1. Telephoto Newspictures
MEMBER "P AUDIT BUREAU
OF CIRCULATIONS
Advertising Reoresentative:
WEST HOLIDAY CO.. INC. Of
fice in New York. Chicago. De.
troit. San Francisco. Los Angeles,
Seattle. Portland. St. Louis. At
lanta. Vancouver. B.C.
NATIONAL
newspaper
publishers
association'
EDITORIAl
AscgmQh
Flight o' Time
Medford and Jackson County
History from the files of The
Mail Tribune 10, 20. 30, 40
and 50 years ago.
to YEARS AGO
Feb. 7. 1950 (Tuesday)
Congressman Harris Ells
worth believes no action on
DroDosed Rogue basin recla
mation project will be taken
by Congress this year.
Mickey Cohen's Los An
geles home blown up by 24
sticks of dynamite; Cohen es
capes injury-
20 YEARS AGO
Feb. 7. 1940 (Wednesday)
Medford Mayor C. C. Fur
nas says because of increasing
alarm over traffic accidents
he is serving warning to all
citizens that traffic regula
tions will be "strictly" en
forced here.
From Arthur Perry's "Ye
Smudge Pot" column: "Mos
cow denies Finnish reports of
victories, capture of guns,
tanks, planes and prisoners
and still insists she is not at
war with Finland. However,
it is cheerfully admitted there
Is such a place as Finland."
30 YEARS AGO
Feb. 7. 1930 (Friday)
Gov. A. W. Norblad will
address the Lincoln Day ban
quet here next week.
Dedication of airport de
pends on city purse; pageant
planned if it doesn't cost too
much.
40 YEARS AGO
Feb. 7. 1920 (Sunday)
Local Methodist are unde
cided upon a site for pro
posed church.
' Only .42 inch of rain fell
here last month, the lowest on
record.
50 YEARS AGO
Feb. 7. 1910 (Monday)
Medford boys dies as re
sult of college hazing at U.
of O.
G. F. Cuthbert and Co. will
open a furniture and home
furnishings store in tempor
ary quarters at Main st. and
Riverside ave.
The battle of the taxes, which has made con
siderable noise the last few weeks, will get loud
er and louder as the 1961 session of the state
legislature approaches. -
Ray Schumacher, Jackson county assessor,
recently made his entry into the lists with the
aistiiDunon oi a iive-pomt program wnicn ne
feels will make state and local taxation more
equitable.
It calls for the enactment of a sales tax limited
to school support.
Meanwhile, the Democratic party in its Salem
platform convention reiterated its opposition to
a sales tax.
fN A NUMBER of occasions the people of the
state have voted down a sales tax. They might
do so agan. Or, if property and income taxes get
too onerous, they might just vote for a sales tax
next time, provided it promies a certain measure
of relief from property and income taxation.
In any event, the battle is sure to continue
raging in the months to come.
As a prelude to this, it might be constructive
to review the reasons why so many people are
so strongly opposed to a sales tax opposition
which is often pooh-poohed or misunderstood.
pLARENCE BARTON, state representative
from Coos county, voiced the antis' arguments
cogently at the Democratic convention.
The prime reason for opposition, of course,
is that it hurts most those least able to pay thus
negating the idoa that those making more money
should pay more taxes than those making less.
State Sen. Monroe Sweetland is quoted by
Barton as saying:
"It (the sales tax) falls heaviest upon those who
are least able to pay. The sales tax takes more money
from the family in the $2,000 bracket. The sales tax
takes more mony from an extra $100 earned by that
family compared to the family in the $200,000 bracket
that happens to earn an extra $100."
". . . At any given income level the famiiy with
the greatest number of children or other dependents
will have to pay the highest taxes."
l VOtir THINK HlS AtoUTH IS SO .
Matter of Fact ey
Joseph Alsop
What's Your I.Q.7
Nine or ten correct is superior;
seven or eight is excellent; five or
six is good.
1. Which of these animals
has the most valuable pelt
sea lion or sea otter-
2. A rowboat and its oars
cost $110; the boat cost $100
more than the oars. How
much did the oars cost?
3. On what river is Muscle
Shoals?
4. What are the names of
the four oceans whose names
end in "ic"?
5. Which New England
State produces the largest
amount of. maple sugar and
syrup?
6. If you desire to exert
greater force with a screw
drive, will you use one with
a greater length or diameter?
7. Of what country is Ot
towa the capital?
8. In what sport was Ty
Cobb famous?
9. In what group of Pacific
islands is Saipan?
10. Is the condor a native
bird of South America, or of
North America?
Answers: 1. Sea otter. 2.
Five dollars. 3. Tennessee
River. 4. Atlantic. Pacific,
Arctic, Antarctic. 5. Vermont,
6. Larger diameter. 7. Cana
da. 8. BasebalL 9. Marianas.
10 South America.
A RGUMENTS secondary to the "unfair" aspect
"of the sales tax cited by Barton include these:
It would bring in far less from out-of-state
tourists than most people realize, since their
maior expenditures already are for gasoline and
housing. The first is already taxed; the second
is exempt under most sales tax plans.
The tax (like all taxes) is paid from incomes,
and therefore doesn t represent a new tax base
at all; it only shifts the major tax burden from
those who can afford to pay to those who can t,
It would "broaden the base" of tax payments,
all nght, to include those least able to pay.
DARTON also disputes the frequent allegation
that a sales tax would improve the "business
climate" in the state, claiming, to the contrary,
that a 3 per cent levy on all new equipment, mate
rials and goods, would be 'a strong deterrent to
new industry.
Barton said the tax would call for "the crea
tion or addition of another state agency ... to
go out and go through every retail store and
check the books to see whether each business is
collecting the amount of sales tax they should . . .
While it is said food and other necessities will
be exempt, Barton points experience in other
states indicates this is a foot-m-the-door" propo
sition. He says:
"Of the 34 states that have a sales tax at the present
time, only nine remain that still have food exempt,
only seven remain that have medicine exempt, and
only three have clothing exempt."
AND in another "ability-to-pay" argument, he
"... Such extras as lawyers fees, trips to the
beauty parlor, golf fees, purchase of stocks and bonds
and numerous other luxury items, especially services,
have not beea subjected to a sales tax. This means
that the people in the upper income brackets con
tribute a much smaller portion of their income to
state government compared to the people in the lower
income brackets."
JOSEPH ALSOP
Finally, he says:
"I believe that we can write the income tax to do
whatever the people of Oregon want it to do, and
raise the amount of revenue that we need. I believe
that any steps that we might take toward bringing
a sales tax to the state of Oregon violates our stand
ards of justice and fair play, and wholly ignores the
responsibilities we have to one another as citizens."
THESE, we believe, are a fair summary of the
And, although" one can, perhaps, quarrel with
one or two of the presuppositions underlying the
arguments, they add up to a fairly impressive
case against this tax.
However, as remarked, the time may come
when the people of Oregon will accept the draw
backs of the sales tax in order to avoid even more
serious drawbacks of growing income and prop
erty taxation particularly the property tax,
which no longer is an "ability to pay" tax.
The "ideal" tax, of course, is the one that
someone else pays. And there ain't no such
animal. E.A.
THE DULLES TESTIMONY
Washington-The hard, dis
turbing facts and figures' in
the testimony of the Director
of the Central
Intellig e n c e
Agency, Allen
W. Dulles, be
fore the Sen-
ate Space
Commitee,
can now.be
rev ealed on
undoubted au
thority.
In brief, C
I. A. Director Dulles told the
committee that the American
government expected the So
viet Union to have 35 inter
continental ballistic missiles
"on launchers" by the end of
June this year.
He stated that the Soviets
would further be expected to
have some 140 to 200 ICBMs
operational by mid-1961.
He gave the estimate that
the Soviets "probably" have
two factories, turning out bal
listic missiles at this time
uut ne aaaea tnat one or
both of these factories may
still be devoted, in cart or
in whole, to the production
. j . i. .
oi intermediate range mis
siles.
Finally, C. I. A. Director
Dulles admitted that these es
timates, though used by the
U.S. government for planning
purposes, were only the best
estimates that could be made
on the basis of the fragmen
tary known facts. They had
no claim, he said, to micro-
metric accuracy. If the esti
mates were erroneous, he
further admitted, they might
as easily err on the low side
as on the high side.
HHHREE points of the highest
significance are implied
by this testimony of the C.
I. A. director. His estimates
show, first of all, what kind
of ICBM lead the American
government now thinks the
Soviets have. By next June,
when the Soviets are expect
ed to have 35 ICBMs "on
launchers," we should have
two operational Atlas squad
rons, or a total of 18 ICBMs
ready to fire. By June, 1961,
when the Soviets are expect
ed to have 140 to 200 ICBMs
"on launchers," we should
have five . operational Atlas
squadrons plus one Titan
squadron, or a total of 54
ICBMs ready to fire.
Second, the Dulles esti
mates explain both the business-as-usual
defense budget
and the complacent justifica
tion of that budget by Secre
tary of Defense Thomas S.
Gates and the Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen.
Nathan Twining.
If the estimates are indeed
micrometrically correct, as
Secretary Gates and General
Twining assume, the Soviets
do not now have the number
of ICBMs they need to wipe
out the American nuclear de
terrent. Furthermore, our in
coming ICBM squadrons win
multiply the targets the So
viets must destroy more rap
idly than the Soviets are ex
pected to multiply their stock
of operational ICBMs.
THIS is because three So
viet ICBM firings are need
ed to give the Kremlin 95 per
cent assurance of destroying
one of our ICBMs in a "soft"
launching site. Thus, even in
the case of missiles in soft
pads, each American ICBM
that becomes operational cre
ates a requirement for three
more Soviet ICBMs in "hard"
pads; and the Titan squadron
that should become operation
al by mid-1961 will be fully
"hardened."
For these reasons, if the
estimates are precisely, accu
rate; and if there is no slip
page in the scheduled activa
tion of the American ICBM
squadrons, there will be no
moment when the Kremlin
can risk a nuclear strike at
the United States. For if the
Soviets do not accumulate
ICBMs more rapidly than the
estimates allow, they will
never have enough to take
out the whole target system
presented by the American
nuclear deterrent. And thus
they will never have enough
ICBMs to avert an American
counterstrike that would de
stroy the Soviet Union.
Third, however, the Dulles
testimony clearly reveals the
absolute reliance of the Eisen
hower administration policy
makers on the micrometric
precision of the intelligence
estimates-which C. I. A. Di
rector Dulles says cannot be
micrometrically precise.
rro ILLUSTRATE, the bril-
liant Strategic Air Com
mander, Gen. Thomas Power,
has repeatedly stated that the
Soviets can now "wipe out'
our nuclear deterrent with
only 150 ICBMs, plus the
same amount of IRBMs, which
they are known to have in
ample quantities. The esti
mates give the Soviets only
35 operational ICBMs by the
middle of this year. By then,
the complete activation of the
first two Atlas squadrons
will increase the Soviet re
quirement, as figured by Gen
eral Power, to something like
180 ICBMs. :
The margin may appear to
be ample, but it is really in
credibly narrow. Our own
Atlas ICBM plant is capable
of turning out no less than 15
missiles per month, on three
shifts, and on its single pro
duction line. This capacity
output has never been at
tained because of business-as-
usual budget making, but the
possibility of this kind of At
las output has existed for
over a year. Thus ten months
of capacity output by the At
las plant equals the present
Soviet ICBM requirement as
stated by General Power.
C.I.A. Director Dulles has
now testified that the Soviets
"probably" have, not one, but
two missile plants in produc
tion at present. Either, or
both, of these plants may
have, not one business-as-usual
production line like the
Atlas plant, but two ' lines in
three-shift production. That
sort of situation in at least
one' plant was implied by Ni-
kita S. Khrushchev's recent
boast, that he had inspected
a soviet factory wnicn pro
duced no less than 250 "rock
ets" last year. The word
'rockets" was used in a con
text that seemed to indicate
"intercontinental rockets," of
which Khrushchev had just
been speaking. Thus the
chance of error in the esti
mate can hardly be excluded
Yet the whole outlook
would be hideously trans
formed by the most trifling
error in the American intelli
gence estimates-a mere er
ror, for example, concernmg
the actual moment when one
or both of the Soviet rocket
plants began production of
ICBMs for operational pur
OOVIET IRBM stocks were
estimated to Be . ampie
for the target available as
long as a year ago. If both
Soviet plants were then con
verted from IRBM to ICBM
production, the Soviets could
now have far more than their
basic requirement, as stated
by General Power. And they
would have this requirement
even after allowing most gen
erously for diversion of So
viet ICBMs for tests, into
satellites, and so on.
In fact, if both the two
"probable" Soviet rocket
plants began producing oper
ational ICBMs at Khrush
chev's rate just four months
ago, the Kremlin would now
have the ICBM requirement
stated by General Power.
This kind of error of a mere
four months is vastly less, in
turn, than the recurring opti:
mistic errors in earlier na
tional estimates. These have
averaged a good two years.
. These facts, in turn, explain
why General Power has been
pressing so hard for a max
imum airborne alert of his
Communications
Letters to the Editor must bear the name and address ot the writer,
although under certain circumstances the use ot a pen name or initial
for publication is permissible. The Mail Tribune reserves the right to
edit all letters with a view to clarification and condensation. Letters
submitted for publication must not exceed 400 words. The letters
printed in this column do not necessarily represent the views ot the
paper; in fact the contrary is often the case.
Send Her a Card
To the Editor: In Sacred
Heart hospital, Room 310, lies
a beautiful young girl, a vic
tim of a cruel and tragic ac
cident in California last week.
Seven months ago, she was
a beautiful young bride, to
day, nothing, only a hospital
bed with each leg in a cast
and also her right arm.
She has many months in
the hospital and she needs
all the kindness and love
everyone can give her.
So, dear friends, where
ever you are, whether you
know her or not, send Elaine
a get-well card.
Let us shower her with
cards. A card costs so little
and means so much, especial
ly to one in the hospital.
Do it today, don't delay.
She lost her husband, her car,
her glasses and her wrist
watch. So you see, dear
friends, she needs your love
through cards.
Send your cards and loving
throughts to
Elaine Griffiths
Room 310
Sacred Heart Hospital
Medford, Ore.
Next time, it might be your
daughter.
Mrs. Burton Green
2411 Sunset Court
Medford, Ore.
Moved to Poetry (?)
To .the Editor: Seldom, in
this hard-working world, does
one encounter anything which
inspires the soul to poetry, but
your editorial of Feb. 3,
wherein you quoted one Mr.
Howard Gossage on the sub
ject of the irritating and ob
jectionable encroachment of
the billboard upon our land
scape and field of vision, cre
ated such a glow of enthusias
tic accord that only joetry(?)
will suffice to express the
gratitude of this subscriber,
upon the discovery that "we
are not alone.":
Billboards, ranged in bright
array,
What's behind your faces
gay?
Serpent's Pits, and Dining
Inn,
Or mountains white and
forests green?
Blatant, rowdy advertiser,
Would that you could be
made wiser -
We'd buy the milk from
Zilch's dairy,
Take the pills our druggists
carry,
Eat that loaf of quick nutri
tion, Vote for yon grim politician,
Smoke that tar-fresh, filter
ed weed,
Dunk the doughnut, plant
the seed
Buy the paint and paint the
town -
If you'd just take those...
Billboards down!
Mrs. W. L. Neece
Gold Hill, Ore.
Guild Head's Views
To the Editor: Why are the
editors, reporters and photog
raphers of the Portland News
paper Guild supporting the
Stereotypers' strike against
The Oregonian and the Ore
gon Journal?
For two mam reasons. We
believe the position of the
Stereotypers morally justified,
We believe our unity with our
fellow workers in the "back
shop" necessary to preserve
all of our unions and the pro
tections they have given us
from destruction.
Our decision was not lightly
made. The Guild fuUy explor
ed the issues of the dispute
and found most of them to be
"straw men" raised by the
publishers. -
Management's negotiators
had given the craft union the
run-around in 18 pre-strike
bargaining sessions. As the
weeks pass by with no prog
ress toward settlement, de
spite concessions by the Ster
eotypers, it is becoming in
creasingly clear that manage
ment has plotted a cold-blooded
experiment to find a for
mula for destroying newspa
per unions. - , -
Strike insurance, profession
al strikebreakers and cold re
jection of any effort of pub
lic officials to find a middle
way are all ingredients of the
formula.
The publishers have claim
ed we violated our contract.
Nothing in our contract or in
federal law requires a union
member to cross a picket line.
Some ask if we are not dif
ferent from printers, stereo
typers and pressmen, if we are
not professional persons and
thereby somehow exempt from
the harsh realities of a strike
We consider ourselves profes
sionals. We also consider our
selves honest trade unionists.
As union members we see
no honorable course but to
support the strike; as profes
sionals we regret the biased
reporting of strike incidents
and the sad state of journalism
to which two great newspa
pers have now declined.
Robert L. Shults,
President
Portland Newspaper
Guild
P. O. Box 1268
Portland 7, Oregon
Fully Agrees
To the Editor: I fully agree
with Mr. Veach's letter. I
think he hit it right on the
nose when he said, "why not
take Omar Khayyam's ad
vice?" I get sick and tired of let
ters about how awful women
who wear shorts, use make
up, etc., are.
The people or person who
writes these letters must be
too old, if that's possible, or
too prejudiced to enjoy the
sight of a younger woman
wearing shorts or with a
little make-up on her face.
I hope very much that
when I become elderly I have
more to do than sit around
and write nasty letters about
girls and women.
Why not leave them alone
for a change?
Gordon B. Allen,
Rt. 4, Box 316E.,
Medford, Ore.
B-52s, in order to put at least
part of the American nu
clear deterrent beyond reach
of a surprise Soviet rocket
strike.
As has been remarked,
gambling the whole national
future on the chance that
there cannot be an error of
a mere four months in the in
telligence estimates, is simply
a game of Russian roulette on
an unprecedented scale.
(c) I960 New York Herald
Tribune Inc.
Organization Explained
To the Editor: Speaking for
the rank and file of Medford
Barracks No. 540, Veterans of
World War One, as key offi
cers in the organization, the
undersigned are presenting a
few facts about this fast-grow
ing veterans' organization.
Organized only four years
ago this month, Medford Bar
racks, No. 540, VWWI, has
grown to be third largest vet
erans organization in Jackson
county in membership. In
Oregon VWWI members num
bered 5,602, a rapid growth
over a seven year period, 1953
through 1959. Nationally, on
Dec. 31, 1959, the count was
140,955. When it is considered
that of the veteran popula
tion of the nation, which is
upward of 21 million, only
2.8 million are eligible for
VWWI membership, the fact
is brought out that, compara
tively, we old "War Oners"
have beaten them all at or
ganizing.
The principal, or Number
One, objective, is the attain
ment through Congressional
action of a pension for veter
ans of World War One, com
parable to that of Spanish
War veterans, . separate and
apart from any pensions now
existent, for veterans of other
U.S. wars or conflicts, with
proper and just income limi
tation as a means of determ
ining need.
But the pension is not the
only objective of this organi
zation. The program of activi
ties include welfare of veter
ans and their dependents,
and claims work through
service officers fully recogniz
ed by Congress and the Veter
ans Administration, to repre
sent veterans with power of:
IPOJLUC
(By M-T Staff and Contributors)
Problems, problems
nothing but problems. For
instance, we received a let
ter the other day which is
too long for the "Communi
cations" column, and loo
funny to throw away. What
to do? Put it in Potluck of
course. Here it is:
i
To the Editor: This being
the time of the year when
coyotes, wild cats and cou
gars start their courting, and
evenings are still long enough
for hunters to gather to
gether and spin yarns, there
comes eventually . the long
disputed question: "Do cou
gars scream a hair raising
scream like a woman in dis
tress or do they not?"
One night like this 35 years
ago my family had settled
down after 'supper. Ma was
cutting the ladies underwear
section out of the Sears cata
log so it would be fit for us
kids to read. Pa was grinding
willow bark and corncobs to
put in his "loaning tobacco"
pouch, and Uncle Cheddar
(he was the 10th of 12 sons
Grandpa and Grandma had,
and when he came Grandpa
exclaimed, "Cheez, another
boy!" so Cheddar was a nat
ural name) was honing his
knife to be ready for the Sat
urday night dance. I was
reading a story which brought
up the question, "Do cougars
emit a shrill scream?"
I asked Pa, but he said he
was no naturalist, ask your
Uncle.
Uncle Cheddar sat me down
and told me the following:
"Many times people hunt
all their lives and really do
not learn the wsyn of. the
wild, or become adept as
am at reading the signs of the
wild creatures. Some crea
tures exist which most people
are not aware are in the for
ests, yet evidences- of their
presence are r to be seen on
every hand. . r.
"Such a creature" " is the
'Side Hill Gouger." This ani
mal is the living proof of the
correctness of two " unrelated
theories. First it proves Dar
win's theory of the survival
of the most adaptable, and
secondly it proves Einstein s
theory of relativity.
"The Side Hill Gouger is
an animal which lives on the
steep slopes of canyons and
mountainsides all over the
attorney in their claims for
benefits due them..
As a special activity aside
from veterans welfare, Med
ford Barracks 540, VWWI, be
ginning in 1959, sponsors, by
furnishing the tuition fee for
as many boys as the Barrack's
fund can stand, for 10 days
the Easter Seal Camp, operat
ed by the Oregon Society for
Crippled Children and Adults,
an annual event.
The growth of Medford
Barracks No. 540, VWWI, in
this area, and the success we
have had in keeping good
public relations, is largely due
to the friendly and congenial
relations our publicity depart
ment, both of the Barracks
and the Ladies Auxiliary,
have enjoyed in our contacts
with the Medford Mail Tri
bune, i-
We thank you for all of
the favors of the past four
years, and look forward, to
continued pleasant dealings
with you in the future. .
Alvin C. Lucas
Commander (1959)
Pat Graham .
Quartermaster and
Service ,Officer.
Veterans of World
War I
Medford
western United States. Adapt
ed as they are to living on
these inclines they have long
legs on one side and short
legs on the other. To keep
their balance always at its
maximum stability the Gou
gers must always keep their
heads directly in the center
of the body line, therefore
their necks have no joints and
they can only see straight
ahead. Consequently the Gou
ger, which is by nature a very
nervous individual, when
startled by a noise behind
him must run completely
around the mountain to see
what caused the disturbance.
This has caused them to de
velop an amazing speed.
"Rainy nights, the Gougers
play on cut banks along high
ways. You can see where they
have rolled rocks down on
the pavement. Deer hunters
sometimes disturb them and
find that the Gougers have
frightened the deer by dislog
ing rocks or shaking the
brush by the wind of their
passing.
"In the late winter and
early spring the Gougers court
and mate the same as the
other animals, with one ex
ception. Some Side Hill Gou
gers have long right legs and
short left legs and some have
long left legs and short right
legs. When a right hand male
meets a left hand female.
his scream of dismay is some
times mistaken by the unin
formed as the cry of a cougar."
Tim J. Horn
Box 214
Yreka, Calif.
Some of the programs
witnessed on the local TV
station, according to a
friend of outs, certainly
were far from being Chanel
No. 5.
Bob Vroman of our staff
drew a cartoon of a ground
hog for Groundhog Day last
week, and we printed it.
Now comes another staff
member with a tsk-tsk kind of
note, which says:
I never saw a groundhog,
But it's my science-loving
duty.
To tell you groundhogs hav
long tails;
What you drew was a plain
agouty.
An agouty (or agouti) is a
tail-less rodent found in the
West Indies and Central
America.
Learn something every day,
don't you?
A press release from the
University of Oregon says;
"This year on March 1, the
28th Symposium Group will
start a speaking program
that wiU take them through
out the stale and into lhe
middle of May." Now that's
going to be an interesting
trip, but sort of a long one.
Hope they like it there. .
Iii the Day's News
By FRANK JENKINS
From Washington:
The house of representa
tives is ready to begin de
bate on the first tax-cutting
bill of the present session of
the congress. The bill would
repeal the tax on tires and
tubes supplied with new U.S.
made bicycles.
Backers said the measure
would reduce the cost of
making a bike by 25 cents,
and so, presumably, would
save the buyer of a new one
the sum of two bits.
But-
Repeal of the tax would
cost the federal government
$500,000 in lost revenue.
COMMENT?
How about , this:
A tax of two bits on each
new bicycle made and sold
in the U.S. doesn't sound like
much. But when the two bit
tax on ALL the new bikes is
added up it comes to half a
million dollars.
Many a mickle makes a
muckle. A lot of little tax
reductions' would add up to
a BIG tax reduction.
SOMETHING else to remem
ber: If this half million dollars
taken out of the pockets of
the buyers of new U.S.-built
bicycles in the form of an
excise tax on bike tires had
been LEFT IN THEIR POCK
ETS, they would have had
just that much more to spend
for other things.
The tax and tax and spend
and spend boys orate to us
at great length on the BENE
FITS of government spend
ing. What they fail to add is
that every dollar taken out
of our pockets in the form
of taxes to be SPENT BY
GOVERNMENT is a dollar
that we don't have left in
our pockets to SPEND FOR
OURSELVES.
A"
INTERESTING little
tale ; on " the wires con
cerns a California woman
who for 18 years has been a
model wife and a model
mother. All this time, she has
been doing an admirable job
of keeping her house and
raising her children.
But-
It turns out- '
She is an ex-convict and a
parole violator.
IlfHAT to do about it?
" LETS FORGET IT.
Under the doctrine of
atonement, she has atoned in
these 18 years for her former
transgressions. She has paid
her debt to society.
Let's leave her alone."
A man called up the other
day, and sounded disappoint
ed when we weren't able to
tell him, right off the bat.
whether this is the Chinese
Year of the Rat" or tr
"Year of the Mouse."
We can now.
It's both - or either.
The Chinese ideograph for
rat" is the same as it is for
"mouse" and vice versa.
(And one ingeneous soul
suggests that it was the year
of the mouse in China until
the Communists took over,
and now it is the year of the
rat. Maybe he has something.)
Men! Oh MENU Did you
know that there is a store
in New York which mar
kels men's red underwear
with removable lace trim
for St. Valentine's day?
Did you know that? Who
ays we aren't a decadent
nation?
There is a certain law en
forcement agency in Jackson
county which had a bit of
technical difficulty lately. We
were told about it if we prom
ised we wouldn't tell which
agency it was.
Aryway, there was this
prisoner, and he was hand
cuffed, and the time came .to
take the handcuffs off, and
the key worked fine on one
side, but didn't work at all on
the other side, no matter how
hard the officers twisted, and
after one particularly hard
twist broke right off in the
keyhole.
They wound up freeing the
prisoner with a hacksaw - a
procedure he seemed to enjoy
thoroughly, by the way, al
though they didn't, particularly.
This was at a school re
organization meeting lhe
other night. One man said
to another: "Didn't hear
anything you said last time
you said something."
'
Last week we mentioned
coffee - flavored lipstick, and
said maybe Bert Kissinger
could tell us what it signified.
Sure enough, he did, and
it's simpler than we thought.
Good to the last drop."
Bert declared.