WEDNESDAY,
"""Ivory one to Southern Oregoet
Beads The MU TrlbUJit"
Published Dally except" Saturday by
MEDFOHD PRINTING CO.
3 North i!rSt- Pha-tl
ROBERT W RUHL. editor
HERB GREY Advertianl aUnaiat
GERALD T LATHAiaTBua Mir
Ric W ALLEN JR.. Mna. Editor
EARL H ADAMS, City Editor
HARRY CHIPMAN, Teles Editor
RICHARD JEWETT. Sports Ed tor
OLIVE STARCH ER Women's Editor
DALEERICKSON.CircuIauon MgJ
An Independent Newspaper
Entered aa fcecond claw matter at
Medford. Oregon under Act of
March 3. IBS7
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Flight o' Time
Medford and Jackson County
History from the files of The
Mall Tribune 10, 20, 30, 40
and 50 years ago.
10 YEARS AGO .
Ftb. 8, 1953 (Wednesday)
' The outlook for southern
Oregon's 1953 water supply
is generally "good" to "ex
cellent," according to Joint
statements by the U. S. weath
er bureau and the U. S. Soil
Conservation service.
; A Republican congressman
from New Hampshire, Ches
ter Marrow, will be the prin
cipal speaker at the annual
Lincoln day dinner here Feb.
12.
20 YEARS AGO
Feb. 6 .1943 (Monday)
Snow survey shows south
ern Oregon water prospects
are "spotty but good."
: From Arthur Perry's "Ye
Smudge Pot column: "Rome
reports 11 Duce Mussolini Is
nervous and repentant.' If
there was a rcdhot revival
meeting in Italy he would be
the first sinner at the mourn
er's bench, willing to sing
bass In the choir."
30 YEARS AGO
Feb. 6, 1933 (Wednesday)
' County council of Wonder
land association formed in
Medford.
A. H. Banwell named sec
retary of Jackson County
Chamber of Commerce.
40 YEARS AGO
Feb. 6. 1923 (Thursday)
Oregon Gov. Walter Pierce
calls upon state legislature
"to do something;" urges pas
sage of school consolidation
and state income tax bills.
Survey of Pacific coast
shows employment increasing
and breadlines almost disap
peared. SO YEARS AGO
Feb. 6, 1913 (Saturday)
Capt. Robert F. Scott, Brit
ish south polar explorer, and
party of five frozen to death
after making successful dash
to south pole.
Road work in Crater lake
area to be rushed in effort to
make accessible the principal
points of interest by summer
of 1915, when Panama expo
sition slated to start in San
Francisco.
What's Your I.Q.?
Nine or ten correct if superior;
seven or eight is excellent; five or
six it good.
1. Iii which country are the
Hulls of Montezuma?
2. How old was Methuselah
whnn he died?
is ii necessary for a
Presidential candidate to win
a majority of t!ie States of the
union in order to be elected?
4. Name the famous pass
from Afghanistan into India.
5. Is the capital of Chile
Conception, Valparaiso o r
Santiago?
6. Was Walter Camp an
authority on golf, hockey,
football, or tennis?
7. Em! Wnrrnn was the
governor of which state be
fore becoming what?
8 Is the airline distance
from Honolulu t o Tokyo
greater or less than that from
New York to Paris?
u. is a oat a bird or a
mammal?
. 10. Pizzarro was the Span
isli conqueror of which South
American country?
Answers: 1. Mexico. 3. 969
years. 3. No. 4. Khyber Piss
S. Santiago. 6. Football. 7.
California, and Chief Justice
of U. S. S. Greater. I. Mam
mal, 10. Peru.
4 A
FEBRUARY , IMS
Strikes, Courts and Automation
Most thinking people with an acquaintance
with the history of the past century or so would
agree that the labor movement, as such, has done
far more good than it has harm.
But, most thinking people aware of conditions
of today would agree that something has gone
wrong, when huge unions can, at a whim, disrupt
entire segments of the economy, placing the na
tional security in jeopardy, and acting in direct
conflict with the public interest, convenience and
necessity.
Collective bargaining, as developed over the
years, and backed by the right to strike if nec
essary, has done much to raise living standards,
working conditions, and the level of the nation's
economy and welfare.
e e e
DUT the time has long since passed when unions
were battling against odds to obtain humane
working conditions, a living wage, and a chance
for a worker to have some say in his own destiny.
More often than not, unions today are giants,
in many cases far stronger in resources than the
industries they work with. On the heels of the
crippling dock strike, in
solved newspaper strikes
land, and in the shadow of a looming strike
against the Southern Pacific railroad, the feeling
is growing that a new approach, a new guarantee,
must be evolved to avoid
Secretary of Labor
stated:
"The decision has been made that if collective bar
gaining can't produce peaceable settlements of these
controversies, the public will."
BY "THE PUBLIC" is obviously meant the only
tirair ?r tirVi inVi Yn niihlirt ion ti7i"iilr ifa nran-
tive will the government.
Both labor and management view with dis-
taste the idea of federal
compulsory arbitration or
forced settlement.
Political scientists, too,
of government adding
powers by assuming the
gaining table.
But nature abhors a
er vacuum which so closely affects the public
interests, if government
else can or will at least so far as can be foreseen.
TWO things are involved here, one of immedi
if rt ni'flccin rr imnnvtoTirtfl f a rf h oc 1-irrr
Clt J- I'OOillg lyO.il Vlss Hit UtUVl Ui ilU
range pressing importance.
lhe first is the need
major strikes to a minumum, and to settle them
as rapidly as possible,
start.
The second is the question of automation, un
employment, job security,
uneasy spectres over the
If the first could be
could get on with the important business of work
ing out accommodations
TTHIS newspaper has long contended that one
approach to achieving labor peace would be
through a system of labor courts, such as have
been long and successfully employed in Scanda-navia.
There are many questions which would have
to be answered first
guards, jurisdiction, and others. Still, the ju
dicial atmosphere of a courtroom, the deliberate
and impartial inquiry into all the facts, and a
final binding judgment,
store public confidence m
problems peaceably and with order and dignity,
and still ensure a maximum of fairness and jus
tice to both sides.
This, surely, offers a more promising route
than having harried government negotiators,
mediators and arbitrators sitting in on long, ex
hausting and often acrimonious sessions.
TTOO, this would offer one means of approach
to the potentially even larger problem which
the technological revolution is bringing about,
and which is, in most cases, at the very heart of
the new rash of strikes which is sweeping the
nation. ..t
Some day, and soon, this nation is going to
have to revise drastically its traditional attitudes
toward work, and leisure, and employment, and
unemployment.
Many worried, high-level studies on these
growing problems have been held, and are con
tinuing. But nowhere could a body of knowledge
of the very real problems of a burgeoning tech
nological society be amassed and analyzed as
rapidly as in labor courts set up specifically to
deal with the practical consequences.
"THE genius of western
lllm- I'Oiiins nf Ampvii
to change and adapt to changing situations. It has
not always been done without dislocations and
suffering, but it has always been done in suf
ficient measure to survive and then prosper again.
We must, if we are to meet the dislocations
arising from automatic machinery and computers
where one man can do the work formerly done
by thousands find new approaches. We cannot
be so afraid of change that the change will do
us all in.
It is our firm conviction that a carefully drawn
system of labor courts would, first, provide the
setting of economic order we must have if we
are to remain a viable economy, and second, go
a long way toward analyzing the problems, thus
going far toward solving them.
With the size of the stakes, it's certainly
worth a try. E. A.
the midst ot the unre
in New York and Cleve-
such disasters. .
Willard Wirtz recently
intervention, particularly
similar systems of en
view askance the ideas
to its already massive
third seat at the bar
vacuum, and in this pow
does not step in, no one
for a mechanism to hold
preferably before they
all of which hang like
future of the economy.
solved eouitablv. we
for the second.
about procedures, safe
would do much to re
our ability to solve our
civilization, the partic-
- n haa lioon un nViititv
MIDfORD
"I Christen
Communications
Letters to the Editor must bear the name and address of the writer, although under
certain circumstances the use of 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 of the paper; in fact lhe
contrary is often the case.
Isn't It?
To the Editor: In the paper,
for some time now, we have
been hearing talk pro and con
on killing doe deer and cow
elk. I am no expert on game
management, but Mr. Kupillas
in his communication says the
game commission bases its
management of the deer herd
on scientific principles and
surveys. If I believed this
true, I would not be writing
this letter.
I think the lobbying powers
of the timber Interests and
large farm corporations have
a lot to do with our game
management. Mr. Kupillas
says when the day comes that
we present some scientifically
valid facts, then reasonable
people will listen. I ask him
to talk to the logger, small
rancher, the cougar and bear
hunters, and the people who
have cabins in the woods,
where there used to be plen
ty of deer.
You hear some people say
that hunters don't get out in
the woods and hunt. There is
a considerable group that do
road hunt, and the police de
partment should see that this
is discontinued. The majority
of people hunt hard and go
farther back in the wilds than
they did a few years back. I
don't believe there are 10,000
sq. ft. in Oregon that hunters
don't hunt. In the big canyons
where none used to go, you
will see many hunters now.
You can stand still at almost
any spot and spit on cow
manure, where five years ago
there were no cows within
five miles. I am now talking
about federal lands. As long
as there is plenty of feed for
doe deer and cow oik, this is
fine with me.
If I understand correctly,
there are five men who make
the laws for the game com
mission, and they are appoint
ed by the Governor. These six
men are responsible tor our
game laws and management.
If you don't believe the lob
bies have anything to do with
game management, go to Port
land and attend a game com
mission meeting. There are
plenty of lobbists who lobby
cd for the buck, and not for
the four legged kind. For the
man who talked at the Cham
ber of Commerce meeting
from Prinevlllc, Ore., who has
it all figured out, all we have
to do is give him $i!5 for our
own deer, which he doesn't
pay for. He Is lobbying for
the buck too.
The five men appointed to
the game commission should
be working for the interests
of the hunter and tile hunter
alone. After all this is what
thev were appointed to do,
isn't it?
Mark Norton
Box 85
Phoenix, Ore.
Divided We Fall
To the Editor: Your article.
"Stupid and Discriminatory,"
Wednesday, Jan. 30;
We approve your stand and
niiui;is wf the State of Wash
ington's contemplated law; let
us hope that wisdom directs
their vote.
We, as Americans, have no
right, constitutionally, to in
fringe the rights of our citi
zens respecting a day in which
to conduct business or not to
conduct such practice.
We must guard, zealously,
our basic rights or we shall
become as enemies, one to
another; liberty, departed,
may never be regained, wit
non the spoliation of the Com
munist satellites.
Such a law would be an en
trance, whether we acknowl
edge It as such or not - one
down - one to go - and the
persecution begins. Twelve
hundred and sixty years ot
history witness to such arro
gance, and the blood of SO to
100 million martyrs testify to
the end of such a beginning.
Let us stand together to
MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDfORD. OREGON
Thee
preserve all rights and full
justice for all as a Christian
nation should.
Divided we fall.
James Williams
P.O. Box 441
Jacksonville, Ore.
"Only" a Cat
To the Editor: This is an
open letter to a miserable
wretch and a cold-blooded
murderer. Sometime last
week you shot and killed My
ron, who was a good friend
and member of my family. A
serious accusation? Yesl And
just who was this Myron? ,
"Only a cat," you say.
True enough, he was only
a cat, but he was, as I have
already pointed out, a mem
ber of my family.
"What are you, some kind
of nut?" you ask, "And any
way, what kind of name is
that for a worthless cat?"
Well, let me tell you, I am
some kind of nut when it
comes to disgusting creatures
like you, who heartlessly de
stroy something that was do
ing you no harm and was a
source of pleasure to me. As
for his name, Myron derived
it from the fact that I found
him, a homeless little waif,
near the Myron Root & Com
pany packing house. I trust
that Mr. Root does not take
unkindly this having a lost
little kitten named for his
firm.
I raised this little waif of
a kitten to the fully grown,
graceful animal he was during
the last 14 months. During
this brief time, which you
made all too brief by the
vicious thing you did, Myron
was a charming, debonair
and, occasionally, hilarious
companion, but you had to
end all this and shoot him
down. You must really be
proud of yourself. Mighty
Hunter, Oh Great and Glor
ious Sportsman. Well, damn
your black soul, I miss him.
It certainly is a revelation
to discover just how "neigh
borly" some of your neigh
bors can be.
(Name on file)
Central Point, Ore.
Heav'n
To the Editor:
I've pennies in my pockets,
And heav'n is here to stay,
Cause the income tax col
lectors, Gave me some take-home
pay!
George Distell,
33 North Fir St.,
Medford.
New Age
To the Editor: The recent
attacks, in the communica
tions column, or. Dr. Daniel
W. Fry regarding space craft
and space people are a literal
proof of the great need for the
very objectives he is striving
so diligently to promote,
namely understanding among
the peoples of Earth. It would
be interesting to know just
how many of those who
"threw the "tones" marie any
effort to investigate or to do
any research regarding Dan
Frys efforts or intentions
Some religious fanatics and
bigoii. always have a conven
ient devil they can trot out as
a scapegoat In lieu of a logical
or reasonable argument
against any subject with
which they cannot agree. Why
tke refuge in a theory that is
more difficult to explain than
use one you seek to disprove?
Herbert Spencer, a well
known English philosopher,
once said: "There is a prin
ciple which is a bar to all in
formation, which is proof
against all arguments and
which will never fail to keep
a man in everlasting ignor
ance. That principle Is con
demnation prior to investiga
tion." We are living in the Aquar
ian Age which is an age of
knowledge and enlighten
ment. Innumerable books and
much literature have been
written by truly Inspired writ
ers, relative to knowledge of
Problems
Also Pose
Br PHIL NEWSON
UPI Foreign Newt Analyst
The American-trained and
equipped 650,000-man army
of the Republic of Korea is
the strongest
anti Commu
nist military
force remain
ing on the
continent of
Asia. It fur
ther is stated
U. S. policy
that "the in
dependence of
Xewsoss
of the Repub-
lie of Korea is vital to the
peace of the world and it re
mains the unshakable policy
of the U. S. government to
help maintain that independ
ence." Strategically, ' Korea is an
important stepping stone be
tween Red China and Japan.
what is transpiring in this
New Age. So there is no need
for people to remain ignorant
or uninformed regarding it
unless they choose to do so.
Here are some quotes from
prominent persons regarding
the truth of the existence of
space ships and space beings.
Senator Barry Goldwater, a
Jet-flying Air Force Reserve
Brigadier General said, "Fly
ing Saucers-unidentified fly
ing objects or whatever you
call them-are REAL. The Air
Force is clamming up." Wil
liam Lear, winner of Collier
Aviation Trophy, president of
Lear Inc. Aircraft and Elec
tronics said, "I believe the
'saucers' come from outer
space, piloted by beings of
supe r i o r intelligence." Her
mann Oberth, rocket pioneer
and space travel authority
said, "I believe the 'flying
saucers' come from worlds
outside our Solar System."
The Air Force censors barred
these statements from a Na
tionwide CBS telecast.
The terrific speeds and ma
neuverability of the Ventlas,
which is the correct name of
the space craft, enables them
to elude the Air Force's fast
est jets, the pilots of which
have been ordered to "shoot
to kill." Nice neighbors the
Earthians!!
Aleta O. Johnston,
2314 Allen Creek rd., ;
Grants Pass, Ore.
Automation
To the Editor: While auto
mation spreads, the jobless
problem remains unsolved.
For the past 18 years wo have
witnessed a record-breaking
production of wealth which
created an illusion of general
security. But the fact is that
those boom years have
brought no real security to
the workers who produced
this wealth. And it takes only
a few weeks or months to
wipe out any gains from years
of employment.
We have heard the claim
that "automation makes jobs."
In boom limes the illusion
prevails that it does. But when
the cutbacks come and pro
duction is concentrated in
highly automated plants, the
cruel and devastating effects
of automation on workers'
jobs becomes apparent.
When machinery that re
places men is used to raise
profits, regardless of tK con
sequences to the workers, au
tomation becomes a curse in
stead of a blessing. The dan
ger of automation to society
is not inherent in the ma
chine. It is the impropiruse
of a tool potentially beneficial
to man.
Lydia Burnham,
8i4 Warne St.,
Prescott, Ariz.
Appling Replies
Editor's note: A recent Mall
Tribune communication was
critical of Secretary of State
Howell Appling Jr.'s action in
turning ever to the Uistrici at
torney the matter of campaign
expenses of the "Freedom
Center" in Portland. Mr.
Appling replied as follows:
Mrs. Ella Powell
Box 621
Central Point. Ore.
Dear Mrs. Powell: A recent
letter appearing over your
name in the Medford Mail
Tribune contains statements
concerning me which arc no;
based on fact.
I am enclosing for your in
formation a photostatic copy
of the Court Order signed by
Circuit Judge George Duncan
in the case. I call yoUr atten
tion to the fact that the suit
was dismissed only after the
defendant had filed the cam
paign report which Oregon
law required him to file,
since the purpose of the suit
was to obtvin compliance with
this provision of Oregon law,
and compliance was obtained,
there was then no purpose in
further suit.
I would suggest to you that
you will find the official court
Faced by Government of Korea
Problems
For these reasons the paini
being suffered by the Repub
lic of Korea as it attempts
to return from military to
civilian government are wor
thy of attention and also some
consternation.
At the moment, the Repub
lic of Korea, more popularly
known at South Korea, it
ruled by"a military regime
which seized power in a pre
dawn coup on May 16, 1961.
it is headed by Gen. Park
Chung Hee who has prom
ised presidential elections and
a return to civilian rule by
Aug. 15 of this year.
A dangerous rift among Ko
rean military men with op
School Board Criticizes M-T
Editorial; Writer Defends It
To the Editor: It was amaz
ing to read in the Mail Trib
une of Feb. 3 an editorial
deeply critical of the Board
of Education of School Dis
trict No. 4, kndwn as the
Phoenix Talent District, re
lating to their handling of a
survey made by the Bureau
of Educational Research of
the University of Oregon at
the request of the Phoenix
School Board.
The editorial states in one
part that, "We do not in any
way question the motives of
the school officials who have
kept the report from general
knowledge." However, the
editorial is headlined "The
Public Should Know," and
the general theme is to the
effect that the School Board
has been secretly deceiving
the people of Phoenix-Talent
by not having the report pub
lished in its entirety and dis
tributed to all the residents of
District No. 4.
The editorial also suggests,
"But we do question the
propriety of such action and
believe that an official body
which keeps information from
the knowledge of its constitu
ents is sowing the seeds of
suspicion and distrust." It
would appear that this, if not
actually doing so, comes very
close of accusing Phoenix
Talent School Board of mis
feasance of office. It also
strongly suggests that the
school board did have a mo
tive of some dark design, not
withstanding that the edi
torial in a previous paragraph
stated that their motives
were not subject to question.
The survey in question was
budgeted for and was ob
tained solely as a tool to as
sist the School Board in long
term planning. The large sum
of money necessary to reprint
sufficient copies for general
distribution of the 62 page re
port was not budgeted for,
any more than in the past
record in such matters some
what more dependable than
the source of information on
which you have apparently
been relying.
Howell Appling Jr.,
Secretary of State,
Salem, Ore.
Fiance
To the Editor: I don't know
why they write about people
from Mars being so weird.
Really, they are the hand
somest men I have ever seen,
and so nice and tall, muscular,
masculine and six feet tall
and over.
So what if their eating
habits are different from
yours? So arc mine from the
next fellow's, but that doesn't
make me like them any less.
Now take Lars, my fiance.
He is a second cousin to A-lan
on his mother's side. Lars
stands about eight feet tall
and handsome. Oh My! His
love-making just sweeps me
off my feet and is simply out
of this world.
They don't have telephones
up there on Mars. They are
far more advanced than we
are. They all wear a small
antenna on their head. It fits
inside their ear like the hear
ing aids do down here. They
are called inta-skyla bars.
When you want to contact
someone you send it on your
inta-skyla bar thought wave.
Now their homes are almost
practically alike, bu' so dif
ferent from ours. Lars, that is
m fiance, showed me our
home to be. It looks just like
clear plastic glass with mir
rors, that act to insulate your
house. To keep it at the right
temperature always, no mat
ter, what room you are in.
day or night. They arc also
used to fix your meals on, as
they don't use wood, oil or
electricity. It all comes from
the sun rays.
I am sure happy about my
in-laws to be, especially my
mother-in-law to be. She is
so wonderful and nice. In fact
she is just a dream. So if
you see a tall handsome
rugged built fellow walking
down the streets of Medford,
wearing what you believe to
be a hearing aid. don't be
alarmed. It might be my fi
ance or some one else from
my new home Mars.
(Name on file)
Medford
for United
posing ideas about Korea's po
litical future came into the
open in late January and was
patched over only by the per
sonal intervention of General
Park.
Center of the most recent
controversy was a retired
brigadier general named Kim
Chong Pil, who left the army
early . in January, to become
chairman of the organizing
committee of the new Demo
cratic Republican party.
This is the party by which
General Park and other mem
bers of the military govern
ment hope to replace their
military uniforms with civil
ian attire and enter the new
other reports, investigations,
and data which the School
Board uses in planning the
operation of the district have
been.
Is it not surprising that the
Phoenix-Talent School Board
is accused of suppression of
information when the Board,
after inviting the editorial
writer to a board meeting
some ten days ago to discuss
a news release which contain
ed much of the material in
question, was told that it was
too long and would have to
be cut? Every effort was
made to give the editorial
writer courteous attention;
and it was suggested to him
that the board would answer
any questions he wished. He
made no request for the re
port in question, nor was it
discussed. In the paper on
Feb. 3, however, is a some
what garbled condensation of
the report, so it would be in
teresting to know where he
got the report from, if it were
being so carefully suppressed,
as he implies. It would also
be interesting to know why a
news reporter who was given
a courteous reception by the
Phoenix-Talent School Board
apparently was so uninterest
ed in factual reporting as to
fail to ask the Board for a
copy when he was in the
board room. '
The complaint was also
made in the editorial that at
the last hearing relative to
the current consolidation, the
objection of the attorney for
the Phoenix-Talent school dis
trict to discussing the report
at the hearing was sustained
by the Rural School Board.
Can it be that the Rural
School Board also is guilty of
spreading "suspicion and dis
trust"? Or can it be the only
one guilty of spreading sus
picion and distrust is the edi
torial writer?
PHOENIX-TALENT
SCHOOL BOARD
J. Allen Harris,
Chairman
Bruce Cyphers
Joyce Goodrich
Melvin Lattie
Dr. M. D. McGeary
John Spangler
T. Chris Barker
-O-
Editor's note: The writer of
the editorials in question was
Earl H. Adams, the Mail Trib
une's city editor. He replies:
The editorial to which the
Phoenix-Talent school board
refers criticized the lack of
publicity given the report of
the survey, and the dissemina
tion of information concern
ing the district's plant facility
needs.
I agree that such lengthy
reports are not usually pub
lished in their entiretv and
distributed to all the residents
of a school district; this would
be financially impracticable.
But there usu.-.Hy are enough
copies available for board
members individually, with
enough others to distribute to
the press and to have avail
able for district patrons to
see.
I asked for a copy of the
report in a telephone con
versation with the superinten
dent prior to the board meet
"Don't be so gentle with the new ones. If they last
longer, fewer are sold. You're lousing up the lew of
supply and demand and upsetting lhe economy!"
i
States
government as civilians.
Opposition came from two
powerful voices. One was re
tired Lt. Gen. Kim Dong-ha.
Another was the regime's for
mer prime minister, retired
Lt. Gen. Song Yo-chang.
Both denounced Kim Chong
Pil as having a personal lust
for power, and Song also de
manded that Park give up his
ovn plans to seek the presi
dency. The military regime's plans
to restore civilian government
may spring from motives pure
as the driven snow. But right
now not many would bet on
the success of their political
opposition.
ing to which he refers. I was
told the board members would
be notified of the request, and
that it would be the board's
decision. He returned the
call later, saying the board
would like to meet with me
to discuss a statement which
would contain information
from the survey report.
I did not ask specifically for
a copy of the report at the
meeting, since I understood
the statement was designed to
cover material in the report.
The original statement, which
the board was asked to edit
if possible because of length,
contained some information
about a building program.
which has been conducted on
a pay-as-you-go basis.
In the part edited from the
original statement, the board
said it "could spend $500,000
for plant improvement if
necessary, with no Increase in
present millage. This is be
cause present bond retire
ment payments of $33,000
yearly will be released in
1964, and on present assessed
valuations this amount would
retire $500,000 in 20 years."
There was not visible in
the room a copy of the report,
and since I took the state
ment to be an accurate one
containing information from
the survey, I did not press tha
issue. The board knew of my
request and had decided that
a statement would suffice.
The statement was accurate
as far as it went. But when,
more than a week later, a
copy of the report was re
ceived and reviewed, tha
statement, even the original
version, did not contain all
the information I believed the
people of the district are en
titled to know. That still is my
belief. The statement con
tained selected information
rather than general informa
tion. I know of at least two dis
trict patrons who approached
the school office recently
and were told the report was
not available. Others have re
portedly had the same ex
perience. Clarence Hines, one of tha
co-authors of the report, ex
pressed surprise that it had
not been publicized, and in
dicated there was no reason
why it should not have been
publicized soon after it was
completed last summer.
I asked that the board's
statement be edited because
it was quite long, and con
tained some material which I
thought was irrelevant. The
Phoenix board edited the
statement for publication, and
it was then published in full.
The rural school board is
not a court of law, nor is a
public hearing a court pro
cedure. A public hearing is
one in which all facts relevant
to an issue are expected to be
discussed and reviewed so the
people will be better inform
ed. When an objection at a
public hearing is sustained,
and even when an objection
is made, there is the infer
ence that perhaps there is a
point of interest and rele
vancy the objecting party
does not want reviewed or dis-cussed.-E.H.A.