BEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, OREGON
SUNDAY. MAY 26. 1963
Communications
LttUit to Ihe Editor mutt beat the name ind address of the writer, although under
certain circumitancei the uie of a pen name or initial for publication is permitiible.
The Mail Tribune reserve! 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 the
contrary is often the case.
Legalise Gambling
To the Editor: The Legisla
ture of our state appears to be
at wit's end, seeking a solu
tion to the problem of raising
revenue without a raise in
taxes.
To enact a sales tax is at
best only shifting the burden,
at worst it would end a large
flow of business from border
ing states which have a sales
tax. Many of their people
come to Oregon to buy be
cause they get more for their
money and avoid a sales tax,
which they detest.
Some Oregonians say let the
tourists help pay our taxes. I
feel that a sales tax would
turn away enough tourists to
create a loss rather than prof
it, for many vacationists come
here now because they get
more for their money, and
this consideration can sway a
number of potential visitors.
We do have one source of
revenue which, if turned into
profit instead of an expense,
as it is at present, no one
would be hurt more than at
present and a great part of the
problem be solved. Tourism
would increase with its at
tendant spending, expenses
lowered and Oregon emerge
into a comfortable era, with
money to meet its obligations
and provide for expansion.
The source I refer to is le
galized gambling. Today we
are spending time and money
to stop gambling, but without
success. No one will deny that
gambling still exists, so if we
can't abolish it, why not con
trol it, at a profit?
Some will argue that gam
bling is sinful, but that is de
batable. Gambling is defined
as taking a chance, assum-
ing a risk where the outcome
is uncertain. What difference
in principle if the risk is on
the commodities of the stock
market, the turn of a card or
the roll of the dice, to buy in
surance or to place a bet on a
horse or dog race? Horse and
dog racing are legal in Ore
gon. Let us bury our inconsisten
cies, at a profit. Let us cast off
our hypocrisies and go all the
way.
New Hampshire has recent
ly legalized a lottery. Ireland
has adopted the Sweepstakes
and came out of national debt
to become solvent. Nevada is
DrosDerous with its gambling
without overtaxing its small
Dooulation, while Oregon is
struggling along in debt to
enjoy a righteousness it does
not have.
To legalize gambling will
call for tight laws and rigid
vigilance, but "eternal vigil
ance is the price of liberty."
Oregon can do it and solve a
major part of its tax problem.
C. R. Burrut
834Vj Cherry st.
Central Point, Ore.
Anti-Dunes
To the Editor: People are
asking, "What would be the
cost of a sand dunes park as
proposed by Sen. Maurine
Neuberger?"
The cost can be divided into
three parts:
(1) Acquisition of private
property. A survey by the In
terior Department stated it
would cost $7.5 million lo ac
quire the 264 residences, 44
businesses and other prop
erty. This proposed park, how
ever, takes in only a part of
what Secretary Udall sayj he
wants. He recommends that
the park follow the bound
aries advocated four years
ago, taking in at least 160
more homes and much more
land, thus bringing the total
cost to an estimated $10 mil
lion or more.
(2) Relocation of Highway
101, a move considered by
park officials. The reasons are
that relocation would avoid
a highway through the park
and would make it unneces
sary to stabilize sand dunes.
Conrad L. Wirth, park service
director, announced that plans
call for returning the 42,000
acre to wilderness and elim
inating all housing. In the
Jensen report (page 24) fig
ures were presented by the
park service estimating tint
the relocation would cost $15
million.
(3) Construction of admin
istration buildings and other
installations would no doubt
reach $5 million, bringing the
cost to $30 million, probably a
very low estimated.
The dunes area, the beaches
and the lakes are already pub
licly owned. The state owns
the beaches. The U.S. Forest
Service has about 19,000 acres
along the coast next to the
ocean which is used for rec
reation. The state has two ex
cellent parks Honeyman and
Umpqua Lighthouse in the
dunes region. There is no van
ishing seashore. To bring in
another federal agency would
be a waste of money, as it
would result in duplication.
It is obvious that the N?
tlonal Park Service had bet
ter spend its funds in keeping
up the many parks it already
has.
R. M. Falk, M.D.
Mapleton, Ore.
Poets' Corner
Conducted by
Arnold Eugene Jenny
Without Poets
Without poets we could not see through the fogs and
fakeries of life. Indeed it seems obvious . . . that our poets
have a far belter grasp of the ultimates than politicians and
preachers do. God has given poets the knack of being able
to push aside the irrelevant and inane and to lift all of us
above the wearying empiricism of every day. Alfred P.
Klausler, in The Christian Century, 33063.
o
Modern Science
We are indeed afraid of monsters we create:
Before the secrets we have dragged into the light
We cower frightened as they turn our day to nighl,
And shaking in the dark we must await our fate.
W. Arthur Boggs
Oswego, Ore.
From the author's "Odysseus And Other Poems," by
permission. Orginally published in The Christian Century.
o
No Star To See
No highway smooth
Before me lies
With center line
To guide my eyes;
No course is mapped
To mark my way,
Nor charted route
Wrong steps to stay;
No compass sure
The poles to show
When fog beshrouds
The stars' pale glow.
Uusure, confused,
I wander still,
Whether my way
Be good or ill.
George H. Bell
Mcdford
O
Beyond
A fiddle-footed cowboy rode
Full many years ago
For, what was just behind that hill
He simple had to know.
In later years he drove a car
Down highways firm and smooth,
For that same longing burned within
Which he still sought to soothe.
The billboards, stretched on either side
For weary mile on mile.
Proclaimed each brand of cigarct,
The only smoke worth-while.
He studied half a dozen brands
Of luscious, foaming beer.
Each guaranteed to bring the most
Of happiness and cheer;
He saw a swim-suit on a maid,
Curvaceous to a fault,
And just beside her, on the beach,
An appetizing malt.
In apathy he gazed at these;
Each glaring "ad" he conned;
And. as in youth, the longing grew
To see what was beyond.
Jack Fincl
Central Point, Ore.
O
Dreams
The winds have cast their shadow
on the moon tonight.
Dim footprints of old fantasies are
moulded by the light,
where dreams have knelt In slardust
on broken twigs of sleep.
Mystery Alircs
Portland, Ore.
Let us no more pass judgment
on one another, but rather de
cide never to put a stumbling-
block in the way of a bro
ther." (Rom. 14:10, 12 RSV).
Arnold Eugene Jenny
Rogue Valley Manor
Medford
Brotherhood
To the Editor: Some time
ago a writer in Communica
tions castigated what he
called "Bible-thumping cor
respondents who try to lend
weight to their otherwise
feeble arguments by quoting
copiously from the Bible
generally "proof-texts" taken
out of context and which, IN
context, usually have mean
ings quite unrelated to or even
at variance with their babblings.
Recently, I received in the
mails a long-winded, single
spaced, typewritten letter
from a Communications read
er who appended to his name
the appellation, "A Christian
minister." Unlike some of the
cowardly ones who fail to do
so when writing to upbraid
me for something 1 had writ
ten, this brother had the de
cency to sign his epistle. His
theme seemed to be, "Yes, I,
too, believe in brotherhood
BUT ..." Following is my
answer to this "minister."
"Somewhere I once read of
a Scotsman who, visiting
friends in this country, was
taken to a movie by his hosts.
Upon seeing a huge animal on
the screen he'd never seen be
fore, he asked, 'What in the
worrld is that?' Told it was a
moose, he exclaimed, 'Well, if
that's a moose, I'd hate to see
one of yourr rrats!'
"If your 9-page epistle of
April 15 is a 'message short
and to the point' (that's how it
began), I'd not be keen to read
a letter in which you gave
your Imagination and loquac
ity free reign!
"As to the content of your
'message, I'm afraid it reveals
a tragic misreading and mis
understanding of the Bible,
especially of the New Testa
ment. Not in a long time have
I come across anything
garbled and utterly alien to
the spirit of the Gospel or
even of the more enlightened
teachings of the Old Testa
ment. Please don't burden me
with any more of your hor
rors." I would remind that corres
pondent, and others equally
careless in their use of the
Scriptures, of the Gospel's
pointed teachings:
"You have heard that it was
said, 'You shall love your
neighbor and hate your en
emy.' But I say unto you,
Love your enemies and pray
for those who persecute you
. . . " (Mt. 5:43-44 RSV); and
"Why do you pass judgment
on your brother? Or why do
you despise your brother? . . .
Brother's Keeper
To the Editor: Were you
lately shocked and grieved
enough to fairly hang your
head dejectedly in sorrow and
shame over an occurrence you
couldn't change?
Such was our experience in
Grants Pass lately when two
choice markets began to sell
the morale-destroying, body-
destroying, soul-destroying in
toxicants, beer and wine!
"Saloon departments" now
grace - excuse me - disgrace
convenient places in the two
markets; and the checking
clerks must of necessity do as
all bartenders do, and sell al
cohol to the customers! And
why? One reason, to make
more money, even though per
force it is "blood money." As
Webster defines it, it may
mean "money obtained from
the sale of that which will de
stroy the purchaser."
Our dailies must now add
accounts of more tragedies
and deaths because more
drunk drivers add to the toll
and how we all fear lest we
meet that erratic driver
becred or wined to a brain-be-
muddlcd state! How guilty the
purveyors are!
What would the Christ who
drove the money mongers
from the Temple do in modern
respectability, claiming intox
icant purveying food markets
which, contrary to the Scrip
ture, lift the bottle to their
erring neighbors' lips? That
same neighbor who is journey
ing by their side to the dis
criminatory judgment where
a just God separates and ban
ishes from His presence those
who failed to separate them
selves from self-destroying
evils in the day of mercy and
grace!
Remonstrating with the gen
eral manager against this ca
tering to the colossal evil of
drink as it is shattering mor
als and manners; mcapicitat
ing and unfitting men and
women and youth lo meet the
demands of life and living
desecrating to worse than ani
mal life our God-given facul
ties; and arousing the worst of
evil passions in our fellow
men. his reply was, "If we
don't sell it someone else will
They don't have to buy it. It's
their own responsibility."
quoted the Bible, "Woe unto
him that giveth his neighbor
drink, that putteth the bottle
to him, and makes t him
drunken also-." Then he plead
that they must sell it to keep
going, for they were losing
money! I judged he meant
they weren't able to lay up ill
gotten blood-letting gain the
breweries and wineries af
forded them in the sale of de
structive and murderous alco
holic "beverages." It was Cain
who said after he had mur
dered his righteous brother,
"Am I my brother's keeper?"
H. R. Bulman
Route 4, Box 316A
Medford
teacher added the advice:
What you see in others de
termines what YOU are."
The threat of the "Bogy-
man" and the myths of "Santa
Claus" and "the stork" -along
with my first book of Fairy
Talcs - introduced me to fic
tion and the "white" lie; and
as I grew up I became well
acquainted with the use of the
real lie, so often used by not
only individuals and groups,
but even by nations.
I recall my first lessons in
fooling one's self: A playmate
and I had been stealing a
neighbor's grapes; but one day
he caught us in the act and
proceeded to "spoil all the
fun" by announcing: "I've
been watching you boys for
some time; you don t have to
steal 'em! Take all you want,"
It seems that life's values
must be gleaned largely from
both good and bitter expert
ence. Strange to say, we are
sometimes faced with the
paradox not only of choosing
between one right and anoin-
er, but between one wrong
and another. As an example
of the latter, I heard of a boy
tween his Irish and Mexican
parentage, had to choose
which side he would join in
an impending gang-fight be
tween the Irish and Mexican
buddies. A stickler for a fair
fight, he chose the Mexican
gang because it was outnum
bered. But. the next time out,
he chose the Irish gang - for
the same reason!
Triers are so many contro
versial problems in our so
ciety today that it behooves
each of us to keep an open
mind and withhold judgment
until all the facts are in. As
our Indians so well put it:
"You can't judge a man until
you have walked in his moc
casins."
In any event, we should
avoid allowing ourselves to
become the "holier than thou"
sort of person who is always
right. It is inevitable that
people will occasionally use
bad judgment; but that can
be written off as merely one
way of learning what is good
judgment. Like all experi
menters, we have to keep on
trying until we "hit the jack
pot!" George M. Babcock
427 Hospital dr.
Ashland, Ore.
Happiness Is Tobacco
To the Editor. Somehow or
other I cannot help but love
and admire people who
smoke. Stay close on my heels
and I will tell you, should
you wonder why.
Housework, once a drudg
ery, suddenly becomes easier
while enjoying a cigarette.
Women love their work and
look upon it as though they
wouldn't be engaged in any
thing else or an: other ccu
pation. The princess and the farm
er's daughter alike look upon
smoking as the greatest jift
on earth since the broom, look
ed upon by women not as a
special art, but one that can
be shared with the men they
love.
Tobacco has become as es
sential in the domain of a
happy household as sowbelly
on the table. It is a fact that
no woman would remain long
with a man who did not pro
vide her with cigarettes or
the means of obtaining them.
The woman of today regards
it her personal duty to provide
three meals a day for her fam
ily. She sees everything is
done properly in return for
complete enjoyment of smok
ing while she works. A wom
an is not content to get all
the pleasure of smoking, so
she shares with her husband
that which he has supplied
for her. Mother nature has
fulfilled her function with in
gredients of beneficial results.
In spite of the fact that
I know little of where tobacco
comes from, I shall always be
lieve people of sound reason
and good judgment are to
bacco users, and specifically
speaking, of our society.
Tobacco users operate at a
fantastic rata of speed and
the production economy is be
wildering. It Is the best man
aged, finest operated and
cleanest business the world
has ever known. We should
offer compliments on the near
perfect profession. " "'icco
has given Americans more
pleasure, more leisure and
more contentment than any
other country in the world.
The value of tobacco, so
richly deserved, coming from
the very soil from which all
men were created, carries the
same beauty and wonder of
man.
War against tobacco will
overpower the counsel. Take
heed, get the beam of a ciga
rette light in your eye while
you have yet time to enjoy
the rclaxtion it offers you.
In a short time America will
be abused beyond the tobacco
field and it will be too late
to know the value of tobacco.
E. Dykes,
Central Point, Ore.
Life's Values
To the Editor: I early learn
ed my lesson in tolerance. I
had to stay after school one
afternoon and copy from my
Grammar, "Be lo other's
faults a little blind; be to their
virtues very kind," 100 times!
After I had finished, my
QUimSlb
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Phone 779-1331