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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1963)
Struggle for Power Looms in By NEIL J. SMITH i Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd. During i country's problems has not en-, many English-speakine officers o United Press International JOHANNESBURG. South Af rica (UPI) A bitter behind - the - scenes struggle for power may be going on within the seeming' ly monolithic ranks of South Af' rica's ruling National Party. Ra cial policies are among the is sues. j Vorstcr's recent public pro- Political observers say the two nouncements present a consist chief protagonists are tough, de- ent picture of a hard, tough termined Justice Minister John j minded man. seemingly imper Balthazar Vorster. and Defense vious to criticism. Minister Jim Fouche. I In recent weeks he has: At stake, according to political j Hinted at plans to try polit sources, is the No. 2 place in I ical refugees in absentia. the National Party and possible succession to the Premiership. Vorster, at 47 one of the youngest men in the cabinet, is Uie architect of most of . the country's much-criticized secur ity legislation. Among the meas ures which he inspired and pi loted through parliament are the house arrest regulations (de scribed as "civil death" by op position leader Sir De Villiers Graaff), the extension of the death sentence to certain "sab otage" offenses and the ninety day "jail without trial" law which enables police to hold sab otage suspects indefinitely for questioning. He has the reputation of being the iron man in the cabinet of Non-Voting Citizen Subject Of Study by Federal Group By NEIL A. MARTIN . United Press International ' WASHINGTON (UPD-Was It apathy, economics, out-dated voting laws or just plain laziness that kept 37.5 million Americans away from the polls in the I960 presidential elections? A report being drafted by the President's commission on registration and voting partici pation hopes to answer this question next month. The commission has been studying the phenomenon of the non-voting citizen for the. past seven months. It will present its findings to Presi dent Kennedy Nov. 30. It has discovered, among other things,that the greatest per centage of non-voters is in the 21-to-30 year age bracket and that Sundays or holidays, when Uie average voter is free, might be the best days to hold elections. Concern Is Expressed Mr. Kennedy, former Presi dent Dwight D. Eisenhower and many national leaders were deeply concerned by the fact that only 65 per cent of the electorate voted in 1960 and only 48 per cent went to the polls in the congressional tests last year. Although slightly better than the 1956 presidential election turnout, political experts said the voting percentages seem ed to indicate that indiffer ence has permeated the elec torate over the past lew dec ades. Only recently, Eisenhower urged that state election laws be modernized. He said that what was needed was "a less complicated, more streamlin ed" voting system ?hat would attract more voters to the polls and end one-party (Dem ocratic) domination in south ern states. Decreases Arc Recorded Between 1940 and I960, eleven states recorded de creases in the number of eli gible voters who actually went to the polls. In some western states, such as Nevada and Colorado, the drop has been as much as 5 to 10 per cent. In 1920, Ken tucky had a 71.2 per cent ac tive electorate, compared with its 59.2 per cent voting record in I960. In contrast to the U.S. vot ing record, there was a 90 per cent voting turn out in the Italian elections this year and better than 80 per cent aver ages in Great Britain. Austria and West Germany. And even the one-party Soviet Union re ported a record 99.9S per cent turnout in its 1962 election for deputies to the Supreme So viet (Parliament). Should Do Bettrr "Naturally, no free nation could ever hope to compete with the record of a totali tarian country." Donald G. Herzberg. staff director of Mr Kennedy's commission, told UPI. "But in a nation, such as the United States, where the principles of democracy can only be sustained by an active and interested elector ate, we should be able to do a lot better." When the President estab lished the commission last March, he requested that spe cial emphasis be placed on four areas: laws which handi cap registration and voting on the basis of economic stat us, residence and other fac tors; state registi)ion pro cedures; absentee voting regu lations; and. other reasons why qualified people fail & vote. The commission has receiv ed countless leitsrs. suggv tions and complains from citi- I a) W orld War II he was imprisoned - for security reasons by the war- ; time government of General Jon i Smuts. Now he directs South Africa's internal security in a new type war: the struggle against hostile non-while forces - ' within South Africa I Threatened to take even more drastic steps against sub versive elements "regardless of criticism, no matter from what source." People Who Send Lies Said there should be a law to bring before the courts "peo ple who send lies about South Africa into the world." Told the multi-racial Pro gresivo Party's sole member of Parliament, Mrs. Helen Suzman, "I am reluctant to give you in formation on security matters as it may end up in the wrong hands." Many political observers see Vorster as the natural successor to Premier Verwoerd, although his iron-fisted approach to the zens who have found voting impediments in their states. Unsolicited suggestions have ranged from giving away "arp,;n stamps" to distributing "I-Have-Voted" buttons in an attempt to woo the American voter from his shell of indiffer ence. Variety of Handicaps The commission's initial studies have revealed a varie ty of technical and procedural handicaps faced by voters in many states. In New York, a resident who takes a vacation during an election, cannot vote by absentee ballot. In Texas, a person has to register nine months before an election in order to vote. In New Jersey, a resident moved across the street during an election peri od and found himself disquali fied because he unknowingly had changed districts. More than 15 states still require some form of literacy test which is applied arbitrarily in some areas. Herzberg argued that many slate election and registration laws are out-dated. Mobility Increases "Our country has increased its mobility greatly," he said. "We fly from New York to California, ocean to ocean in no time at all. We don't grow up and live in the same area we started in. Yet, our elec tion laws are not taking this into account." In a review of state laws, the commission has found that one-third of the states require voters to register more than a month before a national election. Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas and Texas still have poll taxes which must be paid anywhere from six months to two years before an election. Alabama, South Carolina and Mississippi require two years of residency before a person can vote. Richard M. Scammon, di rector of the Bureau of Census and commission chairman, said may state registration laws were vestiges of days when "buggy whips were a PLAYING V Regular Wist 135 5rV. Ph. O deared him to moderate South Africans. Has Milder Attitude Defense Minister Jim Fouche, on the other hand, has the mild er, paternalistic attitudes of the old-time Nationalists. He be lieves racial separation must be tempered with the white man's justice. He came to the cabinet after a highly successful term as administrator (governor) of the overwhelmingly Afrikaans speaking Orange Free State province. During his term he became a popular figure with the English-speaking minority. Political circles believe that if there were ever a political re alignment among South Africa's whites, Fouche could become the leader of a new grouping commanding widespread sup port among conservatives of both language groups. Fouche has added to his repu tation through his handling of the difficult defense portfolio. Under his guidance the South African armed forces have been put into top fighting trim until they are now the best equipped and most effective fighting force in Africa south of the Sahara. He has also managed to elimi nate the political influences that in earlier years resulted in big industry and high button shoes the latest style. "With modern methods of printing and record keeping," he added, "it is unreasonable to close registrations months before election day." Scammon noted that Iowa, which has consistently had the nation's highest voter turnout, permits its citizens to register up to two days before an elec tion. Absentee voting regulations in many states, the commis sion has found, are a major voting hindcrance for millions of businessmen, civil service employees, servicemen, col lege students and others who are out-of-state during an elec tion. Have Absentee Lawn All states except New Mexi co and South Carolina have absentee voting laws but in many states, the commission said, compliance exceeds the patience and desire of the av erage voter. Also, many vot ers cannot afford to or do not want to pay the various regis tration fees or the few remain ing state poll taxes. Proposals to eliminate sev eral of these barriers are now before Congress. In addition, a constitutional amendment to outlaw the poll tax is only two votes shy of the 38-state majority needed for ratifica tion. School Drop-Out Grants Received SALEM (UPI) - Portland School District No. 1, and Mil waukee District No. 5 have re ceived Federal grants to plan projects to combat the high school drop-out problem. R. R. Wippel. director of voca tional rehabilitation in the State Department of Education, said the Portland district received $8,000 and the Milwaukee dis trict $4,900. The grants were made by the Federal Vocational Rehabilation Administration. Both districts will conduct a three-month study. CARDS? For Exciting Card Parties ... or Gifts Here's High Fashion for your card table! 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His subject was equality looked for promotion. said a certain high-ranking offi-1 Long-time political commen-, political parties are trying to i between the races. But it is unexpected trouble in' the defense department jn.MSH8.4ixi) commission ' from formed sources sav that has a8en,s of an unnamed European j given a clue to the internal strife ' lirm in relurn for ke' arms con- j in the National Party. acls. i Police (who fall under Justice i Qu0,e Srnior '"'' I Minister Vorslers department) ! Thev quoted senior detectives ! are currently investieaiine an ! as savinE this presents only a ' arms purchasing scandal involv-1 ing high-ranking armv officers 1 and civilian employees of the , stories. defense department. The scan-1 The following day, in an al dal, said to have "tremendous" ; most unprecedented move. De- ramifications, reportedly relates to huge bribes offered by mu nitions manufacturers in West Germany, Britain. Belgium, Fiance and Italy to secure lu crative South African defense contracts. Recently two pro-government newspapers "Die Burger" of Capetown and "Die Transvaler" 114 West Main Street MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. : : : Ranks of Johannesburg published sen - cer had received 106.000 rands tiny part of the scandal. Neither newspaper gave a source of the fense Minister Fouche issued an angry statement accusing the two newspapers of "sensation mongering." He said neither paper had approached him for details, and had they done so he could have told them that the police investigations followed a recent corruption case heard in open court. Their reports were With Twin Bonus Values I SPECTACULAR KgllP "t 6 EXTRA SEAT COVERS I 1 Mil Ml To replace the originals when they M i II till become worn or damaged. 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Inter viewed by the Afrikaans Sunday newspaper Die Stem, he dis agreed that the white man is in 1 any way superior to the African. Education and historical devel opment account for differences between the races, he said. Fouche went on to urge South Africans of opposing views to solve the racial problem, and that the non-whites, too, are striving for a solution. National unity had been proved possible between Afrikaans and English- f!?akin,R hi'e South Africans. Through mutual trust in future ne same. ml8h' Pf. Posible be- tv'ecn wnile and blat South Africans. Moderate and Liberal Fouche's interview was one of the most moderate and liberal utterances to come from a cab inet minister in many years. The Progressive Party stated bluntly that he was favoring a multi-racial solution of South Af rica's problems. The Fouche interview was published on a Sunday. On the Monday night Justice Minister Vorster addressed a National EASY TERMS! 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The timing of the speech may have been coincidental. But some observers saw it as a pub lic rebuke to a cabinet col league showing "soft" tenden cies toward the racial problem in South Africa. Express, Inc. spirit. We V (9)
