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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 1963)
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBl'NE, MEDFORD. OREGON THURSDAY. OCTOBER U. 1K3 Religion in America Exemption of Taxes Enjoyed by Churches Topic of Controversy By KUBtKT M. ANDREWS , s t a m d s for Drofit. Other Lmted Press International churches, or their organiza In California a man can tions, own hotels, big-city office grow a beard, get a private re-1 buildings, radio and television ligion, build a chapel and oper-1 stations, sports stadiums, de ate a business with a 52 per partment stores and industrial cent advantage." 'plants. One religious order, be- So complains an unnamed cause of its tax-free status, churchman about the liberal I owned a television station that tax exemptions that American churches traditionally have en joyed, especially in business en terprises that have little or nothing to do with religion. ' His troubled view is ex pressed in a thorough study of the controversial issue, just published by the National Con ference of Christians and Jews. The author is Andrew D. Tan ner, a Nashville, Tenn., lawyer and authority on tax exemption litigation. Tanner cites others leading clergymen and laymen alike who express uneasiness over the church's special position in the tax laws. According to Tanner's report, the most widespread source of criticism is the way churches have entered competitive, profit-making businesses without having to pay the 52 per cent corporation tax on gross in come. Laundries To Hotels Tanner cites these as "some typical operations" : One New Hampshire church operates a laundry. A major denomination's pi inling house, while grinding out tracts and Sunday School lessons, also prints supermarket trading sells advertising time 10 per cent cheaper than its chief competition. Since 1950. all income oi a pay a reasonable amount for municipal services such as po lice and fire protection. And, "in view of the attitude of most church leaders," churches should be required to start paying taxes now on busi ness enterprises unrelated to religious activities. Tanner said. The same, he added. snouw apply to church proper, ty not used exclusively for re- Italian Hamlet Is Watched in Study By Massachusetts church or association of 'je' Purpose. ;. such as meet-1 south near the toe of the I.al- churches has been tax exempt. whether its source is "related to religion or not, although most of it supports missionary and welfare work. Other char itable and educational organiza tions must pay taxes on "sub stantially unrelated trade or business activity." Church And State Arguments for and against removing or modifying tax ex emptions go to the heart of the thorny issue of the separation of church and state. Those in favor say a tax ex emption is a subsidy as real as if the government made a cash gift equal to forgiven taxes. Those against argue that churches should not be taxed because "the power to tax is the power to control." Tanner himself sides with the view that "tax exemption is necessary to maintain a free church in a free state" and that "any change should be slow and gradual." As a start, he suggested that churches might volunteer to ing halls groups. rented to outside STEFANACONI, Italv (UPI)ibeen losing population in recent! about the village and question- Few people who live here are j years and that, for more than ing farmhands. They all think aware of it, but everything of . one reason, is why it is getting , he's just seeking diversion from consequence that happens in ' so much attention in Massachu- the cares of a professorial lite, their little hamlet is watched j setts. i But Lopreato is gathering re- and tabulated thousands of I Among those who left here search material on his home miles away in classrooms were a couple named Loprea- town and he already has pub at the University of Massachu-' to. whose 15-year-old son Joseph ; lished a number of articles grew up to De a sociology pro-1 aixiiu it in sociological journals, fessor at the University of Stefanaconi has been uiuii'ifio Massachusetls. After coming ing some import changes since back here on a vacation one year, he selected Stefanaconi as a typical town for studying un derdevelopment in the Mediter ranean area. Flays Cards When he comes here now, he spends long hours playing cards with the villagers, talking with setts. Students and professors at the University know which families own television sets, which ones farm and which own shops, how much money is in the local banks and what the mayor is planning to do next week. Stefanaconi is a village of less than 2,500 population down tan boot, places in It is one of many the south that have uncounted number of motor-1 grants were still listed as resi- scooters. At the village come-1 dents. tery, families build marble cha- j Lopreato says people leave pels that cost as much as a not merely to escape poverty medium-priced Italian car. but also to get away from the Instead of the usual southern j strict and often stifling social diet of bread and onions, peo-1 conventions of the south, which pie eat meat now at least once are little cnanged trom tne Mid a week, and pasta two or three idle Ages and impose particular ly Lopreato began studying it It used to have only a clay road running through it. muddy in winter and dusty in sum mer. Now it has a well-kept, asphalt-paved highway. Television antennae are sprouting from rooftops. Where there were only three cars be times. People Flee Despite these outward signi severe toboos on women. The explanation for the new found prosperity of the village, of prosperity, people continue to I Lopreato says, is that the emi flee to the industrial north or grants arc sending money back to other countries, and half the j to members of their family who childhood friends, walking I fore, there are now 30 and an farmland around the village l'cs idle. In 1951 Slafanaconi had 3.155 residents. Ten vears later it had 2.500 officially, but in fact even loss because many emi- stayed at home, The townspeople once used this money to pay off debts and buy land. Now they have lost faith in the land, which never did produce much any way, and are either saving for old age or buying the symbols of good living. Their way of life is changing in almost every respect. A few years ago there were only five small shops in the village be cause it was a matter of self respect to the villagers to live entirely off whatever they could produce themselves. Now there are 11 shops, and people go to market even to buy their onions. A modern jet engine for high speed aircraft uses more than a ton of nickel in its construction. Ice Age May Be Cause For Birds' Migration You Can Count on Us . . . Quality Costs No More at Sears OM Li I ,Bv JAMES V. IIEALION SHARON, Conn. (UPI) Na ture's great winged exodus is under way and once again the mass migration will baffle man as it has since time began. The rush comes with the rustle of autumn when literally millions of birds leave their s -mmer homes for more hos pi'able climes. The avian tide sweeps south via seven aerial highways in the United States. It usually reaches its peak around the end of Sep tember. Great droves of shore birds ride sea breezes along the east ern and western rims of Ameri ca to the green pampas of Ar g ntina. The hawk soars down the Ap palachian flyway as the routes arc called while immense duck formations streak over the Mis sissippi valley. Still others fly cross-country from west to east to bask in the warmth of the Gulf States. The grasslands of the Great plains weave to the wingbeat of birds darting south via that fly way as others push through the mountain passes of California's Sierra Nevada. Ornithologists estimate that only 15 per cent of the world's birds log round trips each year while others such as bluejays, sailing and goldfinch as "per manent residents" in their range. Travel at Night Some of the feathered com muters travel at night. It's thought they seek protection from their enemies and are guided by the stars. Certain species move during the day, depending on endur a n c e and feeding preference. Some skim over the ocean's sur face and some have been known to fly as high as 20.000 feet. Some fly non-stop. The Golden Plover is said to fly 2.400 miles at a clip when it slips down from its Arctic fast ness. Ducks and geese log up to 500 miles in 24 hours and, at jour neys end, their total flight sometimes runs to 3,000 miles. The marathon title is held by the Arctic tern. This little bird South America, a round-trip of 25,000 miles. j The outriders of the autum-; nal exodus are Canadian geese whose V-formation and raucous honking herald their flight. While prey and predator flock the flyways there are no great number of casualties. The stronger birds stoke up for the trip by eating more food than usual and aren't likely to inter cept their less sturdy traveling companions. Scan Skies The skies are being scanned by ornithologists and bird -watchers across the nation these days. In the East, Hawk mountain, near Kempton, Pa., is a favored observation point as is Cape May, N. J. Stanley Quickmire, director of the National Audu bon center at Sharon, Conn., says great numbers of birds sometimes collect at Cape May point. If the winds aren't just right, the birds wait there before crossing Delaware bay. Quick mire said instinct tells them they may be blown out to sea if they move against the wind. There are numerous other vantage points in the general vicinities of the seven flyways some of which are sanctuaries maintained by the National Wildlife service. Still, the migrations remain a mystery. Ornithologists have never been able to figure out exactly what causes the birds to sweep south. Another factor that seems to elude the experts is the birds' unerring use of the flyways which shuttle them back and forth. Some say the flights are trig ered by a kind of built-in radar that responds to climatic change. They say the onslaught of ice formations in the age of the cave man touched off the flights and they became hereditary. f if V- 5-pc. 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