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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 1963)
PAGE 41 HERALD AND NEWS, Klamath Falls, Oregon , Sunday, November 10, 19M Lawmakers Hunt Tax Defeat Meaning A Departing Citizen Thousands of people cross through the Klamath Basin every, year. The population shift in this area Is probably even more accented than in many other communities. Each of these passing people leaves a mark, to some degree, on the community. Occasionally, one among them stands out like a giant in one field or another, mak ing an indelible mark on the community and leaving a big vacancy on departure. Such a man is William B. Sweelland, Herald and News publisher, who recently left to take over a similar post in Chester, Pa. He arrived in the community in 1960 and in just over three years compressed as much civic activity as most men engage in during a lifetime in a community. A dynamo of community activity, much of Sweetland's effort was unrecognized. He wished it this way. One of the more publicized posts he held was as a member of the Slate Constitu tional Revision Committee. In this vital role, he lent conservative support to the effort to rewrite the constitution and produce a document that would maintain the orderly and conservative course of government in this slate. Much of the conservative work, however, was lost in the swirl of liberalism that shrouded much of the group's activity. This, however, was just one of his ac tivities. The list of accomplishments and serv ice is long. He served as a director of the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce, and was a member of the chamber's hospital committee, later serving as a member of the board of directors of the Intercommunity Hospital. He also was a member of the directors of the Community Concert Association, and was instrumental in the organization of a local symphony group. His interests ranged afar to include rec reation. He was a member of the Recreation Advisory Board of the Forest Service with particular attention during the last year to the future status of the Waldo Lake area. And there were many more activities beneath the surface of community life that contributed greatly to progress. Among other projects he envisioned and launched with newspaper sponsorship was the annual Christmas parade and the Christmas party for the Klamath County Nursing Home. A dedicated newspaper executive, Swcctland was also a dedicated community interest man. His departure leaves a big vacancy and the community loses an enthusiastic sup porter. Our loss is Chester's gain. Meaning Is Clear The first special session of the Ore gon Legislature since 1957 convenes tomor row in Salem to face up to a financial crisis. . Any Legislator who maintains that he does not know what the people want, and doesn't understand the vote at the special election, has no business going to Salem. He's out of touch with the people he represents! X In our opinion, the mandate of the people was vividly clear when they over whelmingly, defeated the proposed tax in crease measure at the special election. In big bold letters they spelled out their demand for "ECONOMY IN GOVERN MENT." We don't believe they were necessarily striking at any segment of tax supported institutions or programs, but were simply rebelling against the steadily increasing cost of maintaining these institutions and programs in the light of very small popula tion growth and even smaller industrial growth in the slate. They indicated, also overwhelmingly, that while they did not want the entire $B0 million cut out of the budget, they wanted a big chunk of it cut out, and if additional funds were needed to meet the balance, they want some sort of new tax program that will provide some type of cigarette tax and general sales lax. While we will not attempt to detail such a program to the special session, there are some things we feel need special at tention. Among them we would suggest that any cuts in budgets should most certainly in clude slicing the salaries of Legislators back to $150 a month. Also, any cutting program should include a sizeable cut in welfare funds in addition to cuts in the basic school support fund. Beyond this, we would urge that the Legislators have the fortitude to propose a constitutional amendment changing the sta tus of some of the "earmarked" funds that the state spends. Today, these earmarked funds amount to almost two-thirds of the total stale budg et. The general fund, which totalled about $400 million, represents only one-third of the total state budget. The total budget ex ceeds the $1 billion mark. Yet, two-thirds of this is beyond reach of the Legislature, the Governor or any other elected bodies. To give you an example of what this amounts to, we might cite the fact that the amount earmarked to be spent for highways and parks alone in the 1903-65 budget was equal to the total amount to be spent for education. The amount earmarked from liquor revenues to be spent for stale liquor stores operations, administration, plus per centages given to cities and counties, is just about equal to the amount in the gen eral fund budget to pay for government op erations and public health expenses. Not all earmarked funds are bad, but when they begin to consume two-thirds of the total amount of money available for state operation, it is time to put them in their proper perspective. It's about time that a responsible Leg islature begins to take a look at tomorrow's needs and ceases trying to patch something together that might last another two years. The citizens will be keeping a sharp eye on Salem and awaiting the results of this special session. Boom In Private Schools By 1.KROY POPE '. NEW YOKK (L'PI) - Civil lights, juvenile delinquency and a bis birth rale are making Ihe private school in this country an excellent business (or teach ers. The Federal Welfare Depart ment says the numlier of pri vate schools, including paro chial schools, has jumped from Root) to 17,(ioo in the past de cade. About 6.9 million children or 14.3 per cent of the total grade school and high school population are In these schools this year. The demand for teachers has hrcn booming for years, accord ing to the National Association of Teaching Agencies. The boom in tcucher demand bus pushed salaries lip sharply. Tlia biggest raises have been in tin boarding schools. Five years ago, a young college graduate was lucky to get I i smarting alary of 11,800 to $2,000 plus mm and boafd In a good private school. Today lie can get $.1,1100. Juvenile delinquency is caus ing many teachers to change jobs leaving (lie "problem schools" in the hearts of the big cities for private schools or pul lic schools in the better sub- urbs. The private school room np ears to lie based largely on the desire of parents to est aie juvenile delinquency and the conflicts attendant on racial in tegration but not entirely so. The Catholic church is expand ing its parochial school building rapidly, particularly in new sub urban areas. A large part of all private schools are under reli gious auspices and the Catholic church operates the lion's share ol these. The new private nondenomi national day schools being cre ated frankly to escape juvenile delinquency and racial conflict usually are called "parents' schools." The greatest number of these "parents' schools" is in the South bul they aie being creat ed on the Irmges of northern industrial cities loo. Many of the new private schools arc not ouculcd merely at dodging juvenile delinquency and racial contlict. Some are guided by a desire lor sharp curriculum reform; tliey start leaching languages in the pri mary grades, lor example. Some were founded and are run by parents' committees and teachers who are Irankly hos tile to "progressive education"; lor example, they return to the alphabetic method of teaching trading in vogue sixty years ago. Tlie parents' schools succeed in luring teachers away from public schools without offering higher wages; in the private schools, as a rule, teachers needn't fear hulking lads with switchblade knives. Also, class es are smaller, 10 to 11 pupils against 20 to 40 in public schools. -t By ZAN STARK SALEM (L'PI I There appears to be an almost fanatical re fusal on the part of some of the states leaders to admit that the Oct. 15 tax defeat meant STOP SPENDING. Many lawmakers and state of ficials are frantically scurrying about in search for the "true meaning" of t h e referendum election. Sales lax proponents inlerpret the vote as a mandate to in troduce a new tax to Oregon. Friends of education claim tlie voters support education, but didn't like the legislature's lax increase bill. Some lawmakers privately want to retaliate against the voters by enacting a scries of nuisance taxes. Gov. Mark Hatfield has called for re-passage of the one - shot speedup of withholding collec tions to bting in $12 million this biennium a part of the tax bill tlie voters rejected. But few indeed are the state's leaders who suggest the Oct. 13 vote was a demand for economy. It would be difficult to im agine two men with more di vergent philosophies than Sec retary of State Howell Appling Jr., and Senate President Ben Musa. Yet they agree on one thing. They feel the Oct. 15 vote WAS a mandate to stop spending. There are many reasons to ' believe they are right. The loudest pre-election cry was that a "No" vote would be a vote against education. Edu cators felt the public would re spond. They did they voted 3 1-2 to 1 to defeat the measure. It now appears three major blocks of opinion will emerge at the special sessions begin ning next Monday. The Musa bloc opposes re enactment of the one-shot bill, or any other new revenue source, including a sales tax. This group wants general state economy, with the biggest cuts to come out of basic school support. Basic school cuts can be offset at the local level by increased property taxes, and this group feels the local school district voters should be free to make their own choice about how much they want to pay for education. The Hatfield plan calls for en actment of the one-shot meas ure, general state economy, and a less severe cut in basic school funds. Then there are the sales tax people, who insist the voters on Oct. 15 were demanding a new form of taxation, not budg et cuts. The agricultural bloc seems solidly behind the sales tax as a method of easing the local property tax burden. Most of the sales tax bills proposed to date have included provision for a property tax offset. Farm ers want lower property taxes. They also want feed, seed and fertilizer exempted from the sales tax. Oregon voters have rejected sales taxes five times in the past 30 years. There also is some support or a cigarette tax. Voters have rejected this idea six times since 1826. The length of the special ses sion may depend on how firmly the Musa bloc stands for no new revenue. The session cannot end until the House adopts a plan the Senate will approve. IN WASHINGTON . . . 'We Didn't Agree To Stop Testing You"' Moon Race Is Phony By KALPH de TOLEDANO Perhaps the saddest commen tary on our times is the insist ence of our political leaders to discuss the "moon race" in terms of Nikita Khrushchev's intentions. No one seems really to care whether or not a land ing on the moon will serve the cause of science, whether it will Iwnefit the nation that first plants its flag on those far-off dusly acres. Vet this is precisely what should be on the minds of our scientists and our legislators. Science did not become a politi cal game until the end of World War II when the men who made the bomb suddenly decid ed to remake the world in their own misguided image. They de scended on Congress with a li brary of wild ideas and half baked notions and having come to dinner, they have never de parted. Now we are debating the moon landing in the same zany terms. Comrade Khrushchev says he isn't going to race us. Thereupon, one group of politi cians and scientists argues that we shouldn't believe him but plunge ahead with our crash program. Another group says he's talking true, therefore let's slow down. ' The simple fact is that the moon race was a phony from the start. If the United States is seeking scientific information, it can do much bcltch- by landing a capsule on the face of the moon and exposing its unbeliev ably sensitive and knowing in struments to the treasure trove there available. To put a man on the moon will make many headlines, but it will not ad vance space science much if at all. On Ihe other hand, if we pour billions into the project, we shall be forced to scrimp on what should be our major ob jectivethe security of the Unit ed States. At present, our space program is geared almost en tirely to "peaceful" research. Military space investigations have slowly been squeezed out by the civilians. As a result, this country has liegun to lag in military space technology. What Comrade Khrushchev's ultimate intentions in space may be is a mailer for the careful scrutiny of the Nation al Security Council. But this country's Intelligence agencies are well aware that be is not kidding when lie talks of the great agricultural shortages or the heavy cost of nuclear pres tige. The half-billion dollars in wheat purchases are no joke to the Kremlin, nor can they be explained away as if they were some vast cold-war gambit. Comrade Khrushchev is in se rious economic troubles from which we are trying to bail him out. He cannot support a race competition in the nuclear field. He must retrench and hope that his Communist panaceas will rescue the Soviet Union and its system of captive nations. He has. moreover, gotten just about all the propaganda value he can out of the space race. If he continues to challenge us. he will be forced into second place, right before the entire world. On the side of the world, a crash program makes not much more sense. It skyrockets costs and compels our scientists to try tremendously expensive par allel courses in experimentation. By delaying our schedule, we not only save money but we ad vance with firmer steps. Therefore, the words of Rep resentative Louis C. Wyman of New Hampshire are of consid erable significance. Speaking as the chairman of a Republican Space Task Force, he asserts that "we should recontract, re negotiate, and redefine our space program to assure U.S. tactical mobility and superiority in inner space. The more we think about it, the less reason there is for manned lunar land ings whether or not the Soviet Union has such a program." And, Mr. Wyman underlines: "Tens of billions of borrowed dollars added to tlie national debt for a program to put a hu man being in a place where there is no atmosphere, no life, and little but moon dust is not justified at this lime." I suspect that most Americans concur. EDSON IN WASHINGTON Powell Maneuvers For Role In Revolt By PETEIl EDSON Washington Correspondent Newsiaper Enterprise Assn. WASHINGTON (NEA) An attempt by Rep. Clayton Pow ell to become the big man in what he calls an American "black revolution" is seen here in his rccenl call for a "sum mit meeting"' of all Negro or ganization leaders to work for civil rights. In this connection it is re called that last March Powell told a Black Muslim meeting at Madison Square Garden in New .York: "Boycott all civil rights organizations not totally controlled by us." At this meeting he praised Malcolm X. Muslim leader. In recent weeks Powell has been predicting that no civil rights legislation would be passed by Congress this year. Some civil rights leaders see such a development as Pow ell's opportunity to lay the groundwork for a new effort to be led by him next year. They fear that this might be a divi sive influence, hurting the civil rights cause. Other civil rights champions, admitting Powell's state ment that 90 per cent of t h e American Negroes are uncom mitted and inactive in the civil rights drive, endorse bis sum mit meeting. They hope it will develop more financial support and personal effort in the fi'turc. Invitations sent to 50 Negro organizations by Powell said this meeting would be off the record and closed. But the day before it convened he called a press conference in the House Education and Labor Committee room to announce its 'pro gram and 45 acceptances. The meeting, held in this same Room 42!) of the old House Office Building, raised some questions on the propriety BERRY'S ' WORLD of organizing a lobby in con gressional quarters. But since Powell is committee, chairman, he gets away with it. During the current civil rights fight Chairman Powell forced a broad fair employment practic es bill through his committee. Its main provisions were incor porated in the revised bill just reported out hy the House Ju diciary Committee. Aside from this, however, Powell has not been too active in this year's fight. And he was not too active in the 11)57 and liKiO civil rights legislation bat tles. Powell took part in Ihe march on Washington for jobs and freedom last August. But he sat w ith the other congressmen and was not invited to speak by leaders of "the Big Six." The "Big Six" are the Na tional Association for the Ad vancement of Colored People, Committee on Racial Equality, Southern Christian Leadership, Student Non-violent Co-ordinating Committee, Urban League and Negro American Labor Council. They organized the march, later becoming "Ihe Big Ten" by inclusion of integrated church groups. Powell insisted at his press conference that the new Negro summit was not being organized in opposition to the Big Six. which arc already committed to civil rights. His aim is to got the uncom mitted organizations working to complement the efforts of 1 h c Big Six. He said getting the Big Six to work with his organ ization might be its second step. Curiously enough. 10 of the organizations sending delegates to the Powell summit confer ence already are working with the Big Six and about 50 other while and integrated groups in the leadership conference on civil rights. This is the big lob hy which has done the most ef fective work in pushing for more comprehensive legislation this year. The 50 organizations invited to send delegates to the Powell summit meeting are said to have a total membership of 12 million. Even with many Ni grocs belonging to two or more groups, unduplicated member ship is put at seven million. Organizations listed by Pow ell for his summit include ifi business and prolessional groups, 15 fraternities and so rorilies. seven church groups, seven hxkes and unions. "It Jeein't have to be matter done , bow many there are, they ZI like the Rusiiant in Cuba!" QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ) When did Ihe most bril liant meteoric shower on record take place? A-On Nov. 11, 18.U. U-Ythal is Madder? A A Eurasian herb, of which tlie roots are used as dyestuff. Q lit what slate )s there a monument tn Ihe apple? A Cornelia. Ga. Q For what is lemon verbena used? A A sedaUve. a curative (or fevexs and a perfume. ftUM VR L- O WASHINGTON REPORT . . . Rocky Has Vetoed Debate Offer, Too By FULTON LEWIS JK. WASHINGTON If Governor Nelson Rockefeller is piqued that Senator Barry Goldwater turned thumbs down on his pro posal for an "air-clearing pub lic debate," he now knows how Robert Morgentliau felt a year ago. Morgcntih.au, Democratic gu bernatorial candidate, invited Rockefeller time and again to debate the issues. Rocky s stan dard reply: There is no reason or such a confrontation. Rockefeller aides explained that tlie Governor, as front-runner, had nothing to gain and everything lo lose in any de bate with his little known op ponent. It was not the first time Rocky had vetoed debate. In ' 1058. as he drove toward the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Rockefeller received an invita tion to debale from Leonard Hall, his chief challenger. Then, too. Rockefeller declined the in vitation. Such a meeting, he felt, would foster party disunity and hamper GOP chances to unseat the incumbent Democrat ic Governor Averell Harriman. A similar lune is now being played by Goldwater, the front runner who says he wishes to concentrate his fire on Demo crats, not Republicans. Administration underlings have violated Federal law, ac cording to Comptroller General Joseph Campbell, head of the watchdog General Accounting Office. The statute in question is the Foreign Aid Appropriation Act of l'.XvS. Section !07b of that law prohibits foreign aid to any country which "sells, furnishes, or permits any ships under its registry to carry items of eco nomic assistance to Cuba so long as it is governed by the Castro regime " As late as Sept. 24. a Creek ship, Apollon. arrived in Hava na carrying goods from Novo rossivk. USSR. Nevertheless, as Rep. Melvin Laird notes, the Greeks are receiving U.S. aid The Lebanese are among the worst offenders. Ships flying the tahancse flag have in recent months picked up material in North Vietnam, the Soviet Un ion. East Germany, and Poland for delivery to Cuba. U.S. aid continues lo Lebanon. In a letter In the Comptrol ler General. Rep. Laird de manded to know whether such aid was not a violation of the law. In his reply dated Oct. Ifi. Campbell agreed. It is true that President Kon nedv may aid nations trading wKh CutM if he feels it is in the best interests of this country. In that event, however, the Ian requires the President to pro vide four committees of House and Senate with individual re ports explaining his move. No such reports have been received. What is the next step? Since the administration lias been ad judged in violation of the law, according to Laird, the General Accounting Office is required to either ill recover the U.S. for eign aid funds expended in vio lation of the law, or (2) refer tlie matter to the Justice De partment for possible action against the specific Administra tion officials who ordered the disbursement of funds. Whether the Democratic-controlled Justice Department will take action against a Demo cratic Administration, however, is another matter. Reports from Illinois indicate new woes for President Ken nedy, who carried the land of Lincoln by a razor-thin 8.000 voles in 1950. Heightening racial tensions threaten the Democratic ma chine of Chicago Mayor Richard Daly, who faces an almost un surmountable task of placating both militant Negroes and ap prehensive whites. Recent surveys show increas ing GOP strength in Cook Coun ty (Chicago! which last fall elected a Republican sheriff, the county's top-ranking official. A recent survey by tlie Chi cago Tribune shows Barry Gold water would delcat John Ken nedy in Illinois by 300.000 votes if the election were held today. Anotlier survey, conducted for the Cook County GOP cflairman. Hayes Robertson, comes up with the same margin of vic tory. Robertson, an avowed Gold water man, is running (or th Republican gubernatorial nomi nation. His survey, conducted for him during September and October, shows Kennedy would carry Cook County by 171,318 votes. He beat Nixon there by 456.312 votes in 1W0. An Associated Press report of GOP county chairmen shows a 33-1 preference for Goldwater. The one dissenter favored Rich ard Nixon. Almanac By United Press International Today is Sunday, Nov. 10. the 314th day of !!y with 51 lo follow. I The meon is approaching its new phase. The evening stars arc Jupiter and Saturn. Those born today include the German Reformation leader, Martin Lutlter, in 14KS. On tils day in history: In 1775, the U.S. Marine Corps was authorized by the Continen tal Congress, then meeting in Philadelphia. In 1910, the American Legion held its first national convention in Minneapolis. I
