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Show o inyy.i1HH)iir.tmt1t.iy. tf ili i.iy.-- dy -- iy fgc'1TTf-"1 T "Itr "w"rT jf ri(y'iriiTHil..i f ! A5 i We stone for foe Constitution of the United States with is three departments of each government fully indeoendent in its own field ! i I Why Utahns should unite on the cultural arts center The Utah Bicentennial Commission did week bv giving its blessing to the area north of the Salt Palace as the site for the proposed cultural arts center the right thing this While it s encouraging to see the center moving ahead, some serious obstacles must still be o' ercome if the impressive protect is to become a reality. Even though the budding can't be completed in time for America's 200th birthday celebi ation ui 1976, Utah still can't afford to let any more hitches develop With construction costs rising as steeply as they are. the longer the center is delayed the more it vv ill cost Utah has been running some big surplus, the immediate financial future of the state is somewhat in doubt because of the impact of the energy crisis which is bound to attect funding tor this and other protects Although Moreover, if the project is to win the necessary state financing, supporters ol the cultural arts center will need the goodwill and support of as many members of the Legislature as possible, including those outside Salt Lake Valley. This means the entire community in this valley should now unite behind the Utah Bicentennial Commission's designation of the Salt Palace site for the arts center. Further efforts in behull of locating the center at the old Union Pacific railroad depot not only will be a waste ol effort, but also could cost the protect dearly in time and money Since Union Pacific won't relinquish any land around the depot a' present, any use of that building in connection with Utah's cultural life is out except for the distant future When and if the depot becomes available, there's no finally shortage of other worthwhile uses to v Yu.ii it i mild be put m furthering the arts Besides, with the cuituial alls center locat'd immediately to the north, it would enhance the ability of the Salt Palace to host conventions by providing additional rooms for meetings As it is now. convention groups meeting in the Salt Palace have to undergo no little lncom emence when the assembly room has to be transformed from a meeting area into a dining hall and then back inio a meeting facility again With the aits center nearby, convention groups could use both buildings and Utah's attractiveness as a place to hold conventions would be heightened All arguments over the site have been exhausted, and there's nothing fundamentally new to be said on that subject Now that the Bicentennial Commission has spoken, lets all roll up our sleeves and get the arts center done the way it should be done together. Making Ford walks tightrope in vice presidents job By Rowland Evans Publishers-Hal- ! f the S 'market lane is one of the most heavily traveled routes per passenger mile in the U.S that does not now have tram service But many areas in the U.S. are asking for additional Amtrak service in view of fuel shortages, and tram officials say they want to take into account manpower and equipment availability before making any decisions There can be no doubt that Amtrak is beginning to catch the publics fancy. The system expects to carry more than a million passengers this year over last, and its booked solid for holiday periods. The obvious way to expand profitable passenger service is to open promising route looks like new routes. The S a sure winner in that respect, and the sooner Amtrak makes the decision, the better for both the railroad and Utah L.-L.- Syndicate ASHINGTCN Vice President Herald Ford, whose evoked the only swearing-il - genuine political sentimentality in the capital since the Watergate scandals, has dismayed supporters by advice reiectmg important political e intimates dvice No That Ford forego his annual skung vacation over the Christmas holidays and stay in Washington, " thus the building image ot a vice president in a unique situation who is fully equipped to lead the country if Richard Nixon falls. Advice No 2 That Ford hire a sophisticated politician as his of wide experience chiel aide to run a senous Ford staff largely independent ol the White House and capable of tackling major issues. Having been in office only one week. Jerry Ford has plenty ot time to create the impressive staff his supporters envision. The disappointment is real, however, that on the strength of a pledge to his e administrative aide, Robert T. Hartmann, he has now made Hartmann his chief of staff. Bob Hartmann is a bright guy and a tough guy, but he the rubs almost everyone even way without wTong knowing it." one Ford intiIn told us mate sum, Hartmann lalls short of the dynamism that Ford allies feel is needed, even though his toughness wdl be an asset m predictable battles between the Ford and the Nixon staffs ' ' did," I said That shows you," the lab driver said, that Nixon is; a man of the people. Despite his friends, his position andi his wealth, he still insists on paying the same taxes as a Utile guy like me It proves he hasn't lost the common But he made a lot more money than you touch take-charge- long-tim- One bright spot in the new Fold staff is Kenneth BeLieu. a former Lyndon Johnson aide V SllllilUN Vice President Girald Foul said Iasi weekend on Issjes and Answers that he expected Amen cans to "teel much better after Mr Nixon released hu fi nancial recoids to the press ; 1 Amtrak route needed to S.L. BUCHUJRLD if W long-tim- RRT He did add that some people might continue to uondoi the President paid enough income tax Mondav I decided to make an informal sunev among to lind out if indeed they did teel better my acquaintance now that Mr. Nixons finances are a matter ol puhlu recoid The first one I asked was a taxi drivel He contirmeib Vue President Ford's statement I feel great," he said as we were stuck m traffic on I M just discovered that I paid the sane amount of taxes' as the President of the United States " and Robert Novak from After years ot decline, it's going to take some time to turn around the train passenger business. And as far as Utahs tourist business goes, the sooner the transition can be made, the better. That is apparent from the Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerces current efforts to get Amtrak to initiate a Los Lake City route on its lines Angeles-Sal- t Currently, an Amtrak traveler to Utah from Los Angeles must travel to San Francisco, then to Ogden. There is no train service to Salt Lake City. The reverse. of course, happens when a Utahn travels by Lain to Los Angeles. Needless to say, the system discourages many travelers. Yet more and more, Utah is becoming a destination for Southto ski, hunt, ern California travelers to live. even and vacation, Amtrak officials are encouraging, but so far noncommittal. They point out that the right switch. Allien I got to my ofiice I ran into a tax lawyer on niv door who also said he felt much better since Nixon re-'- , leased his tmancial statement Four new clients have; called me this morning wanting to know why they had to pay capital gains on their property, and the President ot, the United States didnt I asked him hat did you tell them told them I didn't know, but it they wanted to pav me a Sl.OOtt retainer I could find out tor them Nixon s tax returns could be a boon for tax lawyers and accountants all ' over the country. I called Herringbone, a stockbroker, and asked him , now he felt since the release ot the Nixon tax ; papers AA Pres. Nixon briefs Gerald Ford. who served in high Pentagon both for President jobs Kennedy and President Nixon BeLieu will run Ford's legislative aftairs ofiice, and he lias high prestige with Congress Ford's staff is just beginning to grow. Major changes including the cannot spot of staff chief be ruied out in the future. Far more important to Ford, as the only vice president in history chosen by Congress on of a the recommendation President, is his political relationship with Mr. Nixon and the Republican Party. It is here that the decision not to postpone his skung vacation until February may have cost Ford a symbolic advantage As one Republican elder told us' The President is going South or West. Congress is going home, but the political crisis over Nixon's future, the energy thing and the Midale East will stay right here in Washington. Ford should stay here, too. to show that he is different and to begin to till that terrible leadership vacuum But Ford chose Christmas as usual, a hint that he will not allow himself to become a foil for Republicans who want the President to resign. Moreover, no sooner had Ford been sworn in than he began a major defensive sweep for the President, clearing him of Watergate blame and praising his release of personal financial data That is ! ' I what precisely bothers Fords political friends, and other Republicans to Ford's left, who see the partys only salvation in Ford replacing Mr. Nixon well before ihe 1974 general election. For these Republicans. Ford's first week was vaguely disquieting well ! It's the best thing that's happened to me two months, Hows in the last he replied thaf" if you read his charitable deductions for 1972, Mr. Nixon, on an income of $.00,000 a year plus a $50,000 expense account, donated only $295 to charity. Well, I Why would that make you feel good? don't like to give to charity either, but I never had a good reason to refuse before. From now on, when someone! hits me for a donation, Ill just sav I'm budgeted for chari-- ; ty at $295 the same as the President of the United States That should get people off my back T I i Plato, my waiter, said he didn't feel as good as Ford thought he might He has been having a running bat5 tie with the IRS over a $150 deduction he took on hil uniforms Y hen Plato read that the President was going t$ let a joint congressional committee on taxation decide if hft had paid enough taxes, the waiter called IRS and suggested' his problem also be turned over to Congress But Plato was the only one I talked to who didn't taJ better since President Nixon has turned over his iniqm tax returns. Everyone else felt good Pandora s box on taxes The vanishing penny Even though its rapidly circulated, the penny is such a durabie thing it to last for years, not just a few ought months. Yet the U.S. Mint has to produce six billion new pennies a year. That amounts to about 30 for every man, woman, and child What happens to the pennies that go A United I i 1 into circulation and then seemingly disap-copppear? Don't ask the superintendent of the Philadelphia mint, who only shrugs and says Nobody knows ve won't claim to have solved the mystery. But its hard to fight off the suspicion that if someone could mine the fuse boxes of America his fortune would be made. of Europe. That prospect may be furthered Friday when heads of state of the nine European hold a countries Market Common confederal summit" meeting in Copenhaa basis for gen The aim To establish closer European political cooperation French defense minister As former several months commented Michel Debre cannot arrive at a aeo. Europeans until they ale concommon defense policy same time. the at fronted "all together, That menace now by a direct menace. faces practically all European nations beset by current fuel shortages Strong voices are being raised for closer unity. No one, however, is opting for going it alone without U.S. assistance. Even France, long resentful of the American presence in Europe, now is strongly opposing any reduction of U.S. forces on the continent. For that reason, one result of the summit may well be a motion asking the U.S to delay any pullout. It was precisely to allay such fears that Secretary of State Henry Kissinger declared during the recent NATO meeting that the relationships of the Atlantic area remain the absolutely core element of American foreign policy. That, in fact, is oven more certain with the fuel crisis weniing the Atlantic community more closely together K r Ii It By Nick Thimmesch L A T lines Sy ndicate - President WASHINGTON Nixon may have opened Pandoras box or stirred up a nest or something hornets equally problematic when he provided an encyclopedic disclosure of his personal finances last weekend His disclosure not only raises questions about his own financial deals but makes me wonder about the rest of Washington's olticialdom and then some States of Europe? Politically. Europe is approximately at the juncture where the 13 American when the colonies found themselves Stamp Act of 1765 was proclaimed by King George III. Just as the Stamp Act and the Navigation Act helped to unite the colonies toward a common goal, so the current the energy crisis in Europe may propel States United a individual nations toward As Doc Dalinsky, my druggist, said to me with prtckj," Where else but ui America could a man making $250,000 Mr Nixon paid no income taxes to the District of Columbia in his years as President here. Nor did he pay income taxes to his home state, California, in the same period No matter what the accountants and lawyers say, this makes people mad. When Mr. Nixon sold his New York City apartment for a good profit, he didnt have to pay capital gains tax because he applied the profit to his new residence at San Clemente Fine You ask, doesn't that make him a resident of California, and thus subject to that state's heavy income tax No, super-accountan- declares Mr Nixon's Arthur Blech who said he consulted f firm law the with Kalmbach, DeMarco. Knapp & Chillingworth (sounds like the New York Yankees' 1935 infield) and the California State Franchise Tax Board for expert opinion That august board meets this week to discuss Mr Nixons California tax situation . In not paying any D.C. taxes. Mr. Nixon is only taking advantage of 1939 and 1947 laws which Congress passed, mostly for its own benefit, as usual Simjily, the law says that any elected official and certain personal staffers of these officials who are domiciled in the officials home states shall not be considered a resident of D C and, therefore, become exempt from D C. income tax, even though Living and working here. President Nixon lives and works m D.C. So do hundreds of U S. senators, congressmen and their staffers and some of Mr. Nixon's staffers as well The D C. Department of Finance and Revenue is especially generous m granting such exemptions. There is a whole batch of senators, ana congressmen legislative and executive staffers living in the District of Columbia who pay no tax here and no tax m their home states because those states have no income tax annually have to pay only an average of $5,969 a year imijw come taxes? These men are not alone, nor have they done anything illegal. They benefit from Congress' large inclination to do itself favors like exempting itself from being liable for subpoena, or prosecution for violation of the Equal Opportunity Employ ment Act Congress the proclaims government can have only 14 limousines, but flaunts that law unashamedly itself Congressmen don't pay parking tickets, usually get sent home when they are found drunk, even while driving, and vote themselves medical and retirement benefits that would cause J. Paul Gettys brows to rise in envy. eye- Mr. Nixon is either gutsy or foolish in baring his finances this way. I'll bet my last dollar, after the taxes I must pay, that the vast majority of U.S. senators and congressmen will not publicly declare what they paid m recent years in federal and state income taxes Many have extraordinary shelters and probably pay tle or no income tax. tax lit- The rest of us pay far more proportionately on smaller inconus than President Nixon and many a senator or con- gressman ever did And that's what makes people downright mad I A W T'NI wS SYDH6Y HRRRIS M to treat our Presidents more roya3K And our Vice Presidents, too, for that matter. Rather, than I grudging Nixon, or his successors, a San Clemente, should lavishly endow them with such perquisites It woultf be cheaper m the end. i J t As I it ks American national character, Jwt perceive the enough for a man to have position and power, as in soie? other cultures. He must have also, if not wealth, at lttfsl the trappings of wealth enough to move freely mTiig " ? exalted circles of his peers The British, knowing full well that their sovereign merely a symbol without a practical function, neverthck&s' provide handsomely not only for kings and queens butlftif princelings and princesses as well. They feel that Uui solidifies the grandness and the stability of the monarchal Ideally, of course, public servants should not require massive sums of money; quite a few Presidents have bf broke both in and after leaving the White House. But, ahjs; J we do not tend to nominate or elect very many men of tljls J stnpe; such being the case, we should provide them with t least as much substance as monarchy arjjj I think we ought given. Much as I dislike and resent a man like Agnew. it c4nt be conceded in all fairness that what he did was as iniicfr prompted by his felt need to operate m a grand manner, a$ befitting his position, as it was by low rapacity. If we fcah't, improve a mans character, we can at least remove tha obvious temptations to dishonesty If only rich men can afford public office, let us then It provide comparative riches for high would, as I said, be cheaper in the long run than suffering , the dislocations and disillusions of the past year You c?n't Peake lotTi guOu, but VuU Cafi help make list T;i iViOfe vaous to the blandishments of corruption A S ; office-holder- i |