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Show Passing Muster 'Wd Stand For The Constitution Of The United States As Having Been Divinely Inspired 18 A EDITORIAL PAGE WEDNESDAY, MARCH WASHINGTON Big Brother is not also 13 insuring he you, only watching you. 12, 196? Just the other day a man in Maryland had his automobile insurance policy The Senate Can Still Rescue Idle Funds Bill By giving the State Treasurer what amounts to & veto power over decisions of the proposed State Investment Council and weakening provisions for city and county funds investment, the Utah House has effectively emasculated the aims of Senate Bill 205, the State Money Management Act. This is unconscionable. The very leaders in the House who have protested loudest about keeping taxes down are the ones who led the way in gutting a bill that would have saved the taxpayers untold millions of dollars. For years, Utah has poured money down the drain because of outmoded investment policies favcring certain banking interests. It took a long and exhaustive study by some of the best financial experts in the state to produce SB205 for the benefit of the public rather than the banks. which has alThe original aim of the bill most been lost sight of in p series of House was to insure a greater return amendments on idle state funds and to remove them from political influence. As amended in House action Tuesday, most references to the duties of the Investment Council now include the language subject to the elimiamendment Another State Treasurer. nates city governments entirely from the necessity of making investment reports and requires to report such information only to the coun treasurers rounty commission. clerk and county ty intention of encouraging professional bills the Thus, investment of idle city and county funds has largely been dissipated. And plans to develop an investment council independent of the enormous influence of financial institutions and the whims of the State Treasurer are extensively compromised. These same amendments were turned down by the Senate, which refused to ag.'ee with Deputy Attorney General Robert B. Hansen that they would eliminate a constitutional problem. With the Legislature scheduled to adjourn Thursday at midnight, swift action must be taken to iron out this latest threat to Utahs efforts to establish a strong, sensible fiscal plan for investing idle funds. King: A Conspiracy? trial of James Earl The sudden windup of the barter-styl- e in the assassinaunanswered still leaves many questions Ray tion of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. last year. Ray exchanged a guilty plea for a promise from the jury with possible parole after 33 years, thus for a life sentence death a penalty. escaping possible Still unanswered, however, is the possibility of a conspiracy in Reverend Kings slaying. The original complaint filed in Alabama charged Ray (then known only by an alias as Eric Starvo Galt) with having conspired with an individual whom he alleged to be his brother. That complaint is still in effect. A full trial might have answered many such questions in Reverend Kings slaying as the Warren Commission answered or attempted to in President Kennedys assassination. .Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark indicated after Kings assassination that evidence pointed toward a single murderer. And, after one of the most intensive federal investigations ever conducted, one official declared: We never gave up looking for a conspiracy, but we did not find any evidence. Ray himself casts some doubt on this assessment, however for what purposes no one can be sure. During the trial he strongly protested that his guilty plea was not to be interpreted as meaning there was no conspiracy. Among the first interviews he granted following his capture, Ray claimed he was offered $12,000 by a man he calls Raoul to perform a mysterious mission that would take him to Birmingham, Alabama, while he was a fugitive in Canada after escaping from the Missouri State Penitentiary. That was in August of 1967. The Reverend King was killed April 4 last year in Memphis, Tennessee, with a rifle Ray purchased in Birmingham. The curious use of aliases (all from one small Canadian area) and Rays ability to obtain a Canadian passport in his attempt to flee to Belgium also have not been adequately divorced from the possibility of a conspiracy. Since the trial is now no longer a source of information on what actually occurred, the Justice Department should lay out the facts in the case. Certainly the FBI investigation should be continued until any other persons possibly involved arc brought to justice. Reduced To Absurdity If the Justice Departments new order to keep time sheets isnt laughed out of existence, it should be. .Effective this week, the departments 1,200 Washington-base- d attorneys and their bosses must halt work every 12 minutes to make a notation on what theyre doing. Theres even a code: An extended telephone contact legal, for instance, is No. 103; talking to the press, 104, and talking to Congressmen, 950. Even minor interruptions, such as a short phone call from home, must be listed and totalled te , up at'the end of the day. Like most government orders, there's a reason obscure g as it may be. The elaborate study was ordered to prove how seriously the Justice Department is understaffed. time-keepin- But, counters Rep. Charles Joelson (D-N.J- .), a member of the Judiciary Appropriations Subcommittee and also a lawyer, if attorneys have enough time to account for every interval, the department may be overstaffed. te The interval is logical, too. Since the computer that analyzed the data works on an arithmetical base of 100, hours of the day must be broken into tenths. Thus 12 minutes is of an hour. El fact, its all so frighteningly logical its a pity the top brass in the Justice Department hasnt observed how it parallels old Latin phrase: Reductio ad absurdum to absurdity. t redacting te two-tent- f,ri ' SALT LAKE CITT, UTAH i N ART BUCHVJALD Operating Like Clockwork DESERET NEWS '' yy'V"V ' Zk ipiwuymiiyjiq canceled because an investigator found his rented home filthy. The poor chap, who was in the midst of tiling his kitchen and dining room, was not given a second chance by his insurance firm. After the cancellation he was turned down by 10 other insurance companies on the theory that a family that doesnt dust together, doesn't adjust together. If this is a trend in the automobile insurance business, were all in for a very 1 g time. The scene is the home of the Drakes. They have just bought a new car and are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their insurance man. "Tommy, screams Mrs. Drake at her son, "get that fire engine out of the living room. Do you want our insurance agent to think we live like pigs? Im so nervous, Mrs. Drake says. "Oh, here comes the agent." Enter Bart Crockett. He shakes hands with Mr. and Mrs. Drake and then puts on a spotless pair of white gloves. "So you want to insure your car? Yes, sir, says Mr. Drake, showing Crockett his clean fingernails. Crockett walks by Drake over to the piano and rubs a gloved hand over the top, and then looks at it. nerve-wrackin- 'Well Bury You DRUMMOND WASHINGTON Its 10 years now since Nikita Khrushchev debated Vice President Nixon in the kitchen in Moscow and boasted that "in seven years well equal you . . . surpass you . . . bury you economically. Khrushchev didn't last long in office, but what about his prediction? Are his successors closing the economic gap between the United States and the Soviet Union, or is the gap widening? Is the Soviet system of almost total government control of the economy doing so well that it's an attractive model for the developing nations? Is the American enterprise economy beginning to falter and fail as the Marxists say it must because of "inner contra- dictions. The answer is that none of Khrushchevs boasts is being realized. The Soviet economy is not headed to burying us, is not surpassing us and is not even beginning in any significant way to equal us. If anything, the gap is growing wider when you compare national living standards. The technological gap is eveu greater between Russia and the West than it is between Western Europe and the United States. The size of Soviet industrial production is so much smaller than that of the United States that even when there is a percentage gain by the Soviets the gap may be even wider in absolute terms. Russia had a gross national product in G. Drummond 1967 of $361 billion, or 46 per U.S. GNP of $789.7 billion. cent of the In tire same year, in electric power, the Soviets produced 589 billion kilowatt hours, the U.S. 1,396 billion; in passenger cars, the Soviet total was 251,000, the U.S. 7.437 million. In meat, the Soviets produced 10 million metric tons, the U.S. million. (Here the USSR figures are inflated by including slaughter fats, poultry and edible offal excluded in U.S. figures.) The Soviets produced 115,800 metric tons of synthetic fibers, the U.S. 1,058 million 15-- tons. Growth rate is not of itself meaningful unless the quality of products is maintained or raised. For example, a Soviet jet engine cited by Khrushchev proved to have a life span of 500 hours. A comparable engine produced by Britain at the same cost has a life span of 2,000 hours Another fact casts doubt on the relia Argentine Builds Forces By Copley News Service Argentina is building up "formidable a warmaking power, the newspaper de la Hora says. Ter-cer- The list of tanks, airplanes, helicopters, ships and other military equipment that the Argentines have bought or are buying is "disconcerting to other Latin American countries, the Santiago, Chile, daily says. a Following are the comments of de la Hora on "Argentine rearmament": Ter-cer- A news dispatch from Buenos Aires brings precise data on the formidable warmaking power that the neighboring Republic of Argentina is gathering. There are tanks, airplanes, helicopters, ships including a new aircraft carrier which have been bought or are being acquired in very diverse countries of the world, in addition to the modern war material manufactured nationally. The long list includes Frtnch AMX-1tanks, armored trucks and vehicles, U.S. 3 fighter-bomber- Lockheed-Hercule- s transports, Dutch Fokher transports, U.S. Aerocommanders for the transport of (high) officers, Hiller and Bell Iroquois helicopters also from the d United States, Canadian French Mirage HI, Saab-3Otters, Viggen from Sweden, more U.S. F-- 5 and 0 twin-engine- 7 F-8- fighter-bomber- Gloster Meteor fighters, Morranne Saulnier and Mentor training planes, two aircraft carriers, three cruisers, two destroyers, all U.S., s and and a fleet of British two German submarines, a missile launching frigate, three other British destroyers and, finally, Italian Macchi fighters and British Tiger Cat guided missiles' mounted on amphibious and vehicles. This impressive list without a doubt will have a disconcerting effect on the nations, as economic, mine-layer- half-trac- Ibero-America- n k and intellectual potential these days in our countries is oriented toward the goal of a better life for all, with the prospect of future continental integration that would permit us to present a united front to the highly developed countries. This goal, that is pursued by all men of good will of the Americas, is the only one that will permit us to emerge from and place in evidence the great cultural values that undoubtedly we possess. In truth the possibility of a war on our continent is not to be seen; quite the contrary, all international agreements talk of a constructive, fruitful peace. For all of that, we must lament that a country as prosperous as the neighboring Argentina Republic is making such costly, negative investments that contribute nothing to its industrial, agricultural, cultural and scientific progress. technological GUEST CARTOON goes into one of the bed- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiinig bility of Soviet economic statistics faulty and useless products are counted more often than not as part of the total Education Of Handicapped output R. Drummond Crockett rooms and runs his glove across the windowsills. Suddenly he looks up horrified. "Dirt. Theres dirt on your windowsills! "But its on the outside, Mr. Drake protests. t "Aggghh," cries Crockett. "Dirt, dirt, dirt Filthy, filthy people." He tears up the policy. "Does this mean you won't give us car insurance? Mr. Drake asks. Crockett, as he stomps out of the house, replies, "Insure you? I wouldn't even drink your water. wiiiiitiniiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiimiiiiiiiiiiiitiiifiiiiiiiiimiiiiimiimiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiii 10 Years Later THE DRUMMONDS By ROSCOE and GEOFFREY "What kind of car is it? Crockett asks as ne gets down on his hands and knees and looks under the couch. 1969 Gazelle," Mrs. "Its a brand-neDrake says nervously. "We've both been driving for 20 years and weve never had an accident. "Hmmnn, says Crockett. "Mind if I look in the kitchen? Mr. Drake says. Heavens, no, "Youre the insurance man." Crockett opens up the closets, inspects the frying pans with his glove. A littLi grease here, I see. One of the children must have washed it, Mrs. Drake says. She grabs it out of his hand and starts scrubbing it with steel wool. "OK, now lets check the bedrooms. "Theyre all in order, Mrs. Drake says. Crockett says, with a trace of a smile, "Mrs. Drake, automobile insurance companies wouldnt be in business if- - they took everyone's word that their bedrooms were spotless. Of course, if you dont want the insurance . . . "No, no. Inspect the bedrooms by all means. Why is the Soviet economy making so little if any headway toward Khrushchevs prediction? Perhaps one reason is that when Soviet officials look in the mirror they close their eyes to the real cause. Their reforms deal only with symptoms. Currently, the Moscow press blames it all on low labor productivity, poor application of technology, too many capital projects begun but not finished, too many expeng sive new plants delayed in reaching capacity. And so on. But never a candid look at whether the Communist system itself is whats really to blame. The competitive enterprise economy of the United States refuses to obey the dire "laws of Marx and the forecasts that it must grind to a halt through recession, depression and disaster. The opposite has happened. The U.S. economy has never done so well, so long, so continuously. It has sustained an almost unbroken rate of growth for more than eight years. The continued dynamism of the American economy has removed what was once a widespread anxiety that Soviet methods of economic and social management would become the alluring model for others. And the more startling and, for the fact Is that even in Kremlin, grimmer Communist nations many now look not to the Soviet Union but to the United States, Western Europe and Japan as representing more nearly the way a modern, industrialized economy should perform. I am most gratified to see the budget cuts that have been sustained to date except the tax on beer, tobacco, liquor, and soft drinks as well as the sales tax. Under present circumstances, these taxes should be sustained. HB315 on fluoridation should ' be defeated. If necessary, Income taxes should be raised rather than lay a baby on the doorstep n of Pres. Fletcher for a full year or more with ing to feed it. noth- too-lon- Driving Attitude Is Most Important By SYDNEY J. HARRIS My repeated opposition to driver education in the public schools does not mean that I am against young people or all people being taught better driving habits. Its just that I dont think it should be any part of our educational system. Besides, the most important part of learning to drive a car well has little to do with manual or visual or mechanical skills. It has much more to do with semantics and applied psychology with inculcating the right attitude of mind, the right sort of thinking and feeling. Most accidents are caused by the wrong attitude of mind, not by defective machinery or slippery roads or any other physical factor. And this wrong attitude is rooted in semantic confusion and emotional stubbornness. In Defensive Driving classes, for instance, one of the first questions asked is: "When you get the green light at an intersection, what does it mean to you? Everybody, of course answers: Go. Except the instructor. He answers: It means that the signal is functioning, not necessarily the driver. What he is saying is the first axiom The you learn in general semantics: map is not the territory. This means you mustn't confuse the symbol of a thing with the tiyng itself. The green light is a symbol that you have the but it doesnt say "Go if another car is crossing through the red light. Most of us, however, take the map for he territory and the signal for the fact. is a common "I had the if the outremark after an accident raged motorist is still alive after the accident. But he can be just as dead as if he were wrong. If the schools produced thoughtful and sensitive students, there would be no need for them to teach driving skills. And if they dont, di iving skills only give their possessors a false sense cf confi- right-of-wa- right-of-wa- y I am especially concerned with HB105 (special education for the handicapped) now before the Senate. Even this bill does little more than mock the penuriousness of days that are past For we have been ignorant. And when we have not been ignorant we have not cared enough. And when we have cared enough we have been too timid. And when we have not been too timid we have been too late. And when we have not been too late we have don too little. And when we have been just about ready to do more than a little we lacked faith. And when we have not lacked faith we have not known what caused it and enough about our problem how best to deal with it Thus we come around full circle again to our ignorance. HAROLD C. CHRISTENSEN 3034 Crescent Dr. 'Smutty Brush' The Inferences in your Feb. 27 editorial, Smut In the Schools, are so flagrantly evil that one wonders whom its author might be. To promiscuously paint public schools with the smutty brush of doubts about whether students are being exposed to obscene instructional materials in the classroom has to be the agitations of a Satanic mind. I have read the suspected novel and if all that is seen in it is obscenity, then clearly the minds of the censors are pornographic. It seems to me that such confused flailing of a whole system as the result of one legislator and one book is irresponsible. The editorial writer says that tiie general public should wait until all the facts are in before passing judgment It seems unfortunate that a similar admonishment had not been observed by the editorial writer. -L- OUISE HESS 3873 S. 4400 West The Lying Habit One effect of the current hearings on the Pueblo crew that cannot be ignored is the fact that since the skipper practiced the art of lying while a prisoner in order to save his own skin, we have no assurance now that he has ceased lying. It was for the sake of preventing the habit of lying or telling more than ought to be told that the military adopted the cede of conduct that in a sense restricted what an enemy can or should expect from a prisoner of war from American GI s. If truth is to become something that only is established and maintained when it is convenient and popular, then our nation will not last very much longer as dishonor breeds contempt and cowardice among both friend and foe alike. To have admitted that a phony and untrue confession was signed in an enemy camp may be admirable as an indication of repentance for having been untrue to the duties of an American fighting man. However, it is not something to boast about or excuse lightly as evidence of the native weakness of mankind in time of trial and discomfort. --MERRILL H. GLENN JR. 264 No. Sfate, Apt No. 9 y; Thanks For Lift Your editorial in the Deseret News March 4 entited Lessons Of A Trainee is certainly appreciated by all of us who are associated with The Community Training Center. I was delighted with both the accuracy of the editorial, and the insight that you convey to the public regarding our program wherein you identified our effort as being primarily a humanitarian one.. Certainly we are happy to serve the community, but our primary concern is to enrich the lives of human beings. --GLEN T LATHAJf Director, Community Training Cent?? |