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Show r1 f V f V I ' ? . ' , ! i v, . -. i -; H J- t--irnf a in ' ,r a Hickel discloses 'unofficial pressure' BY TOM HORTON y Chronicle Staff Former member of the President's cabinet Walter Hickel told area media Thursday that he was put under "unofficial" pressure from undisclosed sources to turn down a forthcoming invitation to the White House Conference on Youth. "I was invited unofficially and I guess 1 was disinvited unofficially, but nothing happened officially," he told newsmen. The White House Conference on Youth is presently being held in Estes Park, Colo., and is composed largely of delegates from campuses , across the nation. The conference has passed on resolutions to end the war, end the draft and legalize marijuana, among other things. When asked who had "disinvited" him, Hickle said, "I'd rather not get that person in trouble." Hickle was Secretary of the Interior for the first year and a half of President Nixon's present term, and before that was Governor of Alaska. He was fired by President Nixon nearly a year ago apparently because he didn't fit in with the Nixon Cabinet, but he said Thursday he had "never criticized the president for the action he took. He had every right to do what he did, and I have no regrets." ' The former cabinet member believes that progress and the continued use of energy and resources can go hand in hand. In commenting on the Alaska pipeline and the Southwest power plants, he said the technology is available to reduce pollution to minimum levels, but government has failed thus far to produce standards which will insure protection of the environment. "It's up to the federal government to come up with standards and regulations which industry must follow, so that you can have the use of one resource without destroying another." When asked about the treatment and rights which are being given to Alaskan Eskimos, Hickle pointed out that they are in a unique situation, not having received the abuse and mistreatment that Indians in the "lower 48" have had. "Their rights will be settled. I've always said if they don't have a legal right, which is a very debatable question, we have a moral right. I've always supported the native land claims. They have the right to own the land their villages are on. But it shouldn't go too far, because there are other rights involved, too." He also maintains that lobbying by the major polluters is fortunately not as effective as it might be, simply because the size and complexity of a bureaucracy makes it difficult for interest groups to operate. "In (the Department of) Interior, as a whole, there is a very heavy 1 bureaucracy. It literally came alive. It (regulation of industry) can be done. All it takes is people who care, people with real courage to do the thing that's right for 200 million Americans." He added that the change of command in the Department of Interior has not changed its objectives greatly, because the same people who worked immediately under him are still there. Hickle will deliver the major address of Environment Week Friday at 10 a.m. in the Terrace ballroom downtown. The speech is free and open to the public. I . ,. i I " Former Secretary of Interior Walter Hickle thinks government govern-ment must regulate resources. -Photos by Toni Marino |