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Show Monday, December Opinions 12, 1983 - THE HERALD, Provo, Utah, The Herald, its readers. syndicated columnists and cartoonists discuss vital issues Page 13 H fiVH The Daily Herald Comments Just Mney Wn'$ Help According to President Reagan, education needs to get tougher. matics and science. Education Sec. T. H. Bell endorsed the call for more discipline and He wants to see tougher standards for students and teachers higher standards. "We will have to solve many problems such as discipline, lack of paren- and he discounts the notion that more money means better education. tal commitment, adequate funding, and a There is a "need to restore good changed and old-fashion- ed discipline," said the President, listing reforms. He called for more discipline, a crackdown on alcohol and drug half-a-doz- en abuse, tougher most productive Bell listed three "priorities" and four similar studies earlier this year that sparked a still growing crusade to the highest possible warding the best and level of literacy." A study by Bell's stu- dents and a return to teaching basic subjects beginning with mathe- - Na- tional Commission on Excellence in Education Congress Should Let Knitters Knit ' Donald Lambro Stowe, sells the knitted items wholesale to stores around the country. He thus provides work for about 40 women, most of whom would be unable to leave their homes to find work. "We've got everything from young mothers with kids at home to farmers' wives With cows at home to older women who don't want to stand at a checkout counter all day," says Putnam. Many' other companies are similarly doing business by purchasing the work of women who wish to stay home but remain financially independent. Some women have branched out on their own to provide still more job opportunities. Audrey Pud-vafor example, has built a knitting room onto her log cabin home in East Calais and is turning out "Audrey's Designs." Donovan received more than 10,000 complaints when he began to tackle the issue, taking testimony in 1981 on whether the regulation should be eliminated. He held substantive hearings, accumulated the best evidence he could find and wisely concluded that eliminating the ban on knif ed outerwear would in no way undermine the minimum- wage protections that the regulation was originally designed to uphold. While Donovan clearly acted correctly and within his jurisdiction over labor regulations, the only speedy resolution of this issue is through Congress. With 10 million Americans unemployed, the fact that the court's decision would put the Virginia Grays of this world out of work just because the unions don't like the competition is sheer insanity. When Congress returns in Jan' ters of Vermont. editorial cartoon in Vermont's Rutland Herald put the issue in perspective: It showed federal agents crouching behind their cars outside a cottage as a burly man shouted through a bullhorn at an elderly woman inside, "Throw out your knitting needles and come out with your hands up! " The knitters had to travel to Washington to plead for their jobs. They found a sympathetic ear in the person of Labor SecreAn snow-covere- . d . tary Raymond Donovan, who, after much study, eliminated the ban on home knitting of outerwear for profit. The International Ladies' Garment Workers Union, which wants to put the home knitters out' of business, h, subsequently challenged Donovan in the courts. District Court, but recently they won in the U.S. Appeals Court. In a specious and biased ruling written by Judge Harry Edwards, a Carter. appointee, the higher court suggested that Donovan did not have the authority to change the regulation and called his decision "arbitrary and capricious." It ordered the restrictions reinstated. To fully appreciate the irrationality of Edwards' decision, one need only talk to Mrs. Virwho, with her ginia Gray The union lost in U.S. husband Roland, a retired farmer, lives in a tiny cottage, Greensboro, Vt., on Social curity benefits of less than in Se- $400 a month.v ' A home knitter for 13 years now, the gentle but industrious Mrs. Gray made more than 800 handsome ski sweaters last year, clearing more than 12,000 after taxes. Her handiwork is purchased by David Putnam, an innovative entrepreneur whose company, Vermont Woolens, Ltd.,. of . uary, it must act, and act quickly, to keep the knitters employed in their homes. About Opinions The Daily Herald attempts to stimulate healthy discussion of all sides of important public issues through the 'Opinions" Page by taking stands as a newspaper on community issues, by publishing varied commentaries From staff and syndicated columnists and bv providing a public forum in the "Feedback column. Continents published on this Compage under The Herald ments" headline represent the . official editorial policy of The Daily Herald as determined by an editorial board comprising the publisher, managing editor news editor, citv editor and other members of the editorial staff. Columns published under the names of individual columnists represent only the opinions of thc individual writers and not neces-- " sarilv the official editorial policy of The Daily Herald Letters to "Feedback." likewise, represent the opinions of th individual writers and not necessarily the official policv nl The Daily Herald The Herald frequently will publish columns and .letters which conflict with viewpoints expressed under "The Herald Comments ' It does so in the spirit of giving its readers a balanced presentation ol viewpoints on all issues ing up our educational process. Where reasonable peo-pl- e on Excellence in Education and other disagree is on money. Many educators called for increased federal funding, but admitted they did not expect to improve schools. About 2,300 educators and state politicians attended the forum, where they discussed their respective plans to improve schools, mainly in get it. The President made it clear he wants more with less. Plans are in Doctors charge too much in Fayetteville, Ark. They don't want to, but they have to. Doctoring is no more costly in Fayetteville than it is wherever you live. It's just that I happen to know about Fayetteville. I know of a dermatologist there who graduated med school No. 1 in his class 24 years ago. He did his internship and residency and even after 18 years in private practice he attends postgraduate courses to "keep up." He reads medical journals conscientiously. He has a big private practice. But during the last five years he has been defendant in two malpractice lawsuits, one for $100,000, the other for $1.3 mil- - were around the country charged by some Labor Department gumshoes during the Carter administration with violating an obscure 1942 regulation that banned the knitting of outerwear in their homes, along with six other categories of work. The decision outraged the nation's homeworkers, particularly the fiercely independent home knit- little disagreement that there is widespread support for the idea of beef- the works to cut federal education funds next year. Bell called for local school administrators to boost teacher salaries, making the starting pay for teachers, now aver- aging about $13,000, competitive with the to $20,000 paid to those beginning careers in business and engineering. In Utah, where educa- $16,000 tion has gotten fairly miserly funding in the past, legislators are bracing themselves for heavy pressure to fund a sizable schools package in the budget session that would most likely require a tax raise. And resisting pressure to boost taxes is some- thing the Republican-dominate- d Utah legisla- ture has gotten good ai lately. None of us should be stampeded into thinking that money alone will solve education's problems. Utah's taxpayers should not be asked to pay higher taxes right now and teachers should be denied the kinds of automatic, across-the-boar- d raises they have negotiated for years. Unless they are willing to accept some kind of reasonable arrangement that ties pay to there performance, should be no major boost in salary. Why Doctors Must Charge More Once again, the government is threatening the freedom and financial independence of a hardy group of Vermont knitters who thought they had gotten Washington off their backs for good. of These home knitters which there are more than 60,000 WASHINGTON As the debate on education unfolds, there is The President and Bell spoke last week to a national education conference in Indianapolis as a followup to the report by Bell's com- mission topped by the "attainment of every student of re- Americans adults and percent of are functionally illiterate. 13 said. "performance goals," aca- demic standards, re-order-ed life style for teenage America," the secretary math, science and social studies. Requirements now vary widely, with many states now mandating just two years of math and English. last spring estimated that about 23 million all the way to a jury trial and ville is "practicing scared." And in your town, too. What would the doctor pre- won both. But the cost in money and courtroom time and anxiety left permanent scars. So Dr. Spencer Albright now admittedly practices "defensive medicine." To protect himself he orders a lot of "tests" and and "consultations" which are not medically indicated but are done only for his own medico-legproteciton. Elsewhere in Fayetteville is a raidologist who was slapped with a lawsuit. The tedious proceeding left him emotionally distressed, sapped of his profeshe resional tired at 55. A highly respected pediatrician in the area was hit with two multimillion dollar lawsuits concerning two infants. He retired from pediatric practice. scribe? The first thing that should be done the most we can do is to abolish the quickly "X-ray- al lion. Innocent, he fought both suits Paul Harvey A Fayetteville surgeon went through a malpractice lawsuit, said it was "worse than anything I experienced in Vietnam." Every physician in Fayette contingency fee system for payment of lawyers. Lawyers who will represent any client for a percentage of the award have so misused that system that some will sue anyconfident body for anything and they may win One of 10 that many other defendants will "pay off" to avoid costly litigation. Defense attorneys are paid by the hour. Prosecution attorneys should be paid the same way. Admittedly this is a bandaid only, but it would slow some of the blood flow while we contemplate what next. Feedback Kenny Huff a new pair of hands. For the Santa's helper by the name of Steven D. Rowley who took an "ear drum" and transplanted it into Kenny to give him back his hearing on the right side, to you our heartfelt thanks. God bless and Merry Christmas to all of you and thanks. Kenny Christmas Gift For Kenny Huff Editor, Herald: Little boys ask for toy trains. Little girls ask for baby dolls, but all Ken Huff asked for this year was a pair of hands. Sue Wayne Through the efforts and the support of the community, Ken Huff is going to have hands for Christ- Christian Melanie mas. The Huff family would like to you for all of your efforts and constant concern for Kenny and our family. You folks, whether moneywise or just the thoughts in your heart, have made life for us a life full of hope and a look towards a happier future. For those who stop to talk and for those who have helped Kenny in some way when he is out Thank You. It helps walking to know that the people of this community will help him when he needs the help. We are not alone. It is a very warm feleing to know that we are so loved and that we have so much support. It has truly made this whole ordeal bearable to have you the people on our side. Thank You again. Santa Claus this year for the Huffs is Tom Andrew from Motion-Contrup in Salt Lake City. He is the person responsible for making the hands. We are very grateful for his caring and for putting together Kenny's hands. extend a thank 350 N. 985 W. Another Look At KAL Tragedy ol To bring into reality what Kenny has gone through since tie your hands July 4, 1983 behind your back and then you will experience what he lives with every moment of his life. Christmas is a time for miracles and Kenny Huff is truly a miracle. From what happened to him on July 4, 1983 and the condition that he was in to what he is today that is a true miracle. Kenny is alive and well and he is doing terrific. His attitude is fantastic and he is always looking forward. To the community and all those who have in someway cared the Huff family wishes you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 1984. 1984 will certainly be a good year for us because Santa Claus brought Orem . ' Editor, Herald: In all the furor which has been taking place over the Korean Airliner massacre (which I believe may very well be the top world news event for 1983), no one has ever brought up one very important point. The Russians were not faced with the alternative of either totalling the airplane or letting it escape their area. They did have the capacity to shoot it down and have it land in reasonably intact condition. Return, if you will, with me to the days of U-- 2 and Francis Gary Powers. That was an airplane which was actually engaged in a spying mission, during the course of which it was shot out of the skies in a sufficiently intact, complete condition to provide very embarrassing evidence against the United States. What the Russians could do then they can do now indeed, assuming an improvement in marksmanship capacities, even better now. That leads to the suspicion that perhaps they did not wish Korean Flight 007 to reach the earth intact Possibly they had reasons for destroying it other than those brought out by them. Perhaps an examination of the complete passenger roster might prove both interesting and informative in this regard. One of the passengers on that plane was Congressman Lawrence McDonald of Georgia, who was also the chairman of the John Birch Society. He was on his way to attend a superhuge conference on communism in Seoul. Very likely he had some and to information to impart receive as well. If he was on his way to that conference, why not other passengers from other nations including Korea itself? If he had information to impart, why not these others possibly even more significant? Incidentally, that conference seems to have dropped entirely out of the news. It is as though it and perhaps never took place that was the primary motivation of the Russians. All this flap about going off course and being on a deliberate surveillance mission and trying to test Soviet defenses might just be crude and clumsy subterfuges to cover up a blatant attempt to interfere with another nation's sovereignty by preventing a free discussion from taking place on that other nation's soil. Perhaps if Congressman Mc- Donald had been the only passenger on that plane bound for that conference, the top Russian leadership might have been able to avoid the temptation to order the plane shot down. hours provided ample time Tor information about 007's entering Soviet territory (if indeed it did) to be sent back to Moscow, for the Kremlin leadership to order a computer check of the passenger list, and then to give the word to or else to destroy the plane simply let it go. Congressman McDonald, in and of himself, was in his life looked upon as something of a lightweight politically and in the struggle against communism. Perhaps one of the other pasor more than one sengers might have been of more signif- icance. Perhaps there were enough lightweights on that plane to make the kill order worthwhile. The plane could not be allowed to land intact because it was obvious that it was not equipped for surveillance. As for testing I am sure we Soviet defenses would send our best to do that, not jit ordinary passenger plane from another nation, so that excuse does not hold water. These are points worth considering. Raymond P. Draper 862 W. 1225 N. Provo USSR Doesn't Use Communism Editor, Herald: Doug Warren's approach to dealing with the Communists has a lot to recommend it, especially his call for realism to understanding- - how they think and act. The subject is clearly one of the most important facing us in this day and age. It is unfortunate, however, that Mr. Warren, who is so right in many areas, ascribes Communist actions around the world to a philosophical desire for communal living. . To do so is both wrong and dangerous. Wrong because, some Communists may claim it to be true, there is no evidence that communal living is a real goal of Communists, while nor of those living under Com- munist rule. Dangerous because it implies that the final goal of Communism is a benign, philosophically and intellectually appealing (yet unworkable) society. "From each according to his ability to each according to his work," while an article of the Soviet constitution, is as univer- sally disregarded as are the articles calling for free speech and assembly. Solzhenitsyn, somewhat of an expert on Communism, recently said that "Almost every man, woman and child is sick of Leninism." Surely the contrast of the incredible productivity of the three to fourpercent of the arable land set aside as "private plots" (over 50 percent of the meat, poultry, potatoes and eggs produced in the country) as com-apre- d to the inefficient and ineffective "communal" collective and state farms is not lost on the people living under Communism. Rather than dying for the idea of communal living as Mr. Warren contends, it is more likely that if the private plots were outlawed, the people would starve to death because of communal living. 1743 N. Lee Allen Oak Lane Provo |