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Show ititimHiiiiniintniniiimiiiiiiiiKtnniiiiiiniiiniiiriniiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiii DESERET NEWS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR It's SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH We Stand For The Constitution Of The United Stales TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1968 Utah Should Push School Mergers With reference to your editorial of Sept. 25 Why Taxpayers Revolt, we wish to call your attention to several misstatements of fact. entitled We realize of course, that editorially you have certain liberties which permit you to make such naive statements as a depressing example of why taxpayers are at the verge of revolt, while In fact the taxpayers do not contribute one cent to October 1st is trucks lumbering Whenever consolidation of schools or school districts is eduproposed, there are fears that the merger will make cation too impersonal and remote from citizens and students. But once consolidation takes place, experience all across the country shows that even those who initially opposed it would seldom be willing to go back to the old system. Thats because school and school district consolidation provide a better financial base, reduce administrative costs, and make it possible to provide a wider curriculum, better library and counseling services, improved physical facilities, and better competition for educational leadership. These observations are brought to mind by this weeks report on how well Cache School District has fared since undertaking Utahs most extensive school consolidation program. Among the improvements that have accompanied consolidation there are libraries and librarians where there ones, were none before, modern desks in place of school and new buildings. Caches achievement, as State Superintendent of Public Instruction T. H. Bell observed, should be an example to other Utah districts. Indeed it should. According to the state school office, half of Utahs school districts have done little or nothing in the 0 four years. way of school consolidation in the past three elementary schools, 14 Yet, Utah still has six with only two rooms, and 15 with three, plus 29 high schools with fewer than 100 students in grades 7 to 12. Such schools are too small to offer the broad education required in today s with other nearcomplex society and ought to be consolidated by schools. As for consolidating school district'", Utah led most of the nation when it reduced the number of its districts to 40 in 1915. Since then, Utsii has done nothing about school district consolidation even though education and the state have changed considerably. beBy most standards, a school district ought to have fisufficient have to if is it students and tween 10,0Jl 20,000 howeveducation. modern Utah, to resources nancial support er, has only seven districts with more than 10,000 pupils. At the same time, Utah school districts are forced into the same mold regardless of differences among them. Small districts are organized along the same lines as larger ones. Education leaders also make a telling point wften they note that there ought to be some way to draw boundary lines so that a single school district could encompass more than one of the more sparsely populated counties. Since consolidation provides a stronger financial base, it federal can help maintain local control over education as the schools. in the role government plays a bigger and bigger school and school Clearly, Utah should move ahead on more much vigorously than it has been district consolidation binwards with potatoes, apples disappearing into he sheds, squashes piled high in yellow mountains by the farmers roadside stands . . . and it is canopies of foliage arched over the streets in Federal Heights as well as shocks of com standing in fields . . . tumn rain, doing. the sunlight Not where you serve, but how. This keynote from a Relief Society departmental session worldwide might well sum up the attitude of this benevolent, two-daconference y organization as it opens its annual on Temple Square. For the attitude of the Relief Society has, since its very service to inception in 1842, been one of loving, prayerful those in need. to provoke the brethThe Relief Societys objectives ren to good works in looking to the wants of the poor, searchto their ing after objects of charity, and in administering and morals strengthening wants, to assist by correcting the the virtues of the community, as listed by the Prophet Joare still the same after 126 years. seph Smith from 26 During that time the Relief Society has grown scalteied some through111., to 300,000 members in Nauvoo, out the world. Graphic illustration of its widespread influence will be 117 national flags on display during Wednesdays p.m. reception at the Relief Societys Headquarters Building. But the Relief Society isnt all giving for its members. It is receiving, too, in the form of homemaking skills, cultural attainments, and spiritual living. No wonder the Relief Society attracts such dedicated women to its ranks. For, as their motto testifies: Charity Never Faileth. In this fine spirit we welcome its members as they convene in an effort to make their good work even better. Vice President Humphrey was much too mild when he complained Monday in his Salt Lake City speech about hecklers who try to shout down presidential candidates. He wasnt, of course, complaining about his treatment in Utah, where he was received politely and enthusiastically. Utahns can be thankful and proud there were no shrill outcries or disruptive demonstrations such as have marred the appearances of presidential candidates elsew'here. Rather than roundly condemning extremist protesters who threaten to disrupt the election and inaugural ceremonies, Mr. Humphrey contented himself with observing that they mistake disorder for dissent, threaten to widen the rifts in American life, and risk bringing on violence and repression. Thats true enough, but lets get even more pointed. Instead of the idealism by which the hecklers and protesters claimed to be motivated, their headline - hunting reeks of crass opportunism. Instead of creating opposition to those whose speeches they try to drown out, they create sympathy. Moreover, in purporting to be selflessly defending and exercising the right to free speech, they selfishly deny that same right to others. When there is such a complete contradiction between ostensible aim and actual accomplishment, its hard to attribute it to anything short of rank stupidity or outright dishonesty. establish, promote, and finance recreational, tourist and convention promotion bureaus . . . The board wants to produce a film promoting local tourist attractions, particularly skiing" is erroneous iu that the film will be a general travel film to be used for convention solicitation as well as to generate Increased tourism and therefore will only cover skiing briefly. The most blatant misstatement is that no local d film producers were contacted. Two of the local firms were asked to supply their best colored travel films for review. Out of 35 films viewed, one of two local films was selected by the agency and staff to be previewed by the board, which was done. Durrance Films, Inc. of New York City was the unanimous selection of the board due to the complete superiority of the Durrance film in all respects. Names of the producers were not divulged to the members of the board prior to their viewing the films. steals better-equippe- n Experts in the field nationally and locally are of the opinion that a high quality film cannot be produced on a bid basis. The production of a film is based upon professional talent and successful specifications can no more be written for the production of a film than they can to select a lawyer, engineer or dentist. The cost of a film is usually proportionate to the quality. The Utah Travel Council has found through film is in very little experience that a demand, whereas a high quality film such as the Councils ski film done by Warren Miller of California is in constant demand. Furthermore as Salt Lake is competing with cities whose convention bureaus have staggering budgets, it would be a reflection on Salt Lake County to be represented at travel shows or convention solicitation presentations with an inferior film. low-budg- age-ol- ed sconces for some sacred day . . . October Is is surveying maples in a rampage of blazing red, cold against the years bluest sky, with a high wind tearing at their leaves, and the raucous clamor of crows ringing above them . , . Suzann f Mr. and Mr. Paul Smith, North Salt Lake. Smith, daughter Whenever possible, the board attempts to use local goods and services. In this instance, however, e we were not satisfied with the sources. locally-availabl- The Wallace and ROBERT NOVAK In this overMICH. of the Democratic stronghold whelmingly United Auto Workers (UAW), the dramatically rising support of union memits intensity bers for George Wallace still not appreciated by Democratic polihas become a ticians political revolution. That is the conclusion we reached after a days polling last week with Mrs. Mina Cuker, the highly capable Michigan supervisor for pollster Oliver Quavle. In industrial suburb of Warthe ren, Wallace's startling strength in an area of normally huge Democratic majorities darkens Hubert H. Humphreys prospects for carrying this state that is so vital to him. WARREN, Of 50 voters interviewed who can be expected to vote on Nov. 5, 83 per cent voted for Lyndon B.' Johnson against Barry Goldwater in 1964 and most have long records of Democratic voting. Their current preferences: 20 for Wallace, 14 for Vice President Humphrey, 10 for Richard M. Nixon, 1 write-i- n for Sen. Eugene McCarthy, 5 undecided. Even more shocking than their preference for Wallace was the intensity with which it was voiced. While we had to drag out preferences for Nixon or Humphrey amid mutterings about lesser of two evils" and a poor choice this year, Wallace voters tended to volunteer their opinion as soon as we opened the door. wife of a UAW Thus, one assembly line worker who has never voted because all politicians are liars, has registered this year and joyously declares she will vote for Wallace. He could be lying, too, she added, but I dont think hed let the colored push him around. Such support of Wallace as an honest and a man of the common was frequently voiced by his people as supporters and some well, contradicting the cherished hope of Democratic politicians that Wallace supworkers is wholly port among negative and will dissipate long before election day. Rather, in our sample, it seemed far more positive than either man blue-coll- --WILLIAM Revolution INSIDE REPORT By ROWLAND EVANS ar Nixons or Humphreys. Nor did we see justification for that other security blanket grasped in circles: the likelihood that Wallace is merely taking away the usual Republican labor vote. Instead, many Wallace supporters interviewed were ic and vociferously anti-Nixo- n. One youthful Italian immigrant who works at the Jones and Laughlin steel mill here, for instance, revealed he was for Wallace as the one guy who can enforce the law with Humphrey his second choice, adding: Nixon? The Republican? You think I wanta be out of work? But economic considerations are not paramount among factory workers here with homes costing $25,000. What concerns tnem to the point of obsession is race, and this is the heart of the Wallace revolution a revolution far greater than its leader. According to answers to poll questions prepared by Quayle, racial attitudes of Nixon and Humphrey supporters here are nearly identical to views of the Wallace supporters. In our sample, only 4 thought the police were too tough at the Chicago convention; almost all volunteered their support for greater police powers and stricter law enforcement; only a handful did not bring np the Negro question, others voicing openly the need to e keep their neighborhoods against the Negro tide. With our sample containing an exaggerated number of younger factory workers (among whom Wallace is most popular), we do not forecast a Wallace victory in this count. Nevertheless, his strength does spell disaster for Humphrey. What the Vice President's Michigan supporters are doing about it will be treated in a future column. lily-whit- Revolt In The Big Cities 7-- How Not To Dissent only be spent to October 1st is the music In a rustling stand of Cedar Breaks bristlecones, the sound of rain on the eaves of a motel in Morgan . . . and It fs also the faint sounds of congregational singing from the Eden Ward chapel on a cool Sunday morning that seems to lie under an unbreakable spell of tranquility . . . October 1st is bicolored leaves spinning gracefully on their long, slim, bright red stalks up in Canyon . . . October 1st is the sunlight, astronomically clear and constant, streaking up and down the foliage in an aspen grove as from the edge of a flashing sword . . . and it is a towering pine near the top of Alta standing motionless In the dry warmth, a star of sunlight blazing fixedly in the heart of each strong terminal tuft of needles and blazing d cathedral with lightlike an lily-whi- te Relief Society Serves All funds come directly from the transient room tax and the ordinance provides that such funds can thorugh the foliage . . . Emi-grafio- . and Promotion Boards budget the Development October 1st is the yellow leaves on our box elders assuming the very palest of translucent yellows, or almost white, when, after an au- one-roo- m Wednesday Answers Film Editorial October First As Having Been Divinely Inspired 16 A EDITORIAL PAGE iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiniHi!iiiiiiuini:iiniiiiniiiiiniiiiiin NEW YORK Openly, defiantly and aggressively, in this asphalt jungle, executives of the federal are cheering, supporting and directing the black militants war on the labor movement, the municipality and the weary establishment. F e deral and is civic money paying the bills for the revolution, as its boastfully called. This is not a black revolt. This is open rebellion by brilliantly organized bands of militants, which the nations most influential labor chiefs now, in cold anger, call vigilantes who must be stopped. Grim stories leak through the closed anti-pover- VICTOR RIESEL head-quarte- rs doors of meetings in high places. City ofbayonets if needed. officials, approved by the governments Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), publicly cheer the extremists strategy, calling for opening struck schools, one by one . . . whatever it takes, by whatever means . . . the local prints, a meeting of over 700 union chiefs, speaking for 555 locals with 1.2 million members (almost 10 per cent of the national labor movement) went unreported. They came at the call of Harry Van Arsdale, president of the Central Labor Council. Directors of the citys Council Against Poverty (OEO) openly and publicly demand that leaders of the striking United Federation of Teachers and the schoo supervisors organization be jailed and fined; that the police be used to open schools; that the union be smashed. And then the Council blasts the police on general principles. In city after city, the story of the New York commune gets less notice than a Detroit Tigers pitchers ligaments. Thats unfortunate. New Yorks the best stadium for the biggest social and racial world series In the century. Except for a report or two buried in Ocean Hill - Brownsville tralized school board. ghetto decen- In another auditorium across town, thousands of militants, with their own uniformed security guards, shouted loud defiance of the labor movement. On the stage with the Panthers leaders, with the extremists, with the local ghetto officials, were the men who spend millions of federal and municipal dollars in the program. They wera for smashing the strike. Back across town in thr; Commodore, one of labors high command a veteran of many labor wars wept out of sheer frustration. This will change the face of the labor movement," he muttered We cannot sit around and watch the movement be liquidated. There is sentiment for a e strike. It Is growing strongly. We controlled this meeting. But there's a fury. I dont think we can handle another under y In the packed and sweated Hotel Commodores East Ballroom, there were cies of Harry, lets shut down the city . . . Harry, let's strike. They United (AFL-CIO- ostensibly to support instructors belonging to the of Federation Teachers came, 53,000 school ). This massive strike is in protest against the firing of 110 teachers, without ficials talk of using Anti-povert- y due process or legality, by a militant GUEST CARTOON dole-full- city-wid- such provocation. Our people now see this as a matter of life and death for what weve built over the decades. The enemy now includes the national, as well as the local, OEO headquarters. Protests flow from here to the national AFL-CIbuilding across from the White House. Thus, the war flares from these stone canyons to the capitils byways. Thus, this becomes a natioial struggle, an explosive civil war. Apparently thp Office of Economic Oppoitunity sees no danger, issues no appeal to xea.snn, disciplines no regional officials. Nor do they come up with answers from newsmen, this newsman anyway. What are they waiting for, bayonets in th Lor Hon Tlmo the streets? D. BACKMAN Director, Salt Lake County Development and Promotion Board Editors Note: The editorial to which IfiT Backman refers made the point that taxpayers are concerned when they see a public body spending money unwisely. This is true regardless of the source of the money. Moreover, Mr. Backmans suggestion that taxpayers dont pay the cast of a room tax is puzzling, to say the least. Mr. Backmans statement that two local firms were asked to supply films for viewing is misleading, if not false Of perhaps six local firms capable of making tba -- ovia in question, the Deseret News has been unable to find a single one that was contacted. Only one locally-mad- e film was viewed, and that without its producers knowledge. Mr. Backman maintains that another firm was invited to submit a film; no one in that firm can recall any such request So far as the Deseret News can determine, no local producer was invited to submit a proposal. . . Work For Welfare Last week there was an article in the paper entitled, "Should Recipients of Welfare Work? 1 say yes, definitely. They have laid around long enough, collecting a check each month. The hardest work they ever do is reaching up in the mail box for the check. And as long as that pay check arrives each month, we will have to continually put up with them. Personally, I think a good percentage of these people do not have a shred of pride or or they would le out earning a wage like the rest of us. t, I think these divorcees are the most disgusting. They have a passel of children, the man walks out , and the first thing they do is cry to the welfare department. Is there any reason why they cant get out and get a job and earn their way, instead of expecting a handout? I know of many divorcees, some with three children, who are out working and I, myself brought up two children without any help, put them both through high school. So I know it can be done. It takes a little initiative and but the pride in knowing you personally are caring for your children makes it worthwhile. I grant you there are recipients who are blind, perhaps crippled or too old to work. Thats neither here nor there. Weed out the ones who are able to work, and any mother worthy of the name will not stand by and see her children go hungry. Shell find a job quickly enough once that easy money is rut off. Either work or dont eat There are even some blind people who are too proud to go on welfare and are out working. -L- ORRAINE SPENCER e, 1461 W. 8th South miniiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininimiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin CONFERENCE NOTICE The 138th Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daSaints, to which all Church members are invited, will convene in the Tabernacle Salt Lake City, Utah, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 4, 5 and 6, 1968, with general sessions each day at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tire Genera! Priesthood meeting will be held In tlie Tabernacle on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m. Only those who hold the priesthood are invited lo attend this meeting. It is understood that ward Sacrament meetings will be held Sunday evening after the close of the Sunday afternoon general session of the conference, where practicable. A weliare Agricultural Meeting will be held Saturday Oct. 5, at 7:30 a.m. in the Assembly Kali. Tiio.se invited to attend include stake presidencies, bishoprics, high councilors. Relief Society presidents, and members of welfare farm operating Semi-Annu- y committees. DAVID O. McKAY HUGH B. BROWN N. ELDON TANNER The First Presidency K!illllllllllllllllllllllllili;illllllllliilllillllili!!!!!!!illlll!llll!ll!l!ll |