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Show )lWf I imjfflnc n.r w I!!lllllillllllllllllllilllllllllllhllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllhllll'llll,lll!l! LETTERS TO THE EDITOR DESERET NEWS SAIT LAKE CITY UTAH liiillllllllllllllIllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll;llllll,llllllllllllll!l,llllll,llllllll We Stand For The Constitution Of The United States As Having Been Divinely Inspired 16 A EDITORIAL PAGE FRIDAY, OCTOBER Strike's Record has In the business community Nick Strike of State the Association served the Manufacturers in numerous offices, including the Presidency. He has served as a director for the National Manufacturers Association. 27, 1972 In civic matters he has served, through Gov. vice Ramptons appointment during two terms as chairman of the Governors Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. In the industrial development and management area. Nick with others of his family organized Ajax Presses in 1946 and through excellence of product , and management developed extensive markets. American national and international of Ajax Laundry Machinery Co. acquired control in 1956 and retained George and Nick Strike as president and vice president. American Laundry was later acquired by McGraw Edison. Let's Keep The Prison's problems In Perspective know-how- Granted that Salt Lake County Attorney Carl J. Netnelka is no expert on how to run a prison. Granted, too, that Mr. Nemelka may not be the most objective observer of affairs at the Point of the Mountain in view of some earlier criticisms he has leveled at the state prison. But as an attorney he certainly is qualified to speak when he notes the absence of laws to enable prison authorities to discipline troublesome inmates and when he calls for legislation to fill the gap. Ilis call this week for higher salaries for prison guards and other personnel is in line with an earlier recommendation from the director of the Stale Division of Corrections. His suggestion that con bosses be shipped off to other prisons to break up their power and influence is not unheard of. In fact, only l::rt summer Warden John Turner had 25 agitators transferred to the county jail to break up a work strike at Utah Stale Prison. Mr Nemelkas call for the disposal of firearms, ammunition, and materials that could be made into weapons docs not seem out of harmony with a 1968 survey of the Utah prison by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Among other things, that survey urged the removal of firearms from wdthin the perimeter of the prisons maximum security unit. As for the county attorneys call for segregating inmates into three categories according to the number of their convictions and whether their crimes involved drugs and alcohol, this is not out of line with the 1967 report of the President's Crime Commission. The commission urged that the extent of an inmates commitment to criminal values be taken into account in determining how tightly he should be guarded. That ought to be sufficient reason for making sure the many other recommendations in the investigative report Mr. Nemelka submitted this week arent allowed to gather dust. In fact, the problems discussed in the report demonstrate the need for periodic outside investigations of the prison instead of waiting until serious difficulties develop before the probers are put to work. In assessing Mr. Nemelkas recommendations and the problems they are designed to remedy, the public should keep in mind that it seldom hears about the prison until trouble arises there. Consequently, the general public doesn't always hear about the many constructive accomplishments in administering the prison, including the fact that the Point of the Mountain facility is rated among the more progressive correctional institutions in the country. Remember that running a prison is one of the most difficult and demanding jobs there is. Remember that the smuggling, counterfeiting, drug, and sex problems at Utah State Prison exist at other prisons, too. Above all, remember that while theres room for improvement at the prison and it won't come cheap, money spent at the Point of the Mountain can be an investment that will pay off in the long run. Lesson At The Lake completed across Shortly after the railroad causeway w'as Great Salt Lake, 13 years ago, the late Thomas C. Adams warned that salt was beginning to concentrate in the north half of the lake. As a result, he said, the south half would become, in time, a freshwater lake That prediction was officially confirmed this week with release of a study by the Utah Geological Survey and the Utah Division of Water Resources. To put the lake back in proper mineral balance, 1,500 feet of with a earth-fillecausew'ay will have to be removed and replaced trestle that will allow circulation of the lake's water, concluded the d report. ( For the past two years, chemical companies mining resources from the southern part of the lake have been insisting on the same remedy. The salt brines are concentrating in the north, and if the decline in brines continues, the companies say they will have to cease operations. At the same time, chemical firms operating on the north portion of the lake are maintaining that a reduction in the mineral content of the lake as it now is, will hurt them. Caught in the middle is the Southern Pacific Railroad which built and uses the causeway. Replacing a quarter of a mile of it now would be a multimillion dollar project. Perhaps the lesson of the causeway is that if an en ironmental impact study had been made before the causeway was built, it might have included the now needed trestle. Perhaps the causeway no future steps should might never have been installed. Certainly be taken until we know- more definitely where they will lead. - Death Of A Pioneer Should men stop building certain machines which happen to have a great potential for inflicting destruction and human suffering? Igor Sikorsky heard that argument applied a lot to that wonderful flying machine he invented, the helicopter. But he wisely dismissed as nonsense the contention of anti-wa- r groups that his company should stop making helicopters for use in Vietnam because of the ' choppers destructive capabilities. If we stopped making things that can be used in war, we'd have to stop making such items as shoes and uniforms and pup tents. Theyre used in war. too. anti-wa- r If construction of the helicopter had ceased as some most of its one lost have imporwould groups demanded, the U.S lost a a would have it also But Vietnam. in tant tactical weapons the to the victims speeds accident hospital, machine that rushes and offices, police helps post between airports delivery of mail track dowm criminals, rescues climbers stranded on mountain tops, and facilitates construction in remote areas. 1 With the death of Mr Sikorsky this week at 83, the U S. has 1938 lost an aviation pioneer of keen vision, a man who as early as travel and of space jet planes predicted the development man does not May we never lose sight of his recognition that control to needs man as need to control technology as much self y i Who Wears The White Hat? JAMES I One of the most revealing interviews of this campaign appeared on Oct. 20 in the Washington Post in the transcript of the conversation between Senator George McGovern and reporter Wi- Greider. lliam When the postmortems begin on Nov. 8, and our po- Impulses ent than any one in my lifetime in terms of the stakes. Greider was plainly taken aback. he said, the Washington would say certainly, wow, dethats an arrogant scription of the choice. Thats the way I feel, McGovern Well, black-and-whi- litical pathologists to begin of Evil and the Impulses of Goodness, how would a President Good- KILPATRICK explain McGoverns loss, Kilpatrick they might find a good starting point here. of It is the absolute the man; and this is one characteristic, I venture to suggest, that the American people simply will not buy when they choose a political leader. Our voters have stomachs of stainless steel. They will tolerate the hypocrite, the gasbag, the wheeler-dealeand the second-ratebut in the presence of moral rectitude, the typical voter comes down with the heebie-jeebieHe starts glancing around for the nearest exit. r, r, You McGovern said to know, Greider, all of my life Ive grown up in a religious climate where 1 was taught that life is a struggle between good and evil, thats what its all about. For every individual and every nation, its a struggle between the impulses of evil and the impulses of goodness and, historically, sometimes the good impulses win out and sometimes the evil, so who knows whats going to happen? But I just feel very strongly that this election is differ- - said. It was a moment of uncomfortable for this is indeed the way Mctruth Govern feels. He views this campaign as a kind of apocalyptic combat: On one side the legions of darkness, on the other the angels of light. He is convinced that Nixons impulses are the impulses of evil: He himself is really terrified at the thought of another four years of Nixon. But he cannot perceive how any decent person could look with terror on the thought of four years of McGovern, for McGovern is Virtue and Nixon is Sin. What reasonable man, having been offered a chance at salvation, would opt for perdition instead? This Olympian attitude cropped up earlier in the camprtgn, in McGoverns crack about the working man. Any man who works with his hands, and votes for Nixon ought to have his head examined. Such a man, in this view, is not merely misguided: He is nuts. The trouble with this approach is that it wipes out a middle ground, and it sets in motion some uneasy apprehensions. If this election is a struggle between the ness deal with his foes once he took over the White House? Hellfire and damnation? Outer darkness? No wonder Bill Greider said, Wow. The voters, if I am not mistaken, are not so willing to march to Armageddon on a Tuesday. They know their observation tells them so that the political art seldom is crafted in stark black and white. They understand that honest differences of opinion cannot be bottled and labeled, here are the juices of goodness, there the poison of evil. We do not think, most of us, in millennial terms. It is all we can do to get out of bed in the morning. Moral rectitude ought to be an admirable quality in a man. As an abstract proposition, doubtless it is. But a man who identifies himself with the impulses of goodness ought to have the grace to keep that high opinion to himself. The Senator is fond of quoting from Holy Scripture. One of these days, when the campaign is over, he might want to return to that parable in Luke 18 of the Pharisee and the Publican. The story was aimed at those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. And the moral of the story, though it may have slipped the Senators mind, is that everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbieth himself shall be exalted. Its a useful tale for publican sinners, but it seems to be lost on the Democratic nominee. In the process of those activities, the Strike family, including Nick, certainly demonstrated rather unusual ability as well as contributing substantially to all phases of the private and public economy. Nick Strikes abilities in business and community affairs has been fully attested. MILES P. and JANICE C. ROMNEY 1930 Sheridan Rd. Too Much For Pictures? Sometime ago in the N'er seen regions of the paper, appeared an article Portrait Okayed. I have every reason to believe that Mayor Garn is a fine mayor, that perhaps his memory ought to be preserved, but the expenditure of $3,500 to preserve his memory seems, to this point at least, a little bit extravagant. Were it to be a lovely $50, $100, or even $300 memphotograph, I think it would preserve a nice ory of Mayor Garn, but let me cast my vote against the expenditure of a sum equivalent to at least one poor persons income for the year. STEPHEN W. BARLOW 401 Walker Bank Building 'Governor Knows Setter' On KUED, Governor Ramptons defense of his administration was literally tom to shreds by a very resourceful Nick Strike. Rampton pressed Strike for an answer on where he would cut the fat out of state government, and Stikes business training surfaced as he pointed out that 15 percent could be cut from welfare without cutting service just by eliminating the fraud. At this point in the argument, the Governor started to come unglued and he started quoting figures which, to me, seemed beneath him and completely out of character for his past campaigns. While Strike was praising the efforts of the LDS cu church for substantially reducing the welfare load on the state, Rampton belitted the effort by saying that the church welfare contribution was only $2 million. It seems to me that $2 million was the figure the Church provided just in Salt Lake County not the entire state. And I think the Governor knows better. If he does know better, his ingratitude is showing. BRIAN T. STEWART 130 S. 1300 East S Even Cooks Are Expendable Rampton For Senator? By ERMA BOMBECK was going to out into the kitchen last week and cook a full meal, but then I got to thinking, If Julia Child is being cancelled, what chance do I have? I've seen it coming for a long time one food chain and then an. . . first the take-ou- t other chicken, the pizzas. the tacos and the fish and chips. Face it. As a cook, Im expendable. I have been replaced by automation. The other night I sat in my car and phoned in 4 Jumbo Jim's, 3 Neptune Tables, 8 fries. 3 onion rings, 2 vanilla shakes, 1 root beer, and an apple turnover. In less time, mind you, than it took me to scrape my car door on the microphone and yell to the kids, Loan me 35 cents, somebody, a smiling face handed me the complete order saying, That'll be $3.87 please." 1 ... When I think of all the years I've gotten stomach cramps from squeezing frozen hamburger through my fingers, I could cry. You have no idea what I have to go through to move food at our house, said my friend Phyllis. What do you mean? I know what you mean, said Mayva. The other night I didn't bring in food. I served a homemade pork roast and broccoli. have to water down the catsup and put it in small cups. Then I have to bag the french fries, soggy up the hamburger buns in a sauce of snred-degook and mayonnaise, and put the 'dessert under a light bulb to keep it warm. any more. Well, first I d You're kidding. You think that's bad, ;he said. When I make homemade pizza, I have to wear a straw hat and play the piano in the background. What happened? we asked. They rejected the pork roast, then asked who the corsage was for. They food real dont even recognize Frankly, I think it is only a matter of time before kitchens are converted into recycling centers for old Col. Sanders chicken buckets and cardboard malt carriers. Last night I spread out the napkins and put a small paper bag by each one. One of the boys punched me on the arm affectionately and said, Mom, you sure make good dinners. Voting In The Dark The most irksome aspect of this presidential campaign is what we do not know. We do not know whether there ' -be a peace agree- , s merit in Vietnam j We do not know how much of the ceaseless flying and talking of Henry Kiss- willl'f inger is really cr edible, serious negotiation. We can assume Mr. Canham that much of it is, in view of the way Hanoi and Henry Kissinger have been talking. We know very little indeed about the allegedly unethical, possibly illegal, and certainly clandestine activities on behalf1 of the Nixon campaign. We know that certain individuals, some of them formerly connected with the White House and the Nixon campaign committee, were discovered in the Democratic headquarters and are under indictment. We can assume as fact, it seems to me, the telephone records and sworn statements connecting one Donald H. Segretti with the White House and other Republican campaign people. What do they mean? We cannot be sure. In addition, enterprise of the New York Times also has uncovered telephone calls between the same individual and the McGovern he.innarlprs in Galifornia ERWIN CANHAM What was really going on? We do not know. There also is a lot that needs unscrambling, and has not been clarified, conrelations of the cerning the White House to important legislation that has fallen by the wayside in the final hectic days of the 92nd Congress. Who is really responsible for the lamentable failure cf welfare reform? Some believe the President did not support his own admirable proposals strongly enough. But it was the Senate that refused to pass a reform measure. It is difficult and confusing to allocate precise responsibility. President Nixon has issued a flat commitment against raising taxes, but few experts believe it can be kppt To put a price tag on Senator McGovern's domestic proposals is almost beyond the capacity of the statisticians. The voters are left in the dark. This is not the way great issues ought to be presented in a democracy. Elections should not be decided on personal-lies- , or on the underlying mood of the people. But that's how it is in 1972. busi- d public is for putting credence on Governor Ramptons claim that he will not seek Senator Bennetts Senate seat in two years because the state constitution prohibits it. The consensus is that any test of that law would result in its being declared unconstitutional. Theres no way Governor Rampton would turn down a draft from the Democratic party to fill the Senate Seat. As one prominent industrialist put it, I cant believe the Republicans are so naive. To elect Rampton Governor is to elect a second Democrat to the senate in two years. P. G. PAULOS Magna, Utah Go To Dentist I am undecided on whether fluoridated water is good for me. I think it is unfair to the people that fluoridation couldnt benefit. I think if people want their teeth fluoridated they should go to the den- tist. RICHARD DeLONEY 527 Douglas Is Fluoride Legal? The flouride they want to put in our water is actually rat poison -u- sed to kill rats. So our tluonde pushers, in the guise of building up our teeth, are actually threatening and taking life. Just because the Supreme Court says its legal, doesnt make it legal. IRENE RIGBY TODD 2511 W. 3800 GUEST CARTOON South Wants Tuffy Back We have moved back to Salt Lake from Minnesota this past month. Our five pound Chihuaua slipped out of the yard where a stream passes under the fence and wasnt smart enough to find his way back home. This was Friday, October 13th. Since then we have run an ad in the paper and have received some response. Tuffy was evidently at the last Westminister game on Thursday, October 19, and was taken home by one of the students since he was obviously homeless at the time. Similarly, in the failure of the House to pass the highway bill, with its important component oi aid to mass transit, was it White House intervention a through Republican congressman demanding a quorum that killed the bill? Who was responsible, the White House or the s of Congressmen who had already fled to the campaign e two-third- trail We are pleadng with anyone who knows of Tuffy 's whereabouts to please contact us. He has been a member of our family for six years and is sorely missed by all of us. These issues are partly matters of fact and partly matters of opinion. In evaluating them, public opinion thus far has seemed to give President Nixon the benefit of the doubt. The w hole area of fiscal policy is very K In talking around towm with nessmen and attorneys, I come away with the distinct feeling they are laughing at how naive the MRS. R. F. BENNETT 1141 Michigan Avenue r T r",,r'rV |