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Show if J- r - ijp iw i li rMi MqyafpfFypMill DESERET NEWS SALT LAKE CITT, UTAH We Stand For The Constitution Of The United States As Having Been Divinely Inspired 12 A EDITORIAL PAGE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 1973 After A Cease-FirWhat For Vietnam? e, Question: When is a cease-fir- e agreement not a cease-fir- e agreement? Answer: When it goes beyond the simple decision to stop shooting and starts laying the foundations on which a reasonably durable peace can be built. this distinction because the terms ceasefire and peace agreement are being used interchangeably in many of the news dispatches reportirg on the portents of President Nixons decision to halt all offensive action against North Vietnam. This mingling of terms reflects Washingtons recognition that after the shooting stops and all American forces are finally brought home along with POW's, our ability to influence further developments in Vietnam will have markedly diminished. It reflects the desire to withuraw from Vietnam on the basis of an understanding that doesnt contain the seeds of its own downWe draw . fall. It reflects Americas intention to leave an ally with something more solid than promises and scraps of paper on which to base its future. If these conditions are to be satisfied, any agreement - call it on Vietnams future must not just leave room for what you will g but contain certain solid elements such as these: face-savin- A firm commitment by Hanoi to release all American prisoners in return for a cease-fir- e and U.S. withdrawal. of the demilitarized zone separating North Vietnam from South Vietnam. A mutual reduction in forces, not just Americas abandonment of an ally. force large enough to make An international its influence felt and enough not to depend on either side for logistical support. As rumors and reports filter out from the negotiations, there seems to be reason for restrained optimism. The talk is of: A truce supervisory Force of 2,500 men, which would represent more than for the which wanted only 250 a compromise for Hanoi a tacit understanding on muU.S. with its 5,000-maproposal tual withdrawal, since Hanoi has never publicly admitted to having troops in the South . . . and the abandonment of Hanois demand that the release of military prisoners be conditioned on the release of political prisoners. If so, this package sounds like the negotiators are concerned not only with stopping the shooting but also with what happens afterwards. Considering that the war in Indochina has been going on for decades and Americans have been involved since the early e view is the only practical view. 1960's, the truce-keepin- n "The controls are lifting, but it's long-rang- Stiffen Drunk Laws If the drunk or drinking driver could be legislated off the road, Utah probably could cut its traffic accident rate dramatically. That cant be accomplished entirely, of course. But the state can alleviate the problem by making it tougher for those who do insist on drinking and driving. As the Legislature studies legislation on this subject, the lawmakers should know that cracking down on drunken driving was given a high priority by community leaders participating in the' Deseret News Goals for 1973 program. , One provision would establish a blood alcohol content of .10 percent or higher as prima facie evidence of guilt. That would be .a long step toward securing drunken driving convictions, since the present law specifies only presumptive guilt. The new legislation would retain the present provision that a .08 percent level is presumptive evidence that the driver is guilty of driving under the influence of liquor. But the new rule would also make the slightly higher .10 level automatic proof of guilt. "Be good now, y'hear?" foggy." The Publics Right To Know The Christian Science Monitor News Service g ... still kind of ERWIN D. CANHAM These are complex days, filled with grave decisions that have to be made by individual people as components of the public opinion on which free society It is readily agreed that the rights of a free press, like nearly all other rights, are not absolute. Sometimes an individuals nght to a fair trial, or the right of privacy, or the duty of citizenship in exposmg criminals or protecting the national security, come ahead of freedom of information. rests. That is why informadequate ing of the public is so essential. That is why the darkness regarding Vietnam is particularly reporters access to sources by punishing them when they protect the secrecy of certain sources. distressing. UntU the darkness is dispelled, the publics decisions are inevitably based on emotions and observations which may not be fully founded on fact. And that is why the press printed and electronic is so very disturbed at growing and grave limitations on its capacity to find out what is going on and informing the public about it. There is plenty of evidence that the First Amendment in the Constitution's Bill of Rights, w'hich guarantees the freedom of the press, is in danger. The evidence lies in the inaccessibility of news sources, primarily and the President; the various pressures being brought on journalistic critics of the President; the efforts to weaken the radio and television networks news and analysis services; the decision of the courts to impede news But just because the conflict of nghts is and variable from case to case, the press must struggle constantly to protect not its own nghts but the rights of the people. The press may seem paranoid in the battle for freedom. So it must be. In the words of Judge Harold R. Medina, whose services on the federal bench are many and memorable: Some people may think that the leaders of the free press would perhaps accomplish more if their claims of constitutional nght were less expansive. I. do not agree with this. I say it is their duty to fight like tigers right down the line and not give in an inch. This is the way our freedoms have been preserved in the past and it is the way they will be preserved in the future. The peoples right to be informed depends on the presss vigilant and responsible performance of its task. The role of the press in relationship not only to government but to all other establishment elements is essentially an ad-- , versary role. It was not for nothing called the "fourth estate by Edmund Burke and others. It must report, investigate, uncover, analyze, and praise or criticize just as the best discerned facts require. The press is often careless, sometimes wrong, generally subjective in its choice of what to print or air, frequently sensational for sensationalisms sake. It is an imperfect tool. But with all its flaws, it is an absolutely essential element in a free society. It will survive. It will outlast those who may from time to time seek to tame it. The public everlastingly criticizes the news media. For several decades there has been a great lessening of diversity, with no single channel of news or opinion necessarily matching the prejudices and biases of plenty of people. The opinions of colummsts or commentators will not fit more than a fraction of an inevitably and desirably divided public. News media are increasingly involved with their publics. This is a far greater problem for them than any hostile efforts of government. It can be mastered as their performance is fair, courageous, skillful. The attacks upon them at various levels of government are less vital than the deliberate blocking of news sources. To keep open the channels of information is in these days a high duty of citizenship. in a crisis of confidence LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Skiers Speak Up The Utah Ski Association acknowledges the honor and recognition given our state in the selection of Salt Lake City as its choice for the Winter Olympics. The ski association fully supports Governor Rampton, Mayor Garn, and Forest Supervisor Hamne in their efforts to decommercialize the Olympics and to return them to a sporting event, and endorses the conditions imposed by them to avoid critical harm to our environment, economy and future welfare as a result of the games. We applaud this opportunity to begin essential planning of our total winter sports complex in our community, which was necessitated and focused, by the Olympic presentation. We further call for a gaurantee to be established to ensure the removal of temporary facilities and to repair and clean up any ecological harm. We also call for the inclusion in the expanded final local Olympic committee of representatives of the Governors office, Salt Lake County Commission, Summit County Commission, the Salt Lake Council of Governments, the mayor of Salt Lake, the Utah Ski Association, the Forest Service and representative of environmental groups. Further, to avoid profiteering and gouging so that the games will be a sporting event and not a commercial exploitation, we' calll for the setting up of agreements to maintain normal prices during the games on housing, meals, transportation, entertainment, ski lifts and other businesses connected with the Olympics, and that room accommodations be held open until ulation and scalping. ' - - blood-alcoh- Another feature of the bill would require anyone convicted of course on driving under the influence of alcohol to take a the problems of the drunken driver before he could be issued even a restricted drivers license. The bill also would permit police to .administer a chemical analysis of blood content of suspected drunk drivers without actually making an arrest. In present practice, policemen hesitate to arrest anyone not obviously drunk for fear of a false arrest suit. Hence many drivers get away with infractions of .the law. The Dill is a good start toward stiffening present laws. There are a series of additional measures that also should be considered, including Texas practice of making a second offense for drunk driving a felony. It is punishable by fines of $100 to as high as $5,000. suspending a drivers license for 18 months, and a jail sentence of 10 days to two years. If such a sentence were slapped on Utah drivers, there would and at what a savings m lives, be very few second offenses injuries, and personal property. Military To The Rescue Civilian rescue missions are not uncommon for helicopter training units, including Hill Air Force Base's 1550th Air Crew Training and Test Wing. , But such missions are now sandwiched into the military schedule when time permits, rather than being part of the regular training program. And no adequate provision is made for funding this expanded role. Most rescue missions at Hill AFB for civilians have been for those stranded in the mountains or other areas. Sen. Wallace F. Bennett is seeking to expand that role to include use of military medical teams and helicopters to transport civilian injury victims to hospitals in emergencies wltbre rapid transportation is vital and a military crew is close by. That proposal makes sense, for two reasons: It not only permits more realistic military training, but provides a very vital and useful sendee for civilians as well. Incident Of By SYDNEY J. HARRIS Reading a news item the other day to the effect that Westinghouse has been chosen to lead an industrial group that will build a electric plant in Tennessee, reminded me of an incident that I .ad forgotten. Some time last fall, I was invited to on a Pittsburgh TV show prior to an autographing party at a local department store. appear the technician hung the mike around my neck, I said, Why do TV lights still have to be so infernally hot cant they make some cooler lights so the performers won't sweat to death during the show? As The technician are cooler lights, grinned. he said, Oh, there but I guess the company feels it can't afford to buy them for us. At which the technical staff broke out laughing. I was puzzled until he informed me that this was a Westinghouse television station, and Westinghouse is the company that makes the cooler TV lights! What I wondered about, and still wonder, is how a company can effectively sell a new technological device to customers when the company itself doesn't utilize the device within its own studios? (Some years ago, I recall, when was starting to boom, one of the firms ma' :ng equipment continued to manufacture its product in a factory until the discrepancy threatened to break into public absurdity ) hilst it is true that in some respects take better care of our own than of others, it suems equally true that just as often we neglect our nearest in the area of our greatest competence. W Some safeguards should be included in the bill. For one thing, military programs should not take over existing ambulance service except in emergency cases. And air crews must not be allowed to become just another agency for civilian aid. Those Driving Hazards TV Lights we The other night a tree I had never seen before swerved in front of me at the end of our driveway and clipped my, nght fender. That is the most ridiculous story I have ever heard, said my husband. I knew he would say that. He said the same thing when one of the kids pushed a button on the automatic umbrella in the back seat, poked me in the ear and caused me to run through a barrier in the parking garage. He said that the time a crazy, wild, grocery cart attacked the car and caused me to sideswipe a row of balled evergreens along the curb. Hes one of those logical drivers who doesnt believe garbage cans are out to get you (even the sober ones). For your information, I said, I am not the only driver who has had a weird experience behind the wheel of a car. I was reading a story the other day of some of the reasons motorists gave to their insurance companies for having an accident. One man said, Tm a preacher so I couldnt have been at fault. Another one said, I was driving down the road when I received a message from the Lord. Being a religious man, I bowed my head. Thats when I hit the car in front of me. said my husband Oh, good grief, shaking his head. Its possible, I said. One poor victim reported, I was fascinated by seeing this here wheel roll down the road. After the acc'dent, I found it was off my car. seen a wheel go so. That doesnt make any sense at all, he insisted. Sometimes it really isnt our fault, I said. Take pollution. It caused at least one accident. The man said he was speeding up to pass the awful odor. Sometimes, tneres nothing else you can' do. Like the poor guy who said, I started up and the car ahead didnt, so I drove into him. I ask you, what would you have done? Lets get back to your instant land-- , scaping story. You mean you do not believe a tree would appear out of nowhere and clip my fender? Thats right. Would you believe the dog wouldn't stop breathing until he steamed up my windows so bad I couldnt see the tree giowing? He shook his head. Okay, I said, and this is your last chance. The devil made me do it. GUEST CARTOON to avoid spec- WILLIAM LEVITT Ski Association - triMA BOMBECK 1975 President, Utah ' j ' r Views On Olympics n If Salt Lake City and Utah wins the final nod of the International Olympic Committee for the 1976 Winter Olympics great! No person likes to watch the Olympics I do summer or winter games. more than One thing about Salt Lake Citys bid for the games is the running to Washington for financial help. Why isnt it going to be run on a voluntary basis individuals, businesses, corporations, churches, and other organizations throughout Utah, Western America and America? I dont-wan- t the government to enter into these things because regulatory strings of a government come along with the money. We dont want that thing to happen to us. We dont .want another Munich to happen to us here in Utah. I think that Utah can put on the games as well as anybody has ever done it in the Olympic' games history if we leave the government out of it, if we really want to . sponsor them. ; J i ROLAND MATHER - 715 Caconio Court i . i . i J - Hurrah For Nixon ; t j It is good to have a president at the head of our great country who has a mind of his own; a man who has the strength, the intestinal fortitude in the face of bitter criticism, to order the bombing of military targets in a country that refuses to sit down at a peace table and accept a reasonable peace offer. The late prophet David O. McKay said, The only language that the communists know is that of force, implying, as I see it, that force must be met with force. Pres. Nixon is hoping, after six years of killing and maiming of tens of thousands of our young men by the communists of North Vietnam and spending billions of dollars to foice them to a peace with honor. Other good presidents Between the devil a nd the GOP. including Lincoln, the savior of our country, have been enteized; so President Nixon, we hail you FRED W. BARKER Murrav I |