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Show Editorial Page of the Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah j FRIDAY, MARCH A5 2, 1973 IN OUR OPINION The welfare mess: an unanswered challenge To hear many congressmen tell it, the White House is usurping their authority and the President is a miser when it comes to the needs of the poor. Nixon reforms. The mind boggles at the prospect of more than doubling the number of Americans on welfare and doubling welfare expenditures in the first year of the proposed program. The suggested guaranteed annual wage looked suspiciously like guaranteed disincentives leading to guaranteed economic stagnation. Moreover, it all smacked too much of merely adding a new wing to a decrepit structure that ought to be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up. - But if these critics were listening carefully Thursday to the fourth in Richard Nixons State of the Union series, they should have been able to detect an opportunity to recoup some of these losses, real or imagined. In that message. President Nixon gave the first clear indication he is throwing in the sponge on his efforts to overhaul the nations mammoth, and often unjust welfare pro- It shouldnt take much reading between the lines of these particular passages in a message to see that here is an opportunity for Congress to build its muscles by exercising some lead- But, if not the Nixon reforms, what exactly is it that Congress prefers in the way of welfare streamlining? Surely the lawmakers cant be satisfied with what a welfare system the nation now has that penalizes people for working, that often drives the man of the family out of the house, that has led to families becoming dependent on welfare as a way of life for generation after generation. For the past four years, Congress has reacted to the Nixon reforms by trying to fight something with nothing. Now that those reforms have been withdrawn, maybe the nations lawmakers can for a change fight nothing with something with welfare plans and proposals of their ership. own. Its hard to blame Congress for failing to get deliriously happy about all of the Okay, Congress, the ball is in your court. e, gram. Why is Mr. Nixon giving up on fundamental welfare reforms? Because Congress has dragged its feet since the proposed new Family Assistance Plan was introduced in 1969 and, in the Presidents words, the legislative outlook seems to in the immediate preclude passage future. ... wide-rangin- g Gray must be independent If any agency needs to be kept above politics, it is the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Otherwise, public confidence in law enforcement will not only erode at the top, but that erosion can also work Us way down to lower levels of government where lawmen often work closely with the FBI. These principles should be uppermost in the minds of senators as they consider the nomination of L. Patrick Gray III to move from acting to permanent director of the FBI. Grays participation in partisan tics in the Nixon campaigns of 1960 and 1968 is a matter of public record. In fairness to Gray, it should be remembered that many judges are involved in partisan politics before they go on the bench and without the experience impairing their judicial objectivity. By opening FBI agent posts to women and by halting routine FBI investigations of congressmen, Gray has shown he is innovative. With his confirmation apparently assured, Mr. Grays big challenge will be not only to combat crime effectively but and also do his job as as possible. independently even-handed- poli- - ly An idea whose time must come More and more, it looks like using part of the highway trust funds for mass transit is an idea whose time is coming. ' FJ Sen. Wallace F. Bennett reaffirmed that hope this week when he announced -"5 he would support legislation allowing each state the option of diverting trust fund to transit systems. money Utah, of course, still has some catching up to do in its highway program. Western states depend much more on highways for shipment of goods, for example, than do Eastern states, which are better served by more extensive rail sys-- , viating the need for more highways, its terns. only right that they share in part of the funds. trust to look to Nevertheless, Utah needs After as its highall, the aim is better, less conits transit systems as well not just more and ways. Since transit systems help fight gested highways allesame. of as the well more as congestion and pollution, Limit Congress1 franking right Should Congressmen have free use of the mails to further their own political like getting ambitions Three members of the U.S. House of Representatives dont think so. The three Reps. Morris Udall, Arizona; Thaddeus Dulski, New York, and David Henderson, are sponsoring a bill to North Carolina define what may be mailed in franked envelopes, and what may not. Thats a refreshing move in the right Rx for fatigue Presidency. In other words, to a degree inconceivable to his predecessors, Richard Nixon has dignified and legitimized the Comwhich munist governments in and Peking today preside s Mr. Harsch the Manchu dynasty. But is comminism in China an ideology or a new form of Chinese nationalism tailored to the needs of todays China? It all means that Mr. Nixon has recognized foreign Communist countries with no perceivable resulting disasters in Western countries. Its quite an achievement. rings around his companions. brave Jonathan Ultimately, wings his way to a higher level of existence where its possible to fly instantly from place to place with the flick of a feather and a little tration. concen- Through Jonathan, author Richard Bach makes a beautiful case for being extraordinary if you can. But, alas, the word is that Hollywood is now making a movie from the book. And millions of us have every hope Bachs story is followed, I fear faithfully Jonathan Livingston Seagull on the silver screen will come out something like this: while The producers of The Gull based on Richard Bach's saga of a superseaguil, have announced the premiere showing will take place this week in Los Angeles. The Gull Father, played by Marlon Brando in tar and feathers, is the story of a slow, squawking New York seagull of Sicilian descent who takes over a flock of Atlantic Coast gulls and sets up a protection racket for small-tim- e Father,' commercial fishermen. The movie reaches its the producer said, climax, Gull the when Father attempts to corner the lobster industry in Maine and comes beak to beak with the Gull Mother, a ravishing female seagull with underworld ambitions of her own. Richard Bach, reportedly under sedation for an unknown ailment, will be unable to attend the premiere. r The United States government WASHINGTON, D.C. announced today that the War on Poverty is over and the United States has won. In an historic ceremony at the White House, the President signed the peace treaty which had been negotiated over a period of several months. : The terms of the treaty were outlined for reporters: The United States will withdraw all troops from the War on Poverty within 30 days and will no longer supply fi-n nancial aid to poverty areas. j war-strew- I- Poor people will be allowed to chooue their own des- times without interference from outside sources. All advisers to the War on Poverty will be brought 1 ; home. ; Attacks on health problems, unemployment, housing and education will cease as of midnight, March 5. A team of Administration officials will be sent into the field to see that there are no violations of the agreement. If they find anyone continuing the War on Poverty, they shall report), them to the Justice Department in Washington. , Legal aid for poor people will be withdrawn from com-b- ' at areas. ,f Poverty victims will remain in their own homes and .will be forbidden to move into other territory wvile the treaty is in force. : . . j to fight Poverty will be removed, crated and shipped out of the fighting areas. A White House spokesman told reporters, The PresfS dent believes this is the greatest peace treaty in the history of mankind. This was a war he did not start, but which he vowed to end. Poverty has been defeated, and President achieved the defeat with honor, something hisj critics predicted he could not do. A reporter asked, But suppose the forces of Poverty continue their aggression? The spokesman said, The United States has done all ifry can to fight Poverty. No matter what happens how, were K? getting out of the war. The poor people are going to havejPS to solve their own problems. Another reporter asked, Now that the War on Poverty J is over, will there be a peace dividend for the American All weapons used , oneJ . people? No, the White House spokesman said, because the .. money used to fight the War on Poverty is now. needed to. purchase military hardware which has been sadly neglect- ed during the last seven years. . Will the President grant amnesty to those who refused to fight in the War oh Poverty? a reporter queried. Yes, he will, the spoksman said. The President lieves a man who refused to fight Poverty because of per-'sonal convictions should not carry this scar around with-i- j hriv him for the rest of his life. be-X- 2i V? HARRIS .sa si a rather today, dealing with foreign names and nicknames and their English versions, right qualifies you as Super Linguist 1. If he had written his operas in English, the author would be known as Joe Green. This is difficult word-qui- z One-four- th ,.i S l? ;jK lp 5. This classical philosophers meaning Broad Shoulders, was the only name he was known by. nick-nam- e, didate? e If a famous Russian writers were trans- lated into English, it would mean Most Bitter. 7. A legendary tragic king of fame, his name literally means Swollen Foot. 6. m One congressional expert on the franking privilege says that no more than 20 percent of the House members abuse the privilege. Senate abuses are less, primarily because senators have to face the voters only once every six years. n the name by which Jeanne La Pucelle is in the English-speakin-g world? in- uervi nvr year. uii ANSWERS: 1. Guiseppe 2. J J'ijj H . 9. This great warrior and traveler of legend and poetry would be called in English What quality of life can there be in a society where a child can be denied the right to be born? David Ely v-.- pen-nam- 8. What is better-know- its Congress faces the alternative of writing a clear. Incisive law itself, er letting the courts write one by their decisions. At least 10 lawsuits have been filed in the past eight months. j 2. If he had composed his cantatas in English, the au-thor would be known as John S. Brooks. J .j 3. This famous statesman and orator, if in the U.S. Sen-$ ate, would be called Chick-Pe5 4. This ancient conqueror would be called John Bull 2 in England, and Uncle Sam in the USA. Indicative of this abuse is the fluctuation of the budget for congressional mail, which increases dramatically in election years. Expenses for fiscal 1973, for example, are estimated at $21.1 million. That figure is expected to rise to $38.1 miiiiou jur fiscal 74 another election To ordinary motorists, the proposal to, shorten the lines by staggering license-platerenewals would be a welcome con: venience. a decision that eventually leads to banishment from the flock, he takes up aerobatics and begins flying So, in Probably there will long be Communism, at least for the a few residual pools of such moment, is recessive and fragfear. And, conceivably, those mented. It bores the young. It who nourish the fear may has long since disenchanted some day be vindicated by the old. It has failed, spectaevents. No one can prove cularly, to solve Russias ecotoday that the fear is entirely nomic problems. It has failed unjustified. But the weight of to bridge national rivalries bepresent evidence is heavily on tween Russia and China.True, the other side. a schismatic variety has As President of the United proved useful to the Chinese. States, Richard Nixon has be- China appears to be more come a most welcome visitor united and more successfully within the precincts of the old progressive today than ever Imperial Palace in Peking. He before since the collapse of creased. plates, do they? Then you can easily imagine how must be the clerks even more bone-tire- d who patiently and courteously handled the turmoil at the license plate window day after wearying day. For which, our thanks. By Jim Flebig Genera! Features Corp. Jonathan Livingston Seagull is the inspiring story of a sensitive bird who believes there is more to seagulling than scrapping over fish heads and flying straight and level. Moscow. He, the head of the most powerful state in the world, treats the . regimes of Peking and Moscow not as unsurper regimes, results. as the actual and right but That fear is. of course, not and proper governments of Mr. Nixons entirely dispelled. tne two other greatest powers foreign 'policies, particularly are in;jr. the world. his opening to China, still profoundly distrusted on And what are the results inthe far political right. Quite side the countries of the Westcorrectly, far right spokesmen ern world of this radical deand pamphleteers accuse Mr. parture from the past? Is with communism Nixon of fraternizing itself or any foreign Communists. He is. other form of more modern And to his critics of the far social radicalism rampant? right this is improper and Quite the contrary. Not in a dangerous for the old, old rea- long time has conservatism son that it might help the been so vigorous and even spread of Communist ideology dominant in most of the Westin the Western world. ern countries. is equally welcome in Moscow; indeed, Ihe Soviet Government did all it could to aid to the his recent BUCHUJfiLD direction. For years, Congressmen particularly in the House have regaled the voters with campaign literature aimed at Why should getting themselves the taxpayers have to foot the bill for an expense which should be borne by the can- role in 1969. With no one watching, easy to see why the temptations feet still ache from having stood in long lines to get new license So your closure. By Joseph C. Harsch The Christian Science Monitor News Service Long years from now when some wise hisiorian who is untouched by any of the partisan emotions of these days sits down to do a study of the Nixon presidency he well may, 1 submit, conclude that Richard Nixons single biggest achievement was in dispelling a great and gnawing fear. The fear has been that if the political leaders of the Western world came to terms with foreign communism they would, thereby, open the floodgates and admit it to their own countries with disastrous RRT story s inspiring of communism The franking problem has severely compounded itself since the Post Office Department ended its informal watchdog i To the clerks, it would be a downright Gnawing fear Sea9ul1 3 8 Verdi v Johann Sebastian Bach. 3. Cicero. 4. Hannibal. cE 5. Plato (whose original name was Aristocles.) Maxim Gorki (whose real name was 6. Aleksei Peshkov.) 7. Oedipus Rex, whose feet were pierced with a spike as a baby, when he was abandoned on a mountain-sid- e by his father; rescued by a peasant, ids feet weie peluioiieut-l- y deformed. H Joan of Arc. or Ulysses, as known to the Romans; the j name literally stands for The Victim of Enmity, but KafrAgaiast-the-Odd- s was the colloquial meaning.' . 8. 9. Odysseus, X -- v 1 |