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Show f DESERET NEWS, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH We THURSDAY, NOVEMBER . 1 1 973 A5 : stand for the Constitution of .he United States with its three departments of government, each fully independent in its own field How many county posts should remain elective? If the public is to be persuaded to go along with the reforms, there are sharp limits to how far and fast Utah can go in modernizing local government. y Although many operations must be merged for the sake of efficiency, there is a point beyond which centralizing administrative authority is not worthwhile because of the opposition it invites The more deeply the streamlining campaign gets into governmental changes that are strange and unfamiliar, the bigger becomes the job that must be done in educating the voters Moreover, while city and county commissioners come and go, officials 'in less prominent elected posts subject to less controversy tend to stay on m oifice through personal popularity or political power. Consequently, the more effort there is to revamp these lesser offices the greater becomes the risk of the entire reform packages standing or falling not 011 its merits but on the basis of the personalities involved So on the basis of simple expediency, the Salt Lake County Government Study Commission seems wise in deciding this week to recommend that a number pf officials remain elective instead of being made subject to appointment. The decision will do for now, but in the long run some changes ought to be made. If the auditor, for example, is to do an independent job of checking on spending, he shouldnt owe his job to some of the very officials whose work he would scrutinize. But the auditor may become little more than a glorified bookkeeper if some of his duties are taken over by the staff of the proposed new county council exists with courts in general. Another possible reason for slowness of fines when not even the Weber County atcollections is the changeover from the in dual to the single prosecutor system torney, for one, knows w'hat fines have been served out in jail and which are still which the district attorneys office was eliminated effective last Jan. 1. Under the outstanding. That problem and others were pointed new system, collections are up to the out this week by State Auditor David county attorney. But the changeover ocMonson, who charged that an audit of curred 10 months ago, and procedures Weber County records showed Utah is should be perfected by now for more vigdue $32,270 from district court fines and orous prosecution of the unpaid fines. forfeitures which go back several years. While the sums involved are only a There are, of course, other reasons for small percentage of the total fines, more the uncollected fines besides shoddy vigorous collection action is desirable bookkeeping. The Supreme Court ruled from another standpoint: The honest not long ago that an indigent could not be person who pays should know that presjailed just because he couldnt pay his sure is being brought against those who fine. So there is no leverage to apply in dont. Anything less is softening the sysa condition that tem of justice. collecting some fines Prescription for longevity Despite the development of drugs and new surgical techniques, there lias been little reduction in the rate at which Americans die from heart and vascular disease. That's no reflection on the work oi men such as Dr. Paul Dudley White, who treated President Eisenhow'er and whose ideas revolutionized modern cardiac care. Rather, its a reflection on a society and whose failure whose style of living to follow sound advice like Dr. White's has made heart disease a threat to people of all ages and conditions. Utahns still remember the appearance Dr. White made in 1967 at the Salt Lake Tabernacle where he expanded on that advice. And Dr. White, incidentally, remembered Utah; in the autobiography he published two years ago, the Boston heart specialist referred to the Salt Lake City lecture as the most interesting .one of life-savin- g Maybe that s because his message found a particularly receptive audience here. His advice: Remain physically active, avoid tobacco and coffee, and watch your diet Dr. White was his own best advertisement, still working and lecturing in his 80 s. This week that work came to a close as Dr. W'hite succumbed at 87 following a stroke. In the years ahead, experts say heart-diseas- e control will focus on preventive measures like those urged by Dr. White. The usually suggested precautions cutting down on fatty foods, eliminating tobacco and coffee, engaging in moderate exercise and avoiding undue stress may sound commonplace. But for anyone who wants to remain active as long as Dr. White did, theres still no better all". Sen. Mondale By Nick Thimmesch LA Times Syndicate Pardon WASHINGTON me, but that engaging young man going around the country and a building friendships good name for himself m Democratic political circles is Sen Walter F. Mondale from Minnesota, where they breed presidential aspirants like go- - phers Were in a very nary stage, he says, prelimiwith a slight touch of There's so little speculation about me mining that it s easy to handle Evei So httle speculation since the junior senator trom 1 Minnesota. Hubert H is Humphrey, blessed him as on elecMv man for 1976. tion night one year ago. Mondale has gathered steam Hes gone all the time lie campaign does stand-in- s for other speeches, and conventions senators, dedications. He must do it to make get better known and to nominating an impression Democrats can tud. away in them heads fund-raiser- Mondale. 4"). keeps his name in the press bv bitting hard on issues. 100 weekend irt lellerson-Jackso- n Mondale W ' a at Dav dinnei , said President Nixon's plan to name a new was prosecutor Wateigate V ' ' said it was incredible Mr Nixon would have actmg-AttGen Robert Bork appoint the new prosecutor, and likened it to asking Thomas Beckels to assassin appoint a new Archbishop ol Canterbury. He that y Watergate gave Mondale into a call for spiration to commission nonpartisan study the institution ot the American presidency, a worthy undertaking, no doubt He would l.ke to see a!! appointments m the executive branch be made sublet to congressional confirmation, and he N ' v , Snv x " - ' "" c, J ,3 4 'v , s ' v C ' s s , s N'' 40 v srf vs- - , . " ... 4 ' . S' - '" kx- - .At '' Its November o ember is the change that -- lioulil be immense with iinahU, but is rather. ,1 change marked with less emphasis than a And it is lonely birthday in middle-agthe change that could go bv unnoticed were it mil for the roadside nut M a mix now dosing, the perfume of the untrav eled back road with its unadorned, open brightness o ember is Lynndyl beginning to 11s' before the earlv winter tourist like a peak on a dark island across the leel sea, fat down the road it sits, straight ulmad, ii mg in the later, attainable wmld ot o'clock, rising, expanding, shaping itselt before ones eyes into a somber cluster of roof tops, hay slacks, and train signals No ember is St George intercepting the sun and the approach of traelers with the gifts of the unpremeditated bounty of the load and highway . . And it is the seemingly abandoned railway station in Park City, where the hills beyond Hie tracks lift one bare shoulder horn their draped simplicity Ncnembei is the Arcadian outline of silhouette that oertops the trees ot Eden's girdled orciiaids and gardens . . And it is Eden's darkness ot grace against a brighter sky. but dark with the unweighted darkness of repose and shade, fun burners, stretching like a wrought-irogrille trom side to side across the pictur e 1 . alley to the unassuming hills that deep down trom the towenng mountains esque Hie shallow ot the vallex to a stunt November is the handsome hunter ud-mup to his burn m Providence ami dismounting bttskly In his left hand he holds a bunch ot succulent grass that he gives to Ins horse as a reward, like a man who cares as much for the beast he rules as he cares for himself . to pimh g Fuss over is Washington Star Syndicate The curWASHINGTON rent hullaballoo over the appointment ot a special prosecutor in the Watergate case is almost entirely irrelevant In the tirst place, we must be clear what we are talldng about. We are not talking about a prosecutor hi the ordinary sense. The existing machinery of justice is quite suiiicient for bringing the ordinary felons to justice. Most of them already have been indicted, including two former members of President Nixon's - Cabinet and several of his closest associates What we are talking about now is the President himseli You can call it a move to Nixon, depending on get your political leaning, or you can call il the logical and inevitable outcome of any invesot the Watergate tigation allair. But by whatever name, the problem now and the only signficant job of any special Watergate prosecutor-w- ill be to gather whatever evidence there is of the implication of tiie President m the original crime or its cover-uAlmost everyone is agreed p He still likes Ike Jim Fiebig General Features Corp. For years now, to read the front page of a newspaper on almost any giv en day is to be reminded oi an immortal line by Frank Ward O'Malley in the Literary Digest. 1912 Lile, is OMalley wrote past one darned thing after By another." For 10 years the darned was the war in 'hing Southeast Asia, the end ot which seemed momentarily to promise Americans a deserved reprieve trom depressing major events Not so The troops had barely set loot home soil when anothei dirty little war broke out in Washington. For more than a year, the darned thing has been Watergate and crooked politicians pointing the finger at other crooked politicians Like the priest who has been hearing confessions for r0 vears, not lung surprises us on any more. It is as it the natural laws of the domestic universe have been suspended and replaced by Murphys law If something bad can happen, it will. What sit me to thinking all was the this about rediscovery of my old 1 like Ike campaign button 111 a little-usediawer at home Remember Ike0 He was the last President who didn't make a habit of upsetting the national stomach. d Some oeoiile like to dismiss Eisenhower as a lightweight because nothing extraordinary happened during his time think th.d was his strength. He was a politician school of the laissez-fair- e instinctively aware that if he left the people alone, the people would do just fine 1 I nlortunately, otheis nevm got the message And it's been one darned thing after another ever since would argue tor other limitations on the presidency. Because of lus interest n. domestic legislation. Mondale has been harshly critical ot the Domestic Council, ruled by the lamented John Ehrlich-mafor several seasons and now in atrophy. Mondale saw that council as a place where Mr. Nixon could hide behind of principles of separatum power and executive privilege, as defined by the President, to do to put it mildly anv thing they wanted to do " But Mondale should c hoc k with tellovv Democrat liberal Josiph Cahiano Ji , who lode herd on domestic problems m the Wane House for President Johnson. Califano is sold on tile idea ot a Domestic ( oun cd because he knows how turgid the bureauuacy is Alnndale. when attorappointed cut loose ney genera! in last summer at the Midwtsi attorneys general conference with an urging that anv lawyer who breached ethics m the scandal be Watergate disbarred only 32 Minnesota's lfl, s,,i some Anyway, despite call a bland manner and fair Worn! te ability. spoakrg ga.t s lrcrtVsirg acuptaiue .11 las party He has a nice fat siuCMim 01 support, 'irgth becuu e be is easv to g t along with is bright, h.ud woi king and competent BUCHUJALD WASHINGTON Commander Nixons hopes on the domestic front tailed last week when for a cease-tirthe press laid down another heavy arlilleiv barrage reply to a Nixon attack on a division of TV commentatoi s Military observers now feel thill the commander is hopelessly surrounded With Congress pressing hard from one side, the courts Sroni another and the press dropping bombs every day. Nixon is being urged to surven der e 111 that this is an impossible job for anyone under the authority Arof the executive branch chibald Cox. heaven knows seemed to think he had a mandate to prosecute tiie Piesi-den- t soon he discovered enough along with the attorney general and his deputy that this was not the case AH of tiiem have recognized that any authority granted by the President can be legally voked by the President. And though, in the circumstances, the political price has neen ruinous for the administration the authonty cannot reahstcal-Ibe questioned. But y Sooner or later, we have to tat e it Under our present system ot government, there simply is no such thing as an independent federal prosecutor and it is beyond the power of the Congiess and the courts to invent one. The plain fact is that the courts, until now have held that every federal indictment must be approved bx an olticial subject to the authonty of the attorney gen era! We can iiddle mound with tins situation in a number el ways We can gel prosecutor--appointeby the amrts or bv the Congress We can insulate them from dismissal by the president But without ehang mg the system, presumabb bv amenda constitutional ment, tlieie is no way thal ,1 special prosec'or would pi execute anyone and much le the President himselt without the acquiescence ot the executive brarnh What can be done and 11 my view, what should be dom this case is to follow through on the impeachment which elearlv is process spelled out 111 the Constitution The one institution ot the that has an government unquestioned right to invexti gate the conduct of the Presioi dent House the is Representatives To carry out such the an investigation House could name Arehioald (ox or anyone else as' os And nurtx the piosecutor quite certainly would undei these circumstances uphold his right to obta n any ev ftom the executive bianch that he needs This is not to say that the House will or should vote to impeach Piesident Nixon. 01 tnat, it tl does, he will or should be convicted and dismissed fumi eibce by two thirds oi the Senate This lilt - simp'v that this is the ; bed pu ceiluie lei nly investigating t bulges oi misconduct on i he part of any piistdent ami that thou is no good reason for (hanging tm iules in this case 111 4 ART prosecutor largely irrelevant By Crosby S. Noyes ' , November is the flock of greedy siieep being driven along the road near Gunnison, sheep that believe that the grass farther on is better, sheep that feed in a liumed way by transient acts of indiscrimH L inate sampling n gaining Demo acceptance and 'wholly unacceptable. declared Congress must enact legislation to gel a prosecutor. v Vt 1 But theres a principle in government that you elect to get representation and appoint to get expertise. In line with that principle, several other posts presently filled by election ought to be named by the new chief executive and confirmed by the county council. As it is now, the surveyor need not be an engineer, and the assessor need not be a trained professional even though this is a technical and demanding field. Filling thse posts by appointment rather than election would make it easier to get much more qualified men. The treasurer, like many of these other lesser elective posts, has little discretionary' authonty to act on his own but must follow the orders of the board of commissioners. He, likewise, should be appointed. As for the sheriff, it makes no sense to keep the post elective while the job of police chief is filled through appointment. There is obviously a need for tighter bookkeeping and enforcement of court v. 5. 1; As for the county attorney, his job is made elective by the State Constitution, which the Study Commission is not empowered to change. Tighter court bookkeeping 'VX , serves as secreof the local tary governing body, he also voters as well as being responsiregisters ble for licensing and other executive-typ- e functions that warrant keeping the post elective at least for now. Modernizing local government will be complicated and controversial enough without getting into an unnecessary fight over how these lesser officials are chosen. The issue can be left for the distant future, as the Study Commission properly decided to do, but its not too soon for the public to start sorting out its thinking '' ' A While the clerk often city-count- X s v',s How did the commandcr-m-ihic- t a fix? Gen. Southerwaile Sampson gav me his analysis of the situation gel himselt into such a unlit an historian The cotniv-andein November. 1972. had the strongest forces m the . There was no opposition to speak of, ami he believed that, with his loyal nflicers holding the White House and 'he Justice Department, no one could touch him Ills first move was to make a strike aganN and then hr Congress. He impounded then- money launched one vet-- alter another at them until lie had them on their knees e But just when victorv was in his grasp, dissension broke out among Nixons own officers Some confessed that they were part of a scheme to destroy the honor cfl the revealed that country. Several who were they participated in illegal acts with the knowledge and staff complicity of the commander-m-chief- s There were rumblings among the enlisted men that corruption had reached the highest levels of Nixon's aijiy court-martiale- d The commander, under pressure, was forced to ask lot the resignations of his most loyal aides. While trying to straighten out lus own army, was unprepared for an attack by Congress. Airborne members of the first Senate Watergate Committee dropped behind lus lines and started sniping at him from the rear The press, which had been neutralized for lour yqprs, et docusuddenly went into action and captured t ments which implicated everyone in the high command in some kind of corruption Having surrounded lum Nixon's enem'es were demanding that he surrender tapes which could or could not and threatened to impheate him m treachery. He refir-ec le the most powerful m lus arsenal, executive immunity. But when he launched the missile, it fizzled ifml tell to the ground with a thud ' yon op-se- U'-- mi-si- "In the meantime, several ol his oiticeis in the Filth Justice Department Regiment mutinied and refused to o!ey Nixon's orders He had no choice but to fire them in order to save what was lelt of his forces, he the tapes On Friday Nixon a last ga-- p in mounters .1 counterattack against the piess but was repulsed J. r heavy losses. It was the bloodiest battle so far." How is the commander-m-due- l taking all this'' 3 asked Sampson. v Nixon Ive never seen him cooler. he leplied thrives on adversilv and experts to be out r his bunker at Camp David by Christmas DOUG SflEYD 1 W vA v p m oonna miss Agnew, Mugsy. Wict voth him bein' for the old virtues, the old morality 'n' alb" |