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Show Joseph Kraft She gait Sunday ribnnt akc Morning, April 19. 1970 Let's End Lunacy In Lunar Scene 1 1 Page The unhappy voyage WASHINGTON occasion for serious an ides 13 of Apollo prov And that rethinking of the space program. occasion should not be avoided in the misguided spirit that supposes space to be a bully adventure. On the contraiy, that spirit has led almost all of us to be deep'y unwise aboul spate. The essential unwisdom has been the (Id unwisdom of graven images. Despne the overwhelming teacheveryday life and notwithstanding the we Thales, since ings of every philosopher have been once again hooked on the avvl'ui delusion that iaentifies technical advance with spiritual achievement. Acts, if noc words, indicate that progress in space has looked to most of us to be a gauge of the greater g.ory of mankind. itThat is why the country committed self to putting a man on the moon on a ciash basis. That is how news media lavished undiscriminating ballyhoo on every breath breathed and thought thought by the astronauts. That is how there grew up a whole as subculture expressed in such go. all systems shot, and burn, The Postal Compromise in his grade in eight curient 21. Frcsiuer.t Nixon's new postal reform in which plan tept esc nts a compromise the President did most of the yielding. Instead of a government owned coipoiatum to update the post office as cmginally make pioposed. Congress will be asked to service an agency independent the postal within the executive bianch, but divorced f rom politics. And instead of postal ate increases designed to gcnci ate $2.6 billion in new' levenue, Mr. Nixon settled for increases generating $1.3 billion. As he said in his special message to Congress, the rate for first class mail idea of a enthusiasm from the limited met with The pioposed independent postal s broad authority over lates, wages, be empowand finances. Both would ered to borrow money to carry out capital improvements. There is, however, one significant difference. While the corporation would have been truly independent, the new service would be subject to a degree of congressional control. Members of the commission in charge of the service must be confirmed by the Senate, and their decisions on rates and services vote of eican be vetoed by a commission The Senate. ther House or w ill also appoint the postmaster general, with his tenure based on performance , . . not politics. Congress has always been cool to postal reform and may object to raising postal rates as much as the President has asked. However, no matter what Congress does here, higher costs resulting from higher wages will have to be passed along to the public, cither in the form of increased rates or additional appropriations to meet a deficit. We believe that those who a service should pay for it, meaning increased postal rates. But, the jates must be fair, which doesn't seem the case when the relatively low cost of junk mail is considered. The Nixon compromise promises to make the postal service more efficient and eventually less expensive. It should be written into law before the 91st Congress adjourns. scr-iee- 10-ce- nine-ma- n public. president of the pleased because the compromise gives postal unions the right of" collective bargaining on wages and working conditions. He also sees this as opening the door to collective bargainis ing by all federal civilian employes, and collective be will probably right. But it bargaining with mandatory and binding arbitration in the event of a deadlock. The unions opposed the government corporation plan because they thought bargain' moie effectively they could with Congress by applying political pressure. Their change of mind was a compromise on their part, and they were undoubtedly influenced by President Nixon's approval of a financial sweetener. Postal woikers were promised an 8 percent pay increase, over and above the 6 percent increase just granted all federal employes. In addition, once the new postal service is established, a postal worker can move from the bottom to the top wage bracket George Meany, two-thir- is immensely , serv- ice and the government corporation are the post veiy much alike. Both would take office out of politics. Both would have 1 AFL-CIO- years instead of the Mans Expanding 1'nivfrse tc-cc- The Public Forum W the wouls might be prone to use them, too. It has not been ruled obscene to go on a stage and describe how a fellow human may be tortured to death or killed swiftly and family rated movies are full of both subjects. But to speak words from the same stage that are associated with bodily functions and powerful human urges is taboo under the attorney generals opin- I Oil ion. Weie not proposing that society throw away its rule book and that everyone begin using words on all occasions. If man is to progress socially he must be able to look backbit where he has been and the discriminating use of crude words is a handy gauge of progress. But instead of attempting to define obscenity and to abolish it by fiat, civilized peoples should devote more time to widening the words scope. Instead of confining obscenity to words dealing with sex and excretion it should be expanded to include hate, discrimination and a war, "murder, host of other human failings far more dangerous to survival than anything Jerry Rubin or others like him might say. four-lett- Be Around Editor, Tribune: I am very late answering the letter of Wilson St. Martin (Forum April 2). But words of President Lincoln come 1o mind, To sin by silence when there is a duty to protest makes cowards of men. And I dont want to be a coward where the health of our great nation is concerned, perhaps its very survival. To say that Wallace Ashby of Sunset is promoting health food stores is nonsense. He is concerned with Ihe fact that America is not the healthiest nation in the world, and is, in fact, fast becoming one of the unhealthiest. Our life expectancy is shrinking. Dont take my word for it. Statistics are easily available to those who will take their blinkers off and face Mr. St. Martin is repeating the propaganda set forth by the food processors and sellers of chemicals. It isnt science, it is big business, Madison Avenue tactics. We had better all do some reading to find out what true scientific research has proven. The human body is not equipped to handle inorganic substances, and we had better get close to nature and find out what she has provided and how it works for our good. If we do not cease being a nation of sheep, believing such propaganda, and start eating naturally, and quit poisoning ourselves with additives, we just wont be around. ELIZABETH W. SHAFER Ogden Obscenity's Scope Too Narrow For years courts have been and still are trying to define obscenity. And, if Attorney General Vernon B. Romney's opinion on what constitutes obscene language is the latest distillation of prior opinions on the subject, the courts still have a long way to go. The trouble with defining obscenity is finding a standard against which the suspected material may be measured. What is obscene under one circumstance may not be under another. What offends one individual may not offend another. What offended in Woodrow Wilsons day may be perfectly acceptable now. Spoken obscenity may be deemed w'orse than written obscenity. Further complicating the question is societys hypocrisy where obscenity is concerned. What a person may say at the office. at a bar, on the golf course or when he hits his thumb with a hammer may be perfectly acceptable to all those within earshot. But repeating the same terse words before a mixed audience or even a Rotary Club luncheon could be judged obscene although almost everyone who heard on't ts. er Pretended Knowledge Editor Tribune: I was amazed at the pretended knowledge Wilson C. St. Martin had in his letter (Forum, April 11) in quoting scrip-tuie- s from the Book of Mormon. I wonder who helped him find them? oil fields to a warm water port 800 miles It is evident he has never read the book or to the south. studied it as the wrong interpretation is put In other times opposition to such a on it if he thinks it refers to the Negro. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints pipeline would have been confined to a has never denied the which Negro rights any few conservationists without the finances are granted by the Constitution. or general support to do anything about And I am sure Mr. St. Martin does not their protests. But not anymore. The opbelieve the Mormon Church is the only' and has Church holding the true priesthood and will position is organized, broad-base- d tenacifinancing. And it has a terrier-lik- e not join it if he were given the opportunity. is oil the that forcing ty industry, and Neither would a lot of others who are having others as well, .to justify projects and pay so much to say about it. Why not start criticareful attention to environmental quescizing other churches for the discrimination they have in their laws of celibacy and not tions as they arise. allowing their priests to marry, or some other We are not prepared to say whether belief which is discriminating in some way? conservation groups are correct in trying Well, let's call a halt to the subject. A to block the pipeline on grounds it and an newspaper should not take sides in politics or accompanying gravel access road aie a religion one way or the other and letting this great danger to Alaskas fragile environgo on too long will certainly look like the ment." Nor can we say whether road and paper is taking sides on the issue. pipeline infringe on land rights of Indian ROSE D. DENNETT tribes in the area, as has been claimed by Cannonville the Indians. But we have no hesitation in lot Issue In a Cold Land has been of tremendous benefit to mail. It also has become a monumental nuisance. Both facts arc now recognized and the latter has become a source of mounting concern in a world finally aware of pollutions dangers. Oil spillage during production from offshore wells and transportation in tank- cr ships has resulted in tightening of regulations on producers and shippers and in passage of laws making them liable for cleaning up beaches and waterways after spillages. Now attention is focused on overland pipelines, particularly a proposed pipeline in Alaska which would bring crude oil from the new North Slone Yihitiuj: Cartoonist L'aw1' praising both conservationists and Indians for raising questions, for causing a delay and foicing a reexamination of the wisdom of peimittmg the pipeline to go thiough. It may be that all is well and that the pipeline will not endanger ecology of the area through which it passes. It may be thcie is no danger in burying the pipe which will cany warm oil in the Alaskan permafrost. It may be that the Indians have no claim to the pipeline and road light of way. But before construction is alowed to begin these questions and any others of a similar nature should be e'eared up for all time. If that means delay, so be it. The Alaskan pipeline is a hot issue conceived in haste. It should be allowed to cool in the glare of public setu-tir.- y, v. Life was simpler when all we had to worry about in Vietnam w. Vieinam. Ganr n W ,h vgor $' of the news-p:iKnone Mrs. Mitchell, Sorry. sfms to answer! rs The j the hand-pushe- c d Uwnmower guiar. i as jare as Work of Men Editor, Tribune: It is unfortunate in this age of enlightenment when many arc acquiring degrees of higher learning, that many still ding to ihe notion that this land is the most blessed by God, who inspiied the founding fathers to write a divine constitution. My concept of a Supreme Being is that He is a just God, who would not favor one individual or group over others. Thus the U.S. Constitution is no more a divine document than Joseph Stalin was a prophet of God. Gur country was the last major civilized state to abolish Negro slavery, which was sanctioned by the original Constitution. Also many millions of woikers have been Med white so that a few capitalists might grow fabulously o i ich all under the guise of freedom and under God. With such a record and it rocs on todav this country surely cannot be numbered among God's chosen. The Constitution was a culmination of a long period of historical development Greek and Roman law, English common law, the French philosophes (separation of church and state), the roionial period. Nothing really mvv came out of the Convention of 1787. At jus-lii- By Our Readers the time people already had the notion that the delegates had been divinely inspired, but the founding fathers insisted that this was not the case. No prayer was ever offered at the convention. The document is one by men, not God. Reactionaries vv ho say it is part of Gods law are really saying it is unchangeable and that there is only one way of interpreting it (their way). KARL KAUTSKY 3Iore Realistic Editor, Tribune: Senator Church is right when he says the American people should be told about our participation in Laos. But telling it as it is does not excuse the leaders of this country from breaking their pledge not to expand the war in Southeast Asia. Firs it was Vietnam, now it is Laos. The die is cast. The same bickering, and long drawn out committee investigations buck-passin- g, Forum Rales Public Forum lotttrt must not bt moro thin 1st words In ldqti, must bo submitted exclusively le The Tribune ond beer writer's full name, sifnalure end address. Nemes must be on political letters but may bo withheld for noed reasons on others. Writers ore limited te an- - letter every ten deys. Preference will be siven letters permitlin use ef true name, end te those which art typed (double-spaceand short. will take place again, as the war gets bigger by the month and we are firmly entrenched in Asian affairs, much to the disgust of everyone. The domestic problems of poverty, pollution, education and inflation receive much attention in the press, but very little money percentagewise, in comparison to the billions spent on waging a war. Is it any wonder why the youth of this country and of the world are in revolt? They' are the ones who have to do the duly work on the battlefield, while some of us grow rich on fat war contracts. Is this fair? Peace is an ideal worthy oi achievement, but not at any cost. Citizen revolt, in this respect, is more realistic. FRANK HOWARD Out of Place Editor. Tribune: This is a letter regarding the cancellation of the Doors concert. The reason given for this cancellation was that the Doors performance is not suitable for Utah audiences. I feel this is an unfair judgment and illustrates the huge abyss termed as the generation gap. The large number of advance tickets sold points the other way. The people who bought these tickets knew what to expect in the way of a performance, as the Doors reputation precedes them wherever they go, and because they have performed in Utah previously. It would seem that the Doors were booked for the sole purpose of cancellation. If this performance was found unsuitable, what decision led to the booking of the Led Zeppelin group, whose performance was not to) ally unobjectionable? This decision, along with many of the other iceent laws passed by the Utah Legislature, seem to show that the free choice of the individual no longer has a place in Utah's laws or the decisions of i.s "outstanding citizens. MICKEY McGUIRE W This gross inflation reached its high point with the moon landings last summer and the ecstatic stuff about man's wonderful expanding universe. But it did not then taper off. On the contrary, the re followed the deliberate and calculated ue of the excitement generated by space activity as an argument for more of Ihe same. Consider, for example, the repot t of the space task group headed by Vice President Spiro Agncvv. That document credited manned space flight with A lift to the national spirit and a reinforcement of the national pride in a wav seldom witnessed in the country's history. It spoke of intangible benefits yet to be realized which might be greater than the already inherent technical benefits. Then there was reference to vicarious participation by the man in the street in exciting, challenging, and dangerous activity. On that basis, recommendations were made fot an expanded program with a new commitment to manned exploration of the planets by the end of the century. Lift to National Spirit Eut as it happened, the lift to the national spirit generated by men on the moon did not endure. Space did not have the stuff to be a keeper of the conscience. And nothing proved the point belter than the takeoff of Apollo 13, for when the flight began, the general reaction was The mood changed, of course, once the astronauts were in trouble. But what does that prove? At best that space is a serious businot merely a ness, involving life and death bully adventure in exploration. At worst that there are a lot of people who like to watch brave men work against high odds the kind of people who watch auto races. The true lesson is that space cannot be sustained as a TV spectacular. The serious purpose need- - to be separated from the ballyhoo. And these purposes have to be weighed carefully against other claims in national attention and resources. That means first of all reducing the favored status space has enjoyed within the federal establishment. The decision made by the Nixon Administration to cut the budget from $3.9 billion last year to $3.3 billion this year was a move in the right direction. Proposals to increase space expenditures next year need to be examined most carefully. Scientific Purposes of Space ho-hu- Within that perspective, the stress needs to be on the truly useful scientific purposes of space. That means emphasis on an unmanned tour of the planets in the next decades. It could mean putting aside for a long time the project for manned flight in planetary space. As President Nixons Scientific Advisory Committee put it in a report last fall, gaining maximum advantage out of space expenditures will almost always indicate use of automated systems whose goal is primarily scientific knowledge as contrasted with the adventure of manned exploration. Finally, the notion that primacy in space somehow confers national benefits needs to be carefully may be served by being first on the moon. But the country can almost surely derive what it needs from space in cooperation rather than in competition with other countries. Countries, after all, are different from Individual explorers may climb mountains- - just because they are there. But great countries have more important business. Spare needs io be brought into boher relations with our morp Important ordinary business. Ihe Holland Cartoon aste of Time Editor, Tnbune: A friend and I visited the Salt Lake Art Center and School April 8 and viewed the Earth Show which has been discussed in the news. We saw nothing obiectionablc in the production, but neither did we see anything worthwhile or constructive, especially for students. We ieei it would have been a waste of the students time in see this show and, therefore, believe Elmer J. Ilartvigsen, Granite School District superintendent, made a wise decision in cancelling a senes of field trips planned for inis movie, MRS. R. KRONSTADT 11-a- Now to get him buck In the lamp |
