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Show Joseph Kraft )b Salt fttiYc Friday Morning, January 15, 1971 tribune Page 1 Political Payola? Controls Loom 4A One of the most excitWASHINGTON ing things going in the country these days and maybe the most important is volunsemi-publthe reform of tary Constitutional Restraints Hamper Undent Local Government Change ic institutions that truly run the United States. All the most pow. erful corporations, uni- C3 A candid statement by a journeyman Salt Lake City commissioner should give a boost to one especially appropriate state constitutional change. When Commissioner E. J Gam recently told a Bonneville Kiwanis Club meeting he is even more dismayed about local government defects, hio words ought to echo through legislative chambers. Mr. Garn is no flaming liberal who would dismantle traditional systems just for the sake of change. But his first-han- d experience serving three years as a city commissioner have convinced him that present methods dont suit the governing needs of a sprawling urban center. He reminded the Kiwanians that his impressions three years ago were that modernization in city government was due and that he was advised, after youve been on the commission a while, youll change your mind. After three years, Mr. Gam agreed, he has changed his mind: The duplication of city and county services, double taxation of city residents and unresponsiveness to the people is twice as bad as I had imagined. Initially, the solution is greater flexibility to deal with these problems. And that means more constitutional fieedom for local government Currently, Utahs Constitution requires the same system of government for every county, which may have made sense 75 years ago. j3ut in 1970, when such factors as popula- - tion, economic responsibility and public service demands create widely differing local conditions, versatility, not uniformity. is necessary. The Utah situation has been sfudied repeatedly and the most recent such project produced an action program, referred to by Mr. Garn in his Kiw'anis speech. Utahns for Effective Government (UTEGO) has drafted a constitutional amendment that provides: The legislature shall by general law' prescribe optional fonns of county government and shall allow each county to select subject to referendum in a manner provided by law, the prescribed optional form which serves best its needs and by general law shall provide for precinct and township organization." That says, in typically formal language, what those familiar with the subject agree must be within reach of every troubled community if local government is to survive. It would be unthinkable to decree that only a certified lifeguard could rescue a drowning man. And yet, constitutional rigidity prevents local government from considering each alternative that best serves" urgently needed solutions. Mr. Garn, in concurring with others who have said as much, articulated an especially timely reminder. It is for assembled legislators to respond by issuing the amendment that will help restore a more encouraging judgment on the ability of localities to govern themselves. Presidents Threat t president Nixon has steadfastly . e- - wstied public presidential jawboning fxKortation to keep prices in line. But witeii Bethlehem Steel Corp. announced siz- ' price increases the President came close. to using the verbal strongarm tactic of Presidents Johnson and Kennedy, Nixon jawboned by proxy. He sppke through his press secretary. What heaid was though consistent wilfi the Nixon policy of dealing with ltpborn industries by changing supply andfdcmand relationships. ilr. Nixon let it be known that unless tdel companies refute Bethlehems lead hG raising prices he would consider present quotas which limit importation of cheaper foreign steel. The threat has added substance because the President only last month raised the quota on iitsort of foreign oil in an effort to exert ftssures on domestic prices. But the oil irajprt quota change was done quietly and tv$s coi pled with a study of the possibility increasing the allowable limits of oil production. Where the oil quota changes were hide with finesse, the threat to invite additional foreign steel into the U.S. was a f&f threat that might scare the steel companies, but is certain to also needle growing protectionist sentiment. Coming oply weeks after a controversial protectionist trade bill wras scuttled in Congress, the Presidents threat could strengthen the bills supporters in their expected attempt to try again in the new Congress. lt can be argued that Mr. Nixons technique was actually milder than those adopted and used frequently by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Both of his predecessors personally announced at n)vs conferences what they regarded as w'lr. Ill-Advis- versities, and communications empires are loostneir structures ening and altering their practices to accommodate a public that more and more wants in. That hidebound bastion of profits first, the General Motors Corp., has quietly taken a black activist on its board of directors. Yale is about to unveil a study-noprogram that would practically level the financial barriers to college edur tion. Every newspaper has opened its pages wider to contributions from readers. Comes now another step in the same direction in the form of a suit filed against the two political parties by Common Cause, the new citizens lobby headed by John Gardner. The aim of the suit is to furce sweeping reform of political financing in the United States. The corrupt practices statutes provide that in races for President, Senate and Congress each ing of S3 limited to prohibition Circumvent Donation Ceiling Trutli-In-Packagin- ... g excessive price increases and at the same time engaged in private jawboning" with industry leaders. President Kennedy successfully rolled back a 3.5 percent price boost by U.S. Steel by using the implied threat of an anti-trusuit. During a similar quarrel with the aluminum industry President Johnson stopped a price hike by ing to sell off large amounts of the governments aluminum stockpile. The big difference in the three presidents actions is not so much in method but in their choice of weapons. Most average citizens wouldnt get upset over an anti-trusuit against a steel company or the selling off of government stockpiles. But to invite foreign competition in to coerce American industry can arouse subdued resentment many average citizens didnt even know they harbored. st . st Millions for Defense poorer. Example: why should we spend millions of dollars on defense of Japan? Japan, one of the richest countries in Asia, can afford to spend money on its own defense; what about Korea, Nationalist China, South Vietnam? South Vietnam is so corrupt that a dcmocratk government will never last. Nationalist China will never go back to the mainland; a few million Chinese have taken over the control of another country called Formosa, a dictatorship by the Chinese. Koreans can take care of themselves. Why throw the here at home for employ ment, fighting money away when it can be used tion, fighting crime, fighting poverty, cleaning up the slums, cleaning up the streams, and many' other items? I think the government of this country should spend money right here at home for the necessities of life rather than have them spend it on foreign aid to other countries. Why doesnt the government of this country do something about the existing situations? MAX SPAHR Ogden pollu-taxpaye- rs Another Viewpoint, on the Wall Street Journal, criticized the governments actions in passing legislation to stall a planned rail strike. The unions never requested federal aid in settling their dispute, and as in the past, the government has taken the issue of railroad negotiations and forced settlements very few of which were fair to the union member. Were the railroad unions, like the Teamsters, Editor, Tribune: Orbiting Paragraphs 'Monday morning quarterbacking fades with the football season, thus eliminating one of the few reasons for Monday mornings. A literary commentator laments the cline of the ghost story. The problem is real life is scarey enough. de- that There are certain tips that are of value to the motorist on cold mornings. For example, before trying to start the car, check the bus schedule. The problem for many communities is that an industry that doesnt pollute any thing probably doesnt employ anybody. If the world has to be divided into two kinds of people, one clear dividing line is the way they feel about basketball. As for the 37 percent increase given the railroads employes over a three-yeperiod, during 1970, rate increases of 15 to 38 percent were granted the railroads by the government. Perhaps if the railroads would operate as railroads and stop being used as a hobby to support other Industries, they would again become good service agencies from which a profit could be shown and w age negotiations would not be controlled by the government. nt GLENN SHRYERS Sandy Save the Canyon Editor, Tribune: If the new conservationists will also have to learn the highway builders language it seems only prudent that The Tribune editors f; st study the facts before taking sides as you did in your editorial Jan. er Forum Rules Public Forum letters must not be more thn length, must be submitted exclusiveto The Tribune and bear writers full name, ly signature and address. Names mast be printed on political letters but may be withheld for good reasons on others. Writers are limited to one letter every ten days. Preference will be given letters permitting use of true name, and to tbnse and short. which are typed (double-space250 words in To Post Realistic Ceilings The Common Cause suit asks the courts to enjoin the Republican and Democratic national committees from fostering these violations and evasions of the Corrupt Practices Act. Not that enforcing the law to the letter would be practical. The true purpose is to use the threat of enforcement to foster new congressional action to control political pavoia. Presumably such legislation would put realistic ceilings on campaign spending. It would provide for more straightforward reporting of donations and sources. It might even stop the networks from charging political candidates to appear on the public airwaves. In the long run, political practices in this country would probably not be much changed. Money always finds a way of talking. Indeed, in a populist country it is essential for privileged groups to be able to build barriers against recurrent waves of folk malevolence. But much can be gained by coming clean, by squaring rhetoric with reality. That is the way to ease the hopeless sense of frustration, of being jobbed and conned, so many of us have come to feel in the face of the mammoth organizations v hich seem to run our lives d) Dec. 20, taken from do-tnst- ic Halil ar Some Call II Bribery Bill Vaughan' But these rules, as everybody knows, are chiefly honored in the loophole. Almost all candidates set up a multiplici.y of organizations to receive funds. Ceilings on individual gifts are circumvented by donations through brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, and infant children. Richard Ottinger, the Democratic candidate in the 1970 New York Senate race, raised a couple of million dollars from his family alone. James Buckley, the successful candidate of the Conservative party, set up, in order to hide the names of donors, more than 50 false-frocommittees with such intriguing names as Scientists for Sensible Solutions to Pollution and League of Middle American Women. The unhealthy consequences of these evasions are manifold. Television ani radio stations are under little pressure to afford free time to candidates for office. High costs of TV advertising tend to favor Rockefellers, Kennedys, and other plutocrats. Candidates without their own treasuries get hooked on vested Interests. Most Democrats naturally turn to the trade unions not least of them Sen. Edmund Muskie of Maine, the front-runnfor the Democratic presidential nomination. Republicans short of their own money go into hock to rich businessmen, many of them with rightwing views. That explains why so many Republican candidates are so far from the political center. Through campaign giving, moreover, the money-lender- s come into the temple of legislation. A main reason it has proved so hard to end depletion allow ar-- es in oil, to resist high tariffs, or to write new banking laws is that a formidable number of senators and congressmen owe their campaign funds to highly organized interest groups. The Public Forum Editor, Tribune: Foreign aid: taking money from the poor and middle class of a rich country and giving it to the rich people of a poor country. This happens in many cases. The rich get richer and the poor get ed Longshoreman, Auto Workers, etc., allowed to state their dissatisfaction by striking? Bribery is the term used to describe retroactive pay, but is it bribery to get what should have been received Jan. 1, 1970? Can you envision the Teamsters. Longhoreman, Auto Workers or Kennecott employes working one year without a contract? Congress passed, according to published reports, a 13.5 percent pay increase, retroactive to Jan. 1, 1970, while in reality, the railroad companies are only paying 5 percent pay increases from Jan. 1, 1970 to Oct. 30, 1970. What happened to the other 8.5 percent? Max Lerncr 10 on the proposed Provo Canyon highway conflict. The Highway Department is not canplanning to widen the present two-lan- e yon stretch adding a third truck lane where necessary. However, if this seems like a reasonable approach to the problem, may we wholeheartedly agree with you since this statement summarizes quite precisely the very objectives we have worked for in this project. On the other hand, the State Highway Department has categorically debunked this proposal and all other alternatives in favor of e highway up the constructing a new this highway will intersect canyon. Although and supercede the old road in a few places, it will be an entirely different road following a different route through the canyon. We hope this failure to sort out fact from fiction before editorializing will not sway you from the highway design you appear to advocate. To our knowledge that very alternative to the problem has support among many groups and individuals in Utah and may be the most reasonable solution to alleviating the existing road situation without destroying and compromising other important values in the canyon. four-lan- broad-base- d KAY MENDENHALL Save the Provo River Assn. Militant Alls by U.S. Jews Only Bolster Russian Hostility ;N'EV YORK At first I thought that the for using the exactly wrong means lor achieving their ends should be awarded to ih stalwarts of the Jewish Defense League, with lliei bluster and belligerze p-i- ence toward Soviet officials in the United Slates. But now that the Russians have retaliated by subtly disguised official vandalism against innocent American correspondents in Moscow, I niust grudgingly award tlj prize instead to the Soviet government. ?Dne way or another, the harassment ness teja perfect case history of overreaction on both sides, each using means that escalate the business into a vicious spiral. But the palm lai bullying tactics must go to the Russians, wht? don't have the memory of being history's vstlms that goads the Defense League, and retaliations are planned by the Soviet government and carried out jjy KGB secret police. is foolish and futile for the Russians to lay tjjst the U.S. government is dejg noth wKjlse -- cold-blooded- ly ing. They ought to know that while Jews can't demonstrate in Russia they can and do in the United States, as blacks and Puerto Ricans do, and Chicanos, Indians, women militants, students, workers, welfare recipients and hundreds of other aggrieved groups. In fact, demonstrating comes ebse to being the accepted American way today, for good or ill. The trouble is that the Defense League's tactics have gone beyond peaceful demonstrating. They tried to mess up the cultural exchange between Russia a. id the United States, seeking (as they put it) to end the policy of building bridges over Jewish bodies. They harass and plague minor Soviet attaches, and if they are not behind the bombing of the Soviet Cultural Center installation, they refuse to condemn it. But if the Russians would do a little honest thinking, they would understand the rooiS of the Defense League's bitterness. Its motto is Never Again. It refers, of course, to the helplessness of the millions of Jewish victims of the Nazi terror in their hour of anguish and death in the 1930s and early 1940s. The league leaders see the Jews in Russia today as a helpless, captive popif ation, imprisoned campaign organization have a ceilmillion in expenditures. Gifts are $5,000 a person, with an express against corporate giving. Some Questions a wall, kept from emigrating, tried in secret trials and condemned for the crime of behind wishing to leave. What makes these Jewish militants all the more bitter is the spectacle of the new rising in the radical New Left anti-Semitis- m white as well as black, and even g Jewish members of the New Left who have lost all sense of history as they have lost all sense of their ties with the historic Jewish community. Their bitterness thus sharpened, the militants strike out at a concrete target, harassing the fringe Russian officials in New York and Washington foolishly, stupidly, intolerably. t, even I call it foolish, however idealistic, because these extreme measures cannot bring the Russians to bay and because they hurt the Russian Jews whom they are meant to help. If it is a question of rousing world opinion about the plight of the Russian Jews, the Soviet leaders did it themselves by the Leningrad trial, and world reaction was so hostile that they had to back down a bit. Violent militant actions now in America can only stiffen the hostility of the Soviet leaders and arouse latent feelings in some marginal Afnerican groups. groups, among the self-hatin- well-mean- anti-Jevvi- Visiting Cartoonist Editor, Tribune: After reading of the lawsuit filed by the executive director Utah State Employes Assn, challenging the seating of school district employes in the state legislature, may I as a voter and taxpayer raise the following questions: claim as Why did one his occupation, in the last election resume of candidates appearing in your columns, insurteacher-legislat- ance counselor? Do teachers such as he receive a full salawhether serving as when rot or the job ry a legislator, participating in politics, civic or religious activities, or moonlighting? Most important, what of the students welteacher? Oh yes, fare when denied a full-tim- e a substitute can be called to serve but as. in case I know of. no one the teachpr-logislatwas on the job on several different occasions. As a taxpayer I resent teachers not being on the job during school hours. How many other state employes ha'e the same privileges that the school teacher of cant even plead with legistoday has? They lators for sal- - increases during special legislative sessions. Finally, if teachers such as the one I refer to only had one mast .r to serve they wouldnt need preparation time. MYRLE RASMUSSEN or Erie in tht Atlanta Journal . . as vp fast approach what will be the last play of the last televised game of this football season! L |
