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Show D. J. R. Bruckner ) Who Should Say Yes for War? nit Thursday Morning, December Page 22 A 9, 1971 Summitry is in its heyNEW YORK has' trips planned to many day. Mr. Nixon to talk with leaders than Peking, other places of other nations. The a Russians are traveling all . f Crash Probe Plea Ought to Include Plan for Faster Wreck Clearing With police manpower in scant supply, Salt Lake Police Chief J. Earl Jones has come up with a meritorious suggestion to help alleviate the problem. He wants his officers to be relieved of the responsibility of investigating in detail minor traffic accidents. The chief estimates that during any shift nearly 27 percent of the officers on duty are tied up investigating this type of accident. Officers are expected to do a detailed investigation of any traffic accident where damage is estimated to exceed $25. Obviously the procedure has not kept up with the times. As the chief says, Now $100 isnt a very big dent. Under state law only accidents in which damage is estimated to exceed $100 are required to be reported to the Division of Financial Responsbility. Chief Jones is trying to bring city investigative procedures in line with state law. He should be allowed to do so. Besides permitting a more efficient use of police manpower, revision of the damage limits requiring extensive investigation would have another beneficial result. Traffic congestion at accident sites would be reduced. Instead of having an intersection tied up for long periods, simple preliminary investigation would allow police to remove damaged cars . quickly and restore normal traffic flow faster. Hardly any driver has escaped being tied up in the inevitable traffic jam that results when an accident occurs and officers are required to complete their investigation before any of the involved cars More than that, U.S.-own- ed firms ac- tually have a piece of that growing action by selling to Russia through European subsidiaries. So, the nations economic, policies toward the old Communist adversaries is being revised and updated. New York trading and consulting group, signed a $125 million package agreement with the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Trade. The Soviets will buy $65 million worth of 8teelmaking technology, oil drilling, mining and other equipment from about six American companies, while U.S. customers purchase $60 million in nonfer-ou- s metals. By next year, total U.S. exports to the Soviet Union are expected to total $325 million. And since, with the exception of chrome, nickel and a few other raw materials, Russia has little to sell in the U.S., its shipments here will reach only an estimated $70 million by 1972. The U.S. has a favorable balance of trade with the Soviet Union. Other American export businesses are anxious to get in on the prospects if arrangements can be made to do so, Just such developments could be among tangible results of Mr. Nixons May journey to Moscow. The Yankee trader still plunges ahead where American diplomacy must follow. -- remember David, when the press asks yon . . . by November, well be out of Vietnam, Phase Two will be a complete success and jpiro Agnew will be on the ticket! Now The Public Forum Editor, Tribune: A statement by Rowan C. Stutz (Tribune, Dec 1), The presence of PTA as viewed by some principals is a nuisance at best and a disaster at worst may be true for a small minority, but for many, many others the PTA is an asset beyond price. Statements of a negative nature should be equated by those of principals who know from long experience that without the dedicated support of the school PTA, it can never reach its highest potential. Hundreds of library books, furnishings for the faculty room, TVs for the class rooms, drapes and curtains for the stage, financial and personal help visits to district personnel for playground equipment, volunteer aid in the library, sponsoring arts and crafts, purchasing paintings, listening to kids read on a person to person basis, being room mothers, are among the many activities and projects which the PTA has helped and is helping both the kids, teachers and principal. The good will for and a better understanding of the educational program of the Forum Rules Public Forum letters must not be more 250 words in length, must be submitted exclusively to The Tribune and bear writers full name, signature and address. Names must 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 nse of true name, and to those which are typed (double-space- than d) Cannon Amendment a Needless Shackle From the New York Times A time bomb for United States relations with many countries, especially those of Latin America, is planted in a amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act, little-note- d now in Senate-Hous- e conference. The amend- ment, sponsored by Senator Cannon of Nevada, would require immediate suspension of aid to any country that nationalized of expropriated any American property or that repudiated a contract with any American citi- zen or corporation. Such a requirement goes far beyond the Ilickenlooper amendment of 1961, which at least granted a recipient government six months to take appropriate steps to compensate owners of nationalized property and gave the President discretion in determining when such steps had been taken. The Cannon amendment seems to require suspension of aid until the recipient government has completed payment for the property. This drastic provision clearly would make the interests of the United States as a whole hostage to the fate of a single corporation or investor, regardless of the merits of the case for a takeover. Even a government prepared to negotiate a satisfactory settlement or one that had provided judicial machinery for obtaining a settlement would be cut off abrupt- and even when such action might damly age United States interests. The amendment would demand of foreign governments a standard much stricter than that exacted by the United States Constitution under the power of eminent domain. It would automatically raise an investment dispute to a confrontation between governments. It would force the dismantling of aid projects already under way, even if good possibilities existed for a satisfactory settlement of a case involving nationalization. As the Congressional Record shows, the Cannon amendment is a product of disillusionment with foreign aid, resentment at the unwillingness of recipient governments to vote with the United States in the United Nations, a rising tide of protectionist and isolationist sentiment, and an understandable effort by though in this case misconceived on the controls to impose greater Congress administration of foreign policy. Congress has the right and duty to be a more effective watchdog on the executive branch in foreign policy; but the lawmakers are misguided and reckless when they remo.e the Presidents capacity for maneuver in the national interest on such delicate matters as the nationalizing of American property and investment. At this perilous stage in Washingtons relations with a Latin America swept by the fires of nationalism, adoption of the Cannon amendment would be enormously harmful to the United States in addition to jeopardizing the very interests it seeks to protect. Orbiting Paragraphs Sam Yorty is going to enter the New Hampshire primaries. At least the citizens of Los Angeles w ill know where he is. It is generally agreed that the family farm must be preserved, it only so those who have left it will have a place tj go back to when their money runs out - f - - J - Authority like that be written iMo Should something law? Adolf Hitler claimed that Germany was threatened by attacks from Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland. Otherwise, the bill would require Congress to act within 30 days if a President were to continue any hostilites he committed American armed forces to. Whether that is of any value when the bill would, for the first time in American history, authorize a President to start a war, is highly? questionable. Somebody started the war in 3 Vietnam without any such authority. wrote As Sen. Barry Goldwater, in a letter to the Washington Post last summer. The truth is, out of 160 occasions when the President has committed U.S. forces to' military operations abroad, only five have been declared wars. Over half of these (other) 155 actions were begun without any prior aDpro'7al from Congress and almost 70 took place outside the Western Hemisphere. Must Have Information Legislation is only words so long as Congress is systematically ignorant of the foreign and military operations of the United States. Take the war in Laos, where the CIA used intelligence funds to support an army of 36,000 men. Neither Congress nor the people know how big the U.S. intelligence budgpt is, or whether it is used to make war. In the Senate, five men are authorized to know. On Nov. 23, Sen. Alien EJender, chairman of the appropriations committee; said in a floor debate that he is one of the five. He claimed the U.S. needs the secrecy which the Senate has provided to keep itself ignorant of what is going on. Sen. J. William asked him whether he Fulbright, knew, at the time he approved CIA appropria- tions, that the CIA was funding the war in' Laos. Ellenders reply says everything about congressional control over warmaking: Never Dawned on Me Mr. President, he said, I wish" to say that 1 do not know. I never asked, to begin with, whether or not there vere any funds to carry on the war in this sum the CIA asked for. It never dawned on me to ask about it. I did see it publicized in the newspapers some time ago. Congress can pass its bill to limit warmaking powers; it can cut the defense budget with a crude meat-a- x (the only weapon it knows how to use), it can send investigating committees abroad to oublicize the govern-- , ments waste, corruption, deceit and atrocities, it can horrify sane men everywhere by revealing the extent of the business community s complicity in America's secret war machine and the evil pervasion of military surveillance over the civilian population and the President will still be free to go to w'ar when he decides to and then to justify his action in any words he chooses to use. War-maki- and short. Another Viewpoint , war-maki- A Great Group Even outside the former sanctions, globe reminds-Americans- ed U.S. business with Russia has prospered. Recently, U.S. Steel and Satra Corp., a the m-bodia, may be moved. We would like to see Chief Jones carry his proposal one further step and press for changes in the law that would allow the driver of a driveable car to move his vehicle from the immediate site of the accident to the side of the road or to the curb. At present a driver who moves his car out of the flow of traffic is liable for a citation. The inevitable jam of cars around a crash scene is not only aggravating, but greatly increases the possibility of other accidents. All tco often we witness the chain reaction accident some dis tance, and in the case of freeways even miles, from the first accident. When police are required to keep the cars Involved at the scene until all measurements have been made the chance of other accidents is greatly enhanced. Laws should be relaxed to at least allow drivers to move their cars out of the traffic lanes. Also procedures, possibly the immediate photographing of the vehicles, should be adopted to permit the prompt removal of heavily damaged cars from the streets or roads. More Merchant Diplomacy When there is business to be done, ideology often becomes a disposable commodity. It was no accident that Secretary of Commerce Maurice Stans visited the Soviet Union as a warm-u- p to President Nixons planned trip there next May. American firms are increasingly exploring the possibilities in the Russian market. For years, the U.S. has imposed restrictions on strategic materials this nations exporters could sell in Russia. Essentially, the idea was that this would prevent the Soviet Union from sharing in the Wests advanced technology. But the theory failed factually. While the U.S. has embargoed itself from the Russian market, Western European countries have been busily taking economic advantage of the situation. Between 1947 and 1967, Europe has increased exports to the Soviet Union and its satellites from $410 million to $3.3 billion. making J of Leaders agreements. nation European every except Spain, Portugal and Greece are constantly on the move between capit als. of In the pursuit this all happens. peace in But there is war in Vietnam, in Laos, in Pakistan, in Ireland, possibly any Sou beast Asia dav in the Middle East. In n, but withdraw are being American troops interminably, U S bombing goes on mightily, and', as publication of three different sets and , versions of the Pentagon papers no one is really sure how the L.S. ever got into this diabolical holocaust. There is no certainty the U.S. will not 'get Relainto another, either. The Senate Foreign its is hearings publishing Committee tions powers now,, it into presidential before the end bill a out will probably report of the year to limit those powers; the chance of Senate passage of that bill next year is its norrrial condigood. Whether the House and panic in the tion is confusion, laziness will act onit,, face of presidential threats or pass it, is another matter. As a cautionary measure, the bill is not so bad. But it is not good, either. Tts early sponsors, to win conservative support, accepted a provision supplied by Sen. Jonn Stennis, chairman on the Armed Services Committee, to authorize the President to make a first strike to forestall the direct LviMnin nt tlirout over were overflowing with every commodity necessary to human life and happiness. Mass production depends on mass purchasing power, mass purchasing power depends on job security. Job security depends on an employer-employ- e mutually beneficial equilibrum between wages and profits necesn sary to an expanding economy. And the right of the employe to withhold his services is the only power he has to counter the power of the employer: Its just that simple, and is safe in the hands of a labor leader old enough to still possess the fighting spirit of the pioneer. DEVERS C. OWENS Brigham City God-give- Fighting Lliance Editor, Tribune: I must reply to Richard P. Kimballs letter of Nov. 30, in which he states his opinion that overpopulation is not a cause of (Indias) ills. I was born in India, lived there the first 25 years of my life, and cherish Indias cultural traditions. But my native country has overwhelming problems, and they are due in great part to overpopulation. Food shortages and vast unemployment are obvious miseries, as are insufficient educational and medical facilities. Less evident but also very hard to bear are the psychological stresses brought about by (tvfro examples: strained family relationships due to lack of privacy; overdependence by family members on the one person in the group who might be earning something). Overpopulation forces people to live in unsuitable areas, such as the river deltas and which were the sites of recent disasters d caused by cyclones; in a land, these areas would not be inhabited. Competition for usable land leads to border clashes, which lead to wars. India sets such a vivid example, but why cant we see what is happening and prevent it from happening here? The U.S. has a fighting chance to keep a good population balance if it will learn from other countries. What is the point of filling a country with people and arriving at the point where there is such misery? RAVINDRA K. VYAS over-crowdi- low-lan- school are other items which make this great organization a welcome partner In our mutual concern: The education of all the boys and girls who attend our school. Mrs. Judy Clawson is now in her second year as president. Most of her officers and board have previously worked in PTA. Theyre a great group. They are typical of the people, including one man, Reed Clegg, who served as PTA president, who have cooperated, supported, and have given themselves and their suggestions for the benefit of both teachers and kids of Momlngside Elementary since this school began serving the youngsters and the community some 16 years ago. JOHN W. FITZGERALD. Principal Momlngside Elementary School Might Think Twice Editor, Tribune: It puzzles me this outcry against the Secret Witness initiated by your paper. I think it is a duty for every citizen, a debt to society, to insure crimes do not gd unpunished. In todays society if a person does what he is supposed to, he becomes the target for acts of vandalism and terror. Wit- ness the educator, who recently wras bombed. People are frightened, and the chance to report a major crime and see a criminal brought to justice is a welcome ray of sunshine. Many reports of this nature by people in other cities have refused to claim a reward. An abrogation of rights? No, now a criminal might think twice before attempting a crime which might be reported by someone he cannot intimidate. Congratulations, Tribune! JACK E. BINKERD Bountiful Recalls Depression Editor, Tribune: Lauretta Kidman and Ray L. Nielsens recent letters in the Forum, reveals a prejudice, intolerance, and mental blindness responsible for most of the woes of the worid. And Stanley Montunnas (Forum, Dec. 2), doesnt seem to realize that there i a possible respect gap between an individual and the office he happens to represent. His remarks about bootlicking presidential candidates not only brands his letter as being politically inspired, but also proves that the political virus is thicker than brains. I wonder if they ever heard of the Ureal Depression of the '30s, when 30 million were were dving unrmploved in the U.S. Thoic-arid- s for lack of food, clothing, shelter, and medical care, at a tune wren warehouses and stores . ft. -- S less-awde- Toward Better Use Editor, Tribune: Isnt it wonderful that there are so few problems in Happy Valley that all the commissioners have to worry about is whether the people of the unincorporated areas of Salt Lake County dance or not on Sunday. Since there are so few problems it seems a shame that we spend so much in tax dollars to keep them In session. The money could be put to better use than in further developing the already creative minds of the comnvssioi.ers. D-L- "... greed-governe- BARBARA JANCIIUS d Visiting Cartoonist Duty to Inform Editor, Tribune: Sharon Sutton (Forum Nov. 30). says she is utterly amazed at the Secret Witness program you have recently instituted; that it sounds like a CommuniM horror story." To me the horror is here among us that we are not safe on our streets nor even in our homes. To me it is a greater honor that a father is doing something his son is able to report; and what kind of a friend is one who needs protection from the law? People actually do not dare to report wrongdoing, openly, for fear of reprisal, physical as well as otherwise. As a former teacher, I have maintained for years, that we firmly entrench a sense of false values in our young by teaching them is loyalty! that protecting the Loyalty to law and high principle is what they need to learn if we are to have a safe and comfortable society. And I agree with Pearl Buck when she said to Ed Murrow, that she had been taught and believed that whin rules were being broken il was ones duty to inform. The fact that we no longer dare do this, H thp catastiophe, and I am pleased jou have stalled a program where people will be frep to do it. HELEN B. PETERSON . Boar River City law-break- er X- - f Alu--r Cugntwar In si Uim eiv ,, all sninebiMls has t for the state," |