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Show The Public Forum Tribune Readers Opinions Change Signals Having read recently about your dilemma in trying to help your city's blind population by having audible traffic signals but also finding a literal pain in the ear," I that noise to be". have a suggestion that just might work. Change the audible signal to a level which the human ear cannot detect and then provide the blind population with simple devices that convert such vibrations to an audible sound for them. Perhaps the business community which finds the audible sound so objectionable would be willing to help underwrite that cost as a charitable contribution and perhaps the community at large would support the endeavor. JAMES S. MAYS Philadelphia . Increases Threat So far the Department of Defense and the Air Force have spent over $24 million in environmental studies of the UtahNevada and TexasNew Mexico basing sites for the MX missile. Nevertheless, this research has only been done to appease public opinion and satisfy government regulation. Sites other than Utah and Nevada have never really been considered. The Air Force appears to have really studied Forum Rules Public Forum letters 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 10 days. Preference will be given to short, typewritten (double spaced) letters permitting use of the writer's true name. All letters are subject to condensation. Mail to the Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah. 84110. out the MX, and the missile is their answer for everything from defending the world from Soviets to finding something to do with our blessed desert. But is it really the answer? The Air Force says they are good environmental neighbors but what about the open air nuclear bomb tests of the late 50s or the chemical accidents of the late 60s at the Dugway Proving Ground. Presently the Air Force is testing the ground-launche- d cruise missile on the Utah Test and Training Range and doing little to restore the damages. A frightening fact associated with the MX is that it makes Utah and Nevada a nuclear a nuclear sponge by design. The target military is only worried that the Soviets will knock out our missile silos before we can blow out theirs. With the threat idea in mind, why doesnt the military concentrate on fighting the threat instead of increasing the threat through building more of the same? DINA RAE DRAPER Could be Cut In your Nov. 21 editorial regarding Utah's budget crunch, you state increasing taxes by $32 million and the reduction in school financing are the least painful options." Least painful to whom? Certainly not the taxpayers. If we increase homeowners taxes by $32 million they get it in the neck again. Taxpayers combined federal and state burden has increased until they pay 40 percent of their income in taxes. Isn't it about time to think about their pain? Maybe you mean it would be least painful to the tax spenders and the tax consumers. Is that it? Would The Tribune assert that there is not $32 million of waste and unnecessary programs in the $1.5 billion state budget? That $32 million is about 2 percent. Couldnt we cut about 2 percent from the state budget and let the taxpayers have their own money? C. HARDY REDD La Sal Way To Lose When book banning begins, do we say one loud Amen for morality, while we walk over the graves of Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, et al? These great gentlemen took long hours of consideration to give us a Bill of Rights that provides. Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or the press, and through the 14th Amendment, the states shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or the press. It is interesting to note that most provisions in the Bill of Rights protect individual rights and liberties: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, the right to counsel, to name a few. In contrast, the free press clause extends constitutional protection to an institution. The publishing business is, in short, the only private business afforded constitutional protection the fourth estate of government, that serves as a watchdog for us all. A new document could be drafted the press could be regulated as a public utility. The press could be subjected to limitation by regulation. Newspapers, TV, and authors could be required to promote contemporary government policy or current notions of society. Such a constitution is possible, but it is not the Constitution the founders wrote. It is not the Constitution that has s?rved us for over 200 years. Our liberties m ght survive without a free press, but the founders doubted it We can be thankful for their doubts In 1957. the U S Supreme Court invalidated a Michigan statute (Butler vs Michigan' making it a criminal offense to make available to the general public a book that might have a potentially deleterious effect on youth. The court said the law was not reasonably-restricteto the evil with which it is said to deal, the incidence of the enactment is to reduce the adult population of Michigan to reading only what is fit for children. The court also observed. "This is to bum the house to roast the pig. Consider carefully what freedom we can lose in the name of morality. Who. and by what standards, will we allow others to make these decisions for us? BESS JENSEN Syracuse Vote in Frustration The Republican party seems to be under the delusion that the inroads they made in the recent election was a mandate of the people, especially the defeat of President Carter by Ronald Reagan. I suggest that the people, those who took the trouble to vote, wanted a change, any change. They will do the same thing in the next presidential election if conditions have not changed radically in this country. President Carter made promis e he knew he could not fulfill, but, when you consider the alternative four years ago, the voters would have been for almost any one in preference to the Republican candidate, the same reason Reagan won this time. Rather than being a mandate of the people, the recent wins by the Republican party should serve as a warning that the people want a change in their favor The people are voting in frustration, playing voter roulette hoping for a winner but knowing the odds are agamst them. Newly elected officials at all levels of government should take heed. Too much frustration could lead to revolution. ROBERT B. GRIFFIN Three Tags Higher It is puzzling how an 8 percent per year pay increase to employees of the supermarket chains can drive up the cost of food 18 to 20 percent each year. There was a full page advertisement in last Sundays Tribune showing the increase in wages for the past year for supermarket employees. What the ad failed to point out was that even with an 8 percent wage increase the employees lost at least 6 percent of their buying power from the previous year. The same trend has been evident for the past seven years because increases in income have failed to keep up with the inflation rate. WTiy cant the supermarket chains tell the whole story; if they publish how much employees are making each year why not tell how much profit they make on their 18 percent increase in food prices. Also I thought that once an item was placed on a shelf the price could not be increased since a profit was already figured into the price at which it was placed on the shelf. Ive seen as many as three price tags on some items, each price tag higher than the one it covers up. DONALD R. BARNES 3, I960 I 5 Vernon Jordan Warns of Hysteria The Washington Post Vernon Jordan, the president of the Urban League. is one of the few JohnB. Connallv is people I have ever knoaii who could go another through an assassination attempt, be severely wounded and come away from the experience as clear in his judgment and unemotional in his tone as he was beforehand. So when Vernon Jordan says on a national television program, as he did the other day on CBS' Face the Nation, that "there is an unusual amount of hysteria in the black community," it needs to be taken senousiv. There is no mystery' about the source of that "hysteria. It has been fed by economic forces, instances of violence and fears of political reprisal. While inflation has oeen a curse for every American, the decline m real incomes has been felt with particular seventy in communities where there are more poor and unemployed than anywhere else. But black communities have also reacted with anger and fear to the acquittal of whites involved in deaths of blacks in Greensboro. N.C., and Miami, among other places. WASHINGTON voters and black leaders than an presideii m our history It was the testimony of black leaders from Atlanta that first persuaded skeptical white oberals to support the lame .. duck governi Georgia against George Wallace in the Fkrida primary of 1976 Their tesimony rescued him from senous trouble in the ethnic purity escapade in the spring of 1976 Their votes provided the margin of victory for him m the crucial Honda and Pennsylvania primaries and in the general eleetion of 1976 Voiced Disappointments Carter acknowledged that debt by recognizing blacks with more appointments to positions of power in government than they had ever previously enjoyed, he was doing no more than politics and conscience dictated Blacks including Jordan had their disag reements and disappointments with the economic policies of the Carter administration, and they voiced them vigorously But in the election last month, as Jordan remarked, just about "the only group of voters who stayed on the sinking ship were black voters." About 85 percent of the blacks supported Carter, a figure that was approached only by the Hispanics. Almost every white element of the old Democratic coalition saw serious defections to the column. And that was not the end of it Despite When Reagan-Republica- n pre election assurances from some prominent white ver.ds that the future of the courts w vHild Ikprotected" from the consequences of a Reagan victory by the Democratic majority in the Senate, that safeguard too was swept aw ay m the political rev olution of Nov 4 Great Shift Now, blacks know that it will be Sen Strom Thurmond. R SC who bolted the Democratic Party to protest its commitment to civil rights, and not ben Edward M Kennedy DM ass , who will tv conducting the hearings on Reagan's judicial nominees Thurmond has called already for repeal or substantial revision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. perhaps the most effective step ever taken for the political empowerment of blacks ihher new Republican Senate committee chairmen are talking about curbing or outlaw mg affirmative action programs, curtailing RhkI stamps and other programs whose tienefits are of particular value to the victims of pov erty and discrimination Under the circumstances, it requires no great sensitivity on the part of whites to understand the "hysteria" of blacks Jordan says he is prepared to give Reagan "the benefit of the doubt" and to defer judgment until he sees the appointments, the budget and the program of the new president That deference is appropriate (Copyright' - An Added Blow Last months election was an added blow to confidence of black Americans about their and, to prospects in this society It is easy to say this fear some extent, accurate resulted from the exaggerated rhetoric President Carter used in his efforts to rally black support to his side. But there is also a reality which blacks understand and which whites need to understand as well, in order to recognize the danger of social disintegration which men like Jordan foresee. The political reality is this: Blacks were transformed by the 1980 election from being at the very center of a coalition which brought a president to power to being the most conspicuous outsiders at the new governments victory celebration. It is only by understanding the extent of that power transformation that one can glimpse the reasons for the "hysteria of which Jordan spoke. Jimmy Carter was more indebted to black Diane White Good Digests Add Interest Boston Globe newsmagazine reports that a teacher is trying to interest a high school English class in Othello by telling them that Iago is an even She may be on to meaner guy than J.-something. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. A gorgeous doctors wifes insatiable desires drive her relentlessly from one affair to another. Result: a serious marital rift. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. This sweeping costume drama spans nearly a decade. Rich men, poor men, epic battles, unbridled passions, scandal, dissipation, beautiful princesses, impoverished noblemen, younger sons, faithful servants, rebellious peasants. Napoleon Bonaparte appears in a cameo role. Desire Under the Elms by Eugene ONeill. Incest and infanticide down on the farm. The Waltons was never this wild. Then Theres Hamlet Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Who stabbed Polonius? Who slipped poison to the queen? Can Rosencrantz and Guildenstem be trusted? And where was unpredictable Prince Hamlet when the lovely Ophelia drowned? Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. Mattie loves Ethan. Ethan loves Mattie. But Ethan, a regular Bobby Ewing, is married to the hateful Zeena. Will Ethan and Mattie finally get it on? Or is Ethan really the spineless creep he seems? Moby Dick by Herman Melville. maniac clashes with killer whale on high seas. An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser. Clyde schemes to wed the wealthy Roberta Sondra but panics when working-gir- l tells him hes going to be a father. Will Clyde make an honest woman of her? Is abortion a viable alternative? Or does Clyde have other plans? Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. A lonely, e misunderstood Incredible Hulk tries to find happiness in a cruel world. Fails to Discourage Admirer Orlando by Virginia Woolf. A young English noblemans sex change fails to discourage a persistent admirer. Peter Pan by James M. Barrie When night falls, a Little fairy boy who wont grow up comes out of the closet in search of adventure. The Rape of the Lock" by Alexander Pope. Hair fetishist gets his comeuppance. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis. Carol finds Gopher Prairie, Minn., a hotbed of mediocrity Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh. After being expelled from school for indecent exposure, Paul is arrested and convicted of operating a white slave ring. Crime and Punishment Crime and Punishment by Fedor Doslaw student tries to get toevski. Thrill-kille- r away with murder. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester discovers that being a single parent isnt all its cracked up to be. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. A worldly wise water rat and a playboy toad teach an innocent mole the facts A feeble-- minded Yule Suggestion Now that we have our Christmas parade behind us why not consider the following suggestion for the next year: maybe we should combine the Christmas parade with the Days of 47 celebrations? That way we could have only 150 shopping days before Christmas! Think of the boost to the economy. Santa could arrive on a pioneer wagon drawn by some reindeer and the merchants could have a combined and sale. Honestly, celebrating the arrival of the Christmas season before Thanksgiving is obscene! BARBARA ANDERSON Keep Santa in Place Now that the Santa Claus parade is past history, and Donder and Blitzen, Mr. and Mrs. Claus, and the rest of the crew have safely reached the mall or shopping center of their choice, perhaps it is time to carry this silliness a bit further. The Tribune, no doubt attempting to blunt a bit of criticism interviewed three tots who (surprise) wholeheartedly endorsed the early No way, and Christmas parade. Uh-uYou kidding? were among their responses (Tribune, Nov. 23). Chances are they would also be in favor of adding Santa to the last float of the Days of '47 celebration in July. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, but this time of year he should still be at the North Pole making toys with the elves, not shilling at some mall. ROBERT P. KELLEHER Westvale h, The Way It Was Here are the briefs of The Salt Lake Tribune from 100, 50 and 25 years ago: December 3, 1880 At a recent meeting of the NEW YORK Academy of Science in this city, Professor John S. Newberry read a paper on the Deposits of Crystalline Iron Ores in Utah. as observed during his recent exploration. The aggregate of iron in Utah, Dr. Newberry said, was such as to throw into the shade all other known deposits in this country. He said be had seen enough lying loose during his short tour in the southern section of the territory to keep all the foundries in the United States in operation for a hundred years. But he added that Utah is as interesting, to science as it was likely some day to become in the iron and coal industries. December 3, 1930 An application has been filed with the building inspector in Washington, D C., for a permit to begin excavation for an LDS chapel one mile north of the White House on Sixteenth Street in Washington. Tribune Wednesday. December The Salt Plans for the building show that it will be of stone, steel and concrete, 136 feet deep and 54 feet wide, with a tower rising 172 feet from the ground. Preliminary sketches were filed with the application for a permit, giving the name of Young & Hansen, Salt Lake, as the architects. December 3, 1955 M erger of the Utah State F ederation of Labor and the state CIO is awaiting completion of the merger of the two organizations at the national level, local union leaders reported Friday. R.L Reese, president of the state Federation of Labor, said he planned to appoint a committee to work out details of the anticipated merger with a similar CIO committee when definite instructions on procedures are received from the national organizations. The last state convention of tne federation adopted a resolution approving the proposed merger and directing Mr. Reese to appoint the committee. One-legg- look-alik- of life. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Who is Jay Gatsby? Is he James Gatz? Marco Dane? Garth Gimble? Robert Redford (pictured on paperback edition) tries to prove that money can buy happiness, with mixed results. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Handsome but depraved young man wants to remain a perfect "10 for life. He experiments with an alternative to cosmetic surgery and finds that kicks arent everything. Wells. The War of the Worlds by H.-Martians invade Earth. Blood-suckin- g (Copyright) A Quick Glance at Reagan Through Brezhnevs Eyes New York Times Service Reading Brezhnevs Mind: Im hoarse from shouting at Senator Percy. Clever of the Americans to send a man known to be hard of hearing, and who makes a point of his triumph over a physical handicap. I never knew for certain whether or not he had his hearing aid plugged in. But is Percy plugged in with Reagan, who is also slightly deaf? Arbatov says no. Says that Percy is one of the last of the liberal Republicans, a vanishing breed, considered a softie by the Reagan men. Not a real the only briefing he was given was emissary to be handed a couple of old speeches and a copy of the Republican platform. Percy speaks for himself, says Arbatov, not for Reagan. On the other hand, Dobrynin in Washington who saw Richard Allen, the security adviser sends word that with the American accent Percy could be significant. Reagan may want to show he is not such a Cold War throwback, and may be using Percy as a signal before he takes power. I wonder which theory is correct? The Americans are most confusing in their times of transition. Here I have the transcripts of Percys press briefings in Moscow, telling people back home how tough he was, informing us that SALT II is dead and how he warned us to stay out of Poland. But here are the intercepted cables from the U S. Ambassador Watson to his superiors at State in Washington, reporting how forceful I was with Percy about SALT and showing what a pussycat he was. I like Watsons report. Party to Meet in Moscow My problem is this: I must know before February if Percy represents Reagans view, and if the Americans will be willing to right away. In negotiate SALT February, the Communist Party Congress meets here in Moscow to lay out the five-yeplan. Decisions must be made. If the Percy assurances are really based or. Reagans policy, then we can give the Americans some cosmetic changes in SALT II make the new administration appear to have gotten concessions that Carter failed to get and ratify our deal. I must have that SALT agreement; it guarantees the superiority the Soviet Union needs to offset our encirclement. But if the Percy talk of willingness to negotiate immediately is just his own opinion, and if Reagan really believes in hard linkage, I must quickly start my buildup. We have to double our production of Backfire bombers; I promised 30 a year, but the Americans will not know for three years if we produce 60 a year. And I will have to start training our crews now for refueling. And if we are to s so they can carry 30 warheads Mirv our instead of the agreed-upo10, we must start now producing the plutonium and building the guidance systems. Doesn't Need Arms Race Thats what Ustinov wants, but I cannot afford it. The grain harvest was terrible; Afghanistan has been costing too much; the strikes in Poland are giving some Russians the wrong ideas. I do not need an arms race, I need more food and consumer goods An arms race would be terrible because the Americans have the industrial capacity to win it. Its vital that they do not learn that we realize that. I need SALT II more than I can let them know. Could it be that the Reagan advisers are shrewder than either Arbatov or Dobrynin think? Could they have sent Percy over here to lead me to think that new negotiations are possible right away, so that I will put off my February decisions' Could they be raising my hopes, so that I will be obliged to do America's bidding in Afghanistan, in the Persian Gulf, in Poland? No, Reagan is not that smart. Look at the way Helmut Schmidt made a fool of him last week, enticing him into discussions in Washington so he could tell the Germans he had the new American president in his pocket. Well. Reagan's young air-to-a- ir SS-18- n Wont Be Able to Resist I must do: publicly interpret the Percy visit as a genuine Reagan opening to detente. That will create a momentum in the U S. for reopening negotiations quickly that Reagan will not be able to resist without appearing to be a warmonger. 1 know what If Reagan waits, I would have to make negotiations more attractive for him. Jewish I emigration is down to 700 a month now could ease up on that. On the other hand, if Reagan is captured by the new momentum of deteete, I could then insist on an end to Americas grain embargo. A great deal depends on who appears more eager to begin negotiations. The riposte that worries me most is a proposal by Reagan for actual arms reductions such as Carter not just Limitations suggested in March of 1977. Carter retreated when I became furious at that; Reagan may not. (Copyright) A I |