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Show R Mike - v - a aljc 1 1 fiimnc alif ko But It Was No Cheap Handgun Chicago pleased to see that the stones reporting the death of John Ixmnon were specific and accurate civsOut the kind of gun that was used to Sun-Tim- Monday Morning, December 15, 1980 I was murder Section A Page 14 Countys Tight Budget Problems Both Political and Financial Conventional wisdom supports County Auditor Craig B. Sorensen when he says government in general and Salt Lake County in particular are receiving contradictory signals from the constituency. Mr. Sorensen went on to explain that theyre demanding increasing service while at the same time insisting that the additional costs of these services not show themselves in property tax bills. The contention is only partly correct. The auditors remarks were included in his introduction of the countys new stripped down budget and were made before a large audience of mostly county employees. At the same meeting widespread support was voiced for assigning top priority to maintaining adequate public safety facilities and personnel. Taken in its broadest meaning, the constituency does indeed demand additional services. But within that mystic body there are many who would willingly dispense with certain county activities in return for reduced tax bills. And within that subclass there probably are people who do not believe that increasing the public safety budget will have the slightest effect on soaring crime rates in unincorporated areas of the valley. County voters have consistently resisted a metropolitan form of government which promised both increased service and lower costs through economies that only unified administration could provide. They now are reaping the consquences of a declining tax base in the face of rising governprices. Unified, county-wid- e ment would have spread the burden and eased the pain during these uncertain times. challenge facing the The three-memb- er county commission, now and n future, is as much political as financial. Its members must determine whether to bend to those willing to accept service cuts or to those described by Mr. Sorensen who want more. It is widely believed that the tax shavers are now in the saddle, both locally and throughout the nation. But the budget introduction session was evidence that strong forces are ready in the recession-ridde- the trimming at every turn. Whatever course the commission follows in bringing expenditures into to oppose balance with with revenue will be only a temporary one. Fundamental solutions to Salt Lake Countys problems will be found only in fundamental changes in the structure of county government. Patrick Grays Sad Saga After centuries of slow, even tedious development, the American system of criminal justice continues to fall short of its lofty ideals. Given the complexities of modern life and the foibles of human nature, the system works about as well as an imperfect society has any right to expect. That concession, however, does little to ease the regret that attends a spectacular breakdown or to repay individuals sorely wronged. L. Patrick Gray III, himself a lawyer, feels he has been grossly mistreated. And, on the strength of Mr. Grays brief, his case is a strong one. Last week, the Justice Department with the approval of a federal judge, formally dropped charges that have been hanging over the former acting director of the Federal Bureau inof Investigation since a dictment was returned against him April 10, 1978. Mr. Gray was charged with violating the constitutional rights of American citizens by authorizing federal agents to break into homes secretly, without search warrants, in a hunt for fugitive members of the radical Weather Underground in 1972 and 1973. Two other high FBI officials, W. Mark Felt and Edward S. Miller, named in the same indictment, were found guilty. Mr. Gray was to have been tried separately. During the almost three years of waiting for trial and possible formal vindication, Mr. Gray says he spent nearly $500,000 of his own money preparing his legal defense. Early in that period, Mr. Grays counsel one-cou- nt the world renowned musician It was a pistol made by Charter Arms Corp of Cudgeport, Conn. You might Corp. There are guns and then there are guns. Cheap guns, ordinary guns and finely crafted guns. And when people become emotional about guns, as many do when somebody famous is killed, they tend to lump all guns together They dont show proper respect for an excellent gun, such as the Charter .38. It happens that this is not the first time a famous person has been shot by this make of weapon. When former Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace was shot and paralyzed for life by another deranged person in 1974, the bullet that tore into hi spine came from a Charter .38 If Im not mistaken, this makes the Charter .38 the first gun in modem times to have two famous people to its credit. The weapons used to blast President Kennedy, the Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy all were of different manufacture. When Wallace was shot, a CBS reporter made it obvious that he didnt know a fine gun from a cheap gun. The reporter went on network TV and said that Wallace had been wounded by a cheap handgun. He obviously had in mind the kind of Saturday Night Special that is so popular among the criminal rifraff that has no respect for quality and workmanship. Executives Demand Apology When the proud executives at Charter Arms Corp. heard the reporter, they became indignant. They contacted CBS and demanded an apology. The incident was described in an editorial in the company magazine of the Charter Corp. The editorial, which was headlined, "An said: are too dedicated to high quality in handguns, and have poured too much of ourselves into our products to have one of them even casually referred to as a cheap handgun. "We American-mad- e That was exactly the phrase used in a broadcast description of the handgun used by Arthur Bremer in his assassination attempt on Gov. Wallace, which happened to be one of our Undercover .38 Specials. The broadcast emanated from CBS. : Soothes Wounded ask' What difference does it make what kind of gun was used? It makes a great deal of difference. Especially to Charter Arms Apology from CBS, uas indeed received from a CBS network vice president, who contritely told Charter Corp I am sending a copy of your letter to all our TV producers In the event that we make reference to the Undercover .38 Special used by Arthur Bremer, we will certainly avoid characterizing it as a Saturday Night Special or any other term which labels it as a cheap weapon. .and provided government prosecutors our public relations people were immediately with ample evidence (in December instructed to bring the error to their attention. 1978 and again in April 1979) which he The editorial went on to say that an apology believes was sufficient to exonerate him. Yet it took the Justice Department two years to decide that its case was, as Mr. Gray had said all along, too weak to prosecute. . Pride Presumably, this soothed the wounded pride of the gunmakers at Charter Arms Corp., since no further public protests were heard. And you cant blame them for having felt hurt at such a slur against their product. When Wallace was shot, a Charter .38 cost $105. Today, with rising prices, the gun costs about $180 or $190, depending on where you do your gun shopping That is not a cheap gun, especially when compared to the trashy weapons that some gunmen, to whom quality is unimportant, arm themselves with. Now, I dont know if it was mere coincidence that both Bremer, who shot Wallace, and Mark David Chapman, who apparently shot Lennon, used the same weapon. Or if it was that they both recognized quality when they saw it, and were willing to spend money to get the best. But the fact is, both opted for quality and they got what they paid for. There was no misfiring, no jamming, no bullet flying off line, and no gun exploding in their hands all of which can happen when using a cheap gun. True, Wallace wasnt killed. But that was the fault of Bremer, not the Charter gun. Bremer shot Wallace in the stomach, which isnt the best place to shoot a person if you want to kill him. In Wheelchair for Good But even in that case, the gun did its job blowing a terrible hole in Wallaces gut and putting him into a wheelchair for good. In the case of Lennon, you couldnt ask for a better performance from a gun. Lennon was shot several times, but according to the doctor who pronounced him dead, the first bullet hit him in the chest and killed him on the spot. The other shots werent even necessary. You can never be sure of getting those kinds of results from a Saturday Night Special. Now that Charter Arms Corp. has the unique distinction of having two famous people shot by one of their products, I wonder if they have considered using it in their advertising. Something simple and tasteful like: The .38 that got George Wallace AND John Lennon. See it at your gun dealer now. If so, they shouldnt wait. With so many both cheap and of high quality handguns easily available to Americans, it could be just a matter of time until another manufacturer moves into the lead in the famous-perso- n derby. All it would take would be a few from, say, a Colt maybe a politician or two and another rock star or two and they would have the lead. On the other hand, maybe Charter Arms Developments outside Mr. Grays control eventually tipped the governments decision to drop the case and take Mr. Gray off the hook. But the emotional and financial damage was by that time inflicted and even now his name has not been officially cleared. Patrick Grays experiences were well publicized but they are not unique. Variations on the theme are played repeatedly under more obscure circumstances. There is an inclination to pass off such experiences as one persons unusual bad luck and balance the Corp. doesn't want recognition just the kind of pride one feels in a job of fine craftsmanship If so, they have a right to feel proud Once again, your product really did the job, gents (Copyright) Georjne Anne Gever . Iraqi Women Make Gains Universal Press Syndicate Iraq Of all the Manichean dichotomies between the two countries at war is so great as that which none here, none lies within their attitudes toward women Sabah Kachachi, a bril- t r, hant industrial adviser in the planning ministry of Iraq, even went so far as to tell me, Part of the war is that we do not want to have that. "That," in this case, is the sign of Iranian women, even educated ones, returning voluntarily to the servitude of the veil. The watch-phras- e here, rather, is, If you want half the people of the country to stay home, how can you develop? Stopping by the Iraqi Womens Federation is a lesson in itself. When I thought to ask, for instance, whether under Islam women could also be martyrs, the women were ready for it. BAGHDAD, Full Rights in Everything "Why, the first martyr in Islam was a woman, Mrs. Manal A1 Youssy, the famous director of the federation, volunteered quickly. In the prophet Mohammeds time, she was the first one to go to heaven because she refused to acknowledge other gods. The women smiled. Her husband was second, she added. Iraqi women, like the men and the land itself, are tough. The streets of Baghdad are filled with men whose hostile stares reek of sexual repression: but the women push right ahead. They now have full rights in everything, and they are quite clever in knowing just how to apply them. When elections were held for the National Assembly, half of the six million voters were women and 16 of 250 elected were women. They are doing even better in the 38 percent of the doctors are professions women and in some engineering schools there are more women than men. The women appeal basically not, as in the West, to morality or personal rights, they, to the right to appeal to the right to work contribute to ones societys development. It is not aesthetic but it is quite effective. Maybe all men do not have a full belief in the role of women, Mrs. Manal, a charming but determined woman, says. But now its our right. Its like he would be taking a right from you. Then she goes on to tactics. Wife Needs Him? The husband always feels that the wife needs him. This is natural in men. (Here, the women all smile.) But really he needs you more than you need him. You do everything for him. But you must let him feel you need him until the next step. The next step in this closed Baath Socialist secular society in which the Womens Federation is as ' - yortant and as powerful a mass as the youth groups or the organization popular army (in which women also serve), is bearing things until you liberate yourself fully. Women who will do any job during the day simply would not think of going out even in pairs, at night. Family remains crucially important. Sexual freedom is uttlerly not accepted. I feel that the woman in Europe and America needs to struggle for herself, for her freedom, more than an Arab woman does, Mrs. Manal says. The reason for that? Their way of living has we kened the family and that causes many social problems. For example, a woman always has a family who is for her. She also feels that Western women are perhaps struggling too much against men. Extreme Interpretations Where their thinking seems to me to grow questionable is in their extreme interpretations of Islam regarding women. They argue, for instance, that the Koran, which clearly says men can have four wives, really doesnt mean it. Why? Because it also says they can have them only if they can love them equally and, since that is impossible, the whole section doesnt stand. systems sorry performance against its myriad triumphs. Considering the many and varied complexities of the d criminal justice apparatus, the diverse personalities which move within it and the enormity of its mandate, sympathy for his plight may be the most L. Patrick Gray (or the rest of us) can expect. multi-layere- Orbiting Paragraphs Yet what is fascinating is that the women now sayyour honor is your work, in a society where honor has always been incorporated totally in the sexual purity of the woman of the family, this alone shows the extraordinary change that is taking place. (Copyright) How come young people who expect instant gratification in everything else are willing to stand in line all night for rock concert tickets? UFOs are piloted by intelligent beings. why they never land in places where you have to pay to park. Thats Jack W. Gcrmoiitl & Jules Witcover Democratic Factions Struggle to Agree on New Chairman The Chicago Tribune defeated for WASHINGTON Arkansas, Bill Gov. Clinton of on Nov. 4 in perhaps the biggest surprise on that night of surprises, was standing at the back of the room the other day during a rather contentious meeting of the executive committee of the Democratic National Committee. Liberal critics of Chairman John White and of how the DNC functioned during the late campaign had demanded an audit of the over partys books. They were also squabbling such things as whether some new White members should be named by lame-duc- k or his successor, and whether he should go ahead and set up a commission to review the nominating process, or leave it to the next chairman. Somebody," said Clinton, should be saying, Hey, Romes burning! He meant, of course, that the Democrat' its leaders to Party was in too much trouble for in be wasting their time hassling A I; 4 that fashion. But the fact is that until the new leadership of the national committee is settled, there cant be much done of a constructive nature to put out the fires that were set by the voters on Nov. 4. Considering Rematch Clinton is among those being mentioned to succeed White, but he is still reeling from his upset loss at the hands of a relatively unknown Republican banker named Frank White. Clinton already is thinking of running in 1982 against Frank White, and if so would not go after the party chairmanship, since he believes e it would be a job through the next presidential election. That almost certainly is true, and all segments of the party are of a mind to have a chairman. Meeting working, separately in recent days. Democrats in Congress, governors and state party chairmen all have specified they want a new chairman who can organize effectively from the precinct level up, who can institute the latest, most full-tim- i methods, and will work effective to give officials and officeholders more say in the partys business. fund-raisin- g This latter point reflects a continuing disenchantment with the "participatory democracy sentiment that gripped the party in the late 1960s and led to party reforms in the 1972 campaign. Some of them effectively slammed the door on many party officials and officeholders who didn't go out and hustle for themselves to be elected convention delegates. Reform a Dirty Word It has reached a point now where reform" is almost a dirty word in the Democratic lexicon. Henry Topel, the state chairman from Dela"The reformers have ware, complained: reformed us out of politics. And he pleaded: reforms that Get rid of those wild, way-ou- t have put us way down. Joe Smith, the Oregon state chairman, had the same gripe. "Twelve years ago, he said, we had a tragedy in Chicago, in the name of 4 grass roots. He was referring, of course, to the legions of George McGovern supporters who elbowed the polls aside in the implementation of quotas for women and minorities. The resultant reforms havent opened the party to the grass roots, he said, but rather have invited any special interest group that gets its stuff together the night before to come in and sandbag the process. State Chairmen Agitated Ail this is pertinent because of the plans to consider revisions in the party delegate-selectin- g rules that would roll back some of the reforms. The state chairmen are particularly agitated and feeling left out, to the point that there was talk about the withholding their 106 out of 368 from any votes in the DNC candidate for national chairman until they got assurances he will pay attention to them. In all this activity, there are at least the seeds of divisiveness, what with the Hill Democrats, the Democratic governors and probably organized labor too all setting themselves up as pressure blocs on picking the new chairman. Ed Campbell, the Iowa Democratic chairman, warned that unless coalitions are built among all these, were going to have guerrilla warfare. Eight years ago, when Robert Strauss was elected party chairman, a small coalition of labor and moderate Democrats in Congress got the job for him. It was fairly easy, because Strauss had been an exceedingly effective treasurer under Chairman Larry OBrien and clearly was the man for the rebuilding job. This time there is no such obvious stickout, although present finance council chairman and former California party chairman Chuck Manatt is lobbying hard. But too many groups of officials and officeholders in the party are demanding a voice. The name of the game isnt reform and grass-root- s anyparticipatory democracy more. Now its getting a seat up front in the smoke-fille- d room. (Copyright) V |