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Show Editorial Page Feature la Little Country Caught Between Big Powers Dedicated to the Progress And Growth of Central Utah Page 10—THE DAILY HERALD, Provo, Utah Monday, March 23, 1970 YoungerVoters on the Way The United States appears almost certain to join a lengtheninglist of nations around the globe that have extended the franchise to 18-yearolds in a trend that has crossed ideological boundaries as well Soviet Russia lowered the voting age to 18 in its 1936 constitution and the samelimit applies in some other Communist countries, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania Bya margin of almost 6to1, the Senate voted to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 in local, state and national elections, with the ex pectation that the new, younger voters will cast their first ballot for President in the 1972 election. The proposed law would become effective, however, next Jan. 1. Introduced by Senator Mike Mansfield, the Democratic majority leader, the bill drew bipartisan support and was cheered by some liberals as a rebuff to the Nixon Administration, which preferred achieving the change through a Constitutional amendment, which would have beenslowerand harder. If there is a question of the law’s constitutionality, it will be decided by direct appeal to the Supreme ‘ourt. Opposition to the proposalalso is bipartisan, with the strongest antagonism being expressed by Rep. Emanuel Celler, New York Democrat, who may be able, through his powerful position as chairman of the House judiciary committee, to stymie the rush to spread the vote. Cellecontends youngsters under 21 are too immature to vote and that such a change requires a Constitutional amendment. The Constitution says nothing about legal voting age and the states have made their own laws, with 21 the age limit in 46 states. There is ample precedent, however, for enfranchising 18-yearoids. Georgia and Kentucky have doneso. Alaska permits 19-year-olds to vote and Hawaii 20-year-olds. Great Britain’s 18-year-olds, granted legal adulthood last Jan. 1, voted March 12 for thefirst time, in a special election. The youngsters increased the total vote but aprently had no effect on its proportions. This may well have disappointed Prime Minister Wilson, who hoped the three million youngervoters mighthelp return his Labor party to power. The idea that the right to vote maysoften the rebellious mood of young people in the United States mayalso be illusory. Nonetheless, the hope of channeling youthful energiesto usethe ballot box instead of riots and the tenuous claim of a the endurable and the unendur- able. For Lt. Gen. Lon Nol and the legislators who ousted Prince Nlrodom Sihanouk as chief of state, the endurable was the occasional air and land sorties of the Americans and Soutt Vietnamese into Cambodian protest demonstrations which marred Pompidou's March 2 stopover there. There has been rather widespread discussion of the comment, both public and private, recently, however. Shortly after Pompidou’s return. the respected afternoon paper, Le Monde, took the Presidentto task in an editorial titled, “Treading on Dangerous Ground.”” —Ugly American’ Whether the Mansfield proposal In Our Midst survives the House-Senate conference and tests of its constitutionality or not, the international trend to lowering the voting ageto18 is continuing apace. Many Latin-American countries allow voting at 18, among them Mexico, Ecuador, Uruguay, us go to considerable pains Ives. Almost by the day, as our total numbers soar well beyond 200 million people, we see more and more Americans growing more unruly, less respectful of the law in major and minor ways, increasingly tolerant of or committed to violence, unbelievably inconsiderate toward others in public and even muchprivate behavior. Today's “ugly American” is a composite figure. He ts The appealof the lower voting age at once young and old. He is an establishment man, accepling the system He is also anti-establishment. railing against it. is macre emotional!thanlogical - and thatis precisely whyit is spreading. When Britain extended the franchise to womenforthefirst time in 1918. the minimum voting age was set at 30 - a requirement pices His overriding characteristic is that he is a demander He uses people with calculated or careless indifference of the consequencesto them. He takes, from society, from the material world about him, but seldomif ever gives. He becomes infuriated when anyone makes demands upen him, and he seems to make no demands upon himself calculated to prevent nearly all women except grandmothers from except to satisfy what he deems arehis selfish needs of the moment. He gets so tangled up inhis self-interest that he sometimes sacrifices his personal safety in single-minded pursuit of some goal. For instance, for at Jeast a decade and a half countless Americans have seriously endangered exercising their legal right. That limitation was not reduced to 21until ten years had passed, enough time for the ladies to realize that to vote after thirty delayed the effect by perhaps 10 to 20 years. themseives physically in crushing crowds gathered to see and perhaps touch a favored nationalpolitical candidate. The home-front ugly American wants to be permitted nearly everything and to be held accountable for nothing. Though Ralph Nader will not say so and even Detroit will not dare to whisperit, he is often atrocious driver who ‘Rock’—Noise Pollution? commits open movingtraffic violatioys by the dozen every If a law proposed in the Georgia Legislature were to be passed, tickets to musical events in that state would carry this warning: “Caution: Excessive loud noise may damagefuture hearing.” According to Rep. McKee Hargett, an osteopath, the legislation is needed because someoftoday’s rock music can cause very serious injury io the innerear. This item surely deserves a place in that very thick volume entitled “Nutty LawsI’ve Known” by John Q. Public. (What next—sound level governors on radios? ) Butit is not so funny whenit is viewed as a typical exampie of our whoie approach to the problems of modern living. Nooneis forced to attend a rock concert any more thanheis forced to smoke. Yet Congress spends months arguing about a warning label on cigarette packages while all kindsof health hazards to which we are all involuntarily subjected go on and on. and to overshadow, the comment bythen President Charles de Gaulle on the Jews as ‘an elite people sure of itself and domineering,’ a phrase which caused a considerablestir at the time,” the editorial said. A similar concernis still being voiced privately in diplomatic circles here. No one really questions Pompidou's assertion, also made in Chiago, that, “I amnot an antiSemite.”” Thatis precisely why, in the viewof some diplomats here, there is cause for concern and diplomatic malaise in such utterances by high public officials which can be read as suggesting that Frenchpolicyhasfaint racial overtones. Itis true, of course, that race andreligion are involved in the Arab-Israeli war However, as noted by Le Monde, it is domineering,’ a phrase clear that French officialdom,staring at the Elysee palace, has tried to put a good complexion on the visit ever since its conclusion. For a couple of days last week Foreign Minister Maurice Schumann was even suggesting that the Pompidou-Nixon talks had moved the United States and Russia towards an understanding on the Middle East. Even if that proves to be an overstatement, it is symptomatic of the official view In diplomaticcircles it is believed that the visit between the two Presidents was probablyuseful, evenif it had no such worldshaking results. Pompidou, himself, told a television interviewerthat he was “full satisfied” with his talks with Mr. Nixon. He said Franco- which caused a As the editorial said: ‘Politicians have a definite interest in restricting|the struggle to this level as far as possible.” was reinforced by President Nixon's decision to go to New York and meet with Pompidou after the demonstrations in Chicago, As to the demonstrations in Chicago, Pompidoucriticized the “complicity of the authorities” there and, wrapping himself ii the tricolor, described his reaction in terms which must have gladdened stout French hearts in cafes all over town: “From that point on it wasn’t Georges Pompidou who yas concerned, but it was France. It was France which could be of- History Off The Beat Free speech, Yes — But respectthetruth. As a newspaperman of some years experience I am quite naturally, even Lele, in favor of free speect It has been a cornerstone of American iiberty ever since this nation was founded — and by and large it has been the newspapers who havefought the free-speech battle, dating back from the time Peter Zenger went to jail in pre-Revolutionary times for daring to print the unpleasanttruth. But free speech should have onebasic quality — it should be the truth. Beyond that it becomes license, and often anarchy. I do not completely, by ay means, agree with President Agnew in his tilting (bludgeoning might be more accurate) with the press. But I do not completely disagree with him either. The press is far from perfect.It's not as bad as it has becomethefashion to think—but it’s not perfect. And while a good Pompidou’strip has been favorable, andit is TodayIn By Herald Staff deal of Mr. Agnew’s statements can stand some very careful L'HONNEUR DE LA FRANCE — Generally, public reaction to President friendship some cases The Almanac no public funds to bring him here. But it offered him the By United Press International forum and the dignity of ‘ie Today is Monday, March 23, the 82nd day of 1970 with 283 to campus. Therefore. in my opinion, it is guilty to some follow. extent with being an accessory The moon is between its full phase andlast quarter. after the fact. The morning stars are I would like to do something Mercury and Jupiter. The evening stars are Mercumore than merely protest verbally in this matter. I have ry, Venus, Mars and Saturn. checked with Utah County Onthis dayin history: Treasurer Maurice Bird con- In 1775 Patrick Henry told cerning the following, and he the Virginia Convention, “I says Isas legally do it without know not what course others jeopardizing the legality of the maytake, but as for me, give transaction. When I pay my “meliberty or give me death.” In 1933 the German Reichrty taxes next fall i’m Propel to write on the check: stag gave Adolph Hitler “blangoing “That portion of these taxes ket power” for the next four years. which goes toward the supportof the Universit of Utah, I hereby In 1942 Japanese-Americans pay underprotest.”"Tam going to were moved from their Pacific ask the clerk at the treasurer’s Coast homes to relocation office to note it on my tax centers as a wartime precaureceipt. County Treasurer Bird tion. In 1966 a blizzard swept said it can be done. through the Midwest, killing 32 Now, they are not going to persons. figure out what portion goes to the University of Utah. The A thought for the day: Ralph latter will get its share, along Waldo Emersonsaid, “A friend with all other public schools. But is a person with whom I may it mightatleast call someone’s be sincere. Before him, I may attention to the Jerry Rubin think aloud.” incident, and how I feel about it. might verge upon the sup- And if enough others doit, also, pressionof true free speech—yet it might raise quite a ruckus. he just might keepus on our toes Tinvite you to join me, come and help correct some of the tax time next fall. - THERON things which the press needs to H. LUKE pyoxe does a guy who treasures his beard write —q thank-you note to Aunt Griselda for th t of a hot-lather disy ? correct. At this stageI would ask the public to keep in mind, the next timetheyhear a public official accuse the press of inaccuracy, BEnAY'S WORLD of andfor the honor of France,” he said. Accordingio a published poll (Le Figaro), 60 per cent of Frenchmen approved of Pompidou's protesting the Chicagoincidents. Some36 per cent of those polled thought the demonstrations against French Mid-east policies were a discourtesy to an official guest. Surprisingly, however, 39 per cent viewed the demonstrations as a “warning which the French government should take into account” in its formulation of foreign policies. stealing is not stealing, or others who think it clever to “outwit” the system by taking what they want without paying. Thelatter include the young college lads and cuties who think this is one way to play revolution. The unruly Americans have turned many public sports events into actual or near-riots. From high school students on throughoften half-drunk or merely disreputable adults, these people have converted what should be enjoyabie diversions into frightening mob chaos. In the serious realm of government andpolitics, the ugiy American frequently tries to define unconscionable licentiousness—extending from burglary to major vandalism to gross interference with the simple human rights of others —as “freedom” inthetrue sense, as expressionsof “individual conscience” or “higher moral law,” or the justifiable actions of men working in the nameofa “great cause. These turbulent times have so confused men’s thinking that not only deliberate and conscious perverters of the law but a go d manyearnest public figures, editorialists and otherself-persuaded guardians of the nation’sliberties and welfare find this barbaric debaucheryeither wholly captivatingor at least defensible in varying degrees. Thetruth is that noneofit is defensible so long as we are living under the basic presumption—which we are—that we have a governmentof laws, not of men. If we are to change and abandon that presumption, then that has to be a decision shared in by a preponderance of Americans, not by noisy, lawless, barbaric groups orindividuals arrogating to themselves the power—as a very small minority—to decide what is right and what is not. TheLighter Side Pale LawnHits One'sFeelings : landed gentry are subjected to an intensive campaign exhorting us to feed our lawns. There are lawn food advertisements on almost every page of the newspapers and if you examine the smaller type you discover that the cost of feeding a lawn is feeding the Biafran refugees. One is tempted to let one’s iawn starve and devote one’s fortune to more humanitarian purposes. But the sight of an undernouri: le and scrawny—usually is more than one can bear. So onefinds one’s self making an appointment with one’s lawn fooddealer. was not exercising the right of free speech. Much of what he said had little or norelation with the truth—-which as I have previouslystressed is the basic qualification for the right of free speech. And much of wiiat he said was downright anar © 170 NA, rc, Path “It looks as though the Americans know more about activity on the trail then we thought!” “Okay. I would like to buy a couple of bags of turf enrichers.”” “Verywell, sir. What formula would you like?’ “What formulas do you have?’ “Our turf enrichers come in five formulas—11-7-49, 3-18-11, roughly 914-2, 16-13-51 and X15-minus comparable to the cost of So much for that, and nowto get down to the nitty gritty of what I wantto say. WhenJerry Rubin spoke at the University of Utah recently he reUniversity of Utah spent He has concocted an endless array of self-justifications for outright stealing—which ranges from the petty theft of reading books and magazines free at the stands to gross shoplifting, stripping of movable items from hotels and motels, etc. I am nottalking hereof professional criminals who practice this trade as a principal meansoflivelihood. I am speaking of Americans whotel! themselves their kind of By DICK WEST to nourish your grass?” WASHINGTON(UPI)—Evevy “We call it turf enrichers.” this little bit of doggerei: “Liv there a public official with soul so dead, who never has put his foot in his mouth.....and then said.....‘1 was misquoted’. The adaptation of Sir Walter Scott’s great poem is mine, but you may use ofit freely. It may help both of us to understand eachother a little better. agree with it or notis pro tected by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Irresponsibility, pure ungovernable license, and a matterof public obscenity are a few other things you could aton to his University of Utah day, parks inconsiderately much of the time,litters the landscape with beer cans, cigarette butts, paper, even actual garbage. year at this time, we of the fended, and that’s whyI reacted in the name A WASHIN TON (NEA abroad. He just tra t numb And most to hi this har 1 fact from The “ugly American does not s here in this country, in far too Venezuela, E] Salvador, Guatemala, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic. And Chile and Colombia plan to extend the vote later this year. American “The statement seems to go far beyond, Bruce Biossat fectiveness. scrutiny—and in state. Made in Chicago, the remark wasall but buried at the time in accounts of the time Miss America Democratic victory in passage of Mansfield’s proposal, seem enough Visit by Pompidou Leaves AnUnpleasant Aftertaste It arises from the president's reported reference to Israel as a “racial andreligious” one supporters it was a question of mese. to assure its passage, Celler’s oppositionis a big obstaclebuthis age 81 - robs him of some ofhis ef- InsideWashington ByRobert S, Allen and John A. Goldsmith Paris — President Georges Pompidou’s recent trip to the United States is being assessed here as a modest success, but the visit hrs, in one sespectleft a bit of an unpleasantaftertaste. instead. They are of Polynesian Balkans It is a sad story of a little they origin. The Thais and the South country caught between big boasted the most highly deveVietnamese, both of Mongoloid powers. The unendurable was Sihan- loped civilization in South Asia origin, pushed the Khmerinto This was what Sihanouk wuk’s ‘ neutrality” towards the They numbered perhaps 50 what remains of their empire meant whenhe said in 1968: Reds and the presence of some million people, and the ruins of and reduced their population “I have been caught between mare 40,000 North Vietna- their temples siill dot the from 50 million to six million the Communist devil and whe American deep sea. . . I nd viet Cong taking ° eastern coast of South Vietnam. Cambodia strove to be an sanctuaty on Cambodian soil. Hundreds of thousands 0! Asian Switzerland. But in the cannot be the go-betweenin the Cambodians still live in South vortex of Southeast Asiar conflict between the Americans and the Viet Cong and the The Cambodians, or Khmers, Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. strife, she became the Asian North Vietnamese.” For anti-Communist Cambo- territory in pursuit of the Viet are a proud people with a great dian Peemier Lon Nol and his Cong and the North Vietna history. At “Yes. I would like to buy a couple of bags offertilizer.” One's lawn food dealer gasps. Blood drains from his face. His eyes roll inward. “Puh-leeze!” he entreats when he recovers his composure. “Never use that horrid word. Never! Never! Never!” “What horrid word?'” “That one that starts with an *’ and rhymes with Myrtle iizer.’ “Well, what do you call the stuff you on your “Which one do you recommend “Includes Vitamins “That depends on whether you want a plain turf enricher or one with vitamin supplements. It also depends on what types of weeds you wantto kill as you are enriching your turf. Formula 318-11, for example, has a secret ingredient that ills all of the weeds whose names begin with A through M. But if you want to kill weeds whose names begin with N through Z, you should get formula 16-13-51." Onefinally settles for 9-14-2, which is recommended for a lawn with weeds that span the entire alphabet but which has very little grass, One applies it with smal! hope that one’s lawn will recover from malnutrition, But least one’s conscience is ir |
