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Show a d Sun Advocate D Thurdy( Ootobsr 0, 1BQE3 Next president must untie the national traffic jam Memo to whoever gets elected the next president of the United States: As you make up your schedule for the next four years, plan to set aside a day in the fall of 1991 for the what should be a happy, ceremonial occasion ribbon-cuttin- g for the final link of the interstate highway system. Come prepared with a speech perhaps on the theme of how 35 years, $108 billion and 42,000 miles of concrete and asphalt have left the nation in what a Time magazine cover story calls a state of gridlock. During much of the day in many areas, traffic congestion has turned highways into little better than elongated parking lots. And come prepared with some fresh ideas for solving the problem. Building new highways or expanding old ones seems the obvious answer, and is often unavoidable. But its also hugely expensive and, in many communities, public opposition rules it out. New roads also have a distressing tendency to encourage more travel, which leads to new congestion, starting the cycle all over again. Another seemingly obvious solution is mass transit. Its a great idea except that people dont cooperate. Most prefer to drive, and to drive alone. Thus, despite it the expansion of bus and systems in many American metropolises, transit ridership has been declining, even as the number of riders per private automobile also has gone down. One fashionable scheme for reversing the trend is light-ra- il transit. But such systems also are expensive to build, and their inflexibility limits their capacity to take people where they want to go in sprawling urban THE AMERICAN FUG COULD NOT BE RAISED, HOWEVER, BECAUSE GEORGE BUSH V WRAPPED HIMSELF IN IT. rail-trans- fixed-guidew- ay areas. Nor is it easy to discourage people from using their cars. One proposal for doing so is to sharply increase the gasoline tax. But OPEC tried something similar in the 1970s. Americans responded not by switching to cars. transit but by purchasing more The result has been a 27 percent increase in motor-vehicl- e travel over the past 10 years, along with a 27 percent increase in the number of motor vehicles. Meanwhile, highway and transit systems are crumbling. Nationwide, the average age of the city-bu- s is 8.6 years. An estimated 278,000 miles of roadway are in poor condition, with the cost of their repair put at $164 billion. Add another $50 billion for bridge fuel-efficie- Life & other trivialities nt Salute to newspapers in the paper. But, stop for a moment and contemplate where this nation would be without a free press. This week is National Newspaper Week. The press acts as a watchdog over We take this opportunity to join with other government. Its not that most government newspapers around the country to reflect on officials need to be watched like a hawk. Most are responsible to their positions. But, our past. Thomas Jefferson once said something to then, those people welcome the press and the effect that if he was forced to choose have nothing to hide. For those few instances where governbetween a nation with a government and no press, or a nation with a press and no ment officials are attempting to hide government, he wouldnt hesitate to choose something, who would find out about it, if not for the press? The best example of this is the latter. Richard Nixon and The point Jefferson was attempting to probably make is that the free flow of ideas and the Watergate. If not for two very dedicated peoples right to be informed are the cor- journalists, Nixon may never have been nerstones of a free country. While it might implicated in that affair. be debated that the people in the United But, newspapers are much more than just States are not entirely free, it would be watchdogs of government activity. We difficult to show any people on earth who provide information about the events of the have more freedom. community, state, nation and world. We are People dont always agree with the eyes and ears for everyone. A community newspaper is the closest management decisions of newspapers and often disagree with the opinions expressed news source to the people. We print in By STEVE CHRISTENSEN Managing editor repair. It may not always be feasible to build new facilities, or even necessary in many cases. The best answer may lie in such devices as exclusive freeway lanes for vehicles. But buses, vans and other whatever the mechanism, it must move people in a way that compares favorably with the automobile in comfort, safety, convenience and prestige. Finding that solution should be a high priority. Finding that solution should be a high priority for the next president. Also for Congress, the state governors and state legislatures. multi-passeng- er Newspapers: freedom in our hands It is appropriate each year during National Newspaper Week to reflect on the important information and services newspapers provide in helping us plan our daily lives; inform us of important national, international and local events; advise, challenge, instruct and, indeed, entertain us. Americans have often grown so accustomed to those services that they fail to understand that the daily newspaper they hold in their hands is an indispensable instrument of democracy, designed to make possible the exercise of our constitutional freedoms. Through diversity of news, opinion, advertisement, advice, criticism and analysis, our daily and weekly newspapers offer a freedom basic to our concept of a freedom of choice. We are allowed to free society weigh facts; examine arguments; compare and value opposing positions on issues vital to public debate or to the purchase of a suit of clothing. The role of the free press, as envisioned by our founding fathers, was to protect the publics right to know, to serve the reader as their surrogate, to help watch over the administration of their government, and to provide accurate and timely information upon which intelligent and responsible decisions could be . made. For over 200 years now our free press has successfully performed that function despite numerous and continuing attempts to challenge and restrict its freedom. It behooves all of us, free citizens in a free society, to ensure that our press freedom endures, for a free press serves not the publisher but the people. A free press is the keystone to our other liberties monitoring the privileges and responsibilities that come with democracy. It is a right that we must never let slip from our hands. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger chairman - American Newspaper Publishers Association t Raising a red flag over the pledge? a newborn Republican, I As attended my first meeting at the local chapter of recently the Bush-Quayl- Apple Hot e, Dogs, Pie, Motherhood and God Society. The meeting began with our chairman, my conservative friend Grump, asking everyone to rise and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I remained seated with my arms folded across my chest. Didnt you hear me? Grump asked. Loud and clear. Then why arent you standing so we can begin? Because I am not, never have been, and never will be a socialist. What are you Grump said. about? talking We Republicans, loyal are not socialists. Then why do you want to recite words written by an avowed socialist, a man who urged the downfall of capitalism? Youre insane! Grump shouted. No, I Who Contents of special written columns or letters published in this newspaper do not in any way reflect the position, attitude or support of the Sun Advocate. I do not expect you to always agree with what I say and I will not always agree with your point of view, but, I will fight to the death for your right to express it. mike royko have done some let me ask you this: wrote the Pledge of research. NOTICE TO SUN ADVOCATE READERS formation about our area, about the schools, churches, Boy Scouts and civic clubs. We print information that no other paper would. In essence, we care when no one else does. Unfortunately, even a community paper cant print everything. We must have rules, regulations and policies that govern what goes in the paper. We require information to be fresh. While we chronicle the history of Carbon County, we do it as it happens, not weeks afterward. We dont always have room for everything, no matter how hard we squeeze. After working at three other newspapers around the state, I am proud to be part of the Sun Advocate. It is a good newspaper with an excellent staff. We take seriously our charge and believe in the vital role we play in the community. So Allegiance? His brow furrowing, Grump said: George Washington? Wrong. "Jefferson? Wrong again. Uh, Lincoln? Not even close. It was written by a young man named Francis Bellamy who was a devout socialist and considered capitalism an evil system. I dont believe it, Grump said. You are trying to spread liberal, pinko propaganda. Wait, there is more. He was a member of an organization that wanted the federal government in to 1892 nationalize our entire economy. How do you like that, McDonalds being run by bureaucrats? Lies! Grump shouted, his eyes bulging. And theres even more. This Bellamy was a preacher. And do you want to know what he used to preach? Id rather not. Ignorance is not bliss, so Ill enlighten you. One of his sermons was called Jesus the Socialist. Careful, Grump said, or youll be struck by lightning. But its true. He considered Jesus a socialist. And when you think about it, Jesus wasnt all that fond of the fat cats of his day. I refuse to believe that our sacred Pledge of Allegiance could have such unsavory roots. Well, thats history for you. Full of surprises. And do you know how the socialist happened to write it? He must have reformed, mended his ways, become a decent Republican. Not at all. See, there was this family magazine. And in those days, magazines didnt depend on advertising to make money. One of the things they did was peddle products, like todays mail-ordhouses. Free enterprise. Good show. Right. Anyway, this magazine came up with the idea of selling flags to schools. In those days, most schools didnt have flags. So when Bellamy was booted out of his church for his socialist ideas, the magazine hired him to write the pledge. They printed it in their magazine as a gimmick to help them sell their flags. And the flag business boomed. They sold thousands. And thats when the tradition started of having flags in classrooms and kids saying the pledge. Grump shook his head. The story doesnt hold up. Why would a socialist write such patriotic prose? He had to have become a Republican. Not at all. He considered his pledge a statement of socialist values. In his original version, he wanted to use the words er no-go- fraternity and equity. But they were left out. Too radical. In those days, a lot of people didnt believe in equality. Not like today, when maybe 50 percent believe in it, unless theyre worried about real estate values or who their daughters will marry. Dont be a smart aleck. And are you done with your vile story so we can get on with our meeting? Wait. Theres one more interesting tidbit. The guy who came up with the idea of selling all those flags. I hate to break the news, but he was a liberal. Liar, scoundrel. No, its true. Even worse, he was from Boston. Just like that little liberal Greek. I refuse to listen to any more of this subversive nonsense. OK, but I have to wonder why George Bush is going around telling everybody that they should recite a pledge written socialist by an who was an employee of a liberal publisher. Seems mighty suspicious to me. Enough, I say. Now, everyone rise and recite the pledge. I got up and left. And at the first phone booth, I phoned In a tip to the FBI. My friend Grump, a socialist mouthpiece. Who would have believed it? anti-capitali- st . |