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Show t Sail HA Lake Tritium Suml.n, Janiun lfi. 1'IH) t' So Teachers, Nurses Only Saudis Adamant About Womens Place especially our Pakistani By K. Rornandcr jokes of the men I asked him to answer my when to Los the Times Special Angeles janitor, and the conviction that this dragnet As a woman living in Saudi Arabia, I phone was crazy, I might have felt fear As it was, I have learned to endure some hardships and some indignities. Ive learned to wear long felt more like the star of a Soon the manager of industrial relations dresses with long sleeves in public despite appeared and announced our departure temperatures hitting close to 120 degrees I've given up my right to drive I've even Doors were cautiously opened to coded learned to take my allocated seal in the back knocks as women from every department of the public bus. That is, I have learned to were rounded up and herded downstairs adapt to local custom if I wish to live there through a labyrinth of offices to the back as the wife of an American businessman door The company promptly protested the inWomen are not employable in Saudi Araof our building "But, in the meanvasion bia unless they are nurses or teachers or can be kept totally segregated from men So time," a personnel officer said, "it was best not to let you get arrested, because we might when I started working, illegally, I learned that I mjst enter and exit the building have had difficulty finding where they had .through the back door Although I knew from taken you. We women were at the mercy of another the start that there might be trouble if I cultures understanding of our place. To be fair, the Saudis believe that such restrictions K. Bornander (a pen name) Hies in Saudi are protective, not restrictive. They can't Arabia. imagine why decent women want to step - 4 were found out, once inside our American I felt safe Until the morning last month when someone cried out Hide! They're searching the building for women! Two members of the Matawa, the quasi-nfficireligious police, had entered our corporate headquarters building and were maksweep for "illegal'' ing a women. We were not supposed to be work- and we certainly were not supposed to Ing, working in the presence of men For 45 minutes t ample time for reflecI sat locked in the restroom while cotion workers tried to explain the absence of our desks occupants. It was funny It was Yet the absurdity could not dispel a of fear, even. What tinge of apprehension would happen if the two-ma- n posse demanded that someone open the door? ; Despite their long stay in the building, they didnt catch one criminal. When the call to prayer sounded from a nearby mosque, they left. I was released from my sanctuary, but still was captive in the building, along with 10 other women employed in the headquarters. The company managers decided that we would be brought lunch and kept out of sight. In the afternoon, during the next call to prayer, we would be taken out a seldom-use- d back door and driven home. If it had not been for the laughter and torporate offices floor-by-flo- ludi-prou- s. ontside their homes, any more than I, an American woman who chafed at the defeat of something so basic as the equal rights amendment, can understand why any women want to live in segregation. Still, when in Rome.... Having lived in Iran, having seen the devastation that it has d suffered at least partly because of cultural changes brought about by a vast influx of foreigners, I can understand, intellectually, why the Saudis are desperately trying to preserve their way of life. So I and the other women waited while men decided what was to be done about our future. After past raids, women employees were temporarily sequestered in offices located within the companys housing compounds, which generally have been to the religious inspectors. This time, the decided that it was best not powers-that-b- e to take further chances. All 80 women employees, except for the few nurses, were laid off. If exceptions had been made, a corporate lawyer later told me with no apparent sense of irony, suits might be filed against the company for discrimination. Although our situation is ludicrous, although it is absurd, it certainly is not funny. While the men go about the important ness of running this part of the world, their wives can go back to playing bridge or attending luncheons (if they are properly ator step into the back of the bus and tired) go downtown to spend their husbands' paychecks. too-rapi- Utahn Among Them Congress Freshmen Views Definite By Steven V. Roberts New York Times Service One could not figure WASHINGTON out his telephone. A second drove to Virginia twice trying to find the Capitol. A third worries about his daughter attending a strange new school. The 80 freshmen members of the House of Representatives who were sworn in last week are still learning their way around Capitol Hill. But the 57 Democrats and 23 Republicans came to town with some definite ideas about who they are and what voters back home want them to do. For one thing, they are a bit older and more experienced than some recent classes, and when they talk about themselves they tend to use words like pragmatic and realistic. They have spent the last two years outside Washington, and they know that easy answers to the countrys ills are in very short supply. Our feet are on the ground, said Rep. the Democrats of 1974, sailed into Washington on a tide of ideological fervor. But midterm elections provide a report card for the administration and Congress, and many of the newcomers, including Republicans, feel that they have a mandate to counterbalance the conservative zeal that has dominated the capital for the last two years. At the same time, even the Democrats generally agree with President Reagans basic attempt to reduce the size and inefficiency of government Accordingly, many of the newcomers see an unusual potential for compromise and consensus in the new Congress. I think youre going to find a stronger middle than in the past, from both sides of the aisle, said Rep. Howard C. Nielson, When he finally hangs some pictures on his wall, McCloskey will put up a framed copy of the first opinion poll he commissioned after deciding to challenge Joel Dec-karFrank McCloskey, Were progresthe two-terRepublican incumbent. sive but not ideological. It showed him trailing 65 percent to 15 The Republican freshmen of 1980. like percent. D.-In- m Common Carrier 4 But McCloskey was the mayor of Bloomington, Ind., the site of the state university, and from that vantage point he could sense a growing disenchantment with the Reagan economic program. I felt it changing, said McCloskey. whose district depends heavily on the automobile industry More and more, I saw a compounding of multiple tragedies in peoples lives. People were losing their jobs, their medical benefits, their pensions and different generations were bunching up in the same house. Many of the newcomers believe that their class might have something special to say, in McCloskeys words, so they have orn legislative action ganized a groups to draft some specific programmatic suggestions. Rep. Nancy L. Johnson also brings to Congress a different perspective. A mother of three daughters, she started her career by doing volunteer work in her hometown of New Britain, Conn., and she has not forgotten what the inside of a public half-doze- "As a woman who very much enjoyed mothering her children, said the Connecticut Republican. "I'm very interested in how people grow. And through my years in the state Senate, I found out what government can do, and what a very real bearing it has on how we live together. liberal. Johnson is hardly a She thinks the Democrats have been utterly irresponsible in ignoring the taxpaying pubmodifications, I talked with Gene Lambert, lic, and that the president is on the right director of the Division of PUblic Utilities. I track by advocating a reduction in the size asked him what future he saw for the BOCs. and cost of government. I am more optimistic than some others Her experience in local politics has also who have studied the case, he said. I permade Johnson an advocate of local control sonally believe communications proceedover government functions. That conviction ings will eventually settle down to some- might not survive a few years in Washingthing similar to the present system of ton, but for now the lawmaker says: There exchange regulation. When asked whether is a crying need for the states to have much sale of equipment, Yellow Pages and state more authority over welfare. I know we can control of access charges would provide the do a better job. required revenue to keep Utah Mountain These are tough times in areas such as Bell financially stable, he said, Well, I think the BOCs will find a way to organize subsid- New Britain and, like other Republican iaries for offering customer competitive en- freshmen from aging industrial areas, Johnterprises as a promising source of income. son worries that the interests of her district are not well served by the Reagan economic program! She would like the president to make greater reductions in military spendMrs. and retired a colonel, ing and f budget deficits, while promoting Army phens, and Gwen Hovey, a civic worker League programs to lower the unemployment rate. of Women Voters member. Nielson wants his district in Utah to The board seeks articles from all segchange. It contains vast quanities of coal, oil ments of the community. shale and other potential sources of energy, like' many Westerners, the Republican Articles need not be professionally and feels the federal government is preventing should be than less but four prepared, and prosperity in the name of type copy. They development pages of double-space- d environmental purity. should pertain to the economic, political I or social well-bein- g Im not a total of the Intermountain Area. Articles should be timely, have a said Nielson, who also occupies a newly crecentral theme, promote dialogue and be ated seat. There has to be a balance Leave Utah PSC With National Voice By Mildred Hinckley It is said that universality of telephone service has become a fact of American life. This means that most of us subscribe to the local exhcange on a monthly basis. This is possible because the Bell Telephone System has, in the past, operated on rate schedules we could afford. Whether or not it will continue to do so is today in question. It is important that citizens become aware of the efforts state regulators have made to maintain our present telephone system and keep voices calling across town as usual. The breakup of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) as announced on Jan. 8, 1982, in Judge Harold H. Greenes federal court of the District of Columbia, was the culmination of a decades-lon- g struggle of the United States Department of Justice to keep AT&T within bounds, to abide by antitrust laws. Beginning in 1949, is resulted in a Final Judgment in 1956. was continued in a case filed in 1974, and now proposed a settlement that, if accepted by Judge Greene, would divest AT&T of its Bell operating companies (BOCs) in return for deregulation of AT&T. Many advantages were proposed for AT&T and many restrictions placed on the BOCs which would operate as regulated monopolies, controlled by the Consent Decree that stipulated the means for implementation of the divestiture. The consent decree proposed to strip the 22 companies of almost all revenue save that provided by subscribers. Some economists estimate that subscriber income provides less than half the required revenue to oper- - Mililrctl llincklcx I I lililx I x I V n- - ate a modern telephone company Yet this document bound the BOCs in rules that reduced or eliminated four out of five BOC revenue sources. Any income which has in the past gone to Mountain Bell from interstate toll lines and much of this vital would be income would then flow to AT&T which would also get the income from Yellow Pages. Access to local exchanges by outside systems could eventually be bypassed by microwave and satellite systems. BOCs would not be permitted to market equipment nor d engage in any business that was not a monopoly. All this to be attained, in large measure, by diminishing state authority. The upward pressure on rates caused by income depletion could force many users out of the system. A decreasing revenue base might cause investors to lose confidence in the companys financial stability so that there would be difficulty in the sale of shares. Depressed bond ratings could result. BOC financial viability was threatened The decree caused much concern at the Utah Public Service Commission offices. Some officials thought modification of the decree was imperative to universality of service and to BOC financial stability. Commissioner David Irvine said he believed an of Congress might be the only permanent recourse in the end for BOC and ratepayer interests. The decree's impact prompted immediate action by Utah regulatory authority. The PSC joined 23 other states in a motion filed in Judge Greenes court for limited intervention on the decree and for full implementation of the Tunney Act. The motion was granted and an order entered that a period of 60 days would be allowed for public notice of the proposed settlement and submission of views and comments thereon. An avalanche of response descended upon the court. Over 600 sets of comments were received Commentors included over 45 state utility commissions, numerous state officials and municipaities, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), public interest organizations, industry groups, individual competitors of AT&T and many private citizens. The states were generally in favor of the divestiture per se but opposed the terms and provisions of the decree They furiously opposed the restrictions on the BOCs and the consequent undermining of BOC financial viability; they worried about universiality of service; and warned the Court of potential domination of the market by AT&T. The eruption of the AT&T breakup brought about a coalition of nine Western states, organized to present to the Court their position on the divestiture proceedings and decree stipulations in a Joint Comment. The regulatory agencies of South Dakota, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Wyoming, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Iowa retained John Lyons, an attorney from a Denver law firm, to present the views, comment, and specific problems of sparsely populated or rural areas characteristic of the nine states. On May 25 Judge Greene called for briefs on eight specific topics In response to the Western States Joint Comment, he invited tariff-regulate- the nine states to prepare a brief on judicial supervision of the divestiture. The brief was forthwith formulated by John Lyons and presented to the court. Among the procedures requested, was the establishment of a coordinating committee consisting of commissioners from five states to actively participate with AT&T, Justice and the FCC in the reorganization. The National Association of Regulatory Commissioners was to assist in the selection of the five states. The outcome of the interaction between the western states and the court was action, now in progress, of the establishment of a five-stat- e advisory committee with powers of observation and comment on the reorga- - Opinions expressed in Common Car- rier do not necessarily reflect those of The Salt Lake Tribune of the Common Carrier board of lay editors. Articles in this department are determined by the lay board of editors which operates independently of Tribune editorial and reportorial policies. The Common Carrier board, representing a cross section of the community, is composed of James E. Dooley, Salt free-spendi- Lake County coordinator of equal em-aployment opportunity; Paul A. Mogren, challenging. though. University of Utah reference librarian; Nielson describes himself as a supporter Material should be mailed to ComKenneth D. Robinson, business representative for the International Association mon Carrier, The Salt Lake Tribune, of James G. Watt, the Secretary of the Interiof Machinists Lodge 1 020; John F. Ste-- P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City. Utah 84110. or, and he aspired to a seat on the Energy ct j nization. It is believed the advisory commit- Everything is in flux. No one knows the bottee could be a vital link between the staes tom line. But I really don't think that univerand the reorganization to be brought about sality of telephone service will be seriously by the divestiture. undermined. The intensity of the deluge of comments by high state authorities apparently had significant impact on the court. On Aug. 11 Judge Greene entered the opinion that was announced by the media as new restrictions on the AT&T antitrust settlement. The parties accepted the modifications on the decree and presented to the court the modification of final judgement which was signed on August 24, 1982. This document vacated the final judgement of 1956 and authorized the Bell divestiture. Some authorities believe the modification made significant changes in favor of the companies. However some toll revenue will be lost to the BOCs. To offset this and to compensate the BOCs for the use of their plant, Judge Greene outlined parameters for equal access to the local exchange network. Access charges will be set at the exchange centers by the PSC for interstate traffic and by FCC for interstate. The access charge is a vital factor in the new system. If it is too low, BOC revenue will be insufficient and telephone rates will increase; it too high, bypass of BOC exchanges will be encouraged. Competition with AT&T by many other carriers will tend to haunt all concerned. No one can say whether Yellow Pages, sale of equipment and access charges will compensate for loss of toll revenue. Sometime after the release of the Greene When I asked Commissioner Irvine what the fate of the BOCs could have been without modification of the proposed decree, he said, The financial stability of the BOCs would have been less because they would not have received the revenue thay now will from Yellow Pages. The PSC would also have less input into the final results of the implementation plan now being developed by Justice and AT&T. The state will be allowed to give input to better position than if Judge Greene the decree as proposed. had rubber-stampe- d He has been receptive to the arguments of state officials. non-prof- it In a discussion with Commissioner Brent Cameron about the general effect of modified decree, he commented, Overall, there were some beneficial results for the ratepayer as well as many unbcneficial ones. It is common in compromise agreements that these types of trade-off- s occur and, of course, we did not expect to get all that we had hoped for. We should be able to figure out something better than this (Greene modification.) and Commerce Committee, which handles the Clean Air Act and many other pollution issues. He got the job, and one reason, he feels, is that the Rocky Mountain region was the only one to increase the number of Republicans it sent back to Washington. Another reason was that the Democrats had seeded the committee with advocates of tougher environmental laws. At 58, Nielson is old for a freshman, but he jokes that President Reagan has raised the ante and made it easier for older candidates to win elections. In a long and varied career as an economist and statistician, the Utah freshman has advised foreign governments on development policies, studied the a natueconomic impact of the ral gas pipeline and taught at Brigham Young University. trans-Canad- He comes from a very conservative in his primary fight, the main issue was which of the candidates was more conservative. But he also served as a consultant to the Air Force, studying procurement area, and policies, and became convinced that there was a lot of waste in the Pentagon budget. As a result, he comes to Washington prepared to vote for cuts in the military budget. I know It can be done if it is handled right. he said. t Nielson does not think he is unusual the Republican newcomers. We are imong I understand the agenda of the Utah Leg.urvivors of a tough election," he said. We islature will include a reorganization of the . ill not keep our numbers or increase them Public Service Commission. It is in the inter- ii we are bull- - headed. We will try to be est of Utah citizens to sustain the PSC in its re enable and cooperate. The voters were present authority and preserve its capacity not mdiating the presidents program ento participate in nataional issues as it did in tirely, lul they were not giving him rarte the AT&T Consent Decree controversy. blanche !her.' t- - K L 1 |