Show Suit tribune JCakc Friday Morning— January Section 16 1987 aSe A Local Pipe Purchase Decision Illustrates Industrial Lapse It’s a genuine shame that a $6 milpurchase for a construction job getting underway in Utah couldn’t have been made in Utah But those complaining the loudest about this are in the poorest position to gripe : lion Under normal circumstances it might be possible to agree with a United Steel Worker complaint concerning Mountain Fuel Supply’s decision to buy pipe from a Canadian firm for the company’s extension into southern Utah Except USX and the steel workers are more responsible for this economic irony than the gas company fact Mountain Fuel contends it originally planned to buy the pipe for line to southern Utah its from USX's Geneva plant A gas company explanation acknowledged: “Geneva's management put together an excellent bid and worked closely with us in an effort to secure the contract for that plant Geneva’s bid was the lowest" But while wrapping the pipe a $1 million order will be done by an Orem company the larger sale got away from Utah Mountain Fuel’s statement said: "Our preferred choice for fabricating the pipe was Geneva Steel because the economic benefits would stay We are and always have been a strong supporter of public and private In 204-mil- e in-sta- te efforts to strengthen Utah’s economy’’ for those sentiments USX and its unions are locked in a labor dispute which has idled the Geneva plant for an indefinite period And Mountain Fuel has promised to deliver its product to new southern Utah customers by next fall Unfortunately Since the construction was obliged to begin waiting for USX and its workers to settle contract differences could no longer be indulged Consethe next lowest bidder quently IPSCO of Canada got the order Now not only do steel union spokesmen la- - ment Geneva’s loss they criticize Mountain Fuel for spending money outside the United States When are these industrial representatives going to wake up? This episode reflects graphically g the which afflicts too much of this country’s basic industry There may have been a time when a company such as Mountain Fuel would have no choice but to wait until major construction supply shutdowns ran their course That time was long ago It’s because steel products are sleep-walkin- available from competitive sources the world market that manufacturers need not now be held hostage to domestic shortages caused by pros Mountain longed strikes or g Fuel’s additional further illustrates the point Answering charges about not “buying American” gas company officials candidly observed that IPSCO submitted the next lowest bid for the quality of pipe required and that it is Mountain Fuel’s intention to offer customers a service at the lowest possible cost Hardly a subversive notion in a free enterprise economy nor surprising considering the harsh commentary provoked in recent years by utility rate increases IPSCO it turns out is among those foreign steel firms which have been assessed special tariffs by the US government for previously “dumping" products here Presumably the company satisfied the penalties and remains qualified to continue doing business in this country At least it is producing anxious to supply customers at a decent price one nonetheless in this instance which the local outlet still could have beat But because USX’s Geneva plant is not producing a $6 million sale will not be helping keep a Utah factory operating so more Utah workers can be gainfully employed and another benefit to the state and national econon lock-out- case-makin- omy is lost Brawling Isn’t Sport Fighting at athletic contests like the ugly brawl that broke out a week agO at Jordan High School cannot be tolerated Perpetrators be they athletes or spectators must be prosecuted to the full extent of the criminal law and in the case of students i barred from future sports participation Last week's melee erupted after the suspension of play in a hotly contested basketball game between Jordan and West high schools According to the account by Tribune sports writer Tom Wharton the game had been marred almost from the outset by excessive pushing and other forms of physical intimidation on the court When the game moved into an overtime period the violence escalated Game officials told both teams the contest would be abruptly ended unless the players could better control themselves When this warning was ignored the game was halted with 37 seconds left Jordan which was leading at the time was declared the winner and the place erupted in a slug-feinvolving players and fans st Sandy police and Salt Lake County sheriff's deputies employed dogs to re- - scene Two Jordan High School officials assistant basketball coach Kelly New-bol- d and Charles Weber were hospitalized for injuries suffered in the brawl Mr Newbold will have to undergo reconstructive facial surgery to repair injuries he suffered reportedly at the hands of a West High fan Mr Weber who was knocked down and kicked during the brawl was released from a hospital the same night but still was subsequently evaluated by a physician for possibie internal injuries To their credit West High officials have been swift to punish the offending members of their team after reviewing videotapes of the game The e athlete who started the been has fight suspended from school for the remainder of the year Three other West players received three-da- y suspensions making them ineligible for at least one game Jordan High School officials have yet to announce any action against vice-princip- al post-gam- their players Law enforcement authorities are reviewing the situation with school officials and no charges had been filed at this writing But if reports are true that videotapes identify the fan who struck Mr Newbold that fan should be subject to criminal prosecution as should anyone else who can be similarly identified and shown beyond doubt to have instigated violence The Jordan-Wes- t incident is disconcerting enough by itself but it apparently is not isolated One juvenile reportedly was arrested during a fight the same night inTooele and Murray high volving school students Fighting also broke out after games involving West Murray Jordan and South high schools in a tournament last winter School and law enforcement officials must make clear they are determined to end fighting at athletic events Suspensions and criminal prosecutions swiftly meted out should get the message across post-seaso- n Can’t Trust White House With Secrets Washington Post Sorvirc In the tradition of WASHINGTON Washington Post political cartoonist who figuratively gives a free shave handshake to evhaircut and ery new occupant of the Oval Office here’s some of the same for Marlin Fitzwater the president's new press secretary — or more stuffily but accurately "assistant to the - Her-bloe- k president for press relations" While maintaining that spirit of good will and also indulging a previously expressed desire to give redecorating suggestions for the White House here’s a little press officewarming offering from this corner It's a verse from Dryden suitable for framing and particularly handy in the days certain to come of greater contentiousness between president and press Secrets are edged tools That must be kept from children and from J jls The hope for Fitzwater as he undertakes one of the toughest jobs in public or private life is not that he understands how best to keep secrets from us fools in the press It is that he appreciates the critical necessity of how to deal with those secrets once they become embarrassingly public as many have in recent months at the White House Better yet why not prevent some of that obsessive secrecy? Of all the wounds grievously weakening Ronald Reagan's presidency none has been more hurtful than those stemming directly from his administration's penchant for secrecy and its inability to knowhow to minimize damage created when those secrets surface and are exposed to critical public view Virtually all of the political and diploa matic disasters flowing from the affair can be laid at the administration's misguided preoccupation with secrecy First and foremost was the overriding desire to keep secret the swapping of arms for hostages This mandated secrecy in other areas Key officials in the State and Defense departments and apparently some in high positions of the intelligence agencies were kept in the dark about elements of the multiple covert operations This in turn meant that fewer people were able to offer tough critiques about the wisdom and soundness of those operations or warn about consequences that would result from their failure or exposure both of which have occurred Pains were taken to keep secret from US allies the switch in terrorism policy that made a mockery of the publicly enunciated American position on never dealing with terrorists CIA director William J Casey was ordered by the president not to disclose -even in secret — to properly authorized congressional leaders the arms dealings that negated Congress' legitimate oversight responsibly for covert operations They also circumvented and almost certainly violated congressional statutes specifically banning certain of those activities d Iran-Contr- store order Fourteen officers from Sandy in addition to sheriff’s deputies and Draper police responded to the post-gam- e Haynes Johnson heard behind closed doors Far from clearing the air for the president as suggested material released was even more damaging In permitting presidential aides to delete material from the draft the White House invited invidious comparisons with the edited White House transcripts of scandal past None of this makes the new press secre- Then when all of this double-dealincame to light as inevitably it would the administration compounded its problems by the way in which it dealt with the public through the media Faced with disclosure the Reagan publicity wizards acted as though they were more interested in covering up secrets than accounting for them publicly Thus instead of dealing from a position of candor they conjured the worst possible world: a public image in the g White House tary's job easier Yet Marlin Fitzwater bewith the respect of those with whom he deal and with a basically clean slate He struck exactly the right note when he upon being named to the position: "We're doing the people’s business here and we should be able to explain what we're doing" gins will also said cover-u- p This was demonstrated most recently in their astonishing mishandling of the draft report by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on arms scandal testimony it Lars-Eri- k Nelson SDI: Who Calls the Shots? short leap in logic to say that therefore it is worth whatever it might cost How much would you pay for invulnerability against Soviet nuclear missiles? The sky’s the limit "Those who would arbitrarily dismiss our long-tersecurity interests as secondfiscal goals those who deary to short-termand new taxes before they will consider the nation's security should at least acknowledge some responsibility for the increased risks that they would force on the nation" Weinberger told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week Weinberger’s posture not only defies common sense it defies the expressed will of the president and the law of the United States "Weinberger never liked that NSDD" said an aide "He felt it was a piece of paper that got flashed by the president” And perhaps it was But Reagan signed it "It doesn't matter whether you like it or I like it or Weinberger likes it or Jesus Christ Almighty likes it it's the law" said a State Department official The law must be enforced by the president Where is he in all this? Nobody knows What's more nobody wants to know White House and State Department spokesmen are unable to say whether Reagan is still committed to his NSDD or whether he agrees with Weinberger It may not matter Congress is likely to take the issue out of the president's hands on the grounds of administration ineptitude has introduced a Rep Les AuCoin bill to bar any spending for tests of a Star Wars-typ- e or space-basedefense system so long as the Soviets observe a similar ban This is a technique that AuCoin used last year in securing a ban on US weapons despite Reagan administration protests Do you want your nuclear strategy made by Les AuCoin? He’s a bright guy and it s not a bad nuclear strategy but the only reason he succeeds is that the Reagan administration gives him no coherent opposition a New York Daily News WASHINGTON Over the past week Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger has created some consternation in the Reagan administration by unilaterally voiding the order signed by the president that his $770 billion Strategic Defense Initiative must a) and b) work be - These criteria were set two years ago by arms negotiator Paul Nitze They were adopted by Reagan in a National Security Decision Directive (NSDD 172) and enacted into the 1986 Defense Authorization Act There is no poim in deploying a Star Wars defense the president decreed if it is cheaper for the Russians to overwhelm that defense than it is for the United States to maintain it Nor is there any point in deploying Star Wars if the Russians could destroy it in a strike The requirements appear to be plain common sense Weinberger has rejected them They have been says an aide "overtaken by events" The Russians could never overwhelm a US Star Wars defense Weinberger himself said at a breakfast the other day “It’s a totally new kind of system It’s not capable of being overwhelmed" This is a sweeping claim for a system that doesn't in fact exist Weinberger not only presumes success but he also presumes absolute perfection Even if Star Wars were in place it is imprudent military doctrine to declare that it’s not capable of being overwhelmed Such statements might lull a public into thinking that it need never worry about the danger of nuclear war As for cost effectiveness Weinberger argues that Star Wars is worth whatever it costs “When you're protecting a continent and when you're protecting hundreds of millions of people 1 find it very difficult to measure the of that kind of a system" he said Once you have assumed that Star Wars will work and will work perfectly it is only d d e Jon Margolis Greenbacks Don’t Elect the Candidate Chicago Tribune Service WASHINGTON — In politics as in life money is important In politics as in life its importance can be overstaled and often is In both pursuits everyone needs a certain amount of money to be happy and successful In neither does having more than the next guy that you will be happy and successful Anyone who did not know that already should have learned it last Nov 4 when seven Republican senators who outspent their gua-ant- ee Democratic challengers were nevertheless beaten by them In two open seats in Louisiana and Nevada Republicans also had a lot more money than their Democratic opponents Still it was Democrats John Breaux and Harry Reid who were sworn in as senators last week while Republicans Henson Moore and James Santini were relegated to that realm all Republican politicians praise but so few wish to occupy — the private sector The real truth about money in politics is that a candidate does not need more than his or her opponent as long as he or she has enough to run a campaign — to hire a staff rent office space pay the phone bills and buy enough TV time to convey the desired f labor and in favor of using public money on behalf of the As in every enterprise there is a point of diminishing returns m campaigns Once you have bought enough television time buying more will please the TV station ad salesmen but it won't get you many more votes Sometimes spending more money can add up to fewer votes In the Louisiana Senate race Moore so outspent Breaux that the spending itself became an issue "I kept saying were holding an election not an auction' and it helped” Breaux recalled Some liberals worry that the power of political money is driving both parties to the right — the Republicans because the conservative PACs insist on right-winpurity the Democrats because their campaigns need the support of corporate biggies The conservative PACs were influential several years ago though not as influential as either they or their critics claimed Of late though those PACs have had trouble raising monev and Republican candidates have been wary about accepting their support As for the Democrats they may be moving to the center in some ways but not on the economy With the exception of Sen Sam Nunn of Georgia every potential Democratic presidential candidate is an economic liberal generally though not slavishly pro- - non-ric- h By law each IMPAC member can give only $1000 another $1000 if he has a willing spouse and a bit more if he has children over 18 But rich people have rich friends and Landow said the plan is for each member to raise $250000 meaning that if most of them stick together a lucky candidate could get an easy $7 or $8 million Or maybe it wouldn't be so easy and the candidate wouldn’t be so lucky He would then have to answer questions about whether he was in thrall to a bunch of developers and financiers all for $8 million that can be oth- g erwise obtained albeit with more difficulty After all it is in presidential politics where money counts least of all thanks to federal matching funds and spending limits Every candidate can raise as much as it is to legal spend in the first round of primaries and anyone who does well in that round will get enough for the next round Anyone who thinks a presidential nomination can be bought need only ask John Connally who tried to buy one and got for his pains and his f 10 million one delegate The rich as the song says w ill get richer But they won t necessarily win the elections - 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