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Show W I Goldwater View: Kirvt Section Saturda; , August ia"e 11, 1973 18 'Retain Nixon Salt Lake County on Dubious Course In Taxation Squabble With State ' Two members of the Salt Lake County Commission are making seriously mistaken public policy in their reaction to the Friendship Manor tax case. They are defying state law and in the process causing such action to Syndicate The hearings are postponed for a few blessed weeks during which the public mood is likely to committee has crystallize. On the one hand the establish tailed dearly to that President Nixon knew either about the burglary at or about the Watergate the conceal to attempt extent of the involvement in Washington doubting the State Tax Commission has the authority to overrule a county commission sitting as a board of tax equalization. He ought to get himself better informed. Utah State law, in detailing the tax comappear legitimate. missions powers says, in Section Unfortunate circumstances surround the (the commission will) exercise general supFriendship Manor issue, but they won't he ervision over the administration of the tax eased by county officials arbitrarily deciding ' who pays how much property tax. If state laws of the state, over assessors and over boards in the performance of their and local officials dont abide by principles of county duties as county boards of equalization and uniform assessments, the property tax sysover other county officers in the performance tem will collapse into chaotic ruin. of their duties in connection with assessment Friendship of property and collection of taxes. And this Through misunderstanding. Manor, an apartment dwelling at Fifth South is so for a perfectly logical reason to make and 13th East in Salt Lake City, was originalsure all assessments of property be made ly considered exempt from taxation as a just and equal, at true value, and that the tax operation owned and managed by religious organizations. However, when the Utah State Tax Commission questioned this . designation, the matter eventually reached the State Supreme Court, which concurred with the Tax Commission. This meant an as- sessment of back taxes, along with penalties y and interest, now reported at more than ; $212,000, for an operation that was trying to ; provide decent living quarters at reasonable rent for people on retirement income. ; non-prof- it I , Two county commissioners, Pete Kutulas and William E. Dunn, have voted to forgive payment of all but $19,748 of the taxes due. apparently on grounds no stronger than this is what they want to do. Thats a perilous course. r Perils of Skylab II . Afllicted though it may be, Skylab II is getting the job done. Last Wednesday, the Great Salt Lake was mentioned as a visible earth reference while the three astronauts " aboard completed a monumental mapping ; orbit. If the space stations recurrent problems ;. had become the only reports from Skylab. 1 then the flight of astronauts Alan L. Bean. Jack R. Lousma and Dr. Owen K. Garriott might seem a costly washout. Rather, the men have handled the several difficulties and 2 performed their space science chores with 7 7- equal competence. During the Wednesday work shift, the Sky-la- b crewmen managed in 35 minutes to rec-or- d information about the earth that would have taken decades to gather at ground level. i National Aeronautics and Space Administra- tion officials called it the most ambitious earth resources photo survey ever attempted. ;; Thats one of Skylabs essential and practical ;; purposes. . - Previously, on Monday, astronauts Lous- ' ma and Garriott set a new record for space walking, spending six hours and 31 minutes outside the orbiting laboratory. Taking longer than expected the two men loaded solar tele-7- 7- scope cameras, checked for the persistent leaks reported by ground control monitors and installed a second parasol to shade the ! V Skylab cabin. Such combination of efforts neatly characterize the Skylab II mission so far. Dogged by the need to perform unscheduled maintenance, the astronauts, trying simultaneously to complete exploration rnd test projects, have had their workload doubled. There is more to the situation than that. Only six days into their space stay, the astronauts learned that one leak had reduced temperature in a cluster of the command ships rocket thrusters. And since this is the craft that must carry the men home again, the question is how reliable would, it be by mission is supposed Sept. 25, when the y to end? The leak was stopped and danger to the trio was pronounced minimal. But the same term was tagged to the taxi capsule. In fact, an alternative, rescue ship is being assembled at Cape Kennedy if NASA experts decide it should be used. So, Bean, Lousma and Garriott have this to think about, too. But it doesn't stem to bother them. They are as enthusiastic and concentrated on their experiments as if all had proceeded according to plan. It speaks volumes for the quality of NASA training and the calibre of people attracted to the program. Skylab IIs ultimate triumph may be that it succeeded in spite of adversity. 7; 7 7 7 ! 1 ; .; hae to come and get C me!" The Public Forum Fuil-Tim- e Job nography exhibits Mr. King's r'jv ious lack of training in logic. Since Mr. King has quoted freely from the Bible, it would be well to read the incident in the Garden of Eden in which Adam and Eve did not display their nakedness, but hid themselves. Editor, Tribune: Once again Sally Scarborough Jacobsen takes pen in hand and continues her crusade against the Mormons. This time in regard to the diminishing supply of canned goods and red meat. 1 had to wonder to myself, are Mormons the only ones who must eat? Could it be that there might just be others in Salt Lake City and Utah who eat and by reading the accounts of shortages, 1 dont think a person can, or will, regard the act of procreation as beautiful at the time he sees it on display in these smut shops. Its hardly logical that he would regard it as beautiful anytime. CYRIL WATT Sandv Public Forum letters must be submitted exclusively to The Tribune and bear writers full name, signature and address. Names must be printed on political letters but may be withheld or good reasons on others. Writers are limited to one letter every 10 days. Preference will be given to short, typewritten (double spaced) letters permitting use of the writer's true name. All letters are subject to condensation. predicted and upon us, feel it might not be such a bad idea to store and hav e on iiand such commodities. Could it be, that just maybe, because they have followed tiie advice of their leaders and stored at least a year's supply of food, that all of these shoppers are not Mormons? Are they identi-tieI am a by a sign around their necks saying Mormon adding to niv year's supply"? d As I pointed out to Mrs. Jacobsen a few years ago in another circumstance, there just has to be n in Salt Lake City and more than one Utah. And in regard to the purchasing of firearms. How in the world does she get all her information? I don't think that it is yet required that 1 be specified in the purchasing of such things. It must be a job for her just to keep in touch with all of her sources of information. She has nut yet written a letter about it, but I wonder about the gasoline shortage. J. GARRY MATSON Ji-gio- n full-tim- e Pocatello ants Transit Tax - From The Portland Oregonian with $35 billion by our Europe' n partners, while The voting in the House of Representatives depredated dollars constantly increase U.S, costs. against redactions of U.S. military forces overseas The Soviet Union no longer is feared in western but requiring the Pen! agon to cut military budgets Europe as a looming military threat. Sen. MansAt a by almost a billion dollars is field cites 82 significant events since 1963. in additime when military pay and other inducements tion to growing trade and cultural relations with are being increased in faltering efforts to establish the Communist nations. These include the hot line, forces, this nation leaves '00.000 men nuclear test nonban, consular convention, in uniform overseas, 500,000 of them Germany-Polanproliferation treaty. treaty. The billion dollars could bt saved and the U.S. Soviet-WeStrateGermany treaties, balance of payments reduced by that amount by gic Arms Limitation agreements and the the defeated amendment to bring home 100,000 of relations between East Germany and the troops in foreign garrisons. West Germany. Sen. Mike Mansfields proposal in the Senate In opposing reductions in the European garriwould withdraw 250,000 troops at a saving of $1.5 the State Department returns again and again son, billion or more. The United States is carrying a to thp argument that such would give the Soviet $17 billion annual load for NATO alone, compared Union a bargrining advantage in negotiations for a mutual reduction in forces scheduled to begin Oct. 30 in Vienna. It should be recognized that these discussions could go on for several years. State's position is weakened more, however, tv a realistic appraisal of the Soviet position. It is not the presence of American troops in Europe that impels the Soviet Union to maintain garrisons in Czechoslovakia. Hungary. Poland and other captive nations. They are there to keep these Communist satellites in line, as was amply demonstrated in East Germany, Hungary and Czechoslovakia when political rebellions against Soviet hegemony occurred and were quelled by Russian tanks and guns. If the State Department thinks the Kremlin is ready to free its captive nations it is badly in land-base- d 7 If vou want me. xoiTre guana Another Viewpoint " U.S.-Sovi- land-base- d error. In other words, the mutual and balanced forces reductions argument has little, if any, validity. What the Russians ?.re concerned about is economic penetration of Europe and avoiding a military confrontation with the People's Republic of China. But recognition of the Soviet Union's conn cern in eastern Europe also brings into Sen. Mansfield's opinion that unilateral reduction On he Ro- -' in I' S forf''S wniid que-Mo- time I see a reference (they are quite frequent nowadays) to poor old Alger .Hiss, and how he was framed. I say to myself: Nixon is safe. There are enough Americans around who know intuitively that jettisoning Nixon means, when all is said and done, rehabilitating Hiss. And into this kind of moral and epistemological anarchy, they decline to be seduced. Every- Forum Rules U.S. Troops in Europe Have Attained Goal 7. Supreme Paradox It is, I think, the supreme paradox of the situation that what keeps this from becoming a national compulsion is the excesses of Richard Nixons critics over the years. If they had not acted with such overweening zeal, systematically magnifying the lint on Nixon's record so as to look like the virus that almost overtook Europe with the Black Plague, they would have an easier time of it now. If a majority of a county commission can determine according to their personal preference who pays how much property tax, there tax prowould soon be no just and equal Kutulas Commissioner like officials and gram would find out quickly what real public wrath is. The system must maintain uniformity and a judicial review for deciding how fair the burden is being distributed. Responsible officials adhere to that doctrine even when it distresses them. 4 s by members of his staff. On the other hand, the spectacle has been so ugly, the quality of mind of some of Nixons subordinates so conclusion that unedifying, many have come to the a strong purgative is needed, nothing less than the replacement of the incumbent President of the burden may be distributed without favor or discrimination. Sentiment would probably favor working out a means by which Friendship Manor could meet its tax liability as conveniently as The law has been tested in this case and possible. Special legislation is an alternative. ;r ? the states highest court has ruled. That :3 But county defiance of state law and the I; what must be heeded, not a call to political courts isnt the answer and for the sake of an m grandstanding. acceptable, equitably functioning tax system, Commissioner Kutulas was quoted as it never should be. Star-New- that and related operations - - illiam F. Bucklev Jr. Jov to Behold Editor. Tribune: I was so pleased to see Amy letter (Forum, Aug. 3) about the young people working at the Lagoon. We are relatively new to this area, and our family goes often. L. Atwood's The nicest part of going is to see the. young men and women who work there. They should know that their pleasant, courteous ways are appreciated. It's nice to see so many, many young folks and obv iously enjoying their work. working MRS. RICHARD ALLEN Talk Time s Over Editor, Tribune: We knew the trouble this country is in, right down to the last detail. What I and all of us want to know is what our elected representatives and the President are doing about this trouble. And I dont mean just talk and comforting reassurances that all will be well in time. Our government got us into this mes. with their haphazard attempts at fiscal responsibility and economic measures to stem the tide of inflation. Now let them come forward with responsible legislation to correct the erroi-- they have made, and get going on the road to a stable and balanced economy. Or is this asking too much of our but weak compatriots back in Washingg Editor. Tribune: May I disagree with the plan S. Taylor (Forum, July 27) for free in Salt Lake Valley Of course, everyone agrees mass transit is necessary not only for the reasons cited by Taylor but, more recently, because of the gasoline shortage and restrictions proposed by EPA. But, a massive giveaway of the taxpayers money is not the answer. of Samuel mass-trans- ton? We try to be decent and citizens, but inaction on these vital issues that affect us makes iis bitter and disrespectful of our representatives and of their office. law-abidi- Wake up America ready! it may be too late al- FRANK HOWARD Let those who would benefit directly from pay a share. I refer not only to the downtown merchants but to all business establishments within the bus service area. If the businessmen will not voluntarily form an association which will refund- a (additional funding to come from the proposed property tax) fare of 25 cents to eachNbus p:.trnn. a means should be found to obtain the funds (or this purpose through a special tax. This tax should be levied on all business establishments in the bus service area, since it is they who will primarily benefit from the ability of their employes and customers to use mass transit should other ty pes of transportation be restricted, as seems likely. A study on all alternatives for funding ma.vs transit in Utah is necessary. The most equitable and least expensive plan that provides an attractive. system is the correct one. DEAN D. JENSEN Prov 0 mass-trans- partly-subsidize- d Will Come Apart Editor, Tribune: AM A is a trade union for doctors, it has been remarked. So is ABA a trade union for lawyers; the Republican and Democratic-partiefor politicians; the World Council of Churches for leftist clergymen (and they are hard on scabs); the NEA for teachers. Loyalty to fellow officers over truth and law in effect puts military officers into a trade union. In fact, nearly every segment of our society is unionized. Each union seeks first its own ends. So if it is true that a house divided against itself cannot stand, and if it is true that trends of human behavior accelerate, we could see our country and our society suddenly just simply come apart. CHARLOTTE M. HOWE h Editor, Tribune: I feel the necessity to respond to Mr. Kings logical treatise (Forum, Aug. 2). True, there is nothing more beautiful than the human body it was created in the image of the Almighty. Ill bet the people who turn a pages (0 look at the centerfold arent s Playboy-magazine- thinking anything of a theological nature. Likewise, the people who frequent these films and bookstores probably dont have the mentality to look at anything with an aesthetical frame of mind. I a that ' ard jr ililr-- The paradox is deeply rooted. If Nixon were, let us say, Dwight Eisenhower, the republic might have concluded by this time that Eisenhower w as simply incapable of coping with political duties of such vexing size and shape and that therefore, most regretfully, he would need to be deposed. Or, if it had been a figure universally admired .who was suddenly discovered to be craven and than the public mood against him would venal have consolidated. None Applies In the case of Richard Nixon none of the categories applies, and accordingly he is, at least temporarily, safe. My own judgment is that barring the unexpected appearance on the scene of the archangel Gabriel, waiving divine privilege for the purpose of documenting Richard Nixons guilt. Nixon is safe: barring one conceivable defection. Late in 1966 Richard Nixon (speaking a friend) said that if he were to withdraw from the presidential race and use all his energies and pow er to try to tret Nelson Rockefeller nominated, he would fail. Theres only one man in America who can get it for Rockefeller, he said. Thats Barry Goldwater. Obvious Reason He said this in part for the obvious reason that Goldwater was the aggrieved party in 1964. suffering directly from the refusal cf Rockefeller to support him for President after he was nominated. But also because Nixon sensed the loyalty Goldwater commands among the hard-cor- e of the Republican party, those who dominate the nominating conventions, and are the cadre of the party. Nixon depends very heavily during these hours that body of people and only Goldwater could move them. If he were to say tomorrow that in his opinion the best interests of the republic will require the resignation of the president, there would follow something like the Eagleton stampede. The next morning the Chicago Tribune (say) would be calling for the resignation, then the Los Angeles Times, then another senator . . . within a fortnight the call for resignation would prove very nearly irresistible. on Integrity. Candor It is for this reason that one studies carefully Goldwaters pronouncements on the matter. He moves with his characteristic integrity and candor, and contempt for demagogy. In his opinion, as given in a CBS interview recently with Dan Rather. Nixon should neither resign nor be impeached. He is by no means uncritical he thinks Nixon should release the tapes, lie thinks Nixon should revise his relations with Congress, he thinks Nixon should recapture the but he doesnt leadership of western affairs think he should step down. My judgment of it is that Goldwaters is, for the moment, the deciding voice. s Should Cooperate with Editor, Tribune; I agree what Mabel J. Duming said in her Forum letter Aug. 1. The government of the United States was created by the people for the people. The president of this country therefore should be subject to the people who give him his power; not solely to his cabinet members. I'm not implying that I think President Nixon is guilty of any wrong I dont know doings in the Watergate scandal but I do fed he whether hes quilty or innocent should do what he can to clear up the corruption that seems to exist within his administration. whole-heartedl- y Failing Cr.a-- - I feel President Nixon should cooperate with the Senate Committee in order to help dear him-st'l- f and thnM who are innocent Grandpa insists that even when he went to summer school, he had to walk three miles through snowdrifts every day. Instead of wasting time taking the Presidents phases one by one, couldn't we just jump ahead to No. 8 or 9? |