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Show rn hhth gnn,WP"lr nffc c rK1TTirjir i rfi iifniHSwraiiiMna fliiiSiimiin I1 lff'lmlniir,i,lf' liiiiiiiinininiilinniniiiiiliiiiiiliiliiiiiiiiniiininiii.immmiiiiiiimiiiinmiiiiiiiu . . So DESERET NEWS Much For Carrying Out instructions Carefully . . LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SALT LAKg CITY, UTAH End Agitation We Stand For The Constitution Of The United States ; Your article on the editorial page of April 4. entitled, Lets End Violence Before It Ends Us, has provoked me to write. Another long, hot summer is close at hand and I'm concerned. Perhaps this time Utah will not be spared the violence that has occurred elsewhere. I would like to suggest something every concerned citizen can do to help prevent such a tragedy. From extensive study, I know that these riots and this violence has been organized; with the organizers and fomenters financed by War on Poverty funds. As disheartening as this sounds both to me and to others as well, it is nonetheless true. May I include three small items, of scores appearing in major newspapers, from past riots and violence: From Buffalo, New York: City Councilman Raymond Lewandowski stated, Seven of the nine city councilmen want all federal activity removed frorrf Buffalo because of agitation and disworkers in ruptive action on the part of local affairs. From Newark: Police Commissioner Dominick Spina sent a telegram to OEO Director Shriver, stating: I strongly protest the use of resources and manpower from the United Community Corporation. an agency of the OEO, for the purpose of fomenting and agitating against the organized and democratic government and agencies of the city of Newark . . . this kind of practice by this antipoverty agency will undoubtedly lead to riots and anar chy in our city. From Jersey City: Mayor Whelan said of the poverty program in his city: I would say, this one program in Jersey City is funding and fueling and feeding people who, in my opinion, want Jersey City to erupt into a riot. My suggestion is to write those persons responsible for bringing the War on Poverty to Salt Lake City and Utah and telling then we do not want their help, especially not their paid agitators, such as H. Rap Brown used to be. -J- AMES D. TILLS Orem As Having Been Divinely Inspired ! 12 A EDITORAIL PAGE 1969, TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 1969 Give Voters The Facts On Campaign Costs In 1968 the candidate spent 74 cent for each vote cast the presidential election, compared to 52 cent a vote only four year earlier. If that doesnt sound like much, the increase alone come to $16.6 million, and the total bill for campaign spending in 1968 add up to a record of more than $50 million. George Wallaces campaign accounted for only $7 million of the inIn crease. These fact emerge this week from a special compilation of campaign contribution and spending prepared for ConCitizens Research Foundation, a the gressional Quarterly by research nonpartisan organization. A campaign costs soar, high elective public offices tend lo become restricted to affluent candidates, and it becomes easier for powerful moneyed interest to exercise undue influence over public servant and public policies. ' If the trend continues, Americans seem bound to become more cynical about politics and more apathetic toward participating in the democratic process. Such cynicism and apathy no doubt are compounded by the serious flaws which the CQ study spotlighted in the federal Corrupt Practices Act governing campaign spending, a statute which experts have termed more loophole than law and which has gone uncorrected for 44 years. For example: Much campaign spending goes unreported because the law exempts from making disclosures any group which says its operations are confined to a single state. The law does not require accounting for ; spending by persons seeking nomination to national offices. Accordingly, the extensivs spending on behalf of such unsuccessful presidential contenders as Nelson Rockefeller or Eugene McCarthy goes unrecorded. Under the law, no contributor can give more than $5,000 to a single national campaign committee. The restriction is meaningless, since a contributor can give $5,000 to many different committers working for the same candidate. if . Yet, it shouldnt be hard to remedy such defects only Congress and the political parties have the will to do what needs to be done. Shorter political campaigns, for instance, would not only help curb campaign costs but would also guard against the tendency for candidates to make more extreme promises and accusations as long, exhausting campaigns wear on. Tax incentives could widen the base of political financing, with as little as a $5 contribution from each of 17 million American families raising $85 million. Above all, there should be full public disclosure not only of the source of campaign funds but how they are spent. The voters have a right to know where the political dollar comes from and where it goes. Then they can better decide which public servants are actually serving the public, and which are serving only the special interests. Electoral Reform Half-A-Lo- af By ROSCQE and GEOFFREY DRUMMOND WASHINGTON There are two with and that's plenty things wrong f electoral reform which Presthe ident Nixon is asking Congress to accept as adequate: 1 Neither ths President nor anybody else has offered any solid evidence that direct election of the President, which Mr. Nixon says he favors, couldnt win the approval of the necessary three-fourtof the states. 2 There is evidence that the princithe Administration is advoreform pal cating, that the electoral votes in each state be divided among the presidential candidates in accord with the popular vote, could have just the opposite effect of what its advocates claim. They say that such a change would ensure that the total electoral votes of tiie candidate would more nearly parallel the total popular vote. But would it? Neal Peirce, a leading specialist of ths electoral college, shows that if a method of distributing the electoral votes had been in effect in 1960, the candidate who got the fewer popular votes, Richard Nixon, would have received the majority of the electoral votes and been elected. It hardly seems acceptable to propose a plan which, if it had been operative in election only nine yeais ago. a real-lif- e would have had the reverse effect; that is, it would have defeated the candidate who had ths larger popular vote and elected his opponent. In his Feb. 19 message to Congress, Mr. Nixon said he doubted very much THE DRUMMONDS half-loa- dispro-portion- ul ratify constitutional amendments, only state legislatures do that. Quite likely, many of the Southern states would prefer to keep the electoral college. But is there any visible reason to presume that the n people or the legislators in the states, like Aslaska or Nevada or Vermont, think otherwise than do Americans who massively support direct popular elections? Do they in any large number insist that they should hava more voting power than their fellow citizens in other states? May it not be that For the voters in the smaller states and in much of the South take the same view in I personally want to thank you for the excellent about the same proportion in favor of direct election of the President as else- repoiting of the Drug Abuse Conference held last month at the University of Utah. Especially provocawhere in the country? tive were the articles and editorial on Saturday, I have not abandoned, the Presi- March 29th. You are to be commended for helping dent told Congress, my personal feeling, to sponsor the conference and to assist in educating stated in October and November, 1968, the community to this expanding social problem. that the candidate who wins the most -R- EV. MASON M. WILLIS popular votes should become President. 1583 S. 1600 East It is welcome that the President has not abandoned his personal view in favor of direct election, but he has abandoned the cause necessary to give effect to his views. Many people think sports are foolish, a waste ef Since his position is based on an time, and senseless. To me these ideas are absounproved premise that ratification is virlutely false, if sports aie veii uaiaueed with other tually impossible, since there is consider- things in life. able evidence to the contrary and since You can learn very valuable lessons in life from his own alternative, if it were operative sports. There are spiritual, physical, mental, and in 1960, would have elected the candidate social values in sports. These values should be arent brought out in athletics. One should live the laws of with the fewer popular votes these reasons enough to go for something health and build character in athletics. better than the Nixon plan? It's true dishonesty, trouble, and fighting hapWouldnt it be better for President in sports, but they happen in oilier phases of pen Nixon to support the electoral reform he life. Professional and college sports abound at considers best instead of compromising times in selfishness. Lets keep gambling out of iu advance on what is both dubious and small-populatio- Thanks f. Drummond R. Drummond that any constitutional amendment proposing abolition or substantial modification of the electoral vote system could win the required approval of of our 50 states in 1972. There may be some basis for such doubt but there is strong evidence on the side that the nation overwhelmingly wants a direct popular election of President and Vice President. Mr. Nixon suggests that an amendment abolishing the electoral vote system would likely run into decisive opposition, but the fact is that all the opinion polls over two decades have shown strong public support for going the whole distance of abolishing the electoral college, and this public demand is rising, not dropping, just because the hot breath of electoral crisis is temporarily past. A poll shows that 81 per cent of the American people favor what Mr. Nixon says cant be ratified. It is quite true that the people do aot three-quarte- Conclave Sports Needed second-best- sports. ? -R- OLAND MATHER 715 Laconio Court Study, Then Act The promptness with which Gov. Rampton followed through on his promise to name a committee to evaluate Utahs drug abuse problem and recommend remedies deserves to be applauded. So do his decisions not to include in his appointments to the committee any professional authorities or researchers in the field of drugs, but to make sure the committee includes members of the younger generation. If such experts had been included, the committee could have become bogged down in disputes over technicalities of concentrating on setting sound policy and the means for carrying it out. The committee can take its testimony without the experts having a voice in the committees final decisions. But certainly young people needed a voice on the committee since youth is often more knowledgeable about the drug abuse problem than are many adults. The effectiveness of any study committee, however, depends not so much on how it is constituted as how it is used. Some such committees can be used to delay action on problems rather than coming to grips with them. Thats what happened a decade ago to the two governors committees on aggressive sex offenders in Utah. The committees came up with a fine set of recommendations. But then, through no fault cf the committee or the man who appointed it, its report was alad lowed to gather dust. The same thing should not be allowed to happen to the work of the new Drug Abuse Evaluation Committee. If even conservative estimates are accurate, Utah has a serious drug abuse problem. The study the committee is making should be a foundation for action, not a substitute for it Keep Boating Safe Boat mishaps can quickly turn into tragedy, as events on Lake Powell proved last weekend when three small children drowned after being caught in the canvas top of a swamped boat. The rash of incidents on both Lake Powell and Great Salt Lake indicate boaters need to be reminded of safety precautions that might help avoid another such incident. One precaution every boater should take is avoiding overloading, which often leads to capsizing a boat. For boats under 16 feet, capsizing is one of the prime causes of fatal accidents. Venturing onto stormy waters is another invitation to disaster. Boats not large enough to ride out a storm in safety should seek any type of sheltered area if caught by a sudden storm the lee side of a rock, a side canyon, or other shelter. If caught out in open water with r.o chance of getting to shore, keep the bow headed directly into the waves and, if the motor quits, drop anchor and use oars to maintain the boat's heading. Boating safety experts also advise venturing only as far from shore &3 a boater can safely return in case cf a sudden storm. Its also a good idea for boaters to sign in with a Park snd Recreation Commission officer and designate the area in and to carry extra fuel, food which he plans to be boating and water rations. Life jackets that are unused are worthless. Though that sounds so simple, lives have been lost in Utah through neglecting that simple advice. The Exponential Rate of Change By SYDNEY J. HARRIS A high school student in Georgia writes to ask what I mean by referring rate of change in to the exponential modem society. What I mean is that the rate of change has increased in the way you keep squaring a number, whereas in the past change took place in the way you merely add numbers. This implies that change has entered a wliole new dimen- sion of speed. Information systems represented are now one mostly by the computer of the leading businesses in the world, and are growing at an astounding rate. Yet it was only 14 years ago that the first business computer in the world was installed. Nuclpar power plants are another of he tremendous growth industries of our ime. yet it was only eight years ago that lie first large-scal- e privately financed luclear power plant went into operation, knd commercial jet engines are the third but rooming innovation of this period he first scheduled commercial jet airlin-r- s were put in service 11 years ago. These industries alone have accounted for several million new jobs, calling for new skills, new learning, new approaches at every level, from the technical to the administrative. ART HOPPE Jery Foundation Of The US. J. Very awakened early in his tax shelter. As modest was his custom, he yawned, stretched and peered out through one of the n u m e rous loop- holes which were his pride and joy. All was well, he noted oontentedly. The oil depletion was a 1 1 owance pumping efficiently. The little tungsten mine was nicely. depleting And out front, no shoots of com marred the surface of his carefully - untended soil hank. Victor three-bedroo- m I'll have to remember to not plant alfalfa next year Instead of not planting corn again, mused Very. Crop rotation is basic in modem farming. So, whistling happily, Very sat down at the breakfast table with some cold cereal and the books of the Very Foundation. Americans For, like all middle-clas- s e in the year 1976, Very had created a foundation to which he contributed all his assets and earnings. In turn, it e expense paid him a generous account on which to live. She claims her familys been tax free for three generations, said Mrs. Very. And that reminds me, youd better speak to your daughter, Verona. Shes b. a seeing that trashy Grommet boy again. Hes not trashy! cried Verona. His family may be poor and pay taxes, but its not his fault. Blood will out, said Mrs. Very omiwastnously. Hell grow up a rel. Youll see. tax-payi- It's not fair, said Verona with the rebellion of youth. The Grommets pay taxes because theyre poor and they're poor because they pay taxes. Theres no way out for them. The poor will always be with us, ucar, and so will taxes, said Very in fatherly fashion as he leafed through the morning mail. After all, somebody has to pay them. Whats this! He stared at the envelope. Internal Revenue Service. With trembling fingers he tore it open. Good heavens! he cried. I miscalculated the straight-lin- e on my 1948 depreciation allowance Webley-Vicker- s tuning fork. I owe them a dollar-sixty-eigh- t! tax-fre- tax-fre- Whereas in our grandfathers time it look 40 years to get a new product going, has gone down to the average time-spa- n less than three years. But it still takes as long as it did to educate people, to build homes for them, to transport them locally from one place to another, or to retrain them for new jobs in new fields. rate of This is what an exponential c hange means and why it has made us the most prosperous society in the world, but also the most confused, the most frantic, the most frustrated, and the most anxious. He was just checking the prices of his e municipal bonds when he was interrupted by his wife, Vivian, an attraccorporation. tive, greying, Van Mrs. der Hovey cut That snooty me dead at the Tax Deductible Charity Ball last night, she said, her lips quivering. Who do they think they are? Very said angrily. "Their foundations may be larger than my foundation, but I dont pay a penny in taxes either." tax-fre- non-prof- it It wont break you, Dad, said Verona with a shrug. Oh, you dont understand, sobbed her mother. Well never be able to hold not once word gets up our heads again around that we are (she shuddered uncontrollably) taxpayers! Well, I think its high time the government caught up with you and your silly Very Foundation, said Verona with a sniff. It's nothing but a crooked, unfair tax dodge. It may be a tax dodgs to you, yourg all that its full name father with dignity, lady, but to me its implies, said her The Very Foundation of America. by Brickman the small society I .W'JcU PPuKt? to peal, with tfrukta Their Greatest Weapon Y0UN6-- Peopl- they Pont e's WHAT RZices Q&OTo 4-- A v. 1 I I What tribute to a great General of the Army, when we hear U.S. Army forbids chaplains lire of the word God in their lectures, In the days that we mourn him? The history of the greatest country in history is studded with names of those who have loved God, and obeyed and served him. These men were for rather than against the ideals that something, have made us great Washington, Jefferson, Madison and others were men of God, chosen by Him to lead us, and our country has grown into a great and noble land with a noble heritage. A military chaplain has an obligation' to his country and his God to promote faith, hope, trust and reverence. He has a format to accomplish this objective without reference to sect, creed, group or order of religion. But our fight is against the Godt, and since many men come to less, the military service with no true knowledge of what to believe in, why deny them their greatest weapon? -R- OBERT G. CAMP Prescott, Ariz. anti-Chris- For Better Films It is about time to the movies and get something worthwhile for the family. The type of pictures we like are musical especially the Nelson Eddy and Jeanette McDonald variety which has been played at the Avalon Theatre, 3605 South State. Literally thousands flocked to see these People came from surrounding states, believe it or not. Arthur Proctor, the manager, was somewhat amazed but need not be. People know what they want. Walt Disney movies are a sell-oand good for the family or families. Now get with it and throw out all your pornography and lewd and sexy pictures and get modem. TTie letter symbols grading movies is a laugh-i- n or out. Please, it is about time, men and women of Hollywood or elsewhere, to upgrade our moraLs. -- WALTER J. ROSS, SR. 125 Walton Avenue s. Beautify Utah It is spring We plan to keep p time again in Holladay. at it throughout the year. clean-u- Receiving the 1968 Cleanest City Award plaque for landscape improvement, presented by the Deseret News, Municipal League, and the Utah State University Extension Service, has been an incentive for our community to continue this worth-whil- e project and make Holiaday a cleaner, healthier and more beautiful community. It is always encouraging to receive recognition for ones efforts and we wish to thank the donors of this award. We appreciate the help of the Utah State University Extension Services, the business and professional people, churches, schools, the PTA organizations, Lions Club, Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club, Jaycees, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, Salt Lake County Commission, Salt Lake County Library Beard, Agricultural Agents, Department of Environmental Health, Highway Department, Department of Recreation and Parks, Department of Roads and Bridges, Sheriffs Office, Fire Department, and Deseret News. If Holladay can do it. any town can. You will find it a most gratifying endeavor. -- MRS. HELEN OVARD --MRS. ELVA STARK Holladay Beautification Chairmen andSoOO , |