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Show ffWnUM UK'- 'Sorry, Your Monkey Didn't Make iiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiii!iiiininiiiiiiiiiiii!i!Hiiiiiiiiiiiii!!i"ii,lllllll,,,!m It' LETTERS TO THE EDITOR DESERET NEWS iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'iiiiiiiii'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmuiiiiiiiiHiimiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiii SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 'No Way To Believe ' ! We Stand For The Constitution Of The United Stales As Having Been Divinely Inspired 18 A EDITORIAL PAGE WEDNESDAY, JULY ... 9, 1969 The logic and generalizations used in your editoTo Believe in rial entitled High Time America! (July 3) left something to be desired. . . It is rather hypocritical to say that it is draft-carburners who high time to disown the would make their own laws in the same paragraph containing a discussion of the patriots who marched with Washington. It would be useful heie to recall the history of the American Revolution in the sense that the revolution was by no means popular (the Continental forces could count on not more than twenty-fiv- e per cent of the colonists supporting their cause). And. to be sure, these same patriots were viewed with much the same contempt and disdain with which dratt protesters today are confronted. The patriots and the draft protesters marched for common ideologies: that is. they found flaws in their respective societies, attempted to initiate constructive change in those societies, and were summarily repulsed by the mindless majorities who were so opposed to social change in any form. You tell us in another paragraph that it is high time to forget the night raiders in Watts, Detroit and Newark. And, unfortunately, many other people in this country feel the same way. Instead of intensely committing itself to curing its social ills, America appears to be more inclined to take the forget and ignore the problems easy way out rather than deal with them effectively (after all, they may just go away). Rather than forgetting the ominous signs presented by the numerous urban disturbances, it would be much more beneficial to America's welfare if people would heed these signs and attempt to correct the problems upon which they are based. but Yes, it is high time to believe in America not in the manner in which you and your peers proclaim. It is high time that all Americans begin to analyze their country and to note the serious flaws and deficiencies which present themselves rather visibly. It is this policy and not the prophetic, and worn out ideals of extreme conservatism and ignorance which will keep America in a progressive frame of mind. -S- TEVE CRAMER 1911 W. 4620 South d Grand Jury Can Help Get Better Government The order that a grand jury be impaneled marks the Pnd of one chapter in the campaign for better government in Salt Lake County and the beginning of another. The first chapter opened last year when the Deseret News called to the publics attention the details of the countys purchase of land in the Cardiff area of Big Cottonwood Canyon. The land was purchased for recreational purposes without adequate consultation of the County Recreation Board and even though the suitability of the land for recreational uses was open to doubt. - As rumors swelled and as acrimony between county officials grew more bitter, it became increasingly clear that an investigation by an impartial body was necessary to clear the air. Because officials who might otherwise have conducted the investigation were ejnbroiled in the dispute, it also became increasingly clear that a grand jury was the most appropriate means of undertaking the investigation. Moreover, there were other complaints which made it clear that the grand jury need not and should not confine itself to just one issue, but take a look at government in the county. ' With this weeks order by six Third District Court judges that a grand jury be impaneled to investigate government operations in Salt Lake County, the previous chapter closes on a happy, responsible ending and the new one opens. The new chapter in the campaign for better county government is one in which the grand jury should exercise its authority not only to ferret out possible wrongdoing, but also to help correct practices involving honest mistakes in judgment or shortcomings in administrative machinery. For example, the Recreation Board has complained that its recommendations on important land purchases have been ignored and that the board at times has not been consulted at all. Here, surely, is one matter the grand jury would do well to study with an eye to recommending improvements in administrative procedures and practices. So is the backlog of cases that has built up in Salt Lakes city courts. One attorney recently analyzed the total time elapsed on just the drug cases filed in city court for 1968. For those cases which were bound over to district court for disposition, there was an average total time lapse of 161 days or about five and months. If the grand jut y wants to help alleviate the present backlog, it might consider returning indictments in the cases involved, which would shift them to district court. But if there is to be a lasting solution to the problem, it would help for the grand jury to get at the underlying causes of the backlog and recommend steps for correcting them. One final point: If the land purchase question had not been exposed, the judges wouldnt have met until next year to consider calling a grand jury. If that had happened, other important issues would have gone uninvestigated, with potential reforms delayed, for much too long. This suggests that for a county as big and complex as Salt Lake County, the law should be changed to make sure the judges meet annually, instead of only every other year, to consider impaneling a grand jury.' . one-thir- Soviet's New Fat East Move - THE DRUMMONDS WASHINGTON Theres a fascinat-iU.S.- ing new development stirring U.S.S.It. relations. n Moscow is taking a major diplomatic which could result in an initiative American-Sovie- t arrangement to keep the peace in Southeast Asia. imperialists. It is unlikely that either side wants war, but there is a continual escalation of mutual suspicion, and it is clear that in no time in Russian history has Moscow felt such acute concern over its The Soviet government is not yet formally approaching the United States. That would not be the way it would do it. At this point it is simply floating an idea nations to all the Asian at a very high diplomatic level. The first public disclosure that the Soviets were moving along these lines came at the opening of the recent summit conference of Communist parties in Moscow when Soviet Party Secretary Leonid Brezhnev dropped this seemingly irrelevant sentence into the middle of a party pep talk: The course of events is putting on the agenda the task of creating a system of collective security in Asia. At the time, this attracted little attention and at first looked to be a device to turn attention away from embarrassing matters like the invasion of Czechoslova- sprawling nuclear-arme- d ter to meet with officials throughout Asia. missions It dispatched to expand its economic and diplomatic contacts from Iran to Japan. It should be understood that this Soviet project is now only tenuous and exploratory. The Soviets dont mention the United States is discussing it with tire Indians or the Japanese or other Asians. But it is evident that the Soviet concept is not of Asian collective security directed against the United States, and the Soviet diplomats are being made aware that few, if any, of the Asian nations would accept such an arrangement without American trade-and-ai- d participation. One thing is clear. The overriding Soviet interest in creating a system of collective security in Asia is the escaconflict. lating Sino-Sovi- ened by nothing. The Soviets would not be talking about collective security in Asia if it were not in their national interest. It is. They need Asian economic stability; they lost $3 billion in aid to Indonesia because of Sukarnos instability. They need Asian political stability to prevent Communist Chinese expansion by force or subversion, which would endanger Russia. The United States would not be open to this Soviet initiative if it werent in our national interest. It is. Every trip we have made to the Western Pacific has convinced us that there can be no secure peace in Asia unless it is guaranteed jointly, either by tacit agreement or by treaty, by both the United States and the Soviet Union. If such an arrangement can be it will reached in the visible future not come rapidly there would be little danger of serious war in Asia. In this area, on this issue and at this time our interests are parallel. Punishment Should Fit The Crime By SYDNEY Maybe 90 days? In Detroit this spring, a man went on trial on charges of stealing five boxes of cookies. He had been waiting in jail one year since his arrest, in lieu of $10,000 bond. even No matter what the sentence if be is freed he has already spent a full year of his life in confinement for stealing five boxes of cookies. Justice is already too late for him. Local officials, when the case was brought to their attention, blamed the dockets and delay on undermanned courtrooms. But those were not the real causes; the real cause was the mans poverty. An affluent thief would not have spent a day in detention. 1-- J. HARRIS Quite apart from the rank injustice that runs through our whole class system and that makes the of jurisprudence poor contemptuous of our slogans like there is the practical law and order matter of the these What are they dockets. with? Moving traffic violations, automobile accident cases, personal injury suits, and other such civil matters. What do you suppose a man ought to get for breaking a grocery store window and running off with five boxes of cookies? Thirty days? Sixty days? In widening the Emigration Canyon road to serve as a detour during construction of through Parleys Canyon, construction crews should make every effort to preserve the canyon's aesthetic and historical values. ' It is, after all, not only a unique and beautiful residential neighborhood, but a significant site in Utah history as well. The canyon contains the route taken into Salt Lake Valley by Donner-Ree- d the Party, the first Mormon Pioneer Company of 1S47 and other subsequent settlers. Furthermore, sections of the Mormon Trail are still visible and are intersected by the present road. But as the rupturing of an oil line in the canyon by a road grader this week demonstrated, the current construction pi eject can pose several kinds of threats to the canyon. And, just as workmen were quick to recognize the threat to the canyon of escaping crude oil and quickly contained the black, oozing mess, so should project officials be quick to prevent any unneeccssary disturbing of the soil and foliage. Granted, the road, even for present traffic, was extremeand narrow in places and perhaps stood to be imcuived ly the rerouting of traffic notwithstanding. proved. in But any case, after serving its function as a detour, Emigration Canyon must still be a place of beauty and its historical sites as intact as possible. d d Gov. Rockefeller of New York not long ago proposed that most cases involving moving traffic violations be removed from the Criminal Courts to the State Department of Motor Vehicles. By relieving the Criminal Courts of most traffic cases, he said, the city courts would be able to provide prompter handling of serious criminal matters in a more judicious atmosphere. Our courts are clogged with merchants using the judicial system as col d lection agencies for bad credit risks; with landlords seeking to evict tenants; with motorists suing insurance companies; and with thousands of trivial torts that postpone criminal cases for months and even years. And, in the old legal saying, justice delayed is justice denied. We desperately need special courts, or or commissions, to process this enormous backlog of civil cases, so that our judges can promptly and fairly hear serious criminal cases, so that no man is kept in detention longer than is humanely necessary', so that no victim of loss or injury must wait years and years to collect a pittance. It is these inequities, these delays, these disproportions of recompense and retribution, that make the law a mockery and destroy the common peoples faith in the integrity of our legal system. quasi-court- The Freedom To Be Foolish Mrs. Patricia Reilly Hitt BOSTON turned up here last week to deliver one of those blah speeches that are part of the ritual of American convention-going- . She was talking to the American Home Economics Association. She said nothing of particular note, yet the speech set a few trains of thought in motion all the same. Hospital Milestone Mrs. Hitt is Assistant Secretary for Community and Field Services in the Department of Health. Education and Wel- fare. She is a lady giant stride in hospital care was made today in the opening of the S11.5 million David 0. McKay Hospital in A of Ogden. site on llarrison Blvd.. the facility Located on a liot only makes available many badly needed beds for those requiring medical treatment, but also brings to the city and surrounding area a unique concept of care. As Administrator Kenneth E. Knapp points out, the new facility is really more than just a hospital in the sense of traditional hospital service patterns. It is a center which introduces a broad spectrum of patient services, covering the e convalescent, and rehabilitative phases of acute, illness. same the Because of broad community support, moreover, the also represents a uniqueness in teamwork. The new unit-i- s part of the hospital system of The Church of Jesus Christ Saints and was financed mainly by the Church, of Latter-da- y but many communities who will benefit from it were involved in raising a sizeable portion of the total cost. In view of its capabilities and the cooperative spirit bringit ing forth, McKay Hospital is not only a welcome and much needed addition to existing medical facilities but can hardly avoid becoming the community milestone" its planners envisioned. US-ac- sub-acut- hos-pit- J G. Drummond R. Drummond It is proving to be far more than that, and U.S. officials are watching its evolution with great interest. the To illustrate the importance Kremlin attaches to promoting this idea: It called to Moscow its ambassadors in Asia for explanation. It sent a career deputy foreign minis- - Protect' The Canyon J populous, Eastern neighbor. And on top of all the other lacerations there is the historical racial animosity between the two soft- kia. d As seen from Moscow, Ted China could not be more offensive. The Chinese are now describing the Soviet leaders not just as deserters and destroyers of Communists but as todays czars and '.T and charm, grace intelligence, and I have nothing against her except that she says things are meaningful. You have to watch these meaningful types. She was talking-mainly about con.Mr. Kilpatrick sumer ignorance. aim what can oe done to enlighten the housewife. Her talk came in the same was week that a House hearing testimony on the need for further regulations under the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1966. Taking one thing with another, an observer felt the same sinking feeling known to the grimy little boy whose mother approaches with soap, scrub brush and nail file. The are on tne march again; and we are about to have good done to us. said Today, as all of you know, Mrs. Hitt, the knowledge that is necessary to make wise purchases, to plan good nutritious, economical meals, to JAMES J. KILPATRICK buy a house, to pian for- and buy childrens educations, to select clothes and fabric that will wash and wear well, to buy furniture of solid wood instead of veneer, to know and be able to measure the value of the contents of a pillow these things are fantastically complicat- - ed. This is tiie same pitch that is being One served to the House witness told a pitiful tale of cheese. She hold up a package that contained eight slices of cheese, weighing eight ounces, priced at 39 cents. Then she held up another package of the same cheese, containing 16 slices, weighing 12 ounces, and cents. She was baffled. She was desperate. It was beyond her. She seemed about to burst into tears. How much was the cheese per ounce? One felt an urge to spring from the press tables and cry, For crying out loud, lady, a nickel an ounce, a nickel an ounce! costing 59 What is so "fantastically complicated about the everyday decisions that so befuddle Mrs. Hitt? Seriously, now, doesnt the Congress have issues before it of greater magnitude than the price of cheese or the fat in a hot dog? The United States is the greatest nation on earth, and the House and Senate comprise the most potent parlianment of our times. Is it truly a function of tiie President, through the amiable Mrs. Hitt, to be running around the country fluffing up pillows? The object of ail this solicitude, as v Mrs, Hitt said, is to see what needs to be done to improve the way people live, and wlio can do what to make it The goal is to see that people happen. know how to use their resources for effective living. Ideally, all consumers would engage in sound spending practices. Well, these humbug. Underlying moans, groans and trivial dithyrambs are a couple of bogus assumptions. The first is that consumers generally, and housewives particularly, are a bunch of ignorant dolts; they cannot add, subtract, or divide: they are incapable of learning by experience that 0"-- can of corn is soupier than another; they are so gullible they cannot perceive tiiat a box of cereal is needlessly too large for the long-winde- Why ' Helmet ' Law? Im a motorcyclist. I dont like the law forcing me to wear a helmet, either, but I do feel a helmet should be standard equipment included in the price of the motorcycle when it is purchased. Also, I feel a law should be made that if a motorist is involved in an accident with a motorcyclist who isnt wearing a helmet, the motorist should not be held responsible for head damages causing death. So lets get a petition against this law requiring helmets. I would be glad to sign against such an unconstitutional law that forces motorcyclists to wear a helmet against their will. JOHN S. ROBB 847 Lake Street 'No' On Pay Hikes I am writing as a representative of a group of figure. We taxpayers numbering in the have no name but are just ordinary poor taxpayers w'ho believe in good government. We are concerned about House Bill No. 53, which was passed in the last regular session of the Legislature, which reads: To permit County Officials to set new salaries for themselves and other elected officials, discounting statutorial maximum limitations. The question we would like answered is whether or not House Bill 53 is unconstitutional, for we feel that the Legislature erred when they passed this bill as it is written. We do not feel that any elected to public official in the State of Utah should be able raise his salary on his own terms. We are very much concerned about this bill and took a poll across the State of Utah asking the following two questions and receiving the following answers from 90 per cent of approximately 400 people polled: 1. Should elected officials be able to raise their own salaries on their own terms? Answer: No. 2. Do you believe House Bill 53 is unconstitutional? Answer: Yes. We placed this in the computer against the qualified voters of the State, and the computer indicated that the vote against the bill would be 80 per cent. . We are not objecting to a salary increase but are objecting to the manner in which it was done. One of the county commissioners of Salt Lake in a prepared television statement stated that they were very conservative in the raising of their pay. In other words, this would indicate that if this was constitutional there is no limit placed by the Legislature on how high they could possibly go, and we feel this is very dangerous procedure. AL G. MARTIN 931 Malvern Ave. Fight To Win Our diplomats have now been meeting officially for over a year, with the agents of a government we do not recognize, to discuss how we can now enget out of this war which we never officially tered, and do not want to win. It is time to stop our aid and trade with Communist east Europe and Russia, since they in turn are supporting North Vietnams war effort. It is time we stopped devastating South Vietnam in an effort to get rid of guerillas and enemy units. It is time we declared war on any ships trading with North Vietnam. It is time to put the pressure on both economic and military pres North Vietnam sure. As a Vietnam veteran, I ask the familiar quesWhen are we going to win in Vietnam, and tion not? why ANDERSON -B- YRON CANNON Springville GUEST CARTOON contents therein. And the second assumption is that Mama Hitt, the Congress, the Home Economists, and the Federal Trade Commission are competent to make mankind shape up. Honest to goodness, there are times when an ordinary citizen wants to echo the exasperated demand for independence of the girl in the TV commercials: The Mother, Id rather do it myself! function of government is not to mollycoddle the consumer. All that properly can be asked of the state is tiiat it protect us from dangerous products, from and from deliberate outright fraud, deception. At that point, the pull and haul of a free society ought be be allowed free play. If men choose to be foolish (in the eyes of the experts), lot them be foolish! if they like veneer, let em like veneer. ' Just leave us alone. "Hitch your wagon to a star, they tipid." cnn'sfun Science Monitor |