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Editorials: ' The Flapdoodler:
L egMators impressed
The date was eight days early and the place was sixty
miles off, but the forty-first session of the Washington
State Legislature opened with a sparkling ceremony.
One hundred of the state's elected representatives
were on hand for the gala opening in Seattle's Olympic
Hotel Sunday night when lobbyists for the food and bever-
age industry delivered the first gift in the biennial seduc-
tion session for legislators.
The wheel-greasers for the hotel, motel, restaurant
and cocktail lounge interests picked up the $150-per.couple
tab for the group of statesmen, headed by the state's num-
ber one Boy Scout, Governor Dan Evans.
A spokesman for the lobbyists explained that the
$15,000 was spent because "we want to put our best foot
forward just before the legislature meets. Anybody would
be nuts to think we would entertain all those legislators if
we were not trying to impress them.
"Obviously you don't buy anybody with a dinner, but
hopefully the dinner will impress some legislators."
We thought that "impress" was a carefully chosen
suphemism until we found that Mr. Webster's latest vol.
ume defines it thusly: "to use pressure on so as to leave a
mark." That spokesman was a learned man.
He was right, of course. You don't buy anybody with a
dinner, and we doubt there would even be a tiny, lingering
memory of the reception, the gourmet dinner, the choice
wines, the dancing and the free hotel accommodations if
legislation affecting the booze and food industry is intro-
duced during the coming session.
The lobbyists are just a bunch of public-spirited good
guys who spent $15,000 to put their best foot forward.
They certainly didn't put pressure on to leave a mark in
case some legislator tries to mess with the 18 percent dis-
count cocktail bars receive when buying liquor from state
stores, or tries to raise the minimum wage for waitresses.
The main thing the gala opening accomplished was
to downgrade the offerings of the rest of the lobbyists who
will descend on Olympia when the official session opens
Monday. These poor souls will again proffer a bottle here,
a dinner there, to help the statesmen through the trying
days of the session.
But nothing will equal that opening extravaganza for
pure, unmotivated impression.
A conservative start
President-elect Richard Nixon will launch his consera-
tire administration with a modesty and parsimoniousness
that would warm the cockles of his Quaker forebearers'
hearts.
As a first step toward returning to fiscal responsibility
and lightening the taxpayers' load, he will spend $2.000.000
on his inauguration.
Allowing four hours for sleep, this one-day coronation
of our new conservative king will cost the peasants $100,000
an hour.
The law of the land requires a new chief executive to
raise his hand and take the oath of office. On January 20
it will cost $2.000.000 to lift Richard Nixon's hand from his
pocket to a position alongside his right ear.
For those who like statistics, that's $400.000 a finger.
The new president will also be the first to strike a
blow in the new administration's battle against the spiral-
ing wage-price inflation which he abhors. On the day he
takes the oath, he will receive a wage boost of $100,000
a year over that of his predecessor, old What's-his-name
from Texas.
Congress has decided, in a bold move to establish
wages, that the president should get $200,000 a year. The
House has voted the increase and favor;tble action by the
Senate is considered routine.
The increase was recommended by a group commis-
sioned by the Congress to study federal salaries. To every-
one's surprise, the commission came up with suggested
salary increases totalling about three billion dollars a year.
If President Johnson recommends the increases in his
budget request later this month, they will go into effect
automatically 30 days later unless Congress votes to change
or alter them. The oddsmaker= in Las Vegas, who will
make book on anything, including the exact starting time
of Armageddon, have refused to set the odds against Con-
gress turning down the proposal.
The commission recommended increasing the pay of
congressmen from $30,000 to $50,000 a year; the chief
justice from $40,000 to $75,000; associate justices from
$39,500 to $65,000, cabinet officers from $35,000 to $60,000,
and Mr. Nixon's expert on urban problems Spire T. Agnew,
from $43,000 to $75,000.
Now that the first step has been taken to control
wages, we can hardly wait to Ne what our glorious leaders
come up with concerning prices. A good start might be to
raise the price of steel one hundred dollars a ton.
Founded 1886 by Grant C. Angle
Mailing Addreu: Box 480, Shelton, Wash. 98584 Phone 426-4412
Published at Shelton. Mason County,, Washington, every Thursday.
Entered as Second-Claae Matter at the Postoffiee, Shelton, Wash.
Member of National Editorial Association
Member of Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association
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Page 4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, January 9, 1969
"I hear he's a freshman legislator who tried
to pay for his own drinks,"
Capitol dome:
1969 Legislature to work from same old script
By ROBERT C. CUMMINGS
I There will be numerous chang-
es in the cast, but the script will
be pretty much the same when
the curtain rises on the 41st Leg-
islature next Monday. The big-
gest issues will include tax re-
form, governmental r)rganiza-
tion and unemployment compen-
sation; the same as two years
ago. All three were the victims
of legislative deadlocks in 1967,
and all three face a degree of
trouble this time.
TAX REFORM LOOK SBETTER
Tax reform appears to have a
better chance than it did two
years ago, but it dcesn't have
to be m much better position to
have that, There are indications,
however, that there have been
changes of heart among some of
the opponents of tax reform. Al-
so, some new faces in the two
houses may have some effect,
along with some new leadership.
One change in the script also
may be of help.
Guy. Dan Evans plans to sub-
mit a balanced budget to the
law-makers to carry the state
through the first year of the be-
t nnlum, until he calls legislators
back into special session next
year. If they don't have to squab-
ble over an immediate tax pro-
blem, they will have more time
to concentrate on tax reform.
GOVERNOR IN THE SADDLE
The tax reform program's
chances rest chiefly, however, on
the fact that this time Governor
Evans wants it so badly. Being
in the governor's chair in this
case is better than being the
dealer in a blackjack game. The
chief executive can keep calling
the law-makers back into special
session until they agree upon a
tax reform program to his liking.
That's what he did in 1965 to
get a redistricting bill that suited
him, from a Legislature in which
Democrats held control of both
houses. He lives here, and is in
much better position to ride out
a deadlock than legislators who
can't stay away from their busi-
nesses and jobs indefinitely.
Some changes in the leader-
ship should sooth things out some-
what in the House, where the
Republicans hold a 56-43 major-
ity. The new majority leader,
Stewart Bledsoe, Ellensburg, pro-
bably can go farther in getting
the necessary bipartisan support
from the Democrats than could
his predecess or, Blade Gorton,
who left the Legislature to be-
come attorney general.
Rap. John O'Brien, Seattle, re-
mains the Democratic floor lead-
er. He is a stalwart opponent
Let's talk books:
at all times, but if the Repub-
licans can't soften h!s opposition,
they may be able to work around
him. Rep. Robert Charette, Aber-
deen Democrat, has risen to a
position of virtually equal power.
SENATE OUTLOOK
The leadership is substantially
the same in the Senate, where
the Democrats hold a 27-22 con-
tr>l, but Sen, Robert R. Greive,
Seattle, the majority leader, sup-
ported the governor's tax reform
program last time,
Another key Democrat support-
ing the governor's program is
Sen. Frank Foley, Vancouver, who
is a member of the Governor's
Tax Advisory Council. The gov-
ernor's chief troubles in the Se-
nate could come from three or
four of the Republican members.
While the Senate majority
leadership remains unchanged,
the Democrats did considerable
reshuffling of committee assign-
ments, especially among the
chairmanships. Having suffered
a net loss of two seats in the
last election, the Democrats re-
duced the number of standing
committees by two, to keep Dame.
crats as chairmen of each, and
still avoid having Democrats who
are members of the powerful
Rules Committee serving, also,
as chairman of some other com-
mittee.
Are grizzlies man killers?
smells, and then wander off into
the wilderness to continue the
courtship.
In successive chapters, there
are sharp word and camera pic-
tures of grizzlies (and other an-
mals) as they go about bear
business - their feeding habits
(ants and blueberries top the
menu), mating practices, hiber.
nation, disciplining the young and
training them to hunt, swearing
at one another, fighting at times
to the death.
Through it all there runs the
theme of the bok - bears and
men in contact, bears and men
competing for llfe room but as
yet unable to work out a peace
pact which will ensure their mu-
tual survival and wellbeing.
There is, in the writing, both
technical and historical detail but
not enough to slow up the fast
pace of the tale. For example,
a controversial question : How
many species of bears are there
in North America?
The author states, without an
if, or, and or maybe, that there
are only two major kinds of
bears, the black and the grizzly.
Thus if a great Alaska brown
{male) meets a lady of grizzly
extraction on the edge of his cons.
tal feeding ground they may mate
and the cubs will not be sterile.
IlllHHflOlHillllllflmllfllflllllflllfllmflllfllfllllflHmlllflflH
Editor's Note: Dr. Lloyd .4.
Cook, rat/rod, was graduate dean
and vlee pawsident of Wayne/State
University. The Journal will
limb hls book reviews week.
Lette fTom readers are Invited.
By LLOYD A. COOK
I have been reading about
bears most of my life, starting
as youngster in Indiana with
Charles Major "The Bears of
Blue River." The Blue River,
near my home, was a favorite
fishing place and it was not hard
to imagine the Fire Bear prowl-
ing its tangled shores, chasing
small boys up trees.
The best bear book I have read
is the recent one by Andy Rus-
sell "Grizzly Country" (Knopf,
1967). The author, a hunter, guide,
naturalist and photographer, was
born and lives on a ranch in
southwest Alberta. He has ranged
the mountains of that province,
British Columbia. and Alaska for
the past fifty years. His experi-
ences with grizzlies, told matter
of factly, along with his insights
into their attitudes and mental
precesses, make this book more
rewarding than any work of fic-
tion, any contrived adventure.
Russell begins with grizzly
country - mostly mountains high
and wild and rugged, often rainy
and foggy or snow covered and
4cy, for here is where the great
bears have been pushed in their
struggle to survive. Big silvertips,
huge ces, move on and off the
scene: for instance, an old shag-
gy boar who on topping out a
saddle, sees a young female that
happens to be coming into heat.
As the big fellow approaches,
Biondle lets out a warning
growl. She swings away on the
run, then pivots into a flashing
charge and, at the last moment,
skids to an all-point stop. The
two bears rub noses and swap
If this same salmon-eating
brown climbs the summit of the
Alaska Range and gets himself
shot, the venerable Boone and
Crockett Club will, classify him
a grizzly. This does not make
sense to Russell, a view that puts
him with the "lumpers" as op-
posed to the "hair splitters."
Some' of the latter find as many
as 80 kinds of North American
bears.
' To the author and naturalist,
old silvertip's most deadly ene-
mY, one more lethal than men
and guns, is the bulldozer, with
all that follows in its wake. Con-
servationists would get a lift just
to explore the reasoning on this
point.
Are grizzlies man killers? Hunt-
ing magazines feature stories of
this sort, bloody encounters where
humans get badly mauled'or even
killed. Notices are posted in nat-
ional parks, warning hikers not
to wander off protected trails.
The author's view is: Not often,
not usually, and only under pre-
dictable circumstances. A hunter
may meet up with a mother and
cubs, or all but stumble over a
grizzly in the bush or behind a
blowdown, or pursue a wounded
animal, or use poor judgement
in reading bear danger signals.
And yet the writer, being an
honest man (and a brave one)
war that silvertip did not come
by his name of "urstm horribi-
lls" for nothing. Bears, llke peo-
ple, are different, at times quite
unpredictable, and so the only
sane advice ls to watch out!
Watch out and, above all, learn
"bear protocol," especially if
one wants to take pictures.
Tentatively, it has been decided
to consolidate three committees
into one. These are the Commit-
tee in Banking, Financial Insti-
tutions and Insurance; Committee
on Commerce, Manufacturing and
Licensing, and Committee on Pub-
lic Utilities. It will have 19 mem-
bers, and tentatively will be head-
ed by Sen. August Mardesich,
Everett Democrat who chaired
the Public Utilities Committee two
years ago.
, parks hs bee n taken out of
'[.,,iCoromtttee on Natual'e-
sources, Fisheries and Came
Fish, and consolidated into a
committee with capitol grounds
and veterans's affairs. Bruce Wil-
son, a freshman Senator from
Okanogan, will be its chairman.
IN FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS
Hubert Donohue, Dayton, who
succeeds his father, Dewey, in
the Senate, also will succeed his
father as chairman of the Com-
mittee on Agriculture and Horti-
culture. Joe Stortini, freshman
from Tacoma, will head the Com-
mittee on Labor and Social Se-
curity, formerly chaired by A. L.
Rasmussen.
Gordon Wallgren, Bremerton,
who moves up to the Senate
from the House, will head the
Liquor Control Committee. Frank
Conner, Seattle, relinquished this
chairmanship to become a mem-
ber of Rules Committee. Another
House member moving into the
Senate, William S. Day, Spokane
chiropractor, will be chairman
of the Committee on Medicine,
Dentistry, Public Health, Air
and Water Pollution. '
A freshman from Onalaska,
Gary Odegaard, will be the new
chairman of the Committee on
Public Institutions.
UNCHANGED
Other standing committees will
have the same chairmen as
last time. All Democrats, they in-
clude: Cities, Towns and Coun-
ties, Gordon Herr, Seattle; Edu-
cation, Robert Ridder, Seattle;
Constitution, Elections and Leg-
islative Processes, John T. Me-
Cutcheon, Steilacoom; Higher Edu
cation and Libraries, Gordon
Sandison, Port Angeles; High-
ways, Nat Washington, Ephrata;
Judiciary, Wes Uhlman, Seattle;
Natural Resources, Fisheries and
Game F i s h, Lowell Peterson,
Concrete; State Government, Al
Henry, White Salmon; Ways and
Means, Martin J. Durkan, Issa.
quah, with Fred Dora, Seattle,
chairman of subcommittee on ap-
propriations, and Mike MeCor-
mack, Rlchland, chairman of sub.
committee on Revenue and tax-
ation.
As reported previously, the
Democrats had originally plan-
ned to reduce the size of Rules
Committee to keep off a Repub.
lican they didn't want, but could-
n't agree on whom to snub, so
kept it the same size. As a re-
sult, there will be four new Re-
publicans and one new Democrat
oll the committee wldeh has power
of life and death over all bills.
New Republican members are
Sam Guess, Spokane, and Ted
Paterson, John Stander and Wal-
ter Williams, all Seattle, Frank
Conner, Seattle is the new Demo-
cratic member.
Superchicken and son
conquer Turnel" Hill
By STEVE ERICKSON
At first, Keith was reluctant to accompany me dew
snowy Turner Hill on the family Flexible Flyer.
He sagely pointed out that the hill was long, ste
and dangerous, particularly dangerous to a father wb
hadn't been on a sled since he himself was a boy.
Whenever that was.
"Listen, small fry," I began, because when you're get i
ring a little lip from a five-year-old, you've got to
tak00
charge or forever hold your peace. i
He listened.
"Sure, Turner Hill is steep," I admitted, "And it'
long, too. But it's not dangerous. Why, Keith, I've seen g(r:
your size on Turner Hill. And they loved it."
::i
' "Girls are dumb," he said. :I
I put a protective, fatherly arm around his shoulder:
"Come on, son," I said, picking up the Flexible Fl
"Let's go sleddin'."
Wife and the two girls drove us to the snowy slot
in the family station wagon and deposited us at the crett
And darned if it didn't look pretty steep, at that.
Very steep, in fact. And a little dangerous, too. i
chic:'eWnel'utK,e,;t:u"s:rY;:'u gwl:':gt:!mo ::r::w°,i:hhTs
• He eyed the hill speculatively. Yeah, dad, he
excitement in his voice.
"Well .... all right, then," I said. Excitement was
my voice, too, if you consider panic a form of exciteme;i
We climbed on and started down Turner Hill, which il
discovered later has an alias. Dead Man's Run. That's wi
we older folks call it. ,:
From the very first we hurtled. Hurtling has alwai
disturbed me. !
Keith was yelling something in my ear.
"What?" I yelled back.
"C'mon, dad," he hollered plaintively, "quit draggt
your feet."
"Oh," I said, ashamed that he'd noticed.
We shot around, between, and something right throu
other sledders who were making the ascent, pulling sl
behind them. Once we clipped a teenage girls' ArrowJ,
and she screamed.
So did I. ii:
Then Keith joined in, misinterpreting my cry of ter
"Yayyyy," he yelled at top lung. "Yipeee!W
At length we made it, intact, to the bottom of Del
Man's Run. Wife was there, in the wagon, waiting to
us up for another run down. Andl ! feared, another. All
another, and another, etc.
"You look pale," she remarked as we climbed in. :'i
I looked at Keith. "Oh no," I said, "He's fine." il
"1 know he's fine," she said. "1 meant you. You ha i
that stricken look." =:'
"Not the kid." I said.
To bolster my bluff I took Keith down again,
this time wife made us walk back up, "To get in the sp
of things." ,t
We walked. And lo, Turner Hill, alias Dead Ma
Run, had suddenly became Cardiac Ridge. il
Huffing, I said, "Keith, you're right. This hill is Iongi
"Yeah, dad." :'
Puffing, I added, "And it/s steep."
"Great, isn't it?" he said as we reached the
"Near-great, maybe," I allowed. "But that's as far t
I'll go."
This time I was too numb from the climb to notl[
that we were risking instant death on the descent.
And there, like a mirage come true, at the bott
waited wife and the girls in the tH- ,,-, aratefull
in, pulling a reluctant Keith behind me. yII!!
I
climbed
"That's all for today," I panted.
"Aw," he protested. "Well, can we go again
then ?"
"Sorry, son," I said with crocodile remoras.
work tomorrow."
Da2n.
I
"Dilly, did you show aunt Ela that new check you 'learned?"