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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
April 10, 1969     Shelton Mason County Journal
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April 10, 1969
 
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• • • ldntornanso A situation taxz ,g A casual observer trying to figure out what is transpir- ing in the forty-first legislative session concerning the mat- ter of tax reform is m to paraphrase an old Navy saying like a fellow trying to stuff melted butter into a wildcat's ear with a hot poker. Democratic and Republican legislators alike will tell you, with a sincerity approaching that of a man about to sell you a machine that turns one dollar bills into twenties, that they feel they have a mandate from the people to come up with some sort of tax reform. After ninety days of laboring over such breathtaking legislation as making glue-sniffing a crime and asking the game department to protect the few remaining black buf- falo of Cowlitz County, the best minds in the House and Senate, we are told, are now secretly hammering out a tax reform proposal that both political parties and the taxpay- ers can live with. (The terms "hammering out" and "live with" are in- dispensable legislative cliches and are used as regularly as "in the public interest" and "go light on the soda." "Best minds" is hauled out only during a crisis.) In the meantime, the majority of the legislators are waiting for the best minds in their respective parties to come up with a proposal so ambiguous it will get them off the hook without a real commitment. Somewhere in the bowels of the marble zoo a measure will be written by Michael Mouse and Reuben Goldberg which will call for a graduated net sliding flat rate escalat- ing income tax, tied to the birth rate and the Richter scale. The parties will then caucus and be told that here is a piece of legislation everyone can live with. (A caucus is a private meeting at which strong mem- bers of a political party can browbeat weak members with- out having to walk from desk to desk. It is also something which is called immediately when speeches on the floor be- come so relevant to the matter being discussed that specta- tors in the galleries are apt to understand it.) Until such time as the best minds decide it's time to go home, the citizenry will have to be content to watch such statesmanlike antics as Sam Guess filibustering against the twentieth century and Seattle and Bellevue ar- guying over how many cement trucks can maneuver on the head of a pin. To preserve their sanity, taxpayers would be well-ad- vised to go light on the soda until the best minds have ham- mered out a tax reform proposal they can live with. It's in the public interest• ,Good place, to start , The second public chapter in the controversy between the Shelton School District board of directors and SBelton Education Association will unfold Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in ,Shelton Junior High School auditorium. That ishe time and place set for the report of the joint school study committee which investigated the dis- trict's educational program two weeks ago at the request of the local education association. The public had its chance to be heard through inter- views with the study committee. Not many citizens other than those directly involved in education took advantage of the opportunity. Now the public has a chance to hear the conclusions reached by the committee from information gathered dur- ing the study. Everyone who is interested in the Shelton schools should be present at Tuesday's meeting, Why the big rush? By GOVERNOR DAN EVANS A good vantage point on highway living can be found on any of the upper floors of the IBM Building in Seattle. Choose a window facing the Freeway and watch the traffic hurry by. Rush hour or not, everyone seems in a rush. Car after car cuts in and out to forge ahead of the herd. And if some aren't passing, chances are they're tailgating. Hurry, rush, push. And all for what ? This question was answered recently in West Germany. Two identical ears were equipped with instruments to record specialized data, and then sent out on the same 1,000-mile journey. The difference was this: One driver was told to make the trip as fast as he could while tlie other was in- structed to move with traffic and to take no chances. The results? The hurry,up driver braked 1,339 times, passed 2,004 vehicles, and allowed only 13 cars to pass him. By contrast, the no-risk driver braked 652 times, passed 645 cars and allowed 142 cars to pass him, The "fast" driver covered the distance in 20 hours and 12 minutes, while the "slow" driver took 20 hours and 43 minutes. This resulted in a total saving of 31 minutes for the entire 1,000 miles ! One of West Germany's largest motor clubs tried a similar test over an 800-mile course. This time the "fast" driver saved 21 minutes over the "slow" driver. And for that 21 minutes, he paid an extra ten gallons of gasoline. Meanwhile, back to our vantage point: Hurry, rush, push. And all for what ? Malling Address: Box 4), Shelton, Wal. 9858t Phone 426-4tL2 Published at Shelton, Mason County, Washington, every rlursday. Entered as Second-Class Matter at the Postofflce, Shelton, Wash. Member of Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association SUBSCRIPTION RAFJ: $5.00' lr year in Maon County, In ad. vance  Outside Man County $6.00 .--- .: "" "" "P (l • . :.:..::.... -.:......:.:.. :• .•. :..: :: . ,. i "'.'.'..'...:.:.?.?....'..?•.::..::::.::.•: ''.'" ... . • .'..'-'.'.. .. - .... • • ....................;... ;..--;"."'" Washincj÷on S÷a÷e Lecjisla÷ure Sene "I think I've come up with something we both can live with." Capitol dome: Nothing but eadhquake could dislodge s010m By: ROBERT C. CUMMINGS The 30th (lay of the 41st Leg- islatt,re's special session - the day the leadership in both houses had hoped cveryboJy would be headed home - is Saturday, but anybody can guess how many are betting that they'll make it. Experienced observers have learned the folly of making firm predictions on anything in this particular session. The seeming- ly impossibly has happened too many times. But at the start of the "final" week, it appeared that little short of a miracle could wind up the, r however. flint a "miracle" did occur in 1965. Just when it appeared in- evitable that the law-makers would need at' least another two weeks to complete their work. this city was rocked by the se- cond most severe earthquake in its history. The legislators scurried out of here for the weckend, but when they returned the following Mon- day, they wound up their work {n less than 36 hours. Nobody wants to see that hap- pen again, but this is April, and both the 1949 tremor - the city's worst - and the 1965 quake occur- red in April. CUTOFF WITHOUT CUT After the Legislature adopted its so-caEed "cutoff" dates last week, the hopeful started hoping the law-makers would be out of here by May 1. but were afraid to voice the hope too loudly. The "cutoff" date for consid- ering general legislation was set for the 30th, or "final" day. Then the legislators approved as excep- tions, in addition to tax reform an l bridget, such controversial issues ds unemployment compen- sation, workman's compensation and governmental re-organization. And as if that weren't lear. ing the door sufficiently ajar. the law-makers removed one of its h'nges. They added a proviso that any other Iegislation which might have been 'overlooked' could be taken up for considera- tion by proclamation. Nothing seems To Die When the governmental reor- ganization bill to establish a De- partment of Transportation land- ed in the Senate Committee ca State Government after passing the House, a lot of people pre- pared to hold last rites on the measure. Its chances of getting out of that committee were virtua/ly nil. But nothing will be dead In this Legislature until the final ga- vel falls. This particular Issue had been considered as good as dead on numerous occasions while in the House Transportation Committee. Then the present substitute bill, drafted and sponsored by the committee chairman, AI island, Redmond. was brought out and passed. It doesn't authorize the Gofer- nor to hire and fire the depart. merit chief or his directors, as the Governor had asked, but It pro- redes that the Transportation Commission members shah serve at his pleasure. This enables him to get at any of the top echelon through the seven-member commission. The Governor will accept it - if he can get it. Guy. Dan Evans has become touch)" about the nttrnbcr o[ his Page 4. Shelton.Mason County Journal - Thursday, April 10, 1969 executive request bills which have been lying dormant in the Republican-controlled House. Not until last week did he start to flex his muscles, and then things started to move. His presidential preference pri- mary bill and his proposed con- stltutional amendment to lower the voting age to 18 both moved out of the 'Committee on State Government and into the House Rules Committee. The presidential preference pri- mary bill is a prime example of what combined pressure from the Governor and the House Republi- can caucus can do. primary .i lad en' post- poned Indefinitely In this immmlt. lee during the regular session. The only thing that saved the Governor's bills from an identi- cal fate was the fact that it was taken off the committee agenda to save the Governor embarass- ment. But that was before the Gover- nor went to work on the issue. Industrial Spread A bill introduced by Sen. Nat Washington, D., Ephrata, last week which is designed to en- courage economic growth out- side the metropolltal areas ap- pears certain of becoming a to- pic of discussion during the next two year. It was the subject of a detail- ed study by the Joint Committee on Highways during the interim since the 1967 session, but was introduced tot) late to have a chance of passing this time. The study indicated that $50 million can be saved in high- way costs by directing industry to non-metropolitan area, and out of the. heavily-congested areas. It also could build a better tax base and a more stable popula- tion for rural counties. The bill would create a state industrial development authority to tackle the problem of moving industry out of the congested are as. It would be empowered to is- this time, but believes it will have a good chance in 1971. The Price of Compromise The Republican majority in the House may have to pay a stiff price for Democratic willingness to compromise on the Governor's tax reform program. A good example was when the Democratic minority staged a walkout of two hours and 15 min- utes during debate over the House version of the budget. At another time, the Republi- cans would have run roughshod sue revenue bonds, contract with over the minority, but at this other agencies, make loans to - iint they didn't dare, {aless tabBah lilduitrlal parks, build Y'were wtlUg to oltt;4t, en- tire Governor's program fly out flexible purpose structures anti initiate research and develop- ment programs. Washington concedes it is too late to get the measure passed "The lady should always walk on the inside." the window. :. Not only the tax reform pro- gram has been lost, but the De- mocratic majority in the Senate probably would have killed all of the Governor's reorganization bills. There has been some confusion over the effect of the "California wine bill" on liquor store prices. It now is clear that the price of wine in state liquor stores will be up 11 cents on the dollar ef- fective July 1. Though a member of the Liq- uor Board's legal staff previously advised thls writer the new 26 per cent excise tax wouldn't apply to accross-the-counter sales of wine In state liquor stores, the board since has been advised that It must collect the full 26 per cent. The present tax is 15 per cent. Lot's tank books: Animal stories, fact and fiction By LLOYD A. COOK ? For nature lovers, MarJory Sanger "World of the Blue Her- on" (Devon-Adair, 1968) will prove a treat. The book is about in part this majestic bird, in part a history of the Florida keys, and in part the plume hunters Conch and Cuban who have all but killed off this kin to our Pa- cific waders. "Like pearls on a string," San- get writes about the keys. "On and around them, above and be- side them, whole colonies of ani- mal and plant life inhabit the reefs and Jhallows. beaches and hammocks, sea and sky. Much is lost," she believes, "if one looks at this with no conception of its teeming, and usually hid- den, wildlife communities." Over 40 line drawings by J. H, Dick add to the grace and beauty of this study. A kooky mouse No one has ever seen a mouse like Paul Gallico's "Manxmouse- (Coward-McCann, 1968), made by a slightly potted potter (cider, mknd you) in the dark of night. Once small fry glimpse him, they will never let him go and so, I suspect, with the child in every adult. Well, the Manx mouse sets out to see the world and has many strange and fearful adventures. Now what the little fellow tea'ed most was thc Manx cat, as all youngsters know, so the line is put here to clue adults. Agter crossing England, the mouse took a train to Liverpool, then got on a boat at Pier 14 for wherever it was going. He got off at the Isle of Man and there was Thomas R, the cat, called Tom for short. Following a brief chat, the mouse was invited in for lunch and to meet the wife, a sweet young tabby, and three kittens with no tails at all. Talk ebbed and flowed and, among other things, the mou learned why Manx cats are tailless or nearly so. The two cats chosen to board the Ark were late in coming and got their tails cut off when Noah slammed the door. Beaver business Beavers can bd seen on many N-W streams so that most read- ers will know something about this master builder of the animal world. My bet is, two to one, that Lars Wilson. Swedish, zoologist, in his "My Beaver Colony" (Dou. bleday, 1968) will at least qhad- ruple what is known by almost anyone. When a big hydro project threatened a beaver col(my in his country, the author rescued sev- eral furry nippers and took them to his home to live. From this start, for almost ten years, he studied beavers closeup and in the wild -- ways of taming them, foods they cat, grooming prac- tices, their "(lance," beaver "talk," felling trees, building dams, mating behaviors, and schooling the young. "The deep- est impression made on me," he notes, "is the beaver's family life." Some 70 photos add interest to his report. Beak and claw The book is D. P. Mannix "The Killers" (Dutton, 1968). Are the killers big, like sharks and griz- zlies, or small like the fer de lance and tsetse fly? They are Ishmael, a Cooper hawk, and Whltehackle, a fighting cock. One knows, without reading the book's jacket, that there will be one or more bloody battles. The first fight came when the hawk seized a pullet in the farm- yard, a scrap in which the farm dog intervenes. The next one took place after Ishmael had been wounded by a bullet, and again the dog saves the cock. The third encounter, written up in much de- tail, settled the issue once and for all, and there will be some nail biting as it is read. The tipoff on the tale Is, it seems to me, in the hawk's name. The biblical Ishmael was an out- cast, driven into the desert with his mother by Sarah, wife of Ab- raham. He was held in contempt, hated and teared and so today, with few exceptions, are almost all the hawks. What the author appears to ask is that we rethink our view of predators, all pred- ators. Must we kill them or do they have a right to live? They are" the "balancers," the great regulators in Nature of the strug- gle to survive, Letter box= Running from Editor, The Journal: As a 1967 model of the educa- tional process of the Shelton Pub- lic School system, I represent a group that is the victim of a "deteriorated educational sys- tem." If this Is the case, then I feel as sorry for myself as I do for those seventy-nine educators who have evidently found the system in a hopeless state of deteriora- tion. In reference to Mr. Morgue' statement, I must agree that it would be "asundlng that a tea- cher could be employed for nine years in a school system and know so little about the terrible teaching conditions that exist there and of the maltreatment from administrators and the school board experienced by her and her fellow educators." My analysis would not be an ignorance of the situation on her part, but that she had found a reasonable way to deal with the "tryant" and the "unpleasant- ness of our system." Perhaps the answer lies in a personal appli- cation of "the proper attitudes, skills, ideals and character traits" the educators of our system are attempting to people concerned. This is how Those leaders whom we look uP those who have in the face of would we be our forefathers they had district." Thoe who are those running fie, because their part plain. My those continue in at the same time, those thirty-fi ve imply have hopeless. You ask whO tyrant is drive away a My answer have the to fight genuinely ble enough wrong when Youth center urged Editor, The Journal: We are writing to you about something that has been bother- ing us, and I'm sure many others, for quite some time. The problem is this: we need a place for our children to go for recreation! We have no place for them to go after school or on weekends. As mothers ourselves we understand that children of all ages need a place to go once in a while. Since the skating rink has been closed, many who had a way of recreation now have no- thing. The older kids just drive up and down the streets of Shel- ton. The drive-in is too expensive for some and Just an excuse for others. The kids of Shelton need more than that, and we have an idea. If there were a center where the kids could go for recreation the problem would be solved. The kids could go out and work them- selves to earn for the kinds of things they wanted in the center. That way if that they they would believe that nate (or give) ly there is could use. The younger thing, too. If ing or to we about one of the street and Of course, it and the older supervisors ren. That responsible time help achieve their half of the We hope and help us terested in kids, too ! Marjorte The Suggestions are Editor, The Journal: Last winter (1968) I wrote to the Governor's appointee on "Highway Safety" committee telling her how I thought bigh- way safety could be improved. This lady was put on a salary and sits at the head table in all conferences as she did at the Home Safety Conference at ,the Tyee a couple of weeks ago. Mrs. Smith was so impressed by my letter that she called and asked if she might 0se my letter in a report she had to make to the State Highway Safety Com- mittee. I gave my consent and she promised to send me an invi- tation to the big.wig's highway conference held in January. Also a copy of the report with my letter In it. Well, I didn't get an invRation to tbe Highway Safety Conference held in January or a cop)" of the rport so I incorporated One of mY the state to State of of the new ramps, places of see by the Shelton that this out I also ed on the "Use Your ! Green." to "Thru Lane, Left turn can see ter than if he off the road boards. ThiS now being