April 10, 1969 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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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
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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