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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
July 12, 1973     Shelton Mason County Journal
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July 12, 1973
 
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/ Siiace a good five-cent cigar is out of the question in this day of rampant inflation, what this country needs is a large, salt-resistant, inexpensive towel for use by elected officials .who are inconvenienced by meddling constituents. Governor Dan Evans pointed out the problem of citizen4nterference with the sacrosanct mechanism of government when he commented last week on the activities of Bruce Helm, the dissident busybody who organized the Initiative 282 campaign to roll hack the salaries of elected state officials. "We're literally in a position of having salaries of elected officials, as well as legislators, set by the whim of a furniture salesman in South Snohomish County," Evans said. The governor didn't say so, but he probably would have been just as incensed if the irdtiative had been pushed by an appleknocker in East Chelan County, a siding salesman in West Pierce County, or a balloon ascensionist in North Mason County. And well he might. This Helm fellow pushed a good thing too far. The initiative process, by tradition, is supposed to entail lengthy preparation followed by months of arm-twisting and doorbell-tinging culminating in a last-gasp delivery of signatures barely sufficient to meet the requirements. The South Snohomish County troublemaker, needing 1 17,902 valid signatures, in two weeks obtained the personally-inked names of about 700,000 citizens. You might say he followed his whim with a wham. Gathering the signatures of nearly half the number of persons who voted in the 1972 general election is hardly the proper way to show respect for the elected officials who voted the pay raise. It is small wonder that the governor, plus some vocal legislators, were less than gruntled. This grassroots anarchy, coming on the heels of Initiative 276, is enough to upset the gastric functions of even the most hardened public servant, turning to sour mash the steak, lobster and wine paid for by sympathetic representatives of special interest groups who toil ceaselessly for good government. For the furniture salesman from South Snohomish County has bypassed the time-honored system of government. Without setting foot in an Olympia watering hole, he has influenced legislation. Instead of conferring with those who are expert at the business of solemn debate and wine-sniffing, he has raised a rabble army of taxpayers. It is doubtful that our state or any state so confused and ts esssa" vaer lt ... M ,VE hAORE F CT'E;.* i 17 WHAT" I$ BC- l"'lb INFL/kl'ii: i... :1: I.. VE MORE F.t .'fS. #...f KNOW WHAT" JS BE t::UR AMERI ... :I: Ht VE MORE" F, c'rs.* x3: KI¢oW WHb¢l" IS BEST" mE E(O ,IOMV,,, I HAVE MOWE I::ACT . • WHAT IS BES 'R: H. VE MORE I:'AGI"5. * I"M Ju -rl.lg PRESlC NT'/' Editor, The Journal: Re "ZENITH 8311." Had an experience of my very own last Sunday the 7th. Washing up after a hard day's work, scratch something- face, near left of nose started bleeding, couldn't stop ft, bled all over thi place, phoned Zenith 8311 with the question: - 'bout everybody in sight ot house had their noses glue their windows ? By the emergency vehicles arrived bleeding had stopped. The Truck was occupied by 11 only, three of 'era, charmin creatures. Ambulance: Two 1 and just one male. The ia anybody, there know how to stop Sweet young things !! I'm no t a tiny annoying bleeding ?" the business of dreaming, Ii By golly!! They sent out their annother EMERGENCY. a FIRE TRUCK -&- AMBULANCE I'll get a lil' pettin', next tir 1 ! All for just one (1) pin-prick on y'r ob.l tt my face ! I had to phone allChas• E. McGon neighbours in sight of this house: SNAIL-WATCE " "Nothing wrong." I'd guess-, a e Our gr( a tes ."( Uil Editor The Journal: nfortunately this repr a All who read this will agree what has in recent years been ts that our children and youth are motive for many entering the greatest asset Of our nation, time honored profession• $ Also they will be in agreement with these standards have gall0x" that the training of them should control of the teach ne; be our greatest concern and that organization. Their influen 3 most hours of their formative now felt with strikes• Also, ose result the real goals of tea ,all j years are spent with school.have been lost. The effoa ' teachers. Therefore, we must develop character, infl ms conclude the work of the teacher k n o w 1 e d g e, p r o v0[ c a n n o t b e c o m p a r e d i n thoughtfulness, etc. has given af importance with that of the to a babysitting job. A job I ntl logger, the railroad or the factory offers but money as the re li'dg worker, nor in fact with any other that does not deal with people• rather than pride in being a Iililu of the achievements of.l rfe Teaching is, and must be, children and youth. A job fHtl recognized as a profession the same as medicine, ministry, etc. allows them to strike if they d(~b-rf The one recognzied as the greatest get their demands. A job . uk person of history is Jesus. The holds their employer to a contlL ,t greatest part of his ministry was but that permits the employa spent in teaching• There is no refuse to fulfill his part of more sacred calling• If teaching is contract: 180 days of tear os not entered into with such spirit each school year. ' id the individual should seek A str ke" just before on- employment in a different field, graduation, that is so meaninl r a an area of service that gives a and important to high scl definite wage and working seniors, proves that the ha teachers concern for their pt rs unions•C°nditi°ns' and is protected by was limited or nil. Charact4 I I recognize that such words as caught more than taught, lit , calling and sacred are obsolete Lima pupils certainly lea i sir so debilitated, can long endure, today by our vocal minority. I am some grim lessons as tl rfe It will help, however, if our public servants do not assume By ROBERT C. CUMMINGS session from $25 to $40. But this as many signatures as ever were than 600,000 registered voters, also convinced that the too silent watched their striking teacherlh.,, a defeatist attitude. While met on the great battlefield they The spectre of Initiative 282 is inconsequential. Many gathered before - even by there is a pretty good chance the majority still believe in them and learned reports of the stdllghl should always look for the silver lining, keep on smiling and cast a shadow over the second legisla~(~rs have been willing to professionals. And he did it all in Legislature will take heed. It adhere to them as they "also do to activities. Fortunately ~rfe watch for the light at the end of the tunnel..... round of official legislative devote long hours this year and a little more than two weeks. No seems to indicate that the voters other temporarily unpopular learned all teachers were not~72 committee meetingslast weekend, next in anticipation of the initiative measure ever qualified want to put alid on governmental standards such as morality, concerned about their pay. I,~1o, There is a glimmer of a tspot in House Speaker Len There was nothing the law-makers ~izeable raise ttiev had expected for the ballot before which was spending, and Initiative 282 gave virtuousness, honor and pride in want to offer praise to ~n i~ Sawyer's comment on Helm s disruptive activity. Sawyer could do about it, and the subject in ] 975 " fried after April 23• them the first opportunity they all work. coaches and others who pr il," the initiative means that future lel latures will tend to didn t come up officially in any No Ego Trip Here Some Message have had to say so. A few years ago ! asked atheir interest was in the ptIred ..... Ever since tax reform was first fellow teacher, who was serving These teachers proved tlhel1 be more composed of the wealthy, the retired and the of the open committee sessions. But many legislators egos are there has to oe a message m . ..... o passed and sent to the 1970 ballot his first year, how liked his interest was in the achievem ay, incompetent. But it was a major topic of suffering more than their the record ...... set by the mmatwe .... in 1969, there has been a lot ot chosen work• His angwer was, ','! of their pupils as the domi li discussion in legislative corridors, pocketb )oks. The overwhelming soonsor. As zt was s gneo oy more ..... 1 i k e t h ep a y c h e c k. motive for their service• : ee In a democracy, government cannot help but be in offices and at breakfast, lunch number t)t registered voters who " talk about spenoing retorm. • Mrs. Cora H. Moiety strengthened by the introduction of two new groups into the and dinner - wherever two virtually iumped at the chance to itch more legislators happened to sign the initiative petitions ranks of officeholder. The wealthy and the retired will add a gather. It was virtually all that doesn's speak well for the newdimensiontothepresentlegis]ature. There is rest fo the ngh" eous I some of them could talk about, legislative image. Quit fueling around there were others who They shouldhaveknown. Itis accepted itphilosophically, and a an old story. The average ' id few who chose to ignore it. legislat~)r is held in high regard by By DWIGHT JENSEN book store." I [ Legislators Hardest Hit the people of his own district. But "No more it isn't," he answered. "They had to shut If you're having trouble finding a service station open While the measure would cut" put all of the legislators together law Earlierwent intothiseffect,week'I juSthappenedafter Idaho'Sto meetneWa frindanti'°bscenitYof mine on at the end of June We've taken over the premises." evenings or Sundays, you might consider trading in your the pay raises voted last April for and the public viewpoint seemsto As we walked through the door I asked, What doY rfe Aardvark Super 8 on a B-52. • , all state elective officers back to take a 180 degree turn. wasthe street.apparentlyHe waSin aWell'kn°Wngreat hurry.att°rneYstrugglingStanleYto keepBUrd'up,andI fellhe have here now9'' I05, There is no fuel shortage for B-52 s, particularly those 5.5 percent above the salaries Silver Lining into step with him: "Dirty books," he replied. presently paid, the legislators There is a silver lining for "What's the rush, Stan?" I asked. "1 thought you'd be "But aren't they against the law?" ll6 honorably dropping tons of peace daily on Cambodia. would be hit the hardest by far those who enjoy serving in the relaxing this week, now that all salacious literature has been "They certainly are. But remember the black marl(lhe Remember complacency. We are using this place to arm One sortie by a B-52 fueled at Pentagon pumps on Guam The bill passed by the Legislature l.cgi lature regardless of the pay, outlawed." ,, al rfe uses about 28,000 gallons, would have boos ted the an~t that could take in a far conservative anti-smut citizens against dirty books." .I°s' lawmaker's salaries from $3,600 greater number than you might,,Oh' no,. he said, "Now the danger sjust" " beginning." , .... A month of B-52 bombings consumes sixty-five millionto $10,560 a year. The initiative think. If the $10,560 pay scale What kind of danger9'' iplUons of t r i i cS fl.t r] L i!i i/eln eil/ [ ib e gi i bicbelod! F t, ,t,, n( k through copies of Hard-Core Erotica and Sex Life in Paye, --: would change that. were t() stand, a record number of - - How so? I asked, looking around at the men thumb itl and other filthy epics. , A day s bombing (prior to the increased destruction of And while the Governor and ca dida es could have been other elective officials would get " expected in next year's election. their increases next January 1, the There also was the real possibility constitutes dirty books, we can make them more aware| . the past week) consumes about 2.2 million gallons of fuel. How can they combat the danger if they can t reco s it? By giving our good citizens an orientation as to will- America-- s foreign relations are in splendid shape. We have c o n s t i t u t ion prove n ts th,c of imtiative to reduce the size complacent and allow the standards to be relaxed again " legislators from getting theirs ,)t the Legislature by about"That's terrible," I said. "I hadn't realized the danger, junk': ii adp ay e ist° sent our gasoline to Guam, our wheat to Russia, our logs to until they start their next terries- , no-third," which' automatically And you have to combat all this single-handed?" ] Japan and illegal campaign money to Mexico. The earliest any of them could get wo ld have squeezed out "Oh, I'm not alone. I have my own organization The only thing to come back was the campaign money, it would be January 15, 1975. nulne ous incumbents. Hundreds of fight-thinking middle-class Americans are which was used to improve domestic relations between the That's a long time to wait for a No more than the usual • . , patriotic our conservative citizens are. Some of them White House and the underworld. $200-a-year raise. umber of candidates can be joining. I'm on my way to the orgamzahon s headquarters been in here two or three times already this week." ~II~uM~u~u~I~I~I~I~II~i~u~~~H~ k McGinnis' ~IIIHIIHIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIHIIIIHHIIBIIIIfllIIflllUMHIlUlIIIIHII Graham Loved, g, lot I etty el et while driving to a McDonald's for s mack with lab Irendfather. He was told that he couldn't have a raft drink. He could have a hambuqler, French fries and whatever else he wanted to eat, but no raft drink. He suppmed to cut down on hb comumption. "But what will I drink?" "Drink water." "If God had meat m to drink water," Graham firmly, "He would have put it in earn." (Paul Crume in Dallas News) When we kid= they taelht m alway to respect our elders; now that we're the alden, they tell m to lbten to the youth. , 0Vaupun Leader-News) : If womea aren't dmi ul, why do men always inerea their iltmmce when they get married? (Chambersburg Public Opinion) And then there was the cromword puzzle nut who was buried six down and three acrms. (Blackie Sherrod in Dallas Times Herald) What Now? The ease with which a furniture salesman without previous campaign experience gathered so many signatures in such a period of time didn't leave any room for doubt that the initiative will be approved, once it goes before the voters. The big question this past weekend has been what the measure will do to the continuing Legislative concept, which is getting its first trial this year. The majority leadership in general didn't think it would have any effect. It was pointed out the continuing Legislature is operating now at $3,600 a year. Others, however, think the leadership is whistling in the dark. The vote to set up the new system didn't carry by much of a margin. The Republican minority in each house voted solidly against it. It wouldn't take a switch of many votes to change the picture. The increase m per diem money paid to legislators attending committee meetings between sessions isn't affected b) the initiative. This was raised last Page 4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, July 12, 1973 expected now, assuming initiative will be approved. The election won't pose any more complications than usual. Every session a number of legislators decline to seek reelection, saying they can't afford to devote so much time away from their businesses or professions. Some more can be expected to retire next year, but the number probably won't be any greater than usual, it will still be a citizen Legislature, which for all its faults, compares favorably with any other. Speaking of Egos If the tremendous number of the right now. Come on in. You can see the important work we are undertaking." "But I can't go in here," I protested. "This is a dirty ( ttl :::,::::: "Well," I said, " I can only commend you on your Bfit isn't it expensive?" "Very expensive, but we have a way around that. charge tuition for each citizen who wants to come in herr learn. It's nominal - only fifty cents. We also have a course in dirty movies upstairs, which is another fifty That's where I'm going now." And up the stairs he bounded, the gleam of a crusade his eye. From the Intermountain Obse een It. ishi cell heh rfe ;OX oat: '~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ tto] ,6 Leltoq. ./vlasoB Countj signatures gathered on the i~litiative is a blow to the collective legislative ego, consider what it does to the ego of experienced observers who originally pooh-poohed the effort. That includes this writer, who wrote just two weeks ago that the measure didn't have a chance of making the ballot• Bruce Helm, the furniture s:~lesman who sponsored the inili:~live, ~hattered all previous ~ecords, getting more than twice Founde____~d 1286 b_~y Gran__._~t C._.: Angl_._.~e i~:ll Mailing Address: Box 430, Shelton, Wa. 98584 Phone 42644I'~ ',i',iii',!',i' ----~u0 s~e----;a, ~, Wo,, Cot0 S,r--~.e, S~.,on M-- --~.~~ ~ Washington 98584, weekly. ';I )l ~e~~ Member of National Editorial ~t'?_n_ ........ ~I Bi Member of Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association I SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $5.50 per year in Mason-c:-ou-nty. I in advance -- Outside Mason County $6.50 ~ IL~ EDITOR AND PUBLISHER ...................... Henry G.i r~ ~F---''~ ~~~~~~~~l~~~l~~l~~~~~~~~l~~~~~~~~~~~l~~~l~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~M~~~~~~~M~M~~~~~~~~~~~~~~l~~~~~~~~~l~M~~~~~~~ L