November 26, 1970 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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A jangling telephone and a faint whiff of tar and feathers
has convinced us that we should add a few words to last
week's editorial comment.
We want to assure the aroused members of the Golden
Age Club that the views attributed to the non-existent Pat
Reottick are the exact opposite of those held by this writer.
It is sickening to realize that the outrageous statements
we put in Mr. Reottick's mouth are so close to the truth that
the satire was lost on a large number of readers. We had
hoped the editorial would produce reaction, but did not have
in mind dismemberment of the writer because of
misinterpretation.
We believe the elderly citizens of our country will be the
next victims of a greedy, fearful, confused society that has
not learned to live with affluence. It may be that no society
can survive affluence; history certainly points to that
conclusion.
But we could give it a better try than we are making. It is
obvious that the answers to the problems of building a nation
of affluence are not the same answers needed once that
exalted position is reached. Yet, for fear of losing what we
have, we attempt to make them suffice.
A nation of dreamers and innovators has turned into a
nation of seWmh paranoids, suspicious of new ideas and now,
worse yet, of each other.
At a time when we are most in need of leaders who will
reconcile the diverse elements within our society, we have
saddled ourselves with Neanderthal men who, using tactics
that built fortunes and political empires during the country's
expansionist period, are tearing us apart by pitting group
against group - youth against adult, affluent against poor,
black against white - by an appeal to fear and prejudice.
Instead of being led, the people are manipulated. The
administration hires top behavioral scientists, not to tell it
how to bring the people together, but how to divide the
populace while keeping the majority on the side of the
manipulator.
Television, which could be used as a direct link between
the country's leaders and its citizens to explain problems and
heal wounds, is cynically employed by those leaders to
arouse, divide and confuse the electorate.
The patsy at the moment is American youth. Convinced
by demagogues that young people are a group apart from the
rest of society, parents have become suspicious and fearful of
their own children. Common sense tells us that if a
fourteen-year-old is alienated, his parents must have caused
the alienation. But the screamers blame all sorts of dark
forces, including the kids themselves.
Because of the outrageous actions of a few thousand
young hotheads and hoodlums, our society is seriously
thinking of curtailing the education of its 7,000,000 college
students. Legislatures are full of bills that will "show these
young punks that they can't mess with us." Us being the
parents who raised the "young punks."
What a sickening predicament. The adults of the richest
and most powerful nation in the world have been whipped
into such a frenzy they are deathly afraid of their own
children. It would be unbelievable if it weren't happening.
We raise our children in an alcohol- and drug-oriented
society in which self-indulgence is the highest measure of
success and then react with horror and revulsion when we see
our own excesses mirrored in them.
And well we might. If we are lucky, the nation will be
pulled back together by the growing number of young people
who have rejected the worst aspect of our societY, the
selfishness that both led to, and is the product of, our
affluence. They will have to do the job because we are not
really trying.
And the elderly should pray the new generation is
successful, for they will be the next targets in the war against
compassion. We offer, as proof, the quote we printed last
week from the report of a study commissioned by the
government and paid for by the taxpayers:
"Old people suffer the special disadvantage of being
easily identified as a group and, therefore, subject to
categorical treatment. In this sense, at least, a community
under stress would be better off without its old and feeble
members."
Those who question the direction our country is taking
believe that drastic changes must be made in the system if we
are to prevent further alienation of our young people.
They also believe that a country which spends $2 billion
a year on golf and more than a billion dollars a year on the
care and feeding of dogs can afford to take care of its "old
and feeble members."
oo0
tt
• 1 .t, ~,,,-ik,l>'O ,' t tt.0 t I I
/I
By ROBERT C. CUMMINGS
No seasoned observer was
surprised when Rep. Tom
Copeland, Walla Walla, decided to
remain as speaker pro tern
following his defeat for the
speakership by Rep. Tom Swayze,
Tacoma.
Copeland always has been a
team player.
Meanwhile, decision to form a
policy committee consisting of
Copeland, Swayze and Stewart
Bledsoe, the floor leader, was a
wise move.
Copeland's experience will be
needed. He will be starting his
eighth consecutive term. Only one
member on the Republican side
of the aisle tops him in seniority,
Ed Harris, Spokane, who first
came here in 1955.
Tight Minority
It will be a case of a rather
loosely-knit, lean Republican
majority facing one of the
toughest, tightly-knit Democratic
minorities in legislative history.
The minority is tough, and it is
hungry - hungry for victory in
1972,~its one and only goal in the
coming session.
Its floor leader, Leonard
Sawyer, Lake Tapps, will be
starting his ninth term. He can be
ruthless. When down, he asks no
quarter. When on top, he gives
none. The organization leader,
Gary Grant, Renton, is strictly
partisan all the way.
Behind these two will be
Robert Perry, a master strategist,
who holds the new position of
campaign organization chairman
and coordinator, and former
Speaker John L. O'Brien, whose
legislative experience dates way
back to 1941, holding another
new position, chairman of the
executive committee.
Some May Wander
The Democrats, with 48
votes, need lure only two votes
away from across the aisle to
scuttle anything the Republicans
might try to pass. The so-called
class of '67 which includes
Speaker Torn Swayze, will be in
control of the Republican side of
the aisle.
Consisting of 18 members out
of 51, two or three of these have
wandered off the reservation from
time to time in the past, and can
be expected to do so again. As
reported last week, holding that
thin Republican majority together
won't be easy, but last week's
column contained one miscount.
Instead of 14, there are only
12 members who never have had
experience serving with a
minority. Another 12 will be only
/I
-in their second terms. The
remainder of the majority is
composed of the 18 from the
"class of '67" and nine freshman
who fall somewhat short of being
completely compatible.
Teachers Have Chance
Three factors spell dark
clouds on the horizon for school
teachers in the coming session.
These include the present anemic
condition of the state general
fund, the voters' statewide
resistance to new taxes, and the
fact that the supply of teachers
now exceeds the demand.
But these clouds may have a
silver lining, fashioned by none
other than the legislators
themselves. Numerous key
legislators still have their hearts
set on a pay raise for themselves.
A proposal to boost their pay
from $3,600 to $9,600 a year,
with proportionate increases for
other elective officials, had
enough votes to pass the House
last time, but never was drafted
into bill form when the necessary
votes weren't forthcoming in the
Senate.
If the law-makers have the
temerity to raise their own pay,
they won't have much choice but
to vote a pay boost, also for
teachers.
Shhhhhhh
You can expect a lot of noise
in both homes of the Legislature
during the coming marathon
session, but there are indications
the law-makers aren't going to
want much of it once they get
home:
At least two bills to control
noise already are on their way.
Sen. Brian Lewis, R.,
Bellevue, has a measure in the
Joint Committee on Highways to
control the noise level on motor
vehicles.
Still to be worked out are the
basic standards. Some favor the
California law, while others like
the New York law, which sets a
lower decibel level. But some
contend any level lower than that
set in California is impractical
with present technology.
, Letter box:
'the beginning,' en ' g'
Editor, The Journal: din
The editorial of November between.
19th (about the elderly and Now that "I haV~
it~~. babies) furrowed some brows hand , let me express
C "~ with puzzlement. It sounded word of appreciation
"cold blooded as a snake." excellent ads run in tll
~.j f---] f But we can relax. It strikes me about a month ago t
as a nightmare from which we are Debban to help al
/
- wakened by the unmistakablecontinuance of I
touches of irony or sarcasm - at unpolluted Shelton watl
{mma
II
Bus1 " ud-
Editor, The Journal: picture 'in the paper
BUSTER IS DEAD[ Buster account of the cruel
, t~.~,~ ~.l/ ~
0
which would make the tax freeze
a permanent part of the
constitution.
A proposed constitutional
amendment to lower the
assessment base from 50 to 25 per
cent of value already has been
prefiled by Senator Durkan. With
approval, the property lax limit
would be moved back to 40 mills.
(Twenty mills on 50 per cent
value is the same as 40 mills on 25
per cent).
The 25 per cent amendment
received 29 votes in the Senate in
both 1969 and 1970, just four
short of the necessary two-thirds
majority. With tax reform out of
the way, it shouldn't have any
trouble mustering a two-thirds
vote in both houses.
Interest Ceiling Eyed
An experienced lobbyist has
been retained to seek
liberalization of the present 12
per cent interest ceiling on retail
credit, enacted by Initiative 245
two years ago.
Sen. Martin Durkan, D.,
Issaquah, has pre-filed a measure
which would cover the entire
spectrum of noise. It was filed by
title and preamble only, but the
title is broad, and the preamble
gives a preview of what's to come:
"The purpose of this act is to
alleviate this hazard by
establishing maximum allowable
standards for noise volume, times
for noise making activities, and to
encourage voluntary programs to
lessen noise volume and incidents
of noise making."
Assuming Initiative 44,
freezing property tax levels at 20
mills, will be certified to the
Legislature, it probably will be
enacted into law during the
session.
The Legislators will have the
option of referring the measure to
the voters in the next general
election, in which case the 21-mill
limit enacted by the 1970 session
would remain in effect. But the
Legislature instead probably will
refer to the voters a resolution
whose most serious offence was
to sneak in from the surrounding
woods and mischievously carry
away our dog Jeff's dish and eat
the contents while hiding in the
small grove we call the "Park", or
perhaps if the grain shed door was
left open he would eat half a sack
of cattle fattener which he dearly
loved because of the molasses
content.
Every other thing he ever did
was of benefit to us, his
neighbors, and to the forest which
was his home. He spent most of
his time tearing rotten logs and
stumps apart so that he might eat
the termites and grub worms
there available. Another service
he performed was to keep the
footpaths and trails open, this
making ready access to the back
country possible to everyone.
We are going to miss our good
friend, Buster, and to him a far
happier lot in that land where all
good bears go.
"How do we know that
Buster is DEAD"? We saw his
his passing. It seems
feasting upon a
termites and having no',
fear of mankind, Buster
upon by
city, who after
with a high-powered
upset that he allowed
become jammed so ,was
complete the thing he
Buster, in the
became highly
breach of faith on the
man and expressed
administering a mild
to his attacker
attempted to escape.
however hunted down
by two com
instigator of the whole
I feel that if we.
preserve the ecology
the company of
ourselves upon this
that we as
necessity, going to have
the right and the
everything that occupi~
earth along with us.
Robert
Editor, The Journal:
Now that the month of
Thanksgiving is upon us, and also
Veterans' Day, my day of thanks
came early for me this year.
It was early morning on
November 7 when the phone
rang. It was from the last of my
two sons, saying he was back in
the States.
I was one of the fortunate
ones; both of them came back.
I am not saying they wanted
to do what was asked of them.
They, like all others, had mixed
"emotions about it. But
did their part. I am
of them.
But I still think
families that lose their
or still have them
will say God be
Now I will say
and his blessings an,
everyone who
sons while they were
have two sons-in-law
who have and are
tiriae.
Mrs.
I
The new federal law which permits narcotics agents and
officers of the law to break down the door of a home
without warning has been the subject of comment in this
space before.
We have opposed that law on the grounds that it is
unconstitutional, that it runs counter to the honored
tradition that a man's home is his castle, and because we
think that imprisonment for possession of marijuana, for
example, is not the solution to the drug problem.
Now it turns out that there is another valid objection to
the law which occurred to us but which we have not earlier
mentioned. It is a point illustrated by a modified "no-knock"
incident last week in Phoenix, Ariz., in which there was a
shoot-out between invading police and the occupants of a
house - and the occupants of the house turned out to be
wholly uninvolved in any narcotics violation. They were
victims of mistaken identity, apparently the result of a bum
steer by a police informer.
In brief, what happened was that police went to the
house - which had been watched for some time as a possible
drug traffic center - on the strength of a tipoff that its
occupants had marijuana. When police arrived,
previous occupants had gone and an innocent
moved in. The wife shut the door on a 1~
believing him to be a law officer - whereupon
in and, as the saying goes, hell broke loose.
After the exchange of shots, the
hospitalized with a body wound and a policeman
finger and part of another. It was only the
marksmanship that no one was killed.
We do not pass judgment on the conduct of the
this episode. The point here made is that the 1
provision, besides being of doubtful
deplorable because it will surely lead to tragic
violence involving innocent people.
Perhaps persons who use drugs live with the
of unannounced raids and do not react violently to
innocent people do not and you can imagine what
reaction might be if you were wakened from sleep
crashing through your door in the dark of night.
The Phoenix incident emphasizes the need for
in the use of this questionable law enforcement
from the BR
rtton
law
its
Abortion's been voted in.
And the cry goes up throughout the state:
"Mommy, what's an abortion?"
And, fumbling for an answer, the reply comes:
"It's what you aren't, dear."
Obviously, we're going to need some kind of educational ap-
paratus to explain to the youngest generation the ins and outs of
abortion. Devices that will explain abortion to children from the
earliest ages. To win acceptance among the population.
I, for one, have long been an advocate of abortable Barble
Dolls. You can tell she's Mattel, she swells, sure, but then
what?
Is a kid to grow up thinking that either Barbie and Ken get
married or Ken Jr. gets put up for adoption without any other
9 '
alternative. Let s be frank, if the Barbie Pill docsn t work that
night in the Ken Hot-Wheel she could, under the law, consider an
abortion.
When the Barbie Rabbit tells her secret, Barbie could ago-
nize over the decision. She could go see her Barhie Ob & G. It
would, of course, mean lower sales for the Barbie Travel
Agent, but if we're going to be true to life let's not get weak-
kneed at the crucial moment.
Why not a Barble Abortion Game? Complete with the exelt-
ing Barble I)&C. I mean, why not?
Don't get the idea, though, that I think the abortable Barbie
Doll is the final solution. Not by any means.
Dick and Jane, too, have got to do some
recently aghast when I found that Dick and Jane's
still consists of seeing Spot run.
Kids don't buy that stuff anymore. If you doubt vae,
the next sixth grader you see. He'll tell you things
when Spot stops running. There's a great deal
those trips to the park and everyone knows it.
Why not Jane Gets an Abortion?
"See Jane. Where is Jane? Jane is
"Why is Jane crying? Jane is crying because
Dead, dead, dead. Doctor Welby looks concerned.
concerned? Was Hoppy his pet ?abbit? Well, kind of.
"See Jane and Dick. See them talk. Jane is
Hoppy is dead. Is Dick sad? No, Dick is not sad.
as hell.
"Why is he so scared? Is he afraid Hoppy's ghost
him?
"Well, kind of.
"See Spot. See Spot run and play. Run, Spot, run.
play. See Dick kick Spot.
"See Dick and Jane and Jane's Mommy and DaddY. J
just told them about Hoppy. See Jane's Mommy
Mommy, cry. See Jane's Daddy kick Dick.
"See Jane's Daddy sign the funny paper. See Jane
paper to Doctor Welby. What is the funny paper? Is it
make up for Hoppy's death?
i¸ il
"Well, kind of."
And so on. Give the kiddies a true understanding of
Issue and all of Its lmpUeations, t
And ff the kids don't get aronmi to reading the
always the movie.
I'm sure there'll be a movie.
"Beyond Jane Gets an Abortion," produced b]
Starring Annette Funieello as Jane.
Frankie Avalon as Dick.
Paul Lind as Doctor Welby.
And Wally Cox as Hoppy.
Or, for the post-adolescents, Jane Fonda,
Elliot Gould and Arlo Guthrie.
Wake up, Sesame Street.
/
Page 4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, November 26, 1970