Banner Graphic, Volume 10, Number 109, Greencastle, Putnam County, 11 January 1980 — Page 7

opinion

LARRY GIBBS Publisher

Letters to the Editor PMH Ambulance has helped ease tax burden

To the Editor: Exception is taken to a story in last Thursday’s edition of the Ban-ner-Graphic relative to funds sought from Putnam County taxpayers bv Operation Life In that story your reporter stated that OL is "Putnam County’s only ambulance service.” Let me inform you that there is another ambulance service in Putnam County, a very efficient one, manned by an all-volunteer staff of dedicated men and women serving all of north Putnam County Its corporate name is PMH. PMH was created through generous contributions made by citizens and business firms in north Putnam County to provide the kind of ambulance service the community wanted and needed and one which would be free from control by any government bureau or any other remote ties which might have control over its expressed purpose. The record of service made by PMH has been outstanding and has earned the

Mother and children need house to rent

To the Editor: There is something in this town that people should know. There is a family that needs a home and furniture No one wants to rent to them because of the children. I’ve let them live in my four-room house with me and don’t regret any of it. But they need a place of their own. You would think the people of

Your letters are welcome

The Banner Graphic believes the interests of its readers are best served by expression of varied points of view. We offer our opinions and those of others on this page and welcome you to do the same, whether you agree, disagree or wish to comment on another subject of public interest. Letters to the editor should be typed or written clearly and limited to 300 words if possible. All letters must be signed and include the author’s address and telephone

Public still has doubts about senator's behavior

Chappaquiddick proving to be Kennedy liability

By LOVE MILLER JR. Newhouse News Service WASHINGTON - The legacy of Chappaquiddick. Sen. Edward Kennedy’s involvement in the fatal traffic accident of 10 years ago, appears to be hurting his 1980 presidential candidacy more than most political observers expected. As Kennedy has plummented in the polls, two recent surveys find Chappaquiddick a major cause of the slide. Last summer, before Kennedy decided to challenge President Carter for the Democratic nomination, a series of interviews with veteran politicians found a concensus that the tragedy would not be a major problem if the Massachusetts senator did run for president. The interviews were conducted near the anniversary date of the July 18, 1969, tragedy in which Kennedy drove his car off the hump-backed Dyke Bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, into the icy waters of Poucha Pond The senator escaped, but his companion in the car, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned. Although the affair caused an uproar at the time, the political sources seemed to feel that Kennedy’s subsequent record as an effective and influential senator had repaired most of the damage. Typical was the response of Democratic Party national treasurer Charles Manatt, a Carter supporter, who said: “Ten years is a long time, and the solid record Ted Kennedy has compiled as an outstanding public servant tends to dispel the memory of all that. I don’t think it (Chappaquiddick) would be much of a problem” for Kennedy Polls tended to confirm that prediction at the time. An ABC-Harris poll taken in June showed that 66 percent of American voters did not think Chappaquiddick

ERIC BERNSEE Managing Editor

commendation of all north Putnam citizens. The purpose of this letter in no way intends to express an opinion on the request made by OL for county funds. Ambulance service in the county is as necessary as medical attention in times of emergency and the service cannot be provided unless adequately financed. I would hope, however, that taxpayers in the county will appreciate that part of the tax burden for this service has been relieved greatly by the existence of PMH, made possible only because of the generous contributions of time and money by so many north Putnam County men, women and business firms. Because the writer (of this letter) spent many hours working for the creation of PMH. this letter just had to be written to inform you there is another ambulance service in Putnam County. Evans Bust Greencastle

Greencastle would be a little considerate. since she was born and raised here. I’ve had it put on the radio with no response and now am trying by having it put in the newspaper. This woman and children need a home. Margaret Parrish Greencastle

number. Although we encourage readers to permit publication of their names, requests for use of initials will be honored in most cases. Letters containing personal attacks on individuals, libelous statements or profanity will not be published. All letters are subject to editing, although such will be held to a minimum and the intent of a letter will not be altered. Send your letters to: Letters to the Editor, The Banner Graphic, P. O. Box 509, Greencastle, Indiana 46135.

should be a bar to Kennedy’s becoming president. Yet even then, some of the most respected professional pollsters warned that those findings could be spurious because most Americans would not focus on Chappaquiddick as an issue unless Kennedy actually became an active candidate. As Robert Teeter of Market Opinion Ressearch said: “There’s no way to tell now. You would have to see the whole

One-woman crusade tests 1927 law

Ten Commandments fight aimed at ACLU

By JEFFBAENEN Associated Press Writer BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Wilma Belcourt, the woman who pressured the Grand Forks, N.D., school system into posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms to comply with an obscure law almost as old as she, says she did it “just to fight” the American Civil Liberties Union. Mrs. Belcourt got her fight. Her crusade has provoked a constitutional test of the 1927 law. In July, four Grand Forks residents, three with children enrolled in district schools, filed a lawsuit in federal court, seeking to declare the law unconstitutional The ACLU co-signed legal briefs in the challenge along with Robert Vogel, a former state Supreme Court justice who says

Labor mounting 'save OSH A' campaign

By LANCE GAY Washington Star Service WASHINGTON - The AFL-CIO and the Labor Department are mounting an all-out effort to scuttle any congressional attempt this year to make fundamental changes in the nine-year-old occupational safety and health laws. "This looks like it will be our issue of the year,” said Allen Zack, a spokesman for the AFL-CIO. "We are going to do everything we can to stop this from passing.” Labor Secretary Ray Marshall is also opposed to the changes proposed in the law to redirect the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s inspection efforts at the nation’s most hazardous industries. “The administration will oppose it.” predicted one Labor Department aide. “Protective labor legislation must be un i versa 1; itm us t cover all workers. ”

,| I i in If II : IlSlli IjHIl mi

Chappaquiddick recycled after he’s really a candidate, to see how people react to it.” Such cautions appear to have been well taken. Two recent national polls indicating Kennedy’s surprisingly serious difficulties found that the once dormant memories of the accident have mushroomed to become a major part of kis problem. The Los Angeles Times Poll found in a national survey completed Dec. 12 that Kennedy’s approval rating amoung

he took the case without charge “because I believe in the Constitution.” The state attorney general’s office defending the Ten Commandments as “a cornerstone of our legal and social system” intervened in the suit, now under advisement by U.S. District Judge Paul Benson. Mrs. Belcourt, 62, says she considers the ACLU “a Marxist organization” that “made me mad” when it tried to prevent students in Sioux City, S.D., public schools from singing religious songs in a Christmas program in 1978 Mrs. Belcourt says she went looking for an issue and unearthed the forgotten Ten Commandments law. Last spring she pushed and prodded the Grand Forks School District into displaying the document, as required by the law, “in a conspicuous place in every schoolroom.”

The aide said that Marshall and OSHA administrator Eula Bingham have already embarked on a program of changing the agency through administrative actions and that legislation is not needed The Senate proposal, however, has won the support of Sen. Harrison Williams, DN.J., the author of the legislation that established OSHA. A spokesman for Williams said the senator believes business groups will mount a major effort this year to repeal OSHA or gut its appropriations and he said Williams thought some compromise was needed to head off such action The new measure was proposed by Sen. Richard Schweiker, R-Pa., who said OSHA should concentrate its safety enforcement on the 10 percent of workplaces with frequent worker injuries. He also said

registered Democrats had plummeted 34 points since May (from 84 percent to 50 percent), “and Chappaquiddick clearly is a major cause.” In an accompanying match-up between them, Kennedy had led Carter 46 percent to 27 percent in May, but had fallen behind the president, 54 to 33, the survey found. If it were not for Chappaquiddick, Carter, riding the crest of approval for handling the Iran crisis, would still be ahead,

Mrs. Belcourt, a Roman Catholic and self-described “born-again Christian,” says the Ten Commandments have a “psychological benefit’’ for schoolchildren. “Every morning I say, ‘God, will you please protect our Ten Commandments law?”’ says the former teacher. Another result of her constant campaigning and community work was the Legislature’s passage last year of a law requiring students to learn the national anthem before completing sixth grade. Vogel, a law school professor at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, contends the Ten Commandments law violates the First Amendment guarantee of religious freedom. “The people who made the Bill of Rights decided church and state should be separate for the good of both," Vogel said.

OSHA should exempt about 90 percent of businesses those with good safety records from routine inspection. Also sponsoring the changes are Sens. Frank Church, D-Idaho, Orrin Hatch, RUtah, Alan Cranston, D-Calif.. and Gaylord Nelson, D-Wis Schweiker called OSHA “the most despised federal agency in existence.” Williams acknowledged that the Labor Department had made “great strides" in changing the administration of OSHA. But Williams said “difficulties still remain.” He said OSHA enforcement activities should be focused on the most hazardous and unsafe workplaces. “I don’t want this legislation to be interpreted as a sign that we’re stripping OSHA of its meaningful sanctions or weakening our commitment to the safety of American workers,” he added.

but the gap between them would have been 10 points narrower, the Times reported. Now, a Gallup Poll taken for Newsweek Magazine, also in early December, is reported to show that “doubts about the propriety of Kennedy’s behavior at Chappaquiddick have risen significantly in the past six months.” When Gallup asked a nationwide sampling of Democrats and independents last May whether Kennedy had conducted himself properly or improperly at Chappaquiddick. 48 percent judged improperly, 34 properly and 18 did not know. In December, to the same question, 55 percent said improperly, 21 properly and 24 did not know. The questions about Kennedy’s behavior stem from his failure to summon help for Miss Kopechne or report the accident until after the sunken car had been discovered some eight hours later. The poll did show that despite the rocky start of his campaign. Kennedy still rated well ahead of Carter on most leadership measurements, such as the ability to get things done (Kennedy 53 percent, Carter 34 percent). But the detailed analysis of the poll suggested that Chappaquiddick "will remain one of the biggest obstacles” of Kennedy’s presidential campaign. Newsweek said. Their opinions are their own All columns appearing on the Opinion Page reflect the views of their authors and are not necessarily the opinions of the Banner-Graphic or its individual employees.

January 11,1980, The Putnam County Banner Graphic

“There are many versions of the Ten ’Commandments, and if the state selects one of them, that prefers one religion over another and tends to disparage some religions.” Vogel says “it is simply not true” that English and American laws are based on the Ten Commandments, which the Bible says were given by God to the Hebrew leader Moses on Mount Sinai. / But Assistant Attorney General Murray Sagsveen argues that the Ten Commandments have a secular impact on “our whole legal and social system.” “The Ten Commandments are the earliest and first expression of the law. and how the people of the world felt toward the Ten Commandments has influenced all of our development since then.” Sagsveen says. “Our national heritage has primarily evolved out of a Christian environment. By displaying the Ten Commandments, we’re merely recognizing this.” Sagsveen says only one other state. Kentucky, has a similar Ten Commandments statute. Kentucky’s law, rather than requiring the document to be posted, permits its display in such public places as classrooms. Just why the North Dakota law was passed is sketchy, but Sagsveen thinks it was probably intended to improve students’ morals. One 1927 legislator said the bill may result in “less war and more peace.” Benjamin Ring, the suit’s chief plaintiff, says he has no objection to public schools teaching moral codes, but he claims the law “singles out the Ten Commandments for special attention.” Ring, an associate professor of philosophy at the University of North Dakota, posted a copy of the Ten Commandments in his classroom written in Hebrew. “I won’t object to that staying on my walls,” he said. Grain issue topic of onesided debate By WALTER R. MEARS AP Special Correspondent KELLEY, lowa (AP) cold outside Dan Froning’s grain warehouse, there is nothing abstract about the issues raised by President Carter’s embargo of shipments to the Soviet Union. They are as real as the snowdusted mounds of corn heaped on the pavement because the grain elevator is full; as real as the 30 railroad cars waiting to be loaded with corn that may go nowhere. To the presidential candidates seeking support in lowa’s leadoff contest of the 1980 campaign, the embargo is a subject for one-sided debate: Almost to a man. they have assailed the president’s action. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy is telling crowds of farmers that all Carter has done is penalize them and the taxpayers, without really hurting the Russians. Campaigning for Carter. Secretary of Agriculture Bob Bergland counters that it had to be done, that Soviet troops might not have stopped with Afghanistan had the United States failed to take a firm stand against Russian expansionism. Bergland says that would have been a catastrophe, and tells the farmers the government will cushion the blow. He insists government grain purchases will keep corn prices at about the level the crop would have brought without the embargo. He never calls it an embargo, he calls it. a suspension. Whatever it’s called, Dan Froning doesn’t like it. “We’re sick.” he said. He has about 300,000 bushels of corn in his elevator and in makeshift bins by the railroad tracks. 30 miles north of Des • Moines He figures much of it would have wound up in the Soviet Union “We started loading railroad cars and then w e quit.” he said. "We’ve got the supply, but the demand is gone." Bergland said prices may drop for a while, as they did when grain markets reopened Wednesday, but maintains that administration purchase programs will get the price back to where it would have been without the embargo The embargo certainly is a liability for Carter in the first contest of the 1980 presidential campaign, although Bergland says farmers will understand the action and won’t oppose him for it. lowa is the No. 1 corn state, and most of the embargoed grain is corn. That crop is grown on 108,000 lowa farms. And 7 in 10 lowans have farmrelated jobs But it is not clear just how the embargo will affect the Jan 21 presidential contest which is not, after all. an election. The Democratic decisions will be made at 2.531 neighborhood political meetings, and organization will be more telling than issues in determining who does best The process is less volatile than an ordinary election, and less likely to be altered by protest votes

A7