The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 34

3v tfcmricr-gfounuil ADELEN INCEST JOHN HART BERT EMKE ILLIE C. RIDDLE JAMLS NOLAN HL GH HAYME, Cartoonist BARRY BINC1H JR. l.ditorand Publisher ROBLRTT. BARNARD Opinion Page Editor FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 1975. FOUNDED 1826.

House retreat on makes U.S. more Opinion energy vulnerable Have the sheriffs a chance to end one-term limit? si IN THE FACE of two voter rejections of proposals to allow sheriffs to succeed themselves in office, the likelihood that the courts will step in to update Kentucky's antique Constitution in this respect seems small. Yet the suit filed the other day in Marshall County Circuit Court by members of the Kentucky Sheriffs Association may at least have educational value. It could remind the concerned citizen how an outdated provision of law, such as the 1891 charter's ban on succession by county sheriffs, can become a hindrance to good police work. Kentucky's courts have had great difficulty making the state Constitution fit modern times.

One memorable example of this strain was the 1962 "rubber dollar" decision, which preserved a living wage for officials despite a constitutional ceiling. In general, the voters have been as conservative as the courts in rejecting change. In 1959, Kentuckians turned down a sheriffs' succession amendment by less than 1.5 per cent of the votes cast. Then, in 1973, when the proposal was combined in a "cluster" amendment with an elected state school board and abolition of the anachronistic railroad commission, it suffered a resounding 55-to-45 per cent defeat. The convention call So the hope that springs eternal among students of Kentucky governmental reform must be based on two other ideas for improvement of the state Constitution.

One is a 1974 law to authorize calling a constitutional convention to clean the barnacles off the ship of state. But that measure must be re-adopted by the 1976 legislature before the people can vote, in 1977, to approve or reject the call of a convention. And, manifestly, such unstructural issues as abortion or busing may yet be raised to confuse the electorate about the convention plan. The other slim reed for hope of constitutional reform could be use of a "gateway" amendment. Such a step was last considered in 1963, when voters defeated a proposal to increase from two to five the number of amendments that could be placed on the ballot.

Although only a minor improvement, the idea should be given primary consideration in the 1976 session, if simply as a fallback for the convention idea. As for the sheriffs, modern law enforcement relies on experienced leadership. In the majority of Kntucky counties, where the county sheriff is the head of a police force, a strong case can be made for freeing this office from the one-term stricture. It's the only county post so limited, and all because of a thieving sheriff who served when the Kentucky Constitution was written, 84 years ago. Clearly, today's sheriffs are battling a tide of conservative constitutional interpretation that still runs deep in Kentucky.

Their best hope for modernization of their own offices may be to throw their weight which often is considerable behind the legislative effort to call a constitutional convention that can propose other major important changes in the document, as well. ALMOST EVERYONE who has made a serious study of the matter agrees that the long-term energy problems facing this country are grim. The short-term prospects are little better and could be considerably worse if another Middle East war breaks out, triggering a repeat of the 1973 Arab oil embargo. Yet these problems will not be solved until the nation somehow come to grips with a more immediate and, in some ways, more serious crisis; the abysmal lack of effective congressional leadership on energy matters. This lack of leadership, in both the Democratic and Republican ranks, was painfully obvious this week as the House gutted the only comprehensive energy bill to emerge since the 1973 oil embargo.

What's left of the measure isn't worth passing. The bill's most effective means of curbing oil consumption, a graduated tax on gasoline that could rise to 20 cents per gallon, was overwhelmingly rejected. Relatively mild quotas on imported oil were loosened even more because of fear that they might require gasoline rationing; Even a later attempt to restore some toughness by substantially boosting the bill's proposed taxes on gas-guzzling cars was roundly defeated. Thus, in effect, the House rejected the only -two approaches available for substantially curbing oil consumption and reducing imports: "price rationing arid government-imposed shortages. Without these defenses, the country 'literally is at the mercy of the Organization of Exporting Countries (OPEC), which plans to boost its prices in October.

Dependence on imports rising Because of good weather, voluntary conservation measures and the economic slowdown in most industrialized nations, world oil consumption declined last winter, providing at least a glimmer of hope that the OPEC cartel could be broken. But with the start of summer vacation travel and anticipated economic recovery here and in Western Europe and Japan, consumption is sure to rise, increasing U.S. dependence on imports that already account for almost 40 per cent of the oil we use. The Ways and Means Committee bill gutted by the House would not have offered immediate or even short-term relief from this dependence on foreign oil. Within a decade, however, the bill's conservation provisions, plus increased domestic supplies of oil and other energy sources, were expected to reduce oil imports to less than half of what they would be without such measures.

Unless there is a remarkable turnaround in Congress the only energy-saving action in Washington will have to come from the White House. President Ford already has imposed a SI per barrel tariff on imported oil. With the failure of the House to adopt a comprehensive energy bill, he doubtless will proceed with plans to double and then triple that tariff and gradually to remove controls on the price of domestic oil. Many economists and most Democratic members of Congress are convinced that these measures are not the most effective way to curb consumption and could refuel the fires of inflation, which only recently have begun to Fares for school-bus To the Editor of The Courier-Journal: As the parents of a first-grader who attended kindergarten, I was greatly disturbed when I read of the decision to eliminate kindergartens. Since we all would like to have the best possible education for our children, this decision should be upsetting to those of us in the old city system as well as those in the county.

If the new-merged school board recognizes the value of kindergartens, but unfortunately does not have the revenue to continue them, I would like to propose a possible solution. (I am assuming that if the money were available, the kindergartens would not only be continued in the city schools, but would be expanded into the county schools.) Since many city students must pay to ride buses to their schools, why not the county students? Tokens could be sold by the school board for riding on school buses. The prices could be comparable to what city students must pay to ride the TARC coaches. Besides creating equality in transportation across the entire school system I haven't read of any proposal to provide free transportation to city students the income generated from the sale of these tokens could be used to expand the current kindergarten program into an area which has been deprived of them. DOUGLAS SULZER 2327 Ackcrman Court, Louisville Decides to 'speak out' After being a member of a somewhat silent minority for the past year, I have decided to break my silence and speak out.

1 am the mother of three school-age children. I have heard the anti-busing enthusiasts speak in their noble tones of constitutional rights, ad infinitum. In my own personal opinion and I'm quite sure I speak for others, also they could sum up their arguments in two ugly words racial bias. I want my children to attend school. First and foremost I want them to have a good, sound, quality education, no matter if it be in the school next door or the school in the middle of the inner city.

I am honest in saying that busing now frightens me. Not the prospect of my children attending school 15 or more miles away or the fact that half their classmates will be black. But the thought that their school bus could be overturned by my neighbors or that they may become confused and frightened by mass hysteria, such as Boston had, does. I shiver to think how many borderline thinkers subside. Without tough energy measures from Congress, however, there is little else Mr.

Ford can do. The Ways and Means energy bill, though not without flaws of its own, was a fairer and more promising approach. The gasoline tax which frightened an overwhelming majority in the House was coupled with a system of income tax rebates that would have softened the impact of the fuel tax on the poor and on those who drove less. Fuel used by farmers and by state and local governments would have been exempt from the tax, and income tax credits and deductions would have sharply reduced the burden on persons who need to drive in connection with their jobs. So the proposed gasoline tax, which would have jumped by 5-cent increments as nationwide consumption hit certain levels, was not the regressive burden that its opponents described and denounced.

Nevertheless, so long as a majority in the House sees a vote for a gasoline tax, or for strict import quotas that could require gasoline rationing, as political suicide, hope for a tough, comprehensive energy bill will remain dim. It can be argued that, in its gutless handling of the energy bill, the House merely reflects the ambivalence of the American people, who are vaguely concerned about the energy crisis but who are unwilling to endure any additional sacrifice to cope with it. However true this proposition may be, it does not excuse the failure of the House to face the nation's serious energy problems and to show some leadership and courage. The political risks of pushing through a tough energy bill are miniscule compared with the risk to the nation of doing nothing at all to curb our enormous appetite for energy. SENATOR SOAPER says: AN AILING FRIEND writes, in answer to the question of what shape he's in, that the doctors have told him so often that he has turned the corner that he must be at least octagonal.

on the busing issue could be swayed by the violent andor bigoted tactics of an ignorant few. How much better off our children would be if all of this anti-busing energy could be funneled into campaigns that could generate monies for our elementary and secondary school systems. Let's think quality education before segregated education. Our children will thank us for it. SHARON SIZEMORE 9902 Anita Valley Station, Ky.

'Lame-duck school board' I think that it is a shame that the lame-duck school board in the former city school district is having anything to do with the handling of the merged district. It is exactly like letting a bankrupt handle his own bankruptcy. When the city school district went out of existence they should have sent the keys to all the school property to the county board along with their resignation. The people of Jefferson County should hold the Jefferson County legislators responsible for following Norbert Blume's leadership in passing this lame-duck legislation. Everyone who voted for it should be replaced.

J. C. LOVELACE 4917 Southside Louisville Snobbish travel writer? I must take umbrage with the condescending attitude of travel writer Leah Larkin on her criticism of the food at the Sherman House in Batesville, Ind. It was done for effect, naturally, for how could small-town Batesville possibly vie with big metropolis Louisville in culinary art? I was born and raised in Oldenburg, and go back periodically with mouth-watering anticipation of the gourmet food always available at the Sherman House. It is far superior to any I have eaten in Louisville.

Snobbishness Is always offensive. ANITA HAUSCHILDT 229 Monohan Louisville Letters Louisville, on topics signatures the right frequent now just keep him on a tight leash!" Air. Wilson's THE CLEAREST political message from Britain's voters in last week's referendum was not so much that they were willing for Britain to remain a member of the European Community, though by a two to one majority they did just that. It was that, in resisting the anti-market arguments of both the extreme right and, particularly, the extreme left, the people also gave their government a mandate for firm, bold leadership to bring them out of their grave economic crisis. Sadly, Prime Minister Harold Wilson doesn't appear to be the kind of leader to seize such an opportunity.

Just as his agreement to hold the first referendum in British history was a way to mollify the powerful left wing of his Labor party, so now Mr. Wilson is likely to avoid actions that might further divide it. He moved quickly to demote the leading anti-Europeanist and left-winger in the Cabinet, Tony Benn, but his replacement was another, though less prominent, anti-Europeanist and left-winger. The real test, however, will be not in the political reconstitution of the Wilson government, but in how the government tackles the hard economic questions ahead. Because of the renegotiation of British membership in Europe and the referendum campaign, no tough decisions have been made in 15 months, and the British economy has gone from bad to worse.

If an inflation rate now running at a ago, and how after 11 months of stagnating diplomatic maneuvers, this government was able to secure the release of that ship and her crew from North Korea. We are aware of the humiliating treatment that the men of the Pueblo suffered at the hands of their captors, and the coerced statement signed by the United States absolving the North Koreans of any guilt. Perhaps this nation is finally able to herald the dawning of a new era in American foreign policy as a result of the Mayaguez affair when the acts of self-righteous countries such as Cambodia and North Korea are dealt with in a swift and definite manner. JOHN S. GREENUP 2803 Creekside Louisville The textbook controversy Leftist propaganda obscures the real issue in the West Virginia textbook controversy.

It is not a witch hunt or a book burning, and nobody is being persecuted for his beliefs or writings. The only question is whether teachers and school boards can compel school children to read material which parents and other taxpayers consider immoral, treasonable, blasphemous, and designed to inculcate race hatred, disrespect for lawful authority, and indifference to the rights of others. Common suggests that teachers and parents, educators and taxpayers should agree on textbooks. If the power to select these books is given without any check or reservation to the officials of government-controlled schools, which pupils are forced to attend, parents will lose any effective voice in their children's education. The next generation will grow up as wards of the state, ready for integration into a totalitarian society.

JAMES E. MARTIN Rt. 2, Box 232, Crestwood, Ky. 'Lessons' from Vietnam One of several lessons we learned from Vietnam was that you cannot trust the Communists in any way. Their agreement to a cease-fire was not worth the paper it was written on.

One thing we can be thankful for is that we had, at the right time, a President who brought our prisoners of war home before the Communists took over. A nother thing we learned was to question where the U.N. was in all this trouble. I am of the opinion that the quicker we get the U.N. out of the country, the better off the U.S.

will be. ARLEC. MONEY 4215 S. Churchway, Apt. 7, submitted for publication must be addressed to: Readers' Views, The Courier-Journal, Ky.

40202. Best-read letters are brief (under 200 words) and of general interest. Letters must carry the and addresses of writers. Editors reserve to condense or reject any letter and limit writers. opportunity horrifying 25 per cent is to be halted, discipline must be imposed on the militant trade unions, whose exorbitant wage claims hae been a major cause of spiralling prices.

Low productivity, poor management and a sagging rate of investment all linked to excessive union power also need correction. Part of the problem has been that just as the left-wing exerts an influence on the Labor party out of all proportion to its electoral strength, so union leadership is too often unrepresentative of its members. The large vote in favor of Europe, which most unions had formally opposed, has demonstrated this gap. But will Mr. Wilson be able to exploit the advantage the referendum vote has handed him? Britons always have assumed that a Labor government would be better able to tame the unions' power than would a Conservative government handicapped by class antagonisms.

At this turning point in British history, when the left-wing appeal for a retreat to an insular brand of militant socialism has been so decisively rejected, Prime Minister Wilson has the best chance yet to assert his government's authority with full popular support. If he lets the moment pass, the alternatives would seem to be either a move by party moderates to oust him or, more likely, a slow but steady drift into first economic, then political, 'They need a new cause' The Vietnam tragedy cost the U.S. 56,737 $150 billion, more than 300,000 wounded and maimed servicemen. In spite of these enormous! expenditures, our government policy is to Vietnam go down the drain. Why? Because the only people who profit from war, the interna-t tionalists, realize Americans will no longer support a no-win war with their tax money.

They need a new cause, so the emphasis is noW on the Mideast. The internationalists say: "Little: Israel faces a war of extermination" "The" grasping Arabs are hijacking the rest of the world; on oil prices" "The only solution is militarily, to save the oil wells for the West!" Reports vary somewhat, but Americans have', already contributed between $16 billion and $50 billion to Israel. Much more is needed probably triple the $150 billion for Vietnam. The potential of billions of dollars of blood profit excites the' internationalists. All they have to do is brainwash-the American public into saving Israel.

Does it make sense to sell both sides weapons; and naively assume they won't use them? The only war profiteers are the international plutocrats who make and sell munitions and who! make policy in governments all over the world, including the United States. EUGENE J. BELL 3104 Faywood Way, Louisville On Presbyterians in Kentucky A letter1 in Readers' Views June 3 stated: "AH" Presbyterian churches in this state (Kentucky) are union churches." This is not true. There is one Presbyterian church in Louisville, one in Cynthiana, and one in Winchester, all of which belong to the Presbyterian Church in America. The Presbyterian Church in America is in no way related to the United Presbyterian Church or the Presbyterian Church in the United States.

CHESTER B. HALL 401 Dorsey Way, Louisville Elementary-school new We think that there should be more news about-elementary schools in the newspaper. We would like to see more about events that concern elementary schools such as field day, festivals and others. RONNIE RICHARDSON 9803 Gandy Louisville BRAD EVERETT 9218 ooddale Louiville 'Life for their babies' It was very good to read the story, "A Class of Their Own," in the Sunday paper of June 8. Young people getting pregnant, and not being married, have only two choices.

One is to have an easy abortion. The other is to bring their baby into the world to be loved either by themselves or an adoptive parent. I think having these facilities for these young women is fantastic. This way the women can live with the assurance they can go on living and get an education in our society without so much of a burden as they would have had, say, 10 years ago. Hooray for the Mary D.

Hill School and all those fantastic women who have chosen life for their babies and also a life for themselves. Mrs. H.M. FOSTER 3215 Stratford Louisville Pueblo incident recalled President Ford is to be highly commended for his decisive action with regard to Cambodia's piratical seizure of the Mayaguez. In light of this incident we may find ourselves resurrecting the bitter memory of the Pueblo situation, seven years Sati ii i I.