The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 10

rBm TENNESSEAN 'A Toast To Higher Education! We've Got Folks Thinking The Unthinkable Again' JOHN SEIGENTHALER President and Publisher WAYNE WHITT Managing Editor A Gannett Newspaper LLOYD ARMOUR Executive Editor JOHN BIBB Sports Editor EUGENE WYATT Associate Editor ALLEN PETTUS News Projects Editor Page 10 Monday, February 4, 1980 There Is A Gaping Hole In Grain Embargo Plan WHEN President Carter tried to build a Western-world embargo on grain sales to the Soviet Union, one sizable hole was left in the dike. That was Argentina. try to persuade Argentine officials to go along with the embargo. General Goodpaster has not had much luck. The Argentines do not At a meeting of grain-exporting na- support the Soviet Union in its invasion tions in Washington, Argentina was not of Afghanistan, and have said so, but one of the nations expressing support they do keep in mind their country's tor.

tne tarter action. But tne u.b. own self-interest. -thougnt tnat Argentina wouian taKe unnecessary advantage of the situation. "That was one miscalculation.

The One of the reasons that self-interest is unlikely to be put aside in avor of the U.S. is some long-standing ill will between the two countries, stemming A till mhM 'SLvcjaz other seems to have been an underes na" from President Carter's sharp attacks Mr. Sam McPherson A Good Choice land an oversight of how it might add to the Argentine government for its grain for export, human-rights violations. U.S. Department of Agricul- Argentina has been deeply resentful tire's prediction was 10 million tons of us- criticism about human rights, while the Argentine prediction was and claiming harsh measures are slightly more than 14 million tons, two needed to cope with a growing guerril- million of which was intended for la terrorism.

In 1977 it voted to end its -domestic use and the rest for export, military relationship with the U.S. It appears that the Argentine pre- rather tnan submit to a State Depart- diction was nearer the mark, but what ment review of tne human "ghts situ- "makes it galling for the U.S. is a simple ation. That review is required by Con- jesson in economics. When Mr.

Carter gress of all countries receiving i decided to halt grain sales to Russia in military aid. protest of the Soviet invasion of Afgh- The USt does not now have a lot of anistan, that led to a drop in prices of leverage with the Latin American gram. country, other than moral suasion That, in turn, led to a rush by which is not likely to count for much. Argentine grain buyers to purchase There js one certainty. If Argentina -cheaper U.S.

wheat and corn. can deliver 12 miliion tons of grain to the prices of grains and oil- the Soviet Union, that will fill a large up of magistrates, or whether Metro Council has the duty. The courts may have to resolve that question. But since he is qualified for office, and since it is highly unlikely that any Republican candidate will even offer a challenge to Mr. McPherson in the general election, both the court and council would be well advised to vote to put Mr.

McPherson into office immediately. Both of his opponents in the executive committee vote-counting, Mr. Johnny Clouse and Mr. Bill McPherson, have said they plan to run as independent Democrats. They are free, of course to do so.

But since Mr. Sam McPherson, no relative of his opponent who bears his name, is the clear choice of his party and since he is extremely-well qualified to serve the best thing to do would be to put him in the office now. That would be in the best interest of the Democratic party. Beyond that, it would be in the best interest of smooth operation of the clerk's office, and therefore in the interest of the taxpayers who would benefit from continued efficiency in government. THE Davidson County Democratic Executive Committee has elected Mr.

Sam McPherson, chief aide to Mayor Richard Fulton, to be the Democrats' nominee for the post of Davidson County Court Clerk. That position was vacated by the death of Mr. Robert (Bobby) Worrall, a popular and effective Democratic office holder here for many years. Mr. McPherson won by an overwhelming margin in the executive committee which is the governing body of the Democratic party for Metropolitan Nashville.

He was a good choice. A former journalist tor The Nashville Banner and later a news executive at Channel 2, he understands the workings of local government and the demands of public service. His selection by the Committee means his name will be on the ballot as the party's choice when the election is held, which probably will be on May 6 when Tennessee holds statewide presidential primaries. The question remains as to who will fill the office between now and the election. There is a controversy as to whether that is a decision to be made by the county's Quarterly Court, made Revisionism, Chinese Style seeds are soaring in Argentina where part of its needs enough in fact to THE Chinese courts have sentenced get things without workine have ahilirv turn President Carter's intended blow into something of a light slap.

traders and farmers are awaiting the Soviet Union as a buyer of their sup- 1 "rwHoe 23 youths to prison terms for armed and those who. dare to steal and fight robbery, declaring the youths had been are heroes." led into rebellious Western ways by now disgraced party radicals. Questions Quotes By Hugh Walker The youths also copied Western dress and. pursued a life of good food and drink, the newspaper said. Tr ic nil77lf urhora in Phina fho A Canton newspaper said the youths "had no idea what moral character A Soviet purchasing mission arrived last week to size up the amount of grain arid other feed that country could provide.

Washington was so upset by the "problem of having its grain embargo start to unravel that it dispatched Lt. Gen. Andrew J. Goodpaster, a former NATO commander, to Buenos Aires to Q. What was the punishment of Gen.

William Hull for the surrender of Detroit in the War of 1812? A. Though the surrender was justified by circumstances, Hull was sentenced to be shot. The sentence, however, was never carried out. young people ought to have or of the youths could learn this type of behavior socialist rule of law. or pursue this kind of good The The newspaper also said the youths charges sound like another shovel full had the idea that: "Those who like to of dirt being thrown on the discredited study are big fools, those who maintain regime of the late Mao Tse-tung and discipline are worthless, those who can the notorious Gang of Four.

Conservative Trend -trr Letters to The Editor Leaders' Words, Acts Often Not The Same -To the Editor: As a taxpayer, I'm confused. Our president says we must conserve gas ana on. a juage says we must use a lot "of extra gas to bus our children out of 'their neighborhoods. governor says we must drive 55 1 mph. The other day as I was driving 55 "mph, a highway patrol car passed me like I was sitting still.

He did not have his flashing lights or siren on. Just who are we to believe? MINNIE FERRELL Route 2 River Road 37209 Crises Prove U.N. Of Little Worth To the Editor: I believe that it is now self-evident that the United Nations serves no useful purpose. The examples set by Iran and Russia would seem to prove this. I don't see how we can afford the "luxury of providing such expensive Baker Guarantee Puts Promises In Question To the Editor: I saw Howard Baker on television not so long ago as he was campaigning for the Republican Party's nominee as candidate for the presidency.

His closing statement was that if the party would nominate him he would guarantee he would defeat Carter or Kennedy. No one can be for sure about an election until the votes are counted. I have seen upsets and dark horse candidates emerge the winner. I was somewhat surprised to hear him make the statement and trust his promises are not as idle as his guarantee. SUSIE CHAPMAN FRIERSON 94 Berkley Dr.

Madison 37115 Coupons A Big Help In Times Of Inflation To the Editor: "Watch the newspapers clip the coupons; watch the magazines clip the coupons." That's the household watchword now. Supermarkets, drug stores and restaurants now offer specials with coupons. They mean savings to the smart shopper and higher sales for merchants as they are an effective advertising method. Supermarkets get a five-cent handling fee on each coupon. A housewife may buy a product with a coupon that she doesn't ordinarily buy.

She tries it, likes it and continues to buy it. Thus, the manufacturer, merchant and consumer benefit by using coupons. Benjamin Franklin said "A penny saved is a penny earned." In these days of inflation, it behooves us to save the pennies so, clip the coupons! Taxpayer Has Right To Corrections Files To the Editor: Rep. Bill Atchley, R-Sevierville, is sponsoring legislation to close the Department of Corrections' files to the public. This public would include the press, the legal profession or any group or individual who might have legitimate interests in the contents of the prisoners'' files or conditions behind prison walls.

This seems just another in a sequence of tactics intended to erode the First Amendment rights of the citizens of this state, the press, and certainly an infringement on the dictates of the Freedom of Information Act applicable to every person in this country. The taxpayers of Tennessee pay the salaries of every employee of the Department of Corrections from the commissioner to the newest guard and these taxpayers have a legal and moral right to have access to information which will let them know just what their tax dollars are being used for. If the press, the taxpayers, groups concerned with human rights, the legal profession and relatives of prisoners are prevented from knowing what goes on behind prison walls, the Department of Corrections will have carte blanche to create an environment not too different from the Stalag camps of Hitler's Second-World-War Germany. As a prisoner at the state penitentiary it scares me just a little to think that within a few months this prison might become as remote to the public as the institutions in Aleksandr Solzhenit-syn's Gulag Archipelago. In the House, significant coalition victories included votes to restrict the powers of the Federal Trade Commission and to gut President Carter's hospital cost control legislation.

The coalition also suffered some important setbacks last year, especially in the House. Among its losses were House votes to kill a constitutional amendment to bar school busing as a means to achieve school desegregation, to limit the amount of money a House candidate could accept from political action committees and to reform the nation's welfare system. In both houses, the conservative coalition picked up strength over 1978 from most individual members, from every region of the country and from both political parties. For example, most of the liberal senators up for reelection this year and targeted for defeat by conservative groups showed more support for the coalition in 1979 than they had in 1978. Making the largest jump in this group was Frank Church, D-Idaho, who supported the coalition position 47 of the time last year, compared to 31 in 1978.

In contrast, George McGovern, maintained his 1978 level of support in 1979. The Republican senator supporting the coalition most frequently was freshman John W. Warner, R-Va. Leading the list of Democrats who most often supported the coalition was Harry F. Byrd who caucuses with the Democrats although he was elected as an independent.

The next highest ranking Democrat after Byrd was J. Bersnott Johnston cf By IRWIN B. ARIEFF Congressional Quarterly WASHINGTON The conservative coalition of Southern Democrats and Republicans gained considerable strength in Congress last year. Although the conservative voting alliance showed up in 1979 on about the same proportion of House and Senate recorded votes as it did the previous year, it emerged victorious a significantly larger percentage of the time. The coalition won 70of the votes on which it appeared, compared to only a 52 success rate in 1978.

Over the past five years, the average score for the coalition was less than 58. The coalition showed particular strength in the House, where it prevailed 73 of the time compared to 57 in 1978. In the Senate, the coalition was victorious 65 of the time, an increase of 19 percentage points over the year before. As used by Congressional Quarterly in analyzing votes, the conservative coalition refers to a voting alliance of a majority of Republicans and Southern Democrats against a majority of Northern Democrats. The coalition's strength has been analyzed by Congressional Quarterly annually since 1961.

The increase in the coalition's strength reflected a nationwide conservative trend that continued to pick up strength last year. Many of the votes on which the coalition appeared concerned such bread-and-butter conservative issues as cutting federal spending, trimming government regulations and KfcifHntf snendin priorities programs to national defense. In a year dominated by energy issues, the coalition played an important role in shaping much energy legislation. In general, it favored measures to encourage energy development. Energy was one of the few domestic issues on which the coalition voted to support creased federal spending and powers.

Examples were House votes to extend the life of a select committee with jurisdiction over oil drilling on the outer continental shelf and to study the feasibility of a solar power satellite, and House and Senate votes to strengthen the powers of the proposed energy mobilization board and to keep alive the Clinch River, fast breeder reactor program. The coalition also was successful on House and Senate votes to trim the bite and scope of the president's proposed windfall profits tax on oil and to promote nuclear power. Aside from energy, the coalition scored major victories in the Senate on votes: To permit voluntary prayer in public schools (which later was reversed). To pave the way for the lifting of economic sanctions against Rhodesia. To embarrass President Carter on his termination of a mutual defense treaty with Taiwan (the Supreme Court later upheld Carter's right to terminate that treaty.) To kill a proposed constitutional amendment providing for the direct election of the president and vice president.

To weaken the landmark 1977 strip mining law.r To protect the tax-exempt status of segregated private schools. quarters for all tne various represemi-tives to sit around and discuss and the problems of the world but 4f. resolve none of them. The appalling thing is that the renegade nations remain in good standing -with veto power. What has just happened at the UN is like a jury that comes in with a guilty verdict and the judge pronounces sentence only to see the convicted one get up and say "I reject your decision" and walk out of the courtroom.

I was amazed to hear a defector from who formerly held a high position in the Soviet Union, say on national TV that Russia has about 300 "aides" working at the UN who are nothing more than a nest of spies. In view of this Task the very important question; Why do we continue to support such an HORACE C. IIIME BUD BUCHANAN 6488G MRS. G.H. WOMACK 6-6 Unit 3 Station A West 37209 5000 Hillsboro Rd.

Apt. F-l 37215 I from foreign aid and domestic 5.10 Harding Place Apt. A-9 37211.