The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 6

6-A THE TENWrSSFAM TimiUyJUNE 23. 1987 I EDITORIALS The TENNESSEAN I im us quick John Scigenthalcr Chairman, Editor and Publisher Wayne White, Managing Editor Eugene Wyatt, Associate Editor Sandra Roberts, Executive Editor John Bibb, Sports Editor Ray Wong, Graphics Editor Frank Rittcr, Deputy Managing Editor Candy MrCampbcll, Executive Business Editor Harry Browning, President and General Manager William R. Davis, Marketing Lloyd Esmon, Human Resources Stephen Harper, Advertising Thomas L. Knowles, Circulation Rick Koclz, Systems William D. McCahan, Production Lawrence M.

St. Cyr, Finance A GANNETT NEWSPAPER II CITICORP of SOUTH AFRICA IP MNEA could use a lesson in how to choose 'friends' The MRS is not a villain acquired will generate $5,280 in state sales tax and $1,440 in local option sales tax. In addition, under provisions of a bill (S.839) introduced by Sen. Bennett Johnston of Louisiana, the state agreeing to accept the MRS would receive $50 million per year in payments from the Nuclear Waste Fund being generated by revenues from utilities operating nuclear plants. The MRS will not be built in Tennessee without definite plans, including a construction authorization, for a permanent repository elsewhere.

A repository remains the central focus of the national nuclear waste disposal program. The MRS is and will be a temporary stor age and repacking area with capacity limited to 15,000 metric tons of spent fuel. If we are going to fight the MRS, let's clearly understand what we are fighting--jobs, increased tax revenues, lower tax rates and a key role in resolving a national issue that directly affects our future energy secority. The MRS is not the villain it has been portrayed to be. Former Gov.

Lamar Alexander, in studying the issue, concluded that its health, safety and environmental implications are minimal. Its potential for contributing to the economy of the state is significant (Besmann is a staff member at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.) MRS project will employ than 1,000 people five-year construction and will have a total $125 million. than 600 permanent created in connection operation of the MRS annual payroll of $26 MRS will be taxed as privately owned facility will pay more than in state sales tax construction and per year during operation. MRS will allow Oak and Roane County MRS is to be located) taxes to be reduced 60. MRS storage cask IT is good thing that schools have been dismissed for summer vacation, because Nashville's public school teachers might have difficulty explaining to some young impressionable minds their union's recent endorsement Last weekend, the Metro Nashville Education Association endorsed Congressman Bill Boner for election as this city's next mayor.

The teachers' union represents about 3,800 of this city's 4,100 public school teachers. In announcing the endorsement, MNEA President Katby Woodall said that the union was urging its members and its members' families to vote for Mr. Boner and to support and work for his Campaign. She also explained that the MNEA's endorsement committee "believed that Boner has been a friend of education in 15 years of public service." That may be true. But education has not been Mr.

Boner's only friend. He has had friends who have provided him with deals on hotel partnerships and other real estate, 'as well as trips and boats. His wife has also had friends like the clients who paid her legal fees that the Boners' forgot to list as income on their income tax return. And Mr. Boner and his wife had another very good friend Mr.

James Wellham e-who has been ordered to stand trial next month on charges of defrauding the federal government While Mr. Wellham was still; 4. seeking business with the government and receiving the assistance of Mr. Boner's congressional office he expressed his friendship to Mr. Boner with gifts such as trips, a $1,200 suit and nearly $50,000 in le-, gal payments to the congressman's wife for work Mr.

Wellham later said she never did. Boner's friendships resulted in a federal grand jury investigation and a probe by the House Ethics Committee. After months of investigations, federal prosecutors decided not to seek a criminal indictment Mr. Boner is still waiting to hear from the House Ethics Committee. Perhaps Mr.

Boner's friends in the MNEA believe that the fact that he did not have to stand trial makes him qualified to be this city's chief executive. But an endorsement shouldn't simply be based on friendship, or thanks for past consideration. It certainly shouldn't be based on government's decision to not seek an indictment An endorsement should be a vote of trust It should be a statement of sincere belief that a candidate has the personal and professional qualities needed to represent the best interests of the people And those personal qualities should include judgment and candor. In endorsing Mr. Boner, the MNEA ignored the fact that congressman took everything that anyone offered him regardless of the source of those gifts.

That is not good judgment. And the union ignored the fact that the congressman has not yet released his last year's income tax returns returns that he repeatedly promised to disclose. That's not candor. Most important, teachers have the responsibility to teach civics, good government and citizenship. In endorsing Mr.

Boner the union forgot the mission of its members to help young people learn and grow intellectually, personally and ethically. That mission includes helping young people learn the difference between right and wrong. The MNEA endorsement seems to say one thing that the teachers' union wants to get on the right side of tne person it believes will be the next mayor and it doesn't mind paying the cost even when that cost is the future credibility of that organization's endorsement process. That may be the way Teamsters select their candidates, but it was hoped that Nashville's public school teachers would use a higher standard. Mr.

Jennings Perry, newsman THEODORE IVf. BESMANN THIS is in response to The Tcnnessean front-page article of June 7 concerning the all-out battle being waged by the state and other groups to prevent siting the Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS) facility in Tennessee. There is a relevant point that is continually ignored by the media and others in discussing the MRS: To say no to the MRS is to say no to one of the most significant economic boons in the state's history a shot in the arm that experts agree does not threaten public health and safety or the environment In most media coverage there are a lot of emotional charges, but not many facts. Here are some facts: Neo-conservatives rail against Baptist leaders To the Editor. It seems the neo-conservative element in the Southern Baptist Convention now has almost total control of leadership.

This element seemingly rails against "liberal" leadership of the past in our seminaries and publishing houses. Since a vast majority of our pastors grew up on the literature and attended the seminaries, having these liberals as mentors, it seems startling to hear these neo-conservatives claim that 85 of all Baptist pastors are conservative. Perhaps they are, but I think there is confusion about the term as in politics. As the Two Rivers pastor stated, the SBC is a political organ-izatioa Few delegates are elected by membership. From a point of logic, based on the obvious "power grab" tendencies, it would seem these neo-conservatives should now stock our seminaries with nothing but liberal professors, so the trend to conservatism would continue.

I feel the zeal will abate when the neo-conservatives extend their dictatorship to the proletariat of the SBC I sincerely believe the literate among us will continue to interpret the Scriptures for ourselves, as we have been prone to do throughout our past William A. Vandiver 206 Hillwood Drive, Rt 1 Waverly 37185 Buckley shows age in column on youth To the Editor I believe William Buckley's article of June 17th test first then driver's is wrongheaded, as usual. He indicates today's youth are headed for ca-tastrophy because they don't excel at history and geography. I can easily understand why kids see the arrival of man on the moon as ancient history it happened before they were born. They spend many hours involved in the ideas of space travel to distant planets and solar systems, so it is not surprising that they don't attach major importance to the fact Quezon City was the name of the capital of a Third World country many years ago.

I'll bet there aren't 50 people in Nashville who could guess within five the current number of folks running for presi- The more during its period payroll of More jobs will be with with an million. The if it were a and $11.4 million during $186,000 The Ridge (where the property by Each MR. Jennings Perry, former associate editor of The Tennessean, editorial writer; author, and columnist, is dead at the age of'86. Mr. Perry was an articulate defender of the.

humble and the powerless throughout his, life. In his years on The Tenncsscan, he led the editorial fight which resulted in abolition of the state poll tax as a prequisite for voting a fee which he called "a price of admission to the ballot box." He wrote more than 1,000 editorials on the poll tax and later authored a book, Democracy Begins at Home, describing the battle for its appeal. Mr. Perry was a strong advocate of equal rights and opportunity for all citizens and through the 1940s helped to prepare the political climate for the legal and legislative civil rights battles of the next two decades. Tennessean, I respect Ms.

Holder's right to her opinion on the issues she raised. However, I don't believe Ms. Holder is allowing the churches the same right she takes in voicing her right of opinion. I strongly believe it is the right and, yes, the mission of our churches to speak out in uniaon against the evils of our day and to warn us as individuals, and as a nation, of the; judgment and destruction that is sure to come unless we repent of our sins and turn our backs on the devil. Yes, I believe it is the churches' business to become involved in politics, and if we as, individuals and as a nation would heed our churches' call for right living instead of being so critical of the good they try to do we would all have a much safer and nicer world in which to live.

CBveRGibbs 1 43 Gordon Terrace 37207 Let compassion rule in issue of homeless To the Editor Florence Guthrie (Letters to the Editor, June 19) has some suggestions for dealing with Nashville's homeless. She believes they should be "put on a bus for a warmer climate" or should "have a place built for them outside of Nashville." Ms. Guthrie's methods of dealing with people she neither likes nor understands are hardly original. In fact they have a strong tradition throughout VS. history.

Example: Millions of Native Americans were run off their homelands by our government's pen and sword. In Germany not so very long ago, a man named Adolf Hitler decided that Jews were the cause of his country's problems, so he "escorted them out of town" permanently. Let us hope that reason and compassion not intolerance will prevail as Nashville struggles with the issues of its street people. Don Wirth 139 Kenner Ave. 37205 Letters should be addressed: "Letters to the Editor," The Tennessean, 1100 Broadway, Nashville, 77V 37201 Letters will be edited Preference will be given to those of ISO words or less.

Have a complaint, suggestion, or question about the news and editorial content of The Tennessean? Call the reader advocate, Frank Rittcr, at 259-8290 or 292-8087. Letters to The Editor dent I'll bet there is no'one in Nashville who'd recognize all the candidates. Lighten up, Bill. Yotr old-fogeyism is beginning to shine through. Mike Ellis Cedar Hill 37032 Enough photos of Remo the Magnificent To the Editor Enough of the before and after pictures of Remo the Magnificent The last time the photos ran, my seven-year-old, Adam, said, "Gee Mom, that man's been in the shower so long he shrunk!" CamilleMoffitt 137 Gates Drive 37075 Displaying the flag is symbol of freedom To the Editor June 14 was Flag Day.

You couldn't have proved it by me. Nashville is my birthplace, but I have lived in Japan, Texas and New Jersey. Each one of these places observed this day and honored our red, white and blue by proudly putting it on display on houses, stores and even on cars. This year, my husband and I took a ride through South Nashville, downtown and East Nashville. Old Glory flew only on the post office and at Riverfront Park.

Come on Nashville, where is your honor, pride and symbol of freedom and unity? Next year, let's all fly with pride our red, white and blue. Jane Hackett 2917 Vaulx Lane 37204 Afford churches same rights as individuals To the Editor In regard to the Letter to the Editor by Deiuse R. Jackson-Holder in the June 18 He left The Tenncsscan in 1946 in a disagreement with the newspaper's position on foreign policy and for a while after that wrote a column for the New York Past. He later became executive director of Citizens for TV a Nashville-based organization created in the early 1950s to support the Tennnessee Valley Authority and prevent its sale to private interests. Mr.

Perry jumped into this job with the same verve and talent he had brought to journalism. His organization was credited with providing the leadership that brought about the defeat of the Dixon-Yates deal to turn over part of TVA to private power interests during the Eisenhower administration. Mr. Perry was a mild-tempered man noted for his conversational brilliance and courtly style. He had not been active on the Nashville news scene for several years, but his accomplishments will long be remembered.

ITT Corp. also announced plans earlier this month to move out of South Africa. ITTs South African investments are actually quite small including some minority investments in telephone directory and cable businesses. But the corporation's clout in America is massive, so its pull-out will be noticed. These decisions by major corporations come just days after the Reverend Mr.

Sullivan said that his Sullivan principles had not worked and urged American businesses to leave South Africa in nine months. Whether or not the decisions by Citicorp and ITT were influenced by Mr. Sullivan, they are still stong indications that American businesses have lost their patience with the Pretorian regime. No nation not even one as rich as South Africa can exist successfully in isolation. Exits from South Africa THE Rev.

Leon Sullivan is obviously not alone in his most recent sad assess-' ment of the stronghold of South African apartheid. Citicorp, the only U.S. bank still doing business in South Africa, has announced it will sell its South African subsidiary. The news was most significant not sim-' ply because of the size of Citicorp, and also because Citicorp had been such a staunch defender of partial divestment for so many years. New York-based bank has been in South Africa since 1959, and has argued that its presence and that of other American cor-.

porations in South Africa was a socially pro-. jgressive force. But in the last few years, Citicorp was increasingly isolated in that nation and was testricted by a recent U.S. law from lending money to the government.