The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 12

Mary McGrory Networks: ITT Led The Way James M. Coi. Jr Chairman Cecil B. Kelley, Publisher Robert W. Sherman, Presidrnt Greeory E.

Favre, Editor Robert J. Nangle, Associate Editor Raymond J. Mariotti, Managinf Editor WEDNESDAY MORNING, APRIL IS. 1172 The Palm Beach Post Published By Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc. Reins on War Powers (8 'The President and I Are Happy to Announce That the Justice Department Has Broken the Vicious Network Monopoly Over TV Programming.

Stay Tuned for an Hour of MartialMusic Followed by a Stirring Two-Hour Discussion by the Secretary of Agriculture' Gregory Favre No Hope To Escape the Ghetto Whenever Americans are committed to fight a war no matter how limited it may seem at the time they should be there under the national will, not because one man decided to risk their lives. That is what the Senate has said in voting to retrieve from the president Congress' power to declare war. It only makes sense that such a grave undertaking as war should be decided by more than one individual and the branch of government he controls. The bill overwhelmingly passed by the Senate 68 to 16 would simply make the president come to Congress, with its many elective representatives of the people, before engaging U.S. forces in non-emergency combat.

Opponents of this bill, including the Nixon administration, have attempted to raise the specter of threatened national security by claiming the president would be unable to protect American lives and property until Congress acted. This just isn't so. The president would have up to 30 days to use the armed forces without Congress' consent to repel attacks on U.S. territory or military personnel; to forestall the imminent threat of attack; or to protect Americans endangered in foreign countries or on ships. These provisions provide the president with more than enough power to fight here or abroad in the interest of our defense for a reasonable length of time.

Congress would be able to give careful consideration in the meantime to whether or not the nation should continue military action. This surely is what the framers of the Constitution had in mind when they gave Congress the power to declare wars and the president the power to wage them. The deliberative legislative branch is best suited to judge the public's desires and needs for prolonged war while the executive branch can better make day-to-day strategic decisions once the nation's course of action is set. It is hoped this proposed law will put some reins on the type of undeclared presidential wars that the United States has been plagued with. Since 1789, American forces have fought overseas on more than 150 occasions, but, incredibly, Congress has declared war only five times.

Although some of these actions were approved by Congress through other means, the majority were initiated, pursued and concluded solely by the president and without any congressional authorization. The necessity of the Senate's war powers bill has been made obvious by our costly involvement in Indochina. Two successive presidents put the United States deeper into this war without legitimate congressional consent President Nixon has dragged the erx. out despite expressions by Congress ai the public that our tragic role ther "Iuld quickly cease. While the bill unfo.

ely exempts the Vietnam war, it couia an effective guard against similar unwanted actions in the future. It is now up to the House to decide whether the power to commit U.S. forces to battle will stay locked with the president or return in part to Congress and the American people. Another Nasty Machine no longer be predicated upon wants," he wrote. "It is the need that now sounds the alarm.

"The need of integrated quality education, before it is too late. It is not even a matter as to whether or not black and white children learn better together. It is whether or not they will be given a chance to learn how to live better together. "Black-white relations must be placed in the future perspective. What we have now is a confused electorate manipulated by racist politicians who care nothing for the future, only their elective present.

The nation has fallen into their traps. Unfortunately, there seems to be no escape, especially for blacks." If there is to be any change, he wrote, it is up to white America. It is up to white America to calm the emotional tremors that are building. "I wept yesterday for the ghetto," King concluded. "No more.

Tears soon dry up among blacks. So much, so little, to cry for now. Our children have gradually become hardened to the black setting. It will grow worse. Low expectations produce low rewards.

"The few blacks remaining who now shout out warnings will soon be forced by blacks to whisper. If Nixon's proposal succeeds, our black children will die, not natural deaths, but slain run over by yellow buses that were not even moving." Somehow we must find a way to open this dead-end street. We must. gration are losing their credibility and are finding themselves in a vacuum. A black man named Charles H.

King who worked for the President's Commission on Civil Disorders and is past president of the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies, recently wrote of this in a series in the Dayton Daily News. "The ghetto to me is like a coffin," King wrote. "As blacks, we lie there. Some of us think it is the best place to be, others want out particularly when it becomes evident that the lid is closing. "It's hard to breathe in the ghetto.

Not air alone, but blacks must inhale welfare, the pollution of unemployment, of crime and despair. You scream in the ghetto, but a dying man's voice is always weak. Nothing left then but to embrace your own blackness, hoping against hope that it may never become your own tomb." The thrust of King's series was the impact President Nixon's stand on busing would have on black children and their futures. He said Mr. Nixon's speech erected a concrete wall between the haves and have-nots and that black and white were sacrificed to political expediency.

"His offered solution," King wrote, "is blood money; billions of it to make the wall higher, stronger. He took out of the nation's hands the only tool left to forge its destiny, the yellow bus, the last best hope for racial unity. "The problems of racial division can WASHINGTON Ruby Dee, the black actress, was speaking at Bowling Green, Ohio, last week when I visited that campus and when I read what she had to say to the black students who came to hear her, I was reminded of something that had occurred at the University of Florida not long ago. There was a meeting on recruiting minorities into the news media and a black senior stood during the question session and asked the white newsmen why they thought they knew how to cover the black community. "When you look at the ghetto," he said; "all you see is a slum, some broken down homes and dirty alleys.

When I look at the ghetto I see my home and my mother in the kitchen and my brothers and sisters jammed into small rooms. There are two different viewpoints." Ruby Dee was telling the students that blacks had to get it together. She talked of a unity that bordered on separatism and of the need for black pride and of what it could contribute. A few days before that, I had read of a resolution passed by a convention of black social workers which condemned the adoption of black children by white families, even though this practice is fairly new and doesn't happen very often. The social workers were moved by what they feel is a threat to the solidarity of black Americans.

The fear among so many blacks in the north is that genocide is imminent and they want to survive. So they become chauvinistic and those leaders who have preached inte- Letters to the Editor MEMORANDUM To: All Network Vice Presidents. New York From: TV Listening Post. Washington Subject: Anti-trust Suits Against CBS. NBC.

ABC 'I'm sorry we got that call from the Justice Department, but I can assure you there's nothing to worry about If we handle the whole thing the ITT way. I'm sure it will come out all right. I have studied the transcript of the hearings, and it seems to me ITT took a couple of early steps that we can take to assure victory: (11 Ask White House aide Peter Flanigan about the ripple effects. (2) Build a hotel. (3) Move next door to an attorney general.

Also. ITT has proven that something like this can result in a much more efficient operation You remember how. after Jack Anderson got hold of that memo, they turned the situation to ecological advantage, cleared out their files and shredded them? Well, to me. what we have here is a long-needed opportunity to rethink our entire approach to programming and scheduling For openers, I'd like to say I think we've given far too much time to the ITT hearings Who cares what Dita Beard said to John Mitchell in the buffet line at the Kentucky Derby buffet (have we got someone going this year, by the way?) It's boring and. as Sen.

Roman Hruska often says, irrelevant. I think this is a marvelous time for the three network presidents to come down and talk to Vice President Spiro Agnew about his comments on our programs. Maybe we should offer him his own newscast, say an hour on all networks between 6:30 and 7:30. seven nights a week? Also, I see no reason to cover the Democratic primaries. They're terribly repetitive and inconclusive And.

incidentally, has a serious effort been made to find some Americans who do not grouse about the high price of meat? I think people are fed up with this eternal carping. I have long thought that we should cover Billy Graham's crusades around the world, live, by satellite. And what about having him as our analyst after presidential speeches? I think that Eric and Walter sometimes overlook the spiritual content. How about late-night movies. Why haven't we been showing It's the President's favorite movie and we could run it twice a week.

Also, we haven't done nearly enough with President Thieu. or the South Vietnamese army. Couldn't we run some of that footage backwards so they would be appearing to dash into battle? And how about sending an investigating team to report on that woman in Paris who wrote the embarrassing book about Henry Kissinger? I think it would be fairly easy to prove that she didn't write it. or only wrote parts of it or was distraught and upset and probably drinking when she wrote them. We could bring in the Irvings as the authenticity experts.

Well, these are just a few of the ideas that come to mind as I consider the months ahead. I think whatever way it comes out, we should consider making a contribution to the Republican party, just to show we are grateful for their time and attention. It would prove that we don't think there's the slightest connection between the ITT anti-trust suit and the one being brought out against us. just as ITT showed there were no hard feelings after they got their case settled out oi court. Please destroy this, huh? Now West Palm Beach officials know what happened to their contingency fund.

Some creepy, sneaky, money-grabbing machine in the county tax assessor's office chewed it all up. Sure enough that's what happened an "equipment or program failure" according to Tax Assessor Dave Reid. Why did this machine fail? Why did it make a $20 million error in assessments? Why did the city lose $165,000 in tax revenues? Alas, did the machine take too many oil breaks? Did it electronically wink at too many pretty secretaries? Did it play a numbers game when it should have been working? Silly? Yes. And so ae these kinds of explanations. Seems every time there's a foul-up these days, someone alludes to some miserable machine that didn't do its job.

And how, for Pete's sake, do you chastize a machine and make it do right? But the man with the heart. Dave Reid, told commissioners that if they wanted "a whipping boy or someone you feel should take the brunt, place it on me, not on the employes of the assessor's office as a whole." Okay, Mr. Reid, you did it. You botched up the whole thing. Why it's enough to make a machine weep in its circuits over such nobleness.

Search for Domestic Oil Can't Be Curtailed Stockade Classrooms Your editorial attacking tr. oil companies was not only unfair but a misrepresentation of the facts. In calling for greater dependence on foreign oil at the expense of the domestic industry, you are putting us at the mercy of Middle East countries whose record for stability has not been good. As long as the United States is going to consume increasingly larger quantities of energy, we must get oil and gas wherever it is. We cannot curtail and discourage the domestic search for oil and gas on the one hand and continue to use more and more energy.

The import quota system on oil has enabled the domestic industry to continue strong. The "cheap foreign oil" we hear about is no longer cheap and will continue to get more expensive as our demands grow aty) we become more dependent on foreign oil. who saw the need for stockade classrooms. "There's a high correlation between people who are having problems with the law and the low education level," he said. It naturally follows that someone handicapped by lack of education and thus denied a good chance to compete for a decent job and a productive life will become frustrated and often to the point of anti-social behavior.

It's a shame that society spends such large sums of money running after criminals, taking them to court and salting them away but does so little to help them once they become a captive audience for rehabilitation. Here's hoping that education program at the stockade continues and expands. Programs such as these can save many individuals and society a lot of grief. With national leadership regrettably emphasizing billy-club law enforcement, it's encouraging to see people still tirelessly working on social solutions to crime problems, initiating common-sense programs that dig at root causes of bad behavior and supporting permanent rehabilitation. A good example on the local front is that education program at the Palm Beach County stockade.

Thanks to cooperation by law enforcement personnel and the county school system, stockade prisoners have the opportunity to take instructional courses and earn high school diplomas. Eleven prisoners have received diplomas through the program. "What we're finding," said Alton Chaney. a stockade warden, "is none of those prisoners who get their diplomas is getting into trouble again." Give credit to Michael Robbins, adult education director. Russell Baker even though all are national or international figures? This kind of action smacks of something that is distasteful.

Americans are going to have to recognize that individual privacy is each individual's right if he so desires. What is good for one is equally as good for others. B. CARLETON BRYANT West Palm Beach TB Hospital Having worked as an orthopedic consultant to the TB hospital in Lantana since it was opened in 1951, 1 must say that I've been impressed over the years with the high quality of care offered to the patients. The cleanliness of the institution has always been exemplary- This morning, in our bathroom, I killed a roach.

Yesterday, I killed two roaches in our kitchen. Roaches are almost synonymous with Florida even though we have a spray service that comes around our house weekly and does an excellent job. THEODORE NOR- LEY.MD West Palm Beach It is also folly to talk about not using the Alaskan oil because we worry about the ecological damage from a pipeline. Pipelines crisscross this nation as do rail lines and highways. All do some ecological damage.

But if we are to progress we must have the oil. I am convinced that the oil companies have the technical know-how to build the line and make it compatible with the environment. Instead of knocking an industry that has contributed a great deal toward the development of this country, you should be alerting your readers to the crisis situation we are approaching in energy. If we wait too long we may be more concerned with horse exhaust on our streets than that which comes from autos. OTTO W.

GLADE Lantana Job Hunt I decided to look for a job and not just for fun. Those who say. "You can find one. if you want to work." should trv to get one. The process of elimination alone can bankrupt you if you had any cash left.

I don't know what the ratio the supply and demand of unemployment is. but they have got you by the tail. Many places will say. "We take applications." but show no concern or compassion for the job-seeker. Questions about schooling, husband, children, mortgage, reference, varicose veins, nervousness, and drinking are asked applicants for the most menial How To Unthinkan Unstoppable War ing shoes on ladies challenging.

All of a sudden it dawned on me that he couldn't need anybody this late in the season in the first place. The second one was really the piece de resistance. It was a wholesale drug company. I had inquired beforehand what the qualifications were. They replied: you have to be intelligent.

Well. I had worked for a doctor in New York and Un-ters Library which would make me reasonably intelligent. I was asked to fill out a preliminary slip of paper: upon completion. I met a little man with a moustache in his late forties or early fifties. He asked how old I was i as if he couldn't seei and promptly said: "too old." Ahead of me was a little girl with a miniskirt filling out a long application.

I can't even say I was vexed. I was just perplexed. I am reasonably attractive and the job was for an order clerk. I really had a hard time keeping my composure. MRS.

GENEVIEVE SP1VAK West Palm Beach Interviews After watching Mike Wallace's TV interview of chess champion Bobby Fischer. I wonder why his personal and private life is considered his own? Duane Thomas of the Dallas Cowboys was raked over the coals and finally found guilty of possession of marijuana while trying to maintain a similar, if not the same, attitude toward his personal and private life. When asked about his religion. Mr. Fischer closed that line of questioning with something like.

"I don't want to discuss it." Thomas tried to maintain a silent position while running successfully for his team and doing the job for which he had been hired. I wonder why the treatment of these two men is so different. Could it be race or what? Why must some be "pushed" into submitting to complete interrogation while others are allowed to continue their mysterious and unusual silence difference would it We would still be in Vietnam. It is best not to think about why we are theje, because it will not make any difference anyhow. Secret War-ending Plan Four years ago Lyndon B.

Nixonger said he had a secret plan for ending the war, but refused to tell us what it was until he was re-elected. Some experts say it has been secretly working beautifully; others insist that Nixonger has forgotten what the secret plan was. There is no point in worrying about the secret plan, since it will not make any difference anyhow. Taxpayer Responsibility You may ask: "Am as the purchaser of the destructive wherewithal brought to bear upon Vietnam, responsible for the devastation of that miserable country?" Most experts agree that you are. Others say there is no reason to feel bad, because it is going to go right on happening, ncynatter how you feel.

The best thing is not to think about responsibility, since it will not make any difference anyhow. What Can the Responsible Citizen Do? Vote for the Lyndon B. Nixonger of your choice. When he is reelected do not make it hard on him by ding a lot of thinking. WASHINGTON Here, at last, is something every American has needed lor years a concise guide to the Vietnam war which will help him avoid thinking about the Vietnam war: Start of Vietnam War Some authorities say the Vietnam war started in 1937; others say it was 1941.

Democrats say Eisenhower started it during 1950s; Republicans say Kennedy started it. It is best not to think about when the Vietnam war started, because it will not make any difference anyhow. Who Is President Lyndon B. Nixon-ger? It was during the Lyndon B. Nixonger administration that the Vietnam war was escalated, coonskinned, vietnamized, re-Americanized, simo-nized and sold to the South Vietnamese as the best used war available anywhere at comparable price.

Many people report that thinking about President Lyndon B. Nixonger depresses them, whereas people who do not think about him say they feel fine. It is best not to think about President Lyndon B. Nixonger, since it will not make any difference anyhow. Light at End of Tunnel Ever since the Vietnam war started there has been light at the end of the tunnel, whichl decoded from the Pentagonese, The agencies have their come-ons plush front office, meet exciting clients, dust, make the coffee, type some, a little shorthand, well-groomed, own transportation, continental.

Super Boss, no teeth missing, long weekends, all the comforts of home. means that victory has been just around the corner. Many experts, in fact, say we won the war four years ago when the enemy was defeated at Tet Time. Others contend that the war is still going on. It is a waste of time thinking about whether the war is still going on or not, since it will not make any difference anyhow.

Anti-war Demonstrations The important thing to remember about antiwar demonstrations is that they don't make any difference. Do hot think about them. Why Are We in Vietnam? It is not a good idea to go around asking this question, because very few people know the answer. Those who do know the answer do not agree on what it is. Ewn if you knew the answer, what I Finally I picked two places.

One was a shoe concession in a good Palm Beach store. The proprietor told me he usually uses college girls who find try 4 A Dud.